Last Sunday, after reading noted GOPer apologist Jason Lewis’ latest rant in the Star Tribune, I posted “Who Is The Whiny 9 Year Old Here?” In it, I wrote: “I’d fact-check Jason, but what’s the point? It’s not like pointing out (once again) that Reagan said “facts are stupid things” and GOPers live it will really change their deceitful ways.”
Well, yesterday – over at MinnPost – Eric Black took a look at Lewis’ rant, too – in a post entitled “Jason Lewis’ wrong and exaggerated arguments about freedom”. And it’s well worth the read — so go read it! Here’s a teaser:
Everything the right likes can be phrased as a form of “freedom,” as in freedom of the rich from paying higher taxes, freedom of corporations from government regulation, freedom to pollute, freedom of those with almost unlimited resources to use those resources to influence elections, freedom of the wealthiest 1 percent to accumulate any damn portion of the society’s wealth and income without shame, freedom to overthrow foreign governments (but only in order to bring freedom to the oppressed of those nations) and a few other important freedoms that you can think of on your own.
(more, here)
One area Eric Black pokes a big hole in Lewis’ rant is the wingnut right’s fixation on “the Founders” and their alleged anti-tax views. Again, Reagan said “Facts are stupid things” and wingnuts like Lewis prove it on a regular basis. That’s why I stuck that picture of ol’ Ben Franklin and that quote up there – ripping “money manipulators”. OK, that quote was probably misattributed to ol’ Ben. Be that as it may, Ben was a wise man indeed and – IMNSHO – would be standing with today’s Occupy Wall Street protestors; protesting today’s dishonest monetary system.
Eric blows a hole in Lewis’ misuse of Federalist #21. I like the following quote from the second paragraph of Federalist #2:
“Nothing is more certain than the indispensable necessity of government, and it is equally undeniable, that whenever and however it is instituted, the people must cede to it some of their natural rights in order to vest it with requisite powers.” — Publius (John Jay), October 31st, 1787
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Only a fool would believe what GOPers say – and what their apologists, like Jason Lewis and Katherine Kersten, write.
Noted GOPer apologist Jason Lewis is simply an example of: “You Couldn’t Trust The GOP Then, You Still Can’t Now, And Tomorrow Won’t Be Any Different.”
(cross posted at MnProgressiveProject.com; comments welcome there)
A while ago, then-GOP National Chair Michael Steele said – and this is an exact quote: “You have absolutely no reason – none – to trust our words or our actions at this point.”
In today’s Star Tribune, noted GOPer apologist Jason Lewis demonstrates this continues to be true. I’d fact-check Jason, but what’s the point? It’s not like pointing out (one again) that Reagan said “facts are stupid things” and GOPers live it will really change their deceitful ways. No, today Jason whipped out something that needs to simply be mocked, ridiculed and scorned: Jason calling the pot black. Here’s what he wrote:
“The glorified mob, from Athens to New York, is threatening social instability if it doesn’t get what it wants (as Chris Christie once pointed out, this trait is also quite prevalent among 9-year-olds), but it will bring about only the economic chaos it pretends to oppose.” (emphasis added)
Earth to Jason; earth to Jason! Republicans gave Wall Street Banksters everything – EVERYTHING – they wanted, and the results is not only the economic chaos we are still in, but driving the world’s economic system to the brink of meltdown.
When reading Lewis, and Kersten too, it’s pretty easy to tell who are the whiny 9 year olds demanding everything they want – it’s the less-regulation/no regulation, “my way or the highway” GOP.
Gentle Readers may recall GOPers – like the whiny, (mentally) 9 year old Lewis – ranting about their belief in “free markets” and “competition” and what wonderful things that “competition” will do for the economy. Well, remember those words while we take a look at the results of their deeds:
Only a fool would believe what GOPers say – and what their apologists, like Jason Lewis and Katherine Kersten, write.
Jason Lewis is simply today’s example of: “You Couldn’t Trust The GOP Then, You Still Can’t Now, And Tomorrow Won’t Be Any Different.”
(cross posted at MnProgressiveProject.com; comments welcome there)
Starting out her column today (entitled “In Wisconsin, mob rule and intimidation”), Kersten compares unions (and supporters of unions) to “Nazi brownshirts.” Way to stay classy, Katy!
Katy quotes a couple o’ TV reports in her column; one of ‘em is Green Bay’s Faux Noise “Fox News” WLUK-TV. No point fiskin’ that; as discussed here, what’s the point?
