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00Publius Contributor - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Media Bias - News - President - Religion - Warner Todd Huston

WaPo Cartoon Features Cursing God, Ridicules Palin’s Religion

September 21, 2008 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Well, leave it to Pat Oliphant, political cartoonist of the Washington Post, to make fun of both God and Sarah Palin at the same time, eh? Back on September 9, with his Tuesday comic, Oliphant featured a God that curses and portrays Sarah Palin speaking in gibberish as if she were “speaking in tongues” because she is supposedly a crazy Pentecostal. Oliphant apparently isn’t aware she left the Pentecostal Church six years ago? I’m sorry missed this one back on the 9th, but it is no less outrageous now than it was then.

Take a gander at this disgusting display of anti-religious blather:

Imagine having the gall to put curse words in God’s mouth? Not to mention the bigoted way he attacks Palin’s religion!

My guess, you’ll search in vain to find an Oliphant cartoon making fun of Obama’s religion.

This is why they call him Soiliphant… OK, this is why I call him Soiliphant!

00Publius Contributor - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Media Bias - News - President - Society/Culture - Warner Todd Huston

Why Is Media Allowing Joe Biden to Lie About Drunk Driver Killing His First Wife?

September 21, 2008 by 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

Along with the claim that Joe Biden had a “blue-collar” upbringing — he had a decidedly upper class (though not “rich”) childhood — Joe Biden has for years claimed that his first wife and his daughter were killed by a “drunk driver” in 1972. However, closer examination of the records proves that the man driving the truck that slammed into the Biden family car was never charged with drunken driving. So, why has the media allowed this perception that Biden lost his wife to a drunk driver to persist?

As late as 2007 Biden said that the man who was involved in the fatal crash that killed his wife and daughter was a “guy who allegedly … drank his lunch” before he got behind the wheel of his truck and in 2001 the TV show Inside Edition aired a tape of Biden saying the truck driver “stopped to drink instead of drive.” Additionally, several media outlets have included the drunk driver claim in their bios of the Senator from Delaware.

This drunk driving accusation, though, is simply a Biden creation and every time this claim is uttered it pains the family of the poor, maligned man involved in the tragic accident with Biden’s family, truck driver Curtis C. Dunn. Gannett owned DelewareOnline reports the anguish that Biden’s continued lie causes the man’s family every time it is uttered.

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00Publius Contributor - Democrats/Leftists - Media Bias - News - Science - Society/Culture - Warner Todd Huston

Climate Change in Europe? Always Been No Big Deal

September 21, 2008 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

An AFP story from September 5 headlined “Melting Swiss glacier yields Neolithic trove, climate secrets” was quite interesting. In fact, it was down right educational. It was all about how new human artifacts from up to 6,500 years ago have been found ion the melting ice fields of the Swiss Alps and these new finds say something important about so-called “anthropomorphic global warming.”

The story about the artifacts was really fun to read. With the ice fields melting, scientists and enthusiasts have found things like a birch bark quiver filled with arrows, leather clothing, and tools appearing literally out of 6,500 years ago to today as if by time warp. The speculation is that many of these items were from a single traveler that accidentally lost his life those thousands of years ago as he traveled alone across the mountains.

These findings are being touted as a way to pinpoint when humans were more easily able to travel by foot across the Alps. Of course, now a’days it is difficult to take a stroll across the Alps without freezing to death, you see.

“We know that people were only able to walk on this site when it was relatively warm,” said Martin Grosjean, executive director of a national network called Swiss Climate Research. “When it was too cold, the glacier advanced and it was not a passable route.”

Scientists have long known there were periods of warmer weather in the region but the artefacts allowed them to identify the exact years, when the site would have been passable on foot.

According to Grosjean, such data could help sharpen forecasts for the future by taking into account patterns of natural temperature fluctuation.

So, let’s take a minute to think about this. The Alps was once a temperate zone where men could casually walk across the mountains to visit other, far-flung villages. Then global cooling came and the Alps froze up. Now, the area just might be returning to a more temperate climate.

Now here is the thing:

Continue reading “Climate Change in Europe? Always Been No Big Deal”

00Publius Contributor - Business - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Media Bias - News - Society/Culture - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

AFSCME Spends $5.5 Mil on Anti-Republican Ads

September 21, 2008 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) donated nearly $5.5 million to three non-profit, leftist political groups to beat Republican politicians in Florida, Michigan and Ohio this year. AFSCME gave to Campaign Money Watch, Patriot Majority and Patriot Majority Midwest.

AFSCME’s role, however, was not well known until now. Detractors say that this shadowy financial support violates the spirit of campaign finance reform and open government.

