Forbidden words

In his 1972 comedy routine, George Carlin enumerated the “seven words you can’t say on television.” It’s been more then forty years since Carlin first listed them. I think I’ve heard all of them on TV at one time or another, some have become fairly common.

Hillary Clinton supporters have created their list of forbidden words, too. Those are words reporters, or anyone asking questions from Hillary, can use. those words are: polarizing, calculating, disingenuous, insincere, ambitious, inevitable, entitled, over confident, Secretive, “will do anything to win”, “represents the past”, and “out of touch”.

You have to wonder, looking at this list. Is “over confident” considered to be a single combined phrase, or two words, “over” and “confident” that neither can be used? Does that mean a reporter can’t ask, “Hillary, are you confident?”

Can’t ask that I suppose. Neither can you ask, “Hillary is your campaign over?”

It’s confusing. We have to get all this straight in order that we don’t offend Hillary’s handful of fans. Handful. Is that another of the forbidden words?

hillary-madIf we can’t use “over“, how about “uber?” as in, “Hillary, Uber Alles!” Would that pass the smell test for Hillary’s buds? Hard to say. Regardless, I’m not a Hillary fan, nor of her lyin’ hubby who should have seen some jail time for perjury.

In fact, I rarely think about Hillary at all and when I do, it’s more and more like that o a crone from Act I, Scene I from McBeth. That scene is what comes to mind whenever I come across a news item about her.

George Carlin was forever tagged with the “seven forbidden words.” Like Carlin, Hillary is now forever tagged with her twelve (or is it twenty-one?) forbidden words.

Truthy

I was at a meeting of local county conservatives last night and one of the members started talking about how much personal information people, unthinkingly, release on the ‘net. Personally, especially on Facebook, my profile is sparse. I post my name, that I’m married and the company name I used to work for. I thought long and hard before I added that last bit and did so only at the request of a few former work buddies.

But all too many people post everything—all their personal information, phone numbers, personal details, family photos by the ton, oblivious just how much they release. We hear of the NSA spying on US citizens and no one really believes the NSA’s claims of innocence.

PRISM is one such spy program that examines all email traffic looking for specific pieces of information.

The Prism program collects stored Internet communications based on demands made to Internet companies such as Google Inc. under Section 702 of the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 to turn over any data that match court-approved search terms.[6] —  Wiki.

http://static.tumblr.com/k6l9ga7/1pRlvb0xk/big-brother-1984-cropped.jpgThe conversation from last night was still fresh in my mind this morning when I found the article below in my morning news basket from Ed Morrissey. He compared “Truthy” to George Orwell‘s Big Brother watching everyone.

Media curiously silent on “Truthy”

posted at 8:41 am on August 27, 2014 by Ed Morrissey

It’s been a couple of days since the Washington Free Beacon’s Elizabeth Harrington first reported on the three-year-old  federal grant from the National Science Foundation for the “Truthy” database, and … not much else has happened. Blogs have picked it up, including our own Mary Katharine, and Reason’s Bobby Soave did a good job of highlighting its inherent contradictions. Twitchy has collated a number of tongue-in-cheek attempts to kick-start Truthy. Other than that, the national media appears to have gone radio silent on this latest project; according to a Bing news search this morning, no national outlet has yet picked up the story from WFB.

That’s interesting, because one might have guessed that they would take notice of a million-dollar effort to encroach on their fact-checking turf. In my column for The Week today, I wonder why the federal government is spending a million dollars to create a mechanism that sounds like it could come straight out of Orwell when we have a perfectly good private-sector market for free speech:

The better question is this: Who makes these subjective judgments? At least at first, the answer would be the researchers who are building Truthy under a federal grant from the NSF. It’s not to hard to imagine a scenario in which the federal government would eventually find a use for Truthy, and would make the subjective judgments on how best to monitor political speech on social media.

Reason’s Bobby Soave points out the basic contradiction in claiming, as the abstract does, to support “the preservation of open debate” while attempting to apply labels to speech such as “suspicious memes,” “hate speech,” and “subversive propaganda,” as well as determining which arguments constitute an “organic meme” versus an “inorganic” one. “Those seem like conflicting goals,” Soave writes, “even if pursued in a totally apolitical way.”

Or an “inorganic” way, for that matter. Truthy is the very definition of a top-down determination of the legitimacy of public speech. In a free society, citizens make those determinations for themselves. That is the organic approach to political speech, stemming from those who wish to engage in — or become spectators to — the contest of ideas, arguments, analyses, and proposals. Instead of allowing people to reach their own conclusions about those ideas and arguments, Truthy and the NSF instead appear to want to delegitimize the people who engage in those debates, which would in any other circumstance become the very kind of political smear that Truthy is supposedly designed to protect against.

