The following item was brought to our attention:
A website which sells custom kippahs (aka yarmulkes) for Jews to wear at worship reports that sales of McCain kippahs outdistance Obama ones substantially. John Cook's Venture Blog reportsVanityKippah.com founder Shmuel Tennenhaus-- who recently left a Bellevue Internet company to start selling political versions of the traditional Jewish skull caps -- reports that sales of the"McCippah" are outpacing sales of the "Obamica."
At last count, McCain held a lead with 57 percent of kippah sales.
Political skull caps? Who knew?
Maybe Obamica sales would pick up if they featured a small bus with the members of the Obama entourage no longer in favor...
A comment by Ed at American Thinker, from where the above except came, noted that [Another worrisome sign for Obama]:
"Don't be too optimistic. My observation: Jewish men are going McCain. Jewish women are sticking w/ their dear beloved Democrats -- in this case Obama. Only men wear yarmulkes."
A gentle debate began in the comments section to the above AmerThinker piece. A sample:
AJ: "Jewish-American voters should vote for America's interests at heart, not Israel's. If they care about Israel more than America, then they should move to Israel and live there and then vote in those elections.
Matthew Dickinson then pointed out: "I[n] practically every way, Israel's interests are America's interests. It isn't like the Saudi's are our friends. Allah doesn't build space ships, or anything else for that matter."
The debate will continue, likely in homes across America.
That a debate is even being held among one of the most dependable of the Democrat constituency groups may indicate trouble for Obama.
by Mondoreb
image: vanity kippah
"Rielle Hunter"
"John Edwards Scandal"
If searching for information on the John Edwards scandal,
Scratch Wikipedia from the list of places to look.
A free-for-all has been raging at Wikipedia over whether to include information of the latest John Edwards Love Child news in the on-line reference source. The battle is between those who want a mention of the scandal on the "John Edwards" entry and those, who for various reasons, don't. It involves such topics as "National Enqurier reliability", "left wing bias" and whether to include information that "Hundreds of media outlets have reported on".
The back-and-forth can be seen at Talk: John Edwards and is, in some places, a fascinating look at the human prejudicial baggage--on both sides--that each editor brings to the debate.
I don't want to spill the beans on which way the debate is going, but, as of the time of this post, Wikipedia's "John Edwards" entry has no mention of the scandal which has been bubbling on the Internet for the past 10 months.
Newsbusters, [Wikipedia Disallows Any Mention of Alleged John Edwards Scandal ] and others, have written about Wikipedia joining the mainstream press in their information blackout of the John Edwards scandal.
Wikipedia, which allowed verb tenses for their Tim Russert entry to be changed from present to past tense about a half hour before the official announcement of his death, is suddenly going ultra legal in its refusal to allow their John Edwards entry to be updated with mention of the alleged scandal which was reported in the National Enquirer with many of the details confirmed by Fox News. Suddenly Wikipedia has become a stickler for confirmation detail before the Edwards entry can be updated. To get an idea of how much Wikipedia is twisting itself into a pretzel to justify their refusal to update their John Edwards entry, one needs only to look at their pained, but comedically entertaining, discussions of this matter in their “Tabloid scandal accusations” section:
At the top of the John Edwards page is this notice:
This page is currently protected from editing until July 30, 2008 or until disputes have been resolved.
"This protection is not an endorsement of the current version. See the protection policy and protection log for more details. Please discuss any changes on the talk page; you may use the {{editprotected}} template to ask an administrator to make the edit if it is supported by consensus. You may also request that this page be unprotected."
We had made an earlier assumption that when Mainstream Media organizations were forced--by events beyond their control--to report on the John Edwards affair, that Wikipedia would be dragged along.
Kicking and screaming all the way, no doubt.
But, that hasn't happened.
To keep any information of the scandal from their users, the Stonewall-side of the Wiki debate depend on a circuitous defense of both hairs-splitting and angel-counting.
The Enquirer is not a reliable source. It's corroborated.
Well, not enough. Now the Times is reporting on it.
We're not a newspaper. We have to be sure. We have a lot of time on this.
There's no pictures. Well, we're going to wait.
As was noted, all fascinating stuff, if the reader is into behind-the-scenes looks at how policy is formed.
When the pictures emerge--both on-line and in the print editions of the Enquirer later this week--people searching for information on the affair will learn that Wikipedia, the reference source that made conventional encyclopedias outdated from the moment they were printed, is out-of-date itself. Wiki will then sadly join the MSM, where a small group who long to be gatekeepers of information for the rest of mankind, reside.