Allowing non-profits to raise and spend unlimited union or corporate funds violates the spirit of laws aimed at curbing special interests in elections, said Meredith McGehee of the non-partisan watchdog Campaign Legal Center. “These groups can play the role of a hit man in a campaign and do it in a way that’s not very transparent,” she said.

Labor groups are hiding “behind shadowlike front groups to prop up their candidates of choice,” said Ken Spain, a spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee. This week the group asked the FEC to investigate Patriot Majority, saying it should not operate as a non-profit.

And here is the main problem. Unions reaching out far past their role for the mere reasons of personal power.

In any case, it should be remembered that these sorts of reporting agencies and laws that brought such union funding for politics to light are the sorts of agencies that Barack Obama has promised his union pals that he will revisit in order to eviscerate them giving unions a freer hand to meddle in politics unseen and unknown by the public.

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00Publius Contributor - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Education - Elections - Family - Lee Culpepper - Media Bias - News - President - Society/Culture

A Trojan Horse Made of Charter-School Money

September 21, 2008 by

-By Lee Culpepper

Finally, Obama’s Greek pillars in Denver seem to make sense. In Greek Mythology, Odysseus sought to gain entrance into Troy, so he cleverly had a huge wooden horse built in which he and Greek soldiers could hide. Tricked into believing the horse was safe and would bring them good luck, the Trojans dragged the horse into Troy –ignoring the protests of Cassandra, the Trojan princess.

Imagining himself as a modern day Odysseus, Obama is plotting to smuggle the National Education Association (NEA) into charter schools. But since charter school supporters would almost certainly not fall for a big wooden horse today, Obama has concocted a beguiling vow to double the amount of funding for charter schools. What better way to conceal NEA marauders and meddlesome bureaucrats than to stuff them inside deceptive government handouts?

Should charter-school advocates ignore the mythology lesson and jubilantly drag the proposed cash inside their schools, they will surely awaken wishing that reality were only a drunken stupor. In the aftermath, they will realize too late that the NEA and bureaucrats have already toppled them. By then, administrators and the NEA will have charter schools mired in the same muck of central control, worthless regulations, and bureaucratic red tape that plagues so many traditional schools.
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00Publius Contributor - Business - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Media Bias - News - Society/Culture - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

CA House to Investigate SEIU Spending Scandal

September 20, 2008 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

To head off claims by California Republicans that California State House Democrats are covering up for the fraud involved in a Service Employees International Union (SEIU) spending and influence peddling scandal, it was announced that a criminal investigation is going forward against the union.

One wonders just how hard the Democrat controlled House will pursue the matter, though?

The Education and Labor Committee’s top-ranked Republican, Rep. Howard “Buck” McKeon (R-Santa Clarita), suggested last week that the congressional examination of an SEIU local in Los Angeles had stalled because the union is a key ally of the Democratic Party.

The committee chairman responsible for the investigation is a recipient of $10,000 in campaign donations from the SEIU. George Miller (D- Martinez) said that the investigation was going forward but that his panel would “avoid interfering with the efforts of federal law enforcement officials.”

The emergence of this spending and influence peddling scandal has already forced several SEIU leaders to step down in the face of pressure. Hundreds of thousands of dollars of union funds were spent on lavish diners and gifts as well as for “services” performed by companies owned by union leader’s family members.

This scandal threatens to taint SEIU leaders in Washington D.C., as well as California and has also reached into Michigan already. SEIU president Andy Stern was a close associate and backer of Tyrone Freeman, the California Local leader that had to step down as a result of these troubles.

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00Publius Contributor - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Media Bias - News - President - Society/Culture - Warner Todd Huston

Obama’s Anti-Intellectual Zombies Chicago Attack Radio Host

September 20, 2008 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

A few weeks ago we wrote about the undue and disingenuous attack led by Barack Obama’s Chicago HQ perpetrated against Chicago radio host Dr. Milt Rosenberg. Well, last week they did it again, raising their legions to attack the host and his radio station (WGN) and trying to have the unassuming radio host thrown off the air. And what was his “crime”? Rosenberg had the gall to actually interview two conservative writers who were investigating the life and history of the Obamessiah.

I live in Chicago and have listened to Milt Rosenberg many times. His show is one of the most intelligent radio shows in the country, filled with high concepts and serious guests. I also heard both radio shows being protested by Obama’s radio brownshirts and there wasn’t a thing wrong with either of the shows. On the first, conservative writer Stanley Kurtz was invited on to speak about his investigation into the ties Obama has with American domestic terrorist William Ayers. In this case, Rosenberg offered airtime to the Obama campaign and it refused the offer. With the second program, Rosenberg had on David Freddoso, author of the recent New York Times best selling book “The Case Against barack Obama.” In the later case, Rosenberg even had a lefty Obama apologist on air with Fredoso, there to counter his every anti-Obama comment.

