How about Best 1,000?

MONTAGE: THE MEDIA’S 10 MOST MORTIFYING MOMENTS OF 2016

Poorly Timed Jennifer Rubin Screed

"Here come the GOP excuses" No, my dear Republicans, if Trump loses, they have themselves to blame — for adopting a white-grievance mentality, for burrowing in a right-wing media cave, for pretending that the country is supposed to be what it was in 1950 when white Christian America was supreme ... . Under the stewardship of (Amazon owner) Jeff Bezos, the WaPost has gone from being a liberal rag that sometimes tries, to a reliably rancid clone of the New York Times. File this snotty election eve Jenifer Rubin article, "Here come the GOP excuses," under COMEUPPANCES. If, as appears increasingly likely, Hillary Clinton wins today, the Republicans most responsible for the calamity will stand ready to spout a load of excuses they've been accumulating since the Republican National Convention, when it became reasonably apparent that Donald Trump was going to run his general-election campaign just the way he did his primary race. Let's save them the trouble: It's the media's fault. How long are inept and out-of-touch Republicans going to blame the media? They've got Fox News, Breitbart, talk radio, etc. — advantages some Republicans never had before. They had multiple debates to get their message out. Oh, yes, and the media handed Trump a couple of billion dollars' worth of ad time in the primaries, making his nomination possible. If they cannot win with all that, they never will. There is no electoral majority of right-wing, older white males who resent women in the workplace and immigrants in their country. It's the FBI's fault. We thought James B. Comey was a hero. Oh, I know, that's so pre-Nov. 6 (the day of his last letter). Seriously, if Republicans need a criminal prosecution to beat a flawed opponent running for a third Democratic presidential term, they have real problems. Saying that Clinton never should have been allowed to run assumes that she was a really good candidate, not a weak one. It's the #NeverTrumpers' fault. C'mon, guys. The people who warned that Trump was a disaster are not to be blamed. The people who ignored the #NeverTrumpers are. To our chagrin, the large majority of Republicans will vote for Trump. It's everyone else — that means Democrats and independents, in addition to a small but determined batch of Republicans — who would be responsible for his defeat, if Clinton wins. The argument blaming #NeverTrumpers ignores why they voted against Trump and presupposes that the highest obligation Republicans have is not to country, but to party. Many Republicans emphatically reject the argument. It's a one-off problem unique to the Trump candidacy. Nonsense. The GOP has not won the presidency since 2004 because it insists on relying on a diminishing segment of the electorate and infuriating everyone else. The chickens are coming home to roost as millions of women, African Americans, Hispanics and millennials turn against the GOP in ever greater numbers. It's the way the system works; there was nothing to be done. That's the excuse we may hear from Republican National Committee officials who were so worried about losing Trump that they sold their party's principles away to keep him in the fold. At several instances, the RNC could have made a difference if it had repudiated him, demanded that he release tax information or allowed delegates to vote their conscience. Moreover, this doesn't explain why GOP primary voters failed to reject an ignoramus, a racist, a xenophobe and a dangerous narcissist. By the time the primaries rolled around — and certainly the general election — they knew exactly what they were getting. They voted for him anyway. It's the fault of white voters who didn't turn out. This sort of magical thinking is what got the GOP into trouble in the first place. There is no electoral majority of right-wing, older white males who resent women in the workplace and immigrants in their country. Americans are a diverse, tolerant nation of immigrants who, generally speaking, do not hate government; the GOP's resistance to that reality has led to its current, sorry state. It was closer than the [Goldwater/McCain/Romney] race. If Trump goes down to defeat, the margin may be big or small. Nevertheless, he will have lost to Hillary Clinton, for goodness' sake, who is the most flawed, disliked and untrustworthy major-party candidate in history with one exception. It's not enough to say that Trump (perhaps) made it close. Any other Republican should have cleaned up against a candidate with this many faults. No, my dear Republicans, if Trump loses, they have themselves to blame — for adopting a white-grievance mentality, for burrowing in a right-wing media cave, for pretending that the country is supposed to be what it was in 1950 when white Christian America was supreme, for listening to anti-immigrant advocates spout untruths to justify xenophobia, for getting cowed by the irrational mob, for becoming anti-government ideologues, for forgetting the essence of modern conservatism (humility, caution, respect for fellow Americans, dedication to equality of opportunity), for losing interest in good governance, for following religious charlatans who laughably claim the moral high ground, for giving way to all-or-nothing purists who make money from obstructionist tactics and for refusing to denounce hucksters and con men who plowed the way for Trump. If the party doesn't attend to those very real, serious problems, it will keep on losing presidential races — and maybe fade away altogether. Jennifer Rubin writes The Right Turn blog for The Washington Post. Pass the crow Ms. Rubin.

