Posted 11:33 AM by Scoobie Davis

Woo Hoo! Just Found Out! New Chick Tract!
It's called "The Chaplain." I will check it out and tell you what I think.

UPDATE: It's not the most interesting Chick Tract by far, but not bad. In terms of Chick Tracts with a military theme, it is similar to "Holy Joe" (but not as good). A couple things bothered me: 1) Benny has a soul patch which certainly is against military regulations; 2) The whole diving-on-the-grenade-to-save-your-buddy is so cliche. I'll give the tract a B- (had it contained an illustration of an angel tossing the know-it-all chaplain into the lake of fire, I would have given it a B).

Posted 9:05 AM by Scoobie Davis

You're Doing a Heckuva Job, Dumbass
Click here for a laugh.

Posted 8:52 AM by Scoobie Davis

Wikipedia on Christopher Ruddy and NewsMax
Hearing Bill O'Reilly whine about far-left smear sites (Falafel-Man is usually referring to Media Matters for America which has done a great job of exposing O'Reilly's misinformation), I decided to see what was in the Wikipedia about NewsMax, the website and rag run by Christopher Ruddy that O'Reilly writes for. I was glad to see that the entry for NewsMax gives a good picture of what it stands for.

Posted 12:09 AM by Scoobie Davis

Can His Ass
Time magazine will be cutting up to 400 jobs next year. I hope they start with some embarrassing deadwood like John Cloud.

Posted 12:04 AM by Scoobie Davis

Good Omen: Conservative Icon Tells Fellow Wing-Nuts to Prepare for Impeachment
A couple weeks ago, I slammed William A. Rusher for his endorsement of a book that whitewashed Sun Myung Moon (scroll down to 12/16). However, I like the title of his column on the wing-nut website WorldNetDaily: "Get ready for impeachment."

Posted 2:39 PM by Scoobie Davis

Google Bomb Amway/Quixtar
I have a new Google Bomb on the Google Bomb Blog. As I have pointed out previously, Amway/Quixtar is a huge operation that is also a de facto ATM machine for the Republican Party. By google bombing Amway/Quixtar, we can not only keep unwitting people from being scammed but we can defund the right (the fewer people who become part of the Scamway machine, the less money Amway can give to the GOP). Let’s google bomb them:

1. Copy and paste the following to your web site or on an internet bulletin board:

<a href="http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Amway/">Amway</a>
<a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4375477/">Amway</a>
<a href="http://www.merchantsofdeception.com/">Amway</a>
<a href="http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Amway/blakey_report.pdf">Amway</a>
<a href="http://www.rickross.com/groups/amway.html">Amway</a>
<a href="http://www.freedomofmind.com/resourcecenter/groups/a/amway/">Amway</a>
<a href="http://skepdic.com/amway.html">Amway</a>
<a href="http://www.ex-cult.org/Groups/Amway/otherside/links.htm">Amway</a>
<a href="http://www.apollowebworks.com/amway/">Amway</a>
<a href="http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0412/S00079.htm">Amway</a>
<a href="http://www.workingforchange.com/article.cfm?itemid=19039">Amway</a>
<a href="http://www.forbes.com/best/2001/0625/040.html">Amway</a>
<a href="http://www.webraw.com/quixtar/">Amway</a>
<a href="http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Amway/">Quixtar</a>
<a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4375477/">Quixtar</a>
<a href="http://www.merchantsofdeception.com/">Quixtar</a>
<a href="http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Amway/blakey_report.pdf">Quixtar</a>
<a href="http://www.rickross.com/groups/amway.html">Quixtar</a>
<a href="http://www.freedomofmind.com/resourcecenter/groups/a/amway/">Quixtar</a>
<a href="http://skepdic.com/amway.html">Quixtar</a>
<a href="http://www.ex-cult.org/Groups/Amway/otherside/links.htm">Quixtar</a>
<a href="http://www.apollowebworks.com/amway/">Quixtar</a>
<a href="http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0412/S00079.htm">Quixtar</a>
<a href="http://www.workingforchange.com/article.cfm?itemid=19039">Quixtar</a>
<a href="http://www.forbes.com/best/2001/0625/040.html">Quixtar</a>
<a href="http://www.webraw.com/quixtar/">Quixtar</a>

The results will look like this:

Amway
Amway
Amway
Amway
Amway
Amway
Amway
Amway
Amway
Amway
Amway
Amway
Amway
Quixtar
Quixtar
Quixtar
Quixtar
Quixtar
Quixtar
Quixtar
Quixtar
Quixtar
Quixtar
Quixtar
Quixtar
Quixtar

Posted 9:11 AM by Scoobie Davis

The Last Word on the Fraudulent "War on Christmas"
The inimitable Charles P. Pierce:

There's no point in explaining now that the "War on Christmas" was produced wholly in the depths of the Id Workshop that is the Fox News Channel. There's no point in explaining how ashamed any legitimate outlet that gave this nonsense a half-minute’s thought should be, let alone three minutes of precious airtime or five precious column inches. At this point, what with his having hung his libido on the phone lines with care, O'Reilly should be treated in the more respectable precincts of the media the same way those bearded gentlemen who claim the Rockefellers infested Harvard with space aliens are. He should be greeted at the door with a smile, a pat on the back, and a handful of Thorazine, and then sent on his way. What was worse about this, though, was that he dragged my holiday into his own megalomania. It was like going to the zoo and seeing your beloved heirlooms being thrown around the monkey house.

I don't love Christmas because some people don't. I don't love Christmas because I got caught talking dirty to a subordinate, paid her off, and now have to recoup my position as an arbiter of family values and a peddler of overpriced slacks. (If you were Bill O'Reilly, would you try to sell anyone your pants? Who would buy them? Wouldn't they have to come equipped with both a lawyer and a Hazmat suit?) I don't love Christmas because it makes me better than anyone else.

God, what a tortured, joyless place that must be to live. At least, Scrooge had an excuse. His father was a creep and his sister died, and Belle dumped him because he was trying to make a go in business. Early on, when his estranged nephew tells him he doesn't keep Christmas, he replies, sensibly, "Let me leave it alone then." A sensible response, given what had happened to him. It wasn't for him, but he didn't try to ruin anyone else's Christmas -- not even that of Bob Cratchit, to whom he grudgingly gave the whole day off. No wonder the Spirits gave him a second chance. He was at least open, somehow, to the possibilities of the season.

These guys, though, they're infinitely beyond that "wretched, covetous old sinner," to quote the (well-written) Spirit of Christmas Past. They claim to enjoy the season and then use it to bludgeon everyone else.

Posted 9:09 AM by Scoobie Davis

The Media Year in Review
Click here

Posted 2:21 PM by Scoobie Davis

Mishmash
I've been keeping a dream journal for the past few weeks; recently, I mentioned how I dreamed I was in a Tag body spray commercial. Last night, I dreamed that Greta Van Sustern's alter ego is Xenu; the reason I had the dream was probably because Van Susteren is a member of the Church of Scientology. . .I just found an old article about me in PRWeek. . . I never thought I would have anything to say--good or bad--about Barron's. They should keep up the good work . . . One of the aspects of the upcoming Playboy pictorial that features women of America's party schools that I especially wanted to check out are the women of Ohio University. I wanted to go there but my mom didn't want me to go because of its party school rep. So I went to Miami U. and partied out and I went on to become one of Hollywood's top party crashers . . . Matthew Yglesias is short and sweet . . . Tweety deserves to be "Misinformer of the Year"; I can think of a lot of people who could be runners-up.

Posted 11:05 AM by Scoobie Davis

Prediction
Fiesta Bowl: Ohio State 34, Notre Dame 22.

I also predict the impeachment of George W. Bush.

Posted 11:25 AM by Scoobie Davis

Happy Festivus, Saturnalia, and Pancha Ganapati
I would wish all of you a Merry Christmas except that:
1) I'm not a Christian (my religious beliefs are described at the end of this post)
2) Christmas is overrated (more on this later)
3) Not wishing you a merry Christmas is one way to say f-you to the phony pro-Christmas warriors.

Festivus is officially celebrated on December 23 (though last year I celebrated it on December 25).

Saturnalia is a fun holiday. Why wait for Mardi Gras or Spring Break to party? As someone who analyzes film, I believe that It's a Wonderful Life represents an epic battle of Christmas versus Saturnalia. Bedford Falls represents Christmas and Pottersville represents the forces of Saturnalia. I much prefer Pottersville (Click here for an amusing explanation of why Pottersville gets a bad rap).

Pancha Ganapati is a December Hindu celebration. It involves the worship of Ganesha--who is my favorite Hindu deity.

Posted 10:57 AM by Scoobie Davis

Quick, Someone Alert Bill O'Reilly and John Gibson
On the Republican National Committee's official website, episode four of their "In the Know" series is the "Holiday Edition," not the "Christmas Edition." Just another example of the "secular progressive movement's" war on Christmas. The horrors. . .the horrors!

