October 23, 2008

Looks hoaxy to me.

Come on, people. First, verify. I've seen the photograph, and, quite aside from the backwards "B" -- does the surveillance camera show an upside down attack? -- the scratching looks too even and shallow to seem like the result of a violent attack.

And even if it did happen, what would it mean? There are violent attacks all the time, for all sorts of reasons, and if you want to assert that they say something about anybody other than the attacker, you'll need to prove that too.

Bottom line: This is the stupidest distraction in the whole history of this crazy campaign season.

ADDED: I have a bit more to say here.

UPDATE. Told ya. Fake.

170 comments:

Brian Doyle said...

Credit where credit's due: I can't ever recall such a disapproving link to Instaputz.

mccullough said...

Bill Ayers and his wife Bernadine Dohrn did it.

That's why it's a "B." They're stickin' it to the fuckin' man, again.

Lindsey said...

Assuming it is true, I don't think you'd be calling it inane if it was your face... The natural response is horror. Horror if it's real and horror if it's fake. Whatever happened at least one person involved is scum.

Ann Althouse said...

I'm sure there are thousands of violent attacks all over the world today that are more damaging that this one. Tell me why this one is being pushed to the forefront?

blake said...

Skepticism is warranted.

As I said in the previous thread, it means nothing.

But, were it a black woman with an "M" carved in her cheek, we'd be getting 24/7 coverage.

Palladian said...

"Whatever happened at least one person involved is scum."

Yup, one person. But what does it say, exactly, about the Obama campaign? And if it's at least partially falsified, what does it say, exactly, about the McCain campaign? The answer, to both questions, is: nothing. This kind of thing is emotionalist nonsense.

The only thing that would say something about either campaign is if either of them came anywhere near this story.

For McCain's supporters, or Obama's detractors, my advice is: stay away from this. It does nothing positive whether it's true or false, and does remarkable damage to your credibility if it does turn out to be false.

Anonymous said...

Yeah! It's even more distracting than the frenzy over a false report of someone shouting "Kill him" at Palin rally, which became the platform for days of reports about how republicans are Nazis.

It's not quite as distracting, though, as the story about Obama's deliberately disabling the fraud check system for his internet donations, allowing him to collect untold millions in illegal contributions. Which doesn't appear to be very distracting to the MSM at all.

Palladian said...

There are so many validly bad things about Obama and his campaign and supporters and the media, why waste time on this sort of triviality? It just makes everyone look bad.

Palladian said...

"It's not quite as distracting, though, as the story about Obama's deliberately disabling the fraud check system for his internet donations, allowing him to collect untold millions in illegal contributions. Which doesn't appear to be very distracting to the MSM at all."

Yes! Run with these complaints! These are the things that need to be talked about! Some random attack on a woman by a thug is not important in the scheme of things.

mccullough said...

Maybe Jason Blair can get to the bottom of this story.

Palladian said...

I mean, when Michelle Malkin is the sensible one....

Host with the Most said...

It says nothing Ann, compared to the cynical anti-American military vote you have decided to cast for Obama.

Fred4Pres said...

I am skeptical, although how did she get the black eye? Someone must have helped her with this if it is fake.

If true, well how can you blame Obama for some nut job.

Unknown said...

Let's stipulate to the presence of some really bad people who support one candidate or the other, a subset of really bad people.

Now back to important stuff.

Lindsey said...

"I'm sure there are thousands of violent attacks all over the world today that are more damaging that this one. Tell me why this one is being pushed to the forefront?"

The sensationalism of having someone's face actually cut. I can't tell if it was cut or scraped though based on the picture. Whichever, it comes across as a highly personalized attack. If it was politically motivated (assuming it is real), then it's a new low in our nation's politics. You do not generally hear about Americans attempting to mutilate one another over politics. If real, scary to see here along with the whole cult of personality phenomenon. Those are typically not found in First World democracies.

veni vidi vici said...

"Tell me why this one is being pushed to the forefront?"

Because it is the "kill him!" of this week. Don't fret - there will be something even more stupid next week, and the one thereafter.

But you weren't seriously asking that question like you didn't know the answer already, were you? Didn't think so (you! A law professor!)...

Palladian said...

"If it was politically motivated (assuming it is real), then it's a new low in our nation's politics."

Apparently you aren't very well-read in the history of our nation's politics.

Seriously people, this story stinks to high heaven. And even if it doesn't, unless Obama attacked the woman, or he paid someone to do it, it's MEANINGLESS in the scheme of things, at least as far as the election goes.

Don't waste the last, critically important days of the campaign spouting off on nonsense like this story when there are actual important things to talk about. Nail Obama on something important! There are plenty of things that NEED to be discussed.

Chennaul said...

Looks hoaxy to you?

OK maybe but your reasoning is off.

I have been following this at Pittsburgh local news sites and ghees Ann try to let the evidence come forward.

The reason it isn't supposedly on the camera-and actually there is conflicting reporting on that is because reread the damn thing she says she RAN TO HER CAR-then supposedly he saw the McCain bumper sticker.

None of that is going to happen in front of an ATM camera.

You know if she was a rape victim we'd hold off right?

But a McCain supprter-ya "we" know what the camera should have shown.


Jeez what is going on?

Where is the balance?

First you link to an Obama website showing McCain flyers that are unreadable-and that is evidence of what?

It reminds me of the part of Christopher Buckley's endorsement of Barack Obama where he spent the firtst part of, and majority of his article building his proof by the evidence of nasty Republican e-mail.

Without considering the opposite, in balance-as if there is never hateful Liberal email.

Insulting as hell to his audience.

You want to know the disgusting crap the Democrats flooded my mail box with the last five days of election cycle '06?

Dead Iraqi children with Bush and Cheney scowling all over the place-really shitty stuff and they knew to dump it in the last few days so that they would never get called on it.

Zachary Sire said...

She reminds me of NORNNA.

Anonymous said...

Palladian, you are right. There are more serious things that need to be discussed. I anxiously await AA's next post about Palin's shoes.

Simon said...

Blake is on to something, which is that even if the story turned out to be a hoax - and purely for purposes of having cards on the table for those who weren't reading the other thread, I do not believe that it is - the MSM's decision to keep totally mum on this contrasts sharply with their willingness to give instant wall to wall, floor to ceiling, "we interrupt your regularly-scheduled programming for a news update" coverage to anything whatsoever that is, might be, should be, or can be cast as damaging to the McCain campaign.

And as I note here, I think that the Tawana Brawley comparison that Ann raises doesn't really seem to fit, at first blush.

They - the, what should I say, the psychologists and self-help people - always tell us lately that honesty has freestanding cachet, so let me be totally honest about how I see this. About what my visceral gut reaction is. I read this story, looked at the photo, processed the information, and the conclusion in my mind was that after eight years of violent, hateful rhetoric from the left, and a long record this season of intimidation from Obama's supporters and surrogates of anyone who questions the One, one of theirs beat the crap out of one of ours.

Meade said...

Someone needs to get ahold of Rev. Sharpton. See if he thinks there is enough evidence to go to trial.

Host with the Most said...

Few things are sadder - but also bolstering - to me than the certain quotes I will have to throw back at every Obama failure and civil rights/liberal power grab.

Get ready Ann.

You're going to be in bendover mode for a long, long time starting in the spring of 2009. Time to start stocking up.

