Patterico's Pontifications

10/21/2008

L.A. Times Does Piece on Palin’s College Years — But What About Obama’s?

Filed under: 2008 Election,Blogging Matters,Crime,Dog Trainer,General,Media Bias — Patterico @ 7:09 am



There is a detailed article about Sarah Palin’s college years in this morning’s Los Angeles Times.

Does anyone remember their piece on Obama’s college years?

There’s a lot of us who would be interested to read it, if it exists. After all, there appears to be very little information out there about Obama’s time at Columbia (the second undergraduate institution he attended, and the one from which he obtained his degree). An October 2007 article in the New York Times is titled Obama’s Account of New York Years Often Differs From What Others Say and observes that Obama “barely mentions Columbia” in his memoir. The paper said:

[H]e declined repeated requests to talk about his New York years, release his Columbia transcript or identify even a single fellow student, co-worker, roommate or friend from those years.

Odd. Andrew McCarthy finds it more than odd — he finds it suspicious.

So what hard-hitting journalism has the L.A. Times done on this intriguing topic?

I spent a few minutes this morning trying to find out. I warn you that this is not a comprehensive investigation; it’s me sitting in front of my laptop for less than an hour, doing a search and writing a post about the results. If I’m missing something — and I might be — I’m counting on some staunch defender of the paper to come to its defense. I’m looking at you, Tim McGarry!

Here’s what I did: I performed a search for “Obama Columbia” in the paper’s archives for the last two years. Now, I didn’t find and read every story in that search; again, I did the search this morning quickly, before going to work. But I did scan through every headline in the 83 results, and tried to find and read the entries that looked the most promising.

Here’s the closest I could find to an investigation of Obama’s Columbia years in the L.A. Times:

Oddly enough, this morning’s Palin story has a reference to those years, in this passage redolent of the hard-nosed journalistic skepticism characteristic of this newspaper:

Sen. Barack Obama, who attended Occidental College, Columbia University and Harvard Law School, is remembered as a daunting scholar and calming influence.

That’ll leave a mark.

The 28th entry in the search yields an abstract of a story by Cathleen Decker and Noam N. Levey, headlined Debate dwells on Obama’s past; Clinton and the moderators put him on the defensive for the first half of the tense Democratic face-off, but I couldn’t find the story. It appears to have been quoted in this blog entry, for example, but when you click on the URL you get a completely different story by Scott Martelle. Another example of the editors’ replacing Story A with Story B at the same Web address.

Entry 80 of 83 yields this abstract of a story from January 2007. I found the story, still accessible online: a hard-hitting expose titled Early on, Obama showed talent for bridging divisions.

That certainly sounds promising! Eager to see the deep digging that this paper had done into Obama’s Columbia years, I clicked through. I saw this:

Barack Obama’s entry into politics came on a winter morning at the white-columned Harvard Law Review building when, about 2 a.m., a deeply divided editorial staff chose him as the first African American to lead the prestigious publication.

It was no small accomplishment. Obama, who at nearly 30 was older and more world-wise than most of his classmates, had to navigate among sharply drawn factions of conservatives and liberals to beat 18 other candidates for the job.

Ouch. That’s gotta hurt.

I couldn’t find the word “Columbia” in the story. I’m still not sure why it popped up in the search.

If I’m missing something, please let me know.

UPDATE: I also found this article on Obama’s Occidental years.

UPDATE x2: Several readers wrote the author of the piece asking if the paper had done an article about Obama’s years at Columbia. The reporter cited the Harvard piece and the Occidental piece (both cited above) and this piece, which addresses the Columbia years in this way: “Obama left Occidental in 1981 to finish his degree in political science at Columbia University, in New York.” That’s it.

I think it’s now safe to say the L.A. Times has not bothered to do a piece on Obama’s time at Columbia.

P.S. Regardless of whether Tim or the other L.A. Times defenders can find the article I couldn’t find, this discussion raises an interesting question: if Barack Obama were applying to be an FBI agent, could he refuse to “identify even a single fellow student, co-worker, roommate or friend” from his college years?

I think not. I think such information would be part of the required background check.

If Barack Obama refuses to provide the information that would be necessary for him to pass a background check for an entry-level federal position, then why are we comfortable electing him President?

125 Responses to “L.A. Times Does Piece on Palin’s College Years — But What About Obama’s?”

  1. Memo to the four three two layers of editors at the Los Angeles Times:

    What were Obama’s SAT scores before his admission to Occidental College (which he attended before transfering to Columbia)? What was Obama’s LSAT score before law school?

    Official Internet Data Office (bb7744)

  2. Where is Obama’s “scholarly” publications?

    He published nothing as a “Harvard Law Review editor” , nothing as a professor, except two auto-biographies.

    What were Obama’s grades? What were his LSATs?

    Affirmative action throughout his academic career, affirmative action throughout his run for the presidency. He gets it from the press….

    but he won’t get it from our enemies.

    Jack (d9cbc5)

  3. The reason for the LAT difference may be that they know that Obama is simply the Dem VP candidate, while Palin is the Republican candidate for President.

    That is, the Presidential candidate of each major party should always get higher scrutiny than the VP candidates.

    So, the problem is simply that the LA Times editors and reporters cannot read when they want not to.

    (In other words: “LALALALA, I can’t HEAR you, LALALALA!”)

    jim2 (a9ab88)

  4. Having read stuff under Robin Abcarian’s byline on more than a few occasions (I’m a long suffering Dog Trainer reader), I can confidently say that she is not the sharpest pencil in the Dog Trainer’s box–of crayons.

    But where, oh where did she find a basis for a claim that Obama was primarily remembered as “a daunting scholar and a calming influence”. There seem to be some holes in her brief(s) here.

    Mike Myers (31af82)

  5. Jim 2, very nice. And Jack:

    “Affirmative action throughout his academic career, affirmative action throughout his run for the presidency. He gets it from the press….

    but he won’t get it from our enemies.”

    Vermont Neighbor (c91cfe)

  6. I’m afraid its because Obama’s college years were alot like mine, cheap hookers, and mounds of cocaine that would make Scarface jealous.

    Frank Drackman (af2a6b)

  7. Although there are few newspaper references to Obama’s Occidental and Columbia years, there are web references where he himself says that he was “deeply involved” in South African anti-apartheid activities at both colleges (divestment was the focus for lots of college protests, etc., at the time).

    Barbara Ransby, a history professor at UIC (where Ayers currently teaches) was at Columbia during the time Obama was there. In 1981, she and a man named Danny Armstrong created a group called Coalition for a Free South Africa (CFSA), originally as part of the Black Student Organization. They led the anti-apartheid activites at Columbia (with several other key people) for several years, in fact, in 1985, the CFSA staged a 3-week sleep-in blockade of Hamilton Hall on the campus that drew thousands, including Jesse Jackson, among other “notables.” Since Columbia, she’s moved on to other very “interesting” causes, some good, but many very controversial, all way far-left off the charts–google her name. I’m sure Obama advisors would probably tell him, “With Wright and Ayers in your corner, you better stop naming your friends and contacts.”

