Friday, December 30, 2011

Michele Bachmann's Damage Control

Actually, I believe her. Her top staffer went for the payout, but with the way things are shaken out for her in Iowa, people had a lot of incentive to jump ship. And politicos lie about stuff, so what can you do?

At Washington Post, "Michele Bachmann's Campaign Flameout":

DES MOINES — The rise and fall of Rep. Michele Bachmann (Minn.) may well stand as an allegory of the most turbulent GOP presidential primary in memory, one whose latest turn has been bitter and bizarre.

With just days to go before the Iowa caucuses, where a poor finish would almost certainly mean the end of Bachmann’s presidential hopes, the candidate who only months ago led the field here is being all but counted out.

A CNN/Time poll released Wednesday showed her running last among the six serious contenders in Iowa, garnering support from only 9 percent of likely caucusgoers surveyed.

Her story line went from poignant to poisonous on Wednesday night. Bachmann’s own Iowa chairman, state Sen. Kent Sorenson — who just hours earlier had appeared with her at a campaign event — suddenly turned up onstage at a rally for Rep. Ron Paul (Tex.) and announced that he was ditching her.

She fired back with an accusation that Sorenson “personally told me he was offered a large sum of money to go to work for the Paul campaign.”

Then came another twist: Wes Enos, Bachmann’s political director, contradicted his candidate, saying in a statement that Sorenson’s switch “was in no way financially motivated.”

Sorenson issued a statement saying that he “was never offered money from the Ron Paul campaign or anyone associated with them and certainly would never accept any.”

That Bachmann’s once-promising endeavor should end up in such a surreal place speaks to the larger forces that have defined the primary contest.
More at that top link.

Also at Des Moines Register, "Bachmann reasserts that defector was paid."

And more at Memeorandum.

Girl Scouts Get Lesson in Media Bias

At Fox News:


And at Wizbang, "The co-opting of the Girl Scouts can now be considered complete."

Los Angeles Times Covers Organizing for America's 'Baloney' Map to Reelection

And they even quote campaign manager Jim Messina with the "bullsh*t" billion dollars line.

See: "Team Obama lays out electoral map strategy."

And click through for the video: "Obama for America Official Says 'Billion Dollar Campaign' is Baloney."

Mark Steyn Talks to Ambassador John Bolton on Hannity's Show

Via Blazing Cat Fur:

Occupy Wherever You Are! NYPD Arrests 50 Protesters Attempting to Seize Church Lot for New Encampment

The video's at the Occupy Wall Street page: "Take Back the Commons!"


And see The Blaze, "'Occupy Clergy' Lead Invasion of Church-Owned Land to Kick Off Re-Occupation."

Notice at both the video and at The Blaze, Occupy protesters are outfitted with Arafat-style keffiyehs, freakin' terrorist asshats.

It's all about "occupying wherever you are," at home and internationally. See: "Occupy Wall Street Embodies the Soul-Crushing Stagnation of the Status Quo." And: "Racist Walter James Casper III Doubles-Down on Endorsement of Revolutionary Anti-Semitic Occupy Wall Street."

Murderous bastards.

Third World Socialists Cheer Occupy Wall Street

There's more of that global communist solidarity we've been talkin' about.

At Weasel Zippers, "Occupy Wall Street Gets Big “Up Twinkles” From Third World Socialist Revolutionaries…"

Photobucket

PREVIOUSLY: "Occupy Wall Street Embodies the Soul-Crushing Stagnation of the Status Quo," and "Racist Walter James Casper III Doubles-Down on Endorsement of Revolutionary Anti-Semitic Occupy Wall Street."


PHOTO CREDIT: Looking at the Left, "Zuccotti Utopia: Portraits of The New Revolutionaries."

Oops! Las Vegas Occupy Hoists Palestinian Flag — Racist Walter James Casper III Hardest Hit!

Well, another inconvenient fact for the deranged Occupy backer.

At Marathon Pundit, "Occupy Las Vegas Obamaville and Its Palestinian Flag."

Photobucket
What's this? The Gaza Strip?

No, it's the west entrance of Occupy Las Vegas, what its occupiers like to call Area 99. Where they are camped is an old parking that was adjacent to a building that probably was torn down to make way for something that would be bigger and better--prior to the start of the Great Recession--which has hit Vegas hard. But the Palestinian cause has nothing to do with our economic struggles.

Here's an ugly fact: There is a persistent strain of anti-Semitism within the Occupy Wall Street movement...
And notice the language there: An "ugly fact." Not an "ugly opinion." Or an "ugly fringe kook." Nope. The persistent, deep-seated strain of the Occupy Wall Street movement is hatred of Israel. It's everywhere. (Or, "occupy wherever you are," like the Jewish state.)

And following the links take us to Atlas Shrugs, "More Anti-Semitism from Obama-Endorsed #OccupyChicago."

Right.

And that's "More Anti-Semitism from Walter James Casper III-Endorsed #Occupy-Chicago." See: "Racist Walter James Casper III Doubles-Down on Endorsement of Revolutionary Anti-Semitic Occupy Wall Street."

When you hoist the Palestinian flag it's an incitement to terrorism against Israelis. That's what that these murderous people are all about.

RELATED: "Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh Calls for Expulsion of Israel from 'Blessed Land of Palestine'."

Previously: "Occupy Wall Street Embodies the Soul-Crushing Stagnation of the Status Quo"; "Occupy Wall Street and the Jews"; "Christmas Smear: MSNBC Hack Ed Schultz Slurs Tea Partiers as 'Sewer Rats' — Assploding Hypocrite W. James Casper HardestHit!"; and "Manifesto: Occupy for the Revolution."

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Heightened Attention to Santorum in Iowa

At Telegraph UK, "Santorum surges as candidates campaign in Iowa."

And from Nate Silver, at New York Times, "The Santorum Surge In Iowa and Beyond" (via Memeorandum).


Silver's got a big old model based on a "momentum bonus" and good timing, but others have been saying that Santorum's ill prepared to compete beyond Iowa, lacking organization in particular.

Robert Stacy McCain sure likes him though. See, "IOWA NOTEBOOK: Occupy Caucuses?"

See more at The Hill, "Top Santorum supporter says he can win Iowa caucus."

Tides Foundation Bankrolling Anti-Semitic Occupy Wall Street

A couple of earlier reports, from Reuters, "Who's behind the Wall Street Protests?," and Aaron Klein, "Look who’s behind Occupy Jew-hating. Latest astonishing claim: Protests represent Torah."


And here's the warning from the ADL, which is not the most aggressive Israel advocacy group when it comes to calling out the radical left: "Anti-Israel Groups Attempt to Co-Opt Occupy Wall Street Message." 

PREVIOUSLY: "Documenting Anti-Semitism at Adbusters, Leading Backer of 'Occupy Wall Street'."

More: "Occupy Wall Street Embodies the Soul-Crushing Stagnation of the Status Quo," and "Racist Walter James Casper III Doubles-Down on Endorsement of Revolutionary Anti-Semitic Occupy Wall Street."

See also: "Occupy Wall Street and the Jews"; "Christmas Smear: MSNBC Hack Ed Schultz Slurs Tea Partiers as 'Sewer Rats' — Assploding Hypocrite W. James Casper HardestHit!"; and "Manifesto: Occupy for the Revolution."