Posted 10:38 AM by Scoobie Davis

That's Mighty White of them
Fox News affiliate promotes a white supremist website.

Posted 2:06 PM by Scoobie Davis

I Agree
Joe Conason: "Bush's Abuse of Power
Deserves Impeachment":

Recklessly and audaciously, George W. Bush is driving the nation whose laws he swore to uphold into a constitutional crisis. He has claimed the powers of a medieval monarch and defied the other two branches of government to deny him. Eventually, despite his party's monopoly of power, he may force the nation to choose between his continuing degradation of basic national values and the terrible remedy of impeachment.

Until Mr. Bush openly proclaimed as commander in chief that he can brush aside the law, cries for impeachment were heard only on the political fringe, although most Americans have long since realized that he misled America into war. Much as he is disliked and disdained by liberals, even they have shown little enthusiasm for impeachment. In addition to the obvious obstacle of a Republican-controlled Congress, there appeared to be no firm proof of an offense that justified such action. To mention the word was to be dismissed--even by people who believe that this President may well have committed "high crimes and misdemeanors."

Posted 12:05 PM by Scoobie Davis

Phony War on Christmas, Part 395833
Here is the article by Hendrik Hertzberg that got Bill O'Reilly's panties in a bunch and led him to add The New Yorker to his official enemies list for the crime of citing "far-left smear sites."

Psst, Bill, have you ever thought about adding a magazine you write for--Christopher Ruddy's NewsMax--to your list of "Media Operations that Traffic in Defamation"? Click here and here for just a couple quick examples.

UPDATE: Media Matters has more.

Posted 1:39 PM by Scoobie Davis

Hmmm...
I just read this in Mother Jones: Daniel Borchers will release his film on Ann Coulter--The Truth About Ann--next June. Here's more.

Posted 10:52 AM by Scoobie Davis

All I Want for Festivus is Impeachment
The "I" Word. Let us pray.

Posted 5:12 PM by Scoobie Davis

Can't Wait
Morgan Spurlock, of Super Size Me fame, is doing the film adaptation of Chris Mooney's book The Republican War on Science. BTW, the book is excrpted in the December 2005/January 2006 issue of Free Inquiry.

Posted 12:20 PM by Scoobie Davis

Good Eatin' for Cheap in San Diego
Esmeralda's Taco Shop in downtown SD (815 C St, San Diego 92101). You can get 5 potato taquitos (rolled tacos) with a side of rice or fries and a glass of horchata for less than five bucks. You can eat on their patio and watch the trolley cars go by. You can also watch them construct the apartment building/skyscraper that has the funny structure on the roof which reminds me of this Shanghai building.

Posted 12:19 PM by Scoobie Davis

Attack, Attack, Attack, Indeed
Read this.

Posted 10:55 AM by Scoobie Davis

Google Bomb Success Against Tammy Bruce!
The other day, I was thinking about how I neglected the Google Bomb Blog. That’s unfortunate because this small blog has had a huge impact. A case in point, last night and this morning I saw the power of the google bomb. Last night, Fox News Democrat and right-wing shill Tammy Bruce appeared on C-SPAN 2’s Book TV giving a discussion about her deceitful book The New American Revolution at Traitor Horowitz’s Wednesday Morning Club.

During and after Bruce’s appearance on C-SPAN, there was a huge spike of hits to this site. Why? Because due to the google bombing of Bruce’s name on the Google Bomb Blog, four of the top ten sites for a Google search of “Tammy Bruce” have articles that expose Bruce's mendacity--including one from this site. We own the skank’s name on Google and other search engines. Furthermore, the second site that pops up for a Google search is Jeff Koopersmith’s informative article for American Politics Journal.

Why is this great? It’s not great because we’re receiving more hits. It’s great because a lot of Americans who became acquainted with Bruce for the first time when they saw Bruce on C-SPAN are getting the information about Bruce’s treachery from these sites. The simple fact is that if you expose someone like Bruce to the light of day, it’s not a pretty picture. This google bomb proved to be a victory for truth and a defeat for skankitude.

Posted 11:17 AM by Scoobie Davis

Regnery Publishing's Disgrace
David Neiwert has a post on Regnery Publishing's problems with the truth. What is not too well-known is that Regnery has been a conduit for Unification Church propaganda. In 1984, Regnery, then known as Regnery Gateway, published a whitewash of Sun Myung Moon by the then-president of the Unification Church, Mose Durst, titled To Bigotry, No Sanction, Reverend Sun Myung Moon and the Unification Church (the book received fulsome praise from then-publisher of National Review, William A. Rusher). More recently, Regnery published the book Inquisition, Carlton Sherwood's attempt to exculpate Moon regarding his tax evasion conviction. Also, Regnery published Moonie Times operative Bill Sammon's libelous At Any Cost: How Al Gore Tried To Steal the Election.

In other Moonie news, click here for an analysis of why the mainstream media is hesitant to cover Moon.

UPDATE: (Via Roger Ailes) "Sun Myung, Boris and Neil Bush" by Rick Casey of the Houston Chronicle.

Posted 10:46 AM by Scoobie Davis

I'll Be Posting Over The Weekend
And probably today.

Posted 11:15 AM by Scoobie Davis

Hey Hey Hey Goodbye
Ralph Reed and Bob "Freedom Fries" Ney. How the mighty have fallen.

Posted 11:00 AM by Scoobie Davis

Michelle Malkin's Favorite Deportable Alien
Recently, Michelle Malkin hailed the return of the Moonie newsmagazine Insight on the News. Malkin has a thing about immigration but it is rather selective, especially when it comes to undesirable aliens like Sun Myung Moon who have deep pockets to subsidize the hard right--much of the money comes from charity fraud by Moon devotees who are kept in slavelike conditions. Here's a previous post on Malkin and Moon.

Posted 2:34 PM by Scoobie Davis

Diebold Boys Going Down?
We can only hope.

Posted 8:48 AM by Scoobie Davis

By Popular Demand
The transcript of my conversation with Bill O'Reilly on the "war on Christmas." Enjoy.

Posted 10:48 AM by Scoobie Davis

Every Democrat Should Read This
Mark Crispin Miller on the Democrats:

Why do they keep fleeing the issue? Unless the Democrats get into it, they'll simply vanish as a party, just as Paul Weyrich and Grover Norquist and Karl Rove intend. The reason why the Democrats avoid the issue, even though the party's very existence is at stake, appears to be a bone-deep inability to face the very frightening implications of what really happened in 2004. The Democrats don't want to know that the United States is clearly not a democratic country, or that the Bush Republicans are dangerous extremists, intent on building a one-party theocratic state-so that the opposition now must go beyond the usual horse-race strategizing, and get re-acquainted with this nation's revolutionary heritage. Which means, I reckon, that the opposition has to move beyond the Democratic Party.

And of course the Democrats don't want to go there. The problem is compounded by the press, which has consistently sidestepped the issue, or even ridiculed those who have tried to talk about it. And by "the press," I mean not just the likes of CNN and Newsweek and the New York Times, but even the left/liberal and progressive media, which, by and large, have also basically concurred with the Republicans in claiming that last year's election was essentially legitimate.

Posted 10:16 AM by Scoobie Davis

Must Read
Tom Tomorrow on Bill O'Reilly and the War on Christmas. In case you missed last week's post that has the transcript of my conversation with O'Reilly on the phoniness of the war to protect Christmas, click here to read it.

Posted 8:57 AM by Scoobie Davis

Robert Parry Hits the Nail on the Head (Again)
He takes on the phony "War on Christmas":

You have to hand it to political operatives who can turn the Christmas celebration of Jesus’s birth into a nasty wedge issue, transforming a traditional message of love, peace and tolerance into one of anger, conflict and resentment.

The success of the American Right in extracting a “war on Christmas” out of a few well-meaning gestures to non-Christians, such as using the greeting “Happy Holidays,” is a testament to the investment conservatives have made in media over three decades.

With their vertically integrated media apparatus – from newspapers and magazines, to TV and radio, to books and the Internet – the Right now can take a few scattered anecdotes on almost any topic and heat them up into a hot-button issue. . .

While conservative commentators often accuse African-Americans and other minorities of wallowing in their “victimhood,” the Right’s media has learned the political power that comes from letting white men, for instance, take on the mantle of “victim.”

In the 1990s, a powerful conservative theme was the complaint against “political correctness,” which often came down to universities and other institutions applying clumsy restrictions against young white men shouting the n-word at African-Americans or using other offensive language.

Though American white men are arguably the most privileged group on earth, the “political correctness” theme allowed them to bathe in the self-pity of their “victimhood.” It allowed them to get righteous and angry against their supposed persecutors.

There is, of course, a danger whenever a powerful group begins to view itself as the victim, because their real power allows these ersatz oppressed to inflict far greater harm on their enemies than could a group without power.

Read the entire article.

