A champion is someone who gets up when he can't.
Jack Dempsey
Hillary Clinton's Irresponsible Comments at Abu Dhabi:
Thumbs DOWN!
I have to initially point out that this is a dated news item; Clinton's remarks were delivered this past Monday. I started to comment on this item earlier in the week, but decided to wait until after the Obama address Wednesday. Clinton's comments were covered by the national news networks and discussed and/or panned at Fox News.
I was unable to locate an embeddable version of Clinton's talking point at an Abu Dhabi town hall meeting, but you can find it on Youtube (e.g., CBS). Here is a transcript of her offensive comparison:
We have extremists in my country. A wonderful, incredibly brave young woman Congress member, Congresswoman Gifford[s], was just shot by an extremist in our country...The extremists and their voices, the crazy voices that sometimes get on the TV, that's not who we are, that's not who you are, and what we have to do is get through that and make it clear that that doesn't represent either American or Arab ideas or opinions.If anyone ever believed the political spin that Hillary Clinton was a centrist rather than just another Koolaid-drinking progressive (in fact, she has described herself as a modern progressive), this incident cements the fact that Hillary Clinton lacks the judgment and character necessary to be President.
For anyone who doesn't speak Progressive, I'll provide a translation: "the crazy voices that sometimes get on the TV" is a not-so-subtle swipe at Fox News, in particular media conservatives and Tea Party supporters.
[On a side note, I'm not trying to nitpick here, but describing Congresswoman Giffords as "incredibly brave" is inconsistent with the facts. The third-term Congresswoman had made several similar appearances without security officers either; in fact, assassination attempts against Congressmen have been rare events: only five attempts are on record, and the last fatality since the 1830's, Leo Ryan, occurred on a 1978 fact-finding mission in Guyana, a foreign country. There are a lot of adjectives one can use to describe Giffords (including resilient), but being brave implies courage in the face of known adversity. I am not aware of any known prior threat communicated by Loughner to Giffords.]
Of course, the key point is that Hillary Clinton is deliberately intended to morally equate Islamic terrorism with accused mass murderer Jared Loughner by blurring their distinction with the term "extremist". The Obama Administration has a known history of inappropriate moral equivalence. There is no doubt Jared Loughner held some unconventional beliefs, and his actions seem to have been premeditated. In part, Clinton's misleading terminology is a conscious effort to equate terrorism with criminal behavior. There are well-known differences; for example, a terrorist effort may be well-planned and organized, externally funded, involve self-sacrifice for some ideal, and/or chosen for its symbolic nature or effect. According to David Goldstein, a "criminal is one who seeks opportunistic targets, has little backing, is selfish, lacks discipline and may be deterred relatively easily". Victims (other than perhaps maximizing casualty counts for intended effect) are incidental to the terrorist; on the other hand, crimes are often motivated by state of mind, e.g., revenge, delusional beliefs about the target, anger, etc.
Recall this revelation from Mother Jones:
Tierney [Loughner friend], who's also 22, recalls Loughner complaining about a Giffords event he attended during that period. He's unsure whether it was the same one mentioned in the charges—Loughner "might have gone to some other rallies," he says—but Tierney notes it was a significant moment for Loughner: "He told me that she opened up the floor for questions and he asked a question. The question was, 'What is government if words have no meaning?'" "He said, 'Can you believe it, they wouldn't answer my question.' Ever since that, he thought she was fake, he had something against her." Giffords' answer, whatever it was, didn't satisfy Loughner. "He said, 'Can you believe it, they wouldn't answer my question,' and I told him, 'Dude, no one's going to answer that,'" Tierney recalls. "Ever since that, he thought she was fake, he had something against her."Without going beyond the scope of the current discussion, some people believe that the terminology used in our national documents (e.g., "unalienable rights", enumerated versus unenumerated rights, or "subject to the jurisdiction" in the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment) reflect some hidden agenda, the effect of which is the incremental stripping of individual rights by an obtrusive, expanding federal government's reach.
