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What a great day! What an awesome story! Are you ready for this?
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Will We See Gore TV? The former Veep looks at creating a liberal alternative to conservative talk radio and television By KAREN TUMULTY Wednesday, Jun. 18, 2003 Since deciding not to make another race for the White House in 2004, former Vice President Al Gore has been devoting considerable time to another dream, one he shares with many Democrats these days — creating a media enterprise that could challenge the dominance of conservative voices in cable television and talk radio. Numerous sources in Hollywood and Washington tell TIME that Gore has been quietly sounding out potential financial backers for a cable television network that would feature "progressive" viewpoints. Additionally, Gore has helped arrange meetings between key Hollywood figures and a wealthy Chicago couple who have publicly announced plans to invest $10 million in a liberal radio network. What role Gore himself would play in any of these ventures is still far from clear. "He can pull out at any time," says one associate who has spoken to him about the concept. "He can say, 'This isn't my deal.' But he's interested." Gore has been exploring and encouraging several types of possibilities in recent months, and consulting closely with Joel Hyatt, the founder of Hyatt Legal Services, a nationwide chain of low-cost, storefront legal clinics. (Hyatt ran for Senate from Ohio in 1994, unsuccessfully seeking the seat that was vacated by the retirement of his father-in-law, Howard Metzenbaum.) One entertainment industry source who met with Gore and Hyatt earlier this year said that, at that time, part of what they envisioned youth-oriented programming, "putting video cameras in the hands of kids." Gore is also making his influence felt in other ways in Hollywood, a place where he has not always been warmly received. When the former Vice President attended the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, earlier this year, he arranged a series of private meetings with politically oriented entertainment industry figures. One session was with a handful of people from the Environmental Media Association, a group that promotes the idea of incorporating environmentalist story lines into movies. "He was very interested in what we are doing, because he is very interested in media," says Debbie Levin, the group's executive director. Gore has also been helpful to Chicago venture capitalists Sheldon and Anita Drobny, who announced in February that they planned to fund a liberal radio network to counterbalance such conservative commentators as Rush Limbaugh. Several sources said Gore has helped introduce the Drobnys to such Hollywood political forces as producer-director Rob Reiner. Comedian Al Franken, author of the book "Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot," is considering hosting a show on the Drobnys' network, and added that the couple has approached Gore to do regular essays. Anita Drobny declined to comment about any venture involving Gore, telling TIME: "I'm not at liberty to say anything about that. As far as Vice President Gore, you'll have to call him to ask him about his project and what they are doing." Gore and Hyatt did not respond to repeated requests for an interview. Gore has long been interested in the nexus between politics and media. His 99-page senior thesis in college was titled "The Impact of Television on the Conduct of the Presidency, 1947-1969." Before running for Congress in 1976, Gore worked as a newspaper reporter for the Nashville Tennessean. The ascendancy of conservative outlets such as Rupert Murdoch's Fox News Channel — and particularly such ratings powerhouses as commentator Bill O'Reilly — have been a growing source of frustration for Democrats. And while liberal commentators such as former Texas Agriculture Commissioner Jim Hightower have made a stab at syndicated talk shows, they have by and large been unsuccessful. In March, the MSNBC cable news network canceled Phil Donahue's talk show after a disappointing six-month run against The O'Reilly Factor. However, some liberals point to the success of Hillary Clinton's just-released memoir as evidence that a marketplace exists for their viewpoint. Gore has shared their frustration. In an interview last December with the New York Observer, he described the conservative outlets as a "fifth column" within the media ranks that injects "daily Republican talking points into the definition of what's objective." "The media is kind of weird these days on politics, and there are some major institutional voices that are, truthfully speaking, part and parcel of the Republican Party," Gore said. "Fox News Network, The Washington Times , Rush Limbaugh — there’s a bunch of them, and some of them are financed by wealthy ultra-conservative billionaires who make political deals with Republican administrations and the rest of the media." |
The American people are already beginning to take note that whiny liberals and their ideas are BAD for this country. For DECADES, the liberals have taken over control of the mainstream media via CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN, CNBC, The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today, ad infinitum. Hey guys, you've already TRIED this! It didn't work the first time!