    I’ve never seen remarks from either of them on their years at Columbia with Obama. Danny Armstrong (findatree.com) even got a political science degree, like Obama, from there in ’84 (and a law degree and MBA from UCLA).

    If they were interviewed and said “We never knew Obama,” then Obama is caught having said he was “deeply involved” and yet didn’t know the principals. And if they did know him, it would be interesting to hear what they thought of him back then.

    BTW, Barbara Ransby’s name comes up sometimes together with Obama’s when you google them. For example, she wrote a very pro-Obama piece for progressive.com, and appeared on a panel with him and Ayers and Dohrn which was arranged by Michelle OBama, I believe. She also write a letter to the editor defending Ayers in the Chicago Tribune earlier this year.

    I don’t think it’s unreasonable to assume that they first met at Columbia in the early 80’s working on South African divestment together.

    Kristen (4a0d2b)

  8. Come On, Guys.
    It’s not like the LAT practices real journalism,
    like the Enquirer!

    Another Drew (7866bb)

  9. Wow! Great investigative reporting!!! I saw that picture of Sarah in the LA Times and she looks hot!!

    Go Republicans!!! Go McCain and Palin!!!

    Keep up the hard hitting reporting!!

    Lazlo Toth (2ec40c)

  10. There is anecdotal evidence that Obama is a genius and we already are aware he’s a uh, um, magnificent orator and race-healer. Often see ads in side bars mentioning that obama’s IQ is 125. Of course then there those same type of ads that say Dubya’s IQ is 125. In one case the man is a genius and the other a dunce. I reckon Biden is truly gifted also. he didn’t do so well in school as far as class ranking though and his ubiquitous gaffes get a total pass from the media.

    Just had a libtard feminist tell me that McCain might be ok, but what if something happened to him and that “smarmy, animal-killing psycho took over”. Told her I loved her logic as she is down fine with Obama supporting just letting viable survivors of partial birth abortions to croak in a basket with no care at all. People will pay a fortune to adopt babies from China, but have no interest at all in those American infants??

    Has anyone actually investigated Obama’s past connections with drug dealers and whores? I know his various acquaintances have been told not to speak out without Obama campaign approval. Where is the National Enquirer on this???? I’m sure any probing by the stuck up Obama’s rectum msm would be counterproductive to Obama’s glorification. Did you know that Todd Palin had a DUI several decades ago and McCain cheated on his first wife? Or that McCain broke under torture at the Hanoi Hilton? Should we really consider electing someone who was in prison for all those years?
    /sarcasm on

    madmax333 (0c6cfc)

  11. This is just another in the long litany of extreme bias. As a one time subscriber, I hope that more LATimes employees loose their jobs through decreasing circulation. I will celebrate each round of layoffs as something well deserved.

    jason stewart (aff5bd)

  12. The LA Times covering for The O? Not surprising.

    But how is it that a guy can go to school for 4 years and no one is out there publishing “My Memories of Barack Obama”? “I played I.M. basketball with Barack” or “Barack Obama Asked Me Out”

    Did he have NO friends? Or were all his friends such radicals, and so politically oriented (ie. not normal students who have other interests besides la Revolution) that they know how important it is to keep their mouths shut today.

    That kind of unanimity is very, very, very rare. I finally got onto Facebook awhile back and I got an out-of-the-blue contact from a high school classmate whose name draws a complete blank from me. But, especially when you become famous, there are ALWAYS people who remember you.

    Where did this guy come from???

    Don (47b0b8)

  13. Methinks that scrutiny of The Messiah’s past would very likely be considered…..wait for it……RACIST!

    Old Coot (b63ab3)

  14. I think the rest of America feels the same way about the Republicans, jason.

    The number of schools Palin attended makes her education a story.

    More success from Obama isn’t one.

    snuffles (677ec2)

  15. Dear Ms. Abcarian

    Where is the article on Obama’s college years?

    Where are the transcripts?

    How did he get into Columbia?

    Who paid for it?

    It’s odd that no one has seen an article on Obama’s college years, and when he abused alcohol and did coke, isn’t it?

    Or maybe it isn’t odd at all.

    It would require something called journalism- something painfully and obviously absent from formerly major newspapers.

    Including the Obama Times,

    Sincerely

    djohn (52b37e)

  16. Can we find out why McCain wasn’t permanently grounded after crashing a million-dollar plane and engaging in reckless flying with another? A pilot named Smith who did that would never fly again. Affirmative action the whole way through his naval career.

    Josh (86f13d)

  17. 13 what the hell is “old coot”? Isn’t that some kind of prejudicial term, ageist, racist or even misanthropic? One of the NRO got some criticism recently from an obambot for using a rather innocuous word that wikepedia said had black dancing historical roots.

    Wondering if I’ll be able to get a job in the big zero’s civilian brownshirt posse, since I am a honky mofo? Hoepfully it will pay better than Clinton’s Americorps volunteer jobs that only brought in $30k each in remuneration.

    madmax333 (0c6cfc)

  18. The number of schools Palin attended makes her education a story.

    More success from Obama isn’t one.

    Comment by snuffles — 10/21/2008 @ 8:31 am

    Really?

    Then why doesn’t Obama release the transcripts of that success story?

    djohn (52b37e)

  19. Can we find out why McCain wasn’t permanently grounded after crashing a million-dollar plane and engaging in reckless flying with another? A pilot named Smith who did that would never fly again. Affirmative action the whole way through his naval career.

    Comment by Josh — 10/21/2008 @ 8:43 am

    McCain had no trouble landing a jet on a carrier at night.

    No one hides those who aren’t competent to do that, I don’t care who you are.

    I think Obama was doing coke about this time.

    djohn (52b37e)

  20. The NY Times author is trying to claim Palins tuition was only 4-500 Dollars per semester in the 80s. I highly doubt it was that low. I paid $1100.00 a semester in a local community college a decade earlier. And I am sure Sarah also had Room and Board.

    Dennis D (ae900a)

  21. Brave pilots loose planes because they take risks. Jimmy Doolittle lost his entire squadron attacking Tokyo.

    Dennis D (ae900a)

  22. That’s nothing! Those 16 B-25s cost only $96K each back then, for $153,600 total.

    Obama lost well over $100M attacking the Chicago public school system, in fact, maybe 1000 times as much as Doolittle lost.

    jim2 (a9ab88)

  23. The number of schools Palin attended makes her education a story.

    Uh, it’s really not that unusual for people to change schools.

    And, seriously, “more success” from Obama? Just what the hell — besides winning elections by having his opponents disqualified — has he ever been successful at?

    Rob Crawford (04f50f)

  24. I have no doubt that some reporter out there is sitting on something juicy about Obama’s past. He/she is just waiting for Obama to be elected.

