Thursday, July 28, 2011

Yah Allah, Oops, Tarantullah: Sid Harth

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Unbalancing Act

America needs more media bias, claim some on the left.

By JAMES TARANTO

Balance is supposed to be a good thing, which is why President Obama keeps using "balanced approach" as a euphemism for what he has also more bluntly described as "massive, job-killing tax increases."
At the same time, however, some of Obama's most fervid supporters are complaining that there's too much balance--in the media. On the New York Times website, former Enron adviser Paul Krugman rants that "the cult of balance" has "poisoned our political system":
Think about what's happening right now. We have a crisis in which the right is making insane demands, while the president and Democrats in Congress are bending over backward to be accommodating. . . .
So what do most news reports say? They portray it as a situation in which both sides are equally partisan, equally intransigent--because news reports always do that. . . .
The reality, of course, is that we already have a centrist president--actually a moderate conservative president. . . .
You have to ask, what would it take for these news organizations and pundits to actually break with the convention that both sides are equally at fault?
The amusingly named Ari Melber, writing in the hard-left magazine The Nation, echoes the theme, complaining that reporters are "nursing Balance Bias." He quotes extensively from Jay Rosen, a New York University scholar who gives an intellectual gloss to the complaint that the media are insufficiently biased in favor of the left:
Rosen, a prolific media critic who has a theory, developed in a series of essays that are both elegant and reproachful, that today's political reporters are on a futile "quest for innocence" when reporting political disputes. By innocence, Rosen means "a determination not to be implicated, enlisted or seen by the public as involved." I asked him how that works on this debt story.
"Asymmetry in a highly contested situation fries the circuits of the press," Rosen said via e-mail this week. "The bigger the stakes, the more dangerous it feels for reporters to reflect that asymmetry in their accounts," he proposed. That makes sense, since often it's "the big lie" that gets more traction than little fibs. So the political press rebuted [sic] Sarah Palin's spin about opposing "The Bridge to Nowhere" in 2008, a low-stakes example, but they back down on a market-shaking feud like the debt fight. And Rosen suggests that while Democrats or Talking Points Memo or Eugene Robinson may call out the problem, that doesn't actually do much.
"The people screaming about an asymmetrical situation that has been artificially balanced are likely to be on one side of the contested ground, right? This fries the circuits even more, adding to the danger [for innocent reporters]," he says. This is also your brain on Balance Bias.
This is a fascinating development. Conservatives have spent decades bellyaching about media bias, but their complaints have become less bitter in recent years with the rise of alternatives outside the so-called mainstream media: talk radio, independent bloggers and especially Fox News Channel.
[botwt0728]
Turnabout is fair play, and now people on the left grumble incessantly that Fox fails to live up to its "fair and balanced" slogan. They insist it actually slants right. That's undoubtedly true of its commentary programs, such as "Hannity" and "The O'Reilly Factor," but news shows like "Special Report With Bret Baier" are at least as down-the-middle as anyone else's.
But for the likes of Krugman, Melber and Rosen, down-the-middle journalism is the problem. They want the press corps to accept their own political doctrines as the truth and to treat anyone who departs from them as, in Krugman's words, "insane."
To some extent, they already do that. Writing for Reason.com, Barton Hinkle contrasts mainstream media coverage of congressmen on the two political extremes:
The late Sen. Paul Wellstone of Minnesota was a man of the hard left. . . . Wellstone died in a plane crash in 2002, and was immediate [sic] lionized. The Washington Post called him one of the Senate's "leading liberals. . . . Colleagues from across the political spectrum praised Wellstone as a passionate advocate for his beliefs." He was "a hero to the left," the paper said, noting "there was little doubt where his heart lay." To The New York Times, Wellstone was "a rumpled, unfailingly modest man," a "firebrand," and although "his opponents always portrayed him as a left-wing extremist," Wellstone was "so happy, so comfortable, so unthreatening that he was able to ward off the attacks." Rumor has it he once fed a crowd with five loaves of bread and a couple of fish.
This is not, to put it mildly, how Tea Partiers and their congressional cohort have been portrayed during the recent game of chicken over the debt ceiling. Rather, those opposed to raising the debt ceiling--or willing to do so in exchange for a slowdown in the rate of government growth--are "obstreperous," "flatly and dangerously wrong," and "not interested in governing." (These are all quotes from major media organs, not obscure blogs.) They're "crazy" proponents of a "dangerous delusion"--"ridiculous," "extremist," "ultraorthodox tax haters," players of "ideological games," "totally unrealistic," authors of "madness," etc. etc.
