Marco Rubio says deepwater drilling is absolutely safe
Jun 24th
Rubio is the teabagger candidate for Senate from Florida, running as a Republican. For him? Big Business and Big Finance can do no wrong. You’ve lost your job? That means you’re a bad person. Your unemployment benefits are running out? That means you’re a bad person. You blame BP for violating both common sense and safety rules? That means you’re a bad person. You don’t believe that the wealthiest one-half of one percent of Americans actually deserve to own one-third of the nation’s wealth? That means you’re a bad person.
You believe all this? Then you’ll definitely vote for Rubio. You’re a rational, moral, caring person? Then you’ll want to look elsewhere.
Whose feelings are ignored here?
Jun 24th
I don’t remember where I found this. Just ran across it while “de-cluttering” my computer files. The prose style is characteristic of its time, of course, and so is its attitude. (Peterson’s was a popular magazine published in Philadelphia during the mid 19th century.)
Before reading, look for a moment at the illustration. The man and woman look to be about the same age, and the dude seems to be groping as well as smooching:
Gretchen Carlson
Jun 24th
As I’ve written before, Gretchen Carlson is in fact a very smart and academically accomplished woman. The role she plays on her Mox News show is precisely that: a role. She’s pretending to be a stupid, ignorant blonde bimbo.
The role she plays is demeaning to women, demeaning to the universities where she studied, Stanford and Oxford, and to Carlson herself. It’s also demeaning to the Mox viewers who watch her show, since it implies that’s the sort of woman they want or can identify with.
The cartoon refers to a comment she made the other day.
“Ethnic cleansing.”
Jun 22nd
[Sorry. No pretty pictures or videos. Maybe later, when I'm less depressed.]
That term “ethnic cleansing” has always been problematic for me, especially because in recent decades the meanings of “ethnicity” and of “race” have been hopelessly confused. (Likewise “gender” and “sex,” but that’s a separate issue.)
The so-called “Ten Commandments” are recorded twice in the Hebrew Bible. Depending on version or edition, the citations vary. But in the wonderfully (if sometimes gruesomely) poetic KJV, here’s a partial quote from the Deuteronomy bit. (The other presentation is in Exodus.)
Deuteronomy 5: 13-21
Thou shalt not kill.
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Thou shalt not steal.
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor’s.
Then, in Joshua, the Hebrews “ethnically cleanse” Jericho:
And they utterly destroyed all that [was] in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword.
How can these two verses be reconciled?
Command: Don’t kill. Don’t steal. Don’t covet.
Same God, but seemingly irreconcilable command: Kill every man, woman, child, and animal in the city. Steal the precious metal, while burning all else. Covet and possess the city and surrounding land of Jericho.
As a lay person, I’ve always thought the key to reconciling these horrifyingly different phenomena lies in the concept of “neighbor.” When you’re dealing with a “neighbor,” one of “us” rather than one of “them,” then one set of rules applies. But if you’re dealing with someone who is not a “neighbor”? Then the rules are radically different. Covet, steal, kill all you want. The “other” is not just the enemy. The “other” doesn’t even qualify as human.
The way this is playing out on the world stage is easy to see. Bosnia? Darfur? Palestine?
Here in the U.S.? What do the teabaggers mean when they talk about “taking back their country”? [Yeah. They hate the term “teabagger” now that they’ve figured out what it means. But tough shit. They chose the term, so they should learn to live with it.] “Their” country? What does that mean? Who is taking back the country from whom? Does skin color have anything to do with it?
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
The pressures on our world are going to ramp up geometrically, like the pressure in one of Colonel Sanders’s pressurized chicken fryers. Why do I say geometrically rather than arithmetically? Start with global warming. Multiply that by population growth. Multiply the result by shrinking water resources. That makes for a geometric progression.
And the more the pressure increases, the more human populations will find themselves seeing those like them as “neighbors” and those the least bit unlike them as “non-neighbors.” Good neighbors will band together to do to non-neighbors what the Hebrews did to the persons living in Jericho:
And they utterly destroyed all that [was] in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword.
Flying one’s true colors, honestly and unequivocally
Jun 22nd
This afternoon I received an email appeal to sign a petition. It came from an organization identifying itself as Health Care for America.
The name sounds impressive, and I agreed with the points I was being asked to endorse. But I didn’t recognize the organization. Yes, I watched once again the Edward R. Murrow/Joe McCarthy movie Good Night and Good Luck this weekend. So perhaps I that influenced me. But I wasn’t about to vouch for a pig in a poke.
[To nudge memory, McCarthy was the model for Michelle Bachmann. He destroyed people by accusing them of being Communists. To support his accusations he usually claimed to have compelling evidence in an envelope or briefcase. In fact, the only thing he had in the briefcase was a sandwich and bottle of booze. But sometimes he could cite, say, a petition the accused had signed decades before. The cause was impeccable; but, on the principle of the "Kevin Bacon game," McCarthy or Roy Cohn could claim that the organization circulating the petition was associated with Communism.
Edward R. Murrow was the journalist who challenged McCarthy. The lawyer for the U.S. Army (Welch?) stepped through the door Murrow had opened and finally nailed McCarthy. "Have you no shame, sir?" The movie was created by George Clooney, and Keith Olbermann uses the title line as his sign-off, in tribute to Murrow.]
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
Point is, no one should sign any petition without being very confident, not only about the cause, but also about the person or organization circulating the petition. So here’s what I wrote to Health Care for America:
HFA folks—
Persons being asked to sign a petition should know up front the bona fides of person/organization asking.
Being on a gazillion swapped liberal/progressive/Democrat lists, I’m emailed from 10-40 requests to sign a petition and part with some money every single day.
Example? One of the requests I get is from “The U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform.” The name sounds impressive, and the appeal is always slick. But you and I both know who they are, right?
Seriously, even if you yourselves are legit, you shouldn’t encourage people to sign petitions without making clear whom they actually are supporting. Both “U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform” and “Healthcare Reform for America Now” sound equally impressive. They represent the side of darkness, while you represent the side of light.
But one couldn’t tell that by your respective names or by the tone of your respective email appeals.
—wayne
BTW: I’ve checked your bona fides, and I will sign the petition.
Failed ex-CEO of HP refuses to be held accountable
Jun 22nd
This video snippet ends with the “Quitter” from Alaska saying, “Elections matter.” They do indeed. But the language politicians use also matters, in revealing their character … or lack thereof.
[BTW, I wonder how Alaskans feel about having been used as rungs on a ladder, to be stomped and then abandoned? Have to check that out.]
I found this in what I assume is an ad Barbara Boxer is running against Carly Fiorina. Fiorina is the person who almost destroyed HP while she was running it, and who was fired and left to float softly to political earth with her $45,000,000 golden parachute. She’s also the woman who made fun of Barbara Boxer’s hair, not knowing she was being recorded, calling it hopelessly old-fashioned.
In this segment she’s asked an obvious question about jobs by, of all people!, Chris Wallace of Mox News. (Trivia about Wallace below.) Her response is pure Charles Durning in the movie Best Little Whorehouse in Texas:
Ooh I love to dance a little sidestep, now they see me now they don’t-
I’ve come and gone and, ooh I love to sweep around the wide step,
cut a little swathe and lead the people on.
Here’s the text I included on my YouTube channel:
This is a wonderful example of politicians’ goose-poop slick handling of language. Remember when Ronald Reagan addressed the American people and said, “Yes, mistakes were made.” Passive voice. No agent specified. No one is responsible. The “mistakes” just happened.
Here, it isn’t that Fiorina, as (failed) head of HP, shipped American jobs overseas. Yes, she laid off the workers. Yes, the jobs HP used to pay American workers to do, it is now paying workers in Asia to do. But she had nothing to do with it. It’s simply that American jobs are “being taken.” Present perfect tense, but it’s still passive voice. It’s still goose-poop slick denial of accountability.
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
Chris Wallace
Believe it or not, he’s the son of Mike Wallace. Who’d a thunk it? In this instance the acorn fell a long, long way from the oak. I can’t count the number of times Mike Wallace has infuriated me through the decades. But at least he (usually) had balls. Chris Wallace is a simpering lapdog for Roger Ailes.
