Friday, February 28, 2003

Mac Diva sends this very interesting report on Michael Weiner and his unsavory supporters:

A Savage Response

At least one supporter of hate radio talk show host Michael Savage is getting the message that many people disagree with him.

Richard Poe, a far Right columnist, wrote an article defending Savage last year when a boycott of "Savage Nation" was kicked off by a coalition of governmental, religious and labor groups in Portland, Oregon. An intriguing aspect of Poe's viewpoint is that he blames criticism of Savage on more than mere liberalism.

Jew-Baiting Leftists Denounce "Hate Radio"

By Richard Poe

June 7, 2002

AN UNHOLY ALLIANCE of leftists, Democrats and Muslims has joined forces to muzzle talk radio. Its weapons are advertiser boycotts, smear campaigns, calls for repressive legislation and Jew-baiting.

Talk radio has always antagonized leftists. It allows grassroots Americans to speak out -- and grassroots America despises the Left.

. . . Unable to compete in the marketplace, the Left responded with political attacks. After the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, the Clintons blamed "hate radio" for the slaughter, and darkly implied that censorship might be needed.

Now a new coalition of Democrats, Muslims and leftwing activists has taken up the Clinton cause. They have targeted San Francisco talk show host Mike Savage, whose program airs on 350 stations nationally.

In April, a Portland, Oregon group calling itself the "Coalition Against Hate Radio" announced a boycott of Savage's advertisers and called on KXL radio to drop his show.

Unconvinced, some writers to Poe have suggested they have rights, too. Among them -- the right to apply economic pressure to media which carry Savage's broadcasts:

His right to hate, our right to boycott. . . .

After learning of your sponsorship of the Michael Savage (aka Michael Weiner) Radio Show, I and others in my organization will be urging all of the members of the Beverly Hills Coin Club to boycott Bowers & Merena. Michael Savage has a history of promoting hatred towards minorities, gay and lesbian people and demeaning women, stating that they are "too emotional too vote." In his ignorance, he erroneously asserts that "white homosexuals are part of the reason that California has been taken over by minorities who are reproducing like rabbits". . . We could go on and on about the many hateful untruths he speaks of on a weekly basis, but we will not support anyone who supports his show. Hateful language leads to hateful acts, one needs only to check history to be reminded of that. Your banner is found at: [link omitted by R.A.]

Regards, David Carter, President www.bhcoinclub.org

[originally posted January 2, 2003]


Poe mingles the false claim that opposition to free speech motivates people who don't like Savage with complaints of anti-Semiticism:

Some of Savage's critics have resorted to crude Jew-baiting.

One site, posted by the so-called Coalition for Human Decency, makes a point of calling Savage "Michael Weiner" and taunts him for hiding his alleged Jewish background.

Others question Poe's assertion that it is Savage's critics who are anti-Semitic:

Michael Weiner Panders to Antisemitic Sentiments

Like many, I find Michael Savage most entertaining. However, I am not amused by a curious pattern which I have noticed. Many of the people he vilifies (for good reason) are Jews. This observation would be innocent were it not for the fact that Savage points out this fact in a variety of subtle and not-so-subtle ways:

1. Senator Boxer - "the shrew from Brooklyn" (he would not dare say the "Jew from Brooklyn" but the similarity is clear) and he notes that she is fond of eating bagels;

2. Senator Feinstein- a "yenta";

3. Senator Schumer- pronounced with an ethnic Jewish accent as in "Schoomah";

4. Senator Lieberman- Savage impersonates him whining to his wife "Hadassah, Hadassah, Hadassah...." in an ethnic accent. Savage remarks that Mrs. Lieberman does the "synagogue circuit" in an effort to raise money.

5. Larry King - whom he refers to as "Larry Selzer," despite the fact that Savage does not use his birth name "Weiner" in order to likewise conceal his Jewishness. . . .

The person who wrote that letter was was banned from Poe's site.

Richard Poe's defense of Savage has shifted somewhat in recent months. He now focuses on a claim that people who oppose the shrill talkmeister do so because Savage is in favor of voting reform, specifically issuance of national identification cards. In the original column, Poe said:

It's plain enough why Muslim and leftwing religious groups would oppose Savage. But why the Multnomah County Democratic Party?

An April 26 article in NewsMax.com offers one theory. In a NewsMax column of March 8, Savage exposed Democratic Senators Chuck Schumer of New York and Ron Wyden of Oregon as the principal opponents of a bill requiring photo IDs for voters. Such a bill would deprive Democrats of one of their favorite political tools - voter fraud.

More recently, he said:

The point of my article is that the anti-Savage coalition appears to be a front for powerful forces who want to silence Savage for speaking out against certain Democratic senators who are blocking vote reform.

Poe has not recanted his endorsement of Michael Savage, but his retreat to the feeble claim that opposition to Savage is part of a Leftist conspiracy to protect voting fraud suggests that he has been 'reached' by the voices of those who disagree.

Update (3/1): Links added; sorry about that. -- R.A.

Among Friends, Part Eight

The Moonie Times shows its respect once again for its esteemed gay contributor:

Indeed, Mr. Donahue featured Rosie O'Donnell as his very last guest, dwelling upon her feelings as a "mother" and a pacifist.

Our Secret Weapon In The War Against Terror

John Ellis, former stooge to the other Roger and election theft enabler, has been named a Senior Fellow at the Combating Terror Center at West Point. I know I feel much safer already.

Ellis's qualifications for the job are at the same time both blindingly obvious and completely obscure. Here's Ellis's own bio, from his blog:

By way of introduction, my name is John Ellis. I am the "Digital Matters" columnist for Fast Company Magazine and a former columnist for Inside.com/Inside Magazine, New York Press and The Boston Globe. I also work as a consultant and speak to various business and academic audiences. Prior to my bifuracted life as a columnist and consultant, I worked as a political analyst and producer for the NBC News Election Unit.

My politics, generally speaking, are conservative. I am also a great believer in emerging technologies. I think they will transform how we work and function. And I am optimistic that they will do so for the better.

This blog will largely be devoted to news analysis, commentary and opinion. The subjects will include business, technology, politics, golf, news media, advertising, P2P, books and general weirdness as it appears.

With qualifications like that -- and insider information like this -- how can you go wrong?

But international terror's loss is the blog-reading world's gain. Says Ellis:

What free time I have -- after the regular consulting work and column writing -- I plan to devote to the Center. So I'm discontinuing the blog for the time being and perhaps for good.

I guess John can only "bifuract" his life so many times.

Thursday, February 27, 2003

Post of the Week

Digby identifies Bill "Racist" O'Reilly's intellectual soulmates.

Private Benjamin Shapiro writes that "there's no better way to sell papers than juxtaposing sexual imagery and conservatives."

Yeah, right.

I hear the National Enquirer is willing to pay up to $30,000 for a photo of Ben holding a dildo.

A Short, Sharp Shock & Awe

Orange County blogger Kynn Bartlett, of Inland Anti-Empire fame, has a new blog, Shock & Awe. Actually, it's two blogs in one:

"Shock" details assaults on civil rights and freedom, while "Awe" celebrates those heroes who stand up against oppression.

The format takes a little getting used to, but the content is loaded with great links. Let's hope the "Awe" column can keep up with "Shock."

Of special note is the post on Benador Associates and its roster of "nationally and internationally recognized [experts] on issues of the Middle East and national security, among others." The list bears a strong resemblence to the foreign policy hack roster of the Moonie Times op-ed page, and could explain in part why Frank Gaffney, Jr. is big pimpin' Laurie Mylroie.

Rest In Peace

During the Persian Gulf War, Rogers told youngsters that "all children shall be well taken care of in this neighborhood and beyond � in times of war and in times of peace," and he asked parents to promise their children they would always be safe.

"We live in a world in which we need to share responsibility," he said in 1994. "It's easy to say 'It's not my child, not my community, not my world, not my problem.'

"Then there are those who see the need and respond. I consider those people my heroes."

Mick Takes A Hard Line ... In Favor of Bigots

Little Mick is crowing that the online version of the New York Times "caved" and took down its link to ephedra ads in less than 94 hours. Meanwhile, Mick continues to link to the racist bulletin board, Lucianne.com. While the Times "capitulates," Mick takes a hard line -- no one tells him not to associate with his bigot buddies!

When you select next week's favorite quote, Mick, be sure to consider these from your pal Luci's site:

Reply 8 - Posted by: GoPack, 2/26/2003 9:29:15 AM

Let's see here. Gays make up 3% of the population, but 33% of the population of convicted child molesters. Anybody see a pattern?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Reply 9 - Posted by: bansaw, 2/26/2003 9:39:13 AM

Its a case of supply and demand!
If the queers dont get their demand,their
supply of future abuse victims will end!

Posted By:retirednavy92, 2/26/2003 7:46:53 PM

Three black police officers who said they were assigned to desk jobs for growing beards have filed a lawsuit, claiming the dispute was symptomatic of pervasive racism in their station house. The men said they are among 10 black officers in the same division who filed complaints with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunities Commission, the federal agency that investigates discrimination claims.

