They don’t call it white supremacy for nothing.
One of the ways this country’s reactionaries have made racism and neo-segregation chic is by co-opting the language of emancipation, equality and civil rights.
The “tea party” broods—the richest, most pampered, most welfared generation in the history of mankind—portray themselves as the put-upon victims of high taxes, disenfranchisement and debt, though this is the same generation that since 1981, and more so since 2001, has benefited from the lowest taxes this country has known going back to the 1920s, contributed to the greatest debt it’s known, and is now profiting from the richest retirement benefits this or any other country has ever known. Rich enough, that is, to give rise to sprawls like Palm Coast, which was created to suck on that hog.
Almost exclusively white, Catholic, Protestant and old, this most selfish generation discovered in 2008 that it was no longer the swing vote. It was outrun by younger, certainly more colored, more colorful, voters. It rebelled. It declared itself disenfranchised. Already self-segregated in communities physically gated or deed-restricted from the rabble, it was not a leap to self-segregate politically and turn imaginary disenfranchisement into discrimination.
The minor genius of the “tea party” movement is to do so by adopting the language and methods of rebellion, albeit in slogans only: reactionaries don’t make rebellions. They crush them. By co-opting the mythology of the original tea party, today’s “tea party” broods have managed to make their over-representation at almost every level of government look like no representation because the man at the helm doesn’t look like them. They go as far as using the language of disenfranchisement, and the protest words of the 1960s.
It is supremacy by rhetoric, the sort of supremacy that, in its cruder form, enables some fools to claim that a National Association for the Advancement of White People is no more (or no less, for good measure) racist than the NAACP. It is the supremacy of a Glenn Beck or a Sarah Palin who, as they did Aug. 28, on the 47th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, posed as the nation’s new civil rights pioneers, “taking back” America and “restoring” its honor. Taking it back from whom? Restoring it from what? Don’t ask, though it isn’t the fifth-grade speech-contest skills of a Beck or a Palin that would obscure what they mean: “For too long,” Beck said today, “this country has wandered in darkness, and we have wandered in darkness in periods from the beginning.” Darkness. The darkies, in other words, are back.
You don’t need to call the president a nigger to get your point across in this era of “darkness.” Especially not to a sea of whites joined on the Washington Mall by the single resentment of being led by a darkie president, and there to pay homage to Beck, who called America under Obama “The Planet of the Apes.” Some of Beck’s best friends, obviously, are black. “If we hadn’t elected a black president, do you think they would be doing this today?” the poetically named Joyce White asked a Washington Post reporter covering the event. The answer was all around, punctuated by the lie at the heart of the neo-supremacists’ movement: where the old civil rights wars were about inclusion, these “tea party” reactions are about exclusion. Where the old civil rights movement was about overcoming blood-soaked oppression, the “tea party” broods (which have no Bull Connor dogs chasing after them that I know of) are about keeping tax rates on the richest 5 percent among them from going up a few points.
In the “fair and balanced” reasoning behind neo-supremacy, the old master is the new victim, using the old victim’s language. The suffering and disenfranchisement of one has been replaced by the suffering and disenfranchisement of the other. It doesn’t matter that there’s no relationship between the two, that the mere suggestion of white suffering or disenfranchisement in this country, this retiree generation especially, is a supreme offense to those who have genuinely suffered and lived through decades of disenfranchisement until relatively recently. This is the United States of Amnesia, where historical memory is slight and the latest snappy slogan as good as scripture, especially when it’s cloaked in the language of god, as Beck—like a pimp wearing his obligatory crucifix and flag pin as his visas to credibility—did: “We are a country of God. As I look at the problems in our country quite honestly I think the hot breath of destruction is breathing on our necks and to fix it politically is a figure that I don’t see anywhere.”
Supposedly, the rally on the mall was not about politics but about the revival of religious virtue. But that, too, was a conceit as transparent as Beck’s camera tears. The country isn’t lacking in religious virtue, religious fervor or religious fixations. It’s drowning in it all, to its detriment: faith-based fanaticism is replacing rational analysis. It’s the sweetener of “tea party” brews: the rational and the analytical is to those brews what daylight is to Dracula. So the rally was a seizure by a master marketer of god as branding, god as divine legitimacy for what was otherwise a slow-motion stampede on the day’s iconic place in the nation’s historic calendar. It turned into the biggest “tea party” rally yet, signaling the arrival of the neo-supremacist political movement in god’s clothing.
The day’s nightmare, of course, the supreme act of white supremacy, was the co-opting of King’s day on the Mall to the “tea party”’s uses, and abuses, under the banner of restoration, religious or otherwise. Charles Blow, a columnist for The Times, put it simply in a piece entitled “I Had a Nightmare.” Calling Beck “the anti-King,” in a wordplay too subtle for most tea drunkards to detect, he writes: “I find it curious that many of the same people who object so strenuously to the Islamic cultural center proposed for Lower Manhattan, many on the grounds that it is inappropriate and disrespectful, are virtually silent on the impropriety and disrespect inherent in Beck’s giving a speech on the anniversary of King’s address.”
“In fact,” Blow continued, “to even insinuate that the president’s policies are in any way equivalent to the brutality of the Jim Crow South at the time of the civil rights movement is the highest order of insult, particularly to those who lived and suffered through it, as well as to those who live with its legacy. If Beck truly thinks these movements are comparable, I have some pictures of “strange fruit” I’d like for him to see. And yet, I’ve come to the conclusion that anger is the wrong reaction to Beck’s rally in Washington. Anger provides too low a return on investment. It consumes a tremendous amount of energy, but yields little progress. Instead, we should each take this opportunity to listen to the “I Have a Dream” speech once more, paying particular attention to how the echoes of yesterday’s struggles reverberate in our present struggles, and to recommit ourselves to the nobility of righteous pursuits.”
So here it is.
elaygee says
It’s the last blowback from a disappearing breed of white Xtian haters, crying that they are no longer the majority and about to lose their “privileged” place as rulers. 20 years and they’ll all be gone. Good riddance.
Well says
Outstanding article and one of the best I have read on this website.
Colleen says
Retirement benefits? Are you kidding me?
I support Fair Tax and the Tea Party of Flagler chapter and you need a wake up call.
We lost our job. In the take over of the company 4 years ago we lost our pension.
We modified our mortgage and took everything we had in an IRA – not much – and sent the
resume’s out. NOTHING NADA ZILCH!
We knew soon enough the meazly money we had would be gone and we’d have nothing to buy food.
We took that money and maxed all our credit cards to open a business when no jobs came. Just so we could struggle 7 days a week to scratch enough to keep the food coming and lights on. Fighting tooth and nail every day to survive and after 3 years it is showing a little bit of growth in this down economy of foreclosures and unemployment.
We were boxed in by a job loss. House under water even though we put 80,000 dollars down when we bought it.
Everyday we hear similar stories.
Are we fed up?
YOU BETCHA!
You on your high intellectual, self righteous horse spewing left wing socialist propaganda as if you have a clue about God and his value to this country.
The demonizing of the tea party members is ridiculous. They are your next door neighbors. I know because some of them talk about it when they come to our business. They are Bonnie and Jack and Ron and Carol and they have problems too.
Their sick of the insane spending, they don’t care for blaming they just want it to stop.
Let me make this perfectly clear (heard that before?),
the PEOPLE want the best person for the job. A person who believes in free markets and indivdual responsibility where neighbor helps neighbor and the church or synagogue or mosque or whatever it is, steps up when a community member is in need.
GET THE GOVERNMENT OUT OF THE WAY.
I don’t need to fill out a 1099 for every freaking purchase I make from a Vendor that is over 700.00 – it costs more money for us and the brain damage takes our drive away.
We will need to hire someone next year. It has taken us 3 YEARS to get to the place where MAYBE we can hire someone so we can have a day off together. Vacation? What is that?
From what I can tell, you’ll fit right into Martha’s Vineyard fine wine yachting society where you can sit in judgement of your neighbors. How’s the air up there on your intellectual perch?
Can you smell the trouble below? Judging by how desperately you write – I think so.
over it says
I’m support fair tax too. I think the Catholics churches should pay as much tax as the Protestant churches………… hahaha
Colleen, yer a bit angry. But i must say, I’d rather be on an intellectual perch, then looking up from the dumb uneducated porch. Are you upset that there are more intelligent people than you? Don’t sell yourself short Colleen, you seem like you have done a fine job of surviving in these economic times. You are just as intellectual as anyone else. The fact that you think you aren’t, saddens me. This country has spent a lot of time and money helping people like you to know that they are just as important as everyone else. We have banned dodgeball, so your feelings don’t get hurt, We give out trophies to everyone that participates so that your feelings don’t get hurt. We have been trying to protect you from feeling bad about yourself. But i guess it hasn’t worked, because you believe that there are people that are intellectually superior to you that sit on this so called perch and exist just to make you feel bad. Sorry you feel that way.
PCadiron says
Some of the Tea Party people seem to forget that we had a Republican president before Obama. How can Obama and the Democrats be at fault for things that happened to you 4 years ago??
over it says
PCadiron: I can only speak from my intellectual perch :) ………….but, I’m sure the blame will be placed on the Democratic congress that was in power during the WONDERFUL Bush years. Same reason that the Clinton years were so good. It was because of the Republican congress. Isn’t it cool how that works? Never having to be accountable for anything. If I only could get over this problem of having a conscience………….
Just Being Real says
If the Tea Party was so concerned with our economy, where were they when good ol’ George Bush was leading us into a defecit. The recession did not start under Obama’s watch. He inherited it. Why doesn’t the Tea Party blame today’s problems on the leaders who are responsible for them? Our past “WHITE” president…lol…(I know that hurt). People complain about problems 3 and 4 years ago. Last time I checked, Obama wasn’t the president 3 and 4 years ago. The Tea Party is just a bunch of prejudice individuals who can’t accept the fact that this country has “LEGITIMATELY” voted in a black man for president. No matter what Obama does, the Tea Party will find fault for his actions. They are just prejudice. Bush is to blame for our economy and the recession started under his watch. Get your facts straight.
PCadiron says
I agree Just Being Real. The Tea Party is just a bunch of sore losers. Did you see any crazy Democratic groups crying when Bush was president? Not that I can recall, but then again, this is exactly why I don’t normally pay attention to most “news”. I do like flaglerlive though to keep me up-to-date on local issues:-) I just stay away from Fox News, CNN, and local depressing stations like WESH etc.
Colleen says
Not sure why you feel the need to twist the meaning of my post. I don’t sell myself short at all. I see the author as a kind of progressive snob. If that didn’t come across, I hope the more direct pronouncement met its’ mark. Did he go to the rally?
If not, then his voice is an echo of the same rhetoric over and over and over without the benefit of first hand experience of the other side of the topic. Without that, his message has no real intrinsic value.
Not sure as well, what problem you have with liberty.
I will also not be suckered into the typical crutch response of the progressive liberal, blame Bush and try to elicit a debate about that.
Everything in this economy is going south during Obama’s watch, if you refuse to see it, no one’s opinion matters anyway and you simply wish to argue over old issues of blame.
