First Time Here?
Well, I'm about to take the Holiday weekend off. I have two twin daughters that are far more fun than this (and for the first time I get to brag about them--see here)
But for those visiting for the first time, ArchPundit is a site devoted to Illinois and National Politics. I'm a partisan Democrat and a grad student working on his PhD in Political Science. Beyond that, do a google search--when I mentioned this previously some wanted me to remain pseudonymous because they enjoy me just being the writing on the page.
For the most part, that will continue. From time to time I may comment more particularly on issues I have expertise than I have in the past, but there won't be many changes for veteran readers.
There are two related sites. The first is Blog Saint Louis which focuses on St. Louis and Missouri politics and urban educational issues, a particular passion of mine.
The second is a site for the Illinois Senate Race that is not being updated right now. It will be with the creation of a new family of sites at Typepad.
I also write for The Political State Report on Illinois politics. I've been a bit lax there lately, but I plan on adding more there in the near future. I'll be adding commentary to the coming Jeff Smith for Congress Blog very soon as well. Jeff is a good friend and I urge those of you in the 3rd District to learn a bit more about him. Since I know some other campaigns check in here, I have no intention of bashing other candidates and quite like the field--though I reserve the right to make fun of Russ if he puts up anymore pics like the last one I pointed out.
I also have two other features and perhaps a personal blog about to come on line as well. Both are more humor related. One is just displaying the words I receive every day from a particular public official, and the other is an inside joke. Take a look around and come back if you enjoy.
I always appreciate tips so pass them on to archpundit@yahoo.com. Be sure to clarify whether you want to remain anonymous and whether I can use the e-mail verbatim. I respect privacy absolutely.
Some of the more popular posts over the last year include:
Rochell Moore extending a Biblical Curse to me
Earl Holt's letter taking issue with my labeling of him as a White Supremacist
The post he objected to which was also linked from Joe Conason's column in Salon
And for those who read the story in the RFT on the SLPS, I posted Bill Haas' letter to Bill Roberti that suggested Roberti and Marsal were having an affair right after receiving it.
I also seem to have hit on some manueverings by Pat Quinn to jump in the Illinois Senate Race. What is still unclear is why he was using Mike Kelleher as bait.
A general article on Saint Louis Public School reform. This article spurred the Biblical Curse being extended to me.
archpundit 11/27/2003 - [Link] - Comments ()
On a More Serious Note
Why does Earl Holt even matter? Isn't he just a marginalized moron who has been driven from the public eye?
That is true to an extent. However, Holt is part of that nasty side of politics that has hidden behind code words and obscured their true feelings. The first hint should be anyone who would associate with the modern version of the White Citizen's Councils--now the Council of Conservative Citizens.
There are legitimate debates over policies that affect race and we should have frank discussions about race and related issues. But Cobb points out an issue in race relations that whites usually don't grasp (being white I have my blindspots as well,
I'm going to indulge a little and poke whitefolks in the eye for a minute. But I'll be more specific and poke whitefolks from St. Louis who voted during the 80s. Every once in a while blackfolks get accused of being paranoid about race. But then somebody like say, Mark Fuhrman, gets outed and blackfolks say, where the hell were all you good whitefolks whan this person got power?
There are reasons for African-Americans to be paranoid and recognizing that is vital to a serious discussion. Are African-Americans overly paranoid? I'm sure sometimes they are, but when people don't listen it adds to the paranoia. So the next time race comes up in an integrated place take the time to listen to the concerns. Listen hard. White folks simply don't face the daily insults that many African-Americans do. And being angry about those insults or Earl Holt isn't an invitation to bring up Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson to try and create moral equivalency. It's an invitation to listen to a friend or potential friend.
When people race bait, don't use the excuse that some African-American did it so it is okay. Take race baiters to task. Force them to face consequences instead of making excuses that others do it.
Holt is out of public life besides his rantings on WGNU and the CofCC web site, but many have supported him and his allies in the past. Perhaps they were allies because they did not think Holt was that bad. If that is the case, they shouldn't have a hard time disowning him and the Council of Conservative Citizens. Make them do it.
archpundit 11/26/2003 - [Link] - Comments ()
The Right at Night Transcript--A Spade is Indeed a Spade
When Earl first e-mailed me, several asked whether it was for real, so I confirmed it on Earl's radio show. Below is the transcript with Don being me (I used a different name):
Earl: Don, welcome,
Don: Hey, what are all of these liars doing talking about you on the internet? I don't get it.
Earl:Oh, they, well, What can you do?
Don:What, what did the guy say about you?
Earl: Oh he's uhh...Oh, well, it's a long story. But Earl got kind of liquored up the other night. A friend found, put my name in a search engine and found a website that was ripping us for our efforts to try to reform the Saint Louis Public Schools. And I think I had just about had enough of that. So I wrote him a real poignant e-mail and I probably used the n-word about maybe twenty times to many times. Anyway, uh, they (hassled) me since. That doesn't bother me. I don't care, I'm used to that stuff. I, you know, on hang up calls, that kind of stuff doesn't matter. (Unintelligible keeps deleting it. just Ladue)
Don: What what, what what are they saying about you, I don't get it.
Earl: Well, It's just that I used all this bad language and, I, and I said some very unflattering things to them, what I thought about them. And, uh, I was stupid enough to, uh, put my home telephone number on there too. and uh
Don: Ohhhh
Earl: And I, uh dared them to print, to, to put the letter on the web page which they apparently have. So, (nervous laughter)I have quite a following now.
Don: All right
Earl: Yeah, well anyway. I didn't pull any punches, baby. I guess you could say I called a Spade a Spade.
Second guy: Don't call him (something) Earl for nothing
Don: All right, I was just curious.
Earl: All right, thanks Don, I appreciate it.
archpundit 11/26/2003 - [Link] - Comments ()
Saint Louis Public Schools Charging Admission for Meetings?
