Lies about tea party come true in Wisconsin
The public-sector union protests continue in Wisconsin and other Midwestern states. James Taranto,who writes the Best of the Web Today column at WSJ.com, finds it “quite striking the way almost every lie the left ever told about the Tea Party has turned out to be true of the government unionists in Wisconsin and their supporters:
• Extreme rhetoric. The Wisconsin Republican Party has produced what Mediaite.org calls an “incredibly effective” video juxtaposing liberal complaints about allegedly extremist Tea Party rhetoric with unionist signs likening Gov. Walker to Hitler and other dictators. Left-wing journalists are making similar invidious comparisons: “Workers Toppled a Dictator in Egypt, but Might Be Silenced in Wisconsin” read the headline of a Washington Post column by Harold Meyerson last week. The other day on CNN we saw scenes of a Madison crowd chanting, “Kill the bill” — which was said to be violent and invidious a year ago, when “the bill” was ObamaCare.
• Violence. Blogress Ann Althouse, a state employee based in Madison, posted a video of municipal salt trucks blowing their horns in support of the unionists. A YouTube commenter responded (quoting verbatim), “whoever video taped this has no life and should be shot in the head.” Unlike Frances Fox Piven, Althouse has never advocated violence, but don’t expect the Times to give this the kind of coverage it gave Piven’s claims that she had received threatening emails.
• Partisan AstroTurf. That’s the Beltway term referring to a fake grassroots movement. Politico reported last week that “the Democratic National Committee’s Organizing for America arm — the remnant of the 2008 Obama campaign — is playing an active role in organizing protests.” A blogger at the OFA website, BarackObama.com, writes: “To our allies in the labor movement, to our brothers and sisters in public work, we stand with you, and we stand strong.” …
• Refusal to accept election results. Although Republicans have a majority in the Wisconsin Senate, Democrats have fled the state, taking advantage of the body’s rules to deny the majority a quorum. The Indianapolis Star reports that Democrats from the Indiana House are employing the same tactic. Even Barack Obama, when he was an Illinois senator, usually voted “present.”
• Stupidity. Remember “Teabonics,” a photo album of misspelled Tea Party signs? The unionists can’t spell any better — and some of them are teachers! Althouse got one photo of what we think is a woman holding a sign that reads ” ‘Open for business’ = Closed for Negotiatins [sic].” Also, some of the teachers’ tactics — in particular, fraudulently calling in sick and exploiting other people’s children by enlisting them as protesters — seem not only unethical but calculated to repel the public. One blessing of low standards for public school teachers is that it ensures many of them are not bright enough to stage an effective protest.
The one exception: So far we haven’t seen any evidence of racism by the Wisconsin unionists. But we’re watching for it.
If only the tea partyers had been accused of getting fake doctor’s notes to excuse their absence from their (private-sector) jobs, it’d be a total match.
The tea party movement didn’t suffer much from the false accusations against it. Will the union protesters’ cause suffer because they’ve actually done these things?
– By Kyle Wingfield
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169 comments Add your comment
John Galt
February 23rd, 2011
2:33 pm
“purely fair in its outcomes when left to run according to its own internal logic: i.e. the free market.”
What exactly is purely fair? Are you defining equal outcomes as what is fair?
Please expand upon this statement.
Pdentgrou
February 23rd, 2011
2:42 pm
King George, you obviously were talking to people that go to “diploma mills”, and are doing nothing to further this discussion with your huge fallacious argument. A Master’s in Education, from a University, requires more than what you are talking about. And a PhD in education requires a thesis with statistical analysis. That doesn’t sound pedestrian.
Plus, you totally lose all of the argument with the homosexual bit. It makes you sound like somebody that shuns education, which cripples the education system.
Port O'John
February 23rd, 2011
2:48 pm
Hey Kyle — still waiting for your critical review of GOP Governors. You couldn’t wait to jump on new democratic governors a few weeks ago and you said there “was plenty of time” to look at the new GOP governors — but since then,, nothing.
Could it be that you are just another partisan hack with a keyboard?
Remember, partisanship is an IQ test. If you still believe in democrats, republicans, libertarians, the green party or the tea-part, you failed the test. Sorry Kyle. Its not looking good for you.
