Showing posts with label Media. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Media. Show all posts
They Will Say Anything Just to be First
It's so easy being a journalist in modern America. All you have to do is get paid millions, smile on teevee, and totally make shit up.
Bill Bennett Plays Imaginary Fiscal Conservative
As always, we are forced to take the tough-talking, fiscal stewards of the Republican Party very seriously. After all, they pride themselves as the last bit of fiscal sanity in an age of out of control spending that has caused huge amounts of debt to pile up. Except that spending and the deficit have actually shrunk and leveled off, they would be right.
Very Serious Fiscal Conservative Bill Bennett writes:
But enough of my rant. Let's see just how fiscally responsible Bennett truly is. In order to do that, we must look at raw spending data. So, again, the trusty little graph we've used over and over again shows us just how fiscally insane Bill Bennett really is.
Clearly, as anyone with eyes can see, when spending was increasing at the most rapid rates since WWII, Bill Bennett never complained, never warned about fiscal doom, never did anything. Over $1 TRILLION of new spending was added to the budget in 7 years and Bill Bennett was silent. What would cause Bennett to justify such huge spikes in spending then but now be sooooo concerned about spending when it has slowed at the lowest rates in 60 years?
Easy answer actually. Bill Bennett doesn't care about spending. He doesn't care about deficits or the debt. Bush doubled the federal debt and Reagan tripled it and Bennett never said a word. But Obama inherits over $1 trillion of debt every year and Bennett is stroking out pretending he actually cares.
This is modern Republicanism. They love spending. They love debt and care not one bit about deficits. They just don't want Democrats doing the spending. Bush increases spending, crashes the economy, issues 8 tax payer funded bailouts and Republicans loved it. As you can see from the chart, they couldn't get enough of it. Not until a Democrat takes the White House does spending level off. And it is with this leveling off that Republicans like Bennett first call it a crisis. It's truly insane.
However, more must be said of CNN for letting Bennett pretend to be fiscally responsible and trash the president. In order to be remotely considered "fair" the whole country is forced to accept people who believe the Earth is flat as Very Serious People. We're all doomed as long as the media doesn't give a rip.
Very Serious Fiscal Conservative Bill Bennett writes:
If $16 trillion of national debt and the huge deficits each year aren't spending problems, then what is? The United States most certainly has a spending problem. For the president to insist otherwise is dumbfounding but at the same time entirely consistent with his policies.Eeeewwww Bennett is so tough. He is such a fiscally responsible person that he surely must know the "huge deficits" he claims to be so concerned about were created by George W. Bush and the GOP. Barack Obama has shrunk the budget deficit from Bush's all-time high. As for the debt, no president could have inherited a $1.4 trillion budget deficit and kept debt from piling up. No one. If Bush and Bennett's Republican Party had not left President Obama the worst financial situation in history, maybe Bennett would have something to complain about. But the facts are Obama did not create the debt problem, the deficit problem, the unemployment problem, the GDP problem, or the spending problem. He inherited all of it from Bush and since Obama has taken office, every single category has gotten better.
But enough of my rant. Let's see just how fiscally responsible Bennett truly is. In order to do that, we must look at raw spending data. So, again, the trusty little graph we've used over and over again shows us just how fiscally insane Bill Bennett really is.
Clearly, as anyone with eyes can see, when spending was increasing at the most rapid rates since WWII, Bill Bennett never complained, never warned about fiscal doom, never did anything. Over $1 TRILLION of new spending was added to the budget in 7 years and Bill Bennett was silent. What would cause Bennett to justify such huge spikes in spending then but now be sooooo concerned about spending when it has slowed at the lowest rates in 60 years?
Easy answer actually. Bill Bennett doesn't care about spending. He doesn't care about deficits or the debt. Bush doubled the federal debt and Reagan tripled it and Bennett never said a word. But Obama inherits over $1 trillion of debt every year and Bennett is stroking out pretending he actually cares.
This is modern Republicanism. They love spending. They love debt and care not one bit about deficits. They just don't want Democrats doing the spending. Bush increases spending, crashes the economy, issues 8 tax payer funded bailouts and Republicans loved it. As you can see from the chart, they couldn't get enough of it. Not until a Democrat takes the White House does spending level off. And it is with this leveling off that Republicans like Bennett first call it a crisis. It's truly insane.
However, more must be said of CNN for letting Bennett pretend to be fiscally responsible and trash the president. In order to be remotely considered "fair" the whole country is forced to accept people who believe the Earth is flat as Very Serious People. We're all doomed as long as the media doesn't give a rip.
