tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19673924195806878242024-02-02T16:55:21.783-08:00Mighty WhigA website dedicated to American renewal. Here lies a refuge for all those who question dominant trends in liberal internationalist foreign policy (both right and left versions), neoliberal economic ideology, and libertarian social policy. Please comment! Sign up for email updates below.Mighty Whighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00361132481939173895noreply@blogger.comBlogger235125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1967392419580687824.post-2477448591935853022017-01-21T08:16:00.001-08:002017-01-21T08:16:21.607-08:00Anarchists Destroy Property at the InauguralNote the Hammer and Sickle banner in the beginning of the video. Anarchist flags too. <div>
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They break the windows of a McDonald's. Yeah, fight the power!</div>
Mighty Whighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00361132481939173895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1967392419580687824.post-11688179940743239182016-11-30T05:09:00.001-08:002016-11-30T05:09:29.805-08:00Fidel Castro is Still DeadiPuras tonterias! So much foolishness written about Fidel Castro after his death last week. In essence, he was a talented power artist, who, like most of that ilk, subordinated people and morality to their personal ambitions. <br />
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The amount of bytes spilled about Fidel stand in inverse proportion to his relevance today. He's been out of power since 2008, and irrelevant in world affairs since the Soviet "new thinking" of 1987. He got a brief revival with Chavez's rise to power in 1998 and might have helped Chavez come back to power in 2002.<br />
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Two Fidel stories that sum him up to me: Political pilgrims to Havana often brag about having an audience with Fidel, because he was the pope of the left. One Latin Americanist from DC had such a meeting--a seven hour dinner with the great man. He said it was the most boring experience of his life. Fidel just talked most of the time, and most of the discussion was inane. He added that he had very long fingernails.<br />
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Another story from a former diplomat who was standing with former Argentina President Carlos Menem at a Summit of the Americas meeting. Suddenly Fidel walked by in his fatigues, surrounded by his entourage. Menem, stopping in mid sentence, watched Fidel go by and observed, "What an asshole," and then resumed his conversation. <br />
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Here's a great piece by Bob Royal summing up Fidel: <a href="https://www.thecatholicthing.org/2016/11/30/semper-fidel-2/">Semper Fidel</a> Yes, I forgot about Fidel the cow breeder!<br />
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This site has some good links on Fidel, including some books by Humberto Fontova that are worth a look: https://huffduffer.com/mfluder/376620<br />
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<br />Mighty Whighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00361132481939173895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1967392419580687824.post-57796441677791258882016-11-24T06:09:00.001-08:002016-11-24T06:09:45.125-08:00Make Mexico GRANDE AgainMy piece in the National Interest this week: <a href="http://nationalinterest.org/feature/why-the-status-quo-mexico-isnt-working-18482">why-the-status-quo-mexico-isnt-working</a>Mighty Whighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00361132481939173895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1967392419580687824.post-55628538685409319752016-11-23T17:11:00.002-08:002016-11-23T17:11:29.436-08:00Why We Have An Electoral CollegeIt reflects the makeup of the Congress, for one thing. Changing it would radically change our constitution as never before. <a href="http://www.claremont.org/crb/article/as-the-college-goes-so-goes-the-constitution/">As the College Goes, So Goes the Constitution</a><br />
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Someone Tweeted after the election, what kind of a political system allows someone who loses the popular vote to win the election? He thought this was a rhetorical question. It happens in parliamentary systems with proportional representation. <br />
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Have you ever seen the Ryder Cup? It is a match play event, kind of like our presidential election. You win by winning the most holes. I have never heard a golfer say, I would have won my Ryder Cup match if it had been medal play. Right: It wasn't medal play, it was match play. You knew the rules going in. <br />
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The Democrats have in recent decades a decided advantage in the Electoral College before the election begins. But for some reason, the GOP never complains about that! <br />
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Electoral systems are never perfect. But the Electoral College saved us from Al Gore and Hillary Clinton. For that alone, it deserves some respect.Mighty Whighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00361132481939173895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1967392419580687824.post-29886839490767356702016-11-20T04:04:00.000-08:002016-11-20T06:28:18.624-08:00Objective Journalism in its Death ThroesKyle Smith exposes how journalists worked for the Democrats throughout the presidential campaign here: <a href="http://nypost.com/2016/11/20/keep-crying-wolf-about-trump-and-no-one-will-listen-to-a-real-crisis/">/keep-crying-wolf-about-trump-and-no-one-will-listen-to-a-real-crisis/</a> Note especially his points about how the New York Times went over the line in a front page column, urging journalists to drop the appearance of objectivity, and to become activists, by going after Trump. Lots of juicy examples in this piece. Check out especially the points about Dana Milbank in the Washington Post, who takes hypocrisy to dizzying heights.<br />
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Dropping objectivity is historically significant. Since the 19th century, the Times advanced and set the standard for so-called "objective journalism" to counter the partisan broadsheets of the day. Of course the paper was liberal for most of this period, but at least it tried to maintain the appearance of fair mindedness. Other papers copied its model and accepted its journalistic leadership. You can read about this in Larry Sabato's book "Feeding Frenzy" (I helped Sabato with an updated edition, many years ago!) <br />
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Goodbye to all that. Now all media outlets are Breitbart. <br />
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<a class="postid-10549905" href="http://nypost.com/2016/11/20/keep-crying-wolf-about-trump-and-no-one-will-listen-to-a-real-crisis/" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; text-decoration: none;"><br /><span style="background-color: white;">Keep crying wolf about Trump, and no one will listen when there’s a real crisis</span></a></h1>
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<span style="background-color: white;">By <a class="kyle-smith" href="http://nypost.com/author/kyle-smith/" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; color: #cc3333; display: inline-block; text-decoration: none;">Kyle Smith</a></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">November 20, 2016 <span class="separator" style="display: inline-block; padding: 0px 4px;">|</span> 3:31am</span></div>
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MORE FROM:</span></h3>
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<a href="http://nypost.com/author/kyle-smith/" style="background-color: white; text-decoration: none;">KYLE SMITH</a></h6>
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<a class="postid-10549893" href="http://nypost.com/2016/11/19/amy-adams-in-arrival-is-a-pro-life-heroine-for-the-ages/" style="background-color: white; text-decoration: none;">Amy Adams in 'Arrival' is a pro-life heroine for the ages</a></h5>
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<a class="postid-10544397" href="http://nypost.com/2016/11/17/manchester-by-the-sea-is-one-of-the-years-great-films/" style="background-color: white; text-decoration: none;">‘Manchester by the Sea’ is one of the year’s great films</a></h5>
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<a class="postid-10543208" href="http://nypost.com/2016/11/16/mesmerizing-tom-ford-thriller-nocturnal-animals-is-a-must-see/" style="background-color: white; text-decoration: none;">Mesmerizing Tom Ford thriller ‘Nocturnal Animals’ is a must-see</a></h5>
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<a class="postid-10543026" href="http://nypost.com/2016/11/16/warren-beatty-and-annette-bening-could-both-win-oscars-this-year/" style="background-color: white; text-decoration: none;">Warren Beatty and Annette Bening could both win Oscars this year</a></h5>
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<a class="postid-10540177" href="http://nypost.com/2016/11/15/j-k-rowlings-latest-is-really-about-gay-liberation/" style="background-color: white; text-decoration: none;">J.K. Rowling's latest is really about gay liberation</a></h5>
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<span style="background-color: white;">It’s contrary to the laws of nature for a tabloid writer to tell the gentry media not to go berserk. It’s like a cat telling his owner to stop coughing up hairballs or Iron Man asking Captain America to be less arrogant. Here at The Post, our mission statement does not include understatement. We provide journalistic Red Bull, not Sominex.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Nevertheless, a word of neighborly advice to our more genteel media friends, the ones who sit at the high table in their pristine white dinner jackets and ball gowns. You’ve been barfing all over yourselves for a week and a half, and it’s revolting to watch.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">For your own sake, and that of the republic for which you allegedly work, wipe off your chins and regain your composure. I didn’t vote for him either, <a href="http://nypost.com/2016/11/09/donald-trump-is-elected-president-in-historic-upset/" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; color: #cc3333; text-decoration: none;">but Trump won</a>. Pull yourselves together and deal with it, if you ever want to be taken seriously again.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">What kind of president will Trump be? It’s a tad too early to say, isn’t it? The media are supposed to tell us what happened, not speculate on the future. But its incessant scaremongering, the utter lack of proportionality and the shameless use of double standards are an embarrassment, one that is demeaning the value of the institution. The press’ frantic need to keep the outrage meter dialed up to 11 at all times creates the risk that a desensitized populace will simply shrug off any genuine White House scandals that may lie in the future (or may not).</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Hysteria is causing leading media organizations to mix up their news reporting with their editorializing like never before, but instead of mingling like chocolate and peanut butter the two are creating a taste that’s like brushing your teeth after drinking orange juice.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Look at the bonkers reaction to every move made by Trump’s transition team. “Firings and Discord Put Trump Team in a State of Disarray,” <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/16/us/politics/trump-transition.html" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; color: #cc3333; text-decoration: none;">ran a shrill New York Times headline</a>, though it took President-elect Obama three weeks to name his first Cabinet pick. “Trump Transition Shakeup Part of ‘Stalinesque Purge’ of Christie Loyalists,” <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/trump-transition-shake-part-stalinesque-purge-christie-loyalists-n684081" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; color: #cc3333; text-decoration: none;">screamed NBC News.</a></span></div>
