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To all my friends and readers in the United States of America and those Americans abroad (especially those serving our country and keeping it free):
Since many of you will be taking the day off on Monday and won’t be online after today until July 5th, in advance I wish a Happy Fourth of July to you!
What a great country we have, and thank G-d, it is still independent and free. For now.
Happy 230th America–the Greatest Nation on Earth!

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Reader Rick writes:

The patriots at American Flags are giving away a million free American flags in honor of our armed forces. They are high quality flags and all you have to pay for is shipping and handling.

The free flags were $19.99, but are now free. The cost for shipping and handling is $5.99. They measure 3 feet by 5 feet and are made of weather-resistant polyester with metal grommets on the flag’s edge for easy indoor or outdoor display.

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Flashback:
We thought it was a PR and diplomatic stroke of genius you never see from the Bush White House. On the other hand, reader KOAJaps (“King of All Japs”) wrote:

What a waste of time! We got a f—ing war going on and the two idiots go to Graceland? Morons.

He’s got a point. But it can’t be all war, all the time. And even America’s version of one of Saddam’s gaudy palaces has its purpose. We’re glad the Japanese Prime Minister was rewarded for sending his troops to back up our own in Iraq.

“Wise Men Say” or “Fools Rush in”?:
Bush, Japan’s Koizumi do Elvis, Graceland
Michelle Malkin has photos of lefty protesters at today’s visit to the King’s not-so-humble abode. Can’t they take a break from their vitriol on 4th of July weekend? Apparently not.

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I am scheduled to be on the “John & Ken Show” on KFI-AM 640, Los Angeles, guest hosted by Michelle Malkin at 4:00 p.m. Pacific/7:00 p.m. Eastern. Listen live. Thanks to Michelle for inviting me.

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* “The Devil Wears Prada“–Chick lit becomes chick flick. We’re generally not fans of chick flicks, but found this one surprisingly bearable and somewhat entertaining, despite the unbearable, tortuous behavior of two of the characters in the film–the fashion magazine editor (Meryl Streep) and her first assistant.
Guys, if you must take your female significant other to a chick flick, this is the one. It shows how catty, predatory, and vengeful female co-workers and bosses can be. This is the new equality? Yup. Streep claims she modeled her character on men. But don’t believe it. Even the worst male boss can’t be this bad, this vicious and obtuse. Men don’t feel the need to overcompensate for their gender by employing such ill behavior.
This movie is the story of Andrea/Andie (Ann Hathaway) and her job at “Runway Magazine,” working for uber-selfish and demanding boss Miranda Priestly, the mag’s editor (Streep). She’s the boss from hell. The movie’s taken from the book of the same name written by a woman who worked for Vogue editor Anna Wintour.
The non-materialistic Andie is shunned by the materialistic Miranda and other catty chicks at Runway. But she becomes fashion conscious like them and “transforms” herself, only to discover she has no life and is a slave to fashion and an excessively demanding boss.
Light and fun, if hokey.

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Lost amidst yesterday’s absurd ruling in the case, was another Supreme Court ruling on two very important companion cases we’ve written about, , both concerning alien criminals in the U.S.
Fortunately, not all the liberal justices are consistently intent on ruining America. On Wednesday, the Court ruled 6-3 that foreign suspects–mostly illegal aliens–whose government (or diplomatic embassy) was not notified of their arrests cannot keep statements made to police from being considered during trial.
The majority–in an opinion written by Chief Justice John Roberts–ruled against the plaintiffs, illegal alien criminals from Honduras and Mexico, who claimed their rights under the 1969 Vienna Convention treaty were violated when police didn’t tell them they could contact their consulates. The Mexican national was convicted of attempted murder in Oregeon and the Honduran was convicted of murder in Virginia.
At issue was whether foreign prisoners in the U.S. have a right to reopen their cases if they AND their consulates were not read their rights at the time of arrest. The World Court said Mexican illegal immigrants in our prison system have legal rights to contact their consulates, under the Vienna Convention, and that, if not informed of and afforded that right, they can re-open, and in many cases, even have the charges against them thrown out.
Had the court ruled the other way, THOUSANDS of illegal alien criminals–many of them hardened, violent criminals–would have the right to bail hearings and new trials. Many of them would be set free into the great American abyss until they committed their next crime.
But their ruling on the cases reveals inconsistencies regarding U.S. obligations under foreign treaties. In yesterday’s ruling, the court said the U.S. must abide by the strictest interpretations of the Geneva Convention, which is not kept by most other countries and is largely null and void. Yet, in these cases, the Court ruled otherwise–that an international treaty, the Vienna Convention, was not binding.
The Supremes are wrong on military tribunals for terrorists, but Thank G-d, they got it right on this one.
Still, they must reconcile the inconsistency regarding the treaties and why some are binding while others aren’t.

