Well! In a year that's mostly been too boring for words, we finally have our only president telling us what we already knew and what he should have said anyway, anybody ought to be able to marry the man or woman they love: same, opposite, whatever.
I've got the White House in my Google Plus stream (oh, don't hate, it's a nice place) so I'd seen it go by. Yay! About time.
Since it's, you know, sensible, I didn't think to question why now except to note that something about the Republicans was finally winding down. It'd be a safe bet, and it would get lost in you know, the fact that it's obvious and we're busy trying to get the economy back on line and end our stupid little wars. You know, grown up stuff.
And honestly, I think I'm right. All I saw from my neo-con buddies was the same old LIBAERALS BAD. Nothing about Obama except the professional Big C conservatives (Hi, Mark! How's business?) who make money separating the fools from their money in the form of bumper stickers and daily affirmations.
I'm sorry to have to break it to you, regressives, but you're on the wrong side of history, the wrong side of demographics, and the wrong side of wrong. The younger Repubs just don't care, and the ones with the money can see that, so they're not pushing it that hard.
So really, no big deal. Until I hear that some folks are trying to resuscitate that dead horse, the "Joe Biden gaffe". One fellow goes so far as to demand, DEMAND that Joe be replaced by da Hilz*
Oh, the humanity. Seriously people, grow up.
Every four years we get the Worst VP Candidate Ever. There is no good selection "process". We'd almost do better to go back to the Original Concept and just take whoever comes in second for prez in the Electoral College.
______________________________________________________
*Yeah, I'm gonna totally call her that, she's earned a nickname.
Showing posts with label hit-jobs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hit-jobs. Show all posts
Monday, May 14, 2012
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
YOU LIE!
Thanks to Facebook and C-SPAN, I have a use for this meme.
My Congressman expressed his sadness over the shootings at Fort Hood. Some of his friends took the time to express their belief that MUSLIM = BAD. I took them to task for this, as did others. The ensuing discussion didn't get Internet Ugly, but it wasn't nice.
So, near the end, when one person stated that Obama and his advisors were racist, I asked for proof, and was sent to this gem of a YouTube video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chSH-cu20Oc&feature=PlayList&p=C19499E2161F8F85&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=36
Which is a shortened and interestingly edited bit of a committee hearing about the economy and a number of other things held on 1/7/09:
http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/283157-1&showFullAbstract=1
I don't blame you if you don't want to watch the whole of either video. The first is less than four minutes, but about 30 seconds in, the video shows Robert Reich saying "I am concerned as I'm sure many of you are that these jobs not simply go to high skilled people who are already professionals, or to white male construction workers." There is a text overlay that helpfully tells you what the audio is saying. And then cuts off, going into hysterics about how racist it all is.
In the C-SPAN video, Reich doesn't speak until about 22 minutes in. Dry stuff, let me tell you. At around 29:00, he says
"I am concerned as I'm sure many of you are that these jobs not simply go to high skilled people who are already professionals, or to white male construction workers - I have nothing against white male construction workers - I'm just saying there are a lot of other people who have needs as well."
He goes on to say that in his written remarks submitted to the committee he has outlined some criteria that may be used to be sure that federal stimulus money is spread evenly, and especially to people hit hardest - the long term unemployed, women, and others who aren't already at the top of the heap*.
The entirety of his testimony is about how everyone can get some help through these times. The speaker before him, Mark Zandi, spoke about the difference between stimulus and tax cuts. Studies have shown that stimulus money produces more GDP than tax cuts. I don't have notes on the stuff after Reich, because I gave up around then.
But yes, context matters. Sources matter. Thinking matters. We always find what we're looking for, and if we're looking for some Other to be Evil, then by golly we'll find it.
Even if we've got to edit the video to "prove it".
*Reich also said at around 28 minutes in "get over this partisan 'I don't trust that governer from the Other Party.' Get over it, and get money to the local and state governments!"
My Congressman expressed his sadness over the shootings at Fort Hood. Some of his friends took the time to express their belief that MUSLIM = BAD. I took them to task for this, as did others. The ensuing discussion didn't get Internet Ugly, but it wasn't nice.
So, near the end, when one person stated that Obama and his advisors were racist, I asked for proof, and was sent to this gem of a YouTube video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chSH-cu20Oc&feature=PlayList&p=C19499E2161F8F85&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=36
Which is a shortened and interestingly edited bit of a committee hearing about the economy and a number of other things held on 1/7/09:
http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/283157-1&showFullAbstract=1
I don't blame you if you don't want to watch the whole of either video. The first is less than four minutes, but about 30 seconds in, the video shows Robert Reich saying "I am concerned as I'm sure many of you are that these jobs not simply go to high skilled people who are already professionals, or to white male construction workers." There is a text overlay that helpfully tells you what the audio is saying. And then cuts off, going into hysterics about how racist it all is.
