00Publius Contributor

00Publius Contributor - Business - Congress - Constitution - Crime - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Immigration/Immigrants - Media Bias - News - Race - Security/Safety - Society/Culture - Uncategorized - Warner Todd Huston

Hayworth-Nadler, Closer Than it Seems – Immigration and the GOP

November 13, 2007 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Over the last month there has been a donnybrook of sorts in the pages of the Wall Street Journal between Richard Nadler, the president of America’s Majority Foundation, and former Congressman J.D. Hayworth of Arizona. At issue is exactly why Mr. Hayworth lost his last bid for reelection to the House of Representatives in 2006. Nadler claims it was J.D.’s overzealous illegal immigration policy suggestions that culminated in a “deportationist policy” revealing an antipathy toward Hispanics that caused Hispanic and white voters to consider Hayworth an extremist on the issue making them shy away from pulling the lever for him in the voting booth. Hayworth, for his part, lays the blame for his loss on the perennial need of voters to occasionally vote an incumbent out of office — a “six-year itch” as he calls it. Hayworth also says that president Bush’s failures to control the border caused the voters to react in frustration at him simply because he is a member of the president’s party.

I had the occasion at the Conservative Leadership Conference in Reno during the second week of October to interview both men in separate interviews, asking them similar questions in order to compare and contrast their positions. What I came away with was that, once stripped of the element of personal pique, the two men were surprisingly close on their thoughts and ideas on the issue of illegal immigration. It turns out they just weren’t that far apart after all.

Not to be insulting to either Nadler or Hayworth, this little fracas is remarkably like a revenge of the nerds against the jocks. Nadler, stoop shouldered, furtive and lugging an over stuffed leather valise, greeted me with a peevish grin when we first met. As we spoke in the entryway of the meeting hall in preparation for the interview, he paced, deep in thought, passionately relating his points and ideas to me. I felt like I was watching a university professor presenting a lecture. I also got the feeling that Nadler expected to be roughly treated by everyone he came across at this conservative gathering because he feared that our “homeboys,” as he put it, were not too keen on hearing about policies that comforted Hispanics. On the other hand, Hayworth was a force of nature. Tall, commanding, well tanned, not lacking for any passion himself, and, like the consummate politician he is, always mindful to use your name in conversation. Hayworth is the very picture of the ex-jock, Nadler the ex-nerd. I couldn’t help but to get the vague feeling that Nadler derived a bit of a thrill from taking on the big guy as a wry smile constantly stole across his face as we talked.

Still, it’s the issues that matter here and at first it seemed that the two were as widely separated in their positions on those issues as they are in physical appearance with those positions themselves being at the extremes of the spectrum within the conservative viewpoint. Nadler appears to be an open boarder economist type and, in Rovian fashion, ready to bend principle to any measure that will get the Hispanic vote and assure the GOP a seat at the table of power for the foreseeable future. Hayworth appears to be a raging nativist, anti-immigrant advocate who has no problem throwing away the very power Nadler wishes to cement in place if it means stopping “them” from getting into the country.
Continue reading “Hayworth-Nadler, Closer Than it Seems – Immigration and the GOP”

00Publius Contributor - Democrats/Leftists - Entertainment - News - Patriotism - Security/Safety - Society/Culture - Uncategorized - Warner Todd Huston

Eagles Flightless With new Album

November 13, 2007 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

The new album from The Eagles, Long Road Out of Eden, is just one long, sustained attack on the integrity of the United States and is as bad as any loud-mouthed Dixie Chicks diatribe. With songs prosaically about Global Warming and the evil American “empire,” seemingly the only one of the band who just wanted to entertain the fans was Joe Walsh, the others too puffed up with their own sense of superiority to bother. Unfortunately, what we have here just another exclamation from pampered rock stars that they are smarter, more environmentally friendly and more caring than the rest of us… but be sure and buy more albums for Christmas gifts, will ya folks!

This album should have been titled “Long Trip to the Bank” because for much of it the band seems to be on autopilot and too much of it seems like a cynically engineered ploy to sell plastic as opposed to a solid attempt to entertain. It even seems that they consciously wrote this one to appeal to specific sectors of the radio market — the country market, adult contemporary — so much so that the album lacks freshness. The Eagles have always been on the country side of Rock-n-Roll, but several of the songs are so obviously written to have a country sound in an effort to get airplay on America’s country stations, for instance, that it’s a bit hard to get past the obvious ploy to enjoy the tunes. This cynical ploy is quite unlike their past work, where the country influence seemed more natural.

This two disc set starts out with a short, whiney little piece that is a blatant plea to appeal to those worried about global warming. “No More Walks in the Wood,” penned on autopilot by Don Henley, from a poem by John Hollander, it ridiculously whines that his walk in the woods ain’t so cool anymore because “The trees have all been cut down.” Hollander’s poem tried to be clever with a globaloney reference, but it just ended up sounding clumsy. “This is the aftermath,” Henley warbles, “Of afternoons in clover fields, where we once made love… where we made our own weather.” Naturally, we ruined it all, man! It laments that “now they are gone for good” as if we could destroy all the clover fields and trees in the world. This little piece of doggerel is not very subtle, but it is thankfully a short one at two minutes.