Linda
February 23rd, 2011
3:17 pm
I’ve been reading over the comments. What is blatantly missing is anyone discussing the rights of the children, the students, the rights to the best teachers, those who show up, who do not go on strike, those that place the interests of the students above theirs, who do not lie by calling in sick, those that don’t drag their students to the protests, those who don’t cause entire school districts to be shut down & others to be disrupted, those who don’t cause practice & sporting events to be canceled, those who do not cause their students’ parents to miss work & get fired for doing so, those who do not accept excuses at protests from doctors committing fraud, etc.
As union members protested for their “rights,” to obtain sympathy for their “cause, they caused the rights of the most vulnerable to be abused.
Rasmussen poll, 2/19/11:
support Walker 48%
support unions 38%
get out much?
February 23rd, 2011
3:30 pm
Linda, Gov. Walker doesn’t want the best, he wants the cheapest.
Linda
February 23rd, 2011
3:43 pm
get@3:30, Walker & the Wis. legislature are not:
reducing wages,
firing expensive teachers & hiring cheaper teachers, nor
taking away collective bargaining rights for wages.
James West
February 23rd, 2011
3:50 pm
Have you people heard about this. I reporter called Governor Walker pretending to be one of the Koch brothers. Of course, walker took the call, and told the person who he believed was his benefactor that he planned on LYING to get the 14 Democratic state senators to come back to Wisconsin.
In his conversation with “Koch”, Walker’s scheme was to pretend to be interested in talking with them with the promise that he would negotiate and that a vote would not/could not be held. Of course, it would be a lie, and with them in his office, the idea is that vote would be held under a technicality having to do with the Senators being in the building.
Walker also said that he explored planting some “troublemakers” among the protesters, but didn’t do it because he didn’t think it would be very effective.
This conversation reinforces what we already knew:
1. Walker is a liar.
2. Walker can’t be trusted as far as you can spit him.
3. Walker is wholly-owned by big, big money.
4. Assuming that it’s illegal for a political figure to “plant troublemakers” in a protest, Walker is a would be crook.
Enjoy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBnSv3a6Nh4
get out much?
February 23rd, 2011
3:56 pm
Linda@3:43 – I had to disappoint you but pay cuts are exactly what the Governor and the legislature asked for (and the unions agreed to those). What they are not agreeing to is giving up their collective bargaining rights.
Dr. Pangloss
February 23rd, 2011
3:59 pm
In which universe were any of these comments lies about the Tea Partiers? Did Kyle not see the video of the Rand Paul supporter stomping on a woman’s head? Did he not hear Sarah Palin’s supporters chanting, “Kill him! Kill him!”? Him being then-candidate Obama. How about the creeps who took loaded guns to Obama’s rallies? Ever heard of the birthers, Kyle? Or the people who somehow imagine that ACORN rigged the election?
Linda
February 23rd, 2011
4:12 pm
get@3:56, You are misinformed. Employees were asked to increase contributions to their pensions from .2% to 5.8% & to their health care from 4-6% to 12.6%. Their wages remain the same, although their net will be reduced, except their union dues will not longer be deducted from their paychecks. They can maintain their collective bargaining rights for wages but not for benefits because there is no money to bargain for.
John Galt
February 23rd, 2011
4:21 pm
Linda, to them that is a pay cut. That is the only way they can look at it.
Yet if your taxes go up, you better not call that a pay cut!
Linda
February 23rd, 2011
4:49 pm
What is incredible about Wis. is that it was once one of the most prominent union strongholds in the country & it has voted for the Dem. presidential nominee in the last 6 elections.
What happened?
During the 2010 election, the crowd was the biggest turnout that Wis. had seen for any vote in a decade. The voters elected a Rep. governor & flipped both statehouses from Dem. to Rep. They got rid of Dem. Senator Feingold who they had elected since ‘93 for a Rep. businessman who had no prior political experience. They voted in Reps. for 2 previously Dem.-held US house seats, creating a 5-3 Rep. house delegation.
Rep. Paul Ryan, Republican, is now head of the House Ways & Means Com. Even the new head of the RNC, Reince Priebus, hales from Wis.
Wis. voted overwhelmingly for Obama. Wis. is Ground Zero for the ‘12 pres. election. It has been said, that if he looses Wis., he won’t win re-election.
