Thursday, August 8, 2013
"Out Front" of what?
1- Why did it take 24 hours from the start of the terrorist attack in
Benghazi to get US military on the ground and who was
responsible for the delay? A commercial airline could get there in
nine hours.
2- Why did it take the FBI three weeks to get to the site of the
terrorist attack, the US compound, when it took a CNN reporter
only three days?
3- Why, after almost a year, were none of the 20 Benghazi
compound personnel who were victims of the attack questioned?
4- Why has the mainstream media avoided doing investigative
reporting to tell the truth about Benghazi to the American people?
5- Why does the mainstream media refuse to call the
Administration's delaying tactics (two months prior to the
presidential election) related to Benghazi a cover-up?
6- Why hasn't the media focused on the Administration's
stonewalling the Congressional investigation?
7- Why does the mainstream media consistently provide cover for
Obama and his Administration? Does the media benefit by
keeping the public ignorant?
CNN promos led us to believe that, after a year of the mainstream media burying the lead, we were finally going to get the answers to our burning questions.
"Out Front's" Erin Burnett teased many of us into believing that she would do an honest expose of "Benghazi, What Really Happened?" and answer the unanswered (avoided?) questions.
Unfortunately all Burnett did was continue to tease us and left us frustrated. She answered non of the questions and at the end of the broadcast we still do not know "...What Really Happened?" She concluded in one sentence, in the fifty-ninth minute of the hour long broadcast, that Politics trumped Patriotism. Big whoop. Zippy the Monkey knew that. When was the last time Patriotism came first in the narcissistic political mind?
Burnett's "report" first focussed on the time line of the attack, then the FBI and military non response, the "possibility" of the Administration covering up the truth of what happened prior to, during, and after the murders in the Benghazi compound, and then she drifted off onto the pursuit of those responsible for the attack and the investigation to get justice going nowhere after a year's time. She then did the obligatory brief "who were the four men killed" that night.
Has it ever dawned on news reporters, certainly not Burnett, that we are upset that our federal government has failed us? That we might be most interested in who in the US Government were those responsible for this failure being allowed to occur? And why has nothing been concluded after almost one year's time? And to bring in Zippy again, even he knew it was a cover-up. Why in a year's time can't the Congress get this done and name names? Americans are suspicious of the 536 people who "run" the Federal Government; all Burnett's "Benghazi, What Really Happened?" accomplished was to raise CNN's paltry ratings. It did nothing to lower our suspicion of our politicians and very little to answer the unanswered questions about Benghazi that frustrate Americans.
Albiwan..
Saturday, July 13, 2013
TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE...
A quick thought...
It is no coincidence that as Obama’s popularity wanes so do the ratings on MSNBC. (It’s particularly heartening to see Maddow fall; although remarkably bright, she is a conflicted, angry, and sometimes mean person.) I saw a clip yesterday of a Hollywood director who quit the Church of Scientology*. When asked why he quit the Church after so many years he answered, “...because I realized how stupid I had been accepting the teachings of the religion and I was embarrassed.” I think the same thing is happening to many Obama voters, albeit too little, too late to repair the damage caused by his radical, reckless policies and extremely poor, often times naïve, judgment.
Albiwan..
*footnote: I have no opinions about the Church of Scientology;
the reference above was simply an anecdotal tool.
It is no coincidence that as Obama’s popularity wanes so do the ratings on MSNBC. (It’s particularly heartening to see Maddow fall; although remarkably bright, she is a conflicted, angry, and sometimes mean person.) I saw a clip yesterday of a Hollywood director who quit the Church of Scientology*. When asked why he quit the Church after so many years he answered, “...because I realized how stupid I had been accepting the teachings of the religion and I was embarrassed.” I think the same thing is happening to many Obama voters, albeit too little, too late to repair the damage caused by his radical, reckless policies and extremely poor, often times naïve, judgment.
Albiwan..
*footnote: I have no opinions about the Church of Scientology;
the reference above was simply an anecdotal tool.