A Churlish Huff 'n Puff takes the ball home.

A Note About Our Coverage Of Donald Trump’s ‘Campaign’ "After watching and listening to Donald Trump since he announced his candidacy for president, we have decided we won’t report on Trump’s campaign as part of The Huffington Post’s political coverage. Instead, we will cover his campaign as part of our Entertainment section. Our reason is simple: Trump’s campaign is a sideshow. We won’t take the bait. If you are interested in what The Donald has to say, you’ll find it next to our stories on the Kardashians and The Bachelorette." Huff'nPuff I mean, what the hell; this is just too precious.  Don't like that your candidate is losing?  Embargo the opponent.  All very much in line with the leftist play book.

Time Mag Celebrates Che for ....

Che Guevara Makes Time Magazine Because of His …Wait for It…Asthma! Yesterday was the anniversary of Che Guevara’s execution in Bolivia for trying to start a revolution, but did you know he had asthma? Time Magazine’s article yesterday, How Che Guevara Didn’t Let Asthma Affect His Ambitions, seems to extol his many successes on his “rugged revolutionary road to Cuba”, focusing on how asthma slowed him down. [More] Gob-smacked here boss. Insta Pundit's take"I assume someone there is also hard at work on a piece celebrating how Hitler dramatically overcame bullying and microaggressions by snooty art teachers as a young man, and how Stalin overcame numerous health issues on the way to implementing his own “ambitions.”

Osama bin Fisked

“ by Robert Fisk; the man; the legacy [...] Fisk conducted three interviews with Osama bin Laden, all published by The Independent. These took place on December 6, 1993; July 10, 1996; and March 22, 1997. During one of those interviews, bin Laden, who had taken a liking to Fisk, said: “Mr. Robert, one of our brothers had a dream. He dreamed ... that you were a spiritual person ... this means you are a true Muslim.” In a 2004 videotape, bin Laden praised Fisk as a "neutral" reporter who understood Islamist grievances. Fisk also interviewed such notables as Saddam Hussein, Ayatollah Khomeini, and Sadeq Khalkhali (the hanging judge of the Iranian revolution). Fisk consistently denounces Israel and the United States as oppressive exploiters that provoke the enmity of other nations around the world. While he condemned the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks as a “hideous crime against humanity,” he immediately called for an “honest discussion” about the motives behind those attacks -- a discussion which he said was lacking in the Western press. For his part, Fisk ascribed the attacks chiefly to legitimate Arab anger over U.S. policies in the Middle East, particularly America’s support for Israel. In August 2007 Fisk expressed, for the first time, his personal doubts about what really had occurred on 9/11. He stopped short of actually blaming the U.S. government, reasoning that “the Bush administration has screwed up everything -- militarily, politically, diplomatically -- it has tried to do in the Middle East; so how on earth could it successfully bring off the international crimes against humanity in the United States on 11 September 2001?” He did write, however, that he was “increasingly troubled at the inconsistencies in the official narrative of 9/11.” He elaborated: “It's not just the obvious non sequiturs: where are the aircraft parts (engines, etc) from the attack on the Pentagon? Why have the officials involved in the United 93 flight (which crashed in Pennsylvania) been muzzled? Why did flight 93's debris spread over miles when it was supposed to have crashed in one piece in a field?... I am talking about scientific issues. If it is true, for example, that kerosene burns at 820C under optimum conditions, how come the steel beams of the twin towers -- whose melting point is supposed to be about 1,480C -- would snap through at the same time?... What about the third tower … which collapsed … when no aircraft had hit it?” Fisk has described Israel as a racist state, akin to Apartheid South Africa, guilty of "bestializing" the Palestinian people. He also has portrayed as cowards those reporters who "abe[t] terrible deeds in the Middle East" by "refus[ing] to tell the [ugly] truth about Israel" because they fear "being slandered as 'anti-Semites.'" [Discover the Networks] I stumbled across this photo.  My eyes went from bin Laden to Fisk. 'Nuff said. ”

Come out of the closet MSNBC. Huh?

