Tag Archives: party

Chris Matthews: ‘Is Sarah Palin The Most Important Republican In The Country?’

Posted on June 27, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

A truly extraordinary thing happened on this weekend’s “The Chris Matthews Show”: the host asked his panel if former Alaska governor Sarah is the most important Republican in the country right now. What made this even more surprising was how his guests — CNN’s Gloria Borger, Politico’s John Harris, the BBC’s Katty Kay, and former “CBS Evening News” host Dan Rather — seemed to feel she was. Most bullish on Palin was Rather who said, “I wouldn’t underestimate her…If she decides to run, it would be hard to bet against her for the nomination.” For his part, Matthews played a little bit of a misdirection with his viewers by predictably bashing Palin during the program’s introduction (multiple videos follow with highlights and commentary):  CHRIS MATTHEWS, HOST: She was a governor that couldn’t take it anymore. Ridiculed as a Bozo, all she could do was cash in get what she could on the way off the stage. But a year later, with zillions in her pocket, she’s an even better bet to run. As the opening segment about President Obama and Generals McChrystal and Petraeus came to an end, Matthews told his viewers:  MATTHEWS: Before we break, it was a year ago that Sarah Palin called that surprise news conference out there in the lawn in Wasilla to announce she was quitting as Alaska governor. David Letterman had a lot of fun with that. What followed was one of Letterman’s typically derogatory “Top Tens” about Palin: After the commercial, Matthews played a clip from Palin’s resignation speech last July: SARAH PALIN: With this announcement that I’m not seeking re-election, I determined it is best to transfer the authority of governor, to Lieutenant Governor Parnell. MATTHEWS: Transfer the authority? Well, she quit. A lot of people thought that was a short-sighted move, that quitting would end her career as an elected politician. Well, a year since then Palin’s made well over $12 million. Her first book “Going Rogue” was the year’s number one best-seller, made her $7 million in the advance. She gets $100,000 a speech, and Fox signed her to a TV deal. Besides getting to be rich, has she become, I would ask you open-ended, is she the most important Republican right now in the country? Kay was the first to answer, making some surprisingly positive comments about the former Governor and her success assisting Republican candidates in recent primaries.  When Matthews commented that Palin seems to be only backing winners, Borger countered that maybe they’re winning BECAUSE of her support.  For his part, Harris was a little less enthusiastic, but also gave an uncharacteristically upbeat view of the former vice presidential candidate. But the best was yet to come when Rather got his turn: DAN RATHER: Well, she’s not running at the moment for President. But I wouldn’t underestimate her. She’s a version now of a Deacon with four aces. She can go a lot of different ways. She is playing an almost perfect hand. If she wants to stay a power in the Party, make a lot of money and not run, she can do that. I wouldn’t underestimate her even for 2012 for one second. If she decides to run, it would be hard to bet against her for the nomination. MATTHEWS: Good point. Is she Richard Nixon? Is she going around and picking up chits, proving that she can deliver, carefully selecting winners, avoiding losers when they’re on the right, so that day after this election, like Nixon did in ’66, “Look what I did for the party, I should be the nominee?” RATHER: And goes into the convention with maybe thirty percent of the votes. Imagine that. For approaching two years, America’s press have been mercilessly eviscerating this woman with every opportunity. Now, with Obama plummeting in the polls, and Democrats looking like they’re in a lot of trouble in the upcoming midterm elections, suddenly Palin is not only possibly the most important Republican in the country, but is also a legitimate candidate for President. Is hell freezing over, or is something else at play here? 

View post:
Chris Matthews: ‘Is Sarah Palin The Most Important Republican In The Country?’

