Open Threads

The Blogfather and others have been mentioning the TIPS program, and everyone seems to be somewhat scared about the Orwellian nature of the program. I am scared, but as usual, for a much different reason.

The reason I am scared is because I am shocked that this is the BEST idea we have for what would amount to a Federal neighborhood watch- reliance on civil servants???? Let me get this right- the best way to find terrorists in our midst is to employ the same people that took three weeks to get my mail to me when I moved 1/2 mile across town? And this was after I went to the post office and TOLD them my new address.

Yeah. I am scared alright. Excuse me while I go build my bomb shelter.

The Blogfather and others havePost + Comments

Reason # 5 billion to hate the French

MONT VENTOUX, France — As he closes in on a fourth straight Tour de France title, Lance Armstrong is hearing a familiar but unwelcome chant from fans lining the route.

On Sunday, after another strong performance in the mountains extended his overall lead to almost 41/2 minutes, Armstrong had heard enough.

“If I had a dollar for every time somebody yelled, `Doe-PAY! Doe-PAY!’ (French for ‘Doped! Doped!’), I’d be a rich man,” he said. “It’s disappointing.”

For what it is worth, Armstrong has never failed a drug test, and he steadfastly denies ever using illegal substances. On the other hand, this is the story behind the French favorite:

Virenque is one of the riders who’s most popular with French fans, even though two years ago he confessed to taking drugs when competing for the Festina team. That whole squad, including Virenque, was thrown out of the 1998 Tour when a stash of banned drugs was found in a team car.

Hrmm. Makes you wonder.

Reason # 5 billion toPost + Comments

Why does everyone in the Granola Mafia talk like this:

These comments are from William Quick’s comments board, and are so funny they need to be reproduced:

The republicanspeak corporatist propaganda engines can weave their web of disinformation, distortion, and lie, and cite polls buttressing their spin and work to refract the seriousness of the many abuses of Bush and his obscenely rich and greedy corporatist cronies,- but the truth will not be silenced for long. There are far too many terrible questions yet to be answered. This is America. The people have a constitutionally protected right to dissent, to ask questions, and to demand answers from our supposed leadership. Bush and his imperialist cronies will be held accountable for their misdeeds. Unless this imposter and his clan of pathological liars has bin Laden’s head on a plate before the next election, – Bush can forget about stealing another presidency. The enormity and incestuousness of the republicanspeak corporatist machine and their web of lies, collusion, disinformation, and malfeasance is so thick and sticky; it will eventually smother them in their own filth. You can rely on polls and spin, – I will trust the truth.

Tony Foresta

The loon left his email over at Quick’s site. Feel free to email him and provide him with another opportunity to dissent. Just don’t dare ask him to tell you one right of yours that has been eroded within the last two years. He might melt down.

Why does everyone in thePost + Comments

If you thought I was intemperate, you have not read Isntapundit’s latest screed:

Brendan O’Neill (bone ill dot blog spot dot com) is a pompous dwarf, a pinch-faced ninny, a snarling and scrofulous whelp. He certainly knows how to push warbloggers’ buttons, referring to his toffee-nosed dialect for inbred pumpkin-rollers as “Proper English”, and deriding us for not writing in same. In his view, Clint Eastwood stands less proud than a sallow, snaggle-toothed, sunken-chested, drooling cretin in a frill cravat and balloon pleated bloomers. O’Neill would have us substitute “Preenz Jawls” for our every “dork”; fie for shame on the smug twit!

If you thought I wasPost + Comments

Matt Yglesias thinks I am being intemperate. He is right. There are enough damn things I dislike about this administration (like the coddling of the House of Saud, and the Faith Based Initiatives nonsense, and that hideous Farm Bill, and the Kennedy written Education Bill) that I am sick and tired of defending them from these stupid attacks from the left.

These attacks have no basis in reality, and are merely media-assisted smear campaigns. So, instead of blogging about what I want to, I am forced to try to set the record straight. Whether it be Enron, Harken, Halliburton, whether or not the administration knew about 9/11, arsenic in water, Bush being a moron, etc.- you name it- there have been hundreds of these tawdry attempts since G.W.B. took office. What is infuriating is that the media equates the assertion as fact, until it is merely proven otherwise. However, that is often weeks after the initial phony charge has been leveled.

I think that is enough to make a man intemperate. Quit lying Dems- and I will calm down.

Matt Yglesias thinks I amPost + Comments

Two more reasons to like Ted Williams

From the June 15th Sports Illustrated, describing Williams at training camp in 1979:

He would show up every morning in his old Ford station wagon, identifiable only by the IF GUNS ARE OUTLAWED, ONLY OUTLAWS WILL HAVE GUNS sticker on the rusty bumper.”

and

I stood with other members of the new generation of the Knights of the Keyboard, William’s term for his longtime adversaries in the press box

Thanks again, Ted.

Two more reasons to likePost + Comments

Democrats and the False Dichotomy (a.k.a. the False Dilemma) via Matt Yglesias (I saw this yesterday but did not think about it until he framed it the way he did)

One of the most annoying things about Democrats is that they are never called to the carpet over their lies and half-truths. The media never requires them to back up their assertions with evidence, and for some reason Republicans sit idly by and let the Democrats spout off at the mouth without ever challenging them. I still think this is because the media is so unfriendly to Republicans, and also because of the Newt effect- Democrats so successfully portrayed all Republicans as mean and angry that they are terrified to appear that way. Whatever the reason, Democrats are literally getting away with murder every time they open their mouths.

One of the most annoying perceptions is the false dilemma they have currently created regarding Republicans and the business community. A false dilemma is a logical fallacy that limits the number of options in an argument to two, while in reality, there may be any number of options. For example, the statement “You are either with us, or against us,” is a perfect example of a logical fallacy.

The Democrats have skillfully employed their lazy friends in the media as puppets to help put into place in the mindset two wonderful false dilemmas. Somehow or another, the Democrats have managed to convince people that being pro-business means that you are anti-consumer or anti-worker. It is a ludicrous assertion, but it is what the Democrats are banking on.

The other false dilemma they have created is that of choice in parties- The false dilemma is that if Republicans are pro-business, then Democrats must be pro-worker or pro-consumer. However, results of a new poll show that half of the public thinks that Democrats are too much in bed with big business.

Once you realize these fallacies are in place, two things become crystal clear:

1.) The manner with which mainstream media aids and abets the Democrats in their lies is appalling. The fact that this poll info is buried at almost the end of the NY Times and not headline news (like, for example, when the smug Joe Lieberman comes on Hardball and starts lying about Republicans, why did Matthews not bring this up?) is maddening- in fact, on MSNBC, they merely reported the perceptions of Republicans and did not even mention Democrats.

2.) The Democrat strategy for 2002 becomes crystal clear. The President is simply too popular to run against, so rather than attempt to refute his positions, it is necessary to attempt to knock him down a little. Hence the zeal with which everything must become Enron related (remember how they tried to attach everything to this administration), why it is important that we re-open a 12 year old investigation into Harken, why we start this Halliburton nonsense (how many shareholders in Halliburton have the Democrats really screwed in the last couple of weeks with their rhetoric- Since June 1st the stock has dropped from nineteen to 12.85 at its close yesterday- how about those employee’s retirement portfolios- is your political smear more important than their retirement? I guess they do have your precious social security with its generous $500.00 a month benefits).

Democrats and the False DichotomyPost + Comments