Palm Beach Post and Jose Lambiet Hit Rock Bottom in Their McCarthyism (Update: The Witch-Hunter Responds, Doubles Down)
[Guest post by Aaron Worthing; if you have tips, please send them here.]
This is Dr. Michael Lemole.
You probably have seen him as part of the team of surgeons and specialists who have been helping Representative Giffords. One can only speculate how much of this is due to luck, divine intervention, the natural pluck of Ms. Giffords or the skill of this team, but considering that this woman was shot in the head, she is making remarkable progress and he probably deserves a chunk of the credit:
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’ remarkable progress, including standing up with the help of aides Wednesday, bodes well for her continued recovery at a Houston rehabilitation center, where she will be moved Friday, just 12 days after a bullet pierced her brain.
Latest reports from University Medical Center in Tucson indicate that the Arizona congresswoman is able to move both hands and communicate with those around her, although it is unclear if she can speak. All this indicates a high level of motor and emotional function, experts say.
“The fact that she is able to communicate, that she is able to stand and walk, the fact that she is moving both hands is a good thing,” said Dr. Kester Nedd, an associate professor of neurology and director of neuro-rehabilitation at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.
I mean seriously, did anyone think that things would be going so well twelve days ago? And you can read a lot more about the team and what they are doing, here. Its all interesting reading that I recommend.
So they seem to be doing well, and therefore we must… investigate Dr. Lemole. In fact not just Dr. Lemole, but his parents, too. At least that is what Jose Lambiet of the Palm Beach Post thinks. Today he has published a column exposing that his parents are (gasp) rich:
Lemole’s mom and pop, heart surgeon Gerald Lemole and his wife, Emily, live in a $7.1 million house on The Island. [A.W.: the least creative name for an island, ever.] They also own a more modest $3.5 million house, also in Palm Beach.
He says all of this like its a bad thing. But if you needed heart surgery, which would you prefer? A rich doctor or a poor one? In my book pointing out that a guy is a rich doctor is a compliment. He is likely to be rich for all the right reasons.
Oh, and if you thought that was dumb, it gets dumber. Waaay dumber. Jose continues:
And while Michael is saving the life of the moderate Democratic congresswoman, Gerald and Emily are more into the far, far Right — including Tea Party goofball Christine O’Donnell!
According to campaign filings, Lemole’s parents have showered with thousands in contributions — $15,700 in 2010 alone — Tea Party candidates vying for national offices.
Ironically: Among their favorites are some of the very people whose controversial rhetoric and campaigns are said to provide a fertile ground for the likes of Jared Loughner, who allegedly injured Giffords and killed six others in Tucson.
No, you jackass, there is nothing at all ironic about this. Good and decent doctors will help people despite political differences. I am confident that the last thing on Dr. Lemole’s mind is the fact that Giffords is a Democrat. And I have no doubt that his father feels the same way, never once caring about the politics of his patients when he treats them.
But this column says volumes about you as a human being. First don’t even get me started on your passive aggressive repetition of the blood libel that somehow conservatives inspired a pot smokin’, Karl-Marx-lovin’, Christian-hatin’, Truther liberal to shoot a moderate Democrat. I mean, I think Loughner’s lunacy has more to do with this than his politics, but if we are going to look at his politics that’s what he is and the left is stuck with him.
But apparently you are so blinkered by partisanship that you think it is normal to refuse to give a person treatment out of political vindictiveness. Remind me again why it’s a good idea for the government to run my healthcare? I mean let’s forget the real possibility that you yourself are a big enough asshole that you would refuse to help a fellow human being because of a political vendetta. But if you really believe it is common for anyone, even if you just think it is just Republicans or Conservatives, to do that sort of thing, then shouldn’t you be opposed to Obamacare and all government-run healthcare programs? Because sooner or later, a Republican or Conservative will be in power again, and apparently by your logic, you can’t trust your health in their hands.
Anyway, Jose, you are a scummy man, filled with obvious hate and McCarthyite instincts. In denouncing the incendiary rhetoric that didn’t exist, you have engaged in it. Hopefully your employer will see fit to fire you for this bit of idiocy. Or at least force you into a humiliating apology.
Update: Jose responds to the growing firestorm, writing:
There was no political point to Monday’s Page2Live story about the parents of Dr. Michael Lemole, one of the neurosurgeons in Tucson who brought back U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords from the brink of death.