That train has left the station.
Barbara Taylor says
I would hope people will watch the rally themselves. Because what I have just read on this website and what I heard and saw in the rally don’t match. Dr King’s niece, Dr. Alveda King spoke at the rally,Albert Pujols of the St Louis Cardinals and native of the Dominican Republic spoke there. Somewhere i missed the hate and racism being claimed.
Rob F says
White supremacy?? I heard a great speech about calling America back to the Almighty God that our founding fathers worshipped. Have you read all the scripture that is written on the PUBLIC buildings in DC? I heard no racist’s speech. In fact the only racism I saw was your words Pierre, “a darkie president.”
Pierre Tristam says
Colleen, I did not attend the rally. Nor did I attend the original (and only) Tea Party in 1773, or Dr. King’s speech in 1963. But being somewhat literate, I have a fairly good idea of what those stood for, and what today’s Christ-encrusted charade stood for. The column isn’t a blow-by-blow account of the charade, but an analysis, from my perspective alone, of its pretensions. I’m glad you’re taking it on: that’s what it’s there for as well: to be battered around by alternate perspectives that may well (and often do) have more validity, though I suspect your Facebook relationship with god and your even mightier contempt for intellect (as opposed to lick-a-Beck) might prevent you from descending to my circles of hell long enough to take the time to understand anyone’s perspectives not your own. I’m not, however, here to convince you or anyone else of my point of view. That’s never my aim. I merely present it as one point of view, though I do enjoy it being proven almost exclusively by those who think they’re opposing it. So thank you for that service to America Colleen.
Barbara, I’m not sure what the pinch-hitting of a token black and a token Latino at the rally is supposed to signify, especially when Alveda King is a conservative-rally centerfold (for being black and anti-abortion, anti-gay, anti-Coretta Scott King), though she’s pretty much off her rocker for claiming, as she loves to do, that MLKing, who could give Scandinavian socialists a run for their krona, was a Republican. So she was a perfect fit at that rally where truth was the most reviled minority. As for Pujols, what can I say? He plays for the Cardinals. If a Yankees showed up at a Beck rally, then I’d worry. I can’t wait to hear about the Jew, the Asian and the Arab tokens who made appearances on Beck’s Calvary. That sound you heard at the end was Lincoln’s marble cracking.
emile says
Ouch! Pierre, you put up a good head of steam today. I was just listening to the “I have a Dream” speech and the beautiful phrasing and eloquent words will rise above the posturing of those who would exploit our fears for their own enrichment.
PCer says
I think the tea party is just pissed off and looking for someone else to point the finger at. They were the cause of the problem and they don’t want to take the blame. I will use my own in-laws as an example. At the height of the housing boom, they took out loans against the equity in their house. They were told by many, including myself, to not do this because the market was going to fail. Did they listen? No. They were told to sell their house about 6 years ago. They probably would have been able to sell it for close to a million dollars. Did they listen? No, they kept on looking at life through Bush colored glasses. Then, during the Bush Administration, the housing bubble burst and their property values dropped. They sold their house last year for $350,000. This was a wash becuase it all had to be paid back to the equity loans and reverse mortgage that they took out on the house. This is not Obama’s fault. This is not Pelosi’s fault. This is their fault. They and thousands just like them took the chance that the housing market would never fail. They were wrong. But now, instead of taking the blame, they join the Tea Party and Glen Beck and listen to their ranting and raving about how the black man or the progressive left man is bringing them down. I say the Tea Party needs to get over it and move on. The PEOPLE spoke and the PEOPLE voted for Obama. The PEOPLE wanted change and so we now have it. Like it or not. It is now up to the PEOPLE to pick themselves up by the bootstraps and move on. Colleen, I am glad you had to open up your own business and put in a little sweat. I hope your business thrives and you are able to hire many new workers. This is good for America. As far as taxes are concerned, you have to pay them. Too bad, boo hoo. Get over it, we ALL have to pay them.
One last note. I was visiting with my father, another old white right winged Glen Beck fan, and I was reading the latest Dan Brown novel, The Lost Symbol. I thought my dad would be interested because he is a Mason. However, his comment took me by surprise. He said to me, “Glen Beck said we shouldn’t read that, so I won’t read it. ” REALLY!!!! I couldn’t believe it. He is even telling people what they should and should not read. Sounds like Hitler to me.
??? says
The disconnect between the speech of Dr. King, shown at the bottom of the article, and the content of the editorial is appalling. If he was in Washington today, Dr. King would have been with Beck, not with Rev. Sharpton’s rabble (not defined by the “color of their skin”, but, as Dr. King declared, “the content of their character”). Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. understood for his dream (“A dream deeply rooted in the American dream.”) to be fulfilled that, “One day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘ We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.’ ” Without character, there is no hope for a better tomorrow, Dr. King knew this. That is why he decried the militant factions of the civil rights movement. He saw that to “to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.” Would be throwing away the possibilities that are offered by the American dream. That bitterness has clouded the vision of Rev. Sharpton, and the Editor, instead of joining a movement to promote character, the character that Dr. King revered, these educated experts complain of insensitivity and bigotry. And that, as Dr. King would agree, is why both groups on the National Mall have not “join[ed] hands and sing [sic] in the words of the old Negro spiritual: Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!
Robert Latta says
WRITE ON PIERRE !
I don't get it says
So, in a nut shell, take race out of your argument and there is really no article. I believe Dr. King’s words to be truthful when he command the throngs to judge on the content of character and not the color of skin. That said, I and a few oth
Colleen says
Pierre the question was rhetorical. I knew you did not attend the rally. It was abundently clear in the ignorance of your “acquired” perspective.
Just Being Real says
8 Years of Bush politics is the reason why our economy is ruined. This recession started under Bush, not Obama. Where was the Tea Party then? Why did the Tea Party not exist during Bush’s term in office? Now when a black man is elected to office, the Tea Party is up in arms half way through his 4 year term? No, there is nothing racial about that….lol. Obama is expected to resolve the mess that Bush created over the course of 8 years on office during Obama’s first 2 years in office? The Tea Party’s whole argument just gets funnier every day. Tea Party=Modern Klan. The few token black, hispanic, and or other ethnic minorities within their ranks are only to disguise their true feelings of racism. If it looks like a duck and walks like a duck, it’s a duck.
I don't get it says
(glitch) er people do not like the politics of our president based on his character and policies. I personally think he is a very handsome man and wish like hell I liked his politics because then he would be a “total package”. My discontent comes from his policies which I do not believe have done a damn thing to help anyone in this country. I agree that each new president inherits the success and problems of the previous administration but isn’t it understood and expected that it is the current presidents job to “change” our country for the better?? So far 20 months into office and not much change, so, how much time does our handsome character lacking president need?
Heather says
So funny, this was not a Tea Party and to the morons who agree with this clearly didn’t watch nor do I believe the writer did. There should be a category stamp on Mommy’s Basement Bloggers so we can credibly debate an issue. Compassion for the uninformed, they too are God’s children.
Colleen says
Pierre, I neglected to comment on another of your literary licenses. Your perspective on my relationship with God, as being a “Facebook relationship”, is an illustrative example of how you derive your commentary. Assumptions. It would at least be mildly reassuring if they were based on direct knowledge of the subject being discussed. For, clearly, you have not an iota of knowledge pertaining to my relationship with God, yet it is stated as a fact that may hinder my ability to understand another perspective. No amount of literary prowess can provide “cover” for the underlying, complete misrepresentation of the facts of this topic. For you see, some of us were actually there.
It is not intellect I hold contempt for, it is the misuse of it.
Liana G says
Let me get this right. These people actually believe that America’s Rich and Powerful Whites (who actually rule this country under the guise of a sham democracy) handed over the reins of it to a black man. If you people believe this – well I can see Russia from my backyard here in Palm Coast, honest – would you like to buy my house???
This is just another part of the the plan to discredit the black man so as to set up his demise in 2012. He’ll be blamed for ALL the woes of this country. Old and new. Just like he is now. And when the next WHITE STOOL PIGEON is sticking it to them they would be so darn happy he’s not black, they wouldn’t care!
The American education system is designed so that people know just enough to function but not enough for them to realize that they don’t know much – Howard Zinn.
Great post Pierre!
over it says
“You on your high intellectual, self righteous horse”……..”How’s the air up there on your intellectual perch?” Colleen, those were your words. Those are the words of someone who thinks that other people think they are better than them. You are saying that there are intellectual people that exist at a higher level than you. I didn’t twist your words. You said them. My point was that I would rather be “up there” with the intellectuals than “down there”. If that’s not what you meant, then you may want to re-phrase
Problem with liberty? I don’t have a problem with liberty. I want more liberties. I want the liberty to drive 120 miles an hour down the interstate. I want the liberty to not wear a seat belt. What’s your point? What liberties have been taken from you? I hear that they are disappearing, but i’m not sure what you all have lost.
And please explain the “misuse of intellect”. If you hold contempt for it, it must be bad. Are smart people making your life miserable?
devrie says
Not speaking from any intellectual perches nor uneducated porches, but I just want to say that maybe the problem with the economy is NOT government spending, but the lack of regulation and taxation on corporations? What do the Corporations do with all that money? We don’t get it. They see production and lay off people.
As far a Social Security is concerned, with such low-wages, no one can save for retirement. It’s nearly impossible, We save a good portion of our paycheck each month, and we’ll be below the CURRENT poverty leven when we turn 65. Perhaps minimum wage should be based on not only cost of living, but on cost of saving for retirement. That way, higher wages can do one of two (or both) things: feed more into the Social Security coffers, OR give a better excuse for conservatives to privatize pensions.
As far as “who’s fault” this economy’s shambles are… do we all seriously believe our problems are just now starting? We probably have to go all the way back to the creation of the Federal Reserve to start seeing where this all started. Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush, Obama… they were all burdened with problems. Some Presidents made better choices then others, and so did many of our Congresses, but the depth of our national debt and economic woes didn’t just now start, and they probably didn’t just start with Bush, either.
Colleen says
Over it, I have no need to rephrase. Keep re-reading, it might come to you.
I am saying that they THINK they are at a higher level than others and the fact that you may rather be up there, is of no relevance to me..I have no need to try to demonstrate a higher intellect than others.
Catching on yet?
Liberty – Freedom from government interference/control in our lives.
Obstinacy is the result of the will forcing itself into the place of the intellect. I deem that to be misuse.
Liana G says
Coleen “A person who believes in free markets and indivdual responsibility” can live in “Martha’s Vineyard fine wine yachting society” – home to wall street bankers and the likes whose free markets agenda is responsible for the state of the economy.
“Their sick of the insane spending” – but is this spending not a result of the deregulation of the free markets that caused the whole system to blow up.
Judging from your post YOU are a victim of this free market you’re pushing for. Yet you want to “GET THE GOVERNMENT OUT OF THE WAY.” It’s lack of gov’t oversight that’s the cause of the entire mess.
