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February 10, 2010
The Tattlesnake – Once Again, Jon Stewart Shows the BM How It’s Done Edition
Good on Jon Stewart for showing the ‘political infotainment’ arm of the Big Media, once again, how to do their jobs. Last night on The Daily Show, Stewart’s guest was Newt “Like The Reptile” Gingrich and they were discussing trying terrorist suspects under American criminal law. Newt claimed that the ‘Christmas Underwear Bomber,’ Umar Abdulmutallab, shouldn’t be tried in a U.S. court and had no rights since he wasn’t an American citizen. (Not true, incidentally — even foreign nationals have rights when charged with a crime in our country, but a topic for another time.)
At any rate, Stewart sensibly countered that the ‘Shoe Bomber’ Richard Reid was tried and convicted by the Bush Administration in an American courtroom and then Newtie, as usual, blatantly lied to make his point – he said Reid was a U.S. citizen and Abdulmutallab was not. Stewart let it pass as I yelled in futility at the TV, “Bullshit, Reid was a British subject!”
Following the commercial break, however, after the interview had ended, Stewart came back on to say his staff had checked and Reid was not an American citizen but a British national. This was a simple, unbiased fact, and it made Gingrich look like the horse’s ass he is and laid bare his lame argument to the light of day. If every ‘real’ news show adopted this practice of fact-checking guests and informing the audience where they lied during the show, not only would it better serve the news consumer and the country, but it would have the side benefit of keeping politicians honest – if pols knew that at the end of the show (ideally accompanied by a crawl across the bottom of the screen), their falsehoods would be exposed they might become more circumspect in their habitual dishonesty. BTW, I also think would be good for ratings.
Of course, this will never happen on Fox News, if only because 45-minutes of each hour would be taken up correcting the lies of the first fifteen minutes, and most of the other networks would shy away since it would cost them ‘access’ to prominent politicians, not to mention discomfit their corporate bosses, but just think – no more Republicans spreading fraud on national TV and fewer quisling Democrats trying to justify their cowardice! No doubt this measure would pass by a massive majority if subjected to a national referendum.
Since that’s not going to happen, all you can do is write or call your favorite media outlet and refer them to Jon Stewart’s interview with Newt Gingrich on Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2010, but don’t expect miracles – the BM will likely change the same day Newtie the Lizard bangs the drum for universal single-payer health care.
http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/newt-gingrich-lies-jon-stewart-claim
© 2010 RS Janes. LTSaloon.org.
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February 1, 2010
President Scott ‘W.’ Brown in 2012?
“A couple of things are striking about the pro-[Scott] Brown spending. It’s always entertaining to watch someone self-described as an independent, political free operator getting so much support from national conservative groups. And it’s especially entertaining given that while many of these groups support ideological purges from their party, Brown is … a liberal, according political scientist Boris Shor. He is in fact more liberal than Dede Scozzafava, the unfortunate, erstwhile GOP nominee in the special House election in New York a few months back. Shor writes:
‘Brown’s score puts him at the 34th percentile of his party in Massachusetts over the 1995-2006 time period. In other words, two thirds of other Massachusetts Republican state legislators were more conservative than he was. This is evidence for my claim that he’s a liberal even in his own party. What’s remarkable about this is the fact that Massachusetts Republicans are the most, or nearly the most, liberal Republicans in the entire country.’”
– Robert Schlesinger, “Scott Brown Benefits From Late National Republican Money,” US News, Jan. 17, 2010.
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Multiplying Meltdowns
At first the concept that the homeless have been evicted from the Venice Beach area might sound like a bit of absurdisms that could be an excuse for making some glib comments about an inconsistency in the assertion that America is being run by compassionate conservative Christians and that we had mentioned that this columnist would collect material on that subject while visiting the Los Angeles area recently. The March 2011 issue of the Free Venice Beachhead has a lead story that tells about “Blue Bus Patty,” who came to the Venice area when she was 19, and thirty five years later returned to her native state of New Jersey, when a local L. A. politician used his influence to get the homeless out of the Venice Beach area. Who among us can not see that the principles of Christ clearly are in peril when xenophobia can motivate a return to the level of charity in America that was the backdrop for John Steinbeck’s “Grapes of Wrath” achievement in literature? Change? Only the bumper sticker slogans have been changed to protect the self-esteem of the politicians’ heartless efforts to use the situation for their own political advantage. It seems like the concept of Christian Charity has done a meltdown in America (again).
