Okay, here are the videos from Thursday’s The Filter. As I said earlier, I was on with former city council member, Jack Weiss, who—in addition to cultural commentator Amy Alkon—is my favorite partner when I do a segment of the show.
We discussed the topics I’ve listed below.
WHITMAN, POIZNER & THE TRUTHINESS FACTOR
So do we care that Meg Whitman lied about her townhall meeting ad? Steve Poizner wants us to. He has a video out pointing to Whitman’s entirely mendaciously “spontaneous” meeting.
However Poizner had his own bout of truthiness spotlighted this week on This American Life in which Ira Glass spent a long segment pointing out that Poizner’s new book about a semester spent teaching at a San Jose high school, Pleasant Valley High—a book that is figuring prominently in his campaign—was riddled with statements that are “obviously and provably untrue.”
And indeed a bit of follow-up fact checking bears this out. So why should we care? Glass tells us exactly why:
….”So many of the political discussions in our country seem so disconnected from reality. Every year there are egregious examples of politicians and commentators who believe if they repeat some non-fact over and over, it becomes true.”
And we’re sick of it. We really, really are.
ANTONIO VILLARAIGOSA AND THE ARIZONA BOYCOTT
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is in favor of Los Angeles boycotting Arizona in order to protest the state’s new draconian immigration law.
(As of Thursday, the West Hollywood City Council is also talking about suspending all official travel to the state.)
Yes, of course, it’s a hideous, impractical, national soul-damaging law and it will be challenged in the courts, successfully, I believe. But do we really want to punish everybody in the state in order to express our displeasure with the Arizona legislature? Do I, for instance, decide not to buy Arizona writer Chuck Bowden’s new book in order to protest a law that he passionately opposes too? Or is this just so much political grandstanding?
All this and more on immigration plus a look at NY’s new proposed law pertaining to organ donation.
Oh yea Mayor VillaBaboso has lots of room to citicize, another state because he is doing such a wonderful job of running Los Angeles into the ground. VillaBaboso reminds me of Mexican officials issuing travel warning for Mexicans traveling to Arizona, Amnesty International issued it’s own travel warning for immigrants “traveling” thru Mexico trying to enter Arizona.
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/report/widespread-abuse-migrants-mexico-human-rights-crisis-2010-04-27
“The Mexican authorities must act to halt the continuing abuse of migrants who are preyed on by criminal gangs while public officials turn a blind eye or even play an active part in kidnappings, rapes and murders, Amnesty International said in a new report released on Tuesday
Kidnappings of migrants, mainly for ransom, reached new heights in 2009, with the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) reporting that nearly 10,000 were abducted over six months and almost half of interviewed victims saying that public officials were involved in their kidnapping.
An estimated six out of 10 migrant women and girls experience sexual violence, allegedly prompting some people smugglers to demand that women receive contraceptive injections ahead of the journey, to avoid them falling pregnant as a result of rape.”
Yeah, let the mayor protest. The law hasn’t even gone into effect and it’s already having the effect of driving illegals to bordering states. Enjoy your new welfare burdens.
I don’t know why everybody is up in arms about the AZ bill. The LA Sheriff’s Dept. was sending sending bus loads of illegals back to Mexico from MCJ as far back as 5 years ago or more. So now Villaraigosa wants to criticize AZ for doing what LA did. Politics. Incredible.
Maybe all the hyperbole needs to be dropped down a few notches.
Has Apple become the kid who doesn’t play well with others?
Mayor Villaraigosa supports a boycott of AZ because SB 1070 is going to make it easier for AZ law enforcement to deport undocumented workers.
Wow. For years now ICE has been going in to the LA CO jail and rounding up illegals and deporting them. Putting them on a bus and dumping them south of the border. Yet Villaraigosa speaks out against AZ. This shit is totally laughable.
“It doesn’t matter that countries like China, India and America are pumping out huge amounts of toxic pollution into the earth’s atmosphere; we believe by not farting and reusing our shopping bags we can save the world too,” Bob Geldof, told a panel of scientists at Geneva’s annual Climate Change exhibition sponsored by Monsanto.
