February 28, 2005

Conspiracies Abound

Unfortunately the conspiracy theory wing of liberalism isn't just confined to my geographical location or my tinfoil hat-wearing Congressman (who has still not answered either of the letters from this constituent, one now a week old). As David Rogers of The New Editor finds out firsthand, the conspiracy theory mindset is spreading among liberals.

This is not good for our republic, and only Democrats can stop it. I hope they can, or they will so self-marginalize themselves as to make this an effective one party government, and that serves none of us well.

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Oliver, meet Vladimir

It is pathetic when someone who works for an organization devoted exclusively to promoting liberal media bias says there is no such thing, and deludes himself into believing it. These are the kind of reality-challenged people that think our president controls our entire media.

It is even scarier when someone who is that ignorant and clueless is in a position to have enough nuclear weapons to destroy all life on earth.

It is a frightening world when Vladimir Putin is as clueless about America as Oliver Willis is. Hopefully, Vlad at least can be educated. We've already given up on Oliver.

(Hat tip: Drudge)

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February 27, 2005

When Bias Becomes a Lie

Just over a week ago, my Congressman, Maurice Hinchey, made a claim that Karl Rove was behind the fake documents scandal at CBS News.

Since then, I've been highly critical of the media, particularly with newspapers in Hinchey's 22nd District in their coverage of this on-going story. While watching the papers first ignore story, and then write about it in both news stories and editorials, I've come to the realization of just how damaging political bias can be to a news organization.

Even under this best-case scenario, liberal bias inherent in these organizations is so strong that it affects both news stories and editorials to the point that they severely misrepresent the actual series of events. A simple look at one local news story and one local editorial underscores my point.

Michael Kruse of the Times Herald-Record wrote a story that appeared exactly one week after Hinchey's Rovian conspiracy theory was first recorded. The story, "Hinchey loves the limelight" (free reg. required), slanted his article, by intent or by inherent bias, to the point of eclipsing the real story. Kruse does not once touch upon the key essential element that makes this story newsworthy; that Hinchey has accused Karl Rove of being behind the fake documents scandal with absolutely no solid evidence to support his claim.

Instead, Kruse presents a fawning piece that shows bloggers as faceless aggressors attacking a noble man of the people who is taking his lumps in his fight for the truth. Kruse seeks to turn Hinchey into a sawn-off Erin Brockovich.

Kruse is more than willing to play straightman to Hinchey, and plays along with Hinchey's "the administration is out to get me" fantasy. Doubt my characterization? Read the article. Hinchey's own staff couldn't have written it better.

And Kruse is not alone. In fact, when the story makes the editorial pages, it goes from bad to worse. David Rossie is the associate editor of the Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin. His editorial, "Rep. Hinchey has no proof... so let's invade Rove's office" is tinfoil hat league.

Rossie firmly supports the "false, but accurate" claim about the fake documents (while conveniently offering no supporting evidence), and proves more than willing to pass along other dubious claims as proof of a pattern of behavior, even though he fails to provide factual basis for these claims, either. His pure spite and obvious hatred for all things conservative is almost Klannish in intensity as he mockingly refers to Bush as "God's instrument in the White House," and refers to "far right prattlers," in an apparent reference to anyone commenting on this issue who is not as liberal as himself.

Rossie, while cartoonish, is so rabidly anti-conservative that one has to wonder if any article of a political nature could pass through his desk without hopelessly compromising the objectivity of the story. He is not just an opinion writer, he is the associate editor, and his position and biases affirm that the Press & Sun-Bulletin is perhaps incapable of objective reporting. It is one thing to draw your own conclusions based upon your own personal biases, it is something far worse when you aren't provided a true accounting to base your personal opinion on.

I give each man the benefit of the doubt that they were honestly trying to write their stories with what they felt was objectivity, but in each case, their bias is apparent and overwhelming. In the Kruse article, he conveniently misses the main point of outrage of the entire issue. In the Rossie editorial, the issue is not only obfuscated, but the faulty premise is agreed to and furthered.

We all have our biases, but when one is a member of the media, he has a duty to attempt objectivity. Unfortunately, as these two examples show, when bias goes unchecked, it can slant a story far enough that it becomes a lie in its own right.

