Thursday, January 5, 2012

Death by swift factoidal scrutinization

After Santorum Left Senate, Familiar Hands Reached Out (New York Times)

...As Mr. Santorum’s standing in the race for the Republican presidential nomination has been energized by his strong showing in the Iowa caucus, so too has the scrutiny of his activities since leaving the Senate. When he left office he was not especially wealthy, but records show he wasted little time fashioning a lucrative post-government career based largely on income from businesses that had benefited from his work in Congress….

47 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nothing new. This is what all politicians do whether lib or conservative, they all have their ties to big private money and influence pedaling. Except I believe with our current admin. we also have extremely questionable ties with known communists, communist orgs. and domestic terrorists. So I'm not sure what the point in this article is supposed to be.

Roy Bauer said...

Nonsense, 1:33. There are differences in degree and kind that are sometimes dramatic. Santorum represents the classic revolving door type: connections made during office turn into business and career opportunities out of office; and then the politician returns to office (that, of course, is Santorum's hope) and helps his friends. Mr. Santorum has been particularly blatant in this regard, and the pattern of financial support from donor X and then pursuing legislation that benefits X is also clear and extreme in his case. He doesn't even bother with legislative consistency in his pursuit of the game.

Anonymous said...

Santorum is great promoter of "intelligent design," and is among those who suppose, erroneously, that ID is as scientifically valid as Darwinian/evolutionary theory. This makes him either stupid or terribly cynical.
It is obvious that, like many of the GOP Pres. candidates, he is willing to say just about anything to satisfy the party's wildly differing groups.
Santorum seems to believe that global climate change is not occurring. Once again, he reveals either profound stupidity or great cynicism.

Anonymous said...

" . . .with our current admin. we also have extremely questionable ties with known communists, communist orgs. and domestic terrorists."

Now that's quite a statement. Any details you'd like to offer? Or do you need to take off your tin foil helmet first?

Anonymous said...

Indeed, 1:33, you carry a huge banner saying "crackpot" as soon as you let loose with these dubious charges about communists, communist groups, and terrorists. If you are going to make extreme claims, you need to provide, as they say, extreme arguments, i.e., evidence.
Anyone with the slightest sense of history wonders why so many "conservatives" these days seem stuck in the rhetoric of early 60s John Birchers. Are you people really so lacking in resources and imagination?

Anonymous said...

So you don't see any of this same behavior with Obama? Supported by his big money union pals, ACORN, etc... then there's his agenda as president that has a striking resemblance to the will of his biggest supporters, then there's the very scandalous cronie capitalist deals such as Solyndra, then there's his pal Rod Blaggo getting caught and taking the fall for the half mil Senate seat deal. To most practically everything this guy does has been scandalous. Where have you been all this time, in the jungles of Borneo? Either that or you just can't recognize it when it's right in your face. A true partisan.

See no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil to anything Obama

Anonymous said...

Obama's connection and ties to W. Ayers & the Weather Underground, a known fact, for starters. Just this single tie satisfies all three, communists, their orgs. & domestic terrorists. Of course there are several more alarming ties & associations.

Roy Bauer said...

2:08, You need to distinguish between "scandals" that are reported and documented by good journalism and hyped up stories by the likes of the tabloidal Fox News, which take something with a grain of truth and then, using cherry-picking, exaggeration, and unverified reports, fashion a "big scandal." This is not journalism; it is demagoguery.
Is this distinction difficult for you to grasp?
Think.

Anonymous said...

If it walks like a duck... (you know the rest) then it must be a duck right?

But no! The "progressives" get all bent out of shape and label you a crackpot because you believe your president is a communist based on everything you've seen. Saul Alinsky 101.

Then the "progressives" label the GOP candidates as extremists and hate mongers, in an effort to disqualify, so hopfully their Obama can retain power. Again, Saul Alinsky 101

Anonymous said...

What about that $200,000 outfit the first lady was wearing in Hawaii last week? I recall people making such a big deal about Palin's $150,000 campaign wardrobe. The difference is that Palin's wardrobe came from private money, Obama's single outfit, the taxpayer.

Anonymous said...

"Of course there are several more alarming ties & associations."

Oooo--alarming ties and associations! please tell us more and, while we have you, more about Obama's terrorist actions while with the Weather underground. Feel free to make it up if you wish, but we'll know.

Oh, by the way, 3:15, if you do a little fact finding you'll find the dress was apparently $2,000--(quite a lie there!) and any documentation as to who paid for it?

Of course you don't!

Now, it's Friday afternoon, and time for your milk and cookies, and a nap. You can have the last word, and try to look all grownup.

Anonymous said...

There is demagogury on both sides, as everyone knows. How about last week on MSNBC, Chris Mathiews was going on about how he thinks Newt Gingrich looks like a terrorist car bomber. According to Mathiews, Newt's eyes tell him he's a car bomber, yes sir! He repeated this rant 4 times in less than one minute. I guess your Mr. "tingling legs" Mathiews is a credible reporter, and O'Reilly's just a demagogue. I suppose that's why most Americans trust FOX News more than any other TV news source as stats consistantely reflect. It's hard to argue with hard numbers, I guess...

Roy Bauer said...

3:34, please read more carefully. I was not arguing that there is demagoguery (BTW, you should invest in a dictionary) only on one side. I was distinguishing between a kind of tabloid reporting that amounts to demagoguery AND professional journalism. I suggested to you that the so-called scandals often attributed to Obama's administration by some commenters are the former kind. Many Obama critics we hear from seem incapable of making this distinction, and similar distinctions, which is sad.

Anonymous said...

I just want to thank 3:34 for a hearty, hearty laugh--and thanks for careful conceptual distinctions once again, BvT.

MAH

Anonymous said...

p.s. I meant the "milk and cookies" 3:34--certainly not the other one.

MAH

Anonymous said...

"milk and cookies" 3:34's brain is just way too large for his cranium! Man, those headaches must be intense! I’ve heard caffeine only makes it worse…

Anonymous said...

“Death by swift factoidal scrutinization”

Describes exactly what’s going to happen to Obama’s reelection campaign…

Anonymous said...

It’s funny how bvt will always criticize common typos as spelling deficiencies when the expressed views oppose his own. And if you share his same views, you can mis-spell words all day long; not a peep from bvt about it.

Anonymous said...

I too saw that Chris Mathiews report on MSNBC, and though how ridiculous MSNBC has become over the years. This is an excellent example of the tabloid reporting bvt describes. It’s also no accident; MSNBC is the place where we found Keith Olbermann (now banished for his on air, lose-canon like behavior), and then there’s Rachel Madow Ph.D., Miz know-it-all. I guess bvt considers MSNBC, one of the credible TV news sources, and their anchors, real journalists. Meanwhile their viewership is in constant decline. Gee, I wonder why?

IdiotWatch said...

Good God. These idiots can't even get Matthews' name right.

MrBuckley said...

Why all this blather about Mathiews [sic], Madow [sic] and MSNBC? Is DtB in any sense tied to this crowd? I don't see how. These are some STUPID trolls.

Anonymous said...

dtb generally agrees with the hard left.

Anonymous said...

Way, way wrong, 5:19. These *are* some particularly obtuse trolls....

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Roy Bauer said...

Stupid, stupid trolls. They're stinkifyin' my blog.

Anonymous said...

As soon as the word "communist" is trotted out, it's clear where the discussion is going.

Right down the toilet.

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Anonymous said...

Here's the Republican platform, concisely stated for the trolls' edification:

"We earn our money the old fashioned way.....by forming monopolies and making our customers pay whatever we think we can get away with, by using accountant­s to take advantage of a whole host of tax loopholes, by exploiting and underpayin­g anything associated with manual labour, by using lobbyists to make politician­s implement laws that best suit us, by accusing anyone who sees the unfairness of class warfare, and gouging as much as we can from the government­."

Voila!

Anonymous said...

7:30, sure, from a socialist's pessimistic point of view, that capitalism is a failure. Lukily most Americans still remain optimistic, pro capitalist minded, and continue to arm themselves in greater numbers.

Roy Bauer said...

We get it. You're a capitalist and you hate socialists. But you have nothing to say. You offer, not arguments, but assertions, rudely expressed. Raise the level of your game, please. If you do not, I will systematically filter you out. Last warning.

Anonymous said...

And many of us will be quite grateful to BvT for doing so, for the reasons he gives here.

Anonymous said...

The "arm themselves" comment says it all.

Anonymous said...

Again, many deleted posts. Some insightful, some not so much. Who are we trying to kid, bvt?

Anonymous said...

Bvt, just because one identifies another as a "socialist," does not mean they are "hateful" toward them, they just don't agree with their failed approach to governing, a fact that has costed humanity several major genocides with countless hundreds of millions dead, BTW.

Let's quit beating around the bush, something the socialists have been very good at doing in this country for well over 100 years. Because of recent debate, the gloves have finally come off (thank God), and now they are exposed for who they really are. You've got to admit it's very impressive how Americans, who just 10 years ago, had no idea or interest whatsoever, have become constitutional enthusiasts and taken more of an interest in our Christian herritage, and our founding fathers.

Roy Bauer said...

6:24, you're delusional. Please go away.

Anonymous said...

How many genocides have taken place in Sacandinavia, young fellow? Socialism works very well in that part of the world, you know.

Try to not be so foolish.

Anonymous said...

Socialism seems to work well only in countries with small populations, 5 - 10 M. That would describe the Scandia countries. It would never work in the US with a pop of 320 M. Sex change operations also work well there.

The people there also have to sacrifice much for cradle to grave govt. "protection." Most of their income is confiscated in taxes (70 - 90%), most families have to live within 600 sq. ft. housing, and most can't afford a car, so they either have to walk, bicycle, or use public transit.

That is not America's vision.

Anonymous said...

Bvt, since when do facts become delusions?

Roy Bauer said...

C'mon everybody. You achieve nothing arguing with trolls. The charge of "socialism" does not arise from any knowledge or sense of history; it emerges despite those things. Our trolls are repeating sound bites and slogans that they have been taught to repeat, as though such a mindless recitation were discourse. Anyone interested in the story of winger-troll recruitment and dispatchment should read Thomas Frank's The Wrecking Crew. Generations of young "conservatives" have been encouraged and instructed to sneer their way through the community with sub-logical rhetoric and bullying tactics. It is part of a deeply cynial movement, consciously directed and very profitable.

Anonymous said...

Right, the makers of Volvo don't have the money to drive them. Yep. And the residents of Scandinavian countries are so damn poor...must be why Denmark is consistently rated the country with the happiest residents.

Are you interested in a sex change?

Roy Bauer said...

Ah, a troll has provided a fine example. He wrote: "since when do facts become delusions?" That statement/question is, of course, utterly incompetent and confused. But logic and coherence have nothing to do with this army. Sadly, they are unaware that they are mere stink bombs and whoopee cushions thrown by cynical bastards at their perceived enemy, the "libs." They are mud slung and yet mud unconscious of their mere mudhood.

Roy Bauer said...

Don't feed the goddam trolls.

Roy's obituary in LA Times and Register: "we were lucky to have you while we did"

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