Hasn't It Become Obvious Enough Yet?

Simple proof that these protests have nothing to do with the protesters "having there voices heard"...

Because it's not about getting more information about the bill because there are a zillion different places they can go online for that. It's not about offering suggestions because certainly they have not contributed to a solution. It's not about reforming a broken health care system because they say ours is the "best in the world" and they just want to keep what they've got. Or even a moral opposition to a public plan, as many of these protesters openly admit to being on Medicare or receiving VA health coverage. It's not about health care at all! It's a tantrum. They want to shame, intimidate, and shock. If it were about simply having their voices heard, a meeting with representative seems to be IDEAL, but they don't want that either. They've been instructed to make a fuss (preferably on video)and an actual conversation between two individuals will not suffice. They will not be happy until they (bullying white conservative christians) are back in power. When Bush proposed the single biggest expansion of public health care since Medicare was created in 1965, AND PASSED IT with no plan on how to fund it, they were no where to be seen. Crickets. Tumbleweeds. I am sick with the hypocrisy of it all.

Erik Prince Alleged Involvement In Murdering Government Witnesses

From THIS shocking article published at The Nation today, Erik Prince is alleged to have murdered or facilitated the murder of individuals who were cooperating with federal authorities investigating Blackwater/Xe. (I would HIGHLY suggest you read up on Prince and Blackwater via the wiki links, then proceed...

Reread the top paragraph and let that sink in for a moment.

According to one of the remaining unnamed witnesses, now under government protection for fear of his safety:

Prince "views himself as a Christian crusader tasked with eliminating Muslims and the Islamic faith from the globe":


To that end, Mr. Prince intentionally deployed to Iraq certain men who shared his vision of Christian supremacy, knowing and wanting these men to take every available opportunity to murder Iraqis. Many of these men used call signs based on the Knights of the Templar, the warriors who fought the Crusades.


Mr. Prince operated his companies in a manner that encouraged and rewarded the destruction of Iraqi life. For example, Mr. Prince's executives would openly speak about going over to Iraq to "lay Hajiis out on cardboard." Going to Iraq to shoot and kill Iraqis was viewed as a sport or game. Mr. Prince's employees openly and consistently used racist and derogatory terms for Iraqis and other Arabs, such as "ragheads" or "hajiis."

Yep. Your tax dollars at work folks, funding America's Mullahs. Seperation of church and state my ass. This is publicly funded christian terrorism (lowercase "c" intended). After reading up on Prince and Blackwater (how did I survive before Wikipedia?), a few things jumped out at me:

*90% of Blackwater's revenue is from government contracts, 2/3 of which are no-bid contracts

*how much OTHER stuff Blackwater is heavily involved in (Hurrican Katrina??? Gawd forbid Bush pass up an opportunity to allow his cronies to profit from human misery...)

*the sick irony of reading that Prince serves as a board member of Christian Freedom International, a non-profit group with a mission of helping "Christians who are persecuted for their faith in Jesus Christ", in light of above quotes about his alleged treatment of muslims

For more background, you might want to listen to THIS interview with the article's author, Jeremy Sachill, on The Diane Rehm Show about 2 years ago when he was promoting his book "Blackwater". I remember coming in half way and being so blown away that I got online and bookmarked it to listen to once they'd posted it. Great way to get up to speed on the topic while cleaning your house or doing work on your computer...

DKos Diary: Umm, GOP...

... You got a second? I want to show you something:

Posted using ShareThis

NUTTERS

You might be "a nutter" if...

*you think our president is not an American citizen despite evidence to the contrary. lots of it. seriously, tons.

*you bought a gun before the election because Obama was going to ban guns.

*you think teaching children only abstinence works.

*you don't believe global warming is real.

*you can admit global warming is real, but don't believe it has anything to do with how we humans (particularly Americans) live our lives here on the earth.

*you think it is justifiable to kill doctors willing to perform abortions.

*you are seriously and actively posting and reading on the Free Republic website. Or read WorldNetDaily. (sorry, i refuse to link to them and give them traffic)

*you believe a public health care insurance option will lead to the government euthanizing the elderly to cut costs.

*you made (had, let, whatever...) your kid pose for this picture.

SEE ALSO:
Ann Coulter
Sarah Palin
Glenn Beck
Sean Hannity
Michelle Bauchman
Orly Taitz
Pamela Pilger

AND THERE'S MORE! Just puruse the results of a google image search on "right wing extremists"... that's where I found this little gem. Charming.