The American people are turning to conservative radio and TV in DROVES because they are sick and tired of being fed the socialist mantras forced on them by the left! Limbaugh, O' Reilly, Hannity, Fox News, Beck, Savage, et al are a huge success for two reasons.
1) They give voice to the thoughts and feelings of the majority.
2) They are entertaining to listen to and/or watch!
Hillary's book is huge for the same reason people were obsessed with the Michael Jackson specials that ran a couple month's back. She gives a voyeuristic look into life in the Clinton White House. It's NOT because people want her to be President.
Al Franken had a best-seller just because he put Limbaugh's name in the title. Guess what, Mr. Franken? Limbaugh ain't fat anymore, but you'll always be an idiot.
This is great. I hope the libs pour millions of dollars into this pathetic waste of time. I would love to see liberalism taken out with the trash heap in this country once and for all. Bring it on!
Article in the San Francisco gate this morning by Mark Morford, an obviously confused and spastic liberal. Check out this tirade against Walmart... I'll comment as we go along just to poke fun at his confused banter.
In A Wal-Mart Kind Of Hell: Censored magazines, banned music and pseudo-Christian fun at America's scariest retailerBy Mark Morford, SF Gate Columnist (and flaming whiny liberal) Wednesday, June 18, 2003
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Stop. You've found it. This is the place. Americana HQ. Patriotism in a giant tin bucket. This is where souls recoil, children wail, dreams die.
Last time I looked Walmart provided jobs for thousands of people, reviving the economy of many rural areas and offering low-cost alternatives to those who are tired of paying too much. However, Wal-Mart is FAR from perfect.
This is Wal-Mart. The glorious consumer mecca, the epic wonderland/wasteland of prefab landfill merch, not only the world's largest and most powerful retailer and the most aggressive snarling frightening happy-place marketer and quite possibly the most hideously overlit soul-draining monster empire you will ever know in your entire lifetime, but also the very multibillion-dollar pseudo-Christian kingdom that censors their offerings and refuses to sell certain music CDs and bans "risqué" beer-'n'-babes mags like Maxim and FHM and Stuff, because, you know, pretty girls are evil.
Oh, I get it. You put your tongue IN your cheek. Yah, almost didn't catch that. Pretty girls are a good thing. But for those of us who want our children to keep their innocence WHILE they are still children, I see nothing wrong with protecting them from magazines that insist "having better sex" is the way to happiness. That may cut it with the Nambla crowd, but not mainstream America.
And Wal-Mart just recently decided to cover up the covers of other, less garish but apparently equally "naughty" women's mags like Elle and Cosmo.. blah blah blah... (edited for meaningless rant..)People complain, they claims, customers call in and bitch that their kid might've seen a racy magazine cover and asked one too many questions about just what "orgasm" or maybe "pleasure" or even "happiness" means, and the parent was all flustered and humiliated and confused and hence Wal-Mart, being the good falsely sanctimonious citizen, not wanting to offend the American Family, covers up the mags or removes them entirely. How thoughtful.
Except there's a bit more to it than that. Except the groups that complain about the mags are often the same ones that cheer Wal-Mart's censorship decisions, groups like the Tupelo, Miss.-based American Family Association (AFA), one of those desperately hyper-Christian anti-choice anti-gay anti-porn asexual pseudo-ethical groups representing "traditional" family values -- like, you know, massive reeling intolerance. And hellfire. And the end of icky tongue kissing.
And how you despise traditional values! And that's really the issue here, isn't it? The irony? The comment about "massive reeling intolerance". This guy sounds pretty darned INTOLERANT to me? And isn't that just the liberal way. Preach tolerance for everyone except those who have opinions different from yourself. Sheesh.
Here is why it matters. Here is why you should care. Because Wal-Mart is not merely a store. Wal-Mart is not merely a hollow and deeply frightening Christian-values mega-retailer that makes you feel like you need a karmic shower and soul de-lousing immediately upon exiting the vacuum-sealed whooshing glass doors.
