Barbara Bush and Jenna Bush at the 2004 RNC convention

This picture has little political significance, but it "prettys up" my blog.

One year ago tonight

Click here for the importance of last year's RNC convention.

2d Quote of the day - Will and Ariel Durant

Civilization is not inherited; it has to be learned and earned by each generation anew; if the transmission should be interrupted for one century, civilization would die, and we should be savages again.

--Will and Ariel Durant

I include this second quote of the day because events in New Orleans are giving us a hint at what happens when the "transmission" is "interrupted."

Quote of the day - Thomas Sowell

As far as the liberal media are concerned, there are only two ways that the police respond to riots -- either they let the situation "get out of hand" or they "over-react" and use "excessive force." Nothing that the cops can do will fall in between, as far as the editorial office heroes are concerned.

Thomas Sowell

Looting; a glimpse of the future

Below The Beltway said it best:

I've always feared what would happen if a major American city simply collapsed. It appears that we are finding out.

I won't repeat all of the looting stories here, but these stick out in my mind:

Inside the store, the scene alternated between celebration and frightening bedlam. A shirtless man straddled a broken jewelry case, yelling, “Free samples, free samples over here.”

Another man rolled a mechanized pallet, stacked six feet high with cases of vodka and whiskey. Perched atop the stack was a bewildered toddler. . . .
Most officers, though, simply stood by powerless against the tide of law breakers.

One veteran officer said, “It’s like this everywhere in the city. This tiny number of cops can’t do anything about this. It’s wide open.”

At least one officer tried futilely to control a looter through shame.

“When they say take what you need, that doesn’t mean an f-ing TV,” the officer shouted to a looter. “This is a hurricane, not a free-for-all.”

Sandra Smith of Baton Rouge walked through the parking lot with a 12-pack of Bud Light under each arm. “I came down here to get my daughters,” she said, “but I can’t find them.”

The scene turned so chaotic at times that entrances were blocked by the press of people and shopping carts and traffic jams sprouted on surrounding streets.

Some groups organized themselves into assembly lines to more efficiently cart off goods.

I think the scene in New Orleans may be a preview of what we may expect during the next terrorist attack on U.S. soil - especially if that attack is particularly devastating. Somehow we avoided this kind of thing on 9-11, but that situation was unique.

The MSM/DNC has been making Bush and America into the enemy for almost four years. The sense of unity that appeared on 9-11 is largely gone. I don't think we can count on the patriotism of American looters the next time an attack occurs.

The rest of us should take some lessons away from this episode about preparedness not only for the next terrorist attack, but for the civil unrest that will follow. Read Peggy Noonan's column from last week also, as she advises us to Think Dark.

Hillary, Palestinian assets in the U.S., David Strachman

Thanks to a post at Little Green Footballs, I discovered today that Palestinian assets in the U.S. have been frozen by a Rhode Island court judgment. The judgment results from a lawsuit filed by attorney David Strachman on behalf of orphans whose parents were killed by PLO terrorists.

In response to this post, I joked that the freezing of Palestinian Authority assets would put a crimp in Hillary's fundraising. The truth is, it is not a joke. Hillary has a long association with HAMAS and Cair. This association included Hillary's acceptance of campaign contributions from HAMAS during her 2000 Senate run. H/T Cao's Blog. [Go to Cao's Blog. Spend some time there. Listen to the sound bytes. Her posts are well researched and thoroughly documented.]

Also, remember that terrorists supported Kerry during the 2004 election.

Rathergate anniversary - 9 days and counting - GOP 2004 convention

One year ago today the GOP 2004 convention began in New York.



I wrote two weeks ago that the sequence of events that led to Rathergate was already well underway by mid-August 2004:

The Swift Boat Vets had as much to do with Rathergate as anyone else. They pummeled Kerry with their TV ads all through August. Kerry had gained no traction from his own (end of July) convention and he fell far behind in the polls (BTW - I hate polls) by the beginning of September. The MSM/DNC was desparate.

Ann Coulter believes (and I agree) that CBS' airing of the ANG phony documents on September 8th instead of October 31st was the direct result of Kerry's wounds caused by the Swift Boat Vets. The MSM/DNC could wait no longer. The MSM/DNC would have to find something else for its October surprise. Because the Swift Boat Vets forced MSM/DNC's hand early, the blogosphere had time to react. Rathergate was a 12 day scandal. That 12 day window would not have existed in late October. Read Ann Coulter's column.

So as we look back to one year ago, the sequence that would lead to the earthquake known as Rathergate (and all that followed) was already in motion.

On August 30, 2004, another domino fell that accelerated the Rathergate countdown. With Kerry struggling after having received no momentum from his own convention, the highly successful GOP convention began. For an entire week, Republicans and Democrats combined to refocus the country's attention on the war, the continuing danger and John Kerry's lack of answers.

Bush would walk away from this convention holding (by some accounts) a double digit lead (BTW - I still hate polls). That lead prompted CBS to broadcast the phony ANG documents more than a month-and-a-half ahead of schedule. The Swift Boat Vets and the GOP convention forced the MSM/DNC to run its October surprise in September. As the blogosphere proved in 2004, an October surprise doesn't work unless it is used in October. CBS' premature surprise attack left plenty of time for Powerline and Little Green Footballs to nullify the attack.

One year ago today

Quote of the day - Ann Coulter

Liberals become indignant when you question their patriotism, but simultaneously work overtime to give terrorists a cushion for the next attack and laugh at dumb Americans who love their country and hate the enemy.

Ann Coulter

Rathergate Anniversary - 10 days and counting - a new media chronology

Click here for previous editions of the Rathergate anniversary countdown.

As we begin the final ten days before the Rathergate anniversary celebration, a little reflection is in order as to how we got to the point where the new media became the force that it is today. With the MSM/DNC still hoping that blogs will go away, we cannot rely on traditional sources for information about new media history. With that in mind, here is my brief chronology of the new media, its roots and its growth. These dates include the political forces that propelled the new media revolution instead of the technological breakthroughs:

1) November 4, 1980 - Ronald Reagan is elected President in a landslide while the Republicans capture the U.S. Senate for the first time in more than 25 years. This election begins talk of a "conservative shift" in American politics. [In fact, the trend had existed for years prior to that election, but the MSM/DNC never discussed it (or even was aware of it).] Conservatism was respectable again. This election was the first concrete sign that conservatism would "sell" on a national scale. Reagan's reelection in 1984 reinforced this impression.

2) July 4, 1988 - Rush Limbaugh debuts nationally on his syndicated radio program. Rush took the Reagan election a step further and literally made conservatism marketable to a commercial audience. Rush proved that at which Reagan's election only hinted. Conservatism sells. Not merely politically, but commercially. Without Reagan's election in 1980, I believe that Rush Limbaugh would never have been given the opportunity to turn conservatism into nationwide commercial success.

3) November 8, 1994 - Republicans capture the U.S. House [for the first time in 40 years] and recapture the U.S. Senate [all while Bill Clinton masquerades as a centrist]. The messages of 1980 and 1988 are reinforced. Opposition and reaction to the Clinton administration would grow throughout the 1990's, as conservatives would continue to find each other [through the internet and talk radio] in their efforts to speak out against the President.

4) January 17, 1998 - Matt Drudge exposes the Lewinsky scandal. Regardless of the fact that Bill Clinton survived impeachment, this story and the manner of its exposure provided the first instance of an internet source matching the power of the MSM/DNC. News reporting would never be the same after this event.

5) September 8, 2004. Rathergate. While the Rathergate story was broken by bloggers, the previous breakthroughs made this story possible. Drudge linked to the bloggers' early posts in the hours after CBS aired the phony documents. By 2004, Drudge had grown to the point where a mere link from Drudge was sufficient to send an otherwise worthy story into orbit. While bloggers existed prior to Rathergate, Rathergate put blogging on the map.