Indeed Operating as a Wing of the Republican Party
So in spring 2011, Ailes asked a Fox News analyst headed to Afghanistan to pass on his thoughts to Petraeus, who was then the commander of U.S. and coalition forces there. Petraeus, Ailes advised, should turn down an expected offer from President Obama to become CIA director and accept nothing less than the chairmanship of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the top military post. If Obama did not offer the Joint Chiefs post, Petraeus should resign from the military and run for president, Ailes suggested.
The Fox News chairman’s message was delivered to Petraeus by Kathleen T. McFarland, a Fox News national security analyst and former national security and Pentagon aide in three Republican administrations. She did so at the end of a 90-minute, unfiltered conversation with Petraeus that touched on the general’s future, his relationship with the media and his political aspirations — or lack thereof. The Washington Post has obtained a digital recording from the meeting, which took place in Petraeus’s office in Kabul.
McFarland also said that Ailes — who had a decades-long career as a Republican political consultant, advising Richard M. Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush — might resign as head of Fox to run a Petraeus presidential campaign. At one point, McFarland and Petraeus spoke about the possibility that Rupert Murdoch, the head of News Corp., which owns Fox News, would “bankroll” the campaign.How does Fox News answer to the revelation? Sure we reached out to the General but the whole thing was one of those funny haha jokes. We didn't really mean it. Dang liberal media can't even take a joke.
The view from a different galaxy
Want to know how and why people who watch Fox News were so confident Romney was going to win and then so shocked when he didn't?
Think Progress has an excellent list of some of the brazen commentary on the right and how confident they were of a big win.
My favorites:
1. Dick Morris: “This is going to be a landslide.” The former Clinton adviser predicted a dominant Romney win, calling it “the biggest surprise in recent American political history.” Claiming that polls were oversampling Democrats, Morris wondered if “it will rekindle the whole question on why the media played this race as a nailbiter.”
3. Karl Rove: “At least 279 electoral votes.” “It comes down to numbers. And in the final days of this presidential race, from polling data to early voting, they favor Mitt Romney,” Rove wrote in a WSJ op-ed ignoring the fact that most polls showed growing momentum for the president. He predicted that Romney will win 51 percent of the popular vote and “at least 279 electoral votes.”
5. Larry Kudlow: “Yes, that’s right: 330 electoral votes.” CNBC personality Larry Kudlow bet Romney would “sweep the Midwest,” a point on which Michigan, Wisconsin, and Ohio beg to differ. He was so excited about his prediction that Romney would get 330 votes that he repeated it twice — despite the fact that he was making the call two weeks out from the election.
8. Dean Chambers: “The race has shifted profoundly in favor of Mitt Romney.”It appears the election has unskewed the unskewer. Chambers, the proprietor of the famous “correcting biased polls” UnskewedPolls.com, made two predictions before the election. While both obviously called a Romney win, the first one predicted a landslide — 359 electoral votes, even larger than Barone’s — the second, more sober assessment called a more modest 275. Chambers may owe Nate Silver, whom he described as “a man of very small stature, a thin and effeminate man with a soft-sounding voice that sounds almost exactly like the ‘Mr. New Castrati’ voice used by Rush Limbaugh on his program” in what appeared to be a takedown piece, something of an apology.
9. Newt Gingrich: “A Romney landslide.” The former House Speaker predicted that Romney will take 53 percent of the popular vote and at least 300 electoral college votes. “My personal guess is you’ll see a Romney landslide, 53 percent-plus . . . in the popular vote, 300 electoral votes-plus,” Gingrich said. He also predicted that Republicans “may come very close to capturing control of the Senate.” He apologized for the faulty call the morning after the election.
My particular favorite is #8 Dean Chambers, who looks exactly like you think he'd look. What a POS. He could not have been more wrong. But just think, if you watched a media network that ran these sort of self-confident predictions all day long and told you how the polls are all wrong and Romney is going to win big, you too would be shocked when on election day you find out nothing you had been told was true.
Think Progress has an excellent list of some of the brazen commentary on the right and how confident they were of a big win.
My favorites:
1. Dick Morris: “This is going to be a landslide.” The former Clinton adviser predicted a dominant Romney win, calling it “the biggest surprise in recent American political history.” Claiming that polls were oversampling Democrats, Morris wondered if “it will rekindle the whole question on why the media played this race as a nailbiter.”
3. Karl Rove: “At least 279 electoral votes.” “It comes down to numbers. And in the final days of this presidential race, from polling data to early voting, they favor Mitt Romney,” Rove wrote in a WSJ op-ed ignoring the fact that most polls showed growing momentum for the president. He predicted that Romney will win 51 percent of the popular vote and “at least 279 electoral votes.”
