Today's Hoot!

NewsWeek Reporter Frets Pope Too ... Catholic

In the eyes of the MSM, Pope Benedict XVI has a problem. He's too darn . . . Catholic.

As the Pope begins World Youth Day in his native Germany, Today took the occasion to invite in Newsweek's Christopher Dickey for an oh-so-effete critique of Benedict XVI.

Interviewed by Katie Couric, Dickey first claimed that Europeans view Benedict "with some skepticism right now. People are looking at this Pope and saying what does he want to do by re-Christianizing Europe?"

Gee, and here I thought that was a Pope's job.

I bet Katie thinks that's real icky.

posted by Cracker Barrel Philosopher at 10:01 PM -

 
Here's a poser

Charles at lgf:

I propose a thought experiment. Suppose Western media really was deliberately trying to subvert democracy and aid terrorism. How would the coverage differ?

Beats the heck out of me!

posted by Cracker Barrel Philosopher at 9:39 PM -

 
Your United Nations contributions at work



I posted this a couple of weeks ago, but now that we have the first UN Ambassador since Jeane Kirkpatrick who has a set, it's come up again - Funding of Palestinian Propaganda By U.N. 'Unacceptable,' Bolton Says:

The United Nations' funding of a Palestinian Arab propaganda campaign timed to coincide with Israel's pullout from the Gaza Strip has increased tensions between the U.N. and American officials.

America's newly installed ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, labeled "inappropriate and unacceptable" the United Nations Development Program financing of materials bearing the slogan "Today Gaza, Tomorrow the West Bank and Jerusalem."

Mr. Bolton said yesterday that the UNDP had failed to explain why it funneled money to the Palestinian Authority to back the production of banners, bumper stickers, mugs, and T-shirts bearing the provocative slogan as well as UNDP logos.

Responding to angry reactions from Jewish and Israeli leaders, UNDP officials yesterday said financial support from the agency was intended to help the Palestinian Authority communicate with Palestinian Arabs during Israel's evacuation of Jewish settlers from Gaza.

Nice to know the UN has spare bucks for this kind of stuff.

In a letter to the American Jewish Congress, which had decried the funding of the propaganda materials, a UNDP administrator, Kemal Dervis, said it was "not at all acceptable" that the agency's logo was placed on the propaganda.

"We cannot be involved in political messaging," Mr. Dervis wrote. The UNDP manages nearly $4 billion in donor resources annually, operating in 166 countries.

The response from the UNDP was not sufficient, Mr. Bolton said yesterday. "Funding this kind of activity is inappropriate and unacceptable. We plan to raise the issue with UNDP and with others," he said in a statement to The New York Sun. In effect, Mr. Bolton expressed to the UNDP that the most serious problem for his office was not the logo, but the fact that the agency supported that message with its checkbook.

More by following the link - the UN weasels were glad to fund the message. They just didn't want their name on it. And, of course, it's really our check book.

posted by Cracker Barrel Philosopher at 9:26 PM -

 
Thank you, Jaime Gorelick!



Fun at the InstaPundit:

I'VE SUDDENLY STARTED GETTING A LOT OF EMAILS LIKE THIS ONE:

I am disturbed by your continual smears of honorable Americans like Jamie Gorelick. If you disagree with the opinions of Ms. Gorelick, then please voice that at your discretion, but engaging in personal smears campaigns at the behest of Karl Rove and Grover Norquist really do a disservice to your readers. Jamie Gorelicks memo did not disallow sharing of information between the military and the FBI. Please issue a correction in your next blog.

The thing is, I haven't written anything about Jamie Gorelick and Able Danger, so I guess I'm dropping the ball in the "continual smear" department. This post by Ann Althouse from when I was on vacation a week ago quotes an Investor's Business Daily editorial that mentions her, but that's the only mention of Gorelick on InstaPundit in over a year.

None of the emails contains a link or reference to any particular post, which makes me think that this is some sort of mass email campaign. Any idea where they're coming from?

