Thursday, November 26, 2009

Fox: They Distort, They Decide (that viewers are too dumb to notice)

On Faux Newz, the fairly unbalanced channel, boot-licking, Sean Hannity had a big week ignoring major gaffes by his guests. First came Sarah Palin who was trying to show off her foreign policy knowledge, responding to a question by Hannity on how we should handle the nuclear threat posed by Iran. It didn't take long for it to become abuntantly clear that she doesn‘t know the difference between Iraq and Iran. 



Can you believe that there are actually some Americans who think that she‘s qualified to be president?  This woman clearly is not ready for national politics.  What is clear is that she wants to make a ton of money on her book tour and clearly will on the backs of her lower middle class supporters who believe she's the real deal and will plunk down their hard earned money (please watch video at the end of this paragraph to watch an example of her supporters).  The sad thing is, I'm willing to bet most of them won't read anything except the back cover, the inside of the dust jacket and probably look through the 16 pages of color photos. The thing about the video above is Hannity sitting there like the president of her fan club and not at least nudging her that she's got her countries mixed up.  If she just misspoke once, I could see him giving her a pass, but after several times in 1:03, he ends up looking just as ignorant as she does.  There's several things about her popularity that are disturbing.  The fact that she doesn't know the difference between Iraq and Iran makes me think she has no understanding of world events.  The fact that she doesn't know the difference between a continent and a country makes me think she flunked geography.  Her word salad speaking ability makes me think she flunked english.  The fact that she didn't know "under God" was added to the Pledge of Allegiance in 1954 makes me think she flunked history.  The fact that it took her over a year to figure out what she reads makes me think fellow wingnut Dick Armey finally told her what to say.  The fact that she had no clue what Charlie Gibson was talking about when he asked her, her opinion of the Bush Doctrine which makes me think McCain's handlers flunked vetting.  Scariest of all, many of her supporters are willing to vote for her because they find her attractive or that she's an average person...just like them.  On her attractiveness, that's subjective.  While I don't find her offensive to look at, the minute she opens her mouth, the ugliness is impossible to ignore.  As far as her being "just like them"...what the hell is wrong with these people?!  I don't want my president to be average or just like me.  We saw what eight years of having a guy who folks thought they could have a beer with got us.  I want my president to be way above average, maybe even a Harvard Law School graduate.  I don't want to be able to beat our president in a debate about policy!

 

Then came Hannity's interview with former Press Secretary Dana Perino who President Obama recently nominated to serve on the Broadcasting Board of Governors, an independent agency responsible for overseeing the Voice of America, Radio Free Europe and other non-military broadcasts sponsored by the federal government.  What the hell is he thinking?  In a discussion on Hannity's show, Perino claimed that President Obama was playing politics by refusing to describe the massacre at Fort Hood as a terrorist attack. "We should call it what it is," she said. "We did not have a terrorist attack on our country during President Bush's term."  Is she kidding?

 

One again, did you notice the lack of correction from Hannity or Stuart Varney?  I know the Bush Administration tried to pin 9/11 on Former President Clinton for 7 years and 3 months, but do they actually believe that people don't remember who was sitting in a Florida kindergarten classroom being read "My Pet Goat" by 5 year olds on September 11, 2001?  A few months later, five people were killed in the anthrax attacks.  Clearly, conservatives want to call the Fort Hood murders, terrorism so that they can claim there was a terrorist attack on Obama's watch and use that for campaigning by saying he's weak on national security/defense.  The thing is, by definition, terrorism is the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce, especially for political purposes.  I don't think what Major Nidal Hasan did accomplished any of those things.  Even though we know that Hasan had exchanged several emails with a radical Yemeni American cleric, there's also a paper trail of him not wanting to be deployed to kill Muslims.  This is a disturbed man who should've been removed from the military two years ago, who snapped and belongs behind bars for the rest of his life.  Yet, Perino went on to say "I hope they're not looking at this politically. I do think that we owe it to the American people to call it what it is."  So who is actually playing politics with this tragic event?  Do the right thing Mr. President, recind that nomination from this spin machine.

