Four Shot Dead at Town Hall Meeting in Pennsylvania

Image from source, Raw Story

There's been a little bit of buzz about the potential for rowdy and disruptive town hall meetings this month, but I don't think anybody expected this.

[Excerpt]

Four dead, two injured as gunman opens fire on town hall meeting in Pennsylvania

A shooting during a town hall meeting in northeastern Pennsylvania has left four people dead and two others are in critical condition, according to local media reports.

“All I saw was the holes go through the hall,” said Pocono Record reporter Chris Reber, who was at the meeting in the Ross Township municipal building. “I saw smoke and plaster flying out, blowing out through the walls. . .”

Read more at: Raw Story

Radio Host Nicole Sandler Jailed After Asking Rep. West (R-FL) a Question

The first couple of days this week, The Randi Rhodes Show was hosted by Nicole Sandler of RadioOrNot.com, since Randi was out sick. Sandler and Rhodes both live in Florida, and are constituents of Rep. Allen West (R-Batshit). Since West was having a town hall meeting, Sandler decided that she'd be missing an opportunity if she didn't go and ask a question. She even told listeners that she'd be the lady with the long brown hair, and a blue dress that might show a little too much cleavage.

I expected to hear a report back from her on Wednesday, whether she was hosting or not. I didn't expect that she'd end up spending the night in jail for having the temerity to ask a question of the loony Congressman. Nice.

[Excerpt]

About That Town Hall Meeting, Mr. West…




 
It figures, my blog is the last place you’ll read about my arrest and subsequent incarceration after attending Allen West’s so-called Town Hall Meeting last night.



Since I spent last night in jail and, thanks to the sickeningly awful people at the Broward County Jail was subjected to three hours in solitary confinement in a 7×10 room, and then maced. Nice, huh? . . .

Read more at: RadioOrNot.com

Revenge of the Town Hall Meetings

What a difference a couple of years make, huh? Remember all of those raucus "town hall" meetings during the health care reform debate? Well, debate isn't the right word. They were big and showy and bombastic. They were intended to disrupt and prevent discussion, not stimulate it. And they were--of course--largely the work of big-moneyed conservative backers using the already riled up (for various reasons, real and imaginary) people to do their dirty work. Lots of people like me wondered, how are these mostly working class or lower people being convinced to do the legwork for corporations and rich people? Won't they ever see the light?

Guess what? They're starting to. Finally.

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Greenlee Gazette Prediction Accurate. Sorta.

Image from From the Wilderness

Map from Electoral-Vote.com

Last October, long before Barack Obama's Presidential win was a sure thing, I wrote a post predicting the down side of such a win. I got a lot right. But there was something I didn't count on. I knew that the right-wing, and their supporters on talk radio and FOX "News" would be picking apart every tiny thing the new President would do. Here's where I got it wrong, though.

Back when Bill Clinton was President, it seemed as though the talking heads and the think tanks were setting the agenda, doing the digging and coming up with the talking points. The base conservatives--from merely staunch partisans to the wing nut fringe--provided the support, and spread the word. This time around, it is the wing nut fringe doing the heavy lifting, and it is they who are getting support from the talking heads and, yes, FOX "News."

Even the most skilled prognosticator--and I do not claim to be one--couldn't have predicted the nuttiness that would ensue. We've got several groups of separate but overlapping groups of nutters: birthers, deathers, tenthers, tea baggers, town hallies. . .there seems to be no end to it. It doesn't matter how kooky or debunked the theory, it just keeps coming, full steam ahead. Surprisingly, Congressmen, Senators, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, et. al are pushing almost all of it. I can only hope that when President Obama says he will "call them out" on their falsehoods, he means it. And I wonder what took him so long?

[Excerpts from Original Post, October 4, 2008]

Democrats, Don't Forget the Downside to an Obama Win

. . .So, while we can't be sure, the odds are that Obama will win. What we need to keep in mind, should this happen, is that Republicans and conservatives are not going to take that well. And that's putting it mildly. It will make the sour grapes attitude of the PUMAs look like a 5-year-old's temper tantrum.

Remember how Republicans acted during the Clinton administration? Every nit was picked, everything was blown up into a scandal, no matter how frivolous or stupid. Millions of dollars were spent on investigations that proved nothing. Right-wing think tanks worked with right-wing media and politicians to impeach Bill Clinton, for anything they could. It was an impeachment in search of a reason. Unfortunately, Clinton walked right into the trap, and what a stupid trap it was.

But that may have been just a preview of what Obama might have to deal with. The right had power for 12 uninterrupted years before Clinton, but they hadn't tasted real power yet. . .

So, if Obama wins, this team of "win at all costs" partisans will have nothing to do, except pick apart the Obama Administration. And pick they will. Every. Little. Thing. You think you're tired of the blowholes like Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter and Bill O'Reilly now? They will be in full-on attack mode.

