The Media Plan to Destroy Palin
AIM Column | By Cliff Kincaid | September 7, 2008
On C-SPAN, Kalb tried to suggest that Palin and the Republicans were trying to score political points by attacking the media.
I was on C-SPAN on Saturday talking about media coverage of the campaign. They double-teamed me, with “progressive” Faiz Shakir and former NBC News journalist Marvin Kalb arguing that Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin should start going on shows like NBC’s “Meet the Press” to prove she’s worthy of the nomination. I said that would be a trap and politically suicidal.
The announcement has since been made that Governor Palin will sit down with ABC’s Charles Gibson for an interview this week. Democrats will be counting on Gibson to spring a trap on the Republican vice-presidential candidate and make her look like an ignorant buffoon on some issue or another.
“Okay, Governor,” Gibson could say to Palin, “who is the president of (insert the name of some obscure country)?” And when she fails to come up with the right answer to one of a dozen or so questions, this will be blown up by Gibson and the rest of the media into another “scandal” about whether she’s prepared to be vice-president. The game plan is obvious.
But nobody should underestimate Palin, a journalist herself before she went into politics. She should be able to handle any barbs sent her way. More than most, she should understand the journalism “profession” and its liberal bias.
But there should be no doubt there is a plan underway to “get” her.
On C-SPAN, I had done my homework on Faiz Shakir and noted a couple times that, rather than being a media “watchdog,” as he was advertised, he is a former researcher for the Democratic National Committee. He is now with the George Soros-funded Center for American Progress, which includes people from the Clinton Administration, the John Edwards campaign, and various other Democratic Party offices.
Most of Shakir’s presentation consisted of questioning Palin’s record and beliefs and expressing a desire for more intense media scrutiny of her. This is the Obama campaign’s new line of attack, which is being faithfully echoed by the media.
If the McCain campaign decides to “Let Palin be Palin,” she should be able to handle the media sharks. It might even be amusing to see her put the liberal attack dogs in their place.
However, my view, even though I have absolutely no contacts with the McCain campaign, is that she should avoid some of the programs. I did agree that she may want to consider going on C-SPAN, where the moderators have a reputation of being more even-handed and there is a commitment to letting people speak in complete sentences.
While going on the air with Charles Gibson is a calculated risk, there is absolutely no reason for Palin to jump into the water with the media sharks from NBC News, a network that has increasingly been viewed as being solidly in the Obama camp.
A Rasmussen poll found that 51 percent of the people believe that reporters are trying to “hurt” Palin. Twenty-four percent said the stories made them more likely to vote for McCain. The backlash has begun. If Gibson gangs up on her, his reputation will also suffer. This will be a critical test.
Palin said in her convention speech, “…here’s a little news flash for all those reporters and commentators: I’m not going to Washington to seek their good opinion. I’m going to Washington to serve the people of this country. Americans expect us to go to Washington for the right reasons, and not just to mingle with the right people.”
On C-SPAN, Kalb tried to suggest that Palin and the Republicans were trying to score political points by attacking the media. I said that the Republicans were just trying to defend themselves, and that they had every right to do so.
I also noted that the feeding frenzy was sparked by the Democratic website the DailyKos, which falsely claimed that Palin faked her last pregnancy and that the child wasn’t really hers. Shakir had spoken at the organization’s yearly convention, a fact he eventually conceded after prodding. The DailyKos is what started the liberal media’s preoccupation with her family life, and the pregnancy of her daughter.
Kalb talked as if the Constitution somehow required that she go on “Meet the Press.” This is complete nonsense, of course. In this day and age, the media consist of much more than little-watched Sunday talk shows. These programs are remnants of the old liberal media. She should treat these programs with care.
One caller to C-SPAN said Palin should go on “Meet the Press” when Obama agrees to face a grilling on the Rush Limbaugh radio program. That sounded fair. The call reminded us that Barack Obama has been very reluctant to go on “The O’Reilly Factor” on Fox News. In the first installment of that interview, O’Reilly managed to force Obama to concede, in effect, that his judgment about the effect of the U.S. military troop surge in Iraq was just wrong.
According to Michael Calderone of Politico, the McCain campaign is getting about 80-100 requests a day from news organizations for Palin interviews. Is she supposed to comply with all of those? Nonsense.
It is clear that the media elite won’t be satisfied until she appears on the shows that they deem important and appropriate. Those are programs, not surprisingly, dominated by liberals.
You can’t please the liberal media. Consider that some commentators say that, as a candidate, she won’t have enough time to spend with her kids. At the same time, they want her to spend more time answering questions on their shows and giving media interviews. It is “gotcha” journalism designed to lure her into a trap. This fact is as obvious as their liberal bias. No matter what she does, she loses.
I pointed out on C-SPAN that Biden has been a regular on the Sunday talk shows and journalists still won’t quiz him about his history of plagiarism. If you’re a Democrat in good standing with the liberal media elite, you will be treated deferentially, as Biden is.
In addition to plagiarism, Biden also has a record of making off-color remarks about people of color. He even made offensive comments about Obama himself, declaring him bright and clean. Still, the media stand in awe of his “foreign policy experience,” when in fact he avoided military service with a series of deferments, and his experience consists mostly of talking in the Senate and visiting foreign countries at taxpayer expense.
On Sunday, September 7, in what was billed as “his first Sunday morning interview since accepting the Democratic Party’s nomination for Vice President,” Biden went “one-on-one” with Tom Brokaw and was once again spared any embarrassing questions about his shameful history of plagiarism, which many members of the public are still not familiar with.
Interestingly, Biden was quick to tell Brokaw that Palin has an obligation to appear on his program. It sounds like a set-up. And it is.
Jonathan Beecher Field, an assistant professor of English at Clemson University, wrote a very interesting article recently for InsideHigherEd.com about Biden’s “track record of intellectual dishonesty.” This is what plagiarism is all about.
Referring to the plagiarism in Biden’s career, he said that while he would vote for Obama, “Biden’s dishonesty matters to me in two ways. It suggests something of Biden’s character, indeed, in a realm more relevant to doing his job than was John Edwards’s philandering to his. The other reason is selfish. Now that Barack Obama has deemed a plagiarist worthy of the vice-presidency, it becomes more difficult for me to make the case in the classroom that plagiarism matters. More broadly speaking, Obama’s choice has made it harder for me, and for my colleagues across the United States, to defend the principles that form the foundation of scholarship.”
Why don’t the journalists on “Meet the Press” and other shows bring this up? It’s because they favor the Obama/Biden ticket and don’t have the intellectual honesty of Professor Beecher Field.
I would recommend that Palin go on some of these liberal shows only after the reporters demonstrate their even-handedness. For example, ask Barack Obama about his communist mentor, Frank Marshall Davis, and ask Joe Biden about the plagiarism that not only ended one of his runs for the presidency but which interrupted his law school days when he was caught plagiarizing then.
Another topic for Biden could be his alleged Catholicism. Biden wears this on his sleeve. He hopes it will attract votes. It was brought up briefly on Sunday’s “Meet the Press.” Biden claims to accept church teaching that life begins at conception but he votes to allow the destruction of that life through abortion. This might be seen by many as another example of a lack of intellectual honesty and integrity that exposes him as a phony Catholic.
I noticed recently that Mike Barnicle of MSNBC did a story about Biden, highlighting that he was an “Irish-Catholic” and a man of the people who rides a train. But Barnicle didn’t mention Biden’s clear disagreement with Catholic Church leaders on abortion policy. The Barnicle story also ignored Biden’s plagiarism, which is really not a surprise since Barnicle himself lost a job at the Boston Globe because of plagiarism.
This curious fact helps us understand the media double standard. How can Brokaw ask Biden about his plagiarism on “Meet the Press” when one of his colleagues, Mike Barnicle of NBC sister network MSNBC, was exposed for plagiarism?
The media pretend that they have high standards, but it is a double standard designed to benefit Democrats. The public is waking up to their political games.
Cliff Kincaid is the Editor of the AIM Report and can be reached at
307 Comments | Post a Comment
Excellent synopsis of what Democrats/Liberals receive from MSM versus Republicans or Conservatives. And in this case, it is a feeding frenzy as all these “unbiased” hacks try to outdo each other in attacking Sarah Palin.
