The Orwellian Doublespeak of Media Matters’ David Brock
January 17, 2011 at 9:00 am | Posted in NewsRealBlog | Leave a commentTags: 1984, David Brock, Doublespeak, Doublethink, Ed Schultz, Gabrielle Giffords, george orwell, glenn beck, Jared Loughner, media matters, NewsReal Blog, sarah palin, The Concession Stand, Tucson Shooting
by Walter Hudson, contributed to NewsReal Blog
Doublespeak: The art of persuasively articulating nothing.
Winston sank his arms to his sides and slowly refilled his lungs with air. His mind slid away into the labyrinthine world of doublethink. To know and not to know, to be conscious of complete truthfulness while telling carefully constructed lies, to hold simultaneously two opinions which cancelled out, knowing them to be contradictory and believing in both of them…
George Orwell thus laid the groundwork for the coinage of doublespeak, at best a simple euphemism, sometimes mere ambiguity, and at worst deliberate deceit. The purpose of doublethink is to synthesize the irrational. The purpose of doublespeak is to propagate it.
Media Matters’ head honcho David Brock is a master of both. As he leads the leftist herd in advancing the meme of conservative rhetoric causing violence, he attempts to cloak his demagoguery in a false concession.
On Arizona Shooting, Jon Stewart Skirts the Edge of Reason
January 12, 2011 at 3:00 pm | Posted in NewsRealBlog | Leave a commentTags: Arizona Laws, comedy central, Common Law, Freedom of Speech, Gabrielle Giffords, Hollywood, jon stewart, NewsReal Blog, Reasonable Person, sarah palin, The Concession Stand, the daily show, Tucson Shooting
by Walter Hudson, contributed to NewsReal Blog
One question: Who threw the first punch?
Most of us know a disingenuous apology when we hear one. The sincerity of a mea culpa is generally revealed by whether it is focused upon the offended party or the offensive behavior. Saying “I’m sorry you took it that way” does not fully own up to an offense. Likewise, the inclusion of excuses within an apology indicates an offender hasn’t fully accepted responsibility for their behavior.
Even so, a less than sincere apology is perhaps better than none at all. Likewise, in the aftermath of the horrendous shooting spree in Arizona and the stunning witch hunt that has followed in the media, an attempt by some left-wing television commentators to moderate their tone is better than the blatant double-standard employed by many of their colleagues. In particular, Jon Stewart has broken from the leftist herd to concede that political rhetoric cannot be blamed for Jared Loughner’s shooting rampage. Still, Stewart has not completely let go of the “toxic vitriol” meme. He still seems to assert that political rhetoric may have influenced Loughner, even if it did not directly cause him to kill.
Like an insincere apology, this concession leaves us rather cold. Still missing from Stewart’s assessment is the moral distinction between speech and action, and the plain sense which informs the “reasonable person” standard in common law. Stewart’s instincts push him in the right direction. However, he never quite reaches the relevant philosophical destination.
Chorus of Hollywood Tweets Blame Palin & Tea Party for Arizona Shooting
January 10, 2011 at 9:00 am | Posted in NewsRealBlog | Leave a commentTags: arizona, Elizabeth Banks, Gabrielle Giffords, Hollywood, Jane Fonda, Jared Loughner, John Legend, Josh Groban, Michael Moore, NewsReal Blog, Patton Oswald, Roger Ebert, sarah palin, tea party, The Concession Stand, Tucscon Shooting
by Walter Hudson, contributed to NewsReal Blog
Life occasionally provides us with incidents of such stark circumstance that our reaction can define our character. This weekend’s tragedy in Arizona is one such incident. Aside from the universal horror which we all share in response to the shooting, two categories of reaction have emerged. The first and least prominent has been to wait for the facts to come in and examine them objectively in an attempt to accurately understand what has happened and why. The more common reaction has been to assign blame, first without evidence, and then in direct contradiction of the evidence which has emerged.
In the hours immediately following the shooting, when details were scarce, Tucson radio talker Jon Justice candidly expressed the latter mindset, telling a Minneapolis radio audience that he was certain the shooting was politically motivated.
This is one of those situations where you don’t want to speculate. But, given this past election and everything going on– I have no details as far as motive. But then again, in the back of my mind, I also have very little question as far as motive.
Clairvoyance must be a heavy burden. Regardless, claims to know the unknowable take a backseat to claims in direct contradiction of plain evidence. There is now little doubt that suspect Jared Loughner suffers from some form of mental illness, leaving him wholly incapable of maintaining or acting upon a coherent political ideology.
Even so, a chorus of Hollywood tweets (collected over at BigHollywood) have joined the cacophony of blame directed at Sarah Palin and the Tea Party.
Tone Deaf Kathy Griffin Mocks Bristol Palin in Front of American Troops
December 8, 2010 at 11:00 am | Posted in NewsRealBlog | 1 CommentTags: Body Image, Bristol Palin, Hollywood, Kathy Griffin, Military, NewsReal Blog, sarah palin, The Concession Stand, VH1, Weight Issues
by Walter Hudson, contributed to NewsReal Blog
The first rule of public performance is – know your audience. Know what they like, and what they don’t, or risk becoming the latter. Self-professed D-list celebrity Kathy Griffin apparently never learned that lesson.
While hosting a VH1/USO salute to American troops, Griffin saw fit to mock Bristol Palin. Strange as that choice was, stranger still was how she chose to do it.
“She’s the only contestant in the history of the show to actually gain weight,” Griffin said in reference to Bristol’s trip to the finals on “Dancing With the Stars.”
Even after the troops’ loud booing, Griffin continued the attack.
“No, come on, come on. She gained like 30 pounds a week, I swear to God, it was fantastic,” Griffin said. “She’s like the white Precious.”
(Actress Gabourey Sidibe played the role of “Precious,” a 350-pound black woman in the hit Lee Daniels film which was released last year.)
This is how you maintain D-list status. Parade in front of an audience that values honor, respect, and decency, then take an unwarranted cheap shot at a public figure’s daughter.
“Dancing With the Stars” Host Defends Bristol Palin Against Conspiracy Rumors
November 18, 2010 at 1:00 pm | Posted in NewsRealBlog | Leave a commentTags: 2008 Election, Barack Obama, Bristol Palin, Conspiracy Theories, Dancing with the Stars, Hollywood, Mid-term elections, NewsReal Blog, sarah palin, The Concession Stand, Tom Bergeron
by Walter Scott Hudson, contributed to NewsReal Blog
My man-pride requires prefacing this post with a disclaimer. I do not make a habit of watching Dancing with the Stars. I was, however, in the room as a guest in my mother’s house while she and my sister watched it earlier this week. There was nothing I could do. Two of them. One of me.
Despite my misfortune, it provided the opportunity to see Bristol Palin and judge for myself whether she deserved to be on the show. Even to my untrained and highly disinterested eye, she did not perform to the level of singer Brandy or the mesmerizing Jennifer Grey.
In spite of her lackluster effort, Palin moved along to the finals, surviving another round of elimination by viewer vote. This prompted one Wisconsin man to shot his own television. Less impulsive reactions include speculation that Palin’s success is due to a vast Republican conspiracy.
Brett Favre Sexting Is Racist, Says Left-Wing Misogynist Bill Maher
October 18, 2010 at 5:31 am | Posted in NewsRealBlog | Leave a commentTags: Bill Maher, Brett Favre, Christine O’Donnell, conservative women, Dana Loesch, John Legend, Markos Moulita, michele bachmann, NewsReal Blog, Racism, sarah palin, The Feminist Hawk’s Nest
by Walter Scott Hudson, contributed to NewsReal Blog
It’s not difficult to admire Dana Loesch. Her latest merit was earned opposite Bill Maher and fellow Real Time panelists John Legend and Markos Moulitas. Maher would ask a question, pause just long enough to cue her response, then join the other two in talking over her. Such ungallant behavior is hardly surprising, and was not the last evidence of Maher’s inability to confront conservatism honestly.
During his “New Rules” segment, Maher threw out two theories regarding the psychology of conservatives that are as specious as they are offensive. In fact, these statements are so ridiculous, they disprove each other.
Building off a tasteless rant regarding Vikings quarterback Brett Favre and his alleged sexual indiscretions, Maher manufactures a deeper implication which is more creative than credible.
