"Beyond The Pale"

Jane Hamsher, apparently intent on becoming the left's answer to Ann Coulter, put up a Huffington Post with a graphic of Joe Lieberman in blackface.  [Well, well - what started as a blog spat now is covered in the WaPo, the Times, and the Sun.]

But where is the commitment to artistic integrity and free expression?  The offensive graphic is now gone (but not forgotten), with no explanation [Aha - an explanation arrives!], but not before Lamont's campaign manager said this:

Lamont's campaign manager Tom Swan condemned this, calling it very offensive and said he requested that it be removed. He also said that while blogger Jane Hamsher is a supporter,  she is not on the campaign pay-roll.

Well, what kind of a cover-up is this, anyway?  The comments section at that Huffington Post make it clear that most readers found the graphic to be offensive and inappropriate.  But there is hidden gold!  The graphic designer, "DarkBlack" (I am as serious as the day is warm), put in an appearance at 2:42 PM to defend his work.  I can't manage a permalink directly to the comment, so here we go:

As the composer of the work in question, allow me to make some broader points clearer. This will be my last word on the subject, but all are free to debate further, of course.

Lieberman has attempted to activate a voting demographic that his strategists believe will aid him in his quest.

To this end, he has imported a figure, Bill Clinton, who has standing with the American black community, and has repeatedly asserted his personal credentials as one who has worked on behalf of that community.

Yet Lieberman has engaged in race baiting (with the Lamont flyer) as a cynical attempt to game this demographic, and he has engaged in other activities which cast doubtful shadows upon this allegiance.

Thus, in my opinion, Lieberman is pretending to be something that he is not for personal gain, exactly like the vile caucasian minstrel show performers of Vaudeville.
And so my artist's impression stands.

If we as a people run from controversial imagery, we will never stop running. Better to unearth and deal with the unpleasant than to live in fear.

Don't you just love Libs to death?  I know I do.

Well, at this point, since the graphic has been removed it seems that Ms. Hamsher is living in fear like the rest of us.  Oh, dear.

Lots of reax at Memeorandum but guess what?  I only see righties that posted criticism of this weird use of blackface.  Well, maybe we can have a little fun - back during the Debbie Frish debacle when various righties were moaning about the near-total silence of the left, Barbara O'Brien of the Mahablog explained that "I’d like to establish a “blogroll” rule. If someone on my blogroll writes something inexcusably nasty, then you can lump me together with or expect me to apologize for what that blogger wrote. Otherwise — go to hell.

Oh, I don't need to go to hell - that would be a coals to Newcastle exercise today, thank you.  But since both firedoglake and the Huffington Post are on her blogroll, perhaps we can lure Ms. O'Brien into the fray.  Her defense of Ms. Hamsher (what, do you think she is going to condemn this?) ought to be interesting - she defended Steve Gilliard's use of blackface last November as follows:

...“blackface” has long symbolized African-American acquiescence to racial oppression. If you understand the symbolism, you appreciate that Steve’s imagery is making a statement in opposition to racism.

Well, that is not the explanation offered by the artist - DarkBlack was not attempting to expose Lieberman's racism, but rather to depict that "Lieberman is pretending to be something that he is not for personal gain."

No worries - I have no doubt Ms. O'Brien will think of something; I certainly can't imagine she would break her own rule less than a month after announcing it.  And I am strangely confident that she won't be following the easy lead of the Sundog at TPM Cafe, who wrote this unequivocal piece:

This morning Jane Hamsher of firedoglake.com published a completely despicable Photoshopped picture of Joe Lieberman in blackface in her column at HuffPo.

You know, I can't identify with anyone on the left OR center any more. This is the left whose principles I have supported for more years that Jane Hamsher's been alive? You mean it's become as full of haters, idiot blog commenters and idiot bloggers as the right?

Color me depressed.

Jane? We have enough problems getting Lamont elected, could you please shut up? You've done enough. Really you have.

Ouch.

Moving on a bit, the Greenwich Times discussed the flyer that started this:

Lamont faces fallout over country club membership

By Brian Lockhart / Staff Writer / August 2, 2006

It has been impossible for Ned Lamont to avoid talking about his wealth during his Democratic primary race against Sen. Joe Lieberman.

If it's not his opponent reminding voters that Lamont is a Greenwich multimillionaire or demanding he release his tax returns, it's Lamont himself when he dips into his fortune to pay for his own campaign.

Now an aspect of Lamont's lifestyle he tried to prevent from becoming an issue -- his membership in Greenwich's exclusive Round Hill Club -- is being mocked on fliers circulated around the state by the Lieberman camp.

