Archive for November, 2007
Stacking the Deck, CNN don’t know what the fuss is about.
CNN Defends Its Use of Democratic Supporters in Republican YouTube Debate
After spending the day facing accusations it stacked the deck against the Republican presidential contenders by having Democratic backers ask video questions during its debate, CNN on Thursday responded that it doesn’t know what the fuss is all about. The cable news network, in collaboration with video Web site YouTube, hosted the Wednesday night debate that had more than 30 voters pose questions to the Republican candidates. It later turned out that several of those questioners are actively supporting Democratic candidates.
Well OK then I’ll explain it to you, you see these debates are for people who are republican or undecided to evaluate a candidates position in order to determine who to select as our nominee. As such we’re not interested in positions that are important to supporters of democratic candidates, we’re interested in positions that reflect our values.
As it was CNN pretty much insulted a good majority of the American people by stereotyping conservative Republicans as anti gay, gun toting religious fundamentalist rednecks worried more about who to punish for an abortion.
The fuss is you blantantly showed your bias, and we caught you.
Real Soldiers who believe in the “Mission”
U.S. Soldier Re-Enlists Hours After Being Seriously Wounded in Iraq IED Attack
An American soldier who was seriously wounded during a bomb attack in Iraq on Nov. 13 re-enlisted just hours after the ambush, telling Army officers he still had a job to do, the Army reported Monday.
Spc. Christopher Hoyt, an infantryman from California with the 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, based out of Fort Lewis, Wash., was injured after an improvised explosive device — or IED — exploded near him while he was out on a foot patrol near Zaganiyah, Iraq.
Two of Hoyt’s fellow soldiers were killed in the attack. Hoyt was rushed to the emergency room at Logistics Support Area Anaconda where he was treated for cuts to his legs and body.
It was there, after having witnessed the deaths of his comrades, that Hoyt decided to re-enlist for four more years.
“He said he wasn’t finished,” Hoyt’s battalion commander Lt. Col. Mark Landes said.
Landes conducted the re-enlistment himself. “He said, ‘I still have a job to do.’ ”
Command Sgt. Maj. John Troxell, the brigade’s top non-commissioned officer, who was also present during Hoyt’s re-enlistment at Anaconda, said Hoyt was the epitome of what a soldier should be.
This is not just an isolated incident but a trend with the quality of soldiers that a volunteer force produces. Despite what John Kerry says, this is an example of the kind of intellegent and committed warrior that America produces.
He supports us, lets really support the troops.
Stephen Kings “The Mist” and Christian bashing
I read Debbie Schlussel’s blog about every day and her take on Islam, the war on terror and problems with ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) are interesting and informative.
I also enjoy her movie reviews, but I found her recent post on Stephen King’s “The Mist” to be a little puzzling.
Does Stephen King Hate Christians?
I’m not sure what Stephen King thinks of Christians. Maybe those of you who read a lot of his work can tell me. But if “The Mist”–a movie out Wednesday for the big Thanksgiving Weekend–is true to his novella, “Skeleton Crew,” on which it’s based, then he certainly doesn’t care too much for them.
I can’t post a complete review here until late Tuesday Night, but the fact is that, in “The Mist,” the biggest villain besides a mysterious mist produced by (who else?) the military (guess King doesn’t like our troops so much either) is a Christian woman, who wears her religion on her sleeve. Played by Marcia Gay Harden, the Christian woman resembles the Fred Phelps folks from the Westboro Baptist Church who protest at troops’ funerals and shriek our troops deserve to die because of our sins. This woman echoes them and blames the plaugue of the mist (and the monsters it spawns) on our sins. Among them, she cites abortion and stem cell research. And she causes the murder–the “sacrifice”–of innocent soldiers. Just like the Phelps team.
I read this “novella” about 25 years ago and enjoyed the story (here’s a plot summary for those interested) and the soldiers and crazy christian in the story were basically minor characters. The soldiers were found after committing suicide because it was assumed they knew what was in the mist, as it had been released from their base where a “secret project” was.
Military secret projects were/are a mainstay in science fiction, especially after the “Manhattan Project” was revealed after World War II.
Mrs. Carmody, the “religious fanatic”, was a character that lent an undercurrent of tension through the story then got her comeuppance towards the end. Anyone who’d like to see Fred Phelps and his little cult to go away could definitely relate to this part of the story.
Of course all this depends on how they are portrayed in the movie, but if it stays true to the book I don’t see the problem.
