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Why Arlen? Arlen is the TV home of "King of the Hill." It's a small conservative town that is threatened with ruination on a regular basis by twig boys, enviro wackos, diversity nuts, "PC" police and other ivory tower liberals. I like to think of Arlen as a metaphor for this here great nation of ours.
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Thursday, February 24, 2005
Posted
9:58 AM
by Hank
According to the Cornell Daily Sun, which covered the event locally, “Dean pointed out that…if Social Security were left alone for 30 years, its benefits would be reduced to 80 percent of what it is now. He acknowledged that… there were indeed problems with the program.” The article also indicates that Dean also attacked the notion of many that social security was a “pension” for the middle class: “ ’[Social Security] was a response toward [overcoming] abject poverty...it is not meant as a retirement program...it was meant as a social safety net for people who had reached the end of their working careers and did not deserve, after a long lifetime of dignified work, to live in poverty,'" the paper quotes Dean as saying. "'It's not supposed to be a pension.’ "
For example, Massachusetts Senator Edward Kennedy recently accused President Bush of playing “the politics of fear” with social security. Similarly, a number of the liberal blogs, a medium Dean himself helped pioneer as a campaign tool, accused the President of “"crisis rhetoric"” and "a deliberate distortion (read: lie) in an attempt to mislead the American public." It is unknown whether Dean’s acknowledgement of the “problems” with social security will have any effect on the direction of his party. In fact, while the Cornell Sun indicated that social security issues were a major point in Dean’s speech, other papers, such as the Ithaca Journal and Syracuse Post Standard, did not even cover his comments on the issue, preferring to focus on Dean’s appeal to the “youth vote.” Wednesday, February 23, 2005
Posted
6:53 AM
by Hank
The New York Post is reporting that a college student who died of a drug overdose in New York City, was "partying" with a convicted felon out on "work release:" Veronica Hagman, a 22-year-old psychology major...at Western Connecticut State University, met buff inmate Javier Tamez at the trendy Chelsea nightclub Crobar on Saturday night.The article also notes that "Tamez, 27, told police they spent the day partying and popping ecstasy in his Maspeth apartment." There's no evidence reported so far that Tamez deliberately caused the girl's death. However, if the rules governing New York State's work release program are so lax that a convicted felon can be out going to nightclubs and "popping ecstasy," it is not a very far stretch to assume that another inmate in the program could be out robbing, raping or murdering someone, instead of behind bars where he belongs. New York Governor George Pataki is often rumored to have national political ambitions. If so, he had better end this program immediately, before another "Willie Horton" makes him the Mike Dukakis of the Republican party. Monday, February 21, 2005
Posted
4:50 PM
by Hank
Democratic Congressman Maurice Hinchey, who represents parts of Upstate New York, including Ithaca, the City of Evil, has "solved" the mystery of who forged those fake National Guard documents about President Bush that CBS aired. According to Hinchey, as reported at Little Green Footballs, the culprit is...Karl Rove?!?! ...it originated with Karl Rove, in my belief, in the White House. They set that up with those false papers....They knew that he had no defense for that period in his life. And so what they did was, expecting that that was going to come up, they accentuated it: they produced papers that made it look even worse. And they — and they distributed those out to elements of the media. And it was only — what, like was it CBS? Or whatever, whatever which one Rather works for. They — the people there — they finally bought into it, and they, and they aired it. And when they did, they had ’em. When pressed by an audience member, Hinchey at first claimed he had proof of this, but then backed off and admitted he did not. This story has been making the rounds of the blogs all day, and even CNN and Fox News have done stories on it now. Which, of course, is hardly surprising. After all, not only is a long serving member of Congress spouting a completely improbably conspiracy theory, but, in doing so, he is recklessly accusing a Senior White House official of committing a felony. However, in regard to local coverage, the Ithaca Journal and other papers in Hinchey's district devoted...not...one...word to Hinchey's conspiracy theory, instead reporting simply that Hinchey had discussed social security issues at the event in question:
The first impulse when faced with this lack of non-coverage is to assume liberal bias, or an instinct to protect a Democrat Member of Congress. However, maybe it is simpler than that. Perhaps the local press is now so used to the partisan nature of the Democrat Party that outlandish, unsupported, attacks on Republicans are no longer news? Sarcasm aside, either way, this story says less about President Bush, and more about the people who oppose him, both in politics and the media. Friday, February 18, 2005
Posted
6:55 AM
by Hank
