Equating dissent and terrorism

Well, I already knew that Gibson and the New York Post were on the take. It’s becoming clearer that Matthews is as well, or at least he wants to get invited to the same kinds of parties that GOPers go to.

These gasbag remarks are so patently absurd that only someone who is fellating the GOP would make them on public airwaves. If we want to know who the shills are, just keep track of who keeps linking bin Laden’s tape with “liberals.”

The sad truth is that so long as this issue remains solely in the blogosphere, Matthews will never apologize. Ignoring the blogs is a point of pride for these hacks. What we need is an orchestrated Democratic boycott of Matthews’ show by prospective guests.

No wonder they haven’t caught Bin Laden yet.

They want to use all their time talking shit about liberals.

If we had a liberal in the White House, we would have caught Bin Laden already.

These guys aren’t so interested in getting the job done as playing around.

CB, good job catching the ultra-weird example of coordination.

(I shot off this email to Hardball. Not that it will help, but I felt better.)
I’ve been saddened and shocked by what Fox broadcasts. I’m sure history will look at the effort they have made over the past five years to shape public opinion…poorly.

But after reading this morning about what Chris Matthews said on his show, those words in the subject line (Disgraceful, shameful, outlandish) don’t scratch the surface.

Any and all reasonable, honest, mature people would look at a message from Bin Laden and say that this administration is 100% responsible for not capturing him. That this administration is responsible for the dramatic increase in terror attacks world-wide, that this administration, that is using the specious argument that every law they have broken is justified by the lack of an attack on US soil, will unfortunately be 100% responsible if and when another attack comes. (After all, our not eating tiger meat has prevented an attack also. Lucky tigers.)

This administration, and its cronies, its contractors, it CEOs, its campaign contributors, it lobbyists are all much, much richer than they were five years ago. Money from our taxes going almost directly to them. With control of both houses of Congress and unchecked executive power, they have gotten everything they wanted. And we are no safer. Remember Bin Laden – dead or alive? or Mission Accomplished? or even Porter Goss saying that he knew where Bin Laden was?

And you know, Israel and its neighbors agree to truces, and sometimes they don’t hold. But we decry the Arab lands, or Iran for saying Israel and its people should be pushed into the sea and cease to exist. Why don’t we decry Scott McClellan and this administration for saying we won’t stop until every single terrorist is dead? Yes, Osama has hurt us badly, but as badly as enemies in war strike at each other, they sometimes do sit down and agree to a truce. Atrocities occur and still wars end. History is replete with examples.

Who’s responsible for this mess? Not Michael Moore, not John Kerry, not Rep. Murtha. Oh my god. How could anyone look to those people as scapegoats.

Matthews should be taken off of the air, after he apologizes and put on unpaid leave. Until that happens, not only have you lost me as a viewer, but your advertisers have lost me as a potential consumer.

Time for all of us to call their advertisers and complain with something like this:

“You are sponsoring a program that calls me a traitor. I will boycott your products, and encourage everyone else to do the same, until you get these jerks to recognize that free speech isn’t just for blowhards like them, it’s for every American.”

Every single day, call a different advertiser.

Maybe someone would be so kind as to post the contact info, to make this easier to do.

As maddening as all this blather is, when the frothing right wing pundits start larding it on at the same time it’s a pretty good indication of how scared their bosses are.

Remember not long ago when the buzzword du jour was the “criminalization of politics” in reference to Scooter Libby? Somebody, I forget who, made a collage of talking heads all using the same line that got on the Bill Maher show and it instantly showed how ridiculous the whole thing was.

If only someone would do the same now, I bet Bill or Jon Stewart would be glad to give it some air time. How about it, all you clip jockeys out there?

Wait, I thought that “what happens in America, stays in America.” Since when did the terrorists find out only half of America wears cowboy hats? They must be illegally wire-tapping our phones…

Bush is bored with bin Laden, could care less about him. He said so on tape;; Air America replays that tape, some, but should be repeated over and over. Bush and all his cronies have given up the war on terrorists. Instead they’re making war on Democrats. We must not pay attention to these pests. Rather, we must groom candidates to take back at least the House this year.

These scoundrels will not change their stripes. Rove has announced that the November campaign will focus on terrorism. Perhaps there will even be another alert. It is too bad that this fear mongering works so well.

Ed says,

“Bush is bored with bin Laden, could care less about him. He said so on tape;; Air America replays that tape, some, but should be repeated over and over. Bush and all his cronies have given up the war on terrorists. Instead they’re making war on Democrats,” and he’s nailed it.

The only thing the Republicans care about is
staying in office and making themselves richer
and more powerful. Their war is with the Democrats.
They do this by demonizing liberals, then painting
all Democrats as these terrible people. They have
been eminently successful. How many groups can
you think of that are more detested by Americans
than those horrible atheistic, traitorous, pacifistic,
commie, treasonous liberals? Child molestors, maybe
Not even lawyers anymore. And that’s one reason
the Democrats are stampeding to the right. They
know these guys have won. Of course, they want to
board the lobbyist gravy train, too.

How to fight it? I haven’t the foggiest. I think about
it all the time. The real rulers of America are the
rich and powerful corporations and the rich men
who run them and run the government, the press –
for the most part, and the media. How can you
beat that? Americans are just too dumb and gullible
to think critically about what’s going on in their
country. It happened in a mere quarter century.
A stealth revolution that turned us into a rich
man’s dream plutocracy.

But I don’t think they are trying to bully us poor
liberals into submission – they need us to smear
and demonize and slander. I’ve often thought the
best thing all non Republicans could do is join
the Republican Party. Then maybe we could
sneak a few moderates into the government.
Better than what we’ve got now.

People UNDERESTIMATE the Destructive power of Right Wing Talk Radio and Cable TV.

Right Wing Talk Radio is mostly regarded as a Nuisance by Americans of normal intelligence.

But, regrettably, RWTR is far worse than merely a Nuisance.

Consider the following sobering political truth……RWTR has represented the Margin of of “Victory” in the “Republican Revolution” of 1994 and the elections for President of the United States in both 2000 and 2004.

It still amazes me and frustrates me that major companies are not forced to pay a national price for the Lying Filth that they inflict on our national political debate, and the degradation of our political culture that has been the tragic result of their crap.

Limbaugh, Savage, and the rest of ’em are not a Joke !

Nor are the Hundreds of cheap, lying, vermicular life-forms all across the country, slithering over each other in the vipers’ pit vying to be the Next Big Snake.

These individuals do not put themselves on the radio.

Executives put them there !

Managers with zero comprehension of the issues, and an unconscionable indifference to the consequences to the country of the bilge they are broadcasting, inflict RWTR on us in a deliberate effort to cultivate the Dumbest possible audience so they can sell more commercials that they hope will induce their credulous listeners to buy moronic “products”.

After all…if these “Americans” will take Rush seriously, then they will buy these bogus “investment” schemes and Penis Pills too.

The Netroots have been planted and they will blossom and they will be helpful. But they attract an esoteric group of people with well developed critical faculties.

RWTR attracts a MASS AUDIENCE of people who may not have a specific interest in issues or the background knowledge from which to carefully evaluate the merits of the message of Rush etc.

So these people are susceptible en masse to the Rush Crap and they then vote after being hyped up by his superficial PR oriented, and Frank Luntz Focus-Grouped, call to arms.

And this is, of course, the routine with the other national RWTR “hosts”, as well as all the local mice in all the cities of all the states feeding themselves to try to be the next Big Rat !

The Bottom Line for the restoration of sanity and decency to America’s political discussion, is that low-brow, and relentlessly mendacious RWTR must be thoroughly and righteously Discredited for the pernicious social and political toxin that is, and has been, since Newt Gingrich realized its potential to manipulate masses of people back in 1994.

RWTR is Immense in America, and we will not rescue our civic morals unless it is forcefully and relentlessly challenged, exposed and thoroughly discredited.