Palladian said...

"the MSM's decision to keep totally mum on this contrasts sharply with their willingness to give instant wall to wall, floor to ceiling, "we interrupt your regularly-scheduled programming for a news update" coverage to anything whatsoever that is, might be, should be, or can be cast as damaging to the McCain campaign."

So since they did it with their fake story, let's try to do it with our fake story!

Ridiculous.

Palladian said...

Host with the Most, you're actually the Host with the Least in terms of material. We get it, we get it. You like talking about shit and telling people to bend over and accusing Althouse of murdering soldiers. Once was more than enough.

Patriarch said...

Ann,

I agree. Reminds me of the occasional college freshman who claims to have their dorm room door/car/etc. vandalized with graffiti that berates their status as a woman/lesbian/person of color.

The BS detector is going off bigtime.

-Fraley

Lindsey said...

"Apparently you aren't very well-read in the history of our nation's politics."

Um, gee. Thanks. I must have forgotten the rash of machete killings during every election year. Seriously though, if real, cutting someone's face is much more personalized and malicious than throwing molotov cocktails and shooting at Palin's bus. You would have to hold a living breathing human being down to do so.

They're not going to get Obama on anything lol.

veni vidi vici said...

Mondo Bondage
I've been tied up so long
There's no escape

I've been strangled
All choked up inside
Swallowed all my pride

Roped and hogtied
Been tied up in knots
That's all I got

Gimme glove shoes
This ain't no way for havin' fun

I could run away to Spain
But I'd just get tied again
I could run off to Jamaica
If this bondage I could breaka

I could run away to Spain
But I'd just get tied again
I could run off to Jamaica
If this bondage I could breaka

Swifty Quick said...

I like the way people are so quick to assume Barack wasn't in on it, people who have never give Palin a pass on anything. So I think he did it.

Palladian said...

"Um, gee. Thanks. I must have forgotten the rash of machete killings during every election year."

Wow, it went from a scratched face to a machete killing?

Palladian said...

"I like the way people are so quick to assume Barack wasn't in on it, people who have never give Palin a pass on anything."

I like Sarah Palin. I've never said anything negative about her here.

Meade said...

I don't like Sarah Palin. I'm willing to ask where Barack was at the time of the alleged crime.

veni vidi vici said...

So anyway, this young thang is out partying one night, and her friends and her, you know, they're all drinkin', 'n smokin', 'n drinkin' summohr... Things start getting a little out-there. The more staid types start fading out and head back to the dorms around 1:30, 2... Next thing you know, her friend says, "wanna have some fun?"

She wakes up with vague recollections of ropes, her nostrils resonating with the scent of cheap leather, and the term "glove-shoes" running through her head. Drags her sorry ass home and finds a black eye and otherwise tousled face looking back at her. And her friends welted the letters of the alphabet on her body in all sorts of strange places. The worst was finding the letter "S" carved into her inner left ass-cheek; you mean someone (possibly even many someones) was poking around and looking back in there? She hadn't even shaved her legs that night, much less those private places...

Before anyone sees me or my parents -- oh jeez louise! my parents are coming to town this weekend; what am i going to do??? -- see this, I need a cover story.


Plausible? maybe.

Wince said...

Bill Ayers and his wife Bernadine Dohrn did it. That's why it's a "B." They're stickin' it to the fuckin' man, again.

I agree. The first thing that came to my mind was Pat-a-cake.

Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, baker's man.
Bake me a cake as fast as you can.
Pat it and roll it and mark it with "B"
And put it in the oven for Baby and me.


Remember, Dohrn praised the Manson familiy for how they carved the word "WAR" in Leno Labianca's abdomen.

Dig it. First they killed those pigs, then they ate dinner in the same room with them, then they shoved a fork into a victim's stomach! Wild!

Pat-a-cake. Maybe it's like the White Album to Ayers and Dorn.

veni vidi vici said...

They carved "WAR" in Leno's labia? I always figured Jay was a nancyboy.

Simon said...

I'm not asking them to cover a ake story, Palladian, I'm asking them to take one second out of their busy schedule of asking tough questions like "what's sarah palin wearing" and "is mccain too old" to take notice of a story that is either a story because it's a hoax or a story because it isn't! Have you looked at what's on CNN's frontpage right now? There's a probable hoax like this, and such fascinating, groundshaking news as "Does GOP ad presume Obama victory?" "Ex-Bush aide backing Obama" "13-foot Obama gets out the vote" "Teen beauty smiles wide for mug shot" and "Woman says she's 134 years old." I'm going to go out on a limb and say that unless the cast of "Teenage Musical 3" are running the news desk, they're not exactly running at full capacity here.

Unless we're ready - for no reason I can determine - to refuse her the benefit of any doubt, not only did she have to suffer through this brutal attack, now she has to be punished for having the temerity to tell the cops. Poor Ashley!

What a message this election season sends to conservative women - stay out of sight, take what you're given, and above all, keep your mouth shut.

Independent George said...

Regarding the upside-down B: if you're going to carve it into someone's face, the only two positions where the victim can be held down by a single person long enough to do it is either with the assailant sitting on the victim's chest, or with the assailant standing behind the victim, immobilizing the head with the off-arm.

The latter case would explain the upside-down B, but, on the other hand, it's remarkably legible for having been carved into a (presumably) struggling victim.

Nichevo said...

No, it is possible to have doubts, that is why I did not savage the first fellow who started talking abot that. But then the other guy makes it quite clear that he likes to get all his exercise from jumping to conclusions. What indeed are we to think?

The first thing you want is to see it. Okay, photo. I don't know what you think of her face, which is probably the most important thing for all of us soap opera viewers

-

that is what Ann does, soapblog! Wow! Now you have to pay me 5 cents every time you use it, but I'll suspend that as an introductory offer...

--

which is really all this is, political theater, which is actually not a criticism but a sad commentary on human nature.

We indeed have two choices:

1) A mugger noted the areas covered by camera, robbed this woman outside the secured area, was enraged by her politics, and mutilated her a bit (I have to say this because she did not seek medical attention - FOR HER FACE? For a woman's face?

This is the sort of thing Ann smells. A woman's face is cut up by a psycho and she goes home and puts triple-action ointment on it? I would be vainer than that if the cuts drew blood, perhaps. If she felt that way (though it's good she came back for an MRI if she was dizzy, etc. - had symptoms). Either she decided confidently that it was nothing to worry about or she had medical attention to that effect. It does look minor.

That has nothing to do with the seriousness of the offense, however. I just actually played with an X-Acto blade on my cheek. With a #11 blade held in your fingertips you can certainly scratch a neat B on your cheekbone that would be exciting in a BDSM sense-play sense; I have no intention of cutting myself. It just scratched, a tickle.

But if someone were signing their vote just south of my eye with a pointed blade, it would be the most outrageous violation of personal boundaries, to put it mildly. Sadistic menacing terrorism. If I saw someone doing that to another person without their permission, I would feel it appropriate to shoot him.

So I think it would be a very bad thing to do to someone. If it happened to People We Know, it would be a parallel of the Butler caning before the Civil War, but it's easily written off as trash-on-trash since it is inconvenient for the desired narrative (noting that gloss). Like rapes on Park above 97th St, not worth reporting.

I hope that all reasonable people can agree this is at least a first-degree terrible thing to do, one that nobody and surely no liberal wants to sign up for. Right? If true.



2) Some crazy woman took it into her head to do this to herself. Now since all McCain voters are crazy, of course it is entirely plausible, but let's examine it in Part 2, next.

Beldar said...

Prof. A: Your forensic analysis is very unimpressive, I'm sorry to say. I think you and I share the same credentials here -- that is, lawyers who don't practice criminal law or medicine -- and I certainly can't draw the kind of inferences you seem willing to base a post, and a strong implication of fakery, upon. Now, you haven't claimed to be an expert on this, as such. But some might mistakenly think lawyers are somehow supposed to know this stuff, and they'd be wrong. Any non-expert is entitled to guess, but it would be more scrupulously honest -- and I think that ordinarily describes you -- to acknowledge that your guess is just another layman's guess.

Beldar said...

(I do agree that it's a distraction to the extent anyone attributes this attack, or similar threats, to candidates on either side. I think it's relevant, however, to the extent that it tends to confirm that the media has been very selective in accusing the Republican candidates of encouraging thuggery, while not making that (silly) accusation against Obama-Biden.)

Host with the Most said...

Palladian,

It's never enough until Ann and every sick-fuck who votes for Obama changes their vote.

After election day, it's too late.

We play games over "b"s, but all Americans will suffer loss of civil rights when Obama gets in. That's the real world. But don't let it wake you up now. Just ride out onto the Massa Obama's wave.

You're getting sleepy, sleeeeepy . . .

Michael said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Zachary Sire said...

Douche With La Bouche, you are making me even more excited about the prospect of an Obama presidency. Keep it up!

mccullough said...

HwtM:

Relax. If Obama's elected the world won't end. Just stop watching the news and reading the news. Become wilfully uninformed.

Take comfort in the fact that most Americans don't vote and can't even name who the vice president is.

Obama will be out of office in 4 years and nothing will be that different.

I agree the guy's a joke but so are most world "leaders."

Anyway, as soon as most of the Baby Boomers die, America will be a great place again. A generation of draft dodgers and divorced parents still seeking their "happiness" and all too happy to vote for a reasonable-appearing fellow because he's black. It makes them feel good about themselves because as a generation they've accomplished nothing. WWII and the Civil Rights Movement was done by their parents.

Obama is the perfect candidate for them. All style and no substance.

Daryl said...

This story has many hallmarks of a hoax (lack of evidence, symbols carved onto flesh, and a claim the attack was for political reasons)

Further, all three of those elements are sketchy (why wasn't it caught on camera? why was the symbol backwards and so light/careful? the mugger really didn't want to hurt her much until he saw the bumper sticker?)

This is almost certainly a hoax. I feel bad for the woman involved, whether or not she's a hoaxster. If she really is innocent, it's a terrible crime. If she is a hoaxster, she needs mental help.

Any time spent promoting this woman's story is bad for three reasons: (1) it's a waste of time (2) it will blow up in your face, and (3) it's barbaric to expose her to the type of media scrutiny that Joe the Plumber has been exposed to, when it's pretty clear she's a hoaxster, which is to say, mentally ill. It would be a bad thing for a mentally ill person to suffer that kind of scrutiny, as a matter of human decency (what, you didn't think I had any?).

Hoaxsters like carving symbols into their flesh because it's a powerful way of associating one's own identity with the symbolic meaning. It's like getting a tattoo, but even more so, because it's (allegedly) a symbolism that is forced on them. That becomes an inescapable part of the message:

1 - what is said
2 - that the message is attached to one's flesh
3 - that the message was (allegedly) put there against one's will

Those three things all become bound up together as 1 statement.

I don't want to waste time on a hoax, or cause harm to a hoaxer (scratch the surface, no pun intended, and you'll probably find a sympathetic story).

I do want to know: what is Obama's super-secret deeply unpopular plan that he is preparing to foist on America after he is elected? Why won't Joe Biden tell us?

Roost on the Moon said...

Wow, giddy new heights in right-wing fantasies of victimhood.

I think you guys may have found your 2012 vice-presidential candidate.

dualdiagnosis said...

The juxtaposition is diconcerting, Crystal Magnum comes out with a book, and two posts later, this. I seem to remember the campus faculty going bonkers on the Duke rape charges, I wonder how the professors will act this time.

If this is a hoax she should be prosecuted.

How about you Ann? Were your reactions as dismissive last time?

KCFleming said...

I'm pretty sure this was done by Colonel Mustard with a candlestick in the Library.

And it's not a "B".
Those are breasts. Definitely.

mccullough said...

Let's face it, white college girls are the most likely to do this to themselves.

Black people mug other black people, for the most part.

Nichevo said...

But again you neglect that one response is to struggle, one response is to stay stock-still. After the struggling and the knife-to-the-eyeball comes perhaps the stock-still, or maybe she was passive and did not struggle. Should we blame her for that? Isn't that out of fashion at rape trials?

I find it plausible that he had a headlock secure enough to keep her still. Knelt on her arms, whatever.

I guess I have to say I have an open mind about it. I certainly hope we will see no more of this. I hope you have the imagination to see where this could lead. What would satisfy you? Because you may see it.

Host with the Most said...

roost with the moon;

Are you one of the mental reatrds who believes that you've suffered under Bush?

Please enlighten us how?

And you think that taking away a strong military and legalizing union intimidation and installing a Fairness Doctrine is "fantasy".

Oh, that's right. It's time for your adult bottle and anal stimulation.

Sweet dreams.

Anonymous said...

I have no idea if it was a hoax. I hope it's not.

However, here is the broader question for feminists to ponder, why is it that women are always pulling this shit? That's not a loaded question, either. I make no point. I really want to know why goes through the mind of the person who says: yeah! I'll concoct this bullshit story about my victimhood.

Nichevo said...

Meanwhile, Ann, stupidest? You can't think of worse?

Simon said...

mccullough said...
"Obama will be out of office in 4 years and nothing will be that different."

This is willful refusal to acknowledge reality. Do you not realize what Obama has said he intends to do, or do you think that Nancy and Harry will balk at passing such a liberal agenda?

Zachary Sire said...

I liked coming here when you guys made fun of Obama but still had a sense of humor. Now it's just depressing.

Is the Althouse comments section going to turn into a dark den of Debbie Downers, moping around and wallowing in their own fear and despair? Oh no!

Unknown said...

Really, Ann? Tell you why this one is being pushed to the forefront? Well, I would hope you're just trying to stir the pot on this discussion thread, but that's really not your usual style, so I have to conclude you're seriously asking why this particular attack is so newsworthy.

So, from a 20-year (but no longer practicing) journalist, here's my opinion--not on whether this should matter, or how much, but on why it's a big story destined for a lot more play than you think it should get.

This incident, if it's for real (and, unlike you, I believe it likely IS for real, for various reasons I'lll be happy to explore in another post--although I'll be quick to apologize if I'm wrong) taps into a lot of peoples' feelings that many black Obama supporters (such as the thug identified by the purported victim in this particular story) are not just supporting a candidate-- but venting a lifetime's worth of rage, expressing a lifetime's worth of pent-up grievances, and seizing on what they perceive as unique and long-overdue opportunity to get their 40 acres and a mule from their newly anointed messiah whether the white man wants them to have it or not.

This might be their best and only shot for generations, and as a result their fervor for Obama is matched by their vitriol for anyone who isn't aligned with them.

