The Other McCain

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

Secrets of Neutral Objective Journalism: Deadline Stress and Lots of Coffee

Posted on | November 21, 2012 | 10 Comments

Today, for reasons that need not be explained, I was looking through my American Spectator coverage of the Republican National Convention:

Five columns in five days, about 5,000 words in all, a good week’s work. The quantity included some genuine quality, considering that all of it was produced in a frenzied deadline rush late at night, during a week when I never got more than five hours of sleep a night. Re-reading those columns, I think the Aug. 28 entry was one of the fiercest all-out assaults on liberal media bias I’ve ever written:

TAMPA, Florida — The Republican Party has spared no expense to accommodate the hundreds of journalists who have come here to write dishonest stories aimed at preventing the GOP from winning this year’s election.
If you’ve been following major media coverage of the Republican National Convention, you know that the party’s presidential candidate is Todd Akin, who will campaign this fall on a platform of undiluted hatred and evil, with the able assistance of his running mate, Martin Bormann Jr. The Akin-Bormann ticket was personally selected by RNC Chairman Rush Limbaugh and endorsed by Karl Rove after consultation with a secretive cabal of right-wing Mormon billionaires. The Republican delegates who are assembling this week in Tampa are mere dupes hired by the Koch brothers to provide the superficial appearance of a “political convention” debating a platform and nominating candidates.
Such is the narrative subtext of most of the GOP convention coverage, which is provided by a political press corps that is overwhelmingly composed of people who would never vote for any Republican under any imaginable circumstance. . . .

Please read (or re-read) the whole thing.

 

Category: American Spectator, Neutral Objective Journalism

Five Words to Be Thankful For

Posted on | November 21, 2012 | 14 Comments

Former Congressman Jesse Jackson, Junior:

Rep. Jesse Jackson resigned from Congress Wednesday, saying in a letter that he is cooperating with a federal investigation “into my activities” but blaming his health problems for his decision to step down just two weeks after his re-election. . . .
Despite his admission of “my share of mistakes,” Jackson said his deteriorating health was the reason he was quitting. He has been on medical leave since June while receiving treatment for bipolar depression. . . .
Jackson, 47, won election this month while being treated at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. . . .
He has not appeared in the House since June 8. Nor did he stage a campaign event — or even run a TV ad. Jackson advanced to the general election after defeating a one-term member of Congress, Debbie Halvorson, in a March primary. . . .
Under Illinois law, Gov. Pat Quinn, a fellow Democrat, would call a special election to fill Jackson’s 2nd District congressional seat, which extends from Chicago’s South Side to Kankakee. . . .
Jackson has been under investigation by the House Ethics Committee for alleged improprieties related to his bid to win appointment in 2008 to the Senate seat that had been held by President Barack Obama. A Jackson emissary is alleged to have offered to raise up to $6 million in campaign funds for disgraced former Gov. Rod Blagojevich in exchange for the governor appointing Jackson to the Senate seat.
Blagojevich is serving a prison term for corruption convictions including trying to sell or trade the Senate seat.

There is no such thing as an honest Illinois Democrat, so we can trust that voters of the 2nd District will elect another corrupt buffoon to replace the crook who just resigned. Happy Thanksgiving!

Please shop our Amazon Black Friday Week Deals!

Category: Congress, Corruption, Democrats, Illinois, Scandal

CEASE FIRE IN GAZA

Posted on | November 21, 2012 | 8 Comments

Israel has agreed to a ceasefire in Gaza.

UPDATE: NBC News reports:

Israel and Hamas have agreed to a cease-fire, the Egyptian foreign minister said Wednesday, ending eight days of fighting that killed more than 140 Palestinians and five Israelis.
The cease-fire is set to start at 9 p.m. Cairo time (2 p.m. ET), Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr announced in a news conference alongside visiting U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
“The United States welcomes the agreement today for the cease-fire in Gaza,” Clinton said, adding that Egypt’s new government was exerting responsibility and leadership in the region.

“This is a critical moment for the region,” she said.

UPDATE II: Elder of Ziyon posts the text of the cease-fire agreement.

