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On This Much, Mr. Hinderaker And I Clearly Agree…

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Whopper-Lie-Weiner-2016-204x300I too found the documentary about Anthony Weiner a very well spent hour and a half. Per John:
“…Weiner is well worth seeing. It is engrossing and often funny. Anthony Weiner himself comes off surprisingly well. He has a sense of humor and shows flashes of self-knowledge, works tirelessly and sometimes effectively as a candidate, and shows courage when he continues his doomed campaign, fulfilling commitments for appearances when he knows the result will be humiliation. At the same time, his flaws as a person and a candidate are baldly on display: he lies, lacks self-control and is hyper-combative at all the wrong times. Huma Abedin, the second most important figure in the documentary, also comes off better than I expected….”

Where we part company is that I found Huma Abedin full, and well, worthy of praise — without exception. The drama of watching a strong woman following what she feels is the right course for her, in the face of a lying, cheating partner, should never be looked at sideways — by anyone — least of all anyone not in her shoes.

But I’ll not make too much of too little — so we do agree. A good movie.

Namaste, one and all.

On This Much, Mr. Hinderaker And I Clearly Agree…

~ condor ~ 1 Comment

Whopper-Lie-Weiner-2016-204x300I too found the recent documentary about Anthony Weiner a very well spent hour and a half. Per John:

“…Weiner is well worth seeing. It is engrossing and often funny. Anthony Weiner himself comes off surprisingly well. He has a sense of humor and shows flashes of self-knowledge, works tirelessly and sometimes effectively as a candidate, and shows courage when he continues his doomed campaign, fulfilling commitments for appearances when he knows the result will be humiliation. At the same time, his flaws as a person and a candidate are baldly on display: he lies, lacks self-control and is hyper-combative at all the wrong times. Huma Abedin, the second most important figure in the documentary, also comes off better than I expected….”

Where we part company is that I found Huma Abedin full, and well, worthy of praise — without exception. The drama of watching a strong woman following what she feels is the right course for her (and her young family), in the face of a lying, cheating partner, should never be looked at sideways — by anyone — least of all anyone not in her shoes.

But I’ll not make too much of too little — so we do agree. A good movie.

Namaste, one and all.

Mr. Hinderaker Bows Before His “Betters” — Ineptitude Edition

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Whopperline-Trump-2016-300x300Mr. Hinderaker now says Mr. Trump is socially conservative “enough”. Enough to earn his support.

Yep — he is a now largely failed — and lost — blogger trying to retain some measure of relevance.

Last presidential election cycle (2012) — the entire staff at Powerline made error after error of judgment. They were convinced of Mr. Romney’s landslide. It was just a landslide in the wrong direction.

This time, at least one Powerliner is selling his soul.

Not that I care, but he will be humiliated for this choice — no doubt. And to be equally sure, he is responsible for Trump’s rise — he did nothing to condemn Trump’s birther movement — which built Trump’s fringe politics base. And so Mr. Hinderaker is both a witness to — and along with his fellow GOP elite spokespeople… A cause of the likely implosion of the Republican Party.

And so — even if the Republican Party survives, in some form — his voice is shot.

He’s old news. And thus there is little need for this blog. Signing off — with “what’s the frequency, Kenneth?”

Smile.

Gratitude: John Hinderaker’s Luddite Views Contribute To A Sea Change/Flag Death

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Whopper-Stars-Bars-Hind-2015I’ll now offer thanks to John — and his little minions.

I’ve wanted to see the end of the stars & bars on South Carolina’s state government property — since 1996, when I first became aware that the flag flew over the capitol dome.

And now, tonight, due in no small part to people like Mr. Hinderaker trying to defend the indefensible — in the aftermath of yet another racial massacre. . . we see many solid mainstream Republicans openly repudiating the battle flag of those civil war era Virginians who left the Union. In fact, the Republican Governor will now likely act of her own accord, and remove it from state property.

To be sure, without Mr. Roof using it as his symbol, while spitting on the stars & stripes — we would not be at this moment.

UPDATE: 06.23.2015 — Mississippi is likely to revamp her state flag, now, too. THANKS JOHN!

But truly — thank you John. You and your backward ass friends-in-reason (such as they are). . . have ended the era of state sponsored stars & bars.

Thank you.

John Hinderaker: Apologist For White Supremacist’s Terrorism? But of Course!

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Whopper-Ammo-2013I haven’t written here — in just about two and a half years.

