The Liberal Legal Bubble

What can explain liberals’ widespread failure to anticipate the Court’s wariness of the mandate? Research conducted by University of Virginia psychologist Jonathan Haidt suggests one possible answer: Liberals just aren’t as good as conservatives and libertarians at understanding how their opponents think. Haidt helped conduct research that asked respondents to fill out questionnaires about political narratives—first responding based on their own beliefs, but then responding as if trying to mimic the beliefs of their political opponents. “The results,” he writes in the May issue of Reason, “were clear and consistent.” Moderates and conservatives were the most able to think like their liberal political opponents. “Liberals,” he reports, “were the least accurate, especially those who describe themselves as ‘very liberal.’”

Your Moral And Intellectual Superiors

Big Journalism;

NBC News is said to have launched an internal investigation into why it posted an edited version of George Zimmerman’s call to a 911 dispatcher made prior to a shooting incident resulting in the death of 17 year-old Trayvon Martin. The altered version made it appear as though Martin’s race was an important factor that night for Zimmerman, when, in fact, he was only answering a question posed by a 911 dispatcher.

Wildrose Country

Meow….

Bumped for update – the tweet hits the fan.

Then this morning, Ms. Smith released the following statement:

“In the last day the question has been raised about why I don’t have children of my own. When David and I married in 2006 we intended to have children together. After a few years we sought help from the Calgary Regional Fertility Clinic. I appreciated the support and assistance of the caring staff as we went through tests and treatments, but in the end we were not successful.
“I consider myself very fortunate to have a terrific stepson, Jonathan, David’s son from a previous marriage. I am also blessed to have grown up in a large family with four siblings who have given me the opportunity to be the auntie of 5 terrific nieces and nephews: Emily, Sam, Chloe, Seyenna and Logan.
“Family is very important to me and I consider this to be a very personal matter. I will not be commenting on it further.”

As of this morning, Amanda Wilkie no longer has a Twitter account.
You know, I may just be a commercial artist living in the middle of nowhere who, without any ties to media or party politics, built a political blog that draws 5 million visits a year. And as I have only my internal server stats to assess the ability of Twitter to drive traffic….
… when I warn that Twitter is worse than useless as a medium with which to reach a general audience, that the risk-benefit ratio is so high that any politician who permits staff to use Twitter in any capacity beyond issuing pre-approved public service announcements is a fool
…I probably don’t know what the hell it is I’m talking about.

What We Really Need Is Democracy

With a totalitarian party to vote for.

These developments show that the twittering activists of Tahrir Square were incredibly out of touch with their own society—and that their Western cheerleaders were clueless as well. At the beginning of the Arab Spring, Western journalists, academics, and NGO officers predicted the spread of democracy and liberal values throughout the region. Such sunny scenarios seem increasingly farfetched.

Via

It’s Probably Nothing

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office is getting an “indefinite delivery” of an “indefinite quantity” of .40 caliber ammunition from defense contractor ATK.
U.S. agents will receive a maximum of 450 million rounds over five years, according to a press release on the deal.

RelatedTHEY TOLD ME IF I VOTED FOR JOHN MCCAIN, THEY’D BE SHUTTING DOWN RESEARCH IN THE NAME OF NATIONAL SECURITY. And they were right!

Ethical Oil Vs Blood Banana

Now is the time at SDA when we juxtapose!
The Economist, March 31stThis may have pleased environmentalists, but it infuriated Canadians who depend on the oil industry. A pro-business lobby called EthicalOil.org is urging a boycott of Chiquita’s products that is said to be costing the company a fortune. Chiquita would not quantify its losses.
Washington Post, March 28thLimbaugh’s recovering fortunes may be best exemplified by what hasn’t happened. At the peak of the controversy in early March, two small stations — in western Massachusetts and Hilo, Hawaii — said that they would drop his program. Since then, no other station has said it will take him off the air, dashing the hopes of MoveOn.org, a liberal group whose ongoing petition drive seeks Limbaugh’s removal from 180 stations.
Related: Rush’s ratings up .

Inside The Mind Of The Modern Journalist

Emailing Jeff Davis of Postmedia…

On 3/30/12 7:00 AM, “James MacMaster” wrote:
Dear Mr. Davis,
It is incredible that anyone could hear a story like this without alarm bells going off and red flags flying. Yet not only did you hear it, but you actually committed this blatant BS to print and publication.
It means one of two things: you believed it – in which case you have no brains, or, you did not believe it but chose to print it – in which case you have no ethics or credibility.
You have betrayed the public trust and done a disservice to your fellow journalists.
Yours truly,
Jamie MacMaster


From: JDavis@postmedia.com
To: “James MacMaster”
Date: Fri, 30 Mar 2012 08:51:36 -0500
Subject: Re: Breitkreuz lauded guns for teen girls, student’s mom says
Hi Jamie,
I get many such insulting letters from gun owners – since I am the reporter on this beat – after most articles I write. They tend to be flippant, like this one, are appear to be primarily an attempt to impugn of my professionalism and ethics, rather than debate any particular point.
When something like this is said on the floor of the House of Commons, it becomes news. It’s really that simple. Just because you or I may not agree with that particular point, the fact remains that the accusation was made in the House.
That said, what exactly is your objection to the article? In which way did I demonstrate a lack of credibility or ethics?
Thanks for reading, but I’m frankly getting bored by these messages from the firearms community.
Jeff Davis

Update: Objectivity so deep, it calls for a shovel.

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