A READER EMAILS:

Much as it pains me to admit she was right about something, Hillary’s remarks about that 3 a.m. phone call were correct in one way. It wouldn’t be wise to call President Obama, as they probably don’t allow phones on the golf course or at campaign fundraisers which is where he seems to spend most of his time.
Sadly, we’ve also learned that Secretary Clinton can’t handle that phone call too well, as it seems her response was to apologize for freedom.
With all of the things I didn’t like about him, John McCain doesn’t look so bad to me now.

Please withhold my name if you use this.

When people are willing to give their names in support of this sentiment, we’ll have really turned a corner . . . .

UPDATE: And maybe we have. From my email:

“Well, I’m Bob Tandler, and I support that message.”

“I’m guessing I won’t be the only one to do so, but I’m quite willing to say: My name is Todd Tolhurst, and I wholly support this sentiment. And you can post that.”

Also:

I support what the reader writes.

Use my name – I’m a proud Tea Party supporter and Republican.

I do this for my grandchildren.

By the way, we are in a brand new Congressional District – Ron DeSantis, a Navy and Iraq vet is the R candidate and deserves support.

Republican volunteers have knocked on my door, but no Democrats. Maybe they´re looking at the registration, but I would have noticed if the Dems were in the neighborhood.

Mike Thompson
Palm Coast FL. ( part of the I4 corridor which the MSM thinks is so important)

Moe Lane emails: “I didn’t say it, but I’d put my name to the sentiment. I’ll happily cop to being offended by Obama; disappointed by Clinton; and wistful for McCain.” Hell, at this point I’m wistful for Jimmy Carter. I told you people that a Carter rerun would be a best-case scenario, and I was right!

“Wish I had said it, and you can use my name if you like. Bill Gasper.”

“Hell, put my name to it. I am Spartacus. Rob Carty, Houston, Texas.”

Johanna Lapp writes: “Out me. Orphan, white African exile, refugee, new US citizen, Democrat, lesbian, grad student at expensive elitist college. One more stripe can’t make matters any worse.”

ANOTHER UPDATE: More coming out. Sarah Hoyt emails:

I need something to make me feel good after this horrible week, so here it is:

Foreign born, Latin origin, MA in literature, novelist — I wish we’d elected McCain. Sometimes, in my crazier moments, I wish Clinton (whom I hate) were still president. After a week like this, I think we’d be better off with Carter. What more should go in my self denunciation? I hate Marxism with a burning purple passion; Communism should not be acceptable. Declaring yourself a communist should be as acceptable as declaring yourself a puppy eater (oh, wait!) It should shock and disgust well-balanced people. I believe the US is the best country in the world — not perfect — but by far the best system humanity has constructed. Those dead white men who wrote the constitution knew very well what they were doing and we’re not fit to shine their boots. What other totally crazy beliefs do I hold? Oh, yeah, I like men. I think masculine virtues are necessary to the maintenance of civilization and I think we’re treating our men very badly and there will be a price to pay. I believe in life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I believe that our system of individual rights has made possible magnificent technology. And because that technology allowed me to drop all the publishers who would have objected to this statement — other than Baen Books who doesn’t object at all — and self publish all the books Baen doesn’t buy, you can sign me Sarah A. Hoyt (aka Sarah D’Almeida, aka Elise Hyatt.)

The USA is lucky to have you, Sarah.

FINALLY: Reader Richard Samson writes:

Please allow me to join in the “I Am Spartacus!” moment.
Richard E Samson
Greensboro, NC

Done!

IOS 6 ADDS THE DELIGHTFULLY APPEALING STRAITJACKET MODE:

Apple is set to introduce a couple of new features that will give corporate IT new ways to lock down the iOS 6 operating system, which powers the iPad and the iPhone, according to Zenprise, a mobile device management company that was briefed on the features by Apple.

When Apple releases iOS 6 next Wednesday, it will include “several powerful enterprise features that enhance the ease with which CIOs & IT departments can put mobile to work,” Zenprise said in a blog post.

For Fruit Ninja, Skype, or Angry Birds lovers, the most important feature may be something called App Lock. It lets corporate IT lock down the iPhone or iPad so that it runs just one predetermined application and new software cannot be installed by the user.

That will pave the way for a new generation of iPads that will work more like cash registers than tablets. “For example, if a retailer wants to use iPads to enhance the customer in-store experience, the iOS 6 app lock-out feature makes it so that the only app on the device will be the one for the job at hand,” Zenprise said in an e-mail message.

Apple didn’t respond to messages seeking comment for this story, so we don’t know if the company is already using the software to lock down iPads at One Infinite Loop.

Okay, I can see perfectly good reasons for this in the right circumstances, but it’s creepy.

THAT’S BECAUSE HE’S NOT AFRAID OF CHRISTIANS: Obama admin not so sensitive to Christian college’s religious feelings: Wheaton College never burned anything down, so its feelings don’t count.

May our feckless leaders have joy of the incentive system they’ve created.

ANDREW MOSEMAN: Why Are Neither Democrats Nor Republicans Interested In Talking About Space? An interview with Jonathan Card of the Space Frontier Foundation.

OBAMA FLASHBACK: The Day I’m Inaugurated Muslim Hostility Will Ease.

Related: Ouch.

PRESIDENT DOWNGRADE: U.S. Credit Rating Cut Again.

IRONY: U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald named as source of leak.

PLANNING TO BUY AN IPHONE 5? You can sell your old iPhone via Amazon.

Also, today only: 57% off on The Shield, seasons 1-7. Just $11.49.

PATTERICO: IN DEFENSE OF JAN CRAWFORD:

So that whole “coordinating the questions” thing with Romney involved someone I like very much: Jan Crawford. If it were almost anyone else, I’d be assuming the worst regarding the reporter’s bias and arrogance. After all, I think most of us agree here that Romney’s statement was entirely proper and that he didn’t deserve the criticism that Big Media tried to heap on him. We conservatives tend to view anyone who seemingly tried to take Romney to task as one of those arrogant Big Media types that we should be suspicious of.

But Jan Crawford just isn’t one of those types. And I’m not about to discard her based on a few seconds of unclear open mike audio.

Good point.

UPDATE: Link was wrong before. Fixed now. Sorry!

WHAT THE PRESIDENT WAS TWEETING AS THE COFFINS WERE UNLOADED: Stories Media Will Never Report: President’s Tweet as Four Caskets Removed From Planes.

ROGER SIMON: Soul Brothers: The Arab Street and the Mainstream Media.

THE DIPLOMAD ON THE MIDDLE EAST: We Are Not At War, Just Under Attack.

ALEX NUNEZ: I find it funny how Apple touts the mega-thinness of the IPhone 5 as if it matters. 90% will go into cases that double thickness. I’d rather they had kept it as thick as the iPhone 4 and used the space for a bigger battery. Then I wouldn’t need the bigger case, since the case I use is just an external battery. Which, incidentally, won’t fit the new iPhone because Apple has changed the charger-connector. D’oh! Likewise, the new “Magsafe 2” connector makes the chargers for my older Macs obsolete. Yeah, there’s an adapter, but . . . .

Meanwhile, in response to my observation that this release seems to be generating less excitement than previous ones, David Kirkham emails: “There is less excitement in people because there is less money in their pocket.” Could be.

MICHAEL TOTTEN: Why can’t the President of the United States bring himself to defend free speech in front of a murderous mob? Because apparently he doesn’t respect it. Got it in one.

HOWARD LOVY: Nanotech In Sunscreen: What’s The Harm? “For more than a decade now, anti-technology organizations such as the ETC Group and Friends of the Earth have been warning against the possible hazards of nanoscale titanium dioxide and zinc oxide in sunscreen. This warning has come with absolutely no scientific proof. They made it up.”

