Wasteland of principles

In the 200 block of SE Clay Street, a husk of building stands surrounded by a 6 foot high security fence. Rusted steel struts prop up the graffiti-splashed walls. Broken glass and debris litter the cracked concrete of the floor. Weeds sprout through the cracks.

I heard somewhere that this ruin is the remains of an electrical supply store consumed by fire over a decade ago, but I've always known it as a ruin. I surmise that the reason it has stood this way for so long is because of some petty law suit. Disputes over insurance claims or the like.

Somebody somewhere is making a stand on "principle" and the net result is that inner Southeast is saddled with a hazardous eyesore.

Wonderful!

And doesn't this ruined building epitomize the current state of our nation?

Just yesterday, the US Senate failed to invoke cloture on a bill that required background checks for gun purchases. This bill had the support of over 90% of the public, included 70+% of NRA members. It was a bipartisan bill, put forward by two Senators, Manchin (D) of West Virginia and Toomey (R) of Pennsylvania, who, up to now, were considered "Second Ammendment proponents."

But the NRA, took a "principled" stand and put the hammer down on their Senate lackeys. They threatened them with public denunciation and a downgrade of their cherished NRA legislative ratings. In doing so, they were able to intimidate 48 US Senators (of both parties) from doing the right thing.

In order to avoid the perception of yielding even an inch, Senators cast "principled" votes that stand in contrast to common sense, to sanity.

But the gun registration bill isn't even all of the story. The long list of unfilled federal judgeships, the xenophobic obstacles put in the way of immigration reform, the obstinate refusal to authorize federal spending for infrastructure repair: all of this reveals how petty and stupid (yes, stupid) are the people of this nation. (And I'm including myself.)

Everyone wants to make a stand on "principle." No one wants to give an inch. And while we're beating our chests and shrieking at each other, our national landscape comes more and more to resemble the dilapidated husk on SE Clay.

Yay, America!

Hayseed sheriffs proudly display their ignorance

Linn County Sheriff Tim Mueller looking mighty proud

Embarrassing!

No sooner had Vice-President Biden made his recommendations regarding federal gun policy in the wake of the recent gun-related horrors across the country than local-yokel dingbats --excuse me --duly-elected county officials in Linn, Curry, and Crook Counties, right here in Oregon, felt it their duty to pen letters to the President. The sheriffs of each of those counties informed the President that they will not  enforce any federal gun regulations that they --those sheriffs! --deem unconstitutional.  Those sheriffs!  (Read about it here.)

Leave aside the fact that neither the President nor the Vice-President have proposed anything unconstitutional (least of all confiscating weapons from law-abiding citizens). The reaction from the three county officials in question, Sheriffs Mueller (Linn County), Hensley (Crook County), and Bishop (Curry County) bespeak an ignorance of basic civics that is startling. (You can read the President's proposals here.)

Within the text of the letter written by Linn County's Sheriff Mueller is this key paragraph:

Any federal regulation enacted by Congress or by executive order of the President offending the constitutional rights of my citizens shall not be enforced by me or by my deputies, nor will I permit the enforcement of any unconstitutional regulations or orders by federal officers within the borders of Linn County Oregon.

On the one hand, it is mighty encouraging to think that the good folks in Linn, Curry, and Crook county are served by such knowledgeable sheriffs. Constitutional scholars aren't a dime a dozen, you know?  Imagine!  On-the-fly constitutional interpretation by tinhorn errand boys. What could go wrong?

But, on the other hand, you know, if we really want to adhere to the US Constitution, it might be good to remember that interpreting it is a duty that falls to the federal courts. It's written in there. As Jeff Manning, of the Oregon Department of Justice said: "The fact is the constitutionality of rules is determined by the courts, not by sheriffs."

Right-wing heads exploding

"I'm here to tell you, 1776 will commence again if you try to take our firearms! Doesn't matter how many lemmings you get out there on the street, begging for 'em to have their guns taken. We will not relinquish them. Do you understand?! That's why you're going to fail, and the establishment knows, no matter how much propaganda, the republic will rise again!"

Thus spake right-wing radio talk show host and "Second Amendment advocate" Alex Jones on Monday night, while debating CNN's Piers Morgan. (You can view the segment here.)

Unhinged? Perhaps. But Jones' rant is also revealing.

It's not just the "guns" issue. There's a whole list of things that send Tea Party people into a frothing rage: the GOP defeat on the "fiscal cliff" issue, the reality of Obamacare as the law of the land, the inevitable movement toward federal recognition of same-sex marriage, the national realization for the need to legitimize undocumented immigrants.

So, what's behind all this rage? Deeply-held convictions?

Doubtful. 

Take Jones' rant above and substitute "1860" for "1776" and "South" for "republic" and I think we're getting to the gist of the matter.

Right-wingers are driven into paroxysms of rage and hysteria out of frustration. They see that demographic changes and the diminution of the white, Christian majority that futurologists have long foretold are real. They despair that the conservative "Golden Age" (which was always a myth anyway) is gone forever. So now that it is dawning on them that they are destined to become less and less relevant in national debates, their frustration manifests itself in threats of violence and armed revolution. 

Meanwhile, the Republican party (as distinct from "conservatives") continues its national meltdown. Until the GOP can regroup and find a leader who is acceptable on a national scale, we're going to hear more of this kind of talk.

But nothing will come of it. Aside from the absurdity of the idea that gun-toting yokels could overthrow the federal government, I don't think people like Jones have the courage of their convictions. In the end, they'll sit back, punch the remote button, and settle in with their pork rinds and NASCAR races.   

Last year's election is a gift that keeps on giving.  Enjoy the show, progressives. 

Nessie versus Darwin

Nessie:  lending the lie to Darwin's On the Origin of Species

Check this story, brought to my attention by the estimable Kurt Kemmerer:

How American fundamentalist schools are using Nessie to disprove evolution.

