Arianna Huffington’s Book: An Autobiography?

Arianna Huffington, the liberal’s liberal and (in)famous co-founder of the ultra-liberal Huffington Post, believes that the future of journalism lies in selling journalistic credentials to the highest bidder. Yes, someone who believes dearly in democracy and the middle class apparently believes that we should trust a news source which hires reporters based upon how much they can afford to donate **ahem** pay, for their position. Arianna has offered a summer internship, available in a charity auction for the Robert F. Kennedy center, to the highest bidder. It will be more fun than those bygone summers in the Hamptons, only now your ceaseless complaints about the inequity of society will be broadcast much further than they ever were from atop your polo pony.

I really find this astounding given that Ms. Huffington has spent so much of her recent career lambasting moneyed elites in books like “Pigs at the Trough.” No doubt she finds it disgusting that there are those who see fit to spend their money on lavish lifestyles and self-serving fundraisers under the guise of philanthropy… which is why she has turned positions at her blog into the digital equivalent of a lavish fundraiser.

It baffles me that she didn’t see fit to offer this as a paid position to someone out there with real talent. Why not offer the job to inner city graduates or low-income students? Why not give someone who needs a lucky brake a chance to make a difference. Oh that’s right, “[t]hat’s not [their] financial model." The Huffington Post offers “promotion and distribution with a great company,” to people who can already afford it. Liberal elitism is alive and well. 

See the auction here:
https://auction01.charitybuzz.com/secure/viewItemDetail.do?auction_item_id=93263

Description:
Includes: a two-three month internship at The Huffington Post in NYC or D.C. Must be at least 18 years old. NYC is the main office and D.C. is the political office. Winner can choose which location they would like.

The Huffington Post is an American liberal news website and aggregated weblog founded by Arianna Huffington and Kenneth Lerer, featuring various news sources and columnists. The site, often referred to as HuffPost or HuffPo, covers a wide range of topics, including sections devoted to politics, entertainment, media, living, business, and the green movement.

Launched on May 9, 2005, as a commentary outlet and liberal alternative to conservative news aggregators like the Drudge Report, and has expanded to cover news of politics and many other things.

In addition to columns by Huffington and a core group of contributors (such as Harry Shearer, John Conyers, and Rosie O’Donnell) and Roy Sekoff, Founding Editor, The Huffington Post has featured celebrity contributors from politics, journalism, business, and entertainment, including Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Norman Mailer, Saskia Sassen, John Cusack, and Bill Maher.

Donated by: Arianna Huffington
 

"It only takes one man with courage to make a majority"

President Andrew Jackson, "The American Lion"

             For years, millions of unhappy Americans have toiled silently from day to day. They have diligently tended to families, careers, and education while subversive elements of society have focused on controlling government institutions. While they balanced their checkbooks, their government mortgaged their future. While, they decried the excesses of the 1960s counterculture from churches, offices, and homes radicals overtook the educational system and began an exercise in mass brainwashing. Still, they largely remained quiet, burdened by their obligations and uninformed by a media firmly in the pocket of radicals. They believed in the justice of the law and a right to freedom speech and, when religion was chased from the public sphere by judges pursuing their own agendas rather than the letter of the law, they respected governing institutions even if they disagreed with those who ran them.  At every turn, they extended courtesy and a public platform to their opponents only to find that one day, their children were strangers, their leaders… despots, and their views labeled un-American. On that day, the silence was broken, the obedience faltered, and a new movement was born. Ladies and gentlemen, that day was April 15, 2009 and the Tax Day Tea Parties mark the start of a new grassroots, conservative movement.

                Thankfully, I was able to able to make the time to attend the New Haven, Connecticut tea party where I joined nearly a thousand of my fellow patriots to protest everything from expanding federal power to uncontrolled spending. Our protest permit (don’t even get me started on the absurdity of permit to protest… what happened to free speech?) was for Long Wharf, a location quite some distance from the center of New Haven, but it was all for the best. The location allowed us to get within a hundred feet of the highway where we were able to wreak havoc with the traffic on I-95. Some of the protesters climbed dirt mounds next to the highway where they displayed banners and posters such as "Taxes = Violence." As I stood there, just taking in the scene, hundreds if not thousands of cars and trucks honked as they past. By the end of the protest traffic on I-95 was backed up from New Haven to Milford, a distance of at least 9 miles. The joy of finally being surrounded by like-minded people who can listen to different opinions without resorting to baseless, hate-filled labels such as racist, reactionary, fascist, Nazi, etc. was marvelous. In short, reason and civility reigned supreme.

                If you’ve followed the mainstream media’s coverage of the Tea Parties, however, you’d think that put on my white KKK robes, grabbed some gasoline, and rounded up my white supremacist buddies. We jeered at some foreign looking pedestrians on the street before tooling around the town and arriving at a local gathering of neo-Nazis to protest the black man in the Whitehouse. The media’s coverage of the parties has been everything from disingenuous and misleading to outright propaganda. CNN sent one of its reporters to the Chicago tea party where she was so taken aback by a man who equated Obama to a fascist that she had to resort to, "don’t you realize how offensive that is?" It seems she missed the memo. Conservatives have been called fascists for over 70 years and there hasn’t been much of an outcry. Perhaps the real problem was that she had a sudden crisis of faith in the secular gods of free speech and democratic process when she realized that there are dissenting opinions and some who hold them are finding the courage and the strength to stand tall and proclaim them to the world. Whatever her motivations, her coverage of the scene was the most unbalanced I have seen in years and that includes segments on political commentary shows. She ended her coverage by saying that the scene was not "family viewing." You can see the entire clip below (as well as what cnn didn’t show you):

CNN’s Coverage

www.youtube.com/watch?v=2baxw_YScxc

What they didn’t show you:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6xWGvdRQ9Q

The Same Reporter’s Reaction Two Years Earlier to a Protestor Comparing Bush to Hitler 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WQbNaXJ8Pw

               Some might be surprised to find the media so hostile to traditional Americans standing up for their beliefs. Others might laugh off the incident as further evidence of a media bias they have long been aware of. I, on the other hand, think the negative media coverage was the icing on the cake; mainstream news outlets across the nation, from CNN to NBC do not know how to react. This is perhaps the first time in the history of America that conservatives and traditionalists have made such a large and coordinate effort (perhaps a half million or more attended over 1000 Tea Parties) to make their views heard. The elitists who comprise the news corps cannot come to terms with a movement this large and widespread being organized by average, everyday people. 

                      A recurring theme in the coverage was just how many protesters were present and, often, a reporter would remark how much larger the Tea Party was compared to previous anti-war protests in the same location. On their faces there was confusion. Their speech was riddled with negative buzzwords like right-wing, bashers, ugly, and hate-filled. No doubt they hoped these words would trigger the negative emotions our society has conditioned us to experience at their very mention. Some, like CNN’s Susan Roesgen, tried to blame the movement on evil Fox News and conservative organizations, frantically searching for an explanation for an event that couldn’t be easily reconciled to her world view. Ironically, she was standing in front of signs that said "Republicans suck too" and "Rick Santelli for President" when she attempted to link the events to the Republican Party.

