Archive for the ‘internet/free speech’ Category

Just so you remember what communism is

Posted: November 10, 2010 by datechguy in internet/free speech
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I think a lot of times here safely in a free country like the US we forget that things are not the same everywhere:

A father who organized a support group for other parents whose children were sickened in one of China’s worst food safety scandals was convicted and sentenced Wednesday to 2 1/2 years in prison for inciting social disorder, his lawyer said.

Zhao Lianhai had pushed for greater official accountability and compensation for victims and their families after the 2008 scandal that shocked China. His sentence appeared particularly severe because the case related to a public safety incident that the embarrassed leadership had pledged to tackle in a bid to restore consumer confidence.

In the US this man would be celebrated and on every network on the dial. In Communist China this is his reward.

When people complain about the US or speak about how they think communism is OK, they need see and remember stories like this. This is the reality of Communism and no amount of fudging will change it.

Stacy on the Olberman story

Posted: November 5, 2010 by datechguy in internet/free speech, media
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As my own opening day on the air approaches we discover that Keith Olberman is off. Robert Stacy McCain points out the nonsense that is this business:

Being strictly a neutral, objective journalist myself — “Ethics, shmethics!” — I don’t think Olbermann should be fired from NBC, which is as about as neutral and objective as Pravda or the Daily Worker. There is already a serious unemployment crisis looming among Democrats:

William Kristol: cries Keep Keith and makes valid points. Here is #2:

Second, he’s not a reporter. It’s an opinion show. If Olbermann wants to put his money where his mouth is, more power to him.

Personally I think Kristol is being smart. He along with the rest of the right knows that Keith Olberman has the same chance of persuading any non moonbat to vote Democrat as I have of not only Scoring with Linda Carter but living to tell the tale after my wife found out. Once he is replaced then MSNBC has a slight chance to actually find someone who might be effective.

All those points are valid, I think it is a bit of holier than thou, but I also think the problem is not the donations, but the non-disclosure. If there was full disclosure it wouldn’t be an issue but he had some of those people on. It should have been disclosed in fact he could have said, I gave the max and you should too.

I’m with Goldberg, the rule should be lifted but until it is MSNBC is within their rights and without the disclosure he should at the very least be suspended.

Full disclosure Andrea Shea King once lent me $20 for a Taxi and refused to be repaid, so I kicked in $20 for Gas to the tea party express in Worcester. I guess I won’t be replacing Olby.

Update: There is a serious outbreak of Snarkenfeude on the right side of the ‘sphere.

Some Tea party Express videos

Posted: November 2, 2010 by datechguy in congress, elections, internet/free speech, local issues, media, opinion/news, politics, short films/interviews, special events, tea parties
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Here are some videos from the day:

Before the crowd comes:

Jerry talked to me first

So Did Steve and Denise:

and Richard and Shirley:

And Linda:

I ran into Jen Caissie’s mom but didn’t know who she was when I started:

If you don’t know who Jen is here’s jen:

Since the left came to protest and unlike the tea party people decided to assault a driver who disagreed with them

The Media found the protesters interesting and the police stayed on top of them the entire time:

When things were done I talked to Ron:

And checked back with Jerry

It was a good little rally, not in the class of the Boston event but still effective. At least effective enough that it worried the left. Their actions during the pledge and the national anthem combined with the assault did more to hurt their cause than anything else.

Update: Leftists nuts in VA too, at least they didn’t assault anyone.

My predictions on the Stewart Rally:

Posted: October 30, 2010 by datechguy in culture, internet/free speech, media, opinion/news, special events
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Attendance:

I predict a rally attended by maybe 50k maybe slightly more a ceiling of about 75k pretty close to the Freedomworks rally but nowhere near Beck’s. Stewart is a legitimate star as is Colbert, the idea of what their fans consider and “open air show” and what the establishment left consider their best chance to convince their base that they have a chance will help bump the numbers up porta potty issue or no.

The Draw

The draw will come in three flavors. The primary flavor that decided to go right at the start will be college age Comedy Central fans. They are coming for fun, and if Arianna Huffington and Oprah want to pay their way so much the better. Their purpose is not primarily political (although some might have strong political beliefs) they are there for a good time, some partying and the hope of getting laid. (yeah that’s blunt but true)

The secondary flavor will be the Democratic political class/Unions. There are the hardcore dems who hope to use this rally in the way that OneNation was supposed to be used, to convince the democratic base that they have momentum. They are aware that the MSM are going to do their best to advance this narrative so Union leaders and Various activists will compel their membership to go. I suspect they will be dwarfed by the first flavor and will find the Stewart fans a whole lot less enthusiastic for what they are selling.

