Jon Stewart and the Daily Show on the Perry Niggerhead Controversy - Part 2

I have to applaud the Daily Show for taking a look at the larger context of offensive geographical names that are slurs not only to blacks but to other groups.

What I'm not persuaded to believe however is that this in any way lets Perry and those around him off the hook for apparently tolerating and actively participating in keeping the name for an extended period of time. It seems, despite the humor and satire here, that these names do reflect a past derogatory intolerance, and the extent to which those names continue should be recognized as being derogatory and offensive to members of those ethnicities or groups, and as continuing racism and bigotry.

It is important for the history of these locations to be preserved, to reflect what actually took place in those earlier eras.  I'm not in favor of sanitizing either history or geography.  But we can document those events without continuing the slurs in place names.  To leave the slurs in those place names is inconsistent with seeing people as the individual human beings they are, and doing so creates an unequal and imbalanced 'playing field' on which people engage in all aspects of life.

In that respect, the Daily Show makes a point that goes well beyond a controversy that has been specific to Perry, which is an excellent perspective to bring to understanding the issue of - in this case - southern bigotry.  But we have northern intolerance and bigotry as well, it is not uniquely southern.  Stewart and his staff of comedians, and his writers, do well to underline that with humor more pointedly than other media could do.  They do it, and they do it well.

(A minor biographical note - Cenac was born in New York City, but did attend high school in Texas, and college in North Carolina.)

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
The Amazing Racism - Geographical Bigotry
www.thedailyshow.com
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Go-Jo: Left, Right; By the Numbers - Recent Poll Results and Policies

An interesting comparison of the poll results, of Republican and Democratic Governors, as an indication of the popularity of the respective larger policies of the Right and the Left.  It does seem to show that the majority of people consistently think the right.....is wrong.

from the Governor's Journal, ("all governors, all the time")

By GoJo Staff on July 28, 2011

MN Blames GOP

A poll taken in Minnesota for MinnPost.com says most state residents – by a 2 to 1 margin – blame the Republican controlled legislature for the recent government shutdown, not Governor Mark Dayton(DFL).

As the poll comes out, Dayton is using the three week standoff as the basis for a fundraising campaign on behalf of his party. He sent out letters earlier this week arguing the only way to correct what’s wrong with state government is to elect more members of the DFL to the legislature.

Read More: MinnPost.com – Poll Backs Dayton

And then we have another, even more popular Democrat, with numbers that every Republican Governor should envy.

Cuomo Stay Home
By GoJo Staff on July 15, 2011

A new poll from Siena College says New York Governor Andrew Cuomo(D) ended his first legislative session with a 71% approval rating. It is arguably the highest approval rating for any governor in the country.

But more than 50% want him to stay put in New York, and say any talk of running for president is premature. For his part, Cuomo seems to get that message and has been refusing opportunities to travel outside the state to raise his national profile.

Read More: New York Daily News – Cuomo Poll

Then we have the bad news elephants, the Republican Governors, who are on a steady downward slide:

Walker Disapproval
By GoJo Staff on July 13, 2011

It’s bad when the press starts reporting your poll numbers based on “disapproval,” because the number is bigger.

That’s the case for Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker(R) who’s disapproval rating, according to a new Badger poll, is 59%. One pollster blames the poor performance on cuts to education rather than the drawn out dispute over collective bargaining rights.

Walker says he’s not concerned. (my emphasis added - DG)

Read More: Minneapolis Star Tribune – Walker Poll

Possible Corruption: Scott Walker, Governor of Wisconsin and the Koch Brothers in the Union Busting Legislation

From the union-busting proposed legislation - something else which has a bad possibility for the state's resources - this time, property owned by the state (my emphasis added) . Note that not only does this provide for no competition by bidding, it also does not have any provision for real valuations of property prior to a sales price being set; there is absolutely no public input to the process; there is no provision for cost benefit analysis; there does not appear to be any campaign promises about privatization of public power plants anywhere that I could find by Governor Walker leading up to the 2010 election; nor has this provision of the legislation been publicized for public input - of any kind, Republican or Democratic. The Koch Brothers were major campaign contributors to Governor Walker, and stand to benefit by such sales. It certainly leads me to believe that the whole union busting aspect of this bill was intended at least in part purely as a distraction from the special interest campaign-pay off / corporate give away suggested by this provision - that to me looks a lot like potential corruption.:

16.896 Sale or contractual operation of state−owned heating, cooling, and power plants. (1) Notwithstanding ss. 13.48 (14) (am) and 16.705 (1), the department may sell any state−owned heating, cooling, and power plant or may contract with a private entity for the operation of any such plant, with or without solicitation of bids, for any amount that the department determines to be in the best interest of the state. Notwithstanding ss. 196.49 and 196.80, no approval or certification of the public service commission is necessary for a public utility to purchase, or contract for the operation of, such a plant, and any such purchase is considered to be in the public interest and to comply with the criteria for certification of a project under s. 196.49 (3) (b).