Yet, the Obama campaign still tried to destroy Milt Rosenberg’s career by mounting an email attack campaign as well as urging calls to the station.
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00Publius Contributor - Congress - Crime - Dan Scott - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Media Bias - News - President - Socialism - Society/Culture - Taxes

Birds Of A Feather Flock Together

September 20, 2008 by 12 Comments

-By Dan Scott

Give credit where credit is due, blame the Democrats for their equality of outcome incompetence. A blind person could see more than the Democrat cronies who were running Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (FMs) up to now. There is none so blind as those who refuse to see. The Democrat’s ideological blinder was the Equality of Outcome policy they implemented to push home ownership to people who simply weren’t capable of being homeowners. In 2003, the Bush Administration tried to head off the problem with the FMs but Democrats would have none of it, the NYT recorded their excuses for posterity. Significant details must still be worked out before Congress can approve a bill. Among the groups denouncing the proposal today were the National Association of Home Builders and Congressional Democrats who fear that tighter regulation of the companies could sharply reduce their commitment to financing low-income and affordable housing.
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00Publius Contributor - Democrats/Leftists - Family - History - News - Religion - Society/Culture

Emergent Church Leaders are Modern Gnostics!

September 20, 2008 by

-By Don Boys, Ph.D.

Emergent Church leaders denigrate sin, the savior, and salvation via the cross of Christ. Read with horror the following Emergent leader: “If the cross is a personal act of violence perpetrated by God towards humankind but borne by his Son, then it makes a mockery of Jesus’ own teaching to love your enemies and to refuse to repay evil with evil.” (Steve Chalke and Alan Mann, The Lost Message of Jesus, pp. 182-183.) John says of such people that we should not bid them God speed yet many sit under their nefarious teachings. Moreover, those who buy their books, have them preach, or listen to them preach are partakers of their evil deeds according to II John 1:10-11.

Chalke defends his above position thusly: “In my view, the real problem with penal substitution (a theory rooted in violence and retributive notions of justice) is its incompatibility, at least as currently taught and understood, with any authentically Christian understanding of the character of God or genuinely Christocentric worldview — given, for instance, Jesus own non-violent, ‘do not return evil for evil’, approach to life.” He added, “Hence my comment, in The Lost Message of Jesus, about the tragedy of reducing God to a ‘cosmic child abuser’. Though the sheer bluntness of my imagery might shock some, in truth, it is only because it is a stark ‘unmasking’ of the violent, pre-Christian thinking behind such a theology.” (News from ekklesia, “Evangelicals debate inadequacy of penal substitution,” 7-23-2004.)

I didn’t know I had been preaching “pre-Christian thinking” all my adult life when I preached Christ crucified! Paul declared in I Cor. 2:2, “For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” If I must choose between Paul and EC leaders, I choose Paul! We must not make the cross a holy horseshoe but we are to be men of the cross with the message of the cross bearing the mark of the cross. Moreover, to call the death of Christ an indication that God is a “child abuser” should awaken, alarm, and anger every genuine Christian. In my opinion, no informed Christian should patronize Christian bookstores that carry books by Emergent leaders.

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00Publius Contributor - Democrats/Leftists - Judges - Media Bias - News - Society/Culture - Warner Todd Huston

ProPublica Forgets to Mention Federal Judge Being Impeached was Clinton Appointee

September 19, 2008 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

A Federal judge from Louisiana is under a cloud of impeachment and if he’s convicted it’ll be the first Federal judge impeached in almost 20 years. The story was covered by the new wire service named ProPublica, a service that claims to be non-partisan. Yet in two stories on this judge there is not one mention of the fact that he was appointed to the bench by President Bill Clinton, nor that his corruption was known by the Department of Justice when Clinton made the appointment. I wonder why ProPublica didn’t find that relevant, don’t you?

A while back, I wrote of a new wire service that was starting up to be called ProPublica. This new service claimed that it was going to be a non-partisan service but the fact that it was being funded by left-wing billionaires made me wonder about the veracity of that claim. I have to admit that I haven’t paid much attention to ProPublica since my first look into it, but this judge story piqued my interest. So, I gave ProPublica a look see.

I found at least two stories about this corrupt judge on ProPublica, both written by Christina Jewett. One from September 16 and one from the next day.