I already felt this kind of incident was inevitable precisely because of this Fuck You, It's Our Turn Now, Motherfucker attitude worn proudly by a larger-than-you'd-like-to-admit subgroup of the Obama camp, and it's why I don't put a McCain bumper sticker on my car.

In fact, this thug who (allegedly) assaulted the young girl is (in my mind) the very personification of this attitude, this we're-going-to-take-this, it's ours, and-ain't-shit-you-can-do-about-it-now attitude.

I also think it's time to start talking about why some of us are going to get the HELL out of places like Atlanta no matter WHAT happens on election day, because win or lose, some of us feel it's more than just a little bit likely that people are going to get knifed or shot and shit is going to get broken--either as a result of rioting or celebration-gone-out-of-control.

(Ask yourself how Detroit celebrates Halloween, or NBA championships, for a possible reference point, and then ask yourself if I'm really as paranoid as the preceding paragraph makes me sound).

I could be wrong, and if so, I will again apologize publicly in this space. But I'll be spending that day in the beautiful north Georgia mountains, with my wife and son. We should get some lovely pictures up there--it'll be fall foliage at its best.

I kind of like Obama, and I really like his wife--I think she's smart and will make a great first lady--and I forgive her for her "I'm finally proud of my country" comment, because I don't think it reflected the way she really feels. I'm just hoping that once they get into the White House they SEVERELY disappoint every single gold-toothed thug who voted for them--and Minnie Mouse, Mickey Mouse and Daf. E. Duck too!

Oops! Racist--and cartoonist! Have I no decency?

Wait: let me add one more group to the list of those I hope are crushed by the weight of their disappointment in the Obama Administration: Hollywood celebrities. Every fucking one of them.

I'm even more disgusted by over-the-top Obamamaniacs than I am with the blowhards on the far right who are usually the biggest dolts hanging around any voting booth-- by far. But this election, they've been displaced. And I'm just astonished that anyone could be as insufferable--as clueless--as intellectually bankrupt --as our far-right, no-abortions-for-raped-women, no-sex-ed-for-kids, Homo Sexuals Are The True Evildoers, All-you-stinkin' Mexicans-get-the-hell-out-of-my-country, SuperMax Conservatives.

I thought nobody could be worse than those people.

Yes, it's been a campaign of firsts, all right.

Sure, I'm sore about the probability of losing this election. But I'm MUCH more disgusted by the perversity of much of this Obamamania than I am about the prospect of actually having Obama as my president.

If this girl's story holds up, and she's willing to go on the air with a Katie Couric or a Diane Sawyer, look for this story to have major legs. Who cares if the newspapers don't run with it. This is a made for TV story. But it IS a story--propelled by subtext rather than its serious relative to other crimes, perhaps, but TV types know heat when they feel it, and if this story proves out, it's gonna get hot.

I also like the Falcons this week to cover the spread.

Two predictions you can take to the bank!

Host with the Most said...

"Obama will be out of office in 4 years and nothing will be that different."

What simon is too polite to say is that is THE stupidest thing said o far this year.


Here's a promise - in 4 years, mcsullough will have deleted his comment here. He won't want to be seen as so naive/willfully dumb.

But I pdf every post, so that I can reprint every idiot Obama supporter's stupidity over and over again in the next 4 years.

Peter Hoh said...

Is it really a B?

Might be a poorly underlined M.

Daryl said...

Althouse wrote: I'm sure there are thousands of violent attacks all over the world today that are more damaging that this one. Tell me why this one is being pushed to the forefront?

That is an obtuse question, and deliberately so. A timely, politically-motivated assault/battery/mutilation is an important news story. If this wasn't a hoax, it would be very newsworthy, especially after Team Obama brought up instances of alleged misconduct supposedly committed by McCain supporters.

Seven Machos wrote: I have no idea if it was a hoax. I hope it's not.

I hope it is a hoax. All other things being equal, I'd prefer that there wasn't a black man running around mugging people and viciously attacking McCain supporters.

I point out the race of the alleged attacker because I think it's sad that stereotypes about African-Americans have been invoked by this episode.

Peter Hoh said...

Seriously, though, I want to give a tip of the hat to Malkin for airing her doubts.

Host with the Most said...

I liked coming here when you guys made fun of Obama but still had a sense of humor. Now it's just depressing.

The rampant stupidity and selfishness of the electorate is no longer funny. A certain to-be-diminished military is no longer funny. Remember the last 2 Democrats, Carter and Clinton, demoralized and underfunded the military. They're nothing compared to Obama in how sad the military will be in 4 years.


What makes awake Americans angry is that you can't blame Obama. He tells you what he's going to do. For example, Obama's already told everyone that he's going to force taxpayer payments for abortion.
But everyone sleeps through it.

That's not funny anymore.

Roost on the Moon said...

I second, and kudos to Palladian & Althouse, too.

Chennaul said...

Well we're going to Lewinsky this girl, something that supposedly Althouse has hated Hillary for within hours of the event being reported.

It hasn't even been twenty-four hours.

Just trial by public opinion.

And the story isn't helping McCain-look at all of the fall out.

Chennaul said...

Oh yes!

High-fives all around!

Aren't you all so cool in your assuredness in condemning this gal.

And, your evidence is what exactly?

chickelit said...

This kind of story should be investigated (but played down) because these acts, real or imaginary, are contagious.

Note that if the young woman had had the letter "M" inscribed in her face, it would have been impossible to suspect that she had done it herself in a mirror, but if the "upside down theory" is correct, she would have presented with a "W".

Here's fun little quiz for people of letters:

Using the English alphabet, answer the following:

a) how many letters have a mirror plane? (Trick question)

b) how many letters have more than one mirror plane?

c) how many letters have a rotational axis?

d) which letter has the highest ordered rotational axis?

e) which letters have an inversion center?

answers and source here

Peter Hoh said...

Seven, while most of these cases involve women, one memorable hoax was perpetrated by a conservative man at Princeton.

Anonymous said...

Well, a couple of observations:

1. I didn't know the attacker was black. That changes nothing. I also don't think it adds much and I welcome the downplaying of the race in this instance.

2. The picture is up on Drudge, Althouse. Take a look. I don't think your skepticism is unwarranted. However, it'd be pretty difficult to beat the shit out of yourself like that.

Host with the Most said...

Since we're talking about anti-American Main Stream Media, look at this sentence from tomorrow's

New York Times:http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/24/us/politics/24acorn.html?hpAcorn Overstated Tally of Newly Registered Voters

On Oct. 6, the community organizing group Acorn and an affiliated charity called Project Vote announced with jubilation that they had registered 1.3 million new voters. But it turns out the claim was a wild exaggeration, and the real number of newly registered voters nationwide is closer to 450,000, Project Vote’s executive director, Michael Slater, said in an interview.

The remainder are registered voters who were changing their address and roughly 400,000 that were rejected by election officials for a variety of reasons, including duplicate registrations, incomplete forms and
fraudulent submissions from low-paid field workers trying to please their supervisors, Mr. Slater acknowledged.

Why the hell does the New York Times contend that all of the fraudulent submissions were only from low-paid field workers trying to please their supervisors?

Because it's editors spend their time typing with hand and masturbating to Obama screen-savers with the other.

Anonymous said...

That's interesting, Peter. See what happens when you generalize from a faulty memory?

zeek said...

