Intermarkets' Privacy Policy Support
Donate to Ace of Spades HQ! Contact
Ace:aceofspadeshq at gee mail.com Buck: buck.throckmorton at protonmail.com CBD: cbd at cutjibnewsletter.com joe mannix: mannix2024 at proton.me MisHum: petmorons at gee mail.com J.J. Sefton: sefton at cutjibnewsletter.com Recent Entries
The Classical Saturday Coffee Break & Prayer Revival
Daily Tech News 21 December 2024 Just The ONT, Ma'am Giant Animals Cafe Quick Hits Democrat Strategist Ruy Texiera: The Public Gave the Democrats a Clear Message About Their Rejection of Identity Marxism, But the Democrats Don't Want to Listen Kamala Harris To Be Offered $20 Million in a Media Payoff Disguised as an "Advance" on Book Royalties Plus: Media Makes Excuses for Covering Up Biden's Obvious Senility AGAIN: A Car Plows Through a German Christmas Market at a Very High Speed, Sending People Flying Like Bowling Pins, Killing an Unknown Number David Samuels: Barack Obama Created and Maintains an Echo Chamber Messaging System That Deranges and Perverts People's Thinking Every Day LOL: MSNBC Reportedly Demands That Joy Reid, Stephanie Ruhle Take Pay Cuts to Keep Their Jobs Absent Friends
Bandersnatch 2024
GnuBreed 2024 Captain Hate 2023 moon_over_vermont 2023 westminsterdogshow 2023 Ann Wilson(Empire1) 2022 Dave In Texas 2022 Jesse in D.C. 2022 OregonMuse 2022 redc1c4 2021 Tami 2021 Chavez the Hugo 2020 Ibguy 2020 Rickl 2019 Joffen 2014 AoSHQ Writers Group
A site for members of the Horde to post their stories seeking beta readers, editing help, brainstorming, and story ideas. Also to share links to potential publishing outlets, writing help sites, and videos posting tips to get published.
Contact OrangeEnt for info:
maildrop62 at proton dot me Cutting The Cord And Email Security
Moron Meet-Ups
|
« Judge to Allow US Specialist to Examine Charlie Gard |
Main
| Of Course: Hawaiian Judge Claims Authority To Rewrite Travel Ban, Again »
July 14, 2017
Jake Tapper Rises to Defense of Failed Novelist Turned Echo Chamber Maestro Ben RhodesI repeatedly asked Jake Tapper to cover the Ben Rhodes Echo Chamber story. The first time I asked, he claimed, without having read it, that he didn't trust the writer. He didn't say why. I responded to his objections about this distrusted-for-unknown-reasons New York Times feature writer (with all those levels of painstaking editorial fact-checking we always hear about) that Rhodes had already by then confirmed that he'd said the things the distrusted reporter had said he'd said. Tapper then offered some other lame reason for denying the story was real and suggested I pass it on to Brian Stelter, a straight-shooter non-partisan if there ever was one. He also sniffed "I don't do media stories" (except those that hurt Fox or his ideological opponents, of course). I did in fact tweet (openly, not in a DM) to Stelter about the story. You'll never guess what didn't happen next: Stelter did not cover the story. As anyone could have predicted -- including even Jake Tapper. A while passed, and some then-current contretemps bubbled up making the Rhodes echo chamber story relevant once again. Once again I DM'd him to cover it, as it was now freshly re-relevant in the context of whatever the new story was. Once again, he told me "I don't trust that source" or words to that effect, completely forgetting he'd already used the same vague justification for non-coverage, and that I had already responded by informing him Rhodes had confirmed the quotes. I believe he then re-directed me to pass it to Brian Stelter, but I have to confess my memory is shaky on that point. I find Jake Tapper's reluctance to say anything remotely negative about Ben Rhodes interesting. I was even more interested to find him praising Ben Rhodes:
Here's short video of the defense, though we don't see the context. We must assume that Gorka put down Ben Rhodes as not having any advanced training in any political field, or for being a would-be novelist (or a very good post-modern novelist who used American Foreign Policy as his medium) which are... true. Let's compare their educations. Per Wikipedia, Seb Gorka is a Ph.D. (in political science, which frankly I don't think of as much of a discipline, but still, a Ph.D. in the field he's working in) who has been a fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. And he's world leaders: He attended St Benedict's School in west London, and received a lower second-class honours (2:2) Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy and theology from Heythrop College, of the University of London.[7][6][8][9] While at university, he joined the British Territorial Army, serving for three years in the 22 Intelligence Company of the Intelligence and Security Group (Volunteers), an interrogation unit with a NATO role specializing in Russian and other languages supporting 1 (BR) Corps until the latter was disbanded in 1992, at the end of the Cold War.