Bob's Place

I asked the editor what standards Coleman's column was subject to at the Star Tribune. He said he didn't know; he would have to research the answer to that question and get back to me. But they do have standards, which is of course a relief!

# posted by Bob Taylor @ 9:04 AM |

In legacy media there is now much dismay. Many of their biggest names appear not too understand that they are distrusted by more than half of America, and don't even seem to recognize their own contempt for majoritarian positions.

# posted by Bob Taylor @ 8:44 AM |

On the bright side, this is the first war America has been in where the number of casualties is small enough that it would even be theoretically possible for a Defense secretary to sign each condolence letter personally. When Democrats were running the Vietnam War, letters of condolence often began, "To whom it may concern" and were addressed to "occupant."

Most politicians were mum about Autopen-gate, inasmuch as they respond to letters from constituents with dying children in letters signed by autopen. Not Sen. Chuck Hagel, D-Neb. He criticized Rumsfeld for the autopen, saying: "My goodness, that's the least that we could expect out of the secretary of defense, is having some personal attention paid by him."

# posted by Bob Taylor @ 9:39 AM |

What the blogosphere allowed to happen is the organization of dissent which is focused, credentialed, complete, and--crucially--publicized. No fair reader of Meacham's piece and the commentaries on it can conclude that Meacham produced good journalism. It is simply too one-sided, too agenda-driven, and too ignorant of serious scholarship to qualify as anything other than a polemic. The exposure of Meacham's folly doesn't guarantee that Newsweek won't stumble again, but it surely must give others in his position pause. The blogosphere has experts and megaphones. As Joe carter of Evangelical Outpost concluded "the mainstream media is only able to retain their influence by convincing the populace they possess special skill and knowledge. But as the Internet continues to fill with . . . debunkers, the media continues to lose credibility, influence, and power."

# posted by Bob Taylor @ 10:32 AM |

I think we've pretty much seen the dumbest of the lot, thanks Margie. You really might want to consider some, or more therapy. Obviously you've very little of a positive nature to offer the public discourse on a substantial issue of the day.

# posted by Bob Taylor @ 8:27 PM |

OLYMPIA, Wash. - The state Supreme Court on Tuesday unanimously rejected the Democratic Party's request that previously rejected absentee and provisional ballots be included in the hand recount of the governor's race.

In a brief written opinion, the high court said that under Washington law, "ballots are to be 'retabulated' only if they have been previously counted or tallied" — excluding those that had been disqualified by canvassing boards.

# posted by Bob Taylor @ 1:47 PM |

The state Democratic Party has accused heavily Democrat and far-left King County (home of P.C.-crazed Seattle and Rep. "Baghdad" Jim McDermott and the power base of Sen. Patty "Osama Mama" Murray) of "irregularities."

Today the elections director of King County, Dean Logan, pretty much accused himself and his underlings of incompetence or stupidity or fraud or the inability to practice grade-school math or some such naughtiness. He said his office "mistakenly" rejected 561 absentee ballots - including that of King County Council Chairman Larry Phillips, according to the Seattle Times.

# posted by Bob Taylor @ 11:10 AM |

Dan Aykroyd once played a toy manufacturer on "Saturday Night Live" who sold children perilous products like bags of glass. If he branched into fast food, Mr. Aykroyd's character would probably have come up with Hardee's new Monster Thickburger, an artery-clogging mountain of Angus beef slabs, bacon, American cheese and mayonnaise on a buttered sesame-seed bun. It weighs in at 1,420 calories and 107 grams of fat - quite possibly one of the most lethal pieces of food out there.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest calls it "the height of corporate irresponsibility

# posted by Bob Taylor @ 9:07 AM |

Let us suppose that you are living in the great city of Tenochtitlan (today’s Mexico City) in the glory days of the Aztec Empire—that is, before the arrival of Cortés and the Spaniards. And let us imagine that you are worried—very, very worried. Will the sun rise tomorrow? What if it doesn’t? What if it never comes up again? We must do something to make sure the sun rises tomorrow or we are doomed!

Well, luckily for you, the Emperor, the leading nobles, and the chief priests have given this matter a great deal of thought. What we must do, they explain, is have the chief priest rip the hearts out of thousands of living humans, toss the hearts into a large stone container as food for the gods, and then hurl the bloody bodies down the steps of the Great Temple, whereupon they will be carefully butchered, cooked up, and eaten by the elite. There! That ought to do it! And sure enough, the sun does come up the next day!

Is this what we learn from the monumental exhibition on the Aztecs currently installed at the Guggenheim Museum? Not at all. The existence of human sacrifice is gently alluded to, but certainly not emphasized. The issue of cannibalism is not mentioned at all, although it is an established fact that the Aztecs practiced cannibalism. The overall tone of the exhibition conforms to the prevailing mood of multicultural sensitivity and “understanding,” but we should no longer be surprised by that. The museum bookstore has a children’s book illustrating this bizarre culture. One sees weirdly jarring images of immaculately dressed small brown people going happily about their daily lives, apparently oblivious to the avalanche of carnage which is the very essence of their culture

# posted by Bob Taylor @ 7:19 AM |

The Pentagon has begun honoring the wounded from the war on terrorism by inviting service members hospitalized at Walter Reed Army Medical Center to spend a few hours at the Pentagon.
Last week, one such entourage arrived for a tour and lunch. This is how one witness described the scene.
"At 1030 several wounded soldiers, sailors and Marines arrived from Walter Reed. They limped, were wheeled, and made their way through several corridors on a little tour of the building on their way to the Executive Dining Room.
"The halls were two deep on each side with Pentagon workers paying tribute. This allowed only a few feet of passageway. The line of wounded took several minutes to make their way past. The whole time the crowd applauded and reached out to shake hands (bandages) or pat the backs of the injured. The sound of the clapping would peal down the halls and cheers could be heard.
"Needless to say it was emotional and several Pentagonites' BDU [battle dress uniform] sleeves were damp from wiping tears away. God bless those that have sacrificed for us."

