Obama-Endorsed Rep. Hank Johnson to Participate in Segregated Forum? UPDATE: Johnson Will Not Attend

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UPDATE 3 p.m. ET: Da Tech Guy reports that Rep. Hank Johnson’s office says the congressman will not attend tonight’s “Newsmakers Live” forum due to a scheduling conflict.

PREVIOUSLY (11:55 a.m. ET): When Dan Riehl told me about this I couldn’t believe it, but it’s apparently true: Georgia Republican congressional candidate Liz Carter was told by organizers of a “Newsmakers Live” 4th District candidate forum tonight that the event is for black candidates only:

Just informed “Black Candidates” Only Tonight” So because I’m white I’m not invited to participate even though it is a Democrat and Republican debate?

While the organizers have invited Democratic incumbent Rep. Hank Johnson and his two Democratic primary challengers, as well as black Republican candidate Cory Ruth, they have reportedly excluded not only Liz Carter but also two other Republican primary candidates, one white and one Hispanic.

It’s a private event and the organizers are free to invite whoever they want but it’s hard to believe that Hank Johnson — who has been endorsed by Barack Obama — would participate in a segregated event.

Liz Carter is asking her supporters to call the event sponsor, WAOK 1380 AM, at 404-892-2703 and ask why she has been left out of this event.

UPDATE: Da Tech Guy is on da story:

I tried to call the radio station the mail box of the news department is jammed. I reached another person and was told that the station had nothing to do with the event although there were aware of it. It turns out the event is being organized by something called the Newsmakers’ Journal.

If anybody can get to the bottom of this, Da Tech Guy will.

UPDATE II: Twitter friend Kurt Schlichter:

1956 just called, it wants its anachronism back.

Somebody needs to ask Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs about this.

UPDATE III: In the comments, Georgia blogger Obi’s Sister reports:

WAOK claims they are not a sponsor for the event. But they are more than helpful in passing on additional contact information.
Mr. Maynard Eaton, of Newsmakers Live (404.223.5910 and 404.254.8322) claims he’s never heard of Liz Carter. He said the forum had nothing to do with color, even though it is a “blacks only” private event. He said they would have a Republican event later, when when asked why he invited Cory Ruth, a black Republican, he didn’t have an answer.
When I asked if he’d reschedule the event to be able to include all the candidates, he asked, “Why?”
Evidently HopeNChange has nothing to do with making things right.

Eugene Talmadge and Lester Maddox could not be reached for comment.

Barber Makes AL-2 GOP Runoff

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Tea Party candidate Rick Barber was outspent 7-to-1 by the GOP establishment’s choice Martha Roby in Alabama’s 2nd District Republican primary but was able to force the Montgomery councilwoman to a runoff.

Roby got 48 percent in Tuesday’s primary — less than the majority needed to avoid a July 13 runoff — while Barber got 28 percent and state school board member Stephanie Bell got 21 percent.

“This experience has been thrilling, overwhelming, exhilarating, but, most of all, humbling,” Barber said in a statement. “When I entered this race, nearly all of the pundits were saying that I had no chance. To force a runoff with an opponent who had national endorsements behind her is just amazing.”

Barber noted that Roby, backed by the National Republican Congressional Committee, had spent more than $500,000 on her campaign.

“Throughout the campaign, we’ve been broke . . . We’re not intimidated by Martha’s money,” said Barber, a former Marine.

“Being forced into a runoff won’t help Roby’s image on the campaign trail,” Congressional Quarterly commented, adding that Roby “had been a highly touted candidate.”

Now the Republicans have a six-week campaign for the runoff, with the winner to face “Blue Dog” Democrat Rep. Bobby Bright in November.

UPDATE: Elsewhere in the Alabama primary, Rep. Artur Davis lost his bid to become the state’s first black governor, losing the Democratic primary to agriculture commissioner Ron Sparks. In the GOP gubernatorial primary, Bradley Byrne advanced to the runoff, but a recount may be needed to determine whether Byrnes’ runoff opponent is Robert Bentley or Tim James.

In the 5th District GOP primary, party-switching Rep. Parker Griffith was defeated by Madison County commissioner Mo Brooks. Former Navy pilot Les Phillip placed third.

Dale Peterson, whose get-tough ad made him an Internet hero, finished third in the GOP primary for agriculture commissioner.

State attorney general Troy King lost the GOP primary to challenger Luther Strange.

Bush? Homewrecker? That’s Just Sick

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by Smitty

Powers at Malkin points to CBS News and Sally Quinn blaming the 2000 election loss as a negative impact on their marriage.

