'the' or 'The'? Editors Won't Let It Be

I think of this every time I post a music video. Is it, for example, "the" Wallflowers or "The" Wallflowers?

More on that att the Wall Street Journal, "Editors Won't Let It Be When It Comes to 'the' or 'The': Wonky Wikipedia Debate: Whether Beatles Article Merits Capital 'T'":

The Beatles once sang, "Have you heard the word is love?" In a Wikipedia war raging around the group, the word is "the."

For some eight years, editors at the online encyclopedia have been debating whether the article "the" should be uppercased when referring to the band. Is it "the" Beatles or "The" Beatles?

The lowercase faction says the Wikipedia manual of style and external style guides are on its side.

The uppercase faction says that trademarks should be capitalized and that the official Beatles website uses an uppercase definite article.

The dispute has become so contentious that some Wikipedia editors have been banned from participating. "Discussions on this page may escalate into heated debate," warns the internal "Talk" page where editors discuss changes to the Beatles entry.

"Please try to keep a cool head when commenting here."

Now, Wikipedia is trying to settle the question with a community poll, where readers will get to decide which case will prevail. The poll is expected to close Monday. Currently, the Beatles entry mainly sidesteps the issue by avoiding the name of the group in mid-sentence. Still, there are a couple of instances where "the" is lowercased.

The two surviving Beatles aren't singing out on the question. Paul McCartney's agent said the former Beatle wouldn't be available for an interview. Ringo Starr's agent said she doubted she could reach her client quickly enough.

Lowercase advocates point to a handwritten 1970 letter from Beatle John Lennon, who was murdered a decade later, that uses a small "t."

If Mr. Lennon were alive today, "he would have a good laugh at all the 'fans' who think that a lowercase 't' is somehow a disgrace to the band," says Gabriel McFadden, an editor who calls himself "the leader of the lowercase faction." He won't reveal his location because he says he has been "cyberstalked" over the dispute.

Different publications have different capitalization rules. The Wall Street Journal uppercases the "the" in its own name but lowercases it for other publications. As for the musical group, it is "the" Beatles.

I wrote "the" Wallflowers yesterday, so I guess I'll just keep it at that.

More from WSJ at the link.

Sunday Cartoons

Via Legal Insurrection, "Branco Cartoon – One Heartbeat Away."

I don't see Wordsmith's "Sunday Funnies" up yet, but I'll update (from Flopping Aces).

But see Jill Stanek, "Stanek Sunday funnies: “Joe just being Joe” edition."

And Nate Beeler's cartoons are at Cagle.

More later...

Rosie Jones Filming BigD Peanuts 2013 Calendar (VIDEO)

Lovely.

And there's more from yesterday at the Sun's Page 3, "2013 looks Rosie!"

Space Shuttle Endeavor Completes Move to California Science Center

The Los Angeles Times has had pretty amazing coverage of the shuttle Endeavor. I love this picture below, from the front page of today's paper. The caption reads, "TRAYMOND HARRIS, left, and Ryan Hudge play basketball as the shuttle Endeavor passes by in Inglewood on Saturday." And here's the report there, under the photograph, "Shuttle crawls obstacle course."

ABC News 7 had live coverage of the final stage of the move today, and the here's the update at the Times, "Endeavour within sight of Exposition Park."

And from yesterday, "Space shuttle Endeavour rolls on toward its new home."

Former Senator Arlen Specter Has Died

The New York Times reports, "Arlen Specter, 82, Dies; Former Senator From Pennsylvania."

And at WND, "FORMER SEN. ARLEN SPECTER DIES AT 82: Chief architect of 'single-bullet theory' in JFK assassination."

That So-Called Racist Mitt Romney 'Dog-Whistle' T-Shirt is Almost Certainly Photoshopped

I personally don't believe that someone would wear a shirt like that to a Mitt Romney rally. I attended dozens of tea parties on 2009-2010, and I only once saw controversial posters, at the protest against Nancy Pelosi at the Orange County Airport --- and I denounced those in a series of posts identifying the San Diego organizer, Roger Ogden, who later apologized for the misunderstanding and claimed his posters were not racist.

