The Art Of The Hack Right Wing Blogger

Sure, hypocrisy knows no political alignment. I have to admit that I've caught myself more than a few times saying one thing while thinking another. It's something I've learned from and feel I have become a better blogger, and better person because of it. This apparently hasn't happened to Andrew Breitbart's least intelligent employee Jim Hoft ( aka: GatewayPundit ) who's hypocrisy is so transparent that it practically screams at you several hours throughout any given day.

Take this post for example:

Another Day – Another Leftist Attack
The left must be very proud tonight. Far left criminals defaced Sarah Palin’s bus tonight.



The left is upset that Sarah Palin just won’t go away.

Actually, the Left isn't upset that she won't go away, it's just that she makes herself such an easy topic for scorn and derision when she does and says some of the most preposterous things - like this

And you call this an "attack" and an act of "defacement"? Please, it's a piece of paper with tape on the back. Take it off, drive away, and stop the pity party.

What makes this even more of a point that Jim Hoft is so eager to digitally finer-bang Palin that he can't keep his media "hate list" in order, is that he actually sourced the website that published pics from her hacked account. Double standard much?

Just check out his sit tomorrow morning, as Hoft will likely have many more examples that expose his rank amateur status.

Shorter Fox"Nation"

How dare The Washington Post spend so many words in an article discussing Hillary Clinton's hair!

Holy Shit! Have you seen Michelle Obama's wardrobe?!?!?!?! This is outrageous and demands our full attention to it in a highlighted section!!!!!

Rand's Hands In Gov't Programs

Whenever you hear a prominent conservative figure in America talking about the damage that government programs like Social Security or Medicare and Medicaid are doing, it's a safe bet that these same people are utilizing these programs. Rand Paul is certainly no exception.

Kentucky GOP Senate candidate Rand Paul says he opposes federal handouts, but the eye doctor takes government payments for treating Medicare and Medicaid patients.

The dichotomy has drawn taunts of hypocrisy from his Democratic opponent, Jack Conway who on Tuesday called on Paul to quit "stonewalling" and release his Medicare billing records.

"When it comes to government spending that benefits Paul, suddenly deficits don't matter," Conway's campaign said in a release this week.

Paul campaign manager Jesse Benton defended Paul's acceptance of Medicare and Medicaid payments, saying that to shun the two health care programs would "penalize his older patients or his poor patients."

Paul's hawkish nature regarding deficits most certainly stops when it comes to taking money from the government for his medical practice. His campaign spokespeople are certainly distancing themselves from Paul's previous comments regarding Medicare as "socialized medicine", a common narrative amongst the Tea Baggers.

The hypocrisy of Rand Paul continues to mount as the days and weeks go by. Like most Tea Baggers, Paul wants the government services but doesn't want the cost. I'm wondering how much of his clientele are of the same ideological bent - conservatives that rail against government programs but utilized them on a continual basis.

For White Girls Only

Seems that conservatives will do anything to defend white women and their indiscretions of the past while others just simply have to take all the vitriol they dish out.

Miss USA 2010 Rima Fakih was a contestant in a stripping contest sponsored by a Detroit radio station, MyFOXDC.com is reporting.

Fakih appears in several photos on Mojointhemorning.com, a morning show on Detroit's Channel 955.

Two of the photos are from a strip tease contest held in 2007, and show Fakih performing on a stripper pole in front of an audience of women dressed in their underwear.

And while Fox"News" and their compatriots over at Fox Nation ( you know, that place where they don't have to pretend to be "fair and balanced" anymore ) are using the completely clothed in pictures from the pole-dancing party to insinuate that Fakih is somehow unfit to be MISS USA, they are also insists that she supports Hezbollah.

Local officials said the Fakih family is one of the largest in the village that has a population of about 10,000 people and surrounding areas. As is common among Lebanon's Shiites, Fakih comes from a large, extended clan that includes everything from supporters of the Islamic militant groups Hezbollah and Amal to secular Shiites and even communists.

So since I grew up in a strict conservative family and my brother is an unblushing racists, does that make me one too? Of course it doesn't, so the guilt by associate meme ( that conservative continually claim never applies to them ) is fully in play here. There is absolutely no piece of verifiable evidence that Fakih supports Hezbollah, or Al Queada, the PLO, or even the Tooth Fairy or Jack Frost. Then again, all we need is a very vague corollary based on the alleged "norm" for people with a large family with Lebanese heritage.