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Hollywood, Hot Stuff, News

Tagged , , , , , , , ,

Janeane Garofalo’s a Racist Redneck: Expresses Disappointment With Obama

Posted on June 26, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

If Janeane Garofalo says something bad about the Obama administration, does that mean she’s a racist redneck? After all, she’s been telling people almost since Inauguration Day that anyone that disagrees with this president does so because of the color of his skin. So when she told the A.V. Club Friday, “There are so many things in the Obama administration to be sick over that certainly didn’t change” and “I was surprised how disappointing the Obama administration has turned out to be,” there has to be a racist element in play, right? Not surprising to folks that have followed the career of this shameless left-wing activist, this wasn’t the only glaring hypocrisy in this interview (h/t Big Hollywood):  AVC: You gave an interview several years back, deep in the heart of the Bush administration, where you said that the reason that you didn’t do stand-up as much then was that you didn’t find anything funny anymore. So can we assume that you’re ready to laugh again? JG: Yeah, there was so much stuff that broke my heart during the Bush years that I honestly could not do stand-up without going down one of those tangents and getting very strident. But also I was working at Air America five nights a week, so it was very difficult to do stand-up, because I wasn’t leaving Air America until 11 p.m. So there was that. Now, granted, there are still as many heartbreaking things going on. There are so many things in the Obama administration to be sick over that certainly didn’t change. And also our media, if it’s possible, seems to be getting even worse. The alleged news media. And then there are the teabag racists adding insult to injury. But I don’t have that same heartbreak anymore, because it’s not fresh heartbreak anymore. It’s like I’m used to it. I’m sure we all are just used to it. I have to say I was surprised how disappointing the Obama administration has turned out to be. That did take me by surprise. Readers should recall what Garofalo said about folks expressing their displeasure with the Obama administration in April 2009: Which, let’s be very honest about what this is about. It’s not about bashing Democrats, it’s not about taxes, they have no idea what the Boston tea party was about, they don’t know their history at all. This is about hating a black man in the White House. This is racism straight up. So, when white conservatives express their displeasure with the Obama administration, it’s “racism straight up.” But when she does it, not so much. Not seeing the hypocrisy, Garofalo moments later reiterated her position about Tea Party members:  AVC: You did spend last year as a very visible target of right-wing hate because of that comment you made about teabaggers. JG: But I don’t know if it’s on anybody’s mind. It’s on the teabagger-type mind, but I don’t know if it’s on normal people’s minds. Does that make sense? The teabagger thing and the right-wing thing-they pick easy targets, and a female in the entertainment industry is low-hanging fruit. It’s very easy to mock and marginalize people in general who are in the entertainment industry, for some reason. But then definitely there’s the double standard and the misogyny that goes through it as well. They’ve got no problem with Will Ferrell or Alec Baldwin or Viggo Mortensen, but they tend to take issue when a female says something. It’s just an easier person to bully. And they just love making mountains out of molehills. It’s just a fact. If you don’t recognize the racist element in the teabag movement, you’re either dishonest, or you’ve never seen the teabag movement, or heard of it, or been acquainted with it in any way. Ah, so the reason folks on the right go after her is because they’re misogynists. Let’s add up the paranoia at play: when conservatives attack Obama, they’re racists; when they attack her, they’re sexists. Honestly, this is a woman in SERIOUS need of psycho-therapy. Regardless, let’s address her misogyny theory, shall we? Garofalo claimed the right-wing has no problem with Alec Baldwin. Maybe she ought to check our Alec Baldwin page to get a clue, as he’s been the subject of almost twenty reports since NewsBusters’ inception. We’ve also done pieces about Will Ferrell’s stupidity.  As for Viggo Mortensen, if he’s said anything you feel we need to address, Janeane, please feel free to send it to our tips line. But I digress:  AVC: You’ve also been called out by name and invited to tea parties by people like Deroy Murdock and other African-Americans within the Tea Party-people who probably don’t know you from anything else-ostensibly just so they can prove to you that there are minorities involved, so therefore they aren’t racists. JG: But not really. They’ve put that out on their side. They have never really invited me. They claim that they have, but they really haven’t. And having said that, I would never go. They will always say, “I invited so and so, and she declined,” when they’ve never gotten in touch with me. [Laughs.] But then also, a lot of the things they say I say, I’ve never said. They just make things up whole cloth. Really? You were never invited? Well, Garofalo appears to be conveniently forgetting that she was invited to attend the Dallas Tea Party’s gathering on July 4, 2009. They even put the invitation on YouTube: Did they make this up? Certainly not. Garofalo just refused to show up! Too bad, because as the following answer demonstrated, this woman doesn’t know anything about the movement she regularly disparages:  AVC: Last year, Lou Dobbs accused you of being hypocritical for encouraging people to protest during Bush’s administration, but then dismissing the Tea Party protests. How would you say the situations are different? JG: First of all, Lou Dobbs is ridiculous. Secondly, there was plenty to protest for the Bush administration. Protesting the color of a man’s skin is not a worthy protest. That’s what the teabaggers are about. The first Tea Party protest was scheduled for Inauguration Day. So what were they upset about? Which part of the job he was doing before he even did it were they upset about? Secondly, if they claim to be upset with government corruption, government takeover, crazy spending, where were they from 2000 to 2008? The first Tea Party protest was scheduled for Inauguration Day? Actually, nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, the Tea Party’s roots go back to Florida in 1983.  According to Wikipedia, there were Tax Day protests associated with the Tea Party throughout the ’90s.  Furthermore, the modern iteration of this movement is tied to Ron Paul’s presidential campaign when a fundraiser in December 2007 was set up to commemorate the 235th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party.  As for Garofalo’s claim that there was a Tea Party event the day Obama was inaugurated, Wikipedia lists the first such gathering in 2009 happened on February 10 in Fort Myers, Florida. As with just about everything this comedian says, whether intended or not, it’s typically a joke not to be taken at all seriously. 

