The Wrench In The Works

While the modern conservative movement is more than happy to indulge in conspiracy theories regarding Obama's birth, his upbringing, his religion, his family, where and what he studied in school, as well as his behavior as president, it appears that conservatives are more than willing to mock a theory that is more grounded in reality than they might be willing to accept.

the paranoia meter swung fully into the red when Steve Benen teamed up with Matt Yglesias to explain one current phenomenon to a public thirsty for answers. You see, Republicans are currently working on further trashing the United States economy and driving us into a depression so that Barack Obama won’t win reelection in 2012.

And even though I can almost come to somewhat of a moderate understanding with the skepticism from the modern conservative movement in regards to this theorem, one has to but look at the economic realities in our country, coupled with how the "anti-business" rhetoric from the Right doesn't quite mesh with the numbers conservatives claim to hold dear.

- Corporate profits increase in 2010

- The Dow surges upward in 2010

- Despite conservative claims, the Economic Stimulus was a success according to the CBO.

Those three things alone - for me at least - show that the conservative narrative and the reality of our current economic realm simply do not mesh.

Does He Think He's Making A Movie

It's fair to say that Chuck Norris has taken too many kicks to the head.

Over the past two years, Norris has transformed himself from American action hero to American activist hack. Having run the gamut from using her limited celebrity credibility to endorse Mike Huckabee to being a guest speaker at various conservative conferences, Norris now fancies himself more knowledgeable on diplomatic policy because Glenn Beck said something that sounded cool.

Invoking no less an authority than Glenn Beck, movie tough guy (and political activist) Chuck Norris has taken aim at Obama's Dec. 17 executive order extending certain "privileges, exemptions, and immunities" to Interpol, otherwise known as the International Police Organization, based in Lyon, France.

As we reported last weekend, thanks in part to the comments of Beck and Newt Gingrich (as well as the National Review's Andrew McCarthy) the order has spawned a rash of conspiracy theories in the conservative blogosphere claiming that Obama has given Interpol (or "the global police force," as the critics like to call it) new powers to investigate and even lock up U.S. citizens.

As I have previously pointed out, a former member of the Interpol agency in Lyon, France proves that every conservative commenter that has taken up this issue has no clue what they are talking about.

Interpol, no matter what the star of such films as Invasion USA and Missing In Action, does not have it's own police force that can arrest people in the US. They simply do not exist.

But this is the man that also believes Obama was born in Africa and sells exercise machines to hopeless saps at 430 in the morning. It's clear that the most visible voices within the conservative movement make Alex Jones look like a member of Mensa.

The Reality Behind Caribou Barbie

Ever since the Newsweek cover featuring a photo of Sarah Palin from Runner's World sparked a firestorm of complaints from the reactionary conservative movement, the Right has been ablaze with accusations of "sexism".

But it was Michelle Malkin that let the mask slip just enough to let us know what Palin is really about.

Whatever the intentions of the left-wing Newsweek editors, I think Sarah looks fabulous.

Newsweek’s weasels found a way to evade responsibility for their rank sexism by using a photo of a real Palin doll in schoolgirl regalia.

And within Malkin's statement lies the truth.

This isn't sexism, it the reality of conservatives iconography. The conservative movement loves someone with "looks", someone that can be posed, someone with a gimmick - just like a doll. She's attractive, easily manipulated, and will say whatever you want her to. Carrie Prejean is a favorite of conservatives for this exact same reason.

But, the fallout comes when those that you have deified actually start to believe what they are being told to say.

To be fair, though, it would be complete inappropriate to assume that Palin doesn't believe some or most of what she's saying. The real issue here is does she understand, does she comprehend the things that she says and realize the effect that they are having on the conservative movement. The reason that this should be asked is because of her very real power to kill the Republicans chances of winning, should she step back into the political fray. And you'd be fooling yourself to think that she wouldn't.

The Republican party has no place for a woman like Meghan McCain. She only fits a minor amount of the criteria to be considered a full-fledged voice of conservative ideology. Yes, she's attractive, but she appears - at least to me - to exercise enough of her own will without being too influenced by what others might think of her.