The irony of course is that George W. Bush and his administration is guilty of so much, in many cases actual crimes. And that list of people above, in addition to the right-wing blogs, have excused it all. There is very little Obama could do that would even approach the shenanigans of Bush, and yet they will act like it is the worst thing a President has ever done, whatever it is.

So, be aware, liberals, progressives and Democrats. Be prepared to fight. Be prepared to rebut the inevitable inanity. If Obama wins on November 4, we will breathe an ecstatic sigh of relief. In fact, I think the emotion is going to be so strong, it will be hard to name (with the opposite being true with a loss). But the honeymoon is bound to be short. I wouldn't be surprised--again with an Obama win--if the conservatives went to work on November 5, and worked right up to inauguration day to start the slime from day 1. . .

OK, so I might not be Miss Cleo, but I got it pretty much right.

Sen. Al Franken Talks Health Care

To paraphrase Columbia in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, I'm a regular Franken fan. I've been so since the late 70s (the Al Franken Decade!), through his books, radio show and LateLine. Still, for whatever reason, Franken is as polarizing as President Obama. Neither man lives up to the cartoonish, monsteriffic images painted by their detractors. In fact, I wish some of those people would simply watch this video, and see for themselves what kind of guy Franken is. Of course, I also wish we could trade Senator Ensign for Senator Franken. But they'd probably want to swap Michelle Bachmann for our Shelley Berkley, and that wouldn't be fair.

The Truth About the Town Halls

Image from bobcesca.com

We've suffered through an entire month of whack-job tea baggers at town halls. Hoping it was over, it has instead trickled into the new month, culminating in a fight that cost one guy a finger. But is all this nuttiness really only a sideshow? It was created to take over the media news cycle of course, but was it really happening on as large a scale as we thought?

Maybe not.

[Excerpt]

The Real Town Hall Story

Health-care reform is said to be in trouble partly because of those raucous August town-hall meetings in which Democratic members of Congress were besieged by shouters opposed to change.

But what if our media-created impression of the meetings is wrong? What if the highly publicized screamers represented only a fraction of public opinion? What if most of the town halls were populated by citizens who respectfully but firmly expressed a mixture of support, concern and doubt? . . .

Read more at: Washington Post

Townhall Gun Carrier Wants Obama to Die

Image from source, TPM Muckraker

We're officially done with August, which--for whatever reason--is always called the "silly season" in politics. It may have to be re-dubbed the "scary season" after this summer of continuously creepier activities by President Obama's detractors. Whatever a person might think of Obama personally, or his policies, he simply hasn't been in office long enough to justify this nutty, off-the-deep-end right-wing frothing.

Take this guy, for example. He's the guy who brought an automatic weapon to a health care reform Town Hall meeting. And he happens to have a whack-job preacher that makes Reverend Wright look like the Snuggle bear.

[Excerpt]

Gun-Toter From Obama Event: I, Like My Pastor, Want The President To Die

The violent anti-Obama sentiment coming out of central Arizona managed to get still more toxic over the weekend.

Chris Broughton, the man who brought an AR-15 rifle and a handgun to an Arizona Obama rally earlier this month, says he "concurs" with his fundamentalist pastor's prayer for President Obama "to die and go to hell. . ."

Read more at: TPM Muckraker

Young Turks on Guns at Townhalls (Plus "The Gay")

It was only a matter of time before "the gay" was linked to the whole tea bagger/birther/deather/townhall mob scene. I'm actually surprised it took this long. Here's a clip from The Young Turks, about a crazy pastor and his passionate hatred (and death wish) for President Obama.



So where is the gay part of the issue? Well, here is that same pastor of "the best church in the world" on that very topic.

[Excerpt]

God Commands You To Kill Gays

I spend a lot of time here mocking Religious Right groups and activists for their views of homosexuality, but as Jeremy says about these audio clips he posted the other day, "this 'culture war' is all fun and games until someone wants to execute you."

And he's not joking. Just listen to these rants from Steven L. Anderson of Faithful Word Baptist Church in Tempe, AZ, explaining to his audience how gays are out to rape their children in order to recruit them and says that the only way to stop them is to kill them. . .

Read more at: Right Wing Watch

John McCain Tries to Sooth His Crazy "Friends"

My friends, I think it's time to admit--as John McCain seems nearly ready to do in the clip below--to concede that active Republicans are simply certifiable. Their alleged concern. . .no wait, outright allegation that President Obama is somehow ignoring the Constitution is an underlying theme to all of the nuttiness that has gone on in "Birthistan" all summer. I have a few questions for any right-wingers out there reading this (and please be succinct with your answers):

First, what part of the Constitution is Obama guilty of ignoring? Second, assuming you've already answered the first question, is this violation something that our previous President is also guilty of? Third, if you've answered the first two, where the hell were you the last eight years? A quick Google search can turn up many, many convincing and well-documented cases of Bush-era Constitution trampling. And finally, if I remember correctly, anyone who dared criticize George W. Bush was declared an unpatriotic, "blame America first," treasonous, America hater. What makes you any different for criticizing Obama?

