"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler
The local newspaper can’t be bothered, but she scores big with New Media:
“There are serious issues in the district and the voters deserve the issues on the table.”
Read the whole thing. Remember it was Da Tech Guy who loaned me the Famous Fedora of Objectivity, which made another celebrity appearance today:
Yeah, Mattie Fein has joined the Axis of Fedora. You can follow her on Facebook or Twitter.
Readers may remember the headline here Wednesday morning:
Obama-Endorsed Rep. Hank Johnson
to Participate in Segregated Forum?
It was Dan Riehl who tipped me to that story, which originated with a Facebook post from Republican congressional candidate Liz Carter, who had been excluded from an Atlanta political event, the Newsmakers Live forum.
Da Tech Guy jumped on the story and started making calls, and the story was quickly picked up by Georgia blogger Obi’s Sister, by Pete Randall at Peach Pundit, by Red State (with a cross-post at Minority Report) and by Melissa Clouthier at Liberty Pundits.
The denouement? Liz Carter was included in the forum — at the insistence of Johnson’s Democratic primary rivals — and Johnson himself had a mysterious “schedule conflict” that prevented him from attending. As DaTechGuy notes today, the controversy was covered yesterday by Alex Pappas of the Daily Caller and today by the Atlanta bureau of CBS News:
When James Welcome, executive producer of the Newsmakers Live political forum, opened the show Wednesday night, he made this statement: “Tonight we are being called racists all over the web because we failed to invite Liz Carter.” . . .
Jones and Stokes would not to participate in the forum unless Carter was allowed, so the organizers gave her a seat and allowed her to participate.
Furthermore, the story was picked up by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
A political novice running for Georgia’s Fourth Congressional district on Wednesday night demonstrated her social media savvy, using her Twitter account to gain access to a political forum she said intended to exclude her.
“I just sent out one tweet,” said Liz Carter, who is white, a Republican and a long shot to win the heavily Democratic district that represents portions of DeKalb, Gwinnett and Rockdale counties.
Red State also has a follow-up today. Much credit for this belongs to Carter’s campaign coordinator Cheryl Prater, who has been resourceful and persistent in helping make the blogosphere aware of Liz. Credit is also due to bloggers and Twitter activists who saw the news value in the story. A few quick points here:
It should be emphasized that New Media alone cannot win an election. A candidate must still raise money, buy advertising, give speeches, shake hands, and do all the other basics of campaigning. Online media aren’t magic; they’re just one more tool in the toolkit.
Nearly all campaigns now recognize the value of New Media, but not all know how to engage effectively online, and examples of effective engagement deserve to be studied. The story of Liz Carter and the Newsmakers Live forum is a good lesson.
UPDATE 3 p.m. ET: Da Tech Guy reports that Rep. Hank Johnson’s office says the congressman will not attend tonight’s “Newsmakers Live” forum due to a scheduling conflict.
PREVIOUSLY (11:55 a.m. ET): When Dan Riehl told me about this I couldn’t believe it, but it’s apparently true: Georgia Republican congressional candidate Liz Carter was told by organizers of a “Newsmakers Live” 4th District candidate forum tonight that the event is for black candidates only:
Just informed “Black Candidates” Only Tonight” So because I’m white I’m not invited to participate even though it is a Democrat and Republican debate?
While the organizers have invited Democratic incumbent Rep. Hank Johnson and his two Democratic primary challengers, as well as black Republican candidate Cory Ruth, they have reportedly excluded not only Liz Carter but also two other Republican primary candidates, one white and one Hispanic.
It’s a private event and the organizers are free to invite whoever they want but it’s hard to believe that Hank Johnson — who has been endorsed by Barack Obama — would participate in a segregated event.
Liz Carter is asking her supporters to call the event sponsor, WAOK 1380 AM, at 404-892-2703 and ask why she has been left out of this event.
UPDATE: Da Tech Guy is on da story:
I tried to call the radio station the mail box of the news department is jammed. I reached another person and was told that the station had nothing to do with the event although there were aware of it. It turns out the event is being organized by something called the Newsmakers’ Journal.
If anybody can get to the bottom of this, Da Tech Guy will.
UPDATE II: Twitter friend Kurt Schlichter:
1956 just called, it wants its anachronism back.
Somebody needs to ask Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs about this.
UPDATE III: In the comments, Georgia blogger Obi’s Sister reports:
WAOK claims they are not a sponsor for the event. But they are more than helpful in passing on additional contact information.
Mr. Maynard Eaton, of Newsmakers Live (404.223.5910 and 404.254.8322) claims he’s never heard of Liz Carter. He said the forum had nothing to do with color, even though it is a “blacks only” private event. He said they would have a Republican event later, when when asked why he invited Cory Ruth, a black Republican, he didn’t have an answer.
When I asked if he’d reschedule the event to be able to include all the candidates, he asked, “Why?”