Comments:

So now it's racism cause you don't want to follow the departmental rules. Lincoln was right, they aren't fit to mingle with us.

...

Reply 2 - Posted by: Glider Rider 325, 2/26/2003 8:00:47 PM

Although I'm inclined to do, it's becoming hard, hard, hard to respect Negro Police Officers. That racism rant is dulling a lot of sympathetic ears. The institutional racism in this country today is Negro racial preferences, masquerading as a valued ''Diversity''. How is biological ''Diversity'' more valuable than intellectual excellence? Fascists discriminate on the basis of biology, and the Socialist who do so discriminate are Social Fascists, just as Stalin unmasked them.

....


Reply 4 - Posted by: lydwho, 2/26/2003 8:19:22 PM

Beards are allowed for persons pickin cotton!!!!
Jack Shafer, in Slate, makes the argument that Donahue "failed" because the cable "news" audience skews conservative. But he doesn't compare Donahue's numbers to those for Chris Matthews, who has even lower numbers. If there was a conservative viewership for cable news, why wouldn't Tweezer's numbers be higher than Donahue's.

Wednesday, February 26, 2003

Atrios highlights GLAAD's letter-writing campaign in protest of Michael Savage.

When you're contacting the MSNBC honchos, you might also want to consider a quick e-mail to Bill Gates (info@gatesfoundation.org) and Microsoft. Microsoft takes pride in "pioneering workplace diversity as it relates to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community." Microsoft is also a 50 percent owner of MSNBC. Gates and Microsoft should let everyone know where they really stand.

Haloscan is up and running again. Quick! Post something before it crashes again!

Meat Your Literate Media

This is CNN:

NUGENT: There is an insulation factor. This morning, not only did I go wild bore hunting with a buddy, but I also shoveled the kennels and the stalls and carried hay bails and I split wood.

Wow. CNN's transcriptionists are even bigger embarassment than Connie Chung and Aaron Brown.

(via the Horse.)

Shorter Michael Kelly. Heh. Is that possible?

Meet Your Liberal Media

Barney Gumble links to this significant report on your liberal media. The report points out that the just-cancelled Donahue was the highest-rated program on the basic-channel crapfest known as MSNBC. The white-haired old lefty consistently beat the highly-promoted Tweezer Kneepads Show.

"Although Donahue didn't know it at the time, his fate was sealed a number of weeks ago after NBC News executives received the results of a study commissioned to provide guidance on the future of the news channel."

"That report--shared with me by an NBC news insider--gives an excruciatingly painful assessment of the channel and its programming. Some of recommendations, such as dropping the 'America's News Channel,' have already been implemented. But the harshest criticism was leveled at Donahue, whom the authors of the study described as 'a tired, left-wing liberal out of touch with the current marketplace.'"

"The study went on to claim that Donahue presented a 'difficult public face for NBC in a time of war......He seems to delight in presenting guests who are anti-war, anti-Bush and skeptical of the administration's motives.' The report went on to outline a possible nightmare scenario where the show becomes 'a home for the liberal antiwar agenda at the same time that our competitors are waving the flag at every opportunity.'" (Italics added.)

And who are the new stars of MSNBC? Jesse Ventura, Michael Weiner, the ultra-telegenic and articulate Dick Armey, and family man Joe Scarborough. The good news? I'm guessing we'll all be dancing on MSNBC's grave sometime in the next 18 months.

She Said My Name!

Proving herself not only politically astute but also more media savvy than Howie "Rug Burns" Kurtz, Janeane Garofalo takes down Fox News Channel's third-rate sportscaster:

It was a little early in the morning for a brawl, but that didn't stop helmet-haired "Fox & Friends" host Brian Kilmeade and bantamweight comedian Janeane Garofalo from nearly coming to blows on the Fox News Channel show over the impending war with Iraq. "Saddam Hussein must love you," Kilmeade told the antiwar activist, who shouted: "Don't even try and do that inflammatory . . . I'm not a Saddam apologist!" Minutes later Kilmeade fired back: "You accused this network of being a mouthpiece for the White House." Garofalo retorted: "Because it is! Because it is! . . . Everyone knows that Roger Ailes is in touch with the White House." We give it to Garofalo on points.

Remember, Janeane, I'm the good one.

Tuesday, February 25, 2003

Boycotting French Wine and English Composition

Every gimmick-hungry yob from Tammy Bruce to Denny Hastert has jumped on the "Boycott France" bandwagon. It must be hard to stand out in such a sea of mediocrity. But prominent Hollywood publicist Michael Levine has found a way.

In a thrilling press release issued this Monday, Levine answers his grateful nation's call ... and then puts the nation on hold to take an important call from an assistant producer over at Lifetime.

HOLLYWOOD PUBLICIST TO LEAD NATIONAL FRENCH WINE BOYCOTT

In response to a strong sense of disgust with France�s lack of support of America, prominent Hollywood publicist Michael Levine has agreed to lead a nationwide boycott of French wine in an effort to send a strong signal to both the French government and people.

The boycott will be focused on French wine and will begin immediately.

�I am asking Americans not to buy, drink, or give French wine at all until they recover from their political amnesia. Nearly 200,000 American GI�s died to liberate France from World War II alone,� said Levine. �I have no opinion on Americans purchasing French cheese or bread, but no French wine. None!�

And this is from a public relations firm. Has there ever been a press release that made its subject look so egocentric ("they asked me!"), so inarticulate ("liberate France from World War II") and so just plain stupid ("I'm responding to a strong sense of disgust") in so few words? Would you trust your career to a publicist who promotes himself via a press release that wouldn't get a passing grade in a remedial high school english class?

The Company You Keep

The moralizing midget, Mickey Kaus, has criticized the New York Times website for running "Sponsored Links" to sites promoting ephedra and Masters Tournament vacation packages while simultaneously publishing anti-ephedra and anti-Masters editorials and articles. Mick concludes, in regard to the Masters link, "It's hypocrisy, I tell you!"

The criticism of the Times Online link is legitimate argument, although there's something to be said (and it was, by Jesse Unruh) for taking a company's money and spending it to campaign against the company.

But let's hold Mick to the same standard. Kaus links -- for free, apparently -- to the racist and anti-gay hate website Lucianne.com.

Here are some recent comments from Lucianne's prized posters:

Reply 5 - Posted by: doubting thomas, 2/25/2003 8:03:46 PM

Powerful stuff, it turns male fairies into lezzies, their mustaches fall off and the hooters grow.

Reply 3 - Posted by: JHHolliday, 2/25/2003 7:57:07 PM

The Brits are losing control of their country. Thousands of immigrant WOGS have overrun the cities and political correctness has run amok. Combine that with socialism and the dole and we get to see what our country will look like in 50 years.

Reply 5 - Posted by: Gatsby, 2/24/2003 8:23:34 PM

Gee, being gay means being a filthy, disgusting pervert and he should be offended to be called such a thing? I see him as an intensely private man who wishes his public life be limited to the things he does in public. I respect him either way.

Reply 2 - Posted by: JHHolliday, 2/25/2003 8:01:08 PM

[On missing radioactive material in Nigeria] Not to worry. They stole it because some witch doctor told them it would cure AIDS if they spread it on their privates.

Reply 16 - Posted by: A. Mariner, 2/24/2003 8:56:20 PM

Hmmmmm [Para.] Sexually deviant, perverted homosexuals are anything but gay. Gag, maybe, but not gay. [Para.] old sailor . . . .

Does linking to Lucianne.com make Kaus a hypocrite? That depends on whether he endorses these sentiments or disavows them.

Haloscan has disappeared the last two or three days worth of comments. The Haloscan site, which was not available earlier today, says that the company is working on the server. I can't tell whether the most recent comments have been deleted permanently, or whether they will be restored eventually.

Monday, February 24, 2003

The Moonie Times' glossy rag, Insight magazine, is reporting that Professor Sami Amin al-Arian was a guest at the Bush White House and a pal of Grover Norquist. Sounds like more wingnut in-fighting between the Gaffney/Keene and Norquist factions for the teeny-tiny soul of Geo. W. Bush. And Ken Timmerman is hardly an unbiased source. But where are all the hysterical heds about Bush's "coffees" and fundraisers with terrorists?

You Have Questions, The Howler Has Answers

This site earlier asked:

What does Richard Mellon Scaife, chief funder of the Independent Women's Forum, actually think of women?

See page 245 [of What Liberal Media?].

Incomparably, The Howler has the answer.

Sunday, February 23, 2003

Meet Your Liberal Media

So why has the liberal New York Times reviewed the error-filled Bias and error-filled and bile-drenched Slander, but not Eric Alterman's What Liberal Media?