5. Larry Kudlow: “Yes, that’s right: 330 electoral votes.” CNBC personality Larry Kudlow bet Romney would “sweep the Midwest,” a point on which Michigan, Wisconsin, and Ohio beg to differ. He was so excited about his prediction that Romney would get 330 votes that he repeated it twice — despite the fact that he was making the call two weeks out from the election.
8. Dean Chambers: “The race has shifted profoundly in favor of Mitt Romney.”It appears the election has unskewed the unskewer. Chambers, the proprietor of the famous “correcting biased polls” UnskewedPolls.com, made two predictions before the election. While both obviously called a Romney win, the first one predicted a landslide — 359 electoral votes, even larger than Barone’s — the second, more sober assessment called a more modest 275. Chambers may owe Nate Silver, whom he described as “a man of very small stature, a thin and effeminate man with a soft-sounding voice that sounds almost exactly like the ‘Mr. New Castrati’ voice used by Rush Limbaugh on his program” in what appeared to be a takedown piece, something of an apology.
9. Newt Gingrich: “A Romney landslide.” The former House Speaker predicted that Romney will take 53 percent of the popular vote and at least 300 electoral college votes. “My personal guess is you’ll see a Romney landslide, 53 percent-plus . . . in the popular vote, 300 electoral votes-plus,” Gingrich said. He also predicted that Republicans “may come very close to capturing control of the Senate.” He apologized for the faulty call the morning after the election.
 |
| Dean Chambers, www.unskewedpolls.com |
Of course that's presuming Fox News viewers will actually be told that they were lied to. Not a chance actually. Instead they will be told that all their "unskewed polls" were correct right up until the hurricane hit and that changed everything. It's a lie to cover a lie. They will never be told that there was absolutely no reality to their belief that Romney had this in the bag and would win big. Their world will consist of a hurricane that changed history, Black Panthers and rampant voter fraud. Oh and media bias. The election was stolen again.
Reagan Hits Fox News for Complete Dishonesty
Just like the 2008 election, if President Obama is reelected Republicans will view him as an illegitimate president. For the current term, it's because ACORN stole the election for him and the Black Panthers stood guard at the polls intimidating whites so they wouldn't vote. And, of course, because the media stole the election for Obama because they loved the ratings behind the monumental notion of having our first black president. John McCain just never stood a chance against such an onslaught of voter illegalities.
The next term will again be because of voter fraud. But it will also be because companies doing the polls have rigged them to show Obama winning thus suppressing Republican morale and votes. There's just no way Mittens isn't winning over America's hearts. Something must be awry. It's always a conspiracy. Republicans are-- without a doubt-- perpetual victims.
Ronald Reagan Jr. says it best:
The next term will again be because of voter fraud. But it will also be because companies doing the polls have rigged them to show Obama winning thus suppressing Republican morale and votes. There's just no way Mittens isn't winning over America's hearts. Something must be awry. It's always a conspiracy. Republicans are-- without a doubt-- perpetual victims.
Ronald Reagan Jr. says it best:
The rank and file actually believes some of this nonsense. They believe that evolution didn’t happen, global warming is a hoax, Obama is a Kenyan. But the people like Dick Morris — and Sean Hannity for that matter, who has spread a lot of this kind of propaganda — they know better than this and there is a method to their madness here.”
“They’re not delusional, they’re dishonest. They’re not crazy, they’re craven… What they’re trying to do here and accomplish here is to say in advance, if President Obama wins this election, it’s because the pollsters suppressed the Republican vote, it’s therefore an illegitimate election, he’s not really president. They’re setting the table for that.”
Dumbest Thing I've Read in a Long Time
ABC News, The National Debt: How We Got There.
I learned more listening to Sarah Palin explain all the newspapers she reads. If you really want to know where the debt came from, read this primer.
I learned more listening to Sarah Palin explain all the newspapers she reads. If you really want to know where the debt came from, read this primer.
Firms
By far the best campaign ad I've seen in a really long time. Possibly better than Paul Wellstone's famous ad.
Good Night, and good luck
My views on Ezra Klein are pretty well known on this blog. That's why I have no problems shaking my head at Klein's reasoning for why Washington politicians get away with monumental hypocrisy. In short Klein says it's in part due to a psychology that allows Washington to prosper in delusional self-interests.
I have to disagree. It's what I do.
Washington gets away with mountain-sized hypocrisy for one reason: the media permits it. Nobody holds them accountable, especially voters. And that's simply because media does not care one bit about hypocrisy. The watchdogs, the very people who are supposed to remind voters of hypocrisy, are way too busy eating out of the hand of politicians to accurately report to the people.