We are actually experiencing a 25 year revolution. I have ignored many of the events of the past year, each of which has been tremendously significant - Easongate, Koran/toiletgate, etc. I have also ignored the influence of events such as 9-11 and the two elections of George W. Bush. These events have tended to focus conservatives and bloggers, as we discuss the issues of war, peace and related politics. The same MSM/DNC mismanagement of our country that gave us Bill Clinton, a phony Florida election dispute and 9-11 also made blogging and the new media necessary. But it was the initiative of a few conservatives who dared to defy the MSM/DNC media monopoly that made the new media possible.

There are more breakthroughs to come. Those who take the new media to new heights in the future will stand on the shoulders of giants such as Ronald Reagan, Rush Limbaugh and Matt Drudge.

Quote of the day - Mark Steyn

Remember the Afghan war? On Nov. 7, 2001, the New York Times' Maureen Dowd was sneering at the Northern Alliance for being a lot of useless layabout deadbeats. "They smoke and complain more than they fight," she scoffed. A couple of days later, Kabul fell so swiftly that on Nov. 14 Dowd switched smoothly -- with only the mildest case of columnar whiplash -- to whining that the hitherto layabout Northern Alliance had "embarrassed" us with their "savage force."

Mark Steyn

Quote of the day - Joe Sobran

But Clinton, whatever else he is, is not a normal man. You have to marvel at the legions who are still supporting him, even though he has made it clear that he is as willing to destroy friends as enemies, if it serves his interest to do so. The psychopath may be sane, but his flunkies must be nuts.

Joe Sobran

Rathergate anniversary - 12 days and counting - Ann Coulter and Judge Posner

Ann Coulter's column this week discusses a book review written by Judge Posner in the New York Times.

Ann summarizes Judge Posner's review as arguing that conservative alternative media have pushed the MSM/DNC further to the left.

Ann disagrees. She believes the MSM/DNC has moderated.

I think they are both right. I have written previously that the MSM/DNC has become more bitter and partisan than ever in the wake of the Rathergate, Easongate, Koran/Toiletgate and other MSM/DNC scandals of the past year. The MSM/DNC has become more bitter as they attempt to avoid losing more ground.

That is not exactly Judge Posner's thesis. Posner argues that market forces are pushing the MSM/DNC further to the left. I think that thesis is too simplistic. Market forces do not influence the MSM/DNC any more than market forces influence suicide bombers. The MSM/DNC is essentially a mass totalitarian movement. Profit is secondary to MSM/DNC. MSM/DNC must make money only so it can survive long enough to see capitalism and freedom end in the West. George Soros does not expect his investment in Cindy Sheehan to turn a profit.

At certain points it becomes too costly for MSM/DNC to operate certain units even in the short run. That is why Newsweek has recently reduced its editions. Those same forces drive the networks to compete with each other for ratings. But MSM/DNC will not use profit as a justification for telling the truth about the issues of our day. Such a policy would not be consistent with the MSM/DNC ideology.

I think Posner has correctly identified a trend, but has attributed the wrong reasons.

I think Ann Coulter is partially right that certain MSM/DNC units are trying to be less obvious about their bias. Instead of Peter Arnett, for example, CNN trots out other propagandists to convey the MSM/DNC message. Ann forgets that MSM/DNC has an unlimited number of mouthpieces to do its dirty work. When one of them gets discredited, others step in to fill the void. The public doesn't recognize the new face right away and lets its guard down. I am just glad that the Islamists don't have as many suicide bombers as the MSM/DNC has leftists.

We cannot think that any one "new media" victory is decisive or that we can relax because we ousted an anchor or a few executives. As I said in July, "[w]e will have to fight the MSM/DNC issue-by-issue, scandal-by-scandal, lie-by-lie."

Quote of the day - KGO-TV

"Cindy Sheehan kneels before a cross with her son's name on it, touches his picture, wipes her tears. It's an outpouring of emotion that is part of a scheduled news event organized daily for the television, radio and print reporters who crowd in to capture a mother's grief." [emphasis added].

KGO - TV, San Francisco

MSM lie # 44 of 2005 - New York Times lies about interceptor armor

On August 14th, 2005, the New York Times ran a story that misrepresents the terrorists' abilities to pierce American "interceptor" armor. Jack Kelly provided the details yesterday. The same Times article also misrepresented the abilities of the current interceptor armor. The Times refused or failed to print corrective information provided by the Army. H/T Michelle Malkin.

This Times article showed more than mere bias. The existence and capabilities of certain weapons are objective facts. The Times' refusal to print those facts and its invention of contrary facts constitute lies.

The full list is found here.

MSM Lie #43 of 2005 - AP lies in support of Cindy Sheehan

On August 24th, Associated Press misrepresented the Cindy Sheehan story, falsely claiming that Cindy Sheehan became anti-war only after her son was killed and only after reports of faulty pre-war intelligence. In fact, Sheehan was anti-war before her son reenlisted.

AP also added the line that Casey was misled by a recruiter before reenlisting. This line was quietly dropped from subsequent versions of the story.

This behavior is not surprising from an organization that helped terrorists win a Pulitzer Prize.

H/T Powerline.

The full list is found here.

MSM Lie # 42 - Chris Matthews and the War on Terror: as easy as WWII?

On Wednesday of this week, Rush Limbaugh played an excerpt from Chris Matthews' appearance on the Today show. Matthews' falsely claimed that the Bush administration originally believed and claimed that the War on Terror would be easy, much like World War II (!!!). According to Matthews, Bush officials and conservatives in general were expecting a surrender ceremony and a VE day and VJ day. I am paraphrasing only to a small degree.

In fact, I recall statements from the Bush administration early in the War (shortly after 9-11). One such statement specifically mentioned that there would be no early end to the war. Bush predicted that the war would continue beyond his time in office. On another occasion, Bush stated that we should not expect a "Missouri" type surrender ceremony, like the one that ended World War II.

The administration was correct to define expectations in this way. They should have continued with this theme. Their failure to remind the public that we are in the early stages in the war allows hacks like Matthews to get away with lying about the administration's position.

Check out the rest of the lies of 2005 here.

Morris Dees' illegal alien land grab; Casey Nethercott

Check out Debbie Schlussel's blog today. She writes about Morris Dees' (of the Southern Poverty Law Center) lawsuit that resulted in land being seized from an Arizona homeowner and given to illegal aliens. I haven't heard nearly enough about this story, except from a caller to the Hannity show earlier this week.

Quote of the day - C.S. Lewis

Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.

C. S. Lewis

Quote of the day - Ronald Reagan

The ultimate determinant in the struggle now going on for the world will not be bombs and rockets but a test of wills and ideas-a trial of spiritual resolve: the values we hold, the beliefs we cherish and the ideals to which we are dedicated.

Ronald Reagan

Quote of the day - Ayn Rand

Civilization is the progress toward a society of privacy. The savage's whole existence is public, ruled by the laws of his tribe. Civilization is the process of setting man free from men.

Ayn Rand

The 2008 election - battlefield: Ohio

If any of you had any doubts that Hillary is planning to run for President in 2008, take note that her "husband" Bill has been spending a great deal of time in the key swing state of Ohio laying the groundwork for the campaign.

Quote of the day - H.L. Mencken

No one ever heard of a Democrat who actually believed in Democracy. He always keeps on protesting after the vote has been taken, and he usually tries to upset its verdict. And if he can't do it by fair means, then he is always willing to try foul.

H.L. Mencken (May 2, 1932)

USS Iowa shunned by San Francisco.

The San Francisco board of supervisors has vetoed plans to place the USS Iowa on display in San Francisco bay. The decision was made on ideological grounds.

This is old news. The decision was made a month ago (and discussed on the internet at that time). I don't know why Yahoo, Rush Limbaugh and Hannity were discussing this item today. I must have missed some angle that makes the subject news today instead of last month.

near Pearl Harbor 1952

The Iowa was in the center of the battle to homosexualize the military in 1989 when an explosion tore through one of its main gun turrets, killing 47 sailors. The Navy's original report attributed the explosion to sabotage by a homosexual sailor upset over a jilted lover (I believe both men served on board at the time). The report was quickly rebuffed and attacked by the MSM/DNC and was quickly retracted by the Navy. The original report continues to generate MSM/DNC hate pieces online and elsewhere.

