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Book Review: Alex Kerr's "Dogs and Demons: Tales from the Dark Side of Japan"

noreply@blogger.com (Marc McDonald) — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 21:12:00 +0000

By MARC McDONALD

This is the first in a series of book reviews that we'll be doing in coming months. We'll take a look at books on a variety of topics, including economics, progressive issues and world affairs.

It's difficult to know where to start criticizing Alex Kerr's spectacularly misinformed Dogs and Demons: Tales from the Dark Side of Japan. This is a book that is wrong on so many levels that Kerr can write one paragraph and it takes at least 20 pages to sort out the record.

In this book, Kerr has one main, overriding theme: that modern-day Japan is a horribly mismanaged basket case that is run by evil, corrupt bureaucrats who have driven the nation into ruin. The only hope for the nation, Kerr believes, is that Japan must completely abandon its current economic system and embrace a good, hefty dose of sweeping changes. Although Kerr doesn't specifically say it, it's clear that he believes Japan must become more like America.

As an "Exhibit A" of how terrible things supposedly are in Japan, Kerr opens his book with a relentlessly bleak assessment of Japan's supposedly out-of-control "construction state." In Kerr's view, trillions of yen are being wasted in unnecessary infrastructure projects across the nation. Not only are these projects not needed, Kerr writes, but they solely exist to benefit corrupt bureaucrats.

There's only one problem with Kerr's observations. He simply doesn't make a convincing case that these various infrastructure projects are indeed unnecessary. Indeed, about the only real "evidence" he serves up is simply the steep costs involved. Kerr notes that Japan spends far more on infrastructure than does the United States, a nation with vastly more land area.

However, it never seems have occurred to Kerr that Japan is simply a prosperous nation that has the money and inclination to spend heavily on infrastructure. More than one observer has pointed out in recent years that America is seriously neglecting and underinvesting in its own crumbling infrastructure. Could it be that Japan isn't really overspending at all and that the real problem is that America is spending too little?

Is there indeed waste going on in Japan's mighty infrastructure projects? Perhaps. Any major project, be it public or private usually has a degree of waste involved.

But while America may not be spending on its infrastructure at the levels Japan does, we certainly have plenty of questionable costs in our society. Take, for example, the hundreds of billions America spends yearly to house 2.2 million inmates in our prison system (the biggest in the world). Japan has no similar costs, as its own prison population is tiny, with less than 80,000 people behind bars. What's interesting is that, despite the fact America locks up millions and Japan doesn't, Japan still has a low crime rate that is only a tiny fraction of America's.

Speaking of wasteful spending: take for example, America's $3 trillion in costs for the Iraq War---a venture that most Americans now believe was a big mistake. Or take the $1 trillion of Americans' tax dollars that were used to bail out a corrupt Wall Street in 2008. Of all the examples of corruption and waste of tax dollars that Kerr cites in this book, there is nothing remotely as wasteful as the two preceding examples.

Incidentally, Kerr repeatedly mentions that Japan is supposedly in worse financial shape than America because its government debt levels are higher. What he fails to point out, though, is that Japan's government debt is almost entirely domestically owned---and thus not at the mercy of fickle foreigners, unlike America's titanic deficits. I wonder how serious Japan's debts are when the nation enjoys high savings rates, and can not only pay its own debts, but those of America's as well (to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars).

Speaking of Japan's finances, it's highly ironic that Kerr constantly favorably contrasts America's financial sector with the supposedly inferior Japanese financial sector throughout this book. Kerr maintains that Japan's financial services are lagging in innovation and are way behind on the creation of exotic new financial instruments, of the sort pioneered by Wall Street. (As we now know, it's the latter that turned out to be nothing more than giant Ponzi schemes that led to the 2008 Wall Street crash).

Between the Wall Street crash, the Iraq fiasco, and the colossal waste of the whole military industrial complex, it's clear that America has far more staggering problems than Japan in the 21st century.

But reading "Dogs and Demons" you'd never grasp this. While Kerr is busy bashing Japan, he is constantly holding up America as a superior nation that supposedly leads Japan in every measurable aspect.

Take the two nations' education systems for example. Kerr sings the praises of America's education system, while blasting Japan as having a flawed system that supposedly does nothing but turn out uncreative worker drones.

A casual look at the facts, though, dispels this myth. For a start, Japan has worked hard in recent years to increase the encouragement of creativity among its students. This effort appears to be working. After all, many of the world's most cutting-edge and innovative products are made in Japan these days. Japan is also an world leader in many creative fields, from fashion to art to music to literature.

While it's true that the very best and most elite U.S. universities lead the world, only a tiny percentage of U.S. students will ever have the money or resources to attend the likes of a Harvard or Yale. By contrast, America's public schools these days are a Third World-like disgrace, with their guns, their drugs, and their metal detectors.

For all their supposed problems, Japan's public schools have the highest standards of any major nation. Japanese students' math, science, and literacy scores crush their American counterparts. And for a nation that supposedly lacks "creativity," I find it interesting that Japan leads the world in the number of patents issued these days.

And for a nation that is supposedly in "decline," the fact is, Japan has the highest average life expectancy rate of any major nation. Of course, you won't encounter that fact in Kerr's book. But I can't think of one single important statistic that could sum up how prosperous a nation is than average life expectancy. (America's average life expectancy is the lowest of any developed nation). It's difficult to reconcile this with Kerr's insistence that America somehow leads Japan.

Like virtually all Western commentators, Kerr consistently underestimates Japan throughout this book. He spends so much time talking about how the nation has supposedly collapsed from the late 1980s "Bubble" era that a reader might assume that the nation is in the midst of a "Great Depression" type crisis.

There's a few facts that Kerr leaves out of his screed (and for good reason, as they would completely undermine his thesis). For example, for all of its supposed woes, Japan still has a $5 trillion economy, the second largest of any nation on earth.

While Japan's stock market has indeed stagnated in recent decades, the fact is Japan's stock market has never been a good indicator of the nation's real economic health. The whole logic of Japan's economy is fundamentally different from America's. Comparing the two nations' stock markets is like comparing apples and oranges. For a start, few ordinary Japanese even own stocks.

In his desperate attempts to portray Japan as a failing basket case, Kerr makes some truly strange observations. For example, Japan (along with China) currently helps prop up the U.S. economy by loaning America hundreds of billions of dollars. Bizarrely, though, as far as Kerr is concerned, this is a problem for Japan, not America. Kerr claims that if the U.S. dollar takes a dive, this will supposedly devastate Japan's economy.

This is truly some odd reasoning. The fact is, if the dollar tumbles this will be a disaster for America. After all, the dollar is a key lever of American power in the world. If the yen soars against the dollar, Japan could displace America as the world's leading economy. It's difficult to fathom how such a development could be a "disaster" for Japan.

And in predicting that a soaring yen will stifle Japan's exports, Kerr is simply regurgitating a claim that has been made over and over by Western commentators since the end of World War II. The yen has been steadily gaining on the dollar now for half a century. And yet Japan's exports have continued to climb steeply decade after decade. A strong yen has never hurt Japan's export strength---and it's doubtful it ever will.

The reason for the latter is that, since 1945, Japan has relentlessly pursued industries with very high entry barriers. And for all of Japan's problems since the Bubble collapse, the fact is Japan today is stronger than ever in high-tech manufacturing.

