Hoystory

Mar

Dumb Hollywood

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Categories: Idiots and Movies

Tom Hanks is a fine actor. He’s also done a lot of good work on bringing some American history to the big and small screens – including “Band of Brothers,” and “John Adams.”

But it appears as though his latest project is more of the typical Hollywood fare – America is evil and racist.

But the context for Hanks’ history lessons has changed. Band of Brothers, HBO’s best-selling DVD to date, began airing two days before 9/11; The Pacific, his new 10-hour epic about the Pacific theater in World War II, plays out against a very different backdrop, when the country is weary of war and American exceptionalism is a much tougher sell. World War II in the European theater was a case of massive armies arrayed against an unambiguous evil. The Pacific war was mainly fought by isolated groups of men and was overlaid by a sense that our foes were fundamentally different from us. In that sense, the war in the Pacific bears a closer relation to the complex war on terrorism the U.S. is waging now, making the new series a trickier prospect but one with potential for more depth and resonance. “Certainly, we wanted to honor U.S. bravery inThe Pacific,” Hanks says. “But we also wanted to have people say, ‘We didn’t know our troops did that to Japanese people.’”…

And he is pleased that The Pacific has fulfilled an obligation to our World War II vets. He doesn’t see the series as simply eye-opening history. He hopes it offers Americans a chance to ponder the sacrifices of our current soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. “From the outset, we wanted to make people wonder how our troops can re-enter society in the first place,” Hanks says. “How could they just pick up their lives and get on with the rest of us? Back in World War II, we viewed the Japanese as ‘yellow, slant-eyed dogs’ that believed in different gods. They were out to kill us because our way of living was different. We, in turn, wanted to annihilate them because they were different. Does that sound familiar, by any chance, to what’s going on today?”

Maybe your time would be better spent watching (or re-watching) Clint Eastwood’s two excellent flicks: “Flags of our Fathers” and “Letters from Iwo Jima.”

How screwed up does your head have to be to think that we went after the Japanese because “they’re different” and not because of their sneak attack on Pearl Harbor?

And we’re supposed to feel some sort of guilt over what we did to the Japanese people? Someone needs to re-watch the first few minutes of “The Great Raid.” If a society wants to complain about their treatment during WWII, maybe the Japanese would be better off asking the Chinese and Koreans.

Mar

Saying it doesn’t make it so

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Categories: Media

Politifact.com, which is routinely an object of scorn here, has this interesting bit in its latest mailbag feature.

There are the e-mailers who criticize us generally for perceived liberal bias. (For the record, we are an independent, nonpartisan journalism organization.)

For the record, I’m often mistaken for Brad Pitt and have women throwing themselves at me dozens of times a day, begging to have my baby and showering me with expensive gifts.

Mar

Speaking of hacks

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Categories: Paul Krugman

New York Times columnist Paul Krugman was revealed to be one yet again today.

Former Enron adviser Paul Krugman takes note in his New York Times column of what he calls "the incredible gap that has opened up between the parties":

Today, Democrats and Republicans live in different universes, both intellectually and morally.

"What Democrats believe," he says "is what textbook economics says":

But that’s not how Republicans see it. Here’s what Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona, the second-ranking Republican in the Senate, had to say when defending Mr. Bunning’s position (although not joining his blockade): unemployment relief "doesn’t create new jobs. In fact, if anything, continuing to pay people unemployment compensation is a disincentive for them to seek new work."

Krugman scoffs: "To me, that’s a bizarre point of view–but then, I don’t live in Mr. Kyl’s universe."

What does textbook economics have to say about this question? Here is a passage from a textbook called "Macroeconomics":

Public policy designed to help workers who lose their jobs can lead to structural unemployment as an unintended side effect. . . . In other countries, particularly in Europe, benefits are more generous and last longer. The drawback to this generosity is that it reduces a worker’s incentive to quickly find a new job. Generous unemployment benefits in some European countries are widely believed to be one of the main causes of "Eurosclerosis," the persistent high unemployment that affects a number of European countries.

