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Wednesday, February 21, 2018

Sliver Among the Gold

stilton’s place, stilton, political, humor, conservative, cartoons, jokes, hope n’ change, russia, facebook ads, pearl harbor

To hear the media leftists tell it, the Russian campaign to buy Facebook ads was a worse attack on the United States than the one which occurred at Pearl Harbor. That's not just our usual whimsical wordplay - that's what their talking points are currently saying: a worse attack than Pearl Harbor.

This tells us three things about these (unprintable) morons: they don't give a damn about history, they've never visited the Arizona Memorial (which is good, because it's hallowed ground), and if they ever do visit the Memorial they'll have to swim back to shore if they open their stupid yaps in front of actual Americans.

This kind of idiotic hyperbole can be dismissed with a shake of the head by rational adults of a certain age. But for younger viewers who have no actual concept of (or interest in) what Pearl Harbor represents, this kind of false equivalency can actually sway what passes for their minds.

So just how big and powerful was the Russian Facebook ad attack on America? And did those ads change the outcome of the election, as the left would have you believe?

According to an experienced campaign finance expert on Fox's "Tucker Carlson Show," the Russians spent $46,000 on Facebook ads. Meanwhile, the combined campaigns of Clinton and Trump (mostly Clinton) spent $81 million on Facebook ads (and that's not including buys from other political interest groups).

Crunching the actual numbers, this means that of all the campaign ads on Facebook, over 99.9% weren't originated by Russia. Making it pretty darn unlikely that Russia was able to tip the balance and impact the election - or even be heard over the clamor and clangor of the big money candidates.

Granted, the Russian disinformation campaign was more than a relatively microscopic number of Facebook ads. They also assaulted America with an infinitesimally small presence on Twitter and other social media sites frequented by people who enjoy a "less is more" philosophy when it comes to reading, thinking, and other challenging activities.

In closing, we just want the media to shut up about all of this, and especially want them to button their lips regarding any Pearl Harbor comparisons. Although we will concede that any day which saw the graduation of one of these buffoons from journalism school should be considered a date which will live in infamy.

52 comments:

Mike aka Proof said...

Out of one side of their mouths, these leftist dweebs tell us that the Russian interference was worse than Pearl Harbor, worse than 9-11, an act of war without all the body counts, and out of the other side of their mouths, they tell us they don't want a war with Russia!
If thy don't want war, they're sure going about it in an awfully strange way!

Geoff King said...

You mean to tell me that some of the things I read on Facebook may not be totally aboveboard, honest, and factual?
What about the current meme making the rounds that states that on April 20th (4/20) we will have a "green" moon for the first time in 420 years? Sounds legit to me.

REM1875 said...

Two Russians held a gun to my head till I voted for Trump.......didn't that happen to everyone??? .......

ThomasJK said...

The Russians influenced the outcome of the election by spreading the scurrilous TRUTH and keeping it in front of America when our Marionette Sycophant Media was failing to do so.

Fred Ciampi said...

Stilt, you mentioned journalism school. Approximately 98.6% of what I read would not pass eighth grade English for prose, diction, grammar, and punctuation. And don't get me started on spelling and word usage......... Plus, I don't think any one of these word merchants own a spell checker or know the meaning of proofread. Herb Caen is turning over in his grave.

And Geoff, green moon on 4/20? The moon is always green because that's the color of cheese ... Oh, wait, except Mozzarella. It's kind of an off white. Like my moonshine.

And facebook is always truthful, honest, and allows everyone to state their own views. Just ask the zukerbunny, he'll tell you.

Jack Wiegman said...

Helps to know that a President's job is to "collude" with all other nations to keep peace. A president looks for common ground and examines mutual need.

Alan said...

Our own government might be the real problem. We're being turned against one another to the point that another civil war is brewing.

Judi King said...

They all seem to be "forgetting" that obdumbo was president during 2016. Where was his administration when all this alleged corruption was going on? And why would the Russians want Trump to win? Why did the Russians give the clinton foundation millons for uranium? Why? Why? Why?