Both of Jewett’s stories have all the requisite facts about Judge Thomas Porteous’ questionable actions. Both stories tell of the envelopes of cash the judge took from attorneys and representatives involved in cases before him, the free rooms in Vegas he accepted, the wild gambling there, the fact that he filed his own bankruptcy papers under an assumed name, that he didn’t report these gifts on his taxes, etc., etc. We even get a paragraph informing us that authorities suspected this misconduct before he was named to the Federal bench.

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00Publius Contributor - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Media Bias - News - President - Society/Culture - Warner Todd Huston

Obama Tells Supporters to Confront Unbelievers, ‘Get in Their Face’ He Says

September 19, 2008 by 3 Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

Well, so much for the kinder, gentler Obamessiah we all kept hearing about. Now he is telling his supporters to belligerently impose their views on anyone not falling under The One’s spell.

In a Nevada campaign stop as he was on his way to the adulation that Hollyweird was to bestow upon him later that night, Obama told his supporters to “get in the face” of people who doubt his word from on high.

“I need you to go out and talk to your friends and talk to your neighbors. I want you to talk to them whether they are independent or whether they are Republican. I want you to argue with them and get in their face.”

Wow. That is pretty aggressive and mean, isn’t it? Obama just told his automatons to almost physically attack people who don’t agree with him. After all, that’s what “get in their face” means. It is a loud, petulant action, a forceful, aggressive tactic. It is usually done by one who is overly emotional, filled with hate, pushy, and unhinged.

Screaming gay activists, anti-war outcasts, and half sentient loons engage in this sort of behavior. Is this the new “face” of the Obama campaign? Is this that “new tone” we keep hearing about?

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00Publius Contributor - Business - Democrats/Leftists - News - Society/Culture - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

Has it Come to This? Unions Striking Against Unions?

September 19, 2008 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Unions in America have finally arrived at farce. Yes, they have become a parody of themselves because now we have an example of a union being formed so that it can strike against… its own union. Confused? Don’t blame you.

From the Associated Press we get this tale of high comedy, this story of brother fighting brother and sister cat fighting with sister: Union employees form their own union, then strike.

The workers who help the Oregon Education Association file grievances and negotiate new contracts went on strike Monday against the union they represent.

Isn’t this a little bit like an army turning on itself because, well, they are armed, too?

Apparently, the “Oregon Education Association Professional Staff Organization” has organized its 42 members so that they can strike against the OEA that was offering them a new contract, one that featured rollbacks in some benefits.

Let’s face it, none of us here care much about the particulars. Couldn’t care less whether this spin off union wins loses or draws here. It’s just a darn funny story that a union has split off from a union in order to strike against itself!

Seriously. You can’t write comedy this funny.

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00Publius Contributor - Budget - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - GOP - News - President - Security/Safety - Socialism - Society/Culture - Taxes - Thomas Brewton

Taxes, Unions, and Regulations Matter

September 19, 2008 by

-By Thomas E. Brewton

To picture what Senator Obama’s economic policies hold in store for the United States look at the destructive impact of those policies in individual states.

The New England States and New York once were the industrial heartland of the United States. After the Civil War, industrial growth moved westward into Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, and neighboring states. Even as recently as the end of World War II, New York City was the greatest manufacturing city in the world.

No longer. What happened?

To some extent the demise of these centers, especially a crowded New York City, reflects changes in technology and transportation. Trucking on the interstate highway system surged in the 1950s and the rise of air freight shifted lots of freight traffic from railroads. More cost-effective single-story, spread-out manufacturing plants along interstate highways replaced the multi-story plants in major cities that had to be within walking or subway and bus ride distances from workers.
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00Publius Contributor - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - GOP - History - Media Bias - News - President - Security/Safety - Society/Culture - Vince Johnson

The First Rule of True Journalism

September 19, 2008 by

-By Vince Johnson

There was some minor media attention given to Ferraro’s qualifications when Walter Mondale selected her for his running mate in the 1984 Presidential Race. The Reagan/Bush ad campaigns treated her candidacy with caution based on a common sense strategy to avoid offending America’s women voters as well as an obvious need to avoid any mainstream backlash that might be generated by smear tactics.

Geraldine Ferraro – quick resume 
BA in English at 21  
Passed NY State Bar at 26  
Queen County DA staff at 39  
U.S. House of Representatives at 43  
Democratic Nominee for VP at 49  
Inducted into the National Of National Women’s Hall of Fame at 59

Back in 1984 there was ample opportunity to sling a lot of mud. During her campaign for VP, it was discovered that Ferarro’s husband, *John Zaccaro, was involved with some Income Tax issues. The media covered this news in a far more reasonable and professional manner than we see today.

