Broken controllers, Meedo, filmhill, pregolom, broadwaypink, et. al.

THE CONTENT ON THIS BLOG IS PERSONAL PROPERTY AND NO OTHER SITE HAS MY PERMISSION TO PUT YOUR SITE BEFORE LINKS TO THIS BLOG. I AM TIRED OF FINDING THAT MY WORK HAS BEEN AGGREGATED TO PORN SITES AND OTHER SITES THAT HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH MY MISSION.

It figures that stuff like this goes on, the internet cybercommunity possesses great freedom and no responsibility. The wild west had nothing on the scope and scale of predatory behavior to be found on the world wide web. Thank goodness at this point these elusive villains are not simply gunning down the denizens of the net. In the old west, criminals murdered settlers and "jumped their claim" or simply stole anything that could be moved. In cyberspace, criminals do not even need to murder anyone to rob you blind.

Someday there may be regulation and standards on the net, but until that day it has to be word of mouth. Those of us who actually give a damn have to warn others and educate people to protect themselves. I know very little, all I can say is to question everything. There are many con men out there who can lie to your face and make off with your stuff. There are exponentially more con men on the net who can reach potentially millions of marks with a few clicks. Definitely a matter of combining brains, skills with technology, and utterly remorseless pathology.

I stumbled across this post warning about broken controllers. Ugh. There is evil, then there is the anonymous evil. I am not even sure what their scam is, or how to limit their ability to harm others. That really has to be someone else's mission.

Founding Fathers, misquoted.

Thomas Frank, writing in Harper's, takes teabaggers to task for mythologizing quotes from the Founding Fathers to suit their agenda.

I share a sentiment with the Tea Party movement, and it's not a trivial one: Historical illiteracy is a threat to the health of the republic. Our ignorance of the key events and basic concepts of the nation's development is a matter of statistical fact, and despite years of warnings we continue to show little interest in how the past determines contemporary choices.

Where we differ, the Tea Partiers and I, is on the question of what historical literacy looks like. For them, it is strictly a matter of everyone else acknowledging that the Founding Fathers would take their side in the present-day debates; that Franklin, Jefferson, and Washington were "rightwing extremists," as a popular T-shirt puts it. At Tea Party rallies, quotes from Founding Fathers are emblazoned on protest signs and declaimed from podiums; audiences recite them right along with the speaker; and, of course, there are always a few people on hand who feel such a surge of enthusiasm that they are moved to dress up in the manner of late-eighteenth century Bostonians.

Historical ignorance is bad for several reasons, first of which is that rewriting history to suit the needs of the present is a horrible fallacy. But more than that is how the manufactured quotes invented by the right-wing have taken on a quality of gospel. "Bible bullets" is how a professor of Christian history I know put it. Gospel quotes are used by uncritical thinkers to shut down and get shut down in debates over scripture. Manufacturing quotes by Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and George Washington create a secular version of bible bullets, ready to be aimed at anyone who disagrees with the teabagger crowd.

Frank, a Ph.D in history, analyzed two telling phrases used by teabaggers to gain historical approval from the revered founders. It does not matter how mangled the intent of the founders has become in modern America, the point from an authoritarian view is to win, period.

The first is from Franklin, Dr. Frank pulled this one from one of his favorite teabagger authors, but it appears all over the place. "Benjamin Franklin said, 'The Constitution only gives people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself."' Sounds good right? Only thing is that it is the Declaration of Independence that produced the non-legally-binding "right to pursue happiness," and that was only because TJ did not like the idea of a "right to property" as why the revolution was carried out. Frank then traces the history and finds that the "catch it yourself" comes from 1970s self-help books.

The second was from Jefferson himself. "The issue today is the same as it has been throughout all history, whether man shall be allowed to govern himself or be ruled by a small elite." This quote is so popular it makes facebook regularly. Trouble is that while Jefferson did rail against tyranny, this "quote" is actually the interpretation of TJ's work by a law professor in 1980. The teabag movement has a very different understanding of elitism than say, anyone who has ever had a job and stepped back even for a moment to critically examine why bosses are such jerks. But beyond that, these secular bible bullets have only the amount of power as we give them. This is the reason bible bullets hold such sway over fundamentalists, and why teabaggers are so eager to believe them. Quoting founders to support their authoritarian vision is a simple way to shut down debate. Outsiders hold the founders in high regard as well, transferring "truth" of tradition to narrow interpretations gives them inordinate power over popular beliefs.

