Great explanation of what's right about negative liberty and what's wrong about positive liberty:
Positively Negative
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Down the Memory Hole
So this is how things work in this digital age. A rampage is whitewashed with a brief web report by the local news paper. A resident submits a more detailed (and florid) report as a blog entry to the initial report. His entry is deleted (too late – picked up by Drudge and cached by Google). A followup report tells a totally different story and discredits the resident. Nothing to see here, move along….
Peorians living in fear
"This eye-witness account is from Paul Wilkinson, president of the Altamont Park Neighborhood Association:
"Tonight, around 11 p.m., a group of at least 60-70 African American youth marched down one of the side streets (W. Thrush) to the 4 lane main drag (Sheridan). They were yelling threats to white residents. Things such as we need to kill alll the white people around here. They were physically intimidating anyone calling for help from the police. They were surrounding cars. Cars on the main drag had to slam on their brakes to either avoid the youth blocking not only all four lanes, but a large section of the side street as well. fights were breaking out among them. They were rushing residents who looked out their doors, going on to porches, yelling threats to people calling the police for help.
"Cars were doing U turns on the streets just to avoid the mob, mostly male. One youth stated his grandfather was white and several assaulted him on the spot. One police officer answered the call. The youth split into two large groups, one heading north, the other south. They were also yelling racial threats to the police officer but he was outnumbered. Another police car did not show up until after the youth finally dispersed and the patty wagon (van) also eventually showed up.
"Residents are very shaken, both black and white alike. This is the fifth large mob action in about a month with smaller groups of 10-12 are out threatening children and adults a few evenings a week or later into the night. The times vary, even occurring during the day. In talking to the police officer, they are short staffed. Residents were advised to simply keep inside and to lock their doors. In other words buckle down, it’s not even safe to sit on your porch or go into your yards.
"“The fifth large mob action in about a month.” Wow. This is really outrageous. Why is this neighborhood having to put up with this? “Residents were advised to simply keep inside and to lock their doors”? Seriously? That’s the best we can do for our fellow citizens’ safety?
This needs to be addressed, and quickly."
And now for the whitewash:
"PEORIA —
"Allegations of racist threats and mob-style intimidation in a West Bluff neighborhood Friday captured national attention over the weekend, but some say the claims were exaggerated.
"A group of 50 or so young people was walking down Thrush Avenue toward Sheridan Road about 10:50 p.m. Friday, concerning some residents.
"Paul Wilkinson, who has lived on Sheridan for 11 years, says the group was blocking four lanes of traffic, fighting and yelling racist comments at neighbors.
"He emailed his account of the incident to several City Council members and one local blogger. The report at The Peoria Chronicle website was quickly picked up by dozens of other sites, including the widely read online news site The Drudge Report with the headline "Pandemonium in Peoria: Mob yells 'Kill all white people.'"
"Some residents, unaware of the media attention, confirmed Sunday there was a crowd in the street Friday, but said that race was not involved. A police report on the incident does not even mention the word race.
"Police responded to Thrush on Friday night on a report of fireworks and fighting but found neither of those activities occurring, a police report stated. The group dispersed in multiple directions when an officer arrived. No one was arrested.
"Khalid Davis, who lives on Thrush, said the group blocked a few cars but was very orderly. He witnessed no fights and called the racist allegations a "heck of an exaggeration."
""If I heard them screaming any such thing, I would have called police immediately," said Davis, 62.
"Wilkinson, the president of the Altamont Park Neighborhood Association, said Sunday the neighborhood has seen its share of problems with drugs and guns in his 11 years there, but the problems have visibly increased as of late. He said police recommended residents stay inside and keep their doors locked.
"The effects of the allegations were evident in the neighborhood Sunday. A police nuisance abatement truck called the Armadillo, outfitted with cameras, was parked on the side of Thrush.
"Peoria City Councilwoman Barbara Van Auken said Sunday she is outraged by Wilkinson's allegations.
"Van Auken, who has known Wilkinson for six years, said he's had a history of "wildly exaggerating" reports, many of them involving race. And police are well aware of it.
""We have some very gullible new council members who were dumb enough to believe him," she said, declining to name names.
"Wilkinson said he met with Councilwoman Beth Akeson following his email and spoke to Councilman Chuck Weaver over the weekend. Weaver told the Journal Star he planned to meet with the mayor about the incident.