Sometimes, I forget how preachy and boring Frey and Henley can get, but with that as a beginning, it slams the memory home and then some.
Continue reading “Eagles Flightless With new Album”

00Publius Contributor - Democrats/Leftists - Education - Elections - Media Bias - Science - Society/Culture - Taxes - Uncategorized - Warner Todd Huston

SanFran Chronicle: Only The ‘Informed’ Believe in Global Warming

November 13, 2007 by 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

The San Francisco Chronicle decided to pat Californians on the back last week for how much “better informed” Golden Staters are on the supposed dire threat of global warming. With their headline joyously proclaiming, “Californians better informed on global warming threat, poll finds,” the SF Chron handed out the party hats, blew their celebratory horns and lined up little Al Gore statuettes to hand out at the awards banquet. And how is it that their poll “found” this startling fact? Why it’s because our friends in California believe, man! It’s not because Californians are any better informed, that they know all the facts, it’s just that they accept Al Gore’s claim that the “debate is over” despite any evidence or lack thereof. They really, really believe man.

Californians are more likely than the rest of the nation to see global warming as a threat, but also are more optimistic that greenhouse gases can be cut while creating jobs and expanding the economy, according to a Field Poll released Friday.

See, they are “better informed” because they are “more likely” to see global warming “as a threat.” It’s not because they have any more facts or science backing up this “informed” position. It’s cuz they “get it,” baby.

The SFChron goes on with their elation:

State residents are more likely than other Americans to back efforts to address climate change, with large majorities favoring government regulations, tax incentives and other efforts by industry and individuals to curb their emissions, the poll showed.

Ah, I see. It isn’t because our friends on the left coast have memorized Al Gore’s movie and independently verified the facts. It’s because they are “more likely” than the rest of us dolts to “back efforts to address climate change.” It’s not that they actually know anything, but because they are more easily duped into allowing extremist global warming advocates to glom onto piles of their tax dollars and more likely to acquiesce to their politicians’ demagoguery and pledges to “do something” about global warming.
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00Publius Contributor - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Media Bias - News - Security/Safety - Society/Culture - Thomas Brewton - Uncategorized

Chickens Are Returning to the Roost

November 13, 2007 by

-By Thomas E. Brewton

The exchange value of the dollar is declining at an accelerating rate, and China has blown the whistle to stop the game.

Since the recovery from the 1999 dot.com bust, we have benefitted from cheap imports that kept inflationary pressures down. Our financial markets have been flooded with dollars from foreign holders, which meant low interest rates and a booming stock market.

That is coming to an end, unless the Federal Reserve reverses course and ceases its efforts to manage the economy by flooding it with excess money.

China, Middle Eastern oil producers, and other exporting countries have to raise the dollar prices on goods they export to us to compensate for the declining value of those exports in their own currencies. Some exporters are beginning to refuse payment in dollars, requiring payment in Euros or their own currencies.

An article in the November 8 edition of the Washington Times summarizes this latest development:

China roiled financial markets around the globe yesterday when it asserted that the dollar is losing its luster as the world’s reserve currency and that Beijing will swap some of its $1.4 trillion in reserves out of U.S. dollars and into stronger currencies like the euro and Canadian dollar.

China’s verbal assault on the dollar helped trigger a 360-point plunge in the Dow Jones Industrial Average and came as French President Nicolas Sarkozy warned in a speech to Congress that the “disarray” caused by the dollar’s steep fall could lead to “economic war.” …

With the world’s largest reserves of dollars, China has been a major investor in U.S. Treasury bonds and debt securities and is the second-largest holder of U.S. government debt next to Japan.
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00Publius Contributor - Democrats/Leftists - Education - Israel Teitelbaum - News - Society/Culture - Uncategorized

Prerequisite To School Choice Victory

November 13, 2007 by

-By Israel Teitelbaum

Failure is okay, provided we are willing to learn from the experience. This year marks 52 years since Dr. Milton Friedman first proposed school vouchers to bring to education the magic of free enterprise. We now have less than 150,000 children throughout the USA with vouchers. This amounts to an average success rate of under 2,884.6 children per year. At this rate, it will take 20,800 years until his plan is fully implemented. This is a long time to wait for freedom of choice in educating our children! However, we can take a tip from our Founding Fathers and greatly speed up the process.

Here’s how.

The key can be found in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. “Congress shall make no law…abridging…the right of the people peaceably to assembly, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” Apparently, our Founding Fathers reasoned that the silencing of grievances was a sure way to tyranny.

Thankfully, free speech and assembly is still very much respected in the USA, and we are most grateful for the freedoms we have. Yet, we need not be intimidated from openly expressing our legitimate grievances. This is prerequisite to restoring our civil right to educational choice.
Continue reading “Prerequisite To School Choice Victory”

00Publius Contributor - Democrats/Leftists - Entertainment - Immigration/Immigrants - Media Bias - News - Race - Security/Safety - Society/Culture - Uncategorized - Warner Todd Huston

KMYL Radio: Calling Rapist Hispanic is ‘Racist’

November 12, 2007 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

If a person of Hispanic origin rapes a woman and, in an attempt to catch this violent criminal, police publish a description identifying the suspect’s general racial makeup, is that a “racist” thing to do? Apparently the folks at KMYL (1190 AM) in the metro Phoenix, Arizona area think it is. It appears that we cannot even discuss the basic appearance of a wanted criminal now without being “racist” about it all.

The story comes to us from The East Valley Tribune, where the paper quotes the vice president for programming at KMYL as saying that calling a criminal an Hispanic is “racial profiling.” And what is her reasoning?