Anyone who would like to know the nature of the pandering to special interests that Governor Walker of Wisconsin is accused of should read it here:

AlterNet / By Joshua Holland

What's Going on in Wisconsin? Latest Developments and Analysis on the Democratic Uprising Against Gov. Scott Walker

Here's a run-down on events and key analysis on the fast-moving events in Wisconsin's state capitol.

February 21, 2011

The drama unfolding in Wisconsin is now in its second week, and as tens of thousands of workers and their supporters ring the state's capitol expressing outrage over Union-busting Republican Governor Scott Walker's bill, the impasse doesn't appear to be headed towards a resolution anytime soon. AlterNet is staying on top of this momentous story, and here are the latest developments.
Update:
A major protest is being organized in Columbus, Ohio this afternoon. Ohio Dems:

Now is the time. If ever there was a time to show up, stand up and let our voices be heard, it is now. The fate of Ohio’s middle class is on the line at the Ohio Statehouse.

[Today,] the legislature is scheduled to move on Senate Bill 5, a bill that would strip away collective bargaining rights, hurt the middle class, kill jobs and destroy communities. I want to invite you to come to the Statehouse in Columbus on Tuesday to voice your opposition to this bill. Please click here and let us know that you can attend.

Update:

It's day 2 of labor's show-down against "right to work for lower wages" legislation in Indiana. As they have in Wisconsin, Democratic lawmakers have left the state to prevent a vote. According to the Indianapolis Star-Tribune, Democrats are headed to Illinois, though it was possible some also might go to Kentucky.

They need to go to a state with a Democratic governor to avoid being taken into police custody and returned to Indiana.

The House was came into session this morning, with only two of the 40 Democrats present. Those two were needed to make a motion, and a seconding motion, for any procedural steps Democrats would want to take to ensure Republicans don’t do anything official without quorum.

Hundreds of workers are reportedly staging a sit-in outside the capitol building.

Update:

Wisconsin Dems say Walker has cut off internet access to opposition websites in the capitol building. Maybe calling him "Hosni Walker" isn't so uncivil after all.

Update:

The more we learn about Scott Walker and his proposal, the clearer it becomes that this has little, if anything, to do with balancing Wisconsin's budget.

Governor Walker's Failures in 2009/2010 Union Busting in Milwaukee with a Fake Budget Emergency - and What It Will Cost

"The county did not have a true budget crisis at the time and county officials failed to give the union representing the security guards an opportunity to make some alternative cost-saving proposals before laying them off, according to the decision from arbitrator Amedeo Greco."

Steve Schultze, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

"Thou shalt not oppress an hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he be of thy brethren, or of thy strangers that are in thy land within thy gates:

At his day thou shalt give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it; for he is poor, and setteth his heart upon it: lest he cry against thee unto the LORD, and it be sin unto thee." Deuteronomy 24:14,15 Old Testament, King James Bible"

"The laborer is worthy of his hire.
1st Timothy 5:18
New Testament, King James Bible


The hypocrisy of the Religious Right, who continue to try to make us a theocracy rather than a secular nation, never ceases to amaze me.

I recall growing up the adult lesson taught me by my parents that there are good frugal decisions, but that there are also some bad outcomes from the wrong cost cutting measures, that trying to get by 'on the cheap' can often come back to bite you in the backside - sometimes HARD. 

It was part of my parents' lectures on being penny-wise and pound-foolish - as Wisconsin Governor Walker appears to have been.  He also appears to be power grabbing and dishonest, and guilty of what I usually term 'Republican Math" where the numbers just never add up, to the detriment of everyone.  Well, everyone loses, except a few top percentile wealthy who always seem to benefit, almost miraculously, unless you believe it was planned; (becaues it is usually planned).

This seems to be the case as news is coming out across the nation - and presumably across Wisconsin - about the really bad and dishonest 'executive decisions' of Governor Walker while he was in charge in Milwaukee.  What a shame this decision was not available to the citizens of Wisconsin last fall before the election; they would have had better information on which to vote.

Because I like to go to the local sources whenever possible, here is what the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel published back in January 2011:

Milwaukee County must offer to reinstate courthouse security guards

Arbitrator rules against Walker's privatization  By Steve Schultze of the Journal Sentinel

Milwaukee County must offer to reinstate 26 courthouse security guards who were laid off nearly a year ago when then-County Executive Scott Walker replaced them with private guards as an emergency budget measure, according to an arbitrator's decision issued Monday.

Supplemental to the PSA in Defense of Women's Lives, and Against the Wrong-on-the-Right Extremists in Congress

The previous PSA contained a petition to be presented to Congress, as a whole.  I promised that if the opportunity came for links to individual members of Congress, to facilitate expressing your views to your own individual congressman or congresswoman, I would present it here.  Tell your Representative in Congress to stop waging culture wars, to stop over reaching any mandate they incorrectly believe they have to intrude and meddle in the lives of individual citizens. Tell them to get to the real business of Congress serving the people of this country, not the wealthy few, not the extreme fringe, and not corporations.  Every individual contact like this is a reminder of who elected them - and who cannot vote.

Do it by using the link embedded in the following message from the Center for Reproductive Rights.  You may or may not support any other positions of this organization, but using the link specifically addresses ONLY the issue of abortions to save the life of the mother, something  on which we can widely share a consensus.

NO human being in this country should have to face seeking medical care for a health problem where they could lose their life, only to be denied that care because of the unscientific, religious beliefs of a health care provider or institution being forced on them, or judging their morals.  We have medical ethics committees in every hospital in this country which competently and knowledgeably addresses these issues - and they don't do it like this legislation.

Another Public Service Announcement in Defense of Women, Because Joe Pitts and His Legislation REALLY Is 'the Pits'

The 'Stupak on Steroids' redefining of rape and incest to forcible rape ONLY for abortion by the political Right, aka the Political Wrong, has been defeated.  The 'forcible rape' language has been replaced with the wording of the Hyde Amendment which recognizes rape, incest, and the life of the mother for abortions. Why another redundant reiteration of the Hyde Amendment? Just let it go, give up your culture war attack on women, Rightwingers.

Instead, the Republicans and Tea Partiers are declaring another culture war on women in a different way, this time on another of the Hyde Amendment provisions, one on which if there is any compromise, any position whatsoever where we have agreement on the appropriate use for abortion, it is this.  They want to make it an acceptable option to REFUSE to perform an abortion to save a woman's life.

 They want to make it acceptable to let women die who could have their life be saved.   You know - the RELIGIOUS  Right who claim to care about life, but don't, when it comes to women.
The effectivenss of the protest against the Stupak on Steroids legislation was tremendously effective.  We need to let the Wrong-on-the-Right know this is every bit as unacceptable to America. Sign the linked petition. Please contact your members of Congress. I'll update here if there is a similar twitter campaign to the one against the forcible abortion legislation. THIS is not what Congress should be doing; not now, not later, not ever.

Shower Power: the Threatened Attempts to Undo the Repeal of DADT

This repeal of DADT should not be overturned in the next Congress, or in any future session of Congress. It is time to remove the other legal impediments to LGBT citizens leading the same normal lives as the rest of us do, without regard to their innate and natural sexual orientation as a basis for discrimination. These right-wing nuts embrace the same unscientific, impotent, badly prejudiced, inaccurate and untrue beliefs that were characteristic of the bigotry of racism in the past that postulated racial inferiority, the belief that some races were inherently 'degenerate' promoted by conservatives in other eras. (Or perhaps currently circulating, with the attempts to promote revisionist history by conservatives like Gov. Haley Barbour, touted as a possible 2012 GOP conservative candidate for President.)

John McCain stormed out of the Senate when DADT was repealed.  John McCain will continue to be part of the ultraconservative movement to oppose the civil rights of anyone who does not conform to their narrow and exclusively heterosexual, bigoted and misinformed politics and/or religion.  Some incoming candidates-elect in January want to stop LGBT equality of any kind. Like the right in Virginia when Governor Bob McDonnell back in February 2010 removed sexual orientation from discrimination protection. rescinded an earlier executive order from 2006, the new Tea Partiers and Republicans, and their supporters, are already talking about undoing critical protections for LGBT people.  This includes a bigoted desire to reinstate DADT.   I think we can look forward to John McCain leading this effort, in his dire necessity to appeal to the extreme right for his political survival.

