The Associated Press has a nice rundown of the lies, exaggerations, distortions, and outright nonsense otherwise known as the State of the Union address.
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Fact Checking Obama (A Full-Time Job)
And attacks me in the process : Responding to a relentless wave of Iowa attacks ads produced by a Mitt Romney-friendly Super PAC, an angry Newt Gingrich last week challenged Romney to debate the “dishonest” commercials. Over the holiday weekend, Gingrich said of the ads, “I feel Romney-boated.” . . . . But wait, everyone knows the Swifties peddled slanderous lies about John Kerry, right? Everyone acknowledges their ad campaign represented a new low point in American politics, right? Wrong. For years, prominent right-wing bloggers have clung to the parallel universe belief that the Swifties were honorable men and that none of their wild Vietnam War claims about Kerry were ever debunked. Within the right-wing media, the Swift Boat Veterans are fondly remembered as heroes who “courageously told the untold truths.” Previously, from Michelle Malkin: A reminder to conservatives: “Swift-Boating” does not equal smearing. Swift-Boating means exposing hard truths about corrupt Democrats. From Powerline: Most of what the Vets said in their ads has never been disputed, let alone discredited. From Patterico’s Pontifications: The canard that the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth was a “smear campaign” is so well accepted by Big Media that ABC NEWS feels comfortable in portraying the Swifties’ ad campaign as “slanderous” and “smear ads.” On and on the denial goes as far-right bloggers cling to their Swift Boat fantasy. Actually, the fantasy and spinning is being done by Eric Boehlert. Let’s look at the post of mine that he links. In it, do I engage in denial or factual distortion? No. Instead, I note that Beldar had issued a challenge for anyone to prove a material fact that the Swifties had lied about — a challenge unmet to this day. Meanwhile, I noted, Big Media adopted the herd-like canard that “Swift Boating” means “lying” while themselves distorting the facts: Meanwhile, I have yet to see anyone meet Beldar’s challenge to name a single specific and material statement of fact by the Swift Boaters that has been fully debunked, or shown to be fully unsubstantiated. Wouldn’t stating material falsehoods be a critical component of a “slanderous” campaign of “smear ads”? In fact, as I have previously observed , the media often has a worse track record of inaccuracies on this issue than do the Swifties. Boehlert can’t confront me on the facts. Indeed, I would post this as a comment at Media Matters, but I am essentially banned there (at least on Boehlert’s posts) — despite never having posted anything but factual refutations of their lies. That is their commitment to truth. And Boehlert is the one with a history of making unsupported claims — including one about the Swift Vets, as I show in this post . Boehlert’s lazy and ridiculous screed is useful for one thing, though: highlighting Gingrich’s willingness to accept a tired media canard if it serves his own political purposes. Someone should track down Gingrich and confront him on this. However, that is unlikely to happen, because the sheep and cattle in the media all accept the herd’s judgment on the Swift Vets. Thanks to Jay for the heads up.
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Eric Boehlert Cites Gingrich As Proof Swift Vets Were Liars
At least this Santa is . He is born to be Santa. This is his natural look: And he passes on great stories: Anderson thought about dropping the question “Have you been good?” from his routine. But he changed his mind when he realized kids expect to hear that question. Besides, it has provided some zinger responses. “One little guy said, ‘I’m a 5-year-old and sometimes I pass gas,’ ”Anderson recalled. “There was another little boy. I said, ‘Have you been good?’ and he said, ‘I’m a normal 5-year-old boy,’ which sort of spoke volumes, if you know 5-year-old boys.” Then there was the kid who outlined the requirements for achieving goodness. “I did have one who said very seriously, ‘I don’t hit, spit, kick or plug things in,’ ” Anderson said. And there was the kid who summed it up this way: “Well, let’s just say I’ve been better than last year.” Three huge cheers for that kid. We can’t be perfect, folks — but at least we can strive to be better than last year. Tell half the lies you told last year. Screw over fewer people than you did in 2011. You’re a serial killer? Strive to kill fewer people this coming year. Hey, every little bit helps. P.S. You can still do your shopping at Amazon for Christmas, if you act today (or tomorrow). If you sign up for Amazon Prime, your items ordered today (or tomorrow) will arrive in time for Christmas. Amazon Prime is $79 per year, and entitles you to free 2-day shipping no matter how small your order. To sweeten the pot, Amazon Prime now has streaming video, at cheaper prices than Netflix. Frankly, as an iPad owner, I think Netflix is slightly the better deal if you do a lot of movie viewing on your iPad. Nevertheless, I have signed up for Amazon Prime for a year, to watch the streaming movies, compare the service to Netflix, and enjoy the quick shipping. If you decide, as I did, to give Amazon Prime a shot, make sure to use the search box on the right sidebar. I’ll get a small and legal kickback that costs you nothing, but which softens the blow of my monthly hosting fee. Thanks as always.
The rest is here:
Santa Is Real!