“Every fart is a deadly weapon for the atmosphere, that’s why I use a plug in my arse and have the methane funnelled into a canister late at night. So far I have stored enough dangerous gaseous emissions from my arsehole to power 500,000 households for a year,” pop star Bono told the BBC.
Celeste,
Careful now. Your Global Warming, oops, I mean Climate Change (because they were proved wrong and the planet has actually cooled the last decade) friends will think you are making lite of the most dangerous threat to our planet. They wouldn’t like it if Woody posted that.
Me? I think it’s funny as hell.
Everyone needs to get in today any controversial comments that you have before Monday’s Nazi “SS” Commenting Corps (pronounced with a hard p) stomps on you with hobnailed boots. Open commenting is over after that.
Liberals and socialists don’t have a sense of humor
No hobnailed boots. The Fascist Blog Squad will be wearing either tasteful high heels or UGGs, depending upon the weather.
Even the Mexican press knows that the newly proposed Arizona Immigration Law is nothing compared to what it’s citizens encounter in their own country.
****** They would have prefered Arizona’s law ***********
“HUBIERAN PREFERIDO LA LEY ARIZONA”
http://lapolaka.com/2010/05/02/hubieran-preferido-la-ley-arizona/
Okay, so it’s the fascist lipstick and big earring wearing fashion police who will be squashing politically-incorrect comments.
I could be wrong but I don’t think Celeste will go ballistic deleting comments. No need to. There is not a lot of vitriol going on nor is there ad hominem personal attacks. This has turned into a place where people can disagree without being uncivil to each other.
Hey, you students at UC-Irvine and USC Annenberg…want to know how your grades were determined? Video: Professor Grading
Yeh, while Woody continues being uncivil to everyone, including the blog’s author.
I saw Jay Leno at Correspondent Dinner his best line was; “That was my favorite story (this year) Republicans and a Lesbian bondage club. It’s ironic, Republicans don’t want lesbian getting married but they do like watching them “tie the knot”. So I thought that was interesting.”
You can say the same about Tea Party, they say they respect the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence but they do not mind passing laws, through weak Governors who only care about getting reelected on the backs of undocumented workers, that will not pass Constitution muster, just like Arizona’s House Bill 2779 from two years ago, keep passing them Arizona and the rest of us will continue to challenged them and you will fail in a court of law (and yes we will boycott you). Their phony patriotism is sickening, they are just racists going by another name. We all know you are just itching to put a sheet on their head? Let’s face it the Republicans had eight years to deal with health care, immigration, climate change and financial oversight and governance and they failed. It appears that the Republican Party is only good at starting wars (two in eight years, with fat contracts to friends of Cheney/Bush) but not at winning wars as seen by the continuing line of body bags that keep coming home. The Republicans party will continue turned inward to their old fashion obstructionist party (and their Confederacy appreciation roots) because they continue to allow a small portions (but very loud portion) of their party of “birthers, baggers and blowhards” to rule their party. I will admit that this fringe is very good at playing “Follow the Leader” by listening to their dullard leaders, Beck, Hedgecock, Hannity, O’Reilly, Rush, Savage, Sarah Bailin, Orly Taitz, Victoria Jackson, Michele Bachmann and the rest of the Blowhards and acting as ill programmed robots (they have already acted against doctors that perform abortions). The Birthers and the Tea party crowd think they can scare, intimidate and force others to go along with them by comments like “This time we came unarmed”, let me tell you something not all ex-military join the fringe militia crazies who don’t pay taxes and run around with face paint in the parks playing commando, the majority are mature and understand that the world is more complicated and grey than the black and white that these simpleton make it out to be and that my friend is the point. The world is complicated and people like Hamilton, Lincoln, and Roosevelt believed that we should use government a little to increase social mobility, now it’s about dancing around the claim of government is the problem. The sainted Reagan passed the biggest tax increase in American history and as a result federal employment increased, but facts are lost when mired in mysticism and superstition. For a party that gave us Abraham Lincoln, it is tragic that the ranks are filled with too many empty suits and the crazy Birthers who have not learned that the way our courts work is that you get a competent lawyer, verifiable facts and present them to a judge, if the facts are real and not half baked internet lies, then, and only then, do you proceed to trial. The Birthers seem to be having a problem with their so called “facts”. Let’s face it no one will take the Birthers seriously until they win a case, but until then, you will continue to appear dumb, crazy or racist, or maybe all three. I heard that Orly Taitz now wants to investigate the “Republican 2009 Summer of Love” list: Assemblyman, Michael D. Duvall (CA), Senator John Ensign (NV), Senator Paul Stanley (TN), Governor Mark Stanford (SC), Board of Ed Chair, and Kristin Maguire AKA Bridget Keeney (SC), she wants to re-establish a family values party, that’s like saying that the Catholic Church cares about the welling being of children in their care, too late for that.
