Texas Republican Leader Opposes Jewish House Speaker because “Christians Do the Best Job”
A Texas GOP leader opposes a Jewish House speaker because he ways “Christians do the best job.” And YES he does use that old line about “Some of my best friends are…”
Charles Blow: Stop Writing About Palin Because She Likes It Too Much
It’s like watching the Little Engine That Could, the way Charles Blow slowly comes to the realization that all the negativity that progressives have been heaping upon Sarah Palin is actually – GASP – helping her.
Why?
Because they came on too strong and too wrong. They attacked her pregnancy, her baby, her children, thereby repulsing mothers who went off to join the tea party, such was their disgust at the sexist double-standard. They printed thousands of words on her every word, followed her on her book tour, stalked her speaking appearances, her teenage daughter’s Facebook page, all the while bearing the audacity to say that she runs the risk of “overexposure.”
Blow is blinded by hubris in that he believes he and other progressive media are what is keeping Palin alive in politics and pop-culture. If ever you needed another reminder as to how far the finger of mainstream media is from the pulse of the people, this is it.
She was a vice presidential nominee. But she lost. She was the governor of Alaska. But she quit. Now she’s just a political personality — part cheerleader, part bomb-thrower — being kept afloat in part by the hackles of her enemies and the people who admire her resilience in the face of them.
(Don’t forget: Obama also quit the senate to campaign. Bad for Palin, fine for Obama.)
Palin may be a polarizing figure, but she’s more than just a “political personality.” Every other media outlet in existence has to choke out the acknowledgement that Palin is a kingmaker: she has a winning record in endorsements, besting the likes of Karl Rove&Co., and came out on top November 2nd. She’s able to raise funds for candidates like few can, and her battle with “the bluebloods” keeps the tug-of-war between the civil liberties movement (which is what the tea party is) and the beltway establishment front and center in the media – no one on the left can match her starpower and few on the right are able.
Blow comes to his classy realization:
The more the left tries to paint her as one of the “Mean Girls,” the more the right sees her as “Erin Brockovich.” The never-ending attempts to tear her down only build her up. She’s like the ominous blob in the horror films: the more you shoot at it, the bigger and stronger it becomes.
When he mentions “shooting at her” he’s using a figure of speech, I’m sure. I won’t temporarily forget my senses, get the vapors, and have a southern dramatic attack by insisting it’s more for attention and sympathy like the left did over Palin’s description of “targeting” seats in the 2010 primaries.
Yes, she’s about as sharp as a wet balloon, but we already know that. How much more time and energy must be devoted to dissecting that?
Apparently, another two sentences, Mr. Blow. If her reasoning is so stupid, then why not use your column space to dissect her approach to energy – or economic theory, i.e. quantitative easing, gold vs. fiat, et al.
I realize that it’s easier for a columnist to phone it in with lazy, cliched euphemisms in lieu of credible criticism worth printing, but we’re talking about the NYT, not the WSJ. It is what it is.
People on the left seem to need her, to bash her, because she is, in three words, the way the left likes to see the right: hollow, dim and mean. But since she’s feeding on the negativity, I suggest three other words: get over it.
The funny thing is, it doesn’t matter whether or not people like Charles Blow or the Huffington Post write about Palin. Again, hubris. Do conservatives actually read either of these entities? No. Blow and others write the things they do about Palin for their own quasi-edification, to solidify their bias. Their words are for progressives alone.
That’s what the media doesn’t understand: they’re irrelevant. No one cares. I’m so tired of reading Harriet-the-Spy level cattiness from people who think they can live off the extinct respect that a masthead once carried. If they put as much effort into Wikileaks, Pigford, unspent stimulus, et al. then perhaps it would prove worth reading once again.
Islamic Foundation of the Maldives: “Shun all medical aid from the Zionist regime” because they’re coming to harvest organs and they did it in Haiti, too
“President of Islamic Foundation Ibrahim Fauzy told Minivan News last week that the Foundation does not recognise Israel as a state, asserting that ‘it is also against our religion to have relationships with Jews’.”