Quote of the Day: From the Rude Pundit

I love this:

"There's not a nickel's worth of difference between the mobs of white people shouting at black children walking into a newly-integrated school and the people standing up and shouting at members of Congress at town halls. And they have to be fought in much the same way, which means the government needs to ignore them."

Read more at: The Rude Pundit

Rush Limbaugh is a Pig. But You Knew That.

Image from source, TPM Muckraker

One of the surest comments you can count on from a conservative if a gay person is the subject, is a lame gay joke. Whether it's Melissa Etheridge, k. d. lang, Rachel Maddow or Barney Frank, if there is news about the gay person in question, there will be a flurry of ridiculous, jr. high school-level puns and/or "jokes." After Barney Frank (D-Mass.)'s town hall meeting, Limbaugh did not disappoint. Despite the fact that Frank owned the tea bagger woman with the Obama-as-Hitler poster, Limbaugh turned it around on the Congressman. In his own lame way, of course.

[Excerpt]

Limbaugh Cheers On Woman With Obama-As-Hitler Sign At Barney Frank Event

"But the killer for me was, here's Barney Frank saying, 'What planet do you live on?' to this woman. Isn't it an established fact that Barney Frank himself spends of his time living around Uranus?"

Source: TPM Muckraker

Barney Frank Shuts Down "Nazi" Analogy

I don't care what you think of Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank, this response to a whack-job tea bagger is spot-on perfect.



Thanks to Katie for the tip.

White House Thinks Guns are OK at Presidential Events?

Image from source, Washington Post

OK, I'm still trying to figure this one out. I remember when people would be arrested for wearing the wrong T-shirt to events when George W. Bush was President. Now, people are swarming around with big honking guns, and that's just fine? That's a head scratcher for sure.

I have no doubt that most of the people showing up to these things with guns are doing so to prove a point. The point may be, "hey, it's legal, so I'm gonna do it." Or it might be, that they're afraid (wrongly, in my opinion) that President Obama is going to try to take their guns away. Or they might think it makes them look tough, and they'll probably get on the tee vee. To me it says, "I'm a big giant douche."

I have no problem with gun ownership. I don't have one, but I wouldn't be against the idea. But there is something more going on here. Some bizarre fetishism. They not only want the right to bear arms, they want to be sure you know it. I don't for a minute believe that this "show of force" isn't supposed to be threatening. It clearly is. My guess is that the White House is trying to play it cool, and on the surface say that this doesn't rile them. But I'll bet you that the Secret Service is on high alert.

[Excerpt]

White House Backs Right to Arms Outside Obama Events

Armed men seen mixing with protesters outside recent events held by President Obama acted within the law, the White House said Tuesday, attempting to allay fears of a security threat. . .

Read more at: Washington Post

Latest Twist to Health Care Reform Protests: Guns

I've already said a couple of times on the blog that the current mood of the Republicans and conservatives is strange and hard to define. It probably boils down to the scene from Blazing Saddles, where Gabby Johnson spies Sheriff Bart and says, "The sheriff is a n(gong!)er!" But you won't get them to admit it. Instead, they've resorted to becoming "birthers" or "deathers" or "tea baggers."

All of these things have a fuzzy goal, I guess. But they all have splinters and factions, and it pretty much seems to be a generic "we hate Obama" message. They're throwing everything they've got at him, and they're bringing up every conservative bogeyman there is. Case in point, the sudden proliferation of guns to President Obama's public events, and to other political gatherings. As far as I know, there haven't been any major mentions of gun control from Obama, but that doesn't matter. Half the stuff (at least) that they've been hurling at him aren't true either.

I'm personally not an anti-gun activist. I was raised around them, and taught how to use them. But I've also been around alot of gun aficionados (mostly harmless) and some hard-boiled gun nuts (substantially creepier). It would seem to be the nuts showing up at town halls with guns. Throw in some scary imagery, and a conservative media throwing gasoline on the fire, and it isn't hard to imagine this all turning considerably uglier.

Lazy Weekend, FaceBook and FOX "News"

I woke up extremely late today, and was quite surprised. I woke up at 7 am, fed the cat, and went back to bed "for a little while." Then I woke up at nearly noon. Weird. I guess feeding the cat removed her "alarm cat" function, and she just let me lay there. Ack! Now, my whole day and sense of time is wrecked.

