One could say that there is a lesson here for the Post and journalists but I think the real lesson is for conservatives in general and the tea party in particular. The mainstream media is not and never will be your friend. Until and unless the MSM print, paper or net are willing to hire people who we know are not hostile to us we should not give and they should not expect our cooperation.
Considering that he has now been hired by MSNBC it looks like this advice is pretty good.
As always you can find the archive of my examiner columns here.
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 AlgerHiss.
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.
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.
Panetta is making the case of “self radicalization”, people who decided to become radicals on their own.
This is a great example of denial and for some it is absolutely vital. If you actually suggest that there is an actual connection to radical Islam and terrorism, including in the United States then that puts you in the uncomfortable to have to make a decision to do something or not.
Ignorance is bliss because it allows you to ignore things that you don’t want to face.
Update: The unwillingness to face reality makes one spectators to events. Mark Steyn writes today about how well that is working in Canada:
Do you remember this story from a couple of weeks ago:
Since when were arms for jihadis considered aid? Watch this unfold.
Iranian aid ships head for Gaza Yahoo
TEHRAN (Reuters) – Iran is sending aid ships to blockaded Gaza, state radio said on Monday — a move likely to be considered provocative by Israel which accuses Tehran of arming the Palestinian enclave’s Islamist rulers, Hamas.
One ship left port on Sunday and another will depart by Friday, loaded with food, construction material and toys, the report said. “Until the end of (Israel’s) Gaza blockade, Iran will continue to ship aid,” said an official at Iran’s Society for the Defense of the Palestinian Nation.
Iran announced that the aid ship to Gaza, which was to leave on Sunday, will not be leaving. The secretary general of an Iranian organization supporting Palestinians, Hussein Sheikh el-Islam, said during a press conference that the main reason for the cancellation was “the Zionist regime’s violence and inhuman response to humanitarian aid.”
He said the aid would be transferred to Gaza in other ways, and not in Iran’s name
Not in Iran’s name? They are not only backing down, but they don’t even want their name associated with the “aid”. We haven’t seen such bravery since the days of Camelot.
1. They talk a lot but they’re afraid, profoundly afraid (can you imagine the RG generals talking to the Supreme Leader? “But Excellency, they will kill us all…”);
2. They will not risk direct confrontation, because any defeat will encourage the Iranian people to bring them down;
3. They talk a lot about the glories of martyrdom, but the martyrs they have in mind are the Arabs they send into battle or on suicide missions against us;
4. The trouble with American leaders is that they want to be loved, whereas a healthy dose of fear will do wonders for the region.
The emphasis on #3 is mine. It should be read by every Arab who has been taken in by these bastards to be used as cannon fodder. With the brave Iranians running away the question becomes will the Turks seeing the actions of Brave Brave Sir Robin the servants of Ahmadinejad the tough guys getting nukes ready, will they decide to stick out their necks alone? I think not. The strong horse/weak horse theory still applies.
Via Glenn Reynolds who brings back memories with this Gem.
At your throat or at your feet. It’s not just the Germans.
I haven’t heard the Germans described that way in years. Many years.
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