I was outside eating breakfast at the park & the weather is beautiful. I figured Glenn Beck's rally (starring Glenn Beck & Sarah Palin) was already underway to Restore America's Honor™.
Of course, we've lost our Honor™ to the communist black guy that I & everyone else in the country elected President- in order to stop the slide into Beck's regressive brand of conservatism. Therefore, Glenn Beck feels the need to have a rally on same steps & the anniversary as Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech. This way, his suckers... I mean Goldline customers, I mean fans... can "reclaim" whatever the hell they're trying to reclaim from Obama's bloodthirsty tyranny.
I admit it's possible that Glenn has honest intentions that are based solely on concern for the well-being of America's people. ...It's also possible that today I'll get a big tattoo of Glenn Beck's face on one side of my butt & Sarah Palin's face on the other.
Glenn's melodramatic, self-righteous performance art is directed toward the most impressionable, uninformed, & easily incited of Fox News viewers. I try to watch a few segments of the show when I can stomach it & am absolutely astounded that anyone can take that dork seriously. His followers must think The Pasty One is delivering an inspired revelation revealing the hidden secrets of politics & government. However he has been proven repeatedly to either make misleading, nebulous connections or just make crap up entirely.
I'm not going to comment any further than agree w/ my brother who texted me yesterday with a simple message, "Glenn Beck is such an a-hole douchebag." He must have been watching a news report about the rally or reading about it. It's the feeling any normal person should get watching Beck's self-serving antics.
The masters of political comedy, Stewart & Colbert, have already whipped this one to death...
The Daily Show & Colbert Report both had a little fun this week with the Minister of Teabagging Propaganda, Glenn Beck.
In my opinion, cynical self-serving bullshit artists like The Prophet Glenn & 'Grizzly Momma' Sarah Palin deserve all the mocking scorn they invite. Despite their delusional self-assurance that impresses the more gullible segments of the population, they are demonstrably wrong about so many things. "Drill Baby Drill!" ...stupider than ever.
On the Daily Show, Lewis Black expertly diagnoses Glenn Beck's case of "Hitler Tourette's":
Then, the clowning continued as The Master himself, Stephen Colbert, unloaded on Glenn Beck's apparent aspiration to be an albino jackass version of Martin Luther King:
I've commented on him before (& not always negatively) but I recently made myself endure a stupifying clip on BagNewsNotes from his TV show. It made me wonder why Fox doesn't just give David Icke a show.
This is use of the most loose of random associations to make....WHAT POINT?!?
Is there some kind of insidious Commu-fascist mind virus that covertly manifests itself through metropolitan art?
As a professional graphic artist with extensive knowledge of the use & interpretation of symbols, I find this "analysis" by the "Pastey Purveyor of Paranoia" to be bordering on non-sensical. There is no substance between the connections between the symbolic art in NYC & the ideology of the current administration- except that he believes there seems to be something there.
...or maybe he knows these "connections" are absurd... and is purposely trying to short circuit what functioning brain cells are left in his regular audience! Either way his incoherent presentation is insulting to my artistic & rational sensibilities.
Symbolic language can be interpreted literally an infinite number of ways. Sometimes there is definitely subversive meaning embedded into art of all kinds, but sometimes a farmer & worker are just a farmer & worker- not symbols of some insidious foreign ideology.
When I was in 1st grade, my teacher gave me personal assignments that were pretty advanced. I remember one in which I had to describe the meaning of the yellow stars, hammer, & sickle on the red Soviet flag. My aunt was a librarian so I called her up & she helped me. Therefore according to Glenn Beck, my retired aunt & I are communist conspirators.
Seriously, what is the difference between Beck's segment & this video?:
He's such a dork, but his rhetoric seems to be really causing people to become unhinged over The Long-Legged Mack Daddy & that nefarious social institution known as "Government".
Beck uses hyperbole & loose speculations to muddy the waters in the face of serious policy issues. Of course, he tries to be sensational for ratings, but his 'zeal' could possibly cause violent action by ignorant or unstable people.
This video mash-up i saw on hufpo.com is pretty amusing. Donald Duck allows his emotions to be controlled by the unbearably melodramatic 'entertainer'.