The official line today is that we don't know what caused the explosion, but the only cause we can rule out is homosexual sabotage. The affair reminds me of numerous airplane crashes in the 1990's (TWA 800, Egypt Air, etc.). The cause of the crashes remains a mystery, but the federal government quickly ruled out terrorism. Maybe if four different battleships had suffered from simultaneous similar explosions, the official story would not be so benign.

Juan Marichal, John Roseboro - the 40 year anniversary of "the brawl"

Forgive me for digressing from issues of war and peace for a moment. Today is the 40 year anniversary of the famous brawl between John Roseboro, Juan Marichal and the rest of the Dodgers and Giants at Candlestick Park. Read about the details from Gwen Knapp at the San Francisco Chronicle. [I guess the MSM/DNC newspapers serve a purpose once in a while - at least when it comes to sports.]

40 years ago today

Quote of the day - Mark Steyn

Bomb us, and we agonise over the "root causes" (that is, what we did wrong). Decapitate us, and our politicians rush to the nearest mosque to declare that "Islam is a religion of peace". Issue bloodcurdling calls at Friday prayers to kill all the Jews and infidels, and we fret that it may cause a backlash against Muslims. Behead sodomites and mutilate female genitalia, and gay groups and feminist groups can't wait to march alongside you denouncing Bush, Blair and Howard. Murder a schoolful of children, and our scholars explain that to the "vast majority" of Muslims "jihad" is a harmless concept meaning "decaf latte with skimmed milk and cinnamon sprinkles".

Mark Steyn

The "nonexistent, but accurate" standard.

Earlier today I volunteered to join the box of docs research program in order to help analyze Judge Roberts' memos and other writings from the past 25 years. I received my assignment from Radio Blogger and was prepared to troll the old writings for some insight that might tip the scales in the upcoming Supreme Court nomination battle.

But when I opened the link for the crucial documents, all I found was this. Undaunted, I vowed that I would analyze my assignment under the standards established by the MSM/DNC.

- The Roberts documents, while apparently nonexistent, are nonetheless accurate.

- One cannot argue against the accuracy of these documents unless one (or one's daughters) serves in the military.

- These documents might be the hidden adoption records that the New York Times is trying to find.

- The "moral authority" of these documents is "absolute."

- Further search for these documents would turn into a quagmire much like Vietnam.

- The fact that these documents cannot be located now proves that the documents never existed in the first place.

- Even though the documents don't exist, they can be registered to vote in Washington State.

It may be impossible to believe all of these explanations at the same time. But don't let something like logic deter you.
-----------------------------------------------------------

update
Click here for a comparison of the Bork and Roberts Supreme Court battles.

Rathergate anniversary - 18 days and counting - Supreme Court battles; Bork, Roberts and Thomas Sowell

Click here for previous updates on the Rathergate countdown and its significance.

Thomas Sowell's book, Personal Odyssey, provides additional insight into what went wrong with the Bork nomination in 1987, and how that disaster could have been avoided. Dr. Sowell noted the smear tactics used against Bork, particularly the charge that he opposed civil rights. Sowell undertook his own research:

I spent hours in the Stanford Law Library, looking up civil rights cases in which Bork had been involved as judge, or as an attorney before that. What I learned was the Bork had never voted against a minority plaintiff in a civil rights case as judge, and when he was an attorney he had appeared in more civil rights cases than any Supreme Court nominee since Thurgood Marshall. To look at the cases themselves in the law library, to see Robert Bork's name listed again and again alongside the names of lawyers from the N.A.A.C.P. Legal Defense Fund and other such groups - and then to go home and watch the direct opposite impression being created on television was enough to turn my stomach.

pp. 294-295

Dr. Sowell goes on to lament that the Republicans did not run counter-ads or otherwise get the real story and Sowell's research out to the public.

But now in the post-Rathergate era, it is possible for bloggers to tell the truth and present the results of research. Rathergate (and all that followed it in terms of growth in the blogosphere) has made it possible for us to fight back. Hugh Hewitt discusses the possibilities in his book, "Blog."

Bloggers have undertaken a research project in which they are analyzing boxloads of Judge Roberts' papers. They have even developed a method to divide up the work and report back to the blogosphere as a whole.

Sue Bob is one such blogger-researcher. Check her posts.

With methods like these, we no longer need fear a Bork-like battle. We have the tools to win an ideological battle. The box of docs project is only the beginning.
------------------------------------
Monday night update - On Hannity's radio show today, Judge Bork spoke of the difference between these two confirmation fights. I can't remember the exact words, but Bork spoke of conservative groups "coming out of the woodwork . . " to battle the "radicals". Hannity agreed and attributed much of the fight on our side to the new media and the bloggers.

Quote of the day - Thomas Sowell

Why transfer what has been produced by some to others when you could spread the productivity that produced this wealth, making everyone better off?

Thomas Sowell

Classics of Conservatism - part X - Thomas Sowell - Personal Odyssey

Click here for previous editions of "Classics of Conservatism."

This month's "Classic of Conservatism" is Thomas Sowell's "A Personal Odyssey." Thomas Sowell is known to millions of readers as the conservative newspaper columnist who appears weekly across the country in many cities as well as twice weekly at various internet sites. We also hear him occasionally on the Rush Limbaugh program.



Personal Odyssey introduces us to a different side of Dr. Sowell. We learn of his childhood, his education and his early career. I have enjoyed many books. But this one is one of the few that I had a very hard time putting down.

I especially recommend this book for anyone about to enter college, as we learn much of the unpleasant side of academia, including dishonesty of administrators, low standards and political intrigue. Dr. Sowell shares his experiences as a student and economics professor at various colleges and universities, including Cornell, UCLA, Howard, Harvard and the University of Chicago (among others).

Sowell also recounts his experiences with the Ford administration, the Reagan campaign and the Bork hearings. Sowell's experience with the Bork hearings provide particular insight into what we can expect in future nomination fights.

The book is composed mainly of relatively short vignettes, all of which combine to make a compelling story. Dr. Sowell points out that he has lived during almost one third of this country's history. His observations provide new insight for much of that history. Dr. Sowell has come as close to anyone about which I have read to living the life of Howard Roark.

For previous discussions of Personal Odyssey, click here (late talking children) and here (a CBS news lie).

Quote of the day - Chrissie Hynde

"We f-----' deserve to get bombed. Bring it on. . . . . . . Let's get rid of all the economic s--- this country represents! Bring it on, I hope the Muslims win! "

Chrissie Hynde

MSM Lie # 41 - New York Times repeats the Florida recount lie

Paul Krugman of the New York Times can't let go of the Florida recount issue and can't help himself from lying about the facts. Brain-Terminal sets the record straight:

In a New York Times op-ed piece, Paul Krugman pulls a fast one with the truth:

Two different news media consortiums reviewed Florida's ballots; both found that a full manual recount would have given the election to Mr. Gore.

Sorry, Paul, but that's just not true. In fact, the two studies commissioned by various media organizations found the exact opposite: Bush would have won a full state-wide recount.

I found Brain-Terminal's post at Daily Pundit:

There's your model, Jay, and it is a model for the utter collapse of media as we have known it in the past. The only currency it ever really had came in two forms: monopoly and trust. The first is utterly shattered, and the second was spent long ago.

emphasis added

See the entire list.

Rathergate anniversary - 20 days and counting - roots of the internet explosion

The video linked here is from a Canadian newscast. I estimate the date of the broadcast to be in the mid-1990's. The internet was new to most people and the reporters were only beginning to see the possibilities. While this broadcast obviously pre-dated Rathergate by about a decade, it would only be a matter of time before the networks would be rendered obsolete. As the anchorman stated in the broadcast:

There's a revolution going on in rec-rooms, offices and classrooms around the world. A revolution in which 15 MILLION PEOPLE are taking part.

emphasis in original

Quote of the day - Joe Sobran

Someone has said: "If voting could change anything, it would be illegal."