Nearly 60 Percent of 'Liberal Democrats' Have 'Positive' View of Socialism

That's one of the more interesting findings at the new Pew Report, "Little Change in Public's Response to 'Capitalism,' 'Socialism'."

Occupy New Orleans

The "liberal Democrats" --- these are the progressive radicals at the base of the Democrat-Socialist Party --- are almost twice as likely as all respondents to have a "positive" view of socialism. A strong majority of 59 percent of liberal Democrats said they held a positive view of socialism, whereas 31 percent at the entire poll held a positive view of the Marxist ideological program. Also interesting is the finding that 76 percent of liberal Democrats prefer the term "progressive" to "liberal" (68 percent positive). "Progressive" also generates a more positive reaction from Independents and Republicans, which explains why radical leftists have adopted the "progressive" moniker. After decades of failed "liberal" programs it's no wonder that radicals would try to dress up their morally bankrupt ideology with more popular terminology.

In any case, Gateway Pundit sums up the public's rejection of the murderous ideology: "Despite Obama-Endorsed #OWS Protests 60% of Americans Still Reject Socialism."

PREVIOUSLY: "Racist Walter James Casper III Doubles-Down on Endorsement of Revolutionary Anti-Semitic Occupy Wall Street," and "Occupy Wall Street Embodies the Soul-Crushing Stagnation of the Status Quo."

Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh Calls for Expulsion of Israel from 'Blessed Land of Palestine'

Via Theo Spark:


The Hamas Prime Minister exhorted:
"We say today, explicitly, so it cannot be explained otherwise, that the armed resistance and the armed struggle are the path and the strategic choice for liberating the Palestinian land, from the [Mediterranean] sea to the [Jordan] river, and for the expulsion of the invaders and usurpers [Israel] from the blessed land of Palestine. The Hamas movement will lead Intifada after Intifada until we liberate Palestine - all of Palestine, Allah willing. Allah Akbar and praise Allah.
Also, at Jerusalem Post, "'Arab world must stop Israel's Judaization of J'lem'."

Well, the genocide's gotta start somewhere, I guess.

Hamas-Tied Unindicted Co-Conspirator CAIR Launches TOS Attack on Wordpress-Hosted Bare Naked Islam

TOS is terms of service.

It turns out the Hamas-linked Council on American Islamic Relations launched a successful campaign to have Wordpress censor Bare Naked Islam as a "hate site." See Blazing Cat Fur, "BarenakedIslam will rise again..."


Here's the CAIR press release: "Anti-Muslim Hate Site Removed After CAIR's Intervention."

The group alleges that Bare Naked Islam threatened Muslims, and CAIR apparently moved aggressively against the blog for its leading role in attacking TLC's program "All American Muslim."

I didn't blog about that controversy because it wasn't a controversy. Yeah, the press is stupidly mainstreaming the "religion of peace," but if folks opposed the program they didn't have to watch it. CAIR, on the other hand, campaigns to shut down dissenting voices critical of Islam. You don't have a marketplace of ideas if powerful grievance-industry lobbying groups can shut you down with persistent complaints. That's the progressive modus operandi, and it's reprehensible and anti-American --- which is why neo-commies and Jew-bashers are down with it.

UPDATE: This story's going viral.

See Astute Bloggers, "TIME TO BOYCOTT SHARIA COMPLIANT WORDPRESS," and Zilla of the Resistance, "Free Speech Hating Peas in an Anti-Semitic Pod."

And also at Gateway Pundit, "WordPress Takes Down “Bare Naked Islam” Blog After Threats From CAIR," and Ironic Surrealism, "WordPress.com Dhimmis Bow to Their Islamic Masters Take Down ‘Bare Naked Islam’ Blog."

Pakistani Death Squads Hunt Down Suspected Drone Informants in North Waziristan

At Los Angeles Times, "Pakistani death squads go after informants to U.S. drone program."

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The reprisals are dreadful. But the news is working to fuel the radical left's antiwar agitation on Afghanistan, and the press reporting hasn't been particularly objective on these topics. See Telegraph UK, "Pakistani girl brought to US for treatment 'disfigured by her own nation's military'." And at Long War Journal, "CNN makes questionable claim that drone strike wounded Pakistani child."

PHOTO CREDIT: Wikimedia Commons.

Kelly Clarkson Gets Slammed for Ron Paul Endorsement

I sent her a tweet last night, one of just untold numbers, apparently.


Clarkson's backtracking a bit now.

See: "I am really sorry if I have offended anyone." (Via Memorandum.)

And see Wasington Examiner, "Kelly Clarkson under fire for Ron Paul support," and The Hill, "Kelly Clarkson defends support for Paul."

House Leader Nancy Pelosi Would Like to Retire

She probably doesn't like being in the minority and doesn't think the Dems will win back control of the chamber in November.

I saw Breitbart tweeting hints about this yesterday.

At Big Government, "EXCLUSIVE: Nancy Pelosi’s Daughter: ‘My Mom Wants to Leave Congress’." (Via Memeorandum.)

Obama for America Official Says 'Billion Dollar Campaign' is Baloney

There's video at the link.

At Weasel Zippers, "Official Obama Campaign Video: Claims We’re Running Billion Dollar Campaign Are “Bullshit”…"

The Houses of the GOP Hopefuls

That's at New York Times.

And Reliapundit's not pleased: "Unreal: NYSlimes publishes photos of the homes of the GOP candidates."

Yeah, in no time the Occupy freaks'll be harassing the candidates in their own front yards. Pathetic losers.

Ron Paul Campaign Tells Dirtbag Activists to Shower and Shave Before Stumping for the Candidate

I don't ever recall a campaign news article like this one. But then again, this is no ordinary GOP campaign.

At New York Times, "Marching Orders for Paul’s Volunteers: Do Shave, Don’t Tweet" (at Memeorandum):

DES MOINES — Ron Paul’s college-aged volunteer army — a core of the powerful ground organization that is the envy of rivals — is descending on Iowa from around the nation to coax people to the state’s Republican caucuses as he seeks to pull off what only months ago seemed like an unthinkable victory here on Tuesday.

Four years after young people flocked to the state to help propel the campaign of Barack Obama, this radically different movement is embracing a 76-year-old veteran Texas congressman who is drawing supporters for his libertarian and antiwar views.

And they say they are under strict orders: To look, dress, shave, sound and behave in a way that will not jeopardize Mr. Paul’s chances. Even before flying here on their own nickel, some students said they had been instructed to cover up tattoos and told that their faces should be fresh-shaved or beards neatly trimmed, wearing only nice clothes that one described as “business casual.”

“No tats,” another volunteer, Rocco Lucente, said as he ticked off the rules after arriving at the airport Tuesday night. No liquor, no drugs and, he said, no “fraternizing in the dorms, nothing like that.”

He said the standard expected of volunteers was: “What would Ron Paul do?”

The hundreds of volunteers are considered Mr. Paul’s most potent weapon beyond his vast and acerbic advertising campaign in Iowa, where the caucus results often turn on the ability of campaigns to turn out supporters. After the volunteers arrived at the airport here, they were whisked to a Y.M.C.A. camp the campaign rented in Boone, an hour outside Des Moines, where some said they expected to be drilled on get-out-the-vote techniques and how to use scripts to talk to prospective caucusgoers.