What’s funny is when you put bias together with ignorance, it can be humorous, but also politically fortunate. One can easily see when the left is scared of a person, their attack dogs (MSM media) go berserk trying to slam the person (in this case Palin). Even the most biased person, if they have any brains, can see the blatant out of control pile on to discredit her. Yet these idiots are too stupid to figure out that as they do this, they help the person they are attacking, and harm the campaign of those for whom they work - Obama. Yet they can NOT see this as she gains, so they redouble their efforts to discredit her some more, while she gains some more.
Had McCain picked just a typical running mate, one could have expected after the Obama bounce that their bounce after St Paul would have perhaps brought both camps back to even again. If the media had not gone berserk with Palin, and with her just performance in St Paul, one could expect that McCain would be a few points ahead of Obama. But when you add the overtime work of the MSM to gang up on her, this bounce is just gaining and gaining and Obama is losing.
And as they observe this they go even more to town and it just continues to help the McCain campaign - lol.
But I agree with Kincaid, the McCain camp should be very very careful which arena they allow her to enter. These attack dogs are out to get her, and while so far they have helped rather than hurt, in the right arena, they can and will attempt to create a scandal to hurt her and they could be successful if they try to get her to make a gaffe and then run with it.
Frankly, I would let campaign professional talking heads do the shows, keep Sarah out on the campaign trail, and not let them have the opportunity to hurt her. Let them feed in their frenzy - as so far, the more they try to hurt the more they help. And that goes for McCain also. He should be very careful which arenas he enters, as he would be better to also let his pros do as much of this as possible.
Don’t you just love these liberal media idiots - the more they try to hurt the more they help. Maybe McCain should pay them as campaign aides?? Incredible!!
As usual Cliff, you’re right on point. Unfortunately, Palin will have to at some point run the gauntlet in the MSM but she should put it off a little longer to make sure she is ready. I have no doubt she can handle herself well enough. However, I would like to see her venture into more fair territory like Fox News first to get her feet wet. I do believe the MSM will attempt to stump her with absurd questions that no one cares about. They will try and fail.
I do find it remarkable that Obama finally went on the Factor where we all know Oreilly will definitely ask him the tough questions the MSM will never dare to do. I’ll be watching closely for the next 3 days to see Obama exposed even more. I though his answers on the surge exposed is lack of humility and his answers on Pakistan were extremely naive.
Jack
I agree. If they keep Palin on the campaign trail, where she’ll be dealing with people who think she’s great, the media will be forced to hit her with ugly questions every time they stick a mike and video recorder in her face at such appearances.
The media would look like the vicious, biased slime that they are, while Palin would probably pick up sympathy votes from those who understand what’s going on.
And this “experience” nonsense? Palin has more “executive experience” than Obama, Biden, OR McCain! Interesting that only Palin gets hit with this particular topic, while Obama skates. It’s possible that the media’s blatant bias will lose the election for Obama as voters realize they’re being blatantly manipulated. Does ANYONE enjoy the feeling that they’re being blatantly manipulated? I surely don’t.
Hopefully, Palin will present McCain with the opportunity to change his mind on ANWR, which would be icing on the cake.
Perhaps McCain’s financial problems will force him to concentrate his TV buys in the month before the election…and he has lots of ammunition against this “community organizer.”
But Obama will at least get Chicago, which produces machine-politics phonies such as he.
What in the devil is wrong with that idea..If she cannot stand up to Media..how then can she stand up against the enemy or the left or anyone for that matter. do you all think she is that weak..give me a break. what you all are missing here is your need to stand with party, rather than Allmighty G-d and the laws of the land as well. It is no secret that neither one wrote their speeches. and you can bet they were checked for approval first. Notice not one word on same sex marriage, illegal immigration, except to say we are all G-d’s children. Some that will get killed in future as tho McCAin said he would hand those bills to the states..knowing all three will continue..He has flip floped again and again. Same with taxes. How many know the IRS is a man made scam, not a Constitutional one? I have yet to see him or Obama the Muslim say one thing except to show America they are for this evil and all against our Constitution. We are to follow the laws of the land, and G-d’s laws first ! Did you even care to realize what Palin did not say? NO she went along with all McCain said. No one cares to go to the gov web and see who voted on what. McCain will leave the borders open, and amnesy for all, and the same sex marriage and abortion will continue along with the road map to hell in Israel..My name will not go on any of these against my G-d…G-d tells us no one sits on the fence..you are for HIM or against HIM. It is too bad that you love your party more than G-d. Your choice…Here we have a few good honest Constitutional men and you ignore them. to our destruction…In scripture it says..will I find faith in the world? but HE lets us know that what was will be and there is nothing new under the sun and that apostasy would be in the church. Like in the days of Noah were…HOW were they?? So sinful that G-d said HE repented that HE made men. and He destroyed them with water. This time it will be with fire…NO fear of G-d tho proverbs tells us fear of G-d is the beginning of Wisdom…Not much time to change your minds..HE is coming..Not Obama not McCain once said…I will enforce the Constitution. the Declaration of Independance, or the Bill of rights..How about that…so many just don’t care enough..and someday soon they will be so sorry..as the PC mindset is all they care about..and how they feel, so dumbed down they too have forgotten their G-d…Pretty sad…how much do you have to see and hear or until it hits your door step and it will…till you change your minds..
Do I hate McCain, NO,,do I hate Bush? NO…I hate the lawlessness!!!!!!!!
It took so long for Obama to be interviewed by O’Reilly, yet Palin is being pushed to be interviewed by the likes of Charles Gibson. The liberal media have been trying so hard at the game of “gotcha” with Sarah Palin that they are becoming bores. I want to know about the candidates attitudes about issues not about their families. I want to know about Obama’s association with Bill Ayers and what exactly a community organizer does? I would want to know why exactly a man who could get a 6 figure income chose to get involved with revolutionary work with a business suit on. The more I read about Obama, the more frightened I become…not to say that McCain is some sort of saint either..but Obama is more obvious with what he is saying about what he stands for—and it’s not pretty. He indeed has plans for this country…big plans… If Obama is elected, be ready to get a new flag for the USA that has hammers and sickles all over it…
Dear Cliff:
I am so proud of you, Cliff! You are a strong voice of TRUTH in an era of deception, lawlessness and blatant prejudice against all that is fair and decent. 
Keep up the great work! We are counting on you to not let go of exposing more of the TRUTH on Obama, Biden and the liberal media bias. We’re behind you all the way and remain extremely grateful for your effective and essential investigative reporting. Way to go!
Best,
Joyce S.
Kim Segar - I suggest she stay away from the left wing media not because I think she can not stand up to them, after all this is a woman who kills bears and moose for sport and meat. BUT when you have a left that is just looking to create a controversy and beat on her - why waste her time and everybody else’s time. What’s the point? Why hurt her chances to be VP because the leftists are looking for a way to make her stumble. Since the MSM can not play like adults, and instead are whining little kids, ignor them, or better yet, give them a time out and have them stand in the corner. Frankly a parents firm hand on their butts would be better but that is called child abuse now so the new PC term is a time out.
It is not surprising, but very telling, the vitriol that has been leveled at her because of her social beliefs.
I have been a believer and a worker, in my own way, for women’s equality in the workplace, under the law, etc., for many years.
It is strange now to see those who call themselves feminists denouncing a woman because she did, in fact, make choices about her life. It seems that abortion is the yardstick by which they measure women’s issues.
Why do we pay attention to the media? That is what surprises me. Yes, it is decidedly liberal on social issues - but they are not always against the Republicans - who are supposed to be conservative.
The media helped this administration take this country into the war in Iraq - the media has helped this administration to encourage, and continue to aid and abet illegal immigration. The media has not be upfront about all the damage done by our trade deals.
It doesn’t always come down on the liberal side - so why don’t we just tune them out and make our own decisions.
I, as usual, agree with you completely. We have seen this media bias escalate for years, and has now gotten to the point of being so far over the line one can’t tell where the line is anymore with these biased media outlets.
It is refreshing, to say the least, to have someone like you who is excellent at putting together these articles, very well researched, with common sense and honesty.
