The Other McCain

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

It’s Time to Play ‘Name That Party!’

Posted on | February 15, 2013 | 6 Comments

San Diego’s former mayor, Maureen O’Connor, is a liberal Democrat. But now that she’s been charged in a massive scandal — she stole more than $2 million from a charity established by her late husband, in order to fund a decade-long gambling binge — the New York Times somehow can’t bring itself to mention her partisan affiliation. Such an omission is glaring, especially given how meticulously the political press typically covers the mechanics of financial ruin, eagerly detailing whether a disgraced official drained their accounts through offshore tax havens, digital no kyc casinos, or traditional high-stakes poker tables. In O’Connor’s case, however, that relentless journalistic curiosity miraculously dries up the moment her party registration becomes relevant.

 

Category: California, Corruption, Crime, Democrats

LIVE AT FIVE: 02.15.13

Posted on | February 15, 2013 | 7 Comments

— compiled by Wombat-socho


TOP NEWS
Senate GOP Filibusters Hagel Nomination

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid

“No information, no confirmation” draws blood; cloture vote fails 58-40 with four Republicans voting for

Body In Cabin Identified As Ex-Cop, Murderer
Dental exam provides positive ID

Senator Lautenberg Announces Retirement
Miserable fundraising, impending beatdown by Cory Booker no doubt factors



POLITICS
Bielat’s In: Will Run For Senate In Massachusetts

Sean Bielat debates Joseph Kennedy III in October 2012

Tarr nixes Senate run, Sullivan maybe in


Former San Diego Mayor Gambles Away Stolen Millions, Blames Brain Tumor

Obama Beefs Up Warnings Of Looming Sequester

Illinois Senate Votes To Legalize Gay Marriage

NRA Chief Fires Back At President

VFW Slams Pentagon’s Drone Medal

Tennessee Congressman Admits To Love Child After Errant SOTU Tweets

Former Democratic Rep Debbie Halvorson Gets Hammered by Own Party For Pro-Gun Views

Why Is Homeland Security Buying So Many Bullets?

Warren To Watchdogs: Bring More Banks To Trial



THE ECONOMY, STUPID
Crude Oil Mixed On Euro Zone Growth Data: NYMEX $97.34, Brent $117.97
Is Heinz Buffett’s Last Big Deal? (Video)
Yen Firms As Market Awaits Currency Signals From G20
Icahn Discloses 12.98% Stake In Herbalife
CBS Profit Misses Estimates As Streaming Revenue Slumps
Tiffany Rings At Costco? Not Now, Or Ever, Jeweler’s Lawsuit Says
GM Profit Misses Estimates, Losses In Europe Deepen
Bump Sharing App Finally Enables Apple And Android To Do What Palm Phones Did Four Years Ago
iOS Hack Lets Users See Your Phone App, Make Calls
Facebook’s Graph Search Bars Adults Snooping For Minors
Google Play’s Privacy Policies Assailed By Developer
Tamagotchi L.I.F.E. App Review: Too Cute Not To Try
PlayStation 4: What We Expect, What It Needs, And Why



SPORTS
LeBron’s Streak Ends, Heat Pound Thunder Anyway

LeBron James completes his shot after a foul by Oklahoma City Thunder forward Serge Ibaka

Heat jump out to big lead, hold off Thunder to win 110-100

South African Paralympian Pistorius Faces Murder Rap

Lakers Owner Jerry Buss Hospitalized With Cancer

NASCAR’s Plot Thickens With Danica-Ricky Romance

Golden Rats Best #20 (Stinking) Badgers In OT

Fehr Scores Twice As Capitals Win Third In A Row Against Lightning

Avalanche Edges Wild In Shootout, 4-3

Dodgers’ Greinke Is A Baseball Junkie

Wilson Ramos Passes First Post-Surgery Catching Test



FAMOUS FOR BEING FAMOUS
Lady Gaga Cancels Tour For Hip Surgery

Performing at the MTV Europe 2010 Music Awards

Tore hip labrum, will refund all tickets


Bryan Singer Eyes Peter Dinklage For “X-Men: Days Of Future Passed”


