EXCLUSIVE: Breitbart Website's Dishonest Use of Two Photos In Stories About Sidwell Friends School

Does anyone at Brietbart know that L.A. is not in D.C.?
Click image to enlarge.

Sorry Breitbart: This is NOT Sidwell Friends School.
(AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) (Damian Dovarganes)
Click image to enlarge (see original story).

Dec. 29, 2012 - BUSTED: Breitbart's "Big Government" website is using two photos that they present falsely as being taken at the exclusive Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C., attended by the Obama daughters. In my opinion, they did this deliberately. Sadly, both photos are being reproduced by bloggers who don't know how, or are too lazy, to do a little basic research to confirm facts.

One of the photos in question was most certainly not taken at Sidwell. The other is highly suspicious. Let me explain, and keep in mind that I am a conservative blogger who doesn't like fellow conservative bloggers presenting lies, whether on purpose or through stupidity. We all make mistakes. I sure do, but I correct them when I become aware of them. I would never do what the Breitbart kiddies did here.

BAD PHOTO #1: On Dec. 23, Breitbart's "Big Government" website published a photo as part of a story about security guards at Sidwell Friends School, the private institution in Washington, D.C. that the Obama daughters attend. The article, written by someone who calls himself A.W.R. Hawkins, is titled "D.C. School Posts Job Opening For Police Officer." A photo at the top of that article shows four burly, armed guards. The photo has no caption, and no source is given.

Trouble is, the photo was actually taken in February, 2011 on the other side of the continent, in Los Angeles. The armed men are Los Angeles Unified School District police, and they were guarding Miramonte Elementary school during a protest in Los Angeles on Monday, Feb. 6, 2012. Sadly, hundreds of conservative bloggers are mindlessly republishing the same photos as they follow Breitbart like zombies, telling their readers that the photo is of Sidwell Friends School.

The Incredibly Dumb Meghan McCain: Perfect for MSNBC

Image via Wikipedia MSNBC is appropriately called "MSLSD" by conservative talker Mark Levin. There are many reasons that Levin's derisive renaming of the cable network is appropriate. After all, watching MSNBC is - I'm told - not so different than an acid trip, in which reality is distorted and the unreal seems real.

The left-leaning network has yet another reason to be compared to a bad hallucinatory experience: Arizona Senator John McCain's daughter, Meghan. She's a "contributor" to MSNBC. Like her father, she calls herself a Republican. We know better, however. While she's easy on the eyes, she tends to make our brains hurt.

Ms. McCain shows her innate stupidity in a multitude of ways, and The Daily Caller was kind enough to bring two of them to our attention recently.  During a Monday, January 9 guest appearance on MSNBC she said the Obamas deserve some privacy like anyone else. McCain said Barack Obama deserves a “small emoticon of privacy.” She said as much Monday in a morning MSNBC appearance:

"Emoticon of privacy?" An emoticon is "a textual expression representing the face of a writer's mood or facial expression. For example, :), :(, and :D. They are often used to alert a responder to the tenor or temper of a statement, and can change and improve interpretation of plain text" according to ComputerUser.com. She probably meant to use the word "modicum," which means "a small portion : a limited quantity."

McCain was quickly mocked for her misuse of "emoticon" and she defended herself with this on Twitter: “Thanks everyone, was talking quickly and said ModiCOM instead of ModiCUM this morning. Thanks for obsessing over my every waking word."

Meghan McCain apparently did not review the tape in which she clearly said "emoticon" at least twice. Even her defense was flubbed. She gets some credit from us, though, for correctly using the word "obsessing."  The Daily Caller points out yet another Meghan McCain MSLSD moment in which she said that Michele Bachmann is "just more smarter" than Sarah Palin. "More smarter," of course, is lousy grammar, even by MSNBC standards. You can see that video here.

Related articles

• Calling Meghan McCain Clueless Isn't Sexist (theatlanticwire.com)
• Meghan McCain: Obamas Deserve an 'Emoticon' of Privacy [Gaffes] (jezebel.com)
• Meghan McCain Tries, Fails to Use Medium-Sized Word (kaystreet.wordpress.com)