UPDATE III: Netanyahu press conference:

He says “we started this operation because of rocket fire.” The strikes destroyed thousands of Hamas installations, he said, with international support.
He says Iran was responsible for arming Hamas and that Obama had agreed that more must be done to stop the arms movement.
Netanyahu singled out Obama for his support. “Special thanks to president Obama for his unwavering support for Israel, and for supporting Iron Dome.”
Netanyahu also thanks Egypt.
He said the Israeli assault was necessary:
“That is what a responsible government does, and that is what we did in this case too.
“I know there are those who expected a more intense military response, and that may be needed, but at this time the best thing for Israel” is to take this opportunity to achieve a long-term ceasefire.
Netanyahu salutes the citizens of Israel. “I am proud to be your prime minister.”

UPDATE IV: New York Times:

Israel and Hamas agreed to a cease-fire on Wednesday, the eighth day of lethal fighting over the Gaza Strip, the United States and Egypt said after intensive negotiations in Cairo.
The cease-fire, which took effect at 9 p.m. local time (2 p.m. E.S.T.), was formally announced by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Foreign Minister Mohamed Amr of Egypt at a news conference here. The agreement was aimed at quieting an escalating aerial battle between Palestinians and Israelis that had threatened to turn into an Israeli ground invasion of Gaza.
Whether the cease-fire could hold was uncertain at best, and even in the minutes leading up to the effective start time, both sides were firing at each other. . . .
The negotiators reached an agreement after days of nearly nonstop Israeli aerial assaults on Gaza, the Mediterranean enclave run by Hamas, the militant Islamist group, and the firing of hundreds of rockets into Israel from an arsenal Hamas had been amassing in the aftermath of the three-week Israeli invasion four years ago.

UPDATE V: John Tabin at The American Spectator:

Israel’s tactical victory in Operation Pillar of Defense is fairly straightforward: Hamas’s military infrastructure is significantly degraded, several important leaders of Hamas (as well as Palestinian Islamic Jihad) have been killed, and the Iron Dome missile defense system has proven extremely effective.

UPDATE VI: Reuters reports:

U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and commended him for agreeing to the Egyptian government’s ceasefire plan in the Middle East, the White House said. . . .
“The president expressed his appreciation for the Prime Minister’s efforts to work with the new Egyptian government to achieve a sustainable ceasefire and a more durable solution to this problem,” a White House statement said.

UPDATE VII: Breaking news! Allahpundit is cynical:

Alternate headline: “Fat envelopes from Uncle Sam to Muslim Brotherhood to proceed as scheduled.”

Of course, I’m cynical, too. Been watching “The Mideast Peace Show” since 1967, and this is just like a commercial break in the program.

PREVIOUSLY:

 


Category: Israel

Lindsey Stone of Plymouth, Mass., Has ‘Been Placed on Unpaid Leave Pending the Results of an Internal Investigation’

Posted on | November 20, 2012 | 148 Comments

“This is just us, being the douchebags that we are, challenging authority in general. . . . OBVIOUSLY we meant NO disrespect to people that serve or have served in our military.”
— Lindsey Stone of Plymouth, Massachusetts

Alas, Lindsey, it wasn’t quite as obvious to others as it was to you, eh?

While I hesitate to jump on the dogpile — e.g., the “Fire Lindsey Stone” Facebook page — my sympathy for you is limited by my suspicion that you’re not really sorry about what you did, you’re just sorry that you got caught. And I furthermore suspect that, as you sit home on unpaid leave, having deleted your Facebook page, you’re sulking in self-pity about how unfair it is and how mean these people are being to you.

But Lindsey, you did this on a company-paid trip to Arlington National Cemetery at THE TOMB OF THE UNKNOWNS!

“I can understand why veterans would be all upset over this,” says Edward LeBlanc who was in the Air Force for 20 years and served two tours in Vietnam.

Understatement of the year, sir. Perhaps you could explain to Lindsey, the daughter of Peter and Jeanne Stone of Plymouth, Mass., why the sign at the Tomb of the Unknowns asks for “silence and respect,” and why nobody’s laughing at her “clever” Facebook photo. Let me give it a try.

My childhood friend Dave brought his family to visit us a few years ago, and we all took a trip together down to Washington, D.C.

Dave was especially eager to visit Arlington National Cemetery. You see, Dave used to be a Scoutmaster and one of his former Scouts had grown up and joined the Army. This young man, whom Dave had taught in his troop all the way up to the rank of Eagle Scout — no small honor, that — had been selected by the Army for the even higher honor of Sentinel at the Tomb of the Unknowns.

So we went there and watched as this young Sentinel stood his watch, then saw the Changing of the Guard, and afterwards went to the quarters and talked with this soldier, Dave’s former Eagle Scout.

