Check This Out

Great, interesting post on another blog posits, "Imagine if the Tea Party Was Black" and the president was white.  The piece is by Tim Wise.

Stay Classy Tea Partiers

Check out this class act, the Tea Partier in the tie, that mocks a man (by making it rain?!?!?!) suffering from Parkinson's disease, also notice the Tea Partier on the left of the shot with the baby in the baby carrier appearing noticably uncomfortable:

And I know some will say that the above is just one bad apple.  There are a multitude of examples of Tea Party gatherings being supposedly marred by a few "bad apples" that don't reflect the true views of their movement.  I wonder why the Tea Party movement attracts so many "bad apples"?  The answer to that question probably says a lot about the Tea Party movement. 

Here's my answer to why the Tea Party movement attracts so many "bad apples": the Tea Party movement, at least in part, preaches a politics of fear of change, fear of the different, and just plain fear.  If, in part, the Tea Party continues to preach fear, other fear-preaching groups and individuals will continue to be attacted to the Tea Party.  Exactly how many bad apples have to be caught on video or photographed before it's decided that maybe the whole barrel is tainted?

"I'm Not Saying, I'm Just Saying"

More on the politics of the day (especially since lousy Kansas destroyed my bracket).  I know the GOP and Tea Partiers and rubbing their hands together getting ready for a huge gain in one or both chambers of our fair Congress.  But, 8 months is a long time.  Look at recent history, for example.  Don't forget, McCain was polling great against both potential Democratic presidential nominees, Obama and Clinton, in late March and early April of 2008 in key batteground states.  Let me be clear, I think the Dems will lose seats in the House for sure and maybe even the Senate.  However, it may not be as bad for Dems and good for GOP'ers.   

Things can and will change.  Voters attention will shift away from health insurance reform by Nov. 2010, trust me.  Surely Glenn Beck will come up with another political crisis at which he can point his fanatical Tea Party followers by Nov. 2010.  And don't forget that Tea Party candidates may run and split the GOP votes in some midterm elections.  Look at what happened in the upstate New York special election in 2008, a Dem won a seat that been held by the GOP since Reconstruction.  Financial regulation reform is the next political fight to be had and it should be a doozy.  Who knows what will be at the top of voters' lists as THE important issue when Nov. 2010 rolls around.  Memories fade.  It's only March 2010 not November 2010.  8 months till the midterm elections is a long, long, long time, especially in politics.  To quote a good friend of mine, "I'm not saying, I'm just saying."

Who Said Change Was Going To Be Easy

Health insurance reform passed.  At least some form of it.  Here's a decent synopsis of what's in the bill.  It's not what ultra-liberals wanted, a single-payer, run by the government, health insurance option available to all people regardless of income level.  It's definitely not what conservatives wanted, which was to maintain the status quo in which 30+ million Americans were without healthcare. 

Remember, conservatives have been against every major piece of progressive, "liberal" legislation in the last one hundred years including, but, not limited to, labor laws (including mandatory maximum work weeks, establishment of a minimum wage and every increase since then for example), social security, disability, medicare, medicaid.  I'm sure there's more but, that's all that I can think of off the top of my head.  Tea partiers must be besides themselves.  And will Limbaugh really leave the country now?

Obama ran on change and this legislation is certainly that.  Health insurance legislation was one the cornerstones of Obama's change platform.  The Dems won the presidency and both chambers of Congress on the coattails of Obama's pledge of change.  And when a party wins both the presidency and the Congress you get change.  And then you get a political backlash against that change.  It almost happens like clockwork, especially in a president's first term.  In fact only 3 presidents since Reconstruction have netted seats in midterm elections (FDR-first midterm gain, Clinton-second midterm gain and W.-first midterm gain; I attritbute W.'s midterm success in 2002 to the goodwill directed towards him and the GOP in the aftermath of 9/11, but, that's just my take).  Let's see what happens next.  Maybe the Dems lose the House or Senate in the midterm elections.  I certainly doubt they lose both.  Dodd's financial reform bill just flew through the Senate committee and is headed to the Senate floor for debate.  More change on the way?  Who could possibly be against financial rules changes in the wake of "too big to fail?"