Fish Out of Water said...

Comment not on this topic, but a tech question. Many times I access Stilton's Place with my handheld(Android) device. However, the strip is too small to read and tapping or using my fingers to try to enlarge the strip only sends me to the previous posting. Its there a solution to this or is this just an artifact of the beast (Android)?

graylady said...

@Alan
I think the MSM is more to blame that our government. I believe they would just love the a second civil war. They'd have all the horrors to falsely lament and could/would place all the blame on Trump

Gumby-damn-it! said...

The Arizona memorial is sufficiently hallowed real estate that I was encouraged to leave my "deployed location" to accompany a family member's remains there so that he could be reconnected with his shipmates.

I would accuse these lunatics of talking out of their @$$es, but that would be to insinuate that they may actually be of some minimal value to society. Just add a source of ignition to their decidedly anal spew and the result could be considered to be a source of heat; not that they'd share once that realization jelled.

Geoff King said...

I also access this site on my Android. On my phone, if text is too small I am able to enlarge it by going to:
Settings - Accessibility - Vision - Font Size.
Hope that helps.

TrickyRicky said...

What is Tora Tora Tora in Russian? Just wondering.
Bye, going skiing to get this crap out of my mind.
Cheers

Fred Ciampi said...

TrickyRicky, Tora Tora Tora in Russian is Topa Topa Topa. Yay.

Emmentaler Limburger said...

I'm sure Russia isn't the only country "meddling" in our elections in this manner. Per the number of people and the budget: ho-hum. Russia has a little hobby...

Stilton Jarlsberg said...

@Mike aka Proof- You're exactly right; the Leftists using the Pearl Harbor talking point are arguing for all-out war...unless, maybe, they know they're lying.

@Geoff King- In many parts of the country, people won't actually be able to see the green moon because of all the haze.

@REM1875- I didn't have a gun held to my head, but the voting machine did give me a small shock and say "Nyet" when I tried to vote for anyone but Trump.

@Fred Ciampi-These days, it's pretty rare for me to read an online article (even from top sites) that does not contain spelling and grammatical errors. Back in the ancient days of print media, this was unheard of. But now, people are in too much of a rush to proofread or edit. Plus, there are clearly people writing who don't know diddly squat about the craft.

@Jack Wiegman- Great point! Maybe if we renamed the UN the "Colluded Nations" people could figure this out.

@Alan- Obama and his crew were definitely trying to set Americans against each other. I don't really think Trump is doing so intentionally, but the media and Democrats are still using him to try to instigate fear and violence. Not long after Trump's election, one alleged news channel made this idiotic observation (and I'm paraphrasing):

News anchor: People of color are afraid that Trump's election means they may be shot in the streets. Are their concerns valid?
Guest expert: Yes.

@Judi King- Barry claimed to be aware of this, and boasted of his telling Putin to "cut it out." Which no doubt gave Putin his biggest laugh of the day.

@Fish Out of Water- Theoretically (and I just tried this myself), you should automatically get the "mobile-friendly" version of the site on your Android device. That version favors text, and shrinks the images. But if you tap just ONCE on the actual cartoon, it will go to a bigger version. Turn your device sideways (to landscape orientation) and the picture should then fill the space and be perfectly easy to read. I hope.

@graylady- It's hard to separate the MSM from the government in fomenting this division, but no matter where the message originates it is the MSM that's functioning as the bullhorn.

@Gumby-damn-it!- Thank you for sharing your own personal experience with the Arizona Memorial. I don't think those on the Left can appreciate the solemnity and sanctity of that site owing to their lack of historical or moral underpinnings.

@Geoff King- Readers should also try Settings - Accessibility - Humor - Funnier to enjoy the fullest experience.

@TrickyRicky- And in Hebrew, it's Torah, Torah, Torah. At least, that's what I've heard.

@Fred Ciampi- You seem to know a lot about Russian. Expect to be subpoenaed by Mueller soon.

