The Other McCain

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

Ambush: Media Exploit Obama’s ‘Clear Advantage’ Narrative Against Romney

Posted on | September 13, 2012 | 7 Comments

Protesters at U.S. Embassy in Cairo, Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2012

Many people were shocked by the hot-mike incident Wednesday, in which reporters were overheard coordinating their questions before a Mitt Romney press conference, planning to question the candidate about whether he regretted his statements about the Libyan attack that killed four Americans, and how his “answer is continuing to sound.”

What has perhaps been forgotten was that the day before the eruption of Muslim riots in Libya and Egypt, the Obama campaign had already dictated its foreign-policy narrative to the media. This was the message already packaged and delivered on the eve of the annual 9/11 commemoration. An article at BuzzFeed posted early Tuesday morning had this headline:

Obama’s Plan To Use National
Security To Beat Romney

The article included explicit comments like this:

“For the first time in a very long time, a Democrat has a clear advantage on national security issues,” Michele Flournoy, a national security campaign advisor and former Defense Department official said. “This is a real significant shift in our political system.”
Voters, Flournoy went on to say, “consistently prefer President Obama over Mitt Romney on this issue by double digits.”

It was therefore pre-determined by the Obama campaign that the 9/11 remembrance would be the occasion for emphasizing the Democrat’s “clear advantages” on foreign policy.

No “Swiftboats” allowed!

One might have thought that the sudden onslaught of Islamic violence that left the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans dead would have been perceived as an unfortunate reminder that the “clear advantage” wasn’t really so clear.

However, inside the pro-Obama bubble that seems to envelop much of the political press corps — evidently including of Ari Shapiro of NPR and Jan Crawford of CBS — no contradictory facts can be permitted to disturb the precious narrative: Obama is winning, Romney is losing, and everything must be conformed to that storyline.

Toby Harnden of the London Daily Mail is evidently outside that bubble, and saw the attacks in Egypt and Libya for what they actually were:

 The Obama administration is engulfed in a full-blown foreign policy crisis just two months before the presidential election after the murder of the US ambassador to Libya and three other officials and amid fierce criticism from his opponent Mitt Romney.

These incidents, occurring as they did in two nations where Obama had sided with radical insurgents who overthrew their governments in the “Arab Spring” uprisings, clearly raised questions about the wisdom of the administration’s policy. But for pro-Obama reporters, the attacks had to be interpreted within the “clear advantage” narrative, and so whatever Mitt Romney said or did, the Republican challenger’s response had to be portrayed as insufficient, inadequate or otherwise wrong.

By daring to criticize the Obama administration, Romney was contradicting the press-corps consensus, as John Podhoretz says:

The murders of US diplomats in Libya and the attempted storming of the US Embassy in Cairo took place 56 days before the election of America’s next president.
Apparently, it is the view of much of the mainstream media and foreign-policy establishment that discussing these horrific events in the course of the presidential campaign is monstrous.
One might think that these custodians of the public good would wish the discussion to be of nothing else. The United States and its representatives abroad have been attacked, and in a manner that threatens to spread like wildfire. You’d think everyone would agree it’s time to talk foreign policy.
Oh, no. In the precincts of America’s Most High, the worst evil done [Tuesday] was Mitt Romney daring to broach the subject and use it to criticize President Obama’s foreign policy. . . .

Read the whole thing, as Podhoretz describes how the attacks on Romney started with explicitly left-wing Talking Points Memo and then dispersed throughout the media. The real outrage, in the minds of the pro-Obama media, is not that savages destroyed our consulate in Benghazi and killed four Americans, but rather that a Republican would dare describe this tragedy as a consequence of Obama’s failed policies.

 

 


Category: Barack Obama, Egypt, Election 2012, Libya, Media Bias, Mitt Romney

Postvarication

Posted on | September 13, 2012 | 16 Comments

by Smitty

Obama caves to Romney, according to Munro in the Examiner:

President Barack Obama used Air Force One to conduct a policy loop-de-loop Wednesday, asserting in a CBS interview that he supports Americans’ right to criticize Islam, following almost 18 hours of determined condemnation from Team Romney and damaging news from Egypt and Libya.
“We believe in the First Amendment,” Obama told CBS’s Steve Kroft during an interview arranged days earlier.
“It is one of the hallmarks of our Constitution that I’m sworn to uphold, and so we are always going to uphold the rights for individuals to speak their mind,” he said, according to a transcript narrated by White House spokesman Jay Carney.