Despite what Klein writes, psychology has very little, if nothing, to do with the reason why politicians make huge policy flip flops and remain in office. There's no psychological reasoning as to why Republicans now all of a sudden hate the individual mandate. No other reason than Democrats now like it. The same is true for why Democrats didn't embrace it in the 90s and the naughts like they do today. Politics makes strange bedfellows and all that, no doubt. But if you don't know who's sleeping with who you really have nothing to talk about. That's where we are today.
I have to disagree. It's what I do.
Washington gets away with mountain-sized hypocrisy for one reason: the media permits it. Nobody holds them accountable, especially voters. And that's simply because media does not care one bit about hypocrisy. The watchdogs, the very people who are supposed to remind voters of hypocrisy, are way too busy eating out of the hand of politicians to accurately report to the people.
Despite what Klein writes, psychology has very little, if nothing, to do with the reason why politicians make huge policy flip flops and remain in office. There's no psychological reasoning as to why Republicans now all of a sudden hate the individual mandate. No other reason than Democrats now like it. The same is true for why Democrats didn't embrace it in the 90s and the naughts like they do today. Politics makes strange bedfellows and all that, no doubt. But if you don't know who's sleeping with who you really have nothing to talk about. That's where we are today.
Huck Imagines a World Without Fox News
Former Republican governor and presidential candidate Mike Huckabee gave up a pretty candid comment yesterday on his radio show that really won't surprise too many people.
Huckabee suggested that minus Fox News Americans would think Obama is doing a great job.
Secondly, without Fox News Americans wouldn't think anything. Republicans would though. Republicans would no longer have the most watched news program in the world touting lies like Obama is on a spending binge, or that Obama has grown government to unprecedented levels, or that Obama is a secret Muslim that hates America, or that Obama hates white people, or that Obama had secret brain surgery. None of that would be going on without Fox News. Or at least wouldn't be going on at the level it is currently.
Finally, the whole premise to Huck's comment is the classic tale of Republican ideology concerning Fox News. Republicans really believe that Fox News acts as a balance beam against the liberal media. They believe all other forms of media are liberal tree huggers and that only Fox counters such bias. They counter it not by pandering a Republican theme. No they believe Fox counters the liberal bias by reporting the Truth. If the Truth just so happens to lean Republican then so be it. You can't argue with the Truth.
"People who watch Fox News really believe that they are engaged in a process that separates them from all the people who don't watch Fox News, namely that of Truth. These people believe that Fox gives them an access to truth that is denied to Americans who are brainwashed by the mainstream media. They really believe that Fox News is not just a network that counteracts the biased liberal media, or even a network that reports the stories that the liberal media ignore, but the only vehicle for Truth that exists."
Huckabee suggested that minus Fox News Americans would think Obama is doing a great job.
Speaking about America’s media landscape in general, Huckabee suggested that without Fox News acting as a counterweight to “mainstream media,” most Americans “will assume that Obama really is just doing a great job and he just can’t get those crazy Republicans to help him out.”Like I said, nothing shocking at all. But there are a couple things Huck is taking for granted here. The latest CNN poll has President Obama at 52% approval. In other words, most Americans already support the job he's doing despite Fox News trying their darnedest to bring him down.
Secondly, without Fox News Americans wouldn't think anything. Republicans would though. Republicans would no longer have the most watched news program in the world touting lies like Obama is on a spending binge, or that Obama has grown government to unprecedented levels, or that Obama is a secret Muslim that hates America, or that Obama hates white people, or that Obama had secret brain surgery. None of that would be going on without Fox News. Or at least wouldn't be going on at the level it is currently.
Finally, the whole premise to Huck's comment is the classic tale of Republican ideology concerning Fox News. Republicans really believe that Fox News acts as a balance beam against the liberal media. They believe all other forms of media are liberal tree huggers and that only Fox counters such bias. They counter it not by pandering a Republican theme. No they believe Fox counters the liberal bias by reporting the Truth. If the Truth just so happens to lean Republican then so be it. You can't argue with the Truth.
"People who watch Fox News really believe that they are engaged in a process that separates them from all the people who don't watch Fox News, namely that of Truth. These people believe that Fox gives them an access to truth that is denied to Americans who are brainwashed by the mainstream media. They really believe that Fox News is not just a network that counteracts the biased liberal media, or even a network that reports the stories that the liberal media ignore, but the only vehicle for Truth that exists."
Quickies
- Longtime Republican "opinion writer" John Derbyshire, who was fired last month from the Republican periodical National Journal for racist articles, wrote yet another racist article listing White Supremacy as one of the "better arrangements of history" for running government. Totally crazy.
