The Other McCain

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

FMJRA 2.0: Beer For My Horses

Posted on | May 4, 2013 | 8 Comments

— compiled by Wombat-socho

The Dreaded Wyoming GOP Facebook ‘Hatef–k’ Rapist Has Been Apprehended

Where Were You in 2002?

University Logo as Rorschach Inkblot

Still No Confirmation of ‘Sleeper Cell’ Connection in Boston Marathon Bombing

FEATURE: McCain Jauntily Raked Again

Syria: Another Casualty of ‘Hope’

Have You Heard the One About the President Who Was a Miserable Failure?

‘A History of Psychiatric Problems’

Obama’s Syrian Dilemma

The Internet Never Forgets

Just When You Think Democrats Couldn’t Possibly Get Any Crazier …

Does UMass-Dartmouth Have a Department of Crazy Foreigners?

Liberal Media Bias and Self-Selection

LIVE AT FIVE: 05.03.13

No Wonder They Couldn’t Find Her

The Left Hates Howard Kurtz, Which Doesn’t Mean We Should Love Him, But …

Economics, Translated to Plain English

No list of top linkers this week as nobody managed to clear the five-link requirement. Thanks to Smitty for taking up the FMJRA duties last week while I was indisposed in Minneapolis; at this point, I wish to deny the rumor that I was laid low by toxoplasmosis contracted from unspayed catgirls. Rule 5 Sunday will be back tomorrow with a triple-scoop of springtime goodness.

Category: FMJRA Award

Jeff. G. Heroically Resists

Posted on | May 3, 2013 | 34 Comments

The epic saga of Meg Lanker-Simons continues to yield rich and varied opportunities for the deployment of vicious satire:

Last night, a bit tipsy on Tullamore Dew Irish Whiskey, I’ll admit, I was subjected to (but nevertheless was able to rebuff) a sudden and violent attempt to hate fuck myself. Unfortunately, the rebuff made me quite angry, and outraged, I then forced myself on myself  in a fit of pique — this was violence, not sex, let me remind you — managing to feel myself up a bit, all the time shouting nasty, very personal and very violent epithets: I was evidently going to “teabag” myself until I “turned into a good little progressive bitch,” I snarled at me.

Such restraint obviously requires tremendous willpower, nearly as much as is necessary to keep a straight face while trying to take the ludicrously absurd rape hoaxer seriously:

“If the rape panic runs parallel to the the now nearly forgotten drugs-and-rock panics of the 1950s and 1960s (and many others like them, before and after) we should expect it to actually be rooted in an attempt to assert control of or cultural dominance over some threatening Other. And there is indeed evidence that points in that direction. . . . Women like Meg Lanker-Simons are caught in a trap that has nothing to do with (mythically) rape-minded men and everything to do with the world easy contraception and feminist ideology have given us.”

Ann Althouse quotes the university spokesman’s blah-blah-blah about “vigilance” and “security” and then cuts loose on him:

While you’re continuing all the vigilance, how about a little vigilance about self-dramatizing fraud? People need better bullshit detectors! Arm the students for real life in every possible way.

James Taranto at the Wall Street Journal:

Why are phony “hate crimes” so common, especially on college campuses? We’d like to go through a few obvious answers, all of which have merit, and then delve a bit deeper into the psychology of such incidents.

Do we need to delve into the psychology? I’m with Chris Rock: “Whatever happened to crazy? … What, you can’t be crazy no more?”

Finally, Da Tech Guy points out that Ms. Lanker-Simons is actually married, a frightening thought, although perhaps not quite as frightening as the couple’s wedding photo.

Please don’t hate me for posting that link. I’m just reporting the news.

And selling Brain Bleach.





