The topic of affirmative action has come up again in comments and, as it usually does, made me chuckle. Bring up affirmative action in a group of conservatives and be prepared for an onslaught of wordy squirts. They will scream and stomp their feet about how liberals are racist because they support quotas...screwing themselves into a monumentally deep chasm of denial of their own racism. They completely fail to see that the reason why affirmative action laws were made in the first place were to insure that non whites got the same opportunity for education and jobs as whites. Back in the day, people didn't want niggers and chinks working at their place of business or going to their schools. So, they wouldn't hire them and thus we started to see these laws.
But things are different now. No doubt, there still are plenty of people who discriminate based on gender, sexual orientation, or skin color. As I mentioned yesterday, if you are one of these people, chances are that you are a Republican. More than likely, you are one of the people I mention above who scream and stomp their feet about how it's liberals, not conservatives, that are racist because of affirmative action.
A funny thing happened, though, on the way to equality. There is a small but growing number of liberal organizations in liberal states that have figured out a much better way to combat racism. The states of California, Michigan, and Washington, certainly not known as conservative strongholds, have banned school admissions and hiring practices based on gender, race or sexual orientation. At first glance, this may seem like an affirmative action ban. It's actually not.
In fact, it's fucking brilliant.
In each of these states, it is now ILLEGAL to not hire someone because they are black, for example. People must hire other people solely based on their qualifications and nothing more. So if the Acme Warehouse in Tacoma, WA refuses to hire someone who is black, they are subject to state prosecution. They have to prove that they have hired the most qualified candidate if any issue of racial bias comes up. In essence, they are forced to look past skin color and that's exactly the way it should be.
Schools and universities must admit students based on their grades and test scores alone. California schools noticed no drop off whatsoever of non white admissions after this law was enacted. Kids work hard and they get into school. That's just the way it should be but that's not even the best part.
The best part is that liberal organizations in these states have figured out a way to eliminate yet another "tap into your inner rage" issue from the Cult and render it moot. By hiring the best possible person for the job, there is nothing with which to have a ten year old temper tantrum. Yea!!! (clap clap:)) And anyone that won't hire Spics at their place of business is going to get a rectal probe by state authorities.
So, Notes From the Front is calling on all states to enact similar laws. Make it illegal to not hire someone based on their gender, sexual orientation, or skin color. Hire the best possible people for each job. Admit the hardest working students.
And show the Cult that their narrow vision is getting even smaller.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Monday, May 10, 2010
News On The March!!!
Big doings across our country today...
First of all we have the nomination of Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court to replace Justice Stevens. I guess I'm wondering how someone without any bench experience should be on the SCOTUS. Add in the fact that she is going to have to recuse herself from over 90 percent of the cases the SCOTUS hears in the next year because she is now solicitor general of the United States.
As expected, both sides are all uptizzy about her nomination. The left wanted Wood, a more liberal judge, and thinks that Kagan was too much of a champion of Bush era executive power issues. The Cult thinks she's a liberal activist judge who wants to kill their babies, take away their guns, and send them to re-education camps so nothing new there.
My view is that she's just OK. I think he would've done better with Garland or Wood. The fact that they both have bench experience and could actually hear cases and rule on them make them better choices. I think President Obama had other factors in mind.
Moving out west I see that the GOP purity test has been given to Bob Bennett of Utah and he has failed. Voting for TAARP and trying to solve the health care issue with Ron Wyden added together means exile from the Cult. Doesn't he know that the golden glow of the free market would've easily solved the health care issue and the government always fails? What a fool. More and more, we are seeing the move further to the right on candidates from the GOP. Again, I must ask, how does that translate to victory when it's the middle of the country that decides elections?
I am still holding steady at 17 pick ups in the House and 5 in the Senate for the GOP in the fall election. That number could fall, however, if we see statements from Harry Reid's challenger in Nevada, Sue Lowden, similar to her solution to the rising costs of health care. Lowden said that "bartering is really good" to "get prices down in a hurry," and even urged people to "go ahead and barter with your doctor."Lowden subsequently doubled down, saying that in the old days, people traded chickens for health care, adding: "I'm not backing off of that system."
Finally...this just in...99 percent of the GOP are not racist. At least, that was what was asserted to me by all of my conservative friends after Bill Maher's recent comment on This Week on ABC.
Not all conservatives are racist but if you are racist, chances are you are probably a Republican.
True, indeed, Bill. Why is it so hard for them to admit this? The titanic level of denial is amazing to behold. The Democrats have a much longer history of racism in this country. As soon as Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act, however, Nixon employed his southern strategy and now all the former Dixiecrats are Republicans. It's not particle theory, folks. Take a look at this map.
See the giant concentration of RED in the Dixie states? That's where the people live who don't like black people and they all vote Republican. They are the base. So, please, stop insulting my intelligence and playing games. Maher is right. If you are a racist, chances are you don't like President Obama (he's black) and you are a Republican.
File this under: NO SHIT...which is where it fucking belongs.
First of all we have the nomination of Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court to replace Justice Stevens. I guess I'm wondering how someone without any bench experience should be on the SCOTUS. Add in the fact that she is going to have to recuse herself from over 90 percent of the cases the SCOTUS hears in the next year because she is now solicitor general of the United States.
As expected, both sides are all uptizzy about her nomination. The left wanted Wood, a more liberal judge, and thinks that Kagan was too much of a champion of Bush era executive power issues. The Cult thinks she's a liberal activist judge who wants to kill their babies, take away their guns, and send them to re-education camps so nothing new there.
My view is that she's just OK. I think he would've done better with Garland or Wood. The fact that they both have bench experience and could actually hear cases and rule on them make them better choices. I think President Obama had other factors in mind.
Moving out west I see that the GOP purity test has been given to Bob Bennett of Utah and he has failed. Voting for TAARP and trying to solve the health care issue with Ron Wyden added together means exile from the Cult. Doesn't he know that the golden glow of the free market would've easily solved the health care issue and the government always fails? What a fool. More and more, we are seeing the move further to the right on candidates from the GOP. Again, I must ask, how does that translate to victory when it's the middle of the country that decides elections?
I am still holding steady at 17 pick ups in the House and 5 in the Senate for the GOP in the fall election. That number could fall, however, if we see statements from Harry Reid's challenger in Nevada, Sue Lowden, similar to her solution to the rising costs of health care. Lowden said that "bartering is really good" to "get prices down in a hurry," and even urged people to "go ahead and barter with your doctor."Lowden subsequently doubled down, saying that in the old days, people traded chickens for health care, adding: "I'm not backing off of that system."
Finally...this just in...99 percent of the GOP are not racist. At least, that was what was asserted to me by all of my conservative friends after Bill Maher's recent comment on This Week on ABC.
Not all conservatives are racist but if you are racist, chances are you are probably a Republican.
True, indeed, Bill. Why is it so hard for them to admit this? The titanic level of denial is amazing to behold. The Democrats have a much longer history of racism in this country. As soon as Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act, however, Nixon employed his southern strategy and now all the former Dixiecrats are Republicans. It's not particle theory, folks. Take a look at this map.
See the giant concentration of RED in the Dixie states? That's where the people live who don't like black people and they all vote Republican. They are the base. So, please, stop insulting my intelligence and playing games. Maher is right. If you are a racist, chances are you don't like President Obama (he's black) and you are a Republican.File this under: NO SHIT...which is where it fucking belongs.
Friday, May 07, 2010
Mystery Solved
For the longest time I have wondered where conservatives like Tim Pawlenty get their economic advice. Now I know.
"A few days ago," Minnesota Gov. Pawlenty related, "I was having breakfast with my wife, my 91-year-old mother-in-law and daughters, 17 and 13. On TV there was a news report about the financial situation in Greece. Out of the blue, my 13-year-old said, 'This is going to be us pretty soon.' I almost dropped my fork. This is an eighth-grader."
Wow. Awesome. A 13 year old girl is now an economic adviser for a GOP 2010 Presidential hopeful. That certainly explains quite a bit.
It's not surprising, though, that she thinks this as it has been a major talking point from the Cult over the last few weeks. Using FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) while simultaneously unleashing a load of wordy squirts, conservatives of our land have decided that Greece's economic woes are just a foreshadowing for what is going to come here...aka this:
Of course, many Cult followers are under the impression that Greece is a socialist/communist/fascist country. In fact, it is a parliamentary republic. Israel is another example of a parliamentary republic. Yet another would be South Africa.
Per the usual vitriol, the reason given by the Cult that Greece is having so many financial problems is due to the commie run spend machine that runs their country. While there is no doubt that spending was a problem, there was nothing communist about it. In fact, one of the main reasons why there was such a crisis of confidence in the Greek economy was their complete failure to impose any sort of discipline on tax collections. When only 300 people report having swimming pools on their taxes out of the 16,000 that actually have them, one has to wonder where the Greek government gets their income.
Ironically, young Ms. Pawlenty is right about one thing. We should be worrying about Greece but not because we will become them someday. We ARE them right now in the sense that our economy is global. This is a tough nut to crack for the Cult who, on the whole, wish that "fir-ners would leave us alone with their pinko faggot ways." We are all in this together now, folks, and trying to isolate ourselves economically from the world is just plain stupid. China learned that lesson quickly and look where they are today. If someone farts in the Federated States of Micronesia and Wall Street doesn't like the smell, my IRA is going into the shitter. And this would be because, even more ironically, Wall Street is run by a group of people who have the emotional maturity of a 13 year old girl.
Now, I know many of you are wondering...what about all that spending? Well, take some time and research the historical tables on spending, debt, and deficits located here at the White House web site. Table 1.2 shows deficit spending at 14.8, 30.8, 23.3, and 22.0 percent of GDP for the years 1942, 1943, 1944, and 1945 respectively. During that time, we defeated the greatest army the world has ever seen and after that time we had the biggest boom in our country's history. Our deficit spending for last year was 10.9 and will be 11.2 percent for this year...both still considerably lower than any of the WWII figures.
Examine the federal debt in Table 7.1 for the same period and compare it to today. In 1946, we had a federal debt of 126 percent of GDP!! At the end of 2009 we were at 83.4. Certainly, this is high but consider the post war years and examine the decline. It took us five years just to get back to where we are today. And that time was considered an economic boom with virtually no one screaming about us becoming "like Greece."
We've weathered far worse than this, dear readers, and we still have our Triple A credit rating. We're not going to become like Greece and even a 13 year old can see the difference between our two countries...assuming, of course, that the 13 year old has not been programmed by the Cult.
"A few days ago," Minnesota Gov. Pawlenty related, "I was having breakfast with my wife, my 91-year-old mother-in-law and daughters, 17 and 13. On TV there was a news report about the financial situation in Greece. Out of the blue, my 13-year-old said, 'This is going to be us pretty soon.' I almost dropped my fork. This is an eighth-grader."
Wow. Awesome. A 13 year old girl is now an economic adviser for a GOP 2010 Presidential hopeful. That certainly explains quite a bit.
It's not surprising, though, that she thinks this as it has been a major talking point from the Cult over the last few weeks. Using FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) while simultaneously unleashing a load of wordy squirts, conservatives of our land have decided that Greece's economic woes are just a foreshadowing for what is going to come here...aka this:
Of course, many Cult followers are under the impression that Greece is a socialist/communist/fascist country. In fact, it is a parliamentary republic. Israel is another example of a parliamentary republic. Yet another would be South Africa.
Per the usual vitriol, the reason given by the Cult that Greece is having so many financial problems is due to the commie run spend machine that runs their country. While there is no doubt that spending was a problem, there was nothing communist about it. In fact, one of the main reasons why there was such a crisis of confidence in the Greek economy was their complete failure to impose any sort of discipline on tax collections. When only 300 people report having swimming pools on their taxes out of the 16,000 that actually have them, one has to wonder where the Greek government gets their income.
Ironically, young Ms. Pawlenty is right about one thing. We should be worrying about Greece but not because we will become them someday. We ARE them right now in the sense that our economy is global. This is a tough nut to crack for the Cult who, on the whole, wish that "fir-ners would leave us alone with their pinko faggot ways." We are all in this together now, folks, and trying to isolate ourselves economically from the world is just plain stupid. China learned that lesson quickly and look where they are today. If someone farts in the Federated States of Micronesia and Wall Street doesn't like the smell, my IRA is going into the shitter. And this would be because, even more ironically, Wall Street is run by a group of people who have the emotional maturity of a 13 year old girl.
Now, I know many of you are wondering...what about all that spending? Well, take some time and research the historical tables on spending, debt, and deficits located here at the White House web site. Table 1.2 shows deficit spending at 14.8, 30.8, 23.3, and 22.0 percent of GDP for the years 1942, 1943, 1944, and 1945 respectively. During that time, we defeated the greatest army the world has ever seen and after that time we had the biggest boom in our country's history. Our deficit spending for last year was 10.9 and will be 11.2 percent for this year...both still considerably lower than any of the WWII figures.