- Republican Rep James Lankford of Oklahoma said he believes someone should be able to be fired from their job if they are gay because it is a behavior-based issue.
- Republican Rand Paul: "I didn't think views on marriage could get any gayer," when talking about Obama's recent vocal support for gay marriage.
- When Republicans say they wanted presidential candidates vetted they really mean they want Barack Obama declared ineligible to be president.
- The day MSNBC's Chris Matthews did his job.
Fox News: Terrorists Are Watching MSNBC
2012 is the new 2004.
It's all about who is the bigger, tough, more patriotic American and the answer always is Fox News-loving Republicans.
It's all about who is the bigger, tough, more patriotic American and the answer always is Fox News-loving Republicans.
Fox News Doesn't Like Slow Jam the News
As expected, Fox News didn't like President Obama's performance on Jimmy Fallon's show. There's really nothing the president can do that Republicans would support, like, talk good about or halfway think is good for the country.
It's just like Sean Hannity's new found love of teleprompters now that teleprompter-loving Mitt Romney is the nominee. When it was thought that Obama was the only person in the galaxy to use a teleprompter it was because he was pre-programmed as a Manchurian Candidate. But now, all of a sudden, Hannity calls it "smart."
It's just like Sean Hannity's new found love of teleprompters now that teleprompter-loving Mitt Romney is the nominee. When it was thought that Obama was the only person in the galaxy to use a teleprompter it was because he was pre-programmed as a Manchurian Candidate. But now, all of a sudden, Hannity calls it "smart."
Why Is It So Hard To Remind Republicans They Are the Communist Threat?
Two observations to make today.
First, while on Fox News Republican Mitt Romney was asked by Republican Steve Doocy if President Obama was going around trying to sound all Republican.
Secondly, we have Republican Allen West on CNN refusing to name names of the 90 or so Democratic Members of Congress he said are Communists.
But let's not stop there. Sure nationalizing entire financial industries is a huge step in the communist direction but there's way more. It was the Republican Party that created our first ever national takeover of Education with No Child Left Behind. It was the GOP that grew government by leaps and bounds with their completely unfunded $700 billion expansion of Medicare in 2003. Romney, Doocy and West, too, are all members of the political party that is responsible for the single largest public works project ever created in the Eisenhower Interstate System. They all three are members of the the Party that created the Department of Homeland Security as well as set us on a course of the largest redistribution of American wealth in history with the war in Iraq. There's your communist threat people!
It's important to note this because it's insane for Republicans and the media to somehow think they can have the history they do and get to call other people communists and complain about the size and spending problems of the federal government. The GOP is no stranger to communism, Big Government or socialism.
As a personal note, I fully realize how inaccurately I'm using the term communism. I'm using it as they use it. I'm fully aware that taking over AIG or Bank of America or building a highway doesn't mean you're a Communist. I know this. But if a Democratic president had done that there is no doubt Republicans would call it communism. They already are actually. I'm not going to allow myself to play by different rules. I can be just as lazy, inaccurate and repugnant as them. It's the only way to prove the point that they are completely delusional and allowing them to continue this charade of small government, fiscal crusaders is actually even lazier and more retarded. Make them own it!
First, while on Fox News Republican Mitt Romney was asked by Republican Steve Doocy if President Obama was going around trying to sound all Republican.
Doocy teed up a clip of President Obama speaking to a group of voters in Ohio on Wednesday, and said that the President sounded “a little like a Republican” when he praised the free market and said that government has its limitations before ultimately praising the collective government.Because, as we all know, anything to do with the free market and growing the economy via such means absolutely comes from the GOP.
Secondly, we have Republican Allen West on CNN refusing to name names of the 90 or so Democratic Members of Congress he said are Communists.
O’BRIEN: So name names for me. Which? Start naming the 78 to 81.It's important to note at this time that Mitt Romney, Steve Doocy and Allen West are all members of a political party that instituted TARP, that numerous times in the last decade bailed out the airline industry, that nationalized Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Lehman Bros, Bear Stearns, AIG, the auto industry, Citigroup, and Bank of America. It was the GOP that did all that!!!
WEST: Oh we don’t have to do that…
O’BRIEN: No, no, we do, I’m dying to know.
WEST: You can go look up the Congressional Progressive Caucus. You can go look up the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
O’BRIEN: I’ve got them right here.
WEST: Well then you’ve got the names.
O’BRIEN: So [Minnesota Democratic Rep.] Keith Ellison is a Communist?
WEST: Soledad, Soledad you know something…
O’BRIEN: [Arizona Democratic Rep.] Raúl Grijalva is a Communist?
