Open Thread: A Liberal in Favor of Free Speech?
Today's starter topic: Liberals fancy themselves to be the best proponents of free speech and tolerance. But when actual political speech is at issue rather than theoretical speech, their boasts are often revealed to be mere posturing. That's why we thought it'd be nice to start off today's OT by giving some well-deserved praise to Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen for mounting a solid defense for political speech against the self-interested censors of the liberal press:
Sheldon Adelson is supposedly a bad man. The gambling mogul gave $5 million to a Newt Gingrich-loving super PAC and this enabled Gingrich to maul Mitt Romney — a touch of opinion here — who had it coming anyway. Adelson is a good friend of Gingrich and a major player in Israeli politics. He owns a newspaper in Israel and supports politicians so far to the right I have to wonder if they are even Jewish. This is Sheldon Adelson, supposedly a bad man. But what about Howard Stein?
The late chairman of the Dreyfus Corp. was a wealthy man but, unlike Adelson, a liberal Democrat. Stein joined with some other rich men — including Martin Peretz, the one-time publisher of the New Republic; Stewart Mott, a GM heir; and Arnold Hiatt of Stride Rite Shoes — to provide about $1.5 million for Eugene McCarthy’s 1968 challenge to Lyndon Johnson. Stein and his colleagues did not raise this money in itsy-bitsy donations but by chipping in large amounts themselves. Peretz told me he kicked in $30,000. That was a huge amount of money at the time.
That sort of donation would now be illegal — unless it was given to a super PAC that swore not to coordinate with the candidate. And until quite recently, even that would have been illegal — the limit being something like $2,400. Many people bemoan that the limit is no more, asserting that elections are now up for sale, as if this was something new. They point to the Adelson contribution and unload invective on the poor right-wing gambling tycoon. I understand, but I do not agree.
Back in 1967, a small group of men gave McCarthy the wherewithal to challenge a sitting president of the United States. The money enabled McCarthy to swiftly set up a New Hampshire operation and — lo and behold — he got 42 percent of the popular vote, an astounding figure. Johnson was rocked. Four days later, Robert F. Kennedy, who at first had declined to do what McCarthy did, jumped in himself. By the end of March 1968, Johnson was on TV, announcing he would not seek a second term.
My guess is that a lot of the people who decry what Adelson has done loved what Stein, Peretz and the others did.
Read the rest. Cohen's right on the money and it's a shame more on the left haven't realized just how important political speech is and why it should be valued. Hat tip: Steven Hayward.
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Comments
Egypt and Mo' of duh Bro'Hood
Submitted by jon_torlin on Tue, 01/17/2012 - 11:59am.
Well, despite many people pop-poo'ing the idea that the Muslim Brotherhood have no real power, they seem to be doing pretty good so far. Of course it remains to be seen what the Egyptian Military will do at this point....
Egypt's Next Parliament to be led by Islamist
I don't see anything good coming from this.
-Jon
We will see where this takes
Submitted by Dan The Man 2 on Tue, 01/17/2012 - 12:56pm.
We will see where this takes them.
One-time democracy
Submitted by Unsane on Tue, 01/17/2012 - 2:21pm.
Oh, I'm sure they will have an election. You know, one man, one vote, once...
"CONSUMED DEMOCRACY RETURNS A SOCIALIST REGIME" - Slayer, "Fictional Reality", from Divine Intervention (1994)
One man, one vote, only once...
Submitted by drsamherman on Tue, 01/17/2012 - 2:28pm.
To paraphrase you, Uns, that is the same mentality that Barack Obama's sycophantic groupies believe basically elected him to be POTUS for life--just like some of the third-world dictators over the years. We already know they hold the constitution and the laws in contempt, because Obama simply picks and chooses which ones he will obey and which ones are just too inconvenient. Why bother with an election? Using the available mechanisms, I can see the Democratic minorities in both houses of the next congress trying desperately to interfere with the constitutional process of reading the electoral votes in the joint session, and introducing proposals here and there to invalidate this or that state's vote for anything under the sun. Expect the racism card to be pulled like a drunk sailor on shore leave.
I think this "can see the
Submitted by Dan The Man 2 on Tue, 01/17/2012 - 3:52pm.
I think this "can see the Democratic minorities in both houses of the next congress trying desperately to interfere with the constitutional process of reading the electoral votes in the joint session" is not a possibility even with the Democrat scum there now. This would be a real slide towards a banana republic.
We'll make it down that slide ...
Submitted by Newsbubba on Tue, 01/17/2012 - 4:50pm.
.. unless someone on our side in Congress decides to take over the leadership and man up!
They have turned into Obama's bitch under the current "leadership" of Boner and Mitch the Bitch.
My fear is that the electoral vote is close.
Submitted by drsamherman on Tue, 01/17/2012 - 11:07pm.
And we end up with a Democrat majority in the House, where they can challenge the electoral votes of any state just for the hell of it.
Even if they do not get a majority, you can expect idiots like Sheila Jackson Liar to keep interrupting the process just to score cheap points.
I don't think they could necessarily overturn the results of an election where the electoral vote majority is strong, but if it is close I expect the same type of chicanery that happened in 2000 and 2004 with all of the political grandstanding that goes with it.
"...unless it was given to a
Submitted by MightyMouth on Tue, 01/17/2012 - 12:02pm.
"...unless it was given to a super PAC that swore not to coordinate with the candidate.."
A direct result of McCain/Feingold. Just like Dodd/Frank congress will continue to step on their collective units and we all will suffer. The only thing that comes out of their best intentions: unintended consequences. The gooberment is like a two year old without supervision: yeah it's all fun and games, but eventually someone gets hurt and starts crying.
Maybe liberals need to drink more beer.
Submitted by Newsbubba on Tue, 01/17/2012 - 12:37pm.
http://www.davidstuff.com/humor/buffalo.htm
They certainly can't get any dumber!
Latest from Allen West (could he be more direct?)
Submitted by Blonde on Tue, 01/17/2012 - 12:54pm.
I love this guy! As a constituent and supporter, I get all of his updates, and this one is a beauty! I'm taking out the fundraising links.....but if you're up for it, go to his AllenWestforCongress site and send him a couple of bucks. As one of the most outspoken critics of Obama and all of the liberal lunacy, and as a proud member of the Tea Party, he's high on the Democrats' hit list and is going to get the full Palin treatment, again.
.
Unbelievable.
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz -- proud liberal and Democrat National Committee chair -- is like a gift that keeps on giving -- but you just want to take it back to the store.
Last week, Schultz basically blamed the Tea Party for the horrific shooting of Congresswoman Gabby Giffords. Here is what she said.
“We need to … tone things down, particularly in light of the Tucson tragedy … where my very good friend, Gabby Giffords -- … [was shot],.” "The discourse in America. . . has really changed, I'll tell you. I hesitate to place blame, but I have noticed it take a very precipitous turn towards edginess and lack of civility with the growth of the Tea Party movement. … You had town hall meetings that they tried to take over, and you saw some their conduct at those tea party meetings … when they come and disagree with you, you're not just wrong, you're the enemy."
So there you have it. We’re “the enemy” and when we speak our mind, people get shot.
Outrageous.
I want to make three things very clear. First, my family continues to keep Rep. Giffords in our thoughts and prayers. Second, I condemn all violence -- it has zero place in American politics. And third, the Tuscon shooting had nothing to do with the Tea Party or conservatives. It was a depraved act carried out by one very sick individual.
I won’t stand by and listen to this type of attack on Americans who want to speak their mind, and you shouldn’t either. There are two things you can do right now.
1) Call Debbie Wasserman Schulz’s office right now at 202-225-7931 and tell her you’re sick and tired of the ridiculous statements she makes.
2) link to donation site, removed
Schultz’s attacks on us and our movement show the level she is willing to approach in an attempt to discredit us and essentially squelch free speech.
I for one am not intimidated. I’ll continue to have town hall meetings, and welcome a spirited and civil debate about the future of this nation and the direction we want to go. The voters -- and our democracy -- demand nothing less.
Please support our conservative army by visiting our donation page now.
And thank you for your ongoing support.
Steadfast and Loyal,
Congressman Allen B. West (R-FL)
Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army, Retired
Handy Reference Guide to Obama's Gaffes and Goofs ~ Currently Numbering 200 (and Counting)
Leftists support free speech
Submitted by Rusty Shackleford on Tue, 01/17/2012 - 1:10pm.