But Kerr downplays or ignores any evidence of Japan's strengths. He's convinced that the nation has been badly mismanaged, by corrupt bureaucrats, who've somehow betrayed the nation. At one point, he even says Japan could be ripe for a French Revolution-style social upheaval.

As ever with "Dogs and Demons," it's important to step back from time to time and review the facts when Kerr makes such hysterical claims. The fact is, if any nation is primed for a French Revolution style upheaval, it would be Kerr's beloved America.

Note that America in the past three decades has become by far the developed world's most economically polarized nation. In the past two decades alone, America's top 1 percent have increased their share of the nation's wealth from 20 percent to an astonishing 40 percent. The number of poor has soared, the number of people in prison has soared, and the middle class has steadily shrunk.

Nothing like this has occurred in Japan. In fact, Japan is not only one of the most prosperous nations on earth, but it has done a better job of sharing that prosperity amongst its population than any other developed nation. Today's Japan is even more egalitarian than the Nordic nations. Just to give one example, Japanese CEOs only earn around 15 times what rank-and-file workers earn in Japan. (In the U.S. that multiple has soared to an astonishing 500 times in recent years).

Kerr spreads a huge amount of badly researched misinformation in "Dogs and Demons." Hardly any aspect of Japanese life that he touches on is free of serious errors.

Take for example, Kerr's statement that automaker Honda has transferred its "base of operations" from Japan to the United States. This is just flat-out wrong. Like other Japanese automakers, Honda has set up assembly plants in the U.S. (as well as other nations worldwide). But it remains a Japanese corporation (and all its most important and cutting-edge research and manufacturing still takes place in Japan).

Kerr is also off-base on his observations on Japanese cinema. Like the nation as a whole, Kerr writes that the Japanese cinema industry has "collapsed." But this is patent nonsense. A casual glance at a weekly box office stats from sources like BoxofficeMojo.com reveal a different story. The fact is, at any given week, a strong majority of the most popular movies at Japan's box office are domestic films. (Japan is one of the few nations in the world, along with South Korea and India, where the locals prefer domestic films over Hollywood).

And Japan's recent cinematic success goes beyond mere box office numbers. The nation is home to one of the world's most dynamic and acclaimed film industries. A Japanese movie, "Departures," for example, won the Best Foreign Film Oscar in 2009. And a creatively bankrupt Hollywood has increasingly turned to re-making Japanese films in recent years (the horror film, "The Ring" being just one example). Meanwhile Japanese filmmakers like Takashi Miike and Kiyoshi Kurosawa have enjoyed increasing acclaim abroad in recent years.

Some of Kerr's observations about Japanese cinema are downright laughable and incredibly misinformed. For example, Kerr blasts Japan's movie critics who highly rate "Godzilla" as a classic. He believes this "campy" film isn't worthy of such praise. But the joke is on Kerr. The 1954 film "Gojira" (the original Japanese film) is widely regarded as a classic by serious film historians in both Japan and the West. The later "Godzilla" version, released in America, is indeed a travesty---it takes the original film and butchers it with poor editing and lousy dubbing. But this is NOT the film that is beloved of movie critics worldwide. Once again, Kerr reveals his ignorance of Japanese culture.

In his contempt for virtually everything that modern Japan has become, Kerr would have us believe that nation is in the toilet. And, as he repeatedly points out, he believes that he alone among Western commentators, is telling "the truth" about today's Japan. It's here where (once again) he completely loses me. For Kerr is simply merely the latest of a series of Western authors who have portrayed Japan as being a nation in decline, in increasingly hysterical terms.

Like the vast majority of current Western "Japan experts," Kerr clearly believes the Japanese system has no future and is driving the nation into ruin. What I find interesting, though (and what Kerr fails to acknowledge) is that other East Asian nations have embraced the Japanese way and rejected the free-wheeling Anglo-American style of capitalism. As a result, East Asia is booming and rapidly becoming the world's economic center of gravity.

While it's true that a lot of bitterness still exists between Japan and the rest of East Asia as a result of Japan's past military aggression, it's also true that East Asian nations have embraced key elements of today's Japan Inc.

Take China, for example. China in the past two decades has become one of the world's all-time spectacular economic success stories. Did China achieve this by embracing American-style capitalism? No, they did it by rejecting America's ideas about the supposed "superiority" of the service economy. China, like Japan, is a bureaucrat-led economy that is heavily focused on manufacturing, with an emphasis on mercantilism and exports. Like Japan, China follows a long-term industrial policy and the government takes a heavy hand in regulating many aspects of the private sector.

Kerr may believe that such an economic approach is a recipe for national decline. But regardless of what he believes, East Asian nations like China, Taiwan and South Korea, have clearly embraced the Japanese model in many ways---and have spectacularly boomed as a result.

East Asian leaders these days clearly reject the Anglo-America economic model that Kerr touts as the example to follow. Quite rightfully, they see it as a recipe for decline. Today's America, after all, suffers from titanic and soaring trade and fiscal deficits, a crumbling infrastructure, a Third World-like public school system, a dysfunctional, corrupt and broken political system, an out-of-control military industrial complex that is bankrupting the nation, and many other titanic woes.

As someone who seen Japan first-hand and is fluent in the language, I strongly disagree with Kerr's bleak assessment of that nation. Japan may be no utopia. No nation is. But in the long term, I believe its prospects are brighter than those of America. If you doubt me, I urge you to visit Tokyo for a couple of weeks and see for yourself just how high-tech and modern and prosperous today's Japan is.

Limbaugh's Remarks About Jews Echo "Mein Kampf"

noreply@blogger.com (Marc McDonald) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 17:19:00 +0000

By MARC McDONALD

Rush Limbaugh's recent remarks about Jewish people gave me a sense of deja vu. Where, I wondered, have I heard this sort of thing before? Then, it struck me: Adolf Hitler's manifesto, Mein Kampf.

Take, for example, Limbaugh's Jan. 20 remarks about Jewish liberals:

"Anyway, if you've--if you have often asked that question, if you've been puzzled by so many Jewish people vote liberal or vote Democrat, you--give (Norman Podhoretz's) book a shot."

Here, Limbaugh trots out the "Jews are liberal" stereotype. Hitler did the same thing in Mein Kampf:

"But even more: all at once the Jew also becomes liberal and begins to rave about the necessary progress of mankind."

Limbaugh's recent remarks also drew criticism when he talked about Jewish bankers:

"To some people, bankers--code word for Jewish--and guess who Obama's assaulting? He's assaulting bankers. He's assaulting money people. And a lot of those people on Wall Street are Jewish."

Of course, the topic of "Jewish bankers" was also an obsession of Hitler. In 1939, Hitler famously made a prediction:

"Today I will once more be a prophet: if the international Jewish financiers in and outside Europe should succeed in plunging the nations once more into a world war, then the result will not be the Bolshevizing of the earth, and thus the victory of Jewry, but the annihilation of the Jewish race in Europe."

Vitter Continues To Tout "Family Values"

noreply@blogger.com (Marc McDonald) — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 13:06:00 +0000

By MARC McDONALD

Remember Republican Sen. David "Diaper Dave" Vitter? You know, the hypocritical politician who endured a public scandal in 2007 after being outed for visiting prostitutes?