One side of the flier touts Lieberman's "lifetime É fighting against discrimination and injustice." The other side reads: "What is Ned Lamont's Civil Rights Record?" It also reprints Lamont's explanation to The New York Times that he resigned after 16 years from the club before challenging Lieberman because it didn't have enough minority members.

"He's trying to be someone he's not," said Marion Steinfels, Lieberman's communications director. "How politically calculated is that?"

Harvey Bellin of Weston, who attended Yale University with Lieberman and his helping in the campaign, said Lamont's membership at Round Hill is "iconic of what he is."

"When you're born into privilege like that and put into clubs, you make connections with rulers of the universe and it can become difficult to understand how regular people's lives work," Bellin said.

Lieberman's campaign insists it is not trying to portray Lamont as racist but simply compare their records.

But Lamont, in a brief phone interview last night, called the fliers dirty politics.

Lamont campaign manager Tom Swan, in an e-mail exchange late last week with Greenwich Time/The Advocate, said he advised his candidate to leave Round Hill. Swan said he was concerned Lieberman would "run a dirty campaign" and "try to make an issue of membership in a club that might not be considered to have an adequately diverse membership."

Club management did not return phone calls but a member, Republican state Rep. Livvy Floren, defended the institution as "very family oriented" and ethnically diverse.

And they go on, with only the briefest allusion to the possible anti-semitism angle I noted earlier:

Greenwich's country clubs gained national notoriety in the early 1990s when Lawrence Otis Graham, a high-powered corporate attorney, who is black, fudged his resume to work for a week at Greenwich Country Club on Doubling Road as a busboy. His subsequent expose, published in the Aug. 17, 1992, issue of New York magazine, portrayed the club's members as racists and anti-Semites.

Please keep in mind that the New York magazine article referred to a different country club.

And as we build to a mad crescendo here - in order to paper over his "black" problem, Lamont will be making campaign appearances with Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, neither of whom could possibly know anything about Lamont except that he is the Anti-War Anti-Bush Not Joe.  But that is all they need to know, so have a great rally!

But riddle me this - are Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton the go-to guys that will reassure the Jewish community about the "real" Ned Lamont?  Let me pull this on Sharpton:

There was a consensus about one thing: that he is not an anti-Semite. "I have been with him on numerous times over 15 years, and I have never heard him engage in anti-Semitic actions or words," says civil libertarian Norman Siegel, who ran for public advocate with Sharpton's blessing. Even Dov Hikind, a leader of the Orthodox community and a longstanding Sharpton nemesis, prefers to call him a "racist" who has "indulged in anti-Semitism." Moderate Jewish leaders made this point more decorously. "Having talked to him and looked into his eyes, I feel that he is not an anti-Semite," says William Rapfogel, executive director of the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty. "But I think he has used anti-Semitism."

MORE:  Jane Hamsher made the news - fun for the "Better looking than Coulter AND more outrageous" campaign, but troubling for Lamont:

This campaign has apparently hit a new low today with something offensive, and that is putting it mildly. The popular Huffington Post blog, which has strongly supported Lamont's candidacy, posted a picture today depicting President Clinton and Joe Lieberman in an Amos n Andy-type doctored picture obviously taken from the Waterbury rally last Monday. In the picture, Lieberman is drawn in blackface and Clinton is wearing dark sunglasses.

Lamont's campaign manager Tom Swan condemned this, calling it very offensive and said he requested that it be removed. He also said that while blogger Jane Hamsher is a supporter,  she is not on the campaign pay-roll.

"It's extremely offensive," Lieberman said. "I have been the target of the 'blogs' on a lot of really offensive stuff, stuff I consider lies and smears, but this picture of me with Bill Clinton and me having my face blackened is offensive to people of all races and colors and just doesn't belong."

I am still eager to hear Ms. O'Brien's defense of this (what, do you think I am having doubts about which side she will take?  I am!  With Lamont's campaign manager having condemned it the road is so well paved at this point she may surprise me and walk down it.)

BY ODD COINCIDENCE:  Just last weekend the NY Times Book Review "Editors' Choice" included "Black Like You: Blackface, Whiteface, Insult & Imitation in American Popular Culture".  Let's clip a snippet of their book review:

Still, John Strausbaugh argues in the persuasive, provocative "Black Like You," blackface continues to hold an especially vilified place in American culture. "The swastika, the 'N-word' and blackface, because of their special historical significance, are the ne plus ultra of hate speech," he writes.