“ Jorge Ramos; agitprop without sugar Univision's Jorge Ramos was presented the Burton Benjamin Memorial Award for "lifetime achievement in defending press freedom" Tuesday at the 2014 Committee to Protect Journalists International Press Freedom Awards. During his speech before the group of journalists and media executives, Ramos made the case for journalists to drop the facade of impartiality and to use their voices and influence not just to inform but as activists to change policy: "The best of journalism happens when we take a stand: when we question those who are in power, when we confront the politicians who abuse their authority, when we denounce an injustice," Ramos said. "The best of journalism happens when we side with the victims, with the most vulnerable, with those who have no rights. The best of journalism happens when we, purposely, stop pretending that we are neutral and recognize that we have a moral obligation to tell truth to power." The Huffington Post reports that the journalist many consider to be one of the most influential in America used the Iraq war as an example of what journalists should do with their power: "Sadly, we stayed silent before the war in Iraq and thousands of American soldiers and tens of thousands of Iraq civilians died unnecessarily," he continued. "We have to learn from that. Silence is the worst sin in journalism. But the best is when journalism becomes a way of doing justice and speaking truth to power." Ramos pointed to a quote by the great Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel to bring his point home: “We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim.” "Stop pretending we're neutral." Huh? Pretend?  "The best of journalism happens when we side with the victims." Huh? "Sadly, we stayed silent before the war in Iraq and thousands of American soldiers and tens of thousands of Iraq civilians died unnecessarily" Huh? Where have we heard that crap before? Oh, right. “The Communists Marx and Engels” Engels described the tasks of party journalism, noting that it ought “first of all to hold discussions, support, develop, and defend the demands of the party, and reject and refute the pretentions and assertions of the opposing party” (Marx and Engels, Soch., 2nd ed., vol. 4, p. 271).  Jorge Ramos; another psycho-babbling Marxist, preaching to the choir.  But, wait.  Maybe  Horgay knows that since the advent of Murrow-Cronkite Cold War journalism, using mass media to advance leftist ideas have dominated.  And, he takes issue only with their continued pretense of presenting both sides?  That's it. He's likes his totalitarian tea without sweetener. ”

Whippedman's Sampler 2014

MSNBC ALL-STARS and ilk ... is worth 1000 words

“ News Busters have all  these,  and even more nincompoopery ”

Bumpkinification?

Democrat Media Monkeys “ The Bumpification of the Midterm Elections Something Else Strategies, the media-consulting firm responsible for “Squeal,” also masterminded a widely noted spot for the Republican Mike McFadden, who is challenging Al Franken for his Senate seat in Minnesota. McFadden, a former college-football player who now coaches a youth team, recruited his players to appear in a “Bad News Bears"-style spot in which they mess up handoffs (“Washington is fumbling our future”) and clobber each other (“Obamacare needs to be sacked”) before the coach rouses them to “get out there and hit somebody.” At that point, for no particular reason, one player hits him below the belt, leaving the coach to recite the “I’m Mike McFadden, and I approve this message” bit in a high-pitched squeal — the universal signifier of a guy who has just been hit in his junk. Critics of the McFadden ad questioned whether such a joke might fall beneath the dignity of a prospective United States senator. Republicans look poised to pick up Congressional seats throughout America a week from today, so it is accordingly time for the New York Times to let its contempt for the portion of America that exists west of the Hudson to fly. The article, entitled “The Bumpkinification of the Midterm Elections” reads like an 800 word grievance against the idea that Rep. Bruce Braley (D-IA) should have to apologize for suggesting that a farmer is unfit to serve as a Senator. In a fairly representative paragraph, the New York Times displays its exasperation at the idea that politicians should have to apologize for being professional politicians (Red State)   Full Article "... fall beneath the dignity of a prospective United States senator"... ? ”