Just one example of such interfaith harmony can be found in Qur’an 5:51: “O ye who believe! take not the Jews and the Christians for your friends and protectors: They are but friends and protectors to each other. And he amongst you that turns to them (for friendship) is of them. Verily Allah guideth not a people unjust.”
“Israeli eye surgeons visiting Maldives to ‘illegally harvest organs’, claims Islamic Foundation,” by Ahmed Naish for Minivan News, November 29:
The Islamic Foundation of the Maldives has reiterated calls to the Maldives government to “shun all medical aid from the Zionist regime” with a team of seven Israeli eye surgeons due to arrive in the country next month, claiming that Isreali doctors and surgeons “have become notorious for illegally harvesting organs from non-Jews around the world.”
An article on the Foundation’s website titled “Beware of Israeli eye surgeons” claims Israeli medical teams have harvested organs from dead Haitians after the devastating earthquake that struck country as well as from Palestinians killed in fighting in the longstanding Arab-Isreali [sic] conflict.
“The health authorities in Maldives have to take utmost caution in allowing Israeli medical surgeons into this country and Maldivians who apply for treatment from these doctors have to take precautionary measures to avoid any foul play,” it reads.
“So, keep an eye out for… I mean, uh, wait…”
A day after the government-run Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) announced the imminent arrival of the Israeli doctors, the Islamic Foundation called on the government not to normalise relations with the Jewish state or “accept any sort of assistance from Israel as long as they are in the lands of Palestine.”
President of Islamic Foundation Ibrahim Fauzy told Minivan News last week that the Foundation does not recognise Israel as a state, asserting that “it is also against our religion to have relationships with Jews.”
Amazon: We Didn’t Pull Down WikiLeaks Because Of Government
December 2, 2010 · Posted in The Capitol · Comments Off
Say it ain’t so, Joe. Amazon’s web hosting service on Thursday said they didn’t stop hosting WikiLeaks just because Sen. Joe Liberman (I-CT) asked them to.
The Lieberman camp said this week that Amazon stopped hosting WikiLeaks after inquires from the Connecticut Senator’s office. But Amazon said late Thursday that reports that government inquires caused the pulldown were “inaccurate.”
“Amazon Web Services (AWS) rents computer infrastructure on a self-service basis. AWS does not pre-screen its customers, but it does have terms of service that must be followed. WikiLeaks was not following them,” Amazon said.
WikiLeaks, said Amazon, had violated their terms of service which stated that “you represent and warrant that you own or otherwise control all of the rights to the content… that use of the content you supply does not violate this policy and will not cause injury to any person or entity.”
“It’s clear that WikiLeaks doesn’t own or otherwise control all the rights to this classified content,” Amazon said in a statement.
Human Rights First had written a letter to Amazon asking the company to “make clear the decision making process that led the dropping of Wikileaks from Amazon’s servers and to share with the public which parts of the United States government contacted Amazon with the request to halt service.”
Amazon’s full statement:
There have been reports that a government inquiry prompted us not to serve WikiLeaks any longer. That is inaccurate.
There have also been reports that it was prompted by massive DDOS attacks. That too is inaccurate. There were indeed large-scale DDOS attacks, but they were successfully defended against.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) rents computer infrastructure on a self-service basis. AWS does not pre-screen its customers, but it does have terms of service that must be followed. WikiLeaks was not following them. There were several parts they were violating. For example, our terms of service state that “you represent and warrant that you own or otherwise control all of the rights to the content… that use of the content you supply does not violate this policy and will not cause injury to any person or entity.” It’s clear that WikiLeaks doesn’t own or otherwise control all the rights to this classified content. Further, it is not credible that the extraordinary volume of 250,000 classified documents that WikiLeaks is publishing could have been carefully redacted in such a way as to ensure that they weren’t putting innocent people in jeopardy. Human rights organizations have in fact written to WikiLeaks asking them to exercise caution and not release the names or identities of human rights defenders who might be persecuted by their governments.