He goes on to argue that all he wanted to do was highlight a local angle, “And because I wanted to know more about the Lemoles’ background, I looked up their political contributions.”
Except of course when he was talking about other local color (here, here and here) he made no mention of political contributions. So why was it significant here? Gee, I can’t figure it out.
Then after engaging in hateful McCarthyism, he complains out the comments he received darkly ending with another blood libel, saying that these comments “may provide an insight in the twisted psychology of today’s political discourse and make you wonder: Who’s the next Jared Loughner?”
Well, given that Loughner was a pot smokin’, Karl-Marx-lovin’, Christian-hatin’, Truther liberal, you should probably be more concerned about your supporters than your detractors.
[Posted and authored by Aaron Worthing.]
No enough F-bombs, Aaron.
Use them. You’ll feel better.
They are a sort of catharsis for me.
Scott Jacobs (d027b8) — 1/20/2011 @ 10:45 amAaron, great find. It’s absolutely disgusting.
People can support the Tea Party without being called ‘extremists’. The difference between O’donnell and Coons was freaking massive, at least on their policy claims, so almost everyone involved with that election had to pick someone who wasn’t exactly where they were.
But I guess I shouldn’t even dignify this kind of attack with a real defense. You’re right… this is McCarthyism.
The reason he is rich is because he is an amazing doctor, who worked hard to learn a trade that is particularly valuable. He obviously values wealth and nice homes, and instead of crying that this is greedy, we should recognize that this is the motivation that led to the skills saving Giffords in a miraculous way. People need incentives.
The political hatred on display lately is disgusting. This man is saving lives, and blamed with a completely mythical relationship to murder. It’s the most shameless blood libel yet.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 1/20/2011 @ 10:50 amAnd they know what they are doing. They hope to intimidate other professionals from membership with the Tea Party. They hope to make that some kind of nasty embarrassment.
This is how they win their arguments. They haven’t got a thing to say about why we’re not taxed enough already, or why the budget shouldn’t be balanced.
Thugs.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 1/20/2011 @ 10:51 am1. i object to you referring to this cretin as a “man”, since there is more to that title than mere chromosomes or plumbing.
2, this must be the “new civility” we were promised.
redc1c4 (fb8750) — 1/20/2011 @ 10:53 amJose can go fu*k himself with a tail of a live sting ray.
Also, what about O’Donnell was politically extreme? She was overqualified and had some gaffes, but her policy stances were excellent.
‘Far right’?
What? I would love to hear what position O’Donnell took that is actually out of the mainstream.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 1/20/2011 @ 10:56 amScott
then you probably would like the blog i was keeping before this guest blog thing started here.
http://allergic2bull.blogspot.com/
Aaron Worthing (e7d72e) — 1/20/2011 @ 10:57 amSo why all the complaints about the disclosure of his parents’ and political contributions? Isn’t that just sharing information freely for people to use to make their own decisions?
And, BTW, some doctors have put signs up in their offices telling patients to “please go elsewhere” if those patients support ObamaCare. Hot Air had an article on it last year. What do you think about those doctors, Aaron?
Jim (87e69d) — 1/20/2011 @ 11:01 am@ Dustin: would “witchcraft” fit the bill? 8)
redc1c4 (fb8750) — 1/20/2011 @ 11:02 amLOL.
Hey, I can bash O’Donnell with the best of ’em. I am glad she’s not a Senator, though I preferred her to Coons. We gave up our best shot of having a moderate in DE. But that’s democracy, and I respect it.
O’Donnell’s behavior is not the same as her politics, though. The left loves to set up the debate. They establish, without any facts, that someone is extreme. Then, the people who supported them are extreme. We never get around to what was so incorrect about their POVs.
O’Donnell was so extreme to the right that she won the GOP primary and over a third of a deep blue state’s general election support (and that’s with the shadow of her professionalism and low experience level hanging over her campaign).
This is incredibly annoying lately, because the Tea Party is the most mainstream and powerful political movement of the past few decades.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 1/20/2011 @ 11:06 amSpot the weasel words:
carlitos (a3d259) — 1/20/2011 @ 11:07 amI should add, whatever O’Donnell did wrong in her life, she paid for 100X over. I feel a lot of sympathy for her. The media screwed her over in a way I didn’t anticipate because I’m naive.