Does the hypocrisy against non-conservative women get any more blatant?

Hacking Hypocrisy

To use the current buzzword from Fox"News", isn't it "interesting" that no conservatives are talking about this.

Nine people were indicted Wednesday on federal charges of accessing President Barack Obama's student loan records while they were employed for a Department of Education contractor in Iowa.

The U.S. attorney's office said a grand jury returned the indictments in U.S. District Court in Davenport.

All nine are charged with exceeding authorized computer access. They are accused of gaining access to a computer at a Coralville office where they worked between July 2007 and March 2009, and accessing Obama's student loan records while he was either a candidate for president, president-elect or president.

U.S. attorney spokesman Mike Bladel referred questions to online copies of the indictments.

Each of eight indictments posted by Wednesday night were brief, saying the charged individual "intentionally exceeded authorized access to a computer and thereby obtained information from a department and agency of the United States" and "intentionally accessed student loan records" of Obama without authorization.

Those charged are Andrew J. Lage, 54, Patrick E. Roan, 51, Sandra Teague, 54 and Mercedes Costoyas, 53, all of Iowa City; Gary N. Grenell, 58, and Lisa Torney, 49, of Coralville; Anna C. Rhodes, 32, of Ainsworth; Julie L. Kline, 38, of West Branch; and John P. Phommivong, 29, for whom no hometown was listed.

Lage told The Associated Press on Wednesday evening he did not know about the indictment and declined comment.

( h/t: Laffy over at Political Carnival )

Here's what gets me:

Arraignments are scheduled for May 24. The charge is punishable by up to one year in prison and a fine of up to $100,000.

The kid who "hacked" Palin's email account potentially get 20yrs for his offense. Does this not sound wrong to anyone but me?

Take a look at how conservatives and Fox"News" approached the Palin incident.





Sean Hannity was even against hacking private information before he was for it.



Of course, conservatives will say that the case involving Obama's student loan records is different due to the fact that no information was shared online. And while that is true, these incidents occurred multiple times up to when Obama had already become President-Elect. Not only that, but these men worked for the Department Of Education and were blatantly misusing government property. One would think the penalty would be pretty stiff for them. Apparently not.

Not to be overtly conspiratorial about this, but one has to question whether this was intended to go beyond just Obama's student loan records. Having a group of nine guys attempting to just find out how much Obama spent on college doesn't seem to make a lot of sense considering all the other aspects of Obama's life that conservatives are going after. I'm sure that this isn't the last we will hear of this story - just don't expect Fox"News" to report on it.

Republicans And Their Judicial Hypocrisy

It's always good fun when it can be pointed out that Republicans are such a hypocritical lot. This is more than true when it come to the Supreme Court and potential appointee Elena Kagan.

Soon after President Obama announced that he had nominated Solicitor General Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court, Republican Sens. Mitch McConnell (KY) and Jim DeMint (SC) attacked his choice because Kagan has never served as a judge...Yet back in 2005, both DeMint and McConnell praised Harriet Miers’ nomination to the Supreme Court before she withdrew. Like Kagan, Miers had no previous judicial experience, yet both GOP senators expressed admiration for Miers, specifically citing her “experience”.

This isn't surprising in the least. At times, though, I'm curious as to whether or not people like McConnell and DeMint have aides that should be doing some research prior to them making such declarative statements. If not, they probably should have.

Nearly 40% off the 111 members of the Supreme Court to serve had no prior judicial experience before being nominated. The most famous, in my mind at least, would have to be William Rehnquist, who was nominated by a Republican - Richard Nixon.

Standards And Hypocrisy

Over at First Things and Fox Nation, we see conservatives in all their hypocritical rage over the fact that Democrats are rallying their constituents to help not only keep them in the majority in Washington but to hold BP accountable for the disaster in the Gulf.

democrats are using the tragedy that killed 11 and caused untold treasure to try to raise money.
The Democratic National Senatorial Committee today emailed supporters a fundraising plea: “Help President Obama hold BP accountable.”
Democrats are shamelessly politicizing a tragedy that resulted in the deaths of 11 individuals.

