Last Call

Jonah Goldberg decides he's all manly and stuff and demands to know why the media hasn't impeached President Obama over Benghazi yet and crowned Romney king.

If you want to understand why conservatives have lost faith in the so-called mainstream media, you need to ponder the question: Where is the Benghazi feeding frenzy?

Unlike some of my colleagues on the right, I don't think there's a conspiracy at work. Rather, I think journalists tend to act on their instincts (some even brag about this; you could look it up). And, collectively, the mainstream media's instincts run liberal, making groupthink inevitable.

To recap, the author of the book "Liberal Fascism" wants to know why his incomplete and misleading media narrative (created solely by groupthink, mind you) hasn't led to total vindication of his viewpoint yet, thus vindicating his viewpoint totally that the media is biased against conservative groupthink.

This is the media critic equivalent of constructing an entire book out of the sentence "The liberal acknowledgement that the federal government has a place in modern American society is admission of their complete guilt in helping that government destroy all freedoms."

Which, Goldberg actually did, and was paid money to do so.

He then goes on to complain that the media covered Bush's drunk driving incident 12 years ago, which is proof of everything he's ever said, Q.E.D.  You know, except for the part where it prevented Bush from being elected so that he couldn't actually use the federal government as a tool to destroy freedoms over the next 8 years.  He ignores that, of course.  But he ends with this critique of NBC'sDavid Gregory:

I am willing to believe that journalists like Gregory are sincere in their desire to play it straight. But among those who don't share his instincts, it's hard to distinguish between conspiracy and groupthink. Indeed, it's hard to think why one should even bother trying to make that distinction at all.

I know going after Jonah here is pretty much like hitting a pinata the size of a Canadian province with a sniper rifle at a range of roughly 2 feet, but it doesn't mean there's not sweet candy inside that must be liberated from its oppression.  I mean, it's really not hard to get a large white t-shirt, write KING OF ALL PROJECTION FOREVER on it in black marker, and then put it on the guy.

But these things must be done.

Queen Ann And Education

When's the last time you heard a potential First Lady talk like this about America's schools.

I’ve been a First Lady of the State. I have seen what happens to people’s lives if they don’t get a proper education. And we know the answers to that. The charter schools have provided the answers. The teachers’ unions are preventing those things from happening, from bringing real change to our educational system. We need to throw out the system.

But of course, the Romneys are going to be moderates.  When's the last time you heard a First Lady slag teachers as the problem in the US?  That's crazy, crazy stuff...but Queen Ann has spoken.

We need to throw out the system.  Because if teachers get paid less, that's sure to attract more qualified people to become teachers, right?

Jesus.  These people are mad.

Personhood Non Grata

The US Supreme Court punted Monday on Oklahoma's state "personhood" constitutional amendment being struck down unanimously by the state's Supreme Court.

The Liberty Counsel appealed the case to the Supreme Court on behalf of Personhood Oklahoma after the Oklahoma Supreme Court struck down the proposed ballot initiative earlier this year.

The ballot initiative sought to amend the Oklahoma Constitution by granting fertilized eggs and embryos the same constitutional rights as people. If ratified by voters, the amendment would have completely outlawed abortion under any circumstances.

“The issue is not about the merits of personhood but about whether a state court can interfere with the rights of citizens to gather signatures to amend their constitutions. On the issue, the Oklahoma Supreme Court decision is wrong. But this is by no means the end of the road in Oklahoma. Personhood initiatives will continue to expand throughout the country,” Mat Staver of the Liberty Counsel said.

The Oklahoma Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the ballot initiative violated the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1992 decision in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which upheld the right to have an abortion.

Legislation similar to the “fetal personhood” ballot measure passed in the Oklahoma Senate in February by a 34-8 vote. However, Oklahoma House Speaker Kris Steele and the State House Republican Caucus decided not to bring the bill to the House floor for a vote.

The problem of course is that eventually one of these cases will end up in front of SCOTUS, and there's four built-in votes to grant personhood and end abortion completely, not to mention to set up the criminalization of contraception and miscarriage.  Should Romney be elected, that number will increase, and then it's game over for most of the civil rights based decisions of the last century.

Of course, the number of women who will still vote for Romney will be in the tens of millions next week, something to keep in mind.

Betty McCaskill Dies At 84

Claire McCaskill's mother, Betty, passed away yesterday.  She was 84 years old.

