Inspire Political Discourse

Get rid of Joe Wilson!

There is a larger issue than health care, and that is the morality of those who govern us. I am tired of the white sheeters, and I won't be silent.

Ignoring the T R A S H  won't make it go away, it just ends up stinking more.

Donate to WIlson's opponent:   http://www.actblue.com/page/kossacks4miller

Contribute to an ad to censure Joe Wilson: https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/targetwilson?refcode=pof_e1#&key=25182547

info on Wilson:  http://www.vote-usa.org/Intro.aspx?Id=SCWilsonJoe

UPDATE – SEPT. 12, 2009

Wilson, once considered one of the safest of the Republican incumbents, is now in a dead heat with his opponent, Rob Miller, according to polls.

Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) finds himself electorally vulnerable in the wake of his "You lie!" outburst during President Obama's address to a joint session of Congress, according to the latest numbers from Public Policy Polling.

Rep. Wilson (R-S.C.) trails challenger Rob Miller 44 to 43 percent in the poll. Wilson defeated Miller 54-46 in the 2008 election. […..]

The Republicans Are Freaking Crazy!

I suppose it would be too much to ask that the Republicans behave like normal human beings. You know, valuing things like TRUTH, empathy, intelligence, etc.. Argh…..they are the absolute WORST I have ever seen them. From the MSM down to the Jeebus freaks on the streets, they are lying, ranting, conniving, and while it may not be politically correct to say it, I truly believe that they would rather see this country completely destroyed than see the Democrats in power. And it isn’t like they don’t understand what their party did to this country. Hell, a complete idiot could see it. Talk about the verge of destruction……

Currently, as always, in their inimitable fashion, they are running around like the proverbial chickens with their heads cut off. But, unlike those chickens, they can not stop whining, lying, squawking. This is apparently a manifestation of their inability to accept the political demise of the GOP, as evidenced by their thorough drubbing at the polls during the last two election cycles.

So anyway, the past few days have simply been the same old, same old in

A case in point could be made of Bill O’Reilly, who is now known as the the GOP’s Stalker of Liberal Bloggers.

wingnut land. Media who steps all over and out of the boundaries of intelligent discourse, and dimwitted followers who….what else but follow, of course.

O’Reilly reacted to a single comment posted by Amanda Terkel to the ThinkProgress.org blog. It happened like this.

When O’Reilly announced that he was scheduled to speak at a fundraiser for the Alexa Foundation, a group that supports rape survivors, Terkel posted the following:

TERKEL: In the past, however, O’Reilly has made controversial comments about an 18-year-old woman, Jennifer Moore, who was raped and murdered, implying that it was partially her fault. O’Reilly called her “moronic,” adding:

OREILLY: “Now Moore, Jennifer Moore, 18, on her way to college. She was 5-foot-2, 105 pounds, wearing a miniskirt and a halter top with a bare midriff. Now, again, there you go. So every predator in the world is gonna pick that up at two in the morning. She’s walking by herself on the West Side Highway, and she gets picked up by a thug. All right. Now she’s out of her mind, drunk.” source

Please note that Terkel’s post in no way criticized the Alexa Foundation, as you watch the video of O’Reilly’s producer going after Terkel.

Terkel’s own account of the ambush by O’Reilly Factor producer, and prime hitman, Jesse Watters.

Watch Olbermann’s interview of Terkel below.

And the end result? ThinkProgress.org is now conducting a campaign to end O’Reilly’s show. Whether it will be successful or not is anyone’s guess, but advertisers are reacting. Join the campaign and help to put an end to this kind of harassment by Republicans on liberals.

Meanwhile, I am bloody sick of thinking about Republicans today. Ciao.

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UPDATE NO. 3 – April 1: O’Reilly lies again, claims Think Progress smeared a rape victim, when in fact, HE smeared a rape victim. Video at TP. From ThinkProgress.org:

Yesterday on The Factor, Bill O’Reilly addressed ThinkProgress in his “Reality Check” portion of the show, “a segment set up to defeat deceit.” And of course, O’Reilly proceeded to peddle deceit, claiming that “far left zealots…attacked a rape victim and her family because they asked me to speak at their fundraiser.” Wrong. We never attacked the Alexa Foundation; we simply highlighted quotes from O’Reilly that were unsympathetic towards a rape victim. O’Reilly has never explained why he implied that women who dress in a certain way or consume too much alcohol should perhaps expect to be raped and murdered. Watch last night’s segment.