Newt Gingrich has taken the Republican concept of screwing the citizens for ostensibly patriotic reasons to a new level of absurdity. Patriotic adultery? Contemporary American Culture seems unquestioningly willing to embrace that illogical example of rationalization from a Republican who is offering himself as a contender for his party’s next nominee for President. The compassionate conservative Christians were ready to impeach Clinton, but now seem willing to embrace Newt. Isn’t that very convenient for the Newtster? Will Newt spark a revival of the swing parties as a way of manifesting a surplus of Patriotic national pride? (If he does; will super patriotic hot babes be desperate enough to e-mail their kink needs to an understanding columnist from “across the aisle”?) Did Newt ask ladies to wear only a flag while the sound system played Randy (nudge nudge wink wink) Newman’s “You Can Leave Your Hat On”?
Who is the greater patriot: Newt Gingrich, Larry Flynt, or Hugh Hefner?
Has any well known member of the Clergy called out Newt for this ridiculous blatant example of rationalization or do they just go into meltdown when a Republican gives American youth the green light to go to the red light district style of behavior? Did Oral Roberts condemn Newt? (How did he get that odd first name?)
Speaking of meltdowns, aren’t the folks, who are speculating about the disaster potential of the nuclear facilities in Japan, scientists? Why is the Fox Comedy Cable Network (How does one pronounce: FCCN?) willing to give the scientists airtime when it comes to an atomic meltdown but not the melting of the polar ice caps?
Why did America ignore the charity needs of Australia after recent floods and fires in that country and then immediately rush ships to help Japan? Which one of those two countries was fighting along side America during WWII and which wasn’t? Why wasn’t help offered to America’s strongest ally country? Can anyone explain why a former enemy deserves more assistance than a country that has always answered America’s call for wartime assistance?
Did the union movement experience a meltdown in Wisconsin?
Did the hopes of Democrats for leadership from Barry meltdown this week? Is Barry’s legacy melting down at a geometric progression way?
Isn’t what happened in Wisconsin the political equivalent of the commission of war crimes by a certain military group that invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, because of the evidence that Poland had military weapons and needed to be invaded to be disarmed?
Is it a war crime for a military to destroy lives but OK for politicians to ruin the lives of their working constituents? How is it different?
Isn’t it a pretty picture to see Barry sitting on the sidelines and shrugging his shoulders at the (registered Democratic Party) union members’ anguish and nonchalantly accepting the prospect of being a one-term wonder in the history books? This columnist wonders if there was a quid pro quo agreement between Barry and Karl Rove of the “we’ll make you the first (and last?) American President of Pan-African heritage in return for folding on certain issues when we give you the signal!”?
America’s Party of Warmongers will never see a potential quagmire they don’t love, so we can expect Barry’s handlers to have him greenlight a temporary intervention in Libya.
Which brings us to yet another meltdown: Why does some happy-go-lucky Irish heritage blogger have to be the one to point out (in relative obscurity) things that a genuine free press should be blaring in big headlines? Where is the Media Outrage? Where are the Media’s brutally honest assessments of all these disgraceful hypocrisies?
Speaking of keeping a muzzle on things, how is the writers’ strike going at one well known aggregate online site? We have refused to “cross the picket line” and click on that site until we get news of a strike settlement. If it is ever over, would someone please post a comment about that? It is our assessment that the strike (like the one at the Los Angeles Herald Examiner) will never be settled by negotiations or mediation. [Didn’t Ralph Kramden tell his wife: “Don’t aggregate me, Alice; or POW! right to the moon.”?]
If someone mouths liberal platitudes and then treats the workers like indentured slaves, what political philosophy would you ascribe to that kind of management?
In the Book of Proverbs it is written: “To the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.” (27:7) Does anyone deny that the Republicans are hungry for sex, money, and power? That might explain why they think invading Iraq, torture, and evicting homeless from Venice CA is sweet.
Now the disk jockey will play Barry Manilow’s “Mandy,” Len Barry’s “1-2-3,” and Barry McGuire’s “Eve of Destruction.” We have to go buy some more Girl Scout cookies on our way to a St. Patrick’s Day celebration. Have a “Patriotism makes me want to f*** people” type week.