We’ve been running AWS for over four years and have hundreds of thousands of customers storing all kinds of data on AWS. Some of this data is controversial, and that’s perfectly fine. But, when companies or people go about securing and storing large quantities of data that isn’t rightfully theirs, and publishing this data without ensuring it won’t injure others, it’s a violation of our terms of service, and folks need to go operate elsewhere.
We look forward to continuing to serve our AWS customers and are excited about several new things we have coming your way in the next few months.
– Amazon Web Services
Huckabee: The Republican establishment dislikes me because I didn’t go to the right schools
December 1, 2010 · Posted in The Capitol · Comment
“Don’t somehow disqualify me because I haven’t been to Harvard.”
That must be it. After all, when have prominent Republicans ever idolized someone who went to a small, lesser-known college? (Noted Beltway cocktail-party RINO Karl Rove also managed to do okay for himself without an Ivy diploma.) Skip ahead to 4:00 for Huck’s harangue about that or listen to the whole clip to hear him […]
Food safety bill passes Senate, but dead in the water because …
December 1, 2010 · Posted in The Capitol · Comment
… Senate Democrats can’t read the Constitution.
Apparently, no one told Harry Reid to check Article I, Section 7 of the Constitution before passing S510, the food-safety bill that Democrats hailed as a major lame-duck session achievement earlier this week — and which ran afoul of their own party in the House. Section 107 of the bill raises taxes, and as any […]
Howard Dean: Bring Back the Fairness Doctrine Because Fox ‘Makes Stuff Up’ and ‘Americans Don’t Know What’s Going On’
November 30, 2010 · Posted in The Capitol · Comment
An audio clip from about two months ago has been uncovered by The Blaze which clearly demonstrates that, even with all of his opining and public speaking skills, there is a reason that Howard Dean’s most notable quote will always remain a timelessly incoherent scream. Despite being a one-word definition of ignorance, Dean doesn’t mind discussing how to control the media in an effort to educate what he considers to be the ignorant masses – Americans.
What would he do about the media?
“I would bring back the Fairness Doctrine so you couldn’t have a spectacle of a Fox Flooze, which just makes stuff up and is a propaganda outlet. You would actually have to have some sanctioned human beings talking to the other side. And MSNBC would have to do the same. They would have to have some conservatives on there too. I think that’s much better for the country.”
Why does he want the government to control media?
“Americans don’t know what’s going on and therefore the media can have their way with them intellectually.”
If Dean is so concerned about propaganda outlets making stuff up, then perhaps he should be fact-checking his own statements. Such as…
NewsBusters.org – Exposing Liberal Media Bias
Howard Dean: Bring Back the Fairness Doctrine Because Fox ‘Makes Stuff Up’ and ‘Americans Don’t Know What’s Going On’
November 30, 2010 · Posted in The Capitol · CommentAn audio clip from about two months ago has been uncovered by The Blaze (clip below the fold) which clearly demonstrates that, even with all of his opining and public speaking, Howard Dean’s most notable quote will always remain a timelessly incoherent scream. Despite being a one-word definition of ignorance, Dean doesn’t mind discussing how to control the media in an effort to educate what he considers to be the ignorant masses – Americans.
What would he do about the media?
“I would bring back the Fairness Doctrine so you couldn’t have a spectacle of a Fox Flooze, which just makes stuff up and is a propaganda outlet. You would actually have to have some sanctioned human beings talking to the other side. And MSNBC would have to do the same. They would have to have some conservatives on there too. I think that’s much better for the country.”
Why does he want the government to control media?
“Americans don’t know what’s going on and therefore the media can have their way with them intellectually.”
If Dean is so concerned about propaganda outlets making stuff up, then perhaps he should be fact-checking his own statements. Such as…
NewsBusters.org – Exposing Liberal Media Bias
Please Don’t Love Her Just Because She’s Stupid
November 30, 2010 · Posted in The Capitol · CommentThat really does seem to be Sarah Palin’s main appeal, as in this tweet, where she asks why the U.S. government can’t stop Wikileaks’ “treasonous acts” the way she “recently won in court to stop my book “America by Heart” from being leaked[.]”
