News, And Not News

The Times poses a puzzle on its front page today - in the world that brought us Trayvon Martin, what is news, and what is not news? In the course of asking they continue their non-coverage of Summer Moody (now deceased) and Matthew Owens, two stories with Trayvon Martin resonance that don't fit any comfortable Times templates.

News, if we include front page placement on the Times, includes stories like this:

Black Man’s Killing in Georgia Eludes Spotlight

By KIM SEVERSON

LYONS, Ga. — Norman Neesmith was sleeping in his home on a rural farm road here in onion country when a noise woke him up.

He grabbed the .22-caliber pistol he kept next to his bed and went to investigate. He found two young brothers who had been secretly invited to party with an 18-year-old relative he had raised like a daughter and her younger friend. The young people were paired up in separate bedrooms. There was marijuana and sex.

Over the course of the next confusing minutes on a January morning in 2011, there would be a struggle. The young men would make a terrified run for the door. Mr. Neesmith, who is 62 and white, fired four shots. One of them hit Justin Patterson, who was 22 and black.

The bullet pierced his side, and he died in Mr. Neesmith’s yard. His younger brother, Sha’von, then 18, ran through the onion fields in the dark, frantically trying to call his mother.

Yet somehow this did not get national attention and Sharptonian ministrations as Trayvon Martin did. The Times does identify a possible clue here:

On that day, Jan. 29, 2011, Mr. Neesmith was arrested. The district attorney brought seven charges against him, among them murder,false imprisonment and aggravated assault. On Thursday, Mr. Neesmith is expected to plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter and reckless conduct, which might bring a year in a special detention program that requires no time behind bars.

I'll just throw out a guess that the prompt arrest, charge and plea minimized outrage.  And since you ask, let's hear about the confusing struggle:

When Mr. Neesmith pulled the young men out of the bedrooms, he threatened to call the younger girl’s grandfather, according to court documents and interviews. He asked the two, who both have young daughters, why they were not home with their children. He ranted and waved the gun around.

So the brothers made a run for it. By all accounts, while the younger one struggled to unlock a side door, the older one shoved Mr. Neesmith.

Police testimony in early court documents shows that Justin Patterson pushed him against a table and chairs. In a recent interview and in other documents, Mr. Neesmith said he took a “whipping” that caused bleeding and cuts. He showed a reporter repairs to two holes in the wall that he said came from the struggle.

Mr. Neesmith’s first shots were fired while he was on the floor, according to investigators. One bullet hit the ceiling and the other hit Justin Patterson. Then, as the two ran, Mr. Neesmith went to the porch and fired two more shots. He called a friend, a bail bondsman, who told him to call the police.

Mr. Neesmith said he fired the extra shots as a warning. “Those boys could have come back and killed me in my own bed,” he said.

By the time he fired the fatal shot the boys were running, so a strict self-defense plea should have been out of bounds. However, the DA eventually decided he had other problems:

As the case unfolded, however, circumstances became clearer. The other girl in the trailer was 14, though she had told the men she was 18. Mr. Neesmith’s lawyers pointed out that a statutory rape charge could be bought. So could drug charges.

The shots off the porch were something someone in the country might do to make sure the intruders did not come back, [District Attorney] Mr. Altman said. Mr. Neesmith, who has a chronic nerve condition in his right arm and hand as well as other health problems, had been woken up in the middle of the night. He was not thinking clearly, Mr. Altman said; he had no record, and by all accounts was a good man.

Moreover, Mr. Altman said in a recent interview in his office, “I couldn’t see that I could find a jury that would convict.” Most people in a rural area with a high percentage of gun ownership would most likely accept that the fatal shot was in self-defense, he said.

“It might not feel fair for the family, and I am sorry for their loss,” he said. “But this is not at all like the case in Florida, other than they are both tragedies.”

So there is a story the Times thinks might have been news, and might yet become news, if their front page placement has the power it once did.

Meanwhile, you can look high and low in the Times for coverage of Summer Moody, a blond teenage girl shot and in a coma (and now reportedly dead) during a teen-age hijinks break-in of an empty fishing cabin. The three teens doing the burgling in have been charged; the shooters, one of whom fired a fatal "warning shot", have not.

And Matthew Owens, a white low-level thug beaten nearly to death by a "Justice for Trayvon" mob? That is so Not News the Times will never wonder why it is not news.

