I'm a Democrat, but I've never really been a "party first" kind of guy. I started out a Republican (by heredity), and slowly segued to the left. The more I paid attention to the world around me, and the more I learned about the differences between the parties, I sort of became a Democrat by default. I just wasn't welcome in the Republican Party. Nowadays, I'm a left-winger and/or progressive and/or liberal, which is by default a Democrat. Until a third party builds an infrastructure that can compete, that is where I'll likely remain.
So don't misread this post to think I'm a Big D lock-stepping Democrat, and think they can do no wrong. They can and do. But by-and-large, they don't say really crazy things quite as often as Republicans do. And since the tea baggers have managed to go from fringe to mainstream (they're still plenty fringy by the way), the crazy is flying fast and furious. Here's a handy collection of them, if you're interested.
The Obama Administration, the NAACP and the USDA have been harshly criticized over their initial treatment of Shirley Sherrod, and as well they should be. There is a larger issue though, and that is the tactic of FOX "News", right-wing bloggers like Andrew Breitbart, and the way they successfully push bogus stories into the mainstream.
For a blogger like me, who started this blog in the dog-days of the Bush Era, this all feels like deja-vu. Back then, though the Karl Rove alternate reality machine was breaking down, the right-wing spin was still leading news cycles. I sat here knowing that there stories were bogus, I could see what they were doing, but reality just refused to break through. Now, here we sit, 18 months into the Obama Era. And what has led the news cycles lately? Big, blown-up faux outrage stories, sometimes only tangentially true, sometimes utterly false. And the mainstream media and sometimes the Democratic elected politicians keep falling for it.
I'm glad that Robert Gibbs is calling on the mainstream press to do some soul searching on how they report on these things. I only hope that he and the rest of the Obama Administration are doing the same.
[Excerpt]
Gibbs calls on media to do soul searching about Sherrod mess
The Shirley Sherrod mess has ignited another national conversation about race, but if Robert Gibbs has his way, it will also spark some soul-searching by members of the media about their willingness to legitimize bogus stories, particularly ones pushed by the right. . .
Sharron Angle has learned to avoid most of the press not on "her" side (FOX "News" and conservative talk radio). Virtually all of her appearances have been in friendly venues, and her rare mainstream media appearances--planned and unplanned--haven't gone so well. Angle should realize that dodging questions on camera makes her look guilty, like Nevada Senator John Ensign or Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons running away from a scandal. Maybe she wants to join the Nevada rogues gallery?
[Excerpt]
NV-Sen: Angle runs from pregnant reporter
Another must-see video out of Nevada -- this time Sharron Angle literally flees a pregnant reporter for Reno's NBC affiliate who was trying to ask her a question about GOP congressman Dean Heller's criticism of her view that unemployment benefits have "spoiled our citizenry" and give people and incentive to not find work. . .
Okay, I think this will be my last post about the faux outrage story about Shirley Sherrod for a while, unless something really newsworthy and interesting happens. But I wanted another perspective on the asshattery that is Andrew Breitbart. In the early days of the blog, I used a few of his posts in excerpts, not realizing what a douche nozzle he is. I'm a one-man show for the most part, doing this as a hobby. I don't have the power to break a story, or invent one like Breitbart does. Hell, I didn't even know the Netroots convention was here in my backyard until yesterday! So here is a more informed opinion of a guy who should be run out of business by this latest fabrication, but won't be.
[Excerpt]
Fooled Again by Breitbart and the Wingnut Right
There's nothing shocking or surprising about the latest Andrew Breitbart scam in which he released selectively-edited video of an African American USDA worker, Shirley Sherrod, and accused her of racism against a white farmer couple, the Spooners. That's not to suggest we shouldn't be vigorously talking about it. We absolutely should be. But the most outrageous aspects of the story are fairly typical of everyone involved: Breitbart, the so-called "liberal" news media, Democrats, Fox News Channel and all points in between. . .
I know I know I know. . .I've had too many clips from The Rachel Maddow Show lately. Way too many, I mean this is not her blog, right? I'm sorry, I can't help myself, her show has just been awesome lately. In fact, I could post most of tonight's show, much of which was about the Shirly Sherrod faux racism scandal. So, I'm posting three clips right here in this post, and will do my level best to avoid the topic for the rest of the week. Here's a tip, if you want to watch a little and not a lot:
The first clip is top heavy with exposition, allegories and such. It's really good, but it's long. The second clip is a little breezier, with the Washington Post's Eugene Robinson and Rachel finding gallows humor in the whole sordid affair. And the third is a smackdown of FOX "News" and their transparent, baldly partisan faux news machine (it's awesome).
The host of Countdown with Keith Olbermann is on vacation, but he was coaxed back for the aftermath of the latest faux outrage, FOX "News"/Andrew Breitbart, non-story. And hey you folks out there who insist that MSNBC is just a mirror image of FOX, and that Olbermann is some kind of Obamabot. . .watch this clip to see if you still believe that. He goes after FOX and Breitbart of course, along with President Obama, Robert Gibbs, other members of the administration and the USDA, and even has a dig at "some" on MSNBC itself (I'm guessing Joe Scarborough).
This one just struck me funny, because Ben Stein is not known for his sparkling personality. Bueller? Bueller?
[Excerpt]
Ben Stein: The Unemployed Are People With ‘Unpleasant Personalities…Who Do Not Know How To Do A Day’s Work’
Today, the Senate extended unemployment benefits for millions of jobless Americans. Despite the terrible shape of the economy, conservatives resisted extending unemployment insurance for weeks for Americans who can’t find work, launching a filibuster to prevent a vote on the benefits. . .
Well, whattaya know. I fired off a couple of tweets today in the #Shakespalin thread, and it made the Huffington Post recap! If you're not familiar, the other day, Sarah Palin--instead of just saying "whoopsie"--defended a typo by saying that Shakespere invented words too. Thus was born Shakespalin. A quote from the Bard translated into Palinese. There are a bunch of funny ones, most better than mine.
There has been a concerted effort by FOX "News" and its allied partners in right-wing world to get white people to feel they're victims of racism. It's nothing new--I think Sean Hannity invented the term "reverse racism"--but it has picked up steam lately. There was the overblown, two-year-old story about the New Black Panther Party. There was the overblown response to a tepid statement from the NAACP warning tea baggers to repudiate the racists in their midst. And now, there's the railroading of a seemingly decent woman, Shirley Sherrod, by Andrew Breitbart, painting her as an evil racist within the Obama Administration.
This led to an unfortunate, knee-jerk denouncement of Sherrod by the NAACP itself, and a forced resignation by the Obama Administration. The NAACP has made amends. I hope the White House does as well. They've fallen for the FOX spin far too many times already.
The entire story was bogus, an edited tape taken out of context, representing the story to be absolutely the opposite of what happened. You know, the FOX "News" stock-in-trade. The story is complex if you're not familiar with how these faux outrage stories bloom. So, while I was going to try to avoid any Rachel Maddow Show clips for a couple of days, I could think of no better way to explain it all. This is primo stuff. If you haven't seen it, please watch. The second clip is worth a view too, but the choice bits are in the first clip (good stuff starts at 1:35).
How did I miss this? Here I am, an intrepid Las Vegas blogger, and an out-of-town visitor found this before I did? Well, Joe.My.God. has been doing this a lot longer than me, and. . .well. . .I guess he's better at it too. As in my previous post, I'm not sure how I feel about this one. I'm all an board with Get Equal's mission, just not nuts about their tactics. I've never really understood protesting in blatantly illegal (and annoying) ways to reach your goal. I'm sure it works sometimes, but I dunno. Like Gilda Radner's character Rhonda Weiss said, "I've always found protests kind of pushy and whiny."
And then there is the fact that they're calling Harry Reid out. All well and good (and I'm not against that either), but Reid is so immesureably better than his competition (wack-a-doodle Sharron Angle), I'm not sure he needs any more black eyes just now. Then again, it is not as if Angle would even approach the issue in her campaign. Would she?
[Excerpt]
GetEQUAL Blocks Las Vegas Strip
Eight members of GetEqual, including Robin McGehee and Dan Choi, were arrested in Las Vegas today after blocking traffic on the city's busiest street in protest of inaction on ENDA by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV). . .
I'm not sure where I come down on this particular issue. I'm a blogger, and as a regular part of Greenlee Gazette, I very often post excerpts from other sources. I usually write at least a little as a lead-in, sometimes a lot. And I try to only excerpt a small enough portion (as below, always accredited with links) to fall under "fair use." If the item is very short, sometimes I'll post the whole thing, but that is rare. So far, I've never gotten a complaint, and I'm very easy to contact.
That said, the target of this lawsuit is FreeRepublic, one of the leading arch-conservative, tea bagging outpost of the interwebs. Theirs is a site of no dissent, extremely one-sided, Obama hating, Palin loving wingnuttery. And they basically have homophobia written into their bylaws. Understandably, if something sour befalls FReeperland, I'm not going to cry about it too hard (tears of joy, maybe). Still, as a fellow internet commando--albiet from 180-degrees away, ideologically--a win for the Las Vegas Review-Journal could have a negative impact right across the blogging board. Dammit, I prefer my schadenfreude a little clearer-cut.
[Excerpt]
Conservative website among 3 sued over R-J copyrights
A conservative news-sharing website with plenty of experience in dealing with copyright issues has been sued for copyright infringement after Las Vegas Review-Journal stories allegedly were posted on its site.
Free Republic LLC, James C. Robinson and John Robinson, who are associated with the website www.freerepublic.com in Fresno, Calif., were sued in federal court in Las Vegas on Monday over the postings. . .
Not in a million years. Not under any circumstance, not after a worse president, not after a nuclear war, not after a world-wide pandemic, not if Adolf Hitler II took over tomorrow. Just, hell no.