Mortifying, eh?  According to fundamentalists, the Loch Ness Monster exists.  And, you know, if dinosaurs and people can be proven to co-exist that means that the theory of evolution is mere elitist hoohaw, probably inspired by Satan.  (By the way, why must it be Nessie?  Why wouldn't other prehistoric creatures --say, crocodiles or komodo dragons --fit the bill?)

When people long to believe in something so strongly that they place store in jaw-dropping absurdities, it is very difficult to hold out any hope of advancement for mankind.  Nonetheless, as my friend Dan Binmore repeatedly points out, humans have made progress.  Literacy rates, life spans, and yes, even morality have made crucial advances over the centuries.  All of it in spite of the cruel ignorance of primitives and nativists (of all races). 

Well, after all, complaining about the ignorance of Bible Belt rubes is a lot like complaining about the weather.  It doesn't do a damn bit of good, but sometimes you've just got to give vent. 

Oh, yeah.  And while we're in a complaining vein... after two consecutive disappointing summers, Portland is about to conclude the second coolest June in the last 20 years.

Sheesh!

GOP bares its loathsome fangs in South Carolina

Playin' to their audience

Take a good look, America!  Take a good look at the people rallying in South Carolina.

No matter how you feel about Barack Obama, do you really imagine that these people offer a viable alternative?

Check out how Republicans talk when they get to the heart of Dixie; the very state that first seceded from the Union in 1860:

• Rick Perry:  "I'm saying the state of Texas is under assault by federal government. I'm saying also that South Carolina is at war with this federal government and with this administration."
  
  
  
  
• Newt Gingrich:  "President Obama is the most successful food stamp president in American history."
  
  
  
  
• Rick Santorum:  "I don't want to give black people someone else's money. I want to give them the opportunity to make money."
  
  

Rick Perry once again flirts with treason (because, you know, that's what they call it when you advocate war against the Federal Government).  Newt Gingrich gives a blow on the old Southern Strategy dog whistle.  And Rick Santorum does Newt one better, disposing of all pretense with some overt race-baiting.

President Carter named the beast two and a half years ago, but it never fails to shock and appall when it rears its ugly head.  For anyone who wasn't sure, this ought to lay to rest any lingering doubts, eh?

Most appalling are the responses of the audiences.  They ate that stuff up!  Santorum made his remarks in Iowa, but Newt and Rick Perry were speaking to a fired-up Fox News audience in Columbia.  Man!  They loved it when Newt talked down to Juan Williams (who, by the way, is African-American).

And it seems to be working.  Mitt Romney, who has notably refrained from participating in the ugly rhetoric, is watching his lead in the polls shrink as South Carolina's primary nears.  Gingrich is coming on strong.  Gingrich!

I know plenty of good people who call themselves conservatives; who are registered Republicans. Why aren't they speaking up?

Appalling, I tell you.  Disgusting.

Atlas flopped

Let me start by saying I have not seen (nor am I ever likely to see) John Aglialoro's new flick, Atlas Shrugged (Part I), which he intended to be the first installment of a trilogy of films dedicated to Ayn Rand's eponymous novel.

Sorry, John, but I've already read the book.

Right-wingers everywhere have been licking their chops in anticipation of this production.  Remember how Tolkien geeks (I admit, I was one of them) piteously anticipated Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings series?  It's like that, only worse.

Because, unlike Tolkien fans who were enthused and excited about seeing lifelong heroes brought to life with cinematic wizardry, Ayn Rand fans seemed to imagine that rendering Atlas Shrugged for the big screen would make the Rand philosophy, Objectivism, accessible to the masses.  It is as if they somehow hoped that the movie might bring the Light of Truth to the hoi polloi, that it might usher in a bold new world where self-love is the only real love. 

(Objectivism, of course, holds that the profit motive, the motive of attaining personal gain, is the only truly virtuous motive.  According to Rand and her disciples, altruism, charity, and even love are sabotaging notions that diminish the individual.)

Well, too bad, so sad, Objectivists.  After a respectable limited-release opening weekend, when emotionally-stunted Tea Party patriots rushed out to see it, the film's revenues dropped drastically.  In its second weekend the film grossed a mere $900,000, even though the number of screens showing the film expanded to over 400.  That is nearly a 50% fall off.  And as box office numbers go, that spells "flop."

Having suffered through all 1000+ pages of Rand's monstrous magnum opus some 20 years ago, I can't say I'm surprised at the muted response to the film.  I found the book to be repulsive and horrifying.  It is a cold, nonsensical diatribe, delivered with an embarrassingly naive conviction.  I find it difficult to believe that Objectivism can have much appeal to anyone who has ever --oh, I don't know --loved another human being, for example.



One right-wing blogger, who apparently drove an hour and a half to get his dose of Ayn Rand goodness, afterward urged his readers to go see the film or, if it was not showing near them, to call local theaters and demand that it be shown.  He closed with an unintentionally hilarious plea, urging action from fellow Objectivists because, after all,  "...it's not just for you."

Er --Mr. Rightwing Freak, crack open that book and have another look.  I'm not sure you got it.

Conservatives: A sincere apology and a friendly wager

The eulogy that President Obama delivered on Wednesday in response to the tragedy in Tucson last week was nothing short of Lincolnesque.  Were I to return to this earthly plane some 100 years from now, I would not be surprised to find this speech among the Great American masterpieces of rhetoric, alongside the Gettysburg Address.  (Stay with me, my conservative friends.)

The President's remarks were so apt for the occasion, and his call for greater respect and civility so compelling that I am determined not to resort to the ugliness and name-calling that has for so long marred the public discourse. The President showed great leadership and I, being a patriotic American (I don't use that appellation to describe myself often), vow to do my part going forward.