Posted 1:09 PM by Scoobie Davis

Dealing with LaRouchies
On Friday night, when I went to the Gaslamp Quarter to meet some people at the Martini Ranch, I was approached by a group of followers of perennial fringe presidential candidate Lyndon Larouche. They set up a table on 5th Avenue with their literature. Those of you familiar with this blog know that I rarely pass up an opportunity to mercilessly ridicule goofballs who approach me on the street. I do this not just for a laugh at their expense but because I earnestly believe that what these deluded souls desperately need is a cold dose of reality. They need an adult to tell them how they’re wasting their lives and to prod them to examine their ridiculous causes. Thus, my mockery is humanitarian and selfless (e.g., I once gave up a primo chance of getting laid to engage in some ridicule of a marginal politico).

I decided to adjust my approach this time because of something a friend recently told me. My friend agrees with me that Larouche is a nut job. However, he told me that many of the LaRouchies seem to be idealistic but misguided people and that a more constructive approach to them might work. So when I spoke to the LaRouchies, although I was my usual condescending self (e.g., I asked one of them if his parents knew he was a LaRouchie), I was a lot less caustic. I applauded them for being concerned about the issues but pointed out that working for a charlatan like Larouche was the wrong way to achieve their goals.

I also appealed to their self-interest. I let them know that LaRouche’s anhedonic positions against rock-and-roll and premarital sex were unnatural. I let them know about how rock music helped to make this country great. I also let them know about the virtues of recreational humping. I pointed to a male and female LaRouchie and said, “You two would make a good couple. You should hook up. You’re only young once and wasting your youth is a sin.” I don’t know if anything I said to them sunk in. I told them about this blog so maybe one of them is reading this and could e-mail me and tell me if I got through to any of them.

Posted 2:14 PM by Scoobie Davis

Quote of the Year in the Book of the Year
Mark Crispin Miller's in Fooled Again: How the Right Stole the 2004 Election & Why They'll Steal the Next One Too (Unless We Stop Them):

The aim is not to master politics but to annihilate it. Bush, Rove, DeLay, Ralph Reed et al. believe in "politics" in the same way that they and their corporate beneficiaries believe in "competition." In both cases the intention is not to play the game but to end it--because the game requires some tolerance of the Other, and tolerance is precisely what these bitter-enders most despise.

Read the entire book and cry for what they have done to our country. Miller underscores why it is not acceptable to be a Republican anymore.

Posted 10:01 AM by Scoobie Davis

Woo Hoo! Pedro in the Gaslamp
Efren Ramirez, who played Pedro in Napoleon Dynamite, will be party host and DJ at Deco's on Thursday the 15th.

Posted 12:38 PM by Scoobie Davis

Infuriating
If you want to see just one example of the depravity of the Washington press corps, then read Robert Parry's article on the media hounding and pillorying of Gary Webb who was behind the explosive stories that uncovered the contra-cocaine scandal. To no surprise, the Moonie Times and Howard Kurtz were in on the act:

When black leaders began demanding a full investigation of these charges, the Washington news media began circling the wagons.

It fell to Rev. Sun Myung Moon’s right-wing Washington Times to begin the counterattack against Webb’s series. The Washington Times turned to some former CIA officials, who participated in the contra war, to refute the drug charges.

But – in a pattern that would repeat itself on other issues in the following years – the Washington Post and other mainstream newspapers quickly lined up behind the conservative news media. On Oct. 4, 1996, the Washington Post published a front-page article knocking down Webb’s story. . .

Influential Post media critic Howard Kurtz mocked Webb for saying in a book proposal that he would explore the possibility that the contra war was primarily a business to its participants. “Oliver Stone, check your voice mail,” Kurtz chortled. [Washington Post, Oct. 28, 1996]

Posted 10:33 AM by Scoobie Davis

I'll Be Posting Over the Weekend
Stay tuned.

Posted 10:43 AM by Scoobie Davis

Reminder
Today is Ann Coulter's 44th birthday. Ann is proud of her age so write her at ann@anncoulter.org and wish her a happy birthday.

Posted 12:26 PM by Scoobie Davis

Exclusive: Self-Admitted Traitor Still Subject to Indictment for the Violation of the Espionage Act Invited to the White House and Hugged by George W. Bush
Self-Admitted violator of the Espionage Act David Horowitz (click here and here for details) attended the White House Chanukah Party on December 6, 2005 and was hugged by George W. Bush. Traitor Horowitz in his own words:

He [George W. Bush] saw me in the line he called out "Horowitz" with a big smile on his face, then embraced me in a bear hug.

Where's the outrage?

Posted 12:41 PM by Scoobie Davis

Exclusive: Bill O'Reilly Confronted about Phony "War on Christmas"
The other day, I wrote a rather vitriolic rant about the phony "war on Christmas" put forth by the usual suspects. I called O'Reilly's radio show today and confronted him about it--I posed as "Stanley" from San Diego. Background: before O'Reilly took my call, he was discussing a controversy in which the group American Atheists were trying to remove memorial crosses for slain Utah troopers from public lands. After reading the transcript of my call, decide for yourself who is smearing whom:

O'REILLY: Stanley, San Diego, California. What's going on, Stanley?

SCOOBIE: Hello, Bill. I really think this whole, like, fight for Christmas has been overblown and I think it's largely hypocritical. For one thing, the newspaper that's championing this--this so-called fight to protect Christmas--is the Washington Times which is owned by Sun Myung Moon who paid black ministers to throw crosses into dumpsters. So when you talk about this Utah cross controversy, why don't you denounce somebody like Sun Myung Moon?

[O'REILLY DISCONNECTS SCOOBIE]

O'REILLY: Because I don't know anything about him, and I didn't even know the Washington Times was involved with this, and I wouldn't smear Sun Myung Moon anyway, the way you just did, Stanley. I mean, you're taking it right out of the left-wing playbook: can't win the debate, smear the person. You ought to be ashamed of yourself.

[O'REILLY GOES TO NEXT CALLER]

UPDATE: Here's another call to O'Reilly.

Posted 12:32 PM by Scoobie Davis

Stay Tuned
I confronted O'Reilly about the phony War on Christmas on his radio show today. I'll have the transcript up soon.

Posted 3:57 PM by Scoobie Davis

Must Read
Wil S. Hylton's article on Sinclair Broadcast Group, "Not Necessarily The News," in the December 2005 issue of GQ. Shocking.

Posted 11:25 AM by Scoobie Davis

The Difference Between Ann Coulter and Me
On MSNBC, Ann Coulter was named "Worst Person in the World" last Friday because she disclosed the private e-mail address and phone number of Brad Blog Guest Blogger Lydia Cornell (who, unlike Coulter, is a hottie) to the mouthbreathers who frequent Coulter's web site who, not surprisingly, sent threats to Cornell.

Back when Coulter's publicist thought I was a radio journalist (leading to my ambush interview with Coulter), I was given Coulter's home phone number. Did I post it on my web site? No, I didn't because my goal was to show that Coulter was a lying tub of shit for writing the dishonest book Slander: Liberal Lies about the American Right, not to create an atmosphere of harassment for her.

One more thing: write Coulter at ann@anncoulter.org and wish her a happy birthday--she'll be 44 on Thursday. I'm sure she wants to be reminded.

Posted 8:15 AM by Scoobie Davis

E-Mail David Horowitz and Rub It In
William C. Bradford, the guy whose cause David Horowitz took up in Horowitz's quest for academic liberation, has been exposed as a big phony (via Atrios). This isn't the first time Horowitz made an ass out of himself fighting the leftist academy; Horowitz previously sued to force UC Berkeley to make incoherent wing-nut Michael Savage the dean of their School of Journalism.

Don't just laugh; rub it in to David:
1) E-mail Horowitz at dhorowitz@earthlink.net and ask him if he's going to update his readers about Bradford.
2) Let Horowitz know that I'm trying to get him indicted.

Posted 1:45 PM by Scoobie Davis

Every Democrat Should Read This Post
Sheldon Drobny on the cluelessness of liberal elites. The part that hit home for me:

And the hypocrisy of these Hollywood elites is mind boggling. While they complain about the MSM, they are making obscene money for 20th Century Fox which is owned by Ruppert Murdoch. They continue making money for Time/Warner, NBC, Disney, and Viacom. Disney owns ABC Radio which is the major broadcaster of Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity. These successful Hollywood actors, producers, and directors can be in a position to do things their own way and work with their own companies. It is time for these people to know that without the talent, the studios would be lost.

Posted 1:27 PM by Scoobie Davis

Rant Against Phony Protectors of Christmas
The Christmas season is supposed to be a time of good cheer, a time in which there is good will toward man--yadda yadda yadda. However, when I listen to the Fox News hypocritical defenders (also click here) against the largely nonexistent War against Christmas, it makes me want to shove my Festivus pole up John Gibson's ass.

