September 29, 2013

I think most Republicans of today genuinely see fighting for their right-wing agenda and ideology as

the same thing as patriotism and opposing their right-wing ideology as anti-American borderlining on treasonous. They carry it to a belief that shutting down even a centrist-Democratic led government as shutting down the enemies of America. I suspect they would even believe that crippling a centrist led economy as crippling an enemy economy. I don't think most Republicans of today (not traditional Republicans of the past) are psychologically capable of even imagining the principle of uniting the country for the common good. They would see that as treason against God and America. This is a party that thinks passing Obamacare - a program well to the right of what most Republicans would have once supported - is the moral equivalent of the Nazis invading Eastern Europe and not defunding Obamacare as the moral equivalent of collaborating with Hitler. They are simply living in crazy land.

September 29, 2013

Does public opposition to military actions inspired by investigative journalism play a significant

role in stopping military actions from happening?

September 29, 2013

There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old's life:

There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old's life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. Th other, of course, involves orcs."

-- John Rogers

September 26, 2013

Are the organizations Rightwing Watch and People for the American Way considered disreputable?

If one is attempting to use their resources to inform DU member of wild accusations being made by extreme right-wing sources - is this considered propagating conspiracy theories when it is obvious to anyone that they are informing the DU community of what those crazies are saying?

Using the resources of Rightwing Watch and People for the American Way - I posted this video:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1017147757

I was very clear to reference Rightwing Watch as the source of this link. This is not the first time I have seen materials from Rightwing Watch/People for the American Way locked. I was unaware that they were even considered controversial organizations among progressives. Are some forum hosts so sensitive that they do not even want DU members to talk about what progressive organizations are reporting that rightwing organizations are saying?

UPADATE: Fortunately, after appealing to the one who locked the thread - they took a second look and agreed that it should not have been locked in the first place. I think there was one overanxious alerter

September 25, 2013

Jerome Corsi And Alex Jones Link Obama To Nairobi Attack -

Birther conspiracy theorist and Tom DeLay co-author Jerome Corsi appeared on InfoWars with Alex Jones to explain his theory that President Obama and Raila Odinga, the former prime minister of Kenya, “made this pact with the radical Islamists in Kenya that was going to allow Al Qaeda to come through the door through Somalia into Kenya,” and are therefore to blame for the Nairobi mall attack by the Al Qaeda-linked group al-Shabab. -


See more at: http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/jerome-corsi-and-alex-jones-link-obama-nairobi-attack#sthash.5yyp0FE6.dpuf

September 24, 2013

Congressman Steven Fincher: Jesus would oppose food stamps. Food stamps are theft

this thanks to Go Left -- Facebook page - a source for a lot of cool stuff

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Go-Left/259536274080316


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Rep. Steven Fincher Gorges on Farm Subsidies While Telling Poor Families They Can't Eat Because of the Government

By Matthew Yglesias

Surrounded by corn and soybean farms—including one owned by the local Republican congressman, Representative Stephen Fincher—Dyersburg, about 75 miles north of Memphis, provides an eye-opening view into Washington’s food stamp debate. Mr. Fincher, who was elected in 2010 on a Tea Party wave and collected nearly $3.5 million in farm subsidies from the government from 1999 to 2012, recently voted for a farm bill that omitted food stamps.


“The role of citizens, of Christianity, of humanity, is to take care of each other, not for Washington to steal from those in the country and give to others in the country,” Mr. Fincher, whose office did not respond to interview requests, said after his vote in May. In response to a Democrat who invoked the Bible during the food stamp debate in Congress, Mr. Fincher cited his own biblical phrase. “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat,” he said.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2013/09/05/fincher_governmnet_printing_press.html

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And here is a video clip of the Congressman explaining his views on Christian compassion

September 22, 2013

Are you old enough to remember when Keynesian economics dominated both parties, unions were powerful

and domestic economic liberalism was a major force even in the Republican Party? I'm talking of course of the days before Ronald Reagan - a time when even most - in fact almost all - self-described conservatives believed government had a duty to try and help the genuinely needy. Are you old enough to remember those days?



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September 20, 2013

Navy Yard gunman began by shooting people he worked with, investigators and witnesses say

Source: Washington Post

The gunman who killed 12 people at the Washington Navy Yard on Monday began his rampage by heading directly to the fourth floor and shooting people who worked with him, and authorities are investigating whether a workplace issue sparked the killings, according to law enforcement officials and witness accounts.

People in the department where Aaron Alexis was working had concerns about his job performance, and investigators are looking into whether those concerns escalated last week, the officials said.

He was not doing a very good job, and somebody told him that there was a problem,” one law enforcement official said. “Our belief is that the people who were shot first were people he had issues with where he worked, people he had some sort of a dispute with. After that, it became random. .?.?. After the first shootings in that office, he moved around and shot people he came upon. They were then targets of opportunity.”

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/navy-yard-reopens-but-scene-of-mass-shooting-remains-closed/2013/09/19/387ba03a-2120-11e3-a358-1144dee636dd_story.html

September 18, 2013

Do you believe public opinion expressed through a public outcry sometimes affects public policy?

September 17, 2013

a lot of younger folks today are only familiar with social liberalism And in that way things have

progressed a great deal over the last few decades. My goodness when I was a kid major city newspapers still separated their "Help Wanted" classified adds from "Help Wanted Women" and "Help Wanted Men." It was considered liberal to consider homosexuality a treatable illness instead of something psychopathic and criminal. So we have seen miraculous strides in those areas. But in the mean time we have seen enormous steps backwards on the economic front. No matter how one spins it -on economic issues Richard Nixon was well to the left of Barack Obama or Bill Clinton or any other prominent mainstream Democrats who were even taken seriously as possible presidential contenders over the last twenty to thirty years. And Nixon was considered a conservative at that time - a conservative who supported a guaranteed annual income and a national healthcare program way to the left of the ACA. But I digress - When was the last time we had a real old fashion New Dealer that even came close to leading the Democratic Party who was actually proposing real changes that would expand the safety net and move boldly toward eradicating poverty in America and hunger in the world and build a more economically equitable society? Well, I would say it has been more than forty years. Since then - although we have leaders taking strong positions on social issues - I remind people that social issues don't generally cost a lot of money. The Chairman of Starbucks strongly supports marriage equality while he wants to slash Social Security. I'm sure lots of hedge fund mangers and Wall Street investment bankers feel the same. Simply wanting to protect the economic advancements that have already been under assault for the last three to four decades is now considered far left. There is no doubt that the only reason that we have been able to hang on to what little remains of the New Deal and the Great Society is because people speak up and won't let it happen. If people stop complaining about the economic policies of these hedge fund Democrats that dominate today's Democratic Party - that would be the end of all that was accomplished from the early 30's through the late 60's.