This story was all over Memeorandum yesterday, most conspicuously at Crooks and Liars, where the hopelessly idiotic Dave Neiwert claims this one, utterly suspicious t-shirt "proves" Mitt Romney's running a "dog-whistle" campaign. But the photo, which is licensed to Getty Images, got traction at more reputable outlets, such as New York Magazine, "Check Out This Mitt Romney Supporter’s Horrendously Racist Fashion," and originally at the much-less reputable BuzzFeed, "Man At Romney Rally Wears Mindblowingly Offensive Shirt."

Well, it goes without saying that some folks aren't having it --- Robert Stacy McCain, for example, "False-Flag Troll, IRL":

I can pretty much guarantee that this man photographed at a Romney rally in Lancaster, Ohio, is not in fact a Republican, but rather is a plant sent out by the Democrats as a dirty trick.

Clue #1: Wearing a “Romney/Ryan” sticker on the back of his T-shirt. Nobody does this. Nobody.
Clue #2: It’s kind of chilly in Ohio this time of year, and the guy’s wearing only a T-shirt, while those around him are wearing coats.
My guess is that this guy also wore a coat when he entered the rally, then stationed himself toward the back of the crowd (in front of the riser where the press photographers are stationed) and then removed his coat to expose the T-shirt, with the explicit purpose of having it photographed.
. . . aaanndd, Clue #3: No name? A press photographer is going to take a picture like this and make no effort to ID the guy? Nuh-uh.

Actually, it's even less credible.

See Wordsmith's post at Flopping Aces, "Racist Romney/Ryan supporter in Lancaster, Ohio?" Click through for the analysis, but bottom line: Wordsmith's calling bullshit. And what's more, one commenter says that he went through the Getty photographer's slideshow from the Romney/Ryan rally and there are no crowd images, or any other images, with this man wearing that particular t-shirt. But most interestingly, one commenter links to a "photo forensics" site that claims to have a date-stamp for the digital file as "Profile Date Time 2012:01:25 03:41:57" (here).

If the "forensics" data is accurate, the photo's from January of this year, and thus is not only Photoshopped but is also not a picture from a recent Romney/Ryan rally in Ohio.

But again, the main reason this as a completely manufactured controversy is the past record of conservatives utterly rejecting any racist paraphernalia at campaign events and tea parties. Where there's been racism it's been completely repudiated. When the famous photo of so-called Texas tea party "leader" Dale Robertson emerged, the absolute renunciation was swift. Newsbusters has the flashback, "TPM Trumpets Racist Rebuffed by Tea Party Groups as 'Prominent' 'Leader'." And of course folks will remember that the leftist media was jonesing for racist tea-partiers so badly that it had to invent them, for example, Contessa Brewer, "Guy With AR-15 at Obama Rally Was Black Dude: MSBNC Kinda Leaves That Part Out."

The so-called racist Mitt Romney "dog-whistle" t-shirt is almost certainly a scam. It's bogus. We've seen this movie before and the ratings are in: total flop. The "race card" doesn't work anymore, if it ever really did. The left's goal is to falsely delegitimize criticism and silence dissent. This photo below, seen early in the tea party era at Gateway Pundit, captures what's really going been going on with race on the right:

I'll update if more information becomes available, but I'll tell you again, it's a scam. Just one look at that "Romney/Ryan" picture and you can see that's an obvious Photoshop.

Donna's Diner in Elyria, Ohio

I don't worry about the national polls. My biggest concern is Ohio. And while I discount PPP's Democrat-leaning surveys (the poll's a Daily Kos joint, with new numbers out today having Obama up by 5 points, unrealistically), I'm not sure if the first debate was enough to give Romney a decisive advantage there. Things look pretty good at RCP's polling average for the state, and even there the NBC/Marist poll along with PPP is skewing the average to the Democrats.  And more on these two polls at AoSHQ, "Pollsters: 1/5 of Ohio Vote Already In! Me: Bull."