 


Category: Crime, Education, Wyoming

Economics, Translated to Plain English

Posted on | May 3, 2013 | 14 Comments

The eminent James Pethokoukis gives you the technocratic jargon:

US job growth in April beat economist expectations as nonfarm payrolls rose 165,000, and the jobless rate fell to a four-year low of 7.5%. But the report contained worrisome signs that President Obama’s health care reform law is hurting full-time, high-wage employment.
While the American economy added 293,000 jobs last month, according to the separate household survey, the number of persons employed part time for economic reasons — “involuntary part-time workers” as the Labor Department calls them — increased by almost as much, by 278,000 to 7.9 million. These folks were working part time because a) their hours had been cut back or b) they were unable to find a full-time job. At the same time, the U-6 unemployment rate — a broader measure of joblessness that includes discouraged workers and part-timers who want a full-time gig — rose from 13.8% to 13.9%.

Which is all very interesting, although for those of us who lack the necessary expertise — and hell, I can barely even spell Pethokoukis — further simplification may be required:

“Low-information voters.”

Has anybody heard from Peggy Joseph lately?

 

Category: Barack Obama, Economics

Dear English Teachers: You’re Welcome

Posted on | May 3, 2013 | 58 Comments

What’s wrong with this headline?

Jason Collins’ Other Hidden Secret

Everybody was beating up on Howard Kurtz for the factual error of his story, but the headline was also ungrammatical. The possessive form of a proper name ending in “s” — e.g., Jones — requires the apostrophe-S: The pistol was found in Jones’s car. And, while we’re picking at nits, the plural in that case would be “Joneses.”

English grammar is extraordinarily complicated, and few of us are always right, but somewhere I hope my seventh-grade English teacher Mrs. Clark is smiling to think I remembered that rule. Now, if we could only persuade Justin Bieber to teach his fans subjunctive . . .

ADDENDUM: The past tense of “plead” is pleaded. I don’t give a damn how many times you’ve seen it or heard it as “pled,” that’s just wrong.

Category: Education

The Left Hates Howard Kurtz, Which Doesn’t Mean We Should Love Him, But …

Posted on | May 3, 2013 | 27 Comments

“Liberating tolerance, then, would mean intolerance against movements from the Right and toleration of movements from the Left.”
— Herbert Marcuse, “Repressive Tolerance,” 1965

The Internet never forgets, and I’m sure someone (probably Ed Driscoll) will unearth the details to remind us why the Journolist mob hates Howard Kurtz, so that the cycle time between his screw-up and his defenestration from the Daily Beast was about 20 hours.

Grant that there are conservatives who hate Howard Kurtz because he’s a liberal, but there have been occasions in Kurtz’s career as a media critic when he’s called out errors resulting from liberal bias, or when he has been critical of the Left’s sacred cows.

My guess — and I’m just guessing here — is that Ezra Klein or some of the other Juice Box Mafia types put Kurtz on their Enemies List during George W. Bush’s first term, as being someone who didn’t go along with the Bush-hating anti-war mentality. The old-fashioned sentiments of patriotism in time of war and respect toward the Presidency (whoever may hold the office) was anathema to the Marcusean worldview of the young leftist intellectuals who learned their politics in the dozen years between the Monica Lewinsky scandal and the inauguration of President Obama. And so the memory of Kurtz critically examining some episodes of Bush Derangement Syndrome probably accounts for the Left’s sudden urge to pounce on what was a clumsy error as an excuse to destroy him.

So conservative critics of Kurtz ought not be too hasty to celebrate the downfall of an Old Liberal, knowing that the Young Left is also celebrating. We should always credit our antagonists with having sense enough to know what’s good for them.

“The inherent corruption of what he did was a simple background fact, like the background fact of his dullness and mediocrity.”
— Tom Scocca, Gawker

If Kurtz is corrupt, dull and mediocre, whom does Tom Scocca view as honest, exciting and excellent? Probably not anyone a conservative would admire, and this should give us pause.

While “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” is rather simplistic, the venom directed at Kurtz from the Angry Young Left is significant. Kurtz likely represents to them the liberal who tries to be fair to Republicans, whereas the Marcusean ethos of “liberating tolerance” permits only unrelenting hostility toward “movements from the Right.”

As recently as February, Media Matters was excoriating “Howard Kurtz’s Hollow Defense Of Fox News.” and you can examine the rest of  the Media Matters dossier on him as a guide to understanding that the Left viewed Kurtz as an unreliable ally — a Menshevik, as it were — useful to them when he attacked their chosen enemies, but susceptible to occasional errors of fairness toward those enemies.