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Hysteria is causing leading media organizations to mix up their news reporting with their editorializing like never before.</div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-transition-team_us_582b9516e4b0aa8910bd97a5" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; color: #cc3333; text-decoration: none;">The Huffington Post noted</a> “Donald Trump’s Transition Team, Or Lack Thereof, Is Causing Real Panic.” “ ‘Knife Fight’ as Trump Builds an Unconventional National Security Cabinet,” <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/14/politics/trump-shortlist-national-security-worldview/" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; color: #cc3333; text-decoration: none;">said CNN</a>. “Trump Transition: ‘Stalled . . . Scrambling . . . On Pause,’ ” <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/donald-trump-huddles-with-mike-pence-on-cabinet-decisions/" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; color: #cc3333; text-decoration: none;">said CBS News.</a></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">OK, so Trump was evidently surprised he won — possibly because he was too credulous toward The New York Times, which gave him a 15 percent chance of doing so. Still, he has a couple of months to assemble his team. If Trump rushed to make his picks more quickly than Obama did, The Times would be yowling that he’s careless and impetuous.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">After reports of discord and disarray dominated the news for a day, later stories suggested that disgruntled lobbyists who couldn’t get past the doorman at Trump Tower were leaking the information, meaning that, as Trump tried to drain the swamp in Washington, the media were taking the side of the swamp. (Note that reporters swooned when President Obama promised to bar lobbyists from his circle, then shrugged when Obama reneged.)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">After Trump gave the media the slip Tuesday night and went out for a steak, <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/aas-trump-leaves-press-behind-steak-dinner-incoming-admin-already-n684511" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; color: #cc3333; text-decoration: none;">NBC harrumphed</a>, “With his Tuesday night actions, the Trump administration is shaping up to be the least accessible to the public and the press in modern history.” Quite a leap there, especially considering the wall of opacity erected by the current administration, which has been stonewalling Freedom Of Information Act requests for years.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Once, hard-nosed city editors told cub reporters, “If your mother says she loves you, check it out.” Nowadays, all that really matters is whether your mother advances what longtime New York Times editor Michael Cieply, a 12-year veteran of that institution, called “the narrative” — the predetermined party line that Times reporters are expected to rigorously adhere to and find evidence for. It’s what social scientists call “confirmation bias,” and if the Times actually cared about being seen as impartial, it would have fired executive editor Dean Baquet in the wake of Cieply’s revelations on Nov. 10. It didn’t.</span></div>
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<figure class="wp-caption alignright" id="attachment_10549919" style="clear: both; display: inline-block; float: right; height: auto; margin: 13px 0px 18px 20px; max-width: 100%; position: relative;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a class="post-image" href="https://thenypost.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/gettyimages-623156232.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&strip=all" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; color: #cc3333; display: inline-block; position: relative; text-decoration: none;"></a></span><a class="modal-trigger" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; color: white; display: inline-block; font-family: fontello; font-size: 0px; line-height: 1em; position: absolute; right: 10px; speak: none; text-align: center; text-shadow: rgb(160, 160, 160) 1px 1px 1px; top: 25px; width: auto; z-index: 1;"><span style="background-color: white;">Modal Trigger</span></a><span style="background-color: white;"><img alt="" class="size-nypost-small-post wp-image-10549919" height="156" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 231px" src="https://thenypost.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/gettyimages-623156232.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=231&strip=all" srcset="https://thenypost.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/gettyimages-623156232.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=300 300w, https://thenypost.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/gettyimages-623156232.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=640 640w, https://thenypost.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/gettyimages-623156232.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1280 1280w, https://thenypost.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/gettyimages-623156232.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=231 231w, https://thenypost.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/gettyimages-623156232.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=462 462w" style="border-bottom: 4px solid rgb(204, 51, 51); border-image: initial; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: none; height: auto; max-width: 100%; min-width: 189px; padding-bottom: 3px; vertical-align: middle;" width="231" /></span><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="caption-side: bottom; display: table-caption; font-size: 0.875rem; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 3px; padding-top: 7px;"><span style="background-color: white;">Jason Miller, Trump’s adviser, speaks to reporters in Trump Tower.</span><span class="credit" style="clear: both; color: #bfbfbf; float: left; font-size: 0.75rem; line-height: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 9px; width: 231.2px;"><span style="background-color: white;">Photo: Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">The media are reaping what they’ve sown, and there’s no law that says President Trump has to hold press conferences. Trump’s behavior toward the media has been at times scary (such as when he publicly vilified NBC reporter Katy Tur in front of a restive crowd) and at times ridiculous (when he sends out <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/798861300453539840" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; color: #cc3333; text-decoration: none;">dumb-ass tweets</a> about the “failed New York Times,” which is actually profitable and has gained 41,000 subscribers since Election Day.)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">If anyone should be looking at the man in the mirror, it’s the media. The media’s approval rating hit an all-time low of 32 percent this cycle, according to a Gallup poll in September, meaning the fourth estate are even less loved than Trump, their favorite punching bag — who, by the way, has 51 percent of Americans feeling more confident, against 40 percent feeling less confident, about him than they did before the election. The past week of post-election media hysteria is apparently being heavily discounted by the public.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Instapundit blogger Glenn Reynolds’ characterization of reporters as “Democratic operatives with bylines” is taking root in the American mind. Among independents, according to Gallup in September, the media had an approval rating of 30 percent; among Republicans 14. Almost everyone but Democrats think the media are biased, and support for that view goes way back.</span></div>
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SEE ALSO</h2>
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<article class="story-photo-box oversize-headline" style="position: relative;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://nypost.com/2016/09/26/lester-holt-shows-he-doesnt-know-the-meaning-of-impartial/" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; color: black; position: relative; text-decoration: none;"><picture class="story-thumbnail" id="10549905"><source media="(min-width: 640px)" srcset="https://thenypost.files.wordpress.com/2016/09/160926-debate-start-4-feature.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=231&h=154&crop=1"></source><source media="(max-width: 639px)" srcset="https://thenypost.files.wordpress.com/2016/09/160926-debate-start-4-feature.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=94&h=62&crop=1"></source><img alt="Lester Holt shows he doesn't know the meaning of 'impartial'" srcset="https://thenypost.files.wordpress.com/2016/09/160926-debate-start-4-feature.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=94&h=62&crop=1" style="border: none; height: auto; max-width: 100%; min-width: 189px; padding-bottom: 0px; vertical-align: middle;" /></picture></a><a href="http://nypost.com/2016/09/26/lester-holt-shows-he-doesnt-know-the-meaning-of-impartial/" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; color: black; position: relative; text-decoration: none;"><div class="headline-wrapper">
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<a href="http://nypost.com/2016/09/26/lester-holt-shows-he-doesnt-know-the-meaning-of-impartial/" style="background-color: white; color: black; text-decoration: none;">Lester Holt shows he doesn't know the meaning of 'impartial'</a></h3>
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<span style="background-color: white;">In November 2008, Washington Post ombudsman Deborah Howell said readers who complained about shallow coverage and pro-Obama bias were “right on both counts,” publishing tallies that proved the paper had been far more critical of Obama’s opponent Sen. John McCain than of Obama. A few weeks later, “Game Change” co-author Mark Halperin said the media showed “extreme pro-Obama coverage” in a “disgusting failure.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">In 2012, The New York Times’ public editor Arthur Brisbane said the paper “basked a bit in the warm glow of Mr. Obama’s election in 2008” and cited a study that showed the Times’ coverage had been far more approving of Obama than it had been of President Reagan and both Presidents Bush.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">In January 2008, NBC’s Brian Williams was honest enough to point out that the network’s reporter covering Obama had said, “It’s hard to be objective covering this guy.” Williams immediately demanded the reporter be fired for admitting to being unable to do his job.</span></div>
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The media should wait for something to actually happen before it declares the end of the world.</div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Just kidding: Williams praised the reporter, calling him “courageous.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">In 2016, the media didn’t even pretend it wasn’t working in Hillary Clinton’s interests. The blue whale of information, The New York Times, virtually signaled to the journalistic universe that it was time to abandon all pretense of objectivity in a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/08/business/balance-fairness-and-a-proudly-provocative-presidential-candidate.html" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; color: #cc3333; text-decoration: none;">now-notorious front-page column</a> on Aug. 8 that advised journalists “you have to throw out the textbook American journalism has been using for the better part of the past half-century” and “move closer than you’ve ever been to being oppositional.” If that result “may not always seem fair to Mr. Trump or his supporters,” tough tiddly-winks, Times columnist Jim Rutenberg concluded.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">In October, Baquet said Rutenberg’s column “nailed it” and all but boasted of his paper’s hostility to Trump, in the process making a gobsmacking claim that the lesson he learned from the media’s heavily slanted coverage of the 2004 campaign was that they had been unfair to John Kerry.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">In fact the media were so obviously cheering for Kerry that Newsweek assistant managing editor Evan Thomas said the coverage was probably worth a 5-point boost in the polls for the Democrat’s campaign.</span></div>