More Lefty Treachery From The Baghdad Broadcasting Company

"Tony Blair's tried to make a moral case for war, which is interesting, isn't it. It's like making a musical case for Phil Collins." -- Linda Smith, The News Quiz, BBC Radio 4

Hate Is Their Heritage

From Mac Diva comes news that the lynch mob which brought down Georgia's Democratic Governor, Roy Barnes, now has the Governor of Missouri in its cross-hairs. The Sarasota Herald-Tribune reports that the Sons of Confederate Veterans hate group is looking to oust Missouri's Democratic Governor in the next election because he removed Confederate flags from two state sites:

Gov. Bob Holden said Thursday that his administration made "the right decision" in suddenly pulling down Confederate battle flags that had flown for years without controversy at two Missouri historic sites.

The Democratic governor also said he sees no need to meet with representatives of Southern heritage groups pressing for a compromise to restore the flags over a Confederate cemetery and a Civil War fort.

Gene Dressell of Jonesburg, commander in chief of the Missouri Division of Sons of Confederate Veterans, said he was disappointed but not surprised by Holden's comments.

"A poll shows two-thirds of the people of Missouri say he is wrong on this issue. I suppose we will have to wait for a change in leadership in the Capitol, but the flags will go back up at some point," Dressell said.

When election time comes, it will be incumbent upon the Republican challenger to denounce the Southern hate group and the Confederate flag. Otherwise, his or her candidacy will be as tainted as that of Sonny Perdue.

Grand Old Police Blotter: Vito Corleone In Florida Edition

Tom Spenser links to this report on Noelle Bush's failure to comply fully with the terms of her drug rehabilitation sentence. What I want to know is who is responsible for the headline "Judge Gives Warning to Jeb Bush's Girl." The woman in question is 25. Either Newsday or A.P. has some explaining to do.

Tom also points to a much larger scandal, which involves Jeb! awarding $7.5 million in state contracts to a company owned by campaign contributor, Infinity Software Development, without competitive bidding. The company employs Noelle Bush.

I don't have a link, but I recently saw Jeb! on the idiot box joking that the Florida Legislature calls him "Veto Corleone" because of his use of the governor's veto power. Yeah, that's the reason.

Saturday, February 22, 2003

We Always Have Been At War With East Asia Too

(Thanks to Jonathan Davey)

(Link is now fixed.)

At The Movies With Bob Novak

NOVAK: The -- today was the debut of a Ted Turner picture, "Gods and Generals." I saw it. It's an excellent movie, and it really shows that the Southern people were fighting to protect themselves from a Northern invasion.

Is No Facts an honorable member of the Sons of the Confederate Veterans, or is he just a camp follower? Don't worry, Novak, your faith and heritage don't disqualify you from membership.

Also check out this quote from Dan Coleman of the SCV: "The difference in the races at that period of time was something that was -- was accepted by all people in this country." Coleman also states that the Confederate flag stands for "freedom and independence."

Anyone who has dealings with or kind words for these twisted bigots or their causes should be voted out of office, boycotted, exposed and shunned.

Friday, February 21, 2003

Remember Andy Sullivan's old reputation for objectivity and accuracy? Nah, me neither.

Here's Sully's nuanced analysis of European public sentiment re: Iraq:

Remember the British Broadcasting Corp.'s old reputation for objectivity and accuracy? It's history....

Indeed, there are times when the BBC makes Fox News look like CNN. Here's one recent quote, worth noting. It's from the BBC's World Affairs Correspondent, David Loyn: "If America was engaged in the rest of the world rather than, frankly, wanting to bomb it and ... take its resources." There you have the British media establishment's true view of the underpinnings of American foreign policy. And people wonder why European public opinion is monolithically anti-anti-Saddam.

Is European public opinion "monolithically anti-anti-Saddam?" Only in fantasyland.

According to a January 2003 EOS Gallup Europe poll of European residents, two-thirds of respondents said Iraq is a threat to world peace. 59 percent of respondents favored European military intervention if weapons of mass destruction were discovered in Iraq. And 56 percent of EU nation citizens surveyed favored military action if it was recommended by the UN Security Council.

Now there's a continent speaking with one mind!

Sully may know his obelisks, but he's not too good on monoliths. Indeed, there are times he makes Fox and Friends look like Mensa.

FBI Detains Paco Rabanne the Jackal

The incident began at Philadelphia International Airport around 12:45 a.m. EST, when the 22-year-old man arrived at a security checkpoint while trying to make a flight to Saudi Arabia after a day of travel problems spawned by a major snowstorm.

The student's visa was fine, the FBI said later. But airport security asked him about a container of liquid in his luggage. While trying to show that the container was a bottle of cologne, the man inadvertently sprayed its aromatic contents on two airport security guards, officials said.

"First he sprayed himself," said FBI special agent Linda Vizi. "It was merely to demonstrate that he had cologne."

But the action prompted airport security to issue a code-red hazardous materials alert, which brought FBI agents, city police officers and hazardous materials specialists from the Philadelphia Fire Department rushing to the site.

Fearing the cologne could be a harmful biological or chemical agent, authorities sent the two guards to a nearby hospital, which quarantined its emergency room for three hours until what hospital officials referred to as "the unknown substance" could be identified as cologne.

Here's the bio-hazard in question, with hints of Canadian fir and orris.

This is not an isolated incident, either. All those right wing pundits -- Noonan, Coulter and the rest -- are getting what they want: the harassment of innocent non-white travelers.

(From Yahoo! News; thanks to Mac Diva.)

Under Ritten: An Act of True Generosity

On the right, says Bob Somerby, "[a]ngry billionaires pay crackpot pundits to spread an array of silly, wild tales." On the left, we have James Capozzola. We certainly got the best of that deal.

Thanks to a generous grant from James and the Rittenhouse Foundation for Wayward Bloggers, Roger Ailes is now banner ad-free. Those who felt the banner ads were the best part of this site must now go elsewhere to find out what their favorite color reveals about their personality or locate old classmates.

My sincere thanks to Jim, and in the words of Kevin Spacey's worst movie ever, I will do my best to Pay It Forward.

Thursday, February 20, 2003

Reminder to Myself

James Capozzola, writing in TRR: The Lighter Side of Rittenhouse reminds us of the often-overlooked pleasures of the flesh-and-blood world. (No, not uveitis.) You can "find" almost anything you want online in two seconds, via Google, and communicate with others in ways unimagined 30 years ago. But the web still can't allow you to appreciate a work of art or a performance like you can in person. My immediate community doesn't have resources of the quality that Jim's does, but I'm fortunate to live within a hour (with good traffic) of not only some of the finest cultural ... and natural ... resources in the Western United States. If you don't see anything new here this weekend, you'll know that I've taken Jim's advice.

We Are At War With Eurasia

We Always Have Been At War With Eurasia

Two And Two Make Five

Big Brother Is Watching You


(Special thanks to these fine folks and the makers of Victory Fries for their inspiration. Oh, and this bloke.)

Another Reason Not To Go To War

Will WAR IN IRAQ launch an unstoppable chain of events that will lead to ARMAGEDDON?

...

You�ve asked the questions. Now get answers from a respected, authoritative perspective. Subscribe to the Left Behind Prophecy Club.
Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins, best-selling authors of the Left Behind series, along with noted Bible historian and end times analyst Mark Hitchcock have teamed up to lead the Left Behind Prophecy Club.

As news breaks and world-changing events unfold, you will be the first to receive in-depth analysis and interpretation from LaHaye and Hitchcock.

Apparently you have to pay $29.99 for the full answer, but the authors will tell you for free that Saddam is "rebuilding Babylon and "[t]his current rebuilding begun by Saddam Hussein and rise of Babylon is a key part of God�s plan for the last days." Further, "After Saddam is removed from power, Western nations will move into Iraq for a 'nation building' effort. This could easily pave the way and for a future western leader to develop the area into what the Bible says it will be in the end times."

The LBPC also will answer such illiterate questions as "Could the Antichrist be alive now? If so, how can he identify so he does not deceive us?"

Undoubtedly, he's French.

Wednesday, February 19, 2003

The protesters have it wrong: this war campaign does not emanate from oil lust or from colonialist appetite. It emanates primarily from a simplistic rectitude that aspires to uproot evil by force. But the evil of Saddam Hussein's regime, like the evil of Osama bin Laden, is deeply and extensively rooted in vast expanses of poverty, despair and humiliation. Perhaps it is even more deeply rooted in the terrible, raging envy that America has aroused for many years � not only in countries of the third world, but also in the broad boulevards of European society.

If you are envied by all, you should be careful about wielding a big stick. After World War II, the Marshall Plan benefited the United States and world peace more than America's old and new weapons put together. The big stick is necessary, but it is best used to deter or repulse aggression, not to "impose good." And even when the big stick is brandished to defeat aggression, it is crucial that it be brandished by the international community � or at least by a broad alliance of nations. Otherwise, it is liable to redouble the hatred, despair and lust for vengeance that it set out to defeat.-- Amos Oz, Feburary 19, 2003
A Revealing Quote

In today's New York Times, Christopher "Family Guy" Buckley recalls a speech then Vice-President George Herbert Walker Bush gave in London in 1983:

The vice president began to answer, in his usual earnest, thoughtful and patient way. And then he stopped. I saw the air go out of him. He sighed. It was as eloquent and sincere a sigh as I have ever heard from a politician.