    Because the one thing we can count on in the media — if they have built you up, they cannot wait to tear you down!

    kel-c (74946b)

  25. And Doolittle had more success!

    htom (412a17)

  26. You guys are looking for rainbow trout in birds nests. There ain’t no there there because O’Bama and friends have cleaned out all college libraries that referenced him or his pals. I remember trying to find the goods on some woman back in the 80s at UCLA and the librarian told me “everything has been stolen.” That’s freedom of speech from the left and it goes way back.

    howard432 (cc8b85)

  27. The ever so tolerant, militant sexist, Palin-loathing left in all its glory. I’m sure Peter, Tokyo Rose and the rest of the Obamatards will be ecstatic. Can I get a public grant if I create some artwork with an Obama object de art stuck in a bottle of urine or Nancy Pelosi statue covered in feces?
    http://frighteningprospect.com

    Liberals are creative geniuses, eh? That’s why they need those tax dollars to support their artistic endeavors?

    madmax333 (0c6cfc)

  28. “…Nancy Pelosi statue covered in feces?…”

    There max, fixed that for you.

    Another Drew (7866bb)

  29. Seems like it would be possible for someone with a bit of ingenuity and perseverance to find Obama’s past…

    Seems like a guy running on Hope and Change would be expected to make AT LEAST as much of his past available as he demanded of the other side…

    But rules don’t apply equally to Obama because that’s not how his kind operates.

    His kind? Yeah, read this.

    Ask Bill Ayres (the unrepentant terrorist educator) to explain the difficult words to you. Remember that Robert Mugabe was a teacher at one time, too. And if you have children in school, get involved in their education NOW!

    jtb-in-texas (7cf1cd)

  30. #

    Can we find out why McCain wasn’t permanently grounded after crashing a million-dollar plane and engaging in reckless flying with another? A pilot named Smith who did that would never fly again. Affirmative action the whole way through his naval career.

    Comment by Josh — 10/21/2008 @ 8:43 am

    McCain had no trouble landing a jet on a carrier at night.

    No one hides those who aren’t competent to do that, I don’t care who you are.

    I think Obama was doing coke about this time.

    Comment by djohn — 10/21/2008 @ 8:46 am

    DJohn,

    Obviously Josh has never served in the military…and does not know anything about aircraft mishap investigations. Reckless flying probably got Mav grounded fora short period, or a written reprimand based on the seriousness of the event.

    Mav, or for that matter any Naval Aviator, are cut from a different cloth…anyone that has to land an aircraft on the flight deck of a carries, pitching around in heavy seas, in the middle of the night have a HUGE set of brass ones…that includes the women that fly missions…

    fmfnavydoc (0dd45c)

  31. I’ll bet that hate-Palin web site is getting a grant, maybe from The One.

    OBama’s college years are a mystery because they don’t fit the genius theme. They learned when Kerry and Gore’s grades were exposed.

    At least you aren’t arrested for asking the question.

    Yet, but Obama will change that.

    Mike K (0cde87)

  32. Seems like a guy running on Hope and Change would be expected to make AT LEAST as much of his past available as he demanded of the other side…

    Mr. Hope and Change won’t identify $200 or less donors.

    Mr. Hope and Change is not Mr. Transparent.

    djohn (52b37e)

  33. Can we find out why McCain wasn’t permanently grounded after crashing a million-dollar plane and engaging in reckless flying with another?

    Josh is now 2 for 2 in the tired meme department of innuendo. We covered that subject about three months ago – do try to keep up, Trollbot.

    Dmac (f11dda)

  34. Duh! Its because he is the “ONE”. We don’t know about the first 30 years of Jesus’ life either, see the connection?

    Bfidler (e6db0a)

  35. Ok, it was during daylight, but didn’t the evil/stupid Dubya land a jet on a carrier after 911? I’m not concerned about the size of either W’s or his dad’s cojones. My opinion is that Michelle O has bigger balls than her hubby and Palin has more balls than BO. Wish some intrepid reporter had investigated why BO’s jet smells so bad. Hmmm, michelle once said her man was stinky- could it be that BO has really nasty BO? Some people do leave quite a repellent odor.

    And if Obama has an IQ of 125, equal to Bush’s, pray tell why BO is the smart one and W the dunce?

    madmax333 (0c6cfc)

  36. Dennis D, I think the NYT idiot mistook the fee per credit hour for fee per semester. I attended U ID (University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, for the libtards out there.) in the late 70s. I believe that was the toll.

    If anyone doubts me, I lived in Snow Hall, and I was such a Football monster that no one dared play mud football with me.

    PCD (7fe637)

  37. Obama has done a good job of scrubbing the documentation from his past that he was an Affirmative-Action student at all the institutions he went to. Hell, Obama can’t produce a birth certificate to play Little League or be on an Olympic Gymnastic team if his life depended on it.

    PCD (7fe637)

  38. The number of schools Palin attended makes her education a story.

    Because….(waiting an eternity to hear a coherent reason)

    More success from Obama isn’t one..

    Actually any success from Obama would be a story – the real reason he never mentions it and the Obamamedia doesn’t mention it is there wouldn’t be anything to mention except failure and drug abuse.

    Bandit (36701c)

  39. Just to clarrify re Bush’s landing on the USS Abraham Lincoln:
    At most, Pres. Bush was in the co-pilot’s seat…http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/05/01/bush.carrier.landing/… It was the pilot who landed the plane, though I believe it was reported at the time, that during the flight out to the carrier, the pilot allowed the President to take the controls to get some stick-time as a courtesy to his background as a fighter-jock. This was, afterall, a multi-place aircraft used for the transport of personnel and supplies to carriers at sea.

    Another Drew (7866bb)

  40. AD- I’d like to see some stats from the time that Bush was in TANG about pilot accidents and deaths in training. Somehow I would guess that algore was exposed to less risk behind the lines in Vietnam in his combat journalist tour. Yes, I know war hero Lurch took all those purple heart wounds, even rice shrapnel in his ass. I wonder if he ever actually saw the Genghis Khan GIs committing any atrocities or managed any himself. I make no judgment, but some might find it less than heroic to shoot a fleeing teen in the back. Pity we didn’t have Skerry to lead us through this war on terror. His nuance may have helped immensely, eh?

    madmax333 (0c6cfc)

  41. max, you might look up the flight-accident history of the F-102 and the F-106. I believe that they were the jets in use by TANG at the time and that GWB was certified for flight in one or both.
    As I recall from the ’00 campaign, these were not trouble-free aircraft. Single-engine, supersonic interceptors that were not designed for manueverabilty, just top-speed.

    Another Drew (7866bb)

  42. 1- Can we get the IQ scores for the communications major from Idaho? I’ll bet they are huge.

    truthnjustice (3d65f9)

  43. For even raising this question, Patterico, you’ll never get your plumber’s license.

    Bilwick1 (798ac9)

  44. Y’know, I’ve run across several people with degrees from G’Town or UVA who’ve only taken their finishing classes there. They would audit classes for a couple of years while building up credits at a less prestigious sister school, then transfer the credits over, take one or two finishing classes and graduate with a degree from an “A-list” school.

    Nothing wrong with it, but they have a similar disinclination to reminiscing about their salad days at good ol’ (insert school here) that O does about Columbia.

    Perhaps profitable time could be spent looking at Columbia affiliates.

    Uncle Pinky (834163)

  45. But where, oh where did she find a basis for a claim that Obama was primarily remembered as “a daunting scholar and a calming influence”.

