The Other McCain

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

Overarching Assumptions Behind Zombie’s Five Falsies

Posted on | September 27, 2012 | 14 Comments

by Smitty

Great post, via Insty, by Zombie, on five bogus assumptions behind the polls:

This entire strategy, which dominates the 2012 election even more than it dominated earlier campaigns, is based on some amateurish assumptions about mass psychology that have never been proven, or even tested. I find it extremely odd that no one has ever questioned these assumptions — until now, at least — because so much depends on them. What if it turns out, after endless person-hours expended on the Poll Wars, that the assumptions justifying poll-skewing are completely wrong?

The amateurish assumptions have indeed been tested. See Europe around 80 years ago. The basic assumption is not just that people are sheep, but that a crowd of people is a mindless lump of mutton. The Left operates as though that lump of mutton cannot analyze anything, and is driven by whatever crude image it was just shown. Irrespective of whether the last image contradicts the penultimate one.

Al Gore’s internet has blown that notion to lamb chops. The real problem was always information dispersal, and the internet has substantially diminished both the Left’s grip on information, and the difficulty of locating fellow liberty-minded souls.

And so the Left, having aborted all grasp of Truth, is faced with diminishing returns on its lies. Couldn’t happen to a sadder pack of jackwagons.

One hopes that the GOP are paying attention to the Left’s meltdown, and effectively scared straight by the debacle.

Category: Media Bias

Get on the Bus! AFP Leads ‘Obama’s Failing Agenda Tour’ Across Ohio

Posted on | September 27, 2012 | 14 Comments

FINDLAY, Ohio
By one of those strange flukes of luck, my buddy Nathan Martin got in touch with me yesterday to tell me that Americans for Prosperity’s “Obama’s Failing Agenda” bus tour of Ohio would be in the area today. So I met up with them in Perrysburg and rode the bus down I-75 to Findlay, where there will be a “Hands of My Health Care” rally today at 6 p.m. at Findlay Square (318 Dorney Plaza). Friday, there will be events in Sidney, Troy and Dayton.

When people drive past the bus, they often honk to show their support. The bus is also accompanied by the “Has Brown Worked For You” van, highlighting the record of Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown.

Visit FailingAgenda.com to learn more.

 Update (Smitty): welcome, Instapundit readers!


Category: Barack Obama, Election 2012, Ohio

LIVE AT FIVE: 09.27.12

Posted on | September 27, 2012 | 11 Comments

— compiled by Wombat-socho


TOP NEWS
Jack Nicklaus, Mike Rowe Join Romney In Appeal To Ohio’s Blue-Collar Voters

Romney and Ryan campaigning in Vandalia

Is Ohio’s improving job situation undercutting Romney’s message on the economy?

Obama Takes World Stage At UN to Fend Off Romney Attacks
Defends foreign policy in speech to UN

Sanctions On Burma Imports To Be Relaxed
SecState Clinton makes announcement during meeting with Burmese leader Thein Sein in New York



POLITICS
Ryan Says Obama’s Foreign Policy “Blowing Up In Our Faces”

Paul Ryan gives a thumbs up to supporters in Ft. Collins, Colorado

Points out similarity of Middle East chaos to Teheran in 1979

Army Accuses Airborne Brigadier General Of Sex Crimes

More Republicans Get Behind Akin In Missouri Senate Race

MN Same-Sex Marriage Ban Battle Attracts Millions In Donations

Pepper-Sprayed UCD Occupoopers To Get $30K Each In Settlement


Massachusetts Appeals Judge’s Order To Grant Sex Change To Murderer

UK Telegraph: Obama Exploiting Race, Class And Gender To Build Lead

Democratic SuperPACs Drawing Heavily On Trial Lawyers, Unions And Hollywood



THE ECONOMY, STUPID
Oil Rebounds From Eight-Week Low; NYMEX $90.18, Brent $110.14
Cyberattacks Spread To US Bank, PNC, Chase
20% Of All American Households Carrying Student Loan Debt
Opposition To California GMO Proposition Growing
Banks Recoup Losses, But Financials Weak
Get Your Bacon Now While It’s Cheap
Barnes & Noble Banking On New Nooks
Google Exec Detained By Brazilian Police Over YouTube Video
Intel Dismisses Otellini’s Windows 8 Comments As “Unsubstantiated”
Amazon Says “App Store” Is Generic, Urges Judge To Reject Apple Suit
Facebook’s War On Fake Accounts Just Started With A Boom
Larry Magid Criticizes iPhone 5 As Just An Improved 4S



SPORTS
NFL Refs’ Return A Done Deal?

