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Monthly Archives: October 2005

Bill O’Reilly Equates Irish Immigration to African Enslavement

O'ReillyWhy does this guy still have a show?

On his October 4th national radio show, Bill O’Reilly claimed that the Irish immigration was no different than the Africans entrance to this country.

Here is what he said:

All right. But let me counter that, [caller], and you can comment on my comment. That’s the prevailing wisdom in a lot of the precincts, is that because blacks were in slavery in the United States, they were never able to develop an infrastructure of education and culture to compete with the white majority. That is the prevailing wisdom in lots and lots of places. Let me submit this to you, and then you can comment on it.

My people came from County Cavan in Ireland. All right? And the British Crown marched in there with their henchman, Oliver Cromwell, and they seized all of my ancestors’ lands, everything. And they threw them into slavery, pretty much indentured servitude on the land. And then the land collapsed, all right? And everybody was starving in Ireland. They had to leave the country, just as Africans had to leave — African-Americans had to leave Africa and come over on a boat and try to make it in the New World with nothing. Nothing. And succeeded, succeeded. As did Italians, as did — and I’ll submit to you, African-Americans are succeeding as well. So all of these things can be overcome I think, [caller]. Go ahead.

Sigh. Listen to it for yourself.

Speaking of Sick….

I think my puppy has come down with something. She keeps shaking her head and scratching one of her ears. When she stayed with Scot and Cliff once, they talked about the same symptoms.

Storm Shaking Her Head

What they didn’t mention, though, was the mucus. Luckily, my lab-greyhound-some other breed mutt does not slobber. Yet, when I turned to see her shake, I saw this fly off of her towards different parts of the room:

Storm Mucus 1

Storm Mucus 2

Pretty disgusting, huh? Poor Storm.

(And, yes, I know that Scot and John probably don’t even know where to start commenting on this one.)

Sick Day

We’ve all been there.

Homestarrunner Sick Day

Hell Yeah, McCain, Hell Yeah

Senator McCainSenator McCain’s anti-torture amendment passed the senate in a 90-9 vote today!

Hell yeah, McCain!

On the heals of a court order to release more Abu Ghraib footage, this is a huge victory for our country and shows that we are not afraid to stand up to an overzealous president.

In a July 25th press briefing, a reporter asked the following question to Scott McClellan:

Last Thursday the White House threatened to veto the defense bill if it includes standards for the humane treatment of prisoners, drafted by Republican Senator John McCain. And also on Thursday the Pentagon refused to comply with a court order to release photos and videos of prisoner abuse in Iraq. Don’t these documented cases of abuse suggest that the U.S. military should adopt higher standards for the humane treatment of prisoners?

Scott’s response:

We want to make sure that there is nothing that restricts the President’s authority to be able to do what he needs to do to protect the American people and prevent attacks from happening in the first place, and bring to justice those who seek to murder innocent civilians.

Innocent civilians like the innocent taxi driver, Dilawar, tortured to death by Americans who struck him just to hear him cry ‘Allah’?

While the bill still needs to be passed, this amendment is a win for the American people who hold themselves to a higher standard. It’s a win for those who understand that torture under the guise of liberation is not true liberation. And it’s a win for those who realize democracy cannot be forced through the barrel of a gun.

Read the amendment for yourself.

Billy and the Blogs

O'Reilly and ClarkThis is hilarious. Last night on his show, Bill O’Reilly slammed blogs, even going so far as calling them assassins. Here is the video (again thanks to C&L for hosting the bandwidth).

The reason why I find it so funny is that Bill has the worst inconsistencies of any major media personality that I watch and is constantly being called out on them by the web community.

For example, he says that Media Matters is the worst, yet they point out his inconsistencies more than anyone. Most importantly, they always show transcripts, court cases, and other documented facts. He says that the Smoking Gun is just as awful. They are the ones who would not let him sweep his sexual harassment case under the carpet. Think Progress even showed that Bill lied in this latest segment.

But let me tell you the one thing O’Reilly did that made me really feel disdain for him. A few nights ago, O’Reilly was interviewing General Clark about the Abu Ghraib pictures that were ordered to be released. First, Bill made the argument that torture has always been a condoned part of American warfare, why should now be different? I believe that Americans hold themselves to a higher standard and we cannot say we are liberating Iraq from a violent, torturing dictator if our soldiers do the same.