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I will be on the “O’Reilly Radio Factor” at 12:36 p.m. Eastern (less than a half hour from now). For those who listen to the show on tape delay, later today, I will be on at 36 minutes past the first hour.

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This morning I’ll be appearing on:
* 7:05 a.m. Eastern: “The Pat Campbell Show”, Orlando’s BEST Morning Radio Show (and one of the best radio talk show hosts in America), on WFLA-AM 540. Listen live. (Check out Pat’s excellent blog. I do, regularly.)
* 8:30 a.m. Eastern: “The Michael Smerconish Show,” on WPHT-AM 1210, Philadelphia.

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Has BayWashed-Up actor/bad singer David Hasselhoff no shame?
Apparently not. We reported on his when contestant Taylor Hicks won. Then, we reported on how he .
And now, he’s doing it again. In an interview with our friend, USA Today Reporter Ann Oldenburg, Hasselhoff repeated his from the formerly Star(Jones)-ful “The View”:

Q: Does Taylor Hicks’ music always make you cry?
A: “That was a bizarre evening at American Idol. It’s funny. I find the whole thing kind of bizarre that so many people picked up on that publicly and said, ‘Oh, what a sensitive guy.’ Heterosexual man cries! Film at 11! Maybe if we had more emotion in the White House, we wouldn’t be in the mess we’re in.

In case you forgot, below are links to two HILAAAAAAAAAAAAARIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIUS videos of David Hasselhoff crying in front of the nation. . . over a cheesy karaoke singing competition. Does anyone really want to see our President in such a condition? The Muslims will really respect us, then. Right?
* Jay Leno Presents “The Tears of Hasselhoff”
* “Hasselhoff Cries America a River”

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It was billed as yet another Oprah bounty hunter show, announcing the capture of more wanted men on the modestly self-named Oprah’s Child Predator Watch List, for which she gives out $100,000. But that was a small fraction of what yesterday’s “HOprah” show was really about:
Leonardo DiCaprio (or, as we more aptly call him, “DiCrapio”) as HOprah’s new environmental expert/analyst/correspondent (with cameos by lefty Hollywoodite Laurie David). DiCrapio played at all three, yesterday, with Dicrapio and Oprah lecturing the audience about global warming, along with some annoying academic who made a Gore-esque style film on the matter (DiCrapio is the narrator).
But HOprah’s and DiCrapio’s “Global Warming 101” would have been more aptly titled “Hypocrisy Warmed Over 101.”

The best parts of the show were the multiple complaints by HOprah and DiCrapio about the amounts of gas and energy Americans. “We use 25% of the world’s oil supply,” the wimpy actor whined. Predictably, they attacked SUVs and lectured us to drive Hybrids and stop using so much guess.
So we have a few questions for HRHypocrite HOprah and DiCrapio:
* Oprah, will you sell your private jet and quit wasting so much gas to take your fat rear for jaunts all over the country?
* Oprah, will you tear down your obscenely gargantuan, Aaron Spelling-sized mansion in Montecito, California, so you will stop wasting so much energy heating and cooling it?
* Leonardo, will you give up that gas-guzzling Lincoln Navigator SUV that you drive most of the time and which wasn’t mentioned on HOprah?
* Leonardo, will you, too, move out of your oversized manse in Hollywood, so that we little people can stop laughing at your lectures about energy use?
Didn’t think so. ‘Nuff said. We little people must DO AS OPRAH AND LEONARDO DICAPRIO SAY, NOT AS THEY DO.

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street creds to Judi McLeod, Editor and founder of Canada Free Press, for a great piece on the phony media and tattle tales so eager to take Rush Limbaugh down.
An excerpt:

For the tell-it-all enemy, Rush is big game.
It’s not as if a Hillary Clinton or a Nancy Pelosi could sneak his diary off a bedside table, where Rush only keeps copies of the Bible and books like Help! Mom! There’s a Liberal Under My Bed! And Rush doesn’t wear a toupee.
They wouldn’t dare to make fun of his hearing problems. That would be too politically incorrect. . . .
[T]here’s not much gossip in the romantic department about Rush Limbaugh, no blue dress stuff.
Skeletons in Rushes’ closet don’t get to hang in the back with the musty clothes; they’re dragged out to dance happy jigs on the blogosphere.
If airport authorities had clocked any other Romeo with Viagra in their luggage, there would be no news to leak.
But Rush Limbaugh is “that capitalist pig Rush Limbaugh”.
So the guy who coined the term “FemiNazis” would be open game for politically correct malcontents.
Lefties and their running dogs would go to most any length to embarrass Limbaugh. How many of their heroes smile at you from behind their latest dose of Botox?
How many are kept forever young courtesy of expensive plastic surgery?
How many stars in the Liberal media steal svelte from girdles that would smother a hippo, hide growing hair plants under their toupees?

Read the rest.