PJ Media

Week 22 begins …. Internet flash Ron Paul sneaks past Fred Thompson in week 21… Make your site a polling place – get your WIDGET here

Over 120,000 votes have been cast in the weekly PAJAMAS MEDIA PRESIDENTIAL STRAW POLL. The twenty-second week has officially begun.

An Israeli in Ramallah

"The five-star Fatah refugees from Gaza wearing Ralph Lauren polo shirts and speaking fluent Hebrew told hair-raising stories of teenage boys presumed loyal to Fatah being flung from the fourteenth floor of office buildings, their hands shackled and their mouths taped shut. Their unspoken message is interesting: suddenly Fatah represents the reasonable, civilized Palestinians. They speak Hebrew, they look like us and they sound like us, and Islamist militants threaten them just as they threaten Israel." By Lisa Goldman

Election Night Soap Opera

Politics or "The Young and the Restless?" The real news was: a Sarkozy setback in the French legislative elections when his UMP party won a majority, but fell short of the predicted landslide. But that's not what the French were buzzing about after defeated presidential candidate Ségolène Royal chose election night to announce that she and socialist party leader Francois Hollande are no longer an item. By Nidra Poller, PJM Paris editor

Mahmoud Wants War

Increasingly, the angry speeches of Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad reveal a desperate president in need of a conflict. Just a few days ago, he crossed a key rhetorical red line by expressing open hostility towards both Judaism and Christianity. By Meir Javedanfar

Happy Father’s Day

a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_6XsGr86A1rs/RnV5qv6kO7I/AAAAAAAAABI/tS7Tk-wtd1U/s1600-h/julius.jpg”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_6XsGr86A1rs/RnV5qv6kO7I/AAAAAAAAABI/tS7Tk-wtd1U/s200/julius.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”"id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5077097930253679538″ //abr /Hope all you dads out there (and stepdads) are having a great day!br /br /Update: I spent the morning getting flowers and taking them to the cemetary for my dad, Julius Smith, who died five and a half years ago. I so miss our a href=”http://drhelen.blogspot.com/2005/12/sunday-brunch.html”Sunday morning talks/a–he was one of the most important men in my life. For those of you who wonder why I love men and support them, my father is one of the reasons. I will never forget what my father taught me about love and about life.

When Parents Hurt

I get a lot of books in the mail from publishers–some are worth reading and others aren’t. When I first picked up psychologist Joshua Coleman’s book, a href=”http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0061148423?ie=UTF8tag=wwwviolentkicomlinkCode=as2camp=1789creative=9325creativeASIN=0061148423″emWhen Parents Hurt: Compassionate Strategies When You and Your Grown Child Don’t Get Along,/em/aimg src=”http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=wwwviolentkicoml=as2o=1a=0061148423″ width=”1″ height=”1″ border=”0″ alt=”" style=”border:none !important; margin:0px !important;” / I thought it was another self-help book with silly strategies about how to mend a parent’s relationship with his or her grown kids and teens. I deduced it not worth my time when the first thing I read was that he originally helped adult children in therapy sessions craft letters to their parents telling them essentially to kiss off. Coleman states that he thought the kids were often right and the parents were to blame in most of these cases where family members did not get along. However, he admits that he was wrong and that as often as not, the grown kids had contributed equally to the poor relationship and parents were not necessarily to blame. Parents hurt too when their teens and adult children want nothing to do with them or treat them in dismissive or cruel ways. This book teaches you how to heal. br /br /And just as the author admits he was wrong about parental and child conflict, I will admit that I was wrong to initially dismiss the book without giving it a chance. It is chockfull of information for those parents who do not get along with their grown children and offers concrete advice on how to cope and change the destructive child-parent interaction to a postive one. There is a chapter on the “Brave New Parent of the Twenty-First Century” where the author describes the burdens parents are facing today. One of these burdens is that parents have now become more responsible for entertaining their children because of the decline of extended families, the scarcity of places for kids to play and the blaring media news on the dangers of outside play. “..the claim ‘I’m bored,’ rather than being a statement about subjective experience, ends up being a statement about the parent’s adequacy and worth. Children can now judge parents by how well they provide opportunities and therefore, how deserving they are of the child’s love and respect.” And even if you are a parent who ignores this type of behavior and doesn’t play the game, the society, schools, and even churches etc. often reinforce the notion that parents are responsible for their kid’s happiness. Kids take it to heart and blame parents for any shortcomings. br /br /My favorite chapter in the book is one entitled, “Where Did This Kid Come From? Mismatches Between Parent and Child.” Coleman lays out the different types of parents and kids and gives guidelines on how to deal with each type. For example, if you are a high-achieving parent raising or interacting with a low-achieving child, he says to avoid making all or most of your interactions about grades, college, or career, avoid expressing a lot of worry or “concern” especially if your child is clearly turned off by it, avoid micromanaging and tells you how to become a consultant rather than a manager as your child gets older. br /br /Although, I do not agree with all of the advice given, if you are a parent who has an older teen or adult child who has dismissed you, dissed you, or just plain written you off, this book gives some good ideas on how to cope, for even if you can’t get your relationship back on track, the book gives some good strategies on how to help yourself move on from the pain of being shut out of your grown child’s life. br /br /At the risk of sounding like Jerry Springer here, or worse, Oprah, if you are going through problems with your grown adult child and have any words of wisdom for other readers, drop a line in the comments.