Turns out it was the flying monkeys at ThinkProgress.org which is one of the corporate offshoots of the George Soros' funded Center for American Progress. In case you don't recall them, here's Spinsanity's summary:

The Center for American Progress and its sister organization, the American Progress Action Fund, are at the vanguard of liberal attempts to regain the initiative in the national political debate. Founded in 2003 with millions of dollars from donors hoping to more effectively counter the Bush White House and conservative groups, CAP relentlessly attacks conservatives and distributes talking points to its ideological allies.

Unfortunately, however, the group has also shown a repeated willingness to distort the facts in order to achieve its objectives. In a number of recent cases, CAP has twisted the words of its conservative opponents, misleading thousands of readers of its influential Progress Report newsletter. These tactics show that state of the art spin is increasingly indistinguishable from outright dishonesty.

They clearly aren't too bright either. If they want to see some abuse of Jaime Gorelick, they ought to come here. I wonder if George knows how they're spending his loot?

(Hat tip for the graphic: iHillary)

posted by Cracker Barrel Philosopher at 6:38 PM -

 
Bourgeois revolutionaries alert!

Or is it limousine liberals? Check out this meeting notice from Code Pinko Texas HQ to the vanguard of the proletariat in Crawford:

Subject: [codepinkaustin] CODEPINK Breakfast Saturday Morning in Crawford Reply-To: codepinkaustin@yahoogroups.com

Hello!

The Texas wide CODEPINK Slumber Party did not work out but we are still wanting all CODEPINK members to meet for breakfast on Saturday to plan and coordinate with one another.

We're meeting at Texas Tea & Coffee in McGregor at 8:30AM on Saturday, August 20th. It's at the corner of 3rd Street and FM 317. They will only have pastries and such that morning but they are the only place around that offers something other than Folgers.

I guess ham and eggs and a cup of joe with the locals at Spanos Coffee Station just don't cut it for the Pinkos. Sheesh, can you imagine a coffee shop full of them in their pink outfits sipping their lattes? It would be like a Barbie impersonators convention, if Barbie looked and sounded like Fidel Castro. As for the "Slumber Party," I won't go there.

posted by Cracker Barrel Philosopher at 1:50 PM -

 
All dressed up and no place to go



The crew of freaks showing up in Crawford to support St. Cindy, that is. That's because Cindy had to head home because her mother was ill:

As word spread through the ramshackle campsite, Sheehan's supporters expressed concern that her absence would also mean the departure of dozens of journalists who have been broadcasting her vigil to the world.

Not to mention the outlay on their party duds!

Sheehan's partisans also have become increasingly critical of the news media, complaining that reporters have questioned Sheehan's motivations and inquired about her family, her taxes and her husband's request for a divorce.

The aroma around St. Cindy got so bad that the MSM finally caught on? Can't prove it by me.

Women gathered in a tent for Code Pink, a peace group, looked ashen on hearing that Sheehan was leaving. A few began to cry as one spoke up to complain that the news media were trying to divide Sheehan's family. After a moment of silence they began singing We Shall Overcome.

No Kumbaya? The Code Pinkos shouldn't worry, they have People's Weekly World and Worker's World firmly on their side.

(Hat tip: FR poster JohnRoss for wading into the commie cesspool. Here's another that I didn't mention.)

posted by Cracker Barrel Philosopher at 7:45 AM -

 
And speaking of Cindy Sheehan

I don't know about you, but I was all upset when I heard that Cindy says she's protesting by not paying her taxes for 2004. My fear was that the hiccup in the revenue stream from Cindy not paying up on her moonbat media whore earnings would imperil the continuing operation of the Republic! Or at least some of the Federal facilities named after Robert Byrd. But one of the FR folks discovered that based on her tax liens, ole Cindy doesn't seem to have been paying her state and Federal taxes regularly since at least the mid-90's. (Try looking up "Sheehan, Cindy" yourself.) I wonder what her beef was then? I also wonder whether she tried deducting tin foil as a business expense?

posted by Cracker Barrel Philosopher at 8:16 AM -

 
When are they going to notice that she's a nut?

