The Other McCain

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

LIVE AT FIVESEVEN: 11.08.13

Posted on | November 8, 2013 | 13 Comments

— compiled by Wombat-socho


TOP NEWS
Three Dead So Far As Typhoon Haiyan Slams Philippines

Police evacuate people living near the Mayon volcano

Strongest typhoon of the year displaces up to 500,000 people


Obama Apologizes For “Holes And Gaps” In Health Law
Apologizes to people whose insurance has been cancelled


Netanyahu “Utterly Rejects” Emerging Iran Deal
Says proposed agreement with Iran on nukes is a bad deal


POLITICS
Senate Passes Gay Rights Bill; Pressure Now On Obama

June pic shows Biden and Obama celebrating Gay Pride Month with a speech

Human Rights Campaign wants Obama to sign executive order banning LGBT discrimination

Tens Of Millions Could Lose Insurance Thanks To Obamacare

Court Says NYC Neglected Disabled In Emergencies

LA Police Arrest 54 At Chinatown Walmart Protest

Would-Be Reformers Face Hurdles On Reforming Military Sexual Assault Rules

White House Claims Shutdown Cost Economy $2 Billion

Senators Urge Obama To Sack Sebelius Over Obamacare Website Disaster

IRS Refunded $4 Billion To Identity Thieves

Costly Cuts To Military Could Leave Nation Exposed



THE ECONOMY, STUPID
Oil Up Slightly From US Close On PRC Exports, Libyan Unrest: NYMEX $94.43, Brent $103.51
Twitter Ends First Trading Day At $44.90
ECB Surprised Markets With Cut To Key Interest Rate
Jobs Figures Expected To Take Hit From Government Shutdown
PRC Reports Strong Rise In Exports
US Economy Expands 2.8% On Inventories
Microsoft Turns To IE-tan Inori Aizawa To Push IE11
What We Learned About XBox One’s Living Room Future
Google Chrome: Extensions ONLY From The Company Store
Americans Not Sold On Wearable Tech
Motorola Wants To Tattoo A Mic On Your Throat



SPORTS
Ducks Title Hopes Crushed By #6 Stanford

Stanford QB Kevin Hogan scores second TD of the first half

Oregon makes too many mistakes, gets thumped 26-20 by Cardinals’ offensive line

Howard, Rockets Come Up Short Against Lakers

Baylor Blows Out Oklahoma 41-12


Panthers Fall To Bruins For Seventh Loss In A Row

Warriors 106, Timbermutts 93

Stars Edge Red Wings 4-3 In OT

Heat Holds Off Clippers 102-97

Rangers Beat Blue Jackets 4-2

Oilers Fall To Lightning 4-2

Washington Nationals’ Top Prospects For 2014



FAMOUS FOR BEING FAMOUS
“They’re Just Being Silly”

Will Smith and Margot Robbie – just friends

Insider says there’s nothing else to the bare-chested photos

Winona Ryder: Once Sacked Over “Heathers”

Brooke Mueller, Denise Richards Declare Temporary Truce In Custody War


Johnny Galecki Opens Up Aabout Secret Two-Year Romance With Kaley Cuoco

Tom Cruise Finally Admits Co$ Played Role In Divorce: “There’s No Need To Protect My Child From My Religion”

New Actresses Test For “Batman And Superman” – As Wonder Woman?

Kutcher & Kunis Planning On Marriage & Baby Once His Divorce From Demi Is Final

CW Sets Drama Based On DC Comics “iZombie”

Ridley Scott To Direct Film About Football Concussions



FOREIGNERS
S&P Lowers France’s Credit Rating To AA
Chicoms Say No To Political Reform On Eve Of Third Plenum
Palestinian Officials: Israel “Only Suspect” In Arafat’s Death
Malala’s Attacker To Lead Pak Taliban
DR Congo M23 Rebel Chief Surrenders In Uganda
Former Malawi Justice Minister Arrested In Shooting
Britain Will Attend CHOGM In Sri Lanka
Websites Of Singapore President, PM Hacked
US, Israel Lose UNESCO Voting Rights