In the C-SPAN video, Reich doesn't speak until about 22 minutes in. Dry stuff, let me tell you. At around 29:00, he says
"I am concerned as I'm sure many of you are that these jobs not simply go to high skilled people who are already professionals, or to white male construction workers - I have nothing against white male construction workers - I'm just saying there are a lot of other people who have needs as well."
He goes on to say that in his written remarks submitted to the committee he has outlined some criteria that may be used to be sure that federal stimulus money is spread evenly, and especially to people hit hardest - the long term unemployed, women, and others who aren't already at the top of the heap*.
The entirety of his testimony is about how everyone can get some help through these times. The speaker before him, Mark Zandi, spoke about the difference between stimulus and tax cuts. Studies have shown that stimulus money produces more GDP than tax cuts. I don't have notes on the stuff after Reich, because I gave up around then.
But yes, context matters. Sources matter. Thinking matters. We always find what we're looking for, and if we're looking for some Other to be Evil, then by golly we'll find it.
Even if we've got to edit the video to "prove it".
*Reich also said at around 28 minutes in "get over this partisan 'I don't trust that governer from the Other Party.' Get over it, and get money to the local and state governments!"
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Checking out that Tea B*gger thing...
Man, c-span, you used to be cool. What is it with this awful internet feed?
I loves me some Ray Charles
Looking at the signs: "Less Taxes! More Freedom!" Well, that might as well read: "Less Services! More Chaos!"
Ha! "Should you trust the government? Ask an Indian!"
"End the Federal Reserve" and then what?
Wow, already? "Impeach Obama?" He just got here! Give him some time to really screw up!
Don't know who's speaking now, (James Anderer, Linderhust New York) talking about bankruptcy and oh - his chrysler dealerships being 'stolen' and given to another. Corporate politics and a compliant government. "I am an angry american"
Invoking the Founding Fathren, and call & response.
Obama wants to pass all these changes before we wake up and understand what he's done.
Amens and shouts from the crowd.
Oh no! Our taxes are so high, it's destroying our way of life! Reps represent special interest groups who give them money! NO! REALLY? You've been too busy making a living and raising your kids to pay attention to this? I call bullshit. My parents made aliving and paid attention. I'm doing the same. Screw you.
Yeah, totalitarianism is only good if your guy's doing it, right. Please.
Hey, you wanna organize, you wanna vote them out, I'm with you. Just vote for folks who're gonna acutally do campaign finance reform.
"Vote them out! vote them out!"
Wait, what about the terrorits? What?
Wow! Actual facts about the mortgage/derivative disaster! And unelected ppl generating the rules. Well, hey. Whaddya know?
Dog wistle! 10th amendment! Drink! Oh, damn, no alcohol.
Um, this crowd looks kind of sparse.
Professional video by the American TaxPayers Union. Introducing Andrew Moylan
Ok, I'm seeing titles of "Government Affairs Director" and "Federal State Head" and stuff like this. There's a lot more money than people involved in this. Must look these orgs up later. "FreedomWorks" indeed.
Oh, NOW you're worried about the deficit. Right. Welcome to the party.
Huh. "Take your your cellphone right now and call your congressman" "Na Na Na Hey Hay Hay, Goodbye" cute. Straight from the Obama playbook. Nicely done.
Are they singing on their phones? To congresscritters? I can't tell. Stupid c-span feed.
Tea party Patriots - more dog whistle!
Another national coordinator Jenny Beth Martin
Kellen Giuda Park bench Blog Founder
Talking about New York Tea Parties. I'm not understanding. Oh. Tea Bagging is not a Fox news thing because punk rockers are talking about tea parties. Mkay. They may not be running the engine but they sure provided kindling. And gasoline now, from what I can tell.
Modern pop culture - we're taking it on! Rolling Stone Magazine! They're the establishment! we have our own counter culture now!
We need a pop culture base? Who knew?
Pop culture is dissing you! Join the pop culture counter revolution!
Oh! lost kid! Good on y'all. Hope he's ok.
More professional video.
High Caliber? The only conservative hip hop artist? Ok. Oh, sorry, misspelled: Hi-Caliber
Vince Venom
Are there any right wing extremists in the house today?
Rap shout out to Rick Perry. Well, who saw that coming!
Well, that was cute.