It turns out he is actually an influential politicial guru whose whims are acknowledged by the most powerful administrative body in the world, the U.S. White House.
I'm not really sure what this guy said that was wrong. He called Republicans 'assholes'? That could be only a half-truth... In Beck's case, he's a self-righteous asshole. As far as the 9/11 controversy- I would think that all of the "Big Government"-hating patriots in Glenn Beck's audience would appreciate that Jones questioned the 'official government story.'
Obama and his staff obviously have realized the overwhelming prestige of someone like The Pastey One, who possesses the intelligence & strength of character to call the popularly-elected, Harvard-educated, mixed-race President a 'commie racist'.
That is why the tyrannical, fascist Obama Administration bowed down to the moral force that is - Fox Punditry.
While reading this Media Matters piece about the numerous differences between the political perspectives of Glenn Beck & Dr. King, I noticed this paragraph about MLKs' view on political synthesis.
"My reading of Marx also convinced me that truth is found neither in Marxism nor in traditional capitalism. Each represents a partial truth.
Historically capitalism failed to see the truth in collective enterprise, and Marxism failed to see the truth in individual enterprise. Nineteenth century capitalism failed to see that life is social and Marxism failed and still fails to see that life is individual and personal.
The Kingdom of God is neither the thesis of individual enterprise nor the antithesis of collective enterprise, but a synthesis which reconciles the truths of both."
Any ideological mode of thinking that is unyielding & absolutist is inherently flawed. The devoted worshipers of "The Free Market" are just as wrong as the hardcore Marxist who finds no value in capitalism. King was speaking of the courage and intelligence needed to adapt different perspectives toward synthesizing a more effective solution.
As the Health Care Bill passes & civilization continues, national attention has been directed toward the phenomenon of the Tea Party. It is clearly is a movement of many concerned but well-meaning citizens. Unfortunately they are being represented by the most vapid & cynical misinformation peddlers outside of televangelism.
The artist in me tends to prefer the idea of free expression. I also understand the importance of the 2nd amendment as a means of self-defense for citizens. Therefore, it's hard for me to advocate shutting down every 'militant' group just because they are anti-government or full of nutty creeps. Even irrational hate groups like neo-Nazis and the robed hillbillies in the Klan should regrettably be allowed to have marches & spout their crappy ideologies. If anything, it lets the rest of society see how twisted they are.
However, when individuals or groups cross the line into directed threats of personal violence toward others- then, they becoming criminals.
This is what so many people find distasteful about Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin. They are national figures, influential with a *highly* suggestible segment of the population, who are subtly suggesting militant insurrection against the government & it's officials. Palin especially likes to give off the impression that's she'd proudly display Obama & Pelosi's heads as hunting trophies. Unfortunately, many Tea Party protesters who are rightly concerned about government are being overshadowed by the facetious hysteria being whipped up by these know-nothing buffoons with TV shows & Hand-O-Prompters.
Just like the 'far-left' activists Code Pink recently trying to arrest 'Turd Blossom' himself, Karl Rove, the freaks of the right-wing are going to cause the biggest commotion. By not outright denouncing the wackiest elements like The "Birthers" & the Glenn Beck Revolutionary Guard, the GOP & entire conservative philosophy is being defined by the most unreasonable fringes of the movement.
Sarah Palin is a personality who is as fascinating as a horrific car wreck. If there is one person who the intelligentsia of this country would overrule free speech to put a muzzle on, it is "Mooselini" herself.
Here is a quick IQ test. Do you find the clip below to be inspiring?......
If yes, Congratulations! You're an idiot!
If God decides to be a total jerk & damn me for Eternity, that is the voice I'll hear in an endless loop in Hell.
The idea that he claims to be relating "God's plan" to his listeners is obnoxious enough. However, the real highlight of this clip is the very end of the 10 minute clip, when The Pasty Prophet (Profit?) finally yields to his true master- "God Money"...
There's so much craziness in political news that it's hard to pick things out to comment on.