This Post is Really Stoopid

(Nasty Language Advisory) But it sure am funny. I post videos to YouTube. (Who doesn't, right?) On most of my videos (not all), I disable the commenting for two simple reasons: First, 99.9% of comments to videos are written by semi-literate imbeciles who simply want to misdirect the anger that they still hold for their abusive parents. It's not much different than comments to most blogs. Second, why should I waste my time moderating useless rants from useless imbeciles? Of course, now and then one of those imbeciles crawls under the door and sends a comment to my YouTube inbox. Here's one now, from "charlieclockwork" on July 26: I like how disable the ability to add comments to the vids of yours that pretty much any TRUE Chicagoan would call you a pansy ass fag for giving people shit for pretty much almost completley stopping on a dead traffic day with no school in session. Everyone agrees with me and thats why your bitch ass won't let people comment. your an oversensitive duchebag, get out of MY city and go to a farm community where real life isn't happenig!! dork!! Rogers Park eats pussys liike you everyday for a snack, Morse ave CrazY bitch. Of course, I could not resist replying: Uhm, did I not just read a comment from you? I think I did! Thanks for writing. I am happy to know that my videos elicit such passionate, well-written, intelligent comments from geniuses such as you. Perhaps I should reconsider my commenting policy here. After all, having more well-crafted, thoughtful comments such as the one I am responding to would surely add to the general knowledge base of Mankind. I do, sometimes, allow commenting on videos if I think it might pull in some perspective. One such video is "Anti-Violence March, Parade in Uptown, Chicago." From 94 viewings, "Scardataz" wrote this helpful comment on August 1: THATS NICE FUCK IT UP UPLIFT  LOOK YEAH If anybody knows what that means, please let me know. I'm not sayin' it a bad comment, just that it's confusing and really doesn't add anything. Plus, it contains the word "fuck," which I never allow to be used on Chicago News Bench. Know what I'm sayin'? So, that's why I generally don't accept comments. Horrible grammar, lousy spelling, drug-induced fuzzy thoughts, incomplete rambling sentences ... I don't need it, not on a regular basis. But I admit that it makes for a stoopid-but-fun post now and again. Are YOU a citizen of the United STRAIGHTS of America?

H&M's Ridiculous Fashion Against AIDS Campaign

One of the dumbest ad campaigns I've seen in quite a while is this one for H&M in conjunction with Designers Against AIDS (DAA). H&M Fashions is a huge, international corporation that operates in 34 countries. It has 73,000 employees. Although H&M has "Fashion Against AIDS" billboards around the country, it seems impossible to find a single reference to it on their annoying web site, even on their "Corporate Responsibility" page. This would make their association with DAA's Fashion Against AIDS seem a bit shallow, if not cynical. As for DAA, they seem only slightly less shallow and cynical. Go to their annoying web site and you get the feeling that it's all about them, not the disease they claim to be fighting. Self-promotion and glitz seems to eclipse any transparency about how their solicited donations will be spent. I'm not accusing them of anything like a scam or dishonesty, but would it kill them to tell donors how their money will actually help fight AIDS? Finally, take another look at the billboard in my photo here, at a bus stop in Chicago. See that hot, sexy woman in her hot, sexy, fashionable leotard thingy? I couldn't help wondering how that makes a young man feel. Well, actually, I know how that would make a young man feel, and that feeling would do nothing in the way of helping to prevent the spread of AIDS. Seriously, if DAA and H&M want to promote anti-AIDS fashion, they'd be better advised to introduce a line of burlap bags and other equally un-sexy items. Leave a Comment Here... See our cool merchandise... Chicago News Bench RSS Feed Hey! ChiNewsBench is on Twitter

Obama-Biden-isms at Illinois Review

Vice President Dan Quayle was mercilessly skewered for years by Democrats and Leftists for his occasional slip of the tongue or silly remark. More recently, President George W. Bush spawned an entire industry of books and greeting cards based on "Bushisms," things that he said that were, well, less than brilliant. In the tradition of Liberal double standards, equally stupid utterings by Democrats get scant notice or, more often, are completely ignored. Sometimes they're excused, as when Barack Obama said that there are 58 states in the US. "I've now been in fifty -- seven states? I think one left to go." Huh? Imagine the collective laughter by the Liberals had Bush said that! He was just tired, the Liberal media said. (I don't care tired I get, or drunk for that matter, I would never say that there are 58 states.) Illinois Review posted a fun piece yesterday that looks at the "Top 10 Gaffes: So Far" of Barack Obama and Joe Biden. These are but a handful of many gaffes, but the top ten is a good place to start. Illinois Review notes: Just eight weeks into his administration, recent Illinois State Senator turned President B. Hussein Obama and VP Biden have managed to bungle just about everything. From tax challenged cabinet picks to AIG bonuses, this dynamic duo have consistently screwed up. Loaded with videos, the piece at Illinois Review is a fun read. MORE: Obama's British 'Gift Gaffe' Not Reported By U.S. Media Barack Gaffes by Michelle Malkin on National Review Online Obama apologizes for Special Olympics gaffe Slew of Gaffes Obama on Fox News Chicago News Bench RSS Feed Cool Stuff...