Well, Vitter is still a sitting senator. And he's running for re-election in November. What's more, he could very well win. A Rasmussen poll currently shows Vitter holding an 18-point lead over his likeliest Democratic opponent, Congressman Charlie Melancon, in Louisiana's race for the U.S. Senate.

And guess what? Vitter is still touting "family values." Indeed, he still sees himself as a paragon of virtue.

While other hypocritical GOP politicians (from Larry Craig to Mark Foley) have been forced from office, Vitter continues to hold his Senate seat. As far as he and his followers are concerned, the past is the past.

As Vitter said in a 2007 statement:
"This was a very serious sin in my past for which I am, of course, completely responsible. Several years ago, I asked for and received forgiveness from God and from my wife in confession and marriage counseling."

How touching.

It's a shame, though, that GOP hypocrites like Vitter were never willing to forgive the sins of other people, like Bill Clinton. (Oh, and the last time I checked, having a mistress isn't illegal, but prostitution is).

Recall that in 1998, Vitter called on Clinton to resign for having an extramarital affair.

You see, "family values" is real important to Vitter. On his official Web site, he claims he is "dedicated to making life better for his young family and all Louisiana families."

I looked real carefully over his site, though, and I didn't see anything that would actually help America's struggling families in any way. All I saw was Vitter's ramblings against abortion and same-sex marriage.

Vitter has no problem presenting himself as a big champion of "family values" (at least as the GOP defines the term).

For example, Vitter has long backed abstinence-only sex education. It's a shame he didn't follow his own advice on this issue.

In 2007, Vitter wrote:
"Abstinence education is a public health strategy focused on risk avoidance that aims to help young people avoid exposure to harm...by teaching teenagers that saving sex until marriage and remaining faithful afterwards is the best choice for health and happiness."

You've gotta love the Republicans. They have no sense of irony. Or shame.

Vitter was also one of the top backers of a failed constitutional amendment that would have banned same-sex marriage.

"This is a real outrage," Vitter said in 2004. "The Hollywood left is redefining the most basic institution in human history...We need a U.S. Senator who will stand up for Louisiana values, not Massachusetts's values."

The far-right "Christian" group, the Family Research Council, founded by James Dobson, agrees that Vitter is a family values kind of guy. In 2008, the FRC gave Vitter a 100 percent approval rating, a fact that Vitter loves to tout on his Web site.

However, when it comes to anything remotely resembling actual "family values," Vitter has come up short over the years. Take, for example, the State Children's Health Insurance Program, which provides health care to low-income kids. In 2007, Vitter opposed an increase in funding for the program.

Come November, I hope the voters of Louisiana have the good sense to vote this hypocrite out of office. If you'd like to contribute to the campaign of Vitter's Democratic opponent, Charlie Melancon, go here.
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George Carlin: "You Have No Rights"

noreply@blogger.com (Marc McDonald) — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 03:30:00 +0000

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Four months before he died, George Carlin (1937-2008) made one final live appearance in his It's Bad for Ya HBO special. On this program, he offered up his take on the state of the nation, including his observation that Americans don't really have any rights.

And the Wacky Wingnut Quote of the Year Goes To:

noreply@blogger.com (Marc McDonald) — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 15:40:00 +0000

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"We did not have a terrorist attack on our country during President Bush's term"
---former Bush White House Press Secretary Dana Perino, Nov. 24, 2009.
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As Media Matters has documented, 2009 was a rich year for wacky, creepy, racist, and downright bizarre quotes from America's wingnuts. And one of the strangest came from former Bush White House Press Secretary Dana Perino.

On the November 24 edition of Fox News' Hannity program, Perino made the jaw-dropping comment that America "did not have a terrorist attack on our country during President Bush's term."

Runners-up in the "Wacky Wingnut Quote of the Year":

"We are being told that we have to hope he succeeds, that we have to bend over, grab the ankles ... because his father was black"---Rush Limbaugh on President Obama.

Obama is "biggest liar in the history of the presidency," and he's "getting away with it... because he's a man of color"---Michael Savage.

"This has been a country built, basically, by white folks"---Pat Buchanan.

"The white Christian heterosexual married male is the epitome of everything right with America"---Michael Savage.

"[I]f you gave any U.S. soldier a gun with two bullets in it ... there's a good chance that Nancy Pelosi would get shot twice, and Harry Reid and bin Laden would be strangled to death."---David Feherty.

"Barack Obama has yet to have to prove he's a citizen. All he'd have to do is show a birth certificate"---Rush Limbaugh.

More 2009 wingnut quotes at Media Matters, here.

Rush Limbaugh: America's Biggest Welfare Recipient

noreply@blogger.com (Marc McDonald) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 03:15:00 +0000

By MARC McDONALD

The OxyMoron, Rush Limbaugh, is always bitching and moaning about welfare recipients (and, indeed, he slams any working person who gets any kind of assistance from the government).

Limbaugh's hysterical screeds about the evils of "welfare" seem to get more extreme with each passing year. Indeed, on Sept. 1, 2005, Rush even blamed "the welfare and entitlement thinking of government" for the humanitarian disaster that hit New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

But note that Rush only has a problem with poor people who get welfare. Exempt from his criticism are the rich, the politically-connected, and the corporations, who really collect most of the welfare in this country.

Indeed, the military war profiteers get vastly more welfare than all America's poor people combined. I mean, how many billions of dollars in closed, no-bid contracts did Halliburton alone receive in the Iraq War? And they're merely one of the pig-like, greedy corporations with their snouts at the trough of the bloated, wasteful Military Industrial Complex.

Of course, Rush also exempts himself from his screeds about welfare. After all, the Pig-Man gets loads of welfare himself. Indeed, Limbaugh's entire business is dependent on complete and total free usage of the public airwaves that we the people OWN.

Rush and his backers don't pay a penny for using OUR property. The airwaves we own are every bit as much a tangible asset as real estate or gold.

And Rush gets to use it to spread his NeoNazi hate speech for free.

And it's not like Rush's corporate backers are so broke that they couldn't afford to pay at least a small nominal fee to use our airwaves. (After all, these people just recently signed Rush up for a new contract that will pay him an eye-popping $400 million, on top of the tens of millions Limbaugh has already pocketed over the years).

If Rush's free ride on the public airwaves ain't welfare, then nothing is.

And, of course, this isn't the first time in Rush's life that he's gotten a handout from the government. After all, in his 1996 book, Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot and Other Observations, Al Franken noted that Rush once admitted on his radio show that he'd been receiving handouts from the government dole back when he was struggling in the 1980s. And now this fat piece of sh*t has the gall to blast any and all government programs that offer a helping hand to working people.

Oh, and to all you wingnuts who constantly bitch and moan about poor people getting a "free ride" off the taxpayers: obviously, you've never been poor, yourselves. If you were, you'd know that America's skimpy, Scrooge-like social safety net hardly offers much of a helping hand to poor people. We're not living in Sweden, for Chrissakes. The vast majority of poor and working-class people in America get ZERO help from the government. Frankly, if you're poor in America, you're on your own these days.

The fact is, Rush Limbaugh is America's biggest welfare recipient (both in a literal and figurative sense).