But, as usual, I digress.  So there will be changes in health insurance but not as much as some wanted and way more than others desired.  That compromises were made should surprise no one.  Don't forget some of the definitions of compromise: 1. To arrive at a settlement by making concessions; 2. To reduce the quality, value, or degree of something.

Tea Partier Says She Wants to Hang Sitting U.S. Senator

So this right wingnut, Tea Partier essentially said that she wants to hang sitting Washington State U.S. Senator Patty Murray. I'm a big fan of protected free speech. But, I'm also as big an opponent of unprotected speech that advocates violence. Can you say terroristic threat? You cannot go around threatening violence, period, much less violence against a sitting U.S. Senator. So the this Tea Partier's mantra is, "you're either with me or I'm going to kill you?"

Please, let Tea Partiers continue to speak. And let GOP'ers continue to try to woo Tea Partiers. That should help the GOP'ers reach out to all those independent voters.

Tea Partiers Partying at Convention

The Tea Party Convention is up and running. In an earlier post I related the Tea Partiers intention to restrict media access. At the Democratic and Republican Conventions every aspect of the gathering is open to and covered by the media. That's not the case at the Tea Party Convention and there's been no real reason given as to why.

The Tea Party Strike That Never Was; Tea Party Convention Here We Come!

I remember hearing about a Tea Party strike planned for Jan. 20, 2010. Back in late December and early January it received a great deal of media coverage.

So what the heck happened?

The great, sure-to-show-the-strength-of-the-Tea Party strike of 2010 never happened.

Welcome to the world of populist movements where many different talking heads try to pull the "movement" in different directions. Organization is difficult at best and long term sustainability rare. The Tea Party is already showing signs of being pulled in multiple, different directions.

I mention this only because the of the forthcoming Tea Party convention, Feb. 4-6. The Tea Party convention will restrict media coverage of their event. Way to go supressing the freedom of the press Tea Partiers! I wonder what other rights found in the Bill of Rights will be restricted at their convention. Maybe the Tea Partiers will search some convention goers without a warrant, detain others without probable cause and force other conventioneers to quarter troops while attending.

Scheduled to appear/speak include but, are not limited to, Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann.

Plus, the $500.00+ per ticket price tag to attend all the Tea Party convention events sure seems steep for a grassroots, every-person, working class movement. And that price doesn't include the travel and lodging for out-of-towners. How many "real Americans" can afford that I wonder?

That is if the convention actually happens. I mean, remember, the Jan. 20 Tea Party strike was going to happen too. So herd them cats away from the Jan. 20 Tea Party strike and toward the Feb. 4 Tea Party convention!

More on the Tea Party convention to come.

Update: Bachmann and one other Representative, Marsha Blackburn, have backed out on the Tea Partiers. And the convention is apparently having trouble selling tickets to Palin's keynote address.

OK, now that Bachmann has backed out will Palin actually show up? What wheels off moments will happen during the convention ? Please, comment below.

Surprise Surprise Surprise

Just kidding, I'm not surprised.

Tea Party activist Dale Robertson, who runs TeaParty.org, was photographed carrying a racist sign at a rally. Of course he misspelled the racist word. The sign read, "Congress = slave owner; taxpayer = n[-word]." You know Robertson is having issues when other Tea Partiers are distancing from him. And of course Robertson is from Texas. Way to make the Lone Star State look great Robertson. Racist moron.

What, you might ask, is my problem with Tea Partiers? Here's my problem.

Some Examples of Why the Last Decade Was Maybe Not So Good

A comment to the cartoon/post on Jan. 1, 2010 read, "[I] don't get it why did the decade suck."

I hope/think maybe they were joking. I essentially responded, in a comment to that post, as follows:


You're joking right? What about:

9/11

Iraq

Anthrax attacks

Afghanistan

Osama Bin Laden is still alive

Bush took the White House in 2000 after probably losing Florida and losing the popular vote

We re-elected him in 2004

The snuggy was invented

I'm pretty sure 1980's "fashion" was coming back towards the end of the decade there

We owe China WAY, WAY, WAY too much money now.