# posted by Bob Taylor @ 9:14 AM |

.........The city's warlords, Janabi and Hadid, paid obeisance to the arch terrorist Zarqawi and competed for his favor by assassinations and bombings. They bragged their "martyr battalions" would cut to pieces any American force entering the city.

Deciding otherwise, the residents fled the city, leaving a few thousand jihadists to their fate. In a swift offensive, American soldiers and Marines swept in and hunted them down, destroying every house and mosque where Zarqawi's soldiers stood and fought. Seventeen-thousand buildings were searched, uncovering cache after cache of weapons. The numbers were staggering: Over 100,000 explosives found in just one section of the city.

Bulldozers and backhoes are now shoveling the debris from the streets. The few remaining insurgents emerging from the ruins have been quickly cut down. The other day, four of them fired from a cluttered alley at two passing Humvees. Half a minute later, they were dead. .......

# posted by Bob Taylor @ 10:24 PM |

By mid-November, 10,369 American troops had been wounded in battle in Afghanistan or Iraq, and 1,004 had died -- a survival rate of roughly 90 percent. In the Vietnam War, one in four wounded died, virtually all of them before they could reach MASH units some distance from the fighting.

Today in Iraq, real-life Hawkeyes and B.J. Hunnicuts have stripped trauma surgery to its most basic level, carrying ``mini-hospitals'' in six Humvees and field operating kits in five backpacks so they can move with troops and do surgery on the spot.

``Within an hour, we drop the tents and set up the OR tables, and we can pretty much start operating immediately,'' said Peoples, whose photographs are in the medical journal.

# posted by Bob Taylor @ 7:33 PM |

The chamber is one of a growing number of advocacy groups that blur the distinction between legitimate media and propaganda to promote their causes.

This last remark would be a lot more helpful if Birnbaum would tell us what constitutes "legitimate media" and how it differs from propaganda. Is legitimate media defined by being more accurate? And always or on average? Is is defined as not having an agenda? But reporters routinely have prior beliefs (or an ideology if you disagree with it), so is it defined as not being paid for advocacy? In that case, Walter Duranty was a propagandist because he was paid by Stalin to spread lies, whereas a Chomsky piece would not be propaganda because Chomsky probably believes his drivel.

# posted by Bob Taylor @ 1:03 PM |

T he Madison County Record, an Illinois weekly newspaper launched in September that bills itself as the county's legal journal, reports on one subject: the state courts in southern Illinois. A recent front page carried an assortment of stories about lawsuits against businesses. In one, a woman sought $15,000 in damages for breaking her nose at a haunted house. In another, a woman sued a restaurant for $50,000 after she hurt her teeth on a chicken breast.

Nowhere was it reported that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, based in Washington, created the Record as a weapon in its multimillion-dollar campaign against lawyers who file those kinds of suits.

"We wanted to educate (the people) that their county is the laughingstock of the country" because of the large number of lawsuits filed there, said Stanton Anderson, chief legal officer for the chamber, which is a partial owner of the Record.

The chamber is one of a growing number of advocacy groups that blur the distinction between legitimate media and propaganda to promote their causes. One group has produced a made-for-TV thriller, intended for a cable network, to dramatize the danger of unprotected nuclear materials. Two lobbying consultancies have set up Web sites on politics and government that direct readers to position papers from pressure groups. The National Rifle Association, which has a national radio show, is thinking about buying its own radio stations.

# posted by Bob Taylor @ 7:19 PM |

New York – President George W. Bush’s cabinet is more diverse than National Public Radio, Tavis Smiley tells TIME in an exclusive interview. “It is ironic that a Republican President has an Administration that is more inclusive and more diverse than a so-called liberal-media-élite network,” Smiley says.

# posted by Bob Taylor @ 6:45 PM |

Recount shows Alabama voters support segregation, poll taxes

Fri Dec 3, 7:11 PM ET

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - A statewide recount showed Alabama narrowly voted to keep language in the state constitution supporting segregation and poll taxes, unofficial totals released Friday indicated.

# posted by Bob Taylor @ 7:20 AM |

If the 21st century becomes a Singer century, we will also see legal infanticide of born children who are ill or who have ill older siblings in need of their body parts.

Question: What about parents conceiving and giving birth to a child specifically to kill him, take his organs and transplant them into their ill older children? Singer: "It's difficult to warm to parents who can take such a detached view, (but) they're not doing something really wrong in itself." Is anything wrong with a society in which children are bred for spare parts on a massive scale? "No."

# posted by Bob Taylor @ 7:01 AM |

2) Gyre: "I don't support them (the troops). We've exported our illiterate little kids with their tiny brains filled with images of Rambo. We've armed them and told them the enemy is a demon who doesn't deserve to live. Most of them are more than willing to believe that. They are stupid and dangerous and have no intellectual capacity to grasp basic concepts of democracy. They're a symptom of a disease that infects my country.

# posted by Bob Taylor @ 8:27 AM |