And the reason is that these people hate freedom. It’s as simple as that.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 1/20/2011 @ 11:08 amThis is not “McCarthyism.” I was there and saw the whole McCarthy drive-by shooting. If the Main Stream Media tried to pull today what they were able to pull on McCarthy, they would soon join Dan Rather & Marta Mapes.
I watched the entire Army-McCarthy Hearings as a high school school project. The difference between what I saw during the three to four hours of daily hearings and what was shown on the evening news and in the following day’s papers was frightening.
Has anyone noticed that, after that one showing, the Edward R. Morrow show on McCarthy has never been shown. The “Harvest of Shame” can be obtained by schools but CBS wil not release the McCarthy piece. In fact, they refused to allow McCarthy to have a copy to aid him in preparing his rebuttal. IMHO, that was because their lawyers, after veiwing the show, found so many falsehoods and inaccuracies in the program to allow anyone to see the program could end in a major lawsuit and the destruction of their reputations. Now, with all our gagets, a show such as Murrow presented would have been taped by many viewers and posted on the internet. It is hardere to get by with the drive-by shootings today but the MSM still tries.
Longwalker (4e0dda) — 1/20/2011 @ 11:09 amCarlitos, what’s hilarious is that they say Loughner is merely alleged to have injured Giffords. They give the shooter a great deal more benefit of the doubt than is reasonable, at the same time they are insanely blaming a heroic doctor for helping the murders happen.
They owe a formal apology, and also should lose every single decent person who subscribes or advertises.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 1/20/2011 @ 11:10 amYep, I agree with Jose Lambiet – heart surgeons shouldn’t be honored any higher than a car mechanic. In all fairness and in support of human dignity, their pay should be comparable.
Obama’s pay czar should step in and issue an edict declaring it so, then authorize a de-assetification of Dr. Gerald Lemole and his wife, Emily to relieve them of their ill gotten gains. I’m thinking of something like the scene from Doctor Zhivago when the People’s Committee commandeers the houses and belongings of the filthy capitalists.
in_awe (44fed5) — 1/20/2011 @ 11:11 amDustin
well i maintain a conservative could have won this in DE. i do blame the DE establishment for failing to find a sufficiently conservative candidate without the baggage of COD. i think literally if you removed all those personal flaws, and made it just two respectable candidates with different political views, the conservative would have won, albeit in a squeeker.
Aaron Worthing (e7d72e) — 1/20/2011 @ 11:11 amOK. Giffords’ family needs to call BS on this immediately.
elissa (fb8f3b) — 1/20/2011 @ 11:13 amWow.
That may literally be the stupidest thing ever.
No hyperbole. For real. This may be the pinnacle of stupid. A historic moment.
Impressive.
Professor Blather (1b7ff0) — 1/20/2011 @ 11:15 amSo to sum up the shooter, one of his victims, Fuller, and the dipstick sheriff who has impeded
narciso (6075d0) — 1/20/2011 @ 11:19 amthis investigation, are of the same brand, whereas at least one of those who saved the Congresswoman’s life, comes from a family, that values such efforts.And then they wonder why tthey had trouble with the butterfly ballot.
That’s what really scares the left. They have to pretend O’donnell had no issue other than her Tea Party affiliation, and her loss and unpopularity somehow proves the entire movement is extreme.
It’s a cowardly display.
I do agree it would have been a surprisingly competitive election had our candidate with O’Donnell’s policy stances, but with a better resume and no drama. But DE didn’t have that choice yet.
I’m having to consider if I’d vote for Ron Paul vs a Democrat (absolutely not). We need to have better primaries.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 1/20/2011 @ 11:19 amThey should have been doing that for quite some time. If they had that in them, we’d know already.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 1/20/2011 @ 11:22 amYou really have to be short of material for a reporter to get into stuff like this.
Mike K (8f3f19) — 1/20/2011 @ 11:26 amThe comments to Mr. Lambiet’s piece are not particularly supportive.
daleyrocks (e7bc4f) — 1/20/2011 @ 11:38 amWhat this clown can do is make sure of the parentage of any doctor he sees and eschew those whose folks are conservative.