BLOGS & STUFF
First Street Journal: Economics 101 – If You Ask Five Different Economists, You’ll Get Six Different Answers
Blackmailers Don’t Shoot: More Liberal Californians Feeling The Obamacare Pain
The Looking Spoon: The Official Credit Card Of Obamacare
Proof Positive: Crucified Between 535 Thieves
Michelle Malkin: Big News In Common Core Fight – InBloom-Peddling Jefferson County CO Superintendent Resigns; School Board Votes To Sever Ties With InBloom
Twitchy: “Genocidal F*cking Nutjob” – Ex-WWE Wrestler Slams Dan Savage Over Abortion Comments
American Power: Independents Favor GOP On Economy By Whopping 46/30 Margin
American Thinker: “Pretty Good At Killing”
The Necropolitan Sentinel: NYCCCP
Don Surber: Daily Scoreboard, November 7
Jammie Wearing Fools: ESPN Analyst – “Star Spangled Banner” Is “War Anthem”, Shouldn’t Be Played Before Games
JustOneMinute: Praise The Lord And Pass The Ammunition
Pat Dollard: Group Of House Republicans Plan To Impeach Eric Holder
Protein Wisdom: Cantor’s Ex-Chief Of Staff Helped McAuliffe To Victory
Shot In The Dark: Principle
The Jawa Report: Cheap & Free Stuff For Veteran’s Day
The Lonely Conservative: Hey NYC – Good Luck With That New Era Of Progressivism
Megan McArdle: 140 Characters, 0 Dollars


Deadline to submit links for tomorrow’s FMJRA is midnight tonight.
DO IT.


Category: Live at Five

Piss-Poor OpSec for @OccupyRebellion: The @Bullyville vs. Neal Rauhauser Saga

Posted on | November 8, 2013 | 61 Comments

Late last night, I reported how the popular anti-bullying site Bullyville.com had been targeted by death threats after writing about Neal Rauhauser, the disgraced Democrat operative who has spent two years harassing Brett Kimberlin’s enemies online. What I didn’t know was why Bullyville decided to go after Neal Rauhauser. Given that it is the wee hours, I’ll tell the story as I now understand it.

It involved @OccupyRebellion, one of many sockpuppet accounts Rauhauser has created over the years, and arguably his most successful. As with many other of his “socks,” Neal shared the login information for @OccupyRebellion with various of his associates, including at least one woman who was part of a group of Rauhauser fangirls whom Neal has occasionally referred to as “AnonyMiss.”

Neal Rauhauser has a fetish for online secrecy and deception, and a key part of that is “OpSec” (operational security), meaning the way that anonymous online accounts protect their anonymity, so that they can’t be “doxed” (documented, i.e., exposed).

OK, in May 2012, as soon as I started covering The Kimberlin Files, I was immediately targeted for Twitter harassment, the two most prominent perpetrators of which were @BreitbartUnmask and @OccupyRebellion. The latter of these accounts was arguably more effective, because it had more than 20,000 followers, many of them associated with the “Occupy” or “Anonymous” movements.

In short, @OccupyRebellion was the most precious sockpuppet princess in Rauhauser’s evil troll kingdom. But then . . . @Bullyville.

What happened was this: Reality TV star Kate Gosselin was the target of vicious online harassment. @Bullyville became aware of this “damsel in distress” situation and began “doxing” harassers left and right, rolling up the troll swarm and, at some point, came across @OccupyRebellion. Exactly how that happened, I don’t know. Maybe one of the anti-Gosselyn trolls was a friend of @OccupyRebellion, but however the conflict started, when @OccupyRebellion got in trouble, she evidently called on Neal Rauhauser to try to save her from exposure by @Bullyville.

Alas, it seems, whoever had been operating @OccupyRebellion had not been diligent in practicing the anonymity-protection necessary to online “OpSec” and, because Neal Rauhauser realized that the account was vulnerable, the account got deleted.

“Poof!” Two years of relentless online evil, an account that had collected more than 20,000 followers, was destroyed because of a silly squabble over a reality-TV star and . . . @Bullyville.

