Teaser July 31

Twenty six years ago today, an odyssey began.

There is more to come, but this is the teaser.

Day one: It began because I had to write it. And it continued unbroken to its conclusion, but, really, it had its beginnings in a letter that Thedore Sturgeon wrote for me to the late literary agent Robert Mills …

Courage.

This Is Foster Friess’ Idea of ‘Civility’

here’s what that “good Christian” is paying for

The Daily Caller Gun Giveaway Week 11: Find Our Hacker [emphasis added]

The Daily Caller will be giving away one gun per week until Election Day: November 6, 2012.

The FMK 9C1 is an American-made high capacity 9mm designed by Jim Pontillo and manufactured in California. Each gun is engraved with the Bill of Rights.

It’s time for Week 11 of The Daily Caller Gun Giveaway. This week we are fired up and asking for your help. As you may have seen, our site was hacked recently. There were some extremely inappropriate ads placed on our homepage, and Google therefore had us listed as an “unsafe site” for much of the day. All of you know that nothing could be further from the truth: The Daily Caller is a safe site, and always will be.

We want to find out who did it and hold them responsible. So for Weeks 11 and 12 we have a joint two-part gun giveaway offer.

First, if you’re the first person to find our hacker and turn his name over to us, we’ll give you a gun. We realize this may seem like a daunting task, but we believe it can be done.  Entering is easy – just answer the questions below regarding your cyber skills…

Seri0usly?

The Robots of the Right

Quick: What’s the difference between a robot and a sentient being?

Answer: if you know a robot’s programming, you can  predict with certainty their action in the face of any given stimuli. Case in point [emphasis added]:

Book bombshell: Obama canceled Bin Laden ‘kill’ raid three times at Jarrett’s urging

Published: 9:10 PM 07/29/2012
By David Martosko
Executive Editor

At the urging of Valerie Jarrett, President Barack Obama canceled the operation to kill Osama bin Laden on three separate occasions before finally approving the May 2, 2011 Navy SEAL mission, according to an explosive new book scheduled for release August 21. The Daily Caller has seen a portion of the chapter in which the stunning revelation appears.

In ”Leading From Behind: The Reluctant President and the Advisors Who Decide for Him,“ Richard Miniter writes that Obama canceled the “kill” mission in January 2011, again in February, and a third time in March. Obama’s close adviser Valerie Jarrett persuaded him to hold off each time, according to the book.

Miniter, a two-time New York Times best-selling author, cites an unnamed source with Joint Special Operations Command who had direct knowledge of the operation and its planning.

Uh, Paris Hilton and Snooki are both “New York Times best-selling authors.” I wouldn’t believe them if they came up with such allegations, but let’s see who “Richard Miniter” is, shall we?

A Closed Mouth Gathers No Feet

Or, at least that seems to be Mitt’s strategy for damage control:

Romney bans media from Jerusalem fundraiser, violating pre-established protocol
Philip Rucker
Washington Post

JERUSALEM — Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, who touched down here Saturday night for a day of meetings with top Israeli and Palestinian leaders, plans to wrap up his visit to Israel by collecting money from some of his biggest benefactors behind closed doors.

Some of Romney’s Jewish donors are flying here from the United States to attend the Jerusalem fundraiser on Monday morning, including Las Vegas casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, who has pledged to personally give tens of millions of dollars to a pro-Romney super PAC.

But Romney’s campaign announced Saturday that it would block the news media from covering the event, which will be held at the King David Hotel. The campaign’s decision to close the fundraiser to the press violates the ground rules it negotiated …

Brilliant ‘Checkers‘ move, Willard. Except …

The Orwell Olympics

Welcome to Room 101.

You really need to see this video, even if you don’t read the article:

Timothy Burke / Deadspin:
Here’s The Opening Ceremony Tribute To Terrorism Victims NBC Doesn’t Want You To See  —  The major transitional element of today’s London Olympics opening ceremony was a downtempo performance of adoptive sporting anthem “Abide With Me” by Scottish singer Emeli Sandé. The song and accompanying dance were a tribute to the victims of the 7/7 terror attacks in London that claimed 52 victims days after the 2012 Summer Olympic hosts were named. (It’s also been suggested the performance was a memorial to the war dead.)

Regardless, it was a rather significant and emotional moment in the opening ceremony, coming just before the parade of nations—and it wasn’t aired in the United States. Instead, viewers were treated to a lengthy and meaningless Ryan Seacrest interview of Michael Phelps…

If New York City had got the bid, and the UK had cut OUR obligatory 9-11 tribute, what do you suppose the American reaction would have been?

Welcome to RaceBook!

Hater’s caption reads: Stephen Harper is a cockroach.

