Al Sharpton and the NYT Thu, May 10, 2007
Posted by bencauble in Democrats, Liberals, MSM.2 comments
I love the way the NYT operates.
This is a good take from NewsBusters on the obvious bias in everyone’s favorite objective rag.
The main point is this: while anyone else would be skewered for making comments like Sharpton’s about Romney’s Mormonism, Al Sharpton is the teflon man. Nothing sticks, and the NYT doesn’t even act like what he said was really a big deal.
If Imus calls a group of black women “nappy-headed ho’s,” there is a huge outcry. But if Sharpton, a black man, makes comments that are offensive, no one even bats an eye. It’s not that I have a huge problem with either person saying what they said. It’s just that there is a double standard in the media as to what is acceptable to say, and what they will put on the front page.
If it hurts the left, it will not be on the front page. If it hurts the right, then you can bet it will be in bold lettering.
Language Thu, April 12, 2007
Posted by bencauble in General Interest, Linguistics, Philosophy.2 comments
This is a great post on the power of expression through language, and what happens when you have to use a language not your own.
Kendra, you would appreciate this.
For you Legal Linguist Types Wed, April 11, 2007
Posted by bencauble in General Interest, Legal, Linguistics.add a comment
This is a really interesting post on the way that language can be used to implicate someone based on the fact that that implicated someone was interrupted and did not correct someone else who was speaking for him, out of turn.
For example…
Innocent Party: “I was thinking that…”
Interrupting, nasty Party: “we should get rid of him.”
If the innocent party does not correct the interrupting, nasty party, then you’ve got a problem legally, because you could say that the innocent party was implicated in whatever “getting rid of him” entailed.
Good stuff.
Someone call the Waaaaambulance… Tue, April 10, 2007
Posted by bencauble in Fun(ny) Stuff, General Interest, Outrage, Political, So Called "Education".2 comments
Ok. Perhaps some people were offended by Imus’ comments.
Fine. But this is pathetic.
I’m sorry, but calling one group of people a name, rightly or wrongly, is not the end of the world.
The Rutgers women’s basketball coach and several of her players expressed pain and outrage at the racially charged comments Don Imus made about them, saying he overshadowed their success with remarks that degraded women across the globe.
Pain and Outrage? At being called a name? Go ahead, call me a name.
Watch what happens.
Hmmm…Nothing. It’s because I don’t think that I deserve to have everyone think well of me. It’s because I don’t let my little feelings live on my sleeve where they can get hurt. And it’s because my opinion of my own achievements is not going to be undercut by some old man who calls me a name.
One of the teammates, Heather Zurich, had this to say:
“We were stripped of this moment by a degrading comment by Mr. Imus,”
Stripped of this moment? Please. How are you stripped of something so completely yours? Did your achievement mean anything less in the sports world? Did it all of a sudden feel like an easy thing to do what your team did?
Or is this whole thing political grandstanding? What is it, really?
What made me laugh (in a cynical sort of way) was the fact that they players have agreed to meet with Imus, and that they hope that this will make it all better.
Junior forward Essence Carson, who said she felt “great hurt, anger and disgust” over the remarks, explained that she wanted to meet with Imus to understand why he said what he said.
“We just hope to come to some understanding of what the remarks really entailed,” said Carson.She also said the team was optimistic that the meeting with Imus could be productive.”We all agreed the meeting with Mr. Imus will help,” Carson said. “We do hope to get something accomplished during this meeting.”
I’m sure that once you meet with him, you’ll all come away happy. You’ll be slapping each other on the back, telling jokes and getting along like chums.
What malarkey! This meeting will accomplish nothing but giving yet another chance to demand groveling from someone who has committed the worst crime in our nation: offending a black person by a seemingly “racist” comment.
But underneath it all is this sense that name-calling (at least calling black people names) should not be tolerated:
Carson added that the incident served to show that underneath the media’s apparent embrace of diversity and equality, bigotry can still rear its head.
“Somehow, some way, the door has been left open to attack the leaders of tomorrow,” she said.
Yes, wide open for attack. The leaders of tomorrow are totally unprepared. When white people come after them with mean-spirited words that are actually less offensive than what their hip-hop culture says everyday, what will they do? Are you kidding me?
Anyone who can’t take a stupid comment in stride is not my leader.
And if they’re the leaders of tomorrow…pathetic.
The Price of Eggs Mon, April 9, 2007
Posted by bencauble in General Interest.add a comment
There is an interesting piece on Freakonomics that talks about the price of eggs going up.
Why does this happen? Well, uh…because of our dependence on fossil fuels.
No, really. It’s an interesting article. Read on.
End of the Hiatus Mon, April 9, 2007
Posted by bencauble in General Interest.add a comment
It was an unintentional hiatus to begin with.
Two weeks ago I was busy. Then I got busier. Work demands, travel schedules, business at the house, et cetera, all converged and conspired to keep me from posting over the recent weeks.
I’m planning on posting more.
For those of you who check the blog, I can promise a blog with broader content, giving you a greater cross-section of current events, and a closer look at the so-called news.
Stay tuned, and I’ll keep you posted. 
