The Greatest Gimmick Ever

Rick Barber's at it again, this time with that Ag Commissioner guy and his gun and even the dude that knows the "hidden verse" of the national anthem.



One has to wonder if the "patriotism" these people feel is going to be around the next time a Republican is in the White House.

So this guy really thinks we are losing freedoms, that we are being enslaved? I'd like to ask him face to face how many freedoms he has lost since January 2009. I bet he can't name one.

And The Fear Wins Again

A little watched Congressional primary race in Mississippi ended up going to a man that will likely be close friends with Michelle Bachman, Steve King, and Jim DeMint if he actually makes it to Washington.

Republican congressional candidate Alan Nunnelee tells a Rotary Club audience that the United States survived the traumas of Pearl Harbor and 9/11, but those attacks were less a threat to America than the higher spending and government expansion pushed by Democrats.

“What I see in Washington over the last 16 months is a more dangerous attack because it’s an attack on our freedom that’s coming from the inside,” Nunnelee, neatly dressed in a gray suit and red tie, tells about 30 people who have finished their lunch of chicken-fried steak, mashed potatoes and fried squash.

Because we all know that invoking the deaths of thousands of Americans during two of the most horrendous attacks on this country in our entire history makes your side look more than qualified to hold higher office. Well, if you're a conservative it apparently does.

This whole "we're all going to die" strategy is becoming quite stale. I'm beginning to think that Republicans are only sticking with these people because they've got too much capital invested in them that they don't want to appear weak by distancing themselves from the abject ignorance that keeps boiling up again and again. And like always, it's this type of action that will cause the country to slip further and further into the past - no plan, no credible actions, no real future to look forward to.

Escalation

It appears that Beck's conspiratorial rhetoric is at that point where the water on the stove is just seconds away from boiling over.



What is it going to take before people realize that Glenn Beck has pretty much crossed the line with statements like this? Who has to die - or better yet - how many people have to die before conservatives wake up and say "maybe it's not such a good idea to take this clown seriously"?

It wouldn't surprise me if, by the time the mid-term elections come around that conservatives don't' come close to the gains they think they deserve, that Beck actually starts calling for armed revolt. And living in one of the Reddest areas of Kentucky, it wouldn't surprise me to see it start right here.

Census Hysteria

Seems that Glenn Beck might be having a Census worker coming to visit his home.



What does Beck think is a "Constitutionally acceptable" question?

I filled out my 2010 Census and didn't feel that my privacy, my rights, had been infringed upon. I even filled out the part telling the Census Bureau I was "white" ( GASP! )

So what happens when a person, regardless of political stripe, doesn't completely fill out their Census form? A Census taker is likely to come to your house to ask you the remaining questions. And guess what, that costs money - taxpayer money. Glenn Beck isn't the only one who's causing this money to be spent.

Congressman Paul Broun is in on the action as well.

The congressman refused to answer questions about the sex and age of occupants, ancestry, or whether he lives in a rental or owns. “That’s none of their business,” Broun said in a recent phone interview.

“The Constitution requires the federal government to count the number of people in this country every 10 years,” the congressman said. “It doesn’t require them to ask a lot of personal information. People are very concerned about an invasion of privacy, and I have those same concerns.”

The outrage and paranoia from people like Broun and Beck doesn't seem to be resonating with their base like they had hoped.

Reps. Michele Bachmann (MN) and Ron Paul (TX) have also said that they would be answering only how many people live in their household. Luckily, it doesn’t seem that many people are taking the conservatives’ advice so far. Census director Robert Groves said that so far, he hasn’t seen any evidence of a large-scale boycott of the Census; just “1 or 2 percent of the 10-question forms returned so far have been incomplete.”

We all should know by now that not completely filling out your Census or ignoring it all together is not only illegal, but detrimental to receiving Federal funding for a vast array of needs your state/district/city may have. There could even be loss of Congressional seats.

So not that Beck and company have only partially filled out their Census, and will likely have a Census take come to their home, I wonder what they are going to say once they have been paid a visit. I don't think Beck would go so far as to shoot at somebody, but he'll likely fabricate some elaborate conspiracy that this person was doing "surveillance" of his home. Guess we'll just have to wait and see.

And There's No Follow-Thru

Seems that the population within conservative counties across the country are returning their census forms at a higher rate than anyone else.