Much of their efforts have been cloaked in secrecy: They said that once they arrive at the camp they are under orders not to speak to journalists or make postings on social media sites about their activities in Iowa, a provocative limitation for a movement lubricated by the effective use of the Internet. A half-dozen Paul aides declined to comment or allow a visit to volunteers. “We’re keeping our cards close to our vests,” said Jesse Benton, the national campaign chairman.
Jeez, it's like boot camp.

VIDEO HAT TIP: AoSHQ.

Ben Breedlove Died on Christmas Day: Made Videos on Life Coping With Life-Threatening Heart Condition

God had come to him on occasion.

At Los Angeles Times, "Texas teen dies on Christmas, leaves online message."


Ben had hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a condition in which the heart has different levels of thickness and is unable to pump blood evenly. More at ABC News, "Texas Teen Ben Breedlove Posted Powerful Videos Before Christmas Death."

Occupy Wall Street Embodies the Soul-Crushing Stagnation of the Status Quo

In a roundabout way, James Delingpole elaborates on the points I made yesterday in my epic smackdown of racist Walter James Casper III, who has doubled-down --- and by now tripled-down --- on his backing of the anti-Semitic Occupy movement.

See Delingpole's piece at Telegraph UK, "Occupy are not the solution: they embody the problem."

Check the link for the introduction to the post. Interestingly, Delingpole posts the same video I posted previously, comparing the tea party to the dregs of Occupy Wall Street. And Delingpole points out that he's angry about the same kind of crony capitalism and corrupt corporate welfare-state economic meltdowns that Occupy Wall Street protests. It's just that Occupy's solutions are, frankly, more of the status quo, and incalculably worse in key respects. He writes:
Here's the weird thing ... As I've argued before, the greatest division in the Western world today lies not between rich and poor, working class and upper class, or Left and Right, but between on the one hand the rapacious, unaccountable Bankster/Corporatist/Political establishment and on the other everybody else. Why then, aren't I standing with the Occupy St Paul's crowd right now, making this point more vociferously?

Simple. Because though my analysis of the problem may be quite similar to the Occupy crowd's, my solution couldn't be more different. This is why – as the above video explains – Tea Party types like me are unlikely ever to find common cause with Occupy. We're classical liberals who believe in low taxes, limited government, property rights and equality of opportunity, whereas they are progressives who believe in greater government control and wealth redistribution in order to create equality of outcome.

It's a shame, really it is, because in these terrifying economic times it really would be nice to harness some of that commitment, zeal and self-righteous rage you find among the Occupy crowd and channel it towards a useful purpose. Problem is, we're dealing here with the victims of two or three generations' worth of ingrained cultural Marxism. Thanks to the Gramsciite capture of the media and the seats of academe, a lot of these kids simply lack the knowledge base or intellectual wherewithal to appreciate that instead of championing freedom what they're actually defending is economic stagnation, higher unemployment, more stifling regulation, more entrenched social division and a moribund status quo in which an ever-growing political elite leeches off the backs of us wage-slave Untermenschen.

Oh, and there's one more thing I dislike about the Occupy crowd (and their ideological soulmates): there's a really vicious nastiness there which you simply don't find among the classical liberals of, say, the Tea Party or Ukip. Check out this video of Occupy DC in action and you'll see what I mean.
Check the link for the whole thing.

See also, Marathon Pudit, "Occupy Occtrocities: Death Toll at 9 Edition."

Freakin' commie douchebags.

Voters Looking for Best Candidate to Beat Obama

According to the Los Angeles Times, "Republican Campaign Hinges Less on Issues":

Reporting from Des Moines— Mitt Romney has a 59-point economic plan. Newt Gingrich promises "very big solutions." But to a large and increasing extent, issues aren't driving the fight for the Republican presidential nomination.

With Iowans about to cast the first votes of 2012, issues have declined in importance as a factor in the campaign, according to a recent national opinion survey of Republicans. Instead, the GOP contest reflects an intensifying search by voters for the candidate they believe has the strongest chance of unseating President Obama next November.

That's a departure from some past elections, when policy positions split the party.

"The striking thing about the Republican race is that there's an incredible amount of unanimity," said Yuval Levin, a domestic policy aide in the George W. Bush White House.

Republicans currently regard Romney and Gingrich as the candidates best able to defeat Obama, according to the latest CNN/Opinion Research survey. Yet each man is picked by fewer than 1 in 4 GOP voters as the candidate that they are most likely to agree with on the issues they care about most.

Even more notably, the salience of issues as a way of sorting through the crowded GOP field has declined sharply over the course of the pre-primary campaign.

In June, Republicans said a candidate's stance on issues was just as important as the leadership skills and vision a candidate would have as president, according to CNN/Opinion Research. By mid-December, a candidate's stand on issues mattered to barely 1 in 3 voters. In the same poll, twice as many Republicans ranked leadership skills as more important.

That shift reflects, at least in part, the influence of the 13 televised debates, in which the Republican contenders have largely failed to draw meaningful differences over issues or highlight new ideas, even when they have them. Instead of revolving around a galvanizing issue, the GOP race has been shaped by the overall tone of the debates and the perceived authenticity of the candidates as foes to Obama.
RTWT.

Economic issues matter. Social issues, not so much.

Kelly Brook Debuts Blonde Hairdo at Capri Film Festival in Italy

Well, she's my favorite for 2012.

At London's Daily Mail, "Blonde bombshell! Kelly Brook lightens up her locks."

'100 Million Hate Israel' on Facebook

Someone sent me this story by email, and it's so disgusting I was pretty much ignoring it, but Blazing Cat Fur blogged it, so here you go: "A particularly vile Facebook Page - 100.000.000 person hate Israel."

The page is still up, although you can report it to Facebook as violating terms of service as a hate site.

Alessandra Ambrósio is Expecting

Well, bringing you the important news!

At Hollywood Reporter, "Alessandra Ambrosio's Victoria's Secret Baby Bump." And People Magazine, "Alessandra Ambrósio Expecting Second Child."

Alessandra Ambrósio

BONUS: Lots of pics at London's Daily Mail, "Another bundle on the way: Victoria's Secret supermodel Alessandra Ambrosio expecting second child with fiance."


PHOTO CREDIT: Wikimedia Commons.

Ron Paul is an Ultra Left-Wing Radical

Well, that's what I'm talkin' about!

Via Gateway Pundit:


PREVIOUSLY: "Ron Paul: 'A Radical Who Would Destroy Traditional Marriage in America'."

National Geographic's January 2012 Issue: 'Twins'

I found this at London's Daily Mail,  "Unraveling the mystery of twins: Stunning photographs capture enigmatic beauty of identical siblings... as they try to explain their strange connection."

And it's ungated at National Geographic, "Twins":
 Every summer, on the first weekend in August, thousands of twins converge on Twinsburg, Ohio, a small town southeast of Cleveland named by identical twin brothers nearly two centuries ago.

They come, two by two, for the Twins Days Festival, a three-day marathon of picnics, talent shows, and look-alike contests that has grown into one of the world's largest gatherings of twins.

Dave and Don Wolf of Fenton, Michigan, have been coming to the festival for years. Like most twins who attend, they enjoy spending time with each other. In fact, during the past 18 years, the 53-year-old truckers, whose identical beards reach down to their chests, have driven more than three million miles together, hauling everything from diapers to canned soup from places like Seattle, Washington, to Camden, New Jersey. While one sits at the wheel of their diesel Freightliner, the other snoozes in the bunk behind him. They listen to the same country gospel stations on satellite radio, share the same Tea Party gripes about big government, and munch on the same road diet of pepperoni, apples, and mild cheddar cheese. On their days off they go hunting or fishing together. It's a way of life that suits them.

