[Peace-discuss] Bill Blum asks T-Party questions:

[E. Wayne Johnson]

The part that is really hard to cope with emotionally, and perhaps a 
little easier to understand intellectually, is Why a Respected and 
Generally Excellent Journalist and Fighter for What is Good, like Bill 
Blum, chooses to act like a shameless shill for the Democrat Party and 
parrot such ridiculous party-line babble.

We don't need Wikileaked missives to tell us what the Top-Down National 
Leadership of the Democrat party is sending out to the branches and 
stems at the local level.

The Democrats are worried.  Their President  (who is genetically more 
White than he is Black), has failed to deliver the promised blessing.  I 
would say that is exactly as expected, since Mr. Obama is a textbook 
poseur (he's not even black, definitely not poor and black, certainly 
not even a cactus).  It might be more polite to say that he simply let 
his mouth overload his arse, which is pretty much what his apologists 
are saying, but I don't find that he had any intention of running the 
program any "better" than the way he is doing so right now.



The Dems should be worried indeed.  The anti-Bush wave carried them a 
lot of political seats in 2008, but the Obama tide is going out (to an 
/asymptotic/ minus ~20% approval rating) and is taking Democrats votes 
with it.  Rasmussen states that for the first time since they have been 
polling, Republicans outnumber Democrats (36% to 34.7%).  The Democrat 
leadership blames the Teabaggers for their shrinking political capital.  
But the Republican central leadership hates and fears the Teabaggers 
just as much as the Dems do, and the Teabaggers note correctly that 
"_Republicans suck, too!"_® .  Indeed as high as 40% of Teabaggers say 
they lean and vote Democrat, which really is troubling to the fearless 
leaders of the party.  The Dems are frantically trying to stop the 
haemorrhaging with "reminders" that the Teabaggers are mostly White (and 
therefore Racist) and ideologically diverse (and therefore riddled with 
hypocrisy).

The really question (to me) is "what will the Teabaggers do when they 
realize that they have been Gypped (and badly, again) by the Republicans 
they supported?"  The Dems fear that the Teabaggers will do even more 
damage in the future, so they seek ways to make the Teaparty look even 
more crazy and ridiculous than what the Teabaggers can accomplish on 
their own, and the Dems hope that the Teabaggers will get exhausted and 
simply go back to sleep in front of the TV.

They might do just that.

Anyone who gives a ripe red one should hope that the Teabaggers stay angry.