Is Fox so sure of it's complete mastering of brainwashing their loyal sheep that they get more brazen as time moves on?  In 2004, they actually won a lawsuit by using the defense that they didn't need to use facts as they are an infotainment channel!  The "fair and balanced" catch phrase they flash repeatedly has always represented a subliminal message to their weak minded viewers.  As time has moved on, the lies have gotten more outrageous, which led to the White House calling them out for what they are.  Former White House communications director Anita Dunn said, "Let's not pretend they're a news network, Fox News often operates almost as either the research arm or the communications arm of the Republican Party. What I think is fair to say about Fox, and certainly the way we view it, is that it really is more a wing of the Republican Party."  And White House senior adviser David Axelrod added that they're "not really a news station", their viewers were outraged, infiltrating left wing blogs while brandishing their ignorance about the fact that their favorite channel doesn't use facts!  I saw countless copied Nielson ratings posts about how many viewers were watching them as if to prove that the estimated 3 million angry, undereducated fools determined the pulse of the country. My standard gas on the fire response is, "that's because the Faux sheep need to have their bigotry and ignorance justified on a daily basis. Liberals are confident enough in their beliefs that we don't need daily reassurance."  Furthermore, none of them seem to realize that these are not "hard numbers", but an estimate based on 25,000 Nielson homes out of 114,000,000 U.S. homes. Who watches the most tv? Angry, white, middle-aged conservatives.  As the saying goes, "You can have your own opinion, but you can't have your own facts."  The next comparison is always "MSNBC does it too."  Not exactly.  MSNBC isn't promoting progressive rallies, like Fox did with several conservative "Teabagger" events. Fox sponsored and sent their nighttime anchors out to multiple locations to cover the "grass roots" events.  The closest thing MSNBC has done via Olbermann's Countdown is assist the National Association of Free Clinics in getting donations for free health care clinics to underprivileged areas.  Let's see, one station chose to support anti-Obama rallies (let's just be honest here), the other channel chose to help those less fortunate.  Indeed, MSNBC has three hours of liberal commentators with Keith Olbermann, Rachel Maddow and Ed Schultz, who are increasingly focused on the dual task of holding President Obama to a progressive agenda and criticizing his detractors. MSNBC also has three hours of conservative talk with Joe Scarborough and daily guest, nazi Pat Buchanan, who are focused on criticizing the President and defending his assailants!  Chris Matthews is a conservative Democrat, so I laugh when the right calls him liberal.  They haven't figured out that not all Democrats are liberal just because all Republicans are conservative.  The rest of the MSNBC news line-up is a mixed bag of hopefuls along with Andrea Mitchell (Mrs. Alan Greenspan).  Fox counters with supposed liberal Alan Colmes who everyone knows is a joke, except their loyal viewers.  Even Colmes is in on it which makes his sellout all the more disgusting.  He makes the exact case that Fox wants to promote, that Democrats and/or liberals are weak and he's paid quite handsomely for it.  The bottom line is that Fox is right wing propaganda 24/7.

Palin Punked By A Comedian...Again
Once again, I thought the body of my article was complete, but this is too good to not report. Canadian Comedian Mary Walsh is the co-creator and star of "This Hour Has 22 Minutes", a nightly news parody show in the same vein as "The Daily Show."  She arrived in character, as conservative Marg Delahunty to the Borders in Columbus, Ohio where Palin was signing books.  It's bad enough that Fox favorite pin-up doesn't want to see our health care system improved, now she's venturing into Canada's health care system telling Walsh that "Canada needs to dismantle its public health-care system and allow private enterprise to get involved and turn a profit!"  In addition to those comments, Walsh said, she found it equally bizarre that no one was allowed to ask Palin any questions at the book-signing. "It was great fun, but also very strange," Walsh recalled. "We're in a bookstore, at a public event, in a place one would think was a bastion of free speech. And no one was allowed to ask questions. What are they afraid of?"