Violence Vigil: More Empty Gestures

Lots of violence in Chicago, as usual, but more this year than in recent years. So, tonight the Organization of the North East (ONE) will end all of the violence once and for all. How? Why, with another magical vigil "in response" to last Friday's shooting in Uptown. It is scheduled to happen tonight at 6:00 p.m. at the site of the shooting in the 4800 block of North Sheridan Road. If it's raining, go to People's Church at 941 W. Lawrence (watch your step; crack whores and drunks commonly defecate on the sidewalk in front of the entrances). ONE is announcing the Magik Vigil via email. As of 2:15 p.m., however, they do not have it on their web site. ONE describes its mission: "...to build and sustain a successful mixed economic, multi-ethnic community on the north lakefront of Chicago." Another useless vigil, merely balm on a great gaping gashes, piles of clotted blood, guts on the floor. The balm will do nothing. It won't even quell the pain. When will the True Believers stop abusing the word "vigil?" To be vigilant means to be: 1. keenly watchful to detect danger; wary: a vigilant sentry. 2. ever awake and alert; sleeplessly watchful. Will these people be "keenly watchful" tonight? Was ONE or Cease Fire - or anybody else, including the police - "keenly watchful to detect danger" last Friday? Were the parents, relatives or friends of the victims and the shooters "ever awake and alert" to the danger signs? Tonight's ONE event will not be a vigil. It will be time to gather, to mourn, to discuss. That's fine, there is value to that. But to call it a "vigil" is not only incorrect, it is misleading. It fools the participants and the noncritical observer into believing that something is being done, that a solution is being implemented. By the way, where is Cease Fire in all of this? Wow, thank goodness their state funding was reinstated, huh? Cease Fire describes itself as "an evidence-based public health approach to reducing shootings and killings. Our methods for reversing the violence epidemic use highly trained street violence interrupters and outreach staff, public education campaigns and community mobilization." Note to Cease Fire: Your methods ain't working, friends. Vigils and "Don't Shoot" signs and gun buy-back media events aren't the solution to an epidemic of endemic problems. Vast social changes are needed. Uplifting of morals and renewed respect for life must take place. After decades of "Free Tibet" bumper stickers, China still occupies it. After decades more of "Don't Shoot" signs, the gangsters and thugs will still be shooting. Petunias for peace, anyone? How about another useless walk to "take back" your neighborhood? Maybe we can all gather on a corner and mumble magik chants. Perhaps we could levitate the Bridgeview Bank Building in the hope of changing the world. Burn some newt eyes, mix them up with spiders and clove, stir that into a magik elixir and voila! You've got Hope. Problems solved. Hope, as they say, is not a strategy. Chants and candle light vigils are not tactics of any value. If only there had been a few more petunias on the 4800 block of N. Sheridan last Friday.

Genius. Pure Genius.

Obama Talk Pretty One Day

Rub hard enough on the pretty varnish that covers Barack Obama and you'll find a rough wooden stump. Sure, he talks pretty when he has a script. But take away the teleprompter and he sounds as dumb as, well, as dumb as George W. Bush. In a recent speech, Barack Odummy said kids with asthma should be given a "breathalyzer," then corrected that to "inhalator." Huh? If W. said that, the press would jump all over it. Or, to be more current, as Noel Sheppard asks, "Can you imagine the attention that would be given to such gaffes if made by Sen. McCain?" Watch the embarassing video of Odummy's embarassing speech:

Obama's Bushel of Potatoes

Michelle Malkin has a great list of Barackisms that demonstrate what an empty-headed fool he really is. As she says, "All it takes is one gaffe to taint a Republican for life. The political establishment never let Dan Quayle live down his fateful misspelling of “potatoe.” The New York Times distorted and misreported the first President Bush’s questions about new scanner technology at a grocers’ convention to brand him permanently as out of touch." Malkin then presents her list of Barack's dumbest quotes. A quick overview: Barack Obama recently said that there are 57 United States. He said that Arkansas is closer to Kentucky than Illinois. There's his amazing flip-flop in Iran. And more. Read Malkin's full list... Big hat tip to Marathon Pundit Related: The Potato Museum: Potato Links

Obama Girl is Stoopid: Video Proves It

No need for an intro. Just watch the video... (Hat tip to Wonkette)