So, I’ve got an apology to make to any conservatives that might read this, for all the mean things I’ve said in the past.  I have many, many dear friends and family members who consider themselves conservatives.  Were I denied their love and friendship due to my own cruel words, my heart would be forever broken.

My friends, I apologize. 

And I want to make a mild challenge and a friendly wager with any conservatives who might read this blog:

1. Read (or better yet, listen to) President Obama’s entire speech on the Tucson tragedy. I have it posted at this site: http://dadecariaga.blogspot.com/2011/01/president-obama-speaks-to-tucson.html
   
   
2. If you can find even a single statement, anywhere in the speech, that you find objectionable, I owe you one item on the menu at Peet’s Coffee, on the corner of SE 37th and Hawthorne, in Portland, Oregon, redeemable whenever you find yourself in my neighborhood.

Is that fair?

What Tucson says about tea-bagger courage...

Being a liberal, I am aware that words have consequences.

So, people who call themselves conservatives and who are dear to me (there are many) may be hurt or offended or outraged by what I have to say.  And if those people feel that we must be forever estranged hereafter, I say now that I understand and that I will always hold you in my heart,  no matter what happens.

Yesterday, in Tucson, Arizona, a deranged killer opened fire at a meet-and-greet with Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, killing Federal judge John Roll and a 9-year-old girl, as well as 4 other people, and wounding 14 others, including the Congresswoman.

This, by any definition, is a terrorist attack.  Nor is it the first such incident that has occurred since President Obama was elected.

While conservatives up here in Portland were all aglow at the idea of publicly roasting this stupid Somali kid that dialed a cell phone, they have next to nothing to say about these incidents:

• The incident in Austin, Texas, involving a man who, in an apparent fit of despair, flew his small aircraft into an IRS building, killing himself and an IRS employee (who was also a war veteran).
  
  
• The incident, again in Pima County, Arizona, involving a home invasion by members of a "border enforcement" group, where they killed a father and his young daughter.
  
  
• The incident in Washington, DC, wherein a racist extremist penned an anti-government screed, then killed a black security guard at the Holocaust Museum.
  
  
• The incident in Powell, Tennessee, wherein a deranged killer, who wrote a screed of hate toward liberals and homosexuals and Democrats, then drove to the Unitarian Church, and went nuts with a shotgun, killing two people.
  
  
• The incident in Witchita, Kansas, wherein a deranged killer, convinced that he was acting according to God's will, walked into a church and shot dead a medical doctor.
  
  
• The incident, right here in Woodburn, Oregon, where a father and son, who fantasized about killing President Clinton, bombed a bank and killed two police officers.

Now, while our vaunted FBI is busy entrapping a foolish Muslim kid in Corvallis, guys like this Jared Loughner are publishing videos on Youtube and posting stuff on Facebook, ranting bizarre conspiracy theories.

Feel secure? Do you feel secure, tea-bagger?

Your tea-bag champions (and would-be champions) were all about cracking down on Muslims and "illegals."  Will we now hear you crying out to investigate what's out here on the Internet and in the media?  I've seen people advocate violence all over the place.  Want examples?  No problem.

• Here's what American Thinker, a right-wing favorite, had to say when the health care bill passed:  "We cannot wait until November, we cannot wait for the courts to take action, and we cannot wait for others to do the right thing.  We must do the right thing now.  We must know we are at war, and be willing to sacrifice ourselves for the good of our country."
  
  But that's just an obscure website, isn't it?  Let's get a little closer to "mainstream" media.
  
  
• Bill O'Reilly (he's on Fox News, in case you were wondering) led a campaign against the doctor who was killed in Wichita.  He broadcast the doctor's image across the cable networks, referring to the doctor as "Tiller the Baby Killer."
  
  But Bill O'Reilly is a private citizen.  He can say whatever he wants.  He's not a public official.  Okay, then, let's talk about public officials.
  
  
• GOP Congressman Randy Neugebauer (R-TX) shouted "baby-killer" during a speech by Congressman Bart Stupak on the floor of the House during the heated and ugly health care debate last year.
  
  
• Tea Party candidate for US Senate Sharron Angle has never publicly explained what she meant when she suggested that people might have to resort to "Second Amendment remedies" as a cure to the "Harry Reid problems."
  
  
• Governor Rick Perry of Texas has never fully explained what he meant when he suggested that Texas might choose, at some point if things don't change, to secede from the United States.
  
  
• Recently-elected tea-bag Florida Congressman Alan West's first choice as his chief-of-staff was a woman named Joyce Kaufman.  Ms. Kaufman publicly said, on Youtube, "If ballots don't work bullets will."
  
  
• And then, there's Sarah and her idiot cross-hairs.  (See the graphic at the top of this post.)  And her "Don't retreat!  RELOAD!" tweets.  And her husband who is a member of  an organization that supports Alaskan secession from the U.S.

There is much, much more, but let's leave it there.

You can tap-dance around it all you want. But you’re still going to have to face the music.  Watching the news today, one thing is apparent.  The Republican party is scared out of its wits, now that this thing in Tucson has happened.

This is the end for the tea-baggers. The GOP is going to abandon you now. Watch and see.

It's from the heart, people.

But, here's what I really want to say. 

It may well be that this kid down in Arizona, Jared Loughner, is a deranged nut and nothing more.  Or, it may be that there is a conspiracy.

Regardless, if you do not believe that the rhetoric that comes out of tea-bag mouths is vile and inciting, and has contributed to what happened, I can say it no more plainly than this:

You're a god-damned fool.

