Category Archives: Media Criticism

Media Criticism, Political Commentary, Social Commentary

Vanity, and Arrogance

15 Comments

So, the socialist scumbag spent time in jail because he thought he was too high and mighty to have to pay a hooker.

While I think the perp walk should be abolished, going as it does against the notion of the presumption of innocence, it’s hard for me to feel sorry for him. I just hope he doesn’t yet become president of France. I fear, though, that this incident may make it more likely, appealing as it does to some aspects of the aristocratic French culture.

[Update a while later]

Here we go:

The almost overnight transformation of D.S.K. — as Dominique Strauss-Kahn is widely known in France — from alleged sexual predator to seeming victim of an unscrupulous accuser has riveted and divided the country. The news that the Sofitel maid who had accused D.S.K. of rape had repeatedly lied to prosecutors has also spurred talk of a political comeback for the one-time French presidential contender that only weeks ago was deemed impossible.

Goody.

Education, Media Criticism, Political Commentary

What You Can Do For Liberty

7 Comments

Three things, from Instapundit.

In light of depressing things like this, I’d also suggest a reading of the Declaration at your gathering tomorrow. The leftists who have taken over the educational system seem to have won.

Of course, to be fair, like the “Jaywalking” segments, we don’t necessarily see all the ones who had the answer right. It’s still dismaying that he could find so many so clueless. I doubt if that would have been the case, say, a couple years after the Civil War.

[Update a while later]

Young people are failing civics, and it’s a crisis for the nation:

For the past ten years, our research team at Stanford has interviewed broad cross-sections of American youth about what U. S. citizenship means to them. Here is one high school student’s reply, not atypical: “We just had (American citizenship) the other day in history. I forget what it was.” Another student told us that “being American is not really special….I don’t find being an American citizen very important.” Another replied, “I don’t want to belong to any country. It just feels like you are obligated to this country. I don’t like the whole thing of citizen…I don’t like that whole thing. It’s like, citizen, no citizen; it doesn’t make sense to me. It’s like to be a good citizen—I don’t know, I don’t want to be a citizen…it’s stupid to me.”

This seems to be a theme this weekend.

As I noted, a success for the left.

Media Criticism, Political Commentary, War Commentary

Europe’s Proxy War Against America

2 Comments

Some disturbing news:

The flotilla has considerable public support in Europe, where opposition to Israel often crosses the line into anti-Semitism. Although a handful of Americans, Canadians, and Middle Easterners (as well as a few Aussies and Kiwis) are among the 500 pro-Palestinian activists hoping to sail with the flotilla, the majority of its organizers, supporters and actual participants are from Europe, which has become “ground zero” in the global campaign of boycotts, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) against Israel. . . .

The irony of all the Gaza activism in Europe is this: The European single currency is on the verge of collapse. Many European countries are on the brink of bankruptcy. The European social welfare state is crumbling. Millions of Europeans are out of work and many are losing their homes. Europeans are losing the war they started with Libya. Muslim immigration to Europe is out of control. Islamic Sharia law is becoming increasingly common (here, here, here, and here) in many parts of the continent. Considering all the problems besetting Europe today, the issue many Europeans care about most is … the Gaza Strip.

As Tom Wolfe (I think) once said, they say that fascism is always rising in America but, somehow, it always falls in Europe. And lands on the Jews.

Business, Economics, Media Criticism, Political Commentary, War Commentary

The Community Organizer

5 Comments

…who would be king:

Obama entered office on a groundswell of a disconcerting mania, a mania in which voters imagined on this blank slate of a candidate all sorts of truly fantastic abilities and policies, none of which were warranted in his paltry, truly shabby history.

The man with no available school records, for example, was painted as a genius and his brief time as a University of Chicago adjunct (basically teaching assistant) puffed up to a professorship in constitutional law. The guy who cannot speak a logical, coherent, grammatical sentence on his own was pawned off as a literary genius to unsuspecting, foolish voters. It was inevitable that the reality of his time in office could never match the dream. It was unfortunately equally inevitable that he would prove inadequate to the difficult job of the presidency.

Still, which of those who voted for him could have envisioned the hash he’s made of things in every respect? Unemployment far exceeds what he warned it would reach if we didn’t pass his stimulus package; the housing market shows no sign of lift off; the dollar sinks more each day; manufacturing is at a virtual standstill, and Americans grow more pessimistic about the economy each day. The landmark legislation of his first (and I hope final) term, ObamaCare, is so badly conceived and drafted that Americans are likely to see the best medical service in the world destroyed unless it is soon repealed or ruled unconstitutional. In the meantime, as uncertainty about its future grows, more and more businesses are paralyzed and unable to plan for their futures.

Internationally, we keep alienating our allies and boosting our enemies. Like the Duke of York* in the nursery school rhyme, he had “10,000 men marched them up the hill and then marched them down again.” He ordered a surge in Afghanistan, the place he argued in 2008 we really should be instead of Iraq, and then order pulling them out before the job is done, and in a manner sure to increase the danger to them. Without Congressional authorization, he’s committed our troops and weaponry to a rather pointless fight in Libya; pushed Mubarak out of office in favor of heaven knows what successors; failed to do a thing to prevent Iran from going nuclear; done nothing to stop Syria’s Assad from daily slaughtering his own people; and each and every day puts the life and welfare of our staunch ally Israel at risk.