[Excerpt]
Sen. Cornyn: ‘I Think A Lot Of People Are Looking Back With More Fondness On President Bush’s Administration’
When Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) made an appearance on C-SPAN’s “Newsmakers” yesterday, a host asked him whether Republicans plan to embrace the Bush legacy, and Cornyn suggested that they wholeheartedly would. He even claimed that former President Bush is enjoying a revival as the public feels “fondness” about his administration. . .
Given the full contact and overall machismo seen in sports on a regular basis, it's not shocking that these photos exist. It is shocking that it took us this long to give them to you. And for that, we apologize. Now go on, enjoy some immature laughs. We all deserve it.
I'm well known to be a lefty-liberal moonbat, but it wasn't always that way. Time was, I was a Reagan Republican. I shook that off years ago, and frankly, the nearly deified Reagan that right-wing talk radio rhapsodizes about these days bears little resemblance to what I remember. As a lefty, how would I know that? Because I usually listen to right-wing talk radio in the car to-and-from work. Oh, I'd probably listen to left-wing radio if I could, but no such animal exists in Las Vegas. Here--though we voted for Barack Obama and a slew of Democrats in the last election--we have three full-time (or one and a half to quote Casey Hendrickson) right-wing talk stations. Supply and demand, my bippy. But that's a different blog post.
This one is about one station, 840 KXNT-AM (which they never get tired of saying, every other sentence) having shifted formats to a more newsy--but still right-wing--format, and dumping their evening talk duo. I've written about Casey Hendrickson and Heather Kydd before, not usually in glowing terms. But they kind of got the bum's rush, having been highly rated. They're known as "team awesome" for unclear reasons, and had a youngish fan-base (being youngsters themselves). I've been following them on Facebook out of curiosity. So just to prove to them that not all liberals are big meanies, and "happy to see them fired," here's a free commercial for their new gig on one of those other right-wing stations. This time, it's a FOX "News" station, so I guess you could say they hit the big time. So, good luck to team awesome. I've got a fairly tiny reach, but if I can help, I'm happy to.
From Hendrickson's Facebook Page: "Our new show will air starting Aug. 16th, 9-11am, Fox News 1280 KDOX."
What was it that Dwight Eisenhower said about the military industrial complex? And how would the politicians and pundits react to that statement in today's political climate? Far be it for me to suggest layoffs in this economy, but somebody should be looking into doing something about this. . .
[Excerpt]
A hidden world, growing beyond control
The top-secret world the government created in response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, has become so large, so unwieldy and so secretive that no one knows how much money it costs, how many people it employs, how many programs exist within it or exactly how many agencies do the same work. . .
I know I over-rely on Rachel Maddow stories sometimes (sue me, I'm a fan). But this is too good to ignore. Marco Rubio, the tea bagger favorite for Senate in Florida, is running a commercial that has as its only argument, that he is right because Maddow says he's wrong. That's it. Maddow did a great bit about it on Monday's show, using his commercials typeface and theme music, and I'll post that when it comes online. [Update: Here's the clip.] For now, here's the gist.
[Excerpt]
Marco Rubio: My plan is right because Rachel Maddow thinks it’s wrong
Marco Rubio released a new video saying that his economic plan is right because MSNBC anchor Rachel Maddow thinks it’s wrong. “How can you know the plan is right? Rachel Maddow says its wrong,” says the ad. The clip shows an intro to a Maddow segment on Marco Rubio’s plan. “Giant awkwardness at the heart of Republicanism right now,” says Maddow, with the headline “Attention: Deficit Disorder” behind her. . .
Wow. This video is deep (and the narrator is haunting). Before you click play, the video is of a mother instructing her child about religion. Depending upon your point of view, she's giving it to the kid straight or this is a cannily crafted anti-religious message. I'm quite certain it is the latter that is intended, but really, could any argument be made by a religious person against what the narrator is saying? Religion can be quite nasty when boiled down to its basic elements. Well done.
This whole tea party thing is getting confusing. Sunday morning on Face the Nation, there was a black guy, David Webb, speaking for the movement. . .when did that happen? He was speaking for the Tea Party Federation. How that ties to the Tea Party Express, the Tea Party Patriots, Tea Party Nation, the Tea Party Party, (and I'm sure I'm leaving some out) I have no idea. But since the movement's message is so diffuse and vague, I guess it makes a sort of sense.
There seems to be a genuine effort afoot to start some sort of race war though, with FOX "News" and right-wing talk radio leading the charge. All of the squawking about "the New Black Panther Party"--by all accounts a minuscule movement--that occurred two years ago is part of it. The extreme overreaction to a rather tepid pronouncement by the NAACP about tacit acceptance of racism in the tea parties is another. It's going to get worse--and stupider--before it gets better.
[Excerpt]
Tea Party Federation Expels Mark Williams Over 'Offensive' Response To NAACP's Racism Charge
The National Tea Party Federation has expelled conservative commentator and Tea Party Express spokesman Mark Williams over a fictional letter Williams wrote on his blog last week from "Colored People" to Abraham Lincoln.
"We, in the last 24 hours, have expelled Tea Party Express and Mark Williams from the National Tea Party Federation because of the letter that he wrote," federation spokesman David Webb said Sunday on CBS's "Face The Nation. . ."