                If there’s one thing that I have learned in life, it’s that people, when they feel threatened, do not rely on logic and rational thinking, rather they resort to instinct, name calling,  and violence to defend themselves. If you haven’t seen the writing on the wall, let me be the first to tell you that the mainstream media outlets are scared. Some of them will try to ignore the movement in the hopes that it will simply go away. What they fear, however, are the implications of success. Their vacuous drivel, manufactured for the numbed and manipulated masses they helped to create, will be far worse than worthless; it will be an indictment of their hypocrisy, poor character, and treasonous actions. Even now their bias and incompetence is forcing them to the brink of bankruptcy, and they will face the terrifying choice of respecting conservatives or dissolving entirely. The age of the liberal media hegemony is now at an end. They are on the run and we need to forge bravely ahead, with the courage to ignore the lies and the slander. As Jackson said, "one man with courage makes a majority." We have not just one man, not just a thousand men, but hundreds of thousands and millions of men and women filled with courage and with hope. You are not wrong to demand accountability and you are most certainly not wrong to proclaim your beliefs. God bless you all and may God bless America, the land of the free and the home of the brave. 

Pictures of Tea Parties Around the Country: http://michellemalkin.com/2009/04/15/massive-tax-day-tea-party-usa/

If you missed the April 15 Tea Parties or you want to continue your involvement, there are plans for a July 4 Tea Party in the capital and rumors of protests outside of mainstream media headquarters in May. Everybody counts in this war of ideas, support what you believe in. Details will be posted here as soon as they are available.

Photo by Madas and Sue Donneham 

For those of you who have been living under a rock, Barack Obama’s inauguration was Monday January 20, 2009. His speech pleasantly surprised me with its unprecedented inclusion of concrete policies and positions. I know many expected him to stick to his campaign standby of inspirational sound bites, but they seemed to be obviously disappointed. It was funny how you could hear the applause die down as the amount of concrete content went up. It’s kind of like when you go to the supermarket and your disappointed to see your favorite cereal with the caption "now with nutritional value!" You know the kind that I mean. Let’s face it, you don’t exactly pick up a bowl of captain crunch for its nutritional value. You eat it because it’s addictive, numbs your brain, and gives you a pleasant buzz. Messing with the formula diminishes the cheap thrills you love so much but doesn’t add enough substance to make it worth your while.

Since I am currently at college (one of those places famed for its diversity) I was pleasantly surprised to see that only about 90% of the students were ecstatic about the occasion. The dissenting 10% really adds flavor to the campus… At first I couldn’t quite figure out what the excitement was about… but then it hit me. This isn’t just any inauguration, it’s the inauguration of the greatest president in history. Don’t believe it? Don’t tell me you’re one of those old fashioned fogies who prefers to write history after it happens! Just take a stroll through your local bookstore. The displays are so cute… next to Dr. Seuss there’s a nice little beginners reader with the caption, "Son of Promise and Child of Hope."

How can you argue with that? Start ‘em young and they’ll grow up right. It seems these days, gentle reader, that history is written before it happens. Barack doesn’t have the potential to be a great president… he was the greatest before he was even elected. Sure there are a few small details in the way such like actually being president, but if we all play nice and bipartisan (what irony hearing that word from the part of Nancy Pelosi and pals) its sure to come true. This desire to write history before it happens is partly why the inauguration was so important for so many people. It wasn’t just any inauguration. It was history in the making. No I don’t mean an event who’s significance is not yet understood, I mean the first step between a fairly tale and reality.

Unfortunately for the Democrats, they have something more difficult than the media influenced voters to contend with now: the real world. No matter where your political leanings lie, it’s hard to argue with the media bias during the election season. Mohandas Gandhi and Mother Theresa got tougher press coverage than Obama. For God’s sake, CBS actually used "Yes we can" and Obama’s campaign logo to advertise for their upcoming comedy lineup. The comedians themselves won’t touch Obama. Chris Rock and many others admit to being unable or unwilling to make light of Obama’s gaffes. Leno was focusing on Bush and Cheney even on the day of the inauguration. Could you imagine if George W. Bush’s oath was anything like Obama’s? We would never have heard the end of that no matter who’s fault it was. As for those of us who have a sense of proper decorum, moral fiber, and personal character, we will grow to like and then love Mr. Bush as time passes us by. Here was a man who, despite an unceasing onslaught of bad press coverage, cranks like Nancy Pelosi, unprecedented disasters, and other calamities stayed true to what he believed and treated those around him with dignity and respect. Some may feel that he made the wrong decisions for the wrong reasons, but at least the man has convictions not dictated by the latest polls. George W. Bush was deemed a loser and Barack Obama was crowned the president by entrenched media interests. The Democratic party, meanwhile, has latched onto Obama’s reputation and you can bet that they’ll milk it for all it’s worth. They’ve tried to ride his popularity, but fundamentally they do not view the world in the same way. Mark my words, Obama and the top Democratic leaders will be in a state of mutual loathing by the next election.

