In an Aug. 6 FrontPageMag post, Vadum claims that President Obama is engaging in a "nickel-and-dime approach to disenfranchisement" by challenging an Ohio law that doesn't give civilians the same extended early-voting period granted to members of the military. Vadum insists that this is a "real-life example of a political candidate trying to make it harder for those Americans who don’t support him to vote.
In fact, as even the conservatives at Hot Air admit, the Obama campaign is not seeking to reduce the military early-voting window -- it's trying to increase the civilian early-voting window to that of the military. In other words, no military disenfranchisement is going on at all.
Which means that Vadum has gotten his facts wrong. Again.
In an Oct. 17 FrontPageMag article, Jamie Glazov writes that "WikiLeaks recently released a secret cable revealing that President Obama tried to apologize to the Japanese for the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during his tour to that country in 2009." Glazov went on to add, "That Obama sought to apologize to the Japanese for ending a brutal war that they started and for doing it in such a way that it saved millions of lives on both sides is a disturbing testament to the destructive mindset of the man that leads the United States." At the end of the column, Glazov asserted again that Obama was "planning to apologize for the U.S. bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki."
Glazov is lying. In fact, the WikiLeaks cable in question says no such thing; rather, it repeats speculation from "anti-nuclear groups" on whether Obama would apologize, but goes on to state that "the idea of President Obama visiting Hiroshima to apologize for the atomic bombing during World War II is a 'non-starter.'"
Even Fox News has apologized for reporting that an apology was planned. Now it's Glazov's turn to apologize.
Horowitz Reflexively Defends Spencer Over Norway Terror Manifesto Topic: Horowitz
We haven't paid much attention to the David Horowitz empire lately -- indeed, the death of his NewsReal blog in May went by with little notice by, well, anyone. (We won't miss the catfights at all.) Even the fact that hateful right-wing columnist Ben Shapiro is ensconced at the David Horowitz Freedom Center as something all too appropriately called the "Shillman Journalism Fellow" is indicative of how little influence Horowitz has in the mainstream of public debate.
Horowitz, however, does have influence in the far-right streams he has confined himself to. Alleged Norway terror suspect Anders Behring Breivik issued a manifesto that cites Horowitz's FrontPageMag at least 34 times and, as we've noted, copiously cites some of Horowitz's fellow travelers like Pam Geller, Robert Spencer, and Walid Shoebat.
So what does Horowitz do? Complain that this was pointed out. From a July 25 FrontPageMag item:
The New York Times today has a wretched editorial masquerading as a news story on Robert Spencer and his alleged complicity in the Oslo massacres because his ideas are cited by the lunatic responsible. Joseph McCarthy could not have done it better. The Times next will blame Noam Chomsky for the crimes of Osama bin Laden and Al Gore for the crimes of the Unabomber since the ideas of both were cited by the lunatics. Chomsky is not only cited by the Islamic terrorists, he openly supports them - yet the Times would be the first to express shock and outrage at the mere suggestion of Chomsky's complicity in the crimes of al-Qaeda, Hizbollah and Hamas.
Robert Spencer has never supported a terrorist act. His crime in the eyes of the left is to have told the truth about Islamic fanatics beginning with the Islamic prophet who called for the extermination of the Jews and said in his farewell speech that he was called to fight until all men say that there is no God but allah. (see Bruce Thornton's article today's Frontpage).
The attack on Robert Spencer, a man of great courage and decency, is just one phase in the war against all those who speak out against Islamic terror and Islamic imperialism. The Times attack is but the latest and most repulsive salvo in this war.
Horowitz's complaint about McCarthy-esque tactics is interesting, since he has historically criticized only McCarthy's means, not his goal. In his review of an Ann Coulter book defending McCarthy, Horowitz criticized McCarthy for being "demagogic" and because "his recklessness injured the anti-Communist cause." He doesn't criticize the anti-Communist cause itself.
All Horowitz offers is a reflexive defense of Spencer, and no reflection whatsoever on why a person like Breivik would find Spencer's work so inspirational for his terrorist acts.