Wis. voted more in the direction of Republicans than any other state in the country in the 2010 elections.
The duly elected governor, who won by a 52% majority, is trying to balance its budget, with protests partially organized & financed by the DNC & Obama’s Organizing for America, whose platform is to keep spending.
Meanwhile, the Wis. Dem. senators are mulling over the Rule of Law at the Holiday Inn in Ill., a state whose businesses are on their way to Wis., thanks to Wis. cutting taxes & Ill. raising taxes.
Meanwhile, unions are a acting like unions, public “servants” are acting like mobs & teachers are acting like children.
Linda
February 23rd, 2011
4:56 pm
One more thing. While the teachers were protesting in the streets, parents were staying home due to school closings, Dem. senators were taking holidays at the Holiday Inn & doctors were writing “excuses” in the streets, Republicans senators were still working for They, the People.
Recommended reading for Dems.: How to Win Friends & Influence People.
Marko
February 23rd, 2011
4:58 pm
I guess this is the OTHER Tea Party. The one that likes oppressive governments that take away working American’s freedoms.
Left wing management
February 23rd, 2011
5:08 pm
Linda : “Dem. senators were taking holidays at the Holiday Inn & doctors were writing “excuses” in the streets … ”
The way you keep harping on this I’m starting to wonder if this aspect isn’t the part of it that upsets you most. Why is that Linda? Didn’t you take field trips when you were in school?
A Frank Zappa
February 23rd, 2011
5:10 pm
Talk about lies. It appears as though it is Walker that got caught red-handed in that telephone conversation, Kyle. Have a Koch and a Kyle.
Left wing management
February 23rd, 2011
5:20 pm
John Galt: “What exactly is purely fair? Are you defining equal outcomes as what is fair? ”
What I was arguing is that equality of opportunity, not outcome, is guaranteed, but the market only makes sense when there’s a sense of justice in it. When that is lacking, problems ensue.
When you have a group of 13 hedge fund managers making $1+ billion in a single year, exploiting a tax loophole to pocket even more to boot, and then people start talking about public workers of all people as greedy, you know there’s a problem.
More generally though I was saying that you seem to think that because there’s no such thing as ensuring a “fair” outcome (in the sense of equal outcomes) that therefore any attempt to intervene and ensure a system with more fair outcomes is doomed to failure or is grotesque on principle. That assumption is false. Just as there’s no such thing as a “pure and fair” system, there is likewise no such thing as a “purely objective” system where any supervision by a government or whatever is removed and where the rules of the game work their way out naturally and purely. That, I claim, is a fantasy.
Libby
February 23rd, 2011
5:25 pm
Unions are run by communists. Period.
Obamunista asesino profesional
February 23rd, 2011
5:30 pm
Thanks for the check Mr. Soros.
Left wing management
February 23rd, 2011
5:33 pm
Libby: Unions are run by communists.
Aw. Your little town ways feel threatened?
Obamunista asesino profesional
February 23rd, 2011
5:37 pm
Georgie’s New Vurld Order : You will assimilated or ve vill crush you.
Ed Schultz and U.S. Rep. David Wu need to get a room.
BTW – It took our moron President nine days to speak in public about Libya. He jumped right in for Egypt. Why the delay? It must be the Koch brothers oil somehow.
Brain
February 23rd, 2011
5:46 pm
Communists like Ronald Reagan and John Smoltz, by damn!!!!!
You want a glimpse into what life was like before unions? Read “Meet You in Hell” – the story of how Carnegie, Frick and the Robber Barons amassed fortunes literally on the backs of helpless workers.
I’m not a big union fan. I’ve never been in one and am troubled by their almost singular devotion to survival, rather than to their membership. However, if you think we live in some enlightened society in which , left unchecked, corporations would simply shower us with benevolence then you haven’t been awake for the last 30 years.
I’m a fiscal conservative like some on here who have made valid points about unions and markets. However, the second we think our society, governance model and national debate is best served by only the conservative or liberal viewpoint prevailing, we’re done. Liberals freed us from the oppressive hand of the English Crown. Liberals granted women the right to vote. Liberals objected to the practice of slavery and to institutional racism.
