Pardon Me, Your Freudian Slip Is Showing

Dr. Sanity happened to comment on the same article I did. She has a take that is worthy of repeating. Commenting both on CNN's completely false translation of the Iraqi Minister's remarks and the  (since corrected, isn't that odd?) CBS story that said that Representative Jefferson is a Republican. Her take:

Anyone following the story knows full well that the congressman in question is a Democrat whose antics have (for now anyway) put a halt to the "culture of corruption" talking points that the Democrats have unwisely been using against the Republicans.

John suggests that this is "wishful thinking" on CBS's part. I would call both of these instances of "Freudian Slips" on the part of the MSM.

A Freudian Slip is is an error in speech or emotion that reveals an unconscious motive. The two examples above just happened to occur in the latest 24 hour news cycle.

At any rate, I prefer to think of the errors as Freudian slips; and revealing basically the unconscious bias of some of our major news outlets (or at the least their complete unconsciousness)–because the alternative explanation is that the MSM is deliberately and maliciously trying to distort the news and mislead the American public to further its own political agenda.

The press is above that sort of thing, right?

Right.

About Rights

I have said from the start of the news about Haditha that Murtha was wrong - very wrong - to have screamed out the pronouncement that Marines in Haditha were "cold blooded killers". I will maintain that position until the day I die. This is wrong. There is an investigation underway and nobody - nobody at all - should be prejudging guilt or innocence. Murtha was not "right". Murtha had some facts correct. That does not make him right. Nor does it assure anyone that he has all of his facts correct.

In fact, some of the things you read in the media are false.

That is also not stopping a lot of people from declaring that Murtha was "right".

Which of course condemns the Marines involved before they have a chance to defend themselves. The media and the left are swooping down on this and turning it into a feast.

Shame on every, single one of you who curses the administration for abrogating some right based on a newspaper report and then cheerfully abrogates the rights of your fellow citizens to a fair trial. I think it's time to stop this for the sake of people who may yet prove innocent. 

Anyone care to join me?

UPDATE: Others: Flopping Aces, Wizbang, Sister Toldjah, Right Wing Nut House,

Happy Birthday

Powerline is four years old this weekend. I think that's seventy centuries in blog years. Congratulations!

Big Maddy, Meet Big Patty

Oh yeah? I'll see your 400 pounds and raise you another 1600!

Take that, Maddy!

Grandparents Gone Wild!

A gynecologist at The Villages community near Orlando, Fla., said she treats more cases of herpes and the human papilloma virus in the retirement community than she did in the city of Miami.

Presented with no further comment whatsoever.

Ethnic Unrest In Iran

It appears that ethnic and civil unrest continue to expand in Iran. Gateway Pundit has an incredible roundup, I won't even try to reproduce it here. The sheer extent of the trouble says that Iran is in serious danger of a general uprising at this point.

Aw, Heck

I had no idea the President was going to give the commencement address at West Point. My wife and two youngest children got to see him. Because of my nephew's class rank, he received his bars diploma from President Bush as well. My wife says they got a picture.

Austin Bay blogged it live.

UPDATE: Text of the speech here. Also corrected post. My nephew received his diploma from the President. His bars were pinned on him by his parents at a small unit gathering after the graduation. I think that's a nice touch.

UPDATE: Others: Elephants in Academia, Atlas Shrugs, Powerline and Blogs for Bush.

UPDATE: New York Times coverage - which actually plays it pretty straight. They do play up the Truman angle a bit more than is really warranted, though.

UPDATE: Riehl World View has a great take on the speech.

Omar Busts CNN

Omar at Iraq The Model has flat out busted CNN making a completely false statement:

Yesterday Iraq's and Iran's foreign ministers had a joint press conference in Baghdad after which the CNN ran a headline that reads "Iraqi minister defends Iranian nuclear program" and wrote:

Iran has a right to develop nuclear technology and the international community should drop its demands that Tehran prove it's not trying to build a nuclear weapon, Iraq's foreign minister said Friday.

The problem is that Omar can actually speak the language and listened to the actual audio clip. It does not say what CNN says it does.

I wasn't there at the press conference but I was able to find an audio clip of the same part of minister Zibari's statement through Radio Sawa, and what he said here is so much different from what the CNN claimed he did (my translation):

We respect Iran's and every other nation's right to pursue nuclear technology for research purposes and peaceful use given they accept [giving] the internationally required guarantees that this will not lead to an armament race in the region…

This would be CNN being caught lying. Omar's translation is completely the opposite of what CNN reported. Not even close.

The Magic Hat Returns

Oh for heaven's sake. John Kerry is "reluctantly" participating in an effort to discredit the Swift Boat Veteran's group. By giving a two-hour interview to the New York Times.

He moves on to the photographs: his boat leaving the base at Ha Tien, Vietnam; the harbor; the mountains fading frame by frame as the boat heads north; the special operations team the boat was ferrying across the border; the men reading maps and setting off flares.

"They gave me a hat," Mr. Kerry says. "I have the hat to this day," he declares, rising to pull it from his briefcase. "I have the hat."

Three decades after the Vietnam War and nearly two years after Mr. Kerry's failed presidential bid, most Americans have probably forgotten why it ever mattered whether he went to Cambodia or that the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth accused him of making it all up, saying he was dishonest and lacked patriotism.

But among those who were on the front lines of the 2004 campaign, the battle over Mr. Kerry's wartime service continues, out of the limelight but in some ways more heatedly — because unlike then, Mr. Kerry has fully engaged in the fight. Only those on Mr. Kerry's side, however, have gathered new evidence to support their case.

Two hours is reluctant?

