2007 May | MY Vast Right Wing Conspiracy

Archive for May, 2007

Bethapalooza?

Blame this silliness on Beth Donovan. :cheese:

UPDATE: Moved it below the fold because it’s sucking up system resources in Firefox, at least on my computer. (Argh.)

Let the games begin!

Its gonna be one hell of an election year!

Rep. Cynthia McKinney, Georgia Democrat, may seek the Green Party nomination. She was interviewed Friday on New York radio station WBAI:

“You know, I have on my kitchen table, I have a button that was printed in 2000. And it was printed by the Green Party, they were talking about me running as a Green. So I have had a very long relationship with the Green Party. And I think, honestly, with the failure of the Democratic majority in Congress to repeal the PATRIOT Act, to repeal the Secret Evidence Act, to repeal the Military Tribunals Act, to not institute immediately actions of impeachment against this illegitimate, illegal and immoral administration, stop the war, I have to seriously question my relationship with the Democratic Party. I know that the very learned listeners of WBAI have long been interested in how to have a truly independent voice. I understand now that with the current Democratic majority in Congress that’s not possible. ….

So, you know, 2008 has not been ruled out, some kind of effort. Certainly now it is questionable as to whether that effort would come under the banner of the Democratic Party. There’s no way that with the current crop of candidates who are all supporting a military action against Iran and who none of them support impeachment. They can not speak for me any longer.”

Yep. That’s what she said.

Yannow, she just might give Ron Paul a run for his money when it comes to the truther vote. What a debate that would be.

Oh Please. Please Cynthia. Run. Run Cynthia Run. ahahahahahahahahahahaha.

Oh my! ahahahaha.

Whew. I really needed that laugh.

The Immigration Debate and Accusations of Bigotry

Tags: illegal immigration, immigration, Bush, Linda Chavez, Hispanics, Latinos, Mexicans

Let me start this by stating clearly that I don’t like the Senate immigration bill, and that I am for enforcement/border security before any guest worker program comes into play. (Yes, I do think documenting non-citizens is a good idea, but the flow of illegals must be stopped.) OK? So I don’t want to hear any stupidity about “open borders” or any of that fallacious nonsense. It’s not an all-or-nothing situation. You don’t need to convince me that illegal immigration is bad; I agree. Are we clear?

Now then. There’s been a lot of screaming going on around the blogosphere and talk radio (or so I’ve read) about President Bush supposedly disparaging opponents of the immigration bill, and about Linda Chavez’ recent column (thanks to raz0r for the tip on that one). There’s been a whole lot of anger spewed by people whenever someone points out the fact that there ARE SOME elements on the pro-security/enforcement side who ARE bigots. I’m sorry, but there ARE. It’s those people who are starting to define our side, because their words are the loudest. It’s no wonder Linda Chavez writes things like:

Some people just don’t like Mexicans — or anyone else from south of the border. They think Latinos are freeloaders and welfare cheats who are too lazy to learn English. They think Latinos have too many babies, and that Latino kids will dumb down our schools. They think Latinos are dirty, diseased, indolent and more prone to criminal behavior. They think Latinos are just too different from us ever to become real Americans.

No amount of hard, empirical evidence to the contrary, and no amount of reasoned argument or appeals to decency and fairness, will convince this small group of Americans — fewer than 10 percent of the general population, at most — otherwise. Unfortunately, among this group is a fair number of Republican members of Congress, almost all influential conservative talk radio hosts, some cable news anchors — most prominently, Lou Dobbs — and a handful of public policy “experts” at organizations such as the Center for Immigration Studies, the Federation for American Immigration Reform, NumbersUSA, in addition to fringe groups like the Minuteman Project.

Nowhere does Chavez say that everyone opposed to illegal immigration is a racist; in fact, as you see, she quite specifically says the opposite. I personally disagree that everyone associated with those she named is a bigot, but they are there, and in far greater proportion than the rest of the population.

Her article, while shocking to some at face value (and containing some things with which I’d disagree), provides the perfect example of the angst surrounding the issue. It explains why President Bush says things like, “That’s empty political rhetoric, trying to frighten our citizens.” And why does it explain this? Well, if you haven’t seen some of the filth spewed in various blogs’ comments, here’s an example–from the comments at Linda Chavez’ article itself. One commenter took a sample:

Real American writes: Wednesday, May, 30, 2007 2:57 PM

LOOK! WE’RE NOT RACISTS! HONEST!

Hey everybody, look! you can see we’re not racists! honest! just look at our comments thus far on this thread as proof that we’re not racists:

“The fact is, 95% of latinos are pigs.”

“They can be referred to as: Human Locusts”

“your correct i believe only 92 % are pigs.”

“one question, do you do windows?”

“why is the country of Mexico such a toilet?”

“Doesn’t matter if they are rich or poor. They spit continually, throw their paper and trash anywhere and everywhere, don’t care about other peoples rights. Most latinos are thieves and are corrupt”

“I take Ms Chavez is of latino culture, does anyone one know if she is in america legally? The way she words her column would make one think not.”

“get over the fact many of us will stop such as you and the racists like Linda Chavez from making America like the hell hole the Mexicans wallow in”

“Quickly, the fact is that we’re being invaded by an inferior culture. Every person of low quality we import plants a family-tree that bears low-quality fruit. The rotten fruit of that tree will rot our own fruit.”

“The Mexicans getting dumped on us are the worst of a corrupt, dysfunctional nation; they’re thieves and criminals the second that they cross our borders.

“Every Mexican who comes here makes America worse, and this article is proof of it.”

“How dare you call us racists when ILLEGAL ALIENS move 20 or 30 into a single family home next door to us and lower our property values. ”

“If Linda thinks Mexicans are so great, then why doesn’t she move to Mexico? ”

“DO have too many babies (paid for OTHER PEOPLES MONEY). DO bring in disease ( T.B. anyone????). ARE PRONE TO CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR,(look at the outstanding warrants in L.A. and Ca. prison population, MS13 gangs..). DO dumb down our schools, CHECK THE STATS, (2nd and 3rd generation aren’t even advancing).”

“most Mexicans, especially men, are lazy good for nothing drunks who only care about sacking as many mujeres that they can.”

That’s the kind of “Latino fear and loathing” she’s talking about. It makes me ashamed to be on the same side of the immigration issue as they are. In fact, it makes me question my own position. I’m not known for being particularly open to changing my mind about anything, either. At the very least, you may have noticed that I have a whole lot less to say about the issue than many (most?) other conservative bloggers because I do not want my motives questioned, and especially because I do NOT want to invite the anti-Latino bigots to comment here. I’ve said it before–that kind of crap is off-limits here.

I keep hearing people throw around statistics about how many Americans want this or that regarding illegal immigration. OK, fine. I just can’t help but think if I–a blogger who doesn’t usually hold back what I think and who is firm in my opinions–won’t be bothered to advocate for immigration reform, neither will all those x percent of Americans who also want immigration reform. You wonder why Mitch McConnell thinks nobody will lose their seats over this? I hate to break it to the world, but bloggers and blog readers do not make up the bulk of the voting population. If the loud-mouthed bigots have completely turned me off the issue, I’m certain they’ve turned many, if not most, others off of it.

Why aren’t people screaming as loudly about things like expired visas from other countries? (Fort Dix Six? 9/11 hijackers?) Why are so few talking about the ease with which people who aren’t looking for work can travel from Canada? Is this really about national security, or is it about our “cultural identity,” as some say? (I wonder, what is our “cultural identity?” Are the “cultural identity” people going to tell the 30 percent of non-European-white American citizens that they aren’t really Americans?)

Wouldn’t you rather have people who aren’t tossing out filth (like the comments above from Townhall, not to mention quite a few other blogs) making the argument for immigration reform? Yes? Then please, shut these clowns up. They are NOT helping.

UPDATE: Added link to Hot Air in the second paragraph.

Shocker! Immigration Bill Isn’t Popular Among Right-Wing Bloggers

Tags: illegal immigration, immigration

John Hawkins (Right Wing News) polled a bunch of wingnut bloggers (including yours truly) about the immigration bill, and has the results posted.

STFU, that one vote advocating passage of the bill was NOT me, you bastages (I’m lookin’ at you, Bart, Amish, and Entropy). :heehee:
Still, major kudos to the blogger who voted yes on that one–that’s the kind of Kool-Aid I can only aspire to serving! (Seriously, my compliments. I’m a big fan of Kool-Aid, as y’all know. Not kidding.)

Most unsurprising survey result*: 97% of respondents said that the best Mexican food comes from Taco Bell. Silly gringos.

ro memorial day

ro does not post memorial day. ro does not honor hegemonic american imperialism.

ro post after memorial day, ro’s memorial day poem:

dead
dead dead dead
655,000 iraqi freedom fighters dead
all dead dying dead blood
blood to feed the bush of death
killing the dead
flags flying
oppressive flag oppressing the oppressor’s oppressed
perkin’s restaurant
hungry always hungry
giant american flag
oppressing me
can’t get super breakfast combo with
oppressive giant american flag oppressing me with its hateful gaze
crave sustenance
hugo save us
fidel is dying dead dying death
from the blood of oppression of the
hateful bush flag of oppression
killing them all
all people die from bush
except me
i thrive on bush
wet hairy bush
crave sustenance w/o the calories

Sooper-Seekrit Message to Mitt Romney

Tags: 2008, election, Republicans, GOP, Mitt Romney

Hi, Mitt Romney. I like you. I think you seem like a good man, as President Bush would say. I haven’t decided who’s my definite “favorite” among y’all yet (except for Ron Paul, who’s a joke); I’m still pretty open-minded, at least for me, anyway.

Can I be overly-familiar for a second and just give you a little tip?

I really can’t stand the commercials you’ve been running on Fox News lately. Like this one. ARGH.

The message is right, although I don’t know if the yelling (ok, “forceful speaking,” whatever you call it) comes naturally to you, but it doesn’t sound like it. Dude, you sound better when your voice is relaxed. The yelling? It sounds fake, fake, fake. Stop it. Just stop it. I mean unless you’re actually pissed off about something–then you can yell. But only then. Some people can pull off that political shouting thing, but Mitt? It’s not you.

This ad? Much, much better. No yelling. Get it?

Internet Explorer is the Effing Antichrist

KILLLLL MEEEEEE

Pardon my American for just a second here, but maybe I need to just start coding for IE and pretend that no other browsers exist. Goddamn piece o’shi’ite farking farked up shi’itenozzle browser!!! Thank you, Bill Gates, for reminding me that I am most certainly NOT Dan Cederholm/Simon Collison/[insert web design master here] (like I farking needed reminding?!). F–k you.

:1guns: INTERNET EXPLORER MUST DIE!!!! :1guns:

I should note that my mood is most definitely NOT helped by the fact that I’ve had to reboot motherfarking Windoze three times tonight. Here I come, Ubuntu (Apple, if I had the big bucks). GRRRRRRRRR!

:fist:

Tags: IE, internet explorer, browsers, css, shi’ite

(And did I mention I’ve had to re-do this post a couple times, too? Thanks, Windows!)

WWPD?

What Will Pelosi Do?

WASHINGTON — Democrats controlling the House of Representatives demonstrated this month the hollowness of their claim that they have ended the corruption of 12 Republican years. Rep. John Murtha quietly slipped into the Intelligence authorization bill two earmarks costing taxpayers $5.5 million. The beneficiary was a contractor headquartered in Murtha’s hometown of Johnstown, Pa., whose executives have been generous political contributors to the powerful 17-term congressman.

I suspect she’ll do absolutely nothing. But it sounds un peu…Abramoffesque, non?

Exit question: If Murtha were a Republican, would this story be getting more MSM traction?

Memorial Day 2007

Tags: Memorial Day

Dave in Texas has all you need to read this Memorial Day. OK, maybe not ALL you need to read, but that’s where I’m sending you today.

Honor our national heroes today and every day. Please visit the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund and do what you can to support the families of those who gave all. It’s the very least you can do, and really, compared to the sacrifices they’ve made, it’s not so much an act of charity as it is an obligation.

The Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund is a leader in supporting the men and women of the Armed Forces and their families. Begun in 2000 under the auspices of the Intrepid Museum Foundation, and established as an independent not-for-profit organization in 2003, the Fund has provided close to $60 million in support for the families of military personnel lost in service to our nation, and for severely wounded military personnel and veterans. These efforts are funded entirely with donations from the public, and hundreds of thousands of individuals have contributed to the Fund. 100% of contributions raised by the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund go towards these programs; all administrative expenses are underwritten by the Fund’s Trustees.

To those who serve: THANK YOU. As a veteran, I am proud and humbled to be associated with you through service. I pray that I am worthy of your service and that of my fellow veterans.

Freedom Is Not Free - Kelly Strong

I watched the flag pass by one day.
It fluttered in the breeze.
A young Marine saluted it,
and then he stood at ease.
I looked at him in uniform
So young, so tall, so proud,
He’d stand out in any crowd.
I thought how many men like him
Had fallen through the years.
How many died on foreign soil?
How many mothers’ tears?
How many pilots’ planes shot down?
How many died at sea?
How many foxholes were soldiers’ graves?
No, freedom isn’t free.