Uh huh.  Well, the Times might cover this, since it gives them an opportunity to whack bloggers.  But I bet they give the Hamsher story a miss, since it reflects badly on their guy Lamont.

Comments

[Soylent Red]

Is it just me, or does Lieberman in this picture bear a striking resemblance to Ted Danson?

[topsecretk9]

Lamont's campaign manager Tom Swan condemned this, calling it very offensive and said he requested that it be removed. He also said that while blogger Jane Hamsher is a supporter, she is not on the campaign pay-roll.

Interestingly enough, I don't think they would HAVE to pay Jane Hamsher...she has taken this campaign on as personal pro bono effort. She is everywhere the campaign is and posting inside campaign info, I guess they got what they didn't pay for but have supported nonetheless.

[SteveMG]

So Joe Lieberman, as a young man, literally - and I do mean literally* - risks his life and goes to Mississippi in the 1960s to help black Americans achieve a bit of justice and four decades later this is what he gets.

From a couple of snooks with computers who have done nothing in their lives compared to Lieberman.

Trash.

*James E. Chaney, Michael Schwerner and Andrew Goodman.

SMG

[Sue]

Hmmm...

If we as a people run from controversial imagery, we will never stop running. Better to unearth and deal with the unpleasant than to live in fear.

...wasn't that what was argued when the subject was Danish cartoons? Any chance these people posted the Danish cartoons?

[Sue]

This is the party of 'free thinkers' people. In fact, I read an article that said the democrats had no catchy phrases like the republicans do. Their constitutes are required to think. I must admit, I really laughed when I read that article. You are not allowed to think. You are only allowed to toe the line...one drawn by the far left, or so it would seem.

[PeterUK]

"...wasn't that what was argued when the subject was Danish cartoons? Any chance these people posted the Danish cartoons?"

But Sue! Thank would have been racist!

[jjm]

Jane Hamsher is Carl Rove in drag. He has just outed himself. This is all part of the VRWC.

[Sue]

http://www.firedoglake.com/2006/08/02/about-that-graphic/Ms. Hamsher has apologized. Sort of...

[Sue]

Well, the link is working anyway. It should say Ms. Hamsher has apologized. Sort of...

[Sue]

I guess someone is reviewing comments over there. Mine didn't make it through the censors, or so it would seem. ::grin::

[topsecretk9]

Do not miss this bit by Stephen Spruiell (check the background link too) on FireDog's "shoot first, fact-check later" mode of blogging. The left-o-sphere has been stinking up the blog-o-sphere in general. Not a good prospect in my opinion.

[Neo]

I hope they put up glass walls around this mud pit.

[topsecretk9]

Sue

Before I read your link, I am going to guess she relies excuses herself because she didn't create said graphic. I'm going to see if I am right.

[Sue]

One of my favorite comments over there...

Jane, I don’t expect any of the Malkin’s of the world to try to take you on.Much easier to rant to themselves.

How nice and tidy they keep it. I wonder if they know there censors are keepking those of us in Malkin's world out of their world? ::grin::

[Rick Ballard]

"Jane Hamsher is Carl Rove in drag."

Whoa. We're talking Cleo like stupid to the bone here - not Karl like at all. Suggesting bringing in antisemitic racebaiters to cure the problem - that's a little idea that RSS might come up with. Getting some good pics of Jesse and Al on either side of Thurston Howell III a few days ahead of the election - what a stunningly brilliant concept.

[topsecretk9]

Op nope, It's Liberaman and Michelle Malkin's fault she used the graphic!

The woman has no self-control and no business in political campaigning, she's not capable of acknowledging her own mistakes. She has blown it for Lamont.

[Sue]

Just for Leo...I'll acknowledge I know the difference between there, their and they're. ::grin:: I don't always use it correctly when typing fast, but I do know the difference.

[topsecretk9]

Darkblack, the image provider has a history of suppling Hamsher with her post images

2 links...Darkblack- commenting and leaving his newest "Rape Gurney Joe" image Hamsher ultimately used AND the url to the image

http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:KjtcxDu91MMJ:www.firedoglake.com/2006/07/09/head-on-collision/+Darkblack+firedoglake&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=1

http://static.flickr.com/59/186099980_6c4c396446.jpg

[clarice]

R/S/S/ strikes again. *whistle* This is a job for Soylent.

[syn]

Since the Hollywood Left supports Lamont, is this what Clooney meant when he majestically spoke at the Oscars how Tinsel Town is the guiding light for Liberalism's way?

Identity politics suck.