"Look, I have kids too," he said. "Don't you think I want to see them grow up?"

At the time of the Vice-President's speech, George W. Bush was 37.

Mickey Kaus recalls in Slate that "when voters couldn't rely on mainstream pols to discuss welfare, they turned to David Duke." When the hell did that happen?

Anyway, let's hope the voters don't turn to David Duke to discuss foreign policy.

The New Republicans

Two conservatives -- Roger Hertog and Michael Steinhardt -- come in to bankroll The New Republic and the mag turns even more conservative than ever. You didn't need the Bible Code to see that one coming. I guess that explains TNR's sponsorship of military-industrial complex schmooza-palooza coincides with the date of the magazine's relaunch.

How far the magazine has fallen since the halcyon years of Fred Barnes, Stephen Glass and Ruth Shalit.

Scripture For Dummies

For centuries, people have considered the Bible a work of moral and spiritual instruction or a work of literature. Turns out it's really giant Word Search puzzle for computers.

In a rather crass and goulish bit of promotion, Viking Press place an ad (not online) in today's New York Times for The Bible Code II which states that the Bible contains hidden messages which "predicted September 11." The cover of the book even contains an illustration which purportedly shows the words "twin" "towers" and "airplane" (singular) spelled out in a grid of Hebrew letters. (Apparently, the Big Guy only bats .500 on events of mass destruction.)

The genius who writes the Bible Code books, Michael Drosnin, wrote the first one in 1998. So why the hell didn't he predict 9/11 when he could have done some good?

Tuesday, February 18, 2003

Today, some jackass sent an insulting e-mail to Oliver Willis which was designed to look like it came from me. I cleared things up with Oliver, who was very gracious. Around the same time today, I received an e-mail which was designed to look like it came from someone other than the real sender, which was sent through a re-mailer.

If anyone gets an e-mail like this which supposedly came from me, please let me know. I can assure anyone who recieved something like this that it did not come from me.

Glory Holes ... In Berkeley?

Michelle Malkin exposes a scandal in the trucking industry.

Correction and Apologies to Jeff Jacoby, Mickey Kaus, Atrios, Mark Kleiman and My Unnamed Correspondent

My comment below was incorrect. Mickey Kaus has been advised by Jeff Jacoby that there are seven (or six) articles in which the Boston Globe falsely identifies Kerry as Irish, four on the front page. (I have not seen the articles, but assume they exist.) My e-mail correspondent accurately described the method and results of his search, and I reached an inaccurate conclusion from his accurate statements that Jacoby's column was incorrect. My incorrect conclusion was based on information I knew to be incomplete. My entry was linked to by Atrios, Mark Kleiman and possibly others, who were misled by my inaccurate conclusion.

As I stated yesterday morning, "If Jacoby is right -- which could be easily documented -- I will be happy to correct any error." And so I do.

Update: I have now seen excerpts of the articles, and they correspond with Mickey Kaus's description of them.

Monday, February 17, 2003

Doggy Style

The Talking Dog has been giving out dog names to the blogs on his blogroll, and I got a good one! No shitzu or craphound for this blog. (And I'm the same breed as Eve Tushnet. Who knew?)

Here's the Dog's review:

Roger Ailes Over and Out tells us Roger is NOT the one who hangs out with Peggy Noonan. Roger does, however, frequently WRITE to the other Roger Ailes (the one now in charge of Fox News) to lambaste him, of late, for paying a fortune to Iraq for the privilege of covering the story there (without telling the public it is doing so; we don't report, you don't decide, I guess!) Roger is a bomb thrower. He gets to some of the dirtiest crap our government is doing in your name, and tells it like it is, in a nasty, punchy style. The blogroll contains many of the lefty standards, and other resources.

TD Designation: Top Dog


More later...

Another 4 Inches Of Snow In The Boston Area

Verisimilitude.

Okay, so I'm feeling generous.

O'Racist Suck-Up Watch

Howie "FOX News Flack" Kurtz is at it again. The self-described media critic writes:

Fox's Bill O'Reilly is taking some heat for referring to Mexican smugglers as "wetbacks." "I was just fumbling around for the word 'coyote,' " O'Reilly says of the offensive term. "It was apparent this was not used in any kind of denigrating form."

But a month before the reference on his cable show, Conservative News Service says, the Allentown, Pa., Morning Call reported that O'Reilly used the word at a Pennsylvania appearance. The event's organizer, Shelley Brown, says she didn't hear it, and O'Reilly calls the charge "insane" -- adding that someone is orchestrating an e-mail campaign to Fox denouncing him. "This is an industry that basically wants to attack people they don't agree with," he says.

Two things immediately leap out from this blurb.

(1) O'Reilly doesn't deny making the statement. He says that charge is "insane," not that it's false. I guess O'Reilly hasn't been able to confirm whether a tape exists of the event. He also says he's being attacked by people who don't agree with him -- namely, people that don't like racists.

(2) Kurtz tries to deflect the blow to O'Racist's reputation by stating that he was referring to smugglers. But the term "wetback" doesn't refer to smugglers, it refers to anyone entering the country through Mexico.

More importantly, why didn't Howie -- who plays a journalist on television -- speak to the reporter in Allentown who wrote the article instead of just running O'Reilly's non-denial. Remember, the article in the local paper was written before O'Reilly repeated the racist slur on FNC. There's no reason for a local reporter to fabricate a quote in a puff piece about a local fundraiser. Moreover, why wouldn't the local organizer attempt to correct the reporter when the article was published, if she didn't hear O'Racist's statement? Wouldn't she want to deny booking a bigot for her big charity event?

I need to amend my question "Why does O'Reilly still have a job?" to "Why do O'Reilly and Kurtz still have jobs?"

Roger's Broadway Follies of 2003

Beginning February 21, the New York City production of Cabaret will star Doogie Howser, M.D., Mr. C and Debbie Gibson as Sally Bowles.

(Sorry guys and gals, no pictures of Debbie.)

This Just In

If Rod Dreher gets in touch with his "inner Teamster," he'll have to kick his own sorry ass. Teamsters Local 705, in Chicago, which describes itself as the second largest Teamsters local in the Nation, opposes war with Iraq. (.pdf file)

(Thanks to Mark at pineappletown.)

Here's A New Yorker Who's A Patriot And Who Knows What A 2x4 Is

Back on 53rd Street, Dick Reilly rallied his sons for a final walk to the demonstration. A contractor, he was one of seven brothers who served in the military, and he is no pacifist. But this war makes little sense to him.

"Where's the exit strategy?" he asked. "So we go into Iraq and bomb and shoot, and Osama [bin Laden] has more recruits. How does it end?"

(From The Washington Post, via Altercation)

Random Bitching

Hell-O-Scam says they'll have the comments problem fixed by Tuesday at the latest... after they've driven away all my loyal fans. Bastards!

And what is it with MSNBC? They still don't have the transcript of last week's Tweezer interview with RuBernard Goldberg online. Was it that embarassing?

Meet Your Liberal Media

The New Republic is a proud co-sponsor of THE HOMELAND & GLOBAL SECURITY SUMMIT to be held on March 3 - 5 in Washington D.C.

"What's the purpose of the Summit?" you ask. Well:

At the Summit, Companies with the most information, the right contacts, and the best promotional visibility will win the most business. The Homeland & Global Security Summit is designed to strategically position you to win the most business.

"Why go to the Summit?" you ask. Well:

The Summit will provide you with the right contacts: Meet decision-makers from:

The White House
Department of Homeland Security
Department of Defense
Transportation Security Administration, Coast Guard, and airport authorities
HHS, FDA, and CDC
Members of Congress and Congressional budget and appropriations staff
Governors, Mayors, and state and local officials coordinating homeland security
First Responders
Top executives from America�s major companies providing homeland security solutions and applications
Officials and executives from allied countries around the world

"Oh, really. And who else?" you ask. Well, how about:

Top executives participated from such major companies as ArmorGroup, Avaya, BAE SYSTEMS, Barringer Detection & Protection Systems, Boeing, Booz Allen Hamilton, CACI, DynCorp, Eastman Kodak, General Dynamics, Harris, Hitachi, Honeywell, IBM, Iridium Satellites, Deloitte Consulting, KPMG, Israel Aircraft Industries, Loral Skynet, L-3, Lockheed Martin, Motorola, Parsons, Raytheon, SAIC, Sony, 3M, Textron, and many other firms. Plus all these patriotic folk.

"Will anyone there be questioning the need for a huge Homeland Security bureaucracy? Or the acts already taken by the Defense Department and the Justice Department in the name of Homeland Security? Or the possible conflicts between the interests of Homeland Security contractors and the rights and needs of the American public, and the great potential for corruption in the contracting process?" you ask.