    I am pretty sure it was in one of his books;

    “I was primarily known as a daunting scholar and calming influence, and in fact in my senior year I wrote a letter to the dean bring this fact to his attention.”

    chad (719bfa)

  46. Has anybody got a pointer to a rational author who can explain why Obama thinks he is running against George Bush, and the rest of his campaign and the press all think he is running against Sarah Palin?

    Larry Sheldon (86b2e1)

  47. I emailed the LA Times due to this, and here’s the reply.
    _________
    Thank you for writing. Here are citations for three stories that address Obama in college.

    Best,

    Robin Abcarian

    Saturday January 27, 2007

    Early on, Obama showed talent for bridging divisions

    Home Edition, Main News, Page A-1
    National Desk
    31 inches; 1073 words

    By Richard A. Serrano and David G. Savage, Times Staff Writers

    WASHINGTON — Barack Obama’s entry into politics came on a winter morning at the white-columned Harvard Law Review building when, about 2 a.m., a deeply divided editorial staff chose him as the first African American to lead the prestigious publication.

    Monday January 29, 2007

    Occidental recalls ‘Barry’ Obama
    * The Eagle Rock liberal arts college is quick to claim the Illinois Democrat as an alum. He says he has ‘fond memories’ of the school.

    Home Edition, California , Page B-1
    Metro Desk
    40 inches; 1321 words

    By Larry Gordon, Times Staff Writer

    Memories of 1980 at Occidental College ‘s Haines Hall have the standard fragments of the era: stereos blasting the B-52’s through the dorm, pot-fueled bull sessions about the revival of draft registration, late-night cramming for economics exams.

    That otherwise private nostalgia took on public significance this month when a former Haines Hall resident from Hawaii known at the time as Barry announced that he was forming an exploratory committee to run for president of the United States .

    U.S. Sen. Barack Obama is usually described as an alumnus of Columbia University , where he earned his bachelor’s degree, and of Harvard Law School .

    Thursday, August 28, 2008

    DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION
    In search of identity
    * Barack Obama, half black and half white, fights the undertow of race.

    Home Edition, Main News, Page A-1
    National Desk
    97 inches; 4224 words
    Type of Material: Profile

    By Thomas Curwen, Times Staff Writer

    Four years ago, Barack Obama introduced himself to America by painting a picture of a country that was united, somehow, in spite of itself.

    The pundits, he said in the keynote address to the Democratic convention, like to “slice and dice” the country: red states for Republicans, blue states for Democrats.

    “But I’ve got news for them too: We worship an awesome God in the blue states, and we don’t like federal agents poking around our libraries in the red states. We coach Little League in the blue states, and yes, we’ve got some gay friends in the red states.”

    His task that night was to ready the crowd for the presidential nominee, John F. Kerry, but in the end his words were most memorable for an argument that challenged the partisan divide and was built on the foundation of his own unique story. Since then, it’s become a familiar element of his speeches. His father was from Kenya and his mother from Kansas .

    But it’s more complicated than that.

    From: Earnest
    Sent: Tuesday, October 21, 2008 9:52 AM
    To: Abcarian, Robin
    Subject: Palin’s College Years

    Robin,

    Your piece on Sarah Palin was instructive. Thanks.

    Now, please, please, please, investigate and publish material on Obama’s college years. I think you’ll find that he was quite the party animal, something Americans should know and I believe is being kept from them.

    I will be wildly surprised to find that anyone in your profession takes me up on my plea. After the election, he will actually be investigated and vetted. Today, he’s being protected with the kid gloves treatment.

    Earnie (b93f6f)

  48. 42, Can we get some verified facts about Obama and his successes? Just produce his birth certificate for starters, then he would be eligible for Little League or an Olympic Gymnastic Team.

    PCD (7fe637)

  49. Of the three pieces identified by the reporter, I identified the first two in the post. They say nothing meaningful about Obama’s years at Columbia. As for the third, I can’t read it until I get home tonight.

    Patterico (08dd03)

  50. FWIW,

    One can find details of Bush’s flying career at: http://www.wingmenforbush.com/

    The F-102 was known as one of the less safe aircraft. I believe the group Bush was assigned to had the responsibility to protect against any soviet bombers that would come from Cuba. May sound funny now, but it wasn’t that many years since the Soviets had tried to put missiles there.

    As fmfnavydoc — 10/21/2008 @ 9:52 am said, landing planes on a carrier, which I’ve heard described as “a planned emergency landing”, is different than an Air Force pilot landing on a runway.

    MD in Philly (3d3f72)

  51. Can we get the IQ scores for the communications major from Idaho? I’ll bet they are huge.

    How about we get yours instead? No doubt they dwarf everyone else’s here.

    Dmac (f11dda)

  52. I sent an email to the author of that article this morning and asked if I would send an article on Obama’s college years in this coming Sunday’s edition. (I’m not holding my breath.)

    Sandy Dameron (6f8a01)

  53. Oops! Make that “see an article…”

    Sandy Dameron (6f8a01)

  54. Comment by MD in Philly — 10/21/2008 @ 1:54 pm

    a planned emergency landing”,

    also described as a “controlled crash“!

    Another Drew (7866bb)

  55. I can speak from first hand experience that when you are being considered for a job with the federal government that involves a security clearance, they FBI goes back to your high school days to interview people that knew you. You have to provide at least 2 names — and preferably current addresses for them — for each location where you lived, each school you attended, and each job you had. That is really just a jumping off point for the investigator as they generally ask those interviewed if there are any other people that might have some insights.

    Interestingly, because people elected to Congress are sent there by their constituents, they are not subject to a similar background check. Its a curious anomaly in our system, but it’s there.

    WLS (26b1e5)

  56. Flying over the south of Spain one day, he decided to deviate from his flight plan. Rocketing along mere feet above the ground, his plane sliced through a power line. His self-described “daredevil clowning” plunged much of the area into a blackout.

    That should have been the end of McCain’s flying career. “In the Navy, if you crashed one airplane, nine times out of 10 you would lose your wings,” says [Phil] Butler, who, like his former classmate, was shot down and taken prisoner in North Vietnam. Spark “a small international incident” like McCain had? Any other pilot would have “found themselves as the deck officer on a destroyer someplace in a hurry,” says Butler.

    “But, God, he had family pull. He was directly related to the CEO — you know?”

    Ah, the perks of conservative affirmative action.

    Josh (86f13d)

  57. I just cancelled my LA Times subscription, and boy did that feel good! When the guy asked if there was anything he could do to keep my as a subscriber, I told him he could fire all the biased reporters and editors and replace them with journalists who have integrity and accurately report the facts. His response? “I don’t think I can make that happen, so I will go ahead and cancel you now.”

    LASue (872f76)

  58. Biased, LASue?

    Palin comes off quite well in this piece. The hardworking college kid,etc.

    snuffles (677ec2)

  59. So the Lost Angeles Times crack reporting staff can’t come up with any real evidence of Obama’s reputation as a “daunting scholar”? Why am I not surprised.

    I’ll give the Messiah a pass on the question of his ability to heal divisions. There’s no doubt that he’s a smooth politician. But it’s an easy enough trick; you just listen until everybody has said their piece, and then choose the way that has the most support. It’s not leadership–it’s counting votes. It’s a valuable skill–but it’s not leadership.