"One reason these quotations have multiplied is that they seem true to Ben and Tom as we all know them through their appearances over the years in movies, musicals, and schoolbooks: the earthy Founder, cracking wise; the rebel Founder, seething against tyrants. Those who use the mysterious quotes do not mean to deceive. In nearly every case, they are merely repeating something they've read numerous times in what appear to be authoritative works. All journalists, myself included, have made similar mistakes.²
On the other hand, when you set the Founders up as infallible oracles of democracy, when you claim clairvoyance with their political spirit, when you dedicate yourself to remedying the nation's historical illiteracy, you put yourself under a special obligation. And given that it is only a little more difficult to use the Internet to check fake quotes than to reproduce them, one wonders: Why don't the guardians of Founder purity take that step? Why do fakes proliferate instead of disappear?"

My hat is off to Dr. Frank for diving into this novel subversion of our freedom to make our own destiny.

Letter to the editor

Found this in the zombie's head cavity. Feel free to borrow it, edit it, repost it. Whatever tickles your tentacles.
I am supporting Tanya Lohr to represent our District in the WI State Senate. It is time for West Bend, Jackson, Grafton, Hartford, and all of the other areas of this District to have a Senator who will truly listen to our concerns and not merely those of wealthy backers and political extremists. The difference in this race could not be starker. Glenn Grothman has spent his many years in office reflecting the great British statesman Edmund Burke’s idea that constituents elect their representative’s judgment.
In contrast, Tanya Lohr believes that legislators should reflect their constituent’s views and try their best to accommodate and compromise on behalf of all citizens. For just a few of Grothman’s judgments, he believes women do not value money and should not get paid equally to men, that education is not important and neither are teachers, that single parents are by definition child abusers, and in defiance of all evidence or logic that only tax cuts for the wealthy will bring jobs back.
Tanya Lohr believes we are a community. She does not call her fellow Wisconsinites “slobs” they way Glenn Grothman did. And she will not ignore constituents who disagree with her. Tanya Lohr has stated that the working people of District 20 pay their fair share in taxes. Let us spend those revenues on the investments that will really attract jobs such as good schools, safe and clean streets, quality parks, and a great public library system. Do not let Glenn Grothman throw our money away begging companies to come here, let companies come here because we are a great community with smart, hard-working residents where families will want to settle.

The plutocratic ticket

John Nichols in the Nation just christened the birth or more accurately, "the coming out of the closet" of the grand old private-equity party.
"The ticket Republicans will nominate in Tampa next week is uniquely connected to the “vulture capitalist” constituency, and uniquely committed to protecting the interests of today’s robber-baron class."

Paul Krugman wrote: "[Paul] Ryan’s true constituency is the commentariat, which years ago decided that he was the Honest, Serious Conservative, whose proposals deserve respect even if you don’t like him. But he isn’t and they don’t. Ryanomics is and always has been a con game, although to be fair, it has become even more of a con since Mr. Ryan joined the ticket." (emphasis mine)

Joshua Holland in Alternet also remarked though that "The New York Times reported that when the details of [the Ryan budget] were run past focus groups, they found that the plan is so cruel that voters “ simply refused to believe any politician would do such a thing.”'

So the big lie is born. Democracy is still superficially based on votes of actual humans, but this election and most likely each successive one will really be based on the wealth of the candidates' backers.

Is Soledad O'Brien part of a trend?

There seems to be some evidence that the media, mainstream objective outlets, are turning away from simply conveying information and talking points presented to them by politicians. Instead of uncritical reporting of both sides under a "false equivalence" fallacy, there are small budding instances where fact checking is making a comeback. In a false equivalence scenario, each side (supposedly) has the opportunity to present it's case and criticise the other side's case. The immediate problem with this method of journalism is that it provides no accountability for blatant lying and treats conservative propaganda as somehow rooted in reality. Then leaves all the responsibility for calling out that lying on Democrats, who at best are treated as simply partisans smearing their opposition, and usually just left speechless at each upping of the ante on deception and manipulation.

