It's the end of finals week here for me, so I don't have time to give you anything hard-hitting or deep-thinking (as opposed to my freaking masterpieces every other Friday). Instead, you get random stories to comment on as you like. Or not.The Horror! THE HORROR!!!
So this guy named David Jones--who used to be in either a band or a locker, but now works for Britain's Daily Mail--went to Guantanamo Bay and reported on how terrible that place is. Apparently they no longer have a McDonald's and the inmates' PlayStation privileges have been revoked. I know. I bet if the Nazis had had PlayStation, they would have installed a few consoles for the prisoners at Auschwitz, right? Right.
What Happens When You Have No Life
I don't mind dressing up as a sci-fi or comic-book character. I like dressing up as a sci-fi or comic-book character. For Halloween. Or a special costume party. What raises my eyebrows is when you feel the need to attend a sci-fi convention in such a getup, split into rival groups on that basis--and then one thing leads to another and you and your Star Wars buddies are fighting your mortal enemies from Doctor Who. Personally, I don't understand why only the fifth Doctor was represented. No love for Picard?
Awesomest Thing To Happen At A Theater, Ever
Speaking for myself, I would rather be stuck in a room full of leftist windbags than at the theater or anywhere else with people who are being loud or otherwise distracting. Apparently Kevin Williamson of National Review felt the same way, and this was the result. You might say this is overreacting a bit. And you'd be wrong.
The Greatest Failure Of Socialism
I honestly don't know what to say about this. The government, doing what government does best, has found scapegoats for the shortage, blaming it on "excessive demand....[due to] a media campaign that has been generated to disrupt the country." Er, I don't think that's what causes excessive demand.
The word of the day is: velodrome. And the number of the day is: 17. Maybe those two have something to do with each other, maybe they don't. If you solve the riddle, you get an Invisible Commentarama Prize. No refunds.
Enjoy the reading, and comment away!
52 comments:
T-Rav, I was going to write about the Jones piece but never got around to it. There's something very interesting about it. He's a whiny leftist who hates the US and bashes us for stuff that is just ridiculous (basically he hates the idea that anyone would ever be imprisoned), BUT more interestingly... he bashes OBAMA for this.
He keeps making the point that Obama promised to shut this place down and not only didn't, he made it WAY worse than Bush ever did.
At one point, he even says directly that the evil "neocon Bush did more to shut down Gitmo than Obama has ever done."
I find that very interesting.
P.S. As for the toilet paper (and other essentials), this reminds me of East Germany... the only thing they had in abundance was scarcities.
the theater thing - I really don't go to commercial theaters anymore, but I applaud the guy who did this on principle. I am nothing, if not civilized :)
I have nothing against the geeks who dress for conventions. Not my thing personally, but I applaud there enthusiasm. Still, I can't help but remember Shat's comment: "get a life, people."
p.s. off specific subject, but saw a post where CBS is claiming Repub.'s altered emails. That sure doesn't help their credibility.
Jed, I can't imagine the Republicans would do that, but it should be easy to verify.
Andrew - you know I can't link, but I picked this off of FB
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/16/republicans-benghazi-emails_n_3289428.html
Jed, I looked it up and I already see the left running with this trying to pretend it kills each of the scandals. Personally, I suspect CBS is lying... because that's what they do. But if a Republican did fake this stupid Benghazi e-mail, then they need to be savagely beaten to death.
In the meantime, let's hope the Republicans attack this aggressively as CBS covering up for Obama (assuming they didn't do this).
Here's your link: LINK
Andrew, I actually was going to write about Jones particular--specifically, I was going to mock him relentlessly--but that probably would have meant including way too much of the actual article. And also, I ran out of time.
So if anyone's in the mood for mockery, just read the article direct. The ridicule writes itself.
T-Rav, Isn't that the truth. It reads like he's shocked that these people are in... gasp... a prison. How inhumane!
