Jon Stewart recently did a segment on The Daily Show, where he joked that Fox News and, by extension, conservatives…are the NEW liberals.  Enjoy:

While Stewart is clearly joking, the point he makes is quite serious and worthy of a moment’s reflection.  Here’s a glance at what has changed in the arguments we hear from the conservative camp since the election:

BEFORE THE ELECTION:  People and grassroots organizations peacefully protesting the war and other actions of the administration…are unpatriotic, perhaps even traitorous, and are “hurting America.”

NOW: People and faux-grassroots organizations, protesting using violent and often racist imagery (some even carrying weapons)…are patriots exercising their Constitutional rights in an inspiring display of democracy in action.

BEFORE THE ELECTION:  People who criticize the President during wartime…are unpatriotic, and are hurting our soldiers by helping the terrorists.  U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!

NOW:  People who criticize the President (still during wartime, mind you), are patriots who value our soldiers and are helping our country.

BEFORE THE ELECTION:  Bush and his Congress need to act quickly to bail out the financial system before we have a total collapse!

NOW:  Why did Obama and his Congress bail out the banks without any strings attached?  Just more Democrat-led fiscal irresponsibility!

BEFORE THE ELECTION:  Bigger, costlier government…great!  As long as they tell us it is “making America safer!”

NOW:  Bigger, costlier government, no matter who it is going to help…even if it helps EVERYBODY in the country…is SOCIALISM and must be stopped!

BEFORE THE ELECTION:  Fiscal responsibility:  what is that?

NOW:  These Democrats are fiscally irresponsible and it’s going to destroy the economy!

BEFORE THE ELECTION:  It’s ok to bend, even break our constitutionally protected freedoms and guarantees of due process of law…it’s even acceptable for the government to break the law…as long as it is making us safer.

NOW:  We’re losing all of our freedoms!  This administration wants to take away our Constitutional rights!  NOTE:  Ironically, they can’t point out a single freedom they’ve lost under Obama.

BEFORE THE ELECTION:  So what if they’re collecting phone records, reading emails, and wiretapping domestic conversations…I’m sure they’re keeping us safer.

NOW:  Obama is going to collect our data through the census…and is compiling an “enemies list” by asking people to send in myths they hear about health care reform.  He must be stopped!

BEFORE THE ELECTION:  Those liberals…why are they always whining and trying to play the victim?

NOW: All the liberal media is ganging up on us, and they don’t want to let us say what we want to…and they are always pointing out all these facts that make us look bad!

AND THE HERE’S BIG ONE…

BEFORE THE ELECTION:  The government can be trusted to tell us the truth and to handle things properly.

NOW:  The government always lies and can’t do anything right.

Jon Stewart is right to shed some light on this obvious, pervasive hypocrisy…and it would be oh-so-much funnier, if the level of the conservatives’ convenient self-deception weren’t so extreme, so profound, so widely unacknowledged.

So…here’s the Friday “Chaos Theory” edition, containing all the leftover news items for the week of July 19th through the 25th:

PALINWATCH:

• In 2008, Sarah found another interesting use of Alaska taxpayer money…she used it to travel to the Mat-Su Valley so she could attend two religious events with the Wasilla Assembly of God folks.  Events…which included the odd use of SAMURAI SWORDS.  A minister quotes from scripture: “May the praise of God be in their mouths and a double edged sword in their hands to inflict vengeance on the nations, and punishment on the peoples, and to bind their kings with fetters, their nobles with shackles of iron, and to carry out the sentence written against them.“  Perhaps someone should tell them that if they kept reading, this guy named Jesus had more of a “peace-sort-of-thing” going on instead of a “stabby-sort-of-thing.”  But, who can blame them, I mean c’mon…SAMURAI SWORDS!  Here’s a clip.
• Ok…this is one of the funniest political items I’ve seen all year:  Vanity Fair ran a piece where Sarah’s resignation speech was marked up by an editor, a research editor, and a style editor.  It can be seen here…really, take a minute and look through it.
• Woo hoo! Sarah Palin has been slapped with her 19th ethics complaint.  One more punch on her card, and she gets a free six-inch sandwich.  The Alaska Fund Trust, was created and group of lawyers from around the country who are “experts in state and federal law.”  The fund’s purpose was to assist Palin with the costs of her various legal defense efforts.  These attorneys have pointed to similar funds (like Hillary Clinton’s) and asked why the fund that they created is any different. The Answer: those other funds are held to federal law, which they comply with.  Sarah’s fund complies with federal law…but may not comply with ALASKA law.  The state investigator thinks the charge has substance; predictably, Sarah and her attorneys do not.