Grassroots or Astroturf (oh, and a word on "nutters"...)

In the next couple months this health care debate is going to get ugly. These are big changes involving LOTS of cash, and everyone with resources and a vested interest is going to be spinning "facts" in the media... Don't take any one's words at face value until you know who they are and where they are coming from! If you hear something that sounds shocking or terrible or wonderful or unbelievable - write down the quote and source and when you get the time RESEARCH THEM!

And, if you start seeing coverage on the news about disruptions in town hall meetings or constituents demonstrating their opinions by hanging effigies of their congressional representatives... keep in mind that stories like these are just distractions. Media loves the crazies. And stories about the crazies so much easier (and more entertaining) than unraveling the tangle of special interests in health care. Or reporting on a 1,017 page bill.

Educate yourself, communicate with your representatives, be mindful of their voting record, and hold them accountable for their actions.

** Actually, I want to be sure to clarify that last point there - hold your representatives accountable at the ballot box and ABSOLUTELY NOT through violence. This is what it means to live in a democracy. This is what separates us intelligent Americans from "the nutters". The ones crying how they need to take back their country... go for it! On the 2nd Tuesday in November. See you there.

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Maybe It's Time for the Uncomfortable Conversation

Several weeks ago, I read a blog online by Frank Schaeffer that I just couldn't get out of my head... I knew I needed to post it, but was worried that it was "too much". For those of you unfamiliar with Frank's background, I highly suggest that you check the Wikipedia link to his name. I've heard him interviewed several times as he is a bit of a media darling of the far left, but never have his words resonated with me the way they did in this blog. The title was "The Real Lesson of Iran -- Beware America's Mullahs"...
When I first read it, I found myself both cheering Frank's bravery at calling out the religious hypocrisy of so many of our politicians and feeling a little horrified at how pervasive the spread of these kind of evangelical beliefs have become in American politics.

The recent swirl of revelations involving "C Street" and the background of the group responsible for the Prayer Luncheons, for housing so many of our representatives (including Michigan representative Bart Stupak), for influencing so much of our laws... have made sit up and take notice to Frank's words. Am I paranoid? Maybe. But as the old saying goes, "just because you are paranoid doesn't mean you aren't being followed."

Have we spent so much time judging "muslim extremists" over the last decade that we never took the time to look in the mirror ourselves to see what we have become? Or was it somehow okay, because it was "our" religion? So it couldn't be as horrible as some of the repressive muslim regimes, right? WRONG.

You can see it in the rise of violence against abortion providers, minorities, and government officials... You see it in the ridiculous rhetoric of "the birthers". These are intolerant people with no respect for anyone who isn't a white male. They are threatened by inevitable change and are ready to go down clawing to keep whatever privilege they have enjoyed for most of modern history. They are insecure, ignorant, and self-righteous as big a threat to this country as any Kim Jong-il. Or global warming. Or water shortage. Or economic disaster.

I used to try to avoid these type of conversations and posts, because I feared coming off as paranoid but I am starting to think that by continuing to avoid them I am just being disingenuous. By not speaking out about these crazies, I am just as complicit as the "moderate muslims" that we often criticized for not taking a more hardline stance against those that would corrupt THEIR religion with extremism...

We can all feel it now, bubbling below the surface. It is an intensely uncomfortable feeling. But look, this is not a black and white issue - just because someone proclaims an affiliation with God does not give them a free pass to behave maliciously and without media scrutiny...

Is anyone else feeling this?

Very Moving Diary On Race

"Dear Scared White Men of America

by Vita Brevis
Mon Jul 13, 2009 at 09:55:53 AM PDT

Let's talk. If you're not someone like Sessions, Hatch, Graham etc. this is NOT directed to you.

I can imagine that it's really an adjustment for you to see so many changes taking place in our nation. We have our first non-white President and we are on the cusp of having only our third woman and first Hispanic Supreme Court Justice.

You don't understand how someone's experience other than being a white male, which in your view is the norm...the baseline...the yardstick by which all is measured, is relevant to anything. You see the world through false equivalencies and rear projected ideals that don't and have never existed."

CLICK HERE to read the diary in full. It wonderfull perpective.