Holy Deductive Reasoning, Batman: Roger Ebert Unravels Beck/Palin Plot
September 7, 2010 at 12:00 pm | Posted in NewsRealBlog | Leave a commentTags: Adam West, Batman, Black Dynamite, Burt Ward, Chicago Sun-Times, Deductive Reasoning, Detective, glenn beck, Hollywood, Logic, NewsReal Blog, Roger Ebert, sarah palin, The Concession Stand
by Walter Scott Hudson, contributing to NewsReal Blog
The political commentary of popular Chicago-Sun Times film critic Roger Ebert has drawn some harsh scrutiny here at NRB. He authored some discombobulated rants against extending due process to BP in the wake of the Gulf oil spill. He since wrote in support of the Cordoba Initiative’s construction of a mosque two blocks from Ground Zero of the 9/11 attacks in New York City. The unfocused nature of these posts demonstrate an apparent disconnect between Ebert’s clear ability to perceive the fictional worlds of film and any ability to perceive the real world in which he lives.
Continue Reading Holy Deductive Reasoning, Batman: Roger Ebert Unravels Beck/Palin Plot…
“Happy Warriors” Emerge From Glenn Beck’s “Pit of Hatred”
September 1, 2010 at 5:36 am | Posted in NewsRealBlog | Leave a commentTags: 8/28 Restoring Honor Rally, African Americans, Al Sharpton, glenn beck, James Freeman, NewsReal Blog, sarah palin, Teamsters, Teamsters National Black Caucus, The Concession Stand, union, Wall Street Journal, Washington D.C.
by Walter Scott Hudson, contributed to NewsReal Blog
Much has been written of Glenn Beck’s 8/28 Restoring Honor event on the National Mall in Washington D.C., which attracted approximately 500,000 attendees. Beck himself has deemed those who traveled from all across the country the real stars of the event. The Wall Street Journal’s James Freeman agrees.
One would not be able to find a more polite crowd at a political convention, certainly not at a professional sporting event, probably not even at an opera. In fact, judging by the behavior of the attendees following the event, you’d have a tough time finding churches in which people display more patience as others make their way to the exits.
Continue Reading “Happy Warriors” Emerge From Glenn Beck’s “Pit of Hatred”…
Densely Woven Lies
April 21, 2010 at 4:27 am | Posted in Political | Leave a commentTags: anger, betty mccollum, Bill Clinton, glenn beck, rush limbaugh, sarah palin, sedition, tea party
by Walter Scott Hudson
Much hey has been made of the recent string of comments portraying conservative activism as support for domestic terrorism. Former President Bill Clinton insinuated, in an interview with Wolf Blitzer, that the Tea Party movement is breeding the next Timothy McVeigh. Representative Betty McCollum, from Minnesota’s fifth district, placed House Republicans and conservative commentators on notice to “temper” their rhetoric lest anyone within earshot take up arms. Joe Kline, a political columinist for TIME magazine, accused Glenn Beck of sedition for “langauge inciting rebellion against the state.” Chris Matthews prefaced Kline’s accusation by declaring terms such as “un-American” to be “license words” or “permission words,” as if assassins lay in wait for talk show hosts to give a green light.
These moments are indicative of a progressive strategy to undermine the Tea Party movement. The misrepresentations, distortions, and outright falsehoods are numerous and tightly woven, intent to defy concise response. In the space of three minutes, McCollum managed to misrepresent Tea Partiers as anarchists – in spite of their obvious support of the Constitution, accuse them of racism – without any evidence whatsoever, and shamelessly distort a transcript of Sean Hannity – to pass off a plainly satirical comment as sincere. These were less than half the factually challenged statements in her brief remarks.
Bachmann Rally Crowd Size Awes Media Rep
April 8, 2010 at 1:31 am | Posted in Political | 1 CommentTags: gop, michele bachmann, minneapolis, minnesota, rally, republican, sarah palin
Working with fellow True North contributor Chris Walden on a related media project, I was privy to some behind the scenes chatter at Wednesday’s GOP rally in Minneapolis which readers may find interesting. Jameson Johnson, a fellow SD43 resident lending his ample production expertise, was manning a camera on the press risers throughout the event. Johnson had occasion to chat with a professional from ABC who expressed genuine awe at the size of the crowd.
WCCO reports 11,000 people were present in the hall of the Minneapolis Convention Center by time Sarah Palin took the stage, a figure consistent with that cited by Congresswoman Michele Bachmann during the event. By contrast, a concurrent AFL-CIO “jobs” rally in the capitol rotunda in St. Paul attracted 250 persons demanding higher taxes on the rich, as reported by the local FOX News affiliate.
“That’s saying something,” Johnson opined regarding his encounter with the ABC staffer. “This guy sees things like this all the time. It says something that he was impressed.”
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