Richard Aubrey (59fa91) — 1/20/2011 @ 11:39 amYes, they shoudn’t have been rich, they shouldn’t have been able to afford sending their son to college and medical school, and then there would be no neurosurgeon to operate on Ms. Giffords, and Mr. Lambiet would have had to find something else to whine about.
We don’t like rich educated physicians- sounds like the Khmer Rouge, which may seem funny, but it really isn’t.
MD in Philly (3d3f72) — 1/20/2011 @ 11:47 amDr. Giordano: “Today, Mr. President, we’re all Republicans.”
Fritz (f496aa) — 1/20/2011 @ 11:59 amI’m with Longwalker. To call this McCarthyism is a slander on Joseph McCarthy.
Of course, there’s nothing new about that.
Gesundheit (cfa313) — 1/20/2011 @ 12:16 pm“We don’t like rich educated physicians- sounds like the Khmer Rouge”
MD in Philly – In Chicago we have a lot of neurosurgeons living in boxes on Lower Wacker Dr. I have no idea of their political affiliation, but the Democrat machine probably scoops them up and pays them to vote Democrat. Perhaps those are type of people are more suitable in the eyes of Mr. Lambiet.
daleyrocks (e7bc4f) — 1/20/2011 @ 12:25 pmWTF!@#!@# Why do you call it McCarthyism? Give me one shred of evidence (not MSM/hollywood propaganda) that Joe McCarthy was guilty of a witch hunt. The released Venona files show that the witch hunt was perpetrated against Joe McCarthy not by him.
Try getting it right. the truth is important isn’t it.
Marko (dd04a9) — 1/20/2011 @ 12:27 pmLeftists continue to engage in ever greater displays of public depravity. Prepare yourself, it’s only going to get worse.
ropelight (d504a2) — 1/20/2011 @ 12:32 pmJose Lambiet! You’re the winner of this week’s
LORD OF THE DOUCHE
award! Congratulations.
Mitch (890cbf) — 1/20/2011 @ 12:33 pmMarko, just because he was right that there were commies trying to undermine our country doesn’t mean the word ‘McCarthyism’ doesn’t have it’s obvious meaning. They are seeking people out on the basis of their political views.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 1/20/2011 @ 12:33 pmFrom Wikipedia. McCarthy certainly had problems with math, Marko, if this is accurate:
McCarthy experienced a meteoric rise in national profile on February 9, 1950, when he gave a Lincoln Day speech to the Republican Women’s Club of Wheeling, West Virginia. His words in the speech are a matter of some debate, as no audio recording was saved. However, it is generally agreed that he produced a piece of paper that he claimed contained a list of known Communists working for the State Department. McCarthy is usually quoted to have said: “The State Department is infested with communists. I have here in my hand a list of 205—a list of names that were made known to the Secretary of State as being members of the Communist Party and who nevertheless are still working and shaping policy in the State Department.”[23][24]
There is some dispute about whether or not McCarthy actually gave the number of people on the list as being “205” or “57”. In a later telegram to President Truman, and when entering the speech into the Congressional Record, he used the number 57.[25] The origin of the number 205 can be traced: In later debates on the Senate floor, McCarthy referred to a 1946 letter that then–Secretary of State James Byrnes sent to Congressman Adolph J. Sabath. In that letter, Byrnes said State Department security investigations had resulted in “recommendation against permanent employment” for 284 persons, and that 79 of these had been removed from their jobs; this left 205 still on the State Department’s payroll. In fact, by the time of McCarthy’s speech only about 65 of the employees mentioned in the Byrnes letter were still with the State Department, and all of these had undergone further security checks.[26]
Jim (87e69d) — 1/20/2011 @ 12:36 pmMarko,
I think Longwalker at #11 and Gesundheit at #25 agree with you and made the same point.
I guess there is “McCarthyism” according to the more common popular usage, and “McCarthyism” as what really happened. This is like the use of the term “swiftboated”; to the Dems it means to be slandered by a group, to others it means not letting someone get away with a lie.
I guess McCarthy is one of those things to be included in the book of “Things that Everybody ‘Knows’, but that Are Not True”, like the US losing the Tet Offensive and Cronkite being an honest journalist.