Obama, (like all US Presidents) has the most insanely difficult job in the world. Though I disagree with how his administration has handled certain things, Obama is no Marxist revolutionary. The notion is ridiculous, & I'm as big a skeptic as anyone. The Beck/Hannity/Gingrich crowd, who claim we are being overrun by Socialism, cannot be total idiots... so are likely being cynically disingenuous for the sake of ratings & $.
This segment of Glenn Beck's Conspiracy Lecture is almost laughable. Unfortunately, it seems to be taken seriously by people who are somehow persuaded by the wacky 'college professor meets serial stalker' persona.
The Pasty Pundit is implying that The President of the United States & the American citizens who support his agenda want to destroy the country. What a jackass. I thought Bush & Cheney were ruining the country- but not on purpose! Their corporate-centered policies were demonstrably destructive to the economy, but none of their critics ever accused them of actually hating & trying to destroy America. That's just silly!
Anyway to offset the loony ramblings of Beck's shtick above, you can read this RS interview that gives a serious look into the issues Obama is facing.
He seems to be aware of the many challenges & the accompanying criticisms. What I can appreciate is the cool, calculated approach to these serious situations- a stark contrast to the irrational hysteria that would have undoubtedly characterized a White House with John "Bomb, Bomb Iran" McCain & Sarah "Death Panels" Palin... aka McPain. I don't care what anyone says, there is no way those two knee-jerk reactionaries could have improved the country's situation.
I try to expose myself to pundits & commentators who I don't generally agree with. It's good to expose yourself to arguments from those whose viewpoint differs from yours. I'm not a Fox News fan, but I 'll watch it once in awhile to get the full spectrum of opinion out there.
However, politi-tainment maestro Glenn Beck is as tough for me to stomach as that bonehead Sean Hannity. I'm as interested in conspiracy theories & hidden history as anyone else, but Beck's trips down the rabbit hole become (for me) either goofy from his over-dramatization or absurd from their incoherence.
I think it's good to scratch the surface & try to understand the connections behind social power structures, but GB is such a pompous ass that the kernels of truth he's trying to sow get lost in a manure heap. It's why on the other end of the spectrum Keith Olbermann turns off so many who might otherwise agree with his views, an inflated ego & a noxious air of self-righteousness.
Anyway, the Top Teabagger, The Mad Hatter himself, was getting it from all sides as Jon Stewart & SNL had fun with his "special" brand of commentary.
As someone who follows current events & national politics constantly, my views on the whole Health Care Reform situation are as complicated as the process itself. I'll start by saying I'm a political Independent. While I try to transcend labels & polarized thinking, like "conservative" vs. "liberal", it is an unavoidable aspect of human society to rally around political ideologies that reflect one's own Reality Tunnel.
Having said that... Now it's time for polarizing labeling & name calling!!! Wooo-hoo!!!
When it comes to the circus surrounding Health Care, I think the obvious carnival barkers stirring up the crowd who are vehemently against it are the likes of Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and the other "conservative" personalities. Most neutral observers would agree that their deliberately incendiary misinformation is mistaken for truthful patriotic passion by their listeners, whose collective mental functioning is centered in their amygdalas.
Just one year into his Presidency, anytime someone begins ranting about Obama's Tyranny of Socialism! or his love of Karl Marx or Saul Alinsky (whoever the hell that is) you can be sure the are being fed their B.S. from the Master himself, Glenn Beck. Personally, I can't watch his show for a whole segment. He is just a total turd. There are some things he touches on that deserve scrutiny, like The Fed. Top film director James Cameron was correct, though... like many extremist right-wingers he's basically an asshole, or a pompous jerk, if 'asshole' offends you. I can't understand how any self-aware person can take a man seriously who said that a multicultural, mixed-race Obama is "a racist" with "a deep-seated hatred for white people." That is somehow more astoundingly retarded than anything even Sarah Palin has ever said!!! Listening to that self-righteous doofus long enough could probably warp anyone's mind.
Speaking of the Alaskan dingbat herself, Caribou Barbie (aka Sarah Palin) has proven herself firmly in the violent right-wing reactionary camp during this 'debate'. Forgetting her ridiculous lies about "Death Panels"... recently her blatantly threatening euphemisms to 'reload' and 'target' Democrats seems to be the dividing line that separates the extreme right from the extreme left in politics.
