The Practical Democrat

90% Decrease in Shootings in Oakland During Occupy Protests & Conservative Bias in Media

2011-11-13T10:17:00.003-05:00

examples of conservative bias in the mainstream media

The mainstream media reported one shooting in Oakland CA that was physically near, but unrelated to, the Occupy Oakland protest.

The mainstream media also reported that there had been 103 shootings in Oakland so far this year. That works out to be about 1 shooting every 3 days.

Statistically, over any given 28 day period, there would be a little over 9 shootings in Oakland. However, over the 28 day period that Occupy Oakland was present, the mainstream media reported only one shooting.

So, statistically, this is a 90% decrease in shootings during the time Occupy was present in Oakland.

The mainstream media does not report this because it doesn’t fit their narrative of - and conflicts with their bias against - the Occupy protests.

The mainstream media is quick to report about the trouble peaceful protesters exercising their First Amendment right to free speech are causing.

But not one mainstream media outlet reports the relationship between gun violence and the exercise of the second amendment right to bear arms.

Does this represent a conservative bias on the part of the mainstream media?

Peaceful protesters exercising their First Amendment right to free speech for economic fairness is seen as a liberal activity, and exercising Second Amendment right to have guns is a conservative pillar.

The mainstream media can’t even put together guns and gun violence, but willingly insinuates that peaceful protesters are somehow related to gun violence.

Even when there was a 90% decrease in shootings during the time Occupy was present in Oakland.

Regardless of your personal views on either the protests or guns, this is a clear example of the deep-rooted conservative bias on the part of the mainstream media both in what they report, and in what they fail to report.

examples of conservative bias in the mainstream media

examples of conservative bias in the media

Here is another clear cut example of how the "mainstream media" (CNN, NBC, ABC, etc.) is conservatively biased.

2011-10-18T08:50:00.002-04:00

Here is another clear cut example of how the "mainstream media" (CNN, NBC, ABC, etc.) is conservatively biased.

When unemployment is up, the conservatively biased mainstream media asks what President Obama is doing about it. They completely ignore the real story of how Republican policies caused unemployment and the economy to become so bad in the first place.

President Obama put out a plan to fix the high unemployment and the economy called The American Jobs Act. The Republicans in Congress are blocking it. The conservatively biased mainstream media story is both sides are at fault! Wrong, both sides are not at fault. Again, the conservatively biased mainstream media completely ignores the facts that Republicans are the ones holding the economy hostage, and that they are still pushing the same Republican policies that caused unemployment and the economy to become so bad in the first place.

President Obama takes his plan directly to the American people to tell them how it will put Americans back to work and help the economy. (because the conservatively biased mainstream media won't report this) He also lets the American people know that Republicans are blocking it. (because the conservatively biased mainstream media won't report this either).

So what is the story that the conservatively biased mainstream media reports? "President Obama is campaigning for President." Seriously! Again, the conservatively biased mainstream media completely ignores the facts that Republicans are the ones holding the economy hostage, and that Obama has to take his plan directly to the American people because the conservatively biased mainstream media won't report the facts.

So while the Republicans are holding the economy hostage, the conservatively biased mainstream media's response is to attack President Obama for trying to put Americans back to work and help the economy.

The "mainstream media" (CNN, NBC, ABC, etc.) is conservatively biased not only by what they report, but because of what they fail to report. We are deliberately being mislead because the media is withholding the facts from us.

How to Deal With Crazy Republican Relatives

2011-10-12T15:34:00.002-04:00

So you’re looking forward to the holidays and some family get-togethers. But you are reminded of the last time when you were confronted with an uncomfortable situation with one or more Republican relatives who decided to pontificate to a captive audience. Maybe it was about President Obama, maybe it was about “liberals” in general. You thought at the time that they use the word “liberal” like it was a bad thing. But you are proud of being a liberal, and furthermore, you are right.

So you are asking yourself, “How do I deal with my crazy Republican relatives? What do I do when my crazy conservative relatives start their crap?”

You are not alone. Millions of liberals, moderates, independents, and other Democrats all across the country are asking themselves the same thing.

Confrontation is a Republican tactic.

Realize that no amount of factual evidence will get them to change their mind. Remember, they did not come to their current beliefs because of careful analysis and study. They didn’t weigh the evidence and decide that the Republican position is most supported by the facts. No matter how well informed you are, no matter how logical your reasoning, it is very unlikely that it will get through to them.

It’s OK to say that you don’t accept FOX talking points as fact.

Once you realize that no minds will be changed, you begin to feel a sense of freedom. Say this to yourself “No minds will be changed today”. In other words, it doesn’t matter whether you argue with them, or walk away. It’s very freeing, so have fun with it.

For example, count the number of times they accuse Democrats of exactly the things of which Republicans are guilty. So when they say “Democrats are running up the deficit”, that’s one. (Two unfunded wars, and the Bush Tax cuts for the wealthy ran up the deficit.) Counting them out loud might also be fun!

Conservatives like to sit around trying to “one up” each other to prove they are more conservative. Why not join in! But don’t be constrained by the latest neocon talking points. Or reality - they certainly aren’t! See if you can make up equally bizarre talking points of your own. Be so bizarre that they actually look at you like you are crazy. You know, the way you look at them when they say Obama is from Kenya. They may not even realize that you are making fun of them. Either way, you win!

Republicans have no sense of hypocrisy. Even though they are quick to point out hypocrisy of Democrats (whether real or imagined), Republicans are genetically immune to their own hypocrisy, or the hypocrisy of other Republicans.

The important thing is to not be afraid to do what you want.