Thursday, July 11, 2013
IS IT EVER THE DEMOCRATS?
Here we go again...
I haven't written in months. Frankly, Obama's re-election slowed my motivation and, as usual, I have been bored and frustrated with the lack of journalistic integrity in the media that faithfully covers for the Administration's failures. Actually, that is understating how I really feel. The unabridged version is that I think the liberal media totally sucks for refusing to report the news, choosing instead to create the narrative, which is at the least, dishonest. The avoidance of the Benghazi attack on 9/11/12 was a new low from which I am still recovering emotionally.
So, what was so irresistible to move me after seven months to sit down and write? Thank you New York Times. Today's Times led with Republicans In House Resist Overhaul for Immigration...those bad Republicans. The NYT could have led with 'Democrats in Senate Refuse to Enforce Existing Immigration Law' or ' Democrats in Senate Obstruct Immigration Reform by Passing a Bill WIth No Chance to Pass In the House,' but those headlines would have required objective reporting, which would cause the Times reporters (an oxymoron) and editorial staff to break out in hives...and we wouldn't want that, would we?
Previously (July 2, 2011) I wrote about Gray Lady Down, the book that chronicled the fall of the NYT, the once unquestioned standard for news journalism. It seems that with each passing day and with each new headline the Gray Lady's slip continues to fall yet embarrassingly lower.
Albiwan..
I haven't written in months. Frankly, Obama's re-election slowed my motivation and, as usual, I have been bored and frustrated with the lack of journalistic integrity in the media that faithfully covers for the Administration's failures. Actually, that is understating how I really feel. The unabridged version is that I think the liberal media totally sucks for refusing to report the news, choosing instead to create the narrative, which is at the least, dishonest. The avoidance of the Benghazi attack on 9/11/12 was a new low from which I am still recovering emotionally.
So, what was so irresistible to move me after seven months to sit down and write? Thank you New York Times. Today's Times led with Republicans In House Resist Overhaul for Immigration...those bad Republicans. The NYT could have led with 'Democrats in Senate Refuse to Enforce Existing Immigration Law' or ' Democrats in Senate Obstruct Immigration Reform by Passing a Bill WIth No Chance to Pass In the House,' but those headlines would have required objective reporting, which would cause the Times reporters (an oxymoron) and editorial staff to break out in hives...and we wouldn't want that, would we?
Previously (July 2, 2011) I wrote about Gray Lady Down, the book that chronicled the fall of the NYT, the once unquestioned standard for news journalism. It seems that with each passing day and with each new headline the Gray Lady's slip continues to fall yet embarrassingly lower.
Albiwan..
Friday, December 21, 2012
History Repeating Itself- Almost.
If Nixon’s implication in Watergate was discovered prior to the 1972 election do you think he’d have been reelected? His resignation in disgrace
answers that question.
When Benghazi happened on 9/11 Obama was behind in the polls and trending poorly. Had the media done their job and exposed Obama’s lie or at least focused on the possibility of a lie during the two month period prior to the election, do you think Obama still would have won the election? Not a chance. And if the Media and the Congress were to make an honest, aggressive effort to expose what we already know, Obama, like Nixon, would be forced to resign. Nixon resigned in August 9, 1974, over a year and a half after the election, because Woodward and Bernstein would not give up exposing Nixon's lie. Although the GOP did everything it could to stonewall the liberal media, the media pressure was irresistible and the rest is history.
It's important to make the distinction that Nixon did not resign because of his policies, he resigned because he was caught lying to America to protect his chances of being reelected. Obama’s policies, as wrong headed as they appear to be to many, are not a reason to get rid of him, but his lie to America is unforgivable and is more than enough reason for his resignation. Of course without the liberal media aggressively doing their job and pressuring Congress as they did with Watergate, and in the absence of the media pressuring for questions to be asked and answered regarding what and when Obama knew, the stonewalling in Congress, the Admin, and the State Dept will continue until Obama’s term is over. It’s a national disgrace in the true sense of the word. Hard to believe it can happen in America.