If there is shred #1 of truth to Wikipedia’s stating that Al Gore is a Baptist, then the reasons for the separation are between them and the Almighty. Were I to counsel any Christian man in this situation I’d counsel three things:

  1. Repent
  2. Repent
  3. Repent

While Pagans go around treating marriage like a garment to be changed at will, a Christian man who has been joined by God to a woman and is one flesh with her had better understand that the evil of divorce will be required of him.

What profiteth it a man to gain the White House and lose his soul? Did Al Gore have such anyway, or did stints in the Senate and as Vice President leech it out of him? If this was a marriage of convenience that was built on the sandy foundation of a Presidential hope, then tut, tut, Al. The highest honor with which you can depart life is “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.” Sure, we can’t support an electoral system navigable by less than a megalomaniac, but that’s supposed to be a jest.

Al, you and Jimmy Carter are two men whom I really would like to be able to respect, but who have debased yourselves, your country, and your faith. I’ve personally ripped your actions mercilessly, but I pray for you that you repent and return to the Christ who is the only meaning you can find in this sick and dying world. An Oscar, a Nobel prize. If you confess your sins, He is faithful and just to forgive them. The public will forgive you, too, if you show a pattern of sincere repentance. It may not trust you with anything more substantial than a lemonade stand, but, well, forgiveness was never an abdication of the future. When you have cleansed your soul, hopefully you can return to the wife of your youth.

I truly hope you get better, Al.

This post makes scant mention of Tipper, and there is a reason for that. In my chauvinistic view, the man is slightly more responsible to the Almighty for defending the marriage. A lady blogger is welcome to critique Tipper; that’s not my task.

Douchebag Blogger Will Folks Claims That He’s a Victim of ‘Smear Campaign’

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The guy who has spent two years spreading salacious rumors about his former employer has taken to recording private phone conversations and claiming that supporters of Nikki Haley are waging a “smear campaign” against him.

A Sullivanesque irony-deficient lack of self-awareness? Whatever.

Dan Riehl interprets Will Folks’ latest eruption to mean that the douchebag has run out of “evidence” and lacks the courage to admit it.

Second Half of the ‘W’?

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 113 points Friday, having lost 1,181 points (10%) since its recent peak of 11,205 on April 26, and 4,069 points (29%) below its historic high of 14,093 on Oct. 12, 2007.

For the past two weeks, the Dow has been struggling to stay above the 10,000 level. To close below that level would be to give back everything the market has gained since Feb. 8. As it is, the Dow is about where it was in 2005, although 3,398 points (51%) above its March 6, 2009, low of 6,626 points.

What investors must wonder is whether the past month’s declining trend on Wall Street is merely a short-term correction — a dip downward in search of a solid market “floor” before the Dow begins a steady ascent to new heights — or the onset of the second wave in a W-shaped (“double dip”) recession. Ever the pessimist, my conclusions may be biased, but let’s examine the evidence. The precipitating cause of Monday’s slump was none other than the Attorney General of the United States:

Stocks took another late-day dive Tuesday after the government said it was starting criminal and civil investigations into the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 112. Its plunge came shortly before the close and minutes after Attorney General Eric Holder made the announcement. Stocks in energy companies and oil service providers tumbled on the news, and other stocks followed.
Holder would not say which companies or individuals might be under investigation. But investors quickly dumped stocks across the energy industry. BP PLC, which operated the rig that caused the spill, fell almost 15 percent. Oil services company Anadarko Petroleum Corp. fell almost 20 percent, and competitor Halliburton Inc. fell almost 15 percent.

So this would be an input that we might call episodic, rather than systemic or chronic, and once investors absorb the negative impact on the energy sector, we could expect stocks to bounce back in coming days. However, there are other market signals out there:

“The pace of recovery in Britain’s dominant services sector appears to be faltering, business leaders warn today, casting new doubt on the economy’s ability to avoid a ‘double dip’ downturn.”
— David Prosser, Independent (U.K.)

“Hewlett-Packard Co., the world’s largest personal-computer maker, plans to cut about 9,000 jobs . . . HP will take a $1 billion charge for paying severance and modernizing its data centers to provide more automated services to customers. . . . HP said the $1 billion in expenses for severance costs and asset impairments will be applied between now and fiscal 2013. The moves will result in net annual savings of $500 million to $700 million by the end of fiscal 2013, the company said.”
— Hugo Miller and Katie Hoffmann, Bloomberg

“According to a study by the London-based Centre for Global Energy Studies, world oil markets, until recently buoyed by Asian spending, are living in fear of a double-dip recession. . . . ‘In the space of just four weeks, sentiment has reversed and the market now seems fixated on the risks of a double-dip recession,’ CGES said in the report . . .”
—Clifford Bryan, Examiner

