Reality Liberation Front

It’s that time…here’s the weekly “Chaos Theory” edition of the Reality Liberation Front blog: a roundup of all the news items I wasn’t able to get to during the rest of the week. In the case of this week, where I was only able to find time to post one entry…that’s a LOT of news items…so let’s get started…

THE MEDIA – PUNDITS, HACKS, AND OTHER INVETERATE LIARS:

• On Morning Joe, Erin Burnett reported on Obama’s declaration that he intends to go after corporate tax shelters. Joe Scarborough proposed that there is a difference between hiding money to avoid taxes and being “an all out tax cheat,” to which Burnett responded, “That’s right. Isn’t it your obligation in this country – there is a tax code for a reason, to take advantage of every bit of it you can and pay as little as you can.” After this dubious claim that cheating on taxes is somehow “patriotic,” Burnett goes on to state that the reason that companies cheat our country out of so much money is because their corporate tax rate is so high. NOTE: Ireland…widely considered to have the “Best Corporate Tax Rate” earns a higher corporate tax revenue based on GDP than WE DO, despite having a lower tax rate. Why? Because they don’t have all the loopholes we do. Therefore, follow the logic, if we close the loopholes (as Obama intends) and companies start paying what THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO…THEN we can lower the rate to something comparable to Ireland’s. The reason it has to be so high is to make up for ALL THE CHEATING.
• Joe Scarborough did redeem himself somewhat when he stated that Rep. John Boehner’s recent attack ad, one of the most FLAGRANT attempts at fearmongering that I’ve ever personally seen, was out of step with the way Americans are thinking right now. He added, “I don’t think that’s helpful.” Here’s Boehner’s ad…and here’s Joe’s comments on it. On a side note, when John Boehner was asked about what the “overarching strategy” behind the ad is, he said, “I’m trying to push the administration to describe what their overarching strategy is.” Nice, John…that scores right up there with “I’m like rubber, you’re like glue.“
• On Hannity’s program on FOX, Ann Coulter criticized former interrogator Matthew Alexander (who I have mentioned here before) for coming out against torture, and mocked his service joking, “I did not know the Air Force had interrogators.” Alexander responded in an open letter, pointing out an obvious flaw with listening to Coulter on the subject of interrogation (or any other subject, if you ask me): “It is one thing to disagree with my personal opinion about torture, but quite disrespectful to mock the service of hundreds of combat veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan based on their service in the Air Force. Ann, however, has never conducted an interrogation (or served in combat) so I fail to see why Sean Hannity invited her to comment as an expert on interrogations.“
• The media coverage of Obama and Biden stepping out to get a simple cheeseburger has been nothing less than continually bizarre. In one of the weirdest developments, Sean Hannity of FOX decided that Obama’s choice of Dijon mustard was strange and an excuse to once again try to make Obama seem “foreign” or “different” and therefore…un-American.
• Perhaps you’ve heard some of the strange arguments coming out of our legislature regarding the new Hate Crimes legislation that would allow people who attack others based on the victims’ sexuality to be charged with a Hate Crime. First, one Republican representative after another stepped up to the microphone to protest that the bill would limit Free Speech…despite the fact that the bill only criminalizes “attacking people because they are gay” and does nothing to prevent “saying awful things about gay people“…in other words, it wouldn’t affect Free Speech AT ALL. Then…Republicans decided to trot out their old, trusted argument: “Homosexuals are perverts and pedophiles…so protecting homosexuals is the same as endangering our children.” Sean Hannity of FOX was only too happy to help Rep. Steve King promote this ridiculous argument (NOTE: Nearly every point King makes is DEMONSTRABLY false):

HANNITY: Is it safe to say that Democrats were willing to protect pedophiles but not offer the same protection to servicemen and women? Is that an accurate statement?

KING: Sean, it is a matter of congressional record. Absolutely true – beyond any doubt whatsoever. The recorded votes are there to prove just what you’ve said. They – and on top of that, [Rep.] Alcee Hastings [D] from Florida, that spoke on the rules debate, and he read a list of about 30 different paraphilias – proclivities, I call them – including pedophiles, necrophilia, and a number of things that I wouldn’t say on this program or any other. And he said I think all philias whatsoever should be protected by this law. That means every perversion that you can imagine would be special protected status under the Democrats’ bill that passed off the – floor of the House of Representatives.