That's rather a canted view of what this really is, but it's effective is enraging the right-wing base. However, I find all this faux outrage just a little difficult to swallow, considering conservatives have been "politicizing and making money" off the deaths of nearly 3000 Americans for almost 10 years.

The Pee-Wee Herman Defense

I know you are, but what am I? Seriously.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — U.S. Congressman Steve Cohen is drawing national attention for remarks he made about the tea party movement in a recent radio interview.
The Commercial Appeal reports that the two-term Democrat said the tea party -- "without hoods and robes" -- has shown an angry, hardcore side of America that's against diversity.

He made the comments Thursday night on The Young Turks, an Internet and satellite radio talk show.

Cohen went on to say tea party members have shown hostility toward anybody who isn't "a clone of George Wallace's fan club," and that he has seen no Republican standing up to appeal for reason.

Memphis Tea Party founder and chairman Mark A. Skoda calls Cohen's remarks "hate speech."

I've run into this while attempting to discuss political matters with a group of Tea Baggers that post on a local news forum. This was posted yesterday as a response to my previous statements:

It's not that you've issued direct threats, it's your tone and rhetoric. Using words like "you people are disgusting", "Tea-bagger", "blatherings" and "little brats" to name a few show your intention is to bait conservatives not debate them.

This town is a hotbed of conservative insanity since Obama was elected. And it's surprising to hear this person is so upset with innocuous rhetoric is used by me and the highly inflammatory and blisteringly false accusations from people like Hannity and Limbaugh are unchecked and unchallenged.

The funny part of all this is, that I'm attending the local Tea Bagger fest on the 15th and I've been threatened - with hugs. People are actually refusing to stand up for their beliefs in favor of feigning compassion.

Hypocrisy, Thy Name Is Sarah: Pt II

Shannyn Moore has a piece up at Huffington Post highlighting another in a long line of hypocritical standpoints from none other than Caribou Barbie.

Recently released documents from the custody battle show clearly Tripp Palin Johnston has socialized health care through Indian Health Services and the Alaska Native Medical Center.

The documents show Tripp has been receiving "socialized healthcare" though the Indian Services. But why is that? Turns out ALL the Palin family gets it because "First Dude" Todd fractionally Native American.

Really, does this even surprise anyone anymore?

Check out the Palin-Hypocrisy Facebook page.

Listening To The Commanders

I'm reminded of the fact that this is the second high ranking member of the armed forces to say that DADT isn't necessary and John McCain still refuses to comply with his own statements regarding how he would vote should these circumstances present themselves.



As I've stated before, this is about professionalism, and the Republicans in the House and Senate are actively questioning that professionalism within our armed forces simply because they think "teh ghey is icky". Sounds like they could use a lesson in professionalism themselves.

Think Progress has more.

Exploiting A Tragedy: Fox"News" Style

Admittedly, I initially thought that Joseph Stack would have links to the Tea Baggers. But after carefully reading his manifesto, I started to realize that this man had much more complex problems.

While some conservative bloggers, pundits, and politicos have attacked this situation head-on ( in an attempt to remove any question that this man may have have right-wing, conservative views ) and loudly scolded any and all that make any form of a connection between Stark and the Tea Baggers, they haven't let that stop them from politicizing this event for their own personal gain.

Just take a look at Fox"News".



This is how conservatives create the narrative that the entire Left is out to blame conservatives for everything.

I've already addressed how Scott Brown did precisely what Megyn Kelly was chastising, but it bears repeating that the blatant and unblushing double-standard that is in play on this.

We've still got a great deal to learn about Stack, and none of it is going to be pretty. I'm just hoping that liberals and progressives don't get too caught up in the mire that Fox"News" and conservative talk-radio is highly likely to make of this. After all, they continually push the falsity and Hitler was a Leftist, so what's to stop them from creating a character sheet to reflect the same on Stack?

Sarah Palin, Have You Met Andrea Friedman Yet?

This is just too awesome to pass up.

My name is Andrea Fay Friedman. I was born with Down syndrome. I played the role of Ellen on the "Extra Large Medium" episode of Family Guy that was broadcast on Valentine's day. Although they gave me red hair on the show, I am really a blonde. I also wore a red wig for my role in " Smudge" but I was a blonde in "Life Goes On". I guess former Governor Palin does not have a sense of humor. I thought the line "I am the daughter of the former governor of Alaska" was very funny. I think the word is "sarcasm".

