Words, They Have Meanings

I am disturbed by people who apparently think that if the meaning of a word upsets them or paints them in a less than flattering light, they can just change the meanings of words. It upsets me because the only way we have to communicate with each other is through words* and if we allow people to remove all meaning from words, we're left with beaver shoe crying although hi run.

Like this guy:

There is no shortage of exaggeration and hyperbole in politics. Republicans will routinely point out that Democrats are wrong, but only Democrats make these kind of rhetorical leaps:

• Skepticism over global warming is evidence that Republicans are anti-science

Well, if one spends one's time denying and smearing science in order to protect one's profits, what exactly does that make one?

• Removing collective bargaining rights for public workers means Republicans are anti-union

What else would you call removing collective bargaining rights? Unions, by definition, involve collective bargaining.

• Cutting funding for the Department of Education means Republicans areagainst improving schools

Okay, that's fair. Simply cutting the Dept of Ed's budget does not make one against improving schools, unless one also does not have a plan for improving schools . . . oh, well then.

• Passing tax cuts for everyone who pays taxes means Republicans only cut taxes for millionaires and billionaires

Refusing to pass legislation that only benefits poor people until a tax cut for people inheriting millions is tacked on, well, what would you call that?

• Cutting funding for the Environmental Protection Agency means Republicans are against clean water

They have no other plan to ensure clean water, so what am I to make of that?

• Ending unemployment benefit extensions means Republicans don’t protect the poor and want people to lose their homes

IF THE SHOE FITS, WEAR IT!

• Cutting subsidies to Planned Parenthood means Republicans are trying to ban birth control and abortion

"Ban"? In this context, no, they're just making it impossible for poor women to get birth control and abortions. It's not actually banning per se, but it's the next best thing. Effectively, for the poor women involved, it's the same thing.

• Improving our border security and enforcing immigration laws means that Republicans hate minorities

Um, if passing racist legislation in Arizona were "improving border security and enforcing immigration laws", I'd agree with you, but words, they have meaning.

• Cutting subsidies for school lunch programs means Republicans want children to go to sleep hungry at night

Well, if they're not eating at lunch, and they're not eating at home . . . Honestly, I knew people who deliberately failed classes during the regular school year to ensure that they had to go to summer school. They didn't like going to school year round, they liked eating year round.

• Failing to legislate levels of CO2, a greenhouse gas that we all exhale, means Republicans are anti-environment

Or stupid. Take your pick.

• Opposing teachers unions means that Republicans are against teachers

Paying off their loans and eating on a regular basis, that is.

I thought progressives were supposed to be more nuanced…

I've never claimed to be "more" nuanced . . .

*I suspect someone may say "Sign language, I win, you're wrong!", but that's still words. It's just words communicated via fingers instead of lips and tongues.

We Need Republican Scientists, Stat!

Science, like reality, has a liberal bias.

Um, really? I think someone needs a lesson in correlation and causation.

A Pew Research Center Poll from July 2009 showed that only around 6 percent of U.S. scientists are Republicans; 55 percent are Democrats, 32 percent are independent, and the rest "don't know" their affiliation.

I'm not surprised. I'm also not surprised that children who live in houses that contain books learn to read earlier and do better in school. This is not because books have magical powers, this is because the sorts of parents that have the time and money to devote to serious reading also have the time and money to devote to making sure their children do well in school.

My point is, books do not cause reading. Books correlate to reading. Being a Democrat does not make one a scientist or interested in science, but the qualities that inspire one to become a scientist are qualities shared by the party that understands that tax cuts to the rich don't actually help the rest of us. Oh, and they cost something, too!

Honestly, if you're part of the magical party that thinks that a $0.29 return on a $1 investment is a good deal, you probably don't care what science has to say about things. You'll be clinging to your ideology and fuck climate change.

What's the solution? Well, the author of this piece seems to think we need one, but I don't.

For example, survey data show that the scientific community enjoys the trust of 90 percent of Americans—more than for any other institution, including the Supreme Court and the military.

I'm shocked you can get 90% of Americans to agree on anything. Hell, I'd be willing to bet that only 66% of Americans agree the sky is blue. So, hey, the overwhelming majority of Americans trust scientists as they are, Democrat, Independent and undecided. Why change what's working?

Now That's a Lot of Dog Whistles!

A lot, apparently.

I have no opinion on Puerto Rico becoming the 51st state, mostly because I don't know enough about the issues involved to have an informed opinion. The difference between me and people who write for Breitbart's Big Government is that they don't feel the need for information in forming opinions or advising policy. Racism and fearmongering are plenty enough for them.

Please consider this:

* The U.S. would transform, overnight, into a bilingual nation. At least half of Puerto Ricans do not speak English, the language of our U.S. Constitution and founding documents. The Washington Times article, “Puerto Rican statehood,” analyzes all the implications of adding a foreign language-speaking state to the Union.

* It would bring immediate demands for massive federal spending. The average income of Puerto Ricans is less than half that of our poorest state, and infrastructure and the environment are far below American standards. Puerto Rico has a population with a median national income of $17,741, nearly a third of that for the U.S.

