Limbaugh now merely a parody of himself

I stopped getting angry at anything at comes out of Rush Limbaugh's mouth long ago. But that doesn't mean that I'll stop pointing it out.

During one of his latest tirades, well documented as always by Media Matters, the drug addicted, bloated one dropped the curtain to give us a deep look into the commode that passes for his soul to reveal his MO for the length of the Obama administration (let's hope it's 8): that he hopes Obama "fails."

All I can say is this: Typical.

I find it pretty stupefying how quickly Repubes have changes course in just over 30 days since Obama took office. For eight years, they whined, sniveled and complained about liberals and progressives "rooting for Bush to fail in Iraq" (among other places), yet now they openly despise Obama while shamelessly rooting for his policies to fail. Talk about Party Before Country.

As much as I despised Bush's policies in Iraq (and will go to my grave with the unflinching belief that our misguided war was and is a wast of taxpayer money, not to mention all of the bloodshed), I never, EVER hoped that our military would fail. I think Bush led us down many disastrous roads, but I do believe that he believed he was doing the right thing for the country and the American people. Well, that's not entirely true, though - I think the last six months of his presidency (and especially during the last three), when he knew Obama was going to be president, Bush quietly did all he could to make sure that Obama got handed a big steaming turd on January 20, 2009.

I do support Limbaugh's right to say what he says, and quite frankly I hope he keeps on saying it. Hey, God bless him - it just reaffirms my belief that Obama is doing something right if he's driving Limbaugh nuts.

I also wouldn't be surprised to see Limbaugh's ratings go up, not down; so many conservatives now feel under siege because Obama is president - you know, that they've losing their country, and blah blah blah.

However, I do think that the government should step in and do something to promote a diversity of voices over our radio airwaves. NO, I'm not advocating that anyone should have his or her "microphone taken away" (already a trite right-wing talking point), but the government should do all it can to strongly encourage companies to provide a diversity of voices on their airwaves. Actually, no, the government should REQUIRE a diversity of voices. I'm sick and tired of right wingers whining about the phantom "liberal media."

I wrote about his last fall before the presidential campaign got into high gear, but perhaps it's best to remember one of Sun Tzu's maxims from The Art of War: It is wise to present your greatest strength as your greatest weakness, and that's precisely what Republicans have been doing for the last 40 years with regard to our mainstream media. (Thanks once again, President Nixon.)

If you think I'm exaggerating, go back and find some Sarah Palin interviews from last fall's campaign - whenever bad news came out, she just went on the offensive, bashing the "liberal media," which is always red meet for the drooling drones on the right.

Anyway, Limbaugh is simply a modern-day Joseph Goebbels, although thankfully many more Americans dismiss Limbaugh than Germans dismissed Goebbels.

By the way, if you're one of the few liberals left who doesn't support and visit Media Matters, I strongly encourage you to do just that. The folks over there are doing tremendously effective and important work.

I'll be back later this evening with lots more, so please check back. (And, as usual, there I'll have lots to share on Sunday.)

Obama's speech: HOPE vs. NOPE

Just in case you didn't get a chance to view it the other night, here's President Obama's complete speech. I'll be back a bit later today with much more to say about it, but in short, below is the part of the speech that I found particularly poignant (and I'm echoing C&L from a few days ago, because I agree whole-heartedly):

President Obama: I've come here tonight not only to address the distinguished men and women in this great chamber, but to speak frankly and directly to the men and women who sent us here.

I know that for many Americans watching right now, the state of our economy is a concern that rises above all others. And rightly so. If you haven't been personally affected by this recession, you probably know someone who has – a friend; a neighbor; a member of your family. You don't need to hear another list of statistics to know that our economy is in crisis, because you live it every day.

It's the worry you wake up with and the source of sleepless nights. It's the job you thought you'd retire from but now have lost; the business you built your dreams upon that's now hanging by a thread; the college acceptance letter your child had to put back in the envelope. The impact of this recession is real, and it is everywhere.

But while our economy may be weakened and our confidence shaken; though we are living through difficult and uncertain times, tonight I want every American to know this:

We will rebuild, we will recover, and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before.

Yes! That's exactly the note of optimism that America needs right now. Of course, the Doubting Thomases (Read: Republicans) are taking aim at Obama's speech, saying it was "well short on specifics." In some ways, yes, but what was he supposed to do, talk for four hours? Then these people would have complained that his speech was too long. Obama needs to mostly ignore these critics bitter nitpickers, who are angry that McSame and Palin didn't win the election. No matter what Obama does, these people will have something to say. So be it - at least Obama is trying, which is much more that can be said for Bush during the last year of his presidency.