James Fallows at the Atlantic wrote that "the realities of modern 'post-truth' politics will sooner or later force the press out of its preferred, comfortable pose of "balance," if it is to come close to doing its fundamental job of describing reality. When some people in public life are willing to lie, and to keep on lying even when the bald falseness is exposed, the press should take on an affirmative responsibility to remind readers what the 'truth' is."

Fallows cites a few instances that, along with Soledad's continuing smackdown of liars, has the potential to reshape what Americans think about mainstream media. Of course, the "Liberal Media" assertion will be shouted even louder but how likely is it that more people than now will believe it? There is little hope of reclaiming the ignorant fishbowl-dwelling conservatives who believe what they believe no matter what and only seek to have their closed-minded non-thinking reinforced by their side. But this still leaves perhaps 75% of Americans who have no interest in being lied to by anyone.

What happens when any republican going on CNN is not granted plutocratic deference and actually has to account for discrepancies between their talking points and that annoying thing called "reality?" Will my new sweetheart keep the fact-checking up? This would be an unprecedented turn of events if the public perception of republicans finally switches from bullies to whining little babies.

The circuit could close with plutocratic liars and the prostitutes who service them really talking only to themselves. A clear delineation of objective media willing to fact check claims made by either side from partisan media, like this example of the all-too-common game of "bash the poor," is essential. Too much of the authoritarian bullying in our society has come from the fact that there is no referee, no one or institution capable of saying "Enough!"

Voter Suppression and Voter Helplessness

Only the willfully blind can ignore it at this point. Republicans across the republic are restricting the franchise for the unbelievers, those non-movement conservative infidels. It is undeniable and they are getting away with it. This is the big hail mary. Republicans like this clown do not even attempt to hide it anymore:

Joan Walsh at Salon has taken some flak for suggesting that the gop is the white party and rule in the name of white people only. It is less a skin tone than a state of mind and republicans today make no bones about it, they want to drag us back in time to some imagined golden age. Somehow, after four years of pushing the boundaries on open racism through signs and anonymous nooses sent through the mail, etc. you now have a candidate for the US Senate saying it is finally time to get rid of this nonsense about people being equal.

The entire reason for the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act was to keep southern states from disenfranchising African-Americans because they would not do it on their own. The thing is, the story of the twentieth century was largely a steady progression of expanding democracy and justice. This has been a long regression since the white backlash against this progress gained steam in the 1970s. Once reagan knocked out the pillars of the New Deal by crushing labor, cutting taxes, and deregulating the economy it was only a matter of time before the United States regressed back to a plantation.

The problem before all of us interesting in continuing the noble experiment that is a free people governing themselves for the benefit of all is, what to do about all of this? The trap put in place authoritarians, both of the right wing follower variety and the social dominator variety, has moved slowly and inexorably through control of first the economy, then the means of propaganda and thought control to embed their followers in the halls of power. Now the authoritarians have sprung the trap. A few very rich royalists are pulling the strings and we are meant to simply watch, powerlessly, as the republic dies.

Direct action, of the type Occupy attempted, is thwarted by simple force. We were all scared into accepting a militarized police force by the drug war to the point that SWAT teams and riot suppression units dominate. Their role is not to "protect and serve" public order but make the country safe for plutocracy. Voting is similarly defanged as a restraining or countervailing force, and in any case who could we vote for that has not been contaminated by the money power.

Democracy in the interests of the public has never looked more hopeless. The authoritarians hold all the cards now.