HEALTH CARE:

• GOP Rep. Steve Scalise from Louisiana would like to warn us all about the organ rationing that will occur under the Obama plan:”When you look at the bill, you start to realize what they’re doing and proposing is the very government takeover where rationing of care would exist where a government bureaucrat can get in between the relationship of you and your doctor. It’s the same thing that’s happened in Canada, the same thing that’s happened in England, where unfortunately just yesterday, we saw the story of a 22-year-old, who was denied life-saving care, denied a transplant by this government bureaucracy that exists in England that rations care.“  First of all…all health care systems, including OUR CURRENT ONE, exercise organ rationing because…there are only so many organs available!  Oh, and the 22-year-old he mentions that didn’t get a transplant in Australia…it was a liver transplant, and it was denied because he’s an ALCOHOLIC and he wouldn’t have received it in our country, either.
• Remember how Republicans promised that they would offer their own health care plan?  Well, GOP Rep. Roy Blunt, chair of  the “House GOP Health Care Solutions Group” now says they won’t.  Why?  They claim it is because they don’t want to “confuse the focus.“  I’m only “confused” as to how they get away with opposing every administration plan without ever proposing a reasonable alternative…
• Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia, the House Republican whip, called it “the nonpartisan Lewin Group.”  The House Ways and Means Committee Republicans called it an “independent research firm.“  No matter what you call it…this group is the primary source of the Republican’s statistical data when they are arguing against the health care reform plan.  AND no matter what you call it…it is COMPLETELY owned by UnitedHealth Group.  That’s right:  one of the nation’s LARGEST health insurance providers.  Oh…but I’m certain the data is completely accurate and not at all “massaged” towards the company’s own interests.
• I’ve seen an number of blogs and emails which clearly aver that the president said things, at times they even attribute the claim as a direct quote, that HE DID NOT SAY AT ALL.  So, for the record…here’s the transcript.  And no…he did not say that the government will make decisions for doctors…and no…he did not say that you grandmother won’t get her pain meds…and no…he didn’t say that it is going to be paid for by taxing your health benefits.  Read or listen to the speech…and then comment on the speech.  That’s the procedure.
• The GOP keeps playing this cute game of “if we can delay this past August…we can say we defeated Obama!“  What makes this needless, political stalling “not cute” is that nearly FIVE MILLION people have lost their health insurance since September, 2008.  The number of uninsured is 36.5 million, which means that 4.8 million adults have lost their insurance…IN LESS THAN A YEAR.
• The Health Insurance Industry would like to share their own “data” with us.  They TRIED to say that 77% of people are satisfied with their private insurance…but it turns out that those are just the people WHO NEVER USE IT.  Here’s a shocker:  healthy people who never have to deal with their insurance company…they think their service is AWESOME.  Oh, and in terms of customer satisfaction…turns out that people are just as satisfied with Medicare as they are with private insurance; so much for the whole “government can’t do anything right” claim.
• U.S. Reps. Michele Bachmann and John Kline (both Republicans) say they oppose the formation of a public option because it would be…cheaper.  That is, it will be cheaper…than the insurance that is currently bankrupting businesses and families while providing little in the way of service.  Um, Michelle…John…that’s the whole point.

SEX SCANDALS:

• First it came out that Governor Mark Sanford had been cheating on his wife…and that he abandoned his state without notice so that he could meet with his mistress and “soul mate” one last time.  Now we know…he flew FIRST CLASS and on the taxpayers’ dime.  His office’s response?  They say that he “compares very favorably with previous administrations on use of the state plane, and we believe he would compare favorably on his use of other state travel as well.”  In other words, he may be corrupt, but at least he doesn’t abuse taxpayer money AS BAD as those past governors did.  This clearly seems to contradict his own claims that he is very concerned with “frugality“…and why not…he already contradicted himself on how “morally upright” he is and regarding those pesky marriage vows.
• And…more and more creepy details come out about the C-Street house, where Sanford, Ensign, and Pickering stayed, prayed, confessed to each other, and then ran around on their respective spouses.
• On the Subject of C-Street, Rachel Maddow interviewed Jeff Sharlet, the author of a book he wrote about his experiences while undercover within the C-Street residence:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2qsEu5UKA0

SOTOMAYOR CONFIRMATION:

• Quick Catch-Up: The confirmation has been delayed for a week…for no reason whatsoever, because everyone freely admits that she will definitely be confirmed.  Senator Graham (R-SC) says he will vote for her…and added: “Her life story … is something that every American should be proud of, and if her selection to the Supreme Court will inspire young women, particularly Latino women, to seek a career in the law, then that is a good thing -- and I hope it will.“  Personal Comment:  Regarding Graham’s statement…seriously, only a politician can call you a “motherf--ker” all week and then praise you at the end for being an “inspirational person.” Senator Kyl (R-AZ), will not…a specific reason wasn’t given…

POLITICIANS BEHAVING BADLY:

• More GOP racism:  Dr. David McKalip, a Republican activist with a strong anti-health-care-reform stance, sent an email around with the words “funny stuff” and a picture of President Obama as a witch doctor with a bone through his nose.  Let’s see…we have a foolish email…with a racist picture…all that’s missing is a ridiculous claim of “communism.”  Oh wait…scroll down to see the hammer and sickle.  That’s it -- he got the jackassery trifecta.
• Rep. Marsha Blackburn’s (R-TN) words: “Let’s agree that we’re going to have PAYGO enforcement. That we’re not going to cry ‘emergency’ every time we have a Katrina, every time we have a Tsunami, every time we have a need for extra spending, that we don’t go call for a special appropriation that allows us to circumvent the PAYGO rules.” While we can all appreciate fiscal responsibility…Blackburn’s claim that events like Katrina shouldn’t be treated as special circumstances where what must be done gets done with a minimum of bureaucracy and a maximum of speed and efficiency…is a bit sick.
• Maybe it’s a Republican thing:  Watch Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) stumble over a classic adage:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=pm8a3fFM1kw

You’ll remember that someone else in the GOP had similar difficulties:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKgPY1adc0A

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

• FOX’s Glenn Beck has reacted to the death in the Senate of a ridiculous gun law that would have invalidated each state’s specific gun laws, and allowed individuals from any state where they have a permit, to go to any other state and carry their weapon.  He said in defense of the bill: “I went to the movie this weekend with a gun. And surprise, surprise, I didn’t kill anybody!“  Here he is…in all his lunacy:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVUQM5XmCIg

• It’s official: Jon Stewart of the Daily Show is America’s most trusted newsman.  Jon would be the first to say that this is a strange, sad day…a day when news journalism is so vapid and, at times, so biased that a man who runs a COMEDY NEWS SHOW is more trusted than any of the rest.
• Good For You, Joe:  On Morning Joe, Joe Scarborough laid into FOX for being the only major network to refuse to air the president’s news conference.  What show was so important that it just couldn’t be preempted?  So you Think You Can Dance…sigh.

And that’s it for this week…tune in Monday for all new tales of whimsy, debauchery, political espionage, and the American condition…

…have a great weekend.

During the last presidential campaign, I noticed a disturbing trend.  We ALL expect any political contest to be loaded with statements and accusations that have been “spun” to one side’s benefit…and to the other side’s detriment.  We expect THAT.  What I didn’t expect, was the high volume of purely false statements and conspiracy theories that were rampaging through the internet and the email inboxes of the American people….including my inbox.  So I took it upon myself: when I was sent an email that made claims about Obama, Biden, McCain or Palin, I would research the claim and then send out a response to ALL the senders and recipients of the original email.  My response would contain the facts of the matter, as well as links to the resources that provided me those facts.

Soon…I had LOTS of people I hadn’t even met, forwarding emails to me and asking: “How about this?  Is THIS true?“  I set up my blog so that I could type up a response for all to see, and then I would send people on my mailing list links to my posts.  In this way, I was able to tell myself that at least I was doing my small part to fight misinformation and disinformation.

One rumor that I was sent, and that I responded to, involved Barack Obama’s citizenship.

It was an easy myth to debunk.  I mean, most conspiracy theories survive because they can’t be adequately disproven…this is not the case when it comes to the “birther” theory.  He has a birth certificate.  We had seen the short form…and when demand to see the long form wouldn’t go away, they brought it out of the vault.  It was authenticated by the REPUBLICAN governor of Hawaii.  It was authenticated by Hawaii’s Department of Health.  Letters and documentation from the doctor(s) who had participated in the birth were certified.  The local paper had even run a birth announcement.  Both liberal and conservative blogs were invited to verify the birth certificate’s authenticity in person…and did so (WorldNetDaily, the conservative blog, would later falsely claim that they had never done this).

