Thursday, April 16, 2009
Tea protests a mixed Bag of nuts...
If there is one thing I enjoy about the far right in this country, it's they are completely immune to irony. To give you an example take Tuesday's release of a Homeland Security report on domestic right wing terrorist groups, that got much of the right into a tizzy. These same people who spent years saying things like, "Civil rights do you no good when you're dead." As they cheerfully hand clapped through the destruction of the Constitution, all to combat radical Muslim terrorists. Find themselves now outraged that this same national security apparatus, that they shouted from the rooftops for, might be used to track, GASP, white extremists, hate groups etc. Terror comes in all colors people, and to not follow up on all enemies foreign and domestic, would be a gross breach of what national security is supposed to be about.
The Tea Party protest is another great example. These wingers are gathering to protest wasteful spending by buying up millions of bags of tea, and then throwing them out. There is little that could be more head shakingly wasteful than that. Also one is led to ask where were these people 8 years ago? Let's take a look at our national debt figures shall we...
09/30/2000 $5,674,178,209,886.86
09/30/2001 $5,807,463,412,200.06
09/30/2002 $6,228,235,965,597.16
09/30/2003 $6,783,231,062,743.62
09/30/2004 $7,379,052,696,330.32
09/30/2005 $7,932,709,661,723.50
09/30/2006 $8,506,973,899,215.23
09/30/2007 $9,007,653,372,262.48
09/30/2008 $10,024,724,896,912.49
Our debt has nearly doubled over the last 8 fiscal years without a whit of protest. Let's be honest here, these people are protesting Obama's spending priorities and Democratic governance in general. And that is fine, you're entitled protest away. Much good may it do you. But you can't sell me on the idea that these protests are really about all government spending or debt. If that were the case, you guys should have taken to the streets years ago.
Below I have the Daily show take on the teabagging, awesome as usual.
The Tea Party protest is another great example. These wingers are gathering to protest wasteful spending by buying up millions of bags of tea, and then throwing them out. There is little that could be more head shakingly wasteful than that. Also one is led to ask where were these people 8 years ago? Let's take a look at our national debt figures shall we...
09/30/2000 $5,674,178,209,886.86
09/30/2001 $5,807,463,412,200.06
09/30/2002 $6,228,235,965,597.16
09/30/2003 $6,783,231,062,743.62
09/30/2004 $7,379,052,696,330.32
09/30/2005 $7,932,709,661,723.50
09/30/2006 $8,506,973,899,215.23
09/30/2007 $9,007,653,372,262.48
09/30/2008 $10,024,724,896,912.49
Our debt has nearly doubled over the last 8 fiscal years without a whit of protest. Let's be honest here, these people are protesting Obama's spending priorities and Democratic governance in general. And that is fine, you're entitled protest away. Much good may it do you. But you can't sell me on the idea that these protests are really about all government spending or debt. If that were the case, you guys should have taken to the streets years ago.
Below I have the Daily show take on the teabagging, awesome as usual.
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | M - Th 11p / 10c | |||
| Tempest in a Tea Party | ||||
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Sunday, April 12, 2009
Happy Easter, 2009.
Think Fox News is crazy?
You are not alone, so do the British. The BBC's Charlie Brooker takes a look at the American News Media, which mostly ends up being an analysis of Fox News. And who can blame him, it's like a car wreck, you just can't turn away.
Personally I think all the current right wing invective is useful for President Obama. He's been called both a socialist and fascist by Glen Beck(I'm not holding my breath waiting for an explanation of the obvious contradiction there). Former GOP senator Rick Santorum(latin, n, asshole) has written that Obama "has a deep-seated antipathy towards American values and traditions". And finally GOP congresswoman Michelle Bachmann(among the batshittiest of the batshit crazy GOP set) has warned that Obama intends to force the young into mandatory reeducation camps.
This actually works in Obama's favor. You see the more the far right seeks to paint Obama as some radical Muslim leftist, the less threatening the rest of the country sees his actual practical center-left governance as being. When the substance of your argument boils down to ever more strident yelling of "he's a SOCIALIST!", people will tend to listen to the guy who's actually bringing ideas to the table.
Personally I think all the current right wing invective is useful for President Obama. He's been called both a socialist and fascist by Glen Beck(I'm not holding my breath waiting for an explanation of the obvious contradiction there). Former GOP senator Rick Santorum(latin, n, asshole) has written that Obama "has a deep-seated antipathy towards American values and traditions". And finally GOP congresswoman Michelle Bachmann(among the batshittiest of the batshit crazy GOP set) has warned that Obama intends to force the young into mandatory reeducation camps.
This actually works in Obama's favor. You see the more the far right seeks to paint Obama as some radical Muslim leftist, the less threatening the rest of the country sees his actual practical center-left governance as being. When the substance of your argument boils down to ever more strident yelling of "he's a SOCIALIST!", people will tend to listen to the guy who's actually bringing ideas to the table.
