Fun with analogies

Been a while and I probably still won't be back regularly, but I felt compelled to post after reading this from our President today, after Israel killed 65 civilians, half of whom were children in retaliation to Hezbollah rocket attacks.

President Bush acknowledged growing international pressure for an immediate Middle East cease-fire Monday but dismissed any idea of simply “stopping for the sake of stopping” without a plan for lasting peace.

Now this, is pure bullshit. How about we stop for the sake of human life you dolt?

Let me preface my argument by saying I understand Israel has a full legitimate right to defend itself against attacks on its own civilian population. I take no exception to that. But since schoolyard analogies of bullies and whatnot are so common when pundits discuss the Middle East, I want to try one on.

Let's say a rogue 1st grader quietly steals money from the teacher's purse while everyone is out at recess. To make it a closer parallel to current affairs, let's also say that this has happened numerous times in the past. Every time it goes the same: the teacher confronts the entire class, no one steps forward.

This time the teacher has had enough. So she implements a new policy towards the entire class. Every student will be beaten with paddle 10 times whenever the money comes up missing, until all of the classmates renounce the thief in their midst and the thief steps forward to be punished.

This puts the question to you then, as a theoretical parent. Would you support the teacher's new Get-Tough policy towards the thief and those who harbor him/her?

Again, I know Israel needs to defend itself. I'm just saying that you can defend yourself without punishing everyone in the general geographic proximity of the extremist group you are trying to marginalize and defeat. Because given the choice, I bet the relatives and neighbors of those 67 dead Lebonese are now going to side with Hezbollah rather than the American bombs and Israeli planes dropping them in the name of Freedom.

Fight terrorists. Just quit being such fucking idiots about it.

Sleeping with the enemy

I am often reticent to criticize the 'home team'. I don't consider myself a strong Democrat, but I tend to keep my focus on the real reason I'm in to politics: I don't like Republicans. That doesn't however, mean that Democrats don't do things that really twist my balls.

Case in point, Hillary Clinton. I think she's a good Senator. Stays on message. Doesn't make an ass out of herself. Sadly, this is the standard of an effective Democrat these days.

But doesn't really do shit that matters either. She also has this awful habit of pretending to be Conservative in a frustratingly quixotic effort to win over people who hate her.

She used to confine these charades to issues of marginal importance, such as video game violence regulation. The kind of stuff that doesn't really piss off her supposed core of Left-wing support. I say 'supposed' because its pretty hard to find a real lefty on the Hillary '08 bandwagon. Yet she's continuously talked about as an inevitability as our candidate-in-waiting.

But with one fundraising event, she's taken a turn down a path that is indicative of everything wrong with Washington these days, in particular Democrat leadership. She's convinced Rupert Murdoch, owner of News Corp. (which operates Fox News and a seemingly endless number of other conservative media outlets) to host a campaign fundraiser on her behalf.

For her Senate re-election campaign this fall.

A re-election campaign that is basically uncontested and enjoys a ridiculous funding advantage already.

NEW YORK - Media mogul Rupert Murdoch, whose Fox News Channel and other conservative news outlets have been skewering Hillary Rodham Clinton for years, will host a summer fundraiser for the senator, mystifying some observers and enraging others.

Especially incensed are liberal activists, who for months have decried what they see as a shift to a right on Clinton’s part as the Democrat contemplates a run for president in 2008. They are stunned that she is associating with a man viewed as a cornerstone of the “vast right-wing conspiracy,” a term Clinton herself employed.

This unholy alliance is a political shockwave to the system. At a minimum it means that Rupert Murdoch (you may know him as The Fucking Devil) has got her back in the '08 primaries. In the extreme, it could mean he's picked his horse for the entire '08 race. It's far-fetched, but I suppose it's alternately possible that Murdoch is one of many fed-up Republicans who could just as easily vote for a pro-business establishment Democrat. I'm not buying that yet though.

Either way, reaching into to the heart of the money/media machine on the Right is not the way I want to see the Democrats come back into power. The predicament this country is in right now exists primarily because of poor leadership, but also because of a lapdog media that fails to hold leadership publicly accountable.

For every news piece detailing a new atrocity inflicted upon us by the Powers That Be, there are 10 shitfaced pundits ready and eager to tell us all how its no big deal, shut up, sit down, and try not to be such a liberal pussy. Partisan balance now overrides the pursuit of truth that was supposed to be the driving motive of our media. So now complete bullshit is considered one-half of a debate and it must be reported unchallenged because to do otherwise would obviate your liberal bias. For that, you can thank people like Rupert Murdoch.

Changing Presidents and Congress is one step in righting this ship. Embracing the elements of the media that have steered political discourse in this country straight into the shitter (this blog included) is a step in the opposite direction.