Well, no, but the RFT suggests it, though in the blog world, Sophorist got there first in comments.
That said, it is one of the best articles written by regular media on the changes and the only one that captures the flavor of the meetings.
archpundit 11/26/2003 - [Link] - Comments ()
Integration & The RFT
The Riverfront Times covers Earl's outburst in a fine article by Mike Seely.
Tom Spencer, recently retired from his fine blog is mentioned as well providing a little color commentary.
Interesting aspects of the article include WGNU's management which seems to be taking it very seriously. Other than that was the amazing reaction of Gordon Baum, Executive Director of the Council of Conservative Citizens, who said,
"The strong language shows a lapse in civility but doesn't paint him as a white supremacist," says Baum. "It doesn't sound like Earl. He must have been imbibing when he did that. As far as the rhetoric is concerned, I don't go along with that."
What the hell would paint him as a white supremacist then? I'm curious. When one describes an entire race as savage and brutish, wouldn't that qualify as inferior to another race? Or is the logical conclusion not supposed to be reached? Whatever.
And BTW, in regards to integration....I do live in an integrated area--my Census block group is 35% African American and my block is probably majority black. Now, admittedly, Earl lives in a black census tract, but I am familiar with having black neighbors and friends. Perhaps it is Earl's stunning personality that is his problem...
archpundit 11/26/2003 - [Link] - Comments ()
The Very Fabric of Our Society
The General addresses the horror of what gay marriage will reek on our society
Also another blog desperately in need of being added to the Blog Roll
archpundit 11/25/2003 - [Link] - Comments ()
Who is ArchPundit?
The question is to be answered in tomorrow's Riverfront Times. May not be up until Thursday for those who can't pick up a deadtree edition.
archpundit 11/25/2003 - [Link] - Comments ()
Bush Ballot Brouha
I've been swamped getting the new site up and ready, but Dan Johnson-Weinberger covers the fight over getting Bush on the ballot. As does Jeff Trigg.
I am not thrilled with redistricting, but Dan gets at the issue pretty well. I am not happy with Dems trying to avoid fines, but isn't that to be expected when you try and circumvent the law for electoral gain? The other side does it too.
Dan desperately deserves to be on the blog roll and he will be on the new site.
archpundit 11/25/2003 - [Link] - Comments ()
Good Deed for the Holiday
Forwarded on behalf Chris Krummenacher. If you're interested in helping out the family whose southside house burned down this past week and who were then subsequently robbed, Chris is willing to help facilitate. Should you feel so inclined to donate funds or physical items, contact Chris(chrisk@firestreamww.com) and he can put you in contact with the appropriate folks.
"You've probably seen the story about the Colenburg family, whose house caught fire and who had to run though that fire and toss his kids and himself out a third floor window to safety. If you saw today's paper, you saw that they got buglarized on top of it.
"I got a hold of the bank that is collecting monetary donations for that family and found that another family is collecting physical items (toys, clothes, eletronics, etc...) for the Colenburg family. I was just hoping you might pass this note along and ask folks that if they want to donate anything to get in touch with me and I can either the contact the person collecting this stuff or give them their phone number."
Please consider contributing if you are able.
This occurred in Saint Louis for readers outside of the region.
archpundit 11/25/2003 - [Link] - Comments ()
SB 101 Status
The bill to add sexual orientation as a suspect classification stalled, here is the deal from a source who was in Springfield:
Obama worked hard for this group and got Meeks to agree to be vote 30 or 31. Not easy for Meeks to do, but he did it.
Hynes took a walk. Senator Maloney would do whatever Hynes asked him to do, and so far Maloney is a whole lot of no. Same with Viverito. If Madigan/Hynes asked Viverito to jump on, don't you think he would?
Lending credence to the concerns about how hard Hynes will follow up on gay rights bills. More to follow.
archpundit 11/25/2003 - [Link] - Comments ()
Rainbow/Push Rally Discontent
From a reader:
Update from a Rainbow/Push Rally
There was an incident at the Rainbow/Push rally with Barack Obama, Joyce Washington and Blair Hull in attendance (with other dignitaries - most notable Carol Mosely Braun, Bobby Rush, Danny Davis and Jesse Jackson).
In the middle of several speaches a group of angry folks started shouting
in a bull horn "when are you going to let us speak!"
They were allowed to go forward and spoke their piece. Basically they said that black leaders had sold out the black community for their own political power. They (settled down) for a while and then basically disrupted the event. When Danny Davis and Bobby Rush walked up the BOOED them standing on the stage in front of the TV cameras. Things finally got calmed down a bit (although they were still on the stage frequently booing people).
The police were getting very nervous.
archpundit 11/25/2003 - [Link] - Comments ()
Reminder
Remember, Fridays from 10-12 on WGNU Earl and Gordon Baum of the Council of Conservative Citizens host the Right at Night--a veritable hate fest. Streaming audio is available as is toll free call in for those outside the area:
314-454-0400 or
1-877-920-WGNU!
archpundit 11/21/2003 - [Link] - Comments ()
From the Inbox
From the St. Louis CofCC Site
Dr. Deval Patrick
Several years ago, the magazine Heterodoxy ran an article about Dr. Deval Patrick, the negro who replaced Alan Bakke at the University of California-Davis Medical School as a result of its ?Affirmative-Action? program. Mr. Bakke sued California?s Board of Regents in what eventually became a landmark Supreme Court Case, Bakke v. Board of Regents of the University of California.
Dr. Patrick managed to graduate from Cal-Davis? medical school, and became a plastic surgeon in the Los Angeles area. To date, Dr. Patrick has at least one kill to his record.
