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Thursday, October 21, 2010
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Giannoulias To Kirk: 'You're Trying To Suppress The African-American Vote' | TPMDC
Giannoulias To Kirk: 'You're Trying To Suppress The African-American Vote' | TPMDC: "'We have a corruption problem in our state,' Kirk said. 'We've become a punchline on late night television.'
But Democrat Alexi Giannoulias countered that the program was targeting African Americans, because 'there has never been an accusation of fraud on the West or South side of Chicago.'
'You're trying to suppress the African American vote,' Giannoulias said."
But Democrat Alexi Giannoulias countered that the program was targeting African Americans, because 'there has never been an accusation of fraud on the West or South side of Chicago.'
'You're trying to suppress the African American vote,' Giannoulias said."
Maddow Reveals GOP's Scare Tactics
Rachel Maddow: GOPs southern strategy rises again
If you ever doubted that the GOP caters to white rage and resentment, the evidence is right here. I guess the GOP figures that if they can convince poor white folks that the blacks, Muslims and Mexicans are stealing their jobs, they won't go after the real enemy -- Corporate America.
Juan Williams gets "nervous" around Muslims on airplanes
Juan Williams you are a coon-ass negro, who jumps when Rupert Murdoch pulls the chain.
Shame on you, as a black man, you should understand what racial profiling is. But I guess when you
work for FOX you have to get with the program. Did your control chip hurt when they put it in?
Robert Reich: The Perfect Storm That Threatens American Democracy
Robert Reich: The Perfect Storm That Threatens American Democracy: "Hundreds of millions of dollars are pouring into advertisements for and against candidates -- without a trace of where the dollars are coming from. They're laundered through a handful of groups. Fred Maleck, whom you may remember as deputy director of Richard Nixon's notorious Committee to Reelect the President (dubbed Creep in the Watergate scandal), is running one of them. Republican operative Karl Rove runs another. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a third."
Monday, October 18, 2010
Think slavery is a thing of the past? Think again - Home News, UK - The Independent
Think slavery is a thing of the past? Think again - Home News, UK - The Independent: "Thippawal, 36, from Bangkok, paid an agency to bring her to Britain for restaurant work in 2008 so she could send money home for her daughter's schooling. But when she arrived in the UK she was locked up and made to work as a prostitute.
'When I got to Heathrow, the man that met me took my passport. He took me to a house in west London and said I had to work as a prostitute. I showed them the contract which said I had to work in a restaurant, but they just laughed. They said if I tried to leave I would die. They made me work 24 hours a day saying I had to pay off my debt to them for bringing me over – which they said was �65,000. I had to have sex with 20 men a night and some of them would hit me."
'When I got to Heathrow, the man that met me took my passport. He took me to a house in west London and said I had to work as a prostitute. I showed them the contract which said I had to work in a restaurant, but they just laughed. They said if I tried to leave I would die. They made me work 24 hours a day saying I had to pay off my debt to them for bringing me over – which they said was �65,000. I had to have sex with 20 men a night and some of them would hit me."
Inside Sharron Angle's fundraising mega-haul - 2010 Elections News | Midterm Elections: Senators, Governors - Salon.com
So Sharron Angle pulled in $14 million in the third quarter, but spent $12 million.
Glaring double standard in tolerance for anti-Muslim bigotry - Glenn Greenwald - Salon.com
We all knew FOX was Islamophobic. They responded to Brian Kilmeade's latest anti-Muslim comments with slap on the wrist. Rick Sanchez and Helen Thomas got fired when they made anti-Semitic comments.
Sexual Assault and Abuse Rampant in America’s Immigration Detention Centers - Campus Progress
'Foreclosure Mill' Employees Got Gifts For Altering Documents, Witness Says
'Foreclosure Mill' Employees Got Gifts For Altering Documents, Witness Says: "At a large Florida 'foreclosure mill,' a manager signed up to 1,000 documents a day without reading them and employees were given gifts to speed up foreclosure paperwork, according to depositions released today by the Florida Attorney General's Office."
Will Fox News kill Beck's show after assassination plot?
The Big Business Wall Street Won't Discuss
Here is another piece of great old-fashioned reporting. It turns out the big banks, which provide mortgages, also own the collection companies which force people to sell their houses when they fall behind on their property taxes. Sounds like a scheme worthy of Toni Soprano.
