The entire article is ludicrously slanted, but that's just par for the course on Buzzfeed. They claim it's "nonsensical" to say Obama's order to permit states to remove the work requirement from welfare undermines the law's mandate of a work requirement for welfare.

Oh, the writer doesn't say "nonsensical" himself, of course; rather, he permits an ObamaBot to say it, with no contrasting quote -- from, say, Mickey Kaus -- to indicate it's not nonsensical at all.

In an article about a percolating "race war" -- hang on, we'll get to that in a moment -- the writer also "forgets" to mention Joe Biden's "They gon' put y'all back in chains."

But that's not the most egregious part of the article. I would permit that absurd liberal bias from the amateur webzine Buzzfeed without comment -- they just does what they does, eh?

No, here's the part where I threw the red flag:

Romney's point appeared to be a nod toward a narrative that has been percolating in conservative media for years, which suggests there's widespread "race war" going on in America — one the mainstream media is covering up, and which Obama is happily exploiting.

@buzzfeedandrew, who represents himself as the Republican in Buzzfeed's Urkel-like Did I Do That? game, piously asked me what my objection to the article was. I repeatedly informed him it was the COMING RACE WAR narrative being "percolated" by the "conservative media," and he continually dodged the point.

The article now stands as originally written, meaning that Buzzfeed has revisited this material and has decided it accords with the high (ahem) standards that amateur webzine sets for itself.

You can read the exchange here.

Oh: This same writer does have an article noting that Obama volunteers are preparing a whispering campaign directed at Romney's Mormonism.

If you click on that real fast, it won't be counted as a fresh click, so click away.

As this will be the last time this site actually links Buzzfeed, might as well check it out now. I will just get my cat pictures and celebrity gifs elsewhere.

Posted by: Ace at 01:12 PM | Comments (246)
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Gee, I wonder why they're doing this.

Drafts of the party platform, which it will adopt at a convention in Tampa Bay, Florida, next week, call for an audit of Federal Reserve monetary policy and a commission to look at restoring the link between the dollar and gold.

The move shows how five years of easy monetary policy – and the efforts of congressman Ron Paul – have made the once-fringe idea of returning to gold-as-money a legitimate part of Republican debate.

Marsha Blackburn, a Republican congresswoman from Tennessee and co-chair of the platform committee, said the issues were not adopted merely to placate Mr Paul and the delegates that he picked up during his campaign for the partyÂ’s nomination.

Ah well, study away. Nothing is harmed by a study.

Unless it's cooked, of course.

Whatever. This is how the sausage gets made.

Posted by: Ace at 12:45 PM | Comments (191)
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Updated: Retracting most of my skepticism -- this guy is an MIT researcher.

Instapundit just linked this, about a camera which snaps pictures so quickly -- a trillion per second -- it can actually catch snapshots of light in motion.

Now, I'm not an expert in "physics." I'm not an expert in "science." I'm not an expert in "understanding basic concepts."

But is this even possible in theory? Isn't there some problem with catching a lightwave in motion, considering you're also relying on lightwaves to relay that image to you? Some kind of... I don't know, Heisenberg sort of problem, where the very act of measurement changes that which is being measured?

I know we have some physicists here and they'll put me some f'n' information, pronto, and then other people will explain to me what they just said.

Check out the pictures. Neat stuff. Just, uh... Just strikes me as not possible, even in theory. Even though I don't even understand the theory.

And for the Ladies... Since it has been established by the soundest of medical testimony that the female mind cannot understand complex concepts like Science or Time or Photography, here are pictures of Paul Ryan showing off the twin pythons.

Should Have Read the Article: These are MIT researchers. So this isn't just some guy in his garage looking for investment funds for his super-camera.

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Posted by: Ace at 12:16 PM | Comments (274)
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I know you're sick of Akin, but this is what steams my craw: The party was executing a brilliant and successful plan to actually win and repeal ObamaCare, and then Todd Akin decided it would be a good idea to let Democrats rule for another generation.

Anyway. This is from Media Matters' favorite Greg Sergent, so you know these words burned his dumb little fingers as he typed them.

TodayÂ’s big New York Times/CBS/Quinnipiac poll found some good news for Barack Obama: In Ohio, Wisconsin, and Florida, voters think Obama would do a better job than Mitt Romney handling Medicare by margins of eight to 10 points. Blowback against Paul Ryan?

