Posts Tagged ‘pet peeves’

I’m not going to Obama’s dog and pony show…

Posted: August 11, 2009 by datechguy in internet/free speech, opinion/news
Tags: , , , ,

…today in Portsmouth New Hampshire. It’s only about an hour away and the beach is nearby but I can’t see that there is any point.

This is not going to anything like the Arlen Spector town meeting that is now on TV cable channels. I think the administration will make a big deal of letting one or two guys “go at” the president over his health care plan and let him answer him in a calm and smooth way. I can’t see the permanent campaign taking any risks on message here.

If they had somebody asking him about Kenneth Gladney being beaten and called a nigger by his SEIU thugs then his response would be something of interest.

If the administration is really smart they will do their best to replicate this moment brought to us by Legal Insurrection:

The Bank bailout plan not withstanding; more and more I find myself really missing George W. Bush. He was a real class act and it will be decades before we as a nation appreciate how good a president he was.

Oh and I hate all this “N-word” business. It’s a pet peeve of mine. If you are going to decry the racism decry it don’t run away from it. For example:

The best way to illustrate the ignorance of racism is to make it plain for all to see, and its also a great excuse to plug Mel Brooks; one of the funniest men to ever walk this earth.

Update: Captain Ed agrees about the Obama town hall, no word on what he thinks of Mel Brooks.

Update 2: Yup waste of time.

But it’s made by Apple!

Posted: July 31, 2009 by datechguy in tech
Tags: ,

…so this can’t be right can it?

Security experts have uncovered flaws in Apple Inc’s iPhone that they said hackers can exploit to take control of the popular device, using the tactic for identity theft and other crimes.

iPhone users needed to be warned that their devices were not entirely secure and Apple should try to repair the vulnerability as soon as possible, they said at the Black Hat conference in Las Vegas, one of the world’s top forums for exchanging information on computer security threats.

As I’ve argued before PC’s are more vulnerable due to market share, those who attack for profit want to hit the largest market share. The iPhone’s popularity and market share make it a worthwhile target. Remember when you give devices the strengths of computer you give them weakness too.

But hey if you want to spend hundreds on a phone that’s your call.

Something in Jay’s Dr. Regina Benjamin story that you might have missed…

Posted: July 23, 2009 by datechguy in opinion/news
Tags: ,

…during today’s impromptus here is the whole section:

In preparing to write about this, I was looking at a news article, which had a photo of Dr. Benjamin. And I thought, “Hang on, I think I know this person.” I had forgotten her name. I had not forgotten her act. Some years ago, I was at a large conference, dominated by liberals. I was one of the handful of conservatives there. And, at a big plenary session, I made some statements about race: I said I thought the country was too soaked in race; that we could use a rest from race; that race-consciousness was killing us; that separate graduation ceremonies, and separate proms and so on, were heartbreaking and wrong; that we should not give up on the integrationist ideal; that we should cling to E pluribus unum; that we should not be black and white but Americans and human beings; etc. You know: my usual anti-racialist spiel.

These remarks fell pretty flat, I figured. And, when the session was over, I made a beeline out of the hall. And as I was leaving — racing — someone was chasing after me. Running, I think — in high heels, I think. It was a woman, and one of the few blacks in attendance. When I turned to greet her — not knowing what was coming — she said, “I just wanted to thank you. That was great. It really needed to be said.” Do you think I was touched?

And I realized, looking at the news article, that this was Dr. Regina Benjamin. Which has nothing — nothing — to do with my feeling about the “fat” controversy. Just so you know. I was going to write what I’ve written about the controversy before I realized that I had encountered this woman.

I must say, I will love Regina Benjamin forever.

Now this is a nice feel good piece about Dr. Benjamin and I’m very pleased that she had this reaction to Jay’s words, but when I read this two particular sentences jumped out at me, from paragraph 1:

I was at a large conference, dominated by liberals. I was one of the handful of conservatives there.

So we have a large conference of liberals with a token conservative or two and his remarks on race fell flat but as he was leaving one person rushed to say something to him about those remarks…

It was a woman, and one of the few blacks in attendance.

One of the few blacks in attendance.