"Van Auken said there are few, if any, racial tensions in the neighborhood where the incident occurred.
""It's a national embarrassment now," she said.
"Mayor Jim Ardis was unaware Sunday evening of the national attention the issue had caused. He called it "concerning" but said he did not think Peoria was unique when it came to such incidents.
"Ardis said he wasn't sure to what extent the reports were accurate.
""Not knowing all the details, it's surprising that it's caught national attention," he said.
"In the meantime, police have increased patrols in the area, and Ardis, who is out of town, expects more reports on the incident to be available when he returns Wednesday.
"Kenny Rogers, who has lived on Sheridan for 10 years, called police Friday after he saw the group "hollering" and stopping traffic on the street. He did not hear anyone yell that they wanted to kill white people.
"Rogers says the crowd was running wildly around yards and porches. It was the largest Rogers, 38, had ever seen in the neighborhood.
""They were doing a show of force," he said, "to show everybody, 'Hey, this is their hood.'""
I wonder that these rampages are becoming more frequent. It seems to be common now for “youths” to invade convenience stores, or even Walgreens in packs, stripping the stores of junk food, sodas and beer.
Now, senseless violence is becoming routine.
Woman's leg broken, others hurt in Spring Garden mob attack
"By STEPHANIE FARR
Philadelphia Daily News
farrs@phillynews.com 215-854-4225
A WOMAN'S leg was broken and several other people were injured Saturday night when a large group of teens accosted pedestrians in Spring Garden, police and witnesses said.
Philadelphia police responded to two reports of pedestrians being assaulted by a large group of young people along Broad Street about 9:30 p.m.
One of those reports came from Emily Guendelsberger, 27, city editor for local arts and entertainment content for the Onion, the satirical newspaper and website. She was walking with seven friends on Green Street near Broad when they were accosted, she said. Guendelsberger, who remained hospitalized with a broken leg yesterday, declined to comment further.
A friend who was with her at the time, Daily News staff writer Molly Eichel, said that they were walking down Green Street when a group of teens was walking down Broad. "We heard kids yell, 'Run, run,' " Eichel said. "Some kid just came out of nowhere and punched my friend Charlie in the face."
Eichel said that when her group tried to run, about 20 teens chased them down the street. "They were kicking kids down and punching them when they were down," she said.
Two other friends sought treatment at area hospitals for facial injuries, Eichel said.
The only redeeming factor about the experience was that a few people realized the extent of Guendelsberger's injuries and tried to protect her, Eichel said.
From the hospital yesterday, Guendelsberger gave her protectors shout-outs on Twitter. "On the positive, a bunch of girls from the mob protected me from the boys trying to hit me and take my purse while I was on the ground," she wrote. "Also a car of women from out of town saw it going down, pulled over, and (I gather) circled around to protect me; wish I had gotten names."
According to the police report of the incident, Guendelsberger was "jumped" by 30 to 40 men who punched and kicked her numerous times. Police said they checked the area for surveillance but had no luck.
Shortly before Guendelsberger's assault, police said, they responded to another assault, about five blocks away at Broad Street and Fairmount Avenue, of a 20-year-old man who said that he was attacked by a large group of men and women.
Police said that he was treated for a bruise and abrasion under his right eye.
Twitter users said that the mob ranged from 50 to 100 people and that participants not only assaulted people but also threw trash cans and lit fireworks.""
There is a trend here somewhere. What do these incidents have in common? What would the news reports say if the victims were from a different identity group? Who can wonder why our cities are failing or tsk tsk 3rd world violence?
Lynching in South Carolina
""A friend had texted him, and he stopped to text him back, and that's when they jumped him," said John Strange, his father. Sitting next to him, his wife Vicki tried to avoid reliving what happened.
"When you have eight people on one person, and they come up from behind you and hit you on the back of the head first, what do you do? Seriously? What do you do? He didn't have a chance!"
Carter's parents say their son always follows the rules and is always home on time.
"When I think of all of them on my son and the fact that they are probably laughing and getting amusement out of it, makes me livid. Absolutely livid. You try not to let people do that to you until the point you become who they are, but there's a part of me. Yeah, I could absolutely become who they are," said Vicki."
But what is worst of all to the Leftist idiocracy isn't actual rampaging gangs victimizing and lynching innocent people and businesses, but mock-lynchings, even if the mock-lynchers are trying to make an approved statement:
"In light of a recent "mock lynching" incident near campus, UW-Madison administration and student groups are discussing diversity on campus and the effects racist acts have on UW- Madison students.
