Patterico's Pontifications

10/25/2009

Mission Accomplished

Filed under: Media Bias — DRJ @ 8:58 pm



[Guest post by DRJ]

William A. Jacobson at Le-gal In-sur-rec-tion is relieved Frank Rich hasn’t forgotten Bush Derangement Syndrome:

“I’ve been waiting patiently, armed with foresight that one of these days Bush Derangement Syndrome would work its way into the Balloon Boy hoax story (no links on the story, if you don’t know about it, go back to your cave).

And I’ve waited. And waited. It has been almost a week. My faith tested but not broken.

Then the satisfaction of seeing my faith rewarded by none other than Frank Rich, doyen of the BDS community, guardian of the BDS crystal ball, all-knowing user of Bush as a metaphor for everything.”

Frank Rich’s quote is at the link.

— DRJ

Free Cell Phones

Filed under: Government — DRJ @ 7:29 pm



[Guest post by DRJ]

Every low income telephone program I’ve seen requires recipients to pay something for their landline service, although often at reduced rates, but this Gateway Pundit post suggests the government is giving away free cell phones and airtime:

“SafeLink Wireless is proud to offer Lifeline Service, which is a program that enables qualifying customers to receive discounts on monthly telephone service. In our version of the program, you will receive free cellular service, a free SafeLink Wireless cell phone and the assurance that you will get no bills and no contracts EVER!

SafeLink describes this as a “program that was created by the government” available to low income people who already participate in federal or state assistance programs (like food stamps and Medicaid) and those whose total household income is at or below 135% of the poverty guidelines, provided no one else in the household has a similar service. The program also lets recipients buy more minutes if they don’t have enough free minutes.

I hope the goal of this program is to provide people with phone service so they can call for emergency assistance but, if so, the phones should limit calls to emergency contacts like 911. It doesn’t sound like there are any restrictions on phone use. If so, programs like this take away people’s incentive to work and achieve so they can buy things like cell phones. I also wonder how long it will take for someone to claim this is a government plot to give poor people cancer?

— DRJ

UPDATE 5/5/2012: Free cellphones cost the government $1B a year, and GOP Congressman Tim Griffin thinks it’s time to stop funding it.

Angels-Yankees, Game 6

Filed under: Sports — DRJ @ 5:55 pm



[Guest post by DRJ]

The Yankees lead the series 3-2 and can end it tonight with a win over the Angels. It’s scoreless in the bottom of the 2nd .

UPDATE: Yankees won 5-2.

— DRJ

Things That Make You Go: Hmmmmmmmmm

Filed under: Dog Trainer,General — Patterico @ 12:05 pm



In re-researching the ACORN scandal for my letter to Nick Goldberg, I ran across something interesting that I had missed before. Apparently, Giles and O’Keefe went to ACORN in Los Angeles — and an L.A. Times columnist implies they got kicked out.

By contrast, Breitbart says they didn’t get kicked out anywhere.

Someone is going to end up with egg on their face. Who do you think it will be? Breitbart? Or the L.A. Times columnist?

If I were a betting man, I know which way I’d bet.

When the ACORN San Diego video was released, Andrew Breitbart said on “Hannity”: “There’s no place, as ACORN tried to state, that kicked them out based upon the premise that they were doing something nefarious.”

In a September 23 column, L.A. Times columnist James Rainey — arch foe of Fox News — tried to prove otherwise. [Read the next sentence in a singsong voice, like people use when they make statements that they have to make, but that they think are really unimportant. — P] OK, sure, fine, a few bad apples tried to advise O’Keefe and Giles about how to successfully pimp out 13-year-old El Salvadorian girls. But, Rainey wrote, the scandal is not as bad as portrayed by those unreliable conservatives. For example, Rainey wrote:

[V]isits to other ACORN offices have gone almost entirely unmentioned. Lavelle Stewart, a fair-housing coordinator in the group’s Los Angeles office, told me this week that she tried to get the “prostitute,” who claimed she had been beaten by her pimp, to go to a women’s center.

“The fact she was not taking the help I offered her made me think something was not right,” Stewart said. “It raised a red flag.”