During the 2008 campaign, Wallace asked Bill Clinton to come on his Sunday show. Clinton agreed, in return for a promise that he would be given an opportunity to promote his non-partisan, public-interest charity. Clinton was not allowed to promote the charity, and he was asked nastily-leading questions.
Clinton handled Wallace easily, as one would anticipate. But here’s the best part! After having violated their agreement and goading Clinton with sleazily leading questions, Wallace had the gall, after the interview, to ask for Clinton’s autograph! Don’t know what happened next, but I suspect Clinton probably obliged him.
That reveals a lot about both Wallace and Clinton.
Shakedown? How about bribery! We need election finance reform!!!
Jun 20th
Watch this video, and sign the petition. Get oil/gas out of politics!
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
The Republican mantra has remained the same, from their last national convention to now:
Why might they be so attached to the oil/gas industry? The following information might provide a clue:
Elected Officials Bought Off by the Oil and Gas Lobby:
- Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) has taken $363,950
- Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-LA) has taken more than $200,000
- Gov. Haley Barbour (R-MS) has taken $1.8 million
- Rudy Giuliani (R-NY) has taken $609,358
- Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) has taken $385,500
- Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) has taken $1,448,380
- Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) has taken $426,989
- Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX) has taken $16.7 million
- The 2008 McCain/Palin campaign took $2.4 million
[The Obama/Biden campaign took @ one-third as much: $884,000]
Check Out How Much BP has been spending:
- In 2009, BP’s Lobby spent $16 million
- In the first quarter of 2010, BP’s Lobby spent $3.5 million
The entire Oil & Gas Lobby:
- In 2009, the entire Oil & Gas Lobby spent $174 MILLION
Rush Limbaugh says, “Fuck the impoverished. They’re just lazy!”
Jun 19th
I heard these comments last night, and found a transcript this morning on Raw Story. Rush, a millionaire many tens of times over, expresses his feelings about the impoverished children who will go hungry this summer if the school lunch program isn’t carried over:
And, of course, the first will be: “Try your house.” It’s a thing called the refrigerator. You probably already know about it. Try looking there. There are also things in what’s called the kitchen of your house called cupboards. And in those cupboards, most likely you’re going to find Ding-Dongs, Twinkies, Lays ridgy potato chips, all kinds of dips and maybe a can of corn that you don’t want, but it will be there. If that doesn’t work, try a Happy Meal at McDonald’s….
There’s another place if none of these options work to find food; there’s always the neighborhood dumpster. Now, you might find competition with homeless people there, but there are videos that have been produced to show you how to healthfully dine and how to dumpster dive and survive until school kicks back up in August.
He is a viciously cruel man, and his comments made me imagine images like this. (BTW, that really is a photo of Rush Limbaugh’s multi-million dollar estate in Palm Beach.):
Kissing Wingnut Ass
Jun 18th
My post on a Crooks & Liars open thread:
I didn’t see the entire CM special on the rising Right, but apparently the rising Right have been hammering him about it. Tonight he came whimpering back, licking their boots.
Re midterm elections? “Yes, Master, of course the Republicans are going to win big. Everyone [in the intra-beltway village] knows incumbents are in deep trouble. Everyone knows the Far Right are more motivated and excited than Democratic stalwarts. Etc.”
Interview with Sestak? “Are you crazy?” he says. “You’re hoping to win in Pennsylvania by playing it open and above board and emphasizing merit? You’re not going to play the game by trading favors under the table with the urban ward captains? You actually believe you can succeed by doing what’s right?”
Cripes, he even wheeled out Pat Buchanan! It was embarrassing. And worse. Seeing an adult grovel on national TV is always uncomfortable.
This is not legitimate free speech.
Jun 18th
This is threatening and inciting violence against an official of the U.S. government. It is preaching for volunteers to be domestic terrorists.
Yes, Sharon Angle is a nut. But no matter how nutty they are, people like her can convince others to commit murder in the name of imaginary conspiracies:
