Yes, there are two Americas’ Virginia, they exist as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist. One tolerant and broadminded, the other intolerant and narrow-minded!
Sincerely, thinkingblue, from the TOLERANT AND BROADMINDED USA
PS: Joe (You Lie) Wilson, et al reside in the other America!
The GOP Tea Party blogs are ruthless, and have no shame as they constantly comb the Internet looking for material to use in order to demonize those they feel profound hatred towards. We don't have Andrew Breitbart, any longer but his passing hardly made a dent in softening the bigotry of this group. They are out in force, trying to find evidence that a normal happy teenager, shot dead by a vigilante (who was out to kill something he believed was an abomination to his cozy, warped world of discrimination) was the evil one who deserved assassination. So many of us are outraged and saddened by this horrible event, but there are also many who wish to defend the perpetrator and condemn the victim. This makes visible, the fact that we live in a very sick culture. This is not new; it has been going on for many years. The only new thing here is the so called Tea Party goes by a different trademark today, they use to be called, back in the days of Jim Crow, “KKK” and although Tucker Carlson, Michelle Malkin and their ilk, would never identify themselves as Klu Klux Klan, they sure as hell, adhere to their same bigoted principals. thinkingblue
For the second time in a week, a conservative blog has published excerpts from what it described as a Twitter feed maintained by Trayvon Martin, the Florida teenager who was shot and killed last month by a neighborhood watch volunteer patrolling a gated community.
The new blog post on the dead teenager’s social media account, which features an image of him making an obscene gesture and quotes from a message that includes an abbreviation for an obscenity, was posted on The Daily Caller, a site founded by Tucker Carlson, a conservative pundit, and Neil Patel, who once worked as an adviser to former Vice President Dick Cheney.
A Twitter profile photo that appears to show Trayvon Martin.
Similarly, the selection of Twitter updates published on Monday by The Daily Caller was accompanied by what appears to be a profile photograph he used, in which he was wearing a grill, a type of removable dental jewelry associated with rappers, but did not show or discuss the eight other Twitpic photographs associated with and linked to from the account. Those images — a bag of candy, a pencil drawing of the name ‘Tray’ sketched by his girlfriend; a school lunch; a tattoo of his mother Sybrina’s name; portraits of two girls; a football field; a new pair of sneakers — which remain online even though the associated Twitter account has been closed, paint an image of a fairly ordinary teenager’s life.. MORE HERE
Meanwhile, a smear campaign against Martin is under way. It's conducted in part by the likes of Michelle Malkin, whose website Twitchy posted a purported photo of Trayvon in gangsta-style pose and Zimmerman in a suit. Twitchy bellyached about supposed media bias in not showing these photos of the men "because they convey a message that no one else wants to take into consideration." Just one problem: the photo of Trayvon wasn't Trayvon. That could have been resolved beforehand with a simple phone call or two, the kind of basic journalism that Malkin often rails about being absent. But presenting the truth wasn't what Twitchy's editors had in mind. On the contrary. FROM DAILY KOS click here for more
At least that is what Rick Scott and his GOP Bullies are trying to do.
I swear, I am living in a nightmare these days. The GOP/TP is doing everything in their power to make all that is good and just, ILLEGAL and pushing laws that will turn almost everyone’s life into a nightmarish BAD DREAM that we will never awake from. Haven’t these people, who care about no one or anything unless they determine it detrimental to their power and purse, HAVEN’T THEY DONE ENOUGH? They’ve at least done a sufficient amount of PHOOEY to make people realize that they (GOP/TP) don’t give a rat’s ass about the inhabitants of our United States of America, unless such citizens are part of the corporate-hood or very rich.
Come on people, put your thinking caps on, the GOP/TP are out to destroy most of the 99% and it’s BLATANT. They don’t even try to hide their efforts to sabotage, that which we hold dear, they don’t have to. They have succeeded in indoctrinating their entire base, rendering them useless as protectors of theirs and our rights.
