Are you rational?

Republican morality is in the toilet

I'm trotting out an old friend of mine again today...

Written by Christ Hedges for Truthdig.

"Those who retreat into fantasy cannot be engaged in rational discussion, for fantasy is all that is left of their tattered self-esteem. When their myths are attacked as untrue it triggers not a discussion of facts and evidence but a ferocious emotional backlash."

The reason Republicans re-direct your attention on issues and lie about things is they have no where else to turn in defense of their beliefs. There's no good reason to hate Obama other than race; there's no good reason to harp on Benghazi except for their hate of the black man in the white house; there is no good reason to continue to harp on cutting social security other than the fact that it is a favored program of the Kenyan Muslim haunting their dreams. Facts and reason are the friends of the enlightened and the liberals and conservatives thrive on fear and hate.

Dealing in facts

When considering the plight of the American political scene, it is far more constructive to work from facts than to work from emotion.  The Republicans continue to scream that Obama and the Democrats have been "tax and spend" liberals and that they are increasing the deficit at exponential rates. It is simply not true.

It seems to me that we could do a lot to improve political discourse in this country if we passed laws to make it illegal to tell lies on television and to strengthen liable and slander laws to cover even politicians. It might make our politics a whole lot more civil.

Your brain on Fox

There a lot of irrational people in the Republican party.

Conservatives never let facts get in their way.

Viva la difference!

Science versus religion.

More on facts

Unless you're reading this in a news reader, you're probably seeing this post before you see the previous one I posted. I point that out because I was just addressing the need to carry out our political discussions by starting with facts and working from there. That message should never get old. Start with the facts.

Fast and Loose

When the Republicans don't know a fact, they make one up in such a manner as to support their hypothesis. Interestingly enough, these facts often do not get checked by the base - the base is made up of often uneducated, always easily convinced (there is no global warming?) nitwits.

Now I don't mind a good debate with a conservative if they stick to the real facts, but that is often most impossible. Have you ever argued with someone who brings up facts and statistics you've never heard of? It's nearly impossible to discuss issues because you're arguing against made-up lies that you can't overcome without research. I've been in these situations and you wind up sitting there, helpless and dumbstruck.

Here comes an example - this one brought to light because the claim was made on TV. From Crooks and Liars - click the link for more and the sources.

At the GOP debate the other night, Mike Huckabee made an odd claim.

“When our founding fathers put their signatures on the Declaration of Independence, those 56 brave people, most of whom, by the way, were clergymen, they said that we have certain inalienable rights given to us by our creator.”

“Most” of the signers were clergy? Is that true? Actually, no.

Only one of the 56 was an active clergyman, and that was John Witherspoon. Witherspoon was a Presbyterian minister and president of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University).

Did You Know - Walter Reed Report

After a while you begin to ask yourself, "Is there anything the Bush Administration does that's RIGHT?"

The following is from the Washington Post - click here to read the entire article...

A top-level Pentagon review panel has concluded that Walter Reed Army Medical Center should be closed as soon as possible, following revelations of poor care that the panel blamed on a "perfect storm" of failed leadership, flawed policies and overwhelming casualties.

Did You Know - Voter Fraud

In 1986 Ronald Regan commissioned a panel to look into the pornography industry. It was done because he wanted to find evidence that pornography led to crime and abuse so that he could outlaw it. When the report was finalized, it did not support the President's position, so it was shelved and the war on pornography continued anyway.

Why do I raise this issue? Because Republicans have a new cause - they want to suppress the votes of the elderly, the poor and minority groups because they usually vote as Democrats. So they trumped up some charges about voter fraud and created a commission. But, lo-and-behold, when the report came out it did not support the President's view. So the Republicans changed the report! They obviously learned from the pornography commission - shelving the report does not help - so this time they changed it to suit their needs.

Jesus Christ - how can one political party attract so many evil bastards?

The following is from the New York Times - click here to read the entire article...

WASHINGTON, April 10 — A federal panel responsible for conducting election research played down the findings of experts who concluded last year that there was little voter fraud around the nation, according to a review of the original report obtained by The New York Times.

Instead, the panel, the Election Assistance Commission, issued a report that said the pervasiveness of fraud was open to debate.

The revised version echoes complaints made by Republican politicians, who have long suggested that voter fraud is widespread and justifies the voter identification laws that have been passed in at least two dozen states.

Democrats say the threat is overstated and have opposed voter identification laws, which they say disenfranchise the poor, members of minority groups and the elderly, who are less likely to have photo IDs and are more likely to be Democrats.

Though the original report said that among experts “there is widespread but not unanimous agreement that there is little polling place fraud,” the final version of the report released to the public concluded in its executive summary that “there is a great deal of debate on the pervasiveness of fraud.”

The topic of voter fraud, usually defined as people misrepresenting themselves at the polls or improperly attempting to register voters, remains a lively division between the two parties. It has played a significant role in the current Congressional investigation into the Bush administration’s firing of eight United States attorneys , several of whom, documents now indicate, were dismissed for being insufficiently aggressive in pursuing voter fraud cases.

Did You Know - Faux News Reports

This is just marvelous - if you like the truth. From BobGeiger.com...

With the news today that the Nevada Democratic Party has canceled their ill-advised partnership with Fox News to broadcast the state's Democratic presidential debate in August, it seems like a good time to share a segment from Robert Greenwald's "Fox Attacks" series. This one shows the smear jobs the unfair and unbalanced network has been doing on Senator Barack Obama.

Did You Know - Neal Horsley

Neal Horsley is another right-wing fanatic. He hosts a website on which he presents the opinion that homosexuality is an abomination and that premarital sex is a sin. In 2005 Mr. Horsley admitted on a radio talk show that when he was growing up on the farm, as a boy, he had had sex with the animals. He stated, "When you grow up on a farm in Georgia, your first girlfriend is a mule."

One can assunme, since the law in Georgia allows marriage only between a man and a woman, that Neal and the mule were not married. This means that Neal was engaged in premarital sex and thus, he is a sinner, probably doomed to Hell. Not to excuse the fact that Neal was committing the sin/crime of beastiality - which may be okay in his book, because he did it. And, well, because he grew up on a farm in Georgia.

As I've said repeatedly in this series of little stories, the people who feel the need to yell the loudest over non-traditional sex are most often the most perverted of all.

Did You Know - Helen Chenoweth

Helen Chenoweth was indignant over Bill Clinton's sexual indiscretions while he was in the White House and his subsequent attempts to cover them up. In 1998 it was revealed that dear Helen, she of the higher moral standard, was exposed for having had a six-year affair with a man who was married to someone else. "I've asked for God's forgiveness and I've received it," she said.

I guess Bill Clinton wasn't as easily forgiven? Must be she's of greater concern to her God - the one she was probably screaming to while in the throes of ecstasy with her illicit lover - "Oh God. Oh, God! Forgive later for the sin I'm committing now!"

Asshole.

Hide the Facts

When the administration of George W. Bush realizes that they are getting beat-up in the press over their position on an issue, what do you suppose they do? What any smart administration would do - they cover up the facts. To wit...

* When an annual report called “Budget Information for States” showed the federal government shortchanging states in the midst of fiscal crises, Bush’s Office of Management and Budget announced it was discontinuing the report, which some said was the only source for comprehensive data on state funding from the federal government.

Read the comprehensive list of cover-ups (at least the one's that are known about) at TPM Muckraker.