Four Washington police officers ambushed

“A scene out of a horror movie….”

LAKEWOOD, Wash. – Four police officers were shot and killed in a bloody Sunday morning ambush at a Lakewood-area coffee shop, officials said.

Pierce County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Ed Troyer called the ambush “a targeted attack” on the four Lakewood police officers as they were preparing to start their shifts at about 8:30 a.m.

Officials at the scene said one or two gunmen burst into the Forza Coffee Co. outlet at 11401 Steele St. South, shot the four uniformed officers as they were working on their laptop computers, then fled the scene.

related stories:

King5.com (video),

Suspect description from News Tribune,

More details from Fox News

Obama to deploy 40,000 more troops

… to fight Fox News

h/t Harnden

What say you, Major Garrett?

Welcome readers from Free Republic!

The Gawker is reporting that reporters from “roughly 30 television networks, newspapers, magazines, and web sites celebrated the Fourth of July with Barack Obama at the White House…”

Nothing wrong with that. I mean, what reporter covering the White House beat wouldn’t like to go to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue for the 4th and watch fireworks, eat ribs, enjoy good beverages. And in the company of the President, no less. Wouldn’t that just be a hoot!

But, what if the invitation came with the following condition:

“You are being invited to attend this event as a guest. Blogging, Twittering or otherwise reporting on this event is not permitted. If you feel that you cannot agree to abide by these ground rules, please don’t claim a ticket.”

Am I the only one who sees this to be a conflict of interest? Unethical, even? Downright unseemly?

When I read the Gawker report, the first question that came to mind was, “I wonder if Fox was invited?” Followed closely by, “I wonder if they accepted the invitation?”

Given President Obama’s tendency to whine about being attacked by Fox News, and his Party’s hostility to Fox News, my sense is that Fox didn’t get an invitation.

But, given the conditions of the invitation, the questions must be asked, and Fox News, especially Major Garrett, owes an answer.

You see, we’ve come to expect this type of behavior out of the NBC’s and NYT’s of the media world.

But certainly not Fox.

So, what say you Fox News?

Here is the report on FoxNews.com.

**More on on our less-than-independent Press at Hot Air

Pelosi claims CIA “misled” her

In a yet another tortured explanation of what she knew, and when she knew it, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi now claims that she was “misled” by the CIA regarding the use of enhanced interrogation techniques.

“They misled us every step of the way.”

In a just concluded press conference, Ms. Pelosi stopped short of calling the CIA briefers “liars”, but the distinction was one of semantics only.

Calling for a “Truth Commission,” Pelosi attempted to tie the CIA interrogation briefings to later briefings by the Bush Administration regarding WMD’s in the run-up to Operation Iraqi Freedom.  Her twisted explanation  only serves to make the torture debate less about enhanced interrogation techniques and embarrassing the Bush Administration, and more about Nancy Pelosi’s credibility.

Playing the victim card is an extraordinary response, especially for the person who is third in line of Presidential Succession.

video update from msnbc:

update: read more at Politico

update2: FoxNews is reporting that the CIA is taking “great offense” to the Speaker’s statement. The CIA said to Fox, “We stand by the documents.”

update3: AP has this LuLu of a quote from the press conference:

“I wasn’t briefed, I was informed that somebody else had been briefed about it,” she said.

update4: John Carey has more

update 5: Michelle Malkin – Pelosi plays “dangerous blame game.”

Level 6?

Remember the story of Felipe Solis?

On April 16, “President Obama was received at Mexico’s anthropology museum in Mexico City by Felipe Solis, a distinguished archeologist who died the following day from symptoms similar to flu, Reforma newspaper reported.” link

Well, Mexican authorities are now saying that Solis died of a heart attack,  not the flu.  Further, his death occurred one week after greeting Obama, not one day later as originally reported.  This is according to a report from Greg Contreras.

Odd, isn’t it?

From full-court press coverage of infections, inspections, and detections*, of the potential world-wide swine flu pandemic, climaxing with Joe Biden’s famous declaration that there was no way he was getting on public transportation, coverage of the spread of H1N1 has undergone an overnight transformation. Now, only the official numbers from W.H.O. are reported.  Headlines are suggesting that Mexico has turned the corner,  the spread of the disease is stabilizing, and the proverbial bullet has been dodged.

Actual numbers of infections and deaths have shrunk to non-panic inducing levels, and, except for the large number of school closings, it is back to normal in the US. But, are the statistics reliable? One of the more interesting articles I read over the weekend was from Newsweek, which included this snippet:

Another physician, who spoke with NEWSWEEK en Español but asked not to be identified, claimed that in the Gea González Hospital—the biggest facility run by the Ministry of Health in Mexico City—doctors have been explicitly told not to record pneumonia as a cause of death. “You must say that they died of cardiac arrest or anything else,” said the physician about the instruction given to them.

It makes me wonder if this could be related to the Felipe Solis story …

And, today, Fox News is reporting that WHO is likely to raise the pandemic threat level to 6, and declare an official pandemic.