The Republican Party is the party of NO (voting NO on every bill that they perceive will make President Obama look good) but their sycophants’, their followers are the posses of YES and can’t wait for their next instruction to vote against their own best interests.
When will the nightmare end? I would wager to bet NEVER, not as long as they can govern and manage the ignorant who look up to them as if they were heroes. To say it’s a CRYING SHAME, is putting it more than mildly, it’s more like a crime that they get away with.
Please watch Rachel Maddow, once again, bring forth and expose the truth, like no other person, media or otherwise, can do. I wish everyone could tune in to the Rachel Maddow Show and learn exactly what these oppressors are up to, instead of listening to Right-wing conservative media or Internet blogs, which try to demonize her. They obviously fear her or they wouldn’t try so hard to silence her voice of REALITY.
Florida has managed to give the presidency to the republicans more than once. No matter how popular President Obama is, HB 1355 could allow them to steal the election once again by disenfranchising thousands of voters.
Florida HB 1355 is a concerted attempt to suppress the vote for minorities, students and low-income voters during the 2012 election.
The Justice Department is opposing changes in Florida voting procedures and says it wants a trial in the dispute, a move that could impact the state's August primary elections.
Because the state of Florida has five counties (Collier, Hardee, Hendry, Hillsborough and Monroe) that require federal preclearance for any new elections laws impacting minorities, the U.S. Department of Justice was originally supposed to investigate some of the more controversial aspects of the law. Approval for these counties is mandated by Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Department of Justice seeks trial on Florida’s ‘voter suppression’ law
The restrictions challenged in the suit were enacted by Florida legislators in 2011 as part of H.B. 1355, a broad package of election law changes. They include extremely burdensome administrative requirements, unreasonably tight deadlines for submission of completed forms, and heavy penalties for even the slightest delay or mistake. These restrictions are so unnecessarily harsh that they forced the League of Women Voters and Rock the Vote, among other groups, to shut down voter registration programs in Florida — even as voter registration rates have continued to decline in the state.
“For over 72 years, League volunteers have faithfully and successfully helped to register eligible Florida voters,” explained Deirdre Macnab, President of the League of Women Voters of Florida. “Sadly, Florida’s anti-voter law creates impassable roadblocks for our volunteers, who are simply trying to bring fellow citizens into our democratic process." http://floridaindependent.com/71922/department-of-justice-seeks-trial-on-floridas-voter-suppression-law
The UNMITIGATED IGNORANCE OF AN ENTIRE POLITICAL PARTY BASE.
The GOP/TP is now after SNOPES hoping (with lies) it will go the way of ACORN.
My husband Frank, received a FORWARD the other day that had so much Shit From Thee Bull in it, I had to do some research. During my FACT-FINDING journey, I found something even more disturbing and utterly deplorable (as if the Tea Party movement can't get more shameful) than the so called “Birther Movement”. But first the forwarded email called:
Birth Certificate (LONG FORM)
Claim: Barack Obama's birth certificate is a forgery.
Snopes: FALSE
Example: [Collected via e-mail, June 2008]
I read that Obama will not release his birth certificate. Have heard rumors it's because he is listed as white. Or that because he isn't a U.S. born citizen.
(Upon the release of the Long Form Actual Birth Certificate the BIRTHERS still claim it’s a forgery.)
The claims of anachronism stemmed from three elements in the certificate:
1. Back in 1961 people of color were called 'Negroes.' So how can the Obama 'birth certificate' state he is 'African-American' when the term wasn't even used at that time?
2. The birth certificate that the White House released lists Obama's birth as August 4, 1961. It also lists Barack Hussein Obama as his father. No big deal, right? At the time of Obama's birth, it also shows that his father is aged 25 years old, and that Obama's father was born in "Kenya, East Africa". This wouldn't seem like anything of concern, except the fact that Kenya did not even exist until 1963, two whole years after Obama's birth, and 27 years after his father's birth. How could Obama's father have been born in a country that did not yet exist? Up and until Kenya was formed in 1963, it was known as the "British East Africa Protectorate".