Special kinds of stupid:

So many options for examples of Michelle's mind at work. Here's one of my favorites:



My favorite description Bachmann: "She teh ignorant, lightly pan-fried in rabid froth, wrapped in a warm crazy, smothered in a heavy layer of stupid sauce, and served up with a side of bizarre on a layer of crisp, shredded cluelessness." by Redpin, DKos commentor 4/6/09.

TGIF: Freeper Update

And what better way to start a weekend than a pissing match between DailyKos and The Free Republic?

Despite the DKos post claims that the link was "restored", I was unable to find the actual posting on TFR website, as it is currently claiming it has been pulled by the moderator... No matter, the DKos diarist screen-grabbed it and copied some of the most offense comments about THIS picture of Malia Obama:

They include:

"We’re being represented by a family of ghetto trash."

"Looks like a bunch of ghetto thugs. A stain on America."

"Looks like a typical street whore."

"What we now are sending the ghetto over to represent us. and if so who the hell is
that flea bag who looks to be dragged from the trash dumpster."

"you could go down any ghetto right now and see exactly the same."

"could you imagine what world leaders must be thinking seeing this kind of street trash and that we paid for this kind of street ghetto trash to go over there"

"the world must be laughing like mad right now at that we have this kind of street trash in our white house."

"Wonder when she will have her first abortion."

"sad isn’t it that we now have ghetto street trash over there representing us in
Europe."

"This disgusting display makes me more and more eager for the revolution.

"They make me sick.... The whole family... mammy, pappy, the free loadin’ mammy-in-law, the misguided chillin’, and especially ‘lil cuz... This is not the America I want representin’ my peeps."

It's worth reading the original diary, if only for the sense of perspective and to read a copy of the letter sent to TFR. Yep, these are your fellow (racist) Americans, keepin' it real in their own special way.

Is the clock running out on the two-party system?

Well, for those of you who had already known that Palin was the antichrist from the campaign coverage last year - you are quickly finding yourself in wider company! Her emergence on the political scene heralded not only the end of basic standards for our representation, but to also to the Republican Party as a whole...

It will be interesting to see over the next few years, how our political parties reorganize. I simply can not see the GOP being capable of pulling together enough votes to get anywhere near the the numbers they had just a few short years ago. And with the trending demographics, they are fighting an uphill fight. The circular firing squad took aim before the polls even closed on election day, leaving repulicans dividing into two distinct subgroups: social-conservatives and fiscal conservatives. Nutters and sane folk frantically watching their party become destroyed/defined by right wing talkshow zombies...

You might think I'd break out my dancing shoes right about now, but it really isn't a good feeling. Let's face it, a democracy with only one viable political party is no democracy at all. Not to mention, it stirs up the crazies who apparently have already exceeded their caffine allotment.

Democrats are not entirely safe from the threat of splinterization either, as the recent health care debate is revealing. Battlelines are being drawn by progressives against the more centrist, more entrenched democrats. The people are awake and paying attention, wondering where their "change" is... And in the philosophy of "lead, follow, or get out of the way" they will begin to see which kind of people we"ve put in office.

So as I said, it will be interesting to see what happens down the road. I wasn't comfortable calling it until now, but i think it is official. RIP GOP. Wish I could say we hardly knew 'ye... May the Haig avenge your death... or something like that.

Freeper of the Day

I don't know why I wander over, it only makes me embarrassed for our country and our species... Regardless, courtesy of The Free Republic, here is my Freeper comment of the day:

To: Mount Athos
As much as I hate to admit it, I do know some LibTards that actually ARE sentient, feeling, thinking human beings. With kids that they adore. And pets. And careers. And homes with nice lawns.

It’s been six months and they’ve already HAD IT with 0bama and this Socialist Experiment...that THEY voted for!

And even if they’re not able to formulate complete sentences to convey what they’re feeeeeling, they sure as heck aren’t saying anything POSITIVE about the guy.

I mean, really! BEFORE the election you couldn’t shut them UP. Now, not a peep from them about all the ‘good’ their Messiah is doing for America, LOL!

I guess even low-ranking LibTards are a little nervous about keeping their jobs and watching their retirement savings dwindle. ;)

Good. *SMIRK*

6 posted on Monday, July 06, 2009 9:12:10 PM by Diana in Wisconsin (Save The Earth. It's The Only Planet With Chocolate.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

Now certainly there were uglier, meaner, and stupider comments that deserve a strong honorable mention - but I chose this one because the commentator lured me in with her deep empathy for us "LibTards", admitting some of us have the capacity for human decency...