Last Call For Reading Left To White

Former Virginia Dem Sen. Jim Webb isn't going to run a dog whistle campaign for 2016, no sir. Nia-Malika Henderson at WaPo:

Some think Jim Webb could be the liberal Democratic alternative to Hillary Clinton in 2016. Perhaps it's more likely, though, that Webb could position himself as something the Democratic Party — or any party, really — hasn't seen in some time: the vocal champion of the working-class white man. 

The former Virginia senator offered this critique of his party to Matt Bai over at Yahoo!, and it sounds like something that you might hear on the campaign trail going forward. 

“I think this is where Democrats screw up, you know?” Webb said. “I think that they have kind of unwittingly used this group, white working males, as a whipping post for a lot of their policies. And then when they react, they say they're being racist.” 

Rather than run as a liberal (which he is not, in a whole host of ways), Webb could run as a kind of anti-Hillary. He would be an explicit counter to the sort of progressive, feminist narrative that would inherently undergird a Clinton run. He would also be the anti-Obama, a break from the sort of identity politics around race, gender and ethnicity that have, in Webb's telling, excluded working-class white men. 

(A white woman running for president after the nation's first black president could certainly underscore the "what about us" feeling among this demographic.)

So let me get this straight:  Jim Webb is running on "You know what, we gave black people six, eight years out of 240.  That's more than enough.  So, sorry Hillary, but it's time to get back to white guys running the place, and white guys voting for him."

And this is a Democrat running on this.

Whatever.

Drawing Attacks From Extremists

The Paris offices of French satire weekly Charlie Hebdo were attacked by three gunmen Wednesday, killing 12 and generally proving once again that religious fundamentalist idiots really cannot handle humor.

Masked gunmen burst into the Paris offices of a French satirical newspaper on Wednesday and killed 12 people, including top journalists and two police officers, before fleeing in a car. The gunmen were still at large at dusk, as an extensive police dragnet spread across a traumatized city. 

Among the dead were four prominent cartoonists who have repeatedly lampooned Islamic terrorists and the Prophet Muhammad, leading to speculation that the attack on the newspaper, Charlie Hebdo, was the work of Islamic militants acting alone or in concert with extremist groups. 

A police guard assigned to protect the newspaper was among the first victims. A second police officer, who responded to reports of the shooting, was killed on the sidewalk outside the office by the fleeing suspects, the Paris police said. The shooting of the second police officer was captured in a widely-seen video. 

President François Hollande immediately declared that the attack was an act of terrorism and an assault on freedom of the press. He ratcheted up France’s nationwide terror alert to its highest level, and met with his cabinet in an emergency session. He said France was already on high alert after several planned terrorist attacks were thwarted in recent weeks.

And speaking of idiots with no sense of humor:

Tom McInerney, a retired United States Air Force Lieutenant General, told Steve Doocy that “this is a classical radical Islamist attack, Steve, and political correctness is killing us. This is a prime example.” 

“We must hold the Arab world and the Muslim world accountable,” he continued, “for this radical Islamic ideology — which, as I’ve said before — is as evil as Nazism, fascism, and communism. It is not a religion.” 

Doocy then introduced a clip of the gunman firing, and noted that that “I’ve been getting a lot of tweets from people from Paris who said that most cops choose not even to carry a gun. That, thankfully, is not the case in New York.” 

“Thankfully,” McInerney replied, “but with the current leadership in New York — and I’m referring to the mayor, the communist mayor you have up there — that may change.” 

“So I think that the world must wake up. We’ve been doing this for almost 13-plus years since 9/11, and I think it’s time to hold the people accountable with global public opinion. Challenge them.” 

“What do you know specifically about the growth of radical Islam in France?” Elisabeth Hasselbeck asked. 

“Well, France has got approaching 20 percent of a Muslim population,” McInerney answered. “When they get there, they provoke the culture of the nation they are in, and tell them about the culture they want the nation to adopt. That’s where the political correctness comes.”

“That’s the danger, Elisabeth — they become much more assertive, and they do these kinds of things.”

13 plus years since 9/11 and some of us have learned nothing.

So when do we invade France to free them from Muslim tyranny, or whatever?

The Softest Book Ever Thrown At A Crook

Sentencing for former GOP Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell was handed down Tuesday afternoon by a federal judge. He could have seen 20 years in prison, the government wanted at least 10 years, the judge limited the maximum to 6 1/2 to 8 years, and Bob here ended up with 2 years prison and 2 years probation.

For hour upon hour before sentence was passed, the court heard accounts of Mr. McDonnell’s good works, and the judge said they were a mitigating factor. But, he said: “A price must be paid. It breaks my heart.” 

Nearly 450 people, including Mr. McDonnell’s relatives and their friends, had written letters seeking leniency to Judge Spencer. Some spoke of the former governor’s generosity with the homeless. Others noted his devotion to the Roman Catholic Church. Still others said he had always taken care to notice the lowest rungs of the political ladder during campaigns. 

Most striking were the letters from Mr. McDonnell’s family members. One daughter, Jeanine McDonnell Zubowsky, wrote to Judge Spencer blaming her mother, Maureen McDonnell, who was also convicted of various charges and is to be sentenced in late February. 

Ms. McDonnell “has always been concerned about getting discounts or freebies,” Ms. Zubowsky wrote. 

“This was one of the main reasons she would not communicate with him,” she said. “She hid her coordination with people for free or discounted things or services, and she didn’t communicate with my dad because she knew he would not approve.” 

Ms. Zubowsky offered another reason for leniency, noting that she is to give birth to his grandchild soon.

As Leo DiCaprio's Jordan Belfort said in "Wolf of Wall Street" after being sentenced and facing the prospect of actual prison, "Then I remembered. I'm rich."

McDonnell's angling to stay out of prison on bond pending appeal, so who knows if he'll even go to jail. Bonus points too for McDonnell's daughter freely throwing her own mother under the Virginia Department of Corrections bus to save dear ol' dad. Mrs. McDonnell's sentencing is February 20th, by the way.

That's going to be a fun hearing, I think.

StupidiNews!

• A gunman shot and killed a doctor at a Texas veterans' hospital Tuesday before turning the gun on himself.
• Recently discovered planet Kepler 438b in the Lyra constellation may be the closest exoplanet yet to an Earth-like environment.
• Republicans in Congress say their first order of business is passing legislation to force the approval of the Keystone XL pipeline, which is facing an immediate veto threat from President Obama.
• Ohio Republican John Boehner has once again been re-elected as Speaker of the House, but he's not above punishing those Republicans who didn't vote for him.
• Intel says it will pledge $300 million to improve diversity hiring in the tech sector, funding college scholarships and supporting historically black colleges and universities.