Quick Thoughts: The best line of the week from an unknown commentator on Huffington Post, “If Sarah Palin ever wins the presidency, Canada will have to build a wall on it’s southern border.”... “The Wrap’s” Dylan Stableford quotes a Fox News insider as saying Bill O'Reilly had a "hissyfit" over the fact that Hannity's interview with Palin would air first, so he released a teaser of his Palin interview on his YouTube channel, a move Stableford characterized as "going rogue" and a "pre-emptive strike. You know, with the Republicans eating their own, it really is fitting that the egomaniacs at Faux would follow suit.  Get the popcorn, this could be fun!... Bat shit crazy Michele Bachmann and Palin will be speaking at the National Tea Party Convention in Tennessee in February. "Press will be allowed in a designated section of the lobby of the convention only and will not be allowed inside the convention, there will be no media allowed for the banquet with Sarah Palin." I don't know about you, but it makes me wonder what they're hiding... Howard Dean thinks that Joe Lieberman should give up his chairmanship of Senate Homeland Security Committee if he can't bring himself to oppose a Republican filibuster of health care reform legislation.  Never mind letting him give it up, Harry Reid needs to issue an ultimatum and stick with it. "You caucus with the Democrats, you're with us or you're not.  Here's the price"... Speaking of Joe, after ignoring several requests from Rachel Maddow to appear on her show after stating he'd welcome a serious policy debate, I love that blogger Mike Stark found him in person and asked him to debate Rachel and his response was, "No, no, she's got a point of view". Does he not understand that a debate is a discussion of opposing views?  Sitting around with his like minded pals on Fox Sunday isn't a debate. Heck, she even offered him a shake and a cookie!... Rush Limbaugh and Glenn "he's a hoot" Beck (twice) called Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu a prostitute and hooker for allowing discussion of the health care reform bill. So Christian of them. This sexist attitude is one of the reasons why the GOP should continue to struggle to attract a majority of female voters. Imagine had Olbermann called Palin or Bachmann one of those things. The right would've organized a campaign to get him fired. While Keith has his fun with those two with their ineptness politically, he's never stepped over that line.  The cons don't think their side has a line. So Sarah, Michele or Carrie Prejean, where's your outrage?  Where's that double-standard?... Lou Dobbs is considering a Senate run in New Jersey.  How big does your ego have to be to think being an opinion commentator makes you qualified for office?  The police refuted his claims of gun shots at his house.  They've determined that the gunshots were from hunters nearby and not an attack on he and his wife. Lou figured it was a great way to get publicity and maybe some sympathy. Right wingers never want to hear facts. They get in the way of a perfectly good lie... A funny thing happened as I was finishing this up on this Thanksgiving evening, Beck put to rest any rumors of one possible "dream team" ticket. On his radio show today, Beck said he was absolutely ruling out the possibility of running for office with Saracuda at the top of the ticket.  It also appears that his true opinion of the former governor was expressed.  BECK: I don't think things are hoots. I don't. I don't think it's a hoot. I would never use the word hoot, and I respectfully ask that every time my name is brought up she would stop using the word 'hoot.' No, no I'm just saying -- Beck-Palin, I'll consider. But Palin-Beck -- can you imagine, can you imagine what an administration with the two of us would be like? What? Come on! She'd be yapping or something, and I'd say, "I'm sorry, why am I hearing your voice? I'm not in the kitchen." ...ouch...
If you want to listen in entirety, here's the clip: Beck Turns Down Ticket With Palin, Makes Sexist Remark

Until the next time...