* Puerto Rico is already a democracy. Despite the bill’s deceptive title, Puerto Rico already has an elected government and exists as a self-governed commonwealth of the U.S.

* Statehood would give Puerto Rico more congressional representation than 25 of our 50 states! It would inevitably give Democrats two additional U.S. Senators and 6 to 8 additional Members of the House.

So, there would be Spanish-speaking persons as citizens? Don't we already have . . .

Spanish! They speak it! Fear them! And they're poor! Poor people as citizens!

Don't we already have . . . Poor people! Fear them! Besides, we spread democracy, they already have it!

I'm pretty sure we spread war and terrorism, but what does that have to do with anything?

Brown, they are brown, er, democratic! They are democratic! And Democrats!

Ooooh, got it. Say no more. We can't have Democrats becoming citizens, that's insane!

Hypocrisy: A Play in Two Acts

stimulus, politics, democrat, republican, liar,
Remember all those Republicans who opposed the stimulus, refused to take the funds and claimed that the stimulus wouldn't create jobs? Apparently, not even they believed that one.

Sen. Christopher S. Bond regularly railed against President Obama's
economic stimulus plan as irresponsible spending that would drive up the
national debt. But behind the scenes, the Missouri Republican quietly sought
more than $50 million from a federal agency for two projects in his state.

. . .

In a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Mr. Bond noted that one
project applying to the USDA for stimulus money would "create jobs and
ultimately spur economic opportunities."

So, Senator Bond, was that "irresponsible spending" or the creation of jobs and economic opportunities?

Senator Bond wasn't alone in his hypocrisy.

Rep. Joe Wilson, South Carolina Republican who became famous after yelling,
"You lie," during Mr. Obama's addresses to Congress in September, voted against
the stimulus. Nonetheless, Mr. Wilson elbowed his way into the rush for federal
stimulus cash in a letter he sent to Mr. Vilsack on behalf of a foundation
seeking funding.

"We know their endeavor will provide jobs and investment in one of the
poorer sections of the Congressional District," he wrote to Mr. Vilsack in the
Aug. 26, 2009, letter.

Wait, which one of you is a liar again, Mr. Wilson?

On Feb. 13, 2009, Sen. Robert F. Bennett, Utah Republican, issued a
statement criticizing the stimulus — but two days earlier, he privately
forwarded to Mr. Vilsack a list of projects seeking stimulus money.

"I believe the addition of federal funds to these projects would
maximize the stimulative effect of these projects on the local economy," he
wrote.

You know what the worst part about this is? These idiots are going to keep hurling accusations of evil socialism at Obama and the Democrats while simultaneously secretly acknowledging that socialism is the way to go.

You're All Commies

communism, republican, democrat, capitalism

Lately, the Republicans have been partying like it's 1954, accusing liberals right and left of being communists. (Being a communist is entirely legal in this country, but I digress.)

The funny thing is, we're all communists. Every last one of us.

Communism is a socioeconomic structure and political ideology that promotes the establishment of an egalitarian society based on common ownership and control of the means of production and property in general.

Doesn't that pretty much describe your family? You don't all produce (earn money), but you all share equally in what is produced, each according to his or her ability, each according to his or her need. Nobody's shorting the baby on diapers because the baby isn't bringing in the benjamins, the baby gets diapers because the baby needs diapers. The wager earner who makes 73% of the family's income doesn't get 73% of the food at dinner, or 73% of the hot water in the morning. Dinner, hot water, heat, electricity are all shared for the benefit of the common good.

We're all communists, people. We just restrict it to people we happen to like or are related to.

Republicans for Rape just got Democratic Help

republican, democrat, rape, franken,
You remember the Republicans for rape, right? In case you don't, Senator Franken's first proposed legislation seemed like a slam dunk: stop defense contractors (who get paid with your money) from denying victims of assault- you know, RAPE- the right to bring their case to court.

It seemed like a slam dunk, but apparently, 30 Republicans think defense contractors need more protection than rape victims. However, at the time it seemed that everything would be okay. 30 Republicans voted for rape, but the remaining 70 Senators voted against rape and for the amendment.

Today, the pro-rape Republicans and their defense contractor buddies got a little help:

An amendment that would prevent the government from working with contractors who denied victims of assault the right to bring their case to court is in danger of being watered down or stripped entirely from a larger defense appropriations bill.

Multiple sources have told the Huffington Post that Sen. Dan Inouye, a longtime Democrat from Hawaii, is considering removing or altering the provision, which was offered by Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) and passed by the Senate several weeks ago.

This is Senator Inouye's contact information. Go to town.

Sen Inouye's Washington phone is
Washington D.C.
722 Hart Building
Washington, D.C. 20510-1102
Phone: 202-224-3934

Honolulu
300 Ala Moana Boulevard
Room 7-212
Honolulu, Hawaii 96850-4975
Phone: 808-541-2542
Fax: 808-541-2549

And if you haven't already, please tell the Republicans for Rape how you feel about them, too. (Keep it civil. The Secret Service does not have a sense of humor.)