On the other hand, anything that might indicate Sara Palin (nee Sarah Louise Heath) is not qualified to be VP gets intense examination. Example: In a recent interview on ABC News, Charles Gibson asked Palin if she had an opinion about “The Bush Doctrine” and she asked, “In what respect Charlie?” He acted like a bored teacher with a stupid student when he recited his definition of the “Bush Doctrine.” I will not embarrass Mr. Gibson by quoting the brief definition he recited. Instead, I will cite internet’s Wikipedia: “Jacob Weisberg, a political journalist, identifies six successive ‘Bush Doctrines’ in his book The Bush Tragedy, while former Bush staffer Peter D. Feaver has counted seven.” I am astounded that in posing this question, Mr. Gibson did not observe the first rule of journalism: CHECK THE SOUCE! Please note that in this case, the unchecked source is an intellectually pretentious assumption fabricated by Charles Gibson himself.
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00Publius Contributor - Congress - Constitution - History - John Armor - News - Society/Culture

The Birthday Last Wednesday

September 18, 2008 by

-By John Armor

Confessions of a Very Old Man

My name is Benjamin. 
Here I lie in Philadelphia. 
I caught lightning with a kite. 
I wrote an Almanac. 
I perfected a postal service. 
I coaxed a treaty with France. 
But most important of all, 
221 years ago last week 
I encouraged 39 men 
To sign a four-page document 
To give you a republic, 
If you can keep it.

Yes, the 17th of September was the 221st birthday of the Constitution, and I choose to talk about it through the three great contributions that Benjamin Franklin made to that document. Plus, of course, his summary comment on the steps of Independence Hall when the delegates were leaving for the last time,

A woman approached Dr. Franklin and said, “What kind of government have you given us?” He replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.”
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00Publius Contributor - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - GOP - Media Bias - News - President - Race - Society/Culture - Warner Todd Huston

CNN’s Cafferty: Not Voting Obama? You’re a Racist!

September 18, 2008 by 2 Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

To show the empty “logic” that Jack Cafferty of CNN employs in his political commentary all one need do is check out his September 16 Political Ticker blog post on why the race for the White House is so tight in the polls. Reason: the country is filled with racists. Yes, folks, if you are voting against Obama (and no matter who or what you are actually supporting and why) it must be because you are a racist. It isn’t because you stand against what Obama stands for, it has to be because you are a racist.

This delusional, preconceived notion is becoming the excuse du jour with Democrat supporters that have lately seen a dawning hint that McCain may just win this election. And, that is really all it is, too. An excuse. An excuse that ignores all the warts and obvious problems with Barack Obama, his record, and the fantasy stage show that is his campaign.

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00Publius Contributor - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - GOP - Media Bias - News - President - Society/Culture - Warner Todd Huston

Old Media Helps Obama Push False Rush Limbaugh Immigration Quotes

September 18, 2008 by 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

Yesterday, the Washington Post’s Ed O’Keefe reported that the Obama campaign was releasing some new Spanish language campaign ads on TV in Florida and other markets that feature Rush Limbaugh making what appears to be anti-Mexican comments. The ads then link Limbaugh to McCain on immigration attempting to smear them both in the minds of voters. The Limbaugh quotes, however, are so out of context that their use constitutes a lie. Unfortunately, too many media outlets are allowing these lies to stand unchallenged.

As O’Keefe reported on September 17, the ads feature quotes from Rush that display a shocking anti-Mexican immigrant feel. Titled “dos caras” — or “two faces” — Rush is quoted as calling Mexicans names and telling them to “shut up and get out.”

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00Publius Contributor - Abortion - Democrats/Leftists - Family - Google - Inernet - Media Bias - News - Society/Culture - Warner Todd Huston

Google Folds, Will Allow Anti-Abortion Ads on Service — But a Victory for Anti-Abortion?

September 18, 2008 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Google has had a bit of its arrogance forced from it today. In the face of a costly lawsuit the on-line giant has made a reversal of its standing rule saying that it now will allow anti-abortion ads to run in its advertisement services.

Until now, Google has imposed its own political agenda by disallowing any ad to be taken out by anti-abortion advocates while allowing all ads for abortion pushers to go through without question. Google has, however, reversed that decision in the face of a legal challenge that its policy breached the Equalities Act of 2006 in the USA.

Google spokesmen said that they reconsidered this policy to create “a level playing field” and to enable “religious associations to place ads on abortion in a factual way.”