Debbie Schlussel, I love your work, but I think you may have got it wrong on this movie. I’ll let you know after I see it.
Ron Paul’s Army: Kooks On The Wire
This is a guest post from a member of the OutCast Conservatives forum, I felt it was an excellent rebuttal to the anti-war hyperbole going around the net from various people out there. Most notably Ron Paul supporters.They always complain that no one wants to talk about specific issues, well here’s your chance guys. Any reasonable rebuttals out there? Or is it all just spam?
By “Soloâ€
11/12/07
Like many of you, I post on several discussion boards. Anyone who does has faced their fair share of “Conspiracy Nutsâ€, “War Protesters†or “America Haters†and… they all seem to be victims of acute “BDS†(Bush Derangement Syndrome).Â
Don’t get me wrong… Whenever two people plan something it’s, technically, a conspiracy, the war in Iraq hasn’t gone as well as any of us would like, America makes her fair share of mistakes and George Bush….pffft!!… is no Ronald Reagan. All true, but, this doesn’t translate into: 9/11 was an ‘inside job’—The “Neo-Cons†lied us into an illegal war—America is trying to build an evil Empire to usher in the “One World Order†or— Bush is a fascist who is trampling the Constitution so he can round us up and put us in FEMA concentration camps.
 Â
Anyone who has taken the time to debate these subjects with this collection of lunatics has learned that it doesn’t really matter to them how well you do your research or how well reasoned is your argument. Oh, they’ll back off for a short time but, in two or three days… they’ll be right back at it – spewing the same demonstrably false propaganda. Â
A good article appeared at “American Thinkerâ€Â the other day entitled: “Is Ron Paul Pandering To The Paranoid?†. The article set in motion a lively discussion at several ‘boards’ on which I post and I suddenly realized that the same conspiracy cranks, America haters, BushHateBots and their fellow travelers with whom I had locked horns before were now ALL Ron Paul supporters!Â
Every-last-one of them! I’m inclined to think that this is not a coincidence. Anecdotal, perhaps, but it has become clear to me that, if anything, the American Thinker article may have grossly understated the problem.
The ‘problem’, you ask? The problem is that these malcontents, cranks and misfits who have generated what I call “Iraq War Mythology†are not just the “dark underbelly†of the Paul campaign—they ARE the Paul campaign!
The recurring theme among these cranks is that: George Bush, under the direction of a sinister cabal known as the “Neo-Consâ€, has ‘conned’ the American people into an unconstitutional war for the purpose of spreading our “empire†through the use of an unprecedented (and unconstitutional) Doctrine of Pre-emption. Sound familiar? It should because, not only is this an operational premise among conspiracy cranks, it’s also the central theme of Ron Paul’s campaign.
President Thomas Jefferson, in prosecuting The Barbary Wars, had requested and received permission from Congress for the use of force against a foreign entity (a Nation State of the Ottoman Empire, no less) without a “Declaration Of Warâ€. “Ah, yes†say the Paulists, “but Jefferson was fighting pirates and the Constitution specifically mentions pirates†(as though the Constitution prevents us from defending ourselves in this manner against anything except “piratesâ€).
The term “Pirates” is specifically mentioned because that was a recurring threat to all nations at that time. But, there is a more broad language (in addition to “Pirates”) offered within the same sentence in Article 1 which refers to “The law of nations”. These provisions (collectively) allow us to take action in our defense without a specific Declaration of War by Congress. It’s called an “Authorization For Use Of Force”. That’s what Jefferson received in order to deal with Tripoli and that’s what Bush received to deal with Iraq and Afghanistan.
Additionally, President Monroe established what is known as “The Monroe Doctrineâ€. Monroe, along with Adams, (neither of whom can be considered strangers to the U.S. Constitution) had reasoned that the best way to secure the defense of the United States from European influence was to prevent the establishment of a European settlement anywhere in the Americas–by force if necessary. That is a doctrine of preemption.
My point is simply that the United States did NOT go to war with Iraq in a unilateral extra-constitutional action by the Chief Executive. That’s just Iraq War mythology spewed by the BushHateBots.
Furthermore, an action such as defending America’s interests abroad- whether that be the formation of alliances for our mutual defense or establishing a policy of preemption in anticipation of our defense- is not unconstitutional. Nor is it unprecedented.