Wikipedia is at the top of the Internet reference mountain today. But, that position is not a given. A host of competing wikis have sprouted on the Internet recently. If Wikipedia thinks that they will always be Number One, regardless of policies which deny users information--controversial or not--they will learn a hard lesson.
They can ask about the lesson time they're at K-Mart, drink a Carling's Black Label beer or read the New York Times. All organizations which were, at one time, Number One in their respective fields.
by Mondoreb
image: dbkp file
Democrat Barack Obama's campaign said Thursday that Michelle Obama never used the word "whitey" in a speech from the church pulpit as he launched a Web site to debunk rumors about his campaign."
--NEDRA PICKLER, AP
The Obama campaign is now going to be spending more time addressing rumors?
"Yesterday I wrote about the new team that the Barack Obama campaign was building to counter internet rumor as well as deal with inconvenient truths, by way of offering the "party line" on how to counter the rumors or the damaging truths."
--Susan Duclos, Wake Up America
The Politician's Playbook says "to confront rumors, do not confront them." That's a smart move. The Mainstream liberal press has it's own "Don't ask Democrats, don't tell" policy. If the candidate doesn't talk about a rumor, the MSM will pretend it doesn't exist. No potentially-embarrassing questions that way--provided it's a Democrat candidate.
Addressing the rumors breaks the policy and the candidate is fair game.
As long as there have been rumors in politics, there has been one widely accepted way for a candidate to deal with them. Basically, it's not to. Otherwise, according to prevailing wisdom, all a candidate achieves is to elevate the rumors to a legitimate story for the media to feast on. That don't-go-there approach was Barack Obama's plan for months until, on the candidate's first full day of campaigning as his party's presumed presidential nominee, a reporter from McClatchy Newspapers who was traveling aboard his plane asked him about a particularly toxic bit of hearsay that was zooming around the Internet about his wife Michelle. Obama lost his cool. "We have seen this before. There is dirt and lies that are circulated in e-mails, and they pump them out long enough until finally you, a mainstream reporter, asks me about it," Obama said, bristling. "That gives legs to the story. If somebody has evidence that myself or Michelle or anybody has said something inappropriate, let them do it."
--Time: Obama's Anti-Rumor Plan
So is this a smart move by the man who gets the Mainstream Media all gooey inside? Here's one vote for "yes".
Spend time refuting straw man rumors--and that's less time spent talking about the issues: issues are not a strong point for the Senate's most liberal member.
Really, they aren't. When does Obama address the issues--other than the standard liberal boilerplate about health care and substituting "Change" for "Amen" at Obama revivals? Obama has a LONG list of "change"--and a FAR SHORTER list on how he's going to bring it about.
Much better to chat with the MSM about "rumors". The campaign surely will be careful to separate "rumors" and "unpleasant topics".
Won't they?
What rumors has the campaign tackled on its new website, http://www.fightthesmears.com.? Let's take a look. The website has a "Powered by Truth" blurb.
RUMOR: The "Whitey" tape purportedly showing Michelle Obama railing against "Whitey".
[Fightthesmears.com uses the words "THE SMEAR" and "LIE" instead of RUMOR.]
WEBSITE ANSWER: "No such tape exists," the campaign responds. "Michelle Obama has not spoken from the pulpit at Trinity and has not used that word."
[Whitey Tape Means Michelle O. is Going On a Trip-- Under the Bus]
RUMOR: Jeremiah Wright video of Wright damning America.
ANSWER: None, the video exists and the Obamas left Trinity Church after 20 years after Wright's "Goddamn America" threatened to damage the campaign. It's been rumored that this was a politically-expedient move on Obama's part. fightthesmears.com doesn't address this last rumor, either.
RUMOR: Senator Obama was sworn into the US Senate using the Koran.
ANSWER: "Senator Obama has never been a Muslim, was not raised a Muslim, and is a committed Christian." The website also offers a pic of Obama sworn in with a Bible used. This rumor is the equivalent of being asked, "What's your favorite color?"
RUMOR: Barack Obama Won't Say The Pledge of Allegiance/Won't Put His Hand Over His Heart. [Actual wording: "LIE: Barack Obama won't put his hand over this heart during the pledge of allegiance"]
ANSWER: "View video of Barack leading The Pledge of Allegiance in the United States Senate"
This particular Smear-Answer was, no doubt, in response to the video below.