Thank God there is something that can still be done. If the people elected Bush and his media image tore him down… then the people can tear down the image the media elected. Don’t misunderstand me. I am not bitter, at least not towards Barack himself. Barack Obama seems like a good man. He seems competent and he seems fairly centrist. Unfortunately, there is little substance to back that and I am disgusted at those who spent the last year fabricating a media friendly image to fill in the gaps. Barack’s bipartisan pitch is distinctly at odds with the Democratic party’s traditional tactics. Either he’s misrepresenting himself or his party is misrepresenting itself. I’ll put money on the second choice. This is the party, after all, who fought so many of Bush’s nominations despite their obvious qualifications and the lack of precedent for such fierce opposition. During Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s Supreme Court nomination, ideological issues were barely brought up. Ranking Republicans voted for her on the basis on her competence, not her views. This is the party which has done nothing but criticize Bush for policies they themselves authorized. This is the party who’s Speaker said to the national news that the Republicans deserved no input on the stimulus package because they "lost the election." How is that bipartisan? Bipartisanship is a give and take, not one party demanding the other cower and let every piece of legislation pass unopposed. Now, this same divisive party expects to use Obama’s popularity and reasonable persona to remake themselves? I’m sorry, but there is no way that I will forget the true face of the Democratic party; this is the party which bitterly opposed almost every Republican and Bush administration policy for eight years in an extremely partisan manner. People often say that Bush failed… but how many stop and ask themselves what might have been accomplished with even the slightest bit of reasonable cooperation? Now they want to move on as the reasonable "bipartisan" party, no doubt setting up conservatives for a media thrashing should they decide to oppose any of the Democrat’s policies?

Three years ago, the Democrats were the minority party and they used scare tactics, lies, demonstrations, and other counterproductive but high profile means to claw their way back to the top. While conservatives went to work and cared for their families, the liberal left was protesting, lobbying, and filing frivolous lawsuits against laws and institutions that stand for traditional conservative beliefs. Now, however, they have lost their most powerful tools. They cannot protest and they cannot blame someone else. They are in control and I call on each and every person, regardless of his or her political leanings, to demand the truth from the media. We cannot allow the fabric of society to be changed by a lie. We cannot allow fear to dictate policy and obscure the truth. When you see that a news outlet is unfairly reporting the news, boycott it and get your friends involved. Don’t just shake your head when you read about corruption and waste in the paper. Run for local office or join a local campaign. Don’t go about your day lamenting days gone by. Go to a protest… heck… start a protest. When’s the last time you saw a serious conservative protest? Granted conservatives prefer more productive means of opposition, but, if that’s what the media wants, then give them something they cannot ignore. My friends today we must become the modern counterculture. What small but dedicated groups of ultra leftists did to society in the 1960s and 1970s we are now in the position to do in turn. Popular culture lacks substance and it treats large swaths of political ideology, which are held by a large portion of the American population, with disdain. The media is entirely one sided, education amounts to no less than brainwashing, and politicians are spending your money without a care in the world. We need but create a small spark and the house of cards will come burning down. You can’t fool all of the people all of the time. Mr. Obama was right… change has come to America. Let’s make it happen.

Vive la liberté!

