Archive for the ‘opinion/news’ Category

I guess that’s 8 not counting the last one

Posted: October 22, 2009 by datechguy in Blame Bush, opinion/news
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Take a look at this USA today opinion piece on rancor in political debate:

It closes with this line about the author:

Sandy Grady, who has covered eight presidential campaigns, is a member of USA TODAY’s board of contributors.

Read the whole thing and see if you can find what is missing. It it’s too tough to do so then check out the comments, a particular one includes several links to help you out:

Do these people even pretend to know that the internet, video recording and audio recordings exist and have been invented?

LGF2 on NY-23: Updated with free speech lesson!

Posted: October 22, 2009 by datechguy in internet/free speech, opinion/news
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After touching on the WSJ piece they take the exact opposite view of Morning Joe concerning republicans:

Republicans just opened up their widest lead since 1994 on the generic Congressional ballot poll. Obama is in negative double-digits pretty consistently on Rasmussen’s daily tracking poll of political polarity. Only 43% say they’d vote to re-elect Obama. And – perhaps mosting damning of all for the Democrats – for the first time that I can ever remember at least, the GOP leads the Dems in ALL TEN of the “voters trust” issues – including “Democrat friendly” issues like health care, social security, and education. Also note, the GOP has a sizable trust advantage on abortion – so don’t tell me that social issues are a loser for the GOP. I’m not buying it.

If present trends hold, Republicans look set to take back Senate seats in Pennsylvania and Delaware (two bluish Northeastern states), and conservatives look like they’re going to be sweeping the big three races in Virginia handily (showing that conservative Republicans can definitely win in purple states). The Iowa governourship appears set to revert to conservative Republican hands (another purplish state), and in Ohio (another purple state), a relatively unknown Rob Portman has caught up with and is now virtually tied with each of the better-known, statewide Democrat elected officials that he is matched up against for the open Senate seat. How are Democrats faring in red states? Not good at all – if the news that Blanche Lincoln, Arkansas’s incumbent moderate Democrat Senator trails all four of her potential Republican opponents is any indication.

So please, don’t try to feed me this blithering nonsense about how the GOP needs to run to the centre to win, and is currently perceived as too right-wing to be viable. Quite the opposite is in fact true. The GOP is viewed by its own base as being full of squishes, and is viewed by independents as incapable of providing the leadership on the issues that they want. If that were to change, the GOP would win elections solidly, even in purplish and northeastern districts like NY-23. The reasonably conservative Jim Tedisco lost the special election in NY-20 by only a few hundred votes – and that is a district where the Dems had won handily in both the previous elections, and which Obama easily carried. If that special election were being held today, Tedisco would probably win it.

The question becomes what do they actually want? I’ve actually already answered that here:

If your primary interest as a feudal lord is getting back on the gravy train with the king you certainly don’t want to have the peasants revolt against that largess.

If people who actually plan on acting get elected they will try to act, that might spill the gravy train.

Unfortunately for the GOP establishment there is now too much attention to play the game they way they want.

Now we will see who is who and what is what.

Vote Hoffman!

Update: Dan Riehl makes an interesting point

If grassroots conservatives have dropped the ball in some way, especially in the Northeast, it is that we haven’t done the hard work to take back the Republican Party from the ground up. To truly prevail we must do that.

It disappointed me to hear the Club for Growth’s Andy Roth blame RNC Chairman Michael Steele and the D.C. Republicans for giving us a Dede Scozzafava. He knows better than that, and he shouldn’t play that game simply to get his message across. Scozzafava got the nod based upon a state and local decision. It’s important for conservatives to understand how that came about.

It is not the D.C. GOP’s job to stab a state or local organization in the back, no matter what you may think. Money and support flow up and flow back down. A national political organization capable of winning elections can not afford to function any other way. Let’s stop playing games.

His point about getting involved is well made but that doesn’t change the fact the Scozzafava is a lousy candidate and the national party should have been circumspect about offending the grass roots movement that is making the difference in their support nationally.

