Obama in a Mushroom Cloud

Barack Obama is not having a good couple of weeks.

Last week, he screwed up in the YouTube debate when he said as president he would talk to any and all nutjobs, tyrants, and terrorists.

Yesterday, he said he would be willing to unilaterally invade an ally, Pakistan, in pursuit of terrorists.

Today, I think he was trying to appear less hawkish by saying he would not resort to using nuclear weapons in the fight against al Qaeda.

Drudge links to the AP report that spells out Obama's latest awkward remarks.

WASHINGTON -- Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama said Thursday he would not use nuclear weapons "in any circumstance."

"I think it would be a profound mistake for us to use nuclear weapons in any circumstance," Obama said, with a pause, "involving civilians." Then he quickly added, "Let me scratch that. There's been no discussion of nuclear weapons. That's not on the table."

He sounds a little confused, doesn't he?

The Illinois senator warned Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf earlier this week that he would use U.S. military force in Pakistan even without Musharraf's permission if necessary to root out terrorists.

However, when asked by The Associated Press after a breakfast with constituents whether there was any circumstance where he would be prepared or willing to use nuclear weapons to defeat terrorism and al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, Obama replied, "There's been no discussion of using nuclear weapons and that's not a hypothetical that I'm going to discuss."

When asked whether his answer also applied to the possible use of tactical nuclear weapons, he said it did.

Pakistan has nuclear weapons and is politically unstable, raising concerns that the current military leadership could be replaced by religious fanatics who would be less cautious in using the weapons.

Hillary has to be loving this.

This may call for a celebratory exposure of cleavage.

Of course, if Hillary plans to exploit Obama and pick him as her running mate, then Obama's flaws are her problem, too. Maybe she should wear a turtle neck.

Whatever, Obama is looking very shaky when it comes to his ability to fill the role of commander in chief.

Brendan Dassey

Brendan Dassey is 17.

Moments ago, he was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of applying for release on extended supervision in 41 years.

He's guaranteed to be locked up until he's 59.

MANITOWOC, Wis. (AP) -- Dassey, 17, was convicted in April of being party to first-degree intentional homicide, mutilation of a corpse and second-degree sexual assault in the death of Teresa Halbach on Halloween 2005.

Life sentences are mandatory for first-degree intentional homicide. But Manitowoc County Circuit Judge Jerome Fox had to decide whether to leave open the possibility of parole.

On Thursday, Fox decided to grant Dassey the possibility of parole. He will be eligible for parole on Nov. 1, 2048, when he is 59 years old.

Dassey sat quietly at his sentencing Thursday and when asked if he had a comment before it was read, he told the judge, "I don't know what to say."

The judge said this was Dassey's chance to say something to his family and Halbach's in the courtroom.

"Just that I didn't do it," Dassey said. "I wouldn't do nothing like that."

Here's more:

"The court believes there is a moral need for substantial punishment for these crimes," Judge Jerome Fox said.

Fox said during his ruling that this was the most serious crime the court had ever had before it.

"(Dassey) knew the difference between right and wrong, good and evil," the judge said.

I think that's the bottom line -- Dassey, though not very intelligent, knows the difference between right and wrong, good and evil.

Being 17 and not too bright isn't a defense.

Jeff Wagner explains that Dassey is not eligible for parole, in spite of what's being reported in the media.

In 48 years, Dassey would be eligible to apply for extended supervision. Then, he would go before a sentencing court, not a parole board.

Was it a miscarriage of justice to give Dassey the possibility of being released on extended supervision?

I don't think so. I don't think Dassey has a chance of getting out of prison.

I hope this sentence gives the Halbach family some peace.

Although they no doubt will always be haunted by what Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey did to their beloved Teresa, I hope the family is comforted by the fact that Avery and Dassey are paying for their crimes.

Hainstock: "I didn't plan to hurt nobody"

Eric Hainstock took the stand on Wednesday in his own defense.

BARABOO, Wis. -- A 16-year-old boy charged with murdering his school principal testified Wednesday that he brought a shotgun and revolver to school not to kill the man, but to make him stop kids from teasing him.