Let me help with the puzzle of what makes news. J-school grads don't dream of covering the local weather; every journalism school graduate longs to participate in any or all of three of the great stories of our nation's past. These earnest scriveners all hope to:

(a) be Woodward and/or Bernstein, breaking the web of deceit and unraveling the cover-up protecting the powerful. (In the current environment they don't want to end up working for Murdoch, so only Republicans get the full treatment; contrast Edwards and McCain in 2008).  

(b) report from the bridge at Selma, standing with Martin Luther King against Bull Connor.  Oh, to be young and a Freedom Rider, inveighing against White Oppression and Black Injustice!

or, (c) aid Daniel Ellsberg and publish the Truth that ends the Unjust War.

It really is that simple - any story that has the potential to be mashed into one of those templates will have the actual facts trimmed to size. The Duke Lacrosse debacle was such a great parable of White Oppression and Black Helplessness that actual facts didn't intrude on Times reporting for months.

And after a brief attitudinal speed-bump following 9/11 the Times was declaring a quagmire in Afghanistan in November 2011 and (Judith Miller notwithstanding) fully embraced its Vietnam flashbacks in Iraq.

And as a caveat, obviously certain political triggers can boost a story's importance - if the Times can find a gun control angle, boost the gay agenda, or promote abortion rights then a story is "news".

Matthew Owens fits no template the Times finds comfortable. Summer Moody fits their very long term gun control agenda, but rifles were employed and only the most ardent gun controller thinks we will be making "progress" there any time soon.

And obviously, their latest 'why isn't this news' story has them Freedom Riding again in the South. What kind of world are we living in when young black men can't smoke dope in an old white guys house, have sex with a fourteen year old, and beat the old guy up when he squawks? Mysterious. To the Times.

Comments

[Theo]

When the facts conflict with the narrative, print the narrative.

Same old, same old....

[And then I read Mark Twain in Tennessee.]

Journalists are trained to tell false narratives. That objectivity is desirable has become an object of scorn.
===============

[iqvoice]

The details I read on the Summer Moody case were completely unsatisfactory. It did not explain the locations of the burglars relative to the shooters. It said nothing about whether the shooters had a criminal past, although that was hinted at by one of the commenters.

Speaking of which, the best comment could be summed up as "don't want to get shot in the head? don't burgle houses."

What's with the stupid hot blond chicks, always running with the wrong crowd? Part of the reason I married a brunette.

[cboldt]

-- And Matthew Owens, a white low-level thug beaten nearly to death by a "Justice for Trayvon" mob? --

Matthew Owens was a thug? Who knew?

[AliceH]

I'm almost tempted to go to google to see if there might also be a correlation between amount of coverage by location to distance from an airport and to quantity/quality of nearby amenities. Almost.

[Captain Hate]

(a) be Woodward and/or Bernstein

Those two clowns did more to ruin journalism than anybody this side of Hunter Thompson. People that were too dumb or lazy to be lawyers all of a sudden had an alternative to "change the world". That's worked out well.

On the other side of the coin, Weasel Zippers has the Megyn interview with Dersh yesterday and that is television journalism at its finest imo. Megyn even "plays dumb" in posing some questions to the Dersh, which she obviously knew the answers for, to give him a chance to explicate it for the audience. Think of it as Client 9 and Porker with brains, looks and integrity.

[Cecil Turner]

Matthew Owens was a thug? Who knew?

Concur. The record suggests he gets beat up a lot (with one outlier where he broke some guy's nose).

The takeaway from that story appears to be: a lot of people think it's okay to beat people into critical condition based on something they said. It's a problem, and it needs to be fixed.

[pg]

thug? who has he beaten up in the past?

[bunkerbuster]

I have to agree with Tom that the better liberal journalists aim to break big stories about powerful people breaking the law and/or oppressing the powerless -- as history shows among journalism's proudest moments. What's hilarious is that Tom feels compelled to oppose that, even belittle it.
Over at the Washington Times, Fox News Channel and Rush Limbaugh program, the ambitious scribes are fully focused on exposing how greedy poor people are, how the powerless are shamefully abusing the powerful, how Afro-Americans have their heel on the throats of whites and how really, really bad they feel when Obama is made to look smart.
They dream of breaking the modern-day version of Joe McCarthy's list of communists, or standing at the schoolhouse gate with Lester Maddox and Strom Thurmond, blocking Afro-American children from entering, or, best of all, their most cherished prize, fomenting the fear and hatred necessary to start yet another war over WMD that aren't there, this time in Iran.

