MacBigot Cached Glances

Now, we completely acknowledge that there are some Democrats who are above average; and should add that we are personally aware of more than a handful of Republicrats that think they will continue to get away with fooling Conservatives into believing they are represented in Washington D.C. — much the same way that most minority and low-income voters are continually courted into believing the Democrat Party is A Good Thing (and that their adversary, the Republican Party, hates anyone without a Platinum card).

“The poor have been voting democrat for 50 years and they’re still poor.” -Charles Barkley

I wonder what happened to the people in Congress who used to believe our actual enemy was tyranny, famine, pestilence, and foreign invaders? Must no longer be ‘cool’ to think that any more.

I have had dozens of conversations in the last year in which my Left-leaning friends are SHOCKED to learn that we Conservatives don’t want orphans to starve, immigrants to drown on their way here, and oil barons to rule the world with an iron money clip.

And those conversations make me angry — not just because these caricatures are baseless; but because I have a higher expectation of my fellow man than to believe the average American can consider divisive people like Katie Couric and Keith Olberman to be moral arbitors.

Can the country really be so weak-minded? I keep hearing Republicans call Glenn Beck a liar (apparently he is too much Conservative and too little — if at all — Republican); yet from the dozens of his shows I have caught, I have never once heard him say anything that I could not independently verify.

So everyone seems to prefer to sell lies for votes, and mistrust for allegiance. Impressive.

I will say to both political parties the same thing that I said to the Dems when John Kerry was running against Bush: ‘Is this truly the best you (we) can do?’ And to the Republicans, now: McCain? Really?

Finally, here is one writer’s take on the dichotomy of the Liberal mind (h/t to IOWAHAWK for sharing), and the reason I am thinking today about cranial misfires:

Why I Am A Democrat

I sometimes hear the question, “Why are you a Democrat?” and frankly, I have to laugh. Laugh and laugh, because perhaps this person may tire of my laughing, and he will eventually wander off. Sometimes I ponder seriously when I hear this question, because I’ll look around and around and there’s nobody there asking the question. Why am I a Democrat?

I am a Democrat because I believe everyone deserves a chance. And if necessary, a second chance. And if, by the eighth or ninth chance, this guy needs another chance, I mean, come on. This guy is due.

I am a Democrat because I believe in helping those in need. All of us, you and I, have an obligation to those less fortunate. You go first, okay? I’m a little short this week.

I am a Democrat because I believe in the equality of all people, regardless of their race. That is why I think we should give free medical degrees to minorities because, well, duh. Like any of those types are going to make it through medical school.

I am a Democrat because I fervently believe in tolerance. Tolerance is critical in our diverse society, and if you have a problem with that, mister, then I will inform the authorities and I bet that after a few hours in their “special room” you too will agree that tolerance is critical.

I am a Democrat because I believe that we should take our noses out of other people’s bedrooms. I say we move the noses to their banks and storage sheds and scout troops, and so forth.

I am a Democrat because I hold sacred freedom of the press, as well as freedom of the TV and freedom of the movie. Where I draw the line is freedom of the talk radio, and don’t even get me started about that damn Internet business.

I am a Democrat because I recognize that education is important. Very, very, extremely very important. We must increase spending on education and enact important education reforms, such as eliminating standardized tests. Because we can never hope to measure this beautiful, elusive, important thing we call education.

I am a Democrat because I believe in the separation of church and state. We must stop the religious extremists who want school-sanctioned prayers. Now, you tell me – with all that chanting and praying and incense-burning going on, how can our kids concentrate on the big condom-and-banana midterm?

I am a Democrat because I believe in the rights of women, be they lawyers or housewives or skanky interns. For too long women have been the victims of discrimination, and we must target programs to help these women, and also the various people who have descended from women.

I am a Democrat because I believe in women’s right to choose. I mean, not a church school or a tax shelter, or something like that, obviously. Let’s be reasonable.

I am a Democrat because I believe in the rule of law. Or, at least, lawyers. Because hey, according to my attorney, I could have been on the Number 7 bus when it crashed yesterday. As far as you know.

I am a Democrat because I believe a healthy economy depends on good jobs at good wages. So fork ‘em over, you fat b@stard boss man.

I am a Democrat because I believe the government should step in to create good jobs when that fat b@stard boss man moves my good job to Mexico. Hey, I know! Maybe we can take all the money that boss man spends on non-job-creating stuff, like solid gold yachts and mink spats, and use that money to create jobs.