In my family we think laughing is good. My parents raised me to have a sense of humor and to live a normal life. My mother did not carry me around under her arm like a loaf of French bread the way former Governor Palin carries her son Trig around looking for sympathy and votes.

Here's Andrea.



When I saw this episode of Family Guy, I knew there had to be a catch, and Seth Macfarlane and Adrea Friedman pulled it off brilliantly. Palin took the bait, it simmered in her belly for a few days and then the coup de gras. Good on you Andrea for not letting others dictate what you should do. I don't think anyone has burned Palin like you have.

So, will Palin respond to this or will she be too stunned? I'm thinking that, if anything, she'll likely talk about how using a person with Downs is wrong and..........oh, wait, she won't be able to use that excuse, will she.

Stimulative Sucess

Here's the new OFA video that shows how the Economic Stimulus worked.



And while multiple, independent and reliable, sources have lauded the Economic Stimulus as a success, Republicans that voted against it still have their hands out for their cut.



Interestingly, some conservatives are pointing to this video as proof that the Economic Stimulus was a failure.

If the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act were an unqualified success, would the Democrats be running ads like this?

The ad doesn’t even attempt to defend the stimulus act on its merits, or show any evidence that the $787 billion spent actually created any new jobs. Instead, it spends almost two minutes attacking Republicans on their “hypocrisy.”

Even in the face of their own defeat, conservatives will claim they hold some sort of high-minded superiority and will continue to ignore their arguments being ripped limb from limb. Kind of reminds me of this:

Hypocrisy, Thy Name Is Sarah

I'm not really shocked that Bill O'Reilly would ask Palin why she wasn't harder on Limbaugh, as he has to keep up this image that he is somehow "fair".



Does hypocrisy come any more blatant that this? I don't think so.

No Thank You, Yes Please

I'm not entirely sure if Cavuto is being honest in his questioning of these two Republicans regarding Economic Stimulus requests or if he's trying to play "coach" and tell them "No, you're supposed to be saying no. Don't you realize how stupid you're making us look?"



One can't but wonder exactly what type of relationship these members of Congress have with their constituents. After all, if the residents of the states they were elected to serve are asking for stimulus funding and Congressional Republicans are taking it with the full knowledge they voted against the stimulus bill, what does this say about the state of modern conservative ideology?

Think Progress

But I Thought Satire Was Alright?

And to Facebook she runs.

People are asking me to comment on yesterday’s Fox show that felt like another kick in the gut. Bristol was one who asked what I thought of the show that mocked her baby brother, Trig (and/or others with special needs), in an episode yesterday. Instead of answering, I asked her what she thought. Here is her conscientious reply, which is a much more restrained and gracious statement than I want to make about an issue that begs the question, “when is enough, enough?”

I'm not going to spend too much time defending the rights of Seth Macfarlane to make the programs he wants that satirize whomever is in the media spotlight at one particular time. But, what I will say is this - in light of Palin's continuing bouts of hypocritical blathering, I will offer this caveat that the episode in question wasn't too terribly impressive. However, it seems clear to me that this was done not just as a storyline for the show, but to see how Palin would respond.

And she responded as predicted - with rank, hypocrisy that is unmatched in the conservative realm.

The Hand That Feeds

In which Fox & Friends and Ed Morrissey over at Hot Air get the whole "Palin-Palm-Gate" situation completely wrong.



Capt. Eddie McFail-Pants weighs in with typical ignorance for reality.

Honestly, this kerfuffle has me entirely perplexed. Who doesn’t know someone who routinely jots down notes on their hand? In my earlier career, I worked with several people who used this habit, including one of my key direct reports, perhaps one of the most competent people with whom I ever worked. In my mind, having someone at the podium that can speak at length more or less extemporaneously while working from a small set of notes indicates more poise, presence, and preparation than reading a prepared text word for word, although there’s nothing wrong with the latter approach, either. If Palin’s opponents are exerting themselves over the placement of the notes, it tends to indicate that they have no real substantive rebuttal to her speech.

The predictability with which Morrissey and the Three Stooges of Morning Television approach this subject is not only sad, but extremely telling of how conservatives react to a situation within their party.

