Both Republicans and Democrats jabber a lot about jobs, even when times are relatively good. When times are bad the talk turns into a nasty shite-storm. The mantra for both sides is America can’t compete if we don’t [fill in the blank]. But here’s a dirty little secret: America can’t effectively compete regardless of which ideology you prefer.
Tag Archives: democrats
The Limbaugh Fight: Will the Winner Get an Asterisk in the Record Book?
Let’s get this straight. In my opinion, Rush Limbaugh was wrong. He was wrong in calling a young woman a slut and prostitute. He was insincere, at best, in his multiple apologies. He was wrong – or deliberately lying – about salient information covering contraception.
He’s done this many times before. Yet, the Dittohead Nation always answers the clarion calls to defend him and their other conservative heroes with a scorched earth policy comprised of, “it was those dirty (liberals, leftists, socialists, communists, Nazis, or secular humanists, take your pick) “made me do it” and a series of “heartfelt” apologies that are anything but.
Rush Limbaugh, The Man With No Toes
Rush Limbaugh has an uncanny knack for shooting himself in the foot every time he speaks – which is about as often as a continuous-fire Gatling gun with an inexhaustible supply of ammo. Quite frankly, I believe the man has no toes left. He lost the shriveled pea in his head long ago. Thank God, the rattling was driving me crazy.
Rush likes to exercise his First Amendment Right to free speech with extreme prejudice. He’s allowed to do that. The Constitution only talks about free speech. It says nothing about stupid speech. He can insult as much as he likes and he’d be legally right. Morally right is something with which Rush has only a nodding acquaintance.
In the panoply of things he’s said about others and that others have said about him, calling someone a slut and prostitute is pretty tepid. I’m sure George Carlin’s advice would be, “Hey, they’re only words man. They won’t hurt you.”
I agree. In fact, people have called me much worse and I didn’t get mad about it. It goes with the territory. But then, I have rhino-like skin and am very poorly socialized. I also like to piss off people like Rush and The Dittohead Nation, so any verbal havoc I can raise is icing on the cake baby. Still, I know others aren’t so thick-skinned and will be outraged when he says stupid things.
When is a Nazi Not a Nazi?
PICK ONE DAMMIT! - Is Obama a Nazi, a Socialist, or a Communist. If you're going to call people names, at least pick an ideological position and stick with it.
When is a Nazi not a Nazi? Apparently after you parse your words closely enough to find a lame loophole to avoid what you said. Like Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Stupidville), for example.
It’s distressingly easy to find Democrats calling Republicans Nazis and Republicans calling Democrats both Nazis and socialists (Damn, I wish they’d get that straight). As expected, the recent calls for civility in the national discourse lasted about as long as it takes to call someone a Nazi or socialist.
Well, DUH.
I’m a believer in the George Carlin School of Linguistics – they’re only words. If you’re a politician and you can’t overcome your rage at being called a name – which in this case are perfectly acceptable definitions of political ideology – then you shouldn’t be in politics.
How did these particular, common words end up being so offensive?
Because people use them with meaning that aren’t there. Obama is not a socialist. In fact, for a lot of people he isn’t even liberal. The Boehner Boys aren’t Nazis either (for one thing Nazis were efficient and took pride in being called Nazis). BTW, there are other code words twisted into new meanings. “Liberal” is one of the worst epithets in the conservative insult arsenal. Dems prefer “tea baggers” with almost equal vigor.
It’s a basic tenet of communications theory that if you say something long enough, it becomes “true”. And boy, howdy these get tossed around like candy at a pedophile parade.
Click photo for larger
They’re almost always created as lies, or at least gross exaggerations of the truth. The problem is that people soak them up and begin to give the words their own off-topic narratives to “prove” their label fits. It’s a good political ploy – distract the great unwashed with some kernels of improperly named ideas and then step back and watch things roll. It’s one hell of a lot easier than actually offering alternatives or explaining your position when in fact, there isn’t one…you (insert epithet here).
It’d be useful if politicians didn’t do that and really great if the plebes called them out on it. But, I reckon that’s about as likely as the recent goofy “solutions” for preventing lunatics from shooting at people actually working.
America’s problem isn’t civility – it’s a willful refusal to own what you say.
First, everyone buy a dictionary. It’s an invaluable tool here – that is if you can read.
Second, own what you say. If you proclaim someone a socialist, make sure Karl Marx would’ve used the word in the same way. And all you faux Nazi accusers, tell me Hitler wouldn’t have cheered on the continuance of his 1000-year Reich as the best thing since sliced brot.
But above all, stop parsing words to prove you didn’t say what you so obviously did say. It’s unbecoming, divisive, and stupid.
Mr. Carlin, sorry we didn’t get your punchline. We’re a slow-learning bunch.