Well, IÂ’ve got the breakdown of these numbers among seniors, and they are far less encouraging for Obama: In two out of the three states, voters over 65 prefer Romney on Medicare, and in the third, Obama leads, but by a smaller margin. The breakdown sent over by CBS:

* In Florida, 48 percent of seniors say Romney would do a better job on Medicare, versus 44 percent who say that about Obama (the Ryan pick was supposed to be particularly problematic in this state).

* In Ohio, 49 percent of seniors say Romney would do a better job on Medicare, versus 43 percent who say that about Obama.

* In Wisconsin, 49 percent say Obama would do a better job on Medicare, versus 46 percent who say that about Romney. Close.

And yet as a general matter Obama still leads on this issue, with groups like the very young, who are, alas, quite stupid.

To spin this a little: Seniors are leading indicators on public sentiment on this issue. Why do I say that? Because they have shown over the years that they are very, very interested in the issue. Ergo, we can generally treat seniors as Informed Voters on Medicare, and we can guess that the younger cohorts are less informed, all the way down to "completely uninformed" (the young Obamabots).

Now, if they're leading indicators, this is optimistic, because it suggests that as other cohorts inform themselves over the course of the campaign, they too will come to favor Romney/Ryan over Obama/Choo-Choo Charlie on the issue.

Either way, the third rail is not electrocuting us; it's powering us. As third rails are supposed to.

People seem to forget that part of the metaphor.

Posted by: Ace at 11:42 AM | Comments (181)
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Do we have to keep giving his horrible show ratings?

he Party’s leaders have for reasons that aren’t rational, left him behind on the political battlefield, wounded and bleeding, a casualty of his self-inflicted, but not intentional wound. In a Party that supposedly stands for life, it was tragic to see the carefully orchestrated and systematic attack on a fellow Republican. Not for a moral failure or corruption or a criminal act, but for a misstatement which he contritely and utterly repudiated. I was shocked by GOP leaders and elected officials who rushed so quickly to end the political life of a candidate over a mistaken comment in an interview. This was a serious mistake, but it was blown out of proportion not by the left, but by Akin’s own Republican Party. Is this what the party really thinks of principled pro-life advocates? Do we forgive and forget the verbal gaffes of Republicans who are “conveniently pro-life” for political advantage, but crucify one who truly believes that every life is sacred?

Who ordered this “Code Red” on Akin? There were talking point memos sent from the National Republican Senatorial Committee suggesting language to urge Akin to drop out. Political consultants were ordered to stay away from Akin or lose future business with GOP committees. Operatives were recruited to set up a network of pastors to call Akin to urge him to get out. Money has changed hands to push him off the plank. It is disgraceful. From the spotlights of political offices and media perches, it may appear that the demand for Akin’s head is universal in the party. I assure you it is not. There is a vast, but mostly quiet army of people who have an innate sense of fairness and don’t like to see a fellow political pilgrim bullied. If Todd Akin loses the Senate seat, I will not blame Todd Akin. He made his mistake, but was man enough to admit it and apologize. I’m waiting for the apology from whoever the genius was on the high pedestals of our party who thought it wise to not only shoot our wounded, but run over him with tanks and trucks and then feed his body to the liberal wolves. It wasn’t just Todd Akin that was treated with contempt by the thinly veiled attack on Todd Akin. It was all the people who have faithfully knocked doors, made calls, and made sacrificial contributions to elect Republicans because we thought we were welcome in the party. Todd Akin owned his mistake. Who will step up and admit the effort being made to discredit Akin and apologize for the sleazy way it’s been handled?

IÂ’ve always believed and still do, that if you donÂ’t honor your friendships, you donÂ’t honor yourself. And I consider Todd a friend. So I will join Todd as often as I can, in his fight for our PartyÂ’s pro-life policies, traditional marriage and our efforts to rein in the massive expansion of government under President Obama. Todd is being systematically scourged for one thing he said. Is that more important than what Claire McCaskill has DONE over her 6 years in the Senate? If youÂ’d like to join the fight, and help defeat a Democrat Senator standing in the way of a conservative majority, I encourage you to join me. The party has decided it wonÂ’t help. In fact, it has decided that it will try to cut off the supply lines to Akin to pressure him to exit and let the party bosses overturn the voters of Missouri and pick their own candidate. If this can happen to Todd Akin, who is next?

IÂ’ve heard the talk of new deadlines and the nonsense about the Republican Party running a 3rd party candidate, but I am no longer listening to that noise. The idea that our Party would continue to play games behind the scenes and feed the Democrats make-believe narrative of the GOPÂ’s fictional war on women is equally ridiculous. Now is the time to focus on electing a conservative Senate Majority. And if the NRSC and RNC and the money-rich PACS wonÂ’t help Todd Akin get us to the majority, then weÂ’ll do it without them. And his seat will not have been sold to the highest bidder, but obtained by the highest principles.

Geraghty: I'm Tired of This Pattern: Yup.

We’ve seen this before — a candidate makes nonsensical, controversial, or nonsensical statements before the electorate, and the electorate recoils. The rest of the GOP sees signs of trouble, and starts expressing those concerns in increasing volume, but the candidate resists the urge to withdraw from the race. The candidate and the campaign insist to the rest of the party that they know what they’re doing, that the race is still winnable, and that the world will soon be shocked by a most unexpected victory. We saw it from Katherine Harris in 2006, and from Christine O’Donnell, Sharron Angle, and Carl Paladino in 2010.

These candidates and their teams always insist that they know better. They always insist that they have some sort of secret understanding of the race, some sort of secret game plan or strategy that will completely change the circumstances. And they always, always, always lose.

The Peter Principle says that everyone rises to his level of incompetence.

We need to push back against this.

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Posted by: Ace at 11:01 AM | Comments (455)
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That'll work.

Another winner from the House of Ideas.

“The fact that Claire McCaskill is only polling at 48% after 72 hours of constant negative attacks on Todd Akin shows just how weak she is. If she can’t break fifty percent after a week like this, Democrats should ask Claire to step down. Todd is in this race to win; we will close this gap and win in November with the support of the grassroots in Missouri and across America.”

Oh, and in the poll (I think this is a result only available to subscribers) Akin's polling at 47% very unfavorable. Not unfavorable; very unfavorable. Just shy of half the state. Corrected: 47%, not 48%.

McCaskill also reacted to the Rasmussen poll, saying it "made her laugh out loud" to propose she was only at 48%.

I misunderstood the point of McCaskill's tweet. She's trying to say it's ludicrous that she's so far ahead, in order to encourage her designated patsy to remain in the race.

Jesus God, McCaskill is actually plumping Akin's chances, while Republicans are despairing.

Is this stupid selfish man capable of seeing the world beyond his ego?

Posted by: Ace at 10:23 AM | Comments (348)
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Daniel Sarno of Enfield, CT was caught after sending hundreds of threatening letters to the Family Institute of Connecticut, a political advocacy organization for traditional marriage. The letters were addressed to Executive Director Peter Wolfgang, who read in court:

"Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident," Wolfgang said. "In fact, it is part of a growing and disturbing intimidation campaign among some proponents of same-sex 'marriage.' It is clear that their pretense of 'tolerance' is over.

"Using death threats to stifle debate is un-American. These types of tactics won't work. The Family Institute of Connecticut will continue its work to strengthen and protect marriage, life and religious freedom."

Posted by: LauraW at 09:47 AM | Comments (217)
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First thing out of the hack's mouth in this clip.

He will allow that the media may be slightly disinterested in covering the economy, but then offers some excuses for that, including, dishonestly, "Hey, shouldn't we be talking about casualties in Afghanistan?"

Sure.

And what does that have to do with your decision to Flood the Zone with the Democrats' top talking point, the War on Women?

Think about how dishonest that excuse is. It's like you're my parent, and you've caught me playing with myself instead of doing the yardwork I'm supposed to.

And when you confront me-- and say "You should be doing yardwork!" -- I say, "But shouldn't I also be cleaning the gutters? And shouldn't I also be painting the garage? And shouldn't I also be detailing the car?"

See? In order to escape responsibility for not doing the yardwork, I postulate other productive activities I should be engaged in.

And yet I'm not doing any of them. What I'm doing is playing with myself.

And this is exactly Chuck Todd's tactic when asked shouldn't he be covering the economy, rather than berating Paul Ryan about the definition of "forcible rape" -- "Ah, but shouldn't I also be reporting on war, man?"

Yeah. But you're not.

You're playing with yourself. As usual.

Posted by: Ace at 08:38 AM | Comments (355)
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Longtime AOSHQ'er Empire of Jeff launched himself a podcast, and it is hilarious.

Tree bark soup. I'm dying.

Light content warning for the F-bomb.
He's right too; in a couple years we're going to be hyperventilating about something entirely new and stupid.

Posted by: LauraW at 06:41 AM | Comments (339)
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Rasmussen will be releasing a poll this morning showing Akin costing us dearly in Missouri: McCaskill 48% Akin 38%.

Time to pack it up and stop screwing us, big guy.
Poll result here

More telling- most Democrats want him to stay, most Republicans want him out. Which party is he representing again?

Posted by: CAC at 05:43 AM | Comments (449)
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