[maryrose]

hAMSHER'S BLOG; A NEW LOW FOR THE lEFT. tHIS ONE IS GOING TO BITE THEM ON THE -SS.
Go Lieberman -defeat these despicable human beings and their hoity-toity candidate named Ned. Just call yourself Theodore for God's sakes and stop going by your cute rich boy nickname. It's called Karma-live itlearn it love it. Lamont going down either in the primary or soon thereafter.

[BumperStickerist]

Jane Hamsher, Untrammelled

I think Tom owes Ms. Coulter some sort of apology.

[Gary Maxwell]

Wow for all the hubbub about Romney using the word "tarbaby" to describe the Big Dig, you would think this would get really big coverage. Somehow though, I am thinking it will not. Pity.

[clarice]

Somehow, I think you're right, Gary.

[topsecretk9]

I just had a funny thought. In light of Firedogs embarrassing posts about Lieberman and the "Wal Mart" Pac money that HE DID return, and now Lmaont and Hamsher doing the damage control distancing dance, I wonder if Lamont should announce he is returning all of Hamsher's campaign donations, like Liberman did with Wal Mart? HAH!

[lurker]

The conservative bloggers are increasing the awareness of this disgusting photo. I wouldn't be surprised if Fox News picks up on it.

Strange that the news from ME is fairly quiet this evening.

[lurker]

Sweetness and Light just reported that Cindy Sheehan is blaming Al-Maliki for breaking her fast.

Right.

[Dr. Weevil]

I have to ask: is the title of this post ("Beyond the Pale") a pun, or is the ambiguity of the last word just a happy coincidence? By the way, whenever I think of Jane Hamsher's site, which is not often, I can't help thinking the name should be 'LiarDogFake'.

[lurker]

Or 'RacistDogFake'?

[Jim in Chicago]

Speaking of the Left in all it's frothing lunatic splendor the comments to this post by Marty Peretz are priceless.

(I know you taught Algore at Hahvahd and all that Marty, but come home, you're true home is the center right not those lunatics.)

[maryrose]

Joe Lieberman has done more for Connecticut during his time in the Senate than Lamont can ever even hope to do. A man of honor and trust or a grasping manipulative millionaire... Come on voters in Connecticut...you know who the right choice is here. Someone who fought for civil rights or someone who made millions on the backs of those less fortunate. Wake up and smell the coffee.

[topsecretk9]

Maybe campaigns will start paying her to STAY AWAY from them, Hamsher is a Liability.

[Sue]

Wow. Did y'all know Joe helped George steal the 2000 election? I certainly hadn't heard that before. But a commenter at FDL is making that claim. Poor Joe. That's what he gets for standing his ground on something he feels passionate about.

[Sue]

They either deleted my comment before I saw it, or didn't allow it through. And leave up one calling Joe a ni##er. Go figure.

[pdq332]

...“blackface” has long symbolized African-American acquiescence to racial oppression. If you understand the symbolism, you appreciate that Steve’s imagery is making a statement in opposition to racism.

Does that mean Jesse Jackson should campaign for Lamont wearing blackface?

(To all other commenters here: I'm sorry. If you were offended by my offensive use of an offensive symbol for my own ends which I judge to be non-offensive, then you're obviously not smart enough to understand what I was trying to accomplish, and I'll make sure I type more slowly next time. Please take this as an apology no atter what the semantics suggest. Now where did I leave that bong?)

[Sue]

Wow, the mods must be under seige tonight, usually we don’t see that crap at all. Keep up the good work.

I knew it. What I didn't know was if they knew it. I guess this answers that...

::grin::

[pdq332]

...“blackface” has long symbolized African-American acquiescence to racial oppression. If you understand the symbolism, you appreciate that Steve’s imagery is making a statement in opposition to racism.

Does that mean Jesse Jackson should campaign for Lamont wearing blackface?

(To all other commenters here: I'm sorry. If you were offended by my offensive use of an offensive symbol for my own ends which I judge to be non-offensive, then you're obviously not smart enough to understand what I was trying to accomplish, and I'll make sure I type more slowly next time. Please take this as an apology no atter what the semantics suggest. Now where did I leave that bong?)

[topsecretk9]

Oops, TM had that link...I noticed this though

"It's extremely offensive," Lieberman said. "I have been the target of the 'blogs' on a lot of really offensive stuff, stuff I consider lies and smears, but this picture of me with Bill Clinton and me having my face blackened is offensive to people of all races and colors and just doesn't belong."