Grab a Mop

mop, obama, republican, democrat, health care, bipartisan
The next time a teabagger whinges about anything, tell them to grab a mop.

In his remarks, the president explained his support for a two-party system, where "ideas are tested and assumptions are challenged." He added, "But what I reject is when some folks decide to sit on the sidelines and root for failure on health care or on energy or on our economy. What I reject is when some folks say we should go back to the past policies when it was those very same policies that got us into this mess in the first place.

"Another way of putting it is when, you know, I'm busy and Nancy's busy with our mop cleaning up somebody else's mess, we don't want somebody sitting back saying, 'You're not holding the mop the right way.' Why don't you grab a mop, why don't you help clean up? 'You're not mopping fast enough.' 'That's a socialist mop.' Grab a mop -- let's get to work."

You don't like my socialist mop? Fine. Clean up this mess with your capitalist mop. I don't care, just clean up the mess.

Do As I Say, Not That Other One

czar, obama, republican, democrat, politics,

I now have confirmation that the GOP is not in fact, a political party. It is performance art.

Representative Jack Kingston of Georgia is now criticizing Democrats for being too much like Republicans. Yes, he actually said that in his anticzar speech.

"I think we made a mistake as Republicans rubber-stamping too much from the Bush administration. In fact, if we had had a little more oversight and scrutiny of the administration's decisions when Bush was president we'd still be in the majority, probably. So I think that the Democrats are making a huge mistake here, and I can promise you the members who voted against this amendment, they will regret that."

Various Republicans added their own "thoughts" as to what Obama's czars are doing.

The more than a dozen House Republicans who joined Kingston's Wednesday-afternoon press conference offered a number of theories as to what the "czars" are up to. Rep. John Shadegg (R-Ariz.) compared the officials on his "czar" chart to those responsible for last year's Wall Street collapse. Rep. Pat Broun (R-Ga.) suggested that they are creating policy and law "counter to the Constitution." Either that, Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) said, "or they're simply figureheads, at which point they're collecting a salary for doing no work for the taxpayers."

Oddly, none of these gentlemen had anything similar to say about Bush's czars, which included:


Cyber Security Czar
Regulatory Czar
AIDS Czar
Bird Flu Czar
Intelligence Czar
Health IT Czar
Katrina Czar
Manufacturing Czar
Drug Czar
Domestic Policy Czar
War Czar
Copywright Czar
Abstinence Czar
Mine Safety Czar
Latin American Czar
WTO Health Czar
Corruption Czar
Privacy Czar
Health Czar

Do as I say, indeed.

Poor Is the New Rich

republican, democrat, bush, clinton, poverty, health care,

Here's what I can't figure out about all the people who want their country back: the United States declined under President Bush. Declined. So, what they want back is decreasing wages and increasing poverty? What?

On every major measurement, the Census Bureau report shows that the country lost ground during Bush's two terms. While Bush was in office, the median household income declined, poverty increased, childhood poverty increased even more, and the number of Americans without health insurance spiked. By contrast, the country's condition improved on each of those measures during Bill Clinton's two terms, often substantially.

. . .

Consider first the median income. When Bill Clinton left office after 2000, the median income-the income line around which half of households come in above, and half fall below-stood at $52,500 (measured in inflation-adjusted 2008 dollars). When Bush left office after 2008, the median income had fallen to $50,303. That's a decline of 4.2 per cent.

. . .

Bush's record on poverty is equally bleak. When Clinton left office in 2000, the Census counted almost 31.6 million Americans living in poverty. When Bush left office in 2008, the number of poor Americans had jumped to 39.8 million (the largest number in absolute terms since 1960.) Under Bush, the number of people in poverty increased by over 8.2 million, or 26.1 per cent. Over two-thirds of that increase occurred before the economic collapse of 2008.

The trends were comparably daunting for children in poverty. When Clinton left office nearly 11.6 million children lived in poverty, according to the Census. When Bush left office that number had swelled to just under 14.1 million, an increase of more than 21 per cent.

. . .

The story is similar again for access to health care. When Clinton left office, the number of uninsured Americans stood at 38.4 million. By the time Bush left office that number had grown to just over 46.3 million, an increase of nearly 8 million or 20.6 per cent.

So, under Bush, 21% more children entered poverty, 20.6% more people lost access to healthcare, median income fell 4.2%, and all this after the exact same numbers had improved under Clinton.

I want my country back, too- the way it was when Bill Clinton was President.

Sarah Palin was for Death Panels

palin, sarah, death, panels, health care, obama, democrat, republican,
before she was against them.

Yesterday, Sarah Palin doubled down on death panels, claiming

“President Obama can try to gloss over the effects of government-authorized end-of-life consultations, but the views of one of his top health care advisers are clear enough,” Palin wrote. “It’s all just more evidence that the Democratic legislative proposals will lead to health care rationing and more evidence that the top-down plans of government bureaucrats will never result in real health care reform.”

In April of 2008, however, she introduced legislation that included- wait for it- death panels!

WHEREAS, Healthcare Decisions Day is designed to raise public awareness of the need to plan ahead for healthcare decisions, related to end of life care and medical decision-making whenever patients are unable to speak for themselves and to encourage the specific use of advance directives to communicate these important healthcare decisions. [...]