The repeated assertion that, somehow, the Bush “Neo-Cons” lied to or ‘snookered’ the American People (through their representatives) into an action based on false pretenses is just nonsense on stilts! More Iraq War mythology! This tired old theme of “Bush Lied” us into Iraq at the behest of the “Neo-Cons” has become an American “Protocols Of The Elders Of Zion”; a lie that keeps coming back no matter how many times it’s exposed.
Ron Paul’s support is largely based on a collection of cranks and misfits who have this seething hatred for the Iraq war (for a variety of reasons) along with a seething hatred for George Bush. So much so that they will invent reasons to justify this blinding hatred.
The truth is: A significant number of those who flock to Paul’s banner are simply cranks. The ‘Tooothers” who think that Bush and Cheney blew up the WTC, the self-professed “Constitutionalists” who would love to think that we’re in an illegal war- (in direct contradiction to history’s evidence) , the “Neo-Con” conspiracy nuts who believe that some policy think tank orchestrated a ‘bloodless coup’ and seized control of our government, the extreme right-wing anarchist ‘bunker builders’ who hate everything about government–hell, even the Roswell nuts are on board with his campaign!
There is a reason for all of these cranks to rally around Paul: He’s pandering to them! He uses the language of the cranks. He talks of “the Neo-Cons” and “Bush’s illegal war” and “foreign entanglements” and “the disaster in Iraq” and how the government is lying to us (a favorite among the conspiracy nuts). Hell, he’s been on the Alex Jones show 4 times! Talk about wallowing in the “fever swamps”!!! Ask yourself what audience demographic he was seeking there? All of these kooks are being given a voice by ….RuPaul. Or so they think. And, as a result, Paul’s campaign story has become more about his supporters than it is about him or the policies he would institute. A base of kooks and cranks who have rallied around Paul because they desperately want someone to give legitimacy to their fevered rantings. He IS the Conspiracy Nut Candidate!
Of course, what they ignore is that none of what Paul proposes would actually come to fruition.
He’s not going to pull out of Iraq because it would create a disaster of epic proportions–but the “give Bush a defeat at any cost” nuts LOVE the idea!
He’s not going to disband the Federal Reserve Bank or return us to the Gold Standard because it would create a financial crisis in the country that would make the great depression look like ‘times of plenty’—but the “Bildeberger” and the “Illuminatti” conspiracy nuts hear sweet music in their ears (when they take off their tin-foil hats).
He’s not going to withdraw to within our own borders and hunker down waiting for an attack on our soil because the world is too dangerous and complex a place. (Monroe and Adams knew this 200 years ago). It would be a slow but sure death for our nation—but the “America is an evil empire” malcontents think this is a great idea …and so do America’s other enemies. In the most general terms, Paul supporters claim that he advocates a return to a more Constitutional form of Government. That’s music to every Conservative’s ears–including those who are running for the republican nomination right now. And…it’s also the anchor to which all the conspiracy nuts have tethered themselves in order to lend credibility to their support of Paul.
But, in specific terms, Paul’s policies, as he has articulated them and as outlined above, are a form of national suicide. And….THAT AIN’T IN THE CONSTITUTION!!!
Responsible conservatives know this. The kooks don’t care.
Hence…Paul’s numbers are going to remain at between 3 and 5% regardless of how much money he spends. There just aren’t that many kooks in the country to get his numbers much higher.
And may God continue to bless the United States of America!
Â
The Internet and the “Higher Ground”
I’ve been perusing around the internet for about 7 years now and have finally come to one conclusion.
The higher ground, the principled stance, the “above the fray” don’t exist.
It’s basically that simple, if someone doesn’t agree with you, it don’t matter how respected or “intellectual” you are, there will always be someone out there that will try and tear you your ideas or opinions down…….we have finally reached anarchy on a massive scale.
For every opinion or idea there is someone out there who, for shit’s grins and giggles, or other unknown reasons will do their damnedest to insult, humiliate and beat another down polemically.
In other words for the most part internet politics are not something that you do with your gloves on.
Forget the higher ground, because everyone else has.
Paul Supporters Continue to Wear out Welcome
Well it seems more and more forum and political sites are getting tired of the constant Ron Paul spamwagon.
Liberty Post now joins other venues like RedState.com, the Sean Hannity forums and other smaller and less well known sites to ban the constant spamming by Ron Paul supporters.
The difference is that you can read the childish meltdown of the Paul fanatics here.
Ron Paul supporters continue to attract the ire of just about any website they flock too to defend their candidates honor. Even Wired Blog has been attacked by the rabid supporters of “Dr. Paul”.