Evidently HopeNChange has nothing to do with making things right.
Eugene Talmadge and Lester Maddox could not be reached for comment.
Da Tech Guy is on the prowl this week near my hometown of Atlanta, but I made him promise to leave his matches in Massachusetts. Of course, Atlanta’s been utterly overrun with Yankees in the past few decades — I blame air-conditioning, interstate highways and Hartsfield Airport — and it figures that the first person Da Tech Guy interviewed in Georgia would be from Boston.
He’s already Dixie-fied the Axis of Fedora, but apparently hasn’t yet made it to the world-famous Varsity drive-in yet. (I told him to try the onion rings, the Frosted Orange and the fried peach pie.) However, does he seem to have enjoyed breakfast at Mamie’s in Lithonia, and he had a very interesting interview with local journalist Jennifer Parker:
In 2008 she was surprised that Hank Johnson had run unopposed, this had not happened in her memory in the district. . . .
Speaking of surprises another surprise is the number of Republicans running for the nomination. Usually a republican runs and is soundly defeated, she is surprised that so many people are vying for the right to have that experience. She mentioned the possibility of the tea parties encouraging people to run. As a person who hosted the first candidates’ forum she had met with the candidates but thought none of them would be able to win in a district where President Obama drew his highest percentage of victory even higher than his home district.
Be sure to keep track of his Georgia trip — he’s covering Republican 4th District candidate Liz Carter — at Da Tech Guy’s blog. And hit his tip jar!
by Smitty
Da Tech Guy asserts that Rand Paul failed to consider his audience when launching into a theoretical discussion on MSNBC:
The basic issue isn’t so much with the theory, which I discuss in detail here; the problem is theory can be an excuse to do nothing. As Sen Pat McNamara once said to Sen Richard Russell when challenged why the south should not be left to solve it’s own civil rights issues during the debates of 1957: “Because you’ve had 90 years and haven’t done it!” There are times when theory is not enough.
But Paul biggest mistake was similar to John McCain’s in 2008 and comes from the same source. He and his father have gotten relatively soft interviews from the mainstream media, due to their willingness to critique republicans in general and the war in particular. Once he was a face of the party, he was no longer of use, thus the media did a 180.
However, I think that DTG cleaves closer to the bone in that second quoted paragraph: it really doesnt matter what Paul said; his words were going to fed into the Verbal Aerator/Gyeconlogical Inverter/Nebulous Artificer, emerging as vastly different monolougue. He may as well have quoted Klavan offering suggested campaign promises for the POTUS:
If it was me, I would have kept the booking on Press the Meat for this Sunday, and started off my remarks by forgiving Rachel Maddow at length and in detail for being such a sad little Lefty propaganda hit-bimbo. But that’s how I roll.
This post’s title is and old Herb Sutter-ism
12:08 p.m. ET: DaTechGuy on the scene reports by phone: The boarding house where the suspects were arrested is “next door to public housing” in an “ethnically mixed neighborhood.” Residents describe it as “a very quiet neighborhood” where “nothing ever happens — until today.”
UPDATE 12:20 p.m. ET: New England Cable News names Mohammad Bakht Zameen as one of the suspects in the case:
Federal agents roped off a Mobil station in Brookline Thursday morning, raiding the building along with a gray Honda Accord in the parking lot.
A man being questioned inside the gas station was believed to be the owner of the gray Honda, police told NECN. Police are unsure of his relation to the owner of the gas station, who is a well-known member of the Brookline community, Elias Audy. As off 11 a.m., the man under questioning had not been released from the gas station.
FBI officials were inside the Mobil station throughout the morning, pulling material out of the building’s bays — it is unclear exactly what they were doing. The focus of the investigation was on a gray Honda Accord registered to Mohammad Bakht Zameen of 39 Waverley Avenue in Watertown, Mass. That residence was also raided by FBI officials Thursday morning.
12:52 p.m. ET: In his latest update via telephone from scene, Da Tech Guy reports that the 2-story boarding house at 39 Waverly Ave. is located two doors down and across the street from Watertown Middle School (68 Waverly Ave.).
Residents in the neighborhood tell Da Tech Guy they were awakened this morning by the sound of helicopters overhead. FBI agents have been seen taking papers and computers out of 39 Waverly, and have reportedly set up a temporary headquarters in the basement cafeteria of the Watertown Housing Authority (55 Waverly Ave.).
The boarding house at 39 Waverly is owned by absentee landlords and most people in the neighborhood don’t know their neighbors. That might make it “a perfect place” for would-be terrorists to keep a low profile, as one resident told Da Tech Guy, who is continuing to interview residents, police and other people on the scene. He will be filing photos and video later today.