Hey, what happened to people of conviction? Aren't the Tea Partiers "firebrands"? Isn't there little doubt where their hearts lie?
Indeed, here's Paul Krugman eulogizing Paul Wellstone in October 2002:
Paul Wellstone took risks. He was, everyone acknowledges, a politician who truly voted his convictions, who supported what he thought was right, not what he thought would help him get re-elected. He took risky stands on many issues: agree or disagree, you have to admit that his vote against authorization for an Iraq war was a singularly brave act.
Can't the same be said of, say, Rep. Michele Bachmann and her determination to vote against increasing the debt limit (a position with which, we suppose we should note, this column disagrees)? Instead, in January Krugman lied and accused her of using "eliminationist rhetoric."
The Bachmann-Wellstone comparison is apt, for she, like him, is ideologically at the far end of her party. She was one of only nine House Republicans to vote against the Cut, Cap and Balance Act, because it included a debt-ceiling hike. This is not a big enough bloc to hold the balance of power in the current Congress.
When Krugman and like-minded lefties refer to the "insane" Tea Party Republicans, they have in mind a larger group: a group big enough, and sufficiently willing to compromise, that they can push the ultimate resolution of the current standoff in a rightward direction. They wish that the media not only would take sides but had the power, by taking sides, to win this for Obama and the Democrats.
That was the outcome when the last Democratic president engaged in similar brinksmanship with a Republican Congress, in 1995 and 1996. Many things were different in those days, but one was a far more uniform media environment. Rush Limbaugh was around, but not Fox News or the blogosphere. In those days you didn't hear lefties complain that the mainstream media were too balanced. Yet if anything, they have become more unbalanced. (Krugman, for example, had not yet been hired by the New York Times.)
Suppose that tomorrow CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN, the Associated Press and the news sections of the Times and the Washington Post all changed their journalism so that their reporting was as unbalanced as Krugman's columns. Would that win the day for Obama? We very much doubt it. Rather, it would drive the size of their reader- and viewership toward the levels of The Nation and MSNBC, which are not exactly powerhouses of influence.
What the self-styled opponents of balance really want is something resembling a state media monopoly--but one that is nominally independent and that is pliant when liberals run the government and adversarial when conservatives do. That is more or less what existed between the 1970s and the late '90s, when competition greatly weakened the authority of the formerly mainstream media. Strident leftism is not going to restore that authority.
Extremism in Defense of Moderation Is No Vice
"It's time for moderates to abandon centrism and stop shifting with the prevailing winds. They need to state plainly what they're for, stand their ground, and pull the argument their way. Yes, they would risk looking to 'the left' of where the center is now--but only because conservatives have pulled it so far their way."--E.J. Dionne, Washington Post, July 27
The War on Christmas
Greg Sargent of the Washington Post reports on a hilarious new White House talking point in support of President Obama's position that the debt ceiling must be raised by enough to last until the 2012 election. Obama aide David Plouffe told MSNBC this morning that if Speaker John Boehner has his way, " 'this whole debt ceiling spectacle' will be 'repeated again a few months from now over the holidays' ":
"The debt ceiling debate would ruin Christmas," Plouffe said. He was apparently ad-libbing the line, but now it's found its way into the White House's official talking points.
Sargent quotes from those talking points, which politically correctly omit mention of Christmas: "Under the Boehner bill, we will be right back into this debate during the holiday season, which is the most important time in the year for our economy."
How about a compromise in which the debt ceiling is raised to last through, say, Oct. 15, 2012?
We're DOOOOOOOOOOMED!!!