But there's another possibility.  Perhaps, tea-bagger, you do agree that the over-heated rhetoric has contributed to what happened in Tucson.  In that case, if you do not repudiate the violent rhetoric that comes from Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin, Sharron Angle and others, one must infer that, in the deepest, darkest recesses of your heart, you approve of what happened in Tucson, where the 9-year-old girl was shot dead.  And, inferring further, that means that Jared Loughner has done what you secretly hoped for, but lacked the courage to do yourself.

And that makes you a coward.

(Believe it or not, I say all of this with love in my heart.)

Any comments that are posted which contain only insults will be deleted.  Any hostile comments that do not address specific points in the post will be deleted.

Please forgive me for the self-indulgent nature of this post. 

Rage on, you nutty rednecks!

He may be a thoroughly-misguided knucklehead, but I'll say this for Christmas Tree bomber Mohamed Osman Mohamud:  he sure has given us something to talk about around the office water cooler!  I've had more than one semi-heated conversation with Oregonians (some of them quite liberal) on the topic.

There is not a lot of sympathy out there for Mohamud, but I wouldn't really expect there to be much.  After all, to the extent that the criminal complaint filed by the US Justice Department is accurate, Mohamud "attempted to detonate what he believed to be an explosives-laden van that was parked near the tree lighting ceremony in Portland’s Pioneer Courthouse Square."  Not exactly endearing behavior.

But for now, I would rather not consider facts or speculate about the methods employed by the FBI, or even weigh the severity of the crime.  All those things will be determined in the trial.

Today, I wonder about the anti-Muslim sentiment the case has stirred up, right here in Portland, Oregon.

Out-of-state conservative pundits (who wouldn't know Oregon from their own back yards) are calling for Mayor Sam Adams to "opt in" to the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force, which our city rejected when we saw that it was yet another tool for Junior Bush to spy on and intimidate law-abiding citizens.  And, in the vanguard of such efforts, of course, are all the tea-bagger types who are so rabidly anti-Muslim that they are blind to anything else.  The day after Mohamud was arrested, someone tried to torch a mosque he sometimes attended in Corvallis.

I mean, for goodness' sake, we only just had a real terrorist attack in Woodburn in 2008, when Bruce and Joshua Turnidge set off a bomb in a local bank, killing two law enforcement officers.  And don't forget about Joseph Stack, Jim Adkisson, James Von Brunn, or Scott Roeder.  But nobody seems to be calling for police monitoring of redneck white guys who spout anti-government rhetoric.

One of my conservative friends who applauds the actions taken by the FBI in the Christmas Tree bombing plot explained it this way:  "I know there are pockets of crazy Christians out there.  I know there are people like Fred Phelps [minister of the Westboro Baptist Church that routinely protests soldier's funerals].  But Phelps doesn't represent the majority of Christians.  On the other hand, I can't be sure about Muslims.  Are they truly peaceful?  After all, there are madrassas where they teach kids to hate America and all that we stand for."

What if I were to turn it around?  Let's try this:  I know there are crazy Muslims out there.  I know there are people like Abdul Rahman Zahed [a Taliban leader].  But Zahed doesn't represent the majority of Muslims.  On the other hand, I can't be sure about conservatives.  Are they peaceful?  After all, they have Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck raging against Muslims, against gays, Mexicans, liberals and everyone else.

Any fair-minded person can see the absurdity of both statements.  But the seductive ease of simple hate is a powerful siren song.

Anyway, the trial of Mohamud will reveal many things, I hope.  But I'm not fool enough to imagine that facts have the power to change the hearts of bigots.

It just keeps gettin' weirder in Tea-bag land

"It still hasn't gotten weird enough for me."

The tea-baggers are completely losing it!

• In Nevada, Senate candidate Sharron Angle continues to refuse access to reporters.  In one of the strangest campaign strategies seen in recent times, Angle is avoiding media exposure in the last week of the campaign.  A politician running away from the cameras!   
  
  Angle's campaign is running some of the most racially provocative ads in the country.  Check this one out.
  
  
  
  At the same time, Latinos for Reform, which was later exposed as a Republican front group, ran ads last week in an attempt to suppress Latino turnout in the election.  Check out this ad.  (There is also a Spanish language version.)
  
  
  
  All year long we've been hearing about the so-called "enthusiasm gap" between grass-roots GOP and Democrats. Angle's campaign would seem to be doing everything it can to increase Latino turnout which can only redound to the benefit of Harry Reid.
  
  
• In Kentucky, at a debate between candidates for the US Senate seat, Rand Paul supporters roughed up a protester (23 year-old Lauren Valle).  Tim Profitt, Paul's Bourbon County campaign coordinator actually stomped on the woman's head as she lay on the concrete. 
  
  
  
  
• And, of course, there is Christine O'Donnell, the Republican candidate for the Delaware Senate seat, who felt compelled to make an ad informing voters that... well...

If you've ever read anything written by Hunter S. Thompson, the original Gonzo journalist, you certainly must have noticed that, while a highly-entertaining, often hilarious writer, Thompson was --well, let's say he was wound a little tight and leave it at that.  Thompson wrote for Rolling Stone magazine, covering Nixon in the '72 presidential campaign.

In 1980, Thompson was the subject of the flick, Where the Buffalo Roam, portrayed (quite well) by Bill Murray.  In the closing sequence, Thompson is seated in the middle of the floor in his isolated woodland cabin, his doberman pincer at his side, and a blow-up doll of Richard Nixon across his lap.  As I recall, he is stroking the doll's forehead and staring off into the distance.  "I'll tell ya one thing," he says, presumably to the doberman pincer.  "It still hasn't gotten weird enough for me."

Well, to the extent that Bill Murray's character at all resembled the real Hunter Thompson, one is compelled to wonder:  Would Hunter Thompson think it was weird enough for him now?