Here’s how we did our (somewhat unscientific) analysis. We took the 20 most conservative counties on this list compiled by the Daily Caller, which uses a variety of criteria, including voting patterns, legislative history, and local culture and tradition. We then looked at the percentages of households in those counties that have returned their census so far and compared them to the national average return rate, which is 56% right now.

Result: Of that 20, only six are returning their census forms at a rate below the national average. Thirteen are above, some by significant margins, and one is tied.

The Plumline has more on their analysis.

This leads me to question whether or not people like Michelle Bachman and Glenn Beck are going to spin this or simply ignore it. After all, these are the two loudest voices in the "anti-Census" movement. Surely, Michelle Malkin and Erick Erickson have their own loony points of view when it comes to the Census, but my question is still this - this is the same form we all filled out 10 years ago. Where was the paranoia of the conservative movement then?

HCR Day 1

Well, it wasn't a pretty process and not everything that I wanted to be in is in ( public option and rate regulation for starters ) but it's at starting point and as soon as Obama signs this, some good will have already begun that wasn't there. But guess what else is going to get started, or at least amp up to the Nth degree?

Complete, unchecked - and more than likely largely unchallenged - conservative hysteria.

Did anyone catch Tom DeLay on Geraldo last night? He was waving his pocket Constitution around and practically foaming at the mouth. Micheal Steele called in and was boasting that he is forming a group to impeach Pelosi. God only knows what Limbaugh and Beck are going to talk about on the radio today, but I'm certain there's going to be plenty of talk about communisitic, Nazis, with fascist, totalitarian plans for medical rationing facilities that euthanize babies at a reduced price to the consumer.

Since when is the "Alex Jones" mentality so widely accepted?

It's going to be an interesting ride, get ready.

Beck's War On Church Continues

Beck is going to end up stepping on the wrong toes before this is all over.



And Fox"News" is now funding a smear campaign against Rev. Jim Wallis, President of Sojourners. Need anymore proof that Beck is completely off the rails?

Clearly Beck knows that he doesn't stand a chance of winning this debate about the proper application of Christian principles to the public square on Scriptural or theological grounds. And he clearly has no intention of following St. Paul's command, found in Ephesians, that Christians "not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were sealed for the day of redemption. All bitterness, fury, anger, shouting, and reviling must be removed from you, along with all malice." No, sir. Beck is on a mission to discredit and destroy the pastor who dared to question him ... and he's using FOX staff and resources to do so.

FOX needs to be called to account for this. They need to explain how a news organization can possibly justify funding an opposition research effort that has the stated purpose of destroying the credibility of an American pastor?

Does FOX agree with Beck's statements and command that Catholics, Protestants, and Mormons leave their churches? Will FOX allow Beck to continue to use staff and FOX airtime to conduct his promised week-long campaign to discredit Rev. Wallis? Will they continue to let him use their resources to launch Twitter and blog posts attacking Rev. Wallis and attempting to discredit the power of social justice?

I'm interested to hear what fellow Fox"News" employee and former pastor Mike Huckabee has to say about Beck's current conspiracy theory run amok.



Not being particularly religious myself, I did grow up in a devout, Southern Baptist, home and the very idea of "social" and "economic justice" is very much grounded in Biblical teachings. And having read the Bible myself, I find it very troubling that Beck actually still have an audience after this stunt.

Conservatives love their religion almost as much as they love Fox"News". I'm getting to the point where I think they are confusing the two.

Shorter Michelle Bachman

Dems Want To Sabotage Me Because I Might Become President

Did you know that Obama had George Soros provide funding to a secret government project where Steve Jobs created a new mind control device that will cause everyone to say nasty things about me that isn't true. Because, and I wasn't going to tell this until later, I have received a letter from the future delivered personally by Sarah Palin and Jesus that proves that I will be President one day.

Stop Validating Their Insane Mumblings

I had been away from news and blogs for the better part of the past 48 hours, enjoying some time with and old college friend and DJing in Louisville, so I missed this bombshell.

Apparently, the mythical "death panel" portion of the healthcare reform bill has been dropped. Considering that it never existed in the first place, what was actually dropped was a common practice for any and all healthcare providers.

The Senate Finance Committee will drop a controversial provision on consultations for end-of-life care from its proposed healthcare bill, its top Republican member said Thursday.

The committee, which has worked on putting together a bipartisan healthcare reform bill, will drop the controversial provision after it was derided by conservatives as "death panels" to encourage euthanasia.