WHEREAS, one of the principal goals of Healthcare Decisions Day is to encourage hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, continuing care retirement communities, and hospices to participate in a statewide effort to provide clear and consistent information to the public about advance directives, as well as to encourage medical professionals and lawyers to volunteer their time and efforts to improve public knowledge and increase the number of Alaska’s citizens with advance directives.

WHEREAS, the Foundation for End of Life Care in Juneau, Alaska, and other organizations throughout the United States have endorsed this event and are committed to educating the public about the importance of discussing healthcare choices and executing advance directives.

That is exactly the same leglislation that Sarah Palin is now calling death panels. Apparently, one year and four months ago, end of life counseling was the Republican way, but today it's roving government death squads, seeking out grandparents and the disabled hidden in your attic.

What a difference a Democratic President makes.

Fear Itself

health care, crisis, public, plan, liberal, obama, democrat,
I think I may have figured out the motivation behind a certain type of health care reform trolling.

Before I discuss that, I would like to say that not everyone opposed to health care reform is an idiotic troll. We've had some good discussions about health care reform here, and while I didn't agree with everyone's opinions, those opinions were researched and well thought out, so I respect them. That is not the sort of thing I am talking about here.

What I am talking about is the sort of person who sees a post about health care reform and automatically comments something like this: I WORK* and that's why I have health insurance. I don't see why I should have to pay for health insurance for people who don't WORK. Because I WORK.

That's just the most asinine response to the health care crisis in the US, and so far removed from reality, that you have wonder what planet they're visiting from. The US pays the most to get the 38th best health care system in the world. That's right, we're behind Malta, Oman, Andorra and Chile. I've never even heard of the second country before, but apparently I'd rather live there.

Beyond that, most of the almost 50,000,000 USians that don't have health insurance either do work or are not working through no fault of their own (laid off). Those that do work either work for a business small enough that it doesn't have to offer health insurance, or they can't afford the health insurance their employer does offer. Then there's people like me who have insurance, but can't afford to use it due to high deductibles and copays. I WORK is not a relevant response to these issues.

As I was fuming over the general stupidity of people, it hit me. These people aren't visitors from The Planet of the Trolls, they're afraid. They look at the world around them, and deep down they know that all those bad things that happen to their fellow USians- layoffs, bankruptcies, foreclosures, health crises- could very well happen to them. Deep down, they know this, and it terrifies them.

I WORK is the health care crisis equivalent of whistling in the dark. They say I WORK because they mean "These bad things will never happen to me because I play by the rules and I try really hard and no, I will not end up in a gutter, dying of a treatable illness. All those people who do end up there are bad, lazy people who did it to themselves. I WORK!"

So, if you're going to feed the troll (and sometimes, you just can't resist), hit them where they're most afraid.


*I can't find the thread I saw that on yesterday, but that is actual how the commentor wrote "work" every time they wrote it.

You're Supposed to be Ashamed of Racism, Byron

racism, bigotry, black, white, politics, byron, stupid, obama, conservative, democrat, republican, liberal,
Byron York seems to long for the good ole days when blacks only counted as 3/5 of a person:

On his 100th day in office, Barack Obama enjoys high job approval ratings, no matter what poll you consult. But if a new survey by the New York Times is accurate, the president and some of his policies are significantly less popular with white Americans than with black Americans, and his sky-high ratings among African-Americans make some of his positions appear a bit more popular overall than they actually are.

Just in case you didn't get the memo, Byron, black people are a part of this country. Their opinions even count! (Although this does explain a lot about the Republican party's popularity, or lack thereof.)

Unfortunately, some of the comments to the article are even worse:

DonL doesn't seem to understand that other people might see things differently than him: Unless blacks have a special ability to see greatness, they make serious deecisions based upon the color of one's skin -a fault that was condemned by Martin Luther King. His dream has turned into a nightmare of near worship of a Godless advocate of infanticide and abortion which on a percentage basis hurts the black community more that any other. Keeping the black community dependent upon government for their solutions is nothing more than a form of voluntary slavery. Those who recognize such actions might very well term it self-destruction.

Jack doesn't seem to understand exactly how much the media loves a scandal (and, ew!): Obama could bone his own children on the steps of Capitol Hill. The media would cheer the 'closeness' of the Obamas, and blacks would start defending incest. Those opposed to his behavior would be labeled racist and closed minded.

Uncle Joe's Patriotic Taxpayer revives the "welfare queens" meme:
The majority of blacks pay no income tax. Why wouldn't they favor Obama's tax and spend policies? For them it is only spending.

Chris Jones comes to the only conclusion possible, for a racist: The only conclusion one can reach is that blacks don't have a grasp of any of the issues. They think whatever Obama says or does is great because he shares the same skin color.

Okay, now I'm just depressed. RACISM. IS. NOT. OKAY. asshats.

Are They Trying to Kill Us All?

pandemic, swine, flu, republican, democrat, rural, city, liberal, conservative, stupid,
I really have to wonder if the new GOP strategy to taking back the government is to kill everyone who votes Democrat.