This is about the bazillionth time in the last three years that:

  1. Crisis event occurs.
  2. Obama administration offers a creepy response.
  3. American outrage ensues.
  4. Obama administration mumbles something recognizably American.

I submit that:

  • #2 represents the actual Obama opinion on #1 for his real audience, for which he’ll have more flexibility after his re-coronation in November.
  • #4 is just a bone thrown to those bitter, racist cling-ons in flyover country.

This administration is pretty much guilty until proven innocent by non-Commie validation, as far as I’m concerned. The sense of the word prevaricate seems to be a sequence of fact distortion moving from false to true, as investigation drags facts to light.

Maybe one of the few genuine ‘accomplishments’ of this administration is creation of a new form of lying: postvarication, where the truth is served up for the target audience, and then a pile of hooey follows for the purported rubes. Postvarication goes from true to false.

This blog doesn’t believe much of anything said by the administration or the media. Even though I didn’t like Clinton, I was still willing to give the creep the benefit of the doubt. BHO & Co. have a tremendous problem on their hands, as they systematically de-legitimize everything about our culture and its institutions.

via SissyWillis

Update: much more at The Daley Gator.

Category: Barack Obama

‘[Mario Draghi] Will Fight To The Last German Taxpayer To Keep The Mediterranean Countries That Should Never Have Joined The Euro In There’

Posted on | September 13, 2012 | 5 Comments

by Smitty

Hold on to the end, as another MEP asks a fascinating question, which I’ll paraphrase:

<spicolli>Mr. Hand, you’re like this epic buzzkill. You have been sounding like the Pet Shop Boys played backward since around the sixth season of South Park. Can’t you just quit harshing our mellow and say something different?</spicolli>

The mighty Daniel Hannan:

Update: Daily Pundit inquires, “”

Category: Europe

LIVE AT FIVE: 09.13.12

Posted on | September 13, 2012 | Comments Off on LIVE AT FIVE: 09.13.12

— compiled by Wombat-socho


TOP NEWS
Ambassador Stevens Remembered As Collegial, Effective Envoy

Ambassador Chris Stevens, RIP

“He was loved by everybody,” said Ahmed al-Abbar, a Libyan opposition leader during the revolution. Apparently not.

Media Upset With Romney Remarks On Embassy Attacks
Romney criticizes Obama’s response to Cairo, Benghazi; left rediscovers “politics stops at water’s edge” bromide

Court Rejects Demjanjuk Estate’s Appeal To Restore Citizenship
Considered not guilty by German courts; US courts say case mooted by his death



POLITICS
Evaluations, Not Pay At Center Of Chicago Teacher Strike

Teachers walk the picket line outside Chicago elementary school

Strike expected to enter fourth day with no sign of resolution

Warren Struggles In Home Stretch

House Subcommittee Grills Dept. Of Energy Bureaucrats On Y-12 Breach

Obama Campaigns In Vegas After “Tough Day”

Florida Agrees To Restore Voters Mistakenly ID’d As Non-Citizens

Pennsylvania Supreme Court To Hear Voter ID, Redistricting Plan Cases

U.S. Poverty Rate Remains High



THE ECONOMY, STUPID
Oil Down Slightly On Surprise Increase In Inventory; NYMEX $97.00, Brent $115.96
Wall Street Has Hopes For QE3
US, German Bonds Fall; Spanish, Italian Debt Up
McDonald’s To Post Calorie Counts On Menus, Drive-Throughs
FDIC Pushes Banks To Make Market Out Of Unbanked Americans
Apple Unveils iPhone 5, Press Wets Itself
Nintendo Details December Wii U Release
How The iPhone 5 Stacks Up To Samsung’s Galaxy S III
“Six Strikes” Piracy Warning System To Debut Soon
Microsoft Launches Visual Studio 2012 To Cultivate “Rock Stars”
Google Sponsors Free Wi-Fi For Android Users Via Boingo