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Theocracy Unleashed (Thanks John)

An American Fable - 17 November 2009
With the release of theocrat Sarah Palin's ghost written book Tuesday, and the sheer excitement from the right, it has made me think about the differences in how liberals versus conservatives value women. Liberals view women as an equal part of society. Conservatives think women are baby making machines destined to be subservient to men. Look at the women the left appreciates compared to the right; On the left we admire MSNBC anchor Rachel Maddow, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz. On the right, they adore unemployed serial quitter Sarah Palin, unemployed breast implant recipient Carrie Prejean, and fictional writer Ann Coulter(?). Why does the left respect their women? Maddow was a Rhodes Scholar who earned a PhD from Oxford in Political Science, Pelosi is the first female Speaker of the House and Schultz easily won re-election last November while quietly fighting breast cancer. Why does the right enjoy their women? Palin despises women and once won a beauty contest, Prejean despises gays and once won a beauty contest, and Coulter despises liberals and wishes he won a beauty contest. It feels like the country is really at a crossroads. Conservatives want to go back to the days when men were men and women knew their place. They want Christianity taught in schools to force their beliefs on all children. Liberals want to move forward when men can love men and women know their place is as Speaker of the House. Liberals believe your spirituality should remain a private matter, to be taught freely within one’s own home if so desired. The discrepancy between the left and the right is obvious.  The left is methodical, open minded, very accepting of equality, change and look forward to the future without fear. The right are reactionary, afraid of change, feel aversion against anything that doesn't look or act like them, clinging to the status quo (and guns & religion) while looking back wistfully at the past.  As a progressive woman, I can not relate to people like Palin. How can any woman, especially one with daughters punish a woman who's been the victim of rape? In just one example of her leadership, as Mayor of Wasilla, she directly shifted the cost of the rape kits from the police department to the victims. Sarah Palin represents everything opposite of what I believe in. The fact that blow up dolls with her likeness were being manufactured during the election, and possibly still are, told me all I needed to know about why men were voting for her, but the women? I'm still confused. Some women who supported Hillary Rodham Clinton instead of Barack Obama actually switched alliances to Palin which sickened me. I'm sorry, I hope a day comes when I see a woman President elected, but I will not vote for any candidate without regard to their politics just because they urinate while sitting. That's irresponsible, ignorant and a whole new type of profiling.

Fact Checks - Oh My!
Immediately upon release of her book Tuesday, Facebook politician Palin started complaining about the AP doing fact checks on her book.
"Imagine that," she declared, "11 AP reporters dedicating time and resources to tearing up the book, instead of using the time and resources to 'fact check' what's going on with Sheik Mohammed's trial, Pelosi's health care takeover costs, Hasan's associations, etc. Amazing.”
I guess Sarah doesn’t realize that the AP employs over 4100 journalists. So instead of setting the record straight and clearing up any “misinformation”, she chose deflection and her dedicated supporters never even noticed that she didn’t dispute that the book is full of lies, just that she was incensed that it was being reported!  Palin relies on the fact that her fans unwavering worship isn’t based on intellectual capacity, it’s based on the presentation. She is going to make a lot of money while laughing behind the backs of her most ardent supporters. Furthermore, if she wrote a truthful memoir, why would she care about a fact check being done?   In fact, it’s not just the AP; the McCain campaign staff has virtually and unanimously stated that the book is a complete work of fiction. In fact, former McCain campaign senior adviser Nicolle Wallace told “The Rachel Maddow Show” that Sarah Palin's book "Going Rogue is "based on fabrications," and that the basis for Palin’s depictions of her and former McCain campaign director Steve Schmidt as villains "took place entirely in her imagination.” My take from the excerpts I’ve read, the interviews she’s done and the statements from everyone not Palin is that the ghost written book is how she wants the public to remember her version of what happened/didn’t happen, not as they actually happened. And gosh darn it, if it’s printed, it must be true. I laughed out loud when I read that she did the Katie Couric interviews out of sympathy for supposedly low self esteem Katie. I was never a Couric fan until those interviews, but she’s been on the “tv machine” for a very long time. Sarah, not so much…although it feels like it. I will say though, her fans…they don’t get any more loyal. The fact that the woman is being defended by her followers as if she parted the sea is a true phenomenon of the human condition. I really want to know what she’s done to deserve this admiration. Obama was beat up for his ties to Pastor Jeremiah Wright, but Palin got a free ride over a visitor from Kiambu, Kenya (ironic isn’t it?) named Thomas Muthee. Muthee's popularity took him to Wasilla Assembly of God in May, 2005, where he prayed over Palin and called upon Jesus to propel her into the governor's mansion and beyond. Muthee also begged Jesus to protect Palin from "the spirit of witchcraft." Can you even imagine if Obama had even been in a building with this taking place?! Palin Gets Protection From Witches  (Palin "prayer" at about 7:00)