Joe Miller Security Guards Handcuff & Detain 'Alaska Dispatch' Editor
Joe Miller Security Guards Handcuff & Detain 'Alaska Dispatch' Editor
One more step towards fascism. This editor was on public property and was charged with trespassing. And when did security guards have the power to arrest people?
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Slide Show: The GOP's Worst Ideas | The Nation
Republicans Struggle To Say How They Would Pay For Tax Cuts (VIDEO)
WALLACE: I'm going to try -- I'm going to try one last time and if you don't want to answer it, Ms. Fiorina, you don't have to. [...] You're not willing to put forward a single benefit -- I'm not even talking about"
New Black Panther Case Served As Cash Cow For GOP Lawyers Group | TPMMuckraker
And so this is what it all boils down to -- money. The GOP is falling back on the old scare whitey tactic to raise money. This story has been proven to be patently false, by a former Bush appointee, and yet it continues to circulate. Plus the New Black Panthers are a tiny fringe group, who could not really affect anyone.
FL Political Candidates Rick Scott, Pam Bondi Spoke At GOP Lawyers' Meeting | TPMMuckraker
On Meet The Press, Ken Buck Compares Being Gay To Alcoholism | TPMDC
When are we going to find out he is gay, or has gay staffers?
Angela Merkel: German multiculturalism has 'utterly failed' | World news | guardian.co.uk
The row over foreigners in Germany has shifted since former central banker Thilo Sarrazin published a highly-controversial book in which he accused Muslim immigrants of lowering the intelligence of German society.
Sarrazin was censured for his views and dismissed from the Bundesbank, but his book proved popular and polls showed Germans were sympathetic with the thrust of his arguments."
Voters dislike “government,” like what it does | Cynthia Tucker
Isn't this typical of Teabagger logic? Cut the government, but not the programs that affect me. Everyone loves the government when it is helping them out. I say if you want to move to a country with no government, try Somalia. How come none of these Teabbagers complain about the billions of tax-payer dollars spent on the Military Industrial and Prison Industrial Complexes?
That is government money that directly supports two huge industries!
Dying Girl Kathleen Edward Cyberbullied by 33-Year-Old Neighbor: Why? - Health Blog - CBS News
Dying Girl Kathleen Edward Cyberbullied by 33-Year-Old Neighbor: Why? - Health Blog - CBS News: "More recently, neighbors in Trenton, Mich., told the local news station that Petkov and her husband decorated their pickup to look like a hearse, strapped a homemade coffin on top, and drove it back and forth in front of the home Kathleen shares with her father and step mother. Petkov said it was just a Halloween prank."
This is the craziest story I have read in a while.
Europe's Identity Crisis Fuels Rising Anti-Muslim Sentiment
The 10 Biggest Corporate Campaign Contributors in U.S. Politics - DailyFinance
The 10 Biggest Corporate Campaign Contributors in U.S. Politics - DailyFinance: "1. AT&T (T) -- $45.6 million
Between 1989 and 2010, AT&T gave more than $45 million in campaign donations to both Republican and Democrat candidates. In the 2009-2010 cycle, its biggest contribution was $30,000 to the campaign of Nevada Senator Harry Reid, but three Republican congressmen -- Joe Wilson of South Carolina, Pete Olson of Texas and Roy Blunt of Missouri -- were among its top five. While impressive, however, these contributions were dwarfed by AT&T's lobbying expenses, which topped $25 million in 2006 alone."
Between 1989 and 2010, AT&T gave more than $45 million in campaign donations to both Republican and Democrat candidates. In the 2009-2010 cycle, its biggest contribution was $30,000 to the campaign of Nevada Senator Harry Reid, but three Republican congressmen -- Joe Wilson of South Carolina, Pete Olson of Texas and Roy Blunt of Missouri -- were among its top five. While impressive, however, these contributions were dwarfed by AT&T's lobbying expenses, which topped $25 million in 2006 alone."
This indicates exactly what is wrong with this country's political system. We do not have a democracy. We have a corporatcry.
Felice Arenas: Inside Job Director Talks Future Films, Says Wall Street 'Not Entirely Sane'
Ryan O'Connell: Auditioning for the Real World Is Too Real
Ryan O'Connell: Auditioning for the Real World Is Too Real: "When you graduate from college, you often do things that compromise your dignity. Some people become telemarketers. Some work at American Apparel. I audition for irrelevant reality shows like The Real World.