Catfight! NewsReal's Fox Offended By Us Topic: Horowitz
NewsReal's Megan Fox is shocked -- shocked! -- that I would refer to her as a "hateful catty bitch" over her claim that the media is making insufficient fun of Michelle Obama's looks. Fox insists that I "displayed typical leftist etiquette when talking about a conservative woman."
My answer to that is that I do not show respect to anyone who has not earned it, conservative or otherwise. Making catty remarks about someone's looks, whether or not she is the first lady, is the epitome of bitchiness. It can be argued that I merely told the truth about Fox; it's not my fault that she finds offense.
Fox then proved the accuracy of my analysis by reacting in the manner we have come to expect from her -- more catty, bitchy remarks, this time about me and the kind of person she imagines I am. Because I am a gentleman, I will not sink to her level by responding in kind but will, instead, expand my analysis of her: it seems she's not only a bitch, but an immature one as well.
Fox again insists that the media really does need to make fun of Michelle Obama's looks:
I expect the first lady of the United States to conduct herself with propriety and elegance, which includes taking a basic protocol class that covers not touching the Queen of England inappropriately or wearing a shlumpy cardigan to Buckingham Palace. And I expect the media not to compare anyone to Jackie O who wears such hideous things as that rag above, and if they do, I reserve the right to call them on it. If that makes me a hateful, catty bitch, carve it in stone and nail it to my office door. (I may have cards printed.)
One could say that Fox is displaying typical right-wing etiquette when talking about a liberal woman.
Fox then huffed that I misinterpreted her:
Clearly, I am commenting on Michelle’s wardrobe, not her looks. She has the ability to dress well. Here’s a perfect example. Notice no pulling, bulging or awful leather and metal studded belts. (There’s no need to have a perfect body if you dress it well.) This is stunning.
Of course, a wardrobe is part of one's look. It's silly to pretend, as Fox does, that the two are completely separate things. But who died and made her Anna Wintour? Fox's Photoshopping work notwithstanding, I have no opinion to offer about Michelle Obama's looks -- besides, it's Fox's opinion on the subject, not mine, that are of issue.
Then she's back to making more immature, catty remarks about me -- thus obliterating any high-road sympathy she may have had in pretending to be victimized by this big ol' meanie -- ultimately concluding:
The real hater is Krepel who has attacked a woman he doesn’t know by using misogynistic and vitriolic profanity to dehumanize and victimize his target. Ass.
In fact, I made my judgment about Fox -- accurately, I would proffer -- based on what she wrote. Her response only confirms the accuracy of my assessment. Yes, "bitch" is an undeniably vitriolic word, but is it really worse than what Fox wrote about Obama (and me)? It's a harsh word that should be used sparingly and only when appropriate. I believe I did so. I chose that particular word for one reason and one reason only: becuase it accurately described the tone of what Fox was writing.
Also, let's not pretend that Fox was offering cogent political analysis in her hit piece. Her goal was the same one she acribes to me: to dehumanize and victimize her target, in this case the Obamas. Projecting much?
To sum up, Megan: If you're not actually the person your writings show you to be, perhaps you should stop writing like that.
Prove you're a better person than the vitriol you spew at NewsReal, Megan. I would love to see it, even if it would prove me wrong.
NewsReal Upset Media Won't Make Fun of Michelle Obama's Looks Topic: Horowitz
A Jan. 9 NewsReal post by Megan Fox is titled "The 11 Most Ludicrous Free Passes Given to The Obamas." It's the usual right-wing claptrap, plus one shockingly hateful one: One of those "free passes" is that Michelle Obama wears things Fox doesn't like.
And yet, the press (even the mean-queen Joan Rivers) is silent on what can only be described (truthfully) as a hot mess. Of all the strange and borderline absurd outfits in the first lady’s closet, this next one bothered me the most. As the FLOTUS, Michelle should recognize that she represents this country at all times and when stepping off of Air Force One she should know there are going to be photographers beaming her image across the world. Put on a suit, smile for the cameras and then go change into your vacation-wear at the (very expensive) hotel we put you up in. Do not get off Air Force One wearing something most people wouldn’t even wear to pull weeds.