(Mayra) Nieves said Hispanic is an ethnicity, not a race — and many Hispanics are white or black. She said ethnicity should not be used when describing an attacker. Instead she said she would describe the Chandler Rapist as having “dark skin.”

Even her “explanation” contradicts itself. If a “Hispanic” can be white or black, why should the rapist be called “dark skinned”? After all, what is the definition of “dark”? To an albino, even a white person is dark skinned… or can I say albino without somehow being a racist?

Is it really a racist thing when we are given a generalized description of a wanted criminal’s race or is it just good police work? It would seem to anyone with an ounce of sense that the later is the answer here. After all, if police are looking for a white Ford Bronco, should the police report describe the auto in oblique terms? (Such as calling the vehicle a “somewhat colorless, large car American that could be thought of as a sport utility vehicle, not that we are impugning all SUVs.”) Or should the police just say it is a white Ford Bronco? Which one would more easily get the public to lend assistance with finding the vehicle?
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00Publius Contributor - Democrats/Leftists - Media Bias - News - Society/Culture - Uncategorized - Warner Todd Huston

MSNBC Misquotes Evangelical Leader on Global Warming

November 12, 2007 by 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

Here is a perfect example of why no one can trust the MSM. They can’t even get a quote in context without spinning it to their own desired ends by leaving out parts of the quote, materially changing its meaning. MSNBC took a few choice words out of an Internet post written by Randy Thomas, vice president of Exodus International, a Christian based organization that promotes “freedom from homosexuality through the power of Jesus Christ.” In MSNBC’s “More evangelicals concluding God is green,” they quote Mr. Thomas as to why he is supporting Mike Huckabee. But, the way they quote Thomas it seems that he endorses the “God is green” concept, when he doesn’t at all in reality.

Here is how they quoted Thomas:

Randy Thomas, vice president of Exodus International, an evangelical ministry, wrote last month that “I have decided to vote for Huckabee. Yes, it is because he is unabashedly Christian, but it is also that he does care for the environment.”

Wow, it sure seems as if Mr. Thomas is all about the green, doesn’t it?

Problem is, they took a few words out of Mr. Thomas’ original post and those few words materially alters Mr. Thomas’ meaning. Here is Thomas’ full quote as he originally posted it on his blog:
Continue reading “MSNBC Misquotes Evangelical Leader on Global Warming”

00Publius Contributor - Business - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - News - Uncategorized - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

Union Harasses Workers, Capitalizes on Dead Worker’s Accident

November 12, 2007 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Here is a story that shows exactly how a union will lie, cheat and violate the law to get their way. Apparently UNITE, the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees, is trying to force the Cintas Uniform company in Mason, Ohio to accept union representation. And, they don’t care what they have to do to get that done… even IF the Cintas employees consistently vote the union down!

As the Cincinnati Enquirer reports the union “wants to skip the customary secret-ballot and force 17,000 Cintas workers to join the union and pay dues. But Cintas and its workers have said no thanks.”

So, what has the union done to force the issue?

Unite copied license numbers from Cintas workers in Pennsylvania, to snoop in personal information and harass them at home. The union has been ordered to pay the workers $2,500 each. Unite also published a false press release that caused Cintas stock to drop $300 million, according to a defamation suit by Cintas that is going to trial in Warren County court.

Harassing the workers that they want to represent? Seems a bad way to start a relationship, doesn’t it? That and their tactics violating the law, and all that.
Continue reading “Union Harasses Workers, Capitalizes on Dead Worker’s Accident”

00Publius Contributor - Democrats/Leftists - Education - Marie Jon - News - Society/Culture - Uncategorized

Public Schools and Birth Control Pills, Time For School Vouchers

November 12, 2007 by

-By Marie Jon’

2005-2006 fiscal year Planned Parenthood recorded 264,943 abortions and reported profit of $55.8 million and received a record high in taxpayer funding of $305.3 million

Parents are caring and loving. They instinctively want to protect their families from harm.

A role of a good parent is to teach its children about things that affect their lives, including the dangerous pitfalls that come from having sexual intercourse. The trend of giving birth control pills to 11 and 12 year-old girls in our schools must stop. Instead there should be massive police investigations as to who, what when or where. These are under age little children who are being sexually molested.(http://www.sexlaws.org/what_is_statutory_rape)

A youngster’s mind is not mature enough to make decisions about sex. They do not understand the horrors of venereal diseases, or the ramifications of becoming pregnant. The emotional downsides of abortions are never mentioned by those who propose it. However, even for an adult woman it is an unforgettable act. Abortion can lead to long lasting depression, low self esteem, emotional problems, drug abuse, and alcoholism.

A child or a young teen are just who they are. They are not adults. However, your children are at risk of becoming statistics — unwanted pregnancies or unlawful sexual behavior — because of the influences that are enticing them to do so. Our public schools are no longer safe havens from those who gladly give little girls hormonal pills. Expect this practice to come into your schools. Be vigilant and prepared to stop it.
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00Publius Contributor - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Media Bias - News - Society/Culture - Uncategorized

Obama, pizza, and the forgotten man

November 12, 2007 by

-By Michael M. Bates

Barack Obama has a special appeal to youth, as evidenced by the $4,600 campaign contribution he received from one 8-year-old boy. Sibling rivalry may have played a role as the kid’s sister matched his contribution with her own to the Illinois Democrat.