In any case, more later on the polling numbers --- especially a week or so from this Tuesday and the next presidential debate. Meanwhile, here's a ground-level report from Ohio, at the New York Times, "At the Corner of Hope and Worry":

ELYRIA, Ohio

Another day begins with a sound softer than a finger-snap, in an Ohio place called Elyria. In the central square of this small city, the gushing water fountain applauds the early-morning chorus of sparrows. A car clears its throat. A door slams. And then: click.

The faint sound comes as 7:00 flashes on the clock of the Lorain National Bank building, looming over the square. The pull of a string — click — has sent life pulsing through a neon sign, announcing to all of Elyria that, once more, against the odds, Donna’s Diner is open.

Its proprietor, Donna Dove, 57, ignites the grill that she seems to have just turned off, so seamlessly do her workdays blend into one endless shift. She wears her blond hair in a ponytail and frames her hazel eyes with black-rimmed glasses that tend to get smudged with grill grease. She sees the world through the blur of her work.

A dozen years ago, Donna found a scrap of serendipity on the sidewalk: a notice that a local mom-and-pop restaurant was for sale. After cooking for her broken family as a child, after cooking for county inmates at one of her many jobs, she had come to see food as life’s binding agent, and a diner as her calling. She maxed out her credit cards, cashed in her 401(k) and opened a business to call her own.

Donna’s Diner. Donna’s.

You know this place: It is Elyria’s equivalent to that diner, that coffee shop, that McDonald’s. From the vantage point of these booths and Formica countertops, the past improves with distance, the present keeps piling on, and a promising future is practically willed by the resilient patrons.

It is where the recession and other issues of the day are lived as much as discussed. Where expectations for a certain lifestyle have been lowered and hopes for salvation through education and technology have been raised. Where the presidential nominees Barack Obama and Mitt Romney each hope that his plan for a way back will resonate with the Donna Doves, who try to get by in places like Elyria — where the American dream they talk about can sometimes seem like a tease.

Continue reading, on some of the hardship Donna and her patrons are facing, and then this:

The fresh aroma of coffee face-slaps the air. Soon the Breakfast Club regulars, that gaggle of Elyrian past and present, will be here to renew their continuing discussion of what was, is and isn’t in this city of 55,000. The presidential election sometimes serves as a conversation starter, like a curio placed between the salt and pepper shakers.

The talk will continue as yolk stains harden and refills turn tepid. Their Ohio is a swing state, after all, and their Elyria sits precariously on that swing. More Democratic than Republican, it has several global companies and the memory of many more; an embattled middle class and encroaching poverty; and the faint sense that the Next Big Thing better arrive before even its beloved park fountain, visible from the diner’s front window, gets shut off...

Free Speech is Dying in the Western world

From Jonathan Turley, at the Washington Post, "Shut up and play nice: How the Western world is limiting free speech" (via Instapundit):

Free speech is dying in the Western world. While most people still enjoy considerable freedom of expression, this right, once a near-absolute, has become less defined and less dependable for those espousing controversial social, political or religious views. The decline of free speech has come not from any single blow but rather from thousands of paper cuts of well-intentioned exceptions designed to maintain social harmony.

In the face of the violence that frequently results from anti-religious expression, some world leaders seem to be losing their patience with free speech. After a video called “Innocence of Muslims” appeared on YouTube and sparked violent protests in several Muslim nations last month, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon warned that “when some people use this freedom of expression to provoke or humiliate some others’ values and beliefs, then this cannot be protected.”

It appears that the one thing modern society can no longer tolerate is intolerance. As Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard put it in her recent speech before the United Nations, “Our tolerance must never extend to tolerating religious hatred.”

