The Home Of American Values ( Updated )

One has but to take a glimpse at the Fox"Nation" website and you will find a veritable treasure-trove of fringe conservative "values" - racism, ignorance, and hate.

Recently, Ann Coulter had a speaking engagement in Canada and was confronted a young Muslim girl. The exchange was typical Coulter, and the ensuing comments on the Fox"Nation" website were equally as disgusting.

-------Enter Michelle Malkin, often known for her own particular style of race baiting, is now defending Coulter against allegations that she was somehow "threatened" by the University in an email.-------

CORRECTION

Malkin did not write the piece defending Coulter. This was authored by Malkin's proxy, La Shawn Barber. And while the content is obviously allowed to remain on Malkin's site, I feel it's safe to assume that she is willing to defend Right Wing hate-speech.

Houle [ provost at the University of Ottowa ] urged that Coulter exercise “restraint, respect and consideration” in her speech to the students. Houle added, “Our domestic laws, both provincial and federal, delineate freedom of expression (or ‘free speech’) in a manner that is somewhat different than the approach taken in the United States. I therefore encourage you to educate yourself, if need be, as to what is acceptable in Canada and to do so before your planned visit here…Promoting hatred against any identifiable group would not only be considered inappropriate, but could in fact lead to criminal charges.”

This is something that most people don't realize. Canadian laws protecting speech are much different that American ones, so it almost seems like Coulter agreed to give the speech in order to promote hatred and actually invite charges to be brought upon her. This is a tactic that people like Coulter love to use - push the envelope enough until you technically break the law and then play the victim card.

So why is it that people like Malkin, Coulter, and Fox"Nation" not only advocate hatred of minorities in America ( not just Muslims, mind you ) but actively defend and distort the reality that racial animus plays a much broader roll in the Tea Bagger movement?

Perhaps they are too embarrassed to admit that people like this are much easier to spot within the Tea Bagger realm.

Coulter's Ottowa engagement was subsequently cancelled, so let the pity-party start.

Conservatives like to pretend that they hold some moral high-ground, that they have all the answers to all of life's little inconsistencies and problems. From a realistic perspective, it's the conservatives that end up causes most of the problems in the country right now. From pure obstructionist tactics in government, to literally altering history, to ignoring and denying science, and doing their best to ensure that women's bodies are legislated into the Stone Age, conservatives are not to be trusted. Their every word and action should be questioned. But they certainly do have a well funded home at Fox, don't they?

But Can It Cure Your Idiocy?

Conservatives love to claim that "capitalism" is the cure all for Americans. No matter what problem you may be facing - be it banks giving blaphemous bonuses to execs or your IRA looking as sickly as the neighborhood dog after a binder on that anti-freeze puddle in your driveway - capitalism and "free-markets" will make it all better.

When you put affordability of health coverage to a right-wing "capitalist", you'll never hear stats on Americans and their coverage ( save the occassional mention that around 68% of those that have coverage are happy with what they have - completely disregarding the fact that this doesn't address those that can't but need it ) and you'll hear an endless ream of horror stories from places like Canada. These arguments are predicated on the notion that since other countries aren't so great at it then that means that America should just give up on any sort of healthcare reform.

It seems that no matter the subject, conservatives are more than willing to quit before their is even something that could be mildly considered a starting point.

But let's get back to these alleged horror stories from Canada. Are patients really having it as bad as conservatives are pretending they are? Dennis Kucinich tried to get some answers from one of Milton Friedman's favorite doctors and the results were not pretty for the doctor.

Here's Logan Murphy from Crooks & Liars:

Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich absolutely tore it up today on Capitol Hill. In this video he is questioning Dr. David Gratzer of the Manhattan Institute. One need only read the title of Gratzer's new book, "The Cure: How Capitalism Can Save American Healthcare" (complete with forward written by Milton Friedman) to know what side of the debate he was on.

Gratzer was there to spew lies and right wing talking points about the Canadian health care system, but Kucinich wasn't having any of it. As always, my hat goes off to Dennis!

Another in a long line of typical conservatives that act as if they are being oppressed or are the victims of unchecked liberal agression. The fact of the matter is, as was readily apparent from the video, that "doctor" Gratzer had no clue what was going on in his own country in regards to health insurance. I'm starting to wonder what sort of "doctor" Mr. Gratzer is.

You can view the glittering praise lauded upon him from the Manhattan Institute or read his Wikipedia page. Apparently he's a "doctor" that loves to misuse statistics.

On CSPAN's site, they have the full video of the hearings ( almost 2 hours ).

Obama, Coal, And Disinformation

Working in the Fluid Power industry as I do, you come into contact with a vast array of customers that each feel economic rise and fall in a variety of ways - Construction, Forestry, Marine, Manufacturing, and Mining just to name a few.

What immediately caught my attention about this "uncovered" audio that was never burried to begin with, is the only portion that the McCain campaign and the conservative media are highlighting is the segment where Obama says that coal companies would go bankrupt if they chose to build new coal plants the same way.

Considering the fact that Obama and McCain support clean-coal technology, this seems to be a rather pitiful "11th hour" attack. It doesn't take an ivy-league education to realize that Obama is talking about companies building plants that use outdated technology.

You can check out the full interview here.

But, this doesn't stop people like Drudge, Fox News, and one of the lunatic-fringes loudest and most ignorant voices, Michelle Malkin, from lying and claiming that Obama is out to "bankrupt the industry"



Here's something else you should all know. McCain's plan for the coal industry is pretty much the same:



Jed L had this to say of his video he posted on Daily Kos:

The clips I used from FOX were actually attacking Barack Obama, but the fact that you could just as easily have swapped McCain in place of Obama reveals how their media enterprise is really a propaganda operation in which political figures are nothing more than character actors taking up space in their pre-ordained dramatic narrative.

They aren't dealing with reality, they are trying to construct a new reality. For years, they've been able to maintain political power by doing just that, but now that the reality of their disastrous governance has caught up to them, their ability to lie their way to victory has been severely damaged.

From my point of view, it seems that Obama is wanting to push for carbon-capture coal plants like Canada is going to be doing:

The first coal-fueled plant capable of capturing and burying carbon dioxide will move forward this fall when Canada's Saskatchewan Power Corp. begins lining up vendors to build it.

Requests for proposals were sent to 10 companies, SaskPower, as the utility is known, said yesterday in a statement.

Canada, which will spend C$1.4 billion ($1.34 billion) on the plant, is incorporating oil recovery in the plans to offset costs, a different approach than the U.S., which canceled a similar plant last year. Slated for 2013, the Canadian facility will prevent 1 million tons a year of carbon dioxide emissions, Max Ball, the project's manager

More here.