The incident occurred last Thursday, when a passerby noticed a lifelike black figure hanging from a noose outside of an apartment building on Langdon Street.
By the time UW-Madison Associate Dean Kevin Helmkamp and Vice Provost Damon Williams had contacted the landlords of the apartment, the residents had taken down the doll.
According to Helmkamp, at least two of the residents of the apartment are alleged to be UW-Madison students.
UW-Madison Dean of Students Lori Berquam and Vice Provost for Diversity Damon Williams said although the act may have not been intended to oppress anyone, it was far from harmless.
"The consequence of this seemingly harmless ‘joke' has left some students, staff and faculty feeling appalled and shocked," Berquam and Williams said in a statement last Friday.
In the statement, Berquam and Williams urged students to take an active role against such oppressive acts.
The Associated Students of Madison, along with other student groups, criticized the university administration's response to the incident.
"The administration defended the intent behind the mock lynching while minimizing the impact it had on marginalized students," ASM said in an email sent to students Friday.
The email said the details surrounding the incident and the administration's response was unclear in the statement made by Berquam and Williams.
Student leaders of ASM, Multicultural Student Coalition, and Movimiento Estudiantil Chican@ de Aztlán (MEChA) requested administrators send an email more directly explaining the implications the incident has on campus.
The email said the administration's response exemplified the failure of "Plan 2008", an initiative that, in part, was intended to improve accountability and campus climate with regards to diversity.
The ASM agenda for Saturday includes a proposal that would create a shared governance committee to evaluate the office of the Dean of Students and Office of Diversity and Climate.
The legislation states the failure of "Plan 2008" and the "inadequate" response provided by Berquam and Williams contributes to the need for the commihttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifttee."
Mock lynchings draw outrage, while actual lynchings may result in charges. Maybe they need committees in Philadelphia, Peoria, and Chicago.
Or maybe Walter Williams is on to something
In many of these brutal attacks, the news media make no mention of the race of the perpetrators. If it were white racist gangs randomly attacking blacks, the mainstream media would have no hesitation reporting the race of the perps. Editors for the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times and the Chicago Tribune admitted to deliberately censoring information about black crime for political reasons. Chicago Tribune Editor Gerould Kern recently said the paper’s reason for censorship was to “guard against subjecting an entire group of people to suspicion.”
These racist attacks can, at least in part, be attributed to the black elite, who have a vested interest in racial paranoia. And that includes a president who has spent years aligned with people who have promoted racial grievance and polarization and appointed an attorney general who has accused us of being “a nation of cowards” on matters of race and has refused to prosecute black thugs who gathered at a Philadelphia voting site in blatant violation of federal voter intimidation laws. Tragically, black youngsters — who are seething with resentment, refusing to accept educational and other opportunities unknown to blacks yesteryear — will turn out to be the larger victims in the long run.
Black silence in the face of black racism has to be one of the biggest betrayals of the civil rights struggle that included black and white Americans.
Peorians living in fear
"This eye-witness account is from Paul Wilkinson, president of the Altamont Park Neighborhood Association:
"Tonight, around 11 p.m., a group of at least 60-70 African American youth marched down one of the side streets (W. Thrush) to the 4 lane main drag (Sheridan). They were yelling threats to white residents. Things such as we need to kill alll the white people around here. They were physically intimidating anyone calling for help from the police. They were surrounding cars. Cars on the main drag had to slam on their brakes to either avoid the youth blocking not only all four lanes, but a large section of the side street as well. fights were breaking out among them. They were rushing residents who looked out their doors, going on to porches, yelling threats to people calling the police for help.
"Cars were doing U turns on the streets just to avoid the mob, mostly male. One youth stated his grandfather was white and several assaulted him on the spot. One police officer answered the call. The youth split into two large groups, one heading north, the other south. They were also yelling racial threats to the police officer but he was outnumbered. Another police car did not show up until after the youth finally dispersed and the patty wagon (van) also eventually showed up.
"Residents are very shaken, both black and white alike. This is the fifth large mob action in about a month with smaller groups of 10-12 are out threatening children and adults a few evenings a week or later into the night. The times vary, even occurring during the day. In talking to the police officer, they are short staffed. Residents were advised to simply keep inside and to lock their doors. In other words buckle down, it’s not even safe to sit on your porch or go into your yards.