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<figure class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_10549917" style="clear: both; display: inline-block; float: left; height: auto; margin: 13px 20px 18px 0px; max-width: 100%; position: relative;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a class="post-image" href="https://thenypost.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/donna-brazile1.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&strip=all" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; color: #cc3333; display: inline-block; position: relative; text-decoration: none;"></a></span><a class="modal-trigger" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; color: white; display: inline-block; font-family: fontello; font-size: 0px; line-height: 1em; position: absolute; right: 10px; speak: none; text-align: center; text-shadow: rgb(160, 160, 160) 1px 1px 1px; top: 25px; width: auto; z-index: 1;"><span style="background-color: white;">Modal Trigger</span></a><span style="background-color: white;"><img alt="" class="size-nypost-small-post wp-image-10549917" height="154" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 231px" src="https://thenypost.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/donna-brazile1.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=231&strip=all" srcset="https://thenypost.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/donna-brazile1.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=300 300w, https://thenypost.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/donna-brazile1.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=640 640w, https://thenypost.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/donna-brazile1.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1280 1280w, https://thenypost.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/donna-brazile1.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=231 231w, https://thenypost.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/donna-brazile1.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=462 462w" style="border-bottom: 4px solid rgb(204, 51, 51); border-image: initial; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: none; height: auto; max-width: 100%; min-width: 189px; padding-bottom: 3px; vertical-align: middle;" width="231" /></span><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="caption-side: bottom; display: table-caption; font-size: 0.875rem; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 3px; padding-top: 7px;"><span style="background-color: white;">Donna Brazile</span><span class="credit" style="clear: both; color: #bfbfbf; float: left; font-size: 0.75rem; line-height: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 9px; width: 231.2px;"><span style="background-color: white;">Photo: Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">This fall WikiLeaks confirmed everything conservatives have been saying about the media for more than 20 years. CNN, you have been busted. You allowed Democratic Party operative Donna Brazile to <a href="http://nypost.com/2016/10/31/cnn-drops-brazile-for-feeding-debate-questions-to-clinton/" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; color: #cc3333; text-decoration: none;">get hold of town-hall questions in advance</a>and help Hillary Clinton prep with them.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Note that this is not a Donna Brazile scandal. Brazile did what every party hack is paid to do: She tried to help her side win. This is all on you, CNN. You should have fired yourselves, not Brazile.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">John Harwood, New York Times/CNBC reporter and Republican debate moderator, you have been busted. You asked John Podesta, Clinton’s campaign chair, for questions you could pose to Jeb Bush in an interview.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Dana Milbank, Washington Post columnist and longtime phony “nonpartisan” political reporter, you have been busted. You reached out to DNC flack Eric Walker and asked for help putting together a “Passover-themed 10 plagues of Trump” story.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Not only are you evidently an undercover Democratic Party operative who should be drawing checks from the DNC instead of from The WaPo, you’re a tired hack who can’t even come up with his own column ideas without assistance.</span></div>
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MORE ON:</span></h3>
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<a href="http://nypost.com/tag/media-bias/" style="background-color: white; color: #cc3333; text-decoration: none;">MEDIA BIAS</a></h6>
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<a class="postid-10544689" href="http://nypost.com/2016/11/17/this-list-of-topcis-is-the-quickest-way-to-anger-your-liberal-friends/" style="background-color: white; color: #2a2a2a; text-decoration: none;">This list of topics is the quickest way to anger your liberal friends</a></h5>
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<a class="postid-10519190" href="http://nypost.com/2016/11/07/medias-unprecedented-bias-the-next-trump-and-other-notable-commentary/" style="background-color: white; color: #2a2a2a; text-decoration: none;">Media's unprecedented bias, the next Trump, and other notable commentary</a></h5>
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<a class="postid-10481074" href="http://nypost.com/2016/10/21/the-real-reason-reporters-dont-give-to-pols-it-would-give-away-their-agenda/" style="background-color: white; color: #2a2a2a; text-decoration: none;">The real reason reporters don't give to pols: It would give away their agenda</a></h5>
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<a class="postid-10476087" href="http://nypost.com/2016/10/19/americans-think-the-media-is-biased-against-trump-poll/" style="background-color: white; color: #2a2a2a; text-decoration: none;">Americans think the media is biased against Trump: poll</a></h5>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Should the media be antagonistic to Trump? Yes, they should be antagonistic to all public officials. Their job is to expose bad judgment and wrongdoing, not to fawn and mewl.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">That the media chose to be blasé about Obama overriding the Constitution and making law via fiat was reprehensible. It doesn’t mean the media are under any obligation whatsoever to show deference to Trump should he do the same.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">For the good of us all, though, and in the interest of rebuilding the wreckage of its reputation, the media should go back to having gradations of outrage. Switching transition chairmen isn’t the Saturday Night Massacre, and going out for a steak without telling the hacks isn’t on a par with, say, deleting 33,000 e-mails.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">The Trump Era hasn’t even started yet. The media should wait for something to actually happen before it declares the end of the world.</span></div>
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Mighty Whighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00361132481939173895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1967392419580687824.post-44080925864614457182016-11-19T12:36:00.001-08:002016-11-19T12:36:51.975-08:00Steve Bannon, Trump's "Cromwell"<div class="article__header" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: RobotoTHR, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 1em 0px 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
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Steve Bannon</div>
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"I'm not a white nationalist, I'm a nationalist. I'm an economic nationalist," Bannon tells THR media columnist Michael Wolff as the controversial Breitbart News chief turned White House advisor unleashes on Hillary Clinton, Fox News and his critics.</h2>
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In late summer when I went up to see Steve Bannon, then recently named CEO of the Donald Trump presidential campaign, in his office at Trump Tower in New York, he outlined a preposterous-sounding scenario. Trump, he said, would do surprisingly well among women, Hispanics and African-Americans, in addition to working men, and hence take Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Michigan — and therefore the election. On Nov. 15, when I went back to Trump Tower, Bannon, promoted by the president-elect to chief strategist for the incoming administration, and by the media as the official symbol of all things hateful and virulent about the coming Trump presidency, said, as matter-of-factly as when he first sketched it out for me, "I told you so."</div>
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The liberal firewall against Trump was, most of all, the belief that the Republican contender was too disorganized, outlandish, outré and lacking in nuance to run a proper political campaign. That view was only confirmed when Bannon, editor of the outlandish and outré Breitbart News Network, took over the campaign in August. Now Bannon is arguably the most powerful person on the new White House team, embodying more than anyone the liberals' awful existential pain and fury: How did someone so wrong — not just wrong, but inappropriate, unfit and "loathsome," according to <em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The New York Times</em> — get it so spot-on right?</div>
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In these dark days for Democrats, Bannon has become the blackest hole.</div>
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"Darkness is good," says Bannon, who amid the suits surrounding him at Trump Tower, looks like a graduate student in his T-shirt, open button-down and tatty blue blazer — albeit a 62-year-old graduate student. "Dick Cheney. Darth Vader. Satan. That's power. It only helps us when they" — I believe by "they" he means liberals and the media, already promoting calls for his ouster — "get it wrong. When they're blind to who we are and what we're doing."</div>
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On that precise point, <em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The New York Times</em>, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/16/us/politics/trump-transition.html" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #e21f26; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">in a widely circulated article</a>, will describe this day at Trump Tower as a scene of "disarray" for the transition team. In fact, it's all hands on: Mike Pence, the vice president-elect and transition chief, and Reince Priebus, the new chief of staff, shuttling between full conference rooms; Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and by many accounts his closest advisor, conferring in the halls; Sen. Jeff Sessions in and out of meetings on the transition team floor; Rudy Giuliani upstairs with Trump (overheard: "Is the boss meeting-meeting with Rudy or just shooting the shit?"), and Bannon with a long line of men and women outside his corner office. If this is disarray, it's a peculiarly focused and organized kind.</div>