So it turns out that what Krugman calls Sen. Kyl’s "bizarre point of view" is, in fact, textbook economics. The authors of that textbook are Paul Krugman and Robin Wells. Miss Wells is also known as Mrs. Paul Krugman.

Unfortunately, this comes as no surprise and it’s par for the course among his colleagues on the Times editorial page.

Mar

Partisan hack

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Categories: Media and Politics

The Wall Street Journal’s James Taranto highlights some totally predictable partisan hackery by Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne.

What Did the Founders Say Today?

"If the Republicans pushing against the filibuster love majority rule so much, they should propose getting rid of the Senate altogether. But doing so would mean acknowledging what’s really going on here: regime change disguised as a narrow rules fight. We could choose to institute a British-style parliamentary system in which majorities get almost everything they want. But advocates of such a radical departure should be honest enough to propose amending the Constitution first."–E.J. Dionne, Washington Post, March 22, 2005

"The Founders said nothing in the Constitution about the filibuster, let alone ‘reconciliation.’ Judging from what they put in the actual document, the Founders would be appalled at the idea that every major bill should need the votes of three-fifths of the Senate to pass."–E.J. Dionne, Washington Post, March 4, 2010

This is what gets me when it comes to too many columnists – the casual dismissal of principle in the service of a partisan moment. It’s especially odious when they fail to disclose their previous position. It would be a breath of fresh air if Dionne would just come out and say that he’s against the filibuster when it’s stopping something he likes (99.9% of the time something Democrats want done) and he’s for the filibuster when it’s stopping something the Republicans want done.

His references to history are nothing more than hand-waving to distract notice from his partisanship.

For the record, I opposed the supermajority requirement that Democrats imposed on President Bush’s judicial nominees during the latter half of his presidency. I will oppose it if it is used against President Obama’s nominees – though, to be sure, Obama deserves having it done to him too.

Mar

I’m waiting for the apology first

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Categories: Democrats, Lawyers and Terrorism

Victoria Toensing has a piece in today’s Wall Street Journal taking the Obama Justice Department to task over the handling of 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. Unfortunately, I can’t read the entire piece because the Journal recently reverted to making most of its Opinion Page subscriber-only after about two years of it being free of charge. (If anyone would like to contribute to an online subscription for Hoystory, please hit the PayPal link in the right sidebar.)

But, I’m guessing that the piece doesn’t contain an apology for Toensing and her husband Joseph DiGenova’s support for the guy behind all these policies – Attorney General Eric Holder.

Toensing can complain and moan all she likes about how the Justice Department is handling terrorist prosecutions, but she was one of the ones providing cover for a dishonest, political hack of a nominee when he could’ve been stopped.

Mar

Any idiot can be a TV journalist

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Categories: Idiots and Media

As Rick Sanchez demonstrates.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c

The Uninformant

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show
Full Episodes

Political Humor

Health Care Reform

Mar

Can you see bottom from there?

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Categories: Democrats and Politics

Obama’s polling numbers continue to drop.

Barack Obama now has a negative approval rating in every state he flipped from the Bush column to his in 2008. In each of those places his level of support is now in the 44-46% range. It’s probably a good thing he doesn’t have to run for reelection this year. He can only hope things start turning around for him once the midterms are in the rear view mirror, much as they did for Bill Clinton.

Click the link for the state-by-state rundown.

Of course, the difference between 2010 and 1994 is that the Democrats have Barack Obama.

And what does Obama do for an embattled senator who has a serious re-election fight on his hands? Not so much.

President Obama traveled to a fundraiser in Las Vegas in February hoping to aid the uphill reelection campaign of Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid. It turns out, however, that the President may have actually done more harm than good, a Mason-Dixon poll released on Sunday shows.

During his speech, Obama repeatedly heaped praise on Reid, but voters were apparently unimpressed. Subsequent polling shows that only 7 percent of voters surveyed said they would now be more likely to vote for the senator, while 17 percent said they would be less likely. Seventy-five percent said the president’s visit would have no effect on how they vote.

