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News/Politics 7-1-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

First up, he who laughs last……..

From HotAir

“In an exclusive* Hot Air interview, Lt. Governor David Dewhurst of Texas insists that the attempt to hijack the legislative process by pro-abortion activists this week will not stop the state from passing a limitation on late-term abortions and requirements for clinics to meet the same standards as other ambulatory surgical centers.  Dewhurst also says that his office is reviewing the security tapes from the demonstration that derailed the bill at the end of the regular session, and that arrests may be made for inciting a riot — including perhaps some members of the media.

“I had the votes,” Dewhurst told me, “I had the strategy.” He had wanted the Senate to tackle the bill, SB5, a little earlier in the session to prevent the obstructionism that he foresaw.  When it came time to clear the galleries, Dewhurst lacked the resources to finish the job on time.  “These are common sense … measures that the majority, the big majority of Texans support,” Dewhurst insisted, “so I was frustrated.  I’m not going to let a minority group of demonstrators — Planned Parenthood and ACLU — block the will of the majority. And I will pass this bill.””

“Dewhurst talked about how the “ugly mob … went wild,” and ripped the media for its coverage of the event.  When I asked whether the same media would provide the glowing coverage of a demonstration where Tea Party activists blocked a tax increase, Dewhurst said, “Absolutely not.” Dewhurst went on to tell me that he suspects that reporters may have helped incite the crowd to riot, and that his office plans on reviewing security tapes to identify any individuals who did.

“We have reports, and I have my staff taking a look at the video,” Dewhurst explained, “and if I find, as I’ve been told, examples of the media waving and trying to inflame the crowd, incite them in the direction of a riot, I’m going to take action against them.” Dewhurst continued, “We take a democratic policy seriously.” I asked whether Dewhurst could confirm whether members of the media took part in pushing the demonstration forward. “We have reports that members of the media on the floor, on the floor of the Senate, were looking up at the people in the gallery, waving their hands, trying to motivate them to yell more,” he replied. “If I find examples of that, proof certain on our video,” Dewhurst warned, “I’m going to address this firmly.””

Unbiased media? Anyone?………

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Looks like the Muslim Summer has begun. Alternate title, We Backed the Wrong Horse.

From WeaselZippers

“Millions came out in protests all over Egypt today, but especially in Cairo, where there were hundreds of thousands, with huge crowds outside the Presidential Palace.

Chanting against the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood and demanding that Morsi leave office, they cut a huge swath throughout the area. The majority seen in this video were secular in their expression, shouting “Muslim and Christians are one!”

Many also called on Obama to “stop supporting terrorism” against the Egyptian people through his support of the Muslim Brotherhood.”

See also,

Video Of Uniformed Egyptian Police, Joining Protests Against Morsi, Calling For A Military Coup

Here’s further evidence we backed the wrong horse in Syria as well. With a CONTENT WARNING!!!

From TheBlaze

“Syrian Catholic priest Francois Murad killed last weekend by jihadi fighters was beheaded, according to a report by Catholic Online which is linking to video purportedly showing the brutal murder.

As TheBlaze reported last week, Murad, 49, was setting up a monastery in Gassanieh, northern Syria. Last Sunday, on the Christian leader’s Sabbath, extremist militants trying to topple President Bashar Assad breached the monastery and grabbed Murad.””

“The Catholic news service quotes local sources who report that the radical Al-Qaeda-linked Jabhat al-Nusra, or Al-Nusra Front, was behind the savage killing.”

The same group our govt is now arming and training. Again, the politically correct muslim influence in the Obama admin has us siding with our enemies, and ignoring the treachery and bloodshed they’re responsible for.

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The number of federal wiretaps rose 71% in 2012.

From TheWashingtonPost

“The number of wiretaps secured in federal criminal investigations jumped 71 percent in 2012 over the previous year, according to newly released figures.

Federal courts authorized 1,354 interception orders for wire, oral and electronic communications, up from 792 the previous year, according to the figures, released Friday by the Administrative Office of the United States Courts. There was a 5 percent increase in state and local use of wiretaps in the same period.”

““This is just one more piece of evidence demonstrating the need for a full, informed public debate about the scope, breadth, and pervasiveness of government surveillance in this country,” Mark Rumold, a staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said in an e-mail. “We have a secret surveillance program churning in the background, sweeping in everyone’s communications, and, at the same time, in the shadows (and frequently under seal), law enforcement is constantly expanding its use and reliance on surveillance in traditional criminal investigations.””

EU officials aren’t pleased with the news that they were bugged too. Must be more of that “smart diplomacy” Obama is using in the Mid-East.

From TheNYPost

“Senior European officials expressed concern Sunday at reports that U.S. intelligence agents bugged EU offices on both sides of the Atlantic, with some leftist lawmakers calling for concrete sanctions against Washington.

The president of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, said he was “deeply worried and shocked about the allegations of U.S. authorities spying on EU offices” made in a report published Sunday by German news weekly Der Spiegel.The magazine said the surveillance was carried out by the U.S. National Security Agency, which has recently been the subject of leaks claiming it scanned vast amounts of foreign Internet traffic. The U.S. government has defended its efforts to intercept electronic communications overseas by arguing that this has helped prevent terror attacks at home and abroad.