Examine the federal debt in Table 7.1 for the same period and compare it to today. In 1946, we had a federal debt of 126 percent of GDP!! At the end of 2009 we were at 83.4. Certainly, this is high but consider the post war years and examine the decline. It took us five years just to get back to where we are today. And that time was considered an economic boom with virtually no one screaming about us becoming "like Greece."
We've weathered far worse than this, dear readers, and we still have our Triple A credit rating. We're not going to become like Greece and even a 13 year old can see the difference between our two countries...assuming, of course, that the 13 year old has not been programmed by the Cult.
Thursday, May 06, 2010
The Cult In Action
Check this video out.
Apparently, Mr. Fitzpatrick thinks that President Obama has no legal right to be president. In addition, he thinks that Mr. Pettway has no legal right not to convene a grand jury in Monroe County, Tennessee to indict Mr. Obama. Because I know there is NO WAY any of this is racist, I'll leave that angle alone. Plus, the story gets even better.
After this video was released, Darren Huff "rose up" and demanded Fitzpatrick's release. Huff got in his truck -- emblazoned with the Oath Keepers logo on the side -- and drove to Monroe County with a Colt. 45 and an AK-47. Huff made it clear that he was armed and that he planned to go to the courthouse and arrest county officials -- who he called "domestic enemies of the United States engaged in treason"-- in order to turn them over to state police to put in jail. Not surprising, Huff had no success in arresting any Monroe County officials. Perhaps they were busy helping out with the flooding in other parts of the state (see: something that actually matters in reality as opposed to psychoville).
The next day, however, Mr. Huff starting talking about his experience in a broadcast. Huff said he told the county troopers: "I can probably think of five different ways to Sunday that you guys have violated [your] oath," by stopping him and trying to temporarily confiscate his weapons. "So the reality is I could place you under citizen's arrest for doing this. But we're trying to play nice here."
Probably not the wisest move in Mr. Huff's career as this broadcast got the attention of the FBI who said he had the means and intent to cause violence (see: no shit). They have since placed him under house arrest.
I predict we are going to be seeing a lot more of this in the next two years especially if the GOP sees minimal gains in the midterms as I predict they will. The question is how much of it has to happen before I get a conservative on here to say, "OK. Our side is worse. We do have a problem."
Apparently, Mr. Fitzpatrick thinks that President Obama has no legal right to be president. In addition, he thinks that Mr. Pettway has no legal right not to convene a grand jury in Monroe County, Tennessee to indict Mr. Obama. Because I know there is NO WAY any of this is racist, I'll leave that angle alone. Plus, the story gets even better.
After this video was released, Darren Huff "rose up" and demanded Fitzpatrick's release. Huff got in his truck -- emblazoned with the Oath Keepers logo on the side -- and drove to Monroe County with a Colt. 45 and an AK-47. Huff made it clear that he was armed and that he planned to go to the courthouse and arrest county officials -- who he called "domestic enemies of the United States engaged in treason"-- in order to turn them over to state police to put in jail. Not surprising, Huff had no success in arresting any Monroe County officials. Perhaps they were busy helping out with the flooding in other parts of the state (see: something that actually matters in reality as opposed to psychoville).
The next day, however, Mr. Huff starting talking about his experience in a broadcast. Huff said he told the county troopers: "I can probably think of five different ways to Sunday that you guys have violated [your] oath," by stopping him and trying to temporarily confiscate his weapons. "So the reality is I could place you under citizen's arrest for doing this. But we're trying to play nice here."
Probably not the wisest move in Mr. Huff's career as this broadcast got the attention of the FBI who said he had the means and intent to cause violence (see: no shit). They have since placed him under house arrest.
I predict we are going to be seeing a lot more of this in the next two years especially if the GOP sees minimal gains in the midterms as I predict they will. The question is how much of it has to happen before I get a conservative on here to say, "OK. Our side is worse. We do have a problem."
Wednesday, May 05, 2010
Where Exactly?
There's still much chatter on the Right about how President Obama has "failed" to help out regarding the oil spill in the Gulf Of Mexico. It's quite obvious they are trying to find a Katrina like event at which they can stomp their feet and point.
Setting aside the amusing fact that any mistakes Obama makes won't erase the enormous errors made by all levels of government during Katrina, isn't the Right all about strict interpretations of the Constitution these days? Answer: Yes. They scream about health care not being a right nor being commerce. They howl about spending, taxes, and states rights. Now, they are letting loose huge volleys of the wordy squirts about the federal government not doing enough to contain this oil spill.
But where exactly in the Constitution does it say that falls under federal power? Make no mistake, I think the federal government (who is US b to the w) should be helping out but that's because I'm not hyper paranoid about them. So, to the ones that champion the Constitution and think our government should help in the oil spill, what section of the Constitution details this responsibility?
Setting aside the amusing fact that any mistakes Obama makes won't erase the enormous errors made by all levels of government during Katrina, isn't the Right all about strict interpretations of the Constitution these days? Answer: Yes. They scream about health care not being a right nor being commerce. They howl about spending, taxes, and states rights. Now, they are letting loose huge volleys of the wordy squirts about the federal government not doing enough to contain this oil spill.
But where exactly in the Constitution does it say that falls under federal power? Make no mistake, I think the federal government (who is US b to the w) should be helping out but that's because I'm not hyper paranoid about them. So, to the ones that champion the Constitution and think our government should help in the oil spill, what section of the Constitution details this responsibility?
Tuesday, May 04, 2010
All Politics Are Local (and mine blow ass).
A few weeks ago, I sat in the auditorium at the MN-03 Congressional District Convention and watched 83 Democrats vote for a fucking health care lobbyist to be their endorsed nominee to run against Erik Paulsen, the Republican who currently represents my district. Jim Meffert beat Maureen Hackett 83 to 72 and will face Mr. Paulsen in the fall election. Dr. Hackett would've had an uphill battle against Paulsen but certainly was quite a contrast to him. Meffert offers no real contrast to Paulsen and will be buried by GOP money and bullshit. He also used to peddle health care to the government for a living so I'm wondering just how far those 83 people had their heads up their asses.
Equally moronic is the Democrat's choice to run for governor in our state: Margaret Anderson Kelliher. Kelliher is the speaker of our state house and has a few ethical issues. She's also pretty far left and, in our state, that's a bad thing if you are running for governor. We like our gubnatorial candidates moderate and independent. Not to mention the fact that she's...well...fat. What kind of an image does that project to people when she talks about health care, specifically preventative medicine? The mayor of Minneapolis, R.T. Rybak, would've made much better choice. He had the youth and energy within and behind him and would've likely beaten either of the GOP choices.
The GOP decided on the "Old White People Paranoia" candidate, Tom Emmer who recently suggested that our state should throw out most federal laws and effectively secede from the union. I'm having a difficult time trying to figure out how moving farther to the right makes you a winnable candidate. The other candidate, Marty Seifert, would've cleaned up and won against Kelliher but alas, he was not pure enough. So, in our governor's race, I'm seeing another independent victory if the candidate has even a quarter of the charisma of former governor Jesse Ventura.
Essentially, I'm pretty pissed off. The Democrats had a golden opportunity to win back a seat in the US Congress and elect a Democratic governor. They will sadly have neither now and it's largely due to group think. They sit around and convince themselves that their candidate is the best in their little bubble but they never think about the general public and its mood. MN-03 is 50 percent independent and votes for moderates who are distinctive. That was Maureen Hackett and she had the best chance of winning. Every four years they put up the absolute worst fucking candidate for governor and scratch their heads after they lose wondering what went wrong. Well, they had a good candidate in Mayor Rybak and they fucked up...AGAIN!
Any protestations by people like myself, who are fairly active in the party, fall on deaf ears which makes the whole thing even more frustrating. One would think that yet another loss would change their minds. It won't.
Because you can add dumb and blind to the triad of idiocy that is the Minnesota Democratic Party.
Equally moronic is the Democrat's choice to run for governor in our state: Margaret Anderson Kelliher. Kelliher is the speaker of our state house and has a few ethical issues. She's also pretty far left and, in our state, that's a bad thing if you are running for governor. We like our gubnatorial candidates moderate and independent. Not to mention the fact that she's...well...fat. What kind of an image does that project to people when she talks about health care, specifically preventative medicine? The mayor of Minneapolis, R.T. Rybak, would've made much better choice. He had the youth and energy within and behind him and would've likely beaten either of the GOP choices.
The GOP decided on the "Old White People Paranoia" candidate, Tom Emmer who recently suggested that our state should throw out most federal laws and effectively secede from the union. I'm having a difficult time trying to figure out how moving farther to the right makes you a winnable candidate. The other candidate, Marty Seifert, would've cleaned up and won against Kelliher but alas, he was not pure enough. So, in our governor's race, I'm seeing another independent victory if the candidate has even a quarter of the charisma of former governor Jesse Ventura.
Essentially, I'm pretty pissed off. The Democrats had a golden opportunity to win back a seat in the US Congress and elect a Democratic governor. They will sadly have neither now and it's largely due to group think. They sit around and convince themselves that their candidate is the best in their little bubble but they never think about the general public and its mood. MN-03 is 50 percent independent and votes for moderates who are distinctive. That was Maureen Hackett and she had the best chance of winning. Every four years they put up the absolute worst fucking candidate for governor and scratch their heads after they lose wondering what went wrong. Well, they had a good candidate in Mayor Rybak and they fucked up...AGAIN!
Any protestations by people like myself, who are fairly active in the party, fall on deaf ears which makes the whole thing even more frustrating. One would think that yet another loss would change their minds. It won't.
Because you can add dumb and blind to the triad of idiocy that is the Minnesota Democratic Party.
Monday, May 03, 2010
Silly, Silly Cult
I figured it was only a matter of time before it cropped up in comments and now that I have received a few emails I might as well put up a post about it. The Cult is now comparing President Obama's response to the oil spill to President Bush's "response" to Katrina.
Setting aside the fact that they are two completely different situations (see: people died in Katrina and act of nature as opposed to act of a private corporation), I have to wonder what all the fuss is about. I was under the impression that when it came to private industry, the government shouldn't interfere. This accident was the fault of BP and shouldn't they shoulder the responsibility free from government meddling? Perhaps they (along with the Cult) should use their free market ideals inspired by Ayn Rand and clean up the spill. After all, the government only fucks things up more and will eventually enslave us in re-educations camps.
In fact, I remember a commenter over at TSM by the handle of Unix-Jedi who told me that the federal government shouldn't be expected to do anything. What could they possibly do anyway?
Setting aside the fact that they are two completely different situations (see: people died in Katrina and act of nature as opposed to act of a private corporation), I have to wonder what all the fuss is about. I was under the impression that when it came to private industry, the government shouldn't interfere. This accident was the fault of BP and shouldn't they shoulder the responsibility free from government meddling? Perhaps they (along with the Cult) should use their free market ideals inspired by Ayn Rand and clean up the spill. After all, the government only fucks things up more and will eventually enslave us in re-educations camps.
In fact, I remember a commenter over at TSM by the handle of Unix-Jedi who told me that the federal government shouldn't be expected to do anything. What could they possibly do anyway?
Friday, April 30, 2010
Oh, Charles....
Governor Charlie Crist made it official yesterday and left the GOP. This move has thrown the Florida Senate race into quite a state making it essentially a three way tie.
One would think that this would be the year to be GOP. History shows us quite clearly that the first election after a new president traditionally means losses for the part occupying the White House. While I still think there will be some losses, the GOP is basically fucked and this whole Crist thing shows us why.
The Cult is basically running the GOP now with any moderate Republicans cowering in fear of losing any power they have. Let's recall rule #1 of the Cult.
1. Quickly withdraw into the group and distrust the outside world.
You can always tell if someone is in the Cult or not when they start to turn on their own. Crist is not to be trusted, they say, because he isn't pure. He makes decisions based on what he thinks is best or the right thing to do. According to the Cult, any decision that does not strictly adhere to their belief system is completely wrong and said person making the decision is a heretic.
Remember this other characteristic of the Cult?
3. Have their own vocabulary
Anytime you hear someone say something like "Crist is RINO (Republican in Name Only)" or "He doesn't pass the purity test" then you know that they are in the Cult and they have their own vocabulary.
So, I'm still wondering how the GOP can win MORE votes if they continue to drive people who are more moderate away from the party. It makes no sense to me but neither does their overall ideology which, in addition to being borderline psychotic, has no practical application in the world today.
Again, I must ask, if the GOP does not see significant gains this fall, what does that mean?
One would think that this would be the year to be GOP. History shows us quite clearly that the first election after a new president traditionally means losses for the part occupying the White House. While I still think there will be some losses, the GOP is basically fucked and this whole Crist thing shows us why.
The Cult is basically running the GOP now with any moderate Republicans cowering in fear of losing any power they have. Let's recall rule #1 of the Cult.
1. Quickly withdraw into the group and distrust the outside world.
You can always tell if someone is in the Cult or not when they start to turn on their own. Crist is not to be trusted, they say, because he isn't pure. He makes decisions based on what he thinks is best or the right thing to do. According to the Cult, any decision that does not strictly adhere to their belief system is completely wrong and said person making the decision is a heretic.