• Sean Hannity recently used a strange, long-winded, “liberty-tree” analogy to simultaneously assert his own patriotism…while subtly calling for the hanging of tax collectors. Nice. Stephen Colbert decided to do his own take on it:

• My patience for Joe the Plumber is so limited at this point…I’ll just give you the highlights. In an interview with a “Christian” publication, Joe says he’s got nothing against gay people, but would never let “queers” near his children for reasons he thinks are obvious. When people criticized his remarks…Joe pointed out that “queer” is in the Dictionary and, therefore, can’t be considered offensive (huh?). Then, Elizabeth Hasslebeck of The View, finally decides that enough foolishness is enough…and rejects Joe saying “I think this is an ignoramus statement,” and that Joe is not welcome anywhere near her. Finally, Joe says that out of protest over “GOP overspending,” he will no longer be associated with the Republican Party. Merry Christmas, GOP. This is the best thing to happen to you all year.
• INTERESTING: File this under “caught red-handed“…the following is a compilation of JUST A FEW examples of FOX News selectively cherry picking soundbytes to advance the conservative agenda:

BAD PRESIDENT, NO COOKIE:

• During the presidential campaign, Obama had promised his support to lifting the ban on federally-funded needle exchange programs that help to fight the spread of HIV/AIDS. Once elected, he reaffirmed this pledge on his website: “The President also supports lifting the federal ban on needle exchange, which could dramatically reduce rates of infection among drug users.” However…the budget just released by Obama…still contains the language banning the federal funds. The administration’s excuse? They say they want to “work with Congress and the American public to build support for this change. We are committed to doing this as part of a National HIV/AIDS strategy and are confident that we can build support for these scientifically-based programs…In recent years, Washington has used the budget process to litigate divisive issues and score political points. This practice, which both sides have engaged in, has limited our ability to tackle our major economic challenges. President Obama decided not to play politics as usual with this budget…” However, by NOT implementing the solution he knows to be valid (and scientifically supported), just to appease congressional Republicans, Obama is doing EXACTLY that…playing politics as usual.
• Also, despite early pledges, Obama seems to be denying full support to Gay Rights issues. On May 1st, the language on the White House webpage was edited…removing the pledge to end the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy in the military. In fact…of the eight Gay Rights promises previously listed…only THREE remained. The “Civil Rights” page was also changed to read “[President Obama] supports changing Don’t Ask Don’t Tell in a sensible way that strengthens our armed forces and our national security.” CHANGING the policy….not REPEALING the policy; a policy that most of the public, most of the soldiers, most experts, and most military leaders indicate is actually HURTING the military. On a personal note, I find it odd that the first African-American president of our time, is backing away from the biggest Civil Rights battle of our time. And as a consequence…he is soon going to have to fire his first soldier: Dan Choi, West Point graduate, officer in the Army National Guard, fluent Arabic translator, and Iraq veteran. Gone…fired…dismissed…only because he chose to reveal that he is gay.
• Speaking of gay rights: Gay activist/blogger Michael Rogers appeared on Doug Mckelway,’ D.C. talk show Let’s Talk Live recently. Rogers was there to talk about a new movie titled Outrage, in which Rogers appears. Outrage is a documentary on the subject of members of Congress who vote against gay rights measures, secretly engage in homosexual behavior, and how the media usually refuses to cover these stories when they are uncovered. Then, during the course of the interview…Rogers accuses Mckelway of thinking being gay was “bad.” That’s when things got weird. Mckelway was incensed, demanded an apology, and shoved his finger in Rogers’ face. McKelway went on to say: “I’m about ready to do a lot more than point my finger at you…I, er, I will take you outside and give you a punch across the face because that is not what I said and that is not what I mean.” No, Mr. Mckelway…we believe you…I’m sure you have nothing against gay people…please just take your medication and relax, Mr. Mckelway.

PALINWATCH:

• The ethics complaints continue to mount against Palin. Now…the state of Alaska does not keep count, and the Attorney General’s office keeps the complaints confidential, so the only ones we know about are the ones where the complainant contacts the media. Palin’s office says this is “proof” that the complaints are little more than political attacks: “In the past several months, we have seen an orchestrated effort by the governor’s opponents to make differences of opinion and ideology almost criminal. Governor Palin has spent a considerable amount of time and money fighting ethics complaints – and no charge has been substantiated. I hope that the publicity-seekers will face a backlash from Alaskans who have a sense of fair play and proportion.” Oh, so she DIDN’T use her personal email to conduct government business (we know she did)? Oh, so she didn’t allow her husband to take part in official meetings and to make policy decisions (we know she did)? Oh, so she didn’t travel on the taxpayer dime to church events and other personal/campaign events (we know she did)? And she didn’t charge Alaskan’s per diems for “living at” and “traveling from” her own home (we know she did)? And she didn’t publicly wear clothing that advertised her husband’s snow machine racing sponsors (we know she did)? Of course, nobody knew about all Palin’s little “abuses of power” until she ran on the McCain ticket…but did she not think that all these things would be revealed once she was in the national spotlight? And now, knowing these things, people aren’t supposed to pursue them legally? Some claim the sheer number of complaints is “unusual“…well, seeing how Sarah likes to run her governor’s office I do not think “unusual” means “implausible.” Hell…even the legal defense fund she recently set up TO FIGHT ALL THESE COMPLAINTS…was done improperly and sparked complaints.
• Palin has said hers will be the first signature on a bill requiring teens to obtain parental consent to get an abortion…but she will not submit the bill herself: “I got a preliminary opinion from Law (Department) just giving me a heads up that critics would certainly file an ethics charge against me if I were to sponsor an initiative. So though I maintain I have First Amendment rights just as any other citizen does, I won’t flirt with the notion of giving critics more ammunition to keep filing wasteful ethics charges against me, but instead I’ll volunteer to be the first signature.” I guess she’s learning. However, Planned Parenthood points out one of the obvious “real world” issues with such a bill: “Many teens come from unhealthy families and could take dangerous steps to avoid the consequences that would come from facing their parents.” And one Democratic Senator is quick to point out that the provision in the bill requiring the teen to then wait 48 hours after notifying her parents is also contentious. Welcome to the most obvious attempt this week to surreptitiously make a legal activity (abortion) impossible/impractical to perform through intrusive legislation. Your GOP: Legislating Morality For Your Dumb Ass.
• At the start of her national political career, it was boasted that Palin was the “most popular governor in the country.” Now…not so much. She’s not even the most popular politician in her own state. According to a recent research poll she’s plunged from 85% approval…to 54%. What accounts for the sudden change of heart for 30% of people? Well I guess in March of ’08 they knew nothing about her except she was an attractive, female, Republican governor…now…they know a lot more.
• Ok…did anybody catch Bristol Palin on the Today Show or on Good Morning America? Recently, Bristol (despite being an unwed, teenage mother who said teen abstinence was “not realistic at all“) has decided to become…a spokesperson for teen abstinence. On the Today Show…she was asked the obvious question by Matt Lauer: How can you possibly explain to teenagers that abstinence is the best course when you OBVIOUSLY did not abstain and you have repeatedly said that you have no regrets about being a teen mother, and that your baby is one of the best things to happen to you? Bristol…acted like she had no idea they were going to ask her that. Her response: “Yeah…and I’m just out here just trying to tell teens this is hard work this is a real job, it’s a 24 hour a day job…” So to reiterate…Bristol had unsafe teen sex, does not regret it, does not regret having a baby, loves being a mother…and thinks all teens should not have sex and should not be taught about safe sex. Well, her tortured logic reveals she is one apple that did not fall far from its tree. Meanwhile, Levi (the baby’s father) exercised more good sense than usual in his talk show appearances, calling Bristol’s stance “unrealistic.” Duh.
• And lastly, revealing herself once again (and there’s no end to my surprise) to be one of the only people in today’s GOP showing any good sense, Meghan McCain reflected that Bristol Palin’s abstinence position actually indicates a much larger problem within the conservative movement: an inability to talk honestly about sex, and more importantly, about safe sex: “Let me get something straight: Bristol Palin, as an eighteen-year-old adult, is free to make her own choices and decide how she wants her life to unfold. But for whatever reasons, the American public and media remain overly engrossed in our politicians’ sex lives and, as in this case, those of their families. There’s an especially unhealthy attitude among conservatives. Daughters of Republican politicians aren’t expected to have sex, let alone enjoy it–as if there were some strange chastity belt automatically attached to us female offspring. God forbid anyone talk realistically about life experiences and natural, sexual instincts. Nope, the answer is always abstinence.“

THE IRONICALLY SEMI-ABORTIVE REBIRTH OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY:

• I spoke yesterday of the Republican Party’s attempt to “rebrand itself” through the formation of the National Council for a New America. And I talked about how they held their first ever meeting in a pizza parlor…featuring a failed presidential candidate, George Bush’s insignificantly smarter brother, and a man who is currently failing to lead the party. I also mentioned how, following Rush Limbaugh’s advice that the group should not be “listening” to Americans, but rather “educating” Americas…Eric Cantor conceded that listening would not be involved. Now…the group has new opponents: Dick Cheney, the conservative Family Research Council…and still, Rush Limbaugh. The opposition’s reasoning is simple: in order for the GOP to be a viable party again…they will have to become more moderate. In order to become more moderate, they will have to let go of many of their “social values” and “Christian right” stances. And…if there is one thing that Cheney, the FRC, and Limbaugh just can’t handle…it would be giving up their unpopular, extremist stances on social issues. Welcome to the real democracy guys…you are just now learning that YOU are the minority…what you don’t realize is that you always were.
• One of Limbaugh’s complaints is that Sarah Palin is not on the National Council for a New America, which he attributes to the council’s members “fearing” her. Unfortunately for Rush: First…they did invite her to join. Second…she just accepted. What none of them realize is that they would be right to “fear” Sarah…her commitment to extreme positions on “social values” and “Christian-focused” issues will prevent the council from ever making the changes that it needs to make…which is just what Rush wants.