A willingness to confine free speech in the name of social pluralism can be seen at various levels of authority and government. In February, for instance, Pennsylvania Judge Mark Martin heard a case in which a Muslim man was charged with attacking an atheist marching in a Halloween parade as a “zombie Muhammed.” Martin castigated not the defendant but the victim, Ernie Perce, lecturing him that “our forefathers intended to use the First Amendment so we can speak with our mind, not to piss off other people and cultures — which is what you did.”

Of course, free speech is often precisely about pissing off other people — challenging social taboos or political values.

This was evident in recent days when courts in Washington and New York ruled that transit authorities could not prevent or delay the posting of a controversial ad that says: “In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel. Defeat jihad.”

When U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer said the government could not bar the ad simply because it could upset some Metro riders, the ruling prompted calls for new limits on such speech. And in New York, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority responded by unanimously passing a new regulation banning any message that it considers likely to “incite” others or cause some “other immediate breach of the peace.”

Continue reading.

And notice how it's all leftist outrage at conservative speech. Every single example is a progressive attempt to limit speech. There's one example not quoted above of an atheist in Greece punished for criticizing a monk. But that's it. As I've argued here for some time now, progressives are the main threat to freedom of speech. It's a sad day when folks speaking truth to barbarity, in the case of Islam, are threatened with prosecution. And it's not just Islam, although much of the current attempts to criminalize speech come from progressive terrorism-enablers. It's conservative speech all around that's being criminalized. Democracy dies when you can't speak out to defend it. Simple as that. Progressives are undemocratic.

Dick Cheney Slams Joe Biden's Debate Performance

Dick Cheney was the model of the dignified, accomplished vice president, ready to step into the role as commander-in-chief, with absolutely no one questioning his fitness to serve.

The same can't be said for Joe Biden. It's a scary thought just imagining that crazy freak assuming the office.

'Skyfall' Review

The trailer is great.

And at Telegraph UK, "Skyfall, James Bond, review":

When is a Bond film not a Bond film? It’s a question likely to prey on the minds of the very many cinema goers who will see this 23rd official 007 adventure. Skyfall shakes together familiar elements of the Ian Fleming canon – the cars, the guns, the exotic locales with the dames to match – into a blistering comic book escapade that the old Bond, and one suspects Fleming too, would find altogether alien.

Sam Mendes’s frequently dazzling, utterly audacious entry in the franchise has less in common with its much-loved predecessors than Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight. After its release in 2008 (when it left Quantum of Solace, the 22nd Bond film, trailing in its wake), Nolan’s pathbreaking superhero picture almost single-handedly reconfigured the modern blockbuster template. Like a wise old dog, 007 has studied it carefully, and learned some new tricks.

Here, Bond (Daniel Craig) faces a foe almost as inscrutable as the Joker himself: Raoul Silva (Javier Bardem), an ex-MI6 agent who worked with M (Judi Dench) in her pre-Handover Hong Kong days who has returned, unhinged by a perceived betrayal, as a master computer hacker bent on vengeance.

Bardem’s lip-lickingly camp turn makes him the oddest Bond villain since the Roger Moore era, and his nicotine hair flops queasily over his forehead in a way that calls to mind Julian Assange. By acknowledging the rise of cyberterrorism in the same way Nolan played on the West’s new vulnerability in the wake of 9/11, Skyfall is a Bond film for the Anonymous generation.

Continue reading.

Daniel Craig is an awesome bond. I'm sure "Skyfall" will be spectacular.

The Lovelies Step Out in Style for amfAR Inspiration Gala in Los Angeles

And the stunning Kate Hudson leads the list of beauties.

See London's Daily Mail, "Very revealing in red! Kate Hudson takes the plunge and shows off plenty of cleavage in a daring scarlet gown at amfAR event."

And check the photo of Ms. Hudson standing side-by-side with Katy Perry. I think the pop star's got some catching up to do in the glamour department, interestingly enough.