It seems that Dr. Patrick performed liposuction upon a woman patient in his office, who later developed a severe infection and died from it. When the woman upon whom he performed the liposuction returned to his office a few days following her surgery -- rather than take her to the emergency room of some hospital -- instead, Dr. Patrick had his "nurse" (i.e., girlfriend) take this patient to his own house, whereupon she died. He was obviously trying to hide her condition from medical authorities by treating her, "privately."
You see, serious infections following liposuction had previously occurred with at least two other patients of his, and not only were these two patients in the process of suing him, but Dr. Patrick?s license was under review by the state at the time of his ?kill.? He has since lost his medical license.
There should be a law requiring any advocate of Affirmative Action (such as Teddy Kennedy) to use only black surgeons, airline pilots and attorneys who participated in an affirmative action program at their respective graduate schools.
Earl P. Holt III
From the e-mail:
Deval Patrick is not a physician; he is a former Assistant Attorney for Civil Rights and is still deeply involved in civil rights law. The physician he is referring to is the late Dr. Patrick Chivas, and his account of the events are only half true. There is also little evidence that he was admitted instead (not replacing) Bakke. A rather amusing mix-up.
For someone with an IQ of 130, this is probably the dumbest error that could have easily been checked.
In fact, one can find all about Deval Patrick rather easily
In fact, after the e-mail I tracked down what appears to be the story Holt is talking about at Front Page Magazine. I present that story as a reference, not as an endorsment.
Another fine reader points to this pile of excrement. The reader mail is special.
archpundit 11/20/2003 - [Link] - Comments ()
When I'm Happy To Be Wrong
I'm befuddled how the Governor thinks this better protects officers, but that is a side issue---The State of Illinois, counter to my prediction, has passed a sweeping reform of the Death Penalty. Kudos (ed. props are for late night beer induced posts) to State Senators Barack Obama and John Cullerton who did much of the heavy lifting on the bill. While I'm adamantly opposed to the death penalty, this is a wonderful step forward.
archpundit 11/20/2003 - [Link] - Comments ()
How Likely Are More Posts Today?
I have a feeling the blog is going to be overloaded, it is, ummm..let's say early, and I'm over the average daily hits already....
archpundit 11/20/2003 - [Link] - Comments ()
Props to Cruel Site of the Day
They pretty much shut down the site again today, Cruel Site fo the Day is a riot for those not familiar with it.
If nothing else, the caption for yesterday captured Earl:
If you call former St. Louis School Board member Earl Holt a white supremacist, he'll set you straight: "I honestly pray to God that some nigger fucks, kills and eats you and everyone you claim to love!"
I'll be posting again today assuming I can get access to the site.
archpundit 11/20/2003 - [Link] - Comments ()
Props To Blogstudio
Blogstudio.com has done a great job trying to handle the traffic over the last couple days. The reaction to Earl has been far greater than I thought, but Blogstudio has done a fantastic job keeping the site up given the difference between usual traffic and traffic over the last couple days.
If you are looking for a blogging service that is extremely easy to use or a hosting service think about them. They are inexpensive and do a fantastic job.
As many of you may know, I am moving to TypePad soon. It isn't due to inadequate services as much as
1) white supremacists or other nutjobs who seem to swamp the service
2) I'm in the middle of service levels---I want both a lot of flexibility and easy use. Typepad provides that. However, Blogstudio provides easy use, hosting for the very advanced, inexpensive service, and a high tolerance for those who attract nutjobs. My problem comes in I don't want to set up my own site, but I do want to control comments and other issues. For the vast majority of bloggers who don't attract the Earl Holt's of the world, Blogstudio would be great for you. And they are very price competitive.
archpundit 11/20/2003 - [Link] - Comments ()
Do I Dare
Unfortunately I read Eriz Zorn's take on the Massachusett's Supreme Court Decision declaring a ban on gay marriage unconstitutional so I have to site (ed. that's cite to your moron) him yet again this week. I absolutely believe marriage is a religious decision and such any sort of prohibition on adults is a violation of the religious freedom. I'm not sure that such a bold step is the quickest way to get there.
Zorn makes the point here:
I was among those who fretted that former Gov. George Ryan's mass commutation of death sentences would harden the hearts of legislators and set back the cause of capital justice reform in Illinois by years if not forever.
I do believe I outfretted him though, with this post at the Political State Report which could not have been more wrong.
So let's hope we are both wrong again. BTW, what is the Governor doing about the nondiscrimination based on sexual orientation bill? Anyone?
archpundit 11/18/2003 - [Link] - Comments ()
Endorsement Watch: Da Speaker
In a dog bites man story, Illinois House Speaker and Chair of the Illinois Democratic Party endorses Dan Hynes. Coming from the South Side of Chicago with Dan's father, Thomas, this is unsurprising.
In the category of organization is tough to beat, the tagline in the endorsement from the campaign says:
The Democratic Party of Illinois State Central Committee is not expected to endorse in the March primary. Madigan serves as the chair of the central committee. In addition to Speaker Madigan, Hynes has received the endorsement of 85 of the state?s 102 Democratic County Chairman and over 600 elected officials and party leaders at all levels of government.
Dan Hynes is in a tough fight, especially with the IFT endorsement of Obama which reverberates through the field, but organization means he'll be in it to the end.
archpundit 11/18/2003 - [Link] - Comments ()
Oh My
We'll be getting back to more normal stories, but Atrios keeps finding stuff that is amazing
The fiction which is interdependency has a prolocutor in the congregation of Moloch. His name is George Soros. No other single person represents the symbol and the substance of Globalism more than this Hungarian-born descendant of Shylock. He is the embodiment of the Merchant from Venice. His public reputation as an astute currency speculator is generous, while his skills as a manipulator and procurer of pain and suffering is shrouded in the footnotes of the financial journals. Claiming to be a philanthropist, his record is literally one of being a patron for indentured enslavement.
