Washington, D.C., Sept. 29 — ACORN CEO Bertha Lewis, the sole black person in the organization’s leadership, announced today that ACORN has signed a deal with film director Roman Polanski to create a new kind of daycare center at ACORN offices across the U.S.
“Thanks to those two crazy kids and their hidden video camera, we’re having to get very creative about generating revenue streams now,” Lewis said. “We’ve got a $100 million a year nut to crack. Obama, Pelosi, Reid — none of them will take my calls anymore. Congress has cut us off. We’ve been dropped by the Census and even the IRS. And now Bank of America has announced it will stop paying the protection money we charge in exchange for not harassing their bank managers at their homes. They’ve even threatened not to approve any more mortgages for our unqualified applicants. Other banks are sure to follow. And no one wants fraudulent voter registrations and tampered ballots in an off-election year.
“Gathering prey for predators and making the prey think we’re doing them a favor have always been key parts of our core mission,” Lewis said. “Well, that and keeping the vulnerable populations we serve in a perpetual state of dependency, hopelessness and resentment. When you consider that since ACORN was founded in 1970 that we have worked night and day to bring down capitalism from a thousand different directions, is it so wrong not to want to share in the spoils just as victory is in our grasp?”
Credit: Decades ago I read an interview of Melissa Gilbert some time after the demise of “Little House on the Prairie.” She was experimenting with being a stand-up comic and one of her jokes was about being cared for as a child at “the Roman Polanski Daycare Center,” which I thought was hilarious. I have borrowed it for this post. Thanks, Ms. Gilbert. But I agree with The Feminist Texican that it is wrong for you to make excuses for Mr. Polanski now. I also agree with Little Miss Attila that Mr. Polanski should do his time.
Charles Krauthammer published a lovely appreciation of the late Irving Kristol on Friday, Sept. 25. I have bolded the lines that leapt out at me because of how they apply to the objection of social conservatives that homosexuals should not have marriage equality because marriage should never be re-defined, or evolve:
His gloriously unheroic view of himself extended to the rest of humanity — its politics, its pretensions, its grandiose plans for the renovation of . . . humanity.
This manifested itself in the work for which he is most celebrated: his penetrating, devastating critique of modern liberalism, and of its grand projects for remaking man and society. But his natural skepticism led him often to resist conservative counterenthusiasms as well. Most recently, the general panic about changing family structures.
Irving had an abiding reverence for tradition and existing norms. But he thought it both futile and anti-human to imagine we could arrest their evolution. He never yelled for history to stop. He was less concerned about the form of emerging family norms, such as France’s non-marriage Civil Solidarity Pact, than whether they could in time perform the essential functions of the traditional family — from the generational transmission of values to the socialization of young males.
Re-defining marriage to include same-sex couples will leave intact the essential functions of the family. Young males will be socialized. Values will be transmitted from one generation to the next. We work for laws that provide us with equality so we can build lives together using the same advantages and responsibilities that straight people have. We love each other. It’s that simple.
Cuban Diva BFF and I talk on the phone almost every day and somehow this Wendy’s commercial from the 1980’s came up a few days ago. She tracked it down so I am embedding it here. I think it’s one of the funniest commercials of all time. But it’s also an illustration in 59 seconds of the difference between socialist and capitalist countries: choice.
This screen shot of PeekYou at http://www.peekyou.com/Kejda_Gjermani/15 from 9/23/2009 shows that Kejda Gjermani is Medaura.
I noticed in my 20’s the approach an acquaintance of mine used when he was asked a question by a pair of young women that he didn’t really want to answer. He emitted a torrent of words like a squid squirts ink and kept talking until they heartily repented of questioning him and had vowed in their hearts never to do it again. It was not a form of persuasion. It was a form of domination to achieve compliance.
It appears to me that this is the favorite tactic of twenty-three-year-old Kejda Gjermani, whom I found today commenting in a thread at The Other McCain to his post, “As predicted, LGF attacks Malkin.” I took the suggestion of another commenter to Google her screen name, “Medaura.” (Her profile at “PeekYou” comes up — another commenter in that thread at The Other McCain says that her husband founded “PeekYou.”)
