The Other McCain

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

Why Don’t We Just Give In To Low Self-Esteem And Re-Elect Barack?

Posted on | September 10, 2012 | 16 Comments

by Smitty

Building on the theme of this Power Line post, let’s just admit that:

  • We can’t have nice things.
  • Our ancestors were bad.
  • Taking our turn at the bottom of the global gutter is the only way we can hope to be shriven of the defects that Barack has identified in our national character.

I, for one, welcome my finger-pointing overlord. Stockholm Syndrome, they say, is good for the karma. Whip me, beat me, make me vote Democrat.

Category: Barack Obama, Power Line

Jeremiah Wright Rates A Second Look In The Light Of D’Souza’s 2016

Posted on | September 10, 2012 | 7 Comments

by Smitty

Red State serves the mix:

If we’re subscribing to the 2016 thesis that BHO Junior is informed by Senior’s anti-colonial politics, then Jeremiah Wright’s black liberation theology dovetails nicely with the anti-Colonialism to demonize the United States and offer the country up as a target for punishment. That’s a fairly crude and simplistic connection of dots. Let’s call it a theory for now, and see how much explanatory power the idea has with respect to Obama’s record, for example, acting as a roadblock to the Keystone XL pipeline.

Generalizing a bit, it seems that a vast amount of our political dialogue is what I’ll call argumentum ad culpam (for which coinage I feel kinda bad). The capacity to manipulate feelings of guilt in you positively  (the 1787 U.S. Constitution was silent on the scourge of slavery) and negatively (you may not be culpable for your monstrous hormonal urges) is weapons-grade political plutonium, currently dropping economic bombs on a country near you.

When having a discussion with another, pay attention to what degree the arguments in play are straightforward appeals to how you should feel bad about something to which you’ve no connection, and how we ought to expand government to ‘solve’ this matter.

More at Nice Deb.

Update: linked at Jackie Wellfonder

Update II: why am I surprised, Bill? I guess I’m taken aback by the complicity of the mainstream media, not to team up and get their dude elected, but to commit suicide like this.

Category: Barack Obama, Red State

God Have Mercy On Manhattan

Posted on | September 10, 2012 | 10 Comments

by Smitty

According to the Chairoscuro Foundation, New York City’s disastrous abortion rate – 41 percent of all pregnancies in the city end in abortion – is largely the result of repeat abortions. The highest rate of abortion in New York City is in the Manhattan Chelsea-Clinton neighborhood, where 67 percent of pregnancies in end in abortion. Most shocking, in 2009, a full 56 percent of abortions were second abortions; 38 percent were paid for by Medicaid.

Butchers.

Update: “IT’S BETWEEN A WOMAN & GOD!”
1. You could use that to rationalize much, much evil.
2. The woman represented by half those dying in these baby abattoirs are just having the distance between them and God reduced by another woman. See #1.

Update II: more at The Rio Norte Line

Category: Abortion

LIVE AT FIVE: 09.10.12

Posted on | September 10, 2012 | Comments Off on LIVE AT FIVE: 09.10.12

— compiled by Wombat-socho


TOP NEWS
Talks Fail; Chicago Teachers Strike

Members of the Chicago Teachers Union distribute strike signs

First strike in 25 years
Emanuel vows to end strike, get kids back in class


Iraq Court Sentences Fugitive Sunni VP to Death
al-Hashemi alleged to have ordered, bankrolled sectarian attacks/murders



Hong Kong’s Pro-Democracy Parties Fail To Expand Minority Seats
Splintered opposition parties fail to capitalize on National Education controversy



POLITICS
Congress Returns For A Short Session

Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Ohio)

Continuing funding resolutions likely to be only thing passed

Former Mexican Lawman To Be Sentenced In San Diego

Border Patrol Halts Deportation Flights

Akin Facing Earlier Deadline For Withdrawal?

When Will Rep. Jackson Get Back To Work?

GOP Demands Feds Investigate NY Speaker’s Sexual Harassment Coverup



THE ECONOMY, STUPID
Oil Prices On The Rise As Stimulus Expected: NYMEX $96.53, Brent $114.98
PRC Import Slide Builds Case For Stimulus As Economy Cools
World Stocks Slip As Eurozone Faces Day Of Decisions
US To Cut AIG Holdings By 50% With $18 Billion Stock Sale
Shell Finally Begins Drilling In Alaska’s Chukchi Sea
Indian Shares Edge Higher; Infosys Gains On Lodestone Purchase
HP Adds Four Windows 8-Ready All-In-Ones
Amazon To Allow Ad Abeyance On Kindles For $15 Upcharge
More iPhone Users Looking To Sell Before Possible iPhone 5 Release
Lumia 920 Launch Tarnished With Errors
Zynga Launches First Batch Of Partner Games, Adds Nine More Third-Party Studios