Read this article:
Janeane Garofalo’s a Racist Redneck: Expresses Disappointment With Obama

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Hollywood, Hot Stuff, News

Tagged , , , , , , ,

Michael Jackson’s Party Anthems: DJ Drama, Jermaine Dupri, More Reveal Their Favorites

Posted on June 25, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

‘Michael Jackson’s music can absolutely crush a party!’ Q-Tip tells MTV News. By Shaheem Reid Michael Jackson Photo: Kevin Mazur/ WireImage Friday (June 25) marks the one-year anniversary of Michael Jackson’s death . Fans across the globe are still heartbroken that the King of Pop is no longer with us, but this weekend, they will celebrate his memory by singing his songs and dancing to his music, just like Jackson wanted them to do while he was still here. We spoke to several DJs and asked them which of MJ’s songs are their favorites to play in the club. ” ‘Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough,’ ” Jermaine Dupri said Friday morning. “Because it embodies what clubs in the ’80s were really about, and you can hear it. For the three minutes you throw that on, you start believing you’re back there. At least I do.” “Probably ‘P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing),’ ” DJ Drama said via phone from India. “It gets all the drunk and hot girls excited!” ” ‘P.Y.T.,’ ” DJ Envy agreed. ” ‘Beat It,’ ‘Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’.’ ” Q-Tip, who became a legend in hip-hop for his abstract rhymes, had a few nonconventional choices. “Michael Jackson’s music can absolutely crush a party!” said Tip, who DJs all around the world. “The obvious records are ‘Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough’ and ‘Rock With You.’ My personal faves are ‘Life of the Party,’ ‘Get on the Floor’ and ‘Body Language.’ Also, ‘Show Me the Way to Go.’ ” “My two favorites are ‘Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough’ and ‘Billie Jean.’ They both are so timeless,” said DJ Kut, who spins on WBLS in New York. “They even make me wanna dance, and I don’t dance!” “Definitely one of my all-time favorites that can work at any party in the world is ‘Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough,’ ” Miami’s DJ Affect said. “The title explains it best. … That record is a party starter! Followed up by ‘Billie Jean,’ which always gets the ladies moving on any dance floor. To conclude the night around 4:55 a.m. in South Beach, ‘Dirty Diana’ is the perfect go-to record. MJ will truly be missed and never forgot.” Lil Jon went with the classics: ” ‘Billie Jean.’ Soon as the drums drop, people go nuts and they love to sing the hook! ‘Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’,’ I use the ‘ma ma say, ma ma sa’ part all the time to get the whole club crazy. ‘Rock With You,’ I drop the a cappella, and everyone is singing from thugs to nerds. Then I drop the beat and send the club into a frenzy!” “You can go to any club on the planet and hear ‘Billie Jean,’ ‘Beat It,’ ” said DJ Jazzy Jeff, who released the Jackson tribute mixtape He’s the King, I’m the DJ last year. “You can hear ‘Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’.’ Those are his main, main super staples; an Eskimo in Alaska knows those.” MTV will be remembering the life and music of Michael Jackson all weekend. Don’t miss the one-hour special “Michael Jackson’s Influence on Music,” airing tonight at 6:30 p.m. on MTV. Related Videos Remembering Michael Jackson – One Year Later Related Photos Michael Jackson: A Fashion Icon Michael Jackson: A Life In Photos Related Artists Michael Jackson