Gallantly deciding he doesn’t take money from admirers younger than 16, Mr. Ethical returned those payments. The fact this was done just as USA Today questioned them was, we can be certain, strictly a coincidence.

Last week at a North Carolina appearance, the senator denied press appeals to answer questions. Hadassah Jones, a 5-year-old Internet “correspondent,” reacted to the rock star’s refusal by turning on the tears, a stratagem the wily Mrs. Clinton may yet employ this campaign season.

The senator relented for the little girl. According to the Associated Press, Obama “suggested to the first-grader that wealthier people should help those who are less fortunate.
Continue reading “Obama, pizza, and the forgotten man”

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

Where is the News of Clinton Planting Questions at Appearances?

November 11, 2007 by 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

Major Garrett of Fox News broke a story on the 9th that revealed that the Hillary Clinton campaign had admitted to planting questions at a Newton, Iowa town hall meeting. Garrett reported that the Clinton campaign promised that planted questions would not happen again, but this isn’t something new for the Clinton campaign. Hillary has controlled the media with an iron fist yet few from the media have complained about it. And now, only a few MSM sources seem interested in this tale. Why is this story being ignored by the major media outlets? Worse, why do they allow Clinton to hamstring their ability to cover her without complaint? And, remembering how they reacted in 2005 when they thought the Bush administration planted questions, why are they letting Hillary slip by untouched?

Shouldn’t it be big news that a candidate refuses to allow candid questioning on the campaign trail? Of the incident, Garrett says, “In a state where the caucus is held sacred and the impromptu and candid style of the town hall meeting is held dear, Clinton’s planted question may come as a great offense to Iowans.” But, Iowans shouldn’t be the only ones who should find Clinton’s actions disturbing.

If that weren’t bad enough, on the 10th, Garrett found another Democrat that reported to him that back in April he had also been approached by the Clinton campaign to ask a canned question at an appearance.

This is a rather unseemly action by the Clinton campaign and a perfect example of her desire to control every aspect of her image and her desire to squelch any sort of independent questioning, even from her supporters, that she has no control over. This is part and parcel to her ruthless control of the media as reported before on Newsbusters (See Here) and as has been seen since she first began to run for Senate. Clinton rarely allows candid interviews, nor submits herself to open forum questions unless she knows the questions ahead of time.

So, the question is, why is the media letting her get away with this? Few of the other media outlets out there are going with the Garrett story and they certainly aren’t complaining about her tight control over her appearances and the questions she is asked by the media. In fact, some of them have expressed their admiration of her manipulation of the media. (See this Anne Kornblut storyHere)

Continue reading “Where is the News of Clinton Planting Questions at Appearances?”

00Publius Contributor - Elections - GOP - News - President - Security/Safety - Society/Culture - Uncategorized - Warner Todd Huston

Thompson Proposes Plan to Save Social Security and Protect Seniors

November 11, 2007 by

Fred08.com

Thompson, the First candidate to speak the truth and offer real solutions about Social Security

McLean, VA — Senator Fred Thompson today held an honest and straightforward discussion about his proposal to save Social Security for today’s generation of workers and protect America’s seniors by fully preserving their benefits. Sen. Thompson is the only presidential candidate to offer a comprehensive proposal on one of the nation’s most critical domestic issues.

“There’s no reason to run for President of the United States if you can’t tell the American people the truth about complex issues like Social Security,” Thompson said. “As we speak, Congress is raiding the Social Security Trust Fund. If we don’t act soon, the politicians in Washington will either repay those ‘IOUs’ through tax hikes or benefit cuts.

“My plan keeps our promise to America’s seniors by fully protecting their benefits and leaving them unchanged. Younger workers will be given the option of growing their personal wealth for the future and participating in a successful investment program similar to the one enjoyed by Members of Congress,” Thompson added.

Fact: The first Baby Boomer applied for Social Security benefits in October. She is the first of 80 million Boomers to seek the entitlement. The ratio of workers per recipient will fall from 3.3 to 2.1 over the next 24 years, when all Baby Boomers are past of the age of 65. Currently, Americans aged 65 and older account for approximately 12% of the population, but in 2030 they are expected to comprise 20% of the total population.

Goals for Saving Social Security and Protecting America’s Seniors:
Continue reading “Thompson Proposes Plan to Save Social Security and Protect Seniors”

00Publius Contributor - Uncategorized - Warner Todd Huston

The Blog Readbility Test

November 11, 2007 by

Texas Fred sent me this one. It’s a test about what level of education a reader needs to read your blog called Blog Redability Test.

Here was the Publius’ Forum score:

cash advance

So, is this good or bad? Am I talking over people’s heads?? Or is this test a load of… well, not genius oriented matter?

Anyway, have fun putting your in there. I put several and was surprised at how low the rating was for some well-known blogs out there.

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

2 Convicted for Ohio Vote Fraud, Media Forgets They’re Democrats

November 10, 2007 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

We have seen over and over again how the MSM (and the AP in particular) can’t seem to force themselves to mention the party affiliation of some elected official accused and/or convicted of a crime if that official happens to be a Democrat. Now the MSM has expanded that from elected officials even to party workers. The AP reports a story on two Democrat election officials convicted of recount rigging and neglect of official duties for their actions during the 2004 elections but, for some hard to determine reason, few if any news sources are mentioning that these two are Democrats.

Jacqueline Maiden and Kathleen Dreame have pleaded guilty to the charges after an aborted conviction from last January, the original trial having been granted a retrial on grounds not connected with the pair’s actions.