Eric Hainstock is charged with first-degree murder and could face life in prison if convicted. Hainstock shot Weston Schools Principal John Klang on Sept. 29 as Klang struggled to wrestle the gun from the boy.

Prosecutors must prove that Hainstock intended to kill Klang the moment he pulled the trigger. Hainstock's attorneys asked the boy repeatedly if he meant to kill the principal.

"No, I didn't," Hainstock said. "I didn't plan to hurt nobody."

Sauk County District Attorney Pat Barrett claims Hainstock was a bully himself and angry at Klang because the principal twice suspended him in the days leading up to the shooting on the morning of homecoming.

But Hainstock's attorneys contend he suffers from attention deficit disorder, was abused at home and endured endless teasing at school while Klang and teachers looked the other way.

Attention deficit disorder, being abused at home, and endless teasing aren't excuses to bring LOADED guns to school and kill the principal.

Will prosecutors be able to prove that when Hainstock pulled the trigger he intended to kill Klang?

I think when someone brings a loaded gun to a school and threatens people with it and pulls the trigger three times, his intention to do harm is pretty clear.

If Hainstock didn't want to shoot Klang, then he would not have pulled the trigger.

...In a flat tone, Hainstock testified he transferred to Weston Schools as a sixth grader.

...Kids there stuck his head in the toilet, stuffed him in lockers, threw him in the bushes and called him names, he said.

Klang started as principal when Hainstock was a seventh-grader and became a confidant, Hainstock said. But Klang didn't stop the teasing, the boy said.

That's awful.

Bullying is such a cruel thing.

I do feel sorry for what Hainstock endured. However, I have no sympathy for him when it comes to what he did last September 29.

Zero.

Hainstock, then a 15-year-old freshman, was about to drive the family's truck to school because he missed the bus. He grabbed a shotgun from his father's gun cabinet and a .22-caliber revolver from his father's bedroom and loaded them, thinking that if people were scared, they'd listen to him.

Helland asked why he loaded the weapons.

"I don't know," he replied. "Just a reaction."

"Just a reaction"?

That's not a good answer.

I'd like to know why Hainstock had access to these guns and ammunition.

When guns are in the home, locking them up isn't just necessary to keep them out of the hands of very young children. No one but the owner should have access to them.

He told everyone in the school entrance, "Everybody get in the (expletive) office. I'm not (expletive) kidding. This is serious."

A janitor tore the shotgun away from him. Hainstock said he spun away, pulled out the revolver and cocked it. He wanted to make people think he was ready to shoot so they would "clear out."

He told Klang to go in the office to talk. He turned around and Klang jumped him, wrapping him in a bear hug and tugging at his gun arm.

Hainstock initially told police he fired all three shots on purpose, but testified he only said that because he was scared during the interview with detectives and knew he had done a terrible thing. He said the first shot was an accident.

Hainstock acted like he was ready to kill. The janitor and Klang put themselves in danger to disarm him. Klang paid with his life to save others. He did a selfless, heroic thing.

I believe that Hainstock was scared while being questioned by detectives.

It would make more sense that his fear would prompt him to insist that it was all an accident. Being scared wouldn't cause him to say he fired all the shots on purpose if he didn't.

Weird.

After that he "freaked out" and fired again, this time on purpose, hoping to hit Klang in the arm and make him let go.

The gun went off a third time during the struggle, he said.

"The blood was falling on me and stuff like that," Hainstock said. "I'm in shock ... I didn't think Mr. Klang was going to die. I hoped not."

Hainstock says he intended to shoot Klang in the arm. Sure.

In the midst of a struggle, he fires the gun and expects the bullet to hit Klang's arm. That's ridiculous.

He admits to "freaking out" and then he wants the jury to believe that he regained his composure to be rational enough to plan to shoot Klang in the arm.

Hainstock says he "freaked out," yet he's doing all this thinking and hoping.

That doesn't make a lot of sense.

In her cross-examination, Barrett did not ask Hainstock about the day of the shooting. Instead, she rattled off a number of things Hainstock was accused of over the years, including calling teachers names, knocking a student's tooth out, and snapping another student in the head with a rubber band. He agreed the incidents happened.

