Another take on what we have to endure
Last weekend a blogger on the right wing unleashed his venom not on any supposed liberal media personality, but instead on all of the families of the editors and writers of the New York Times. He advised his readers--and he does indeed have readers: this is not from some isolated blogger out on the fringe like I am--to find the names and addresses of the NYT employees and the schools of their kids and "hunt them down". Seriously! (If you need to know why, see the piece at Daily Kos linked to above, which links to another site that contains even more details.)
I have little doubt that some nutballs are going to do just that, because I really believe that the majority of the remaining supporters of the Republican Party are absolutely fucking evil. Even if they do not necessarily condone this kind of sick behavior, anyone, and I mean anyone, who votes for any Republicans in this political climate is simply an enabler of the most venal and corrupt kind.
There used to be something called a "Liberal Republican"--Nelson Rockefeller was one of the bearers of that distinctive label, as was NYC mayor John Lindsay--but the political map has shifted so far to the right that this classification no longer exists by that name. In fact, the closest we come currently to politicians like Rocky or Lindsay reside in the Democratic Party, and indeed, are the center of the Democratic Party. Anyone knowingly remaining in the Republican Party--that is, anyone who actually subscribes to what the Republican leaders support nowadays--is so far off the right edge of this country's traditional political landscape that it is hard to fathom. These people are advocating the harm of children, for God's sake, all because someone essentially reprinted an old travel article about the vacation mansions purchased by the Vice President and the Secretary of Defense. How can we let this stand?
And this is not the rhetoric of the unhinged, it is the manner by which our country is being run these days, and so far, no one has been truly punished for it. Think about it: Valerie Plame's life was put in jeopardy, and her career ended, because someone extremely high up in our government consciously decided to do so. How is that any different from what this jackass blogger did? Granted, the blogger was too freaking lazy to do the research himself and find the names and addresses of the reporters/editors that offended his sense of, I dunno, "righteousness"? The impulse was exactly analogous, however, and it's not hard to see how this kind of thing can happen. Scooter has yet to spend a single day in jail, and may not ever. No one else involved has even been indicted in the Plame case. These vicious thugs are this blogger's heroes--it's only natural that he would try and emulate their behavior, because that's how weak-minded morons behave. They are incapable of understanding, compassion, or even simple human decency, and have a perceptual blindness preventing them from realizing that they are destroying this country even faster than we founded it.
Realizing that I may be found guilty of breaking Godwin's Law, I can honestly think of no better analogy to what has been happening in the last 5 years than the rise of Hitler's Nazis. The same fanaticism and fervent belief in a quasi-religious movement (c'mon, people, no one with any sense of true morality can honestly claim that what these criminals advocate has anything remotely connected with Christianity), the same blind following of insane leadership that promises a way out of some perceived targeted oppression, the same concentrated power in a single political entity, the same attempted suppression of all forms of communication not deemed "patriotic support", the same rejection of reason in favor of faith--we are living through the late 1920s and early 1930s in Germany, folks.
I know I'm preaching to the choir here, but we all know somebody who still thinks the Republicans just have "a few bad apples", if not worse. They are wrong. The whole Party is corrupt at best, is consciously subversive at worst, and is killing America. We must educate and inform those still voting with an "R" next to their names at the ballot booths: this is not your parents' Republican Party.
This is not the Party of Lincoln or Teddy Roosevelt. This is the Party of death, deception, and dishonor. This is the Party of Rush Limbaugh, Karl Rove, Dick Cheney, Grover Norquist, Rupert Murdoch, Duke Cunningham, Kenny Lay (may Satan hold him dear), and Tom DeLay. These sociopaths are incapable of caring about you or anything you hold dear, and they will continue to flaunt your ignorance and steal your money until you are broke, unemployed, and living on the streets if you let them. Stop believing their lies, and stop thinking that it's not that bad, because they won't stop lying, and it is getting that bad. Wake up to what is happening here, please.
I have little doubt that some nutballs are going to do just that, because I really believe that the majority of the remaining supporters of the Republican Party are absolutely fucking evil. Even if they do not necessarily condone this kind of sick behavior, anyone, and I mean anyone, who votes for any Republicans in this political climate is simply an enabler of the most venal and corrupt kind.
There used to be something called a "Liberal Republican"--Nelson Rockefeller was one of the bearers of that distinctive label, as was NYC mayor John Lindsay--but the political map has shifted so far to the right that this classification no longer exists by that name. In fact, the closest we come currently to politicians like Rocky or Lindsay reside in the Democratic Party, and indeed, are the center of the Democratic Party. Anyone knowingly remaining in the Republican Party--that is, anyone who actually subscribes to what the Republican leaders support nowadays--is so far off the right edge of this country's traditional political landscape that it is hard to fathom. These people are advocating the harm of children, for God's sake, all because someone essentially reprinted an old travel article about the vacation mansions purchased by the Vice President and the Secretary of Defense. How can we let this stand?
And this is not the rhetoric of the unhinged, it is the manner by which our country is being run these days, and so far, no one has been truly punished for it. Think about it: Valerie Plame's life was put in jeopardy, and her career ended, because someone extremely high up in our government consciously decided to do so. How is that any different from what this jackass blogger did? Granted, the blogger was too freaking lazy to do the research himself and find the names and addresses of the reporters/editors that offended his sense of, I dunno, "righteousness"? The impulse was exactly analogous, however, and it's not hard to see how this kind of thing can happen. Scooter has yet to spend a single day in jail, and may not ever. No one else involved has even been indicted in the Plame case. These vicious thugs are this blogger's heroes--it's only natural that he would try and emulate their behavior, because that's how weak-minded morons behave. They are incapable of understanding, compassion, or even simple human decency, and have a perceptual blindness preventing them from realizing that they are destroying this country even faster than we founded it.
Realizing that I may be found guilty of breaking Godwin's Law, I can honestly think of no better analogy to what has been happening in the last 5 years than the rise of Hitler's Nazis. The same fanaticism and fervent belief in a quasi-religious movement (c'mon, people, no one with any sense of true morality can honestly claim that what these criminals advocate has anything remotely connected with Christianity), the same blind following of insane leadership that promises a way out of some perceived targeted oppression, the same concentrated power in a single political entity, the same attempted suppression of all forms of communication not deemed "patriotic support", the same rejection of reason in favor of faith--we are living through the late 1920s and early 1930s in Germany, folks.
I know I'm preaching to the choir here, but we all know somebody who still thinks the Republicans just have "a few bad apples", if not worse. They are wrong. The whole Party is corrupt at best, is consciously subversive at worst, and is killing America. We must educate and inform those still voting with an "R" next to their names at the ballot booths: this is not your parents' Republican Party.
This is not the Party of Lincoln or Teddy Roosevelt. This is the Party of death, deception, and dishonor. This is the Party of Rush Limbaugh, Karl Rove, Dick Cheney, Grover Norquist, Rupert Murdoch, Duke Cunningham, Kenny Lay (may Satan hold him dear), and Tom DeLay. These sociopaths are incapable of caring about you or anything you hold dear, and they will continue to flaunt your ignorance and steal your money until you are broke, unemployed, and living on the streets if you let them. Stop believing their lies, and stop thinking that it's not that bad, because they won't stop lying, and it is getting that bad. Wake up to what is happening here, please.
posted by bryduck at 9:31 AM
1 Comments:
Your blog reminded me of how, bit by bit, we can lose our liberty if we are not "eternally vigilant."
The following was written by Martin Niemoller, a pastor who opposed Hitler:
First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out- because I was not a communist.
Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out- because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out-because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out- because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me- and there was no one left to speak out.
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