Saturday, July 17, 2010

Deficits of Mass Destruction

Perhaps the most egregious aspect of the selling of the Iraq War was its false pretext. It never really was about weapons of mass destruction, as Paul Wolfowitz admitted. WMDs were just “what everyone could agree on.” So it is with deficits. Conservatives and their neoliberal allies don’t really care about deficits; they care about austerity—about gutting the welfare state and redistributing wealth upward. That’s the objective. Deficits are just what they can all agree on, the WMDs of this manufactured crisis. Senator John Kyl of Arizona, speaking on Fox, has come out and admitted as much. All new spending increases must be offset, he said, but “you should never have to offset the cost of a deliberate decision to reduce tax rates on Americans.” So there you have it. Deficits of Mass Destruction

People really have to look at WMD as never existing in the first place. They were not there after the 1980s when Iraq was sanctioned by the UN.

So not finding them is a false conclusion. They were never there.

Once you use this real information instead of the false pretext sold by Bush, vis a vis Colin Powell, your blood will really boil. Oh well, Americans are slow to really digest that much crow.

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Reagan On Religion

We establish no religion in this country, we command no worship, we mandate no belief. Nor will we ever. Church and state are, and must remain, separate. All are free to believe or not believe, all are free to practice a faith or not, and those who believe are free and should be free, to speak of and act on their belief. At the same time as our constitution prohibits state religion, establishment of it protects the free exercise of all religions. And walking this fine line requires government to be strictly neutral."

Ronald Reagan (via hedwyg, silas216) (via azspot) (via adailyriot)

*cough*

Look how far the Right has turned to the Right. Ol' Ronnie Reagan would be laughed out of today's GOP for being a liberal pussy.

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Bush Fatigue Continues

"A new Pew Research poll finds that just 34% of Americans know that the federal government’s bank bailout program was actually signed into law by President Bush while 47% incorrectly believe it was enacted during the Obama’s administration."

Most Think Bank Bailout Came During Obama Term (via ryking)
Reblogged from ryking with 101 notes | Permalink
United States Of Amnesia.

Bush punished America for so long, I think we collectively have used denial to get our way through it all. It had a name, "Bush fatigue". There were so many things to be pissed off about, it made you tired.

But unlike the fake issues [i.e. death panels] that the Right have today which are mostly character assassinations, [i.e. birth certificate issues], the Left back in the day disliked things like wars. [The same birther dickheads who question the legality of a Presidency have zero problem with Bush using the Supreme Court to win in 2000.]

Godwin's Law And The Tea Party

Godwin's Law: If an online argument goes on long enough, somebody will eventually invoke Hitler. When that happens, it's basically the end of the conversation, because all rational discussion ceases when one side calls the other Nazis.

Dana Milbank writes:

"The problem is that conservative leaders and Republican politicians, in their blind rage against Obama these last 18 months, invited the epithets of the fringe into the mainstream."

The facts:

Consider these tallies from Glenn Beck's show on Fox News since Obama's inauguration: 202 mentions of Nazis or Nazism, according to transcripts, 147 mentions of Hitler, 193 mentions of fascism or fascist, and another 24 bonus mentions of Joseph Goebbels. Most of these were directed in some form at Obama -- as were the majority of the 802 mentions of socialist or socialism on Beck's nightly "report."

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This Blegs The Question

"Killing bad Muslims with upper-class tax cuts."

via Andrew Sullivan:

"Yesterday I posted a bleg asking readers of AndrewSullivan.com and FrumForum.com for help writing a one-sentence description of a modernized, reformed conservatism."

Pretty funny.

Here is the first draft that they were asking to improve on:

"A reality-based, culturally modern, socially inclusive and environmentally responsible politics that supports free markets, limited government and a peaceful American-led world order."

The Republicans seem so far away from this when you see what they do with purity tests and the attention they give certain novice leaders.

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Friday, July 16, 2010

Remembering “The Boss”

George Steinbrenner memorial patch, over players’ heart, is first in Yankees' history on front of jersey, not sleeve.