3. On the birth certificate released by the White House, the listed place of birth is "Kapiolani Maternity & Gynecological Hospital". This cannot be, because the hospital(s) in question in 1961 were called "Kaui Keolani Children's Hospital" and "Kapi'olani Maternity Home", respectively. The name did not change to Kapi'olani Maternity & Gynecological Hospital until 1978, when these two hospitals merged. How can this particular name of the hospital be on a birth certificate dated 1961 if this name had not yet been applied to it until 1978?
---
My husband sent him the Snopes Facts on this bogus (and silly) forward where, of course, Snopes correctly took on these 3 idiotic “points” and proved them FALSE with actual reality checks. Click this link: http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/birthers/birthcertificate.asp
After sending this link of fact, to the blockhead conservative, (who barely reads any FORWARDS he receives and just hits the old FORWARD AND SEND BUTTON to CIRCULATE the pieces of BS, that his pea-brain agrees with, around to his like-minded buddies) he wrote back this reply.
“Frank, I sent you an email a few months ago about how flawed Snopes is. STOP LIVING YOUR LIFE BASE {sic] OFF WHAT THAT SITE TELLS YOU.”
Now it appears, with the help of the freepers over on the Free Republic Blog http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/*/index These GOP/TP DESPOTS (who laugh all the way to the bank at their base’s ignorance) are now in the midst of demonizing Snopes as a “LIAR,LIAR PANTS ON FIRE” source to protect their totally fabricated "INFORMATION", that circulates around the Internet via FORWARDS and also the media via the likes of Limbaugh and Fox News, as THE WHOLE TRUTH AND NUTTIN BUT THE TRUTH. WHAT A JOKE! Thinkingblue
CLAIM: Snopes.com is 'owned by a flaming liberal' with a partisan bias.
First off, it's clear that whoever wrote this piece made it up as they went along. Anyone who has spent even a few minutes browsing Snopes.com knows that the website is owned by two people, not one. They are husband and wife David and Barbara Mikkelson of southern California. This is stated on the website and has been common knowledge for quite some time.
Second, the charge of partisanship is laid without evidence. At no time have the Mikkelsons publicly stated a political preference or affiliation, or expressed support for any particular party or candidate.
Moreover, Barbara Mikkelson is a Canadian citizen, and as such cannot vote in U.S. elections or contribute to political campaigns. In a statement to FactCheck.org, David Mikkelson said his "sole involvement in politics" is voting on election day. In 2000 he registered as a Republican, documents provided to FactCheck.org show, and in 2008 Mikkelson didn't declare a party affiliation at all. Says Mikkelson: "I've never joined a party, worked for a campaign, or donated money to a candidate" (source: FactCheck.org).
Anyone who claims proof to the contrary needs to come out with it.
NOTE ON GEORGE SOROS: A later variant of this rumor alleges, without evidence, that Snopes.com is financed by liberal philanthropist and hedge fund tycoon George Soros. This is false. The website is entirely self-supporting through advertising sales.
CLAIM: Snopes.com is 'in the tank' for Obama and 'tells lies' about McCain and Palin.
You'd think it would be easy for someone so blithely asserting that the owners of Snopes.com are "flaming liberals" to offer evidence that they're "in the tank" for Obama and "covering up" for him. None is provided.
As of this writing dozens of forwarded texts pertaining to Barack Obama and his running mate have been analyzed on Snopes.com, each meticulously researched with copious references cited. I have perused them all, not to mention the twenty-odd texts concerning Republican candidates John McCain and Sarah Palin, and find no discernible pattern of bias or deception, nor any evidence of advocacy for or against. To the contrary, I see a consistent effort to provide even-handed analyses of texts which more often than not are themselves dripping with political bias.
That's my assessment, as someone who has investigated the bulk of these rumors himself and can boast a better-than-average familiarity with the subject matter. I invite you to make your own.