Andrew, when the Berlin Wall fell, the West German supermarkets immediately had a run on two things in particular: Oranges, because they never got any in the East except for Christmas, and toasters, because they were assuming the first one would quickly break, and who knows when the next shortage will be? So they bought two or three at a time and cleaned the stores out.
while there should probably have been nothing but verbatim, after reading closely, the GOP versions that were quoted do not appear in anyway significantly alter the content of the white house versions.
Jed, Substance isn't what matter in this case. If the text has been changed in any way, that's bad. BUT I can't really tell from the report what's been change. Are they talking about the e-mails themselves or are they talking about paraphrases in a report? If it's paraphrases, then this is all BS. But if e-mails themselves have been doctored to change the language, then that's bad.
T-Rav, My grandfather was the head of surgery in Dresden in the early 1950s. They gave him a car in lightening speed -- three months. Other people they knew waited 10 years to be allowed to buy a car.
It was with no small irony that he used the car to leave the country. :)
I personally hope that Venezuela continues down this TP-free path until the country collapses in open revolution because I think it's useful to the world to get to see what socialism brings every so often.
Jed, this is exactly the sort of thing I fantasize about doing to people who won't get off their phones, or do other annoying stuff like not taking their screaming babies out of theater or wherever it is. (I don't mean I want to throw their babies, I'm just speaking figuratively. You know.)
I can't imagine ever getting worked up enough to attend a convention in costume. That's just not my thing; but even if it's your thing, have the decency not to fight each other. Honestly, only Star Wars and Star Trek should be allowed to do that, and they don't seem to cross paths much anyway.
T-Rav....My understanding is that charges will be filed. Against whom? The guy who tossed the phone away from the obnoxious woman, or against the woman for slapping (assaulting?)the guy who took her phone away and tossed it?
I love the Venezuela story. The wonders of socialism. When you start messing with basic human needs, that shit won't fly! They will probably rise up against the Chavez-Lite tool and install his opponent who was robbed anyway.
It's unbelievable that so many people there would vote for someone just because he promises to take money from the rich and hand it out to the poor. I mean....wherever would that take....oh...never mind.
For anyone who happens to be up and looking for something to watch, Fox is showing the House hearing on the IRS right now.
"But if a Republican did fake this stupid Benghazi e-mail, then they need to be savagely beaten to death."
Andrew, you forgot to add "with meat hooks."
I Know What You Did in Cuba: Is this article dripping with sarcasm much? Davey is going to have to replace his ( ‘ ’ ) keys after this. At the end of the day, the story is long on opinion and speculation, short on acutal facts. Hardly worthy to be called news, and certainly not worthy of the Daily Mail.
Lifeless: Another non-story out of the UK? The only thing that makes this newsworthy is that people were in costumes. If people exchanged insults at any other event, we would never hear of it. I think it's particularly telling that the story references lightsabers and sonic screwdrivers with no attempt to explain. It seems "geek culture" has infiltrated the mainstream more than we're willing to admit.
Cell-phone Toss: I don't believe the terms "civilized world" and "New York" have appeared in the same paragraph since Benjamin Harrison was in office.
Wipe Out: Clearly, Prof. Hanke of John Hopkins is a capitalist stooge.
Benghaz-e-mail: So I ventured down the rabbit hole a bit on this one. As far as I can tell:
- One leaked "quote" (containing the term "equities") was originally reported by Jonathan Karl of ABC News on May 10th with no mention of the source, only the supposed author, then-Deputy National Security Adviser for Strategic Communications Ben Rhodes.
- On May 14th, Karl posted an update to the 5/10 story, stating that his original report quoted verbatim "a source who reviewed the original documents and shared detailed notes." In other words, Karl purported to quote from an email when he was actually quoting from someone's notes about the email.
- Said "source" is not identified in any way including political affiliation by Karl in his update, nor even mentioned in the original article.
- Another leaked "quote" (containing the term "penultimate") was first reported by Sharyl Attkisson of CBS News. This report did not attribute the quote to anyone in particular, nor does it name sources.
