I am the Downfall of Society

gay, marriage, traditional, iowa, king, kiron, republican, prolife, abortion, homophobia, homosexual,
Iowa Representative, Steve King, has the most unusual view of US values I have ever seen. Sure, I've seen the "gay marriage will destroy civilization as we know it" argument a few times before, but this qualifies as a whole new level of weird.

from The Iowa Independent:

CEDAR RAPIDS — Speaking at an anti-abortion event in eastern Iowa Monday night, U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Kiron, warned that legalized same-sex marriage would lead to a complete dissolution of society and religion.

“I will tell you that I first came into this political arena with the belief innocent human life was the most important thing that I could be involved in,” said King, a Kiron Republican who represents the 5th Congressional District in western Iowa. “I still believe that is the most important value. But I also recognize that if we don’t save marriage, we can’t remain pro-life.

“The values we have we pour through marriage into our children and into the next generation. Our religious values. Our values of faith. Our values. Our work ethic. Our entire culture comes through a man and a woman joined in holy matrimony, being blessed with children and pouring those values into the children and then living vicariously through them as they go off and we are blessed with grandchildren.”

I'm no Kiron Republican, but I'm pretty sure gay couples have the lowest rate of abortion, not the highest. I'm also a little disturbed (or confused, possibly amused) that our values include "living vicariously" through our children. Is there some reason that we can't live our own lives, even after our children have grown up?

Also, what about people like me? I don't have children, I won't have children, so clearly I won't be living vicariously through anyone. Apparently, I will be bringing about the downfall of western civilization- by living my own life, right up to the end.

In Case You Are Confused, The United States Does Not Have a King

subtitle: Fun with Dog Whistles

For a more comprehensive review of dog whistling politics, please click the link above. In short, dog whistling politics is using words and phrases in speeches or articles that seem innocuous or even stupid, except to the group you are trying to secretly reach. See: every speech ever given by W. (The Slacktivist is make of win!)

For example, we have the following article from American Thinker (as unintentionally hilarious a website title as I've ever seen) which is rife with dog whistling. In the interest of full disclosure, I may not pick up all of the dog whistles here. The Slacktivist is better at it than me, because he grew up in the evangelical community.

A Damned Defeat, James Lewis

Yet I ... can say nothing --- no, not for a King,
Upon whose property and most dear life
A damned defeat was made!

Good job not crediting Shakespeare, moron! Yeesh, credit where credit is due.

So said Hamlet comma the Prince of Denmark comma, in the play of the same name by William Shakespeare, about the murder of the King, his father. Without my commentary, if you weren't familiar with the works of William Shakespeare, you might think this was an historical quote, not a scene in a play.

Well, we've just suffered a damned defeat, not as bad as the loss of a beloved father, but all the same a very bloody punch in the nose. I'm not sure where the comparisons and imagery here are going. Plus, unless your fist is already covered in blood for some reason, the punch itself isn't bloody. American conservatism has taken a trouncing *dances with glee*, and the country has itself a new King Obama as opposed to the old king obama? what? This is a dog whistle, invoking King Herod, the Roman client king of Judea when Jesus was born. According to gospel, he wanted to kill Jesus, and when the Magi wouldn't return to him to report Jesus' location, Herod had every child in and around Bethlehem under the age of 2 murdered. (This of course didn't achieve the desired goal because Jesus and his family fled to Egypt only to return after Herod's death.) Fundamentalists see Herod as the ultimate in evil.

Cardinal Stafford of Baltimore just declared in a published sermon everything on paper is impressive! that "On November 4, 2008, America suffered a cultural earthquake." I like "cultural earthquake" as a metaphor for the death of anti-intellectualism and the overthrow of the Republican party, but "suffered" isn't the right verb. I prefer "celebrated". He called Obama's campaign "aggressive, disruptive and apocalyptic" ummm . . . how? Obama took the high road and only attacked McCain/Palin on voting history and public actions. McCain and Palin dragged us all through the mud with them. Unless the Cardinal thinks that inciting a crowd to threats of murder and calling random black cameramen n***er is not agreesive and disruptive. Whatever you want to call it, that's hardly polite and civilized. and said he campaigned on an "extremist anti-life platform." We prefer to be called "prochoice." This drives me nuts. I could call prolifers "pro forced pregnancy", which is true. I could call them "pro punishing women for having sex". Also true. I could also call them "pro life until it exits the uterus." Again, true. But they want to be called prolife, so I call them prolife. Every group gets to define its own name.

On the matter of abortion the Cardinal is literally correct. By what definition of "literal"?

I don't think the Cardinal meant to dehumanize the President-elect, I'm sure he did. the way that President Bush has been dehumanized so thoroughly by the Left since 2000. Ummm . . . since when is calling someone on their mistakes dehumanizing? If I put the wrong name on a legal document and my boss points it out to me, am I being dehumanized? I think the word this guy is looking for is "villianized". This paragraph makes more sense that way. But telling the truth is the first step to recovery. Did we become addicts?

It is incumbent on us to tell the truth I doubt this guy would know the truth if it climbed up his pants and bit him in the balls, without scapegoating, and without denying the new administration a chance to find the center of American political life. He's assuming that the center of American political life is the anti-intellectual religious zealot brigade. Clearly not, or McCain would have won the election. If they are so inclined. I doubt Obama is inclined to pander to your nonsense, but go ahead and hold your breath.

However, judged by the open record, the coming administration will bring to power the most radical Leftist group of political operators in American history. Radical is a dog whistle. Radicals are dangerous. Radicals bomb buildings and kill children. Obama is not a radical anything. Health care for everyone? Those radical bastards! A 3% hike in the highest tax rate? Marxists! Their unapologetic radicalism on the subject of abortion is only part of their story, but it is surely the single most lethal and irresponsible part. Lethal? Obama is prochoice. He's not pro forced abortion. Yeesh. Their entire campaign was built on lies and image-making, mmm-hmmm. That's right. Tell yourself you lost because we're all deluded fools, not because we don't want your theocratic nonsense anymore. Dead soldiers is not a family value. People dying of preventable diseases, not a family value. People left homeless and starving, not a family value. At least not in my family. shielded by a solid stream of daily cover-ups by the Big Media, Yeah, because nobody reported on Bill Ayers or the Save the Aborted Babies Bill or the terrorists or the muslim or Palin's constant nonsense. and supported by tens of millions of brainwashed followers. That serves two purposes: brainwashing is what cults do, and cults are bad! This also implies that people who voted for Obama were not in their right minds. Had they been in their right minds, they would have voted McCain. It's the circular logo, you know. It's hypnotizing! (Someone actually said this. Yes, they did.)

So the Left got away with it. We didn't win fair and square, we stole the show! The Democrats won, but democracy lost. The only way democracy loses is if the candidate who did not win the electoral and popular votes becomes President. (See: George W. Bush) WE WON! WE WON THE POPULAR VOTE AND THE ELECTORAL VOTE! GET OVER IT! Whew. I feel much better now.

And yet, all is not lost. No, it isn't, but I wouldn't expect this guy to see that.

American conservatives can celebrate one historic triumph: The performance of the New Media in this election. We can't lose sight of the fact that the New Media managed to expose Obama and his lifelong network. We did the job of real journalism.
Any American who wanted to know the truth was able to find it out with a few clicks on a keyboard. That is real journalism, not the phony imitation from the Old Media and its camp followers.

I found this very confusing. It's really not a good idea to use special terminology and not define it for the reader. I took me about four tries to figure out that the Old Media is CNN or FOX News or NBC. New Media is American Thinker. Now, had the "New Media" actually triumphed, would Obama have been elected? No. Apparently, we're using some other definition of "triumph." I suspect this is just self congratulation. Oh, and lifelong network of what? Supporters? Politicians? He's known these people his whole life? It seems so unlikely. Wait, wait, I got it. He's talking about muslims. MUSLIMS! You know, it's gotten to the point where I feel like apologizing whenever I see a muslim. "I'm an American non-muslim, and we're really big assholes. Sorry about that. I don't hate muslims. Really."