I heard the sound of TAPS one night,
When everything was still
I listened to the bugler play
And felt a sudden chill.
I wondered just how many times
That TAPS had meant “Amen,”
When a flag had draped a coffin
Of a brother or a friend.
I thought of all the children,
Of the mothers and the wives,
Of fathers, sons and husbands
With interrupted lives.
I thought about a graveyard
At the bottom of the sea
Of unmarked graves in Arlington.
No, freedom isn’t free.

President Bush’s Memorial Day Weekend Radio Address

Tags: Memorial Day, Bush

President George W. Bush bids farewell to members of the Rolling Thunder motorcycle organization, as they drive away from the South Portico of the White House following their visit Sunday, May 27, 2007. Rolling Thunder, founded by a group of Vietnam veterans in 1987, marks its 20th year of supporting U.S. troops overseas, at home and missing in action. White House photo by Joyce Boghosian.

Transcript of the radio address below the fold; be sure to read more about Marine Sergeant David R. Christoff, Jr., whom he talks about in the radio address.

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. This Memorial Day weekend, Americans honor those who have given their lives in service to our Nation. As we pay tribute to the brave men and women who died for our freedom, we also honor those who are defending our liberties around the world today.

On Wednesday, I met with some of the courageous young men and women who will soon take their place in the defense of our Nation: the graduating class of the United States Coast Guard Academy. Since its inception, the Coast Guard has patrolled and protected America’s shores. And in this time of war, the Coast Guard has assumed new responsibilities to defend our Nation against terrorist infiltration and help stop new attacks. I was proud to stand with the Class of 2007 and thank them for their bold decision to wear the uniform.

The men and women of the Coast Guard are fighting alongside soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines who have also volunteered to protect America. We live in freedom because patriots such as these are willing to serve, and many have given their lives in defense of our Nation. On Monday, I will lay a wreath at Arlington National Cemetery to honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in their country’s cause.

One of those who gave his life was Sergeant David Christoff, Jr., of Rossford, Ohio. The day after the attacks of September the 11th, David walked into a recruiting station to become a United States Marine. Asked why he made the decision to serve, David said: “I don’t want my brother and sister to live in fear.” David eventually deployed to Iraq, where he fought street by street in the battle of Fallujah and earned a Purple Heart for wounds suffered in action.

While on leave back home, David learned his company was headed for combat in Afghanistan. But he knew there was also a job to finish in Iraq. So he asked to be reassigned to a unit headed for Iraq, and last May he died in Anbar province where the Marines are taking the fight to al Qaeda. When his family received his belongings, his mother and his father each found a letter from David. He asked that they pray for his fellow Marines and all those still serving overseas.

On Memorial Day, our Nation honors Sergeant Christoff’s final request. We pray for our men and women serving in harm’s way. We pray for their safe return. And we pray for their families and loved ones, who also serve our country with their support and sacrifice.

On Memorial Day, we rededicate ourselves to freedom’s cause. In Iraq and Afghanistan, millions have shown their desire to be free. We are determined to help them secure their liberty. Our troops are helping them build democracies that respect the rights of their people, uphold the rule of law, and fight extremists alongside America in the war on terror. With the valor and determination of our men and women in uniform, I am confident that we will succeed and leave a world that is safer and more peaceful for our children and grandchildren.

On Memorial Day, we also pay tribute to Americans from every generation who have given their lives for our freedom. From Valley Forge to Vietnam, from Kuwait to Kandahar, from Berlin to Baghdad, brave men and women have given up their own futures so that others might have a future of freedom. Because of their sacrifice, millions here and around the world enjoy the blessings of liberty. And wherever these patriots rest, we offer them the respect and gratitude of our Nation.

Thank you for listening.

Marine SGT David Christoff Jr.

You Are Not Forgotten

Tags: Memorial Day, POW/MIA, Rolling Thunder

POW-MIA

According to Jerry Jennings, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, there are 1,936 Americans unaccounted for in the Vietnam War; 1,806 from the Korean War; and 120 from the Cold War.

And from the Gulf War, Captain Scott Speicher. From Operation Iraqi Freedom, PFC Matt Maupin.

YOU ARE NOT FORGOTTEN.