GHOSTS OF THE PAST:

• We are starting to learn that not everybody within the Bush White House was keen on the idea of using torture, and attempting to justify it with DOJ memos…but that certainly isn’t stopping all of them from DEFENDING it. Former Attorney General Gonzalez is, as expected, the least repentant (right after Cheney, of course). In a recent interview with Dan Abrams, Gonzalez said that it was unfortunately that so much has been revealed, because we might want to torture again in the future (huh?) and he also said: “I think that the U.S. government provided advice to CIA interrogators based upon the best legal reasoning by the lawyers in the Department of Justice. Was it torture, when that advice was given? No. Were the interrogations harsh? Yes. Did they save lives? Absolutely.” Ok, Albert…first off, legal experts agree that the DOJ memos did not constitute the “best legal reasoning“…and secondly, DOJ memos do not constitute law, nor do they amend the law (only Congress can do that). So yes…it was still torture “when the advice was given.” Advice does not equal LAW.
• The previous Attorney General John Ashcroft wanted to hop on the “we did nothing wrong” bandwagon with an EVEN MORE INANE defense: “…the word waterboarding can be defined in a lot of ways. I don’t think they got it wrong. It’s different now…Because the law has been changed.” Apparently, after the interview, Ashcroft himself revealed the most gaping hope in his own argument: he admitted that the law, in fact, HAS NOT changed. The federal laws against torture were the same during the Bush years as they are now, and are the product of our participation in the international treaty banning torture. NOTE: These guys are ATTORNEYS…attorneys who were promoted to the “highest attorney in the land.” How is it they seem to have no knowledge of the law, or the Constitution, or how the Constitution says laws are made?
• Despite her opposition to the actions of the Bush White House, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has been defending the actions…first unsuccessfully to students at Stanford where she made the ridiculous claim that Al-Qaeda is a biggest threat to Americans than the Nazis were AND implicated herself in the torture conspiracy by admitting she passed on the “orders” from the Oval Office to the CIA AND tried to justify it all using the Nixonian argument that “if the president does it…it’s legal.” This time…she succumbed to the questions of a Fourth Grader. This time, Rice chose to go with the “the president was only trying to protect the country” defense. TO THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION: When even CHILDREN aren’t buying your damn excuses (and remember, they probably JUST studied the Constitution and Civics)…you probably should rethink your defense. AND TO MISHA LERNER, THE FOURTH GRADER: You rock.
• Since Obama’s commitment to close Gitmo, Republicans have seized upon this move as another opportunity to SCARE THE CRAP out of Americans. The GOP has released scary ads on television, warning that terrorists may soon be moved into your neighborhood, and now the GOP has introduced the “Keep Terrorists Out of America Act” to try to prevent the detainees at Gitmo from being brought to the mainland U.S. Perhaps they are unaware of two things. FIRST OFF: In this country, where we have LAWS, if you arrest someone but have no proof that they ever did anything illegal…we HAVE TO release them. SECONDLY: The detainees who are to be kept incarcerated while awaiting trial or after sentencing…they would not be moved into NEIGHBORHOODS…they would be moved into PRISONS. You know, prisons? The big places where we already securely house mass murderers, serial killers, and every other category of dangerous person? He shouldn’t have to, but Attorney General Eric Holder has affirmed that this is, indeed, the plan regarding the detainees. Every reasonable person already knew this…

MISCELLANY:

• The risen Lord LOVES a winner: A U.S. church raised money and sent Bibles written in Pashtu and Dari, the prominent Afghan languages, to soldiers serving in Afghanistan…despite the fact that it is ILLEGAL for soldiers to attempt to covert locals, or even to proselytize to locals. What’s more, one report shows a military preacher telling soldiers “The Special Forces guys, they hunt men. Basically, we do the same things as Christians. We hunt people for Jesus. We do, we hunt them down. Get the hound of heaven after them, so we get them into the Kingdom. That’s what we do, that’s our business.” Oddly, the Department of Defense has not returned calls on the subject.
• The Tea Party movement, amidst its death throes, has a new critic…one of its founders. Eric Odom, administrator of TaxDayTeaParty.com, a website that has served as a centralized communication hub for the movement, now says that the group has been undermined from the outside by media whores, opportunist profiteers, and politicians…and from within by all the nutjobs who have been showing up with their own agendas. Odom claims the movement was SUPPOSED to be about opposing “Socialized Healthcare,” “Internet Taxation,” and “Union Card Check.” Unfortunately, many protestors seem more interested in protesting taxes in general, Obama in general…and some don’t seem to fond of black people in general. Don’t you hate it Eric, when you throw a big party and ALL THE WRONG PEOPLE show up?

That’s all I’ve got…next week is certain to hold more items to shock and awe us all. Have a great weekend!