But, let me warn that this is not a victory signed, sealed and delivered for free political speech just yet. Google did not outline what this new policy of determining what presenting abortion “in a factual way” would mean. We will have to wait and find out to see how Google will use this new tactic to silence abortion advocates, if they indeed do so.

At this point, Google could easily continue to reject anti-abortion ads using this ill defined claim that the ads would somehow violate this new policy of “factuality.”

However, even this admission from the Internet giant that they were being grossly unfair is a hopeful sign that the moral position against abortion will get a fair hearing from among the advertisement viewing public. Abortion agencies have had a monopoly on readers on Google until now, but this new policy might do what Google is claiming they are suddenly interested in, “leveling the playing field.”

Let’s all hope that Google is being truthful and not just looking for a new sly way to continue to push its own political agenda on an unsuspecting public.

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00Publius Contributor - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - GOP - Media Bias - News - President - Security/Safety - Society/Culture - Warner Todd Huston

Atlantic Mag: McCain-Slandering Photographer Fired by Her Own Rep Agency

September 18, 2008 by 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

Jeffery Goldberg from The Atlantic Magazine is reporting that underhanded, leftist photographer Jill Greenberg has just been let go by her Representing Agency, the Vaughan Hannigan photo agency. This is a perfect example of a lesson of consequences. When Greenberg admitted that she lied and tricked John McCain so that she could manipulate his image to slander him and did so in the employ of The Atlantic Magazine, she lost any future work with that magazine for her unprofessional behavior. And now, more consequences have come her way.

No one is, of course, saying that Jill Greenberg isn’t allowed to be as bigoted as she wants to be, but she should be ready to accept the consequences if she does so while acting as a representative for someone else. In this case she was representing The Atlantic Magazine when she was assigned to photograph McCain and then used her position to trick him into a situation where she could use his image for political attacks at a later date.

Goldberg reports from the inside:

The Vaughan Hannigan photo agency, which has represented the disgraced, excrement-obsessed photoshopper Jill Greenberg, has just dropped her from its client list. Bill Hannigan, who runs the agency, told me a few minutes ago that Greenberg and the agency had “different views on how to conduct business.” He said he couldn’t say anything more because he is “still sorting out some issues with Jill related to her contract.”

Vaughan Hannigan has done the right thing, of course, and not only because it’s best not to represent photographers who deceive their clients, but because the damage Greenberg has done to her fellow photographers is tremendous.

Well, Greenberg’s unprofessional actions have led to the magazine saying it will no longer employ her and now her agent has also dropped her over her behavior.

She really does have every right to say whatever she wants about politics. And her agent and Atlantic Magazine have every right not to associate with her over her underhanded, unethical actions in pursuit of those political statements.

A perfect lesson that actions have consequences.

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00Publius Contributor - Crime - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Media Bias - News - Society/Culture - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

ACORN Sues Itself

September 18, 2008 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Looks like the folks inside the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) are finally showing how upset they are that their chief tried to hide the fact that his brother embezzled a million dollars from the organization.

The Pittsburgh Tribune reports that some members of the board are suing founder Wade Rathke for the cover up attempt.

Board members Marcel Reid and Karen Inman are seeking a court order that also would sever ties between ACORN and founder Wade Rathke, The New York Times reported Tuesday. Although Rathke resigned as chief organizer, he oversees staff and expenditures, the lawsuit contends.

The court action reflects continuing turmoil at ACORN. Rathke resigned after it became public this summer that his brother, Dale Rathke, embezzled $948,607.50.

Rathke tried to hide the fact that his brother stole a cool one mil from the organization’s funds several years ago. Looks like his buddies on the ACORN Board are finally fed up.

Of course, this points to the sort of corruption endemic with the mindset of the group in the first place. That its founder thought he could cover up such a criminal action speaks to the place of privilege he thinks he and his brother holds. He and his brother are above the law, apparently.

In any case, let’s hope everyone gets what they deserve here.

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00Publius Contributor - Democrats/Leftists - Family - News - Religion - Society/Culture

Emergent Churches Are Kingdom Builders!

September 18, 2008 by

-By Don Boys, Ph.D.

Brian McLaren refers to the kingdom incessantly in his book and someone needs to remind him what Jesus said in John 18:36: “My kingdom is not of this world.” Brian spends 237 pages to convince us that we can bring the kingdom NOW if we become wimpy, worldly, wacko “emergent” Christians. Frankly, I would rather fight than switch.

Some facts about the Kingdom: When John the Baptist came on the scene he preached, “Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” When John introduced Christ, He began to preach the same message and began to heal the sick. In Matt. 5, He also added “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.” Continuing, He said, “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Christ then promised that those who preach His commandments—and practice them shall be “called great in the kingdom of Heaven.” Christ then warned that those people whose righteousness does not exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees would not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.