That’s the story as I understand it and, amid all that, Bullyville “received a call that entailed a death threat towards his children.”

Oops. The weird thing is how @Bullyville isn’t about politics, and never gave a damn about the whole Brett Kimberlin thing, yet arguably did more real damage to Rauhauser’s operation than any of the rest of us who have tangled with Neal over the years.

And now Bullyville has vowed to put Neal Rauhauser in prison.

Everybody should follow @Bullyville.

 


Category: The Kimberlin Files

Death Threats After @Bullyville Vows to Put Neal Rauhauser in Prison?

Posted on | November 8, 2013 | 54 Comments

If you don’t know who Bullyville is, it’s a popular Web site and Twitter account (with more than 100,000 followers) that fights against bullying, especially of the online variety. A few months ago, for reasons I still don’t understand, Bullyville became interested in Neal Rauhauser, the disgraced former Democrat campaign consultant, colleague of Brett Kimberlin and general all-around Internet menace.

Sunday, Bullyville published an extensive profile on Rauhauser that called him the “Charles Manson of Twitter” and included this: “You’re not the first bottom-feeding scumbag bully I’ve bullied back, however you will be the first I’m responsible for sending to prison.” That attracted two comments from someone signing themselves as “Long John Silver,”  who had murderous things to say:

I am simply amazed that this Bullyville guy, James McGibney, is still alive. If I was listed on his website I would put a bullet in his head. It’s as simple as that. His home address has been posted online. And he makes scheduled public appearances.

After the first comment drew attention, “Long John Silver” added:

Did you know that over 40% of all murders each year go unsolved in the U.S.? Since I use TOR and a random person’s open WiFi, I can’t be tracked you nitwit.

There was much else and you can read the whole thing. Of course, Neal Rauhauser will deny being “Long John Silver,” just as Neal always denies being any one of the numerous sockpuppet accounts (e.g., the “Gaped Crusader”) he has used to threaten, harass and smear various people over the past three years.

Neal Rauhauser’s warped personality is such that he enjoys causing misery for his victims, and he has been getting away with it so long that he evidently thinks he will never been held accountable. The suspicion that Rauhuser is somehow “protected” by the FBI is gaining traction for various reasons and, while I don’t necessarily endorse those suspicions, I can’t discourage such suspicions, so long as Neal Rauhauser continues running around doing his dishonest evil.

UPDATE: Piss-Poor OpSec for @OccupyRebellion: The @Bullyville vs. Neal Rauhauser Saga.

 




 

 

Category: The Kimberlin Files

OK, You Can’t Do This, Not Even in Alabama, Not Even to Roger Shuler

Posted on | November 7, 2013 | 32 Comments

Roger Shuler, Shelby County Jail inmate No. 288928

Let’s be clear: I don’t like Roger Shuler, a dishonest creep who has published defamation against the honest and innocent. A deranged liberal (but I repeat myself) Shuler celebrated last year when Brett Kimberlin had Aaron Walker arrested. When Shuler got himself arrested on a contempt of court charge last month, I was happy, despite Ken White’s First Amendment concerns about “prior restraint.”

Nevertheless, there are limits to schadenfreude, even when it involves the richly deserved woes of a total creep like Roger Shuler, and matters in Alabama have sadly transgressed that limit:

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama — The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a friend of the court brief arguing that a preliminary injunction against a Shelby County blogger was unconstitutional and insisting that the case be opened to the public. . . .
His case has been all but hidden from the public and all records of it on a state database have been sealed, even basic information, such as the docket. . . .
[T]he judge ordered the court records sealed.
When you look for Roger Shuler on the state court database, Alacourt, the search results return several cases, but none of them is the defamation lawsuit in which the Shelby County blogger is being jailed for contempt of court.
If you know the case number, you can type it in, but that only yields a white screen, blank but for four words in big red letters.
“This case in confidential,” it says.
As a result, basic information about the lawsuit, such as the parties involved, hearing dates and the status of the defendant are hidden from public view.
According to Marshall, sealing an entire case is rare and usually happens in cases involving minors. But in this instance, it essentially creates a secret court in Shelby County, he said.
“There is a secret docket,” he said. “That is not common in American courts.”