In addition to the Fox News gang, it's the usual suspects who are creating the hype about Christmas Under Siege: Thief Jerry Falwell is using this as another way to bilk his flock out of their hard-earned dollars, William Donahue of the Catholic League is milking the issue for all it's worth, and WorldNetDaily is getting into the act. The Washington Times, owned by a man who paid ministers to "tear down the cross," is part of the scam. Even non-Christians are getting into the act. Jews against Anti-Christian Defamation is weighing in on the subject.

The larger issue is this: the American right is comprised of bullies who want to act like victims. It's a double whammy: They get to play victim and at the same time they get to smack down Lowes and anyone else who dares to advertise "holiday trees" instead of "Christmas trees." What dicks.

Posted 10:45 AM by Scoobie Davis

College Football Thoughts
My alma maters, Ohio State and Miami University had good seasons. Ohio State finished its regular season number four in the USA Today Coaches Poll. Had it not been for two touch losses to Texas and Penn State, they would be playing for it all against USC for the national title. Miami U. had a decent season.

This football season, there won't be any messy controversies about who should be in the title game (in case you don't follow college football, it going to be USC against Texas). I don't think a playoff would be an answer. Here's my thought: have teams go to the bowls and after the bowl season is over, have the number one and two teams play each other for the national championship. Perfect? No, but it's better than the current scenario.

Posted 9:46 AM by Scoobie Davis

This Really Happened
Last night I dreamed I was in a Tag Body Spray commercial. Ever since I started taking DMAE again, I've been having particularly vivid dreams.

Posted 1:15 PM by Scoobie Davis

More on Neil Bush and Sun Myung Moon
I updated yesterday's post on Moon to report about Moon and Neil Bush. Here's more.

Posted 12:58 PM by Scoobie Davis

Quick Note
I updated the New American Revolution blog.

Posted 12:23 PM by Scoobie Davis

Two Good Reasons Why An Indictment of David Horowitz Would be Great For America
As I have noted, David Horowitz admitted to have knowingly violated the Espionage Act and is still subject to criminal prosecution for his treason (there's no statute of limitations for violation of the Espionage act). It would be an open-and-shut case because Horowitz admitted to the treacherous act in writing. Also, Horowitz would no longer be able to hide behind the fact that sensitive intelligence would be made public as a result of a trial since it deals with moot cold war issues (Horowitz published the classified documents only after consulting with an attorney who told him that if the government prosecuted him, it would risk disclosure of even more classified intelligence). So it's only a matter of getting a U.S. Attorney to proceed with an indictment.

Why would this be a great thing for America? There are many reasons. Here are two good reasons:
1. It would be one more illustration of George W. Bush's poor judgment. Bush invited Traitor Horowitz to his Crawford, Texas ranch for political advice in 2002. (Click here for a hilarious post about DH's gushing report of his exchange with Bush). The idea that Bush asked for advice from someone who was later indicted for treason would not just be a scream: it would reinforce the truth that Bush has extremely poor judgment.
2. It would be a repudiation of the 2004 election. Bush's surrogates like Horowitz called John Kerry a traitor (Horowitz is still doing it). In fact, the head of the Swift Boat Liars, John O'Neill is on the board of Horowitz's Center for the Study of Popular Culture. An indictment of Horowitz would be a major embarrassment for O'Neill.

If anyone knows how to make this indictment happen, e-mail me.

Posted 10:41 AM by Scoobie Davis

Michelle Malkin: Wuss
Click here

Posted 9:33 AM by Scoobie Davis

Immature? Yep, but Funny as Hell
The other day, I was listening to Ed Schultz's radio program and a female caller quipped that Sean Hannity has a head like Fred Flintstone and a body like Billy Barty.

Posted 2:39 PM by Scoobie Davis

Posting on the Weekend
Stay tuned.

Posted 10:41 AM by Scoobie Davis

Eric Boehlert on a Phony Journalist Corrupting Young Minds
I'm glad that Eric Boehlert reported on the spectacle of discredited Moonie Times reporter Bill Sammon addressing Christian journalism students on the need for a "moral compass."

I knew about this event over a month ago when I did a Google search of "Bill Sammon" and found this article from the Baptist Press news service. I was disturbed that the article's author, David Roach had presented Sammon's Connecticut River smear against Al Gore (read Boehlert's post) as "[a]nother moment for bringing moral clarity to news coverage."

I called Baptist Press and spoke to the editor about that and also mentioned another flagrant example of Sammon's journalistic misconduct: the deliberate and methodical distortion of a Washington Post article to convey the exact opposite of what the article reported in order to libel Gore (also click here for my article discussing the wider implications of Sammon's misconduct). The editor listened to what I said and I believe I got my message across to him.

UPDATE: In other Moonie news, it seems that Neil Bush loves Asia. He's gone from Thai hookers to promoting South Korean messiah Sun Myung Moon's 100-day Universal Peace Federation tour. Perhaps Reverend Moon promised Neil an opportunity to bless some wombs.

Posted 11:50 AM by Scoobie Davis

Exclusive: Wing-Nut Advocates Violence Against Members of Congress
Self-admitted violator of the Espionage Act, David Horowitz posted on his website FrontPage Magazine pictures of Teddy Kennedy and John F. Kerry with the following quote from Abraham Lincoln (certainly if Lincoln were alive, he would not endorse this use of his quote by Traitor Horowitz): "Congressmen who willingly take actions during wartime that damage morale and undermine the military are saboteurs and should be arrested, exiled, or hanged." Where's the outrage?

This isn't the first time that Horowitz called for executions. Commenting on John Walker Lindh's prison sentence, Horowitz remarked, “But personally, I wish John Walker Lindh had been shot.” When I pointed out that, in effect, Horowitz was calling for his own execution because of his self-admitted treason (which was totally wussy to boot because Horowitz contacted a lawyer first to insured that he wouldn't be indicted for it), Horowitz responded with vicious attacks against my patriotism.

It also isn't the first time that Traitor Horowitz attacked John Kerry's patriotism. Here is a brief post on HorowitzWatch that deals with one of these episodes.

Posted 10:59 AM by Scoobie Davis

What I'm Reading and Listening To
Anti-Catholicism in America: The Last Acceptable Prejudice, by Mark S. Massa. it's a thoughtful book. There's an entire chapter on Jack Chick. Also, if you are curious about what Chick's voice sounds like, you can order Chick's audiotape, "Let's Take a Stand" for $3.00 at the Cephas Book Store. The tape is from the early 1980's and is an hour-long diatribe against Rome and about the attempts to destroy Chick's business by Catholics and others (this was when Chick faced pressure from the Christian Bookseller's Association and Christian bookstores were dropping Chick tracts because of the Alberto series). Jack is cheesed off big time.

Posted 10:43 AM by Scoobie Davis

One More Reason to Listen to Al Franken on Air America Radio
This morning, Al took on "boy-man" Ralph Reed. It was a gas. One thing I learned about Reed that I didn't know: as a student, Reed was thrown off the University of Georgia's student newspaper, The Red and Black, for plagiarizing a negative review of the Academy Award winning film Gandhi from a review from Commentary. One statement Reed didn't swipe from the Commentary review was his reference to the leader of the Indian independence movement as the "ninny of the 20th century."

Posted 5:11 PM by Scoobie Davis

Wikipedia is now correct--for the time being(It wasn't accurate yesterday)

Click here:

Swiftboating is American political jargon for an ad hominem attack against a political figure, coordinated by an independent group, for the benefit of an established political force.

The name comes from the portrayal of John Kerry's decorated military experience in Vietnam by the Swift Boat Veterans For Truth organization. Its ads against Democratic presidential candidate Senator John F. Kerry in the 2004 presidential election campaign alleged that Senator Kerry was being untruthful in his representation of his military record, and was thus unfit to lead. Although the Swift Boat Veterans were ostensibly an independent group, they were a clear political windfall for Kerry's opponent, George W. Bush.

Swiftboating frequently refers to a campaign that uses viral marketing techniques to sell the exaggerations. By using credible-sounding sources to make sensational and difficult-to-disprove accusations against the opponent, the campaign leverages media tendencies to give the story far more play than it would otherwise receive. Mostly used as a pejorative, the term has gained currency among liberal writers, while its appropriateness as a description of political debate has been questioned by some conservative commentators.