A Russian-American says
I sit here and am saddened by American’s these days as I listen to everyone argue at who is at fault and when exactly the recession started. I myself from Russia, and been naturalized since 1995 seriously do not understand what all this hate is about. One side thinks that if someone is against Obama and his administration that then they are racist, while the other so called Tea Party group want everything to go back the way it was under their republican rule(supposedly white), Going back to the principles founded by the nation, when I became naturalized I seriously thought that this country would keep the principles it was founded on. That this country was founded on GOD and that everyone was created equally, no matter whether black, white, Hispanic, Arab, Indian, or whatever ethnicity you are. To make my point I truly believe that both sides are to share the problems that have happened in this country. Its sad to hear “white” people these days throwing “black” jokes around, especially about their own President, and black people these days for being so damn proud of their color that they would push the boundaries of equality to their field, and continue crying about how unfairly they are treated(i guess i am not american enough to really get what the fuss is all about, your white your black, so whats the big deal.) Really would the white and blacks just stop for a moment and realize that underneath their skin, they are one and the same. Yes I am white, but I came to this country in ’89, long after the civil rights movement, and still (forgive me ahead of time for this you are offended by this) see black people pushing the equality game to their own liking. Seriously created equally does not count for special treatment, and neither does it for the white people. That goes for all the white people who think that all the jobs are being given to all the “colored” people, but don’t realize maybe they are putting a little more effort into it. The same goes for “colored” thinking that there was some form of racism if a white person was picked over a black, hispanic, or whoever. All people should be treated equally, because we are all created by the same GOD. The problem in the country is not the economy, not racism, and definitely not Obama, who as the person who holds the office of the President, should be respected as such. White or black, I do not care. To be honest, I would of voted for Colin Powell if only he had stayed in the race a while back. All these issues we now have are symptoms of the problem. We must go back the core values that this country was built upon. Democracy was not intended to be where you can do whatever you want, but rather a freedom to enjoy the rule from monarchy, or a government that would prohibits these rights bestowed on the people. Our President is to be respected, not ridiculed. So the real problem here is we have lost sight of what this country was built upon. Once everyone has figured that one out, our countries problems will slowly but surely start getting solved. Because of all this hatred being brewed from the people who have forgotten that they have the power to solve this countries problems by coming together as one, I cannot call myself a republican or democrat. I choose to be independent of all parties and vote for those that I believe will change this country for the better. GOD have mercy on this country. Whether is be Allah, Jehovah, or Jesus Christ. To those who think I have not made a bit of sense, and/or do not see this topic aligning to the posts, well this is for you to figure it out. Its funny how I a Russian understand more about what this country was founded upon than most Americans who were born here.
Colleen says
A Russian-American, you make the most sense of all.
rickg says
Extraordinary piece Pierre. I have written the NJ twice on this subject and they have yet to print either one although Mr. Thrower called and said they would. We need journalist to call out this haphazard attempt at patriotism. In fact I believe I have heard that the last refuge of an scoundrel is patriotism. Keep up the good work.
Kevin says
Colleen:
Your intentions are good and your reasoning is valid. This is obviously one of the most biased and completely uninformed editorials I have yet to see from Pierre.
I can say this because I am somewhat literate and my ability to read, then articulating to others using a flowery and often times powerful vocabulary, supports my superior reasoning ability. My literacy, and its products produced based on notions drummed out of thin air without credible, reasonable, objective, unbiased sources for my facts to support them (and what little I have learned is very subjective and more questionable then credible), is beyond reproach. Don’t forget, I have superior reasoning skills which produce indisputable notions formed without credible investigative reporting! Sometimes my opinion is the antithesis of what you saw and personally witnessed.
Demonizing others without having all the facts is creative isn’t it? To position comments in order to negatively define those that are being attacked is the great tool of the left. (Though they refer to themselves as something else) This gets others follow along with what they say without intellectually truthful investigation of their own. This wins battles especially, and forgive the saying, they are preaching to the choir. Clever, isn’t it? Remember the pen is mightier than the sword. Since the weapon is a keyboard and “they” read, who can doubt the veracity of their opinions and ideas as something less than accurate? Get it?
I think it is becoming disappointingly clear who the bigoted ones are here especially given the injection of rhetoric about White people who dare organize for any reason. Also did you notice the swift kick to the proverbial testes of Christians, again, for daring to show spirituality by coming together under a common cause? This will provide all the “intellectual” content necessary for some to analogize the gathering to that of a KKK rally.
Kevin says
Rickg:
So in keeping with your solid analysis, Obama is an excellent patriot because he seems to take every opportunity he has to mention the failures of America, condemning us for the faults of the politicians in light of the virtues of us as a people, putting them to paper for a UN councils on human rights, with a country on it guilty of not being a free country to its own people, so that they may condemn us further, while other countries laugh at the chief’s naïve thinking. Not to mention his patriotic actions in dividing the country and ripping our economy and job market into pieces, all the while lying through his teeth daily about the truth of what is really going on. This is the stuff patriots are made of!
Colleen says
Kevin, I absolutely do get it! Thank you for that additional and excellently articulated clarity!
I did notice the swift kick, especially since my “Facebook relationship with
God”, was an extension of the same kick in the ….well I prefer to call it a sucker punch actually.
FAITH, CHARITY, HOPE, HONOR.
5 Million Dollars raised for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation.
Well Done!
Dorothea says
Kevin says: “I can say this because I am somewhat literate and my ability to read, then articulating to others using a flowery and often times powerful vocabulary, supports my superior reasoning ability.”
Kevin, your self-inflated ego is working overtime. As for your so-called superior reason ability, on a scale from 1-10, I rate it >1. On the same scale your ego wins at a 10.
Colleen: What’s bugging you about a Facebook relationship with God? Many devout believers say they have a friend’s relationship with God. Some people profess a friend’s relationship with God, some only have a spiritual relationship, some have no relationship at all. If God were to request a Facebook friend’s relationship, would you reject him?
Colleen says
Dorothea, I think you missed the irony in Kevin’s eloquent prose. ;-)
Kevin says
Dear precious Dorothea,
Re-read my comment or maybe better yet, read Pierre’s first comment to Colleen THEN read my comment again. Maybe you’ll see my comment in a different light because obviously it flew over your head, again, based on your erroneous assessment. You’ll get what I mean if you do as I recommended.
But less then one? Ouch, that hurts. I won’t argue because I know I am just a dumb, uneducated person.
NortonSmitty says
Pierre, I don’t know why you bother to reason with these Patriots. Their minds are already closed. Psychologists who studied the people who not only allowed but cheered the Nazi rise to power had a certain type of brain function that made them very susceptible to the Fascist message. If you haven’t read it maybe you could borrow Carl Roves copy. It’s required reading at the Cato Institute, Heritage Foundation and all of the other Billionaire Corporate/Fascist supported organizations that fund, bankroll and control the message of these True American grassroots hero’s. See http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/08/30/100830fa_fact_mayer for just one example. Oh hell, here’s another: http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=FreedomWorks about the “the Wall Street front group that helped launch the Tea Party Movement” and was the biggest sponsor of Becks latest circle jerk.
But like I’ve said, trying to point out facts to these people is about as productive as telling a pig to take a bath. You know he ain’t gonna’ listen and it really annoys the pig.
Patriots my ass.
Barbara Taylor says
A man raises $5.5 million for our wounded warriors and he is called a racist. Will this money only go to the privileged whites,or to anyone who served? Why is when conservatives try to do something good, the progressive want to tear it apart. Conservative talk show host Shawn Hannity also does a lot of fund raising for troops and the wounded warrior program.
What has Keith Oberman or Rachael Maddcow done to help any of our men and woman who served. I realize that many on the left have disdain for the military and think it’s a waste of money.
When it comes to the talk of racism, lets not forget what church the community organizer sat in for 20 years. The same man who preached this hate married the Obama’s and was praised in the book Obama wrote. Let’s not forget who called a white cop “stupid” for doing his job. Let’s not forget what the DOJ did with the new black panther voter intimidation case.
PCadiron says
Russian-American, I like your comments the best:) Most Americans take everything they have for granted, especially if they have never been outside of this country to see how others live and work.
We really are just a bunch of spoiled brats (some more than others) that throw temper tantrums if things don’t go our way.
Dorothea says
Irony and sarcasm on the internet need a special writing talent. I did as you suggested and went back and reread some 35 posts and the editorial again. Thank you for explaining as your sarcasm indeed did fly over my head.
I don’t know anything about your education, but based on your previous comments elsewhere my rating on your reasoning ability stands. The fact that you are a self professed uneducated person could be part of the your problem. Ego down 5.
Dorothea says
My last post is addressed to Kevin.
Truth Traveler says
For Pierre, it is all about “clicks” on his website to show new potential advertisers. He is simply lining his pockets. He posts these far left winged opinions based on little facts to draw people into his circus. Some that drink his koolaid cheer him on as others type to try to stop his propaganda. The more controversial his “article”, the more clicks he gets, the more money he makes.
P.S. Colleen, you go girl! I agree with you 100%.
over it says
“Our President is to be respected, not ridiculed.”
Thank you Russian-American. You hit the nail on the head with that one. We the people…………….have forgotten that.
NortonSmitty says
Barbara, the Wounded Warrior project was added at the last minute to A.- Give cover to what was a Republican political rally on hallowed ground and B- Give a charitable tax break to all of Beckeys corporate masters er, sponsors.
All the Left has done for the troops is TRY TO GET THEM HOME INSTEAD OF PROPPING UP CORRUPT AND UNSUSTAINABLE PUPPET REGIMES IN PLACES WE DON’T BELONG! There is nothing in Iraq or Afghanistan that is worth one American boys blood.
If you’d take your nose out of Uncle Ruperts Puppet and Propaganda network (that’s Fox, darlin’) and read once in a while you might gain enough knowledge to ask a real question instead of parroting the talking points about brave police and scary Negroes. Until you do, please don’t subject us to your view of the world. From your vantage point you really can’t see much around Rush’s big ass.
Sorry to be so blunt, but anyone who has a good word to say about Hannity, I have to speak up. That creature is the scum that feeds off of lesser scum.
Have a nice weekend Barbie.
NortonSmitty says
Truth Trav, you should be teaching at Wharton! You know the real way to succeed in business is to go Far Left! Especially in Central Florida! (For all of you Sarcasm Challenged readers that was a fair example. Discuss)
some guy says
I did not see or go to this rally nor did the editor!! But the editor gave his opinon on somthing he did not see or hear. He gave his “racist” bigoted view of it. Why did he not make mention of Dr Kings relitive at the event for if he did it would show it was not a race thing for thouse that did go. Dr King was not a just a black freedome fighter he was an AMERICAN first and formost as he stood for the rights of all AMERICANS. Once again this editor shows where the real “racists” are and they are on the LEFT. I belive that this “report” on this thing was no more then his biased view of them. Once again it shows how the left does not stand for its points but attacks the otherside with name calling and out right lies about what they stand for. The lefts tactics are the same as they have been since Gerbals repete the lie untill no one knows its a lie.
