The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Nickel-and-Dime Ukraine Scandal: Foreigners Bought Bloggers Cheap

Posted on | February 23, 2014 | 16 Comments

It’s MalaysiaGate all over again:

Several conservative bloggers repeated talking points given to them by a proxy group for the Ukrainian government — and at least one writer was paid by a representative of the Ukrainian group, according to documents and emails obtained by BuzzFeed.
The Ukrainian campaign began in the run-up to high-stakes Ukrainian parliamentary elections last year, and sought to convince skeptical American conservatives that the pro-Russian Party of Regions, led by President Viktor Yanukovych, deserved American support. During that period, articles echoing Ukrainian government talking points appeared on leading conservative online outlets, including RedState, Breitbart, and Pajamas Media.

(Whatever the talking points were, I didn’t repeat them. The only foreign country I really care about is Vanuatu.)

The emails and documents, which include prepackaged quotes from election officials and talking points that some writers copied nearly word-for-word, offer a glimpse into how foreign governments dodge tight Justice Department regulations on foreign propaganda to covertly lobby in the United States: The payments were routed through a front group in Belgium to an American consultant, who has urged writers not to cooperate with a reporter investigating the campaign.

(A “front group in Belgium”? The Flemish Menace!)

The model resembles a recent stealth campaign in which bloggers were paid by the Malaysian government to write favorable stories, though the Ukraine campaign appears to have involved smaller sums of money.

(Yeah, I was all over the Malaysia scandal, another one of those blogola deals where nobody offered me a cent, dammit.)

One of the writers who participated in the campaign, who spoke on the condition of anonymity and because of lingering qualms about the arrangement, they said, described being offered $500 for a blog post praising Ukraine’s ruling Party of Regions.

What? You sold out to foreigners for a measly $500? Hell, that won’t even buy you a round-trip ticket to beautiful Vanuatu, the sunny Pacific island paradise where the Grand Hotel and Casino offers spectacular views of the harbor at Porta Vila . . .

Donald Douglas has more at American Power.

Apparently those cheapskate Ukrainian bastards didn’t hire Donald, either. But don’t worry: If there is ever a “high-stakes election” in Vanuatu, we’re gonna be rolling in the blog-o-bucks, baby.

 

Category: The Flemish Menace, Ukraine, Vanuatu

Good-Bye, and Good Riddance: @PiersMorgan Canned at CNN

Posted on | February 23, 2014 | 38 Comments

First smart move that network has made in years:

CNN President Jeff Zucker has decided to bring an end to Piers Morgan’s low-rated primetime show, network sources told POLITICO on Sunday. “Piers Morgan Live” could end as early as next month, though Morgan may stay with the network in another role.
Morgan, a former British tabloid editor, replaced Larry King in the 9 p.m. hour three years ago, prior to Zucker’s tenure as president. His show earned consistently low ratings, registering as few as 50,000 viewers in the 25-to-54 year-old demographic earlier this week.
“CNN confirms that Piers Morgan Live is ending,” Allison Gollust, head of CNN communications, told POLITICO on Sunday after an earlier version of this post was published. “The date of the final program is still to be determined.”
Morgan told The New York Times on Sunday that the show had “run its course” and that he and Zucker “have been talking for some time about different ways of using me.” Sources who spoke to POLITICO said the decision to end the show was Zucker’s.

Here’s your chicken-and-egg paragraph:

Despite low ratings, Morgan drew national attention for his aggressive pro-gun-control campaign in the wake of the Sandy Hook school shooting in Newtown, Conn. Morgan addressed the issue nightly for several weeks in late 2012 and early 2013 and hosted fiery, combative interviews with pro-gun adovcates like Alex Jones, a conservative conspiracy theorist.

Do think maybe the “low ratings” and the “aggressive pro-gun-control campaign” had something to do with each other? And do you think that maybe booking a dangerous kook like Alex Jones was related to both the low ratings and the anti-gun agenda?

By the way, I resent Politico applying the “conservative” label to Alex Jones. “Lunatic” is not a political ideology.