Future...and Past, Unknown
The fact that this woman attended 5 different colleges to get a degree makes me think that she had to move on to easier schools each time. The conservative base thinks that, that means, she’s really, really smart! And considering she got her degree in journalism, you’d think she could have written her own book! Instead she chose to tell her fable to far right Evangelical Lynn Vincent to spin the book towards Palin's favor.  I challenge any of the Palinites to explain any policy that Palin has spoke of with authority. I mean policy, not opinion. We know how she feels about Jeremiah Wright, Bill Ayers, ACORN, that she’s wants to rule the country with Christianity, she hates gays and thinks women are second class citizens. I dare any of her cult followers to tell me where she stands on issues of national security, world policies, how to improve trade equality, how to create jobs, etc… She has NO ideas and no clue.  Conservatives have deemed anyone with an education, an "elitist". When did being educated become a bad thing?  If Palin ever did get into the White House, make no mistake, the likes of Karl Rove and Dick Cheney would be running the show with their “pretty little thing” keeping a low profile.  Conservative leadership has mastered mass manipulation and discourages individual thought.  It seems that if conservatives hear something enough times, it becomes the truth (fair and balanced, fair and balanced).  The leadership feels that by keeping the electorate ignorant, excessively reporting distortions of truth from the "left", they will thrive and return to power since undereducated voters are very primal in their beliefs.  This is why educating young people is so important.  They need to be able to assess a situation themselves instead of being brainwashed by a certain network that only Republicans and conservatives are good Americans. Other countries are racing past us in every facet of life, we must not elect politicians based on false fears or a candidate's alleged "hotness", nor let religion dictate our future or we are doomed to failure.  This particular candidate falls into every single one of those categories.  We need to think about policy! 

Backlash from the Queendom!
I thought I was done writing for this week, but the former Miss Wasilla didn’t let me down! Twittering quitter Palin left a Noblesville, Indiana book signing with many angry (ex)fans who stood outside in a cold rain for several hours to meet their idol. In what shouldn’t have been a surprise, Palin got tired and quit, disappointing hundreds that spent about 3 hours getting wristbands and another 3 hours waiting in line to get their book signed. Some people took the day off from work and walked away empty handed! Borders bookstore had announced that they would give out 1,000 wristbands (1 per book, 2 maximum per person) which would guarantee them getting their books signed and many didn’t even get one signed. The cold, wet, angry crown gathered outside the nice warm tour bus that Palin retreated to, chanting "Sign Our Books! Sign Our Books!" They also shouted "Quitting on the job! Quitting on the job”. This is one way to anger and lose your base. If she can't run a book tour, how can she run a country?  I'm sure by Sunday, it will be someone else's fault.