Y’know, old Dave was so proud, he cried.

Thinking back to that day, I also think of my late father, who had a deep scar on his neck from a piece of German shrapnel that came this close to killing him. “You got a million dollar wound, Mack,” the medic told him — bad enough he’d never have to go into combat again, but not so bad that he would be permanently crippled.

A lot of guys weren’t so lucky. And the unluckiest of all were mangled so badly that their remains couldn’t even be identified. These are the men who are buried at the Tomb of the Unknowns.

They gave “the last full measure of devotion,” and all we are asked to give them in return are “silence and respect.” Too much to ask? I think not.

You’re really feeling sorry for yourself, aren’t you, Lindsey? You think this is all about you, because you are selfish, and can’t think of the widows and orphans and bereaved parents of troops who died in their country’s service, and whose sacrifice you disrespected because you’re so smart and funny, “challenging authority generally.”

“I gotta be me, as the douchebag credo goes.”
— Ace of Spades

Really, Lindsey, it was unfair and mean of Ace to make fun of your arm fat. Because there are people with fat arms I actually like, and I wouldn’t want them to be offended. You, on the other hand . . .

Like I said, Lindsey, it’s not my instinct to dogpile someone, to kick them when they’re down and laugh at their shame. I’ve done lots of stupid, embarrassing things in my life, so I tend to empathize with people who find themselves on the receiving end of public humiliation.

“Fire Lindsey Stone“? Yeah, they probably will, but I’ll take no joy in it, even knowing that you probably voted for Obama, you dumb bitch.

What will you do after they fire you, Lindsey Stone of Plymouth, Mass.? Maybe you should consider joining the Army. Maybe the Army would teach you a thing or two about respect. And maybe you’ll get mangled so badly they won’t be able to identify your remains.

Also, like Ace said, “a push-up wouldn’t kill ya.”

Category: Culture, Military

Benghazi Strategy: Bureaucratic Twister Until Americans Get Bored, Or Something

Posted on | November 20, 2012 | 5 Comments

by Smitty

Per HotAir, the latest position in the Benghazi cover-up is that the “Office of the DNI” is the bad. . .guy. Unclear at this point was whether:

  • The room where the DNI himself sits is haunted, and that some leftover from a Stephen King novel is making random edits to computer files, or
  • James Clapper, the no-kidding DNI, did the deed, or,
  • Maybe it was a the Microsoft Office of the DNI, in the conference room with the macro, or,
  • Some intern escapee from a Dilbert cartoon got his editorial jollies with the CIA memo.

What’s totally clear at this point is that Chris Cassone has written the definitive tune on the topic, which bears viral transmission wherever patriots be found.

Category: Hot Air, Libya

Cease-Fire? With These Monsters?

Posted on | November 20, 2012 | 8 Comments

What kind of fool would believe that Hamas wants “peace”?

Six men accused of being ‘Israeli spies’ were dragged through the streets of Gaza City and executed in front of a chanting mob today as Israel warned Palestinians to evacuate some areas of the territory in apparent preparation for a ground invasion.
Witnesses said the six were taken to an intersection in the north of the city where they were summarily shot for providing intelligence that helped Israel pinpoint key figures in Hamas and the Islamic Jihad targeted by their warplanes. . . .
Gunmen chained the body of one of the alleged collaborators to a motorcycle and dragged it throughout the main streets of Gaza City in a warning to others who ‘betrayed’ Palestinians.

Pamela Geller has much more, including horrifying video and photos. I think it goes without saying that these six men were not spies, but rather innocent scapegoats targeted by henchmen of the paranoid terrorist thugs of Hamas, who seek to divert blame from themselves for the destruction they have brought down upon their people.

Category: Israel

Sad Elmo’s Very Bad Week

Posted on | November 20, 2012 | 13 Comments

Hello, boys and girls, it’s your favorite furry red Muppet who . . .

What’s that, boys and girls? Elmo’s not your favorite Muppet? You say Elmo doesn’t like girls? That’s so sad.

And what’s that? You say Elmo likes boys just a little bit too much?