MD in Philly (3d3f72) — 1/20/2011 @ 12:37 pmVery good. And now that we have that out of the way, we can return to our regularly scheduled criticism of the Democrat Socialists.
Gesundheit (cfa313) — 1/20/2011 @ 12:40 pmAs far as I can tell, McCarthy was actually singling out people on the basis of their political views. It seems that the political view he was concerned about was much worse than being in the Tea Party, and some were also hoping to harm our country, but the only real difference between what he did, and this Palm Beach Post article is doing, is that their witch hunt is of someone who isn’t a witch, and his was more justifiable.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 1/20/2011 @ 12:40 pmSo… I wonder where Jose has given political donations in the last couple of years. Of course, as a journalist, he’s balanced and objective and above the fray.
Gesundheit (cfa313) — 1/20/2011 @ 12:41 pmI heard that the second-cousin, once removed, of the orderly that cleaned Reagan’s bedpan after he was shot voted for McGovern.
Icy Texan (1ddadb) — 1/20/2011 @ 12:49 pmDustin, McCarthism was also government-sponsored (or at least government-approved) targeting of people by the government. McCarthy was a Senator and used that power to gather information and hold hearings.
The Palm Beach Post is obviously not government.
Jim (87e69d) — 1/20/2011 @ 12:52 pmThough to be fair, Icy, everyone in the OR was a Republican that day…
Scott Jacobs (d027b8) — 1/20/2011 @ 12:52 pmNote to self:
Next time I, or a family member needs emergency treatment be sure to ask about the treating physician’s political affiliation and candidate contributions going back at least two generations.
Yes. that is sarcasm.
elissa (fb8f3b) — 1/20/2011 @ 1:05 pmWhen she was first hospitalized her husband read a statement saying that yes, she is Jewish but she had been raised as a Christian Scientist. When I heard that I knew she would live.
jd (52c271) — 1/20/2011 @ 1:09 pmjd
it is almost a scientific fact that bad things happen to good people and people of all faiths.
Aaron Worthing (e7d72e) — 1/20/2011 @ 1:12 pmThey are actually criticizing the guy’s parents. The ‘sin’ of having a wealthy parent is newsworthy in painting the picture of a Tea Party radical. Who is the blind fool who didn’t realize this wonderful man is a great example of a Tea Partier?
jd, why didn’t Christina live?
Dustin (b54cdc) — 1/20/2011 @ 1:16 pmMcCarthy’s biggest problem was himself. He was a drunk and a buffoon. Yes, there were communists in the government during World War II and some remained after. The problem was the messenger. He tried to get Roy Cohn out of the draft and that is how he got into it with the Army. He was simply a fool.
I don’t agree with the use of “McCarthyism” as a noun but if you want an accurate definition it would describe a drunk and buffoon who destroyed himself. He exaggerated the number of communists he found but he probably did find a few. None of them were exposed by McCarthy and he inhibited a serious search for them.
Mike K (8f3f19) — 1/20/2011 @ 1:24 pmI used to think that a good characterization of the MSM these days was a hearkening back to the Yellow Journalism period in newspapers. I stand corrected – this is so far beneath those standards it beggars belief.
Dmac (498ece) — 1/20/2011 @ 1:24 pmGotta love his double-down for its self-contradiction:
1. It’s not about politics! Just about some rich locals.
2. You Tea-Party wackos are creating the next Loughner!
Riiiiiiiiiight.
Mitch (890cbf) — 1/20/2011 @ 1:45 pmI think we all know which side of the political fence Jose is on. As for Giffords’ family speaking against the MSM’s assumptions, her husband has already said basically that; it’s the fault of talk radio, political rhetoric, etc, etc. At the same time Sheriff Elmer Fudd was making a fool of himself.
I like how the Sheriff has been shut up by the prosecutor’s office. Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.
PatAZ (29affb) — 1/20/2011 @ 1:48 pmI’m going to give the husband a pass on that comment – he was asked about it less than 24 hours after the shooting, when the MSM frenzy of blame was already in full swing. When his wife fully recovers (which I believe she will), we’ll get their full side of the story.
Dmac (498ece) — 1/20/2011 @ 1:55 pmi am sorry i think mccarthy was getting at a serious problem but turned it into a witch hunt. and in doing so hurt our ability to deal with real fifth columns.
i could be wrong. i wasn’t there. but that is what i believe.