UPDATE NO. 2 - March 27: Olbermann names O’Reilly “Worst Person” for his stalking of liberal blogger, Amanda Terkel.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

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UPDATE NO. 1 - March 27: UPS announces that it will stop advertising on the O’Reilly show due to his stalking/harassment of liberal blogger, Amanda Terkel. From ThinkProgress.org:

In response to our Stop Supporting The O’Reilly Harassment Machine campaign, UPS told us yesterday that it was investigating whether to continue supporting O’Reilly’s show. “We are sensitive to the type of television programming where our messages and presence are associated and continually review choices to affect future decisions,” spokeswoman Susan Rosenberg told us.

Today UPS announced it will stop advertising on O’Reilly’s show. Here is the statement UPS emailed out just moments ago:

Thank you for sending an e-mail expressing concern about UPS advertising during the Bill O’Reilly show on FOX News. We do consider such comments as we review ad placement decisions which involve a variety of news, entertainment and sports programming. At this time, we have no plans to continue advertising during this show.

Reuters/India image.

Update: Obama Photo Linked to Cartoon

If you haven't yet read it, click here to read the story about the cartoon published by The New York Post today. The cartoon, seen below, has become a major controversy, not only nationally, but internationally. Thanks to the right-wing owned Post (Rupert Murdoch), America is looking like a less than decent place to live. A place where the 44th president is in fact, depicted as a very dead and rabid chimpanzee.
On the Huffington Post, Sam Stein reports that in the actual newspaper today, the cartoon page was preceded by a page with an image of President Obama signing the stimulus bill, as seen below.

In the page preceding a New York Post cartoon that depicts drafters of the stimulus legislation as a gun-downed chimpanzee, the paper published a large photo of Barack Obama signing that very piece of legislation.

And according to The New York Times, a newsroom employee at the Post reported a major backlash via telephone. The employee also indicated that many Post staff members were themselves upset.

A newsroom employee at The Post, who spoke on condition of anonymity because employees were not permitted to comment on the matter, said its newsroom received many calls of complaints on Wednesday morning after the publication of the cartoon. “Every line was lit up for several hours,” the employee said. “The phones on the city desk have never rung like that before.”

On my earlier story, Lyn (see below for more info on Lyn) left a comment as to her opinion. It is a comment, the content of which, has been echoed across the net today by many other right wingers. And it is a load of unadulterated crap. Bolding is mine, comment is Lyn's:

NO it does not imply violence against any elected official. It's just a cartoon.
Mr. Delonas has free speech rights. His cartoon makes a critical assessment of the frenzied politics that gave us the Obama stimulus/fraud package.
There is no racism in this cartoon. Get over it people. It's a cartoon.

Oh please, darlin', let's just briefly examine the 'parody' parallel. According to the  NY Post Editor in Chief,  "It was a clear parody of..."

So, a chimp on Xanax, in an unprovoked attack, almost kills a woman and has to be shot and killed by police  = legislators and/or the President writing the stimulus legislation.

Yeah! I get it! That's a REAL KNEE-SLAPPER! I bet the woman who had her face ripped off by the chimp might have a thing or two to say about that!

And hey, that doesn't even address the issue of how black Americans have traditionally been portrayed as apes or ape-like in political cartoons for too damn many years. This sort of transparent racist ugliness is just another disgusting addition to a series dating back to the days of slavery in America.

Furthermore, and most importantly, the depiction of violence perpetrated on a rabid chimpanzee equated with either the President or with our legislators, is completely sick and inappropriate, and has not got a damn thing to do with free speech! Remember "incitement to violence"? 

IPD Random Politics Weekly - February 1, 2009

Cartoon by Dan Wasserman

 

Where's the loyalty? Phil Gingrey, in his short-lived blast @ Rush Limbaugh, thoroughly emasculated in front of the world. The two GOP tools he was defending, John Boehner and Mitch McConnell, watched without lifting the proverbial finger. Gingrey is forced to apologize to Limbaugh. McConnell and Boehner are completely pathetic asses. [H/T Jason Linkins]

Johnny and Rush -  John McCain, who has long loved to call himself bipartisan, and sure as hell shoved it down our throats falsely when campaigning, stands up for NO. 1 GOP partisan, Rush Limbaugh in his assholishness towards President Obama.
McCain.YOU.SUCK. Limbaugh.YOU.SUCK.MORE.