The Steelers won another Super Bowl and now have more than the Cowboys

Bennifer

Wall Street collapse

We bailed out Wall Street and they laughed all the way to he bank

Bernie Madoff

Housing bubble

ARM mortgages

DC sniper

Perry has been governor of Texas THE WHOLE DECADE

swine flu

bird flu

Sarah Palin

Tea Parties/Partiers/Baggers

Tiger is human

WAY too much reality TV

tsunami

Katrina

Ike

That's all I can think of right now. If anyone can think of more add a comment.


Side Note: Someone may bring up the whole argument/discussion that a decade doesn't begin until year one (1). For example, we don't start counting with the number zero (0) we start counting with one (1). So you wouldn't start a decade, much less a millennium with number zero would you? Meaning the past decade would have started in 2001 not 2000. Also, meaning a decade would end with year ten (10), in this past decade's case the year 2010 would actually be the last year of the decade not 2009. Weird to consider at best, boring at worst. I thought it was worth noting.

Xmas Wishes, Part 4

Why Doesn't Christopher Hitchens Tell Us How He Really Feels About Palin

Needless to say, I don't agree with Christopher Hitchens on a number of issues. However, regardless of his stances on different issues, for sometime I have enojoyed his forthright, well-reasonsed commentary and his candid thoughts on a wide range of topics. That said, here's Hitchens sharing his thoughts about Palin:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Hitchens appeared on Morning Joe on MSNBC after he wrote an equally candid piece on Palin for Slate.com. Hitchens also wrote a piece last month regarding Palin for Newsweek. It is somewhat a relief to know others, in this case Hitchens, appear to be equally alarmed by the dangerous, ever-changing rhetoric spewed by some Tea Partiers generally and Palin specifically. How alarmed am I by this scattershot, divisive rhetoric? Very.

"If once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny."*

*of course that's a quote from your favorite little green alien and mine, Yoda from Star Wars.

Well, looks like Yoda was wrong again-don't forget that Anakin/Darth Vader turned away from the dark side right before he bought the moisture farm in the sky. A conservative blogger has broken ranks with Emperor Limbaugh and Darth Beck. Charles Johnson, writer of the blog LittleGreenFootballs.com, has "parted ways with the Right." Read his reasons, in his own words, here.

Tea Partiers vs. Tea Partiers (kinda, sorta)

A Phoenix Tea Party protest organized by American Citizens United against amnesty for illegal immigrants turned ugly when Neo-Nazis showed up and wanted to join in the protest, much to the chagrin of the Tea Party organizers who wanted the Neo-Nazis to leave...



Huh, I guess the Tea Party protesters were actually surprised that their intolerant rantings actually attracted those who take Tea Party views to the extreme, in this case the extremists were Neo-Nazis. That's the funny thing about free speech, you get to hear from all sides, even the ugly, intolerant discriminatory sides.

Update: And here's a hilarious video from Minnesota of a Tea Party protest against amnesty for illegal immigrants getting "punked" (here's a hint at the prank, he is actually speaking against immigrants, just immigrants from a place other than the Americas):

Tea Party vs. Tea Party

In case you didn't hear, the Tea Party Patriots(TTP) are essentially suing the Tea Party Express(TTE). You see, one of the founders, Amy Kremer, of the more conservative TTP was forced out of the TTP and joined the more moderate TTE. The TTP filed suit against Kremer over an intellectual property dispute. When a person lives by the mantra, "you're either with us or against us," that person, like Kremer, has to be aware of what might happen when they're not "with them."

All this silliness about the Tea Party Patriots versus the Tea Party Express reminded me of this classic scene from Monty Python's Life of Brian:

Some Thoughts Before the Weekend On: Racist Witch Doctor Posters; Tea "Party" ; Beck vs. Limbaugh; O'Reilly Shocks; Dems Push Back

Some things that got me thinking that you may be interested in checking out before the weekend:

First, a CNN piece discussed posters depicting Obama as a witch doctor seen at the 9/12 protest in D.C. with some discussion as to whether the posters(and those holding them) are racist. This is not the first time this poster has made news. I made my thoughts known regarding this racist poster here on PTN way back in July. Think of it this way, what kind of posters would they be carrying if the president were Mexican-American? Jewish American? Asian-American? Or, gasp, of Middle Eastern descent? Sure, using stereotypes for a race or ethnic group happened often to Irish and Italian Americans(see below), for example. But, that was during the late 1800's and early 1900's for the most part.