 

Category: CNN

Preach It, Dr. Wolf!

Posted on | February 23, 2014 | 20 Comments

by Smitty


For having made some insensitive remarks, the Vichy GOP incumbent is trying to disqualify Dr. Wolf, who responds:

My training as a diagnostic radiologist included the critical component of studying medical images published both in textbooks and online. I have myself authored and published educational material that teaches medical imaging to medical students and doctors. Of the thousands of medical images I have published I have taken care to maintain patient privacy.

Several years ago I made some comments about these images that were insensitive to the seriousness of what the images revealed. Soon thereafter, I removed those images and comments, again several years ago. For them to be published in a much more public context now, by a political adversary who would rather declare war on doctors than answer serious questions that Kansans have, is truly sad. However, my mistakes are my own and I take full responsibility for them.

I have said throughout this campaign and long before it began that I bear the scars of taking the Oath to my patients. When I was 15 years old, I stood at my father’s bedside, himself a rural doctor, and watched him take his last breath. It was at that moment that I knew I would take his torch and dedicate my life to serving patients in need. I’m reminded just how extraordinarily difficult the burden is when I have failed to live up to his example.

It is an incredible honor and an enormous burden to work shoulder-to-shoulder with dedicated people who every day run towards the screaming instead of away. The cumulative effect of day after day, year after year, witnessing so much human suffering, so much tragedy, takes its toll. I’ve seen the burdens of practicing medicine tear apart families and drive good people to vice and as great as the honor is to serve, I would still not wish the burdens of it upon anyone. To those I have offended, I am truly sorry and I ask for your forgiveness.

And now, years later, because I have declared that I am willing to stand up for my country, Senator Pat Roberts wants to attack me as a doctor rather than giving Kansans a reason to vote for him. It’s sad. Pat Roberts has not been able to identify a single issue on which he thinks I am wrong and so he’s doing things the Washington way: character assassination. Kansans should know that I will not be intimidated by their bullying. I did not back down when Barack Obama’s IRS audited me and I will not back down from the desperate attacks of a 47-year Washington insider either.

Hopefully Kansans can tell the difference between an old goat past his sell-by date, and a serious, fresh face of reform.

via Hot Air

Category: Kansas, Republicans

Klitschko Might Take On Putin And Win

Posted on | February 23, 2014 | 8 Comments

by Smitty

Who is Vitali Klitschko? As a result of his having lived in Germany and having a sports medicine related doctorate, it turns out Mrs. Other Smitty has actually had a conversation with the fellow. Talk about a small world. Given that Vladimir Putin has a black belt, I’d nominate Klitschko to go a few rounds with Vlad. Can’t think of any other world leaders who’d not leave the ring in a body bag. Vitali promises to be an interesting figure to watch.

Elsewhere, Stacy noted earlier that Yulia Tymoshenko was freed. More from Fox:

Tymoshenko, the long-jailed blond-braided heroine of Ukraine’s 2004 Orange Revolution, left imprisonment on Saturday after the Ukrainian parliament voted to decriminalize the charge on which she was convicted.

She increasingly appears to have the upper hand in the political battle as to who will be the next leader of Ukraine, winning the backing Sunday of a leading Russian lawmaker and congratulations from German Chancellor Angela Merkel and U.S. senators on her release.

Tymoshenko’s name circulated Sunday as a possibility for acting prime minister pending May 25 presidential elections, but she issued a statement via her party Sunday asking her supporters not to nominate her for the position.

She may want to focus her energies instead on campaigning for president and building up strength after her imprisonment. She spoke to an excited crowd of about 50,000 in Kiev’s Independence Square Saturday night from a wheelchair because of a back problem aggravated during imprisonment, her voice cracked and her face careworn.

And the Crimea has come out in favor of Russia, an unsurprising move:

Crimea, the only chunk of Ukraine where the revolution has failed to take hold. Connected to the mainland by two narrow passes, this huge peninsula on the Black Sea has long been a land apart, an island of Russian nationalism in a nation drifting toward Europe. One of its biggest cities, Sevastopol, is home to a Russian naval base that houses around 25,000 troops, and most Crimean residents identify themselves as Russians, not Ukrainians.