Republicans Develop Way To Lie Faster

2011-04-13T08:19:00.000-04:00

Republicans Develop Way To Lie Faster

In a joint business-government partnership, the Republicans have found a method to increase their rate of lies dramatically. It’s called the LieTron 2012 in honor of the 2012 Presidential election where Republicans hope to run it as their candidate.

“It’s a human-robot hybrid. It has an animatronic interface, similar to Michelle Bachman’s, but much more life-like.”

“In the past, we could only lie as fast as we could talk. We no longer have this limitation.” The super-computer inside is said to have 8 mega-lie capability, or 8 million lies-per-second, and topped the previous record held by Glenn Beck. Put into perspective, Republicans can exceed the lies of an 8 year George Bush administration in a single minute.

The spin-off benefits to businesses became clear immediately. Phil Donahue, head of the US Chamber of Commerce, said “Not just in the obvious places like FOX cable shows, but in Wall Street accounting, even the “development” of alternative energies by corporations.”

“Imagine what BP could have done with this enhanced lie technology during its oil spill.” This technology would have overwhelmed the truth about the Gulf spill within hours, leaving only a thin sheen of factual information on the surface, effectively preventing any truth from reaching shore. Any residual facts would have been easily suppressed through traditional methods by the corporate mainstream media outlets.

To showcase this new technology, the LieTron 2012 will be promoted similarly to how IBM revealed “Watson” the supercomputer that competed with human players on the Jeopardy! quiz show. In this case, however, Sean Hannity will be the learned host the show.

Karl Rove was an obvious choice for one of the “human” contestants, but there is still some question as to who the other challenger will be.

The short list includes politicians Senate and House Minority Leaders Mitch McConnell and John Boehner, as well as TV personalities Rush Limbaugh and Bill O’Reilly.

The program was not without its setbacks, however. A hunting party led by former V.P. Dick Cheney had to ‘put down’ a prototype of the LieTron 2012 by shooting it in the face with a shotgun. No charges were filed against Cheney because, like most Republican operatives, it wasn’t a real human.

A genetically engineered human-tea party hybrid was created from the DNA of Ayn Rand and Ron Paul. This project, known as the “Rand-Paul” experiment, was shut down because the result was mentally deficient. It kept thinking it was in 1954 in the pre-Civil Rights era. “He started out OK, but then would digress about how we should end war,” Dick Cheney growled. “Frankly, we found this very disturbing.”

Republicans plan to roll out the final version of the LieTron 2012 in time for the Republican Primary season so Americans can get a feel for it before they run it for President in 2012.

Analysis: Deep-Rooted Conservative Bias In Mainstream Media

2011-04-12T11:41:00.000-04:00

Deep-rooted conservative bias in the media is revealed in not only in what they report, but also by what they fail to report.

CNN reporters are embedded with the ultra-right wing Tea Party while reporting on the group’s events around the country on the Tea Party Express bus tour. Who is embedded with the PCCC? Or even with the Republicans or Democrats for that matter?

The real story is how a network like CNN can still be considered a news organization when its “reporters” were riding around on the Tea Party bus that also has the “CNN” logo emblazoned on the side. Now CNN is doubling down on its gambit by sponsoring a Republican Presidential primary “debate” with the Tea Party. Not one mainstream media outlet has dared investigate, much less report on, this conflation of corporate money, lobbying groups, and right wing extremism known as the Tea Party. The failure to make any effort to unravel this is evidence of a conservative bias by what they have failed to report.

President Obama’s State of the Union address had not one, but two Republican rebuttals. Not even FOX , the conservative media arm of the Republican party, would run the second rebuttal by fringe conservative Michelle Bachmann. (Recall Michelle Bachmann warned us that the census is an example of government overreach.) Then a remarkable about-face occurred, and the story about the two Republican rebuttals was the headline run by all the networks, overshadowing the actual State of the Union address by the President.

All of the supposedly unbiased mainstream media networks cover ultra-conservative Sarah Palin continuously. The instant she opens her mouth she gets wall-to-wall coverage on whatever Obama-bashing nonsense she makes up. Do the networks with their legions of “reporters” fact check any of this? Did the mainstream media ever bother to report that “death panels” were not actually real?

And now Donald Trump joins the ranks of birthers like Orly Tates. The fact that we even know what the term “birther” means is testament to the ridiculous amount of coverage that right wing conspiracy theories get. What is the real story here? The real story is why the mainstream media did not expose the birther nonsense for what it is, put it to rest, and move on to actual news.

Actual news – like the national campaign of voter suppression being carried out at the state level – is completely ignored by the mainstream media. Voter suppression and disenfranchisement is being made law in states from Maine, to Ohio, to New Mexico, that targets the young, old, poor, and minority groups – but it doesn’t make the mainstream media news.

Is it only a coincidence that Republicans are leading these state efforts, while the groups targeted by the legislation tend to vote more for Democrats? The real story is that attempts in 22 states to suppress voting is itself being suppressed by a conservative bias in the mainstream media.

Maybe the mainstream media wants to carefully investigate stories before it releases them into the news. Maybe… Consider the complete opposite stance taken by the media when the story is not about conservatives. Complete fabrications about ACORN, Shirley Sherrod, National Public Radio, and Planned Parenthood – these made-up stories are instantly thrust upon the media-viewing public by eager networks. Each successive fraudulent video did not, however, make the mainstream media more careful the next time. It seems to have instead exposed the media as part of the fraud since these fraudulent videos kept coming from the same sources! The message is clear: If it promotes conservative talking points, it gets the “mainstream media” headline.

Whether the mainstream media does it for ratings, or for political activism of its corporate owners doesn’t matter – the end result is a deep-rooted conservative bias in what is seen by the media consumers in America.

Obama Leads While Congress Stumbles

2011-03-22T07:16:00.000-04:00

Obama Leads While Congress Stumbles

President Obama again decisively demonstrated skilled diplomacy as he and Hillary deftly garnered the international support for intervention in protecting thousands of people from a mad dictator. There should be a nonpartisan effort to stand with the world and face down Muammar Gaddafi. Instead, Republicans are criticizing Obama for – get this – lack of leadership? I guess when you have nothing to offer, attack someone else for your own failure to lead. Even Dennis Kucinich, a Democrat, criticized the President for not getting approval from Congress.

So where was the House? At recess…
Congress could not even muster enough interest to meet to address the humanitarian crisis in Libya. Republican Hose Speaker Boehner could have called the House back into session, but he failed to act at this critical moment. Hypocrisy is such a Republican mainstay now the world rightfully asks, “Was Boehner on a corporate sponsored golf junket?”

America is playing this one perfectly. We are gathering real support from nations around the world to deal with rogue regime intent on massacring it’s own citizens.

Contrast this with the dark years of the Bush administration fabricating intelligence reports, scaring the country with nonexistent WMDs, and forcing Colin Powell to lie before the UN holding a baggie of white powder. That is just one of the images from that era that shamed America.

But America has turned a corner since then. The genius of Obama’s actions in this situation re-inspire the American people and the world to once again have confidence in the United States government to identify and address real crises. The US once again serves as a role model to the rest of the world when the President leads the American people in living up to it’s ideals.

As Republicans Lurch Right, Moderates & Independents are Left Behind.

2011-03-09T09:04:00.000-05:00

As the Republicans lurch ever further to the right, moderates and Independents are left behind.

The divide between Republicans and the rest of the country is growing ever wider, and moderates and liberals are slowly realizing they actually have a great deal in common.

Even some Republicans who have managed to unplug from FOX have realized that they, too, have a lot more in common with those who support working Americans than they previously thought.

The birther-muslim-kenyan etc. craze has served as a lightning rod for Republicans to draw attention away from their radical pro-rich agenda. The daily shriek is just a smokescreen designed to make what Republicans are really up to seem less extreme in comparison.

Everyone except the most extreme Republicans have come to realize that what is good for the richest 1% is not good for the remaining 99% of Americans. We are all starting to realize that America is made up of more than multi-national corporations; America is made up of people.

Moderates and independents join the liberals in a collective "WTF?" when Republicans vote to keep giving oil companies tens of Billions of dollars in welfare payments. No Republican "talking point" can overpower the fact that oil companies are the most profitable in the history of the world and should not be getting subsidies from the taxpayers.

Independents and moderates are no more immune to rising gasoline prices at the pump than anyone else. So as Wall street speculators drive up the price of oil, Independents, moderates and liberals are coming to the same conclusion: There is something wrong with Republican "business as usual".

So as the almost continuous campaigns heat up, we all know what to expect. The Republicans will trot out all of their tired tactics designed to divide people on social issues in hopes of driving Americans with common economic interests apart. They are playing to an ever shrinking, ever more radical conservative base, leaving most of America behind.

Independents and moderates are not fooled by these distractions. As much as the Republicans have attempted to demonize everything they disagree with as "liberal", it turns out that liberal values are American values. A majority of Americans don't want to change Social Security and, despite the inaccurate reports in the media, Social Security is not "broke". Americans believe it's unfair when people are thrown off their health insurance when they become sick. We realize that tax cuts for the rich only benefit the rich, and the rest of us (and our children) are left paying the bill for it.

Are the Rich Paying More Than Their Share? Are Others Not Paying Their Fair Share? No, and No!

2011-02-12T16:49:00.000-05:00

We always hear how the rich are being overburdened with taxes and how a progressive tax system is unfair to the rich. It's such a common talking point in the media that it is almost never questioned. Here's why it's completely false.

First, a few facts: 400 households have 50% of the wealth in the US. These top 400 billionaires own half of everything - money, property, ...Everything.

The rest of us get to share the remaining 50% of the wealth. That means that just 400 get one half, and 310 million share the other half.

But the rich pay a lot of taxes, right? ...Right?

The total amount of the income taxes collected from the billionaires who own half of everything in the US is less than 2%.

So who makes up for the rest? You guessed it ... we do.
The total income taxes paid by the poorest Americans who share the other half of the wealth is 98.2%!

In short, the richest people who own half of everything in America pay 1.8% of the income taxes, while the poorest who share the other half pay over 98% of the income taxes. That's so hard to imagine I made a picture.

The 'common wisdom' talking point that the rich are getting a bad deal is just plain wrong.

How come 40% of people don't pay any income taxes?

The short answer is: because they don't have anything. The poorest 40% of Americans have to share 0.02% of the wealth. That's not two percent, that's point zero 2 percent - or 0.0002.

To put this in perspective, if all the wealth in the US was $100, then the poorest 40%, or 124 million Americans, would split 2 cents between them. That's why they don't pay taxes. You can't get blood from a stone.

So the next time someone whines that it's not fair that 40% of people don't have to pay income tax, remember this picture, and tell him that he's looking the wrong way. Instead of looking down the income scale, he should be looking up the income ladder. Trying to tax those who don't have anything is stupid.

So who else doesn't pay taxes?

Those who have too little income to pay taxes are in good company. It turns out that some that have a lot of income - many in the Billions of dollars - don't pay taxes either.

Amazon(.com) and Boeing aircraft company have income tax rates less than 5%. That seems very low, except when compared to other corporations, they are suckers.

According to the Government Accountability Office, two out of three U. S. corporations paid no federal income tax from 1998 to 2005.

These include many huge corporations. ExxonMobil is the most profitable company in the history of the world. They pay no tax. Nothing. Zilch.

General Electric also pays no tax. But what makes this fact even more unbelievable is that they even get billions in "tax credits" back from the government. That's correct, they actually get money BACK!

So when you hear in the media about the rich being overtaxed, or how tough it is for the rich right now, you now know this 'common wisdom' is completely wrong.

It's always a good time to be rich!

Fellow Americans: We Need to Reflect

2011-01-12T14:38:00.001-05:00

"If ballots don't work, bullets will" was shouted by Joyce Kaufman, former Chief of Staff to Republican Representative Allen West, in her speech to the crowd at a Tea Party rally.

It a sad time in America when this anti-American statement and hundreds more like it are not met with widespread and immediate condemnation.

The media likes to portray this issue by reporting both "sides" in a political he-said, she-said style with no real analysis, and certainly no indication of the truthiness of either position.

"False equivalence" in this case refers to the often heard claim in the media that everyone is equally guilty of inciting and dangerous rhetoric. It is a false equivalence because the inciting and dangerous rhetoric comes predominantly from the right-wing of the political spectrum, and not equally from both "sides".

The reality is that Democrats and liberals will reflect on their speech and rhetoric, but Republicans, tea partiers and the right-wing TV & radio shockers will not. Already we have seen the right-wing defend their past inflammatory rhetoric and insist that they will continue it. So the call to "tone it down" will only be heard by those who don't really need to hear it, and ignored by those who really do need to tone it down.

Everyone is NOT equally guilty of inciting and inflammatory rhetoric. But we all have a responsibility to work against it.

In the end, the two "sides" are really those who support open democracy and American principles, and those who agitate against these ideals. The underlying principle of democracy is that we can make the best decisions for the many, without resorting to violence to achieve selfish and narrow political objectives.

If there is one thing that should unite all of us as Americans it's that the vote is the foundation of our democracy. The idea that bullets should ever - ever - be more powerful in our democracy than our votes is something we can all unite against.

So the answer from all Americans to Joyce Kaufman and people like her is: No, bullets will not work. Ballots will.

President Obama Was Right to Cut a Deal

2010-12-13T13:19:00.001-05:00

For 23 1/2 months Congress has failed to act on the expiring tax cuts. President Obama stepped in and provided some desperately needed leadership, and now the Democrats are all ready to fight...Obama?

Do you really think Congress can do in 2 weeks what it utterly failed to do in 23 1/2 months?

You can't say President Obama caved without recognizing that the Democratically held Congress has caved for almost 2 years. And now, at the eleventh hour, they think they can get a better deal. But they have put forward no bills either before of after Obama's negotiation with the Republicans.

President Obama was right to cut a deal. The reasoning he gave in his speech was pragmatic and made good sense.

Obama's deal will put food on the table for the unemployed. Tax cuts will pump billions into the economy just when we need it most. That money, if collected as tax, would never be allowed into the economy by the Republicans. The best way to get money to the middle class to spend it is to not collect it in the first place.

It's true that we liberals and progressives didn't feel like it was a "win" because Obama and other Democrats didn't "sell it". I think that this could have been framed more competently to make us feel victorious while doing the right thing. This is not a new issue; it has been a perennial problem for Democrats.

Democrats should not be disappointed with Obama for stepping in at the last minute to do something that the Democrats in Congress utterly failed to do for the 2 years they held both Houses of Congress.

Some of the Democrats in both the House and the Senate were actually in Congress to vote on the original Bush Tax Cuts in 2001. When were they planning to act? They waited 9 years, 11 months and 14 days before decrying the President for dealing with the issue at the last possible moment - while Democrats still held both Houses.

Democratic enthusiasm for a better tax plan is just too little, WAY too late. This should have been a priority a year ago.

Obama did the right thing. We should do the right thing and support him.

Midterm Election 2010: Another Unreported Headline

2010-11-12T19:22:00.001-05:00

The "Southern Strategy" was applied nationally, and it worked.

The Republicans used a national campaign this election season. The Southern strategy is a common strategy employed by the Republicans in the southern states, and it works in those states.

The Southern Strategy is the strategy that uses covert and overt racism to stir up fear and anger among white voters to get them to vote Republican and to turn them out in larger numbers. The chairman of the Republican National Committee, Michael Steele, not only admitted that this strategy was used with success, he specifically apologized to the country on behalf of the Republican Party for using the Southern Strategy because it was wrong.

In this midterm election, the Southern Strategy was applied on a national level and it worked in both northern and southern states. The result of this covert and overt race baiting was that the Republicans have the majority seats in the House of Representatives in Congress.

So the question now is: Will the racist campaign strategy turn into a governing strategy?

Midterm Election 2010: The Unreported Headlines

2010-11-09T06:25:00.000-05:00

Democrats won the Senate.

There were enough seats up for grabs in this midterm election in both houses of Congress so that either party could gain control of the Senate or the House. The Republicans won control of the House, and the Democrats won control of the Senate. So why does the "mainstream media" frame it as a "win" only for the Republicans?

This is a perfect example of how the "mainstream media" weaves its Conservative bias into the news.

The headline we see is "America Has Spoken: Republicans Win The House"

The Republicans won enough seats in this election to be in the majority in the House. Therefore, Republicans won the House. The Democrats won enough seats in this election to be in the majority in the Senate. Therefore, Democrats won the Senate.

But you won't see it reported that way. Not on CBS, NBC, CNN, not anywhere. Why isn't there a headline that says "America Has Spoken: Democrats Win The Senate"? It's because it doesn't fit with the "mainstream" media's Conservative narrative.

What did America say, and what did the media hear?

Because the Republicans are now in control of the House, everyone is saying "America has spoken". Didn't America speak just as loudly when we voted the Democrats to be in control of the Senate? Or when Obama was elected President? These Democrats were also elected by a majority of American voters.

Democrats were elected to control half of the Legislative Branch in the Senate, and there is a Democratic President presiding over the Executive Branch of our government. Republicans control only one half of the Legislative Branch. For those of you keeping score, that's one and one half branches for the Democrats, and only one-half of a branch for Republicans. That equals a 3 to 1 'branch ratio' favoring the Democrats.

The "mainstream" media narrative is detached from the reality of mainstream America. On the whole, America is still telling Democrats "Keep going!"

Anti-Washington Vs. Anti-America

2010-10-25T15:57:00.001-04:00

This election has literally become very negative. The winners will be determined by which "anti-" sentiment gets the most people out to vote. Voters fall into one of the two Anti movement groups: the Anti-Washington group and the Anti-American group.

The anti-Washington movement is fueled by anti-government sentiment.

The Anti-Washington group is essentially against the Democrats. They are the party in power, so they are the party that is blamed for the problems that we are facing as a nation right now, as well as some problems that are entirely made up by or for the media's consumption. The Democrats are in charge, so therefore they are the "Washington insiders" who have either succeeded or failed, depending on which media narrative you are following.

The Anti-America group manifests itself as the Republican Tea Party. They are so determined to have Obama fail that they are willing to have America fail to do it. They want to take Obama down by taking America down.

The Republican Tea Partiers often claim to be defending the Constitution. But they hypocritically proclaim they want to change the Constitution. As the self-proclaimed defenders of the Constitution, they really mean they want to defend only selected parts of it. They skip over the First Amendment, which creates the separation of church and state, because they believe the founding fathers would have wanted the commingling of religion and government. They conveniently ignore decades of legal precedent. They also ignore the fact that the founding fathers really did oppose the commingling of church and state, and that's precisely why they wrote the 1st Amendment! Teabaggers instead focus mostly on defending the Second Amendment and the right to bear arms because that one is supposedly under attack.

Republicans have said they don't like the 17th Amendment. They are against the election of U.S. Senators by the voters. That is a pretty Anti-American idea. They also want to change the 14th Amendment; specifically, they want to change the part that makes everyone who is born here a U.S. citizen. I think it is important to point out that this is the way that ALL natural born Americans became U.S. citizens. In other words, the vast majority of Republican Tea Partiers became citizens through the 14th Amendment - but they want to change it. How much more Anti-American can you get than to be against the Constitution? Read on.

Republicans in the Senate rail against the lack of job creation by the government, but have voted against every measure to create jobs. They voted against safeguards that would prevent our economy from crashing again. And they voted against making oil drilling off our coast safer. They vote against everything that is good for America. On every issue, Republicans have taken a hard-line Anti-American stance. They are willing to scuttle America for the sake of giving the wealthiest people in the world (not just Americans) an even greater portion of America's wealth. They block every effort by Democrats to build America up. Then they fill the media with their convoluted spin that somehow they are "doing America good."

The prevailing Republican attitude is "Either you give us all of the money and power, or we'll take America down!" Taking America hostage is as Anti-American you can get.

There are two kinds of people in America: those who want to take Obama down by taking America down, and those who want to build America up.

.

Conservative Political Activism On Supreme Court Threatens Democracy

2010-10-12T18:14:00.002-04:00

The Citizens United decision by the Supreme Court is naked Conservative political activism which opens the floodgates for unlimited campaign funding by multi-national corporations. The judicial activism of the high court breaks down the last barrier which has held back for decades the disproportionate influence by the richest few over our democracy.

It turns American democracy into the same system that is used for shareholders who own stock in a company. In that system, you are able to "vote your shares", which means those who have the most dollars invested in the company get the most votes.

With unlimited amounts of money flowing into the political election process, elections and seats in government can be bought and sold like commodities. This is far different than what the founders created, a system that was "one man, one vote", not "one dollar, one vote".

The Conservative activism of the court created something that is simply not found anywhere in the Constitution. The hyper-reactionary court majority dominated by Roberts and Scalia have created a "self-destruct" button for our Democratic system. It changes America from a democracy to an aristocracy made up of the rich and the largest multinational corporations that drowns out the voices of 99% of Americans with unlimited political cash.

The court itself is dominated by the same political payback system that the rich and the Republican party have been cultivating for decades in both the executive and legislative branches.

Acting alone, the activism of the conservatives on the court would not succeed. Eventually the voters would check the radical power grab by the court. However, the conservative bias of the mainstream media, and the outright conservative propaganda of media such as FOX, ensures that American voters are left unaware of this threat to our democratic system of governance.

The Supreme Court's radical decisions also open American democracy to threats from other countries. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has been actively soliciting donations from foreign corporations and governments to fund attack ads against Democratic political candidates. These attack ads smear those candidates who fight the outsourcing of American jobs to those same countries that benefit from receiving the jobs. And the circle of money is completed.

The media is mute despite the polls that show over 80% of Americans are against outsourcing of jobs overseas. The mainstream media is adept at displaying it's strong conservative bias by poorly reporting, or not reporting at all, important populist issues - even issues that threaten to end our great American experiment in democracy.

The Citizens United decision makes the American voter the low bidder in the auctioning off of American democracy.

/

One Nation Rally Didn't Fit the Media's Narrative

2010-10-08T14:13:00.002-04:00

Perspectives From The Ground

A lot has been said and written by those who obviously had no first hand knowledge of the event to share. As someone who was actually there, I decided to give a much needed accurate account.

The mainstream media was very conservative - and not just in its reporting. They all hid in one corner of the National Mall, on the North side near the stage. They seemed very condescending and not very interested in covering the event. They acted like they drew the short straw by getting the assignment to be there. I really don't think they did a very good job covering the event. They didn't go out into the crowd, and they left early.