STFU McCain

John McCain Flip Flops On Sgt. Bergdahl Swap. Are You Surprised?   gag Senator John McCain, the most booked Sunday talk show guest has a big problem when it comes to the Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl prisoner swap that President Obama signed off on. Originally he was all for the trade of prisoners back in February, but if you listen to him now, it's like that never ever happened. Scarce properly called him out over it by saying: The craven politics of John McCain are nothing new. They aren't, but what's just as frustrating is that CNN had the chance to question him on his new position, but failed to do so. Will the media ever call him on it?

On the ball media.

Bengahzi? Give them a few more years.

Pacifica Radio Blows Up

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Left-Wing Darling Pacifica Radio Is Sliding Into the Abyss Summer Reese “A treasure trove of lefty greed, arrogance, self importance, corruption and incompetence. -Donald Vieraitis On March 13, after weeks of rumors, Pacifica Radio's board of directors voted to fire its executive director, Summer Reese, during what was essentially a conference call. But nothing is as simple as all that in the oldest and oddest public radio network in the country. Pacifica has a long and storied history, and still features such leading liberals as Amy Goodman, the widely known host of Democracy Now! (on which journalists Glenn Greenwald and Jeremy Scahill are frequent guests), but it has fallen on hard times of late. Listenership, according Reese, is "extraordinarily low." During an average 15-minute period, just 700 people listen to its Los Angeles station, 90.7 FM KPFK, for at least five minutes, according to Nielsen Audio, which monitors radio ratings. Four days later, Reese sent an email to the entire Pacifica staff announcing that she was not recognizing the board's authority: "I want to assure you that I am in possession of a signed and valid contract for three years of employment from the board of directors and that I fully intend to complete that contract." And so it was that Reese marched to the Pacifica national office in Berkeley on March 17, bolt cutters in hand, removed a padlock placed on the front doors over the weekend, and essentially occupied the building. When newly appointed interim executive director Margy Wilkinson showed up, Reese and 12 of her compatriots — including Reese's mother, a longtime anti-war and civil rights activist — refused to let Wilkinson, her husband and two of her allies pass. "You're all going to be personally liable — and I'm going to enjoy your houses!" Reese shouted at them, according to former board member Sasha Futran, who backs Wilkinson. Later Reese read for all the staff, in her deep and booming voice, from the Book of Joshua: "Whosoever he be that doth rebel against thy commandment, and will not hearken unto thy words in all that thou commandest him, he shall be put to death: only be strong and of a good courage." "I feel like I've ended up in an insane asylum," Futran told L.A. Weekly a few hours later, still in disbelief. "I'm not leaving the building until this is resolved by either the Attorney General's Office or the court," Reese told the Weekly. "I don't want these people to destroy Pacifica." [Full Barrel of Fun] During an average 15-minute period, just 700 people listen Just Freaking Precious

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Jon Stewart-What theFracking Hell?