An illustration of Goodell’s ineptitude

Roundup of rumors from several sources; regular refs could be back tonight or Sunday

Rays Win Seventh Straight, Beat BoSox 4-2

Strong Start From Josh Johnson Not Enough As Fish Fall To Braves 3-0

O’s Tie Team Mark With Seven Homers, Rout Blue Jays 12-2

Tejada Stars As Mets Knock Bucs Out Of Contention

Belichick Fined $50K For Abusing Refs

Aoki Goes 3-For-4, Helps Brew Crew Rout Reds 8-1

Lannan Leads The Way As Nats Beat Phillies 8-4; Magic Number Now 4



FAMOUS FOR BEING FAMOUS
Crooner Andy Williams Dies, 84

Andy Wiliams, 1927-2012, RIP

Dead of bladder cancer in Branson, Missouri

Is Tom Cruise Pulling Back From Co$?

Robert Pattinson Shacking Up With Kristen Stewart Again

Nicole Scherzinger Denies Making Out With Chris Brown

Sherlock Holmes And The Case Of A New Romance?

Lady Gaga Asks Fans To Join Her “Body Revolution” Campaign

“Gangnam Style” Hits #2 On Pop Charts

Adele Blasts Stars Who Use Sex To Sell Records



FOREIGNERS
Will Europe’s Battles Over Austerity Be Settled In The Streets?
Egypt’s Morsi Assumes Major Role In Mideast, Calls On Assad To Step Down
Rebels Use Car Bombs, Infiltrators To Hit Damascus Military Compound
Assange Accuses Obama Of Exploiting Arab Spring For Political Gain
Japan’s PM Says No Compromise With Chicoms On Senkaku Islands
Over 900 Female Pilgrims From Nigeria Detained By Saudis For Traveling Without Husbands
Former PM Shinzo Abe Eyes Return To Power
PRC Court Upholds $2.4 Million Fine For Tax Evasion Against Ai Weiwei
British Court Blocks Extradition Of Imam Accused Of Terrorism



BLOGS & STUFF
Leather Penguin: MBM Squirrel of The Day – The Stench
WyBlog: Forget Taxmageddon, Ignore The Replacement Refs – Beware The Impending Aporkolypse!
Riehl World News: Because They Wanted To Believe It
Ace Of Spades: How Not To Be Funny
American Power: Skewed And Unskewed Polls
Allahpundit: Which Polls Are (Or Aren’t) Legitimate?
Rush Limbaugh: Don’t Let Bogus Polls Depress You
Breitbart: Juiced – Pro-Obama Polls Rely On Record Dem Turnout
Lonely Conservative: CNN/MSNBC Pundit Arrested For Vandalizing Anti-Jihad Poster, Spray Painting Woman Who Tried To Stop Her
Glenn Reynolds: If The Greens Are To Obama’s Right…
Protein Wisdom: My “Mental Health” Issues, Revealed!
PJ Tatler: President Obama To Campaign With Confirmed Lawbreaker
Power Line: Eugene Genovese, RIP
Da Tech Guy: “I Think…I Think It Is Probably Unlikely”
Weasel Zippers: Ahmadinejad Meets With Fellow Jooooo-Hater Farrakhan

Category: Live at Five

Nudge, Nudge, Wink, Wink

Posted on | September 26, 2012 | 14 Comments

by Smitty

Say. No. More!

Category: Uncategorized

ROMNEY RALLY IN TOLEDO:
Huge Crowd Stands in Line in the Rain!