Which means they missed a lot. One thing they missed was the energy and diversity of the crowd. They missed the positive attitude, the patriotism, the willingness to work to make America a better place for everyone. They missed it because they didn't want to contradict their narrative. It's fair to say the media was generally hostile toward the event.

One thing that is always brought up is how many people attended. So considering that I was actually there at the One Nation rally, and not seeing it through the filter of the "news", I can tell you it was a phenomenal turnout. It was packed!

An important point that the media missed completely when determining the turnout was that the crowd was fluid. Many participants had to leave while many others were still coming into the rally. The total number of people at any given moment was much smaller than the total number of people who actually participated throughout the day. Throngs of people streamed into the rally continuously throughout the late morning and afternoon. That means a snapshot of the crowd at noon did not get an accurate picture of the sheer volume of people who participated in the rally throughout the course of the day.

We also didn't have 2 of the richest Billionaires in the world underwriting our rally and providing free travel as was done with the Beck's "Distorting Honor" rally. The One Nation rally was supported by hard earned dollars from individual worker's paychecks. It was supported by real Americans, for real Americans.

How many unemployed people would you expect to have the money to travel across the country to rally in Washington DC? They are too busy looking for work, doing odd jobs, and trying to feed their families. How can we expect the poorest among us to protest what the Republicans have done to them, using what little of their own money the Republicans let them keep?

The mainstream media showed an incredible conservative bias in their reporting of the event. They weren't there to cover the news. They were only there to support their narrative.

When the media did bother to make a token effort, they asked if the rally was being unfriendly toward Republicans. The reply was "When Republicans work against the interests of the American people, we are against that. When Republicans use the government to make the richest among us even richer at the expense of the American workers, we are against that. When Republicans use racial and religious intolerance to divide us, we are against that. But this rally is not about dividing, it's about joining together. We encourage the Republicans to join us in making the economy stronger, in helping real Americans get decent jobs. We welcome the Republicans to join with us in making America strong again!"

Somehow the mainstream media failed to report that. It just didn't fit their narrative.

So if you hear that the One Nation march was not a big deal, you can know that you are listening to someone who wasn't actually there.

I was there. And it was a big deal. In the words of our Vice-President, it was a "BIG f-ing deal!"

Republicans: Truth Seekers They Are Not

2010-09-24T13:34:00.001-04:00

Have you ever wondered why it's so hard to get through to a right winger? Does it seem like the more wrong they are, the more closed-minded they become? For anyone who has ever tried to get through to a Republican, this article may help explain some of the frustrations felt by the thinking community.

The fundamental difference between Republicans and the thinking community is they have different goals. One side, for example, may want to reach an agreement on something that will make the world a better place. The other side just wants to win.

Average Republicans and Teabaggers (they are one in the same) are not interested in forming cogent arguments or in fact-based reasoning. Truth seekers they are not. Republicans don't want actual debate, they simply want to win the argument. They want to be the last one standing in a shouting match.

Their blind allegiance to FOX's propaganda channel is so they don't get exposed to information accidentally. Facts don't sit well with Republicans because facts don't further their agenda. Facts are the things that "evil Liberals" use to discredit Republicans; to them, facts are bad. Fortunately for Republicans, FOX has little to do with facts.

FOX does, however, provide a never ending litany of neo-conservative talking points, great sounding lies and sound bites that average Republicans need to shut down actual discussion and reasoning. Republicans watch FOX propaganda because it is useful. The FOX propaganda network provides the talking points Republicans need to obfuscate debate and make them impervious to reason.

A typical Republican technique is to accuse others of precisely that which they themselves are guilty. If you want to know what Republicans are up to, just see what they are accusing Democrats of doing. Are Republicans running up the deficit? Accuse Democrats of running up the deficit. Are the Republicans filibustering bills that help the economy? Accuse Democrats of stifling debate. And of hurting the economy.

It's that easy. Here, you try this one:
Republicans want to give tax breaks to the richest 1% and pay for it by increasing the deficit.

If you said "Democrats are driving up the deficit" good job. And if you added "Democrats are killing jobs" then you could be a Republican Senator!

Tea Party Taking On Role of Brown Shirts

2010-09-17T10:42:00.002-04:00

The Tea Party is not as grassroots as we are led to believe. They are under the direction of the ultra-right wing lobbyist group ironically named "FreedomWorks" led by Dick Armey. Teabaggers get their marching orders and funding from Freedomworks, who in turn gets its money from corporations like Koch Industries. The money from Koch and other corporations is quietly funneled to organizations like Freedomsworks and Americans for Prosperity to stage what they would like us to believe are citizen protests. Through obfuscation, fear and intimidation, corporations and the secretive billionaire Koch brothers are determined to control public opinion on issues that might cause people to question their business practices.

The tactics of the tea party teabaggers is eerily similar to those of the Brown Shirts in the first half of the twentieth century during the rise of Nazism. For example, at the health care discussions by Congressman, Dick Armey and his henchmen were the ones responsible for training and organizing the hecklers whose only goal was to shout down debate and intimidate anyone who tried to express their own opinion. These mercenary 'protesters' are waging a war over the control of the public square.

Freedomworks Brown Shirt organizers gave specific instructions how to infiltrate a crowd to give the impression that your agents represent the majority, how to completely shout down all other people, and how to intimidate anyone who tried to disagree.

A recent video clip of tea party teabaggers screaming and verbally abusing an elderly man on the ground who had Parkinson's disease is a sickening but typical display of the sociopathic nature underlying the tea party Brown Shirts.

The sinister overlapping of neo-nazi groups, the KKK, and the tea party teabaggers is no accident. Freedomworks and the Americans for Prosperity actively cultivate and channel existing hate groups' activities toward its own political ends. The video shown below on this blog (Right Wing Crazies & Tea Party United Against Health Reform) shows how teabaggers and traditional racist groups are co-opting the anti-Obama campaign as a 'softer', more politically acceptable form of racism. The Koch brothers and other large corporations have hired Freedomworks to show these hate groups how to mask their outright racism and twist it into a more news-friendly 'political protest'. Watch the video and you can judge for yourself if it's working!

In Lawsuit Against Carnahan, FOX Wins Either Way, and We Lose

2010-09-17T09:18:00.003-04:00

Will FOX win its suit against Missouri Democratic Senate candidate Robin Carnahan for using video from FOX? Either way the suit goes, FOX wins.

FOX is not pursuing this case because they will make money from winning it; how much money could they possibly get? They are not doing this to protect their integrity; Mike Wallace and FOX have long ago given up any shred of integrity. Integrity is irrelevant to FOX’s mission to make money by distributing conservative propaganda.

Chilling Effect

Democracy requires that we know as much as we can about how candidates will govern if elected. The best argument against Republicans is their own words. The best attack ad against a Republican contains the actual statements showing the Republican's extremist views. And the best place to get that media is from FOX where Republicans feel free to express their extremist views.

If FOX wins their case, it would squelch campaign ads against Republicans using the choicest media from FOX that reveals Republican extremist views most clearly. Even if FOX loses, just the threat of a lawsuit by a big corporation against any campaign has a chilling effect on the media it uses in its ads.

That would shield Republican candidates from having their extremist views used against them. The last thing Republicans need is the media exposing what wing nuts they really are.

Winners and Winners

FOX actually would further it's propaganda mission if they lost the suit. As a manufacturer of propaganda, FOX knows it’s a lot easier to parse and clip video to make it look like it is saying something that it isn’t because the truth doesn’t fit their political agenda. FOX routinely hypes these fabricated stories. It is their bread and butter. For example, the Shirley Sherrod video clip was purposely edited to portray her as a racist, when actually the opposite was true. Her speech was really a triumph of tolerance over racism. But FOX pounced on it and played the maliciously edited clips relentlessly. Another example was the fake Acorn “scandal” where treacherous editing created a video that was entirely fictional. The controversies created, however, are real. We later find out we were duped when the truth is the opposite of what was shown.

This is exactly what they are accusing Carnahan of doing. FOX is employing a common Republican trick. Republicans routinely accuse others of precisely that which they themselves are guilty. FOX wants to prevent lawsuits against itself for doing exactly what it is suing Carnahan for allegedly doing.

FOX wins if it loses the case because the court will be saying it’s OK to parse, clip and edit someone’s words to totally distort what is actually said. They would have a court ruling that gives them permission to continue misrepresenting reality and continue manufacturing their propaganda without fear of legal recourse. FOX wants to prevent lawsuits against itself for routinely manipulating video and misrepresenting the truth on its network.

That’s why I want to see FOX win their suit. If they win they will have inadvertently set a standard that they will have to meet. They will have to abide by the decision that you can’t manipulate video and distort the truth.

Then what will FOX broadcast? News?

Newt Gingrich: Political Terrorist

2010-09-15T12:18:00.002-04:00

Gingrich is a sociopath intent on being swept into power by inflaming the racists, bigots, and other right wing ideologues, even showing his willingness to use the same techniques employed by the nazi propaganda machine.

The parallels are clear. He foments distrust of races other than white. He questions the legitimacy of the democratically elected government, and says that our elected President is not one of us because he is black and has an African tribal mentality.

Gingrich disseminates the propaganda that first our government, and now our nation, has been taken over by extremists, even though the government was freely elected by the majority of the voters who make up our great nation. He is claiming that the institution of democracy itself has somehow failed, and that he actually sees himself as the "savior" of the nation. So when he says he wants a "revolution", he really means it, and he is using political terrorism to achieve it.

Gingrich is spewing hateful propaganda vilifying the Muslims in the same way that the nazis vilified the Jews with their propaganda in the years leading up to World War II.

From the 9/11 terrorist attacks, he generalizes that Islam is in a holy war against us, and that we must fight back against all Muslims or perish. His anti-religious propaganda targets American citizens who happen to practice a different faith than he does. He wrongly equates Christianity with patriotism and cites "the founding fathers", despite the fact that the founding fathers explicitly enshrined the freedom of religion, and the separation of the government from religion in the Constitution. In the case of the Muslim community center in New York, Gingrich actually believes that the first 16 words of the First Amendment of our Constitution do not apply to Americans when they are of a different religion than his.

His movie "America at Risk: The War With No Name" shows a radical and absurd portrayal of Islam, and his "final solution" is a radical and absurd takeover of secular government by Christian religion.

All of Gingrich's hateful rhetoric is directed at extremists who he hopes will see him as their leader. He hopes to channel the anger he has created into a violent rage and push America one goose-step closer to fascism. He knows from history that by employing intimidation techniques with the real threat of violence, a small group of extremists can have a disproportionate and corrosive effect on political discourse. By harnessing all of the weaknesses of character of marginal Americans, he carries out his acts of political terrorism with the complicity of the media.

We should not fear Gingrich; we should expose him. We need to remain vigilant, and see him as an example of everything that America isn't.

It is my hope that by exposing Gingrich's political terrorism, the great American democratic ideals and the better judgment of the vast majority of Americans will prevail.

First Amendment Courage

2010-08-24T19:25:00.001-04:00

The self-righteous right is dead wrong that a Muslim community center 2 blocks from the site of the former World Trade Center dishonors the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attack. The mere suggestion that our Constitutional rights be suspended in this case actually dishonors those who perished as well as all Americans.