"“The fifth large mob action in about a month.” Wow. This is really outrageous. Why is this neighborhood having to put up with this? “Residents were advised to simply keep inside and to lock their doors”? Seriously? That’s the best we can do for our fellow citizens’ safety?
This needs to be addressed, and quickly."
And now for the whitewash:
"PEORIA —
"Allegations of racist threats and mob-style intimidation in a West Bluff neighborhood Friday captured national attention over the weekend, but some say the claims were exaggerated.
"A group of 50 or so young people was walking down Thrush Avenue toward Sheridan Road about 10:50 p.m. Friday, concerning some residents.
"Paul Wilkinson, who has lived on Sheridan for 11 years, says the group was blocking four lanes of traffic, fighting and yelling racist comments at neighbors.
"He emailed his account of the incident to several City Council members and one local blogger. The report at The Peoria Chronicle website was quickly picked up by dozens of other sites, including the widely read online news site The Drudge Report with the headline "Pandemonium in Peoria: Mob yells 'Kill all white people.'"
"Some residents, unaware of the media attention, confirmed Sunday there was a crowd in the street Friday, but said that race was not involved. A police report on the incident does not even mention the word race.
"Police responded to Thrush on Friday night on a report of fireworks and fighting but found neither of those activities occurring, a police report stated. The group dispersed in multiple directions when an officer arrived. No one was arrested.
"Khalid Davis, who lives on Thrush, said the group blocked a few cars but was very orderly. He witnessed no fights and called the racist allegations a "heck of an exaggeration."
""If I heard them screaming any such thing, I would have called police immediately," said Davis, 62.
"Wilkinson, the president of the Altamont Park Neighborhood Association, said Sunday the neighborhood has seen its share of problems with drugs and guns in his 11 years there, but the problems have visibly increased as of late. He said police recommended residents stay inside and keep their doors locked.
"The effects of the allegations were evident in the neighborhood Sunday. A police nuisance abatement truck called the Armadillo, outfitted with cameras, was parked on the side of Thrush.
"Peoria City Councilwoman Barbara Van Auken said Sunday she is outraged by Wilkinson's allegations.
"Van Auken, who has known Wilkinson for six years, said he's had a history of "wildly exaggerating" reports, many of them involving race. And police are well aware of it.
""We have some very gullible new council members who were dumb enough to believe him," she said, declining to name names.
"Wilkinson said he met with Councilwoman Beth Akeson following his email and spoke to Councilman Chuck Weaver over the weekend. Weaver told the Journal Star he planned to meet with the mayor about the incident.
"Van Auken said there are few, if any, racial tensions in the neighborhood where the incident occurred.
""It's a national embarrassment now," she said.
"Mayor Jim Ardis was unaware Sunday evening of the national attention the issue had caused. He called it "concerning" but said he did not think Peoria was unique when it came to such incidents.
"Ardis said he wasn't sure to what extent the reports were accurate.
""Not knowing all the details, it's surprising that it's caught national attention," he said.
"In the meantime, police have increased patrols in the area, and Ardis, who is out of town, expects more reports on the incident to be available when he returns Wednesday.
"Kenny Rogers, who has lived on Sheridan for 10 years, called police Friday after he saw the group "hollering" and stopping traffic on the street. He did not hear anyone yell that they wanted to kill white people.
"Rogers says the crowd was running wildly around yards and porches. It was the largest Rogers, 38, had ever seen in the neighborhood.
""They were doing a show of force," he said, "to show everybody, 'Hey, this is their hood.'""
I wonder that these rampages are becoming more frequent. It seems to be common now for “youths” to invade convenience stores, or even Walgreens in packs, stripping the stores of junk food, sodas and beer.
Now, senseless violence is becoming routine.
Woman's leg broken, others hurt in Spring Garden mob attack
"By STEPHANIE FARR
Philadelphia Daily News
farrs@phillynews.com 215-854-4225
A WOMAN'S leg was broken and several other people were injured Saturday night when a large group of teens accosted pedestrians in Spring Garden, police and witnesses said.
Philadelphia police responded to two reports of pedestrians being assaulted by a large group of young people along Broad Street about 9:30 p.m.
One of those reports came from Emily Guendelsberger, 27, city editor for local arts and entertainment content for the Onion, the satirical newspaper and website. She was walking with seven friends on Green Street near Broad when they were accosted, she said. Guendelsberger, who remained hospitalized with a broken leg yesterday, declined to comment further.