[edit]
Other terms used to describe political attacks
"Borking" Originated from Democratic opposition to the nomination of Robert Bork to the United States Supreme Court, 1987
Character assassination
"demonizing the opposition" (coined in 2003 by Paul Krugman to describe Karl Rove's methods) [1]
"politics of personal destruction" (frequently used during Clinton's impeachment hearings) [2]
ad hominem attack
Fair Game (Scientology)
[edit]
Examples of the use of "swiftboating"
"Character assassination is the Karl Rove tactic of choice, eagerly mimicked by his media surrogates, whenever the White House is confronted by a critic who challenges it on matters of war. The Swift Boating is especially vicious if the critic has more battle scars than a president who connived to serve stateside and a vice president who had "other priorities" during Vietnam." –Frank Rich in the August 21, 2005 New York Times[3]
"Swiftboating Hillary"[4][5]
"Swiftboating Cindy Sheehan"[6]
"The chickenhawk attack machine (Matt Drudge, Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, etc.) has identified Cindy Sheehan, whose son was killed in Iraq, as a threat worthy of a tarring and feathering by the swift-boat machinery... Swiftboating will not work on her"[7]
"Swiftboating the Crazies"[8]
"Swiftboating again"[9]
"Dean is being swiftboated."[10]
"I do think the race offered one good opportunity for out-of-state Dems and Progressives, and that was to calmly write to newspapers and try to talk to receptive radio hosts about the swiftboating of the candidate."[11]
"I’m glad the efforts to swiftboat Paul Hackett have been exposed for what they are."[12]
Fox News, Nov. 18, 2005 [13]
O'Reilly Factor, Fox News Channel, Aug. 22, 2005: "The swift boating of Cindy Sheehan, that is the subject of this evening's 'Talking Points Memo'." (LexisNexis)
Swiftboat ('swift bOt); transitive verb: (1) To accuse a public figure of questionable conduct without the benefit of physical evidence, usually by an entity informally associated with a person or entity benefiting from the accusation. Noun: (2) An unsubstantiated charge made against a public figure or organization, usually made by a proxy entity. See also: Smear, hatchet job, character assassination. (3) An organization dedicated to swiftboating on behalf of a respectable organization. (4) archaic: a type of boat used by the United States Navy to patrol the shores of Vietnam from 1965 to 1970; see also PCF. [14]

Posted 4:34 PM by Scoobie Davis

Read This and Cry for America
Click here

Posted 4:15 PM by Scoobie Davis

It's on the Daily Howler So I don't Have to write it
Click here for the entire post:

THE DUKE’S GREATER OFFENSE: You really have to be a fool to want to sit on antique commodes, but Duke Cunningham fills the bill nicely. Which should come as no surprise, of course. As Marty Kaplan reminds us at the Huffington Post, here was this same stupid man in the fall of ’92:
Oct. 9, 1992: The Los Angeles Times quotes Cunningham as urging President Bush to attack Bill Clinton's patriotism, telling him:

"This is an issue that will kill Clinton when people realize what a traitor he is to this country. In some countries, if something like this came out, he would be tried as a traitor. Tokyo Rose had nothing over Clinton."

It’s hard to be a bigger fool—though Cunningham, perched on his antique pot, may have finally managed. But now we see a nasty truth—the fellow who called Clinton a “traitor” was also, in his spare time, selling off his nation’s defense contracts.
Here’s our suggestion to liberals and Dems: Cunningham’s bribes are a major offense. But a greater offense, by far, is the sheer stupidity he and his kind have introduced into our public discourse for the past several decades. From Rush on down, they’ve played the voters for fools, from their stupid claims about Clinton-the-traitor to their stupid claims on the war against Christmas. With Cunningham, we now have a “teaching opportunity”—a chance to help the voters see how stupid these clownish claims have been all along.

We’ve suggested, for years, that Dems should just say it: These people are treating the voters like fools. For year after year, they’ve made a joke of our discourse, robbing us of our greatest possession. We’ve suggested this theme because it’s true and important, and because Dems and libs have no other Big Story. Amazing, isn’t it, to look back now and see what this fool was saying back then? To see the utterly fake, corrupt way he dragged our lives and minds through the gutter? It isn’t too late to complain about this—to help voters see, at long last, how frauds like Cunningham played them for fools in the endless stupid slanders of Clinton.

Posted 4:15 PM by Scoobie Davis

Free Ethiopia
I was walking past the federal building in downtown SD and saw some Ethiopian and Ethiopian-American human rights activists who were opposed to the repressive regime running the African country. They told me they were in favor of HR 4423, which is sponsored by Chris Smith (R-NJ) and asked if I could give it a plug on my blog. Mission accomplished. I'm glad to have helped.

Quick note: One thing I miss about LA is that on Fairfax right below Wilshire are some great Ethiopian restaurants.

Posted 12:52 PM by Scoobie Davis

Busy Busy Busy
What can I say?

Posted 4:18 PM by Scoobie Davis

What That The Dukester?
Earlier today, I saw dozens of TV reporters and cameramen covering someone walking into the federal building in downtown San Diego. Was it Duke Cunningham?

UPDATE: Yes, it was the Dukester. Too bad I was busy and couldn't stop to see him blubbering in front of the federal building.

Posted 12:23 PM by Scoobie Davis

Woo Hoo! I Made "The List"
Click here. As Jesse Helms might say, "Well, thank you, I think."

Posted 11:39 AM by Scoobie Davis

My Inauspicious Film Debut
I was checking out what teams are going to the Ohio high school football finals and I noticed that Massillon Washington is vying for the Division I championship. That led to an outpouring of good memories because MW High School was the location of the beginning of my film career. In 1999, a friend of mine, Frank Cromer, told me that he got a gig as a production assistant for a documentary about high school football in Massillon (the Canton/Massillon area is a hotbed for high school football in a state where football is very hot). Frank offered to pay me a nominal amount to tag along and help out. I told him I was going to do it for free. So for three Fridays, I played hooky from work and helped film high school games--the finished film turned out to be the highly-regarded Go Tigers!

It was an awe-inspiring experience. Although I did lower level production work (carrying the tripod, getting permission to go places for the crew, taking notes, keeping track of time for the crew), I had a blast and it encouraged me to move to LA and continue to do film. I'm also in the film--actually the deleted scenes of the DVD. I won't tell you where because it was a bad hair day.

12/4 UPDATE: Massillon Washington lost to Cincinnati St. Xavier in the title game 24 to 17.

Posted 10:01 AM by Scoobie Davis

Film Notes
A while ago, I told you that I planned to see the political doc This Divided State. However, I missed it when it was in the theaters and my new place in San Diego doesn't have a DVD player so I have not seen it yet. However, on the film's web site, they have the first 26 minutes of the film available for viewing.

Earlier this morning, I was emailed a friend and was recommended that she see my favorite film of 2004, Overnight (Napoleon Dynamite was a close second). Click here to read a mini-review of it that I wrote after I saw it.

Since I moved to San Diego almost two months ago, I have not seen one film at the theater--even though I have a free movie pass to Pacific Theaters. Nothing hit me.

Posted 11:58 AM by Scoobie Davis

Tammy Bruce Update
In my recent review of Tammy Bruce's book The New American Revolution: Using the Power of the Individual to Save Our Nation from Extremists, I kept it brief because the book wasn't worth spending a whole lot of time. One of the many statements in the book that I knew were false but didn't have the time to deal with were Bruce's one-sided reports of liberal/Democratic violence against Republicans during the 2004 election season. After listing some examples of Democratic violence and vandalism against Bush supporters and local Bush campaign headquarters, Bruce smugly wrote:

This is not a symptom of the decline of the entire electoral system. Nothing comparable occurred at Democrat [sic] party headquarters or to liberal activists.

Oh yeah? Tell that to her, Tammy. David Neiwert addressed similar claims by Michelle Malkin in her latest Regnery cut-and-paste screed Unhinged: Exposing Liberals Gone Wild. Click here and here for a debunking of Bruce's claims that nothing comparable occurred by Republicans against Democrats. I find it incredible that Bruce went on hiatus from writting her column for Chris Ruddy's NewsMax (it was also carried by Traitor Horowitz's FrontPageMag) because she was taking the time to do meticulous research for The New American Revolution; a quick Google search would have put the lie to Bruce's claim that violence and intimidation during the 2004 campaign were directed only against Republicans.

Posted 10:37 AM by Scoobie Davis

Haw Haw Haw! It's International Chick Tract Day!
Click here for more details:

There are four things you should do on November 22nd to celebrate International Chick Tract Day. They are:

1. Use some outdated expression in a fruitless effort to sound "hip." Good examples include, "Far out", "That's heavy man", or "This will blow your mind!"

2. Laugh really hard at something that isn't particularly funny while pointing at it and guffawing, "Haw-haw-haw!"

3. Leave a Chick tract for that special someone who is least likely to have any interest in Christianity. Good examples include rock stars, prison bullies, or religious leaders of non-Christian faiths. The more impossible it is to imagine they will read it and be converted by it, the more probable it is that they will fall on all fours and recite the Sinner's prayer by the end of the story (at least, that's how it happens in the tracts).

4. Consider new ways the Jesuits might be plotting against the United States, the Protestant churches, or Chick Publications. Alert your friends to any likely conspiracies you uncover.

Oh, and need we mention you should also read and enjoy the same tract before you give it away? (You might as well get your full 14 cents worth.) Haw-haw-haw! [Correction by Scoobie: Chick tracts are now 15 cents. Bummer]

Posted 8:59 AM by Scoobie Davis

Alan Skorski's Blasphemy: A quick Look At a Bad Book
I had the chance to check out Alan Skorski's new book Pants on Fire: How Al Franken Lies, Smears and Deceives. The reason I knew about the book was an item on Media Matters for America's website that reported on how when The Situation host Tucker Carlson asked Skorski for examples of Franken's alleged dishonesty, the two examples Skorski gave were false.