Link:
Michael Jackson’s Party Anthems: DJ Drama, Jermaine Dupri, More Reveal Their Favorites

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Celebrities, Gossip, Hollywood, Music

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

NPR Twice Promoted David Weigel as Chronicler of Conservative Extremism

Posted on June 25, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

The idea that Washington Post writer David Weigel was supposed to be a conservative — and not merely someone reporting on the conservative movement — was clearly not based on a review of Weigel’s output. Weigel didn’t just deconstruct conservatives for the Post, but was also presented twice recently by National Public Radio as a wise man assessing the fringiness of conservatives. Last October , they wanted to know how strange Fox News was, and whether they could be blamed for Tea Party protests. Weigel called their influence “massive.” Weigel typically suggested Fox and Glenn Beck were not “realistic” in painting President Obama as connected to ACORN and the SEIU. On NPR’s Fresh Air on February 23 , before he joined the Post, Weigel reported on CPAC and the Tea Party and embraced host Terry Gross’s idea that conservatives shouldn’t be big fans of government-enhancing Dick Cheney:  GROSS: So if the conservative movement is glad that Bush isn’t around anymore, and if they think that he embraced big government, why was Dick Cheney such a rock star at CPAC? I mean, if anything, Cheney is the person most responsible for the expansion of the powers of the executive branch. WEIGEL: Well… GROSS: And Cheney was the person who – was the architect in a – one of the architects of the war in Iraq, which was certainly government getting us into a very long war, a war that many people think was not only fought on false premises but many people believe has been very destructive both to America and Iraq. So why did he get such the rousing welcome that he did, if in many ways he represented the expansion of government’s power? WEIGEL: That’s an excellent point, it’s just that he represents a specific kind of government expansion, the expansion of the national security state and the expansion of America’s role in spreading democracy around the world with military action. Those are very popular with conservatives, and that’s a dispute. CPAC was pretty convivial this year, but the dispute that existed there was between more Ron Paul-type activists who think America should pull back from engagement in the world and wiretapping and all these debates that are hot right now, and the more traditional conservatives, who think anything that the president needs to kill terrorists is justifiable . So that’s why he was cheered. Cheney was a surprise guest who was introduced by his daughter, Liz Cheney, who has become a pretty successful pundit, basically making that argument, arguing sometimes against reality that everything Barack Obama does is aiding terrorists and making America less safe. That got huge cheers. Weigel also talked about how CPAC organizers were downplaying a presidential straw poll that Ron Paul won, and the idea that Weigel’s libertarian doesn’t come through in this segment: WEIGEL: But conservatives were united in trying to diminish this result, because they don’t want their image to the American people to be a septuagenarian politician who bangs on about the need to pull – you know, to close down American bases and speaks at meetings of the John Birch Society. I mean, it was accidentally very revealing of how far right the party has gotten. GROSS: Do you mean that Paul’s victory is representative of how far right the party has gotten? WEIGEL: Oh, yeah, this is an unscientific straw poll that was conducted, but they’ve all been unscientific straw polls, and they usually don’t end with this very libertarian – and libertarian is a term that gets tossed around a lot. Paul specifically is one of these guys who thinks we just really need to roll back the federal government to at least what it was like before 1912, before the progressive movement. Actually, I correct myself: before Teddy Roosevelt. Weigel also suggested the Tea Party movement weren’t Dick Armey’s puppets, but they didn’t know which bills to oppose until Armey told them:  GROSS: The Tea Party movement wants to be something new and different and have some impact on the Republican Party. But one of the chief funders of parts of the Tea Party movement is Dick Armey, through his organization Freedom Works. And Dick Armey is really, you know, a voice of the past. I mean he was one of the – he was a Republican leader during the Clinton administration and goes back before that. Like, when was he in Congress? WEIGEL: He was elected in 1984 and he left on his own volition in 2002. I mean he was in no danger of being defeated. He just retired to become, like a lot of former congressmen, a lobbyist with some political interests. GROSS: Okay. So what are his interests in funding the Tea Party movement? WEIGEL: One thing Armey would say is that he doesnt fund the Tea Party movement. He loves to contrast what they see as union thugs and ACORN putting Democratic rallies together with Tea Party people gassing up their cars and driving to Washington for his rallies. There’s some dishonesty there. (Laughter) I mean Freedom Works is always on the scene. It helps set these things up. It’s got full-time activists who help get permits. And I mean I’ve been to a couple of events at Freedom Works’ office where theyll have huge, you know, nice buffet spreads and things like that for Tea Party activists and conservative bloggers to meet and strategize. But it’s not a ton of money they’re spending. He has figured out that the very libertarian beliefs he’s had for a long time, which he always thought had some sort of, you know, if not a majority support, some huge support in the country he just couldnt locate, well, that support’s been located. So he is happily steering these guys and giving them candidates they can support and giving them policies they can support. I mean Tea Party activists are not – do not come to these rallies with a set of political goals. They generally believe the things I’ve been talking about – about the Constitution, about how Obama’s trying to wreck it. But for them to come out against a bill or believe that that bill contains a provision that’s going to kill their grandmothers, something like that, that is coming from people like Armey, who have these interests – have lobbying interests in some respects, who want that message to get out there. And that’s what you see. I mean I dont – I really don’t think that conservative activists at the top like Armey have been puppeteering this movement. I mean they’re right, it was – it did spring out of some part of the American map in reaction to Obama’s policies. But they are telling it what it should stand for as much as Fox News is informing them what Obama is doing that they should be opposing.