(anti Irish propaganda titled The Usual Irish Way of Doing Things, from Harpers Weekly)

(anti Italian propaganda from The Mascot newspaper)

Moving on, Time did an article about Glenn Beck (I still don't understand how people can take him seriously). Time! How much more mainstream media (or "MSM", that's what some conservatives call "mainstream media" even though "mainstream" is one word so it should be MM, jeesh, they can't even get initials right) can you get? Remember, Beck trumpets the Tea Party. Beck was behind the 9/12 protests. Look at Beck's site the912project.com, if you scroll to the bottom it's owned by Mercury Radio Arts, Inc., Beck's company (by the way, and I'm sure someone's already called him out on this but, really classy on Beck's part using the terrorist attacks on 9/11 to help promote his 9/12 protest attended by at least some wingnuts). Here's a thought, if the Tea Party is going to continue to call itself a "Party" that means it should put up its own candidates. Would a real third party in the form of the Tea Party be a bad thing? I would think it would be a good thing for the Dems and a bad thing for GOP'ers. Why? Do you think Dems would lose votes to a new Tea Party political party and its candidates? Or would GOP'ers? Or if GOP'ers embrace Tea Party ideas how many independent voters do you think they'll get? Remember, only about 30-35% of Americans consider themselves Republicans. Also, recall if you can the Independent Party when Ross Perot ran for prez in 1992. How did that work out for H.W. Bush? OK, I'm done ranting about this.

Next topic, Politico.com has a piece about Beck vs. Limbaugh (oh, don't worry, there's a cartoon forthcoming about that, it'll be Star Wars themed, if you guess the general idea of the cartoon you get a gold star from yours truly and a mention when I post the cartoon). In the piece a GOP strategist says that Dems and Limbaugh should be worried about Beck. I disagree, see my thoughts above regarding what an actual Tea Party as a political party would mean for the Dems. And not that I care one way or the other but, Limbaugh has nothing to worry about regarding Beck's popularity.

Also, Bill O'Reilly is for the public option?!?!?! (spit take, shake head, rub eyes, pinch self) OK. Kinda. Maybe. HuffPo has the actual conversation O'Reilly had regarding the public option on its site.

And lastly, the Dems are actually pushing back against some of the outlandish assertions being made about health insurance reform through a new site. Well, would you look at that? The Dems finally got hit enough in the nose on this (death panels for example) that they finally decided to stand up for themselves. This is what it must feel like for a parent when their kid stands up to a bully.

Lies and Ugliness: the 9/12 Protest

The above is a fake picture of the 9/12 protest

held in DC that has been circulated by wingnuts lying to others and themselves about their "movement" being a grassroots one and a mainstream one.

It's not a grassroots movement in that it was called for and organized by Glenn Beck, the Glenn Beck who works for Fox News and is in the business of using crazy talk and fear mongering to promote books, ad time for his TV and radio show and himself generally in order to make a boat load of money.

It's not mainstream in that I genuinely don't believe most people believe what these folks believe (I believe it's a small percentage of the GOP/conservatives, but that's only my opinion). You had the usual wingnut communist, socialist, death panel, nazi and birther type signage, for example.

It's fake in that the pic is of a gathering from at least before 2004 because a building built in 2004 is missing from from the photo. Some wingnuts were/are claiming that over a million people showed. Actually, about 70,000 showed up.

They are protesters and they are exercising their right to free speech which is eye opening because it reveals their views as not mainstream and proves that at least some are wingnuts. Check out photos from the 9/12 protests to see what exactly some were saying. I have no problem with them exercising their right to free speech, at least now we know what some think/believe. Ugly. Ignorant. Sad. But, it's protected free speech (except some of the signs like this one that seem to threaten violence, that's not protected free speech if memory serves).

In fact, in order to "help" spread their "message" please feel free to pass this along to others so that these people's wingnut views are made clear and hopefully they become even more marginalized.

Lastly, tell me and others what you think. Please leave a comment. I generally leave the comments off posts but maybe some would like to express their thoughts on the above, especially the photos.