The Corn & Miniter Show — #14

David Corn and Richard Miniter decipher the promises made and missed in the Giuliani campaign’s “12 Commitments to America”. Also on the table this week are Barack Obama’s “flat-out dumb” real estate dealings with indicted Syrian-born businessman Antoin “Tony” Rezko. While “this is not Whitewater,” one wonders, “Is it impossible to be a leading candidate or politician in either party without having a sleaze factor?” Guest Republican-strategist Doug Heye closes out the show. [Audio-only MP3 download also available]

Prelutsky Predicts!

Years ago, I interviewed a very weird Hollywood character named Criswell. Some of you may remember him from his many appearances on "The Tonight Show." However, in certain odd circles, he is best known for his performances in the movies of shlockmeister Ed Wood. No list of the world's worst movies would be complete without their collaborative efforts, "Night of the Ghouls," "Orgy of the Dead" and, of course, "Plan 9 from Outer Space." by Burt Prelutsky

Psyched!

I did a radio show with a href=”http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/188495670X?ie=UTF8tag=wwwviolentkicomlinkCode=as2camp=1789creative=9325creativeASIN=188495670X”Dr. Robert Epstein,/aimg src=”http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=wwwviolentkicoml=as2o=1a=188495670X” width=”1″ height=”1″ border=”0″ alt=”" style=”border:none !important; margin:0px !important;” / the host of Psyched! a href=”http://www.lime.com/user/109″on Lime /a(Sirius Channel 114), which airs on Saturdays at 9 p.m. and Sundays at 5 p.m. (Eastern Time). “Psyched!” features interviews with both expert and celebrity guests, a segment on psychology news, and a segment in which Dr. Epstein answers questions from listeners. Our topic this weekend will be youth violence. If you have Sirius, take a listen to the show this coming Saturday at 9:00 p.m. or Sunday at 5:00pm Eastern Time.

Matt Sanchez, From Iraq: Rinse and Repeat

"Someone tell me when the American public went from being the can-doers, to the will-whiners?" Embedded reporter Matt Sanchez sheds some light on the differences between words and actions from inside the 96th Transportation Company based in southern Iraq.

Barry Bonds: The Power and the Glory

Sometime in the next month or so Barry Bonds will step up to the plate for the 756th time in his long, illustrious, and controversial career, swing the bat, and send the ball on its way up and over the fence for a home run. Thereby breaking Hank Aaron's 31-year-old career home run record and setting off another round in the debate over whether the San Francisco Giants slugger deserves the title "Greatest Home Run Hitter of All Time." by Rick Moran

Don Surber a href=”http://blogs.dailymail.com/donsurber/2007/06/14/desecrating-daniel-pearl/”controls his anger while posting /aon hypocrit Angelina Jolie’s attempt to ban emFox News /emfrom covering her movie premiere for emA Mighty Heart,/em the movie about Daniel Pearl, the Wall Street Journal reporter who was tortured and beheaded by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in Karachi, Pakistan on Feb. 1, 2002.