See more here:
NPR Twice Promoted David Weigel as Chronicler of Conservative Extremism

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Hollywood, Hot Stuff, News

Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

WaPo’s Stevens-Arroyo Calls for Catholics to ‘Embrace a Redistribution of Wealth’

Posted on June 25, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

The Washington Post’s really should consider renaming Anthony Stevens-Arroyo’s column in its “On Faith” blog. “Catholic America” should be “Liberal Democrat Catholic America,” just for the sake of truth in advertising. On June 23, left-wing hack Stevens-Arroyo again injected his politics into the ostensibly religious column. In “ Common good v corp. profits ,” he actually wrote that Catholics should “embrace a redistribution of wealth.” The column sought to explain how Catholics and others should view Judge Martin Feldman’s ruling overturning the Obama moratorium on off-shore drilling. Why, the reader may ask, should this event have Catholic significance, beyond the fact that a liberal writer whose column has “Catholic” in the title was upset about it? It doesn’t. But Stevens-Arroyo gamely offered that, “There may not be a ‘Catholic’ position about the immediate politics of off-shore drilling, but there is an on-going Catholic approach to resolving the competing interests.” Not surprisingly, that approach vindicates the left. To Stevens-Arroyo, the issue came down to “common good,” which led him to make this puzzling statement: “While we have considerable freedom about our personal political choices in the application of principles, Catholics in America are bound to embrace a redistribution of wealth, even if it goes contrary to ranting from groups like the Tea Party or Wall Street.” He never explained where exactly it states Catholics are bound to encourage the government to confiscate legally earned private property to give it to whomever it deems more worthy. Catholics are bound to assist others through charity, not compulsory redistribution. This isn’t the first time Stevens-Arroyo has conflated socialism with faith. Last year he declared that “ the most Catholic ” part of Ted Kennedy’s funeral was the senator’s grandchildren pleading for nationalized health care. But, not content being an arbiter of what is Catholic and what isn’t, Stevens-Arroyo set himself up as a law scholar, hypothesizing that the “Reagan-appointed judge” Feldman’s ruling could be seen as the work of an “activist court.” He ranted that, “a judge is supposed to be limited to matters of constitutionality — and not to impose his jobs’ policy. There can be no doubt that a presidential moratorium falls within the powers of the White House, so stopping this legitimate executive order on questions about its consequences constitutes activism.” Even the Associated Press explained that the moratorium was overturned because the “Interior Department failed to provide adequate reasoning for the moratorium.” Stevens-Arroyo has a history of being unable to hide his liberal viewpoints. Just last March he claimed that Fox New’s Glenn Beck was using “the same strategy of the Hitler Youth and the Polish Communist Party … ” In December he also attempted to compare Ft. Hood shooter Hidal Hassan to World War 1 hero Alvin York and General Patton.