SPORTS
Peyton Manning Off & Running In Denver

Broncos QB Peyton Manning

Shows no rust in 31-19 win over Steelers

49ers Hang On To Beat Packers

Zito Shines As Giants Shut Down Dodgers 4-0

Jets Don’t Clown Around As Defense Goes From Inept To Incredible


For Surging Angels, The Future Is Now

Yankees Regain First With 13-3 Pounding Of Orioles

Upton Hits 3 Out As Rays Blank Rangers 6-0

Nolasco Shuts Down Nats Again With 8-0 Shutout



FAMOUS FOR BEING FAMOUS
Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds Tie The Knot

Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds

Marriage comes after less than a year of dating

Cobie Smulders, Taran Kilam Also Married

Kristen Stewart, Jennifer Lawrence Act Like Old Pals In Toronto

Jessica Simpson – You Can’t See Me Yet!

Heidi Klum Speaks, Denies Affair

Moviegoing Plunges To Post-9/11 Levels; “2016: Obama’s America” Now #2 All-Time Documentary

Demi Lovato Regrets Getting Twelve Tattoos Before Age 20



FOREIGNERS
Al-Hashemi Claims Innocence, Terror Trial A Sham
US Hands Over Bagram Prison To Afghans
Leung Stands Firm Despite Climbdown On National Education
Palestinians Strike To Protest Higher Prices As Abbas Blames Israel, Hamas For PA Woes
Clinton Rejects Netanyahu’s Call For “Red Lines” On Iran
Hollande Outlines Austerity Plan For France
Somalia’s Parliament To Pick President; First Functioning Central Government In 21 Years
Mumbai Police Ready To Release Cartoonist Charged With Sedition
India, Pakistan Relax Visa Rules



BLOGS & STUFF
American Power: A Two-Point Change In The Polls Is Not A Bounce
Sarah Hoyt: Spreading Fear And Despondency
Babalu: Old Joe Biden Gets Him Some In Ohio
Doug Powers: Joe Biden Gets His Biker On – Literally
Power Line: Who Is Dumber, Joe Biden Or Barack Obama?
Gateway Pundit: Latest Poll Shows Even New Mexico In Play This Year
The Lonely Conservative: Doh! Obama – Three Proud Words, Made In The USA
Yuval Levin: Pre-Existing Ignorance
Weasel Zippers: Obama Says Government Should Be Creating Opportunity
Via Meadia: TNR Says Obama Close To “Carter Territory”
Anne-Marie Slaughter: Why Women Still Can’t Have It All
Patterico: Jerry Brown Challenges Chris Christie To A Fitness Contest

Category: Live at Five

If You’re Plagiarizing in J-School …

Posted on | September 9, 2012 | 15 Comments

. . . that’s kind of a large hint that maybe a journalism career isn’t going to work out for you. Consider the case of Columbia University journalism student Jade Bonacolta, who decided that a great way to write a story would be to plagiarize a New York Times article published two days earlier.

This is stunning to me: Isn’t Columbia an elite Ivy League institution, the kind of school where you don’t even bother to apply unless you’re a valedictorian with a perfect SAT score who spent your summers working with orphaned leper children in Botswana?

So how is it that a student is smart enough to get into Columbia University, yet too stupid to figure out that she can’t get away with stealing a story from the New York Times?

Recently exposed serial plagiarist Jonah Lehrer was also a Columbia alumnus — a neuroscience major, no less — so maybe these “elite” schools are chock full of cheaters.

Category: Education, Journalism

Mitt Romney Spars With David Gregory On Meet The Press

Posted on | September 9, 2012 | 10 Comments

by Smitty

Highly recommended:

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Romney seemed completely controlled, not engaging where and when and to his desired degree on every point.

Can anyone think of a time #OccupyResoluteDesk has faced an interview of even half this rigor?

Via Althouse, the transcript.

Category: Mitt Romney, MSNBC

@hicaliber75 — Who Knew Conservative Rap Existed?

Posted on | September 9, 2012 | 1 Comment

by Smitty

I really don’t get much out of hip-hop. But even the non-aficionado can appreciate this, and you may know some hipsters who are best reached through material like this:

The artist has apparently fallen on harder times than most, via email from Chris Cassone:

Hi Caliber (Cal) needs a lift. We met when he followed us at 9-12 and at several other big events. You can hear him on Jason Mattera’s radio show every week.
A young strapping guy with a ten year old daughter who performs with him, Cal developed MS last year and is debilitating so badly that he can’t work. So his album sales are his only hope.

More goodness:

new album-free download http://www.enemyofthestate.bandcamp.com
donations for album via paypal [email protected]

Category: Music

A Blog Post That @SoledadOBrien Will Certainly Never Read On-Air at CNN

Posted on | September 9, 2012 | 15 Comments

You recall the Aug. 13 incident in which the CNN anchor was caught reading from the liberal Talking Points Memo — which had been e-mailed to her by persons unknown — in an interview with Romney campaign surrogate Barbara Comstock.

What that incident suggested to me is that CNN has, in essence, outsourced its research to whoever sent O’Brien the e-mail, most likely a Democrat Party campaign operative. Because CNN has never explained that incident, it inspires the suspicion that much of the message-coordination we see in major media works like this:

  • Democrats know from experience which network personnel are most amenable to regurgitating their partisan spin. Democrats employ analysts to study and evaluate coverage, and have compiled dossiers/databases on all potentially influential media personnel, including the behind-the-scenes producers, editors and executives.
  • Known “friendly” personnel are targeted with key messages, including oppo-research, which they use in their broadcasts without revealing the partisan source.
  • Competitive pressures help spread these messages rapidly. For example, if a certain oppo-research item is first reported by MSNBC, then CNN feels compelled to “match” the story.
  • Democrats reward favorable coverage with access. You want to get a one-on-one interview with Obama or Biden? You’re gonna have to earn it, sugar.
  • Conversely, negative coverage is punished by witholding access and by other means. Because the news industry votes Democrat by margins of at least 7-to-1, those who don’t cooperate enthusiastically with the Democrat messaging operation may be subject to career-damaging reprisals.

This, I say, is merely a plausible suspicion inspired by the self-evident fact of message coordination distributed across multiple news organizations, with specific reference to this curious incident involving Soledad O’Brien. Somebody sent her that e-mail. It is reasonable to suspect that (a) the source of the e-mail was a Democrat campaign operative, and (b) O’Brien isn’t the only elite journalist who acquires her research in this decidedly non-random way.

Paranoid? No. Liberal bias is not a conspiracy, it’s a consensus.

Having been a working journalist since 1986, I’ve seen the news-making process from the inside and know — to borrow a favorite phrase from James Carville — that when you see a turtle on top a fence post, it didn’t crawl up there by itself.

People send me stuff all the time. “Investigative journalism” is, to an extent seldom acknowledged, mostly a matter of having good sources who will send you stuff. But when somebody sends me a press release, I feel kind of obligated to say, “Hey, this is from a press release,” rather than rewriting it to make it seem as if I were doing original reporting. And so the major reason that Soledad O’Brien will never read this blog post on CNN is not that it is critical of her “reporting,” but because it ends with this:

* PRESS RELEASE FROM THE ROMNEY CAMPAIGN *

FOUR YEARS LATER, THE MIDDLE CLASS
ISN’T BETTER OFF

“This morning, President Obama doubled down on his big-government policies that have weakened the middle class and led to the worst economic recovery since the Great Depression. With incomes falling, costs rising, and the middle class continuing to fall behind, the President’s answer is job-killing tax increases and a bigger role for government. After four years of Barack Obama, Americans are not better off – they are ready for new leadership that will grow our economy and strengthen the middle class.”
— Ryan Williams, Romney Spokesman

On “Face The Nation” This Morning, President Obama Stressed The Role Of Government In Helping People “Get Into The Middle Class”:

President Obama: “Government Can Be A Force For Good” When It Comes To Moving People Into The Middle Class. PRESIDENT OBAMA: “And I’m willing to do more on that front because, as I argued at the convention, those of us who believe that government can be a force for good when it comes to creating opportunity for folks who are willing to work hard and play by the rules to get into the middle class, we have an obligation to make sure government works.” (CBS’ “Face The Nation,” 9/9/12)

  • · FLASHBACK: An Opening Video From The Democratic Convention Declared That “Government Is The Only Thing That We All Belong To.” (Democratic National Committee Video, 9/4/12)

But In The Last Four Years Under President Obama, Middle-Class Families Have Been Crushed By High Unemployment, Falling Incomes, And Rising Costs:

Lower-Paying Jobs Account For Nearly 60% Of The Jobs Added Since The Recession Ended In 2009. “Lower-paying jobs, with median hourly wages from $7.69 to $13.83, accounted for just 21% of the job losses during the recession. But they’ve made up about 58% of the job growth from the end of the recession in late 2009 through early 2012.” (Jim Puzzanghera, “Majority Of New Jobs In Recovery Are Low-Paying, Study Finds,” Los Angeles Times, 8/31/12)

  • · “The Findings Highlight Concerns About A Shrinking Middle Class…” “The findings highlight concerns about a shrinking middle class and pose another obstacle to getting the economy back on track, said Annette Bernhardt, policy co-director at the National Employment Law Project, which conducted the study.” (Jim Puzzanghera, “Majority Of New Jobs In Recovery Are Low-Paying, Study Finds,” Los Angeles Times, 8/31/12)

The Majority Of New Jobs Created In President Obama’s So-Called Recovery “Pay Much Less” Than Jobs Before The Recession. “Although six in 10 jobs lost during the Great Recession paid mid-level wages, the majority of new jobs created in the recovery — positions such as store clerks, laborers and home healthcare aides — pay much less, according to a new study.” (Jim Puzzanghera, “Majority Of New Jobs In Recovery Are Low-Paying, Study Finds,” Los Angeles Times, 8/31/12)

Since President Obama Took Office, Median Household Income Has Declined By Over $4,000. “In January 2009, the month President Obama entered the Oval Office and shortly before he signed his stimulus spending bill, median household income was $54,983. By June 2012, it had tumbled to $50,964, adjusted for inflation. (See the chart nearby.) That’s $4,019 in lost real income, a little less than a month’s income every year.” (Editorial, “Negative $4,019,” The Wall Street Journal, 8/24/12)

Since President Obama Took Office, Family Health Care Premiums Have Increased By $2,393. (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2011)

Since President Obama Took Office, The Average Price Per Gallon Of Gas Has More Than Doubled From $1.85 To $3.84. (U.S. Energy And Information Administration, Accessed 9/9/12)

Since President Obama Took Office, The Average Cost Of In-State Tuition At A Four-Year College Has Increased From $6,585 To $8,244 – A 25 Percent Increase. (“Trends In College Pricing 2009,” College Board, 2008; “Trends In College Pricing 2011,” College Board, 2011)

  • · The Cost Of College Is Currently At “An All Time High.” “Nationally, the cost of a full credit load has passed $8,000, an all-time high. Throw in room and board, and the average list price for a state school now runs more than $17,000 a year, according to the twin annual reports on college costs and student aid published Wednesday by the College Board.” (Justin Poe, “College Prices Up Again As States Slash Budgets,” The Associated Press, 10/26/11)

And President Obama Once Again Touted His Plan To Raise Taxes – But His Tax Hikes Will Hurt Our Economy, Harm Millions Of Small Business Owners, And Jeopardize Over 700,000 Jobs:

President Obama: “You Can’t Reduce The Deficit” Without Increasing Taxes. PRESIDENT OBAMA: “You can’t reduce the deficit unless you take a balanced approach that says we have to make government leaner and more efficient but we’ve also have to ask people like me or Governor Romney, who have done better than anybody else over the course of the last decade, and whose taxes are just about lower than they’ve been in the last 50 years, to do a little bit more.” (CBS’s “Face The Nation,” 9/9/12)

  • · President Obama’s Tax Hikes Would Subject 2.1 Million Business Owners To Higher Taxes And Would Jeopardize 710,000 Jobs. “Researchers determined the plan would actually subject 2.1 million business owners to higher rates; specifically, those who pay pass-through taxes, like most partnerships, LLCs and S-Corporations. The result, less capital in the hands of business owners and diminished labor supply, would cost the United States an estimated $200 billion in economic output and 710,000 jobs.” (J.D. Harrison, “Obama Plan To Lift Top Tax Rates Would Plague Millions Of Small Businesses, Study Warns,” The Washington Post, 7/17/12)
  • · President Obama’s Tax Plan “Would Hurt Small-Business Job Creators In Particular.” “New research, released today by the National Federation of Independent Business, shows that allowing tax relief on the top individual rates to expire will hurt job creation and the economy. The report, published by top accounting firm Ernst & Young, shows raising top individual rates would hurt small-business job creators in particular.” (NFIB, Press Release, 7/17/12)

* END OF ROMNEY CAMPAIGN PRESS RELEASE *

The reader will notice that this press release is backed up with solid facts that I could have easily cribbed and re-written, citing them as if I’d done the research myself and concealing the partisan source. But would that be honest journalism? Never mind all the fancy “ethics” stuff — I’m talking about basic honesty.

This is the final reason why Soledad O’Brien won’t read this blog post on the air at CNN: There is something dishonest in what she’s doing — who sent her that TPM post? Plouffe? Axelrod? one of their lesser henchmen? — and if the executives at CNN cared a whit about their credibility, they’d put an end to her lies.

Category: CNN
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