en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/732041 Comments by relictele http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2013/08/19/hillary-clinton-the-press-and-the-permanent-campaign/#IDComment703431051 ....the scary part is that we can sit here 3.5 years (!) away from the next election knowing with absolute certitude that reporters, permanent or otherwise, will avoid the herd of scandalous elephants in the room. Tue, 20 Aug 2013 11:10:09 +0000 http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2013/08/19/hillary-clinton-the-press-and-the-permanent-campaign/#IDComment703431051 http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2013/05/21/a-new-front-in-the-war-on-journalists/#IDComment647871294 I note that Axelrod, Cutter, Wasserman-Schultz et al aren't as keen to go on TV and spit out the preapproved narrative, probably because there is no narrative that can explain away the nonstop stream of facts, coincidences and witnesses. It's one thing to demonize Mitt Romney, especially when you're auditing his donors in order to clear a path to electoral victory, quite another to explain what your ham-fisted 'civil servants' are up to. Wed, 22 May 2013 11:44:54 +0000 http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2013/05/21/a-new-front-in-the-war-on-journalists/#IDComment647871294 http://herocomplex.latimes.com/2012/03/07/star-wars-ralph-mcquarries-creative-force-remembered/#IDComment311334145 How cruel for an artist to be overtaken by such an insidious, ever-worsening neurological disorder that robbed him of his unique gifts. Thu, 8 Mar 2012 13:46:28 +0000 http://herocomplex.latimes.com/2012/03/07/star-wars-ralph-mcquarries-creative-force-remembered/#IDComment311334145 http://biggovernment.com/lsolov/2012/03/01/draft/#IDComment305486686 In shock like the rest. It's selfish to note that he has been taken from us at a critical moment in history but hopefully such sentiments show how valued he was. RIP. Thu, 1 Mar 2012 14:48:11 +0000 http://biggovernment.com/lsolov/2012/03/01/draft/#IDComment305486686 http://bigjournalism.com/jwhitman/2012/02/29/maureen-dowd-perpetuates-failed-war-on-women-narrative/#IDComment304739375 Both parties are awash in 'strategists' i.e. loudmouthed nobodies who manage to get on TV chat shows. If a GOP 'strategist' is speaking directly and intimately to Maureen Down then his contributions, if any, won't be missed. Wed, 29 Feb 2012 17:59:49 +0000 http://bigjournalism.com/jwhitman/2012/02/29/maureen-dowd-perpetuates-failed-war-on-women-narrative/#IDComment304739375 http://biggovernment.com/bhealy/2012/02/27/busting-the-million-signature-myth-recallers-filed-fewer-than-860k-signatures-against-scott-walker/#IDComment303898485 Journal Sentinel? Hey that's two lies in one title! Tue, 28 Feb 2012 18:44:03 +0000 http://biggovernment.com/bhealy/2012/02/27/busting-the-million-signature-myth-recallers-filed-fewer-than-860k-signatures-against-scott-walker/#IDComment303898485 http://biggovernment.com/bhealy/2012/02/27/busting-the-million-signature-myth-recallers-filed-fewer-than-860k-signatures-against-scott-walker/#IDComment303898008 It's for the children, comrade. Tue, 28 Feb 2012 18:43:13 +0000 http://biggovernment.com/bhealy/2012/02/27/busting-the-million-signature-myth-recallers-filed-fewer-than-860k-signatures-against-scott-walker/#IDComment303898008 http://bigjournalism.com/pjsalvatore/2012/02/27/diane-sawyer-named-favorite-current-affairs-personality/#IDComment303087297 Has she ever given William Paley of CBS his due for allowing her to sleep her way to the top? Mon, 27 Feb 2012 20:08:47 +0000 http://bigjournalism.com/pjsalvatore/2012/02/27/diane-sawyer-named-favorite-current-affairs-personality/#IDComment303087297 http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/lmeyers/2012/02/26/broadcast-news-predicted-journalisms-collapse/#IDComment302257065 I remember Tom Brokaw mocking the IFB (earpiece) scene but he didn't realize that he was the one being mocked. Watching