Civility, Decency, Respect, Toleration, Understanding, Acceptance, Compassion And The Truth Are All Anathema To Right Wing Extremists.
I had a few folks who sent me less than civil comments about my posts of the past few days regarding the tragedy in Arizona. They have consigned to the “dust bin of cyber space”. Those comments were of two genres: (1) those who accused me being a “right-hating flaming liberal” and (2) those who were critical of what they saw as less than hopeful cynicism.
To those of the first ilk; I will accept that description on those days where I feel either in a Sam Adams of pure Jeffersonian Revolutionary mode. Your less than civil selection of limited intelligence cursing sent your messages off into the oblivion of scattered electrons. Those critics of the second compliant; I can only say that our history justifies my view point and the debate already in progress is vindication. It is sad when being realistic is equated with cynicism. I wish our times did make it so.
TO WIT:
There is no truth in anything that people say and report as far as Right Wing Egomaniacal self-anointed demagogues are concerned; they are the purveyors of the truth. I hate clichés but they are not worth much more as they genuinely live in their own world, dedicated to poisoning our world and truly embrace the adage of: “I have made up my mind (or lies and slander) so don’t confuse me with the facts.” (Ed.)
Last Night A Moment Of Brilliant Light In Arizona…Goodness shown, even if but for a moment.
The Horror In Arizona
KATRINA VANDEN HEUVEL | The attack on Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson was an assault on democracy.
KATRINA VANDEN HEUVEL | The attack on Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson was an assault on democracy.
Obama Appeals To Our Better Angels
ARI BERMAN | Nowhere was Obama's empathy more needed, and more appropriate, than in Tucson Wednesday night.
ARI BERMAN | Nowhere was Obama's empathy more needed, and more appropriate, than in Tucson Wednesday night.
BUT
January 13, 2011 12:41 pm ET — 120 Comments
Following Obama's widely praised address at the memorial for the victims of the Tucson shooting, the right-wing media have nonetheless strained to find ways to attack him. Their attacks have included the presence of T-shirts at the event -- which were reportedly handed out by the university -- the "pep-rally" atmosphere, and the timing of Obama's speech, among other things.
Right-wing Media Invent Absurd Attacks On Obama's Memorial Speech
In fact, Rhee actually said in his January 9 press conference that Giffords "can't open her eyes at this point." From the press conference (emphasis added):
RHEE: No, we can't get into too much more detail than what we already have. But I can tell you right now with the type of surgery, her eyes, she can't open her eyes at this point, mechanical standpoints, and she's also on the ventilator, so she can't speak at this time. [Gateway Pundit, 01/13/11; CNN, State of the Union With Candy Crowley, 01/09/11]
Hoft: "They Couldn't Help It... Team Obama Hands Out T-Shirts at Pep Rally Memorial." In a January 12 Gateway Pundit post titled "They Couldn't Help It... Team Obama Hands Out T-Shirts at Pep Rally Memorial," Hoft wrote "Maybe it's something new? T-shirts at a pep rally memorial...Every memorial needs a special T-shirt. Doesn't it?" [Gateway Pundit, 01/12/11]
Hoft: "It's A Pep Rally." In a January 12 Gateway Pundit post, Hoft wrote, "It's a pep rally...The screaming in the stands by the kids was a little annoying though. They need to discuss this at the next SEIU meeting." Hoft added that despite this, he felt it was "the best speech Obama has ever given." [Gateway Pundit, 01/12/11]
Ace of Spades: "While I Have No Evidence [The T-Shirts Are] Obama's Fault I'm Sure He Is Just The Same." In a January 12 Ace of Spades post, Ace posted a picture of a volunteer laying the "Together We Thrive" T-shirts on the back of chairs and wrote "This has nothing to do with photo-ops. All memorial services and funerals have their own slogans and t-shirts these days. Didn't you know that?" Ace also claimed:
Unfair: Actually, I don't have any evidence the t-shirts were put out by Obama's people. I suspect they were, but it could have been Brewer's people. It could also have been Giffords' family or supporters.
For all I know Obama is just going along with this and might even have objected himself by saying, "T-shirts? Really?"
But while I have no evidence it's Obama's fault I'm sure he is just the same.
I learned that from the [mainstream media]. [Ace of Spades HQ, 01/12/11]
Malkin Complains About Speech's "Timing" And "The Hooting, The Hollering, The Incredibly Inappropriate Tone." On the January 13 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends, Fox News contributor and blogger Michelle Malkin said the speech was at "the wrong time" and criticized the president for "waiting several days." She continued, "[Y]ou do have to question the timing of it, and as so many of my readers and viewers of that supposed memorial event reacted last night, the hooting, the hollering, the incredibly inappropriate tone and setting for something that should have been uniformly a somber occasion."
Later in the interview, co-host Steve Doocy played video of Rep. Wasserman-Schultz (D-FL), who was in attendance at the rally and said, "It wasn't a pep rally." Doocy said, "At our house ... we were expecting something very somber ... but it seemed like a political rally or a pep rally at some times." Malkin responded:
MALKIN: Yeah. The University of Arizona put on this event and it even had a branding and a slogan of "Together We Strive" --
DOOCY: T-shirts.