Infamous Episodes in GOP History: Rush Limbaugh Mocks Michael J. Fox

noreply@blogger.com (Marc McDonald) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 09:39:00 +0000

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The OxyMoron, Rush Limbaugh, has done a lot of despicable things in his time. But one of the most infamous occurred on Oct. 23, 2006, when Limbaugh mocked Michael J. Fox's symptoms of Parkinson's disease. Limbaugh mocked and imitated the symptoms that Fox displayed during a TV ad that supported political candidates who favor stem cell research.

"He is exaggerating the effects of the disease," the Pig-Man told his delusional listeners. "He's moving all around and shaking and it's purely an act....This is really shameless of Michael J. Fox. Either he didn't take his medication or he's acting."

As we all know, taking medication is something that the Pig-Man knows quite a bit about.

You know, watching Limbaugh bouncing around as he does in this video, reminds me of the "bowl full of jelly" line in the classic yuletide poem, "Twas the Night Before Christmas."

Indeed, I guess you could even think of the plump Limbaugh as a Santa Claus of sorts (that is, if your image of Santa is an obese, thrice-divorced, serial lying, cowardly chickenhawk, hillbilly heroin-guzzling, NeoNazi piece of shit).

Hold Glenn Beck, Fox, and News Corp Accountable

noreply@blogger.com (Marc McDonald) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 06:54:00 +0000

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From ColorOfChange.org:

Rupert Murdoch, chairman of Fox News Channel's parent company News Corp, said he agrees with Glenn Beck's statement that President Obama is "a racist" -- a clear sign that Fox's problems with race start at the very top.

Now that he's been called out and the spotlight is squarely on him, Murdoch says he doesn't agree with Beck, but he won't denounce Beck's rhetoric either.

It's time to force the conversation, publicly. Murdoch can stand by the fact that he supports Glenn Beck's race-baiting; or he can tell us why he doesn't and what he's going to do about it.

We can hold Beck, Fox, and News Corp accountable. It starts by demanding Murdoch answer a few simple questions. Please add your voice now.

Stop Glenn Beck's race baiting

Fox's Glenn Beck recently said President Obama is "a racist" and has a "deep-seated hatred for white people." Beck is on a campaign to convince the American public that President Obama's agenda is about serving the needs of Black communities at White people's expense. It's repulsive, divisive and shouldn't be on the air.

Join ColorOfChange.org in calling on Beck's advertisers to stop sponsoring his show.

Add your voice now.

80 companies have stopped their ads from appearing on Glenn Beck's show--click here for the full list.

Oh, and in case you need a refresher course in the creepy, twisted worldwide of Beck, go here for a few examples of his NeoNazi ramblings.

Would Black NFL Players Refuse To Play For Limbaugh's Rams?

noreply@blogger.com (Marc McDonald) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 23:56:00 +0000

By MARC McDONALD

"In Obama's America, the white kids now get beat up with the black kids cheering"
----Rush Limbaugh, Sept. 15, 2009.

There's growing speculation brewing now that black players will refuse to play for the St. Louis Rams, should hatemonger Rush Limbaugh succeed in his bid to buy the team.

I hope to God this is indeed the case, and that black players will indeed boycott the Rams. I cannot fathom how any African-American football player could play on a team owned by a Nazi asshole like Limbaugh. I mean, this is a man who has essentially built his career by denigrating and mocking black people, with one racist comment after another.

Furthermore, I believe the Rams, and the NFL in general have even more to lose, should they allow the OxyMoron to buy the Rams. I would wager that a lot of fans (like myself) will boycott the NFL. The NFL allows this fat piece of shit a seat at the owners' table at its own financial peril.

Boehner Said He's Never Heard from a Supporter of Public Option - 202-225-6205

noreply@blogger.com (Marc McDonald) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 17:07:00 +0000

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From Jon Ponder, at Pensito Review:

House GOP Leader John Boehner (Ohio) told reporters yesterday that, based entirely on his empirical experience, there aren't any supporters of an optional government-run health-insurance plan. He said the government option is as "unpopular as a garlic milkshake." He also acknowledged that by making this claim, he was "inviting" the plan’s supporters to call him:

"I'm still trying to find the first American to talk to who’s in favor of the public option, other than a member of Congress or the administration. I've not talked to one, and I get to a lot of places and I've not had anyone come up to me — I know I'm inviting it — and lobby for the public option," Boehner said.

"This thing (the public option) is about as unpopular as a garlic milkshake," Boehner added, noting that he had not consumed such a milkshake.

As is usual for Bush-era Republicans, Boehner is either clueless or lying. Surely someone his staff has informed him that a Quinnipiac poll in Ohio two weeks ago found that Boehner’s home-staters are in favor of an optional government insurance plan, 57 percent to 35 percent.

Nationwide, the latest CBS News/New York Times poll found that 72 percent of Americans favor the government plan, while just 26 percent oppose it.

A SurveyUSA poll in late August found that 77 percent of Americans supported the government option.

If you're a supporter of the government plan, Leader Boehner needs to hear from you:

Washington: 202-225-6205
Butler County: 513-779-5400

Miami County: 937-339-1524

From Pensito Review.

The Debtors' Revolt Begins Now

noreply@blogger.com (Marc McDonald) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 07:41:00 +0000

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Ann Minch of Red Bluff, Calif., a 46-year-old stepmother of two is angry as hell, and she's not going to take it anymore, according to HuffingtonPost. Minch has carried a balance of several thousand dollars on her Bank of America credit card for years and says she's never missed a payment.

Now Bank of America has rewarded her loyalty by repeatedly raising her interest rate, which reach 30 percent in July. (Yes, the same Bank of America that pocketed $25 billion of our tax dollars in the federal government's bank bailout last year).

Fed up, Minch turned to YouTube.

As Minch notes in her video:

"You are evil, thieving bastards. You have reaped ungodly profits in your behemoth casino scams, then lost, only to turn around and usurp the wealth of this great nation by the outright rape and pillage of middle class Americans, whose sweat and toil built it. The biggest ripoff in the history of the world is padding your bonus checks, with the federal government as your co-conspirators. Every last one of you should be rotting in prison."

I'm Thinking About Killing Glenn Beck

noreply@blogger.com (Marc McDonald) — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 04:22:00 +0000

By MARC McDONALD

"Hang on, let me just tell you what I'm thinking. I'm thinking about killing Glenn Beck, and I'm wondering if I could kill him myself, or if I would need to hire somebody to do it. No, I think I could."

No doubt, the above quote is provoking two main reactions from those who've stumbled across this blog today:

1. Progressives, (who are wondering what's going on and horrified that I would talk about violence against another human being).

2. Conservatives, (who are outraged and angry that I would say such as thing about their hero, Beck).

But I wrote the above quote to prove a point.

That is: Wingnuts like Beck can literally get away with anything they say, and face no real repercussions. After all, all I did with the above quote is take a May 2005 quote that Beck made and I substituted the words "Glenn Beck" for "Michael Moore"----the words Beck used in the original quote.

Since Beck made that quote in 2005, his career has gone from strength to strength. Last year, he made over $23 million. His audience and influence continues to soar. This, despite the fact that he continues to spew out crazy, violent rhetoric like his 2005 quote about killing Moore.