Kevin says
NS:
I see you are using top-notch, unbiased articles (sarcasm for those who think in very concrete terms). I am curious just how much clinical research was obtained on the groups you compare to “those who not only allowed but cheered the Nazi rise to power had a certain type of brain function that made them very susceptible to the Fascist message.” None I would suggest. But again that is ok with you because it makes a great punch line and requires little to now counter-research or facts.
This is what is embarrassingly apparent about your comments and those of some others that won’t be mentioned (but the name rhymes with Dorothea) is that you lack fundamental technical understanding and training in many subjects you take up. For example, using as a source, an article from the New Yorker, as though it is a research report submitted and borne from the APA’s research journals.
And think, many teachers in our public schools assume things just as you and Dorothea do, believing to have the intellectual highground. Well, I must get back to my reading on the examples and pharmacologic effects of quinolones/fluoroquinolones in excruciating detail. Dumb stuff for dummies…like me.
Conspiracy nut says
You are all doing what you have been programmed by Foxnews, CNN and all the main stream media who are controlled by the global elite want you to do good job. It distracts you from the fact that they are shredding and re-writing our constitution, Bill of rights, etc on a daily basis. Politics is like pro wrestling in front of the cameras they all posture and act like they hate each other but behind closed doors they are all counting their money and enjoying the elitist lifestyle, at our and our libertys expense.
They don’t care about if you are white, black, asian, latino, pink or purple, they care about money and power and how to get more and believe me if we just keep acting like sheep they will get it all. None of us on here are at their class level we are all wage slaves on the global plantation doing their bidding.
So instead of coming on here bickering over these inflaming articles and our own little view points we should be talking about bettering the country and electing people that truly represent us and what our country was founded on.
Peace
Colleen says
I saw this posted on another page about this subject, another perspective from someone who actually attended the rally…
Quote:
I was there yesterday. We had excellent seats right on the fence next to the reflecting pool, so I was able to clearly see all around us. I had seen the liberal blogs about us all being racist, fear-mongering, hateful people. I looked around through my binoculars all all the people, all the faces. They all looked happy & hopeful & inspired. When the event was over, people who’d never met before shook hands, hugged & took group pictures (and yes, they cleaned up ALL the trash). Hate was not invited to this rally & it didn’t show up.
Afterward, when we walked around, I saw the ignorant people with their signs like “Glenn Beck Is A Terrorist”. I saw the police on horseback with riot gear on headed towards the other rally. As we walked around the Korean War Memorial I heard the angry voice from that rally coming over a bullhorn. I wanted to get closer to hear what they were saying, but my friend was afraid of confrontation. I’m not sure, but maybe Hate had someplace to go after all.
Barbara Taylor says
Norton: You claim your a man of Facts, What has this president done in the last 18 months that has made this country any better then it was 18 months ago? Health care, economy, debt, foreign affairs, immigration,war on terror. Looks to me the only thing he has accomplished is to divide this country. Look how he rules against the will of the people. And his poll numbers back that up.
Citizen says
Truth Traveler writes: “For Pierre, it is all about “clicks” on his website to show new potential advertisers. He is simply lining his pockets. He posts these far left winged opinions based on little facts to draw people into his circus. Some that drink his koolaid cheer him on as others type to try to stop his propaganda. The more controversial his “article”, the more clicks he gets, the more money he makes.”
Traveler, your comment is amazingly cheap in substance, and misses so many points simultaneously as to actually and sadly make one scratch one’s head and laugh out loud. By your tone, would you have us think that Pierre is doing something that he shouldn’t be doing? Naughty Pierre! Traveler, your comment is entertainingly weird and naive at the same time. As far as its cliches go… the proof is in the pudding…, you just couldn’t resist dropping money in his pocket could you? Ah huh. I thought so. Well “Truth Traveler”, so much for your nauseating name…. how about calling yourself “The Breeze”, and just keep traveling down the road…there’s another circus tent just waiting for you and they’re welcoming all the clowns they can get. My humble apologies if you find this comment inappropriate or offensive. It is simply impossible to sit idle while a fellow citizen is maligned and held negatively accountable for attempting to make an honest living, whether you buy their product or not.
NortonSmitty says
Kevin, even though you seem to admit how dumb you are (an admirable trait and very rare in Fox watchers)
I’m surprised you never heard of it. before. Its called Authoritarianism and the original findings were published in 1950 in the book The Authoritarian Personality by a Dr. Adorno. It caused quite a stir but has become accepted as fact by all major Psyc organizations. Here’s a good overview of it published in The Society for the Study of Social Issues website. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1540-4560.1963.tb00439.x/abstract Let me know if I can help with any of the big words.
Good thing you got that Pharmacy thing to fall back on because i really don’t think your cut out for poly-sci,
although it does put you in the top .0001 percentile of Fox News watchers. But don’t worry, you keep reading articles like this and we slowly wean you off of your Fox habit, next thing you know you won’t have to go into the voting booth and look for the long word that begins with R an just pull that one lever.
Citizen says
Oh and please, no follow-up references to ringleaders, barkers or snake oil.
William says
I find it amusing, in a facepalm sort of way, that an organization whose core argument is “Taxed enough already” is oblivious to the fact that the overall taxation rate presently is at its lowest level since the Truman administration. Argue all you want Tea Partiers, but the old quote is still true: “You are entitled to your own opinion, you are not entitled to your own facts.”
So here we are, 2010 election season, and the rethug candidate for Governor endorsed by the Tea Party is endeavoring to purchase his seat in the governor’s mansion with the ill-gotten gains of fraud @ Columbia HCA. I find it to be the height of hypocrisy that the same voices who condemned Elliot Spitzer for his trysts with high-priced call girls are silent when it comes to the checkered past of a former CEO, whose company was fined a record $1.7 billion for medicare fraud. The duplicity is mind-numbing: if you have a D behind your name, we’ll crucify you for relatively harmless transgressions, if you have the coveted “R”, well my boy, you’re golden. Don’t worry about prosecutions, we’ll get you into high office. Does the name Mark Sanford ring a bell?
There is also the hollow sound of one hand clapping when we hear a Mormon extol christian virtues. And before we get into the obligatory “America is a Christian Nation” tizzy, it is not. Read the treaty of Tripoli, 1797, with particular attention to section 11. America is a diverse nation, for which I am eternally grateful.
So we have a group of individuals bemoaning a high tax rate (lowest since Truman), wanting to take back our christian nation (it is not) from a government who caused all this economic mayhem (enabled being a more appropriate description, since rethug de-regulation and tax breaks for the super-rich allowed massive greed and fraud on Wall St.) prepared to vote against their own best interests by installing a known crook into high office. The stupid, it burns.
I am troubled when I see people substituting fear for reason. It was once said that when fascism comes to America it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross. Seems we’re about there. Should have listened to Orwell.
Colleen says
http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/id/231521
Cspan reports, you decide, but at the very least, base your arguments on something real.
NortonSmitty says
Some Guy, I think your referring to Goebbels, Joseph, Hitlers minister of Propaganda. I believe his picture is hung at the foot of both Rupert Murdoch and Carl Roves bed.
Unless by Gerbils you were ready to discuss your sex life. In that case, please expand in another post. You and Ken Melman coming out in one week! What a time to be a sarcastic Democrat!
Kevin says
Norton is no more a man of facts than I am a relative of Barry Soetoro a name given to our President during his multicultural developmental stages in Jakarta. Of course we all know him now as Barrack Hussein Obama after taking on the name of his Muslim father and obviously showing to all in the Muslim world his Muslim affinity by taking on the middle name “Hussein” as is commonly done by Muslims:o)
Oh, but I digress…Please we must all respect the greatest through the teeth liar of all history.
NortonSmitty says
Oh. yea. Some guy, if he was an American first and foremost, J. Edgar Hoover is spinning in his grave that after all his work smearing him as a Communist a good Republican like you is saying what a good American he really was. Thanks for that.
Colleen says
Why am I under moderation?
Is this the way this site dispenses freedom of speech?
I can see the removal of a post for JUST cause, but to moderate before a post is visible?
That seems like the opportunity of biased control of another’s opinion on what is deemed to
be a site that welcomes ie:…(Quote Pierre): “I’m glad you’re taking it on: that’s what it’s there for as well: to be battered around by alternate perspectives… ”
However, the battering of said perspectives is only if I allow your post.?
NortonSmitty says
Kevin, if that’s the best you can come up with, my work is done here. I’m goin’ fishing!
Colleen says
I placed a link to cspan where the full video of the event is available for viewing, in my post that is still awaiting moderation. Perhaps I misunderstood and links require moderation before they are allowed.
I certainly hope that is it.
Kevin says
Bravo William,
It is a sickening turn of events to see Rick Scott lined up for the republican seat. He has proven to be synonymous with everything we are trying to dispatch from government. Believe me back during my other career, I was painfully aware of Scott and the detrimental effects of his corporate leadership which hurt millions of shareholders and funds as HCA defrauded the American taxpayer and paid steep fines, yet he walked away with tens of millions of dollars.
Why didn’t McCollumn (or however he spells his name) get specific on these facts? It makes one wonder…
Joe says
I see the Tea Partty movement as the answer to Attorney General Eric Holder’s statement that “Americans are cowards” when it comes to racial issues. The TP movement is looking for a level playing field for all Americans in all aspects of justice and civl rights. I want less government intervention and I did not vote to have a dictator and some 3 dozen czars at his side.
William says
Kevin,
there remains the possibility of a subpoena before election day. I’ll believe it when I see it, though. At least we can take comfort in the fact that the criminal elements behind the scenes (from both parties) feel comfortable enough to practice their craft out in the open.
Rick says
Although I disagree with Pierre’s column, I feel his point was to stir up a conversation, a debate. The topic touches on many points. Points which are debated on both sides of the isle, both for and against God, and racial lines. The speech, the analysis and all the debating are healthy and productive. The only unhealthy thing is not becoming involved at all, regardless of which side or race or religion you are or are on. A perfect mix of Religion, Politics and Race….. That will create a debate for as long as man exists….
William says
Jon Stewart had a wonderful piece on the Daily Show, the title of which says it all: “I Have A Scheme” :)
Rodney says
“No Bull. No Fluff. No Smudges. ” Sorry Pierre, as usual this is mostly bull scattered with nonsense.
Kevin says
That Stewart segment was pretty funny. Some of the angles he comes up with are down-right hilarious.
over it says
………and behind every joke, there is some underlying truth…………
George Jackson says
The Tea KKK of the USA Party.
some guy says
Yes Nsmitty its Goebbels I meant that socialist left wing nut. As for “Gerbills” and my sex life no its not what i meant sorry to get you all hot and bothered. This anything but factual acount of what went on in DC theother day if you have a doubt that he is just a racebaiter think again why did he not tell how much $$$ was raised for the kids of our fallen herros???
Reinhold Schlieper says
When religious and political languages mix as glibly as with Beck and Palin, I am reminded of Bonhoeffer‘s essay of criticism of the soakingly religious metaphors of Hitler’s rallying the masses. I keep hoping that this Teaparty Thing is going to go away like a bad dream and that short-circuited reason will never again rise to overrule the consensus of the governed.