Conservatives beat the Soviets and got us out of Vietnam. Conservatives helped build the financial institutions that, until they became a separate part of our economy and our society – existing completely outside our criminal justice system – fueled one of the greatest economic engines the world has ever known.
Conservatism and liberalism are a perfectly symbiotic pair. Villifiying one or the other destroys what is uniquely American.
Obamunista asesino profesional
February 23rd, 2011
5:54 pm
From the Socialist Party USA’s website:
Democracy in the Streets: Madison Mobilizes to Defeat the Anti-Labor Walker
by Omar Mohamad, Socialist Party of South Central Wisconsin and Billy Wharton, co-chair Socialist Party USA
The mass protests led by public employees unions in Madison, Wisconsin have been presented by some mainstream commentators as a labor’s last stand. They are not. They are a spark, a spark with the potential to create a new protest movement capable of revitalizing our unions, radicalizing student organizing and creating a space for democratic socialist politics. As socialists, we stand steadfastly in solidarity with this protest movement. We pledge to support the immediate goal of blocking Governor Scott Walker’s reactionary and draconian anti-union legislation and the longer-term project of building a serious left-wing political movement in the US.
The full statement is available to read at: http://socialistparty-usa.org/statements/wilabor21911.html
Linda
February 23rd, 2011
6:01 pm
left@5:08, When was the last time I “harped?” Saturday?
When we took field trips, our teachers didn’t lie & call in sick. We were not taken to protests. We had permission from our parents, who were still able to go to work. Our schools were still open.
When we visited the state capitol, we watched the legislators, who were PRESENT, civilly performing their sworn duty of conducting business for We, the People.
My teachers believed in We, the Students, not Them, the Unions. My teachers could spell & perform basic math. They did not dismiss their students. When they dismissed class, it was at the end of the day.
The harp will be played in several other states & in 2012.
Left wing management
February 23rd, 2011
6:02 pm
Brian:
Interesting – and refreshing – post.
Actually though there’s no evidence at all that conservativism “beat the Soviets”? It’s also misleading to say :
“Conservatives helped build the financial institutions that, until they became a separate part of our economy and our society – existing completely outside our criminal justice system – fueled one of the greatest economic engines the world has ever known. ”
What arguably fueled one of the greatest economic engines the world has ever known was the New Deal era social pact – which saw top marginal tax rates in the 90% range for many years during the war and after – where Americans had jobs, a secure future, a decent wage, health care through their employers, generous investment in infrastructure (Interstate Highway System), and rising rates of college attendance (GI Bill). The conservatives were dragged into this kicking and screaming, but they fundamentally didn’t challenge it – until Goldwater drifted ashore.
Conservatism and liberalism are a perfectly symbiotic pair
Great insight – puts you to the front of the line in my book.
You’re also missing a very important element: the deregulation and Wall Street financial mania ushered in by the Democrats under Bill Clinton which set the table for the ravages to follow. A financial system eaten up with speculative corruption and with no real connection to real production in the general economy at all. This attitude of Wall Street first, crumbs for everyone else, is alive and well in the administration of Barack Obama, who seems determined to out-Clinton Clinton (who himself had out-Reaganed Reagan). So it’s in this sense that the two parties are truly symbiotic.
Jimmy Hoffa
February 23rd, 2011
6:14 pm
“Unions are not corrupt and they have no influence in politics.” — Think, “snarky tone”.
Government union goons should be required to explain this to their victims on a per person basis. TSA is awesome and will be even better once they’re unionized.
Unions have “jumped the shark” and America isn’t biting.
Van Jones can try to assemble protests at State capitols around the country, but, when folks see this on their streets or on their TV they tend to get even more pissed at these unions who get so much already and can’t manage their money without scandals. Vannie Baby — Next protest be sure to chant, “Jump The Shark !! Jump The Shark !!”
Jimmy Hoffa
February 23rd, 2011
6:18 pm
From Wiki:
Jumping the shark is an idiom used to denote when a particular production effort has surpassed its relevance and reached a point of decline in quality that it is incapable of recovering from.
Left wing management
February 23rd, 2011
6:21 pm
Linda: “When we took field trips, our teachers didn’t lie & call in sick.”