Leftists support free speech until opinions are expressed that disagree with their own. This is why they get so worked up over "hate speech" and label anything they disagree with as "hate". Opinions rooted in hate are seen as inferior and unworthy of the respect given to other ideas (even dumb ones), therefore by labeling anything that challenges their Access Hollywood view of the world as "hate" they feel they can support free speech and censorship simultaneously since hate speech doesn't really count. As a bonus, their own knee-jerk philosophy built out of emotion becomes intellectually superior by default and no longer even needs to attempt debate because "hate speech" is unworthy of the time.
Or that's what they think. Unfortunately for them, what is actually happening is that the misuse of the "hate speech" label is rapidly being seen as the joke that it is. The only people who buy it anymore are the staunch Leftists who don't need convincing and apolitical types who don't know what to vote for until they walk in the booth and vote for whomever Jon Stewart told them to vote for. In other words, this "hate speech" label only works for their core voters.
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Chris Matthews: The Joy Behar of MSNBC.
Bill Maher: The Joy Behar of HBO.
Paul Krugman: The Joy Behar of The New York Times.
I used to
Submitted by misterbee241 on Tue, 01/17/2012 - 1:52pm.
read Cohen quite a bit until i cancelled my subscription to the WaPo about 17 or 18 years ago. What I noticed about Cohen back then was he would occasionally have flashes of reality and sanity. But they never stayed with him very long. By the next column he'd be right back to his same ol' liberalism.
No 'good' deed goes unpunished
Submitted by Agnostic on Tue, 01/17/2012 - 2:07pm.
After supporting President Obama with money, policies and words the big financed companies are being asked to give up some of their decision making abilities to the unions - in court.
Also, advisors (including Immelt) are recommending to cut corporate taxes, drill domestically and streamline regulations - this advisory committee will either disappear or it will somehow be reported that the Republican Congress is blocking the initiatives that could save the economy.
This AP piece
Submitted by bkeyser on Tue, 01/17/2012 - 2:42pm.
was initially written in 2009 and has been released annually since.
AP piece on Geothermal experimentation
Submitted by ahusser on Tue, 01/17/2012 - 3:14pm.
This article is long and I apologize for that. The underlining and bold is mine. For some reason my agenda antennae were raised when I read it. Although I think developing alternative energy is a good idea it seems there are some strange bedfellows involved in this. Of course being a paranoid type I could be wrong. But super liberal google and the fed government (DOE and USGS) come to mind. Also the continuing efforts by this administration to discourage domestic drilling for oil. In any event the article was interesting for what it probably didn't say.
Jan 15, 9:48 AM EST Project to pour water into volcano to make power By JEFF BARNARD Associated Press AP Photo AP Photo/M. Sherman US Video Advertisement Buy AP Photo Reprints
Geothermal energy developers plan to pump 24 million gallons of water into the side of a dormant volcano in Central Oregon this summer to demonstrate new technology they hope will give a boost to a green energy sector that has yet to live up to its promise.