Joe Sobran

Rathergate anniversary - 21 days and counting - Hollywood ads

L.A. Weekly contains an article about movie studios and their reluctance to continue wasting money on large ads in old media newspapers. The studios consider the readers of such papers to be "older and elitist."

Read chapter 5 of Hugh Hewitt's book, "Blog" for more information on trends in MSM/DNC readership.

The bad news trend for MSM/DNC outlets began before Rathergate. But Rathergate accelerated those trends.

The latest leftist meme and what lies behind it.

Leftist anti-war protesters have become quick, like trained seals, to respond to any logical argument about the war with one response: "Why don't you (or your children, or George Bush' children) join the Army if you are so pro-war?"

- Leftists are quick to say this even though they called Pat Tillman a "sucker" for doing just that.

- Leftists are quick to say this even though they will make every effort to prevent military recruiters from talking to you or your children (or, presumably, George Bush' children).

- Leftists are quick to say this even though most of the people who have joined the military are in favor of the President's decisions in defending this country.

- Leftists are quick to say this even though they voted for the man (Kerry) who opposed additional armor and equipment for our troops.

- Leftists are quick to say this even though they believe that the only good U.S. soldier is a dead U.S. soldier (and even better if the deceased soldier's mother has no shame).

Remember where the protesters' hearts really lie when they accuse real Americans of shirking military duty.

Quote of the day - Cindy Sheehan

"This country is not worth dying for."

Cindy Sheehan

Rathergate Anniversary - 22 days and counting - 50,000

Sometime around three o'clock today I expect to reach 50,000 on my hit counter. That is not much compared to the larger blogs, but it is a big milestone for me after less than 11 months of blogging. I owe it all to Rathergate:

While I had begun to follow certain blogs as the election campaign wore on last summer, Rathergate was the hook that reeled me in. My own blog began at the end of September, 2004, as I joined in the wave that carries us to the new media future.

While I can take no credit for the blogburst that brought down Rather and CBS, I do claim to be a child of Rathergate. I suspect that all of those political blogs whose archives go back only to September and October, 2004 were similarly Rathergate generated.

Thanks everyone for your links and your hits.
--------------------------------
And, the 50,000th hit is referred by . . . . . . . .Captain's Quarters. May the Air America scandal be as productive as the Rathergate scandal.

The Varyag: a Chinese aircraft carrier

World Net Daily posted an article this week that fuels speculation on the possibility that China will soon have a seaworthy aircraft carrier. Apparently the Chinese had previously purchased an old Russian carrier (the "Varyag") that now sits in a Chinese naval station. Speculation exists that the Chinese are now readying this carrier for use in the Chinese navy.



Strategypage.com provides the story of how the Chinese acquired the carrier in the first place:

The mystery of the 67,000 ton Russian aircraft carrier Varyag, now owned by China, continues. Last month, the Varyag was towed away from the pier, in the Chinese naval base of Dalian, where it had been tied up for the last three years. While there, it could be seen that work was being done on the ship. Most notable was rebuilding of the carriers island, and the installation of some electronics. The Vartag was only 80 percent complete when the Chinese purchased it, and had no engines or rudder. It’s uncertain what work was done internally. Dalian is a closely guarded base, with no reporters allowed.

China spent over $50 million to buy the unfinished 67,000 ton Varyag, and tow it to the Chinese naval base at Dalian. Originally, the Varyag was bought, for three times its scrap value, by a Chinese front company (that turned out to be owned by the Chinese navy). Their stated intention was to convert the ship into a floating casino in Macao (near Hong Kong). This turned out to be a cover story, to get Turkey to allow the Varyag to be towed out of the Black Sea. There’s an international treaty that allows Turkey to control what warships pass through the Turkish controlled entrance to the Black Sea, so the Chinese had to make it look like the Varyag was no longer going to be used as a warship. The Chinese then spent $30 million, and 627 days, to tow the engineless Varyag to a Chinese naval base. The Varyag was originally designed to operate the Su-27 fighter (which the Chinese have).

For the Chinese to possess such a weapon would dramatically alter the balance of power in Asia. The consequences for Japan, Taiwan and South Korea would be immediate. U.S. forces would remain superior, but the U.S. main point of superiority would be compromised. The ability to project air power into "blue water" is crucial. For us to lose our monopoly on this power to an entity intent on conquering Taiwan would have consequences about which we can only speculate.

Aircraft carriers are prohibitively expensive to maintain. The ability of the Chinese economy to maintain such a weapon will continue to grow as trade grows between China and the West.

The Germans began constructing an aircraft carrier shortly before World War II. Had they completed it instead of abandoning the project, that carrier could have altered the balance of power in the Atlantic before the U.S. entry into the war. Germany's inability to project air power into the Atlantic was a decisive factor in England's utlimate success in the battle for the Atlantic.

While we are only speculating at the moment, we continue to ignore this story at our peril.

For a previous post on the Chinese military buildup in general, click here.

For the Clinton connection, click here.

Quote of the day - Michelle Malkin

Perhaps too much drug-addled '60s nostalgia has burnt out the bleeding-hearts pacifists' brain cells.

Michelle Malkin

The Black Knight declares "O.P.E.N. W.A.R." on Michelle Malkin

Someone named "DC Media Girl" has declared "O.P.E.N. W.A.R." on Michelle Malkin. Follow Michelle's links if you are interested.

In other news, the Black Knight has vowed that he will "really fix" King Arthur next time.

MSM Lie # 40 - Another Gaza lie

News commentators on MSM/DNC have frequently referred to the Gaza pullout as returning land to Palestinians or giving land "back" to the Palestinians. As quoted by Debbie Schlussel, NBC's Martin Fletcher stated on Monday (August 15th) that Israel was "handing the land BACK to the Palestinians". Debbie heard this meme many other times over the past few days on MSM/DNC radio and TV.

As Martin Fletcher should know, Gaza was never Palestinian. Gaza was ruled by Egypt prior to the 1967 war. I include this item on the list because it was repeated more than once by various MSM/DNC outlets. It has long been part of the MSM/DNC playbook to provide undue "props" to the "Palestinian" cause by providing designations that are not merited. The very term "Palestinian" arose that way. The "Palestinians" are in fact Transjordanians who acquired this special designation as "Palestinians" by force of MSM/DNC repetition over the past generation. They are not a separate "people" any more than Washington D.C. is a state. They belong in and with Jordan. But the MSM/DNC treats them separately so they can be used as a handbag to swing at Israel and, ultimately, the United States.

The idea that Gaza is being given "back" to these "Palestinians" somehow imputes status and rights as a people that the "Palestinians" never enjoyed.

Click here for the entire list. See Debbie's post for a more detailed look at some of the Gaza lies.

Rathergate anniversary - 23 days and counting - progress report on the new media revolution

Hugh Hewitt cites a blog study that reveals the age and income levels of typical blog readers. The trends look good for blogging in both categories. Also:

Proof of the rising popularity of blogs is that about 50 million U.S. Internet users (about 30 percent of all U.S. Internet users) visited blog sites in the first quarter of 2005, up 45 percent compared with 2004's first quarter, according to the study.

emphasis added

Meanwhile, MSM/DNC news weeklies continue to suffer:

Despite recent major world events like the London terrorist bombings in July and the late December tsunami in Thailand, newsweeklies continued to struggle for the first half of the year. Time magazine, published by Time Inc., saw circulation remain flat for the period at 4.05 million, while newsstand sales dipped 3.4 percent to 157,217 copies. Newsweek saw its newsstand sales plummet 14 percent to 126,163, while total paid circulation rose 1.8 percent to 1.05 million

Who was it that recently announced the demise specifically of MSM/DNC weekly news magazines?