"Debt Deal May Depend on Obama Staying Silent"--headline, FoxNews.com, July 28
That's Racist
"In fact, Republicans, in Orwellian fashion, are turning black into white."--David Corn, MotherJones.com, July 27
Those Are His Principles, and if You Don't Like Them . . . Well, He Has Others
  • "This theory of presidential power argues, in essence, that when the President acts in his capacity as Commander-in-Chief, he may make his own rules and cannot be bound by Congressional laws to the contrary. This is a theory of presidential dictatorship. These views are outrageous and inconsistent with basic principles of the Constitution as well as with two centuries of legal precedents. Yet they were the basic assumptions of key players in the Bush Administration in the days following 9/11."--Jack Balkin, Yale Law School, March 3, 2009
  • " 'At the point at which the economy is melting down, who cares what the Supreme Court is going to say?' Professor Balkin said. 'It's the president's duty to save the Republic.' "--New York Times, July 25, 2011
This Doesn't Sound Very Conscientious
From the Houston Chronicle:
An AWOL Muslim soldier who had been granted conscientious objector status earlier this year was arrested and bomb-making materials were found in his motel room near Fort Hood, the same Texas Army post where 13 people were killed in a 2009 shooting rampage blamed on an Army psychiatrist, an FBI spokesman told The Associated Press on Thursday.
Killeen police arrested 21-year-old Pfc. Naser Abdo on Wednesday after being alerted by "concerned citizens," and agents found firearms and "items that could be identified as bomb-making components, including gunpowder," in his motel room, said FBI spokesman Erik Vasys.
Vasys said the FBI planned to charge Abdo with possessing bomb-making components later Thursday, at which time he would be transferred into federal custody. He said there was nothing to indicate Abdo was "working with others."
It seems to us that this raises serious questions about whether he deserved to be granted conscientious-objector status.
Great Moments in Socialized Medicine
"Hip replacements, cataract surgery and tonsil removal are among operations now being rationed in a bid to save the NHS money," reports London's Independent, referring to Britain's National Health Service:
Two-thirds of health trusts in England are rationing treatments for "non-urgent" conditions as part of the drive to reduce costs in the NHS by £20bn [about $33 billion] over the next four years. One in three primary-care trusts (PCTs) has expanded the list of procedures it will restrict funding to in the past 12 months.
Among other things: "Hip and knee replacements only being allowed where patients are in severe pain. Overweight patients will be made to lose weight before being considered for an operation."
On the bright side, "these stories are false," or so says former Enron adviser Paul Krugman. Actually, we have an idea for Krugman to suggest to his bosses at the New York Times: As ObamaCare kicks in, maybe they could offer free surgery as an inducement to sign up for a free subscription to NYTimes.com.
Out on a Limb
  • "Antibiotics Better for UTIs [urinary tract infections] Than Cranberry, but May Increase Drug Resistance, Say Researchers"--headline, FoodNavigator-USA.com, July 27
  • "Peter King: New York Times Intellectually Dishonest"--headline, Politico.com, July 27
We Blame Global Warming
"Don't Blame the House"--headline, The American Spectator website, July 27
The Lonely Life of Obama
  • "Shockingly, the president was left waiting by the phone one day last week while the speaker would not take or return his calls. At some point, Obama, the jilted lover, simply gave up and went to bed."--Maureen Dowd, New York Times, July 27
  • "You got health care reform, and then you got heartache. What you must worry that you'll never get is a sustained, true chance."--Frank Bruni, New York Times, July 28
From Criticism of a Network Nobody Watches
"MSNBC Protects Obama"--headline, The American Spectator website, July 27
It Worked for Sarah Palin
"Want a Big Brain? Head North"--headline, LiveScience.com, July 26
John Edwards Prepares for a Date in Court
"Heading for a 'Haircut' "--headline, The Wall Street Journal, July 28
They Don't Know What This Word Means, Do They?
  • "[Frances Fox Piven's] name has become a kind of shorthand for 'enemy' on Mr. Beck's Fox News Channel program."--New York Times, Jan. 22
  • "[Press secretary Jay Carney] spoke repeatedly but without specifics of private conversations and nonstop meetings involving administration officials 'up to the highest levels'--White House shorthand for the president."--New York Times, July 28
The Onion Imitates Life
  • "Shuttle's Last Flight Leaves Russia With Space Monopoly"--headline, The Wall Street Journal, July 7
  • "USSR Wins Space Race as U.S. Shuts Down Shuttle Program"--headline, Onion, July 27
And Everything Under the Sun Is in Tune
"Lost 1967 Spaceship Found Crashed on Dark Side of the Moon?"--headline, FoxNews.com, July 27
The Slippery Slope From Same-Sex Marriage
"Artist Marries Her Work, Poetry"--headline, Half Moon Bay (Calif.) Review, July 27
They Got It From DSK
"Herpes Virus Kills Half of French Oyster Population This Year"--headline, Bloomberg, July 26
The Defendant Claimed He Had Been Subjected to Double Jeopardy
"Alex Trebek Injured Chasing Burglary Suspect"--headline, San Francisco Chronicle, July 28
She Must've Aced the Talent Competition
"100-Year-Old War Veteran Wins Alabama Beauty Contest"--headline, Daily Telegraph (London), July 28
Autopsy Reveals He Died of the Flue
"Remains of Man Missing for 27 Years Discovered in Bank Chimney"--headline, Daily Telegraph (London), July 27
Hey, Kids! What Time Is It?