So, he wrote the letter backwards. Maybe he was trying to write REDRUM then realized he didn't know how to spell it.

Anonymous said...

On this ACORN thing: While vile and wrong, and while ACORN's leadership ought to be treated much, much worse than the people from Enron for fucking with our sacred democracy, I don't really see the practical problem unless these fictional people who ACORN workers created actually try to vote.

Just thinking out loud here, and willing to be persuaded.

Peter Hoh said...

Host, you're a guest here. I realize the standards aren't too high, but comments like your 10:05 are going too far.

Joan said...

I don't really see the practical problem unless these fictional people who ACORN workers created actually try to vote.

One problem is that the fraudulent voter registrations swamp the administrative offices that are trying to process them, thus crowding out legitimate registrations and preventing legitimate voters from voting on election day.

The other problem is, of course, that ACORN is creating these fraudulent voters; how hard is it to run through a photocopy machine, then use all that info to request absentee ballots, which they can then collect and vote? Sure, you want to say they're not that competent, but it doesn't take a high level of competence to generate thousands of fake votes. It just takes a lot of manpower and determination.

(I see with relief that Blogger has gone back to the old comment functionality. Yay!)

Anonymous said...

Peter -- I agree that the comment you condemn could have been more restrained. The point is legitimate, though. If Obama wins, Althouse is going to spend at least three of the next four years carping about Obama's failure. I can see it all playing out, first the justifications and then, eventually, outright remorse.

Both of these candidates are ass clowns. It sucks. It's imperative, though, that we go with the ass clown we know, the one who will do the least damage.

Peter Hoh said...

Unless I'm mistaken, I believe that any organization that solicits voter registrations is prohibited from tossing registrations that appear to be fraudulent. They must turn over all collected registration forms to election officials.

ACORN pays people to register voters. This is not against the law. According to reports I've read, ACORN staffers put the questionable forms in a separate pile before turning all forms over. I have never heard any suggestion that this is illegal. It seems somewhat helpful.

ACORN is not interested in registering Daff. E. Duck to vote. It's in their interest to fire those workers who submit bogus forms. And they do that.

This sort of thing happens whenever organizations pay people to get signatures on petitions, for instance. We can't work our undies in a knot over each instance of this sort of thing, especially when there are procedures in place to screen out the junk.

chickelit said...

Host wrote: But I pdf every post, so that I can reprint every idiot Obama supporter's stupidity over and over again in the next 4 years.

Seriously? kiss off!

Geoff Matthews said...

The national media will only cover this if it turns out to be a fake.

That's my prediction, and I'm sticking to it.

Geoff Matthews said...

Since we're also talking about ACORN, part of the problem is that they're a waste of money. They get grants (private and government), and they produce so much fraud, which is a waste of money. If, for no other reason, they should be put out of business for being so inefficient. The fact that they are also fraudulent just makes it worse.

In any rationale sense, they should be out of business.

chickelit said...

Sorry Host, bad link. I'll try it again

Host with the Most said...

Peter - how right you are. But sometimes drastic measures - like interventions - are necessary to jolt people out of their wrong-headedness.

And as to Acorn:

Nobody is claiming that if 450,000 false registrations are turned in, that that means 450,000 illegal votes.

But you don't need that many in an electoral college election.

Democrats will always be the party of vote fraud. Sure as the missing Rose Firm Law Records in the White House, Democrats on the whole have no moral underpinning to check vote fraud.

Thankfully a judge overturned the fraud votes in this Pennsylvania election:A Real Case of Democrat Voter Fraud:

The Dems have cheated numerous times since then, but "well-meaning" Republicans have let them off the hook. Shame.

Revenant said...

It seems suspicious to me, too. I just wish this level of skepticism had been leveled against the numerous phony reports of anti-Obama hatred at McCain/Palin rallies.

Donn said...

Rick,

Thanks for your thoughts.

blake said...

Nobody is claiming that if 450,000 false registrations are turned in, that that means 450,000 illegal votes.

But you don't need that many in an electoral college election.


On the contrary, the beauty of the electoral college system is that not only do you need to create a majority in a precinct, you have to create in multiple precincts, and often states.

In a pure popular vote situation, every vote is worth stealing.

Zachary Sire said...

"Police planned to administer a polygraph test to Ashley Todd, 20, because her statements about the attack conflict with evidence from the Citizens Bank ATM where she claims the incident occurred, police said."

http://pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_594939.html

Anonymous said...

If it is a hoax,Zach, how dumb. It's important to think through your lies in a pseudo-police state where cameras are everywhere. Remember people, lies only work when they hew closely to the truth. You want to take a truth and change as little about it as possible.

For example, here, you could say that it all happened somewhere where there are no security cameras.

Anonymous said...

P.S. Again, if it is a hoax, you'd still have to find someone to beat the shit out of you.

vbspurs said...

I have doubts too, as does a lot of the Rightwing Blogosphere.

It's heightened by the fact that the attack happened away from the ATM machine, or at least, there is no video evidence of the attack.

Second, if your face is being carved into, wouldn't you have at least some DNA evidence of your attacker in trying to stave off said carving?

Even if he told her to stay still, man that would hurt enough for ME to yell, wriggle, and probably take a chunk of the guy's arm as he was digging with the knife.

Having said that, I cannot believe the utter inhumanity one needs to say this about a purported attack, which until proven a hoax, deserves at least a measure of empathy:

Bottom line: This is the stupidest distraction in the whole history of this crazy campaign season.

WTF. This is atrociously unfeeling. Does becoming an Obama supporter automatically render one's emotions towards the other side null and void?

If this had happened to an Obama supporter by a McCain assailaint, I'd be the first one offering my sympathies.

Cheers,
Victoria

Anonymous said...

If this happened to an Obama supporter, the world would stop and we'd hear about the story for days.

As I say, I hope it's not a hoax. We don't need Jeff Gilooly types adding to our already inept campaign.

Zachary Sire said...

I don't know what's scarier, that this slob was stupid enough to think she could get away with it, or that her fear of Obama caused her to CUT UP HER OWN FACE.

Zachary Sire said...

LOL at your new pic Seven.

Chennaul said...

Zach-

Here's what I don't get-

Or maybe I'm just stupid and you know what?

I really don't care-I'd rather err on the side of being gullible than participate in an electronic tarring and feathering at the speed of the internet.

It has been barely 24 hours and less than that before you rushed in here on the threads with your ugly assuredness based on the fact that the girl-twenty years old-looks like someone that was crazy or that you think is crazy.

You know I'd don't give a crap about my personal pride I see little value in saying-

Hey I wasn't fooled!

There's one person in the story so far and this country is suppose to be about innocent until proven guilty-don't know if you know that part.

It isn't the French legal system...yet.

Oh and you know just because someone's given a polygraph test that means they are guilty these days- OK then.

Love your standards.

Peter Hoh said...

There was a Madisonkidnapping hoax in the spring of 2004. A quick search shows that Althouse did not blog about it.

I wonder if that was in the back of Ann's mind when she said that this incident seemed like a distraction.

vbspurs said...

Wizbang notes about the mirror theory:

Some have noted that the backward "B" is how a person would make the mark on herself when looking into a mirror. That hypothesis is easy enough to disprove if you're willing to mark your face up with a pen while looking in a mirror. If you do that you will find that a "B" still looks like a "B" when using the mirror as a guide. For Ms. Todd to make the mark shown looking into a mirror it would appear to her as a backward "B" as well.

Interesting.

More at:

If True, It's Despicable

vbspurs said...

that this slob

Low, very low. Especially since I guarantee someone thinks that of you, Zach.

Someone always does.

Peter Hoh said...

I think that several in the right blogosphere were burned by the Princeton case. The young man who staged an attack on himself was impeccably regarded by his fellows, and yet his story came crashing down.

Anonymous said...

Thanks, Zach.

Peter Hoh said...

Just tried it in the mirror. It looked right in the mirror, but it's backwards, just like on the photo on Malkin's site.

Zachary Sire said...

Victoria, if I am proven wrong and she really was attacked and branded, I'll take back the slob comment. As it stands, she is a slob. And she is inciting (more) racism. Doesn't get any lower than that.

Anonymous said...

I hope you people realize that Peter Hoh just brutalized himself in the search for truth.

Chennaul said...

Well here's the stupid part who are the racists?

The ones bragging about post-racialism?

As if the country is full of a bunch of white supremacists who are going to rush out and vote for McCain in droves now because of this story.

You know you have to wonder who the racists are.

vbspurs said...

Simon wrote:

And as I note here, I think that the Tawana Brawley comparison that Ann raises doesn't really seem to fit, at first blush.

Funny, I guess I wasn't the first one who immediately thought of Tawana Brawley's hoax.

But in fact, when I first heard this story about Todd being a possible hoax, I immediately connected this to the Kobe Bryant case, accused by a woman of being raped by him. He admitted wrong-doing, but not rape.

The racial dynamics fit a little more too, if not the situation.

vbspurs said...

It's the best one could hope at the moment, Zach, considering I just came back from reading your blogpost(s) about this situation. They are hysterical.

It's really strange to see you this way...

Chennaul said...

Peter-

Well if you were dyslexic you would've gotten it right by being wrong-

Now stop playing with yourself like that.

Peter Hoh said...

Seven, it's the least I could do. I couldn't bring myself to attempt to give myself a black eye.

Anonymous said...

Here would be the best outcome if it's a hoax: she did get beat up and mugged, by a 6'4" black man, and she decided to use her wounds for a political cause. That's wrong, of course, but somehow less wrong than concocting a story about a black man. Also, if it really happened, surely she would be smart enough to just tell the straight story about the mugging, not put it in a different location.

I really, really hope that a 6'4" black man beat the shit out of this woman and carved a B in her face. That would be the best possible outcome here.

vbspurs said...

Now stop playing with yourself like that.

Snuffle, snigger, snicker.

;)

Peter, well done. The reason a lot of us are wary about this situation being real, is that the "B" gives us a funny feeling in our stomachs.

It doesn't pass the smell test, I agree.

However, that shiner is real enough.

So maybe she was indeed mugged by said individual, but decided to "pile on" for added effect?

I don't know. I wish her well, and that the police get down the bottom of this.

Governor Palin already spoke to her on the phone, offering her sympathies.

Cheers,
Victoria

dualdiagnosis said...

I'm already feeling the unity and the coming together that Obama is bringing.

It is amazing how his presence in the race has brought people together from across the political and ideological spectrum.

vbspurs said...

I really, really hope that a 6'4" black man beat the shit out of this woman and carved a B in her face. That would be the best possible outcome here.

Holy crap...Seven, it is absolutely chilling to see this in black-and-white.

Still, I suppose that's right...

Chennaul said...

Victoria-

Well I do what I can.

I'm out, catch you later.

Roost on the Moon said...

Seven, VB,

Wouldn't it be even better for you guys if she had been raped, too? Or if she dies tonight of complications from the beating?

Keep hoping!

Peter Hoh said...

Charles Stuart certainly had people fooled with his "scary black man did it" story. His injuries are described in wikipedia thusly:

"Though investigating officers did ask doctors whether Stuart's wounds could have been self-inflicted, they were told that this was very unlikely given the severity of the injuries."

Peter Hoh said...

Victoria, Seven, am I the only sober one here? Seriously, you are hoping that she really did get beat up by a big black guy? Really?

Peter Hoh said...

Me, I'm hoping that the facts come out.

Zachary Sire said...

Apparently it's better to hope that there are violent Obama fans out there willing to slice and dice someone's face rather than a racist and mentally disturbed McCain supporter.

It all comes back to partisanship, every time!

Wouldn't the BEST thing to hope for be that this incident NEVER HAPPENED IN THE FIRST PLACE? Just a thought.

Anonymous said...

Peter -- The first thing I thought of was that doctor who killed his wife and blamed the hippies a la Charles Manson.

Also, for you and Roost, the best thing would be if none of this happened at all. I am predicating my argument on my belief that someone truly did beat the shit out of this woman. If that's true, then whatever happened was bad. Garden-variety crime is something I can wrap my head around. The idea that someone would seriously injure themselves for politics is disgusting to me.

I can see how that would sound strange. But, to me, it would be a lot worse if she mutilated herself or had someone beat her up. Obviously, it would have been best had no violence occurred.

vbspurs said...

Victoria, Seven, am I the only sober one here? Seriously, you are hoping that she really did get beat up by a big black guy? Really?

I know it's late, but please read what I wrote again carefully, Peter.

A) I am shocked on hearing what Seven wrote.

But not because of:

B) I want it to be true.

But because of:

C) Because if it's a hoax, it'll be bad exponentially for her, for McCain-Palin, for America.

You see, for many people in America, if it's true, it's just some woman who got what she was coming to her, because she's a Republican...

No, I don't feel this way. But having read many of the "AshleyTodd is Lying" blogs suddenly out there, that is the overwhelming sentiment about her attack, should it prove true.

Hope that clarifies it.

Cheers,
Victoria

Anonymous said...

Zach beat me to it. I am talking about the best possible outcome. The violence already occurred, so having it not happen is no longer a choice.

vbspurs said...

It all comes back to partisanship, every time!

Zach, given your reporting of this story on your blog, I would firmly put you in that partisan camp.

Where a lot of the Right blogosphere is treading carefully, and saying it smells (including myself), to you, it's an opportunity to fling barely concealed antipathy towards her around.

Have a heart, dude. I'd believe you if, God forbid, you something like this happened to you.

OR at least I wouldn't tear you limb to limb without evidence.

What is happening to Americans?

Zachary Sire said...

Zach, given your reporting of this story on your blog, I would firmly put you in that partisan camp.

Yes, I can be partisan. But you better believe I would be making fun of some idiot Obama supporter if they pulled the same stunt. My first priority is making fun of losers. Partisanship comes second.

Synova said...

Okay... it seems stupid...

Beat someone up, maybe an overwrought person would do that... carving a letter? That seems a bit much.

But...

Look...

It's NOT a backward "B" if the person who carved it was standing at her head instead of over her body.

So saying it's a backward "B"... that she obviously did it herself in a mirror, isn't obvious at all. It could just as well be an upside-down "B".

And if it's true... it's also true that crazy people do crazy things and it's not Obama's fault.

And it's also true, regardless, understanding that there are crazy people who support Obama, that what we were hearing last week was that McCain and Palin were obviously responsible for the atmosphere of seething hate and were obviously personally responsible for the mental state of their supporters.

Anonymous said...

