The following sentence was written by a senior majoring in political science and philosophy at Johns Hopkins University:
Her remarkable skills as an writer notwithstanding, what makes Ms. Schlafly's argument even mildly tenable is the fact she is an educated woman presenting a message more consistent with the tones of June Cleaver than of Gloria Allred or most other women with a similar academic or professional background.
Children of Maine Guard unit taunted by teachers...[Para.] Members of the Maine National Guard, called up to prepare for an attack on Iraq, have asserted that their children are being harassed at school by teachers who oppose the war. -- Robert Stacy BurkeCalhounDabney McCain, February 27
National Guard spokesman Maj. Peter Rogers said Monday that one Washington paper reported that teachers were taunting and harassing kids. "We never said that," Rogers said. -- Portland Press-Herald, March 4
I trust the American on this one.
Just last week, Poor and Stupid author Don Lufkin was fretting that Howell Raines' wild-eyed liberalism would destroy the New York Times goodwill and drain the Sulzbergers' family coffers. The supply-side psuedo-economist looked into his Magic 8-Ball and predicted financial ruin for the paper's Chairman and Publisher:
And that's the guy [Sulzberger] who has to be worrying that maybe the critics are right, and that maybe for the sake of pursuing "liberal positions" he's letting Raines systematically destroy the brand equity of a once-great newspaper. And the Sulzberger family's wealth along with it.
So it's not Andrew Sullivan or Mickey Kaus -- or even me -- to whom Raines is speaking from the podium at the National Press Foundation. He doesn't even know we exist. He's talking to the boss. He's trying to convince Sulzberger that the freedom to have an egregious liberal bias is a "legacy we must protect with our diligent stewardship." No matter how much it costs.
But hey, it's only money....
How many billions will the Sulzberger family have to lose before they get tired of "justifying their existence" this way?
I hope Donny Dorko didn't lose too much sleep over the demise of the Sulzberger family fortune. According to Yahoo! Finance/Reuters, Sulzberger received a bonus of $1.5 million because earnings of the New York Times Company "'substantially exceeded' targets" in 2002:
"Annual bonuses are paid only if financial targets are achieved," the newspaper publisher said in its annual report to shareholders. "The 2002 earnings per share targets, which were used to determine annual bonuses for Mr. Sulzberger, Jr. and Mr. Lewis, were substantially exceeded."
Sulzberger also received a base salary of $950,000 and a shitload of other compensation, for a total package of about $6 million. So I don't expect to see Sulzberger crying over lost billions anytime soon.
Of course, maybe Donald has some inside information that theTimes Co. is just another Enron or Worldcom, propped up by sham accounting and about ready to collapse, all because of Howell's support for gender inclusive golf clubs and the United Nations. Or maye Don's just a bitter, irrational twerp.
Call me old-fashioned, but I much prefer Debbie Gibson in a corset and garter belt.
"The addition of Michael Savage to the MSNBC line-up was made with the full awareness of his reputation for controversy and confrontation. We respect the right of those who wish to protest. However, we also strongly defend his new show as a legitimate attempt to expand the marketplace of ideas." -- Unnamed MSNBC Flak, quoted by Michelangelo Signorile
Exactly what product in the marketplace of ideas does the Savage Weiner represent?
Snuff films? Rancid meat? Human organs illegally harvested from orphans?
Kansas: Where the corn is as a high as your Republican Senator behind the wheel of a two-ton automobile:
Senate Majority Leader Lana Oleen was arrested early Tuesday in southeast Topeka in connection with drunken driving, the same day the Senate passed a bill that would clarify penalties for Kansans convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol.
Oleen, 53, is the second state senator to be arrested on suspicion of drunken driving this year. Sen. Edward Pugh, R-Wamego, was arrested Jan. 3 in connection with the crime after he was involved in a non-injury vehicle accident at S.W. 7th and Topeka Boulevard.
They certainly take disproving evolution very seriously in the Sunflower State.
(Story via Democratic Underground)
The Washington Post understates the un-reality of the matter when it points out:
[The issue] is also somewhat unrealistically framed in the Supreme Court, because the federal government has also charged him with trying to intimidate a witness and hire a hit man to kill an FBI agent -- but neither of those charges is technically part of this appeal, and the justices must rule as if they did not exist.What about the Article III "case or controversy" requirement? Isn't the Court addressing a hypothetical that doesn't exist?