Their crime is a bit hard to explain, but what it comes down to is that they committed fraud with the 2004 ballot recount procedures that amounted to their attempt to get out of following the proper procedure to conduct the recount.

Most of the news reports take great pains to say that the convicted operatives’ actions “weren’t for political purposes,” but even if that were true does that make legitimate not mentioning that they are Democrat Party election officials in Cuyahoga County, one of Ohio’s most Democratic counties?

Again, we have to ask, what would these news sources do if these two guilty officials were Republican election workers? Who can doubt that the party affiliation would have led the reportage of this crime?
Continue reading “2 Convicted for Ohio Vote Fraud, Media Forgets They’re Democrats”

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

The Law & Gospel Dynamic

November 10, 2007 by

-By Frederick Meekins

In classical Lutheran theology and homiletics, a two part approach is often taken referred to as Law and Gospel. For it is through this dynamic duo that the individual is made to realize that he is a sinner in need of salvation and what the solution is for this vexing dilemma.

In old detective movies and police shows, when a suspect was interrogated often a tactic was used referred to as “good cop/bad cop”. In this approach, the suspect is at first confronted by a seemingly harsh officer whose task is to bluntly tell the suspect what the suspect is alleged to have done, that the evidence as to such is overwhelming, and that the best thing the suspect can do for their own sake is to confess to what they have done. Once the suspect has been worked over psychologically, the good officer arrives on the scene to offer the best deal possible in terms of the suspect’s interests in exchange for cooperation.

Though the analogy is not perfect, one can roughly think of the Law as the bad cop and Gospel as the good cop.
Continue reading “The Law & Gospel Dynamic”

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

Obama Campaign Placed Anti-Hillary Stories in Press – Where is MSM Outrage at Being Used?

November 9, 2007 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

On Thursday, Chicago Sun-Times columnist Lynn Sweet picked up on a story related by the Atlantic Monthly’s Marc Ambinder that claims that a few months ago the Barack Obama campaign sought to place the Norman Hsu scandal in the press in an effort to create anti-Hillary buzz in the MSM. Such a political “dirty trick” would seem to be a juice story for members of the MSM, wouldn’t it? So, why is Lynn Sweet the only one focusing on this one, anyway? With the sneaky actions of the Obama campaign, one would think that the MSM would be in an uproar for having been used so badly by a political candidate. And, were this a GOP “dirty trick,” it would be sure that news creators the nation over would be wagging their fingers and clucking their tongues at this violation of their purported integrity and independence for being used so by a mere political campaign. But, so far the condemnation of the Obama campaign is nearly nonexistent with this barely even causing a raised eyebrow. Don’t you wonder why that is?

Sweet’s story is written with little sign of surprise or any indignation that the press is being used as a mouth piece for a political campaign.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Barack Obama’s presidential campaign “scored a significant hit” against chief rival Hillary Rodham Clinton “by helping to place” a story about tainted Democratic donor Norman Hsu, according to an article about Obama in the December issue of The Atlantic.

Sweet also reports that Ambinder is claiming that an Obama aide came up to him and, in an effort to stir the pot, asked why the press isn’t discussing Bill Clinton’s sexual misadventures more often during the campaign coverage.

“…And at a campaign event in Iowa, one of Obama’s aides plopped down next to me and spoke even more bluntly. He wanted to know when reporters would begin to look into Bill Clinton’s postpresidential sex life,” Ambinder writes.

Naturally, the Obama campaign is dismissing Ambinder’s claims as untrue.
Continue reading “Obama Campaign Placed Anti-Hillary Stories in Press – Where is MSM Outrage at Being Used?”

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

Macon, Georgia: Race Baiters Flourish at City Hall

November 9, 2007 by 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

Macon’s The Telegraph gave us some clear proof that substance and seriousness is not the standard operating procedure for the denizens of the city government there. In the story titled “Insensitive e-mail raises race concerns at City Hall” we find an innocent, straight forward emailed suggestion to save the city some cash turned into an excuse to beat the tired race drum by city officials whoa re more interested in displays of their faux outrage than in doing city business.

At issue is an innocent email sent by a citizen of Macon to a member of the city council that recommended that prisoners be hired to spruce up the Macon City Auditorium in preparation for the Oprah TV show that is scheduled to be filmed there on November 17th.

Naturally, the Mayor of Macon, Jack Ellis, was kind enough to tell Oprah that he’d spend any amount of the tax payer’s money to be sure his auditorium was ready for the Oprah filming. I wasn’t aware that a city was required to pay for their Mayor’s bout of starstuck, hero worship but apparently our good Mayor disagrees. Anything for his Oprah… no matter HOW much it’ll cost YOU!

But, we will have to save the discussion of the waste of taxpayer’s cash for another time because the Macon city Council has bigger catfish to fry…
Continue reading “Macon, Georgia: Race Baiters Flourish at City Hall”

00Publius Contributor - Business - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Google - Inernet - Media Bias - News - Scott Cleland - Technology - Uncategorized

A Bogus Attack on Cable Giant, Comcast

November 9, 2007 by

-By Scott Cleland

Bogus petition against Comcast’s reasonable network management is a back door ploy to reinstate common carriage for broadband

The Moveon.org/FreePress petition to the FCC to declare Comcast’s reasonable network management illegal is a deceptive back-door scheme to reverse FCC deregulation of broadband as an information service and to (de facto) reinstate common carriage for broadband.