- There is nothing in the original reportage linking Republicans to the origin of the quotes that appeared on ABC and CBS websites.
- Proliferation of the ABC and CBS quotes seems to all link back to those two stories.
At best, this appears to be the media trying to pin its sloppy reporting on unidentified Republicans.
tryanmax, That makes a LOT more sense. I mean, only a genuine idiot would alter e-mails that are going to be released. That would be a felony.
It also doesn't surprise me that the left would try to pin their own faulty reporting on others.
Andrew, I know. "Altered email" sounds like somebody hacked into someone's computer--which is probably why they use that term. You should follow the link to the Thursday CBS News story; it reads like a temper tantrum and keeps repeating "Republicans, Republicans, Republicans."
tryanmax, "Altered" means "to change the original." In the context of e-mails or documents, it means creating fake versions and passing those fakes off as if they are the original.
Altered does not in any way, shape or form mean to misquote something you read. And a journalist would know this. Turning "his notes were misleading" to "altered e-mails" is fraudulent and misleading.
tryanmax, given that it was Star Wars vs. Doctor Who fans, if this had been the U.S. I think we'd have gotten more explanation. Everyone knows what lightsabers are, maybe enough people know what a TARDIS is, but I doubt a lot of people know what a sonic screwdriver is. Including me.
Also, what's so special about the Harrison administration? You got some beef with Grover Cleveland, huh? Do you, huh?
I really haven't followed this thing about the "altered emails," because it seemed like just too transparent an attempt at distraction. But some liberals appear to be giving it a go on Twitter, so I guess it shouldn't be ignored.
A. The cellphone incident - She was warned and got what she deserved. The fact that they threw the CRITIC out will come back to haunt them in a million little ways...mostly of the $ variety in reviews that may not bring in $.
B. Why is it when men wear football/basketball/baseball/soccer/rugby/etc. jerseys no one comments even if they get into fist fights and curse at each other in games. But get a few people in tights and capes and you've got the news of the century?
3. Email-Alter-gate - I concur from what I have read too that this was a "misquote" not an "alteration". And having done many an electronic and paper document productions, it would be VERY EASY to determine if the email was altered and nearly impossible to do so without detection as the metadata would show the change. And in the case that the production was paper, all the WH has to do is show a copy of what they served against what they sent. But anything to distract from the reality that they altered the talking points so Obama and Clinton wouldn't look incompetent right before an election.
Bev, Why is it when [you] get a few people in tights and capes and you've got the news of the century?
I think that one kind of answers itself. LOL!
I agree about e-mail-alter-non-gate. It struck me as bizarrely stupid that anyone would try to alter an e-mail that was produced. The other side would likely have copies and have a log of what they produced. And even if they didn't, you could just print it again and expose the forger. That struck me as either clearly not what happened or as the world's biggest bonehead maneuver.
Ultimately, this sounds like CBS is again lying to attack Republicans. Remember when CBS created fake documents to smear Bush over the national guard? LINK.
Regarding the Davey Jones article. I found it painful to listen to a bleeding heart whine BUT hidden among the muck he does make a good point. Bush was working to try this men, even if it was military tribunals. If found guilty they could be incarcerated and perhaps in the US (I'm sure it would be cheaper than Cuba). There could be arguments regarding whether it was an appropriate venue and type of court and trial.
Obama did a good job stopping it that and like Lincoln has waived Habeas Corpus for these men. Now he has a mess because he can't release them now. His only recourse is to find a battle in Afghanistan, release them on the battlefield, and shoot them.
But I forget, Obama is just so much smarter than the rest of us. I'm sure he will deliver us from our evils.
T-Rav, if the story had been in the US, it would have been lightsabers vs. phasers, and still no explanation needed. I'm just saying that at present, we're all a little bit geek.