We don't know the motivation for this offensive blog and have been unable to contact Hamsher, but the photo was removed at approximately 4:00 p.m., judging by the comments made by others on the blog.

Where's Jane? Another TownHouse directive to STARVE the story of OXYGEN!

[topsecretk9]

They either deleted my comment before I saw it, or didn't allow it through. And leave up one calling Joe a ni##er. Go figure.

Don't tell me Sue, Hamsher DELETED your comment? Has ANY conservative EVER been able to comment on Ms. "WAPO don't dare delete comments" blog?

This Seixon take down of Hamsher's policy of editing and deleting comments is hilarious.

[Sue]

I think I've figured out why I can't be a progressive liberal. I don't know enough cuss words. ::grin::

[Sue]

Top,

Okay. I won't tell you. But it happened. ::grin:: Whoever moderates her board has Scary beat all to hell...

[Rick Ballard]

"Did y'all know Joe helped George steal the 2000 election?"

A reference to Lieberman's refusal to join the attempt to disenfranchise servicemen by disallowing the counting of absentee ballots. One reason, among many, that Algore isn't mentioned as a potential future contender.

[Sue]

Rick,

Ahhh...I didn't make that connection. I also didn't realize that not wanting to disenfranchise servicemen was somehow a scheme to help Bush steal the election. Silly me...

[Soylent Red]

Sweetness and Light just reported that Cindy Sheehan is blaming Al-Maliki for breaking her fast.

Heh. The world's first hunger strike where you actually get to eat periodically.

At least Bobby Sands had the courage to drop dead for his convictions. We should all get so lucky with Mother Sheehan.

One more example of liberals being all paint job and no engine.

R/S/S/ strikes again. *whistle* This is a job for Soylent.

The Bald Man chuckled softly...

[topsecretk9]

I'm chuckling over Hamshers weak attempt to pivot this as adversaries trying to paint it as something it's not...Isn't that the premise of every single post at FireDogLame on Leiberman? Evidence today is their very embarrassing posting on the Wal Mart Pac money?

Hamsher needs to let go of what she THINKS are winning tactics, campaigns in the future need to strike a Forrest Gump pose and run, faw, faw away!

[Rick Ballard]

TS,

I think she could do a fantastic job for the Klobuchar campaign in MN. I really hope she isn't put off by Lamont's coming loss in CT and that she immediately turns to give Amy a real helping hand up north. She would be an invaluable asset.

[clarice]

"Then on to help Cantwell'"R/S/S/ whispered to Hamsher over the cell phone he'd filched from Armstrong."Rahm is a jerk who doesn't have a clue. You and Mowlett's Ass, on the other hand, are going to bring this party to its rightful place."

[topsecretk9]

Luscious comment

Mickey says:
August 2nd, 2006 at 7:47 pm
That picture was a mistake. I’m sorry it happened to you, Jane. In medicine, we call it therapeutic zeal - wanting to help so badly you overdo it and end up making an error. It’s the reason for the Hippocratic Oath, “Do no harm.”

Fortunately this one didn’t hurt anything very much. It just gave Michelle Malkin something to crow about - always annoying. But no one who is serious about life reads her anyway.

Oh, and it was troll bait of the first magnitude…

Over zeal, wanting to do too much! Trying too hard.

Love the "troll" bait, are Firedoggers even ALLOWED to experience "trolling"? They're so "protected". Talk about cacooning.

[Tom Maguire]

I left this comment there

Was it just a couple of weekends ago that the NY Times Book Review tackled "Black Like You: Blackface, Whiteface, Insult & Imitation in American Popular Culture"? An excerpt:

Still, John Strausbaugh argues in the persuasive, provocative "Black Like You," blackface continues to hold an especially vilified place in American culture. "The swastika, the 'N-word' and blackface, because of their special historical significance, are the ne plus ultra of hate speech," he writes.

IMHO, if the only critics of that graphic are "Drudge, Malkin, the usuall Wingnut suspects", that may reveal more about the left than the right.

Not to overlook some of the commenters here, of course.

Oh, re this:

I don’t expect any of the Malkin’s of the world to try to take you on. Much easier to rant to themselves.

I have been advised by folks whose comments have been bounced that the comment moderation process will keep you all safe and sound here. But that is only a rumor I am passing along - I have no way to verify it.

[Christopher Fotos]

Interestingly enough, I don't think they would HAVE to pay Jane Hamsher...she has taken this campaign on as personal pro bono effort. She is everywhere the campaign is and posting inside campaign info, I guess they got what they didn't pay for but have supported nonetheless.