Here we are, at the beginning of what could be the Great Swine Flu Pandemic of 2009*, and not 2 months ago, Republicans voted against funding for pandemic preparedness.

Senator Schumer: All those little porky things that the House put in, the money for the [National] Mall or the sexually transmitted diseases or the flu pandemic, they're all out," Schumer said.

Think about the way population centers work in the US. Big cities generally vote Democrat. Rural areas generally vote Republican. Pandemics are more likely to rip right through a crowded city than a rural area. Ergo . . . you can draw your own conclusion, but either way, I suspect that the GOP simply hates us all.


*before you start panicking, nobody in the US has died of swine flu yet. In fact, most cases have been very mild. wash your hands, you'll probably be okay.

This Is Either the Inevitability of Equality

gay, marriage, homosexual, traditional, homophobia, liberal, conservative, republican, democrat, schmidt, steve
or grasping at straws. I can't decide which. Either way, it works out for same sex marriage.

STEVE SCHMIDT HAS SOME ADVICE FOR HIS PARTY.... Steve Schmidt, the top strategist for the McCain/Palin presidential campaign, will appear before the Log Cabin Republicans and urge his party to embrace marriage equality.

"I'm confident American public opinion will continue to move on the question toward majority support, and sooner or later the Republican Party will catch up to it," Schmidt plans to say according to excerpts provided to ABC News. [...]

In his Friday noontime speech, Schmidt is planning to argue that same-sex marriage is in step with principles that conservatives hold dear.

"There is a sound conservative argument to be made for same-sex marriage," Schmidt plans to say. "I believe conservatives, more than liberals, insist that rights come with responsibilities. No other exercise of one's liberty comes with greater responsibilities than marriage."

"It cannot be argued that marriage between people of the same sex is un American or threatens the rights of others," he will say.

"On the contrary," he will say, "it seems to me that denying two consenting adults of the same sex the right to form a lawful union that is protected and respected by the state denies them two of the most basic natural rights affirmed in the preamble of our Declaration of Independence -- liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That, I believe, gives the argument of same sex marriage proponents its moral force."

I can't say whether Schmidt is being disingenuous or not, but it's nice that someone finally noticed that it normally is conservatives who are all about the marrying.

Chuck Norris Commits Treason

america, US, united, states, conservative, liberal, republican, democracy, democrat, obama, treason, chuck norris
I mean that in the literal sense, with no exaggeration. According to the Constitution of the United States of America, Article III, Section 3:

Treason against the United States shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.

Levying war against the United States of America is exactly what Chuck Norris is advocating:

During an appearance on the Glen Beck radio show he promised that if things get any worse from his point of view he may “run for president of Texas.” The martial artist/actor/activist claims that Texas was never formally a part of the United States in the first place and that if rebellion is to come through secession Texas would lead the way.

. . .

“That need may be a reality sooner than we think. If not me, someone someday may again be running for president of the Lone Star state, if the state of the union continues to turn into the enemy of the state.”

He continues; calling on a second American Revolution; “…we've bastardized the First Amendment, reinterpreted America's religious history and secularized our society until we ooze skepticism and circumvent religion on every level of public and private life.

How much more will Americans take? When will enough be enough? And, when that time comes, will our leaders finally listen or will history need to record a second American Revolution? We the people have the authority according to America's Declaration of Independence, which states: That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government…”

Norris claims that; “Thousands of cell groups will be united around the country in solidarity over the concerns for our nation.” The right wing cells will meet during a live telecast, "We Surround Them," on Friday March 13 at 5 p.m.

He closes with the words of Sam Houston followed by a plug for his next martial arts event.

“We view ourselves on the eve of battle."

First of all, that would not be a second American Revolution: it would be a second Civil War. Mr. Norris isn't talking about growing a new country from the seed of a colony, he is advocating the overthrow of a liberal, and duly elected, government.

Secondly, what else comes organized in cells? You got: terrorists. Which isn't surprising considering how much the GOP seems to admire the Taliban.

Thirdly, what the fuck?! This is how conservatives act when they lose? They held the White House for 8 years, with one of the worst presidents in US history, and you didn't hear liberals calling for armed revolution. Now we have the White House and Chuck Norris is advising people to grab their guns and figure out which neighbors to shoot first.

That's not how democracy works, asshole! You don't like how things are going? Get out the vote. That simple. You get another chance every couple of years to change things, so wait your turn. Every conservative asshat's been talking about the new liberal-socialist-communist-facist-tyranny, but we're not the one's advocating a bloody civil war that will result in the deaths of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of innocent people and plunge the world into an economic death spiral.

Good job, Chuck, you've bested Rush Limbaugh for sheer, unadulterated hatred and utter lack of compassion for your fellow man.

And now for a little extra dose of scary, here are a couple of choice comments to the above article:

waypasthadenough: Ignore the "Liberal" freaks who comment here and don't let their twisted lies affect you. They will get what's coming in "Liberal" season. Don't understand? Go to willowtowndotcom and scroll right and read the quotes page first. Then share and prepare. It will not be a short nor an easy fight and you must learn where your enemies down the street are and be ready to give them what they deserve.