I simply don't have the time to give a full review for Skorski's book (the book also doesn't deserve much attention), but it's pretty thin stuff. One thing I noticed in the Media Matters article that piqued my curiosity was that the book was published by WND Books, a division of WorldNetDaily, a wing-nut web site that carries the writings of Hal Lindsey and thief Jerry Falwell. WorldNetDaily is run by Joseph Farah, one of the main players behind the Scaife-funded attempts to implicate the Clintons in the tragic death of Vince Foster (click here for a post that give more details about Farah's involvement in this tawdry scheme). Farah also was a major proponent of Scaife's paranoid urban legend, the Clinton Body Count (click here for a Farah article on it--this guy is completely nuts).

Because the book was published by Farah, it didn't surprise me when I read the book's acknowledgements. Skorski writes, "First I have to thank G-d for giving me the strength needed to overcome the hurdles we all go through in life." It struck me as ironic that Skorski uses the word "G-d" instead of "God"--apparently out of reverence for the Almighty. However, it is blasphemous for someone to thank God for such a slanted book (the two examples of Franken's alleged dishonesty that were debunked by the Media Matters article are in the book). Also, it is an affront to God to also include thanks to lowlifes like Farah and David Bossie (click here and here for brief primers on Bossie; be prepared to throw up).

What are Franken's lies according to Skorski? Well, once Franken applauded former Senator Max Cleland for his military sacrifices and mistakenly said that it was a Viet Cong grenade that badly injured Cleland, not one from a fellow American soldier. In Skorski's mind, that is a lie for which Franken should be excoriated. That's about the best Skorski can do. Ironically, Skorski devoted a chapter of the book defending Ann Coulter (e.g., Skorski defended Coulter's assertion that "liberals hate America"), even though Coulter not only was wrong about the circumstances behind Cleland's injuries but she also denigrated Cleland's service record.

Posted 3:39 PM by Scoobie Davis

Film
Last night I went to a screening of Robert Greenwald's Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price put on by San Diego Indymedia. I didn't like it as much as Outfoxed, but it was a very worthwile view. Slanted? Yes, but Greenwald once again steps up. See this film.

Posted 10:03 AM by Scoobie Davis

If You Have the Money and the Clout, You Can Rewrite History
Read Robert Parry

Posted 9:44 AM by Scoobie Davis

Important FCC Decision on Blogs
(Via Atrios) The FCC made a decision in favor of free speech and in favor of bloggers.

Posted 11:18 PM by Scoobie Davis

Book Review
I read Tammy Bruce's new book The New American Revolution: Using the Power of the Individual to Save Our Nation from Extremists. I put it on its own site in order to get a higher rating for a Google search. It's a fairly long review. In case you don't have the time to read the whole review, here's a condensed version of the review: I could shit a better book than The New American Revolution: Using the Power of the Individual to Save Our Nation from Extremists.

Posted 9:12 PM by Scoobie Davis

I'm Back
Sorry about the dearth of posting. I have a huge post later tonight.
Quick note: I heard that Playboy will have a forthcoming pictorial of women of the top ten party schools--San Diego State is one.

Posted 2:42 PM by Scoobie Davis

New Jack T. Chick Tract
"The Dirty Diamond" I think the Chickster is losing his edge.

Posted 5:33 PM by Scoobie Davis

I have a Sponsor
Buy some stuff

Posted 5:17 PM by Scoobie Davis

Al Franken in San Diego
I saw Al Franken's radio appearance at the House of Blues in the Gaslamp Quarter this morning. I had to leave around 10:30 because I had an appointment. Al was funny and incisive.

Quick note: Sorry about the dearth of material written (I'll explain later).

Posted 1:27 PM by Scoobie Davis

What is Fascism?
Great post by Davis Neiwert on the attempt by the American right to conflate liberalism and fascism. It reminds me of something I once heard Rush Limbaugh say on his radio program: "Hitler was a liberal."

Posted 2:15 PM by Scoobie Davis

Paul Begala
Read the Entire Post:

With a wink and a nod [George W. Bush] told us he wouldn't cheat on Laura. And after he took office Mr. Bush and his henchmen smeared the Clintonistas, falsely accusing them of vandalism and theft. They told the press that in this Oval Office the gentlemen would wear suits, the ladies, skirts. And no more paper coffee cups. Nothing but the finest bone china. The Bushies even claimed moral superiority because of their punctuality. Everything was designed and marketed to stress the virtue of the Bushies and the vice of the Clintonians. And it worked. In the first year of George W. Bush's presidency, one major media figure told my wife and me to our faces that the difference between the Clinton crowd and the Bush team was that, "They're just better people than you are. They're more loyal to their President, more patriotic, less self-interested and ambitious. They're just better people."

Now we learn that these Better People have turned the White House into a criminal enterprise. And that the purpose of that enterprise was to mislead the country into going to war. 2,000 Americans killed. 15,000 horribly wounded. $200 billion gone. And a Muslim world -- and a non-Muslim world, for that matter -- that hates our guts. Al Qaeda is recruiting terrorists faster than we can kill them. And there is no end in sight.

But thank God there were no blow jobs. They really are Better People.

That is why this prosecution is important. No one is criminalizing policy differences. Rather, the Bush White House stands accused of hijacking the public policy process in service of a criminal conspiracy to smear, lie and obstruct justice.

The Fitzgerald probe, it should be noted, is the first independent investigation into alleged wrongdoing in the Bush White House. And it has hit paydirt. Contrast that with the dry holes of Whitewater, Filegate, the billing records, Vince Foster's suicide, the cattle futures, the Buddhist temple, and all the rest. Good Lord, Congress even spent two years investigating Clinton's Christmas card list. Just to list the trumped-up Clinton "scandals" is to recall how trivial -- and yet how destructive -- they were. Innocent people were impoverished, reputations were damaged, careers derailed. But at least history can give the Clinton team a clean bill of ethical health. No White House was more thoroughly investigated -- and more thoroughly exonerated. But it's telling that the first time anyone had the courage to scratch the surface of Bush, Inc., he found corruption.

Posted 1:53 PM by Scoobie Davis

David Horowitz Unhinged
Read my short post on HorowitzWatch. I love Fitzmas!

Posted 12:22 PM by Scoobie Davis

Donna Frye Event
Those of you familiar with this site know that I’ve been to a lot of Hollywood parties (scroll down to yesterday’s post on my exploits). The Hollywood events are phat but I prefer more down-to-earth events like today’s breakfast with San Diego mayoral candidate Donna Frye at Wit’s End—sponsored by progressive talk radio station AM 1360 KLSD. Frye was interviewed on Stacy Taylor’s morning show. As I pointed out in previous posts, I don’t tend to cover local or state politics (e.g., I haven’t even mentioned the upcoming state and local elections on November 8). However, I like Frye not just because she’s a Democrat and a surfer but also because I think she’s much more candid than her opponent Jerry Sanders about how to get the city out of its economic morass.

Because this is a quick post, this is a mishmash of things:
·I spoke to people at the event and many asked me why a film person would move from LA to SD. I like LA—it’s a great place to visit (I’ll be there this weekend), but I don’t love it. I’ve served my time. Click here for more on this.
·The event really further impressed upon me how important progressive talk radio is. I agree wholeheartedly with this past column by Robert Parry on the importance of the emergence of Air America Radio as a way to counter the right’s media apparatus (David Brock’s The Republican Noise Machine is a good primer on this phenomenon). Unfortunately, progressive talk radio has not received the kind of advertising support it needs. If you are a businessperson, think seriously about advertising on an Air America Radio affiliate. It’s a good business investment. Rates are reasonable and it’s a good way to support a progressive response to the Right’s media machine. Unlike people who watch Fox News and take it seriously, Air America radio listeners on average are highly educated and think for themselves.
·I met another blogger, Dave Chase.
·I met some people from The World Can't Wait. They gave me a button.
·I got tickets to AM 1360 KLSD’s event with Al Franken at the House of Blues November the 4th. Quick note on the House of Blues, I wanted to see Gavin DeGraw a couple weeks ago but the event was sold out.
·There’s a lot more I could discuss but I’ve got a lot of work to do.

Posted 12:05 PM by Scoobie Davis

Merry Fitzmas!!! The Best Is Yet To Come
I was at the Donna Frye Breakfast sponsored by KLSD at Wit’s End in Hillcrest (I’ll post on that event later). I’ve been listening to the wailing of gnashing of teeth on Rush’s show (Quick transcript of Limbaugh whine: “It’s just classic: the left cannot win at the ballot box. They’ve got to try to throw every Republican they can’t beat at the ballot box—getting thrown out of office via the legal/judicial system.” I’m switching between Rush and Al Franken while I watched Judge Andrew Napolitano and convicted Watergate thug G. Gordon Liddy on Faux News (click here to read a transcript of my conversation with Napolitano).

