Open Thread – Worth 1000 Words
12 09 2009
h/t – Dennis Zaki
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September 13th, 2009 at 12:33 PM
I should of said person not woman.
September 13th, 2009 at 12:38 PM
Wow, whomever above above recommended this:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/frank-schaeffer/glenn-beck-and-the-912-ma_b_284387.html
Thanks. Scary indeed. You all need to go read it now. NOW. Be INFORMED.
And I might add: as a (liberal) Christian it pains me to see people using the Lord’s name in vain – and that’s what the fundies are doing – by their actions and their words. Hate is not a Christian word. Thank you, Frank Schaeffer, for denouncing that which you fueled and for informing the rest of us. Mr. Schaeffer has been on Rachel Maddow’s show a couple of times, very interesting to listen to. He’s passionate about undoing what he and his father started. I can’t imagine living in the dark and fearful world these people have put themselves in. It really is a cult, only much worse, as Mr. Schaeffer explains.
September 13th, 2009 at 12:50 PM
From RIPLEY….OMG!!! That sign spells AMERICA wrong!!! Holy Mother of God.
I was too busy laughing at INFROMATION that I missed Amercia was wrong also, too. FAIL FAIL FAIL…
September 13th, 2009 at 1:11 PM
Interesting factualfindings of economic life under Bush v Clinton. Excerpts below the link…
http://politics.theatlantic.com/2009/09/closing_the_book_on_the_bush_legacy.php
*snip*
So the summary page on the economic experience of average Americans under the past two presidents would look like this:
Under Clinton, the median income increased 14 per cent. Under Bush it declined 4.2 per cent.
Under Clinton the total number of Americans in poverty declined 16.9 per cent; under Bush it increased 26.1 per cent.
Under Clinton the number of children in poverty declined 24.2 per cent; under Bush it increased by 21.4 per cent.
Under Clinton, the number of Americans without health insurance, remained essentially even (down six-tenths of one per cent); under Bush it increased by 20.6 per cent.
Gee, Rethugs and tax reductions really work great for you and me, don’t they?
September 13th, 2009 at 1:13 PM
Forgot to add this parting shot from the above article to the *snipped* excerpts:
…the wretched two-term record compiled by the younger Bush on income, poverty and access to health care should compel Republicans to answer a straightforward question: if tax cuts are truly the best means to stimulate broadly shared prosperity, why did the Bush years yield such disastrous results for American families on these core measures of economic well being?
Yup, answer those ??’s Rethugs…c’mon, the normal & sane folks won’t hurt you (much) when you (try to) answer the question…
September 13th, 2009 at 1:19 PM
Well have to say my niece is still e-mailing me after my e-mail about her not to send me right wing garbage.It is no non political.But I did get a real surprise from someone I had been e-mail friends with for about 3 years,she gave my bird a good home,she sent me an e-mail I won’t repeat here you can bet I let her know that our president was president Obama and not Barry S and did she really believe we should always hate forever a whole country for the actions of a few.Look how “close” we are with Japan now do we hate the Japanese because of pearl harbor.I told her when I get something like that whether from the left or the right I just say garbage in garbage out and sent it so I did not have second thoughts.I would not have believed the nastiness of the e-mail even if it was something that was forwarded.
September 13th, 2009 at 1:27 PM
Indeed, the ignorance of the Republican base is truly something else. One of the problems is that these folk are too damn stupid to know how damn stupid they are. Self-awareness doesn’t appear to be their stron suit. How did you Alaskans put up with SP for this time?
I enjoy replaying Obama’s speeches just to hear a cogent speech. I missed that over the past 8-9 years.
September 13th, 2009 at 1:41 PM
Link to the full Census report mentioned above…in guess some folks here would like to become edg-u-kay-ted….
http://www.census.gov/prod/2009pubs/p60-236.pdf
September 13th, 2009 at 2:29 PM
This video is making the rounds – it’s probably already been posted here, but for those who have missed it, must see:
We’re #37
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVgOl3cETb4
September 13th, 2009 at 2:31 PM
Thank you Fox News for showing us your true demographic.
September 13th, 2009 at 2:56 PM
66 BuffaloGal Says:
September 13th, 2009 at 8:27 AM
Health Care CEO’s Compensation for ‘08. Be sure your most recent meal is fully digested before clicking the link. Otherwise, you’ll be losin’ it.
http://www.healthreformwatch.com/2009/05/20/health-insurance-ceos-total-compensation-in-2008/
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Buffalogal… we must have been thinking the same thing this morning. I woke up and thought about all those protesters. I asked… why are they protesting something that will benefit them. If only someone would SHOW them exactly in financial terms that the Insurance companies are not their friend because their protest seems to be ‘ don’t go after my Insurance company’. But then you remind yourself that it is NOT about Insurance and health care. We know what it is. Therefore giving them Facts in dollars and cents mean nothing. Nothing will change them anyway. Us or the WH are wasting our breath talking to protesters. Move on.
The only people we can affect are the rational ones where the story of the Money trail makes sense. The story has to be that the Insurance company, the way it is , is NOT your friend. They don’t care about you….their CEO’s compensation is gross and Vulgar. Insurance Executives and Wall Street Executives are one and the same…. No difference. Who protesting these reforms would stand up and say Wall Street Execs deserve that pay. No one.
If the President or a Politician were to hold a Press conference and just stand there and show a chart with all the Insurance CEO’s name and what they paid last year, no one would defend them. People would be outraged and it would be a slam dunk. However, every one of those Execs would be donating a million dollars the next day to some Lobbyist Firm to produce a commercial slamming that Politician, smearing them and applying pressure because this is their Golden Goose.
Wouldn’t this chart send the message home and work if MoveOn or Media Matters were to run the ads though because the Insurance Giants have no way to influence or sway them. They couldn’t deny that that was what they were paid. What defense could they have. Who would be sympathetic.
A simple chart, the CEO, the Insurance Co. he works for and how much he was paid. Show the commercial over and over… same thing… same message. Who would be on the side of the guy who earns $250K or $450 K per WEEK..?
Would a Show like Keith O. or Rachel even be able to do a story about it..?
I am sure the Network they are on gets a lot of money for running Insurance advertising. Even a major Network might not allow their News Anchors to go after Advertisers… and risk losing the revenue $$$$$.
Are the Nat’l blogs the only Media that could tell the Story and would not be affected by the dollars and influence/ pressure from Insurance Co’s.
And even if the Blog told the Truth/Story… would MSM report it?
September 13th, 2009 at 2:57 PM
‘All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing’ The Evil ones have managed to take over the public discourse with total lies. So, Good People, what do we do?
September 13th, 2009 at 2:59 PM
Just once, I’d love for the mainstream media and all US political leaders to state that the US does NOT have the best medical care. Tell the truth – we are only first in cost.
And while we’re at it, point out that there was no educational improvement under Bush and that, sadly, we trail many other countries in reading, science and math. http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/2009/analysis/index.asp
September 13th, 2009 at 3:03 PM
Soldotna Sue – I don’t know what to do. The right gets angrier the left gets more incensed and I stand in the middle wishing like hell our elected officials would LEAD this country instead of DIVIDE it.
September 13th, 2009 at 3:43 PM
#109 Seagull.
Excellent!!! I had missed that video. Thank you for bringing it to our attention.
September 13th, 2009 at 4:11 PM
96 BuffaloGal
Basically,
When is the date of show . how long do you have for reading info ?
What’s your take on the subject, so far?
——-
Don’t have a date yet. The show does all kinds of topics from adopt a pet of the week to politics. I called in response to a local school board member who was trying to block the education speech. The host had one of his favorite conservatives in who was scratching his head trying to figure out why a “conservative” would want to stop the President.
I basically talked about how this seemed to me like some theocrats had gotten themselves on the school board. I told about how the fundies had taken over school boards and the GOP in Texas.
Ugh, the system just ate some of my post.
I’m thinking that one of the main reasons fundie leadership hates BO is because he has an ecumenical view of faith that welcomes all religion. That is not OK with those who consider only the baptized OK and all other evil. I probably would also talk about how all politics is about collation building but the collation between the fiscal conservative and the cultural conservative is now in major clash mode.
All of the Republican I know are pro choice so having the fundies take over is a major problem for them. The cultural issues are driving the traditional republican nuts. I think we are going to see a lot more Blue Dogs in the Dem tent. But for right now I think we can get the popcorn ready for the faction fight of all faction fights among the rethugs. Xtain warriors vs the fiscal hawks, if they have not become extinct.
September 13th, 2009 at 4:11 PM
OK – this is really OT, but, in the current New Yorker Magazine is an article about the Burberry Co, and their check, not plaid. But this was included: “Presiding over the now infamous slaughter of Thanksgiving turkeys, Sarah Palin wore what appeared to be the company’s cashmere muffler. A commenter, having watched the video online, wrote, ‘It’s very thoughtful of Sarah that her Burberry scarf matches the bucket of blood in the background’.”
September 13th, 2009 at 4:12 PM
Weaver – so funny, I KNEW she was wearing Burberry during the turkey massacre!!
Left over from the campaign.
September 13th, 2009 at 4:14 PM
Our country is undergoing a cultural change as well as political, and the far-right Republican evangelical extremists are being left behind. They know they are being left behind, and the sudden loss of power and influence has left them upset and without direction. At best, these wackos make up about 20% or less of voters nationwide. As soon as moderate Americans learn that these wacko extremists can be ignored, the sooner the press will learn they can be ignored, and the sooner our public discourse will return to civility.
September 13th, 2009 at 4:31 PM
Did everyone see Geoffrey Dunn’s new Huff Po piece where he defends Andree McLeod, & goes through the entire personnel board meeting etc. It is the most detailed I’ve seen. He’s in the comments too – fired up.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/geoffrey-dunn/a-culture-of-corruption_b_284726.html
September 13th, 2009 at 4:32 PM
@seagull and weaver57, I recall that at the time of the turkey video those in the know said that it was a knock-off. And an old scarf of hers, too. FWIW
September 13th, 2009 at 4:34 PM
79 BuffaloGal Says:
September 13th, 2009 at 9:40 AM
Have added more content to the new site. Thanks to mudpups who have been posting links on the threads about fringe right crazies. If you’re interested in seeing where I am at this point:
http://palinreport.presspublisher.us/
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Great site, BuffaloGal. Way to go!
September 13th, 2009 at 4:36 PM
Also, too, for a laugh, google “burberry” + “chavs”. Not classy.
September 13th, 2009 at 4:45 PM
Sarah Palin’s scarf is not Burberry. It’s a fake. Cheap. Nassty. Illegal.
The real thing:
http://www.1designerscarves.com/camel-burberry-scarf-p-14.html
The turkey:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_ybEbrQeOA&feature=related
I’m not a fashionista but I bought the real thing last year for a friend.
September 13th, 2009 at 4:47 PM
Sarah’s a Chav? Sorry, couldn’t help it!
September 13th, 2009 at 4:50 PM
120 Seagull Junker Palin Says:
September 13th, 2009 at 4:31 PM
Did everyone see Geoffrey Dunn’s new Huff Po piece where he defends Andree McLeod, & goes through the entire personnel board meeting etc. It is the most detailed I’ve seen. He’s in the comments too – fired up.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/geoffrey-dunn/a-culture-of-corruption_b_284726.html
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Excellent link, Seagull JP. I also encourage more Mudpups to read his post and throw Andree and Geoffrey some supportive comments.
September 13th, 2009 at 4:55 PM
Great link, Seagull and thanks!
September 13th, 2009 at 4:57 PM
Burberry’s crisis even warranted its own documentary!
For a top fashion brand it’s the ultimate nightmare – when all the wrong sort of people start wearing your brand. Burberry is the epitome of high fashion but now its distinctive beige tartans have become popular with so-called chavs. The worst moment – the appearance in the tabloids of an ex TV star covered from head to toe in Burberry check. And now Burberry is also having to take on counterfeiters who are ripping off their designs and making cheap copies available on marker stalls. We follow Burberry’s fight back.
In my defence, I tried to talk my (young, American) friend out of the beige one. I figure if you have one in the latest colour it would give the impression that you’re hip and you have money (and that’s what it’s all about). And I know that British ladies “of a certain age” are very, very fond of the beige. I lost the argument. My friend now proudly dresses as a middle-aged Brit.
September 13th, 2009 at 5:17 PM
@ polarbear 119
I am with you 100%! Maybe that’ll happen when sane folk get over their shock that there are even these undereducated, fearful, and desperate fanatics – and that they are NOT busy trying to hide their stupid. Instead they are flaunting it. It just boggles the mind, but we have to move on. Like Tina Fey.
September 13th, 2009 at 5:18 PM
oops meant to say “get over their shock that there are even THIS MANY undereducated..”
September 13th, 2009 at 5:21 PM
problem child – I was only quoting from a magazine article. Just made me chuckle. I do remember people saying the scarf was something else.
September 13th, 2009 at 5:47 PM
I think every insurance company should list how much of their customer premiums has been spent in the last 12 months on Lobbyists. Month by Month breakdown.
September 13th, 2009 at 6:36 PM
yanno… perhaps the woman holding the sign is trying to send a different message to a selected audience… take the misspelled word “infromed” and think about what the sign would say if “in” is removed…
and take a little poetic license…
“thank you fox news for keeping us from meds”
at least the sign holder isn’t asking her dog to “bless” america. …
September 13th, 2009 at 7:07 PM
This just reportered in the Seattle PI: “Seattle Synagogues Defaced with Swastikas”. http://tinyurl.com/majygj
Yesterday I was discussing Glen Beck with my mother who mentioned that my grandfather (a jew) grew up terrified of the KKK in his native Whatcom County, and also Mt. Vernon where the Beckster is from. I got curious and decided to look at some historical Klan documents that are available online. The teabaggers and Glen Beck’s rhetoric is straight from “The Watch Tower”, newspaper of the Klan circa 1920s. Very scary!
September 13th, 2009 at 8:14 PM
husky82 – do you have a link? I know there was/is the Jehovah’s Witnesses publication ‘The Watch Tower’ but can’t find anything related to the KKK.
September 13th, 2009 at 8:34 PM
Whatcom county is generally very liberal, especially Bellingham, county seat and home of Western Washington University. However, we definitely have extremely conservative pockets, so I’m not surprised about the KKK in earlier times. I’m not aware of any KKK around now. Mt. Vernon is the county seat of Skagit county. Both counties are rural and have a lot of relatively small farms. Beck’s soon to happen appearance in Mt. Vernon, is very controversial.
September 13th, 2009 at 10:00 PM
Hannah-
Thanks for the web site——It all makes sense now.
WHEW!!!!!! How do we fight these people? They are being brain-washed.
September 14th, 2009 at 4:00 AM
Curiouser 135, here is the link to KKK in Washington State Historical Documents. Personally, I wouldn’t be too surprised to find a direct connection between Beck, and the unsavory past of Whatcom and Skagit Counties.
http://tinyurl.com/qar38d
On a lighter note, the Mayor of Bellingham is offering a key to city to Jon Stewart in response to Mt. Vernon’s mayor’s plans to give one to Beck. Here is the link to the facebook fan page to join this cause: http://tinyurl.com/p2q78j
September 14th, 2009 at 4:01 AM
Oops, key to THE city.