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Three hours of Waterboarding With Jon Stewart “I knew that the Daily Show is a comedy show masquerading as a news program. My peers told me horror stories of how the show had treated others whose views didn’t mesh with those of Jon Stewart—not that the guests were personally abused, but that the final product didn’t represent what was really said during the taping. ”  On Thursday, February 27, I received an email that said: “I’m a producer at the Daily Show with Jon Stewart. We’re working on a segment about fracking & I wanted to reach out to see if you’d be interested in participating. I read your column in Town Hall a few months ago & it’s just what we’re looking for—we’d like to have someone dispel a lot of the myths & untruths about fracking.” I responded that, yes, I was interested. After doing my research, I agreed to participate. On March 6, I flew to New York City for a taping on March 7. I knew that the Daily Show is a comedy show masquerading as a news program. My peers told me horror stories of how the show had treated others whose views didn’t mesh with those of Jon Stewart—not that the guests were personally abused, but that the final product didn’t represent what was really said during the taping. I weighed the pro and cons and decided to take the risk. I figured that no matter how good I might be, I was unlikely to change the opinions of the young audience that watches the Daily Show and thinks it is real news. Additionally, my audience doesn’t generally watch it—and if they do, they’ll know my comments were heavily edited, as my views are well known. What really pushed me to accept the invitation was the fact that the following week, March 10-13, I was scheduled to be in Southern California speaking on college campuses and my Daily Show taping would enhance my “street-cred” with the potential audiences. I knew I was not the first person to whom they had reached out. Others had turned them down. If I said “no,” they’d continue down some list until they found someone who’d say yes. I figured it might as well be me because I know that I know my topic. I know I will represent it accurately. The next person on the list might not be as well informed. I expected that they’d try to spring something on me and make me look foolish. Based on the pre-taping interviews, I felt that I had a sense of where the interview would go. They had a few questions about which I was unsure. I sent an email to the several thousand people on my enewsletter list asking for input on specific questions. Many sent me helpful information that I read on the plane on the way to New York. I talked to industry experts. I studied up as if I was heading in for a final exam. I wanted to be sure they couldn’t trip me up. When I walked into the offices of the Daily Show, I felt that I was ready. I told them: “I know your job is to make me look bad, but mine is to be sure I look good.” I wore a favorite red silk blouse with gold jewelry. The team was very kind to me. They shot some “B roll” of Aasif, the correspondent who’d be doing the interview, and me walking toward the room where the taping would take place and some of me working at a computer. I was escorted to a dark, dreary-looking room with camera and sound guys, and Jena, the producer. It is not really about fracking. It is about fossil fuels—and hating them. The average person doesn’t have a clear understanding of the role that energy plays in their lives The interview started straight enough. They asked one of the questions they’d asked via telephone: “Why do environmentalists hate fracking?” I explained that I didn’t think it was really about fracking, as thousands, if not millions, of wells had been drilled using hydraulic fracturing since modern techniques were developed in 1949. I pointed out that a primitive form of fracking was done in the late 1800s when a nitro glycerin torpedo was dropped down a well hole. Despite this long, safe, and prosperous history the frack attacks had started in October 2007—shortly after the technologies of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling were successfully combined and began to unleash America’s new energy abundance. I continued: It is not really about fracking. It is about fossil fuels—and hating them. The average person doesn’t have a clear understanding of the role that energy plays in their lives (which is why I do what I do). All most people know about energy is the price of gasoline and they know “drill, baby, drill.” They know that increased production of oil translates to lower prices at the pump. So the anti-fossil fuel crowd can’t come out with an anti-drilling campaign, but they can use a term that sounds scary and that people do not understand: fracking—the vernacular for hydraulic fracturing. To prove my point, I told about driving through Starbuck’s two days earlier. I’d bantered with Jason, the young man selling me my Café Mocha. I told him I was going to New York for the Daily Show to talk about fracking; that they’d have a pro-fracking guest and an anti-fracking guest; that I was the pro-fracking guest. He replied: “Whatever that is.” Because people, like Jason, do not know what fracking is, the antis can give it whatever definition they want and use fear, uncertainty, and doubt to turn people against the proven technology that is almost singly responsible for creating millions of jobs in America and bringing us closer to energy independence than previously ever thought possible. In a recent Fracking by the Numbers report, on page 6, Environment America offers a definition that basically covers the entire drilling process from permitting to production—including “to deliver the gas or oil produced from that well to market.” Once they had scared people, those against fracking set out to stop the procedure—with the ultimate goal of banning it all together. Since 96-98% of all oil-and-gas wells drilled in the U.S. today are stimulated using hydraulic fracturing, banning fracking essentially bans oil-and-gas production. I backed up my opinions by citing the November 2013 elections where four towns in Colorado and three in Ohio had fracking bans on the ballot. All passed in Colorado and one in Ohio. Earlier in 2013, the