My Two Dads

By Zombie.
Like so many Gen Xers, I grew up under the influence of two fathers. One was biological, the other was a replacement. It is only recently that I have reflected on how much each of an effect each man had on my growth and development as a man in my own right. Now that I am also a father, it is time to examine the source of this tear in my personality and pray that I do not transfer my own flawed identity to my child.
My real father is a rather quiet, reserved man who angers rarely but just as rarely shows genuine joy. He is a true team player who has loyally served his coworkers and the company he works for over his entire career. Niebuhr would recognize him as a true Child of Light, someone who recognizes the importance of something larger than himself and able to subordinate his own interest in favor of others. He values courtesy and manners very highly. These values, along with along with the importance of fair play and respecting others, he worked very hard to instill in my brother and I. This is not to say it was easy, or fun to be around him all the time but looking back I appreciate that he taught me the value of respecting others and generating self-respect through right actions.
My stepfather could not have been more different. He was originally from California and a serial marrying man with a huge ego. From the very first, I knew something was wrong. Initial kindness and sympathy faded to discipline and arbitrary mean-spiritedness. In short, he was a liar. But a charismatic one that had one face in public and another in private. To him, courtesy and manners were a means to an end and not a method to demonstrate right action. The problem was that he was so convincing and gregarious in public that no one suspected the contempt he had for others in private. He was, and most likely still is, a Child of Darkness. The definition of that term as Niebuhr meant it was someone who recognizes no law beyond their own interest.

Now, by no means am I putting my father up for canonization. He is easily frustrated and when I do something to upset him, which happens no doubt and is my fault, he expresses it not by yelling or threatening but through a quiet scolding and withholding of attention. And it is a long time before he lets it go. On the other hand, my stepfather did yell and threaten; his style was in-your-face and utterly arbitrary. The rules in my house changed on a whim, basically made up along the way. Punishment, while never corporal, was severe and came without warning. No allowance was made for ignorance. The fact that my stepfather would then let it go after I served whatever sentence he imposed came to seem, not that he could forgive, but that he really did not actually care.

I joined the Army right after high school to get the hell away from him. Then it was my brother who bore the brunt. After he finally finished school at the UW and transferred to another university, far away, it was my mom's turn. Only about a year passed before she divorced him. Go figure.

Another washout turns right

From Huffington Post:

"Back in my country, my president," Mustaine begins and then pretends to gag himself with his finger, "is trying to pass a gun ban so he's staging all of these murders. The 'Fast and Furious' thing down at the border. And Aurora, Colorado, all the people that were killed there. And now, the beautiful people at the Sikh temple."

Dave Mustaine, founder and lead singer of Megadeth, has always been the annoying little brother of metal. Not going into the myriad conspiracy theories about why he washed out of Metallica, Megadeth and Mustaine were always the "also-ran" of metal's late eighties/early nineties heyday. Constantly trying to grab attention with their mediocre music with shocking images emblazoned on T-shirts sported by wannabe metalheads who just never really got it.

Now in the age of metal irrelevence, Mustaine has jumped on a new track: whoring for the evil right wing in politics. While ted nugent has been at this game for years, and admittedly, makes a convincing little conservative spoiled-brat, Mustaine pops up to say something like the above passage as more of a stunt. I am sure he honestly believes he is part of the wingnut machine, but instead of tagging along with Metallica, Slayer, and other real metal bands now he is a phony begging for attention from the fox news crowd.

Watch the video, and tell me what you think.



The quote starts at 2:38. Not to tell you what to think, but what kind of man really believes this shit?

Kentucky and Texas, rivals for the championship of dumb

First Texas republicans want to outlaw teaching critical thinking, now Kentucky republicans want special rights to have their dumbed down teaching of the "theory" of evolution not held against them in the ACT.

"Kentucky's Senate Republicans pushed successfully in 2009 to tie the state's testing program to national education standards, but three years later, they're questioning the results."

Makes you wonder why they wanted that in the first place. Maybe it would be cheaper and they could cut more taxes for the filthy rich? Anyway, the national standards actually ask professors what will help prepare students for college. Turns out, creationism is not that helpful in preparing for university science classes and now the gop in ky is stomping their feet.

“I think we are very committed to being able to take Kentucky students and put them on a report card beside students across the nation,” said Republican Sen. David Givens. “We’re simply saying to the ACT people we don’t want what is a theory to be taught as a fact in such a way it may damage students’ ability to do critical thinking.” (emphasis mine)

Wonkette put it nicely, "Let’s teach students about how Chuck E. Cheese made the Earth out of popsicle sticks three years ago. We don’t want to damage them." Because when stacking up the science of creationism against evolution, the difference is only a matter of degree.

No, I am not making this up. These are grown men somehow elected to office by masses of drooling morons, who want to ensure any of their constituents that can go to college are just as ignorant as they are.