There is no secret any longer about the ideology of these people, or about their close alliances with Islamic radicals, destructive Leftist billionaires and Saudi influence buyers. Show your work. There is no doubt about their deep and entrenched roots in the Chicago Machine. Does it make shoes? Chicago Mayor Daley not that one. is on the transition team, and Chicago hardball pol Rahm Rahmbo! Emanuel is the White House Chief of Staff. This is the dream team of demagogues like J-Wright, Bill Ayers, Louis Farrakhan, and our sworn enemies abroad. who are our sworn enemies abroad? And when did I swear this oath? Is bin Laden really jumping for joy that Mayor Daley and Rahmbo! are in the White House? I doubt it. Unless the "house negro" comment was a compliment. About half the voters know it, and they will not forget it. Less than half, actually. That's how math works.

That simple fact --- that tens of millions of Americans are not deceived --- puts powerful pressure on the Dems to behave themselves, as least in public. Orgies with goats! Any dirty work will have to be done in the dark, where it can be exposed. Huh? Why do it in the dark if it can be exposed in the dark? Shouldn't the dirty work be done where it can't be exposed? Mixed metaphor at best.
Telling the truth is the first step. There's a song in there somewhere.

Between the web and talk radio the New Media did the job. Guess not, cuz Obama got elected, Obama got elected! A decade ago it would have been impossible. this explains much about the election of W. almost a decade ago. No interwebs! After a similar electoral loss, the legacy media would award itself Pulitzer Prizes in these circumstances. Who is the legacy media, what similar electoral loss, and what the hell is he talking about? I can't tell if some of this stuff is dog whistling, bad writing or bad thought processes. We should give the same kind of lasting recognition to brave and talented people like Stanley Kurtz, Andrew McCarthy, Jack Cashill, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Mark Steyn,

We're stopping right here and examining what is a Pulitzer Prize and what qualifies one for a Pulitzer Prize.

From Wikipedia:

The Pulitzer Prize is an American award regarded as the highest national honor in newspaper journalism, literary achievements and musical composition I did not know that. I thought it was limited to journalism. It is administered by Columbia University in New York City.

Awards are made in categories relating to newspaper journalism, arts, and letters. Only published reports and photographs by United States-based newspapers or daily news organizations are eligible for the journalism prize. Beginning in 2007, "an assortment of online elements will be permitted in all journalism categories except for the competition's two photography categories, which will continue to restrict entries to still images.

You can see why none of the people listed in this article would be eligible for a Pulitzer. They are not journalists, and they do not produce published reports or photographs in United States-based newspapers or daily news organizations. They are bloggers, radio hosts and pundits. Rush Limbaugh getting a Pulitzer would be like me getting a Nobel Peace Prize. Hey, I didn't work for peace, but I deserve one, damnit!

and a host of others who exposed the Left's agenda, and kept us laughing in spite of the painful outcome for the country. Since when is comedy a deciding factor for a Pulitzer? Friends in the British and European blogosphere helped. Without the New Media, the truth about the Obamanoids are they like or unlike humanoids? would have been drowned in Lake Michigan --- with concrete boots on, like Jimmy Hoffa.
We did our part. We will keep doing it.
Lincoln went through hellish defeats before saving the Union and freeing the slaves. George Washington had nothing but pain and trouble before beating the professional armies of King George III. Winston Churchill looked like a goner more than once. And our troops in every single war, including Iraq, have suffered much worse, and still kept their spirits up. Try the link, it doesn't work. Learn the interweb, James Lewis. Why do these people keep comparing themselves to people that would have liked Obama? Especially Lincoln. Palin did everything but call Obama a n***er, and this idiot is comparing himself to Lincoln? Wow.

Churchill showed us how to survive defeat and come back stronger.
"... never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never --- in nothing, great or small, large or petty - never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy." http://www.winstonchurchill.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=423 That's not my sad attempt at linkage, that's his. Sheesh. Quit with the Churchill. When did Churchill become these idiots symbol? I get it! It's the name. Church-ill, get it?

Words to remember. Yes, but stop raping his memory, asshole!