Hey, if somebody, whether media types or otherwise, comes along and do to Palin what the “swiftboaters” did to Kerry, so what? That’s how it is. That’s how the mindless partisans have chosen to play the game. Why should one side engage in gutter politics and the other side not return the favor? Even with the media - - until Fox News came along - - the other guys had been playing fairly nice. But, once the Over-Hannitized Fox News starts showing their favoritism - - why would anyone expect the other guys wouldn’t?
Maybe TV favors Obama? Radio certainly favors McCain. Maybe blacks favor Obama? The Christian Right certainly favors Palin. Maybe a dozen big city newspapers favor Obama? Hundreds of Red state, small-town newspapers favor McCain.
The membership of both political parties has allowed their minority extremists, looney lefties and rockheaded righties, to run their respective shows - - and this is what you get. Paralyzing polarization - - where no one is open-minded, objective, fair, or truly concerned with what’s best for the vast majority of moderate Americans.
So,hey, it is all the fault of Fox News…if they had not come along we would have nothing to watch on tv but gutter media and what they consider issues. That is really good to know…that everything was so great until Fox News came along to mess everything up for all that beautiful liberalism going on.
Standing up for something other than liberalism these days is getting more difficult because they all say the basic same things, like it has been rehearsed and memorized by all of those professing to be liberals, and trying to talk with common sense is like talking to wallpaper.
Vox…it is my fear that they will ‘generate’ the gaffe, whether she is or is not interviewed by them. On the other hand, her popularity is such, that any attempt by the press to sabotage this woman is going to backfire. In other words, the MSM are inadvertantly going to propel McCain/Palan into the White House. And Lady Texan, from another Texan, you are right, but it is already being done. Look at all the alternative media…I think there are more people out there getting their News far more than msm news shows or even Fox News. Forget the Newspapers, most are hanging on by a thread because their readership is so low. Do you read the Houston Chron, The S.A. Express, or Dallas (shudder) Morning News? I haven’t bought a Newspaper in years. I don’t know anyone with a subscription.
We will hear about the trashing of Palen though. And I do believe it will back-fire louder than a model T on steroids.
O’Reilly was a farce on his first facing with Obama. I watched it specifically to see him “bully talk” his guests, as is his style…
Talk louder, talk-over them, don’t give them a chance to finish a sentence without interrupting.. LOL THAT WAS NOT O’Reilly when he spoke WITH (not OVER) Barck Hussein Obama (aka Barry Soetoro).
O’Reilly was either marching to someone else’s drum or he was “star struck” with ‘awe’ with B.O.
I won’t bother to watch anymore dumb-struck O’Reilly with Obama. Seems he fits right in with the liberal crowd with Obama on his show.
What a farce.
To a.J. Post #12:
Dirty, gutter politics always existed - - but they increased to a new level during Clinton’s presidency and the Republican’s impeachment efforts against him - - made boldface by the nasty Bush II campaign against McCain during the 2000 primary season - - and drastically worsened by the draft-dodging and Swiftboating-type crap during the 2004 campaign. Dirty politics begets dirty politics. Simple enough.
Fox News first came on the scene during the second Clinton administration - - and - - to get and keep an audience - - they followed a contrarian route to the existing network and cable news channels. So - - if you want to call the existing TV media at that time “liberal” - - then the “contrarian” position would be opposite, or “conservative” - - and that’s the way Fox News chose to go! It’s all about using controversy and conflict to gain viewership and, ultimately, profit! (And, of course, you really don’t want to try to sell the same stuff every other guy is selling, do you?)
So - - it’s “pick your poison”! But, until Fox News came along - - the others were all pretty similar in their perspectives, whether “liberal” or not. Once Fox came along and actively took the contrarian “conservative” perspective - - the others had to begin to redefine themselves and relocate a “niche” that they believed would engender greater viewership - - and profit! MSNBC became the “anti-Fox” - - and the others found niches in-between.
The result: Now, any individual’s TV media choices can be matched up with the level and direction of his own personal biases and partisanship.
Like too many other things - - when Fox and MSNBC came onto the scene - - the pie had to be cut into too many pieces for business to go on as usual - - so, like with dirty politics, generating and reporting controversy and conflict became the TV media’s road to success - - rather than carrying on like before.
It’s all about the money - - and partisan media are clearly an outgrowth of the increasingly slimy, provocative, often misrepresentative and propagandistic crap being passed off as “politics” or “campaign politics” by the two major political parties. Personally, I do believe the Republican Party and Fox News are more responsible than the Democratic Party and other media outlets for pushing at least the leading edge of pissy partisanship - - for profit, of course!
So, pick the medium you like and like the medium you pick! (I’m totally an American League and Yankees guy, myself - - and I wouldn’t be caught dead watching a National League game - - ever!)
I agree with you about how O’Reilly has been hosting his program the past year. I have been getting tired of watching and hearing these things go on during this program. O’Reilly appears to be all gaga about Barack Obama for some reason - I guess he wants him on his show and finally got it - but my thoughts are big deal. O’Reilly constantly excuses everything that anyone says that may even seem like it might be criticism of Obama and talks like he personally knows the man and what he thinks and why he does and says anything. That is irksome and tiresome as well as his interruptions and arguments with anyone who tries to have a differing opinion…and his buddy system going with that Doocy character is beyond my understanding as well…some things are better left unknown I guess. I have not and will not watch Obama on the Factor. I have heard and seen all I want to out of this person and have no desire to watch this drivel.
TK, the liberal MSM has turned the term swiftboating into a pejorative yet for all intents and purposes the swiftboaters were right about Sen. Kerry. As a matter of fact, the worst about Kerry was never brought up just as the worst about Pres. Clinton wasn’t brought up in his impeachment. Now a fair term is Borking, one that I’m sure you’ll disagree with.
I’ve seen partisan liberal Democratic demagogues call Gov. Palin a whore because she didn’t abort her Down Syndrome child, didn’t insist her daughter get an abortion, didn’t stay home with her children but served in public office, and that her youngest child was actually her daughter’s. And for all the foregoing she’s also called a traitor to women. Yet I haven’t heard of one of the major news denizens who accused her of the latter apologize now that the truth is known. I guess that’s not in the liberal lexicon.
Furthermore, nothing was said about Sen. Biden’s taking 2 hour train rides to work leaving his children behind after his wife was killed in a tragic car accident, which by the way I actually respect him for as he provided for his children and served his country in the Senate. So, is there a double standard with liberals?
To carolyn richardson, Post #14:
You gotta’ be kiddin’?!?!
I happen to be a fan of O’Reilly’s views on the “Culture War” - - but he’s generally a bombastic, egomaniacal, self-important, self-aggrandizing and disrespectful blowhard most of the time - - and he was actually testier with Obama in the first 7-8 minutes of the interview shown on Thursday than he usually is - - and I thought, at times, he was clearly disrespectful, or at least, very impolite, towards Obama who is, afterall, whether you personallu like him or not, a candidate for President who received 18,000,000 votes during the primary process!
If O’Reilly had done exactly, exactly the same to the Princess of the North - - you would have been fit to be tied!
Mindless partisanship.
To T. K. - response to your response to my post:
Of course you would think that about Fox News…yes, you are right in it’s all about the money statements of all of them…but we did - like it or not - need to have a news media with a voice that did not sway to liberals or conservatives as a lifestyle like so many of them do now, especially.
And I wouldn’t be caught watching any other team but the Atlanta Braves. Go Braves!
It is nice that we do have choices about what we want to watch or not to watch and we have the privilege of being able to have our own opinions and beliefs and are able to express them like this.
OK, yes Fox News found a niche - Republican (I won’t say conservative because the Republican party is not conservative), viewpoint and it worked.
Many of us were so tired of having liberal social issues pushed down our throats, we thought this was just great.
I even used to listen, religiously, to Rush. I was so thrilled that someone was pointing out the fallacies of government, when the Clinton’s were in office.
My brother told me not to be to carried away by him that he was just a Republican mouthpiece. I found that out when Pres. Bush was elected and he was such a big cheerleader.
I don’t think it is about money - at least I don’t think the politicians are divided on the money. Of course, each one would like to be top dog, but push comes to shove and it’s time to vote with their corporate buddies - they can’t wait to sell this country and it’s people down the drain.