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<a class="readmore" href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/megyn-kelly-gets-candid-dangerous-roger-ailes-her-trump-saga-offer-why-she-wont-call-a-femi" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #e21f26; display: table-row; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Megyn Kelly Gets Candid: &quot;Dangerous&quot; Roger Ailes, Her Trump Saga, That Offer and Why She Won&#039;t Call Herself a Feminist"><figure class="readmore__media readmore__media--landscape" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: table-cell; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle; width: 156px;"><img alt="“I never asked to be outed,” says Kelly, photographed Oct. 27 at Highline Stages in New York City, of her allegations of Roger Ailes’ sexual harassment. “I really want corporate America to be put on notice that this is a problem.” " class="readmore__image readmore__image--landscape" src="http://cdn2.thr.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/320x180/2016/11/thr_megyn_kelly_splash_kelly.jpg" style="border-bottom: none; border-image: initial; border-left: 4px solid rgb(226, 31, 38); border-right: none; border-top: none; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: auto; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px 0px 0px 24px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 156px;" /></figure><div class="readmore__text" style="border: none; box-sizing: border-box; display: table-cell; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle;">
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Megyn Kelly Gets Candid: "Dangerous" Roger Ailes, Her Trump Saga, That Offer and Why She Won't Call Herself a Feminist</h2>
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It's the Bannon theme, the myopia of the media — that it tells only the story that confirms its own view, that in the end it was incapable of seeing an alternative outcome and of making a true risk assessment of the political variables — reaffirming the Hillary Clinton camp's own political myopia. This defines the parallel realities in which liberals, in their view of themselves, represent a morally superior character and Bannon — immortalized on Twitter as a white nationalist, racist, anti-Semite thug — the ultimate depravity of Trumpism.</div>
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The focus on Bannon, if not necessarily the description, is right. He's the man with the idea. If Trumpism is to represent something intellectually and historically coherent, it's Bannon's job to make it so. In this, he could not be a less reassuring or more confusing figure for liberals — fiercely intelligent and yet reflexively drawn to the inverse of every liberal assumption and shibboleth. A working class kid, he enlists in the navy after high school, gets a degree from Virginia Tech, then Georgetown, then Harvard Business School. Then it's Goldman Sachs, then he's a dealmaker and entrepreneur in Hollywood — where, in an unlikely and very lucky deal match-up, he gets a lucrative piece of <em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Seinfeld</em> royalties, ensuring his own small fortune — then into the otherworld of the vast right-wing conspiracy and conservative media. (He partners with David Bossie, a congressional investigator of President Clinton, who later spearheaded the Citizens United lawsuit that effectively removed the cap on campaign spending, and who now, as the deputy campaign manager, is in the office next to Bannon's.) And then to the Breitbart News Network, which with digital acumen and a mind-meld with the anger and the passion of the new alt-right (a liberal designation Bannon derides) he pushes to the inner circle of conservative media from Breitbart's base on the Westside of liberal Los Angeles.</div>
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What he seems to have carried from a boyhood in a blue-collar, union and Democratic family in Norfolk, Va., and through his tour of the American establishment, is an unreconstructed sense of class awareness, or bitterness — or betrayal. The Democratic Party betrayed its working-man roots, just as Hillary Clinton betrayed the longtime Clinton connection — Bill Clinton's connection — to the working man. "The Clinton strength," he says, "was to play to people without a college education. High school people. That's how you win elections." And, likewise, the Republican party would come to betray its working-man constituency forged under Reagan. In sum, the working man was betrayed by the establishment, or what he dismisses as the "donor class."</div>
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<a class="readmore" href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/jeffrey-katzenberg-pens-open-letter-hollywood-trump-victory-947414" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #e21f26; display: table-row; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Jeffrey Katzenberg Pens Open Letter to Hollywood After Trump Victory "><figure class="readmore__media readmore__media--landscape" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: table-cell; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle; width: 156px;"><img alt="After a hard-fought campaign, Clinton conceded to Trump on Nov. 9 in New York as husband Bill Clinton looked on. " class="readmore__image readmore__image--landscape" src="http://cdn2.thr.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/320x180/2016/11/gettyimages-622115686-h_2016_0.jpg" style="border-bottom: none; border-image: initial; border-left: 4px solid rgb(226, 31, 38); border-right: none; border-top: none; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: auto; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px 0px 0px 24px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 156px;" /></figure><div class="readmore__text" style="border: none; box-sizing: border-box; display: table-cell; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle;">
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Jeffrey Katzenberg Pens Open Letter to Hollywood After Trump Victory</h2>
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To say that he sees this donor class — which in his telling is also "ascendant America," e.g. the elites, as well as "the metrosexual bubble" that encompasses cosmopolitan sensibilities to be found as far and wide as Shanghai, London's Chelsea, Hollywood and the Upper West Side — as a world apart, is an understatement. In his view, there's hardly a connection between this world and its opposite — fly-over America, left-behind America, downwardly mobile America — hardly a common language. This is partly why he regards the liberal characterization of himself as socially vile, as the politically incorrect devil incarnate, as laughable — and why he is stoutly unapologetic. They — liberals and media — don't understand what he is saying, or why, or to whom. Breitbart, with its casual provocations — lists of its varied incitements (among them: the conservative writer David Horowitz referred to conservative pundit Brill Kristol as a "renegade Jew," and the site delighting in headlines the likes of "Trannies 49Xs Higher HIV Rate" and "Birth Control Makes Women Unattractive and Crazy") were in hot exchange after the election among appalled Democrats — is as opaque to the liberal-donor-globalist class as Lena Dunham might be to the out-of-work workingman class. And this, in the Bannon view, is all part of the profound misunderstanding that led liberals to believe that Donald Trump's mouth would doom him, instead of elect him.</div>
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Bannon, arguably, is one of the people most at the battle line of the great American divide — and one of the people to have most clearly seen it.</div>
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He absolutely — mockingly — rejects the idea that this is a racial line. "I'm not a white nationalist, I'm a nationalist. I'm an economic nationalist," he tells me. "The globalists gutted the American working class and created a middle class in Asia. The issue now is about Americans looking to not get f—ed over. If we deliver" — by "we" he means the Trump White House — "we'll get 60 percent of the white vote, and 40 percent of the black and Hispanic vote and we'll govern for 50 years. That's what the Democrats missed. They were talking to these people with companies with a $9 billion market cap employing nine people. It's not reality. They lost sight of what the world is about."</div>
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In a nascent administration that seems, at best, random in its beliefs, Bannon can seem to be not just a focused voice, but almost a messianic one:</div>
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"Like [Andrew] Jackson's populism, we're going to build an entirely new political movement," he says. "It's everything related to jobs. The conservatives are going to go crazy. I'm the guy pushing a trillion-dollar infrastructure plan. With negative interest rates throughout the world, it's the greatest opportunity to rebuild everything. Ship yards, iron works, get them all jacked up. We're just going to throw it up against the wall and see if it sticks. It will be as exciting as the 1930s, greater than the Reagan revolution — conservatives, plus populists, in an economic nationalist movement."</div>
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<a class="readmore" href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/bastard-machine/critics-notebook-order-survive-cable-news-should-go-full-anti-trump-948665" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #e21f26; display: table-row; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Critic&#039;s Notebook: In Order to Survive, Cable News Should Go Full Anti-Trump"><figure class="readmore__media readmore__media--landscape" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: table-cell; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle; width: 156px;"><img alt="" class="readmore__image readmore__image--landscape" src="http://cdn4.thr.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/320x180/2016/11/brit_bret_mk_chris_1.jpg-h_2016.jpg" style="border-bottom: none; border-image: initial; border-left: 4px solid rgb(226, 31, 38); border-right: none; border-top: none; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: auto; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px 0px 0px 24px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 156px;" /></figure><div class="readmore__text" style="border: none; box-sizing: border-box; display: table-cell; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle;">
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Critic's Notebook: In Order to Survive, Cable News Should Go Full Anti-Trump</h2>
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Bannon represents, he not unreasonably believes, the fall of the establishment. The self-satisfied, in-bred and homogenous views of the establishment are both what he is against and what has provided the opening for the Trump revolution. "The media bubble is the ultimate symbol of what's wrong with this country," he continues. "It's just a circle of people talking to themselves who have no f—ing idea what's going on. If <em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The New York Times</em> didn't exist, CNN and MSNBC would be a test pattern. <em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Huffington Post</em> and everything else is predicated on <em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The New York Times</em>. It's a closed circle of information from which Hillary Clinton got all her information — and her confidence. That was our opening."</div>