The purpose of rights in America is to protect people from exactly this type of "mob rule". The Constitution specifically protects individual liberties from the "tyranny of the majority" in instances such as these. Of what value is a right if you cannot exercise it?

Some "compromises" suggest that even though they have the right to build the community center, they should choose to build it elsewhere. Let's apply the same "reasoning" to the second amendment right to bear arms. The right would howl if we said that they have the right to bear arms, but since some people don't want them to have guns, that they should choose to not have them. Or, in another example, how absurd would it be to ask minorities to not exercise their right to vote in the South out of reverence for those who died fighting for the Confederacy? Ignorance of Constitutional principles and intolerance of others are simply not acceptable reasons to deny Americans our freedom.

We cannot let the 9/11 terrorists change America by making us willing to give up our First Amendment. If we allow the terrorists to change our beliefs, to make us blink, then all of the 9/11 victims will have died in vain. If we don't let them build their community center, then the terrorists win.

We must use this opportunity to show our resolve as Americans to live by our founding principles and to demonstrate to the world that we take our freedom seriously.

How the Rich Stay Rich: Change the Law

2010-04-14T18:17:00.005-04:00

The Story Pirates puppets do a great job explaining the symbiotic relationship between Republicans and Wall Street bankers to defraud the American public through "deregulation".

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

It's explained so simply that children (or even Teabaggers) can understand how deregulation works against the common good!

Tea Party Taking On Role of Brown Shirts

2010-03-18T12:40:00.014-04:00

Right Wing Crazies & Tea Party United Against Health Reform

2010-03-03T07:39:00.005-05:00

Right wing crazies, teabaggers, and Republicans are united in their hatred of Health Reform. It's not really fair to equate Republicans with the klan, however, because most Republicans don't wear their hoods out in public.

Notice the half-confederate, half-US flag...showing that for some, the Civil War never really ended.

Republican Contempt for the American People

2010-03-02T08:05:00.007-05:00

Senator Bunning to the millions of unemployed Americans: "Tough shit!"

Later, Bunning flipped the middle finger outside his office in the Senate to those who questioned him about his filibuster.

His and the Republicans' blatant hatred of the American people should not be censored from news broadcasts for being offensive. It must be reported exactly as it happened precisely because it is so offensive. Americans have a right to know when a public servant in our government is so callous, which supersedes broadcasting protocol.

Will it shock viewers? Yes... and it should! It is the duty of the media to accurately inform us of such behavior.

Bunning did not work alone, however, to block passage of a bill to extend unemployment and insurance benefits to the men, women, and children in the families of the unemployed. Other Republican Senators took up this cause and continued the filibuster while he took breaks. This clearly was a planned GOP operation.

We never have to look very far to see examples of Republican contempt for the American people.

Don't like corporate welfare? Republicans have a gesture for you.
Want health care reform? Let Bunning give you the GOP response.
Do you want government to work for regular people? Republicans speak with the same voice on these and other issues: Tough Shit!

So the next time a Republican asks for your vote, tell them what they've been telling America, and return their gesture!

Democrats Need to Stand Up

2010-03-02T07:57:00.006-05:00

American Independents and Democrats are out of patience. House and Senate Democrats need to stand up and pass health care reform now.

The worst thing Democrats can do is delay the final passage of the health reform bill with bureaucratic fussing or by tending to 'procedural' matters. (Imagine John Kerry on CSPAN giving a nuanced lecture on procedural protocol circa 1831-1845.)

The Republicans and the conservatively biased media have controlled this debate long enough.

Republicans have so far been successful at making the Democratic Congress appear ineffective by blocking every attempt to pass a bill. They have dominated the media insisting that health care reform will be a disaster.

That's why Democrats need to slam dunk this right in the Republicans' faces. It would reveal that it's the Republicans who are ineffective because they were powerless to stop the bill that they claimed for so long would destroy America.

Call, fax, or email your Senators and Representative and tell them to pass health reform now. Is your representative a Republican? Even better! Contact them anyway - and savor the moment.
republican contempt, GOP, conservatives, neoconservative, shame on republican obstructionist

Boehner vs. Beohner

2010-03-01T10:56:00.000-05:00

The neo-conservative walking talking-point (and village idiot) John Boehner is shown here hard at work discrediting himself for our amusement.

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

I used to think that Republicans and Conservatives were clueless about their rampant hypocrisy. Now I believe they embrace it.

Thanks to The Rachel Maddow Show for putting this together.

Check the Level of GOP Hypocrisy Today

2010-03-01T10:20:00.013-05:00

click for larger image

(It doesn't really change every day; Republican hypocrisy is off the scale every day!)

I used to think that Republicans were unable to sense their own hypocrisy.

Now I believe that they embrace it!

Going Rogue - "My Struggle" (spoof)

2010-03-01T09:46:00.000-05:00

From the Back Cover:

Praise for "Going Rogue, My Struggle"

Sean Hannity says "If you enjoyed how Bush's neo-conservative policies destroyed the economy, you'll love the same tired rhetoric spewed from the fresh face of Sarah Palin."

Sarah Palin speaks up for regular Americans in her new book "Going Rogue" with clever insights like "We eat therefore we hunt!" Who doesn't enjoy some wolf steaks sportingly shot from a helicopter?

"I like someone who can understand what it feels like to shoot a man in his face." - former VP Dick "Birdshot" Cheney.

"What Cheney said goes double for me!" - Republican Senator Larry "Wide Stance" Craig, quoted from a stall in an airport men's room.

"Leaving office was the best thing for Alaska." No arguments here.

Sarah Palin would like to leave you with her admonishment to the Press to "Quit makin' things up!"

You first, Ms. Palin. You first!