And yet, if anyone on the Left makes even a mildly controversial remark, it will dog them to the end of time (and almost certainly end their career).

Recall that all Howard Dean ever did was give out an enthusiastic shout to his supporters---and that alone was enough to sink his presidential ambitions. He didn't even say anything controversial, for Chrissakes.

But the Right-Wing these days pretty much about to get away with murder, and face zero repercussions. Beck can call the predominately African-American victims of Hurricane Katrina "scumbags" and get away with it. He can call the mother of a fallen soldier, Cindy Sheehan, a "slut" and get away with it. He can chillingly talk about killing Moore and get away with it.

Speaking of repercussions, I'm aware that the grassroots group, ColorOfChange.org, is running a highly successful boycott against Beck's Fox News program. Thus far, they've managed to persuade over 60 advertisers to stop sponsoring Beck's hate.

I strongly applaud what ColorOfChange.org is doing. But I'm not entirely convinced that Beck will ever face any real repercussions as a result of this boycott. Advertisers, after all, are likely to just switch to other Fox News programs. As long as Beck's 3 million-plus viewership continues to rise (which is in fact the case), I doubt Beck is going to lose his show anytime soon, boycott or not.

There's another point I've been trying to make by quoting Beck's hate speech. That is: We progressives are a bunch of wussies. We let the wingnuts attack us over and over and we don't even bother to defend ourselves.

Case in point, Beck goes after Van Jones (a co-founder of ColorOfChange.org) and the White House promptly throws Jones under the bus (seemingly handing a big victory to Beck---at a time when he ought to be reeling and on the ropes after losing all his main advertisers). Once again, the Dems managed to take a clear victory and somehow turn it into a defeat.

People: it's time we take the gloves off and start fighting back against these bastards, fighting fire with fire. I'm sick and tired of people like President Obama trying to "reach out across the aisle." For a change, we need to act like we're the party who won a clear mandate from the American people, instead of a timid, meek party that is afraid of its own shadow and lets the GOP sh*t all over us every chance they get.

By the way, if you don't support fascist hate speech polluting our nation's airwaves, then please support ColorOfChange.org and sign their online petition.

Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC), Not Obama, Is A Liar

noreply@blogger.com (Marc McDonald) — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 06:10:00 +0000

.

President Obama: "There are also those who claim that our reform effort will insure illegal immigrants. This, too, is false---the reforms I'm proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally."

Rep. Joe Wilson: "You Lie!"

As CrooksAndLiars.com points out, Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) shows once again that the Republicans have "no class and no respect for government and Americans."

Wilson yelled out "You lie!" when President Obama reassured Americans during his nationally televised speech Wednesday that his health care reform plan did not include illegal aliens. As C&L noted: "Disgusting. Can you imagine the uproar if a Democrat had so little class as to do that during one of Bush's speeches?"

And as Media Matters points out, it's Wilson, not Obama, who is the liar.

Neither the President's plan, nor H.R. 3200 cover undocumented aliens.

From Media Matters:

House Bill: "No Federal Payment for Undocumented Aliens." According to America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009, Page 143, Line 3, Section 246: "No Federal Payment for Undocumented Aliens. Nothing in this subtitle shall allow Federal payments for affordability credits on behalf of individuals who are not lawfully present in the United States." [America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009, accessed 7/22/09]

Beck Boycott Continues To Expand, As Advertisers Refuse To Support Hate Speech

noreply@blogger.com (Marc McDonald) — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 23:34:00 +0000

By MARC McDONALD

When Fox News commentator Glenn Beck called President Obama a "racist," on July 28, he likely had no idea of the firestorm of controversy he was about to unleash.

After all, Fox News (along with HateWing radio and the Wingnut blogosphere) spew out even more extreme hateful rhetoric on a daily basis. In fact, Beck's "Obama is a racist" comment was far from the most offensive and controversial comment that Beck himself has made over the years.

It's a measure of the double standard in our society that the likes of Beck are able to spew all kinds of violent hate speech and never face any sort of reprimand.

And yet, if anyone on the Left makes even a mildly controversial remark, it will dog them to the end of time (and almost certainly end their career). Recall that all Howard Dean ever did was give out an enthusiastic shout to his supporters---and that alone was enough to sink his presidential ambitions. He didn't even say anything controversial, for Chrissakes.

But the Right-Wing these days pretty much about to get away with murder, and face zero repercussions. Beck can call the predominately African-American victims of Katrina "scumbags" and get away with it. He can call the mother of a fallen soldier, Cindy Sheehan, a "slut" and get away with it. He can blandly and chillingly talk about killing Michael Moore and get away with it.

Given all this, Beck probably thought his "Obama is a racist" remark would never generate any controversy. It was, after all, just another typical day on the Right-Wing cesspool of hate, bigotry and intolerance that is Fox News.

But Beck was wrong.

The boycott of Beck's program started very modestly. In August, the grassroots group, ColorOfChange.org, which organized the boycott, announced that three advertisers had agreed to stop supporting Beck's Fox program.

The reaction from the Right-Wing at the time was sarcastic. One commentator at Wingnut site Hot Air scoffed at the idea that the boycott would amount to anything and chuckled at the notion that a boycott supported by only three advertisers would have any sort of impact.

That was then.

How things have changed in the past couple of weeks.

Today, ColorOfChange.org's boycott has grown to 57 advertisers. It has been enormously successful. Although Beck's program remains on the air, he has to be sweating it out these days, as the boycott grows larger and larger.

Although ColorOfChange.org has enjoyed remarkable success in building a boycott, it's clear that there is still much work to be done. We must continue to pressure Beck's remaining advertisers and remind them that we'll not support their products as long as they support a hatemonger like Beck. We must also continue to pressure the existing 57 advertising boycotters to keep their boycott in place, even after this storm of controversy passes.

So who is still advertising on Beck's program? Here is a list of advertisers:

Rosland Capital
Roche Diagnostics (Accu-Chek Aviva)
Church and Dwight Co, Inc. (Oxi Clean)
StopRepairBills.com
Clarity Media Group (The Weekly Standard)
Jos. A. Bank Clothiers
Citrix (GoToMeeting)
News Corp. (The Wall Street Journal)
Seoul Metropolitan Government (seoul.go.kr)
Zero Technologies (ZeroWater)
Video Professor
Fox News Network (realamericanstories.com)
Carbonite
1-800-Pet-Meds
IRSTaxAgreements.com
Lear Capital
Our Country Deserves Better PAC

If you don't support fascist Nazi-like hate speech polluting our nation's airwaves, then please don't support these advertisers (and let them know your feelings). For that matter, consider boycotting the cesspool of hate and misinformation that is Fox News. And please: support ColorOfChange.org and sign their online petition.

What's Really Stupid: America's Racist Justice System

noreply@blogger.com (Marc McDonald) — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 03:09:00 +0000

By MARC McDONALD

As the controversy over the arrest of Henry Louis Gates Jr. continues to grab headlines, a debate rages over President Obama's description of the police acting "stupidly."

But as long as we're on the subject, it seems to me that we're ignoring a larger issue: the stupidity of America's racist justice system.

Don't believe the U.S. justice system is racist? Well, let's take a look at the numbers.