So-called Liberals and The Left couldn't stand the walking disaster George W. Bush and understood what a horribly destructive administration he ran. The difference is the majority of negative reaction wasn't about killing him, hanging him, & acting out physically against him. Yes, people compared him to Hitler etc., but mostly there was a desire to see him and Cheney held legally or at least politically responsible for their obviously destructive agenda. Activists like MoveOn.org, Code Pink & Cindy Sheehan weren't threatening bodily harm or death toward members of the Bush Administration.
Now, alot of Republicans are stamping their feet saying this Health Care bill is treason! & criminal! & blah blah blah! There's a bit of a difference between trying to reform the Health Care system & waging unnecessary war, killing millions of innocent Afghani & Iraqi people while sacrificing our soldiers under false pretenses.
So, because regressive Republicans ran the country into the ground for 8 years & were voted out, it is now the Democrat's turn to pursue a progressive agenda for the country. Although I don't consider myself a Democrat, I personally agree with many of the Democratic initiatives- as opposed to the Republican agenda which has been tax cuts for rich people & unfunded war spending.
Of course, conservatives and the Republican party in particular will cry & scream over the coming years as Obama and the Dems try to clean up their decade-long mess. Unfortunately, this health care battle is just one of many to which Republicans seem ready to cross their arms and say "HELL NO!" like a bunch of impotent babies. The current crop of dreadfully uninspiring dolts in the GOP leadership should be enough to turn any reasonable person away.
It's okay though, because through the whole process, backing the Republican Party line, cheerleading the Tea Party, demonizing the legislation, and enabling the woefully uninformed masses has been the Fair and Balanced Most Trusted Name in News™, Fox News. However, to be 'fair & balanced' on my part, there has been a general incompetence of ALL the news media in informing the public about important issues like the health care debate. Fox News pundits just routinely cross the line into outright distortion.
Things seemed to have turned the corner for Obama because of this historic victory & now he has the wind in his sails as the Republicans scramble to be relevant in any meaningful way:
Plan A was "Kill the Bill!" which failed. Plan B is "Sue the Federal Government!" which will also fail. Plan C is "Win back Congress & REPEAL!" which will (of course) fail... due to a little thing called 'Presidential veto'.
The GOP must think failure on all fronts will somehow get them elected come November.
Not for the sake of the Democrats, but for the sake of the people who need it & are getting reamed by the insurance companies, I hope some of these measures start having noticeable effect on the system soon.
The funniest thing about all the buffoons screaming about 'Socialism!' & 'Communism!' is that Obama is way more conservative than his base would like him to be! Many of his supporters would have preferred to see Obama push for a truly socialist Single-Payer System. While he's at it, he should have also signed an executive order banning health insurance companies completely! This is the 800 pound gorilla in the room. As Congressman Anthony Weiner argued below, why do they even exist?
Americans are so used to their shitty way of doing things that they can't imagine a better way. I think Obama is an intelligent, competent leader who can help our country to a better way of doing things. That's why I voted for him over Grandpa McGrumpy & The Snow Queen. I don't regret my decision one bit.
Due to the ubiquitous nature of the ever-growing Internet, the earthquakes, tsunami, and nuclear explosions are unfolding before our eyes in near real time. People all over the world are captivated because we are all subconsciously observing our own fragile mortality, as individuals & as a collective human race.
Massive catastrophes like this completely defy our sense of reason. The core of a human being is survival of the self and the community, so the completely indifferent chaos of planetary forces can shake apart the illusory sense of 'Meaning' that people create to define their own existence.
Hopefully, this situation stabilizes at some point & the Japanese people can begin to rebuild their country. I'd like to think that out of this unbelievable tragedy, some lessons are learned to improve the human condition. Some issues that have to be addressed by the world are; developing new sources of energy, forward-looking methods of building towns in danger zones, and most of all- what the hell will we all do if an even bigger threat, like a cosmic event, threatens or actually decimates humanity around the globe?!?!?!?!? We are an undetected meteor away from reverting to cavemen.