UPDATE: A good friend forwarded me the below from BillionairesForWealthCare.com (check out their site) which is a group that goes to anti health insurance reform events dressed up like health insurance company executives. Great idea. Here's BillionairesForWealthCare.com at the 9/12 rally. Ha!:

Related Posts:

Sadly, this is not a new phenomenon, want to see some wingnuts from the 2008 prez campaign?
Check them out here.
Or what about the McCain supporter who told McCain Obama was a Muslim?

What about the birther wingnuts?

Wonder where these folks get their ideas? Besides from Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh?
Sometimes it comes from elected officials like Rep. Bachmann (MN-R).

My past thoughts/cartoon on health insurance reform town hall meetings with legislators.

The more things change the more they stay the same.

- Another Racist GOP'er? You Be the Judge

From Wonkette: Another GOP member, a Dr. David McKalip, is the latest GOP'er to send out what in my humble opinion is a racist email with the subject line "Funny Stuff" to a tea bag organization's listserve on Google. Daily Kos doesn't pull any punches about what it thinks of the email or what should be done about it. Unfortunately for him (and fortunately for us and his non-white patients) one of the recipients of his email decided to forward it to a media outlet. He's admitted that he sent the email. But, when pressed about whether the email was racist he ended the interview. This guy is not uneducated, he's a freakin' neurosurgeon. He's very much a public figure in that he's written at least one anti health care insurance reform editorial for the St. Peterburg Times, helped found an anti-health care insurance reform organization, and is a member of the American Medical Association's House of Delegates. Below is the picture from the email he sent:

Delay Defends Gov. Perry's Incorrect Assertion That Texas Can Leave the Union If It Chooses

First here's Gov. Perry's comments regarding Texas secession at a "Tea Bag" demonstration:

Next is a clip of Delay on Chris Matthews defending Gov. Perry's secessionist comments:

It is sad that this is even a topic of conversation (using the word "conversation" in the loosest way). I only offer the following observations:

1) The bailouts and record spending began under the previous Republican administration yet there was not this outcry and demand that people "tea bag" D.C. or understanding from Republicans regarding some fringe Texans advocating secession from the Union.

2) The hard core Texas secessionists are out there (even though, thankfully, they are a fringe movement) and they are dangerous. Leaders of the movement have been convicted of threatening to kill political leaders.

3) Many understand secessionist talk as code for racism.

4) Questions: Is actively advocating and working towards Texas secession treason? If so, does Perry and Delay's "understanding" of secessionists make them, at the very least, sympathetic towards traitors?

5) Lastly, I sarcastically applaud Gov. Perry and Delay for again making Texas look oh so good when in the national spotlight.

Again, this secessionist talk is so inane that it's troubling the amount of media attention it is receiving. However, these "red herrings" continue to be rolled out, whether promoted by Republicans or Democrats, and distract from the very real problems at hand.

Some recent "red herrings":

1) tea parties

2) tea bag D.C.

3) Obama bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia

4) Steele

5) Limbaugh hopes Obama fails and is leader of conservative movement

6) Levi Johnston calls Palin a liar regarding living with Palin's family before birth of child (really, who cares about this?)

7) Chuck Norris being taken seriously by anyone, including Glenn Beck

I'm sure there are more red herrings. Keep in mind, the above distract from serious issues facing the nation including, but not limited to, two wars, economy losing half a million jobs per month, recession and failing businesses. So, when folks talk about tea parties and secession I wonder why, especially given the gravity of the multiple dilemmas we face.

"Tea Parties" Gather Sore Losers

Last month I posted the below regarding the "Tea Party" protests planned for today, tax day. For multiple reasons I think these protests fall somewhere between comedic and sadly misinformed. Remember, the American revolutionaries had their Tea Party because they had no representation in England's parliment. As far as I understand our elected officials, from local to state to national, have been elected, for the most part, fairly by the electorate. That's a small yet remarkably important difference between then and now. These folks protesting at these supposed "Tea Parties" that are upset by tax day have a recourse the revolutionaries did not, they can vote out their elected representatives. However, something tells me that most of those protesting are the "real Americans" Palin spoke about during the election. They feel that they somehow unfairly lost the White House and the Congress this past election cycle. In other words they're just sore losers. But that's just my guess.