A strange compare and contrast appeared to me yesterday, which I think you might be interested in. I hope so. (Names have been changed to protect the guilty.)

Listen:

Anyone who doesn’t understand that whatever chaos may or may not be occurring in Syria is either the fault of Israeli terrorists or America’s lying ass Jewish “new” media.
The Jews would like nothing more than to use the US military to destroy Syria the way they used us to trash Iraq….and Libya….and Vietnam….and Kosovo….etc etc etc etc… The Israelis have illegally occupied the Golan Heights in Syria for decades, presumably for control of the water resources…
Like · · Share 2 people like this.
Comment from poster:  the news jews lie to you…

(because, evidently, he didn’t say it ALL in the first part. It’s the first comment.)

That’s from Facebook, from June 1. And it’s just the tip of the iceberg. Blatant,  crazy Antisemitism, but here’s what Facebook says about it:

Facebook does not tolerate hate speech. While we encourage the discussion of ideas, institutions, events, and practices, it is a serious violation of our terms to single out individuals based on race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or disease. (Official policy.)

Well, evidently not so much. They’re paranoid about nudity, but Antisemitism doesn’t seem to bother them.

Romney’s Dogwhistle

Hark!

“Anglo-Saxon” quote overshadows start of Romney tour

(Reuters) – Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney began a foreign tour on Wednesday forced to disavow a report that an adviser had accused President Barack Obama of not understanding the shared “Anglo-Saxon heritage” of Britain and the United States.

Supposedly, this was a “gaffe.” Nothing could be further from the truth. Just as they have intentionally misrepresented the president’s remarks on the necessity of a greater social context and (infra)structure as a prerequisite to small business success (and, as Faux Nooz has INTENTIONALLY edited the comments in a manner barely befitting James O’Keefe, let alone a professional news organization), so, too, this little racist dig was purely intentional and seemingly equally NOT thought through. If this were a game of chess, Romney thinks only one move ahead. Not exactly a harbinger of Grand Master success.

Continuing Professional Education

When I attend CPE, I draw to stay awake. Usually, I use a #3B pencil (preferred pencil of classical animators). My other stuff is usually done with a #6B, for reasons sufficient to myself. The first several are from a two-hour class. The remainder are the usual fare from the past week.

after the iconoclasts (6B)

More after the fold. (Note, this sentence in included for technical typesetting reasons that are necessary but would bore hell out of you.)

Franklin’s Laser

There is no blog today, and I’ll tell you why: the notion of making any sense to the sensible is ludicrous in this zeitgeist, and the wisdom of rousing the insensible from their blood-feast is questionable.

With the exception of the “NRA Approved”
all of this is from actual children’s cereal boxes.

But I do want to note a funny thing I read in the internets today:

(Not So) Happy Moon Day 2012

Usually, this is an annual post I can kind of phone in. Naturally, the shootings last night upset that comforting assumption, as life has a disturbing tendency to do. Death stalks us at every moment, and tragedy is only a slip away. I will write about the horror of this day some other time.  Not a very happy Moon Day, 2012. But Happy Moon Day, nonetheless…

Perhaps the finest moment in the life of our species. Forty-two years ago today, on a hot summer evening.

A species from this planet …

The Limits of Criticism and the Extent of Hatchet Jobs

Alex Pareene showed up on my radar for the second time this week. A staff writer for Salon, Pareene has just penned the quintessential libel of a public figure, barely covered by the “willful and malicious” test that makes it almost impossible for any public figure to sue. (Although I wouldn’t lay bets that said suit won’t be filed.)

In 36.76 years as a professional critic, I have seldom seen a piece as execrable, as intellectually bankrupt and clueless as Pareene’s attempted takedown of Aaron Sorkin, writer of “The Newsroom” — who you might also know from “The West Wing,” “Sports Night,” “The Social Network,” and/or “Moneyball.”

But let this under-bridge troll speak in his own behalf:

Aaron Sorkin is why people hate liberals. He’s a smug, condescending know-it-all who isn’t as smart as he thinks he is. His feints toward open-mindedness are transparently phony, he mistakes his opinion for common sense, and he’s preachy. Sorkin has spent years fueling the delusional self-regard of well-educated liberals. He might be more responsible than anyone else for the anti-democratic “everyone would agree with us if they weren’t all so stupid” attitude of the contemporary progressive movement. And age is not improving him.

Sorkin is … not as popular as he once was ….  (Note: initial ellipsis is Pareene’s. STET.)

That’s just the opening salvo. OK, Mr. “Critic,” that’s your thesis statement. Care to back it up, or is this just a personal attack on a writer who’s much more popular and successful than Mr. Pareene?