Oh and note to Charles Johnson (peace be upon him) this is how you respectfully disagree with someone on a subject without offense, particularly if you agree on so many other subjects and in that spirit let me remind you that there is still space of the statement of common principles for anyone who wants to sign.

Penn Gilette banned from lgf next?

Posted: October 22, 2009 by datechguy in internet/free speech, opinion/news
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Penn Gilette found out yesterday that one of his heroes has feet of clay:

I’m surprised, frankly, that GB hasn’t had him on the show yet to talk about it. Or maybe he has and I’m out of the loop?

As with most of PJ’s monologues, there’s a sprinkling of profanity, so please observe your official content warning.

The Libertarian Popinjay (who has spiced up his site) explains the pain:

Now, I’m generally a compassionate person, so I can’t be too hard on Penn here. You can see with his dramatic pauses that he’s coming to grips with the fact that his idol is an intolerant jerk. He tries to rationize it because in his heart, Tommy Smothers – his hero, who he’s placed on a high pedestal – must be right. Penn knows the truth, however. You can see it in his eyes.

It exposes one of the biggest lies in pop and political culture: that liberals are tolerant and compassionate people. Nothing could be further from the truth. They are vile, mean-spirited individuals who want their point of view forced on everyone around them. Anyone who disagrees them is beyond contempt. There is no “agree to disagree” for liberals, progressives, or whatever they want to call themselves. Penn knows this, but it will take him a while to come to gripes with it.

Now you might remember that a certain audience losing petulant blogger, who in the opinion of a plurality of those polled here has a new employer, used to link approvingly to him on occasion but hasn’t since August, just a little bit before I was banned and Robert Stacy was converted from reporter and Pajamas Media writer to untouchable.

I guess once you appear on Glen Beck other position matters.

I disagree with Penn on a lot of issues, particularly the Catholic Church but he is usually wrong honest, sort of like Hitchens. It likely isn’t official but if he is banned by lgf like the rest of us, I suggest he should consider himself proudly banned.

Oh and the poll in question lets put it here in case you haven’t voted:

Update: The Anchoress has the same opinion of Penn as me:

Before I get 100 emails telling me that Penn & Teller have sullied the name of Bl. Teresa of Calcutta: Yes, I’m aware. Teresa can more than take care of herself, I think. No one gets everything just right, do they? It drives me nuts when a Christian writes to me saying “this person did this and that, and so they have no credibility…” because it flies in the face of what we believe about mercy, and the potential within all of us for change. Jillette strikes me as a guy who is seeking. He’s going to have blind spots like everyone else, particularly in those areas where he thinks he’s got it all figured out (again, like everyone else.) But it would not surprise me to read someday that he’s gone and spent some time with the Missionaries of Charity, to see what they do. God is not done with any of us, yet.

We may not know what God is doing but God does. As a rule if someone is seeking truth they are on the right path.

Q: What is the only way of getting a book written by editors of the Nation purchased by the general public?

Posted: October 22, 2009 by datechguy in oddities, opinion/news
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A: Why deception of course.

It’s a high complement to Sarah Palin and a perfect illustration of the weakness of the left in the marketplace of ideas. How else can the ideas of the left advance if not by deception?

Update: Captain Ed agrees completely in substance to wit:

Would “the most honest account” have to be wrapped in a deceptive cover, intended to confuse consumers into buying the wrong book? If it doesn’t start out with an honest approach, why should we trust that the same people who made that decision will be honest inside the covers? For an answer to that, we only need see the list of essayists included in this rehash of old Palin-opposing material, who include such straight-arrow observers as Amanda Marcotte, Max Blumenthal, Eve Ensler, and Jane Hamsher. Hamsher made her biggest political splash when she put Joe Lieberman in blackface during his re-election campaign. Marcotte got fired from the Edwards campaign for her vilification of religious believers in language bad enough to actually embarrass Edwards — and given Edwards’ history, that’s saying something indeed.

Alas he does not link, how dare he not hang on my every word! Doesn’t he know I’m a techie typing from the corner of my couch? (;c)

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