“The theory of evolution is a theory, and essentially the theory of evolution is not science — Darwin made it up,” [Rep. Ben] Waide said. “My objection is they should ensure whatever scientific material is being put forth as a standard should at least stand up to scientific method. Under the most rudimentary, basic scientific examination, the theory of evolution has never stood up to scientific scrutiny.”

How many times will those of us in the reality-based community have to say "No, you are wrong" and "why do you insist on making a fool of yourself?" Please, knuckle-dragging "Christians" across the republic, GO AWAY. The fundamental problem is the term "theory" like "trend" is misunderstood. People think a "trend" is something that shows up, makes a splash and then goes away; like the pet rock or bell-bottoms. This is actually a fad. A trend is long-term tendencies in a group of variables; like the growth of inequality in America correlating with the growth of prisoners.

Matthew Chatterton nailed the problem that these mouth-breathing superstitious morons have:

"The most common argument I hear from creationists is 'Evolution is still a theory!' The source of that argument is a simple misunderstanding of scientific terminology.

There is the colloquial definition of the word “theory” and, then, there is the scientific definition. In everyday-speech, people use the colloquial definition to mean "idea", "conjecture", "hypothesis", "guess", or "assumption".

Fact of the matter is, the scientific definition is none of the above. In a scientific context, the word “theory” means, “An explanation of a natural phenomenon, strongly supported by evidence.'” (again, emphasis mine)

Of course, this distinction will need to be pointed out again and again. The term they are thinking of is hypothesis, and yes evolution was an hypothesis 150 years ago. All scientific theories start as hypotheses. Enough testing and they become theories. But the question must be asked, why do closed-minded state legislators hate the students so much that they are all but ensuring that the rest of the world passes us by? If I were a student about to go to college in Kentucky, I might make a fuss about this. They can't all be brainwashed as badly as their parents right?

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/08/15/3763138/kentuckys-gop-lawmakers-question.html#storylink=cpy

Projection: the 2012 edition

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Democalypse 2012 - The New New Low Edition
www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show Full Episodes

Political Humor & Satire Blog

The Daily Show on Facebook As usual, hat's off to the Daily Show's video editors. Not simply for bringing these wonderful montages to us and connecting the dots, but for having the guts of steel necessary to pore over endless footage of true vitriol and utter hypocrisy. This is one of those instances where, confronted with this latest tactic of distraction, the enemies of right-wing bizzarro world lose courage. The first reaction is "are you kidding me?" And then we try to think of one good example of divisiveness and hate. Whenever I am challenged by this baited trap I come up empty. So, thank you Jon Stewart and everyone at the Daily Show for sticking it to them.

This Video MIGHT Stop Romney From Becoming President

This Video MIGHT Stop Romney From Becoming President

My new Sweetheart

Soledad O'Brien, I think I love you after this exchange.

This is what journalists are supposed to do in a republic. The fourth estate has so long cowered in fear under the charge of "liberal media" that the rule is stenography, not active pursuit of truth.

And in this exchange, we get a glimpse of what sociopathic conservatives mean by "liberal media." It is not, as sunnunu says, "Democrat analysis" or "slap an Obama sticker on your forehead when you say this" but the possibility that independent analysis can exist at all. That there can be truth and validity outside of conservative control.

Perhaps if journalists did their jobs more often, politicians would not have such an easy time lying. Of course, they would try. Republicans have had such success bullying the media into laying down for their propaganda, that you can see sunnunu was visibly suprised by O'Brien's refusal to simply accept his "talking points." Or "the lie of the day" as it should more accurately be defined.

Evening Live

Some days it just hurts knowing you have to get out of bed.



Here's your damn gun rights!

I was just collecting some alarming stories and pictures about the well-armed maniacs running around our country and the lone wolves they encourage to actually kill other Americans. The anger behind the title has subsided but still, there are a few things every non-maniac American should know.

http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/study-demonstrates-how-right-wing-me#comments

http://nhmc.org/sites/default/files/Social%20Networks%20for%20Hate%20Speech_UCLA%20CSRC.pdf

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2012/08/03/god-loving-conservative-sticks-a-gun-in-the-face-of-liberals-image/








http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/assessment/2004/04/the_depressive_and_the_psychopath.html

"The Blade itself incites to violence"

On the USS Wisconsin no less

Especially when you are a one term governor announcing that another chicken-hawk is going to be your running mate.