“Right!”
Why can’t the U.S. government be as security-conscious as Palin and her publisher, who’s book … um, was also leaked and therefore exposed to millions of people in an unauthorized manner? Hunh? Hunh? What’s up with that?
Why doesn’t the U.S. government just, like, sue Assange or something, so all those diplomatic communications can be un-leaked, and then everyone could just un-read the documents?
She’s on a roll here, people. From her Facebook page, on the same subject (via Justin Elliott at Salon):
[T]he latest round of publications of leaked classified U.S. documents through the shady organization called Wikileaks raises serious questions about the Obama administration’s incompetent handling of this whole fiasco.
First and foremost, what steps were taken to stop Wikileaks director Julian Assange from distributing this highly sensitive classified material especially after he had already published material not once but twice in the previous months? Assange is not a “journalist,” any more than the “editor” of al Qaeda’s new English-language magazine Inspire is a “journalist.” He is an anti-American operative with blood on his hands. His past posting of classified documents revealed the identity of more than 100 Afghan sources to the Taliban. Why was he not pursued with the same urgency we pursue al Qaeda and Taliban leaders?
First, one of Steve M.’s readers, in comments:
Do you suppose that Republicans actually think that citizens from other countries are required to demonstrate loyalty to the US or they will be tried for treason?
Then, Justin:
It’s first worth noting that there is no evidence that Assange has “blood on his hands.” In a review of a previous round of leaks on Afghanistan, the Pentagon found no evidence that anyone had been endangered.
But more important: Palin is advocating that Assange be pursued like an al-Qaida operative. In the current context, it’s not unreasonable to interpret that to mean he should be assassinated.
And Palin’s problem with that would be?
Suspected Oregon Terror Act Yet Another Plot Foiled Because Of Intelligence Provided By A Muslim
November 29, 2010 · Posted in The Capitol · CommentOver the weekend, Somali-American 19 year-old Mohamed Osman Mohamud was arrested following an FBI sting operation discovering that Mohamud, apparently holding grievances about U.S. foreign policy, allegedly plotted to detonate a car bomb during a Christmas Tree-lighting ceremony.
Following his arrest, the mosque he attended — the Salman Alfarisi Islamic Center — released a statement saying it was “outraged” by news of the alleged plot and condemned the Mohamud’s plans. “Salman Alfarisi Islamic Center and the entire Muslim Community of Corvallis are outraged by the news of a teenage individual being involved in a plot to bomb the tree lighting event in Portland, Oregon,” the statement said. “Such conduct does not in any way represent Islam or Muslims, rather it goes against it.”
Nevertheless, the day after the mosque released the statement unequivocally condemning terrorism, it fell victim to terrorism itself. On Sunday, an apparent arsonist set fire to the mosque, burning 80 percent of the Islamic center’s office before it was put out.
What is perhaps most ironic about an arsonist apparently attacking the area’s Muslim community in response to the alleged plot is that the FBI only began tracking Mohamud thanks to a tip from his Muslim father. A member of the Somali-American community in the area informs Time magazine that Mohamud’s father, Osman Barre, had “informed Homeland Security and the FBI that something was going on with his son” before the two agencies began tracking him and eventually arrested him:
Mohamud’s mother and father and his two sisters have remained silent since his arrest. (The Oregonian identified the parents as Mariam and Osman Barre; they reportedly split up a few years ago.) However, one prominent member of the Somali community in Portland (estimated to number 8,000) says a relative played some role in helping to put the FBI on the young man’s trail — though that relative was almost certainly unaware of the scale it would assume.
“Before this happened, the father informed Homeland Security and the FBI that something was going on with his son,” claims Isgow Mohamed, the executive director of the Northwest Somali Community Organization, who says he knows Mohamud’s family well and had been in touch with them. “This a good family. The father is an engineer at Intel. This is not somebody who is on public assistance. He is a family man, a businessman, a religious man, a soccer player.“
As Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) said at an event earlier this year sponsored by the Center for American Progress Action Fund, “about a third of all foiled al-Qaida-related plots in the U.S. relied on support or information provided by members of the Muslim community.” A recent MPAC report details numerous plots stopped thanks to the help of Muslim Americans, including the recent attempted car bombing of Times Square, which was foiled in part by the help of Senegalese Muslim immigrant Alioune Niass.