See the original post:
WaPo’s Stevens-Arroyo Calls for Catholics to ‘Embrace a Redistribution of Wealth’

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Hollywood, Hot Stuff, News

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Garofalo: Bible a ‘Work of Fiction’ for ‘Child-Like Audience’

Posted on June 25, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Sometime-comedian Janeane Garofalo never passes up an opportunity to slam conservatives or, apparently, Christianity. The Huffington Post gave her an opportunity June 24 to kill two birds with one stone. In an  interview  promoting her upcoming special on a network called EPIX, Garofalo compared the most widely-read book of all time, the Bible, to a Bill O’Reilly autobiography and a children’s book authored by former President Bush. When asked by a Huffington Post reader which of those three publications she’d rather read, Garofalo said, “Actually that’s like six and one half, that is six and one half right there.” Presumably, she meant to use the popular idiom, “six of one, half a dozen of the other.” “That’s just three works of fiction targeted to a child-like audience so any, all, any one, none,” Garofalo said. “I don’t know how to read either, so that’s kind of a drag.” During the interview, Garofalo also expressed disappointment in President Obama. “It’s a drag that he’s such a conservative,” she lamented. Garofalo’s made her disdain for religion clear in the past. During a June 16 appearance on “The Joy Behar Show” on Headline News, she called prayer “anti-intellectual.” Behar later defended Garofalo on ABC’s “The View,” saying the comedian should have said prayer was “un-intellectual.” Garofalo has also built a long resume of attacking conservatives. She has compared the GOP to neo-Nazis  and called Tea Party protestors ” functionally retarded ,” and ” racist backward motherf***ers .” She has called the stable of Fox News anchors and hosts, as well as conservative talk radio hosts,  liars .

Go here to read the rest:
Garofalo: Bible a ‘Work of Fiction’ for ‘Child-Like Audience’

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Hollywood, Hot Stuff, News

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Bethenny Getting Married Review: Oh, the (Scripted) Stress!

Posted on June 25, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Between a book signing, wedding preparations and a bachelor/bachelorette party, the script on Bethenny Getting Married called for Bethenny Frankel to act very stressed this week. How well did she pull it off? Let’s turn it over to our Real Housewives guru for the answer and the review of last night’s episode… Ugghhh… is it just me or is Bethenny starting to seem really whiny and bitchy?

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Celebrities, Gossip

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

WaPo’s David Weigel Again Exposed Trashing the Right He’s Supposed to Cover

Posted on June 24, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Many conservatives, including a number of NewsBusters contributors, have been skeptical of Washington Post blogger Dave Weigel since he was hired in March to cover the right. Time and again, those concerns have been vindicated as Weigel has ridiculed a number of conservatives and conservative positions. It seems that the Washington Post has little interest in an objective blog-based approach to the news — something this humble blogger has noted previously . Likewise, Weigel seems to have little interest in covering the right with an even hand; he has consistently shown his disdain for the movement and its members. The website Fishbowl DC today published a number of excerpts of emails from Weigel to an email list created by fellow Post blogger Ezra Klein ridiculing various conservatives. He says he hopes Matt Drudge will “set himself on fire” and dubbed Tea Party protesters “Paultard[s],” a crude reference to Ron Paul. Weigel also apparently does not appreciate being made fun of. After the Washington Examiner’s gossip blog Yeas and Neas published a piece taunting his dance moves, Weigel called on members of the email list to refrain from linking to any Examiner content. Weigel took heat in May for calling gay marriage opponents ” bigots ” and for stating on his Twitter account , “I hear there’s video out there of Matt Drudge diddling an 8-year-old boy. Shocking.” NewsBusters contributor Dan Gainor called Weigel out on his inappropriate statements, noting that his new employment at the Post required a heightened degree of professionalism that he may not have been used to. Apparently that message was lost on Weigel. As a reporter for an organization as prominent as the Post, Weigel should not be surprised when he catches flack for making unprofessional and inappropriate statements. Weigel has taken to his blog to apologize for and defend the most recent comments. But his excuses really do not make any difference. The comments he is trying to defend demonstrate his hostility towards conservatives and conservatism. A journalist who reverts to name-calling and derisive criticism of those who is charged with covering cannot seriously claim to be covering them fairly. “I feel [Weigel’s] column often looks for ways that make conservatives look bad,” wrote Gainor in March, “while his opposite number, the Post’s Ezra Klein, is an open liberal and spends his time making the left look good.” Who knows, maybe that was the point all along.