The only reason we have such divided politics is because that way they can keep us all locked into our respective ‘parties’. Just look at much of the talk, ‘yeah, I know McCain is not a good choice, but you don’t want Obama or a Democrat’
Or the Democrats will say, ‘yes, Obama, may have some murky connections, but do you really want some right wing fanatics or Republican in there.’
We are evenly divided, that way the corporations and globalists can be sure their people will get back in office - no matter the party. Does anyone really think corporations don’t take measures to be sure their people get in office?
So then Americans go to the polls and vote for one or the other, no choice really, and for pretty much the same lawmakers, and they continue on their way doing exactly with the globalists and corporations want done.
That’s why the media pounced on Ron Paul with both feet as well as the other poltiicians. He had a real message and God forbid that his ideas got heard. God forbid a third party actually got launched. It would upset their applecart - big time.
Does anyone really, really think that Obama is going to stop the movement of jobs overseas?
Does anyone really, really think that McCain is going to stop illegal immigration.
Does anyone think Obama is going to stop the war in Iraq?
Does anyone really think McCain would stop abortion, even if he could?
The answer is no to all of them. There is too much money riding on all of them for any major change - except amnesty, maybe.
No, we no longer subscribe to the Dallas Morning News. My husband loves the puzzle, it was a part of his morning, coffee/cigarette/puzzle ritual on the front porch. When they named the ‘illegal alien (sorry, immigrant)’ as Man of the Year, I have forbidden it to come into the house. He sometimes goes to the coffeeshop and buys his copy, works the puzzle and leaves it there. He does read it as well, but it doesn’t make him as angry as it does me.
One thing we need to note, small town newspapers are quite often corporate owned as well. Yes, they might espouse Republican leanings, but make no mistake, they are going to push coporate leanings above all.
A small town newspaper I know was family owned for 3 generations. A corporation made an offer and the local paper did not want to sell. The corporation then opened an office, began giving free advertising, free papers, and even threw free papers to everyone in the city. The writing was on the wall, and the local owners sold out.
There is a large corporation headquartered in the city, it was a local business grown huge. They employ a lot of illegals. I visit there regularly and for two weeks running, the ‘man on the street’ question showed 3 out of 5 of the interviewees as illegal aliens.
Even the ‘citizen of the week’ one week, was an illegal alien.
Now that is subtle corporatism.
respond to a.J. Post #12
You are right on. I’ve been around since post-Depression, FDR days and this is the dirtiest politics from the liberals I’ve ever seen. I wish
all would go to a site I came across:
http://americandaily.com/article/23030
Subject: Democrat Operatives Vow to Cause Palin to Resign Article by Sher Zieve, 3 Sep 08.
I see it didn’t light up, but I typed it in the TO: address line and got it. It is quite a scary
article, and I called Palin’s office and gave them the site, to warn her.
What I don’t understand is why the Federal Election Commission still allows ACORN to do ANY
voter registration, since they’ve had a long history (with indictments/jail time for offenders)
of voter registration fraud. How can they still be allowed to engage in any voter-registration?
If it hasn’t been scrubbed from search engines,
I looked up ACORN voter registration fraud, and
ACORN, CSI ties. You can look along those words and find some scary stuff.
I used to be in th 3-6% approval rating of Congress, but after researching Barack Hussein Obama, aka Barry Soetoro… I go with McCain. Well, I really leaned toward him, even being independent, since Duncan Hunter and Ron Paul got no press and dropped out.
But I DO admire the Republicans for down dropping down to the scum level of such dirty
politics. That shows integrity and class.
TK you are amazing. Anothers point of view in the eyes of TK
Mindless Partisanship
Paralyzing Polarization
So Fox News came along and upset the applecart. They gave a ‘gasp’ another view and confused the masses and made the sky fall down in big chunks on to everyones head because suddenly the folks watching the news saw they had been getting the Newscasters interpretation of the News instead of just the News, and heaven forbid should the indoctrination be interrupted by other points of view as well as JUST THE NEWS. They also got the News that the News casters had previously determined wasn’t News the public should hear. OMG! and it wreaked havoc with the World causing mindless partisanship and paralyzing polarization!
Now we have the rest of the story according to TK.
kim Segar, you sound like one of the super Christians I know who wants a Party of God to rule America. Personally, as a conservative Christian I’m not in favor of a Christian controlled America, but rather a Christian influenced America. I doubt you’ll understand the difference though. While there’s no “wall of separation of church and state” in the Constitution, we do have a prohibition of the government respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise of religion; yet I get the impression you’d favor a religiously run government.
As for the IRS being man made, you’re right, and so is the Constitution man made. And while I view the IRS as the Infernal Retribution Sackers, it is constitutional according to Article 2 Section 2 which gives the president the authority to set up the treasury department along with the IRS and the Sixteenth Amendment. Yes, I’m aware of all the arguments against the Sixteenth Amendment just as I’ aware of the fact that the arguments have been rejected by every court hearing them. And while I believe the latter should be repealed, it’s binding until repealed. Neither situation is in violation of Biblical tenets; therefore Christians are required to obey the tax laws. But in our form of government we also have the right to change our laws and it’s one I believe needs changing.
But there is a Biblical admonition that I believe you have ignored. That is the one against bearing false witness. McCain and Palin have said they are against same sex marriage; McCain is against open borders but in favor of controlled immigration and legalizing those here illegally, and McCain did take an explicit oath to defend the Constitution against all enemies both foreign and domestic when he took the oath of commissioning as a US military officer. Also, you break that commandment, or is it a suggestion for you, when you call Obama a Muslim. That he has a Muslim father, a Muslim name, and was taught in his early years in a public school populated mostly by Muslims in a Muslim nation doesn’t change the fact that he accepted Jesus Christ as his savior. Maybe you believe one is born into a religion and can’t change. Is that according to God’s word or do you think you’re exempt from bearing false witness?
You make quite an expression about God, but do you really believe in His word? You certainly show no love or compassion, just judgment against all who don’t agree with your political agenda. There are a few political questions such as abortion, marriage, and integrity that are clear cut in God’s word, but you’d seemingly damn others for subjects that are not so clearly delineated. I think you need to take stock of your faith.
McCain may not be for ‘open borders’, anyone who is for rewarding illegal lawbreakers with citizenship is an open border advocate.
He did take an oath to uphold the consitution - that means the legal laws of this nation. Why hasn’t he been speaking out for their enforcement all along?
It is splitting hairs to say he is not pro illegal.
Vote for John McCain because you are afraid not to - but don’t delude yourself. That’s the problem and that is what bothers me about partisan politics. We work really hard to convince ourselves - and others - that there is something good about these people.
Simply admit that we have been pushed into a corner with the only choice is terrible and worse.
LadyTexan, A small candle of light ye be. You put The Constitution of this Nation first and foremost above the Scammers. God Bless you.
Politicians are like the puppets in a shadow play. They are controlled by invisible agents—in a shadow play, by human beings, who move the puppets and speak for them; in politics by huge corporations, which buy them off, by contributing to their PAC or campaign funds.
Americans are too stupid the understand the fact that the puppet is only a puppet.
hey kim: better get those medication levels checked.
you are getting even kookier than the rest of the inmates around here…
To Julie O., Post #22:
Anyone who doesn’t see mindless partisanship and paralyzing polarization on the outer fringes of both major political parties is simply not looking or is incapable of being honest. This country is just about equally divided into two camps - - and you might just as well call them Red and Blue - - and any election advantage one side or the other may get is usually infinitesimal. Rarely are there any “mandate” elections anymore, e.g., Johnson beating Goldwater 64% - 36% in 1964. The interests of the great middle, moderate, majority are no longer the focus of either party. Both parties are controlled by their own extremist minorities within - - maybe 20% of each party’s membership. Consequently, we Independents are stuck having to pick between the lesser of two evils - - or voting for a minor party candidate - - or writing in a name - - or skipping voting altogether. Party politics, as currently constituted, have made themselves useless to, probably, somewhere between 40% and 60% of the electorate.
