Archive for January 12th, 2011
Now vs. Then: Washington Post columnist Ezra Klein edition
Click to embiggen the hypocrisy (and general stupidity) of Ezra Klein
NOW:
“Today’s shooting was a reminder of what real political violence in this country could look like, and the awful recognition that it could’ve easily fit with comments made by trusted political figures should stop us cold. We’re lucky to live in a country where political violence is rare. We’re lucky that that doesn’t appear to have changed. But that might be dumb luck that we’re benefitting from. It is hard to look through those statements and believe that we’re doing enough to keep our political system peaceful”.
– Washington Post columnist Ezra Klein in January 2011
THEN:
“At this point (Senator Joe) Lieberman seems primarily motivated by torturing liberals. That is to say, he seems willing to cause the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people in order to settle an old electoral score”.
– Washington Post columnist Ezra Klein on December 14th, 2009
See also:
“The issue with the Constitution is not that people don’t read the text and think they’re following it. The issue with the Constitution is that the text is confusing because it was written more than a hundred years ago”
– Ezra Klein, 12/30/10
Now vs. Then: New York Times columnist Paul Krugman edition
Click above to embiggen NYT columnist Paul Krugman's hypocrisy
NOW:
“You know that Republicans will yell about the evils of partisanship whenever anyone tries to make a connection between the rhetoric of Beck, Limbaugh, etc. and the violence I fear we’re going to see in the months and years ahead. But violent acts are what happen when you create a climate of hate. And it’s long past time for the GOP’s leaders to take a stand against the hate-mongers”.
New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, January 2011
THEN:
“A message to progressives: By all means, hang Senator Joe Lieberman in effigy”.
New York Times columnist Paul Krugman – December 17th, 2009
Do you know of other glaring examples of the Left’s hypocrisy? If so, chime in on comments below or email them to us at HillBuzz@gmail for a future Now vs. Then episode.
Now vs. Then: Former Democrat Congressman Paul Kanjorski Edition
NOW:
“As far as we know, her attacker had no grand political point; I doubt we will ever really understand his motives. What the shooting does tell us, however, is that it is impossible to eliminate the risks faces by elected officials when they interact with their constituents…Therefore it is incumbent on all Americans to create an atmosphere of civility and respect in which political discourse can flow freely, without fear of violent confrontation”.
– Former Democrat Congressman Paul Kanjorski in January 2011
THEN:
“Instead of running for Governor of Florida, they ought have him [Rick Scott, the Republican gubernatorial candidate] and shoot him. Put him against the wall and shoot him”.
– Former Democrat Congressman Paul Kanjorski in October 2010:
List any other glaring examples of recent Democrat hypocrisy in comments below or email them to us at HillBuzz@gmail.com
ACTION ITEM: List instances where legislatures restrict ability to do X a certain distance from Y
Can you think of instances where state legislatures have restricted the ability of people to do X a certain distance from Y?
Where “X” = any activity an individual or group can perform, including commercial activities, whether they are licensed or black market and…
Where “Y” = any sort of person, place, or thing legislatures have decided needs special protections from the activities of “X”.
I can think of a very easy one: where “X” is the sale of alcohol/pornography/drugs and “Y” is a school.
You cannot open a liquor store “Z” distance away from a school, in just about every state I have been to. “Z” varies in terms of how close a liquor store can be to a school, but it seems to be “at least a block away” in all practical terms. The same applies to stores selling pornography. While drug sales are illegal anywhere they happen, there are stiffer penalties in most states for drugs sold “Z” distance from a school.
This all comes to mind because some people today are questioning Arizona’s newly minted “funeral protections act”, which bans disruptive protests at funerals.
If a liquor store cannot be “Z” distance from a school…
and a pornography stores cannot be “Z” distance from a school…
and a drug deal carries extra penalties for being “Z” distance from a school…
then why is it so unacceptable to ban disruptive protests “Z” distance from a funeral?
The burden’s actually much greater on liquor and pornography stores, as they are banned from conducting business “Z” distance from a school even when the school is not in session and children are nowhere to be seen.
A funeral is a one-time event for a specific person in a specific place. If protestors want to exercise their free speech to deride the deceased, those people have an entire state, an entire country, in which to engage in that activity. They do not need to hold that protest within “Z” distance from the funeral, any more than a liquor or pornography store needs to conduct its business within “Z” distance from a school.