Y'all remember that July 4 piece from the New Haven Independent:

For now Hamsher has an extended-stay motel room in Meriden. She's hoping to rent a farmhouse in Guilford through the primary; a bunch of her West Coast buddies want to stay with her and the poodles to witness and blog history themselves.

Or not.

[richard mcenroe]

SteveMG — Oh, come on, dude, Charlton Heston marched to give blacks the vote, so it OBVIOUSLY is no longer a "progressive" credential anymore, if indeed it ever was.* Lieberman's just passing.

*Unless you're talking about, y'know, black felons in Florida or something...

[topsecretk9]

So TM, it seems you can't even comment on FireDog world. See?

[topsecretk9]

the poodles to witness and blog history themselves.

Chris the irony in this is well, (OK I've used up all good adjectives)...um...delectible?

[Pete]

I don't know what is the correct way to say this, but Jane/firedoglake's coverage of the CT senate race has always struck me as obsessive. There are far better blogs on the left than FDL.

[sam]

08/02/06 Reuters: 15 insurgents and 3 policeman killed in fighting near Madaen

08/02/06 AP: Motar rounds kill three

08/02/06 AJC: Vets' return fraught with psychological hurdles

08/02/06 Reuters: Sectarianism, crime tainting Iraq police

08/02/06 AP: Medic Faces Court - Martial in Killing

08/02/06 AFP: Iraq president to move against Kurdish rebels

08/02/06 AP: Attacks rise in troubled western Iraq, top Marine commander says

08/02/06 Centcom; MARINE DIES IN ALANBAR AUG 2.

08/02/06 Centcom: SOLDIER DIES IN AL ANBAR AUG 2.

08/02/06 Reuters: Eleven bodies pulled from the Tigris

08/02/06 Reuters: Two bodies found in Qamishli

08/02/06 UPI: Three reporters killed in Iraq in 2 days

08/02/06 AP: Bombs, mortars kill 12 on soccer field

08/02/06 AP: Firm pays $4M to settle Iraq fraud

08/02/06 Reuters: Thousands of Shi'ites march in Baghdad in support
of militias

08/02/06 Reuters: Sectarianism, crime tainting Iraq police

08/02/06 AP: Haditha evidence implicates Marines

08/02/06 Reuters: Police station attacked in Tal Afar

08/02/06 Reuters: Roadside bomb kills three, wounds 4 in Hawija

08/02/06 Reuters: Gunmen kill employee of a human rights group in Diwaniya

08/02/06 Reuters: Roadside bomb wounds 2 Iraqi soldiers in Diwaniya

08/02/06 Reuters: Handcuffed body found in Kirkuk

08/02/06 AP: Two traffic police colonels killed by drive-by shooting in Khalis

08/02/06 Reuters: Roadside bomb kills policemen in Mosul

08/02/06 AP: Bomb hidden in garbage bag kills kills three, wounds eight

08/02/06 AP: Iraq vows to handle security this year

08/02/06 WaPo: Sergeant accused in Iraq deaths sues lawmaker

08/02/06 WaPo: Rebuilding Iraq an unfinished job

08/02/06 AP: Soldier says comrades threatened to kill him if he told anyone about the shooting deaths.

08/02/06 DoD Identifies Marine Casualty Pfc. Jason Hanson, 21

[ed]

Hmmmm.

Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton.

So. Let me get this straight. Lamont thinks he'll score points by campaigning with these two. Even though Jesse Jackson's semi-famous for his "Hymietown" reference to New York City. And Al Sharpton who has vilified jews for decades.

Lamont.

I wonder if he's the guy Red Foxx, of "Sanford & Sons" fame, was talking about when he kept on saying "You dummy!".

[topsecretk9]

I thought I read Jesse said this current kerfluffle was "low-level sutff", so much for the "OUTRAGE"

[topsecretk9]

Oh and I am still hung up on that even TM's comment is held up TWONHOUSE OXYGEN HOLDING land, can anyone point me to TM's comment available on FireDogworld? Sam?...Sam you enjoy posting freedom here, can you help with our inability to EVER comment at FireDogLake?

[topsecretk9]

Oh...they solved the problem by closing comments, how utterly BRAVE and SO WAPO comment thread of Jane !

I DEMAND TO SEE THE UN-POSTED UNEDITED COMMENTS!

boy she bloginked this quite a bit, sure Jay Rosen has a perfectly reasonable justification/i>!!

/sarcasm off

[richard mcenroe]

TS9 — What is Sam's point with the casualty listings. Does he think we are unaware of Iraq casualties? Is he trying to rub out noses in what he imagines is our moral culpability? Or is he just cheering?