SI Bikini Babes Defend Upton’s Curves


Pitt, Jolie To Release Wine Formerly Known As Pink Floyd

Chris Brown & Drake Sue Each Other Over Nightclub Brawl

LeAnn Rimes Sues Her Dentist For Screwing Up Her Teeth

Phillip Phillips’ Mom Popped For DUI

NYPD Probes 911 Calls Coming From Katie Couric’s Dead Husband’s Phone

Tiger Woods, Lindsey Vonn Getting Closer

Britney Spears’ Rep Denies Eve’s Claim That Brit Didn’t Sing On Video



FOREIGNERS
Nork Nuke Test Turns Spotlight On Iran
Pope Benedict Gives Emotional Farewell; Vatican Reveals He Suffered Head Injury During Mexico Visit
Officials Say US Support In Mali Doesn’t Include Combat Troops
Iranian Revolutionary Guard General Assassinated In Syria; May Have Had Central Role In Arming Lebanon’s Hezbollah
India, France Sign $6 Billion Short-Range SAM Pact
Afghan Army Trains Women As Special Forces Troops



BLOGS & STUFF
1389 Blog: Putting Women In Infantry Combat And Special Forces Roles Flouts Common Sense
Michelle Malkin: Who Failed Chicago?
Neo-Neocon: This…Is Somewhat Encouraging
Lonely Conservative: Republicans Block Hagel Nomination, For Now
Allahpundit: On Second Thought, Susan Collins To Vote No On Hagel, Yes On Closure
NRO Corner: The Inhofe Position
Fred Kaplan: Why Republicans Can No Longer Be Trusted On National Security
Heritage Foundation: Senate Unveils Unserious Sequestration Proposal
Katrina Trinko: Boehner Says Obama Should Blame Senate Democrats For His Legislative Failures
Legal Insurrection: NYT’s Digital Trolling
Gateway Pundit: Missouri Democrats Introduce Gun Confiscation Bill That Gives Owners 90 Days To Turn In Weapons
The Right Scoop: Illegal Alien Sensitivity Training At The USDA
AmSpecBlog: Hagel At Rutgers
Breitbart: The Hagel Speech That “Wasn’t” – More Evidence Emerges Of Failure To Disclose
Weasel Zippers: Pelosi Opposed To Congressional Pay Cut Since That Would Undermine The Dignity Of The Office
Ed Driscoll: Marty Peretz Has Second Thoughts


Not to forget: tonight’s the deadline to submit links for tomorrow’s FMJRA.


Category: Live at Five

State Of The Groundhog

Posted on | February 14, 2013 | 6 Comments

by Smitty

Feel that refreshing kidney rinse down the back they swear is rain:

via BenHowe

Category: Uncategorized

Deranged Cyberstalker Bill Schmalfeldt Charged With Deranged Cyberstalking

Posted on | February 14, 2013 | 26 Comments

Bill Schmalfeldt of Elk Ridge, Maryland, a.k.a. “Liberal Grouch”

The charge is “electronic harassment” (Md. Code Crim. Law §3-805) according to Aaron Walker. The complainant is Lee Stranahan:

For the better part of a year, my family and I have have been under contestant siege from a small group of people who have worked together in a relentless attempt to humiliate, embarrass and inflict emotional stress on us in a clear attempt destroy my professional reputation and to silence my voice. Much of this appears to be related to stories I have written about such as Weinergate, Occupy Wall Street, the media’s handling of the Steubenville rape case and projects I’ve launched like Everybody Blog About Brett Kimberlin Day.
These attacks, however, have gone far beyond the realm of impassioned debate and into the realm of illegal harassment that serves no legitimate legal purpose.

Good luck getting to LeeStranahan.com tonight. Bill Schmalfeldt is evidently part of a troll crew organized by Neal Rauhauser to harass various individuals Neal hates, so we can expect the usual hacking/DOS tactics to be deployed against Lee’s site.