What are you, some kind of a wiseass?




No Higher Honor

Steve Dunleavy shows his contempt for the anti-war demonstrators:

This claque of peaceniks should look before they bleat and realize what signals they're sending to America's enemies and its so-called "allies." Saddam does not see the weasels practicing democracy. He sees the protests as proof of the weakness of America's leaders.

Well done!

Racist O'Reilly is No. 4 on this week's Top 10 Conservative Idiots list.

Enemies, A Love Story

Saddam first used chemical weapons, in particular mustard gas, in 1983, in his war against Iran. By October of that year, according to recently declassified documents, the United States knew he was using them "almost daily." But the Reagan administration wasn't bothered. To the contrary, that December it sent Middle East envoy Donald Rumsfeld to Baghdad. According to the book Spider's Web: The Secret History of How the White House Illegally Armed Iraq, by Financial Times reporter Alan Friedman, Rumsfeld presented a letter from Reagan that proposed restoring diplomatic relations and offered U.S. military and economic assistance. When Iran launched a new offensive in February 1984, Saddam added tabun, a lethal nerve gas, to his chemical repertoire. In the spring of 1984, Rumsfeld returned for another visit. By November, the United States and Iraq had restored diplomatic relations.

It gets worse. Records from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and a 1994 Senate Banking Committee investigation show that during Reagan's presidency, the United States sold Iraq anthrax, bubonic plague, and botulinum toxin, all supposedly for medical research. In 1988, the Commerce Department approved Dow Chemical's sale of $1.5 million worth of pesticides to Baghdad, even though many in the administration suspected Saddam would use them for chemical warfare. Over congressional opposition, the Reagan administration sold Iraq twin-engine Bell "Huey" helicopters, which appear to have been used in Saddam's chemical attacks on the Kurds.

.... As Samantha Power points out in A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide, the Bush administration in 1989 refused to join twelve other democracies in calling for a special U.N. investigation of human rights in Iraq. In 1990, Bush's Commerce Department even considered selling Baghdad large numbers of "skull furnaces," valuable to Iraq's nuclear program. At the last minute, Iraq's invasion of Kuwait scuttled the deal.

Thanks, Rummy. Any more of your messes that we can clean up for you?

Ooohhh, Hold Me Back, Hold Me Back ... I Mean It ... I Can't Be Held Responsible For My Actions

The ultra-butch yet Christ-like Rod Dreher was spoilin' for a fight this past weekend.

"I also saw a woman carrying a poster that had an image of President Bush with a Hitler mustache drawn on.

"I nearly lost it over that. What kind of decent person would have anything to do with a movement that likened the president of the United States to a genocidal mass murderer?

"Just to see them walking the street is to put oneself in touch with one's inner Teamster."
Fortunately for Rod, there were no two-by-fours handy and the Armed Forces Recruiting Center was closed. Don't worry Rod, we're fairly confident you could have kicked that woman's ass.
Another Condoleezza loving wingnut who can't spell her name correctly. Try to show some respect, people.

Apologies

Haloscan has been back online for the better part of today, but I just noticed that "comments are temporarily disabled." I apologize for this problem, and am looking for a replacement comments provider.

Update: Just fix the damn thing already, Haloscan, I hate fucking around with the template!

Sunday, February 16, 2003

Jacoby and Liars, Part II

Boston Globe columnist Jeff Jacoby, winner of the not-much-coveted Breindel "Wingnut With The Golden Arm" award, wrote the following about Democratic Senator John Kerry last week:

Yet there is no sign that Kerry or his staff ever alerted the Globe when it mistakenly labeled him Irish, sometimes in front-page stories he couldn't possibly have missed.

The meaning of this sentence is clear: The Boston Globe incorrectly stated that Kerry was Irish in multiple "stories" on the front page, as well as in a story or stories that didn't make the front page. It turns out that Jacoby is wrong -- that he's no more accurate when he's reporting the facts than he is when he's passing off junk e-mails as his own work.

A reader of this blog sent me the following e-mail:

I entered "John Kerry" and Irish [in a Lexis-Nexis search of the Globe], receiving 93 results. Most of the articles were from the chattier, snippets portions of the paper. Most of the hits on Irish were descriptions of other politicians. The 92nd article on the list, from 7/10/1989 (Metro Region pg 1, Renee Loth), titled "Delicate Balance of the Ticket a Tricky Matter for Democrats" - is the only one to identify him as Irish and had the following passage:

Since issues have little relevance to the near-vestigial office of lieutenant governor, ethnic, gender and regional loyalties often come into play.

At the Democratic state convention in 1982, for example, delegates pledged to John Kerry, a candidate that year for lieutenant governor, threw their support to Murphy, Lois Pines, Sam Rotondi and Louis Nickinello on second and subsequent ballots in order to ensure there would be two Italians and two women as candidates for lieutenant governor on the ballot in September. Kerry, the lone Irish male, won the primary.

Given the degree to which "raised Irish Catholic" seemed to attach to so many other politicians, I found it very interesting that in the past 14 years Kerry was only identified as Irish once. Of course the whole mess is motivated by a disturbing anti-semitism and personal dislike for Kerry, but it wouldn't have surprised me if people genuinely thought the guy was Irish. The fact that the Globe has not identified Kerry as Irish since 1989 is pretty strong evidence that being Irish is not an element of the guy's public persona.

There you have it. According to Lexis, in the past 13 and a half years, only one Boston Globe article identified Kerry as Irish. It wasn't done on the paper's front page, either once or multiple times, as Jacoby claims.

Jacoby owes not only Kerry but also the editors of his paper an apology. So does Mickey Kaus, friend to plagiarists everywhere, who reprinted Jacoby's drivel as fact (see Feb. 10).

Update (2/17): Over at Eschaton, Boston blogger Jeff T has searched the archives at the Boston Public Library found additional articles in which the Boston Globe identified Kerry as Irish. Searching the Globe's archives online only turned up one of the three new articles, the one from October 1996. There are many reasons the online archive wouldn't be complete, including the fact that articles by free-lancers aren't available because of copyright issues. I don't know if the same is true with Lexis-Nexis.

Jeff T. points out that none of the articles he found were on the front page of the Globe, though Jacoby claimed multiple front page references ("front-page stories") to the Kerry-Irish connection. And the last of the three articles is quoting someone as saying that Kerry is half-Irish, which isn't the same as paper saying it (unless it's a columnist quoting herself, which would count, in my opinion). So Jacoby still has it wrong, although less wrong than before.

Correction and Update (2/18): Please see above.

Laura Goes Off Message

First Lady Laura Bush, who is rarely outspoken in her public remarks, said yesterday she thinks "constant news alerts" on TV about terror "are frightening people."

"It's a little bit like crying wolf," she said in Manhattan. "You know, it hasn't happened yet."

Psst, Laura... That's what your husband wants, to frighten people into supporting his war and distract voters from thinking about the failing economy. It wasn't the TV news channels that issued an Orange Alert, Pickles.

But it's good to see the first confirmed sighting of a crying Wolf.

Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction

Atrios points out that Mary Rosh is a Freeper. Meanwhile, a transvestite (and alleged courtesan) shows up at Rim Job's pro-war rally in Fresno. Surely a coincidence.

InstaPimper, specialist in executive entertainment for the discriminating Southern gentleman, is now big pimping his pal, Catherine Seipp, for the Mo Do spot on the NYT op-ed page. I guess in pimp world, "meritocracy" means giving jobs to personal friends who quote you favorably even if you have nothing to say.

The Seipp article itself is intellectually dishonest in the extreme. I am second to no one in my belief that Mo Do is an overrated, substance-free hack with nothing to say. But wingnut Seipp finds fault not with Mo Do's defects as a writer, but rather with her current choice of her targets: Dubya, Rummy and the unelected Administration. All of the Dowd critics that Seipp quotes are faux-libertarians or racist conservative assholes, like Lucianne Goldberg. Seipp mentions Dowd's now decade-long Clinton bashing only in passing, and praises that aspect of career (and her example is from when Mo Do was a reporter, not an op-ed columnist). Seipp doesn't even mention Dowd's campaign of lies against Al Gore, or her bashing of other Dems.

And Seipp ends her piece about Dowd's superficiality with a very substantive critique of Dowd's "patronizing" wardrobe.

It's telling that Seipp didn't write this piece three or more years ago, when she undoubtedly savored Mo Do's attacks on the then-President and Vice President. Ultimately, Seipp's tirade isn't about Dowd's incompetence as an editorialist, but rather a Mo Do-style rant designed to advance the fraudulent argument that Mo Do is some sort of liberal.

Ten Thou -- That's A Lot of Smack

Talk about a sham "award." You have to pay 25 bucks to enter this excellence-in-journalism contest, presided over by a "confidential panel of judges." New York's A.G. should look into this.

