Last Night's Recap

I won't write a recap of last night's elections results, because Nate Silver at FiveThirtyEight.com always does a better job.

He agrees with the assessment of Mr. Furious that "all politics are local."

Of course the MSM will enter into horserace mode and have to interpret the results for all us simpletons, while the right wing intelligentsia will continue full force in their 48 hour circle-jerk.

Special thanks to Sarah Palin and Fred Thompson for blowing it for the Republicans in NY-23.

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More Smart Conservatism

Following the article I posted below by Bruce Bartlett, it seems there has been a series of back and forth between Bartlett and Washington Monthly's Steve Benen regarding the media and it's poor handling of the wackos at the health care town hall meetings.

In his first post, Barlett makes the case that the media should have laughed these nut balls off the air.

“One reason this isn't happening is because the media don't treat Republicans as if they are discredited. On the contrary, they often seem to be treated as if they have more credibility than the administration. Just look at the silly issue of death panels. The media should have laughed it out the window, ridiculed it or at least ignored it once it was determined that there was no basis to the charge. Instead, those making the most outlandish charges are treated with deference and respect, while those that actually have credibility on the subject are treated as equals at best and often with deep skepticism, as if they are the ones with an ax to grind.”

As ATK readers know from the debates over the last week or so, I don't buy into the argument that Fox is a counter to an otherwise lefty media. Bartlett does a good job summing up my opinion as well as his in the following post.

He states:

"The Fox News channel is a pure conservative/Republican network that does not pretend to be anything else. Personally, I have no problem with that. The problem is that the rest of the media is no longer liberal. It has moved to the center across the board. This has created an imbalance that requires a Fox-like network that is as liberal as Fox is conservative. MSNBC seems to be trying to fill this role, but very half-heartedly for reasons I am unclear about."

I know of Barlett, but not well. I am guessing I would not agree with many of his economic policies. That is OK, because as much as I might not agree, I can respect him for being introspective and forthright. When I talk to people like this, it makes me more likely to examine my own beliefs and opinions.

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Lazy Media Bastards

Or, maybe I should say lazy Bloggers. We had a good discussion over on Mr. F's site about media bias. One thing we did agree on was that the media could be really lazy at times and just not put forth any effort at corrobarating a story. While checking out one of the blogs I frequent, Boing Boing, I came across this article: Former French President says Bush invaded Iraq to thwart Gog and Magog's apocalyptic mission. Despite Bush's antics and BS reasons for going to war, my BS detector was going overtime. I wasn't the only one. Boing Boing's commenters tend to mostly be from the left and not fans of Bush, so if they are skeptical, then I had to pause.

It turns out that this was the first time this story was presented. Daily Kos ran the same story back in May. While reading the comments in another thread, I came across a post of the source article, a French University news magazine (here is the English tranlation). From what I gather, the author talks about a man that was contacted by another group that said former French President Chirac contacted them with an inquiry about Gog and Magog, which deals with some kind of prophecy from the Book of Ezekiel.

Kos and Boing Boing have interpreted this inquiry to mean (from Kos):

This is a distinct case of Bush referencing Biblical End-of-Days prophecies as a rationale for war in the Middle East. Stated to another head of state, no less.

It is? We have hearsay within hearsay and the best I can tell is that Bush may have made this case, but we don't really know. I think it is safe to assume that Gog and Magog came up somewhere in the conversation, but we don't know the context, nor do we have any statements from anyone that was art of the actual discussion. I know that Kos and Boing Boing aren't the MSM, but (in the case of Kos) some are often quoted by other news sources and bloggers are becoming major sources of news for many people.

I guess it wouldn't be fair to say either of those sources are biased, but I think it is reasonable to say they are lazy. Kudos to the other lazy bastards in the media that had the good sense to avoid this story.

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Cheers and Jeers: Obama-style

I thought I'd throw out some quick blurbs on some of our President's recent actions. I also wanted to follow up on some earlier comments and postings.