Here are a few of the statements which illustrate that intention:

"We are now stuck with sexual deviants serving openly in the U.S. military... If historians want a fixed marker pointing to the instant the United States sealed its own demise, they just found it." – Bryan Fischer, American Family Association"


"The American military... has now been hijacked and turned into a tool for imposing on the country a radical social agenda." – Tony Perkins, Family Research Council.


"This action will be overturned in the next Congress." – Matthew Staver, Freedom Federation

"The repeal of the 'Don't Ask Don't Tell' law is a disaster of historic proportions and it must be reinstated. My organization and others will to fight to make sure that happens." – E. W. Jackson, Stand America PAC

Recount: Now It's Over, I Can Share My Own Experiences as a Dayton Recount Volunteer

I did some volunteer work for the DFL, mostly on behalf of Jim Oberstar, in the 2010 elections.  I happen to believe that Mr. Oberstar was an exceptional congressman in representing his constituency, and for our state. The measure of his loss has yet to be appreciated. Because I had been a volunteer during the past election, I was contacted when the DFL was looking for volunteers to assist with the recount.

To be a recount volunteer, attending one of the 2 hour training sessions was required.  From my own conversations with Emmer recount volunteers, along with the shared experiences of other Dayton recount volunteers, and media coverage, it was clear that the Emmer campaign did not similarly either field an adequate number of recount volunteers, but more importantly the campaign and the GOP did not provide any training whatsoever as a condition of participating in the recount.  For those few who had previously been part of the Franken/Coleman recount, a very acrimonious recount in comparison to this one, it was especially important for volunteers to be aware of the changes to the law between 2008 and 2010 elections.  In all, the DFL reported (in their 'thank you' email) that there were 3,345 of us who volunteered.

Minnesota Governor's Race, Recount Update 4

This morning, Wednesday December 8, 2010, Tom Emmer conceded that the recount did not show him receiving a sufficient number of votes to defeat Governor-elect Mark Dayton.

Yesterday a law suit ruling by the Minnesota Supreme Court went against Emmer that would have provided the basis for a court challenge.

Information from Secretary of State Mark Ritchie and/or the Canvassing Board on the official status of the Recount issues will be posted here as they come to our attention.

It occurs to me that Tom Emmer may have been very wise to withdraw frivolous ballot challenges, and to conceded at this time.  I'm sure he hopes that it will deflect the attention of the Minnesota electorate which is properly angry over the abuse of the recount process, and the unnecessary expense that those FRIVOLOUS ballot challenges represent to every community in Minnesota.  Let me be clear - I have no objection to legitimate issues being pursued, or legitimate ballot challenges being pressed.  I have a huge objection however to campaign trying to manipulate our election processes for sleezy and dishonest political advantage.

That is what the voter fraud hoax stories represent.  That is what the frivolous ballot challenges were.

Minnesota Governor's Race Recount Update 3

Over the weekend (12/4 - 12/5) there was some reluctant progress in the Minnesota Governor's race recount.  Finally, after doing everything in their power to impede and delay the timely and efficient recount progress with thousands of frivolous ballot challenges, the Emmer campaign has abandoned  those meritless challenges.  After the attorneys for both campaigns met over the weekend to review just the frivolous ballot challenges for Hennepin County alone, a task taking some 6 hours, the Republicans finally withdrew 2,604 frivolous ballots.   The Emmer campaign hung on to another 24 ballots that were deemed frivolous, but at least letting go of the other 2,000+ was a step in the right direction.  Hennepin County is the largest county and the most populous in Minnesota; but it will be a better step if they do the same for all the other frivolous challenges in all the other counties.

The Minnesota Governor's Election Recount: I Was There!

As of this morning (Tuesday, 11/30) we are beginning the second day of the recount.  The majority of the 87 counties in Minnesota finished yesterday, with only a few of the largest, most populous counties having votes that remain to be recounted.  Those should be concluded in the next couple of days; certainly at the present rate of completion, I would expect them to be concluded by the end of the week at the very latest.

After the completion of the local process, those challenged ballots go 'up the ladder' of the process, for final determination.  But THAT will be a separate post; I don't want to get ahead of myself.

There were significantly fewer votes cast in the 2010 election, compared to the 2010 elections.