"It's July--So Time for Harrods and Selfridges to Open Their Christmas Shops"--headline, Daily Telegraph (London), July 28
Questions Nobody Is Asking
Answers to Questions Nobody Is Asking
  • "Why the Tea Party Is Unyielding on the Debt Ceiling"--headline, Washington Post, July 27
  • "Why Our Society Is Ageist"--headline, Puffington Host, July 28
  • "Why Groups Like J Street Have Palestinians Pining for 'Extreme Zionists' "--headline, Commentary website, July 28
  • "Why I Am So Proud of Being Norwegian"--headline, Puffington Host, July 27
It's Always in the Last Place You Look
"Aliquippa Woman Finds First Lady Welcoming, Committed"--headline, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, July 28
Too Much Information
"After a Rocky Start, Semprae's Female Arousal Oil Gains Traction"--headline, Bloomberg, July 26
News of the Tautological
"Report: Unemployment Hurting Those Hunting for a Job"--headline, KLAS-TV website (Las Vegas), July 27
Breaking News From 1630
"Kepler's Dilemma: Not Enough Time"--headline, Sky & Telescope website, July 27
Breaking News From May 14
"On the Job Compo Taken to New Level: Worker Hurt During Sex in Hotel"--headline, Sydney Morning Herald, July 27
Bottom Stories of the Day
Sharp Guy
A news story in the New York Times raises questions about whether MSNBC should give Al Sharpton a show. No, the Times, which spent a few weeks earlier this year lecturing on the need for "civility" in the media, isn't concerned with Sharpton's history of inciting hatred. Rather, the story is about a possible conflict of interest:
Last year, Comcast was lining up the Rev. Al Sharpton to lobby for its bid for NBCUniversal. This year, the cable news channel owned by NBCUniversal, MSNBC, is weighing whether to make him a daily television host. . . .
Mr. Sharpton, the president of the National Action Network, a civil rights organization, was one of the many activists and boldface names who agreed to support Comcast as it sought government approval for its takeover of NBCUniversal.
Say what you will about Sharpton, this story makes us proud to be an American. In what other country can a parasite realistically aspire to become a host?
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(Carol Muller helps compile Best of the Web Today. Thanks to Tim Magee, Harris Perry, Ed Grinberg, Tom Mayer, Michele Schiesser, Rex Pilger, Christian Germain, Keith Kemper, John Williamson, Ethel Fenig, Kevin Coughlin, Brian Warner, Robert Koslover, Chet Hosch, Jared Silverman, J.B. Stricker, Rod Pennington, Joe Perez, Mark Davies, David Fenton, David Hallstrom, Chris Hayes, Bruce Goldman, Walt Neuman, John Sarna, Ron Cook, Mike Corrado, Greg Askins, Marion Dreyfus, Alexander Robbins, T. Young, Daniel Goldstein, Ted Alpert, Arlene Ross, Hillel Markowitz, John Lord, Ed Jordan, John Bobek, Paul Sepe, Scott Siegel, Dave Nemzek, Dave Ceely, Frank Free, Zack Russ, Mark Kellner, Tim McAleenan, Edward Himmelfarb and Miguel Rakiewicz. If you have a tip, write us at opinionjournal@wsj.com, and please include the URL.)
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Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Yah Allah, Oops, Tarantullah: Sid Harth

...and I am Sid Harth @mysistereileen.com

  • The Wall Street Journal

President Dangerfield

Barack Obama has trouble commanding respect.

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By JAMES TARANTO

So this is what we have come to: the president of the United States, and not just any president but the World's Greatest Orator, standing in the White House petulantly reproving his partisan opponents and imploring his supporters: "If you want a balanced approach to reducing the deficit, let your member of Congress know."