SPORTS
NHL Offers Rejected As Players Ponder European Option

NHLPA head Donald Fehr with players

Offers exchanged, rejected

Notre Dame Joins ACC For Everything But Football

Cards Still Shuffling

Indians Lose 5-2 To Rangers, Fall To 15-43 Since All-Star Break

Snakes Rally To Top Dodgers 3-2

2013 MLB Schedule Makes Interleague Games An Everyday Thing

 O’s Proving They’re More Than A Fluke

Brewers Thrash Braves 8-2

Lannan Uses Finesse, Homers From Zimmerman & Desmond To Beat Mets 2-0; Magic Number Now 11



FAMOUS FOR BEING FAMOUS
Adriana Lima Gives Birth To Daughter Sienna

Adriana Lima

Second baby weighs in around seven pounds

Heidi Klum: Yes, I’m Banging My Bodyguard

Lohan Scaring Producers

Britney Spears Team Bans Alcohol On “X Factor” Set

Jessica Simpson Catches Flak For Baby’s Bikini

Kathy Bates Undergoes Double Mastectomy

Bravo Developing “Heathers” Reboot

Chad Johnson Charged With Battery


Critics Rip “Today” For 9/11 Anniversary Coverage

Octomom Has New House – Paid For By Porn

Minor League Hockey Team Offers Tryout To Justin Bieber
Because those teenage girls love the puck, IYKWIMAITYD



FOREIGNERS
German Court Rejects Calls To Block ESM Fund
US Launching Apparent Terrorist Hunt In Libya
Ruling VVD Claims Victory In Dutch Elections With 41 Seats
Final Death Toll In Pak Factory Fires Over 300
Another Riot Outside Cairo Embassy
Australian Police Conduct Anti-Terror Raids In Melbourne
PRC VP’s Absence Raises Succession Questions
Chavistas Get Violent At Opposition Rally
Norks Rebuff ROK Flood Aid Offer
Russian PM Medvedev Proposes Probation For Pussy Riot
Wikileaks Rapist Ripped For Linking Benghazi Embassy Attack To His Case



BLOGS & STUFF
WyBlog: No, Mr. Obama, The US Does Not Always Reject Efforts To Denigrate Religious Faiths
Gateway Pundit: After Embassy Torched And Ambassador Killed, Obama Delivers “Strongly Worded” Speech
Allahpundit: Administration Agrees With Romney, Cairo Embassy Statement Was Awful
Neo-neocon: Security? What Security?
Atlas Shrugs: Obama’s Epic Fail Misfire
Phil Klein: How The Media Turned An Obama Bungle Into A Romney Gaffe
Legal Insurrection: Dead Ambassador Dragged Through Streets, Media Furious At Romney’s criticism Of Obama
Newsbusters: NYT Puts Coverage Of Cairo, Benghazi Attacks On Page A4
Power Line: Journalists Collaborate On Attacking Romney
NRO Corner: The Insane MSM Questions Romney Faced At Presser
Scared Monkeys: MSNBC Host Asks Who’s More Dangerous, Khamenei Or Netanyahu
AmSpecBlog: HHS Secretary Sebelius Violated Hatch Act To Boost Obama

Category: Live at Five

Anybody Who Thinks General Dempsey Went Rogue And Called Terry Jones Is Missing The Point

Posted on | September 12, 2012 | 11 Comments

by Smitty

I’ve got to call Preston for having blown by the point entirely:

Gen. Dempsey’s call was a PR stunt designed to show the Islamic world that the US government takes jihadist threats more seriously than it takes American citizens’ rights to free speech.
The top soldier in America’s armed forces has deliberately chilled free speech and has violated the oath he took when he entered the armed forces, to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. He has also elevated an obscure, fringe preacher to a powerful position impacting US foreign policy.
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs is, in other words, an idiot.

People in uniform, even the JCS chair, take orders. There are just a couple links, albeit weak, in the chain of command above JCS chair.

Keep in mind that the party which ordered Dempsey to place that call

So, treating the JCS chair like a flunky continues to communicate to the Middle Eastern audience that the U.S. military is something of a joke, and need not be a concern. No doubt, the U.S. military karma is cosmically enhanced by all this, and the world will respect us more if our military image is less. . .combative.