CLAIM: TruthorFiction.com is a more reliable source than Snopes.
First off, TruthorFiction.com has condemned this anonymous attack against Snopes.com and, in fact, lauds the site as an "excellent" and "authoritative" resource.
What's ironic about claims to the contrary is that when you compare the contents of the two sites their findings rarely diverge in any substantive way. Shouldn't we therefore conclude that TruthorFiction.com is biased too?
Email text contributed by Elliott F., Oct. 20, 2008:
Subject: Snopes under fire
PLEASE READ!!!!!!! VERY IMPORTANT----- SNOPES EXPOSED:
Snopes under fire
I have suspected some problems with Snopes for some time now, but I have onlycaught them in half-truths. If there is any subjectivity they do an immediate full left rudder.
Truth or fiction.com is the better source for verification, in my opinion. I have recently discovered that Snopes.com is owned by a flaming liberal and this man is in the tank for Obama. There are many things they have listed on their site as a hoax and yet you can go to Youtube yourself and find the video of Obama actually saying these things. So you see, you cannot and should not trust Snopes.com.... ever for anything that remotely resembles truth! I don't even trust them to tell me if email chains are hoaxes anymore. A few conservative speakers on Myspace told me about snopes.com a few months ago and I took it upon myself to do a little research to find out if it was true. Well, I found out for myself that it is true. This website is backing Obama and is covering up for him. They will say anything that makes him look bad is a hoax and they also tell lies on the other side about McCain and Palin. Anyway just FYI please don't use Snopes.com anymore for fact checking and make your friends aware of their political leanings as well. Many people still think Snopes.com is neutral and they can be trusted as factual. We need to make sure everyone is aware that that is a hoax in itself.
------ As if the BIRTH CERTIFICATE was not enough insult, the conservative ignoramous, still sends Frank another dispicable forward about Bill Crosby. BILL COSBY: I'M TIRED! GOOD GOD, these assholes never quit. thinkingblue Frank's response:
Don,
Using Bill Cosby in this manner is the reason for the existence of "Snopes". You got some false, utterly ridiculous piece of crap in your email, and because it agreed with your [WARPED] world-view, you took it as the gospel truth. Snopes usually puts that erroneous nonsense where it belongs....into the nearest garbage can! Snopes makes you very upset because it screws-up what you want to believe. You then find some other piece of crap that demonizes Snopes to the point of comparing it to "Krystainacht" (look that one up if you are curious). It's all very tidy for you now. You get to ignore Snopes!.... hooray!
Bill Cosby was not involved at all in the words used in this latest false forward of yours. I knew it was totally false after the first few sentences! The person who sent it around under Mr. Cosby's name should receive some kind of punishment for his slander! The person who contributes to this travesty by sending it around should also be condemned for his behavior and set straight! I'll now proceed to "set you straight" without using the dreaded Snopes!
If you want to redeem yourself, you could send Mr. Cosby an email, and apologize.
Here's something directly from Bill Cosby's site:http://billcosby.com/site/2011/09/if-you-got-the-bogus-email-its-time-to-hit-delete.html
Here's something directly from "The Old Jarhead", who actually wrote what is erroneously and maliciously attributed to Mr. Bill Cosby! http://tartanmarine.blogspot.com/2009/02/robert.html
You never give up...do you Don! If you have the opinions and hold the views of "The Old Jarhead" that's fine, but for Christ's sake Don, point to the proper source, and try to have a little integrity! You can't just forward all the stuff you see that you agree with when it's always proven to be complete lies and fabrications. All the birther stuff you send is silly. All the crap about Obama the Muslim is ridiculous. You can't just turn the world into a vision that suits you by forwarding shit from the bull!
Frank
More ignorance (if you can handle any more) from the POLITICHICKS. UGH!