What should be glaringly obvious is that Palin ( and the entirety of the conservative party ) are attacking Obama for the use of a common speech-giving device that Palin has used herself. But more to the point, the notes written on Palin's palm were utilized during a pre-screened Q&A session where the answers were allegedly what Palin claims to be her "policy platform", something that she should be able to enumerate without notes.

The fact that people scribble crib-notes on their hand is not the issue. What is, is Palin's and the conservative movements utter lack of intellectual honesty and rank hypocrisy.

The Imagery Of Hypocrisy

Ed Morrissey unleashed his famously flaccid righteous indignation upon the DSCC today.

Why, you ask? It was a campaign ad citing Scott Brown's close ties to Wall Street that features two buildings from the WTC complex. This didn't sit well with dear Eddie's delicate sensibilities:

Has anyone ever seen a major campaign this badly handled in one short week? Most of the blame goes to Coakley, but the DSCC was the group that sent Michael Meehan to help with messaging this week. His first contribution was to commit assault and battery on a reporter for the Weekly Standard. Now the DSCC chooses an image of the World Trade Center, Ground Zero on 9/11, to represent Wall Street and to attack Brown. That’s not just “distasteful and disrespectful” to someone who served in the war on terror and remains in the National Guard to this day, it’s flat-out stupidity.

Conservatives like Ed shouldn't be so eager to castigate someone for using WTC imagery. After all, they are the group that has the market cornered on using the deaths of nearly 3000 people for their own political and personal gain.

Republicans Are Having A Good Month

Well, as good as they are framing it to be.

From the reports of resignations by 3 Democrats ( and there are many more Republicans retiring, but you won't hear them speak of that ) to the newly revealed statements of Harry Reid. His racist comments are all the rage in the conservative blogging realm, and calls for his resignation are growing louder and louder.

And while not everyone is claiming that what Reid said is racist, one thing is quite clear - the conservative double-standard is most certainly in play.

Trent Lott made racist statements and his party accepted an apology and moved on. But that was before we had a black President. Conservatives are hyper sensitive about race, and Barack Obama's election simply amplified that to a fault. Many within the conservative ranks of leadership ( Limbaugh, Beck, Hannity ) still used racially charged language when discussing issues, but amplified their labeling of people as racists. So now that Reid's words have been revealed, conservatives are acting like children with new Christmas toys.

The one overriding factor that the reactionary wingnuts aren't taking into account is Obama's acceptance of Reid apology. Does it change what happened? Absolutely not. Should this be used to show that liberals/progressives are somehow "accepting" of racial animus within their own party? Not at all, but that is precisely what Liz Cheney says this is.

If anything, Reid should step down as Senate leader. However, from my perspective, he should never have been leader in the first place. His "skills", or lack thereof, haven't benefited the Democratic platform once. This incident only amplifies his incompetence in more ways than I care to enumerate at this point. The bottom line is that what he did was wrong and no one within the Democratic party thinks everything is "just fine".

But Republicans are forgetting that RNC Chairman Micheal Steele had his own racial slur problem. But this is all part of the great month Republicans are having. They aren't reporting on it in favor of another racial slur. And that is the double standard.

Anti-Racist Racism

Conservatives, ever the group to label someone a racist, certainly have a problem when being confronted with their own racial animus and challenged to defend their accusations that someone else is a racists.

Glenn Beck is a master of projection and racial divisiveness that should make people like Limbaugh and Hannity glad, considering he's taking a lot of the heat off of them.



So what is racism now?

Conservatives would have you believe that it simply doesn't exist anymore - well, not within their ideological camp at least. To them, racism is reserved for people that aren't white, people that aren't conservative. There is no traditional racism any longer, it's all reverse-racism or race-baiting. Why is this?

In there minds, since Obama's election, the very notion of racism has shifted from something that whites have perpetrated upon blacks to something that everyone else does to conservatives. To them, they are the new victims of racial epithets. But this doesn't stop them from being racists or using race-baiting tactics, since they have redefined what those things mean within their own minds. These devices of division are now acceptable forms of socio-political discourse within the conservative realm.

And the one aspect of this that makes this even more disturbing is that they have convinced certain members of the black community that this new racist speech is acceptable. You'll likely see people like Thomas Sowell or Jesse Lee Peterson on Fox"News" when discussing issues of race. The only difference is that instead of a black man defending himself against the charge of racism, it is the black man that is using racial-animus at attack someone else.