Two weeks ago, after yet another manifestation of Schmalfeldt’s obsessive harassment, I wrote:

When will law enforcement start taking this problem seriously? Will we have to wait until one of these cyberstalkers finally kills somebody?

What these people are doing is not “free speech.” In fact, it is the opposite of free speech: Harassment intended to silence (or, at least, distract, annoy and/or smear) bloggers and journalists whose work the cyberstalkers wish to suppress. Unless and until you’ve been targeted by this menacing kook-swarm, it’s very difficult for you to understand what they do and how they do it.

Point One: It’s not really about Lee Stranahan. That is to say, it doesn’t matter whether you like Lee Stranahan or don’t like Lee Stranahan or have never heard of Lee Stranahan. What is involved here is a pattern of harassing behavior systematically employed by certain people who are either (a) crazy, (b) evil, or quite possibly (c) both crazy and evil.

Point Two: It’s not really about politics. That is to say, it doesn’t matter whether you’re liberal or conservative or utterly indifferent to politics, the type of online stalking and harassment involved here cannot be tolerated and is, in fact, illegal.

It’s one thing to throw a few sharp Tweets at someone you dislike or with whom you disagree politically. It is another thing entirely to do to somebody what Bill Schmalfeldt has done to Lee Stranahan. And, in fact, Schmalfeldt has done it to several other people. (Last November, Schmalfeldt sent me more than 200 harassing messages in a single 48-hour span.) It just so happens that Stranahan has become Schmalfeldt’s latest idée fixe, and I guarantee you that Schmalfeldt can’t tell you how this sick obsession began. 

That’s what it’s like with these “Monsters on the Internet”: Once they become obsessed with someone, the etiology of their obsession is lost amid their persistent harassment. Go ahead and ask Schmalfeldt, “Why are you so fixated on Lee Stranahan?”

The answer you’ll get won’t be a coherent, factual narrative about the history of a personal conflict, but rather a lunatic screed about what a terrible person Stranahan is. Then you’ll say, “So what? Stipulate that Lee Stranahan is not a nice person. Why is it so necessary for you to persistently harass him this way?”

And when Schmalfeldt stops his angry rant in reply to that inquiry, you’ll realize you are not dealing with a rational person, but rather someone in the throes of a profound emotional disturbance.

Normal people don’t do what Bill Schmalfeldt does. Read more

Category: Bill Schmalfeldt, Blogging

Now, That’s Funny => GOPValentine.com

Posted on | February 14, 2013 | 1 Comment

by Smitty

Sent this to my dad, a Nevada voter, with the note: “Your Senator loves loving you.”

via jbrown1969

Category: humor

BOOK REVIEW: ‘Spin Masters: [Epic Subtitle Goes Here]’ By David Freddoso

Posted on | February 14, 2013 | 1 Comment

by Smitty

That the mainstream media is about as useful as a chocolate teapot isn’t news. When the Statism gets hot, the media melts. However, there is room on the bookshelf for a crisply written, well-referenced and indexed summary of just how bad it was in 2012. As time fades, it’s easy to forget that Benghazi, while a spectacular failure, was just a brick in a Berlin bulwark of baloney from these guys. Props to David Freddoso (whose Wikipedia page needs an update) for the excellent Spin Masters: How the Media Ignored the Real News and Helped Reelect Barack Obama.