I was reading The Other McCain because Charles Johnson of Little Green Footballs wrote a post yesterday doubling down on his campaign to tar prominent conservative and libertarian bloggers as racists. I was preparing to write a post in support of Stacy — he is not a racist and he is not a white supremacist.
Johnson, in his post yesterday, is using the “waving the paper” technique that trial lawyers employ. To wit, wave a random piece of paper and claim it is damning evidence. If the witness does not demand to see it — and discover it is no such thing — a guilty one will then confirm the existence of the damning evidence by reacting to it. So Charles put up a bunch of links purporting to prove Stacy McCain is a racist — Stacy already explained they do no such thing on account of the fact that he is not, and never has been, a racist — so the trick didn’t produce a confession. However, the effect of the post on Stacy is to waste his time forcing him to reply. Plus, I suspect what Charles was really playing to is the court of public opinion, which will NOT investigate the truth of Charles’s “evidence” or read Stacy’s defense but will say, “Why, Charles lists so many links that he must be right.” (Charles is wrong.)
Ironically, I think Charles, who rightly opposes Creationism and Intelligent Design (which originated from a deliberately deceitful distortion of my father’s work), is employing a technique that proponents of Intelligent Design use: keep a constant stream of specious objections to Darwin’s theory of evolution going to wear out the real scientists and force them to throw away any hope of using their careers to advance science because they must fight the modern equivalent of the belief that our planet Earth is flat.
Likewise, Charles Johnson– and his minions, including Kejda Gjermani — are, (1) forcing legitimate anti-jihadists to defend themselves non-stop so they can’t do any work against the Islamic jihad against the West, AND (2), put such a fog of complicated accusations on them that it is almost impossible for their prospective supporters and allies to recognize them as allies.
Another technique that Kejda Gjermani seems to be using is the pose of the “concern troll.”
I learned about “concern trolls” in the fall of 2008 from HillBuzz, which was a regular target of the Obama campaign’s paid trolls (see comment #25). They operate by feigning agreement and support, but then express fears and concerns with the objective of demoralizing the blogger and his or her readers. This is consistent with the persuasion model employed by sociopaths: say one thing, do another. Kejda Gjermani may say she opposes Islamic jihad against the West and just wants to purify the European and North American anti-jihad movement of people she claims oppose jihad for the wrong reasons — racism, fascism, whatever. Never mind the reality that she — and Charles Johnson– are destroying the reputations of jihad’s legitimate opponents like Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer and thwarting their efforts against the Islamic jihad against the West.
For Charles and Kejda, it is supremely important to oppose the requirement of Islam to kill or convert all non-believers ONLY for the right reasons. If you oppose being killed for not practicing the right kind of Islam — or, if you are a woman, even for practicing the right kind of Islam but not up to the standards of the gang of rapists and murderers who have appointed themselves as your judges and executioners — well, you pretty much have it coming, if I understand Charles Johnson and Kejda Gjermani correctly. Oh, and you’re a RAAAAACIST, too!
Now Charles Johnson and his ink-squirting minion, Kejda Gjermani, have targeted Robert Stacy McCain of The Other McCain with the intention of destroying him with false accusations of racism and white supremacy for no other reasons than that he has been pouring copious amounts of sunshine on the corrupt Obama administration AND the corrupt anti-Palin, pro-Obama blogosphere — oh, and he opposes the Islamic jihad against the West AND supports Israel, too, the bastard.
My friend Robert Stacy McCain is NOT a racist.
My friend Robert Stacy McCain is NOT a white supremacist.
In The Passionate State of Mind, Eric Hoffer writes, “You can discover what your enemy fears most by observing the means he uses to frighten you.” So I have to ask: what inner demons of hatred and prejudice are Charles Johnson and Kejda Gjermani expiating by falsely accusing others of racism and fascism?
Update, 9/23/09:
Stacy is wondering, “Who is Kejda Gjermani? Is she actually LGF ‘Medaura’?” Kejda gloats about destroying Robert Spencer and threatens to do the same to Stacy. Since “PeekYou” identifies Kejda Gjermani as “Medaura” and a commenter at The Other McCain says “PeekYou” was founded by Medaura’s husband, Michael Hussey, it seems reasonable that Gjermani is, indeed, Medaura.
Update, 9/24/09:
Via Free Republic comments on Victor Davis Hanson’s defense of LGF, which was based on having gone bike-riding with Charles Johnson once and glancing at LGF recently to see what all the fuss is about, I found a post by Robert Spencer of Jihad Watch, addressing the smear campaign Kejda and Charles have waged against him, which has resulted in empowering Islamic jihad — “Charles Johnson of Little Green Footballs — tool of Hamas-backed CAIR“:
Back in October 2007, libelblogger Charles Johnson of Little Green Footballs first began tarring several European political parties as racists and neo-Nazis, and accordingly smearing the Counterjihad conference in Brussels as some kind of neofascist gathering, despite the fact that Andrew Bostom spoke there about Islamic antisemitism, and Israeli Knesset member Aryeh Eldad spoke as well, along with the great historian Bat Ye’or and others, including me.
Pamela Geller of Atlas Shrugs, who was also there, wrote of Charles’s reaction that it was “wrong to dismiss this incredible effort by so many brave fighters and truth tellers so casually and so out of hand.” The next day it got even more wrong when the Council on American-Islamic Relations — unindicted co-conspirators in a Hamas jihad terror funding case — used Johnson’s material to defame me in a press release; I responded to CAIR’s libels here, and Pamela wrote a post entitled “LGF and CAIR,” saying, “It is most unfortunate when a group of Islamic thugs get inspiration from LGF. I never thought I would see the day that CAIR and Charles over at Little Green Footballs would be aligned against a counter jihad movement, but perhaps pigs do fly.”
Victor, now hear this: Charles Johnson and Kejda Gjermani are working together to discredit the handful of bloggers like Robert Spencer and Pamela Geller who are fighting Muslim jihad against the West, educating the public about it and fighting for Israel. What better way to support Islamic jihad and terrorism than to discredit this brave handful of anti-Jihad bloggers falsely?
Kejda Gjermani (Medaura) with husband, Michael Hussey, on PeekYou.
Stacy is giving lessons today on “How to offend a woman.” It ends not with a cry, but a demand for coffee.
Stacy, if you want me to get you coffee BECAUSE I am a woman, I’m going to need to know how you take it — with urine, strychnine or arsenic? Name your poison.
Really — you are the father of daughters. Refine your approach and go after the evils of anti-capitalist fake feminism specifically rather than degrading all women — including your own wife and daughters. You are a better man and a better thinker than this.
I also want to point out that many of the bravest and most effective conservatives fighting to preserve the U.S. as a capitalist democratic republic are women who have earned the right to give orders rather than take them: Gov. Sarah Palin, Phyllis Chesler, Michelle Malkin, Ann Coulter, Pamela Geller, Debbie Schlussel and Liz Cheney.
Stop attacking the values of liberty and equality for ALL women when your real problem is with anti-capitalist, anti-American zealots who have hijacked the cause of equality for women in exactly the way that ACORN has hijacked the cause of poverty and uses poor people as their hostages and cover for their anti-capitalist, anti-America scumbaggeries.
If it helps, then just think of how much the cause of real equality for women makes the terrorists get their grenade belts in a bunch.
P.S.
I think dear Attila forgot that you are a vegetarian — you are, aren’t you? — so instead of a bison, just slay us a bushel or so of fatted artichokes and that will be sufficient propitiation.
Yes, I know this is the third time I’ve used the expression that Obama is applying “the lipstick of his rhetorical powers to the pig of Obamacare.” I coined it! Update: now it is “the lipstick of his rhetorical powers TO SELL the pig of Obamacare.” I want it to become a MEME, gentle readers!
Apparently I caught the two most important moments of yesterday morning’s Obamathon to put the lipstick of Obama’s rhetorical powers on the pig of Obamacare.
I’m guessing this because these are the moments I see others have selected to write about. They are: (1), George Stephanopoulos asking Obama if mandating everyone buy health insurance (or pay a fine) is a form of tax, THEN reading Obama the Merriam-Webster definition of “tax,” which shows that it is, and Obama going into full scorn and weasel mode — the two-step where he dismisses a challenge as stupid and then scoots around it; and (2), George Will’s coining of the term “liberal McCarthyism” to describe the over-the-top, omni-directional liberal attacks on conservatives as racists in the hope that they can bully the nation to socialism now that lies, false promises, confusing and chaotic proposals and fear-mongering aren’t working.