Could you be more clear, please? I think I hear you saying , "I HATE Christians!"
Wal-Mart shapes ideas. They affect mind-sets. They influence cultural perspectives. This is frightening and wrong. They ban (or "sanitize") the latest Marilyn Manson CD? They don't carry Maxim? Then for 100 million benumbed Wal-Mart regulars, Marilyn and Maxim might as well not even exist. Why not choose a nice issue of, say, Guns & Ammo and the new Shania Twain instead? There there, Timmy. Now hush up and let Daddy buy some bullets and a vat of Cheez Doodles.
You're just jealous because you don't have the ability to shape ideas and affect mind-sets. You are a whiny liberal writing for other whiny liberals who sit around in their Starbucks, sipping cappucinos that don't come in small, medium or large, commiserating on how the rest of the world is so screwed up because mainstream America doesn't agree with you. Irrelevant. And besides, Cheez Doodles are tasty.
Do you understand? Do you see the danger? That's 100 million customers per year, $200 billion in annual sales, 3,000 stores and growing fast, and isn't it just wickedly telling that the state with the largest number of Wal-Marts in the entire country is, by a wide, wide margin, Texas? Pretty much says it all, really.
And if the San Fran gate had that kind of exposure and ability to influence, you would be the first to pat yourself on the back and insist they hang on to the power they acquired. Hypocrite!
All well and good. Hey, they're a discount retailer, after all. Horrible landfill merchandise and giant ads for Doritos and tons upon tons of plastic crap you really don't need intermixed with a few things you actually do, and deep deep deep this nation is in a BushCo recession so of course Wal-Mart is flourishing.
Ah, the inevitable Bush-bashing. Whaaaa.. we won the election. Al Gore was elected by the majority. Whaaaa! Get over it. I'm so sorry that the liar-in-Chief is no longer in the White House. Imagine, a man with a shred of decency as our Commander. Perish the thought!
Of course, they also sell guns. Did we mention the guns? Oh yes. How's that for a message -- hey kids, don't look at the impossibly pretty half-naked Photoshopped model on the cover of Elle because your undereducated little mind might get corrupted and you're just not ready for the word "sex" in bold 48-point Helvetica. But here, have a nice Remington .22. Now scamper off and go kill something, sweetie.
More sarcasm to make a point. I get it. And lets not forget the "guns are evil" mantra.
It is a giant suckass superstore, one that aggressively works every single day to drain out any semblance of voice or personality or alternative viewpoint and works harder than any other company in the nation to kowtow to the masses and keep the nation in a nice big hole of casual blind lockstep sameness without the nation even knowing any better. Ah, just like BushCo. Just like America.
There's more, but the guy has clearly been breathing San Fran air for too long. There's some great commentary at FreeRepublic.com.
In a move that is sure to get radical feminists fumed, Norma McCorvey is fighting to get her landmark abortion case (Roe v. Wade) reversed.
The former plaintiff known as "Jane Roe" in the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court case that legalized abortion sought to have the case overturned in a motion filed Tuesday that asks the courts to consider new evidence that abortion hurts women.Norma McCorvey, who joined the anti-abortion fight nearly 10 years ago and says she regrets her role in Roe v. Wade, said the Supreme Court's decision is no longer valid because scientific and anecdotal evidence that has come to light in the last 30 years has shown the negative effects of abortion.
"We're getting our babies back," a jubilant McCorvey said at a news conference while flanked by about 60 women, some who sobbed and held signs that read "I regret my abortion."
"I feel like the weight of the world has just been lifted off my shoulders," said McCorvey, 55.
Sarah Weddington, the abortion advocate and attorney who originally represented McCorvey, did not immediately return a call seeking comment. A representative from the National Organization for Women also did not immediately return a message.
Allen Parker Jr., McCorvey's attorney, said he could not remember any other landmark case in which the plaintiff has asked to have it overturned.