General Petraeus slaps down the bigots

General Petraeus/Protesters in Afghanistan

At long last, persons in positions of authority are beginning to excoriate the bigots in our midst.  In fact, just yesterday, no less a person than General David Petraeus, the top US commander in Afghanistan and the man lauded by John McCain as "one of America's greatest heroes," lashed out at the planned "Burn the Quran" demonstration to be held on September 11th by the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida.

From the Christian Science Monitor:

General Petraeus said that burning Korans "is precisely the kind of action the Taliban uses and could cause significant problems – not just here, but everywhere in the world we are engaged with the Islamic community," according to CNN.

"It could endanger troops and it could endanger the overall effort in Afghanistan," Gen. David Petraeus said in a statement issued Monday ...

"Even the rumor that it might take place has sparked demonstrations such as the one that took place in Kabul yesterday," he said. "Were the actual burning to take place, the safety of our soldiers and civilians would be put in jeopardy and accomplishment of the mission would be made more difficult."

Terry Jones, the Dove World Outreach Center's pastor, in response, said "We have firmly made up our mind, but at the same time, we are definitely praying about it."  Whatever that means. 

It seems to me that Jones' ignorant ploy provides yet another example of the false piety displayed by redneck bigots in this country.  On the one hand, they tearfully claim to "support the troops," and "honor their sacrifice."  On the other, they simply must find vent for the fevered bigotry and hatred that roils their brains.  The "Burn the Quran" protest is a clear indication of which of the two sentiments prevails in the right-wing mentality.  (And don't get me started on the pseudo-controversy about the Islamic Cultural Center in Manhattan.)

Now that news of the Dove World Outreach Center's idiotic demonstration has crossed the globe, adding yet another shameful blemish to our country's already damaged international reputation, Muslims in Afghanistan, Indonesia, and other places (including the United States) are expressing outrage.

So, score one for the Dove World Outreach Center.  They've accomplished their goal of making known their hatred of Muslims.  But as General Petraeus points out, the rest of us must now endure the consequences.

Sit down, bigot!

Disgraceful, ignorant bigots

If anything has become apparent in the wake of the ridiculous faux debate over the construction of a Muslim cultural center at Park 51 in Manhattan it is this:  if we value our Constitution we must now demand that the center be built, as planned, on the proposed site.

When rank hypocrites like Newt Gingrich refer to religious practice as "triumphalism," when poltroons like John Kyl and hacks like John McCain start suggesting that we amend the Constitution in order to deny its protections to certain people, when (according to one poll) 31% of Republicans profess to believe that President Obama is a Muslim and therefore somehow "not an American," it is past time to publicly excoriate those who hold such views.

This entire dust up might be the work of some right-wing political operative, some beast from the Karl Rove school of politics (if not Rove, himself).  It could very well be a pseudo-controversy conjured up in the hopes of keeping fake patriot passions running high through the dog days of summer.  But this ploy may backfire.  As easy as it is to demagogue against Muslims (and gays and Mexicans), once you start impinging on First Amendment rights, Americans start getting angry.

My friend, Kurt Kemmerer, sent me this video.  Take a gander and see what you think.  Substitute uses of the words "negro" and "Catholic" with "illegal immigrant" and "Muslim."  Then listen to Glenn Beck or Rush Limbaugh for an hour or two and see what you think...


Former Vermont Governor Howard Dean stated recently that he believes there may be room for compromise on the issue surrounding the planned cultural center.  Well, I'm sorry, Governor:  when bigots start insisting that citizens forgo their rights because the bigots are offended by them, there is no room for compromise.

The conversation must hinge on a single question:  are the Muslim citizens acting within their Constitutional rights?  If the answer to that question is "yes" (which right-wing freaks have already conceded), the conversation is at an end.

If rights can be compromised because some people are offended when those rights are exercised, then they are not rights at all, but concessions.

Cackle and crow

Epitomize and confirm, marteau!
Cackle, yes!  Cackle and crow!
With my blessings, sir!

Comes he, all vested in fair words and humility,
Honoring youthful days, foggily remembered;
A gracious debt, he piously pleads,
For extending my hand in friendship;

Thinks he I have forgotten old-score grudges,
Indignities suffered at his poltroon hands,
Unwilling descents down to honor-less squalor?

"Well," thinks I, "no raven ever paled from ebony
So far as I have seen;  yet Savior telleth:
There's no soul beyond redemption;
Arm's length can do no harm;"

Fooled again!  Already he has sensed his opening,
Uses grudgingly granted license to the very hilts, incapable of restraint,
Knowing that, inevitably, just as before and always, he will be driven out;

See?  There!  He menaces a cripple!
See?  There!  He hands out funny-money promises!
Watch, now!  Soon will he come with sorrowful words,
Watch, now!  He will gesture feebly toward remorse;

Nay, marteau, no tears!  Raise a glass to cruel cirrhosis!
Chant a dirge to misery!  Vomit on your debauched shoes! 
But never mind:  bemoaning his just-made bed, he's on to the next freebie;

For me there is a great satisfaction;
Few finer gifts will a man be given in his life
Than to have those whom he hold in low regard justify his contempt!

No talk of God, tea-bagger

One thing I have learned in my short time on this mortal coil:  Whenever someone tells you that he knows what God wants, he is a fool or a liar or both.  And this:  you can be sure he has an agenda to sell you.

That's the problem with you, tea-bagger.   You say you know what God wants.  You've told me that.  But I'm not buying it.

You proudly proclaim "I stand with Israel" as Bibi Netanyahu's goons board ships laden with humanitarian supplies for an oppressed people, shooting relief workers dead.  You strain at the lead, praying for the day that the bombs will fall on Tehran.  You write demented letters to the world bemoaning your fate just before you empty your guns into crowds of people who don't believe as you do.

It's okay.  It's what God wants, right?

