Compassionate Conservatives

“But the last-minute nature of the call for donations left some in the campaign concerned that they would end up with an empty truck. So the night before the event, campaign aides went to a local Wal-Mart and spent $5,000 on granola bars, canned food, and diapers to put on display while they waited for donations to come in, according to one staffer.” [BuzzFeed]

Police in Portland, Texas, a suburb of Corpus Christi, continue to insist that the execution-style murder and attempted murder of a lesbian couple in a neighborhood park in late June is not a hate crime motivated by the women’s sexual orientation, but do admit that “it was not a random attack.”

What we do know:  After they encountered a man with a gun on June 22, a college freshman named Mollie Olgin was murdered, and her girlfriend Mary Kristene Chapa was shot in the head and left for dead.  Chapa had so many injuries to her face that her brother and sister could not identify her at the hospital without looking at her hands.  She is still in the hospital, unable to speak and possibly paralyzed on one side.  Her brother told NBC that she was writing “Mollie?” on paper but the family hadn’t yet told her that Olgin was dead.  Chapa’s family is struggling:  her father – an Iraq War veteran – is out of work, so the family has no health insurance. Donations for her medical care can be made here, or sent to Prosperity Bank, 1127 East Sinton, Sinton, TX 78387.

In the three weeks since the shooting, vigils have been organized by LGBT and youth groups across the country to remember Olgin and Chapa.  Read more »

People in Russia are upset because they’ve at last figured out they live in a dictatorship. Putin is going  to make Mugabe look like Mother Theresa:

(NEWSER) – Despite new anti-demonstration fines and police interrogating opposition leaders, tens of thousands of Russians jammed Moscow’s streets today, protesting against President Vladimir Putin, reports the AP. Police estimated 20,000 protesters showed up, while organizers put the number upward of 100,000. ….

Police yesterday raided opposition leaders’ homes, confiscating cellphones and computers, and demanding that they come in for questioning an hour before today’s rally was to begin. One leftist leader ignored the summons, saying he felt it his duty to join protesters. “I never thought that we would slide back to such repressions,” tweeted a TV host.

Russia has showed us again and again that it doesn’t give a shit what anyone else thinks. Expect lots of disappearances.

Tens of Thousands Clog Moscow to Protest Putin [Newser]

Vegan 145-pound comedian Jamie Kilstein offers to fight violence-inciting member of the Lucky Sperm Club and fiction-writer Jonah Goldberg. Sign the petition and tweet the Doughy Pantload @JonahNRO. Jamie is @jamiekilstein. Jonah sure didn’t bother to fight in Iraq; maybe he’ll fight this time around.

Santorum is my favorite (NSFW):

Pareene has the best takedown of Jonah Goldberg I’ve seen thus far:

Goldberg’s also a master at avoiding serious challenges to his half-formed opinions. In 2009, TBogg documented more than 40 instances of Goldberg evading arguments or declining to elaborate on points he’d made by invoking some rapidly approaching deadline. (Sample: “This has been discussed endlessly in the Corner and elsewhere. I’m on a deadline so I’m not going to wade too deeply into it.”) Other popular excuses in the Goldberg list of reasons he’s unable to respond to criticism have included working on his books, taking his children to and/or from school and/or the doctor, and being late for something.

His mother must be so proud.