Author: Papa Giorgio

AP Political Writer Shows His Colors… As If We Didn’t Already Know

Published by Papa Giorgio

Here is a great example of some media bias from the AP with an example from Charles Babington, one their of their political writers. Liberal Whoppers and NewsBusters talk about this obvious position on politics that permeates the “mainstream media.”  Here is NewsBusters analysis of the incident at hand:

With the loss of party-switching Sen. Arlen Specter Tuesday night, AP political writer Charles Babington was assigned the obligatory story “Obama endorsements don’t seem to help Democrats.” It’s a fairly routine analysis until Babington had an Andrea Mitchell moment when he called Scott Brown’s Senate win “excruciating.” (In 1990, Mitchell told NBC viewers after a Jesse Helms victory that “This has been a really heartbreaking race.”)

In previous months, Obama’s endorsements and campaign appearances weren’t enough to save then-Gov. Jon Corzine’s re-election bid in New Jersey, Creigh Deeds’ run for governor in Virginia or Martha Coakley’s campaign in Massachusetts to keep the late Edward M. Kennedy’s Senate seat in Democratic hands.

In fairness, Deeds was an underdog from the start, and Corzine brought many problems on himself. But the Coakley loss to Republican Scott Brown was excruciating. She once was considered a shoo-in, and her defeat restored the Republicans’ ability to block Democratic bills with Senate filibusters.

If Babington had said it was “excruciating for Democrats,” it would have been unremarkable. Instead it sounded like “it was excruciating for me.”

…(read more)…

Just a reminder of the thinking we are up against.

Beer Summit Is Official

Published by Papa Giorgio

I have a few thoughts on this story from Politico that was the headline at Drudge. One, I think the resolution was passed because  the pressure was getting to be too much for the good folks in Washington and they are looking to get a discount on their increasing bar tab. And/or, if you can think to most governments that were large, or, largely in control of most aspects of society… drinking was very prominent in those types or forms of government — state backed in fact. I’m just sayin’. Don’t misunderstand my thoughts about this now. If I were a junior senator or representative in D.C., This would have been my first lone bill I would try and get passed. I am just surprised it took so long!

While most of Washington was focused on Tuesday’s election results, the House was busy doing something else: Passing a resolution about beer.

House Resolution 1297, sponsored by Rep. Betsy Markey, supports “the goals and ideals of American Craft Beer Week.”

“We’ve got quite a number of microbreweries and entrepreneurs that are creating jobs, and we wanted to celebrate that this is a craft,” Markey told POLITICO.

“I think beer has been a tradition since this country was founded,” said Markey. “We wanted to celebrate entrepeneurship — and good beer!”

Markey is obviously partial to brews from her home state of Colorado, but she won’t claim a favorite.

“You can’t just have one,” said Markey. “It really depends on what mood you’re in. Sometimes, I like a light beer — I might want a Skinny Dip — or otherwise prefer a heavier brew.”

The real question is: Why would anyone vote against this?

“It does seem like a no brainer,” said Markey.

BREAKING: Leading Democrat Lied About Military Service!

Published by Papa Giorgio

HOTAIR REPORTS:

Not just any Democratic Senate candidate, either. It’s Richard Blumenthal, current attorney general of Connecticut, whom Chris Dodd made way for by retiring earlier this year. He’s been leading all Republican challengers by upwards of 20 points in the polls and was considered a mortal lock to win the seat in November. Until now.

Follow the link for the full background of his military history. The five deferments aren’t the problem. This is the problem:

“We have learned something important since the days that I served in Vietnam,” Mr. Blumenthal said to the group gathered in Norwalk in March 2008. “And you exemplify it. Whatever we think about the war, whatever we call it — Afghanistan or Iraq — we owe our military men and women unconditional support.”…

In 2003, he addressed a rally in Bridgeport, where about 100 military families gathered to express support for American troops overseas. “When we returned, we saw nothing like this,” Mr. Blumenthal said. “Let us do better by this generation of men and women.”…

The New Haven Register on July 20, 2006, described him as “a veteran of the Vietnam War,” and on April 6, 2007, said that the attorney general had “served in the Marines in Vietnam.” On May 26, 2009, The Connecticut Post, a Bridgeport newspaper that is the state’s third-largest daily, described Mr. Blumenthal as “a Vietnam veteran.” And The Shelton Weekly reported on May 23, 2008, that Mr. Blumenthal “was met with applause when he spoke about his experience as a Marine sergeant in Vietnam.”…

It does not appear that Mr. Blumenthal ever sought to correct those mistakes…

Mr. Blumenthal has made veterans’ issues a centerpiece of his public life and his Senate campaign, but even those who have worked closely with him have gotten the misimpression that he served in Vietnam. In an interview, Jean Risley, the chairwoman of the Connecticut Vietnam Veterans Memorial Inc., recalled listening to an emotional Mr. Blumenthal offering remarks at the dedication of the memorial. She remembered him describing the indignities that he and other veterans faced when they returned from Vietnam.

With this story and Obama’s Supreme Court pick, Elena Kagan, who helped to impose strong restrictions on military recruiters when she was at Harvard, the 2010 election is looking better than ever. Here is Blumenttal agains:

(NEWSBUSTERS) “We have learned something important since the days that I served in Vietnam,” Mr. Blumenthal said to the group gathered in Norwalk in March 2008. “And you exemplify it. Whatever we think about the war, whatever we call it — Afghanistan or Iraq — we owe our military men and women unconditional support.”

There was one problem: Mr. Blumenthal, a Democrat now running for the United States Senate, never served in Vietnam. He obtained at least five military deferments from 1965 to 1970 and took repeated steps that enabled him to avoid going to war, according to records.