Besides, the Republicans have a hard-on at the thought of reliving the Clinton Wars. It's not too far out of the realm of possibility that Murdoch sees an opportunity to prop up the ultimate Republican boogey-woman for '08. With gay marriage, tax cuts, and our Glorious Global March on Brown People losing potency among Republicans, Hillary could be the shot in the arm that the GOP base needs to get back its mouth-frothing mojo.

The GOP Keepin it Real

I'm reposting something I just posted at the DailyKos. My first attempt at activism...

This weekend, the biggest hip-hop station in Columbus, OH, Power 107.5, began running an apparently editorial advertisement endorsing Ken Blackwell. It was recorded by the station's management, not the Blackwell campaign.

Naturally, this blew my mind since I can think of no good reason for anyone to endorse Blackwell and the GOP Monolith of Corruption here in Ohio. Especially the most listened to urban station in town.

The supposed justification for this endorsement was because of an attack by Blackwell's primary opponent, Jim Petro. Petro is slamming Blackwell for advertising on hip-hop stations while running on a family-value campaign. Though I can find no evidence, the ad contended that Blackwell supported the hip-hop stations and therefor deserved 107.5's listener support.

This brings up a number of questions and concerns that I'm going to address. Also, for those of us in Central Ohio, there's some action you can take to help Ted Strickland and prevent Blackwell from duping voters into thinking he's a champion for Freedom of Expression and a Voice of the Oppressed Minority.

Ok, so you are saying to yourself...

Who gives a shit?

Hip-hop stations speak to a naturally Democratic audience. We're talking about "riding dirty", popping collars, and getting dirt off our shoulders. Not supply-side economics and the merits of promoting Democracy in the heart of the Muslim world. Nate Dogg, not Scooter Libby.

Blackwell thinks he can have his cake and eat it too. He thinks he can appeal to the Religious Right Family Values-types and simultaneously win large swaths of the black vote by winning endorsements from the stations spinning the tunes simply by announcing his ethnicity and making funny noises in support of hip-hop.

His campaign has been running ads all weekend instructing listeners how to request a Republican ballot even if they are registered Dems on Tuesday. The Ohio Dems have been crying foul, but with all of the Ohio GOP's money they will need help. More on that shortly...

When the hell did hip-hop stations start endorsing Republicans?

That's a good fuckin' question. The short answer is, in Ohio, you can't take nothing for granted. I'm still investigating a longer, less smart-assed answer. Here's what I know so far...

Power 107.5 is owned by a company called Radio-One. They have media holdings in urban markets all over the country, many in Ohio Democratic strongholds. The Center for Public Integrity shows that they have contributed around $48k to Dems in recent years.

Armed with that knowledge I sent this message to their PR Dept this morning:

I am currently doing some research into the background situation of some ads I heard on Power 107.5 in Columbus, OH over the weekend. I am a blogger and will be posting about this situation on the DailyKOS (www.dailykos.com) website later this evening on this topic. Before I posted, I wanted to seek comment or clarification from your organization.

Over this past weekend, I heard numerous ads, apparently created and run by the station, in support of Ken Blackwell's candidacy in the Republican primary here in Ohio. The logic voiced in the commercials for this support suggested that the support was in response to another epublican's criticism of the station. Blackwell apparently defended the station and the station in return advocated on his behalf.

These ads were also accompanied by Ken Blackwell's official campaign ads.My first question is whether the ads ran by the station are considered political advocacy. Are they being run through the proper funding and reporting channels to make sure they are legal and properly financed?

Also, in doing some research on your company, I see that you donate almost exclusively to Democrats. So I find this support of Blackwell, arguably the most conservative candidate running in the Ohio Gubernatorial race, difficult to reconcile with your history. I bring this to your attention and ask for response as to how this fits with your company's history of supporting good
progressive politics.
My fear is that one of your stations has made a political alliance for short-term gain that will only perpetuate one-party rule in Ohio. This will continue the current state of affairs that leaves most
African-Americans in this state without a truly representative voice at the state level for issues most important to their community.
So in summary, I'd like to know how you respond to this support of Ken Blackwell by Power 107.5 and whether your Radio-One supports his candidacy as well. Your response will be included in my post to the Progressive activism site, www.dailykos.com. I would be deeply grateful for a quick response.

Thank you for your time and your devotion to progressive politics

To this, I received the following terse response:

Hello Scott.
I have received your feedback, and have no comment at this time.
Thank you.

Name & Contact Info WithheldVice President, General
Manager - Radio One, Inc.

Now why would a company who makes contributions to Dems be so shy about endorsing Blackwell? They had many options here. They could have deflected to the station itself. They could have said they reserve the right to endorse whomever they want, situationally. They could have said just about anything. But this was all I got.

So now I really want to know what's going on.

The primary is tomorrow and Blackwell can't be stopped. Again, who gives a shit?

Radio-One would be a very important ally for Blackwell in the big race against Ted Strickland. Given their limp-wristed response my inquiry, they are in play and can probably be influenced. If enough people question their endorsement, they could be forced back into a neutral position. In a perfect world, they might even endorse the Democratic candidate.

It's important that we do not let hip-hop stations become an amplifier for Blackwell's campaign. By hypocritically defending rap music, he has shown no shame in pulling the race card. We must not concede this territory.

Ok, drunk-ass, what do we do?

Email Radio-One and let them know that as a listener you will not support them if they support Blackwell. Let them know that if they plan on endorsing such a blatantly pandering politician, that you will be listening to one of the other fine stations here in Central Ohio that play R&B and Hip-hop.

Email the PR Dept. here

IR@radio-one.com

The goal is to at least influence their position back to neutrality. If you can get a response, email me at starkravingdrunk@yahoo.com.

What are you gonna do about it?

I'm trying to find recordings of the editorial ad and get anyone from Power 107.5 or Radio-One to comment. If I can get either, I'll be emailing Strickland's campaign to pass along this ammo.

Think about it: Blackwell is now a law-and-order Republican in the position of defending rap.

Imagine the juxtaposition of Blackwell supporting hip-hop stations and the lyrics of a song like this:

Ridin' - Chamillionaire (currently on rotation on 107.5)

Laws on patrol and you know they hate me

Music turned all the way up and to the maximum

I can speak for some niggas try to jack for someBut we packing something that we have for um...

Will have a nigga locked up in the maximum

Blackwell supports drug mules.

Blackwell: Pro-Hoe Slapping

etc, etc, etc...

The potential for mud-slingery is limitless.

Crazy Fuck Friday: Chuck Colson, come on down!

From Media Matters

BreakPoint is a syndicated daily commentary that Colson's ministry claims "airs each weekday on over one thousand outlets with an estimated listening audience of one million people."

From Colson's April 11 BreakPoint commentary:

But what's the root of the problem? Why do we have a shortage of workers? Aha, that's the unspeakable "A" word that the elite dread the most: abortion. The reason we must allow millions of illegal aliens in to fill these jobs is because we have murdered a generation that would otherwise be filling them: 40 million sacrificed since 1973 to the god of self-fulfillment. And Americans are barely maintaining a replacement-level birthrate of 2.1 children per woman.

Remember the compassionate stuff that the abortionists used to tell us: "We are just preventing these poor kids from growing up in deprived, impoverished circumstances"? Hah! False. What happens is that others come in from abroad to live in those deprived, difficult, and impoverished circumstances and at great public cost.

You hear that abortionists? America needs your babies in the fields.

Start producing.

Dept. of Homeland Security wants to rape your children

Bush Administration Official arrested for soliciting sex from kids online. (Not quite an 'inner circle' guy, but a political appointee nonetheless)

WASHINGTON - A Homeland Security Department spokesman was held without bail Wednesday on felony charges of sexually preying on a detective posing as a 14-year-old girl through explicit online conversations. He was quickly suspended without pay from one of the nation’s top crime-fighting agencies.

The arrest of Brian J. Doyle, 55, raised doubts about the ability of an agency responsible for safeguarding the country to ensure the security credentials of its own people.

Doyle is accused of 23 felony charges related to sexually graphic conversations with what he thought was a teenage girl, who was in fact an undercover Florida detective. The charges, lodged Tuesday night by the Polk County, Fla., Sheriff’s Department, included 16 counts of sending pornographic movie clips to a minor.
(...)
On several occasions, Doyle instructed her to perform a sexual act while thinking of him and described explicit activities he wanted to have with her, investigators said.

The arrest “raises serious concerns about the department’s hiring policies and, more important, its security clearance practices,” said House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Peter King, R-N.Y.

You know, sometimes it really seems like the people at the top levels of government these days just get off on fucking the innocent.

You can't stop her, you can only hope to contain her

The freshman Cunt (R-OH) from Ohio's 2nd US Congressional District has an utterly relentless drive to make headlines.

Schmidt's degrees questioned

Staff says she has hours, if not parchment

WASHINGTON - A second elections complaint against Rep. Jean Schmidt was filed Friday, this time over allegations that she misrepresented her educational background.

According to the complaint, filed with the state elections commission, Schmidt claimed on candidate surveys, previous campaign Web sites and in official Ohio House literature that she earned two bachelor's degrees from the University of Cincinnati, one in political science in 1974 and one in "social studies-secondary education" in 1986.

Failures of Intelligence

Bask in the irony.

Back in January, at Major League Baseball's behest, Bush personally intervened with the Treasury Department to grant the Cuban team a waiver to play in the WBC. Baseball executives were afraid that if Cuba couldn't play, other Latin American teams would boycott, and the Classic would fall apart. Scouts assured them that the young Cuban team, without a single major leaguer, would lose in the first round.

Yet again, a colossal failure of American intelligence. Cuba sailed through the first two rounds. On Saturday, the Cuban team defeated the heavily favored team from the Dominican Republic, which had an all-star lineup of two dozen major leaguers and a payroll to match the New York Yankees.