America was horrified by the story that erupted in the national news, that Rutgers college freshman Tyler Clementi threw himself off a bridge because his new roommate used a webcam to tape a homosexual encounter in which he’d engaged. Media outlets quickly dispatched their cavalry to find the experts to explain why America is a land of incessant bullying. The if is no longer debatable. We’re on to the why. This could have been a moment of national unity. Almost everyone can tell a story of being the target of bullying or mean-spirited ridicule about being too tall, too short, too fat, too skinny, too dumb, too smart, you name it. But others found this tragedy offered too rich a rhetorical opportunity. It was not a suicide to them. It was a murder. CNN’s “Larry King Live” brought on the antonym of human dignity, Kathy Griffin, who quickly inflamed the Clementi moment by charging “the blood’s on their hands” of our “so-called leaders.” She insisted, “I think that the way that we had trickle-down economics in the ’80s, this is trickle-down homophobia. And I really want people to connect the dots. And that’s why I believe there’s a connection between Prop 8, Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and now the string of teen suicides.” Holy smokes. So Ronald Reagan killed him. Let’s put aside that ridiculous “connecting the dots” charge for a second. Larry King should have been asked: Given that Kathy Griffin regularly takes to the stage and television to viciously attack other people, is she really the kind of personality that can plausibly pose as the guardian of empathy and the role model for anti-bullying behavior? This year, she made the rounds of talk shows laughing up the controversy she created when she said Sen. Scott Brown’s daughters were “prostitutes.” One daughter, Arianna, is a freshman at Syracuse University – the same age as the boy who took his own life. Griffin’s even wished violence on people. She recently told a Playgirl magazine writer “I’d like to push Sarah Palin down the stairs.” Now she’s CNN’s anti-bullying poster child. But Griffin wasn’t alone. Sitting right next to her was lesbian comic Wanda Sykes, who chimed in with her own love taps. “In the laws and everything else that’s out here, in the churches that they preach that homophobia [sic] is wrong. You pretty much have given kids permission to disrespect and, you know, and to cause harm to the gay and lesbian community.” This is the same “comedian” who “joked” in front of the president that she hoped Rush Limbaugh’s kidneys failed and he died. Now, she’s on CNN lecturing on bullying. Then there’s Sarah Silverman, another comedian who thrives on shocking and insulting comments. Silverman went on YouTube to lecture the country: “Dear America, When you tell gay Americans that you can’t serve their country openly or marry the person that they love, you’re telling that to kids, too. So don’t be f—ing shocked, wondering where all these bullies are coming from who are torturing young kids and driving them to kill themselves because they’re different. They learned it from watching you.” Once again, putting aside the downright stupid accusation that opposing gay marriage is a bullying-and-suicide platform, is Silverman a role model against bullying? At almost the same time her accusatory video piled up more than 200,000 views, Silverman was vomiting this sex “joke” on Twitter: “9/11 widows give the best [sex act].” Can you say cognitive dissonance? She’s now lecturing on bullying. The left has no shame. None. On her satellite radio show, Rosie O’Donnell joined in the same party-line smear: “Well, if the society sanctions bigotry against gay people, how can you expect the children of this society not to…internalize that? Whether it’s ‘don’t ask, don’t tell,’ whether it’s gay marriage, [it's] being told by your country that you are not as valuable as your neighbor who’s straight.” Rosie O’Donnell denouncing bullying is akin to Michael Vick denouncing dog fighting. Perhaps the least famous but most ridiculous scold on this issue is Hollywood gossip Perez Hilton, who CNN also sought out for advice and hailed his anti-suicide activism. Hilton’s most famous for being a judge in the Miss USA contest and demanding during the final question-and-answer period that Miss California Carrie Prejean endorse gay marriage. When she refused, he did a round of interviews calling her a “dumb [B-word].” Then on a picture of her holding a microphone, he drew in a penis on his website. He’s done that and worse sexual smears to celebrity pictures for years. Now he’s featured on CNN in an ongoing parade of guests denouncing conservatives for bullying.