Posted 2:05 PM by Scoobie Davis

Thoughts on Fitzmas Eve
Robert Parry had some trenchant insights on the possible outcomes of the Treasongate scandal. Parry points out that Treasongate can result in going all the way to the top like Watergate or it could be more contained like Iran-Contra in which underlings took most of the flack--even though there is now ample evidence that President Reagan and Vice President Bush were more involved than they claimed they were. What was the difference between the two scandal? Parry rightly points out that an emerging partisan right-wing media establishment was emerging at the time of Iran-Contra that didn't exist during Watergate. Also, conciliatory (that's Parry's word; I would use the word "feckless") Democratic members of Congress like Lee Hamilton helped Reagan and Bush "by largely laying the blame on a few Â?men of zealÂ? and faulting Reagan only for inattention to details. The role of the elder George Bush was left almost entirely unexamined."

That's bad news on the media front because the right's noise machine is exponentially more powerful now than it was in 1986. I have little confidence in most Democratic members of Congress--most don't know what the score is. I think bloggers should do what they can to expose the truth on this matter and fight the right wing media's lies.Itit won't be easy but if we get an impeachment, then it would not only be a repudiation of the Bush regime but it would certainly be a scenario in which Bush would regret having stolen the election which led to his selection as president. Let's celebrate tomorrow but remember that the heavy lifting is yet to come.

Posted 11:57 AM by Scoobie Davis

Party Crashing and Social Engineering
On Tuesday night, I had to spend a few hours of social engineering. Social engineering is a term that has at least a couple different meanings. The term was originally used to describe interventionist social policies. According to Webster's Collegiate dictionary, social engineering is the "management of human beings in accordance with their place and function in society: applied social science." The term was as a pejorative by the American right to describe Great Society-type programs implemented by liberals--especially during the 1970's.

That's not the type of social engineering I was engaging in the other night. Another definition of social engineering was conceived by computer hackers to refer to the act of portraying oneself as someone else (e.g., a custodian) in order to obtain information that will allow the hacker to access computer systems (IÂ?ve mentioned social engineering previously). I engage in social engineering, not to access computer systems, but to get into parties I'm not invited to. I did a lot of this in 2002 (that year alone, I was able to get past some seriously hardnosed security to get into about 15 movie premiere after-parties in LA). I've slowed down a bit because social engineering is a big hassle, takes time, and is a lot of work that often does not pan out. Tuesday night, my hard work led to success: I found out about a Halloween party this weekend that is certain to be dope.

The San Diego Reader has a column by a self-described party crasher (the column is appropriately called "Crasher") that tells readers the following: "Crash your party? Call 619-235-3000 x421 and leave an invitation for Josh Board." That's seems self-contradictory to solicit party hosts to invite someone to crash their party. Sounds like a good gig though.

One more thing: Here's a post I wrote on the ethics of crashing.

Posted 11:52 AM by Scoobie Davis

Merry Fitzmas Eve
Rove will be frogmarched tomorrow.

Posted 11:40 AM by Scoobie Davis

Recent Protests
San Diego is not a hotbed of political protest but the past couple days, I witnessed a few demonstrations. On Tuesday, when the Gropinator appeared at the Westgate Hotel, various groups—-mostly teacher and firefighter unions came out to picket him. One of the main groups there was Alliance for a Better California.

This morning I was on C Street and saw some members of Carpenters Local 1506 protesting Stock-Stephens contracting with Pacific Building Group for their new office. Apparently, Pacific Building Group uses non-union labor. Quick thought on unions: it’s going to be tough getting the vouchers I need to get into SAG if I’m not in LA but that's the price of not living in LA. I'll pay it.

Yesterday, due to the 2000th US military death in Iraq, there was a candlelight vigil outside of Horton Plaza. One of the groups that sponsored the vigil was United for Peace and Justice, one of the front groups along with the ANSWER Coalition that exploits concerns that Americans have about Bush administration foreign policy blunders and misconduct to advance their Stalinist agenda. That’s what I find so noxious about these fringe groups on the hard left: they exploit popular issues and portray themselves as pro-peace but have a record of being pro-war—-siding with whomever is fighting the United States (click here--okay, okay, it was written by Snitchens but he's right in this instance). What the Bush gang did to lead to the war in Iraq was horrible, boneheaded, dishonest, and certainly rises to the level of being a high crime and misdemeanor but that’s not the reason why the ANSWER Coalition and United for Peace and Justice are opposed to the war. They want the United States to be defeated.

Posted 1:14 PM by Scoobie Davis

Is Plamegate Worse than Watergate?
I agree with Arianna.

Posted 11:34 AM by Scoobie Davis

Book Stuff
Today is the release date of Al Franken's The Truth (with jokes) his follow-up to Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right. I checked it at at Borders and it looks dope.

On the other hand, a really lame book titled The War on Christmas: How the Liberal Plot to Ban the Sacred Christian Holiday Is Worse Than You Thought (I skimmed it at the bookstore) by Fox News propagandist John Gibson is the lame attempt to portray liberals as anti-Christmas grinches (Media Matters has the scoop on this BS). Yesterday, KLSD morning host Stacy Taylor read the following Amazon review (which turns out to have been done by General J. C. Christian):

Although I'm supportive of Gibson's efforts to defend Christmas against the forces of pagan idolatry, I was very disappointed with his failure to examine the war's beginnings. For instance, he ignores the problem of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer completely.

In was a sad day in 1939 when Rudolph made his debut and began pushing aside the more traditional, God-fearing reindeer. Today, if Donner, Blitzen and the rest are mentioned at all it is as Rudolph's persecutors, the bullies who barred him from playing reindeer games.

While many would rise to defend Rudolph by ascribing his popularity to the love Americans have for the underdog, I think there is something more sinister at work here, the siren call of homosexuality.

Think about it. Rudolph is a "flashy" reindeer, a flamboyant reindeer. His fabulously bright red nose flouts the conventions of traditional reindeer notions of propriety, more so than even Prancer's beaded buck-purse. Rudolph obviously uses it to seduce young, inexperienced bucks in the hopes of rutting them raw.

Yes, the story of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer was the first shot in the culture wars. It's a shame that Gibson failed to include it in his book.

Posted 1:45 PM by Scoobie Davis

Are We Related?
I finally had the chance to check out who my member of the House is (when I lived in Westwood until October, it was Henry Waxman). I found out it's Susan Davis.

Posted 1:21 PM by Scoobie Davis

Whipping Up The Dittoheads
Drinking game idea: surf right-wing talk radio shows and take a swig every time someone says “the criminalization of politics.” (Rush also used the phrases “criminalization of policy differences” and “criminalizing the political process”). Even though I’ve significantly reduced my exposure to right-wing talk radio (reason one: it was driving me fucking crazy; reason two: Media Matters and other people are taking up the slack), I had to listen to the various talk radio jocks do their Fitzmas Eve rants this morning. I listened to Limbaugh, and Rush clone Dennis Prager and they were basically reading off the Republican talking points: there was no crime in outing Plame; Plame was a desk jockey; Joseph Wilson is the liar, not Rover or Libby; Wilson is to blame for his wife’s outing; Republicans are victims; Peter Fitzgerald is a partisan hack; Rove didn’t know that Plame had been undercover; the press wants the Bush administration taken down; Plame got Wilson the Niger assignment; the DeLay indictment is “phony”; an indictment of perjury or obstruction would be a indictment of Democrats are the ones who go after their opponents unfairly (they must have forgotten about the years 1993-2001 and about Karl Rove’s entire career). Last Friday, I heard Hannity’s apologia over an expected perjury indictment of Karl Rove: that Rove will be persecuted over forgetting small details but that Bill and Hillary Clinton “forgot” hundreds of things when questioned about Whitewater and the Rose Law Firm billing records but were not indicted. Today, Limbaugh added insult to injury by saying that Valerie Plame--who was a covert agent without official cover, meaning that she would have dead meat if a foreign government caught her—-was “not brave.”

While witnessing these right-wing hacks having hissy fits is a great Fitzmas present, and it’s fun to hear the same people who lecture minorities against victimization politics whining their lame asses off, there is a huge problem: their rhetoric is creating a potentially dangerous atmosphere. The kinds of people who take Limbaugh seriously are angry, not-too-bright people and Limbaugh is whipping them up--big time. A case in point, today Limbaugh bellowed to the Dittoheads:

If this turns out to have indictments about these these these whatever these recollection problems, and so forth—if there’s no original crime committed here—if the purpose of this investigation shows no crime was committed and, in fact, we have so-called crimes covering up a non-crime, I am going to be livid, folks. I don’t whether this is a prosecutor’prosecutor; I don’t care whether he’s Republican or Democrat. This business of politicizing [sic] the political process and dragging people in . . .