They Hate Us Because …
November 28, 2010 · Posted in The Capitol · CommentDaisy Banks interviewed international terror expert Jessica Stern on why terror appeals to some:
War simplifies life. So does terrorism. There is an enemy. The enemy is evil, and we are good. There is a reason for living and all the ordinary confusion of life falls away. The adrenaline becomes addictive. … It’s ironic that the mission of [Al Qaeda] shifts so regularly and is so highly dependent on the audience they are trying to reach that you do question the extent to which bin Laden believes his own rhetoric.
Bin Laden started out with the goal of forcing Soviet troops out of Afghanistan. Next he aimed to force US troops out of Saudi Arabia. Next he claims to be representing the interests of all the world’s oppressed. At one point Zawahiri tried recruiting African-Americans with messages referring to Malcolm X. Now al Qaeda claims to be fighting global warming and is urging followers to help those suffering from the floods in Pakistan.
So you think al Qaeda has gone too far in trying to be all things to all people?
Yes, I do.
The Daily Dish | By Andrew SullivanOslo mall shut down because of anti-Israel protesters
November 28, 2010 · Posted in Uncategorized · CommentFrom Nyheter (Norway,) November 19th:
Oslo City [Mall] was closed for fifteen minutes this afternoon after protesters took action against Israeli products in the mall.
Socialist Youth and the Red Youth organized the demonstration. Over 100 young people blocked a booth inside the mall that sells cosmetic products, including Israel’s Dead Sea products.
The protesters shouted slogans like “Boycott Israel” and “Free Palestine”, they distributed leaflets and hung up banners inside the mall.
Some of the youths could not get into the center. They demonstrated outside the main entrance when the police blocked the entrances.
Police had to close the center to prevent trouble, and one person, according to SU-manager, has been arrested while he was sticking up stickers inside the center.
Eventually, protesters were removed by police and the center was reopened.
[Police described the action as an “illegal demonstration.”]
The banners say “Occupation is not nice – Boycott Israel!” and “Shame on you!”
Notice that the protesters were not saying to boycott the “settlements” but to boycott Israel altogether.
(h/t Isak)
Woman Claims TSA Chose Her For Extra Screening Because of Her Big Breasts
November 24, 2010 · Posted in The Capitol · Comment
You knew this was bound to happen. Eliana Sutherland of Maryland was for lying home from a trip to Walt Disney World when she was picked for extra airport screening. Ms Sutherland claims that she wasn’t picked for the screening not because of a perceived danger but because of her bust line.
According to Ms Sutherland she felt the two male TSA workers were staring at her breasts and chose her for additional screening because of their size.”It was pretty obvious. One of the guys that was staring me up and down was the one who pulled me over,” “Not a comfortable feeling.”
Sutherland says she even bet the woman in front of her that the guards would chose her for the controversial scan.
She didn’t like the feeling, but did it and moved on.[Do you feel like the TSA agents were taking advantage of their position?] “Those guards yes. I don’t want to generalize but yes those guards were,” said Sutherland.
The head of the Transportation Security Administration said the agency will look further into allegations
Whether Eliana Sutherland is correct in her contention that she was picked for the screening because the TSA agents wanted a better look at her breasts or not it doesn’t really matter. Experiences like like this have been reported around the country. While most TSA agents are good decent people these new Airport security measures are unconstitutional, dehumanizing subject to abuse by the few TSA agents who may be bad eggs.
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Dan Savage Appears On CNN To Slam CNN Because CNN Gives Airtime To Hate Groups
November 23, 2010 · Posted in The Capitol · CommentHere’s the first (and very satisfying) fallout from yesterday’s new official hate group designations by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Dan Savage appeared on CNN this afternoon to slam them for giving airtime to anti-gay bigots.