Record Turnout Marks Rolling Thunder Ride’s 20th Anniversary
Rolling Thunder website
Remains of another four US servicemembers handed over from Vietnam, April 21, 2007. (Via)
POW/MIA Network - includes biographies of POWs and MIA servicemembers; also a transcript of the East German propaganda film Pilots in Pajamas (includes then-LCDR John McCain)
Task Force Omega (history, more bios, also a book of bios)
Wild Thing’s POW/MIA Page (more military tribute pages here!)
GreasyOnline (esp. see Legislative Issues)
Thick Luck: The Search for America’s POWs and MIAs
Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) (see News)
Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office

Play Video

President Greets Motorcycle Group

Associated Press - (APTN)

May. 27, 2007. 02:39 PM EST

Leaders of Rolling Thunder, the motorcycling group that raises awareness about missing veterans, roared right up the driveway of the White House on Sunday.(May 27)

National Memorial Day Concert

Might as well watch it while PBS still broadcasts it. Eventually, it’ll be deemed too politically incorrect for them.

The 2007 NATIONAL MEMORIAL DAY CONCERT airs live on PBS from the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol on Sunday, May 27, 2007 from 8:00 to 9:30 p.m. ET (check local listings).

[video link]

PBS Memorial Day Concert page

2008 Presidential Straw Poll - take it here

Tags: straw poll, polls, Ron Paul, Democrats, Republicans, elections, 2008

Want the poll on your site? Get it here.

(I’m sure you can tell why I’m posting this one.) :twisted:

Why should I support Ron Paul?

*tick* *tick* *tick* *tick*

Don’t mind me–I’m not really asking. REALLY, I AM NOT ASKING, because I know what he stands for. I’m just inviting the Ron Paul Technorati and Google hits. ;)

Kinda like here (haha), and like Mortman did. Check out the comments, too! My favorite:

Ron Paul in ‘88 (Century optional)

HA!

Let’s see how many times one of the Paultards tries to drop a Ron Paul link in the comments, shall we? (By the way, comments from n00bs here are moderated, and I’m not gonna sit here and babysit the moderation queue. Be patient.)

Hey, Ron Paul supporters: You’ll want to read this, too. (Or at least you silly clueless liberals who support Ron Paul will.)

You know, it occurred to me–if we had the internets when Lyndon LaRouche used to run for President, we’d have seen the same effect we have with the Ron Paul supporters, with a relatively miniscule group of bug-eyed fanatics trolling the internets. Lyndon LaRouche, people. Or more accurately, John Birch kooks. NWO lunatics.

Oh, wait! I know, I’ll flash a symbol at them, like garlic to vampires!

[zionist crusader]

UPDATE, 12:38 pm: My traffic counter confirms the theory.

Cancer Sucks

Tags: cancer, health, medical

Well, duh, right? Cancer does suck. Not to worry, I’m fine, but it wasn’t always that way. I’m sure everyone knows someone who’s had “the big C,” too, whether they survived or not. I’m thankful for every single day–no matter how “bad” things seem with whatever, I know now what’s really important. Cancer survivors know exactly what I mean by that.

Anyway, let’s do something about it. GM Roper, also a cancer survivor, has started An Army of Bloggers:

Cancer is no respecter of race, religion, social status, income or profession. It is an insidious disease that robs people of a quality of life and too often, of life itself. This blog has one purpose, and one purpose only, to enroll as many bloggers in An Army Of Bloggers as possible and to encourage them to make an annual contribution to fighting cancer. The Rules for membership are simple, put the logo and blogroll on your blog, send a donation to a cancer program of any kind and post about it. It would be helpful if you write in the “memo field” of your check the following “Donated By The Army Of Bloggers.” Help spread the word, help beat this s.o.b. into the ground. If you are a blogger, join the blogroll and make a donation. Leave a comment too if you would be so kind as to whom you donated to. Please leave the address and name of the charity in your comment (you don’t need to name the amount). If you are not a blogger, but read blogs you too can help by leaving a comment with a notation of name and address of your cancer charity of choice. Please, if everyone helps this disease can eventually be whipped.

I am SO in. So are these people, so far (hey, it’s a small list because it’s new):

I will be supporting brain and spinal cord tumor research by donating to CORD and The Brain Tumor Society. Compared to many other kinds of cancer, not a lot of attention or money goes toward research because of its relative rarity–believe me, I know. I was just one of the lucky few for whom chemotherapy worked, even though nobody could really tell for sure at the time whether my treatments would work at all.

Anyway, this isn’t about me; this is about those who follow. Please do pick a charity and join us in fighting cancer!