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00Publius Contributor - Democrats/Leftists - Education - Elections - GOP - Media Bias - News - President - Religion - Society/Culture - Warner Todd Huston

Newsweek: Palin ‘Inflicts’ Her Religion on US, She’s ‘Not a Woman’

September 17, 2008 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

The racist Reverend Wright wanted God to “damn America.” Jesse Jackson called New York City “hymie town.” Various Evangelical preachers have been heard to utter some pretty nasty comments here and there, as well. So, flawed as we are, apparently being religious doesn’t preclude a venomous diatribe now and again. And now comes hate wrapped as political commentary from another supposed person of faith, this time in Newsweek. Wendy Doniger is a columnist for Newsweek’s “On Faith” beat and is also the Mircea Eliade Distinguished Service Professor of the History of Religions at the University of Chicago’s Divinity School. But that doesn’t seem to have made her less of a venom spewing, wiled-eyed Republican hater, unfortunately. Naturally, like all women such as herself, all her hate is directed at Governor Sarah Palin — also showing that these sorts of women aren’t interested in helping strong women to public influence but only their kind of mindless ideologue is acceptable.

Doniger starts her hate-filled rant in All Beliefs Welcome, Unless They are Forced on Others with what will shortly turn out to be a lie compounded by a blind assumption based on no proof to shore up her claims that Sarah Palin’s exclusively allows her religious beliefs to direct her public actions.

“I am on record…,” Doniger begins, “as not objecting to any candidate’s religious views.” And then she goes on to bash Palin exactly on terms that would seem to make the lie to her claim of a hands off attitude. And now for the hate and a lie neatly wrapped up in one paragraph (and it isn’t the first lie this so-called religious scholar tells here):

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00Publius Contributor - Congress - Crime - Democrats/Leftists - GOP - Media Bias - News - Society/Culture - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Here is Where we WILL Hurt if Journalists Lose Their Jobs En Masse

September 17, 2008 by 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

Of course our purpose here at NewsBusters is to shed light on the obscene bias often underlying what passes for journalism here in the United States (and in Canada and Europe sometimes, as well). We here at NB, however, want to stress that we aren’t out to “destroy” journalism itself. We understand how important a free and open press is to keep our democratic republic on the straight and narrow. And, with this piece I’d like to present one reason why seeing journalists lose their jobs in such massive numbers should serve as a warning to us all about the health of our system.

Journalists have traditionally been antagonistic toward government, we all know. Certainly, they sometimes take this antipathy too far and become responsible for nearly treasonous actions — The New York Times is the perfect example of that these days. But this antagonism is not all bad because while in practice it can and does lead to exposing the sort of government corruption that can and should be stopped but won’t be unless it becomes public knowledge. The light that journalists shed on these corrupt government officials using open records requests is an integral part of our system and not one we should so blithely forget about while hoping to see the field of journalism get its comeuppance.

A recent little blog post by The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, a non-profit legal assistance agency for journalists (est. 1970), gives us a warning that we should all heed, which I repeat in it’s entirety:

Continue reading “Here is Where we WILL Hurt if Journalists Lose Their Jobs En Masse”

00Publius Contributor - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Google - Inernet - Media Bias - News - Scott Cleland - Society/Culture - Technology

Exposing the Biases in the Broadband Policy Debate — My new white paper

September 17, 2008 by

-By Scott Cleland

Invited to speak at the ITIF forum on ITIF’s white paper, “It’s Time to End the Broadband Policy Wars”, I so strongly disagreed with the framing bias of that white paper and the broadband policy debate in general that I decided I needed to counter it by writing my own white paper:

Don’t be Fooled by the National Broadband Policy “Straw Man”
Exposing Three Hidden Policy Biases of Broadband Policy Proponents

The abstract of my six page paper is below:

Abstract: Don’t be fooled by the straw man argument and hidden biases in the assumptions undergirding the call for a more government-centric national broadband policy. Their argument cannot withstand common sense, penetrating analysis, or ‘open’ public scrutiny. There are at least three major hidden biases in their pillar assumptions, that when exposed, make it clear that proponents of a more government-centric national broadband policy need to go back to the drawing board to find a legitimate rationale for their policy approach.
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00Publius Contributor - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Media Bias - News - President - Security/Safety - Society/Culture - Warner Todd Huston

Handlers Muzzle Barack? Suddenly Using Teleprompter On Campaign Trail?