So, I got up, logged in to FaceBook, which is something of a new phenomenon to me. It's been a lot of fun in the last two weeks, but a time-eater if ever there was one. I decided to do a couple of posts listing what I've been up to over the last 25 years (and the previous 18 as well), to have a handy reference for old friends who ask, "so what have you been up to?" Logging a yearly retrospective of your life takes a lot of thought, and more effort than I would have thought.

While doing this, I put on FOX "News," which is something I can only stomach if I'm also doing something else (much like watching American Idol). Otherwise I feel guilty. FOX "News" on the weekend is something of a train wreck. While on weekdays, their shows are manned (or womaned) by seasoned--if outlandish--personalities, their weekend shows are staffed by second- or third-stringers. And while the weekday shows acknowledge (barely) their political bias, the weekend shows are for the most part news. Allegedly.

While watching America's News HQ, something you'd expect to be actual news, I was taken by the naked, right-wing slant. Sure, MSNBC has a leftward slant on weekdays, as FOX does in the opposite direction. But to be fair, MSNBC's slogan is "The Place for Politics," and "news" is nowhere in their name. FOX claims to be both "Fair and Balanced" AND has "news" in their name. Bull pucky to the former and the latter.

America's News HQ sounds like a straight news program, right? Then why were hosts (a pleasant looking, brunette man/woman combo; no idea what their names are) so overtly right-wing? On the subject of health care reform, they were scarcely better than the "deathers." Sneers all around, scary what-if scenarios, skepticism abounding. I can't get into more detail, because as I said, I was busy. But there was absolutely no question about where the hosts fell on the issue, and on others as they came up.

It was something of a surprise to see that they aired a President Obama town hall meeting in full. It was unsurprising to see the commentary afterward, flat-out calling Obama a liar. Nice. Fair and Balanced my pale white rear end.

Sean Hannity, Frank Luntz Get Unwanted Feedback

I doubt Sean Hannity wanted some of the answers he got from his assembled group of "concerned voters" when he and Frank Luntz were asking them questions about the town hall meeting "mobs." Hannity's response that FOX "News" and Rush Limbaugh are giving people "the truth" made me snicker.

Sidebar: Hannity and Luntz look particularly toad-like in this video. They should have "do not shoot in profile" in their contracts.

Steven Weber: Mad Men (On Mobs & Health Care Reform)

Photo from AOL

I've posted many a piece by blogger/actor Steven Weber in the past, but this one really hit me. Once again, he's written something that was in my head, but he put it into words I could only aspire to. If you haven't ever read his stuff, this is a good place to start.

[Excerpt]

Mad Men

. . .A dispassionate observer might conclude that such a mentality is ultimately not worth the effort to rehabilitate; that the total immersion into the mob ideology as directed by its de facto leaders (who have more in common with the fascist/socialist dictators their opponents supposedly possess) renders such a person incapable of reason and devoid of sense, responding only to fight or flight, black and white, reward and punishment, good and evil. . .

Read more at: Huffington Post

Do You Think This Guy is Angry?

Yeah, he's angry alright. Though he's able to hit his rage pause button while the reporter chats with her cameraman. But once he gets rolling, he gets rolling. The trouble is, what is he angry about? He claims his country is being taken away, and is holding a sign against "socialism." But like the attempts at conservative humor listed below, it is a vague, unfocused message. In fact, the message is not all that different from many liberal protesters from the last several years. Giving up freedom for safety? Isn't that what the Patriot Act did?



Found at: AmericaBlog

Part 2 of Esquire's Orly Taitz & The Birthers Piece

It's amazing how quickly the "birther" um. . .controversy has disappeared from the news. Unless the term is being associated with the current "deather" or town hall tea bagger movements, it's sort of disappeared. That probably has something to do with the fact that they're just different slices of the same ball of crazy, and that the birther wedge has taken a serious hit. After leading birther advocate Orly Taitz (dentist, lawyer, real estate agent, etc.) got punk'd with a fake Kenyan birth certificate, her true colors started shining through.

As the excerpted piece below shows clearly, the wack-a-doodle evidence was there all along. But the scary part is, she's got a following. And she's paring off the saner ones, leaving a very scary bunch.

[Excerpt]

What Really Happens When You Demand the President Produce His Birth Certificate?

You get a bunch of outrageous people — very nice people, mind you, but frustrated enough to believe anything about Obama — storming the offices of the attorney general, the secretary of state, and the FBI. At the center of it all was Esquire.com's political columnist, bearing witness to the "birthers" for the conclusion of a two-part series. . .

Read more at: Esquire

Daily Show Moment of Zen: Town Hall Meetings

Comparing town hall meetings of Congressmen to those of a President might be a little bit apples and oranges, but this clip from The Daily Show with Jon Stewart does prove something of a point. Compare and contrast, won't you, the difference between the crazed shouting matches going on right now to the (carefully picked) crowd's "questions" of George W. Bush. Not all that long ago. . .

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