ITHACA, NY—Instead of pride at the accomplishments of African-Americans, students in Ithaca are being taught that “black history” is little more than exercises in “simulated racism,” and reinforced stereotypes. According to the Ithaca Journal, middle school students spent the day engaged in classes such as "Jim Crow Simulation" as part of a “diversity” program called "Black History, what does it mean to me?” According to the Journal, one of the ways that the school helped students “understand racism” was to break them into groups. Once broken into groups, the students “were instructed to take a brief written test, not knowing there were actually two sets of tests distributed -- one easy, one difficult.” This, the staff argued, was meant “to draw empathy," for African-Americans, completely missing the implication they created that Blacks find learning more "difficult" than whites. The article also notes there were workshops about the African-American community’s success in “anything from hip-hop … to blues,” as well as “a dance presentation.” There were also presentations in cooking “hush puppies.” Once again, it seems that the educators missed the subtle message of what they were doing: telling their students that the only accomplishments of African-Americans worth celebrating are as entertainers and cooks, reinforcing the unfortunate stereotype of blacks as little more than minstrels and servants. Following a day of victimhood and stereotyping, one of the students happily told the Journal, "It was a firsthand opportunity to see how racism is." Little does the student know, the real racism was coming from his teachers. Monday, February 14, 2005
Posted
6:18 AM
by Hank
Bad news in the war on AIDS: both New York City and Boston are reporting a "strain of highly drug-resistant HIV that quickly progressed to AIDS." As noted here: Modern treatments rely on a cocktail of two to three types of drugs...that combat HIV. But because three of the four types of drugs are ineffective against the new mutant strain, options are bleak.... Given how fast mutating the HIV virus seems to be, it looks like we may need to return to the days of encouraging prevention, through abstinence and safe sex, rather than holding out for a cure. Tuesday, February 08, 2005
Posted
7:12 AM
by Hank
In an editorial in the Ithaca Journal, Susan Buck-Morss, a "professor of political philosophy and social theory at Cornell University" wrings her hands over the recent Iraqi elections and argues they may not be legitimate. Bush-Morss, in arguing against the election results, attacks the election on issues that including campaign financing, ethnic politics and not letting prisoners vote. In other words, she seems to hinting that "Bush stole another election." My first thought was that this was just more "sour grapes" from the left, stuck in a rhetorical rut that forces them to mistake rehashing conspiracy theories and Bush hatred for intelligent ideas. Then it occurred to me: maybe this is part of another "insidious Karl Rove master plan." Perhaps Rove purposefully had the Bush team set up the elections this way to draw in the left. Perhaps, Rove thought, this will draw not just terrorists, but liberals, to Iraq. For example, if their behavior over here is any guide, Jesse Jackson can show up and argue that the Iraqis were "disenfranchised." Howard Dean can fly over there and scream for Iraqi campaign finance reform. John Kerry can claim the elections were fair, but then "flip flop" and call for an investigation to make sure they were. Barbara Boxer can stand on the steps of the Iraqi capitol, tears streaming down her burka-covered face, and argue that the results should not be certified. Thousands of American college students can go over for the Iraqi inauguration and turn their backs on the new President. In fact, the possibilities for leftist mischief over there are endless now. So, I say keep finding new ways to attack the Iraq elections, liberals, especially if you can go over there and do it in person. And especially if you don't ever come back. Thursday, February 03, 2005
Posted
6:33 PM
by Hank
Well, so much for Democrat calls for civility: Democrats... booed President Bush twice last night during his State of the Union Address as he detailed his plan to save Social Security, a program that even President Clinton acknowledged eight years ago was in trouble. This is proof positive of just how partisan, divisive and, yes, hateful the Democrat Party has become: not simply members of the public, or protestors, but elected members of Congress, the Democrat Party's "official representatives", are acting like drunken fans at a basketball game, during the State of the Union. Nobody is saying the opposition party has to agree with everything a President says. Certainly, no one is saying they need to applaud his every word. But for any politician to rudely "boo" another, especially during this particular speech, is beyond the pale. For over four years now, Democrats have been saying "Bush promised to be a uniter, not a divider." They then go on to claim that Bush is a divider. Their basis that Bush is a "divider"? Typically it's that he has the "nerve" to propose something they don't agree with. And even when Bush cuts a compromise with the Democrats (for example the Education bill with Ted Kennedy), the Democrats still attack him and claim Bush isn't being a "uniter." Now, we reach the point where the President can't even give the State of the Union Address without being subjected to partisan booing. If the President can't even address Congress without the Democrats there booing him, I think it's finally laid bare who are the real "dividers" here.
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