If five years of U.S. foreign policy implosion is any indicator, we can expect #OccupyResoluteDesk to offer the same vigorous backing to the Ukrainians that was afforded the Green Revolution in Iran. If the no-talent rodeo clown ever met a strongman he didn’t like, I’m unaware of it.

Two months into the 100-year anniversary of WWI, we’ve got unrest in Ukraine, Venezuela, and Thailand. Pray for peace.

Finally, via Twitchy:

Category: Ukraine

Bill Schmalfeldt: ‘CEASE and DESIST’!

Posted on | February 23, 2014 | 64 Comments

Bill Schmalfeldt wants you to believe he is a victim.

“Bill Schmalfeldt doesn’t have principles. Bill Schmalfeldt doesn’t have values. Bill Schmalfeldt doesn’t have beliefs. Bill Schmalfeldt has enemies, and then nothing, a black and dank and empty void of sullenness.”
— Ken White, Aug. 6, 2013

Deranged cyberstalker Bill Schmalfeldt has been fired by Examiner.com and banished from Daily Kos. Bill Schmalfeldt is an adjudicated harasser according to Maryland courts; he created a “Dead Breitbart” smear site; and his cruel harassment of Lee Stranahan’s family made him notorious.

However, Bill Schmalfeldt refuses to take responsibility for his own misfortune, instead scapegoating John Hoge — who, according to law, is actually a victim of Schmalfeldt’s harassment — and insisting that Hoge and others are to blame for Schmalfeldt’s continuing record of self-inflicted embarrassments and failures.

As a public service, therefore, we reproduce here Bill Schmalfeldt’s recent “Open Letter,” in which he depicts himself as a victim of death threats, defamation and copyright infringement:

AN OPEN LETTER TO ALL WHO MAY SEE THIS
It is 8:40 am on Saturday morning, February 22, 2014. Over the past several days I have received five death threats from people who are clearly either readers of my blog, my Twitter feed, or the blog of WJJ Hoge III, 20 Ridge Road, Westminster, Md.
By virtue of a peace order Mr. Hoge won against me in June 2013, which was extended for six months in Dec. 2013, I am not permitted to directly contact Mr. Hoge. But I know that he will see this Open Letter, I know he will comment on it. I know his readers will comment on it. Therefore, I feel this is as close as I can legally come to letting him know that I am putting my foot down and demanding that he CEASE and DESIST all defamatory writing about me and CEASE and DESIST using copyrighted images of me.

CEASE AND DESIST ALL DEFAMATION
OF MY CHARACTER AND REPUTATION.
I am an educated, respected, retired professional in the community. I have spent over thirty years in my profession and in the service of my country building a positive reputation. I have furthered this positive reputation by volunteering for medical research designed to find better treatments for Parkinson’s disease, from which I have suffered 14 years.
WJJ Hoge III and others are engaged in spreading false, destructive, and defamatory rumors about me.
These are the elements necessary for a plaintiff to prove a case of defamation in Maryland:
“(1) that the defendant made a defamatory statement to a third person, (2) that the statement was false, (3) that the defendant was legally at fault in making the statement, and (4) that the plaintiff thereby suffered harm. A defamatory statement is one ‘which tends to expose a person to public scorn, hatred, contempt or ridicule, thereby discouraging others in the community from having a good opinion of, or associating with, that person.’” Offen v. Brenner, 402 Md. 191, 935 A.2d 719 (2007), quoting Smith v. Danielczyk, 400 Md. 98, 115, 928 A.2d 795, 805 (2007).
Accordingly, I demand that (A) WJJ Hoge III of 20 Ridge Road, Westminster, Md., immediately cease and desist his unlawful defamation of me and (B) provide me with prompt written assurance within ten (10) days that he will cease and desist from further defamation of my character and reputation. Hoge’s Peace Order against me notwithstanding, he is allowed to contact me.
Accordingly, I also demand that Mr. Hoge moderate the comments on his blog (Hogewash), removing defamatory statements by others. As the host of his blog, he bears the responsibility of ensuring that he maintains a libel-free blog. He has not done so.
If Mr. Hoge does not comply with this cease and desist demand within this time period, I am entitled to seek monetary damages and equitable relief for my defamation. In the event he fails to meet this demand, all reading this should be advised that I will pursue all available legal remedies, including seeking monetary damages, injunctive relief, and an order that Mr. Hoge pay court costs and attorney’s fees. His liability and exposure under such legal action could be considerable.
Mr. Hoge may continue to write about me. But whatever he writes must be provably true. He must cite how he knows his information to be true. He must be able to point to third party sources, other than his co-defendants in Brett Kimberlin’s lawsuits against him that prove the truth of his allegations. Mr. Hoge is hereby forbidden to use my image in his blog postings without my express written permission. All images of myself that are taken by a family member are my personal property for which I own the copyright.
WILLIAM M. SCHMALFELDT