"On the Finance Committee, we are working very hard to avoid unintended consequences by methodically working through the complexities of all of these issues and policy options," Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said in a statement. "We dropped end-of-life provisions from consideration entirely because of the way they could be misinterpreted and implemented incorrectly."

More from The Hill.

If there is one thing that "partisanship" is going to do to healthcare is completely ruin any chance for real change and real reform that benefits everyone.

There is nothing worse than validating the insane machinations of people like Sarah Palin, Fox"News", and seething conservative talk radio hosts like Limbaugh. It only serves to give them a sense that they are gaining the upper hand. Much in the same way as that a parent may try to placate an unruly child by offering them a compensation if they promise to behave, and then stand back and not notice the child completely taking advantage of them, removing the very reasonable and normal practice of "end-of-life" counciling is just going to be the start.

O, Rly Orly?

It's really a special time in American media when a network has on one of the loudest and most insane voices that take up a particularly laughable cause.

In this case, it's Orly Taitz, the Tammy Faye Baker look-a-like pageant winner and head of the thouroughly debunked - yet oh, so hilarious - Birther Movement.

One has to wonder exactly why David Shuster thought he would be able to get in a question or even a rebuttle, much less a coherent answer.



And to think that there are elected officials that are aligning themselves with this movement and this woman. Please, PLEASE, let her stick around as long as she wants.

There are two points in this catastrophy that immediately caught my attention. Toward the end of the interview, Orly - while nearing hyperventilation - tells Tamron Hall that she won't be around very long ( or did she mean MSNBC ) if the truth doesn't come out. What? Also, Orly brings up apparently new information about Obama having multiple Social Security numbers - one belonging to a dead person. Really?

One has to wonder, what does this woman stand to gain from all this - aside from media attention?

A Census Taker Once Tried To Test Beck

......and he ate his own liver after having to listen to Beck blather on and on about how Obama is going to take away his right to Cinnabons and has poisoned his drinking water.



Meghan Clyne seems to have her information wrong on this survey:

The ACS is part of the Decennial Census Program. It is a survey that is sent to a small percentage of our population on a rotating basis. These data previously were collected only in census years in conjunction with the decennial census. Since the ACS is conducted every year, rather than once every ten years, it will provide more current data throughout the decade. The Census Bureau may use the information it collects only for statistical purposes. Title 13 requires the Census Bureau to keep all information about you, and all other respondents, strictly confidential. Any Census Bureau employee who violates these provisions is subject to a fine up to $250,000, a prison sentence up to five years, or both.

More information can be found at the ACS website.

Beck's paranoia-fueled programming is perfect for rabid, anti-government people. It continually keeps them ill-informed and completely ignorant. I honestly expected them to start talking about the "Mark Of The Beast" when Clyne mentioned the words "bar-code".

Having taken part in literally hundereds of surverys in my lifetime, I honestly don't see how this survey is any different from a vast number that are already out there. People fill out information about their personal life on a daily basis. From banks, to job applications, to voter registration cards, to drivers liscene, auto, home, and life insurance - the list goes on.

This makes me wonder what Beck and Clyne think about the NSA wiretapping people without warrants?

Another Conspiracy Theory That's Too Silly To Believe

Well, unless you're Michelle Malkin, Allahpundit, Reliapundit, Ace Of Spades, Jim Hoft, Jillian Bandes at Townhall.com, The Fox"Nation", Fox"News" Talk Radio, Fox"News", The Washington Examiner, MacRanger, Patterico, Free Republic, and a host of other twitching, reactionary, tin-foil-hooded conservatives.

Granted, some of these people have softened there rhetoric within their own accusations to allow them room to wiggle away from saying Obama is absolutley orchestrating the closings, but the mere fact that they are giving credence to such a laughable claim is richly deserving of our mockery.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

They're Coming To Get You Beck

I often feel sorry for those that listen to Limbaugh, O'Reilly, and Hannity and actually believe the fetted language that they peddle as honest reportage.



If people listen to Glenn Beck's paranoid, delusional, gob-smacking then they need to see a counselor.

Everytime I hear him speak, I'm reminded of a line from the classic "Night Of The Living Dead" film:



The only difference between the reality of Beck and Romero's classic Zombie film is that it is the reactionary, conservative-Right that are ready to claim that any and everything that Barack Obama does is an afront to their very liberties and rights as an American. They are the new Zombies of the world.