Since 2000, the U.S. prison population has risen from 1.7 million to 2.1 million. 40 percent of the inmates are African-Americans (who make up only 14 percent of the overall U.S. population).

So why are blacks more likely to be incarcerated in America? It's really no mystery.

As Britain's Financial Times noted on Tuesday, Department of Justice figures show that African-Americans and whites use and sell drugs at similar ratios to their share of the population. Yet an African-American offender is 10 times more likely to be sentenced to prison than a white offender, for the same offense.

The Financial Times (hardly a radical leftist publication) noted Tuesday that, Obama's presidential victory notwithstanding, "racial disparities in the U.S. are in some respects worse than they were 10 or 20 years ago."

Just as most white Americans never really came to terms to the horrible legacy of slavery and Jim Crow, many whites today have refused to confront the fact that America remains a racist nation in many ways, something that is confirmed by the astonishing Justice Department figures.

And the odds are remote that anything will be done about this for many years to come. After all, most white American remain blissfully unaware that our nation's justice system is blatantly racist.

And the vast majority of Republicans continue to maintain that there is no disparity at all. Indeed, an ongoing theme that is often repeated on right-wing talk radio is that the notion that our nation is in any way racist is a figment of Liberals' imagination.

Republicans deny that America's justice system is racist with the same fervor that they deny the existence of global warming.

Don't believe me? Next time you have a talk about politics with a right-wing friend, raise this issue. There's no better way to make a wingnut go ballistic than to dare suggest that America's justice system is racist.

In artistic depictions, Lady Justice is often shown carrying a set of scales and wearing a blindfold. The latter is meant to depict the idea that justice should be meted out objectively. But in today's America, the blindfold is worn by the millions of Americans who continue to believe that our nation's justice system isn't racist.

With Misleading Obama Photo, Drudge Again Shows He's A Lying Sack of Sh*t

noreply@blogger.com (Marc McDonald) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 07:31:00 +0000

By MARC McDONALD

Yesterday, I was browsing a message board when I noticed that a lot of the wingnut participants were abuzz about a photo of President Obama at the G8 summit. At first glance, the photo appears to show Obama leering at the backside of a passing woman.

Immediately, I suspected there was more to the story. And one thing was definitely clear: I knew this photo must be the featured item at the Drudge Report. Any time the wingnuts are abuzz about the latest supposed Democratic "outrage" you can be sure where the story is generating buzz: Drudge, the online sewer pit that spews GOP lies and propaganda 24/7.

And, (as is the case with so much of what Drudge peddles as "news") it turns out this "story" is complete and utter bullsh*t. If you look at the video of the incident, as opposed to the misleading single photo Drudge peddled, it's clear that Obama wasn't leering at the woman at all. Instead, he's briefly glancing down at the steps, watching his footing, at he assists another woman who is descending the steps. To view the video, go here.

Although this "Obama-Leering-At-A-Woman's-Butt" photo has been debunked by ABC News, among others, Drudge continues to peddle this bullsh*t. As of 2:20 a.m. July 11, the misleading photo was still prominently featured as the lead "news item" at the top of the Drudge Report site, with accompanying news stories that offered sensational angles like "She's young enough to be his daughter." True, eventually, a small text link appeared with the headline: "ABCNEWS: No he didn't ..."

No doubt, all of Drudge's millions of visitors saw the prominent photo. It's unclear how many bothered to click the ABC story, which eventually appeared and which debunked this news "story."

And once again, Drudge has revealed himself to be a right-wing-propaganda-peddling, sack-of-shit liar.

Day after day (like right-wing talk radio), Drudge spews out the latest GOP talking points and propaganda. He is truly a sick, detestable, and evil man. If there is a God, then someday, people like him will roast in the flames of the deepest depths of hell.

Incidentally, the reason I despise people like Drudge has nothing to do with his wingnut, Bush-supporting, GOP politics. Instead, it everything to do with the fact that Drudge, like Limbaugh, is a fucking liar.

Months After 'Pelosi Would Get Shot' Remark, David Feherty's Career Is Doing Just Fine

noreply@blogger.com (Marc McDonald) — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 06:05:00 +0000

By MARC McDONALD

Remember back in March, when CBS Golf Analyst David Feherty, in a column in D Magazine, spewed this crazy, violent comment:

"From my own experience visiting the troops in the Middle East, I can tell you this, though: despite how the conflict has been portrayed by our glorious media, if you gave any U.S. soldier a gun with two bullets in it, and he found himself in an elevator with Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and Osama bin Laden, there's a good chance that Nancy Pelosi would get shot twice, and Harry Reid and bin Laden would be strangled to death."

At the time, Keith Olbermann predicted that Feherty's highly paid career as a CBS golf analyst would soon be history. Unfortunately, Olbermann was wrong.

Incredibly, Feherty has faced no real repercussions for his remarks since he made them back in March (and I would suspect he never will). He continues to happily work on the public airwaves in his highly paid gig as a golf commentator at CBS.

As Stu Kreisman noted in Huffington Post:

"David Feherty insulted every person who puts on a uniform to fight for the United States. He cast them all as hate mongers willing to assassinate members of the government that Feherty and his pals don't care for."

By contrast, when someone on the Left makes a comment that is even remotely controversial, there's always hell to pay. Remember the Dixie Chicks?

Kreisman notes: "At a concert in London, lead singer Natalie Maines mentioned she was ashamed that George Bush came from her home state of Texas. For that comment, the Dixie Chicks were banned from most of the public airwaves, radio stations sponsored rallies where CDs were crushed and burned."

But Feherty has faced no repercussions and continues to collect a paycheck at his highly-paid position at CBS.

If you'd like to contact CBS about this, go here.

Gannett Co. Lays Off Thousands As CEO Pockets Millions

noreply@blogger.com (Marc McDonald) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 23:08:00 +0000

By MARC McDONALD

Gannett Co., the biggest U.S. newspaper publisher by daily circulation, has been taking a hatchet to its work force in recent years, even as its CEO pockets millions in compensation.

In the latest round of cuts, announced Wednesday, Gannett announced another 1,400 layoffs in the next few weeks. That amounts to 3 percent of the workforce.

One person at Gannett who isn't suffering these days is CEO Craig A. Dubow. In 2008, Dubow pocketed $3.7 million in compensation. That includes a base salary of $1,166,667, as well as stocks, options and other compensation. The year before, Dubow got $7.9 million in compensation.

In 2008, Gannett cut 4,600 jobs. It also required "most of its remaining employees to take unpaid leave in the first and second quarters."

In 2008, Gannett was ranked as "one of America's worst places to work," according to employee survey site Glassdoor. Dubow's approval rating stood at 19 percent, according to the survey.

Last year, Gannett stock fell in value 75 percent. Gannett lost $6.6 billion in 2008.

Mark Sanford News Roundup

noreply@blogger.com (Marc McDonald) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 23:07:00 +0000

By MARC McDONALD

Look, I don't really care about the extramarital affair of South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford (R). But it is pretty nauseating, as always, to hear about the hypocrisy of politicians who belong to the supposed "Family Values" party.

Sanford, let's not forget, was relentless in his attacks when he backed impeachment articles against Bill Clinton back in 1998, as the HuffingtonPost points out:

This is "very damaging stuff," Sanford declared at one point, when details of Clinton's conduct became known. "I think it would be much better for the country and for him personally (to resign)... I come from the business side," he said. "If you had a chairman or president in the business world facing these allegations, he'd be gone."