Kevin Clash — known as the voice of Elmo — is facing NEW allegations that he had a sexual relationship with a SECOND underage boy …
The accuser — who is now in his 30s — has filed a lawsuit against Clash … claiming the two met on a gay phone chat line … when the accuser was 15 years old and Clash was 32. . . .
Among the allegations, [Cecil] Singleton claims, “[Clash] trolled gay telephone chat line rooms to meet and have sex with underage boys.”
In the lawsuit, filed in federal court in NYC, Singleton claims Clash “groomed [the accuser] to gain his trust by, among other things, taking him to nice dinners and giving him money.”
Singleton claims while Clash was featured on “Sesame Street,” he was “preying on teenage boys to satisfy his depraved sexual interests.”

That’s so sad. And now Elmo’s going bye-bye.

UPDATE: Today’s episode is brought to you by the letters “C,” “Y” and “A.” Also, “W,” “T” and “F.” Mary Katherine Ham:

Sesame Workshop has an incentive to protect its brand, and Clash had become a big part of it, but one would think any hint of sexual impropriety with minors would have gotten Clash tossed out of an organization whose entire mission is to work closely with children thanks to tremendous trust from parents.

Exactly, and notice the Sesame Street statement:

Unfortunately, the controversy surrounding Kevin’s personal life has become a distraction that none of us wants, and he has concluded that he can no longer be effective in his job and has resigned from Sesame Street.

Yeah, the “controversy” is a “distraction,” i.e., a public relations issue, rather than a troubling accusation that might indicate children have been put at risk by the organization’s willingness to ignore evidence (if there was evidence) of wrongdoing (if there was wrongdoing).

One can think of many contexts in which such accusations against an individual would raise questions about the suspect’s employer.

As I said to Pete Da Tech Guy, it’s a good thing Elmo’s not a Catholic priest, or else this might be a real scandal.

 

Category: Crime

Skepticism, Balance and Error: A Brief Note on Kimberlin-Rauhauser Apologists

Posted on | November 20, 2012 | 21 Comments

Brett Kimberlin could have been sentenced to 230 years in federal prison

Evil Blogger Lady calls attention to Charles Johnson’s endorsement of a rather elaborate defense of Brett Kimberlin and Neal Rauhauser. CJ links a 3,200-word post by Crooks and Liars contributor “Karoli” that is perhaps worthy of a point-by-point fisking, which I have neither the time nor the inclination to provide at this point. However, I will briefly note four points:

  1. Karoli’s purpose is to exculpate Kimberlin and Rauhauser, and she willfully ignores evidence of their wrongdoing.
  2. Karoli replicates the Kimberlin-Rauhauser “accuse the accusers” strategy, publishing negative information (including falsehoods) about the targets, which is (a) irrelevant to the truth of what Kimberlin and Rauhauser have done, but (b) serves to undermine the credibility of the witnesses and victims of wrongdoing by Kimberlin and Rauhauser.
  3. Karoli’s excuse-making amounts to a Rauhauser-influenced conspiracy theory, as she accuses Andrew Breitbart, Patrick “Patterico” Frey, Aaron Walker and others of engaging in a plot against Kimberlin and Rauhauser, which she calls a “Right-Wing Blueprint.”
  4. To justify her defense of Kimberlin-Rauhauser, Karoli cites previous defenses of them by unreliable sources.

On this fourth point, let’s cite two examples. Karoli quotes what she calls “a really well-done post” in July by Salon’s Alex Pareene:

Basically you have a large group of people who receive a great deal of joy from pretending to be the victims of unprovoked and terrible persecution, and they are united against an incredibly litigious narcissist — possibly because he is attempting to block them from exposing his past through intimidation, or possibly because they’re attempting to block him from exposing malfeasance by the activist right. Or maybe a little of both.

Pareene did zero reporting on that article, although he easily could have. I had been on the story for six weeks at that point. Pareene knows me personally and could have contacted me, and I could have put him in direct communication with those whom he accused of “pretending to be victims.” Instead, Pareene glibly dismissed the whole thing as a bunch of silly people squabbling on the Internet.

If her citation of Pareene’s dismissive non-reporting served Karoli’s exculpatory purpose, still more did she reveal her motives by quoting an August post by Matt Osborne:

They made Neal Rauhauser into a left-wing supervillain because they wanted and needed one so badly. And for a moment, right wing bloggers seemed to finally be picking on someone their own size, because no one could find Rauhauser to engage him in “lawfare.” So they wrote with what little information they had, embellished and inflated it, and called the whole fiasco their finest hour.

This is what poker players would call a “tell,” because Matt Osborne is an active accomplice of Neal Rauhauser. Read more

Category: Conspiracy Theories, Media Bias, The Kimberlin Files
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