So WHY…I mean really, WHY, is this inane theory still gaining so much traction among conservatives?  Examples:

• Back in February, Senator Richard Shelby (R-Alabama) said of Obama’s citizenship: “Well his father was Kenyan and they said he was born in Hawaii, but I haven’t seen any birth certificate.  You have to be born in America to be president.“  His spokesman would later say this was just a “throwaway line” on the senator’s part.  Since then, several Republicans have made similar “I-think-he’s-a-citizen-but-haven’t-seen-proof” statements as a means to perpetuate the conspiracy theory.
• In March, Representative Bill Posey (R-Florida) introduced a bill to force all candidates for presidential office to provide proof of citizenship before starting their campaign.  He claims this has absolutely nothing to do with the “Obama-birth-certificate-conspiracy” but all Americans over the age of five realize that his bill is a direct response to these ridiculous allegations.  Now…despite lawsuit after lawsuit being thrown out of court for being frivolous, more legislators have signed on to the bill.  Nine of them.
• Of course, Rush Limbaugh is never a man who concerned himself overly with the facts, and he was quick to quip that one thing Obama and God have in common…”God does not have a birth certificate, either.“  Since then, Limbaugh has spoken extensively, and erroneously, on the topic.
• Then there is the story of Maj. Stefan F. Cook.  Short version: Cook volunteers to go to Afghanistan…then says he refuses to go because he doesn’t think Obama is a citizen of the U.S….the Army says, “you’re the one who volunteered -- you don’t want to go, DON’T GO“…Cook’s job fires him because of the world of “crazy” he brought down upon them…he sues to get his job back…the court says, “NO.”
• Dave Evans, a Republican congressional candidate in Tennessee’s 6th District (WHY do the politicians of my state INSIST on repeatedly embarrassing the rest of us who live here?), has his concerns about Obama’s citizenship: “Certainly I, as an American, would not hesitate to show a document proving that I am American-born.  That leaves a lot of people wondering, why is he not showing a legitimate document? Now that it’s an issue, I don’t see why it should be a secret. If you’re legitimate, let the judicial system handle it and show the world that you are, and let’s move on. Let’s get this resolved once and for all, whether he is or he isn’t.“  He did present a “legitimate document,” so it is IRRESPONSIBLE to say he did not, Mr. Evans.
• Elizabeth Cheney, daughter of former VP Dick Cheney, showed that she has her father’s love for the distortion (or outright ignoring) of the truth.  While on Larry King Live, Cheney refused to denounce the “birther” conspiracy as false and even went on to say that people have reason to doubt Obama’s loyalty to the nation: “I think the Democrats have got more crazies than the Republicans do, but setting that aside, one of the reasons you see people so concerned about this, I think this issue is, people are uncomfortable with having for the first time ever, I think, a president who seems so reluctant to defend the nation overseas…people are fundamentally uncomfortable and fundamentally I think increasingly uncomfortable with an American president who seems to be afraid to defend America, stand up for what we believe in.“   Democratic strategist James Carville would respond, “These poor pathetic people are believing stuff just like Ms. Cheney tonight.  She refuses to say this is ludicrous because she wants these people to believe this.“
• CNN host Lou Dobbs, know for his extremely prejudicial stances against immigrants, had this nonsense to add to the discussion: “I’m starting to think we have a document issue. You suppose he’s un… no, I won’t even use the word undocumented, it wouldn’t be right.“
• And then…this clip came out:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=9V1nmn2zRMc

So is it any surprise, given the statements of certain irresponsible elected officials, talking heads, and bloggers…that a number of America’s less informed…less reasonable…more extremist…more racist…and often more mentally unstable citizens, STILL believe that this ridiculous accusation is true?  Especially when this is exactly the sort of thing that a lot of them WANT TO BELIEVE?

The good news: as the right-wing media has continued to peddle this foolishness, the rest of the media has taken up the call to properly educate people on the subject…

• Slate did an EXCELLENT job debunking this myth here.
• CNN’s Rick Sanchez WENT TO TOWN on the topic:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIjnF8ZR4aw

• Rachel Maddow did her usual, excellent job:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YtinnFJOvw

• Chris Matthews also weighed in on Hardball…

www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIlohGsRTiw

• NBC Nightly News even did a segment on it:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=CitAmHAbYXU

• MediaMatters.org did a nice overview:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRnvrBtK5zE

• And last, but never least…here’s Jon Stewart:

We might as well accept it: the myth will most likely never die.  Those people who have an interest (political or otherwise) in perpetuating this nonsense…will keep doing so.  People who believe this conspiracy theory, regardless of how much evidence they are provided…for whatever reason…they’ll keep believing it.  And all of them, the “birthers“…the people who spread the story and those who believe it…will likely never know what their behavior makes them look like to the rest of us.