Aaron Worthing (e7d72e) — 1/20/2011 @ 2:00 pmThis is why I am so grateful for the alternate media…in another time, this smear would have gone unrefuted…now, it can be called out for the garbage it is.
Ellen (996c34) — 1/20/2011 @ 2:04 pmNo AW, you’re correct – he was the wrong messenger at exactly the right time to be looking into those allegations. We now know from released files from the KGB (during Yeltsin’s time in office) and the Politboro that there were literally hundreds of operatives within our gov’t, media and our press.
http://www.academia.org/communism-unmasked/
BTW, the Verona release also directly implicated the Rosenbergs, although their children refuse to admit their parent’s guilt. Useful idiots, indeed.
Dmac (498ece) — 1/20/2011 @ 2:32 pmThe wonderful Left – everything is recast as political.
Sheesh, what crap.
SPQR (26be8b) — 1/20/2011 @ 2:33 pm“At the same time Sheriff Elmer Fudd was making a fool of himself.”
Don’t knock the sheriff, he’s one of the best wabbit huntehs in the countwy.
Dave Surls (5e61b8) — 1/20/2011 @ 3:18 pmdustin : Investigating Communists or Nazis requires investigating one’s political background and/or activiyies. There were people who joined Communist front groups because they were political innocents – such as Ronald Reagan – and left those groups as soon as they realized what the group was.
There were other people who joined those groups because they were dedicated communists. How can you distinguish to which group an individual belongs without an investigation?
Contrary to the MSM meme, McCarthy was very careful not to “expose” innocents. Compare how McCarthy actually ran the committee when he was chairman with how his Democratic successor acted. Check the records not the MSM mene.
I won a debate in high school on McCarthy because I was able to refute my opponent’s every assertion with actual evidence.
In my closing statemen, I refered to what was meant by “McCarthyism” in the 1950’s – making wild and reckless charges about people. I then stated that my opponent’s whole case had been shown to be nothing but wild and reckless charges about McCarthy.
I finished with the remark that rather than showing McCarthy to be guilty of “McCarthyism,” my opponent’s whole arguement was sheer “McCarthyism.”
I suggest that you read Wm. F. Buckley’s book ” McCarthy and his Enemies.”
Longwalker (4e0dda) — 1/20/2011 @ 3:31 pmLower-case jd is kinda . . . lower-class.
Icy Texan (1ddadb) — 1/20/2011 @ 3:40 pmPattern recur, take that fellow Myers who was spying for the Cuban Govt for 30 years, a heirto the Bell Telephone fortune, his supposed gripe at the time, was ‘the lack of health care’ this was back in 1978?? and needless to say, Vietnam and Nixon in reverse order. The Russian spy case from last summer, seems to be tied to a sourcein the NSA. Mort Halperin, who supported Agee’s DGI inspired burning of agents overseas that claimed the life of Richard Welch, now works for CAP, recruiting staff positions in the Obama administration
narciso (6075d0) — 1/20/2011 @ 3:47 pm___________________________________________
I mean let’s forget the real possibility that you yourself are a big enough asshole that you would refuse to help a fellow human being because of a political vendetta.
Aaron, the reason I’ve posted, and re-posted, and re-posted again, a variety of snippets on studies that indicate larger percentages of liberals actually are less generous and less kindly than conservatives is because too many people — particularly if they themselves are of the left — fall for the notion that liberalism brings beauty, love and compassion into a human being.
I wouldn’t be so disgusted by liberals like Jose Lambiet if they at least admitted their ideological biases don’t mean squat when it comes to the amount of goodwill in their heart. And, of course, I’d respect such liberals if they admitted their “progressive” sentiments are quite superficial, devoid of common sense, and no more than a snug feeling brought on by leftism for leftism’s sake.
Mark (411533) — 1/20/2011 @ 4:58 pm_________________________________________
– Glenn Beck, June 10, 2010, Fox News
I’ll give credit to Beck if he’s honest enough to at least admit his ideology isn’t floating on a bed of love, love, love, hugs, hugs, hugs, compassion, compassion, compassion. That’s more than can be said about the following guy and people who are closer to him on the political spectrum—-including the killer in Arizona several days ago, and, say, Lee Harvey Oswald in 1963:
Mark (411533) — 1/20/2011 @ 5:07 pmmitch
like who?