Newsbusters goes on to say — after it points out he had 5-deferments like the press loved to point out Dick Cheney had — that “[t]his clearly shows that the press in Connecticut (and the New York papers, including the Times until now) do not exactly look like deep diggers when it comes to rising Democratic stars.”

Joe Scarborough Laughs At McCain’s Obvious Flip-Flop

Published by Papa Giorgio

Crooks and Liars points out McCain’s voting record (New video file from HUFF-POP)

More from Media Matters on McCain’s flip-flopping on this issue. New Pro-Fence Ad From McCain Leaves Out His Anti-Fence Voting Record:

In a new pro-border fence ad, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) converses with Arizona Sheriff Paul Babeu about border security measures. McCain conveniently leaves out his anti-border security funding votes and his anti-fence statements from this new, misleading ad.

  • …2006: McCain Voted AGAINST Providing $85 Million And 800 New Staff For Immigration Investigation.
  • …2006: McCain Voted AGAINST Providing Additional Funds To Build A Border Fence On Southwest Border.
  • …2006: McCain Said Putting National Guard At Border Is “Partially PR.”
  • …2003 McCain: “We Can’t Secure Our Borders. We Can Never Build An Impenetrable Wall To The North And South Of Us.”
  • …2003: McCain Said Border Couldn’t Be Fully Protected Because Good Jobs Would Continue To Drive Illegal Immigration.

Chicago High School Cancels Arizona Basketball Tournament

Published by Papa Giorgio

“Students Have Been Sent To China”: Girls’ B-Ball Team Reveals AZ Boycott Hypocrisy

Basketball team can go to china and play but not Arizona. How stupid is that?

Hugo Chavez Expanding Power Grab

Published by Papa Giorgio

Chavez is expanding his control of socialism by taking over more private businesses. Maybe Spicoli can get a share in one of these companies.

(Archived at ECONOMICS JUNKIE)

President Hugo Chavez announced Saturday the expropriation of a group of iron, aluminum and transportation companies in Venezuela’s mining region.

Among the expropriated companies is Materiales Siderurgicos, or Matesi, which is the Venezuelan subsidiary of Luxembourg-based steel maker Tenaris SA.

Venezuela’s socialist president said in a televised that his government was going to take over Matesi because “we couldn’t reach an amicable and reasonable settlement with the owners.”

Chavez said production at the company has been paralyzed since midway through last year, when Venezuela’s president announced plans to nationalize it.

Chavez said he was also going to expropriate Venezuelan-owned Orinoco Iron and aluminum-maker Norpro de Venezuela C.A., which is an affiliate of the U.S. company Norpro in association with France’s Saint Gobain, among other companies.

As well, Venezuela will take over transport companies that ship raw materials in areas southeast of Caracas. He did not name the companies.

Since coming to power more than a decade ago, Chavez has nationalized major companies in the electricity, oil, steel and coffee sectors, as well as other private businesses.

John & Ken Talk About Eric Holder and Arizona’s Immigration Law

Published by Papa Giorgio
  • My Vimeo account was terminated; this is a recovered audio from it. (Some will be many years old, as is the case with this audio.)

John & Ken Talk About Eric Holder and Arizona’s Immigration Law — This was uploaded to my Vimeo in May of 2010. Since that time Vimeo started to sensor videos and many years ago I lost my channel there. I did download most of my uploads there and this is one of the “flashbacks” I am saving here.

“Conservative” Labels for Alito vs. “Liberal” Tags for Kagan

Published by Papa Giorgio

This is the typical bias we fight and argue against daily, which is why the conservative who cares can argue better than a liberal… the liberal doesn’t have to argue. He or she feels they have won by numbers and so they feel like they do not have to hone their arguments.

Out of the first 21 stories on the ABC, CBS and NBC morning and evening news shows after Justice Alito’s selection, correspondents conveyed ten explicit “conservative” labels during the first 36 hours of coverage. In contrast, Graham documented just one “liberal” label in 14 Kagan stories during the equivalent time period after her selection.

  • ABC World News Tonight, October 31: Anchor Elizabeth Vargas: “He is said to be brilliant and A STAUNCH CONSERVATIVE.”
  • Reporter Terry Moran: “He quickly established a reputation on the bench as brilliant and deeply CONSERVATIVE.”
  • CBS Evening News, October 31: Anchor Bob Schieffer: “Conservatives wanted a CONSERVATIVE on the Supreme Court, and said the President ought to risk a fight in the Senate to get one. Their wishes have been fulfilled.”
  • Correspondent John Roberts: “If confirmed, Alito would wipe out the swing seat now occupied by Sandra Day O’Connor, tilting the Supreme Court in a SOLIDLY CONSERVATIVE direction for years to come.”
  • NBC Nightly News, October 31: Correspondent Pete Williams: “Alito is considered dependably CONSERVATIVE, though with an independent streak.”
  • Williams, later in the same story: “Perhaps because he and Justice Scalia are both Italian American, Catholic and CONSERVATIVE, he’s been nicknamed ‘Scalito.’”
  • CBS’s The Early Show, November 1: Co-host Harry Smith: “A bitter partisan confirmation battle is brewing over President Bush’s Supreme Court nominee, Samuel Alito. We’ll speak with members of the Judiciary Committee and take a closer look at the CONSERVATIVE judge.”
  • Reporter Thalia Assuras: “Alito’s CONSERVATIVE stance would eliminate the swing vote of outgoing Justice Sandra Day O’Connor….”
  • NBC’s Today, November 1: Co-host Katie Couric: “President Bush’s latest Supreme Court nominee, Samuel Alito, is known for his solid CONSERVATIVE record and a well-developed sense of humor….”

(NEWSBUSTERS)