The fact-checking industry, for all its faults, at least uses a free-market approach to criticism and debate that “Truthy” would pervert. Citizens of a free nation who value political speech shouldn’t pay a dime for Truthy, let alone a million dollars. Its abstract describes an apparatus for state control of political thought, as though its proposers read George Orwell’s 1984 as a how-to rather than a cautionary tale.

The Inquisitr takes a look at the principals involved in this project, and wonders just how non-partisan this project really is:

The project website also says that while many memes are created in a “perfectly organic manner,” others are allegedly driven by the “shady machinery of high-profile congressional campaigns.” Free speech advocates say, “so what” to the organic vs. organized meme creation. If a political advocacy group makes a Barack Obama golf meme, will they wind up in the government-funded database? According to the description and focus of the Truthy database project, the answer would be a resounding “yes.”

But speaking of “the shady machinery of high-profile … campaigns,” we have this:

The Truthy database project is billed as a non-partisan effort, but the “lead investigator” on the project is reportedly involved with a multitude of progressive or liberal groups, Filippo Menczer has reportedly uttered support for Moveon.org, Amnesty International, and President Barack Obama’s Organizing for Action, among other groups. Filippo Menczer is also a computer science and informatics professor at Indiana University. Links to the political and activists groups the Truthy database leader supports are posted on his bio page at the Center for Complex Networks and Systems Research. Menczer’s page also says that he is on sabbatical at Yahoo! Labs for the 2014-15 academic year. The $1 million grant funded by the taxpayers runs during the same year.

But don’t worry … you’ll love Big Brother! They promise not to make that a “suspicious meme,” too.

For most of us, bits and pieces of our history and personal details are already in some database—a piece here, a piece there, including our tax and income data, even our medical history. It’s too late for us but we should be ever vigilant to not allow more of our personal data to come into some one’s hands. Privacy is achieved only through constant vigilence.

Montage

It has become a liberal tactic to release potentially damaging information late on Friday or Saturday when the MSM’s attention is elsewhere…or purposely redirected. This last weekend was no different.

On today’s Drudge Report is the headline: The Hilliary Papers: Ruthless First Lady. Diane Blair, a political science professor whom Hillary Clinton once described as her “closest friend”, died in 2000. She and others collected documents during the Clinton’s campaign before Bill Clinton’s run for the Presidency in 1992. More documents were added until Blair’s death.

Jim Blair, a former chief counsel at Tyson Foods Inc. who was at the center of “Cattlegate,” a 1994 controversy involving the unusually large returns Hillary Clinton made while trading cattle futures contracts in the 1970s, donated his wife’s papers to the University of Arkansas Special Collections library in Fayetteville after her death. — The Washington Free Beacon.

A memo from those archives, under the title of, “Research on Hillary Clinton,” noted that Bill, according to pollsters, was viewed as ‘slick,’ while Hillary was viewed as ruthless. The picture the documents paint of Bill and Hillary Clinton is not complementary. Bill comes across as bungling and stupid while Hillary is portrayed as one who’d cut a throat to maintain political power.

***

A bit of bad news for Obamacare came to light over the weekend. It is another ‘unintended consequence’ that the libs are now claiming to be a feature. (Systems Designers, development and project managers are very familiar with the tactic.)

Obamacare will induce people to drop out of the work force, a recent congressional study reported.

The Congressional Budget Office report, examining Obamacare’s effects on the economy, predicted that the U.S. workforce would shrink by 2.5 million people. The cause: Low-income people get subsidies when shopping on Obamacare’s health-insurance exchanges. This makes it easier for people to afford health care without a job or by working part-time. — The Washington Examiner.

The column may be a bit difficult to understand. The bottom line is the amount of subsidies granted to ‘qualified’ applicants may influence people to maintain low incomes or drop out of the work-force completely. An income difference of $1 can mean the loss of those subsidies and increased healthcare costs of thousands of dollars per year.  That—is a disincentive to work. Why work when more money means the loss of the subsidy and higher costs of the now-required healthcare coverage.

The ‘unintended consequence’ came to light in another venue, a discussion between the head of the Congressional Budget Office and Obama’s spokesman, Jay Carney. The gist? Americans now have a choice whether or not to work!

My, oh, my, how times have changed. America now has a government that views work as a trap and celebrates those who escape it.

That is the upshot of last week’s remarkable exchange over ObamaCare. It began when the head of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office reported that the interplay of taxes and subsidies in the law “creates a disincentive for people to work.” The report predicted the mix would lead to fewer hours worked, costing the equivalent of nearly 2.5 million jobs.

In response, President Obama’s spokesman pleaded guilty — with pride and pleasure.

“Opportunity created by affordable, quality health insurance allows families in America to make a decision about how they will work, or if they will work,” Jay Carney said. Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi applauded the law for freeing people from “job-lock.”

