The proverbial elephant in the room in Megan Feldman's ironically-entitled political piece in 5280 Magazine, The Elephants in the Room, was the obvious Progressive bubble bias that, among other things, created a Bizarro Arizona Immigration Law out of the thin freaking air.
Following is a letter to the editor I wrote to 5280 Magazine, Denver’s hip, urban and edgy city magazine geared toward Denver’s upwardly mobile Hipster Dufus crowd. As a little background to my letter, Megan Feldman wrote an article in the November issue of 5280 about the implosion of Scott McInnis’ campaign for governor of Colorado this past election cycle.
Being curious and hoping to glean some interesting and perhaps scintillating information about how and why the campaign went so horribly awry, I was sorely disappointed. It merely regurgitated what I already knew and what had been covered by local media and here at the Daily Plunge.
What did interest me were the little throw-away lines and descriptions sprinkled throughout the text that revealed a certain bias. Bias is obvious and expected in opinion pieces, but this one wasn’t floated to the readership as an opinion piece, but as a hard news expose.
When presented as news, bias is a bit more subtle, but you can pick it up if you have a keen eye. For instance, when a conservative was referenced in Feldman’s article, he was saddled with the additional adjectival baggage of “polarizing right-wing Republican,” but the liberal in the race was simply the “Democratic candidate.” But that’s not all, as you’ll see in my admittedly sarcastic letter to the editor:
I have a difficult time believing anything Megan Feldman wrote in The Elephants in the Room when she trots out the usual Progressive Urban Legends, such as, “…he became one of the first major GOP politicians to praise the Arizona law that requires law enforcement officers to stop people they suspect may be in the country illegally.” Seriously?
I’m not sure if Feldman or the editors of 5280 are familiar with a handy tool called Google. Had they simply Googled the Arizona law, they would have found that the law says no such thing. But I suppose fact-checking is no longer necessary, as long as you simply repeat what you hear in the Progressive bubbles in which you circulate.
If you’re willing to throw out whoppers like that, with nary an editor questioning the veracity of the claim despite the presence of Google and the ability to access it practically anywhere, any time, it makes me wonder about the believability of the magazine as a whole.
How many of the assertions made in 5280’s articles are based on Progressive tribal knowledge? I get the sense through reading the magazine that most of its writers and editors are of the tolerant and open-minded Hipster Dufus set who were taught in college that it’s tolerant and open-minded to close your mind to all things that are not deemed as tolerant and open-minded.
Megan Feldman’s article merely makes my point.
So there! Interestingly, and to my pleasant surprise, the editor wrote me back and said that 5280 would run a correction in the next issue. That’s a positive start to what I hope will be a keener eye toward eliminating “what I want to be true,” ala the 60 Minutes Bush National Guard story, with what really is true. I will continue to crusade against fake-but-accurate coverage in my local news media. I hope someday you’ll join me.
Flush, Flush, Fizz, Fizz, and so forth: Club Soda is taking the the Daily Flush mantle and making it his own whilst Henshaw boozes his way across Idaho. The title of this temporary series, in lieu of the Flush, recognizes the fizz in Club Soda and the likeliness that it will be posted inconsistently.
Plagiarism Pays? Apparently it did for Colorado Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott McInnis, to the tune of $300,000. That’s $300,000, as in a 3 with five zeroes behind it. I need to renegotiate my contract with The Daily Plunge! McInnis “wrote” a series of essays about water rights that turned out to be written mostly by Colorado Supreme Court Justice Gregory Hobbs years earlier. McInnis blames it on a research assistant; the research assistant blames McInnis, and so it goes. McInnis claims that when you’re a busy politician stuff falls through the cracks. Be that as it may, my vote in the Republican primary is going to Dan Maes. I’m exhausted by career politicians whose first priority is Me, followed by I.
Handicapping Colorado: Tom Tancredo, former U.S. Congressman best known either fairly or unfairly as a one-issue politician (immigration), is threatening to join the fray as the third candidate to vie in the Republican gubernatorial primary on Aug. 10. It’s probably not going to happen and it will still be the seasoned politician with a peppery past of questionable ethics, McInnis, against Maes, who has little to no name recognition. McInnis will win the primary because people can’t help themselves when they look at a ballot and see a name they’re familiar with. Why bother researching the candidates before you vote? That wouldn’t be the democratic way. The McInnis scandal virtually assures that the Democratic nominee, Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, will be
Colorado’s next governor. Though Hickenlooper is sure to saddle Coloradoans with higher taxes and more intrusive regulations he can’t be all bad. He was one of the founders of the Wynkoop Brewing Company in Denver’s LoDo district. The beer is fantastic, but I always keep a close eye on my wallet when I’m there.