The petition will be found to be a bogus and manufactured scheme to deceive the FCC and the public that necessary, responsible, and “reasonable network management” — that serves consumers and the Internet public by delivering quality of service and protecting consumers from the harm of viruses, spam etc. — should be declared illegal “degrading” of an Internet application.

Upon full FCC airing of this issue, it will be clear that the offending P2P application traffic is the culprit that is in fact harming the overwhelming majority of Internet consumers by “degrading and impairing” the responsiveness and utility of the Internet for the many because of the irresponsible bandwidth hogging of the few.

First, if managing out-of-control p2p traffic that is degrading and impairing the responsiveness and utility of the Internet for the many by the few is not “reasonable network management,” then no network management is reasonable.

The petitioners have made a grave error in choosing to put all their “eggs in one basket,” defending spiraling p2p traffic, because there is probably no more widespread “rotten” Internet application than most p2p traffic.
Continue reading “A Bogus Attack on Cable Giant, Comcast”

00Publius Contributor - Democrats/Leftists - Islam - Islamofascism - Media Bias - Nancy Morgan - News - Security/Safety - Uncategorized

Media Ignore Success In Iraq

November 9, 2007 by

-By Nancy Morgan

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the highest-ranking elected woman in the U.S., was on a Fox morning show Thursday. With the utmost sincerity and barely concealed outrage, she described the situation in Iraq as, “A war without end that is a total failure.”

Meanwhile, in Ramadi, once considered the heart of the resistance to the U.S.-led coalition, Iraqis were holding a victory parade, celebrating the defeat of the terrorists (LiveLeak.com – Iraqi Unity Parade). Pelosi’s outright falsehood was broadcast widely. The parade in Ramadi was not.

On Saturday, it was announced that more than 3,000 Iraqi families driven out of their Baghdad neighborhoods have returned to their homes in the last three months. Again, this news was met with a deafening silence by the mainstream media. They were busy reporting on the Democrat-led effort to deny confirmation to President Bush’s nominee for attorney general.

Continue reading “Media Ignore Success In Iraq”

00Publius Contributor - Crime - Democrats/Leftists - Family - News - Science - Society/Culture - Uncategorized - Warner Todd Huston

For Sake of Science They Abused These Girls

November 8, 2007 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

“Science without religion is lame; religion without science is blind.” –Albert Einstein

Secularists today love to frame the religion vs. science debate as one of “superstitions” against fact as if theistic truth, morality and the spiritual aspect of humanity is meaningless fluff not to intersect with the hard fact and incontestability of science. But, as I quoted Einstein, the patron saint of scienceists, there is a part of science that dangerously crosses over into religion’s realm of morality even as secularists try to deny that fact. And here is a story that does, indeed, show scientists crossing over into the realm of evil to satisfy scientific curiosity. It is an evil not as bad as that of a Doctor Mengele to be sure, but one that rises to a level of evil that few would expect in today’s modern age.

Imagine taking twin baby girls and purposefully splitting them up merely as an experiment to observe their lives as they grew up keeping them from knowing of the existence of each other? Would you find justified this dispassionate decision, this coldly scientific decision, to take away a lifetime of sisterhood just to satisfy a scientific curiosity? Apparently Doctor Peter Neubauer, an internationally renowned child psychiatrist, found no struggle with his conscience over such a scientific experiment because that is exactly what he did to identical twins, Paula Bernstein and Elyse Schein, when they were infants. In 1968 Doctor Neubauer used the twin girls for a bizarre and immoral social experiment splitting them away from each other in order to observe how they would progress. They grew up neither knowing that they had an identical twin sister out there.

Nature versus nurture has been a nagging question for scientists for generations. Are we the result of our genes or of our environment goes the raging debate. Apparently, Doctor Neubauer decided to use the lives of these two girls to satisfy his curiosity over the ages old question. And evidently he knew what he was doing would be considered wrong because he ordered that the results of his study be locked in a Yale archive, not to be opened until 2066, long after all concerned should be deceased.

He didn’t have the spine to own up to the consequences of his actions, obviously.
Continue reading “For Sake of Science They Abused These Girls”

00Publius Contributor - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Energy - Media Bias - News - Society/Culture - Taxes - Uncategorized - Warner Todd Huston

Want a New Gas Tax? Call it a ‘Fee’ to Fool Voters

November 8, 2007 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

The Contra Costa Times has given us an interesting new angle to fool the voters into voting for a new gasoline tax in an article titled, “Calling gas tax a ‘fee’ may help at ballot.” In an opinion laced article, the CCTimes is advising politicians to call the tax hike a “fee” instead of a tax to fool the voters into accepting it at the ballot box. Throughout this piece is the obvious assumption by staff writer Erik N. Nelson that the county governments in and around San Francisco are “cash-starved” and that these taxes… oops, I mean fees… are needed because it is important that the governments “look for new funding” for roads and to “curb global warming.” Not a hint that these governments have wasted the money they are already confiscating from the citizens, nor any investigation why some of the highest taxes in the country have not been able to satisfy the needs there. No, instead of an investigation into government mismanagement and waste, the CCTimes and writer Nelson are trying to find sneakier ways to steal the taxpayer’s income by “semantics” and wordplay.

The CCTimes first bemoans that the idea died last time a new gas tax was floated.

