The Motley Moose - Recommended Diaries

Racebook: Hate on the Web's Most Popular Social Network

fogiv — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 18:47:39 GMT

Below the fold is a collection of fan photos, associated captions, and selected comments from a Facebook group entitled O.B.A.M.A. (One Big Ass Mistake, America).

I'll not be providing any commentary, as this garbage speaks for itself. This isn't pretty, so brace yourselves.

Caption: Everybody thinks that anyone who disagrees with this president is a racist and they are against him and all his new ideas for our country because he's black. But i don't think that is why hard working Americans don't like him the fact that he's black is like the 5th thing wrong with him........If we let him he will destroy the America that we love.... How did Thomas jefferson know when he said Democracy will cease to exsist when when we take from the people that are willing to work and give to the ones who aren't.

Caption:I have to reply to the negro that said i was a redneck, from a red state, far from it pal I'm italian and grew up in brooklyn around flatbush. I'm just saying he is a liar a progressive liberal and a socialist that is tearing apart the fiber of the nation. I believe all these entitlement programs are just reperations to all the coloreds in this country. Your man Obama will ruin this country if we give him a chnace. lets hope we can stop him before it's to late..........

Sol Gross all of us clinging to our guns and religion need to set this nation free

Caption: First Michelle... now us!!!

Benjamin Willen like anything to blacks isn't racist. they get special treatments for their color and they take advantage of that and then as soon as someone makes the slightest remark, "OH HELL NO HE DIDN'T" but can whites complain for even a second that blacks treat whites worse now.

Benjamin Willen there need to be chickens deep fried then we can call it racist. still funny

Kristian Newell bet they got a KFC in there.

Caption: obama baby picture

Sol Gross more like Kenyan Fried Chicken

Christian Bradley hey rose get the fuck over it no one wants him he lied to get in there so hes a fucking nigger and i don't give a shit if hes my president so fuck of you dumb bitch

Teabag Rose chicken, is the black man's steak lol

Caption: Don't forget to pay your taxes....
Muchas gracias!
21 million illegal aliens are depending on you!

Caption: Chewbacca's less scary!

Ralph Bertin Lysius NO! he let them niggers go frolicking all over the place doing all kinds of sinful nigger acts. FUCK LINCOLN AND FUCK OBAMA!

Gerald Van Hooser She would fuck anything that wasn't White. Pure trash she was

Benjamin Willen hes shocked to see what a black person actually looks like

Caption: This is the choice piece for Obama's posse.

Caption: Mug shots, notice the shirts

Hugh Hillenbrand Acorn Company Profile

Sol Gross I can't remember the last time I saw this many dumbasses all in one spot!

Duane Gumm Wow, this is too good, a photo says a thousand words!!!

John Gullo dey beez waitin' fo dey free stuff

Sherry Sylvester this is awsome

S Mokey Krum ready to play Sherry? I want to pick the watermelon piece, you can be the bucket of chicken LOL

John Gullo Can I be the pack of Newports?

Sol Gross That's my point ~ impeach him

Bob Noel FERGET IT SHOOT HIM, BE EASIER AND BETTER FOR THE WORLD!

Mike Alfaro Don't forget he's still the President, Bob, but that's just for legal purposes. Did you know that a .223 round only costs 35 cents? In that note, it would also be cheaper.

The Only Way to Win, Is Not to Play

hubiestubert — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 01:05:48 GMT

I took the weekend to skip off to New York to visit my little girl, and for the ride, I picked up a little light reading.

Crossposted to The Suicidal Cactus Hour
Reza Aslan's How To Win A Cosmic War asks fundamental questions on not just our own War on Terror, but at the success of globalization over secularism and nationalism, and the somewhat bitter fruit it has borne.

In particular, he traces the rise of Jihadists and compares their rise to the Christian Fundamentalists, Christian Nationalists, and Zionists. How Jihadism grew from fairly liberal religious nationalists in Egypt, and its eventual radicalization and exportation across the globe to a new transnationalist agenda. In part, because globalization has shown folks that even if they fail in effecting local change, that they can still have a great cause, and by framing it the context of Jihad, it is a grand site easier than the actual nitty gritty of running a state, and movement based on actually looking at issues that are often difficult, but lack the panache of tilting at the windmills of the West.