It is one thing to order that documents and testimony be sealed, but it is another matter entirely to keep the entire case secret. How are reporters supposed to cover the case if even the dates of hearings are confidential? While it is my belief that Roger Shuler deserves a nice long therapeutic vacation at North Alabama Regional Hospital, or perhaps the Taylor Hardin Secure Medical Facility for the criminally insane, I’d enjoy reading news coverage of the proceedings whereby this kook gets committed to the looney bin, where he belongs.

The court is depriving me of that enjoyment. I’m a victim.

Considering the caliber of lawyers representing the innocent and honest people defamed by Roger Shuler, and considering that it is Shuler’s habit to represent himself pro se, I’m certain that he will be utterly humiliated in court, and his humiliation should be public, because the people have a right to know what a dangerous kook he is.

Did I mention he’s a Democrat?

 

    PREVIOUSLY:

 

Category: Alabama, Roger Shuler

The Butt-Hurt Epidemic Goes to Court

Posted on | November 7, 2013 | 47 Comments

We live in a world of Special Snowflakes™ who believe they can do no wrong, and that whatever problems they experience in life must therefore be someone else’s fault. Strangely enough, one of these perpetual victims is a Professional Journalist who, when her skill at her craft was criticized, decided to file a lawsuit. Thank God, she lost:

People make mistakes. A legal threat in response to an insult could be a mistake, uttered in the heat of the moment. If the threatener later retracts the threat and apologizes, it may be appropriate to forgive and forget. But a lawsuit is not a temporary mistake. It’s a deliberate and prolonged course of action. Here, Lori Kilchermann — putatively a journalist, relying on the protections of the First Amendment — attempted to silence critics through a frivolous lawsuit, and stuck to her guns when defendants pointed out the patent flaws in her case. Nobody should ever take Lori Kilchermann seriously as a journalist again, and we should question the judgment of any journalistic institution that employs her.

You should read the whole thing.

If something I wrote hurt your feelings, you could file a $1 million defamation/conspiracy lawsuit, or perhaps even a federal lawsuit accusing me of RICO conspiracy.

Or maybe you should just complete the Butthurt Report Form.

 

Category: Journalism

Victimhood as Merit: Wendy Davis Claimed ‘Mental Health’ Issues in Lawsuit

Posted on | November 7, 2013 | 68 Comments

Glenn Close in ‘Fatal Attraction’: Crazier than Wendy Davis? Perhaps.

In 1996, Wendy Davis lost a city council election in Fort Worth, Texas, and filed an utterly ridiculous lawsuit claiming she had been defamed by the local newspaper. (Trust me on this: I’ve recently become an expert on utterly ridiculous defamation lawsuits.)

One of the claims Davis made was that she had suffered damage to her mental health because of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram‘s coverage.

In other words: Wendy Davis is crazy and, she alleged, the newspaper made her crazy. However, I think any sane person perusing her lawsuit would conclude that Wendy Davis was certifiably crazy long before she ever ran for city council.

Wendy Davis is to Texas politics what Amanda Bynes is to Hollywood starlets. Her campaign for governor? A cry for help.

Have we seen this cluster of disturbing symptoms before? Indeed, Ashley Judd’s supporters never seemed to understand why her mental illness made her a less-than-viable Senate candidate, perhaps because (a) Judd’s supporters were liberals and (b) all liberals are kooks.

You may remember that when liberal troll Melissa Brewer melted down, she made her psychiatric disorder the trump card of her defense: “I’m an emotionally unbalanced nutjob, so despite my hateful cyberstalking of political enemies, I’m the real victim here.”

Our natural sympathy for the mentally ill is exploited by the kooks, so that we are expected to tolerate their anti-social behavior without complaint. Their victimhood is thereby converted into an entitlement to be exempt from responsibility, so that even clearly demented actions — e.g., parading half-naked through the streets of Washington, chanting about rape — cannot be criticized.

