Senate to hold hearings on Muslims' rights
http://www.washingtontimes.com/blog/inside-politics/2011/mar/22/senate-hold-hearings-muslims-rights/

What an utterly silly and inane "response" to the Homeland Security committee's hearings into the radicalization of American Muslims.

Hearings, I might add, that produced absolutely NONE of the dire, fear-mongering predictions made by the Hysterical Left...

Michale.....

What a difference a President makes, eh??? :^/

Michale.....

She WAS attacked... But only in defense! :D hehehehehehe

I think some people misjudge you because you come on strong initially and they don't know you. I know I did at first. But I got over it :).

I know. I come on strong and people think I am an asshole.

Once they get to know me, they're sure of it.. :D

"They've done studies, you know. 60% of the time it works, every time." Brian Fantana, Anchorman

Everytime I see someone post an apropos TV/Movie quote, it makes me all giddy..

Because it means my posterity is assured... :D

Michale.....

I think what happened with Paula was that she felt attacked and responded defensively. Was trying to help her understand that you're really just passionate rather than a 'winger.

And passion is a good thing. Hell, if I were a member of the "professional left" I'd be trying to recruit people like you.

I think some people misjudge you because you come on strong initially and they don't know you. I know I did at first. But I got over it :).

-David

"They've done studies, you know. 60% of the time it works, every time." Brian Fantana, Anchorman

Fair enough.. I said the same thing to Paula about her accusations of Right Wing bias at Fox News.. We know how THAT turned out. :D

While there is overwhelming evidence of Left Wing bias amongst NPR employees, there isn't much evidence in the broadcasting, I will grant you.

To get the evidence you want would require a research commitment that I am not prepared to make.

Given that, I conditionally concede the point.. :D

Michale.....

give us time liz, we'll come through with at least a few whoppers. ;)

Hehehehe ... oh, I doubt that. And, I mean that sincerely - I'm not trying to be facetious here. :) Seriously!

Anyway, "professional left" was a poor choice of words (I think it originated from White House officials ripping their hair out over some extremely asinine blogs and reports emanating from the Huffington Post since day one of this administration);

However, that part of the Left, professional or otherwise, really need to take a course in reading between the lines and understand that Gibbs' use of "professional left" was not only a poor choice of words but it was most decidedly NOT an attempt to paint all administration critics with a broad brush! Hardly; it was an effort to call out the nonsense of those on the left who make it a habit of losing touch with reality and completely disregarding the facts of any given issue.

Reading between the lines is, evidently a lost art among many of those on the left side of the political spectrum.

In any event, way too much energy has been spent on reacting to perceived insults and it is high time we get down to the nuts and bolts of the next presidential election, don't you think!?

give us time liz, we'll come through with at least a few whoppers. ;)

i agree that "professional left" was a poor choice of words, but i don't think it's hyper-sensitive to respond indignantly when an administration paints critics with such a broad brush. part of the job of a politician is to keep one's base feeling supported, even when policy goals can't cater to their every whim. nobody here is saying that every single criticism from the left was 100% justified, but responding the way the administration did is in my opinion bad politics. a better course of action might be to ignore the sillier comments and respond thoughtfully to the substantive ones. if a politician is going to cast blame about, better to throw it at the opposition than at an entire class of disenchanted supporters. right or wrong, i think it's just not a smart move.

I don't know of any left-biased opinion shows on NPR. What ones are you referring to?

So, why is Fox News Right biased and NPR is not biased at all?

I really don't want to get into a Fox vs. NPR, right vs. left debate. I don't believe I said anything about Fox News.

What I'm arguing for is a higher evidence standard in the media. If you are going to say NPR has a liberal bias, show me some evidence of liberal bias in their programming. Any source that repeats this message w/o any evidence doesn't have much credibility in my opinion.

A good newspaper or journalist would question this claim and not simply repeat it.

-David

I might just add that when Gibbs and other White House officials spoke of the "professional left", they weren't talking about you or Chris!

I haven't heard one asinine statement out of either one of you and I don't ever expect to. :)

I think you just when ahead and proved my point about those on the Left being extremely hypersensitive.

Let me explain ... I'm not saying that there should be no criticism of Obama or of his administration, on any number of issues. I'm saying that I could do without the misguided and asinine criticism.

Now, as for the asinine statements - there were many that Gibbs was referring to when he clumsily coined the term, "professional left" but, right now, the only one that comes to mind is the assertion that Obama is the same as Bush. That is actually beyond asinine.