Wouldn't it have been better if this woman was the town slut and the guy carved a letter A?

Okay, goodnight all.

Roost on the Moon said...

Unless...

Maybe it was Obama himself!

Someone call Jerome Corsi.

vbspurs said...

My first priority is making fun of losers. Partisanship comes second.

I think that's kinda your dilemma. Why do you like making so much fun of losers, when that is something which one outgrows after puberty?

Anyway, let's put this matter to rest. I believe you when you say you would do the same about an Obama supporter. I know there is a heart in there somewhere, Zach, despite the bluster.

Night night. I'm off to read about the Panic of 1907 on my Kindle.

Cheers,
Victoria

Peter Hoh said...

Victoria, in the case of Charles Stuart, would it really have been better if he had been carjacked? Does the same go for Susan Smith? Okay, apples to oranges. I'll chill. There are no dead people in the Ashley Todd story.

How about the case of Audrey Seiler? Would it have been a better outcome if she had indeed been kidnapped?

Zachary Sire said...

Speaking of losers, remember Abortion Girl, from Yale? Ha ha...she was the best.

rhhardin said...

It's the media.

There's a population of 300 million. Attacks occur all the time.

What's new is that news is a profit center. They need eyeballs to sell to advertisers.

Every oddball one in 300 million event, that happens every election, is now thanks to the media brought into your own neighborhood, to keep you tuned in.

They sell you to advertisers.

The hype is the profit center effect, not a decline in standards or astuteness.

Factor in not only that it's unlikely (is it unlikely in a population of 300 million?), but that the MSM needs your attention to make money.

KCFleming said...

Rhhardin is correct.
True or not, it's a fringe story.

The real story is massive election fraud by ACORN, RICO style, and legal thuggishness by prosecutors and lawyers. Amazingly, all happen to be working for Obama.

But these are boring old hard news pieces, which no one cares about. If it bleeds, it leads.

If you want to read about a lawyer's persepective on the evolving election fraud, you'll have to read Instapundit.

Darcy said...

I'm not sure how I feel about this. I'm skeptical. At least as skeptical as I was about the "kill him!" crap.

The backwards "B" is a problem for me. But beyond that, if this really happened, does it really mean anything? I don't think so. It means that there are really nutty people out there. We knew that already.

I do think if this had happened, as someone here suggested, to an Obama supporter...good Lord...it would be as if ALL the McCain supporters in the country were rabidly egging it on. Those evil Pubbies!!

And who was the candidate that said "I want you to get in their faces", again? Hmm.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Tell me why this one is being pushed to the forefront?

Some people "expressed" (no violence) a little anger at the McCain Palin rallies - the media painted it as McCains fault.

Why should the expressions of violence be hidden under the table?

It's Tit for tat profe.

Anonymous said...

Even assuming it was an actual attack, the "B" is a bit cryptic for me. If the alleged assailant had carved a racial slur like "GOOD NIGHT", we might have a story.

KCFleming said...

Maybe she was attacked by Zorro's lesser-known cousin Beppo.

Anyway, what's the big deal?
Robbery is just another way of spreading the wealth, isn't it?

PunditJoe said...

I think it is far too early to judge the authenticity of this case. Of course, that hasn't stopped a lot of folks from making up their minds already. But, I figure it is prudent to wait a bit before making a judgment.

The reason this will have some weight, should this turn out to be true, is that it resonates with the very real fear many McCain supporters have about being attacked for showing their support.

Year after year of calling Republicans Nazis, murderers, imperialists, racists, bigots, sexists, homophobes, Islamophobes, etc. has to eventually take a toll. It makes attacks against Repubs more acceptable in the minds of the left - because they believe Repubs to be monsters - heck some even claim Repubs were behind 9/11! Don‘t take my word for it - a quick glance at popular sites on the left is all that is needed to confirm that they do indeed believe such tripe. Thus, we have a very dangerous recipe for violence.

I myself haven’t put up any outward signs that I’m a McCain supporter for fear of possible attacks. While I’m not as concerned about physical attacks, big guy here, I am worried about my property being vandalized. I don’t have the money to repaint my car or to replace windows - nor do I have the time to take off from work to fix such thing so I decided not to take the risk.

Of course, if true, this attack shouldn’t be considered a direct reflection of the Obama campaign. No one believes Obama would sanction such behavior, but it may be a reflection on the direction the left is moving. After all, the authorities are not concerned that the right will riot on election night, but they are preparing for violence from the left. A clearer example of my point may not exist.

Think about how far we have fallen in our political discourse, that people won’t show their support for their chosen candidate out of fear of violence from their political opponents. Where will things go from here? The left shows no sign of backing away from their inflammatory rhetoric, in fact, just the opposite seems to be true. We may be in for some dangerous days ahead.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Obama's "this is our time" could be interpreted in a number of ways.

This attacker was only expressing an opinion ;)

What If Obama is elected and FBI Crime figures go up?

Oops... (it might be racist to even speculate that).

But a violent act? .... it happens all the time!

Anonymous said...

Pogo:
"Rhhardin is correct.
True or not, it's a fringe story.

The real story is massive election fraud by ACORN, RICO style, and legal thuggishness by prosecutors and lawyers. Amazingly, all happen to be working for Obama."

Nope. The real bomb is the massive
campaign contribution fraud via credit card. There are examples a plenty how thousands of contributions have exceeded the $2300 per capita limit and how $$$ of foreign money has contributed to the astronomic level of BO's war chest. The current MSM myth is that it's lots of widows and orphans giving $10 at-a-time. In reality it's lots of fat cats, unions, lawyers (see 'usual suspects'), and foreign 'interests' that contribute under such names as 'Good Will' multiple times, using false names but valid credit card numbers. Since they use false names, the BO campaign can say no individual has exceeded the statutory limit (with a wink) while accepting millions in illegal contributions.
(See "Powerline" for the screen shots of how the scam works.)

It's the biggest money laundering fraud in campaign history.

ricpic said...

Slightly OT, I was surprised to read that the most popular current girl's name in NYC is Ashley. Always struck me as being on the pretentious side.

Bissage said...

The Earth has been conquered by a highly advanced alien race. They eat our emotions and find them tastiest when we cast them off untainted by any useful purpose.

These aliens are ravenous in their appetites and so they increase the productivity of their fields with generous applications of the fertilizer we call news.

Fortunately, they are kindly overlords and repay us with a sense of importance and belonging. And so we rest and regain our vigor . . . for the next harvest.

And now, let us pray.

(This message brought to you by the Universal Church of The Day of the Dove.)

KCFleming said...

LarsPorsena said...

Hey!
Sshhhhhh.
That stuff is secret. Plus, it never happened.
Sshhhhhh.

American Liberal Elite said...

Just love this conservatives as victims canard.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

If the girl had being black and a P or an M carved in her face . . . .

You know I think the Professor is right. . . There is Nothing to see here, Keep it moving, It happens all the time ;)

ricpic said...

Didn't Obama say, "Get in their faces?" Well....

Simon said...

Geoff Matthews said...
"The national media will only cover this if it turns out to be a fake. That's my prediction, and I'm sticking to it."