That's Gotta Hurt

There were nuns. Toddlers. Women barristers. The Eton George Orwell Society. Archaeologists Against War. Walthamstow Catholic Church, the Swaffham Women's Choir and Notts County Supporters Say Make Love Not War (And a Home Win against Bristol would be Nice). They won 2-0, by the way. One group of SWP stalwarts were joined, for the first march in any of their histories, by their mothers. There were country folk and lecturers, dentists and poulterers, a hairdresser from Cardiff and a poet from Cheltenham. -- Euan Ferguson, The Observer


Haloscan remains off-line. If anyone knows of a reliable, free comments-feature provider, please e-mail me.

Saturday, February 15, 2003

Roger Ailes will be updating the Enemies List this three-day weekend. Please hold your applause until the end.

Unrequited Love On Valentine's Day

Andy Sullivan has taken up the defense of Rush Limbaugh following Eric Alterman's statement that he wished Rush Limbaugh had gone deaf. I hope Sully isn't counting on Rush to return the favor. Here are some choice quotes from Rush:

Can anyone tell me with a straight face that such teaching is not for the express purpose of indoctrinating students with the false notion that homosexuality is as normal as heterosexuality? Surely no one can argue that it is healthy to encourage such a lifestyle. Even if you reject the moral objections to this lifestyle, you cannot honestly deny the overwhelming evidence that homosexual behavior statistically reduces one�s life span. (source)

[Rush Limbaugh] Praising Strom Thurmond for calling a gay soldier "not normal": "He's not encumbered by being politically correct.... If you want to know what America used to be--and a lot of people wish it still were--then you listen to Strom Thurmond." (TV show, 9/1/93; Source)

"When a gay person turns his back on you, it is anything but an insult; it's an invitation." (Source)

And, perhaps most pertinent to our discussion:

"I have about had it being told that the plight of the homeless is my fault. I'm sick and tired of turning on my TV and being told that the AIDS crisis is my fault too, because I don't care enough." (Source)

Eric Alterman has apologized; Rush Limbaugh has not.

Bill Buckley Must Be Shitting Himself With Pride

National Review affirmative action hire I.Q. Lo. contributes the following to The Corner:

"PEACE" PROTESTERS [Kathryn Jean Lopez]
On the local news tonight, the police commissioner of New York reported a one police officer and horse both beated and kicked in the head by protesters. And so that's just peace for dictators?
Posted at 08:02 PM

Looks like we need English immersion for NRO editors.

The comments section has been down all day. I will try to find out what went wrong, and maybe find a more reliable alternative.

Update: Haloscan says: "We're doing some work on the server and will have the site restored soon. Thanks for your patience.... Update We've run into a couple problems and are trying to get this sorted out as fast as possible. (12:25AM 2/16/2003)"

You can still e-mail me at Rogerailes@hotmail.com.

I picked up What Liberal Media? at Barnes & Noble this week. It's well-written, and an invaluable source of information about the right wing and the press. For example:

What does Richard Mellon Scaife, chief funder of the Independent Women's Forum, actually think of women?

See page 245.

Friday, February 14, 2003

Happy Valentines Day

Good Rogering to all!

Thursday, February 13, 2003

Jerry Bowles has a good post on the anti-Muslim rhetoric of Glenn R. Plummer, CEO of National Religous Broadcasters. Plummer says that "Islam is a pagan religion," and that "[w]e must resist every attempt to neutralize our distinctives; we must not allow Christianity to be placed on equal footing with Islam." One of the repulsive things about guys like Plummer is how they speak of the "Judeo-Christian foundation" of America and "His Son and our Lord, Jesus Christ" in the same breath. Christian Fundamentalists like Plummer also think Jews are pagans because they don't accept Jesus Christ as God, they just don't broadcast that like they do their intolerance of Muslims.

Don't believe me? Just ask Billy Graham.

Pull The Other One

A number of John Lott's supporters are lining up to vouch for the fact that John Lott suffered a computer crash in 1997. While obviously trying to help Lott, these folks actually prove the point that 1997 isn't ancient history and memories don't fade as quickly (or selectively) as Lott claims his memory has. The fact of a computer crash doesn't prove a survey was done. Not one of the defenders who wrote to the Washington Post tells the paper that Lott lost a defensive gun use survey in the crash. As far as I know, Lott still hasn't provided the names of anyone who worked on his telephone survey or any documentation concerning the survey he supposedly reproduced late last year. You don't get a survey answer from student's telephone receiver to Lott's computer without a paper trail. And, as the story gets more and more press -- in the Washington Post, Salon, U.S. News & World Report and, of course, here at Roger Ailes -- why hasn't a single one of Lott's student-assistants come forward on his behalf?

Do The Math

You could have four meals with Bill O'Reilly for the price of one "date" with Glenn Reynolds' strictly legit courtesan.

Who said consumers never have a real choice anymore?

More On Bill O'Racist

I'm grateful to the e-mailers who sent me more information on O'Reilly's use of the racist term "wetback." I was hesitant to use CNS News as a source, but I've now got independent confirmation of O'Racist's bile at the January benefit performance. According to an Allentown Morning Call article that's only on LEXIS, a local journalist who attended the event heard the following:

"About protecting U.S. borders, O'Reilly criticized the Immigration and Naturalization Service for not doing its job and not keeping out 'the wetbacks.' He has often blasted the INS for allowing illegal immigration."

Can any intelligent person now believe that O'Reilly's on-air statement was a slip of the tounge, which wasn't meant to disparage anyone? Even the intolerant Sean Hannity admits that "wetback" is a racial slur, at least when a Democrat allegedly utters it. Will Hannity denounce O'Reilly?

The O'Reilly Take As for the beneficiary of O'Racist's fundraising efforts, Bill was working to ensure that the State Theater in Easton, Pennsylvania remained open for the upcoming performances of Burt Reynolds, Sandy Duncan, Dion and Rich Little. But was Bill spouting racial slurs pro bono, or was he taking a cut of the proceeds?

According to the reports e-mailed to me (which are not online, at least for free), there were three events related to the benefit: a $450 per plate dinner, a $50 reception and a $25 dollar seat. 1,500 seats were sold at $25 a piece, and 140 people attended the dinner. (It's not clear how many attended the reception separately.) The theater's director of marketing said the event raised about $30,000, but the take was at least $100,500 (1,500 x $25 = $37,500 and 140 x $450 = $63,000), or $97,000 if the dinner guests didn't have to buy a separate ticket for the speech. Did 140 dinners, promotional advertising and other expenses cost $70,000, or did O'Racist also have his snout in the trough?

Look for Bill to open up his new dinner theater in Elohim City sometime this spring.

(Thanks to Kynn Bartlett and others.)

Congratulations to this year's winner of the Gilbert Gottfried Look-a-Like Contest.

May it be your last victory this decade.

Instapimpin'

Glenn Reynolds has branched out into the world of talent management for the discriminating, affluent gentleman. He's linked to a self-described professional courtesan who is not a prostitute (it's illegal, you know), but who charges $1800 and up for ... uh ... something. Discussing the works of Milton Friedman and Ayn Rand, I guess. Like the Professor, the young lady in question is "conservative with Libertarian leanings, particularly apropos U.S. Economic and Foreign policies." And she's from Houston, Texas, so I'd imagine she's got a unique perspective on the collapse of Enron and its effect on the local economy.

Roger's rating: Fun for the entire family!

Update: The young lady may wish to review the definition of courtesan and select a self-description that's less ... uh ... French.

Idjitpundit As Frank Luntz

Reaching editorial consensus in the ''blogosphere'' -- the freewheeling world of Web log opinion -- is ''like herding cats,'' says Glenn Reynolds, who operates the site Instapundit.com. But ''most everybody open to persuasion has been largely persuaded by Colin Powell. There are lefty and libertarian bloggers who are against it, of course, but there are far more bloggers who are pro-war than the reverse.''

Leaving aside the pretenses that Idjit P. (Naca) knows who "is open to persuasion" or that he knows what "everybody" in the "blogosphere" thinks, IP doesn't make the case that anyone's been persuaded by Powell. Even if true, the fact that there are more chickenhawk-bloggers than anti-war bloggers doesn't mean that Powell changed anyone's mind.

In fairness, it could be that the author of the article made IP sound stupid, although he usually makes that case all by himself.

Addendum: If you'd prefer some intelligent analysis of Powell's recent pronouncements, as opposed to highly-questionable head counting, Thomas Spenser is your man. Read here, here and here.

Update: The missing link is no longer missing!

Wednesday, February 12, 2003

Jacoby and Liars

Of all the repulsive right-wing efforts to smear John Kerry, it's not surprising the least original comes from Jeff Jacoby. Fans of unethical journalism will recall that Jacoby's most famous column was his rewrite of an error-filled, anonymous e-mail which Jacoby attempted to pass off as his own work. So Jacoby's effort to claim the moral high ground is always good for a laugh.