Do you get the feeling that people liked the idea of Obama rather than any of his policies or positions?

Feb

Remember: He’s smart

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Categories: Democrats

Have you ever wondered why your flood insurance doesn’t pay off when your house burns to the ground?

No?

Well, then you’re smarter than that guy in the White House.

When I was young, just got out of college, I had to buy auto insurance. I had a beat-up old car. And I won’t name the name of the insurance company, but there was a company — let’s call it Acme Insurance in Illinois. And I was paying my premiums every month. After about six months I got rear-ended and I called up Acme and said, I’d like to see if I can get my car repaired, and they laughed at me over the phone because really this was set up not to actually provide insurance; what it was set up was to meet the legal requirements. But it really wasn’t serious insurance.

Now, it’s one thing if you’ve got an old beat-up car that you can’t get fixed. It’s another thing if your kid is sick, or you’ve got breast cancer.

This just in: the state insurance minimums, which is what Obama certainly had if he was driving “a beat-up old car,” cover liability. Not comprehensive. Not collision.

I can see it now. Everyone is required to buy liability, comprehensive, collision, towing by the federal government because we don’t want stupid people to be confused. Yes, they’ll pay more, but they’re getting better insurance – whether they want it or not. Driving a 1978 Ford Pinto that requires you to park on a hill because the starter’s shot? Is the floor rusted almost clean through? Well, you definitely need collision coverage on that clunker.

Was Obama paying attention in driver’s ed? They cover this stuff there.

Feb

An olive branch?

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Categories: Environment

Dr. Judith Curry – a climate scientist who is an Anthropogenic Global Warming alarmist, but not an elite member of “the team,” i.e. Gavin Schmidt, James Hansen, Phil Jones – has offered up a proverbial olive branch in the interest of “rebuilding” the “trust” the climategate scandal has demolished.

Of course, she can’t resist using the olive branch to take a few swipes at the people she’s offering it to, referring to “deniers” and suggesting that skepticism of AGW was initially funded by “Big Oil.” (I still haven’t received a check from “big oil” or even a gas gift card.)

Watts Up With That contributor Willis Eschenbach (who’s been mentioned on this blog before) responded aptly to Curry’s semi-open hand.

The solution to [restoring credibility] is not, as you suggest, to give scientists a wider voice, or educate them in how to present their garbage to a wider audience.

The solution is for you to stop trying to pass off garbage as science. The solution is for you establishment climate scientists to police your own back yard. When Climategate broke, there was widespread outrage … well, widespread everywhere except in the climate science establishment. Other than a few lone voices, the silence there was deafening. Now there is another whitewash investigation, and the silence only deepens.

And you wonder why we don’t trust you? Here’s a clue. Because a whole bunch of you are guilty of egregious and repeated scientific malfeasance, and the rest of you are complicit in the crime by your silence. Your response is to stick your fingers in your ears and cover your eyes. [emphasis in original]

Read the whole thing.

Feb

Health Care reform

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Categories: Medicine and Politics

Today was not a good day for President Obama and the Democrats. The Republicans didn’t look like a bunch of know-nothing, childish, just-say-no obstructionists with no ideas of their own.

Should the president and his allies go forward with pushing this disaster via reconciliation, the blowback will be immense.

Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin made one of the best cases that the Senate bill – which the president’s plan closely tracks – is a fiscal nightmare.

A few other points of note:

Going into the meeting, Obama said he was going to spend time listening. Here’s how the talk time broke down:

Obama: 119 minutes

Dems: 114 minutes

Reps: 110 minutes

The Democratic tactic of sharing sob stories about health insurance was a waste of time and did their case no good. We all know that sometimes the current system doesn’t work. Despite the repeated contentions of the Democrats, the choices aren’t the Obama Plan or No Plan. So what’s the purpose of the emotional blackmail?