@Emmentaler Limburger- This kind of "meddling" goes on everywhere, all the time. And I'm pretty sure George Soros spent a lot more than the Russians when meddling with the last election.

Gee M said...

@ Geoff
Not everyone gets 420...
I smiled thinking of the fun stoners have whenever something reminds them that many places no longer put a felony on the 420 experience...

A green moon is almost as fun as the mile markers at 420 miles...some states have taken to placing 419.5 mile markers to keep a few around! LOL.

Das verdanya! YA golosoval za Donal'da !

Dave said...

“The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.” Thomas Jefferson.

Dan said...

The Russians/Soviets been messing in the world's elections since at least the '30s. I'm guessing we've been doing it, too, since at least 1945.

Donations from California mess with New Jersey elections, as do those from Florida mess with Maine.

Sheesh.

james daily said...

I submit that illegal voters had a larger effect on the election than the Russians ever thought about. Thank God our forefathers though up the electoral college. If only property owners were the voters as they once were, we would never hear of a democrat.
I have been thinking on a civil war and wonder if our military would be willing to fire on the citizens or would there a mutiny or would they also divide and fire on each other? I do not want to find out.
When we have our own state governments defying immigration laws, that is a giant concern. I do hope that in our next great adventure, these despicable MSM talking heads have to answer for their thinking especially about the disparaging remarks about Pearl Harbor. That is sick.

Walter L. Stafford said...

Let's try to simplify this matter. If you like peanut butter and jelly so be it! If you like the daily rations of the Democraptic/Liberal/Progressive bullshit served, the liberal media, then is your warehouse and mental food source! Bon Appetite!

Anonymous said...

TOPA TOPA TOPA?????? ROFLLLLLLLing If every snowflake out there were to melt, we would have Spring Thaw a whole lot earlier than 20 March 2018! This is effin’ sad. I have had to explain WWII to many a millennial but SHITFIRE!!!!WHY do I have to do a job of being a history teacher? Just another thing that fries my ASSets........

Susan Guck said...

Hmmmmmmmm.......FB is NOT factual? WELL.....GLORYOSKI!!!!! . Butter my bunz and call me BISCUIT!!!

Liberty Card said...

I just wonder when they will come to the realization that Republicans interfered with their election too.

Velveeta Processed Cheese Food said...

Speaking of historical illiteracy, last week or so I read an interview with an unnamed Oscar voter described as being over 65 years old. This guy (I'm assuming for the sake of science it was a guy) said he couldn't have voted for "Dunkirk" because the movie completely confused him. The root of his problem was that he didn't know Dunkirk was in France! While letting this person vote for Oscars is of no consequence, the thought that he gets to vote in real elections is pretty scary.

Speaking of generally illiteracy in the media, yes. I attended a J-school back in the '70s. The faculty included not one person with an advanced degree - they were all old war horses from the business. In the news-writing classes any and all mistakes in grammar, usage, etc. were punished by making the malefactor write an obit of a living public figure. I only had to do about three of them before I wised up and handed in mistake-free copy. Some people got so far behind they just quit. In my beginning news-writing class the professor (an ex-editor) fired two students at midterm in front of the class. After picking their jaws up off the table they collected their stuff and left. I can't imagine that happening today.

I had always been considered a poor speller. After my training and being in the business awhile I could spell nearly any word. Nowadays, after being exposed to spell checkers, I can barely spell cat, so I'm not sure they're a plus. And the last time I allowed Word's grammar checker to function, it was exactly wrong nearly 100% of the time. My guess is that project was farmed out to non-native speakers of English, or it could have been the first wave of general illiteracy among natives.

james daily said...

Now that I remember, old age sucks, Obama sent James Carville et al to interfear with the Israel elections and spent a boo koo of money on this - and did it more than once. He could not stand Bibi and did every thing in his power to thwart him

Fred Ciampi said...