[bunkerbuster]

``Matthew Owens was a thug? Who knew?''
um, the police, who arrested him several times for violent violations.
the neighbors, who witnessed him spewing racial epithets and getting into fights
apparently, just about everyone who can read...

[fdcol63]

" ... or, best of all, their most cherished prize, fomenting the fear and hatred necessary to start yet another war over WMD that aren't there, this time in Iran. ..."

Sure. Because we know how much liberals are war-mongers and love the military. LOL

/end sarcasm

[cboldt]

Secret Service misconduct isolated, Napolitano says (Testimony at odds with statements of former agents) - April 26 - WaPo

Secret Service involved in second prostitution scandal - April 26 - CNN

Mendacity on mendacity. Janet Napolitano acted stupidly. In a Congressional hearing.

[yeah that will happen]

Get back to me when your better liberal journalists get up to speed on Corzine, Holder w/fast and furious ,Al Sharpton and the Rev. Jackson.

[cboldt]

-- I have to agree with Tom that the better liberal journalists aim to break big stories about ... how Afro-Americans have their heel on the throats of whites --

That's the NBC-edit style. The "better liberal journalists" style, that is.

[Captain Hate]

when Obama is made to look smart

Interesting choice of words by bwanabuster; not that the JEF is smart but "is made to look smart".

[AliceH]

Meanwhile, just try to find more than a 3 sentence paragraph on a city council meeting, or 6 bullet items on combined police blotter/court findings.

It is so irritating to be slandered by our elite and the foreign press as "parochial" while not actually getting any "parochial" news in the daily papers.

[Threadkiller]

Will Obama claim faux fathership of the rapist kid?

[Cecil Turner]

(Testimony at odds with statements of former agents)

Dunno about hookers, but my one experience working with these guys was interesting (Clinton era). They spent a lot of time organizing a "wheels-up party" (after the President's plane left) and doled out invitations mostly to the local hotties. My impression was they liked to play pretty hard, though I never actually saw it.

[Threadkiller]

Bwanabuster!

Hahahaha!!!

[narciso]

Now sending 2,000 weapons to a paramilitary organization that targets a supposed ally regime in Mexico, and some left over in Honduras, crickets.

[narciso]

Some further a template asserting 'facts not in evidence' even counteracted by reporting
in the same publications.

http://www.mediaite.com/online/report-mccain-staffers-sought-to-shield-steve-schmidts-reputation-days-before-08-election/

then they are rewarded for subsequent efforts.

[Tom Maguire]

"The Mobile County Metro Jail log shows police have arrested Owens numerous times over the past 12 years for things like domestic violence, assault and sex abuse. His first arrest was November 4, 1990 for assault. The last time officers transported Owens to jail was last March on a domestic violence charge."

I sort of see Arlo Givens matching up with Ellstin Limehouse, but Limehouse had much more style than Rawls seems to. Well, same for Matthew/Arlo. Darn reality!

[Jack is Back!]

Bubu believes that Iran is not trying to develop a nuclear weapon capability putting distance between himself and the Obama administration. Another example of the left abandoning the One.

[Captain Hate]

From narc's link: “Thankfully, and rightfully so, some members of the political punditry are already coming to his defense (Rove, McKinnon, Scarborough), however a well organized and coordinated effort is needed to defend Steve’s good reputation,” he added.

Absolutely *shocking* that Rove would come to his fellow fat turd's defense. And Morning RINO.

[Ignatz]

--I have to agree with Tom that the better liberal journalists aim to break big stories about powerful people breaking the law and/or oppressing the powerless -- as history shows among journalism's proudest moments. What's hilarious is that Tom feels compelled to oppose that, even belittle it.--

As well he should since they only now have any perceptible interest in breaking big stories in which they can print an (R) after the persons name.
Equally repellant is the fact that they excuse or ignore the powerless being oppressed by members of a certain race.
Any sensible person would oppose such a craven bunch of a**holes but that 'sensible' criterion kind of leaves you out, doesn't it buub?