And then, just for laughs we have the ever-present, not easily understood and always growing Klingon War Belt collection. Thank God for the Internet and snarky writers with blogs! Without them, we would be subjected to the grovelling, sycophantic praise of outfits that are simply head-scratch worthy. I don’t get this. Michelle can look great. I’ve seen it. Why does she do this to herself?
Whose bright idea was this giant belt (wide enough to retread your tires) over the little cardigan? Is anyone wearing this look but her? I haven’t seen it anywhere. If Michelle really was like Jackie O, who inspired an entire era of fashion, every mom on the block would be belting their cardigans with mini corsets. I’ve seen the belts…but not like this. This is something so special it has inspired another Web site (doing the job the old press used to do.)
They’re going to have to add an entire wing to the Smithsonian just to house Michelle’s belts! A famous play in the leftist handbook is to keep repeating a lie until people believe it’s true. There is a concerted effort by the media to tell us the first lady is the most fashionable first lady they’ve ever seen. But our eyes keep contradicting their claims. The hypnosis job isn’t working on me. How about you?
If Fox thinks that not calling Michelle Obama ugly is the worst thing the media has done, there's no need to lose sleep over this. Although, perhaps, Fox ought to for being such a hateful, catty bitch.
Meanwhile ... Topic: Horowitz
Media Matters, as part of its examination of Byron Williams, who got into a firefight with police as he was headed to shoot up the offices of the Tides Foundation and the ACLU in San Francisco after claiming inspiration from Glenn Beck, has a sidebar on Discover the Networks, the David Horowitz website purporting to be a "Guide to the Political Left." Turns out Williams drew some inspiration from DTN's conspiratorial musings as well.
The Horowitz Cult of Personality Strikes Again Topic: Horowitz
As yet anotherreminder that NewsReal is, at its core, designed to cultivate and maintain a cult of personality around David Horowitz, we bring you a Sept. 20 post by Donald Douglas, who gets into a comment-thread slapfight with a blogger who committed the impeachable offense of criticizing Horowitz.
After the blogger also took issue with Douglas' use of the “the freakish nihilism of the radical left” in praising one of Horowitz's books, Douglas responded:
Two things of interest right away: (1) The complete dismissal of David Horowitz’s ideals as sheer lunacy, and (2) the rejection of my use of the phrase “freakish nihilism” to describe the ideological agenda of the left. There’s a word for this: Anti-intellectualism. And that stance marinates in a devilish sauce of hard left-wing hubris and deceit. It’s further soaked in hatred, for to hate one’s enemies is to categorize them as beyond the pale of reason and civilization.
Perhaps there’s some psychology at work for Brendan. Someone as esteemed as David Horowitz, who lived through — in direct participation — all the cultural revolts of the last couple of generations, is ridiculed as a crazed milk crate screamer? Brendan certainly thinks he’s got it all figured out. But I doubt he’s actually read the book in question, Horowitz’s The Politics of Bad Faith.
After the blogger responds back that Douglas' sole argument this far is "Let’s talk about David Horowitz and how great he is!" Douglas takes further umbrage:
And so, David Horowitz, and myself, apparently, are out standing on a corner, on milk boxes, raving like alleged lunatics? This is what Brendan calls debate. As I said, concepts are in play here. Ideas have consequences. Why is it that Democrats utter nary a peep when declared Stalinist ideologues wind up gaining access to the top levels of the Obama administration? These same folks, including many Democrats in Congress — including dozens who have open affiliations with the Democratic Socialist Party of America — call for and implement a Castro-style healthcare regime in the U.S. Of course, these people blow off the mass murder and desolation of the such communist thugs.
The blogger then complains that Douglas has no interest in anything other than "howling how everything Left is irredeemably evil," Douglas goes off on a logic-free tangent:
What you see here is the notion that leftist ideology is UNCHALLENGEABLE. There’s nothing that can penetrate the hard-shell of neo-communist ideology. Anyone with a different idea is literally a “Flat Earther.”
Truly amazing. Meanwhile, these people and their grand schemes for a nationalization of the U.S. health delivery system under ObamaCare socialism are running for the hills. It’s not working. Costs are not going down. Firms are responding by not hiring, precisely at the same time that unemployment keeps rising. It’s statism that’s failing, and the idea that state planning — THE CENTRAL COMPONENT OF ALL SOCIALIST IDEOLOGY — is proving just one more disaster rammed down American throats by the mandarins of the Democrat-Socialist Party in Washington.
I don’t know how old Brendan is. He is idealistic. Perhaps the real world will intrude sometime in his life, and he’ll learn to appreciate an actual argument for what it is an not the twisting evasion of some wingnut hokus pokus.
Douglas concludes by quoting the Scriptures -- er, David Horowitz. Just like a True Believer.
NewsReal Upset It Can't Tell Lies With Impunity Topic: Horowitz
In a Sept. 22 NewsReal post, unapologetic gay-basher Kathy Shaidle purports to detail "George Soros’ 8 Most Despicable Acts." Her rant, however, has been interrupted by the facts, and NewsReal isn't happy about it.
As part of the first "despicable act" Soros purportedly did, Shaidle quoted from a column by Ezra Levant claiming that Soros "collaborated with the Nazis." That is a libelous distortion of what Soros actually did as a 14-year-old during World War II, which was pose as the godson of a Hungarian official who oversaw the confiscation of property from Hungarian Jews. The Canadian newspaper that first published Levant's column has retracted it because it "contained false statements about George Soros and his conduct as a young teenager in Nazi-occupied Hungary."
Shaidle claimed that Levant relied in part "upon research conducted by David Horowitz," but doesn't mentiont that Horowitz got it wrong too.
Soros, understandably, wanted to correct the record, which resulted in a fit of all-caps typing by NewsReal. The headline of Shaidle's post now parenthetically adds that it was "UPDATED AFTER THREAT BY SOROS’ LAWYERS", and the space where the Levant excerpt was located now states:
EDITOR'S NOTE: THIS EXCERPT FROM LEVANT'S COLUMN HAS BEEN REMOVED AFTER KATHY SHAIDLE RECEIVED CORRESPONDENCE FROM SOROS' LAWYERS. NO WORD YET ON IF SOROS' LAWYERS HAVE CONTACTED MEDIA MATTERS FOR REPRINTING THE EXCERPT TOO AT THEIR WEBSITE HERE.
The unnamed editor appears not to understand the difference between uncritically repeating a lie, which Shaidle did, and repeating a lie as part of correcting it, which is what Media Matters did.
Shaidle's post now begins with another editor's note:
Editor’s Note: This post has been revised since it was first published. Because its author, Kathy Shaidle, is Canadian she is not protected by the same first amendment and libel laws that Americans are. Thus despite the fact that the information she presented has floated around the American blogosphere for years and was published in David Horowitz and Richard Poe’s The Shadow Party, because of where she lives Soros’ goons were able to target her with legal threats. That is the nature of the totalitarian personality we’re dealing with here.
Really? It's "totalitarian" for someone to respond to lies being told about them and to try and correct the record?
It seems Shaidle and NewsReal are upset that they aren't allowed to tell lies with impunity about people they don't like. The right to be above the law that they seem to be asserting is much more "totalitarian" than Soros' actions.
FrontPageMag Tries to Solve The 'Obama Problem' Topic: Horowitz
The last time we heard about the "Obama problem," the solution was a military coup.
The latest effort to solve the "Obama problem" comes from FrontPageMag's David Solway. He writes in an Aug. 23 column:
Regular readers of this site need not be reminded of Barack Obama’s countless gaffes, aberrations, indulgences, prevarications, poor decisions, shady dealings and worrisome patches of biographical obscurity. These blemishes have been rehearsed in article after article to the extent to which we can say that, by this time, the issue of his competence and bona fides should have reached critical mass. Nevertheless, for the fence sitters, the undecideds or those of a different political persuasion who out of curiosity occasionally scan the conservative media, it might be expedient to revisit the Obama problem and set down a brief summary of the president’s track record.
And who does Solway choose as his sources for this examination? Jerome Corsi and Pam Geller. Solway tries to offer a weak defense: " Corsi has been viciously attacked as a liar and a 'discredited, fringe bigot,' but his defense of his allegations is point-device." But Corsi actually is discredited, a bigot, and a liar, and his defense of his book also included corrections.
Solway then unleashes a massive bill of particulars that he described as a "lengthening rap sheet of Obama’s character defects, equivocations, dissemblings, bad judgments and actions harmful to the integrity of the nation." On this list are things the previous president also did, like taking alot of vacations and "puerile blaming of the previous administration for his own inadequacies."
Finally, Solway gets down to brass tacks: "Nobama is the watchword. How to do this in indeed the question." He manages to stay within the legal and constitutional, unlike his fellow "Obama problem" commiserant, Newsmax's John L. Perry. But he also repeats Tom Tancredo's baseless claim that "the president’s refusal to enforce immigration law [is] an impeachable offense"; in fact, border enforcement is at record high levels.
But staying with the legal and constitutional doesn't preclude Solway from descending into a fit of Obama derangement:
In any event, there should be little doubt by this time that Barack Obama is a grave security threat to the United States. He is, as Sowell argues, a president the country may not survive. And still many of us are disinclined to grasp how truly dangerous this man is, for he is not just another Democrat seeking the privilege of power but a crypto-Marxist who hauled his buckets from the wells of the left (e.g., Saul Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals, which, as James Lewis points out, he “taught his ACORN followers in all his Community Agitator classes in Chicago”), a clear Islamo-sympathizer and a man who gives every indication of intensely disliking the country he was elected to serve. He is not simply naïve, misdirected, frivolous, unprepared for office, partisan and ignorant—he may be all these things—but, to quote Pajamas Media CEO Roger Simon, he may also suffer from “a serious personality disorder.”
[...]
America’s allies, from Taiwan to Ukraine to Israel and the United Arab Emirates are feeling profoundly at risk as a result of Obama’s fecklessness or intentions. Indeed, Obama has effectively abdicated America’s role as the guarantor of the free world. But it is America itself that is in direst jeopardy from the operations of a president who governs at a great distance from the people. It is as if a majority of electors and salon intellectuals hurtled down the rabbit hole and found themselves in a sinister wonderland whose gaudy illusions they foolishly took for reality. Many have been chastened and are now scrambling to climb back out.
Sounds like Solway is just itching to call for a military coup if he thought he could get away with it.
David Swindle maintains the David Horowitz cult of personality in an Aug. 8 NewsReal post devoted to "The 10 Most Important David Horowitz Books to Read":
One of the most common queries I’ve gotten from NewsReal Blog readers and bloggers alike is some guidance on which of David Horowitz’s books to read. Which are the most important? Which will help them understand his political approach and analysis of the Left the best? Which will be most useful in their own political fights?
It’s not an easy question as different people have different interests and will be moved by different books. Never the less, I’ve decided to create this guide listing what — in my personal opinion — are the ten most important of David’s books to read — and I’ve ranked them in order.
Thanks for sharing. Not quite the wonk-Tiger-Beat tone of previousposts, but still yet another reminder that it's still all about the increasingly Lenin-like visage of Chairman David.
NewsReal Declares Levin-Palin Re-Engagement 'A Coup for the Left' Topic: Horowitz
In one of the dumbest blog posts we've seen in a while, Ann Kane uses a July 17 NewsReal post to go on a tirade about the re-engagement of Levi Johnston and Bristol Palin, declaring it "A Coup for the Left."
How so? It's all the fault of that homewrecker Kathy Griffin! Kane helpfully explains:
Scenario: Sarah Palin’s seventeen-year-old daughter comes home and tells her she’s pregnant. Sarah takes it hard, and tells her they will handle it. Her daughter plans to marry the father of the child.