And many still can’t admit he lied. My goodness.
Albiwan..
answers that question.
When Benghazi happened on 9/11 Obama was behind in the polls and trending poorly. Had the media done their job and exposed Obama’s lie or at least focused on the possibility of a lie during the two month period prior to the election, do you think Obama still would have won the election? Not a chance. And if the Media and the Congress were to make an honest, aggressive effort to expose what we already know, Obama, like Nixon, would be forced to resign. Nixon resigned in August 9, 1974, over a year and a half after the election, because Woodward and Bernstein would not give up exposing Nixon's lie. Although the GOP did everything it could to stonewall the liberal media, the media pressure was irresistible and the rest is history.
It's important to make the distinction that Nixon did not resign because of his policies, he resigned because he was caught lying to America to protect his chances of being reelected. Obama’s policies, as wrong headed as they appear to be to many, are not a reason to get rid of him, but his lie to America is unforgivable and is more than enough reason for his resignation. Of course without the liberal media aggressively doing their job and pressuring Congress as they did with Watergate, and in the absence of the media pressuring for questions to be asked and answered regarding what and when Obama knew, the stonewalling in Congress, the Admin, and the State Dept will continue until Obama’s term is over. It’s a national disgrace in the true sense of the word. Hard to believe it can happen in America.
And many still can’t admit he lied. My goodness.
Albiwan..
Post Tragedy Political Dance
While the federal politicians do their usual post tragedy political dances concerning gun control, the fact is we will never prevent the bad guys from getting any weapon they want. But don’t you find it interesting that armed security guards protect our banks, shopping malls, office buildings, sports arenas, airports, and government buildings but not the schools where the most vulnerable, our children, spend their days? There is nothing on Earth more valuable than the safety of our children yet we choose not to protect them. Why?
Albiwan..
Albiwan..
Thursday, August 23, 2012
MAUREEN DOWD- ALONE AND BORED IN LEFT FIELD
I have always loved Maureen Dowd’s caustic, clever, sniping writing style, and had always wanted to date her :-). If I dated her we would be like James Carville and Mary Matalin. But Maureen is so far to the left she stands no chance of ever relating to someone outside of her minuscule world-view, unlike Carville who has moments of clarity and honesty. To call her extreme is an understatement. She is the left’s answer to the right’s Ann Coulter, who should have been committed long ago.
But enough of the niceties, Maureen's NYT column of Aug 22, 2012, about the Missouri Moron, was a subject that Maureen could have dispatched in three or four sentences. Instead she chose to gush her usual GOP bash-speak, 'as everyone knows', they are “anti-woman, anti-immigrant, anti-gay...” which is nearly as stupid sounding as the Missouri moron’s statement about which she wrote. Maureen would have us believe that there are no women, immigrants, or gays in the GOP and none of them have mothers, sisters or wives. OY! And then she beat the Missouri Moron and the topic to death to the point of seemingly her and our boredom, all the while attempting, and failing, to draw a connection between the Missouri Moron and Paul Ryan, a conservative that she abhors, which is a redundancy. To her Paul Ryan is nothing more than “a fresh face on a Taliban creed,” oh, really? And the NYT expects anyone with an IQ over 75 to take Maureen seriously? As I wrote recently, to me scary are the voters who read Maureen’s stuff and growl “YEAH, YOU GO GIRL!”
But expressing her virulent hate for conservatism is what Maureen does and has always done. I’m used to it and expect it from her, much as I expect a consistent flow of senseless economic analysis from Paul Krugman. It’s what the NYT pays them to do, in this case, run interference for the President by changing the subject from the seriousness of a failing economy, a nearly bankrupt health care system, a failed foreign policy, etc, to chasing an insignificant Missouri Moron who is running for the Senate (a less than august body based on its ‘performance’ these past eight years).