Is this the first senseless shooting of the week?

Aggregated by Huffington Post:

"A gunman in College Station, Texas was killed by the police on Monday after he allegedly murdered a law-enforcement officer and a 65-year-old male civilian.
Constable Brian Bachmann, 41, a Brazos County sheriff's deputy since 1993, was allegedly shot and killed after he served an eviction notice to the rented house close to the Texas A&M campus. 4 others were wounded in the incident. The civilian victim has yet to be identified."

Hmm, Texas A&M, who do we know who came from that environment? Oh yes, our local gauleiter Owen Robinson. This gun maniac in our midst had this to say about this particular shooting at his Alma Mater. That's right, nothing of his own. Passionate as hell about his right to carry a gun into the library where so many of us take our little children and no one has yet to shoot up, but silent about someone using a gun to kill a cop.

From dictionary.com:

"so·ci·o·path
[soh-see-uh-path, soh-shee-] Show IPA

noun Psychiatry .
a person with a psychopathic personality whose behavior is antisocial, often criminal, and who lacks a sense of moral responsibility or social conscience."

Let's play what if for just a second... "Guns don't kill people, people kill people" How many people would this particular person be able to kill in this instance without a gun? Don't conservatives have a fit when a cop is killed anymore? Or is it just when black people shoot cops?

"The blade itself incites to violence"

Paul Ryan, good riddance

If the Center for American Progress can pull this much out of the disgusting career of Romney's new ticket "balancer" in less than 12 hours, imagine what a determined opposition party could do to him.

Read through the list a bit. Is this the profile of a man with the best interests of the republic at heart? Do any Americans with a functioning brain really want ryan a heartbeat away from the presidency?

As far as can be seen right now, ryan is also still running for his house seat in Racine. Kind of like Joe Lieberman still running for his senate seat while on the ticket in 2000. That sends a signal of confidence, blah.

Hopefully, with the entire nation's non-fascist attention on the depths of contempt ryan has for the 99% he will lose that seat.



"If there was any question about the weak-willed Willard “Mitt” Romney’s selection of Ryan demonstrates an appeasement of the fascist forces already building in the legislatures of this nation to disturbing, if not alarming levels.... We must not fail the Republic, or democracy. The Tea Party is a danger to our way of living that must end."--Brian Ross

Non-historians and why they suck

This is David Barton, he is a schmuck.


NPR recently branded him "the most influencial evangelical you've never heard of." As barton puts it, his mission is "historical reclamation," as in Ministry of Truth style manipulation. In short this guy whats to "add God and stir" to American history, because you know, Christians are neglected and oppressed by academic historians. First of all, he is not interested in writing history about Christians, but "Christians" the kind of narrow minded psychos whom we hoped had excited stage right during the Middle Ages. And these "Christians" are not the theocratic New Englanders who for a small stretch of history did blend church and state, and burned witches. Barton wants you to know that our Founding Fathers were fundamentalists and everything you know is wrong.

First off, his credentials. None. "He has a bachelor's degree in Christian education from Oral Roberts University and runs a company called WallBuilders in Aledo, Texas." At least a charleton like Newt Gingrich, listed as a fan by the article, has a doctorate in history, however shadily he got it. Barton doesn't even pretend. This is Triumph of the Will stuff taken to its fevered conclusion by the "Christian Fascists" Chris Hedges analyzed in his book of the same name.



Second, he argues by simple force of assertion. This is called rationalization. He concludes that the Founding Fathers and many other significant figures in American history were just as crazy as he is and selectively finds evidence that can be tortured into an interpretation approaching his beliefs. None of his research methods approach anything other than wishful thinking. His conclusions are better known as "lying."

Finally, the damage done to our society by Barton and his ilk is a problem, not an issue. The christian fascists have discredited themselves as a legitimate faction in our society and do not deserve to be taken seriously. The only issue that is realistic in this situation concerns freedom of speech. Does this snake oil salesman have the right to lie to desperately gullible people? Or does society have a right to defend itself from this kind of radical destruction of our history?