Three cheers to the U.S. Postal Service, which by all accounts has dealt with the ensuing flood of mail without missing a step.
Earlier yesterday, as National Journal reports, Obama "let his frustration over the stalled debt talks seep into an address on Latino issues, confessing that he'd like to 'bypass Congress and change the laws on my own' ":
He told the National Council of La Raza, "Believe me, the idea of doing things on my own is very tempting. I promise you."
But, he had to concede, "that's not how our system works."
Being a dictator is a relatively easy job. Even junior tyrants like Bashar al-Assad and Kim Jong Il can do it. All a dictator needs to be effective is the ability to instill fear. An effective democratic leader needs to be able to command respect.
[botwt0726] European Pressphoto Agency
Obama has a problem commanding the respect of his adversaries. Immediately after his address to the nation last night, Speaker John Boehner went on TV with a response. Fox News Channel's Bret Baier reported that apart from the State of the Union, it was the first such response from the opposing party to a presidential address since 2007, when George W. Bush gave a speech on Iraq.
And Boehner mocked Obama's rhetoric: "The president has often said we need a 'balanced' approach--which in Washington means we spend more, you pay more." One might observe that the partisan sniping was mutual. But the president is the higher-status player. He diminishes himself by punching down.
Obama has turned into President Rodney Dangerfield: He doesn't get no respect. (For readers too young to remember Dangerfield, that's not litotes. He used the double negative as an intensifier.) "So we're left with a stalemate," he said last night. "At least that's what Michelle tells me."
OK, we made up that punch line. But it's true that lately Obama hasn't been getting much respect from his friends, either. "I think it would do this country a good deal of service if people started thinking about candidates out there to begin contrasting a progressive agenda as opposed to what Obama believes he's doing," Sen. Bernie Sanders, the independent self-styled socialist from Vermont said last week. John Nicholas of The Nation, a hard-left magazine, cites a CNN poll that finds this feeling increasingly common among Obama's base:
The number of Americans who say they disapprove of the president's performance because he is not liberal enough has doubled since May. "Drill down into that number and you'll see signs of a stirring discontent on the left," says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland, who explains that, "Obama's approval rating among liberals has dropped to the lowest point in his presidency, and roughly one in four Americans who disapprove of him say they feel that way because he has not been liberal enough, a new high for that measure."
"What evidence do we have that Obama knows what he's doing?" former Enron adviser Paul Krugman asked last week. A stopped clock is right twice a day, but Krugman then asked: "When has Obama given progressives any reason to believe they can trust him?"
That may explain Obama's unwillingness to compromise in the debt debate. "Nobody today is talking about tax increases except Barack Obama," CNN's Gloria Borger noted last night. Reports over the weekend had congressional Republicans and Democrats negotiating for an agreement to cut spending without raising taxes. By butting in with his demand for tax increases, Obama only prolongs the standoff. Why? There's one logical explanation: to pander to his left-wing base.
Obama's position is as brittle as it is rigid. It's true that some polls suggest the public is more inclined to blame congressional Republicans than the president if the dispute remains unresolved and the results are disastrous. But Obama would have to be delusional to think that presiding over such a disaster would enhance his re-election prospects.
Fox Business's Charlie Gasparino reports that "administration officials have told bankers that the administration will not allow a default to happen." Our guess is that Obama will end up signing whatever last-minute agreement Congress comes up with. As with last December's deal to avert the Bush tax increases, he will bitterly protest, disclaiming responsibility for the outcome. He will maintain the left's sympathy, but respect, once lost, is hard to recover.
A couple of other points on the Obama speech: The president said he rejected Boehner's plan that "would temporarily extend the debt ceiling" because it "would force us to once again face the threat of default just six months from now." Today the White House issued a written veto threat. Yet last night he praised Congress for raising the debt ceiling 18 times during Ronald Reagan's presidency--once every 5.3 months on average.
In demanding an extension that would carry him through next year's election, Obama is departing from the precedent he cites in support of his position. His anxiousness at the prospect of another such confrontation reflects his political weakness in this one.
Toward the end of his speech, the president threw in some of the sort of airy pieties to which he owes his status as World's Greatest Orator:
America, after all, has always been a grand experiment in compromise. As a democracy made up of every race and religion, where every belief and point of view is welcomed, we have put to the test time and again the proposition at the heart of our founding: that out of many, we are one. We've engaged in fierce and passionate debates about the issues of the day, . . . from slavery to war, from civil liberties to questions of economic justice.