Put another way, just think for a second what kind of confidence McCain and PALIN would be instilling in the American people right now had they won; McCain would be babbling about a $300 million award for a car battery, and Palin would be responding to questions about the economy with a *Wink* and a "You betchya!" Puleeze.

Perhaps no one summarized Obama's speech better than CNN's David Gergen on Tuesday night, who had this to say:

...this was the most ambitious president we've ever heard in this chamber in decades. The first half of the speech was FDR, fighting for the New Deal. The second half was Lyndon Johnson, fighting for the Great Society, and we've never seen those two presence [sic] rolled together in quite this way.

That about nails it, and I rarely find myself agreeing with Gergen.

However, the night was only getting started. It really got entertaining when Gov. Piyush "Bobby" Jindal (R-LA) gave the Republican response to Obama's speech, which was beyond laughable. See for yourself:

I don't have enough time to offer thoughts on Jindal's "response," but I'll be back later today. It was pretty priceless.

I'll also have lots more today on Obama's $4 tn budget that he unveiled yesterday; it's not a perfect budget (no budget is), but there is a great deal to like.

Alan Keyes McCarthy: welcome to 1950

I always knew that Alan Keyes was a far-right wing extremist crackpot (and so did an overwhelming majority of Americans, hence his lack of traction in running for president on three separate occasions), but today he reached a new low, even for him. Take a listen to his comments about President Obama. If he changed his last name to McCarthy and we turned our clocks back about 60 years, to listen to him, you wouldn't know the difference between Alan Keyes and Sen. Joseph McCarthy.

The most alarming lowlight:

Obama is a radical communist, and I think it is becoming clear. That is what I told people in Illinois and now everybody realizes it's true," said Keyes, who ran unsuccessfully against Obama for the state's open Senate seat in 2004. "He is going to destroy this country, and we are either going to stop him or the United States of America is going to cease to exist.

Other than being political pornography for the likes of sewer rats like Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, this sort of rhetoric does absolutely zilch for our political discourse, and I find his comments deeply disturbing but not at all surprising.

This guy has a lot of anger. Maybe it's because he simply cannot win elective office on a national scale. Or maybe it's because this Reagan right wingnut is frustrated that his daughter came out as a lesbian. (You might want to call Dick Cheney for some advice about how to reconcile this contradiction in your sick, twisted mind, Alan.)

At any rate, could this guy be any more cliché? The only mildly surprising thing is that Keyes didn't call him a "pinko liberal." If we give him long enough, I'm sure he won't disappoint.

Looks like Keyes is using the well-worn, dog-eared playbook of Karl Rove, where it's considered sport to depict political adversaries as evil, intent on destroying America, and blah, blah, blah.

Philly's Inky & Daily News bankrupt

Well, I can't say I'm surprised.

Philadelphia Media Holdings, L.L.C., the company created by Brian Tierney (left) a few years ago that purchased both The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

It's another sad chapter in a long list of them for the nation's daily newspapers, and it's pretty sad to see. It's also sad to see that the once great Inky, as it is sometimes known, continues its downward slide.

Even though I personally dislike him greatly for being the partisan GOP hack that he is, I was pulling for Tierney and Co. to turn around Philly's newspapers. I feel his failure to do so is mostly a sign of the times - the newspaper itself is turning into a relic of yesteryear - something that Baby Boomers and grandfathers read. Personally, I no longer buy them, but I do visit my favorite paper's Websites on a daily basis: the Inquirer's, as well as the LA Times, the Washington Post and of course The New York Times. I don't think that any but the most successful papers have figured out how to make money off of their Websites, yet, but I think it will happen.

But, I do fault Tierney for a few decisions he's made. When the announcement was made that he would be operating the city's newspapers, Tierney pledged that he would not meddle with the editorial content of the papers. I don't think that even his biggest cheerleaders, if they were being completely honest, believed that one. And it didn't take the skeptics long to be proven right.

I couldn't help but laugh when Tierney hired former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, who lost his reelection bid in 2006 to Sen. Bob Casey, to be a columnist for the Inquirer's editorial page. Hmm, that was a smart move - it didn't take a genius to figure out that one of the country's most Democratic cities wasn't exactly crying out to hear from one of the most polarizing Republicans in recent memory. Maybe Tierney can, ahem, inquire if Sarah Palin is available to write about her pathetic qualifications for being vice president or president? Yea, I'm sure Philly would love that.