Unsurprisingly, the experience was demoralizing, dehumanizing and any other word that you can attach a 'de' to. The aspiring Real Worlders I encountered that day were, hands down, the most delusional and sad people I've ever met. Everyone seemed to know each other from previous reality show auditions and they all took pride in belonging to this bizarre subculture of reality star wannabes. They brought laminated resumes -- perhaps to impress the casting director with their jobs at Chili's and Bebe -- and also felt it was necessary to do complex gymnastic routines and vocal warm-ups in line. To them, auditioning for The Real Word was like being in the running for a Martin Scorcese film."
Unsurprisingly, the experience was demoralizing, dehumanizing and any other word that you can attach a 'de' to. The aspiring Real Worlders I encountered that day were, hands down, the most delusional and sad people I've ever met. Everyone seemed to know each other from previous reality show auditions and they all took pride in belonging to this bizarre subculture of reality star wannabes. They brought laminated resumes -- perhaps to impress the casting director with their jobs at Chili's and Bebe -- and also felt it was necessary to do complex gymnastic routines and vocal warm-ups in line. To them, auditioning for The Real Word was like being in the running for a Martin Scorcese film."
Jim Wallis: MLK and the "Progressive Hunter"
Jim Wallis: MLK and the "Progressive Hunter": "I read an alarming report last night on a recent interview with Byron Williams, who was arrested after a July 18 shootout with the police. He had a car full of guns and planned to kill people at the Tides Foundation and ACLU in San Francisco. Williams said in this interview that he sees Glenn Beck as his 'teacher,' and that he was agitated by the virulent things his teacher had to say about the people at Tides. While it is unfair to blame Beck for everything his audience might do, it isn't unfair to ask Beck to make the connection that King did between the violence of the tongue and that of the fist, and to take responsibility for how he speaks about those with whom he disagree"
Mitchell Bard: The Tea Party All-Stars: The Worst of Extreme GOP Midterm Candidates
Christine O'Donnell named worst Tea Party candidate.
Mitchell Bard: The Tea Party All-Stars: The Worst of Extreme GOP Midterm Candidates
Christine O'Donnell named worst Tea Party candidate.
The scariest movies of all time - Del Stone - Open Salon
Salon columnist names Alien scariest movie of all time.
The scariest movies of all time - Del Stone - Open Salon
Secrets of the polygamists - Sister Wives - Salon.com
NPR poll: Republican midterm tide has crested - 2010 Elections News | Midterm Elections: Senators, Governors - Salon.com
Don't believe the media narrative. Just go out and vote. The MSM story has been changing every damn day.
Angelo Mozilo's slap on the wrist - Mortgage Crisis - Salon.com
Only in corporate America can you get rewarded for failing.
Robots Are Stealing American Jobs, According to MIT Economist
I am sure corporations like the idea of worker they don't have to pay and who can never complain.
Friday, October 8, 2010
GOP Policies Will Create Feudalistic Society
Christine O'Donnell
We are entering the final leg of one of the craziest and most exhausting political seasons in history. This year the GOP has fielded the most extreme and unhinged candidates in recent memory. With her talk of refusing to pay for maternity care, Nevada senate candidate Sharon Angle, who beat out a woman who wanted people to barter chickens for healthcare, was the kookiest candidate on the block, but then along came Minnesota GOP senate candidate Christine O’Donnell, who dabbled in witchcraft, lied about her college education and also fudged her dad’s history as the official Bozo the Clown.
This would all be amusing, but there is something deadly serious about their message. It is clear from some of their statements that the GOP/Tea Bag candidates want a return to a form of government that seems to look at lot like feudalism. And by that, I mean they want a society where the landed gentry controls everything and the peasants eke out a living as dirt farmers.
More evidence of the GOP’s contempt for the poor can be seen in statements from Alaska GOP senate candidate Joe Miller, who recently called the minimum wage unconstitutional. Linda McMahon, a GOP senatorial candidate in Connecticut, has echoed Miller’s ideas. Miller is also against unemployment insurance, even though his wife used it after she quit her job,
Many of these current GOP candidates want to strip the government down to its most limited functions. They claim that federal and state workers control the government through their powerful unions. (God forbid that unions actually lobby for decent wages and benefits.) GOP candidates would do away with unions, worker rights and labor laws, allowing bosses (the landed gentry) to have all the power.