Aaron Worthing (73a7ea) — 1/20/2011 @ 5:26 pm#57, Mitch, do you think Beck was wrong? Do you think Pelosi and the others he was addressing are safe from the tiger they’re clutching by the tail? Do you think they’re never going to have to shoot the communists they’ve put in positions of trust, before those communists shoot them?
Milhouse (54f1a0) — 1/20/2011 @ 5:28 pmLeft on left violence is no secret. Glenn Beck’s right, and it’s simply projection that some try to obfuscate violence inspiring rhetoric by fixating on whatever innocent thing Palin or whoever just said.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 1/20/2011 @ 5:30 pm“mitch” is not mitch.
JD (d4bbf1) — 1/20/2011 @ 5:31 pmMitch, if that’s even true (and you’ve posted provable lies today, so who knows?) what’s it got to do with this doctor?
And does it makes sense for someone missing some of their brain to continue to hold high office? It’s not for me to say, but I think it’s reasonable, if she’s unable to do her job for the foreseeable future, that someone do her job. I would suggest appointing her spouse, or something along those lines.
Why let Loughner cost this district their democrat representation? Just because you want to cry croc tears?
Dustin (b54cdc) — 1/20/2011 @ 5:39 pmDustin, she’d still be smarter than the Vice President missing half. And compared to the troll …
SPQR (26be8b) — 1/20/2011 @ 6:16 pmI hope that isn’t so, that would be yet another victory by that thug, who I’ve mentioned his name above, btw, did you see the Newsweek cover, on the subject, 1.00 is far more than they should have paid for it
narciso (6075d0) — 1/20/2011 @ 6:33 pmMy last post was up at 46, mocking this gossip columnist’s follow-up post.
Mitch (e40959) — 1/20/2011 @ 7:08 pmThe ‘sin’ of having a wealthy parent is newsworthy in painting the picture of a Tea Party radical.
This nicely sums up the left and their m.o.: never let up in painting the picture of the Tea Party. Power is in perception and the left will go to their collective death before they let up in shaping and molding the face of the Tea Party before the public. If the TPers push back, the left will double down in their efforts. They must not only control the narrative but also the picture of narrative’s cast of characters.
Dana (8ba2fb) — 1/20/2011 @ 7:15 pmWill I ever stop being surprised by how low these people can sink?
jcp370 (021620) — 1/20/2011 @ 8:42 pmLongwalker, I’ve had a few conversations about McCarthy, and find the topic very interesting. It’s true that there’s a lot of unfairness to how he’s remembered, and it’s true that many of even his darkest claims were actually true.
I think he let down his cause in a few ways, but I wasn’t criticizing him when I explained why the term McCarthyism applies to this hunt for Tea Partiers.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 1/20/2011 @ 8:55 pmTeddy Kennedy left his entire estate to poor children. That is how much he cared.
Rupert (c54c9c) — 1/21/2011 @ 2:11 amWhy all the complaints about disclosure of his parents and political contributors? Isn’t immediately allocation information liberally for people to use to make their own decision? This article is great. I love to visit your site every day. Keep on posting such wonderful thoughts.
Discount pet insurance (e7052f) — 1/21/2011 @ 3:08 am1. The guy who shot Congresswoman Giffords had a sanity problem and maybe a personal issue to settle. He certainly has zero in common with me or anyone I know associated with the Tea Party movement. Jared was batsh*t crazy, not a radical extremist.
2. I’m delighted that she is doing as well as she has. My stepfather had three craniumotomies – 1956, 1976 and 1981- for what was effectively brain cancer. Neurosurgery has improved tremendously, but I am astonished that she has recovered this much in this short period of time.
3. Doctors, especially trauma surgeons, do not, as a rule, like handguns. I’m sure he sees a lot of gun shot wounds in young people. The murder rate in Tucson is seven times as high as Phoenix.
4. There is one ironic downside. If a 9 mm bullet fired into a human forehead at a range of 4 feet was not fatal, a 9 mm isn’t enough gun. I need to trade up to a 40 S&W.
Arch (24f4f2) — 1/21/2011 @ 3:18 amArch, why do you need a gun to be fatal? Surely the point is to stop your attacker, not to kill him. Killing him is only a side-effect, something that you’d be legally required to avoid if practicable, which it generally isn’t.