In a proposal that fell on deaf ears in Sacramento last year, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s staff is recommending legislation that would make a gas tax a “fee,” and thus make it easier to prevail at the ballot box.

Gosh, imagine that? The people don’t want more taxes in one of the highest taxed areas in the country, even if the name of the thing is changed! Can you be any more surprised?

But, the CCTimes reports there is a great new idea to come to the rescue: not only call it a “fee” instead of a tax, but claim it is also to help “fight global warming.”
Continue reading “Want a New Gas Tax? Call it a ‘Fee’ to Fool Voters”

00Publius Contributor - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Media Bias - News - Security/Safety - Society/Culture - Thomas Brewton - Uncategorized

Figures Don’t Lie, But Liars Can Figure

November 8, 2007 by

-By Thomas E. Brewton

Is Paul Krugman at it again?

Whose statistics are the right ones?

New York Times columnist Paul Krugman is not in doubt. In his November 2 column he writes:

“My chance of surviving prostate cancer — and thank God I was cured of it — in the United States? Eighty-two percent,” says Rudy Giuliani in a new radio ad attacking Democratic plans for universal health care. “My chances of surviving prostate cancer in England? Only 44 percent, under socialized medicine.”…

Let’s start with the facts: Mr. Giuliani’s claim is wrong on multiple levels — bogus numbers wrapped in an invalid comparison embedded in a smear.
Mr. Giuliani got his numbers from a recent article in City Journal, a publication of the conservative Manhattan Institute. The author gave no source for his numbers on five-year survival rates — the probability that someone diagnosed with prostate cancer would still be alive five years after the diagnosis. And they’re just wrong.

You see, the actual survival rate in Britain is 74.4 percent. That still looks a bit lower than the U.S. rate, but the difference turns out to be mainly a statistical illusion. The details are technical, but the bottom line is that a man’s chance of dying from prostate cancer is about the same in Britain as it is in America.

So Mr. Giuliani’s supposed killer statistic about the defects of “socialized medicine” is entirely false. In fact, there’s very little evidence that Americans get better health care than the British, which is amazing given the fact that Britain spends only 41 percent as much on health care per person as we do.

In contrast, a MedScape Medical News report, dated August 22, 2007, is headlined “Cancer Survival Rates Improving Across Europe, But Still Lagging Behind United States.”
Continue reading “Figures Don’t Lie, But Liars Can Figure”

00Publius Contributor - Elections - GOP - News - President - Security/Safety - Society/Culture - Uncategorized - Warner Todd Huston

Evangelicals Split on POTUS Nominee

November 7, 2007 by

This is awfully interesting. The Evangelical leadership is split on who to support for the GOP nomination for president. Just last week, Paul Weyrich came out in support of Mitt Romney (despite that Romney is no Christian) and today Pat Robertson has come to the banner of Rudy Giuliani.

Neither candidate supports a whole heck of a lot that Evangelicals really support, so these two endorsements are amazing. But, it also shows that these leaders in the Christian community don’t have an “obvious” candidate that they can all rally behind as far as they are concerned.

This campaign is quite interesting, I have to say. This nomination is all over the map and up in the air still. And it really shows that it is still anyone’s guess on the GOP side.

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

Time Mag Finds ‘Lifelong Republican’ For Obama in Omaha

November 7, 2007 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Here we go again with another ridiculous MSM report of a so-called “lifelong Republican” who is slobbering all over himself for a Democrat presidential candidate, this time Barack Obama. And, also, here we go again as an MSM story tries to puff up a small handful of purportedly turncoat Republicans into gargantuan proportions — the veritable mole-hill into a mountain story. This week’s Republicans-gone-Dem story (for the MSM seems to have these weekly anymore) we are treated to Time Magazine’s breathless report of ship-jumpers in Nebraska.

Dave Filipi, a 48-year-old family doctor, made his way to the back room of McKenna’s Blues Bar near the University of Nebraska’s Omaha campus. Nervously smoothing his suit, he lingered in the doorway. “To be honest, I’m a Republican,” Filipi sheepishly said as two dozen curious faces swinging around toward him.

“Trust me, you’re not the only one here,” Solomon Kleinsmith, the head of the group “Nebraskans for Obama” and himself a lifelong Republican, replied with a chuckle. “Come, sit down.”

A campaign donor search of Mr. Filipi shows no financial activity thus far reported. That doesn’t make the lie to his claim of being a Republican, but it does say he wasn’t so active as to have donated his money. For a Doctor, that says a lot. There is also no donor activity for Mr. Kleinsmith, but his Barack Obama group page shows a photo of quite a young man, he can’t be even into his thirties, so it’s a bit hard to take the “lifelong” claim too seriously. At his age how much time could he really have vested in that “lifelong” Republican claim, anyway? The average person rarely pays much attention to politics before their thirties, for instance.

But, so far, Time has given us two people to justify their headline of “Obama’s Red State Appeal.” What else do they have?

Political organizing for Democrats in red states like Nebraska can often feel a bit like leading AA meetings. But that hasn’t deterred more than 300 Nebraskans from forming a dozen groups for Senator Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, and they aren’t the only ones.

OK now we are given the number of 300 Republicans who have “crossed party lines” to support Obama.

Let’s see what the numbers show us, shall we? The number of total registered voters in Nebraska is 1,140,741, out of a population of 1,768,331 (must not be too many kids in Nebraska!). Of that total we have 578,916 Republicans, 371,037 Democrats and 184,119 classified as nonpartisan.