Quote of the day - Tom Shales

"Jennings wanted to know, he said, how anyone could hate America so much that they would launch this kind of vicious, calamitous attack. Ashrawi [Palestinian propagandist] blamed U.S. foreign policy (for having 'fought Arab nationalism') and, predictably for her, Israel. Ashrawi complained that 'Israel is given preferential treatment, treated as a country above the law, as part of her condemnation. Jennings deferred to Ashrawi, as usual, and let her filibuster. It was a nauseating display...."

Tom Shales - 9-17-01

Rathergate anniversary - 24 days and counting - David Brancaccio fights back

On the PBS pledge drive Friday night, David Brancaccio appeared and asked for money on the basis that he is an actual reporter. He specifically contrasted himself with bloggers. Brancaccio, you see, goes out and gets the story instead of simply reporting what other people are saying (the way bloggers do). Brancaccio did his best to appear nonchalant as he explained this difference.

It is apparant from Brancaccio's comments that the MSM/DNC knows that blogging is not a temporary phenomenon. MSM/DNC views blogs as its chief competition.

Brancaccio is the new host of "Now", the weekly program created by Bill Moyers several years ago for the purpose of talking only about Enron. In fact, Brancaccio does very little actual reporting. A show dedicated to rehashing Enron until the end of time is not engaging in "journalism." "Now" is simply a rehash of MSM/DNC approved stories with MSM/DNC approved spin and a healthy dose of class warfare agitprop. "Now's" take on Enron consists in the proposition that the "rich" took their Enron "winnings", bought up the state of Colorado and left the proletariat to suffer from reduced value in their stock portfolios. That is what passes for reporting at PBS.

Remember that bloggers' best work has been the result of actual reporting. Rathergate was the result of bloggers finding their own experts who could disprove the alleged authenticity of the ANG "documents." Easongate resulted from individuals who heard Eason Jordan's speech and exposed it on the internet. The best stories result from bloggers reporting on stories that the MSM/DNC won't touch.

That MSM/DNC continues to attack the blogosphere eleven months after Rathergate speaks volumes about the progress we have made.

Click here for previous posts on the Rathergate aftermath.

MSM lie # 39 of 2005 - Detroit News inflates numbers

The Gaza pullout story seems to be a breeding ground of MSM/DNC lies.

Click here for the list of lies of 2005.

Click here for a previous post related to the Gaza pullout, including a cold war analogy.

Debbie Schlussel points out a Detroit News article that grossly overstates the Palestinian population of the Detroit Metro area. While the actual Palestinian population is less than 4,000 (according to 2000 census data compiled and reported at Wayne State University) , The Detroit News invents the numbers 15,000 - 20,000. [I guess the Detroit News must have found its extra 11,000 to 16,000 on the Democratic Party voter registration rolls.]

The MSM/DNC is always overstating the number of Arabs and Muslims in this country. MSM/DNC has done so since 9-11. This population inflation serves to lend credence to Islamic political influence peddlers like CAIR. Political operatives and pollsters are fooled into thinking that the Muslim vote can swing an election. The inflated numbers maintain that myth.

Quote of the day - Debbie Schlussel

Jennings' legacy is helping advance the cause of Islamic terrorists on broadcast television, parading it as news.

Debbie Schlussel

Curt Weldon - Able Danger; still more plausible than MSM/DNC version

I understand that questions have arisen as to details of Congressman Weldon's recent claims regarding Mohammed Atta and the Able Danger operation.

Even if Congressman Weldon is wrong on the key points of his story, Weldon's version is still more credible than that of Richard Clarke, the 9-11 Commission, Michael Moore or any other purveyor of MSM/DNC 9-11 gospel.

I realize that I have set the bar very low, but does anyone doubt that MSM/DNC would have given Weldon voluminous airtime and even made him an ABC news consultant had the roles of the GOP and DNC been switched? Had Weldon used the Able Danger story to expose a Republican administration instead of Bill Clinton and Jamie Gorelick, any flaws in the story would be ignored and Weldon would be the hero.

The fact remains that the 9/11 commission was a disgrace, Jamie Gorelick was more responsible for 9/11 than anyone else except the terrorists, and the MSM/DNC strives mightily to hide those facts while blaming Bush. What is more important is that the politics-as-usual mentality that compounded the horror of 9/11 with the disgrace of the Commission remains firmly entrenched.

The Gaza Pullout; Dr. Fred Schwarz

As I hear the news reports regarding the Gaza pullout and read the various blog posts debating the pros and cons, I can't help but remember the words of Dr. Fred Schwarz, who wrote "You Can Trust the Communists" in 1960. [I really had to dig through the old boxes to find this one]:

The Communists believe they are at war with us. This conviction will never be changed in the slightest degree by any action of the Free World. If, tomorrow, the leaders of the Free Nations were to accede to every demand made by the Communist leaders, if they were to neutralize every Strategic Air Command base, if they were to grant the demands on Germany, if they were to neutralize Formosa, if they were to recognize Red China and admit it to the United Nations, if the United States were to withdraw every serviceman and weapon within the borders of continental United States, the Communists would merely believe they had won massive victories in the class war. A step towards our final conquest and destruction would have been taken. We must either recognize this and defend against it, or ignore it and be destroyed. We have no other choice.

pp. 5,6

For those who cannot connect the dots (e.g. those who rely on the MSM/DNC and the late night comedians for news), insert the word "Islamists" in place of "Communists" in the previous quote. Imagine, instead of the concessions listed by Schwarz, the following concessions:

- Pullout of all Western troops from all Muslim and Mideast countries;
- The demolition of all non-Muslim churches in those countries;
- Abandonment of Israel (a second diaspora) by all Israelis;
- Abandonment of all immigration restrictions by Western countries;
- Abandonment of all territorial claims on Kashmir by India;
- Russian pullout from Chechnya;
- Forced emigration of all Sudanese Christians;
- etc. etc.

Does any one who is not an MSM/DNC hack imagine that the Islamists would abandon their war of conquest if we followed the above list? Would Islamic immigration in the West cease? Would Islamists stop attempting to impose Shari'a law around the world? Would Islamists cease to regard us as infidels? Would Eurabia become a thing of the past instead of the nightmare of tomorrow? Would the Islamists stop persecuting Buddhists in southeast Asia or Christians in Africa?

Remember that Bill Clinton helped the Albanian muslims and their Al Qaeda allies reconquer Kosovo in 1999. Kosovo is a much bigger prize than Gaza by virtue of its geographical location near the gateway between the Mideast and Europe. How did Al Qaeda repay the West? Did they become peace loving? Did they negotiate? I think we all know the answer to that question.

The Gaza pullout will not make the Islamists in the mideast more peaceful or more willing to accept negotiated settlements. They are merely one step closer to victory. The only ones who do not know this fact are the Western leaders and those who rely on the MSM/DNC for news and commentary.

Rathergate anniversary - 25 days and counting - Swift Boat Vets, the run up to Rathergate - what a difference one year makes

One year ago today, I stumbled onto the blogosphere for the first time when I followed a Lucianne.com link to a Captain's Quarters post regarding the Swift Boat Vets. The story of my discovery of this post and Captain Ed's blog is discussed here.

By mid-August 2004, the Swift Boat story had been brewing for some time. It is difficult to assign an anniversary date to that story, so August 14th is as good a date as any (not really, but I don't feel like doing more research right now).

The Swift Boat Vets had as much to do with Rathergate as anyone else. They pummeled Kerry with their TV ads all through August. Kerry had gained no traction from his own (end of July) convention and he fell far behind in the polls (BTW - I hate polls) by the beginning of September. The MSM/DNC was desparate.

Ann Coulter believes (and I agree) that CBS' airing of the ANG phony documents on September 8th instead of October 31st was the direct result of Kerry's wounds caused by the Swift Boat Vets. The MSM/DNC could wait no longer. The MSM/DNC would have to find something else for its October surprise. Because the Swift Boat Vets forced MSM/DNC's hand early, the blogosphere had time to react. Rathergate was a 12 day scandal. That 12 day window would not have existed in late October. Read Ann Coulter's column.