Updated: The GOPUSA took it down, it's now available at this site
archpundit 11/18/2003 - [Link] - Comments ()
Alterman Gets Letters
Via Atrios
Not quite Earl Holt, but Alterman gets a doozy today....
Name: Anne Thompson
Mr. Alterman,
As an American citizen and consumer of both print and television media, I have become increasingly concerned over what I perceive to be a completely liberal-biased slant as well as unquestioning support for both the brutal policies of Israel as well as the Jewish faith. Judaism is an incomplete religion and our country is NOT a ?Judeo-Christian? nation. America was founded on the principles of Christianity and Christianity ALONE.
To give any credence to the Jewish faith is to say that it is a true faith, which it is NOT. To give unquestioning support to the state of Israel, despite its horrid brutality, is criminal. Ariel Sharon has spent the last 40 years deceiving the Lebanese Christian community, committing mass genocide, lying to the American and European public and, in general, behaving worse than any tyrant currently recorded in history.
To support Judaism and the state of Israel, in its current form, is disgraceful. Allow me to explain why the Jewish religion is an incomplete religion and why Jews MUST convert to Christianity AT ALL COSTS.
The incompleteness of Judaism:
1. Judaism believes in an eye for an eye, there is no such thing as forgiveness.
2. Judaism consistently promotes mass genocide, while Christianity promotes isolating hostile elements within an opposition group and removing those elements, but leaving the group intact and converting them to Christianity.
3. Judaism is an inclusive group, meaning that the religion does not proselytize nor does it accept outside membership. This essentially sets Jews up for inbreeding, which causes all sorts of neurological and degenerative diseases.
4. Judaism is suspicious and hostile of outsiders.
5. Judaism creates a group of people who are paranoid, isolated, inbred, and unforgiving.
What kind of life is this for anyone? Christianity is an open, loving, forgiving religion. Christianity does not submit to genocide of a group in which there exist bad members, but rather advocates the elimination of those bad members, specifically, while leaving the group intact and converting them to Christianity.
Christianity is superior to Judaism in many ways and Jews must and should convert to Christianity as soon as possible. To state that Judaism, in any form, is an acceptable type of worship to our Lord is deplorable. JUDAISM IS FALLACY!
The media?s ongoing support of this incomplete faith and its false tenets is an injustice to the world. America cannot and WILL NOT TOLERATE the ongoing atrocities committed by the Israelis, the Mossad, and the Jewish people. The Jews MUST CONVERT to Christianity IMMEDIATELY. The violence in the Middle East will go on for a thousand years if they are not converted. The ongoing tensions in American society will continue if the Jews do not convert. It is CRITICAL that Jews convert.
I thank you for your time and consideration and may God bless you and yours.
I believe Eric is Jewish. This letter reeks of the description Ani Difranco gives on her live album of a open mic night where some evangelicals sing a song about whether Anne Frank found Jesus.
archpundit 11/18/2003 - [Link] - Comments ()
Speaking of Zorn
He has some excellent coverage of the Illini Mascot issue and especially a full response from Lisa Madigan concerning the Emerald Casino License Settlement, go check it out.
More on the Emerald issue later, but I think Madigan's defense of the settlement is a good explanation. She isn't happy and neither am I, but reality set in from the looks of it.
On the mascot issue--go far enough down on Eric's blog and one has to wonder whether the mascot was cover for the tuition increase.
archpundit 11/17/2003 - [Link] - Comments ()
Getting Back to Normal...
After the most recent wingnut eruption sidetracked the normal content of the blog again, today should be back to the typical Illinois politics and national affairs obsession I have. But later, I have a day job and such.
In a show of good taste, the Trib wouldn't allow Eric Zorn to link directly to the letter. I don't blame them. I would probably have suppressed the letter but for two reasons. One, Holt was a school board member in Saint Louis. He and his allies came close to taking a Board Majority about a decade ago. I'm going to create a list of those articles on the new blog (it's coming) for easy access.
Second, I have blogged regularly on the Council of Conservative Citizens. Most recently was on October 15 (the day my hiatus started) with Haley Barbour's visit to the Mississippi Black Hawk Barbecue.
I think the letter accurately represents their views and as they have some influence, that is more influence than they should have. Holt claims he was drunk. I say he was honest. Despicable, but honest.
While racist wingnuts are a common topic here, a far superior blog for that sort of info is at The Temple of Democracy which is the go to place for all white supremacist related info. I have reservations about his Dean comments, but that is a minor quibble given the high quality of research he provides on neo-confederates.
I also have some audio clips, but I need to host them somewhere that can handle the bandwidth.
archpundit 11/17/2003 - [Link] - Comments ()
I Believe We Have A Recording
Fair use portions will be posted over the next couple days. The comparison to Tarzan was amazing as was the General's fine discussion of his member. I, on the other hand, couldn't stop laughing after they didn't even miss a beat when Gary complained about miscegenation. Perhaps I should leave such efforts to The General and Scoobie.
archpundit 11/14/2003 - [Link] - Comments ()
BTW, "Don From Saint Louis" Got Confirmation on the Letter
For a variety of reasons I thought it was him, Don got Holt to confirm he sent it--just to clarify.
I can't do what I'm suggesting for a variety of reasons, but Earl is a landlord and there is an EHOC testing program for Fair Housing Laws. It might be worthwhile for someone to contact EHOC and Channel 2 here in Saint Louis and suggest that Earl is perhaps a prime candidate for some testing. Wil Jordan, head of EHOC here, would enjoy that very much.
archpundit 11/14/2003 - [Link] - Comments ()
Who is Doug from East Saint Louis
Just curious, drop me a note.
archpundit 11/14/2003 - [Link] - Comments ()
Hate Mail---Parental Advisory
The following e-mail I received is one of the most offensive bits of excrement to ever show up in my inbox. I debated even posting it, but given Earl was a school board member in St. Louis just a decade ago and there is a collective amnesia about how far over the top these guys were, here it goes. It contains multiple obscenities and the most offensive racial slur.