Minnesota gained a certain notoriety and became the butt of national jokes for the 2008 recount that resulted in the eventual confirmation of Senator Al Franken, after more than six months.  Most of that time was the result of a lengthy court challenge by bad loser Norm Coleman.  That challenge to Minnesota election findings was lost, by unanimous court decisions, over and over and over.

PACman Karl Roves Everywhere But Near the Truth in Political Ads, per factcheck.org

Max Baucus, the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, requested this week that the IRS do a full investigation into Karl Rove's "Crossroads" PAC for improperly using their tax-exempt status to manipulate elections, along with other corporate 'front' not for profits.

So, it  is no surprise that in my daily email there was another update from one of my favorite genuinely non-partisan organizations, factcheck.org. 

______________________________

Crossroads Jam-Up
Conservative 'super PAC' makes false and misleading claims in a blizzard of ads.

October 1, 2010
Summary

The latest ads from the American Crossroads “super PAC” attack Democrats running for Senate seats in Colorado, Illinois, Ohio, Nevada, Missouri and New Hampshire.

The ads contain a number of misleading and false claims.

The Land of Nod

The Land of Nod is the land Cain (biblical guy, kills his brother) settled in and is east of Eden. It is also often referred to as that land of dreams, e.g. as we "nod" off to sleep.

It's the land where I go when I want to live in a fantasy world. It is where my mind wanders, my farcifal spirit walks, when I want to consider what the world could be like, good and bad, if we did silly things.

Last week, the Mayor of Enoch, in the Land of Nod, suggested we vote on whether left-handed people are allowed to breathe. After all, if they breathe, the rest of us likely will have less air in the Land of Nod, where air might possibly run out some day. And the Governor of the Land of Nod, well he last week had us vote on whether children should be allowed to grow, because after all, if they grow, their parents will be denied the right to keep their cuteness for as long as they want. Finally, the Dinosaurs are roaming around the "Big Dig" in the Land of Nod, looking for people to scare (RAWR!!!) into doing whatever the powerful people need, because after all, powerful people need a lot of help becoming even more powerful, in the Land of Nod. You see, in the Land of Nod, tyranny of the majority is entirely acceptable, and trickling money upward is a workable economic model. Whatever the majority wants today, they get. If the rich want to use Dinosaurs and scary stories to influence the majority into stripping away basic liberties, well, that's perfectly fine, because "that's how it ought to be", there are no moral imperatives nor anyone who worries about them, in the Land of Nod.

Left or Right, Wrong is Wrong

UPDATE:  I wrote the following post before the news broke of an alleged attempt by James O'Keefe to engage in an attempted event involving a CNN reporter, a boat, and a lot of sex paraphenalia. O'Keefe denies having a role in this.  If O'Keefe is telling the truth - for a change - then this is a very wrong attempt by someone to treat O'Keefe in the same way he has treated his victims.  For more details, read about it here.  I find O'Keefe's claims that this really was an escapade generated by CNN, or the notion that the attractive CNN reporter had attempted to seduce weasel-faced, proven liar O'Keefe highly implausible.

I had intended the next factcheck.org item that I would review here on Penigma would be about the Republican 'Pledge' to/ with / against America (hint - it doesn't holdup well to fact checking), but instead, I think this merits comment first.

In Defense of the Constitution of the United States of America

Sadly, Friday, September 17th, 'Constitution Day' and 'Citizenship Day', largely went uncelebrated and unremarked.  Although belatedly (sorry about that) I'm going to address it here, under the premise of better late than never.

Tweedle Dumber, Twaddle 'Donnell

"American scientific companies are crossbreeding humans and animals and coming up with mice with fully functioning human brains,"
- Delaware's GOP Senate Candidate Christine O'Donnell
2007, Bill O'Reilly interview

This is the woman that the GOP is endorsing for the senate seat previously held by Vice President Biden.  It is not the craziest thing she has said, not by a long shot.

So.........what is the reality that Ms. O'Donnell-the-Dumb got so very wrong?

You can read it here.  It has to do with chimeras used in stem cell research.

Tax Cuts for the Rich Won't Do What the Right Says They Will Do

Moody's Analytics, Inc. data were quoted in a recent Bloomberg article - read it here.

The article is very clear that an analysis of information all the way back to 1989, shows that tax cuts in 2001 and 2003 under Bush resulted in an increase in savings by the wealthy, not by more spending, not by more investment in new business or more jobs. One of the economists involved in the analysis, Chris Cornell, made the statement, “Spending by the top 5 percent of households seems much more closely tied to business- cycle issues than it does to tax-cut issues.”