Friday, February 24, 2006

List of Hollywood Conservatives

Finally getting back to one of the watchdog duties that this blog stood for in its earlier days has finally convinced me to put together the entire list that I know of... So, here we go...

Conservatives For Sure:
Patricia Heaton
John Wayne
Charlton Heston
Frank Sinatra
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Drew Carey
Mel Gibson
Chuck Norris (Why Chuck? Why?)
The Rock
Bruce Willis
Lance Armstrong
Britney Spears
Heather Locklear
Kid Rock
Kelsey Grammar
James Woods
Jessica Simpson
Marey Carey
Adam Sandler
Sarah Michelle Gellar
Robert Duvall
Vince McMahon (WWE)
Most of the WWE
Don King
Bo Derek
Wayne Newton
Ted Nugent
Gene Simmons
Most Pro Golfers
Most of NASCAR
Lynrd Skynyrd

Possibly Conservatives:
Alice Cooper
Sylvester Stallone
Mandy Moore (Her publicist denied it)
Clint Eastwood

To sum up, the GOP has rednecks, rich stiffs, dumb blondes, gun nuts, action heros, Pro Wresters, and a couple of rockstars. L-A-M-E.

If you know of any more, please post a comment!
-Mr. Joseph

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Brit Hume pats himself on the back.

FOX "News" anchor Brit Hume apparently thinks highly of himself after that softball interview with Cheney. It is pitiful.

Here is the story from Media Matters for America...

On the February 19 edition of Fox Broadcasting Co.'s Fox News Sunday, Fox News Washington managing editor Brit Hume gave himself high marks for the manner in which he conducted his exclusive February 15 interview with Vice President Dick Cheney -- Cheney's first public appearance since accidentally shooting his hunting partner, Texas attorney Harry Whittington, on February 11. According to Hume, "[t]he last thing in the world that Dick Cheney needed on that day was a soft interview," and "my job was to simply sit there and walk through this episode with him and ask all the relevant questions. ... That's why, you know, there's no problem about asking about the drinking."

In fact, Hume neglected to ask a number of "relevant" questions, as Media Matters for America noted. For example, Cheney appeared to accept responsibility for shooting Whittington ("Well, ultimately, I'm the guy who pulled the trigger."), but Hume failed to ask Cheney why he allowed surrogates -- without challenging or correcting them -- to publicly blame Whittington for the accident. Also, following Cheney's admission to drinking a beer prior to the accident, Hume did not ask about statements by Katharine Armstrong -- the owner of the ranch where the incident occurred and Cheney's designated spokesperson -- that were mutually inconsistent and appeared to conflict with Cheney's admission. Moreover, notwithstanding Hume's evident pride in "asking about the drinking," the Fox News website withheld the portion of the interview dealing with Cheney's drinking, despite promising visitors streaming video of the "full interview," as Media Matters documented.

From the February 19 edition of Fox Broadcasting Co.'s Fox News Sunday, which featured host Chris Wallace:

WALLACE: Let me just -- because -- before we leave this subject, Brit, I -- you became part of the story this week with your interview, the only interview with the vice president, and some of our colleagues in the press said -- compared it to "Bonnie interviewing Clyde", "a Soviet leader sitting down with Pravda." How do you respond?

HUME: You know, I thought there'd be more of that than there was, actually, but that kind of thing completely misses the point of what was going on here. The last thing in the world that Dick Cheney needed on that day was a soft interview, because he was trying to get this thing over with. And the only way to get it over with was to answer every question that anybody might have, within reason. So, you know, I was headed down to the White House to do the interview that day, and I was thinking, you know, I've had interviews with Vice President Cheney in which he has not been tremendously forthcoming, and I thought God, you know, what am I going to do if he does that?

And then the more I thought about it, the more I thought there's no way he was going to do that. But my job was simply to sit there and walk through this episode with him and ask all the relevant questions, because he was ready to answer them and needed to answer them. That's why, you know, there's no problem about asking about the drinking, no problem about any of it. And that was why the interview, I think, came out as it did, because he was ready to talk, and knew he needed to, and to get it over with, and I think that, you know, except for the -- except for the shouting here that goes on in the little aftermath and the silly news weeklies -- this thing's over.