Hey Commie:
Imagine my chagrin when I used a search engine to find commentary about myself, and there was your shallow, dilettante, asshole self, labeling me a "white supremacist."
Being the shallow, nigger-loving dilettante that you are, you probably DO consider niggers to be your equal (who am I to question this?): Yet, unlike you and your allies, I have an I.Q. in excess of 130, which grants me the ability to objectively evaluate the Great American Nigro (Africanus Criminalis.)
The nigro is 11.5 % of the U.S. population, yet he commits in excess of 55% of all felonies (although felonies are UNDER-represented in the nigro community, where observing the law is considered "acting White!") Moreover, he (or should I say she?)accounts for 48% of all ADC recipients in the U.S. We have spent over $7 TRILLION on "Urban Welfare Spending" since the mid-1960s, (black economists Thomas Sowell & Walter Williams) and the nigro is still as criminal, surly, lazy , violent and stupid as he/she ever was, while his illegitimacy rate is 80% nationwide, and over 90% in the "large urban areas."
By the way, those of us who tried to end forced busing in St. Louis did so because it is a colossal waste and nothing more than a symbolic gesture that has seriously deprived every school district in Missouri that doesn't benefit from a deseg program : It has cost the state of Missouri $3.5 BILLION since 1983, (another $3.5 Billion in Kansas City,) yet, the nigro "scholars" bussed to county schools under deseg "improve less academically than every other category of student in the St. Louis Public Schools," according to the Federal Court- ordered Lissitz Study.
Also, you lying asshole, in the 2003-2004 school year, St. Louis spent $11,711 per nigger -idiot in the public schools, yet, half of all students test at the 20th percentile (or lower) on nationally-standardized tests. (If I were Emperor, I would forcibly hand over you and all your commie apologists for nigro under-achievement to White, working-class parents of public school students, and let them have their way with you...)
Some day, You sanctimonious nigger-lovers will either have to live amongst them ("nothing cures an enthusiasm for integration like a good dose of niggers") or else defend yourselves against them. My guess is that you are such a cowardly and pusillanimous lot of girly-boys, they will kill fuck, kill and eat you just as they do young White males in every prison system in the U.S. That's right: When defending this savage and brutish lot, you must also consider their natural ( or should I say UN-natural) enthusiasm for buggery!
I honestly pray to God that some nigger fucks, kills and eats you and everyone you claim to love!
Earl P. Holt III
4029 Shaw Blvd.
St. Louis, MO
63110-3621
P.S. I dare you to print this e-mail verbatim: You know as well as I do that most people know I speak the truth, and you are a liar and whore who takes to heart Lenin's dictum that "The first duty of the propagandist is to subvert the meaning of words."
=====
I'll stand by my comment that Earl is a white supremacist.
UPDATE:
As suggested in a note, here is what I originally wrote about Earl. Comments were a bit erratic early, but should be working now.
UPDATE II: Remember, Fridays from 10-12 on WGNU Earl and Gordon Baum of the Council of Conservative Citizens host the Right at Night--a veritable hate fest. Streaming audio is available as is toll free call in for those outside the area:
314-454-0400 or
1-877-920-WGNU!
archpundit 11/14/2003 - [Link] - Comments ()
The Fun Stuff
Via John Combest
Iraq won?t be helped by premature pullout
ahem, I swear, Saddam, this NEVER happens, you just REALLY turn me on...
archpundit 11/14/2003 - [Link] - Comments ()
Zorn's Flooding hte Zone
which is good because I have a busy day---
The motion to consider the Chief's future has been withdrawn and will be reintroduced next summer
"Frances G. Carroll, the trustee who introduced the motion earlier this week, said she was withdrawing it because other trustees were upset at the short notice," said an Associated Press story.
Short notice?
This controversy has been around for well over a decade and discussed and studied to a fare-thee-well. There are no new arguments and there's no need for still more input. The only thing these cowardly trustees need time for is to find political cover.
Eric seems to think, as I said in my comments, that the impact of removing the chief won't be that great--I think he is correct.
Because I have so much respect for the University, I'd be surprised if its alumni base turned out to be this shallow and petty.
I will deprive this institution of financial support I would otherwise provide because its trustees differ with me on how best to respect the American Indian!!!
Well, there will be some people that shallow and petty, it won't be that big of a deal. As an institution of higher learning it could well be a wonderful way to teach about respect and diversity.
The Chief's days are numbered. It may not be next year, but eventually a white guy running around as a caricature of an American Indian won't be acceptable.
Eric also provides an interesting take on whether it should be native American or American Indian. I find all of the general terms difficult because they don't differentiate between those American Indians south of the United States that face very different issue. That said, I see the point about American Indian.
archpundit 11/13/2003 - [Link] - Comments ()
Best Editorial of the Day
From the Trib AKA Back when we walked uphills both ways to the Hill...
The U.S. Senate has scheduled a filibuster for Wednesday night so senators can talk themselves blue in the face about who's to blame because Democrats won't allow some of President Bush's judicial nominations to come to a vote. We're not going to debate the merits of the issue today--of course every nominee should get a vote. This time, we'd rather complain about the wussy nature of this filibuster.
Time was when a Senate filibuster meant something. Senators were forced to stay up all night and had to keep talking until they were close to collapse. Remember that scene in the movie, "Mr. Smith goes to Washington"? Jimmy Stewart does collapse on the Senate floor.