Dorothea says
Some guy, are you saying that Geobbels, the Nazi, was a “socialist left wing nut?” The Nazi Party is considered an extreme of the right wing and “nut” doesn’t even come close to decribing Goebbels. Try monster or mass murdererer.
William says
Brought to you courtesy of the multi-billionaire Koch brothers (Americans for Prosperity). The prosperity, of course, being their own.
some guy says
YES dorothea the nazi where socialists and left wing in our sociaty but in world view when we say a right wing government it means one that dominates its people kinda like our libs here and un-like our conservitive right that belives in the “rights’ of the INDEVIDUIAL over the “rights” of Government. The nazi where like our left as they saw people as groups not indeviduials again kinda like how our left,demacrats or libs view all of us not as people but part of some group they can pit one against the other to gain power over all.
Colleen says
A Pew Poll conducted in June of 2008 found that 92 percent of Americans believe in God or a universal spirit — including one in five of those who call themselves atheists. More than half of Americans polled pray at least once a day.
With 92% believing in a God or universal spirit, how do you propose to take it out of the public discourse?
A call back to faith, hope and charity is harmful how? If Americans were to become more hopeful, return to their faith and become more charitable in their life would America not be better off for that?
To denouce racism to focus on being the best we can be TOGETHER, is wrong how?
Kevin says
Unfortunately Dorothea you are out of touch with your history and lacking facts…again. snore…..
Some guy’s comment is accurate as they were considered the left and democratic party of Nazi Germany no matter how current liberal press and bloggers may try to redefine it. You may have to access an older book to learn this but learn it you will.
I can’t let you pass judgement on my intellect if I have to keep reaching down to pull you up. (Oh, he did not just say that! Doooh!)
Kevin says
This has been fun. Thanks Pierre for pissing off some people and dividing us further. We really need this kind of aggravation. (please give us more… we’re hungry, so hungry)
Dorothea says
To Kevin and some guy:
The name of Adolf Hitler’s political party was the National Socialist German Workers’ Party. It was not socialist, democratic, or left wing. Under Hitler, Germany became a totalitarian dictatorship. Socialists and communists were sent to Dachau and civil rights were suspended. Very briefly, an extremist right wing government does NOT believe that all people are equal and does believe that some people, like the so-called German Aryan race, are superior. This led to the systematic murder of those groups of people considered inferior by the Nazis in order to create the “master race.” This master race set its sights on conquering the rest of Europe, bringing about World War II.
Didn’t they teaching you the difference between extremist political views in school? Kevin, at first I thought you sounded a little like the obsequious, posturing Dicken’s villain, Uriah Heep, when you stated that you were “dumb and uneducated.” But it seems to be about the only thing we can both agree on.
some guy says
Dorothea The nazis are more in line with the left in our country then the right as it is the left that promotes the state over the person. I am also upset that you did not call me names as you and the left always do to ones who disagree with you.
William says
We can argue all we want about the Nazis. They initially gained acceptance by cloaking themselves in the populist (left) anger of the Weimar failure, brought about by the systematic obstructionism of a thoroughly discredited right. After achieving power it was no longer necessary to continue the ruse, and the beast reared its ugly head. The fact that they were just to the left of Atilla the Hun was obscured from the populace by a very accomplished and effective propaganda machine, which caused a relatively well educated body politic to vote against their own best interests. Being German, I can attest to the bewilderment of my own family members at how well the wool had been pulled over their eyes. They thought they were winning the war, until the allies took Berlin, and the truth suddenly sank in. I could make contemporary comparisons, but I won’t go there today.
To Colleen:
I shall not argue with the results of the Pew poll, I’m sure they represent accurately. There does not appear to be a distinction drawn, however, as to which deity is being prayed to. When I choose to pray (rarely) I can pray to a blade of grass, or a bird in the yard, or the ocean’s mighty heave; for me they represent the purest expression of God’s work. That said, I wonder where this call to religious tolerance was in the last few weeks, when the Axe Du Jour was (not a) Mosque (not at) Ground Zero?
Inquiring minds….
Liana G says
“I’m completely in favor of the separation of Church and State. My idea is that these two institutions screw us up enough on their own, so both of them together is certain death.”
George Carlin
NortonSmitty says
Some Guy, She must be busy, but I’m back from fishing. Didn’t catch much but it was relaxing. If I had an ounce of sense, I’d watch the Steelers and stay relaxed. But I made the mistake of checking this blog. And probably because of the mellowness that you can only get from fishing I’m gonna’ try once more.
So I’m gonna’ sit in front of the TV and waste my time trying to explain to you and Kevin and the others my point of view without rancor or malice or even my smart ass comments that I enjoy so much. Knowing that you will automatically reject it all in a knee jerk that can only come from a belief that you know I’m so wrong, and you believe your beliefs to be true down to your bones. And with a conviction on my part that is as strong as yours that it really doesn’t matter what we believe, it’s too late to save the America we knew. And then I’m going to tell you why it’s your fault. And why you believe.
First, it might help if I say I truly hate and detest Barack H. Obama close to as much as you do, but for different reasons. I voted for him thinking we were getting a Franklin Roosevelt for the new millenium. Instead we got George W. in blackface. He is the biggest Trojan Horse since Troy. Think with an open mind for a minute.
First, remember the grass roots contributions on the internet to Barack? $10, $20 dollars on the internet for change? Well it turns out That his biggest contributors were Goldman-Sachs, the big Banks on Wall Street, Insurance companies, Oil, Defense, all the usual Republican contributors all gave more to Obama tha they gave to McCain. Why? Don’t know, but somehow, change meant having Geitner and Summers who both ran Goldman Sachs in charge of Treasury and Budget. And healthcare for all meant buying it from Big Insurance at full retail. Mandatory.
Second, Just why was NBC, owned by General Electric, the people who Reagan worked for and I mean way later than hosting GE Theater, the worlds largest defense company, in the tank for Obama before the election? I mean, it’s never been known to be all that liberal before. Just ask Chile. But funny, the Bush timeline for withdrawing from Iraq was followed to the letter, exactly. And the Afghanistan war budget was doubled. Gates stayed on as Sec. of Defense. And for the first two Obama budgets, during the worst economic crisis since the depression, the Defense budget was increased close to double digits both years. Funny how shit works sometime.
The rest will have to wait until tomorrow, I’m running out of Steam. But just think about it. Libs were given the dream of change. Conservatives were handed their perfect enemy,he’s even Black although race has nothing to do with your concerns, but you know it might help with the “others”. wink wink. But as upset as you are, think about it and name one important thing, a real difference, not just rhetoric, that has been such a big departure from the Bush/Cheney administration. And think if it is enough to cause all of this anger and divisiveness in this country. If it’s not obvious, then it’s being orchestrated. Think about who and why and who will benefit. I guarantee it ain’t going to be us brothers. Tomorrow.
Pierre Tristam says
Did I mention that Carlin is editor emeritus at FlaglerLive? He has time to spare these days of course. Here he is, with Beck, back in Beck’s humbler bog. He’d have had a hell of a time with Saturday’s dirty words in dress-up.
NortonSmitty says
yea, I was busy writing and missed the last posts. I should have just gone to a true patriot and genius George Carlin who said it better than I ever could. Watch and take notes, except for you TeaBaggers. Just watch again and again.
William says
Funny how George Carlin, a mere “comedian” comes to mind again and again. For the uninitiated, go to youtube and view his “Who owns America” rant.
As NortonSmitty correctly assesses, this is all a parlor trick to keep the Plebes fighting among themselves, as the true criminals make off with our treasure. Yes. Yours. Mine. His. Hers.
2000 years ago, a Roman senator decreed that all slaves should wear armbands so they could be easily identified in the public square.
A smarter senator suggested that would be a bad idea, for if they saw how many of them there were, as opposed to how few of us, an insurrection would surely follow.
Think about it…..
Neil McNab says
You pinheads on here who froth about the mouth about left-wing this and socialist that., you have NO IDEA what those concepts even mean. Kindly shut up, read a few boosk and come back to the debate when you’ve got facts rather than over-heated opinions to peddle!
scottmaiorca says
Well said, especially the ending. Despite everything the tea party stands for we need to support their rights to be assholes. We need to find a way to come to some kind of common ground or MLK’s dream is dead.
Roy Ostapko says
Pierre
You are a trouble maker.
Please note the word unity in community.
You are seeking to divide this community. Evil it is. You need to go away with all your contentious ways. It is not wanted here.
Sincerely
Roy Ostapko
NortonSmitty says
RoyBoy, I’ll thank you not to decide for me what is and is not wanted in OUR community. And lay off the Star Wars, your starting to talk like Yoda, except for the wisdom part.
Kevin says
NS:
I have no issue with that you said as you’ve brought up issues I am aware of and believe to be accurate. We already know we agree on some things.
Rafael Gomez says
Roy go away! Don’t you have a business to harass? Keep peddling your silly publications.
some guy says
NS
Unlike you who says “I truly hate and detest Barack H Obama” I have no hate for this President in a personal way. My dislikie is over his political views and policys. We as a Nation can not speend our way out of debt. You say that you voted for him because you thought he might be anoter F D R well to me I do see another F D R a President who sees speending money that we do not have and growing the size and power of Government as an answer to all. If it was not for WWII we would not have pulled out of the bad economy that F D Rs economic policys keept the Country in. I also was not a great fan of Bush he was just another Republican.
NortonSmitty says
Wait a minute, Is it true that RoyBoy is in publishing? Read his posts. Print media is in more trouble than we thought!
Bob K says
This is just another example of Pierre writing an opinion on a subject without any firsthand experience; remember the charter school indictment? Some people call it “ignorance”. I was at the rally, and it was a very positive experience. I did also hear the “other” rally’s speech, where the MC proclaimed, “THEY may have the mall, but WE have the message”. There’s that “us” and “them” thing again, from a man supposedly striving for equality for all.
Rafael Gomez says
Roy is a publisher of a few small publications, but he’s mostly known for his overly aggressive sales tactics.
Rafael Gomez says
Beck’s claim that as a country we must return to our Christian roots (I’m paraphrasing him), but the second president (John Adams) signed a treaty stating that “the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion”. How much more obvious can you get? The Christian right is trying to rewrite the history of the United States as part of its campaign to force its religion on others. They try to depict the founding fathers as pious Christians who wanted the United States to be a Christian nation, with laws that favored Christians and Christianity.
Vinny says
Colleen, you seem like a decent person. However, just a couple of things you write reveal some limited perspectives, in my opinion & from my eyes. You show a desire for us all to collaborate & have a dialogue on common ground, which is admirable and i agree w/ that. But when you “remind” us that the tea partiers are our next-door neighbors, I immediately would like to remind you that “our next door neighbors” are also the people who get involved in mob-mentality. If you do any research on lynching, it’s “our next-door neighbors”, ordinary people, who actively participate and silently approve of torture and murder. So your implied point doesn’t hold: that innocence automatically attaches to people we know. It simply isn’t the case. I have people who watch Fox News religiously in my extended family; it doesn’t mean we agree on politics. And if we are to have a dialogue, as you and I both desire, there’s a certain amount of respect that needs to occur. This article does an excellent job pointing out the high level of disrespect and inaccuracy the so-called Tea Party Movement has for what it outlines as “the other”. Sarah Palin has a lot of nerve when she describes what “real Americans” look like.