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At that moment, as we talk, there's a knock on the door of Bannon's office, a temporary, impersonal, middle-level executive space with a hodgepodge of chairs for constant impromptu meetings. Sen. Ted Cruz, once the Republican firebrand, now quite a small and unassuming figure, has been waiting patiently for a chat and Bannon excuses himself for a short while. It is clear when we return to our conversation that it is not just the liberal establishment that Bannon feels he has triumphed over, but the conservative one too — not least of all Fox News and its owners, the Murdochs. "They got it more wrong than anybody," he says. "Rupert is a globalist and never understood Trump. To him, Trump is a radical. Now they'll go centrist and build the network around Megyn Kelly." Bannon recounts, with no small irony, that when Breitbart attacked Kelly after her challenges to Trump in the initial Republican debate, Fox News chief Roger Ailes — whom Bannon describes as an important mentor, and who Kelly's accusations of sexual harassment would help topple in July — called to defend her. Bannon says he warned Ailes that Kelly would be out to get him too.</div>
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It is less than obvious how Bannon, now the official strategic brains of the Trump operation, syncs with his boss, famously not too strategic. When Bannon took over the campaign from Paul Manafort, there were many in the Trump circle who had resigned themselves to the inevitability of the candidate listening to no one. But here too was a Bannon insight: When the campaign seemed most in free fall or disarray, it was perhaps most on target. While Clinton was largely absent from the campaign trail and concentrating on courting her donors, Trump — even after the leak of the grab-them-by-the-pussy audio — was speaking to ever-growing crowds of 35,000 or 40,000. "He gets it; he gets it intuitively," says Bannon, perhaps still surprised he has found such an ideal vessel. "You have probably the greatest orator since William Jennings Bryan, coupled with an economic populist message and two political parties that are so owned by the donors that they don't speak to their audience. But he speaks in a non-political vernacular, he communicates with these people in a very visceral way. Nobody in the Democratic party listened to his speeches, so they had no idea he was delivering such a compelling and powerful economic message. He shows up 3.5 hours late in Michigan at 1 in the morning and has 35,000 people waiting in the cold. When they got [Clinton] off the donor circuit she went to Temple University and they drew 300 or 400 kids."</div>
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Indeed, during the worst days of the campaign, even down to the last day when most in Trumpland thought only a miracle would save them, "I knew that she couldn't close. They out-spent us 10 to one, had 10 times more people and had all the media with them, but I kept saying it doesn't matter, they got it all wrong, we've got this locked."</div>
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Bannon now becomes part of a two-headed White House political structure, with Reince Priebus — in and out of Bannon's office as we talk — as chief of staff, in charge of making the trains run on time, reporting to the president, and Bannon as chief strategist, in charge of vision, goals, narrative and plan of attack, reporting to the president too. Add to this the ambitions and whims of the president himself, and the novel circumstance of one who has never held elective office, the agenda of his highly influential family and the end-runs of a party significant parts of which were opposed to him, and you have quite a complex court that Bannon will have to finesse to realize his reign of the working man and a trillion dollars in new spending.</div>
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"I am," he says, with relish, "Thomas Cromwell in the court of the Tudors." </div>
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Mighty Whighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00361132481939173895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1967392419580687824.post-11881140860720825542016-11-09T18:34:00.001-08:002016-11-09T18:34:28.548-08:00On the March....<img alt="b1px01pcmaaztl6-jpg-large" src="http://i2.wp.com/www.powerlineblog.com/ed-assets/2016/11/B1px01pCMAAZTL6.jpg-large.jpeg?resize=580%2C454" />Mighty Whighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00361132481939173895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1967392419580687824.post-3013963946588740792016-11-06T01:13:00.001-08:002016-11-06T01:13:07.498-08:00Somali-Americans Convicted of Joining ISISSaw this piece from June about the ISIS trials in Minnesota. Worth sharing. The feds got nine convictions in this trial. We have done a good job at intercepting ISIS wannabes from heading over to Syria. <a href="http://www.city-journal.org/html/isis-twin-cities-14593.html">ISIS in the Twin Cities</a><br />
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Disturbing how poorly we are doing assimilating these immigrants. It has been 25 years since they started here as refugees. Now the next generation wants to wage jihad against the west? This is not a good look. Maybe we should be rethinking temporary refugee status for Somalia? When does it end? <a href="https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/temporary-protected-status/temporary-protected-status-designated-country-somalia">TRS for Somalia facts</a>Mighty Whighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00361132481939173895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1967392419580687824.post-58830215505861303632016-11-04T19:07:00.001-07:002016-11-04T19:07:49.555-07:00UVA Vindicated in Libel TrialA federal jury convicted Rolling Stone of libeling the assistant dean in the infamous Jackie rape case. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/jury-finds-reporter-rolling-stone-responsible-for-defaming-u-va-dean-with-gang-rape-story/2016/11/04/aaf407fa-a1e8-11e6-a44d-cc2898cfab06_story.html">Jury Finds Rolling Stone Guilty</a> <div>
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Good for the jury. After a while, Rolling Stone questioned the veracity of its own story, but then didn't take it off its website for months. The journalist responsible is finished. Unfortunately, the publisher Jann Wenner won't be "gawkered" by this, but it will surely hurt. </div>
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The fraternity's suit against Rolling Stone was thrown out in June. </div>
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UVA's president Teresa Sullivan should have been fired over her terrible leadership during this smear campaign. She let the university's reputation be sullied without putting up a fight. All you had to do was to read the first few pages of the article to know it was a hatchet job. </div>
Mighty Whighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00361132481939173895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1967392419580687824.post-67884609530581076742016-10-24T07:39:00.001-07:002016-10-24T07:50:15.070-07:00Russian Fleet Sails Again!Some headlines recently blurted out the alarm that the Russian fleet was invading the English Channel. Here's a good post from Peter Hitchens' weekly column, telling us all to calm down.<br />
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Look at the black smoke coming from the aircraft carrier Admiral Kutnetsov. That just doesn't look right.<br />
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US ships shadowed them in the area, in case there was need of a tow. <br />
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In fact, a breakdown tug is accompanying the squadron! <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/10/21/russian-carrier-plagued-by-technical-problems/">russian-carrier-plagued-by-technical-problems/</a><br />
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This is the great Russian military we are supposed to be so afraid of.<br />
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;"><span class=""><span class="mol-style-bold" style="font-weight: 700;"><span class="mol-style-large" style="font-size: 1.4em;">Don't panic! They're just sad old wrecks</span> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">How we love to frighten ourselves about those wicked Russians.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">There was a sort of frenzy on Friday as portions of Moscow’s museum-piece fleet slogged past the White Cliffs of Dover, as if the Spanish Armada were at our gates.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Actually the Channel is an international waterway, and we don’t own it. Russia (whose Gross Domestic Product is smaller than Italy’s) is quite entitled to send her ships through it. And Russia is in no fit state to invade anything much larger than Rutland.</span></div>
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There was a sort of frenzy on Friday as portions of Moscow’s museum-piece fleet slogged past the White Cliffs of Dover, as if the Spanish Armada were at our gates (pictured)</div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">The Russian ships are handsome, but doddery. The ancient Soviet-era carrier, Admiral Kuznetsov, started life in a Ukrainian shipyard and was then named after the decrepit Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">She left a shocking trail of black smoke as if she was burning coal.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Her main escort, the outwardly majestic Peter The Great (originally named after the KGB chief Yuri Andropov), recently spent two years rusting gently, tied up at Severomorsk. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">No wonder, given that most of her class are unusable thanks to wonky nuclear reactors. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">The really sad thing is that, having madly scrapped our own carriers and sold off the Harriers that flew from them, not to mention axeing a huge number of destroyers and frigates, we have reduced our own naval power to a pathetic level. Is it perhaps envy that makes us so fretful? </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">If Russia is now better at projecting power in the Middle East than we are, it is because we are weak by choice, not because Moscow is strong.</span></div>
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Russian warships sail down English Channel en route to Syria</div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10px;"><br /><br />Read more: <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-3863466/PETER-HITCHENS-child-refugees-fleeing-France-bad-coffee.html#ixzz4O0tUzXYT" style="color: #003399; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-3863466/PETER-HITCHENS-child-refugees-fleeing-France-bad-coffee.html#ixzz4O0tUzXYT</a><br />Follow us: <a href="http://ec.tynt.com/b/rw?id=bBOTTqvd0r3Pooab7jrHcU&u=MailOnline" style="color: #003580; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">@MailOnline on Twitter</a> | <a href="http://ec.tynt.com/b/rf?id=bBOTTqvd0r3Pooab7jrHcU&u=DailyMail" style="color: #003580; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">DailyMail on Facebook</a></span>Mighty Whighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00361132481939173895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1967392419580687824.post-37205951286201263972016-09-27T15:10:00.000-07:002016-09-27T15:10:00.280-07:00The Great DebateToo painful to watch the whole thing...I gave up trying when Trump was explaining how Sean Hannity could vouch for him about his opposition the Iraq war, or something. What a dumpster fire! Certainly Trump deserves blame for not offering much substance, but what's Hillary's excuse? She HAS been at this for 30 years, and that pap was all she could come up with? <br />
<br />
Here's a few interesting takes on the debate, worth reading and which, somewhat, match my impressions. Who knows how the public will judge it in the end. Obviously content will not factor into it. <a href="http://takimag.com/article/im_not_crazy_you_are_joe_bob_brigs#axzz4LU8xS8jm">I'm not crazy, you are</a> and <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/2016/09/27/donald-trump-won-the-reality-tv-debate-but-it-might-cost-him-the/">trump reality TV</a>Mighty Whighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00361132481939173895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1967392419580687824.post-36504542024722747412016-09-19T11:07:00.000-07:002016-09-19T11:07:13.337-07:00NJ Terrorist Caught!Has anything good ever come out of the Elmore section of Elizabeth? Here's the article: <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/live/new-york-explosion/a-family-business-that-aggravated-neighbors/">new-york-explosion/a-family-business-that-aggravated-neighbors/</a><br />