I Don't Want to Do That to the White House!

The intrepid Fox reporter featured in the clip below tells us that the organization "Re Tea Party" wants people to do to the White House what I can only imagine has been done to some unsuspecting fraternity members that are sleeping or passed out. Wait for it, he really says it at about 1:55 in this clip:

Then read what this organization wants you to do to Washington D.C. by visiting their website (click here) and reading their third headline next to the map of the USA. They want you to "tea bag" DC and the White House.

What does this term mean to most? Click here to find out.

The organization "Re Tea Party" may be:

(1) a grass roots group that's very conservative but has no clue or

(2) a grass roots organization in name only funded by wealthy conservative groups that has no clue or

(3) the rare and thought extinct conservative group, grass roots or not, with a great sense of humor.

Personally, I think it's all a bunch of number 2, see above.

I know I don't want to do that to Washington D.C. or the White House and neither should you! Or maybe you think it'd be funny and you want to. Either way, tell them what you think of their desire to commit this heinous/hilarious act on D.C. and the White House by emailing them (click here).

Spread the word about this comedic, intentional or not, political organization by clicking the envelope below.

On a serious note, the Boston Tea Party was an event in United States history that took place because the American colonists were being taxed and generally governed without representation in the British Parliament. Parliament first forced Brits and colonists to only buy heavily taxed tea from Britain and the East India Company. This led to smuggling of tea by Dutch and colonial merchants. Then, Parliament essentially granted the East India Company a monopoly regarding the importation of tea to the colonies when it repealed customs and duties the company owed Britain therefore, undercutting the prices smugglers could offer. Those living in Great Britain couldn't really complain much because they elected Parliament. The colonists had a beef because they had no representation in Parliament.

Why the history lesson? Because this "Re Tea Party" group makes little or no sense unless they're made up of colonists of the United States and have no representation in Congress. Maybe they're all residents of Washington D.C. (D.C. doesn't have a vote in the House or Senate). Or maybe "Re Tea Party" has no knowledge or sense of history, maybe.

I Don't Want to Do That to the White House!

The intrepid Fox reporter featured in the clip below tells us that the organization "Re Tea Party" wants people to do to the White House what I can only imagine has been done to some unsuspecting fraternity members that are sleeping or passed out. Wait for it, he really says it at about 1:55 in this clip:

Then read what this organization wants you to do to Washington D.C. by visiting their website (click here) and reading their third headline next to the map of the USA. They want you to "tea bag" DC and the Whitehouse.

What does this term mean to most? Click here to find out.

The organization "Re Tea Party" may be:

(1) a grass roots group that's very conservative but has no clue or

(2) a grass roots organization in name only funded by wealthy conservative groups that has no clue or

(3) the rare and thought extinct conservative group, grass roots or not, with a great sense of humor.

Personally, I think it's all a bunch of number 2, see above.

I know I don't want to do that to Washington D.C. or the White House and neither should you! Or maybe you think it'd be funny and you want to. Either way, tell them what you think of their desire to commit this heinous/hilarious act on D.C. and the White House by emailing them (click here).

Spread the word about this comedic, intentional or not, political organization by clicking the envelope below.

On a serious note, the Boston Tea Party was an event in United States history that took place because the American colonists were being taxed and generally governed without representation in the British Parliament. Parliament first forced Brits and colonists to only buy heavily taxed tea from Britain and the East India Company. This led to smuggling of tea by Dutch and colonial merchants. Then, Parliament essentially granted the East India Company a monopoly regarding the importation of tea to the colonies when it repealed customs and duties the company owed Britain therefore, undercutting the prices smugglers could offer. Those living in Great Britain couldn't really complain much because they elected Parliament. The colonists had a beef because they had no representation in Parliament.

Why the history lesson? Because this "Re Tea Party" group makes little or no sense unless they're made up of colonists of the United States and have no representation in Congress. Maybe they're all residents of Washington D.C. (D.C. doesn't have a vote in the House or Senate). Or maybe "Re Tea Party" has no knowledge or sense of history, maybe.