"Must be a twins thing," Don says.
That's cool.

Continue reading.

And really cool photos here.

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Michele Bachmann Aide Kent Sorenson Defects to Ron Paul in Iowa Caucuses

At the Des Moines Register, "Breaking: Michele Bachmann campaign co-chairman endorses Ron Paul" (via Memeorandum).

The guy appeared just today at a campaign event for Bachmann in Indianola, his hometown. I guess it's a sign of Bachmann's campaign implosion. Weird that the dude went for Paul, though. If you're going to hop on the bandwagon, at least hop on something good and decent. Ron Paul would be a horrible nominee and even worse president.

UPDATE: Yeah, that late turnabout sounded kind of strange. Allahpundit has one of thos breaking/update posts with the red highlighting, "Drama: Bachmann’s Iowa chairman endorses Ron Paul — three hours after appearing at an event for her; Update: Sorenson “saddened” by how Bachmann’s been treated; Update: Sorenson told us Paul offered him a “large sum,” says Team Bachmann."

Here's the source for the "large sum" claim, on Twitter.

And now here from Alexandra Moe at NBC, on Twitter:
Sorenson DENIES Bachmann statement, calls it "absurd" and that he was not offered money by Paul campaign via @AnthonyNBCNews #iacaucus
Added: More bad news, it looks like, "Bachmann SuperPAC Defects to Romney."

Rick Santorum at 16 Percent in New CNN Iowa Poll

He's in third place.

See: "CNN Poll: Romney on top, Gingrich fading and Santorum rising in Iowa."

And at The Other McCain, "SANTORUM SURGE: Finally, the Polls in Iowa Are Catching Up With … Me."


More at New York Times, "News Is Good for Santorum and Bad for Gingrich in New Polls."

Well, if you're going to surge now's a good time, although the way things are going he could peak before the caucuses.

Ron Paul: 'A Radical Who Would Destroy Traditional Marriage in America'

At New York Times, "Commercial Introduces Gay Marriage as an Issue in the Iowa Caucuses":


Well, he's libertarian, so pro-gay marriage is the natural position. But this is progressivism, frankly, which is why Paul's really more leftist than conservative. It's ridiculous.

Kim Jong Il Funeral Uses 1970s Lincolns

This is interesting.

At USA Today, "Kim Jong Il's death: North Korea uses 1970s Lincolns." And at New York Times, "Americans Are Prominent at the Funeral of Kim Jong-il":

Kim Jong-il hated the United States. But an American carried him to the grave.

The casket of Mr. Kim, the cultish North Korean leader, sat atop the roof of a polished masterpiece of American automotive grandeur: a mid-1970s armored black Lincoln Continental, which wended through the snowy streets of Pyongyang on Wednesday in a rigorously choreographed funeral. Mr. Kim’s gigantic, smiling portrait was balanced atop a second Lincoln limousine. A third, slightly smaller Lincoln brought up the rear, its roof bearing an immense wreath. The aging but impeccably maintained cars gave the footage on North Korean state television the quality of a cold war Hollywood film.

“The Lincoln Continental in the old Asia was considered to be a solid, robust, powerful car,” said Kongdan Oh, a senior researcher at the Institute for Defense Analyses who has written on daily life in North Korea, where her parents were born. “They are a time capsule. North Koreans are living still the 1970s life.”

She said the cars were probably chosen because they were previously used in the funeral of Kim Il-sung, who was Kim Jong-il’s father and the founding president of North Korea and who died in 1994. “Whatever they did in the past, they are very comfortable repeating that, especially this Kim family dynasty,” she said of the North Korean leadership. “They probably didn’t even think twice about using this car. For them, it’s a very natural choice.”
Read it all at that top link.

Romney Makes Major Push in Iowa

The New York Times reports that the fluidity in Iowa lured Mitt Romney "back for a full-throated effort to win the state, including a last-minute decision to spend New Year’s Eve here."

And at Los Angeles Times, "Romney looks poised for Iowa victory, maybe even if he loses" (via Memeorandum):

 After a campaign effort that has defied convention and angered top Iowa Republicans, Mitt Romney is well-positioned to emerge as a big winner in Tuesday's presidential caucuses.

The tightest GOP caucus contest in decades features Romney, Ron Paul and a fading Newt Gingrich in a virtual tie for the lead, making the final days of politicking unusually consequential. And another candidate, Rick Perry or Rick Santorum, could get hot at the end and knock one of the favorites out of the top three.

But it seems increasingly likely that Romney, condemned only last month by Iowa's Republican governor for ignoring the state, has managed to finesse the tricky voter test that he failed four years ago. He ran second then to upstart Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor and ex-evangelical minister, despite investing huge amounts of time and money.

Just before flying to Iowa on Tuesday for a four-day campaign swing, Romney said that expectations were "very different this time." He then tried to lower them, noting that a couple of weeks ago he "was a distant third in Iowa, and you just don't know what's going to happen in this process."
The Times delivers a conspicuous non-mention of Michele Bachmann there, but what can you do?

And a win for Ron Paul is a win for Romney, or so it goes.

Politico has more, "Mitt Romney in striking distance of Iowa win":
Don’t look now, but Mitt Romney suddenly seems like the Iowa front-runner.

The former Massachusetts governor has carefully tempered expectations in Iowa all year, visiting only a handful of times and saving the bulk of his television spending for the final weeks of the race. But as a crowd of conservative opponents keep the anti-Romney vote divided, his odds of a victory in the state that humbled him four years ago have never been better.

Even as he tried to keep talk about his prospects in check Tuesday, a slew of public and private polling and anecdotal evidence on the ground suggests that Romney is within striking distance of a first-place finish in Iowa — especially as Ron Paul’s momentum spurt appears to have run into the reality of front-runners’ scrutiny.

Iran Threatens to Close Strait of Hormuz Over Tension on Oil Exports

This is the kind of saber rattling that precedes the outbreak of war.

At New York Times, "Noise Level Rises Over Iran Threat to Close Strait of Hormuz."

Islamic Christmas Day Honor Killing in Texas: Media Whitewashing Muslim Brutality?

At Jihad Watch, "Islamic honor killing in Texas: "Santa" who murdered family on Christmas morning was Muslim who didn't like his daughter dating a non-Muslim."

And London's Daily Mail, "Shot dead as they opened their Christmas presents: First pictures of family of SEVEN gunned down by father dressed in Santa suit."


More from Gary Fouse, "was this a so-called honor killing?"

And at Pamela's, "FORCE THE MEDIA TO TELL THE TRUTH."

Tim Cavanaugh on How Unions Co-opting Occupy Wall Street

Freakin' union asshats.

Via Reason.tv:


PREVIOUSLY: "Racist Walter James Casper III Doubles-Down on Endorsement of Revolutionary Anti-Semitic Occupy Wall Street."

The 25 Richest Celebrities Supporting Occupy Wall Street

Man, this is like assploding hypocrisy week.

At NewsBusters, "99 Percent? Top 25 Occupy Wall Street Backers Worth Over $4 Billion."

Danish People's Party: 'I Am Denmark'

Via Theo Spark:


See also, "The Party Program of the Danish People's Party."

John Hawkins: 'The 50 Best Political Quotes for 2011 (Third Annual)'

Lots of great quotes, at Right Wing News.