  —Madas

Photo: FreeRepublic.com

In modern America and the western world as a whole, symbolism has lost much of its significance and cultural relevance. The press, in the past, has been quite happy to drop a title as stodgy and outmoded as Mr. President. Secularists relish the failing power of religious symbols and the frequency with which they are removed from government buildings. Likewise, while we offer prayers at important events, many of our countrymen fight to outlaw even these, taking temporary comfort in the increasingly nondenominational and meaningless nature of such prayers. 

This trend continued at the latest G-20 summit where President Obama greeted the King of Saudi Arabia with a bow (The actual bow occurs at the 55 second mark in the video below). To Obama, I’m sure this was simply an opportunity to show the Saudi King that he, President Obama, is different and not so stuck up as to insult Saudi Arabian custom. He’s modern enough to humor the Saudi Arabians for a day, after all "different strokes for different folks." Unfortunately, Obama and others who think like him do not realize still remains a large group of people both in the United States and abroad who recognize that symbols and gestures can carry tremendous power.

Take, for example, bowing before a king. The early leaders of the United States of America, founded as a free federalist republic after facing the tyranny of a king, had a deep disdain for the societal relationship that kingship signified. Our ancestors believed that all men are created equal and did not bow to kings out of dedication to that principle. They understood that bowing was a societal gesture designed to acknowledge and highlight the fundamental inequality between different men in a social hierarchy. While some might consider this refusal petty, should we not refrain from actions that do not uphold our principles, especially when nothing but goodwill with an already friendly country is at stake? If you do not respect your values enough when there is nothing to lose and little to gain, what will you do when the stakes are high?

If all Saudis greeted each other (as many Japanese do) in this manner, than it would be nothing more than a simple cultural difference. All Saudis, however, do not greet one another in this manner. Handshakes are the norm in Saudi business culture and a Saudi bows only to his superiors, namely the king. If the President had not bowed, he would not have been disrespectful; he simply would not have performed a social custom designed solely to recognize the special relationship between a king and his subjects.

For the U.S. President to bow, as only a subject of the Saudi King would bow, is an implicit repudiation of the importance of Western (especially American) cultural values. Just as the Saudi Arabians have the right to maintain their own culture, so do we. While private citizens have the right to do whatever they please when they are abroad, even if that means humoring foreign social hierarchies, the President of the United States has an obligation to uphold our deepest beliefs and guiding principles as he represents us on the world stage.

This event will only serve to further highlight the difference between conservatives and liberals. While conservatives see it as a betrayal of our beliefs and values and a sign of weakness to a foreign tyrant, liberals will undoubtedly try to portray conservatives as stodgy, backward thinkers who don’t know when to lighten up. I don’t expect this be presented on any news station except for Fox, but, if it somehow hits the other networks, expect liberal commentators to spin this as Obama’s new commitment to being a global team player. If we were in grade school, I’d be impressed by little Obama’s maturity: going around to all those misunderstood bullies: "I’m OK, you’re OK, we’re all OK!" Touching… You might be able to convince yourself that works with children, but we’re not talking about one kid who plays soccer and another who plays with his chemistry set. We’re talking about one culture that believes in Jihad, a global empire, and repressive sharia law juxtaposed with one founded on individual value, equality, and freedom. We are not in kindergarten and, last I checked, my ancestors suffered and died for this nation to create a place for themselves and their children that is truly unique in this world. I demand that my president respect my values and our culture first. If and only if, a gesture is compatible with American principles should the President go out of his way to make it. Mr. President, I’m insulted. Is there anything that you won’t sell for the right price?

Do You Agree?

Write to the President: http://www.whitehouse.gov/CONTACT/

www.youtube.com/watch?v=S60U-hl35Gw

Part 1

www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDAae2MozGs

Part 2

www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhUMyE_jWf0

Copyright NY Post and Sean Delonas (www.nypost.com)

I think Al Sharpton is in the wrong line of work. For years, the good “reverend” has worked tirelessly to secure the civil rights of his African American supporters. Through all his cantankerous grandstanding, however, it appears that Al has been hiding a world-class imagination and an intellect worth of the “special” moniker.