So as we look back to one year ago, the sequence that would lead to the earthquake known as Rathergate (and all that followed) was already in motion. But none of us had any idea that events would move so quickly. The Swift Boat Vets were beating up Kerry, the MSM/DNC was desparate to save Kerry, and the blogosphere stood ready to expose MSM/DNC lies.

One year ago today, the network news was still dominated by the big three anchors that had occupied their chairs for the previous 20+ years. The "celebrity anchor" was very much a force to be reckoned with. Today, all three celebrity anchors are now gone, while the blogosphere's power to force the truth on to the front pages is recognized (but not admitted) by all. For those who are still in doubt, read the latest events in the growing Air America scandal.

One year makes a tremendous difference. I cannot wait to see what strides we make by this time in 2006.

The roots of my own blogging.

Today is the probable one year anniversary of the first time I ever looked at a blog. You might think it odd that I remember such a thing. At that time, my own blog did not exist. My own blog would not be created for more than a month. How would I remember looking at someone else's blog?

On August 14, 2004, I followed Lucianne.com's "blogtruth of the day" link to Captain's Quarters. [The Captain had posted interesting facts about the Swift Boat Vets that were unavailable elsewhere.] I then linked Captain's Ed's post at a Yahoo Group that I moderate (the Group has been pretty dormant lately). The link is still in place at the Yahoo Group and Captain's Ed's year old post still makes for good reading.

The Swift Boat Vet story that Captain Ed (and others) chronicled remains fascinating, if for no other reason than the idea that a psycho such as Kerry could get so close to the Presidency.

I had always ignored Lucianne's "blogtruth of the day" link. But from that day forward, I usually paid attention. I would later find other Swift Boat Vet posts and begin reading some blogs regularly. The process by which I would start my own blog had begun. Thank you Lucianne, thank you Captain Ed and thank you Swift Boat Vets for Truth.

Quote of the day - Mark Steyn

A body [9-11 Commission] intended to reassure Americans that the lessons of that terrible day had been learned instead engaged in what at best was transparent politicking and collusion in posterior-covering and at worst was something a whole lot darker and more disturbing.

Mark Steyn

Rathergate anniversary - 26 days and counting - Thomas Sowell and late talking children

In Thomas Sowell's autobiography, "Personal Odyssey", Dr. Sowell describes (see pages 298-301) his son John's experience as a "late talking" child. John did not start talking until he was nearly four years old. John was quite intelligent notwithstanding his lack of speech. He received a college degree in statistics in 1993.



Because there was little information available to parents of late talking children, Dr. Sowell believed his son's condition to be unique. Neighbors thought that his son was retarded. Dr. Sowell did not learn how widespread his son's condition was until he wrote a column on the subject in 1993. The column resulted in a flood of letters from parents around the country wanting more information. These parents had previously believed their children's conditions to be unique. Dr. Sowell had no further information to provide, but he wrote letters to those who had inquired.

Eventually, he was able to put the parents in touch with each other. A support group developed from these contacts. The support group was able to collect data regarding many common characteristics of late talking children. From this information, Dr. Sowell was able to write a book solely on this subject.



What does this subject have to do with Rathergate?

Every time I read about any subject that is of interest to a large group of people, I think about how the internet, blogging and the new media could have made a difference in the past. In this case, thousands of people believed themselves to be in a unique position and were unable to find each other, pool their resources or discover solutions. Years were lost because of this pre-Rathergate isolation. Dr. Sowell had to communicate with these families (12 years ago) through "snail-mail." Today, this information could have been exchanged instantaneously.

The point is that the new media, and especially Rathergate, is a liberating force that can accelerate the spread of information about many subjects - not just politics. Rathergate was about much more than Dan Rather and one election. Rathergate was a catalyst for the whole "new media" revolution. The revolution was already underway prior to September 8, 2004, but Rathergate added fuel to the fire. Rathergate is almost a metaphor for the whole revolution dating back to the earliest days of the internet and talk radio. That revolution will help the next group that wants information on a medical condition as much as it will help keep CBS News from tampering with elections.

Click here for previous posts on the significance of Rathergate and the countdown.

Jamie Gorelick; 9-11 Commission; Mohammed Atta; Able Danger

The blogosphere has begun to document thoroughly the revelations that Mohammed Atta had been identified more than one year prior to 9-11 and that this information was kept out of the hands of the FBI by the Jamie Gorelick memo. Captain's Quarters summarizes here and here. TKS summarizes here. TKS provides advice for those looking to break through the MSM/DNC wall of silence and misinformation:

(An aside: Can we please avoid giving this story some excessively cute suffix-gate nickname? Every time some over-eager blogger or talking head does that, the rest of the country rolls their eyes. This thing is too serious for our usual bad habits. Let's just call it "the Able Danger revelations" and leave it at that.)

emphasis added

I think it has been established at this point that the 911 commission is a partisan disgrace. Its main task has been to rewrite history and protect the Clinton administration, thereby preventing an understanding of 9-11 that might avoid the next attack. They don't understand (or don't care) that lives are at stake.

In order to set history straight, we should give Jamie Gorelick her proper association with the events she helped bring about.



These photos belong together in history as surely as Neville Chamberlain's photo has been weighed down with the images of Nazi aggression.
Here is a rhetorical question.
What is worse:
-the Gorelick Wall that protected Atta as he planned his murderous attacks?
-the activities of MSM/DNC, Richard Clarke etc. in trying to blame the attacks on Bush?
-Gorelick's role on the 9/11 commission despite her conflict of interest?
-the Commission's failure to report the Able Danger documents so that it could preserve its mission to whitewash the worst terrorist attack in U.S. history?

It doesn't matter at this point which disgrace is worse. It only matters that we look at the photos, remember the dead, and rid our government of those who treat 9/11 like just another political game.

Quote of the day - Barry Goldwater

To disagree, one doesn't have to be disagreeable.


Barry M. Goldwater

Rathergate anniversary - 27 days and counting - Carolina Journal, Jon Ham, Stalin Radio

Jon Ham at Carolina Journal posts this article comparing today's TV networks to the old "Stalin radios" in the Soviet Union:

It was a simple box with speaker vents and a single knob, to adjust volume. There was no antenna and no receiver and you couldn’t turn it off, you could only turn it down. It was, basically, a speaker hard-wired into what once was Soviet propaganda central, and every apartment was required to have one.

This was Stalin-era pre-television mass media. It gave the Party line on all things, played Party-approved music only, and presented only Party-approved dramas and variety shows.

Does this device sound familiar? Is there any program on commercial TV today that is not PC and safe? When is the last time you witnessed a TV program that did not appear as if every line were approved in advance by the MSM/DNC?

Jon Ham was reminded of the Stalin radios when he read numerous Peter Jennings eulogists who "waxed nostalgic for the network monopoly, openly unsettled that it has given way to a raucous free market of media choices."

My only question is, how did the MSM/DNC manage to enforce such uniformity without hard wiring the TV's in our homes as were the Stalin radios?

Click here for previous Rathergate countdown posts.

MSM Lie # 38 - New York Times and Air America

I have said very little about the Air America scandal thus far, as other bloggers have provided thorough coverage. The New York Times has dutifully ignored this story, as we expected it would. But now the New York Times has engaged in a lie to help downplay its significance. In what Michelle Malkin refers to as a "Dowdification", the Times edited and shortened damaging statements from an Al Franken radio interview:

The NYTimes reports:

"I don't know why he did it," Mr. Franken said, according to a transcript of the broadcast made by the Department of Investigation. "I don't know where the money went. I don't know if it was used for operations. I think he was borrowing from Peter to pay Paul."

Here's what Franken actually said (via audio at Brainster's Blog and transcript
at Brian Maloney, who busted this story wide open in the blogosphere the Times sneers at):

I don't know why they did it, and I don't know where the money went, I don't know if it was used for operations [softer, especially fast], which I imagine it was. I think he was robbing Peter to pay Paul.

H/T Michelle Malkin for the side-by-side comparison of the transcript and NYT "version."

The Times also misquoted Michelle Malkin and left out other key facts. H/T Brian Maloney.