“There are no ‘two sides’ to the issue of LGBT rights. Right now one side is really using dehumanizing rhetoric. The Southern Poverty Law Center labels these groups as hate groups and yet the leaders of these groups, people like Tony Perkins, are welcomed onto networks like CNN to espouse hate directed at gays and lesbians. And similarly hateful people who are targeting Jews or people of color or anyone else would not be welcome to spew their bile on CNN.”
While otherwise sympathetic, the CNN host didn’t respond to Savage’s charges and ended the interview immediately.
NOTE: Again we give thanks to our faithful news clipper Dave Evans, who provided us with this clip within an hour of my request.Subscribe to Joe.My.God.NRA Opposes Obama’s ATF Nominee Because They Googled Him (VIDEO)
November 23, 2010 · Posted in The Capitol · Comment
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President Barack Obama’s nominee to take over the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) faces a pretty big hurdle to securing his confirmation by the Senate: opposition from the National Riffle Association.
It didn’t take long for the NRA to come out against Andrew Traver once his nomination was announced by the White House last Monday night. Less than two business days later, the NRA was out with a release not only opposing Traver’s nomination, but calling for Obama to withdraw the nomination altogether. ATF, the agency charged with enforcing the nation’s gun laws, has been without a permanent director since 2006.
“They might as well put an [arsonist] in charge of the fire department,” NRA’s top lobbyist Chris Cox told two radio hosts on an NRA-sponsored program in a clip posted on the NRA website.
“The nomination of Andrew Traver is more proof that Barack Obama has complete disregard for the Second Amendment and the rights of firearms owners,” Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms Chairman Alan Gottlieb said in a statement.
NRA’s opposition to Traver is driven by an interview he gave to a local television station and his attendance at a meeting called by the International Association for the Chiefs of Police (IACP).
The NRA contends that the “Gun Violence Reduction Project,” which was run through a partnership with the Joyce Foundation and IACP, shows that Traver is against the 2nd amendment. “Both IACP and the Joyce Foundation are names synonymous with promoting a variety of gun control schemes at the federal and state levels,” they said in a statement.
“That’s just guilt by association to the first degree,” Paul Helmke of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence told TPM. “If you sit down in a room with the chiefs of police that the Joyce Foundation put on, you’re automatically suspect. They didn’t even go to the content of what was in any of these recommendations.”
As for the television interview, “Who knows what was left on the cutting room floor,” Helmke said.
According to his interview with the NRA-sponsored radio program, Cox’s opposition to Traver is based on Internet searches from when Traver’s name was first floated over the summer.
“I sat at my computer when this guy’s name was first brought up and Googled him,” Cox said, encouraging listeners to do so themselves.
Cox argued that Obama has surrounded himself with people like Attorney General Eric Holder and Vice President Joe Biden who have a “hatred and disrespect for our most basic fundamental rights.”
“We’re going to do everything we can to make sure he’s not confirmed,” Cox said.
As TPM has reported, gun control advocates are themselves upset over what they say is lack of action from the administration on their key issues. They contend the administration is loathe to act or speak about any gun control issues because of how politically sensitive gun rights are .
The last confirmed director was Carl Truscott, who was very concerned with the aesthetics of ATF’s headquarters and wanted to purchase a $ 65,000 table for the director’s suite. President George W. Bush’s nominee, Michael Sullivan, faced oppositions from the gun lobby and was in an acting position until his resignation on Jan. 1, 2009.
Obama had Kenneth Melson take over the agency as acting director early on in his term, but he was demoted to deputy director due to a law limiting how long acting chiefs can head up federal agencies.
Meanwhile, legislation has been proposed that critics contend would weaken the ATF even further. That’s despite the fact that a recent Justice Department Inspector General report concluded that weak U.S. gun laws were making it more difficult for the agency to stop gun trafficking on the Mexican border.
A Justice Department spokeswoman referred requests for comment to the White House. Messages left with the White House and Traver’s office in Chicago were not immediately returned. The NRA had no immediate comment beyond their statement.
Watch the interview with Chris Cox below:
