…one of the greatest matches of all time: Germany vs Greece
What would the US lineup be in such a game?
Archive for June, 2010
We can’t talk about the world cup without mentioning…
Posted: June 28, 2010 by datechguy in fun, SportsTags: comedy, nostalgia, world cup
Foster Kamer as Vizzini
Posted: June 28, 2010 by datechguy in media, opinion/newsTags: dave weigel, foster kamer, helen thomas, journolist, reality, still angry left
Foster Kamer has a post up at the village voice about who smeared Dave Weigel, a gem from the piece:
I’m of the idea that Journolist was a bad idea in practice — because there is always a rat, always — but think that writers should be allowed to be sentient human beings with, you know, opinions about things. Otherwise, hold them in for seven presidential administrations, and the next thing you know, you’re Helen Thomas and your incredible legacy is now marred because you expressed an opinion about your job for the first time in your life that you’ve held in for way too long, that ends up being a “shocker” to people, and costs you your rep.
Take a look at that paragraph and the willful blindness it contains and it tells you a lot about the author. Poor Helen Thomas if only nobody knew what she really thought, we could have admired her in ignorance, just like Alger Hiss.
What annoys me is the title and the premise, Who smeared Dave Weigel? Smeared?
You might say who betrayed Dave Weigel, who outed Dave Weigel, who exposed Dave Weigel who embarrassed Dave Weigel but not smeared.
Smeared implies a falsehood, there is no falsehood here, Weigel wrote what he wrote of his own free will and said what he said.
Calling tea party activists racists, that is a smear. Exposing Weigel’s and Thomas’ true feelings in their own words to the light of day can be called many things but smear is not one of them.
So in the words of Inigo Montoya: You keep using that word, I do not think it means what you think it means.
If Foster wants to defend Weigel he should take a page out of Stacy McCain’s book:
Ali Akbar called me to discuss WeigelGate and pointed out something: Weigel hung out with us in NY-23, in Boston during the Brown campaign, at CPAC and at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference.
During all that time, Ali remarked, not once did Weigel do a “gotcha” by disseminating reports of the off-the-record stuff he saw and heard. Whatever vicious snark and gossip Weigel dished out via his blog, or e-mails or Twitter, he did not abuse his journalistic privilege by burning the people who gave him access.
That is the defense of a friend rather than of an ideologue. Weigel is really lucky that he has Stacy McCain as a friend. Stacy will fight for his friends till hell freezes over and then will fight on the ice.
Why is Robert Byrd suddenly a “conservative”?
Posted: June 28, 2010 by datechguy in mediaTags: history, media malpractice, Robert Byrd
That is what the Washington Post calls him:
Robert C. Byrd, a conservative West Virginia Democrat who became the longest-serving member of Congress in history and used his masterful knowledge of the institution to shape the federal budget, protect the procedural rules of the Senate and, above all else, tend to the interests of his state, died at 3 a.m. Monday at Inova Fairfax Hospital, his office said.
Newsbusters notes his lifetime American Conservative Union rating was 28
Why is this the case? Well it is impossible to write the history of Robert Byrd without noting his involvement in the KKK. Interestingly enough as our fair and balanced media kept painting Tea Party Members and Conservatives as racists it was the democrats who were the party with a former KKK member in their caucus.
This was a problem, but now that he is dead, no matter what his actual voting record the media can now use the word “Conservative” to deflect that fact away from the party.
Update: CNN just called him an “archconservative” just before bringing up the Klan, what a bunch of phony bastards
Talk about a timely article: Robert Byrd dead at 92
Posted: June 28, 2010 by datechguy in electionsTags: election 2010, politics, Robert Byrd
When the news came that Sen Byrd was hospitalized this article came out at Five Thirty Eight:
Byrd’s current term expires on January 3, 2013. Under West Virginia state law on handling Senate vacancies, “if the vacancy occurs less than two years and six months before the end of the term, the Governor appoints someone to fill the unexpired term and there is no election”. Otherwise, Manchin would appoint an interim replacement, and an special election would be held in November to determine who held the seat in 2011 and 2012.
In other words, we are within a week of the threshold established by West Virginia law. If a vacancy were to be declared on July 3rd or later, there would not be an election to replace Byrd until 2012. If it were to occur earlier, there could potentially be an election later this year, although there might be some ambiguities arising from precisely when and how the vacancy were declared.
I thought it was a little crass but now that Sen Byrd has actually died it becomes VERY relevant.
It all comes down to when the Governor declares a vacancy. There is no question that the office is vacant but the Democratic Governor likely would rather not have another senate seat voted on in 2010.
As the corner points out such shenanigans are not unheard of in these cases but then again if the Democrats hasn’t tried to pull a fast one here, we might have senator Martha Coakley today.
I presume that the democrat governor will play games. Democrats have proved totally unwilling to consider the will of the people lately so I see no reason why Governor Manchin would do otherwise.
As you might Guess it is big news on Memeorandum.
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