When we (and other bloggers) first ran the video and picture, Obama's response was much different: he called it a "dirty trick". "DBKP Proud to be "Dirty Trickster"
There's other "smears"--such as "Obama's Books Contain Racially Incendiary Remarks"--and other "The Truth" answers; the quotes from Obama's books were--ready?--"Truncated and Out of Context".
"Change" apparently doesn't include changing that tried-and-true answer to a candidates getting nailed--especially when it's on paper, written by Obama himself.
The question remains: Is this a good move?
Again, we say "YES!" It gives the MSM something to chatter about. It also allows Obama to set the terms of the discussion. Write about the evil conservatives who insist that "Obama is a Muslim" and you don't have to write about his plans for socializing health care. Why get into a real discussion, where the facts are not as charismatic as repeating the mantra of "Change!"?
Make no mistake: Fightthesmears.com is just another attempt by Barack Obama to limit the discussion to topics with which he's comfortable.
And that's no rumor.
by Mondoreb
images: Fightthesmears.com
Sources:
* Obama site confronts rumors
* New Barack Obama Website Called Fight the Smears
DBKP.com - Bigger, Better!.
Back to DBKP at Blogger Front Page
30 quotes from the people involved in the Megan Meier MySpace Suicide story and the media.
Megan, the 13-year-old daughter of Ron and Tina Meier, was the victim of harassment by "Josh", a boy she'd met at popular social site, MySpace. Upset at his messages, she hung herself.
"Josh" was later found to be a hoax, the fictional creation of Curt and Lori Drew, neighbors who lived down the street from the Meier's. "Josh" was created to by Lori Drew and her employee to monitor what Megan might be saying about the Drew's daughter after the two girls had a fight.
"Megan Meier is a slut. Megan Meier is fat."
--bulletin posted at MySpace by "Josh"
"Everybody in O'Fallon knows how you are. You are a bad person and everybody hates you. Have a shitty rest of your life. The world would be a better place without you."
--Josh's last message to Megan, according to Ron Meier's best recollection
"They are all being so mean to me."
--Megan Meier, to her mom, on the day of her death
"I grabbed her as she tried to go by," Ron says. "She told me that some kids were saying horrible stuff about her and she didn't understand why."
--Ron Meier right about what happened right before Megan took her life.
"She did sit here in my living room and confess everything to me. She told me that they had pulled an image of a boy off the Internet and that they had created an account using the name of Josh Evans, and she said she knew the last message that left her house that Monday when Megan attempted her life was that, 'The world would be a better place without you".
--an unnamed neighbor about how she learned Lori Drew was behind the hoax
"That is what makes it even more disgusting, that she knew the circumstances around our daughter and still played on it,"
--Ron Meier, Megan's father
“These people were supposed to be our friends.”
--Tina Meier, about their neighbors, the Drews
"Give it a rest. Give it a rest."
--Curt and Lori Drew, reportedly to the Meiers, when confronted by the Meier parents
"You cannot as an adult sit there and do that and hide behind a computer. It is a criminal act. We want to see her go to jail,"
---Tina Meier, Megan's mother, about Lori Drew
"It's time that we do something against this. On all levels, the state
and federal level,"
--Dardenne Prairie Mayor Pam Fogarty, on the need for stricter laws for Internet harassment
"Coincidentally, two months after Megan's suicide, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reported that antidepressants double the risk of suicidal behavior in young adults. (Psychiatrists have disputed the FDA report.)"
--Jeff , from a post at "Megan's Vigilantes"
"We were concerned about the daughter [of the Drews] and to what extent she was involved and dragged along with this."
--Dave Bundy, editorial director of Lee Enterprises, the newspaper group that includes several papers who broke the Megan Meier story; on why his papers decided not to name the Drews.
"She [Lori Drew] is not being accused in a court of law, she is not being sued and our take is that we don’t run suspects unless charges are filed."
--Steve Pokin, reporter who wrote the original Megan Meier story.
"I posted that — where Curt works. I'm not ashamed to admit that. Why? Because there's never been any sense of remorse or public apology from the Drews, no 'maybe we made a mistake.' "
--Trevor Buckles, 40, a neighbor whose two teenage boys grew up with
Meier.
"We're all in shock. If I have anything to say about it, we'll never have our hands tied legally like this again."
--Mayor Fogerty
"There are enough details for people to find out who it is on their own. They are free to do so. It was a judgment call. I think there were a lot of other issues at stake."
--Pokin, on his critics for his not revealing the Drew's name in his stories.
"We believe that all the publicity about this situation has led to an air of vigilantism. We're concerned people will take things into their own hands."