Katy also quoted a story from Milwaukee’s WTMJ-TV – a NBC affiliate. Here’s what Katy cherrypicked from it:
“Meanwhile, hordes of protesters surged into the Capitol, muscling past police, kicking in doors, damaging windows and shouting “This is democracy looks like!” and “Whose house? Our house!”
Here’s what the story said, but Katy isn’t interested in “facts” – she’s interested in wingnut demagoguery:
Police held their positions at the Capitol for a time after the vote, but more and more protesters found a way in. Police believe some climbed through windows, Donovan said. He initially said protesters broke windows and door handles, but later backed off that statement, saying he wasn’t sure that was true. (emphasis added)
Cop says he isn’t sure reports of broken windows and (as Katy claims )-”kick(ed) in doors” are true; Katy uses story as source and claims it IS true.
Katy uses a source – Milwaukee’s WTMJ-TV – to make a claim, when the source clearly demonstrate Katy is simply makin’ (stuff) up.
Katy should be ashamed, but – as she has clearly demonstrated here and Here and Here and HERE and…. well, I could go on and On and ON….
Kersten has no shame.
That’s why Katy Kersen is today’s example of why reasonable people cannot reasonably believe anything a GOPer says.
Katy is also just another pathetic example of You Couldn’t Trust The GOP Then, You Still Can’t, And Tomorrow Won’t Be Any Different.
(cross posted at MnProgressiveProject.com; comments welcome there)
It’s a shame Politifact.org doesn’t regularly factcheck local rightwingnut newspaper columnists; Katherine Kersten would be a sure bet to give Michele Bachmann a run for the money.
Earlier today, Katie posted this:
“DFLers’ second complaint is that business groups relied on below-the-belt negative advertising. This rings hollow. In 2010, the left threw the first and dirtiest mud ball.
On July 6, Alliance for a Better Minnesota (ABM) — an independent, DFL-allied group funded primarily by public unions and Dayton’s family — launched what was probably the earliest attack ad in Minnesota campaign history, …” (emphasis added)(StarTribune.com)
Wrong-o, Katie-o!!!
“I’ll take dirty politics for $200, Alex.”
by: TwoPuttTommy
Wed Jul 29, 2009 at 21:35:02 PM CDT“Here’s the answer: In 2009, they ran the first negative ad for the 2010 Minnesota elections.”
“Who are FEC Tony and MudSlingerMike?”
“You are correct!”
Smart money was betting that with the election of Tony Sutton and Michael Brodkorb, the GOP was going down and dirtier. So far, those bets look like winners. Over 15 months out, and Sutton and Broadkorb seem bound and determined to make the 2010 elections the nastiest ever. (MnProgressiveProject.com)
Points to whoever can differentiate between that GOPer liar from the 6th district, and that GOPer liar on the Strib Editorial Page.
Bonus points to the first who can name who MudSlingerMike and FEC Tony tossed that first “mud ball” at, back in July of 2009.
Discuss.
(cross posted from MnProgressiveProject.com; comments welcome there)
It seems the Strib disabled “reader comments” under Katie Kersten’s bizarre screed today. Perhaps Strib misManagement knew – just KNEW – that Katie’s ideologically-driven “blame the blacks” ravings would ignite a flame war that even the Strib couldn’t stomach.
Kersten and her ilk hate everything that has to do with government; Kersten specifically has railed about “the nanny state.” In Kersten’s world and among those denizens, the only good government program is a cancelled/eliminated program. Keep that in mind, while you read how Kersten ends her diatribe:
It’s tragic that a small group of black Americans commit such a high percentage of our nation’s violent crime. But until this changes, we’ll continue to have a steady stream of Henry Louis Gates-like incidents. (Strib.com)
Amazing, isn’t it? Oppose every program that could possibly eliminate the problem and cause change (after all, government “is” the problem), but bemoan the lack of change.
Karl Rove would be proud of the fine job Kersten did today in demonstrating the basic principle underlying every single play in today’s GreedOverPrinciples playbook:
“More hate – less tolerance.”
So I’m not going to take the time to fisk the intolerant tripe Kersten serves up today; no one should – Kersten’s insenstive divisiveness speaks for itself.
Instead, I’m recommending everyone should forward that pathetic piece of rightwing rubbish to everyone they know.
Kersten and her clan advocate holding people “responsible” – by forwarding Kersten’s bile, you can hold both her AND her party responsible for the destructive divisiveness they preach.
(crossposted from MnProgressiveProject)
