I've been away for a bit, but the world just kept a-spinnin'. Hence, another edition of Quick Hits.
- The media have finally found out who did the posters of President Obama as the Joker from "The Dark Knight." Yet, they couldn't have been bothered to look into Obama's connection to Tony Rezko or ACORN?
- The health care town hall meetings have proven to be more contentious than the Left anticipated, but one has to ask whether they gave any consideration to the notion that people might not like having the government take over a significant portion of the economy. Their reaction has been to attack or diminish those people who reject Obamacare, which not only angers those people, but makes them look like ham-fisted buffoons. And they're supposed to be the smart ones?
- Am I the only one who doesn't give a flying handshake about Jon and Kate Gosselin? With all the important issues out there to be discussed, should we be paying this much attention to a divorcing couple from a reality show?
- I have a suggestion for the airlines: have the people who are sitting in window seats on a flight board before people sitting in the aisle or middle seats. It would make the boarding process move a lot more quickly than it does now.
- The federal Cash for Clunkers program has run out of money, which has required Congress to request more money to keep it running. Sounds like the program has fit the definition of a clunker, but I don't think we'll be able to get $4500 for it.
- Rassmussen polls show Obama's job approval rating has been sliding and his favorability index is in negative territory. Yet, he's still on magazine covers with the frequency of a movie star going through a scandal of some sort. If there's any indication of how far out of touch the mainstream media have become, it's this.
- Remember when the Left said dissent was patriotic? Now, they're doing everything in their power to stifle dissent. Ah, to be a Leftist and not to be held to any consistent standards... (And, no, I wasn't one of the conservatives who said the Leftists who dissented to President Bush's policies were unpatriotic because they dissented.)
- The Obama Administration has shut down the email box for people to submit "misinformation" about Obama's health care reform ideas, according to Politico. Although this information can still be submitted through other means, the fact they even had this online tip line is concerning. And when you consider the Administration is alleged to have been sending out emails extolling the virtues of the Obama plan, I think we can see why there was such trepidation.
And finally...
- Say what you will about Hollywood, they can still put out a decent summer fluff film. When the temperature is on the rise (or even when it's not), take the time to head to a movie and forget your worries. Oh, and be prepared to pay through the nose for treats.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Project Much?
Michael Savage loves to say that liberalism is a mental disorder, and he's wrong. However, he is onto something in that the Left today is teeming with psychological disorders that taint its worldview. One of these disorders is called projection. For the uninitiated, projection is when someone attributes personal faults to others in an attempt to make himself or herself feel better.
Such is the case with the Left's attempts to paint anyone who disagrees with President Obama's attempt to reform health insurance as organized rabblerousers bought and paid for by special interests. They truly believe everybody aligned against Obama's health insurance bill is working for The Man. (If so, I'm making lousy money speaking out against Obamacare, but that's another story.)
The reason they feel this way is because the Left does the same thing. Remember those protesters outside AIG? Bought and paid for by our good friends at ACORN. People who picket outside of WalMarts because WalMart is non-union? Bought and paid for by labor unions. Code Pink? Brought to you by George Soros. Put simply, if there's a group of Leftists protesting anything, it's a good bet there's a Leftist paying for it to happen.
On the other hand, who's really funding the health insurance protests or the Tea Parties? They might have gotten some funds from conservative groups, but most of it was and is homegrown. And that's what scares the Left the most: that these groups harranging Democrats and Republicans who favor Obamacare are average Americans who are sick of Congress spending money we don't have on something most Americans don't need or want. It signals that the American people aren't taking Obama and Congress at their word anymore.
So what does the Left do? Instead of fixing the problems in their own midst, they assume the right does what they do and then attacks it as "dishonest" and "thuggery by special interest groups."
Yeah. Guess how much credibility I give that.
Such is the case with the Left's attempts to paint anyone who disagrees with President Obama's attempt to reform health insurance as organized rabblerousers bought and paid for by special interests. They truly believe everybody aligned against Obama's health insurance bill is working for The Man. (If so, I'm making lousy money speaking out against Obamacare, but that's another story.)