Boss Hogg: When this country was formed, the system the Founders installed allowed only white men over the age of 21 who OWNED property to vote.Having every Tom, Dick and Sally casting their vote on issues they know nothing about is CRAP!That IS NOT how this country was meant to be run.Racist negros and liberal brainwashed college kids voting? And now we'll add millions of 3rd world indians from south-of-the-border to all that?Nope, that is not what the Founders had in mind when they created this Republic.And that's why this country is going into the toilet.

These people scare me.

I Hope You Starve in an Alley

republican, GOP, liberal, democrat, obama, rush limbaugh, steele, apology
Rush Limbaugh, a uneducated, thrice divorced, narcotic-abusing shock jock, is the head of the GOP. I called this months ago, and everyone I knew made fun of me. Well, now I've got proof. For anyone who's been living in a cave for the last few days, the media called Rush the "de facto leader of the Republican Party." Michael Steele, Chairman of the GOP, reacted rather strongly to that, as he is at least a leader of the GOP. He also called Rush on his on air antics, labeling them "incendiary" and "ugly".

Well, of course a Republican foray into the real world couldn't be allowed. Michael Steele was forced to apologize to Rush Limbaugh.

"I respect Rush Limbaugh, he is a national conservative leader, and in no way do I want to diminish his voice," Steele said in a statement late Monday. "I'm sure that he and I will agree most of the time, but will probably disagree some as well, which is fine."

What is wrong with Republicans? Really, I just don't get it. Rush Limbaugh wants Obama to fail. Oh, he's backed off a little bit and said that he wants Obama's policies to fail. There is no effective difference between Obama failing and Obama's policies failing, so that's just rather silly semantic tapdancing.

Truth is, if Obama, or his policies, fail, people will suffer. Rush is gleefully anticipating the suffering of millions. Many of those millions will be children. Right now, people are losing their homes. Right now, people are going hungry. A lot of those people are children.

I know you know at least one child, even if you don't have any of your own. Imagine looking into the eyes of a child you know and saying, "I hope you starve in an alley."

What kind of monster would that make you? That's exactly the kind of monster Rush Limbaugh is. It's exactly the kind of monster that now leads the GOP.

Think about that the next time you're in a voting booth.

Talibangelicals

american, democrat, insurgency, politics, republican, taliban, talibangelicals, US
So, Rep. Pete Sessions (R.-Texas) admitted that the Republicans are the US Taliban. Nice! (Props to Teddy Patridge for coining "talibangelicals".)

From Sessions' own mouth:

Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX), chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, said House Republicans -- who voted unanimously last week against the economic plan pushed by President Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi -- will pitch a "positive, loyal opposition" to the proposal. The group, he added, should also "understand insurgency" in implementing efforts to offer alternatives.
"Insurgency, we understand perhaps a little bit more because of the Taliban," Sessions said during a meeting yesterday with Hotline editors. "And that is that they went about systematically understanding how to disrupt and change a person's entire processes. And these Taliban -- I'm not trying to say the Republican Party is the Taliban. No, that's not what we're saying. I'm saying an example of how you go about [sic] is to change a person from their messaging to their operations to their frontline message. And we need to understand that insurgency may be required when the other side, the House leadership, does not follow the same commands, which we entered the game with."

This is an insult to the Taliban, really, since they are capable of creating and maintaining infrastructure.

Obama's Thugs and the Hitlerization of History

conservative, politics, democracy, democrat, ogden, obama, stupid, christian, religion, history, hitler, facism, socialism, abortion, traditional, marriage
Wow. Just wow. Seriously wow.

Let's start by saying that Obama inherited the debt our country is currently in. Obama inherited the financial mess we are now in. (I'm typing forbearance agreements, foreclosures and complaints nonstop at this point. Don't try to tell me we're not headed for a depression.) Obama inherited the wars we are currently embroiled in, one of which is being fought to the tune of 10 Billion Dollars a Month.

He inherited all this from former President George W. Bush and the Republicans. George W. Bush who did NOT end abortion. George W. Bush who entered into a war on "faulty intelligence"- his own. George W. Bush who based appointments on loyalty rather than qualifications.

To say that Obama is a facist dictator appointing "thugs" is fearmongering and a gross misunderstanding of facts. The use of the word "thugs" itself is disturbing, given the flavor that word has acquired. You may as well just say, "He's black, therefore, his friends are thugs. You know how black people are." Don't even get me started comparing anyone to Hitler.

Just to give you a clue, pearlysantorum, my boss' mother was a Holocaust survivor. Her life, and his, were forever marked by Hitler and the Nazis. When people compare anyone to Hitler, my boss becomes enraged. As far as I can tell, it's the only thing that makes him angry. To compare Obama to Hitler is just . . . unbelievable, and you should be ashamed. I suggest a visit to the Holocaust Museum, in case you can't quite figure out why I might find this so offensive.

By the way, socialism and fascism are two ENTIRELY DIFFERENT THINGS. Totally different. Couldn't be more different if they tried. Get a fucking history book, pearlysantorum.