It may not be the most acceptable way to point this out, but conservatives have created this beast with which they now must wrestle. They created the Palin icon out of the very nature that drives them. And now that people are slowly realizing this, and talking about it, conservatives aren't quite sure how to excuse their own problems with reality. So, in turn, they pretend that they are the victims.

Some Thoughts For Your Day

- You mean she actually DOES have a book coming out? Yep, Sarah Palin's book is called Going Rogue and clocks in at a whoping 400 pages. Yeah, 400. And talk about fast. Seriously, unless this woman was writing this instead of doing her duties as governor, then that might explain why she decided to quit. But I'm not buying that she wrote this all by herself. It's difficult to write even a modest book at around 250 pages, but the size of Palin's book makes the average piece of conservative drivel look like a pamplet. I'll bet there's plenty of "winking" pics in it though.

- She just isn't even trying anymore. Michelle Malkin has pretty much dove headfirst into the shallow end of the pool once she realized that Republicans were getting their collective asses spanked in the last election. Now, she's all twitching with rage that Barack Obama is going to try to bring The Olympics to America. That's massive amounts of revenue for the city of Chicago, should they get the event. Oh, Michelle, why do you hate America so much? And speaking of The Olympics, I wonder what her toughts are on Mitt Romney, as he claims to have "ran" the Winter Olympics the year they were in Salt Lake City.

- Conservatives are a strange lot. They whine, cringe, and shriek that they want to hear from Democrats on their positions, but once those Democrats do - whether it be in any media form - the conservatives think the Democrats aren't doing their jobs; that they're campaigning. Such is true with Obama. For months, conservatives have shouted that they want Obama to articulate this position, to explain what he wants, to speak directly to the American people. Well now that he has, conservatives just want him to stop. You see, you can't please these people. That's why Obama hasn't spoken directly to them. It's a waste of time.

- It's not suprising in the least that threats against the President have risen by approximately 400%. After all, with people like Glenn Beck, Michelle Bachman, Limbaugh, Hannity, and others within the fringe of the conservative movement stoking the fires of ignorance - and yes, racism - it won't be long until someone tries something remarkably stupid. It's even spreading to Facebook. I'm sure that the Secret Service will have their hands quite full for the next 3 years or more.

- The continuing meme that "Obama is Hitler" is becoming a standard issue talking-point for conservatives all across America. Whether spoken outright or inferred through the inane babblings of talk-show hosts and television personalities, it's still as pointless as ever, but is a shining truth for some. The message really works well at conservative conferences in conjunction with hints that armed revolution is necessary.

- Those "conservative/moderate" Democrats known affectionately as "Blue Dogs" seems to be coming to their senses more. It appears that at least 24 of them support a "public option" in healthcare reform. But all that aside, this isn't about what members of Congress and the Senate want, this is about what Americans want. A plurality of people in this country want affordable healthcare with the public option. And it's interesting to hear what some conservatives say about what the American people want. It's been told to me that most people haven't the slightest clue what is good for them. And to think people actually ascribe to such nonsensical thought.

Oh, You Have Got To Be Fucking Kidding

Newsweek writer Lisa Miller is apparently one of those crazy people that thinks that Obama just might be the "anti-christ"

No, I'm serious:

On Nov. 5, Todd Strandberg was at his desk, fielding E-mails from around the world. As the editor and founder of RaptureReady.com, his job is to track current events and link them to biblical prophecy in hopes of maintaining his status as "the eBay of prophecy," the best source online for predictions and calculations concerning the end of the world. Already Barack Obama had drawn the attention of apocalypse watchers after an anonymous e-mail circulated among conservative Christians in October implying that he was the Antichrist. Former "Saturday Night Live" ingénue Victoria Jackson fueled the fire when, according to news reports, she wrote on her Web site that Obama "bears traits that resemble the anti-Christ."

Not entirely sure that I would be using Victoria Jackson as a point of reference, but we are dealing with a wacked-out theory to begin with. Come to think of it, what features is Jackson talking about?

Anyway, if you're curious about RaptureReady.com, Mr. Strandberg got a hot tip that the winning Illinois Lottery numbers recently were - get ready for it - 666.

*cue shocking music*

Just to keep everything into perspective, after September 11, 2001, the winning New York Lottery numbers were 911.