Schulz said that if the allegations that the NSA bugged European Union offices were confirmed “it would be an extremely serious matter which will have a severe impact on EU-US relations.””

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Next up, the stupidity over Paula Dean’s decades old remarks continues.

From TheWashingtonTimes

“Just a couple days after Paula Deen’s  forthcoming cookbook topped Amazon’s best-sellers  list, Ballantine Books, a Random House imprint, announced Friday it was making  the “difficult decision” to cancel publication of the book.

Advance  sales for “Paula Deen’s New  Testament: 250 Favorite  Recipes  All  Lightened Up,” which was scheduled to be  released in October,   skyrocketed  after numerous sponsors dropped the TV chef  after she   admitted to using  racist language more than two decades ago.”

🙄   Meanwhile Alex Baldwin’s days old homophobic rants elicits barely a chirp from the PC crickets. It’s hard not to call the left total hypocrites.

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And lastly, atheists get tossed a bone. It has absolutely no historical significance unlike what it seeks to compete with, but hey, if it shuts them up, whatever…..

From Yahoo

“A group of atheists unveiled a monument to their nonbelief in God on Saturday to sit alongside a granite slab that lists the Ten Commandments in front of the Bradford County courthouse.

As a small group of protesters blasted Christian country music and waved “Honk for Jesus” signs, the atheists celebrated what they believe is the first atheist monument allowed on government property in the United States.”

Again, 🙄

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19 thoughts on “News/Politics 7-1-13”

  1. What they have done to Paula Deen is beyond belief. Last night Bill Mahar used the “N” word in his opening monologue about her and called white people “crackers”. There was a panel discussing how racist the South still is. The lone defender of the South and Paula Deen was a BLACK MAN!!!!

    Have any of you read the statement with the context in which she said the “word”? She was working at a bank when a black man robbed it and held a gun to her head. She was telling her husband about it. I don’t know about the rest of you but had I been in her position I don’t think I would have used politically correct terms to describe the person who did that to me.

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  2. I have a theory that that Paula Deen is being used to show that the Supreme Court decision on the Voting Rights Act was all wrong and that the South hasn’t changed and never will. Funny how Bush was criticized for not wanting to put our foreign policy in the hands of Russia and Germany,(who in our lifetime wanted to kill us all) but the South can never be forgiven.
    My second theory is that racism is the new McCarthyism. People are afraid to come to her defense or they will also be branded racist and get the same treatment. This is especially true of conservatives and southerners, though, even black people who have defended her have been attacked.
    Thirdly this is a warning to any who plan to stand against the Homosexual agenda. Homophobia will be the next racism and any who dare engage in it will be destroyed.
    I am not a particular fan of Deen. I do have her shrimp and grits recipe bookmarked but I find her accent and her over use of the word Y’all a little annoying but if someone doesn’t stand up to this foolishness the media will know they can control anyone, any time.

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  3. Too bad our media have a long-term memory when it serves them, but are forgetful when it serves them as well-i.e. not holding political leftists to the same standard as rightists.

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  4. Peter, it is quiet simple. “Everyone knows” that Liberals are really kind and open hearted and that a slip of the tongue is just a slip of the tongue (no matter how often it happens..cough, cough Joe Biden), just as everyone knows that conservatives are are all evil, racist, bigots and if we analyze their every word and action for 20 or 30 years they will eventually make a mistake and show their true colors.

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  6. I know next to nothing about Paula Deen. I find her tearful apologies somewhat annoying and cloying.

    And I heard the “n” word growing up from time to time (in the ’60s when the civil rights movement was in its prime) and I always cringed at hearing it. I don’t think I’ve ever once used it. I’ve also never used gay slurs. That kind of language is repulsive to me.

    But I’ve said other careless things in my lifetime — sometimes out of anger or frustration. We’re a fallen bunch and we’ve all violated even our own standards in speech. Often, if we’re anywhere near normal human beings.

    In this case, Deen has been unfairly singled out and ruthlessly punished and banned. Really, it reminds me of an old Twilight Zone that cautioned about growing “statism” and cultural conformity.

    I’ve said this before, but ironically the left does not particularly like freewheeling free speech or free thought. Many of them have an absolute compulsion for conformity — thus now our “hate speech” laws. Particular words, ideas and positions simply can’t be tolerated within the society as a whole. There must be conformity in these areas. These are not open-minded people. They bristle at diversity of thought.

    As a result, those who disagree with gay marriage, for example, do so out of only the worst of motives — hate, bigotry or uneducated ignorance. And those views must be banished through peer pressure at first, then by law.

    As someone I know said recently, sometimes there just aren’t two sides to an issue (said in reference to gay marriage). There’s only the right position. The “other” side is just, well, wrong.

    End of dialogue. End of you or anyone else being able to have a differing opinion.

    Get with the program.

    I know Rod Serling is standing just off stage somewhere about now …. Please, can we wake up now??