But the senators of the 108th Congress aren't about to collapse from this effort. This filibuster has been carefully choreographed. It'll last 30 hours, from Wednesday evening through midnight Thursday. No senator will have to blabber on for 30 hours. The time is being split equally between Republicans and Democrats. A Republican will blabber for 30 minutes, then a Democratic senator will blabber for 30 minutes . . . you get the picture. The point of this exercise? Beats us. Even hot air ain't what it used to be.
archpundit 11/12/2003 - [Link] - Comments ()
More on the Chief
Eric Zorn points out the obvious if the Chief represented another ethnic group
Chief Illiniwek must go.
The University of Illinois should not "honor" American Indian culture in a way that would be unthinkable to "honor" African American culture, Jewish culture, Latino culture, Asian culture or just about any other culture.
No institution with an ounce of sensitivity would paint a white man in blackface and have him perform ceremonial tribal dances at sporting events in honor of The Fighting Africans, dress a gentile like an Orthodox rabbi and have him dance the hora at midcourt in honor of The Fighting Hebrews or otherwise attempt to pay such clumsy tribute to other peoples.
The problem is that the Chief isn't a clumsy tribute, it isn't a tribute to the Illini Tribe. It is college custom divorced of any meaning from the Illini tribe or any native American group.
As humorist Jim Mullen once wrote on the subject, "some people sure are touchy about being cheated out of their land, their culture and their dignity."
The land is gone, the culture is in shambles mostly--for those that have visited reservations--life isn't pretty. Can't we at least defend their dignity?
Admittedly, this isn't the worst case, the Washington Redskins run away with that, but it is not acceptable.
To bring up George Will's favorite example of how such issues are not just political correctness, around thirty years ago Pekin in Central Illinois still called its high school team the Chinks. Can you imagine a white student running around with eyes taped to appear narrow and reenacting some sort of Chinese warrior? Societies evolve, the premier public educational institution in the State of Illinois should be leader in that evolution. Let's find a way to celebrate the Illini Tribe, not make them caricatures.
archpundit 11/12/2003 - [Link] - Comments ()
Retire the Chief
In the absurdities of the modern world, the continued use of a caricature to represent the Illini tribe with a foolish moron at U of I athletic events bothers few. Fighting Illini itself isn't offensive, but some idiot running around the field acting like a chicken with his head cut off is not an appropriate representative of Native American culture.
Why is there such attachment to such an obnoxious symbol? An obvious solution would be to involve the descendants of the Illini tribe in a discussion of how a mascot could honorably represent the tribe and the school.
archpundit 11/10/2003 - [Link] - Comments ()
The Winning Oberweiss Strategy
Pass out his pumpkin ice cream to voters....mmmmmmm...back in a minute.
archpundit 11/10/2003 - [Link] - Comments ()
Trick Or Treat
Kristin McQueary frightens me with this thought
Maybe he bought it to commemorate Halloween ? a huge holiday at the Madigan household where the speaker and his wife spend hours doting on trick-or-treaters.
Da Speaker handing out treats? That truly sounds like a Haunted House.
archpundit 11/10/2003 - [Link] - Comments ()
Embarrassing
So now that we have moved fully to the phase of the war where everyone wonders who has the damn plan, let's look back at my standard for the war being worthwhile.
The exception being smallpox. If we don't turn up evidence of a nuclear program and/or smallpox, this war was pointless. Nukes are the only real WMD and if he didn't have an active program (and I believe he did), containment would have worked just fine, thank you.
So pretty much, the war wasn't worth it. When I take Shrub's position and I'm wrong, it just hurts all the more.
I still believe we would have been in a war with Iraq eventually, but there is no excuse for not building up more international support for action given what we know now.
That said, there could be a legitimate defense of acting in good faith on bad information. Is that what the administration did? Yes and no. Yes, they thought there was more of a threat. But no on two counts. They pushed the edge of intelligence. More importantly, they didn't act with caution.
What does this mean? As I've long argued, the country would have been well served to follow Dick Lugar, Chuck Hagel, and Joe Biden's move to require the President to seek out more international support. I don't think that is a mistake Congress will be making in the future. For one, Dick Gephardt won't be there to undercut such efforts in the future.
Poor planning is especially egregious in a planning agency as Jacob Weisberg points out in one of his far too few columns since becoming editor in chief of Slate.
the big idea The thinking behind the news.
Occupational Hazards
How the Pentagon forgot about running Iraq.
By Jacob Weisberg
Posted Thursday, Nov. 6, 2003, at 9:44 AM PT
The shooting down on Sunday of a Chinook helicopter, which claimed more American lives than any episode since the fall of Saddam Hussein, confirms what the Bush administration has spent weeks attempting to deny: The occupation of Iraq is going badly.
It is not at all surprising that we've run into trouble over there. The difficulties we have faced, from looting to the lack of viable institutions, were largely to be expected from a devastated post-totalitarian society in a part of the world overwhelmingly hostile to the United States and its interests. What is surprising?amazing, in fact?is how unprepared we were for these problems. Much of the discussion in the postwar period was focused on the question of where those weapons of mass destruction went. An even more important question is how the Bush administration failed to prepare for what it knew was coming. How did the world's greatest military power plan the invasion of a country without also planning its occupation?
David Rieff's Nov. 2 article in the New York Times Magazine offers pieces of an answer. The neoconservative Iraq hawks inside the Pentagon?Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Perle, and Douglas Feith?thought our troops would be welcomed as liberators and that the Iraqi National Congress could run the country for us (a view Gideon Rose demolished in Slate back in April). Wolfowitz, in particular, was known for his view that fixing Iraq would provoke a reverse-domino effect of democratization throughout the Middle East. Those who bought into this wishful thinking didn't want to hear about the potential problems.