[topsecretk9]

Rich

Yes and Yes.

Sam, apparently lives it's life through blogs and is unaware blogs are just PART of the information gateway. Therefore Sam, looks bubblisitc and dumb at the same time, but autistic too.

[topsecretk9]

WOW, JANE does the very thing she over-freaked on the WAPO for = remember worst crime to humanity?, she (or a minion) deleted a photo AFTER Malkin linked to it....scroll down to

Here it is. And here's Hamsher directing Lamont via Flickr:

When you click on the flickr link?

You get

"Ooops, this has been "DELETED"

WOW, WAPO did it because the comments were profanity laced, Hamsher led the lynch mob. Hamsher does this sort of "DELETE" THING with no comment ALOT, sans the profanity, high on the Oh Shit I blew it...H Y P O C R I T E anyone? Worse hypocrite anyone?

I am sure "pluk" has a "good" defense.

[Kevin Hayden]

You noted The comments section at that Huffington Post make it clear that most readers found the graphic to be offensive and inappropriate.

Your post was made a bit before 5:36 pm, likely around 5:00 pm. Yet you also stated:
Lots of reax at Memeorandum but guess what? I only see righties that posted criticism of this weird use of blackface. Well, maybe we can have a little fun - back during the Debbie Frish debacle when various righties were moaning about the near-total silence of the left...

Jane's article appeared at The Huffington Post around 10:30 am, Eastern time. From Memeorandum, I learned which bloggers responded first:

Michelle Malkin- 11:36 am
Ace of Spades- 12:17 pm
Silflay Hraka- 12:35 pm
American Street- 12:35 pm
Booman Tribune- 12:36 pm
LGF- 9:40 am, PACIFIC time

So lefty bloggers were two of the first five to respond, critically. Of the 18 blogs who wrote about it between Hamsher's post and apology - a 6-1/2 hour period - four were lefties.

I can't account for why you 'only see righties' when you peer at Memeorandum, but the fact is that Jane drew criticism from both sides. I happened to catch it on my lunch break and posted then. Within such a short space of time, it's kind of silly to make hay about adequate response. Many people work. Many people don't read HuffPo regularly, nor Memeorandum.

I get irritated about the whole notion that, in a nation where 100 million voted in the last Presidential election with around a 52-48 split,that each of us bloggers must somehow be aware of what's being said or written about roughly 50 million others voting like we did, and we then must dissent at once, or we're tacitly in agreement with the loonies (be they left or right).

The Deb Frisch debacle was just another example of that rather silly posturing. Whether the posture originates from the left or the right, its implication is false, to anyone utilizing common sense.

I'm certain that I've made remarks in my life that offended people. I'm sure I've told ethnic jokes, sexist jokes, nationalist jokes, and others. I'm certain that almost everyone has or has had unfair biases. I'm sure we all make errors in judgment.

Congressional reps, senators and presidents impact the lives of millions and their decisions have occasionally caused the deaths of tens of thousands. That's why they deserve and get constant scrutiny.

I don't presume pundits like Malkin speak for most Republicans, nor would I suggest that Hamsher speaks regularly for me.

Let's maintain a bit more perspective, eh? And let's keep the principal focus on those who are or aim to be elective officials. They're supposed to be the public's servants. Us bloggers occasionally earn justified criticism. But when we overinflate the impacts on real lives caused by bloggers, I fear we trivialize the discourse and sideline the oversight of the truly powerful, whose errors can destroy or benefit many lives.

[Kevin Hayden]

Speaking of blogger errors, I failed to close italics properly in that last comment. I presume that's proof of my moonbattery.

[Kevin Hayden]

Nope, guess it was topsecretk9's comment that threw all the comments off. Hopefully, I corrected it herein.

[topsecretk9]

--Speaking of blogger errors, I failed to close italics properly in that last comment. I presume that's proof of my moonbattery.

Posted by: Kevin Hayden | August 03, 2006 at 12:22 AM--

Paranoid much? Heard of Larwyn?

Yes, it was me that left the thread open to to italics, we at JOM are pretty forgiving of that, and TYPO's too!

MAYBEY instead of you deep irritation of "right" bloggers NOT IGNORING a MONSTROUSLY HUGE BAD BLUNDER on the part of a LEFTIST blogger WHO WANTS to be NOTICED, spend a little quality time not only condemning, but CHANGING THE DISCOURSE, or rather cleaning your own house.