I think Clinton's unwillingness to distinguish between criminal and terrorist activity is deliberate, disgraceful, and unworthy of an American Secretary of State.
Governor Linc Chafee (I-RI): Banning State Employees from For-Profit Talk Radio?
Thumbs DOWN!
The former Rhode Island moderate Republican US Senator, a second-generation politician, and media conservatives, who typically listed him as a RINO ("Republican In Name Only") are not fans of each other. (Now why would media conservatives object to a Republican whom rejects education reform (and is thus supported by teacher unions), opposes drilling oil in the ANWR, supports reinstatement of the Clinton top income tax brackets, opposed Iraq War authorization, is pro-abortion choice, and is for gay marriage? Go figure....)
Chafee thinks his 2006 Senate reelection defeat was mostly due to his support of conservative Republican leadership. He quickly renounced his party affiliation shortly thereafter and threw his support to Barack Obama in the 2008 election. Last year he ran for governor, and if you recall, the Democratic candidate Frank Caprio was furious that Obama declined to endorse him in the race.
Chafee is disingenuously rationalizing a ban for him and other state employees to appear on talk radio (for the sin of being a for-profit medium!) as a "cost-saving deal" and because for-profit talk radio is "entertainment", not news. He will, of course, still appear on public radio and local news outlets. Let me this right: if public media are funded by taxpayer dollars, are they really "independent" in fact and appearance from public servants? And heaven forbid that local news shows make money by selling commercial time; surely local news media are not for-profit industries! Apparently appearing on public radio or local media is consistent with state personnel cost-saving measures, but not talk radio. (After all, the time spent on former media access is "more equal" than the latter...) And surely, new Gov. Chafee, you can tell us exactly how much it has cost the state in lost productivity for state employees to interview on talk show media? I'm sure that's just the savings you need to close a state budget deficit... (versus, say, laying off public-relations personnel).
The point is that Linc Chafee's position is indefensible. I'm disappointed because I supported his reelection in 2006 under a "big tent" philosophy, and he responded by scapegoating the party and engaging in self-serving behaviors, betraying those of us whom supported him in good faith. Linc, you need to take responsibility and not to sweat the small stuff. You're already off to a bad start.
Political Humor
New York City’s Mayor Bloomberg introduced a 15-point plan to get rid of all the snow. Fifteen points seems like a lot to me. I think two would be better: a snow-blower and maybe some salt. - Jimmy Kimmel
[The first fourteen deal with government services. The last one is "pick up a shovel and start digging..."]
A Swedish firm has designed an efficient city featuring buildings on wheels that can be moved in or out of town as desired. This ingenious city of the future is known as a trailer park. - Conan O'Brien
[In a separate press release, the Swedish firm noted that it has moved its facilities to Switzerland. It expects to pass along tax savings to its customers.]
Musical Interlude: One-Hit Wonders/Instrumentals
Starland Vocal Band, "Afternoon Delight". There is a personal anecdote on this song; at the time, I was close to one of my cousins, the older daughter of my dad's married sister. I've mentioned I was in my high school choir; my cousin had very good pipes and in fact was the featured singer of a trio that worked the Fall River area, playing small gigs (doing covers of The Carpenters' songs and other soft rock hits). Our biggest argument (until she and my other cousin joined a Pentecostal group and severed family ties) was the 1977 Grammy New Artist award. She loved Starland Vocal Band, and I was, and continue to be, a strong Boston fan. It's easy to say after the fact, but I presciently argued at the time that the band was a one-hit fluke while Boston would be an ongoing musical force (she understood my point but really, really loved this song). The New Artist award was almost a curse of one-hit wonders. I finally gave up when Debby Boone beat Foreigner the next year: Grammy voters were clearly incompetent. Is it any wonder how voters in 2008 chose a motivational speaker with a paper-thin resume to be President of the United States?