commissioners in the little county of Mora, NM, voted to ban all oil-and-gas drilling outright—not just fracking (however, the Los Angeles Times coverage of the Mora County story called it a fracking ban—illustrating how the two concepts, drilling and fracking, have become interchangeable). Even though some of the communities voting to ban fracking have no potential oil-and-gas drilling, the wins provide momentum for a national movement. In a press release celebrating the Mora County vote—which also calls it a fracking ban—the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund, the group fomenting opposition in Mora County, said: “Mora County joins over 150 communities across the country which have asserted their right to local self-governance through the adoption of local laws that seek to control corporate activities within their municipality.” In January, 2014, left-wing advocacy group MoveOn.org heralded its “#FrackingFighter” campaign in which it calls for “grassroots organizing and people power to beat back big industry in town after town and county after county.” They declare: “now it’s time to double down on our strategy.” Aasif asked about fracking accidents. I asserted that there were none that I was aware of and cited the fact that three leading Obama Administration secretaries—hardly fossil-fuel fans—had declared fracking to be safe: former Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, former Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, and current Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz. Now, in hour three of what I told the crew was like three hours of waterboarding where they kept throwing stuff at me in hopes I’d give something up, the tone changed. Suddenly, Aasif repeatedly asked me about pizza and whether it was appropriate compensation for a “fraccident.” I stopped and told them: “I will not say that word.” Since I was not aware of any fracking accidents, I wasn’t going to let them get me on camera saying “fraccident.” He pushed on anyway and carried on about how wonderful New York pizza was. Surely, it would be appropriate compensation for a “fraccident” that caused a four-day fire and killed one person. No, it wouldn’t. I offered: “The courts have established damages for loss of life and loss of property.” He continued with the pizza theme. Somewhere in there, he mentioned Chevron. Frustrated, I finally said something to the effect of: “If the person who’d received the damages wanted pizza, then yes, it would be appropriate.” When we were about to wrap, they thanked me and, on camera, gave me a pizza. Later I received an email from the producer who’d invited me saying: “Thanks again for coming out for this interview. I hope it wasn’t too silly! Aasif & Jena thought you were great, though.” On the plane on the way home, I reflected on the experience and deduced what they were up to. I sent the producer a follow up email: “I am glad that Aasif and Jena thought I was great. I told them it felt like three hours of waterboarding. I can’t wait to see what you all do with it. I am assuming that you are going to do a fake news story on a fracking/drilling accident that results in a four-day fire and one death and the evil oil company offers pizza as compensation. You will have me saying that there has never been a fracking accident that I know of. Then you have me saying, yes, I watch the news…” Once I was back at my desk, I did a search on Chevron, accident, and pizza. The story came up. It wasn’t a fake accident, but it also wasn’t a “fraccident.” While the exact cause of the Greene County, PA, well fire is still under investigation, the local news reported: “Chevron had previously completed drilling and hydraulically fracturing, or fracking, the well and was in the final stages of using steel pipe to hook it up to a pipeline distribution network for production.”  The Pennsylvania Depart of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) Scott Perry stated: “the problem may have come from a defect in the wellhead itself. Chevron’s wellheads are ringed with collars that have set pins running horizontally through them.” Perry says one of the pins may have blown out of the collar, releasing the gas. Apparently, according to the DEP the “gas well explosion is the first serious Marcellus shale well blowout in our region.” Houston-based Wild Well Control, which responded to the Greene County accident, says in the past year it responded to five-surface well blowouts accompanied by fires. The statistics suggest major fires are relatively rare. The accident referenced by the Daily Show, took place in a rural area and no homes were endangered. But Chevron realized that the increased truck traffic and other activities inconvenienced the folks of Bobtown. In an effort to be a “good partner” in the community, Chevron offered vouchers to the only eatery within 80 miles. While the locals aren’t upset with Chevron for the gesture, saying: “The whole issue was blown out of proportion,” comedians have had a field day with it and the anti-fossil fuel crowd is using it for messaging. A petition has been started at MoveOn.org (surprise) demanding that Chevron apologize for the free pizza—calling it “an insult.” There are currently 1200+ signatures, mostly from distant locales, but none from Bobtown. Local resident Gloria Garnek commented on the contrived controversy and the coupons: “People here, you know, we were kind of overwhelmed a little bit with all the publicity and people coming in. So I think it’s a nice thing.” Thank you, Daily Show, for flying me to New York and taking good care of me while I was in town. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to talk about hydraulic fracturing and alerting me to Bobtown Pizza. Without the March 7 taping, I wouldn’t have told the story of the anti-fossil fuel crowd’s efforts to ban fracking and exploit the good people of Bobtown. While it felt like three hours of waterboarding, I believe I’ve been able to make some good come from the experience. I can’t wait to see how they turn three hours of recording into a 3-5 minute segment when it airs in late March or early April. Story and Links HERE Brains and due diligence prevail.  Unfortunately, her audience are largely—you know.

