Did anyone else notice that most of the attendees are elderly? Just where do they think that their Social Security checks and Medicare come from? If it weren't for the federal government, they'd be living in abject poverty. Sometimes, one has to wonder just how stupid some people are...
...Speaking of which, Utah State Senator Mark Madsen (R-What Else?) has backed off a moronic proposal to save the state a few bucks by pairing a proposed holiday honoring Utah gunmaker John Browning with Martin Luther King's birthday. Blaming the media for derailing something that he clearly wanted to do, Madsen lamented not being able to first speak privately with "black leaders." I wish that he had been able to speak with them, if only to know how he could possibly have explained this one. Probably it would have gone along these lines: I had an idea to honor an international icon and a favorite son of Utah...Both made tremendous contributions to individual freedom and individual liberty...Certainly there was a shot that killed Dr. King. [Nice of him to recognize that.] On the other hand, there's been many shots fired from Browning firearms that have saved tens of thousands -- hundreds of thousands -- of American lives. [Somehow, that apparently explains everything.]Alas, he innocently "stumbled into racial politics" through no fault of his own and is now faced with commemorating Browning in tandem with such lesser celebrations as Labor Day, Pioneer Day ("The [LDS] Church doesn't own Pioneer Day," he helpfully explained) or Veteran's Day. So, here it is: Madsen blames a brain dead, offensive proposal that he made on the media and racial politics (read: the Utah NAACP). (This is almost as rich as the time that Texas conservatives proposed pairing MLK's birthday with Confederate Heroes Day.) What this comes down to is a desire by conservatives to diminish King's importance -- and he was arguable the great American of the 20th Century -- by diluting the observance of the memory of a man and a movement that opened the doors of political equality to every disenfranchised group in American society (undocumented immigrants excepted)...
Just Wondering Dept: How would conservatives feel about celebrating Ronald Reagan's birthday simultaneously with that of Bob Marley? I mean, they were born on the same day and Marley was an international icon who made contributions to freedom and liberty...
Let X=X...
Say what?...
Victory Fellowship...
R. I. P., Jim Bibby, a pretty fair country pitcher who tossed the Texas Rangers' first no-hitter and who was a member of the 1979 "We Are Family" World Champion Pittsburgh Pirates. Bibby started three games in that magical postseason to the tune of a 2.08 ERA...
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11 comments:
Yes, I noticed the 'elderly' as I always do. I would normally insist that you call them 'elders' as elderly has a negative connotation while elders implies wisdom that only comes with age. In this case, you are right. They are feeble minded.
I am 69 years old and so embarrassed by them!
Heh, heh! Back from Hawaii and posting away, I see.
Your Tea Party rally was pretty staid, actually. What I've been seeing elsewhere is a strong resemblance between Tea Party crowds and the audience on the Jerry Springer Show. Although the hanging remark from the podium and the "Geld Obama" sign seem to approach the other rallies. But this crowd was a good bit more elderly than the other rallies I've seen.
And Mark Madsen really needs to find a different profession, one that doesn't strain his brain muscle so much.
It's hard for me to take on the Tea Party for racist views after Obama let them off the hook a few months ago. We all can see the racism in it but it's going to go unchecked until something bad happens.
From the political side, I keep watching these rallies and hearing all the speakers but have yet to hear any real ideas or agenda. They don't like spending and they don't like taxes. We had a president for eight years that did nothing but cut taxes and we almost had a depression. I don't know how all these people keep sitting in there and listening to the same thing over and over without anyone explaining what they would do to change it.
Steven: Thanks for making the distinction! I'll pay careful attention in the future. I with you: I would not call these people "elders" as you've defined the word.
Roy: LOL to the Jerry Springer analogy: That's right on the money.
Cliff: I don't think that they care putting a single person back to work. They seem to blame the loss of "their country" on Barack Obama (after a year in office) and what they think of as liberal Big Government. The next time one of them talks about wanting his or her country back, I would like to know exactly what they mean by that: What does their country look like? Similarly, when they profess to be acting out of a love for the Constitution, I'd like to know where all the anger was when Bush & Cheney were trashing it for eight years.
Where were all these fiscal watchdogs when Kennebunkport's village imbecile was digging us a trillion dollar hole in Iraq ? Isn't it coincidental that they've suddenly found their teeth, walkers, poster board and markers now that they have to look at a black president ? I'm thinking in purely cynical capitalistic terms here but how much could you charge for a shot of metamucil at one of these hoedowns ? Welcome back.
K., I always knew you were "good people"! I've been a fan of Laurie Anderson for a long time, seen her live several times - amazing performance art and a terrific musician.
And, hey, I love the Marley idea...let's run it up the flagpole and see who salutes! Betcha some of our most devoted Conservatives would be first to decry the event - isn't it just kinda fun to poke them with a figurative stick? ;)
Rasta: I also wonder where all of these sanctimonious worshipers of the Constitution were when Bush and Cheney were trashing it.
Momma: Thanks! John Hayes of Robert Frost's Banjo wrote that entry.
I can't believe all the crap that I hear from these people!! What are they thinking???? Or is that the problem -- they don't!
You know that I feel exactly as you do and the frustration is overwhelming!! Hope you have a good weekend -- better not turn on the TV or read the news!!
Doh! Too late!
I see the "hanging" speaker was from Clarkston, WA, right across the Snake River from Lewiston, ID. I've been to Clarkston a few times--lunched at a pretty good diner there actually--but made the mistake of looking at the book rack at the Main Street drugstore. This was several years back--probably in the late 90s actually. The book rack was filled with John Birch literature, literature slamming the United Nations in terms of "One World Gov't" etc. At the risk of being offensive to Clarkston residents, I'm not surprised that someone from that town made such an appalling remark. I also think Cliff is right in his suggestion--something bad is going to come of this; of course, the Austin situation has already been called "tea party terrorism," & while the leaders of the movement may object to that, they've left themselves wide open to such a charge.
They will not under any circumstances take responsibility for their own rhetoric. For one thing, they are not responsible people.
The response to the murder of Dr George Tiller (the Kansas abortion provider) went like this: Of course we oppose violence and would never condone the taking of life. We hope that liberals and the liberal don't make something political out of this. Of course, Tiller was a murderer who took thousands of innocent lives, so it's understandable that someone might be upset. Violence is wrong, of course, but at the end of the day Tiller the Killer was still a murderer and will now be unable to end innocent life. Oh, and media coverage of his death was overdone and biased.
Nothing about the history of charged racial rhetoric and right-wing violence in this country suggests that anything good can come of it. Whatever happens, you can bet that the tea baggers and the right as a whole will not only not own up to their role, they'll figure out some way to rationalize the event. It's what they do.
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