A more damning incident about Tierney's stewardship occurred prior to the '08 election, when the editorial board voted to endorse Barack Obama for president. An editorial meeting about the endorsement reportedly became quite heated when Tierney forcefully pushed for the endorsement of Sen. John McCain. So much for not interfering with editorial content.

And so much for a comeback for Philly's daily newspapers.

Here's hoping that Philly's newspapers survive this latest sad chapter in their respective histories. My prediction is that the Inquirer will survive, but the Daily News will not. It's been rumored for years that the Daily News will be shuttered, and I think within the next year or two, we'll sadly see that happen.

Must-sees: Taking Chance & Burning Coal

I saw two movies this weekend while convalescing from some sort of nasty virus, and I thought I'd share a few thoughts.

The best and by far the most powerful movie I've seen in a long time is Taking Chance, a movie by HBO Films. The film plots the journey of the body of Lance Corporal Chance Phelps - from the battlefield all the way home to his final resting place in Dubois, Wyoming, following his death in Al Anbar Province, Iraq.

I found the movie to be an incredible inspiration, and educational, too. I had no idea that there was any such thing as uniformed military escorts, and that soldiers' bodies were never without an escort, from their death on the battlefield to the grave.

This film should be required viewing for every American; I know that won't happen, but it's that powerful. These days, now that deaths aren't piling up in Iraq and Afghanistan as they were a few years ago, and with the economy in the tank, both of the conflicts that our country is now fighting, all in our names, doesn't get the media coverage it deserves. What's more, Americans aren't exposed to the powerful images that this film offers - our soldiers being carried home - the real cost of war.

In the film, Kevin Bacon portrays Lieutenant Colonel Michael Strobl, a Desert Storm veteran, who came across Chance's name on a casualty list; they both came from the same hometown, and Strobl volunteered to escort him home. While Strobl accompanies Chance's body across the country from Dover Air Force Base to Wyoming, he is visibly touched and moved by the outpouring of support he receives from the many people he runs across during the journey. I found it impossible to not be moved by this story - the film is impeccably directed and produced, sans the Hollywood razzle-dazzle, which this story doesn't need.

Bacon's performance is masterful, which I've come to expect from such a fine actor - one of the best of his generation. He cuts a pretty impressive, believable figure in a Marine uniform, too, just as he did in A Few Good Men nearly 20 years ago.

You must see this movie, regardless if you have any interest in the military. Every American should see it to better understand the impact that the death of ONE soldier can have on a community, much less the impact that 4,247* can have - the current American death toll in Iraq - or 657*, the number of American dead from the War in Afghanistan.

* - as of this afternoon

The second movie, Burning the Future: Coal in America, rips the scab off of coal production in West Virginia, and, needless to say, it uncovers a lot of pus.

I find it startling and amazing that the coal companies in America continue to have the power they do - both over our supply of electricity and our political system and politicians. We can and we must end our reliance on coal if we are to clean up the air we breathe. It doesn't take a scientist to deduce that burning coal has had horrible consequences for the planet, but I never knew the extent of the environmental ramifications that strip mining has on the communities surrounding these mines.

Burning the Future takes a pretty startling look at what those consequences are, including polluted ground water, increased flooding, polluted rivers and streams and tens of thousands of dead fish and wildlife.

I don't know if it's outrageous or hilarious when these coal companies trot out their PR flaks to try and defend the coal industry during this film - it almost sounds like stand-up comedy. It reminded me of the GM executives who lamely tried to explain away the company's inexplicable decision to kill the GM EV-1 electric car during the movie Who Killed the Electric Car. Hey, someone has to lie for the cameras, right? When I hear people simply lie for a company or an industry, it makes me both relieved and delighted that I'm no longer teaching public relations.

So far, and it's obviously very young in his presidency, but President Obama is no exception to Big Coal's death grip on both our politics and our energy supply. I heard Obama on numerous occasions during the '08 campaign extol the virtues of "clean coal technologies," which is a misnomer if there ever was one. There currently isn't any such viable thing as a way to burn coal "cleanly" that's cost effective, and even if there was, there doesn't seem to be a willingness on the part of coal companies to extract it from the ground in an environmentally friendly way.

The only viable answer, and it's not exactly viable yet, is to come up with other means of electricity production.

I understand why Obama said what he said about coal during the campaign- after all, he needed votes in Ohio and Pennsylvania to win the presidency. Being anti-coal would have cost him the presidency, period. I prefer to view the glass as half full - that Obama said what he said knowing that once he won the presidency, he could affect some change in our energy policy. Sof far, his intentions regarding energy make me very hopeful that his presidency will be the beginning of the end of coal; I realize it's going to be a long time until we are kicked of this filthy habit, but we've got to start sometime, and that time is now.

