Trash talk from Right, Hate from the Left?

There's been a lot of trash talk from the Daily News Record editorial board this week. It's strange and absurd and pitiful all at the same time. I remember these debates in 1967 and 68. Re-hashing the 60's seems to be almost as much fun as re-fighting the Civil War (another blog entry on another day). One simply can't parse this a point at a time.... you need the whole thing from the Horse's Mouth:

More Hate From The Left Posted 2009-04-22

Speaking on MSNBC’s “Countdown with Keith Olberman” the other day, comedienne Janeane Garofalo unbosomed herself of an Orwellian “Two Minutes Hate” against Americans who participated in the nationwide Tea Party on April 15. They are, said she, racists:

“It’s not about bashing Democrats, it’s not about taxes, they have no idea what the Boston Tea Party was about, they don’t know their history at all. This is about hating a black man in the White House. This is racism straight up.”

The evidence for this calumny is, of course, lacking, which is why it is a calumny.

Continuing the defamation, the erstwhile psycho-neurologist said conservatives, unlike “reasonable” people, are congenitally deranged because their “limbic brain” is too large. Undoubtedly, Ms. Garofalo means “reasonable” like herself or Weathermen terrorist Bill Ayers, but in any event, she added that because most of the protestors were white racists, any blacks who participated suffer from Stockholm Syndrome, whereby a kidnap victim sympathizes with his captors.

Add Ms. Garofalo’s ad hominem attack to last week’s campus shout-down of a former congressman at the University of North Carolina, and you see the genuine left for what it is: nasty, intolerant and totalitarian to its core.

My response:

RE: More Hate From The Left

These two silly editorials (including yesterday's screed about UNC campus looneys) are just too funny. Complaining about an entertainer being outlandish and over the top? This is amazing! Who does the EdiPublican think this is, Rush Limbaugh? I know for sure now that Mr. Editogus has surely acknowledged the "Boss as his Leader. He thinks Garofalo is the leader of the Democratic Party???? To be taken seriously???? ROFL!

Whining about old 60's radicals? Calling us names is he? Well I think he's just "One Toke Over the Line," off the deep end, irrelevant, old, washed up, tired, and still fighting the battles of the 60's. Does this sad sack understand that comedians, radio talk show hosts, and even pundits are SUPPOSED to say and write outlandish things! They are the court jesters, the "truth sayers" (Yes, even Rush speaks "truthfully" for ditto heads, racists, and homophobes everywhere.)

It's taking it all so seriously that ends up being so silly! Refusal to acknowledge the lack of sane leadership and the total abandonment of the Republican Party and the "conservative movement" to its most extreme elements, leads to poignant, pouty, pitiful, prose like this.

Since this piece was predicated on the Tancredo presentation at UNC... (the unamed congressman in the Op-Ed) I'll just post this here, not to defend one group of radicals over the other, but to simply suggest that the EdiRadical is an extremist railing against extremists. It's boring, its irrelevant, it's whining, and much more like an attempt at wingnut propaganda than journalism.

Now, about Tancredo.... Yup the source is from that bastion of Liberal Righteousness, the Rolling Stone. All Hail Rock and Roll!!

Tom Tancredo - "the undisputed king of Republican Bigotry" supported by Gordon Baum, head of the Council for Conservative Citizens, a "pro-white" group that lauds Tancredo for protecting America from a "full-scale invasion" of Latin immigrants.

"Elected to the House in 1998, Tancredo has not only led the fight to deport every undocumented worker in America -- a proposal that would cost at least $200 billion -- but has called for halting all immigration, legal and otherwise. In one unforgettable move, Tancredo wanted to deport the family of an undocumented high school boy who was profiled in The Denver Post for his perfect grades.

The grandson of Italian immigrants, Tancredo traces his interest in politics to the eighth grade, when he played Fidel Castro in a class assignment. He urges America to reject "the siren song of multiculturalism" and depicts Islam as "a civilization bent on destroying ours." In September, when Pope Benedict XVI sparked riots by condemning Islam as "evil," Tancredo urged him not to apologize. Even the right has noted his unbridled looniness on the subject: In July, when Tancredo proposed that America respond to any future terrorist attack by bombing Mecca and other holy sites, the National Review came to an unavoidable conclusion: "Tom Tancredo is an idiot."

....and an extremist and GREAT bait for anyone who cares about humane treatment of immigrants, civil and human rights and of course campus radicals of every stripe.

Mr. Ediwhiner, puhleezz stop doing this:

"you see the genuine left for what it is: nasty, intolerant and totalitarian to its core."

and...

"What happened at UNC is what normal, patriotic Americans, particularly conservatives who try to express themselves, are up against: raw hatred, intolerance and violence."

You are describing yourself.... you see... it makes perfect sense this way too:

"you see the genuine right for what it is: nasty, intolerant and totalitarian to its core."

and

"What happened at UNC is what normal, patriotic Americans, particularly liberals who try to express themselves, are up against: raw hatred, intolerance and violence."

Go to your room.

Stand By Me...

Playing For Change | Song Around The World "Stand By Me" from Concord Music Group on Vimeo.

This video came through my inbox this morning. It's fantastic and evidently one of several more to come. I just preordered the DVD and got a T-Shirt. It's time to do something positive for the world, the economy, and for ourselves. Check this out!!

From the award-winning documentary, "Playing For Change: Peace Through Music", comes the first of many "songs around the world" being released independently. Featured is a cover of the Ben E. King classic by musicians around the world adding their part to the song as it traveled the globe. This video and "Don't Worry" are available now at iTunes. Other songs such as "One Love" will be released as digital downloads soon; followed by the film soundtrack and DVD in stores on 4.28.09.

Order the "Stand By Me" and "Don't Worry" now at iTunes!