UPDATE 1:15 p.m. ET: The Boston Globe reports:
Baij Joshi, who manages the Watertown property for his father, Shubh, said the tenants on the first floor were several Pakistani men, who had lived there “more than two to three years.” He said some had spoken recently of taking trips to Pakistan.
“They seemed to be very good people. They paid the rent on time,” he said.
“The impression that I got is they’re working people, making their daily livelihood by driving a taxi and working in a store,” he said. . . .
FBI agents also questioned employees at another Brookline gas station, at the corner of Cypress Street and Route 9, this morning. They asked about a recently hired Pakistani employee who apparently worked Sundays for the last several months, said Hiyam Jabour, the cashier at the Mobil station, who was interviewed.
Neither she nor the mechanic from the garage said they knew the man, noting that he worked on a different shift. They referred questions to Elias Audy, the owner of the station, who also owns the gas station on Harvard Street.
Bill Audy, brother of Elias Audy, said he “wants the truth to be known.” He said he did not know the Pakistani employee but said that he worked at the gas station for “a very short time.” He said the real victim is his brother.
“This is a mess,” Audy said. “I think the media has destroyed my brother’s business. If I’m an outsider, I’ve got to wonder if the owners of the gas station are terrorists. He’s not happy about this.”
In the interest of “responsible, ethical journalism,” we must stipulate: (a) the individuals arrested are merely suspects, and their connections to Faisal Shahzad are unknown; and (b) even if the arrested suspects are involved in terrorism, neither their landlords nor their employers have been implicated in any such allegation.
It has just been reported that Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick will be holding a press conference shortly.
UPDATE 1:20 p.m. ET: Linked by Jules Crittenden, who happens to be city editor of the Boston Herald.
EXPECT FURTHER UPDATES . . .
PREVIOUSLY (11:08 a.m ET): Da Tech Guy just called from Massachusetts to tell me about this story now breaking on local news there:
The FBI conducted several raids in Massachusetts Thursday in connection with the failed Times Square car bombing, officials told CBS News.
Further raids are expected throughout the day.
Two people have been detained for “immigration violations,” FBI spokesperson Gail Marcinkiewicz told CBS station WBZ-TV in Boston, though she would not say whether they were involved in the plot.
“The searches are a product of evidence that has been gathered in the investigation subsequent to the Times Square bombing investigation,” said Marcinkiewicz.
Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick cancelled a planned appearance in Fitchburg today. Da Tech Guy has already blogged about this story, as has Jammie Wearing Fool. Da Tech Guy called me from the road as he was en route to the scene of the raids, and promises to have exclusive reporting soon.
UPDATE 11:22 a.m. ET: In our brief phone conversation, Da Tech Guy said the raids involve a family well-respected in the Boston suburban community where the raid took place. The Associated Press reports:
[P]olice have cordoned off a small house in Watertown, a suburb about 10 miles west of Boston where a neighbor reported seeing an FBI raid. . . .
Vinny Lacerra, 50, who lives across the street from the house raided in Watertown, said he was in his living room about 6 a.m. when he heard somebody say, “FBI! Put your hands up!”
Lacerra said he looked out his windows and saw 15 to 20 FBI agents with their guns drawn surrounding the house.
He said about 15 minutes later, the agents went inside and came out with one man handcuffed and took him down the street. He also said he saw an agent from Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“I was surprised to see this because this is what you see on TV,” Lacerra said.
Da Tech Guy should arrive in the vicinity within minutes.
UPDATE 11:32 a.m. ET: Dan Riehl was on this story early, with links to the New York Daily News and this report from the Boston Herald:
FBI agents were also seen at two gas stations in Brookline – one on Harvard Street and another on Cypress Street. . . .
Lacerra said the rental property [on Waverly Avenue], which is located across the street from Watertown middle school, is constantly turning over with new residents. Neighbors said they’ve seen police staking out the area for several days, but did not why . . .
UPDATE 11:40 a.m. ET: Just got off the phone with Da Tech Guy, who just arrived on Waverly Avenue in Watertown and reports: “There are police all around, news cameras everywhere.”
UPDATE 11:45 a.m. ET: Now a Memeorandum thread and a story at Fox News, linked by Ed Morrissey at Hot Air, where one of the commenters gets snarky:
CNN investigating anonymous reports that the men were arrested at the local tea party headquarters.
Da Tech Guy seems surprised:
Raquel Welsh echoing Robert Stacy McCain?
Yet we should not be surprised that even a legendary bombshell would acknowledge self-evident truth:
One significant, and enduring, effect of The Pill on female sexual attitudes during the 60’s, was: “Now we can have sex anytime we want, without the consequences. Hallelujah, let’s party!”
These days, nobody seems able to “keep it in their pants” or honor a commitment! . . . [Marriage] is the cornerstone of civilization, an essential institution that stabilizes society, provides a sanctuary for children and saves us from anarchy.