LINK: Fox's Hume congratulated himself for kid-gloved Cheney interview
That's it!


-Mr. Joseph

Thursday, February 16, 2006

Even MORE MORE Fun With Video

Here are some more humorous video clips for you...

1) "...60% of what you say is crap." : David Letterman vs. Bill O'Reilly
2) "...Bullshit." : Bob Novak storms off the set
3) What would Jesus Do? : Pat Robertson calls for the assassination of Hugo Chavez
4) Ann Coulter dodges questions
5) Coach Hannity: Sean Hannity coaches guests on how to answer
6) "Shut up" : Bill O'Reailly yells at guests

That's it! Here's the link to the full list!

See ya!
-Mr. Joseph

"Cheney's Got a Gun!"

From CNN...
Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shot and wounded a campaign contributor during a weekend quail hunt on a friend's South Texas ranch, local authorities and the vice president's office said Sunday.

The wounded man, 78-year-old Harry Whittington, was in intensive care at a Corpus Christi hospital after being hit by several pellets of birdshot Saturday afternoon, hospital spokesman Peter Banko told CNN.

"He's doing well and in stable condition today," Banko said.

Whittington, an Austin attorney who gave $1,000 to President Bush's 2000 campaign and $2,000 to his 2004 re-election bid, was among a handful of people accompanying the vice president when the accident occurred Saturday afternoon.

Cheney, 65, visited him Sunday afternoon at the hospital, "and was pleased to see he is doing fine and in good spirits," Cheney spokeswoman Lee Anne McBride said. (Watch when Cheney's office decided to release information -- 1:23)

The shooting occurred about 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Kenedy County Sheriff Ray Salinas said. He said his deputies are investigating the shooting but consider it an accident.

Cheney, an avid hunter, was shooting at a covey of quail on the Armstrong Ranch near Kingsville, about 30 miles southwest of Corpus Christi. The ranch's owner, Katharine Armstrong, said Whittington was about 30 yards from Cheney when the vice president fired.

Armstrong, who was with the group when the accident occurred, said Whittington was "peppered" with birdshot. Pellets hit him in the face and chest, but he never lost consciousness, she said.

She said Whittington had just shot a quail and had dropped back to retrieve it. He was hit upon rejoining the group and "apparently came up unannounced" as Cheney prepared to fire.

Whittington, a prominent Texas Republican, has been active in state politics since the 1960s and served as chairman of the state Board of Corrections from 1979 to 1985.

In 1999, then-Gov. George W. Bush named him to the state Funeral Services Commission, which had been stung by allegations of widespread corruption and mismanagement in the industry.

Armstrong told CNN that Whittington was a guest of hers, not someone Cheney invited, and she did not know whether the two men had met before.

The vice president, his Secret Service detail and other companions rushed to the wounded man's aid, Armstrong said.

Similar accidents occur "not frequently, but often" among hunters in the area, Salinas said. He said an ambulance that was posted at the ranch while Cheney was visiting took Whittington to the hospital.

Armstrong said Cheney was firing a 28-gauge shotgun, a small-bore weapon commonly used for hunting birds. Cheney has come to her ranch to hunt quail once a year for at least 15 years, and she called him "a very conscientious hunter."

"I would shoot with Dick Cheney everywhere, anywhere, and not think twice about it," she said. But she said, "The nature of quail shooting ensures that this will happen. It goes with the turf."

LINK: Cheney accidentally shoots fellow hunter

Astounding what a vice president can get away with. Al Gore never would have done this.

The best part is, Cheney didn't even havew a license!

If the guy dies, will Cheney be charged with homicide or manslaughter?

-Mr. Joseph

Tuesday, February 07, 2006

Even More Fun With Video

Two more video clips for you...

#1) Failure of Social Security Privatization Gets Standing Ovation at Bush's State of the Union 2006...
I would have clapped at this too.

#2) Senate Conservatives Refuse To Put Gonzales Under Oath
Go figure... at least, my Feingold took a stand.

Also, a new great link for you Favorites List...
http://politicalhumor.about.com/

That's it!
-Mr. Joseph

Abramoff Scandal trips up Ralph Reed

From CBS News...
For a while, former Christian Coalition leader Ralph Reed looked almost unstoppable in his bid for lieutenant governor of Georgia. Then he got tripped up by the Jack Abramoff scandal.

In recent months, it was reported that Reed's public relations and lobbying businesses received $4.2 million from his longtime friend Abramoff to mobilize Christian voters to fight the opening of casinos that would compete with Abramoff's Indian tribe clients.

Now, Reed's little-known rival for the Republican nomination, fellow conservative Casey Cagle, is outpacing him in fundraising, and a recent poll shows Cagle could be as strong a candidate as Reed against a Democrat.

Reed has not been charged with a crime. But analysts say the boyish-looking, 44-year-old darling of the conservative movement and former adviser to GOP presidential campaigns appears to be in political trouble because of his ties to Abramoff, who pleaded guilty in January to corruption charges and admitted swindling his Indian clients.

"Early on, he monopolized fundraising, he called upon his ties with other Republicans and he had a huge advantage," said Merle Black, a political scientist at Emory University. "But now, as these allegations have come out, it's hurt his ability to raise money and made other Republicans nervous. He's clearly in a much weaker position now than he was months ago."

On the campaign trial, Reed's Republican rival has been quick to exploit those ties to Abramoff. "The scandal is a national issue and Reed is right in the middle of it," said Cagle, a state senator. "It's not an issue that will go away."

On Friday, 21 of Georgia's 34 Republican state senators _ all Cagle supporters _ signed a letter urging Reed to withdraw from the race, saying his involvement in the Abramoff scandal "threatens to impact the entire Republican ticket."

Reed responded in a letter that he had no plans to quit: "Elections are won at the grassroots by the candidate with the strongest record and best ideas. That is why I am confident of victory."

Reed has retreated to campaign appearances with the party faithful. But even there, audience members browbeat him over Abramoff. Reed often responds with regret.

"Had I known then what I know now, I would not have done that work," he said. "On reflection, I should have turned it down."

In a poll conducted for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in late December, voters were asked about hypothetical match-ups between Reed and an unnamed Democrat, and Cagle and an unnamed Democrat. In the race involving Reed, 36 percent chose the Democrat and 33 percent picked Reed. As for the Cagle race, 35 percent preferred the lesser-known lawmaker, while 30 percent choose the Democrat.

Reed is making his first bid for elective office, seeking a post that has little power but is regarded as a steppingstone to bigger things.

He raked in $1.4 million in the first six months of 2005 but only about $400,000 in the second half of the year. Cagle, meanwhile, raised more than $600,000 in the same six-month span.

Since Abramoff's fall, some of Reed's supporters have jumped ship. One of them, Clint Murphy, volunteered to help Reed soon after he declared his candidacy last February. But as allegations about Reed's ties to Abramoff surfaced, Murphy's concerns grew.

"Everything that's come out has proven my gut feeling about that man," said Murphy, who is now backing Cagle. "He is in it for Ralph Reed. And that's fine. A little ambition has never hurt anybody. But when you're not truthful, you're doing a disservice."

Reed was chairman of the Georgia GOP during the 2002 elections, when the party pulled off upset victories to elect the state's first Republican governor since 1872, Sonny Perdue.

Reed and his supporters say there is still plenty of time before the July 18 primary to turn the campaign's attention away from Abramoff. Reed also has 22 campaign fundraisers scheduled between now and the end of March.

If he beats Cagle, Reed would face a Democrat with negligible name recognition in November. The current lieutenant governor, Democrat Mark Taylor, is running for governor. (In Georgia, the lieutenant governor is elected separately from the governor.)

"I never thought anybody was going to hand this office to me. I thought I was going to go out and work for it," Reed said in an interview. "And I'm working very hard."

LINK: Ralph Reed's First Try for Office Falters

Perfect, but it gets even better. A few months later Reed got his from Christopher Hitchens on live television.

-Mr. Joseph