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Greenspan's 20-20 Hindsight

The former Fed chairman said he wants to see tax rates return to '90s levels in order to curtail the deficit.

I guess he hasn't heard the news about tax cuts paying for themselves?

Joan McCarter added, "Of course, note that [Greenspan] doesn't say that he was instrumental in enacting those major tax cuts. Bygones."

Right. The Bush tax cuts passed at least in part because Greenspan assured lawmakers the policy would improve the economy and that the nation could afford them. Republicans heralded his genius and followed his advice. We now know he, and they, were wrong.

Now, however, comes the fun part. Nearly a decade after following his guidance and passing reckless tax cuts that failed to produce, Republicans on the Hill get to scramble to tell us that Alan Greenspan has no idea what he's talking about.

We have a decade of evidence these tax cuts don't work. What is the GOP using to explain their position?

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Follow The Law

GREENSPAN: I should say [Congress] should follow the law and let [the Bush tax cuts] lapse.

Q: Meaning what happens?

GREENSPAN: Taxes go up. The problem is, unless we start to come to grips with this long-term outlook, we are going to have major problems. I think we misunderstand the momentum of this deficit going forward.

Bush tax cuts put America in a very weak economic state while allowing the ultra rich to retain more of their income at the expense of the rest of the country.

The "fiscal responsibility" and "deficit hawk" myths of Republicans is matched by "trickle down economics". These are all complete fabrications. They don't work, never existed and it completely amazes me that Conservatives walk around like they do.

Bush cut taxes, increased spending and borrowing and blew up the US deficit to massive, massive, massive levels and yet Republicans think they are hawks on this subject. You're complete failures.

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Thursday, July 15, 2010

Jan-June 2010 Warmest First Half Of Year On Record

Jan.-June Warmest First Half Of Year On Record

2010 tops 1998 temps; question now is whether 12 months will break 2005 record for warmest year.

“But Fox still talking about winter snow storms?” - mediafix

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The Oil Gusher Has Stopped

The Oil Gusher Has Stopped

Could this be for real?

NEW ORLEANS - BP says oil has stopped leaking into the Gulf for the first time since April.

BP has been slowly dialing down the flow as part of a test on a new cap. Engineers are now monitoring the pressure to see if the busted well holds.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

Fingers crossed. Oil-soaked fingers.

The tally according to PBS is 92,208,506 gallons of oil.

Holding my breath.

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Libertarian: Political Unicorn

It’s hard to read libertarians without concluding that they’ve never been out of the country— perhaps never out of the suburbs. They don’t know what Latin American rule by the elite looks like; they don’t know any way of running an industrial economy but that of the US; they don’t know what an actually oppressive government looks like; they’ve never experienced a depression; they’ve never lived in a slum or experienced racial discrimination. At the same time, they have a very American sense of entitlement: a gut feeling that they’ve earned the prosperity they were born into, that they owe the community nothing, that they deserve to have whatever they want, that no one should stand in their way. In short, they’re spoiled, and they’ve evolved a philosophy that they should be spoiled.

What’s wrong with libertarianism (via azspot) (via robot-heart-politics) (via stfuconservatives)

They have never been elected, they hold no office. They exist only in theories and ideas of how things "should" be. In the real world, they would get their ass handed to them. Atlas Shrugged is not a political platform, it's fiction.

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Ten Nations Strong

Argentina became the first Latin American nation to legalize same-sex marriage at about 4 am this morning. The list:

2001 Netherlands
2003 Belgium
2005 Spain
2005 Canada
2006 South Africa
2008 Norway
2009 Sweden
2010 Portugal
2010 Iceland
2010 Argentina

Civil Rights v Religious rites. America has to get over it's "wacked out on wafers" God Squad righteousness.

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RNC's Blank Check For The Tea Party

Dr Jean Howard-Hill of the National African American Republican Caucus writes:

If indeed the Tea Party Movement is truly nonpartisan and is not a Republican movement as it has often been contended, then the question is: why is the RNC or any other Republican organization, weighing in on this matter in defense of the movement? This was not a Republican matter which required an RNC response or involvement.  It is a Tea Party matter which needs to be resolved between the Tea party and the NAACP.