They hope the water comes back to the surface fast enough and hot enough to create cheap, clean electricity that isn't dependent on sunny skies or stiff breezes - without shaking the earth and rattling the nerves of nearby residents. Renewable energy has been held back by cheap natural gas, weak demand for power and waning political concern over global warming. Efforts to use the earth's heat to generate power, known as geothermal energy, have been further hampered by technical problems and worries that tapping it can cause earthquakes. Even so, the federal government, Google and other investors are interested enough to bet $43 million on the Oregon project. They are helping AltaRock Energy, Inc. of Seattle and Davenport Newberry Holdings LLC of Stamford, Conn., demonstrate whether the next level in geothermal power development can work on the flanks of Newberrry Volcano, located about 20 miles south of Bend, Ore. "We know the heat is there," said Susan Petty, president of AltaRock. "The big issue is can we circulate enough water through the system to make it economic." The heat in the earth's crust has been used to generate power for more than a century. Engineers gather hot water or steam that bubbles near the surface and use it to spin a turbine that creates electricity. Most of those areas have been exploited. The new frontier is places with hot rocks, but no cracks in the rocks or water to deliver the steam. To tap that heat - and grow geothermal energy from a tiny niche into an important source of green energy - engineers are working on a new technology called Enhanced Geothermal Systems. "To build geothermal in a big way beyond where it is now requires new technology, and that is where EGS comes in," said Steve Hickman, a research geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park, Calif. Wells are drilled deep into the rock and water is pumped in, creating tiny fractures in the rock, a process known as hydroshearing. Cold water is pumped down production wells into the reservoir, and the steam is drawn out. Hydroshearing is similar to the process known as hydraulic fracturing, used to free natural gas from shale formations. But fracking uses chemical-laden fluids, and creates huge fractures. Pumping fracking wastewater deep underground for disposal likely led to recent earthquakes in Arkansas and Ohio. Fears persist that cracking rock deep underground through hydroshearing can also lead to damaging quakes. EGS has other problems. It is hard to create a reservoir big enough to run a commercial power plant. Progress has been slow. Two small plants are online in France and Germany. A third in downtown Basel, Switzerland, was shut down over earthquake complaints. A project in Australia has had drilling problems. A new international protocol is coming out at the end of this month that urges EGS developers to keep projects out of urban areas, the so-called "sanity test," said Ernie Majer, a seismologist with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. It also urges developers to be upfront with local residents so they know exactly what is going on. AltaRock hopes to demonstrate a new technology for creating bigger reservoirs that is based on the plastic polymers used to make biodegradable cups. It worked in existing geothermal fields. Newberry will show if it works in a brand new EGS field, and in a different kind of geology, volcanic rock, said Colin Williams, a USGS geophysicist also in Menlo Park. The U.S. Department of Energy has given the project $21.5 million in stimulus funds. That has been matched by private investors, among them Google with $6.3 million. Majer said the danger of a major quake at Newbery is very low. The area is a kind of seismic dead zone, with no significant faults. It is far enough from population centers to make property damage unlikely. And the layers of volcanic ash built up over millennia dampen any shaking. But the Department of Energy will be keeping a close eye on the project, and any significant quakes would shut it down at least temporarily, he said. The agency is also monitoring EGS projects at existing geothermal fields in California, Nevada and Idaho. "That's the $64,000 question," Majer said. "What's the biggest earthquake we can have from induced seismicity that the public can worry about." Geologists believe Newberry Volcano was once one of the tallest peaks in the Cascades, reaching an elevation of 10,000 feet and a diameter of 20 miles. It blew its top before the last Ice Age, leaving a caldera studded with towering lava flows, two lakes, and 400 cinder cones, some 400 feet tall. Although the volcano has not erupted in 1,300 years, hot rocks close to the surface drew exploratory wells in the 1980s. Over 21 days, AltaRock will pour 800 gallons of water per minute into the 10,600-foot test well, already drilled, for a total of 24 million gallons. According to plan, the cold water cracks the rock. The tiny plastic particles pumped down the well seal off the cracks. Then more cold water goes in, bypassing the first tier, and cracking the rock deeper in the well. That tier is sealed off, and cold water cracks a third section. Later, the plastic melts away. Seismic sensors produce detailed maps of the fracturing, expected to produce a reservoir of cracks starting about 6,000 feet below the surface, and extending to 11,000 feet. It would be about 3,300 feet in diameter. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management released an environmental assessment of the Newberry project last month that does not foresee any problems that would stop it. The agency is taking public comments before making a final decision in coming months. No power plant is proposed, but one could be operating in about 10 years, said Doug Perry, president and CEO of Davenport Newberry. EGS is attractive because it vastly expands the potential for geothermal power, which, unlike wind and solar, produces power around the clock in any weather. Natural geothermal resources account for about 0.3 percent of U.S. electricity production, but a 2007 Massachusetts Institute of Technology report projected EGS could bump that to 10 percent within 50 years, at prices competitive with fossil-fuels. Few people expect that kind of timetable now. Electricity prices have fallen sharply because of low natural gas prices and weak demand brought about by the Great Recession and state efficiency programs. But the resource is vast. A 2008 USGS assessment found EGS throughout the West, where hot rocks are closer to the surface than in the East, has the potential to produce half the country's electricity. "The important question we need to answer now," said Williams, the USGS geophysicist who compiled the assessment, "is how geothermal fits into the renewable energy picture, and how EGS fits. How much it is going to cost, and how much is available."