So Sanford is a lying, sack-of-sh*t hypocrite. What's new for the Republicans?

What we ought to be more concerned about is the extent of taxpayer funds in Sanford's trips to Argentina. As the CharlestonCityPaper.com pointed out:

In December, the Associated Press reported that taxpayers had spent $21,488 in 2008 on Sanford trips to China, Argentina, and Brazil, as well as nearly $2,000 in travel from his own office.

But not to worry. Fox News is all over this story, with their usual high standards of journalism, labeling Sanford as a Democrat, as Media Matters noted. Check out the on-screen headline from Fox's coverage of Sanford's news conference: "SC Gov Mark Sanford (D) Holds News Conf On His Weekend Disappearance."

Mark Levin: The Most Extremist and Frightening HateWing Talker of Them All

noreply@blogger.com (Marc McDonald) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 14:07:00 +0000

By MARC McDONALD

Talk radio these days is becoming more and more extremist and frightening. And HateWing spewer Mark Levin is the most frightening and extreme of them all.

Clearly, though, there's an audience for Levin's twisted vision. After all, his latest book, "Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto," was a recent No. 1 New York Times bestseller, with over a million copies now in print. And an incredible 1,355 out of 1,538 Amazon customers have given the book a perfect 5-star rating.

"Liberty and Tyranny" rounds up and recycles the usual arguments for (supposedly) limiting government. It's the same tired, cliched, simplistic arguments that have been trotted out endlessly by today's GOP (a philosophy, incidentally, that was trounced at the polls by the American people last year, who demonstrated that they're sick and tired of three decades of trickle-down Reaganomics).

But Levin couldn't care less what the majority of American people want. He believes that he, and his shrinking GOP base, know what's really best for the American people. Frankly, it sounds like elitism to me. (Which is ironic, because Levin and his ilk are constantly bitching and moaning about the "Liberal Elites" who are supposedly trying to push their views on the rest of us).

What's worse is that in "Liberty," (as was the case with his other books), Levin tries to justify his extremist beliefs by claiming that his twisted views are what the Founding Fathers called for.

If you read Levin, you get the impression that America today (a modern industrial superpower with a population of 300 million people) should be run exactly the same way it was run in the 1700s (when the U.S. was a sparsely populated collection of 13 rural colonies).

This is True Freedom, Levin would have us believe. Never mind that back in the 1700s, most Americans weren't free at all. After all, millions of blacks were enslaved. Indians were persecuted and murdered. And the majority of the population (women) couldn't even vote.

Is a 1700s-style government what Levin really wants for today's America? Well, when it fits his arguments. For example, any non-defense government programs, of course, ought to be abolished. Everything from Social Security to the FDA to the FAA to Medicare. Never mind that the American people overwhelming support all these programs. Levin wants them all abolished.

The problem with Levin is the inconsistency of his arguments. Levin, you see, has absolutely no problem with America's massive, out-of-control Pentagon budget. (Never mind the the fact that the Founding Fathers were opposed to a standing army during peacetime, as well as the fact that the U.S. got along just fine without the Pentagon for much of our nation's history).

Although Levin claims to be in favor of a smaller, less intrusive government, he has no problems with pouring trillions of our tax dollars into the pockets of wealthy and powerful "defense" contractors. So much for Eisenhower's warning about the dangers of the Military Industrial Complex.

But what did Eisenhower know? He was only an American hero and decorated military general who won World War II for America. No, let's ignore Eisenhower's words of wisdom and instead listen to cowardly chickenhawks like Levin (who never served in the military).

Incredibly, for all his talk about "fiscal responsibility," Levin has no problem with corporate welfare. In "Liberty," you won't read a word about the hundreds of billions of tax dollars that the likes of Halliburton have collected in closed, no-bid corporate welfare over the years.

Nor will you read a word about how corporate America these days pays little tax (in fact, two-thirds of U.S. corporations pay zero federal tax these days). But Levin, as always, lies through his teeth and claims U.S. corporations face a crushing, heavy tax burden.

One wonders what the Founding Fathers would have made of Levin. Although he claims to speak for their vision for America, I get the feeling that the likes of Thomas Jefferson would have been appalled at Levin. Jefferson, for example, rejected the divinity of Jesus Christ and famously wrote papers attacking the absurdities of the Bible. The Founding Fathers in fact were not Christian. But Levin, as always, lies through his teeth and claims that they were.

And yet Levin hijacks the Founding Father's views and would have us believe that they'd support things like George W. Bush's illegal, immoral $3 trillion War of Lies in Iraq. So much for George Washington's warning to the young nation to never get involved in overseas military adventures.

Bush, in fact, shredded the Constitution that Levin claims to support. During the Bush years, Levin fanatically supported Bush through all the outrages, from embracing torture as official state policy to warrantless wiretaps.

For Levin to turn around and claim in "Liberty" that he supports the philosophy of the Founding Fathers is sickening and grotesque. The Founding Fathers would have despised a dangerous demagogue like Levin.

"Liberty and Tyranny" has been a huge success for Levin. It even has a near-perfect 4.5 stars on Amazon. In 1,538 customer reviews, the book has garnered a perfect 5-star rating from an incredible 1,355 customers. Levin often touts this fact on his radio show.

The wingnuts definitely know how to play the Amazon ratings game. Check out a book by anyone from Al Gore to Michael Moore and you'll see endless one-star "reviews" by wingnuts (who, instead of actually reading the books in question, simply leave a short one-sentence attack on the author).

Yes, "Liberty" has been a big success. But for that matter, so was "Mein Kampf."

GOP Politicians OK With Tax-Funded Health Care---But Only For Themselves

noreply@blogger.com (Marc McDonald) — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 13:02:00 +0000

By MARC McDONALD

Contrary to what you might have heard, GOP politicians aren't opposed to all taxpayer-funded health care. For example, they've got no problem with the lavish, taxpayer-funded health care that they themselves receive as members of Congress. They just don't want anyone else in America to enjoy these generous benefits.

In fact, members of Congress get the finest health care in America---and it's mostly paid for by taxpayers.

I don't have a problem with Democratic politicians getting taxpayer-funded health care. After all, many of them are trying to extend such benefits to the rest of us.

But for GOP politicians to receive such lavish, taxpayer-supported health care while loudly opposing it for everyone else is, of course, stinking hypocrisy.

Amazingly, no Republican politician to my knowledge has ever admitted this glaring contradiction. None of them have ever demanded that their own health-care coverage be the same as what ordinary working stiffs get, out in the private sector. And nobody in the MSM ever bothers to call them out on this blatant hypocrisy.

Members of Congress participate in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP). They get a wide range of plans to choose from. They can also insure their spouses and dependents. There's no waiting period. And unlike the rest of us, no member of Congress has to worry about being denied coverage.

I've never heard of a member of Congress going bankrupt from medical bills. For the rest of us, the No. 1 cause of bankruptcy in America is caused by medical bills. In fact, medical bankruptcies affect about 2 million Americans annually. And even as GOP politicians enjoy generous health care benefits, they seem genuinely surprised at the notion that there's any kind of "crisis" going on with health care in America.