Update: "Talk on the Street," a section in the Times Herald-Record, shows another example of reporters selectively choosing minor parts of a story while completely missing the two major issues that made up the "meat" of Hinchey's appearance on Hannity's show. "Talk on the Street" said:

"Never one to shy from a fight, Hinchey got Hannity to admit the host made his own mistake recently by allowing someone who turned out to be a fake journalist onto the show. In return, Hannity kept cutting off Hinchey's mike and making fun of him."
Actually, every listener I've talked to said that Hinchey is the one who brought up the "fake reporter" (Jeff Gannon/James Guckert, a reporter for the now defunct Talon News) as part of his still unsubstantiated raft of theories that Karl Rove was behind the CBS News meltdown.

Once again, a Record reporter purposefully refuses to acknowledge that Hinchey has yet to provide a single piece concrete evidence to support his claims. The Record also refuses to report the stunning charge that Hinchey threatened Hannity during the 5:20 commercial break, and that Hannity apparently caught Hinchey's threat on tape.

I'm going to try to contact the Sean Hannity Radio Show to see if Hannity "kept cutting off Hinchey's mike" as the Record's
Brendan Scott reports.

Will a retraction from the Record be in order?



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February 26, 2005

New Ward Churchill Art Discovered

(Clueless? Try this)

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The World Ted Rall Can't See

Ted Rall, a reputed cartoonist, has a challenge posted on his web site:

"Several Bushist blogger types have written to assert that there are as many violent and threatening remarks and insults coming from liberals online as there are from conservatives against liberals. I've spent many sadly-lost hours online, and I say: no way.

"So here's my challenge: Please email your worst, most vicious examples of liberal/leftie blogger vitriol (with links, natch), and I'll post 'em right here. If they exist, obviously.

"If not, let's take as a given what we already know: that Republicans' first impulse is to punch people whose arguments they can't defeat with logic and to bomb countries whose people know something we don't.

"Come on, righties: my server is standing by at..."
You get the idea. But who is Ted Rall?

According to his blog (which I will not link to), he claims to be "America's BS Detector." I googled his name and after several eye-widening links, I think I found out what he does with the BS he detects. He wallows in it.

Some of Rall's work appears racist. Some of it appears as a hatred of patriotism. After viewing several of his more controversial strips online, I realized that Rall has to make controversial statements; his talent alone won't sustain a career. And it hasn't.

And so Rall is reduced to making incendiary statements to try to retain his dwindling relevancy. He claims he can't see liberal hatred, threats and insults.

I'd say he sees everything just fine, except his future. Ted sees and generates plenty of liberal bias.

He just can't see how he's going to pay the rent.


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February 25, 2005

Did Congressman Maurice Hinchey Threaten a Radio Talk Show Host?


According to reports from listeners, New York Congressman Maurice Hinchey threatened conservative radio talk show host Sean Hannity during the 5:20 PM (EST) break on Thursday's show, apparently while tape was still rolling and recording.

Hinchey has been under intense and growing media scrutiny since last weekend when he made an unsubstantiated claim that Karl Rove and the White House were responsible for tricking CBS News into running a story based on false documents.

I am currently trying to track down a transcript of Thursday's Sean Hannity Show, and will update this story as events develop.

Update: WuzzaDem has hilarious (and typical) experience with the apparent political bias at Google trying to find out about our unhinged congressman.

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February 24, 2005

When Awards Don't Matter


(Hat tip: LGF)

Wired.com has given combat journalist Kevin Sites the 2005 Wired Rave Awards for Blogs, though apparently "relevancy" was not one of the criteria for judging.

Why? According to Wired, Sites, "pioneered the new new journalism of war-blogging." Really? Someone please tell that to the many milbloggers that came before him, such as Lt. Smash or Argghhh!. Sites was not the first war-blogger, and his writing, though often quite good, rarely held the tension of Armor Geddon, or intelligence of Austin Bay. He was pedestrian, sometimes better, but never near the best of the military and war-bloggers.

Other blogs had far more national and international impact.

Powerline and Little Green Footballs exposed the fake documents scandal at CBS News that brought down Dan Rather and shook professional journalism to the core, and Powerline was named Time Magazine's Blog of the Year, based upon "The Sixty-First Minute," an article that is arguably the most important single post in the history of the blogosphere.

While Sites does not publish his blog's traffic statistics, it probably wouldn't rate in the top 250 for traffic, nor in the top 100 for links, according to a comparison of selected sites in the TTLB Ecosystem rankings against blog search relavancy results at Technorati.com.