I literally have no time right now to get into this with you and probably won't until at least tomorrow night but ... I will be back!

Incidentally, you are flat out wrong to say that education is an issue that doesn't matter much to me. On the contrary, in fact. As I have told you before, US education policy is an issue I know NOTHING about and, as a Canadian, I have no interest in getting into the finer details of that policy.

as a self-identified left-leaning professional, i'd like you to identify the asinine statements to which you're referring. certainly there must be at least a few professional criticisms of the president that could be termed valid.

for example, his response to the situation at Central Falls High School in Rhode island was insulting to education professionals spanning across the political spectrum. it was an ignorant move, and his education policy in general has been pretty awful by my estimation. if the administration wants to dismiss those criticisms as somehow invalid or asinine, i'd challenge him to provide evidence to back up that claim.

i know education is not an issue that matters much to you, but it matters a great deal to me. when a democratic president who garnered overwhelming support from our country's educators enacts policies that go against every tenet of education research, it's no small deal.

Re.: Stop Insulting Us

You know, you are actually insulting yourself by spending any amount of time lamenting the "abuse" coming from the White House that the so-called "professional left" has had to endure.

Number one ... you are most definitely NOT a part of the "professional left" for the purposes of a discussion about "Stop Insulting Us".

And, number two ... the White House officials were only stating the obvious when they properly lambasted the wholly asinine statements coming out of the "professional left"; though, 'professional left' would not have been my preferred terminology ... I would have used something different and far more demeaning toward those making the asinine comments, especially knowing how hypersensitive the left side of the political spectrum can often be.

By the way, this is up at the Huffington Post - which reminds me ... I haven't checked out the comments yet ... I can hardly wait ...

thanks for the feedback. i do get carried away sometimes :)

Phone call from God. If it had been collect, that would have been daring!
~Robin Williams, Dead Poets Society

PAPER: 'Kill team' in Afghanistan posed for photos with murdered civilians...
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1368314/German-newspaper-publishes-suppressed-photos-U-S-soldiers-posing-partially-naked-Afghan-corpse.html

Since the Left blamed Bush for Abu Ghraib, one has to wonder if the Left will blame Obama for this...

Michale.....

http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2011/03/exclusive-cbs-wants-charlie-sheen-back

Michale.....

In {22} you appear to indicate that being close-minded is a conservative trait..

My subsequent response disputes this and gives examples of alleged liberals who are also extremely close-minded..

So, maybe being close-minded is not a conservative trait but rather a trait of a political ideologue or zealot. A trait that knows no Leftist or Rightist boundaries.....

Just a thought...

Michale.....

Fair enough..

So, why is Fox News Right biased and NPR is not biased at all??

Looking at their respective (foxnews.com and npr.com) websites, it seems each simply reports the news...

Now, if you want to talk OPINION shows, then I can see why you could claim that FNC is Right biased. But, if we ARE talking opinion shows, then NPR is clearly Left biased...

I think the problem the Left has is that they want to point to FNC's opinion line up and use THAT as "evidence" that Fox NEWS is Right Biased..

But the Left doesn't want that applied to NPR or other Left biased media outlets...

You can't control what others do, Michale. Only yourself.

True... I can't control what others do..

But I CAN call BS on their claim of being a "liberal" when their actions clearly indicate that they are not...

Michale.....

What I believe is that you judge the content of the news by the news.

And, sad as it is to say, those people I mentioned ARE, quintessentially, today's liberals.

I'm not going to get into the "back and forth" with you, Michale. You can go off on liberals if you want, but we all know what that discussion looks like.

You can't control what others do, Michale. Only yourself.

Cheers
-David

There is a call for Impeachment of President Obama for his "illegal" Libya actions...

Ironically enough, the call for Impeachment comes from a Democrat..

How ironic is THAT, eh? :D

Seriously, there does seem to be a pretty good case shaping up. Congress didn't authorize any Use Of Force.

It seems that the United States is taking orders from the United Nations.

"Oh, how the mighty have fallen."
-Guinan, STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION, Deja Q

Michale.....

So then, consequently, you must believe that that a news organization can be "overwhelmingly" made up of conservatives, but not have a conservative bent. :D

Remember, Michale. Liberals encourage lots of viewpoints. Its part of what makes us liberal. We're the original fair and balanced :).

And yet there are "liberals" like Cesca, Osborne, Paula, etc etc etc who are as violent and as nasty in defense of THEIR ideology as the Hysterical Right is of the conservative ideology...