A friend who was with her at the time, Daily News staff writer Molly Eichel, said that they were walking down Green Street when a group of teens was walking down Broad. "We heard kids yell, 'Run, run,' " Eichel said. "Some kid just came out of nowhere and punched my friend Charlie in the face."
Eichel said that when her group tried to run, about 20 teens chased them down the street. "They were kicking kids down and punching them when they were down," she said.
Two other friends sought treatment at area hospitals for facial injuries, Eichel said.
The only redeeming factor about the experience was that a few people realized the extent of Guendelsberger's injuries and tried to protect her, Eichel said.
From the hospital yesterday, Guendelsberger gave her protectors shout-outs on Twitter. "On the positive, a bunch of girls from the mob protected me from the boys trying to hit me and take my purse while I was on the ground," she wrote. "Also a car of women from out of town saw it going down, pulled over, and (I gather) circled around to protect me; wish I had gotten names."
According to the police report of the incident, Guendelsberger was "jumped" by 30 to 40 men who punched and kicked her numerous times. Police said they checked the area for surveillance but had no luck.
Shortly before Guendelsberger's assault, police said, they responded to another assault, about five blocks away at Broad Street and Fairmount Avenue, of a 20-year-old man who said that he was attacked by a large group of men and women.
Police said that he was treated for a bruise and abrasion under his right eye.
Twitter users said that the mob ranged from 50 to 100 people and that participants not only assaulted people but also threw trash cans and lit fireworks.""
There is a trend here somewhere. What do these incidents have in common? What would the news reports say if the victims were from a different identity group? Who can wonder why our cities are failing or tsk tsk 3rd world violence?
Lynching in South Carolina
""A friend had texted him, and he stopped to text him back, and that's when they jumped him," said John Strange, his father. Sitting next to him, his wife Vicki tried to avoid reliving what happened.
"When you have eight people on one person, and they come up from behind you and hit you on the back of the head first, what do you do? Seriously? What do you do? He didn't have a chance!"
Carter's parents say their son always follows the rules and is always home on time.
"When I think of all of them on my son and the fact that they are probably laughing and getting amusement out of it, makes me livid. Absolutely livid. You try not to let people do that to you until the point you become who they are, but there's a part of me. Yeah, I could absolutely become who they are," said Vicki."
But what is worst of all to the Leftist idiocracy isn't actual rampaging gangs victimizing and lynching innocent people and businesses, but mock-lynchings, even if the mock-lynchers are trying to make an approved statement:
"In light of a recent "mock lynching" incident near campus, UW-Madison administration and student groups are discussing diversity on campus and the effects racist acts have on UW- Madison students.
The incident occurred last Thursday, when a passerby noticed a lifelike black figure hanging from a noose outside of an apartment building on Langdon Street.
By the time UW-Madison Associate Dean Kevin Helmkamp and Vice Provost Damon Williams had contacted the landlords of the apartment, the residents had taken down the doll.
According to Helmkamp, at least two of the residents of the apartment are alleged to be UW-Madison students.
UW-Madison Dean of Students Lori Berquam and Vice Provost for Diversity Damon Williams said although the act may have not been intended to oppress anyone, it was far from harmless.
"The consequence of this seemingly harmless ‘joke' has left some students, staff and faculty feeling appalled and shocked," Berquam and Williams said in a statement last Friday.
In the statement, Berquam and Williams urged students to take an active role against such oppressive acts.
The Associated Students of Madison, along with other student groups, criticized the university administration's response to the incident.
"The administration defended the intent behind the mock lynching while minimizing the impact it had on marginalized students," ASM said in an email sent to students Friday.
The email said the details surrounding the incident and the administration's response was unclear in the statement made by Berquam and Williams.
Student leaders of ASM, Multicultural Student Coalition, and Movimiento Estudiantil Chican@ de Aztlán (MEChA) requested administrators send an email more directly explaining the implications the incident has on campus.
The email said the administration's response exemplified the failure of "Plan 2008", an initiative that, in part, was intended to improve accountability and campus climate with regards to diversity.
The ASM agenda for Saturday includes a proposal that would create a shared governance committee to evaluate the office of the Dean of Students and Office of Diversity and Climate.
The legislation states the failure of "Plan 2008" and the "inadequate" response provided by Berquam and Williams contributes to the need for the commihttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifttee."