This week’s press conference revealed him as a man desperately clinging to the same rhetorical devices that have long worn thin: demagogic false choices, class warfare and a preposterous description of himself as the reasonable adult in the legislative process.

As she notes, once it becomes politically acceptable to attack him, he may be like a wounded antelope beset by the jackals of the press, who he has “unexpectedly” disappointed so many times.

He has never disappointed me, and never will.

[Update later Sunday morning]

Et tu, Evan Thomas?

Obama has got to be President of the United States,” Thomas said. “He has to be two things. He has to make a public case of how bad is this, because he is not doing that. He’s not being honest about just how bad this is going to be — no, he was partisan. He was God [bleep] Democrat! He was just, you know – being a party guy. I applaud the energy but it wasn’t getting me anywhere. He has got to rise above that and then in private, in private – he’s got to make a deal.”

I am sensing a disturbance in the Force. Thomas may not be able to, or willing to get him that automatic fifteen percent next year.

Business, Economics, Media Criticism, Political Commentary, Space

Public Support For Space

1 Comment

With the approach of the final Shuttle launch next week, Pew has done a survey of public opinion, that shows continuing support for maintaining our “leadership” in space, whatever that means.

As is often the case with such polls, put together by people who don’t understand space policy themselves, those questioned are presented with a false choice:

Q.17 Thinking about the space program more generally, how much does the U.S. space program contribute to:

a. Scientific advances that all Americans can use

b. This country’s national pride and patriotism

c. Encouraging people’s interest in science and technology

You’d think that if they lacked imagination to come up with anything else on their own, they’d at least provide a d) Other, so they would know to think harder next time. I can think of at least two:

d. Increasing the nation’s wealth and standard of living

e. Increasing the potential for human freedom and opportunity.

I’d like to raise the money to do my own poll, that would actually be useful in guiding policy.

Media Criticism, Political Commentary

Force Him To Drop The Mask

5 Comments

Some thoughts on Republican electoral strategy:

Karl Rove’s right: The 2012 GOP nominee should “fiercely challenge Mr. Obama’s policies, actions and leadership using the president’s own words, but should stay away from questioning his motives, patriotism or character.” Still: If the GOP nominee uses good-natured humor to needle Obama’s record, then the president likely will show his bad side. And the country won’t like it.

It occurs to me that these polls showing that the public still “likes” the president, even though they disapprove of his performance, are probably overstating the former. I think that there is still some residual resistance to being accused of being racists (unsurprising, given the media climate over the past two years, in which that was the instant response from the president’s defenders, both in and out of the media, to any criticism of his policies). I’d imagine that we’re seeing some “Bradley Effect” for the presidential popularity, though they feel a little more free to speak their minds on the policies themselves.

[Update a couple minutes later]

I’d say that, after the rank hypocrisy of the AWOL president lecturing the Republican House (which has actually passed a budget) to buckle down and do their homework, this video is well deserved.

[Update late morning]

Change it back:

[Courtesy of Jeff Dobbs]

Media Criticism, Political Commentary, Space, Technology and Society

Is The Space Age Over?

35 Comments

The Economist seems to think so. More thoughts later.

[Friday morning update]

Clark Lindsey has a good comment over at their web site:

The author uses the cheap-shot pejorative “Space Cadet” to demean those in favor of space travel. So I will use “Earth Child” to characterize the author’s parochial one planet view.

Go read all, as he takes Earth Child to task. A lot of the other comments there are also pretty critical and disdainful.

[Bumped]

[Update a few minutes later]

More comments over at NASA Watch.

Business, Economics, Media Criticism, Political Commentary, Satire

It All Makes Sense Now

Larry J. has figured out what happened to the country:

I think I’ve finally figured out what happened in 2008. We’re all living the ultimate reality TV show. Obama is the hapless boob – think The Truman Show or An Idiot Abroad – with no job experience and nothing to show for his life except for two autobiographies written by age 45 (and it isn’t even certain he wrote them). The pitch for the show must’ve gone something like this:

Pitchman: Hey, I’ve got a great idea! Let’s push to elect someone totally unqualified to be the next president of the United States! We’ll be guaranteed at least a four-year run as we watch him blunder from one stupid thing to another.

Media Exec: Won’t that be hard?

Pitchman: No, I’ve got it figured out. First, we’ll push a black guy as our dupe and call anyone who doesn’t support him a racist. Second, we’ll get the news department to push every negative story we can find or invent to get the country in a bad mood like we did in 1992. Third, we’ll tell everyone how brilliant the guy is and expect everyone to believe it without a shred of evidence. Finally, we’ll point out how “cool” he is to get the young and stupid vote.

Media Exec: Sounds like a plan. What’s in it for us?

Pitchman: We’ll be more influential than ever before!

Media Exec: Who will be the boob?

Pitchman: We’ve found the idea candidate. His name is Obama and he’s the junior senator from Illinois. He reads well from a teleprompter and has a nice looking family but the guy is a total idiot when it comes to economics, history, or actually accomplishing anything. He spent years hanging around radicals and Marxists. He’ll run the country into the ground in no time.

Media Exec: Go for it!

I wish the show would end sooner.