What comes next? Four years of intelligent leadership. We need to repair ourselves and prepare to be counted in the coming battles. Dog whistle. Battles is inappropriate at best. This is politics, asshole, not war. We need to do it intelligently. Call Alanis Morisette, it's irony! Anti-intellectual religious zealots calling for intelligent action. Hee-hee. No banzai charges, but nimble guerilla warfare, like the Minutemen against the Redcoats. Dog whistle, dog whistle, dog whistle. See, these people, apparently never having read the Constitution or studied the lives of the Founding Fathers, think we were established as a Christian nation. So, they invoke the American Revolution at the drop of any hat. Read the Establishment Clause. We are not, nor were we ever, a theocracy. And we need to remind ourselves that the Hard Left will try to lock in its control of this country, you mean like the Republicans did? Throw stones much? just as it has in most of Europe. Evil, dissolute, sinning, satan-worshipping Europeans. That's a dog whistle and a half. Most fundavelagists think of Europe as a den of iniquity from which the Antichrist will spring forth. Yes, they frequently call Obama the antichrist, but Africa and Kansas are like Europe, right?That will be the biggest running battle, stop with the war analogies, please to stop the power grab that is even now taking hold silently behind the scenes. It's not very silent if you know all about it.

And if you need to keep your bearings straight, remember Obama's words on live-birth abortion, properly called infanticide: actually, he wasn't talking about third trimester abortion, which is what he is talking about. There isn't anything actually called live birth abortion. If it's "live birth" it's a delivery, not a damn abortion.
"Look, I got two daughters ... I am going to teach them first about values and morals, but if they make a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby." Yeah, I don't want my nieces to be punished this way either. Keep in mind, these are the people that cheered when an 11 year old rape victim was forced by her parents to carry and deliver her rapist's baby. Their excuse? They wanted to protect the "innocent child". What the 11 year old rape victim wasn't an innocent child? Oh yeah, that's right, she had a penis inserted in her vagina, so she wasn't innocent anymore.
Bear that in mind when Obama's famous charm is on display. Today only, half off, Obama's charm!

Does Palin Actually Speak English?

Friday is Funday, so let's dissect an interview with Sarah Palin. (Grammarian alert: too much exposure to Palinglish is hazardous to those with a reading level above the 4th grade. If you have a blood pressure or heart condition, please consult your doctor before proceeding.)

LARRY KING: Governor, something that occurred late in the campaign, when Ted Stevens, Senator Stevens, was found guilty, both you and Senator McCain called for him to step down. That has not happened. He was re-elected.

What should he do now?

GOV. SARAH PALIN (R), ALASKA: Right, and I did, I expressed my opinion, called it like I saw it, and said before that election, as he had been found guilty on the seven counts, that he should step down. Ummm . . . why did she confirm that she expressed her opinion? King already confirmed that. Tapes of her expressing her opinion confirm that. Answering a question by repeating the nonquestion part of the question as a statement is not answering the question. Mr. Doe, you stated to the police that you did see the deceased on the night he was murdered. What happened at that meeting? Yes, I did say that I saw John that night. See, not an answer. Beyond that, by the end of that sentence, I couldn't even remember what the beginning of that sentence was. -247 points for torturing words into a noncommunicative state.

Now he chose not to, and voters in Alaska, at least thus far until those final ballots are counted, look like they are reelecting Senator Stevens. And that is the will of the people. And I'm not a dictator, I'm not going to yank anything out from under the will of the people. And now it will be up to the U.S. Senate to decide what happens next. Aaahhhh! My God! Can she just say something? I could say that in one sentence. I do believe that having been found guilty, Stevens should have stepped down, but, if the people want to elect him, that's their choice. See, you could easily see what she's getting at there. Of course, that could be the point . . . but that would make Palin an evil genius. Nah.

KING: All right. Our new CNN Opinion Research Corporation poll shows that 49 percent of adult Americans have a favorable feeling about you,
43 percent an unfavorable. In retrospect, do you think you might have hurt the ticket? Go Larry King! I couldn't possibly say that to someone's face. I'd be too worried that they might cry. Then I'd have to comfort them, which would be awkward to say the least.

PALIN: If I hurt the ticket at all sweetie, yes, you hurt the ticket. that's a fact. almost half of all Americans view you "unfavorably" and we don't vote for people we view "unfavorably", and cost John McCain even one vote, I am sorry about it because John McCain is a true American hero GI Joe, a true American hero!, he's got great solutions in terms of the challenges that are facing America right now with national security and needing to get our economy back on the right track. John McCain has solutions. Let me repeat that . . . I look forward to seeing him as a leader in the Senate, reaching out to Barack Obama and the new administration, being able to work together with the solutions that he has. but not with any solutions Obama might have.