The final flavor will be the true believes like the lady I met in Newton two weeks ago they believe in Obama, Obamacare, global warming, cap and trade, etc. This includes a lot of the socialist groups that attended one nation in the hopes of getting joiners contributes. They will be the smallest group and their reaction will be based on how they look at it. Publicly they will talk numbers and be “inspired”, privately they will notice that the non-activists have very little interest in their causes. Watch their body language when they get home, it will speak volumes.

The Show

This I have absolutely no idea about, don’t know what Stewart is planning, how he is planning it, how much will be comedy and how he intends to do it. Since his primary shtick is to play off of others I don’t know how he does that. Will he show parts of the Beck rally and comment? Will he try to parody bits and pieces of it? Will Colbert do a fake Beck while Stewart laughs at him? I’m presuming that he has good writers but there is a difference between writing for a live show with an audience that he can’t predict vs a studio audience. I’m presuming Stewart’s team is likely to and has been collaborating as much as possible with the democratic left to whatever degree they can without risking their brand. I also trust Stewart’s team will make sure that there is not trash left everywhere.

The Media

The media is in the worst of all positions. They support this march and the goals of all three groups. They will be portraying the march in the most favorable light possible, but people from the right will be there with cameras and phones tweeting so they are in a box. If the attendance numbers are VERY low then they will be very embarrassed since the story will be of an epic fail. If the air photo is smaller than Beck’s by degrees as I suspect they will be it will be used against the media as it portrays it as a win. If there is drunkenness and public nastiness then it is going to be shown by conservatives but ignored by the media. If the crowd gets too rowdy and/or destructive then the story and the narrative goes very astray. I don’t know if CSPAN will cover the rally, if they do then watch out. Bottom line, the media has a narrative they have already written and are hoping for, everything will depend on how far from that narrative that the actual event goes.

The End Result
Bill Press is exactly right in on respect, activists here are wasted instead of being in the field. A lot of the young people there frankly are not likely to be getting OTHERS out to vote and I suspect the greatest quantities are already coming from the bluest of areas. This is not going to create any actual votes but it might allow the media to try to push a narrative of democratic momentum in the last 48 hours.

In the end The Sunday and Monday shows will be all over this, if it is a success they will trumpet it, if it mediocre they will pretend it is a success, if it is a failure and/or an embarrassment then they will declare it simply a comedy show and nothing else. The problem for the media however is they no longer have the monopoly on the message and the alternative message will be getting out in real-time via twitter and the blogs.

What started as a show/publicity stunt has basically become a high stakes risk for Stewart and Comedy Central. If they make democrats look bad he will find there is plenty of room under the Obama/Democratic bus. If he pulls it off then he will have even more power then the left has already ceded him. God help him if it is boring.

I will know if I’m right within 48 hours, so will you.

BTW how telling is it that there is not a single Memeorandum thread on this subject at this time 7:48 a.m. Could it be that the media has already decided it will not pan out and is starting to downplay it?

Update: One thing I neglected to mention. Politics aside Stewart’s primary goals for the rally are tied up with fans of the show and the audience there. The lefts & the media’s goals (I know redundant) are tied up with the viewing public not there.

Update 2: My God that was boring. He did however draw more folks then I thought but not nearly as many as Beck.

Update 3: Pajamas Media has some more and wider shot photos and better methodology (including the ridiculous CBS stuff) Still not as much Beck but still pretty impressive. This quote is vital:

Big name acts, extensive crowd control, rules against video or audio taping even with your cell phone, boring political speeches … this wasn’t a rally, this was a U2 concert!

And that tells us the real story: they held a rock/comedy concert, with pro acts including two of the hottest TV comedians around, and professional production, with free admission and with Arianna Huffington paying for bus rides — and no matter what you think a “dense” crowd is, it was still only about six-tenths of Beck’s open-air church service.

Actually I thought the acts were so so (I thought the dueling trains stuff was very clever) but I think the real question that I still don’t have a good answer on is the composition. I’ll keep digging

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