Please share this, it's a video that should go viral. Go to youtube and comment, I did:
"THANK YOU SO MUCH... We need our peaceful voices to be heard. We are not cattle who cannot stop their own slaughter. We are human beings and we all share something in common; love, respect, peace and empathy for one another."
thinkingblue
JERUSALEM -- Hoping to counter the incessant saber rattling from their respective governments, some Israelis and Iranians have started an online campaign to exchange simple messages of friendship and love.
The initiative, which began with Israeli couple Ronny Edry and Michal Tamir, calls for residents of each country to exchange photographs with the words, "We love you."
"I'm not an official representative of my country. I'm a father and a teacher," Edry wrote on his blog, www.IsraelovesIran.com. He included a photograph of him and his son. "I know the streets of my town, I talk with my neighbors, my family, my students, my friends and in the name of all these people ... we love you. We mean you no harm. On the contrary, we want to meet, have some coffee and talk about sports."
Within days, the first responses from Iran began to appear. The images posted by Israelis and Iranians are strikingly similar - they show people in the midst of daily activities, posing with their children, dog or favorite book. Some include messages such as "We don't want war," and "I wish we both get rid of our idiot politicians." Often, it's impossible to tell where the message originated until the telltale tag line, Iran (or Israel) we love you. MORE HERE
“Socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires.”
- John Steinbeck
This killing of a child by a grown man, IS NOT A BLACK AND WHITE ISSUE... THIS IS A 99% ISSUE. I wish I could have attended the hoodie march to demand fairness for Trayvon Martin... I am so angry that this murder was almost swept under the proverbial rug.
In this day and age, some conservative white folk are still trying to take the law into their own hands, vigilantly style.
We, the 99% are experiencing at this very moment, A WAR ON WOMEN, A WAR ON CIVIL RIGHTS, A WAR ON UNIONS and now IT'S A WAR ON FAIRNESS FOR THE 99%.
The young man, Trayvon Martin was fighting for his life. A black boy stalked by a man full of rage toward black males, with the intent to harm or kill one, who he feels is foreboding in his world of racial profiling; in Florida we have an insane law called STAND YOUR GROUND or SHOOT FIRST, in which supposedly, any citizen of Florida who feels threatened, has the right to fight back (even kill) in order to protect himself.
The police chief of Sanford, Florida, gave that right to George Zimmermann, but Trayvon Martin was denied that right. Trayvon, tried to fight off his stalker and it appears, at first he was not afraid, just curious as to why this man was following him, after all, he had the right to walk down the street of a neighborhood to a convenience store, without fear. Now the ones who are trying to protect George Zimmermann are saying he, felt threatened because he attacked this boy and the child fought back.
The law is insane, I knew it when it passed, (I was so outraged I had blogged on it http://thinkingblue.blogspot.com/2005/10/beware-of-shoot-first-law-in-florida.html ) but what is even more tragic, is the fact that a few have the right to use this atrocious law to physically assault a person and if that person fight's back the perpetrator has a legal right to kill (because he feels threatened??).
I don't know about you but I'm Mother F**king Angry and sad beyond words. thinkingblue
On February 26, our son Trayvon Martin was shot and killed as he walked to a family member's home from a convenience store where he had just bought some candy. He was only 17 years-old.
Trayvon's killer, George Zimmerman, admitted to police that he shot Trayvon in the chest. Zimmerman, the community's self appointed "neighborhood watch leader," called the police to report a suspicious person when he saw Travyon, a young black man, walking from the store. But Zimmerman still hasn't been charged for murdering our son.
Trayvon was our hero. At the age 9, Trayvon pulled his father from a burning kitchen, saving his life. He loved sports and horseback riding. At only 17 he had a bright future ahead of him with dreams of attending college and becoming an aviation mechanic. Now that’s all gone.
When Zimmerman reported Trayvon to the police, they told him not to confront him. But he did anyway. All we know about what happened next is that our 17 year-old son, who was completely unarmed, was shot and killed.