And also at the link: the phenomenal Alessandra Ambrosio.

Romney Debate Gains Show Staying Power

From wonder boy Nate Silver, at the New York Times (via Memeorandum).

Image Credit: The Looking Spoon, "GOP Embassy Cuts Aren't Why The Benghazi Attacks Happened."

BONUS: From Alana Goodman, at Commentary, "Did Intelligence Tell WH There Were Protests in Benghazi?" (via Memeorandum).

Mugged: Racial Demagoguery from the Seventies to Obama

The publisher sent me a copy, and it's available at Amazon: "Mugged: Racial Demagoguery from the Seventies to Obama."

Kate Upton Steps Out in Strapless Dress at New York Film Festival Premiere of 'No'

At London's Daily Mail, "Kate Upton flaunts her assets in a strapless dress at No premiere as family members confirm she's dating baseball player Justin Verlander."

Maybe the little hottie'll be at the ACLS game tonight. See the New York Times, "In Third Meeting in Seven Octobers, Expect Strikeouts and Rain."

European Union Wins Nobel Peace Prize

From Iain Martin, at Telegraph UK, "EU winning Nobel Peace Prize is beyond parody, like knighting Fred Goodwin in the middle of a mad boom":

Daftest of all is the notion that the EU itself has kept the peace. It was the Allies led by the Americans, the Russians and the British who defeated and disarmed the Germans in 1945. The German people then underwent the most extraordinary reckoning, transforming their country into an essentially pacifist society. The EU had very little to do with it. Throughout that period it was Nato, led by the Americans and British, which kept the peace in Western Europe. The American taxpayer picked up most of the resulting tab, and the British paid a significant part of the bill too.

RTWT.

Also at Foreign Policy, "Worst. Prize. Ever."

'Reboot the Mission'

Cool clip, from the Wallflowers.

Catholic Bishops Denounce Joe Biden's ObamaCare Lies

Freedom Eden has the report from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, "Catholic Bishops' Statement on Joe Biden's Lies." (At Memeorandum.)

And here's the new Romney ad, "Who Shares Your Values?":

Space Shuttle Endeavour Moves to Science Center

Amazing pictures at the Los Angeles Times, "Space shuttle Endeavour rolls through the streets of L.A."

And see, "Shuttle arrives at Forum ahead of schedule."

Despite crawling along at a speed of about 2 mph, the space shuttle Endeavour appears to be making good time on its journey home to the California Science Center.

The massive space vehicle pulled up to the Fourm in Inglewood around 7:30 a.m. Saturday, and was greeted by thousands gathered there to see it. It arrived more than an hour ahead of schedule, but Southern California Edison crew members said it will remain at the Fourm until 9:30 a.m. as planned. The crews cleared some transmission lines early and movers decided to proceed.

A celebration at the Forum, which includes music and some public speakers, was set to begin about 9 a.m.

Officials are considering whether they can get the shuttle to the California Science Center before sunset, which occurs at 6:20 p.m. Saturday.

Cleveland Bus Driver Decks Black B*tch With Uppercut

The dude got suspended, but he was obviously done taking that sh*t.

At Gateway Pundit, "Cleveland Ohio RTA Bus Driver Uppercuts Unruly Female Passenger (Video) (via Memeorandum)."

Polls Show Joseph Biden — 'Malarkey McSmirk' — Losing Debate to Paul Ryan

More public opinion data show Joe Biden as a national laughingstock after Thursday night's debate. At PolicyMic, "Who Won the VP Debate 2012: Paul Ryan Wins the Polls Against Laughing Joe Biden":

Republican debate reaction: "The vice president was mean to our candidate." Suck it up and stop whining... It's only going to get worse.
— J. Casper (@repsac3) October 12, 2012

If you're a liberal or a Democrat, you probably loved Joe Biden's performance last night; if you're an independent or a Republican, not so much.