Here's Jacoby's gripe about Kerry:

By the same token, it never did Kerry any harm to be universally mistaken for Irish in Massachusetts, a state whose political culture is dominated by Irish Catholics. Not that he overtly lied; if asked, he would say that his father's family was from ''Austria.'' But if others incorrectly assumed he was Irish, did he trouble to set them straight?

Kerry tells the Globe that he has ''always been absolutely straight up front about it.'' His press aides insist he speaks up when he sees or hears himself described as Irish. ''Kerry has never said he is Irish-American and has always corrected it when people have assumed it because of his name,'' his spokesman David Wade told The New York Times.

Yet there is no sign that Kerry or his staff ever alerted the Globe when it mistakenly labeled him Irish, sometimes in front-page stories he couldn't possibly have missed. A search of the Globe's archives turns up no letter to the editor from Kerry making clear that he is not of Irish descent. Over the years, the Globe has run 23 corrections mentioning Kerry; none is about his ancestry. (Emphasis added; inexplicable use of quotes around the word Austria by Jacoby.)

Get it? It's all Kerry's fault that the Boston Globe incorrectly reported that Kerry was of Irish descent. Kerry was spending so much time on the business of the United States Senate that he completely ignored his duties as an unpaid editor of Globe. I mean, it's not like the paper's reporters could have asked Kerry before publishing their articles or anything. He would have only told them some lame story about how his father's family was "from 'Austria.'"

Bill O'Reilly Is A Serial, Unrepentant Liar and Racist

There's one thing you can count on: If it comes out of Bill O'Reilly's mouth, it's probably a lie.

O'Reilly said he was an independent, until it was proven that he was a registered Republican. O'Reilly called for a boycott of Pepsi, then denied that he called for a boycott of Pepsi.

But the worst lie of all was O'Reilly's claim that he was "groping for a term" when he used the word "wetback," and didn't "mean[] to disparage people in any way."

It turns out that "wetback" is a centerpiece of the O'Reilly lexicon. At a January 2003 fundraising event in Easton, Pennsylvania, O'Reilly blasted the INS for allowing "the wetbacks" to enter the United States. (I wonder who was the beneficiary of O'Reilly's fundraising activities.)

When will Fox News fire this grotesque bigot?

Stop The Presses!

Timothy McVeigh associated with white supremacist terrorists.

In other news: Frank Gaffney, Jr. wins the Idiot of the Year Award by a unanimous vote.

It's Official!

The nation of France is the largest collection of war-avoiding cowards since Dick Cheney introduced George W. Bush as the keynote speaker at Rush Limbaugh's First Annual Conference of Warbloggers.

And, speaking of chicken-fried chickenhawks, the Washington Post reports:

[Republican bug chaser Tom] DeLay is trying a more personal approach. "I was at a celebration of India's Independence Day," he told reporters, "and a Frenchman came walking up to me and started talking to me about Iraq, and it was obvious we were not going to agree. And I said, 'Wait a minute. Do you speak German?' And he looked at me kind of funny and said, 'No, I don't speak German.' And I said, 'You're welcome,' turned around and walked off."

DeLay's story is almost certainly a fabrication, although the Post doesn't question it. The article also doesn't mention DeLay the Liberator's avoidance of military service during the Vietnam War.

Separated At (A Very Painful) Birth

TBogg says Comic Book Guy. I say Jabba the Esterhaus.

Tuesday, February 11, 2003

Roger Ailes is under the weather, but hopes to be above the weather by tomorrow. In the meantime, please enjoy the blogs conveniently listed to your right.

p.s. It isn't the Norwalk virus.

Monday, February 10, 2003

Fractured Fairy Tales

Media Whores Online tells us the tale of Vennochio, the glove puppet who wanted to be a real journalist, but instead made out of a jackass of herself because she couldn't stop lying. The incomparable Bob Somerby demonstrates out that Vennochio was fibbing again in her e-mail to Dan Kennedy, when she claimed that Kerry was not "fully disclosing" his ethnic heritage. Somerby points out that Kerry's heritage was known to Vennochio's Boston Globe colleagues even as Vennochio was claiming that Kerry was hiding facts. (Vennochio argues that Kerry was covering up the facts "locally" while disclosing them on national television shows, apparently relying the little-known fact that television was first introduced to Boston in late 1990s.) As a bonus, Somerby recalls that Vennochio has been lying about Democratic Presidential candidates since at least 2000.

The only thing that could make Vennochio's fairy tales more loathsome is if Roberto Benigni was somehow involved in the whole sordid mess.

Sunday, February 09, 2003

The Mirror Crack'd Andy Sullivan looks into the mirror and sees ... Michael Jackson. And you thought Mickey Kaus had it bad.

Actually, Sully says that Jacko is the "man in our mirror." Speak metaphorically for yourself, Sully. I've never looked in the mirror and seen anything like Michael Jackson, and I don't know a single other person who has.

Oedipus Sully Sully also refers to "paternal-killer Erik Menendez" in a recent post about gay marriage. He's apparently forgotten that Erik and his brother, Lyle, were convicted of killing their mother, Kitty Menedez, as well as their father.

Inaccuracy In Academia

Tompaine.Com writer Alec Dubro details the commitment to accuracy demonstrated by Daniel J. Flynn, executive director of Accuracy in Academia:

I tried to ask Flynn this question, but he was signing furiously and waved me off. So, I searched his book for the evidence, and there it was: "Lindh grew up in Marin County, California, home to Berkeley, site of Angela Davis's flight from the law, and the constituency of the lone congressional voice against an American military response to the terrorist attacks. If simply by osmosis, John Walker Lindh could not help but absorb the trendy anti-Americanism that pervades his community."

A pretty compelling case except that Berkeley is across the Bay from Marin County, Angela Davis fled to New York, and Barbara Lee, who cast the offending vote, represents Alameda County. As for the osmotic effect of trendy pervasive anti-Americanism, it didn't seem to encourage any other Marin resident to join the Taliban. Moreover, according to U.S. News, the hundreds of American jihadists came not from the left, but from across the social and political spectrum.

Of course, dumbass also thinks that surfing and the computer are American inventions, so it's not surprising his geographic knowledge is equally weak.

Babbler O'Reilly Threatens To Tear Guest to Fucking Pieces

Mark Crispin Miller reports that not only did the demented racist, Bill O'Reilly, insult Jeremy M. Glick, the son of a Port Authority Officer killed in the World Trade Center, he also assaulted Glick.

The following day, Bill O'Reilly continued his attacks on Mr. Glick by falsely claiming that Mr. Glick "was out of control and spewing hatred." The transcript from "The O'Reilly Factor" itself shows that these statements are wrong. What Mr. Glick said was "Why would I want to further brutalize and punish the people of Afghanistan�� �The people of Afghanistan � didn�t kill my father,� and the CIA ��that trained a hundred thousand Mujahedeen� bore some responsibility. Mr. Glick remained calm, focused and dignified throughout the entire show. The video shows it was Bill O'Reilly that lost his composure. After the interview he told Mr. Glick to "Get out, get out of my studio before I tear you to f**king pieces!" (Emphasis added.)

O'Reilly's propensity for violence has increased dramatically since he avoided service during the Vietnam War. Then again, Glick wasn't armed.

The perfect gift for that .... er ... unconventional grandchild.

Although you might consider this one, too, Bill.

No-Facts the Hack

Apologists for Bob Novak are always saying Novak is one of the few opinion columnists around who does actual reporting. Yeah, but his "reporting" usually involves reprinting gossip from such worthies as Russian spy and Opus Dei member Robert Hanssen. And how much reporting did Novak do in re-writing a press release into the following item:

Lobbyists and others on a select Washington mailing list have been invited to a two-hour presentation Feb. 26 by one of President Bush's brothers: Marvin Bush, who heads a private investment firm in Alexandria, Va. "You are cordially invited to learn more about methods of managing risk in volatile markets utilizing alternative investment strategies," says the invitation. The event is scheduled at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, with "light refreshments" promised to be served. "Seating is limited to 50 guests," says the invitation, which also sets a financial requirement for guests: "Investor suitability: $5 million of investable assets." Bush is co-founder, president and a partner in Winston Partners, described as a sub-adviser to Brown Brothers Harriman Hedged Partners. Bush promises to discuss hedge funds and how "volatility" is reduced by "alternatives to stocks and bonds."
I rewrite the e-mail that's sent to me, too, and nobody calls me a journalist.

Post Mortem

The Washington Post Book World continues to embarass itself, this time with a substance-free review of Eric Alterman's What Liberal Media? The reviewer, one Jay Rosen of the NYY J-School, begins with a perfunctory summary of Alterman's thesis and then... says nothing significant about it.

Instead, Rosen complains about the subject of the book. Alterman says that the conservative-dominated media is bad for democracy, Rosen claims; but would a liberal-dominated media be any better, Rosen asks? But that's not the book Alterman wrote. If you're interested in that subject, Rosen, you can write a book about it. In the meantime, trying addressing the merits of the book you've been hired to review.