[narciso]

Well Owens could just as easily be Boyd Crowder, couldn't he,

JiB, the Iranian bomb, has been a concern for more than 30 years, going back to H.T, Narea's
father in Law, Paul ERdman,

[narciso]

I wouldn't bring up, ancient history, except this fellow is one of Mitten's new hires at
the RNC,

[cboldt]

-- arrested Owens numerous times over the past 12 years for things like domestic violence, assault and sex abuse. --

Signs of thuggish conduct, to be sure. Any strangers, neighbors, or "other than housemate / household guest" in his sights?

The report reads to me as three arrests. One in November 1990, the DV arrest in March 2011, and one sometime in between.

[Extraneus]

Bubu believes that Iran is not trying to develop a nuclear weapon capability putting distance between himself and the Obama administration.

Naah. He's is a humorous caricature of a liberal, but he doesn't believe that. Like most of his brethren, he just doesn't see what would be so bad about Iran dropping one on Israel.

[P Diddy or Daddy, or something]

so when someone at, say, the UN or the DoJ googles racist murder cases in the United States, these articles can be added to the statistics proving that "Something Must Be Done". It's the kabuki of the Leftist narrative.

[AliceH]

they only now have any perceptible interest in breaking big stories in which they can print an (R) after the persons name.

I've seen this used as an argument for why D's with actual concerns about corruption or citizen's rights, etc. should vote R - because a republican in office will be guaranteed the utmost scrutiny by the press and be held accountable. It has a certain appeal, I should think.

[NK]

PDiddy@948-- that's a very astute observation. The news stories, the Google hits, etc etc they are all part of the media narrative which tries to bulldoze 'Americanism' and force those snack food munchin', Bud Light swillin' Fat white guys give up their guns and Jesus and become just like the UN/Euro weenies. That's the media-world government complex at work.

[Bruce]

(a) be Woodward and/or Bernstein, breaking the web of deceit and unraveling the cover-up protecting the powerful. (In the current environment they don't want to end up working for Murdoch, so only Republicans get the full treatment; contrast Edwards and McCain in 2008).

Which is why far bigger scandals than Watergate, such as Fast and Furious, are being so studiously ignored by all these J school grads.

The sad reality is that this is probably the most corrupt Administration of our life times, and, in particular, the most corrupt DoJ. Yet, the corruption doesn't fit the preferred narrative, so is almost completely ignored.

[Clarice]

One more thing about journalists--to add to TM's fine analysis: They are lazy. Old time journos drank a lot more but they worked to get a story. Now, if they like you and "your side", you can hand them merde on a stick and they'll print it as fact.

[Danube of Thought]

Never forget: the fact that Augusta Bational does not admit women made the front page of the New York Times for thirty-seven (37) consecutive days.

News.

[Danube of Thought]

Minus 13 at Raz today.

Trails Romney by 3.

[NK]

DoT-- page A1 or the sports section? If that's true it had to be the Selena Roberts nonsense in the Sports Section.

[Threadkiller]

Federal investigators arrested two former and two current Transportation Security Administration screeners on charges of taking bribes to allow cocaine and other drugs through airport security in Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).

The sweep of arrests happened last night and this morning. DOJ alleges that the TSA screeners took $2,400 bribes each of the five times they let suitcases filled with drugs pass through airport security screening.

Capeline McKinney, a TSA screener, was arrested this morning for allegedly allowing "more than 20 kilograms of cocaine to pass through her security checkpoint," the Department of Justice announced today.

John Whitfield, another TSA screener who was arrested last night, is accused of "personally allowing more than 20 kilograms of cocaine to pass through LAX security."

Whitfield and McKinney allegedly acted under the instruction of Naral Richardson, a former TSA screener who "is accuse of orhcestrating five incidents in which TSA screeners agreed to waive narcotics through security checkpoints."

A fourth TSA officer, who was fired last year, "allegedly was stationed at LAX screening checkpoints when she allowed drugs to pass through, including a shipment of more than 20 kilograms of cocaine."

"The allegations in this case describe a significant breakdown of the screening system through the conduct of individuals who placed greed above the nation's security needs," said U.S. Attorney Andre Birotte, Jr., in a statement.

The scheme began to unravel in February 2011, when a courier was arrested "because he had not only gone to the wrong lane, he had gone to the wrong terminal," according to court documents, and a TSA officer found his drug cargo.

http://campaign2012.washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/doj-arrests-tsa-screeners-drug-trafficking/502486

I would pay extra for my package to make it through TSA untouched.