Mock lynchings draw outrage, while actual lynchings may result in charges. Maybe they need committees in Philadelphia, Peoria, and Chicago.
Or maybe Walter Williams is on to something
In many of these brutal attacks, the news media make no mention of the race of the perpetrators. If it were white racist gangs randomly attacking blacks, the mainstream media would have no hesitation reporting the race of the perps. Editors for the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times and the Chicago Tribune admitted to deliberately censoring information about black crime for political reasons. Chicago Tribune Editor Gerould Kern recently said the paper’s reason for censorship was to “guard against subjecting an entire group of people to suspicion.”
These racist attacks can, at least in part, be attributed to the black elite, who have a vested interest in racial paranoia. And that includes a president who has spent years aligned with people who have promoted racial grievance and polarization and appointed an attorney general who has accused us of being “a nation of cowards” on matters of race and has refused to prosecute black thugs who gathered at a Philadelphia voting site in blatant violation of federal voter intimidation laws. Tragically, black youngsters — who are seething with resentment, refusing to accept educational and other opportunities unknown to blacks yesteryear — will turn out to be the larger victims in the long run.
Black silence in the face of black racism has to be one of the biggest betrayals of the civil rights struggle that included black and white Americans.
The War Against Girls
The War Against Girls
A sobering review of Unnatural Selection: Choosing Boys Over Girls and the Consequences of a World Full of Men By Mara Hvistendahl PublicAffairs, 314 pages, $26.99
Hard to be optimistic after reading this review.
A sobering review of Unnatural Selection: Choosing Boys Over Girls and the Consequences of a World Full of Men By Mara Hvistendahl PublicAffairs, 314 pages, $26.99
Hard to be optimistic after reading this review.
Upside-Down to the NYT is Right Side Up
The First Amendment, Upside Down
"The Supreme Court decision striking down public matching funds in Arizona’s campaign finance system is a serious setback for American democracy."
When this sentence is read in the New York Times, it means that the USSC decision has advanced democracy at the expense of government control of government.
"In the Citizens United case, the court ruled that the government may not ban corporations, unions and other moneyed institutions from spending in political campaigns."
So, allowing citizens and legal US entities to participate in the democratic process by supporting candidates through contributions is destructive to American democracy as the NYT sees it.
"The Arizona decision is a companion to that destructive landmark ruling. It takes away a vital, innovative way of ensuring that candidates who do not have unlimited bank accounts can get enough public dollars to compete effectively.
"Arizona’s campaign finance law provided a set amount of money in initial public support for candidates who opted into its financing system, depending on the type of election. If a candidate faced a rival who opted out, the state would match the spending of the privately financed candidate and independent groups supporting him, up to triple the initial amount. Once that limit is reached, the publicly financed candidate receives no other public funds and is barred from using private contributions, no matter how much more the privately financed candidate spends."
In effect, the Arizona law pitted the voters of the state against the taxpayers of the state. Voters' contributions to the candidate they personally support would be off-set by taxpayer dollars supporting the candidate they oppose. Once again, the NYT uses some sort of NewSpeak inversion of reality to come to an upside down conclusion.
"The Supreme Court decision striking down public matching funds in Arizona’s campaign finance system is a serious setback for American democracy."
When this sentence is read in the New York Times, it means that the USSC decision has advanced democracy at the expense of government control of government.
"In the Citizens United case, the court ruled that the government may not ban corporations, unions and other moneyed institutions from spending in political campaigns."
So, allowing citizens and legal US entities to participate in the democratic process by supporting candidates through contributions is destructive to American democracy as the NYT sees it.
"The Arizona decision is a companion to that destructive landmark ruling. It takes away a vital, innovative way of ensuring that candidates who do not have unlimited bank accounts can get enough public dollars to compete effectively.
"Arizona’s campaign finance law provided a set amount of money in initial public support for candidates who opted into its financing system, depending on the type of election. If a candidate faced a rival who opted out, the state would match the spending of the privately financed candidate and independent groups supporting him, up to triple the initial amount. Once that limit is reached, the publicly financed candidate receives no other public funds and is barred from using private contributions, no matter how much more the privately financed candidate spends."
In effect, the Arizona law pitted the voters of the state against the taxpayers of the state. Voters' contributions to the candidate they personally support would be off-set by taxpayer dollars supporting the candidate they oppose. Once again, the NYT uses some sort of NewSpeak inversion of reality to come to an upside down conclusion.