Cindy Sheehan, of course. It looks like even Chris Matthews (never the brightest bulb on the string) may be getting a hint:

Here's an indication of how radical Cindy Sheehan's views are--and a glimpse into why mainstream Dems won't go near her. This is from Mrs. Sheehan's appearance on Hardball (yeah, I know) last night. I will let it speak for itself. Hat tip: Reader R.L. Ward:

MATTHEWS: Can I ask you a tough question? A very tough question.

SHEEHAN: Yes.

MATTHEWS: All right. If your son had been killed in Afghanistan, would you have a different feeling?

SHEEHAN: I don't think so, Chris, because I believe that Afghanistan is almost the same thing. We're fighting terrorism. Or terrorists, we're saying. But they're not contained in a country. This is an ideology and not an enemy. And we know that Iraq, Iraq had no terrorism. They were no threat to the United States of America.

MATTHEWS: But Afghanistan was harboring, the Taliban was harboring al-Qaida which is the group that attacked us on 9/11.

SHEEHAN: Well then we should have gone after al-Qaida and maybe not after the country of Afghanistan.

MATTHEWS: But that's where they were being harbored. That's where they were headquartered. Shouldn't we go after their headquarters? Doesn't that make sense?

SHEEHAN: Well, but there were a lot of innocent people killed in that invasion, too. ... But I'm seeing that we're sending our ground troops in to invade countries where the entire country wasn't the problem. Especially Iraq. Iraq was no problem. And why do we send in invading armies to march into Afghanistan when we're looking for a select group of people in that country?

So I believe that our troops should be brought home out of both places where we're obviously not having any success in Afghanistan. Osama bin Laden is still on the loose and that's who they told us was responsible for 9/11.

One of Michelle's readers highlights the "they told us was responsible for 9/11" which is truly the cherry on top. As for the rhetorical question in the title of this post, I'm sure the MSM will hold their noses and continue dealing with her because "Cindy's fake but accurate."

posted by Cracker Barrel Philosopher at 8:05 AM -

 
It sure is a puzzle

Polipundit:

Bless Debra Burlingame's heart. Why is she not being championed by the media as one grieving a lost loved one. Doesn't she have the same "moral authority" to speak out about the war on terror, or at the very least the memorial at Ground Zero?

Lorie links to this post at Ankle Biting Pundits:

Showing a fervor not seen since Augusta National Golf Course refused to admit women, The New York Times editorial board once again takes aim at the courageous Deborah Burlingame, and her refusal to let a small minority of politically correct, anti-war Bush-haters turn Ground Zero into a "Why They Hate Us" memorial.

By our count this is the third editorial in just over a month slamming the efforts of Ms. Burlingame...

Read the rest, it'll get your heart started this AM. Maybe if she blamed the Jooz? Yeah, that would do it.

posted by Cracker Barrel Philosopher at 7:11 AM -

 
Today's Hoot!

Dept. of I Didn't Know There Were So Many Dentists:

Although circulation for newsweeklies remains flat or is dipping, I am still astonished that Time reports a circulation of 4.05 million copies. Are those real sales or do they give most of them away? I haven't read a copy outside a doctor's office in years.

Me too, and I'm always gobsmacked by the atrocious content when I pick one up in a waiting room. Time looks the way People used to, and People resembles some awful tabloid.

posted by Cracker Barrel Philosopher at 8:50 PM -

 
Christopher Hitchens applies the clue bat

Cindy Sheehan's Sinister Piffle:

Here is an unambivalent statement: "The moral authority of parents who bury children killed in Iraq is absolute."

And, now, here's another:

Am I emotional? Yes, my first born was murdered. Am I angry? Yes, he was killed for lies and for a PNAC Neo-Con agenda to benefit Israel. My son joined the army to protect America, not Israel. Am I stupid? No, I know full well that my son, my family, this nation and this world were betrayed by George Bush who was influenced by the neo-con PNAC agendas after 9/11. We were told that we were attacked on 9/11 because the terrorists hate our freedoms and democracy … not for the real reason, because the Arab Muslims who attacked us hate our middle-eastern foreign policy.

The first statement comes from Maureen Dowd, in her New York Times column of Aug. 10. The second statement comes from Cindy Sheehan, whose son Casey was killed in Iraq last year. It was sent to the editors of ABC's Nightline on March 15. In her article, Dowd was arguing that Sheehan's moral authority was absolute.

I am at a complete loss to see how these two positions can be made compatible. Sheehan has obviously taken a short course in the Michael Moore/Ramsey Clark school of Iraq analysis and has not succeeded in making it one atom more elegant or persuasive. I dare say that her "moral authority" to do this is indeed absolute, if we agree for a moment on the weird idea that moral authority is required to adopt overtly political positions, but then so is my "moral" right to say that she is spouting sinister piffle. Suppose I had lost a child in this war. Would any of my critics say that this gave me any extra authority? I certainly would not ask or expect them to do so. Why, then, should anyone grant them such a privilege?

More schooling for MoDo and her ilk by following the link. Even moonbats can have relatives killed by Islamic terrorists as the "Jersey Girls" proved years ago.

posted by Cracker Barrel Philosopher at 3:33 PM -

 
If his lips are moving, he's lying

Little Dickie Durbin, that is. Michelle Malkin:

Check this out. Law professor Jonathan Turley, one of the most personable and mild-mannered people I've met in Washington, lays the smack down on Sen. Dick Durbin in the Washington Times this morning. Hard.

And Prof. Turley has tape.

posted by Cracker Barrel Philosopher at 11:52 AM -

 
Speaking of aging moonbat media whores

It's never to soon to start planning for a big shindig like Jane Fonda's Magic Mushroom & Mazola bus tour even though it's not 'til March 2006. Ted Turner may not want any part of the hootenanny, but some of the lads in Tikrit are doing their bit to welcome Hanoi Jane:

posted by Cracker Barrel Philosopher at 9:39 AM -

 
Higher Education Alert!

Mike Adams keeps the benighted taxpayers of North Carolina up to date with The University of Nude Copulating Asians:

This week's column features an interview with Mark Ruscoe, a resident of Asheville, North Carolina. As a father of two (one a college-bound teenager), Mark decided to check out a diversity event at UNC-Asheville. He wanted to learn about the quality of education at UNCA, should one of his children decide to attend the taxpayer-supported institution of higher learning. You don't want to miss this one.

Indeed!

I learned of the event after I had dropped my daughter off for swim practice at UNCA one afternoon. I looked down on the sidewalk and saw a promotional pamphlet for the film. On the front was a photograph of an Asian couple having sex with a shot of Dr. Hamamoto lecturing behind them in front of a chalkboard. The pamphlet described the basic premise of the film, which was that Dr. Hamamoto felt Asian-American men had become emasculated by popular American culture, and that this project of his was supposed to somehow change that.

Anyway, I decided right then that as a taxpayer and as a parent of a soon-to-be college kid I needed to see this film.

Mark sounds like he's channeling Dave Barry.

... apparently he views the American porn industry as racist, in that it has historically excluded Asian-American men. But Asian-American women have been adequately represented by his account. The pamphlet I found on the sidewalk indicated that this serious exclusion had produced a psychological problem--their emasculation, of sorts. He intended to rectify this situation with his project, which was to film an explicit sexual encounter between an Asian-American male, whom he had recruited, and an Asian-American female porn star. As I say, the whole premise was so unbelievable it almost seemed funny - except for the very excited and motivated crowd of college students who showed up for the production. They thought it was serious business, right down to the fellow two rows in front of me who took off his clothes halfway through the film while sitting next to his girlfriend.