Remember this other characteristic of the Cult?
3. Have their own vocabulary
Anytime you hear someone say something like "Crist is RINO (Republican in Name Only)" or "He doesn't pass the purity test" then you know that they are in the Cult and they have their own vocabulary.
So, I'm still wondering how the GOP can win MORE votes if they continue to drive people who are more moderate away from the party. It makes no sense to me but neither does their overall ideology which, in addition to being borderline psychotic, has no practical application in the world today.
Again, I must ask, if the GOP does not see significant gains this fall, what does that mean?
Thursday, April 29, 2010
All Is Forgiven
It's quite a world we live in, folks. Apparently, I can waltz over to North Minneapolis, find an African American, call them a "nigger," and then if they call me a racist, they are the ones that are at fault.
That's basically what happened to British PM Gordon Brown. In a campaign stop, he listened to a woman complain about Eastern Europeans coming in and taking over. Still mic'd, he called her a bigot. The world press is now saying he made a gaffe and he has been falling over himself to apologize. In fact, they have made this woman out to be a victim and now she has her own PR person.
Am I missing something here? The woman was a bigot and he called her on it. Who the fuck cares? And why is any of it his fault?
The same bullshit is happening here. Call someone a racist and you are immediately worse than them. Better still, they are now completely innocent! All is forgiven. The ass hat machine of the Cult will be up your ass with a tweezers and before you know it, the bigots are the victims. Trot out Al Sharpton and then the party really gets started with hate, anger and rage crowd.
Fucking beautiful.
That's basically what happened to British PM Gordon Brown. In a campaign stop, he listened to a woman complain about Eastern Europeans coming in and taking over. Still mic'd, he called her a bigot. The world press is now saying he made a gaffe and he has been falling over himself to apologize. In fact, they have made this woman out to be a victim and now she has her own PR person.
Am I missing something here? The woman was a bigot and he called her on it. Who the fuck cares? And why is any of it his fault?
The same bullshit is happening here. Call someone a racist and you are immediately worse than them. Better still, they are now completely innocent! All is forgiven. The ass hat machine of the Cult will be up your ass with a tweezers and before you know it, the bigots are the victims. Trot out Al Sharpton and then the party really gets started with hate, anger and rage crowd.
Fucking beautiful.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
The Rove
I'm not embarrassed to admit that it's taken me awhile but I think I've finally figured out a key tactic employed by the Cult. It is my hope that this will end, once and for all, the titanic and monumental level of frustration that is felt by those of us who call them on their insane bullshit. I call this tactic The Rove. Obviously named after Karl, here's how it works.
To the left is a photograph of my bald head. As we can all clearly see, I am folically challenged. Now, I want you all to imagine me walking up to a man with a full head of hair and shouting, "Hey!! Baldy!!! Nice chrome dome...can I brush my teeth in that gleaming reflection that is your giant melon?!!!?"
What would his first reaction be? What would yours be if you witnessed me doing this? At the very least, he and you would be flabbergasted. I'm obviously the one who is bald, not the Fabio dude with a full head of hair. It makes no sense whatsoever.
And that's just what debating a Cult member is like. They attack you with what is, in fact, their greatest weakness. They scream about the Constitution yet actively deny rights to a large percentage of our population. They decry government intervention, accusing President Obama of being a fascist, and yet support the AZ immigration law, extreme intervention in the name of national security as well as cheering jingoistic nationalism. They accuse President Obama of being a racist and preaching hate speech when they do it on a daily fucking basis.
In short, they are completely full of shit.
Even here in comments, we see it played out. I don't "talk about the issues" or "examine key points of legislation" even though I do all the time. All I do is call the right "Nazi homophobes" even though I just recently wrote about being completely wrong about Reagan. I am "unbending" and "refuse to see the facts" yet I have recently concluded that my ideas regarding good capitalism are woefully outdated thanks to Jim Manzi.
Look closely at the people who lean right here who post in comments. Have they changed their mind about ANYTHING? Will they ever admit that they are wrong about something? One would hope so, given the facts, but I'm not holding my breath.
The Rove essentially betrays a complete lack of knowledge on a particular issue combined with an eight year old stubbornness. It is an easy way to deflect serious thought on an issue and propel it into a realm devoid of facts, logic, and reasoning. To be fair, I think many of them don't even know that they are doing this. They are trained to say these things and really know no other way.
But there are those who do know and now that I have finally figured out this little tactic, I have noticed that my frustration level is at an all time low if even present at all.
I've conquered a mountain, folks. I'm surprised it's taken me this long but I'm certainly not perfect. Now that I can simply reply with "Ah...the Rove" instead of pulling those few hairs left on the top of my head (see above photo) out, I am free to focus on bigger and brighter pastures:)
To the left is a photograph of my bald head. As we can all clearly see, I am folically challenged. Now, I want you all to imagine me walking up to a man with a full head of hair and shouting, "Hey!! Baldy!!! Nice chrome dome...can I brush my teeth in that gleaming reflection that is your giant melon?!!!?"
What would his first reaction be? What would yours be if you witnessed me doing this? At the very least, he and you would be flabbergasted. I'm obviously the one who is bald, not the Fabio dude with a full head of hair. It makes no sense whatsoever.
And that's just what debating a Cult member is like. They attack you with what is, in fact, their greatest weakness. They scream about the Constitution yet actively deny rights to a large percentage of our population. They decry government intervention, accusing President Obama of being a fascist, and yet support the AZ immigration law, extreme intervention in the name of national security as well as cheering jingoistic nationalism. They accuse President Obama of being a racist and preaching hate speech when they do it on a daily fucking basis.
In short, they are completely full of shit.
Even here in comments, we see it played out. I don't "talk about the issues" or "examine key points of legislation" even though I do all the time. All I do is call the right "Nazi homophobes" even though I just recently wrote about being completely wrong about Reagan. I am "unbending" and "refuse to see the facts" yet I have recently concluded that my ideas regarding good capitalism are woefully outdated thanks to Jim Manzi.
Look closely at the people who lean right here who post in comments. Have they changed their mind about ANYTHING? Will they ever admit that they are wrong about something? One would hope so, given the facts, but I'm not holding my breath.
The Rove essentially betrays a complete lack of knowledge on a particular issue combined with an eight year old stubbornness. It is an easy way to deflect serious thought on an issue and propel it into a realm devoid of facts, logic, and reasoning. To be fair, I think many of them don't even know that they are doing this. They are trained to say these things and really know no other way.
But there are those who do know and now that I have finally figured out this little tactic, I have noticed that my frustration level is at an all time low if even present at all.
I've conquered a mountain, folks. I'm surprised it's taken me this long but I'm certainly not perfect. Now that I can simply reply with "Ah...the Rove" instead of pulling those few hairs left on the top of my head (see above photo) out, I am free to focus on bigger and brighter pastures:)
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Barely Making It
How many of you have been watching the Hanks/Spielberg series "The Pacific?" I just watched Part Seven last night and it was devastating. The last two episodes have centered around the Battle of Peleliu which was one of the worst (if not the worst) battle of the war. They make the first 20 minutes of "Saving Private Ryan" seem moderate if not mild.
So, today, I find myself missing my grandfather who passed on April 1, 2008 at the age of 92. I need to review the transcripts that he made awhile back about his experience in the Pacific Theater from 1942-1945. I think he was at Peleliu but I'm not sure. I really want to create a great living history unit ( a la Tomlinson) and center it around this particular phase of the war using his words. He was a combat engineer whose chief mission was to sneak behind enemy lines and map out terrain so the guys could navigate easier.
I also need to make a trip to Target and buy the econo-pack of Kleenex. The last two parts have left me bawling pretty much for the solid hour and I'm not ashamed to admit that I am barely making it through each chapter.
So, today, I find myself missing my grandfather who passed on April 1, 2008 at the age of 92. I need to review the transcripts that he made awhile back about his experience in the Pacific Theater from 1942-1945. I think he was at Peleliu but I'm not sure. I really want to create a great living history unit ( a la Tomlinson) and center it around this particular phase of the war using his words. He was a combat engineer whose chief mission was to sneak behind enemy lines and map out terrain so the guys could navigate easier.
I also need to make a trip to Target and buy the econo-pack of Kleenex. The last two parts have left me bawling pretty much for the solid hour and I'm not ashamed to admit that I am barely making it through each chapter.
Monday, April 26, 2010
The Cult's Prayer
Check this FaceBook page out.
It's essentially a group of 1, 143, 914 people that are praying for Barack Obama to die. Why?
But what they are actually thinking is this Cult Delusion.
I suppose I could try to prove that none of this is going to happen but that won't stop this one million plus group from believing that their lives will be better if President Obama is dead. Check out the comments on the page's wall. Real nice.
I'm trying very hard to compare these people to the Bush haters but it's not even close. The film, Death of a President, was more of a fake documentary in the style of Orson Welles' War of the Worlds. The hate, anger, and fear in these people is at an all time high. I still contend that the GOP is going to reap minimal gains in the fall. Combine this possible outcome with passage of financial reform, immigration reform, and energy legislation (with a dash of Cult leader fervor from Palin, Limbaugh, Bachmann, and Beck) and what's going to happen?
Cletus McYokel and his pals decide it's time to rope them a socialigger.
It's essentially a group of 1, 143, 914 people that are praying for Barack Obama to die. Why?
But what they are actually thinking is this Cult Delusion.
I suppose I could try to prove that none of this is going to happen but that won't stop this one million plus group from believing that their lives will be better if President Obama is dead. Check out the comments on the page's wall. Real nice.
I'm trying very hard to compare these people to the Bush haters but it's not even close. The film, Death of a President, was more of a fake documentary in the style of Orson Welles' War of the Worlds. The hate, anger, and fear in these people is at an all time high. I still contend that the GOP is going to reap minimal gains in the fall. Combine this possible outcome with passage of financial reform, immigration reform, and energy legislation (with a dash of Cult leader fervor from Palin, Limbaugh, Bachmann, and Beck) and what's going to happen?
Cletus McYokel and his pals decide it's time to rope them a socialigger.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
The List
We've been hearing a lot in the news lately about how the federal government has violated the US Constitution. The essential gripe of many of these people who are saying this is that laws should be left up to the states. I submit that it is actually the states that are in violation of the Constitution in several ways. Here's one of them.
The Constitution is very specific about the kind of laws states can make. Take a look at Amendment XIV, Section I
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
It seems pretty clear to me. The following states are in absolute violation of this amendment:
In one form or another, they have all banned same sex marriage and, as a result, citizens who are in same sex relationships do not have the same rights that married people do.
So, if you hear people screaming on the news about their Constitutional rights being violated, ask them about this list. See if they can justify what is clearly a violation of their rights.
Of course, many of these people, in addition to thinking we still live in the year 1867, think that the amendments to the Constitution stop at ten:) Oh, wait. That would mean we still live in the year 1794.
My bad.
The Constitution is very specific about the kind of laws states can make. Take a look at Amendment XIV, Section I
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
It seems pretty clear to me. The following states are in absolute violation of this amendment:
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- New Hampshire
- Nevada
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- Wisconsin
- West Virginia
- Wyoming
In one form or another, they have all banned same sex marriage and, as a result, citizens who are in same sex relationships do not have the same rights that married people do.
So, if you hear people screaming on the news about their Constitutional rights being violated, ask them about this list. See if they can justify what is clearly a violation of their rights.
Of course, many of these people, in addition to thinking we still live in the year 1867, think that the amendments to the Constitution stop at ten:) Oh, wait. That would mean we still live in the year 1794.
My bad.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Two Words
Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed the "Show Me Your Papers, Jew" bill into law yesterday making it perfectly legal for police to stop any "Mexican looking" person on the street and ask for papers. If they don't have papers on their persons at all times, off to the gulag!
To any of you hypocritical douche bags who are whining about "fascist states" under Barack Obama, Harry Reid, and Nancy Pelosi, I have one question for you: Why are you supporting the creation of one?
And two words for you:
"Fuck" and "Off."
To any of you hypocritical douche bags who are whining about "fascist states" under Barack Obama, Harry Reid, and Nancy Pelosi, I have one question for you: Why are you supporting the creation of one?
And two words for you:
"Fuck" and "Off."
Friday, April 23, 2010
Give This Man A Microphone
The United States military has formally charged Lt. Col. Terrence Lakin with failure to follow orders. Lakin has refused to report for a tour of duty to Afghanistan because he thinks that President Obama was not born here. He says he will report for duty when President Obama produces a birth certificate.
Not supporting our troops in Afghanistan, specifically by not giving them medical aid in the case of Lakin, is now being cheered by the Cult as a show of mental fortitude. Lakin has been making his rounds on the right wing talk show circuit and being lauded by notable felons like G. Gordon Liddy and Oliver North. I say that he should be given a speaking slot at the GOP convention this fall.
I think voters should see that, despite the fact that a birth certificate has been produced several times and that it doesn't matter if he was born in another country (he can still be a US citizen), this is how a "true patriot" is defined by the Cult.