Of course if you had the courage to do so you will be labeled a LAP DOG OF Bush, so it's much easier to crab at conservative blog for pointing out uncomfortable realities about your side.

Or...you know, just get a massage and tell yourself your post mattered.

(BTW - will you post a comment at FDL for me? she deletes mine, unlike TM-- He lets you post LONG and multiple comments)

[Jane]

>But when we overinflate the impacts on real lives caused by bloggers, I fear we trivialize the discourse and sideline the oversight of the truly powerful, whose errors can destroy or benefit many lives.

The problem is, that is the discourse from the left, particularly regarding Joe Lieberman. And as much as it should be trivilized, people like Jane Hamsher and Kos make sure its not.

It also highlights what "leadership" if chosen by Kos and Hamsher would look like.

[Terrye]

What is sam's point? That the news media is obsessed with death in Iraq. Strange isn't it that Saddam managed to starve, murder, torture, rape, disappear and in general terrorize millions of people without this kind of attention from the media. For instance, if there was a newsbreak or headline out there that referred to the 13,000 children found in a mass grave being put in that mass grave I missed it. Nope, for the intrepid media it was just not worth mentioning at the time.

[noah]

BOT (best of thread): "LiarDogFake" by Dr. Weevil. (You get a toaster...just send me $39.95 to cover S&H)

The last time I went to FDL (several months ago) even I was offended by the language. Today I notice Ms. Hamsher was on her best verbal behavior.

[Patton]

Will Ned Lamont be able to shake off the Jane Hamsher TAR BABY??

[lurker]

Nope, we'll see how successful their voter turnouts are.

[MayBee]

TS- BTW - will you post a comment at FDL for me? she deletes mine

You are smearing Jane Hamsher! Your posts don't get deleted- or at least they wouldn't if you would post positive things about Jane. Is that so hard? :-)

[PeterUK]

Apologies are simply not enough to exculpate Jane Hamsher's egregious racism,after extensive racial awareness training,she must retire from public life,don sack cloth and ashes,to devote the rest of her life ministering to the poor.

[Bob]

PeterUK... get real! That stuff is only for the "little people". People of her stature are given way more latitude when it comes to racism. How else could the Democrats exist!

[PeterUK]

Bob,
Henry II was as big as you could get in those days, he paid penanance,and that was just for offing an Archbishop!On your Knees Hamsher!

[Bob]

Ok PeteUK... that works for me!

[rogera]

Conservatives need to start supporting Hamsher more fully--keep her actively involved in electoral politics--You would think that Hamsher is the love child of Mary Matalin and Karl Rove--just like genital herpes, she is the gift that keeps on giving.

And as the estimable Rick Ballard points out ("stunningly brilliant," ineed): Bringing "hymietown" jackson and al Crown Heights sharpton together is the way to take care of Hamsher's egregiousnous--thats going to lock up the Jewish vote in Ct all right.

You really can't make this stuff up!!! This is starting to sound like some of the dark and stormy night threads--except its true!

[Daniel DiRito]

Read a satirical critique of the battle being waged amongst Democrats in the Lieberman v. Lamont Senate race coined "The Hatfield's & McCoy's"...here:

www.thoughttheater.com

[Mary in LA]

"Sam" forgot the "p" in his name. :-P

[Tyler Hudson]

Jane Hamsher is disliked in Hollywood. Her ex-husband, with whom she produced Natural Born Killers, was punched in the face at a Hollywood eatery by Quentin Tarantino. Hamsher is the quintessential bitch. I am not even sure what kind of credentials she has to be injecting herself in politics like this other than her experience smoking the penises of Murray Waas, Dan Froomkin, and Markos "respect my authorit-ay" Moukakaka. Hamsher has made many enemies at Paramount Studios and Fox studios for her cutthroat unethical shenanigans and she must feel she can apply those tactics to politcs. She is really no different than the people she excoriates like Kate O'Beirne or whatever her name is. If you recall, Hamsher, who is producing a documentary on the meth epidemic, launched a campaign on her insane blog, to have readers post negative reviews on Kate's latest book. I don't know what Jane thinks she does for the progressive movement but she does not represent the movement and neither does Markaka. Both of them are limousine progressives who dine at Spago and wax poetic about the Beverly Hills-ization of the netroots and the progressive movement. Hamsher and her fat, ugly redheaded friend, Christy Hard-on Smith, are simply the president of the lefty blogs' popularity club. That's it.

[laptop battery]

http://www.batteryfast.com/toshiba/pa3536u-1brs.htm>toshiba pa3536u-1brs battery