Sites doesn't appear to score well for overall relevance, nor impact, nor traffic, nor linkage.

One would be forced to believe that the only reason Sites was chosen for this award was because of a single incident of relevance, when Sites released and blogged about controversial footage of a young Marine killing a wounded terrorist in a Fallujah mosque. Ultimately, even that had little relevance, as the Marine is not likely to face charges. Bad things happen in war.

That news, and the otherwise insignificant blog covering it, hardly seems worthy of an award.

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The Commies are Coming

The Commies are coming...

International A.N.S.W.E.R., a Stalinist terrorist-supporting group will be coming to New Paltz, NY on March 19 to protest the anniversary of the liberation of Iraq.

A.N.S.W.E.R.'s last major protest was a February 12 "Day of Outrage" in support of convicted terrorist collaborator Lynn Stewart.

Oh, did I mention Rep. Maurice Hinchey is scheduled as this group's featured speaker?

(hat tips: Slant Point, Free Will)

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HincheyWait Continues

So it has now been four days since I sent an email to Congressman Maurice Hinchey, asking him to explain his conspiracy theory that Karl Rove and the White House tricked CBS News into running a story based on false documents. I don't think the congressman plans to answer his constituent.

For those of you who might need a refresher, CBS News jumped at a chance to run a false story they thought would be damaging to President Bush's reelection, even though three of their own experts told them that there were major problems with the documents before the story ran.

The story's sole apparent source was a Bush-hating
conspiracy theory-addicted man named Bill Burkett. The blindly partisan story with direct ties to John Kerry's presidential campaign was discredited within 24 hours, leading to the firing of one CBS News producer, the call for resignation of three other CBS News executives, Rather's replacement as the network's anchor, and the destruction of the credibility of CBS News.

This past weekend, in front of a crowd of partisan supporters in the leftmost major city in his district (politically and geographically), Hinchey made claim that Karl Rove was behind this incident.

What makes this story extraordinary is not that a politician played to a partisan crowd.

What makes this story extraordinary is that once caught in this tall tale and pressed for evidence, Hinchey admits that he has no proof for his allegations, but that he plans to continue making the slanderous statements, regardless any evidence supporting his position.

When pressed to defend his statements, Hinchey instead tries to redirect attention elsewhere.

We aren't buying it, Mr. Hinchey.

Nobody else made outrageous unsubstantiated claims here. You did. When offered chances to support your claims with facts, you flatly turned them down.

Mr. Hinchey, you are an embarrassment to New York's 22nd District, and are now the butt of jokes literally halfway around the world. Back up your conspiracy theories with cold hard facts, admit you were wrong, or resign.

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February 23, 2005

"A Host of Political Dirty Tricks"

I think I can understand why my congressman, Maurice Hinchey, hasn't found the time to respond to either of my emails concerning his seemingly slanderous comments about Karl Rove and the Bush administration. He's been too busy on television and the radio trying to spin his version of events and portray himself as an everyman hero.

Well, I'm sorry, Mr. Hinchey, but that dog won't hunt.

On CNN's Inside Politics on Tuesday, Congressman Hinchey said:

"And then the issue of the CBS Dan Rather event came up, and I said that there were false documents or documents which were falsified and presented as being accurate and there was a question as to where those documents came from. And in the context of the discussion I suggested that -- my theory was that I wouldn't be surprised if it came from the White House political operation, headed up by Karl Rove."
But is that quite how it happened, Mr. Hinchey? There was no question about where the issue came up. Hinchey went on a rant, of which this is just a small sample:
"They've had a very very direct, aggressive attack on the, on the media, and the way it's handled. Probably the most flagrant example of that is the way they set up Dan Rather. Now, I mean, I have my own beliefs about how that happened: it originated with Karl Rove, in my belief, in the White House. They set that up with those false papers."
Hinchey went on during the CNN interview with Judy Woodruff that he based his beliefs upon, "a great deal of circumstantial information and factual information. Mr. Rove, for example, has been involved in a host of political dirty tricks that are traceable back -- all the way back to the 1970s, '80s, '90s, right on up to the present."

I am sure then that Mr. Hinchey can provide us with concrete examples if he has three decades of "factual information." I await his timely release of such information. Surely Congressman Hinchey would never make up such allegations.