And yet. . . I somehow just knew the hate crime/massacre/white supremacist’s domestic terrorism, in Charleston, SC, of last week – would bring out the very worst that is. . . John.

It has — and likewise, his little minions — at that site.

So, I will note for the record that when our 44th President says that the scourge of racism is an enduring DNA-embedded problem in America — that is, recites a FACT — that is not “pandering“. To tell the truth to people — like John — who become allergic to such self reflecting moments, is to pander — in John’s odd, misshapen and sadly antiquated worldview.

When Mr. Obama says sensible gun control is not coterminous with taking all guns away from all law-abiding US citizens — he means it.

And when John Hinderaker conflates all these things, to paint a distorted, white-entitled picture of his alternate reality. . .  he fully intends to do. . . just that.

I stand with Denmark Vesey. And the elders of Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal — Mother Emanuel.

John apparently stands with Charles Cotton, of the NRA. He is an idiot — and worse — he is an educated idiot — so, he does this “on purpose“.

And so, he and his Republicans will lose yet another national election in 2016 — because the past is something he refuses to cast off, for its obvious and putrid sins.

Loser.

Again.

While Mr. Hinderaker Offers Truly- Goofy Ammo-Scarcity Conspiracy Theories…

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Whopper-Ammo-2013…we (scientists, all!) prefer to offer some truth — about guns — and gun violence.

Mr. Hinderaker thinks some vague, but sinister, federal conspiracy is behind the fact that ammo is scarce in his neck of the woods, in Minnesota.

The reality is — in fact — gun-nuts more rabid than he are buying up everything in sight, as they fear responsible regulation of ammo is coming.

And they are probably right.

Meanwhile, rather than dignifying the conspiracy theory with an “on merits” response, I’ll point to (and quote a bit of) a great piece in The New York Times (do click to read it all) this morning — on the disturbing facts about guns in the homes of America:

. . . .But there is a more fundamental problem with the idea that guns actually protect the hearth and home. Guns rarely get used that way. In the 1990s, a team headed by Arthur Kellermann of Emory University looked at all injuries involving guns kept in the home in Memphis, Seattle and Galveston, Tex. They found that these weapons were fired far more often in accidents, criminal assaults, homicides or suicide attempts than in self-defense. For every instance in which a gun in the home was shot in self-defense, there were seven criminal assaults or homicides, four accidental shootings, and 11 attempted or successful suicides.

The cost-benefit balance of having a gun in the home is especially negative for women, according to a 2011 review by David Hemenway, director of the Harvard Injury Control Research Center. Far from making women safer, a gun in the home is “a particularly strong risk factor” for female homicides and the intimidation of women.

In domestic violence situations, the risk of homicide for women increased eightfold when the abuser had access to firearms, according to a study published in The American Journal of Public Health in 2003. Further, there was “no clear evidence” that victims’ access to a gun reduced their risk of being killed. Another 2003 study, by Douglas Wiebe of the University of Pennsylvania, found that females living with a gun in the home were 2.7 times more likely to be murdered than females with no gun at home. . . .

That’s the reality Mr. Hinderaker will bob-and-weave, from now until next Christmas — to avoid. But it is reality — just the same.

In Which Mr. Hinderaker Leaps From The Bridge. . . No Logic Needed.

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Whopper-Columbine-2013-228x300Mr. Hinderaker yesterday picked up on — and ran wildly far afield with the new, shameful NRA video which claims our 44th President wants things for his own children that “regular Americans” cannot have/afford. Mr. Hinderaker, however, took the NRA’s odious, illogical rant well beyond its original lunacy.. How so?.

Well, Mr. Hinderaker concluded his take on it all by asking why our President wants to put “all our children at risk.”

As a trial lawyer, Mr. Hinderaker offered absolutely no evidence to support his wild supposition that schools with armed guards have fewer violent incidents — than those without them.

Why didn’t he offer anything? Because (as far as I know) there is no study to support that notion. In fact, we are all likely aware that there was an armed law enforcement officer inside Columbine High School, in Littleton, Colorado, on that awful day. And as brave as that officer was, the outcome was not even slightly altered, by his presence. [Yes, the singular form of data is. . . anecdote.]

Even so, on what scant evidence there is, at present, the evidence cuts the other way. Mr. Hinderaker well-knows this — and shamelessly ignores it.