The GOP is not in a position to take on a movement which has no leadership which — when issues such as this arise — can be held accountable. Nor can it control what happens at events or who appears and participates. Why then issue a blank check?

Tea Partiers want to to honor the Constitution and the founding fathers who created a massive Federal Government in the first place to fix the problem with weak States and their inability to levy and raise taxes to pay for things like the Revolutionary War they just had by complaining about taxes that pay for things they all use. Dickheads.

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Republican Ignorance Is Not Bliss

"Honestly, what's to be done when an entire political party buys a first class ticket to Bizarro World? It's one thing when right-wing blogs and Fox News hosts spout such nonsense, but how does our political system function when "virtually every Republican" believes reckless tax cuts for the wealthy that created huge deficits actually "increased revenue"? How can we have an intelligent conversation with those who use the word "vibrancy" when describing the economy in the Bush years?
Republicans aren't just wrong about this; they're pathologically confused. The evidence isn't ambiguous -- Bush's tax cuts led to massive deficits, and if existing policies are left in place, those tax policies will be the single biggest factor in our budget deficits for many years to come."
Bush tax breaks for the rich, coupled with all his deceptive "Emergency Supplemental" military spending, as if he forgot he had 140,000 troops in Iraq, that were never in the budgets, are putting the country in such a tough position. Democrats have to realize they went along for that disastrous ride because Republicans will deny they were ever in charge while this was all happening.

Bush borrowed all the money to pay for his cuts and wars. Now we have to pay for it.

Big Government Boogie Man

Under Bush, the Republicans made the Government the largest in size, adding the massive department of Homeland Security, the most in debt with tax cuts, increased spending and borrowing with interest, as well, the most invasive with warrantless wiretapping and data-mining of Americans.

Future Tea Party hyperbolists had absolutely zero problem with that.

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Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Republicans: Economically Illiterate

"There’s no evidence whatsoever that the Bush tax cuts actually diminished revenue. They increased revenue because of the vibrancy of these tax cuts in the economy. So I think what Senator Kyl was expressing was the view of virtually every Republican on that subject.” - Mitch McConnell
In other words, this is why Republicans don’t think tax cuts need to be paid for. They pay for themselves.

Why does this make me sad? Because it’s hard to see the country prospering when one of its two major political parties is this economically illiterate. McConnell isn’t some backbencher. He’s Senate minority leader. And he thinks there’s “no evidence whatsoever that the Bush tax cuts actually diminished revenue.”

- Ezra Klein

via brooklynmutt.com

A two party system: a varied Democratic Party living in reality and a unified Republican Party completely in their own world of half-assed "we think government sucks" misanthropy and fact-free economic policies.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Warren Buffett’s Philanthropic Pledge

Warren Buffett, on why 99% of his wealth will go to philanthropy in his lifetime or at death.

Some material things make my life more enjoyable; many, however, would not. I like having an expensive private plane, but owning a half-dozen homes would be a burden. Too often, a vast collection of possessions ends up possessing its owner. The asset I most value, aside from health, is interesting, diverse, and long-standing friends.

My wealth has come from a combination of living in America, some lucky genes, and compound interest. Both my children and I won what I call the ovarian lottery. (For starters, the odds against my 1930 birth taking place in the U.S. were at least 30 to 1. My being male and white also removed huge obstacles that a majority of Americans then faced.)

My luck was accentuated by my living in a market system that sometimes produces distorted results, though overall it serves our country well. I’ve worked in an economy that rewards someone who saves the lives of others on a battlefield with a medal, rewards a great teacher with thank-you notes from parents, but rewards those who can detect the mispricing of securities with sums reaching into the billions. In short, fate’s distribution of long straws is wildly capricious.