Blog Week in Review: Counterinsurgency

In this week's podcast Dr. David Kilcullen--Senior Counterinsurgency Adviser to Gen. Petraeus--talks to host Austin Bay about the vicious cycle of violence in Iraq, and what the multinational force is doing to stop it. The nature of counterinsurgency operations has changed since the "classical" era of the wars of colonial independence in the '50s and '60s. And how an essential element of winning the counterinsurgency war in Iraq will be winning the battle of competing narratives that currently contend for space in the hearts and minds of the Iraqi civilian.

Mark Steyn Talks Doomsday

Author of %%AMAZON=0895260786 America Alone: The End of the World as We Know It%% and “global content provider” Mark Steyn talks to Roger L. Simon about the war on terror, Europe, the media, and the end of the world. Possible alternate title: “Two white guys on a bench in Malibu.”

Mamma Mia! What Bad Journalism!

Anyone familiar with the British tabloids expects splashy dubiously truthful headlines. But when stories come dressed up in distinguished black-and-white broadsheet with a venerable name like The Times of London, slightly higher standards are expected. Which is why the headline was shocking -- Tel Aviv gets ready to silence Mamma Mia! In response to the controversial proposed British academic boycott of Israel, the Times told the world, those angry Israelis are avoiding everything British -- including musical theater. That would be very disturbing - if it were true. By Allison Kaplan Sommer, PJM Tel Aviv Editor

Our Degenerating Media [Part 3]

[Illustrations by Oleg Atbashian] "Surprising, isn't it -- in a time of war, the studios don't realize that Americans would rather see an uplifting war movie in which the good guys win. Well, they do realize it -- but they won't do it anyway." by Oleg Atbashian Part 3 of 3. Read Part 1 and Part 2.

Kids and Money

I read in a href=”http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/CollegeAndFamily/RaiseKids/WhyYourKidsExpectToBeRich.aspx”this MSN Money article by Liz Pulliam Weston /a that the average teen is expecting to make a six-figure income: br /br /blockquoteI refer to tidbits from the “Teens and Money” survey Charles Schwab released earlier this year. This poll of 1,000 Americans aged 13 to 18 from a variety of socio-economic backgrounds found that 73% believed they would earn “plenty of money” when they were adults.br /br /In fact, the teenage boys expected to make an average $174,000 annually. Teenage girls expected to earn $114,200./blockquotebr /br /But the reality of the situation is:br /br /blockquoteFewer than 5% of the U.S. population makes more than $100,000, according to the bureau. Only one household out of six report a six-figure income, according to the Federal Reserve’s 2004 Survey of Consumer Finances./blockquotebr /br /Wow, these salaries seem pretty high, especially given the occupations that were most popular among the teens: doctors, nurses and medical technicians, technology (including jobs in programming, network operations and computer repair) and teaching, the three career fields that most interested the kids polled. br /br /Notice that the boys think they will be making significantly higher salaries than the girls–perhaps their expectations may be even more unrealistic than the girls–that is, the girls may be more realistic about what they will earn or maybe the boys are just willing to ask for more.

Dad-fidence

Paula Spencer, author of a href=”http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307337421?ie=UTF8tag=wwwviolentkicomlinkCode=as2camp=1789creative=9325creativeASIN=0307337421″emMomfidence!/em/aimg src=”http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=wwwviolentkicoml=as2o=1a=0307337421″ width=”1″ height=”1″ border=”0″ alt=”" style=”border:none !important; margin:0px !important;” / says, a href=”http://www.momfidence.com/live/blog/blog/705″”Momblocked” Moms, Be Glad That Dad Has Dad-fidence./a