So what percentage is 300 of the 578,916 Republicans? Seems to me we have a number that puts these ship-jumpers at way under 1%. In fact it is around .0519% That ain’t a lot in my book, despite that Time is wont to say…

Continue reading “Time Mag Finds ‘Lifelong Republican’ For Obama in Omaha”

00Publius Contributor - Crime - Democrats/Leftists - Frank Salvato - Islam - Islamofascism - Military - News - Security/Safety - Society/Culture - Uncategorized

Understanding the Wahhabist Infiltration of America

November 7, 2007 by

-By Frank Salvato

Part of the reason many Americans don’t appreciate the significance of Osama bin Laden’s declarations of war against the United States and the West is because they are completely oblivious to the in-roads radical Islam has made within the United States. Radical Islamists (i.e., Islamofascists, Wahhabis) understand that the conflict must take place on multiple fronts: militarily, economically, diplomatically and ideologically. Because they understand the complexity of the confrontation and the ability of the West to adapt to challenges – albeit lethargically – they employ multiple tactics in their aggressive pursuit of victory. The West’s addiction to sensationalism, epitomized by our limited attention to detail, unless it plays in the superficial 24-hour news cycle, facilitates the successful infiltration of radical ideology into Western society.

Much to the chagrin of the multicultural and the proponents of diversity, those who promote radical Islamist ideology thrive on the fact that the politically correct culture of the West – and the United States in particular – deems it inappropriate to question religious practices or teachings. With this politically correct “wall of separation” in place little if any scrutiny is given to the information disseminated within any given religious institution. This directly facilitates the ideological advancement of Wahhabism, the most radical and puritanical form of Islam, within the mosques of the United States.

To accurately understand the depth of infiltration of the Wahhabist ideology on American soil we need to examine the ideology and how it is advanced within the United States.

Wahhabism is a fiercely fundamentalist form of orthodox Sunni Islam. After a brief examination of its tenets it is clear that it is one of division, domination and hate.
Continue reading “Understanding the Wahhabist Infiltration of America”

00Publius Contributor - Business - Economy/Finances - News - Society/Culture - Thomas Brewton - Uncategorized

From Personal to Colossal

November 7, 2007 by

-By Thomas E. Brewton

Corporate globalism was preceded by the passing of relationship banking.

As recently as 1958, when I went to work in Wall Street, bankers took very seriously the idea of relationship banking. That is, bankers felt a moral responsibility both to evaluate the creditworthiness of potential borrowers, and to stick by those borrowers in their times of financial need.

Since then, investment banking and commercial banking have become vastly more abstract and impersonal, as the deals have become more colossal. Numbers, not personal character, seem to be the primary, if not the sole, criterion.

We are bombarded with TV ads assuring us that, no matter how bad our credit record, loans are available. Loans produced by such policies are part of the structured investment vehicles (SIVs) plaguing commercial and investment banks.

Banks are now so large that apparently senior officials no longer can monitor the quality of the assets they put on their books. The two most prominent examples are the CEOs of Merrill Lynch and Citicorp, who have lost their jobs for that reason.
Continue reading “From Personal to Colossal”

00Publius Contributor - Crime - Democrats/Leftists - Immigration/Immigrants - Media Bias - News - Security/Safety - Uncategorized - Warner Todd Huston

Tulsa, OK TV 8: Immigrants ‘Afraid’ in The USA

November 6, 2007 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Apparently, TV 8 (KTUL) in Tulsa, Oklahoma, wants us to know that illegal immigrants are all cowering in fear or streaming out of the USA today because of the crackdown on illegal immigration in the Sooner state. The Tulsa TV folks are trying to make it seem as if there is a climate of fear for illegals even as our government is bending over backwards to comfort illegal immigrants not to mention the fact that many thousands of illegals brazenly paraded, without being molested by bystanders or authorities, in the streets of several large US cities in protest for their “rights” not long ago. So how much “fear” could there be in the illegal underground in the USA? And why is KTUL trying to fan those flames?

The fearmongering and sensationalism by the TV report, “Hispanic Families Begin Packing Up & Moving Out”, is palpable and, it seems to me that their opening claim is a bit suspect.

Thousands of Tulsa families are now packing up and moving out in light of Oklahoma’s new immigration law. Police and deputies can ask about citizenship when a person is arrested and if someone can’t prove it, that person can be deported. We spoke with one family that says it’s leaving Tulsa next week.

KTUL assures us that “Thousands of families are leaving because they don’t want to get deported.” But, thousands? I’d like to see some proof of that… not that the TV station helps us out with anything like “proof” of their clams. KTUL just states them like the Gospel truth without trying to prove anything. Additionally, TV 8 also doesn’t seem to mention where these “thousands” are moving to.

The story is written so that the conclusion might be reached by the viewer that these illegals are moving back to Mexico, but — once again — TV 8 does not give us anything like enough facts to say so. TV 8 tries to foster the feeling that all these illegals are moving back to Mexico, without really saying it directly in their report.

“My husband was thinking about going back to Mexico, but this is my country. I have been here forever, you know.”

Thinking about it is not doing it. But KTUL clearly wants to lead people to imagine that this is where they are going, that we mean ‘ol Americans are forcing these innocent illegals to leave the country in fear.
Continue reading “Tulsa, OK TV 8: Immigrants ‘Afraid’ in The USA”