On 12/5/2010 3:50 AM, C. G. Estabrook wrote:
> That explains a lot.
>
> A generation ago American liberalism, under the pressure to see the 
> obvious that arose from the Vietnam War, had finally regained the 
> insight - that politics was a matter of class - which had been 
> destroyed in the post-WWII rectification campaigns ("McCarthyism" 
> being a synecdoche).
>
> But in the 1970s, having put its hand to the plow, liberalism looked 
> back - into the seductive eyes  of identity politics.  The American 
> ascendancy, knowing perfectly well what was happening (see The Crisis 
> of Democracy, 1975) - encouraged liberalism's apostasy.  Racism was 
> substituted for inequality as the bete noire (...) of American 
> liberalism.  With its bad conscience for having given up on class 
> struggle, American liberalism became a tiger on diversity to make up 
> for it. Crimes became those of speech and hate - you can't say that or 
> use those words - rather than actions of economic oppression and the 
> constant alienating extraction of surplus value.
>
> Of course neither racism nor sexism is a good thing - but as the 
> Renaissance (not the Middle Ages) found, the surest way to prove 
> you're orthodox (when you aren't) is to burn the odd heretic.  
> Neoliberalism - not coincidentally arising at the same time as I. P. - 
> was down with the program.  Stamp out anything that sounds like racism 
> or sexism, and maybe people won't notice that you've acquiesced in 
> exploitation as a way of life.  So in the '80s and '90s the rich got 
> richer and the poor got poorer at an accelerating rate - and liberals 
> insisted only that the rich kids show a proper rainbow of colors (the 
> poor kids, too - of whom there were more and more - if it came to that.)
>
> Therefore the greatest taunt for the American liberal is "Racist! 
> Sexist!" - and the capitalist is perfectly happy with an integrated 
> workforce, which can only increase the reserve army of the unemployed, 
> dilute unions, and depress wages.  (My students are disbelieving when 
> told that a couple of recent college graduates could count on living 
> with a house, car and children - on one salary! - into the 1970s.)
>
> Dante spoke of /il gran rifiuto./ The Great Refusal of our generation 
> of American liberals is to fasten on to a fanatic concern for 
> diversity to make up for turning away from the real source of 
> inequality in our society - the wage contract: "the equal exchange 
> between free agents" which reproduces, hourly and daily, inequality 
> and oppression.
>
> A majority of the US population sympathize with the tea-partiers, who 
> are raging at their economic deprivation.  (That's what they mean by 
> "socialism" - a directed economy run for the benefit of a privileged 
> few - not a bad description of "actually existing socialism" as it was 
> in the late 20th century.) And all the liberals have left is to shout 
> "Racism! " at them. Such political obtuseness is extremely dangerous.
>
>
> On 12/4/10 5:45 AM, E. Wayne Johnson wrote:
> > On 12/3/2010 1:32 PM, Brussel
> Morton K. wrote:
>
> >
>
> >> the president is black.
>
> > That is Absurd.
>
> >
>
> > Actually:
>
> >
>
> >
>
> > 1 In 5 Americans Believe Obama Is A Cactus
>
> >
>
> > WASHINGTON—According to a poll released Tuesday, nearly 20
> percent of
>
> > U.S. citizens now believe Barack Obama is a cactus, the most
>
> > Americans to identify the president. ...The poll, conducted
> by the
>
> > Pew Research Center, found a sharp rise in the number of
> Americans
>
> > who say they firmly believe Obama was either born a cactus,
> became a
>
> > cactus during his youth, or has questionable links to the
> /Cactaceae/
>
> > family.
>
> >
>
> > "We asked people of varying races, ages, and backgrounds the
> same
>
> > question: 'What is President Barack Obama?'" Pew spokeswoman
> Jodi
>
> > Miller told reporters. "And a fifth of them responded, 'A
> cactus.'"
>
> >
>
> > According to the poll, Obama has lost favor among many voters
> who
>
> > supported his candidacy in 2008 but have since come to doubt
> he is a
>
> > mammal. While these Americans concede Obama may not
> specifically be a
>
> > cactus, most believe he is a plant of some kind, with 18
> percent
>
> > saying the president is a ficus, 37 percent believing him to
> be a
>
> > grain such as wheat or millet, and 12 percent convinced he is
> an
>
> > old-growth forest in Northern California.
>
> >
>
> > When asked why they agreed with the statement "President
> Obama is a
>
> > large succulent plant composed of specialized cells designed
> for
>
> > water retention in arid climates," many responded that they
> "just
>
> > know," claiming the president only acts like a human being
> for
>
> > political purposes and is truly a cactus at heart.
>
> >
>
> >
> <http://www.theonion.com/articles/poll-1-in-5-americans-believe-obama-is-a-cactus,18127/#enlarge>
>
> >
>
> >
>
> >
> A number of polled Americans identified the above as a photo of 
> President Obama.
> >
>
> > White House officials have asserted that the nation's 44th
> president
>
> > is a person.
>
> >
>
> > "You can't go a day without hearing how Obama's a radical
> cactus
>
> > sympathizer who wants to sap America of all its drinking
> water, or
>
> > how he was actually born in the Kalahari Desert," said media
> critic
>
> > Lynn Pelmont, referring to cable news outlets that suggest
> the
>
> > president has prickly spines he uses to protect himself from
> thirsty
>
> > animals. "For a man who prides himself on delivering a
> coherent
>
> > message, there's an awful lot of confusion out there about
> whether
>
> > he's a Harvard Law graduate or a leafless flowering shrub."
>
> >
>
> > "He must speak frankly to the American people about his
> mammalian
>
> > background," Pelmont added. "If not, it's only a matter of
> time
>
> > before people start believing those fringe bloggers who claim
> the
>
> > president of the United States is actually an old washing
> machine."
>
> >
>
> > Some Beltway observers have accused Republicans of tacitly
>
> > encouraging the cactus rumor, pointing out that if millions
> of voters
>
> > believe Obama produces buds through spirally arranged areoles
>
> > situated along his stem, the GOP has a much better chance of
> retaking
>
> > Congress in November.
>
> >
>
> > "If the president says he is a human being, I'll take him at
> his
>
> > word," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Sunday on
> /Meet
>
> > the Press/. "Though I've never heard him complain about being
>
> > thirsty. Not once. That could be a coincidence, I suppose,
> but it's
>
> > really not my place to say."
>
> >
>
> > During a Wednesday morning briefing, White House press
> secretary
>
> > Robert Gibbs once again denied that President Obama is a
> cactus,
>
> > citing numerous physiological attributes of the nation's
> chief
>
> > executive, including his ability to walk upright and to
> manipulate
>
> > objects with his opposable thumbs.
>
> >
>
> > "Cacti don't talk," said Gibbs, shaking his head. "They just
> don't."
>
> >
>
> > President Barack Hussein Obama was born Aug. 4, 1961 in
> Honolulu, HI
>
> > to parents Ann Dunham and Barack Obama, Sr. From the ages of
> 6 to 10
>
> > he lived with his mother and stepfather in Indonesia, where
> he
>
> > attended Besuki Public School and St. Francis of Assisi
> Catholic
>
> > School. In 1971, Obama returned to Hawaii, where he was
> raised
>
> > primarily by his grandmother until he left home to attend
> Occidental
>
> > College in Los Angeles.
>
> >
>
> > "I don't care what he says or what his people say or what
> anybody
>
> > else says," 48-year-old Kansas resident Jake Nolan told
> reporters.
>
> > "The guy's a cactus, plain and simple. I mean, Christ, look
> at him."
>
> >
>
> > (the ONION)
>
> >
>
> >
>
> >> To Libertarians and their defenders:
>
> >>
>
> >>
>
> >> Some questions to ask our quaint little Teaparty friends
>
> >>
>
> >> The Teaparty folks never tire of calling for "smaller
> government".
>
> >> How sweet. Most other Republicans repeat the same mantra
> /ad
>
> >> nauseam/ as well, as do many liberals (not to be confused
> with
>
> >> progressives). So for all these individuals I have some
> questions:
>
> >>
>
> >> * When there's a plane crash the government sends
> investigators to
>
> >> the crash site to try to determine the cause of the
> accident; this
>
> >> is information that can be used to make air travel safer.
> But it's
>
> >> really BIG GOVERNMENT, forcing the airlines to fully
> cooperate,
>
> >> provide all relevant information, secrecy is not
> permitted, and
>
> >> make changes or face severe penalties. Do you think the
> government
>
> >> should stop doing this? * Following this year's BP oil
> spill do you
>
> >> think the government was right to bully and threaten the
> company
>
> >> for an explanation and solution for the catastrophe, or
> should it
>
> >> have been "hands off" for the sake of small government? *
> Following
>
> >> a major earthquake there's usually a cry from many
> quarters: Stores
>
> >> should not be raising prices for basic necessities like
> water,
>
> >> generators, batteries, tree-removal services, diapers,
> etc. More
>
> >> grievances soon arise because landlords raise rents on
> vacant
>
> >> apartments after many dwellings in the city have been
> rendered
>
> >> uninhabitable. How dare they do that? people wail.
> Following the
>
> >> 1994 earthquake in Los Angeles the California Assembly
> proceeded to
>
> >> make it a crime for merchants to increase prices for
> vital goods
>
> >> and services by more than ten percent after a natural
> disaster.^11
>
> >> <http://killinghope.org/bblum6/aer88.html#note-11>
> Following the
>
> >> destruction caused by Hurricane Isabel in September 2003,
> the
>
> >> governor and attorney general of Virginia called on the
> legislature
>
> >> to pass the state's first anti-price-gouging law after
> receiving
>
> >> about 100 complaints from residents. North Carolina had
> enacted an
>
> >> anti-gouging law just shortly before.^12
>
> >> <http://killinghope.org/bblum6/aer88.html#note-12>
> Does such
>
> >> blatant big-government interference in our God-given
>
> >> Supply-and-Demand system bother you? Do you think that
> our
>
> >> legislators should simply allow "the magic of the
> marketplace" to
>