--Lt. Craig McGuire of the St. Charles County Sheriff's Department
“Give me a break; that’s nothing. But it’s the most we could do. People are saying to me, ‘Let’s go burn down their house.’”
--Mayor Pam Fogarty said of the penalties imposed by the town of Dardenne Prairie, MO on cyber harassment. It's now punishable by up to a $500 fine and 90 days in jail.
"Ms. Drew used the same same exact mode of operation as a child predator enacts in the seduction of a child. Drew posed as a member of the opposite sex and spent weeks and weeks luring this girl into a relationship. But yet it went further. The adult Drew formed a heated relationship with the 13 year old girl. She worked hard to gain the girl's confidence. She exploited the girl intimately by posing as a boyfriend. Do you really thing there was no intimate grooming going on?"
--online comment by DanCnKC
"Oh and I don't think Lori Drew is so evil as everyone says. Megan was a total bitch to everyone around her especially Laura so if I was her mom I would be mad at Megan too and I would check up on her to see what shit she was spreading about my daughter."
--"Kristen", author of "Megan Had it Coming" blog.
"Lori Drew is a psychopath. That part is clear. But more disturbing than that are the actions of authorities: If it had been an adult MALE that "carried on" in a sexually explicit way with a 13 year old girl, even if it WERE for the purposes of revenge for his teen daughter, he'd be locked up as a pedophile."
--online comment by Danny Vice
"Every story has two sides and if you don't think so - then I hope you are never tried and convicted in your own court."
--JennaD, from a comment posted on "Megan Had it Coming" blog
"All we feel is frustration, anger. For months, we've been asking ourselves, 'What mother in her right mind would do this? And why won't the cops do anything to punish them? We just want them gone."
--neighbor Kristie Kriss, of the Drews
"The woman emotionally raped this child. She took her supposed love and sexual stimulation and crushed the girl emotionally with them. This girl was mentally raped [by] a mother and her employee. This adult and her friends played this girl into an emotional high... and then pulled the plug when it would inflict the highest possible damage. It took 4 months of planning."
--online comment by DanCnKC
"So nobody in the news talks about what Megan the bitch was like so now you know. Oh and don't bother trying to figure out who I am. Unlike Megan, I DO have a boyfriend and he knows computers and he totally covered my tracks."
--"Kristen", author of "Megan Had it Coming" blog
"Lori Drew groomed her victim like many child predators do, enticing her with flirtation, mild sexual conversation and playing on Megan's weakness. Lori knew that Megan had a low self esteem and was treated for depression.
Outing Child Predators has been public policy in most states and is usually upheld under the premise that the public has a right to reasonably protect itself from criminal behavior where it exists. Families with children have a right to know when those who might prey upon their child, live nearby. Public policy dictates that if a child is exposed to potential harm from predatory activity, then parents should at least have the opportunity to be aware such harm may exist."
--online comment by Danny Vice
"It's not to say if only Megan (spoke out/did this/did that/reached out), it's to say there has to be more positive and supportive role models out there for our youth.
The parents can only do so much. My solution: it's time to stop the "code of silence." It's time to not be afraid to speak up when something is wrong."
--online comment by Jo
"Megan's story really won't matter; some writers will bend it to fit their preconceived point of view. It'll not be about Megan to them: it'll be about using her as a tool to advance their cause. Laws for regulating the Internet; for stricter controls on what can be said online; to raise money; that any negative reactions are 'vigilantism'; for more money for suicide prevention: take your pick.
They'll all invoke the name and story of Megan Meier. To most of those, she'll cease to be a 13-year-old schoolgirl: she'll be a slogan."
--RE Bierce, commenting the first week of the story on future likely reactions.
“There are no words to explain my rage.”
--Tina Meier
by Mondoreb
Sources:
Parents Want Jail Time for MySpace Hoax Mom - ABC News
New York Times - A Hoax Turned Fatal Draws Anger but No Charges
Missouri Weeklies That Broke 'MySpace Suicide ' Story Still Won't Name Alleged 'Cyberbully'
-Editor & Publisher
Megan's Vigilantes blog
Megan Had it Comingblog
"Frontier Justice in an online World?"- Seattle Times
"Megan Meier MySpace Suicide: Reactions to the Reactions" - Death by 1000 Papercuts blog
Weekly Vice blog
"MySpace Cruel Hoax Leads to Teen's Suicide" - Death by 1000 Papercutsblog
DBKP.com - Bigger, Better!.
Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.
