The 11/3 Project
Jon Stewart nails the conspiracy against Glen Beck; you know who didn’t answer medical questions? Hitler!
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Category: Journalism
Decline is a Choice
Decline is a Choice – Charles Krauthammer Wriston Lecture
While I don’t agree with some of the jibes in this lecture from Charles Krauthammer the heart and soul of this argument are pure and persuasive: America faces a long term strategic choice – and Decline is one of the options. Which choice should we make? As a moderate-right conservative I would choose the path of strength and prosperity, and to retain the abilities to stop the world from spiraling down to another world war.
This is a long lecture that contains meaty content for thought, please listen to the whole thing and remain objective. Don’t be thrown off track by use of Noam Chomsky’s favorite “H” word. Also note that from my understanding the ban on offshore drilling expired without much note from conservatives last Saturday.
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Bing Live
Bing Live
Microsoft’s new search engine, Bing is now live. I’ve tried it a few times with mixed results, it is pretty and does have new features however.
The good news is that Microsoft and Bill Gates have been busy buying into regional news outlets and small town papers the past few years, which means when you are looking for the local immediate source for a hot news item they may have it sooner.
In the recent slaying in Arkansas, AP had one story out the first day, but initially it was very thin on information; searching Bing brought me immediately to the local station where they had much more story and some video, while google and yahoo did not have the link. This is important to us newshounds.
When searching for the Tiller shooting, there were many more links in the Google “wall of mud” search, but it was a chore going through them for the pertinent and not just repetition of what was already out. Bing provided a link to pitch.com, which had a picture of the car and arrest of suspect. So pluses for that.
Now the bad news: you do get fewer returns with Bing, but they are quality. You also have to hit “more” and drop down if you just want to sort for news, a step you don’t have with Google since “news’ sort is in their header.
The video below from John4Lakers covers most of the new features
I’ll be making more comparisons in the future as I continue to try out Bing vs Google.
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Welcome Home Roxana Saberi
Welcome Home Roxana Saberi
No words needed here, Roxana says it well enough.
More from the BBC Article.
UPDATE: Roxana Saberi wins at Cannes Film Festival:
CANNES, France (AP) – A film co-scripted by U.S.-Iranian journalist Roxana Saberi won a prize in one of the Cannes Film Festival competitions on Saturday.
“No One Knows About Persian Cats” won a special jury prize in the festival’s Un Certain Regard competition.
The film is a lively look at Tehran’s underground music scene and the risk of censorship and jail faced by Iranian musicians.
Saberi shares a screenplay credit on the film, which was directed and-co-written by her romantic partner, Bahman Ghobadi.
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Say it Ain’t So Sherriff Joe
Say it Ain’t So Sherriff Joe
This is a follow up to my earlier article on Sherriff Joe Arpaio and the controversies surrounding him. He appears to have some sewer maggot supporters, like neo-nazi Vito Lombardi and his White Nationalist friends. Neo Nazis tend to be narcissistic and love to get photo ops with politicians. Wise politicians have someone vette who gets those photo ops and more importantly, who doesn’t, so they don’t get caught with politician stalker scum like Kyle Bristow, Don Black, and the like. Here you see that Sherriff Joe not only got snapped with a Neo nazi, but it was also proudly posted at Stormfront.
Conservatives take note: If the only people you can get to show up for counter demos are nutballs, it’s better not to counter protest.
*** Warning**** Video footage of WN’s and Neo Nazis. This is disgusting.
If you watch the videos at the Flaming Basterd links you will also see another camera view of this at 4:48 in, and the WN filmer earlier mumbling about how it’s too bad you can’t shoot (suspected) Obama supporters.
So Joe, say it ain’t so…. ( but so far there’s just been a short statement that the Sherriff can’t control who shows up at demonstrations. True, but a short sentence in that statement condemning white nationalism would serve better to disassociate yourself from these miserable mewling pukes. I waited a few days to post this in case there were more statements forthcoming, but I haven’t seen it if it’s out there.)
The bottom line is that his constituents love him and he’s not really in danger of becoming unelected – he does his main job well even with the occasional grandstanding. He doesn’t need scum like this to stay in office, and he should take the step to completely disavow them because he won’t be losing a thing by doing so.
Update: Vito says he wants deportations… here’s one for him.