Out of an intellectual and political movement, Jihadists--and likewise Christian Fundamentalists--have learned to cut to the chase, and get to an easy to digest framework as a movement. Duty to God over nation.

Out of an intellectual movement based on effecting local change, the Jihadists--and others like our Christian Fundamentalists--frame perceived injustice with a great degree of sophistication. First identifying situations of injustice, assigning blame for those "responsible", and then connecting that injustice to a larger framework. Likewise, we see the deployment of aligning that framework to create "In" groups and "Out" groups to help identify their enemy, and then work to make bystanders sympathetic or antagonistic to these groups, compelling them to take sides, and thus open the doors not just for collective identity, but for collective action.

Convenient is that the rhetoric is similar and compatible for discussion across the globe, when you compare Jihadists, Christian Fundamentalists, and Zionists. America, we are not so oddly drawn into this, not just in our foreign policy, but by our own roots as a form of America as seen as a brand of Christian Zionism. Our own history is replete with imagery of an Exodus to the New World. From Reverend Edwards' "New Caanan" to Melville's "Israel of our time." And today, carried further by the likes of RJ Rushdoony's own visions of a Messianic America. We are, as Reza Aslan puts it, in the midst of "Patriotism as religious devotion. Flag as totem." And we have those who see the Constitution, not as the basis of our law and nation, but as Covenant with God and his new Chosen People.

Modern Evangelicsm, and its kissing cousin and paternal Fundamentalism came from a place where faith was under fire. From Darwin. Feminism. Scientific revolution. Literary criticism of the Bible itself, and the rise of a Christian liberalism that sought to reconcile tradition with social and scientific process, and the rise as well of modernization and growing secularism. The virulent Fundamentalism that grew from a backlash of these "threats" to God's America was toned down by folks like Billy Graham, whose brand of Evangelicism was far more inclusive and much less fiery, but still defined by a population that saw itself as under siege. And a trait that it shares with many Jihadists.

Evangelicals and Jihadists can trace their journey, and often prejudices, and feed one another. Many Evangelicals don't recognize Mormons or Catholics as Christians. Jihadists make declarations of takfir to declare other Muslims who disagree with them as infidels. Their own actions feed one another--with the infiltration during the last Administration of Evangelicals into the Air Force Academy, and US troops proselytizing in the course of their duties to a population under US guns, both the Jihadist and Evangelical agendas are advanced, and the feedback between the two--America and God under fire, as well as yet another Western Crusade against Islam.

Added into the mix, you have the Zionists who began their quest for a state late in the 19th Century. Sadly, there were people already living in that land, but that didn't stop a campaign to de-emphasize the ties to the land by many, and aggressive campaigns in both intellectual circles, and politically, to foment the idea of a paired religious nationalist movement to "recapture" the Holy Land. A vision that was both glorious as it was inventive, and based entirely on the idea of expropriating the natives from their property and land--and de-emphasizing the ties of nationhood of the Palestinian people. While Aslan attributes much credit to Theodor Herzl for the intellectual groundwork for the state, David Ben-Gurion cut to the chase in a letter to his son in 1937: "The Arabs will have to go."

Jewish nationalists began to frame their narrative. Palestinians weren't a distinct nationality nor people. Not a national identity, but part of a larger "Arab nation" and thus had no claim to the land.

The problem is, that this rhetoric has been a two edged sword. Not only have the Palestinians congealed now into a cohesive people, but it likewise has framed the conflict beyond just the confines of borders. And it likewise prompted an evolution of thought on the very nature of such conflicts, and paved the way for the transnationalist movements that now plague not just Israel, Afghanistan, Dubai, Chechnya and others, but also spurred nationalist movements of their own. Israel in many ways created a Palestinian identity in the face of denial of its very existence.

Further, it has become an emblem and totem for a new breed of Islamist, in the face of an enemy that cannot be easily defeated. Conflict now with not just Israel, but the US who backs her, and the fears of what globalization will mean to religion and states as the West's influence grows.

The radicalization has not just claimed lives in America or Europe, or Israel, but has killed far more Muslims as well. One tactic that the Jihadists have perfected not just a refutation of the admonitions against suicide in the Koran, as well as exhortations to not kill women, children, the elderly, or other Muslims. The practice of takfir--declaration of Muslims as infidels--has become a the best way to justify taking lives of their neighbors. They weren't really Muslims, so killing them is just.