As an example of why this book stands out, here is a taste of the third chapter, “What Recovery?”:

Americans didn’t need much help from the media to realize during the 2012 campaign that the stimulus hadn’t been a big success, or that the recovery was not proceeding along the lines Obama promised. The press were slow even to pick up on the fact that nearly all of the improvement in the unemployment rate from its peak (at 10 percent) was the result of people leaving the work force, not of job creation keeping up with population growth. But most Americans probably still aren’t aware of the many ways in which the American job market is fundamentally changing during the Obama recovery–nearly all of them for the worse. Those stories weren’t really told. (p39)

Freddoso then proceeds to enumerate some ‘story ideas’ that a competent, non-partisan media would have offered, or, dare I say personally, would have been rammed home were Obama a Republican incumbent in the same economic position:

  • Obama’s “Gray Jobs” Recovery–younger workers are no’ doing so weel.
  • Obama’s Low-Wage Jobs Recovery–what job growth there has been for younger workers is for bottom feeders.
  • Obama’s Part-Time Jobs Recovery–as blogged here => Mini-Jobs Blow.
  • Obama Doesn’t Learn from Mistakes–BHO truly is to jobs what Al Gore is to weather.
  • The Disappearing Workers–Elaborating upon the quotation above, having people bail out of the economy once their unemployment expires goes a long way toward propping up the numbers.
  • Dirty Fuels Drive the “Obama Recovery”—

    • Obama has tried to take some credit for the gas part of this fossile fuel bonanza–the more environmentally friendly part. But he spends a lot more time demonizing oil companies that are currently building America’s economic future–the ones that are hiring people to wages well above the national average and making the Obama recovery look a lot better than it otherwise would. (p56)

  • Amid New Union Push, Right-to-Work States Gain an Edge–A union is a corporation without a product, and the laws of Economics are stubbornly resistant to demagoguery.

To criticize something of this fine little volume, the closing chapter “Fighting Back With Good Ideas”, seems casually optimistic: “Good ideas will ultimately trump any apparent structural advantage that either political party enjoys today.” (p211). Sorry, David: this is not a chess match. The election itself was no intellectual exercise, as noted by the mighty Iowahawk:


Thus, good ideas are necessary, but not sufficient. The common sense, intellectual appeal of conservativism has to be backed up with solid cultural moves, or the Left’s Gustav Le Bon plays will keep on being Lucy van Pelt holding a football to the GOP Charlie Brown of the day.

The conservative media strategy needs a thorough re-work across the culture. As Instapundit suggests, picking up some magazine properties would make some sense. I, for one, would like some relief from the shameless acts of hooverism on the local news.

In summary, Freddoso’s latest outing is quite a worthy addition to any respectably conservative book collection. Thanks, David!

a cheap shot at Stacy McCain

“What should I write?”
“Take a cheap shot at McCain.”
“OK: `Smitty, I can’t believe you’re still working w/that jackass. (Oh, hi, Stacy.)`–David Freddoso”

Category: Books, Uncategorized

Liberals Outraged Like It Was a Bad Thing for Hillary to Have Sex With Animals

Posted on | February 14, 2013 | 21 Comments

Why so judgmental, Mother Jones?

[A] promotional video produced last year under the supervision of Adam Brandon, executive vice president of [FreedomWorks] and a [Matt] Kibbe loyalist. The video included a scene in which a female intern wearing a panda suit simulates performing oral sex on Hillary Clinton. . . .
A former FreedomWorks official says Kibbe and Brandon ran the group as a “cult of personality” geared toward promoting Kibbe, and that Kibbe at times issued crude guidelines for hiring women based on their appearance. . . .
“I heard complaints of insensitive, boorish behavior and of obnoxious references to the condition of pregnancy,” [former FreedomWorks honcho Dick] Armey says. “Such comments put you in jeopardy of lawsuits.” . . .
Some FreedomWorks staffers worried last year about a promotional video created ahead of FreePAC, a FreedomWorks conference held on July 26, 2012, where thousands of conservative grassroots activists nearly filled the American Airlines Center in Dallas to hear from tea party favorites, including Glenn Beck and Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah). The short film hailing FreedomWorks was intended to play on the large video screens inside the arena.
In one segment of the film, according to a former official who saw it, Brandon is seen waking from a nap at his desk. In what appears to be a dream or a nightmare, he wanders down a hallway and spots a giant panda on its knees with its head in the lap of a seated Hillary Clinton and apparently performing oral sex on the then-secretary of state. Two female interns at FreedomWorks were recruited to play the panda and Clinton. One intern wore a Hillary Clinton mask. The other wore a giant panda suit that FreedomWorks had used at protests to denounce progressives as panderers. (See here, here, and here.) Placing the panda in the video, a former FreedomWorks staffer says, was “an inside joke.”
Another FreedomWorks staffer who worked there at the time confirms that “Yes, this video was created.”