Bill Schmalfeldt’s attempt to make Hoge responsible for the “death threats” allegedly received by Schmalfeldt would have to clear the high hurdle of the landmark 1969 Supreme Court decision, Brandenburg v. Ohio. Perhaps some readers can cite the relevant case law on “fair use” regarding copyright materials. As for the “character and reputation” that Schmalfeldt alleges others have defamed . . .

Well, it’s the “Butt Stuff,” isn’t it, Bill?




 

 

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Category: Bill Schmalfeldt

FMJRA 2.0: Washington’s Birthday Hangover Edition

Posted on | February 23, 2014 | 5 Comments

— compiled by Wombat-socho


Does #LGBT Care About a Religious Extremist Burning a Gay Bar?

Liberals Hate Books They Don’t Read

Workers 712, Union Thugs 626

About the @EllenPage #Lesbian Thing…

Miracles Still Happen

Venezuela: ‘The Government Is Taking Us into the Slaughterhouse’

Yeah, I’m Sure @Denise_Richards Won’t Have Any Problems With This

“Old Worn Out Suits And Shoes, I Don’t Pay No Union Dues”

‘Defamatory Attacks’

Liars Gotta Lie, Failures Gotta Fail

In Which @AceOfSpadesHQ Becomes a First Amendment Cause Celebre

‘Feminist Dogma’

Open Letter To Mike Church, aka @TheKingDude On The Military

In The Mailbox, 02.20.12

Ukraine Unravels

‘The Second Time as Farce’: @sandraylk’s Recycled Marcusean Marxism

If #ObamaCare Helps At Least One Person, Other Human Wreckage Is OK

If Breitbart Had Managed To Get An Ambassador Snuffed, Maybe Andrew’s Wife Would Be Left Alone

How to Hate Your Parents

Quote Of The Half-Decade @TedNugent

Because @kmcdonovgh Knows You’re a Victim of Heteronormative Patriarchy

Republican Party Staring Victory Right In The Face, Wetting Itself

Tennessee Worker Liberty Offends UAW; NLRB Appeal Ensues

Top linkers this week:

  1. Regular Right Guy (11)
  2. Political Rift (6)

I blame the lack of Live At Five and Rule 5 posts for the poor turnout this week, though I suppose the weather might have been a factor.


Category: FMJRA Award

Freedom Wins in Ukraine?

Posted on | February 23, 2014 | 36 Comments

For now, at least, the boot-heel has been lifted:

KIEV, Ukraine — Abandoned by his own guards and reviled across the Ukrainian capital but still determined to recover his shredded authority, President Viktor F. Yanukovych fled Kiev on Saturday to denounce what he called a violent coup, as his official residence, his vast, colonnaded office complex and other once impregnable centers of power fell without a fight to throngs of joyous citizens stunned by their triumph.
While Mr. Yanukovych’s nemesis, former Prime Minister Yulia V. Tymoshenko, was released from a penitentiary hospital, Parliament found the president unable to fulfill his duties and exercised its constitutional powers to set an election for May 25 to select his replacement. But with both Mr. Yanukovych and his Russian patrons speaking of a “coup” carried out by “bandits” and “hooligans,” it was far from clear that the day’s lightning-quick events would be the last act in a struggle that has not just convulsed Ukraine but expanded into an East-West confrontation reminiscent of the Cold War.