Quick Thoughts: In the spirit of my usual article ender, I thought I’d share some of Huffington Post’s unofficial “Going Rogue” index (because Palin’s book was literally rushed out without one) along with my take, since anybody reading my blog isn’t any more likely to read this dollar store drivel than I am. Here's a few examples: 4 pages (384-388) dedicated to common sense conservatives which I would say is an oxymoron; 10 pages dedicated to smearing Couric (255-256, 271-279), psst Sarah, we have video now and you can keep it on file to view repeatedly!; Creationism vs. evolution (217-219), You betcha The Flinstones were based on a real life family; Debate preparation (281-289) Why prepare when you “weren’t necessarily going to answer the questions asked”?; Election night speech and faceoff with McCain camp (332-337) No VP loser has ever been allowed to speak, but then again, SHE was the reason people voted for that ticket; Ethics attacks, loss of reputation (372-375), that bias liberal media found out what she did and that just wasn’t right. Only Democrats are to be investigated; Getting a D in college once (112), Just once? Really?; Charlie Gibson interview: (270-271) In what regard Charlie? And also too, how was she actually supposed to know what the Bush Doctrine was therefore?; Joe the Plumber, Tito the Builder (305-308) What?! No Rosie the Riveter?; Lobbyist who gave rides to Willow and her basketball team (137) Nothing good can come of me commenting; Obama's mistakes (388-394) 6 pages, 10 months in. Dubyas mistakes would require another book; Pregnant and the birth of Track (50-54)-Track, almost naming him "Zamboni"(53). Early on I joked that she chose her kids' names out of a “snow machine” parts catalog. Who's buying the first round?; Trig, pregnancy results - "Holy geez!"(171-174), Is that folksy enough for you?; Trig, water breaking and delivery (191-196) Everybody knows the best thing to do is get on a 3000 mile, 8 hour plane ride when your water breaks so you can call the kid a native Alaskan.
 
Take a deep breathe, count your blessings and keep in mind that this woman was 8,538,559 popular votes away from becoming the Vice President to a 72 year old, three time cancer survivor!
Have a great week and keep looking forward!


Sunday, November 15, 2009

Right Wing Hypocrite Carrie Prejean stars in "Me, Myself and I"

This was not something I initially thought worthy of my time, but after a week of television appearances which turned out hilarious, I can’t resist. The mega Sarah Palin fan, and the newer, younger former beauty queen that the wingnuts are lusting over, Carrie Prejean made the same exact errors as Palin; the more she spoke, the worse it got. After making this statement at the Miss USA Pageant when asked by Perez Hilton how she felt about gay marriage;
“Well I think it's great that Americans are able to choose one way or the other. We live in a land where you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite marriage. And, you know what, in my country, in my family, I think that I believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman, no offense to anybody out there. But that’s how I was raised and I believe that it should be between a man and a woman.”
Fair enough, it’s her opinion and she has a right to say it, although she didn’t clarify her stance on masturbation at that time, nor did she seem to understand that very few states recognize same-sex mariage, but I digress. Apparently, it never occurred to her or her defenders that people who disagree with her also had the right to say so and respond! You see, that’s another part of the right wing hypocrisy that never get’s the attention it deserves. It’s always a one way street with these people. NBC Today’s Meredith Viera interviewed her Tuesday, soon after she dropped her lawsuit against Miss California USA when it was revealed that there was a sex tape of her floating around. Prejean brushed it off as a youthful indiscretion done at age 17 only intended for her boyfriend at the time to see. And she said, she wasn’t having sex, she was by herself! Huh??? Ok, then Bill Clinton really didn’t have sexual relations with that woman either. Prejean then had the gall to say that the body is a “temple from God and skin shouldn't be shown and women shouldn't be judged on their bodies". Is Prejean the only one who doesn’t realize that’s exactly what she was doing in the Miss USA Pageant? Furthermore, while I agree that women shouldn’t be judged by their bodies, I have to question, why then did she get breast implants? 
Nearing the end of the interview Prejean pulled the tried and true victimhood page directly out of the conservative play book, stating that;
“There is an extreme double standard that conservative women are under attack for whatever it is. If Sean Hannity went out there and said some of the things that Keith Olbermann has said about me, if he says anything about Sotomayor, Michelle Obama, he would be off the air. Why is there this double standard? That’s the reason why I wrote this book.”
Unfortunately, there’s a certain group of minions who will believe that statement. Keep in mind that Hannity was licking her boots Monday night in her first interview, but seriously do conservatives not yet understand that there is video these days? Hannity has talked negatively and at length about both aforementioned women. Olbermann thinks Prejean is a hypocrite and he’s right! Does little Carrie ever acknowledge what’s said by conservatives about California Senator Barbara Boxer, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, MSNBC host Rachel Maddow, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, or Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wassermann-Schultz just to name a few? Hell no! That’s the true double-standard. The difference is the women on the left realize that when you’re in the public eye, you have to accept the bad with the good. Conservatives are thin-skinned liars and hypocrites, pure and simple.