Burning the Future: Coal in America is now airing on the Sundance Channel - it's a very enlightening look at one of America's best-kept dirty secrets - our powerful coal industry. Take a look and educate yourself about coal, and then write your elected representatives and senators - our health depends on it.

For a much more in-depth look at the power of Big Coal, I strongly recommend the book Big Coal: The Dirty Secret Behind America's Energy Future, by Jeff Goodell. I read this book last year, and I'll never forget it.

Today I'm thinking about The White Rose

Today I'm thinking about The White Rose, the German Resistance Movement to the Nazis during World War II.

Above, members of the White Rose, Munich 1942, (from left): Hans Scholl, his sister Sophie Scholl and Christoph Probst, confer to plot strategy against one of the most brutal regimes humanity has ever known. Okay, I have to confess, I didn't think of The White Rose just out of the blue - Wikipedia gave me an assist with its "On This Day..." section, which I read every day. Sixty six years ago today, following their capture by the Gestapo, members of The White Rose were found guilty of treason and guillotined.

I'm looking forward to reading some books about The White Rose, most notably Sophie Scholl and the White Rose, by Jud Newborn. I find their heroism and courage inspiring, especially considering the odds they faced and the consequences they surely knew they were facing if they were captured, which they were. Hitler and the Nazis had a zero-tolerance policy, to say the least, against any political opposition whatsoever. I cannot even begin to comprehend that sort of cost for opposition to one's government; despite what some would have us believe, especially during the George W. Bush administration, we had a duty to keep our mouths shut and "get behind our president while troops were in the field." What a crock.

And my feelings haven't changed now that Obama is president - questioning what our government is doing, including Obama, isn't only a right, it's a responsibility, and that hasn't changed with the new administration.

The people of The White Rose didn't just question, they put our lives on the line and paid the ultimate price. They should be remembered around the world for their courage in the face of horrifying consequences.

At right is the monument to the "Weiße Rose" in front of the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, where their memory is alive and well.

I shudder when I read what some of the leaders of The White Rose wrote in their leaflets - here are two short experts...

From The White Rose's first of six leaflets that the group distributed, guerrilla-style, to university students and other covert places:

Isn't it true that every honest German is ashamed of his government these days? Who among us can imagine the degree of shame that will come upon us and our children when the veil falls from our faces and the awful crimes that infinitely exceed any human measure are exposed to the light of day?

Pretty chilling words when read almost 70 years later.

Even more damning, from the group's second leaflet:

Since the conquest of Poland three hundred thousand Jews have been murdered in this country in the most bestial way - the German people slumber on in their dull, stupid sleep and encourage these fascist criminals... Each man wants to be exonerated of a guilt of this kind, each one continues on his way with the most placid, the calmest conscience. But he cannot be exonerated; he is guilty, guilty, guilty!

If only the German people and the rest of the world had listened.

Stewart takes Sununu to task over spending

I have to admit that when Obama won the presidency, I was wondering how the few prominent left-wing voices would react and adjust. Well, so far, so good.

Jon Stewart hasn't lost his sardonic wit or the ability to tell a politician "eff you" with a smile on his face. The latest example was when former Sen. John Sununu (R-NH) appeared on the show to rail against the Democratically controlled Congress' spending. Well, it didn't take Stewart long to point out the rank hypocrisy involved in such whining, and I loved every minute of it.

My favorite part in the clip above is when Stewart points out Republicans' way of thinking regarding spending: "It's as if history starts RIGHT NOW." Very well said - how much money have we spent in Iraq and Afghanistan to date? With interest, into the trillions, when these wars are all said and done, and we don't seem to be close in either case. (The worst part about it is that we don't seem to have anything to show for either war, but that's another topic.) Kudos to Stewart for also pointing out the Bush tax cuts which were rammed through Congress with Republican majorities in both houses - these will also cost taxpayers into the trillions, with interest.

Yet, overnight, Republicans are trying to re-don their traditional "fiscal conservative" robes after eight years under Bush of virtual blank-check spending (and this includes ill-advises tax cuts). Clearly Stewart isn't buyin' it. Neither am I, and you shouldn't, either. If there's ever been a case where deficit spending is necessary, it's right now.

Personally, I don't think Obama's plan went far enough. I think we're going to see a whole lot more spending in an attempt to dig us out of this hole. I don't know if it's going to work, and President Obama probably doesn't, either. But, at least he's taking action, which is a whole lot better than inaction.