WEST: Well look, I’m just talking about the fact that the ideologies, the principles you believe in.
O’BRIEN: [Wisconsin Democratic Rep.] Tammy Baldwin is a Communist? [California Democratic Rep.] Judy Chu is a Communist?
WEST: You can call it whatever you want. You can call it whatever you want. I’m talking about their beliefs.
O’BRIEN: No but I want to know what you’re calling it.
WEST: I’m calling it this: Communist, Progressive, Marxist, Socialist, Statist — which is another term that’s been used. I’m looking at the ideologies.
But let's not stop there. Sure nationalizing entire financial industries is a huge step in the communist direction but there's way more. It was the Republican Party that created our first ever national takeover of Education with No Child Left Behind. It was the GOP that grew government by leaps and bounds with their completely unfunded $700 billion expansion of Medicare in 2003. Romney, Doocy and West, too, are all members of the political party that is responsible for the single largest public works project ever created in the Eisenhower Interstate System. They all three are members of the the Party that created the Department of Homeland Security as well as set us on a course of the largest redistribution of American wealth in history with the war in Iraq. There's your communist threat people!
It's important to note this because it's insane for Republicans and the media to somehow think they can have the history they do and get to call other people communists and complain about the size and spending problems of the federal government. The GOP is no stranger to communism, Big Government or socialism.
As a personal note, I fully realize how inaccurately I'm using the term communism. I'm using it as they use it. I'm fully aware that taking over AIG or Bank of America or building a highway doesn't mean you're a Communist. I know this. But if a Democratic president had done that there is no doubt Republicans would call it communism. They already are actually. I'm not going to allow myself to play by different rules. I can be just as lazy, inaccurate and repugnant as them. It's the only way to prove the point that they are completely delusional and allowing them to continue this charade of small government, fiscal crusaders is actually even lazier and more retarded. Make them own it!
Let Them Stay Stupid
I really have no particular interest in Ted Nugent. I couldn't even tell you what he said, or didn't say for that matter. He isn't known for being one of the sharpest tools in the shed. But who cares? Let him say whatever he wants. People that are prone to believe Nugent aren't all that trustworthy anyway. And people who are more inclined to get their politics from him are resoundingly stupid. Let them stay that way.
Sure I know he gets to go on Fox News and say all kinds of mean things about the president-- something the right would never tolerate about their own president. Yep, that's what happens. But consider this. More people watched Elmo today than did Fox News. Let them be stupid. They are their own worst enemies, trust me.
Sure I know he gets to go on Fox News and say all kinds of mean things about the president-- something the right would never tolerate about their own president. Yep, that's what happens. But consider this. More people watched Elmo today than did Fox News. Let them be stupid. They are their own worst enemies, trust me.
A Republican Finally Admitted Reagan Raised Taxes
The thing about Jon Stewart's interview of Republican Grover Norquist isn't that his make-believe journalism is actually much better than anything you'll see in the mainstream media, it's the fact that he finally got a Republican to admit that Reagan raised taxes.
Of course, as is always with everything in the Republican Fantasy World, Republicans like Norquist claim Reagan only raised taxes because he was tricked by the evil liberals. But as Stewart makes note, how does that explain his 10 other tax increases that had nothing to do with Congress.
Not to mention, even with Reagan's numerous tax hikes he still ran massive annual budget deficits, which we are still paying for today. Could you imagine how much bigger those deficits would have been had he not raised revenue 11 different times? That's the other part of this equation Republicans refuse, tax cuts do not increase revenue.
Of course, as is always with everything in the Republican Fantasy World, Republicans like Norquist claim Reagan only raised taxes because he was tricked by the evil liberals. But as Stewart makes note, how does that explain his 10 other tax increases that had nothing to do with Congress.
Not to mention, even with Reagan's numerous tax hikes he still ran massive annual budget deficits, which we are still paying for today. Could you imagine how much bigger those deficits would have been had he not raised revenue 11 different times? That's the other part of this equation Republicans refuse, tax cuts do not increase revenue.
Stewart Reminds Everyone of Just How Radical Sean Hannity Is
Jon Stewart does a great job reminding viewers that Sean Hannity has a long history of hanging out with some very radical people.
Sure Oliver North is a criminal. And sure G. Gordon Liddy is a domestic terrorist. But Stewart leaves out one important character, however. Hal Turner: A known White Supremacist that Hannity used to allow airtime on his radio show. Hannity embraced Turner's radicalism fully.
Sure Oliver North is a criminal. And sure G. Gordon Liddy is a domestic terrorist. But Stewart leaves out one important character, however. Hal Turner: A known White Supremacist that Hannity used to allow airtime on his radio show. Hannity embraced Turner's radicalism fully.