With this one contribution to our lexicon, I can almost forgive George Will for the fact that the reason I never understood what conservatism really is all these decades is that it was he who was explaining it to me. Somehow I didn’t find being treated with condescension and contempt as a liberal all that persuasive in getting me to change my position.
Kathy Shaidle wrote a year ago that current accusations of racism are similar to the McCarthy era cries of “commie.” And, after making that point today, she sent me to Ed Driscoll at Pajamas Media, who writes about Will and Stephanopolous here. Driscoll notes that Kathy Shaidle quoted Peter Brimelow’s definition of “racist” that is the headline for this post. Driscoll’s piece links to Newsbusters, which has the video clip and transcript of Will’s remark.
Driscoll also links to Roger Simon’s post yesterday on the subject of the Obamathon and Obama’s character as a liar. I am including it here, just in case I don’t get to the link round-up I want to do on the subject of Obama as a liar.
I believe the parody of Gone With The Wind in the clips below is the funniest comedy skit of all time. And I believe the moment in the second clip that Carol Burnett came down the stairs is the funniest moment in comedy of all time. I am old enough that I was watching “The Carol Burnett Show” when this skit first aired — I laughed myself silly and to this day, remembering that scene always makes me smile.
Michelle Obama, look and learn. The moment to watch for is at 3:32:
Barack and Michelle Obama at the ceremony to award a posthumous Medal of Honor to the family of U.S. Army Sergeant First Class Jared C. Monti.
Until today, I swore that I would never make fun of Michelle Obama’s appearance. After all, age and adversity have faded my youth and beauty and expanded my waistline. I can’t get a good haircut to save my life since I moved from the D.C. area. And dressing well has been out of reach financially for several years. I mention these things since I’m not the type of lesbian who looks awful on purpose, or who just truly doesn’t care.
I didn’t make fun of Michelle Obama when those nice young gay men at HillBuzz were pointing out last fall that she wore dresses that looked like grandma’s sofa.
I didn’t make fun of Michelle Obama when she showed up at the State of the Union address in a sleeveless outfit — although, you have to know, she’s in trouble when someone as out-of-touch with fashion as I am looks at her and says, “Who picks out that woman’s clothes and why does she want to make the First Lady a laughingstock?”
I didn’t make fun of the ammo belt the First Lady wore this week on at least two occasions.
I have not called out to the blogosphere, “What is Michelle Obama’s problem with SLEEEEEVES?”
But today I have snapped. Michelle Obama wore a cocktail dress in a loud, vulgar print and kitten heels — a gruesomely evocative epithet if there ever was one — TO THE CEREMONY TO AWARD A POSTHUMOUS MEDAL OF HONOR to the family of the fallen hero, U.S. Army Sergeant First Class Jared C. Monti. Too bad she was missing her favorite accessories for occasions honoring members of our armed services who have died in the service of their country — her diamond-studded peace symbol brooch and bas-relief platinum Che belt buckle must have been at the jeweler’s shop for cleaning. They totally would have completed her ensemble.
So from now on, it is freaking open season on Michelle Obama and her fashion sense AND TOTAL LACK THEREOF.
I started down this path after idling at the news stand at The Sundries Shack, where I spotted the fashion reporting by Pundit and Pundette, which was cross- posted to the Green Room at Hot Air — where the comments are so funny that I must admonish you to pee before you read them and, while you read, not to drink anything you are unwilling to spew on your keyboard and monitor.
I will close by reveling in the schadenfreude of contemplating that Barack Obama, one of history’s most vain men, periodically must appear in public AND BE PHOTOGRAPHED with a woman whose appalling lack of fashion sense and absolute inability to match her appearance and comportment to any occasion make her the embodiment of humiliation.
P.S. Reading Cassy Fiano at Right Wing News reminded me that Michelle Obama’s fashion color palette usually runs the gamut from black to black — she almost always looks like she’s on her way to a funeral. What was it about THIS ceremony that so brightened her mood and her ensemble?
P.P.S. Interesting News Items interviews Michelle Obama’s favorite fashion designer: “What is fashion but the desire to make the rich pay a fortune for looking like street people with good teeth?” Do read the whole thing here.