Oh, there's more. My speakers can't make the words intelligible. I'll have to check it out later.
Oh, please. "where's the birth certificate"
Huh, so it's not that the crowd is sparse, but the area directly in front of the stage is kept pretty clear.
Great, parading the troops as human sheilds so you can stand behind them to critize the president. Everyone supports the damned troops. What most of us DON'T support is stupid wars.
Dog whistle "blood and treasure"
Hey, I can get behind that "vote out all incumbents" sign
A sign quoting St. Reagan about "I'm from the government and I'm here to help" Except Reagan increased the government, dear.
Checking out trafficland. I'm not seeing people. Well ok, people but not crowds.
Deneen Borelli National Center for Public Policy Research, Project 21 Fellow
Oh, again about freedoms being looted by elected officials. We could have used you eight years ago, dear.
Opposing Obamacare because of principal, not race! What's the drill? "Pay your taxes? Is Rangel not doing that? Whoops, guess not. Bad boy
Conyers. "read the bill". That's your job! Heh, can't argue with that.
Diane Boxer admires CASTRO!
Waters - nationalize oil companies!
Something about raising the cost of energy so we use less. CAP & TAX = BALL & CHAIN. Nice meme. I don't buy it, but I can recognize a good tactic.
Bruce Webster.
Seldom is liberty lost all at once
Lincoln: america is the last best hope of earth.
Yes, well, again, we could have used you 8 years ago.
Deploying those human sheilds again.
i've got family and had family in the thick of this too. I don't parade them around. Screw you.
"last full measure of devotion" finally remembering you're the party of Lincoln?
Government by the congress? Fool, it's government of the corporate donors. Man, I'm gonna be looking up your opensecrets page. Whoops, you're not a pol. Dude, you're a geek? Eh, I'll check out your Systems Design stuff, but man, where were you during the Bush years?
On the system design - really? You're just now finding out how laws are written? I cut my teeth on the "Patriot" Act. You kind of redeem yourself in part 2. If you have solutions in Part 3, I'll listen.
ABC news says 1.5 million people are here. Hey, you made it*.
ROFLMAO! TEXT FREEDOM TO ME! This is going to get you an accurate count?
Well, I've had enough. Like the peace marches at the conventions, this is mostly harmless.
I'll pointout: no shock troops, no "freedom areas", no SWAT teams.
Laterz
===========================
*turns out they didn't
I loves me some Ray Charles
Looking at the signs: "Less Taxes! More Freedom!" Well, that might as well read: "Less Services! More Chaos!"
Ha! "Should you trust the government? Ask an Indian!"
"End the Federal Reserve" and then what?
Wow, already? "Impeach Obama?" He just got here! Give him some time to really screw up!
Don't know who's speaking now, (James Anderer, Linderhust New York) talking about bankruptcy and oh - his chrysler dealerships being 'stolen' and given to another. Corporate politics and a compliant government. "I am an angry american"
Invoking the Founding Fathren, and call & response.
Obama wants to pass all these changes before we wake up and understand what he's done.
Amens and shouts from the crowd.
Oh no! Our taxes are so high, it's destroying our way of life! Reps represent special interest groups who give them money! NO! REALLY? You've been too busy making a living and raising your kids to pay attention to this? I call bullshit. My parents made aliving and paid attention. I'm doing the same. Screw you.
Yeah, totalitarianism is only good if your guy's doing it, right. Please.
Hey, you wanna organize, you wanna vote them out, I'm with you. Just vote for folks who're gonna acutally do campaign finance reform.
"Vote them out! vote them out!"
Wait, what about the terrorits? What?
Wow! Actual facts about the mortgage/derivative disaster! And unelected ppl generating the rules. Well, hey. Whaddya know?
Dog wistle! 10th amendment! Drink! Oh, damn, no alcohol.
Um, this crowd looks kind of sparse.
Professional video by the American TaxPayers Union. Introducing Andrew Moylan
Ok, I'm seeing titles of "Government Affairs Director" and "Federal State Head" and stuff like this. There's a lot more money than people involved in this. Must look these orgs up later. "FreedomWorks" indeed.
Oh, NOW you're worried about the deficit. Right. Welcome to the party.
Huh. "Take your your cellphone right now and call your congressman" "Na Na Na Hey Hay Hay, Goodbye" cute. Straight from the Obama playbook. Nicely done.
Are they singing on their phones? To congresscritters? I can't tell. Stupid c-span feed.
Tea party Patriots - more dog whistle!