Maureen, in the midst of her diatribe, tried to insert a shameless plug for Obama’s wise words (an oxymoron), his “refreshing assertion” that “a bunch of male politicians shouldn’t be making health care decisions for women.” Nope, the Prez thinks a better idea would be a panel of 15 bureaucrats without a medical degree among them determining the limits of health care an entire nation of 310million should receive. Yeah, that’s a much better idea. It's no wonder he’s President.
Dowd is not “a” beacon for liberals/progressives, she is “the” beacon. No one is to the left of her, and much like Coulter in right field, Maureen stands alone in left field. But if I hadn’t met Connie, I’d still want to date Maureen. :-)
Albiwan..
Monday, June 11, 2012
RICK REILLY, EAT CROW…(IT TASTES LIKE CHICKEN)…
On July 30, 2011 I wrote a post that pretty much scalded Sports Illustrated columnist Rick Reilly for his July 21st 2011 article tearing Tiger Woods limb from limb because of his personal failings.
I referred to Reilly as a "shitty critic" and that bottom feeders like Reilly could never be able to understand the genius of someone such as Woods. So, it seems that less than a year later my evaluation of Reilly was spot on and my faith in Woods was not misplaced. Or perhaps I should say that my wish for Woods returning to golf prominence is on the verge of reality.
FYI, if you wish to read some of Reilly's bilge, excerpts follow below. I took the liberty of commenting on some of his statements (in red ink):
So, Tiger Woods, if and when you return to golf, you need to adjust to a new normal.
New Normal #1: You're a JAG right now -- Just Another Guy. (Who happens to be one of two players that have won twice this year...)
You're not golf's young stud anymore. Not young. Not a stud. Dustin Johnson takes you four out of five in a cage match now.
It's been three years since you've won a major. Almost two since you've won ... anything. (Tiger won his 73rd tourney two weeks ago at age 36. Jack Nicklaus won his 73rd and last tourney at age 46.) You're 35 years old with a knee that's had four surgeries, an Achilles that's a-killing you, and a golf ball that won't listen. (it's listening now, big mouth...ranked #1 in fairways and #7 greens in regulaion at the Memorial.)
You need to realize that when you come back, you'll no longer scare anybody. (Oh really?, might want to run that one past Rory Sabbatini and Rickey Fowler.) Unlike the old days, you can only win with your clubs now, not your scowl and not your jet and not your caddie, whoever that's going to be. (Joe La Cava is happily on the bag and making more $ this year than Steve Williams.)
Tell me, what do tour players Chris Couch, Marc Leishman and Chris Stroud have in common with you this year? They've all won about the same money and the exact same number of tournaments as you have. Which would be zero. (that's like asking a Peyton Manning how many touchdown passes he'd thrown while on the disabled list, which is ridiculous.)
Anybody scared of those guys?
You're sliding down the world rankings like they're greased. You're 20th now. You're as upside down as NewsCorp stock. (Hey Rick, Tiger's now #4 and rising and with ever step he moves up discredits you further.)PS-NewsCorp stock is trading around $19.50-$20.00/shr., hardly upside down.
So ...
New Normal #2: Get a win wherever you can.
Gone are the days when you're bigger than the Greenbriar or the John Deere or the Honda Classic. When you get back out there, you're going to need off the schneid, bad. If it comes at the Texas Open, take it. Because the truth is, Tiger, you're not above the Texas Open anymore. Pride went out the window two Thanksgivings ago.
New Normal #3: Try a little tenderness.
Take some time with people. Phil Mickelson signs for 20 minutes after every round, Tuesday or Sunday, first place or 100th. On a good month, you do 20 minutes. Try it once. You might like it. (I hope you don't do this to your children, comparing them to those with whom you have a man-crush...very undignified, small.)
Your every moment on a golf course doesn't have to be Elvis being rushed out of the Hilton. Take some time with people. Say hello. Stand on 18 once and watch a guy finish, then shake his hand. It's not going to kill you. Your dad used to do it all the time. (in boxing, this would get one disqualified for a low blow...referencing his dead father is reprehensible.)
New Normal #4: Enough with the emperor act.
Climb down from this ivory tower you live in. Introduce a little transparency into your life. Give an interview once in a while that isn't being timed by your agent standing in the corner. Tweet more than once a month.
Hire a good-guy caddie, like former Scott/Greg Norman bagman Tony Navarro. He's available. Navarro is 51 years old and has seen everything twice. He's not going to let you act like a jackass. You need him. (and you, Rick, need a good psychotherapist.)
New Normal #5: Spread it around a little.
Look, everybody knows you're the cheapest guy on tour. Some people are sure your wallet is sewn shut. I know a car valet in L.A. that you've stiffed so many times, he feels like he's full of embalming fluid. The last time he saw you, he stood in front of the car door, making small talk until you made with a fiver.
Don't be like that. Drop some coin. You'll be surprised how it improves your disposition. Karma does exist, you know.
And one old normal: Go back to the 2000 swing. (Reilly, you arrogant ass. You were telling arguably the greatest player to ever swing a club how to improve his game...and I thought Obama was a narcissistic arrogant ass.)
Enough screwing around. Get the film out and go back to how you swung the golf club when you were the single greatest player in history. Remember when you had all four major trophies on your coffee table at once? You did it with the 2000 swing. It works.
The truth is, Tiger, you're not golf's pope anymore. (appears that he still is. Even Brandel Chamblee, never a fan of Woods, said after Woods win at The Memorial, "Tiger Woods is everything to golf!" You're not divinely entitled to greatness. Wrong again, Rick, Wood's talent is a gift from the gods." Your talent used to forgive your lack of grace. Not anymore.
All you are right now is a guy with injury problems, swing problems and monstrous public-relations problems. You've lost your wife, your swing, your coach, your caddie, your health and your good name, all in 18 months. You may have roughly $500 million, but you're running very low on everything else right about now. (you negative, unhappy loser, you'd trade with Woods in a minute.")
There's a way to get it all back -- humility. (I'd suggest you take a dose of your own prescription."
As a wise man named Gerry McIlroy once said, it doesn't cost anything extra to be nice (Reilly, coming from you, this statement is laughable. Nice?? This diatribe you have written could be the most mean-spirited I have ever read. What you have written is an embarrassment to the good name of Sports Illustrated...you owe your employer, its readers, and Tiger Woods an apology. You should plead temporary insanity, considering what you have written, I think you have a case.
I referred to Reilly as a "shitty critic" and that bottom feeders like Reilly could never be able to understand the genius of someone such as Woods. So, it seems that less than a year later my evaluation of Reilly was spot on and my faith in Woods was not misplaced. Or perhaps I should say that my wish for Woods returning to golf prominence is on the verge of reality.
FYI, if you wish to read some of Reilly's bilge, excerpts follow below. I took the liberty of commenting on some of his statements (in red ink):
So, Tiger Woods, if and when you return to golf, you need to adjust to a new normal.
New Normal #1: You're a JAG right now -- Just Another Guy. (Who happens to be one of two players that have won twice this year...)
You're not golf's young stud anymore. Not young. Not a stud. Dustin Johnson takes you four out of five in a cage match now.
It's been three years since you've won a major. Almost two since you've won ... anything. (Tiger won his 73rd tourney two weeks ago at age 36. Jack Nicklaus won his 73rd and last tourney at age 46.) You're 35 years old with a knee that's had four surgeries, an Achilles that's a-killing you, and a golf ball that won't listen. (it's listening now, big mouth...ranked #1 in fairways and #7 greens in regulaion at the Memorial.)
You need to realize that when you come back, you'll no longer scare anybody. (Oh really?, might want to run that one past Rory Sabbatini and Rickey Fowler.) Unlike the old days, you can only win with your clubs now, not your scowl and not your jet and not your caddie, whoever that's going to be. (Joe La Cava is happily on the bag and making more $ this year than Steve Williams.)
