Audio: Today's Podcast

On today's program...

* ATF's latest flawed gun scandal... in MIlwaukee
* How's that Arab Spring thing going? Guy who helped spearhead revolution in Egypt doesn't like the result
* Texas Muslim State Capitol day in Austin

Video: Texas Governor went after Turkey in Presidential Debate, how about in his own State?

In one of Rick Perry's last debates, he publicly singled out Turkey for its increasingly Islamist government. This tells us that he must have a significant understanding of the dynamics behind what makes that government work. One of those dynamics is a Turkish imam named Fethullah Gulen. However, Gulen lives in the Untied States and his schools have a significant presence across the United States, to include Texas.

As the video points out, public tax dollars have been used to build a Gulen charter school in Perry's backyard - Austin, TX. The Harmony School of Political Science and Journalism has been built to "influence the next generation of politicians, voters, and news writers."

Must-see video:



h/t Donna

AUSTIN STATESMAN RESPONDS TO MY OFFER OF SOLIDARITY

After the very liberal paper - the Austin American Statesman - printed reader letters expressing opposition to the Austin city council's boycott of Arizona over SB 1070, it heard from Barack Obama's Organizing for America (OFA). OFA was going astroturf against the Statesman by encouraging all of its members to write to the paper. Why? Because there were no letters expressing support of the boycott and the Statesman and OFA saw it as a matter of unfairness that had to be righted.

I decided to write the Statesman to express my support for them, despite their very storied liberal bent. If the Community Organisms were going identify them as a target to be intimidated, they should be supported regardless of how ideological they are.

On May 28th, my letter appeared in the Statesman, strategically placed right above an editor's note that seemed to be an attempt to dismiss the offer:

As a radio talk show host and producer for "The Lynn Woolley Show," I would like to express solidarity with the American-Statesman with respect to the paper being the target of intimidation from Organizing for America. Stand strong and know that you did nothing wrong by publishing reader letters (May 19) in opposition to the recent City Council resolution calling for an Austin boycott of Arizona.

Ben Barrack

benbarrack@yahoo.com

Georgetown

Editor's note: Organizing for America (www.barackobama.com) has borne no pressure on the American-Statesman, either directly or via letters that the organization might have encouraged. We have received a high volume of letters about Arizona's immigration law and the Austin City Council's resolution to stop doing business in Arizona, especially after we published 20 letters against the Austin boycott on May 19.

— Tom Widlowski, Letters editor

As with most of these newspaper guys, they're clever with how they word things, leaving much up to reader interpretation. If Widlowski is making the claim That OFA did not attempt to intimidate or pressure the Statesman, he's not being truthful (see image of OFA Austin flyer). If Widlowski is saying that OFA Austin attempted to organize an astroturf campaign that wasn't successful, he should have said that.

There were two emails I received in response to the letter above which I found interesting. The first serves as a perfect example of what I'm talking about.

From: Jeff
Subject: funny
To: benbarrack@yahoo.com
Date: Friday, May 28, 2010, 9:55 AM

That was so funny how the Austin American-Statesman called you on your lie in today's Letters column. This is a great example of what we all know (but many refuse to admit) that right-wing talk show hosts do best: make stuff up!

cheers,
Jeff

Calling what I wrote a lie is easily refuted by looking at the OFA flyer. Then again, perhaps Jeff's view comes from a misleading editor's note.

My personal favorite came from Michael. Keep in mind what the Arizona boycott is supposedly about - racism and discrimination as you read it.

From: Michael
Subject: Hate radio
To: benbarrack@yahoo.com
Date: Friday, May 28, 2010, 12:18 PM

Thanks for giving a name to just some of the hate radio right here in Central Texas. 9/11 happened on Bush and Chaney's watch...never forget!!

And just because you are a host and producer of some redneck talk show doesn't mean your words are truth for all!

Proud Native Texan senior,

Michael

Wouldn't you love to know what Michael thinks of the term "redneck" in light of the debate over the new Arizona law.

h/t to Hot Air for posting about the OFA Astroturf effort. That is how I became aware of it.

MACHETE DIRECTOR RODRIGUEZ BACK-PEDDLING

The protagonist in the film, 'Machete' is played by Danny Trejo. His character is a hero to the illegal aliens in the United States. In the film, he is recruited to assassinate a U.S. Senator - played by Robert DeNiro - who is cracking down on illegal immigration. Trejo ends up being shot himself and proceeds to take out his vengeance on those who did him wrong. The film was directed by Robert Rodriguez and shot in Austin, TX.