[10][6][11][12] Here's Rhodes' education: Rhodes then attended Rice University, graduating Phi Beta Kappa in 2000 with majors in English and political science. He then moved back to New York, attending New York University and graduating in 2002 with an MFA in creative writing.[5] How did he go from being an MFA to Obama's foreign policy guru? From that article Jake Tapper won't report on because he "doesn't trust the writer" or whatever, it was all due to his short story "Goldfish." His mother’s closest friend growing up ran the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, which then published Foreign Policy. He sent her a letter and included what would wind up being his only piece of published fiction, a short story that appeared in The Beloit Fiction Journal. It was titled “The Goldfish Smiles, You Smile Back.” The story still haunts him, he says, because “it foreshadowed my entire life.” Remember, his mom's best friend ran the Carnegie Endowment, which published Foreign Policy. Guess what journal Ben applied to work at? So I wonder: How did he get from there to here? So the journal of the organization run by his mom's bestie declined to hire him, but set him up with another job. “I was surprised,” Hamilton remembered. “What the hell does a guy who wanted to write fiction come to me for?” I don't know, why would someone want to hire a Kennedy? Or Chelsea Clinton? ,,, He was a champion Guy Who Sits In the Back And Takes Notes. “I immediately understood that it’s a very important quality for a staffer,” Hamilton explained,... No wonder he and Obama had a "mind-meld." With Obama's perfect trouser crease and Rhodes' perfect penmanship, it was a match made in Looking the Part heaven. The representation of what happened in the meetings immaculate, like a mirror’s reflection after it has been scrubbed clean. Like an ace stenographer, one could say. From there, the connection machine kept moving him along: Rhodes served as Hamilton’s staff member on the 9/11 Commission, where he met Denis McDonough, another Hamilton protégé, who had gone on to work for Tom Daschle in the Senate. Rhodes then became the chief note-taker for the Iraq Study Group, the bipartisan commission that excoriated George Bush’s war in Iraq. By the way, Ben Rhodes brother is of course David Rhodes, president of CBS News. Now I'm not a credentialist, and I can't argue against the notion that Rhodes must be a quick study and must have impressed some people along the way. I can't imagine he's stupid. But Jake Tapper jumped to Ben Rhodes' defense saying "I'm sure he'd put his graduate degree up against yours" to a Ph.D. in the field of political science, a guy who's worked in Hungary's Ministry of Defense and was a fellow at the JFK School of Government at Harvard. Ben Rhodes has a BA and then an MFA in a completely unrelated field-- creative writing. (Or... is it an unrelated field, mmmm?) I'm sorry, there's no comparison: A Ph.D. is straight-up a bigger accomplishment than a Master's. This is like claiming a field goal is every bit as good as 10 points. Plus -- Good Lord, Ben Rhodes' "graduate degree" isn't even in anything having to do with foreign policy, government, history, or any related field. Except, of course, for dashing out Narratives with Heroes and Villains. I'm sorry, but S***ers of C*** who are big believers in credentialism can't suddenly balk and put on the populist mantle when someone they want to protect has been easily out-credentialed. For disclosure -- to protect myself against a charge of insinuation -- I should point out that Tapper has claimed he's never gotten a story from Ben Rhodes. But he sure does seem protective of him. Maybe they're just sympatico. Maybe Tapper just really fell in love with that "Goldfish" story. Maybe he too is "haunted" by it. Update: A masters of fine arts takes 2-3 years -- longer than a usual master's -- because it's considered a "terminal" degree in creative fields. (That is, no Ph.D. after.) Still, not really on the level of a Ph.D., which takes an average of 8 years to get. Gorka did about two years for his Masters, then was some kind of a fellow at the JFK School of Government, then spent another 5 years getting his Ph.D. Oh -- in a field actually relevant to working in the position he wound up holding. I wonder if Tapper would rise so vigorously to refute a liberals' charge that, say, Stephen Miller's education is supbar. (I have no idea what his education is. I'm just spitballing for some example.) | Recent Comments
JackStraw:
">>Yeah, right AfD wants safety and security for it ..."