Next thing you know we’ll be talking about John Edwards.
Or Elliot Spitzer. Good thing Ted is dead or some wacko would bring that little incident up too.
Who gives a fuck who’s diddling who? I don’t think we want to get involved in a scoresheet about who’s scandalous or who’s having an affair.
Do we?
As long as it’s with consenting adults, a person’s sexual expoits are a private matter. Member? Come on. You member.
Who cares…unless it’s a President sharing a cigar with a young intern or a representative with his young male employees, both of which were known to Democratic Pary higher-ups, but concealed as they were more concerned with political implications than the lives of their young workers. They tested child labor laws at a new level.
Montana, for each comment, I normally limit my reading to 250 words. Could you give us the shortened executive version next time? Thanks.
Woody,
Who gives a fuck who’s diddling who? I don’t think we want to get involved in a scoresheet about who’s scandalous or who’s having an affair.
Do we?
As long as it’s with consenting adults, a person’s sexual expoits are a private matter. Member? Come on. You member.
Menudo Montana aka Anoymousa,
Speaking of racists I see lots of racism against Anglo American citizens aka “hipsters”, they are hated and ridiculed by the latino residents of East Los Angeles.
My abuelita whose family are the original residents of Arizona who worked in the copper mines of Arizona and New Mexico , are well aware of the problems of uncontrolled illegal aliens in Arizona, and support enforcement of immigration laws. Que Viva Mi abuelita.
And let’s thank Obama for the continuing the “Lost Cause” wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Obama keep filling those body bags with American soldiers and innocent Afghan citizens.
OtH, I don’t consider an intern or a staff employee to be a “consenting adult”…not when their bosses are the President and a U.S. Congressman and are put under great pressure to put out. It’s not a scorecard. It’s about doing what’s right, and putting even more young people at risk with cover-ups is not admirable.
But, I agree that we don’t need to discuss this matter any further, since it’s not on Celeste’s post.
Woody, you don’t really want to keep score on this sort of thing, do you? Lots of Republicans have been in sex scandals. Come on, you ‘member.
I’m just filling in for ATQ. He was doing a good job of calling out liberals for bringing up republican sex scandals, but seemed to stop short when you, a conservative, started bringing up Democratic scandals. I don’t think he’s biased. After all, he said he voted for Obama. So, I’m assuming he just had to run and do something. No big. So I’m just filling in for him until he returns.
Thanks but no thanks for filling in for me. That’s exactly why Montana should have thought twice before he started bringing up sex scandals. He opened the door so wide Woody drove a truck right thru it.
Bound to happen when people let their animus affect any clear thinking they might have been able to engage in. It goes right out the window. Next thing you know we’ll be hearing Hitler comparisons and the word Nazi being thrown around like any other noun or adjective.
Politicians have sex scandals just like athletes and entertainers? Really? No shit? You’re kidding right?
That’s a real no shitter.
And then you want to point out the specific Rep. sex scandals so the other side can cite the Dem. sex scandals?
Now Woody points out all the Dems who are scandalous?
Is that how this works?
Put that shit to bed. Not only is it boring, it’s shortsided and does nothing but promote partisan arguments.