And, as far a Fox News goes - - I generally watch O’Reilly every night and usually even catch part of his radio program daily. Otherwise, I find most of their personnel too personally goofy, geeky or eccentric for my taste - - and I find Hannity to be one of the most dislikable, distasteful and self-righteous people I’ve ever seen or heard on TV or radio - - regardless of politics. Period. If Fox chooses to take a conservative or Republican perspective on everything, that’s find with me. Everybody and every organization is as free as the next to peddle as much malarkey as they see fit. And, besides, I can usually detect media bullshit when it’s being passed out - - so, regardless where it’s coming from - - it’s only worth a grain of salt.
For me - - I try to listen directly to as many of the candidates’ speeches as possible - - and I try to find out, on my own, as much as I can about the candidates’ backgrounds - - and I look most closely at the one who comes closest to representing my own political philosophy and with whom I might be most comfortable with on a personal and professional level. I couldn’t care less for what the talking heads are selling personally - - since they’re all doing what they do for money - - not principle!
As far as media commentators go - - if I HAD to pick one and stick to him (or her) - - my choice would be Lou Dobbs.
But - - I switch around - - listen to all of them - - and feel disappointment that our citizens are, for the most part, unfortunately subjected to mindless partisanship and paralyzing polarization in wherever direction they should happen to turn.
We’ve become the “Divided” States of America because of it.
The one thing I haven’t seen addressed is any of the commentaries—in blogs, articles, or even reader comments (is it self-evident?)—is the idea that the appearance of Sarah Palin reads kind of like a “return of the repressed.” If you ever doubted that the Republican party really had such a troglodyte up their sleeve, or that the “family values” platform masks an irrational fear of sex, there she is: lacquered, conventionally feminine, “sexy” yet authoritarian, provocative and castrating at exactly the same time. The “desirable” woman is the one who encourages “abstinence training?” Why wasn’t she dressed as a dominatrix, which would’ve really brought the point home? This is precisely what she offers—what she stands for—the desire for/and negation of libidinal satisfaction. No wonder there was so much convention hysteria. Those people eat that stuff up. She is, in reality, “the return of repressed repression,” since we haven’t seen something like this in years. And of course, where are the suppressed libidinal impulses supposed to go? To war.
Fred,
You are too kind.
Eowyn,
Puppets is right - and they are really controlled by the same puppetmasters.
They always remind me of professional wrestlers. They go in front of the cameras and bombast and talk about how wonderful they are or how bad their opponents are. Yes, they would all like to be top dog, that’s for sure, but when it’s time for the charade to begin, they all play the parts assigned them by the one who pays the money.
TK,
It isn’t the extreme fringes that are causing this. There really is no difference in these people.
Think of the things that are destroying this country - outsourcing (globalization, so called free trade), illegal immigration, increasing size of government and growing government control over our lives, welfare as a way of life, and I will add involvement in the affairs of other countries.
All these things have been moving right along since Nixon went to China, before I’m sure, but I’m tracing what I remember. It hasn’t mattered what party has the WH, controls the congress, or if it is split, the agenda has moved right along.
Some of the things that some think are liberal or Democratic issues are really not. Think civil rights. That allowed the government to grow tremendously and to take more and more control of our lives, businesses, and education.
Think the war on drugs, same thing -
Welfare, we think that is a liberal issue, and that Democrats want to give money to the poor and the Republicans want to give to the rich. Actually, welfare (food stamps, government healthcare, free lunches, subsidized housing, etc), all takes money from taxpayers, but it ultimately ends up in the hands of corporations. The money for food stamps ends up with big agribusiness and corporation grocers. The money for housing ends up with construction companies and those who build low rent housing or own rent houses. Healthcare ends up in the hands of healthcare corporations and big pharmaceuticals, etc. Surely we see the fallacy of the charge that illegal immigration is a liberal issue.
This is truly a bi-partisan effort to take our money and put it ultimately in the hands of corporate donors - that donate to both parties.
Yes, we get our attention focused on women’s rights, equal rights, Presidential sex urges, etc., but that is just a diversion. That’s for our benefit and has nothing to do with what they are working on behind the scenes to keep the agenda of globalization and the destruction of the sovereignty of this country.
Oh David,
I’m thinking she pretty much personifies what women have wanted all along - the right to make their own choices about their own lives. But if her choices don’t mesh with the popular ‘feminists’ ideals, then surely something is wrong with her.
To say that sex comes with responsibilities and that one should refrain from sex until you are able and ready to take on those responsibilities, seems truly right to me.
Does abstinence always work - every time it is used. Nothing works if not used. Sex education in schools hasn’t been a stellar success, either.
No matter what the media, music, entertainment industry tries to tell you, there are consequences for our actions. Also, no matter what one might think, sex isn’t going away if you don’t partake of it early and often.
How many kids does she have? Doesn’t sound too repressed or sexless to me.
Could it be that some men are going to feel threatened by a truly liberated woman who makes choices for herself and tries to teach other women?
My goodness, think of the reprecussions to men if suddenly women decided they thought enough of themselves to not have sex willy-nilly, or with men who were not responsible, or outside marriage. That would mean a lot of males would have to grow up and become men.
Fred,
You are too kind.
Eowyn,
Puppets is right - and they are really controlled by the same puppetmasters.
They always remind me of professional wrestlers. They go in front of the cameras and bombast and talk about how wonderful they are or how bad their opponents are. Yes, they would all like to be top dog, that’s for sure, but when it’s time for the charade to begin, they all play the parts assigned them by the one who pays the money.
TK,
It isn’t the extreme fringes that are causing this. There really is no difference in these people.
Think of the things that are destroying this country - outsourcing (globalization, so called free trade), illegal immigration, increasing size of government and growing government control over our lives, welfare as a way of life, and I will add involvement in the affairs of other countries.
All these things have been moving right along since Nixon went to China, before I’m sure, but I’m tracing what I remember. It hasn’t mattered what party has the WH, controls the congress, or if it is split, the agenda has moved right along.
Yes, we get our attention focused on women’s rights, equal rights, Presidential sex urges, etc., but that is just a diversion. That’s for our benefit and has nothing to do with what they are working on behind the scenes to keep the agenda of globalization and the destruction of the sovereignty of this country on time.
David Goodis:
Keep it up child, because your rabid hate for a woman that does not think like a dyke from the Dail KOS - IS what will put her and John McCain in the White House. You absolutely intolerant liberals just do not have anything going for yourselves upstairs because everything you know has been planted in your pea brain through indoctrination.
It must make it a lot easier in life to be able to go through this world never having to think for yourselves - let Obama and his surrogates and minions tell you just what to say.
The problem is David, they were educated in the same indoctrination camps as you - the US public school system. And ever since Sarah Palin was announced as the McCain VP pick, your game plan has been the same - and guess what - it isn’t working, dude!
Obama has gone from 6 points up to nearly 6 points down, and that is over a very very short period of time - and why? Because you can’t figure it out - people in America think very little of you when you attack someone when she has done nothing to harm you. You spend your time trying to dig up dirt and when you can’t find any, you smear and lie, just as you did in your rant above.
People in America, that do not come from the sick mindset that is all the liberal movement can muster now - see you as being absolutely against EVERYTHING you say you support. You are supposed to be tolerant - you are not. You are supposed to be for diversity - you are not. You are supposed to be for women’s equal rights - you are not. Pelosi has 5 kids but not one peep about whether she can raise kids and be in politics. She had a daughter who got pregnant outside wedlock - not a peep. Yet, you sound like rabid dogs in your attacks upon her.
The filth that comes out of your mouths is completely against everything you say you are for as liberals - yet all we here from Obama and company, and you morons that follow him like blind sheep is hate and the most despicable filthy language in your attempts to discredit Palin.
Hey fools, you will lose this election because you can not figure out that your very actions turn those that would have supported you - against you. Obama drops the race card repeatedly - yet nothing about his race comes from the right, it all comes from you on the left. Anyone you disagree with you trounce on with a sick twisted glee, and lose more votes.
You say leave peoples children out of this, but you are the only ones who attack kids. You say leave candidates wives (spouses) out of this, but the attacks on Palin’s husband abound. You say leave religion out of it, yet you attack her as some religious nut, and your own Obama belongs to a racist hateful church that preachs hate toward white people and for black power over whites. The trash out of Obama’s preacher’s mouth is unprintable - and you people attack OTHER people’s beliefs?
So David, keep up the good work, as every single day you keep up what you are doing, will be the days that McCain continues to gain in the polls. Heck, McCain can probably quit campaigning, and just let you guys do it for him, he does better every time you open your hateful mouths. But, especially keep up the attacks on Palin and her family - the ad agency people will probably look you up so you can teach them the reverse way to get their message out.
Ladytexan, Perhaps You should replace Sarah as V.P. as you speak with eyes wide open penetrating the deceptions projected from both sides of the isle. You’d get my vote.
Fred,
I’m going to get the bighead here.
I had a time in my life when I thought party made a difference, but then I began to see the shape this country is in and truly began trying to see where to put the blame. The inescapable truth is, both so called parties have been working together to do these things.
With all of the fire and brimstone from Cliff Kincaid about Obama’s link to anti-American leftists, why isn’t there even a peep from him about Palin’s link to the anti-American Alaska Independence Party. Could there be (gasp!) a hypocritical double standard at play? Or do y’all believe the AIP is not anti-American? Hmmm?
David Goodis, it sounds like you can’t deal with a real woman. You must desire bimbos who’ll compliantly get an abortion should they get “knocked up” by you. That you can’t stand a woman with convictions, a willingness to be different, and an unwillingness to stay on the liberal Democratic reservation is quite telling. After all, no doubt you believe a woman should be promiscuous, willing to abort biological tissue, believe that all is relative, believe that individuals who own guns are bitter and dangerous, and that religion is for the weak. You make the perfect liberal man.
Easy,
I don’t know a lot obout the movement for Alaskan independence. Didn’t one of the leaders of that movement get murdered some years back.
I will say, though, if the federal government would remove all it’s illegals, that might not be a bad idea for Texas. Right now we are a state invaded and occupied by foreign nationals and I’m not sure there aren’t too many for us to handle.
We could put the Texas Rangers and NG on the border.
Doesn’t Hawaii have something like that going on as well?
Anti-American? I’m thinking more anti-government-as-we-now-have-it.
ladytexan, I had the opportunity to talk one on one with Joseph Vogler, the founder of the AIP, in the mid 70s in Fairbanks, AK. While a lot of quotes on the internet are intended to paint him as a fanatical anti-American nut, he didn’t seem so to me. He was quite pleasant, well versed, and made quite a few good points as to why Alaska, and even Hawaii, should secede from the Union.
He struck me a very strong libertarian and classical liberal who was convinced that the current American Federal government had seriously gone astray and wasn’t the government our Founding Fathers had designed. In particular, he felt the government had seriously deviated from Article 1 Section 8 of the Constitution and from the Bill of Rights. I would defy anyone to dispute that without getting very creative with the English language. He was very pro-Constitution as written and believed that changes should be thru the amendment process and not thru activist judges.
While I viewed his proposals as impractical as such concepts would seriously weaken the concept of a Union I had to admit his criticisms against the Federal government even in the 70s were quite valid. Furthermore, I dare say that the Left would have agreed with much of what he said about government authoritarianism, Federal ownership of land (then about 70% and about 60% now), Federal dictates on petroleum exploration and usage, and control of transportation resources.
By the way, Vogler advocated secession from the Union but with a continued relationship with the US somewhat like Guam. The US would have been able to lease the military bases that it had in Alaska but would have had to relinquish its property claims with the exception of limited national parks.
Mr. Vogler disappeared under mysterious circumstances in 1993 and many, including myself, believed that he had met his fate at the hands of federal “men in black” as this movement was gaining steam, although I doubt it would ever have succeeded. It’s now said that a cconvicted thief by the name of Manfried West confessed to murdering him over a plastic explosives sale that went south. It conveniently fits in with the accepted view that Vogler was a fanatic, too conveniently for my taste. In the 70s he didn’t strike me as a fanatical nut on the loose, but then a lot can happen in twenty years, just as Obama might have changed after his long associations from about ten with communists, socialists, criminals, and domestic terrorists.
TK….cause and effect. My mother always told me that going out in the cold and getting chilled would cause me to have a cold. Well, she was wrong. Cold does not cause colds..we all know the answer to that by now, well maybe not all.
I have been wide awake all these years. I remember well when the politics of destruction began. It wasn’t because we were finally allowed to hear the other side. I believe we had some people arrive on the political scene that loved that little trick. It worked well for them, and it has caught on. To lay the blame on Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, Hannity or even not my fave, Mr. Bloviator O’Reilly is really a narrow minded view of looking at life, as well as dangerous. Think about it TK. The left left left leaning Politicians such a Hinkey (sp), Waters, etc want to wipe out all Conservative speech by voting in The Fairness Doctrine. They want to go even further than that and make Conservative speech illegal. If you want the 1st Amendment wiped out completely by continuing to confuse cause and effect, then beware. What you want now will bite you in the butt later. The Constitution was written for all of us.
Actually, I don’t see any one of you dismantling my argument about what she represents. And if there are any “pretaped” answers, ideas thoroughly vetted and processed by the media, they’re the ones I’ve found here. All you can do is repeat the same things said by every other conservative analyst. The thing I’ve pointed out about her appearance won’t be mentioned by MSNBC, or CNN, or Fox News; but everything you say will. So who’s been conditioned by the media?
And by the way, one word about “feminists.” Sarah Palin would not be running for VP, much less have the ability to vote, were it not for feminist thought in the 19th and 20th century. So, keep on repeating, robots. Eventually—maybe not with this election, but someday—your tape will run out.
O, and by the way. The Left does what it does because it knows the other side has its Sarah Palins somewhere behind the scenes. Thanks for finally proving us right. It would’ve been a shame, all that reading for nothing.
”... The media has not be upfront about all the damage done by our trade deals.
...
It doesn’t always come down on the liberal side - so why don’t we just tune them out and make our own decisions.
...
It is splitting hairs to say he is not pro illegal. ...” - the ever irrational ladytexan
You’re forgetting that anti-trade and protectionism is the Democrats’ position. You’re ignoring and obfuscating the fact that global trade CREATES wealth. You’re forgetting and obfuscating the fact that protectionism and opposition to immigration are in effect a call to tribalism, Balkinization, and INCREASED racism, conflict, and “ethnocentric self-identification” (hyphenated Americans).
Pro immigration is not pro illegal, no matter what your narrow tribalistic corner of your mind spawned that emission.
“The mind is a processing organ; so is the stomach. If a stomach fails in its function, it throws up; its unprocessed material is vomit.
So is the unprocessed material emitted by a mind.” - Ayn Rand
Learn to process things with your mind and REASON ladytexan. Please quit spewing vomit.
To anonymous, Post 42:
RE: “Learn to process things with your mind and REASON ladytexan.” - - and - - “The mind is a processing organ; so is the stomach. If a stomach fails in its function, it throws up; its unprocessed material is vomit. So is the unprocessed material emitted by a mind.” - Ayn Rand
Shades of “Who is John Galt?” (have you reverted to “anonymity” Mr. Galt?) - - and the parroting of the mind and reasoning of an esoteric, eccentric, displaced Russian-born author of the 1950s - - whose primary focus, as I recall, was on SELF. And, doesn’t wholly-assuming the thoughts and philosophies of another as your own just make you another run-of-the-mill “dittohead”?
I may not agree with everything ladytexan has to say here - - but what she says at least appears to be her own original perspective on things. And, of course, a “synthesis of thought” - - learning from the writings or teachings of MANY rather than ONE - - is probably preferable to totally relying on the “teachings” of a single, self-selected “guru”.
If you want to depend on the ruminations of Ayn Rand as your mental opiate or crutch, you’re free to do so. But, refrain from being so presumptious as to insist others must do the same simply because you say so - - because you believe you have the singular and unique ability to select the only author or “teacher” of ostensibly “correct” semi-political thought that others should follow.
Personally, as far as the discussion here is concerned, I kind of go for Jefferson and Jackson!
Roberto,
Yes, thanks. It was Vogler. I couldn’t remember the name, but I do remember the story.
I remember there was some doubt as to the guilt of the man they implicated. He was an artist of some kind, wasn’t he?
He didn’t strike me as a fanatic, although perhaps the media was attempting to do that.
I grew up in rural Texas in the 40’s and 50’s, most everyone was just that independent and wanted to stay independent of government.