According to The Forest for the Trees Hinchey appeared on the Ed Shultz radio show and told their listener, "the forging of these documents and the shopping around of these documents, that was a well executed setup to destroy the issue of Bush's draft evasion."

Again, I'm sure Congressman Hinchey will be forthcoming with the truth in extremely short order. Does Friday sound reasonable to you, Congressman? You have three decades of evidence, according to your claims. It shouldn't be too hard to throw together eight or ten pages of well-sourced, corroborated allegations in that amount of time.

Hinchey apparently stated at one point during his radio interview that, "If we had a Congress that cared about this country we would see something done about this".

Congressman, that is expressly why you are there.

If you can't handle the job, I am certain we find someone who can.

*****
Credit where credit is due. In one of my earlier threads on this topic, I criticized the local newspapers harshly for missing this story, believing they may have been stonewalling. Since then, three of the four papers cited written articles on this topic, and the Times Herald-Record has created a section on its home page specifically dealing with this issue, including blog coverage and a message board. So far, of the four papers mentioned, only the Poughkeepsie Journal has failed to address this story.


Update: Mr. Hinchey was on Hannity & Colmes tonight. I missed most of it, but tuned in just in time to see Hannity ask Hinchey point-blank to provide his evidence against Rove within what I thought was a very generous two weeks, or if he couldn't provide evidence to donate $1,000 to a charity Hannity supports.

At a critical moment where he was quite literally asked to put his money where his mouth is, Hinchey declined. He claims to call for media accountability, but refuses his own. No wonder Hinchey is a punchline as far as half a world away.


Maurice Hinchey is an embarrassment to the Hudson Valley.


Update: Blogs and Media Coverage
Little Green Footballs broke the story over the weekend and has been following it closely.
Michelle Malkin thinks that Hinchey is "unhinged."
Powerline notes that other Democrats rarely criticize this kind of behavior.

Tim Blair goes iowahawk on Hinchey.
GOP and the City has commentary, a roundup, and visual aides.
Carpe Bonum has a take on Hichey's appearance on CNN's Inside politics.
Slant Point is developing a list of additional blog coverage of "Hincheypalooza."
Sounding the Trumpet is another 22nd District blog covering this story.

IMAO rips into Hinchey, among others.
Empire State Conservatives comments on the scene of the crime.
Lance Minnion defends Hinchey.
Musing Minds has comments and another collection of blog links.
Myopic Zeal has a good roundup that highlights selected bits of commentary from the top blogs and provides what is probably the a rundown of a lot of the smaller blogs.
Random Observations makes the observation that the Left is in a self-perpetuating cycle.

phin's blog thinks Hinchey's outburst constitutes abuse of power. My brother might be on to something, at least from the moral side of things.
The Forest for the Trees captured Hichey's appearance on Air America radio and was not impressed.
Wizbang notes that you don't have to be insane to be a Democrat... but it helps.

Technorati, the blog search engine, currently has 207 posts for "Hinchey+Rove."

If I missed your blog (and I know I missed at least a few), and you commented on this topic, please track back to this post.

Media Coverage:
Binghamton's Press & Sun-Journal ran the first web-accessible 22nd District local news story on the subject.
Middletown's Time Herald-Record is giving this story serious attention, with a section on the home page dedicated to the story.
Ithaca's Journal, which blew the original story, finally weighed in.
Kingston's Daily Freeman also has an article.
Poughkeepsie's Journal still has its head in the sand.
CNN's Inside Politics had a segment with Hinchey.
Air America's Ed Shultz did a segment with Hinchey as well.


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February 22, 2005

A Second Letter to Maurice

I have now sent and received confirmation of delivery of my second email to my Congressman, Maurice Hinchey. It reads:

Representative Hinchey,

You have said in the local print news that even though you have no evidence proving a connection between Karl Rove and the CBS News scandal, you will not stop making these allegations. I am issuing a challenge to you: either conduct an investigation to prove your slanderous comments, or quit making them.
Hinchey's office has still not responded to my first email, even though I specified that I wanted a written response.

I can only assume that the concerns of his conservative constituents are of low priority.

Update: Little Green Footballs, which broke the original story, has this excellent piece on cognitive dissonance from Scylla & Charybdis.

"Yeah, that the ticket..."



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Maurice Hinchey: Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

Congressman Maurice Hinchey is finally talking to the local media about his charge that Karl Rove masterminded the fake documents scandal at CBS.