<br />
You can't make up the name of his family business: <br />
<br />
<img alt="Image for the news result" height="298" src="data:image/jpeg;base64,/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQAAAQABAAD/2wCEAAkGBwgHBgkIBwgKCgkLDRYPDQwMDRsUFRAWIB0iIiAdHx8kKDQsJCYxJx8fLT0tMTU3Ojo6Iys/RD84QzQ5OjcBCgoKDQwNGg8PGjclHyU3Nzc3Nzc3Nzc3Nzc3Nzc3Nzc3Nzc3Nzc3Nzc3Nzc3Nzc3Nzc3Nzc3Nzc3Nzc3Nzc3N//AABEIAGQAhgMBIgACEQEDEQH/xAAcAAACAgMBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAEBQMGAAIHAQj/xABBEAACAQMDAQUEBgcFCQAAAAABAgMABBEFEiExBhMiQVFhcYGRFBUyobHRI0JScoLB8AczYpLhFiQlU2OEosLS/8QAGgEAAwEBAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQIDAAQGBf/EACkRAAICAQMCBAcBAAAAAAAAAAABAhEDITFBBBITIlHwFDJCYXGBoTP/2gAMAwEAAhEDEQA/AOdXt/cXkokuJnkdV2gsc8f0ajWeQdHIoY8HFbIV3DecJnxEDJA92Rn5ivS9P5cUV9jjnrJhwvpsYdhIPSRQ3416LmNv722iP7o2n7qKudP02CeVBq6qsbbWBiLnIPkRgfl0yaJbTrWFhEthqdzKV8JwsaH28ZOfYceVaTxy3V/oGq2Foa0J5SZc+YYH+VSBIMHbc8eQaPH50Ne21zYkx3cLROU3BW64/oV2Z9B0RtMjmutLtG2W4ZmEQUnC5PIxXH1EOnhVx39CkJT9TksVsVbKtHKPLx4P31Ki3EDb4ElXzDISaucfZ/s9fW0M0ml6lpvfyIkX6bO/eCQRktxgc5FAW/ZXSbxJW0vXZojCu9/pEPRf2v1eOOo4rleDp3y1/SiyTrgrsWovDLK08O55QA5xgvjpkU70jVbfvzGriGNm3RFvE0T+p9Qf1vUknzNb/wCyt+0KSafrWn3cMmSm+QgNjrgYbNDT9l9chJEmlQTrnrEyjHyIP3Uj6WH0zX70N4vqi22U63zNJEAsndIDGSG2nLHbn0PUGm8V/ewoWiZHXGcEEYx5VzeH610x2P1ffwD1jD4PvyCDTm37bQCVlurN03LhgrDk+uPX/T0qU+gyvWOv4Y6zR5OvaZatMba7cAeENnz5HTPXzp1XP9G/tM0FbKGC4NzE8aBctHkH5Gn1j227O3a+HVIEPGe8ynPxpPh8kN4s3fF8hsHh7UXo/wCZZQEfB5fzFNqok/bbSIu0/eAXLwC3MDTRwl0LbgQRjy6+3kcVcbO9hv7JbuybvI3BKEqVz8D0pWmtw2FVlIL3tTYWFwLa6cJKFJdmIRFOcY3Hgk8nA9DWUKCfLR5JNSQSPDKkse3cjBl3DIyDkcVF51uK9OlSo4ix6fHPrs5S3gt7bxM7ynBZ+mck+8fP0o6403Wr2eUAXcG5zkBsISPMZIOOPbx7OKU6N2gk01HRYIiHULuCDK9fLjPWjL3tTPdwNE2JAwKlDEFUj28knHsx764Miz+J5VoN5e3VuxLqNlLYzPBMyF8HO1s+yu1a6k79mbmC1R3nktu6RUUk5YbenxriJLzSlnbc7Hk19CKANo9BU+ubj2X72Gx8lV1G0XSPoUcMt1LFbd/dlpnL7dkRUAE9BlulLbGzVLK5j1m5CR2lnHYqsUfKJLsIkbk55AHkPC1Pu0WpXFreWdpa31pZmZZHaS6XK+HaAOo5yahOqXR1KaG5tbSXTzdJYsSDvZigJJByCu5iMVzRlJxv3uM6AI4rXU4tNjuLa2kaTUJVmZBlJNiNuZfY21eKn7Yaqlo9tbi6Fsyg3LeLG8JjCfxH8DUtlf8AeyWUdjo8ZCRl17qRUECM7ICBjzCk8VJZ3dhqN7cLJYzRveI0ayygFZ0QspCnPGMk4wOueaD+a2tjcUCT6ncw3mq93M2H2x2qnkI3hBIH8YJ91DRarLNDJ9LmtZXisklNvLAC0jGEOTnoBkjjFFXlvo1nd28E91Os8feeIjcEMoC5cgYHTjOKkNgsYv7dNTjWG4YQtE8XKyCJB1z+wmcU1xrYGotkj0wpJ9L0uykkjLiRrUYDYVWG3HmdwHXrUUuiaUlrczXmn3NnJAoYpFNv3A9Np6E54xTZ9MiZVtoLm2RDHM0AXAOHKsrY88YPwxXskGrX6ok5toFEyt+j/SY2gnJzjOWxx5Yo+Jrow16iJ+zmnLM8cF/dxuFRuQGBDnC+nnQOrHU+zd1HDa6rclZI9wZWKY56dasK6dexpDuiLPHNFESMeKNSMt/4qaU/2gp4rGQejr+Bq2PI3NRbsVxpWWDQrDUNQ0y3vbm2s74zICkjyAOo8w2RnqPWsoLsV2gtbfREtbmbbJC7KFwfsk5H4msrgywiptFo+I1ojk6IzuqqMsxwB7aPuNH1C1V2mtsJGHLOHUgBftHg+0e/yzQLHuHAclWGCCB8RzRJ1S6lhaFr+VomG1kaQkMM55HnzX2n1EH8skQ7H6Hs+n3ltnv7aVABkkrwPf6VEBg7Tww4weDTBdf1Hfv+m5bJOdq9T18qkl1y8uI2jneKSN9oKsvBCkEDg9OOfZWWb7oHaB24HfxhjgbxknyGa7xFqFjK36K8tn/dlU/zri9xrct3HKtxb2jvIoDS93h8jzz60Ppk1vbX8U9xAs8aEkxkA7uCB19pB+FRz41nSbdUMn2nY5bBLrWWup1gmt1txFGpwxDF8scYx5LSy10We31P6wltElnkNy5IYZjYsTGRk9Sp2n04qijU9G4H1YUwxO5VXd7v5ffW1xrFmIXWye9gkCkIRM4xyMdGx0zXOsE1ovf9DaLjp+lTW2oWYu9Nu37m1gSKaJxsRlUswbDc+I46GpNEW6m+qYJLK5txYoZJ5J02ZkKFdq55PLE59gqoW+vSpaLjWdQW47ls5mkI7zPh9RgCjk7Qzi9fGuzm37sbWKKTuz7U9OffRlhm/bApIsk93b6fd6lBfW8sxu5A0UaxbvpClAuweXUHgnzoC6E6yzXHfp3H0i6ZYdgyGSJlzuzz06UuftPex3sUUOqRSQufFJJEnh5PmMDoKMHaK7wA15pk2SV2mHqOck+Ppjn4nrilWKceA2mG2sOmxvONQZEu454hGx/vANqCPZ54PI49tAwxNNZ3G5DJM1yixRB9gMTSluvluO4E/wCGtbztFNHPbTy2enXE27ZHIAVZfaDk/wBEetb3uphbLfdaPavCg2BUnYHAI/w8cnPWioy3aNoFkywXjRAyRxyT20axmTd3ZUxErnzyHOfXFBf2gw/8Nt5P2ZsfMH8qnGs2wjhZ9JwBIky4uM7WCHB5Hkq0P2lvJdX0t7WLT50k3o4ZmQgcn2++tCMlki6Nwxf2CtkkhvjCkX0lXQl367GB4+aisqtWZuN7fRmcHAzscr+FZXL1b7czR1YcU5wTSCltoptJuLgviaG0fIB+yykAfdg/GkENteXJijRpHkdchchsj41Z7KLb2V1qd2RiO7RWU/tHBpOltdsIFt8qWRdoU+Jjk4x865m6Rt2aQaJqrnCWkjkEDH0eJse+jp+y+vRxs8uinagLM3dDgDr9hqvHYW8tbRWglnnlvZFBO1GZUU44J656ZzT6zuruXW75Z96WKKvcb1ADEjnzyehqfiSTClZxz6ovVZlOmkleTxJ0wD+0fUV59XyYO/TZh+47D8VNdSgmtbnR7q3eWGGCObFu8/HcqcHHwzgY8sUpnsWPeyQa1pThQCoTncT5A7vd86R9RWg8cdlOstGR7Ka4aC/Dxvs2iYE+XRSmPOoO5gcARNdK+4qRJHE3TrjBFX3TbXu4b4G/t+Zz/vJU7MBUzxn4dapupxvYXFzdoY5YEuZI1ION+SR09MGq481ypsWUKVg66dM32JZW/wC0H8pKilj7jIlnZcHBzAw5+DHFE6brsgmQWsLhYVJK7hyvHGaOve2ReGSFbLuZcgBy24rx7q6FkldX/TSjCtBCZwM7Jo2A65Dj/wBaNuYTayBbmRVZkDKAG5B/hpddzG6t552JZ2kGdwx5Vae0tjJcX1gIoxt+hIXcjhRk8k/Gg8+SP1Mn2RfAhMsIzmTHrwf/AJrO/iHRyP4D+VWWOAi3t4DENqMWWZgFJ48gAfWvINNWedo0iV1QkyAplv8AKOuf6xS/G5NlJjvp6VyVFbXUEAG27AAPH2uDXs+oTxBVSeVsplfEwGDz69Kf9s4rZ9Fhkit4opEkRl7sg+AgjHHQ9OKV31srx2821vBp28bT1KyBMfLPyqq6rLvZPw4+gJp2r3WnytJbExuy7SQoPHxrKHy+wSC3kKHoRj869oSlKb7mxo5OxUkWSbavYO7ZAQJr2Nce4ZoJdStoJjAbGSQlFQgyBVXgH0Jo3VP0PYmxj3AmW/ZvfgEVJ2YhtBra3erqEswCW3oxDHaMcAc/hUJNJamSbZDo+qpY6kLmLTImRAT4iCV9xx14q3ydp7t7ie2h0tZGTap2yZ+0uTxjy5qvazc6ZcapN9DQpZcJFsXlgFyeDz1Hn7agW8+rJ7i8F3unlDszJGOWxkfeai/NwOtKMlv53gubeBWhV5F3FyCOQRjH8B59orbRrG7vLm2s4u7a4uY5H5J+0u/AJzgDwDnFLILiO7hdX3ju9r7geWJzx99OL7THS1spYZnhY2ylSFJ3EnJxg+376NpLU1NyqI40zs/evbXenF0ju1uGUoWBiztQ+a89PSuddqEa21a7soS7wQzuvsOHYDOPdXQ7dIDo89rLdywsNsrzXIXIc43DjAIBGPjXP7uz3alcE3DCMSFFIH28MeR+NUWjEWuwlRZ1YmKIqOnTOa9VJizM6tuOOAOlGTIY9qsSxwM7T7POpbaGFWDtKw3qT4fLB6cinswRY6dLfdndXnSNnNmY5GwcYzxk+tXTVrcjs5a6jPKhjEMSr1BbKk4IB58uapNndNb6ZqlursRKyDw55xnH9GrNrkuzRdGimY7JLQKy7MkeCMj3YzQabByKjqNy0DZVVwuBgZ6fH2CmtnJfC2uITsXvGWVyUB8OG59cZHz99JVtArxMNzoy43Lk+Xs9vl1oq7v7iKABIYX8GxUCsCQOjHJGPtN5Dr7KTtXCKT7mtWF9t2K2EZVN0U0KP3wHBcPggn1wAfjQ7dz9QafNMrl2S4gDBseJiWXPsyelD6ncLdaTKjxhHjjG3YSRgEseorW3LTdnYQAzbb1SBjqe6GadLy6iXqb2+sXNrpsdshiJikYYAGQDz5+VZSuzjF5FKyzpGqSAHcwySR/pXlUWRxVCPGm7LFragaH2ctQwJaSRzk9Mt5/OkGomUzSiK47zMhyIh9nngenSjr/TZ7e+0tJHVzcwrMgVcFV8gfWiP9mO+GZO/J6nDqP5VGeSEPmZRXVEPZzAuS02GKISAznOTgen86YavbWotJmVIxhQAy+WSPWt7Ds2LNy8SMGYYO56YPor3MJjlAKtjPiI6c1F9Viu7NTK5pgsgqRalJcNCrAnuGBOPcfSrrBf6BqO0RT6pa28aAJuRFQYGPtHOTxXPNXgl029ltpCjbAvK58xmi+zHezSyrt3ooHDcgda7JwxSgpxYkZSTplvh+qFjkW+luLq2WSXu1UBdwLZGWx1yoqoLALmWSVJGjjEz7I+GCjceM45/wBKsb26fU4vM4/SlcKzAdW6rnB9+M1WbN/93Y/9VvxqfazJo8OnICp79ywOQcCoNzQ3Ub207k7WJMbAEZxW11cbf1qU28iLeuRxwfxpqCTifYL3cSS+3knzznNWfWbg3GmaPJKFRTbgqzyqC2UQdM8dBVOZgfpW49cY9+atWszd52N7Pnu2G1NhcjhjtHA/y1qA3sAhwAFTj91uKkVQ2ckdaWxhliHdrwR5VPYCRFAw3yNZIIwljzZXaDzt3x79poXT72aLRGijjOxZUmEyg+Bs7evTkCmECs6Ou1uVIORjrQOgh5Oy+rqDwscUgz6KX/MU1aATPbyRbjS4Yn1C3IQriLqVwGHTHHT41lObyzsr63tZbaZVlWJUcmMKGA6HHOD6ivak5wW7LPHmbuMbJtfAPafR1xwmnJj5GnUQAAxWVlfP6/5kLDYMi+zRaouzOKysr5bHOX9riZO0t2jHChlAx+6K0ikksIgtvIwBOTk1lZXpcX+UfwiPLHN9cPH2GtH+0ZZN7bieu56oV07bzycdcZNZWVVbi8AxA64FbJ1r2srBDbF2VbnaesQB4/xCrrqSY/s90FgxBVyAfZhxWVlAzKst7clNvfHHuFTWs0jLlmJOfM1lZRpAkNrKRgwwfI1D2b50jW4/1RZt09jivayiKtiTTdevdPiUQFCNu3Drkf1+dZWVlInSO7dan//Z" width="400" />Mighty Whighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00361132481939173895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1967392419580687824.post-35321475662263008712016-09-11T10:00:00.000-07:002016-09-11T10:00:20.593-07:009/11 After Fifteen Years: We are SaferDon't forget: a tribute: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARrLUOkXLW4">Lest we forget</a><br />
<br />
It is worth remembering that, as bad as the 9/11 attack was, it was an anomalous event no terrorist group today could hope to duplicate. Al Qaeda still exists but as a shadow of what it was. ISIS, which has picked up its fallen baton, only inspires to deadly but inconsequential attacks against soft targets. <br />
<br />
The authors of the 9/11 report are simply wrong when they say terrorism has gotten worse. See their column in USA Today: <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2016/09/09/terrorism-world-trade-pentagon-twin-towers-911-commission-kean-hamilton-column/89978558/">911-commission-kean-hamilton-column/89978558/</a> Most terrorist events worldwide take place in a handful of war-torn countries. Terrorism as a threat has not significantly increased in Western countries. But the serious threat remains: the French just captured three women who are pledged to ISIS and connected with the Paris attackers.<br />
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The "terrorist mastermind" is largely a mythological being. As John Mueller details in "Chasing Ghosts," terrorists that have hit targets in the US are mainly disturbed and incompetent individuals. Cold comfort, perhaps, but at least it suggests the damage they do will be limited. Only in the broadest sense can recent attacks be attributed to international Islamic jihad. And the FBI has never uncovered a "sleeper cell" in the US.<br />
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Even if in some sense we are beating the terrorists, we still must keep working the problem so we can never have a true terrorist conspiracy commit evil against Americans. Mighty Whighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00361132481939173895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1967392419580687824.post-12120200190445101542016-08-05T04:26:00.001-07:002016-08-05T04:26:27.083-07:00Are Drugs Behind "the Summer of Terror"?The more I look at the terrorism problem, the more convinced I am that we are misdefining the problem. We are focused on Islamic terrorism, but other examples of mass killing are just as bad. Look at this case in Japanese nursing home recently. Is there a common link?<br />
<br />
Peter Hitchens believes a consistent thread in many of the recent cases has been drug use by the perpetrators. He puts together an impressive list of the types of the drugs, legal and illegal, that many of the attackers have had a history of taking. The Orlando killer was a steroid user. The San Bernardino killers were on Xanax and Adderral. Mental illness medication has been tied to the murderers of the priest in Normandy and to the mall shooter in Munich. See <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-3716454/PETER-HITCHENS-25-murders-massacres-one-common-link-DRUGS.html">one-common-link-DRUGS</a><br />
<br />
He asks: shouldn't we be looking at this issue of drug abuse more closely? Yes we should. That doesn't mean that militant Islam isn't a motivation for many, but its significance in this global phenomenon might be overstated. Mighty Whighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00361132481939173895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1967392419580687824.post-34921089857624184872016-07-22T04:33:00.001-07:002016-07-22T04:33:47.486-07:00Trump's Speech--A Political Sea ChangeHere's my quick take on Trump's GOP nomination speech last night:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>No soaring rhetoric; just the usual declarative hammer blows. Trump knows his voice and stuck with it. Spoke for 75 minutes but wasn't boring. Tone was, combative, defiant--"this means war!"</li>
<li>He will be the attack dog in this campaign. His VP running mate will be there to provide quiet sanity.</li>
<li>He buried the cultural wars as a campaign theme. This election is about security and economics. </li>
<li>He also buried the idea of small government, which has been on life support for 15 years or more. Lots of big government programs that could have come from Bernie Sanders's playbook--day care (Ivanka's theme), student loan relief, etc. Will the feds under Trump be more involved in community police work??</li>
<li>Also a strong plug for school choice, which Bush advocated and then quickly abandoned. </li>
<li>Many Republicans must have been choking when he slammed big business "special interests." Definitely the "Middle-American Radicalism" was coming through. In fact, Trump was aiming way beyond Republicans all night. </li>
<li>Probably the most comprehensive case for immigration controls I've ever heard from a major candidate. And he wants to stop immigration from countries that have terrorist issues. (And don't think we haven't done that before.)</li>