That would be one who stands strong in his beliefs regardless of the facts.
Not supporting our troops in Afghanistan, specifically by not giving them medical aid in the case of Lakin, is now being cheered by the Cult as a show of mental fortitude. Lakin has been making his rounds on the right wing talk show circuit and being lauded by notable felons like G. Gordon Liddy and Oliver North. I say that he should be given a speaking slot at the GOP convention this fall.
I think voters should see that, despite the fact that a birth certificate has been produced several times and that it doesn't matter if he was born in another country (he can still be a US citizen), this is how a "true patriot" is defined by the Cult.
That would be one who stands strong in his beliefs regardless of the facts.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
News on the March!!!
From the ROTFLMFAO desk we have this story:
Kenya Throws Down On Tea Partiers: We Got Your 'Real Tea Party' Right Here!
As most people know, many people in the Cult think that President Obama wasn't born in this country and thus has no legal right to be president. Even though the state of Hawaii has confirmed the fact that he has been born here many times and one actually does not have to be born here to be a citizen, they still can't accept it. So, this would be why we see all the "Go back to Kenya" stuff coming from the Cult rallies.
What many people probably don't know (and in yet another hilarious bit of irony), Kenya is the world's #1 tea exporter. So, Kenyans have decided to hold their own Tea rally on Tuesday April 27th in Washington DC. I guess there will be a buffet, tea pairings, and some tea lea readings. The last one is sure to elicit cries of satanic worship from our very own (Christian) version of Al Qaeda. Everyone is welcome. Here's the invitation:) Bring the kids!
In a related story we have this (fake?) story from the Onion.
Like Hell I'm Going To Let Some Black President Help Me Pay For Dialysis
Just who does this Afro-American occupant of the highest office in the land think he is, anyway? Look, I've got nothing against black people, but some of them act like the whole world owes them something. For example, important government subsidies on my dialysis.
Obama needs to know that there's still one American willing to watch his body drown in its own deadly internal toxins rather than have long-overdue reform crammed down his throat.
Seriously, when Obama's done drumming up support for legislation that might allow me to see my daughter graduate from college and prevent me from dying before my 50th birthday, what's next on the agenda? Will he try to keep my life's savings from evaporating in a stock market that operates free of serious governmental oversight? Is there any aspect of capitalism run amok that this guy won't tamper with?
And now from the WTF desk...
Democrats Top G.O.P. in Fund-Raising for Midterms
According to party figures, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee raised nearly $10 million in March compared with $8 million for the National Republican Congressional Committee. House Democrats ended the first quarter with $26 million in the bank compared with $10 million for House Republicans.
In the Senate, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee raised $6 million and had $17 million in the bank, while the National Republican Senatorial Committee took in $5.1 million and had $15 million available to spend.
I was under the impression that I was supposed to be "afraid" of the elections this fall and that the Cult was going to take back both houses of Congress. How can this be when the Democrats have beat them in fundraising? Boy, that sure does have to suck for a group of people that worships money the way they do. And that means that the Democratic base is energized.
What now, Cultists?
Oh, I know. Let's defend the financial institutions that nearly destroyed our country with hair brained schemes, say it was all the government's fault, and call President Obama a Marxist.
Kenya Throws Down On Tea Partiers: We Got Your 'Real Tea Party' Right Here!
As most people know, many people in the Cult think that President Obama wasn't born in this country and thus has no legal right to be president. Even though the state of Hawaii has confirmed the fact that he has been born here many times and one actually does not have to be born here to be a citizen, they still can't accept it. So, this would be why we see all the "Go back to Kenya" stuff coming from the Cult rallies.
What many people probably don't know (and in yet another hilarious bit of irony), Kenya is the world's #1 tea exporter. So, Kenyans have decided to hold their own Tea rally on Tuesday April 27th in Washington DC. I guess there will be a buffet, tea pairings, and some tea lea readings. The last one is sure to elicit cries of satanic worship from our very own (Christian) version of Al Qaeda. Everyone is welcome. Here's the invitation:) Bring the kids!
In a related story we have this (fake?) story from the Onion.
Like Hell I'm Going To Let Some Black President Help Me Pay For Dialysis
Just who does this Afro-American occupant of the highest office in the land think he is, anyway? Look, I've got nothing against black people, but some of them act like the whole world owes them something. For example, important government subsidies on my dialysis.
Obama needs to know that there's still one American willing to watch his body drown in its own deadly internal toxins rather than have long-overdue reform crammed down his throat.
Seriously, when Obama's done drumming up support for legislation that might allow me to see my daughter graduate from college and prevent me from dying before my 50th birthday, what's next on the agenda? Will he try to keep my life's savings from evaporating in a stock market that operates free of serious governmental oversight? Is there any aspect of capitalism run amok that this guy won't tamper with?
And now from the WTF desk...
Democrats Top G.O.P. in Fund-Raising for Midterms
According to party figures, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee raised nearly $10 million in March compared with $8 million for the National Republican Congressional Committee. House Democrats ended the first quarter with $26 million in the bank compared with $10 million for House Republicans.
In the Senate, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee raised $6 million and had $17 million in the bank, while the National Republican Senatorial Committee took in $5.1 million and had $15 million available to spend.
I was under the impression that I was supposed to be "afraid" of the elections this fall and that the Cult was going to take back both houses of Congress. How can this be when the Democrats have beat them in fundraising? Boy, that sure does have to suck for a group of people that worships money the way they do. And that means that the Democratic base is energized.
What now, Cultists?
Oh, I know. Let's defend the financial institutions that nearly destroyed our country with hair brained schemes, say it was all the government's fault, and call President Obama a Marxist.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Show Me Your Papers, Jew
I am beginning to regret being as nice as I was on Sunday in my column entitled "The Hitler Checklist." Honestly, I only went about 60 percent at the Cult for their obvious Nazi-like tactics. With the near certain passage of the new immigration bill in Arizona, I'm going to add in the extra 40 percent.
BLK wrote in comments in that post that the Cult has certain code words they use that are similar to the ones the Nazis used in the 1930s and 40s. Here was his comment.
Uses overt or covert racist messages and code words. For example,
Basically that means that the police can ask for the papers of any non white person in AZ and be within their full legal rights. Any Time. Any Place. Instead of "Show me your papers, Jew" it's "Show me your papers, wetback."
Of course, this doesn't seem to be a problem for the millions of Tea Partiers marching all over the country and protesting the "fascist" takeover of our government by the Marxist Barrack Obama. One would think that they would have a problem with what is clearly the SAME tactic used by the Nazis. But no...
Oh no.
Why?
Well, it's a bunch of fucking spics...that's why.
I hope Mexican Americans in Arizona turn out in droves on November 2nd and send John McCain, who is in full support of this bill, to the Shady Acres retirement home.
BLK wrote in comments in that post that the Cult has certain code words they use that are similar to the ones the Nazis used in the 1930s and 40s. Here was his comment.
Uses overt or covert racist messages and code words. For example,
- "Real Americans" = "conservative white Americans"
- "welfare queens" = "unwed black mothers"
- "illegal immigrant" = "any Mexican"
- "states rights"="we should be able to segregate blacks into inferior schools, discriminate against anyone we want and not pay federal taxes".
Basically that means that the police can ask for the papers of any non white person in AZ and be within their full legal rights. Any Time. Any Place. Instead of "Show me your papers, Jew" it's "Show me your papers, wetback."
Of course, this doesn't seem to be a problem for the millions of Tea Partiers marching all over the country and protesting the "fascist" takeover of our government by the Marxist Barrack Obama. One would think that they would have a problem with what is clearly the SAME tactic used by the Nazis. But no...
Oh no.
Why?
Well, it's a bunch of fucking spics...that's why.
I hope Mexican Americans in Arizona turn out in droves on November 2nd and send John McCain, who is in full support of this bill, to the Shady Acres retirement home.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
They Came Armed (This Time)...Thanks to President Obama
To mark the anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing and the final assault on Waco, gun rights activists staged a rally at Gravelly Point, a nation park in Virginia."Obama was mentored by Marxist. He is a Marxist and he is going to lead this country down the Marxist collapse agenda and roadmap of Europe," said 41-year-old Geoffrey Bean, who travelled from Sacramento, Calif., for the rally.
"Never in history have Marxists understood anything but the barrel of a gun. Ever. And so we brought the barrels of our guns to show them that they are not going to take away our constitutional rights without a fight."
In what has to be the most hilarious example of fucking irony that I have ever heard, these same protesters are now legally able to openly carry the firearms that they brandished at the rally because of the a bill that President Obama signed into law on May 22, 2009. An amendment to the Credit Card Act of 2009, this law makes it legal to openly carry firearms in National Parks and National Wildlife refuges. It also allows firearms to be carried in luggage on Amtrak trains.
But do the facts matter to the Cult?
"To tell you the honest truth, him signing a law saying that I can stand here (with a loaded gun) doesn't mean anything to me," said Daniel Howley, 53. "The constitution says I can stand here."
Not so much. Many of the protesters there still think that President Obama is going to curtail their gun rights even though all evidence points to the contrary. In fact, several have taken it a step further.
"The enemies to the constitution are not over in Iraq. The enemies to the constitution are not in Afghanistan. The enemies of the constitution are across this river," said Tom Fernandez, 32, founder of Alarm and Muster, a communications network established to reach people in case of constitutional emergencies.
"If you trample under your feet the freedoms of this country just as quick as you drink a glass of water, I am not your friend. I am not your friend."
Eric Stinnett, a 39-year-old engineer from Alabama, called the U.S. government an "unjust authority" and likened today's lawmakers in Washington to the Sept. 11 terrorists: "Does our government not act like suicidal hijackers?"
Eric, I am begging you...please speak more often and louder. The RINOS and non pure conservatives need to hear your voice! Keep yelling to the highest hills, my friend, from now until November 2nd!!Take a look at that sign above:
FEAR THEM IN YOUR GOVERNMENT THAT FEAR YOUR GUN.
TYRANNY ONLY COMES WHEN WEARING A FEDERAL BADGE.
Anyone want to give me shit now for the Cult?
For more photos from the various rallies, check out this 25 pic slide show. The Cult is looking good, my dear readers...pretty, pretty good:)
Monday, April 19, 2010
How We Win
Being a friend of the DoD on FaceBook certainly has its advantages. Take this photo, for example, which just popped up in my news feed. The caption along with it read:U.S. Army Captain Mark Moretti sits hand in hand with Shamshir Khan, one of the most senior Korengal Valley elders, on the Korengal Outpost in Kunar Province, Afghanistan. Captain Moretti, who has led soldiers on the outpost since 2009, welcomed Khan and other elders to offer an orientation of all the buildings and equipment that The US Army would be leaving behind for the people of the valley. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. David Jackson)
This photo serves as an example on several fronts. First, it shows us that the military shines in more ways than simply armaments. Specialists like Morettti are the unsung heroes of our effort in AfPak. Second, it shows a human face of the people caught up in the conflict. They aren't all psychotics bent on the destruction of the infidel even though my bias tells me they are just that. Third, it shows how generous our country is with goods, services, and infrastructure. This is exactly the kind of photo that needs to be on display with the Afghan people. As we leave the area, the Afghan people in the area are going to have new shelters in this sparse region.
And last, it shows the nationalistic chest thumpers of our own country that this the real way to win a war. The United States military is the greatest force of peace in the world when commanded by a civilian leadership that actually gives a shit about them. Much to the chagrin of Al Qaeda and our own version of it here (see: the Cult), our military can win battles through simple engagement and protection.
And that's just what people like Captain Moretti do every day.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
The Hitler Checklist
If someone doesn't like a politician these days, then they are Hitler. For most of Bush's time in office, he was known as Bushitler. Now, the Tea Party regularly has signs at their events that portray President Obama as Hitler, complete with tiny moustache. For the most part, they all have it wrong.
I think we can all agree that in order to be Hitler, one must first have all or most of the following traits.
I'm sure there are smaller traits but these are the main ones which are an easy and simple Hitler checklist. Let's run through them, one by one, and see if either Bush or Obama meet the criteria.
In watching W for eight years, it's quite obvious he was not intelligent enough to have a meglomanaical view of himself nor did he view himself as a savior. He did say that God told him to run for president but that's ceding authority to a higher power. In Hitler's mind, there was only one higher power: him. Contrary to the left's rants, George W. Bush is not a racist. The man had Mexican in-laws and was fluent in Spanish. He also had one of the most diverse cabinets in the history of our country so that knocks out number four and any talk of a Master race.
He did, however, stick his toe into the "control of our society" pond but only in the name of national security. (see:wire taps and throwing people in jail without charging them with anything). He jumped completely into the "control information" lake in the form of a propaganda ministry which was essentially run by Karl Rove and Dick Cheney. In fact, this is exactly where the similarity between the Cult and the Reich meet complete with a crowd that would make Leni Riefenstahl proud. Just like Hitler, their chief enemies are the media and educators. Not surprising, considering that these are the two main outlets of information for our country. And they succeeded in creating a very large segment of country's population who will not listen to either of these outlets and ONLY listen to their pre-approved information sources.