> >> do its magic? * Do you think that the government should
> continue
>
> >> waging war against what they call "terrorists" abroad,
> since
>
> >> there's no bigger or more expensive big-government action
> than
>
> >> this? * Do you think the government should continue with
> its
>
> >> electronic strip searches and body feel-ups at airports
> or should
>
> >> we allow the risk of bombs being brought on board
> airplanes? (Or —
>
> >> as an alternative to either — do you think the government
> should
>
> >> cease its bombing, invading, occupying, overthrowing,
> killing and
>
> >> torturing around the world so as to put an end to its
> creating
>
> >> anti-American terrorists?) * If your bank fails — and
> hundreds have
>
> >> done so in recent years — are you willing to accept the
> loss of
>
> >> your life's savings? Or are you thankful that big, big
> government
>
> >> steps in, takes over the bank, and protects every penny
> of your
>
> >> savings? * Do you think that big government — federal,
> state or
>
> >> local — should stop haranguing the citizenry about the
> environment:
>
> >> recycling, air pollution, water pollution, soil runoff,
> etc., etc.,
>
> >> or that people should simply be allowed to do what is
> most
>
> >> convenient for them, their families, and their
> businesses? * Do you
>
> >> think that manufacturers should have the right to run
> their
>
> >> factories à la a sweatshop in a Bangkok alley 50 years
> ago or that
>
> >> big government should throw its weight around to assure
> modern
>
> >> working conditions, with worker health and safety
> standards? * When
>
> >> a prescription drug starts to kill or harm more and more
> people,
>
> >> who should decide when to pull it off the market: Big
> Government or
>
> >> the drug's manufacturer? * Are you glad that food
> packages list the
>
> >> details of ingredients and nutrition? Who do you think is
>
> >> responsible for that? * A huge number of Americans would
> be facing
>
> >> serious hunger if not for their food stamps; more than 40
> million
>
> >> receive them. Where do you think food stamps come from?
> No, not
>
> >> from Sarah Palin. * And where, pray tell, do you think
> unemployment
>
> >> insurance, housing subsidies, and Medicare come from?
> (There were
>
> >> of course, lord help us, the Teaparty signs: "Keep your
> government
>
> >> hands off my Medicare,"^13
>
> >> <http://killinghope.org/bblum6/aer88.html#note-13>
> while
>
> >> simultaneously ridiculing Obama's push for "socialized
> medicine".)
>
> >> Some of you would probably rather see widespread hunger,
> poverty,
>
> >> homelessness, and illness in America than have people
> dependent
>
> >> upon the BigGovernmentMonster. * Do you think that big
> government
>
> >> is no match for the private sector in efficiently getting
> large and
>
> >> important projects done? Big government in the United
> States has
>
> >> created great dams, marvelous national parks, an
> interstate highway
>
> >> system, the peace corps, social security, the National
> Institutes
>
> >> of Health, and the Smithsonian Institution; it's also
> landed men on
>
> >> the moon, wiped out polio, and built up an incredible
> military
>
> >> machine (ignoring for the moment what it's used for), and
> much
>
> >> more. * Do you know that twice in recent years the
> federal
>
> >> government undertook major studies of many thousands of
> federal
>
> >> jobs to determine whether they could be done more
> efficiently by
>
> >> private contractors? On one occasion the federal
> employees won more
>
> >> than 80% of the time; on the other occasion 91%. Both
> studies took
>
> >> place under the Bush administration, which was hoping for
> different
>
> >> results. ^14
> <http://killinghope.org/bblum6/aer88.html#note-14>
>
> >>
>
> >> We have to remind the American people of what they once
> knew but
>
> >> seem to have forgotten: that they don't want BIG
> government, or
>
> >> SMALL government; they don't want MORE government, or
> LESS
>
> >> government; they want government ON THEIR SIDE.
>
> >>
>
> >> I think the Teapartyers are motivated primarily by two
> factors: 1)
>
> >> they don't have the intellectual competence or
> ideological
>
> >> independence to place the blame for the sick economy
> where it
>
> >> belongs: the recklessness and greed of Wall Street, the
> banks, and
>
> >> other financial corporations; and so they blame the
> president and
>
> >> his "socialist" policies; 2) the president is black.
>
> >>
>
> >> *Mark Brzezinski, son of Zbigniew, was a post-Cold War
> Fulbright
>
> >> Scholar in Poland: "I asked my students to define
> democracy.
>
> >> Expecting a discussion on individual liberties and
> authentically
>
> >> elected institutions, I was surprised to hear my students
> respond
>
> >> that to them, democracy means a government obligation to
> maintain a
>
> >> certain standard of living and to provide health care,
> education
>
> >> and housing for all. In other words, socialism." *^*15*
>
> >> <http://killinghope.org/bblum6/aer88.html#note-15>
>
> >>
>
> >>
>
> >> http://killinghope.org/bblum6/aer88.html
>
>

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