[DebinNC]

the better liberal journalists aim to break big stories about powerful people breaking the law and/or oppressing the powerless

That's noble. What's shameful is liberal journalists like NBC-Miami's Jeff Burnside purposely creating a big story by inciting mass demonstrations/possible race riots through selective editing. Or Charlie Gibson sandbagging Sarah Palin by showing a huge national audience video of her telling an assembly, "God's on our side" (in Iraq), when the full quote IIRC was, "What's important is not whether God's on our side, but whether we're on His" which she attributed at the time to Abraham Lincoln. Gibson haughtily rejected her, "I don't think that's right, Charlie" response to his selective edit. I can't remember if ABC apologized to her on air in a big way later, or even at all.

[Tom D]

As a resident of Mobile, I've been following the coverage of this both locally and here, and I've been holding off commenting because these things tend to be a bit more complex than the initial reports indicate. Just a few observations:

1) The first accounts of this in the Mobile media made no mention of the race of any of the involved parties or any mention of the alleged justice for Trayvon remark. The mayor and police chief have acted reasonably responsibly and have called for restraint and to wait for the facts to come out before passing judgment. I'm glad we haven't had some race agitators coming in here and stirring the pot and making it more difficult to do that.

2) As more of the history between the victim and assailants come out, it seems clear that there is almost certainly a racial component to it, but Trayvon Martin was merely a convenient excuse for the assailants rather than a motivation. That said, I rather doubt that, had the races of the parties been reversed and there was an allegation that the assailants had shouted "Justice for George Zimmerman", the national media would have been so indifferent to the story.

3) The President hasn't yet let us know that if he had a son, he would look like Terry Rawls. Don't get me wrong, I don't think he should inject himself in local law enforcement matters that haven't been fully investigated. He shouldn't have behaved stupidly and commented on the Trayvon Martin case either, especially by personalizing on the racial component of it.

4) I hate me some burglars as much as the next guy, but there is no indication that the shooters were in any danger from those thieves, and "warning shots" don't hit people in the head. Would there be some more national coverage of this if it hadn't been a bunch of white kids? Somehow the killing of a pretty blonde volleyball player who apparently wasn't attacking anyone isn't quite as newsworthy as the slaying of a Skittles wielding kid who apparently was.

And Bubu, I'm sure you'd be saying a black man with a similar background to Owens who had been beaten nearly to death by a mob of crackers for daring to tell a bunch of white kids to quit playing lacrosse in the street just had it coming.

[Danube of Thought]

"page A1 or the sports section? "

Page A1.

[narciso]

That was just the least of edits,

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/p-j-gladnick/2008/09/13/abc-news-edited-out-key-parts-sarah-palin-interview

[Danube of Thought]

The more we learn about the earnest, generous African-American George Zimmerman, themore this story becomes an Emily Latella classic. Not since Duke lacrosse has the Template taken such a shellacking.

[narciso]

No, Danube, you are being to charitable, Burnside, knew the facts and chose to alter
them, then embedded the false link, on every story, the consequences of which have n ot been fully ascertained yet.

[Clarice]

I agree, DoT, though most of us saw thru the initial crapola reporting.

[Danube of Thought]

"I'm glad we haven't had some race agitators coming in here and stirring the pot"

Remember, the only white race agitators in this country are the likes of David Duke and the KKK, who are held in such universal revulsion that they have ceased to be relevant. No Grand Vizier has a show on MSNBC. No Exalted Kleagle visits the White House or addresses national political conventions.

Hope we hear a lot more from Tom D.

[Clarice]

BTW the front page of the WaPo lists the incredible increase in biracial births in the US, The race agitators ' days are dwindling down to a precious few, May we hope Trayvon is their swan song?

[SDN]

cboldt, I see several arrests on Owens record, but I don't see CONVICTIONS. You know, the whole innocent until proven guilty thing. And if I were your wife, I could get you arrested today for an allegation of domestic violence, no other evidence.