Those information sources, like President Bush, have a fervent sense of nationalism. Anyone who does not adhere to their exact definition of nationalism is a traitor. One need only look at what Beck, Limbaugh and Hannity say on a daily basis to see strong evidence for this fact. I can't turn on Fox News for more than 10 seconds without hearing that liberals are "America haters and weak."
But Bush was completely hands off-probably too much-when it came to the regulation of our private industry. Hitler never would've done that. In fact, President Bush was a big proponent, as most conservatives are, of states' rights. So, other than the national security and information, Bush was the exact opposite of Hitler when it came to control of the basic foundations of our society.
The left also gets it wrong when they say that Bush was emotionally unbalanced and/or funny in the head. The Cult certainly is both of these things but Bush never was at all. So, to say that Bush was Hitler is wrong. Certain aspects of his policies bore resemblance to those used by Hitler but such a general statement is simply wrong.
President Obama does not view himself as the savior to the world although some of his followers certainly do. If you actually listen to what he says, he views himself as a man capable of mistakes. He also encourages others to join in and help out. Hitler wanted people helping but more like cattle help farmers make money. In addition, I think it's quite obvious that President Obama does not want a Master race nor does he abhor "non pure" people and murder them. In fact, his critics are quick to point out that he is at fault for many of his views on equality in the sense that he is too sensitive to cultural diversity.
Last time I checked, President Obama has done nothing to stop the Cult from saying whatever they want. Federal troops have not stormed Fox News and Rush Limbaugh has more listeners than the nightly news. The Cult says the "MSM is liberal" yet I see plenty of conservative outlets everywhere and readily available...to take anyone's money. In fact, the left's outlets of information (MSNBC, Air America) don't really do all that well. So, there really is no left version of a propaganda ministry. Making matters worse, President Obama admits when he makes mistakes. Hitler NEVER would have done that.
President Obama's harshest critics say he cow tows too much to the rest of the world so there goes nationalist fervor out the window. They say he's not enough of a patriot so that is definitely not Hitler like...although that means his critics would share that trait with the Fuhrer:) And he's not emotionally unbalanced or paranoid. In fact, I think it would be fair to criticize him as being too sedate at times. So, all this really leaves is the question of state control which is the real reason why the Tea Partiers have painted a small moustache on the current Oval Office occupant.
Setting aside the hilarious comparison (note to Cult: Hitler did not like black people), I would be remiss in my duties if I did not point out that President Obama has, indeed, used his executive authority and bailed out private industry. The thing is, though, Congress voted on it to make it happen. Hitler was the one and only ultimate power. Obama had to go through Congress which is the representative of you and I. Private industry also asked for the money and, contrary to the ravings of Michael Savage, it was not forced upon them. The argument that President Obama is a fascist and like Hitler because "the state has taken over" is extremely paranoid and highly delusional. It simply isn't factual. Just because the federal government is actually regulating things now doesn't mean they are fascist.
The Tea Partiers could make an argument that FDR was similar to Hitler back in the 1930s when he took over much of our private industry and we essentially had a democratic-socialist system. But that was back in a time when the government was not viewed as a satanic entity whose central mission was to take away our guns, enslave us all, and send us to re-education camps. The result of the nationalizing of GM, for example, resulted in the defeat of Hitler himself and the greatest army the world had ever seen. No one complained and our country went on to enjoy the biggest boom in private industry in our history.
And the argument that Obama is coming for our guns has really been shown to be insanely paranoid considering that he has done nothing on gun control. As I have shown previously, it has been the exact opposite. Even Kevin Baker has been happy, enjoying what will soon be conceal and carry without a permit in Arizona.
Despite all the anger and yelling President Obama is not like Hitler either. If one had to choose, I guess one could say that Bush is more like Hitler but that's like saying I'm more like Albert Pujols than my son because I can hit a fly ball to the outfield on a regular basis and my son can't.
Do you know what does remind me a lot of Hitler? Goodwin's Law.
Goodwin's Law states "As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches 1." This law is evoked constantly on blogs and discussion boards acting as a perfect deterrent even to ideas and action that are quite Hitler-like. Essentially, no one can mention Hitler anymore with Goodwin's Law being brought up. As soon as it is, regardless of the evidence, the person that brought up Hitler is vilified, disgraced, and dispatched with lighting like efficiency...all of which reminds me of....
Well....:)
I think we can all agree that in order to be Hitler, one must first have all or most of the following traits.
- Meglomaniacal view of oneself as savior to the world, leading a Master Race
- Demand central control over all aspects of a society
- Control the flow of information through a Propaganda Ministry
- Abhor all "non Pure" persons to the point of murdering them
- Fervent Nationalism
- Be Emotionally Unbalanced (aka Funny in the Head) given to fits of extreme paranoia
I'm sure there are smaller traits but these are the main ones which are an easy and simple Hitler checklist. Let's run through them, one by one, and see if either Bush or Obama meet the criteria.
In watching W for eight years, it's quite obvious he was not intelligent enough to have a meglomanaical view of himself nor did he view himself as a savior. He did say that God told him to run for president but that's ceding authority to a higher power. In Hitler's mind, there was only one higher power: him. Contrary to the left's rants, George W. Bush is not a racist. The man had Mexican in-laws and was fluent in Spanish. He also had one of the most diverse cabinets in the history of our country so that knocks out number four and any talk of a Master race.
He did, however, stick his toe into the "control of our society" pond but only in the name of national security. (see:wire taps and throwing people in jail without charging them with anything). He jumped completely into the "control information" lake in the form of a propaganda ministry which was essentially run by Karl Rove and Dick Cheney. In fact, this is exactly where the similarity between the Cult and the Reich meet complete with a crowd that would make Leni Riefenstahl proud. Just like Hitler, their chief enemies are the media and educators. Not surprising, considering that these are the two main outlets of information for our country. And they succeeded in creating a very large segment of country's population who will not listen to either of these outlets and ONLY listen to their pre-approved information sources.
Those information sources, like President Bush, have a fervent sense of nationalism. Anyone who does not adhere to their exact definition of nationalism is a traitor. One need only look at what Beck, Limbaugh and Hannity say on a daily basis to see strong evidence for this fact. I can't turn on Fox News for more than 10 seconds without hearing that liberals are "America haters and weak."
But Bush was completely hands off-probably too much-when it came to the regulation of our private industry. Hitler never would've done that. In fact, President Bush was a big proponent, as most conservatives are, of states' rights. So, other than the national security and information, Bush was the exact opposite of Hitler when it came to control of the basic foundations of our society.
The left also gets it wrong when they say that Bush was emotionally unbalanced and/or funny in the head. The Cult certainly is both of these things but Bush never was at all. So, to say that Bush was Hitler is wrong. Certain aspects of his policies bore resemblance to those used by Hitler but such a general statement is simply wrong.
President Obama does not view himself as the savior to the world although some of his followers certainly do. If you actually listen to what he says, he views himself as a man capable of mistakes. He also encourages others to join in and help out. Hitler wanted people helping but more like cattle help farmers make money. In addition, I think it's quite obvious that President Obama does not want a Master race nor does he abhor "non pure" people and murder them. In fact, his critics are quick to point out that he is at fault for many of his views on equality in the sense that he is too sensitive to cultural diversity.
Last time I checked, President Obama has done nothing to stop the Cult from saying whatever they want. Federal troops have not stormed Fox News and Rush Limbaugh has more listeners than the nightly news. The Cult says the "MSM is liberal" yet I see plenty of conservative outlets everywhere and readily available...to take anyone's money. In fact, the left's outlets of information (MSNBC, Air America) don't really do all that well. So, there really is no left version of a propaganda ministry. Making matters worse, President Obama admits when he makes mistakes. Hitler NEVER would have done that.
President Obama's harshest critics say he cow tows too much to the rest of the world so there goes nationalist fervor out the window. They say he's not enough of a patriot so that is definitely not Hitler like...although that means his critics would share that trait with the Fuhrer:) And he's not emotionally unbalanced or paranoid. In fact, I think it would be fair to criticize him as being too sedate at times. So, all this really leaves is the question of state control which is the real reason why the Tea Partiers have painted a small moustache on the current Oval Office occupant.
Setting aside the hilarious comparison (note to Cult: Hitler did not like black people), I would be remiss in my duties if I did not point out that President Obama has, indeed, used his executive authority and bailed out private industry. The thing is, though, Congress voted on it to make it happen. Hitler was the one and only ultimate power. Obama had to go through Congress which is the representative of you and I. Private industry also asked for the money and, contrary to the ravings of Michael Savage, it was not forced upon them. The argument that President Obama is a fascist and like Hitler because "the state has taken over" is extremely paranoid and highly delusional. It simply isn't factual. Just because the federal government is actually regulating things now doesn't mean they are fascist.
The Tea Partiers could make an argument that FDR was similar to Hitler back in the 1930s when he took over much of our private industry and we essentially had a democratic-socialist system. But that was back in a time when the government was not viewed as a satanic entity whose central mission was to take away our guns, enslave us all, and send us to re-education camps. The result of the nationalizing of GM, for example, resulted in the defeat of Hitler himself and the greatest army the world had ever seen. No one complained and our country went on to enjoy the biggest boom in private industry in our history.
And the argument that Obama is coming for our guns has really been shown to be insanely paranoid considering that he has done nothing on gun control. As I have shown previously, it has been the exact opposite. Even Kevin Baker has been happy, enjoying what will soon be conceal and carry without a permit in Arizona.
Despite all the anger and yelling President Obama is not like Hitler either. If one had to choose, I guess one could say that Bush is more like Hitler but that's like saying I'm more like Albert Pujols than my son because I can hit a fly ball to the outfield on a regular basis and my son can't.
Do you know what does remind me a lot of Hitler? Goodwin's Law.
Goodwin's Law states "As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches 1." This law is evoked constantly on blogs and discussion boards acting as a perfect deterrent even to ideas and action that are quite Hitler-like. Essentially, no one can mention Hitler anymore with Goodwin's Law being brought up. As soon as it is, regardless of the evidence, the person that brought up Hitler is vilified, disgraced, and dispatched with lighting like efficiency...all of which reminds me of....
Well....:)
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Brilliant
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Tea America | ||||
| ||||
Not only does Stewart rip the MSM for its baiting of Tea Party members but he absolutely hammers Fox News in the montage at the end regarding their generalizations of liberals.
Well played sir.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Friday Funnies
Meanwhile, tax protesters (52 percent of which think their taxes are fair) descended on Washington DC yesterday to yell and be angry about their taxes....which are at the lowest they have been in years.
Ah, the Cult...
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Fair Taxes
The New York Times has recently released a poll of Tea Party supporters. Many of the answers were as expected but this one jumped out at me.
Do you regard the income tax that you paid this year as fair, or not.
52 percent said fair
42 percent said not fair
5 percent don't know
So, the movement that is rallying against taxes thinks that their taxes are fair?
This one also has me scratching my head.
Overall, do you think Social Security and Medicare are worth the cost to taxpayers?
62 percent said worth it
33 percent said not worth it
6 percent said don't know
Okay...um....WHAT???! These answers make no sense to me and so I ask my dear readers to enlighten me.
Do you regard the income tax that you paid this year as fair, or not.
52 percent said fair
42 percent said not fair
5 percent don't know
So, the movement that is rallying against taxes thinks that their taxes are fair?
This one also has me scratching my head.
Overall, do you think Social Security and Medicare are worth the cost to taxpayers?
62 percent said worth it
33 percent said not worth it
6 percent said don't know
Okay...um....WHAT???! These answers make no sense to me and so I ask my dear readers to enlighten me.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Mark Agrees With Minnesota Tea Party Head
Yes, folks, it's true.
Deanna Boss, co-founder of the Twin Cities Tea Party, was quite frustrated to find out that Michelle Bachmann (R-MN-06) used nearly $14,000 dollars of taxpayer money to finance her "House Call on Washington" rally last November. Apparently the money was used for the stage and sound system for the anti health care bill event.
Boss said she would have preferred that private donors had financed the event, given her and other activists' criticism of excessive government spending. "I mean, we're broke," she said, referring to the national debt. "Every penny counts here."
I agree. It's one thing if the Democrats do it. I mean, everyone expects them to spend money. But having a rally whose central theme is vilifying excessive government spending and paying for it with....excessive government spending strikes me as total bullshit.
It's sort of like a movement of people being anti-tax and knowing nothing about taxes:)
Deanna Boss, co-founder of the Twin Cities Tea Party, was quite frustrated to find out that Michelle Bachmann (R-MN-06) used nearly $14,000 dollars of taxpayer money to finance her "House Call on Washington" rally last November. Apparently the money was used for the stage and sound system for the anti health care bill event.
Boss said she would have preferred that private donors had financed the event, given her and other activists' criticism of excessive government spending. "I mean, we're broke," she said, referring to the national debt. "Every penny counts here."