The trailer served as a lightning rod for controversy, starting off with Trejo delivering a Cinco de Mayo message to Arizona. The fallout from that has been significant. Rodriguez is known for his controversial statements and films but it appears the heat from the backlash may be getting to him.

Breitbart's Big Hollywood has the story courtesy of an interview with Rodriguez that involved questions about the trailer:

Rodriguez’s response to the uproar that followed the release of this trailer?: Just kiddin’! According to him, it’s not the actual movie that’s all about ginning up racial divisions … just the trailer, I guess.

You know, three minutes of race baiting, but thankfully not ninety.

You gotta love the way the Hollywood mind works.

But as with all things Leftist Hollywood, you have to look and read closely. The backlash was obviously unexpected and so Rodriguez poses as the innocent and tries to laugh the whole thing off as a misunderstanding. But buried deep in a rather tortured explanation and disguised as a throwaway is the real story:

RODRIGUEZ: I will admit that there were a few scenes that became so real in the past month because of what’s going on that they’ll be best left as a fascinating case study for the DVD extras. This will be my best DVD special features to date, that’s for sure.

Be sure to read it all because Rodriguez demonstrates that he is quite uncomfortable when held accountable. For far too long, these far left whack jobs have experienced no real consequences for their actions. We're seeing that there is a level of public pressure that can have an impact on these people. Go figure. It doesn't involve intimidation or threats - just truth and accountability.

Here's that lovely trailer too..



More HERE

OBAMA'S OFA GOING AFTER AUSTIN AMERICAN STATESMAN?

The Community Organisms have almost inexplicably targeted one of the most liberal newspapers in America - I know because I used to have it delivered. Why? Apparently, because of the paper's biased coverage of the Austin City Council's decision to boycott Arizona. I actually canceled my subscription because of how liberal the paper is.

Here is an image of the Organizing For FA Austin's appeal to the local community orgs.

Well, uh, actually OFA Austin seems to have a problem with the Statesman publishing letters from readers that express disapproval with the City council. According to OFA, the Statesman published 20 letters from readers and none of them were in support of the city council's decision.

I guess it never occurred to the community organisms that the paper didn't have any positive letters to publish. Maybe OFA should have checked the Spanish edition of the Statesman.

While this attack on the Statesman would seemingly be ill-advised because of its already-liberal bent, it should also be a wake up call to both the Statesman and any left wing media entity. This unequivocally shows that, like the title of Hillary Clinton's senior thesis, "There is Only the Fight", Community Orgs will not be satisfied with silencing conservatives. This shows that they are willing to go after media outlets that are generally sympathetic when they get a little off track.

HERE is the link to the Statesman page that includes letters from readers that the Community Orgs find objectionable. Take note that the email addresses of some of the letter writers have been published as well. I wonder how many of them are being harassed by the Orgs.

OFA Austin also links to the Statesman email page and asks its lemmings to send them a letter. I took the liberty of doing so myself and this is what I sent to them:

As a radio talk show host and producer for the Lynn Woolley Show, I would like to express solidarity with the Statesman with respect to your paper being the target of intimidation from Organizing for America. Stand strong and know that you did nothing wrong by publishing reader letters in opposition to the recent city council resolution calling for an Austin boycott of Arizona.

I discussed the matter of the Austin boycott at length on my May 16th program. HERE is a link to the podast.

h/t to Hot Air

VIDEO: TEXAS MOVIE IS FUEL FOR RACE WAR

When I first saw this trailer a few weeks ago, I was quite disturbed by it but decided not to post it. I've changed my mind for several reasons, not the least of which is the charge that taxpayer dollars may be funding it. As the Arizona law continues to fuel controversy, this film is likely to fuel more than that. If ever there was an example of yelling fire in a crowded theater, this film might just do it without anyone in the audience saying a word.

The name of this disgraceful film is, "Machete" and it was produced by Robert Rodriguez. It was filmed in Austin and has that Quentin Tarantino feel to it but with an anti-American, pro-Illegal alien theme. Those familiar with Tarantino's work know what kind of explosive combination that is.

The Texas Film Commission is a taxpayer funded entity overseen by the Governor of that state - Rick Perry. HERE is a link to a page on TFC's website that actually mentions Machete.

Here is the relevant excerpt:

Texas Film Commission Director BOB HUDGINS joins us for a conversation and Q&A, during which he'll give us an update on production in Texas and our new and improved incentives program for film, tv, commercial and video game makers -- who should definitely attend! Thus far, the Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Program has helped bring films like Machete, Predators and True Grit to Texas, along with television series like Friday Night Lights, The Deep End and Code 58, as well as numerous video game and commercial productions. In fact, after our legislation (HB 873) was signed last April, the program awarded over $22 million in production incentives through 2009, generating $184.5 million in Texas production spending and nearly 11,000 Texas cast and crew jobs by year's end. Don't miss your chance to hear the latest from Bob on how we're doing so far in 2010, and what's on the horizon this year.

Big Hollywood has more about confirming that taxpayer dollars via the Texas Film Commission actually helped fund this film.

A website called the Morrison Report is encouraging people to fax their complaint to Rick Perry and TFC Bob Hudgins. The link provided also includes an e-fax template, making the process easy. Perry, governor of the largest border state with Mexico has not exactly been standing with Arizona, a state that is increasingly needing support. All Perry says is that Arizona's law wouldn't be right for Texas. When you couple that with the prospect that the TFC could be subsidizing a film that actually singles out Arizona by name in the trailer below while placing the state in the crosshairs of an increasingly heated debate, Perry has some 'splaining to do.

The cast of this despicable film includes the following individuals who, by their very participation will likely be complicit in inflaming racial tensions.

* Robert DeNiro
* Don Johnson
* Lindsay Lohan
* Jessica Alba
* Cheech Marin
* Steven Seagal

TRAILER FOR 'MACHETE' **LANGUAGE WARNING**



h/t to ACT! For America in Austin as well as Big Hollywood

Austin Talk Show Hosts Suspended for language

I am familiar with both of these guys. Todd Jeffries and Don Pryor have a show on KLBJ 590 in Austin. Both have been suspended because one of them (Pryor) consistently used the term, "wetback". Despite Jeffries never using the word on-air and repeatedly warning Pryor to cease using it, both were suspended.

The Austin American Statesman has the story.

Having worked in downtown Austin for nine years, I know a little bit about the area. It is a city with many Hispanic leaders who hold prominent positions. A few calls from a few agitated listeners could have gotten quite a bit of attention, which it evidently did.

The Hispanic Area Chamber of Commerce chimed in on the matter:

"We acknowledge KLBJ's on-air apology, but we simply cannot see how his statements could be perceived as a joke," the Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce said in a statement.

Sticks and stones, right? Come on, people.

Folks, we all need to chill the heck out. While in Austin, I had several employees who were hispanic and there is no possible way I could repeat the words I heard. You know what though? We had each other's mutual respect and that is what is so lacking in this case. I'm of Irish descent (note I didn't say I'm an Irishman) and if you want to call me a Mick, have at it.

The most egregious part of this suspension is that Jeffries appears to have done nothing wrong and he is the victim of guilt by association with a man who uttered a questionably "racially insensitive" word more than once.

John Cornyn Gets Earful from Voters

h/t to Michelle Malkin for providing a link to the video of Texas Senator John Cornyn speaking at the Texas Capital on July 4th.

For those familiar with my show, I have been extremely critical of John Cornyn on a few fronts (his voting for TARP and his position on Sonia Sotomayor among them). Voters are so fed up with their politicians not listening to them and they may have walked away mad after John Cornyn was done talking but they weren't mad because he wasn't listening....

Oh, he heard them loud and clear.... Keep watching after the crowd dies down during Cornyn's paying tribute to the military. After he's done doing that and goes on to chastise Washington as almost a non-participatory observer, one protestor yells, "You're the PROBLEM!"



On March 26th, during an interview with Lynn Woolley Cornyn said he voted for TARP because he didn't understand enough about the issue and relied on advisors who told him Hank Paulson was the "smartest man on the planet". Like in the above video where Cornyn points a finger at Washington, D.C. when there were four pointing back at him, during the Woolley interview, he said Paulson "was wrong" without accepting blame himself.

My point then was that Cornyn apparently thought Paulson was smarter than his constituents because he chose to listen to the former as the latter told him overwhelmingly NOT to vote for TARP.

I'd like to ask a question of Mr. Cornyn...

How does it feel knowing that your constituents are smarter than the "smartest man on the planet"?