According to RealClearPolitics.com, the Obama campaign was deeply wounded after last weeks presidential debate. Mitt Romney not only came off as more likable the he ever had previously, but he also came off as more knowledgeable and confident than President Obama. Over the past eight days, the polls have shifted over to Governor Romney's favor.

Biden was sent out to reverse this increasing trend, rally the base and show the American people that the administration still had fire in its belly. There is, however, one word that Vice President Biden forgot, and that word is overkill.

Biden's been here before. All throughout the 2008 Democratic primary season, and during his 2008 VP debate with Governor Sarah Palin, he was calm, collected, even presidential. He was a likable and charming guy. This time, we saw a different Joe Biden.

Biden smirked, grinned, and waved his hands wildly. Some people would call it impassioned. Others might suggest that he was doing an impression of a southern preacher trying to perform an exorcism. He shook his finger repeatedly in the air, and interrupted Congressman Paul Ryan 82 different times. Paul Ryan maintained his cool, and was polite to a fault.

As the old adage goes, it's all about how things look. Biden tried to exude strength, but ended up coming across as unhinged, cocky, arrogant and rude. Paul Ryan tried to come across as confident and composed, but may have come across as slightly timid. So who ended up getting the best results for their team in the end? Well, as of right now, it might very well have been vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan.

According to the CNN poll of independents, Paul Ryan won the debate, 48% to 44%. The same poll showed that people who watched the debate believed that Paul Ryan expressed himself better than Joe Biden, 50%-41%. An NBC poll of 435 uncommitted voters after the debate showed Paul Ryan winning with 63% to 31%. CNBC had it 56% to 36%, again with Paul Ryan coming out on top. Even the Danville Advocate Messenger had Paul Ryan on top at the end of the day, attracting 56% to Biden's 41%.

So how could Joe Biden's strategy have backfired so horribly? It's quite simple. He did not come off as 'presidential.' He wasn't Joe Biden. He was Malarkey McSmirk.

More at the link.

Only someone who is personally, literally a bullying asshole, like Walter James Casper III, would actually think Biden did well. Honestly, you'd have to be a horrible, horrible person to think that Biden gave a good performance. And no one on the right is arguing that Biden was "mean." Everyone is arguing that he was angry, blustery, brusque, contemptuous, cranky, overbearing, rude, and completely unserious. Biden's performance was so bad that he actually proved himself unfit to serve. But for epic harassment troll and Internet predator Repsac3, conservatives are "whining." Typical. Leftists have absolutely no class. They've got no basic decency. When you can't win on the merits you shout down not only your opponent, but the moderator as well. It was an historic debate, but not in a good way. Biden's already outranked Al Gore for giving one of the worst debates in history. Commentators are saying Biden's was the worst they'd ever seen.

And here's Peggy Noonan with more, "Confusing Strength With Aggression":

In terms of content—the seriousness and strength of one's positions and the ability to argue for them—the debate was probably a draw, with both candidates having strong moments. But in terms of style, Mr. Biden was so childishly manipulative that it will be surprising if independents and undecideds liked what they saw.

National Democrats keep confusing strength with aggression and command with sarcasm. Even the latter didn't work for Mr. Biden. The things he said had the rhythm and smirk of sarcasm without the cutting substance.

And so the Romney-Ryan ticket emerged ahead. Its momentum was neither stopped nor slowed and likely was pushed forward.

Meaning that things will continue to get hotter. The campaign trail, commercials, all sorts of mischief—everything will get jacked up, cranked up. Meaning the next debate is even more important. Which means, since the next debate is a town hall and won't be mano-a-mano at the podium, that the third debate, on foreign policy, will be the most important of all.

And just like the first debate, Obama's going to get crushed.

In sum, Joe Biden failed at the most important goal in Thursday night's debate: to halt Mitt Romney's momentum. Not only did he fail at that, he showed once and for all just how big a bullying buffoon he really is.

Joe "Malarkey McSmirk" Biden. That one's for the ages.