Oh, and David Ogden's work on First Amendment issues helped preserve your right to make such offensive statements. That is irony.

Pearl’s sworn statement of awareness, 2/5/2009: is it notarized? filed with the Court? do we perhaps misunderstand the meaning of "sworn statement"?

I will not lose my sense of indignation over the intentional and selfish breakdown of marriage and family because other people's lives are totally her business. all 6 billion people in the world report to her. oh, wait, who's the facist dictator again? no matter if it comes from my fellow citizens, the president, or his “official” they are official pearlysantorum. i bet you weren't this frightened and upset when Bush was appointing completely unqualified people to important posts.thugs.

I will not lose my sense of indignation over the devaluation of life no matter if it comes from my fellow citizens, the president, or his “official” thugs. good for you. how about crusading for birth control to prevent unwanted pregancies? how about crusading for paid maternity leave so mothers can afford to give birth? how about crusading for universal healthcare so mothers and babies can see doctors and not leave the hospital owing tens of thousands of dollars?

I will not lose my sense of indignation over the total disregard for parental and children’s rights no matter if it comes from my fellow citizens, the president, or his “official” thugs. i don't even know what your . . . oh, yeah, no name calling week. cause you're not a good christian if you don't say "n**ger" and "f*g".

I will not lose my sense of indignation over the marketing of pernicious evils seriously? i really doubt obama has read after the ball. nobody else but you takes that book quite that seriously. no matter if it comes from my fellow citizens, the president, or his “official” thugs.

I will not lose my sense of indignation over the increasingly overt attacks on religion WHAT?! you represent 76% of population, you persecution loving moron! your high holy days are federal holidays. you are free to push your religion on whomever you want. you can carry around your holy book where ever you go. Meanwhile an (maybe) atheist in Texas is fired for being (maybe) an atheist. GET OVER YOURSELF, YOU STUPID SNOT. no matter if they come from my fellow citizens, the president, or his “official” thugs.

I will not lose my sense of indignation over attempts to rewrite, nullify, or ill-interpret our nation’s sacred Constitution no matter if they come from my fellow citizens, the president, or his “official” thugs. are you getting your news from WorldNetDaily again?

And I will take all that burning indignation, ball it up into a great, heaping, fiery wad of ambition, a great, heaping, fiery "wad"? BWAHAHAHAHAHA and hurl it with a fury at breakdown, devaluation, disregard, marketing, attack, and subversion. Oh, wait, i used my wild laughter too soon. it got funnier. i've got nowhere to go with this now that pearlysantorum has started satirizing herself.

Essentially, I vow to never stop being surprised, indignant, and outraged at evil. yes, yes, we get it. you like repetition. you, my dog and the average 4 year old share a deep love for repetition. And I vow to never stop exposing those people (and their agendas) who would lull Americans into a false sense of security just before slapping on the hand-cuffs, delivering them to a room devoid of all things pure and innocent, and declaring them eternal captives of “progression” and “free-thinking.” you honestly believe that at some point, Obama is going to handcuff you, throw you in a jail cell decorated, I guess, in porn, or possibly printouts of my blog, or pages torn from After the Ball, and damn you to eternal captivity? eternal? i thought only god could do that.

I choose to remain a humble you can't claim humility after the above self-serving rant. sorry. pick one. servant of tradition, value just one value? is that the value of being surprised, the value of sticking your nose where it doesn't belong or the value of offensive Hitler comparisons?, and morality rather than a prisoner to the oxymoron that is “enlightenment.” why is enlightenment oxymoronic? or do you just like the word "oxymoron"?

Well, I’m waxing eloquent. You're waxing something. I’ve got to wrap this up before no one takes me seriously anymore. Too late for that. I am well aware that I tend toward dramatic intonation in my expressive style of communication BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA, but make no mistake that the sentiment behind the eccentricity is genuine and the imagery is, in my thinking what? is that really the right verb?, quite chillingly accurate.
Advocating Awareness, ~Pearl

I wish conservative "political" bloggers like Pearl would attend BlogHer. Maybe she would learn something.

Two Days

obama, democrat, liberal, conservative,

So, in three days, Obama took care of Gitmo and torture, and made sure that my tax dollars are not being used to give raises to people making 5x what I do.

Of course, the sad thing is, Gitmo and torture were the easy parts.

Still, I wonder what Obama can do with the next 97 days.

Bush Apologists

Make me wish for an arena, some lions and a thumbs down. (Even the dog looks ashamed.)

The Simple Human Decency of George Bush by Ed Lasky from American Thinker.

Even the title makes me gag. What part of torture is decent? How are unjust wars decent? How was Bush's reaction to Katrina decent? How about trashing the Constitution in a quest for ever more power? Is that in some way decent?

Let's look up decent and see if it means something other than what I think it does.

1. conforming to the recognized standard of propriety, good taste, modesty, etc.

2. respectable; worthy

3. adequate; fair; passable

4. kind; obliging; generous

5. suitable; appropriate

Ok, I'm not confused. Decent cannot be applied to W in any way, shape or form. Continuing on . . .