Apparently, Al’s gifts can transport him to a magical world in which the President of the United States is responsible for writing and signing bills. In this world, freedom of speech is a delightful thing so long as Al cannot think of a way in which it might insult him. The best part of Al’s world is the wishing well, also known the National Action Network (NAN). It can give him whatever he desires from gumdrops to ending the careers of his enemies. Obviously the guy should be writing fantasy books or working in Hollywood.

Sharpton’s unparalleled intelligence has given us his latest escapade: calling for the removal of Col Allen, the NY Post’s Editor in Chief, and Sean Delonas, a NY Post cartoonist. Sharpton started the controversy last Wednesday, February 18^th after the Post published a cartoon depicting a dead chimpanzee with two police in the foreground (shown above).

Sharpton immediately seized upon the cartoon, going public with accusations of intentionally poor taste and implicit racism. His fellows at the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) called it intentionally racist. The NAACP’s president, Benjamin Todd Jealous, took it a step further, labeling the comic an outright  “invitation to [the] assassination” of President Obama.

Despite the all hubbub coming from the civil “rights” groups, it takes quite a stretch of the imagination to link the cartoon to President Obama. As any well-informed citizen should know, the President cannot write laws. Sean Delonas, in line with Post tradition, seized upon two current events and combined them into one cartoon. The cartoon was intended to mock the haphazard manner in which the Stimulus was crafted, insinuating that even a monkey could have done better. The meaning of the cartoon is crystal clear.

Why then, did Al decide to go after the Post? Why did the NAACP go beyond plausible insinuations of racism to state that the cartoon called for assassination? Is there a more sinister reason behind this brouhaha? Sadly, Mr. Sharpton’s valiant stand against “racism,” may be nothing more than petty revenge. The NY Post has been a proverbial thorn in Sharpton’s side for the past year, covering accusations that he used his non-profit, the National Action Network, to threaten individuals and corporations with racially charged protests unless they donated to the NAN. The Post first ran an article on this alleged extortion in May and then another on the ensuing IRS probe into the NAN.

           Now Sharpton intends to use the national foment he created to damage the Post’s reputation and extort them into firing two honest, hardworking employees. He has even asked the FCC to investigate News Corp and the City of New York to investigate the racial diversity of the Post. This man is and has always been an unabashed racist of the worst sort. He seizes upon any incident that could possibly be construed as racially insensitive to grow his power base and raise more money for his cronies. Now I ask you, do you want to simply sit back and grumble, or do you want to take action?

            Aim below the belt and hit old Al where it seems to count: in his wallet. This guy has been extorting companies into supporting him, and I say we “convince” those same companies that they shouldn’t touch the NAN with a ten-foot pole. Where can we find such a list: why just follow the links below to the NY Post. Here are a few: PepsiCo, General Motors, Chrysler, Wal-Mart, FedEx, Continental Airlines, Johnson&Johnson, Chase, Forest City Ratner, MGM Mirage, and American Honda. Write letters, send e-mails, and leave voicemails. Then, if you want to show your support for the Post, purchase a subscription. Nothing is more convincing to a business than green.

Madas

www.moderncounterculture.com

http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/sharpton_charity_NAN/2008/06/15/104748.html

http://www.nypost.com/seven/05242008/postopinion/editorials/same_old_sharpton__112339.htm

http://www.nypost.com/seven/06192008/news/regionalnews/subpoena_blitz_puts_heat_on_al_116165.htm

www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8hMJVXt09E

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi: "Every month that we do not pass this stimulus package, 500 MILLION American’s lose their jobs…"
This was probably just a simple mix up… but why was it not covered on the news? It’s time for equal standards and accountability. If you want us to spend over a trillion dollars, Madam Speaker, than you had best have your facts straight. With convenient quotables like this… I don’t think you’ll ever have any credibility.