Ultimately, Rosen falls back on the old, old dodge: the right claims the media is biased against it, and so does the left; therefore, they must both be wrong. Rosen's review is like the "civic journalism" of which he is a leading proponent -- it sounds high-minded but is actually hollow, and unwilling and unable to reach a conclusion even though the facts are plain to see.

Saturday, February 08, 2003

Financial Aid and Comfort

It is said that those who oppose war with Iraq are "objectively pro-Saddam." They are "fifth-columnists," giving moral support and comfort to the Iraqi regime. They hate America. They should be prosecuted for treason. The only way these folks could be more traitorous is if they actually gave huge sums of money to Saddam, like, say, the FOX News Channel does:

The networks don�t like to talk about how much they actually spend, but one veteran of the media scene here estimated the cost for a major TV network at about $100,000 a month. Others say that is a low estimate. Almost all of this cash (except a few �tips� here and there) goes directly to the Iraqi government. Once you add up the bill for the TV networks alone, we�re talking perhaps millions of dollars in revenue a month for the government.

....It is particularly ironic that while Rupert Murdoch�s �troops� from FOX News Network rally for the war, dismissing antiwar activists as dupes of the Iraqi regime, the �network America trusts� is paying �Saddam� (as they refer to Iraq) hand over fist tens of thousands of dollars every month. But stroll down the halls of the press center and you�ll see that Rupert�s troops have multiple battalions. He also owns Sky News (the British version of FOX), as well as the Times of London. A bit of research would probably find that Murdoch owns other publications operating here as well.

FOX News reporters (and others as well) like to say �for the benefit of the viewers� that their broadcasts are being monitored by the Iraqi government. Fair enough. But perhaps the Murdoch Empire should begin each of its reports or dispatches from Baghdad by disclosing how much money they paid �Saddam� today.

My hands are clean, Roger, how about yours?

Friday, February 07, 2003

Meet Your Lily White Media

Like a polar bear eating marshmallows in a snow storm.

It bothered me that none of the memorial services for the Columbia astronauts included Hindu prayers or clergy, although Christian and Jewish officiants offered prayers at all of the ceremonies. Kalpana Chawla's religion was mentioned at the National Cathedral service, but no rites were performed. According to an Indian Embassy press secretary, Chawla was a devout Hindu. All of Chawla's colleagues spoke about her with great affection, so I'd like to think it was an oversight rather than due to a lack of respect. Unfortunately, though, that's a hard assumption to make, given the central role of religion in all of the memorial services I saw.

A Neo-Confederacy of Dunces

Infighting is threatening to do to the conservative movement what inbreeding could not. Read and enjoy!

Influential national defense specialist Frank Gaffney and American Conservative Union President David A. Keene yesterday separately accused Mr. Norquist of employing "Stalinist tactics" against those who disagree with Mr. Norquist's role in brokering access to the Bush White House.

Mr. Norquist had accused Mr. Gaffney and some of his allies in the conservative movement of "racism" and religious bigotry....

Nonetheless, Mr. Gaffney says his "concern is that Grover is playing the role of enabler, I assume unwittingly, for the Wahhabist [radical Muslim] agenda and its penetration of our political system � and especially of the Bush White House," Mr. Gaffney said....

Mr. Norquist yesterday barred Mr. Gaffney from attending the regular Wednesday morning meetings of conservative Capitol Hill aides and interest-group representatives held in Mr. Norquist's L Street offices. The White House regularly sends a representative to the meetings, at which Mr. Rove has occasionally been the featured speaker.

In disputes with organizers of two recent conservative conferences, Mr. Norquist warned his critics to back off because Mr. Bush and Mr. Rove were on his side.

Will the rift between the racial and religious bigots and the Islamo-Stalinists tear the G.O.P. apart?

And shouldn't David Keene be paying a little more attention to his son, the Beltway Gunman, who is presently incarcerated without bail and awaiting trial?

Not Roger's Mailbag, Thank God

Of all the reasons to be thankful I'm not that Roger Ailes, one of the best is that I don't get his mail. Case in point: This form letter thoughtfully pre-written and digested for the rhetorically-challenged followers of Reed Irvine's Accuracy in Media:

Mr. Roger Ailes
Chairman and CEO
FOX News Channel
1211 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10036

Dear Mr. Ailes:

I have sent a card to Arthur O. Sulzberger, Jr. criticizing the Times for running two articles and an editorial attacking you for recommending to Pres. Bush that he take strong measures in response to 9/11. Accuracy in Media has reminded us of the Times' handling of Walter Cronkite's 1990 admission that in 1968 he advised Bobby Kennedy to seek the Democratic nomination for president. The Times printed on its op-ed page excerpts from the talk in which Cronkite made this admission, but it printed no criticism of it. AIM also points out that the media give politicians advice all the time and that one of their worst violations of journalistic ethics is helping politicians they like by suppressing news that would hurt them, such as the cover-up of the evidence that Vincent Foster was murdered and TWA Flight 800 was shot down. Fox News should show its balance by reporting stories like these, showing up the Times.

Imagine people like the ones who would send this letter knowing where you work.

Heh. The accompanying visuals would be pages being torn from a calendar by an unseen hand, time-lapse photography of trees growing and icicles forming on a red pitchfork.
What Liberal Media? is now ranked 38th at Amazon.com. It looks like Eric will soon overtake Michael Weiner's Asshole Nation.

Update: Eric's moved up to number 33 at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time.

Thursday, February 06, 2003

I earlier cited a New York Times op-ed piece by former CIA Iraq specialist Stephen Pelletiere, who questioned whether a certain chemical warfare attack upon a Kurdish village during the Iran-Iraq war was the work of Saddam Hussein's forces. Reader Leah A. pointed out that Pelletiere was citing a report issued when our government was pro-Iraq (and anti-Iran), and that human rights organizations challenged the conclusions of the report at the time. The New Republic has now published a web-only article by Associate Editor Stephen Ackerman which also challenges Pelletiere's conclusions.

It's beyond me to say who's got the factually stronger case, but it is certainly something I'd like to read more about.

TBogg and The Rittenhouse Review dissect the latest ravings of the anti-Semitic Ann Coulter. Why does anyone take this bigot seriously?
Here's Little Mick's brilliant take on Senator Hillary Clinton's speech concerning homeland security: "There's not a glimmer of humanity or wit in the whole thing."

Just what an anti-terrorism policy speech needs, more witicisms. In case Hillary gives the speech again, I offer the following quip for her use: "The President's homeland security policy is like a toupee on Mickey Kaus, it doesn't help anyone and it doesn't fool anyone."

(Edited, and yet, it's still not very funny.)

Dixie Hicks Get Dicked

I know. You drove to the polls last November in your beat-up pickup truck, with the Confederate battle flag in the back window hanging over your deer rifle and shotgun, to vote for ol' Sonny, who promised, by the next election day or so, to let you vote on changing the Georgia flag. You cast your vote and sure 'nuff, ol' Sonny was elected.... [Para.] You were going to the inauguration to celebrate the election of this new governor who was going to listen to the voice of the people. And when the crowd rose to cheer, you were going to wave that flag with all your might. [Para.] I know. The word soon came down that no flags would be allowed at the inauguration ceremonies, not even the good ol' US of A flag....

You see, there may be some folk there from the liberal press who would take a picture of you and your buddies in shirts covered with the Confederate battle emblem and waving all those Confederate flags. And the word may get out that ol' Sonny actually played the race card to help win the election.

You didn't know, did you? You are not going to get to vote on the new Georgia flag. What you think is going to be a vote on changing the flag has turned out to be what the new governor calls a "non-binding referendum." Those big words mean that the governor is going to take a straw poll. And the results don't mean diddly squat.

You didn't know, did you? The governor ain't going to take the changing of the flag to the Legislature unless he has to. Word has already come down from the governor's office that it will take at least two years to get the issue before the Legislature. That's strange. It only took a few weeks for the former governor to get a vote on the new flag. -- Robert L. Richardson

It's a cryin' shame, isn't it. You can't even trust a Republican race-baiter anymore.

(Thanks to Mac Diva.)

There's an interesting new review of More Guns, Less Crime at the Amazon.com website.

Those of us who have followed gun issues for years have been skeptical of Lott's claims all along. His latest assertion, that he personally conducted a national survey that established a 98 percent reduction of crime rate if a gun was brandished changes that skepticism to disbelief:

"Dr. Lott's accusers suggest that he was unwilling to admit that he had misinterpreted Kleck's study, opting instead to credit a never-before-mentioned national survey of his own for the 98% figure. Wrong as it would have been, one can certainly imagine an author of a 321-page book convincing himself that a small sleight of hand on page 3 would never be questioned." (Ibid.)

Lott offers no evidence for his claimed telephone survey, just his word. Words are cheap. Back to the drawing board on this issue.

I'm guessing Mary Jr. and Mrs. Mary didn't pen this one.

Oh, and Lott's ranked 6,207, compared to "What Liberal Media?"'s rank of 45.