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12 Aug 2009 21:19

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Politics: Crazy town hall moment of the day: Rosa Parks + ripped poster

  • The video
  • The recap A black woman is sitting at a town hall hosted by Claire McCaskill yesterday. A reporter, whose interest has been piqued, checks out her Rosa Parks poster. Some guy sees the poster, steals it from the woman, and rips it up. Guess who gets booed and taken outside? Obvious question: How is this not racism? At some point, you have to watch these videos and shake your head. This is democracy? This isn’t people just being jerks? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

12 Aug 2009 11:16

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Politics: Ooh, burn: Congressman compares town hall protesters to the KKK

  • Well, the last time I had to confront something like this was when I voted for the civil rights bill and my opponent voted against it. At that time, we had a lot of Ku Klux Klan folks and white supremacists and folks in white sheets and other things running around causing trouble.
  • Democratic Rep. John Dingell, the longest-serving member of the House of Representatives • Talking about the protests that have cropped up at town halls across the country, including in his own district. One man notably said to Dingell, “your healthcare plan is going to take healthcare away from my son and kill him!” Whew. Can’t we all just get along? As much as Dingell has a point, he’s clouding that point by saying something designed to anger the other side. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Aug 2009 10:52

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Politics: Princeton professor: Interest groups damage the political process

  • Interest groups have clearly eroded the quality of our democratic process. The most obvious way has been through outright corruption. There are many historical examples of how powerful interest groups tried to buy their way to success.
  • Princeton professor Julian E. Zelizer • Discussing the damage that interest groups have done to political discourse. He’s not simply talking about the current situation with town halls and health care, although that’s part of it. He says that in general, interest groups have too much power: “Lobbyists and politicians on the left and right have been guilty of these sins.” He refers to the underrated movie “Bulworth,” which attacked this issue head-on. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 Aug 2009 09:57

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Politics: In a move seemingly designed to incite, Pelosi writes an op-ed

  • These disruptions are occurring because opponents are afraid not just of differing views — but of the facts themselves. Drowning out opposing views is simply un-American. Drowning out the facts is how we failed at this task for decades.
  • Democratic House members Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer • Talking about town hall meetings in USA Today. In their opinion, the more fiery people at the meetings drown out actual discussion on health care. They want it to stop so that people can have an actual dialogue on health care. Of course, Pelosi merely posting this means that those very types of people have loaded the comments up with torrents of spew against her. We’ll gladly take some of that spew off your hands, Nancy. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 3 Comments • Permalink

09 Aug 2009 21:22

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Politics: Max Headroom: Evidence Howard Dean is more than a scream

  • Dean v. Newt Howard Dean and Newt Gingrich – two former rising stars from another era – still have their hands in the political cookie jar, and both have a lot to say about the health care debate (be sure to watch part two, too). In this debate of wits, Dean gets the upper hand.

  • Dean v. Newt Howard Dean and Newt Gingrich – two former rising stars from another era – still have their hands in the political cookie jar, and both have a lot to say about the health care debate (be sure to watch part two, too). In this debate of wits, Dean gets the upper hand.

  • Economics for clunkers Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell chatted with Fox News about the Cash for Clunkers plan, saying that “if you pay people to buy TVs, or refrigerators, or … that sort of thing, people will go out and do it.” He leans hard on the fiscal conservatism line here.

  • Dean v. Newt Howard Dean and Newt Gingrich – two former rising stars from another era – still have their hands in the political cookie jar, and both have a lot to say about the health care debate (be sure to watch part two, too). In this debate of wits, Dean gets the upper hand.

  • Economics for clunkers Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell chatted with Fox News about the Cash for Clunkers plan, saying that “if you pay people to buy TVs, or refrigerators, or … that sort of thing, people will go out and do it.” He leans hard on the fiscal conservatism line here.

  • So, how’s Kim Jong-Il? We know what you’re thinking. Bill Clinton went to North Korea and hasn’t told the world about Kim Jong-Il yet. Fortunately, National Security Adviser Gen. James Jones relayed it to the world on “Meet the Press.” He says Kim is still firmly in power of his country.

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Aug 2009 12:05

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Politics: Granola-eating hippies ask: Could the U.S. go fascist?

  • Fascism only grows in the disturbed soil of a mature democracy in crisis.
  • Sara Robinson of the Campaign for America’s Future • In a column on Alternet discussing whether fascism could happen in the U.S. someday, particularly in the wake of harsh protests during the Obama administration in recent weeks. Robinson notes that “it’s always rooted in the promise of restoring lost national pride by resurrecting the culture’s traditional myths and values.” We personally think both sides of this debate need to take a chill pill, go to a bar and drink a cool PBR. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Aug 2009 16:26

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Politics: Political polls based on scientific facts? Usually a bad idea.

  • 51% of Democrats think that America and Africa were once part of the same continent, a proven scientific fact that shouldn’t be the basis of a poll question source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

06 Aug 2009 20:50

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Politics, U.S.: Example No. 3 of GOP Obama fury: Birthers gettin’ punk’d

punkd0806
  • Man, that Orly Taitz video sure takes on a hilarious new context based on these images, which essentially confirm that the Obama Kenyan birth certificate was a forgery by an anonymous blogger designed to make the birthers look stupid.source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Aug 2009 20:34

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Politics, U.S.: Example No. 2 of GOP Obama fury: Nazi comparisons

Rush Limbaugh, among others, have made this logo comparison. We get it. You don’t like it. But can we keep the level of discourse a little higher than this? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Aug 2009 20:39

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Politics: Hillary Clinton’s trump card: Bill Clinton as problem-solver?

  • Now that Bill has successfully completed his North Korea mission, he is sure to play an increasingly prominent role in foreign affairs. The trick for Hillary will be to use him to solidify rather than undermine her position as Secretary of State.
  • Huffington Post columnist Jacob Heilbrunn • Discussing how Bill Clinton’s role as dealbroker in North Korea could pay huge dividends for his wife, who actually has an official role in the Obama administration. Obama lucked out, Heilbrunn notes, saying “he knew that he was getting a twofer.” • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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