Sympathy begets tolerance, and tolerance begets entitlement, and next thing you know, the inmates are not only running the asylum, but running for governor of Texas! Where will this madness end?

 

WENDY DAVIS
Government of the crazy, for the crazy, by the crazy

 


Category: Democrats, Texas

The Shocking (But Actually Predictable) Stupidity of ObamaCare Bureaucrats

Posted on | November 7, 2013 | 43 Comments

Ace of Spades gave the “Flaming Skull” alert to a quote from a Washington Post article about the ObamaCare botch that had been included in a summary by Megan McArdle at Bloomberg.

On Twitter last night, Ace seemed genuinely astonished by this. But really, who had any illusions that a bunch of liberal bureaucrats were competent to be trusted with the implementation of such a thing?

Here’s one quote from McArdle’s summary:

The memo [from David Cutler to Larry Summers in September 2010] is eerily prophetic: The key people were analysts with no experience in project management, technology, startups or the insurance business; responsibility was too diffused; the staff didn’t understand either the magnitude or the urgency of what they had taken on; and neither the Department of Health and Human Services nor the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, to which most of the job had been delegated, had the personnel or technical experience to manage it well. The job of shepherding the project was given to Nancy-Ann Min DeParle, the director of the White House Office of Health Reform and a very wonky wonk who happens to be married to one of my favorite writers. According to one official, the president believed that “if you were to design a person in the lab to implement health care, it would be Nancy-Ann.”

Uh, a history major with a Harvard Law degree? Look, I understand Obama has profound faith in the miraculous powers of Harvard Law graduates — he is supremely confident in his own transcendent genius — but why Nancy-Ann? Because she worked three years in the Clinton-era HHS? And another quote from McArdle:

[M]any of the bad decisions were designed to avoid Republican criticism. There was another reason that the exchanges’ architects were tucked away inside CMS: to try to stay out of the public eye. Other such decisions followed. CMS carefully obscured the unwillingness of a large number of states to build exchanges — despite the fact that this would greatly increase the complexity of the job — lest Republicans seize on that fact.

Was avoiding scrutiny — preventing Republicans from finding out what was going on — a policy decision or a political decision? And if politics was behind decision-making in what should have been a policy-oriented project, doesn’t this tell us something crucial?

Ah, but guess what? I still haven’t gotten to the quote that caused Ace to issue the “Flaming Skull” alert. Yes, it is that bad.

 

Category: Ace of Spades, Barack Obama, Health Care, Megan McArdle

LIVE AT FIVE: 11.07.13

Posted on | November 7, 2013 | 8 Comments

— compiled by Wombat-socho


TOP NEWS
Obama Offers Health Care Pep Talk In Texas

Urges Medicare expansion in Texas as he sucks up cash

Noodges Rick Perry over Medicare
Related: Obama Moves To Quell Democrats’ Dissent Over Health Care Rollout

Tea Party: Cuccinelli Was Robbed
Populists bitter with GOP Establishment

Democrats Begin The Big Smear Against The Big Guy
Thinking he’s the most likely candidate, top Dems begin painting Chris Christie with unfavorables



POLITICS
Senate Democrats Frustrated With Botched Obamacare Rollout

“You can keep your policy if *I* like it!”

Endangered Senators meet the President at the White House

Massive Navy Hooker & Bribes Scandal Grows: Third Officer Charged

Ex-Bell Police Chief Testifies In Corruption Trial

Rand Paul Raps Christie Appearance In Sandy Ads

Supremes Debate Government’s Role In Public Prayer

Biden, Wassermann-Schultz Congratulate The Wrong Marty Walsh For Boston Mayor Win