James Daily, when I was in the Corps one of the oaths we took was never to fire on our own citizens. However, we could certainly fire upon our gubbermint officials if it were deemed that they violated the Constitution. And that goes for the Army, Navy, and Air Force. I think that the Coast Guard is still under the IRS or one of the alphabet agencies but they aren't taught how to shoot anyway.

Gee M said...

Yes, Obama did indeed try to kill Bibi's election...ooops! How quickly the Dems forget how God...er, Obongo...committed a serious breach of international law, or etiquette for sure, yet the Russians using free to all Facebook and other useful tools to foment Liberal dumbassery, receive Mueller subpoenas and the title of heinous Russian internet Spetsnaz assault commandos!
If we do have an un-civil war between the Reds and the Blue (97% of the gun owners vs 3%, more or less), will duly electing more conservatives be considered a coup? And will we have to clean up after the "panic and run" Libbies when they realize a war would be pretty much a few hours of happy cons redoing the playing field with a bit more noise than an Antifa rally?
The military would probably sit it out while drinking beer and laughing a lot at Libbies forgetting the US military is for foreign actions.
I doubt the noisy Libs would agree to a real fight so it's just a pipe-dream, like free MariJawana for all...let's just elect more cons and legislate the dumbassery out of the political structure as much as possible.
Free beer for all might garner popular support...?

Fish Out of Water said...

@stilton. Yup, that did the trick. Thanks!

Andrew said...

Russians spent far less diddling with our elections than the previous president, the Annointed Lightbringer himself, spent destabilizing the elections in Israel or, well, Russia.

And, Fred C., after the fall of the USSR, KGB records show that the Soviets invested heavily into our journalism schools from pretty much the day they started (the USSR, not the schools, well, the new schools, too.) And bought heavily into news organizations, especially the 'stringer' groups that supplied info to other groups.

So, using the logic I learned in my old school, let's see. The USSR/Russia has bought and formed the MSM since the 20's. The MSM as a whole supported Clinton and the Lightbringer almost completely. The MSM also blatantly attacked Clinton's opponents, whether in the DNC or RNC. Therefore... Russia did collude in our elections, attempting to swing the votes to... Clinton. QED. Ipso Facto, take that to the Banko (as my Geometry teacher said.)

But the MSM, bought and paid for surrogates of Mother Russia, will never report this. Duh.

John the Econ said...

So basically, what they are upset about is that after spending over a billion dollars to elect "inevitable" Hillary Clinton, the Russians turned the election for Trump for the price of a loaded Ford pickup.

Quite frankly, knowing that I probably would have voted for the Russians had I been given the choice. I have to admire their effective use of taxpayer dollars. If the Federal government was only half that efficient, we could have easily completely replaced all of the infrastructure of the country for what Obama spent on "shovel ready" projects 8 years ago.

Of course, I'm old enough to remember when Democrats not only had no problem with Russian interference with our elections, but actually sought out their help.

Blasphemy & Hyperbole: One of the big questions of late 2016 was how long will the left be able to keep up the over-the-top outrage? On one hand, you'd think that people would get worn out promoting it month after month. But then again, you have to consider that there is an actual well-funded outrage industry involved here; people literally paid or sustained by Progressivism and big government. So it's in their economic self-interest to keep it going indefinitely.

So that makes the real question, when will those not paid by the machine get tired of it?

My guess is that they already are. When everything is a crisis, nothing is. When the volume and hyperbole of genderless bathrooms and few tens of thousands of dollars spent meddling on an election matches that of an actual terrorist attack or war, everything gets cheapened.

Speaking of:

Fla. School Shooting Survivors March For Tougher Gun Laws

So public policy is now to be dictated by high school kids? You wouldn't trust any of these kids with your wallet or liquor cabinet. Why take them seriously on how to fix gun violence? Quite frankly, they're part of the problem.

So let me ask this: The next time there is a horrific event, say like a San Bernardino or Orlando, and we round up kids to march on Washington to demand an end to Middle East immigration, how seriously would that get taken?

PvtCharlieSlate said...

