Tag Archives: politics

MSNBC’s Matthews Openly Roots for Birther Candidate Taitz to ‘Bring Down’ California Republicans, ‘I Would Tie Her Up Like a Wit

Appearing on the 10:00 p.m. edition of MSNBC’s Countdown show on Tuesday to discuss the day’s primary election results, Chris Matthews expressed his delight that Orly Taitz – a prominent member of the birther movement that pushes the bizarre theory that President Obama was not really born in America – won the Republican nomination for secretary of state in California, and expressed his hope that the fringe candidate would drag down the Republican ticket in the state. Matthews celebrated what he termed a “malignancy” within the Republican party as he openly rooted for Taitz to hurt the GOP: Keith, we`ve got good news tonight. And that`s the probable nomination of Orly Taitz in California for secretary of state. This is a true malignancy on the Republican party. She will bring down the other two candidates for high office out there. She`ll probably bring down Carly Fiorina, and may well bring down Meg Whitman because she is unacceptable to any reasonable voter. Matthews went on to advise that California Democrats “tie her up like a witch at the stake”: It is tribalist, it`s malignant, and I believe if I were a Democratic officeholder out there or had anything to do with the Democratic party with Jerry Brown`s campaign, I would tie her to them like a fencepost. I would tie her up, I should say, like a witch at the stake. This is a malignancy. Matthews went on to reiterate that he thought that Taitz’s current success in California’s Republican party was “wonderful news”: CHRIS MATTHEWS: I think that`s wonderful news that she`s been included in the inner sanctum of the Republican ticket out there. KEITH OLBERMANN: Yes. MATTHEWS: She`s been attending their events. OLBERMANN: Karl Rove did not get up and walk out. Let me ask you about Arkansas. MATTHEWS: He should have.

Jillette Mocks BP Boycott Try: ‘Oh No, Now They’re Boycotting us on Facebook’

There are a lot of people angry at BP for causing huge damage to the Gulf of Mexico. As a way to vent some of this emotion, some are volunteering their help to clean up where the oil has washed ashore. Others are petitioning lawmakers to clamp down on oil companies to ensure this doesn’t happen again. However, there’s one option that has proved to be pointless according to Penn Jillette, half of the famed Vegas duo Penn & Teller.  On the June 8 broadcast of the Fox Business Network’s “Imus in the Morning,” Jillette said the first thing that amazed him about the entire oil spill catastrophe was the notion of a Facebook group geared toward boycotting BP. “Well, you know, I don’t know there’s many different takes to take on it,” Jillette said. “I mean, it’s just a horrible disaster and a catastrophe. What amazes me about it is on Facebook, they just, they put this thing up, you know, ‘Boycott BP.'” Aside from hurting only local station owners, as Jonathan Berr pointed out for AOL’s Daily Finance on June 2 , Jillette explained this would likely be the least of BP’s worries considering the current circumstances. “A Facebook thing to boycott BP?” Jillette said. “And all I could think is, you know, 11 people dead, a corporation being destroyed, the biggest natural ecological disaster in American history and I picture these people on Facebook going, ‘But, this will get ‘em.’ And BP will be going ‘Oh no, now they’re boycotting us on Facebook.'” Jillette suggested these people take a step back and realize how their anger could not remotely come close to the emotions of people suffering from effects of the spill. “I mean, the idea that whatever punishment or anger people could have towards BP could come anywhere near the horror and misery of being part of that is just amazing to me,” Jillette said. “It’s amazing to me that people think that attacking a corporation is the way to get out of this. No one knows more about stopping this than they do and unfortunately, it’s not enough.”

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Jillette Mocks BP Boycott Try: ‘Oh No, Now They’re Boycotting us on Facebook’

Video: Arab Media Gives Platform to Woman Who Warns Israeli Women to Leave or Be Raped

As debate has been raging over Israel and the Middle East it is important that we understand how Israel is treated in the region. Here is a video of an Egyptian woman being given a platform on Arab television to threaten that Israeli women should “leave the land” or be “raped.” (Content warning): Make sure you visit this post at the Eyeblast blog for more details on and discussion of the video.