Andrew and Bev, this whole thing keeps snowballing so, with more stuff coming out even today, I suspect this "altered emails" claim will get drowned out and go nowhere. Just my suspicion.
Andrew, et al. Another case of CBS wanting the story to be true. Make one wonder how often they don't get caught.
At one point, he even says directly that the evil "neocon Bush did more to shut down Gitmo than Obama has ever done."
Yeah, weird. It's as if the people screaming about this 24/7 on the MSM were just trying to score political points or something.
Re:doctored e mails. According to Ace of Spades, the investigators were only allowed to see the e mails and take notes - not to have their own copies. Which begs a question, if the actual emails won't be released until after the midterms, then isn't this just like the Romney tax rumors? Since it's a secret, the Dems can say anything they want can't they?
= Harry Reid.
K, What's interesting to me about it, is that a leftist has turned so strongly against Obama on this. I think his second term is going to be extremely rough.
tryanmax, I'd say 95%.
tryanmax, there's probably a lot of truth to that, but how the CBS evening news is reporting this right now is very interesting. It's your fairly standard recap, but they're no longer insinuating that this is a deliberate attempt by the GOP to make political hay. Instead, they're saying that the new revelations of the past day or so (paraphrasing) "are only going to encourage Republican claims that the administration has something to hide."
It's not much, but the implication there is that Republicans are now justified in pursuing this line of attack against Obama, which is certainly unusual for the MSM to admit.
(Sorry I haven't replied to everyone's comments, by the way. I just haven't had the time today.)
Well, this just dropped by the NYT...the Obama Admin KNEW about the IRS issue in March 2012...now didn't Obama say that he was just learning about this from the newspapers this week? Oops...
Wow, so this is what it looks like when a Democrat's immunity fails.
As an aside, Bev, let me correct. The proper way to say it is that "the Obama Administration already KNEW 'NOTHING' about the IRS issue as early as March 2012."
Now for the question on everyone's mind....
Where is Joe Biden?
Andrew - Point taken. He didn't know before he didn't know, then he knew, but still doesn't know, but will investigate after his golf score improves and/or the WH concert series ends. And after he makes a Marine hold an umbrella over his head because his staff was too stupid to ask about the weather (or look out the window) and move the presser indoors.
Kinda' makes Biden look like the smart one...
Bev, Apparently, making the Marine hold the umbrella was a real breach of etiquette too. We shall name this Umbrellagate.
On Joe, my guess is that they actually have Joe bound and gagged in a basement in Cleveland (too soon?) so he doesn't say something like, "Hell yes, Barack and I targeted conservatives with the IRS. And if they don't like it, they should have shot a shotgun at us!"
The whole umbrella thing just made him look imperious. Oh, heck, who am I kidding. EVERYTHING the man does look imperious.
Didn't Cheney built some kind of bunker underneath the VP residence? Maybe Biden is hunkered down there reading "Idiot's Guide: How To Be A President".
So true. I get the feeling having a beer with him would be the most unpleasant experience of your life.
LOL! Yeah. That, plus Joe's got 4 million years of history to catch up on and he doesn't exactly read good and stuff.
It's not much, but the implication there is that Republicans are now justified...
It's a real slow burn, but yeah, that's where it's going.
A month ago it was all inside baseball.
A couple weeks ago it was "Republicans will try to make hey with this."
Last week it was, "Unfortunately, it makes Republicans look like they have a point."
By the Sunday shows, I expect someone will have to break down and admit, "Republicans have a point."
Will anyone ever say, "Republicans had it right all along"? I doubt it, but we'll take what we can get.
As an aside, the unfortunate part of all of this is, even if they get to the last part, it still operates under the implication that nothing is official until the Democrat party acknowledges it. That is actually how both ends of the media spectrum report most events. One could go through reams delving into all the implications of that, but the short of it is that the GOP is viewed by everyone including its members as an opposition party, and that is its primary limitation.
Andrew, "Where is Joe Biden?" Are you sure that was on everyone's mind? Or anyone's?