It's been nearly two weeks and the Sanford Police have refused to arrest George Zimmerman. In their public statements, they even go so far as to stand up for the killer - saying he's "a college grad" who took a class in criminal justice.
Please join us in calling on Norman Wolfinger, Florida's 18th District State's Attorney, to investigate my son's murder and prosecute George Zimmerman for the shooting and killing of Trayvon Martin.
“Socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires.”-- John Steinbeck--
I’m listing just a few proofs today, of why we all now know, beyond a shadow of doubt, that the Republican Party has lost its marbles and gone completely off its rocker. This is just the tip of the iceberg, there have been many more ridiculous hits to common sense and reality perpetrated by these fools but one can only consume a little at a time because all at once bombardment would result in vomiting your guts out. These are examples I had come across inside of an hour or two. Hold on to your proverbial hats, thou are in, for a bit of sh*t, from thee bull. thinkingblue
It's tempting for sure, to want to go up to this schmuck’s car and scrape off his bumper sticker (and along with it fragments of car paint) BUT then we (who think) would be no better than they are; so filled with hate and bigotry. I know they can't help it because that's the way they were raised but that doesn't excuse it.
It's sad, it's pathetic but dismally, I fear, BIGOTRY will always be with us, especially when there are those, (i.e. LIMBAUGH, FOX NEWS) who make millions feeding it to their minions (DITTOHEADS). thinkingblue.
~~~
I couldn't resist posting this next article on Human Longevity across the globe, in today’s Yahoo News. 'Viva Italia' - "Long live Italy!" who comes in 10th, whereas the United States ranks only 50th on the CIA's life expectancy list. Italy's longevity is attributed to their diet of Yummy. It appears, in order to achieve, the brass ring of RIPE OLD AGE; you need to live in a country whose inhabitants share, a good diet, universal health care and/or WEALTH. Hmmm, I wonder why the good ole US-of-A only ranks 50th (as if I didn’t know). Thanks GOP for all you do (fighting against universal healthcare, achieving personhood for corporations, so that money is speech and proposing tax rates that would certainly make "the rich get richer and the poor get poorer") that makes sure we, the 99%, get many years shaved from our existence. thinkingblue
In 1513, Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León set sail in search of Bimini, a mythical land said to house a spring that restored youth to anyone who drank from it. After scouring the Caribbean and Florida, he returned empty-handed, and the Fountain of Youth remained undiscovered. Perhaps he was just looking in the wrong place.
As part of their data collection for the World Factbook, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) combs through death certificates, recording race, gender, cause of death, and other factors to estimate the life expectancy of a nation's entire population. Calculating the average life expectancy of the world's total population at 67.59 years, the CIA has determined which societies live longer.
[See: 11 Health Habits That Will Help You Live to 100]
In the United states, average life expectancy is 78.49 years, well above the world's norm. Many experts attribute this to ongoing medical developments, which have dealt with conditions that used to mow us down early. Meanwhile, nations without advanced medical care report a much shorter life expectancy. For instance, citizens of the Republic of Chad in central Africa are only expected to live until their late 40s.
Despite the fact that the average American lives into his or her late 70s, the United States ranks 50th on the CIA's life expectancy list. According to the World Factbook, these 10 nations seem to have discovered the secret to longevity--no magical spring water required.
10. Italy
Average Life Expectancy: 81.86 years
Italians live an average of 3.37 years longer than Americans. Many experts draw a connection between their longevity and diet--which is more than just pasta, meat, and cheese. The Mediterranean diet is credited with lowering the risk for all sorts of diseases. The antioxidants found in olive oil and red wine--two key features of an Italian meal--can improve cholesterol, prevent blood clots, and stave off heart disease, according to the American Heart Association. Italians also rely on spices like basil, oregano, and garlic to flavor their cuisine, while Americans depend heavily on salt. As such, Italians improve their odds against high blood pressure and stroke. MORE HERE
~~~
Last but not least:
This little video speak volumes about the right-wing Idio(T)cracy, of trying to destroy any means of birth control for humans (only human beings, birth control is still A-OK for certain other breeds of organisms, if it suits their fancy) and abolish legal abortions here in America (and all over the world if they could.)