"I think the new evidence will show the court what they thought was good will turn out to be an instrument of wrong," said Parker, who is with the San Antonio-based Texas Justice Foundation.
McCorvey filed the motion with the federal district court in Dallas, which ruled to legalize abortion in Texas before the Supreme Court ruling. The Texas attorney general's office and Dallas district attorney each have 20 days to respond to the motion.
McCorvey and her attorneys asked the federal court to consider more than 5,400 pages of evidence, including 1,000 affidavits from women who say they regret their abortions.
McCorvey was a 21-year-old carnival barker when, pregnant for the third time, she sought an abortion. She agreed to be the plaintiff in a lawsuit seeking to overturn Texas' anti-abortion statute.
The Supreme Court decision came after she had the baby. It was the third child she put up for adoption. McCorvey publicly identified herself as Jane Roe in 1980.
I am convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that the history books and future generations will look back on the American holocaust (millions of babies sacrificed on the alter of convenience) and shake their collective heads in disbelief. Glad to see Norma stepping up to undo that which she played a part in facilitating all those years ago.
Have you listened to Glenn Beck on the radio? I started listening to him last year when Dr. Laura got bumped because of the pressure from the intolerant tolerance-pushers. Anyway, he is way more entertaining than Dr. Laura. This guy is a former alcoholic. Even worse, he is a former liberal. Fortunately, he has educated himself, seen the light, and is now able to wax eloquent on a variety of social, political and economic issues. On top of that, he can be downright hysterical. Glenn Beck is currently heard on 125 stations.
When he isn't presenting a monologue (some of the most moving Veteran's Day or 9/11 memorials I have ever heard), he takes calls from "sick freaks" or he lampoons our sacred cows. It is truly funny stuff much of the time (except for brain-washed liberals who get their panties in a twist at the mention of George W. Bush). He is also not afraid to publish Hate Mail on his site. He does keep an audio archive of his show, but his "Insider" membership program is a bit pricy at $55/year.
While the liberal media was enamored with the anti-war protests, Glenn was out there staging pro-America rallies (which you probably never heard about). His Rally for America on May 27th in West Virginia attracted THOUSANDS of patriotic Americans in a celebration of freedom and liberty. Of course, NewYorkTimesCNNABSCBSNBCblahblahblah didn't want to report on this event. That's ok, its rewarding enough just knowing that the Right is right. :-)
Only one thing puzzles me about Beck. With his ongoign pursuit of the truth, he has somehow stumbled into Mormonism. Anyone who has researched The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints knows it is a cult loosely based on traditional Christianity, but so far off on most key doctrinal issues as to not be related to Biblical Christianity at all. Anyway, that is not enough of a reason for me to tune his out. He makes me think and laugh, often at the same time.
Dick Morris, longtime advisor to former embarrassment, er, President, Bill Clinton, has written an open letter to Hillary Clinton in response to her statement in her book of lies, Living History. Here is the letter in its entirity.
Setting the Record Straight
An open letter to Hillary Clinton.By Dick Morris
Dear Hillary,In your new book, Living History, you correctly note that when you asked me to help you and Bill avert defeat in the congressional election of 1994 I was reluctant to do so. But then you assert, incorrectly, that my reluctance stemmed from difficulties in working with your staff. You even misquote me as telling you: "I don't like the way I was treated, Hillary. People were so mean to me."
As you know, I never said anything of the sort. I had, in fact, no experience in dealing with either your staff or the President's at that point, and had not yet met Leon Panetta or George Stephanopoulos. My prior dealing with Harold Ickes had been twenty five years earlier.The real reason I was reluctant was that Bill Clinton had tried to beat me up in May of 1990 as he, you, Gloria Cabe, and I were together in the Arkansas governor's mansion. At the time, Bill was worried that he was falling behind his democratic primary opponent and verbally assaulted me for not giving his campaign the time he felt it deserved. Offended by his harsh tone, I turned and stalked out of the room.