<li>He has totally reversed himself on Iran. During the debates he vowed to "enforce the deal." Now this is the worst deal in history and Iran is on track to get the Bomb. (It is not.)</li>
<li>He blamed Hillary for everything that has gone wrong in the Middle East over the past five years. Unfair! But will it stick? She does have to answer for our reckless Libya policy. </li>
<li>We are going to defeat ISIS quickly. How? Stay tuned. </li>
</ul>
In the end, Trump got it done: demonstrated he could make a strong speech that delivered his message clearly and powerfully. But was it "presidential?" Not what we are used to seeing. His sheer energy and star power will make him very tough for Hillary to beat him.Mighty Whighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00361132481939173895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1967392419580687824.post-20067837098205469142016-07-19T10:12:00.002-07:002016-07-19T10:12:39.081-07:00Do We Need All These Military Bases?Here's my book review of "Base Nation" in TAC. Good book topic; poor execution. Question for you: How long do we stay in Turkey now? <a href="http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/close-all-the-military-bases/">Close all the military bases?" </a>Mighty Whighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00361132481939173895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1967392419580687824.post-24254804446656502662016-07-15T07:59:00.003-07:002016-07-15T07:59:51.199-07:00Why We Need an Armed PopulaceThe story of how the murderous James Gang got their comeuppance by the people of a small Minnesota town. We don't have to be sheep at the hands of killers. <a href="http://www.chroniclesmagazine.org/2016/August/40/8/magazine/article/10835629/">Fighting against the James Gang</a>Mighty Whighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00361132481939173895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1967392419580687824.post-55874742094582278742016-07-08T13:56:00.000-07:002016-07-08T14:02:53.157-07:00Police Lives Matter<h2>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></h2>
<h2>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">Think it's easy to be a cop? According to national statistics gathered by the FBI, from 2009-2012 a total of <i>58,207 </i>police officers sustained injuries from assaults and another 224 police officers were <i>murdered</i> in the line of duty. Check out this report from a criminologist at the University of Toledo: <a href="http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:DqQNfjf4zKAJ:www.forcescience.org/forcepresentation.ppt+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=safari">Deaths from the Police Use of Force</a></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Here's some more stats from the FBI's Uniform Crime Report: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Of the 1,491 persons that died from police use of force from 2009-2012:</span><br />
<br />
<ul type="DISC">
<li><span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i>915 (61.4%) were white males</i></span></li>
</ul>
<ul type="DISC">
<li><span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">481 (32.2%) were black males</span></li>
</ul>
<ul type="DISC">
<li><span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">48 (3.2%) were males of other races</span></li>
</ul>
<ul type="DISC">
<li><span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">28 (1.9%) were white females</span></li>
</ul>
<ul type="DISC">
<li><span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">15 (1.1%) were black females</span></li>
</ul>
<ul type="DISC">
<li><span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">4 (0.2%) were females of other races</span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Did "Black Lives Matter" set an ambush for the police in Dallas? That has to be a working hypothesis at this point. </span></div>
</h2>
Mighty Whighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00361132481939173895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1967392419580687824.post-15506491233167812492016-07-02T04:40:00.001-07:002016-07-02T04:40:08.816-07:00Snowden is a Russian Agent, the Kremlin AdmitsA high ranking FBS official admits Snowden shared secrets with Russian intelligence. In other words, the Russians now admit what we have always expected. No one defects to Russia without collaborating with Russian intelligence. This guy did a lot of damage to our capabilities, but some people still consider him a whistle blower. Read the post here: <a href="https://20committee.com/2016/07/02/the-kremlin-admits-snowden-is-a-russian-agent/">/the-kremlin-admits-snowden-is-a-russian-agent</a><br />
<br />Mighty Whighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00361132481939173895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1967392419580687824.post-19553916912600718862016-06-23T03:21:00.000-07:002016-06-23T03:21:12.837-07:00Will Britain Vote Leave Today?All the "Brexit" supporters argue that Britain will regain its sovereignty by leaving the EU, and will improve its economy by making trade deals on its own. Britain should be able to prosper much like Norway and Switzerland have. <br />
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For their part, the "Bremain" proponents predict doom and gloom if Britain leaves. Certainly they never say Britain should endure more EU control, or go all out and adopt the Euro! This seems very telling. Their whole argument seems to be: Britain, you can't survive in the big, scary world out there without the EU!<br />
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Besides, Bremain has been far more dishonest. Cameron argued there is "no going back." Of course there is. Britain could reapply. Also, this will not undermine European defense in any way. Brexit doesn't mean leaving NATO. But I've heard that too. <br />
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If I were a Brit, voting "leave" would be a no-brainer. If only just to oppose who supports Bremain!<br />
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<br />Mighty Whighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00361132481939173895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1967392419580687824.post-82010366920561436142016-06-15T03:46:00.001-07:002016-06-15T03:46:24.923-07:00ISIS as the Producer, not the Director, of TerrorismInteresting article by Robert Pape on how ISIS inspires lone wolves like Mateen. Worth reading: <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2016/06/13/orlando-shooting-shows-how-isis-calls-shots/MmOsqLlQ4dvZXOGRpA9WkO/story.html">orlando-shooting-shows-how-isis-calls-shots/MmOsqLlQ4dvZXOGRpA9WkO/story.html</a><br />
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ISIS doesn't actually pick the lone wolf: he (or she) works on his own initiative. The lone wolf probably gets some ideas from ISIS. Some ideas: pick a soft target, acquire legal weapons. Does anyone need ISIS to tell them this?<br />
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If ISIS didn't exist, would any of this be happening? Yes, of course. This is still a rare event and the biggest shootings in the US prior to this had nothing to do with ISIS. (See Va Tech, Sandy Hook, etc.)<br />
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In Houston a few weeks ago a disturbed man shot up a gas station and a neighborhood. He was heavily armed and we are lucky the casualty count was low. He seemed paranoid about a number of things. No ISIS connection, but does it matter?<br />
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I doubt ISIS makes much head way with young men who are rational and non-suicidal. And Mateen's narcissism and self-loathing may have had more to do with this than ISIS, which just provided some "higher" justification. But, like everyone else, I'm <i>speculating</i>. <br />
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<br />Mighty Whighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00361132481939173895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1967392419580687824.post-82756859303702314442016-06-13T12:55:00.000-07:002016-06-13T12:55:08.308-07:00Orlando Proves Our "Freedoms" Kinda ClashOmar Mateen, an Afghan-American born in NYC, killed 49 at a "popular" gay nightclub (I love that modifier in the media) in Orlando until he was killed by police commandos. <br />
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Was he a "homegrown" terrrorist? Apparently the FBI talked to him, twice. Or so they say. Never enough to bring him him. No internet profile must have tipped them.<br />
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Was he nuts? Ex-wife and co-workers said he was crazy. Now you tell us! Lady, how about reporting his beating you to the police? Might have helped. <br />
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Affiliated with ISIS? Well, he pledged allegiance to ISIS on 911 and he went on a haj twice to Saudi Arabia. Yup, this was an ISIS attack alright!<br />
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Did he hate gays? FBI chief James Comey said they also are looking into "homophobia" as a possible motive. Your tax dollars at work.<br />
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Was he gay? (Oh, don't go there. But lots of questions unanswered, like, how did he get in with a AR-15? Wouldn't that be somewhat conspicuous? Did he kill the bouncers? Did the club have any security at all?)<br />
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Hearing a lot of "explanations" for this mass murder. And that it is an attack on our "freedoms." (See below.) Okay. But we have all these competing freedoms! We want to be free to have open borders, and gay nightclubs, and guns-guns-guns, and radical mosques, and crazy people on the loose and off their meds. We shouldn't be too surprised if, sometimes, these very different freedoms start rubbing into one another in a nonconstructive sort of way. <br />
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<br />Mighty Whighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00361132481939173895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1967392419580687824.post-74977215904654095562016-06-06T04:25:00.001-07:002016-06-06T07:02:45.487-07:00Muhammad Ali: Not a Leader, but a WarriorWhen I think of Muhammad Ali, I think of a great fighter who fought the best of his era, and won most of the time. Unusual for a heavyweight of his caliber, he lacked a knockout punch, but he had great quickness, endurance, defensive ability, and resilience. No one took a punch better than Ali. <br />
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He was the best heavyweight boxer in an era with tremendous competition. We have not seen the same level of competition since. <br />
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Ali was a big heavyweight for his time. At 6' 3" and usually around 220 lbs, he often loomed over his competition. Consider that in the 1950s, heavyweight champs were usually in the 200 lb range. By the 1960s, it was getting harder to compete at that size.<br />
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Certainly he was one of the most charismatic athletes ever, and his fights were truly "main events." The lead-up to Ali's first fight against Joe Frazier dominated the cover of Time magazine.<br />
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Here's a great column by Mushnick that debunks some of the popular Ali myths: <a href="http://nypost.com/2016/06/05/debunking-the-myths-that-have-glorified-muhammad-ali/">debunking-the-myths-that-have-glorified-muhammad-ali</a><br />
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A lot of Ali's appeal with liberals was his civil disobedience against the draft, which cost him three prime career years. The great paradox is that he did this for the sake of <i>black separatism</i>, and of course the great liberal issue of the time (as it should have been) was black <i>integration</i>. Liberals apparently can't decide which they like better.<br />