The reason they feel this way is because the Left does the same thing. Remember those protesters outside AIG? Bought and paid for by our good friends at ACORN. People who picket outside of WalMarts because WalMart is non-union? Bought and paid for by labor unions. Code Pink? Brought to you by George Soros. Put simply, if there's a group of Leftists protesting anything, it's a good bet there's a Leftist paying for it to happen.
On the other hand, who's really funding the health insurance protests or the Tea Parties? They might have gotten some funds from conservative groups, but most of it was and is homegrown. And that's what scares the Left the most: that these groups harranging Democrats and Republicans who favor Obamacare are average Americans who are sick of Congress spending money we don't have on something most Americans don't need or want. It signals that the American people aren't taking Obama and Congress at their word anymore.
So what does the Left do? Instead of fixing the problems in their own midst, they assume the right does what they do and then attacks it as "dishonest" and "thuggery by special interest groups."
Yeah. Guess how much credibility I give that.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Harry Reid's Disinformation Campaign
On Thursday, Harry Reid came out and did something that I never thought I'd see a Democrat do: he attacked the media. In a statement, he said it was the media who set an artificial deadline of the August recess to pass President Obama's health care reform bill:
“That is a deadline that you created,” Reid told a group of about 75 reporters. “It’s not like we don’t have a product. Significant progress has been made … The mere fact that this wasn't done by last Friday or by five o’clock doesn't mean we’re not going to get a quality product." [http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/senate-dems-blame-media-for-august-health-deadline-2009-07-30.html]
When I heard that, I didn't think Reid was telling the truth. He is a Senator after all. And, sure enough, he wasn't. Turns out Reid himself was one of the many voices who either set the time frame or went along with it, as a blog post from Trish Turner at FoxNews.com points out. [http://congress.blogs.foxnews.com/2009/07/30/dear-sen-reid-the-media-didnt-do-it/]
Reid and a few Senate Democrats also took swipes as more predictable targets: the Senate Republicans for holding up a bipartisan health care reform bill, the insurance industry for dumping millions of dollars into opposition research, doctors who opposed the health care reform bill for not understanding the severity of the problems with America's health care system.
But here's the thing: it's all one big lie, perpetuated by a small lie in Reid's case. The media didn't wake up one morning and say, "Let's set up an artificial time frame for Obama's health care plan so that when they fail we have something to talk about." If anything, the media have been one of Obama's greatest tools in getting his message out, in spite of everything that's come about within the past 2 months or so where the media have pushed back on Obama. So, why did Reid come out and attack the organ that can make or break Obama's health care bill?
Politics.
Some of Reid's targets were predictable, but there's one target that is just under the surface that Reid didn't name outright, but is still a target. I think Reid did what he did as a means to blame the House Democrats and Nancy Pelosi in particular for hamstringing the health care reform bill. Although the "Blue Dog" Democrats were the prime movers behind the House bill being delayed, Reid knows there's enough criticism of Pelosi's leadership to be had. The issue became how to address it. Reid's tirade against the media provided that vehicle.
Reid had a few objectives with his press conference, but at the top of the list was to run intereference for the Obama Administration at a time when it needed help keeping the wheels on the wagon. By doing that, Reid is setting himself up as the good guy, with Pelosi being the bad guy...or gal in this case. I've said that the tension between Reid and Pelosi right now would hurt Obama in the long run because Reid and Pelosi act like a privy council from the Middle Ages. They know Obama lacks the political sophistication they've developed, so they try to guide him and shape him into the President they want him to be.
Ah, but there's a catch. Reid and Pelosi have their own agendas fused with their attempts to shape Obama's future, and those agendas put them at odds with each other. With Pelosi's failure to produce a workable health care reform bill before the August Congressional recess, Reid saw an opportunity to assert himself as Obama's "only true friend in Washington." That's where the attack on the media and his fellow Senate Democrats' attacks on doctors, the Senate Republicans, and the insurance industry come into play. By attacking those obvious targets, Reid makes himself look like a champion, while subtlely taking digs at Pelosi for her failure.