[DebinNC]

One of the most fascinating NYT's news-embargo episodes was the paper's prolonged silence on Air America Radio's theft of hundreds of thousands of public funds specifically earmarked for a low-income girls' and boy's club a few blocks from the paper's headquarters. Weeks passed, maybe months, until finally a short AP account ran in the back pagess. Of course as the months passed and the paper trumpeted Al Franken's senate bid without any mention of his connection to Air America and the theft, letters to the editor poured in re the egregious bias. Finally the NYT's ombudsman (Clark Hoyt?) was tasked with addressing the question of bias. He actually wrote a piece claiming authoritatively that he'd checked with all the editors of the relevant sections and they told him there was no bias involved in the embargo. End of story.

[narciso]

Well recall, that the local 'alternative paper' was puffing up that tiny cell of Nazi
nudniks out of Detroit, when logically the
local nudniks were oddly silent.

[jimmyk]

the earnest, generous African-American George Zimmerman

What would be nice is if, when all's said and done and GZ gets exonerated, some of the people who have slandered him make a public apology, and acknowledge his history of good works. Of course, the chances of that are about as great as bubu/kaka/duda having something useful to say.

[Minion]

Summer Moody has died.

[narciso]

And what have you said about Sheriff Joe,

http://dailycaller.com/2012/04/26/scarborough-rubio-not-ready-to-be-vice-president-just-like-sarah-palin/

[Tom Maguire]

Boyd Crowder?!?!? He was quite convincing (and accurate!) when he explained to the local sheriff that he was not just another mindless thug.

Owens would need to be more energetic and organized to get up to the status of the late 'Devil'. As I read the comments, I admit that 'thug' might be giving him more credit then he deserves; maybe he just gets liquored up and takes random swings at people, but we aren't reading about arrests for anything planned like burglary or drug dealing.

"Low-life" might be the description I seek.

[Danube of Thought]

Unexpected:

"More Americans than forecast filed applications for unemployment benefits last week, a sign that the labor market is taking time to improve."

[NK]

DoT-- 37 consecutive days on page A1? amazing. I have not read the NYT since 2002 (except for linked articles). The NYT is beyond parody.

[narciso]

Well Iwas speaking from the perspective of when we first meet him, in the first season
of Justified,

[Clarice]

Also he was on his own porch when attacked--that is to say, not engaged in anything threatening or criminal.

[rse]

LUN is a deeply troubling blog posting from today on AJC's ed blog which actually has a national and especially statewide following. It makes the connection between Trayvon and Emmit Till wanting Till's tragedy to cover-up the much different situation with TM.

In some ways this may be the worst thing I have read there. I was sorely tempted to point out his tweet moniker and other relevant facts. I am known there and need not to upset a bipartisan appreciation for knowing the relevant area. Much to the chagrin of the blog hostess.

But if any of you have a few extra minutes have at it. Writing and Printing that post at this time is pure baiting and hustling and appalling.

[narciso]

Would this be her, rse,

http://www.linkedin.com/in/stephaniejones2

[Captain Hate]

rse, first of all there are quite a few comments taking that post to task. Second, the writing in that post is appallingly bad.

[Jane (Better a crate than a plate)]

Hope we hear a lot more from Tom D.

Me too. We have a great Army of Davids here.

[pagar]

What ever Al Franken did with Air America and the Gloria Wise Boys and Girls club scandal apparently propelled him to the US Senate where none other than Joe Biden :

calls Al “the Angry Clown” Franken a “leading legal scholar”

"http://urbangrounds.com/tag/al-franken/

Unbelievable!

[narciso]

You know Maureen is not merely ignorant, but encourages less rigorous academics

http://blogs.ajc.com/get-schooled-blog/2012/04/26/an-english-teacher-looks-at-the-new-student-writing-expectations-and-shrieks-in-horror-i-would-too/?cp=2

[Devil's Advocate]

This Lyons GA story is like a Harry Crews short story!

[narciso]

Btw, you meant November 2001, that was when
W.R. 'Johnny' Apple, issued his 'quagmire' warning, right before Kabul fell.

[narciso]

So, the narrative has to be retweaked or not;

http://www.jammiewf.com/2012/obamas-tall-tale-about-paying-off-students-loans-until-2004-starts-falling-apart/

[Heathcliff]

Weird and sad. But I suppose watching coded racism become explicit is instructive.

Poor white Tom. Life is so unfair. For white people. Happily you're more than willing to take up the fight when it comes to this heinous state of affairs.

So yes. Weird. Also sad.

