Year: 2008

Attack reported by Student was a Hoax

(H/T and thanks to Michelle Malkin)

 

Remember the attack that I reported here two days ago?

 

Turns out that it was a hoax.

 

The Story from TylerPaper.com:

A 13-year-old girl who claimed she was attacked by a group inside Athens Middle School was caught on a surveillance camera causing the injuries to herself.

The girl now faces disciplinary action from the school and will be charged with filing a false police report, AISD superintendent Fred Hayes said during a news conference today.

The parents of Melanie Bowers have since sent letters of apology to school and law enforcement investigators.

 

Not only is this an insult the Hispanic community, it’s an abuse of our Law Enforcement. I am quite glad to see that she will be charged.

 

Video:

 

 

More from KLTV-TV:

After Melanie’s accusations, administrators reviewed school survellience videotape of the incident – which, instead of showing students beating or attacking her, showed Bowers scratching herself on her arms, face, and neck, and walking through the halls of the school calmly long after she claimed the incident happened.

After Melanie’s parents were presented with that information and the video, the school confronted Melanie, and she admitted that she made the story up.

The poster was indeed taken from Melanie, but she reported the incident to a teacher and was sent back to class. 3 students involved in taking Melanie’s project were in ‘in school suspension’ for today only.

Bowers’ parents have apologized to school administrators for their daughter, and Bowers’ father, Gary Bower Jr., is agreeing with the charges against her. "I have reviewed the recording and agree with the charges that will need to be filed," he has said today. 

Melanie’s mother, Shera Bowers, released a statement which reads, "I see my daughter was not assaulted, and put the marks on her body. No gang violence as witnessed. She filed a false report."

 

I am glad to see that the people that did take her sign, were punished. But just as well, you can’t just go around making up lies, just because you happen to not like particular ethnic group. 

 

Hopefully, she will learn her lesson from this. But will say this, how silly of someone to do something like this, didn’t she realize that most schools now have cameras in them? How dense can one person be? 🙄

 

Thankfully, this happened in a era of cameras and high tech security, had this been say, 20-30 years ago, it would have been her word against theirs.

 

It really sickens me to know that there are people out there, that would do something like this, as if that would solve our illegal immigration problem. 

 

Cross Posted @ The Christian Nationalist

Jewish Racism by a Obama Supporter!

The Article: Reverend Eric Lee’s Anti-Semitism: A Personal Story (via Pajamas Media)

 

On April 4, 2008, at a Los Angeles event commemorating the assassination of Martin Luther King, the African-American fraternity Alpha Kappa Psi gave Israeli-American Daphna Ziman its Tom Bradley Award for community service. Then the event’s keynote speaker, Reverend Eric Lee, turned to Ms. Ziman and launched an anti-Semitic diatribe. Roger L. Simon interviewed Ms. Ziman.

 

Watch this Video:

 

 

That’s the saddest thing I have ever had to watch. I think Senator Barack Obama needs to publicly condemn this, there’s just no call for it.

I look for this to be the big story in the next couple of days.

 

Update: Thankfully, this is being picked up, several Bloggers have started talking about it: Roger L. Simon and Classical Values

Clinton's Poll Ratings do the Fade….

There’s no denying it. Clinton is slipping, so says Gallup:

 

040908dailyupdategraph1_mnbvert.jpg

 

Personally, I don’t see why she stays in. Because it will only ruin the party. But that’s your Liberals for you.

Others: The Daily Dish, Talking Points Memo and TPM Election Central (via Memeorandum)

Early Evening Political Humor

Political Blog Wars are so amusing to watch.

 

Mainly because both sides talk past one another. Not once do they listen to the other side.

 

Go see what I am talking about. I think that’s the reason why the main stream media hates us Bloggers so much. I doubt one could argue the fact that most Bloggers, especially Political Bloggers, like me, always feel the need to be right and to get the last word.

 

To me, watching a Blog war, is like watching a roman conquest. Flaming boulders being shot back and forth, it’s quite amazing. Grown people, squabbling like children.

 

But then again, that’s Politics.

Chris Matthews makes New York Times Magazine

As much as I hate to admit it, I like the guy…..and I’ll explain why.

 

The article:  Chris Matthews, Seriously. (O.K., Not That Seriously.) by MARK LEIBOVICH (via New York Times Magazine)

Quote:

Whenever Chris Matthews says something he likes, which happens a lot, he repeats it often and at volumes suggesting a speaker who feels insufficiently listened to at times. “Tim Russert finally reeled the big marlin into the boat tonight,” Matthews yelled — nine times, on and off the air, after a Democratic debate that Russert moderated with Brian Williams in late February at Cleveland State University. Matthews believed that Russert (the fisherman) had finally succeeded in getting Hillary Clinton (the marlin) to admit that she was wrong to vote in favor of the Iraq war resolution in 2002. “We’ve been trolling for that marlin for what, a year now?” Matthews said to Russert.