Category: Barack Obama, Military

Where Angels Fear to Tread

Posted on | September 12, 2012 | 13 Comments

Lee Stranahan is already pursuing legal action against Bill Schmalfeldt, aka “Liberal Grouch,” a blogger who apparently decided to make his bid for online immortality by assisting the attacks on enemies of what I’ve called the Kimberlin-Rauhauser axis.

Stranahan says Schmalfeldt has made grievously defamatory accusations against him, the accuracy of which Stranahan disputes, and the case has already proceeded far past the point that a wise lawyer would advise Schmalfeldt to exercise his constitutional right against self-incrimination. One does not defend oneself in such a dispute by “doubling down” with further accusations against the plaintiff and — important point — the plaintiff need not be wholly innocent in order to do you damage, especially if it can be proven that the defendant is motivated by malice.

All of which is a necessary preamble to this:

Every editor in Christendom just drew a sharp breath at this folly. Reporters know to be very careful in describing their sources, especially if they are engaged in what a lawyer once described to me as “asserting private knowledge.”

Now, Stranahan says he has been falsely defamed by Schmalfeldt. What would be Schmalfeldt’s motive to do so? What did Stranahan ever do to Schmalfeldt that would inspire this?

Stranahan’s attorneys might reasonably suggest to a court that the source of the misidentified photos — “someone I trust” — is someone who bears a grudge against Stranahan, and who has been feeding defamatory information to Schmalfeldt, thereby using Schmalfeldt as the agent (witting or unwitting, it makes no difference) of a personal vendetta.

And because this particular material — the misidentified photos — is admittedly false, then the source of this false material cannot be protected under a First Amendment claim. As long as Schmalfeldt’s attacks on Stranhan consisted of true and accurate facts, he could not be compelled in discover to reveal his sources for these materials. Once he published a clear falsehood and said that this falsehood originated with “someone I trust,” then the identity of that trusted source is directly material to any case Stranahan may bring against him, because it at least seems to suggest that Schmalfeldt may be acting as the agent of a third party in his attacks on Stranahan.

When I tried to explain this to the thick-headed Schmalfeldt, he seemed incapable of comprehending his error. Well, said he, I have retracted the falsehood, which was not libelous.

Yes, but insofar as you have revealed that you are not doing your own research, but are relying on the work of “someone I trust” — now proven to be unreliable — then it is reasonable for Stranahan to suspect that every other accusation you’ve made against him, whether true or false, originated with this same source.

There must be some reason Schmalfeldt’s source was concealing himself — i.e., using Schmalfeldt as a proxy, rather than making this claim under his own name — and this erroneous claim to have photos of Stranahan’s wife is just the sort of seemingly minor mistake that can sink a defendant in a libel case. The plaintiff’s lawyer starts pulling at that one tiny thread, and the whole sweater might come unraveled.

Advice to Bill Schmalfeldt (and to any other journalist paying attention): Be careful about jumping into purely private disputes, and claiming to “know” things about the disputants that cannot be clearly demonstrated from publicly available materials.

Whatever made Schmalfeldt decide to start attacking Stranahan, at some point during his attack, Schmalfeldt was relying on an unreliable third party as a source for private information.

Readers will recall that in June, Screed of Momus published what was asserted to be information from an interview with Neal Rauhauser’s ex-wife. This was the exact sort of thing that I would never publish myself. I think no reporter of any experience would touch a story about allegations in a divorce or a custody dispute without actual documentation — transcripts of depositions, etc. But Screed of Momus did publish it, and we’ve seen nothing in the past two-and-half months contesting that report, which thus acquires credibility simply by the lack of rebuttal.

At the same time, however, any reporter would be unwise to claim to know — independently of that source — anything about the marriage and divorce between Neal and Nancy Rauhauser. This is what attribution is all about, and is why relying on anonymous sources is so inherently risky, which is where the “two source” rule comes in. There have been times in the past where I’ve been lied about, and have not bothered to disprove the lie, knowing that if someone should then try to attack me with secondhand lies of which they have no direct knowledge, I could then destroy them. All of which is by way of caution.

No one’s paying me to teach a seminar, however, and if Schmalfeldt is taught a lesson, it will not be my lawyers who do the teaching: He has zero credibility, there is no reason anyone should believe anything he says about anyone and, heeding the sage advice of Andrew Jackson’s mother, I’ve never sued anybody for libel or slander.

But I keep thinking about the interrogatories filed against Brett Kimberlin in the Aaron Walker case:

There will be a hearing on the Motion to Compel Discovery on Friday, 14 September.

Hmmm. What if I told you that Kimberlin has invoked his Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination — a most unusual claim in a civil lawsuit — in attempting to avoid discovery? And what’s this?

The name redacted in Exhibit B is that of someone who was a minor child at the time of the events in question.

Exhibit B? Question 11? Fifth Amendment?

Just asking questions . . .

Category: Aaron Worthing, Crime, The Kimberlin Files

Speaking of Distractions …

Posted on | September 12, 2012 | 40 Comments

. . . the Obamaphiliac media has spent today trying to convince us that what Mitt Romney said about Obama’s self-inflicted foreign policy debacle is actually a worse disaster than the failed policy itself. Here is Mitt Romney’s statement:

“Americans woke up this morning with tragic news and felt heavy hearts as they considered that individuals who have served in our diplomatic corps were brutally murdered across the world. This attack on American individuals and embassies is outrageous, it’s disgusting. It breaks the hearts of all of us who think of these people who have served, during their lives, the cause of freedom, and justice and honor. We mourn their loss and join together in prayer that the spirit of the Almighty might comfort the families of those who have been so brutally slain.
“Four diplomats lost their life, including the U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, in the attack on our embassy at Benghazi, Libya. And, of course, with these words, I extend my condolences to the grieving loved ones, who have left behind, as a result of these who have lost their lives in the service of our nation, and I know that the people across America are grateful for their service and we mourn their sacrifice.
“America will not tolerate attacks against our citizens and against our embassies. We will defend also our constitutional rights of speech and assembly and religion. We have confidence in our cause in America. We respect our Constitution. We stand for the principles our Constitution protects. We encourage other nations to understand and respect the principles of our Constitution because we recognize that these principles are the ultimate source of freedom for individuals around the world.
“I also believe the Administration was wrong to stand by a statement sympathizing with those who had breached our embassy in Egypt instead of condemning their actions. It’s never too early for the United States Government to condemn attacks on Americans, and to defend our values. The White House distanced itself last night from the statement, saying it wasn’t ‘cleared by Washington.’ That reflects the mixed signals they’re sending to the world.
“The attacks in Libya and Egypt underscore that the world remains a dangerous place and that American leadership is still sorely needed. In the face of this violence, America cannot shrink from the responsibility to lead. American leadership is necessary to ensure that events in the region don’t spin out of control. We cannot hesitate to use our influence in the region to support those who share our values and our interests. Over the last several years, we have stood witness to an Arab Spring that presents an opportunity for a more peaceful and prosperous region, but also poses the potential for peril, if the forces of extremism and violence are allowed to control the course of events.
“We must strive to ensure that the Arab Spring does not become an Arab Winter.”

Is there anything wrong with that? I see no problem, but there’s a lot of kvetching out there, some of it from Republicans.

Ed Morrissey noted that Romney took questions after his press conference, whereas President Gutsy Call did not.

Meanwhile, following on the theme established by the New York Times — “It’s that evil anti-Muslim movie to blame!” — an MSNBC host decides that the producer of the evil movie should be prosecuted, because obviously this obscure video (that nobody ever heard of before) is the only reason America is hated by the savage mobs whipped up by Muslim Brotherhood propagandists.

Why do they hate us? BECAUSE THEY HATE.

When you know that people are attempting to distract you, it’s a lot easier to pay attention to what they’re trying to distract you from.

This is also true, by the way, of Brett Kimberlin and his friends trying to distract us from their increasing legal jeopardy. Yesterday, I told you that Aaron Walker’s attorney has filed a motion to compel Kimberlin to stop delaying discovery in Walker’s Virginia lawsuit against Kimberlin, Neal Rauhauser and Ron Brynaert.

Predictably, in the past 24 hours we’ve seen a blitz of harassment and distraction from various pro-Kimberlin accounts on Twitter. Among the memes they’ve been pushing: Lee Stranahan once took pictures of naked women — shocked! shocked! — and Patterico once said bad stuff about people (including me and Jeff Goldstein) in chats with notorious douchebag Barrett Brown.

Yawn.

It’s all a familiar “accuse the accusers” ploy and, having watched for nearly four months as Team Kimberlin used these tactics used to foment animosity and suspicion among their targets, it doesn’t deceive or distract me for a minute. If these sockpuppets and trolls posted indisputably authentic video of Aaron Walker and Mandy Nagy having a three-way with a goat, I’d shrug it off as just another lame distraction attempt. As I told someone in a phone conversation this morning, these tactics can only deceive the weak-minded.

The details of their accusations are irrelevant to the purpose — i.e., to obstruct justice by attempting to discredit anyone who might possibly pose a threat to Kimberlin’s tax-exempt hustle.

Brett Kimberlin has basically admitted this in court documents: He regarded Seth Allen’s blogging, and Mandy Nagy’s October 2010 article about his heinous criminal history, as endangering his support from liberal donors. Once the falsehood of his denials had been exposed — once his self-serving claims to have been framed and subsequently “secretly exonerated” were understood to be outright lies — it was understandably more difficult for Kimberlin to solicit big-money contributions to his “progressive” 501(c) empire, which collected more than a half-million dollars in 2008.

All the attacks Kimberlin and his friends have made against Seth Allen, Mandy Nagy, Patrick Frey, Aaron Walker, et al., must be understood in this context: These are defensive counter-attacks, an attempt by Kimberlin to protect himself from the ugly truth about what kind of monster he really is.

C’mon, Brett: Who killed Julia Scyphers, and why?

You don’t decieve me. You don’t distract me. You don’t scare me. And there is no statute of limitation on murder, Brett.

William J. Hoge has now posted the interrogatories in the case of Walker v. Kimberlin, et al., and there will be time later to discuss these very interesting questions.

Some of the sockpuppet trolls on Twitter were just now mocking my occasional references to prayer. Kimberlin has been an avowed athetist since childhood. So it would never occur to Brett that it was anything more than an unfortunate coincidence when his progressive buddies at the Justice Department had their jobs endangered because a bunch of jihadist savages in Libya went nuts about an obscure video. The FBI might be under new management come next January, and who knows what they’ll find if they start investigating Kimberlin’s racket?

God moves in mysterious ways.

And the prayers of the faithful are answered every day.

Category: Aaron Worthing, Crime, Patterico, Terrorism, The Kimberlin Files

Keep In Mind That Our Response To The Various Middle East Crises. . .

Posted on | September 12, 2012 | 14 Comments

by Smitty

. . .is being led by a party that seems unclear as to what our navy looks like:

On the last night of the Democratic National Convention, a retired Navy four-star took the stage to pay tribute to veterans. Behind him, on a giant screen, the image of four hulking warships reinforced his patriotic message.
But there was a big mistake in the stirring backdrop: those are Russian warships.
While retired Adm. John Nathman, a former commander of Fleet Forces Command, honored vets as America’s best, the ships from the Russian Federation Navy were arrayed like sentinels on the big screen above.
These were the very Soviet-era combatants that Nathman and Cold Warriors like him had once squared off against.
“The ships are definitely Russian,” said noted naval author Norman Polmar after reviewing hi-resolution photos from the event. “There’s no question of that in my mind.”

I guess you can’t expect your non-squid to know what a Slava-class cruiser* looks like, but hey: I haven’t been to sea in better than a decade, either, and I’m betting that Admiral John Nathman bought that crappy backdrop sight unseen.

This is either a tasteless prank, or a piece of colossal incompetence, neither of which is a savory possibility.

via Paco

Update: linked at Hogewash

Update II: ‘vendor error‘ => “Due to vendor error, incorrect images appeared briefly on screen behind fifty-one veterans during the convention and the DNCC apologizes for this mistake…This error should not distract from the words of Admiral Nathman and others who spoke to President Obama’s strong record on issues that impact those who have served our nation.”

*If that’s what’s in the foreground of the image; I’m not researching past the Navy Times image, and you really want to validate these points. Especially if you’re trying to honor our military.

Category: Democrats, Military
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