grammie winger - cheesehead: "He wasn't a Muslim, then? Just a guy who liked to ..." fd: "Mostly peaceful Muslim. Mostly. ..." FenelonSpoke: "He wasn't a Muslim, then? Just a guy who liked to ..." FenelonSpoke: "Posted by: publius, Rascally Mr. Miley (w6EFb) at ..." Gary Cooper: "Timeanddate is very good, you can put your exact l ..." Ciampino - Except exceptionally exempting exhalted examples: "The NZ launch reminds me that on last night's ONT ..." publius, Rascally Mr. Miley (w6EFb): " The German elite want to ban the AfD party. Th ..." Mary Jane Rottencrotch: ">>My ass smells like my ass. Meh.. ..." grammie winger - cheesehead: "Apparently the Christmas Market murderer was a Sau ..." publius, Rascally Mr. Miley (w6EFb): " "Noon" comes from Latin. The Romans originally ..." Ciampino - Except exceptionally exempting exhalted examples: "139 Not the best employees will never be found on ..." Recent Entries
The Classical Saturday Coffee Break & Prayer Revival
Daily Tech News 21 December 2024 Just The ONT, Ma'am Giant Animals Cafe Quick Hits Democrat Strategist Ruy Texiera: The Public Gave the Democrats a Clear Message About Their Rejection of Identity Marxism, But the Democrats Don't Want to Listen Kamala Harris To Be Offered $20 Million in a Media Payoff Disguised as an "Advance" on Book Royalties Plus: Media Makes Excuses for Covering Up Biden's Obvious Senility AGAIN: A Car Plows Through a German Christmas Market at a Very High Speed, Sending People Flying Like Bowling Pins, Killing an Unknown Number David Samuels: Barack Obama Created and Maintains an Echo Chamber Messaging System That Deranges and Perverts People's Thinking Every Day LOL: MSNBC Reportedly Demands That Joy Reid, Stephanie Ruhle Take Pay Cuts to Keep Their Jobs Search
Polls! Polls! Polls!
Frequently Asked Questions
The (Almost) Complete Paul Anka Integrity Kick
Primary Document: The Audio
Paul Anka Haiku Contest Announcement Integrity SAT's: Entrance Exam for Paul Anka's Band AllahPundit's Paul Anka 45's Collection AnkaPundit: Paul Anka Takes Over the Site for a Weekend (Continues through to Monday's postings) George Bush Slices Don Rumsfeld Like an F*ckin' Hammer Top Top Tens
Democratic Forays into Erotica New Shows On Gore's DNC/MTV Network Nicknames for Potatoes, By People Who Really Hate Potatoes Star Wars Euphemisms for Self-Abuse Signs You're at an Iraqi "Wedding Party" Signs Your Clown Has Gone Bad Signs That You, Geroge Michael, Should Probably Just Give It Up Signs of Hip-Hop Influence on John Kerry NYT Headlines Spinning Bush's Jobs Boom Things People Are More Likely to Say Than "Did You Hear What Al Franken Said Yesterday?" Signs that Paul Krugman Has Lost His Frickin' Mind All-Time Best NBA Players, According to Senator Robert Byrd Other Bad Things About the Jews, According to the Koran Signs That David Letterman Just Doesn't Care Anymore Examples of Bob Kerrey's Insufferable Racial Jackassery Signs Andy Rooney Is Going Senile Other Judgments Dick Clarke Made About Condi Rice Based on Her Appearance Collective Names for Groups of People John Kerry's Other Vietnam Super-Pets Cool Things About the XM8 Assault Rifle Media-Approved Facts About the Democrat Spy Changes to Make Christianity More "Inclusive" Secret John Kerry Senatorial Accomplishments John Edwards Campaign Excuses John Kerry Pick-Up Lines Changes Liberal Senator George Michell Will Make at Disney Torments in Dog-Hell Greatest Hitjobs
The Ace of Spades HQ Sex-for-Money Skankathon A D&D Guide to the Democratic Candidates Margaret Cho: Just Not Funny More Margaret Cho Abuse Margaret Cho: Still Not Funny Iraqi Prisoner Claims He Was Raped... By Woman Wonkette Announces "Morning Zoo" Format John Kerry's "Plan" Causes Surrender of Moqtada al-Sadr's Militia World Muslim Leaders Apologize for Nick Berg's Beheading Michael Moore Goes on Lunchtime Manhattan Death-Spree Milestone: Oliver Willis Posts 400th "Fake News Article" Referencing Britney Spears Liberal Economists Rue a "New Decade of Greed" Artificial Insouciance: Maureen Dowd's Word Processor Revolts Against Her Numbing Imbecility Intelligence Officials Eye Blogs for Tips They Done Found Us Out, Cletus: Intrepid Internet Detective Figures Out Our Master Plan Shock: Josh Marshall Almost Mentions Sarin Discovery in Iraq Leather-Clad Biker Freaks Terrorize Australian Town When Clinton Was President, Torture Was Cool What Wonkette Means When She Explains What Tina Brown Means Wonkette's Stand-Up Act Wankette HQ Gay-Rumors Du Jour Here's What's Bugging Me: Goose and Slider My Own Micah Wright Style Confession of Dishonesty Outraged "Conservatives" React to the FMA An On-Line Impression of Dennis Miller Having Sex with a Kodiak Bear The Story the Rightwing Media Refuses to Report! Our Lunch with David "Glengarry Glen Ross" Mamet The House of Love: Paul Krugman A Michael Moore Mystery (TM) The Dowd-O-Matic! Liberal Consistency and Other Myths Kepler's Laws of Liberal Media Bias John Kerry-- The Splunge! Candidate "Divisive" Politics & "Attacks on Patriotism" (very long) The Donkey ("The Raven" parody) |