Oh, I have marked how quickly and willingly you strike the martyr's pose.  "Christians are oppressed for their beliefs!" you wail, even as you insult and dehumanize Muslims, Sikhs, Hindus, and other Christians that don't adhere to your dogma.

"Why must you call me a racist?" you yelp, as you wave around your placards depicting President Obama as an African witch-doctor, as you mock and insult blacks and Mexicans, as you cheer Israeli helicopters firing missiles into Gaza apartment complexes killing "Arabs," as you advocate war.

"Why must you call me a homophobe?" you cry, as you hypocritically denounce gays as perverts and pedophiles.

"Why must you call me a hater?" you lament in one breath, then rant about the evil of "secular progressives" in the next, as you resort to intimidation and thuggery when the old rules no longer work for you.

How very brave you imagine yourself to be!  "I stand with Israel!"  "I'm a conservative Christian!"  "You can pry my gun from my cold, dead fingers!"  Tell me, tea-bagger:  is it brave to stand with the strong against the weak?  Is it brave to side with the demographic that sits at the pinnacle of economic power?  Is it brave to wave a gun in the faces of people who find your views to be asinine?

And how strictly you adhere to the Bible!  Except, of course, when you find it inconvenient to do so.  Thus, we see you reinterpret the Sixth Commandment to more closely fit your agenda.  He didn't mean "kill," He meant "murder."  Isn't that the schtick?

And your reverence for the Constitution would be admirable if you didn't declare the United States to be a "Christian nation" in direct conflict with the First Amendment of the Constitution, which unequivocally declares "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..."

Because you know what God wants, yes?  

But if you want to talk God, we can do that, tea-bagger.  Let's try this:  Of the deadly sins, there are seven.  Of these, Pride is deemed the most deadly.  It was Pride that felled Lucifer.

Let me ask you, tea-bagger:  Is it not prideful to imagine that one can know the mind of God?

You say you know what God wants while you insult my Mexican family and my Muslim wife.  Well, I'm not buying what you're selling.  So, spare me your talk of God... tea-bagger.

Racists? What racists?

Friday, Friday. What, were it not for Friday?

Just to hone the point I tried to make yesterday...

Republican State Representative Jake Knotts of Lexington, South Carolina

State Sen. Jake Knotts, R-Lexington, used the word, "raghead" to describe Republican gubernatorial frontrunner Rep. Nikki Haley, also of Lexington County, and President Barack Obama during an online political talk show Thursday evening.

Haley is of Indian descent. Obama, who is bi-racial, has an African father and white mother.

Knotts, who supports Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer in the Republican primary battle, said, “We already got one raghead in the White House, we don’t need a raghead in the governor’s mansion,” according to several people at the live broadcast of "Pub Politics."

State Republican Party Chairwoman Karen Floyd issued a statement, calling on Knotts to apologize.  --from The State

You know you've stepped in it when even the Republican Party of South Carolina wants you to apologize.

I wrote a little note to Representative Knotts myself:  "You have sullied yourself in the eyes of the nation with your ill-informed 'raghead' remarks.  Take pride in your ignorance!  At this point, what else have you got?"

I hope I didn't hurt his feelings.

But here's the rub:  there are people who will view Jake Knotts as a hero because of this.  I know some of them myself.  You know them, too, dear reader.

Wear that tea-bag with pride, Republican!

"I am not a racist," protests Mr. Tea-bagger

 "Tut, tut, sir!  My objections have nothing at all to do with race!"

Guessing at motives is a foolhardy endeavor.  Human beings are rarely able to evaluate even their own motives, let alone those of another.  At least, I believe that to be true.  And, in the end, motives don't really matter, do they?  The actions we take are what define us as intelligent or stupid, good or evil, quite apart from whatever motives we may have had.

So, I suppose it is possible that the so-called "Tea Party" is not motivated by some primitive form of tribalism that is a reaction to the precipitous and ever-accelerating loss of their political and economic power.  The impetus behind this ugly strain of politics might have nothing at all to do with the diminution of the conservative white minority that composes the ranks of the "Tea Party."  It may be completely unrelated to the growing strength of the Latino, black, Muslim, and gay demographics within the United States. 

So, let's not guess at motives, then.  Let's leave them aside completely.  Rather, let's look at tea-bagger actions and see what we might conclude from them.

Let's see...

The Tea Party candidate to be the US Senator from the state of Kentucky is Dr. Rand Paul, a man who believes that Section 1 of the Equal Rights Act of 1964 is government overreach and extra-constitutional.  Specifically, Dr. Paul does not believe that government has the right to prevent private businesses from discriminating based on race.  From a tea-bagger perspective, this might very well be a legitimate position based on ideological principle.  But how might such a position appear to an elderly black man in Mississippi? A man who remembers the time when he could not sit at the lunch counter in Woolworths?

Dr. Paul's brand of tea-baggery seems to have some foundation in libertarianism, but tea-baggers in Arizona seem very eager to tinker with the Constitution in the other direction:  toward authoritarianism.  The recently-enacted immigration legislation in the state of Arizona affords the government all kinds of dubious rights regarding law enforcement's ability to detain and question people.  From a tea-bagger perspective, this is a law made necessary by concerns over immigration and national sovereignty.  But how might a US-born Latino family in Phoenix interpret this legislation?  A Latino family that honors its customs and heritage?  A Latino family that chooses to speak Spanish en su casa?

And what about the tea-bag attitude toward President Obama?  Certainly, tea-baggers might have legitimate anger toward the President.  But why do they question his citizenship?  Why do they refer to him as a "Kenyan?"  When they rail and rant about "want[ing] my country back" from whom do they want to take it?

In 2008, according to Pew Research Center, President Obama won the votes of 95% of black voters, 67% of Latino voters, and 62% of Asian voters. Are these voters the people from whom the tea-baggers feel they must wrest control of the country?