Finally, via Ace, comes Obama’s rules of order from today’s summit.

1. Democrats get more time because "I’m the President."

2. Republicans may not criticise [sic] my bill. They can only talk about things on which we agree.

3. Republicans may not use the word "Washington" because it tips the scales.

4. Republicans may not use or reference an actual copy of the Senate bill. That’s a "prop" and it’s unfair.

5. We’re not in "campaign mode anymore," by which he means McCain cannot mention his dirty dealings.

Feb

Don’t bring a spork to a gunfight

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Categories: Environment

Howard Friel has published a book called “The Lomborg Deception.” Newsweek “science editor” Sharon Begley praises it. Armed Liberal notes that Begley shoots herself in the foot on her credibility.

But, the most entertaining bit of all is Lomborg’s response. [PDF format]

Now, I don’t agree with Lomborg’s take on the AGW hypothesis (he believes it). But where Lomborg is right is when he notes that the “cure” of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by halting the burning of fossil fuels is far worse than the disease.

Feb

The right to be paid for what you create

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Categories: Media

A couple of disparate, but related items:

First, there’s this article in the New York Observer about the New York Times and the Huffington Post’s moves to expand their stable of people producing content without remuneration.

Elsewhere in uncompensated journalism, The Huffington Post launched its college vertical today, complete with a call for free labor. While a Craigslist post late last year suggested that interns involved in the site would be paid, it sounds like all student contributors won’t be so lucky.

Explained HuffPo citizen journalism editor Adam Clark Estes in an email:

We do have a small budget to set student journalists up with equipment and to cover costs, but they won’t be paid on a traditional story-by-story basis. As with the rest of the citizen journalists at Huffington Post, we expect that the by-line and exposure offered by our millions of readers will be the best way to give credit.

That and a sawbuck will get you a latte at Starbucks.

At the opposite end of the political spectrum is Newsbusters/Media Research Center’s Tim Graham’s recent problem with appropriating stock images without paying for them.

I first noticed this happening a couple weeks back with this story. You’ll note that the image to the right of the post still bears the watermark from iStockPhoto – you get a version of the image sans watermark once you’ve bought it. An image of this size typically costs about $2 at iStockPhoto.

Today, Graham did it again. This time not just refusing to buy the stock image (this one runs $10), but also hot-linking it from the stock photo site – that is, Graham isn’t even paying the bandwidth charges on serving up the image he stole.

To prove that they don’t care about theft as long as the correct ox is being gored politically, two commenters tacitly defended the theft.

People should be paid for what they produce – whether it be political commentary, music, movies or stock images. I suspect Graham would be outraged if a publication ran his articles and columns in full without paying him – it’s no different for the artists he doesn’t seem interested in paying.

Feb

This used to get people fired

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Categories: Media and Racism

MSNBC regular Donny Deutsch referred to Republican Senate candidate Marco Rubio of Florida as a “coconut.”

For those of you unfamiliar with the term, its rough analog is referring to an black person as an “Oreo.”

You can bet that absolutely nothing will happen to Deutsch because he’s a liberal.

Feb

CPAC on video

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Categories: Politics and Republicans

While CPAC was going on last week I was busy with work, attending a wedding and spending quality time with the world’s greatest nieces. So, I’ve been catching up on some of goings on by watching videos provided by Townhall here.

If you didn’t get a chance, I encourage you to check out the George Will and John Bolton speeches.

Feb

You can take off your galoshes

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Categories: Environment

Some of you in low-lying areas were worried.

Scientists have been forced to withdraw a study on projected sea level rise due to global warming after finding mistakes that undermined the findings.

The study, published in 2009 in Nature Geoscience, one of the top journals in its field, confirmed the conclusions of the 2007 report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). It used data over the last 22,000 years to predict that sea level would rise by between 7cm and 82cm by the end of the century.

Of course, now ~~scientists~~ global warming alarmists are suggesting that the sea level rise may be even higher. Of course, that’s not based on science, but upon grant applications.