September 16, 2008 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

The campaign handlers for Barack Obama have obviously decided that there will be no more failed jokes ala Kerry’s “stupid kids get stuck in Iraq” faux pas of the 2006 campaign. Barack apparently blew his chance for ostensible extemporaneous elocution after his failed “lip stick on a pig” joke went over like a lead balloon last week. According to CNN, Obama is suddenly speaking from a teleprompter at outdoor campaign rallies.

One can just imagine how McCain would be eviscerated by the press if he had to start using a teleprompter at the average campaign stop. What sort of “senility” jokes would the press be filled with at that point? One can just guess that this news will be greeted with a yawn even though it seems to be a pretty strong curtailment of Obama’s freedom to speak extemporaneously on the stump.

Certainly it is nothing odd to see a candidate of any stripe delivering a set piece speech from the device, but to have one at outdoor rallies and average campaign stops, well, that is quite unusual.

But the Illinois senator used a teleprompter at both his Colorado events Monday — making for a particularly peculiar scene in Pueblo, where the prompter was set up in the middle of what is normally a rodeo ring.

Obviously Obama’s famous stammer, his uncontrollable ums and ahs on top of his inauspicious “lip stick on a pig” comment has caused the campaign to reign in their inarticulate (once on his own and off the prompter) candidate.

I wonder if the media, though, will see this as the curb on Obama that it truly is? And placed there by his own campaign bosses, at that. This seems a pretty loud statement that his own people cannot trust him.

Continue reading “Handlers Muzzle Barack? Suddenly Using Teleprompter On Campaign Trail?”

00Publius Contributor - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - GOP - Media Bias - News - President - Security/Safety - Society/Culture - Warner Todd Huston

Atlantic Mag Apologizes, Says Won’t Hire Greenberg Again

September 16, 2008 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

In a follow up to the controversy over the choice of partisan photographer Jill Greenberg to shoot the cover shot of John McCain by Atlantic Magazine, we find that the Atlantic folks have issued an apology for ever having hired her. After it was revealed that she indulged in tricks and lies to ridicule John McCain while she was in a position of representing Atlantic Magazine as its photographer, the folks at Atlantic expressed their disappointment and shock at the photog’s unprofessional behavior. They promise not to repeat the error of hiring her again.

Editors’ Note

We stand by the respectful image of John McCain that we used on our cover, and we expect to be judged by it. We were not aware of the manipulated and dishonest images Jill Greenberg had taken until this past Friday.

When we contract with photographers for portraits, we don’t vet them for their politics–instead, we assess their professional track records. We had never worked with Jill Greenberg before (and, obviously, we will not work with her again). Based on the portraits she had done of politicians like Arnold Schwarzenegger and her work for publications like Time, Wired, and Portfolio, we expected her, like the other photographers we work with, to behave professionally.

Jill Greenberg has obviously not done that. She has, in fact, disgraced herself, and we are appalled by the manipulated images she has created for her Web site of John McCain.

Personally, I find her work grotesque, even when she isn’t being overtly political.

Take a look at some of the grotesque photos of young children crying that she has created and this will show a deeply twisted look at children that should disturb anyone. They are almost pornographic in the harsh way in which these poor kids were depicted.

The Atlantic folks have definitely made the right choice, this time.

Continue reading “Atlantic Mag Apologizes, Says Won’t Hire Greenberg Again”

00Publius Contributor - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - GOP - Media Bias - News - President - Society/Culture - Warner Todd Huston

McClatchy Whines: Public Unfair to News Media

September 16, 2008 by 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

You… yes, you reading this right now. McClatchy wants you to know you are mean to them, your mistrust of them is merely egged on by a sly political tactic, and you fall for it because you only get your news from an “ideologically tailored” source. In other words, they are telling you that you are misinformed, mean-spirited, easily led… well, they are telling you that you are stupid. And then they wonder why people don’t trust them!

In “McCain campaign systematically targets the news media,” McClatchy writers Steven Thomma and Margaret Talev decided to try and explain why the Republicans are attacking the media with their basic conclusion being that it is an unfair convention that the GOP has employed at least since Spiro T. Agnew (of “Nattering nabobs of negativity” fame) was VP. But, despite the truth staring them in the face, they explain away the ire Americans have with the Old Media.

In fact, it is an interesting tack that Thomma and Talev take on that ire that the McCain campaign has shown the media for their feeding frenzy of attacks on Governor Sarah Palin. Even as McClatchy seems to recognize that the media has been responsible for “errors, rumors and perceived sexism” as they piled onto Palin, they still arrive at the fault being that of Republicans and the public and not the media.

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