Lohan Watch: Oops! I meant Lauper Watch… You may remember Cyndi Lauper from such one-hit wonders of the 1980s as Girls Just Want to Have Fun and True Colors. Okay, so that makes her a two-hit wonder and, apparently, an expert on foreign and domestic policy. Here’s a sampling of Ms. Lauper elevating the discussion in America. Ignorance and Intolerance Warning: http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jjmnolte/2010/07/23/cyndi-lauper-bush-a-criminal-evangelism-bullsht-nsfw/
Florida billionaire Jeff Greene is running for Senate. The Harvard graduate wants to run as an average man. He claims to be an independent thinker. The only thing he’s accomplished so far is a drinking game. Drink every time Green says “career politician” or “outsider” in the video below:
In order to learn more about Jeff Greene I went to his website. His seven-minute video literally says nothing about what he wants to do. Greene’s facts page is hilarious. On the facts page we learn that Mike Tyson was the best man at his wedding. Yes, that Mike Tyson. In the next paragraph we learn that Greene had a relationship with Heidi Fleiss,
What was your relationship with Heidi Fleiss? Did she really live with you?
After Ms. Fleiss was a victim herself of domestic violence, she came to me and asked if she could stay in an extra guest room in a house I owned. Of course, I allowed her to stay. Subsequently, she rented some commercial space from a company in which I was involved for a retail store. As I have said before, I believe in redemption, I try to help people when they are down, and I haven’t lived my life looking over my shoulder in case I run for office some day.
I guess that clears that one up. So far I think Greene would fit pretty well in Washington. I scoured the site and there’s literally nothing of value to read. Ten minutes ago I didn’t know anything about the candidate other than he has a goofy looking commercial. Thanks to Greene’s website I now know he’s probably unfit to serve as Florida’s official dog catcher. Wait… Greene has a plan for the economy!
Our economy needs a bold, diverse set of policies that stimulate the economy, encourage hiring, facilitate small business growth and development, and strengthen the entrepreneurial spirit that has made this country great and made us a beacon for the world.
What is it you ask? What is the plan of this independent thinker? He wants to spend more money on research and infrastructure. Plus, he wants to extend unemployment benefits even further than two years. These aren’t independent ideas. This is the platform of the Democratic party. The United States is so awesome even someone like Jeff Greene, who has no understanding of economics or even prostitution, can make it in this country. Please stick to real estate, Mr. Greene.
It’s only a few months until November and it’s not likely that any kind of economic rebound is going to save the Democrats in the Fall. The American public’s view of ObamaCare hasn’t gotten better (worse, if anything) and the Democrats do not have anything popular to offer. In fact, the two major pieces of their agenda, climate change and immigration, are political kryptonite. Some political observers are predicting an election tsunami:
That’s the projection of Republican new media maven Patrick Ruffini. Lest you write off his projection that a 70-seat Republican gain (which would leave Republicans with a 248-187 majority, larger than any they have won since 1928) keep in mind that Ruffini was one of the very first to predict that Marco Rubio could become the leader in the Florida Senate race and that Scott Brown had a very real chance to win in Massachusetts. Here I should add the usual caveats about how opinion can change and the balance of enthusiasm could change even faster. But the Democrats’ current tactic of prioritizing legislation to weaken Republicans’ standings (among all voters on financial regulation, among Hispanics on immigration, among young voters on cap-and-trade and the environment) doesn’t really address their current problem, which is that the Democrats’ standing among voters is at a record low and that they’re getting pasted in polls despite the fact that the Republicans’ standing among voters is not particularly high.
The question is what happens if this takes place? The Republicans don’t really have strong voice right now and I’m not sure what their prepared to offer if they’re ushered back into power. I know what the conservative/libertarian ideas are, but what does the GOP have to offer? Supposedly the GOP is small government, but what are they going to do?
Obama would have to meet in the middle to accomplish anything, but what would that mean? If the GOP wants to cash in on the current electoral landscape they need to come up with some populist ideas. Otherwise the White House is going to have a Saul Alinsky field day picking on various leaders in Congress. President Obama isn’t prepared for an ideological debate about fiscal issues.