The world’s human population has reached 7 billion and is estimated to increase to 9.2 billion by 2050 because of this the human need for food and water will double by that year…
In just 40 years from now, global food demand could double with potentially devastating consequences for planet Earth, a top eco professor has warned.
“Agriculture’s greenhouse gas emissions could double by 2050 if current trends in global food production continue,” said David Tilman, who is Regents Professor of Ecology in the University of Minnesota's College of Biological Sciences.
“Global agriculture already accounts for a third of all greenhouse gas emissions,” he added.
According to the prof, food production on that scale could massively inflate levels of carbon dioxide and nitrogen in the environment.
The end result could lead to the extinction of numerous species because of the demand for more land for farmers to grow the food needed, Tilman cautioned. MORE HERE http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/11/22/food_demand_to_double_study_university_of_minnesota/
OK, time for the video (warning: gloomy content here) thinkingblue
World Population
Graphic description of world population growth from 1 A.D.
World Population (Millenium Edition) was produced and copyrighted by Population Connection (formerly Zero Population Growth, Inc.) in 2000. Population Connection is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization.
“Socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires.”
- John Steinbeck
When I heard that one of my favorite comedians was defending Rush Limbaugh with this tweet: “Hate to defend #RushLimbaugh but he apologized, liberals looking bad not accepting. Also hate intimidation by sponsor pullout.”
I thought… Oh no, not you Bill, how can you defend this cowardly creep who attacks a woman he does not know, for speaking out against an injustice; calling her names like a spoiled playground bully? But then I remembered something… It had once happened to Bill Maher himself and if my memory serves me right… I thought it, quite unfair.
Then today I came across this article Hushing Rush isn’t a good idea and I thought, ‘maybe it isn’t… maybe we Liberals should be above retribution and not allow ourselves a schadenfreude moment and sink to a Limbaugh level of HOW LOW CAN YOU GO.
One thing for sure Rush is a BELOW THE BELT kinda guy, he makes a lot of money with his type of “entertainment” that utilizes people’s base fears and their hatred of those who are different from themselves. Limbaugh gives them plenty of fodder to fuel their animosity which makes them feel legitimized in their malevolence and prejudices. They tune in religiously to hear what Limbaugh has to say, not knowing his words are really empty and the only reason he does his ‘Limbaugh dance’ is to collect millions from his bosses at Clear Channel via the sponsors (which he derogatorily refers to as french fries) that come in droves because they know his listeners are easy targets for their indoctrinating marketing techniques, after all, if they believe ole Rush’s pathetic hate mongering, they will believe ANYTHING!
SO LET THE SHOW GO ON, don’t fire his arse, allow us, we-the-people to write our opinions in blogs, sign petitions and email his sponsors that we, at long last, can tell this unscrupulous man to his face that HE SUCKS! thinkingblue
Dianne Williamson dwilliamson@telegram.com 56 comments | Add a comment
Rush Limbaugh, of course, would call them FemiNazis. They’re the trio of famous feminists who last week called on the government to silence the bombastic radio host by removing him from the airwaves.
Writing as co-founders of the Women’s Media Center, Jane Fonda, Gloria Steinem and Robin Morgan are urging the Federal Communications Commission to essentially yank Limbaugh’s license.
“Limbaugh doesn’t just call people names,” the women wrote, in a column for CNN.com. “He promotes language that deliberately dehumanizes his targets.”
They may be right about Limbaugh, but they’re wrong about what should be done with him, because censorship is rarely the answer to offensive speech.
After Limbaugh called a law student a “slut” for supporting greater access to birth control, a rather wonderful thing happened. Largely egged on by an outraged public, advertisers have been fleeing his program, as many as 140 by one count. That resulted in the rarest of spectacles, a pseudo-apology from Limbaugh. Still, sponsors continue to bail.