Another national coordinator Jenny Beth Martin
Kellen Giuda Park bench Blog Founder
Talking about New York Tea Parties. I'm not understanding. Oh. Tea Bagging is not a Fox news thing because punk rockers are talking about tea parties. Mkay. They may not be running the engine but they sure provided kindling. And gasoline now, from what I can tell.
Modern pop culture - we're taking it on! Rolling Stone Magazine! They're the establishment! we have our own counter culture now!
We need a pop culture base? Who knew?
Pop culture is dissing you! Join the pop culture counter revolution!
Oh! lost kid! Good on y'all. Hope he's ok.
More professional video.
High Caliber? The only conservative hip hop artist? Ok. Oh, sorry, misspelled: Hi-Caliber
Vince Venom
Are there any right wing extremists in the house today?
Rap shout out to Rick Perry. Well, who saw that coming!
Well, that was cute.
Oh, there's more. My speakers can't make the words intelligible. I'll have to check it out later.
Oh, please. "where's the birth certificate"
Huh, so it's not that the crowd is sparse, but the area directly in front of the stage is kept pretty clear.
Great, parading the troops as human sheilds so you can stand behind them to critize the president. Everyone supports the damned troops. What most of us DON'T support is stupid wars.
Dog whistle "blood and treasure"
Hey, I can get behind that "vote out all incumbents" sign
A sign quoting St. Reagan about "I'm from the government and I'm here to help" Except Reagan increased the government, dear.
Checking out trafficland. I'm not seeing people. Well ok, people but not crowds.
Deneen Borelli National Center for Public Policy Research, Project 21 Fellow
Oh, again about freedoms being looted by elected officials. We could have used you eight years ago, dear.
Opposing Obamacare because of principal, not race! What's the drill? "Pay your taxes? Is Rangel not doing that? Whoops, guess not. Bad boy
Conyers. "read the bill". That's your job! Heh, can't argue with that.
Diane Boxer admires CASTRO!
Waters - nationalize oil companies!
Something about raising the cost of energy so we use less. CAP & TAX = BALL & CHAIN. Nice meme. I don't buy it, but I can recognize a good tactic.
Bruce Webster.
Seldom is liberty lost all at once
Lincoln: america is the last best hope of earth.
Yes, well, again, we could have used you 8 years ago.
Deploying those human sheilds again.
i've got family and had family in the thick of this too. I don't parade them around. Screw you.
"last full measure of devotion" finally remembering you're the party of Lincoln?
Government by the congress? Fool, it's government of the corporate donors. Man, I'm gonna be looking up your opensecrets page. Whoops, you're not a pol. Dude, you're a geek? Eh, I'll check out your Systems Design stuff, but man, where were you during the Bush years?
On the system design - really? You're just now finding out how laws are written? I cut my teeth on the "Patriot" Act. You kind of redeem yourself in part 2. If you have solutions in Part 3, I'll listen.
ABC news says 1.5 million people are here. Hey, you made it*.
ROFLMAO! TEXT FREEDOM TO ME! This is going to get you an accurate count?
Well, I've had enough. Like the peace marches at the conventions, this is mostly harmless.
I'll pointout: no shock troops, no "freedom areas", no SWAT teams.
Laterz
===========================
*turns out they didn't
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Joe Wilson's War
You don't win a war by dying for your country. You win a war by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his.
We really can't keep this up. Joe Wilson has been sacrificed at the altar of partisanship - thrown to the wolves as red meat to distract the masses. He's a sideshow, no more important to the real work of governing the nation than the color of a newscaster's tie.
You cannot qualify war in harsher terms than I will. War is cruelty, and you cannot refine it; and those who brought war into our country deserve all the curses and maledictions a people can pour out. I know I had no hand in making this war, and I know I will make more sacrifices to-day than any of you to secure peace. But you cannot have peace and a division of our country.
Let's get back to work, shall we?
Monday, August 31, 2009
How many policiticans does it take to drive a joke off a bridge?
Oh, I have to weep at the sheer number of electrons and pixels that died in the making of this outrage. And by "this outrage" I mean "this fake outrage that the butt of our jokes actually might have laughed at them, now that we know about it".
Go ahead, google "chappaquidick jokes". After the site corrects your spelling, you get multiple tens of thousands of hits of people shocked, yes SHOCKED that he would seek out jokes and maybe even laugh at them. It was if a billion voices cried out the same damn five lines of text and then wouldn't shut up about it.
Now I had a number of feelings and thoughts when I first read about this. The first one was "Well, that's a dumb thing to be coming out now.", then "Jackass move". Then it was, "how do you joke about this thing that is so serious?" I found out quickly enough - after, of course - limiting my searches to articles written before the now infamous Diane Rheme Show*.