But then, he started listing off American torture in previous wars and said this:

General! You need to look at the Malmedy massacre in World War Two, and the 82nd Airborne who did it!

The Malmedy massacre was a slaughter of at least 72 American prisoners of war by the Nazis.

McCarthy.vg caught the horrible mistruth and is hosting the transcript, the video, and the mp3 so you can see it and hear it for yourself.

Do you want to know what’s worse?

      1) Bill has not acknowledged his error.
      2) He has not apologized to the soldiers and families of the 82nd Airborne.
      3) And, are you ready for this, Fox News edited the statement out of their transcript on the web!!!

Yet, this is why I love what the internet has done to free speech in this country. For decades, media outlets have barely been accountable for what they print and say. Now the citizens have a medium for checking the data and ideas disseminated through the airwaves and newsprint. In a government of checks and balances, I see this as liberating step towards true democracy.

So when you go to a website, ask yourself: Are they linking to source evidence? Are they looking at all the evidence or just specific pieces that support a given point? And feel free to voice your own opinion. It’s just as valid as everyone else’s.

Funny Money

Yep, here it is. The new ten dollar bill:

New Ten Dollar Bill Front
New Ten Dollar Bill Back

And, yes, it’s orange. Personally, I always like the fact that all of our money was the same color. It kinda set us apart from most other countries. Granted, it was kinda boring, but it was our boring money. Apparently, this new funny money is harder to counterfeit. You can check out its features here.

Don’t Mess With McCain

Daily Show McCainI just got done watching yesterday’s episode of the Daily Show and it was phenomenal. Apparently, Bush and his generals really don’t talk about the war. Also, insulting General McCain is never recommended. Here is the video thanks to C&L.

Creepy Burger King

A few days ago, I got this email from John:

Maybe you’ve already seen the commercial on TV (the creepy burger king dude chillin with a lumberjack), but I thought I would send you all a screenshot of Burger King’s new breakfast sandwich, called – I shit you not – the “Meat’normous” omelet breakfast sandwich. At just under 800 calories, it’ll give you the energy you need to start any day filled with chopping down trees and wearing flannel.
America has gone insane….. deliciously, deliciously insane.
Take THAT morningstar!

Here is the picture he sent:

Burger King Meatnormous!

It might be because I am a vegetarian, but that just looks disgusting. It looks like a tongue is hanging out of the side of its mouth. I do know, however, that being vegetarian for 5 years means that a hamburger does not look like a hamburger anymore. It looks like cow.

But let’s review. If I am in a forest, and this creepy guy appears out of nowhere offering me meat:

Creepy Burger King

Would I A) Accept it and chow down? Or B) Think to myself, “Boy, this guy sure reminds me of someone else in a mask…..”

Hannibal Lecter in Mask

….. ask myself what that sandwich is really made of, and then run the other way as fast as I can!

Ike Was Right

Andy Rooney on IraqAndy Rooney tears into the war on Iraq and he did his research, too. Here is the video viral that is going around the internet right now (courtesy of C&L) and here is the transcript (courtesy of CBS News).

The Advantages To Being An Introvert

Egg ShellRahul, being brilliantly amused at my friends’ use of the Myers-Briggs system, found this wonderful article on LifeHack.org discussing the top ten advantages to being an introvert. From Introvert Advantage, a site dedicated to the book “The Introvert Advantage: How to Thrive in an Extrovert World”, here they are:

The Top Ten Advantages Introverts Possess

10) Work Well With Others, Especially In One-to-One Relationships
9) Maintain Long-Term Friendships
8) Flexible
7) Independent
6) Strong Ability To Concentrate
5) Self-Reflective
4) Responsible
3) Creative, Out-of-the-Box thinking
2) Analytical Skills That Integrate Complexity
1) Studious and Smart

And to follow up, here are the misconceptions:

The Top Ten Misconceptions About Introverts

10) Party Poopers
9) Unfriendly
8) Nerds
7) Lacking Social Skills
6) Won’t Talk
5) Don’t Like People
4) Withdrawn
3) Loner
2) Shy
1) Hermit

As an INFP, I can appreciate these lists.