If you’re ascribing an “intellectual perch” to the article’s author, I think that’s also inaccurate to the fullest. If injecting some accurate intellect back into the US psyche is seen as a high perch, it’s definitely a perch we all want to be on. As Dr. King so eloquently, repeatedly pointed out, the ideals and promise of America is a celebration that everyone is invited to enjoy. It is a recipe of inclusiveness, not one of exclusivity. Other comments & articles connect the dots about the Tea Party’s tycoons who bankroll the movement. Economics is one of many reasons why the TP is surely an exclusive exercise and why any implied connection to the Civil Rights Movement’s inclusive nature makes no sense at all.
Boris says
A Tea Party Foreign Policy
Why the growing grassroots movement can’t fight big government at home while supporting it abroad.
BY RON PAUL | AUGUST 27, 2010
As one who is opposed to centralization, I am wary of attempts to turn a grassroots movement against big government like the Tea Party into an adjunct of the Republican Party. I find it even more worrisome when I see those who willingly participated in the most egregious excesses of the most recent Republican Congress push their way into leadership roles of this movement without batting an eye — or changing their policies!
As many frustrated Americans who have joined the Tea Party realize, we cannot stand against big government at home while supporting it abroad. We cannot talk about fiscal responsibility while spending trillions on occupying and bullying the rest of the world. We cannot talk about the budget deficit and spiraling domestic spending without looking at the costs of maintaining an American empire of more than 700 military bases in more than 120 foreign countries. We cannot pat ourselves on the back for cutting a few thousand dollars from a nature preserve or an inner-city swimming pool at home while turning a blind eye to a Pentagon budget that nearly equals those of the rest of the world combined.
Bob K says
For the second time in as many weeks, my post has been edited without explanation. I mention “Imagine School, and you change it “charter school”. Big difference, as I have first hand knowledge about Imagine. What’s with the editing? How are we supposed to debate if posts are changed at will?
Kevin says
It’s interesting (not really) to see the hatred for people acting respectably and peacefully at a rally which is focused on God and reclaiming virtuous values for the betterment of our nation. The litany list of why it would help to get back to basic virtues is too long for me to address with this one comment. What I honestly do find interesting is what short circuited within the nuclei and mental state of individuals who seek to attack these good natured individuals by trying to falsely define them, berate them, and minimize them to the lowest possible factor. They are called tea-baggers as an insult by the most ignorant of the mushrooms heads, when in fact the rally had nothing to do from what I read and personally watched, regarding politics or the tea-party. It is yet again, using the phrase from Obama, “the same old tired” attacks on Christians seeking to be spiritual. Crucify them…but first, free the rapists of our neighbor’s children and let the remainders in jail read porn. These are your priorities?
Why not focus on the nose on your face? Or better yet see the wisdom of the concerns of those millions around the globe who are confronting the issues of Islamic extremists. Here is yet another good example of what is in store for the gullible ones who believe the word of so called peaceful Imams who speak through both sides of their mouths, caring not what they say as long as they bring to fruition the plans they have for domination of cultures. Instead, the lollipop loving suckers of the world go after Beck as though he is instructing people to strap on bombing vests.
Kevin says
“The “tea party” broods—the richest, most pampered, most welfared generation in the history of mankind”
This is one of the most profound assumptions having no empirical evidence in any way to support the comment. I would say it’s more a fact to call them maybe the hardest working and best educated groups yet in the history of America. It is remarkable to believe their is any objectivity or integrity left in journalism.
I guess those people who attend rallys, like the ones that burned effigies of President Regan and most recently Bush, composed of bussed-in workers who regularly skip out from their work for union events, and welfare recipients, are the ones who really deserve the praise and gleeful accolades. Interesting that for eight years the US and the world was bombarded with and had to listen to the most vitriolic and repugnant comments I can ever recall in my life about conservative, Christians, Republicans (whom I can give a f-ing rats ass about so don’t go there) and a sitting president, Bush.
Comments are on record coming from leading politicians in our government, some equating him with Hitler and that of a genocidal maniac. This is what made front apge news and was rewarded by the left when it was done. But this time its shut the hell up, do as we say no matter how destructive and unwise the policy may seem, make any noise and we’ll smear you good as a bigot, racist, and plant some porn on your office machine to top it off. Well that isn’t going to happen and it will get ugly if people act this way towards those who finally are aware that the shit HAS hit the fan and only now is doing something about.
Millions here in the US know the government is doing this to distract and divide. Today the actions of Obama, Pelosi, Reed , and the rest of our government for that matter, are like a play by play of the strategies from their friends from Columbia, Cloward and Piven. We see politicians are burning both ends of the candle to implement as many destructive policies to our nation as possible, through the direction of their corporate puppet masters managing them as marionettes.
The enxt step is to break the dollar and insert then yuan, send out the brown shirts, and enforce newspeak. Dorothea, wrrite if you don’t get this and I’ll send you an interpreter from kindergarten.
NortonSmitty says
K, It’s not hatred in these other posts, it;s more frustration. We watched 100K people, many of them bussed in by organizations that are fronts for Wall Street, show up and do their holier than thou Church Lady Strut around the reflecting pool, listening to insincere blowhards that are easier to see through than Saran Wrap, and watch the media fawn all over themselves to portray them as The New Wave. Then they all pat each other on the back and congratulate each other on being more patriotic, more pious and smarter than the rest of America and vow save the country they love from the socialists and atheists.
Then they go home and vote and campaign for an even more deranged and radical version of the thieving no good cocksucking greed-loving inbred opportunistic corporate ass kissing bastards that stole all the money from them and pissed them off in the first place. I mean, WTF?
Teabaggers are the modern Capitalist equivalent of Lenin’s Useful Idiots, the middle class that put them in power only to be destroyed when they got it. And believe me Wall Street and K Street are both mocking you fools right now in the same fashion.
As far you comments, They gave themselves the Teabag name, and kept it even after they found out it’s bawdy meaning. Leave it to the right-wing to take the name for the simple act of dipping your nutsack in and out of another mans mouth and turn it into something sordid and disgusting. And just when was the last time you heard of a child rapist getting released early, and just what liberal progressive group or individual supported this? I can’t remember the last time I heard of such a thing happening in a country where you can get twenty years for just having a photo of an underage girl. Porno in Prison? don’t happen neither. Where do you get your iform… oh yea. Nevermind. And I’m tired of this bullshit war on Christianity you people always bring up. You are supposed to believe Christ died on the cross for your sins, so you all can pull out the thumbtacks and come down now.
Those other posters don’t hate the Tea Partyers mostly, but I most surely do. I hate them because for hirty years they’ve been the same people who bought the “Conservative Revolution” bullshit hook, line and sinker. Lower taxes for the wealthy,capital gains, deregulation, defense increases. And increased taxes on labor and small business. Every four years they would take off the Armani suits and put on a pair of jeans and a flannel shirt and go home to campaign against the unions and atheists. When the rubes would start to notice they weren’t doing so well or question the foreign policies, “Look, over there, two men want to say there married” or “Look, look, Dead Babies” and they would all run to the polls and pull the lever with the big”R” on it. You assholes GAVE them America, they didn’t take it.
Now that so much of the wealth and freedom that we had is gone, even you “conservatives” are noticing that your life is much harder that ity used to be, Whats the solution? I KNOW! WE”LL DOUBLE DOWN!
More tax cuts for the rich! Even though our tax rates across the board are lower than anytime since the Truman administration. More deregulation, thats worked out so well. Here, take my Social Security!
Clowns, Morons Buffoons!
I Hate you all.
Good Night.
Kevin says
NS:
You sure write a lot like my old wrestling coach who just retired in Ormond. No cigars for you next time I visit unless you confess.
We hate you too. G’night as well
Kevin says
The tea-bagger name originated from Obama if memory serves me correct. I found other flaws in your comments but I think we beat this old dog enough for tonight. Pierre is defintely going to shut me down if I keep harping on the same old tired issues I have:)
However there is a battle axe out there I’d like to dull-down.
Roy Ostapko says
Norton Smitty (Pierre?, sounds like the Witty Pierre)
The way of peace you know not – my words are of God & his Holy Word, not Yoda.
By the way, please capitalize the Christian name of God on your homepage. He takes this seriously.
You wish for us to show those of your faith respect, so you too should get it right. Hypocrite.
Repectful discussion of issues is the American way. Please ponder a more respectful way of discussion.
Rafael
Sorry, not going away.
Aggressive = Hard Work, it’s called the American Way. No handouts for this family.
Small Publisher? Gee, I thought we were bigger than that. Who is bigger is this county?
Print hurting? See my Local386.com in over 40,000 key words with Google. We plan to be the strongest online TOO.
Sincerely
Roy Ostapko
NortonSmitty says
Roy, you ignorant putz,
How dare you presume to know my faith? (Hint: don’t go by the putz thing, it’s just a term I’m fond of.) How dare you call me hypocrite when you know not how I live (Damn, now you’ve got me doin’ Yoda) How dare you presume to speak for any God and tell me my eternal soul is in jeopardy because of Capitalization?
Youi come out swinging and then have the unmitigated fucking gall to lecture me about respect? I’ve kidded and joked and maybe pushed the sarcasm envelope a little too much maybe in my posts, but lets get this straight right here: You are the first person I’ve corresponded with on this site that I can say without fear of being wrong that is a total pompous asshole. Your brand of religion picks and chooses which scriptures and commandments you follow, because it’s evident in your letters your pretty fond of Pride, and Greed too.
So bugger off RoyBoy. I too own a business in this town that I started on a bicycle and a bag of tools less than six years ago and now have five employees and growing, so don’t lecture me about work ethics you self-righteous poltroon. I sincerely hope that someday soon you wander into my shop to try to sell me an ad in whatever useless limpdick rag you peddle so we can discuss this further. I promise I will have a good time, you slimy scumbag.
Rafael Gomez says
@Kevin: In fact, “teabaggers” who try to blame the term entirely on MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow and other liberals need to bone up on their own history.
The label began with some of the movement’s own members – before they found out that “teabagger” also refers to a vulgar sexual practice, as conservative writer Jay Nordlinger concedes in his recent National Review article.
http://nrd.nationalreview.com/article/?q=Mjk1YmRjNzIxNmUwMTI0ZWYxZWU4OWU2MzFiOWJmNDE=
elaygee says
These old, white, Xtian relics of an America long gone will be extinct in 20 years. Good riddance tea baggers and good riddance to your way too long reign of terror against everyone who isn’t one of you.
Kevin says
Elaygee: Spoken like a true racist against Whites in America. Reign of terror? How many White people have terrorized you during your lifetime? See a doctor when you have a chance regarding your delusions.