Kurtz’s blunder on the Jason Collins story — wrongly accusing Collins of having omitted reference to his previous heterosexual relationships — was laughably clumsy and, because it involved an issue that is central to the Left’s agenda, was unforgivable. But conservatives tempted to join the schadenfreude festival over Kurtz’s Daily Beast downfall ought to ask themselves whether Tina Brown is likely to hire a replacement for Kurtz who will be more fair to the Right.

Magic 8-Ball says, “Outlook not so good.”

 


Category: Intellectuals, Media Bias

LIVE AT FIVE: 05.03.13

Posted on | May 3, 2013 | 5 Comments

— compiled by Wombat-socho


TOP NEWS
NRA Gears Up For Annual Convention In Houston

Workers put up the NRA logo in Houston's George Brown Convention Center

Workers put up the NRA logo in Houston’s George Brown Convention Center

80,000 expected to attend largest, most-watched meeting ever

Gunman Killed In Houston Airport Shootout
Unclear whether shooter committed suicide or was shot

Rhode Island Legalizes Gay Marriage
Governor Chafee signs bill into law; takes effect August 1



POLITICS
The Fix Was In: Obama Nominates Penny Pritzker For Commerce Secretary

Froman, Obama and Pritzker

Froman, Obama and Pritzker

Also nominated: some nobody named Froman for trade rep

FBI Puts $2 Million Reward On Head Of Terrorist Cop-Killer Chesimard

Workers Applaud As Flag-Covered Spire Goes Up At World Trade Center

Florida Teen Arrested, Expelled Over Science “Blast”

California’s Gov. Brown Signs Bill To Speed Up Gun Seizures

Obama Taps Former Lobbyist As FCC Nominee

Arizona To Recognize Gold, Silver As Legal Tender

Spec Ops Called For Military Backup During Benghazi Attack, Sources Say



THE ECONOMY, STUPID
Oil Rallies On Speculation As Gas Sinks On Increased Inventory: NYMEX $93.99, Brent $102.82
Jobless Claims Fall To Lowest Level Since January 2008
Dish Chairman Says Sprint Modernization Has To Be Done From The US
Gains By US Automakers Lead Solid April Sales
Visa Profit Beats Estimates As Card Spending Rises
Study Suggests Honeybee Collapse Has Many Culprits
Kraft Foods Earnings And Revenue Beat Forecasts
LinkedIn Q2 Revenue Falls Short Of Targets
B&N Adds Google Play Store To Nook Tablets
Guys Like This Could Kill Google Glass Before It Ever Gets Off The Ground
Instagram Adds Tagging To Photos
BlackBerry 10 Cleared For Use On DoD Networks
Blockbuster On Demand App Lands On iOS
Facebook Turns Friends Into IT Support
Warner Brothers Sued For Unauthorized Use Of Keyboard Cat, Nyan Cat



SPORTS
Nyets Beat Bulls In Chicago To Force Game 7

Denny Hamlin Cleared For “Limited” Return At Talladega

SEC’s ESPN Network To Debut In 2014

Phil Jackson Joins Detroit Pistons, But Not As Coach

David Ortiz On Buchholz, Tazawa Accusations: “Who Cares?”

Utah Soccer Referee In Coma After Getting Punched By Player

Haren Turns In Vintage Performance As Nationals Top Braves



FAMOUS FOR BEING FAMOUS
DOCTOR DREW’S CAREER OF EVIL FINALLY OVER

Richard Marx was right.

Richard Marx was right.

Done with Celebrity Rehab: “I’m tired of taking the heat.”

Slayer Guitarist Jeff Hanneman Dead At 49

Keira Knightley Getting Married This Weekend

Alyssa Milano: Our Bodies Are Not Made For Bikinis

Mila Kunis Tops FHM’s 100 Sexiest Women In The World List

Chris Kelly: Police Report Says Rapper Doing Speedballs Night Before Death

Lindsay Lohan On The Run From Rehab?

Reese Witherspoon Pleads No Contest To Disorderly Conduct Charge; Hubby Pleads Guilty To DUI

Steven Spielberg’s Next Movie: “American Sniper”?



FOREIGNERS
Pakistani Prosecutor In Musharraf Case Gunned Down En Route To Court
Press Freedom Slumps As Regimes Crack Down On New Media
Hagel: US Rethinking Arming Syrian Rebels
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI Returns To The Vatican
Russia Building Up Strategic Nuke Forces Even As U.S. Draws Down
No Hijackings By Somali Pirates In Over A Year
Chicom Officials Sidestep Xi’s Anti-Corruption Drive
Millionaire Businessman Jailed For Fake Bomb Detector Scam
BBC Broadcaster Hall Pleads Guilty To String Of Sex Assaults
Bangladesh Building Collapse Toll Reaches 487



BLOGS & STUFF
Michelle Malkin: In Wake Of Boston Bombing, Disgusting Left-Wing “Anarchists” Attack Police…And Whine About “Pigs”
Ace Of Spades: Yet Again, Anarchists Hijack Peaceful Left-Wing Protest
Jammie Wearing Fools: Stunner – Mostly Peaceful May Day March Turns Violent In Seattle, Eight Cops Injured
Weasel Zippers: Pics Of The Day – May Day In New York
Ed Driscoll: Dispatches From The Department Of That Which Cannot Be Said At Any Time
Legal Insurrection: Yippie! Daily Beast Has A Retraction Policy For Inaccurate And Misleading Posts (Update: Daily Beast Drops Kurtz)
Hugh Hewitt: Mark Steyn On Howard Kurtz And The Daily Beast (Audio)
Allhapundit: US Officials Unsure Where All Syria’s Chemical Weapons Are
Bob Owens: Confirmed – Obama’s Denial Of Cross-Border Authority Killed Two And Abandoned Thirty Americans In Benghazi
NRO Corner: Obama Administration Appeals Judge’s Plan B Ruling
Megan McArdle: Study Shows Giving People Government Health Insurance May Not Make Them Any Healthier
PJ Tatler: Live Action Releases Video Of AZ Abortionist, Exposing Infanticide
Power Line: Have The Kochs Already Bought The L.A. Times?
Riehl World View: Liberal Media’s War On Women Targets Senator Kelly Ayotte Over Background Checks
Just One Minute: The Most Racist Commercial Ever?
Protein Wisdom: Who Stole America, Redux
Lonely Conservative: The Pentagon Sure Is Becoming Anti-Christian


Deadline to submit links for the FMJRA is tonight at midnight.


Category: Live at Five

No Wonder They Couldn’t Find Her

Posted on | May 2, 2013 | 11 Comments

For 11 years, police in Pennsylvania searched for a woman who had disappeared. It’s easy now to understand why they could find her. She had hitchhiked to Florida, and the photo on the “missing” posters didn’t look anything like her after 11 years of hard living:

People thought Brenda Heist had been murdered. Her ex-husband was viewed as a suspect. In 2008, a cold-case unit revived the investigation, but none of their leads led anywhere. And the least-likely explanation turned out to be true.
“When the investigation first began, after interviewing all of her family and friends, neighbors, co -workers, the one consistent thing they all said was that she would never leave on her own. She would never leave her children behind,”Detective Schofield told CNN. ”The fact that she left on her own was one of the theories, but it was at the bottom of the list.”

Read the whole thing at Viral Read.

 

Category: Crime, Florida, Pennsylvania

The Burqa as Crime Accessory: Woman Indicted for Kidnap, Rape of Girl

Posted on | May 2, 2013 | 22 Comments

This is one of the most strange and horrible crimes imaginable:

A 19-year-old woman has been indicted for the January kidnapping and rape of a 5-year-old Philadelphia girl. Prosecutors say Christina Regusters wore an Islamic veil and pretended to be the mother of Nailla Robinson when she checked the kindergartner out of school in January. The girl was taken to a nearby house and sexually assaulted, then abandoned nearly naked at a playground, where she was rescued. . . .

Read the whole thing at Viral Read.

 

Category: Crime
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