I'm sure many tea-baggers do not believe that they are racists.  Certainly, they are ever primed and ready to bemoan the injustice of it all whenever anyone suggests that their motives have anything to do with race.  Undoubtedly they have convinced themselves that their motives are noble and good. 

But here's the problem:  regardless of motive, their actions are alarming.

No enemies on the Right

Tea-bagger's America

The Republican party is in a world of hurt.  The "base" of the party, which includes the tea-baggers, is flexing its muscles in ways that some of the brighter bulbs in the GOP know to be politically toxic to the larger voting public.

Specifically, there is the new Arizona state legislation just signed into law by Governor Jan Brewer.  The law allows for law enforcement officers in that state to demand proof of citizenship from anyone they "reasonably suspect" (whatever that means) of being an "illegal alien."  Or, stated more plainly, the new law gives police the authority to stop and question anyone, at anytime, for any reason whatsoever.  The constitutionality of the law is in doubt.  Many believe that it will not survive legal challenges that are already being mounted.  The White House is said to be considering its own challenge.

Let's be clear.  The reason this law is vile and reprehensible is not because it attempts to address the immigration problem, but because it is an assault on the rights of American citizens.  Are there any tea-baggers out there who would care to explain to me how this law, which allows the police to stop American citizens and demand they show proof of citizenship, is virtuous and necessary while the recently-passed health care legislation is somehow a threat to their freedom? 

But the law is symptomatic of the Republican party's Big Problem^TM. You see, in the bitterly-contested travesty that was the 2004 presidential election, Junior Bush and the Republican party was able to squeak out a victory by riling up the most ignorant and obnoxious of their supporters, today's tea-baggers, by using that oh-so-juicy political motivator, fear.  (It still works, in red states, apparently.  Already Texas and Georgia state legislatures are showing signs of following in the footsteps of Arizona.)

Well, this noxious legislation is serving several useful purposes, from a progressive perspective.

1. It is consolidating Latino support for the Democrats and destroying those feeble inroads that Junior and Karl Rove made during their hateful tenure.
   
   
2. It is galvanizing the political left and center of the electorate against Republicans.  Already, boycotts are being organized against the state of Arizona. The prospects for a robust mid-term turnout this November were dim enough for Democrats, but this legislation could well be political Red Bull.
   
   
3. It is agitating the fissure within the Republican party between "responsible" party leaders and the racist hoi polloi.  The Arizona law has evoked meek, half-hearted condemnations from such Republican leaders as Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio.

Alas, Republican leaders dare not be too vocal in their protestations.  Here's why:  already there are problems with their base.  If they make too big a stink, they risk dampening the enthusiasm of the fired-up rednecks who are their only reliable base of support.  So here they are, trying to cool but not quell the passions they stoked, trying to find the point of equilibrium where their base is still apoplectic, but the political middle is not repulsed.

Tough job.  Republicans are trapped in a snare of their own making.  For too long they coddled and humored the most ignorant of the American electorate.  For too long, they espoused the lethal doctrine:  No enemies on the Right.

Red states vie for title of "Most Ignorant"

Man, oh, man!

It seems that the red states (those states that went for Mad Johnny McCain in the last presidential election) are each trying to outdo the others to attain that coveted redneck title, "Most Ignorant."  Consider:

• Oklahoma, already a serious contender by virtue of its troglodyte US Senator James Inhofe (who calls global-warming a "hoax") strengthened its bid when tea-baggers and Republicans in the state legislature advocated the formation of a state militia to defend against "improper federal infringements on state sovereignty."  Tea-baggers in the Sooner state are ready and willing to play army in the woods, just like the Hutaree, if it means they don't have to have health care.
  
  
• Texas, a perennial favorite by virtue of having launched the political career of no less ignorant a figure than Junior Bush, continued to display considerable strength by handing a Republican party primary victory to neo-confederate Governor Rick Perry for this year's gubernatorial election.  And the Texas State Board of Education has contributed mightily to the effort with its crayola-crayon revisions of history.
  
  
• Alaska, after showing promise early, fell out of the running when the Queen of Tea-bagging, Sweet Sister Sarah, resigned the governorship mid-term, amid sagging approval ratings.  Apparently, Alaskans just aren't ignorant enough for Alaska to be a real Red state.
  
  
• But my pick for the most ignorant of tea-bagging red states goes to Arizona.  I mean, guys like US Senator Jon Kyl and Mad Johnny don't come along every day.  (And let's not even mention that beacon of enlightenment, Sheriff Joe Arpaio.)  But Arizona has pulled out all the stops to win the title of America's "Most Ignorant" with two recent actions by its state legislature:
   
1. The state house passed a resolution requiring presidential candidates to show a valid birth certificate in order to be listed on the state ballot for elections.  This is a direct pander to those tea-baggers that cling to the idea that President Obama was not born in the United States and, therefore, is not legitimately the president.  Further, it is an insult, intended in the most personal of terms, to the President himself. 
   
   
2. Both houses of the legislature passed a bill, now awaiting signature by the state's Republican governor, aimed directly at Latinos.  The new bill would give law enforcement officers in that state the authority (indeed, the obligation!) to demand proof of citizenship from anyone for whom those officers have "reasonable suspicion" of being in violation of US Immigration law. 

Does anyone imagine that the Arizona state legislature was motivated in either of these actions by anything other than racism?  Already, Arizona Congressman Raul Grijalva is calling for an economic boycott of his own state if (Republican) Governor Jan Brewer signs the anti-Latino legislation into law.

But redneck ignorance in Arizona is potent stuff.  Recall that Arizona was a long holdout against recognizing Martin Luther King's birthday as a holiday, even when it cost the state millions in lost income due to the relocation of 166 conventions and Superbowl XXVII as a result.