One thing that I am not all that excited about is that rendition will continue. I never thought this was a great policy and in many ways, it was torture by proxy. Hilzoy thinks that there is more than meets the eye. I have to admit I am skeptical of the gov't when they essentially say, "trust us...we won't do anything illegal or wrong." That being said, I am willing to take the president at his word for now, but I hope the press keeps their eyes on this issue.

A big cheer to Obama for Daschle dropping out. I don't think he ever should have been the nominee, but I give huge props to Obama for admitting he screwed up. Bush had an almost complete inability to admit he was wrong even when it 100% clear he was wrong. It is nice to see a president show some humility. It makes it much easier to trust that he will do the right thing.

A big jeer for anyone who thought that Nancy Killefer should withdraw herself from consideration for the post of Chief Performance Officer. This seems like an honest mistake that could happen to anyone. Do we really need to demand that a nominee have a 100% mistake-free history with the IRS? Sigh.

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The Self-Important Olympics

First of all, hat's off to ATK stalker and part-time commenter John R for the concept.

In my profession, I am surrounded by self-important people (and maybe I am too...I do have a blog, after all), who exact their self-importantness to varying degrees.

So John set up some "events" whereby self-important people can accumulate these events, the gold medalist being the most self-important tool you can imagine. You know the type: excessive speakerphone use, name-dropping, etc...and thus is born:

The Self-Important Olympics!

The events:

Most Elaborate Email Signature
It's fine to have a lengthy signature if it includes raw data: phone numbers, email, company web site. But this is the type of person that has a 12-line signature, inclusive of imaginary job titles and gratuitous salutations ("For A Better Tomorrow;" "Yours In Service;").

Most Absurd Business Card
Remember this scene from American Psycho? That's this event. Titles, attention paid to card-thickness, type, coloring, etc.

Namedropping
This person drops names in the most casual of conversations. Talking about your favorite restaurant? Drop a name of some bigwig you "spoke to" there. Even better, the true Championship-level namedropper mentions people by their first names, and in especially gratuitous circumstances, refers to them by nicknames (Governor Jennifer Granholm is simply Jenny). Extra consideration is given for the benign nature of the story in which one namedrops, as well as for whether or not the dropped name actually had anything to do with the story being told.

Busy Body
This event, and the person it encapsulates, is the behavior that is put on public display to show importance by way of level of activity. In other words, I am important because I am so damn busy. When you talk of your favorite TV shows, this is the person who sighs, throws up their hands and says "I just don't have time to watch TV." This person checks their Smartphone obsessively. This person walks around with cell phone almost permanently attached to their ear, or better yet, with Bluetooth constantly attached, even at lunch or just sitting in the office.

Speakerphone
Originally, this was part of the Busy Body event. But it warrants its own event. This person will make every single phone call, even to family members, on a speakerphone. Too busy to life the handset, multitasking too much to hold a receiver, this person would call their own mother on a speakerphone. Those taped illegal conversations Blagojevich was having? He was on speakerphone on every one.

Reply All/Spamming
Regardless of the innocuous nature of an email ("If You're The Last To Leave, Please Turn Off The Lights"), this person will Reply All with wit. wisdom, or even just a brown-nosing response. This person will also forward "interesting" or "poignant" articles to everyone in the office. This person sometimes isn't in an email chain...they're the creator of incessant chains of emails.

Smartphone Obsession
Are you bothered by the fact that your phone isn't vibrating your hip every 3 seconds to indicate that you are receiving some sort of message, so you check it over and over, just to see? Do you check it in the middle of talking to someone else? Do you actually halt current conversations to mention the importance of a message that either just arrived or is due to arrive? Then this is your event.