[Captain Hate]

You know Maureen is not merely ignorant, but encourages less rigorous academics

Is there any occupation that immerses itself in self pity as much as teachers? Yes, we get it that a lot of parents are difficult to deal with, either directly or through their children. Do you think that those of us in the non-education world don't have to deal with difficult people who often behave unprofessionally? The big difference is that we don't have three months to sit around licking our wounds before going back and doing it again.

[BB Key]

NK see Narc 12:15 Re: rolling HLS debt until 2004 from yesterday . The tax returns are out there

[Threadkiller]

The dreamy hope of the country drops a turd:

http://dailycaller.com/2012/04/25/marco-rubios-liberal-foreign-policy/

Anchor babies...

[AliceH]

I don't understand what tax returns tell us about student loan payments. If you make a certain amount, you cannot claim the deduction.

On the other hand, I do see how silly it is to pretend to 'hardship' in paying off a low interest loan when one makes between a quarter and half a million per annum. Also, if the loans were in fact very low interest relative to inflation, it makes some sense to stretch out the payments over the full term. Not that I think the Obama's would necessarily have that sort of financial pro-con consideration in mind.

[Jim Ryan]

Heathcliff, are you baked?

[narciso]

Does Hunter forget that Reagan provided logistical support and train ers to regimes like El Salvador and Guatemala, not direct
military intervention, but there was a lot in that speech like support for the World Bank and the UN, that made one go, 'Winning the Future'

[Captain Hate]

TK, Tammy Bruce has been blasting Rubio for at least a month. Not that I necessarily buy into everything she says but she's a very strong proponent of holding Tea Party candidates who get elected's feet to the fire. She's also 100% for Romney despite her earlier misgivings.

[Porchlight]

Meanwhile, Obama was at a bar in Boulder CO last night. I know this because he allowed his picture to be taken with one of my husband's Facebook friends who then posted it and my husband showed it to me last night.

What was he doing there? Funny you ask. I googled it. Apparently he got some yogurt spilled on him - lol:

http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/00bafeb0ffa24e1ab1727df9aa370cb5/CO--Obama-Pizza/

[narciso]

This is what I was referring to, from yesterday's speech;

http://cnsnews.com/video/washington/rubio-praises-un-world-bank-imf-not-asserting-narrow-american-interests

[Threadkiller]

Larry Sinclair claims that wasn't yogurt on Obama's shirt.

/joke

[narciso]

Keep in mind, this bottom dwelling slug, cheated on his wife, after she gave him a kidney;

[elkh1]

Martin Luther King's Freedom Rider journalists and Treyon Martin's Free Loader journolists are different species of beings.

[Captain Hate]

Damn narc, it seems like just last week he was talking about American exceptionalism. Not that I need him to continually parrot the same thing but it would be helpful to know where he *really* stands.

[rse]

How did a student get close enough to spill yogurt?

I was walking through the lobby of the Shoreham Hotel in DC in high school when Nelson Rock was exiting after giving a speech. Secret Service was shoving away everyone to clear a pathway.

I watched them with Gerald Ford when he came to speak in college and I was part of the welcoming group.

Cartegena out of control and a student can spill something on Pres?

No Stephanie cannot write. She can simply assert print is yet another racist construct and grammatically correct syntax is a denial of the great African American oral tradition.

Seriously you should see some of the nonsense UNESCO is pushing in Africa especially but throughout the 3rd world. I suspect if the bureaucrats asked the tribesman first they would not want to preserve the oral tradition at the expense of learning to read and write. Honestly to get so upset about colonialism and imperialism even though in England's case everyone had greater prosperity, you should read talk about setting up Heritage Sites and having the natives carve tribal artifacts that will delight the eco-tourists looking for authenticity. And the UN admin will makes sure basic necessities are not lacking.

[narciso]

Forget about grammar, I'm the last to talk, but how about simple fact patterns, then again
she could be an editorial writer for the Herald.

[Stephanie]

No Stephanie cannot write.

I doubt her reading skillz are any better. This Stephanie had to read that in context to determine that this Stephanie can at least read and find no reason to become an aggrieved victim. :)

[Captain Hate]

I applaud this snippet of honesty from Rove in today's WSF:

This was brought home to me in 2000, when then-Gov. George W. Bush was strongly leaning toward picking Dick Cheney as his VP. He knew I was opposed and invited me to make the case against his idea. I came to our meeting armed with eight political objections. Mr. Bush heard me out but with a twist: I explained my objections with Mr. Cheney sitting, mute and expressionless, next to the governor.