Continue Article
The hawks' big mistake was not in thinking that optimistic scenario might be borne out. Their mistake?especially stunning because the Pentagon is essentially a planning agency?was not preparing for alternate scenarios that were, at the very least, equally likely. The neoconservative architects of the invasion seem not to have, at any point, seriously engaged the question, "What if things do not go the way we hope they will?" What if the Iraqis are glad to be rid of Saddam but not glad to have the Marines as neighbors? What if Ahmad Chalabi turns out not to be the next Vaclav Havel? The Pentagon spends hundreds of millions of dollars staging elaborate war games to help anticipate unexpected turns in battle. Somehow, it neglected to game out the postwar peace.
Is Iraq going as badly as the loudest naysayers? No. But it isn't as good as it should be with better planning of the operation and for the contingencies that have developed.
For those who heard McCain on NewsHour the other night, he made an essential point
SEN. JOHN McCAIN: Yes, and if we say we're withdrawing then obviously that sends another bad signal. I think we should not announce withdrawal. I think we should say we're going to do what it takes. We're going to find out where it is that we need more people.
We have got 130,000 troops there. At any time there's 30,000 of these on patrol -- of the 130,000 that are there -- because of this tooth to tail ratio that we call in the military. So we need more in that area, more active, more proactive and frankly, when Iraqi mothers are afraid to send their children to school, then I think that the bad people have attained a degree of influence, which is disturbing.
JIM LEHRER: Senator, you have gone public with this in the last few days. You have just repeated it and expanded on it here for us. Have you said this privately to President Bush or Vice President Cheney or Secretary Powell or Secretary Rumsfeld or anybody else in the administration?
SEN. JOHN McCAIN: When I came back in August, I made public statements about the need for more troops. I talked with Dr. Rice. I talked with Secretary Rumsfeld. I talked with Secretary Powell and Deputy Secretary Armitage about this and I was very public in my comments then. I was hoping that I was wrong. But in August, which was several months ago now, I said, look, unless we change this equation, then things are going to get measurably worse.
And, time is not on our side in these things of Jim. We have a habit to a degree of treating Iraq the same way we treated Japan and Germany. We should be treating them more like Italy and France as liberated countries rather than conquered ones.
More good stuff in his comments on the situation in Russia.
archpundit 11/10/2003 - [Link] - Comments ()
Oh yeah, the must reads
Getting myself in a bit of a lather, I forgot the rest of the stories at the Capitol Fax
First, Exelon makes public their plan for rate hikes. Paging Pat Quinn--remember the one thing you were useful for was ranting about monopolies. Have someone take the muzzle off and remind G-Rod he is a Democrat.
In an amusing element of pot-kettle politics, the state GOP is proposing:
NEW "SHADOW" LANGUAGE EMERGES (excerpt) The Senate Republicans have unveiled new language to more clearly define what they call Governor Blagojevich's "shadow government." The SGOPs want to use the ethics bill to force the governor's unpaid advisors who work on legislation and other matters on his behalf to file economic interest statements.
The introduced version of the bill would require the disclosure of any "third party" contacts of a state board or commission on behalf of the guv or other elected official. The Senate Republicans would require that, in addition to the contact disclosure, the third party file economic interest statements.
Perhaps that could include the Mayer lawyers that each party utilizes free to analyze legislation? I mean, if you are going to go after the Guv, shouldn't the spotlight go out to all of the cockroaches in Springfield?
Three other stories are pretty self-explanatory. Though a particular one towards the bottom is a perfect example of what is wrong in Springfield,
CREDIT UNIONS FURIOUS During the spring session, Illinois credit unions were strong-armed into agreeing to a deal that increased their state regulatory fees by 50 percent. One of the arguments the governor's office used was that the banks would be whacked with a 100 percent fee increase during the rulemaking process. The credit unions could either swallow a 50 percent hike that was written into legislation, or suffer the same fate as the banks when the rules were written. The credit unions swallowed hard.
But, lo and behold, when the rules were published, the banks only suffered a 27 percent increase - about a quarter of the original amount, and half of what the credit unions were paying. Word is, the bankers informed the governor that if he went ahead with a 100 percent hike, they'd drop their state charters and become nationally chartered. The credit unions are hoping to roll back their fee hike during the veto session.
That story is appropriately from Halloween.
archpundit 11/10/2003 - [Link] - Comments ()
The Must Reads
Are over at the Capitol Fax.
The first up story is on Obama snagging the IFT endorsement. I'd heard rumblings, but I wasn't sure. The significance is it creates a hole for Hynes as Miller points out. But most importantly Illinois is an organization state. Organization (organ-I-zation in Hockey) wins in Illinois--it almost always has. Illinois is a state where people are bound by ties to some sort of political apparatus. Westerners and other goo-goo states have people who have moved in without any particular attachments, but the industrial midwest is overrun with attachments and nowhere as much as Illinois.
To win as a Democrat in the primary one has to have a block of votes locked up traditionally. Either you have unions (Hartigan), or party apparatus (Blagojevich), a network of activists (Netsch) or a combination of the sorts. Republicans have similar ties with the Christian Right taking up a new section of organized interest.
Candidates running as true outsiders don't do well. Al Hofeld is the most common example, but with the exception of Pat Quinn, organization wins (and he has a very loyal base--hell if I know why).
So the common wisdom has been that Comptroller Dan Hynes has the leg up on the field because he has the best organization. He has much of the Cook County machine lining up behind him with his father pulling in a lot of chits to line up regular party support and the unions forming two of the three necessary voting blocks out of about 5 key constituencies. In a split field, that should have been enough. For many, including me, I figured this would be a cake walk election for him. Organization wins.
But the organizations change both locally and nationally. The political earthquake consuming Dick Gephardt with the apparent AFSCME and SEIU dual endorsements is hitting Hynes as well. It isn't fatal so far, but it shows how the union landscape is changing. Hynes is locking up the industrial unions easily. But the service and teachers unions are looking around. Why? They don't have the same interests. Industrial unions are interested in protectionism and benefits--protecting what they have already. Service and other unions are interested in health care and reaching more workers--reaching out to more people.