Within months of Palin losing the election, Levi dumps her daughter for a forty-nine year-old leftist foul mouth comedienne, Kathy Griffin, who has a highly public relationship with him. Then he poses nude for Playgirl magazine.
At Palin’s convention debut, Levi was obviously caught up in the fanfare. Griffin, aka, hovering vulture looking for her next prey in her crusade to wipe out decency from civilization, swept in on Levi, and took advantage of his fifteen minutes of fame. Griffin saw in Levi a messenger from whom she could launch her vitriol against Sarah Palin.
Just one little problem: There was never a relationship between Johnston and Griffin. The New York Daily News article Kane links to as evidence of the alleged affair clearly states the two "never actually dated" and it was all a "comedic charade."
But forget the facts -- Kane is on a roll:
Celebrities like Griffin hate the wholesome goodness of Palin. She tried to destroy the former Alaska governor by seducing the her star struck future son-in-law. Now that Levi’s going to marry Bristol nonetheless, what’s Griffin going to do, fade into the background? I doubt it. Heaven forbid the Palin clan should let Levi, with his despicable past, into their home again.
Um, yeah. Glad to see the standards for being a NewsReal blogger remain as highasalways.
NewsReal Blogger Likens Obama to Charles Manson Topic: Horowitz
Here's some five-alarm Obama derangement from NewsReal's Kathy Barkulis:
Charles Manson claimed he was trying to start a race war when he killed Sharon Tate and the others in Los Angeles 40 or so years ago but knew nothing about starting one. The people who are doing a good job of trying to start a race war now were barely out of diapers when Manson went on his killing spree. Attorney General Eric Holder, President Barack Obama, and the New Black Panther Party have joined forces to make sure that divisions remain between the races, and it’s all in the name of voter intimidation and getting Democrats elected. Or is there something else brewing too?
[...]
It is stunning that the first African American President and the first African American Attorney General are going to use their historic places in history to stick it to the white man.
Barkulis' entire premise, in addition to being hateful, is entirely baseless: The Bush administration, not the Obama administration, declined to charge the New Black Panthers, and the so-called whistleblower she's relying on is a right-wing activist with no firsthand knowledge of the claims he's making.
We've previously highlighted the cult-of-personality aspect of NewsReal, run by the David Horowitz Freedom Center mainly, it appears, for the glory of David Horowitz.
Another thing on the subject is worth mentioning: The avatar for NewsReal's Twitter account is, yes, the increasingly Lenin-like visage of David Horowitz. Which results in things like this (copied from TweetDeck):
FrontPageMag Repeats Bogus Obama-Soros Conspiracy Theory Topic: Horowitz
A June 22 FrontPageMag article by Tait Trussell repeats the conspiracy theory that President Obama is calling for a moritorium on oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico in order to benefit George Soros:
Could this be merely a happy coincidence for George Soros, the major financial backer of Obama’s presidential campaign who also has $811 million invested in the Brazilian oil company, Petrobras? Wasn’t it enough of a payback to Soros when the Obama Administration loaned up to $10 billion to Petrobras? Soros, with his far left-wing organization, MoveOn, is called the Godfather of world socialism. But most relevant currently is that he has been an enthusiastic proponent of global warming and environmental liberalism. He has urged adoption of a global carbon tax. Could it be more than coincidence that his position is strikingly similar to what Obama called for in his June 14 Oval Office speech on the Gulf oil spill and future energy actions?
In fact, the loan to Petrobras was made by the Export-Import Bank, not Obama. At the time the loan was made, the bank’s Bboard consisted of three Republicans and two Democrats, all of whom were appointed by President Bush.
FrontPageMag Selectively Criticizes Candidates' Falsified Military Records Topic: Horowitz
A June 9 FrontPageMag article by Rich Trzupek denounced Democrats who apparently made false claims about their military service, such as Richard Blumenthal and Phil Hare, as "arrogant." But Trzupek curiously looks over another candidate from Hare's state of Illinois accused of falsifying his military credentials: MarkKirk.
Then again, Kirk is a Republican, so that falsification apparently doesn't count in Trzupek's eyes.