    And as for crashing airplanes and doing hairbrained stunts in military aircraft?

    In WW II the Martin B-26 was called “The Widow Maker”; pilots training in at airfields near Tampa had the slogan “One a Day in Tampa Bay”–the crashes were that frequent.

    The “Century Series” of jet fighters included the F-102 and the F-106 which Bush flew; the F-100 Super Sabre, the F-101 Voodoo , the F-105 “Thunder Chief”—also known by its crews as the “Thud” due to its alarming crash rate. Between crashes and getting shot down over Viet Nam virtually the entire US Air Force inventory of F-105s was gone by the early 1970’s.

    Flying, maintaining, operating and using any military equipment, whether it be aircraft, trucks, tanks, cannons etc. is inherently dangerous. I think that there were years during the 1980’s and early 1990s where the military death rate from training accidents exceeded an average year’s combat death rate in Iraq from 2003 to 2008—pick a year.

    So cut the crapola about Bush not putting his posterior on the line when he stepped into the cockpit of an F-102 Delta Dart or F-106 Delta Dagger.

    Not all military crashes are “pilot error”–sometimes the machine bites man.

    But as for ridiculously inaccurate and biased and bogus articles prepared by the Daily Dog Trainer’s crack reporting staff? Just business as usual down on Spring Street.

    Mike Myers (31af82)

  60. Mentioning the link going to the wrong story reminded me of Orwell’s 1984. In the book, the surveillance technology was secondary to the protagonist’s job. Winston Smith was one of the persons assigned to change history.

    The opportunity to do that exists today and can be exploited, from “losing” stories to pulling down videos over flimsy allegations of copyright violations.

    And it will be done by the masters. As Joe Biden said the other day, “No more questions.”

    Fink (d4097c)

  61. “Just produce his birth certificate for starters”

    Its gonna be an insane 4-8 years. Hooray!

    imdw (23c2b4)

  62. Give it up you whiney little prick. You right wing nutjobs are going to be a handful for the next eight years under President Obama. Please, can one of you TRY to mention ANYTHING positive that McCain will do?

    Eric (4817dc)

  63. The proof of Baracky’s brilliance is the fact that he has risen to the top of the Dem party. Just like the experience of running for President provides the experience to be President. They have their own language rules, the Left.

    JD (c69925)

  64. Eric – I am positive that Sen. McCain will not implement collectivist tax policies, mandatory health insurance geared towards a single payer system, and Sen. McCain will not ruin the success we are seeing in Iraq, or fucking lie that President Bush has somehow endorsed Baracky’s plan, or is following Baracky’s lead. I am positive that a not-Baracky Presidency will be a net positive for our country.

    Now, you seem a little erratic and angry, Eric. You should work on that.

    JD (c69925)

  65. Polls are showing that palin is a bigger drag on McCain than Bush or the economy

    http://www.americablog.com/2008/10/obama-up-by-10-in-latest-nbcwsj-poll.html

    Nanker Phelge (563863)

  66. I think that there were years during the 1980’s and early 1990s where the military death rate from training accidents exceeded an average year’s combat death rate in Iraq from 2003 to 2008—pick a year. …Comment by Mike Myers — 10/21/2008 @ 4:08 pm

    I remember that point being made too, though I never saw it with actual numbers.

    also described as a “controlled crash“! Comment by Another Drew — 10/21/2008 @ 2:36 pm
    I think that was what part of my brain really wanted to say. Maybe I should start emailing you directly. Maybe Joe Biden should start emailing you directly before he speaks.

    I can speak from first hand experience that when you are being considered for a job with the federal government that involves a security clearance, they FBI goes back to your high school days to interview people that knew you. …
    That is really just a jumping off point for the investigator as they generally ask those interviewed if there are any other people that might have some insights.
    Interestingly, because people elected to Congress are sent there by their constituents, they are not subject to a similar background check.
    Comment by WLS — 10/21/2008 @ 2:55 pm

    WLS, are FBI investigation records, such as someone’s security clearance, ever open to public review after a number of years?
    What would happen if someone was elected to office that already had an FBI file, for some reason, that would normally exclude from a security clearance? Could that person still get on an intelligence committee, etc.

    MD in Philly (3d3f72)

  67. Does WankerFelcher ever have an original thought?

    MD – Those are interesting questions. My security clearance investigation was about as much fun as a proctology exam with barbed wire.

    I can guarantee this. If Barack gave the same answers in getting a clearance as he has during the campaign, he would not get the clearance.

    JD (c69925)

  68. Eric, McCain will deliver change – as he has often in his career in Washington. Obama will deliver what he has always delivered in his political career – nothing. Nada. Zipola. “Present”.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  69. MD in Philly, the records are not supposed to be open ever.

    Unless one of Hillary’s pet thugs gets a hold of them, like in the last Democratic administration.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  70. Eric wrote: Give it up you whiney little prick. You right wing nutjobs are going to be a handful for the next eight years under President Obama. Please, can one of you TRY to mention ANYTHING positive that McCain will do?

    He won’t be a socialist.

    L.N. Smithee (ecc5a5)

  71. Nanker Bilge, why doesn’t it surprise me you’re hanging out with John Aravosis and his band of scumbags?

    L.N. Smithee (ecc5a5)

  72. L.N. – I am positive that McCain is not a socialist. That is definitely a positive.

    JD (c69925)

  73. Oh geezuss.

    Hey!They didn’t report on Obama first! What about hisss!! What about hisss! It isn’t faaiirrr! *commence hissy fit*

    Suki (7c5420)

  74. Sarah Palin’s college years left no lasting impression

    Funny how this title of the LAT Palin story leaves the reader, at first glance, with the impression that college did not make a lasting impression on Palin…

    Given the number of positives in the story and were there no disdain for Palin, and if the editor truly sought to do justice to the accomplishments within the text of the story, the title so very have easily could have been anything other than a thin attempt at a negative twist and rather pointless one at that.

    Palin Worked Her Way Through College Years

    or,

    Palin Known for Her Interest in Politics and History During her College Years

    or,

    Friends Remember Palin as a Calming Presence in College

    or,

    Palin on Beauty Pagents: ‘Hey, this is going to help pay for my college education.’

    Dana (658c17)

  75. What was McCain’s class rank at the Naval Academy? The bottom 1%. How many colleges did Palin attend? Was it 4 or 5?

    So what difference does it make?

    Sitka Laker (6f4c86)

  76. “Please, can one of you TRY to mention ANYTHING positive that McCain will do?”

    Eric – He will not constantly play the race card in order to stifle criticism.

    He will not reimplement the Fairness Doctrine because he actually does support freedom of speech.

    daleyrocks (d9ec17)

  77. Um….you all know that this “Eric” isn’t me, right?

    Eric Blair (cc02e6)

  78. Sitka Laker, the difference is the fact that the media is in the tank. Palin has nothing to be ashamed of with respect to her education. You meanwhile don’t seem to have benefited from much.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  79. MD in Philly, the records are not supposed to be open ever. Comment by SPQR — 10/21/2008 @ 5:34 pm
    Thank you for clarifying that, SPQR. I know some governmental records can get released down the road, but I have no idea the details. I guess even if you can get info on what the FBI was doing years later that doesn’t mean the public should have access to the info the FBI had on private citizens.