The Hypocrisy of Algore Wed, March 21, 2007
Posted by bencauble in Alarmism, Algore, Corruption, Follow the Money, Outrage.5 comments
This man is nothing but an actor, strutting on his global stage, soaking up the spotlight shone upon him by small minds and great opportunists. His refusal to put his money where his mouth is, and to conform to the the very ideals he professes to love, shows him to be nothing more than a money-grubbing, pseudo-scientific power seeker carried on the wave of his own fear-mongering.
Abortion Blackmail Wed, March 21, 2007
Posted by bencauble in General Interest.4 comments
A South Carolina lawmaker has introduced legislation that would require women seeking an abortion to view a sonogram of their child before deciding if they really want to murder them.
This is great, but it’s met with some opposition from fellow lawmakers who view the requirement as “extreme.”
Representative Gilda Cobb-Hunter (D -Orangeburg County) opined,
“I see it as some kind of emotional blackmail, and I think we’re putting an undue burden on our healthcare providers and on folk who are providing those services,”
…
“The supporters of this legislation seem to believe that women enter into this decision blindly or without a lot of thought.”
Ah. So these women would be blackmailed. How would they be emotionally blackmailed about something for which they feel no shame? Are you saying that there is something shameful or hideous about murdering your own child?
I would think that women who claim to be rational, as Cobb-Hunter believes them to be, would welcome data regarding their decision. If you say “my mind is made up, don’t tell me anything else” then you tip your hand a bit and indicate that your ideas about what you want can’t bear intellectually honest arguments or facts.
If you like blather… Wed, March 21, 2007
Posted by bencauble in "Isms", Alarmism, Algore, Follow the Money, Global Warming.add a comment
You can read Algore’s testimony before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
As you read, you can hear the dramatic music. This world needs a hero. Algore is that hero.
Save us all, Algore! Save us from ourselves and the danger that we have become to the world!
Ill-it-er-it Tue, March 20, 2007
Posted by bencauble in Fun(ny) Stuff, General Interest, MSM, So Called "Education".add a comment
According to this report, our capital in DC is not doing so hot.
Persons familiar with the basic grammar of the English tongue might also note that only 2 out of 10 reporters are capable of correctly penning sentences beyond the level of a 3rd grader.
I quote:
WASHINGTON (AP) – About one-third of the people living in the national’s capital are functionally illiterate, compared with about one-fifth nationally, according to a report on the District of Columbia.
End quote.
How ironic! The Associated Press with all its magnificent resources and journalistic expertise cannot write an article on literacy in our nation’s capital without thoroughly butchering it into very small pieces.
I love our public education system, which turns out such fine specimens of literary ability as these.
More Alarmism, FUD Sun, March 11, 2007
Posted by bencauble in Alarmism, Algore, FUD, Global Warming, International Interest, MSM.1 comment so far
When in danger or in doubt
Run in circles, scream and shout!
This is the current trend among global alarmists.
MSM Spin and Gingrich Sat, March 10, 2007
Posted by bencauble in Corruption, MSM, Outrage.add a comment
Here again we have a great example of the mainstream media’s utter disdain for truthful and accurate reporting, and their unabashed pandering to the leftist agenda.
Gingrich has admitted that he had an extramarital affair at the time of the Clinton impeachment proceedings. This is being reported by the media in terms that make it clear that there is a double standard, since Gingrich was leading the charge against Clinton for his involvement with Lewinsky while at the same time himself having an extramarital affair.
Newt Gingrich, the Republican who led efforts in Congress to impeach Bill Clinton over his involvement with Monica Lewinsky, has admitted he was having an affair at the time.
This is pure hogwash.
Clinton was not being impeached because of his involvement with Lewinsky, he was being impeached because of the fact that he lied under oath!
So the leftist media can cry foul, try to show how conservatives are no better than they, and thus vindicate Clinton’s actions as nothing more or less than what conservatives do every day.
Where are the journalists who will accurately and truthfully tell the story, rather than act as the mouthpiece for the Left?
The Great Global Warming Swindle Sat, March 10, 2007
Posted by bencauble in Global Warming, International Interest, Political, Religion.1 comment so far
Here’s a link to a great documentary that actually uses facts, as opposed to Gore’s schlockumentary which uses political drivel and cheesy animated polar bears.
A must see.
Update:
Also, here is a link to the newsbusters post on this. The post is definitely worth reading as well.
Going Out on a Limb Sat, March 10, 2007
Posted by bencauble in General Interest, Ideologies, Liberals, Political, So Called "Education".add a comment
One thing that really concerns me is political correctness. Political correctness is pure censorship: nothing more, and nothing less.
These students in this story here are being censored by the PC crowd. The students can’t post a site as a joke without someone getting their very delicate sensibilities injured. This is pathetic. While some of you might think that the site was tasteless, that’s not the point. If you don’t like a website, don’t go back. If you don’t want to see inappropriate images online, you avoid sites that contain those, and if you don’t want to hear about the “White Nation,” which is really a joke, then you can just avoid that website. But don’t be a sissy and censor someone’s work just because you think that it’s inappropriate.
We run into this every day: the Left promotes all kinds of things that are in poor taste, but they are not censored. Take a look at day-time or anytime TV. But if someone promotes something even as a joke that offends the Left, they rush out in force to get it taken off the air, or off the internet.
Double-standards are for weak, unprincipled people.