William Hurt conjure up those crocodile tears, even in a fictional setting, made me ever vigilant against mawkish sentimentality. Unfortunately, that sort of pablum is about 98% of what American broadcasters offer up. Sun, 26 Feb 2012 21:26:13 +0000 http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/lmeyers/2012/02/26/broadcast-news-predicted-journalisms-collapse/#IDComment302257065 http://biggovernment.com/publius/2012/02/25/saturday-open-thread-gas-edition/#IDComment301423030 You don't understand markets period. A market is a psychological construct as well as a series of transactions. Why does the Dow rise or fall on 'fear' or 'confidence' nearly every single day? OPEC has changed its policy, output, etc. thousands of times over the years based on nothing more than their reactions to external events or forces. By the same token, oil companies and refineries will use any reason - including those with no basis in fact - to jack prices up. It's not a closed loop. The barrel of oil that cost $90 yesterday might cost $100 today as a result of nothing more than the INTENTIONAL devaluation of the US dollar by 'this President.' Sat, 25 Feb 2012 17:19:01 +0000 http://biggovernment.com/publius/2012/02/25/saturday-open-thread-gas-edition/#IDComment301423030 http://bigjournalism.com/jpollak/2012/02/22/npr-runs-interference-for-obama-on-gas-prices/#IDComment299382761 But quantitative easing sounds better than intentional devaluing of national currency, right? Thu, 23 Feb 2012 01:30:49 +0000 http://bigjournalism.com/jpollak/2012/02/22/npr-runs-interference-for-obama-on-gas-prices/#IDComment299382761 http://bigjournalism.com/jpollak/2012/02/22/npr-runs-interference-for-obama-on-gas-prices/#IDComment299113698 >> President Barack Obama feels your pain. Really. Has this overgrown student council geek ever driven an automobile? He's been a passenger literally and figuratively his entire life, not least the times when mom was shacked up on a variety of Pacific islands. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 17:42:25 +0000 http://bigjournalism.com/jpollak/2012/02/22/npr-runs-interference-for-obama-on-gas-prices/#IDComment299113698 http://biggovernment.com/kolson/2012/02/20/of-profits-and-power-education-establishment-attacks-digital-learning/#IDComment298157262 The schools debate is generally limited to good/bad, modern/traditional, urban/suburban, etc. which, as usual, puts conservatives squarely on liberal turf since the existence of public schools is never questioned. The fact is that public schools, in theory and practice, are an anachronism. They are a leftover from our agrarian history. Large cities, with a critical mass of educated persons, never needed them since private academies can and do flourish there. Small towns had public schools, but the entire community, not just a craven, cynical school board, had oversight and therefore standards were kept high. Since graduates would most likely stay local, all parties - parents, students, employers, neighbors - had a vested interest in quality education or at least one that best prepared them for a productive existence in that community. And so we are left with the worst of all worlds. On the urban side we have a dysfunctional, redundant system with union bosses and city governments concerned exclusively with mutual back-scratching. Schools spew out legions of illiterate and innumerate 'graduates' who have learned nothing except a litany of imaginary grievances and, in many cases, criminality. They are prepared for nothing except dependency - which may be the whole point of the exercise. Suburban/rural schools have been mercilessly consolidated with the sales pitch that so-called improved facilities and expanded offerings will enhance learning. In reality, consolidation has been an excuse to extract more cash from the taxpayers, insulate the schools from scrutiny by those taxpayers, and, as always, to feather the nests of the teachers' unions. These hulking, impersonal