 

The reason why I happen to like Chris Matthews is because he has a redeeming quality. The quality is, that no one, I don’t care who they are, cannot sell a line of B.S. to Chris Matthew’s, He just doesn’t let it happen. Michelle Malkin went on his show and tried it, and Chris Matthews made her look like an idiot. Needless to say, she never went back there.

 

As he does say on his show, he is tough, fearless and blunt. In fact, Media Matters for America AND Media Research Center both, have expressed their disdain for the guy. I mean, how many people can say, that they have effectively pissed off both Liberals AND Conservatives? Not many.

 

There’s one part of this story that I refuse to believe, because it’s just too unbelievable.

 

Quote:

According to people at NBC, Matthews has not been shy in voicing his resentment of Olbermann. Nor, according to network sources, has Olbermann bothered to hide his low regard for Matthews, although when I spoke to him, Olbermann denied any personal animosity toward Matthews and told me that he appreciates his "John Madden-like enthusiasm for politics."

 

I’m sorry, I just do not buy this at all. Keith Olbermann is professional of the highest order. I do not believe for one minute that Olbermann and Matthews have any problems at all.  In fact, I tend to believe that they get along great, I also think they tend to agree much more than people know.  I mean, how else would Olbermann get away with using Matthew’s trademark "Ha!" on his OddBall segment? It just does not add up. I tend to believe that the author of this article either doesn’t watch Keith’s show or just was reporting on gossip. Do you think that Matthew’s would allow his voice to be parodied, if he didn’t like someone? I highly doubt that, Matthews is not that stupid. 

 

I recommend reading the article, it’s a bit long and it basically exposes Chris Matthew’s faults and his good points. It was handled fairly and honestly, and I think that is what Chris would want.

 

Chris Matthews has written some books, might want to pick one up:

 

 

 

 

Amazon.com: American

ASIN: B00009V2NO

 

 

Others: TalkLeft, The Other McCain, Shakesville, Romenesko and more via Memeorandum

Did Petraeus Overplay His Hand?

Philip Carter thinks so… 

 

The Article: Petraeus Overplays His Hand (Via Intel Dump @ WaPo)

Except that in making this pitch, Petraeus and Crocker overplayed their hand. They overstated the threat posed by al-Qaeda in Iraq in an effort to justify the mission — a mindset that has generated a deeply flawed strategy. They also overplayed the surge’s success — downplaying or discounting factors that likely did more to create today’s improved security conditions. While their "Anaconda" strategy looks cool on a PowerPoint slide, it confuses the issues of control and influence, putting too much stock in America’s ability to engineer success in Iraq. And, perhaps most tellingly, the two men made the case for perseverance without placing Iraq in the context of vital U.S. national interests, offering only apocalyptic predictions of what would happen if we don’t stay the course.

Andrew Sullivan weighs in:

But that was their carefully prescribed task. I don’t fault them. They’re not responsible for overall strategy. At one point last year, I was worried that Petraeus was being used politically. I was wrong. He’s been a magnificent general, in a near-impossible situation. Ditto Crocker. Along with Patrick Fitzgerald, they strike me as among the most impressive public servants of our time.

 

Now that is a bit overstated, I think, Because I personally believe that General Patraeus is, in the Bush Administration’s eyes, a pawn. A Pawn in a Neo-Conservative chess game.

 

While I admire Patraeus for doing his job, I think he knows what he is doing. He’s keeping his head down, and doing his job, and when the President is out of office. He will write a book, that will basically indict his bosses. I could be wrong, but I think General Patraeus is holding his cards to his vest and will tell all, when it’s all over with.

 

Should be interesting indeed.

 

Others: Washington Post and SWJ Blog

Memo to Speak Nancy Pelosi: Will you please STFU?

 You know, I always thought this Closet Lesbian woman was a feckless Bitch, and now I know it!

The Article: We Need a New Direction in Iraq, But Petraeus and Crocker Offered Many More Years of the Same (via The Gavel, Speaker Pelosi’s Blog)

 

Quote:

The Iraqi people government is not worthy of the sacrifice of our troops or the cost that the war is having on our readiness and our economy. We need a New Direction in Iraq, but what General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker offered today was many more years of the same.

 

……and Just what the hell is Worthy, Speaker? What is?

 

A War started by YOUR Party?

 

Funding for your Aids carrying Homosexuals, that YOU represent?

 

This crap right here, is the reason why I refuse to align myself with that party!

 

Why didn’t she just say that the Iraqi PEOPLE weren’t worth the sacrifice?!?!?! 

 

I’m sorry, but Democrats hate America man… I’m really wondering now, who I am going to vote for.