They never mentioned the implications of this distinctly Obamaish New Deal. The subsidies that enable some Americans to decide “if they will work” mean higher taxes from those who must or want to work. — The New York Post.

Job-lock. The democrats have created a new term. When I looked at the definition of the term in Wiki, I noticed the page was last updated February 9, 2014. Yes, the libs must keep ‘job-lock’ up to date.

***

When I was in the Air Force, one of the first things I read as it became available was the Air Force Times. Like the Air Force, each branch of the military had its paper, the Army Times, the Navy Times, and the Marine Corps Times. There may have been a Coast Guard Times, too, although I never saw one.

One reason why the ‘Times was so popular was that it was published by an independent, semi-private company. The current ‘Times are now owned by Gannet.

By semi-private, I mean the military branches tried, often, to control the content of the ‘Times. They failed each time. Many retired and active military members were contributors to the ‘Times. Military retirees often held paid and advisory positions to the various ‘Times editions. They knew where the bodies were buried and used that knowledge…frequently to the embarrassment of the particular branch.

The success of the ‘Times is its support of the lowest members of the military, not its highest. Those supporters insure truth and accuracy in the stories and reporting. The various ‘Times papers have credibility—more credibility than the military hierarchy and that difference in credibility is leading to conflict again.

Once again, the military hierarchy is attempting to control the content of the ‘Times…the Marine Corps Times in this particular case. I predict this effort will eventually fail, too. The last time a service branch tried to control the ‘Times, the paper was smuggled onto military bases around the world. Like Prohibition, banning the ‘Times will fail.

Marine Corps Times first casualty in headquarters’ war to ‘professionalize’

Independent newspaper does not conform to new Marine Corps message, brass says

Feb. 9, 2014 – 05:05PM, By Lance M. Bacon Staff writer

Marines leaf through a copy of Marine Corps Times during some downtime at a patrol base in Afghanistan's Helmand province. The newspaper, which throughout the last year has investigated allegations of wrongdoing involving the service's top general, has been targeted by Marine Corps headquarters as part of a new initiative to 'professionalize' areas where the publication is sold.

Marines leaf through a copy of Marine Corps Times during some downtime at a patrol base in Afghanistan’s Helmand province. The newspaper, which throughout the last year has investigated allegations of wrongdoing involving the service’s top general, has been targeted by Marine Corps headquarters as part of a new initiative to ‘professionalize’ areas where the publication is sold. (Brennan Linsley / The Associated Press)

Marine Corps leaders have ordered the independent Marine Corps Times newspaper removed from its prominent newsstand location at base exchange stores worldwide and placed instead in areas away from checkout lines, where it is harder to find and fewer copies are available.

The move raises troubling questions about motive and closely follows a directive prohibiting commanders from using budget funds to buy Marine Corps Times and a number of other publications.

Marine Corps Times is widely recognized for its comprehensive coverage of the Corps, focusing on everything from career tracks, to pay and benefits, family and spouse issues, and employment after leaving the military.

Throughout much of the past year, the paper has published dozens of articles as part of an ongoing investigation into allegations the service’s commandant, Gen. Jim Amos, abused his authority to ensure Marines were punished for an embarrassing war-zone scandal. Numerous reports have captured the attention of mainstream media outlets, including NPR, CNN and Time magazine, among several others.

Spokesmen for the commandant’s office would not answer questions about whether Amos or his staff were aware of or involved in the decision to relocate the newspaper, but a source with knowledge of the new directive said it was approved with the commandant’s knowledge.

“It is no secret [in the Pentagon] that the commandant does not like Marine Corps Times,” the source said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

The commandant’s office punted all questions, including whether Amos was involved in the decision to move Marine Corps Times from prominent display in the exchanges,to Manpower & Reserve Affairs, which has oversight of the exchange. A spokeswoman for Manpower & Reserve Affairs said the paper was moved as part of a plan to “professionalize” the front of the exchanges.

As every serviceman and veteran knows, weasels exist at all levels. In this case, it is the Commandant.

***

One last bit. The ‘conservative’ rankings of Congress was released this weekend. Claire McCaskill was ranked 50 out of the 100 Senators. It’s well known that McCaskill voted with the ‘Pubs on issues that had no chance to pass, hence her rating. Missouri’s other Senator, Roy Blunt, supposedly a ‘Pub, was ranked 42, not far above liberal McCaskill. The difference is that McCaskill manipulated her votes to appear more conservative. Blunt didn’t.

I understand that primary opponents to Blunt are forming all across Missouri. It couldn’t happen to be better Senator—and that’s a point. We don’t need two liberal voting Senators and that is exactly what we have had. Time for Blunt to go back to obscurity.