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Video: Arab Media Gives Platform to Woman Who Warns Israeli Women to Leave or Be Raped

Which of Tonight’s Elections is Most Important? (BUMPED – OPEN THREAD)

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Which of Tonight’s Elections is Most Important? (BUMPED – OPEN THREAD)

Bozell Column: Helen’s Hate-Filled Exit

The last two presidents have been elected on the very dubious campaign promise of “changing the tone” of Washington. Either could have proven his sincerity by shredding the press credentials of the White House press corps Dean of Mean, Helen Thomas. Her tone was nasty, and her “questions” usually meant more as insults than as requests for information. Still, presidents and journalists alike bowed and scraped before her, as if she were the Queen of All Media. Her reign ended with an implosion. A rabbi and two high-school kids in yarmulkes exposed Thomas as not merely anti-Israel, but anti-Semitic. Asked her opinion about the Jews at a Jewish heritage event at the White House, this daughter of Lebanese immigrants said they should “get the hell out of Palestine,” and when asked where they should go, she snapped “home” to Germany and Poland, where so many were massacred in the Holocaust. Thomas apologized quickly, then retired from her Hearst column after these remarks. Whether it was voluntary or mandatory is unclear. What is clear, however, is that some in the press returned immediately to kissing her ring. “Few White House correspondents ever achieved her high profile and respectability,” raved Jeremy Peters in the New York Times. “From her coveted seat in the front row of the White House briefing room to her ability to cow even the most hardened White House press secretary, Ms. Thomas was a legend in Washington.” The Helen Thomas “legend” devolved over the last decade after she left UPI, from annoying liberal Reagan-bashing scold to fire-breathing ogre. She bluntly admitted she was a hater in 2002: “I censored myself for 50 years….Now I wake up and ask myself, ‘Who do I hate today?’” Is that the sound of rarified respectability, New York Times? She clearly hated anyone who would wage a war on Islamic radicalism. Thomas sneered at press secretary Ari Fleischer in December of 2001 about President Bush: “I’m taking note of his wide-swinging threats in speeches recently. What makes him think that he has the right to go into a sovereign country and bomb the people?” Before the Iraq war in 2003, she demanded to know “Why does he want to drop bombs on innocent Iraqis?” In her questions, the Americans were always psychotic killers of innocent civilians. Those who awarded her respect often did so because she was one of the first women in the press corps. But honoring this accomplishment came with a hefty price: ignoring the blatant bias of her questions and rudeness of her conduct. Media liberals offered her more than respect. They clearly enjoyed her ranting outbursts from the hard left. When she mocked Bush and American military action, this hater spoke for them, saying the ugly things they wanted said. Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank is a good example. He disparaged her hateful Palestine remarks, but then hailed Thomas for offering “a ferocity to her questioning that has eluded too many in subsequent generations. At a time when others were getting cozy with sources, her crabby, unrelenting hostility was refreshing.” Journalists cherish ferocity and unrelenting hostility – when it comes from journalists. Milbank still fondly recalled how Thomas yelled at President Obama just two weeks ago. “When are you going to get out of Afghanistan?…Why are we continuing to kill and die there? What is the real excuse? And don’t give us this Bushism, ‘If we don’t go there, they’ll all come here.’ ” Milbank did not note the irony from his own newspaper on June 7, with the front-page story about the two aspiring jihadis who were nabbed by the feds in New Jersey as they attempted to travel to Somalia to join the terrorist group al-Shabab. One had said to an undercover cop he would be “doing killing here, if I can’t do it over there.” Helen Thomas thought her opponents were relentlessly dogmatic, but her unjust-war-on-terror narrative never acknowledged some jihadis want to kill us. In fact, they’ve already killed over 3,000 of us. The coverage of her retirement was sickening. ABC, CBS, and NBC all marked her retirement in a very narrow way. There was the offensive clip, and CBS and NBC allowed Obama flack Robert Gibbs to distance the White House from those remarks. But beyond that, the only soundbites came from sympathetic media colleagues, wishing her well. ABC reporter Dan Harris even suggested Thomas should get a break for her Jew-hating, because she’s approaching senility: “After all, many of us have elderly relatives who have lost their verbal filter.” So we should feel sorry for this hater? Helen Thomas is leaving the White House with all the hate she’s been bringing to the grounds for decades. Despite their ill-advised adoration, the White House press corps has been improved by her retirement.

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Bozell Column: Helen’s Hate-Filled Exit

Obama’s Knowing ‘Whose Ass to Kick’ Pledge Continues to Delight TV Network Journalists

More than 24 hours after NBC’s Matt Lauer prompted him to say it in an interview, the morning programs all showcased it – and even after day-long playback on the cable channels – CBS and NBC on Tuesday night delighted in again highlighting President Barack Obama’s boast that he’s gathering information on the oil leak “so I know whose ass to kick.” Katie Couric put the soundbite, from a competitor, at the top of the CBS Evening News: “In a TV interview aired today, the President said if BP’s CEO worked for him, he’d be fired. And Mr. Obama defended his handling of the disaster.” NBC Nightly News provided a re-run. A day after anchor Brian Williams trumpeted as “just into us” the bite illustrating how Obama “showed some anger on the topic of his handling of this spill so far,” reporter Anne Thompson touted: “Criticized for not conveying his anger over the nation’s greatest environmental disaster, President Obama fired back during an exclusive interview with NBC’s Matt Lauer.” Earlier, from Geoff Dickens: “ NBC’s Lauer Prompted Obama’s Use of the ‘A’ Word ” From the start of the Tuesday, June 8 CBS Evening News: KATIE COURIC: Good evening, everyone. The President is heading back to the gulf coast, his fourth trip there since the oil rig exploded seven weeks ago today. It will be a two-day visit to once again see for himself what’s going on in Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. Meanwhile, here’s what we’re seeing tonight– fire on the water as BP burns off some of the leaking oil. And this video just released shows the power of the gushing crude before the well was capped. Government scientists confirmed today that plumes of oil are spreading far below the surface of the gulf and far away from that leaking well. In a TV interview aired today, the President said if BP’s CEO worked for him, he’d be fired. And Mr. Obama defended his handling of the disaster. PRESIDENT OBAMA: I don’t sit around just talking to experts because this is a college seminar. We talk to these folks because they potentially have the best answers, so I know whose ass to kick. From the NBC Nightly News: ANNE THOMPSON: …Criticized for not conveying his anger over the nation’s greatest environmental disaster, President Obama fired back during an exclusive interview with NBC’s Matt Lauer. OBAMA: A month ago I was meeting with fishermen down there standing in the rain, talking about what a potential crisis this could be. And I don’t sit around just talking to experts because this is a college seminar. We talk to these folks because they potentially have the best answers, so I know whose ass to kick. THOMPSON: The President expressed particular displeasure with BP’s CEO Tony Hayward, who said last week he wanted his life back. OBAMA: He wouldn’t be working for me after any of those statements.

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Obama’s Knowing ‘Whose Ass to Kick’ Pledge Continues to Delight TV Network Journalists