MALKIN: -- and blue T-shirts that were handed out to everyone as souvenirs, and it had a circus-like atmosphere from the very opening, with the opening prayer that seemed to ramble from the Native American speaker, and then all of the hooting and hollering, as I mentioned. And with all due respect to Congressman Wasserman-Schultz, I don't know what planet she was on because you could see it, you could hear it. [Fox News' Fox & Friends, 01/13/11]
Malkin Calls Speech A "Bizarre Pep Rally," Complains About T-Shirts. In a January 12 post on MichelleMalkin.com, Malkin claimed she was "liveblogging the bizarre pep rally." Malkin's updates frequently cited "whoops and hollers" from the crowd and later called the performance of "Simple Gifts" by the choir "a rare moment of solace in the program." Malkin also complained about the presence of T-shirts and slogans featuring the "Together We Thrive" logo, claiming, "Yes, the Tucson massacre is being branded" (emphasis in original). Malkin continued:
Attendees at the memorial tonight report that they are being handed out the blue and white t-shirts as they enter the venue.
A reader in attendance tells me via Twitter that volunteers will be wearing red-and-white shirts. He's going to try and upload a photo.
[...]
Will there be giant foam fingers and blue cotton candy, too?
Isn't the churning of the instant messaging machine a bit, well, unseemly?
Can't the Democrat political stage managers give it a break just once?
[Michelle Malkin, 01/12/11]
Later, in an update, Malkin wrote:
As noted above, the University of Arizona announced the Together We Thrive event -- and a few readers write in to say that the campus initiated the logo/campaign. Given U of A president Robert Shelton's embarrassing, thinly-veiled partisan cheerleading for Obama tonight, it may indeed be a 100 percent-campus-initiated campaign. Given the Obama White House's meticulous attention to stage prop details, however, I would say the odds of involvement by Axelrod/Plouffe & Co. are high. [Michelle Malkin, 01/12/11]
Fox Nation: "Disrespectful: Memorial Turns Into Campaign Rally In Tucson." On January 13, Fox News' blog Fox Nation linked to a KTBS editorial under the headline "Disrespectful: Memorial Turns Into Campaign Rally in Tucson." From Fox Nation: [Fox Nation, 01/13/11]
Concluding his remarks at the service in Tucson this evening for the victims of the recent shootings, Pres. Obama proclaimed: "here on this earth, we place our hands over our hearts."
Which made me wonder: since when, Pres. Obama? Weren't you the man who ostentatiously declined, during the presidential campaign, to put your hand on your heart during the National Anthem while everyone else on the stage was doing so?
[...]
Will the MSM note the glaring discrepancy between Pres. Obama's current words and recent deeds?
The post continued, "So Pres. Obama goes out of his way to talk of hand over heart. And his two cabinet officers preceding him at the podium quote the Bible at length, with Eric Holder mentioning Jesus. Some repositioning toward the traditional middle with 2012 in mind?" [NewsBusters, 01/12/11]
A Small Sample Of Comments About Small People
"They just can't help themselves." This is absolutely true and absolutely sad and disgraceful. They can't really find anything wrong with the speech, so they look for anything to call foul on, and the conditions are completely arbitrary and change to suit the attack. Malkin says the timing was wrong, but anyone who knows Malkin's style knows that the timing would be wrong no matter what. Any sooner and she would have said President Obama was "rushing in for a photo-op" or some other such nonsense. There is NOTHING that the President can do to avoid some nonsense charge from the Malkins of the world. They will always find something to nitpick. Various bloggers complained about the t-shirts which apparently were not created by, endorsed by, approved of, funded, or distributed by anyone linked to the President...yet they complain about them because even though they have no proof, they just "know" they must be behind it. When the t-shirt attacks fell flat, they switched to a "campaign atmosphere" attack. I guess if they could find the plants in the audience, or offer any proof whatsoever that the atmosphere was encouraged by the administration they would have a point. The right wing media in their eagerness to find SOMETHING wrong, will not start blaming the people of the state where the tragedy took place. On the subject of coaching a rally, I suppose the Obama Administration doesn't need to send FOX news producers to stoke up the crowd like a tea party rally. -oops! Also, what's the problem with the "opened her eyes" line exactly? Another mindless nitpick in the desperate attempt to find some flaw in the event to exploit. To these conservatives, President Obama is essentially guilty of being a Democrat on a sunny day. ----------------- These people are like cockroaches. They will not go away. Michelle Malkin is a dispicable human being. She's the lowest of the low. Who the hell does she think she is to criticize the "tone" of the community in which this tragedy happened?? Un friggin believable. |
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Chris Matthews Is Right: Savage And Levin Routinely Peddle "Ugly Talk"
While discussing extreme rhetoric and the tragic shooting in Tucson, Arizona, Chris Matthews singled out right-wing radio hosts Michael Savage and Mark Levin for their "ugly talk." While Savage and Levin have reacted by calling Matthews a "loudmouth fraud" and an "A-hole," Matthews is right: Savage and Levin are regularly "in some rage" filled with "ugly talk."
Matthews Notes The "Ugly Talk" From Savage And Levin
Matthews: Savage And Levin "Are Just In Some Rage Every Night With Some Ugly Talk." MSNBC host Chris Matthews discussed "the role of talk radio in fueling the heated language," and said:
E. Steven, I have to tell you, though, I'll mention a couple of names without getting into too many fights. People like Mark Levin, or Michael Savage for example, who every time you listen to them are furious -- furious at the left -- with anger that just builds and builds in their voice and by the time they go to commercial, they're just in some rage every night with ugly talk, ugly-sounding talk.
And it never changes. It never modulates. They must have an audience. I looked at the numbers today. They have big audiences. And I guess that's the question: Why? And is there ever going to stop if it keeps working? [MSNBC, Hardball, 1/11/10]
Levin, Savage Attack "Loudmouth Fraud," "A-hole" Matthews In Response To His Criticism
Savage Responds: Chris Matthews Is "A Loudmouth Fraud." Talk radio host Michael Savage said:
I see on Drudge MSNBC loser Chris Matthews cites Michael Savage as reason for Arizona shooting. You know, if he actually said it, I'll sue him, that's all. That loudmouth fraud. Hey, Chris, why don't you come on the show with your foaming big mouth, and why don't you say it to me? Chris, you fraud, you. You loser. You jealous loser, you. Why don't you come on The Savage Nation and say that? You fraud, you.
Chris Matthews cites someone named Mark. I don't know who is it. Oh, the other talk-show host, the imposter. Mark, the guy who sounds like a Jewish grandmother having a hysterectomy without anesthesia. How could he be responsible for the shooting? Chris Matthews cites Mark Levin as reason for Arizona shooting. Mark Levin is the -- it "just builds and builds in their voice and by the time they go to commercial, they're just in some rage every night with some ugly talk, ugly-sounding talk. And it never changes," Matthews said.
Matthews, you've always been a Democrat hack. You've always been a loser. You've always been jealous of people who are far more superior to you in virtually every aspect of this medium. You could never make it in radio, so you wound up on that flop MSNBC, which wouldn't exist, were it not for government contracts for General Electric. So, Chris, why don't you come on to The Savage Nation. The phone number's 1-800-449-8255,
MichaelSavage.com. "Every time you listen to them, they're furious" -- do I sound furious? Furious at the left. I'm not furious. Obama is a Leninist and a Marxist. Does that sound like I'm furious, Chris? You are a pimp for the Democrat socialist party of America. [Talk Radio Network, The Savage Nation, 1/11/10]
Savage also told Newsmax:
This is a blood libel by Matthews. His remarks may cause me serious economic damage. I only hope his inconsiderate, malicious libel against me does not bring harm to myself or my family. I pray that an imbalanced left-wing fanatic does not take Matthews' libel against me to heart and seek to inflict bodily harm on myself or my family. [Newsmax, 1/12/11]
Levin Responds: Chris Matthews Is "Some A-Hole ... With No Numbers, No Ratings, No Audience." Real Clear Politics reported that talk radio host Mark Levin responded:
Defending ourselves against what? Some a-hole on MSLSD with no numbers, no ratings, no audience, no substance, no common sense making an allegation. We know without question that the murderer in Tucson was mentally ill, a liberal pothead and all the rest of it. We know this for a fact. [Real Clear Politics, 1/11/10]
In Fact, Savage, Levin Are Experts At Spewing "Ugly" Remarks
Savage: Wolf Blitzer And Larry King "Look Like The Type That Would Have Pushed Jewish Children Into The Oven." From Savage's radio show:
SAVAGE: The reason they curry favor with the turbanned hoodlums is to gain access to the turbanned hoodlums, domestic and foreign, for their news shows. They need more turbanned hoodlums to build ratings.
CALLER: Yes. I agree with you, and --
SAVAGE: That's why the department store dummy named Wolf Blitzer, a Jew who was born in Israel, will do the astonishing act of being the type that would stick Jewish children into a gas chamber to stay alive another day. He's probably the most despicable man in the media next to Larry King, who takes a close runner-up by the hair of a nose. The two of them together look like the type that would have pushed Jewish children into the oven to stay alive one more day to entertain the Nazis. [Talk Radio Network, The Savage Nation, 8/7/06]
Savage Called Civil Rights A "Con" And A "Racket" Designed To Steal "White Males' Birthright." Savage said:
But basically, if you're talking about a day like today, Martin Luther King Junior Day, and you're gonna understand what civil rights has become, the con it's become in this country. It's a whole industry; it's a racket. It's a racket that is used to exploit primarily heterosexual, Christian, white males' birthright and steal from them what is their birthright and give it to people who didn't qualify for it. Take a guess out of whose hide all of these rights are coming. They're not coming out of women's hides. Are they? No, there's only one group that's targeted, and that group are white, heterosexual males. They are the new witches being hunted by the illiberal left using the guise of civil rights and fairness to women and whatnot. [Talk Radio Network, The Savage Nation, 1/15/07]
Savage Called Barbara Walters An "Empty-Mind Slut." Savage said:
SAVAGE: So Braba Bwalters [sic] goes and interviews [Hugo] Chavez, who's a good friend of Ahmadinejad -- but let's put aside Ahmadinejad.
Chavez has said he wants to overthrow America, OK? You get it? And so she goes down there, and listen to her kissing his behind in clip 25: WALTERS: You are a very dignified man, but we have heard you call the president of the United States a devil, a donkey, a drunk, a liar, a coward, a murderer -- what does all this name-calling accomplish? CHAVEZ: Yes, I called him a devil -- SAVAGE: Do you notice what she just did? She used this dictator in Venezuela as a forum, as a fulcrum, in order to call the president those names.
Now, I don't like Bush's policies in most cases, but I would never call him those names. Notice what this double-talking slut just did, this mind-slut Barbara Walters. And I stick by those words. She's an empty mind-slut. She'd peddle anything for a ratings point. [Talk Radio Network, The Savage Nation, 3/16/07]
Savage: "The Children's Minds Are Being Raped By The Homosexual Mafia." Savage said to a caller:
CALLER: Yes, I'm calling from the People's Republic of Monterrey, and I had to explain to my young son why these two men were holding hands the other day and he said, "Dad, didn't they say that that's wrong in the Bible?" And I said, "Yes, they did, and yes it's wrong" and yes to everything that he had to say about it. And I told him, I said, "That's the wrongest thing you've ever seen besides the rest of the politicians and the media and CNBC." Because --
SAVAGE: You've got to try to explain to the children why the -- why God told people this was wrong. You've got to explain to them, to the children, how it twists everything. Just take them down to a duck pond and show them a boy duck and a girl duck and then show the ducklings and say to them, "There must be a boy duck and a girl duck for there to be babies." It's the same with a dog, puppies come from a mother duck -- a mother pup, a mother dog.
There needs to be a boy dog and a girl dog. You have to explain this to them in this time of mental rape that's going on. The children's minds are being raped by the homosexual mafia, that's my position. They're raping our children's minds. [Talk Radio Network, The Savage Nation, 6/16/08]
Savage On Autism: "A Fraud, A Racket ... In 99 Percent Of The Cases, It's A Brat Who Hasn't Been Told To Cut The Act Out." Savage said:
Now, you want me to tell you my opinion on autism, since I'm not talking about autism? A fraud, a racket. For a long while, we were hearing that every minority child had asthma.
Why did they sudden -- why was there an asthma epidemic amongst minority children? Because I'll tell you why: The children got extra welfare if they were disabled, and they got extra help in school. It was a money racket.
Everyone went in and was told [fake cough], "When the nurse looks at you, you go [fake cough], 'I don't know, the dust got me.' " See, everyone had asthma from the minority community. That was number one.
Now, the illness du jour is autism. You know what autism is? I'll tell you what autism is. In 99 percent of the cases, it's a brat who hasn't been told to cut the act out. That's what autism is. What do you mean they scream and they're silent? They don't have a father around to tell them, "Don't act like a moron.
You'll get nowhere in life. Stop acting like a putz. Straighten up. Act like a man. Don't sit there crying and screaming, idiot." Autism -- everybody has an illness. If I behaved like a fool, my father called me a fool. And he said to me, "Don't behave like a fool." The worst thing he said -- "Don't behave like a fool.
Don't be anybody's dummy. Don't sound like an idiot. Don't act like a girl. Don't cry." That's what I was raised with. That's what you should raise your children with. Stop with the sensitivity training. You're turning your son into a girl, and you're turning your nation into a nation of losers and beaten men. That's why we have the politicians we have. [Talk Radio Network, The Savage Nation, 7/16/08]
Savage: President Obama "Is A Neo-Marxist Fascist Dictator In The Making." Savage said:
There are some other stories. "President Obama's czar system concerns some." That's from the LA Times, up on my website. "Super aides for health, the economy, energy, and urban issues, with more to come, prompt lawmakers and groups to worry he may be concentrating power and bypassing Congress." Of course he is. He's a fascist. I know that you don't want to hear this, but the man is a neo-Marxist fascist dictator in the making. He is not using his fascism yet, because he doesn't have enough power to wield the fascist instruments of power, but he is aggrandizing enough power to become a very dangerous president, and you must understand this is an important story. [Talk Radio Network, The Savage Nation, 3/5/09]
Savage On Swine Flu: Mexicans Are The "Perfect Mules For Bringing This Virus Into America." Savage said:
There is a risk of this pandemic spreading across America. Make no mistake about it, it is coming from Mexico. What's interesting to me is that Mexico has not suffered a serious flu epidemic before, which leads me to ask something that the dingbat who is running Homeland Security, who is attacking U.S. Marines, returning soldiers, anti-abortion activists, and anti-immigrant activists, why don't you do your job, Napolitano, you bum you? And why don't you ask yourself, you dumb fool, you, could this be a terrorist attack through Mexico?
Could our dear friends in the radical Islamic countries have concocted this virus and planted it in Mexico, knowing that you, Janet Napolitano, would do nothing to stop the flow of human traffic from Mexico, and they are a perfect mule -- perfect mules for bringing this virus into America? But you wouldn't think that way, would you? Because you are incapable of protecting America's homeland, Napolitano. [Talk Radio Network, The Savage Nat ion, 4/24/09]
Savage: "Women Have Become More Like Guys, Thanks To The Hags In The Women's Movement, And That's Why The White Race Is Dying." Savage said:
Particularly today, the women are not, you know, what they were 30 years ago. The women have become more like guys, thanks to the hags in the women's movement, and the white race is dying. That's why they won't reproduce, because the women want to be men. They want to behave like men, they want to act like men, they've been encouraged to think like men, act like men, be like men. Consequently, they don't want to be women, and they don't want to be mothers. [Talk Radio Network, The Savage Nation, 8/4/09]
Savage: Victims Of Gulf Oil Spill Are "Deadbeats On Welfare" Who "Haven't Worked Most Of Their Lives." Savage said:
You think that the deadbeats on welfare want to go get their hands dirty when they can stay at home and smoke and drink and fornicate? Why would they leave their nests when the government's sending them a nice check? [...] They're laying on their behinds, they got -- what, they haven't worked most of their lives down there. What are you talking about? It's a welfare state. They think they're entitled to a government check after Katrina. [Talk Radio Network, The Savage Nation, 6/18/10]
Savage Wondered If Hawaii Will Have "Cannibalism Again" If They "Kick The White Man Out." Savage said:
I loved Hawaii, I lived there many, many years. It's an interesting language, all syllables. But you don't know about that, and they're going to be independent very soon. I don't know how they're going to make a living. They're gonna kick the white man out? Then what? Are they going to have cannibalism again? Oops, sorry, I know I [unintelligible]. Beautiful culture, up to a point. [Talk Radio Network, The Savage Nation, 7/19/10]
Savage: "Illegal Aliens Have Sucked Us Dry Like Locusts." Savage said:
The state is bankrupt primarily because the illegal aliens have sucked us dry like locusts. You know, you are lied to on such a regular basis that you don't even understand what's going on. Illegal immigrants don't pay federal income taxes, and those who do pay federal income taxes, OK, get the money back when they file tax returns. Many illegals are also claiming tax credits, which result in payments from the U.S. Treasury. [Talk Radio Network, The Savage Nation, 7/28/10]
Levin: "We Have Been Tormented And Abused " Under The Obama Administration "Far More Than The Colonists Were By The King Of England." Levin said:
The tea party activists are acting out of history and patriotism. I said many months ago that we have been tormented and abused far more than the colonists were by the King of England. Far more, far oftener, and far more aggressively. [ABC Radio Networks, The Mark Levin Show, 7/20/10]
Levin: "The Klan's Agenda" And "The Radical Left's Agenda ... Are Pretty Similar." Levin said:
You see, the left tries to write the history for this nation. And the left does that because it wants to encourage people, incentivize people to move left. To support some kind of a statist agenda. Not the Klan's agenda, but the radical left's agenda, which in the end are pretty similar, frankly. In the end it's all one big circle that meets at a point. Tyranny is tyranny, however it's dressed up. You've tyrants who wear suit and ties, and you have tyrants who wear goofy white uniforms. [ABC Radio Networks, The Mark Levin Show, 6/28/10]
Levin: Compares Obama Administration To "What's Going On In Venezuela." Levin said:
No, there isn't going to be a robust recovery, ladies and gentlemen. No, foreign individuals are not going to continue invest in this country, when they can get a better deal somewhere else. This is a disaster. And so what is Obama going to do about it? Keep building and building and building his empire. Keep seizing more assets. This is what's going on. This is what the quote,-unquote bailout is all about. They're seizing private-sector assets, transferring them from private parties and turning them over to politicians and government.
Now, they put smiles on their faces. They do it with legislation. Sometimes they don't. But how is this any different in the end, and in theory, to what's going on in Venezuela? I ask you. No aspect of the private sector feels safe from this president and his administration and this Congress. No aspect. That's why people aren't spending and investing in R&D. We're not even standing still. We're regressing. Because we have a man in office who is a destroyer. He's destroying all the magnificence that was created before him. Because he's petulant, because he is inexperienced, because he's immature, and most of all because he's a Marxist. [ABC Radio Networks, The Mark Levin Show, 6/30/10]
Levin: "God Put Me Here For A Reason ... To Beat The Hell Out Of Liberals." Speaking with a caller, Levin said:
LEVIN: But you know, God put me here for a reason, like he put you here for a reason. You know why he put me here?
CALLER: So you could keep us informed?
LEVIN: To beat the hell out of liberals, that's why. [ABC Radio Networks, The Mark Levin Show, 6/24/10]
Levin: Obama "Wants To Change The Culture" And "Just Keeps Pushing Us Around Like A Bully." Levin said:
What does this man Obama want from us? What does he want from us? I mean, he's already taken our health care away. He's involved in virtually every aspect of our lives. Now he wants to change the culture. What do you want from us? All we're doing is trying to work every day, to be good citizens, to follow the law, to contribute, raise our families, put a little money aside for retirement. And he just keeps, just keeps pushing us around like a bully. [ABC Radio Networks, The Mark Levin Show, 7/1/10]
Levin Connects Obama To "The New Black Panthers," Who "Talked About Killing -- Murdering -- White Babies." Levin said:
Obama's surrounded by these people. He's surrounded by these people because he's appointed these people. He wants to be surrounded by these people. [...] We have an attorney general who embraces the New Black Panthers, the head of which has talked about killing -- murdering -- white babies. [ABC Radio Networks, The Mark Levin Show, 7/8/10]
I said yesterday, I hinted at it, that if those were blue states, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida -- which they're not; some are bright red, some are reddish -- Obama would have moved heaven and Earth to help. He wouldn't be sitting on his ass like he is now. And this Coast Guard admiral, I have no respect for anymore. He's a joke. And here's my bottom line. Obama doesn't care if all those people are suffering. He views them as unuseful to him and his agenda and what he hopes will be a successful run for a second term. So let them suffer. You know, authoritarians have done this before in history. So let the population be uprooted. Let the population suffer. Let the population, that population, in that area, those red states or reddish states, let them see what it's like. [ABC Radio Networks, The Mark Levin Show, 7/1/10]
Levin: America Is "Not A Representative Republic Anymore. It Is A Soft Tyranny." Levin said:
Health care, air itself, our finances, controlled by left-wing bureaucrats and left-wing committees. People who aren't even, in the case of Berwick, confirmed by the Senate. Not even a hearing? Somebody who's going to run a quote-unquote consumer agency that's going to oversee your wants and desires who'll have a budget that Congress doesn't even approve. The Environmental Protection Agency, which has taken for itself, thanks to the Supreme Court, the power to determine how much power we get, in terms of energy. No, no, it's not a constitutional republic anymore. It's not a representative republic anymore. It is a soft tyranny. As Alexis de Tocqueville predicted, the genius that he was. It's a soft tyranny. And it's very scary. [ABC Radio Networks, The Mark Levin Show, 7/28/10]
Levin: "Obama Can't Stand Us" And "Doesn't Like What Our Ancestors Did," And Harry Reid Is "The Mussolini Of The United States Senate." During a tirade criticizing health care reform legislation, Levin said:
Just because Obama can't stand us, just because Obama doesn't like the Constitution, just because Obama doesn't like what our ancestors did, doesn't mean we agree with him. As a matter of fact, we reject him in this regard. And what's going in the United States Senate today, 24-hour meetings and, you know, violating their own rules and not making laws available for people to read. We're going to have to follow them under penalty of fines and, if not, imprisonment? That's not democracy in action. I said the other day, Harry Reid is the Mussolini of the United States Senate. He's one sick man. He's one power-hungry rogue. And a true lightweight. [ABC Radio Networks, The Mark Levin Show, 12/18/09]
Levin: Al Gore Is "The Jim Jones Of The Environmental Movement." Levin said:
And let me say so the whole world can hear, and the left-wing blogs can repeat everything I say -- which is very helpful to me -- that Al Gore has lost his mind. These are the ramblings of soft brain tissue, and it's embarrassing to watch. It's embarrassing to watch. The man needs a checkup. Instead, he's the hero. He's the Jim Jones of the environmental movement. That's right, I said it. Now repeat it. He's the Jim Jones of the environmental movement. [ABC Radio Networks, The Mark Levin Show, 12/14/09]
Levin: Conservatives "By Definition Are Enemies Of The State. Well, So Be It. It's Us Against Them." Levin said:
I've been saying for months, they keep creating new enemies. This is how the statist operates. I write about it at length in Liberty and Tyranny. This is how they operate. The enemy today is the insurance companies. The enemy actually this evening now is the doctors, because Harry Reid has now turned on the American Medical Association -- yes, because they won't go along. The enemy yesterday was Fox. The enemy before that was talk radio. The enemy before that was the oil companies. Lots and lots of enemies. You see, we're enemies of the state. We individuals or organizations who resist this are enemies of the state. So, we, as conservatives, by definition are enemies of the state. Well, so be it. It's us against them. [Citadel Radio, The Mark Levin Show, 10/21/09]
Levin Says Obama Sounds Like "The Leader Of A Counter-Revolution To The American Revolution." After airing a clip of Obama saying, "We are at a rare moment where we've been given the opportunity to remake our world for the better," Levin said:
Let me tell you, this guy does not sound like a president to me. He sounds like a radical revolutionary, the leader of a counter-revolution to the American revolution in his policies, in his plans, in his rhetoric, which is loaded with propaganda. The effort to build a cult of personality around him. No. He doesn't sound like a president to me. He sounds like exactly what I said: a counter revolutionary. [Citadel Radio, The Mark Levin Show, 10/16/09]
Levin: "The Left" Wants To "Turn This Nation Into A Weak, Second-Class Society, Because They Believe That Fundamentally, This Is A Bad Place." Levin said:
This country is becoming balkanized. The left is succeeding in doing what it is that it does. It's becoming balkanized. They want to change the citizenry to accommodate their schemes, and they're doing it. They want to bankrupt the nation so they can rebuild our economy in their own vision. And they're doing it. They want to turn this nation into a weak, second-class society, because they believe that fundamentally, this is a bad place, it's an imperialist nation, and they're doing it. [ABC Radio Networks, The Mark Levin Show, 7/28/10]
When you are debating a liberal or when you are listening to a demagogue like Obama, do not accept their characterization of events. This $26 billion is not about our children. Obama has abused more children as president than any other president in American history.
Now, Mark, what do you mean by that?
I'll tell you exactly what I mean by that. He is destroying their future. He is creating massive debt they can't possibly carry on their little shoulders. And it's not just the next generation, it's the next generation after that. These kids, yet born, are going to have to figure out how to unravel all of this, how to undo all of this, if it's even possible. This is what Obama has done, and Pelosi, and Reid. They will be long gone when the real consequences of the disaster that they have planted takes root. We spent 26 billion for the kids and schools. [ABC Radio Networks, The Mark Levin Show, 8/10/10]
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Contact: Michael Savage | Beowulf Rochlen Executive Producer beowulf@talkradionetwork.com http://twitter.com/AsavageNation |
The bipartisan calls for a return to civility in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy in Arizona this past weekend lasted barely a day.
Americans have rightly begun to examine the recent escalation of vitriolic and incendiary rhetoric in our political discourse. While some initial speculation was too quick to point the finger of blame at specific instances of fear-mongering and violent rhetoric without knowing what actually influenced the gunman, when oft-verbally attacked elected officials are targeted for assassination, it's a matter of basic common sense to call for a toning down of the hateful accusations and hyperbolic hyping of false threats. By simply acknowledging the toxicity of this recent rhetoric, primarily by the Right Wing, Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik and many others have come under relentless attack.
Unfortunately, politicians and pundits on the Right are now responding the same way they always respond to criticism: deflection and denial. They are angry that they would be held accountable and are showing bitter defensiveness by going on the offense against anyone who raises uncomfortable truths like Sheriff Dupnik and some in the media. And they've childishly resorted to their own irrational finger pointing. Newt Gingrich, Mike Huckabee, Tea Party leaders and others on the Right are now claiming that the Tucson shooter Jared Loughner is a liberal because he listed Marx's Communist Manifesto among his favorite books (a ridiculous stretch since he also listed Mein Kampf and an Ayn Rand book). Rush Limbaugh said that the gunman has the "full support" of the Democratic Party.
Americans have rightly begun to examine the recent escalation of vitriolic and incendiary rhetoric in our political discourse. While some initial speculation was too quick to point the finger of blame at specific instances of fear-mongering and violent rhetoric without knowing what actually influenced the gunman, when oft-verbally attacked elected officials are targeted for assassination, it's a matter of basic common sense to call for a toning down of the hateful accusations and hyperbolic hyping of false threats. By simply acknowledging the toxicity of this recent rhetoric, primarily by the Right Wing, Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik and many others have come under relentless attack.
Unfortunately, politicians and pundits on the Right are now responding the same way they always respond to criticism: deflection and denial. They are angry that they would be held accountable and are showing bitter defensiveness by going on the offense against anyone who raises uncomfortable truths like Sheriff Dupnik and some in the media. And they've childishly resorted to their own irrational finger pointing. Newt Gingrich, Mike Huckabee, Tea Party leaders and others on the Right are now claiming that the Tucson shooter Jared Loughner is a liberal because he listed Marx's Communist Manifesto among his favorite books (a ridiculous stretch since he also listed Mein Kampf and an Ayn Rand book). Rush Limbaugh said that the gunman has the "full support" of the Democratic Party.
And Republicans from Lamar Alexander to Sarah Palin are pushing the message that merely discussing examples of the violent rhetoric which has come to define our political discourse is tantamount to contributing to the ongoing rancor.
In an especially twisted, yet familiar, example of right-wing logic, Arizona State Rep. Jack Harper is actually blaming Saturday's massacre on gun laws he sees as too restrictive and Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik for apparently supporting those laws -- this, despite the fact that Arizona's laws were lenient enough for the clearly disturbed Loughner to obtain the 31-round-per-clip semi-automatic weapon he used in his attack.
And media stars like Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin have been quick to use their podiums to try to make this latest debate all about them. Although she holds no official office or leadership position, Palin addressed the country in a web video yesterday in which she decried any scrutiny of recent political rhetoric and even tried to make herself out as the real victim, going so far as to compare herself to Jewish victims of "blood libels."
Attempting to draw a line between what she sees as perfectly acceptable "free speech" and incitement, she said, "when we 'take up our arms,' we're talking about our vote." But isn't that exactly the point? Using incendiary language, such as "taking up arms," can have consequences when there are individuals out there who might not grasp the metaphors, especially when it is accompanied by talk of "Second Amendment remedies" to an election not going the way one would like ... or campaign events at gun ranges ... or grave warnings about "death panels," a "tyrannical government," "Dangerous Liberals" and political opponents being "domestic enemies of the Constitution."
Meanwhile, as we reflect on this awful tragedy, and debate the nature of, well, our debate, the Right continues its pile-on of Sheriff Dupnik, smearing him for the supposed crime of calling it like he sees it while happening to be a registered Democrat.
The Sheriff's standing tall against the right-wing smear machine, but we encourage you to show your solidarity with him by signing on to a brief letter of support.
Thank you for your support and for all that you to defend our core values and the American Way ... it's never been needed more.
In an especially twisted, yet familiar, example of right-wing logic, Arizona State Rep. Jack Harper is actually blaming Saturday's massacre on gun laws he sees as too restrictive and Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik for apparently supporting those laws -- this, despite the fact that Arizona's laws were lenient enough for the clearly disturbed Loughner to obtain the 31-round-per-clip semi-automatic weapon he used in his attack.
And media stars like Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin have been quick to use their podiums to try to make this latest debate all about them. Although she holds no official office or leadership position, Palin addressed the country in a web video yesterday in which she decried any scrutiny of recent political rhetoric and even tried to make herself out as the real victim, going so far as to compare herself to Jewish victims of "blood libels."
Attempting to draw a line between what she sees as perfectly acceptable "free speech" and incitement, she said, "when we 'take up our arms,' we're talking about our vote." But isn't that exactly the point? Using incendiary language, such as "taking up arms," can have consequences when there are individuals out there who might not grasp the metaphors, especially when it is accompanied by talk of "Second Amendment remedies" to an election not going the way one would like ... or campaign events at gun ranges ... or grave warnings about "death panels," a "tyrannical government," "Dangerous Liberals" and political opponents being "domestic enemies of the Constitution."
Meanwhile, as we reflect on this awful tragedy, and debate the nature of, well, our debate, the Right continues its pile-on of Sheriff Dupnik, smearing him for the supposed crime of calling it like he sees it while happening to be a registered Democrat.
The Sheriff's standing tall against the right-wing smear machine, but we encourage you to show your solidarity with him by signing on to a brief letter of support.
Thank you for your support and for all that you to defend our core values and the American Way ... it's never been needed more.
Poor, Poor Sarah Wednesday 12 January 2011
So let me get this straight.
Twenty people were gunned down at a supermarket in Arizona on Saturday. Six were killed, including a nine-year-old girl. Fourteen others were wounded, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was the main target of the attack, and who was shot through the head. She is currently lying in a hospital bed with half of her skull removed because brain swelling from her bullet wound could kill her.
Twenty people shot.
Six killed.
Fourteen wounded.
And guess what?
It appears Sarah Palin is the principal victim of the shooting
.
No, really.
Don't believe me? Watch the video she posted to her Facebook page. There she sits, in front of a fireplace and beside an American flag like some cruel joke on Franklin Delano Roosevelt, wreathing herself in pity because people are coming to the conclusion that politicians like her - the ones who have spent the last two years talking about guns and civil war and reloading and such - should bear some of the blame for what happened in Arizona.
How on Earth could anyone come to such an irresponsible and reprehensible conclusion?
Hm.
In a message posted on her Facebook page Sunday afternoon, Sarah Palin reiterated her call for supporters to "reload" in the battle against health care reform, a term that provoked controversy last week after critics accused her of inciting violence against members of Congress. Presenting her message as an exhortation to college basketball teams competing in March Madness, Palin stood her ground in using firearm imagery against the administration.
"The crossfire is intense, so penetrate through enemy territory by bombing through the press, and use your strong weapons - your Big Guns - to drive to the hole. Shoot with accuracy; aim high and remember it takes blood, sweat and tears to win," Palin wrote. In the headline of her update, she mockingly predicted that the message would be "subject to new politically correct language police censorship."
That was supposed to be about basketball, and as usual, all sorts of mean people jumped up and down on her for once again vomiting gun-violence rhetoric into the political debate. Yup, she was the victim then, and is now the victim once again.
Poor, poor Sarah.
Before you start spluttering and staggering in an attempt to comprehend the sheer galactic magnitude of this new round of idiocy - "Who the what the where the when the why the how the what?!" was my initial response - stop a second and remember that this is how people like Sarah Palin operate. This is how they get others to follow them. They make themselves out to be victims, and convince their followers that they, too, are victims.
Limbaugh, Beck, Hannity, Savage, O'Reilly and the rest of the right-wing media machine have turned professional victimhood into a license to print money, and people like Sarah Palin are all too happy to jump on that bandwagon. You're losing your country, your rights, your guns, your family, your religion, the sanctity of your marriage, the supremacy of your heterosexuality, my God, you're losing Christmas, for the love of God! You're losing everything (...psssst...they're talking to White Christians when they say this stuff, by the way, which just cracks me all the way up...), and if you don't "take up arms" to stop it, well, it will just make the Baby Jesus weep bitter, bitter tears.
Speaking of "taking up arms," here is Palin's explanation for such rhetoric: "When we say 'take up our arms,' we are talking about our vote."
Of course. How could we have missed such an obvious reference? Silly us.
Poor, poor Sarah.
Since we're on the topic, here's another hoot from another professional victim: Sharron Angle, the only living human who can make Sarah Palin seem sensible and coherent by comparison. In her own comments on how awful it is that people who think her "Second Amendment remedies" talk might have something to do with politicians getting shot in the head, Angle said, "The irresponsible assignment of blame to me, Sarah Palin or the Tea Party movement by commentators and elected officials puts all who gather to redress grievances in danger."
Let that one sink in for a second.
The twenty people who were shot on Saturday were gathered peacefully with their elected representative to petition for a redress of grievances when they were mowed down like grass. But they are not the victims. Angle, Palin, the Tea Party are the ones in danger here. They are the ones whose rights are in peril. They are the victims.
Or something.
Something else happened here, however, speaking of victims. In her puling, self-pitying video rant, Palin accused her critics of committing a "blood libel" against her. From the New York Times:
The term blood libel is generally used to mean the false accusation that Jews murder Christian children to use their blood in religious rituals, in particular the baking of matzos for passover. That false claim was circulated for centuries to incite anti-Semitism and justify violent pogroms against Jews.
Ms. Palin's use of the phrase in her video, which helped make the video rapidly go viral, is attracting criticism, not least because Ms. Giffords, who remains in critical condition in a Tucson hospital, is Jewish.
So was Gabriel Zimmerman, who died on Saturday.
The geometry of all this is a little bewildering, so let me try to sum it up. The victims of Saturday's shooting have caused Sarah Palin and her ilk to become the real victims, so Palin decided to further victimize Saturday's victims by framing her own victimhood with the use of perhaps the sickest anti-Semitic slur ever to exist on the skin of this Earth.
But guess what? It wasn’t even her line. She used it, sure, but lifted it from a Wall Street Journal headline and article by right-wing columnist Glenn Harlan Reynolds, a.k.a. "InstaPundit." So she’s a victim as well as unoriginal. Contain your shock.
Poor, poor Sarah. We weep bitter tears for your travails.
Not. I will save my tears for the real victims here, for the living and the lost, and the America that people like Sarah Palin have been tearing apart for ambition and profit.
William Rivers Pitt is a Truthout editor and columnist. He is also a New York Times and internationally bestselling author of two books: "War on Iraq: What Team Bush Doesn't Want You to Know" and "The Greatest Sedition Is Silence." His newest book, "House of Ill Repute: Reflections on War, Lies, and America's Ravaged Reputation," is now available from PoliPointPress.
Right-Wing Media Rush To Defend Palin's Use Of "Blood Libel"
Right-wing media have rushed to defend Sarah Palin over her use of the term "blood libel," a term that historically refers to the grave anti-Semitic charge that Jews use the blood of Christian children in some religious rituals -- a myth that has long been the source of anti-Jewish violence.
Right-Wing Media Defend Palin's Use Of "Blood Libel"
Some have keyed on the use of the expression "blood libel" as inapt. The term usually refers to the centuries-old accusation that Jews use the blood of gentile children in making matzos for Passover. The appearance of the blood libel is often the prelude to massacres or other forms of anti-Semitic persecution and is alive and well in some parts of the world, especially the Middle East.
This is simply the latest round of an ongoing pogrom against conservative thinkers. The last two years have seen a proliferation of similar baseless charges of racism, sexism, bigotry, Islamophobia and inciting violence against those on the right who have presented ideas at odds with the establishment's liberal orthodoxy. [The Washington Times, 1/12/11]
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