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Join the Movement to help build schools, connect students, and inspire communities in need through music.

The GOP in a Corner

Speaking of the party faithful:

The GOP both in Virginia and nationwide has very effectively boxed itself into a corner. It's overall strategy is to never, never, never, give in to Democrats. This universal opposition creates all kinds of problems and has made it much harder to be relevant in any meaningful way.

The GOP finds itself solidly aligned FOR the wealthy, FOR the Wall Street robber barons, FOR the use of torture, and FOR the destruction of our environment. Use it or lose it is the battle cry. GOP spokesman, Newt Gingrich, just today has called for the preservation of the nuclear arsenal, effectively declaring support FOR Mutually Assured Destruction. Armageddon anyone? Get real. He's also accused Mr. Obama of waging war against the church, along with the usual accusations of being a socialist/marxist... again, get real.

The close association with the religious right pits the GOP AGAINST single mothers, pregnant women, teachers, civil servants, unions, gays and lesbians, all ethnic groups that aren't white and blue-eyed, liberals, moderates, libertarians, atheists, and scientists. (to name a few)

A blistering report in Rolling Stone this month lays out the bare details (pun intended) of the sex and drug scandals in the Bush Dept. of Interior. It also lays out in detail the incredible corruption that makes the Teapot Dome scandal look like child's play. The GOP is FOR corporate coziness with the very departments of government that are responsible for protecting valuable national resources.

Is there any political room to maneuver in this tiny little corner they've gotten into? I'm sure they think so. My question for Republicans is simply this..... Are you Republicans first or Americans first?

Claptrap or Opinion, Journalism or Propaganda?

The President is away, it's a slow news day so this might be a good time for the following observation:

The DNR editorial page is filled today with the silliest wingnuttery of recent memory. "Ain't you got somethin' better to do" comes to mind. We have xenophobia, tax cuts for the wealthy, school vouchers, Obama's citizenship, and religious revivalism. Is there really nothing else of note going on in the world that just might be important enough for a thoughtful, well reasoned editorial.

I'm eternally grateful for the occasional writings of E. J. Dionne simply as a contrast to the Righteous and Rowdy Ranting of Michelle Malkin or the Listless and Liberty-less Libertarianism of Walter Williams. Mixed in with the pompous, elitist sneering of Charles Krauthammer, one would think that there just might be a bit of right wing prejudice in the editorial pages... amusing.

Here's an open invitation to the editorial staff to consider a few liberal voices of reason from the Creator's Syndicate that might offer a bit of balance to the OP-ED page:

Tony Blankely - Washington Times and the Right of "Left, Right and Center" a popular podcast from KCRW in San Francisco.

Joe Conason - writes a weekly column for Salon.com. Very insightful and leftward leaning. Good fodder for conversation. Heck, I might just buy a paper to read his pieces!

Glenn Greenwald - ahem... a left wingnut, but a constitutional lawyer and columnist who offers a nice counterweight to the screaming talking heads on the right. Mr. Editor, do you have the courage to put leftwing claptrap on the op-ed page? This would be a perfectly opposite opinion to the right wing claptrap that appears EVERY day!

Robert Scheer - Editor of TruthDig.com and former columnist of the LA Times. Here's a conservative liberal voice. (No that's not an oxymoron.) He's an old time liberal with some serious pragmatic bonifides.

I'm calling you out Mr. Editor. Do you have any journalistic courage? Are you afraid of the liberal point of view? Are you afraid that your conservative readers will boycott your paper and you'll lose readership? More importantly, are you more interested in journalism or propaganda?

I'm pulling for you my friend. Wouldn't you like to see some serious debate?

Makin' it up...."Be Afraid" cont....

The Budget passed both the Senate and the House. NOT ONE Republican voted for the bill in the House OR Senate. Is there a crisis? What's going on?

It's easy to rail in fear against the unknown. All those numbers projected out for 10 years? They are just "makin' 'em up." All the graphs and charts you've seen are simply extrapolated from current information. It may or may not happen that way. Could get better, could get worse. Things change, for certain.... It's easy to simply say, "This is "devastating." Got any particulars? I've heard that it's "child abuse," "generational theft," "return to big government," "socialism," and on and on.... Amusing..... Particularly amusing is Gov. Sanford's use of the child abuse accusation for not accepting the stimulus money. The consequences? Crumbling schools, teacher layoffs, less health care for.... children and this ISN'T child abuse? Seriously amusing.....

It's easy to wail about spending, but let's hear some criticism of what the spending is FOR. I think you'll hear a lot of folks saying, "I'm against spending, but it's not wasteful if it's for the good cause in MY district." Our own congressman, Bob Goodlatte, openly states that until "everyone quits earmarking" he will continue to make sure that his patrons get their "fair share." That's what's happening now with the budget, and exactly what happened with the stimulus bill. I think you'll hear more about the Democratic "agenda" with the main criticism being that it's not the Republican "agenda." Big whup......

It's almost as if to say "Everyone stop spending!... except me." Bush doubled the deficit when we borrowed the money, cut taxes, and went to war. He had the support of 80% of America behind him. It was a CRISIS! We supported President Bush and told him to do what he had to do to solve it. For a brief moment in history, we all pulled together. THIS is the way to respond to a crisis.

Check the news. By their actions and words, GOPers don't even recognize that we are IN crisis. Their sole answer is "Just put us back in charge and everything will be ok." The very idea of pulling together with Democrats is out of the question. Bipartisanship means ALL the Republicans and as many Democrats as they can gather. Today's budget voting is but the latest example.

Some questions... Is it more important to be a Republican, or an American? Is it more important to work FOR the country in a crisis, or to DEFEAT Democrats? Are we IN a crisis?