    Maybe WLS or someone can clarify part 2 of the question, which perhaps we already know by inference. We know John Kerry met with representatives of the N. Vietnamese while we were still at war. While one would think that would “sink his boat” in trying to get a security clearance, I don’t recall anything being raised that he was limited in what he could access as a senator.

    That just doesn’t seem right.

    Sarah Palin’s college years left no lasting impression
    Funny how this title of the LAT Palin story leaves the reader, at first glance, with the impression that college did not make a lasting impression on Palin…
    Given the number of positives in the story and were there no disdain for Palin, and if the editor truly sought to do justice to the accomplishments within the text of the story, the title so very have easily could have been anything other than a thin attempt at a negative twist and rather pointless one at that.
    Comment by Dana — 10/21/2008 @ 6:17 pm

    I have experienced that first hand. Reporter seems reasonable and trustworthy, and indeed writes a fair article, but an editor gives a headline and photo captions that back-stab.

    MD in Philly (3d3f72)

  80. #73 – Sucky

    They didn’t report on Obama first! What about hisss!! What about hisss! It isn’t faaiirrr!

    — The point would be that they did not report on Obama at all, dishrag.

    Icy Truth (84d054)

  81. Besides Obama having Pakistani roommates at Oxy, which he must have beat the bushes to find, I keep wanting to hear from former girl friends. Did he never date before he met Michelle?

    When I worked for Dick Clark, we did a special Before They Were Stars for ABC, and I got to produce the Hillary Clinton segment. Oh joy. Still, I found her 2nd grade teacher, high school BFF, and first boy friend who took her to the prom. If Hillary went to the prom, surely Barry had some dates.

    Kate (e45cd6)

  82. MD in Philly,

    Yep, that’s why I said, “and if the editor truly sought to do justice…”

    Just puts an entirely different slant on what the reader anticipates. And for some, because of the specific negativity of the title, they won’t be bothered reading the actual story. Why bother?

    Dana (658c17)

  83. Dug this up somewhere:

    If you grow up in Hawaii, raised by your grandparents, you’re “exotic, different.”
    Grow up in Alaska eating moose burgers, it’s a quintessential American story.
    If your name is Barack you’re a radical, unpatriotic Muslim.
    Name your kids Willow, Trig and Track, you’re a maverick.
    Graduate from Harvard Law School and you are unstable.
    Attend 5 different small colleges before graduating, you’re well grounded.
    If you spend 3 years as a community organizer, become the first black President of the Harvard Law Review, create a voter registration drive that registers 150,000 new voters, spend 12 years as a Constitutional Law professor, spend 8 years as a State Senator representing a district with over 750,000 people, become chairman of the state Senate’s Health and Human Services committee, spend 4 years in the United States Senate representing a state of 13 million people while sponsoring 131 bills and serving on the Foreign Affairs, Environment and Public Works and Veteran’s Affairs committees, you don’t have any real leadership experience.
    If your total resume is: local weather girl, 4 years on the city council and 6 years as the mayor of a town with less than 7, 000 people, 20 months as the governor of a state with only 650,000 people, then you’re qualified to become the country’s second highest ranking executive.
    If you have been married to the same woman for 19 years while raising 2 beautiful daughters, all within Protestant churches, you’re not a real Christian.
    If you cheated on your first wife with a rich heiress, and left your disfigured wife and married the heiress the next month, you’re a Christian.
    If you teach responsible, age appropriate sex education, including the proper use of birth control, you are eroding the fiber of society.
    If, while governor, you staunchly advocate abstinence only, with no other option in sex education in your state’s school system while your unwed teen daughter ends up pregnant, you’re very responsible.
    If your wife is a Harvard graduate lawyer who gave up a position in a prestigious law firm to work for the betterment of her inner city community, then gave that up to raise a family, your family’s values don’t represent America’s.
    If you’re husband is nicknamed “First Dude”, with at least one DWI conviction and no college education, [unnecessary snoobery] who didn’t register to vote until age 25 and once was a member of a group that advocated the secession of Alaska from the USA, your family is extremely admirable.

    “Does WankerFelcher [sic] ever have an original thought?”

    Yes but I won’t waste it on you. When arguing with people claiming that the devil walks the earth and that the moon is out to destroy the sun or whatever it is you believe, all that’s required is a little research and a little common sense.
    So sue me, I’m lazy.

    Nanker Phelge (563863)

  84. But this is hilarious!
    The Republican National Committee appears to have spent more than $150,000 to clothe and accessorize vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and her family since her surprise pick by John McCain in late August.
    According to financial disclosure records, the accessorizing began in early September and included bills from Saks Fifth Avenue in St. Louis and New York for a combined $49,425.74.
    The records also document a couple of big-time shopping trips to Neiman Marcus in Minneapolis, including one $75,062.63 spree in early September.
    The RNC also spent $4,716.49 on hair and makeup through September after reporting no such costs in August.

    Nanker Phelge (563863)

  85. Comment by Sitka Laker — 10/21/2008 @ 6:38 pm

    Do you know what they call the Midshipman who graduates at the bottom of his class at Annapolis?

    Ensign!

    Another Drew (7866bb)

  86. #84 This is tragic!
    Obama’s wife received a $200,000 raise after Obama was elected to the Senate.
    Obama gave Michelle Obama’s employer a $1 million earmark.
    Obama spreads the wealth to his family’s pockets.

    Perfect Sense (9d1b08)

  87. Nanker– please note that those are union hair and makeup artists. Clothing is a legitimate business expense. Take a look at Peloisi’s tax returns some time.

    Kate (e45cd6)

  88. SHOCKA – WankerFelcher posts a wall o’text of someone else’s words.

    The real JD (c69925)

  89. WankerFelcher is AF/blah/etc. It’s clear to me.

    Shall I ban him? He obviously has an endless set of IP addresses, but it’s kind of fun to play whack a mole, and I’m curious to see what name he’ll use next. What do y’all think?

    Patterico (cc3b34)

  90. Here’s what I know about the candidates for president and vice president of the United States, from the MSM:

    Sarah Palin:

    She was the mayor of a small town in Alaska — Wasilla.

    She is governor of the State of Alaska.

    She got relieved the head of the state police in Alaska because he wouldn’t fire some state trooper for no reason except he was involved in a divorce from a relative.

    She went to five colleges and got a journalism degree, but she’s not very smart.

    She doesn’t read magazines.

    She’s not intellectually challenged.

    She encourages supporters to shout “Kill him” about the Democrat nominee.

    She doesn’t know the “Bush Doctrine.”

    She has a teen-aged daughter that’s pregnant.

    She may or may be not be the mother of her Down’s Syndrome child.

    Her husband, maybe her too, belonged to a secessionist party.

    She talks funny.

    She shoots wolves from airplanes.

    She knows how to dress a moose (if you don’t know what I mean by this, don’t bother replying).

    She was a beauty pageant contestant.

    She thinks polar bears will adapt to the ice cap melting in the Arctic.

    She’s not qualified to be the Vice President of the United States.

    John McCain:

    He’s old.