It is incumbant on all real historians to confront the lies of david barton and his followers. Historians often disagree on interpretations, but this re-invention of America as Theocracy is something real historians and all Americans interested in real history need to be aware of. And we must inoculate our citizens and institutions from the poisonous virus of Christocentric revisionism.

David Barton is a schmuck, and a liar. He isn't even a very good liar. If journalists at NPR can expose you as a fraud this easily, it is no wonder you peddle your wares to the gullible sheep and the wolves who feed on their ignorance and blind obedience.

Senator Reid and Romney's tax returns

At least someone from the Democratic Party is crying foul.

Matt Taibbi thinks that someone should be the president and not surrogates. Fair enough but we are talking about a group of people who could not summon the will to effectively oppose the rush to war or any other disaster thought up by the republicans. The world does look different from the position of responsibility. For the first time in memory Democrats are showing a spine, however tenuously. This should be encouraged, not denigrated. Taibbi may be the roughest hombre on this side of the aisle, but hey man, the bad guys are over there!

Any resistance to the plutocratic world order represented by Mitt Romney should be celebrated. Maybe the evidence is just too damning this time around, or maybe the spin from the pirate class is glaringly obvious to "independents." Whatever the reason, Democrats both in office and private life should support any moves by anyone to stop the jolly bandits from bullshitting their way into power again. We've seen this movie before, it never ends well. The Democratic Party at this point is really a battered shell and any signs of life are to be celebrated, not excoriated. There will be time enough after beating back the extremists of the right to try and nurse liberalism back to health but for now the barbarians are at the gates. Let's set aside the circular firing squad act until after the election.

Sure the Obama administration has been a disappointment on many levels, but what is an objective assessment? The way to make things better is within, not outside of. There are just too many crazy teabaggers ready to slit the republic's throat for reasons that make sense only within their fevered brains. Let's just for once cheer our flawed champions, realistically the alternative is not simply being out of power but being out of time.

Wade Page

I just watched the NBC nightly news segment on Sikh Temple shooter Wade Michael Page. They showed a picture of him in one of those "Larry the Cable Guy" shirts with the sleeves cut off, then interviewed his neighbor. The neighbor claimed the circular tattoo on his shoulder had something to do with 9/11/01 and all the Americans who died that day.

The Celtic Cross with 14 in the center does not have any connection to 9/11. I would like to know what the heck they all keep talking about.
Here's what the "14" means.  "We must secure the existence of our people and a future for White Children."

That should really tell you all you need to know about his motivations. There are not that many of these guys around, but they are serious. Not beer-bellied teabaggers whining and moaning about how the [non-white, non-christian people] are taking over. And not a pussy like this either:


So how do we tell the difference? I don't know for sure, but a real skinhead would make a punk like kevin here eat the curb. Just for being a poseur.

UPDATE: Motherjones took a closer look at Page's tattoos and came to a similar conclusion. One think I am puzzled over is what was Page doing in WI in the first place? He seems to have been all over and only recently came to this state. The reports point to his girlfriend, and some falling out they had sparked Page's decision to go to the Temple. This picture is now making the rounds, and while it is certainly correct, if law enforcement is to stop the "next" one the why? is an important question.


I do not want anything in this essay to suggest that I am rationalizing or even excusing mass murder. But there should be a distinction made between a real Neo-Nazi who simply sees all nonwhite people as inferior beings unworthy of life and a willfully ignorant domestic terrorist like kevin above who will make threats to try and scare people. Neo-Nazis like Page are not really terrorists, they do not primarily try to intimidate their targets. They simply want to kill them.

Oh well, what's on TV?

"The unions agree, sacrifices must be made. Computers never go on strike. To save the working man you've got to put him out to pasture... Looks like we'll have to let you go, doesn't it feel fulfilling to know, that even a human being is now obsolete. And there's nothing in hell we'll let you do about it."
--Dead Kennedys: Soup Is Good Food


The strait-jacket was placed around our unsuspecting shoulders in an embrace of American exceptionalism and slowly tightened with each exhortation of our greatness...

Until now, there's nothing to do but wait...

"So say 'Uncle' and we'll take you to the mental health zoo. Force feed you mind-numbing chemicals until even the outside world looks great. High-tech science research labs, it costs too much to bury all the dead. The mutilated, diseased infested surplus rats who can't be used anymore so they're dumped, with no minister present, into a spiraling corkscrew dispose-all unit. Ground into stew and flushed away." Oh the humanity!