California GOP candidate Meg Whitman, former CEO of Ebay, wants to do away with about 40,000 state jobs in a bid to streamline government and make it more businesslike. But here is the dirty little secret. That work still needs to be done. Someone needs to arrest criminals, process government paperwork, write tickets or do the other mundane government tasks we take for granted.
And this is where the second part of the GOP’s plan to restore feudalism comes into play. Whitman has said that she plans to make government more efficient by turning these government jobs over to private firms. So what will probably happen is that a firm will take over the government contract for a couple of million, and then farm out the work of 10 people to two contractors. If the contract is worth $20,000 the owner will probably keep half, and split the rest among the contractors, who also don’t get benefits and can be fired at will.
However these contracts will probably end up going to companies with ties to the Whitman campaign or even companies that she owns. She is supposed to be a smart business woman, so I doubt if she would spend $140 million of her own money and not expect some kind of return. This kind of situation has happened before, under the George W. Bush administration which mastered the art of crony capitalism. After the Iraq war. massive no-bid contracts were given out to Halliburton, which was formerly run by Vice President Dick Cheney. Halliburton also has contracts to supply and feed troops, jobs that used to be performed by the military at a lower cost.
If the GOP wins, it won’ t just stop at state contracts. Republicans have their eyes on other government services such as Medicare and Social Security. They may claim they want to make these programs more efficient, but its all about money. The plan to privatize Social Security, which Sharon Angle said she was for then against, has been called the next big heist. Wall Street stole trillions of dollars from working Americans through the Great Mortgage Crash, and now it has social security in it sights.
It will be the same scenario if the GOP gains power, they’ll push through legislation authorizing the privatization of Social Security. People will be encouraged to open private accounts, that means trillions of money for Wall Street, and more potential victims.
Wall Street will play on Americans’ greed, just like they did with the Housing Bubble. Sign up for this complicated savings plan, which you don’t understand, and you might get 50 percent more in your retirement account. What they won’t tell you is that you also might lose your shirt, and your broker gets a commission for every customer he steers towards a certain investment fund. (This has happened before.) Also, your broker is going to charge you monthly fees for watching your money. This has been tried before, under the Pinochet dictatorship in Chile and workers found they ended up getting less money because of broker fees. According to a 1995 article in the New York Times by Larry Rohter: “Even many middle-class (Chilean) workers who contributed regularly are finding that their private accounts - burdened with hidden fees that may have soaked up as much as a third of their original investment - are failing to deliver as much in benefits as they would have received if they had stayed in the old system.”
If history repeats itself, Wall Street will create another bubble that will explode, and the federal government will be forced to bail out the banks -- again. This has happened at least twice before, with the Savings and Loans crisis (total cost $124.6 billion according to the Congressional Budget Office), and the recent Toxic Asset Relief Program (TARP) bailout, which bailed out banks drowning in the mortgage crisis to a tune of up to $700 billion.
This form of crony capitalism will create a new generation of robber barons (feudal lords) whose wealth is based on their proximity to the government. If you want to see how this ends, look at Russia which is now controlled by a few oligarchs who became fabulously wealthy after the fall of Communism. During this time, a handful of men became overnight billionaires because they were able to cut shady deals with their political friends.
One of the most controversial oligarchs is Roman Abramovich, a 43-year-old, worth about $11 billion and the 50th richest person in the world. Abramovich made his fortune after he bought Russia’s oil and gas company on the cheap during the post-communist Yeltsin era and resold it for a huge fortune, during the rush to privatization. (There’s that word again.). In Russia he is a controversial figure because he is seen to have defrauded the people, but in Britain he is a somewhat popular figure because of he is the benefactor of Chelsea Football Club.
If GOP politicians get elected they will enact polices that will create hundreds of Abramovichs. You have been warned.
This would all be amusing, but there is something deadly serious about their message. It is clear from some of their statements that the GOP/Tea Bag candidates want a return to a form of government that seems to look at lot like feudalism. And by that, I mean they want a society where the landed gentry controls everything and the peasants eke out a living as dirt farmers.
More evidence of the GOP’s contempt for the poor can be seen in statements from Alaska GOP senate candidate Joe Miller, who recently called the minimum wage unconstitutional. Linda McMahon, a GOP senatorial candidate in Connecticut, has echoed Miller’s ideas. Miller is also against unemployment insurance, even though his wife used it after she quit her job,
Many of these current GOP candidates want to strip the government down to its most limited functions. They claim that federal and state workers control the government through their powerful unions. (God forbid that unions actually lobby for decent wages and benefits.) GOP candidates would do away with unions, worker rights and labor laws, allowing bosses (the landed gentry) to have all the power.