Wait a minute, he's citing slavery as an example of "fierce and passionate debates" leading to "compromise"? As The Nation's Kai Wright wrote in December 2010, the last time Obama trotted out this trope, "Mr. President, WTF?!":
Which one of the "compromises" that allowed a slave republic to endure from more than a century is he celebrating here? Perhaps the one where black people were counted as a fraction of humans in order to preserve a balance of power that allowed Northern and Southern aristocrats alike to get rich off of murderous slave labor? No, we wouldn't have had a union without that. Or maybe he's pitching forward to the "compromises" of the post-Reconstruction era, when the white capitalists of the North got too spooked by white laborers' demands for reasonable wages, and so abandoned the promises of Emancipation. That, too, kept the union plowing forward--into another century of apartheid and state-sanctioned terrorism.
No wonder Obama doesn't get any respect. Either he's woefully ignorant or he thinks everyone else is.
Sound Like Anyone Else We Know?
"Of course [Michele] Bachmann does not deserve to be in the presidential race. Legislatively, she has done little, she knows next to nothing and what she thinks she knows is wrong."--Richard Cohen, Washington Post, July 25
Too Good to Check
In an editorial today, the New York Times issues a demand to the anti-Islam bloggers whose work Norway terror defendant Anders Breivik cited in his manifesto:
Mr. Breivik appears to have been deeply influenced by a small group of American bloggers and writers who have warned for years about Islam's supposed threat to Western civilization. Their tendency to paint law-abiding Muslims with the same brush as extremists is repugnant. They need to categorically denounce Mr. Breivik's depravity.
OK, here's Robert Spencer on Saturday: "SIOA and SIOE [Stop Islamization of America and Stop Islamization of Europe] declare our sympathy for the victims and relatives of the victims of the heinous mass murders in Norway. We denounce the attacker and reiterate our dedication to the defense of free societies and opposition to all vigilantism and violence."
And here's Pamela Geller, also on Saturday: "He is a murderer, a mass murderer. Period. He's not anything else. He is sick, sick to death and he has aided the enemy in so many ways it defies comprehension. Anyone who would kill children is insane. And if he's a right winger who hates Muslims, how does that translate into killing a bunch of political youth party Workers' Youth League? . . . I despise savagery and inhumanity in any all instances. Period. This abject loser lowered himself to sub-human status."
One need not endorse Spencer's or Geller's views to acknowledge that they have already done what the Times demanded of them three days later. The Times's failure to acknowledge that is sloppy and dishonest.
A postscript: Yesterday we wrote that we did not know Spencer's religion. A reader points out that in a lengthy bio on his website, he says he is Catholic. If we'd have guessed, we'd have gotten it wrong. Another lesson in the importance of not jumping to conclusions.
NOM Responds
Maggie Gallagher of the National Organization for Marriage writes in response to our column yesterday criticizing the group's "Let the People Vote" campaign:
The National Organization for Marriage is part of a coalition of groups working on this campaign. We are not naive enough to believe that we will get sitting legislators to change their views on same-sex marriage. Our objective is to replace those legislators with ones who will support putting the issue before New York voters. We are just beginning our organizational effort and already have rallied over 10,000 New Yorkers to attend events Sunday.
The question is whether the thousands of African American and Hispanic voters who attended (and those thousands more whom we will recruit) can help unseat Sens. Shirley Huntley, James Addabbo and Carl Kruger. That will be answered in the 2012 elections. Similarly, the 2012 elections will tell us whether the thousands of conservative and GOP members we're organizing can replace Sens. Mark Grisanti, James Alesi, Roy McDonald and Stephan Saland.
We also need to make changes in the makeup of the Assembly. Is it really difficult? Absolutely. Can it be done? The New Hampshire Legislature enacted same-sex marriage in 2009. Who would have predicted then that it would become such a big issue in the 2010 elections, where Republicans gained a supermajority in both houses? Now gay marriage may be repealed in New Hampshire next year.