Here's one of my favorites, from Althouse, at #47:
Why does the left hate free speech? Because they don’t know how to talk about the substantive merits when they are challenged. Having submerged themselves in disciplining each other by denouncing any heretics in their midst, they find themselves overwhelmed and outnumbered in America, where there is vibrant debate about all sorts of things they don’t know how to begin to talk about. They resort to stomping their feet and shouting “shut up”… when they aren’t prissily imploring everyone to be “civil.” — Ann Althouse.

Are You Reading Theo Spark?

Amazing stuff he's blogging over there.

And more at the link.

Racist Walter James Casper III Doubles-Down on Endorsement of Revolutionary Anti-Semitic Occupy Wall Street

You know, that's the thing about progressives: When they encounter some embarrassing, incriminating facts, they lash out in anger and denial, and try to twist reality to conform to their demented views --- views marinated and metastasized under their sick revolutionary progressive ideology.

Racist Repsac3 has a big butthurt post whining about how he's not really a racist anti-Semitic Jew-basher, despite endorsing a movement that was founded on property expropriation, revolution, and anti-Jewish and anti-Israel eliminationism.

In fact, racist Walter James Casper spouts lies to cover up for his endorsement of the hate:
The movement is about income inequality, joblessness, and ways to make the system (financial, and electoral) more fair. Money is not speech. Corporations are not people. Equitable taxation, where everyone above poverty wages pays their fair share on all they earn. The people should have more political power and access than those who can pay for it. Politicians and their votes shouldn't be for sale.
God, that's so bad I don't even know where to start.

But first, to reiterate, it's a lie. Walter James Casper III is lying again, attempting to blow a smokescreen over his extreme radical agenda, his live and let live, if it feels good do it, anti-capitalist, anti-American, anti-Israel revolutionary program. I've documented the facts here many times, and racist anti-Semite Walter James Casper III deliberately avoids the truth because he cannot answer for the hate. Progressive hate. Walter James Casper III is the epitome of the exterminationist, big-lie neo-commie hate-filled progressive.

But let's review: Recall that the origins of Occupy predate the Zuccotti Park mobilization by at least a couple of years, and I've covered much of that here at the blog. See my report from last month, "On the Origins of the Occupy Movement." The initial Occupy mobilizations were explicitly revolutionary, advocating militant collective action. They were not about this stupid "money is not speech" bullshit. Occupy is working to destroy capital altogether. The militants were about occupying the capitalist occupiers and expropriating the capitalist expropriators. Idiot racist Repsac3 stupidly parrots the Rachel Maddow talking points. It's f-king embarrassing. Sheesh.

Now, setting aside the original occupations, let's continue with New York's Occupy Wall Street. Recall that the impetus for the New York action is found in the agitation of Adbusters, the glossy Canadian anti-capitalist magazine. The Tablet published an exposé on Adbusters early this month, a devastating indictment of rampant Jew hatred and eliminationism that the institutional Democrat left and MFM have systematically ignored: "Busted: The Canadian magazine Adbusters sparked the Occupy Wall Street movement. It also has a weakness for Israel-bashing conspiracy theories." And don't forget that Adbusters continues to be the leading media organizer for the movement. It's the authentic source and undeniable inspiration for the left's exterminationist ululations. This is who racist Walter James Casper III endorsed when he put out the call to "occupy wherever you are." Zuccotti Park spread Occupy to the masses. Anti-Semitic Adbusters sparked it. To say otherwise is to spew malicious lies and denials of what you're about. It's f-king pathetic.

Jew-hating Walter James Casper weaselly claims that he's never said anything against the Jews. And that's irrelevant. He confirmed that he endorsed the movement but denies the central role of anti-Semitism to the group. As usual, racist Walter James Casper aggressively ignores the facts that prove his demonic hatred. As Jonathan Neumann argued at "Occupy Wall Street and the Jews":
To highlight such talk [of Occupy's anti-Semitism] is to invite one predictable retort: One cannot hold an entire movement responsible for the excesses of outliers. But, despite the assertions of its advocates, Occupy Wall Street was not in fact a movement. Its ranks never numbered more than a modest few hundred people in Manhattan—which made its anti-Semitic cohort statistically significant. Its lack of structure, moreover, and near inability to repudiate sentiments by its participants meant that even a fringe was no less part of the whole.
In other words, advocates and endorsers of Occupy are lying when they claim, as does racist Walter James Casper III:
...all he's doing is linking to the few anti-semitic (or illegal, or immoral) incidents that occurred at or near occupy sites -- the perpetrators of which for the most part were just strangers on the street, not long-time liberal activists with any connection to occupy or any other movement -- and pretending that these few people and/or incidents represent the thinking of every single person who attended or in any way supports any portion of the occupy movement.
This is the kind of deranged progressive denialism that Dr. Pat Santy has documented thoroughly. It's literally an illness, a pathological infliction, rooted in hate-based ideology which blinds progressives to the truth: They literally can't deal with reality, so they invent a new one.

Racist Repsac3 lumps in a number of objections in that denial quoted above. Jonathan Neumanns' article documents widespread anti-Jewish hatred at Occupy not from people who "for the most part were just strangers," but from central activists and organizers from New York to Los Angeles and from Oakland back to Boston and then some. This kind of thing "wasn't confined to New York," Neumann writes.

So perhaps what racist Repsac3, in his derangement, really means to claim is that these "outliers" were just some random criminals, rapists, and murderes who had nothing to do with the movement. Nope. Wrong again. Walter James Casper is a despicable liar. So far at least 9 people have died at Occupy encampments, and in Oakland and Eugene it was key Occupy activists suspected of committing murder. There have been over 5,000 arrests at Occupy protests --- indeed, as of yesterday there were a recorded total of 5,681 arrests, and movement activists take pride in the numbers! In Zuccotti Park it got so bad that women protesters built a rape shelter to protect themselves from sexual assault predators --- right smack dab in the center of the encampment! But look out for those strangers!

Racist Walter James Casper III tweeted his endorsement to "occupy wherever you are," and no doubt that means occupying women's reproductive sexual organs, the freakin' morally degenerate progressive criminal!

See Doug Ross for more on the "strangers": "Occupy Hatred: A Gallery of #OWS Sickness." And Marathon Pundit, "Occupy Occtrocities: Christmas Vandalism Edition."

And finally, I posted a couple of days ago Adbusters' latest exhortation to revolution in the United States. See: "Occupy Wall Street Plans 'American Spring' to Bring U.S. 'One Step Closer to Revolution'." Again, despite the pathetic loser man-child Walter James Casper's shitty lies, these people ARE the movement. The hate-mongering Walter James Casper whines like a spoiled toddler about how "racist" the tea partiers are, and thus he shouldn't be held accountable for endorsing the racist, anti-Semitic #OWS. Nope. Wrong. The racists that popped up at the tea parties were genuine fringe loners. They were driven out of every single tea party where they showed their faces. Indeed, the press wanted the tea parties to be racist so bad that they just manufactured racists. There was never any proof, for example, that tea partiers "hurled" racial epithets at the Congressional Black Caucus, so the MFM just made that shit up. But racist anti-Semites at Occupy have been central to every Occupy mobilization, starting at Zuccotti and spewing hate right down to Southern California.