Kevin says
Rafael, I followed things personally and even according to your link to National Review, I don’t see now ever saw people from the tea party specifically referring themselves as “tea baggers.” It never had a good ring to it then or after the definition of what it meant came to light for the masses to see.
The media did try to define them as such, done during gloating commentaries by Racheal Madcow and her ilk, as well did our Honorable Chairman Obama. I like to do my own research and not just rely on something from journalists which have maybe at times, an IQ half mine. They aren’t reporters anymore, just columnists seeking to entertain readers like you. Why not go back and refute some of my other comments which were important rather than something trivial like the observation you made.
Bob K says
It’s my understanding Amderson Cooper is the “originator” of the term “teabagger.” It’s really getting out of hand here. I think the real reason behind all this hatred and anger is that those who believed Obama was going to show us all how it’s supposed to be done have been let down miserably. The promised “post-racial” president has precipitateded more racial tension than form Sen. Robert Byrd could ever have hoped to. The great uniter has divided us more than the Grand Canyon. The great leader has lost his flock. And the thing burns so many’s ass is that a former alcoholic with a radio station brought together half a million people on the mall, and there wasn’t an arrest, a confrontation, and the place looked better than before the event started. A pudgy, dorky looking guy with glasses, (and no college degree) did what the man posing as the Messiah can’t do: UNITE people. Good day and well wishes to all of you. :)
Kevin says
Bob…God bless you!
John says
Colleen, abandon this garbage website ! From the first time I came upon it, I thought something was odd when my computer monitor tilted to the left…you will never win against these “intellectuals”. They will shout you down, again and again. I thought this website would provide legit news about Flagler, but I was mistaken. Remember, it’s all Bush’s fault. And when in-over-his-head, lightweight, one term Barry is out of office 2 years from now, it’ll all be the uninformed tea party dummies fault ! Yeah, right..
Dorothea says
Bob, I disagree with your notion that somehow Obama precipitated racial tension, unless racists looked at Obama’s dark skin and got their panties in a wad . My biggest criticism of President Barack Obama is that he thought he could unite right and left somewhere in the middle and maybe get something accomplished. Any damned fool could see that getting the Republicans to work harmoniously for the good of the country is an exercise in futility.
George says
Tea bags are on sale at Target.
Bob K says
Well Dorothea, we have different visions of where the “middle” is. I’m not going to sit here and argue whether Obama is left or right; it’s all there for you to discover on your own if you care. I don’t know about Republicans, but I don’t believe he is working for the good of the country. He brought up the race issue long before anyone else; remember he couldn’t abandon his “white grandmother.” “I don’t know all the facts, but I believe the police acted stupidly.” “I don’t know all the facts,” but I’ll make a rush to judgement anyway, since it was a white cop and a black professor being arrested. And you all have me convinced that since I went to the Beck rally, and I do criticize the President for HIS POLICIES, I must be a racist. I will now have to write a letter to my sponsored child in Africa. It will go something like this: “Dear Riziki, I am so sorry, but there are some really smart people on a website in my hometown who have made me realize I am a racist. I know you may not understand, but I will have to stop sending those monthly checks that allow you and others in your village to go to school, and provide clean drinking water. You see, you are black and I am a white racist, and I just can’t help you anymore. I hope you understand. Besides, I just put my new Ku Klux Klan sheet and hood, (personally signed by the late, great Senator Robert Byrd, Democrat) on lay-away, so I will need the money to pay for the uniform. The first Klan rally is in a month. Again, I’m so sorry, but these people are so smart, they must know what they’re talking about. Good-bye, and good luck.”
Sally says
Bob K. August 31st 4:22p.m.
Amen. You are right on
NortonSmitty says
Alright, haven’t any of you patriots heard of the great American innovation called Google? (Guaranteed to have all of it’s code written by Indian programmers but that,s another story.)
The term was coined by Maddow, but not Rachael. A former Republican operative named Kieth R. Maddow, who was hired by FreedomWorks. It was founded by former Senator Dick Armey who along with Phil Gramm, was the driving force behind repealing the Glas-Steagle act passed during the depression ( More on this at the end to shorten this.) with money supplies by the Koch Brothers, notorious for funding radical right wing causes. The purpose of FreedomWorks was to hijack the original Tea Party organization that grew up from real grass roots libertarians following Ron Paul who were concerned with the unification of big Multi-National corporations and the entire government, Bush and congress. Stay with me here, please.
They wanted to do this for two reasons. First, to derail this genuine growing grass roots movement before it started to get too powerful and actually affected their influence over the government. They did this in the usual way, by throwing money at them so they could get there message out to more people, and offering them professional advice. In other words, they took them over. A true grass roots movement was taken over by the very people they were protesting. Dick Armey was so good at deregulating and turning the banks loose, he retired from congress and sits on the board of dozens of banking and investment firms, Phil Gramm is the Chairman of the Board of CreditSuisse of America.
These are the people pulling the strings of the tea party today. Using them to target any pol that doesn’t toe the Pro-Oil line to the letter of either party (Lisa Murkowski anyone?)
Back to the origin. One of the first professionals sent was Keith Maddow. He came up with the idea for everyone to mail a teabag to Obama, their Congressman and Senator to drive home the connection to Boston and Taxes. He made sure Fox got the word out. The first usage of the term Teabagger on air is credited to Grif Jenkins and was quickly picked up by Rush, Hannity and the usual gang of propagandists.
I guess that the Base wasn’t that familiar with gay lingo and by the time Larry Craig heard about it , it was too late.
That’s the story. Took me a few minutes to find and confirm it. On Google.
Kevin, you asked me once what I read to get my info. This is the most useful. There’s all the info in the world there. This is all starting to make sense. You people really don’t fact check what your told. Your told total bullshit and get manipulated because you take it on faith that your heroes aren’t lying. You don’t lie, so to check if someone you trust is would be insulting them. They are taking advantage of your trust and good nature, knowing how you assume that everyone is as good at heart as you. Wow! Breakthrough.
Next time you hear something that you suspect just might not have the ring of truth to it, Look it up. Learn Google, it’s simple although there are some tricks. You’ll be surprised.
Now, Glass/Steagle:
This 60 year old laws main regulation was that banks could not open offices across more than one state line from their headquarters, so they would never get too big to fail. The second stated that banks had to be banks, and make their money from lending and not from selling other investments, stocks mutual funds derivitives etc., anything not covered by the FDIC. This prevented “Too Big to Fail” and all the rest of the bull we’re seeing today.It was repealed in about 1997 by the two leaders above with a big assist from Horny Bill. That’s probably why he has such a magnificent library and can throw $3 million dollar weddings.
Colleen says
A comment I wrote August 30th at 10:25pm is still awaiting moderation?
J says
I think you are all nuts! Especially the tea bagging god knobs!
NortonSmitty says
J, I think we’re all Bozo’s on this bus too. G’night
Kevin says
More thoughtful comments from Dorothea…
“Any damned fool could see that getting the Republicans to work harmoniously for the good of the country is an exercise in futility.” Snore….Yeah Dorothea, the minority they account for in both houses really has stopped all progress hasn’t it? In your mind I’m sure the squirrel cage is spinning with thoughts of it being Bush’s fault as well. Go on, admit that I am right.
Maybe if your side came up with well thought out ideas that worked without hurting the country further, they might participate more often. They aren’t required to play Russian roulette just because just because they other folks in Washington are.
Dorothea says
You need to go back and read my comment. I don’t know if you went to a Beck rally, if you are a Republican, or if you are a racist. I was disputing your contention that somehow racial tensions in this country were precipitated by Obama. Here in Flagler County, home of a KKK chapter and the last school district in Florida to desegregate, whatever Obama says would be like dropping a lighted match into a bucket of gasoline. I did not mention where in the spectrum of right and left Obama is. I did say that Obama had a delusional desire to bring that spectrum to a consensus.
Dorothea says
My comment is addressed to Bob.
Dorothea says
Kevin, your comments are comparable to an annoying gnat buzzing around, probably because you seem to be using a portion of your cerebral cortex about the size of a gnat’s penis. Smitty has you pegged . You don’t bother to fact check, you just keep buzzing around regurgitating radical right wing mantra. Now try answering Smitty, and buzz off.
Liana G says
NPR, Huffpost, Chirstian Science Monitor, Reuters, World News, BBC, Facebook – the list goes on – moderate posts. Nothing new. However, Flagler Live is more generous than most of their counterparts.
Citizen says
What’s good for the goose, good for the gander?
Ostapko writes: “Pierre You are a trouble maker. Please note the word unity in community. You are seeking to divide this community. Evil it is. You need to go away with all your contentious ways. It is not wanted here. Sincerely Roy Ostapko”
Yes, and at the same time would you extend the same courteous request to WNZF to stop broadcasting its conservative talk show radio content? After all, isn’t it the American Way to shut down all press and media that stands against the beliefs and goals of the State? Oops, gladly not. That would be a country that we fought and defeated. That would be a dictatorship, and that is certainly not welcome here.
Yes, the easy, selfish road is to wish people away. I remember as a child growing up in the north hearing neighbors say very similar things… “they are troublemakers, they are seeking to divide this community, they are evil, they need to go away, they’re ways are not wanted here….” Yep, they were referring to blacks, hispanics, foreigners and/or anyone that wasn’t white and christian. I would hear these comments spoken in utter agreement among neighbors at backyard gatherings, livingroom meetings. Sometimes these occasions occurred shortly after our family’s return from church where I had just been singing in sunday school with my classmates the song, “Jesus Loves His Little Children”… so, at the young age of six I began to witness hypocrisy in action, and it actually confused and hurt me to hear neighbors (and family) talking the way they did.
As demonstrated in the above word comparison, the desire to stifle the right to free speech in America is not in my opinion that much different from the desire to segregate people, or the desire to limit other freedoms…and none of those desires are welcome in my neighborhood, and they mustn’t be tolerated in America.
Bob K says
Colleen: get used to it; it’s Pierre’s show and he edits whatever he wants to edit, particularly if something makes him appear to be wrong. With regard to the dead woman found in an apartment last week, I wrote “Good job Pierre, it’s nice to have some timely news around here.” He took out the “good job Pierre” part. I was impressed he actually wrote the facts only, and avoided the usual dribble he injects into “news” stories. I can only guess he doesn’t accept compliments from right wingnuts; no problem. In this thread I referred to an article where he blasted Imagine School at Town Center for being a failure; they subsequently got an “A’ grade. When I pointed this out, he changed “Imagine School” to “charter schools.” That slight change gave him the credibility he lost over the whole Imagine School drumming. The other charter schools did poorly, so this made him “still right.” Minor point, with major meaning for a publication that claims it wants to have an honest debate on current issues. Well, I hope you read this quickly, before it’s edited.
Bob K says
Citizen: I agree; if you don’t like the radio show, turn it off; if you don’t like this website, then don’t read it. I would never advocate shutting anyone down, but I would challenge those with different opinions.