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  8. I’m not at all defending the use of slurs — they are reprehensible and, as Christians, they should not be part of our speech.

    But in a society where free speech is allowed and even celebrated, there will be some ugly stuff said by some. I don’t like it either, but that’s part of the give and take of a free society.

    I remember when we first began allowing readers to comment on our online stories, the thing that made my colleagues crazy was any sort of comment that they deemed to be racist. That seemed to be the only category that bothered many of them. Now, there were indeed some ugly and racist things said, but in a free society, those views should be allowed (and to be seen for what they are — ugly).

    I was more bothered by people making personal attacks on the individuals we wrote about (politicians excluded, they’re public figures and have asked for it in a sense; although outright mean, overly personal comments still bothered me in those cases, too).

    Advocating “hate speech” laws is especially chilling to me. Who determines what qualifies as “hate speech”? The government, of course.

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  10. PS to my rant: Here’s another cause for deep concern right now, I think: The public’s confidence both in the government (including the Supreme Court, see link below) and the media are plummeting.

    Trust levels are exceptionally low (for good reason, in my view).

    We are not in a good place. I’m hoping this will spark a turnaround. Sometimes people just have to “hit bottom,” as they say.

    http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/mood_of_america/supreme_court_update

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  11. Donna, sort of like their plans to eliminate “bullying” in public school seems to be more along the lines of making all the kids think alike rather than teach them how to disagree civilly.

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  12. I saw a clip from Bill Mahar; probably the same show Kim refers to and he appeared to be defending Deen in a roundabout way. More or less he viewed her as a distraction to the real racists of Scalia, Palin, Trump etc.

    “Just the fact that he [Scalia] talks about black people voting as an entitlement, that is so much more racist than anything Paula Deen ever said.”… “We have replaced having a conversation about race with ‘Oh, okay, liberals feel good about themselves if they make the bad person go away.’ Who’s the bad person? The one we caught saying that one word. Donald Trump is a worse racist but he gets to keep his show because he never said the word. Sarah Palin is a worse racist, she said Obama was shucking and jiving his way to victory. Newt Gingrich said he was the food stamp president. This is real racism.”

    Here’s the link
    http://aattp.org/bill-maher-scalia-palin-trump-all-more-racist-than-paula-deen-video/

    Skip through the first five and a half a minutes.

    I’m rather amused on the definition of judicial activism — according to Scalia, repealing DOMA is activism but repealing the Voter Rights Act is not. This demonstrates the term is useless and only a mere talking point for one side or other depending on the legislation in question.

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  13. Egypt and the other Arab “spring” nations are an interesting study in the problems of assuming democracy and elections are equivalent terms. Morsi assumed since he won, he was in charge and didn’t have to listen to the people for an other four years or the very least he only had to listen to those who voted for him. Western politicians often make the same assumptions but there are more checks and balances in the West along with separation of powers. There is also greater polarization in these countries between religion vs secular or rural vs urban.

    Outside of the Arab spring, we see the same dynamics at play in the Turkish and even Brazillian demonstrations of the last week.

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  14. Finally an article on the cost of giving birth in the US.

    Americans pay more for childbirth, often for things that aren’t medically necessary, yet have one of the highest rates of maternal and infant death in the developed world.

    Wouldn’t a pro-life position advocate for cheaper or even free childbirth?

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  15. The people of Egypt, Turkey and Brazil are not capable of self-government yet. In time they may do better. The US once was capable of self-government, but no longer is. Our people are too stupid, greedy and immoral. HRW, I believe Canadians are capable of self-government. I may disagree with some of your public policies, but I respect your people.

    HRW, Our poor receive free childbirth at our county hospitals. I can’t speak for other cities, but that is the way it works in Dallas and Fort Worth. The majority of black and Hispanic babies born in Dallas and Tarrant Counties are “County pay”.

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  16. HRW, changing the subject, aren’t you a science teacher? My son did not do well in science last school year. I’m trying to think of ways to inspire him for next year.

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  17. rickyweaver — its not a matter of capability but simply a realization that winning election doesn’t give you carte blance to implement everything you want, you still need to consider all citizens even the ones who would vote for you. The long term health of a country depends on individuals who rule with more than self interest of themselves, their class and their party (and its financial supporters). In a sense you are correct in that the US system has become corrupted by the campaign donations and corporate lobbying.

    kBells — motivation/inspiration is the hardest part of teaching and what works for one person will often have the opposite effect on other students. I like teaching science (grade 7) because its often the one subject which requires the least motivation for most students to be involved (the opposite is true for history which I taught for three years). For most, practical projects which apply the concepts learned in class or through the text are the way to go. For instance, students are asked to create a homemade thermos to demonstrate conduction, convection, and radiation and how to prevent these three types of heat transfer. Students who normally wouldn’t learn these concepts often come up with the best ideas.

    Other times just learning about the outside world — biodiversity, for example — is enough for some kids. Generally, the closer the unit of study has some relevance to daily life the more likely they will actually learn the material. Thus the unit on Biodiversity are easy to motivate students and Solutions and the States of Matter (intro to basic chemistry) are difficult to motivate students.

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