Out The Hat Says:
May 2nd, 2010 at 6:50 pm
Woody,
“Who gives a fuck who’s diddling who? I don’t think we want to get involved in a scoresheet about who’s scandalous or who’s having an affair.”
No, we don’t. So instead of being so arrogant as to think you can speak for me, you might suggest to Montana, who brought that shit up in the first place to give it a rest.
I still have about two hours (PDT) before the Fascist Blog Squad begins its comment patrol, so I wanted to share what happens in a nation that puts political correctness over people speaking freely…sort of like what might happen here!
Christian preacher arrested for saying homosexuality is a sin – A Christian street preacher was arrested and locked in a cell for telling a passer-by that homosexuality is a sin in the eyes of God.
Remind me to stay out of Great Britain.
Woody, you should have thought twice before you started bringing up sex scandals. You opened the door so wide any liberal looking to bring up republican scandals could drive a truck right thru it.
I’m just trying to keep everyone honest. ATQ is keeping the libs honest, I’m keeping everyone honest.
Oh, but he voted for Obama!
Oooh, number 28 was a little hostile. So much for the hostility being gone from here, as you claimed earlier, ATQ. Looks like you’re the one who has other plans.
The real flaw in the logic here is that some folks believe that the violence and illegal activity is due to undocumented workers. In reality, violent crime is down in Arizona but the media and the hard-liners in AZ make sure that if an undocumented worker is involved, it’s big news, but the facts are that violent crime has slowed in the last few years in AZ. The law passed isn’t going to stop the real problem which are drug runners and smugglers, It isn’t even going to slow them down.
There was a great article in the LA Times featuring an interview with an ex-Phoenix cop who had to deal with these issues. (http://www.latimes.com/news/local/immigration/la-me-0502-lopezcolumn-20100502%2C0%2C2732982.column)
And he said it very plainly after a white cop was killed: “I told people that it’s not whites or Hispanics who killed Marc,” he said back then. “It’s drug-dealing cop killers. The issue isn’t ethnicity — it’s crime and drugs.”
And this is the real problem with this law is that it doesn’t address the real issue, at all.
Yeah let’s just forget about all the cops and citizens in this country who have been killed by illegals in every way under the sun and not just drug dealers and gangsters. If these people weren’t here in the first place many good citizens would still be living, breathing, contributing and enjoying their families and they them.
They obviously don’t matter to the people who are ok with the invasion that’s taken place along our boarders. I’ll be searching out ways to spend money with Arizona based companies.
Why won’t my comment be allowed? It is not a repeat comment.
So now it posts, crazy.
Sometimes it does that to me too.
It sometimes plots against me too.
I hope that every American, regardless of where he lives, will stop and examine his conscience about this and other related incidents. This Nation was founded by men of many nations and backgrounds. It was founded on the principle that all men are created equal, and that the rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened. All of us ought to have the right to be treated as he would wish to be treated, as one would wish his children to be treated, but this is not the case.
I know the proponents of this law say that the majority approves of this law, but the majority is not always right. Would women or non-whites have the vote if we listen to the majority of the day, would the non-whites have equal rights (and equal access to churches, restaurants, hotels, retail stores, schools, colleges and yes water fountains) if we listen to the majority of the day? We all know the answer, a resounding, NO!
Today we are committed to a worldwide struggle to promote and protect the rights of all who wish to be free. In a time of domestic crisis men of good will and generosity should be able to unite regardless of party or politics and do what is right, not what is just popular with the majority. Some men comprehend discrimination by never have experiencing it in their lives, but the majority will only understand after it happens to them.
“All Men are created equal”! The founders had it right, when attempting to form a perfect union and they also knew that they were not there yet but knew we one day would get there. Lincoln moved us forward as did JFK and LBJ. This Nation was founded by men of many nations and backgrounds. It was founded on the principle that all men are created equal, and that the rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened.
It is my contention that this AZ law is not constitutional and will fail when challenged (unless they add more amendments), pretty funny for this so called perfect law.