I think it was a good idea for Barrett to take the opportunity to get Hainstock to admit that he acted out. He owned up to his history of bullying and violent behavior.

In effect, Hainstock himself negated his image as a victim. He was abused, but he responded by being abusive.

He wasn't a poor kid, tormented so mercilessly that he finally snapped.

Plain and simple, if he really "didn't plan to hurt nobody," he wouldn't have loaded the guns.

Bridge Collapse Disaster in Minneapolis

What happened?

MINNEAPOLIS -- A freeway bridge spanning the Mississippi River collapsed during evening rush hour Wednesday, sending many cars into the water.

Tons of concrete collapsed and there were injuries, authorities said. Survivors were being carried up the riverbank.

Some people were stranded on parts of the bridge that weren't completely submerged.

The entire span of the Interstate 35W bridge collapsed about 6:05 p.m. where the freeway crosses the river near University Avenue in Minneapolis.

The images of the collapse are absolutely horrific.

People are being rescued. There are some confirmed deaths.

Right now, there are far more questions than answers.

What's certain is that the lives of many, many people will never be the same.

Prayers for the victims and their families.

Prayers for the fire crews, police, and other first responders on the scene.
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Watch live streams from FOX News here and here.

Somali Man Poses for Bumper Sticker

"It is now clear that George Bush's misnamed 'War on Terror' has backfired — and is now part of the problem. The War on Terror is a slogan designed only for politics, not a strategy to make America safe. It's a bumper sticker, not a plan."

--John Edwards

In addition to Edwards, three other Democrat presidential candidates are on the record as saying that they do not believe there is a global War on Terror -- Joe Biden, Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel.

If these geniuses don't believe that we at war with an enemy, Islamic fascists (AKA terrrorists), then what would they call it?

They admit that these animals are a threat; but it's a mistake to speak of being at war with them. They claim that the Bush administration is engaged in sloganeering and political games.

According to Edwards and those of his ilk, there is no War on Terror. It's a myth.

Bush is the enemy.

This line of thinking is mind-boggling to me.

We are at war.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A Somali immigrant the government says plotted to blow up an Ohio shopping mall pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiring to provide material support to terrorists.

Nuradin Abdi, 35, entered his plea before U.S. District Judge Algenon Marbley a week before his trial had been expected to start Aug. 6.

“In this climate an American jury, we felt, could potentially find him guilty because of all this negative stuff that’s coming in, and if they found him guilty he was looking at spending the rest of his life in custody,” said Abdi’s attorney, Mahir Sherif. “The government came back with another offer, so he decided to take it.”

Under a plea deal, Abdi is expected to receive a 10-year sentence on the count, which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years. Three other charges were dropped and he will be deported after serving his sentence.

The Justice Department accused Abdi of suggesting the plan to attack an unidentified Columbus shopping mall during an August 2002 meeting with now-convicted al-Qaida terrorist Iyman Faris and a third suspect, Christopher Paul. The suspected plot was never carried out.

Abdi testified under oath that he talked with Faris and Paul at a coffee shop in suburban Columbus where he suggested they “plan to detonate a bomb in a shopping mall to avenge U.S. policy and military action in Afghanistan,” according to a statement of facts submitted by the government during Tuesday’s hearing.

...Faris is serving 20 years in a maximum-security federal prison in Florence, Colo., for his role in an al-Qaida plot to destroy the Brooklyn Bridge. Faris scouted the bridge and told al-Qaida its plans wouldn’t work, court papers have said. Prosecutors accused Paul, who was arrested in April, of joining al-Qaida and plotting to bomb European tourist resorts and U.S. government facilities and military bases overseas.

Prosecutors also say Abdi gave stolen credit card numbers to a man accused of buying gear for al-Qaida, and lied on immigration documents to visit a jihadist training camp.

Abdi’s attorneys said he was merely upset at the war in Afghanistan and reports of civilians killed in bombings by the U.S.-led invasion. They have said that the stolen numbers were never used and that the Justice Department never alleged what organization they believed was running the camp, what Abdi intended to do with the training, or whether he ever actually went.