It's fun watching Sean Hannity melt down

Sean Hannity is a great American success story - success because he has no college education, yet because he knew someone in the right-wing media, and because he's willing to say anything to propagate a right-wing extreme agenda, he gets paid millions. (By the way, if this sounds like envy, think again - I'd much prefer the life I have now than be a multi-million dollar liar.)

Anyway, it's going to be equal parts amusing and frightening to listen to Hannity over the next four years (and hopefully the next eight) while he no doubt does anything he can to undermine President Obama and his attempts to better America, which has suffered mightily under Hannity's object of worship, Dubya.

As C&L so wisely noted a few days ago, since Obama's inauguration, Fox has run what little dignity and air of objectivity it had through the shredder. The "network" is now a veritable 24-hour propaganda network devoted to destroying Obama and his plans for America, consequences be damned. And most of its viewers go forth and mimic the musings of Hannity and Co. as if it's political gospel. (I know a few people like this, and when they say something particularly ridiculous and I ask, "Oh, did you hear that on Hannity's show?" they play dumb and say "Hannity?!? I don't listen to Hannity!")

By the way, I love how Fox now never misses an opportunity to use the word socialist like they've being so clever. Count that as another word (right behind liberal) that progressives need to reclaim. And I LOVE the creepy music in Hannity's little montage above about the stimulus package - it really does sound like one of those old recruiting commercials for the U.S. Marines.

As I said, it's all pretty entertaining. And frightening.

h/t to C&L for the video

A sage This Modern World

[Click for larger image]

I haven't published a This Modern World cartoon in a little while, and this one isn't the latest, but it is his latest greatest cartoon - how the Republicans keep shooting themselves, even worse than the Democrats for once. (And how many times have I been able to say THAT since I began this blog? Actually, how many times have I been able to say that in the last 30 years? Not many.)

Tom Tomorrow said in a much more sage and humorous way what I've been saying since Obama took the Oath of Office: Republicans whined for years that Democrats wanted to see Bush fail in Iraq (which I found to be mostly a lie - I know I didn't want him to fail, I just wanted to war to END, and I still do), and now Republicans, led by the bloated drug addict, are openly rooting for Obama's economic stimulus plan to fail, which could very well spiral our economy into another Great Depression. Yea, let's root for THAT for the sake of partisan politics.

Well, anyway, what does Limbaugh care? He's got his $100 million+ broadcasting contract, so if the economy tanks, he'll still have money for his Krispy Kremes and OxyContin, right? These people are unbelievable, and by "people" I also mean the Republican "leaders" in Congress. (I'll have more on those laughable clowns in a bit.)

Maher is back: New Rules

Last night marked the return of Bill Maher's Real Time after a two-month hiatus. As usual, his show was marked with humor, lots of wit, and yes, some serious political discussion. His all-woman panel focused almost exclusively on the economy, and how much trouble we really are in. Not a great way to end an already downtrodden Friday, but we need plenty of frank political discussion like this - we sure aren't getting enough of it in our mainstream media.

I'm glad to see that Maher is continuing his tradition of finishing his show with the New Rules segment - I never miss it. Last night's was more funny than serious, & not his best, but still worth a listen. I'll cut him some slack, since he's just coming back from such a long layoff.

Maher's skewering of Republican Minority Leader John Boehner was particularly funny - seriously, why is this guy so tan? Of course, I can't add much to what Maher said, but I do find it pretty funny. And by the way, I'd like to know just how one comes up with the pronunciation BAY-ner with that spelling? God, the poor guy - he must have been mercilessly teased as a child - that's a lot of anger to be carrying around. His anger took a pretty funny turn last week, which I'll discuss in just a bit.

Set your DVRs for Friday nights at 10 - it's must-view TV for Progressives.

Happy Birthday to the Peace Sign

Okay, I'm back for real this time. Sorry for the recent inactivity on here - teaching six classes is proving to be much more difficult than I could have possibly imagined, and being very sick during the past week hasn't done much for my schedule, either. Anyway, I've got lots to blog about, and I've been keeping up with political developments, and as you might guess, I have lots of opinions...

But first, today marks the birthday of the Peace Sign, a sign created by Gerald Holtom. It's hard to overestimate the impact that this symbol has had on the world, and by that I mean a positive impact. It's hard to imagine a peace movement or even a war, for that matter, without the peace symbol being a part of it.

I doubt Holtom could have possibly imagined the impact this symbol would have had when he first drew it 51 years ago, but the symbol sure has endured.