Far from issuing a retraction, Hinchey maintains the theory that Rove is behind the story that led to "RatherGate," despite the fact that he has no proof. In addition, Hinchey maintains that he will continue to make these charges against Rove and the White House despite any evidence to support his baseless accusations.

When we elect officials to go to Washington, they represent us and have a certain responsibility to hold their office with a certain degree of maturity, class, and decorum. Maurice Hinchey instead plays to extremists by repeating conspiracy theories that he admits as having no supporting facts.

Congressman Hinchey needs to do one of two things.

Option one is that Congressman Hinchey can shelve his slanderous accusations. Quite frankly, I don't expect the apology this situation warrants. I think that by furthering these accusations when he admits they are groundless, Congressman Hinchey has proven he doesn't have that kind of class. But I think we should expect him to at least stop repeating lies based upon outlandish conspiracy theories.

I actually prefer the second option on the table: Let's give Congressman Hinchey and supporters of this theory a chance to make their case.

I challenge Maurice Hinchey, New York's 22nd District Representative, to launch a Congressional Investigation into the accusations that Karl Rove and the White House were behind the CBS fake documents scandal.

Have both houses of Congress subpoena witnesses, and build your case. Prove to us who was behind this scandal. I'm quite certain that the White House would like to get to the bottom of this story as well, and if you were doing more than just pandering to highly partisan crowds, you would feel the same way.


So put your money where your mouth is, Rep. Hinchey.

Quite frankly, I don't think you have it in you.

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Maurice Hinchey: You Can Run...

If Maurice Hinchey didn't so obviously mean to slander Karl Rove and George Bush, I might be able to generate a bit of sympathy for him. Sadly, audio of the event and the accompanying transcript leave little room for confusion; Hinchey was radically pandering to a partisan crowd, espousing wild, unsubstantiated conspiracy theories that Karl Rove was responsible for setting up Dan Rather with faked documents of Bush's Texas Air National Guard service.

Congressman Hinchey happens to be my representative, and I sent him an email roughly 24 hours ago asking him to explain his statements. So far, I have received no response.

Congressman Hinchey is now in the middle of what has been dubbed a "blog swarm." At the time I'm writing this, at least 131 blogs have written about Congressman Hinchey's outburst, up from a mere handful the night before. In addition, MSNBC, CNN, and Fox News have already interviewed Charles Johnson of Little Green Footballs who brought the audio and transcript to the Web, and hopefully the efforts of a concerned constituent that were picked up by many other bloggers have helped generate enough email to the print media in New York's 22nd District (Hinchey's district) to get the story treated locally.

You cannot hide, Rep. Hinchey, and this will not blow over. I think you desperately need to get and read this book today, and act upon it. We don't want your job, nor your head on a silver platter, but we do deserve an explanation, and an apology.

I don't think that is too much to ask.

Late Update: The Binghamton Press & Sun Journal appears to be the first 22nd District newspaper to break the press blackout.
"I have no proof," Hinchey said Monday night. "But if the documents originated at the White House, then it would fit the pattern of the White House manipulating the media. And if it did originate in the White House, then it must have come from the most brilliant, most Machiavellian of all of them, Karl Rove."
Some people aren't blessed with the common sense to know when to shut up.


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February 21, 2005

Partisan NY 22nd District Newspapers Bury Hinchey Outburst

Not surprisingly, no one from Rep. Maurice Hinchey's office has so far replied to my email request to explain his outlandish claim that Dan Rather was duped by operatives of Karl Rove, even though I am a 22nd District constituent. I only mention that because Congressman reputedly like to use the dodge, "Well, you're not in my district so..."

Well Rep. Hinchey, I am in your district, you work for me and the other taxpayers of the 22nd District, and I think we have a right to know why you would make a comment, that if it did not involve a political figure, would likely constitute slander.

Not surprisingly, the local print news media, all with consistent liberal bias, have not felt this story warranted coverage. The Times Herald-Record whiffs, as do the three Gannett-owned papers in the District, the Poughkeepsie Journal, the Ithaca Journal, and the Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin.

I am quite certain that if a New York Republican (say, Stephen Minarik) made a controversial statement about a nationally prominent Democrat, (say, Howard Dean) that even the national news media, such as the Associated Press would find it newsworthy, though it would take a blogger to prove the connection.

Should anyone desire to contact executives at these fine news organizations and ask them why they are ignoring this story, their names, titles, and email addresses are provided below.