The Law for Thee, but not for Me
White House Says Obama Fundraising Appeal Not Illegal
"President Obama appealed to supporters and donors in a videotaped message emailed by his campaign team to millions of people Monday -- a message filmed with the president inside the White House by a crew from the Democratic National Committee, according to a White House official who responded to RCP questions about the solicitation.
In the video, Obama tells supporters they can join him and Vice President Joe Biden for dinner if they win a contest offered by his campaign. "We're both really looking forward to it. Hope to see you soon," Obama says on camera. The script was written by the DNC.
The president's video is accompanied by a donor solicitation form in which supporters of the administration can check boxes donating from $5 to $700 to the Obama-Biden re-election effort."
"The Obama campaign video is a small part of an aggressive fundraising effort being undertaken by Team Obama. It also comes on the heels of criticism that the president, who campaigned to change the way Washington works, was instead participating in some of its more questionable rituals, including a March 7 meeting with Obama arranged by the DNC in the Blue Room of the White House residence. The meeting, first described in a June 24 Politico story about a list of attendees released by the White House, took place with business leaders who were former or current donors or fundraisers. White House press secretary Jay Carney told Politico the meeting was not "a fundraiser."
In the email message that accompanies Obama's Monday video, however, Obama campaign manager Jim Messina explains to supporters that a minimum $5 donation is required to enter the campaign contest: "Make a donation today and be automatically registered for a chance to have dinner with President Obama and Vice President Biden together. We'll cover your airfare and the meal -- all you need to bring is your story and your ideas.""
"President Obama appealed to supporters and donors in a videotaped message emailed by his campaign team to millions of people Monday -- a message filmed with the president inside the White House by a crew from the Democratic National Committee, according to a White House official who responded to RCP questions about the solicitation.
In the video, Obama tells supporters they can join him and Vice President Joe Biden for dinner if they win a contest offered by his campaign. "We're both really looking forward to it. Hope to see you soon," Obama says on camera. The script was written by the DNC.
The president's video is accompanied by a donor solicitation form in which supporters of the administration can check boxes donating from $5 to $700 to the Obama-Biden re-election effort."
"The Obama campaign video is a small part of an aggressive fundraising effort being undertaken by Team Obama. It also comes on the heels of criticism that the president, who campaigned to change the way Washington works, was instead participating in some of its more questionable rituals, including a March 7 meeting with Obama arranged by the DNC in the Blue Room of the White House residence. The meeting, first described in a June 24 Politico story about a list of attendees released by the White House, took place with business leaders who were former or current donors or fundraisers. White House press secretary Jay Carney told Politico the meeting was not "a fundraiser."
In the email message that accompanies Obama's Monday video, however, Obama campaign manager Jim Messina explains to supporters that a minimum $5 donation is required to enter the campaign contest: "Make a donation today and be automatically registered for a chance to have dinner with President Obama and Vice President Biden together. We'll cover your airfare and the meal -- all you need to bring is your story and your ideas.""
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Buy this plane or we'll shoot you with it
This article reminds me of a famous National Lampoon magazine cover.
There are lessons here: Don't sell anything you wouldn't want shooting at you. In the international arena, there are no friends and few allies but mainly countries with temporary comity of interests. And maybe, don't trust the French.
Libya Boosts Euro Fighter Jets at Paris Air Show
LE BOURGET, France - In the war in Libya, the French Rafale fighter jet has nearly done it all: no-fly zone enforcement, air-to-ground strikes, reconnaissance, overflight missions....
In 2007, the French bungled talks with Morocco, which instead opted to buy an F-16 from Lockheed Martin Corp. The same year, Gadhafi himself began exclusive talks with France to purchase 14 Rafales - the same type of jet now hitting his military assets with laser- and GPS-guided bombs.
That sale was still pending when the Arab spring swept through Libya, prompting Gadhafi's forces to crack down on democracy-minded protesters and leading to international sanctions against his regime and an U.N. Security Council resolution authorizing a no-fly zone and measures to protect Libyan civilians.
There are lessons here: Don't sell anything you wouldn't want shooting at you. In the international arena, there are no friends and few allies but mainly countries with temporary comity of interests. And maybe, don't trust the French.
Libya Boosts Euro Fighter Jets at Paris Air Show
LE BOURGET, France - In the war in Libya, the French Rafale fighter jet has nearly done it all: no-fly zone enforcement, air-to-ground strikes, reconnaissance, overflight missions....