California GOP candidate Meg Whitman, former CEO of Ebay, wants to do away with about 40,000 state jobs in a bid to streamline government and make it more businesslike. But here is the dirty little secret. That work still needs to be done. Someone needs to arrest criminals, process government paperwork, write tickets or do the other mundane government tasks we take for granted.
And this is where the second part of the GOP’s plan to restore feudalism comes into play. Whitman has said that she plans to make government more efficient by turning these government jobs over to private firms. So what will probably happen is that a firm will take over the government contract for a couple of million, and then farm out the work of 10 people to two contractors. If the contract is worth $20,000 the owner will probably keep half, and split the rest among the contractors, who also don’t get benefits and can be fired at will.
However these contracts will probably end up going to companies with ties to the Whitman campaign or even companies that she owns. She is supposed to be a smart business woman, so I doubt if she would spend $140 million of her own money and not expect some kind of return. This kind of situation has happened before, under the George W. Bush administration which mastered the art of crony capitalism. After the Iraq war. massive no-bid contracts were given out to Halliburton, which was formerly run by Vice President Dick Cheney. Halliburton also has contracts to supply and feed troops, jobs that used to be performed by the military at a lower cost.
If the GOP wins, it won’ t just stop at state contracts. Republicans have their eyes on other government services such as Medicare and Social Security. They may claim they want to make these programs more efficient, but its all about money. The plan to privatize Social Security, which Sharon Angle said she was for then against, has been called the next big heist. Wall Street stole trillions of dollars from working Americans through the Great Mortgage Crash, and now it has social security in it sights.
It will be the same scenario if the GOP gains power, they’ll push through legislation authorizing the privatization of Social Security. People will be encouraged to open private accounts, that means trillions of money for Wall Street, and more potential victims.
Wall Street will play on Americans’ greed, just like they did with the Housing Bubble. Sign up for this complicated savings plan, which you don’t understand, and you might get 50 percent more in your retirement account. What they won’t tell you is that you also might lose your shirt, and your broker gets a commission for every customer he steers towards a certain investment fund. (This has happened before.) Also, your broker is going to charge you monthly fees for watching your money. This has been tried before, under the Pinochet dictatorship in Chile and workers found they ended up getting less money because of broker fees. According to a 1995 article in the New York Times by Larry Rohter: “Even many middle-class (Chilean) workers who contributed regularly are finding that their private accounts - burdened with hidden fees that may have soaked up as much as a third of their original investment - are failing to deliver as much in benefits as they would have received if they had stayed in the old system.”
If history repeats itself, Wall Street will create another bubble that will explode, and the federal government will be forced to bail out the banks -- again. This has happened at least twice before, with the Savings and Loans crisis (total cost $124.6 billion according to the Congressional Budget Office), and the recent Toxic Asset Relief Program (TARP) bailout, which bailed out banks drowning in the mortgage crisis to a tune of up to $700 billion.
This form of crony capitalism will create a new generation of robber barons (feudal lords) whose wealth is based on their proximity to the government. If you want to see how this ends, look at Russia which is now controlled by a few oligarchs who became fabulously wealthy after the fall of Communism. During this time, a handful of men became overnight billionaires because they were able to cut shady deals with their political friends.
One of the most controversial oligarchs is Roman Abramovich, a 43-year-old, worth about $11 billion and the 50th richest person in the world. Abramovich made his fortune after he bought Russia’s oil and gas company on the cheap during the post-communist Yeltsin era and resold it for a huge fortune, during the rush to privatization. (There’s that word again.). In Russia he is a controversial figure because he is seen to have defrauded the people, but in Britain he is a somewhat popular figure because of he is the benefactor of Chelsea Football Club.
If GOP politicians get elected they will enact polices that will create hundreds of Abramovichs. You have been warned.
Friday, October 1, 2010
The 10 Commandments of the Modern Worker
- Don’t trust your boss. He hates you and would outsource your job to Siberia if he could get away with it. Or even better, he would vote for legalized slavery so he wouldn’t have to pay you at all. If possible start up your own business, because no one will take care of you like yourself.
- There is no loyalty. It’s all about you. If you get a better deal, don’t think twice, your boss won’t hesitate to lay you off, when things get tough.
- Always keep your resume up to date. You never know when you are going to need it.