Again, sorry if I cost him any votes, if I did. -120 points for flagrant overuse of the word "if" and using "sorry" in a nonapology.

KING: But you, you don't have an opinion as to whether you did or didn't? Sure, Larry, you go ahead and try to get a straight answer out of her. Good luck with that.

PALIN: I personally don't think that I, Sarah Palin from Alaska, the VP pick, was anyone here confused about who Larry or Sarah was talking about? I thought that was pretty clear. Yes, I, the Forever in Hell blogger wrote this blog. On a page, marker Forever in Hell. It was indeed I who wrote this blog. I don't believe that I caused the outcome to be what it was. Actually, that wasn't the question. He didn't ask if she caused the outcome, he asked if the average voter's view of her caused the problem. It helps to listen to the question. -762 points for not listening to your interviewer.

KING: All right. Let's do a little retrospective. Should you have not done the Katie Couric interview? The obvious answer to this question is "no", but we don't want to accuse Palin of seeing what is immediately obvious to the casual observer.

PALIN: Sure, I should have done the Katie Couric interview. you know, because it's good for the VP candidiate to look stupid. People like that.

KING: Should have done it? At this point, Larry can't believe his own ears.

PALIN: Her questions were fair -- I should have done it, yes. And her questions were fair. Why does she say that? Twice, in fact. Because the campaign spent too much time trying to portray Couric as some horrible bitch trying to destroy poor, poor Palin. Obviously being a bit annoyed with some of the questions, my annoyance shows through. It might be interesting to know why Palin was annoyed by relevant, easily predictable questions. And I am who I am, though, and I call it like I see it. I, Sarah Palin, the VP nominee am Sarah Palin. And some of those questions, you know, regarding what do I read up in Alaska, were to me a bit irrelevant. It's irrelevant to the voters how educated and informed the VP nominee is? Seriously? Oh, yeah, that's right, if you're a Republican, you don't need all that book learnin' and edumacation. That's for sissies. And my annoyance at those questions showed through.

But there was nothing off-base, unfair about it. Funny, your campaign and McCain seemed to think so. Does she realize you can review video after the fact? Certainly I should have done the interview. And to attribute I think that interview to any kind of negativity in the campaign or a downfall in the campaign, I think it's ridiculous. I wish that there would be -- would have been perhaps more dilution in terms of that interview being one of many, many. Because if you hit somebody often enough, they don't remember any particular blow. It all just runs together. You probably should't compare your interviews to torture, even unintentionally. -4,000 points for connecting Couric to torture.
I wish I could have done more interviews along the trail. And in retrospect, in hindsight, Yes, yes, yes, we get it, looking back, reviewing the issue, I wish I would had more opportunities or that we would have seized more opportunities to speak more…

LARRY: Katie Couric, by the way, said last night that she thinks you should keep your head down, work really hard, and learn about governing before contemplating a presidential run. What are your thoughts about her saying you should learn about governing? Larry's thoughts: at least I could hide behind Couric on this one!

PALIN: Well, thank you, Katie Couric, for your advice. And I won't reciprocate in giving her any advice, that's for sure, because I have respect for her and the profession that she is in. Palin just called Couric out as being disrespectful. If Katie Couric wants to give me any advice at all, on any subject, I will thank her profusely and do exactly that. That would including finding a lake and jumping into it. It's freaking Katie Couric! minus infinity for not taking Couric's advice. -I would have greater respect though for the entire profession called mainstream media -implying that it should be called something else. Not sure what. Oh that's right, those darn book learned, edumacated, media elite- if we could have great assurance that there is fairness, that there is objectivity throughout the reporting world. Because if you criticize Palin in any way, or even imply there might be some way she could better herself, that's not fairness or objectivity. Palin is perfect. Perfectly perfect!
And you know, Larry, there, too, if there is anything that I can do in terms of assisting there and allowing the credence, the credibility that that great vocation, that cornerstone of our democracy called the press, if I can help build up that credibility in the press and allow the electorate to know that they can believe everything that is reported through the airwaves and through print, I want to be able to help. Palin to the rescue!