And the tea parties, more importantly, were founded on the principles of limited government, limited taxation, and pay as you go government. That's what's it's been about. There were no arrests. The tea party repudiates Occupy Wall Street. Got that racist Repsac3 sleazeball? No arrests. None. Zip. Nada. Zero. You're a freakin' liar. Occupy Wall Street on the other hand is founded not only in the hardline communist expropriation militancy and criminal anarchy, but the more stupid Democrat-MFM version is about outright class warfare and radical redistributionism. This video has the facts down:


View it and weep, Walter James Casper III, you pathetic scum dirtbag anti-Semitic neo-commie. THIS IS WHAT YOU STAND FOR.

You're a criminal stalker, workplace harassment instigator, and moral reprobate. You keep sponsoring and endorsing the bigotry, collectivism, Jew-bashing and anti-Americanism --- and the threats --- and I'll be right there documenting it for the whole world --- and for the law enforcement authorities --- to see.

7 Reasons Why Mitt Romney's Electability Is a Myth

From John Hawkins, who's been one of the leaders of the "Not Romney" movement, at Right Wing News.

Israeli Graduate Student Smadar Bakovic Wins Dissertation Review After Anti-Israel Advisor Spiked It

A great story, from CiF Watch, "CiF Watch exclusive interview with Smadar Bakovic, who fought anti-Zionist bias in UK Academia & won!"

Via Israelly Cool, "Speaking Truth To [The Ivory] Tower":
As we prepare to light the sixth Chanukah candle tonight, here’s a Maccabee-esque story about the few prevailing against the many – a lone Israeli student taking a year to fight an unfair system, and winning. On the downside, it’s only a partial victory, as the university is shamefully backing this ‘professor’, who is an affront to academic integrity, and has forfeited the privilege of guiding the careers of rising young academics like Smadar Bakovic.
Word.

When you take it out on a student because of ideological hatred, there's nothing more reprehensible professionally. Another case of radical left-wing extremism destroying the academy.

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Michelle Fields C-SPAN Interview

I watched it.

The Dailly Caller has a write-up, "TheDC’s Michelle Fields discusses journalism in the new media age."

And Dan Riehl steps up with a post defending Michelle from yet another deranged progressive attack from the Betsy Rothstein gang: "FishBowlDC's Ignorant, Inaccurate Sexist Attack on Michelle Fields." The FishBowl piece is a rank hit-job that completely decontextualizes Michelle's comments, even deliberately distorting some of her more significant and substantive points --- points that might elude someone not hip with the game-changing political role of social media communications. Dan has the bingo quote here:
Read the FBDC item, then take time to watch the full hour and decide for yourself which is supercilious and not much worth one's time, as opposed to what appears to be a very substantive young woman well on her way to saying something important enough that many people will want to hear it via New Media.

I found the interview particularly useful from the perspective of a professor of political science who teaches a large number of young people with very limited skills in information technology. A light went off when Michelle explained how she gets her morning news. She just logs on to Facebook and Twitter and checks out what her friends are reading and linking. That's actually not uncommon for people in the industry (in spite of FishBowl's attacks). I'm old fashioned and still get the hard copy Los Angeles Times delivered to the door. It's only a small part of my news diet, and mostly superfluous, but old habits die hard. Michelle, on the other hand, personifies the way today's consumers get their news and how today's reporters cover it. The FishBowl idiots ridicule the idea of citizen journalism as if the very notion itself is a joke. I'm not sure if that's just plain hubris or just a really lame opening shot at Michelle. Probably a little of both. For us old-timers, the laughs come when Michelle admits she has no clue about folks like Jerry Lee Lewis and Chuck Berry! That said, Michelle evinces a savvy sophistication about human nature (her discussion of Washington, D.C., for example) and the importance of family in the preservation and regeneration of traditional values. She goes off track a bit with a kind of grade-school crush for Ron Paul, but that's fine in the context of a well developed sense of libertarianism. She was an activist in college and Ron Paul's been hip with young people for the last couple of electoral cycles. Other than that, it's an impressive interview with a very intelligent young woman who's obviously got a bright future in cutting-edge social media-driven reporting.

P.S. This just came to me before posting, more thoughts on Michelle's comments about "biased" news. The point needs to be developed more analytically. That is, we've moved into an era of a "partisan press," one that resembles the kind of journalism that thrived during the early party system of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. Technology brought changes back then, ultimately towards a national media market and professionalized, mostly objective news reporting. That era's long gone. Michelle understands this intuitively and may well turn out to be a key player in the new journalism that evolves with increasingly overt partisanship in the years ahead.

More Democrat Assploding 'We Are the 99%' Hypocrisy

From Doug Powers, at Michelle's, "Pelosi Spends the Holidays Sacrificing on Behalf of Her Beloved 99%."


And see Hawaii Reporter, "While President Obama Arrives in Hawaii Amidst Security and Fanfare, Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Slips Quietly into Big Island Resort."

It's just too easy to pin these idiots down for their sick redistributionist ideological hypocrisy.

See: "Pelosi: Occupy Movement Enhances Dems’ National Message."

PREVIOUSLY: "Whoo Hoo! Michelle Fields Calls Out Hypocrite Statists on Tax Hikes for 'Patriotic Millionaires'," and "Christmas Smear: MSNBC Hack Ed Schultz Slurs Tea Partiers as 'Sewer Rats' — Assploding Hypocrite W. James Casper Hardest Hit!"

Oh, and something assploding hypocrite Walter James Casper III conveniently ignored in his stupidity-induced rejoinder this morning: "Occupy Wall Street Plans 'American Spring' to Bring U.S. 'One Step Closer to Revolution'." But of course, it's just a "few" on the "fringe" here and there, right? Not representative of anything? Nope. Wrong. The Jew-bashing revolutionary comrades ARE the movement. Democrats are piggy-backing out of pure progressive opportunism, just like racist Walter James Casper III.

Prince Philip Leaves Hospital After Heart Surgery

Well, that's the spirit.

At Telegraph UK, "The Duke of Edinburgh is discharged from hospital and heads straight for a shooting party."

Whoo Hoo! Michelle Fields Calls Out Hypocrite Statists on Tax Hikes for 'Patriotic Millionaires'

Because there's no better form of hypocrisy that Democrat-Socialist redistributionist hypocrisy.

See Daniel Mitchell, "Rich Statists Exposed as Complete Hypocrites" (via Instapundit).


Speaking of hypocrites, see: "Christmas Smear: MSNBC Hack Ed Schultz Slurs Tea Partiers as 'Sewer Rats' — Assploding Hypocrite W. James Casper Hardest Hit!"

Freakin' progressive dirtbags.

Santorum Surging in Iowa?

Well, Santorum's pumped up for a big showing next week, although he's not quite going all in to predict a top spot in the caucuses. Here's the video from Linkmaster Smith:


But check Flopping Aces, "Newt Implodes As Santorum Surges."

Meanwhile, Robert Stacy McCain is on the ground with first-hand reports. See, "Republicans With Shotguns."

BONUS: Mark Blumenthal has a big analysis on the polling situation in Iowa, "Iowa Caucus Polls: Ron Paul And Mitt Romney Lead, But Surprises Likely" (via Memeorandum).

Added: Tina Korbe has this, "Santorum: If I finish “dead last” in Iowa, I’ll drop out." Yeah, maybe Santorum's just putting on the happy face. He couldn't even bag that Steve King endorsement, so what can you do?

VIDEO: Store Clerk Derek Mothershead Clocks Would-Be Robber In Gold Store

Well, my guess is that the robber, Mostafa Kamal Hendi, is Muslim.

