Saturday, August 07, 2010

"Cordoba"

800px-2002-10-26_11-15_Andalusien,_Lissabon_182_Córdoba,_Mezquita


Carl Pyrdum fisks Newt Gingrich. It's a tour de force from an actual student of history:

Notice how carefully he's phrased his claim to give the impression that during the medieval conquest of Spain the Muslims charged into Cordoba and declared it the capital of a new Muslim empire, and in order to add insult to injury seized control of a Christian church and built the biggest mosque they could, right there in front of the Christians they'd just conquered, a big Muslim middle finger in the heart of medieval Christendom.  Essentially, they've done it before, they'll do it again, right there at Ground Zero, if all good Christians don't band together to stop them.

The problem is, in order to give that impression of immediacy, Newt elides three-hundred years of Christian and Muslim history.  Three-hundred years. The Muslims conquered Cordoba in 712.  The Christian church that was later transformed into the Great Mosque of Cordoba apparently** continued hosting Christian worship for at least a generation after that.  Work on the Mosque didn't actually begin until seventy-odd years leader in 784, and the mosque only became "the world's third-largest" late in the tenth century, after a series of expansions by much later rulers, probably around 987 or so...

So what should modern Christians think when they hear a Muslim use the word "Cordoba"?  Well, I know that Newt hasn't been a Catholic for very long now, but maybe his priest ought to direct him to read a little thing called "The Catholic Encyclopedia".  Allow me to quote from the 1917 edition (which has the virtue of being in the public domain and easily searchable) and its entry on Cordoba:

In 786 the Arab caliph, Abd-er Rahman I, began the construction of the great mosque of Cordova, now the cathedral, and compelled many Christians to take part in the preparation of the site and foundations. Though they suffered many vexations, the Christians continued to enjoy freedom of worship, and this tolerant attitude of the ameers seduced not a few Christians from their original allegiance. Both Christians and Arabs co-operated at this time to make Cordova a flourishing city, the elegant refinement of which was unequalled in Europe...

It's easy to see why a group of Muslims creating a community center in the heart of a majority Christian country in a city known for its large Jewish population might name it "The Cordoba House". They're not, as Gingrich hopes we would believe, discreetly laughing at us because "Cordoba" is some double-secret Islamist code for "conquest"; rather, they're hoping to associate themselves with a particular time in medieval history when the largest library in Western Europe was to be found in Cordoba, a city in which scholars of all three major Abrahamic religions were free to study side-by-side.

Read the whole thing.

Newt is the cheating, divorced Catholic history teacher who gets most of his facts wrong: the perfect Republican.

Posted via email from liberalsarecool.com

The Confederate Revolution

Republicans and their inbred cousin Tea Baggers always looking backwards:

"It is also not a surprise that most of the extreme ideas and rhetoric is rooted in the treason of the Confederacy. From Birtherism to calls to end birthright citizenship to nullification of Federal laws to states rights to calls for secession and more it seems the only flag Wingnuts respect is the old Confederate battle flag. And weaving these ideas together—just as it wove the Confederacy together—is racism, fear and deep, deep ignorance."

Posted via email from liberalsarecool.com

Fewer Legal Mexicans Visiting Arizona. I Wonder Why?

The number of legal visitors entering Arizona from Mexico has plummeted amid the controversy of increased enforcement of state immigration laws.

Drop in legal Mexican visitors hurts southern Arizona

People enter the United States through the Nogales, Arizona, border crossing April 28, 2010. The number of legal visitors entering Arizona from Mexico has plummeted amid the controversy of increased enforcement of state immigration laws.

(John Russell/Reuters)

Total cross-border visits into Arizona in the months after Gov. Jan Brewer signed the immigration enforcement law in April have fallen 17% compared with the same period in 2009, according to Customs and Border Protection data. The drop-off amounts to about 12,500 fewer people daily, the data show.

Vote with your wallet. Arizona is going to take a big financial hit for trying this election year gambit.

Posted via email from liberalsarecool.com

Friday, August 06, 2010

Tea Baggers' Warped World

Bushisms v Palinisms

Bushisms, which I collected for many years, often hinged on a single grammatical or factual error. Palinisms, by contrast, consist of a unitary stream of patriotic, populist blather. It’s like Fox News without the punctuation. It is so devoid of content that it hardly deserves the adjective “truthy.
Jacob Weisberg, continuing his tirade

She has the intellect of a first-grader with the sass of a sixth-grader with the follow through of a 10th grade drop-out.

Posted via email from liberalsarecool.com

Confessions of a Tea Party Casualty

It was the middle of a tough primary contest, and Rep. Bob Inglis (R-S.C.) had convened a small meeting with donors who had contributed thousands of dollars to his previous campaigns. But this year, as Inglis faced a challenge from tea party-backed Republican candidates claiming Inglis wasn't sufficiently conservative, these donors hadn't ponied up. Inglis' task: Get them back on the team. "They were upset with me," Inglis recalls. "They are all Glenn Beck watchers." About 90 minutes into the meeting, as he remembers it, "They say, 'Bob, what don't you get? Barack Obama is a socialist, communist Marxist who wants to destroy the American economy so he can take over as dictator. Health care is part of that. And he wants to open up the Mexican border and turn [the US] into a Muslim nation.'" Inglis didn't know how to respond.

The fear, anger and paranoia on the Right is clinical. "The bigger the lie, the more believable it is". Wonder who aid that? The German dictator who was its most cynical practitioner attributed it to the goodness of most people. Since they would be ashamed to tell big lies themselves, it doesn't occur to them that anyone else would.

How much longer can they spin these distortions? At what point do they feel like the jig is up on them? We have always had crazies in America, it just that Republicans started electing them that sucks.

Posted via email from liberalsarecool.com

Reagonomics: The Laugh Is On 99% Of Us

White guys havin' a laugh. It's not like it's going to cost of trillions in debt and lead to flat growth and historic income disparity..

Posted via email from liberalsarecool.com

Palin Has Tood's Balls In A Jar: What Does She Know About Cajones?

First Dude Todd is ball-less. Oldest son is HS drop-out. Oh! to be a Palin male.

Posted via email from liberalsarecool.com

The Ghosts of World War II's Past (20 photos)

Matthews: Right Tries To "Assassinate" With Lies

“Well, this will strike many listening to me now as crazy,” said [Chris] Matthews in his “Let Me Finish” segment.

“Is it aimed to disabling his administration politically? And are the people who are doing this perpetrating it, pushing it day after day by false statements, innuendo and professed doubts, in fact, the worst kind of citizen?” he wondered.

“Are they, no matter how much they claim to be patriotic, really the most un-American of people because they really do want to destroy this president, not because of what he does but because of who he is? Not because of where he was born, but because what his race was when he was born?”

“Or this the big lie they dare not to admit? They know full well he’s an American. That they’re simply out to destroy him personally. Yes, assassinate him with their lies,” Matthews concluded.

It’s not that they believe, it’s just coded language for saying “he’s not one of us”. In the 50s they would have just used “ni**er” to rally their base. Now they use their words more carefully, but to the same effect.

It’s like the secret handshake among these radicals. They could be holding his actual birth certificate and still propagate this lie.

Posted via email from liberalsarecool.com

Thursday, August 05, 2010

12 Years Added To Medicare Trust

The Affordable Care Act has "strengthened Medicare's financial condition," with the Medicare trust fund "predicted to last a dozen years longer than expected a year ago, according to a new government forecast." I'll look forward to Republicans explaining why this is a bad thing.

Obama's Health Reform adds 12 years and the Republicans want to repeal it. Tea Baggers must be pissed. Dolts!

Posted via email from liberalsarecool.com

Kagan’s Confirmed

"One Democrat, Nebraska’s Ben Nelson, broke ranks and voted with the minority, while five Republicans—Collins, Graham, Gregg, Lugar, and Snowe—voted in support of confirmation."

Posted via email from liberalsarecool.com

A Message From The Cloud Guy

Wednesday, August 04, 2010

Obama SCOTUS Nominee On Schedule

Kagan vote expected Thursday

Just like when Sotomayor was up for confirmation, Republicans did their silly dance and Obama's nominee went right on in. Hit the "repeat" button.

Posted via email from liberalsarecool.com

Why Nothing Gets Done In Washington

When our republic was created, the population ratio between the largest and smallest state was 13 to 1. Now, it’s 68 to 1. Because of the abuse of the filibuster, 41 senators representing less than 11 percent of the nation’s population can, in principle, block action supported by 59 senators representing more than 89 percent of our population. And you wonder why it’s so hard to get anything done in Washington?

Just think how two US Senators per State used to represent a nation in 1800 versus now. 300,000,000 people represented by 100 Senators? With so many people and issues to look after, sucks that corporations walk in with their checkbooks and get served first.

Posted via email from liberalsarecool.com

Tuesday, August 03, 2010

Inception Characters Don’t Understand Inception

Teatards' Social Security Conspiracy

"I sat down, and they said on the back of your Social Security card, there’s a number. That number indicates the bank that bought you when you were born based on a projection of your life’s earnings, and you are collateral. We are all collateral for the banks. I have this look like, ‘What the heck are you talking about?’ I’m trying to hide that look and look clueless. I figured clueless was better than argumentative. So they said, ‘You don’t know this?! You are a member of Congress, and you don’t know this?!’ And I said, ‘Please forgive me. I’m just ignorant of these things.’ And then of course, it turned into something about the Federal Reserve and the Bilderbergers and all that stuff. And now you have the feeling of anti-Semitism here coming in, mixing in. Wow."

Defeated Republican Congressman Bob Inglis talking about his meeting with teatards.

How can banks own you and it be socialism at the same time?

The Tea Party is playing both sides of the fear card. The Government owns all the banks, which means the People own the banks. But at the same time, the banks owned by the People, own all the people. All the people are owned by the people. Tea Bagger logic at its best.

There have always been crazies on the Right, now they are getting legit facetime with the media. I think our fascination with reality TV and seeing how mentally soft contestants prance about has warped our politics. Jerry Springer has come home to roost.

Posted via email from liberalsarecool.com

George Carlin: The American Dream; "You Have To Be Asleep To Believe It"

You have no choice, you have owners. "It's a big club and you ain't in it."

Posted via email from liberalsarecool.com

Greenspan: Tax Cuts Do NOT Pay For Themselves

They do not."

Alan Greenspan - Giving his opinion on if tax cuts “pay for themselves”

End of story. Republican talking point DEAD.

Thanks for being 10 years late on this one, Alan.

Posted via email from liberalsarecool.com

Republican Amnesia

"Parties, of course, can change; politicians can see the light; lessons can be learned; and perhaps some Republicans have learned them. But you cannot start from scratch. You cannot forget history. You cannot pretend that the Republican Party has not supported big and wasteful spending programs -- energy subsidies, farm subsidies, unnecessary homeland security projects, profligate defense contracts, you name it -- for the past decade. Before the GOP can have credibility on any spending issues whatsoever, Republican leaders need to speak frankly about the mistakes of the past.

They also must be extremely specific about which policies and programs they are planning to cut. What will it be? Social Security or the military budget? Medicare or the Transportation Security Administration? Vague "anti-government" rhetoric doesn't cut it anymore: If you want a smaller government, you have to tell us how you will create one."

_ Anne Applebaum

Good luck with that.

Posted via email from liberalsarecool.com

The GOP's Prized Pig

Eating our lunch on a daily basis. The Republican's Big FU to this and future generations.

Posted via email from liberalsarecool.com

Quote Of The Day: President Obama

I do want to point out, when you get in your car, when you go forward, what do you do? You put it in ‘D.’ When you want to go back, what do you do? You put it in ‘R.’
President Obama, at a DNC fundraiser.

(via officialssay)(via xyzprincess) (via apsies)

Posted via email from liberalsarecool.com

Monday, August 02, 2010

Dems Still Leading. Republicans Still Sucking

vruz:    Congressional Elections 2010, Gallup    vruz: I’m wondering what does this mean? There’s a lot to dislike about dems, but please… how awful must republicans get?  This week alone:  Newt wants to bomb Iran *AND* North Korea, republicans reject 9/11 heroes healthcare insurance bill, the governor of Arizona wants to continue pushing that Arizona law after a federal judge minimised its harm…  what the hell is going on in the minds of that 44% ?

vruz:

Congressional Elections 2010, Gallup

vruz: I’m wondering what does this mean? There’s a lot to dislike about dems, but please… how awful must republicans get?  This week alone:  Newt wants to bomb Iran *AND* North Korea, republicans reject 9/11 heroes healthcare insurance bill, the governor of Arizona wants to continue pushing that Arizona law after a federal judge minimised its harm…  what the hell is going on in the minds of that 44% ?

The 44% that still like what Republicans and the "Party Of No" and Tea Baggers have to say are the same dumbass rubes that live in the suburbs and rural areas of America that only survive by taking redistributed wealth from the big cities to subsidize their hayseed small towns. Your political dementia and backwardass patriotism are a pain in my balls.

Posted via email from liberalsarecool.com

The Bush Tax Cuts Led To Ballooning Deficits

"The simple fact is this: all the Bush tax cuts were unaffordable. They were an irresponsible act of hubris enacted during an economic boom. Conservatives thought they would force us to shrink the government. But with Republicans controlling the White House and both houses of Congress, did reduced taxes cause reduced spending? No, they led to ever-increasing borrowing and a ballooning deficit."

Zakaria: Raise My Taxes, Mr. President!

3% of the people are responsible for 98% of the wealth and only 50% of the taxes. Do the math.

(via jamespoling)

Just like Bush's tax cuts were paid for by borrowing, so as the Iraq War. Republicans complain about "tax and spend", but they are in love with "borrow and spend" which is more irresponsible and costly to America.

Why do intelligent Republicans allow this? What is the upside to breaking the American middle class to pieces? Who is going to buy your goods and services?

Posted via email from liberalsarecool.com

The Rule Of The Crazy-Cons

Buckley’s National Review, where I was the literary editor through the 1990s, remains as vital and interesting as ever. But more characteristic of [right-wing] leadership are figures on TV, radio and the Internet who make their money by stirring fears and resentments. With its descent to baiting blacks, Mexicans and Muslims, its accommodation of conspiracy theories and an increasing nastiness and vulgarity, the [right-wing] movement has undergone a shift toward demagoguery and hucksterism. Once the talk was of “neocons” versus “paleocons.” Now we observe the rule of the crazy-cons.
Right-winger David Klinghoffer (Via TBogg) (via ryking) (via pissedoffinamerica)

Republicans will never admit to doing anything wrong.

All the deficits they ran up under Reagan, Bush 41 and Bush 43 don't exist. All the war spending that was kept out of the budgets and not paid for was perfectly responsible. All the borrowing they did under Bush to pay for their massive spending more than justifies the tax cuts for the rich. In fact, staring at the destruction they caused in 99% of America, they want to extend the cuts.

The more crazy they act, the more they believe their own shit. Amazing.

Posted via email from liberalsarecool.com

The Tillman Story

Pat Tillman was a pawn used by Bush and Rumsfeld to sell a bogus war. Fratricide in the military made it more shocking once you start hearing the truth.

Posted via email from liberalsarecool.com