In 2007, the French bungled talks with Morocco, which instead opted to buy an F-16 from Lockheed Martin Corp. The same year, Gadhafi himself began exclusive talks with France to purchase 14 Rafales - the same type of jet now hitting his military assets with laser- and GPS-guided bombs.
That sale was still pending when the Arab spring swept through Libya, prompting Gadhafi's forces to crack down on democracy-minded protesters and leading to international sanctions against his regime and an U.N. Security Council resolution authorizing a no-fly zone and measures to protect Libyan civilians.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
DADT -> DJ
It has begun:
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2011/05/army-3-colonels-punished-over-skit-mocking-gays-052311w/
Don't Ask, Don't Tell -> Don't Joke
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2011/05/army-3-colonels-punished-over-skit-mocking-gays-052311w/
Don't Ask, Don't Tell -> Don't Joke
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Socialist or Shill for Business? Both...and!
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20110617/BASU/106170330/Basu-No-breaks-for-Obama-a-socialist-and-a-shill-for-business-
“What's amazing is how opponents can portray Obama as both a shill for corporations and a socialist.”
Guess she never heard of Gazprom, IG Farben, etc.
“But none of his would-be opponents would name a thing Obama has done right for the economy, even in supporting business.”
They would if they could. Many of his opponents have noted things he’s done right. They just don’t get too many opportunities, and none in regards to his mishandling of the economy.
“Most Americans disapprove of Obama's handling of the economy, according to new polls.”
So, why question the integrity of his ‘would-be opponents’?
“Even the Today Show's Ann Curry accuses him of being calm rather than angry that 14 million Americans are unemployed: "People have started to wonder ... whether you really empathize with the suffering."
Et tu, Ann?”
I’m not sure a picture of a national TV “journalist” as Brutus and Obama as Caesar is what his supporters would like to be painting right now. Freudian, I suppose. Or maybe she knows her columns are only read by the minority who are totally on the Obama bus to Candy Mountain in Des Moines.
“The most important thing Obama can do for job growth is to ignore the anti-government ideologues and invest in improving America's infrastructure - making broadband accessible, rebuilding old highways, supporting renewable energy and education. He needs to grab the mike, and using the same passion he campaigned with, separate fact from fiction -- then forge ahead on innovative public works projects that employ people.”
Well, since the only way the federal government can create jobs is by hiring federal employees, paying states to hire employees or letting contracts, I suppose a run-of-the-mill statist like this would think it was a good idea.
And, in the end, there is no question that Obama is BOTH a Socialist AND a shill for business.
http://patriotpost.us/opinion/burt-prelutsky/2011/06/20/is-barack-obama-a-socialist/
“What's amazing is how opponents can portray Obama as both a shill for corporations and a socialist.”
Guess she never heard of Gazprom, IG Farben, etc.
“But none of his would-be opponents would name a thing Obama has done right for the economy, even in supporting business.”
They would if they could. Many of his opponents have noted things he’s done right. They just don’t get too many opportunities, and none in regards to his mishandling of the economy.
“Most Americans disapprove of Obama's handling of the economy, according to new polls.”
So, why question the integrity of his ‘would-be opponents’?
“Even the Today Show's Ann Curry accuses him of being calm rather than angry that 14 million Americans are unemployed: "People have started to wonder ... whether you really empathize with the suffering."
Et tu, Ann?”
I’m not sure a picture of a national TV “journalist” as Brutus and Obama as Caesar is what his supporters would like to be painting right now. Freudian, I suppose. Or maybe she knows her columns are only read by the minority who are totally on the Obama bus to Candy Mountain in Des Moines.
“The most important thing Obama can do for job growth is to ignore the anti-government ideologues and invest in improving America's infrastructure - making broadband accessible, rebuilding old highways, supporting renewable energy and education. He needs to grab the mike, and using the same passion he campaigned with, separate fact from fiction -- then forge ahead on innovative public works projects that employ people.”
Well, since the only way the federal government can create jobs is by hiring federal employees, paying states to hire employees or letting contracts, I suppose a run-of-the-mill statist like this would think it was a good idea.
And, in the end, there is no question that Obama is BOTH a Socialist AND a shill for business.
http://patriotpost.us/opinion/burt-prelutsky/2011/06/20/is-barack-obama-a-socialist/
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