musing minds

On Friday we received copies of Brian Anderson’s South Park Conservatives: The Revolt against Liberal Media Bias. Review to follow (when I get a little time away from !!algebra!!, which is my current college course with Algebra 2 to follow – lots of work – not enough time!).

On another (similar) note, Brian Anderson was on Bill O’Reilly tonight and I have TiVo’d it and I will have a transcript sometime tomorrow (I have a little time for a transcript, not enough to read and write a review just yet).

Lorie Byrd at PoliPundit links to Right Wing News’ favorite blogs list. Lorie provides her list as well, which includes…..ahem…….Musing Minds (update: in the “expanded list” on Poli) thanks Lorie, and thanks to those in the comments section that included us, it’s really flattering. Go check it out, there may be one or two there that you haven’t visited before.

When I have a bit more time I’ll provide a list of my own (took the day off to spend with the family, we all went to see my wife’s/baby’s ultrasound- amazing experience which I’ll post about later…..off to spend the next four hours building the LEGO Star Wars Episode III Final Battle Scene).

I sure am glad that Lorie Byrd and I share many of the same political views. For a “girly girl” she can dish out quite the nasty smack down. As for Kerry proponents taking the “you weren’t there man” approach, OK, I’ll play that game.

I wasn’t there, but there sure are a lot of vets that were there who don’t think too highly of Kerry. Instead of deferring to Kerry’s experience, try putting yourself in their shoes. Imagine losing a leg, or an arm or suffering some other horrible injury. You come home and go about your life without fanfare because serving was your duty, and because you realize that no matter how much you suffered, someone else suffered more, or never came home at all. Then you turn on your T.V. and see some politician touting his own service as if he alone fought the enemy, flouting his relatively minor injuries as if his were somehow more worthy or deserving of attention.

Yeah, I’ll defer to those who served.

At what point does biased reporting start to look like cheap propaganda? The Washington Post is delving into the “real” reasons behind the democratic movement in the middle east. Looks can be deceiving you know. Sure the most powerful nation mankind has ever known overthrew a brutal dictatorship and set up a democracy in the region. Sure the leader of this great country has thrown down the gauntlet and demanded freedom for the rest of the region and announced that it will stand with those that want freedom. Sure it looks like these actions may have caused the democratic movement to spread. But the Post has the real story. Here’s just a snippet:

But even in Lebanon, where much of the population generally looks to the West, the U.S. agenda in the region is troubling. Kassir, for example, said he believes “democracy is spreading in the region not because of George Bush but despite him.” He cites the Palestinian uprising as a greater inspiration than the U.S. project in Iraq, saying that “the Palestinians showed us the importance of taking matters into our own hands.”

Ah, the secret agenda. Looks can be deceiving comrade.
(Hat tip Powerline)

Recall the media-generated firestorm about the GOP utilizing Schiavo for crass political gain. It was discussed on every talk show, shown on every newscast, printed in all the major papers. Recall that it arose over a memo written by one aide (who later resigned in disgrace), yet the story line was “GOP Talking Points” impliedly created and discussed at the highest Republican levels.

As Ankle Biting Pundits reports, we now actually have the highest authority in a party, talking precisely about utilizing Schiavo for political gain. There are two big differences to the original story, but they’re related, oh are they related:

1) It is the head of the Democrats, Howard Dean, who has come out and said he’s going to use Terri Schiavo and,

2) There is virtual media silence about it.

The story is the same as the original, except the proof is stronger, and it’s directly attributable to the top of the party. But it’s the wrong party, so the story isn’t covered. You see folks, the story isn’t the exploitation of Terri Schiavo, the story is Republican exploitation of Terri Schiavo. Any other exploitation just isn’t newsworthy.

Last week I predicted that the GOP has enough votes to end the filibuster. (BTW can we just call it “ending the filibuster” rather than the “Nuclear Option”- how we ever bought into such a politically loaded and misleading term I’ll never know.) Actually, it wasn’t as much a prediction as it was interpreting cues from Senator Schumer (D).

Robert Novak writes today that the GOP has 52 votes in the bag. It may be getting close to go-time. Aside from all of the political ramifications that will result, I’m going to enjoy watching the collective head explosion of the moonbat left as they watch the GOP exercise the full power of their democratically elected majority position. (Hey for a minute there I kinda sounded like the Emperor describing to Luke the power of the “fully operational battle station” in Return of the Jedi. When in Rome…….cue the imperial theme music.)

Poor Mary Mapes, she’s such a victim. Like a spoiled young child who can’t grasp her first taste of accountability at kindergarten, it just must be that nasty teacher’s fault. All she did was stick Billy in the neck with a pencil and she got sent to the principal’s office – that nasty, nasty teacher.

Sheltered, coddled, oblivious to personal responsibility all she knows is the pain that she feels at the hands of those holding her responsible. The effect her actions may have had on others probably doesn’t even enter her mind.

Related: The Anchoress has updated her original excerpt post. (Referenced at Jawa Report linked to above).

Blogs for Bush is hosting a Design A Stamp contest to counter the Columbia College in Chicago’s “art” exhibit of a “sheet of stamps” of President Bush with a gun to his head.

Here is my submission. Go to Blogs for Bush and see the other submissions and send in your own!

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah (cue image of Al from Happy Days – it’s retro sitcom week here at Musing Minds). How many times have we seen this before? The MSM implies a story line. Facts, which can only surface with the passage of time, show the opposite of what was originally reported. The media plasters the original story line all over the map, and is completely silent when the truth comes out. Oh, they’d report the follow up facts if it confirmed their preconcieved story line. Otherwise…..nah.

John Kerry is again “reporting for duty”. The mission: make the U.S. military look victimized. Not really a new mission actually, but a continuation of one he began in the early ’70’s. He’s sending out a mass e-mail to military families asking for stories of dissatisfaction.

At at time when the U.S. military has achieved stunning success, unparalleled in modern history, John Kerry is scratching away at anything negative he can find.
Read all about it from Lorie at PoliPundit.

Welcome Polipundit readers!

Update: Will Collier over at Vodkapundit has a good response to Mr. Kerry. Read the comments too.