And here's something that GOP politicians would rather you not know: the government (i.e. you, the U.S. taxpayer) pays up to 75 percent of Congress members' health-care premiums, according to the Office of Personnel Management.

And as the St. Petersburg Times pointed out last year, members of Congress get other health-care benefits, as well, (funded by millions in taxpayer dollars):

Members of Congress have their own pharmacy, right in the Capitol. They also have a team of doctors, technicians and nurses standing by in case something busts in a filibuster. They can get a physical exam, an X-ray or an electrocardiogram, without leaving work.

GOP politicians think it's fine to enjoy taxpayer-funded health-care benefits. They just don't want these benefits for anyone else in America. Keep this in mind the next time you hear a GOP politician ranting away about how the government has no business being involved in health care.

If you think it's important that Americans have a strong public health insurance option this year, then consider writing a letter to the editor of your local newspaper.

Iranians Are Showing Major Juevos---Unlike "Murkans"

noreply@blogger.com (Marc McDonald) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 08:05:00 +0000

By MANIFESTO JOE

Maybe they had it right, in a sense, when they said it can't happen here. In 2000, the U.S. had a presidential election blatantly stolen, with the 5-4 blessing of our Supreme Court. Four years later, the national election results sharply contrasted with the exit polling, and it was eventually demonstrated that the technology and means to "hack" some of the voting machines existed.

With few exceptions, no one raised any serious hell in the U.S., either time.

Not so right now in Iran, and richly to the credit of the people there. They are being asked to buy the idea that nearly 40 million handwritten ballots can be accurately counted and tallied in about 12 hours, and then with a clearly unpopular hard-line incumbent president winning by a huge, overwhelming landslide. Guess what -- they aren't buying it.

The unrest has become vast, with all those young Iranians taking to the streets in defiance of official repression. It makes me feel proud of the Iranians. And, it makes me feel just a bit ashamed of Americans, who, in words paraphrased from an old movie set in Mexico, with Federales looking for a gringo troublemaker: "Don't just stand there like burros! Haf you seen heem?"

We, my fellow "Murkans," just stood there like burros. Twice. No juevos, no cojones, either time. Nada.

The Iranians, for better or for worse, are not. Before them, recently, the Ukranians didn't, and to good effect. Even in Mexico, many didn't "just stand there like burros" after a questionable election outcome in 2006. And in Tiananmen Square, 20 years ago, and not in any election setting, the world witnessed one of the greatest, albeit futile, exhibitions of human courage ever seen.

So, where was the outrage in America in 2000, or in 2004?

I'd say it's when we stopped being America, and became, as George W. "Il Doofus" Bush always mispronounced it, "Murka."

And when we became Murka, a semiliterate frat pledge master like Il Doofus could have the presidency of the whole damned country stolen for him, perhaps twice. And amazingly few people said anything.

The unrest in Iran probably won't change things at the official level, and some unfortunate souls will be killed or injured. It may be all for nothing in the short run, as was the case with Tiananmen Square. But sometimes courage means that you have to fight injustice, even when you know you're going to lose.

We haven't shown that kind of courage here since about 1970. Way back then, with the long hair, bongs, ugly tie-dye and all -- we were actually America. Not Murka.

Right now, the whole world is watching -- but not Murka. They're watching Iran, of all places.

Manifesto Joe is an underground writer living in Texas. Check out his blog at Manifesto Joe's Texas Blues.

Doctors Who Performed Abortions In Nazi Germany Faced Death Penalty

noreply@blogger.com (Marc McDonald) — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 03:38:00 +0000

By MARC McDONALD

If you browse an anti-abortion Web site, or listen to an anti-abortion activist these days, you'll encounter plenty of references to Nazi Germany.

For example, on Monday, Randall Terry, founder of the Operation Rescue said: "I believe George Tiller was one of the most evil men on the planet; every bit as vile as the Nazi war criminals who were hunted down, tried, and sentenced after they participated in the 'legal' murder of the Jews that fell into their hands."

Terry is hardly alone in his extremist views. For example, Fox News commentator Bill O'Reilly often demonized slain doctor George Tiller and said he was guilty Of "Nazi stuff."

Which raises a question: where did Hitler himself stand on abortion? Actually, he opposed it.

In fact, in their first year of power, in 1933, the Nazis outlawed abortion.

As Gloria Steinem pointed out in 1982, a flaw "in the fervent condemnations of pro-choice advocates as Nazis is that Hitler himself, and the Nazi doctrine he created, were unequivocally opposed to any individual right to abortion."

Steinem notes: "Under Hitler, choosing abortion became sabotage; a crime punishable by hard labor for the woman and a possible death penalty for the abortionist."

Hmmm, let me see: a "death penalty for the abortionist."

Some things really haven't changed much since 1933. Back then, it was the Nazis condemning "abortionists" to death. Today, it's the extremist, hate-filled evangelical "Christian" bigots whose twisted rhetoric is encouraging violence against doctors who practice abortion.

Marking 75th Anniversary Of 1934 San Francisco General Strike

noreply@blogger.com (Marc McDonald) — Sat, 09 May 2009 03:30:00 +0000

.

This video takes a look at the 1934 San Francisco general strike. May 9 marks the 75th anniversary of this historic event, which occurred during an era when U.S. workers were willing to stand up to defend their rights.

Sadly, today's working class in America seems to be content with letting CEOs and other robber barons shit all over us, as these crooks loot the U.S. Treasury and dole out hundreds of billions of dollars in corporate welfare to themselves and their rich allies.

If you've had enough of all this, consider joining a union.

"There is power in a factory, power in the land,
Power in the hands of a worker.
But it all amounts to nothing, if together we don't stand
There is power in a union.

Now the lessons of the past were all learned with workers' blood,
The mistakes of the bosses we must pay for.
From the cities and the farmlands to trenches full of mud,
War has always been the bosses' way, sir

The union forever, defending our rights,
Down with the blackleg, all workers unite.
With our brothers and our sisters from many far-off lands,
There is power in a union."

---Billy Bragg, "There is Power in a Union,", 1986.

Forget Michael Savage, When Will Britain Ban George W. Bush?

noreply@blogger.com (Marc McDonald) — Wed, 06 May 2009 19:19:00 +0000

By MARC McDONALD

So Michael Savage has been banned from entering Britain? If Britain really wants to do its society a favor, it will ban George W. Bush, who is guilty of vastly greater crimes than any of the two-bit assholes that it included on its newly published immigration blacklist. In fact, Britain ought to ban all the members of the Bush Crime Family, from Dick Cheney to Paul Wolfowitz to Donald Rumsfeld.

Indeed by banning a insignificant mediocrity like Savage, but not banning Bush, it seems to me that Britain is trivializing the very real crimes of Bush. This is a man who embraced torture, shredded the Constitution, and lied America into an illegal war that killed 1.3 million Iraqi civilian men, women and children. (Oh, and let's not forget the 179 British troops who were also senselessly killed in Bush's war of lies).

Savage, by contrast, is an spiteful, nasty little turd. But he's no Bush.

Having said that, Britain did make the right decision in banning Savage. This is a man, after all who has said things like:

And this is just in the past few months. More of Savage's insane, hate-filled ramblings are here.