- Always be on the look for another job. You never know when you are going to need it.
- Take everything management says with a grain of salt. f they say the company is doing fine, start updating your resume. Remember what happened at Enron and Goldman Sachs?
- Befriend your competitors. When things go belly up your services could be mighty useful.
- Back up all your personal contacts and info. to the Internet or your personal computer. When your boss asks for the work computer back, all your contacts go with it.
- Network on the job. Pass your business card out at conferences and remember all those contacts. They’ll come in handy when you get pink slipped. Look at your job as an opportunity to enhance your earning power and business contacts.
- Unionize if possible. There is strength in numbers. Management hates organized labor because they make it harder to drive down wages and bully workers.. Weak or non-existent unions means, low pay. Low pay means more money for management. In the absence of a union, familiarize yourself with labor laws (available at the Department of Labor web site), you’d be surprised how many laws your boss is breaking.
- See no. 1.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Beck Rally Confirms Maher’s Claims About Dumb Americans
Political humorist Bill Maher often gets in trouble for calling Americans stupid. But after watching about 90,000 people show up to a rally thrown by entertainer/cult leader Glenn Beck can there be any further discussion?
Beck’s “Restoring Honor” rally simply revealed that Americans are willing to follow a charismatic leader even if he has a wacky agenda. After all, televangelists who hawk the widely discredited prosperity gospel also have huge followings, and Beck’s credibility is on par with the men who beg for money on TBN and professional wrestlers.
The rally itself was a strange event, which moved away from a political fest, (Tea Baggers were told to leave their hate signs at home) and turned into a quasi-religious revival. And this too is strange because Beck is a Mormon, and follows a faith that many Evangelicals don’t even recognize as mainstream Christianity.
Marsha White, writing on the conservative web site RenewAmerica, said, “Mostly he (Beck) uses Christian terminology, which is misleading. It would seem that Beck is a Christian. But how can that be? Mormons deny the essential doctrines of the Christian faith. Mormon beliefs do not line up with Scripture yet they insist on calling themselves Christian when they clearly are not.”
If the curious religious nature of the event is surprising. It is nothing compared to the political comments of the attendees:
According to Talking Points Memo, Carolyn Cassaberry of Newport News, Va, who attended the rally, said that she was not sure if President Barack Obama is a Muslim and needed more documentation.
Many attendees were happy at the religious tones of the rally, but they had no idea Beck is a Mormon.
The Velvet Revolution website interviewed a Black Tea Bagger from New Jersey who felt that something needed to be done about the health care system, but believed the “free market” was the answer, even though countries like France, Germany and Canada have much more efficient government-run health care systems.
Other rally attendees supported Tea Party supporter Ted Nugent’s idea of “putting a bullet in illegal immigrants.”
But the best quote comes from an AP story that interviewed Ricky Thomas, a father from Chesapeake Beach, Md., who said he wanted the government to stay out of people’s lives. Thomas is a SWAT officer who makes his living kicking down doors and arresting people, who may or may not be guilty. He also draws a nice government pension and has employer-provided health care. So if Thomas hates the government so much why doesn’t he quit his job and give up those tax-payer provided benefits?
But this is the level of discourse we expect from people who gather all their information from FOX News, a station that runs race-baiting stories round the clock and tells its viewers that Obama is a Marxist-Muslim terrorist who wants to destroy America.
And why should we expert accuracy or intellectual honesty from a rally organized by a man who says he wants to reclaim civil rights, but thinks the president is a racist? Beck also later said that he did not agree with the economic goals of the Civil Rights movement.
In a rambling interview with Chris Wallace on “FOX News Sunday,” Beck also called Obama’s faith a “perversion of Christianity” (even though many Christians do not identify with Beck’s faith). He also criticized people on the left for using racial politics, even though he works for a network that has spent the entire summer running what MSNBC host Rachel Maddow calls “scare white people stories,” such as the false Shirely Sherrod story and the fake New Black Panther story.
It pains me to write about Beck, who has said that his primary goal is making money and doesn’t care about the political system, but when almost 90,000 show up to follow the rantings of a clueless man, something has to be said. Beck is a showman who thrives on attention, negative or positive, but liberal writers have to at least point out his lies and hope someone is paying attention.