Continue reading here:
WaPo’s David Weigel Again Exposed Trashing the Right He’s Supposed to Cover

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Hollywood, Hot Stuff, News

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,

CNBC’s Santelli Warns U.S. ‘Could End Up Worse than Japan’ Facing a Lost Decade

Posted on June 24, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Fresh off his Tea Party cover story   in the June 24 Weekly Standard , CNBC’s Rick Santelli foresees what could be classified as an economic black hole for the United States of America. On the network’s June 24 broadcast of “Strategy Session,” the CME Group reporter explained how the country could be headed down the same path and face the economic calamity the Japanese faced in what is known as   the “lost decade.”   That period, from 1991-2000, was one which the Asian nation failed to grow economically despite countless efforts by the government to intervene. But as Santelli explained – the U.S. version of Japanese economic policies could result in Greek-style austerity measures. “The notion that we are turning into Japan has been something talked about on this floor for probably a year and a half,” Santelli said. “What changes though, is that it is now a toss up between Japan and Greece and trust me the eventual solutions or recommendations for avoiding the pitfalls of either are completely different strategies. A lot of Japanese say, ‘More Keynesian, more stimulus, spend, spend, spend, spend, spend.’ And the other side of the equation says, ‘Well then, you are going turn into Greece.’ Where does the truth lie? One thing I can tell you is, is that demographics are a big issue in this story as well. The Japanese have a demographic time bomb similar to the U.S. in terms of underfunded pensions and liabilities.” But according to “Strategy Session” anchor David Faber, the United States doesn’t face the same demographic obstacles as Japan, which has an aging population. “They also have a much older population,” Faber said. “I mean the fact is with our immigration patterns, with our birth patterns – we’re at a much better demographic point than they are, Rick – to be fair. You know, I hate to even use this but it’s true – they sell more adult diapers in that country than they do baby diapers. We don’t have that problem, thankfully.” However, as far monetary policy is concerned, the United States is positioned much differently than Japan because the world uses the dollar as a reserve currency. And that makes financing government debt much easier – but it also puts the United States in a potentially much more untenable position as well. “We could end up worse than Japan and I’ll tell you why,” Santelli said. “When Japan had their horrible decade and they were doing the sterilization and trying to print Yen, they were also issuing a pretty significant amount of debt but who was buying the Japanese debt? The Japanese. Now we have a reserve currency, so who’s buying our debt? Well, pretty much the rest of the world. People might say, ‘Well that’s a great thing, we could monetize it.’ And that’s where the trouble lies. Go to what Steve said – our government is a free-for-all of dumb ideas. And the fact is, if you have interest rates this low and a reserve currency, in a world that keeps wanting to eat in what turns out to be a cruddy cake – where does that leave us when we finally figure it out?

Go here to see the original:
CNBC’s Santelli Warns U.S. ‘Could End Up Worse than Japan’ Facing a Lost Decade

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Hollywood, Hot Stuff, News

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

Name That Party: Again-Indicted Kwame Kilpatrick Still Not Tagged as a Dem as AP Appears to Cover His Tracks

