Category Archives: Media

Another blogger vomits forth on the Internet

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Blogger Ben Railton says that Gov. Charles Pinkney (1757–1824) wrote the line in the US Constitution “no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office.” And that Pinkney was later asked

whether it would mean that “a Muslim could run for office in these United States?” Pinckney’s answer? “Yes, it does, and I hope to live to see it happen.”

I love it. But when asked for the cite, Railton could only reply

Thanks for the comment and good question. I found this exchange a good while back while working with Elliott’s Debates, the multi-volume account of the ratification debates, in the Library of Congress. As I noted and recorded it then, Pinckney was responding to a question from Patrick Calhoun, father of John C.; Calhoun’s question did use the word Mahometan, which I decided here to modernize.

The exchange stood out to me sufficiently when I noted it then that I believe that I read, recorded, and remember it accurately, although unfortunately while writing this piece I wasn’t able to find it documented in the available online transcripts of portions of the ratification debates. That’s a tricky question when it comes to online op eds like this, I guess–if I were including it in a book or even journal article I would probably have to make a trip to DC to confirm from prior notes before including it, but I felt it okay to rely on my notes and memory for this piece.

Hope that helps, and sorry I don’t have an online source for it. Thanks,
Ben

I couldn’t have gotten away with that kind of lame citation in college. Apparently Railton’s school was more forgiving.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/if-charles-pinckney-1780s-southern-politician-fought-islamophobia-we-can-too

PS: If you’d care to search for yourself, the Constitution Society has Elliot’s Debates on line.

PPS: Thanks to MrMild for this:

Lincoln quote

NBC Nightly News starring Jon Stewart

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Brian Williams has been suspended from NBC for six months and Jon Stewart has announced his retirement from The Daily Show.

What a great opportunity for the Peacock Network to boost its credibility by bringing aboard the guy who’s done more to restore real journalism to the airwaves than anyone else in the mainstream media.

If NBC can’t afford Stewart, maybe they could sign Seth Meyers. We know he can read the news, he’s entertaining and his late night show sucks anyway.

Jon Stewart’s retirement matches up well with NBC opening – NY Daily News.

Jack White’s Agency Blacklists University Of Oklahoma For Publishing His Guacamole Recipe and Contract

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One of the cool things about working here at the BiteCastle is that you get to make fun of the stupid things famous people do. Like musician Jack White.

White has been booked to play at the University of Oklahoma. The school paper, The Oklahoma Daily, cleverly used a Freedom of Information Act request to get a copy of White’s contract from which they published some of the more amusing bits like White’s preferred guacamole recipe.

Hilarity ensued, followed shortly thereafter by White’s booking agency, William Morris Endeavor Entertainment, deciding to bar all of its clients from working at OU.

So, do I really think White is an asshole for wanting a particular kind of guacamole? Nah. If I were stuck making a living in Norman, Oklahoma, I’d want chunky guacamole, too.

The real assholes here are White’s agents, who think that withholding the services of top talent like Barry Manilow, Snoop Dogg, and Paris Hilton is some kind of unbearable punishment.

More like a blessing, I’d say.

Jack White’s Agency Blacklists University Of Oklahoma For Publishing His Guacamole Recipe, Contract.

NB: The Smoking Gun has been publishing artist riders for years.

Facebook will filter out fake news because you’re too stupid to do it yourself

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According to Snopes, “In recent years, the spread of fake news stories (designed to drive traffic to fake news-generating sites) by inducing social media users to share links has been increasing in a manner that appears almost exponential.”

Here at BITEME, we love fake news. In fact we used to sit around, reading randomly-clipped articles from the Weekly World News, the Onion, and the New York Post, and then try to guess which paper the clipping came from.

But in case you’re not smart enough to do it yourself, Facebook has announced

Today’s update to News Feed reduces the distribution of posts that people have reported as hoaxes and adds an annotation to posts that have received many of these types of reports to warn others on Facebook.

Interestingly, the fake ads that used to abound on Facebook seem to be fewer these days.

snopes.com: Facebook to Rain on Fake News Parade.

If you die at NY Presbyterian Hospital, your family will get to see it on TV!

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NY Presbyterian is offering a new service to families of people who die in their facility. Thanks to recent technological advances, a family can now watch their loved one’s death throes on television. No DVD player is needed because it will be shown on regular broadcast TV.

‘I saw my husband die’: TV show featuring Dr. Oz broadcast patient’s death without permission.

Prosecute Torturers and their Bosses

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In a blistering editorial published in the Monday edition of the New York Times, the editorial page editors are calling upon the Justice Department to open an investigation into the torture practices committed during the administration of President George W. Bush with an eye towards prosecuting those who “committed torture and other serious crimes,” along with former Vice President Dick Cheney and other major administration officials.

The Bitemaster has reservations about whether such a prosecution would be a good idea, but gives the Old Gray Lady credit for having the guts to propose it.

via New York Times calls for Cheney, Bush officials to be investigated and prosecuted for torture.

NY Times plays kissy face with Chris Christie

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When Times reporter Mark Leibovich wrote of Governor Christie “he did not halt passage of a same-sex-marriage bill in New Jersey last year,” he must have known that it wasn’t true. In fact Christie had vetoed the gay marriage bill and then fought against the lawsuit that followed. After losing the lawsuit, Christie decided to surrender.

Saying that Christie did not halt passage of a same-sex-marriage bill is like saying that Japan didn’t oppose the Potsdam Declaration.

N.J. gay rights leader lashes out at New York Times over Christie profile: The Auditor | NJ.com.

Smithsonian Magazine names George W. Bush and not Obama one of 100 most significant Americans

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“The in-house magazine for the Smithsonian Institution decided that George W. Bush is a more ‘significant’ figure in U.S. history than the country’s first Black president, Barack Obama, who did not make the list.”

And BiteMe names Smithsonian Magazine to its list of the 100 Least Significant Magazines.

Smithsonian names George W. Bush and not Obama to ’100 most Significant Americans’ and no one cares.

This is how you write a retraction

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Earlier this week, Deadspin ran an article claiming U.S. Rep. Cory Gardner, Republican candidate for Senate, had misrepresented his high school football career. Later, Deadspin concluded that they had the story wrong and that Cory’s version of events was correct.

Instead of running a “if mistakes were made . . . ” half-hearted retraction, Deadspin said “We fucked up.”

Good for them.

How Deadspin Fucked Up The Cory Gardner Story.

Hat tip to MrMild.