Never mind that over 170 Imams and religious scholars declared a Fatwa denouncing the practice, and denying its validity. No Muslim can declare another apostate has been the finding, and oddly enough, Jihadist instantly declared all 170 of these clerics and religious scholars immediately infidels and in the pocket of the West...

Consider, that Bin Laden had no formal training as an Imam, or law or theology for that matter. The global Jihad is not just anti-intellectual but anti-institutional, and unable to compete intellectually, it finds it far easier to undercut and deny the authority of those who stand against them. In much the same fashion that many Christian Fundamentalists and Evanglicals deny the authority of a government, or fetishsize those in government who agree with their Messianic message.

And meanwhile, religious Zionists seek to use the strife that they, in part, helped to cause, to further call for more stripping of those from their lands--and use the very acts of defiance against their own actions as justification and the whole mess continues round and round, and round, and round, and round again. It isn't too far from the rise of nationalist movements in Britain as a reaction to a growing Muslim population in Europe and Great Britain. Cracking down on the Muslims only begets more strife, which feeds both the Jihadists from the rich ground of European born and bred Muslims, and their actions only feed these nationalists who wear their xenophobia as proud badges. The system gains energy from both sides egging one another on.

And that is really the question that Aslan raises: who do you fight a Cosmic War? How can you combat the rise of these groups who tangle not just with the secular governments that they are rejecting, but one another and see both as their enemy, and count on push back to feed their cycle and narrative?

The best way, is to not feed the cycle. Not to play the game...

Move Over Ulysses S. Grant

fogiv — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 20:23:09 GMT

See, I thought we wanted to increase the value of U.S. currency, not mangle it. Not so, says a goofy U.S. congressman from North Carolina, who wants the $50 bill redrawn to feature the face of former President Ronald Reagan.

True, and he's completely serious:

Republican Rep. Patrick McHenry wants Congress to tell the U.S Treasury to replace former President Ulysses S. Grant on the bill. McHenry announced his bill Tuesday. He has 13 Republican co-sponsors.
Grant was a Union general during the Civil War who led the North to victory and later became the nation's 18th president.
McHenry said Reagan transformed the nation's political and economic thinking and argued that "every generation needs its own heroes."

At first, I thought this was a terrible idea, but the idea of all these GOP 'heroes' on our currency got me to thinking. Here's what I propose:

One Dollar Bill: Sam the Eagle. They don't come much more 'Murican than Sam.

Two Dollar Bill: Glenn Beck

In short, Beck is a Nimitz-class head-case-an earnest, creepy paranoid with a steamer-trunk-sized load of unresolved guilt that can only be redeemed by convincing everyone within the sound of his voice that Crazy is Normal...and Righteous.

Makes him perfect for the deuce, no?

Five Dollar Bill: The Buddy Christ.

If libruls weren't so lazy, Jeebus would love them too. They're compassionate conservatives, after all.

Ten Dollar Bill: Herbert Hoover. Come on, Reagan's leadership on economic policy is second only to Hoover's. HH gets the nod for the old Sawbuck.

Twenty Dollar Bill: Richard M. Nixon. The Grandmaster of GOP Asshattery. Tricky Dick should be on a coin too. A new coin: 11 cents.

One Hundred Dollar Bill: The Teabag. Says it all, no?

Well, do you have any inspiring suggestions?

Stand and Deliver

Shaun Appleby — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 23:42:38 GMT

Since the arguably tepid advocacy for health care reform in Obama's State of the Union address the President's resolve to stake his political fortunes, and by implication those of his majority legislators, on the passage of a health care reform bill has become clearly evident. And even in that speech his message to his Congressional party was unequivocal, "To Democrats, I would remind you that we still have the largest majority in decades, and the people expect us to solve some problems, not run for the hills."