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An old new story. Or, new old ...?"

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Knock-Knock CNN's Carol Costello admitted on Wednesday that President Obama's staff "can be quite nasty" to deal with. Given Costello's propensity to be a bleeding-heart liberal, her admission is all the more striking. "I felt it first hand when I was, you know, reporting on the presidential race," Costello noted. "I mean President Obama's people can be quite nasty. They don't like you to say anything bad about their boss, and they're not afraid to use whatever means they have at hand to stop you from doing that, including threatening your job." [Full] Do we have a Pastor Niemoller moment breaking out here?  "I watched administration thugs persecute conservatives, but I am not a teapartier, so I remained silent. ..."   No.  She sounds matter of fact; accepting of harsh behavior from this president.  She violated the code. Pleae sir, may I have another?" Carol Costello, new age reporter. News reporter.  Didn't know, or give credence to, if she did, of myriad reports about Obama's propensity to dispatch street thugs to silence critics during his 2008 presidential campaign.  Like these examples.  The Obama campaign's October 2008 order to blacklist the Orlando television station whose reporter, Barbara West, dared ask Sen. Biden a hard question about Barack Obama's tax policies August 27, 2008 .  Sent out an Obama Action Wire email to "supporters" encouraging them to inundate a Chicago radio station  with complaints and demands that a Stanley Kurtz interview about his ties to Bill Ayers be axed. A few weeks later,he again summoned his street army through another Obama Action Wire, inciting them to once again inundate the same Chicago radio show with calls to deny airtime for an interview with author David Freddoso, author of the book The Case Against Barack Obama. A nonprofit called "Accountable America" that is headed by a former operative of MoveOn.com (which endorsed Obama, and later provided his "birth certificate")  has been going through campaign-finance databases and targeting conservative donors with "warning" letters intended to depress Republican fundraising. The Obama campaign demanded that the U.S. Justice Department stop TV stations from airing an independent ad focusing on Obama's relationship with Bill Ayers. Again, Obama's followers were summoned to inundate stations with tens of thousands of emails to kill the commercial.  Obama demanded that the Justice Department investigate and prosecute the group that produced the Bill Ayers ad (the American Issues Project) and the man who funded the group (Harold Simmons from Dallas, Texas). Through the attorney for Obama for America, he asked the U.S. Attorney General to investigate John McCain, Sarah Palin, and Republican Senators Voinovich and Cornyn and Representatives Bachmann, Blunt and Ryan because of the Republicans' attempts to draw attention to ACORN's fraudulent voter registration activities. The persecution of Joe the Plumber for having the gall to answer a televised Obama query negatively. "I mean President Obama's people can be quite nasty. They don't like you to say anything bad about their boss," Look at Drudge's page right now.  Were these clarion calls, or what?  And nobody heard much about them..

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Traditions Change

“ Obama is wrong. Traditional journalism isn’t dead.   Obama is wrong. Traditional journalism isn’t dead. By Danny Hayes, Washington Post ,Published: August 4 at 1:45 pm Poli-Sci Perspective is a weekly Wonkblog feature in which Georgetown University’s Dan Hopkins and George Washington University’s Danny Hayes and John Sides offer an empirical perspective on the issues dominating Washington. In this edition, Hayes looks at President Obama’s assertion that traditional journalism is dead, and finds it wanting. For past posts in the series, head here. Blah-Blah-Self-Serving Blah .... Correction: This post originally stated that Obama said “traditional journalism is dead” in his interview with Amazon. That was incorrect. Now that's become traditional... Yannik ”

How staggeringly stupid are they?

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KTV has confirmed that these are the names of the pilots Captain Sum Ting Wong Wi Tu LO Ho Lee Fuk Bang Ding Ow

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Bug Eyed Crack Dealers, Etc.

Meet The Press

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Last week an employee the North Chicago Police came up with a brochure that used offensive images. It included a mug shot of a bug-eyed black man, and another of comedian Dave Chappelle as a crack fiend. There were also photographs of overweight cops, Judge Judy, Barney Fife and Lindsay Lohan. The only thing missing was Honey Boo-Boo. The brochure was used in a presentation on trial procedures and a handout for participants in the new North Chicago Citizen Police Academy. [full]   I choked on my oatmeal when I saw that Sun Times page yesterday .  I apologize for my insensitivity.  But then I remembered that there would be just as much outrage if they'd used this picture of Trayvon Martin, and not the angelic 10 year old the media have used to portray this thug.  So screw em.

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Torquemada, Hansen/Gore, Richard Dawkins

GREEN CRAP I Stand By It as a Theatrical Work The paper might have been scientifically invalid, but it was a box-office success. The headlines were everywhere “ A group of international scientists is sounding a global alarm, warning that population growth, climate change and environmental destruction are pushing Earth toward calamitous — and irreversible — biological changes.  [LATIMES] Here's how Anthony Watts dealt with this one.  Well, you can read it;  I'll just post a few of the comments which will give you what you need to know (it's all  more contrived climate crap): Nature, record heat, tipping points, Hansen’s opinion on weather noise, and all that Fred 2 says: June 9, 2012 at 10:29 am Why doesn’t the meme, “We are doomed, doomed I say. So give me more money and control over your life” seem convincing? stpaulchuck says: June 9, 2012 at 10:31 am 1895…. we were just coming out of the Little Ice Age. Today’s temperatures are higher than that. *shock* *surprise* [/snark] In point of fact we are merely approaching the Middle Ages Warm Period temperatures. That was a time period which was absolutely great for humans and other creatures, yet we’re supposed to be horrified. What a crock of BS. NEXT The LA TIMES, On the discovery of  phytoplankton (carbon dioxide munchers -) which the AGW lobby had already listed as goners, this amusing insight. So, yes, the phytoplankton could have been growing for a long time, Bontempi said, which she finds "fascinating." "Things are happening on this planet that we never knew existed." But let's not let this "setback" keep us from our appointed rounds,quoth Algore, and his merry band? Again from Anthony Watts. NEXT Jo Nova chronicles the snapping of the Gergis hockey stick Posted on June 9, 2012 by Anthony Watts Note: I’m reposting this excellent essay from Jo Nova to give it a wide as an audience as possible. Be sure to bookmark her site if you have not already. – Anthony 300,000 dollars and three years to produce a paper that lasted three weeks: Gergis The paper might have been scientifically invalid, but it was a box-office success. The headlines were everywhere Blah-Blah- Blah.  I know that most of you are also utterly confounded by the AGW climate lobby's refusal to acknowledge that they are thoroughly discredited.  Take James Hansen, (when news first leaked that Tipper discovered Al was screwing someone else, everyone's first guess was Hansen),   head of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies.  How does he keep his job?  How can he possibly have any standing left in the scientific community?  The same goes for Michael "Hockey Stick" Mann.  Rather than carry coal to Newcastle,  I'll suggest that this  is an epiphany. Torquemada, Hansen/Gore, Richard Dawkins Ben Stein examines the issue of academic freedom and decides that there is none when it comes to the debate over intelligent design.  Stein's not arguing for or against "intelligent design" (which is not "creationism"), but rather the "scientific community's response to any debate. And, I do mean any.  What we find are the same academia mindsets (the debate is over), catch-phrases (the debate is over),  and  penalty for straying outside the box - excommunication.  Trust me on this one - at least begin watching, or bookmark it. This is the whole movie. ”