Dinosaur Media Watch

Over the last few years I’ve posted numerous times about the death of media dinosaurs—here, here, and here. The Boston Globe is one such. It was up for sale some years ago and there were no takers. It’s owned by the parent company of the New York Times who is also on shaky ground. The NYT is putting the Boston Globe up for sale, again.

New York Times puts Boston Globe up for sale again

By Jennifer Saba, NEW YORK | Wed Feb 20, 2013 6:06pm EST

(Reuters) – The New York Times Co is putting The Boston Globe on the auction block for a second time as it seeks to focuses solely on growing its flagship newspaper.

The company said in a statement that it had hired Evercore Partners to advise on the sale, which also includes the Worcester Telegram & Gazette.

The sale is expected to come at a big loss. Ken Doctor, an analyst with Outsell Research, estimated that the Globe could fetch about $150 million. The New York Times paid $1.1 billion for the newspaper in 1993.

The New York Times is putting all its effort into being a global information source and “the Globe is a distraction,” Doctor said.

Morningstar analyst Joscelyn MacKay said in recent years revenue at the Boston Globe had declined much more than at the New York Times.

The New York Times first put the paper up for sale in 2009 as it struggled with losses. But it halted the sale process and decided to hang onto the paper after winning concessions from Globe’s unions and implementing cost cuts.

Most print media organizations in the US, and in Europe,  have umbilical cord ties to unions. The unions block modernization that would reduce production expense while demanding higher wages and benefits. The unions have been sucking the economic blood from their partners until, one by one, major metro newspapers are dying.

Given the fact that newspapers have devolved into liberal propaganda tools, their passing is a good thing. The internet—and bloggers, are replacing them. And that, too, is a good thing.

***

Illinois tyrants are trying to kill free speech in the state. Illinois state Senator Ira Silverstein wants to prohibit the use of “anonymous” comments on websites. Now on one hand, I can sympathize. Ninety percent or more anonymous postings are spam of one form or another. Another six or seven percent are vitriol by opponents of the post or of the author and use “anonymous” to hide their identities. I’ve had a few of those on my website as well. The remaining percentages are those who don’t have an internet identity they wish to publicize.

It is the last two catagories above that involve free speech.  As much as I hate the rants spewed by liberals directed to my site by the Democrat Underground or the Daily Koz, they do have a right to say their message—just as I, as a website owner, have to right to remove their posts when they exceed the bounds of propriety.

Silverstein wants the state to enforce those prohibitions. Why? The site owner may approve of the statements and if/when those same statements offend Silverstein or his liberal buds, he has no recourse to force the removal of those statements.

His bill would grant him that authority regardless whether the website owners agree or disagree with Silverstein’s demands. It’s nothing more than another liberal attempt to stifle free speech.

Illinois state senator pushes anti-anonymity bill

3:42 AM 02/21/2013

A recently introduced bill in the Illinois state Senate would require anonymous website comment posters to reveal their identities if they want to keep their comments online.

The bill, called the Internet Posting Removal Act, is sponsored by Illinois state Sen. Ira Silverstein. It states that a “web site administrator upon request shall remove any comments posted on his or her web site by an anonymous poster unless the anonymous poster agrees to attach his or her name to the post and confirms that his or her IP address, legal name, and home address are accurate.”

The bill, which does not ask for or clarify requirements from entities requesting the comment removal, would take effect 90 days after becoming law.

Pseudonymous and anonymous comments have long been a critical part of U.S. public discourse, though, and the bill may be on shaky legal ground.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) noted on its website that the “right to anonymous speech is also protected well beyond the printed page.”

“Thus in 2002 the Supreme Court struck down a law requiring proselytizers to register their true names with the mayor’s office before going door-to-door,” wrote EFF, noting that the Supreme Court protects Internet commentary as it does pamphleteering.

The bill is part of a larger trend of lawmakers seeking to censor anonymous online speech.

Of course we must realize this is Illinois.  New York tried to pass a similar bill last year by establishment ‘Pubs. They failed.

***

This last item needs no added comments. It speaks for itself. New Yorkers, the British are coming. Where is your militia?

Report: Prosecutors to pursue felony charges against ex-soldier for possessing high-capacity magazine

New York prosecutors will pursue felony criminal charges against retired special forces soldier Nathan Haddad, who was arrested in LeRay, New York in January for allegedly possessing five 30-round AR-15 magazines, according to conservative law blog Legal Insurrection.

Prosecutors had reportedly offered Haddad a plea bargain that would spare him jail time if he admitted to five misdemeanors, according to Legal Insurrection. But Haddad’s attorney told the blog that Haddad, who currently works at the Department of Defense, will not accept the deal.

It is unclear how Haddad was arrested or discovered with the magazines.

Haddad was deployed four times during his ten-year Army career, and was once injured during special forces training in South Korea. He was discharged in October 2010.

A website established to pay Haddad’s legal expenses has collected more than $35,000.