Laura Comes Out

.....in favor of gay rights? Really?



This is just plain odd to me. Here is the woman that is married to the former President that was hell bent on amending the Constitution in order to deny American's their civil rights simply because they "aren't like most people". Why couldn't she have mentioned this back in 2004? Likely that she was muzzled by her husband and her handlers. If she had "come out" with her beliefs back then it would likely have spelled trouble for Bush's re-election bid. I'm not going to say he wouldn't have been, but this would have really angered the religious zealots that helped get him a second term in office.

So what angle is she playing with this now?

Taking Away What They Use

Larry King had on two Tea Baggers recently to discuss their utter joy at the thought of a repeal of Social Security.



Think Progress has more highlights.

Considering that many Tea Baggers are retirees that rely partially on Social Security payments, and that the Baby Boomers are starting to draw, I personally don't think that it's in their better interest to repeal it. They'll certainly talk about it all day long, but when faced with a partial loss of income, they would turn on this idea in a heartbeat.

And while some with argue that Social Security is going to start going into the red soon, it does put off an air of an unsustainable program. But rather than reform the program, conservatives - ever eager to slash and burn at will - would rather do away with the program or "privatize" it. And considering how the stock market tanked in 07, and had Bush gotten his wish from 04, it doesn't take a Nobel laureate economist to see what would have happened.

America, Educate Thyself

I tend to agree and disagree with Bill Maher on many issues. On the notion that many Americans "aren't bright enough" to understand the issues that the Democrats and Republicans are taking on, I am in full agreement.

*click image to play clip*



Maher's portrayal of how Democrats act when the pressure is on is pretty much accurate, as we saw more than once last year. But that's not what this post is about.

The reason that so many in the country are ignorant of what is going on politically is that most of them are lazy. Not in the sense that they refuse to go to work, do household chores, or keep up with their personal hygiene, it's that they want their information spoon-fed to them. They lack the drive to verify the information that they are absorbing.

I'm reminded of how many times during the day the employees at Fox"News" keep repeating that they have this massive ratings share that no other network does. How many of those people only watch that network, never fact check anything the Beck, Hannity, O'Reilly, or anything anyone else says? People that look to one news source and don't exercise their ability to ask questions, research, and dig deeper are only punishing themselves.

The willfully ignorant need to either be shown the error of their ways or they will be and should be openly mocked.

Some Thoughts For Your Day

- Conservatives favorite Prima Donna, Carrie "Full Frontal Fingerbang Opposite Marriage" Prejean decided that she would try to get a little saucy with Larry King and refused to answer a very simple, very honest question that is relevant to her story. The show took a bizarre turn when Prejean was speaking with someone off camera and promptly removed her mic and refused to continue when faced with the possibility of having to take a question from a caller. What a strong role-model for conservative women everywhere.

- Michelle Malkin, along with virtually every member of the fringe-conservative movement enyoy invoking the "out of context" phrase whenever they are called out for their rank hypocrisy, ignorance, and plan idiotic blathering. But now Malkin, grande dame of twisting the relevant data of a story in order to push her particular brand of ideological drooling insists that a suggestion by one writer at The Huffington Post is a sign that all liberals and progressives have it out for conservative authors. The party of context strikes again.

- Retired Col. Ralph Peters, a favorite "war-hawk that never saw day one of combat" of Fox"News" found Obama's speech at Fort Hood deeply offensive. This is all to be expected, as this man would likely find the words of Christ offensive should they not include anything about killing all the people that don't worship the way he does. But moreover, Peters seems all to willing to rush to judgement - like the remainder of the conservative media at large - about what truly motivated Hasan to kill. It doesn't help to blame Obama and assume that PC culture lead to these deaths that day.

Racism Dressed Up As Concern

Chris Matthews questions the "birther" movement as well as Congressman John Campbell ( R - CA ) about proposed legislation that he is sponsoring that would require Presidential candidates to provide a birth certificate.



For all the allegedly relevant data that Campbell nervously attempts to put forward, it doesn't seem to fit with his thesis - that this isn't about Obama. If, in point of fact, it isn't, then why wasn't this sort of legislation crafted earlier? Why, if he indeed does believe that Obama was born in America, is he legitimizing the conspiratorial set in the conservative movement? Is he being honest here? I rather doubt it.

Then, there's Lynn Cheney.



Liz, while tip-toeing very carefully around the issue at hand, parsing her words as gently as she can muster, comes quite close to the real issue behind this.

What people are uncomfortable with ( people meaning ill-informed, right-wing, conservative, racists ) is having an African American holding the highest office in the land. That's it. Case closed. You can create all the subtle nuance that you want, it doesn't remove the very blatant thesis that the "birther" movement is promoting.

And, as was readily apparent, Cheney wouldn't even answer whether she thought these conspiracy theorists, which she seems to have no discomfort keeping them within the Republican party, have any grounds for concern. She refuses to denounce their very actions.

Does this mean that Liz Cheney is a racist? Who knows. One thing that is quite clear is that many that feel that discomfort with having an African American in the White House will validate their racial fears by raising concerns about a persons actions and how they relate to that persons safety. Whether it be a black person applying for a job, moving into the neighborhood, or simply a black person excelling in life where they aren't. These people may not consider themselves racists, they may not be full blown KKK lynching nut-cases, but they - for whatever reason - don't trust or even like people that aren't white.

Thank God She Doesn't Have Children

(m)Ann Coulter has a penchant for saying a lot of incredibly strange and patently false things. So, this apperance on the Larry King program is pretty much par for the course.



That's right, when I was growing up nothing set me straight like mom strapping me to a board, shoving a rag in my mouth, and pouring water over my head. And since when is the "caterpillar in the box" trick being espoused as torture. Try to stay on topic, Ann - if you're able to.

The lunatic-fringe Right's attempts to deflect attention away from water-boarding, or to simply rebrand it, is part and parcel of how Ann and her fellow compatriots react in the face of facts. Although Coulter didn't go as full-tilt as Hannity and offer to have himself subjected to torture, she is staying on message by deflecting the message.

By laughing off any and all assertions that the Bush administration condoned and encouraged the use of torture, or going a step further by claiming that water-boarding isn't all that bad and that it actually provided actionable intelligence, the lunatic-fringe Right is simply provide supplication to themselves and those that are foolish enough to believe what they are offering up.

As an exit question, I offer this - why the hell is Joy Behar guest hosting Larry King's program?

More to the point of what (m)Ann Coulter was saying, what would it be like to be a child of a far-right sychophant? I often find myself feeling deeply sorry for the children of Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity. Image growing up in a household where tolerance for those around you is likely not tolerated; where you are - most likely - indoctrinated with lies and misinformation about the world around you.