Don't get me wrong. If we had been having this discussion, say 20-30 years ago, I would have agreed with you unequivocally..

But I see no open-mindedness in today's "liberals".. I see no encouragement of "lots of viewpoints" with liberals like Marsh, Osborne, Cesca, Paula, etc etc. Their idea of "lots of viewpoints" is trying to determine whether Bush is a moron or an idiot.. They are very low brow..

And, sad as it is to say, those people I mentioned ARE, quintessentially, today's liberals..

Our time, the time of TRUE open-mindedness, has past, my friend...

Michale.....

That's certainly what the evidence seems to suggest. Unless you can show me some examples of NPR pushing liberal positions.

Remember, Michale. Liberals encourage lots of viewpoints. Its part of what makes us liberal. We're the original fair and balanced :).

Conservatives (and I'm not including you here because a) I consider you an independent and b) you don't fit the bill) but rather many Rush Limbaugh-type conservatives I know seem to be more close-minded.

-David

It IS going to be interesting to see how the enemies of the US spin this latest campaign...

The US is at war with 3 Muslim countries...

No matter how you slice it, that looks bad...

Michale....

If NPR is not a liberal news organization, why was Juan Williams fired and Nina Totenberg still has a job?

Why did a high executive of NPR say all the things he was recorded as saying??

Or is it your position that a news organization can be completely made up, "overwhelmingly" made up of liberals, but yet NOT have a liberal bent??

Michale......

Yes, I did..

Nina Totenberg...

Can you show me any examples of FNC pushing a conservative opinion?? :D

Fox will have liberals on but they work very hard to make sure that the conservatives win. Its rigged.

And you can prove this??

I actually have listened to NPR.. Not recently, but I have..

Enough to confirm that NPR is the mirror image of FNC except without the wild and undisputed popularity... :D

Michale...

Michale, you still haven't shown any on-air examples of NPR pushing a liberal opinion.

Is it because there aren't any?

All your examples show is that there are "liberals" at NPR.

NPR presents different sides of issues. Sometimes I think they go out of their way to try an bring conservatives on the show.

Fox will have liberals on but they work very hard to make sure that the conservatives win. Its rigged. You know who's going to win right from the start. Think Sean Hannity and Alan Colmes. Colmes role was never to win.

Seriously, you should listen to a little NPR.

There's no liberal bias. Give it a chance before making up your mind!

-David

OUCH....

NYpoet... You shouldn't bottle it all up in side..

Tell us how you REALLY feel..... :D

Michale.....

Yer preaching to the choir on THAT point! :D I grew up with Meatloaf. PARADISE BY THE DASHBOARD LIGHTS, TWO OUT OF THREE AIN'T BAD, LIFE IS A LEMON (AND I WANT MY MONEY BACK), FOR CRYING OUT LOUD are all classics..

Add to that his recent stuff, I WOULD DO ANYTHING FOR LOVE, BUT I WON'T DO THAT and ROCK AND ROLL DREAMS COME THRU (the video featured a very young Angelina Jolie in one of her first videos)

Have you seen him recently?? WOW... What a difference.. :D

And yeah, I probably would have seen it anyway, but you did bring the Michigan Dems to my attention, so credit where credit is due...

And I also gave you their Contact Info.. :D hehehehehehehe

Michale.....

Hey, I like Meatloaf! "Send Lawyers, Guns, and Money" is hilarious, not to mention "Paradise By The Dashboard Light"!

Heh.

And yeah, I probably would have seen it anyway, but you did bring the Michigan Dems to my attention, so credit where credit is due...

Liz and akadjian -

What I wonder with the Japanese plant is why there was no "backup of the backup of the backup" system for when the power dies. All they would need, to my mind, is a few extra pipe fittings, so the core's water could be easily pumped by an external source (like a fire truck). Maybe this is a "20/20 hindsight" sort of observation, but it really wouldn't have been that hard to add to the design, would it?

Kevin -

That is a pretty good article. Especially the points about the testimony. Politics and war are a dangerous mix...

nypoet22 -

Excellent TP#8. Just had to say that.

-CW

http://abcnews.go.com/International/libya-international-military-coalition-launch-assault-gadhafi-forces/story?id=13174246

I have to admit.. I am surprised..

I never thought Obama would actually commit forces...

Michale.....

"Mr. President, I know you're an educated man, and that even with all your responsibilities you sometimes take the time to read. So please, do the 7 million teachers in this country the kindness of actually reading a substantial amount of education research.