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Dump the Dentist
Dump the Dentist
Don McLeroy, Dentist, Discovery Institute shill, and Chairman of the Texas State Board of education is under fire and likely out of a job. He’s a Governor Rick Perry appointee, but the legislature still has to confirm. So far they haven’t done so even though these are usually fly through appointments. If they don’t by June 1st that will be it for the Dentist.
State Sen. Mike Jackson, R-La Porte, chairman of the Senate Nominations Committee, declared McLeroy’s confirmation dead in the water. If so, Gov. Rick Perry will have to look to the other nine Republicans on the 15-member elected board for a new board chair.
It will be interesting to see who Perry’s next appointee to the Texas State Board of Creationist Indoctrination is. Read more here.
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Gay Marriage, Swine Flu, and Dissension in the Ranks of Evolution Supporters
Gay Marriage, Swine Flu, and Dissension in the Ranks of Evolution Supporters
Gay Marriage
Iowa has become the third state to legalize Gay Marriage, and as a supporter of Gay Marriage that’s good news to me. I don’t however see a tidal wave of states rushing to adopt similar legislation, most will go for Civil union instead. That’s problematic in it’s own right due to federal code that prevents SSI and other benefits from going to children of gay parents, which doesn’t seem too “pro family” to me. It would be good if the sections defining benefits as going only to married heterosexuals were extended to permit that, otherwise there will be no compromise in states proposing civil union as opposed to marriage.
I like the idea of this controversial social issue working at state level with the sole exception of that benefits question. Given time and test social issues are best initially solved state by state: because in a legislative labratory of fifty states eventually someone will hit on method that’s best for everyone and then it will become adopted in widespread manner. I dislike the contentious and hysterical people trying to decide this issue yesterday at both ends of that spectrum.
Flu Outbreak
A good article at Pajamas Media goes into the panic attack over the flu outbreak, and states that some might be profitting from the panic. I agree; it’s the flu, and people die every year from variations of it. The panic posts might get hits, but it’s sliding into yellow journalistic ground to artificially inflate panic by not comparing to the flu outbreaks we have every year:
With the Internet and the 24-hour news cycle, there always has to be something to say. You need excitement. “We’re all gonna die!” sells papers and gets people talking. What’s missing is a sense of proportion. Somehow, the way these things get blown up is never a big story — and hardly anyone is appropriately horrified.
Evolution, Pragmatism or Agnosticism?
In the Evolution discussion Richard Hoppe at Panda’s Thumb dissents from the Coyne/PZ Meyers view. I’m in agreement with Hoppe, but it’s not pragmatism alone that makes it so.
The pragmatism goes like this: Since we hope to convince more conservatives that teaching religion in science class is a bad thing, then we shouldn’t hand out the big smackdown to religion by essentially agreeing with Discovery Institute’s dichotomous view that to be a good Christian you must be opposed to science, since the Coyne/Meyers version of that is just the obverse wedge: If you support science then you must automatically deny G-d.
One is philosophy, the other religion – neither wedge should be allowed in science. Ayn Rand said “Politics is philosophy in action.” If we allow the teaching of a politics in science that denies G-D, then not only are we diminishing Science and being unpragmatic, we are also proselityzing a philosophy.
That’s probably just as unconstitutional as teaching religion as science, and as you will see below it’s not scientific. If the rabid atheists must have that view taught then like religion it belongs in history, philosophy, and social classes, but not in science classes.
One of my heroes in this ongoing political struggle is Genie Scott and she explains this much better than I in the video below.
Even as a child I did not have faith, and PZ in many ways is like an ex-smoker in that he had faith and changed his mind – now he wants everyone else to. So he’s taking a hardline and saying that Evolution’s defenders should go on offense in his reply to Hoope here.
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Opposing Mosques in America? Updated
What if it Were Happening in America? (updated)
There’s a big blogspat going on and as usual Charles Johnson is on the right side of the truth. He’s calling out the neo-nazi backgrounds, associations, and political partnerships between the Euro-Supremacist groups organizing the Pro-Koln anti-mosque movement.
The Paleosphere has risen in defense of Robert Spencer and Pamela at Atlas Shrugs who were billed by the Pro-Koln group as coming to attend or speak at the event, and now the usual obfuscations and cries of “guilt by association!”, it’s the “Soros attack machine!” and “Psyops!” are screeching across their close-knit bigotted group.
First of all here’s a hint for all conservative bloggers – before you chime in you best do some real research on the groups in Europe so you know what the heck you are talking about.