Employee or Service Industry Abuse
The Champion-level abuser treats employees as if they are there simply to serve. This person tasks employees with absolutely the most benign tasks, but does so very publicly, to show dominance and importance. They like to show that the "have people." Further, the Champion of this event makes up obnoxious nicknames for the janitorial staff, asks to be addressed formally, and treats our hard-working individuals in the service industry as brainless automatons there to serve every ridiculous whim (my macaroni is a tad cool, please take this back to warm it up). What separates a gold-medalist, though, is the person who treats people who are not their own employees...as if they were.

Facebook Abuse
This is easy: the gold medalist is that person who somehow values quantity over quality in terms of updating their Facebook Status or in creating Facebook Causes/Groups. Do we really need an update when you're buying coffee or going to your car? This person thinks so.

Overdressing
This person wears pressed slacks and shirtsleeves to "River Cleanup Day." 3-piece suits are the norm, not the exception.

"Don't You Know Who I AM??"
Self-explanatory. If you have ever uttered this phrase to anyone at all, from waitstaff to law enforcement, then this is your event.

Each event certainly has its own bronze, silver and gold medalists, but we should certainly award a special medal to that special someone who wins a gold in the most accumulative categories. Did I miss any categories? Who would you put where (for instance, I am easily a bronze medal in Smartphone Obsession...I check constantly, but fall short of interrupting conversations to talk about who is emailing/texting me).

Have at it in the comments section.

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Some Rare, Intelligent Auto Commentary

I really should write an auto industry piece, but instead, I will let you read this article in the New Republic. Jonathan Cohn writes one of the few pieces about the auto industry that required a significant amount of research and facts. This is unlike the rest of the anti-Detroit drivel that passes as journalism these days.

Cohn writes:

"Rescuing the auto industry is not, as so many people suppose, a question of giving Detroit one extra shot at transformation. It's a question of giving Detroit a chance to finish a transformation that was already underway."

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Staggering level of hypocrisy

The title is in reference to what Glenn Reynolds said in regards to the 'yellers' at McCain rallies. I have never tried to defend the nutjobs and bigots yelling those things. I have also been critical of those on the right who seek to lower the debate and dialog to the gutter and engage in lies and half-truths. Unfortunately, there is no shortage of inflammatory speech on the right, from the occasional forum poster, all the way up to TV pundits. Recent calls for McCain to tone down his campaign have been welcome and reasonable. What is lacking is some perspective and scrutiny for those on the left that are engaging in nastiness and nuttery.



There are some bloggers that have tried to paint a picture of McCain rallies as being ugly, hate-filled, brownshirt events with crowds calling for blood. There have been several unfortunate hecklers and idiots, but they are not common. Several bloggers, such as Patterico and Mary Katherine Ham (over at the Weekly Standard), have noted the circumstances surrounding these incidents and the problems with how they have been reported. Althouse notes that some have gone farther than take things out of context and have added words that were never said.



I have been told on more than one occasiona that the hate coming from left is mostly harmless, or in the case of people like Bill Maher (joking about a Cheney assassination) is just snarky and edgy. I looked around and couldn't find much. It tunrs out that I had to go to some sites that I don't really care for and ones that engage in the kind of behavior that I believe contributes little to intelligent debate. Therefore, I apologize in advance, but the fact is they have the information I need.



Michelle Malkin (I promise to not link to her again) has a whole page on lefty attacks on McCain and Palin. Some are absolutely disgusting. Some are certainly violent and hate-filled, such as the Abort Palin, most are just pathetic. Philly.com also notes these gems about Palin:

"Let’s stone her, old school." and "Wait till your daughter wants an abortion, you hypocrite."

These paragons of civility and reasonable discourse chose to wear shirts that say "Sarah Palin is a cunt". Classy. This guy called McCain a murderer.

I certainly don't believe that most on the left are like this. As it can be seen from ATK, the left has many intelligent, rational, respectful, and articulate advocates. I would also say that Obama and McCain have appeared to have done a decent job at confronting aspects of their campaign that are harmful and dangerous. There are some exceptions, but I am talking in a general sense. I would like to see some level of civilty and restraint, but should this only apply to the right?

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