A Few Housekeeping Rules

Hi everyone–just a post on a few housekeeping rules for this blog. As many of you know, I do not like to delete or block commenters here but do so on occassion and will do so more readily if comments disinegrate into insults. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) there are just a few commenters who try to ruin threads for everyone. The majority of you are thoughtful, kind, provocative and downright humorous. This blog is meant to be a place where people can feel free to share their opinions and thoughts that may not be politically correct and of course, for disagreement but–please–do so in a civil fashion. br /br /In addition, many of you email me with links and articles that I very much appreciate. If I post on the topic, I will typically give a hat tip to “a reader” or use the reader’s first name only or sometimes the commenter’s name if I pick up a commenter’s link or comment in a thread. I usually do not use full names unless someone has a blog already and I link to it, uses their full name online anyway or tells me to use their name. Some of you have written me and told me never to use your name first or otherwise, others have wondered why I did not post their full name and still others don’t send any name at all. Please specify in your email what you wish but by defalt, you will be called a “reader.” br /br /And now, a warning–believe it or not, I am not following every thread in this blog 24/7–so these threads are not always monitored nor do I wish to spend all of my time this way. As I assume commenters here are adults who can handle themselves without intervention, I try not to interfere too much. That includes responding to requests in the posts for some kind of “debate.” I have no problem answering questions if I feel they are asked in good faith and I have something to add. However, those commenters who come on in a snarky fashion and think that I am somehow required to respond to every fascinating insult they care to throw out need to get their own platform. br /br /Finally, I have had many complaints about the confusion that anonymous commenters are causing on threads, particularly those with more comments. I can typically tell people apart but it gets hard after awhile and obviously, the anonymous option gives many of those with less then decent intentions a way to insult and annoy others. There are upsides to the anonymous option, however, which includes those of you who work in certain jobs and settings who want to share your views but do not want to be identified in any way. This is perfectly understandable. So I leave it to the readers here to leave a comment and let me know what you think of the anonymous option. Remember that blogger would require all to register should that option be restricted–and this may cause some very fine people not to post. Thanks in advance for any input or suggestions you might have.

The Dissident President: Is the Bush Freedom Agenda Dead?

"If standing for liberty in the world makes me a dissident, I wear that title with pride." -- George W. Bush, Prague, 2007 In his second inaugural speech on January 20, 2005, President George W. Bush laid out a revolutionary agenda based on the belief that the survival of liberty in America now depends on the success of liberty in other nations. By Jim Hoft

“Renegade Ayatollah” Faces Death in Iran

In case you hadn't yet figured out that opposing religious government and advocating the separation of church and state in Iran is a dangerous business, here's proof. By Ardeshir Arian, PJM special correspondent

Finding Comedy in the Collapse of Europe

To gauge the extent of the demise of Europe, look no further than the story of the male gorilla that escaped at a Rotterdam zoo last month. After managing to get over a moat, the 400-pound primate brutally attacked a woman who had been visiting the zoo regularly to see the animal. Because female gorillas establish prolonged eye contact when they want to mate, biologists concluded that the woman was responsible for the attack. Taking moral relativism to its illogical conclusion, the Antwerp Zoo in Belgium now has signs warning visitors not to stare at the apes. by Aaron Hanscom

Our Degenerating Media [Part 2]

[Illustration by Oleg Atbashian] "Depravity in the media is not the result of capitalism, and corporate greed is not the disease - but it may be the cure." by Oleg Atbashian Part 2 of 3. Read Part 1 and Part 3.

Sanity Squad: Homo Sapiens Lied. Streptococci Died.

Science is objective---or is it? Not when the popular press, the schools, and scientists with an agenda get through with it. Join this week's podcast as the Sanity Squad explores the wonders of scientific research and its discontents; including the unforeseen consequences of Rachel Carson's vendetta against DDT, the vagaries of estimating AIDS cases in Africa, the vaccination vigilantes, and other victims and victimizers.

Bill Frist on Global Poverty and Health, Fred Thompson

The G8 is over, Bono has spoken and lots of people are talking about ways to help Africa. Our podcast guest today is Senator Bill Frist who talks about his new project–a href=”http://www.one.org/”One Vote 08./a The campaign is a non-partisian effort to fight AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria and reduce poverty. He also discusses why he supports Fred Thompson for President.br /br /You can listen online (no downloading needed) by a href=”http://politicscentral.com/2007/06/11/the_glenn_and_helen_show_bill_1.php”going here/a and clicking on the gray Flash player. You can download the file directly and listen to it at your leisure by a href=”http://richmedia.pajamasmedia.com/audio/politicscentral/glenn_helen_show/20070611-Frist.mp3″clicking right here./a And you can get a lo-fi version, suitable for dialup, by going a href=”http://politicscentral.com/2007/06/11/the_glenn_and_helen_show_bill_1.php”here/a and selecting “lo-fi.” As always, a a href=”http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=116559643s=143441″free subscription/a is available via iTunes. You can listen to our past archives at GlennandHelenShow.com. br /br /This podcast is sponsored by Volvo ata href=”http://www.volvocars.us/” Volvocars.US./a