Secondly let’s put all of that Euro-Supremacist stuff aside for a moment.
Step back and look at the bigger picture. If someone were building a mosque in the US anywhere, would you support a group of Yo-Yo’s showing up to stop it?
Is it libertarian to tell someone how they may or may not use their property?
Is it constitutional in the US to stop a mosque from being built? (Think before you answer – what if it were a church, a temple, or a synagogue?)
It’s basically un-American and not a conservative value to oppose freedom of religion. Is that a politically viable stance for conservatives to support?
There you go; the big picture, please think on it.
UPDATE: Robert Spencer says he won’t go, but defends the group and attacks detractors, if he feels so strongly why doesn’t he go then?
One other note: The pro-serbia lobby in the US has had “no new mosques” as a talking point for years (at least since 2005 where you can find Jatras articles pushing that point) so don’t imagine that a similar campaign would never be mounted here. If it were it would be disastrous for Republicans.
Gegentrik also points out that some of Pro-Koln’s political opposition is as extreme: when you get extreme enough then at some point you cross over and become the mirror image of your enemy.
Addendum:
Some backgrond on people partnering with Pro-Koln:
and the organizer, Manfred Rouhs.
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What if it Were Happening in America?
What if it Were Happening in America?
There’s a big blogspat going on and as usual Charles Johnson is on the right side of the truth. He’s calling out the neo-nazi backgrounds, associations, and political partnerships between the Euro-Supremacist groups organizing the Pro-Koln anti-mosque movement.
The Paleosphere has risen in defense of Robert Spencer and Pamela at Atlas Shrugs who were billed by the Pro-Koln group as coming to attend or speak at the event, and now the usual obfuscations and cries of “guilt by association!”, it’s the “Soros attack machine!” and “Psyops!” are screeching across their close-knit bigotted group.
First of all here’s a hint for all conservative bloggers – before you chime in you best do some real research on the groups in Europe so you know what the heck you are talking about.
Secondly let’s put all of that Euro-Supremacist stuff aside for a moment.
Step back and look at the bigger picture. If someone were building a mosque in the US anywhere, would you support a group of Yo-Yo’s showing up to stop it?
Is it libertarian to tell someone how they may or may not use their property?
Is it constitutional in the US to stop a mosque from being built? (Think before you answer – what if it were a church, a temple, or a synagogue?)
It’s basically un-American and not a conservative value to oppose freedom of religion. Is that a politically viable stance for conservatives to support?
There you go; the big picture, please think on it.
Addendum:
Some backgrond on people partnering with Pro-Koln:
and the organizer, Manfred Rouhs.
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Sherriff Joe on PBS
This is egregiously wrong, since I can’t recall any illegal immigrants burnt in ovens. Bottom line: if you have to dig out Hitler and make comparisons in a discussion you are definitely on the weaker end of it, and you should always be called on it because it really diminishes the true horror of the Holocaust through trivialization.
Sherriff Joe on PBS
In this segment from a PBS documentary Maria Hinojosa tries to pin Sherriff Joe Arpaio’s ears back on local immigration law enforcement. They have a couple papers in Joe’s area that are gunning for him because he does work with ICE on local immigration reinforcement. The reporter in this segment flounders a bit, and ends up by going “Godwinian”, comparing what Sherriff Joe is doing to what Nazi Germany did.
This is egregiously wrong especially since I can’t recall any illegal immigrants burnt in ovens. Bottom line: if you have to dig out Hitler and make comparisons in a discussion you are definitely on the weaker end of it, and you should always be called on it because it really diminishes the true horror of the Holocaust through trivialization.
You can see the rest of the documentary here, where they actually bring up valid points about the Sherriff’s propensity for populist grandstanding at election times, and the possible effects on response times.
It’s a thorny issue for both sides and the extremes of both parties tend to go overboard on immigration issues – with Janet Napolitano in charge, look for a different approach to the problem. It will be interesting to see in these economic times whether the Democrats downplay the problem or grandstand upon it to distract Republicans from efforts on the economy.
To me it’s wisest at this point for both parties to put this issue aside for now- on the Dem side of the debate the face of the issue has become surly La Raza Reconquistas carrying Mexican flags and wearing Che shirts, on the Republican extreme end the face has become equally surly militia members with ties to the Neo-Confederacy, and never the twain shall meet. This issue harms both parties at this point when it becomes nationalized.