And I'm going to fall laughing on the floor when the pro-HAMAS Islamic diversity industry cries RAAAAACISM!!!

At My Fox Phoenix, "Video: Store Clerk Fights Back Against Robbery Suspect."

Occupy Wall Street Plans 'American Spring' to Bring U.S. 'One Step Closer to Revolution'

Somehow I get the feeling this is a little more than stepped up get out the vote efforts.

At Weasel Zippers, "Occupy Wall Street Leaders Promise 'Asymmetrical Warfare Strategies' Bringing Us 'One Step Closer to Revolution' In 2012…"

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People's Revolt

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PHOTO CREDITS: Ringo's Pictures, "The Occupation of Los Angeles - Part 6 - 10/15/2011: The Global Day of Action."

The 10 Big Takeaways from America's Adventure in Iraq

From Ian Livingston and Michael O'Hanlon, at Foreign Policy, "The Damage Done":
With a wave of over a dozen bombings ripping through Baghdad just a week after U.S. troops officially pulled out, new questions are being raised about the country's ability to stand on its own without U.S. security assistance. Before looking ahead to whether Iraq can withstand a potential new wave of sectarian violence, it's crucial to take measure of where the country currently stands and the effect of eight years of war on its people and institutions.

Shortly after the invasion of Iraq in March 2003, researchers at the Brookings Institution began the Iraq Index to keep tabs on how the war progressed. As students of counterinsurgency know, it is difficult to find the right metrics to evaluate how a war effort of this type is going. It is also challenging to obtain reliable data even if relevant metrics have been identified. The most important metrics can also change with time; additionally, some can be leading indicators of change, while others tend to lag broader improvements.

In the war's early days, the general sense of disorder and chaos and the disempowerment of many former Baathists and former soldiers were probably the most important metrics. They augured poorly for the future -- while official U.S. data focused more on restoration of infrastructure and other generally positive indicators that though important may not have been quite as crucial as they seemed at the time. Then U.S. attention turned to building up Iraqi security forces, but, alas, progress in their training, numbers, and equipment could not trump the growing sectarian fissures that were widening within the government, Army, police, and country writ large.

Metrics of violence were recognized as the most important indicators by 2006 and 2007, when the country was being ripped apart. The success of the surge was fairly easy to see, as these numbers plummeted in late 2007 and 2008. Since then, however, tracking Iraq's changes has become harder as progress has slowed and politics have become at least as important as security and quality-of-life indicators.

With U.S. military engagement in Iraq having come to an end, here are 10 key metrics that reveal both the damage wrought by the war and the state of the country that U.S. forces are leaving behind...
Continue reading at the link.

Army Tanks, Heavy Shelling and Gunfire in Homs, Syria's Third-Largest City

At New York Daily News, "Syrian opposition asks Arab League to intervene after killings in city of Homs." And Telegraph UK, "Syria: tanks filmed roaming the streets of Homs."


More at Los Angeles Times, "Syria opposition says at least 20 killed in Homs."

My Love Will Keep You Safe

I saw this at Theo's earlier, and now at SDA, "Military Wives Choir: Wherever You Are":


And see Melanie Phillips, "Military Wives' single tunes into our highest ideals."

Occupy Wall Street: Anti-Semitism, Socialism, Crime and Public Defecation

Following up on my earlier entries: "Occupy Wall Street and the Jews," and "Christmas Smear: MSNBC Hack Ed Schultz Slurs Tea Partiers as 'Sewer Rats' — Assploding Hypocrite W. James Casper Hardest Hit!"

Walter James Casper III continues the lies and distortions, claiming that, for some reason, for him to be called out for his racist, anti-Semitic support for the criminal Occupy Wall Street movement isn't "politics." Nope. Wrong. It's political --- and criminal, and socially deviant, and deranged. Here's the whining man-child prevaricating like a blithering freak:
Even when he does use social or political terms, their denotative and connotative definitions bear no resemblance to what I stand for politically or socially. For Donald, there is no difference between calling someone a communist or racist, and calling that person a fuckwad. As used by Dishonest Don, these political and social labels are nothing more that ad hominem insults and rhetorical ejaculations.

These are like the rants of a child who's been busted for stealing down at the local drugstore. The manager calls the parents and the child caught red-handed mumbles as if he didn't know that stealing was wrong.

Walter James Casper III is a racist who has endorsed the Occupy Wall Street program, tweeting "Occupy wherever you are." To date Walter James Casper has chosen to lash out in anger rather than explain why in the world he would endorse a movement that is anti-capitalist, anti-American, and anti-Jew. By exhorting people to Occupy wherever they are --- a literally global statement of solidarity --- Walter James Casper has given approval and sanction to all the horrible acts of rape and violence, property destruction and public defection, and racist eliminationism --- acts all in the name of the Occupy program. THAT IS where Walter James Casper stands "politically or socially."

This is what the movement is about. People have been reporting on this for months. Bill Whittle nails it at the video above. Progressives justify the hate by attacking the non-existent 1%. By his refusal to even address what's been repeatedly pointed out and documented, Walter James Casper III acts no differently than a petulant child who refuses to take responsibility for his actions --- which is exactly what the occupiers do, blame everyone for their problems but themselves. But we know this. Walter James Casper has basically cried out over and over again, "was that wrong?" Yes, you scumbag loser. It's wrong. After launching a hate blog, recruiting progressives to harass my work and threaten my means to earn a living, after sponsoring and defending racist white-supremacist statements at an attack blog and in comment threads elsewhere, and now after endorsing on Twitter the Occupy Wall Street movement, all Walter James Casper III can do is whine like a spoiled brat that it's all some kind of conspiracy, some wicked pack of lies. WAAAHHH!!! Well, it's not. When you lie down with dogs you wake up with fleas, and Walter James Casper III is the king progressive fleabag and neo-commie Jew hater. It's on the record. Walter James Casper III's tweet of endorsement is on the record. And as always, I will continue to point the spotlight on the hate. I will continue to stand up against the hatred, lies, and anti-Americanism. I will continue to highlight evil in the real world, the world as it is, and not the make believe, irresponsible world of demonic man-children racist hatred. Walter James Casper's world. Stupid criminal idiot.

Democrat Elizabeth Warren is 'Occupy' Candidate for U.S. Senate

What a dirtbag.

She's thrown in her lot with the rapists, drug addicts, criminals, murderers, and anti-Semites (what a totally FUBAR movement).

At Los Angeles Times, "In Senate race, an ally of Occupy."


Democrats: The party of bigotry and hate.

Man Dies After Eating Cocaine From Brother's Butt

A few days late on this one, but it's worth posting for the sheer stupidity of it all.

At London's Daily Mail, "Man dies after eating cocaine from his brother's butt to help hide evidence while the pair were in the back of police car."

There's video at the link. I'm not embedding these stupid freakin' idiots.

Three Years Under Obama

Three disastrous years.

Here's Bill Whittle:

The Persecution of Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff

Jamie Glazov interviews Sabaditsch-Wolff at FrontPage Magazine.

And a bonus video from Blazing Cat Fur, "Michael Coren Interviews Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff Free Speech Heroine":

Monday, December 26, 2011

Maria Shriver Reconsiders Her Divorce from Arnold Schwarzenegger

At Fox News, "Maria Shriver Has Second Thoughts About Divorcing Arnold Schwarzenegger, Report Says."