According to the NYT report:
Dr. Sell's court-appointed lawyer, Barry A. Short, argued that the balance tilted clearly in favor of his client, whom he described as dangerous neither to himself nor others and whose nearly five years of pretrial confinement was already longer than the sentence the federal guidelines would impose had he been tried and convicted.
Dr. Sell has a fundamental right to refuse medication, he said, adding that "under these circumstances, I do not see any compelling interest whatsoever in prosecuting this defendant." He said that although Dr. Sell was incompetent as a legal matter, he was "medically competent" to understand his situation and make his own decisions.
It sounds like the attorneys are arguing the case as if the Sells' alleged efforts to kill people never existed. And how can one be competent to make medical decisions but not assist in one's own defense?
I hope Talk Left, the best blog on criminal law I know of, writes about this.
Update: Talk Left comments on the Supreme Court case here. And here is the NACDL link.
Robert Stacy McCain switches roles from Bull Connor wannabe to Joe McCarthy wannabe in his latest series of articles. McCain claims here that 16 Maine schoolteachers "taunted" and "harassed" the children of National Guard troops. But the National Guard won't give out the names of those allegedly involved in the claimed incidents and "journalist" McCain doesn't bother to investigate the accuracy of the claim. He'd rather just smear a group of people without proof.
It's just wrong for McCain to portray citizens of Maine as unpatriotic. After all, Maine gave us one of America's greatest war heroes, who was responsible for sending so many anti-American terrorists and traitors to their deaths.
Answer: No.
Update (3/4): Perhaps I have underestimated Marvin Olasky. No offense intended, Marv.
For those who missed it, in the tradition of Shorter Steve den Beste (SSdB) and Quiddity Quack's Kausfiles Skipper Service, I proudly present "Lys," clocking in at under 2:45.
Seriously, read the play already.
Great minds think alike.
Media Whores Online is asking readers to ask Bill Gates why Microsoft, a 50 percent owner of MSNBC, chooses to associate itself with the bigoted world view of Michael Weiner:
What do Bill and Melinda Gates think of how Microsoft�s co-venture MSNBC has been turned into a circus for the extreme and fascist Republican right, with Michael Savage Weiner has its new ringmaster?
We always thought that the Gateses had a more enlightened view of the world than the hate his network, and MSNBC�s employees Erik Sorenson and Michael Weiner Savage, are now peddling under the phony claim that they are �smart� and controversial.
...
Isn�t it time that Bill and Melinda Gates took another look at what they have wrought � and give serious consideration to pulling the plug?
The author of the article, a American Enterprise Institute writer named Sally Satel, argues that the government should be allowed to medicate mentally ill criminal defendants like Sell, because they aren't mentally competent to make decisions about their own health.
The interesting part of the article is its omission and/or spin on two important facts. The first missing fact is that Sell -- or his friends -- has friends in high places. As Joe Conason reported in 2001, Sell was a member and supporter of the racist Council of Conservative Citizens. And his advocates included no less a personage than John Ashcroft, who was then a Senator (and Southern Partisan fan):
While serving as a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Mr. Ashcroft made several inquiries to the Justice Department on behalf of the dentist, according to Gordon Baum, head of the Council of Conservative Citizens, a militant white racialist group headquartered in Missouri, and the Post-Dispatch. As recently as last September, while he campaigned for re-election to the Senate, Mr. Ashcroft met personally with a prominent C.C.C. member named Thomas Bugel to discuss how he could assist Dr. Sell.
Satel also fails to mention that Sell's alleged paranoia is rabid anti-Clinton hatred. (I suppose she didn't want to risk exposing her AEI fellows to involuntary psychiatric treatment.)
Those omissions might be explained on the basis that Satel was only interested in the medical/legal issue, and not Sell's political beliefs or conservative backers. But the piece also contains a more significant spin on the facts. Satel insinuates that Sell is a non-violent man. She contrasts Sell with a defendant charged with two murders, and says:
The difference here is that Mr. Sell did not kill anyone, and his lawyers claim that the government's interest in prosecuting him for a lesser, nonviolent offense does not outweigh his right to refuse medication.