In stark contrast, a lack of sexual inhibitions, or as some call it, “sexual freedom,” has taken the caution and discernment out of choosing a sexual partner, which used to be the equivalent of choosing a life partner. Without a commitment, the trust and loyalty between couples of childbearing age is missing, and obviously leads to incidents of infidelity. No one seems immune.
So she agrees with me. And other guys in funny hats, like Paul VI.
UPDATE: Of course, not everyone agrees with Raquel and me. A commenter at Hot Air, for example:
I’m married. My wife is on the pill. It beats the hell out of condoms. Cheaper too. When we want another child, she’ll stop taking it.
This article is a bunch of generalizations, loose connections, and statistical bullsht . . . which has no basis in fact or reality, but simply in emotional prejudice. . . .
Is it to make the pill illegal? Is it to ban the choice altogether based on morality, backed by the power of Government?
Or is it to spread the word and hope to educate people about something so they adjust their lifestyles to what you approve?
This type of objection — “How dare you criticize my choice!” — is a logical consequence of the very cultural shift under discussion. Welcome to the Empire of Choice. We may summarize the commenter’s implicit syllogism thus:
I have often encountered such emotional reactions over the years as an advocate of home schooling and critic of the public education system. Criticize public schools in general, and you will quickly discover that some people think it a sufficient refutation to say, “Well, I graduated from public school and I’m OK,” or, “My kids attend public school and it’s just peachy keen.”
Heaven forbid you should cite evidence (e.g., education majors, on average, have the lowest SAT scores of all college students) that the teaching profession is nowadays dominated by intellectual mediocrities. Then you will catch holy unshirted hell from some teacher, or a teacher’s spouse or child, accusing you of defamation.
Contrary to the commenter’s mischaracterization of my essay, what I sought to assert was that:
Nowhere did I urge that The Pill should be made illegal, nor do I suppose that my essay would compel people to “adjust their lifestyles to what [I] approve.”
My approval is as irrelevant as the commenter’s indignation. What is relevant, however, is the extent to which Americans have been indoctrinated with the beliefs of the Contraceptive Culture. If the indignant commenter had followed the link in that essay to my July 2009 post, “Big Money and the Culture of Death,” he would have seen this quote from Bill Buckley:
In the hands of a skillful indoctrinator, the average student not only thinks what the indoctrinator wants him to think . . . but is altogether positive that he has arrived at his position by independent intellectual exertion. This man is outraged by the suggestion that he is the flesh-and-blood tribute to the success of his indoctrinators . . .
No well-informed person can deny that such indoctrination has been integral to the advance of the Contraceptive Culture, and one of the central tenets of that culture is the imperative of nonjudgmentalism: “Thou Shalt Not Criticize Thy Neighbor’s Lifestyle.”
Every reader of this blog is free to engage in whatever lifestyle suits them, without regard to whether I approve. I have at various times criticized cosmetic surgery, and yet I suspect that Raquel Welch has benefitted from surgical enhancement. Am I guilty of condemning Raquel Welch? No. And it may well be that Raquel Welch disapproves of cigarette smoking. Does this imply any insult to me? Not at all.
Yet such is the nature of discourse in the Empire of Choice that many people believe that any general criticism (“Tattoos are tacky”) amounts to a personal putdown (“My mother has a tattoo! How dare you insult my mother!”).
Well, I don’t like tattoos. I also don’t like modern art or cats or rap music. It’s a free country, and if people want to waste their money on Picasso prints, pedigreed cats or hiphop CDs, I can’t stop them. But it’s not my fault that some people so crave approval that they feel personally insulted by even the most general criticism.
That’s what she said when I called her during my latest trip to PA-12, where Tim Burns is barely two weeks away from the May 18 special election for Jack Murtha’s old House seat. Definitely a job for Da Tech Guy, especially since he’s now covering the Boston Tea Party beat.
Lots of Tea Party volunteers from Massachusetts will be coming to PA-12 to help with the Tim Burns for Congress campaign. And the fedora Pete loaned me has already visited the district:
That’s me interviewing campaign staffer Jonathan Gohrband at the Tim Burns for Congress call center on Friday. (Thanks to Angela Lash for the photo.) Right now, Da Tech Guy is raising money for a trip to Atlanta. (Suggestion, Pete: Put a link to your tip-jar in that post.) However, it’s a mere 600 miles from Fitchburg, Mass., to Washington, Pa., and at 20 cents per mile, that 1,200-mile round-trip would only require $240 in gas money (yes, that’s another link to Da Tech Guy’s tip jar).
Da Tech Guy’s “Have Fedora Will Travel” fee is $1,000 a week plus expenses, so add an extra $200 a day for as long as he’s in the district. That’s $440 minimum for the Pennsylvania trip, and once he starts uploading exclusive videos and photos from this crucial campaign, I figure he should get enough contributions to extend his stay another day or two.