So far it's held. Big shock: it's morning and still nothing in the MSM. There is simply no excuse for this. Even if it's a hoax. Even if you think it's a hoax - you really don't think that this is important enough to bump such stunning pieces of journalism as "Webcams Watching Teen Drivers" from the front page of the WaPo or "Court upholds Bianca Jagger's eviction" from the CNN front page? Puff news is being covered, and this - either a politically-motivated attack on a McCain campaign worker or a hoax of such - isn't. It's one thing - I think a flawed and ignoble thing - to question this womain's veracity, but can it really be said that this deserves to be flushed down the memory hole?

George M. Spencer said...

Drudge went way out on a limb with this story. Either he knows something we don't, or he'll get burned--and badly--on this one.

What is surprising is that it's taken this long for something like this to happen. Before long we'll see a group of whites attack a black guy over politics, or vice versa, before this is over. Hope not.

Simon said...

ricpic said...
"Didn't Obama say, 'Get in their faces?' Well...."

Yes he did. And his supporters said "yes we carve." And now a bunch of people who support him are saying "no we won't [acknowledge this or believe her]" - and citing, of all the people in the world, Michelle Malkin - the same Michelle Malkin who they've subjected to verbal and physical harrasment repeatedly down the years and written off as being far beyond the pale.

Maybe this will turn out to be a hoax. But it doesn't look hoaxy to me. And it isn't a distraction - a distraction from what? From people whining about Sarah Palin's wardrobe, the previous story du jour in the media? The media isn't paying any attention whatsoever to any of the various registration and finance frauds from the Obama campaign (this morning, NPR described Obama's plan as "improving the tax code" - they're bought and paid for), so how could a three minute break for some news in the wall-to-wall propaganda machine possibly be a "distraction"?

Meade said...

Pogo said...
"Maybe she was attacked by Zorro's lesser-known cousin Beppo"

Beppo — the nickname of Josef Mengele.

Curiouser and curiouser.

Roger J. said...

I am confident that this woman's background will be thoroughly investigated by the MSM as was Joe's the plumber.

Simon said...

LarsPorsena said...
"The real bomb is the massive
campaign contribution fraud via credit card. ... It's the biggest money laundering fraud in campaign history.
"

And yet the media are covering that up, too. Funny, that. It's almost as though there's a pattern.

Simon said...

Everyone should read Pundit Joe's comment above. This is not an isolated incident. It has context.

Too many jims said...

Simon said...
So far it's held. Big shock: it's morning and still nothing in the MSM.


That is not true. NBC's Today show covered it in the news section (at least in the 7:00 hour).

MadisonMan said...

I think some of the commentariat will be eating their words regarding this woman.

Simon said...

MadisonMan said...
"I think some of the commentariat will be eating their words regarding this woman."

That's the safest prediction you've ever made.

KCFleming said...

When eating words, avoid those containing the letters "z" or "x", as they can stick going down.

And drink plenty of water.

KCFleming said...

I once ate the word "Archeopteryx".

Man, that one nearly killed me, both comin' and goin'.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Here we have Murtha, just days ago, saying that a lot of people in western Pennsylvania (his own constituents) would never vote for a black person.

Where did the carving incident happen?

But somehow, it’s a McCaniac put up fraud.

Anonymous said...

"When eating words, avoid those containing the letters "z" or "x", as they can stick going down.

And drink plenty of water."

But swallowing that big "O" is so much easier.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

The attacker may have been subliminally influenced by Murtha ;)

That’s all I’m saying.

Darcy said...

The attacker may have been subliminally influenced by Murtha ;)

Ha! You're good. :)

Synova said...

Year after year of calling Republicans Nazis, murderers, imperialists, racists, bigots, sexists, homophobes, Islamophobes, etc. has to eventually take a toll. It makes attacks against Repubs more acceptable in the minds of the left - because they believe Repubs to be monsters - heck some even claim Repubs were behind 9/11!

So...

Anyone want to dispute that the attitude that "It's okay to hate the haters" has been promoted by the tolerant left?

It's not just the sort of politics where votes are cast, but a very skewed attitude about free speech and the meaning of tolerance. There is no need to tolerate differences of opinion when those *other* people so rudely insist on holding hateful opinions and then express what they think. (And if we have to point to secret code to show how intolerant they are... well, it's what they really think, isn't it.)

Anonymous said...

Let's wait and see what comes of this attack officially, before we assume she's not telling the truth. It's a sad day either way.

Wayne said...

Well, I'm certainly not going to claim it's not a hoax, but Ace has a very plausible explanation, and the photo there makes it look pretty much like a normal "B", just written upside down.

PunditJoe said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

Look, it should be pretty easy to verify that she used the ATM and withdrew $60, and that the money was stolen from her. And if she has a shred of intelligence and common sense she will know that perpetrating a fraud like this during this particular campaign will get her Joe Plumberized like nobody's business. Unless she's seriously mentally ill or self-loathing, had a run-in with a boyfriend she now wants to protect, or got beat up/maimed some other way and wants to cover it up for reasons of her own (all of which scenarios I calculate to be less probable than her actually getting mugged, although I'm just guessing), this really happened. And if it really happened, the thug who did it now becomes a new and handy symbol of everything that's wrong with the Obama maniacs, who give unprincipled rage-filled zealotry a bad name. : )

chickelit said...

paul zrimsek wrote: Even assuming it was an actual attack, the "B" is a bit cryptic for me. If the alleged assailant had carved a racial slur like "GOOD NIGHT", we might have a story. Zing!

garage mahal said...

Must have be one of those crazies at the Obama rallies calling McCain a terrorist, and a traitor.

Anonymous said...

Just my way of pointing out that the "stupidest distraction" title is already locked up.

Too many jims said...

Wayne,

That is a fine theory about the "B" being written upside down but it is difficult to square that with what the victim reportedly told the police. Specifically, that the attacker "sat on her chest, pinning both her hands down with his knees and used what she believed was a dull knife with a roughly 5-inch blade to carve the B."

Shanna said...

“The latter case would explain the upside-down B, but, on the other hand, it's remarkably legible for having been carved into a (presumably) struggling victim.”

If someone had a knife out and was carving on your face, very close to your eye, would you struggle? I think at that point, you might stay as still as possible, in hopes that they would get even madder, or accidentally (or on purpose) get your eye. And as far as the not going to the hospital, if the police and an ambulance with medical personnel came and tended to the injury, and you felt your injuries weren’t terribly serious, why go to the hospital?

Not saying it wasn’t a hoax, I really have no idea (don't know why he would carve the B wrong if he was on her chest-I guess we can't rule out the possibility of poor literacy skills in a sadistic theif :) I agree both that it’s neither campaigns fault either way and that the media standards have been double.

TJ said...

It was a hoax.

Palladian said...

"It was a hoax."

As I said in another thread: DUH. Hopefully this will sufficiently embarrass those sympathetic souls who ran with the story and conservatives will end their brief foray into phony, whiny victim-hood and return to issues that actually matter.

Unknown said...

Call me a super skeptic and too much a reader of dime store novels, but check back further on this girl, see how far back and deep her support for MaC is. Unless she is a complete moron she had to know an attack like this would be investigated as much as Palin's shoes. No way it could stand up if not true.

An Obamanut charading as a McCainiac claiming to be attacked by a get-in-their-face Union Dem Obama thug?

O, we will never know because like the WA Gov race in 2004 once the desired outcome is achieved, everything stops.

blake said...

Ha! Bissage!

We were just talking about Michael Ansara over at the maelstrom.

Only a fool fights in a burning building.