Can you think of other examples along these lines that address complaints against banning Democrat Fred Phelps and his Westboro Hate Circus from descending upon funerals to emotionally terrorize mourners?
What think you?
Mashup on Bill Maher’s comments regarding violence, when it suits Democrats and when it does not
Has the straw finally broken the elephant’s back?
Is this, at last, the moment when conservatives nationwide collectively refuse to ignore the Left’s hypocrisy?
Happy 60th Birthday Rush Limbaugh!
Happy Birthday Rush!
One of my favorite, most surreal phone calls ever was from my friend Abbey in Cleveland back in October 2008.
I answered the phone and heard Abbey, in shock, try to explain to me how she thought she’d driven her car through some tear in the fabric of reality, careening into a BizarroWorld where up was down, cats chased dogs, and rain was never wet.
“Rush Limbaugh is on the radio right now. He’s talking about you. He’s reading things you’ve written. He’s calling you “babes” and thinks you are a bunch of women, but he agrees with what you are saying. You are writing things that Rush Limbaugh agrees with. Worlds have collided!”.
Abbey said she was so stunned, she’d actually driven her car to the side of the road so she could process all of this.
That was the first time Rush mentioned HillBuzz.org on the air and read any of our posts, and he’s been kind enough to give us a bunch more plugs since. The reason Abbey was so stunned he did this was because, since high school, growing up in Democrat-controlled Cleveland, I was always taught to hate Rush…though I had never listened to the man. It’s just what Democrats are taught to do.
Which is a crying shame, because I missed out on over a decade of Rush’s insights.
Love him or hate him, he’s fantastic at what he does. He has a real fire and passion that I admire greatly…and since 2008, when the Democrat party decided it no longer needed conservatives like me, I can only think of rare occasions when I don’t find myself agreeing to most of what Rush has to say.
I think he’s a real American hero…as proven by the fact no matter what happens each day, the Left tries to blame Rush for it in some way, just as they try to tie Governor Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, Ann Coulter, and other high profile conservatives to whatever meme Democrats decide to push.
Because there is a Rush out there, every day, driving the Left crazy, millions of Americans are inspired to resist the Left and what the current crop of Democrats are trying to do to the country.
I am glad this man is in the world, doing what he does, throwing the Left off its game and making it that much more difficult for the media to get away with spreading all of its lies. The media knows Rush is out there, always watching, always listening, and speaking his mind about what they are up to.
I don’t want to imagine a world without him in his studio doing just that.
Here’s hoping Rush has a happy birthday today…and about 100 happy more in the future, God willing.
Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed emergency funeral protections law yesterday
Governor Jan Brewer protects the rights of Arizonas to have dignified, respected funerals.
Arizona Governor Jan Brewer (another woman I hope runs for president some day, because she is awesome), yesterday signed into law an emergency funeral protections bill. The bill was passed unanimously by the Arizona legislature. It’s goal is to prevent people like Democrat Fred Phelps and his Westboro Hate Group from disrupting funerals in the state of Arizona. Every state should have this provision.
Ed Morrissey argues in the HotAir piece that there should be no such protections for funerals, because anything that limits free speech, no matter how reprehensible that speech is, should be overturned. Then again, Ed Morrissey is also a man who thinks Tim Pawlenty should be president, so take that into consideration with whatever he writes, then pass him another cucumber and mayonnaise sandwich to munch on.
It’s not appropriate to bring your protests to a funeral. Cemeteries and memorial services should be free of political protests, shouting, and negative spectacles. I don’t care WHOSE funeral it is. If it was George Soros’ funeral — the most despicable and evil man I can think of alive at the moment — I would say the same thing: that his family deserves the right to bury this villain in peace. Hopefully, in pieces as well, after a real-life James Bond foiled his last plot and sent him to his doom inside his hollowed out volcanic lair somewhere, smack dab into his hammerhead shark pit.
Why can’t these protests happen an hour after the funeral ends? What the massive burden to free speech in that?
Why can’t the protests happen the day before the funeral? Or the day after?
Why do the protests need to happen concurrent with the funeral?
Everyone should have the human right to be laid to rest in peace. Everyone should also have the human right to bury her or his loved ones in peace too.
There should indeed be a bubble around these proceedings…with the proviso that protestors can indeed assemble at some other location to do whatever they please, with a city-issued permit for such an event. Just not within distance they could disrupt the funeral.
Agree or disagree with that in comments below.