I agree. It's one thing if the Democrats do it. I mean, everyone expects them to spend money. But having a rally whose central theme is vilifying excessive government spending and paying for it with....excessive government spending strikes me as total bullshit.
It's sort of like a movement of people being anti-tax and knowing nothing about taxes:)
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Whither the GOP
I'm wondering how many seats the GOP is going to win this fall. Seriously.
If you would've asked me two months ago, I probably would've said quite a few with the distinct possibility of taking over either the House or Senate. But now, not so much. GOP leaders see very clearly that the Tea Party movement is splintering their party. And this would be why they are moving further to the right on most issues. They are trying desperately to maintain cohesion.
Extremes don't win elections. Getting the vote in the middle does. So, how does the GOP expect to win back a substantial number of seats if substantial numbers are moving further to the right? As I have said many times, the word "compromise" isn't in their vocabulary. More importantly, if they only win back a few or none, this will be the third election in a row in which they have not done well. Honestly, anything less than 5 seats in the Senate and 20 in the House will be considered failure.
Combine this possible failure with the total losses of 2006 and 2008 and one has to seriously wonder if the GOP might need to admit, for the sake of its survival, that, while we live in a center right country, we don't live in the far right utopia in which there is only one way of living...THEIR WAY.
Over the next few months, it's going to be interesting to watch the GOP struggle with itself. Do they want to win which would entail compromise? Or will they stick to their rigidity and lose an excellent chance of taking back more seats in Congress?
If you would've asked me two months ago, I probably would've said quite a few with the distinct possibility of taking over either the House or Senate. But now, not so much. GOP leaders see very clearly that the Tea Party movement is splintering their party. And this would be why they are moving further to the right on most issues. They are trying desperately to maintain cohesion.
Extremes don't win elections. Getting the vote in the middle does. So, how does the GOP expect to win back a substantial number of seats if substantial numbers are moving further to the right? As I have said many times, the word "compromise" isn't in their vocabulary. More importantly, if they only win back a few or none, this will be the third election in a row in which they have not done well. Honestly, anything less than 5 seats in the Senate and 20 in the House will be considered failure.
Combine this possible failure with the total losses of 2006 and 2008 and one has to seriously wonder if the GOP might need to admit, for the sake of its survival, that, while we live in a center right country, we don't live in the far right utopia in which there is only one way of living...THEIR WAY.
Over the next few months, it's going to be interesting to watch the GOP struggle with itself. Do they want to win which would entail compromise? Or will they stick to their rigidity and lose an excellent chance of taking back more seats in Congress?
Friday, April 09, 2010
Stewart Owns The Cult
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| The Big Bang Treaty | ||||
| ||||
"We are at the point now where the by far #1 ranked news network in this country no longer feels the need to report what a policy document says in black and white."
No shit.
Fan Fucking Tastic
Sean Hannity, in his interview with Sarah Palin and Michelle Bachmann, wondered if there would be a Palin-Bachmann ticket in 2012. Of course, many expressed horror at this idea but I think it's great. I think the GOP should move as far to the right as they possibly can. Having the two of them on the campaign trail saying one maniacal thing after another is exactly what the Democrats need to assure a second term for President Obama. Anyone with any political savvy knows that it's the middle (see: Reagan Democrats) that win elections.
In all honesty, I'm beginning to wonder what sort of gains, if any, the GOP are going to get this fall. No doubt, presidents have historically lost in the mid terms but can conservatives of this country expect to win back a substantial amount of seats with the Cult running the show?
It's going to be a fun summer and fall:)
In all honesty, I'm beginning to wonder what sort of gains, if any, the GOP are going to get this fall. No doubt, presidents have historically lost in the mid terms but can conservatives of this country expect to win back a substantial amount of seats with the Cult running the show?
It's going to be a fun summer and fall:)
Thursday, April 08, 2010
Liberal Media Watch
Remember back in the 2008 campaign when Chris Matthews said that he "felt a tingle up his leg" every time Barack Obama spoke? Howls of derision and liberal media bias Hershey squirted out of the mouths of the Cult.
Well, now we have this:
MSNBC talk show host Chris Matthews proclaimed himself "dazzled" by Bachmann's and Palin's speeches Wednesday, suggesting they may be "the new star power of the right."
Hmmm...could it be that the media is simply fascinated with bright shiny objects? And that they are really only interested in ratings and money?
Nah, can't be...
Well, now we have this:
MSNBC talk show host Chris Matthews proclaimed himself "dazzled" by Bachmann's and Palin's speeches Wednesday, suggesting they may be "the new star power of the right."
Hmmm...could it be that the media is simply fascinated with bright shiny objects? And that they are really only interested in ratings and money?
Nah, can't be...
Wednesday, April 07, 2010
Good Grief
Really?
Meanwhile, for the first time in the history of our country, the "weak" Barack Obama has authorized a targeted killing of an American citizen.
Tuesday, April 06, 2010
A New Profile in Courage
Just when I thought all hope was lost in our current political climate, Senator Tom Coburn proves me completely wrong.
At a recent town hall meeting, a woman stood up and asked Senator Coburn if she was going to jail if she didn't have health care. He responded to her by saying that was not true and people shouldn't believe everything the myths they hear on Fox News. Later in the meeting, Nancy Pelosi's name came up and there was a chorus of boos, to which Senator Coburn replied
"Come on now... how many of you all have met her? She's a nice person. Just because somebody disagrees with you, doesn't mean they're not a good person. Don't catch yourself being biased by Fox News that somebody's no good."
Well said, sir!
He then went on to urge his audience to widen their points of view by reading (!) and watching a variety of media outlets...not simply the ones with which they agree.
Mr. Coburn, I have disagreed with you on many things but from this day forward you are a friend to Notes From The Front and if anyone, on either side, disparages you personally, they are going to get a 400 pound verbal weight dropped on the arse.
Let's see if we can start getting everyone to think and act in this manner...including me:)
At a recent town hall meeting, a woman stood up and asked Senator Coburn if she was going to jail if she didn't have health care. He responded to her by saying that was not true and people shouldn't believe everything the myths they hear on Fox News. Later in the meeting, Nancy Pelosi's name came up and there was a chorus of boos, to which Senator Coburn replied
"Come on now... how many of you all have met her? She's a nice person. Just because somebody disagrees with you, doesn't mean they're not a good person. Don't catch yourself being biased by Fox News that somebody's no good."
Well said, sir!
He then went on to urge his audience to widen their points of view by reading (!) and watching a variety of media outlets...not simply the ones with which they agree.
Mr. Coburn, I have disagreed with you on many things but from this day forward you are a friend to Notes From The Front and if anyone, on either side, disparages you personally, they are going to get a 400 pound verbal weight dropped on the arse.
Let's see if we can start getting everyone to think and act in this manner...including me:)
Monday, April 05, 2010
Reflecting the Grays
A few weeks ago, juris imprudent, a regular commenter here at Notes From The Front, posted a comment about a trip he took to Manzanar, one of ten sites used during World War II to house Japanese Americans. Visiting the site made him think of one of our nation's greatest presidents.
It took several decades for our country to come around but we finally apologized to those Americans of Japanese descent for seizing their land and putting them in internment camps. I'm sure many of you would argue that it was war time, after all, and there wasn't really any choice. Who could know what spies lurked amongst these "yellow devils?" In all honesty, I would have probably been one of those people supporting FDR's decision to make all of these people instant prisoners of war.
One would think, however, that at the conclusion of the war, Truman might have apologized but he didn't. Nor did Eisenhower nor my favorite president, Jack Kennedy. In fact, it took four more presidents before we finally elected a man who had the balls to admit that we were wrong. That man was Ronald Reagan and, on August 10, 1988, he signed a bill that gave reparations to those Japanese Americans. Here is a photo of him signing the bill into law.
In reflecting upon this image, I have to admit that the last vestiges any thoughts I had that defined Reagan as a "bad" president have effectively been vanquished. Ideologically, there are many of his views and actions with which I will always disagree. And he's still not in my Top Five.
But you can't argue with someone who mans up and says that our country fucked up. Ironic, that Reagan is the hero to a party which is completely incapable of that now and heaps vitriol upon President Obama for doing just that.
I suppose it's not surprising that the same group of people that twist the message of Jesus Christ to suit their needs would create a "Fictional Ronnie" that they can worship with candles and ignorance. What would they say about President Reagan talking (gasp!) to our mortal enemies, the Soviets, and actually engaging in diplomacy? What would they say about a man who ran record deficits and debt to GDP spending? What would they say about a man who admitted that arms for hostages were traded and that is was HIS responsibility alone?
Well, they'd probably call him a Nazi. Or a Communist.
I'm man enough to admit that history has shown me that Reagan was a much better president than he is given credit. Why? Results. Ronald Reagan defeated the Soviet Union. It's just that simple. We hear the Cult these days obsess about Obama's teleprompter and how speeches don't solve anything. Yet it was President Reagan's speech, in which he said, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall" that has since been shown by author Romesh Ratnesar in his book Tear Down this Wall to be a major turning point in the end of the Soviet Union. This is a fantastic book, btw, which I highly recommend.
And it was Reagan, as Manzi pointed out in his tour de force, that brought the US back to the forefront of the world economy.
Ronald Reagan's solution to the '70s crisis proceeded from two diagnoses. The first was that macroeconomic pump-priming was merely creating inflation, not growth. The second was that America's economy had large untapped potential for growth, but that this potential went unrealized because of the restrictions on markets intended to promote social harmony as part of the post-war economic consensus. These included everything from price controls to government encouragement of private-sector unionization to zealous anti-trust enforcement. Reagan's strategy, therefore, was to promote sound money plus deregulation. He succeeded, and America re-emerged as the acknowledged global economic leader. Economic output per person is now 20 to 25% higher in the U.S. than in Japan and the major European economies, and America's economy dominates the world in size and prestige.
Again, it comes down to the results. Of course, these results did not come without hardship and that is where the left comes in with their complaints about Reagan which I'm certain I will hear in comments. Manzi explains.
The percentage of the U.S. population born abroad — which had reached its historical minimum in 1970 — began to rise rapidly as mass immigration resumed after a multi-decade hiatus. This development increased inequality further by introducing a large low-income group to the population, and by intensifying wage competition among lower-skill workers.
The Reagan economic revolution exacerbated the problem. Its success resulted, in part, from forcing extremely painful restructuring on industry after industry. One critical consequence of this restructuring was a new compensation paradigm — one that relies on markets rather than on corporate diktats, regulation, or historical norms to set pay. This new regime also accepts a much higher degree of income disparity based on market-denominated performance, and it expects that most people will exploit the resulting demand for talent by moving from company to company many times during a career. Growing inequality was a price we paid for the economic growth needed to recover from the '70s slump and to retain our global position.
I think that Manzi explains this quite well. Growing inequality was the price we had to pay or it would have been worse. Reagan knew this, of course, and did what he to do.
That's not to say that all of his ideas would work in today's economy. I don't think many of them would. I'll be talking over the next few weeks about what Bruce Bartlett's take on the difference between the Reagan economy (in which he was a principle architect) and the Obama economy. In fact, as I have reflecting quite a bit on President Reagan since juris put up that comment, I see more and more similarities between him and our current president than I ever though possible. More, I'm certain, that the Cult would not like to admit.
So, isn't it interesting, as juris posed in the same comment regarding his trip to Manzanar, that Reagan was the one to apologize and FDR, the extremely left leaning statesman, got it all wrong in putting American citizens in camps simply because of their ethnicity? And doing this while fighting a war against an enemy that believed in a "Master Race?"
It is, indeed, very interesting and this would be just the kind of reflection upon the gray that all of us should be doing in our current age of hyper vitriolic "Us VS. Them." As one can plainly see, I have no problem doing this. Those who have created a fictional effigy of Ronald Reagan, at least at this point in time, do not have the word "reflection" in their vocabulary.
Until they do, we aren't going to get anywhere.
It took several decades for our country to come around but we finally apologized to those Americans of Japanese descent for seizing their land and putting them in internment camps. I'm sure many of you would argue that it was war time, after all, and there wasn't really any choice. Who could know what spies lurked amongst these "yellow devils?" In all honesty, I would have probably been one of those people supporting FDR's decision to make all of these people instant prisoners of war.
One would think, however, that at the conclusion of the war, Truman might have apologized but he didn't. Nor did Eisenhower nor my favorite president, Jack Kennedy. In fact, it took four more presidents before we finally elected a man who had the balls to admit that we were wrong. That man was Ronald Reagan and, on August 10, 1988, he signed a bill that gave reparations to those Japanese Americans. Here is a photo of him signing the bill into law.
In reflecting upon this image, I have to admit that the last vestiges any thoughts I had that defined Reagan as a "bad" president have effectively been vanquished. Ideologically, there are many of his views and actions with which I will always disagree. And he's still not in my Top Five.
But you can't argue with someone who mans up and says that our country fucked up. Ironic, that Reagan is the hero to a party which is completely incapable of that now and heaps vitriol upon President Obama for doing just that.
I suppose it's not surprising that the same group of people that twist the message of Jesus Christ to suit their needs would create a "Fictional Ronnie" that they can worship with candles and ignorance. What would they say about President Reagan talking (gasp!) to our mortal enemies, the Soviets, and actually engaging in diplomacy? What would they say about a man who ran record deficits and debt to GDP spending? What would they say about a man who admitted that arms for hostages were traded and that is was HIS responsibility alone?
Well, they'd probably call him a Nazi. Or a Communist.
I'm man enough to admit that history has shown me that Reagan was a much better president than he is given credit. Why? Results. Ronald Reagan defeated the Soviet Union. It's just that simple. We hear the Cult these days obsess about Obama's teleprompter and how speeches don't solve anything. Yet it was President Reagan's speech, in which he said, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall" that has since been shown by author Romesh Ratnesar in his book Tear Down this Wall to be a major turning point in the end of the Soviet Union. This is a fantastic book, btw, which I highly recommend.
And it was Reagan, as Manzi pointed out in his tour de force, that brought the US back to the forefront of the world economy.
Ronald Reagan's solution to the '70s crisis proceeded from two diagnoses. The first was that macroeconomic pump-priming was merely creating inflation, not growth. The second was that America's economy had large untapped potential for growth, but that this potential went unrealized because of the restrictions on markets intended to promote social harmony as part of the post-war economic consensus. These included everything from price controls to government encouragement of private-sector unionization to zealous anti-trust enforcement. Reagan's strategy, therefore, was to promote sound money plus deregulation. He succeeded, and America re-emerged as the acknowledged global economic leader. Economic output per person is now 20 to 25% higher in the U.S. than in Japan and the major European economies, and America's economy dominates the world in size and prestige.
Again, it comes down to the results. Of course, these results did not come without hardship and that is where the left comes in with their complaints about Reagan which I'm certain I will hear in comments. Manzi explains.
The percentage of the U.S. population born abroad — which had reached its historical minimum in 1970 — began to rise rapidly as mass immigration resumed after a multi-decade hiatus. This development increased inequality further by introducing a large low-income group to the population, and by intensifying wage competition among lower-skill workers.
The Reagan economic revolution exacerbated the problem. Its success resulted, in part, from forcing extremely painful restructuring on industry after industry. One critical consequence of this restructuring was a new compensation paradigm — one that relies on markets rather than on corporate diktats, regulation, or historical norms to set pay. This new regime also accepts a much higher degree of income disparity based on market-denominated performance, and it expects that most people will exploit the resulting demand for talent by moving from company to company many times during a career. Growing inequality was a price we paid for the economic growth needed to recover from the '70s slump and to retain our global position.
I think that Manzi explains this quite well. Growing inequality was the price we had to pay or it would have been worse. Reagan knew this, of course, and did what he to do.
That's not to say that all of his ideas would work in today's economy. I don't think many of them would. I'll be talking over the next few weeks about what Bruce Bartlett's take on the difference between the Reagan economy (in which he was a principle architect) and the Obama economy. In fact, as I have reflecting quite a bit on President Reagan since juris put up that comment, I see more and more similarities between him and our current president than I ever though possible. More, I'm certain, that the Cult would not like to admit.
So, isn't it interesting, as juris posed in the same comment regarding his trip to Manzanar, that Reagan was the one to apologize and FDR, the extremely left leaning statesman, got it all wrong in putting American citizens in camps simply because of their ethnicity? And doing this while fighting a war against an enemy that believed in a "Master Race?"
It is, indeed, very interesting and this would be just the kind of reflection upon the gray that all of us should be doing in our current age of hyper vitriolic "Us VS. Them." As one can plainly see, I have no problem doing this. Those who have created a fictional effigy of Ronald Reagan, at least at this point in time, do not have the word "reflection" in their vocabulary.
Until they do, we aren't going to get anywhere.
Friday, April 02, 2010
First, Do No...wait, you support health care reform? FUCK YOU!
Click on the image for the full story.Awesome!
Thursday, April 01, 2010
Yea! (Clap! Clap!)
I'm so happy I found Bruce Bartlett again. His recent column, Ignorance Is Bliss for the Tea Party Crowd, contains many wonderful gems.
One of the reasons I became a conservative way back when is because conservatives lived in a world where one’s actions are defined by their consequences, not one’s motives. Conservatives also prided themselves on being reality-based and fact-based in their analyses, while liberals often seemed to live in a dream world disconnected from history, institutions and ideology, among other things.
I agree completely. I miss that brand of conservatism. What happened to it?
Today, however, conservatives have largely adopted the liberal operating assumption and now also define themselves by the righteousness of their motives. This fact became very obvious to me this week when I examined the knowledge that tea party demonstrators on Capitol Hill had on the subject of taxation.
Granted, Bartlett's polling isn't a very large sample but the results are interesting nonetheless.
Federal taxes are very considerably lower by every measure since Obama became president. And given the economic circumstances, it's hard to imagine that a tax increase would have been enacted last year. In fact, 40% of Obama's stimulus package involved tax cuts. These include the Making Work Pay Credit, which reduces federal taxes for all taxpayers with incomes below $75,000 by between $400 and $800.
And yet they won't accept these facts. Why? Because they "live in a dream world, disconnected from history, institutions, ideology among other things."
It's hard to explain this divergence between perception and reality.
Actually, it's quite easy, Mr. Bartlett. They are in a fucking Cult. But, please, continue to be polite.
Tea parties just represent unfocused anger at current economic conditions...In this sense, the tea parties are simply the latest manifestation of populism, which has arisen periodically throughout American history...Unfortunately for the tea party populists, there is no evidence in American history that populism has ever had a meaningful effect on policy.
Well, that's a relief that someone thinks so. I'm not so sure, though, with all the new media. I think they are going to be around for awhile.
Whatever the future of the tea party movement in American politics, it's a bad idea for so many participants to operate on the basis of false notions about the burden of federal taxation. It only takes a little bit of time to look at one's tax return to see what one is actually paying the Treasury, calculate the percentage of one's income that goes to taxes, and compare it to what was paid last year and the year before. People may then discover that their anger is misplaced and channel it into areas where it is more likely to bring about positive change.
That's just it. They don't want to take the time. They believe what they believe and they certainly aren't going to let facts about taxes get in the way. In fact, the Tea Partiers that I have talked to seemed more concerned about what other people pay in taxes (howls of unfairness) than what they themselves pay.
I wonder why that is...
One of the reasons I became a conservative way back when is because conservatives lived in a world where one’s actions are defined by their consequences, not one’s motives. Conservatives also prided themselves on being reality-based and fact-based in their analyses, while liberals often seemed to live in a dream world disconnected from history, institutions and ideology, among other things.
I agree completely. I miss that brand of conservatism. What happened to it?
Today, however, conservatives have largely adopted the liberal operating assumption and now also define themselves by the righteousness of their motives. This fact became very obvious to me this week when I examined the knowledge that tea party demonstrators on Capitol Hill had on the subject of taxation.
Granted, Bartlett's polling isn't a very large sample but the results are interesting nonetheless.
Tea party goers also seem to have a very distorted view of the direction of federal taxes. They were asked whether they are higher, lower or the same as when Barack Obama was inaugurated last year. More than two-thirds thought that taxes are higher today and only 4% thought they were lower; the rest said they are the same.
Federal taxes are very considerably lower by every measure since Obama became president. And given the economic circumstances, it's hard to imagine that a tax increase would have been enacted last year. In fact, 40% of Obama's stimulus package involved tax cuts. These include the Making Work Pay Credit, which reduces federal taxes for all taxpayers with incomes below $75,000 by between $400 and $800.
And yet they won't accept these facts. Why? Because they "live in a dream world, disconnected from history, institutions, ideology among other things."
According to the JCT, last year's $787 billion stimulus bill, enacted with no Republican support, reduced federal taxes by almost $100 billion in 2009 and another $222 billion this year. The Tax Policy Center, a private research group, estimates that close to 90% of all taxpayers got a tax cut last year and almost 100% of those in the $50,000 income range. For those making between $40,000 and $50,000, the average tax cut was $472; for those making between $50,000 and $75,000, the tax cut averaged $522. No taxpayer anywhere in the country had his or her taxes increased as a consequence of Obama's policies.
It's hard to explain this divergence between perception and reality.
Actually, it's quite easy, Mr. Bartlett. They are in a fucking Cult. But, please, continue to be polite.
Tea parties just represent unfocused anger at current economic conditions...In this sense, the tea parties are simply the latest manifestation of populism, which has arisen periodically throughout American history...Unfortunately for the tea party populists, there is no evidence in American history that populism has ever had a meaningful effect on policy.
Well, that's a relief that someone thinks so. I'm not so sure, though, with all the new media. I think they are going to be around for awhile.
Whatever the future of the tea party movement in American politics, it's a bad idea for so many participants to operate on the basis of false notions about the burden of federal taxation. It only takes a little bit of time to look at one's tax return to see what one is actually paying the Treasury, calculate the percentage of one's income that goes to taxes, and compare it to what was paid last year and the year before. People may then discover that their anger is misplaced and channel it into areas where it is more likely to bring about positive change.
That's just it. They don't want to take the time. They believe what they believe and they certainly aren't going to let facts about taxes get in the way. In fact, the Tea Partiers that I have talked to seemed more concerned about what other people pay in taxes (howls of unfairness) than what they themselves pay.
I wonder why that is...
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Drill, Barry, Drill?
First of all, some of you have asked if I am going to comment on the Hutaree cult and their recent arrests. To be quite honest, I don't really feel like it. For the time being, I have said all I need to say about the rise of right wing nut bags.
Instead, I thought I would examine the stunning announcement today by President Obama that offshore oil drilling in areas of the Atlantic Ocean, Alaska's North Slope, and the Gulf of Mexico. Combine this with his recent dedication to pursue nuclear energy solutions and, my oh my, do we have a whole shit load of pissed off tree huggers.
The plan authorizes the Interior Department to conduct seismic surveys off the south- and mid-Atlantic coasts to "determine the quantity and location of potential oil and gas resources to support energy planning," according to a statement from a White House official. It would include lifting a 20 year ban on drilling along the Virginia coastline but keep the ban on drilling around Bristol Bay in Alaska.
"This is not a decision that I've made lightly," Obama told an audience at Maryland's Joint Base Andrews Naval Air Facility. "But the bottom line is this: Given our energy needs, in order to sustain economic growth and produce jobs and keep our businesses competitive, we're going to need to harness traditional sources of fuel even as we ramp up production of new sources of renewable, homegrown energy."
I've heard this same suggestion from several of my conservative friends and wonder if they will now give him credit for doing this. In fact, I'm really curious as to how they are going to spin this one. Drill Baby Drill has been their cry for awhile and now that he is actually doing it, how can they complain? I'm certain they will find a way.
While I wholeheartedly support all in roads to nuclear energy (in fact, I think efforts should be greater), I'm not sure I can get on board with him on this one. I'm sure he sees things that I don't (obviously) but Drill Baby Drill has always seemed to me, as Thomas Friedman said, like someone in the year 1994 screaming about the effectiveness of a typewriter. To me, drilling for oil around our coasts is a waste of time, money, and energy that could be put to use somewhere else.
I can't help but think that this new drilling will stymie our effort to keep ahead of China in the green energy race. I get the fact that we need to reduce our dependence on foreign oil but shouldn't that mean that our efforts should be doubled in wind, solar, and nuclear energy?
Instead, I thought I would examine the stunning announcement today by President Obama that offshore oil drilling in areas of the Atlantic Ocean, Alaska's North Slope, and the Gulf of Mexico. Combine this with his recent dedication to pursue nuclear energy solutions and, my oh my, do we have a whole shit load of pissed off tree huggers.
The plan authorizes the Interior Department to conduct seismic surveys off the south- and mid-Atlantic coasts to "determine the quantity and location of potential oil and gas resources to support energy planning," according to a statement from a White House official. It would include lifting a 20 year ban on drilling along the Virginia coastline but keep the ban on drilling around Bristol Bay in Alaska.
"This is not a decision that I've made lightly," Obama told an audience at Maryland's Joint Base Andrews Naval Air Facility. "But the bottom line is this: Given our energy needs, in order to sustain economic growth and produce jobs and keep our businesses competitive, we're going to need to harness traditional sources of fuel even as we ramp up production of new sources of renewable, homegrown energy."
I've heard this same suggestion from several of my conservative friends and wonder if they will now give him credit for doing this. In fact, I'm really curious as to how they are going to spin this one. Drill Baby Drill has been their cry for awhile and now that he is actually doing it, how can they complain? I'm certain they will find a way.
While I wholeheartedly support all in roads to nuclear energy (in fact, I think efforts should be greater), I'm not sure I can get on board with him on this one. I'm sure he sees things that I don't (obviously) but Drill Baby Drill has always seemed to me, as Thomas Friedman said, like someone in the year 1994 screaming about the effectiveness of a typewriter. To me, drilling for oil around our coasts is a waste of time, money, and energy that could be put to use somewhere else.