I started out as a journalist. You started out as the sports girl on tv. That's tangentally related to media, but it's not journalism. It's that important to me that that cornerstone of our democracy is given the credence and credibility that it deserves. by never criticizing me. or asking me annoying questions. about whether or not I can name one court case in the last 100 years. (A woman who thinks another woman who was raped by her father and all 5 brothers shouldn't get an abortion can't come up with Roe v. Wade?) But we have to have a two-way street here going where reporters are fair, objective, non-biased. in my favor. We get back to the who, what, where, when, and why, and allow the viewers and the listeners and the readers to make up their own minds and not so much commentary I think being involved in mainstream media's questioning and reporting on candidates. Actually, the problem with media today is that they've gotten too much into simply quoting people, no matter how ridiculous or asinine the quote, without doing any research into the truth of the matter. "Some people think slavery is bad, Jim, some people think it's good. I dunno, you decide."
I would like to kind of help build back that credibility in that cornerstone of our democracy called our media, allowing for the checks and balances that government needs. please name your favorite amendment. i've always been fond of the first.

KING: Concerning the president-elect. During the campaign, governor, you expressed concerns about Obama's lack of executive experience and characterized him as "palling around with terrorists."
Do you fear the United States under his presidency, do you fear for the United States? No, she just wanted to make the rest of us of fear Obama (MUSLIM!TERRORIST!HE'sBLACK!)

PALIN: I don't have fear, I have optimism and Barack Obama is going to surround himself with those who do have executive experience and there was nothing mean-spirited, there was no negative campaigning when I called Barack Obama out on his associations, Uh-huh. minus another infinity for expecting anyone to buy that. When you whip up a crowd to the point where they start calling random cameramen the n-word, you can't go back and say you did not engage in negative campaigning. Thanks for proving that the majority of USians don't want to go back to pre-civil rights US. That was a refreshing discovery. you know, we're talking specifically of course about Bill Ayers, an unrepentant domestic terrorist who campaigned to bomb our United States Capitol and our Pentagon (and succeeded in blowing up the same statue twice, doing $10,000 damage to the Pentagon, didn't kill anyone and is now a college professor) and uh, I don't think that there is anything wrong with calling someone out on your associations, their record, their plans, (unless it's Katie Couric asking "annoying" questions and what was that about the Keating Five and the Alaska Successionist Party?) I expect to be called out and so did John McCain on his associations and our record (proving that Obama has more class in his little finger than the entire Republiscum Party combined) and nothing wrong with doing that (because I did it and Obama didn't) but no, I don't have fear, I have optimism because this is an historic moment in our nation's history and as Barack Obama prepares to take the office of Washington and Lincoln, what progress he has show, he has really made manifest now in terms of where our nation has been and where we are today. (he won because he's black)
I'm proud of Barack Obama. (I'm sure Obama feels all warm and fuzzy inside now) I pray for him, his family, the new administration, (if you've actually met a Pentecostal, you know that's a threat) look forward to the good things that are in store for this nation.

KING: Are you going to go to the inaugural?
PALIN: Haven't been invited it would be something perhaps if I'm not too busy up there in the State of Alaska I'd love to. Anyone can go to the inauguration. I'm going. I'm taking an unpaid day off, getting in a bus at 5:00 in the morning and spending all day there. I will probably get home at 3am if I'm lucky, then go into work for 9am. And she's going to be too busy?

KING: Something all mothers fear, though, is the knowledge that her daughter is pregnant. Was that very hard for you to take?

PALIN:But Bristol has an opportunity at this point also to reach out to other young American women and let them know that these are absolutely less than ideal circumstances that she or any other unwed teenage mother are in and it is not something to glamorize, it is not something to condone, if you will. Bristol has an opportunity to reach out to other young mothers and help them and hopefully not see such a prevalence also of unwed teenage mothers, the rates are too high. Sweetie, I love you, and I'm proud of you, but I'm going to hold you up as an example of what not to do. Here, put this red "A" on your shirt. On all of them.

KING: We're almost out of time. So quickly, do you pledge to the people that you will serve out your term?

PALIN: I pledge to the people of Alaska, I will do anything and everything that I can to progress the great state of Alaska. I will do what the people of Alaska want me to do. Short answer: no.