What Do You Mean I don't Have Enough Coins to Start Another War?
A point that should be made by someone else other than a comedian.
“We can only make decisions about war if we see what war actually is, and not as a video game where bodies quickly disappear, leaving behind a shiny gold coin.”-- Jon Stewart
“We can only make decisions about war if we see what war actually is, and not as a video game where bodies quickly disappear, leaving behind a shiny gold coin.”-- Jon Stewart
How to Level the Religion Playing Field
There's a discussion thread on a post from a few days ago I want to highlight. One because it's civil. And two because it makes me look like I care and like I'm holier than thou. Trust me, I don't care and I in no way want to give off the perception that I'm holy (or especially that I'm holy and care).
Otter With Kids does an excellent job and I commend him/her for keeping it clean and staying on topic. I just want to add a couple things, however.
I've said a few hundred times on this blog that I don't care what Mormons believe. They have every right to believe what they want. I'm more than okay with them taking to heart their faith. And to be honest, every Mormon I have ever met has always been nothing but nice and open minded. I wish I could say the same thing about the Christian Right.
Though I do want to clarify a few things from that thread. I in no way even pretend, nor do I want to be associated with defining what is or isn't Christian. I'll let those with a vested interest, whether hypocritical or not is not for me to decide, be the people labeling such things. All I can do is give my opinion, which is just as valid as any opposing opinion.
Secondly, as I've said so many times, the point of me writing about Mitt Romney's religion is not to define it but to point out how Republicans get to play by different rules when it comes to such very personal matters like religion.
At least since 2004, when the president first entered the national scene, we've heard from self-labeled right wing Christians that Obama is Muslim, that he hates America, that he wants to impose Sharia law, that he is waging a war against Christians, and many, many other very untrue things. The only reason Republicans do this is because the president is a Democrat. There's no other reason to do it because Mr. Obama is definitely a Christian and is not doing any of the things they claim. It's simply because he's a Democrat that they keep with the fear and lies.
Proof of my analysis is Mitt Romney. Here's a guy that believes in things that are absolutely against the basis of mainstream Christianity. Neither the Pope, the Catholic church, Methodists, Baptists, Episcopal, Pentecost, Lutheran, or any denomination accept the beliefs of Romney's church. Absolutely none. In fact, they call his beliefs non-Christian, blasphemus, even treason. But no where is Romney being labeled by the media or by the very people who so condone Obama as hating America and God. He gets a free pass. The only difference is Romney is a Republican. If Barack Obama believed the Garden of Eden was in Missouri, that there are multiple Gods, that Joseph Smith is a prophet, that God lives in outer space he would have been impeached by now. Romney hasn't even been asked a question about it. Obama, who is a mainstream Christian, is bombarded daily by mainstream Christians. It's crazy.
Now I know a lot of the reason Romney is getting a free pass is because Democrats don't care to make his religion an issue. I actually get more push back from Dems for bringing up his religion than I do from anyone else. I'm not saying Democrats need to do what the Christian Right does to our candidates. I'm just saying there's nothing wrong for the unequal playing field to be pointed out. I think an honest and excellent rebuttal every time Fox News runs a segment on Obama's war on Christianity is to mention that Mitt Romney believes God lives on a planet in outer space and that Adam and Eve lived in Missouri.
That's not judging. It's just pointing out how wrong Fox News is in the first place and how way out of line the GOP has become. I'm one who believes that when they hit you, you hit back. It's a strategy right from the playbooks of FDR, Kennedy and Bill Clinton. You don't have to kick 'em in the nuts, but you sure can give a backhand.
*Update:
It literally only took about two clicks away from writing this post to find even more evidence as to why I refuse to let the religion issue be one-sided.
Fresh off a full-sweep in Tuesday's GOP elections, Rick Santorum says President Obama wants to send Christians off to be beheaded.
Really Rick? The guy you are running against believes Genesis took place in Missouri. How are we supposed to teach that?
Otter With Kids does an excellent job and I commend him/her for keeping it clean and staying on topic. I just want to add a couple things, however.
I've said a few hundred times on this blog that I don't care what Mormons believe. They have every right to believe what they want. I'm more than okay with them taking to heart their faith. And to be honest, every Mormon I have ever met has always been nothing but nice and open minded. I wish I could say the same thing about the Christian Right.
Though I do want to clarify a few things from that thread. I in no way even pretend, nor do I want to be associated with defining what is or isn't Christian. I'll let those with a vested interest, whether hypocritical or not is not for me to decide, be the people labeling such things. All I can do is give my opinion, which is just as valid as any opposing opinion.