I can't help but think that this new drilling will stymie our effort to keep ahead of China in the green energy race. I get the fact that we need to reduce our dependence on foreign oil but shouldn't that mean that our efforts should be doubled in wind, solar, and nuclear energy?
Monday, March 29, 2010
They Never Do
It is truly amazing to behold, in this day and age, that when people make racist remarks that we still have a nation in denial. In fact, not only is it verboten to say the word "nigger"...it is also unheard of to accuse a member of the Cult as being racist.
I've talked about this before and, as expected, it's been met with derisive snorts and even outright denials. Take the recent chants of "Kill the Bill, nigger" that were heard as Reps John Lewis, Jim Clyburn, and Emanuel Cleaver headed into the Capitol last week to vote on the health care bill. I am told now that Lewis, Clyburn and Cleaver are all liars and it didn't actually happen. Never mind the scores of reports from witnesses in the crowd as well the confirmation from Capital Police. The Tea Party activists are not racist. To say otherwise...well...I think you can guess how the Cult views this transgression.
Leonard Pitts Jr., writing for McClatchy News Services, sums it up best.
So it turns out that, contrary to what I argued in this space a few weeks back, racism is not "a major component" of the so-called tea party movement. I am informed of this by dozens of tea party activists indignant and insulted that I would even suggest such a thing.
I've talked about this before and, as expected, it's been met with derisive snorts and even outright denials. Take the recent chants of "Kill the Bill, nigger" that were heard as Reps John Lewis, Jim Clyburn, and Emanuel Cleaver headed into the Capitol last week to vote on the health care bill. I am told now that Lewis, Clyburn and Cleaver are all liars and it didn't actually happen. Never mind the scores of reports from witnesses in the crowd as well the confirmation from Capital Police. The Tea Party activists are not racist. To say otherwise...well...I think you can guess how the Cult views this transgression.
Leonard Pitts Jr., writing for McClatchy News Services, sums it up best.
So it turns out that, contrary to what I argued in this space a few weeks back, racism is not "a major component" of the so-called tea party movement. I am informed of this by dozens of tea party activists indignant and insulted that I would even suggest such a thing.
In other news tea party protesters called John Lewis a "nigger" the other day in the shadow of the U.S. Capitol.
So, don't believe your lyin' eyes/ears. This jibes with the rest of their bullshit. Of course, Lewis has faced this sort of denial before in his life as Pitts notes.
He faced it in Nashville in 1960 when he was locked inside a whites-only fast-food restaurant and gassed by a fumigation machine for ordering a hamburger.
He faced it in Birmingham in 1961 when a group of Freedom Riders was attacked and he was knocked unconscious for riding a Greyhound bus.
Most famously, he faced it on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma 45 years ago this month when his skull was fractured by Alabama state troopers who charged a group of demonstrators seeking their right to vote.
Bring this up to a member of the Cult and be prepared to be met with an onslaught of anger and hate combined with a whiny-squeal-like-a-pig tone in their voices. To discuss historical facts of this nature are anathema to them...especially if there are any racial overtones. Why? Well, that's simple.
There is no racism in our country. And if you teach it in school then you are race monger, leftist who is encouraging social justice which are code words for communism and fascism.
Tea party leaders have spent much of the last few days spinning the incident, deflecting renewed suggestions that their stated fears — socialism, communism, liberalism — are just proxies for the one fear most of them no longer dare speak. Some even faxed the McClatchy news bureau in Washington to suggest, without offering a shred of evidence, that the episode was sparked by Democratic plants within the crowd.
Really? Wow...
Amy Kremer, coordinator of the Tea Party Express, went on Fox News to dismiss what she called an "isolated" incident. Your first instinct may be to cede the benefit of the doubt on that one. It seems unfair to tar nine reasonable people with the hateful behavior of one lunatic.
So, Kremer admits it DID happen. Hmm...
Given how often tea party leaders have been forced to disavow hateful signs and slogans and even the presence of organized white supremacist groups in their midst, is it really fair to use the word "isolated"?
Is there not a rottenness here? And is not the unwillingness to call that rottenness by name part and parcel of the reason it endures?
Yes, Leonard, there is a rottenness and that's why it does endure. It endures for the same reason why it endured so many years after the Civil War...because people aren't owning their responsibility for it. I have no problem admitting that I am horribly biased against Muslim men. It is a form of bigotry that I will probably struggle with my entire life. I may be a flawed person in many ways but at least I have the sack to admit that I do, indeed, have a problem. The Cult, of course, will never admit their obvious bias. Admitting Fault=End of all that is Holy.
I'll let Pitts close this one out.
Often we tell ourselves lies to spare ourselves truths. Had you asked them, the people who locked John Lewis inside that restaurant, the ones who mauled him at that bus station and smashed him down on that bridge, would not have said they acted from a rottenness within.
No, like the ones who called him "nigger" half a century later, they would have told you they were good people fighting for principle, trying to save this country from the liberals, the socialists and the communists.
They would not have said they were racists. Racists never do.
Friday, March 26, 2010
Facts and Logic-Encore
And what we saw this Tuesday, once the president signed the health care bill at the 11th hour in the morning on Tuesday, that effected 51% government takeover of the private economy. It is really quite sobering what has happened. From 100% of our economy was private prior to September of 2008, but as of Tuesday, the federal government has now taken ownership or control of 51% of the private economy.
--Michelle Bachmann (MN-06), on Wednesday, during an interview with North Dakota talk radio host Scott Hennen.
UPADTE: Bachmann repeated these numbers on live television this morning (3-28) on WCCO. Where is she getting these percentage points? Anyone?
Say it and (poof!) just like magic-It's True!
--Michelle Bachmann (MN-06), on Wednesday, during an interview with North Dakota talk radio host Scott Hennen.
UPADTE: Bachmann repeated these numbers on live television this morning (3-28) on WCCO. Where is she getting these percentage points? Anyone?
Say it and (poof!) just like magic-It's True!
Shrivelling Into Dementia
I've lost track of Bruce Bartlett of late and was glad to hear him back into the mix commenting on the firing of David Frum from the American Enterprise Institute. Bartlett was a senior policy adviser for both Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. A voice of fiscal conservatism and, no doubt, one of the keenest conservative minds of the last quarter century, Bartlett was kicked out of the Cult when he wrote the book Impostor: How George W. Bush Bankrupted America and Betrayed the Reagan Legacy.
Bartlet's latest entry on the Cap gains blog echoes what I have been saying on here for a long time. Commenting on the Frum firing:
Since, he is no longer affiliated with AEI, I feel free to say publicly something he told me in private a few months ago. He asked if I had noticed any comments by AEI "scholars" on the subject of health care reform. I said no and he said that was because they had been ordered not to speak to the media because they agreed with too much of what Obama was trying to do.
Bartlet's latest entry on the Cap gains blog echoes what I have been saying on here for a long time. Commenting on the Frum firing:
Since, he is no longer affiliated with AEI, I feel free to say publicly something he told me in private a few months ago. He asked if I had noticed any comments by AEI "scholars" on the subject of health care reform. I said no and he said that was because they had been ordered not to speak to the media because they agreed with too much of what Obama was trying to do.
It saddened me to hear this. I have always hoped that my experience was unique. But now I see that I was just the first to suffer from a closing of the conservative mind. Rigid conformity is being enforced, no dissent is allowed, and the conservative brain will slowly shrivel into dementia if it hasn't already.
It has already, Bruce. A recent trip to the gym saw a woman scream at me that President Obama has broken his oath to the Constitution and should be impeached. She went on to tell me that I should read Glenn Beck and that he, not Obama, should be president. She was terrified that the government, now that they have "taken over" health care, were going to "get us." She then went on to explain that she was mad at Obama for taking away federal funds for a charity with which she works. WTF?!!?
I knew things would be bad but I didn't think they would be bad AND complete devoid of sense!
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Isloated?
Last Friday, just before the House voted on the health care bill, the Monroe County Democratic Committee office had a brick thrown through their window of which contained a note.
Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice.
The quote comes from Barry Goldwater, who ran for president in the year 1964. Rep Louise Slaughter also had a brick thrown through her office window which is in the same district-her district-as the MCDC. One might think that these are just random acts by the proverbial lone nut. Not so much.
“I’m advocating broken windows. I’m advocating vandalism," says Mike Vanderboegh, owner of the Sipsey Street Irregulars blog. He says his invitation to “break windows…break them now” is behind the incident in Rochester and at least two others in Tucson and Kansas. The Kansas City Star identifies Vanderboegh as a former leader of the Alabama Constitutional Militia. His post from March 19th states:
They will send the Internal Revenue Service and other federal police to do this in thousands of small Wacos, if that is what it takes to force us to submit. This arrogant elite pretends that this oppression is for our own good, while everyone else understands that this is about their selfish, insatiable appetite for control over our liberty, our money, our property and our lives.
Hmm...familiar words...in two ways, actually. First, they sound like the latest postings over at The Smallest Minority. Second, if translated into Arabic, they sound like hirabis.
Since the brick incident and her subsequent vote on the health care bill, Ms. Slaughter has received death threats aimed at her family.
Rep. Steve Driehaus from Ohio was one of the pro life Democrats who voted for the health care bill. Conservatives are planning a Sunday protest outside of his house, after a conservative blog put his address--complete with directions--on the Internet. Mr Driehaus has also been receiving death threats as well as a brick thrown through the window of a Democratic office in his district.
After a tea party organizer published the address of the brother of Rep. Tom Perriello (D-VA) in a blog post urging anti-health reform activists to "drop by," someone cut a propane gas line at the house, Politico is reporting.
In the early hours of the morning on Monday just after the House health care vote, someone smashed the glass front door of the Tucson office of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ). On Friday night or Saturday morning, a brick bearing unspecified "anti-Obama and anti-health care messages" was thrown through a floor-to-ceiling window at the Sedgwick County Democratic Party headquarters in Wichita, Kansas.
Yet, I have been assured by my colleagues on the right that these are just isolated incidents and not representative of their party. So, when I hear Rush Limbaugh saying "we need to defeat these bastards...we must wipe them out" and then see these threats and acts of violence I guess I shouldn't believe my lyin' eyes.
Right?
Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice.
The quote comes from Barry Goldwater, who ran for president in the year 1964. Rep Louise Slaughter also had a brick thrown through her office window which is in the same district-her district-as the MCDC. One might think that these are just random acts by the proverbial lone nut. Not so much.
“I’m advocating broken windows. I’m advocating vandalism," says Mike Vanderboegh, owner of the Sipsey Street Irregulars blog. He says his invitation to “break windows…break them now” is behind the incident in Rochester and at least two others in Tucson and Kansas. The Kansas City Star identifies Vanderboegh as a former leader of the Alabama Constitutional Militia. His post from March 19th states:
They will send the Internal Revenue Service and other federal police to do this in thousands of small Wacos, if that is what it takes to force us to submit. This arrogant elite pretends that this oppression is for our own good, while everyone else understands that this is about their selfish, insatiable appetite for control over our liberty, our money, our property and our lives.
Hmm...familiar words...in two ways, actually. First, they sound like the latest postings over at The Smallest Minority. Second, if translated into Arabic, they sound like hirabis.
Since the brick incident and her subsequent vote on the health care bill, Ms. Slaughter has received death threats aimed at her family.
Rep. Steve Driehaus from Ohio was one of the pro life Democrats who voted for the health care bill. Conservatives are planning a Sunday protest outside of his house, after a conservative blog put his address--complete with directions--on the Internet. Mr Driehaus has also been receiving death threats as well as a brick thrown through the window of a Democratic office in his district.
After a tea party organizer published the address of the brother of Rep. Tom Perriello (D-VA) in a blog post urging anti-health reform activists to "drop by," someone cut a propane gas line at the house, Politico is reporting.
In the early hours of the morning on Monday just after the House health care vote, someone smashed the glass front door of the Tucson office of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ). On Friday night or Saturday morning, a brick bearing unspecified "anti-Obama and anti-health care messages" was thrown through a floor-to-ceiling window at the Sedgwick County Democratic Party headquarters in Wichita, Kansas.
Yet, I have been assured by my colleagues on the right that these are just isolated incidents and not representative of their party. So, when I hear Rush Limbaugh saying "we need to defeat these bastards...we must wipe them out" and then see these threats and acts of violence I guess I shouldn't believe my lyin' eyes.
Right?
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
JLAQ!
They won because they held Congress and the presidency, and therein lies the lesson: We need to defeat these bastards. We need to wipe them out.
--Rush Limbaugh, co head of the GOP
Of course, he was talking about defeating them in the coming election but I'm wondering what the Cult would say if these same words came from Ibrahim Hooper. And in Arabic.
I think we know what the Cult would say and that's why, in addition to being JLAQ, they are the finest example of hypocrisy in history. :)
--Rush Limbaugh, co head of the GOP
Of course, he was talking about defeating them in the coming election but I'm wondering what the Cult would say if these same words came from Ibrahim Hooper. And in Arabic.
I think we know what the Cult would say and that's why, in addition to being JLAQ, they are the finest example of hypocrisy in history. :)
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