Right-wing kooks spread 'misinformation' that Newsweek's Sharon Begley is ugly

Newsweek's incredibly attractive science editor, Sharon Begley, says that " some of the loudest opposition" to ObamaCare "is the result of confirmatory bias, cognitive dissonance, and other examples of mental processes that have gone off the rails":

Obama's opponents also need to find evidence that their reading of him back in November was correct. They therefore seize on "confirmation" that he wants to, for instance, redistribute the wealth, as in his "spread the wealth around" remark to Joe the Plumber -- finding such confirmation in the claims that health-care reform will do just that, redistributing health care from those who have it now to the 46 million currently uninsured. Similarly, they seize on anything that confirms the "socialist" label that got pinned on Obama during the campaign, or the pro-abortion label -- anything to comfort themselves that they made the right choice last November.

Well, there you have it, folks: It's science, and only crazy people argue with science.

Borderline schizophrenic Jeff Poor of the Media Research Center accuses the stunning Sharon Begley of having an "elitist persona." Obviously, Jeff is suffering from cognitive dissonance, and this derogatory comment is an effort to comfort himself for the feelings of inferiority caused by his recognition that he'll never be worthy of a sexually magnetic woman like Sharon Begley.

Another pathetic example of "mental processes that have gone off the rails"? Ace of Spades, whose pathological obsession with the irresistibly alluring Sharon Begley leads him to "seize on confirmation" that she's hot for him:

• Sharon Begley, May 2007: Bush is mentally ill, suffering from delusions due to deep denial.
• Sharon Begley, June 2007: Democrats lose elections because they target the rational side of the brain, while Republicans target the irrational side.
• Sharon Begley, October 2007: Those who deny global warming are kooks and cranks like those nuts who deny the moon landing.

All of which is clear scientific evidence that Ace of Spades suffers from dangerous erotic compulsions toward Sharon Begley. But then again, don't we all?

Remember, denial is part of the problem. If you think President Obama's modest health-care reform agenda is "socialized medicine" or if -- like Ace -- you refuse to acknowledge your overpowering attraction to Sharon Begley, you have already begun losing touch with reality and should seek professional treatment immediately.

MRC's Notable Quotables

The Media Research Center has announced its 2008 Notable Quotable Awards, with Quote of the Year going to -- who else? -- Chris Matthews:

The competition was probably toughest for the Obamagasm Award, won by Nancy Gibbs of Time magazine for this foray into disinterested objectivity:

Some princes are born in palaces. Some are born in mangers. But a few are born in the imagination, out of scraps of history and hope....

Gibbs beat out David Gergen -- CNN's idea of a Republican -- who said of Obama's Denver convention speech that "it was less a speech than a symphony. . . . a masterpiece."

There's much, much more, including:

• The reporter who admitted that his "knees quaked" when he was assigned to cover Obama, because he "wondered if I could do the campaign justice."
• The reporter who called T. Boone Pickens' sponsorship of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth "an ugly chapter in American political history."
• The Pummeling Palin Award, where Chris Matthews had to be inventive to beat out Joy Behar's assertion that Sarah Palin is "very mean to animals, this woman."

. . . and don't miss this hard-hitting interview by Brian Williams, which rated only runner-up for the "Let Us Fluff Your Pillow Award":

Brian should demand a recount!

(Cross-posted at AmSpecBlog.)

MRC Gala report

The Media Research Center's Dishonor Awards Gala was fabulous, but this won't be a full report. I didn't get home until after 3 a.m., then spent over an hour uploading and tagging photos for Facebook. I have notes, but am too tired to go through them right now.

Video of Ann Coulter:



Other notes from the event:

1. Chris Matthews won the "Quote of the Year" dishonor for an incredibly gushy appraisal of Obama.

2. Tom Tancredo and Jim Gilchrist were cheered lustily.

3. Arriving 15 minutes early, I was walking across the ballroom lobby when who should come running out of the ballroom but Ann Coulter, who recognized me and hugged me. Very cool. Later, after crashing the VIP reception, I introduced Ann to "Gettysburg" filmmaker Ron Maxwell, and they seemed to hit it off wonderfully.

4. Georgia talk-radio empress Martha Zoller was there with her lovely daughter and her lovely intern -- who is also her daughter's classmate. Martha also knows my buddy Tommy (pictured). It's always good to see Georgia folks, especially the lovely ones.

5. My hosts were the Intercollegiate Study Institute, and my tablemates included ISI's Douglas Schneider, the Collegiate Network's Joe Lindsley, James Dickson from the American Spectator, and Peter Redpath of the Federalist Society.

6. Ran into my longtime blog buddy Dan Riehl after the dinner. Dan was eager to meet his e-mail buddy, talk-radio supernova Mark Levin, but couldn't find him in the crowded ballroom. I helped locate The Great One and took a photo of Dan and Mark. (Mark is much taller than he sounds on the radio.)

7. At the after-party, Lene Johansen of the Competitive Enteprise Institute was talking to John Fund of the Wall Street Journal, trying to explain to him the origins of the Facebook group, "John Fund Stole My Beer." (A long, long story . . .)

Will attempt to update and expand later. But I must have sleep first. There's video of the gala at Eyeblast TV.

UPDATE: Thanks to Dan Riehl for the link, and for the praise, "The guy has to be the hardest working dude in DC. I've yet to meet someone here he doesn't know." Whether meeting people at banquets, receptions and conferences can be considered "work" is an interesting question, but I'll simply quote Greg "Otter" Stratton from "Animal House": "Don't think of it as work. The whole point is just to enjoy yourself."

Dan also links to Ken Shepherd's Newsbusters account of Thursday night's proceedings, and to this video about Medal of Honor recipient Lt. Michael Murphy, USN:

The story of Murphy and the other members of Seal Team 10 are told by Petty Officer Marcus Luttrell in his book, Lone Survivor.

Blogging will be light

I'll be attending the Media Research Center's "Dishonor Awards" gala tonight at the Grand Hyatt, celebrating my 22-year Pulitzer losing streak.

Therefore, expect no further blogging until after the after-party. And the after-after-party. And the post-after-after-party, et cetera. When the VRWC celebrates, they celebrate.