Woohoo! Audience participation! I'm surprised the prof didn't discover that the porn industry excluded aging Asian-American academics too. Much more hilarity by following the link, but as usual the joke is on the citizenry who are paying for this tripe.

posted by Cracker Barrel Philosopher at 8:40 AM -

 
That Cindy Sheehan is certainly a moonbat magnet!

Now she has professional white person David Duke and professional black person Maxine Waters on her side. How cool is that? Maxine can tell everyone that black voters are disenfrachised and David Duke can explain why they should be!

And when you're a sucessful media whore, I guess the big leftoid offers just come rolling in. Take this one - STOP THE WORSHIP OF THE GODS OF WAR where ole Cindy is going to be a featured speaker at a protest of a Blue Angels airshow. That'll be a crowd pleaser, fer sure! Over 100,000 folks at the air show and 20 smelly hippies listening to Cindy assail the "Joos".

posted by Cracker Barrel Philosopher at 8:40 PM -

 
It's a joke, right?

Rick Klein at the Boston Globe entrances with Democrats embrace tough military stance:

After months of internal debate and closed-door discussions, Democrats have begun to develop a more aggressive foreign policy that focuses heavily on threats they say are being neglected by the Bush administration, while avoiding taking a contentious stance on Iraq.

Even Democrats who have been associated with liberal positions on international affairs are calling for more troops in uniform, proposing that threats of force be used to stop nuclear weapons programs in Iran and North Korea, and pressing for potential military intervention to ease famine and oppression around the world.

Gosh, they better hope the moonbats at MoveOn don't find out! And who's going to tell Gerhard Schroeder?

Senator Evan Bayh, Democrat of Indiana, hit the presidential proving ground of Iowa early this month to warn that ''people don't think we [Democrats] have the backbone" to deploy the military, and said Democrats must overcome that perception to be successful in future elections.

Watch out, Ev! Cindy Sheehan is headed your way and she's foaming at the mouth.

Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has laid out a doctrine of rebuilding alliances while making clear that ''force will be used -- without asking anyone's permission -- when circumstances warrant."

What happened to John Kerry's "Global Test?"

Of course they're lying, but it's amusing that they have to pretend.

posted by Cracker Barrel Philosopher at 10:04 AM -

 
It's a family affair

ANOTHER ANNAN IN U.N. OIL SCANDAL:

The $21.3 billion United Nations oil-for-food scandal has now widened to include the brother of U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

Kobina Annan, the Ghanaian ambassador to Morocco, is said by investigators to be "connected" to an African businessman at the center of the scandal.

The probe into Kobina's dealings are at an early stage and he has not been interviewed.

However, investigators are understood to suspect that Michael Wilson, an African businessman, and Kobina had a business relationship at the time of the scandal.

A source close to the investigation said: "We believe Kobina Annan may be involved with Michael Wilson and Kojo Annan. We know there is a connection between Kobina and Wilson."

Kobina is the second member of Annan's family — after Annan's son Kojo — to be drawn into the scandal, which has led to the resignation of several senior U.N. officials.

It's great the way the United Nations brings the most endearing features of Third World governments to "world government."

And speaking of senior U.N. officials, I've been woefully neglecting the latest UN hijinks. I don't intend to try to catch up now, but I have to mention the travails of Iqbal "Shredder Boy" Riza. First he loses his job as Kofi's right hand man because he's shredding every "Oil-for-Food" document in sight down at UN HQ. Then then he comes back as a "dollar-a-year" employee (retaining his diplomatic immunity) to just help out. Helping out apparently consisted of shredding more documents:

According to the eyewitness, a U.N. staffer who works on the same floor as Riza, the retired cabinet chief arrived within days of leaving his old job, loaded down with many cartons of papers and files.

Riza was not in his new office daily, but every day he appeared, he would put large numbers of material through an office shredder located in a public area.

"It became the office joke," said the eyewitness, who did not wish to be identified for fear of reprisals from superiors.

I'm certainly laughing - ole Icky is quite a lad!

posted by Cracker Barrel Philosopher at 9:42 AM -