That seems to be the pattern. And as Lovy notes, lazy journalists — that is, nearly all journalists — tend to repeat such environmental warnings as if they had some scientific basis.

GIVING “MEDIA COVERAGE” A DIFFERENT IMPLICATION: Mediaite: Obama’s Horrible, Gaffe-Laden Week Goes Uncovered By Press. “This summer, during a much-panned visit abroad after having offended the British people by questioning London’s preparedness for the Summer Olympics, Mitt Romney was asked by a perturbed member of the political press, ‘What about your gaffes?’ I eagerly await the press directing this loaded question towards the president. At this point, the credibility of the political media just about depends on it.”

Credibility? At this point, they’re just campaign operatives with bylines.

THIS IS WHAT CONTEMPT FOR THE FIRST AMENDMENT LOOKS LIKE: The Obama Administration Pressures YouTube to Remove Video.

The primary reason to be appalled: The government has no business pressuring a website to take down this video.

A secondary reason: They’re probably barking up the wrong tree anyway. There’s a strong possibility that the video was just a pretext for the attacks, much as it pains the administration to admit it.

A tertiary reason: Remember how tech-savvy this White House was supposed to be? And now they think they can choke this off at the source?

Hey, how tech-savvy can they be? The Prez still uses a Blackberry.

MEGAN MCARDLE: What’s Wrong With Self-Help Books? “You will say that the books are not very good. The lessons they offer are obvious–be nice to your spouse, save more, give constructive feedback to your team members, eat less and exercise more. And of course this is true, not through any particular fault of the authors, but because there are very few revolutions in human affairs. The basic facts of living, getting along with others, and dying haven’t actually changed all that much since they were first discussed in blockbuster self-help titles like The Bible. But that doesn’t mean they don’t bear repeating. . . . Dave Ramsey and Suze Orman do not necessarily offer the most sophisticated, perfect advice. But that’s because the core of financial prosperity–save money!–is not all that complicated. They do get people to save, largely because they offer people a rigid, simple formula that is easy (if a bit painful) to follow. Likewise, the basics of being a good salesperson are surprisingly basic: people who make more calls make more money. But because making calls is really emotionally difficult, ‘proving’ this with a study helps people get over their natural reluctance to phone strangers. And so on, down the line through marriage and management. These things are not complicated, but they are difficult, which is why people sometimes need a little encouragement.”

MARK STEYN: An Act Of War, Not A Movie Protest.

STEPHEN GREEN: Maybe We Should Have Bowed More.

ON HAVING, AND LOSING, A PET:

Among the cruelest truths of biology is this: A dog’s life is considerably shorter than a human’s life. The math is unforgiving; if you love a dog, you will lose a dog, and you will suffer the pain and biting lessons that death brings — probably several times over.

A million things are wrong when your dog dies. Here’s just one: You become invisible. . . .

Pet owners know the “You’re Fido’s owner!” phenomenon well. Plenty of neighborhood folks knew me only by my dog. They knew his name, not mine. When he passed away suddenly, I felt like I’d disappeared.

Read the whole thing.

WEEBLE MOTORCYCLE WON’T FALL DOWN. “The all-electric bike/car hybrid being developed by California startup Lit Motors features a pair of counter-rotating gyroscopes mounted flat at the bottom of the frame that not only allow it to stand upright on two wheels when stationary, but make it nearly impossible to knock down. . . . The two-wheel pod requires a motorcycle license, but is entered via a swing-out door with windows, driven like a car with a steering wheel and pedals and offers tandem seating for two people.”

MULES AND CHEETAHS inspire new breed of war robots.

READER BOOK PLUG: Reader Gary Focht writes: “I am a longtime reader and I would love it if you would consider branching out and plugging a book in a genre that, to the best of my knowledge, you have never covered – the travel memoir. My wife’s book, A Summer Abroad, is available on Kindle and in paperback from Amazon and will appeal to those who enjoy travel memoirs such as Peter Mayle’s A Year in Provence.”

ARE ENDANGERED SPECIES WORTH SAVING?