The reaction of my family and me to our extraordinary good fortune is not guilt, but rather gratitude. Were we to use more than 1% of my claim checks on ourselves, neither our happiness nor our well-being would be enhanced. In contrast, that remaining 99% can have a huge effect on the health and welfare of others. That reality sets an obvious course for me and my family: Keep all we can conceivably need and distribute the rest to society, for its needs. My pledge starts us down that course.

This is how you do “wealthy” correctly.

The Giving Pledge

There is not much wrong with trying to pass on your wealth to your kids.

Most religions would think it were a great deed if you did the opposite. Jesus was quoted as saying it would be easier to get a camel through the eye of a needle than a rich man into heaven.

Buffet seems to walk the walk that many Christian Americans could never do. Being born rich is a privelege, not a tax-incentive, off-shore hiding, Swiss bank account, Government sponsored right.

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Eminem Accused Of Lip-Synching At T In The Park Festival

Gigwise has collated some of the criticisms aimed at Em for his performance: “His miming was awful, at one point he tried to say something and his mic was off,” said one fan. “He mimed at a supposed live festival and he dint even know he was in Balado - he seemed to think he was in Edinburgh,” said another.

Hard to tell from this video. Between the backing track and backing vocals there is so many tracks that he is "singing" over. His vocals sound a bit Milli Vanilli, though.

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George Steinbrenner's Managers Over The Years

In George Steinbrenner's 38 years as owner, the Yankees won seven World Series and appeared in the postseason 19 times. But that didn't mean the team had stability in the dugout. The Boss employed 15 different managers, including Billy Martin (pictured), who managed the Bronx Bombers five times.

Managers under Steinbrenner
1973
Sept. 30: Ralph Houk resigned
1974
Jan. 3: Bill Virdon hired.
1975
Aug. 1: Virdon fired. Billy Martin hired.
1978
July 24: Martin resigned.
July 25: Bob Lemon hired.
1979
June 18: Lemon fired. Martin hired.
Oct. 28: Martin fired. Dick Howser hired.
1980
Nov. 21: Howser resigned. Gene Michael hired.
1981
Sept. 6: Michael fired. Lemon hired.
1982
April 26: Lemon fired. Michael hired.
Aug. 3: Michael fired. Clyde King hired as interim manager.
1983
Jan. 11: Martin hired.
Dec. 16: Martin fired. Yogi Berra hired.
1985
April 28: Berra fired. Martin hired.
Oct. 27: Martin fired. Lou Piniella hired.
1987
Oct. 19: Piniella promoted. Martin hired.
1988
June 23: Martin fired. Piniella hired.
Oct. 7: Piniella fired. Dallas Green hired.
1989
Aug. 18: Green fired. Bucky Dent hired.
1990
June 6: Dent fired. Stump Merrill hired.
1991
Oct. 7: Merrill fired.
Oct. 29: Buck Showalter hired.
1995
Oct. 26: Showalter resigns.
Nov. 2: Joe Torre hired.
2007
Oct. 18: Torre rejects new contract offer.
Oct. 30: Joe Girardi hired

Considering there have been 3 managers in the last 19 years [Showalter, Torre, Girardi], that makes 12 changes in the first 19 years. Shows what stability can do.

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Lying Not A Crime?

"They should have been indicted. They absolutely should have been indicted for torturing, for spying, for arresting without warrants. I'd like to say they should be indicted for lying but believe it or not, unless you're under oath, lying is not a crime. At least not an indictable crime. It's a moral crime," - Fox News host Andrew Napolitano, on Cheney and Bush.

Using lies in a State Of The Union? Yellow cake?

The hoops to jump through and water to carry to be a Republican is staggering.

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Scott Brown: The Dim Paradox

After convincingly likening Sen. Scott Brown to the Tom Hanks character in Big, Noam Scheiber of The New Republic writes, "In his concerns, priorities, and, maybe most important, his confusion about the economy, Brown has come to represent the average voter in 2010."