Ah, but the former Miss California wasn’t done. Next came the Larry King interview Wednesday on CNN where she threw a temper tantrum. When she refused to talk about her lawsuit settlement or sex scandal while continuously telling Mr. King that he was being inappropriate, the host opened the phone line to callers. The moment the first caller said, "I'm a gay man…" she began unhooking her microphone from underneath her sweater and when King asked her to respond, she stated "I can’t hear you". Really? I’m not a fan of Larry King, but his response was handled with class while emphatically and correctly stating that he did nothing wrong. Not surprisingly, like Palin, she’s just another little phony who doesn’t want to answer any questions that she hasn’t previously approved. They both only want questions that will show them in their best light...which is probably a full moon on a Friday the 13th at a cemetery. And Thursday…drum roll please…the former boyfriend claims that the video was when she was 20 years old, two years ago, and there are several of them! Another lie, another day in the life of a wingnut. You really can’t make up this stuff!

Quick Thoughts: Teabagging leader Dick Armey is still rearing his ugly head. This time by defending insurance companies who do not want to cover clients who have pre-existing conditions. Does anybody else find it odd that the obese former member of congress who looks like he’s thrown back a drink or two and will be covered for life by government run health care is vilifying diabetics and those with liver inflammation who’ve been without insurance saying they don’t deserve government run health care because of eating like pigs and drinking excessively?... A shocking revelation; Birther Queen Orly Taitz told fellow birthers to lie. And this became news to anybody who’s head isn’t up their ass, why?…Family values Senator David Vitter(R), best known for his liaisons with prostitutes and his preference for wearing diapers while railing against same-sex rights (it’s unnatural you know), is now protecting the formaldehyde industry by blocking Paul Anastas, a renowned scientist known as the "father of green chemistry" to head the EPA's Office of Research and Development. Why is this guy still in office? Everyone would like to give Louisiana voters the benefit of doubt after Katrina, but c’mon...The Catholic Church threatens to stop feeding the homeless over gay marriage in Washington D.C. And these people claim to do God’s work! To their credit, the D.C. lawmakers rebuked them and said they will find another group to fill this need. When will this country respect our country’s laws and restore separation of church and state? This is one of the most disgusting stories of the week and absolutely no one in the MSM covered it...Meanwhile, 10 year old Will Phillips of Arkansas refuses to recite the Pledge Allegiance to a country that discriminates against gays. The young man has bigger stones than our president on this issue. I wonder what his thoughts on Iraq or Afghanistan are?... Federal prosecutors took steps Thursday to seize a Fifth Avenue skyscraper owned by a Muslim organization long suspected of being secretly controlled by the Iranian government. The Piaget Building, as it’s known was erected in the 1970s under the Shah of Iran. Ok, maybe I am being naïve, but will someone please tell me how they obtained ownership in the first place? Weren’t they holding U.S. hostages then?...The teabaggers are now fighting amongst themselves! The Tea Party Express and the Tea Party Patriots are about to face each other in Teabagger Bowl I. Let’s see if they exercise their second amendment rights! Honestly, this has got to be one of the most hilarious developments of the right wing fragmentation. I’m waiting for a reality series, “When Teabaggers Attack”…Sarah Palin’s ghost written book, Going Rogue: An American Life, “officially” comes out Tuesday. Apparently it was leaked early and none other than Rush Limbaugh proclaimed that it is "truly one of the most substantive policy books I've read". Rush, get some hand lotion, buy a few more copies and continue to enjoy those 16 pages of color photographs.

That’s it for now, next week I’ll plan on further discussion about Sarah Palin’s book and the fallout (which has already begun) from its inaccuracies. By the way, you can pre-order your copy at Amazon for the discounted price $9.00 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping. Personally, I’ve pre-ordered a copy of Going Rouge: An American Nightmare, a Sarah Palin compilation from “The Nation” magazine and available here: http://orbooks.com/
Have a great week and continue to think progressive!

