The Great "Lie Off"

FOX(R) is picking a fight with Jon Stewart just before he leaves the Daily Show. 

The fools. All they have is their glaringly false "fair and balanced" take on what Stephen Colbert coined as "truthiness", that is, what you feel to be true, not what's supported by any kind of facts.

Stewart also has their number, though. Last night he had this to say about them:

“They purport to want to fix things, but conservatives are not looking to make education more rigorous and informative, or science more empirical or verifiable, or voting more representative, or the government more efficient or effective. They just want all those things to reinforce their partisan ideological conservative viewpoint. Because in their minds, the opposite of ‘bad’ isn’t ‘good.’ The opposite of ‘bad’ is ‘conservative.’ The opposite of ‘wrong’ isn’t ‘right’ — it’s ‘right-wing.’”  - Jon Stewart

Nailed it. Truer words have never been said of the Radical Right Bubble Cult. 

He showed clips of FOX(R) Republican hosts whining and accusing him of deceptively editing videos to make them look like liars. (Projection, anyone?)

So to settle the score, Stewart challenged FOX (R) to a “lie-off”. 

What fun! 

“To start off, here are 50 of yours in a six second Vine,” Stewart said 

 50 Fox News lies in 6 seconds.

“Plenty more where that came from. We only have a 22-minute show,” Stewart added

Once again we learn the fundamental truth famously proclaimed back in 2006 at a failed President's White House Correspondents Dinner . 

"Reality has a well-known liberal bias." -  Stephen Colbert

Sniping Crybabies

First point. Clint Eastwood has won the Academy Award, just not this year. He won an Oscar each for Unforgiven and Million Dollar Baby.

It wasn’t enough that “Hollywood liberals” nominated Eastwood’s film American Sniper for best film, and in several other categories as well. It even won an Oscar for sound editing.

But who cares? “Good American” con-servatives are pissed off. (Yeah, what else is new?)

They pouted and whined all over Twitter.

Here are some samples of their classy reactions:

@theacademy can suck a dick really it's rigged! Bradley Cooper deserved his Oscar for playing Chris Kyle & American Sniper gets pimped!

As an American, I feel snubbed by the snubbing of American Sniper for best picture #Oscars2015

American Sniper snubbed. Libtard hollywood cocksuckers. You should be in an ISIS cage. #Oscars2015

American Sniper should've been awarded every oscar it was nominated for because of the sacrifices Chris Kyle gave to our country

The Oscars are a sad joke, very much like our President. So many things are wrong! – Donald Trump

AMERICAN Sniper snubbed by liberal hwood Predictable. #CluelessOscars – Sean Hannity

A great movie American Sniper loses because camel fucking towel headed assholes will get upset the filthy things that they are – William

Yes “William”, along with Hannity and Trump, clearly shows us what kind of assholes really get upset over movies not awarded Best Picture. 

Exception to the Rule

By most indicators, and opinions, our democratic representative republic is on the down slide. As a rule, things aren't getting better for most Americans. Both the Left and Right seem to sense this, but for different reasons, of course.

Those on the Right will say we are being destroyed by “Big Government” regulations, social programs and safety nets. The GOP is now attacking Social Security, food stamps, minimum wage and unemployment compensation. Republicans are pushing to further unleash Wall Street from rules and oversight. Their base is also furious with marriage equality and their perception that we are losing our “values” as a nation.

Democracy and equality seem off their radar as part of those values.

Most Americans disagree, and again, as with the GOP takeover of the House, most Americans voted for a democrat senator. Such are the anti-democratic flaws of gerrymandering and disproportionate representation in both Houses.

Those on the Left say our nation is being destroyed by deregulated capitalism, militarism, militarized law enforcement, and the surveillance state. They see the corporatism built by corporate “personhood” and the dominance of  their “free speech” money. They see corporate written trade agreements becoming law of the land. This has done more for trickle up wealth and off-shore jobs than for the American people. Both parties are playing this game.

The divide and conquer tactics utilized by the economically powerful have been a great success. Both major parties are largely bought and paid for, as a rule.

This brings us to a curious exception to the rule.

Before 9-11 and the fear-mongering behind the “war on terror” shook Americans from reason and judgment, the war on drugs was doing the same damage to our basic freedoms.

Besides the futility and brutality of the war on drugs, we saw the encroachments on civil liberties through “no-knock” laws, passive acceptance of intrusive random drug testing, and more frightening of all, civil asset forfeiture. Law enforcement was granted the power of “legal” piracy. They could take your money and property without proof of wrongdoing. All they had to say was they suspected the money or property was related to drug dealing.

It is an outrage that has nothing to do with justice. That’s what police states do.

So as a rule, the police state is expanding. Now a curious and welcome exception to the rule is unfolding. Voices from diverse perspectives are joining the effort to end the piracy.

Two dozen civil liberties activists, legal specialists and Capitol Hill staffers from across the political spectrum convened Thursday to discuss reforms for civil asset-forfeiture laws, which allow local and state police to take cash and property from Americans without proving a crime has occurred.

Representatives of the Institute for Justice, the American Civil Liberties Union, the American Bar Association, the Cato Institute and the Heritage Foundation, along with congressional staffers from both parties, strategized on possible legislative remedies to curb abuses.

Imagine that. Addressing blatant corruption and injustice by law enforcement has become a common cause.

Now it has come to this:
Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. on Friday barred local and state police from using federal law to seize cash, cars and other property without proving that a crime occurred.

Holder’s action represents the most sweeping check on police power to confiscate personal property since the seizures began three decades ago as part of the war on drugs.

But what about the elected officials?

Last Friday, Sens. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) and Mike Lee (R-Utah), along with Reps. F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wis.) and John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.), signed a letter calling on Holder to end Equitable Sharing.

A rare and stunning glimpse of bi-partisan sanity. 

Take a picture; it won’t last.

Unfortunately states still have asset forfeiture laws. The fact the revenue largely goes to a general fund instead of the law enforcement agencies is some disincentive for abuse.

It’s amazing what can happen when both sides see an issue unclouded by propaganda and corporate PR. This is what real progress looks like.

Republicans Retain Control Of Senate

The expected pattern has held. The opposition party makes the sixth year sweep. No surprise. 

The good news is is to found in the democracy part of the election, ballot proposals. They have met with progressive successes. The best example is voters have overruled the insane drug war by another increment, and legalized cannabis in Oregon and Washington DC.

One thing is clear, if the people want representation they can forget it. They need to get active and do it on their own. The Republicans and Democrats have show us again and again they do not represent the American people. Only the American people can do this now. 

In other news, same old, same old.

The Onion said it far better than the corporate media ever could:

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 Republicans Poised to Retain Control of the Senate

WASHINGTON—With precincts reporting GOP victories in key midterm election races nationwide, Beltway sources confirmed Tuesday that the Republican Party is poised to retain its complete control of the U.S. Senate. “If current polling projections are accurate, it appears as if Republican lawmakers will hold on to power in the Senate chamber and will continue to steer the legislative agenda with little resistance,” political analyst Michael Barone told reporters, noting that the likely election results will preserve the GOP’s singular authority over the direction of the Senate, allowing Republicans to go on stymieing judicial appointments, derailing or neutering any legislation they oppose, and obstructing President Obama at every turn. 

“With the Senate still firmly under their control, Mitch McConnell and his Republican colleagues will persist in refusing to cede an inch of political leverage to their Democratic rivals and will continue blocking Democratic initiatives just as they have been. Yet again, the GOP is in prime position to carry on dictating the course of the upper house of Congress.” Barone went on to say that Republicans would finally relinquish control of the Senate only when Democrats captured the 100 seats they require to govern.

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Hard to argue with that.

Latest Lesson on Free Speech

This seems to be a continuing learning process for those radical enough to believe free speech is not limited to corporate electioneering and lobbying cash. Americans better get with the program. Free speech is not free, and the price for the non-wealthy is steep.

An authoritarian personality, in a St. Louis area police uniform, decided to go after a woman's job because she dared to speak out against police brutality. This is what is seen as a threat to the authoritarian personalities in uniform, apart from being black, of course.  

The cop said she was "entitled" to her "opinion" against police brutality, but was not entitled to her job apparently, 

According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

A woman who criticized police on Twitter says an officer called her boss in an attempt to get her fired, so she filed a formal complaint “to return the favor.”

Leigh Maibes, a real estate agent who tweets under the alias “Short Stack” and has been active on social media during the Ferguson protests, posted a link Wednesday to a YouTube video of a phone conversation with Officer Keith Novara.

It's good to know the corporate police state is on the job suppressing “bad speech” and protecting the interests and "good speech" of those who matter most to a corporate police state.

If you want to know who runs the place, notice the tolerance, and intolerance, to hate or criticism.

Lessons on “Free Speech”

Did you dare to openly disagree with Bush’s invasion of Iraq? You would be accused of hating America and siding with the terrorists. Maybe even appear on a no-fly list.

Dare to protest the Military Industrial Complex and its powerful influence on our government and public policy that Ike warned us about? See above.

Dare to protest the corruption and immunity of Wall Street? Then you WILL be demonized and disparaged as a dirty commie hippy dropout, at the minimum.

So you dare to disagree with corporate person-hood and corporate money corrupting our elections and government?  Too bad. You will be accused of being “anti-free speech” and un-American.

Dare to protest and condemn the theft of land, occupation, and wholesale slaughter of innocents by Israel’s far Right Likud Party? You will be called an “anti-Semite” and maybe “pro-terrorist”.  You may even have the FBI at your door.

Dare to join hundreds of thousands of people demonstrating their concerns about pollution and climate change? Nobody cares. The “liberal media” will ignore all of you.

Hate Obama? Hate paying taxes? Hate liberals? Hate the Federal Government and its constitutional duty to tax for the general welfare and regulate commerce? Join the Koch/FOX (R) Tea Party and let your protest be amplified. Even if only a few dozen show up. You will find corporate PR and corporate media covering, if not cheering, your anger and hate.

If you want to know who runs the place, notice the tolerance, and intolerance, to hate or criticism.

Sarah, the Wise and Experienced Warrior and Stateswoman

Well, well, it looks like Obama has his war after all. Hey, that's what the job calls for. He wanted to be the manager of a militarist corporate surveillance state. 

He's got the perfect bad guys, too, custom made by the catastrophic failures of Bush's invasion of Iraq.

The renegade Islamic State thugs are succeeding in their efforts to draw the US into more war. Kill a couple journalists and let the American corporate media do the rest. “Freak out! NOW!. They’re coming to kill us in our sleep!"

Does anyone remember just before Bush launched his invasion of Iraq? We learned Americans are led to war like sheep. Let me show you how well the brainwashing worked:

Poll: 70% believe Saddam, 9-11 link

Posted 9/6/2003

WASHINGTON (AP) — Nearly seven in 10 Americans believe it is likely that ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was personally involved in the Sept. 11 attacks, says a poll out almost two years after the terrorists' strike against this country.

Sixty-nine percent in a Washington Post poll published Saturday said they believe it is likely the Iraqi leader was personally involved in the attacks carried out by al-Qaeda. A majority of Democrats, Republicans and independents believe it's likely Saddam was involved.

Yes, I'm afraid it CAN happen here. Good Americans are just like the Good Germans of 1939.

Couple that with the strategy that works every time:

All that we have to do is to send two Mujahedin to the farthest point East to raise a piece of cloth on which is written al-Qa’ida in order to make the generals race there to cause America to suffer human economic and political losses without their achieving for it anything of note other than some benefits to their private companies… So we are continuing this policy in bleeding America to the point of bankruptcy. --- Osama bin laden

Remember when the Right used to lecture, "We need to listen to what the enemy says"?

IS learned something from old bin-Laden. The best way to hurt America is to draw it into ANOTHER futile military adventure in Iraq. It wasn't that long ago I predicted, quite easily, of course, an Iraq War III. It was inevitable after Bush’s disastrous war for crony profit and political capital.

Now Americans have been whipped into another frenzy of war fever. Two murdered journalists have stoked the public ire more than thousands of children shot in America. 

Yes, the Islamic State are evil and brutal fanatics. Yes, they need to be stopped. And no, the US isn’t the only country that should act. This is why we have the UN.

But some Americans want another war, and want it now. Perhaps we’d have more military support from other nations if they hadn’t made the mistake of believing the lies of Bush and Cheney the last time around.

So lucky for us, Sarah Palin has some military and foreign policy advice for President Obama, Oh, yes the Twit of the Tundra is sharpening her claws for war.

First thing first. Blame the black guy for the mess Bush created. Blame Obama that IS has seized American made weapons from the feeble Iraqi military that replaced the professional one Bush had dissolved.

Blame the black guy for the Status of Forces Agreement signed by Bush that removed troops from Iraq.

Throw in some far Right propaganda points about Obama “leading from behind”, or hating America,  or whatever toxic swill of hate they love to spew.

Palin knows just who to blame,“The rise of the animalistic terror group, ISIS, is the result of Obama’s lead-from-behind foreign policy.” I guess, this is how hypocrites “support the president” in a time of war.

“He had broadcast his war strategy for all the enemy to see in Iraq, so the enemy could wait us out and strike as soon as America turned tail and turned away from all we’d sacrificed there. Terrorists who we had under control got to regroup and grow after Obama’s premature pull out. Those are the facts, and some tough talking speech is still just talk.”

Yeah, Sarah, never mind the cult of the far Right was just this week accusing Obama of having no strategy. I suppose that would make sense to someone who blames Obama that, “America turned tail and turned away from all we’d sacrificed there”. Again, it was BUSH who signed the agreement to leave, under pressure from Iraqis sick of the occupation. Just blame the black guy, like a good racist, war mongering idiot. The RRBC Radical Right Bubble Cult is full of them.

She fumes, “Terrorists who we had under control got to regroup and grow after Obama’s premature pull out.”  Or would that also be false?

But what about the terrorists we created by invading Iraq? Damn, some of us got that one correct, too. 

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the head of the jihadist terror group was detained without charges by US forces, for reasons unclear, and confined in Camp Bucca. Although he was released into Iraqi custody in 2009, (Before, not after, the  alleged “premature pull out") former inmates of Camp Bucca say the military prison was a training ground for extremism.

Curiously, James Skylar Gerrond, a former US Air Force security forces officer and a compound commander at Camp Bucca in 2006 and 2007, also says that he believes Baghdadi's stay at the prison contributed to his radicalization—or at least bolstered his extremism.

So, Sarah, “Those are the facts, and some tough talking speech is still just talk.”

Yes, America, listen to the tough talking Quitter in Lipstick. She’s the “experienced expert” to guide our nation.

“War is hell. So go big or go home, Mr. President,” exhorts the woman who, AFTER being nominated for vice-president, needed to be taught who we were at war with in WWI and in Korea.

And all those "Good Americans" listen to her.

What. A. Country.