"Read about the proven effectiveness of improved Pre-K and community services. Read about the proven effectiveness of smaller class sizes. Read about the proven benefits of community support services, school nurses, nutrition and libraries.

"Read about the benefits of choosing educational leaders, superintendents (and for that matter secretaries of education) who were themselves decorated teachers, not corporate CEO's, politicians or relative newcomers to the field of education.

"Read about the unreliability and hidden costs of high-stakes standardized testing. Read about the fraud, abuse and low success rates that most frequently characterize the privatization and deregulation of schools. Only 17% of charters do better than their neighboring public schools, while 37% do worse. Yet this is the trend you seem to be fighting to increase.

"Read what thousands of teachers have to say about NCLB, Race To The Top and your own comments regarding Central Falls High School in Rhode Island. The trouble with having a base that consists largely of professionals, is that professionals read. Professionals learn what you are doing, and professionals have the capacity to compare your words and actions now with your words and actions two years ago. We remember your criticism of NCLB policies that "alienated teachers and principals instead of inspiring them." Talk to fifty random teachers in our country, and ask them which they feel more right now, alienated or inspired.

"Then apologize to the nation's 7 million teachers and promise to change course, away from the further enshrinement of high stakes standardized testing, and toward strategies that have actually proven over years of research to be effective."

Let's not forget that a high level NPR executive stated that NPR would "probably be better off without federal funding.."

So, why cap on the GOP for pushing exactly what NPR wants??? :D

Michale.....

http://www.stonekettle.com/

This fellow makes some great points.

That should read:

Firing Juan Williams for expressing an opinion on Fox News...

My bust.. :D

Michale.....

Firing Juan Williams for expressing an opinion...

NPR Executive Schiller expressing his opinions on Tea Party.

Nina Totenberg's On Air comments about Jesse Helms and Juan Williams..

You and I both know that if you were to somehow poll the political orientation of everybody in the NPR news organization and at all of the member stations, you would find an overwhelmingly progressive, liberal crowd, not uniformly, but overwhelmingly.
-Bob Garfield, This American Life, NPR

Shall I go on?? :D

Michale.....

Can you cite any?

If conservatives had any actual evidence of "bias", it would be everywhere. I don't think they do.

Seriously ...
-David

Michale.....

Seriously??

You don't recall seeing all of the examples of NPR liberal??

Hell one of their own on air segments was on exactly how everyone at NPR is a liberal...

Michale.....

What's interesting to me is the lack of trust - deservedly so - in the media. When almost everything printed is designed to grab attention, rather than provide useful information to the public, people don't know who to turn to for reliable reports.

One of the few decent reports I heard was on NPR this morning. They talked about safety designs and new reactor designs w/ passive cooling systems (ones that could run for days w/o electricity) and how if we could bring these online, we could retire older plants.

Unfortunately, we'll probably be sticking w/ the older plants because, amidst all the hysteria, the new designs will be put on hold.

In a slight change of subject, I do think it's a shame that one of the few genuine news outlets (NPR) is being attacked by Republicans as "liberal". My question is, if its so liberal, how come conservatives don't just play some clips to prove their point? Have any of them ever listened to NPR?

Towards protecting the few meager crumbs the government sends towards public broadcasting, I'd suggest the line: Wall Street vs. Sesame Street

-David

The media coverage of the nuclear crisis in Japan has, indeed, been nothing short of dismal. In fact, dismal - with respect to this issue, at least - has been given whole new meaning at CNN where the singular preoccupation of Anderson Cooper et al. has been a wholly cynical view of how the Japanese government and IAEA and everyone else involved, including the brave workers at the nuclear plant itself, have been handling this disaster ... all under the guise of "keeping them honest".

I guess I shouldn't be too surprised about this since cynicism runs rampant across all political issues these days including, it seems, through the early stages of the campaign to re-elect POTUS.

Personally, I have had about all the cyncisism I can deal with for the time being.

Between you and me, and the four walls, I hope this FTP edition won't find its way to the Huffington Post because I'm quite sure I couldn't possibly bear to read the comments section.

There, just had to say that.

That's an insult to Meatloaf... :D

For their "dirty tricks" campaign, this week's Most Disappointing Democrat Of The Week award goes out to both Michael McGuinness and Jason Bauer. For shame, guys, for shame.

Ha!! :D

[I could not find current contact information for either of these Democrats. If anyone has their contact info, please post it in the comments.]

Michael McGuinness
Jason Bauer
C/O Andrew C. Baird Detention Facility
Wayne County Jail
570 Clinton St
Detroit, MI 48226

:D

Michale.....