No, no, no ...
On April 20th the Man-in-the-Moon will grow a small, dark moustache.

Redleger said...

Geoff on 4/20 if you eat a mushroom pizza you'll see a moon

Redleger said...

Same here. I tap to enlarge and spread one cell at a time, and yes sometimes it goes wanky,but most of the time I can succeed

Redleger said...

Funny

Redleger said...

FREE BEER
WHERE
WHEN
AND SHOOTING
DID I HERE FREE BEER

SpectreRider said...

Running Android 7.0 (was the same running earlier versions) tap once on the toon and it opens in a new window which can be zoomed. But as a workaround for sites that won't zoom, I screenshot the page and then can zoom in on the screenshot. Works fine. Takes about five seconds.

Anonymous said...

r.e. historical illiteracy... I went to some effort to acquire a firearm with serial number 0001776. While doing paperwork at a local FFL to habe the gun shipped to them I remarked that I had waited a long time to get that serial mumber. The young lady then says one seven seven six then looks at me. Blank stare. I try to help her out by reprasing it to seventeen seventy six. More blank stare. Not one f'n clue did she have. The number 1776 meant nothing to a recent high school graduate. But I bet she could explain that global warming was going to make polar bears extinct.

SpectreRider said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
james daily said...

HB George.

John the Econ said...

@Anonymous re "historical illiteracy":

Sad, and no surprise. I for one believe that such historical illiteracy is by design. A people ignorant of their past are easier to steer towards someone else's vision of the future.

Gee M said...

@John the Econ
True dat.
Imagine how teary eyed they'd get if you informed them that Assault Rifles can't be banned due to they're already banned, unless you qualify for a Fed "automatic rifle" license.
(Blank stare)
Banning scary-looking rifles would be silly, so you are wasting time that could be used playing Call Of Duty or some other smooth video FPS game.
(Trembling upper lip, tears to follow)


@ anthony arrigo

As I said, NOT a serious possibility the Libbies would show up to a gun fight with a sad face and their Demotard Talking Points / Internet Trolling Manuals.
So that probably won't happen.
With a minority of the firearms in the US, mostly .32 and .25 cal pocket guns for Feminine Protection, even Libbies with fab scarves covering their faces could feel how futile that situation would be.

@ Anonymous Anonymous

Sounds like a "Jaywalking" episode, only with you in the scene.

Dan said...

@John the Econ
What?? You don't want to turn all legal and political decision-making to the children? But they're wise beyond their years. We should give the vote to 16-year-olds we're being told.

And at the same time we're told that a 19-year-old isn't a full adult, shouldn't be allowed to purchase or drink alcohol, or buy a long gun. But they *are* mature enough to vote, enter into contracts, join the military, etc., etc., etc.

And if they join the military, they get to have full-auto weapons, even a tank.

Seems like our MSM/Lib (BIRM) folks are speaking from both sides of their mouths.

Colby Muenster said...

@anonymous,

Hence the need for school choice. All 6 of my grandsons attend (or attended) a charter school where things like history are still taught. The difference between them and your typical public school student is beyond stark. Now, the two oldest (who moved into public school in 9th grade) are both Seniors; #1 and #6 in a class of about 250 people. Not tooting my horn here - it's just a fact that public schools are a total joke when it comes to helping youngsters become productive citizens and true successes, not moonbats with degrees in Mid African Studies or Global Climate Change.

On another somewhat amusing subject, did y'all hear about the crap O'Liar took for saying something nice about Billy Graham? This is the first time EVER I thought BHO did the right thing, and he gets blasted by the rainbows.

John the Econ said...

@Dan, if you try to apply any semblance of logic to their arguments, you ultimately end up trying to divide by zero. The list of contradictions is endless:

o "Adults" who need to be on parent's health plans to at least 26.
o We needed laws to protect adult women from being offended by "uncomfortable" talk, but 14-year-olds are mature enough to make decisions regarding their "reproductive health".
o We need to fight the opioid epidemic while continuing to drug half our school children.
o Americans aren't mature enough to own guns, but they are mature enough for hallucinogenics.