Posted on | September 26, 2012 | 58 Comments

TOLEDO, Ohio
OK, if you believe the polls, Mitt Romney’s 10 points behind in Ohio. But then there are those people — THOUSANDS of people — who stood in line in the rain to get in to see Mitt this afternoon in downtown Toledo:

QUESTION: Do you believe in the polls, or do you believe in the people?

UPDATE: Here’s a look at the crowd inside the rally:

UPDATE II: Still waiting for Mitt to take the stage here. A few linkbacks while we wait:

UPDATE III: Mitt keeps hammering on the national debt, saying Obama has added “about $6 trillion” to the debt, and later saying that, if Obama is re-elected, the U.S. national debt will reach $20 trillion by 2016.

UPDATE IV: There were times during this rally when the crowd just went wild cheering and began chanting “Mitt! Mitt! Mitt!” People who say Mitt isn’t “exciting” should attend one of these rallies. I’ll have some video in a minute.

UPDATE V: As promised, here is the video of the end of Romney’s speech. Listen to the crowd cheering at the end — excitement!

Gotta hit the road and go file my column for tomorrow’s American Spectator.

Category: Election 2012, Fear. Loathing., Mitt Romney, Ohio

Fear and Loathing on the Road to Toledo

Posted on | September 26, 2012 | 25 Comments

The National Affairs Desk, Dayton, Ohio, Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2012

“[Huffington Post columnist Howard] Fineman, in essence, is agreeing with conservative critics of his profession: they’ve been cutting the President way too much slack, failing to take him to task in areas (the Woodward portrayal, Libya, the jobs numbers ) where they would have hammered another candidate.”
— Mickey Kaus, “Will MSM Guilt Start Working for Mitt?”

DAYTON, Ohio
As stated in an earlier post, my plan this morning was to go to Westerville for Mitt Romney’s rally there, but after running late on deadline last night, I didn’t get to sleep until nearly 3 a.m., and didn’t wake up until nearly 8:30, so that plan got scratched. It happens sometimes.

A brief Associated Press report on this morning’s event:

Mitt Romney says the nation’s debt could grow to almost $20 trillion if the country re-elects President Barack Obama.
Romney also says his policies would do more to help middle-class families than the president’s.
Campaigning in Ohio, where polls give the advantage to Obama, the Republican presidential nominee combined a sharper focus on the mounting debt with an insistence that middle-class families are struggling.
Said Romney: “I want to help them.”

As to Mickey Kaus’s reference to“conservative critics” of Howard Fineman’s profession, journalism is also my profession, and the fact that I’m pursuing it on a blog doesn’t change my astonishment at the utter shamelessness of these people. As usual this morning, I’ve been watching MSNBC and I think this would be an accurate headline:

QUINNIPIAC POLL SHOWS OBAMA
LEADING BY 10 POINTS IN OHIO;
OBJECTIVE JOURNALIST CHUCK TODD
‘SPORTING A WOODY’ ON LIVE TV

It’s really that bad. I watch MSNBC so you don’t have to, and their crew is practically breaking out the champagne to celebrate these poll numbers. Their smug self-satisfied glee makes me want Romney to stomp Obama so bad that Chuck Todd is crying like a little girl on Election Night.

Is that a Neutral and Objective urge?

Perhaps not, but at least I’m honest about it, and there’s that old thing about “afflicting the comfortable.” Keep in mind that Chuck Todd is not just a partisan talking-head MSNBC commentator; he is political director of NBC News.

What can I do about it? What can you do about it?

Join Mitt for a Victory Rally in Toledo
401 Jefferson Avenue, Toledo, OH 43604
Doors Open 3:00 PM | Event Begins 5:00 PM
To RSVP and get your ticket, please visit http://mi.tt/QIPczY

That kind of free publicity is what the Federal Election Commission might call a “contribution in kind,” but how is it any different than what Chuck Todd does for Obama every day? While we’re at it, let me show you this latest campaign video for Mitt Romney:

“Too many Americans are struggling to find work or are living paycheck to paycheck. Mitt Romney will create 12 million new jobs over the next four years and help lift families out of poverty, while strengthening the middle class. We can’t afford another four years like the last.”
— Mitt Romney, who’s gonna make Chuck Todd cry

It’s two-and-a-half hours to Toledo. I kinda doubt Chuck Todd will be driving that distance and eating fast food on the way.