Times Herald-Record
Mike Levine, Executive Editor: mlevine@th-record.com
Meg McGuire, Managing Editor: mmcguire@th-record.com
Joe Dowd: North Orange/Ulster Editor, jdowd@th-record.com
Bob Gaydos: Editorial Page Editor, rgaydos@th-record.com

Poughkeepsie Journal
Margaretta Downey, Executive Editor, newsroom@poughkee.gannett.com
Richard L.Kleban, Managing Editor, rkleban@poughkee.gannett.com
John Ferro, City Editor, jferro@poughkee.gannett.com
James Konrad, News Editor, jkonrad@poughkee.gannett.com

Ithaca Journal
Jim Fogler, President, jfogler@ithaca.gannett.com
Dave Bohrer, Asst. Managing Editor, dbohrer@ithaca.gannett.com
Bruce Estes, Managing Editor, bestes@ithaca.gannett.com
Joe Swartz, Editorial Page Editor, jschwartz@ithaca.gannett.com

Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin

Rick Jensen, Executive Editor, rjensen@binghamt.gannett.com
Christopher Kocher, News Editor, ckocher@binghamt.gannett.com
Frank Roessner, Editorial Page Editor, froessne@binghamt.gannett.com

P.S.--Oliver Willis: Here is your media bias.

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Bloggers on C-Span

I'm watching C-Span right now with bloggers Oliver Willis and Patrick Ruffini.

I think Mr. Ruffini looks sharp and polished, wearing a nice suit. Mr. Willis wore an ill-fitting shirt and tie without a jacket.

I know that bloggers are supposed to be worried more about content than packaging, but we should all be media savvy enough to know that when you are in the visual media, you need to be dressed professionally. Fair or not, how you look and comport yourself affects your credibility. By dressing the way he did, Mr. Willis damaged his credibility, and did not help the image of bloggers in general.

Glenn Reynolds was unfortunately wrong: Oliver Willis is not ready for television. But he sure has a face for radio.

*****

Content was to be expected. Mr. Ruffini did well, but didn't say anything profound, which was to be expected. Mr. Willis repeatedly said that, "there is no liberal media," even though he works for a liberal organization called "Media Matters for America." He also said, "I'm just not willing to launch a headhunting campaign against someone based on secondhand reports."

Somehow, I think James Gannon/Jeff Guckert won't buy either of those stories.

*****

Now we have the suspect Willis comments above captured on video, will Brit Hume call for his resignation?

Update: Oliver Willis writes to Glenn Reynolds:
"Now, am I willing to launch a campaign based on firsthand knowledge? You bet."

So Oliver, which liberal blogger solicited Jeff Gannon?



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My Congressman is an Idiot

I'm too ashamed (and tired) to say more at this point, other than that I didn't vote for this genius.

Listen to the Hinchey in his own words.

Update: I just sent my esteemed Congressman the following letter:

Dear Rep. Hinchey,

I have felt that you have always been a reasonable congressman, despite our differing political viewpoints (I am a conservative). I was highly troubled, however, to listen to your outrageous claims that Karl Rove orchestrated a grand deception to dupe Dan Rather. I think they award tin hats and DNC Chairmanships for that kind of behavior, but I like to think we have higher standards in the 22nd District.

If you have forgotten your exact words, I have both the audio and transcripts of your statements that I downloaded off the internet, ironically enough, from on of the sites that proved the CBS documents fake.

Would you please care to explain your commentary to one of your constituents?
I eagerly await his response.

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Gonzales Will Set Tone with CNN Gun Story


Alberto Gonzales will now have a chance to set the tone for his term as U.S. Attorney General, thanks to a CNN story that apparently violated several federal gun control laws.

A CNN reporter in the pursuit of a story apparently committed multiple violations of the Gun Control Act of 1968. This act was brought about by the murders of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. and Senator Robert Kennedy.

The Smallest Minority is bringing attention to a CNN expose on .50 BMG rifles that may have led the CNN reporter in the segment and a Texas buyer to commit federal felonies (hat tip: Instapundit).

CNN, apparently ran a story trying to show that it was easy for someone to buy a .50 BMG rifle without a permit and suggest it could be used it to bring down a civilian aircraft. We'll leave the disreputable fear-mongering of the "most busted name in news" aside for now, and focus on the apparent felonious acts committed in the story.