And the ultimate absurdity, sub-literate 16-year-old should be able to vote for something other than prom king and queen.

Just more proof that lowering the voting age from 21 to 18 was a mistake.

@Colby Muenster re Billy Graham: Your observation is just another example of how the left has dropped all pretense of being the "people against hate", and is now publicly quite comfortable being the real "haters" in society.

Rod said...

This is just a little one-off thing but while we're discussing talking heads in the media: Does anyone here know why we only see the right side of David Muir's face? Is he missing a left ear; or is his nose just that crooked? Maybe someone broke it? He is one of the kings of crappy and sensationalized grammar in the media.

One of my sons now refers to nearly all network TV evening news as "Five victims and a puppy".

Stilton Jarlsberg said...

@Readers- Spectacular comments above! No help needed from me!

Boligat said...

@John the Econ

"So public policy is now to be dictated by high school kids? You wouldn't trust any of these kids with your wallet or liquor cabinet. Why take them seriously on how to fix gun violence? Quite frankly, they're part of the problem."

Yes, indeedy. They are part of the problem. I recently retired after 30+ years in the trenches. Kids can be very cruel and very, very vicious.

Most of the school shooters are, or were, students in the school they shot up. Why? The shooters usually hate the school, the teachers, the administrators, AND THEIR CLASSMATES. Why? How many of the kids now protesting actually knew Cruz? How many went out of their way to befriend him? Not saying they have to become best buds, but how many ever took any kind of interest in him and his problems? How many ever offered a word of encouragement? How many ever offered to help out with his homework? How many ever even smiled at him? How many ever defended him when others cut him down? How many ever urged their classmates to be nice and then led by example?

Just askin'

The students need to understand that they are their own first line of defense.

james daily said...

Part of this is the 911 mentality. Let the government take care of it. The conditioning of these children by liberal teachers that the government is the solver of their problems will get many more deaths. Remember N O in Katrina? Waiting for the government to save their kiesters instead of helping themselves caused many unnecessary deaths. I still admire the kid that got the school bus and took a load to Houston. Without his taking action, probably half that busload would have died. When seconds count, the police are minutes away.

Popular Front said...

I visited the Arizona Memorial in 1978 as a guest of the US Navy. It was very moving, considering all those sailors down there. The party I was with were very quiet, hardly a voice to be heard, even the conducting officer spoke in a very low voice. I won't forget it.

John the Econ said...

@Boligat said "Kids can be very cruel and very, very vicious."

Indeed. Isn't The Lord of the Flies required reading anymore? Because what we're witnessing today is simply the 21st century version in real life.

Last night on our local news, there was a story about a school district deploying an "anti-bullying app", where students could report bullying. It took me a microsecond to see the problem with that. I told Mrs. Econ, "Isn't it ironic that the 'anti-bullying app' will actually more likely be used as a tool of bullying?"

You are so right about the kids (and their parents) being much of the problem. That's part of the reason they're all focusing on the gun. It takes the focus away from their complicity in the problem.

"The students need to understand that they are their own first line of defense."

Isn't that the truth. Because when the stuff hits the fan, the government is not going to save you.

NVRick said...

Libs are always crying that they would do anything to protect 'the children'. But when it is suggested having armed teachers and staff in the schools, suddenly and always, they don't mean 'that' anything.
The coach is hailed as being a hero and saving the lives of children. But is he and did he? If he had been armed, I dare say he would indeed have saved some of the children. Instead, he just provided a target that was larger and easier to hit.
I wish someone with the necessary skills would produce a film showing two versions of a school attack. The first would be showing a shooter in a free fire zone picking off one victim after the other, with some adults running toward the shooter to 'save' the kids. The second would show the coach walking around the corner of the hallway and dropping the shooter with two or more well placed shots. Granted, in the second scenario, there would no doubt be casualties, but during the end credits, the names of the 'saved' victims could be compared in the two versions.