Sen. McCaskill said of her mother in a statement from her campaign: "For some time, mom's health has not been good, and our family takes comfort that she is now at rest. People all over the state have asked about her, and their prayers and concern have been greatly appreciated. Mom never met a stranger and lived life with enthusiasm that none of us could match."

Betty was an active figure in local politics, and Claire McCaskill has always referred to her mother as a major inspiration.  She had taken time off quietly to share her mother's final days, and hasn't said when she will resume her scheduled appearances.

All That Glitters

British police arrested convicted sex offender and former pop star Gary Glitter on Sunday as part of an investigation into allegations of child sex abuse by the late BBC presenter Jimmy Savile, media said.

Glitter was released on bail some 10 hours later. But the arrest -- the first to be reported in the case -- widened a scandal that has already damaged the reputation of the publicly-funded BBC and the legacy of Savile, a former DJ who was one of the broadcaster's top show hosts and a prolific charity fundraiser.

Accusations have moved Glitter from place to place.  It's not know whether he's guilty, but it's certainly known that he has a past that will eventually catch up to him.  Though he's made it to 68 without any serious time, I suppose anything is possible.

Outbreak Break Out

Exactly how many people have to die across the country due to a fungal meningitis infection in back pain medicine, all caused by lack of oversight of the pharmaceutical industry, before this article saying that it "may" lead to more protections for consumers becomes "should" or "must"?

Inconsistent state oversight of specialty pharmacies that mix their own medicines, like the one linked to the U.S. meningitis outbreak, shows the need for greater federal oversight, Representative Edward Markey said.

State pharmacy boards focus on licensing activities and pay little attention to safety enforcement, said Markey, a Democrat from Massachusetts, where the pharmacy linked to 25 meningitis deaths is located. Markey, in a report released yesterday, said the federal Food and Drug Administration does a better job making information publicly available that may help consumers avoid dangerous medicines.

Markey plans to introduce legislation that would require compounding pharmacies to register with the FDA and comply with minimum safety standards. The move adds to other legislative proposals and two congressional investigations related to New England Compounding Pharmacy Inc., known as NECC, which this month recalled more than 17,000 vials of a steroid for back pain after tainted doses were linked to a fungal meningitis outbreak that has infected 354 people, including 25 deaths.

“The tragedy of NECC is clearly just the tip of an industry iceberg that has long needed reform and federal oversight,” Markey said in a statement. “This tragedy demands the strongest response from Congress and federal and state authorities to ensure safeguards are in place to protect patients.” 

And of course Republicans will say no new oversight is needed, and that New England Compounding will be put out of business by the hand of the free market, and that the problem solves itself, right?  Surely the industry will police itself now.  Which is of course, how we got into this problem in the first place.

Yeah, sure, a dozen or so people had to needlessly die, but you break a few eggs and stuff.

Moving on.

The Brains Behind Mitt

Firefly creator, filmmaker and TV writer Joss Whedon thinks Mitt Romney's the best candidate for driving America forward...



...driving us forward into the zombie apocalypse.

“I don’t pretend to see the future,” Whedon says. “No one knows for sure if they’ll be the super fast ’28 Days Later’ zombies, or the old school shambling kind. But they’ll be out there, and they’ll need brains.”

He continues: “So, whether you’re a small business man just trying to keep his doors open; a single mom so concerned with her son’s welfare that she’ll run to embrace him when he’s clearly infected and going to bite her; or a strung out ex-military type who’s been out there too long and is taking the same kind of damn fool chances that’ll get us all killed — you need ask yourself, ‘Am I ready… for the purity and courage of Mitt Romney’s apocalyptic vision?’”

“Mitt’s ready,” Whedon concludes. “He’s not afraid to face a ravening, grasping horde of subhumans, because that’s how he sees poor people already. Let’s all embrace the future, stop pretending we care about each other and start hoarding canned goods, because if Mitt takes office, sooner or later, the zombies will come for all of us.”

Well played, Mr. Whedon.  Well played.

Robot/Zombie '12?  More like Zombie/Zombie '12.

StupidiNews!

• "Superstorm" Sandy continues to churn across the mid-Atlantic and New England, knocking out power to 6.5 million and rising.
• Wall Street remains shut for a second day as NYC transit, bridges, and tunnels remain closed due to flooding.
• Neither Syrian rebels nor the al-Asaad regime honored the last day of a long weekend cease-fire on Monday.
• This year's Legatum Institute survey finds Norway, Denmark, and Sweden the most prosperous countries on Earth, while the US has dropped out of the top 10.
• Apple has shaken up its retail and software division heads as the company makes changes to deal with market share loss.