Triggerfinger.org describes a clip from the video:

Cut to the reporter in his SUV, taking about how the only paper involved in the transaction will be the cash. He flashes what looks like about 5 bills to the camera. Since the price of the gun was about $3000 new, he's not exactly representing the amount accurately.

Cut to the reporter walking into a building, then walking out again with a carrying case. More inane comments in voiceover.

Cut to an airport baggage claim, where he picks up the gun case. Voiceover about how it's perfectly legal to transport the gun on an airplane on your baggage (never mind the paperwork).
Let's look at this simple series of event described in the three paragraphs above.

The CNN reporter based in Atlanta, Georgia finds a .50 BMG rifle for sale from a private owner (not a licensed dealer, this is a crucial detail) in Texas. He then flies to Texas. He is filmed going into a building, and returning with a carrying case which he claims holds the rifle. Let's stop right there.

Two apparent felonies occurred inside this building.

If the private seller in Texas sold the gun to the Georgia-based reporter, he committed a felony, and the reporter likewise commited a felony by illegally purchasing the firearm.

The reporter then compounded the apparent intitial felony by transporting an illegally-obtained weapon across state lines, which is another federal felony on its own. All of these crimes fall afoul of the Gun Control Act of 1968 as covered in specific as it relates to this event here.

There is little the reporter can say to vindicate himself at this point. He not only apparently committed a crime, but videotaped and broadcast it.

The professionalism and fairness applied to this apparent crime captured on film will establish Gonzales' credibility with Americans on both sides of the political aisle, and determine if Gonzales has the courage and conviction to investigate crimes not popular with the press.

The ball is in Gonzales' court. Let's see how he plays it.

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February 19, 2005

Guckert/Rove "Link" From CBS News

I'm afraid I'm going to have to apologize to my liberal friends. They were right about a huge conspiracy by the White House to allow gay men to ask questions. CBS News Senior Political Analyst Dotty Lynch said Friday:

"But Rove's dominance of White House and Republican politics, Gannon's aggressively partisan work and the ease with which he got day passes for the White House press room the past two years make it hard to believe [emphasis added] that he wasn't at least implicitly sanctioned by the 'boy genius."'
Yep, a CBS News staffer has based an anti-Administration story on gut-level feelings that something was amiss. Luckily, we know that CBS News would never trump up a bogus story about President Bush (hat tip: LGF).

Interestingly enough, real members of the White House Press Corps see the Guckert story as far less of an issue than does the dotty Ms. Dotty above (hat tip: Instapundit).

Update: Powerline has come forward to give their opinion on the Gannon/Gucket non-story. It isn't pretty, but then, there isn't anything pretty about this witchhunt.

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Such Class


The Party of Hissy Fits seems to be at it again. The damage was repaired within hours, as this kind of behavior, sadly, was expected of liberals and the sign company was ready to make the repairs.

Democrats vandalized the White House in the 2001 transition to the tune of $15,000-$20,000 in damage according to an independent GAO Report, so this far less sacred venue was obviously fair game in what passes for morals on the left.

As no industrial cranes were spotted in the area at the time of the act of liberal vandalism, Michael Moore is not regarded as a primary suspect.

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February 18, 2005

Den of Hypocrisy

From my favorite den of wild accusation and paranoia, the Democratic Underground:

"This week is our first quarter 2005 fund drive. Our goal is to bring in 1000 individual donations before midnight on Sunday, February 20. There is no minimum (or maximum) donation. Whether you can spare $5 or $500, your contribution will bring us one step closer to our goal. So please take a moment to donate right now!"
Did you see that?

They only seem to want the evil American dollar-the same currency preferred by Halliburton, BusHilter, and the Evil NeoCon Cabal. These are the exact same dollars and cents used to pay military contractors, defense contractors, and anti-abortion lawyers.

They very Franklins, Lincolns, and Washingtons that they so crave, also go in church offering plates and might be used (gasp!) to bankroll religious holiday events... when they aren't used to buy Ohio voters.

Do you know who else insists on being paid in dollars? Sean Hannity. Anne Coulter. Karl Rove.

I, for one, can't stand the hypocrisy.

Update: If I'm going to tell you about where you shouldn't send your donations, I guess I should probably provide an alternative of where you should. While I'm always greatful, I can think of someone who has given quite a bit more to the blogosphere.





Glen Harlan Reynolds

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