Patterico's Pontifications

8/26/2013

Disgraced Former U.S. Attorney Throws the Book at James O’Keefe

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 6:15 pm



Literally.

The headline just writes itself. This is comedy gold.

You have to watch the video, as descriptions don’t do it justice. Basically, the guy in charge of the U.S. Attorney’s Office that prosecuted O’Keefe for a B.S. petty violation screams at O’Keefe, calls him a “hobbit” and a “spud” (racism against the Irish?!) and an “asshole.” Then he grabs O’Keefe’s book from him just so he can throw it at O’Keefe.

My. It would be fine to have this guy in charge of your future, wouldn’t it?

Letten, it should be remembered, resigned in disgrace after his top assistants were caught sock-puppeting comments about a case they were prosecuting and lying to a judge about it. One of those sock-puppeting assistants had haughtily proclaimed about O’Keefe: “We don’t try cases in the press.”

Ha.

P.S. I have been dying to write this post ever since I first saw the video of Letten’s antics back in early July, and teased it on Twitter (note the dates of the tweets):

P.P.S. More exclusive information about Letten and O’Keefe in the morning. I have a feeling you’ll be interested.

Obvious Hate Crime Is (Not) Obvious

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 7:40 am



The following is three-day-old news. So sue me. I was on vacation.

USA Today reports on an obvious hate crime by two young white males on a black World War II vet:

Spokane police said Friday they have arrested one of two teenagers wanted as suspects in the beating death of an 88-year-old World War II vet who was wounded at Okinawa.

Delbert Belton, known as “Shorty,” died Thursday from head injuries suffered in the attack Wednesday night outside the Eagles Lodge.

KHQ-TV reports that the 16-year-old is being held in juvenile detention but will be charged as an adult and faces first degree murder and first degree robbery charges.

Police had released the photos of two teenagers seen in area surveillance footage.

The case is gaining nationwide attention because the perpetrators were white and the victim, a World War II hero, was black. Touré has brought the case to the attention of the public on Twitter and plans to speak about it today on MSNBC. Already Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson have begun preparations for marches for justice across the country, demanding justice for Belton. Colin Powell has said that anything less than a first degree murder conviction would be “suspect.” On networks across the country, round-the-clock coverage has been promised, and speculation abounds about whether, after the George Zimmerman case, an acquittal here might be the spark that sets off a nationwide race ri —

[Like many things I write, this next bit probably works best if you hear it being said in the voice of Norm MacDonald, using the voice he uses when he is doing an obvious “bit.”]

Hold the fort! I’ve just been handed a piece of paper with some writing on it. Please excuse me for a moment while I just take the piece of paper I have been handed, and read the words that have been placed upon it for me to read.

[Silence. Norm’s lips move silently.]

Huh. How about that.

It appears that the story I was reading to you was accurate, with the exception of one small detail: the suspects are black and the victim is white. And the person who brought it to the attention of Twitter was not Touré, but James Woods.

Well, I don’t see a story here, fellas, do you?

[Fade to black.]

Defunding ObamaCare: The Possibility of Failure Cannot Prevent Us From Making the Attempt

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 7:21 am



“The effort to defund ObamaCare has failed. It was my hope that we could fight this law, which marks a new level of government control over our lives, and defeat it before it was implemented. I was wrong to think that we could get this done at this time and in this way, but I will never stop fighting until the goal of repealing this law is finally achieved.” — Ted Cruz, September 29, 2013, on the failure to defund ObamaCare.

“Our landings in the Cherbourg-Havre area have failed to gain a satisfactory foothold and I have withdrawn the troops. My decision to attack at this time and place was based upon the best information available. The troops, the air and the navy did all that bravery and devotion to duly could do. If any blame or fault is attached to the attempt it is mine alone.” — Dwight D. Eisenhower, July 5, 1944, on the failed D-Day invasion.

“Fate has ordained that the men who went to the moon to explore in peace will stay on the moon to rest in peace. These brave men, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, know that there is no hope for their recovery. But they also know that there is hope for mankind in their sacrifice. . . . Others will follow, and surely find their way home. Man’s search will not be denied. But these men were the first, and they will remain the foremost in our hearts. For every human being who looks up at the moon in the nights to come will know that there is some corner of another world that is forever mankind.” — Richard M. Nixon, July 21, 1969, after confirmation of the deaths of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the Moon.

As we contemplate the fight to defund ObamaCare, the prospect of failure weighs heavily on Republicans’ hearts. The question on many people’s minds is: if we fail, what will that mean for Republicans’ election prospects?

Perhaps the better question is: if we fail, what will that mean for freedom?

Men have faced the prospect of failure before, in embarking on undertakings whose prospects for success seem obvious now, with the virtue of hindsight.

Dwight D. Eisenhower wrote a message in his own hand that he was prepared to deliver in July 1944 if it became clear that D-Day had not been successful. The message, quoted above, shows that Eisenhower knew there was no certainty that we would win the day in Normandy — something that had to weigh heavily on his mind given the catastrophe of the Battle of Dieppe, the previous attempt at an invasion of the European mainland.

William Safire drafted a speech, excepted above, for Richard Nixon to deliver in the event that humanity’s first attempt to have men walk on the Moon was a disastrous failure. Given the deaths of Gus Grissom, Edward White II, and Roger Chaffee in Apollo 1, success certainly did not seem assured — and as students of the landing know, there were many points where everything could have gone (and almost did go) disastrously wrong.

I hope Ted Cruz does not have to deliver the short address I have written above, but he might.

Any time we embark on any worthwhile fight, we must consider the possibility of failure.

But we must also not allow the possibility to frighten us into not trying in the first place.


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