When a demagogue like Limbaugh engages in such inflammatory rhetoric to the mouthbreathers, it isn’t just bombast--it’s a call to action. Mark my words; right-wing violence will result from this kind of irresponsible rhetoric—especially if Rove and/or Libby are indicted.

Posted 1:04 PM by Scoobie Davis

Lost in Translation
This goes to show that I no internet whiz: when I find a web site in Spanish, how do I get it to translate to English?

Posted 2:07 PM by Scoobie Davis

Guess Who Said This And Was Applauded?

They're always accusing us of repressing their speech. I say let's do it. Let's repress them. . . Frankly, I'm not a big fan of the First Amendment.

Answer here. Quick, someone write a book titled Treason.

Posted 3:39 PM by Scoobie Davis

DeLay Smiled During Booking Because He Felt “Peace and The Joy”
I heard and recorded the last part of Tom DeLay’s interview on Sean Hannity’s radio program. DeLay, who was behind the star chamber-like “evidence room” prior to the Clinton impeachment vote--referred to his indictment as part of the Democratic leadership's strategy of “the politics of personal destruction.”

Here are a few more howlers:

Prior to my recording the interview, I heard DeLay use the Fox News talking points phrase “criminalization of politics.”

I laughed when I heard Hannity’s suck-up to DeLay. This isn’t the first time he's done that with a GOP politician (I reported in 2002 when Hannity provided cover for Trent Lott’s racist past).
HANNITY: How long, congressman, do you think this is going to take for you to be able to clear your good name here?
DELAY: I don’t know.
HANNITY: Did the lawyers give you any sense of that?
DELAY: They sort of think that if things go well—I’ve asked for a speedy trial—that’s one of the motions we’ve done and if things go like they should be and we get a fair judge, we ought to be at least in trial by December but these charges are so outrageous and so over-the-top that I feel pretty confident that a fair judge will throw them out

I wonder who are the “good Democrats” DeLay was referring to here: Zell Miller, Tammy Bruce, Dick Morris, Pat Caddell or one of the other Fox News Democrats? DeLay once again, without proof, blames the “Democrat leadership” in his troubles:
HANNITY: . . .I have never in my life—and I mean this sincerely—seen a case of such abuse in my life and I wish you well in this because it is transparently political here and I hope even our Democratic friends see this for what it is.
DELAY: Well, many of them do quite frankly and good Democrats that [sic] honestly believe in what they’re trying to do have come up to me and expressed sympathy for what’s going on and they don’t like what’s happening [CROSSTALK] but the Democrat [sic] leadership is driving this; we all know that.

DeLay talks about his grinning booking photo:
HANNITY:. .We were just down in Houston, by the way. We had a great time. We wished you could have joined us and maybe the next time I’m down there--
DELAY: Well, you could have watched me get booked.
HANNITY: [LAUGHS] All right. One last question: you definitively went in with a strategy to smile. That wasn’t by accident, was it?
DELAY: That was not by accident. [HANNITY LAUGHS] I’m not going to let them see any—but I gotta tell you: that picture reflects the peace and the joy that I feel right now. I’m not down about this. I really feel good about what I believe in and I know that I’ve done nothing wrong and I’m not going to let them get me down.

Posted 11:49 AM by Scoobie Davis

Good Strategery
Great idea I just heard from Joe Conason on The Al Franken Show today. Tom DeLay put on a shit-eating grin for his mugshot so that Democratic congressional candidates couldn't use a scowling DeLay mugshot for campaign commercials next year. However, Conason suggested Dems could do a little political jujitsu that by airing ads with the mugshot and have an announcer ask, "What is this man smiling about?"

Great idea with one minor change: have the announcer say, "Why is this man smiling?" It not only doesn't end a sentence with a preposition but would remind urban sophisticates of Esquire magazine's annual Dubious Achievement Awards issues that showed a picture of Nixon with the caption, "Why is this man laughing?"

Posted 4:50 PM by Scoobie Davis

Got Chick Tracts Today
I walked out of the San Diego Public Library and there was a pickup truck with Bible verses and yucky anit-abortion photos. The woman on the passenger's side handed me a boring anti-abortion tract. I asked if she had any Chick tracts and she said. "Sure." She gave me the anti-Mormon tract "The Visitors," "Are Roman Catholics Christians?", and one of my favorites, "The Death Cookie."

Posted 1:16 PM by Scoobie Davis

Go RedHawks
I was in the supermarkert checkout stand and noticed on the cover of Star Magazine was a picture of Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson. Nick was wearing a Miami University RedHawks ballcap (Miami U. is my alma mater). Nick went there too. I didn't know him.

Posted 12:49 PM by Scoobie Davis

Shocking Must Read
Robert Parry on the "patriotic" reporters who have little interest in their readers or the national interest:

One early turning point in the switch from “skeptical” journalism to “patriotic” journalism occurred in 1976 with the blocking of Rep. Otis Pike’s congressional report on CIA misdeeds. CIA Director Bush had lobbied behind the scenes to convince Congress that suppressing the report was important for national security.

But CBS news correspondent Daniel Schorr got hold of the full document and decided that he couldn’t join in keeping the facts from the public. He leaked the report to the Village Voice – and was fired by CBS amid charges of reckless journalism.

“The media’s shift in attention from the report’s charges to their premature disclosure was skillfully encouraged by the Executive Branch,” wrote Kathryn Olmstead in her book on the media battles of the 1970s, Challenging the Secret Government.

“[Mitchell] Rogovin, the CIA’s counsel, later admitted that the Executive Branch’s ‘concern’ over the report’s damage to national security was less than genuine,” Olmstead wrote. But the Schorr case had laid down an important marker.

The counterattack against the “skeptical journalists” had begun.

In the late 1970s, conservative leaders began a concerted drive to finance a media infrastructure of their own along with attack groups that would target mainstream reporters who were viewed as too liberal or insufficiently patriotic.

Richard Nixon’s former Treasury Secretary Bill Simon took the lead. Simon, who headed the conservative Olin Foundation, rallied like-minded foundations – associated with Lynde and Harry Bradley, Smith Richardson, the Scaife family and the Coors family – to invest their resources in advancing the conservative cause.

Money went to fund conservative magazines taking the fight to the liberals and to finance attack groups, like Accuracy in Media, that hammered away at the supposed “liberal bias” of the national news media.

Read the entire article.

Posted 11:46 AM by Scoobie Davis

The Criminalization of Politics or The Politics of Criminality?
Recently I noticed the phrase “criminalization of politics” has been used by the right to describe how law enforcement, prosecutors, and the media at long last has taken a look at rampant corruption, thuggery, and nihilism of the modern Republican Party. The Center for American Progress reported that the phrase has been used by several Fox News operatives on that channel—possibly spurred on by the notorious Fox News daily memo (If you’re not familiar with the Fox News daily memos, watch Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch’s War on Journalism).

These Fox News operatives want us to believe that the indictment of Tom DeLay and Jack Abramoff, the forthcoming indictments in the Plame Treasongate investigation, and the scrutiny of Bill Frist’s finances are part of a plot to discredit the right. William Kristol’s recent article in the Weekly Standard is the epitome of this pathetic reasoning.

Actually, it isn’t an issue of the criminalization of politics; no, the issue is that the modern Republican Party is the institutionalization of The Politics of Criminality. The GOP’s criminality has theological roots: members of the American right believes that God is on their side and since they are the elect, whatever they do—no matter how noxious, despicable, and underhanded--is okay.

This mindset explains many Republican behaviors. It explains why George W. Bush called a hopped up thug who said that liberals secretly cheered the Madrid terrorist bombing as "a great American. " It explains why Jeb Bush and Katherine Harris would knowingly and illegally scrub valid voters from the voter rolls. It explains why Tom DeLay and others would send thugs to assault people and disrupt the vote counting at the Miami Dade vote counting center. It explains why Rove would—among other things—start a whisper campaign that a political opponent who protected children was in fact a child molester. It explains why Jerry Falwell would bilk his flock out of their hard-earned money by selling them fraudulent videos via phony infomercials claiming that President Clinton was involved in murder and drug smuggling (and also why Sean Hannity would defend Falwell’s actions). It explains why Limbaugh, Hannity, and their talk radio clones lie on a consistent basis. It explains Ann Coulter’s fraudulent book that incredibly claims that the breakdown in political discourse is “all liberals’ fault.” It would explain why Rove and Scooter would engage in treason to get back at critics. In sum, contemporary Republican ideology/theology emboldens horrible people who are even worse Americans.

Their theology and ideology are wrong and their actions are worse. Another theological concept is now in play: karma. When I think about lowlifes like Rove, I pray that karma exists. The only problem with karma is that it often comes into play after the person leaves this life. When I saw the film Bush’s Brain, I took to heart what one of the interviewees had to say: that possibly one day, Rove will find it impossible to sleep at night. It looks increasingly like that might be happening soon—not so much due to a guilty conscience (Rove doesn’t have a conscience), but because adjusting to a prison cell might be difficult.