The next day, Mr. Bush called to say I was right. There would be real political problems if he chose Mr. Cheney. So solve them, he said. Politics was my responsibility. His job was different: to select his best partner in the White House and a person the country would have confidence in if something terrible happened to him. The country was better served by Mr. Bush's decision than by my advice.

There's a lesson there for Mr. Romney. Choose the best person for the job. Leave the politics to the staff.

[Captain Hate]

When I use the term "poor writing skills" I lump in inability to coherently make a point.

[narciso]

Rove actually suggests that McCain was ahead before he picked Sarah, when that wasn't true.

[narciso]

They can't be just ignorant, rather they must be evil;

http://hotair.com/archives/2012/04/26/terrific-senate-dems-offset-cost-of-student-loan-bill-with-higher-taxes-on-small-business/

[Carol Herman]

Well, McCain picked Sarah. And, then Obama won. Obama got about 53%. And, McCain's total score was 44%. Perhaps that number was better than Dole's?

What's the problem that Romney's popularity just doesn't seem to be emerging? Could it be people won't vote for a pro-life agenda?

True, the media isn't mentioning this flaw.

But it remains one of the reasons Mittens isn't really winning over enough people. And, in today's NY Times (of all places), there was comedy gold in an article pointing out how 3% of republicans voted for Romney. Nobody is telling you how few people are actually voting in these primaries.

Oh, yeah. And, Gingrich had to pull out. Because he put all his faith in Delaware. Thinking they were the ones who selected Christine O'Donnell. But there was a bigger turnout. (Maybe 10%?) And, Newt couldn't get over the hump.

What a campaign season!

[Captain Hate]

narc he'll never walk that back. Hell, it's a chore to find an instance of him mentioning her in print.

[Enlightened]

Hey Heathcliff - How many black people are trying to help these folks in the poorest county of America?

It's those damn White People again./sarc

"America's poorest county: Proud Appalachians who live without running water or power in region where 40% fall below poverty line"

LUN

[narciso]

Of course there is always Frum who along with Milbank, makes one doubt the value of a Yale
sheepskin,

[Ignatz]

--Heathcliff, are you baked?--

Possibly, but he's definitely catty.

[MarkO]

“Larry Sinclair claims that wasn't yogurt on Obama's shirt.” So, Bill Clinton was there?

[Danube of Thought]

Life is so unfair. For white people.

Right now it seems as unfair for the African-American Zimmerman as it was for the African-American Plessy.

[Enlightened]

Hey Heathcliff - How about these White and Native American folks - livin the good life aren't they? How many black people are trying to help them out?

The demographics for the first 15 listings for per capita income are predominantly White or Native Americans that are living in poverty. They must be f**king over the black man - I hear it all the time from morons like you so it MUST BE TRUE!

Seriously - when I hear you and the other dipwads - Dudu, KaKa and Bubu spout your incoherent bullshit it just amazes me.

LUN

[marlene]

Captain Hate,my husband could have written your 12:20! His sister is a teacher and he's told her exactly what you said. In other news,Senator Susan Collins and Senator Chuck Schumer have proposed an idea for "passenger advocates"at some airports.Janet Napolitano has endorsed the idea and said TSA agents can be cross trained,one day strip searching Granny,the next day being a neutral advocate.This will be called the RIGHTS Act.I honestly thought this was a joke. RIGHTS=Restoring Integrity and Good-Heartedness in Traveler Screening.

[Jane (Better a crate than a plate)]

Choose the best person for the job. Leave the politics to the staff.

It's gonna be Portman

[AliceH]

O/T Anyone know what is up with Don Surber's blog? Yesterday, briefly, there was a "Goodbye" post - at least according to some comments. Then there were more posts. Now all comments are closed - no posts today at all.

[pagar]

"and Senator Chuck Schumer"

This Schumer?

"When the history of this Republic is written, Schmucky Schumer will go down in history as one of the most nefarious, vicious, and reckless political thugs ever to slither on the floor of the Senate."

http://directorblue.blogspot.com/2012/04/you-lying-sack-of-schumer.html

Sounds like someone found out Schumer was a Democrat!