To compare this Let the People Vote effort to the likelihood of repealing Roe v. Wade is seriously misplaced. 80% of New York voters want the right to vote on marriage, just as voters in 31 other states have been able to do. Some cultural elites said the abortion debate was over when the Roe decision came down, and it was time to move on. But people of faith did not rest, and now a majority in this country are pro-life. With marriage, 62% of Americans already support the belief that marriage is between one man and one woman, as do a majority of New Yorkers, and an overwhelming majority of New Yorkers want to be able to vote on the issue. Those numbers do not suggest it is time for surrender. Its time to come together and fight for the survival of marriage no matter the procedural obstacles we face. That's what we at NOM and our allies intend to do.
Meanwhile, "NOM Staff" blogs on the organization's website: "There will be an election in 2012, in which we will find out if Republican elites are right they can pass a gay marriage bill in NY without consequences."
Imposing "consequences" on "Republican elites" is a perfectly legitimate goal. But to the extent that that is the objective of the "Let the People Vote" effort, it reinforces our view that the effort is deceptive.
Out on a Limb
He'll Be Too Old by Then
"Al Gore in '24' "--headline, Washington Times, July 26
New York Ave-Florida Ave-Gallaudet U to Become 'Fuggedaboutit'
"Metro to Shorten Some Station Names, Use Secondary Names"--headline, Washington Examiner, July 24
May We Suggest $20 for Each Year of Your Sentence
"Crime Stoppers Seeking Tips From Inmates"--headline, Associated Press, July 26
Elvis Lives
"Pirates Recall Alvarez, Place Presley on Disabled List"--headline, Pittsburgh Post Gazette, July 25
What Is That Wave Bear Looking At?
"Tropical Outlook: Wave Bears Watching"--video title, AccuWeather.com, July 26
When Criminals Get Alzheimer's
"Man Robbed Twice in 5 Minutes by Same Man in Ann Arbor"--headline, AnnArbor.com, July 25
Joke Seeks Punch Line
"Priests, Rabbis, Muftis Meet to Promote Green Behavior"--headline, Jerusalem Post, July 26
Hey, Kids! What Time Is It?
"As Dunkin' Donuts Goes Public, It's Time to Question the Valuation"--headline, The Wall Street Journal, July 26
Questions Nobody Is Asking
Answers to Questions Nobody Is Asking
"How the C.I.A. Hurt U.S. Health Diplomacy"--headline, New York Times, July 27
Dog: Free Speech Doesn't Include Judging--Now That Would Be News
"Judge: 'Free Speech' Doesn't Include Barking"--headline, Enquirer (Cincinnati), July 23
It's Always in the Last Place You Look
"Conservatives in the Closet"--headline, National Review Online, July 25
Too Much Information
"Obama Leaves Hispanic Activists Unsatisfied"--headline, Washington Post website, July 26
Help Wanted
"Serial Slasher Sought in Fairfax County, Va."--headline, WTOP-FM website (Washington), July 26
News of the Tautological
  • "Waterloo Burglary Suspect Arrested Before Trial"--headline, FingerLakes1.com (Seneca Falls, N.Y.), July 26
  • "Obama Speech: Lots of Words, No Solutions"--headline, HotAir.com, July 26
Breaking News From Matthew 2:1-12
"In Israel, Rich and Famous Flock to Wonder Rabbi"--headline, Associated Press, July 23
Breaking News From 2051
"BC Tree Fruits: The Apple Turns 75"--headline, PerishableNews.com, July 25
News You Can Use
"To Save Our Schools, Wear Sunblock and Bring Ideas"--headline, Puffington Host, July 26
Bottom Stories of the Day
We Shall Overcome
"The wealth gaps between whites and minorities have grown to their widest levels since the U.S began tracking more than 25 years ago," the Associated Press reports:
The median wealth of white U.S. households in 2009 was $113,149, compared with $6,325 for Hispanics and $5,677 for blacks, according to the analysis released Tuesday by the Pew Research Center. Those ratios, roughly 20 to 1 for blacks and 18 to 1 for Hispanics, far exceed the low mark of 7 to 1 for both groups reached in 1995, when the nation's economic expansion lifted many low-income groups to the middle class.
The white-black wealth gap is also the widest since the census began tracking such data in 1984, when the ratio was roughly 12 to 1.
"I am afraid that this pushes us back to what the Kerner Commission characterized as `two societies, separate and unequal,"' said Roderick Harrison, a former chief of racial statistics at the Census Bureau.
If only we had a black president, maybe this would change.
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...and I am Sid Harth @mysistereileen.com

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