Posted on June 24, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

The Associated Press is still failing to tag the currently imprisoned former Detroit Mayor and former beneficiary of President Barack Obama’s high praise Kwame Kilpatrick as a Democrat. I know, same-old, same-old. And Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead . But there’s more to this particular chapter in this ongoing “Name That Party” narrative. The wire service kept its near-perfect Kilpatrick non-labeling track record intact in two shorter items and a lengthier treatment of the latest development in Kwame’s calamaties, all published in roughly the past 24 hours. The closest Kwame got to being tagged as a Dem occurred in an otherwise detailed report turned in by Ed White, where he described Kilpatrick’s mother, Congresswoman Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, as “D-Mich.).” The link to White’s report doesn’t contain his byline; I’ll explain why later in the post, where I will also suggest that there is reason to believe the AP has attempted to bottle up White’s full report. A six-paragraph story carried at the Toledo Blade last night (HT to Maggie Thurber in an e-mail) described the latest and by far most serious development in this sickening saga: In an indictment filed Wednesday, he’s accused of failing to report at least $640,000 in taxable income between 2003 and 2008, which includes money, private jet flights and personal expenses paid by the (Kilpatrick) Civic Fund. The government says he used the money to pay for yoga and golf lessons, golf clubs, summer camp for his kids, personal travel, moving expenses, as well as “counter-surveillance and anti-bugging equipment.” White’s report goes into further detail and captures much more additional reaction: A taste for premium steaks, shopping at Gucci and a five-bedroom mansion helped send former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick to state prison. His latest legal hardship is a federal indictment with allegations of even more reckless spending. … The indictment said donors were misled into believing their money would be used for legal purposes. Adolph Mongo, a political consultant to Kilpatrick in 2005, told The Associated Press he was paid out of the Civic Fund. He described it as being like an ATM. The government alleges Kilpatrick received nearly $200,000 from the fund in 2007 in the form of cash, private jet flights and other personal expenses — an amount that exceeded his annual salary as mayor. His mother, U.S. Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, D-Mich., said she was devastated by the charges. The ex-mayor’s spokesman, Mike Paul, struck a positive tone, noting the indictment does not allege any bribery schemes after a yearslong investigation at City Hall that has netted ex-councilwoman Monica Conyers and many others. “This investigation puts an end to the ridiculous rumors that the mayor was personally involved with corruption, payoffs and bribes. … Those rumors were hurtful and were lies from the pit of hell!” Paul said in an e-mail. Not so fast, McQuade told AP. “The investigation is continuing. If we find additional charges that we can prove they will be brought,” the prosecutor said. The 13 fraud charges each carry a maximum punishment of 20 years in prison. Judges, however, mostly order concurrent sentences, which means Kilpatrick would not serve the rest of his life behind bars if convicted. … A prominent Detroit pastor, the Rev. Horace Sheffield, said the federal indictment is another chapter in a “sad saga.” “At some point, the Kwame Kilpatrick story needs to end,” he said. “It tarnishes the reputable way his mother has served in Congress. Detroit is more than Kwame Kilpatrick.” Now it gets interesting. I originally found White’s story with his byline at the AP’s main site last night at about midnight. Going there at about 1:30 p.m. ET, here’s what I found in a search on Kilpatrick’s first name : Though one would expect the first item listed to go to the longer story, here is the full text as found at the link (dynamic, and subject to change): Thus, the wire service has flushed roughly 15 paragraphs of details, including the fact that the investigation is still ongoing, down the memory hole, leaving an opening paragraph that reads like an editorial, two paragraphs of facts, and a paragraph of “let it go” sympathy. You’ve got to be kidding me. The “creative” folks at AP continue to invent new forms of journalistic malpractice. Since when does a detailed report about an indicted criminal get sliced by two-thirds or more about 12 hours after the original event? The answer to that question appears to be: “In AP-Land, when Democrats are involved.” I should note that the word “Democrat” does appear at the long version of the story at MLive.com . Not in the story, but after it, in a comment, where reader “MIRef” responds to the Rev. Sheffield’s “let’s move on” sentiment: “At some point, the Kwame Kilpatrick story needs to end,” he said. “It tarnishes the reputable way his mother has served in Congress. Detroit is more than Kwame Kilpatrick.” Anybody else gag over this quote? In reality, Kilpatrick is the perfect living example of Detroit and what happens when Democrats are given unlimited power. No wonder the AP buried the gory details at its main site. It wouldn’t want readers to start thinking that what “MIRef” has written is true. Go here for a rundown of previous NewsBusters posts on establishment media Kilpatrick-is-a-Democrat avoidance. Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com .

Read the rest here:
Name That Party: Again-Indicted Kwame Kilpatrick Still Not Tagged as a Dem as AP Appears to Cover His Tracks

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Hollywood, Hot Stuff, News

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,