Of course, some buffoons will always say idiotic things despite the gravity of any situation & this is no different. I hate to even bring that doofus Glenn Beck up, but so much of what he says is demonstrably wrong... Concerning the crisis in Japan, The Pasty Purveyor of Paranoia claimed not to know "God's business"- but then predictably speculates on God's reasons for angrily kicking the tectonic plates near Japan, like a big omnipotent jerk.
What a goddamn fool. There is no 'message from God'. Any perceived 'meaning' is the human brain applying connective significance to events. Does he really think God uses natural disasters like angry text messages that we're somehow supposed to decipher?
We are all at the mercy of an amazing, crazy, tumultuous world- and that's all there is to it.
Whether or not the myth of Atlantis is true, the devastation in Japan shows how these kind of cataclysmic events could have easily wiped out thriving ancient cities & perhaps even civilizations. In fact, the sea around Japan itself may hold remnants of a lost culture from the past in the so-called Yonaguni pyramids. We have only begun to shed light on the darkness enveloping our view of human history.
Fox News is much too 'right'-leaning for my tastes, especially the opinion shows. I can watch some of the objective news reports, but the rabid 'conservatism' of entertainers like Hannity & Glenn Beck doesn't jive at all w/ my worldview. Those 2 boneheads make Bill O'Reilly seem like a supreme voice of reason nowadays. Of course, 'Papa Bear' is still as full of it as the rest of Fox News.
MSNBC, of course, has the opposing liberal lineup of opinion talk show hosts. I feel- in my totally fair & balanced opinion- that they tend to be more empirical and forward-thinking in their viewpoints. What can I say... I prefer rationality to visceral emotional response. That said, all news opinion shows are subject to hyperbole & general ridiculousness.
Most people getting their news from more varied objective sources find a lot of Fox News programming to be more objectionable than objective. Sometimes it's just a waste of breath to try to engage the craziness, though. That's when Jon Stewart speaks for the socially conscious yet irreverent among us when he suggests, "Go F*ck Yourself" to the unreasonable regressive mindset of right-wing political ideologues & talking heads.
One of those idiotic talking heads, Bernie Goldberg, figured he'd try to get some publicity by taking some jabs at Jon Stewart & his audience on O'Reilly's show, despite proof that Daily Show viewers (like myself) are predictably less ignorant than the average Fox News acolyte.
Of course The Daily Show stepped back up to deliver the knockout blow to poor Bernie in a segment that was a close 2nd to the Jon Stewart's legendary"Conservative Libertarian" monologue mocking Glenn Beck.
When you have a America's most influential social humorist singing a chorus of "Go F*ck Yourself" this time backed up with a gospel choir, the exchange is over... & you (meaning Fox News & Bernie Goldberg) have lost.
I watch the Daily Show every night because Jon Stewart is consistently on target with humor that covers the entire spectrum of politics & current events.
Sometimes though, he smashes a home run with ruthless, irreverent commentary about a deserving target.
Last nite he tore into the unashamedly right-wing propaganda outlet that is Fox News. The specific victim was Fox 'news' anchor Megyn Kelley and her lack of 'fair & balanced' reporting.
Personally, I think they should leave the hot chick alone, & just continually hammer the biggest knucklehead on television, Sean Hannity and his esteemed colleague: The Minister of Misinformation, Glenn Beck. Those two ideological jerk-offs make Bill O'Reilly seem like a voice of reason. However, I have to admit that I do sometimes try to watch Fox News programming. It's like watching a documentary on a serial killer- it is fascinating in a disturbed sort of way to see the warped sense of the world that is portrayed.
Although I'm more philosophically aligned with them, I also usually have trouble watching liberal MSNBC hosts Keith Olberman & Rachel Maddow when their hyperbole and self-righteousness skew the objective reporting. The difference between myself and the average Fox News viewer, however, is that I'm informed from a wide enough range of regional, national, & international sources to know when I'm being fed B.S. by someone with an agenda. Someone who only watches Glenn Beck's Clown Show for 'news' is wallowing in a toxic pit of ignorance in which 'The Government' is a insidious force of evil & President Obama is a Socialist Tyrant. I believe there should be voices of opposition to any government or administration, but the debate should be based on facts, not hysteria. Fox News has made manipulating the misinformed opinion-making for the American sheeple into an artform.