    He had cancer.

    He crashed airplanes.

    Although he has often differed with his party, he’s the same as George Bush.

    He’s mean.

    He’s not an American citizen.

    He is the same as George Wallace.

    He was elected to the Senate in 1987.

    He was part of the Keating 5 and corrupt.

    He’ll keep troops in Iraq for 100 years.

    He called his wife a bad name.

    He was once a maverick, but now he’s the same old neo-con that caused everything in the world that’s wrong.

    His second wife was addicted to drugs.

    He left his first wife for someone more attractive because his first wife was crippled in a car accident.

    He doesn’t know how many houses he owns.

    He was a POW in Vietnam.

    He was a coward.

    He can’t use a computer.

    Joe Biden:

    He’s been a Senator since 1972.

    His first wife and child were killed in a car accident.

    He’s from Scranton, Pa.

    He takes Amtrak home almost everyday to his home in Delaware.

    He is the Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee in the U.S. Senate.

    He has campaigned for president twice.

    He was accused of plagiarism during his first campaign to be president in 1988 and dropped out of the race.

    Sometimes, he says funny things.

    Barack Obama:

    He’s been a U.S. Senator from Illinoiss since 2004.

    He’s electrifying.

    Women faint at his rallies.

    He lives Chicago.

    He was state Senator from Illinois.

    He was a community organizer.

    He graduated from Harvard and Columbia.

    He taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago.

    He has some tangential relationship with a guy named Bill Ayers who also taught at the University of Chicago. Bill Ayers was a member of the Weather Underground, a leftist organization from the ’60s. It (the Weather Underground) opposed the Vietnam War.

    He’s married, has two children.

    His father is from Kenya and died in an automobile accident in 1982, and his mother died from cancer in 1995 when she was relatively young.

    You know what, this election is about philosophy, not personalities. Any person from either side can talk about how lousy the candidates are. Sometimes they’re right, sometimes they’re wrong.

    And none of what I outlined above matters one whit. I’m voting for the person who most reflects my believe in what’s best for my country.

    In this case, it’s John McCain.

    ag80 (f8684b)

  91. Let’s see what name it comes up with next. It is pretty easy to pick out when it returns …

    The real JD (c69925)

  92. If you have been married to the same woman for 19 years while raising 2 beautiful daughters, all within Protestant churches,

    Not too reassuring if the church you do attend is run by a nut like Jeremiah Wright. Even worse, if you as a member of that church decides to make the cuckoo pastor your close advisor and “sounding board.”

    And I won’t even criticize a member for belonging to such a church for 20 years. But please don’t embrace the place (or certainly its leader) so closely that, again, you make the fanatic preacher your trusted advisor (and force him out only—and ONLY—when publicity directed at you becomes too negative).

    If you teach responsible, age appropriate sex education,

    Age appropriate? Based on the actual details, that claim is a bunch of crappola.

    Senate Bill 99 struck out grade six, changing it to kindergarten, in addition to making a few other changes in wording. It read: Each class or course in comprehensive sex education in any of grades K through 12 shall include instruction on the prevention of sexually transmitted infections, including the prevention, transmission and spread of HIV.

    The bill’s third purpose was to remove value-laden language in the old law. For example, the old law contained passages like this:

    Course material and instruction shall teach honor and respect for monogamous heterosexual marriage.
    Course material and instruction shall stress that pupils should abstain from sexual intercourse until they are ready for marriage…

    [Classes] shall emphasize that abstinence is the expected norm in that abstinence from sexual intercourse is the only protection that is 100 percent effective against unwanted teenage pregnancy [and] sexually transmitted diseases…

    The proposed bill eliminated all those passages and replaced them with wording like this:

    Course material and instruction shall include a discussion of sexual abstinence as a method to prevent unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.

    Course material and instruction shall present the latest medically factual information regarding both the possible side effects and health benefits of all forms of contraception, including the success and failure rates for the prevention of pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV…

    Mark (e37da1)

  93. Good Lord, I wish I had an editor before I posted that. Please forgive my typos.

    ag80 (f8684b)

  94. #89 Patterico:

    Shall I ban him?

    Pat, I am sooo sorry…but I just have to say it:

    Well, duuuuuhhhhh!

    To much time with the teenagers, I guess.

    But seriously, I haven’t noticed any real contribution except the suspense of guess which nic is next…

    EW1(SG) (ec2899)

  95. Patterico, it is your house, your rules. But I would hope that this particular troll would stick with one name for a while. There is a LOT of troll activity at present (“…getting in the face…” instructions, surely).

    It gets tiresome to read, and thus hard to find interesting comments. But then, I read Patterico for the Patterico&Company posts, along with a few commenters who I find interesting. The former are easy to find, obviously. The more robo-trolls post nonsense, the harder to find the latter.

    I don’t mind disagreement. I do mind robo-posts, and nastiness. But then, that is the goal of trolls.

    Your mileage may vary.

    Eric Blair (2708f4)

  96. I proved through the IP that Nanker Phelge is Jesus Cripes.

    Jesus Cripes once said: “You’re a bunch of lazy fucking idiots.”

    Nanker Phelge is banned.

    The IP is 85.195.123.25, in case you’re curious. His repeated end runs around a ban mean that he forfeits any privacy in his IP address.

    I’ll publish the next one he uses too.

    Patterico (cc3b34)

  97. Every time he tries to publish a new comment, I’ll delete at least one he previously left.

    Patterico (cc3b34)

  98. Oh, and Patterico? I sent you an e-mail about a certain senator’s college years in LA. I can’t get anyone on the record, but if the MSM put the time and trouble they did into investigating the tax returns and such of plumbers who express opinions, why, who knows what could be found?

    Eric Blair (2708f4)

  99. Just as with spammers, it’s too bad the tech doesn’t exist (legally) to just fry their hard-drives, corrupt their credit report, and tell their mommies.

    Another Drew (7866bb)

  100. The trolls seem to be exceptionally vitriolic, erratic, and even angry recently.

    JD (c69925)

  101. She got relieved the head of the state police in Alaska because he wouldn’t fire some state trooper for no reason except he was involved in a divorce from a relative.

    This is a lie but only the first one in your list. I don’t believe you are voting for McCain, either.

    She’s not intellectually challenged.

    You mean like Biden is intellectually challenged ? We call him “Slow Joe.”

    She encourages supporters to shout “Kill him” about the Democrat nominee.

    Another lie but we’re getting used to you.

    I expect the trolls will really be annoying once they see the Battleground Poll. If McCain is within four percent on election day, he wins.

    Mike K (2cf494)

  102. Hey, AD, there is a great story from the Bad Old Days of Computer Nerd-dom.

    When you tried to copy a diskette from a particular vendor (remember diskettes?) that was protected, it started a subroutine where your screen locked up, made the disk drive spin loudly, and this message appeared in large block letters:

    “THE WEED OF CRIME BEARS BITTER FRUIT! NOW ERASING YOUR HARD DRIVE FOR ILLEGAL COPYING.”

    It was doing nothing of the sort, but it sure caused a lot of people making illegal copies to freak out. I seem to remember a couple of complaints filed against the vendor, who quit doing it.