NS: I understand what you’re saying. All the traditional Republicans were saying to vote for McCollum, but I am sick of the same old liars playing us for fools. I voted for Scott, which may cost the Repubs the election, but we have to start voting our ideals instead of our party. The Repubs are trying to capitalize on the Tea Party, but I think the more pressing issue right now is getting Obama and his lapdogs out of control before the country is destroyed. We WILL deal with the establishment in good time, particularly if they revert to the same old crap.
Janet says
@Bob K: You voted for Rick Scott because you don’t want the same old liars playing you for fools, did you effing miss the fact that Rick Scott was forced out of Columbia HCA after a massive medicare fraud case, now his current company Solantic is under fire. He’s been accused by a former doctor at Solantic of Medicare fraud and that case is now in the hands of the FDLE. You sir, are STUUUUUUUUUUUPID, LOL!
Ayn Rand says
Kevin you and Bob K should get together for a Tea Partay and practice tea baggin’! Now that you both are familiarized with the term you should have no trouble getting better acquainted. After that you can cuddle and watch Fox News and rehearse talking points from Glenn Beck’s show and one of you can pretend your one of those ‘libruls’ and have a heated debate, then kiss and make-up. It’s a beautiful thing.
XOXO
Ayn Rand
Bob K says
I would like that alot! ;)
NortonSmitty says
Yiou know the only way to keep things remotely civil around here, and if you read my posts you know I am very remote much of the time, is to at least have the courtesy of posting your real webname on your comments. If your ashamed to send it in your name, we probably don’t want to hear it.
Kevin says
Yeah, really I don’t care either. The moron who made the comment about The Honorable Bob K. and I, didn’t address any part of the covert filming that I referred to in my last posting. ThemRelying on their word as to me being stupid is like taking the word of the smartest kid in retard class for 1st graders. Its easy to talk tough through the keyboard but a little different when debate is in person.
Kevin says
Bob,
Janet does have you on that one:) That bastard is exactly that and is what we are trying to purge from government. Basically, he is a really bad egg.
NortonSmitty says
I It’s not that I want anyones real name on the posts of course, but we have sorta gotten used to this little community and know who we’re dealing with and where they’re coming from.
Like I know if I see a post from Kevin or Bob or Collen, I instantly know I’m dealing with a Knuckle-dragging, deranged, reactionary chronic masturbator who’s forgotten to take their Happy Pills. If I see a post from Janet, Citizen or Dorthea, I know it’ll be a post that is deeply insightful and will put a new perspective on the complicated situations in American politics today that I will respect and agree with.
So we can’t just use any name, it might get nasty. And confusing.
Seriously, we’re all enjoying this chance to get our views out uncensored and raw. It’s not often any of us get the chance. But if we just snipe behind fake names, it won’t last long until it’s just a local Facebook for teens.
Read the comments on the Enterprise Flagler boondoggle. You can tell right away which posts are plants from the backers of the referendum. They are too pat, count on fear (of no jobs) and most telling, they are all user names we have never seen before. That’s a clue we should keep.
Barbara says
That’s the thing Norton you truly don’t know they are coming from the names you stated, webnames are not unique to any one individual. So I disagree with you on this, but I share your ideology.
NortonSmitty says
Well, you know if you see one with my name not messin’ with somebody it’s not really me.
Kevin says
NS:
I object! I haven’t masturbated since I got married to the most awesome woman any man could wish for.
Bob K says
No Janet, didn’t miss it at all. McCollum lied through his teeth; he’s out. Greene and Meek are Obama lapdogs. That leaves Scott. Besides, if D.C. can have crack smoking Marion Barry, I can have my crook who might have enough brains to turn things around. C’est la vie.
Liana G says
Bob K – My neighbour son has attended Imagine since it opened. Last year he was in 3 grade and showed some signs of academic weakness. She met with the teacher/administration to address the issue. She was told that some of his work was still not graded so its true score was not reflected, BUT they did suggest that he get extra help in math, an area of concern, but that he was outstanding in the other subject areas. She hired a math tutor per their suggestion yet when he took the FCAT, he failed the Reading part. Failing the Reading part of FCAT in 3rd grade is mandatory retention. So she is home schooling now.
I would question how a school jumps from a failing grade to an A in a year. Schools across the country every year are caught manipulating FCAT test scores because they are related to funding.
I am not a fan of charter schools but I am in favour of school vouchers. Several years ago in California 26+ charter schools shut their doors when they got word that they were under investigation for embezzling gov’t funds . Without notifying administrators ar anyone the company skipped town leaving everyone associated with the schools stranded. The irony is that parents wanted the gov’t to pay again for the same services to keep the schools going but the gov’t refused.
I support school vouchers because schools will be forced to compete and parents free to choose schools without uprooting and moving to districts with better schools. The state pays 6,700 per student per year. There are a lot of choices with that amount.
Public schools are run like totalitarian regimes. As a matter of fact I was actually told by an associate of Flagler School District in response to a complaint I made that “unfortunately when parents choose to bring kids into this world and put them in public schools, these are the consequences they have to live with”.
No surprising that a little town like this has such a high drop out rate, among the others issues. See the connection. Advocating parental involvement and then shutting parents out is counter productive . Parents who are dedicated and concerned about their children’s (these are the high achieving kids) education will eventually leave for greener pastures, reducing funding even more in an already cash strapped environment. How does this fit in with the future of PC?
NortonSmitty says
Kevin, save the lying for your politics.
George says
I guess Bob K is being taken for a fool.
Ralph says
You’re potentially putting a crook in the governor’s mansion, Bob K is the fool along with every Republican who voted for Scott in the primary. Bob K, you my man have been fleeced!
Ayn Rand says
Bob K: I see you rode the short bus to go to your special needs class, your logic or lack there of amazes me! Give Kevin a big fat wet one for me.
XOXO
Ayn Rand
NortonSmitty says
Liana, the problem I see with Charter Schools is lack of oversight and standards. There are good ones, but not all. There are Charter Schools in Miami that teach their students that John F. Kennedy was a communist plant who was assassinated by Cuban patriots who saved America. In History class. Honest.. With our tax dollars. Thanks Jeb. Bet Marco got strait A’s.
George says
American History taught in public schools is the imperialist version of our actual history, that’s why I home school my kids.
Kevin says
NS: That was ugly of you considering the playful nature of my comment. Now I am offended because I have a remarkably beautiful wife who is nurishing in every respect, supporting the veracity of my comment. Of course you wouldn’t know her nor will you ever most likely, for reasons based on the content and tone of your comments and what they say about of you as a person.
NortonSmitty says
I don’t believe you about the not spanking your monkey since marriage, that’s all Kev.
Kevin says
To me its on par with cheating. I guess my parents were stupid for bringing me up to feel guilt for not seeking virtuous ideals and sticking to them. Advice, don’t judge others by the actions you commit or are willing to commit.
Kevin says
I am curious what others thinki of the video of the Islamification of Paris I posted. I realize it was played CBN but that doesn’t change the reality of what the video highlights and why there is credible reasons as to be very concerned and limit the spawning growth of mosques and what it brings to a population.
Bob K says
Ralph, on the issue of being fleeced, did you see what (and I won’t make assumptions about you here) the left, and others put in the White House? It kind of makes you wonder about people who would put a man who’s never run so much as a lemonade stand in charge of the the most powerful country, with the largest economy in the world. As for those concerned with crooks, where’s all that same concern when it comes to Senator Diane Feinstein, who has clearly channeled billions of taxpayer dollars to her husband’s business? Go ahead, use your google and tell me what you find out.
Bob K says
Pierre, with regard to the post supposedly by me on September 1, 2010, at 3:33 P.M., containing the text, “I would like that alot! ;)”: It was readily apparent to some of the more astute posters on this board that it was not written by me. Last evening I posted two less than flattering posts under the name of the most likely offender. They were promptly removed. This indicates to me that 1, you have the ability to ascertain the source of any post, and 2, you are willing to edit any post where the source is dubious. As such, I contend that to allow the above-referenced post to remain indicates a willingness for complicity in the public display of false, derogatory, and potentially libelous material. As such, I respectfully request you exercise your ability to remove the post in question. Thank you, sir.
George says
Bob were not talking about other politicians from other states, I would NEVER vote for a crook like Scott or any other politician that was or is a crook, regardless of there political stripes, you exercised piss poor judgment by potentially putting a crook in the governor’s mansion, the very crooks voters have been trying to remove from public office, you’re complicit of stuuuuuuuuupidity!
Bob K, you must be old or older or less tech savvy, yes Pierre has the ability to edit/censor posts at will and he can identify you by your IP address, it’s a unique number assigned to every computer unless your use a proxy server or software to mask your IP address, but that’s WAAAAY over your head. It would take years to educate somebody like YOU, Kevin on the other hand seems a bit sharper.
As far as libelous material here is some information on that as well: According to the Citizen Media Law Project, at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society, the blogger cannot be held responsible for comments posted to his or her blog. Cited was Section 230 of the U.S. Communications Decency Act. You sir are sh!t out of luck, here’s a beer and start crying!
Ayn Rand says
I suggest you change your username Bob K!
Bob K: it is rather naive of you to think your username is unique to YOU, especially anywhere on the internet. Keep on crying and I’ll keep on supplying the beer! So there!
Golly, Bobby K you seem to have good grasp of the ‘internets’ so full of tubes and all, dang I underestimated you. :)
Oh, thank you George; I guess you’re talking about that little thingy that says, “Your IP address is ###.###.####, and you’re operating Windows version ###.” Thanks, I always wondered what that was. Certainly in the case of Zeran vs. AOL, the court found as you suggest. However, the third party is not granted immunity from liability. That’s all in a court of law; the court of public opinion sometimes carries more weight. My point is that someone writes a false message under my name, and it is allowed to stand; I return the favor and the post is immediately removed. While that may certainly prove the man behind the curtain has the upper hand in this venue, it may not be the same in others. If the true goal, as Pierre claims, is to provide a genuine debate in a fair manner, then the editing should be done in a CONSISTEN fashion, otherwise, what’s the point?
Bob K says
What did NS say? Something about turning this place into a teenage facebook? OOOOHHHH, EMMMMM, GEEEEE! I think he was on to something there!
Bob K says
…and George, I know my name is not unique to me, it’s just that when everyone uses the same one, it makes it really hard to follow. ;)
George says
You see Bob K Pierre lumped one of your comments under Ayn Rand …assuming it came from you, but you truly don’t know
Ralph says
Bob I recommend a proxy server not only for security sake,but for anonymity, this isn’t Facebook, it would make for a much different dynamic if it were, but on Facebook you can have fake profiles too. There are free software that hide your IP address, I’m using one right now. Unless Pierre is a CIA tech guru, my identity stays safe. It works using VPN technology.
Bob K says
Thanks Ralph….and yes, it’s really me.
NortonSmitty says
Bob K, as soon as I read that you were enjoying something I knew it wasn’t really you.
Bob K says
Norton; at first I didn’t understand you. I don’t mind saying you’re funny as hell sometimes….seriously. Now, you just have to figure out who’s typing this. :)
Greg says
Boy, you won’t read this in the News Journal. ;)