How hated are the neocons?—When even sports writers are on your case, you know the peasants with pitchforks can’t be far behind. From a piece headlined “Are the Mariners the Neocons of Baseball?”:

“Should we be worried the Mariners are baseball’s equivalent of the Bush Administration? Fiscally undisciplined with negligible positive returns? Check. Marketed as veteran leadership despite any veterans with leadership experience? Check. Sloppy management reinforced with sloppy execution on the ground? Check.”

Speaking of neocons—their presidential candidate is having a big fundraiser tonight (Wednesday), which is expected to drop some $7 mil into McCain’s war chest. The GOP has been way behind the Democrats this year in the fundraising department, with Ron Paul being the notable exception (he’s still got $4 mil in the bank, a tribute to his supporters’ dedication), and they’ve been desperate to raise some bucks. Yet you’d think they would take some note of legal restrictions, such as the rule forbidding contributions from non-citizens. Well, you’d be wrong:

“A US campaign watchdog has accused presumptive Republican president nominee John McCain of violating election laws by accepting campaign contributions from two prominent Londoners. At issue is a fundraising luncheon held in March at London’s Spencer House, during McCain’s swing through the United Kingdom. An invitation to the event lists Lord Rothschild and Nathaniel Rothschild as hosts, and indicates the event was made possible with their ‘kind permission.’

“Judicial Watch, a Washington organisation instrumental in the March release of Hillary Clinton’s White House schedules, has asked US election monitors to investigate whether the Rothschilds improperly sponsored the fundraiser. US political campaigns are forbidden from accepting contributions from foreign nationals. ‘The question is whether or not the Rothschilds paid for the event, the venue, the catering, or any other related costs,’ said Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton. Tickets to the event cost $1,000 to $2,300, and the luncheon dress code was ‘lounge suits, the Washington Post reported in March.”

What the heck is a “lounge suit”? Must be something neocons lounge around in while others are fighting their wars. At any rate, this was at the tail-end of a trip taken on behalf of the Senate Armed Services Committee and was supposed to be “non-political.” Yeah, sure: Mad John gave a little pep talk about how great it is that Brits are dying in Iraq as well as Americans, and will be doing so for 100 years. Then he started cashing the checks … This, from the great champion of campaign finance “reform”!

John Derbyshire fandom is a specialized but ever-expanding constituency, and here’s why:

”Suppose you lived in a nation with no ethnic conflicts, strong attachment to a traditional culture, no land borders, the barest minimum of “entangling alliances” with foreign nations, no self-perceived role as guarantor of international stability, and no permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council. What would front page news look like in such a country?

“This headline in Mainichi Daily News gives a clue: Passengers inconvenienced when doors of Tokyo subway train don’t open.”

NEWSFLASH—Newt Gingrich may be right about something! ABC News reports:

“In a Tuesday appearance on Good Morning America, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., suggested that controversial pastor Rev. Jeremiah Wright is angry with parishioner Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., and may be deliberately trying to hurt his presidential bid.”

Ya think?

Your tax dollars at work—General William Fraser, the envoy dispatched by President Bush to the Middle East to monitor the implementation of the “road map” peace plan, was greeted by our Israeli allies:

“Sources in Hebron said that General William Fraser was about to enter the city of Hebron when a group of Israeli radical settlers rammed their car into the envoy of vehicles hitting the security escort car. The sources added that a small clash took place between the bodyguards of General Fraser and the radical settlers, then the American official turned back to Jerusalem.”

Now that’s what I call a “special relationship”! Gee, how come we didn’t hear about this on the evening news?

By the way, your tax dollars pay for those Israeli “settlements.”