    So it would probably NOT be good to fry people’s CPUs remotely. Fairness Doctrine or not. But it is fun to think about, sure.

    Eric Blair (2708f4)

  103. JD #100: they are speaking troof to power, don’t you know!

    Eric Blair (2708f4)

  104. Comment by Eric Blair — 10/21/2008 @ 9:08 pm

    Love It!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Now, what about remote lobotomies?

    Another Drew (7866bb)

  105. I thought it was twoooth to power, but in the end, it is just a string of banal inane ramblings.

    JD (c69925)

  106. Banal is a good word. It reminds me of anal, which makes me think of the cavitities that they pull their shite from.

    JD (c69925)

  107. Mike K.

    I really think you misunderstand me. And I do apologize for my almost incoherent posting. I know those are a lies. That was my point.

    ag80 (f8684b)

  108. Now, JD, you leave Sullivan out of this!

    Heteronormative elitist!!

    Eric Blair (2708f4)

  109. #90 Mike K.: I’m not certain, but I thing the trenchent phrase from ag80’s post to be “from the MSM:

    I have been known to be fooled on the Internet before.

    Once.

    By her!

    EW1(SG) (ec2899)

  110. trenchent?

    Oh boy.

    Good night.

    EW1(SG) (ec2899)

  111. Who would *this* be? Is she still in the U.S. or has she been paid to leave the country?
    (WSJ) “He (Obama) lived in Hyde Park, an integrated neighborhood that is home to the University of Chicago, and dated and lived with a woman who wasn’t African-American, according to Mr. Kellman. They broke up when he went east to law school.”

    Frau Jedöns (4a19d7)

  112. Eric Blair – Don’t get me started on Excitable Andy. I imagine he is still hunched over his keyboard, naked, with a pile of meth on his desk, scouring the internet looking for someone to go on the record to confirm that Trig is not her child. He has stockpiled baby oil and KY for that special moment.

    JD (c69925)

  113. Comment by JD — 10/21/2008 @ 9:24 pm

    Just way TOO MUCH INFORMATION!

    Another Drew (7866bb)

  114. ag80, why is it that you felt the need to write such a long list of utter falsehoods?

    SPQR (26be8b)

  115. With all this investigation on her college years, did anyone find out if Palin has a medical history of STD and if that is the reason she refuses to release her medical records?

    energy (7d17bf)

  116. Wow, energy. I think that is a great idea. Let’s get a lung scan of that chain smoking Barack Obama published. As Andrew Sullivan says, it shouldn’t be any big deal to get those kinds of records released.

    Also, I think Mr. Obama’s STD status should be carefully evaluated, too.

    Heck, let’s add Joe the Plumber and Katie Couric’s STD status while we are at it!

    Unless, of course, your believe that only one side of the aisle needs scrutiny and have their privacy invaded by media trolls?

    Eric Blair (2708f4)

  117. While you are at it, Eric, you prolly ought to make sure that Excitable Andy, Gren Gleeeeenwald, and all of his cabana boys get checked out.

    JD (c69925)

  118. I’m still wondering about an MRI of Biden’s brain cavity…

    SPQR (26be8b)

  119. Comment by SPQR — 10/21/2008 @ 10:52 pm

    Very difficult to scan a hollow sphere.

    Another Drew (7866bb)

  120. I don’t know how you go from being a drug user at Occidental to Ivy League Columbia without affirmative action. I am a white lower middle class white guy who worked his way through college (I have my Teamster card to prove it) and then BC Law and finally got a MBA from Harvard Business School. If I slipped up anywhere I would not have made it. His life, his schooling and career could only happen in America and probably only for those getting an extra break or two.

    How can he think that we have to further redistribute wealth to create opportunity when he and his wife got Ivy League educations. Maybe someone should ask Karl Marx how he remembers Obama.

    Bill underhill (645274)

  121. Hey JD:

    You wrote:

    “..While you are at it, Eric, you prolly ought to make sure that Excitable Andy, Gren Gleeeeenwald, and all of his cabana boys get checked out….”

    The trouble there is that the MRI would have trouble with…ah…the way that so many… portions of those subjects are…well…interposed.

    Not that there is anything wrong with that, to quote Jerry Seinfeld.

    Eric Blair (cc02e6)

  122. Dear Mr. Underhill:

    From what I can tell, Michelle Obama actually worked darned hard while at Princeton. She and her brother both. Princeton may have affirmative action, but nobody goes there who doesn’t work their tails off.

    Occidental College, not so much.

    Check this out (though this is long after Barack Obama attended there):

    http://departments.oxy.edu/registrar/catalog/ctsj.html

    JD, maybe Andrew Sullivan should enroll in that major. Or be a guest lecturer.

    Eric Blair (cc02e6)

  123. But this is hilarious!
    The Republican National Committee appears to have spent more than $150,000 to clothe and accessorize vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and her family since her surprise pick by John McCain in late August. Comment by Nanker Phelge — 10/21/2008 @ 8:09 pm

    Maybe nanker won’t bother to read this since she is banned. But that simply proves Sarah Palin isn’t independently wealthy from being on the payroll of big oil, Fannie and Freddy, big law firms, political paybacks, or writing autobiographies filled with obscene language and drug use. Just the kind of person that can identify with the “other America”. Remember, the ones the Dems say the Repubs are out of touch with; the ones that don’t know to order Iranian caviar when you’re ordering caviar.

    MD in Philly (3d3f72)

  124. No one knows where Obama’s money is coming from. The liberal media isn’t holding him as accountable as it is the Republicans. Why should we be surprised, though? The media has been turning its back on Obama and his leftist illuminati associations for the past 21 months.

    Jeff (86606e)

  125. Apologies, Patrick. Hope you won’t take it amiss that I don’t read every post here.

    I missed this one until someone e-mailed me about it today. I’m flattered that you thought of me.

    I do, of course, have a substantially higher opinion than you do of the brand of journalism practiced at the LAT. That hasn’t stopped me from sometimes agreeing with specific concerns that you’ve articulated here.

    I doubt that fairness requires that each candidate received exactly parallel coverage. However, I read the story on Gov. Palin’s college years and wasn’t especially impressed with it. There weren’t many insights or much real news.

    FWIW, I don’t think it was a damaging piece. There doesn’t seem to have been anything damaging in Palin’s college career. Sure, she transferred fairly often, but so what? The article suggested rather sympathetically that the main reasons were economic (at least that’s the impression I came away with, after reading the piece). Certainly nothing dishonorable there.

    The other impression left by the article was surprise that so many students and teachers simply didn’t remember her. This probably surprises us because her current persona seems so high-impact. Guess I’ll just shrug. People grow and change.

    I recall reading the Oct. 2007 NYT piece on Obama’s student years, but not the LAT pieces. Do I agree that his Columbia years deserve press scrutiny? Yes. Do I expect such scrutiny to produce much of interest? No.

    Since so much time has passed since you made this post, I hope you don’t mind if I decline the research request. The focus of most of my reading these days is trying to understand what’s going on with the economy.

    I will be voting for Obama. I suspect that an Obama administration will be more moderate than many conservatives believe.

    Tim McGarry (9fe080)


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