Go figure.

*from alice’s restaraunt

That’s gonna leave a mark

h/t conservativeXpress

Obama buzzed in Florida

Joe Biden’s most recent gaffe was brought up on the campaign trail by Sarah Palin at a Cedar Rapids rally….

“our opponents, they have some strange ideas about raising taxes. To them, raising taxes – and Joe Biden said it again today — raising taxes is about patriotism.” That line brought a chorus of boos.

“To the rest of America, that’s not patriotism, raising taxes. It is about killing jobs and hurting small business and making things worse,” she continued. “This isn’t about anyone’s patriotism, it’s about Barack Obama’s poor judgment.”

“He wants to raise taxes by hundreds of billions of dollars. And at a time like this, that will make today’s bad economy seem like the good old days.” source

And, just in case the Anointed One didn’t get the message, a protester at a Jacksonville rally brought it to his attention in a unique way…..
from FoxNews (Bonney Kapp)

Protesters are as common to the campaign trail as supporters – from those waving McCain signs at the entrance of events, to the more subtle passersby who flash the thumbs down gesture (or worse) along the motorcade route, to the occasional group that infiltrates and interrupts an event.

But this afternoon, someone went all out to get his or her message out at Obama’s rally in northern Florida.

A single engine plane pulling a banner behind it – like those you’d see at the shore – circled Obama’s rally, which was held at Metropolitan Park along the St. John’s River in Jacksonville.

The protester’s message: “Raising taxes is not patriotic.”

MSM scandal of the day

Trying to keep up with the on-going character assassination attempt by the MSM has been tough.
Have I left any out?

1) Trig not Palin’s son – LIE
2) SP was hiding Bristol’s pregnancy – LIE
3) SP endorsed Pat Buchanan – LIE
4) SP hates Jews – LIE
5) SP was never discussed as a possible veep candidate – LIE
6) SP was a member of an Alaskan secessionist party – LIE
7) SP was not vetted by the McCain campaign – LIE
8. SP said the Iraq was was a mission from God – LIE
9) SP lied about opposing Bridge to Nowhere – LIE
and most recently debunked by the Smoking Gun
10) SP had an affair with her husband’s business partner – LIE
11) SP is a book burner – LIE

Sarah has been on the scene for a week now.

The behavior of the media is disgusting.

Here is the latest attempted smear, brought to you courtesy of the AP…
12) SP’s church is promoting a conference that promises to convert gays into heterosexuals through the power of prayer. ((( Prayer? …… G A S P !!! )))

And of course, the M.O.A.S., The October Surprise, the so-called Troopergate scandal. Pshaww.

Not to mention the illegal release of her social security number, the rumors, innuendo, and the untold number of truly mean-spirited references to her sex, her small town background, her Christian beliefs, etc., etc., etc. Nothing is out of bounds to these sleezey vermin.

The hell with them.

Update: Howie Carr is keeping a list of Sarah’s so-called “sins”

Update 2: Fox News is also keeping score

Update 3: Michelle Malkin has the latest scandal. “Palin called Obama a “sambo”

Update 4: Ed Morrisey takes on the latest nutroots meme – The Palin Bubble

Update 5: Charles Martin has the Mother Of All Sarah Palin Rumor Lists.

McCain-Palin: Confirmed!

“There will be a woman on the ticket. And, it isn’t Hillary.”

So stated Fox News’ Carl Cameron as he confirmed from the McCain Campaign that Sarah Palin, the 44 year old Governor of Alaska is the choice for the GOP VP nomination.

Great choice for VP, and a true game-changer.

Here is an earlier blog entry about Gov Palin, including a nice writeup from Pat Ruffini.

And, a video interview of Gov Palin on the Beck Show.

more at CNN

The Reluctant Candidate

Fred Thompson’s supporters are rightfully disappointed. Today was a tough one.

I’ve often thought, and several times written, that if Fred wanted the nomination half as much as his supporters wanted him to have it, the whole thing would have been wrapped up in Carolina.

He had everything going for him: momentum, money, star power, name recognition. Everything except presidential ambition. Carl Cameron has the background story……..

“Now It Can Be Told — The Thompson Story”

I reported first that [Fred] was eyeing a White House bid [in March 2007]. At the time several insiders told me OFF THE RECORD that it was largely a trial balloon to gauge his popularity and float his name as a possible vice presidential nominee. I was sworn to silence.

Those insiders have now lifted the conditions on our conversations. From March to August of 07 through postponed announcement days, staff changes, firings, resignations and general disarray the Thompson camp was stunned by the incredibly positive response and didn’t really know how to manage it. The trial balloon soared mighty high and he found himself being dragged into a race that he was not even sure how to run.

He took third in Iowa and Third in South Carolina, after which his aides openly suggested the #2 slot on the ticket. The circle has been closed, and Fred Dalton Thompson is waiting to see if he gets the call from the eventual nominee.

He has not said who he will endorse. He is friends with John McCain. But if he doesn’t throw his support behind anyone …it makes it easier to be picked by everyone.