Nuradin Mahamoud Abdi (Photo/AP)

I think this picture would look great on a bumper sticker.

It could read, "I want to kill your honor student at the mall."

Obama's Cleavage Envy

Even though Barack Obama exposed his chest months before Hillary Clinton gave the world a peek at hers, Hillary was the one that successfully manipulated her chest for fundraising.

Then of course came the YouTube debate and Hillary's charge that Obama is naive when it comes to foreign policy and dealing with foreign leaders.

The loser of the Cleavage Wars is determined to win the Battle of the Doves in Hawks' Clothing.

Obama has thrown down the gauntlet.

He declared that he would be willing to invade Pakistan. He's almost daring Iron Lady Hillary to top that.

WASHINGTON -- Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said Wednesday that he would send troops into Pakistan to hunt down terrorists even without local permission if warranted — an attempt to show strength when his chief rival has described his foreign policy skills as naive.

The Illinois senator warned Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf that he must do more to shut down terrorist operations in his country and evict foreign fighters under an Obama presidency, or Pakistan will risk a U.S. troop invasion and losing hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. military aid.

"Let me make this clear," Obama said in a speech at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. "There are terrorists holed up in those mountains who murdered 3,000 Americans. They are plotting to strike again. It was a terrible mistake to fail to act when we had a chance to take out an al-Qaida leadership meeting in 2005. If we have actionable intelligence about high-value terrorist targets and President Musharraf won't act, we will."

Obama's speech comes the week after his rivalry with New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton erupted into a public fight over their diplomatic intentions.

Obama said he would be willing to meet leaders of rogue states like Cuba, North Korea and Iran without conditions, an idea that Clinton criticized as irresponsible and naive. Obama responded by using the same words to describe Clinton's vote to authorize the Iraq war and called her "Bush-Cheney lite."

Obama needs to settle down before he implodes like Howard Dean.

Obama's vow to go into Pakistan was a prepared statement. It wasn't an off-the-cuff remark. There was premeditation about considering a Pakistan invasion.

This effort to be tougher on terrorists and more serious than Hillary isn't working.

He's simply offering Hillary more fodder to mock him. He's proving her point that he's naive.

Obama and John Edwards should realize that Hillary has the most testosterone among the Democrat presidential field. They can't touch her in that department.

And although she's less feminine and sensitive than Obama and Edwards, she is technically a woman. Even Obama's endorsement from Oprah isn't enough to counter the reality of chromosomes.

Among Democrats, the fact is Hillary is emerging as the best man for the job.

Events of the past weeks have solidified Hillary's position as the front runner. I don't see any upsets. I think the nomination is hers.

These Hillary/Obama wars could be a problem down the road if Hillary wants to tap Obama as her running mate. If she keeps berating Obama's judgment and experience, such a move would make an Obama selection appear to be a choice made on the color of his skin rather than his abilities.

A certain degree of confrontation between primary candidates is expected and acceptable; but this is getting to be a bit too much bad blood for Hillary and Obama to be a convincing team.

Milwaukee Stabbing and Shootings

In the span of six hours, there were at least three shootings and a stabbing on the streets of Milwaukee.

From The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

* A 29-year-old woman is in custody in the stabbing of a 27-year-old man at 3:30 a.m. during a domestic incident in the 2000 block of N. 29th St., according to police.

* The latest shooting came about 3 a.m. when a 43-year-old man was shot in the street in the 2600 block of N. 34th St. He is in stable condition today at a local hospital. There is no one in custody.

* Police are also seeking a suspect in a shooting about 1 a.m. in the 2300 block of W. National Ave. A 26-year-old man was wounded on the street. He is also in stable condition.

* Investigators have a known adult male suspect they are seeking in the shooting of a 19-year-old about 9 p.m. near N. 10th and W. Nash streets last night. He received a non-life-threatening wound, police said.

Maybe it's just me, but that seems like a lot of shooting and violence in such a short amount of time.

One has to wonder what the numbers would be if not for the Neighborhood Safety Initiative.

I guess we'll find out on September 8, when the program ends.