There are millions of good, decent people that live in red states, of course.  But, unfortunately, they don't hold sway.  Instead, the face that red states present to the world, is the face of ignorance, bigotry, and prideful stupidity.  Half-assed Klansmen.  The kind of people that mutter insults at you under their breath, then deny it when confronted.  Vile, cowardly people.

Rock on, you Red State numb-skulls!

Tea-baggers flirt with armed rebellion

Racist losers looking snappy in uniform

It was inevitable, of course, that all that spew that Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh and Sister Sarah vomit out onto the airwaves would lead to something like this:

One of the leaders of the Oklahoma tea-bag movement, Al Gerhart has proposed creating a state militia to "defend against what [he] believe[s] are improper federal infringements on state sovereignity." Catch that? He's advocating creating an armed force as a counter to the federal government!

Tea-bagger Al Gerhart:  Just like Jeff Davis, only dumber and less hairy

The purported "final straw" that caused Mr. Gerhart to propose this drastic step?  The passage of health care reform legislation by Congress last month.  You see, if health insurance companies are required to extend coverage to more Americans, if they are not free to renege on their commitments to those who pay premiums, if they are held to account for how they use the money that they extort from the American populace --well, then we are no longer "free."

Of course, one dim-witted tea-bagger justifying his fever-brained paranoid fantasies by reciting Fox News talking points is nothing new.  But here's the kicker:  Mr. Gerhart has apparently found a sympathetic ear or two in the Oklahoma State Legislature!

Said Oklahoma State Senator Randy Brogdon (a Republican), "[The founding fathers] were not referring to a turkey shoot or a quail hunt. They really weren't even talking about us having the ability to protect ourselves against each other.  The Second Amendment deals directly with the right of an individual to keep and bear arms to protect themselves from an overreaching federal government."

Oklahoma State Senator Randy Brogdon:  traitor?

Er... not exactly, Randy.  Here's what the Second Amendment of the Constitution actually says:

"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

See?  Nothing in there about an overreaching federal government.

I suppose it is possible that Senator Brogdon communicated directly with the Founding Fathers in some right-wing orgiastic seance.  Can't you just see it?  Senator Brogdon, Texas Governor Rick Perry, and Glenn Beck holding hands around a table, in a candle-lit room, chanting, weeping, beseeching their gods, when the spirit of Thomas Jefferson appears and exhorts them to raise an army to fight off the tyranny of people getting health care insurance?

Tea-baggers can dress it up any way they like:  Second Amendment Rights, defense of the Constitution, whatever. Let's refer once again to the Constitution of the United States to see what the "revered" Founding Fathers had to say about it.  Article III, Section 3, Clause 1 of that document states:  "Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them..."

Isn't it ironic that the Republican party, birthed on a platform of abolition and the indivisibility of the United States, should today be co-opted by the descendants of the very people who chose to secede from the Union rather than accept its first Republican president?  Isn't it ironic that the Republican party is now the party of treason and sedition?

It will be interesting to see how high-profile Republicans react to this new development.  Will they denounce the rhetoric coming out of Oklahoma?

Well, John Boehner, Mitch McConnell, Tom Coburn, Eric Cantor?  How are you going to deal with this?

I have my own personal message for rascally tea-baggers.  Quoting the character Duncan Idaho from Frank Herbert's novel God Emperor of Dune:  "Draw that knife or take your hand off it!"

What is a tea-bagger? (Plus a couple springtime pics)

I've spoken with a couple friends about it, and we are pretty much agreed that the tea-baggers --excuse me -- the Tea Party Movement is motivated, whether the tea-baggers know it or not, by a deep-seated fear of "the Other."  (I call them tea-baggers because that was the name they gave themselves when they first started their histrionics.  Boy, was I laughing up my sleeve at that!  It's a pity that they finally caught on.)

It makes them anxious, for example, when they find themselves at the Shell Station on Highway 97 and everyone there --the guy filling the tank, the woman behind the counter, the local clientele --speaks Spanish.  That's why we see bumper stickers on tea-bagger pickup trucks that say:  "This is America.  Speak English only." 

Likewise, homosexuals make tea-baggers nervous and uncomfortable because they dislike being confronted by their own sexual repression.  A gay person who seems comfortable with himself or herself is obviously someone who has faced questions that the tea-bagger cannot. Which is not to say that all tea-baggers are repressed homosexuals, but that for an indoctrinated tea-bagger, his or her sexuality --gay, straight, or otherwise --is irrelevant.  The tea-bagger must maintain the appearance of a heterosexual if he or she wants to be accepted into tea-bagger society.  (As we all know, however, the reality is often quite different).  That's why tea-baggers feel so strongly that "marriage" is between a man and a woman.

Tea-baggers vehemently deny that they are racist.  And despite the reports in the news about racial slurs directed at Congresspersons, I think tea-baggers are sincere in their protestations.  As the old saying goes, "Some of my best friends are [insert your racial/religious/ethnic slur here]."  I don't believe the majority of tea-baggers actively hate black people or Mexicans or Muslims.  I do believe, however, that tea-baggers are uncomfortable with the idea of black people or Mexicans or Muslims having any authority.  That's why they have such antipathy toward President Obama.  That's why black people, Mexicans, and Muslims steer clear of tea-bagger rallies.  And, I suppose, being the spouse of a black person and a Muslim, and myself being (partly, at least) Mexican, that's why I despise tea-baggers.

Well, none of this is anything new.  Although today's tea-baggers see themselves as part of an unprecedented, grass-roots movement, these United States have a long history with this nativist, latently racist demographic of the population.  Back in the 1840s and 1850s, they were called "Know Nothings."  But, back then, "the Other," were German and Irish immigrants. In fact, so familiar are we with this political demographic that many have risen to prominence and made tons of money by catering to its fears and prejudices. 

Anyway, that's how I see it.