I think it’s time for the “Ron Paul internet army” to take a step back and read the posts I linked above from Liberty Post and consider what a normal person looking in would think.
It’s one thing to support a candidate, it’s another to make him a laughing stock. If this continues don’t be surprised to see more bannings and restrictions.
Your doing it to yourselves guys.
So are we supposed to quit or what?
OK, so everybody made all this noise about evil tobacco, maginalized smokers and are constantly on their backs to quit. So why are they proposing using a cigarette tax to fund healthcare?
Wouldn’t that become regressive as more people quit simply because they can’t afford to smoke anymore?
And then who’s going to fund S-CHIP?
If current trends in cities and municipalities continue there won’t even be anyplace to smoke, and are they going to start encouraging smoking in the future just to keep the programs funded?
 Kinda of a silly idea isn’t it?
Ron Paul supporters and the deceptive web
I’ve read a lot of different opinions on the Redstate.com/Ron Paul controversy, both pro and con, and I gotta say that part of me understands Redstate.com’s position.
In the last 5 years that I’ve been online and interested in conservative politics I’ve tried to join various “conservative” forums in the past and participate in discussions of issues and politics, and I’m sorry to say that basically there are very few places that even attempt to stay within the issues.
Especially now, Ron Paul supporters have infested a lot forums and blogs, even creating fake support sites where they can post false stories using whatever name they choose in an attempt to “debunk” negative stories and opinions about Paul and his supporters as described in this article at Wired.
Already known to a handful of political bloggers, Wired News learned about the forums last week, after outraging many Paulites by reporting on a flurry of deceptive spam promoting Ron Paul’s candidacy. Apparently in retaliation, a RudyGiulianiForum.com member posed as this reporter and posted a message to the forum boasting that the story was a “fake,” and had supposedly been written in exchange for payment from Giuliani supporters. “Hopefully, it will help accomplish your goals,” the post read, signing off with this reporter’s name.
Long-time forum members played along. The message board thread was later deleted, but not before fooling other Ron Paul supporters, one of whom produced a YouTube video offering the spoofed post as proof that Wired News was on Rudy Giuliani’s payroll. The video enjoyed wide circulation online (including on Wired Digital’s own Reddit news-aggregation site) and had been viewed more than 16,000 times by Monday afternoon.
Paul supporters are also famous for their “Paul swarms” that have effectively destroyed online polling and the clogging of bloggers comment sections with rhetoric, insults and sometimes even threats for any article perceived as critical of “Dr. Paul”.
The current giddiness of the Paul followers going around the web now is the “Ron Paul money bomb” that is supposed to:
rank as one of the largest amounts of money a candidate for president has ever raised in a 24-hours – PERIOD!
Which is quite the statement, Ace of Spades HQ has nice rebuttal to this assertion.
I don’t doubt at all that Ron Paul has a large block of support online, 50 to 100 thousand annoying mindless zombies who know how to copy/paste and swarm sites on command, with skills I’m sure that were honed at various trooother sites and forums.
Each of them donating could generate an impressive amount of money for a campaign. But there are some numbers that they conveniently ignore.
The 2004 presidential election in this country was a very contentious one between G.W. Bush and John Kerry, 121,068,721 total popular votes were cast with the winner receiving 62,040,610 votes to win.
Somehow I doubt that someone who consistantly polls within the margin of error on all nationwide polls could pull in 62 million votes.
So chew on those numbers while you crow about the approximate 35,000 contributors for a one day tally. Money is the easy part, convincing 62 million people he’s got something to vote for is another.
Tags: mindless zombies, money bomb, Ron Paul
In case there’s any doubt about who runs the asylum.
The Fire Foundation uncovered a program at the University of Delaware that required it’s students to undergo “Ideological Reeducation“.
I say “required” because it seems that after people outside of “academia” became aware of it, and objected to the “thought reform” aspect of the program, it was promptly dumped.
A few samples of the definitions that were to be taught can be found here.
A lot of universities have taken the concept of “education” to the next level…..to indoctrination. It’s not good enough anymore to have a “free exchange of ideas” unless it’s the politically correct ideas that are being exchanged.
Lot of paranoid types out there are afraid the “gubmint” is creating indoctrination camps built by FEMA and staffed by U.N. troops.
Well the fact is that they are already here, on college campuses.
Tags: Fire foundation, ideological reeducation, thought reform