"Perhaps most intriguingly of all, Brown has sometimes exploited anxiety about jobs as a reason to oppose … jobs-related legislation. In doing so, he’s picked up on a paradox that defines the political zeitgeist: Even though Americans are more concerned about jobs than anything else, they don’t seem to appreciate the factors that help create them. In the same NBC poll in which voters overwhelmingly say jobs should be the government’s top priority, they also say, by nearly a two-to-one margin, that they’d prefer the government attend to the deficit even if it delays the economic recovery. So, according to the poll, voters care much more about jobs than the deficit, but much more about the deficit than the economy. Where exactly are the jobs supposed to come from?"

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George Steinbrenner, RIP

"When you put the pinstripes on, you're not just putting on a baseball uniform. You're wearing tradition and you're wearing pride" - George Steinbrenner [1930-2010]. RIP

The Infidelity Double Standard

"NEXIS media search reveals that the word “disgraced” appears extremely close to the phrase “Eliot Spitzer” (within two words) a total of 394 times.
By blindingly stark contrast, ever since he got caught hiring prostitutes to wrap him in diapers while campaigning on the basis of Family Values, the word “disgraced” appeared within two words of the name “David Vitter” a grand total of 4 times — all from small blogs.
I thought about this issue because Newt Gingrich announced today that he was seriously considering running for President, and I virtually never see the word “disgraced” attached to his name; in fact, in the 3 years since he confessed to James Dobson that he was cheating on his second wife with his then-mistress-and-congressional-aide/now-third-wife, at the same time as he was leading the Clinton impeachment hearings…" - Glenn Greenwald

Comes down to Republicans not really living up to the morally righteous values they try to impose on everyone else. They want to define what marriage is or isn't as they get divorced multiple times. Look at Glenn Beck and Rudy Giuliani.

Monday, July 12, 2010

Cafeteria Consitutionalists On The Right

Steve Benen had an interesting post a few days ago about Republicans’ desire to repeal the 14th, 16th, and 17th amendments. He pointed out something that I had forgotten, that under Bush, Republicans also wanted to add several new amendments:

Indeed, by the mid-point of his presidency, George W. Bush was on record supporting at least six different proposed amendments to the Constitution: (1) prohibiting flag burning; (2) victims’ rights; (3) banning abortion; (4) requiring a balanced budget; (5) prohibiting same-sex marriage; and (6) allowing state-endorsed prayer in public schools. As a wise blogger noted at the time, Bush “really seems to think the Constitution is just a rough draft.”

At the same time, of course, Republicans like to paint themselves as the ultimate defenders of the constitution. I can’t help but be reminded, once again, of how much constitutional fetishists resemble hard-core Christianists. In the Catholic Church, anyone who favors reproductive rights is derided as a “cafeteria Catholic”, while those who oppose reproductive rights but favor the death penalty, wars, and the destruction of social welfare programs are the keepers of the One Truth Faith.

Notice how many times Republicans want the constitution to restrict rights rather than guarantee them?

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Media Matters on 'The Fox Cycle'

1. Right-wing bloggers, talk radio hosts, and other conservative media outlets start promoting and distorting the story.

2. Fox News picks up the story and gives it heavy, one-sided coverage.

3. Fox News and conservative media attack the “liberal media” for ignoring the distorted story.

4. Mainstream media outlets eventually cover the story, echoing the right-wing distortions.

5. Fox News receives credit for promoting the story.

6. The story is later proven to be false or wildly misleading, long after damage is done.

This same pattern has played out several times before, with some variations. Three prominent examples from the past two years are the ACORN videos, Barack Obama’s “relationship” with William Ayers, and the “Climategate scandal.”

Fox is not journalism. It is entertainment for right wingers.

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Bob Bennet On Tea Partiers' Lack Of Clarity

"People would walk by my booth and say ‘TARP, TARP, TARP, TARP!’ But when you tried to talk to them about it, they did not know any of the details. They confused TARP and the stimulus plan. They confused TARP and the omnibus bill. They confused TARP and the president’s budget."

- Sen. Bob Bennett (R-Utah), who lost his primary race to Tea Party candidates
Sucks that the opposition of idiots has traction in America. People just don't have an understanding of the facts anymore, just slogans and talking points.