fortresses with soulless names (Northeast Hardy Regional Consolidated Senior High) and politically correct mascots (inevitably Eagles or Tigers but no Indians, Generals, Warriors or Rebels) have, inexplicably, been used to foist the many failings of impersonal urban schools on suburban/rural students. One-way bus commutes of over an hour with ludicrous pickup/dropoff times to match are commonplace. The so-called educators are unable, after students have attended for a full four years, to discern which of them is most deserving of the title of valedictorian. And so, in a staggering mathematical coincidence, 14 persons in a class of 1,034 have identical GPAs of 4.358021 and all are deemed valedictorians. Everyone gets a trophy! Privatization and competition have exposed the shortcomings of government monopolies in package delivery, utilities, telecommunications, etc. Public schools are just as flawed and inefficient but government and unions are only too happy to use Johnny and Sally as political pawns as well as future foot soldiers. So much for in loco parentis. Tue, 21 Feb 2012 15:37:05 +0000 http://biggovernment.com/kolson/2012/02/20/of-profits-and-power-education-establishment-attacks-digital-learning/#IDComment298157262 http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/bshapiro/2012/02/21/hollywood-actress-who-plays-sarah-palin-hates-sarah-palin/#IDComment298128804 Her squint-and-whisper routine got old in, oh, 1993 when she did it all through 'The Fugitive.' Tue, 21 Feb 2012 14:51:52 +0000 http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/bshapiro/2012/02/21/hollywood-actress-who-plays-sarah-palin-hates-sarah-palin/#IDComment298128804 http://biggovernment.com/awrhawkins/2012/02/20/obama-2008-v-obama-2012-an-amateur-v-a-failure/#IDComment297446194 A vote to eat is no vote at all. Mon, 20 Feb 2012 20:00:28 +0000 http://biggovernment.com/awrhawkins/2012/02/20/obama-2008-v-obama-2012-an-amateur-v-a-failure/#IDComment297446194 http://biggovernment.com/publius/2012/02/19/sunday-open-thread-shame-edition/#IDComment296458242 I've heard a few protests but never any calls for reparations from Japanese Americans. Contrast this with some other chip-on-shoulder groups.... Sun, 19 Feb 2012 15:03:50 +0000 http://biggovernment.com/publius/2012/02/19/sunday-open-thread-shame-edition/#IDComment296458242 http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jjmnolte/2012/02/16/lilyhammer-review-anti-leftist-catnip-for-liberty-loving-conservatives/#IDComment294989639 Respect Steve's talent but he said he was done with acting after The Sopranos. In any case he's carved a solid career out of frowning. Fri, 17 Feb 2012 17:38:05 +0000 http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jjmnolte/2012/02/16/lilyhammer-review-anti-leftist-catnip-for-liberty-loving-conservatives/#IDComment294989639 http://biggovernment.com/jbradley/2012/02/17/states-show-tax-hikes-and-the-buffet-rule-dont-work/#IDComment294987153 Herding them onto trains would put a stop to that. Fri, 17 Feb 2012 17:34:22 +0000 http://biggovernment.com/jbradley/2012/02/17/states-show-tax-hikes-and-the-buffet-rule-dont-work/#IDComment294987153 http://biggovernment.com/jhart/2012/02/14/obamas-ohio-attack-dogs/#IDComment292272067 Truth rhymes with Youth. And the Y is intentionally capitalized if you take my meaning. Tue, 14 Feb 2012 14:24:21 +0000 http://biggovernment.com/jhart/2012/02/14/obamas-ohio-attack-dogs/#IDComment292272067 http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/cftoto/2012/02/13/entertainment-weekly-calls-streeps-thatcher-total-btch-in-poster-parody/#IDComment292270811 It's so much easier to sit in a do-nothing 'community intervention officer' job at £50,000 a year and rail about bankers than it is to watch the welfare state eat itself. Tue, 14 Feb 2012 14:22:09 +0000 http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/cftoto/2012/02/13/entertainment-weekly-calls-streeps-thatcher-total-btch-in-poster-parody/#IDComment292270811