Continue reading …The gaming laptop of 2010? Maybe so, but it’s unquestionably one of the most hyped and most highly anticipated. HP’s 14-inch Envy hits a sweet spot in the size department, and during our time with it , it also managed to hit a slew of other high notes. Of course, it wasn’t without its flaws, but that’s not what this section is about. We’re anxious to hear how you folks feel about your newly (or not-so-newly) acquired Envy 14. Any qualms with the trackpad? Loathing the lack of a VGA output? Still uninstalling bloatware? Frustrated by the lack of a Radiance display option at the present time? Go on and tell us what you really think in comments below, particularly how you’d change things if you and Rahul Sood (or similar) switched shoes for a day. How would you change HP’s Envy 14? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Oct 2010 22:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …People may call Meg Whitman many things—“ whore ” is probably not the term most typically among them. In among what may be the former Governor’s worst nightmare, Jerry Brown forgot to hang up the phone during his race for election. … At 1: 50 in the attached YouTube video blurb, the taped phone conversation by Brown complains that Whitman has bought support of police—creating an exception for them in the Whitman pension reform plan. ”They know Whitman will give ‘em, …
Continue reading …The HotAir blog had perhaps the most charitable thing to say about Brown: Look on the bright side. It’s an improvement over Jerry Brown’s earlier comment comparing Meg Whitman to Nazi propaganda minister Josef Goebbels. … But the same diatribe that led to the “ whore ” insult also had Brown, in that private, unscripted moment, saying he was going to lose an important endorsement because he wasn’t willing to give a special pension break to a law enforcement union. …
Continue reading …SIRTE, Libya – Arab ministers agreed Friday to give the United States another month to try to persuade Israel to renew curbs on West Bank settlement construction and keep Mideast peace talks from collapsing. The one-month grace period followed a frantic effort by the Obama administration to broker a compromise as the sides faced rising friction over the stalemate. Underscoring the potential for violence, Israeli troops killed two senior Hamas militants in the West Bank. The Palestinians have said they won’t return to the negotiating table unless Israel renews its moratorium on new…
Continue reading …Image credit: Wikimedia Commons Frogs around the world have been plagued by Chytridiomycosis , but in the UK, the common frog, Rana temporaria , is facing another threat: The emerging Ranavirus …. Read the full story on TreeHugger
Continue reading …Photos: Tanya Aguiniga We’re digging Los Angeles-based furniture designer Tanya Aguiniga’s mindful use of scale, sustainable materials and space-saving aesthetic. With the idea of “softening industrial impermanence”, Aguiniga’s highly-creative works feature the textural delights of felt, repurposed materials and even using shadow on a wall to visually prop up her furniture — taking ” less is more ” to a whole new level…. Read the full story on TreeHugger
Continue reading …China overnight slammed the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to jailed dissident Liu Xiaobo as a violation of the award's ideals, while the laureate's joyful wife led calls for his immediate release. Beijing
Continue reading …You should know by now that the 3M Shoot ‘n Share is aptly named: it shoots 720p video and stills, and it shares with a 640 x 480 built-in pico projector. Simple, yes? What you might not know is how well the thing actually works, and for that we have a helpful review from PicoProjector-info. It basically confirms any fears you might’ve had about the combination: it’s not the best pocket camcorder, and it’s not the best pico projector (even 3M’s own similarly-specced MPro-150 model bests it). The good news is that it absolutely works, and is certainly passable in both of its stated aims, along with being fairly easy to operate. Not too bad for $300. 3M Shoot ‘n Share camcorder projector gets reviewed, does what it says on the box originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Oct 2010 18:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …California’s personal and unpleasant governor’s race just took another step toward the bottom as a tape emerged in which an aide to Democrat Jerry Brown calls Republican Meg Whitman a “whore ” for her attempts to get endorsements from law … The Brown call is a pitch for an endorsement from a law enforcement group. After he thinks he’s hung up, Brown complains that Whitman has bought the support of police by carving out an exception for them in her pension reform plan. …
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