Considering that faith and the political community at large are linked in the minds of far too many people - yes, I believe that God has no place in politics - but that faith and politics is a subject worthy to be broached by the journalistic community, I find it exceeding irresponsible that Lisa Miller's article was even considered for publication.

Of all the plausible things that could have, and should have, been written about, Newsweek chose this?

Don't Forget To Bring A Towel

Apparently, Palin was pretty relaxed. One could argue that she probably didn't take the campaign seriously, at all.

From Newsweek:

At the GOP convention in St. Paul, Palin was completely unfazed by the boys' club fraternity she had just joined. One night, Steve Schmidt and Mark Salter went to her hotel room to brief her. After a minute, Palin sailed into the room wearing nothing but a towel, with another on her wet hair. She told them to chat with her laconic husband, Todd. "I'll be just a minute," she said.

Also, Palin wasn't "allowed" to speak last night. Seems Steve Schmidt - the man who reportedly chose Palin - must have thought that would be a bad idea.

McCain himself rarely spoke to Palin during the campaign, and aides kept him in the dark about the details of her spending on clothes because they were sure he would be offended. Palin asked to speak along with McCain at his Arizona concession speech Tuesday night, but campaign strategist Steve Schmidt vetoed the request.

I may be reading too much into this, but I'm sensing that Palin is not going to gracefully exit the spotlight. As a matter of fact I'm sure that she will have a job waiting for her at Fox"News" once her term is up as Governor.

Are You Certain That You Want To Use That Term?

Have you ever noticed that conservatives - be they moderate, centrist, or balls-out-lunatic-fringers - love to use words that they apparently don't know the meaning of or are hoping that you don't know the meaning of?

I'm continually reminded of this line from Rob Reiner's film The Princess Bride:



Whether it be the word "Nazi" or "Fascist" - two words which have clear definitions - conservatives will use words or phrases in relation to a person, place, or thing simply because they don't like it. Definition of the word be-damned, they are only trying to make you equate one "thing" with something completely unrelated.

Our latest example is the word "elitist".

It has been used multiple times in relation to Barack Obama.

Everything about the man is placed against that word. From his education to the fact that he eats Arugula, this makes the man "elitist".

Since when does making sure that you have the best education you can have make you an elitist? Since when does eating healthy foods make you an elitist?

Just "google" the word Elitist and you'll find several pieces about either Obama or Democrats.

Let's take a look at two people that more closely fit into the definition of the word - John and Cindy McCain.

They own 8 properties.

They own 13 vehicles.

Cindy is the textbook definition of "trophy-wife".

Cindy inherited her wealth - John just married in to it.

Simply because a person - or a couple - own multiple acres of real-estate in various states and more vehicles than 5 average families, this alone does not make them
"elitists".

How many homes do the Obama's own?

One.

How many vehicles?

One.

Interesting fact about Obama's car:

Obama’s lone vehicle also is a green machine, a 2008 Ford Escape hybrid. He bought it last year to replace the family’s Chrysler 300C, a Hemi-powered sedan. Obama ditched the 300C, once 50 Cent’s preferred ride, after taking heat for driving a guzzler while haranguing Detroit about building more fuel-efficient cars.

source

While all this is pure nonsense anyway, it should be pointed out that the "elitist" meme is part of the massive whisper-campaign against Obama.

"He just thinks he's so smart."

That's quite a common statement that people in my community have to say when asked what they think of Barack Obama.

But, like so many other words, "elitist" is a term that is more accurately used in reference to John McCain - and his wife - than Obama.

I'm Guessing This Guy Can't Do An Interview --- Well, Gillian Andersan Might Be A Bit Ditzy Too

.....and I think it might be a little bit of both.

I have fond memories of Gillian Anderson on the X-Files. Perhaps it was my affinity for red-heads when I was in high-school. Perhaps it was constant look of ferociousness that she had. It was a mix between i'm going to screw you senseless or I'm going to rip out your spleen and show it to you.

I think the interview - brief though it was - could be summed up as such:

A journalist said interviewing you is like wrestling a crocodile.
What does that mean? I have no idea.

>Did you try to bite him?
Metaphorically.

Read the remainder of Ramin Seetodeh's brief exchange with Gillian Anderson here

The new X-Files movie ( which also stars Billy "fuck off" Connelly )