And lots of pics at London's Daily Mail, "Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver spend Christmas together as she 'reconsiders' their divorce."

I guess Arnold's aggressively wooing his ex-wife. That's a big one, having a child by the maid. But forgiveness is divine, so who knows? He has no future in politics, so perhaps they can grow old together and be happy.

Rick Santorum Hunts for Caucus Success in Iowa

At Los Angeles Times, "Santorum fails to bag endorsement from Iowa's King."

And there's a striking picture at the New York Times, "Santorum Hunts for Birds and an Endorsement, but Leaves Disappointed."

Plus, an update from Robert Stacy McCain, "Santorum Gets 4 ‘Clean Kills’ in Pheasant Hunt With Steve King; No Endorsement."

Fatal Stabbing on Oxford Street at Boxing Day Sales

Well, not all the bad holiday news was stateside.

At London's Daily Mail, "Murdered at Boxing Day sales: Teenager stabbed on Oxford Street and ANOTHER knifed in separate attack as horrified shoppers look on."

Jameela Barnette, Woman Who Threatened Pamela Geller, Killed by Police in Marietta, Georgia

You know, I've had police involved after some of the progressive stalking and complaints at my college. Some of the people who have attacked me online have taken it into my personal life and it's dangerous. Pamela Geller, who is one of the most courageous freedom fighters I've ever met, finds herself in dangerous situations virtually every day, as she fights to preserve freedom and moral right.

Now one of those who went after Pamela online got what she had coming. See Pamela's post, "Muslim Who Threatened King, Geller, SIOA Goes On Christmas Jihad, Killed By Cop."

And there's a video at Fox 5 Atlanta, "Marietta Woman Linked to Suspicious Package Killed by Officer."



My prayers go out to Pamela. No one should be subject to such abuse and threats to life and limb.

Robert Spencer has more on the woman, "Georgia Muslim woman, "Messenger of Allah & Defender of Islam," who threatened Rep. King shot dead in struggle with a cop."

PREVIOUSLY: "Roundup on Progressive Campaign of Workplace Intimidation and Harassment," and "Walter James 'Occupy' Casper Continues Campaign of Lies: Childishly Whines About 'McCarthyism' While Endorsing Anarchists and Anti-Semitic Communists."

How Social Media Fuels Social Unrest

The funniest thing about this piece at Wired is that I read it over a week ago in hard copy while out shopping for Christmas presents at Barnes and Noble. I came home that night and logged on looking for it, but the Wired homepage hadn't updated with the January magazine information. It's the holidays, so what the heck? I still thought it strange for a tech-driven magazine to basically make a social media report available in dead-tree media and not online.

In any case, the essay, by Bill Wasik, offers pretty compelling explanation for how social media enable radicals and inflame protests. See "#Riot: Self-Organized, Hyper-Networked Revolts—Coming to a City Near You." This passage was particularly interesting:
In trying to understand how and why crowds go wrong, you can have no better guide than Clifford Stott, senior lecturer in social psychology at the University of Liverpool. Stott has risked his life researching his subject. Specifically, he has spent most of his career—more than 20 years so far—conducting a firsthand study of violence among soccer fans. On one particularly dicey trip to Marseilles in 1998, Stott and a small crowd of Englishmen ran away from a cloud of tear gas only to find themselves facing a gang of 50 French toughs, some of them wielding bottles and driftwood. “If you are on your own,” a philosophical fellow Brit remarked to Stott at that moment, “you’re going to get fucked.” This, in a sense, is the fundamental wisdom at the heart of Stott’s work—though he does couch it in somewhat more respectable language.

To Stott, members of a crowd are never really “on their own.” Based on a set of ideas that he and other social psychologists call ESIM (Elaborated Social Identity Model), Stott believes crowds form what are essentially shared identities, which evolve as the situation changes. We might see a crowd doing something that appears to us to be just mindless violence, but to those in the throng, the actions make perfect sense. With this notion, Stott and his colleagues are trying to rebut an influential line of thinking on crowd violence that stretches from Gustave Le Bon, whose 1895 treatise, The Crowd, launched the field of crowd psychology, up to Philip Zimbardo, the psychologist behind the infamous Stanford Prison Experiment of 1971. To explain group disorder, Zimbardo and other mid-20th-century psychologists blamed a process they called deindividuation, by which a crowd frees its members to carry out their baser impulses. Through anonymity, in Zimbardo’s view, the strictures of society were lifted from crowds, pushing them toward a state of anarchy and thereby toward senseless violence.

By contrast, Stott sees crowds as the opposite of ruleless, and crowd violence as the opposite of senseless: What seems like anarchic behavior is in fact governed by a shared self-conception and thus a shared set of grievances. Stott’s response to the riots has been unpopular with many of his countrymen. Unlike Zimbardo, who would respond—and indeed has responded over the years—to incidents of group misbehavior by speaking darkly of moral breakdown, Stott brings the focus back to the long history of societal slights, usually by police, that primed so many young people to riot in the first place.

Meeting Stott in person, one can see how he’s been able to blend in with soccer fans over the years. He’s a stocky guy, with a likably craggy face and a nose that looks suspiciously like it’s been broken a few times. When asked why the recent riots happened, his answers always come back to poor policing—particularly in Tottenham, where questions over the death of a young man went unaddressed by police for days and where the subsequent protest was met with arbitrary violence. Stott singles out one moment when police seemed to handle a young woman roughly and an image of that mistreatment was tweeted (and BBMed) throughout London’s black community and beyond. It was around then that the identity of the crowd shifted, decisively, to outright combat against the police.

Stott boils down the violent potential of a crowd to two basic factors. The first is what he and other social psychologists call legitimacy—the extent to which the crowd feels that the police and the whole social order still deserve to be obeyed. In combustible situations, the shared identity of a crowd is really about legitimacy, since individuals usually start out with different attitudes toward the police but then are steered toward greater unanimity by what they see and hear. Paul Torrens, a University of Maryland professor who builds 3-D computer models of riots and other crowd events, imbues each agent in his simulations with an initial Legitimacy score on a scale from 0 (total disrespect for police authority) to 1 (absolute deference). Then he allows the agents to influence one another. It’s a crude model, but it’s useful in seeing the importance of a crowd’s initial perception of legitimacy. A crowd where every member has a low L will be predisposed to rebel from the outset; a more varied crowd, by contrast, will take significantly longer to turn ugly, if it ever does.

It’s easy to see how technology can significantly change this starting position. When that tweet or text or BBM blast goes out declaring, as the Enfield message did, that “police can’t stop it,” the eventual crowd will be preselected for a very low L indeed. As Stott puts it, flash-mob-style gatherings are special because they “create the identity of a crowd prior to the event itself,” thereby front-loading what he calls the “complex process of norm construction,” which usually takes a substantial amount of time. He hastens to add that crowd identity can be pre-formed through other means, too, and that such gatherings also have to draw from a huge group of willing (and determined) participants. But the technology allows a group of like-minded people to gather with unprecedented speed and scale. “You’ve only got to write one message,” Stott says, “and it can reach 50, or 500, or even 5,000 people with the touch of a button.” If only a tiny fraction of this quickly multiplying audience gets the message and already has prepared itself for disorder, then disorder is what they are likely to create.
"BBM" is BlackBerry Messenger, the main device that helped set off the rioting in Enfield, near London, earlier this year.

But check the whole piece, at the link.