“Unemployment claims in California hit 768,709 in April, a modern-day record . . . [T]he state remained at a record 12.6% unemployment rate, third highest in the country.”
— Mary Ann Milbourn, Orange County Register

“Signs emerged Tuesday that Europe’s sovereign debt crisis was feeding through into the euro-area economy, as unemployment rose and a survey pointed to a slowdown in the recovery of manufacturing, with a sharp decline in Greece. . . . The surveys show ‘the speed with which uncertainty surrounding the sovereign debt crisis appears to have hit business activity,’ Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit in London, said in a statement.”
— Jack Ewing, New York Times

“[I]nfluential economist Nouriel Roubini said advanced economies face years of anemic growth and the risk of a double-dip recession as they cope with a weak labor market and high debt.”
— Ryan Vlastelica, Reuters

At least according to these sources and indices, then, prospects for near-term recovery are rather dim. And it appears that investor concern about a double-dip recession is increasing.

Douchebag Coalition Wants FCC to Regulate ‘Hate Speech’ in New Media

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We await the federal bureaucracy’s ruling on whether “douchebag” constitutes hate speech:

Over thirty organizations want the Federal Communications Commission to open up a probe on “hate speech” and “misinformation” in media. “Hate has developed as a profit-model for syndicated radio and cable television programs masquerading as ‘news’,” they wrote to the FCC . . .
As for the Internet, it “gives the illusion that news sources have increased, but in fact there are fewer journalists employed now than before,” they charge. “Moreover, on the Internet, speakers can hide in the cloak of anonymity, emboldened to say things that they may not say in the public eye.”
The groups who want this new proceeding include Free Press, the Media Access Project, Common Cause, the Prometheus Radio Project, and the League of United Latin American Citizens. Their statement, filed in the Commission’s Future of Media proceeding, comes in support of a petition to the agency submitted over a year ago by the National Hispanic Media Coalition.

They’re a bunch of douchebags. That’s a neutral, objective fact.

(Via Memeorandum.)

Associated Press: Bias? What Bias?

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Strictly neutral and objective:

Israeli naval commandos stormed a flotilla of ships carrying aid and hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists to the blockaded Gaza Strip on Monday, killing nine passengers in a botched raid that provoked international outrage and a diplomatic crisis.
Dozens of activists and six Israeli soldiers were wounded in the bloody predawn confrontation in international waters. The violent takeover dealt yet another blow to Israel’s international image, already tarnished by war crimes accusations in Gaza and its 3-year-old blockade of the impoverished Palestinian territory.

“Verdict now, facts later,” as Wes Pruden says. “The Associated Press is reading like Al-Jazeera,” as Pamela Geller says.

AP editors would doubtless defend their transparent tendentiousness as providing the reader with “context,” but they seem rather selective in the matter of choosing context. How about the reality of who these “pro-Palestinian activists” were in fact organized by pro-Hamas group with terror ties?

The Turkish IHH (Islan Haklary Ve Hurriyetleri Vakfi in Turkish) was founded in 1992, and reportedly popped up on the CIA’s radar in 1996 for its radical Islamist leanings. . . .
The Turkish nonprofit belongs to a Saudi-based umbrella organization known to finance terrorism called the Union of Good (Ittilaf al-Kheir in Arabic). Notably, the Union is chaired by Sheikh Yusuf Qaradawi, who is known best for his religious ruling that encourages suicide attacks against Israeli civilians. According to one report, Qardawi personally transferred millions of dollars to the Union in an effort to provide financial support to Hamas.
In 2008, the Israelis banned IHH, along with 35 other Islamist charities worldwide, for its ties to the Union of Good. . . . Israelis first blocked the Union of Good from operating in the West Bank and Gaza in 2002.
Interestingly, the Union of Good may not only be tied to Hamas. . . . French magistrate Jean-Louis Brougiere also testified that IHH had an “important role” in Ahmed Ressam’s failed “millennium plot” to bomb the Los Angeles airport in late 1999.
The U.S. government . . . also views the Union of Good as a terrorist organization. On November 12, 2008, a press release from the U.S. Treasury announced the umbrella group’s leaders as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGT), stating that the group was “created by Hamas leadership to transfer funds to the terrorist organization.”
“Terrorist groups such as Hamas continue to exploit charities to radicalize vulnerable communities and cultivate support for their violent activities,” said Treasury Undersecretary Stuart Levey.

How much of that shows up in the Associated Press story? Two sentences:

Organizers included the IHH, an Islamic humanitarian group that is based in Istanbul but operates in several other countries. Israel outlawed the group in 2008 because of its ties to Hamas.

That’s paragraph 27.