from today’s staff editorial:

You may have noticed that some of our news stories have been missing a few noticeable voices recently. Those voices include University of Nebraska-Lincoln Chancellor Harvey Perlman, other campus vice chancellors, associate vice chancellors and many more sources you’ve grown to expect to read in our coverage of important campus topics.
…
Let us explain the situation our reporters are encountering: These people, mainly administrators, aren’t talking to us. Therefore, we can’t interview them. Without interviews, we can’t quote them in our stories. Here’s why:

At the beginning of the school year, our newly developed projects desk started asking for documents from university officials.

Let’s just say our administration wasn’t too happy with us asking for documents, and soon some of the most important voices on campus received an e-mail from Susan Poser, associate to the chancellor, telling them that Perlman said to not answer any questions or look into any inquiries or requests for documents from journalists working at the Daily Nebraskan…

I had a request for this a few weeks ago and kept forgetting to put it up, so in the absence of a Reader cartoon this week, here’s the cover art for the Lincoln Journal Star‘s football preview Sunday supplement from last month. The request was to portray coach Bo Pelini as a superhero.

And as always, I love to show the stages…
Continue reading →

From The Daily Dish:

We are being asked to believe that [Obama] called Sarah Palin a pig. If the people making that accusation have half a brain they know it’s not true. This is not a question of interpretation. It is a fact. So we now find out again that John McCain is prepared to tell an absolute lie – in public, verifiable, uncontestable.

He does not have the minimal public integrity to be president of the United States.

The Economists for Obama blog addresses the hypocrisy, including McCain’s own use of the phrase when discussing Hillary Clinton’s healthcare plan and McCain’s joke about Chelsea Clinton being ugly. Just add it to the list of intellectually dishonest rules these people expect everyone but themselves to follow. I say “these people” because there are conservatives, including the above quoted Andrew Sullivan, who are disgusted at what “conservatism” has become.

Anyone who watched Palin and McCain’s speeches knows they’re not above telling blatant lies. Anyone who’s seen Steve Schmidt continue to claim Obama will raise everyone’s federal taxes knows they’ll lie to anyone who’ll listen.

The important thing to remember behind this is that, with the exception of Schmidt, these lies aren’t coming from surrogates, angry bloggers or passionate supporters; these lies are coming straight from McCain and Palin themselves. Whether it’s regarding the bridge to nowhere, the plane on ebay or Obama’s proposals, they are continuing to repeat things they know to be untrue.

UPDATE: And how does the McCain campaign characterize Obama’s support of a bill that taught children warning signs to protect themselves from sexual predators? Why, it’s “Barack Obama wants to teach sex ed to kindergartners!” As Sullivan has now said, “McCain has demonstrated in the last two months that he does not have the character to be president of the United States … And McCain – no one else – has proved it.”

UPDATED AGAIN! Now McCain’s new ad, called “Fact Check,” lies about FactCheck.org!

In “its latest ad, released Sept. 10, the McCain-Palin campaign has altered our message in a fashion we consider less than honest,” Factcheck said Wednesday on its website. “The ad strives to convey the message that FactCheck.org said ‘completely false’ attacks on Gov. Sarah Palin had come from Sen. Barack Obama. We said no such thing. We have yet to dispute any claim from the Obama campaign about Palin.

• Read Apology not Accepted by Joe Klein.
• More at the New York Times Caucus blog: Rendell: ‘The Big Lie Strategy’

The Daily Nebraskan is reporting Andy Christensen has been reinstated to the NU football team. Coach Bo Pelini said, “We do not take the misdemeanor charges against Andy lightly. His actions were unacceptable for a player in our football program.”

A jury claimed there wasn’t enough evidence to convict Christensen of sexual assault. The Omaha World-Herald pointed out that former Nebraska quarterback Mike Stuntz changed his story; he told police he could tell “…Christensen had done something to her,” but he later testified he didn’t know of any connection to Christensen. Christensen himself admitted he was the only person standing behind the victim. After dumping drinks on the head of the girl who accused him of assaulting her, Christensen refused the manager’s requests for him to leave. He then grabbed the bar owner by the neck and threw him across the room.

Those misdemeanor charges Pelini refers to stem from Christensen’s 15-minute battle with six police officers and damaging a police vehicle. Judge David Arterburn would not allow the jury to hear testimony about Christensen’s struggles with police that night.

Rep. Lynn Westmoreland

Apparently Rep. Lynn Westmoreland had no idea of any racial connotations when he called Barack and Michelle Obama “uppity” (which Jay Bookman of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution proposes should be called the “My client is stupider than dirt” defense).

Several commenters, speaking as representatives of the victims of political correctness, wonder why Westmoreland’s “uppity” comment is even an issue. AJC.com visitor Chet Hayes, one of their fellow responders, shared this comment:

This morning I called Westmoreland’s office:

THEM: Good morning, Congressman Westmoreland’s office.
ME: Good morning, I would like to make a public comment.
THEM: Yes, sir, what is your comment?
ME: I would like to compliment Congressman Westmoreland on his comments yesterday about Barack Obama. We need more people like him to call a spade a spade. You crackers in Georgia must be very proud.
THEM: [long pause] Sir, there’s no need to be insulting.
ME: I’m sorry, but how did I insult you?
THEM: There is no need to call me a cracker.
ME: I’ve never heard that term used in a derogatory sense. It is important to note that the dictionary definition of “cracker” is “a thin, crisp biscuit.” That’s what we meant by cracker when we used it in the city where I grew up.
THEM: Well, that’s not how you meant it.
ME: Oh, so what you’re saying is that you don’t like being called names. Now you know how it feels. THEM: [another long pause] Sir, I have to take another call.

It’s like you can’t say anything racist anymore without the Obama supporters calling it racist!