I'm sure it was on Biden's mind.
tryanmax, What you've put your finger on is the issue of true bias. That's the bias that is real and needs to be overcome, but it so hard to point to people because they don't understand it or recognize it.
tryanmax, the WSJ had a very good point when it said that this is like a perfect storm: a combination of Republicans feeling all their paranoia about Obama is confirmed, Democrats no longer able to trust him or anyone around him, and the TOTUS himself continuing to act above the fray and in this case coming off as completely out of touch.
Now, does that mean the Republican Party will get full vindication? No. But with the Democrats in too much disarray to rally around the WH, and a number genuinely hacked off themselves, the field is wide open at the moment.
Yeah, about the Marine with the umbrella, apparently you're not supposed to do that, even for the President, unless explicit permission is given by the Commandant of the Marine Corps. I'm sure that's always been honored more in the breach than in reality, but still....
T-Rav, I think there's something bigger going on that people are missing. The Republicans seem to be becoming unified at the moment. They seem to be banding together (with a couple minor exceptions) to develop a direction, a strategy, and (part of) an agenda. That's what's let them stay on the same message throughout this, which is what you need to make a scandal work.
The end result isn't clear yet, but right now I would put money on the idea that the Republicans are done letting their tail wag the dog.
Call it a hunch, but there is evidence of it building.
The MSM is doing Republicans an inadvertent favor by lumping the Benghazi emails in with the IRS and AP scandals. That allows those who are obsessed with only that event to appear in touch with the smarter ones who are working the more relate-able issues or all of the above.
Also, I have to give credit where it is due. Though I've been disappointed in Rush often lately, he has an excellent handle on this situation. He's focusing primarily on the IRS scandal and going so far as to explain why it has better legs than Benghazi. He even countered the argument that the White House put the IRS thing in motion by basically saying "So what if they did? It still has people upset and is hurting them!" Bravo, Rush.
tryanmax, I haven't listened to Rush lately, but you should see some of the blogs out there. Apparently, the Obama is just a Republican stooge something something Beghazi something something INTERNATIONAL SOCIALISM!!
Yep.
Anyway, my point above was actually a little broader. For the past couple years the Republicans have done their best to please a rather surly bunch. You got a public that wants the impossible. You've got lunatics screaming from blogs and talk radio. You've got a bunch of different candidates, each of whom wanted to drag the party in different disastrous directions. At the same time, you had the usual cadre of media and Democrats trying to amplify everything. The result has been a party that's tried to do everything their supporters want and have just gotten kicked in the teeth for it.
In the past several weeks, I've noticed a change. The leadership seems to be establishing an agenda and they've got all but a handful of the craziest elected officials on the same page. The result has been a much more on-message party that has been able to stop the Democrats cold and now exploit this scandal fully.
As I said, I'm not entirely sure where this will go yet, but it's interesting to watch.
tryanmax, To finish my thought, think about this: Lindsey Graham, John McCain, Rand Paul, McConnell, Coburn, Rubio, Boehner, Ryan... all on the same page, time and again. Something has changed when old and young, left and right, pain in the butt, outsider and establishment are all on the same page time and again.
True dat! Tuh-roo dat!
As I said, I'm not 100% sure where this is headed, but it's really helped them present a unified message on the scandal, which had wrong-footed the Democrats and the media.
" The leadership seems to be establishing an agenda and they've got all but a handful of the craziest elected officials on the same page. The result has been a much more on-message party that has been able to stop the Democrats cold and now exploit this scandal fully."
Andrew - I don't mean to brag, but I think it's because of me. I railed at a RNC telemarketer about how the Republicans needed to get back on message with an agenda that regular people could relate to and stop doing what they were doing. And I wouldn't give them a dime until they did. We argued for about 10 minutes until he finally hung up.
You can thank me now...;-)
Bev, I'm sure there's an official certificate of gratitude in the mail even as we speak.
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