But they’re not “lying”. Everyone knows where they are.
“We were not taken to protests.” Well maybe you should have been. It would’ve broadened your horizons, sounds like.
“My teachers believed in We, the Students, not Them, the Unions. My teachers could spell & perform basic math. ”
I think the kids in Wisconsin, which is a pretty decently performing state, education-wise – are doing just fine, thank you. Better than their counterparts in right-to-work GA, for what it’s worth.
Linda
February 23rd, 2011
6:22 pm
left@6:02, You must be younger than I am because you seem so imma…never mind.
I hate to be the one to tell you this, but FDR’s policies not only did not get us out of the Great Depression, but prolonged it for years. We didn’t get out of it until WWII began.
Also, FRD repeatedly deceived the American people before Pearl Harbor & is responsible for the deaths of thousands of Americans. His promise to keep American out of foreign wars was a deliberate hoax on the American people, for the purpose in insuring his re-election & enabling him to proceed with his plan of edging the US into war.
If he was such a great guy, why do you think the Constitution was amended after he left office to prevent another president from serving more than two terms?
Jimmy Hoffa
February 23rd, 2011
6:34 pm
Ah yes – That stimulus money sure did the trick…
By Rhonda Cook
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A federal audit questions the handling of millions of dollars awarded the City of Atlanta and the Atlanta Police Department.
The audit of several grants – awarded 2006-2009 – sharply criticizes staffing decisions, the caliber of people assigned to report progress to U.S. Department of Justice and lack of attention to details.
http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/audit-questions-atlantas-ability-850094.html
Linda
February 23rd, 2011
6:38 pm
left@6:21, Teachers calling in sick who are not sick & attending union protests are not lying? That’s the lefties definition of honesty. You make me appreciate my teachers even more.
2/3 of the 8th graders in Wis. public schools can’t read proficiently. Check the Wis. Education Dept. website for details. The statistics are pathetic. Their reading ability has gone up 1 point since ‘98 despite many more increases in money per pupil.
Left wing management
February 23rd, 2011
6:41 pm
Linda : “If he was such a great guy, why do you think the Constitution was amended after he left office to prevent another president from serving more than two terms?”
Change the rules to keep bad presidents from hanging around too long? But elections take care of that just fine, wouldn’t they Linda?
Lies, Statistics and Damn Lies
February 23rd, 2011
6:47 pm
From the New York Times regarding FDR and unionization of government employees –
“Up through the 1950s, unions widely agreed that collective bargaining had no place in government. But starting with Wisconsin in 1959, states began to allow collective bargaining in government. The influx of dues and members quickly changed the union movement’s tune, and collective bargaining in government is now widespread. As a result unions can now insist on laws that serve their interests – at the expense of the common good.”
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2011/02/18/the-first-blow-against-public-employees/fdr-warned-us-about-public-sector-unions
Linda
February 23rd, 2011
7:14 pm
left@6:41, It was much easier in the ’40s, ’50s, ’60s, etc. to deceive the American people. Today, with TV, radio, the internet, etc., only the lefties continue to be deceived.
Left wing management
February 23rd, 2011
8:43 pm
Linda: “It was much easier in the ’40s, ’50s, ’60s, etc. to deceive the American people”
Astounding, Linda, that you’d even make such an assertion given the appalling events of 2003 with mushroom clouds, WMDs, and so forth.
Americans less deceived now than in previous eras? Not a chance. Oh, and that network that bills itself (cynically, mockingly) as “fair and balanced”? Orwell would have a field day.
Linda
February 23rd, 2011
9:29 pm
Left@8;43, Are you speaking of the Dems. in Congress who had the same intelligence as the Reps. & equal responsibility of scrutinizing that intelligence, who spoke vehemently about going to war on the floors of the legislature? Are you saying that Iraq did not have or aspire to have WMDs?
I did not say that Americans are less deceived now than in the previous eras. What I said was that only liberals were.
Why would the American people overwhelmingly watch “that” network, fair & balanced, at an all time increasingly rate, making it the number one cable news network, & why would its shows during both day time & prime time draw a viewership of twice that of all its competitors combined? Want proof? All you need to do is ask.
Astounding? That’s FOX News!
Brain
February 23rd, 2011
9:50 pm
Linda, more ADULTS watch SpongeBob SquarePants than watch FoxNews. Their viewership absolutely PALES in comparison to the network news, but it is somewhat proportionate to the % of Americans who think Obama is a Muslim terrorist born in Indonesia. Shocker, I know.
All that being said, there’s a place for FoxNews as a counterbalance to MSNBC which, aside from Morning Joe, is nothing but a non-stop commercial for the dem-o-rat party.
Let’s not pretend, though, that either extreme among the electorate has any REMOTE grasp on reality, reason or intellect. They’re both bankrupt in all instances.
Brain
February 23rd, 2011
9:53 pm
Linda @ 6:22….
Wow….Just WOW. I rest my case. You are bat$hit crazy.
Real Athens
February 23rd, 2011
10:12 pm
Linda:
“Why would the American people overwhelmingly watch “that” network, fair & balanced, at an all time increasingly rate, making it the number one cable news network, & why would its shows during both day time & prime time draw a viewership of twice that of all its competitors combined? Want proof? All you need to do is ask.
Astounding? That’s FOX News!”
Wrong. You’re the one who has been deceived. Linda wake up. Why do you think Fox always boasts of being “the number one ‘cable news’ network”? Because their viewer numbers pale in comparison to the the networks.
As of January 2011: The top four nightly news shows are:
1) NBC Nightly News – 10.3 Million
2) ABC Nightly News – 8.5 Million
3) CBS Evening News – 6.7 Million
4) The O’Reilly Factor – 3.8 Million
You have been mislead. Nearly THREE TIMES the people watch NBC than O’Reilly. How’s that for overwhelming?
Real Athens
February 23rd, 2011
10:16 pm
Jimmy @ 6:34:
It appears the malfeasance occurred locally in Atlanta and Georgia — not Nationally. Your point?
Left wing management
February 23rd, 2011
10:40 pm
Linda: “I did not say that Americans are less deceived now than in the previous eras. What I said was that only liberals were.”
That’s a peculiar argument and I’m not sure how to respond to it. But, first of all, what is a “liberal” exactly? No, I’m not asking you for a Encylopedia Britannica definition, (In fact I’d rather not hear your opining on this matter.) But I wonder, is a liberal really the cartoon character that you’re painting. I have my doubts.
Anyway, you wrote:
Are you speaking of the Dems. in Congress who had the same intelligence as the Reps. & equal responsibility of scrutinizing that intelligence, who spoke vehemently about going to war on the floors of the legislature?
Is that supposed to end the argument? I think these people were idiots and spineless, craven cowards of the most loathsome sort who – right up to and including Hillary frickin Clinton – should have lost their careers for it. If we had any honor in this country there would have been a mass falling on swords – a collective hari-kari if you will – after this appalling show of cowardice, just as there should have been after the 2008 financial crash, which also was a direct result of human corruption. But hey, why run a sword through yourself when you can just brush yourself off and move on to the next station in your glittering career.
Are you saying that Iraq did not have or aspire to have WMDs?
Yes, that’s what I’m saying.
Why would the American people overwhelmingly watch “that” network, fair & balanced, at an all time increasingly rate, making it the number one cable news network, & why would its shows during both day time & prime time draw a viewership of twice that of all its competitors combined?
Because, as Plato and other thinkers have taught with depressing accuracy, human beings have a passion for stupidity. That’s why, Linda.
Linda
February 23rd, 2011
10:46 pm
Brain@9:50 & 9:53 PM, I could not help but notice that you have been commenting on Kyle’s article that he posted @ 4:56 AM this morning since your first post @ 6:39 AM & are still commenting @ 9:53 PM. Sixteen hours is a rather long time to be blogging, don’t you think?
I appreciate your deep devotion to Sponge Bob Square Pants & your commitment to analyzing the ratings of such a great American cartoon character to Fox News. Personally, I feel that Sponge Bob could have done a much better job of sponging up the oil in the Gulf with his pants than what the Obama administration was able to do with chemicals. What do you think?
If more adults watch Sponge Bob than FOX News, do you have any data to show that those adults might be a little dense, as dense or denser than the oil slick?
I forgive you for your curse word. Orphans don’t always have the same advantages as those of us who had loving parents.
I was also surprised when I learned FDR was not as he seemed.
Linda
February 23rd, 2011
10:55 pm
Real Athens@10:12, You quoted me accurately as saying “cable news networks.” You listed the alphabet media. Don’t you know the difference?
I was comparing FOX to CNN & MSNBC that broadcast other than a couple of hours per day. Get the difference?
Real Athens
February 23rd, 2011
11:06 pm
Linda:
I’d be interested to hear your “opinion” of the difference is between “alphabet media” and cable media.
“Overwhelmingly” more people get their television news from NBC. Period. Your point?
Real Athens
February 23rd, 2011
11:11 pm
Linda: The spill in the Gulf of Mexico was caused by a foreign-based, multi-national corporation. Do you think the U.S. government should have been responsible for bailing them out and using tax dollars to clean up a mess they were wholly responsible for.
Linda
February 23rd, 2011
11:13 pm
Left@10:46, A liberal is someone like you, a left wing, the complete opposite of a fiscal conservative. Liberals & the left will be the demise of our country. Only progressives are worse than liberals & many are one in the same.
If you don’t think Iraq did not have or aspire to have WMDs, you are out of touch with most of the world.
I agree that Americans have a passion for stupidity. That’s why a majority voted for Obama. However, after the passage of the economic stimulus bill, the largest spending bill in the history of the world, Americans woke up & took to the streets & have never stopped protesting the out-of-control spending & debt that has been amassed. They are still awake & watching FOX News.
Real Athens
February 23rd, 2011
11:17 pm
Linda: The chemical that was “sprayed” in the Gulf of Mexico was Corexit. It was applied to the oil slick and at the well head by British Petroleum. FYI: Do you know who makes the chemical Corexit — of which 800,000 gallons were used in the Deepwater Horizon spill?
The Nalco Holding Company, owned by BP and Exxon.
Real Athens
February 23rd, 2011
11:25 pm
Linda:
You can’t rewrite history, try as you might.
“The Troubled Asset Relief Program, commonly referred to as TARP, is a program of the United States government to purchase assets and equity from financial institutions to strengthen its financial sector which was signed into law by U.S. President George W. Bush on October 3, 2008. It was a component of the government’s measures in 2008 to address the subprime mortgage crisis.
As of February 9, 2009, $388 billion had been allotted, and $296 billion spent, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. Among the money committed, includes:
$250 billion to purchase bank equity shares through the Capital Purchase Program ($195 billion spent);
$40 billion to purchase preferred shares of American International Group (AIG), then among the top 10 US companies, through the program for Systemically Significant Failing Institutions ($40 billion spent);
$20 billion to back any losses that the Federal Reserve Bank of New York might incur under the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (none spent);
$40 billion in stock purchases of Citigroup and Bank of America ($20 billion each) through the Targeted Investment Program ($40 billion spent)
$12.5 billion in loan guarantees for Citigroup ($5 billion) and Bank of America ($7.5 billion) through the Asset Guarantee Program (none spent);
$25 billion in loans to automakers and their financing arms through the Automotive Industry Financing Program ($21 billion spent)
How may times do you have to be told: Iraq did not have weapons on mass destruction. Saddam Hussein did have some powerful American friends though.
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB82/
Linda
February 23rd, 2011
11:40 pm
Real@11:06, I’m trying to simplify this as best I can. NBC, ABC & CBS News don’t even come on at the same time as O’Reilly. These news shows come on in the mornings & at night after the local news. During the day, they broadcast soap operas & judge shows, among others. Cable News broadcast news 24/7, except for MSNBC who can’t get sponsors, & therefore must resort to cop shows & prison shows at other times.
I think we have both made our points.
Linda
February 23rd, 2011
11:53 pm
Real@11:11, As far as the Gulf Oil spill, I think that the O adm. did not let a “serious crisis” “go to waste.” The O adm. shut down the Gulf & even after a court order to reopen it, it shut it down again. O’s Interior Dept. has been held in contempt of court & congressional hearings will be taking place. The O adm. will go to any length to prevent the US from exploring, drilling, refining, using our own natural resources. We will be seeing gas prices go to $4, $5, maybe up to $7 per gallon. It’s a conspiracy on all fronts.