Monday, November 9, 2009

The Week That Was...Mixed Messages 11/1-11/8 2009

Women’s reproductive rights are under attack by letting the Stupak Amendment be slipped into the House bill on health care reform. The 33 year old Hyde Amendment which was slipped into an appropriations bill for the Department of Health and Human Services already disallows public funding for abortion, but this amendment goes one step further by denying women who are paying for their own insurance through private insurance the ability to access this legal, I repeat, legal medical procedure by forcing them to buy an additional separate, single-service rider. While we all know that no Republicans have any respect for any woman to make a decision about her own body, it’s now clear that the male Democrats feel the same way. Another thing bothering me is that this amendment was brokered in part with Catholic Bishops! When do we go back to seperation of church and state? Any church involved in policy should be stripped of their tax exempt existence.

Which brings me to the Catholic Churches assistence in repealing same-sex marriage rights in Maine on Tuesday…you know the state that claims “live and let live” as it’s motto. It’s now crystal clear that they’re just another bunch of hypocrites whose prejudice came out loud and clear. Live and let live, unless you’re gay, then tough luck, your human and civil rights do not supercede the homophobia of the masses. The fact that the same-sex marriage rights campaign failed to use a winning strategy bothers me as well, since I would’ve thought the Prop 8 defeat in California would have been the model of what went wrong and not repeat it. Yet, my understanding is, they never fought back forcfully enough, particularly the lie that same-sex, sex would be taught in school. Who would actually believe that?! Apparently 52% of Mainiacs. The high five the Catholic Church received is another reminder of how they should be strpped of their tax exempt status, along with the Mormans who heavily funded Yes on 8 in California.

Quick Thoughts: That wild and "carazy" Republican Congresswoman Michele Bachmann from Minnesota with assistence from Faux Newz rallied thousands of teabagging hillbillies to the Capitol on Thursday to voice their displeasure of a bill designed to help them. They want no part government run healthcare, but don’t even think about taking away their Medicare! All in all they had a good day. Think about it, a free bus ride to Washington D.C. and donuts supplied by multi-millionaire David Koch’s Americans for Prosperity……Also that day, I thoroughly enjoyed Ohio Republican John Boehner proudly holding up “his copy” of the Constitution and then reciting the preamble to the Declaration of Independence. The best part was, Bachmann mouthing the incorrect words right behind him! Then there was Missouri Republican Todd Akin stating that saying the Pledge of Allegiance “drives liberals crazy.” Then of course, stumbling over the words, it doesn’t get any better than that!......Also love the firestorm about the Republicans winning two Governorships. I wouldn’t have voted for weak Democrat Creigh Deeds who ran a terrible campaign in Virginia either, nor would I have voted for the Republican which is how he won, Democrats stayed home. In New Jersey, Jon Corzine’s approval ratings going into Tuesday were abysmal and he still nearly won even after breaking his promise to lower property taxes in his state, which he never delivered on. NY-23 is the most amusing in my mind. Apparently, moderate Republican Dede Scozzafava who believed in a woman’s right to choose and same-sex rights, yet was a fiscal conservative got tagged as a “radical leftist” by far, far right winger Michelle Malkin. In the Republican’s quest to “purify” their party and turn it into a bunch of far right teabagging anti-woman, anti-progress radical Neanderthals, they called on ultra conservative and creepy businessman Doug Hoffman to run against her and Democrat Bill Owens as a Conservative Party candidate even though he didn’t live in the district. With the endorsement of celebrity serial quitter Sarah Palin and Tea-Bagging extraordinaire Dick Armey of FreedomWorks, they knocked Scozzafava out of the race and were celebrating the fact that no Democrat has held that seat since 1872 so clearly, the purification had begun! A funny thing happened on the way to the polls, Scozzafava backed Owens and the voters actually chose to elect someone based on his knowledge of their local concerns as opposed to sending a message to Washington. Elections do have consequences!

That’s it for now, until the next time, stay safe, think forward!