Sunday, July 11, 2010

What Is And What Is Not

History: Democrats & Republicans On Civil Rights & Equality

History: Democrats & Republicans On Civil Rights & Equality

6:28 pm EST July 10th, 2010 | Democrats, History, Republicans | 17 Comments

LBJ - Civil Rights

There is an awful lot of misinformation and untruth out there about the legacy of the two major political parties and the civil rights movement. Conservatives often like to use slight of hand, insisting that because the early Republican party was stronger in support of civil rights, this means that conservatives have the moral high ground. This is totally untrue.

Republicans – Moderate and Liberal Republicans supported civil rights. The Republicans who supported civil rights in America were not conservatives of the same ilk as George W. Bush, Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck. They were liberals and moderates, people like former Rhode Island senator Lincoln Chaffee and former senator governor Nelson Rockefeller.

Bull Connor

Conservative Democrats opposed civil rights. The Democrats opposed to the civil rights movement weren’t Democrats with the center-left ideology of Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. They were, in fact, conservatives – especially from the south – with far more in common with Limbaugh, Beck, etc. than any modern mainstream Democrat. When people say that someone like notorious segregationist Bull Connor was a Democrat, they are technically right on the party label, but when it comes to ideology Connor and the rest of those opposed to racial integration were conservatives.

Conservatives opposed civil rights. At the time of the civil rights movement, outside of the parties, conservatives were opposed to the civil rights movement. Barry Goldwater, a conservative whose brand of politics would soon take over the Republicans in the guise of Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, opposed civil rights law. He claimed that he viewed it as a states rights issue, and actually favored equal rights, but the practical effect of his stance would be to allow segregation – in the south “states rights” meant “Jim Crow.” The conservative intellectual movement – William F. Buckley’s National Review, for instance, opposed what they viewed as law-breaking protests by Dr. Martin Luther King.

Democrats moved left on civil rights, in favor. Over time the Democrats moved to the left on civil rights, meaning they moved with other liberals in favor of them. Southern, conservative Democrats opposed civil rights and the laws were passed by liberal/moderate Republicans and liberal/moderate Democrats. The Civil Rights Act was signed into law by Lyndon Johnson, a Democrat.

Strom Thurmond, George W. Bush, Trent Lott

Conservative Democrats left the party in opposition to civil rights and became Republicans. After the Civil Rights law was signed into law, conservative Democrats left the party. Strom Thurmond, who ran as a segregationist in 1948, became a Republican, as did Jesse Helms (who went on to filibuster against making Martin Luther King Jr. day a federal holiday).

Republicans used racial resentment for elections, while Democrats became more racially inclusive. As the Republican party became more ideologically conservative in the post-Goldwater era, they increasingly used racially divisive politics for electoral gain. The GOP employed what is now known as “the southern stategy” (acknowledged by GOP party chairmen Ken Mehlman and Michael Steele in the last decade) to demonize blacks and other minorities while also riling up the white, male conservative base that forms the party now. Examples include the Willie Horton ad used by Bush Sr. allies vs Michael Dukakis, the “hands” ad used by Jesse Helms, and the nonstop racebaiting versus President Obama from conservative outlets like Fox News and talk radio.

Barack Obama Inauguration

At the same time, the Democratic party became more and more racially inclusive. After civil rights passed, and the GOP became more conservative and increased racial demagoguery, black and other minority voters became Democrats. Every black member of the House of Representatives is a Democrat, and every black senator since 1979 has been a Democrat. The first black president, is of course, Barack Obama – a Democrat.

The parties have changed but the ideology hasn’t. The attempt to co-opt liberal support of civil rights has been a consistent campaign of the right, despite their predecessor’s opposition to the concept. The attempt to say that liberal Republicans of the past are the same as conservative Republicans of today, is just a terrible lie. Conservatives often try to say people like Martin Luther King Jr. would be conservatives. This is entirely untrue. In the last years of his life, Dr. King ran what he called “The Poor People’s Campaign,” and his beliefs would largely be to the left of where the modern Democratic party is, let alone the Republicans.