Here is Mr. Hinderaker’s quote in context:

. . .Actually, a policeman stands guard at my youngest daughter’s high school every day. Many people seem to be unaware that this is commonplace in upscale schools, and lots of downscale schools, too, where they think the threat comes from the students. Until recently, parents weren’t shy about making sure their children were attending school in a safe environment. Why, all of a sudden, does the Democratic Party want to put our children (not theirs) at risk?. . .

I get it, of couse — Mr. Hinderaker has recently-confessed to being a newly-minted gun enthusiast (usually, the worst sort of zealot is the newly-converted). Yes, Mr. Hinderaker is a gun nut — emphasis on the nut part. But why any sentient businessperson would employ a lawyer with this sort of repeated reasoning defect — and blind allegiance to failed causes — is beyond me.

John Hinderaker: Lost. Lost. Lost. And Sadly So.

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Whopper-Gun-2012-300x192Even the NRA sees that the paradigm has inexorably shifted. [See, NRA schedules a December 21, 2012 press conference — to “make meaningful contributions to help make sure this never happens again.”]

But not so, John Hinderaker.

He offers yet another defense of the indefensible, tonight. He’s once again off trying to distract his readership from noticing the central role our lax gun laws had in the unspeakble massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary, last Friday. I’ll not quote his. Feel free to read it — if you can stomach his utter tone-deafness, here.

These are the countering facts — facts: the homicide rate, specifically homicides committed with a handgun in the US is much higher than most other advanced countries. In the United States in 2009 United Nations statistics record 3.0 intentional homicides committed with a firearm per 100,000 inhabitants. By comparison, the rate for the United Kingdom, with very restrictive firearm laws (handguns are totally prohibited) was 0.07, about 40 times lower, and for Germany 0.2 (or 15 times lower).

And so, it is time, Mr. Hinderaker, to grow up. Your life is more than half over. Time to grow up, now.

Mr. Obama Opens A Solid “Post Convention Gap,” Over Mr. Romney

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Despite what Mr. Hinderaker says, overnight (relying solely on the plainly red-leaning Rasmussen polls), Mr. Obama has actually increased the size of his post-convention bounce — at a time when Mr. Romney has faded. In fact, Mr. Obama’s favorables are now over 50 percent, while Mr. Romneys are rarely over 40 percent, in any recent polling. No president since Mr. Clinton (1992 and 1996) has had a larger lead — this late in September — than Mr. Obama. And no president with this large, and this late a lead — in the televised era, at least — has ever lost his election.

Much more about the near tie, now in enthusiam percentages — among each candidates’ political bases — so do go read it all.

And, so — don’t buy what PowerLineBlog sells — it caters to a very narrow minority view, only. The Ayn Randian world isn’t the real one.

In Which Mr. Hinderaker Opines That US Ambassador Chris Stevens “Would Be Alive Today” — If Gaddafi Were Still In Charge In Libya

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Stevens-216x300That headline — above — should be self-refuting. But it is what Mr. Hinderaker just wrote, thus:

. . .Still, [Gaddafi] had to go; because of the humanitarian crisis, Obama told us. If Gaddafi were still in power, yesterday’s attack in Benghazi, which was also carried out by al Qaeda members or sympathizers celebrating the anniversary of September 11, would not have happened. . . .

Uh-huh. That is possibly the saddest lie he’s ever written — as it doesn’t bear even the rudimentary hallmarks of a logical argument. It is a classical logical fallacy to suggest “but for” causation, here.

But why quibble — why let facts get in the way of a crazy, self-inflated rant, right, Mr. Hinderaker? Right.

Well. . . meanwhile, back here on Planet Earth, Republican Sen. John McCain (a foreign policy hawk, if ever there one was) reminded us:

. . .McCain said later on Twitter that Clinton’s statement Wednesday morning condemning the attack, was “excellent and moving. . . .”

“Under Gaddafi it was the policy of the government to kill Americans,” Sen. McCain said. . . .

But Mr. Hinderaker would have us believe that because Moammar Gaddafi didn’t like al Qaeda so much, he would have protected US Ambassador Stevens, and his team. Uh-huh. [Forget that we used to be about instilling democracy, right Mr. Hinderaker?]

This is what the desperation of losing the 2012 Presidential election cycle will drive at least one otherwise bright trial attorney to write — mind-numbingly illogical, and inaccurate fantasies — while honorable American emissaries lie dead in the streets of Benghazi, Libya. Shameful — and unbecoming of an American. A true American, anyway. But I guess I am being redundant, now. I’ll shut up.