Many readers of this site - including yours truly - have disagreed vehemently with George Bush on numerous occasions. Me and Lasky sittin' in a tree . . . Unlike the left, however, most of us have seen the president as a decent, God-fearing man who took office and served during perhaps the most consequential period of American history since the Civil War. WWI and WWII didn't count? How about the Great Depression? Not consequential? The Vietnam War era was unimportant? How about the Flu Epidemic of 1918? At least 20,000,000 people died in that. It's arrogant to think that the last 8 years have been the most consequential in US history just because we're living through it. There have been wars before, wars in which far more than 4,000 US soldiers died. There have been attacks on the US, and terrorists attacks before. What's so special about now? He will never, ever be vouchsafed this decency by the left - no matter if the evidence comes up and smacks them over the head. What evidence? Torture? Gitmo? Katrina? Iraq? Will the right ever see those things even if they smack them on the head?

What's truly important in that paragraph is one hypenated word: god-fearing. There is a meme in the christian right that if you are a christian, you must necessarily be good. christians=good. the rest of us=bad. Patently ridiculous, but there you have it.

Here's the bludgeon: or perhaps truncheon:

For much of the past seven years, President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney White House. apparently, someone's copy-paste button is broken. the rest of that sentence is have waged a clandestine operation inside the and then White House. I know that they have waged clandenstine operations inside the White House. They involved torture and wiretapping the whole freakin' country. It has involved thousands of military personnel, private presidential letters and meetings that were kept off their public calendars or sometimes left the news media in the dark. Their mission: to comfort the families of soldiers who died fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks we could have said "since 2001" or "since the beginning of military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq". "Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks" is to remind you that TERRORISTS! are trying to KILLYOU! and make us all MUSLIM! and therefore Bush has the right to do ANYTHINGHEWANTS! to make us all safe. and to lift the spirits of those wounded in the service of their country. If Bush really wanted to make those people feel better, why did he start a war based on what he knew was a lie? Why doesn't he get those people out of Iraq?

On Monday, the president is set to make a more common public trip - with reporters in tow - to Walter Reed Army Medical Center, home to many of the wounded and a symbol of controversy earlier in his presidency over the quality of care the veterans were receiving. But the size and scope of Mr. Bush's and Mr. Cheney's private endeavors to meet with wounded soliders and families of the fallen far exceed anything that has been witnessed publicly, according to interviews with more than a dozen officials familiar with the effort. BFG. He could have stopped this anytime he wanted. He didn't even have to start the Iraq war. He worked hard to start that one. Bush caused the pain these soldiers and their families are experiencing. For him to go back later and try to make them feel better is manipulative and selfish.

Bush says the reason he did it is simply that he felt it his duty to do so. Well, duh, you caused their pain, asshat.
Mr. Bush, for instance, has sent personal letters to the families of every one of the more than 4,000 troops who have died in the two wars, an enormous personal effort that consumed hours of his time and escaped public notice. Is this why we haven't been getting any actual governance that didn't relate to war and torture? Was he writing to the families of the soldiers he put in harm's way instead of dealing with Katrina? The task, along with meeting family members of troops killed in action, has been so wrenching - balancing the anger, grief and pride of families coping with the loss symbolized by a flag-draped coffin - that the president often leaned on his wife, Laura, for emotional support. "I lean on the Almighty and Laura," Mr. Bush said in the interview. "She has been very reassuring, very calming." Mr. Bush also has met privately with more than 500 families of troops killed in action and with more than 950 wounded veterans, according to White House spokesman Carlton Carroll. Many of those meetings were outside the presence of the news media at the White House or at private sessions during official travel stops, officials said. The first lady said those private visits, many of which she also attended, took a heavy emotional toll, not just on the president, but on her as well. As well it should, you warmongering, torturing monster!

Vice President Cheney also made an extraordinary effort to meet with wounded soldiers and families of the deceased. A purely political observation is if the public knew of this herculean effort on the part of Bush and Cheney - the sheer numbers being incredible - the sheer numbers are incredible because Bush and Cheney ensured they would be. I daresay the president's approval ratings would not be hovering in the mid-20's. No, they'd be lower. The demonization of Bush by the media and the left would have been much more difficult and perhaps less successful. Hello, those boys are dead because of him! But in the end, they were right to keep it a secret. Any hint of politics in such an effort would have made the entire exercise seem hypocritical. And you can bet that the media and the left would have tried to paint any effort to visit and comfort the troops - such as the massive undertaking described in the article - as PR window dressing, nothing more.Bush has come in for a lot of criticism - much of it deserved - over the years. But the portrayal of him as an unfeeling, uncaring man when it came to the suffering of soldiers or citizens as a result of war or natural disaster was always purely political. So what about the portrayal of him as an unfeeling, uncaring man when it comes to the suffering in Katrina? Those people are still suffering. Bush hasn't done a goddamn things about it. Even his most vigorous supporters, however, could not have imagined the extent to which he gave of his time and emotional energy to ease the suffering of Americans who have given so much for America during his time in office. because he made them!