Shootings at Oak Creek Sikh Temple

Why?
Another lone gunman. Another massacre.
The murders near Milwaukee today are heartbreaking. It may be cliche, it may not help in the slightest, but this GH really does extend the greatest sympathy for the victims and all their loved ones.
But still; why?

Because they look a little different from what Wisconsinites are "supposed" to look?
Uh, oh, bad gh! How dare you suggest race, ethnicity, religion, or any other reason may have influenced the white male shooter! If there is anything more likely to bring squeals of protest from you know who(s) than questioning why their gun rights are more important than my or your life, it's using the "r" word.

Oh, but who cares? They aren't "us." They are really faking it in order to get sympathy or gummint handouts or something right? They, whoever the "they" is in what ever circumstance, don't love their children like "we" do; or their neighbors, or anything else. Right?

I'm sure the cops love the publicity. Wonder how professional, trained law enforcement officers really feel about the idea of armed civilians getting in their way as the concealed carry advocates fantasize about? One thing is for sure, I didn't start this. The nra was politicizing guns before I even got out of the service. So when the problem of wholly preventable gun murders became an issue for the second amendment worshippers has nothing to do with me. I just have to live in the society they made.

Seriously though gun maniacs, when the police look like this do you really think you would stand a chance against them in open revolt? So what is the deal?

How many times will this happen? How many times will maniacs rise up to commit these horrific acts of violence? And are they becoming routine, almost normal occurances? A society is sick that cannot even question its assumptions about who holds the monopoly on violence.

"The blade itself incites to violence"

Does this distinction even exist anymore?

Justin Rosario, the "filthy liberal scum" recently posted about a divide in the "pro-life" (ho ho) community.

"There are two kinds of pro-life people. The ones that are actually pro-life and oppose abortion to the extent that they will use any legal method to reduce unwanted pregnancies and not just try to ban abortions." (emphasis in original)

"But then there’s the other kind of pro-'life' person. This group doesn’t really care about abortion at all but only seek to use unwanted pregnancies to punish women for having sex. These people are the sickest of creatures. The first group sees pregnancy as a miracle. The second sees it as retribution for being a whore. The first is motivated by love. The second is motivated by a hatred of women that is difficult to fathom."

I assume the former group must exist, though personally I have only encountered various examples of the latter who hold the "hatred of women" far higher than the love of the "unborn." Not just men either. In fact the women that hate other women for being "whores" in some cases are even more vicious. It always comes down to this mythical source of support called "welfare." The right has done such a wonderful job demonizing that word and anyone who dares seek public assistance that in my lifetime I have yet to come across anyone who does not share the basic premise that "they" "deserve" to starve in the street. There are never any extenuating circumstances that could justify anyone getting anything at any time, no matter what.

Mr. FLS stated that the exchange he reported came about due to this picture that I posted recently as well.

I still am taken aback by the stark, concise TRUTH of this picture. But it really helps explain how right-wing demagogues are able to channel the hatred of women and the joy of sex and intimacy by many of these pro life charlatans, as Mr. FLS has termed them, into attacks on the very legitimacy of the state. It is also easy to see why the 1% have such an easy time both perpetrating and escaping any accountability for their crimes when so many plc's are out there willing to jump down any one's throat who does not share their hatred of neighbors. This is a fundamental problem in America today, the reason OWS and other genuine protest movements are unable to gain any traction against the crusty greedheads that make so many Americans poor. So long as this significant minority can bleat out "TWO LEGS BAD, FOUR LEGS GOOD" on cue it will be nearly impossible to assemble the critical mass necessary for real change.

I would be more than happy to make common cause with religious people who genuinely want us all to be able to raise our families in peace and actually reduce unwanted pregnancies. But as long as these wolves exist among them it will most likely not happen.

Excessive noise

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2012/07/29/debate/

“Frightened though they were, some of the animals might possibly have protested, but at this moment the sheep set up their usual bleating of ‘Four legs good, two legs bad,’ which went on for several minutes and put an end to the discussion. ” George Orwell, Animal Farm