Without a doubt the most ridiculous thing that happened this week was the face off on Hardball with Chris Matthews (MSNBC, yuk) between Ann Coulter and Elizabeth Edwards. I was lucky enough (or was I unlucky because I was watching MSNBC?) to have caught it live. While some of things Ann Coulter says are truly ridiculous, I happen to agree with her two most recent statements [about John Edwards]. Here they are:

“I was going to have a few comments on the other Democratic presidential candidate, John Edwards, but it turns out that you have to go into rehab if you use the word ‘faggot,’ so I’m – so, kind of at an impasse, can’t really talk about Edwards, so I think I’ll just conclude here and take your questions.”

“If I’m gonna say anything about John Edwards in the future, I’ll just wish he had been killed in a terrorist assassination plot,”

It is obvious to most reasonably intelligent people that both those remarks are only mentioning Edwards and actually talking about something else. Her first remark is an allusion to Grey’s Anatomy star’s use of the word ‘faggot’ and subsequent “professional counseling” and her second remark is an allusion to the comments Bill Maher made about Dick Cheney. Both incidents were hilariously funny and smart but of course Elizabeth Edwards didn’t think so.

She phoned into Hardball and asked Ann to stop making the comments about her husband and others to which Ann simply laughed. I did too; like the Edwards’ really care about the remarks… they are raising so much money off them. Don’t believe me? Check out the website where Ann Coulter is still being featured, right below Edwards’ 9 million dollar goal donation box. This is ridiculous; I wish people were sincere enough to actually believe what they are saying.

Want a bonus? You can tell who watches MSNBC by looking at their who is right poll (Elizabeth or Ann):

MSNBC, the most ridiculous news entity ever (far surpassing CNN; CNN looks moderate in comparison).

U.K. Crash Seen Linked to London Bombs
By IAN STEWART
The Associated Press
Saturday, June 30, 2007; 5:10 PM

GLASGOW, Scotland — A Jeep Cherokee trailing a cascade of flames rammed into Glasgow airport on Saturday, shattering glass doors just yards from passengers lined up at the check-in counters. Police said they believed the attack was linked to two car bombs found in London the day before.

Britain raised its terror alert to “critical” the highest possible level and the Bush administration announced plans to increase security at airports and on mass transit.

One of the men in the car was in critical condition at a hospital with severe burns, while the other was in police custody, said Scottish Police Chief Constable Willie Rae. He said a “suspect device” was found on the suspect at the hospital and it was taken to a safe location where it was being investigated.

Rae would not comment further on the device or say whether it could have been a planned suicide attack.

“I can confirm that we believe the incident at Glasgow airport is linked to the events in London yesterday,” Rae said. “There are clearly similarities and we can confirm that this is being treated as a terrorist incident.”

Complete Article
Source: Washington Post
More At: New York Times, Fox News, Reuters

Common Sense Analysis: These attacks appear to be coordinated, however they are pretty pitiful in execution. I would guess that the terrorist group that the perpetrators belong to had little, if any control over the attempted (and one partially successful) attacks. Comments from British Security note that the bombs in the two Mercedes were not made by professionals, and comments from Counter-Terrorist professionals note the lack in planning efforts. Clearly this isn’t the work of well trained trained terrorists.

We can only hope and pray that no attacks are in store for America, especially with our 231st Fourth of July approaching.  For a terrorist there may be a certain feeling attached to that date (like how 9/11 uses the same numbers as the emergency number 911).

British Police Defuse Car Bomb in London
By Mary Jordan and Debbi Wilgoren
Washington Post Foreign Service
Friday, June 29, 2007; 9:18 AM

LONDON, June 29 — A Mercedes packed with canisters of gas and nails and apparently rigged to explode was discovered in London’s bustling nightclub and theater district early Friday morning, British police said, and could have caused “significant injury or loss of life” if it had been detonated.

Police defused the bomb and launched a massive investigation into what security officials said was presumed to be an attempted terror attack. The probe will include reviewing huge amounts of footage from the closed-circuit cameras that ring the Haymarket area, close to Piccadilly Circus and Trafalgar Square.

Peter Clarke, the head of London’s anti-terrorist police, said authorities did not have intelligence ahead of time of an attack specifically targeting the area, which would have been crowded with theater-goers, nightclub patrons and tourists. But he said police have disrupted other attacks aimed at nightclubs and involving vehicles filled with flammable liquids.

“It’s too early to speculate” who may have been responsible for the bomb, Clarke said in a news conference. “I’m keeping an entirely open mind about that.”

Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who took office this week, said the incident underscored the need for constant vigilance by both the public and the police. “The first duty of a government is the security of its people,” Brown said. “We face a serious and considerable security threat throughout the country.”

Complete Article
Source: Washington Post
More at: BBC News, USA Today, New York Times

Common Sense Analysis: I think if this shows us anything, it shows that the threat of terrorism is still real to the Western World. I hope we take a lesson from this before they get back over to us.

“Six-Year-Old Afghan Boy Foils Taliban Plot to Use Him in Suicide Attack on Americans
Associated Press

FORWARD OPERATING BASE THUNDER, Afghanistan — The story of a 6-year-old Afghan boy who says he thwarted an effort by Taliban militants to trick him into being a suicide bomber provoked tears and anger at a meeting of tribal leaders.

The account from Juma Gul, a dirt-caked child who collects scrap metal for money, left American soldiers dumbfounded that a youngster could be sent on such a mission. Afghan troops crowded around the boy to call him a hero.

Though the Taliban dismissed the story as propaganda, at a time when U.S. and NATO forces are under increasing criticism over civilian casualties, both Afghan tribal elders and U.S. military officers said they were convinced by his dramatic account.

Juma said that sometime last month Taliban fighters forced him to wear a vest they said would spray out flowers when he touched a button. He said they told him that when he saw American soldiers, “throw your body at them.”

The militants cornered Juma in a Taliban-controlled district in southern Afghanistan’s Ghazni province. Their target was an impoverished youngster being raised by an older sister — but also one who proved too street-smart for their plan.”

Complete Article
Source: Fox News

Common Sense Analysis: My favorite part of this article is when the Taliban spokesman claims the Taliban would never use children because it is against International Law. I actually laughed out loud; it would be illegal to use suicide bombers to kill civilians whether they were children or adults.

Finally we see some resistance to these evil terrorists. I hope the people of the middle east realize the terrible toll that terrorism has on their life and stand up against it.