The Dems and the business tax cuts -  Give it up. The partisan Repugs are not holding out a vote, they are holding out forked, sharp sticks. Take the damn business tax cuts back out, and tell 'em to screw themselves. We have a freaking majority. Use that power. Repugs = IRRELEVANT.

President Obama, and the 111th Congress -  Wall Street needs to understand that they can not take taxpayer money and then proceed to do business as freaking usual. Make them take back those bonuses and put someone in place to monitor their every idiotic move. You owe it to us. The American taxpayers. Really. DO. IT. 2012 is approaching.

That's it for this week, unless you have something to add via a comment.

Off the Cuff - Just Deal With It!

UPDATE: Sunday, January 18
Another report from media watchdog, Media Matters : "The AP Concocts the Cost of Obama's Inauguration".

UPDATE: Saturday, January 17
A report from Eric Boehlart on Media Matters, points to the farce that the right-wing media is conducting re Obama's inauguration and it's potential cost, as well as the comparisons with Bush 43's inaugurations. Very detailed/thorough investigative reporting. Read it and weep, right-wingers.
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[begin minor rant] Friday, January 16
For the whining right-wingers, and some dems too, who don't bother to fact-check before they speak, you can relax. After reading a post in a primarily right-wing forum this evening, I did some checking, and the inauguration is largely being paid for by donors, NOT funded by your tax dollars. So, get over it, and stop the damn whining. Sore losers.

“Though the federal government is pitching in $10 million toward the cost of Obama’s Inauguration, his team is planning festivities that could cost as much as $50 million.

The Right Wing Stuff That Seriously Annoyed Me This Past Week

The G.O.P. Economic Stimulus Plan

Wrapping themselves in their usual partisan rhetoric, the right-wing bloggers are fiercely deriding any GOP pol who dares to voice support for, or even just remain silent about, Obama's stimulus plan. An example, from Hot Air:

“Like the rest of America’s economic braintrust, he’s not sure it’ll work at all. The furthest he’ll go is to say he’s “confident” it’ll “save or create” three million jobs; if you’re wondering what that means in real terms, just pick the number of jobs that you expect will be lost by 2010 and add three million to that. That’s how many we’ll be told would have been lost if this hadn’t passed. In fact, it’s his own pessimism that explains why he’s been so conciliatory towards the Blue Dogs and the GOP: It’s not about “changing the tone,” it’s about knowing that the ship’s going down and wanting Republicans on deck with him so that they don’t capitalize in the midterms. For reasons that escape me, the GOP’s evidently going to play along even though they’re powerless to stop the stimulus anyway. Maybe McConnell realized that opposing it is now semi-officially unpatriotic.”

And from Michelle Malkin:

Leaders of the Anti-Civil Rights "Yes on Prop 8" Group "Command" the California Court to Nullify 18,000 Marriages

In a lawsuit filed by the leaders of the anti-civil rights group responsible for Prop 8, and representing the evangelicals, the Mormons, and all those well-meaning demented religious fanatics who think that they must have the ability to regulate the lives of us all, have "commanded", yes, the language used was "COMMANDED" the California courts to "bow" to the will of the people, and nullify 18,000 marriages.

From Dr. Jeffrey Feldman at the Huffington Post:

“The idea that civil rights can be stripped by a simple majority plebescite is not just unethical, but actually violates the principles on which our system of government is based.  First off, it is unconstitutional to pass laws that deprive citizens of rights guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution (e.g., equal protection), a basic point the Prop 8 folks do not seem to get.  Second, the purpose of the judiciary is to uphold the Constitution as form of systemic balance to the other two branches of government--not to bow down to them.

The language of the 'Yes To 8' brief suggests that group see itself in a moral struggle not just to strip gay people of rights, but to mobilize public against the California judiciary.

Time will tell which effort will hold the day.  However, I suspect there are few judges in California (or anywhere else) who respond well when lawyers 'command' them to 'bow' down.  Come to think of it, nobody responds well.  And when you think about it, that really is the point of this whole Prop 8 nonsense, is it not?   Try to strip American citizens of their equal rights, and when that does not work:  raise a bloody stink about the supposed despotic decline of the United States judicial system.”