The Democrats moved away from the conservative position against racial inclusion, while the right moved the other way and has only recently somewhat acknowledged the moral folly of its past. Conservatives opposed civil rights, while liberals favored them. Both ideologies have inhabited majorities in both parties, but the ideological support or opposition to civil rights and equality has largely remained the same.

Topic: , ,

Conservatives are afraid of facts.

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Bob Sheppard, "Voice Of God" Yankee Announcer Passes

Robert Leo "Bob" Sheppard (October 20, 1910 - July 11, 2010[1]) was the public address announcer for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball from 1951 to 2007, and was the public address announcer for the New York Giants of the National Football League from 1956 to 2006.

In his time with the Yankees Sheppard announced over 4,500 Major League Baseball games, seeing the team capture 22 American League pennants and 13 World Series championships. Yankee Hall-of-Famer Reggie Jackson dubbed him "the Voice of God"

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Neoconservatism's Catastrophic Legacy Like A Zombie

"As a result of the Iraq fiasco, the direct influence of neoconservatism has clearly waned. But nearly two years into the Obama era, it has become clear that its most lasting legacy is not a set of policies or strategies, but a reframing of debates about American foreign policy around a number of neoconservative assumptions. To a surprising degree, those assumptions – among them, that the current threats facing the US are unprecedented; that, in a time of war, military strategy must guide diplomacy, and not vice versa; and that even modest compromises with opponents would call America’s “credibility” into question – continue to dominate the agenda in Washington and the mass media. The last decade has shown, again and again, the failures of this line of thinking – and yet it continues to haunt American discourse, a zombie ideology that refuses to die." - Justin Vogt

Haunted by Cheney and his cronies who schemed for 30 years to use a puppet like Bush to max out all their failed theories with zero repercussions from within an Administration. Now we have a zombie GOP living of the fumes of failure and a public not engaged enough to question why things went so wrong.

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Republicans: Ruled By AM Radio

There were no death panels in the bill ... and to encourage that kind of fear is just the lowest form of political leadership. It's not leadership. It's demagoguery.... I think we have a lot of leaders that are following those (television and talk radio) personalities and not leading.... I think what we're doing is dividing the country into partisan camps that really look a lot like Shia and Sunni. It's very difficult to come together to find solutions. -- Bob Inglis (R-SC)

"Too many Republican leaders are acquiescing to a poisonous 'demagoguery' that threatens the party's long-term credibility, says [Bob Inglis] a veteran GOP House member who was defeated in South Carolina's primary last month."

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Tom Tancredo: Can't Get Elected, But Can Always Find Losers To Listen To Him

"But I firmly believe this -- it's not just, you know, some dramatic statement a person would make to get press or something or ink. I believe this with all my heart -- that the greatest threat to the United States today, the greatest threat to our liberty, the greatest threat to the Constitution of the United States, the greatest threat to our way of life, everything we believe in, the greatest threat to the country that was put together by the Founding Fathers, is the guy that is in the White House today." - Tom Tancredo

Out of work, former Republican Congressman Tom Tancredo says President Obama is a greater threat to the U.S. than the Civil War, the Soviets & Al Qaeda. Does absolutely nothing to explain his hyperbolic views. Crowd of mentally unspectacular sheep could care less.

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Wall St. Hiring in Anticipation of an Economic Recovery

The shift underscores the remarkable recovery of the biggest banks and brokerage firms since Washington rescued them in the fall of 2008, and follows the huge rebound in profits for members of the New York Stock Exchange, which totaled $61.4 billion in 2009, the most ever. Since employment bottomed out in February, New York securities firms have added nearly 2,000 jobs, a trend that is also playing out nationwide at financial companies, commodity contract traders and investment firms.

Though the figures are small in comparison to overall Wall Street employment, executives, economists and headhunters say they expect the growth to pick up steam in the coming months.

Better times are ahead. This will piss some people off on the Right.

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The Supremos

Where the right-wing activists mullahs, I mean Justices, construe "We the people" to mean "We the corporate entities".

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