Secondly, as I've said so many times, the point of me writing about Mitt Romney's religion is not to define it but to point out how Republicans get to play by different rules when it comes to such very personal matters like religion.
At least since 2004, when the president first entered the national scene, we've heard from self-labeled right wing Christians that Obama is Muslim, that he hates America, that he wants to impose Sharia law, that he is waging a war against Christians, and many, many other very untrue things. The only reason Republicans do this is because the president is a Democrat. There's no other reason to do it because Mr. Obama is definitely a Christian and is not doing any of the things they claim. It's simply because he's a Democrat that they keep with the fear and lies.
Proof of my analysis is Mitt Romney. Here's a guy that believes in things that are absolutely against the basis of mainstream Christianity. Neither the Pope, the Catholic church, Methodists, Baptists, Episcopal, Pentecost, Lutheran, or any denomination accept the beliefs of Romney's church. Absolutely none. In fact, they call his beliefs non-Christian, blasphemus, even treason. But no where is Romney being labeled by the media or by the very people who so condone Obama as hating America and God. He gets a free pass. The only difference is Romney is a Republican. If Barack Obama believed the Garden of Eden was in Missouri, that there are multiple Gods, that Joseph Smith is a prophet, that God lives in outer space he would have been impeached by now. Romney hasn't even been asked a question about it. Obama, who is a mainstream Christian, is bombarded daily by mainstream Christians. It's crazy.
Now I know a lot of the reason Romney is getting a free pass is because Democrats don't care to make his religion an issue. I actually get more push back from Dems for bringing up his religion than I do from anyone else. I'm not saying Democrats need to do what the Christian Right does to our candidates. I'm just saying there's nothing wrong for the unequal playing field to be pointed out. I think an honest and excellent rebuttal every time Fox News runs a segment on Obama's war on Christianity is to mention that Mitt Romney believes God lives on a planet in outer space and that Adam and Eve lived in Missouri.
That's not judging. It's just pointing out how wrong Fox News is in the first place and how way out of line the GOP has become. I'm one who believes that when they hit you, you hit back. It's a strategy right from the playbooks of FDR, Kennedy and Bill Clinton. You don't have to kick 'em in the nuts, but you sure can give a backhand.
*Update:
It literally only took about two clicks away from writing this post to find even more evidence as to why I refuse to let the religion issue be one-sided.
Fresh off a full-sweep in Tuesday's GOP elections, Rick Santorum says President Obama wants to send Christians off to be beheaded.
“As we saw in the Ninth Circuit just this week, that if you believe that [same sex marriage is wrong] — this is what the court said — that if believe that, if believe what’s taught in Genesis, if you believe what’s practiced Biblically and a generation since then you are irrational. The only possible reason you could believe this, according to the Ninth Circuit, is that you are a bigot and that you are a hater.”
He continued: “They are taking faith and crushing it. Why? When you marginalize faith in America, when you remove the pillar of God-given rights then what’s left is the French Revolution. What’s left is a government that gives you rights. What’s left are no unalienable rights. What’s left is a government that will tell you who you are, what you’ll do and when you’ll do it. What’s left in France became the the guillotine.”
Really Rick? The guy you are running against believes Genesis took place in Missouri. How are we supposed to teach that?
Being Wrong and the Memory Hole
Paul Krugman makes a good point that people who often make dire economic predictions are rarely held accountable. Sometimes, as Krugman notes, they are even promoted and treated as if their inaccurate dire warnings were never made in the first place.
This is true in a lot ways actually. But what Krugman doesn't understand is that the Memory Hole is an easy way out of such a mess. If I'm not mistaken, Krugman invented the term Memory Hole so how he overlooks it is comical.
In this era of 24/7 news coverage and constant streaming videos, one would think that inaccuracy about important matters like the economy would be a career killer. Quite opposite actually, especially if you are really good at being wrong. Heck there's even an entire network devoted solely to being wrong, Fox News. They embrace such inaccuracies and proudly blare them to hundreds of millions of people. It's a pride thing for them. Being wrong isn't what it used to be.
This is true in a lot ways actually. But what Krugman doesn't understand is that the Memory Hole is an easy way out of such a mess. If I'm not mistaken, Krugman invented the term Memory Hole so how he overlooks it is comical.
In this era of 24/7 news coverage and constant streaming videos, one would think that inaccuracy about important matters like the economy would be a career killer. Quite opposite actually, especially if you are really good at being wrong. Heck there's even an entire network devoted solely to being wrong, Fox News. They embrace such inaccuracies and proudly blare them to hundreds of millions of people. It's a pride thing for them. Being wrong isn't what it used to be.
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