After the tortuous ebb and flow of national debate and painful legislative horse-trading of the past nine months we have reached a point of no return for Obama's administration, our Congressional majorities and our political prospects in the upcoming 2010 midterm elections. Either the bill passes or fails. Obama gets it:

GLENSIDE, Pa. - President Obama challenged wavering members of his own party on Monday not to give in to their political fears about supporting health care legislation, asserting that the urgency of getting a bill through Congress should trump any concern about the consequences for Democrats in November.
President Barack Obama told a crowd of students at Arcadia University, in Glenside, Pa. on Monday that there should be an "up or down vote on health care."
In a high-octane appearance that harked back to his "Yes we Can" campaign days, Mr. Obama jettisoned the professorial demeanor that has cloaked many of his public pronouncements on the issue, instead making an emotional pitch for public support as he tries to push the legislation through a final series of votes in Congress in the next several weeks.
Helene Cooper - Obama Warns Democrats of Urgency of Health Bill NYT 8 Mar 10

President Obama's willingness to make an all or nothing bet on this legislative reform has leveraged Congressional Democrats into a position where they soon must consider Benjamin Franklin's sage advice, "We must all hang together or, most assuredly, we shall all hang seperately."
And the prospects are daunting. There is no clear indication that Democrats can muster the numbers in the House in the next few weeks:

To prevent a Republican filibuster in the Senate, Democrats are planning to include the final revisions to the health care bill in a budget reconciliation measure, which can be adopted by a simple majority in both chambers.
But first, House Democrats must approve the Senate's health care bill, originally adopted Dec. 24. This is where the legislative heavy lifting will take place.
Many rank-and-file House Democrats are deeply uneasy. They disliked the Senate bill on both policy and political grounds.
David M Herszenhorn - A Handy Road Map for the Final Weeks NYT 8 Mar 10

In an effort to rekindle public support for this legislation the Obama White House has taken unprecedented steps in recent weeks, convening a publicly televised 'bipartisan' summit and drafting a straight-forward summary of the essential policy of health care reform he is advocating. The summit failed to elicit bipartisan support, as expected, but it cleared a political roadblock in the path of using reconciliation to amend the existing Senate bill. Everyone can see that Republicans are committed to obstructionism as a political strategy. Since then Obama has commenced stumping around the country at televised town-hall events in support of this legislation.

So how does public opinion stack up on this signature Democratic legislation? Not so good, apparently:

PRINCETON, NJ -- Americans are skeptical that lawmakers will agree on a new healthcare bill at Thursday's bipartisan healthcare summit in Washington, D.C. If an agreement is not reached, Americans by a 49% to 42% margin oppose rather than favor Congress passing a healthcare bill similar to the one proposed by President Obama and Democrats in the House and Senate. By a larger 52% to 39% margin, Americans also oppose the Democrats in the Senate using a reconciliation procedure to avoid a possible Republican filibuster and pass a bill by a simple majority vote.
The poll shows that American public opinion tilts against this option.
Not only are 49% of Americans opposed to passing a bill similar to the one proposed by Obama and the Democrats in the House and Senate, compared with 42% in favor, those "strongly" opposed outnumber those "strongly" in favor by 23% to 11%.
A follow-up question asked specifically about the use of a parliamentary procedure that would allow the Democratic leaders to avoid a Republican filibuster. Again, Americans are opposed by a slightly larger, 52% to 39% margin, and those opposed are more likely to feel strongly about their opinion than those in favor, 25% to 11%.
The survey question defines the legislation in question as being similar to that proposed by President Obama and the Democrats in the House and Senate.
Frank Newport - Americans Tilt Against Democrats' Plans if Summit Fails Gallup 25 Feb 10

Some of the opposition is no doubt due to Republican narratives, 'death panels' and 'socialism,' not to mention frustration with legislators and the sausage-making demonstration provided by the Democratic majorities in both houses over the past year. But nevertheless a core question must be asked:

Which would you rather take into the midterm elections? The President/Congress that succeeded where Clinton, Truman, etc had failed in the past by passing healthcare reform - but without the support of a majority of the population - or divided, incompetent, failure? Now I'm not saying that the fate of this bill will significantly impact who controls the House or Senate after the 2010 elections one way or another, but it seems to me that if it did, then not passing your most meaningful domestic policy objective would ultimately be more damaging to your political prospects then passing it with the support of only 40% of the country.
Joshua Tucker - What's Worse Politically? Passing a Bill ... or Looking Weak and Incompetent? The Monkey Cage 1 Mar 10

How is it that Democrats seem to be in a lose-lose situation on this policy issue? The rationale for reforming health insurance is sound, we are in an unsustainable cycle of rising costs and sharp premium increases in an almost monopolistic marketplace. Something clearly must be done but the political climate, for a variety of reasons, is toxic and the militancy, not to mention the outright misrepresentation, of the opposition framing of this legislation has had an impact on the attitude, and apprehension, of the American public.