The Union might be weakened by the withdrawal of some states, but the union is already pretty weakened if the government no longer serves the people - but other interests. In fact, you could say when that happened, the union as formed, no longer existed.
I don’t know your age or where you were raised but I do know that those factors do have something to do with the perception of things - political and otherwise. That isn’t a putdown, but just what I have observed with my children (age) and now with a very nice SIL who was raised in the North (geographical).
So, I will say that Mr. Vogler did strike me somewhat as a libertarian, but not a liberal. He was more of an old-time conservative. My Grandparents were staunch Texas Republicans. The Republicans of that time were nothing like what we have calling themselves Republicans today. To be against government interference in state’s rights, in business and personal things, to believe strongly in the constitution, was the main thought back then.
Of course, to be fair, the Democrats of that day are not like the Democrats today, either. The Democrats in Texas were way more conservative than the any so called rightwing Republicans today.
While we tend to think the hippies had a tremendous affect on our government, they were just allowed to draw the lightning and the poltiicians did what they wanted in the first place.
The idea back then was, the government had gone astray, but they also believed that government should fix everything. While acting as if they were anti-government, they actually were demanding the government take more and more control of this country. The action of the so called liberals from the late 60’s on, with the help of the so called conservatives, has grown this government into a behemoth that is just too big and multi-headed to ever be ‘of, for and by the people’ again. It is almost self-perpetuating and seems to have a life of its own.
Julie,
The politics of destruction are older thann that. I am not a fan of John Kennedy, although in today’s light he looks better, but I remember when he was running and there was a lot of ugly stuff going around about his religion and how the Pope would be running America if he got elected. It was pretty nasty.
Certainly Nixon was the recipient of it - some deserved, but he is still touted as the most crooked President - after all we have seen since him.
I also feel LBJ was another politicians we TExans are shamed with, but thanks to the media, he went from the ‘most powerful man in Washington’ when he was in Congress, to a joke when he was President.
Fox News did give another version and it was a welcome addition. The thing we need to realize is, though, it is not just a ‘conservative’ media, it is a Republican and a Corporate media.
When I had TV, I watched all manner of news programs, even FSTV, and can’t remember the other one. If you watch and listen to enough different views, you can quite often pick the truth out of all the garbage both sides are throwing out there. You have to wade through a lot, but the truth does get put out. You have to let the spin go over your head and latch on the nuggets of truth that are buried on all reports.
On FSTV, I learned that the Federal government had given a license to some illegals to operate a radio station. It was a small area station, but why should illegals be allowed to construct and operate a radio station? What’s that all about? How many do they operate around this country? Of course, they portrayed it as a wonderful thing, I saw it as strange and somehow frightening.
The media is forming our opinions in many cases and it is also dictating our speech. We are bombarded 24/7 with news, slanted one way or the other - but always slanted toward corporatism, and government.
It reminds me of the SciFi story about the time the government demanded everyone have a TV and that it remain on all the time. Also, a lot like the loudspeakers constantly pumping out propaganda to brainwash people.
David,
Yes, I’d say the fallacies have been pointed out more than once.
No one said that the feminist movement did not allow her to get where she is. In fact, I believe I did say that. She is practicing exactly the feminism I worked for in the 50’s and 60’s - the right to make choices in her life. To work or not to work outside the home. To do a job she was qualifed to do, even if it was historically ‘a man’s job’. To be paid as much as a man, for comparable work. Due to the work done years ago, she is doing exactly what we fought for the right for her to do.
Now the modern day feminists seem to want to again put restriction on a woman. If she is truly able to make choices in her life and have a family, have a job, and do them well, it bothers the feminist of today. That attitude is as bad as the ones we faced in the 50’s. The - ‘Oh, no, Honey, that’s a man’s job.’ They are saying, ‘Oh, no, Honey, that’s not a feminist choice.’
We, and countless before us worked for her right to do just what she is - make choices. I am not too surprised, but the modern feminists are truly showing their hypocrisy.
anonymous,
You missed my point, and it’s certainly possible I failed to make it clear - but then it could also be reading as you want it to be - not as written.
As for the trade deals and the media - I was trying to make the point that the media is NOT liberal. It is liberal on social issues, to be sure. It is corporatist actually. The fact that social issues truly do favor the corporations much of the time, although it is presented differently.
Massive government programs, voted in by both sides, and supported by the media, takes money from taxpayers, funnels it through the recipients ,usually, although not always, the poor. That money ultimately ends up in the hands of corporations - through housing, food, medical, etc. So though people say the media is liberal - they are wrong. It is all about money and corporations.
Once again, the corporations have the money, they are not about to let anyone get up there that isn’t going to toe the line for them. They didn’t grow as large as they have and get the power they have, by not ‘buttering their bread on both sides’, as one CEO said in an interview.
Fair global trade creates wealth - what we have is not fair trade and yes, it creates wealth for some, while it destroys far more individuals and it is destroying this country.
We should not put the name on it that politicians spin - like isolationist and protectionist.
One of the few constitutionally given powers of the government is to regulate trade and make deals and isn’t the idea implicit that the deals should favor, or at least be in the best interest, of this country and it’s people? That’s not protectionism! That’s what the government should do. How did we get to the point, that we repeat the spin that doing what is best for this country and it’s people is somehow wrong?
How is making trade fair and keeping it from siphoning off jobs and money from this country, considered isolationism? How is keeping this country sovereign and not allowing dangerous access by foreign companies - isolationism? It isn’t.
Tribalism, racism, balkanism, isolationism, protectionism - don’t let political spinners put words in your mind and then regurgitate them. Think for yourself -
If any of my posts ever said immigration, rather than anti-illegal, it was just a typo. I do, however, think our legal immigration situation is totally messed up and needs to be seriously revamped.
While I welcome discussion and debate, yours didn’t address much of my ideas - rather it was just a repeat of the mantra of politicians.
”... One of the few constitutionally given powers of the government is to regulate trade and make deals and isn’t the idea implicit that the deals should favor, or at least be in the best interest, of this country and it’s people? ...”
Ah, but there lies the problem: regulation that protects the rights of individuals to freely trade with each other is not the same as trade that furthers the “politics of pull” and favors one corporation or industry over its competitors. It is not the government’s job to determine or regulate what each party to an exchange of value consider “fair.”
What we have now is not fair trade or Capitalism: what we have is crony capitalism and corruption of politicians. What we have is a perversion of the economy by excessive intervention, control, and regulation by the government. What we have is closer to Fascism or Communism than to Capitalism.
anonymous,
I’m not talking about regulating free trade with individuals, as in my buying something from you. I’m talking about large corporations, with more money than God and untold power, purchasing politicians to further they goals.
I’m talking about making sweet deals with China so corporations can make billions, even though it hurts this country, compromises our security, and weakens our sovereignty.
No, what we now have is not fair trade, nor capitalism. What we have is corporatism. The corporations are running the world now, like it or not.
Yet, I have read on many occasions about how these corporations are not making a profit and we should get all warm and fuzzy about these ‘American Companies’, and not be upset that they are gouging us, selling us dangerous products, and importing workers to replace Americans. After all, they deserve to make a profit.
That is one of the better instances of total brainwashing I have seen.
These are not American Companies. They are huge global entities. They are larger, have more money, and more power than many countries of the world and have no allegiance to this country.
They buy politicians and own the parties to make sure their goals are achieved. Our government is not the only one they own, either.
The sad thing is they have been able to delude us into helping them and continuing to vote in their lackeys.
I repeat,”“” One of the few constitutionally given powers of the government is to regulate trade and make deals and isn’t the idea implicit that the deals should favor, or at least be in the best interest, of this country and it’s people? ...””“”
The only problem there is that they are not doing that.
ladytexan, I get your point. But if I understand the forumations of Third Wave feminism right—and there’s a chance I don’t, of course—they seem to express much the same thing you do. Women should be able to choose any identity they want. The main question they pose, however, is this: “What does it mean to use your choice by embracing a traditional identity? Does it mean the loss of anything that has been gained?” It seems to be a very complex problem, one that might be solved anytime soon.
On a related topic I think part of what’s happening in the Sarah Palin coverage is that Republican pundits are applying language historically associated with oppressed or marginalized people, which is something very weird. She’s represented as having the courage to “make choices”—which appropriates a politically charged term like “choice” and ties it to a politically regressive scheme. She’s giving American women the “choice” of not being able to “choose?” It makes no sense. The astonishing thing is that anyone finds such obfuscation convincing. Further, the conservative self-represention as group “oppressed” by a godless Left bears a little more examination. A state that allows women the right to an abortion is not an “oppressive state,” but, to those opposed to it, it is, rather, an “offensive” one, and conservative commentary continually chides the Left for its sensitivity to offence.
Re: Alaska Independence Party. We are, after all, talking about a party founded by a man who said, “I’m an Alaskan, not an American. I’ve got no use for America or her damned institutions.” The same man, AIP founder Joe Vogler, also said, ”[T]he fires of Hell are glaciers compared to my hate for the American government.”
Destruction of the Union is the most anti-American act possible.
To Easy, Post #49:
Obviously, if Palin is found to have ever been associated with this organization (AIP) or its founder - - it certainly matches up with the GOP criticisms of Obama for his supposed associations with William Ayers.
Frankly, I really don’t think Alaska and Alaskans are relevantly connected socially, culturally or politically to the lower 48.
TO; ladytexan
I am gettin MANY responses to whatever you
wrote. Makes me wonder who is getting Mine??
David,
I’m not too concerned with her as a candidate, I truly know very little. My responses are really to the action of the feminists - so called feminist. The election will be what it is. Mine is the absolute frenzy by the media and the revealing of the hyprocrisy of the new feminists.
I don’t know from Third Wave feminism, but I do know that what I worked for was exactly what this woman is doing. It was so women would have the ability to make choices, to be treated equally in law and in the workplace. That is exactly what is happening here.
I worked so -
women could have the choice to work or not work,
make as much money as a man doing the same job,
have equality under the law,
to be able to support their children should the man not step up to the plate, and not have to remain in a bad situation,
to be able to decide for herself whether or not to create life - certainly the ability to destroy their unborn was never something I worked for or would work for - just the opposite.
Abortion should not be a part of feminism. It isn’t a woman’s issue. It is a human issue, a moral issue and a legal issue. For some it is the lynchpen. It is the criteria for being a feminist. As a woman, a strong woman, a successful woman, a mother, she is making the choice to take a stand against the destruction of unborn babies. What is wrong with that.
I am decidedly anti-abortion, no pro-life for me, I’m clear on my stance. I defy anyone to question my feminist credentials.
Evidently, they want choices as long as it is
‘their choices’. That’s not choice, that’s not freedom, that’s not equality. That’s true oppression.
The new feminism doesn’t have a corner on the word choice - there are many choices to be made. Euphemisms bother me. It is pro-abortion and anti-abortion. The worst thing the anti-abortion people ever did was play into the trap of coming up with a euphemism.
God gave us choice in everything, the law didn’t. The law just allowed them to do it without legal penalties.
”“” A state that allows women the right to an abortion is not an “oppressive state,” ”“”
Unless, of course, you are unborn children, then it’s rather oppressive, wouldn’t you say?
Any government that can deem a group a ‘non person’ and therefore can be destroyed, legally, can deem other groups ‘non persons’ as well.
Farfetched? It has been done before. There was a time in this country that legalized abortion was just as farfetched.
They can parse it anyway they want, they can squeal and rage, but the fact is, these feminists are not for women’s rights - they are for abortion rights. That above all else and that is very, very frightening.
god bless our country, and our party, and that “New” candidate Ms. Sara, for VP.
this country will be better off when she wins, we need to stop these commie, atheists, who seek to destroy our america. I dont care if they call her the queen of pork, and i dont care if it is true. She is a true God fearing american, and knows as we all do that God will make that pipeline happen in Alaska,just like he made that Jet get sold, even if it wasnt on EBAY, and it was bought by her campaign manager, another good republican and god loving american. what a stupid detail anyway, to make people look at some detail, not crucial, like our jobs, or our economy. God help the banks who are robbing us blind, if that terrible obama gets in. Good by Mr. obama.
To my friend Roberto: attacking ME rather than my position is called an ad hominem fallacy, and wouldn’t fly in a freshman course on logic. Aside from that, the list of traits you associate with me or anyone making an argument will only ever be a caricature. The only thing you did get right is my belief in the relativism of values. That is, the idea that every society decides how to code all the activities of life in a different way. A glance across world civilizations will tell you this. You would have to be excessively blinkered not to get it. The only prohibition that all researched societies have in place is the prohibition against incest. That’s it; and even that might reflect an awareness of the systemic (genetic) damage produced by such a practice.
Relativism is built into the very fabric of reality. As Einstein demonstrated a hundred years ago, time itself is relative to the position of all observers (this has since been proven by physicists). There is no single privileged point of observation of the physical world. This fact has enormous consequences for philosophy, religion, politics and culture. Special relativity is not the creation of the liberal media, and cannot be banished by the teaching of creationism, banning a book, or asserting some alternative “truth.” Given the relativity of the observations of the physical world—where all positions are subject to the equalizing power of spacetime—how can any one human political or religious system (which is based on observation) claim to be superior to all others? When you sneer at a notion like relativism, understand you’re sneering at one of the most basic elements that constitute reality.
That said, there is only the religious or political “influencing” of cultural codes. The only thing that can actually intervene on the behalf of people is ethics, along with the creation of laws. Ethics in fact has to play a decisive role here, since all discourses are entangled with expressions of politics, religion and simply the will to power.
Actually ladytexan, you and I don’t have much to argue about. But I think you’d be interested in a lot of Third Wave feminism. There are plenty of anti-abortion feminist visions that argue that abortion mainly frees men of their responsibility, and assert that a real legal space has not yet been created for mothers in the culture. That seems to me to be a way out of this particular bind. And the unfortunate caricatures of feminism that you see in the media.
ladytexan:
I believe you’re confusing the symptoms for the disease. The disease is government control over commerce, the symptom is the corruption of politicians.
Our politicians through their arrogated control of commerce, production, distribution and profit margins of goods believe (with good reason) that they “own” business and commerce. The politicians have created the conditions and incentives for businessmen to corrupt them in order to get regulations and controls that favor their business over their competitors, or even to get “permission” to do business at all.
Exhibit 1 is the current Democrat posturing over removing offshore drilling bans. They are now saying that they “may” allow “some” offshore drilling provided that they (the Feds, not the states) get sufficient unspecified royalties and the oil companies hand over even more of their profits to the Feds in taxes (the unvoiced demand is political contributions and other under-the-table bribes).
If any “brainwashing” is in effect here, in my opinion, you’re the victim of it, not me. In my opinion, you need to do more reading and study to formulate rational judgment versus “feeling.”
Globalization is a fact: isolationism and nationalism are the antithesis of individual rights. They are the hallmarks of tribalism.
”... Any government that can deem a group a ‘non person’ and therefore can be destroyed, legally, can deem other groups ‘non persons’ as well. ...”
Well, in fact governments have over the centuries only acknowledged the “personhood” of an individual when that government issues a Certificate of Live Birth.
TK post #44:
Providing a direct quote of someone whose words express an idea succinctly is not “parroting
September 8 at 1:19 am | #1 | Link
Brilliant! I saw you on C-SPAN and you were right on the mark. One great moment was when you backed the other guy into finally admitting that he had spoken at Yearly Kos. Also, it was remarkably revealing that he knew nothing of the details behind Palin’s “ethics” investigation. He had never heard about the threats against her family. He could improve his credibility if he at least TRIED keep informed on the topics he has been using to bludgeon Palin and conservatives.
I saw Biden’s interview on MTP. I was glad to see Brokaw bring up the topic of Biden’s son being a lobbyist and how lobbyists have influenced Biden on credit industry concerns. That’s the first I’ve heard about it from the MSM. The MSM loves to claim the GOP is in bed with lobbyists, but it hasn’t been holding the Dems to the same standard. I hope they dig deeper into this hypocrisy on the part of the Dems. Still, though, so many things that SHOULD’VE been asked weren’t asked (as you stated).
Keep up the good work. You’re a breath of fresh air in a sea of blatant shamelessness.