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If Ali had had better handlers, the draft never would have been an issue for his career, as there were plenty of ways to get a deferment. But he had joined the Nation of Islam, a racist cult, and its leadership urged this political statement. Ali's mentor was Elijah Muhammad, who most experts believe ordered the assassination of Malcolm X. Ali joined this <i>after </i>white America passed the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act.<br />
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A big point is being made in the obits on how Ali taunted Ernie Terrell because Terrell still called him "Cassius Clay," his so-called "slave name." But if you know anything about the era, many of his opponents wouldn't call him Muhammad Ali for a long time, including Joe Frazier. Probably because they thought his conversion was just a pose. <br />
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Ali was a terrible sportsman, which was unusual for boxing at the time. He not only mocked Terrell, but Floyd Paterson, and Joe Frazier (whom he called an Uncle Tom) and George Foreman, whom he likened to the "Belgians" before he fought him in Zaire. How he turned fighting other black men into a racial thing still is perplexing, but this highlights his masterful self-promotion. <br />
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A few of Ali's fights were suspicious. I still suspect he threw the first fight against Leon Spinks, a guy who shouldn't have been in the same ring with him, just so he could come back and beat him and be a third-time champion. Many observers at the time thought Jimmy Young beat Ali, but Ali got the decision. <br />
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I'm not sure exactly what Ali "transcended," as some of the overwrought writers are claiming. They seem to equate self-promotion with profundity. Not sure what <i>cause </i>he was fighting for. Other fighters mocked the idea he was fighting for black people. Like the rest of them, he was a <i>warrior</i>, fighting for himself.<br />
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<img alt="One Punch: How Ken Norton Became a Boxing Legend in a Single Night" src="http://img.bleacherreport.net/img/images/photos/002/507/770/NortonAli_crop_north_crop_north.jpg?w=630&h=420&q=75" /><br />
In 1973 the little-regarded Ken Norton beat Ali and broke his jaw. Mighty Whighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00361132481939173895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1967392419580687824.post-50251719559147225062016-06-01T13:39:00.002-07:002016-06-01T13:39:41.379-07:00No Medical Marijuana for Stressed Vets!Here's a great piece from the Weekly Standard by a doc who used to work in the office of the drug czar at the WH. <a href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/should-congress-give-marijuana-to-our-veterans-suffering-from-ptsd/article/2002610?custom_click=rss">Pot for Stressed Vets</a> Apparently a bill is circulating through Congress to allow the Veterans Administration to start prescribing pot for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder.<br />
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This hits home, literally, because last Sunday an Afghanistan veteran, supposedly suffering from PTSD, shot up a suburban neighborhood, killing one, wounding several, and destroying several cars and a gas station. He was clearly nuts. But PTSD? We don't know how he was discharged yet; maybe a medical. Wanna bet he was no stranger to the demon weed? Mighty Whighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00361132481939173895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1967392419580687824.post-56243963016829858752016-05-25T06:41:00.000-07:002016-05-25T06:41:09.356-07:00Mexican Champion of Democracy Passes AwayLuis H. Alvarez, R.I.P. I interviewed him years ago when preparing my dissertation (which became the book "An Eternal Struggle." A son of Texas, too; he grew up in El Paso, he told me.<br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="B5"><b>5. Luis Álvarez, Leading Figure in Mexico’s National Action
Party, Dies at 96<u5:p></u5:p></b></a><o:p></o:p></div>
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By
PAULINA VILLEGAS<u5:p></u5:p><o:p></o:p></div>
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NYT,
MAY 24, 2016 <u5:p></u5:p><o:p></o:p></div>
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MEXICO
CITY — Luis H. Álvarez, a leading figure in the conservative National Action
Party in <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/mexico/index.html?inline=nyt-geo&version=meter+at+null&module=meter-Links&pgtype=article&contentId=&mediaId=&referrer=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedly.com%2Fi%2Fsubscription%2Ffeed%2Fhttp%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.nytimes.com%2Fnyt%2Frss%2FAmericas&priority=true&action=click&contentCollection=meter-links-click" title="More news and information about Mexico."><span style="color: black; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Mexico</span></a> who dedicated his
life to the fight for democracy there, died on May 18 at his home in León,
Mexico. He was 96.<u5:p></u5:p><o:p></o:p></div>
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The
cause was complications of pneumonia, his nephew Fernando Álvarez said.<u5:p></u5:p><o:p></o:p></div>
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Mr.
Álvarez, who was originally a textile executive, was steadfast in his efforts
to end the long rule of Mexico’s Institutional Revolutionary Party, known as
the PRI.<u5:p></u5:p><o:p></o:p></div>
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In
1958, he ran unsuccessfully for president against that party’s candidate,
Adolfo López Mateos, in what seemed like a quixotic campaign.<u5:p></u5:p><o:p></o:p></div>
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Almost
three decades later, with the ruling party still immovable, he rallied
opposition in Chihuahua, his home state, to protest voting fraud, undertaking a
long hunger strike that helped focus international attention on the Mexican opposition’s
struggle for democracy.<u5:p></u5:p><o:p></o:p></div>
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But it
was not until 2000, when the National Action Party, or PAN, won the presidency,
that the PRI’s 71-year rule ended.<u5:p></u5:p><o:p></o:p></div>
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In a
statement after Mr. Álvarez’s death, the National Action Party’s leader,
Ricardo Anaya, called him “one of the greatest figures in our recent history.”<u5:p></u5:p><o:p></o:p></div>
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At the
pinnacle of the PRI’s grip on power, Mr. Álvarez ran for governor of Chihuahua
in 1956 and lost. He had not been an active party member before that, but was
widely known for his community involvement and civil rights work.<u5:p></u5:p><o:p></o:p></div>
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Two
years later, while running for president, Mr. Álvarez was arrested and briefly
jailed — because, he said, he was told that being an opposition presidential
candidate was illegal.<u5:p></u5:p><o:p></o:p></div>
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Mr.
Álvarez denounced the ruling party’s tactics — which included personal threats
during political rallies and raids on polling stations — and a political
structure that he said made it impossible to hold fair elections.<u5:p></u5:p><o:p></o:p></div>
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In
1956, he led a “caravan for democracy” from Chihuahua, in the north of Mexico,
to Mexico City to deliver to the attorney general’s office evidence of
electoral fraud in state elections.<u5:p></u5:p><o:p></o:p></div>
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Mr.
Álvarez was mayor of Chihuahua, the state capital, when he went on a hunger
strike in 1986 to call attention to accusations of vote-rigging in local
elections.<u5:p></u5:p><o:p></o:p></div>
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Lasting
41 days, the hunger strike brought him prominence in the party’s ranks and on
the national political scene. He lost 15 pounds and was hospitalized afterward.<u5:p></u5:p><o:p></o:p></div>
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The
next year, at 67, he was named party leader, a position he held through 1993.
During his tenure, the National Action Party won its first state elections,
first in Baja California and then in Chihuahua.<u5:p></u5:p><o:p></o:p></div>
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Mr.
Álvarez was criticized for negotiating with President Carlos Salinas de
Gortari, whose election in 1988 was tainted by allegations of fraud but who
adopted many of the market-oriented reforms that the National Action Party had
long promoted.<u5:p></u5:p><o:p></o:p></div>
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His
willingness to compromise helped to pave the way for the party’s acceptance as
a legitimate political force, and for its eventual success in claiming the
presidency.<u5:p></u5:p><o:p></o:p></div>
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“He
showed us all what to do and how to be, in order to make this country a better
place,” Cecilia Romero, a congresswoman who worked closely with Mr. Álvarez
when he was head of the party, said in an interview.<u5:p></u5:p><o:p></o:p></div>
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Friends
and family recalled Mr. Álvarez as a jovial yet feisty character, prone to long
political discussions over dinner.<u5:p></u5:p><o:p></o:p></div>
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Luis
Héctor Álvarez was born on Oct. 25, 1919, in Chihuahua and earned a degree in
business administration from the University of Texas, Austin.<u5:p></u5:p><o:p></o:p></div>
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He
worked in agriculture for a few years before entering the textile business. He
was also a member of a civil rights association in Ciudad Juárez.<u5:p></u5:p><o:p></o:p></div>
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Mr.
Álvarez’s wife, Blanca Magrassi, also a prominent party member, died last year.
He is survived by a son, Luis Jorge; a daughter, Blanca Estela; five
grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.<u5:p></u5:p><o:p></o:p></div>
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In
2000, the National Action Party candidate, <a href="http://partners.nytimes.com/library/world/americas/070300mexico-election.html?version=meter+at+null&module=meter-Links&pgtype=article&contentId=&mediaId=&referrer=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedly.com%2Fi%2Fsubscription%2Ffeed%2Fhttp%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.nytimes.com%2Fnyt%2Frss%2FAmericas&priority=true&action=click&contentCollection=meter-links-click"><span style="color: black; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Vicente Fox, was
elected president</span></a>, removing the PRI from power and signaling the end
of a regime that had influenced nearly all aspects of Mexican life in the 20th
century.<u5:p></u5:p><o:p></o:p></div>
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Soon
after taking office, Mr. Fox named Mr. Álvarez peace negotiator for talks with
the leftist rebels of the Zapatista revolutionary movement in the southern
state of Chiapas.<u5:p></u5:p><o:p></o:p></div>
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Mr.
Álvarez was later a senator for his home state. He was appointed commissioner
for indigenous affairs by President Felipe Calderón in 2006.<u5:p></u5:p><o:p></o:p></div>
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His
nephew Fernando remembered the moment Mr. Álvarez got the call announcing the
results of the 2000 presidential election: “His small eyes went wide open as he
grabbed my arm and asked, ‘Is this really possible?’ ”<u5:p></u5:p><o:p></o:p></div>
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His uncle,
Fernando recalled, then said: “I have accomplished my mission. I can now die in
peace.”<u5:p></u5:p><o:p></o:p></div>
Mighty Whighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00361132481939173895noreply@blogger.com0