We can only wait and see what develops from here.

 

Category: Ukraine

LGBT Activist Declares: ‘We Need to Start Making Their Lives a Living Hell’

Posted on | February 23, 2014 | 98 Comments

Have you ever heard of Dr. Scott Lively? Me neither, but he’s a conservative Christian who leads a group called Defend the Family International. Dr. Lively has been branded a hatemonger by the Southern Poverty Law Center, so I figure he must be a Great American.

Friday, Dr. Lively and others held a press conference at the National Press Club in D.C. to announce the formation of the Coalition for Family Values, where they issued a press release “praising the Russian Federation for passing pro-family laws and encouraging other nations to follow suit.” Needless to say, gay-rights groups were not happy about this, and the press conference was interrupted by hecklers.

When video of the press conference made the rounds, an LGBT activist named Chloe Nelson posted this comment on Facebook:

It’s time that the LGBT community forms a new organization that targets homophobes, bigots, religious zealots, religious fanatics, and all other assholes who are against equality, and human and civil rights for all people.
By targeting these bigots, and publishing every little detail of their sex lives, or personal lives, taking pictures through their windows, and getting the pics out on the internet, showing every little thing that they do, including how they wipe their asses when in the bathroom, or for that matter if they’re wiping their asses in the kitchen — we’ve got to catch it on camera.
The time to just sit back and take it, are over with for the LGBT community. We need to get rid of bigots like these homophobic religious assholes, and if it means exposing every little thing about them, then that’s what we need to do.
We need to start making their lives a living hell by constant observation and publishing pics and articles every time they fart, or spit, or even look cross-eyed. It’s obvious these bigots only understand one thing, and that is persecution, discrimination and bigotry.
Here come the LGBT bigots, gonna prey on the religious zealots, fanatics, and bigots who think their shit don’t stink, and think they can control everyone else’s life.
LET’S GET RID OF THESE BASTARDS ONCE AND FOR ALL!!!!

“Eliminationist rhetoric,” as Professor Reynolds would say. And what’s the deal with disrupting a press conference?

The conference was briefly disrupted when three LGBT activists (one of them a non-English-speaking Russian) stood up to try to read a statement. We did not allow them to control the room, and asked the National Press Club security to remove them, which they did. Upon realizing that they would not be allowed to stay, the leader of the trio, Ellen Sturtz (self-described as an“Angry Old Lesbian“ on her business card) began screaming “I’m a Homo-Fascist!” and tossed a wad of leaflets in the air. They turned out to be flyers with the title “Lively is Deadly” attempting to convey the message that I am a dangerous person who wants to harm homosexuals around the world.

There are multiple layers of irony here: Dr. Lively was supporting the suppression of pro-gay speech in Russia, while the protesters were suppressing anti-gay speech in America. My dangerous extremist idea? Let’s stop suppressing speech.

But the totalitarians now march beneath the Rainbow Flag:

When the activist insists on speaking, Dr. Lively says, “this is what I would like to bring to the attention of everyone in this room — this is what we call ‘homo-fascism.’”
“‘Homo-fascism,’” he continues, “is a hard-left, totalitarian mindset that attempts to suppress all perspectives on the homosexual issue except those that favor their positions.”
“Every time the pro-family people try to tell the truth about homosexuality,” Dr. Lively says, “we are interrupted by homo-fascists. Now, I would like to ask if there is security here . . . because I would like to ask you to remove these two people from the press conference.”

Remember when what’s-her-name, the actress, “came out” as lesbian at a conference last week? Did conservative Christians heckle her or disrupt her speech? I think not.

By the way, someone should tell Dr. Lively to stop calling these goons “homo-fascists.” They’re actually homo-Marxists.

(Hat-tip: Jeanette Runyon on Twitter.)

 

Category: Gays
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