Tomorrow the state of Massachusetts is set to replace the late Senator Kennedy. The current political climate is so toxic for Democrats there’s a chance that Republican Scott Brown could win. Obviously, the Democrat Martha Coakley has run a terrible campaign, but it shouldn’t matter in a state as liberal as Massachusetts.
Here are a couple of questions from a recent poll that I found shocking.
Q15 Do you think that Congressional Democrats are too liberal, too conservative, or about right?
Too Liberal……………………………………………… 53%
Too Conservative…………………………………….. 14%
About Right …………………………………………….. 33%
Q16 Do you think that Congressional Republicans are too liberal, too conservative, or about right?
Too Liberal……………………………………………… 12%
Too Conservative…………………………………….. 53%
About Right …………………………………………….. 35%
53% of people in Massachusetts think the Congress is too liberal? This is a pretty grim scenario shaping up in November. Call me pessimistic but I just can’t imagine Coakley losing tomorrow. My guess is that there’s an enthusiasm bias in the polls. Democrats aren’t excited and are embarrassed for supporting a horrible candidate simply because there’s a (D) next to the name.
Maybe I’m wrong, but when the leader of the Democrats in the House says, “Let’s remove all doubt, we will have health care — one way or another,” they’ve gone past the point of no return. The Democrats ignored real reform and are hellbent on taking over 1/6 of the economy.
The more I learn about pedestrian utopianist Suzaane Atwell the less I care for her political beliefs. Atwell, who is running for Sarasota City Commissioner has no business running a city. Here’s an answer to a question from the SRQ Journal.
Q: Are the restrictions for development in Sarasota too burdensome? If changes are warranted, what should they be?
A: Neighborhoods, both east and west of the Trail, are lying in the weeds. We need to look more boldly at opportunities for smart development–especially in the downtown core. A city is only as good as its core. There are many cities losing their cores to suburban sprawl and the malls.
Huh? That doesn’t answer the question. Well, it does answer it in politician speak. Here’s a translation of Atwell’s answer.
A: Neighborhoods, both east and west of the Trail, are lying in the weeds but it’s not because of growth restrictions. We need to restrict growth and promote a utopian pedestrian fantasyland in the center of Sarasota. We’re going to follow the lead of the other cities who are losing their core to sprawl. I believe that implementing the same policies as other cities will not have the same result.
Yes that’s the definition of insanity. Pedestrian utopianist never seem to understand. Unfortunately this kind of backward thinking disguised as smooth intelligent policy speak is good enough to win. I can’t leave out Pete Theisen. The retired acupuncturist turned deranged politician is inadvertently entertaining. Check out his answer to this question.
Q: What regional identity needs to be broadcast for Sarasota? How can we maintain a world-class brand here?
A: Broadcast? Look at the tourist brochures. Make sure the girls in our advertisements wear fashionable clothing, since the wife typically chooses the vacation destination. Maintain? I think we need Urban Rail, a silent movie venue with theater pipe organ and a Seminole Casino.
A silent movie venue? Theisen’s best idea to broadcast Sarasota is for women to wear more fashionable clothing in advertisements? The best part of Theisen is that his opinions aren’t too far from Atwell. She’s just too smart to sound like a comlete crazy person. Her policy ideas however, are just as bad.
I’ve been getting quite a bit of mail for the upcoming Sarasota commissioners election. Today’s best hit piece is on Terry Turner. I haven’t written about Turner because there isn’t much on his website other than he’s endorsed by the Sierra Club. Citizens for a Better Sarasota have sent out a mail advertisement that questions why Terry Turner is a registered Republican. They make a compelling case. Since 2003 Turner has donated $36,600 to Democrat candidates and causes. In that same period he donated $250 Republicans. It kind of makes you wonder why he’s registered as a Republican? He’s given money to John Kerry, Christine Jennings, and Hillary Clinton. I’m surprised he didn’t change his party affiliation before running for commissioner. Turner has also got in trouble for donating to an anti-development group in 2007. It’s not clear this will have any effect on the race. Despite the fact Sarasota is mainly Republican, the city limits favor Democrats.
In 2008, Republican presidential candidate John McCain won just three of the city’s 27 voting precincts. And Democrat Christine Jennings may have lost her bid for Congress against Rep. Vern Buchanan, but she carried the city of Sarasota. And in 2006, Sen. Bill Nelson, a Democrat, easily carried Sarasota over Katherine Harris, though it is her home city.
That sums up the same problem facing most cities in the United States. Democrat city planners run all these towns. Is it any wonder urban areas are in such sad shape? Is it really that surprising then that Sarasota is run by clowns?
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