During his interview with Wallace, Beck did drop a few nuggets of honesty into his sea of lies. He said that even though his followers wear Palin-Beck T-shirts, he could never get elected president. And that is something we can agree on.Saturday, August 14, 2010
Muslim is the New Black
The new wave of Islamophobia is embarrassing and frightening
It seems that some elements of the GOP always need to have a new enemy to hate. Almost 30 years ago, Richard Nixon used the Southern strategy to end the Democratic party’s stranglehold on the former Confederate states.
Black people have been a convenient whipping boy for the GOP over the last few decades, through code words such as “welfare queens” and “state rights.” Then after the growth of the gay rights movement and the rise of AIDS, gays become a convenient enemy for the newly invigorated fundamentalist wing of the Republican party.
But after 9-11, Muslims seem to have become public enemy no. 1. There were a few unfortunate incidents of anti-Muslim violence after 9-11, but it did not reach the level of hysteria we have seen in the past few months. The rhetoric coming from the Tea Party and the GOP is both embarrassing and frightening. Recently we have seen:
Much of this new wave of Islamohobia is driven by fact-free propaganda spread through pseudo news outlets like FOX News and AM radio. A recent study by Media Matters showed that 75 percent of the guests on FOX News, the “fair and balanced network,” were opposed to construction of the mosque near Ground Zero. The Tea Party has also amplified this xenophobia. One of the current memes spreading through the right-wing media is the idea that Muslims want to secretly take over America by out-breeding good Christian folk.
In a recent New York Times article, Tea Bagger Diane Serfain says, “As a mother and a grandmother, I worry. I learned that in 20 years with the rate of the birth population, we will be overtaken by Islam, and their goal is to get people in Congress and the Supreme Court to see that Shariah is implemented.” This would take a few generations because according to a 2001 study by the City University of New York, Muslims make up 0.5 percent of the U.S. population.
Americans who are swallowing this garbage should stop and ask themselves, what do the people spreading these lies actuality know about Islam? Sarah Palin just left the country for the first time a few years ago, and barely understands English and Christianity, so is she really the best person to go turn to for advice about Islam? And as for Ramsey, a Methodist, who has spent his entire life in Tennessee which is 1 percent Muslim, has he even had a conversation with a real-life Muslim?
These Islamohobes also seem to forget that freedom of religion is one of the central tenets of this country and is enshrined in the constitution. A few years ago. Gen. (rtd.) Colin Powell criticized Islamophobes and said that many Muslims had given their lives for this country serving in the military. Recently President Obama declared that "I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as everyone else in this country.”
The terrorists attacks on 9-11 also killed several hundred Muslims. Al-Qaeda kills indiscriminately, they do not care if their bombs rip into Muslims who happen to be in their way, which I am sure is one of their many violations of the Koran.
Islamic terrorists seem to be doing to their religion what the KKK,did to Christianity. Although the Klan claimed they were good Christian men fighting to protect women and the Southern way of life, anyone with half a brain knew they were as far from being Christian as a Satanist.
American Islamophobes are taking the worst parts of Islam to to stereotype a whole group of people. Christianity also has it’s own dark periods such as the Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition and the church-backed conquest of Africa and the Americas. Also many American clergyman, including Billy Graham, Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson, supported segregation and were against the Civil Rights movement. It would unfair to judge Christianity by these examples, although many black people have rejected the religion because of its ties to colonialism and white supremacy..
This hatred is not unfamiliar to black people. There was a time when “Christians” said we did not have souls. And many police officers still believe that black men are guilty until proven innocent, But in the age of Obama and Republican neocoons like Alan Keyes and Jesse Lee Patterson, you can get away with a lot more with anti-Muslim hatred.
Islamophobia is a new potent form of racism,because it is backed by religion, which always appeals to irrational thoughts, and many Muslims are well, foreign-looking. (However a visit to a mosque will tell you that Muslims come in every shade of color found on this planet.)
Unfortunately it is easy to demonize a small group of people, who practise a religion that most close-minded Americans know nothing about. And the War on Terror gives people all the more reason to be suspicious of Muslims and anyone who looks Middle Eastern. Americans can now hide their xenophobia behind patriotism, because hating minorities is as American as apple pie.
It seems that some elements of the GOP always need to have a new enemy to hate. Almost 30 years ago, Richard Nixon used the Southern strategy to end the Democratic party’s stranglehold on the former Confederate states.
Black people have been a convenient whipping boy for the GOP over the last few decades, through code words such as “welfare queens” and “state rights.” Then after the growth of the gay rights movement and the rise of AIDS, gays become a convenient enemy for the newly invigorated fundamentalist wing of the Republican party.
