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.

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:

• 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.

CEOs Make Politicians Look Like Angels -- So Why Vote for Them?

Meg Whitman

In my adventures in journalism, I once met a brother who told me that the most important lesson he had learned in business school was the number one goal of a corporation is to maximize profits. And corporations are supposed to do this, even it means discarding employees, engaging in immoral practice or selling deadly products

Now, understanding that philosophy is it surprising how Corporate America treats employees? Wake up American workers, your corporate bosses don’t care about you. Actually they really despise you, because unfortunately American workers demand half-decent salaries. They need them to pay back those huge college loans and keep buying those products that drive America’s consumer economy.

But over the last decade or so, Corporate America has made a concerted effort to drive down wages or limit worker benefits. First it was retirement, which morphed into the Ponzi scheme called 401ks, then it was health care benefits, which are sinking faster than Lindsey Lohan’s reputation. Now it’s actual salaries, which have been either stagnant or going down for years.

The recent trend is to fire employees and use those savings to reward share holders. New York Times columnist Bob Herbert writes, “In many cases, bosses told panicked workers who were still on the job that they had to take pay cuts or cuts in hours, or both. And raises were out of the question. The staggering job losses and stagnant wages are central reasons why any real recovery has been so difficult.”

Some companies have even taken this one step further by turning former paying jobs in to internships, where they don’t have to pay employees anything. What could be better than having an employee who works for free?

Considering the many sins of Corporate America -- outsourcing, cutting benefits, age and racial discrimination and dishonest accounting, as done by Goldman Sachs, Enron and Tyco -- how can we be expected to trust these people to run the government?

However, there seems to be a move, led by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, towards electing former corporate titans to office. Former eBay CEO Meg Whitman is running neck and neck with former California Gov. Jerry Brown for the job of CEO of California. And Carly Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlett-Packard, is challenging Sen. Barbara Boxer for her seat.

Those on the right argue that CEOs will bring a business-like attitude to government and help get the state running more efficiently. But having seen Corporate America’s practices why would we want to let this people near the halls of power? Consider budding California politicians Fiorina and Whitman.

Whitman has poured $90 million of her personal funds into the race for California governor and she says she is prepared to spend $150 million. All this for a job that pays $200,000? If Whitman is the smart business woman she claims to be, I can guarantee that she intends to recoup that money. She has also said she plans to help get California out of the red by laying off up to 40,000 state employees. (Whitman also settled a physical abuse case for $100,000 while she was at eBay.)

Corporate America’s solution to a problem is to privatize it and outsource it. This also turns out to be a great new side business for those close to the politicians. If Whitman plans to outsource California’s government services, you can bet that some of her pals are lining up to get those contracts, much like Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, who passed a tough, new immigration law, that would result in hundreds of new prisoners. She also has ties to the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), a company that operates private prisons, which would get millions of new federal dollars from housing detainees. This is crony capitalism at it’s worst!

As bad as Whitman is, she is streets ahead of Fiorina, who was fired from her job as CEO of Hewlett-Packard, where she slashed 30,000 jobs. CNBC listed Fiorina as one of the worst CEOs of all time. According to MarketWatch, Hewlett-Packard stocks plunged 50 percent under Fiorina and increased after she was fired. Fiorina walked away from Heweltt-Packard with a $20 million severance package.

Unfortunately Fiorina and Whitman are not the only two CEOs who have thrown their hats into the political arena. Former Columbia/HCA CEO Rick Scott is running for governor in Florida. Scott’s former company made it’s money denying patients’ health care, stiffing doctors and ripping off the government. According to Politifact, Scott was forced to resign after Columbia/HCA was hit with 14 felonies and charged a $1.7 billion fine for over billing the government for Medicare and Medicaid. Scott’s reputation is so bad that even the local GOP is trying to encourage him to stay out of the race.

So compared to this motley crew of conmen and abusers, isn’t your average slick-talking politician looking good right about now?

Arizona Is Now a Fascist State

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer is an evil, amoral fascist -- those are strong words, but after reviewing the political climate in Arizona, that is the only way I can describe her.

How else would you describe someone who knowingly implements a law that will inflame white fears against the growing brown (Latino) population. Yes, I know Arizona has a problem with illegal immigration, but that problem has been around for decades, long before Brewer got there. And it probably won't go away soon.

As long as Arizona borders Mexico, a poor, crime-ridden country, people will cross the border to seek work. And as long as American employers continue to employ migrant labor, the flood of workers is not going to stop.

Brewer's new anti-immigrant laws have more to do with bolstering her political support by tapping into white rage. White people are still currently a majority, but with the growing Latino population, that is going to end soon. Brewer knows her laws appeal to white voters who are angry with some of the current problems in Arizona, unemployment, crime and overcrowding, which they blame on illegal immigrants.