So they're not unheard of, they're definitely not in good taste, but they do exist.
I don't get the impression that this was an every day thing for him. We heard more about his sailings habit the last few days than anything else. His biographer would be in a position to know what he did and didn't think or do with the jokes. I expect a column/apologia from him any day. It probably will just provide more grist for the mill.
And the mill is the story here. This is just what the mad dogs were looking for - something, anything, to counter the near cannonization going on. No matter how many people he helped, no matter how much goodwill he cultivated over the decades, he is to be ignored, demonized, and deemed worthless because, well, simply because.
Other people have done worse. I can think of one president responsible for far more death and dismemberment than Ted Kennedy - Barack Obama. How many soldiers have died since he took office? And he didn't even start it. It was that one.
This is about who owns history, and therefore the future. Anything, anything that can discredit Kennedy or any other target is fair game. Anything that makes someone not be associated with the target will be pulled out, magnified, dissected and made into fat pies for those hungry to see whatever it is they want to see.
We have to know the messenger. We have to know the message. Everyone who has brought messages of hope and progress has been flawed in some way or another. Martin Luther King, Jr. is believed to have been an adulterer. Does that make the struggle for civil rights any less right? M. Scott Peck had a messy private life, but brought millions peace and insights they'd never had, including me. His message isn't any less right because he couldn't always live up to it.
There are more, far more examples. There always will be. The point is to know what you're following, who you're following, and why. Letting spitballs get in the way of a battleship is always a loser.
Let's keep our eyes on the prize.
=================
* I will forever be amused at the right-minded blogosphere taking "liberal" NPR's broadcasting as gospel. "I read that she heard it from someone who accidentally had NPR on!"
Saturday, March 21, 2009
You just lost the game
That's actually a username on some site I go to. I love that name. It's what came to mind when I was reading about Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (Docket No. 08-205). (Background in non-legalese here and here.)
The producers of "Hillary, the Movie" wanted to show their, uh, documentary on television instead of movie theaters. "Well, ok", said the FEC. "But it's not a documentary, it's a hit piece, so you'll have to disclose the people who financed and contributed money to this."
"Aw hell no!" And so the fighting started. And more than a year later, here we are.
See, there was nothing standing in the way of showing this piece, except having to disclose who funded it, and not being able to show it within 30 days of an election, and a few other rules from our almost-got-it-right campaign finance reform McCain Feingold laws.
But the producers wanted to be counted as "news" and "documentary" people, and not have to embarass whoever was really behind them. That's a hell of a tell.
Yes, yes, anonymity is the last defense against tyrrany. There was nothing stopping the producers from running the film in more theaters. Word of mouth, echo-chamber mailing lists and blogs would have gotten a sufficient audience for it...but that was the problem. How to get it to the eyeballs of people who *gasp* didn't agree with them?
Well, since the idea of simply sending a CD to every house in a city hadn't been thought of yet, I guess this was the route to go: claim you've made a documentary and try to show it as news, and then complain about "bias" and "freeeeedom!" when you're told "no". Even the classic R bugaboo Michael Moore doesn't try this nonsense.
Any publicity is good publicity, but I'm not buying it, even if it is listed by Amazon as a documentary.
The producers of "Hillary, the Movie" wanted to show their, uh, documentary on television instead of movie theaters. "Well, ok", said the FEC. "But it's not a documentary, it's a hit piece, so you'll have to disclose the people who financed and contributed money to this."
"Aw hell no!" And so the fighting started. And more than a year later, here we are.
See, there was nothing standing in the way of showing this piece, except having to disclose who funded it, and not being able to show it within 30 days of an election, and a few other rules from our almost-got-it-right campaign finance reform McCain Feingold laws.
But the producers wanted to be counted as "news" and "documentary" people, and not have to embarass whoever was really behind them. That's a hell of a tell.
Yes, yes, anonymity is the last defense against tyrrany. There was nothing stopping the producers from running the film in more theaters. Word of mouth, echo-chamber mailing lists and blogs would have gotten a sufficient audience for it...but that was the problem. How to get it to the eyeballs of people who *gasp* didn't agree with them?
Well, since the idea of simply sending a CD to every house in a city hadn't been thought of yet, I guess this was the route to go: claim you've made a documentary and try to show it as news, and then complain about "bias" and "freeeeedom!" when you're told "no". Even the classic R bugaboo Michael Moore doesn't try this nonsense.
Any publicity is good publicity, but I'm not buying it, even if it is listed by Amazon as a documentary.
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