I wasn't blogging when that little tempest broke, so I might as well throw in my two cents now since Kerry wants to reopen things. One: I could not care less about how he earned his medals. Two: his "Christmas in Cambodia" story was completely blown - he was not telling the truth. Three: Four months or so in Swift Boats do not a "war hero" make. Four: who cares? Frankly, the way the article is written, I don't much think the reporter cares much, either.

UPDATE: Yeah, Pat's really impressed with Kerry's offensive.

UPDATE: And the Confederate Yankee has an inconvenient map. Whoopsie.

UPDATE: Patterico has more.

Organized Campaign?

Maybe it's just my suspicious nature, but I am beginning to see indications that there is an organized campaign to try to discredit the American soldiers going on. Timing is just too convenient for all these various elements to be completely random.

Item: Murtha prematurely discloses ongoing Marine investigation. Labels Marines "cold-blooded killers".

Item: Jess(i)e MacBeth struts his stuff.

Item: IVAW Comes out with a video "confessing" war crimes. Only none of the people actually committed any war crimes, they just heard about others committing war crimes.

Item: Murtha gives yet another interview accusing US troops of "deliberately and indiscriminately killing innocent civilians in Iraq - much the same way, he added, that American pilots did during World War II."

Possibly a dogpile effect, but also possible there is some level of coordination going on here. Couple these things with the sudden resurgence of Vietnam era protest techniques in other areas and all of a sudden it doesn't look real innocent.

Something to think about, and also something to be vigilant for.

101st Blog Of The Day

Today my self-assigned task of visiting one member of the Fighting 101st each day takes me to Screw Loose Change. The site is dedicated to debunking the conspiracy theorists wet dream Loose Change.

They make mincemeat out the people who made that little gem.

Full disclosure: One of the principles behind Screw Loose Change is my blog buddy Brainster. Which doesn't change a thing!

Congressional Privilege? Or Something Else?

There are reports out that the three top officials at the Justice Department were ready to resign if President Bush ordered the return of documents taken from Representative Jefferson's office by the FBI. One problem with stories like these is that they are based on anonymous sources. It can be difficult to judge the trustworthiness of the information under those circumstances. In this case there appears to be an awful lot of insider-type detail, so it's pretty safe to assume something big was going on behind the scenes.

Justice prosecutors and FBI agents feared that the White House was ready to acquiesce to demands from House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) and other lawmakers that the materials be returned to the Louisiana congressman, who is the subject of a criminal probe by the FBI. Vice President Cheney's chief of staff, David S. Addington, was among the leading White House critics of the FBI raid, telling officials at Justice and on Capitol Hill that he believed the search was questionable, several sources familiar with his views said.

Administration officials said yesterday that the specter of top-level resignations or firings at Justice and the FBI was a crucial turning point in the standoff, helping persuade President Bush to announce a cease-fire on Thursday. Bush ordered that the Jefferson materials be sealed for 45 days while Justice officials and House lawmakers work out their differences, while also making it clear that he expected the case against Jefferson to proceed.

A lot of bloggers noticed the weird way in which Hastert and Pelosi leaped to the defense of Jefferson's supposed privilege. One has to wonder what else is going on here. Something about this makes it seem likely that there is more than just a relatively routine corruption case against one House member.

UPDATE: Others wondering the same thing: Cold Fury, Tigerhawk, Instapundit, Darth Misha,

There’s Not Enough To Worry About In The World

So let's make up something.

With 06/06/06 looming (June 6, 2006), authorities in some cities are worrying prophecy theorists or hate groups might read something ominous into the date and use it as an excuse to stir tension. Some expectant mothers are making birthing appointments to ensure they avoid the date, according to the Sunday Times in London.

And for others, it is a marketing opportunity. 20th Century Fox's remake of "The Omen" and Ann Coulter's book, "Godless: The Church of Liberalism," will both come out June 6.

Ell, I suppose some people can't be bothered with the real world. Manufacturing something to really worry about is just easier. So the pseudo- scientists are hard at work coming up with new and interesting things.

Modern numerology has since morphed into a kind of para-science in the same vein as astrology, according to skeptics. Still, many numerologists claim to rely on Pythagoras' ancient system to divine the hidden connections between numbers—often a birth date—and an individual's life.

Our attraction to certain numbers has to do with the cycles of birth and death those numbers have seen through many millions of years in existence, said Ducie, who trained at the Connaissance School of Numerology in Hertfordshire, England.

"People are subconsciously drawn towards specific numbers because they know that they need the experiences, attributes or lessons, associated with them, that are contained within their potential," she said. "Numerology can ‘make sense' of an individual's life (health, career, relationships, situations and issues) by recognizing which number cycle they are in, and by giving them clarity."

Mathematicians are quick to dismiss numerology as having any scientific merit, however.

"I don't endorse this at all," said Livio, when asked to comment on the popularity of commercial numerology today. Seemingly coincidental connections between numbers will always appear if you look hard enough, he said. 

Delving into the numbers here at Blue Crab Boulevard, we have discerned a special meaning to all this. The signs all say send money to Blue Crab Boulevard. Honest. They do.

All Over Again

Sweetness and Light has some pictures of the new use of the old Vietnam era tactics.

Everything old is new again. I think they are wearing the same clothes, in fact. Good idea, support terror.

H/T to my blog buddy, Brainster.

The Hall Of Shame

This an amusing read if you're a bit of a geek. It's PC World's all time top 25 worst tech products. Or should that be bottom 25? Anyway, it's quite amusing to read about some of these products and/or disasters. Read all about horrible operating systems (Oh, yeah. Windows ME was awful) and even combustible computers!