Well, my hands are clean here: Somebody at FreedomWorks blacklisted me back in 2010, so of course I wasn’t invited to “FreePAC,” and nobody asked me if it was a good idea to make a video of Hillary Clinton having sex with a giant panda. NTTAWWT.

What I can’t understand is why liberals pretend like they disapprove of “inter-species intimacy,” when this is a favorite practice — indeed, a cherished right — of Typical Democrat Voters™. 

 

Category: Freedom Works, Hillary Clinton

Stormfront for Liberals: The New Republic

Posted on | February 14, 2013 | 46 Comments

Chris Hughes: Liberal white-guilt peddler from Elite City

“The New Republic has abandoned its liberal but heterodox tradition and embraced a leftist outlook as predictable as that of Mother Jones or the Nation.”
— Marty Peretz, former publisher of The New Republic

After Facebook zillionaire Chris Hughes purchased The New Republic, he proclaimed that the magazine, which has long since lost the prestige it enjoyed in the 1980s and ’90s, would “strive to be free of party ideology or partisan bias.” This proclamation was instantly falsified by the magazine’s first print cover story under the new publisher, a smear of the Republican Party by Sam Tanenhaus.

That inspired a memorable Twitter beatdown of Chris Hughes by Ace of Spades — if you haven’t seen it, you simply must — who pointed out that, despite its partisan heckling of Republicans as “The Party of White People,” The New Republic‘s editorial staff is a monochromatic swath of vanilla honkydom. What is true of The New Republic is, of course, true of liberalism in general. The folks who were most eager to brand the Tea Party movement “racist” were white liberals, and this tells you something about what Shelby Steele called the White Guilt mentality of liberals: “Vote Democrat, cracker, in order to signify your moral righteousness on race issues.”

Never mind, of course, whether the policies of the Democrat Party actually result in any genuine improvement in the quality of life for African-Americans: When all that matters is your bien pensant good intentions toward black people, the efficacy of policy can be ignored as a trivial concern. Skepticism toward liberal policies becomes evidence of mala fides — for example, you’re a racist if you take seriously the “mismatch” critique of affirmative action — and intelligent examination of alternatives is thereby rendered impossible.

Essential to this way of thinking is the demonization of Republicans as representative of negative values: Racist, sexist, homophobic, greedy, redneck, theocratic, clueless, rich people. 

Rhetoric about ideological liberalism thus ignores the unthinking partisanship — the enthusiastic cheerleading mentality that views the success of the Democratic Party as necessary to the good of the American people — which is the genuine nature of “bias” in 21st-century political journalism. The press corps is nowadays overcrowded by propagandists who think of every story in terms of startling simplicity: How will this help Democrats or hurt Republicans?

Isn’t that why the national media have so strenuously tried to ignore the death of Jennifer Morbelli? Bad news for the abortion industry is bad news for Democrats, and therefore a woman’s death after a late-term abortion . . . well, that’s not news at all!

Liberals never examine their consciences, mainly because membership in the Party of Death requires them to discard their consciences, but also because honesty and self-awareness are not prerequisites for success as a partisan hack. The descent of liberal journalism into unmitigated partisan hackdom in the Obama Age is not a phenomenon that The New Republic will ever examine in its pages, because they don’t employ any writers capable of stepping outside the bubble of epistemic closure that envelops them. It is a magazine that employs clever liberal writers to tell slightly less clever liberal readers that their liberalism is synonymous with cleverness — and also, Vote Democrat, you crackers!

UPDATE (Smitty): welcome, Instapundit readers!

 


Category: Intellectuals, Journalism, Liberals
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