 

Sure, I know Bush put us into this War, I know this, But is it so wrong to want to fix what we broke? Is it so wrong to want to exercise some personal responsibility? Angry

 

But then again, we are talking about the feckless Liberals, like the Government we have here in Michigan.

 

Others: BLACKFIVE

 

A good Book:

It's always them pesky hackers…. Sometimes

Now this is FUNNY! Rolling on the floor

 

The Article: FBI probe: Lieberman campaign to blame for crashing own Web site – The Advocate

 

A federal investigation has concluded that U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman’s 2006 re-election campaign was to blame for the crash of its Web site the day before Connecticut’s heated Aug. 8 Democratic primary.

The FBI office in New Haven found no evidence supporting the Lieberman campaign’s allegations that supporters of primary challenger Ned Lamont of Greenwich were to blame for the Web site crash.

Lieberman, who was fighting for his political life against the anti-Iraq war candidate Lamont, implied that joe2006.com was hacked by Lamont supporters.

"The server that hosted the joe2006.com Web site failed because it was overutilized and misconfigured. There was no evidence of (an) attack," according to the e-mail.

A program that could have detected a legitimate attack was improperly configured, the e-mail states.

I would tend to believe that someone is feeling a wee bit silly right about now. Tongue

 

Hey Joe, How’s it feel to eat crow?

 

Others: Crooks and Liars, Eschaton, The Carpetbagger Report, Talking Points Memo, Some Guy With a Website …, BlondeSense, Shakesville and more via Memeorandum

No end in sight…

Hmmmmm… I guess that movie was correct.

The Article: Frustrated Senators See No Exit Signs (via washingtonpost.com)

 

Asked repeatedly yesterday what "conditions" he is looking for to begin substantial U.S. troop withdrawals from Iraq after this summer’s scheduled drawdown, Army Gen. David H. Petraeus said he will know them when he sees them. For frustrated lawmakers, it was not enough.

"A year ago, the president said we couldn’t withdraw because there was too much violence," said Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.). "Now he says we can’t afford to withdraw because violence is down." Asked Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.): "Where do we go from here?"

Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) said: "I think people want a sense of what the end is going to look like."

But the bottom line was that there was no bottom line. In testimony before the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees, Petraeus, the top U.S. military commander in Iraq, and U.S. Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker echoed what they said seven months ago in their last update to Congress — often using similar words. Iraq’s armed forces continue to improve, overall levels of violence are lower than they were last year, and political reconciliation is happening, albeit still more slowly than they would like.

That’s because with this Presidential Administration, there is no exit sign!

 

That’s the way his Neo-Conservative planners wanted it. To keep us in that war forever! That’s because Neo-Conservatives believe in perpetual war! Even at the expense of the Nation’s Military.

 

That’s Neo-Con Game, and we’re playing it…. At our Tax Expense.

 

A good Movie:

 

 

Buy the Movie:

 

Others: Washington Wire, Slate, Times of London, Christian Science Monitor, Los Angeles Times, MSNBC, Real Clear Politics, New York Times, SWJ Blog, Sister Toldjah, New York Post, Connecting.the.Dots and Intel Dump and more via Memeornadum

Oprah stumps for Obama, Popularity nose dives….

This is living proof of why it is not smart for celebrities to get involved into Politics.

The Politico Reports:

Oprah’s favorability ratings also remained consistently — and unusually — high. In November 2003, Gallup found that 73 percent of Americans held favorable views about Oprah. Seventy-four percent of Americans reported favorable impressions of Oprah in a January 2007 Gallup/USA Today poll.

And then, seemingly out of nowhere, Oprah announced on CNN’s “Larry King Live” on May 1, 2007, that she would officially endorse her longtime friend Barack Obama for the presidency — the first time she had ever thrown her support behind a political candidate. “I think that my value to him, my support of him, is probably worth more than any check,” Oprah told Larry King. At the time, Oprah did not indicate whether she would campaign for Obama.

Almost instantly, Oprah’s popularity in America plummeted. An August 2007 CBS News poll showed only 61 percent of Americans were favorably disposed to her — a considerable drop of 13 percentage points from a similar survey conducted just seven months prior. An October 2007 Gallup/USA Today poll that showed Oprah with a slightly higher 66 percent favorability still reflected a drop.

Ouch. I guess she must have felt that little jolt in the pocketbook or at least from her producers.

Still, a lesson celebrities may extract is that political endorsements carry the risk of alienating fans, often without the reward of considerably boosting support for the candidate. While celebrities are certainly entitled to express their political beliefs — just like every other American — it is possible that the public prefers high-profile entertainment personalities to stay on the tube and off the stump.

I can understand that, especially if many of her viewers are a-political or not active in Politics, they may have been turned off by the show being turned into a Political infomercial.

As an extra bonus, Check out this article here on Oprah.

Others: Sister Toldjah, Tami, the One True, The Democratic Daily, Taylor Marsh, Political Machine and The Moderate Voice