Doctor Who

Fauxtography

Riehl World View brings us the curious case of the photoshopped Trayvon Martin picture (H/T: IHateTheMedia.com), where the original (from The Miami Herald) was altered to make Trayvon look younger, lighter, more innocent and less threatening. Must change the evidence to fit the narrative, after all.

Remember when they did the same thing in reverse to OJ Simpson, and the uproar that caused? Do you expect the same outrage at MSM chicanery this time? (Me neither.)

Sign of the Times?

Last weekend, I attended an event in Maryland (Artomatic) with over 300 artists displaying their creations. The last time we attended this event was in 2009. I’m not sure how relevant this is, but I saw a lot less Obama artwork this time around. To be precise: I saw one.¹ Batman, Doctor Who, and Mister Spock were better represented² than Dear Leader.

¹	And it was a simple portrait, without Messianic imagery or unicorns.
²	Or at least, more numerously represented. “Better” is a rather subjective term, especially when applied to paintings of Mr. Spock’s “special relationship” with Captain James Tiberius Kirk.

Update: The picture I took of that exhibit is below the cut (also contains two nudes). I re-read the sign under the Obama portrait and looked up the artist: Christopher Madden is the Chief Engraver of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, who has created the artwork on American currency (and hence, has worked on portraits of other presidents – and Benjamin Franklin – as well). This was an official portrait; so, there wasn’t any Obama “fan art” at the show this year.

One Nation, Under Astroturf

Yesterday, it was the extreme left wing’s turn to throw a rally in DC, in an attempt to surpass the Beck/Palin “Restore Honor” rally… to prove that there was no “enthusiam gap” (H/T: “KOS Laughs At Chuckles”, DoD) and to motivate the “whining” (H/T: Joe Biden) Democratic base of FNCB progs (H/T: Mandy Manners) in the run up to the November mid-term elections. By all accounts, this Obama-backed rally was a complete failure. Although both rallies billed themselves as “non-partisan”, the rally yesterday was a hate-mongering affair organized by communists and terrorist sympathizers and attended by a diverse crowd of unions (H/T: Ace of Spades). In fact, the attendees were union members ordered to attend and bused to DC for the purpose, simply to provide a large number of attendees to stage a propaganda event.

I had considered showing up to take pictures and check it out in person; but I was afraid I might catch something – and I also didn’t want to help beef up their attendance numbers (since each person in the area was being counted by the media and left-wing bloggers as fifty people). However, I did go into Washington, DC, later in the day after the rally broke up and the people were leaving, and I did make a few observations. What I saw on the DC Metro were organized groups (people with identical union-mass-produced t-shirts and signs) generally following a leader telling them where to go (directing them through the Metro system and back to their buses). I resisted the urge to also tell them where to go, since some of them were SEIU thugs. I noticed that the “One Nation” t-shirts I saw had a different logo from the one announced, probably because of all the mockery that one received (although nowhere near the level of ridicule received by the new Democrat logo). I also saw signs and other detritus (like a copy of a socialist workers newspaper) abandoned on trains, in stations, and in the Metro parking lot, which as we all know is typical for when moonbats congregate. So, all in all, no surprises there.

I wonder what kind of state Stewart and Colbert will leave the capital in when they host their shindig just before Election Day.

Everybody Draw Mohammed Day

Pakistan has blocked Facebook and other sites today, either to protect their citizens’ delicate eyes from seeing horrendous blasphemy, or so that they can later lie about what cartoons were posted. (More on the fakes.) Apparently this was unnecessary in any case, since I’m told Facebook took down the “Everybody Draw Mohammed Day” group. (I cannot verify this, as I don’t use Facebook.)

“There comes a point in any society’s existence where it must ultimately, to paraphrase Martin Luther (who himself was more than happy to see opponents put to death), dig in its heels and say here we stand, we will do no other. We don’t need to be perfectly consistent philosophically or historically or theologically to assert what is special and unique not just about the United States, with its bizarre and wonderful articulation of the First Amendment, but the greater classical liberal project comprising not just the ‘West’ (whatever that is) but human beings in whatever town, country, or planet they inhabit. And at the heart of the liberal project is ultimately a recognition that individuals, for no other reason than that they exist, have rights to continue to exist. Embedded in all that is the right to expression. No one has a right to an audience or even to a sympathetic hearing, much less an engaged audience. But no one should be beaten or killed or imprisoned simply for speaking their mind or praying to one god as opposed to the other or none at all or getting on with the small business of living their life in peaceful fashion. If we cannot or will not defend that principle with a full throat, then we deserve to choke on whatever jihadists of all stripes can force down our throats.” –Nick Gillespie (H/T: AllahPundit)

Well then…

Tea For…

I made my way into DC for the Tea Party rally in front of the Capitol. I couldn’t stay there all day, but I did spend a few hours listening to the speakers, talking to other attendees, cheering and yelling, and shooting pictures and video.

The Metro parking lot was almost full, as was the station. The lines were long and slow, as there were many people there from out of town who hadn’t ridden the Metro before.

From the signs, t-shirts, and conversation, it was clear that most of us were going to the same place (albeit by different routes – I stayed on the green line and got off at the Archives-Navy Memorial station).

One of the things I passed while walking from the Metro to the Capitol was the Newseum, which has the first Amendment to the Constitution writ large on its face. A good omen, says I.

Oh yeah? Well I was anti-Obama before it was a banning offense!