Bill ran after me, tackled me, threw me to the floor of the kitchen in the mansion and cocked his fist back to punch me. You grabbed his arm and, yelling at him to stop and get control of himself, pulled him off me. Then you walked me around the grounds of the mansion in the minutes after, with your arm around me, saying, "He only does that to people he loves."
I continued to work for Bill since I felt a responsibility to do so until Election Day in 1990. But our relationship was never close and never the same. After the 1990 campaign we parted ways as a direct result of the altercation.
When the story threatened to surface during the 1992 campaign, you told me to "say it never happened."
That, and not the invented conversation in your memoir, was the reason that I was reluctant to work for Bill again.
Yours,
Dick Morris— Dick Morris, an adviser to Bill Clinton for 20 years, is author, most recently, of Off with Their Heads : Traitors, Crooks & Obstructionists in American Politics, Media & Business.
I'm fairly certain that Hillary's outright lie is the tip of the iceberg in her piece of fiction designed to make her look more attractive to unthinking people that would actually support her as a Presidential candidate. Pass the kool-aid, please.
Wow, incredible article by Mona Charen today. For those of you who are fretting over the lack of weapons of mass destruction yet produced from Iraq, stick a sock in it and read this...
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The whole world is focused on what we've failed to find in Iraq -- to the point of neglecting what we have found. In doing so, the press is missing the significance of what the United States and Britain have achieved.
The banned weapons will eventually be accounted for. Of that there can be no doubt. But the more important story is that the coalition overthrew a regime that can fairly be compared with Nazi Germany. Such a deed would be applauded by the world -- if we lived in a better world.
Click here to read entire story
Finally, the House of Representatives has overwhelmingly voted to pass the bill banning the attrocity known as partial-borth abortion. The vote was 282-139, truly a bi-partisan effort to save the lives of human beings slaughtered in the name of "choice".
Don't know what partial-birth abortion really is? Click here for a diagram that explains the procedure. It will make you sick to your stomach as you wonder how we have let this barbaric practice take place for so long.
The Senate and the House have minor differences in their bills, but once they reconcile them, the President has promised to sign the bill outlawing this form of infanticide. I'm sure this will finally land in the Supreme Court of the U.S. Hopefully they will have the good sense that the majority of Americans share. Abortion is murder.
Had an abortion? There is compassionate help for you. Click here to read stories and find help. Here is Another awesome site for young girls in crisis pregnancy situations.
Dad: Hey kids, where should we go for Summer vacation?
Rusty: I want to go to Sea World!
Audrey: I want to go to Disney World!
Mom: I want to go shopping!
Dad: Oh, you nutty bunch. I've got something BETTER planned. Are you ready? We're going to Slum World! It's a brand new theme park being planned for location in sunny Orlando, Florida by the nice people at Habitat for Humanity. Isn't that exciting?
Rusty: Um. Are there rides, Dad?
Dad: Rusty, Rusty, Rusty. Aren't you too old for those amusement park rides? At Slum World, the thrills come from laying tile and brick with your bare hands!
Audrey: Is there a fantasy castle, Daddy?
Dad: No, Audrey. Castles and futuristic themes are passe. Imagine this. You'll get to tour recreations of some of the world's worst slums! From Africa to Asia, and Central America to Harlem, you can have the thrill of a lifetime by seeing firsthand, how people live in filth and debris.
Mom: Dear, I am as much of a supporter of Habitat for Humanity as anyone. They do great work for poor people around the world. But a vacation destination? I am guessing there won't be much there in the way of shopping? Do I need to bring my own shopping cart to pick through trash?
Dad: Now now, Honey. I sense a bit of sarcasm. Millard Fuller, the founder of Habitat for Humanity says this, '''Essentially, it's a theme park for poverty housing. You'll come out of the center and walk right into a slum. You'll see the kind of pitiful living conditions so many people in the world have."
Rusty, Audrey and Mom: Whaaaaaaaaaaa! We wanna go somewhere fun!!!
Dad: C'mon family. It WILL be fun. I promise! After all, we're the Grizwalds!