Sebelius: Yeah, We Could Have Hired Felons As Obamacare Navigators

Almost 250,000 Colorado Residents Lose Insurance Under Obamacare



THE ECONOMY, STUPID
WTI Up, Brent Down As US Inventories Shrink: NYMEX $94.96, Brent $105.10
Europe Stocks Open Lower, ECB Watched
Asian Shares Struggle, Euro Near One-Week High Ahead Of ECB
Twitter Sets IPO Price At $26
Lenovo Profits Lifted By Smartphone, Tablet Sales
Dow Hits New High At Close, NASDAQ Slips
Amazon Source Audaciously Courts Indie Bookstores As Kindle Outlets
The Truth About Google’s Mystery Barges
Pebble Boards iOS7 Train, Rolls out New SDK
Kindle Fire HDX Laps iPad Air’s Retina Screen
The Thumb is Gone: Facebook’s Like Button Gets A Makeover



SPORTS
David Ortiz Wins Sixth Silver Slugger

Big Papi

Cano, Cabrera, Mauer collect fifth awards


Dolphins’ Bullying Drama Drags On

Fan Steals, Wears Pardy’s Helmet After Jets Player Checked Through Glass


Celtics Beat Jazz 97-87 For First Win Of Season

Cubs Reportedly To Name Renteria As New Manager

Rangers Miss Nash, But Not The Net

Sochi 2014 Olympic Torch Blasts Off Aboard Soyuz Rocket

Wall Shoots Wizards Past Sixers

Predators Down Avalanche 6-4

Scherzer To The Nationals?



FAMOUS FOR BEING FAMOUS
Heidi Montag Downsizes Her Tupperware

Pictured here with F-cup implants

Replaces bowling balls with salad bowls, or something

ABC Anchor Elizabeth Vargas Checks Into Rehab For Alcohol Abuse

Lady Gaga To Sing In Space In 2015

Tom Cruise Defends His Parenting Skills In Court


Dwayne Johnson To Star In MGM’s “Seal Team 666”

Jennifer Lopez: “I’ve Never Had Plastic Surgery Of Any Kind”

Denise Richards Wants To Give Up Custody Of Sheen/Mueller Twins

Arcade Fire’s “Reflektor” Debuts At #1 On Billboard 200

Michael Caine, Samuel L. Jackson Teaming For “Harry And The Butler”

Justin Bieber Faces Charges In Brazil After Being Caught Spraying Graffiti

Justin Favreau In Talks To Helm Disney Remake Of “The Jungle Book”

Rep Says Anne Hathaway Not Pregnant



FOREIGNERS
Senator Corker Considering Bill To Prevent White House Loosening Of Iran Sanctions
Mass Evacuations In Philippines Ahead Of Monster Typhoon
Tests Show Arafat Poisoned With Polonium
Greek Police Clear Former State Broadcaster’s Offices
Musharraf Granted Bail But Can’t Leave Pakistan
Embattled Toronto Mayor Vows to Stay On
Agreement On Rebels’ Political Role moves Colombia Closer To Peace
Pakistan Ready To Give Nukes To Saudis
Jailed Pussy Riot Member Shifted To Siberia



BLOGS & STUFF
The Looking Spoon: An Unbiased Diagram Of How Obamacare’s Been Working Out For America
Michelle Malkin: The White House Fable Factory
Twitchy: “Obamacare by Morning” – Brad Paisley, Carrie Underwood Hilariously Mock Healthcare.gov During CMAs
American Power: NYC Takes Hard-Left Turn
American Thinker: Obama, The Most Dangerous Of Morons
Blackmailers Don’t Shoot: The Ongoing Kerfuffle, 11-06-13
The Necropolitan Sentinel: Obamacare Watch – Comparing Premiums, Part 1
Don Surber: Daily Scoreboard, November 6
Jammie Wearing Fools: “Abortion Barbie” Wendy Davis Claims In Court That She Has Mental Health Issues
Pat Dollard: Boycott! List Of Companies Pushing Amnesty For Illegals
Protein Wisdom: Congrats, Ladies! Some Of You Don’t Vote With Your Female Parts!
Shot In The Dark: Carpetbaggers – All Or Nothing, And Nothing
The Jawa Report: Guys Who Cut Off Peoples’ Heads For Fun Call US “Immoral”
The Lonely Conservative: Unions To Get Sweet Obamacare Tax Breaks
Megan McArdle: How To Put The Brakes On Consumers’ Debt


Category: Live at Five
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