On a side note, I'm linking to Hulu video while I still can, since Comedy Central's video embedding code is still crap & I don't feel like figuring it out.
No sooner did I finish writing about the craziness of the extreme right-wing ideologues & Tea Party candidates dominating the national political discourse... than I turned on The Daily Show to see the big announcement.
Jon Stewart & Stephen Colbert have been hinting at some kind of event, a la Glenn Beck. Tonight, Jon Stewart revealed the planned "Rally to Restore Sanity" which is probably going to make Beck's facetious 'Rally to Restore Honor' look like a little picnic.
This is so great. I am absolutely going if it's humanly possible. The Daily Show's political humor & reverence for The Absurd helped me smile through the years of incompetence/malfeasance of the Bush Administration. I've been watching The Colbert Report since the first episode and now both shows are required viewing for me.
Despite the satirical nature of the event, my fellow Daily Show viewers are actually the most accurately informed news consumers. You have to know the people, facts, & context of current events to understand all the jokes on the shows. It's hard to follow the humor if you're an ignoramus.
Anyway, I'm psyched, & if it goes according to plan it should be an awesome day.
Although I'm a pacifist & never resort to violent measures, I know plenty of gun owners and see nothing wrong with citizens owning firearms. The 2nd Amendment is an important guarantee of American freedom to defend oneself. We don't live in Utopia, and if you ban guns, then only criminals will have them! However, society will always need continual improvement to the way we keep weapons out of the hands of violent psychos.
As a professional artist & creative person, I'm also a firm believer in Free Speech. Like anything else, though, it's not an Absolute. I think people should be able to express themselves however they want, as long as they don't directly threaten or physically harm other people. Although it's not something that should be legislated, it's society's duty to find checks for expressions of dangerous intent.
There has been a media circus surrounding the reactions to this tragedy & political narratives being played out. Before the President showed her up- by taking the highest possible ground in his speech last night- the person in the center ring of the circus was the shrieking Alaskan Banshee herself, Sarah Palin.
Plenty has already been said about the PR crisis she's in right now. Her insane, violent rhetoric & imagery has come back to haunt her after one of her political "targets", Rep. Giffords, was shot in the head. This is the now infamous Palin map image that people are using as an example of recent unacceptably threatening political language.
Her staff has scrubbed the image from her website, which is a laughably futile effort, since it's all over The Internets, but also makes her look like she's trying to hide damning evidence. To make matters worse, they gave a crap excuse that the targets on her map were always meant to be surveyor's symbols.
The problem with Palin's pathological lying is that there is always so much evidence to the contrary:
Of course, NO reasonable person is accusing Sarah Palin or other Legendary Assholes such as Glenn Beck & Rush Limbaugh of directly influencing the lunatic douchebag that shot those innocent people.
What people are actually raising hell about is that those ideologues cynically poison the political & social atmosphere with misinformation. They do this in an arrogant, narrow-minded, vitriolic manner that creates unwarranted or misdirected hostility. They collectively reach many millions of people, so their influence should not be underestimated.
Hopefully, this experience will incrementally improve the level of discussion in the public arena. The shallow reactionary nature of Palin, Limbaugh, Coulter, Beck, Hannity & other knuckleheads isn't going to change, but hopefully society at large will more assertively call out their BS.
In the wake of this violence, people understandably began pointing out Palin's incendiary rhetoric as a prime example of what's gone wrong in political discourse. Despite the criticism, she didn't have the good sense to be conciliatory or (in a spirit of respect)...QUIET for once.
Faced with the reality of a deadly massacre with children murdered & a Congressperson almost assassinated, she managed to make it about her- and as always, she's the victim!!! To start the official day of mourning for this tragedy, she released this unbelievably obnoxious video that is like psychological torture for me to sit through.
Here is a close approximation that is much easier to tolerate:
This woman drives people like me crazy, not because I'm a 'Liberal' or from political divisiveness. It's mostly because she is shrill, spiteful & ALWAYS wrong, yet her vapid opinion is given constant media attention. I just hope this whole fiasco hasn't destroyed her chances of being the Republican that President Obama gets to challenge in 2012...
The speech The President gave at the memorial proves once again that the American people chose the far better candidate in the last election. The idea that so many voters actually believed that McPain should run the country is simply frightening.
It was definitely a moving speech that shows the thoughtfulness & understanding that got him elected. The image of a true leader inspiring a stadium full of uplifted mourners was a stark contrast to the ill-timed trainwreck of Palin's contrived video message.
Although Obama pleaded for a more civil public discourse, that doesn't mean people can't be aggressive in asserting ethical boundaries. Sometimes it means mocking, challenging, or exposing lies or general stupidity.
What's always off-limits, in any debate, is threatening or endangering the well-being of another person.
Well, I know alot of people are critical of President Barry, but I still think he's The Long-legged Mack-daddy!
I don't agree with several policy directions so far, but I think as a figurehead for American society & a functional executive, he is an improvement- to say the least. If you don't agree, watch clips of Dubya's greatest hits. I have no doubt that there are people who think John McCain & Sarah Palin would have made this country better, but there are also people like THIS, so anyway...
Obama's address last night mostly was to give a sense of purpose to the whole healthcare debate.
It has to be understood that the Obama administration is one piece on the chessboard of global human society. They can't be blamed for the entirety of these ongoing complex issues & Obama himself can't be expected to blow everybody's minds with some sort of supernaturally wise solution that makes everyone's eyes glaze over with wonderment.
Speaking of eyes glazing over, I knew when now-historic maniac Rep. Joe Wilson yelled out to everyone's disgust, that people would be freaking out about it. Even if you legitimately think that Obama's policies are going to be troublesome for the country, do you have expose yourself as a raging undisciplined ass to the entire planet of other human beings? Now Glenn Beck is going to have to be completely nuts to top this guy.
Barack is a better man than me. If that idiot yelled during my speech, I'd point at him and yell back, "Shut Up, Bitch!!! I'm talkin' now you sorry fool!!!"
On a slightly more serious note, If I was Obama I'd ban health insurance companies altogether (no offense to insurance companies). Then reallocate all the responsibility & personnel to *GASP* The Government.
"..but that's invasion of privacy & I don't want gov't in my business!" would be one silly argument against gov't run health care.
Do you have a SS# or driver's license? Get a grip, the gov't already knows citizens key info, so at least keep it in the hands of one source instead of various corporations created to make money off the very well-being or sickness of people. I would argue that gov't is the main modern entity that should hold collective responsibility over the health of the population. The entire concept of private or for-profit health services is pretty bizarre.
Of course, Obama is trying to (rhetorically at least) tread the noble middle path that addresses concerns of all parties while achieving what he believes to be an overall goal. I would personally favor an even more "liberal" approach & my approach would be that of the great progressive voice in Congress, Dennis Kucinich.
Another great advocate for a single-payer system in this country is Rep. Anthony Weiner who has been a forceful & logical guest on several of the news shows to explain what Obama should have really been pushing for all along.
I was reading the local town newspaper & read a rant by a local woman about the "Cordoba House" community center/mosque that is being proposed in Manhattan.
The shrill letter was unfairly inflammatory to both Muslims & also the so-called "Left" or "liberals" of this country- which seems to be anyone like myself, not filled with fear, hate, & vitriol toward a particular group of people. Basically, her letter described how Islam and The Left are both out to destroy America, and this Park51 center/mosque being proposed is an example of some nefarious agenda. I would recommend the lady turn off the TV or get offline & take a nice, long walk outside to get some fresh air.
To be clear, I don't have any special concern for Muslims, other than they are fellow human beings. Their beliefs are no more or less crazy than the other 2 Abrahamic religions, or any other belief system for that matter. Our country is founded on freedom to worship & you just can't lump in all people of a faith/race/creed together for exclusion and persecution based on the purported actions of a few zealots. If there were really hordes of insane evil Muslims or any other group collectively plotting the destruction of America from within, there'd be bombs and attacks going off in our cities constantly.
Especially considering that the funds for this project aren't even close to being raised yet, this whole 'debate' is basically a manufactured distraction for those easily persuaded.
Religious Wars are much more exciting for the news industry & 'right-wing' reactionaries than practical issues, like monetary policy or the need for infrastructure investment!
The level-headed among us hesitate branding a general group as The Enemy not out of naïve "coddling," as the writer put it it. The intention is to prevent the violent backlash that has been unleashed on innocent people throughout history, simply because they were part of a particular hated group. It starts with spiteful rhetoric like that letter, but hopefully American society can more quickly learn to deal with these divisive situations in a constructive way.
The op-ed letter really seemed like a Fox News-driven paranoiac screed. The irony lost on the viewers of intellectual luminaries such as Glenn Beck & fellow knucklehead Sean Hannity is that Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal is a shareholder in Fox's parent company, News Corp. This same prince has also backed the imam behind the proposed community center! The news channel raising the biggest stink about this project is the one with the closest ties to it!!!
Anyway the fact that people are still so monkey-like to still be having these conflicts deriving from primitive clan mentality is expected, but still disappointing in an age of amazing progress in other areas.
I've been seeing plenty of the hateful reation to the specific project & the general idea of Islam in the national news. However, seeing this kind of openly venomous bigotry in my own town's paper has compelled me to respond with an attempt at a rational perspective - free from the emotional parasites of fear, hatred, and anger. Unfortunately when it comes to good ol' traditional religious feuds, it's probably like trying to teach nuclear physics in a room full of apes throwing poo.
Predictably, the best commentary on this whole "Ground Zero Mosque" debacle has been from Jon Stewart & the Daily Show.
Anyone who knows me knows that I enjoy discussing politics, among other topics.
Although I try to maintain an objective & logical perspective on the world, merely by discussing anything you open yourself up to subjective interpretation. Especially in politics, it is often a game of words that try to model perceptions around an agenda.
Despite the dangers of generalizing with labels, like 'conservative', 'liberal', 'fascist', 'progressive', 'Marxist', 'Teabagger', etc. etc. it's difficult not to discuss human issues without relying on timeless human conventions, like mockery & name-calling.
Labels may be misleading, but I believe there seems to definitely be a "Political Spectrum" in which you can plot various figures in world culture along a plane of philosophical & ideological tendencies.
I had this idea in my head to create a chart showing this ideological spectrum, so I took a couple nights and put it together. It's been finished for a few weeks but I decided to wait until 4th of July Weekend to truly celebrate America's Independence Day- with the most profound & accurate political infographic ever created! (Strictly for parody purposes, of course)
click to enlarge "The Political Spectrum"
I did this for fun & it turned out exactly as I envisioned it. I'm sure some people may disagree with it, find offense, or whatever. This spectrum is 100% accurate and scientifically irrefutable, so such arguments are in vain.
Since I am in a rush to start my holiday weekend w/ crabs, beer, & horseshoes I'll give a quick rundown on some of my thoughts making this picture:
• Obviously, the spectrum goes from blue/left/liberal to red/right/conservative. I tend to gravitate toward the liberal end of the spectrum. Surprise!
• Can anyone argue that Scrooge McDuck, Rush Limbaugh, Rich Uncle Pennybags, & Dick Cheney are not of a similar nature? Can't the same be said for Willie Nelson, Yoda, the Dalai Lama, and John Lennon? It seems undeniable.
• This whole "Political Spectrum" conspiracy is making Glenn Beck cry like a little girl, as usual. Maybe it's Vader breathing down his neck.
• I couldn't resist giving that socialist tyrant President Obama devil horns out of the star points, just for giggles... (or is he actually the Star Messiah?) I actually think he's doing a good job, considering the circumstances. It baffles me how can anyone think he's The Anti-christ or evil after 8 years of Bush/Cheney.
• Obama has his ear to the conservative side... will he be sucked into their vortex of regressive politics?!?
• Adolf Hitler is staring longingly at his perfect Aryan princess, Ann Coulter.
• Hitler-worshipper Eric Cartman is breaking out of the bottom right corner: "Screw you guys, I'm goin' home!" He shows the tendency for right-wingers, who espouse authoritarianism, to break rules when they feel it suits them personally.
The figureheads of America's Moron-ocracy.