I wrote earlier that the New York Times faced a difficult choice:

The New York Times is faced with an impossible dilemma (much like CBS in September, 2004). Either (1) continue to ignore the scandal and face further erosion of credibility and loss of relevance or (2) acknowledge the scandal (with its best leftist spin) and toss Air America to the wolves. MSM/DNC eventually was forced to chose ("forced to choose" ???) option #2 during Rathergate and the blogosphere grew in power and influence. So far in this scandal, MSM/DNC is choosing option #1.

The Times now appears to be drifting into the second option. It has officially acknowledged the scandal after 15 days, but has done so with an outright lie. If we can spread the word of the Times' latest perfidy, the Times will not get the benefit of having acknowledged the scandal. The scandal may drag the Times further down even after the Times (sort of) abandons its crusade to remain silent.

Click here for lies # 1-37 of 2005. The NYT is responsible also for ## 9, 11 and 35.

Quote of the day - TVspy.com - Peter Jennings

"It's no surprise that ABC News anchor Peter Jennings allowed Palestinian proselytizer Hanan Ashrawi to peddle propaganda on his program [9-11 coverage] -- she used to be his girlfriend. U.S. News & World Report noted in 1991: 'In the early 1970s, when he was single and head of the ABC bureau in Beirut, Jennings dated Ashrawi, who at the time was also single and a graduate student in literature at the American University in the Lebanese capital. Jennings was introduced to Ashrawi's parents and sisters and became part of her circle of friends.

In 1995, Denver Rocky Mountain News international editor Holger Jensen... [wrote] about staying at the Commodore Hotel in Beirut while covering events in war-torn Lebanon. Jensen recalled that Jennings stayed there as well, 'courting a long succession of Palestinian lovelies including Hanan Ashrawi."

TVspy.com (September 20, 2001)

Rathergate anniversary - 28 days and counting - Michelle Malkin gets some instant justice

An interesting event happened today at Michelle Malkin's blog. The post is noteworthy for many things, but buried in the middle is a copy of an e-mail from an employee of a large law firm:

X-Originating-IP: [216.105.154.202]
From: "Mitchell, Patrick" Patrick.Mitchell@ogletreedeakins.com
To: "'malkin@comcast.net'"
Subject:
Date: Thu, 11 Aug 2005 11:41:22 -0400
X-Mailer: Internet Mail Service (5.5.2657.72)

YOU STINK you nasty C***! Eat S*** and DIE b***!!

[I edited the e-mail for content.]
Michelle identified and hyperlinked the law firm and then let the blogosphere do the rest. She never requested any action of any kind. But the readers must have picked up on the hyperlink and bombarded the law firm with complaints. By early afternoon, Michelle received an e-mail from the firm's managing partner, who apologized and explained that the employee had been fired.

As of 9:30 P.M. (eastern time), Michelle Malkin's blog had received 100,000 unique visitors today alone. If only a fraction of those visitors followed the hyperlink to the law firm and e-mailed a complaint, the e-mail traffic would have overwhelmed the firm's staff. I can't help but laugh at the thought of the firm's gradual discovery that something was amiss as thousands of e-mails poured in complaining about one employee and one foul e-mail. I am surprised that the firm's servers, not used to blog-like traffic, didn't crash under the volume.

Only in the post-Rathergate world could such instant justice exist.

Click here for previous editions of the Rathergate countdown.

Quote of the day - Tom Shales, Peter Jennings

"[Jennings] hosted what looked like a little intercontinental tea party for alleged experts on the Middle East, one of whom was professional Palestinian spokeswoman Hanan Ashrawi, whom Jennings hailed as 'widely known in the United States.' Also widely disliked. Jennings and Ashrawi greeted each other like old pals, with broad smiles and warm greetings. "

Tom Shales, Washington Post, September 17, 2001 (referring to Peter Jennings 9/11 coverage).

FEMA, Hurricane Frances, Hurricane Charley, funeral payments

In 2004, four hurricanes hit Florida. The official death toll was a little more than 100. Yet the Federal Emergency Management Agency paid for funerals for 319 people. That amounts to 319 Funerals for only 100+ deaths.

Those statistics prove one thing - FEMA must have acquired its funeral beneficiary list from the registration rolls of the Democratic Party.

The "extra" funerals cost FEMA (and ultimately YOU) probably close to one million dollars.

Quote of the day - Rosie O'Donnell

"Do you know what happens to people who lie? They get cancer and they die!"

Rosie O'Donnell.

Atlas Shrugs nails one.

Pam at Atlas Shrugs has started a new feature at her blog entitled "The Fifth Column." The title is self-explanatory.



The comparison of leftists with fifth columnists is essential if we are to understand the left and the MSM/DNC. She welcomes your submissions.

Quote of the day - C.S. Lewis

Can a mortal ask questions which God finds unanswerable? Quite easily, I should think. All nonsense questions are unanswerable.

C. S. Lewis

Peter Jennings

Today my approach to the death of Peter Jennings is to offer condolences to his friends and family and to repeat a latin phrase:

"de mortuis nil nisi bonum"

That is my approach today.

---------------
Michelle Malkin summarizes almost everyone else's approach. Almost everyone else.

Quote of the day - Ann Coulter

"Whenever a liberal begins a statement with 'I don't know which is more frightening,' you know the answer is going to be pretty clear."

-- Ann Coulter, P. 6 "Treason"

An anniversary buried down the memory hole - 1998 embassy bombings

A big hat tip to the indispensable Debbie Schlussel, who reminds us of the terrorist bombings in East Africa on August 7, 1998. On that date, two U.S. embassies were bombed in Nairobi and Tanzania. More than 200 people were killed and thousands injured.


seven years ago today

These bombings predated 9-11 by three years. At that time, there was still time to prevent 9-11. These and other bombings gave us all of the justification we needed to confront the terrorist threat head on. Clinton's response was to bomb an aspirin factory in Sudan. The Taliban remained in place in Afghanistan and Osama was free to use Afghanistan as a training base for another three years.




But the MSM/DNC, otherwise known as the Clinton Legacy Rehabilitation Project, has chosen to ignore this anniversary. Think of what you saw on the morning news programs today. Were most of the features even in the same ballpark as this item in terms of importance?

The slightest emphasis on today's anniversary would destroy the MSM/DNC meme, which blames George Bush for all terrorism. Even the slightest mention of this story would remind Americans that terrorism began BEFORE the U.S. led invasion of Iraq.

For the benefit of the left and the MSM/DNC, here is a chronology:

(1) Global terrorism occurred many times over the past thirty or more years.

(2) We began to fight back, including the liberation of Afghanistan and Iraq.

(3) The MSM/DNC began a relentless campaign to reverse the order of ## 1 and 2 in the minds of the public. That is a very difficult task. Judging from the last election, this strategy has worked with only 47% of the voters.

That task requires the MSM/DNC to bury many facts down the memory hole. The victims in Nairobi and Tanzania are mere inconveniences to be forgotten in the MSM/DNC's mad rush to play politics and rewrite history.

Rathergate anniversary - 32 days and counting - MSM/DNC fighting back

Sister Told Jah makes the case that the MSM/DNC is fighting back against the blogosphere. She chronicles a story in the Des Moines register that attacks bloggers over nothing in particular. Captain's Quarters cites the same story. See also Patterico.

I wrote about this strategy in July, as I noted how the MSM/DNC fought aggressively to rescue Newsweek after Newsweek's toilet debacle:

We will have to fight the MSM/DNC issue-by-issue, scandal-by-scandal, lie-by-lie.

But in the meantime, the MSM/DNC has become and will become more vicious and partisan than ever. Case in point - the Newsweek scandal. The blogosphere's ridicule and exposure of Newsweek's phony story of a Koran being flushed down the toilet at Guantanamo showed a new wrinkle in the MSM/DNC's strategy. Rather than accept defeat as it generally did in Rathergate and Easongate, MSM/DNC engaged in a protracted battle that continues even now. Shortly after Newsweek's humiliation, additional stories of Guantanamo abuse appeared in the MSM/DNC. MSM/DNC continued with these stories despite the lack of any evidence other than prisoner inspired rumors. MSM/DNC was determined to defend and justify Newsweek instead of allowing another MSM/DNC unit to be compromised and marginalized like CBS and CNN. Prisoner abuse/torture/gulag became the official MSM/DNC meme regarding Guantanamo, regardless of the consequences for national security or the war on terror. MSM/DNC had its power and reputation to defend - national security be damned.