But what is especially damaging to Hynes in this case is the split in unions goes to the guy with what was considered the second strongest organizationally---Barack Obama. The African-American vote is between 20-25% of the Democratic primary. As such any African-American candidate has a good lock on that vote in most years. Obama has strong ties to it with downstate A-As unified and strong support from the Jacksons around Chicago. He is slightly weaker given his fight with Bobby Rush and the Joyce Washington candidacy. Bagging the IFT gives him workers around the state and more of a base.
All is not lost for Hynes by any stretch of the imagination. He has the corrupt Jerry Costello operation around Belleville with a big push to Barigevic, the current county exec, into a judgeship and elect his homegrown apprentice--the current Mayor of Belleville into the County Executive spot. He has union might in Central and Southern Illinois and he has the south side white politicos pulling out the stops. He has a statewide office and name recognition.
If organization wins, then Hull should be toast right? I'm not so sure. First, he has millions to throw at this race. Second, he is playing to the party activist core and strategically picking up bits and pieces of coalitions. When there is a split amongst African-Americans he goes after Rush and others who have a bone to pick with Obama. When Hynes downplays health care (relatively so), he goes after activists and seniors. He hits the anti-war crowd hard and takes every shot he can at Bush. Contrary to many reviews, I think his commercials show a very personable guy--something he seems to be excelling at is retail politics. Is it enough in an organization state? If the vote is split, possibly. His biggest concern has to be to not turn off the more casual voters and depress turnout through an ugly campaign. He is going to need occasional primary voters who vote off media impressions more than organizational tie and have a split field.
Maria Pappas comes in with two big upsides. First, she has name recognition around Chicago. Second she is the natural heir to the women activist vote that Dawn Clark Netsch and Moseley Braun tapped previously. She's also likable. With good name recognition she is already taking on Hynes in early polls.
Chico should have a natural constituency in Hispanics. He does not, however. He supported Luis Guitierrez' opponent in a Congressional cycle and Luis hasn't forgotten. The regular Hispanic avenues are largely closed and instead he is relying on his connections in the legal and corporate world to fuel the run. It probably isn't enough. While his fundraising is remarkably good given his position, it isn't enough to compete against those with higher name recognition and more money.
So what does all this mean? It's a hell of a race. Of the four with the best shots, three of them have strong organizational support and I'd bet one of them wins--though a smart campaign by Hull might overcome that. Most surprisingly, Dan Hynes is in a tough race which most didn't expect.
So much for not much analysis.
archpundit 11/10/2003 - [Link] - Comments ()
I'm Back
So that was a bit longer than expected, but everything should be getting back to normal now.
Over the next week expect more links and tidbits from other places. I'm working on an upgrade to ArchPundit that will take it to a new site. While I love Blogstudio, I've outgrown it a bit. But let me say, if you are looking for a good basic service that can host or be a simple interface with little extra work, it is a great service.
I'm in the middle, I don't want to set up my own MT site and I want a bit more so I'm off to Typepad as soon as a I finish the sites. Along with the normal fare, I'll also be adding some fun side blogs and upgrading the Illinois Senate site that has languished as of late.
And as always, thanks to Armchairpundit for filling in. I greatly appreciate it.
archpundit 11/10/2003 - [Link] - Comments ()
Well Since You Offered...One More Round On The Senate Race
Maria Pappas's impending entry to the Illinois Senate race for the dem nomination is nothing but bad news for Hynes. One of Hynes's remaining strengths was name recognition. The reason candidates work so hard to get name recognition as well as inform voters of their stands on the issues is that they are going for both the reflexive and the informed voters. On election day, a certain number of voters simply vote the name they know. Dick Mell loves to say that the reason Vallas did so well and almost beat his son-in-law for guv is that Vallas had more media hits in Chicago in the three years prior to the election than any other political leader, including the Mayor (which Mell says with relish).
Hynes, up until now, had the name recognition advantage, with Obama a close second, and Hull closing fast. Now with Pappas in, this wipes out Hynes's name recognition advantage in Cook County and does serious damage everywhere else. In this one category alone, she will, likely, out poll Hynes in Cook County and in the collar counties, which puts Hynes Obama, and Hull on equal footing in the name game.
(Now let's be clear, a baton twirling, beloved-dog carrying politician with a pheromone peddler as a campaign chair will, at least, provide comic releif, and I think that Pappas would be appalled, if she actually wins. What she wants, I think, is good positioning to run for Cook County Board President. But she also told an aldermanic powerhouse: "anyone but the kid.")
Money now becomes even more a factor. Rumors were circulating that Hull was re-thinking this race in light of recent polls. Nope. To counter them, he just plunked another $4 million into his hopper. Both Hull and Obama continue to play it smart against Hynes: build name recognition, educate voters, get a GOTV operation in place, and build a winning coalition. Both recognize that a portion of almost every voting block in every region is up for grabs. But what Hull has that the other don't is a very deep pocket to go after them all well. If this race comes down to who can cobble together a winning coalition, I think that this race will come down to Obama and Hull. Just a prediction.
It's been fun...although I wish that I had figured out how to create links and use other parts of this infernal Blog Studio better.
armchairpundit 11/03/2003 - [Link] - Comments ()
ummm...working on it
So I didn't make it back on Saturday, but I will be back this week. If you are wondering why--I'm a little bit over a year ahead of Kos times two and we've had a sick little girl.
That said, this week will be slow...why? A brand spanking new ArchPundit is in the works with bunches of new features.
Armchairpundit is welcome to carry on if he wishes, or not...but thanks again and more on that later. I was incredibly impressed by the posts over the last couple weeks.
archpundit 11/02/2003 - [Link] - Comments ()