Never before, on the face of the earth, has there ever been a nation that has produced as much wealth for its citizens, the technological advancements for mankind, and saved the world from totalitarianism, than these United States. It was not by accident that our nation was able to accomplish this, it was because our nation was a nation built under the torch of liberty—our economic system (called capitalism, of free enterprise) based on freedom. Yet, while free enterprise has been under assault for decades, today—from the Left-wing, Marxist ideologues occupying our government, labor unions, the media and academia to their progeny infesting city parks throughout the country—the cockroaches of collectivism are calling for an end to the system that has brought prosperity to hundreds of millions. The evil of their lies blaming capitalism for their own statist failures is only dwarfed by the evil of their proposed solutions—a Marxist state. A few years ago, the Associated Builders & Contractors (an association of more than 20,000 merit shop contractors) launched the Free Enterprise Alliance to promote free enterprise in our society. In 2010, they launched Halt the Assault , a website that geared to calling attention to the destructiveness of government interference on our economy. HTA has grown to over 100,000 pro-free enterprise advocates. Now, the Free Enterprise Alliance has just launched a new website ( FreeEnterpriseAlliance.org ) that is a treasure trove of information promoting free markets and countering the Marxist claims of those occupying our government, unions, academia, media and our parks. As their website states: Just as America requires protection of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, the American Dream requires the protection of free enterprise—the ability for humans to apply their knowledge, skills, innovation and elbow grease to start businesses, make new products, and ultimately create wealth and jobs that fuel progress for all. When you visit the site, you’ll find a reading list of books , articles , and videos (like this one): Check out the FEA’s new website and arm yourself with the intellectual ammunition needed to combat the collectivist cockroaches. On Twitter: @FreeMarketsWin ________________ “I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776 ** Disclosure: This is a non-paid, shameless plug for free enterprise and the Free Enterprise Alliance, both of which I know, admire, and support.
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#OccupyThis: Free Enterprise, It’s More Than An Idea & It Works
Duff McKagan shared a sleazy Hollywood apartment wit h his girlfriend years before Guns N’ Roses became the world’s biggest rock band. Pimps, prostitutes, and junkies surrounded. Upstairs lived a cautionary tale. A once-famous neighbor befriended the soon-to-be-famous bass player. He shared demo tapes with the younger musician and then without invitation started sharing his bathroom. “I watched the illusions I had about one of my idols evaporate before my eyes,” Duff McKagan writes in It’s So Easy (and Other Lies) . “Was the great Sly Stone living the good life, jamming in a home studio tucked away somewhere in his sprawling mansion? Nope, he was sneaking past my girlfriend to smoke crack in my bathroom.” It’s hard not to see the strung-out Sly Stone as an unlikely angel sent from God: warning, iceberg ahead! But McKagan, like Stone and the Titanic, imagined himself too big to fail. The biggest stars, as McKagan’s new autobiography demonstrates, turn out to be just everyday people. It’s So Easy (and Other Lies) is less a band history than a drug memoir. Given that one of Duff’s most enduring pop-culture legacies involves alcohol rather than music — Simpsons ‘ creators appropriately appropriated his nickname for their cartoon beer — McKagan’s book focuses on what was once his focus. His story would be a rock ‘n’ roll cliché if not for it ending in redemption rather than death. Ironically emerging from the same Seattle music scene that supplanted Guns N’ Roses, McKagan details a Pacific Northwest childhood of dropping acid in sixth grade, getting the clap in ninth grade, habitually stealing automobiles before getting his license, and dropping out of a high school that that required but fortnightly attendance. Like magnets, the druggies and dropouts that would comprise Guns N’ Roses came together in mid-’80s Los Angeles. Duff quotes pre-fame band-mate Steven Adler: “You know, all I want in life is to make enough money one day so I can have a bag of good weed and a big ball of crack around — all the time.” Anyone who has stumbled across Adler on VH1′s Celebrity Rehab knows that the drummer wasn’t kidding. Drummer Adler becomes the first fired gun, and then, one by one, the gunners fired themselves — unable to stomach Axl Rose’s chronic concert tardiness, temper tantrums, and megalomania. Surrounding oneself with junkies will have that effect on a man. With the singer’s seemingly psychotic outbursts, and the band’s constant drug stupor, one can’t help but think that if Duff, Slash, Steven, and Izzy had shared their pharmaceuticals with Axl everybody would have been better off. The climax of McKagan’s book is the low point of his life. Coming off the two-year-plus Use Your Illusions tour that witnessed the performance degenerate as the degenerate performers’ chemical intake increased, the bloated bassist’s pancreas exploded. Vodka’s a helluva drug. The medical emergency resulted in third-degree internal burns and a close-encounter with death. The event proved a sobering experience. McKagan replaces his band by becoming a third-time’s-a-charm husband with two beautiful daughters. He leaves Hollywood for home. The high-school dropout enrolls in college, reads great books, pens columns for ESPN.com and Seattle Weekly , and launches a financial consulting firm for the rich and stupid. Whereas he once put his body through hell via drugs and alcohol, he now does so through karate, mountain biking, and climbing. At the point Duff’s life gets better Duff’s book gets worse. It’s not just that intermittent lines of cocaine to prolong a four-day vodka binge is more interesting than running a marathon in three hours and forty-five minutes, it a more remarkable feat of human endurance. A good life makes a bad story. Spectators sadly want the spectacle. Prior to reading the autobiography, GNR fans may ask: “Why did they ever break up?” Concluding it, they wonder: “How did they ever stick together?” Two decades after their commercial peak, and six months before their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, a Guns N’ Roses reunion is in demand now more than ever. But the mythical band may be better than a reunited version. The group’s appeal in the late 1980s revolved around danger, energy, and authenticity. Seeing the detoxed, fortysomething millionaires today in hopes of recapturing that street-urchin edginess would be like going to a Bill Haley and the Comets show in the 1980s and expecting a Blackboard Jungle -riot to break out. The times have changed. As It’s So Easy (and Other Lies) explains, so have the people.