But in reality, crime is down in Arizona. Although you wouldn't know it if you listened to Brewer, who has warned of headless corpses (proven to be false) and accused all illegal immigrants of being drug mules. According to a story by CBS 5 reporter Morgan Lowe, FBI figures show that Arizona has seen a 50 percent drop in crime since 2003. The Border Patrol also says that migrant traffic is down.

It's bad enough that Brewer and other white-leaning politicians have appealed to the worse part of the American psyche. Arizona has now become a destination for white supremacists, some who have taken to patrolling the border.

But Brewer also has a financial stake in this issue, news reports says that several people in the Brewer administration have ties to the private prison industry. So if Brewer passes a law that will lead to mass arrests, guess who is going to benefit from this? The state run prisons will probably turn this problem over to private prisons, and this is where Brewer's cronies clean up.

According to Lowe's story, Paul Senseman, Brewer's deputy chief of staff, is a former lobblist for the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), a company that bills the government $11 million per month to hold detainees. Chuck Coughlin, a Brewer policy adviser and campaign chair, currently lobbies for CCA.

In the 1990s, under Gov. Frank Keating, Oklahoma passed several get-tough-on crime laws and outsourced prisons to CCA, who had made large donations to Keating's campaign fund, according to an article by the Journal Record.

According to a letter from the Oklahoma Senate, Keating approved a contract worth $6-15 million for the government to buy additonal beds from the private prison industry. He also signed the Truth in Sentencing law, which made offenders serve longer sentences.

I believe the idea of a corporate-run prison is evil. The main goal of a corporation is to generate profit. When corporations get involved in the corrections industry, they are generating profit off bondage and misery. In addition, politicians like Brewer and Keating, have a vested interest in keeping inmates locked up for long periods of time. The longer inmates are incarcerated, the more money the corporation makes. Making profit off bonded labor sounds dangerously like slavery to me.

Italian dictator Benito Mussolini once said that the correct definition of fascism was the melding of state and corporate interests, which sounds like a perfect definition of what is going on in Arizona.

Geithner: Allow Bush Tax Cuts to Expire

Tim Geithner has taken a lot of flak for his time on Wall Street, but maybe he is coming to his senses. Or maybe he is just looking at a ballooning deficit that shows no signs of slowing.

The Bush tax cuts and military adventures ruined the economy. No sane economist is going to recommend increasing expenditure and reducing income. If the Obama administration is serious about cutting the deficit and balancing the budget it needs to look at all measures, raising taxes and slashing spending, both on military and some social programs. Also ending that trillion-dollar war in Afghanistan would also be a big help.

Juan Williams Debunks FOX's Black Panther Obsession

I guess you can never tell where people are coming from, but I would have never expected Juan Williams, one of FOX's resident black apologists, to have actually gone against the network.

But Williams, who has often come across as FOX's lukewarm "liberal," gave a pretty good account of why the much-hyped New Black Panthers story is not a story. He shredded the credibility of J. Christian Adams, the former Justice Department official, who is making the rounds talking about the case -- even though all of his evidence is hearsay and he never actually participated in the case.

Williams also points out that Adams is trying to deflect attention from the fact that under George W. Bush, the Justice Department did a lousy job of prosecuting Civil Rights cases. Bush seemed to stock the Civil Rights division with people who were hostile to minorities and did not even believe in the cases they were supposed to prosecute.

This story is BS and FOX knows it. But this is not journalism, but then again neither is FOX News. This is a cable-mounted smear campaign. And like any good smear campaign, it doesn't need to true, all it needs to do is make your opponent look bad. Unfortunately FOX's audience believes everything that runs on the network is the gospel truth!

Angle Distances Herself from Her Own Comments

I hope Nevada voters come to their senses and reelect Sen. Harry Reid, because the other option is downright frightening. State Sen. Sharron Angle is challenging Reid for the U.S. senate seat, but her views are so extreme, that even she is trying to distance herself for her own views.

Her latest stunt is trying to sue the Reid campaign for publishing comments from her old web site. Angle has a new web site, which has been scrubbed of her old controversial views such as privatizing Medicare and opposing abortion under any circumstance.

Angle's new web site is part of her rebranding campaign, which has meant largely avoiding the media. However the Reid campaign has published her old comments at a web site called Sharronsundergroundbunker.com.

I am not an expert on media law, but I don't think you can sue someone for publishing comments which are true. Also, even if you take a down a web site it still lives on on the Internet. Apparently Angle doesn't seem to realize that.

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/angle-sends-cease-and-desist-to-reid-for-reposting-her-own-website.php?ref=tn