Hit the freaking tip jar.

UPDATE: Jay Cost at the Weekly Standard has a thorough examination of the poll-skew issue.

 



 

PREVIOUSLY:

Category: Election 2012, Fear. Loathing., MSNBC, Ohio, Polls

The Most Biased Question, Ever

Posted on | September 26, 2012 | 21 Comments

DAYTON, Ohio
Jim Acosta of CNN got an exclusive one-on-one interview with Mitt Romney yesterday in order that he could ask Mitt this ridiculous question:

“African-Americans have a tremendous sense of pride that there is the first African-American president in the White House. If you were to somehow beat the first African-American president, what would you say to the black community to assure them that you would be their president also?”

Noel Sheppard of Newsbusters says Acosta “should be ashamed of himself,” but what shocks me is that, instead of punching Acosta in the face, Romney politely answered the question:

“I want to be the president of all the people of America. I want to help all the people of America. You don’t get into a race like this with myself and my family and do the kind of work and commitment that we’ve put forward without the passion to help all of America. And the people who really need the help right now are the people in the middle class, people who have fallen into poverty. I know how to get them help. The president doesn’t.”

Show of hands: How many of our readers would like to see Mitt Romney punch out a network reporter on live TV? 

Yeah — it’s unanimous. Do it, Mitt.

 


Category: CNN, Election 2012, Mitt Romney, Ohio

Adding To The Chorus Of Anti-Eric Posner Derision

Posted on | September 26, 2012 | 16 Comments

by Smitty

. . .Americans need to learn that the rest of the world—and not just Muslims—see no sense in the First Amendment. Even other Western nations take a more circumspect position on freedom of expression than we do, realizing that often free speech must yield to other values and the need for order. Our own history suggests that they might have a point.
Despite its 18th-century constitutional provenance, the First Amendment did not play a significant role in U.S. law until the second half of the 20th century. The First Amendment did not protect anarchists, socialists, Communists, pacifists, and various other dissenters when the U.S. government cracked down on them, as it regularly did during times of war and stress.
The First Amendment earned its sacred status only in the 1960s, and then only among liberals and the left, who cheered when the courts ruled that government could not suppress the speech of dissenters, critics, scandalous artistic types, and even pornographers. Conservatives objected that these rulings helped America’s enemies while undermining public order and morality at home, but their complaints fell on deaf ears.

We can argue over ‘significant’ WRT the Sedition Act, Posner, but let me lay this on you: American Exceptionalism (my definition) is the idea that the individual precedes and is superior to the State. This is in stark contrast to Yglesias:


The rest of the world can be a parade of socialist, green, gay, global warming, theocratic fascists for all I care. The reason that “the rest of the world see no sense in the First Amendment” is that they lack our tradition of self-government. Even the Europeans ate the Treaty of Lisbon. Probably because they are unarmed. Ah, the Second Amendment!

American Exceptionalism is an affront to aristocracy. Or, as we now call it, the Progress. The “Rule of Experts”. Pay no attention to the debt, deficit, lack of a budget, and 2ook pages of U.S. Code. Aristocracy hates liberty, absence of hierarchy in society. So they substitute hedonism for liberty, emotional plays for thought, bullying for leadership, and Socialist Utopia fables for economically sound social systems in a quest to amass, retain, and wield power. But it’s worse. If you review the S.R.C. Hicks series I did a while back, you find gems from the Lefty playbook like:

On the one hand, all cultures are equally deserving of respect; on the other, Western culture is uniquely destructive and bad.

While I don’t mind tolerating others, after a while, a lack of reciprocity leaves the impression that my good nature is being used against me. And I’m having none of that, not from people overseas, and not from my countrymen who, for all their high position, seem to maintain a low opinion of what this country is about.

This is an Exceptional country, and cleaning up the mess of your ilk may take decades, Posner & Yglesias, but your ideas and cheap ploys are going down. A Philippe Reines sign-off to both of you.

via Twitchy

Category: Blogging
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