So, I guess O’Keefe and Giles hit ACORN in L.A., huh? And I guess ACORN in L.A. is claiming to be squeaky clean, huh?

That’s evidently how Media Matters took Lavelle Stewart’s claims, in a post titled LA Times report further undermines ACORN videographers’ credibility.

Surely, though, Lavelle Stewart wouldn’t claim to be squeaky clean when she isn’t, knowing that whatever she said is on tape. After all, nobody lies when they know they’re on tape, right? Wrong — as we found out in Philadelphia, when ACORN worker Katherine Conway Russell went on TV and lied about a) whether prostitution had been mentioned; b) whether Giles and O’Keefe were kicked out; c) whether Giles was dressed unusually; and d) whether she gave any help to Giles and O’Keefe.

In a butt-covering move, ACORN even filed a false police report claiming that O’Keefe had caused a “verbal disturbance” — something clearly belied by the tape.

Katherine Conway Russell’s mistake, apparently, was believing that because Breitbart hadn’t released the tape, he didn’t have anything on her. What she apparently didn’t realize is that Breitbart has been dribbling this stuff out, giving rope to people like her, who dutifully hang it around their necks with false statements that they think can’t be disproved.

I wonder if Lavelle Stewart is making the same mistake. I wonder if James Rainey is going to end up looking really stupid when all is said and done.

I guess we’ll find out, eventually. But I’ll say this: when Breitbart categorically states that no ACORN office kicked out Giles and O’Keefe for doing something nefarious, I believe him. Which means that my money is on Rainey looking stupid.

P.S. Did Rainey contact Breitbart, Giles, or O’Keefe for his column? He didn’t say that he did, so I assume not. But just to make sure, I have written Rainey and Breitbart to ask. I’ll let you know what they say, if anything.

Gosh, I Wonder Why He Wasn’t Home When We Came Looking for Him

Filed under: General — Jack Dunphy @ 2:54 am



[Guest post by Jack Dunphy]

An anti-gang task force in South Los Angeles Thursday morning bagged 47 of the 74 wanted suspects. Over at Pajamas Media, I offer a theory on why more weren’t captured: They knew the cops were coming. You won’t believe why.

–Jack Dunphy

First FLDS Criminal Trial Starts Monday

Filed under: Civil Liberties,Crime,Religion — DRJ @ 1:50 am



[Guest post by DRJ]

The first criminal proceeding in the Texas FLDS case begins with jury selection Monday in Eldorado, Texas:

“Texas prosecutors allege that Raymond Merril Jessop broke the law by having sex with an underage girl he married in a ceremony blessed by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, the sect that owns, occupies and operates the secretive Schleicher County ranch.

Monday’s trial will be the first of 10 criminal trials for men in the sect. The state claims FLDS members prey on their children by marrying girls to older men, often their blood relatives; FLDS leaders and members claim the state is persecuting it for practicing its religion.”

The case reportedly pits two excellent attorneys, 60 prosecution witnesses, and is expected to last 2 weeks. If this anecdote is any indication, it will be a challenging two weeks for the 2,800 residents of Eldorado and Schleicher County:

“Peggy Williams, the district court clerk in Eldorado, said the courtroom will seat 267 spectators, but 300 people have been summonsed for jury selection. Although some have been exempted, disqualified or excused, the court will be crowded.

Jury selection, she said, may take two days.

The trial will be a strain for Williams’ office: It will be closed Monday because she and her deputy will be in court, and her only remaining deputy was summonsed for jury selection.”

The linked article includes more details about the attorneys and the prosecution’s witnesses.

— DRJ

Marine Barracks Bombing Anniversary

Filed under: Obama,Terrorism — DRJ @ 12:28 am



[Guest post by DRJ]

Via Barry Rubin at Rubin Reports, Friday was the 26th anniversary of the Beirut Marine barracks bombing that killed 241 American troops including 220 Marines. The attack was orchestrated by Iran and Syrian-backed Hezbollah. Like Rubin, Ed Driscoll is not impressed with how Barack Airbrush Obama commemorated the bombing.

— DRJ


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