With one press conference, Harry Reid set forth a disinformation campaign that could have serious consequences down the road, especially if the House fails to pass Obama's health care reform package. But the one who stands to gain the most in either case is Reid himself. If the House passes the bill, he'll get a chance to prove his leadership. If the House fails, Reid can go back and say that it would have passed if Pelosi hadn't been so incompetent as Speaker of the House. It's a complete win-win for Reid.
And it all started with an attack on the media.
“That is a deadline that you created,” Reid told a group of about 75 reporters. “It’s not like we don’t have a product. Significant progress has been made … The mere fact that this wasn't done by last Friday or by five o’clock doesn't mean we’re not going to get a quality product." [http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/senate-dems-blame-media-for-august-health-deadline-2009-07-30.html]
When I heard that, I didn't think Reid was telling the truth. He is a Senator after all. And, sure enough, he wasn't. Turns out Reid himself was one of the many voices who either set the time frame or went along with it, as a blog post from Trish Turner at FoxNews.com points out. [http://congress.blogs.foxnews.com/2009/07/30/dear-sen-reid-the-media-didnt-do-it/]
Reid and a few Senate Democrats also took swipes as more predictable targets: the Senate Republicans for holding up a bipartisan health care reform bill, the insurance industry for dumping millions of dollars into opposition research, doctors who opposed the health care reform bill for not understanding the severity of the problems with America's health care system.
But here's the thing: it's all one big lie, perpetuated by a small lie in Reid's case. The media didn't wake up one morning and say, "Let's set up an artificial time frame for Obama's health care plan so that when they fail we have something to talk about." If anything, the media have been one of Obama's greatest tools in getting his message out, in spite of everything that's come about within the past 2 months or so where the media have pushed back on Obama. So, why did Reid come out and attack the organ that can make or break Obama's health care bill?
Politics.
Some of Reid's targets were predictable, but there's one target that is just under the surface that Reid didn't name outright, but is still a target. I think Reid did what he did as a means to blame the House Democrats and Nancy Pelosi in particular for hamstringing the health care reform bill. Although the "Blue Dog" Democrats were the prime movers behind the House bill being delayed, Reid knows there's enough criticism of Pelosi's leadership to be had. The issue became how to address it. Reid's tirade against the media provided that vehicle.
Reid had a few objectives with his press conference, but at the top of the list was to run intereference for the Obama Administration at a time when it needed help keeping the wheels on the wagon. By doing that, Reid is setting himself up as the good guy, with Pelosi being the bad guy...or gal in this case. I've said that the tension between Reid and Pelosi right now would hurt Obama in the long run because Reid and Pelosi act like a privy council from the Middle Ages. They know Obama lacks the political sophistication they've developed, so they try to guide him and shape him into the President they want him to be.
Ah, but there's a catch. Reid and Pelosi have their own agendas fused with their attempts to shape Obama's future, and those agendas put them at odds with each other. With Pelosi's failure to produce a workable health care reform bill before the August Congressional recess, Reid saw an opportunity to assert himself as Obama's "only true friend in Washington." That's where the attack on the media and his fellow Senate Democrats' attacks on doctors, the Senate Republicans, and the insurance industry come into play. By attacking those obvious targets, Reid makes himself look like a champion, while subtlely taking digs at Pelosi for her failure.
With one press conference, Harry Reid set forth a disinformation campaign that could have serious consequences down the road, especially if the House fails to pass Obama's health care reform package. But the one who stands to gain the most in either case is Reid himself. If the House passes the bill, he'll get a chance to prove his leadership. If the House fails, Reid can go back and say that it would have passed if Pelosi hadn't been so incompetent as Speaker of the House. It's a complete win-win for Reid.
And it all started with an attack on the media.
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