After characterizing Sell as non-violent, Satel says that "likely as a result of paranoia, he conspired to kill a witness and a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent, prosecutors say."
But Joe Conason tells a different story. He reports that Sell and his wife were charged with plotting to murder an F.B.I. agent and the main witness against him:
That would be Dr. Charles T. Sell, a St. Louis dentist indicted by the Justice Department on charges that include conspiracy to murder an F.B.I. agent and a federal witness.
The strange case of Dr. Sell�imprisoned for much of the past three years in the psychiatric ward of the federal prison in Springfield, Mo.�began in May 1997, when he was arrested in his office by federal agents on charges of defrauding Medicaid. A year later, the government charged the dentist and his wife, Mary Sell, with plotting to kill the F.B.I. agent who arrested him, as well as a former employee who was the chief witness against him. The evidence includes taped conversations described as �incriminating� by a Louis Post-Dispatch reporter who listened to them, and statements by a couple who say the Sells tried to hire them to carry out the murders.
The fact that Sell and his wife allegedly worked in tandem to hire the killer, and both were charged with the crime of conspiracy to commit murder, undercuts the theory that Sell was a "nonviolent" man whose efforts to kill the people who put in him in jail was a result of the onset of post-incarceration delusional thought. (He wasn't plotting to kill Jodie Foster or Abe Lincoln, after all.) The charge of criminal conspiracy to commit murder against Sell would also suggest that it wasn't "prosecutors" who are "say[ing]" that Sell was delusional when he ordered the hit.
So why is a conversative author, in an ostensibly pro-law and order column, trying to downplay the alleged crimes and culpability of an anti-government racist? I can't recall the last time anyone on the right thought mental illness was anything but left-wing dodge to avoid responsibility.
Sean Hannity has launched a second career as an advisor to African-Americans. The selfless white man is on the National Advisory Board of not one but two prestigious African-American organizations. And who is more in need of Sean Hannity's advice than the African-American race?
In his first bit of advice, Sean instructs at-risk inner-city youth about subject-verb agreement and proper sentence structure:
"BOND continues to fight the good fight standing for the values of God, family and country, and are deserving of our support."
Well said, Sean!
"Well, you know, I'm not going to say that it's racially motivated. I do think it is 100 percent politically motivated. It's true that if confirmed, Miguel Estrada would be the first Hispanic member of this court. But there's no question there's a double standard, a double standard being applied to this outstanding Hispanic individual."
Limburger then parses Frist's incoherent statement:
Frist's reluctance to attribute racial bias to Estrada's opponents stands in marked contrast to the conduct of prominent Democrats, who wasted no time playing the race card during the Trent Lott fiasco in December.
Let see: On one the hand, Lott praises a racist politician for running on a segregationist platform. On the other, Democrats oppose a judicial nominee based on his lack of record and refusal to answer relevant questions. That is a marked contrast.
Jim Capozzola of The Rittenhouse Review reports on an interesting article in the Washington Times. The article confirms that the paper is actively promoting an agenda hostile toward gay parents, not only in its news pages, but also at a "World Media Conference" that it co-sponsored with that other Moonie property, UPI. The article, titled "Conference stresses family stories," contains the following quote from Wes Pruden, editor in chief of the Times:
[Pruden] said newspapers have a particular responsibility to get the story right. "There are many pressures on the family that our grandparents and even our parents could hardly have fathomed," he said, and "in addition to reporting the news fairly, without fear and without favor, the newspaper has a responsibility to show its readers that they are not alone in a world that seems increasingly hostile to many of the values that made societies come together in the first place."
These traditional values include family, faith and community, he said.
Speaking of traditional values, here's a family story that undoubtedly wasn't stressed at the conference:
LAMB: Another one--and this is on page 225. It says, `The crowd was egged on by invective from strategically placed leaders.' Quote, `"I hope they bring out eight dead niggers," one leader shouted. The Reverend Wesley Pruden of the Citizens Council was more circumspect. He limited himself mainly to quiet words of assurance to the members of the mob, although once when the crowd rushed to the barricades, he raised his voice, "That's what we gotta fight, niggers, Communists and
cops."'
A couple questions. The Reverend Wesley Pruden--that name is familiar
in this town now--the name is. Is it any relationship to the editor of The Washington Times, Wesley Pruden?
Prof. REED: Yes. This--this man in the book is the father of--of the man who's the editor of The Washington Times.
LAMB: What role did he have to play in this whole thing, and
what--what about that language I just read? How much of that went on in those days?
....
Prof. REED: Yes. The--the Reverend Pruden was one of the top two or three leaders of the segregationist organization called the Citizens Council in--in--in the city of Little Rock. He was a--a powerful speaker. He--he ha--he had the gift of being able to move crowds. And whether you like it or not, that language was--was the language of the--of the day when you're--when a segregationist speaker was trying to move a crowd. Incidentally, tha--that language is taken directly from old files of the FBI, which did a very thorough investigation of the trouble at Little Rock.
Is Pruden responsible for the sins of his father? No. But he is responsible for his own well-established bigotry. And it's not unreasonable to expect Pruden to explain his nostalgia for the "less hostile" world of his father's generation. Or his refusal to acknowledge the far-greater pressures on many families of that generation -- not the least of which was the fear of being killed by Pruden p�re's lynch-mob cronies.
Pruden's paper is right. Some people aren't fit to be parents. But not the ones it thinks.
"Is MSNBC imitating Fox? Yeah. It may be flattering, it may seem like a smart thing to do. But it just doesn't work," noted one broadcast source yesterday.
"CNN already tried it and found that success isn't guaranteed by bringing in new faces or graphics. It's the balanced approach," the source continued. "Fox stays focused and stays fair. And that resonates with viewers."
Krepel asks why this steaming pile of horseshit is attributed to an unnamed source. My question is, why wouldn't Howie go on the record?
This Associated Press article appears to be a nothing more than a rewrite of yesterday's New York Times article about President Clinton's selection as a prospective juror in a federal criminal case in New York. The A.P. article (which is also available on the NYT website) credits the Times three times, but it doesn't appear that there's any original reporting by the A.P. So what's the point? And doesn't the Times lose syndication revenue if the A.P. is offering a competing version of the same article?
The A.P. article leaves out the troubling quote from the district judge that an investigation by the U.S. attorney's office disqualifies someone from serving on a jury. Why should the government get to disqualify someone from jury service just because he's had unfavorable dealings with federal prosecutors?
The most interesting part of Benador's past is the Middle East Forum. In her Benador Associates bio, Ms. Benador says that "[m]ore recently, she has been ... the associate director and director in New York City of a Philadelphia think tank." The unnamed think tank is the Middle East Forum, where Benador was a "media contact" as recently as June 2000. Numerous articles (see here, for example) mention the number of Middle East Forum talking heads who are represented by Benador Associates without mentioning that Benador is a former employee; however, Bill Berkowitz spotted the connection here.
So how does one go from a p.r. flack for a small think tank to the head of a "a high-powered media relations and international Speakers bureau" with a roster of Middle East hawks and "offices in New York City, Paris, London, Madrid, and Geneva" in two years? Many on the roster had established reputations -- and presumably were represented by other p.r. agents -- long before Benador set up shop. With all due respect to Ms. Benador's impressive credentials, one can't help but wonder whether she had some significant assistance in the creation of her agency.
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.
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.
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.
Yeah, right.
I hear the National Enquirer is willing to pay up to $30,000 for a photo of Ben holding a dildo.
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.
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."
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!!!!
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.
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.)
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
"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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.)
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.
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.
(Special thanks to these fine folks and the makers of Victory Fries for their inspiration. Oh, and this bloke.)
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.
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
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.
Anyway, let's hope the voters don't turn to David Duke to discuss foreign policy.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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...
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?"
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.)
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.)
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)
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?
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?
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!
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?
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.
Update: Just fix the damn thing already, Haloscan, I hate fucking around with the template!
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
What does Richard Mellon Scaife, chief funder of the Independent Women's Forum, actually think of women?
See page 245.
Don't believe me? Just ask Billy Graham.
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?
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?
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.)
May it be your last victory this decade.
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.