Tell me, what do tour players Chris Couch, Marc Leishman and Chris Stroud have in common with you this year? They've all won about the same money and the exact same number of tournaments as you have. Which would be zero. (that's like asking a Peyton Manning how many touchdown passes he'd thrown while on the disabled list, which is ridiculous.)
Anybody scared of those guys?
You're sliding down the world rankings like they're greased. You're 20th now. You're as upside down as NewsCorp stock. (Hey Rick, Tiger's now #4 and rising and with ever step he moves up discredits you further.)PS-NewsCorp stock is trading around $19.50-$20.00/shr., hardly upside down.
So ...
New Normal #2: Get a win wherever you can.
Gone are the days when you're bigger than the Greenbriar or the John Deere or the Honda Classic. When you get back out there, you're going to need off the schneid, bad. If it comes at the Texas Open, take it. Because the truth is, Tiger, you're not above the Texas Open anymore. Pride went out the window two Thanksgivings ago.
New Normal #3: Try a little tenderness.
Take some time with people. Phil Mickelson signs for 20 minutes after every round, Tuesday or Sunday, first place or 100th. On a good month, you do 20 minutes. Try it once. You might like it. (I hope you don't do this to your children, comparing them to those with whom you have a man-crush...very undignified, small.)
Your every moment on a golf course doesn't have to be Elvis being rushed out of the Hilton. Take some time with people. Say hello. Stand on 18 once and watch a guy finish, then shake his hand. It's not going to kill you. Your dad used to do it all the time. (in boxing, this would get one disqualified for a low blow...referencing his dead father is reprehensible.)
New Normal #4: Enough with the emperor act.
Climb down from this ivory tower you live in. Introduce a little transparency into your life. Give an interview once in a while that isn't being timed by your agent standing in the corner. Tweet more than once a month.
Hire a good-guy caddie, like former Scott/Greg Norman bagman Tony Navarro. He's available. Navarro is 51 years old and has seen everything twice. He's not going to let you act like a jackass. You need him. (and you, Rick, need a good psychotherapist.)
New Normal #5: Spread it around a little.
Look, everybody knows you're the cheapest guy on tour. Some people are sure your wallet is sewn shut. I know a car valet in L.A. that you've stiffed so many times, he feels like he's full of embalming fluid. The last time he saw you, he stood in front of the car door, making small talk until you made with a fiver.
Don't be like that. Drop some coin. You'll be surprised how it improves your disposition. Karma does exist, you know.
And one old normal: Go back to the 2000 swing. (Reilly, you arrogant ass. You were telling arguably the greatest player to ever swing a club how to improve his game...and I thought Obama was a narcissistic arrogant ass.)
Enough screwing around. Get the film out and go back to how you swung the golf club when you were the single greatest player in history. Remember when you had all four major trophies on your coffee table at once? You did it with the 2000 swing. It works.
The truth is, Tiger, you're not golf's pope anymore. (appears that he still is. Even Brandel Chamblee, never a fan of Woods, said after Woods win at The Memorial, "Tiger Woods is everything to golf!" You're not divinely entitled to greatness. Wrong again, Rick, Wood's talent is a gift from the gods." Your talent used to forgive your lack of grace. Not anymore.
All you are right now is a guy with injury problems, swing problems and monstrous public-relations problems. You've lost your wife, your swing, your coach, your caddie, your health and your good name, all in 18 months. You may have roughly $500 million, but you're running very low on everything else right about now. (you negative, unhappy loser, you'd trade with Woods in a minute.")
There's a way to get it all back -- humility. (I'd suggest you take a dose of your own prescription."
As a wise man named Gerry McIlroy once said, it doesn't cost anything extra to be nice (Reilly, coming from you, this statement is laughable. Nice?? This diatribe you have written could be the most mean-spirited I have ever read. What you have written is an embarrassment to the good name of Sports Illustrated...you owe your employer, its readers, and Tiger Woods an apology. You should plead temporary insanity, considering what you have written, I think you have a case.
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