So you have a statement suggesting that we should treat blacks not like “blacks” but like the Americans and human begins that all of us are and the mostly white liberal crowd didn’t like it, after all blacks are NOT like us, they need to be cared for, they need to be shepherded, and only only person to agree with the idea that all needed to be created equal was one of the FEW blacks in attendance.

The modern liberal would be the kinder gentler plantation owner, they would “care” for their blacks and provide them with a living wage as they support the owners, and to raise their standard of living they would make sure that abortion very available so that say 1/3 of the costly black children. And maybe the smartest who see things the owner’s way would be able to attend the big parties and conferences with the rest of the beautiful people.

It reminds me of the reference to Augustus Caesar in this poem from I Claudius:

He shall give Rome marble in place of clay
And fetter her fast with unseen chains,

Augustus governed wisely and temperately for his times and reconciled Rome to monarchy instead of a republic. Our liberal friends through their kind intervention are fettering people of non-white race to dependence on government so they will be able to take care of them from seats of power and privilege that they will be able to hold for life.

Birther stuff bottom line

Posted: July 8, 2009 by datechguy in opinion/news
Tags: , ,

World net daily was one of the first sites on the web I started reading a bit ago nearly a decade ago. It was covering stories online when almost nobody else was. Lately I find myself reading it less and less as the focus is increasingly on the “Birther” business as a top headline. It seems to be almost becoming CNN with Michael Jackson as in All “Birther” all the “Time”.

Their latest story concerning which hospital the president was actually born at. Apparently there are conflicting reports.

In an official letter signed by Obama on White House stationery, the president celebrates his birth at the Kapi’olani Medical Center for Women and Children in Honolulu, Hawaii. The facility has posted that letter on its website, along with video of the letter being read in public.

But according to Snopes, the popular online hoax-buster that many rely on as the final word on both important and frivolous stories, Obama was born at a different hospital in the Hawaiian capital.

In Snopes’ entry concerning allegations that Obama is a “radical Muslim,” the site addresses the birth history of the commander in chief, stating, “Barack Hussein Obama was born on 4 August 1961 at the Queen’s Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawaii.”

WND took a screen shot of the entry and highlighted the name of the hospital.

(Note: Within 90 minutes of this WND story being posted, Snopes swapped the hospital of birth to indicate Obama was born at Kapi’olani, but noted some ambiguity by stating, “News accounts have also variously placed his birth as having occurred at Queen’s Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawaii.”)

Now like any newspaper WND’s primary job is to “sell” itself. It also has a particular World View and in a throwback to the journalism 100+ years ago doesn’t pretend that it doesn’t have the bias’ it does which is very refreshing.

I must confess that I can’t get myself excited about any of this. There are enough oddities to warrant interested reporting (For example If I ran the hospital a president was born in I’d want to promote it). I will also concede that president Obama is less that forthcoming on many issues and as Jim Geraghty has pointed out, all of his statements come with an expiration date.

However the certificate of live birth IS a on official document of the state that certifies an event. If it would be acceptable in other cases it is acceptable here.

And lets face it (and this is the nitty gritty to me) Does anyone really think that the Clintons of Paula Jones, The Rose Law Firm records, the Clintons of the FBI files and the Travel office, the Clintons of Juanita Broderick, the Clinton’s for which Susan McDougal went to jail rather than talk and for which a Sandy Berger was willing to smuggle and destroy documents out of the national archives years after they were out of office. The Clintons of Monica. Are you REALLY willing to tell me that those Clintons would not have used this if there was ANY chance of there being a there there? Any chance at all?

Consider the following statement:

The Clintons would do ANYTHING to win the presidency.

Can any conservative honestly say that at any time before fall of 2007 they would have denied that statement? Any Conservative? No religious belief requires half the faith necessary to deny that basic fact.

I suspect few if any of people who support the “Where’s the birth certificate” business would have denied it.

Nobody is telling me that two years later and the Presidency in their grasp they would suddenly have a change of heart, the very fact that the presidency might have been slipping away would have made it even more likely.

It’s not quite the physics of the Popular Mechanics takedown of the 9/11 truther fools but to me it’s as close as it gets. Until you can cross that hurdle I have to conclude that there is no there there.

Older Entries
Newer Entries