The battle to defend the official MSM/DNC Guantanamo meme culminated in the words of Senator Durbin, who compared American soldiers to Nazis, etc.

From now on, we can expect that in the aftermath of every new scandal, the MSM/DNC will spare no effort to justify whatever blunder some MSM/DNC outlet has made.

emphasis added

The MSM/DNC's latest effort to rescue one of its own is the MSM/DNC's complete silence on the Air America scandal. This silence is beginning to take the MSM/DNC down with Air America. The focus of ridicule has now shifted to the New York Times instead of (or in addition to) Air America - as we see in today's Day-by-Day cartoon, at Director Blue and at Captain's Quarters.

The New York Times is faced with an impossible dilemma (much like CBS in September, 2004). Either (1) continue to ignore the scandal and face further erosion of credibility and loss of relevance or (2) acknowledge the scandal (with its best leftist spin) and toss Air America to the wolves. MSM/DNC eventually was forced to chose ("forced to choose" ???) option #2 during Rathergate and the blogosphere grew in power and influence. So far in this scandal, MSM/DNC is choosing option #1.

MSM/DNC hopes that the seemingly unrelated MSM/DNC attacks on the blogosphere will relieve MSM/DNC of the need for such choices in the future.

The Des Moines register attack piece is just one example of this strategy. I read a Doonesbury cartoon in early July (2005) in which one of the main characters referred to the "tail end of the media's fascination with blogging" and asked if blogging was only for "angry, semi-employed losers." That is MSM/DNC's story and MSM/DNC is sticking to it.

Meanwhile, the MSM/DNC hides under the bed hoping that the Air America scandal just goes away.

Russian mini-submarine rescue and "international cooperation"

I watched coverage of the Russian minisub rescue this morning on ABC or NBC (sorry to be imprecise, but it doesn't really matter which interchangeable MSM/DNC unit I am talking about) this morning. The reporter described the rescue efforts of the British (using American technology and aid).

The reporter then compared this rescue with the Russian sub that was lost with no survivors in 2000 after Vladimir Putin refused Western aid. The reporter added that this rescue showed the value of "international cooperation."

No. This rescue showed the value of British and American help and technology. It also showed the value of British and American goodwill.

Nothing else.

The next time the Russians rescue one of our subs, I will retract this statement.

Quote of the day - Michelle Malkin

Public figures--especially conservatives--should not swear like sailors except in the privacy of their own homes.

Michelle Malkin

Rathergate anniversary - 33 days and counting - Arthur Chrenkoff

Arthur Chrenkoff is leaving the blogosphere due to the requirements of a new job. It is impossible for me to determine the exact influence of Rathergate on Chrenkoff's blog or his blog activities. Chrenkoff began bloggin 18 months ago and concentrated mostly on Iraq and Afghanistan. La Shawn Barber summarizes his blog this way and points out a good method for bloggers to build traffic:

I’m often asked what it takes to build a blog readership. My traffic numbers aren’t astronomical (yet), but I do know what draws in readers. One such method is to build an expertise in one or two subjects. Arthur had become the go-to blogger for news about Iraq and Afghanistan. In fact, his posts were so in-depth and informative, they were regularly published in the Opinion Journal.

. . . . .

Now that Arthur is leaving, the opportunity to fill the Iraq/Afghanistan news void is wide open. There are other bloggers, but none as big as Chrenkoff.

Chrenkoff did not discuss Rathergate very much, but it is safe to say that any blog that has enjoyed Chrenkoff's level of growth (in such a short time) benefitted from the credibility void that Rathergate and decades of MSM/DNC bias created.

Click here for previous posts on the Rathergate countdown.

60 year anniversary - Hiroshima

Sixty years ago today.


The devastation is described here, including descriptions of building damage at various distances from ground zero.


A similar description of potential damage radii from a nuclear explosion in Manhattan today is found here. The devastation is almost too horrific to contemplate.

---------------
update
previous WWII anniversary posts

Pearl Harbor
Battle of the Bulge
Iwo Jima
V-E Day
New Mexico
D-Day

Quote of the day - Ayn Rand

Achieving life is not the equivalent of avoiding death.

Ayn Rand

Bassam Khalaf needs a date.

Al Qaeda supporter/TSA airline baggage screener Bassam Khalaf needs a date. He has propositioned Debbie Schlussel, but I don't think Debbie is interested:

--- Bassam Khalaf bonethugsnharmony5@yahoo.com
wrote:

> Date: Thu, 4 Aug 2005 12:55:53 -0700 (PDT)
> From: Bassam Khalaf bonethugsnharmony5@yahoo.com
> Subject: arabic assassin
> To: dschlussel@yahoo.com
>
> IF YOUR GOIN TO DO A STORY ON ME GET YOUR FACTS
> STRAIGHT. ITS PEOPLE LIKE U THAT JUST SHOWS HOW
> IGNORANT PEOPLE ARE.
>
> P.S.- UR PRETTY HOT. CALL ME FOR SOME SEXUAL
> INTERCOURSE. 281-701-6746

Maybe we can hook him up with Julie Brase.

Quote of the day - Thomas Sowell

It is one of the sad signs of our times that the new bankruptcy legislation has been attacked as "favoring" a "special interest" because creditors now have more chance of getting paid what people owe them.

Thomas Sowell

Rathergate anniversary - 35 days and counting - 1754 blog

July was a watershed month for 1754 blog, as that blog reached 100,000 hits last month. The 1754 archives go back to November 2004. I find these blog milestone (or even blogiversary) stories interesting for what they can teach us about the growth in the blogosphere.

I asked the author what impact Rathergate had on his decision to create his blog. He said that he was blogging prior to Rathergate, but at a different blog than the one he uses now. He wrote that Rathergate had the effect of making him post more often, as the events changed so quickly that he had to quicken the pace just to keep up. There is more information at the comment exchange.

The need to post more often as a result of a Rathergate type scandal is something that I had not considered before. I have no pre-Rathergate experience with which to compare my current blogging. But I imagine that a real opportunity to influence events (such as Rathergate) can change not only the power of the blogosphere, but the way in which bloggers blog. Having and appreciating the ability to influence the news cycle can energize bloggers to use the new media to its fullest potential. I think it is fair to say that Rathergate not only increase blog and web traffic and participation, but it also increased the frequency of posting. I hope to learn more about this as we proceed to the Rathergate anniversary on September 8th.

Quote of the day - Joe Sobran

Why is "diversity" the favorite word of monotonous people? The instant you hear it, your nervous system braces itself for a torrent of cliches. Liberals are lucky the rest of us don't demand reparations for decades of boredom. If boredom were officially recognized as a form of suffering, the full extent of liberal guilt would be incalculable.

Joe Sobran

Michelle Malkin; Unhinged

My post here is my shameless attempt to take advantage of the publication of Michelle Malkin's new book, "Unhinged", and to draw traffic from Google searches by those individuals seeking information about the book in advance of its availability through traditional channels.

MSM Lie #37 of 2005

The L.A. Times has labeled the Federalist Society as a "somewhat secretive" group. This statement does not reflect a mere disagreement with the Society's views. This statement is a lie. The group is not secretive at all.

I was a member of the Federalist Society in law school. I am probably still on their mailing list somewhere. The meetings were open to any student. Federal judges would come to our school and speak at our meetings. The speeches were attended by students and faculty from both the left and right. Federalist Society literature was posted prominently on the law school bulletin board.

This one is not even close. Check the list. The L.A. Times is running strong for the lead in printing the most lies of 2005.

H/T Patterico and Michelle Malkin.