Nevertheless, at this point there is diminishing wiggle-room for reluctant Democrats and Obama has come down on the side of daring to win and letting the chips fall where they may. There are arguably even harsher assessments of the potential failure of the Democratic majorities in both houses which might emerge:

In my view, at this point, you cannot blame the president if this bill fails to pass. And you cannot even blame the Republicans, although they will do all they can to bugger up the reconciliation process. In the end, this is about whether the Democratic Party can govern, whether it is a functioning political party, or whether it deserves to die. If it had one tenth of the discipline of the GOP, this would not be a question. But frankly, if it cannot pass this bill after the last election with this president at this moment, then it should be put out of its misery.
Andrew Sullivan - Would You Rather? The Atlantic 7 Mar 10

Are Democrats going to deliver or not? The ethos of our party will be significantly altered in either case, at least for the remainder of the current election cycle if not beyond. And short-term electoral considerations notwithstanding it seems we have little choice. Pass. The. Bill.

[Update] "I'm kind of fired up," Obama said at the beginning of his remarks:

"Let's seize reform. It's within our grasp," the president implored his audience at Arcadia University, the first outside-the-Beltway appearance since he vowed last week to do everything in his power to push his health care plan into law.
The president's pitch was part denunciation of insurance companies - "they continue to ration care on the basis of who's sick and who's healthy," he said - and part criticism of his Republican critics. "You had 10 years. What happened? What were you doing?" he taunted members of a party that held the White House for eight years and control of Congress for a dozen.
Julie Pace and David Espo - Obama Health Care Push: Back To His Grassroots AP via Huffington Post 8 Mar 10

"So I need you to knock on doors. Talk to your neighbors. Pick up the phone," he urged them. Yeah, and ring you're Democratic representatives. Man, what a party.

The Final Stages of the Battle for Health Care Reform

John Allen — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 15:47:47 GMT

The fight for health care reform in this country started more than 100 years ago. The current stage of the fight started more than a year ago. It has been raging ever since Barack Obama took office in January, 2009. We are now in the final days of the latest battle and the Right is bringing its full force to bear to try to prevent any changes to the status quo.

The Right has fought against any reforms that will benefit the American people at the expense of business interests. They have labeled the effort as an attempt to take over the entire health care industry. They have told people that it will turn the country into a socialist country, even though there is absolutely nothing to justify that claim since the public option was removed from the Senate bill. They have claimed provisions in the bill will lead to "death panels" that will kill off your grandparents or disabled children. They have lied and misled to the point that some people actually fear for their lives if this bill passes. They are not above using any tactic, telling any lie, and smearing any progressive in an attempt to protect health insurance companies and pharmaceutical industry profits.

The Right knows this is the final stages of the battle and are pulling out all the stops to prevent the American people from benefiting from Health Care Reform. They are flooding the internet with emails urging people to call Congress to pressure representatives. The list below comes from one of those emails. These are the people they are targeting in Congress. Please scan the list for your representative and call with a message of support if you find them in the list. Be sure to tell whoever you talk to that you are aware that opponents of reform are mounting a deliberate campaign and that you want them to know that you support reform. Also remind them that the calls against reform are coming from people that got their name from right-wing mailing lists and those people are not going to vote for them no matter what.

This is it, people. It's up to us now. We can win this battle, but only if we are willing to fight. Call today. Call now. Call often. Send emails. Send faxes if you have access to a fax machine. Fight for what is right.

List after the break.