HuffPo Column is a Microcosm of the Liberal Mindset – EVERYTHING is Bush’s Fault

Huffington Post writer and author of poetry and fiction, Anis Shivani, demonstrated what we have seen in bits and pieces throughout the liberal MSM, though it is rarely seen in such dramatic and sweeping fashion.  Shivani harnessed all of the rational thought he could muster, gathered a bevy of intelligent rhetoric, armed himself with a cache of well-reasoned arguments and… quickly dispensed with them prior to writing his recent column .  The gist of the piece?  Every major catastrophe to hit America can be traced to one singular event – George Bush and the 2000 Presidential election results. No, seriously. Shivani starts off by listing examples of American catastrophes – 9/11, Enron, Katrina, Wall Street, the BP spill. He then explains (emphasis mine throughout): ” It all began with the Florida election theft in 2000 (all of the now-familiar excuses were first used in full force, in total conjugation, for this first disaster). It gave a signal to everyone managing and regulating and overseeing any kind of operation, public or private, that henceforth it was the day of the jackals , that accountability and honesty and certitude were out the door.” For good measure – and in tune with his liberal colleagues – the BP oil spill is singled out as being directly Bush’s fault: “In such an open culture of deceit, why do we expect BP not to cut corners, or to be afraid of being brought to account should its recklessness go awry? Nobody has been held responsible for the eight years of war crimes under the Bush administration. Everyone knows that you can get away with whatever you want , and if you mess up on your watch, it’s all right. You’re certainly not going to jail.” Never mind those pesky Transocean/Deepwater safety awards handed out by the Obama administration.  Certainly the only culpability lies with the previous administration. On a side note, if getting away with whatever you want caused these catastrophes, then William Jefferson has some ‘splainin’ to do. The liberal media have consistently blamed Bush for every one of the aforementioned disasters.  That trend has continued with the disaster in the Gulf, as the following list demonstrates: Frank Rich Blames Oil Spill on Bush, Cheney, Beck, Palin, Tea Party and Rand Paul Behar on Oil Spill: Bush-Cheney ‘Started It, And Now This Poor Guy Has to Mop It Up’ Huffington on ABC’s This Week: ‘Absolutely a Thousand Percent Bush-Cheney’s Fault’ Now however, the bar has been raised by explaining away every single American catastrophe as being caused by the 2000 election.  No mention of what caused the devastation in Haiti, the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004, or the earthquake in Chile, but the people of those nations should seriously consider the effect of hanging chads on plate tectonics.  In the middle of the article, Shivani does exhibit a moment of clarity, finally criticizing the Obama administration for not stemming the flow of these disasters because – wait for it – they didn’t prosecute Bush administration officials for war crimes. “At no point has the circuit been broken. Obama, if he’d prosecuted officials in the previous administration for war crimes, would have slowed down the flow of disasters. How is BP connected to torture? In every way imaginable. Once this administration took charge, it refused to send any signals that those who committed crimes against the people would be brought to justice.” Hold on there Crazy McCrazypants.  Election results cause earthquakes?  Fighting a War on Terrorism and more specifically, waterboarding, causes oil spills?  I’ve heard it all now.  Next you’ll be telling me that excessive cleavage causes … well, nevermind. The best part about this piece is the end, where Shivani wraps it all up by hinting that any eventual disasters will also be Bush’s fault. “It is a huge, unmistakable signal that lawlessness is all right. It goes back to Florida, the original sin, it really does , and there’s no putting this Humpty Dumpty back together again…  These disasters are merely the exclamatory end points of this particular bloated empire. Get ready for the next ‘completely unprecedented,’ even larger one .” In the meantime, we’ll simply get ready for the next bout of Bush Derangement Syndrome from the Huffington Post.  – Send comments or tips to rustyweiss@verizon.net . Please join me on Facebook.

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HuffPo Column is a Microcosm of the Liberal Mindset – EVERYTHING is Bush’s Fault

Death of a Salesman

By Mr. Fish Related Entries June 6, 2010 Sunday Morning June 4, 2010 Death of a Salesman

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Death of a Salesman

U.N.‘s Ban Wants ‘Credible’ Investigation of Flotilla Raid

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon is calling for Israel to accept international participation in an investigation of the deadly flotilla assault that killed 9 activists in international waters. Israeli authorities have rejected the idea of an international tribunal and maintained that they will conduct an internal investigation. BBC: But a UN spokesman said Mr Ban still hoped for “credible international involvement” in the investigation to ensure it was “prompt, credible, impartial and transparent”. He said they had not received an official rejection from Israel. On Sunday Israel’s ambassador to the US, Michael Oren, told US broadcaster Fox News that Israel has the ability and the right to investigate its own military. Read more Related Entries June 8, 2010 Russia Has Trouble Escaping the Past June 7, 2010 Israel Kills Four Palestinian Divers

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U.N.‘s Ban Wants ‘Credible’ Investigation of Flotilla Raid

Your Handy 11-State Primary Guide

The fate of Senate Majority Leader—and favorite punching bag of tea party types—Harry Reid may hang in the balance during this year’s election cycle, and Tuesday’s vote in his home state of Nevada is just one of 11 primaries happening on the same day. Thankfully, The New York Times has cobbled together a useful guide to primaries around the nation.