Obama pulling numbers out of his butt?

The mainstream political media is all over Scott McClellan's book on how the Bush administration lied to us about the Iraq war. Meanwhile, the corporate mainstream media seems to be ignoring Barrack Obama pulling stats out of his butt regarding hate crimes against Hispanics in his recent speeches. Mickey Kaus at Slate does a smackdown of Obama recent speeches and a look at the actual numbers. Here are some of the money quotes:
Where does Obama get that "hate crimes against Hispanic people doubled last year"--an alleged increase he blamed on "people like Lou Dobbs and Rush Limbaugh ginning things up"?

A 35% increase over four years is not "doubled last year." (Never mind why the SPLC may have picked 2003 as their base of comparison ).

Am I missing some Obama data source? Or is this an overly overlooked incident of Obama pulling convenient facts out of the air? ...

Suppose John McCain had said the same thing! ... Er, actually, McCain probably will say the same thing. And he'll probably get a pass too. Who'd attack him for it? Obama? The Dobbs-deriding MSM? This is not an area where you can rely on the normal adversarial political process to yield the truth, because Obama, McCain and the MSM essentially agree on immigration. ...

Wups there it is! The truth on why the mainstream media is not looking to closely at what Obama is saying. Luckily, while Obama, McCain and La Raza try to kill the messengers the folks at the Lou Dobbs have a little something to share with Obama. and that is the facts:

The pursuit of...?

Ann Applebaum has an interesting op-ed about the overworked and over achievement of today's kids and the parents who raise them. One is constantly reminded that today's kids are over confident know nothings that need to be questioned carefully. I was reminded last night at dinner at a restaurant here in Washington DC. We asked the young perky waitress if they still had any Lobster specials (our favorite dish at this restaurant and one that is frequently sold out) Oh sure she said confidently. So we were looking forward to that meal when after the appetizers she came back with: "I am so sorry...." The restaurant of course did not have any more Lobster. This is not the first time this has happened with the young confident responding wait staff. They often sound so confident but, often really don't know the answers. As Applebaum writes:
"Thus our kids are both stupider than we were and harder working -- though perhaps this makes sense. America is, after all, the industrialized country with the fewest paid vacations, as well as the only nation, as far as I know, that considers the "pursuit of happiness" a fundamental right. We invented both the assembly line and the modern notion of "leisure"

To live and die in Shirley, Long Island

I found myself in Politics and Prose bookstore last night here in Washington listening to Kelly McMaster talk about her book WELCOME TO SHIRLEY. As the New York City liberals start their annual migration east to the Hamptons this summer. Many will drive by the middle class town of Shirley. Kelly McMaster has penned a wonderful bitter sweet memior of growing up in this solidly middle class town before heading off to Vassar and becoming a writer. I grew up and still live about ten miles from Shirley and the about seven miles from the Brookhaven Labs which also plays an important part of McMaster's book. I can relate to the hard working middle class neighborhood and community she writes about. It is a segment of American society not often looked at by writers. Shirley is a town where bad things happen to good people and Brookhaven Labs has a history of good people doing bad things. McMaster captures the crossroads where these two forces meet. The elite Hampton's crowd will bypass places like Shirley and spend more of their lives stuck in traffic to reach their status Meccas of East and Southampton etc.... While in middle class towns like Shirley hardworking people go on with their lives and enjoy a beach just as any lovely as any in the Hamptons. McMaster captures their lives and deaths very poignantly in her book.

ICE making things hot.

I rejoice when I read stories about immigration raids by ICE like this one. Because it shows me that after years of inaction that the Federal Government may actually working to enforce our immigration laws. Here are some more of the money quotes:

"I like my job. I like my work. I like it here in Iowa," said Escobedo, 38, an illegal immigrant from Yescas, Mexico, who has raised his three children for 11 years in Postville. "Are they mad because I'm working?"

