Category Archives: Media Criticism

Media Criticism, Political Commentary, Social Commentary

Amanda Knox

6 Comments

My one and only post on this subject will just point to the one by John Hinderaker, in case any of my readers care.

[Update early afternoon]

OK, one more — Amanda Knox as femme fatale:

One lady I know offered the view that the femme fatale was a totally self-generated male creation. “The self-destructive acts are not orchestrated by women of some preternatural cunning. Most femme fatales do nothing. All the work is done by the men themselves. Femme fatales are only ordinary women who’ve accidentally found the right combination of buttons to push to make men do what they want. It is the fantasy of men that does the rest.” Her explanation made me uneasy because I had heard the same argument offered, in a political context, to explain the 2008 presidential elections. But in that view, we will never know any more about Amanda Knox than we will ever know about Barack Obama. Maybe neither actually exists as we think they do, except in our imaginations.

Well, the evidence against Obama continues to accumulate.

Media Criticism, Political Commentary, Social Commentary

More Guns

1 Comment

Less crime:

there were 14% fewer murders in Chicago compared to the first six months of last year – back when owning handguns was illegal. It was the largest drop in Chicago’s murder rate since the handgun ban went into effect in 1982.

Note also how this occurred during a time of extreme economic distress. So two “liberal” shibboleths — that guns and poverty cause crime — have been hammered here.

[Update a few minutes later]

South Florida officials are worried that they might actually be punished for blatantly violating the law.

Good. Fine them and remove the criminals from office. Make some examples.

Media Criticism, Political Commentary

More Shocking News

8 Comments

Eric Holder, part of the most transparent administration in history, seems to have lied to Congress:

New documents obtained by CBS News show Attorney General Eric Holder was sent briefings on the controversial Fast and Furious guns operation as far back as July of 2010. That directly contradicts his statement to Congress.

On May 3, 2011, Holder told a Judiciary Committee hearing, “I’m not sure of the exact date, but I probably heard about Fast and Furious for the first time over the last few weeks.”

Or maybe he just has a lousy memory. Yeah, that’s the ticket.

I wonder when the other networks will start to follow CBS’s lead?

Oh, and again, I’m not really shocked.

Media Criticism, Political Commentary

Shocking Photos

78 Comments

Barack Obama appeared and marched with the New Black Panthers a year before he was elected president. Actually, I’m not shocked at all.

[Mid-afternoon update]

More from Hans von Spakovsky:

If another presidential candidate had shared a podium, marched with, and received an endorsement from the KKK, it would justifiably be front page news and we would be seriously questioning the judgment of that candidate. If that candidate got elected and his administration then dismissed a lawsuit it had already won against the KKK, it would have led to serious consequences and serious questions being asked from the mainstream media. So why, when the color of the racists is reversed, is such behavior ignored?

That’s a rhetorical question, I think.

Media Criticism, Popular Culture

The Wolverines Are Overrated

3 Comments

I agree with their coach. Number 12 is way too high, and it’s way too early to judge. They won’t really be tested until they go to East Lansing in a couple weeks. And they don’t have to play Wisconsin this year, unless it’s for the Big Tweleven championship. If they play and win that game, they’ll definitely deserve to be in the top ten. But I’m confident that even if they don’t win out, we won’t see the kind of late-season collapse that we did in the past couple years.

Business, Economics, Media Criticism, Political Commentary, Science And Society, Technology and Society

The Smart

16 Comments

…and the dumb:

The president’s reaction? “He turned to me and said, ‘Oil and gas will be important for the next few years. But we need to go on to green and alternative energy. [Energy] Secretary [Steven] Chu has assured me that within five years, we can have a battery developed that will make a car with the equivalent of 130 miles per gallon.’” Mr. Hamm holds his head in his hands and says, “Even if you believed that, why would you want to stop oil and gas development? It was pretty disappointing.”

I guess I’d be disappointed, if I had had any expectations of brilliance on his part. But I never had any reason to, other than the bien pensant telling me I should.

Humor, Media Criticism, Political Commentary, Satire

The Telephone Transcripts For “Fast And Furious”

Iowahawk has found them:

Now… now Juan… let’s just calm down here a minute. Just, okay.. okay… let me please explain, okay? See, the funny thing is, it turns out, a couple years back there was, well, this stimulus program money, and then there were these brainstorming sessions, where, well, there were some ideas what to do with it. So, anyhoo, one of the ideas that happened was, ‘hey, what if there were, say, 2000 machine guns that got sent to Mexican drug lords?’ and so forth.

Well no, of course we couldn’t tell you. It would have ruined the surprise.

Well, okay, I guess the gato is out of the ol’ bag-o. You know that drug cartel war problem you’ve been having? So, well, the idea was, hey, wouldn’t it be great if somehow we could put a trace on the machine guns, and then, surprise! It’d be a like a whole pinata full of drug lord information.

Mmhm.

Why? Well see, if we traced all the machine guns we gave to your drug lords, then we could all learn how your drug lords get their machine guns.

Well, Juan, yes, certainly, that’s one hypothesis. But I mean besides from us.

Tracers?

Oh, those tracers. See, the funny thing is – and this is such a hoot – someone forgot to buy batteries for them. You know how it is when you buy those Christmas presents, and it’s like “batteries not included,” and…

Now, Juan – Juan – now, just a minute here, you don’t have take that tone of voice. This isn’t all about you.

Well, come on now, Juan, imagine how terrible I feel about this whole situation! And not just me. Eric, and all the bureau heads, all down the line. Look, I didn’t want to spoil another surprise, but we were all planning to chip in and get you a comprehensive immigration reform package to help cheer you up.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, there amigo! Let’s not get carried away there with the blamestorming. Just because I feel bad about this, don’t go trying to pin this one on me!

Huh?

Well, frankly, I don’t know. I mean, in the grand scheme of things, can anybody say that anybody else is to blame? Even if that were possible, would it bring anybody back to life? Believe me, if I could build some magical time machine and go back to 2009 and say, ‘hey guys, let’s stop this thing,” I would. But both of us need to stop living in fantasy world.

Let’s not bicker and argue over ‘oo killed ‘oo.