I am a Democrat because I fear the power of giant unrestrained monopolies, such as Microsoft, Nike, Parker Brothers, Univac and the Erie Canal Company. The government must wage an unrelenting, all-out war to crush these scary monopolies to a pulp before they get too powerful.

I am a Democrat because I believe in a strong military. Strong, yes, but caring and thoughtful too, and ready to face new challenges. A military that enjoys long strolls on the beach, cuddling in front of a warm fire, unafraid to show its vulnerable side. Must be NS/DDF.

I am a Democrat because I believe there is too much violence in society, especially in our schools. To avoid another Columbine tragedy, we should have mellow “rap” sessions with at-risk teens, such as the Goths. The violence will only end after the teen Goths see that we adults really care, and are “hip” to their groovy teen Goth scene.

I am a Democrat because I believe in campaign finance reform. Sadly, our politics are dominated by advertisements, paid for by the contributions of giant corporations. All too often, these drown out legitimate grassroots opinions, like the kind heard on TimeWarner-AOL-CNN, TimesCorp, or Disney-ABC.

I am a Democrat because I believe in public support of the arts. By “the arts,” I of course mean those things made by, or excreted by, an artist of some sort. It is especially important that art be provocative and take controversial stances, like opposing Jesse Helms, and so on.

I am a Democrat because I believe in the environment and conservation. For instance, we must raise the price of gasoline, like they do in Europe, to increase conservation. If we don’t, there will soon be a big gas shortage, and this will mean higher gasoline prices for you and me.

I am a Democrat because I detest greed. Especially the sickening greed of those who struck it rich in the 1980s, and greedily refuse to give me any of their stuff.

I am a Democrat because I… hey look! A new episode of Survivor! Geez, I hope they don’t vote off Jenna, she’s my favorite.

This year, please do some homework before you vote. If you are one of the many who are disparaging Fox News — because you think they are being unfair — perhaps you yourself can let up on the countless hours of inhaling the fumes at Huffington Post?

Another gem from the mailbag…

The ANT AND THE GRASSHOPPER (OLD VERSION)

The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter.

The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.

Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed.

The grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.

MORAL OF THE (OLD) STORY: Be responsible for yourself!

———-

The ANT AND THE GRASSHOPPER (MODERN VERSION)

The ant works hard in the withering heat and the rain all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter.

The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.

Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while he is cold and starving.

CBS, NBC , PBS, CNN, And ABC show up to provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food.

America is stunned by the sharp contrast.

How can this be, that in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so?

Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah with the grasshopper, and everybody cries when they sing, ‘It’s Not Easy Being Green…’

ACORN stages a demonstration in front of the ant’s house where the news stations film the group singing, “We shall overcome.”

Then Rev. Jeremiah Wright has the group kneel down to pray for the grasshopper’s sake, and whimpers, “Gawd DANG the hill-makers!”

President Obama points out that it’s clear the ant ‘acted stupidly’ and blames President Bush, President Reagan, Christopher Columbus, and the Pope for the grasshopper’s plight.

Nancy Pelosi & Harry Reid exclaim in an interview with Larry King that the ant has gotten rich off the back of the Grasshopper, and both call for an immediate tax hike on the ant to make him pay his fair share.

Janeane Garofalo appears in half a dozen YouTube videos, ranting about ‘Green Hate’ being the only reason the ant has no moral barriers to being an Oppressor.

The ant is fined for failing to hire a proportionate number of non-ants and, having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by the ‘Green Czar’ and redistributed to the grasshopper.

The story ends as we see the grasshopper and his free-loading friends finishing up the last bits of the ant’s food while the government house he is in, which, as you recall, just happens to be the ant’s old house crumbles around them because the grasshopper doesn’t maintain it.

The ant has disappeared in the snow, never to be seen again.

The grasshopper is later found dead and in possession of some bad grass — and the house, now abandoned, is taken over by a gang of spiders who terrorize the ramshackle, once prosperous and peaceful, neighborhood.

The entire neighborhood collapses, then the city, then the county, then finally the state takes notice and steps in to restore order — but the Federal Government intercedes to inform the State that Congress has finally disposed of the rest of the Constitution and the State no longer has the right to police itself. The country falls to chaos, bringing the rest of the free world with it. The only survivors are half of Congress, most of Hollywood, and the major news networks (from this point on, there is never a lack for bad news to report).

MORAL OF THE (NEW) STORY: Be careful how you vote in 2010.

This morning, when I tried to go to Facebook.com, I was sent instead to a third-party who had designed their web page to look exactly like one on FB — BUT IT WASN’T. (This spam domain was created on 7/6/2010 and sits on a server in the Bahamas that hosts many other similar scams on other domain names.)

At least this time, these jerks were kind enough to leave their URL visible in the address bar. But they’re not always in such a nice mood. Sometimes, they will leave ‘facebook.com’ at the beginning of the address and hide their real destination further down the line. Most users will not pay attention to what’s on the address bar, or what URL is behind a link they’re about to click on… And that’s how they get to you and your computer.

Let’s be careful out there.

First, a program note: Though I am human, and am weak at times, I strive to never call people names, or belittle them, or turn a philosophical difference into a personal attack. I do tend to take the gloves off when commenting on people in power who are ‘thinking for us’, and making decisions and taking action against the will of those they claim to represent. But to lambast a fellow constituent, because I disagree with them? You will never hear the kind of foul language that I’ve been overhearing all day today, as people comment to each other ‘how stupid’ people are who “don’t understand that this is made especially to benefit them” (note the condescending ‘White-Man’s Burden’ to save the ‘po folk’ who are apparently the only people who are protesting at the Tea Party rallies. The implication is that anyone against the Healthcare Takeover must be Ignorant Trailer Trash, who need to be saved from themselves.

Second, there is an ongoing meme, supported by the Mainstream Media just as adherently as the Democrat party-line, that the ‘crimes’ committed by the health & medical insurance industry (who take less than 2% profits from the service we pay them for) will somehow not be committed by the government — as if the Federal Hegemony will be more pure, more trustworthy, more transparent. I repeat: We are not looking for a savior. Those of us clinging to our guns and religion already have one of those — what we want from the government is to stop adding to the controls they have over every aspect of our lives.

“At the heart of this debate is the question of whether we’re going to accept a system that works better for the insurance companies than it does for the American people — (applause) — because if this vote fails, the insurance industry will continue to run amok. They will continue to deny people coverage. They will continue to deny people care. They will continue to jack up premiums 40 or 50 or 60 percent as they have in the last few weeks without any accountability whatsoever.” President Obama, March 19, 2010.

Source: HHS, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services [PDF]

Democrat Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz Admits Executive Order Can’t Change Law (YouTube.com h/t FoxNews.com)

(The following charts h/t Eight Health Care Charts That Depict the Utter Cruelty of DemCare – DirectorBlue)

About Those ‘Racial Slurs:’ Real News or Media Propaganda? (BigJournalism.com)

An ongoing tactic of belittling and personal attacks has been the acceptable, even expected, amoral code for the Left for decades. This decade, the cry of ‘Racism!’ is by far the favorite — so much so that anyone daring to side with Conservative thought are instantly branded, and any minority with Conservative views is an ‘Uncle Tom’.

Since the following video was first posted, John Lewis and the Congressional Black Caucus have claimed they were called racial slurs by Tea Party members opposed to Obamacare. As you can see in the video, there is no evidence of the so-called “N-word” or any other slur being used (or the Representatives ducking or flinching from being spat upon), despite the claims of the CBC and their lapdogs at CNN, NBC, MSNBC, CBS.

As several commentators have noted, the absence of video evidence does not prove that their reports are invalid; however with dozens of cameras rolling, it becomes less believable when these Representatives are on their way to screw the American people, and their children’s children’s children. Their credibility is simply zero — and that has nothing at all to do with race; but instead is this one blogger’s estimation of the content of their character.

From the Power Line Blog:

Any number of people, including news organizations, were covering the protest and House Democrats’ actions yesterday. If the Democrats’ charge is true, evidence of it should exist. Clyburn et al. should either produce video that confirms their allegation, or else apologize to the anti-Obamacare demonstrators. And the AP should investigate before it reports charges as facts.

I am upset over those in the media (whether ‘fair and balanced’ or ‘mainstream left’) who choose to call the opponents of this Statist takeover of the healthcare industry as ‘against healthcare reform’. I am not surprised that those selling the idea use this terminology — in fact, I expect it from them. But for the media to pretend that they are impartial, and to still promulgate this turn of phrase — that is, in journalistic terms at least, no less than criminal. To be clear, no one is against healthcare reform; not even the healthcare industry that the Democrats intend to dismantle, destroy, fold, spindle and mutilate.

On top of this, our Esteemed Pile of Change continually hammers the idea that the Republican Party has refused to come to the table with any ideas. In fact, he went out of his way to claim (not imply) that the G.O.P. had even refused to sit down to discuss what was already slung across the table by his own band of merry men. On both points, (as was once pointed out by Joe Wilson) He Lied. To catch you (those of you who do not know how to use Google) up:

Healthcare.GOP.gov
Healthcare.CATO.org
Center for Health Transformation

Thirdly, Obama likes to talk about how the Federal government is going to whisk the cover of darkness away, and make the legislative process a ‘transparent’ one. In fact, Nancy Pelosi has called this “the most transparent and ethical Congress”:

It should go without saying that anyone paying attention will have the same disdainful view on the ‘bipartisan’ efforts of this President, and his puppetmasters Pelosi and Reid, while disappearing into back-rooms where C-SPAN cameras and any Republican with an idea to shake in the air can’t find them.

The last thing that torques my panties is the idea, accepted by everyone from Chris Matthews on down the line, that Barack is somehow absolved from the responsibility of error because of the treacherously impossible condition that the country was left in by his predecessor, George W. Bush.

Mr. Bush was, by many measures, a decent President — but I can understand why people of differing opinions might dislike what a man, not themselves, has done. I can even understand the tendency to bad-mouth that person for all eternity. What I can’t understand, though, is that despite the data, the media is happy to keep the Obamanut as their god by parroting everything he says as the gospel truth.

“By any measure, my administration has inherited a fiscal disaster.” -President Barack ‘The-Buck-Stops-Here’ Obama

But it’s not a surprise for anyone who chooses to pay attention — Obama has used Bush in comparative fashion even before he was elected to lie to the American people:

One thing is sure: Obama himself is the only sure winner here, as his name will be forevermore written as the Father of American Healthcare. Whether he will ever realize what that means to us as a nation depends on how much older and wiser he lives to be, and whether his ego will ever pale in significance to the success of us all as a country.

And you folks who think it’s appropriate to crank up the potty hole to belittle and bully people who don’t see things the same way you do…

You kiss your mother with that mouth?

—–
LinkLove:

(The psychology behind a…) Manufactured Healthcare Crisis (TruthAndCons)

Links to All Manufactured Crisis Articles (ObamaCrisis)

House roll call on healthcare bill: 34 Dems vote against (TheHill.com)

FINAL VOTE RESULTS FOR ROLL CALL 165 (Clerk.House.gov)

20 Ways ObamaCare Will Take Away Our Freedoms (Investors.com)

The Real Arithmetic of Health Care Reform (NYTimes.com)

It’s NOT a Health Bill, NOT a Medicare Tax and It Can’t Possibly Cost Only $940 Billion (CATO-at-Liberty.org)

Health Cost Projections to 2019: The Doc Fix Trick Again (CATO-at-Liberty.org)

Former CBO Director: ObamaCare Would Add $562 Billion to Federal Deficits (CATO-at-Liberty.org)

The Truth about Health Insurance Premiums and Profits (CATO.org)

Don’t Confuse Health Care Reform with Public Health (CATO.org)

Tyler Cowen’s Uneasy Case for Managed Care (CATO.org)

Health Care Reform: It’s Time to Decide, and 54% of Voters Oppose the Health Care Plan (RasmussenReports.com)

Caterpillar: Health care bill would cost it $100M (ChicagoBreakingBusiness.com)

Stahl: I Can’t Tell If ObamaCare Raises Taxes, But Worth It For Something ‘Really Important’ (NewsBusters.org)

If You Like Your Insurance… (JammieWearingFool)

Al Sharpton: ‘The American Public Overwhelmingly Voted for Socialism When They Elected President Obama’ (NewsBusters.org)

Health bills could expand IRS role (USAToday.com)

‘Courage’ hailed by prez really just assisted suicide (NYPost.com)

Washington Post Describes Tea Party as a ‘Hideous Display’ on the Front Page (NewsBusters.org)

EDITORIAL: Boyd’s fiscal fantasy (NewsHerald.com)

Obamacare Means 159 New Gov’t Agencies (NewsMax.com)

Sen. Durbin says HC bill will keep people out of emergency rooms (AmericanThinker.com)

Is Obamacare Smoot-Hawley II? (AmericanThinker.com)

America’s Day of Wreckoning — the Socialist Putsch Comes to Washington (BigJournalism.com)

H.R. 4872, THE HEALTH CARE & EDUCATION AFFORDABILITY RECONCILIATION ACT of 2010 IMPLEMENTATION TIMELINE (PDF from BradMiller.House.gov)

So, Obasocialist Care Passed. What Next? (RightWingNews.com)

Silver Linings (PowerLineBlog.com)

Repeal ObamaCare? Don’t Count On It Republicans (BelowTheBeltway.com)

Entitlements Are Never Repealed (AmConMag.com)

Repeal Health Care Reform? Unlikely. (OutsideTheBeltway.com)

The Day America’s Healthcare Died (Moonbattery.com)

You Know Your Enemies And They Stand Before You (RedState.com)

New Health-Care Taxes Help Obama ‘Spread the Wealth’ [PDF]

The Tax Policy Briefing Book: A Citizens’ Guide for the 2008 Election, and Beyond (PDF from TaxPolicyCenter.org)

Just who have the Democrats ‘defeated’ by passing Obamacare?”> (AmericanThinker.com)

A Three-Pronged War Against Statism (RightSideNews.com)

How the Left fakes the hate: A primer (MichelleMalkin.com)

LinkLove about the ‘Freedom of Choice in Health Care Act’

ALEC’s Freedom of Choice in Health Care Act: How Your State Can Protect Patients’ Rights (ALEC.org)

38 States Poised to Sue Federal Government Over Mandatory Health Care Insurance Requirement (MedicalJustice.com)
Lawsuits Planned by 38 States If Health Reform Passes (RedState.com)
38 States Consider Suing Federal Government Over Healthcare (OnesObservations.blogspot.com)
In support of State-level nulification of healthcare (ResistNet.com)
States Launching ‘Civil Disobedience’ to National Health Care (MichiganCapitolConfidential.com)
YouTube: “Freedom of Choice in Health Care Act” (YouTube.com)
Health Care Legislation: Here Come the Lawsuits (CNSNews.com)
Special Editorial: Repeal (A one-word agenda for Republicans) (WeeklyStandard.com)
Hugh Hewitt: What the NRCC needs to do now (WashingtonExaminer.com)
Attorneys general launch lawsuit backlash against Demcare”> (MichelleMalkin.com)

“I have no plan to order the lives of the 40 million uninsured. I have no plans for how you should run your life, what insurance you should have, or where you should spend you money; and frankly I find it a little creepy that you have a plan for ordering my private life. And let’s face it, you don’t plan to insure 40 million Americans, you plan to force the other 250 million Americans to do it.”

This, and further clarity on the subject, opined by Cory Genelin over at AmericanThinker.com.

But then, you would have to have the Audacity to Hope that the Lefty Lemming you’re conversing with has the ability to discuss and consider — rather than prejudging your ideas based on whatever Obama, Chris Matthews, and Saul Alinsky have taught them about you and your inability to cogitate.

Think the Presidential ‘Book of Secrets’ depicted in the movie ‘National Treasure II‘ was too far-fetched? Perhaps the movie just didn’t go far enough to explain that in addition to alien abductions and the answers to half the conspiracy theories ever concocted — there are personal secrets of our Presidents that are protected by the same legal barriers.

The Presidential Records Act (PRA) of 1978…

…was further defined by Executive Order 12667, by Ronald Reagan, on January 18, 1989.

…which was revoked and replaced by Executive Order 13233, by President George Walker Bush, on November 1, 2001.

…which was revoked and replaced by Executive Order 13489, by President Barack Hussein Obama, on January 21, 2009. (He was inaugurated the day before, on January 20, 2009).

Never mind all the campaign speeches in which he told throngs of Believers that on his first day in office, he would do their bidding before anything else. Instead, the Icon of Change first did what every politician since the beginning of time has done — he covered his own ass.

 

 

Okaaaaay, once more for the kids in the back row (who were too busy carefully forming spitwads to pay attention in History or Math class to realize that they might need this stuff to be able to VOTE effectively as adults):

From WashingtonPost.com:

“Projected Deficit
In the first independent analysis, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office concluded that President Obama’s budget would rack up massive deficits even after the economy recovers, forcing the nation to borrow nearly $9.3 trillion over the next decade.”

“WELL, AT LEAST WE AREN’T GIVING THE SAME TAX BREAKS TO THE RICH THAT BUSH WAS, RIGHT?”

That’s correct, we won’t be — nor will YOU be getting the same tax breaks. Oh, you didn’t know that YOU benefited as much as ‘those evil rich folks’ from Bush’s growth-incentive tax plan? Here’s what you gleefully gave up when you elected The One as your ‘Tax Savior’ (we’ll post another chart with a third column after Obama’s fourth year):

Think I’m making this up? Here’s just the beginning: “Backdoor taxes to hit middle class” (news.yahoo.com) [PDF archive]

For a clearer picture of why the Progressives hope American voters are too stupid, ignorant, and uninformed to do the math, take a moment to read the illuminating post from last year: How Taxes Work — or, ‘How to Pay for Beer’.

There are ‘media professionals’ who we used to rely on to be objective, that now are firmly in the camp of more government, less individual freedoms — purely on the basis of their own philosophical wants (and completely aside from any evidence that such a utopia can be engineered despite the thousands of years of human history that says otherwise). Those media people, like Chris Matthews, who act as the mouthpiece of some imagined Moral Majority use tactics like ridicule, defamation, and sheer volume to shout down anyone who dares ask the right questions.

Think the government is taking too much and representing you too little? You’re a TeaBagger (some may consider this link NSFW).

Wonder out loud if the government has a right to change the rules or business and finance ‘just to even out the playing field’? Your professionalism, work ethic, and personal life are now targets for the Leftist media to drag through the streets like the entrails of a half-dead dog.

Find it odd that our President has no paper trail, no historical archive of college term papers, no certifiable birth certificate? You’re a kook, and as crazy as the ‘Moon Truthers’.

Want Congressional ‘transparency’ to stop being an ongoing campaign slogan, and to actually occur while it might still do some good? Your elected representatives are just acting in an obstructionist fashion by demanding to sit at the table, and asking C-SPAN to be let into the room.

Do you find it easier to find Socialist similarities between what is happening now under Obama’s watch, with the Left-heavy Congress patting each other on the back behind closed doors — and Hitler’s rise to power — despite all the ‘BusHitler’ name-calling of the last 8 years? You’re a Racist.

So the real question here is, “Are the Progressives/Liberals who run our three branches of government CORRECT — Are You Stupid?“

“This isn’t the Democratic party of our fathers and grandfathers. This is the party of Woodstock hippies. I was at Woodstock — I built the stage. And when everything fell apart, and people were fighting for peanut-butter sandwiches, it was the National Guard who came in and saved the same people who were protesting them. So when Hillary Clinton a few years ago wanted to build a Woodstock memorial, I said it should be a statue of a National Guardsman feeding a crying hippie.”

- John Ratzenberger at a rally for Massachusetts Republican Senate candidate Scott Brown

Voter fraud watch:
Phony Calls Tell Massachusetts Residents Pro-Life Group Opposes Scott Brown (LifeNews.com)
Massachusetts Senate Race Voter Fraud Watch (MichelleMalkin.com)
Scott Brown’s abortion problem (ThePhoenix.com)
RCP.Com: All Polls (But Kos) Now Favor Scott Brown (ConstitutionClub.org)
Scott Brown’s Misguided Response to Mike Capuano’s MTA Endorsement (BlueMassGroup.com)

Remember when it was reported decades ago that the United States Federal government was paying hundreds of dollars — each — for toilet seats and hammers?

Later, it was found that the high cost of seemingly mundane items had been engineered to mask the dollars truthfully spent on huge government waste, individuals treating their expense accounts like personal piggy banks, and pet projects that never would have passed muster if reviewed and vetted through proper channels.

Now we are spending millions on dozens of federal web sites that are designed to make us all feel better about… the millions of dollars being spent to grow the government.

But these are all turning out to be so untrustworthy that we would settle for mere ‘propaganda’ — at least with propaganda, much of what you are told is true. What happens when the information posted to these multi-million-dollar web sites is actually examined and cross-checked with known facts?

From CBN:

“The Web site listed $6.4 billion going to 440 congressional districts that don’t exist. Congress only has 435 real districts.

The Franklin Center report also showed how Recovery.gov had the four American territories receiving stimulus money in their 23 congressional districts, when in fact they have zero districts.

In Washington D.C., there is just one congresswoman, but Recovery.gov shows the city has 12 congressional districts getting hefty amounts of stimulus funds.

In Arizona, the Web site has almost $35 million going to the state’s 15th and 86th districts — neither exist.”

Watch the report:

Years from now, we may find that all the millions wasted on these feel-good-but-don’t-check-the-math web sites are just a newer, more modern way to buy $400 toilet seats… although this time it’s plain to see — there really is a lot of shit passing through the center of this taxpayer-funded travesty.

Just hit the ‘Play’ button…

Update 1, September 14, 2009: Now with July 2009 data. From TipStrategies.com

What is the difference between someone who is a leader, and someone who is simply in charge?

You may or may not have an opinion on Ronald Reagan; though it’s likely you have an opinion about those who claim allegiance to Reagan ideals. But this generation, and by that I mean most of us under the age of 50, has no solid recollection of what a Reagan speech was, back when we had real leadership in Washington D.C.

Before the government controlled nearly as much as it does now, there were actual leaders to be found, who met to discuss the heady and weighty matters that affected Americans everywhere. Leaders who understood that the hearts of Americans needed trust and guidance from their elected representatives — not whips, handcuffs and prosecution.

There was an expectation that the smartest found among us would be sent to Washington to belabor the concerns we had, and come back with solutions — not create problems that simply surpassed or replaced other problems.

Since most everyone I have recently spoken to has lost whatever memory they might have had of those who have gone before, I recommend that you take half an hour of your life, and watch (or read) a speech by Ronald Reagan, from back in 1964 (a few years before I was born).

It’s not just the calming cadence of his voice that matters — some say we’ve had plenty of that in later Presidents. It’s not the tireless intellect that provides an impression of trustworthy competance — most believe we have had that in every other President (though which is which is up for debate).

But there was always an understanding, a teachable moment, that came from his speeches — crafted such that even if you disagreed with him, you likely would still believe that the country is in good hands, with good men at the helm.

Allt-too-faint memories of speeches like this are why there are so many in this country moving from the Republican Party, and toward a possible, new, Conservative Party. It’s become obvious why the Democrats are losing the ears and eyes of those who can or will read a newspaper or any web page so long it requires scrolling — and the Republican Party is trying hard but quietly dying off in it’s own ignorance.

Here are the links to a transcript, and the YouTube of this memorable half hour of our history.

Ronald Reagan: “A Time For Choosing”

So I was completely unaware of this story until I saw a lead-in for our local evening news that flashed across the screen that Mr. Limbaugh had been ‘unprofessional’ and had ‘run with an unverified story’. These same ‘professional newscasters’ had previously run with the ‘story’ that the talk show host had made the fabricated racially-insensitive statements that had been attributed to him. They now apparently believe that Mr. Limbaugh, a professional talker with an informative and entertaining show format, should be held to the rules they no longer value for themselves — professional journalists.

From ‘Ignorant Media Misses Our Satiric Tweak on the Obama Thesis Hoax’ (RushLimbaugh.com)

Now, the setup for this, of course, is that I was libeled and slandered by countless members of the media, fabricated quotes, made-up quotes I never stated, never uttered, never wrote, nothing, were repeated all over this country by sportswriters, television cable hosts and so forth. After we proved to them that I didn’t do it they retracted it a week later, after the damage, and many of them said, “It still doesn’t matter, we know Limbaugh thinks it anyway.”

So last Friday, I get a note from a friend who says, “You ought to see what’s on this blog.” I looked at it, and it was Obama, his thesis from Columbia, “so-called Founders,” didn’t like what they did with the Constitution, there wasn’t enough talk about distribution of wealth and so forth. I said, “Well, this has a ring of truth to it,” because we’ve got Obama on radio from Chicago 2001 complaining about the Supreme Court not doing enough about redistribution. So we ran with it, made a big deal out of it in the first hour. In the second hour, I got a note saying, “Hey, Rush, we looked at this, we can’t back this up, we can’t find any actual sourcing for this.” So at that point I warned the audience that it may not be true, that we are still checking it.

Shortly thereafter I learned that the whole thing was made up, it was a satire piece on an obscure website. Then I said, “Okay, folks, I have to tell you, it’s satire, there’s no evidence that Obama ever wrote this, but, Media Tweak of the Day, I don’t care, I know he thinks it anyway because I’ve got audio of Obama saying it, talking about the Supreme Court.” And we all got a great laugh about it because I corrected it immediately, I explained that it was a hoax, or was satire and then to tweak the media I said, “But I don’t care, I’m sticking with it because I know he thinks it anyway.” So I dished out to Obama what the whole media did to me and I dished it back at the media as well.

Some of the ‘media professionals’ are having great fun running with this ‘news’:

ROSSINI: “When Rush Limbaugh discovers a hoax, he corrects it immediately. So what he spent a good part of his Friday broadcast gloating over an Internet story about how a TIME Magazine reporter got a hold of the president’s college thesis, and in it he disses the Constitution? So what the story was fake? When Limbaugh realized the report was fake he didn’t say sorry, not even oops.”

MATTHEWS: “Rush didn’t realize that it was a joke and broadcast the thesis story Friday as evidence that the president is, quote, anti-constitutionalist. Later in that same show Rushbo was told that the story was a hoax. Did he correct the record? Not exactly.”

Rush reiterates that he was mocking the treatment that ‘journalists’ had dished out to him over the fabricated statements he supposedly made that affected his ability to invest in an NFL property:

RUSH: These people! He has no clue that I’m parodying what happened to me, that he participated in. I don’t think I’ve gotten an apology from Matthews on this. So we stand by the fabricated quote? (laughing) I don’t know, folks. It’s fun. Did he correct the record? I shout from the mountaintops, element of truth, we know how he feels about distribution — We do know how he feels about it, so we stand by the fabricated quote. (laughing) Which is exactly what happened to me. I’m out of words to describe the insular world and the utter, utter lack of a sense of humor that these people have, particularly where Obama is concerned.

If you didn’t see our post back in April about how law-enforcement professionals were directed by a document provided by the Department of Homeland Security to classify much of America as ‘right-wing extremists’, you might not be aware that we created a tshirt to go along with the story that is designed to make it even easier (for anyone stupid enough to use these federal guidelines to assess ‘threat’) to identify us, the people who voted them into power.

You can purchase a professionally-printed tshirt from Zazzle.com by clicking below (that’s what pays for our hosting fees), or download the image and make one yourself (or a poster, or a sign for your next townhall rally, etc.). Permission is given to blitz the planet with it with no fears of copyright protection suits! (he-he)

The following artwork is hereby provided with no strings attached, and can be used for web badges, as graphics to link to copies of the damning DHS report itself, or on tshirts, wallpaper, etc. You can download the source package with art in Illustrator, EPS and PDF here.

What else is in our Zazzle.com store? Well, come find out — maybe your next protest in D.C. needs a new outfit?

Following are a few stats to debunk Vietnam mythology collected from FreeRepublic.com as written up in a post at Op-For.com:

“Vietnam veterans have a lower unemployment rate than the same non-vet age groups.

- Vietnam veterans’ personal income exceeds that of our non-veteran age group by more than 18 percent.

- Vietnam Veterans are less likely to be in prison – only one-half of one percent of Vietnam Veterans have been jailed for crimes.

- As of the current Census taken during August, 2000, the surviving U.S. Vietnam Veteran population estimate is: 1,002,511. During this Census count, the number of Americans falsely claiming to have served in-country is: 13,853,027. By this census, FOUR OUT OF FIVE WHO CLAIM TO BE Vietnam vets are not.

- Myth: Common Belief is that most Vietnam veterans were drafted.
Fact: 2/3 of the men who served in Vietnam were volunteers. 2/3 of the men who served in World War II were drafted. Approximately 70% of those killed in Vietnam were volunteers.”

The staying power of these myths says a lot more about the ignoramus American public than it does about the vets themselves.

For their part, the vets have been an honorable segment of the American population; conversely, the media, Hollywood, Berkeley whiz kids and John Kerry worshippers have never been able to consider that maybe those who were forced to grow up too fast actually did grow up.

But American pop culture is all too ready to pigeonhole any vet returning from wartime activities with an assumption that they some how cannot, and do not, belong among us after having ‘stood on the wall’.

Those who cling to, and promulgate, this myth, are bigger enemies of soldiers’ reintegration than any wartime experiences ducking flak and IEDs.