- Congressman Fails Civility Test by Comparing Republicans to Nazis [Video] (gawker.com)
- Democratic lawmaker: ‘I did not compare Republicans to Nazis’ (thehill.com)
- Let me just pile on Steve Cohen (D, TN-08) here. (redstate.com)
- Alex Scrivener: New Tone: Dem Compares GOP to Nazis During ObamaCare Repeal Speech (breitbart.tv)
- Megyn Kelly: Fox News Pundits Don’t Make Nazi References (huffingtonpost.com)
- Hypocrite, Liar, Congressional Progressive Caucus Member Steve Cohen compares Republicans to Nazis – Wouldn’t that be the pot calling the kettle black? (pumabydesign001.wordpress.com)
- Tennessee Democrat stands by Nazi remarks (sfgate.com)
Thanks for Giving it The Old College Try PolitiFacts
LIAR, LIAR, HEALTH CARE ON FIRE - PolitiFacts makes the stunning discovery that the biggest lie of 2010 was, "a government takeover of health care." Who knew!
If there’s one year-end task that’s most difficult, it must be compiling the many Most of the Year, Best of the Year, Stupidest of the Year lists. Let’s face it, the modern world is a target-rich environment of cheese. Americans – especially those whom Fox News makes stupid – are addicted to these things. It gives everyone the chance to voice the opinion that whoever picked the list is a dead-wrong ass cake and there’s nothing Americans like more than eating their ass cake and having it too.
BTW, Mark Zuckerman as Time’s Man of the Year? Puhleeze! Either of the LoJoHos – LiLo or ScarJo - would be better choices. Then again, Zuckerman would easily win a contest against Kim Kardashian as Biggest Ass of the Year so everything evens out.
But the hardest of the hard, (Actually, that could be a spectacular list too…may I nominate Ron Jeremy?) 
is bipartisan PolitiFact’s choice of Lie of the Year. Damn! These guys are brave. The balls of a Wall Street bull, or at least the balls of a Wall Street CEO! As outrageous as Tony Hayward equipped with a microphone.
So without further ado – drum roll please – PolitiFact’s 2010′s Lie of the Year is… A government takeover of health care!
(Sound of crickets…)
THEY PROTEST, YOU DECIDE - A woman protesting the take over of government health care displays the reason why she's one of the viewers Fox News made stupid.
A government takeover of health care? Of all the stupid, idiotic, patently false utterances of 2000-fricking-10, that was the best you could come up with? For Chrissakes, you couldn’t swing a dead cat without hitting a lie this year. There was an election dammit! There wasn’t an election ad during the entire race that didn’t kill a hard-on with its lies.
Still, the PolitiFact’s survey did speak a truth. It recognized that in a lying-ass bumper crop of a lying year there were clear winners and those clear winners where The Party Couldn’t Talk Straight™.
It’s not that Democrats didn’t spout their own share of truthiness and bald face lies, they just used a little more finesse – sort of putting a little English on the 8-ball to grab defeat from the jaws of victory. When Republicans smacked Dems in the face with the Putrid Mackerel of Lying Bay™, the Democrats most often just genuflected and said, “Thank you sir, may I have another?”
Ten minutes later Fox News would cut in with breaking news. “Hey Brian. Republican Minority God, Mitch McConnell, has just announced that Democrats tried to coerce him into a sexually deviant behavior called, um, I’m not sure how to pronounce the word…bipartisanship – I’ll just use gay for short so as not to confuse our viewers. He said he only escaped by fighting off the gang of socialist zombies by beating them with his new $1500 wingtip shoes. After the break, we’ll go to Fox and Friends to report more details and you’ll decide they are the God’s honest truth. Back to you Gretchen!”
PolitiFacts, thanks for giving it the old college try.
- “Government Takeover Of Health Care” Is PolitiFact’s Lie Of The Year (mediaite.com)
- The Lie of the Year (washingtonmonthly.com)
- PolitiFact: Sanders telling the truth on vast income inequality (dailykos.com)
- PolitiFact: Truth Is Out There, Barely (thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com)
- The Most and Least Honest Pundits (Hint: Don’t Believe Glenn Beck) (dailyfinance.com)
- Think Fast …thinkprogress (ynative77.wordpress.com)
- Fox ‘straight news’ reporter James Rosen raises laughable Obama ‘security’ concern, lies about Obama’s promises (crooksandliars.com)
- It’s A Fact: Fox News Makes You Stupid (zwingliusredivivus.wordpress.com)
- Study confirms FOX News makes you stupid (nowpublic.com)
- The Crying Game (crooksandliars.com)
- Ron Jeremy Web Redemption with tosh.0 (ronjeremy.com)
- Palin Doubles Down on “Death Panels” (alternet.org)
- Was Health Bill a ‘Government Takeover’? (blogs.wsj.com)