Meanwhile, California attorney general, and former governor, Jerry Brown, has filed a lawsuit claiming that Prop 8 is in violation of the civil rights of "a classification of people". Hey, we told you that in November! Below, quoting myself from my original article.

“This being the case, Prop 8 is not a matter of legitimate policy. It is a law which revokes the federally guaranteed civil rights of a classification of people, and is thus unconstitutional, and would not hold up to a review by the Supreme Court.”

And Brown, as quoted in the LA Times:

“Proposition 8 must be invalidated because the amendment process cannot be used to extinguish fundamental constitutional rights without compelling justification.”

And indeed, both Brown and I are right. My question is, when he wins his lawsuit, how enraged will these prop 8 purveyors be? Ah, ever helpful, I have some suggestions for the inimitable purveyors of hate. Got any of your own? Tell me in a comment.

Facts for the Right-Wingers Still Obsessing About the "Born Conspiracy"

I am quite sorry to disappoint those who believe in the validity of the "born conspiracy". I am however, bloody tired of listening to/reading the truly and deeply pathetic opinions of those who can not bear the thought of a black man occupying the White House (and yes, I think that has much to do with the fringe who are so bent on the idea that they can have this president-elect declared unqualified).

As you should know, the Constitution does not require that both of your parents be US citizens in order to become the president.  

Below you will find the full text of the 14th Amendment. Pay close attention to nos. 1 and 3, as they both discuss matters relevant to the  "born conspiracy".

Further, please note the word "naturalized". The definition of naturalized/naturalization via Wikipedia:

Naturalization is the acquisition of citizenship or nationality by somebody who was not a citizen or national of that country when he or she was born.
In general, basic requirements for naturalization are that the applicant hold a legal status as a full-time resident for a minimum period of time and that the applicant promise to obey and uphold that country's laws, to which an oath or pledge of allegiance is sometimes added. Some countries also require that a naturalized national must renounce any other citizenship that he currently holds, forbidding dual citizenship, but whether this renunciation actually causes loss of the person's original citizenship will again depend on the laws of the countries involved.

And the definition of "natural born" via Wikipedia.

The United States Constitution requires that Presidents (and Vice Presidents) of the United States be natural born citizens of the United States. Therefore, it is undisputed that children of American citizens born in the U.S. are eligible to hold the office of President upon reaching the required age, and that persons naturalized as U.S. citizens after birth are disqualified from holding that office.

For further information on citizenship and related matters, click here.

Finally, if the Supreme Court agrees to hear any of these moronic cases being thrown at it, it will likely do so out of a desire to finally make it perfectly clear, that these cases have no validity whatsoever.

Now, do try to find something else to obsess about because this whole thing has become utterly mind-numbing in it's stupidity, and you really should attend to your mental health before it fails you completely.

Amendment 14 - Citizenship Rights. Ratified 7/9/1868. Note History

1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Thinly Veiled Racism and a Refusal to Publish Dissenting Opinions

I normally ignore the really rancid right-wing blogs, but last night, I found one in my in-box, and clicked to drop back. I noticed that a post, second from the top, was something about racism, a topic which always catches my attention, because racists tend to infuriate me.

So I read it, and left a comment. Now you have to know me to realize that I get so angry when dealing with this kind of thing that I tend to just start typing, and it doesn't always come out as very girly and nice. This time, I made an actual effort to be as nice and girly as possible, non-accusatory, and simply explained why Congressman Rush's statement was not racist, in my opinion.

Al Qaeda Unhappy Re Press Bias

Al Qaeda Condemns "Unfair" Pro-Obama Press Bias

This is just too funny, and also pathetic. These psycho religious fanatics who have attacked us, killing thousands of Americans, are complaining that the media is biased against them and for Obama??? PLEASE, get a freaking grip and go set yourselves on fire or something. How utterly and completely ludicrous.

Rant: the bloody annoying neocons need to get over it and stop promoting lies

I grew very bloody tired of hearing the neocons lie about Obama during the campaign. Enough so that I totally lost it on a forum, and had to force myself to stop posting in order to retain my self respect. And, I do not bloody care to hear any more of the stupid lies. I doubt that anyone else cares to hear them either. Still, some people just keep on spewing.

FYI, you know who you are. Obama is a US citizen. Get over it. Move on. Or don't. But please keep it to yourself. Stop publishing lies, and work on something that will increase your iq. Seriously. Believing all that garbage makes you intellect impaired in my opinion. And seriously boring.