Milhouse (ea66e3) — 1/21/2011 @ 9:33 amI read this idiot Jose Lambiet’s column.
My reaction was to think that compared to him, Thomas Friedman was a lightweight.
Friedman just wishes we were the PRC for a day. Lambiet wishes we were the DPRK, where citizens are categorized as reliable, indeterminate, or unreliable based upon investigations of your family’s background. If your grandparents were hostile to communists, their decendants are forever branded as hostile to the regime.
Just as Lambiet is painting Dr. Micheal Lemole. What’s he doing working on Rep. Giffords? His parents are, horrors, shudder, TEA PARTIERS!
As an aside, can someone explain the benevolent intent of what Lambiet is doing here, trying to associate somehow what he sees as the “sin of the father” to the son?
Because lately with all this talk about the new civility I’ve been reminded that we conservatives can’t assign anything but the best motives to the libs.
Why not? These aren’t good people. This is why I took exception to Patterico’s assumption that Obama was a good man a couple of years back.
We may not make much political hay by pointing out our political opponents are people who want to dress up their greed, envy, lust for power, and other vices as if they were virtues, so it may be a best practice to keep our knowledge to ourselves. But why in heaven’s name do we have to publicly pretend they are good people with the best of motives? It just feeds into their public spin when both sides say the libs have “their hearts in the right place” while they call us nazis who want to kill (depending on the politics of the day) the elderly, minorities, women, and currently those with pre-existing medical conditions.
Obviously I have never suspected these leftists of ever having their hearts in the right place; their Che T-shirts prove that. But I’m willing to play along for a while.
What could Lambiet’s “best of intentions” be for attempting to vilify the Tucson doctor by investigating his parents’ political activities? Can someone ‘splain this? Because otherwise I’m just going to go on believing these people are vile critters.
Steve (c14b69) — 1/21/2011 @ 1:28 pmPractice a couple hundred rounds before you do. I made that exact switch, and there’s a major comfort difference. The most important thing about your gun is that it’s practiced with.
I would suggest comparing a .45 ACP with the .40, though I personally wound up sticking to the .40.
As far as making sure the gun is deadly, I agree with you. If you shoot someone, kill them. I don’t want someone I’ve shot, or even pointed a gun at, to spend the rest of their life hoping to settle some score, or making a legal claim. Of course, that means never displaying a gun unless the situation justifies an extreme measure of defense. I’d even go so far as to say the situation should be serious enough that legal consequences are not a priority anymore, such as protecting myself or my family.
That’s been mentioned tens of thousands of times at PW. No exaggeration. It’s really bizarre, because I don’t think you’ve explained why his assumption was even a bad one, since it was a general lesson about raising your kids not to see politics first.
You took such strong exception to this lesson that you’ve bring it up years later, but do you understand the idea? What’s it got to do with this article? Obama didn’t write it. You think all liberals are bad people, because this article is evil, and thus we should never assume the best of liberals?
Why?
The fact is that Obama, for all his association with nasty people like Rev Wright or Ayers, does have some kind of moral motivation in his heart. He’s a naive, arrogant, politics playing liar, but he makes all his machinations because, in his heart, he hopes somehow this crap makes the world a better place.
He’s wrong, but there’s good in this person. Is it really so horrible to admit it, that people criticize it tens of thousands of times?
Seems like some people want to pretend Patterico was endorsing Obama’s POV, or history.
I know a lot of people don’t even care about this smear anymore, but the amazing disproportion to the PW hysteria fascinates me.
This is a very interesting point. A lot of people do insist we give libs great for their wonderful intentions. Dupnik, for example, simplified this country to ‘one party is trying to make America better, and the other is trying to stop them’.
But don’t you realize this isn’t what the ‘good man’ crap was doing at all? There’s a huge difference between saying someone is above criticism, or even on the right path, and saying that person has goodness too. We’re all pretty similar, across mankind. The examples of people who lack goodness, people like Loughner or Osama bin Laden, are not in the same category as Barack Obama.
And when you conflate them, you’re just making it harder to have frank conversations.
BTW< I recognize Steve is being polite in his comments, and I am not trying to be anything but polite in return.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 1/21/2011 @ 1:45 pm