"Somehow, I told you so, just doesn't quite say it." Will Smith in 'I, Robot.'
If this is true then clean
Submitted by Dan The Man 2 on Tue, 01/17/2012 - 4:39pm.
If this is true then clean cheap energy may be a reality. Cold Fusion
Cheaper Energy
Submitted by ahusser on Tue, 01/17/2012 - 4:49pm.
May be on the horizon at least in the west. But the investors in this "experiment" bother me. The U.S. Government and notoriously liberal Google and other unnamed investors in this. I have not investigated the 2 lead companies involved. But dollars to doughnuts it has a political agenda as well as profit as the motive and why is the DOE and USGS in bed with private investors? And that was my point. 1/2 the risk is taken out of the equation as "stimulus" money (read taxpayer money) is being used to further this experiment. Even though the search for alternative energy is desirable it is so tinged with liberal politics as is the climate change boondoggle that real motives are hard to discern this while domestic drilling and offshore drilling for oil and gas is being blocked as well as over regulation of refining entities in my opinion keep energy prices artificially high. Usually the government may give tax incentives for certain kinds of investment as well as contractual and competitive bidding for what the government deems useful or viable. Now they are active investors in this endeavor and apparently with at least one notoriously liberal entity: Google. This article comes out of the blue and you believe that the writer mentions green forms of energy as the prize is not being neutral in this.
"Somehow, I told you so, just doesn't quite say it." Will Smith in 'I, Robot.'
Got transmission lines.
Submitted by upcountrywater on Tue, 01/17/2012 - 4:17pm.
Wind farms are furious at the Bonneville Power Administration for making them cut electricity generation because high flows on the Columbia River have led to extra hydropower.
There is some geothermal power on the big island of Hawaii. It can compete with the oil fired boilers that are here in the state producing power at 38 cents a KwH.
They don't have the extra cost of pumping the water in...24 million gallons is a drop in the bucket compared to a rainstorm on that volcano.
You Didn't Build That.
free speech
Submitted by angelann1 on Tue, 01/17/2012 - 3:22pm.
Wow,if he keeps that up he will be thrown out of the dem party !!!
Campaign finance laws, ethical purity, and the real world
Submitted by CO2Maker on Tue, 01/17/2012 - 4:05pm.
As Cohen says, it used to be possible for a person to give $30,000 or more to a political campaign. When the recipient was McCarthy, that was good. But when the recipient was Nixon, Reagan, or any other Republican, that was bad. Along came federal campaign finance laws to get rid of the big spenders who could "buy access," meaning influence, etc.
So what is it like now?
Bundlers gather money in small amounts ($2500 and less), put it together into a single account, and give the candidate a check for $250,000 (MORE than the high spender Cohen mentioned).
What a sweet deal for the bundler! Big pay-off to the candidate, lots of love for him, and he did it with Other People's Money! Woo hoo! A Democrat dreamed this up, right? A Green Democrat? A Green Democrat for same-day registration and opposed to voter IDs?
"Income" Tax
Submitted by Kingfish17 on Tue, 01/17/2012 - 3:57pm.
If Romney is the Republican nominee, we are going to here a constant message from the left how "Romney's Tax Rate is lower then them most Americans". The language regarding this debate needs to be framed in the right context, whenever it's discussed from a conservative perspective. Romney needs to emphasize that his "Income Tax" rate is maxed out at 35%. He then needs to state, that in addition to his paying 35% on his income, he pays additional taxes on his investments.
The language from the left has skewed this debate away from taxing income and taxing investment into a false argument about taxing money someone "makes". They also, on many occasions, outright lie and call investment gains "income", when it clearly isn't. The left isn't going to change the way they make this false argument. It's time the right started stating the true percentages they pay on their "income".
"You can’t go take a trip to Las Vegas...on the taxpayer’s dime." Barack Obama
I really liked Ron Paul's
Submitted by Dan The Man 2 on Tue, 01/17/2012 - 4:42pm.
I really liked Ron Paul's answer on the amount of taxes one should be liable for .... he said 0.