No stupido we are mad because you are working here illegally and because you have no respect for our laws. Why don't you go look and see how your Mexican government treats illegal workers.

"Half of the school system's 600 students were absent Tuesday, including 90 percent of Hispanic children, because their parents were arrested or in hiding."

And the problem is? Just think of the savings to local taxpayers if those here illegally no longer have to be educated on the U.S. taxpayers dime.

Obermann is losing it and so is MSNBC.

I was channel surfing last night over some pork lo mein and switched on MSNBC'S COUNTDOWN hosted by Keith (big head) Obermann. I have not watched COUNTDOWN since Oberman and others like Al Roker at NBC like the politically correct Nazi's they are marched into the head of NBC News Steve Capus's office and demanded that Don Imus be taken off the air.
But, tuning into Obermann last night showed me how mentally deranged Obermann is and how degraded what is considered "news" is at MSNBC. The number one story on Countdown was about a tape of Bill O'Reilly getting pissed off on the set of Inside Edition twenty years ago. You can see how Obermann presented it here. Now I know that Obermann has an obsession for O'Reilly just as he is a political butt boy for Obama. But, last night's broadcast even went further by trying to pass off a female comedian as a expert on body language who analyzed O'Reilly outburst. Only at the end did Oberman make some passing remark that the woman was a fake. I don't know if this is a regular feature of MSNBC's COUNTDOWN show. But, I'd sure like to see the dictionary they are using and to see what yhe definition of "credibilty" is in their edtion. Obermann and MSNBC seems to be losing it.

A Mothers Day story for those illegal immigrant advocates.

Hola! Meet Senior Gutierrez-Juarez. As the Catholic church and the open borders advocates like to say "he just came here to work". Well and maybe do a few other things since he is accused of raping a ten year old child. Here are the money quotes:

"A man has been charged with raping a nine-year-old girl who later gave birth in eastern Idaho.
The girl gave birth less than two weeks ago by caesarian section at Madison Memorial Hospital in Rexburg, Fremont County Sheriff Ralph C. Davis and other authorities said. Officials would not disclose the gender, date of birth or paternity of the baby. "

"Authorities said Gutierrez-Juarez did not have legal documentation to live in the United States. His home town and nationality were not immediately clear, but police said they had received no complaints about him before investigating the pregnancy. "

Of course the Catholic church advocates who help the illegal immigrants may see nothing wrong with this considering it's record of child molestation by parish priests. At least he is not a polgomist who is a U.S. citizen otherwise the major national liberal mainstream media like NBC, ABC and CBS might have actually covered this story.

The liberal media wants more tears and dollars from U.S. taxpayers.

I've been away on a vacation in the Bahamas for the past week. But, when I come back it seems the liberal mainstream media is up to their old tricks in reporting on immigration issues. The latest comes from the a 60 Minutes story last night and the Washington Post today where "reporters" Amy Goldstein and Dana Priest try to get U.S. citizens to shed tears for the immigrants in U.S. detention centers awaiting deportation. But, they downplay the role of their lawyers who (guess what?) are suing the Federal government. Hmmmm. Here are some the money quotes:

"This unnoticed prison system was built for a quick revolving door of detainees -- into custody, out of the country. But often, people linger in detention for months or years."

People in detention for months or years? Perhaps if they and their lawyers would stop trying to fight deportation they would be deported and released to get whatever medical treatment they desire just not on the U.S. taxpayers dime. It's their call (and of course their lawyers too) but, that is never mentioned by this crack reporting team from WAPO. But, we U.S. taxpayers are supposed to feel sorry for them as they game the system at our expense. While many citizens in our own country do not have any medical coverage. Yeah right.

Two months after ICE agents seized Harvill in Florida, they transferred her to Arizona last May, saying a federal compound called the Florence Service Processing Center was better suited to handle her medical care.

Seized? How about arrested as a more appropiate way to describe what happens to those who violate our laws. The bias in their reporting is showing.