But after 9-11, Muslims seem to have become public enemy no. 1. There were a few unfortunate incidents of anti-Muslim violence after 9-11, but it did not reach the level of hysteria we have seen in the past few months. The rhetoric coming from the Tea Party and the GOP is both embarrassing and frightening. Recently we have seen:
- A concerted effort from activists to prevent the construction of a mosque two blocks from Ground Zero. This has inspired race-baiting comments from presidential aspirants Newt Gingrich and pinup pundit Sarah Palin.
- Tennessee Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, who declared that “Islam was not a religion, and more like a cult.”
- Evangelical churches and synagogues have hosted Brigette Gabriel, a speaker who says that Muslims “do not have souls,” and a Florida church held a “Burn a Koran” day.
- Pam Geller, an unhinged right-wing blogger who lies every time she opens her mouth, has spouted nonsensical claims such as President Barack Obama is a secret Muslim who cavorts with hookers, Muslims have infiltrated the government and military, and Muslims plan to introduce Sharia law.
- Several Christian groups have protested the proposed construction of new mosque around the country, even in supposedly liberal California. Bryan Fischer of the American Family Association said that he would like to see construction of all mosques cease.
Much of this new wave of Islamohobia is driven by fact-free propaganda spread through pseudo news outlets like FOX News and AM radio. A recent study by Media Matters showed that 75 percent of the guests on FOX News, the “fair and balanced network,” were opposed to construction of the mosque near Ground Zero. The Tea Party has also amplified this xenophobia. One of the current memes spreading through the right-wing media is the idea that Muslims want to secretly take over America by out-breeding good Christian folk.
In a recent New York Times article, Tea Bagger Diane Serfain says, “As a mother and a grandmother, I worry. I learned that in 20 years with the rate of the birth population, we will be overtaken by Islam, and their goal is to get people in Congress and the Supreme Court to see that Shariah is implemented.” This would take a few generations because according to a 2001 study by the City University of New York, Muslims make up 0.5 percent of the U.S. population.
Americans who are swallowing this garbage should stop and ask themselves, what do the people spreading these lies actuality know about Islam? Sarah Palin just left the country for the first time a few years ago, and barely understands English and Christianity, so is she really the best person to go turn to for advice about Islam? And as for Ramsey, a Methodist, who has spent his entire life in Tennessee which is 1 percent Muslim, has he even had a conversation with a real-life Muslim?
These Islamohobes also seem to forget that freedom of religion is one of the central tenets of this country and is enshrined in the constitution. A few years ago. Gen. (rtd.) Colin Powell criticized Islamophobes and said that many Muslims had given their lives for this country serving in the military. Recently President Obama declared that "I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as everyone else in this country.”
The terrorists attacks on 9-11 also killed several hundred Muslims. Al-Qaeda kills indiscriminately, they do not care if their bombs rip into Muslims who happen to be in their way, which I am sure is one of their many violations of the Koran.
Islamic terrorists seem to be doing to their religion what the KKK,did to Christianity. Although the Klan claimed they were good Christian men fighting to protect women and the Southern way of life, anyone with half a brain knew they were as far from being Christian as a Satanist.
American Islamophobes are taking the worst parts of Islam to to stereotype a whole group of people. Christianity also has it’s own dark periods such as the Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition and the church-backed conquest of Africa and the Americas. Also many American clergyman, including Billy Graham, Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson, supported segregation and were against the Civil Rights movement. It would unfair to judge Christianity by these examples, although many black people have rejected the religion because of its ties to colonialism and white supremacy..
This hatred is not unfamiliar to black people. There was a time when “Christians” said we did not have souls. And many police officers still believe that black men are guilty until proven innocent, But in the age of Obama and Republican neocoons like Alan Keyes and Jesse Lee Patterson, you can get away with a lot more with anti-Muslim hatred.
Islamophobia is a new potent form of racism,because it is backed by religion, which always appeals to irrational thoughts, and many Muslims are well, foreign-looking. (However a visit to a mosque will tell you that Muslims come in every shade of color found on this planet.)
Unfortunately it is easy to demonize a small group of people, who practise a religion that most close-minded Americans know nothing about. And the War on Terror gives people all the more reason to be suspicious of Muslims and anyone who looks Middle Eastern. Americans can now hide their xenophobia behind patriotism, because hating minorities is as American as apple pie.
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