The First Amendment supports Limbaugh’s right to be an obnoxious bigot, which is why Fonda and friends are misguided in urging the government to interfere. I don’t like Limbaugh, but I like even less an attempt to censor someone for controversial views.
But there’s nothing wrong in a free society when people speak up, and sponsors act in their best interests. So I don’t understand the opposition to the advertisers’ exodus, and neither does local defense lawyer Michael Wilcox.
Like Wilcox, I watched talk show host Bill Maher defend Limbaugh on his show last week, framing the criticism as an attack on free speech.
“I don’t like it that people are made to disappear when they say something, or people try to make them disappear, when they say something you don’t like,” said Maher. “That’s America. Sometimes you’re made to feel uncomfortable, OK?”
Absolutely. I, too, have been known on occasion to make people uncomfortable. In my job it’s practically required; in my personal life, I tend to apologize a lot. And Maher is likely sensitive because his own show was once canceled due to controversial statements.
But others are joining Maher in his defense of Limbaugh, including Marc J. Randazza, a Las Vegas-based First Amendment lawyer, who said that he despises Limbaugh but believes that it’s “morally wrong” for people to “pressure” his sponsors.
“If you disagree with someone who is on stage, it is wrong to stand up and yell to drown out his voice,” Randazza wrote in a column. “Drowning out his voice by organized bullying is no way to pay tribute to our most cherished liberty.”
But why should only radio hosts have the right to free speech? Don’t regular Americans enjoy that right, also? Can’t we bring the free market to bear? When a sponsor decides to disassociate itself from Limbaugh’s misogyny and hate-mongering, that seems awfully moral to me.
“That’s crazy to say it’s morally wrong,” said Wilcox, a lawyer and Shrewsbury resident. “This is one of the purest forms of democracy. If I don’t like the widgets you make, I don’t buy them. His show is commercial speech, and we have every right to contact his sponsors.”
In a blog, Wilcox addressed the radio host: “You have every right to call women names, and to demand that they surrender 100 years of social progress so that you can have some sense of order in the fantasy world you want to live in. That is your right. Conversely, I can tell your boss that I will never, ever buy a Sleep Number bed as long as they support your right to express your divisive and highly un-American thoughts.”
“Socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires.” - John Steinbeck
Over 140 advertisers have bailed from Rush Limbaugh’s show, and close to 100 are on a list of advertisers who want to avoid shows with offensive or controversial content. Ed Schultz talks with Eric Boehlert of Media Matters and talk radio consultant Holland Cooke about whether the Rush boycott will be a permanent one.
The numbers of advertisers that dropped rush Limbaugh is 141. If it's permanent it represents possibly a real change in talk radio in America. We may be witnessing something unparalleled in talk radio. it will have far-reaching consequences all the way to the GOP? It’s not just Limbaugh getting a big lesson in the couldn't sequences of hate speech. Limbaugh syndicator premiere radio networks calculate and circulated a list of 98 advertisers who want to avoid offensive or controversial content. For example, Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, advertisers won't touch them. This is happening in two weeks time. Since Limbaugh's slur of Sandra Fluke, a wake-up call to every radio talker about what is ahead in the landscape and acceptable. Racism and sexism aren't acceptable. All the advertisers leaving Rush Limbaugh are making a very big statement. I’m joined by Eric Boehlert , and Holland Cook, talk radio consultant, been in the business for some 30 years. Holland, I got to ask you, is this a sea change, is this temporary or is it permanent? What is on the horizon? MORE HERE http://video.msnbc.msn.com/the-ed-show/46712690#46712690
“Socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires.” - John Steinbeck
Yes, there are two Americas’ Virginia, they exist as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist. One tolerant and
free-thinking, the other intolerant and close-minded!
Sincerely, thinkingblue, from the TOLERANT AND FREE-THINKING USA
PS: Joe (You Lie) Wilson, Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh et al reside in the intolerant America!