PLEASE CALL!	DC OFFICE	LOCAL OFFICE	State	District
Harry Mitchell	(202) 225-2190	(480) 946-2411	AZ	5th District
Gabrielle Giffords	(202) 225-2542	(520) 881-3588	AZ	8th District
Ann Kirkpatrick	(202) 225-2315	(928) 226-6914	AZ	1st District
Jerry McNerney	(202) 225-1947	925-833-0643	CA	11th District
John Salazar	202-225-4761	970-245-7107	CO	3rd District
Jim Himes	(202) 225-5541	(866) 453-0028	CT	4th District
Alan Grayson	(202) 225-2176	(407) 841-1757	FL	8th District
Bill Foster	(202) 225-2976	630-406-1114	IL	14th District
Baron Hill	202 225 5315	812 288 3999	IN	9th District
Mark Schauer	(202) 225-6276	(517) 780-9075	MI	7th District
Gary Peters	(202) 225-5802	(248) 273-4227	MI	9th District
Dina Titus	(202) 225-3252	702-256-DINA (3462)	NV	3rd District
Carol Shea-Porter	(202) 225-5456	(603) 743-4813	NH	1st District
Tim Bishop	(202) 225-3826	(631) 696-6500	NY	1st District
John Hall	(202) 225-5441	(845) 225-3641 x49371	NY	19th District
Bill Owens	(202) 225-4611	(315) 782-3150	NY	23rd District
Mike Arcuri	(202)225-3665	(315)793-8146	NY	24th District
Dan Maffei	(202) 225-3701	(315) 423-5657	NY	25th District
Earl Pomeroy	(202) 225-2611	(701) 224-0355	ND	At-Large District
Steven Driehaus	(202) 225-2216	(513) 684-2723	OH	1st District
Mary Jo Kilroy	(202) 225-2015	(614) 294-2196	OH	15th District
Zach Space	(202) 225-6265	(330) 364-4300	OH	18th District
Kathy Dahlkemper	(202) 225-5406	(814) 456-2038	PA	3rd District
Patrick Murphy	(202) 225-4276	(215) 826-1963	PA	8th District
Christopher Carney	(202) 225-3731	(570) 585-9988	PA	10th District
Paul Kanjorski	(202) 225-6511	(570) 825-2200	PA	11th District
John Spratt	(202) 225-5501	(803)327-1114	SC	5th District
Tom Perriello	(202) 225-4711	(276) 656-2291	VA	5th District
Alan Mollohan	(202) 225-4172	(304) 623-4422	WVA	1st District
Nick Rahall	(202) 225-3452	(304) 252-5000	WVA	3rd District
Steve Kagen	(202) 225-5665	(920) 437-1954	WI	8th District

Am I an American Person?

btchakir — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 17:39:01 GMT

I listened to a Congressman from Alabama give the Republican's weekly statement (after the President's weekly statement) on NBC this morning and was told that despite what Pelosi and Reid want, despite the threat of using reconciliation to push the Health Care bill through, the American People don't want the Health Care bill as it has been debated and argued over the past year. He said the American People want Congress and The President to "start over on a new page."

Here in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia, about as American a location as you can find, I sit watching this knowing that I WANT a Health Care bill to be passed NOW. I know that if the government starts on a NEW PAGE it will be in the face of a rate-raising, highly profitable private insurance system and a 10-to-1 ratio of lobbyists who are NOT starting on a new page, who will work day and night to weaken any progress.
Do I want to allow this to happen? Do I not want to see the potential for Health Care plans that will be made available for 30 million more people, that will allow insurance companies to cancel existing plans or not let folks with pre-existing conditions (like little ol' diabetic me) sign up if they change jobs? Am I not an American Person?

I asked my wife, who also wants to see Health Care passed NOW if she was an American Person. Oddly enough, she said she was. Last night we sat in a lounge with friends from the Philadelphia area (they are pretty American, too, and all 4 were People) and they had the same feelings about Health Care politics that we had.

Yet the Republicans keep pointing out that the American People want things to start again on a NEW Page.

Well, as an official American Person, in contact with lots of other American People, may I say that WE DON'T WANT TO START ON A NEW PAGE. We want the Health Care plan to go through NOW. We have too many other things to get to and we don't want to throw away all the work that has been done so far. And we don't want the Insurance Industry and the Lobbyists to be given still another advantage in the debate.

No Republicans have asked me for my opinion, yet, as an American Person, they are willing to form their opinion as reported words from my mouth. Maybe they should get on board with the rest of us and put America ahead of Party Politics.

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