Fake Democratic Candidate: Really a Conservative, AND Hate Group Affiliated; Fake Democratic voters behind his primary win

The right is fond of fraudulently representing themselves.  You have to wonder at the utter massive failure of the values and integrity of the Republicans and other conservatives who try to deceive voters, who take pride in misrepresenting themselves to voters.
Where, again, are those core values, those BIBLICAL values, those FAMILY values?  Ah, so you as a party never really had those, did you?  Of course the right is lacking in those -- the MN GOP is a perfect example of the utter failure of ethics and responsibility.  No moral and ethical party or movement could , pardon the pun, RIGHTLY condone deception and immorality, including hate group advocacy, in pursuit OR conduct of public office.
That is true of candidates in Wisconsin and now Tennessee, that is true of ballot initiatives like the less than clear efforts for the 2012 election cycle in Minnesota by the Minnesota immoral right wing majority in our legislature.
Here is the story, from the HuffPo, about Mark Clayton, in Tennessee:
Mark Clayton, Winner Of Senate Primary, Disavowed By Democratic Party For Hate Group Association

The Tennessee Democratic Party disavowed Mark Clayton over his association with a hate group after Clayton won Thursday's Democratic primary for U.S. Senate to face Republican Sen. Bob Corker.
"The only time that Clayton has voted in a Democratic primary was when he was voting for himself. Many Democrats in Tennessee knew nothing about any of the candidates in the race, so they voted for the person at the top of the ticket," the party said in a statement Friday.
Clayton, a 35-year-old flooring installer, won slightly more than 48,000 votes in the primary, or about twice as many as the nearest of his six other unknown challengers.
"Mark Clayton is associated with a known hate group in Washington, D.C., and the Tennessee Democratic Party disavows his candidacy, will not do anything to promote or support him in any way, and urges Democrats to write-in a candidate of their choice in November," read the statement.
Clayton is vice president of the Public Advocate of the United States, a Virginia-based group that advocates a conservative social agenda. The Southern Poverty Law Center calls it a hate group. Its opposition to gay rights is extreme: "GAY MUPPETS CONDEMNED BY PUBLIC ADVOCATE AND NOW SENATOR JIM DEMINT," "Gay Curriculum Already Out Of Closet And Into Some City Classrooms To Millions In New York" and "Eating Chicken Declared A Hate Crime Pro-homosexual Socialist Dictators Attack Private Companies just like their President Barack Obama Attacks Private Companies" read recent press release headlines.
The candidate's website is now no longer viewable. Mother Jones reported that it contained conspiracy theories about NAFTA and suggested that people who disagree with the government could be sent to "a bone-crushing prison camp similar to the one Alexander Solzhenitsyn was sent or to one of FEMA's prison camps."

It shouldn't come as too big a surprise then, to find out that Mark Clayton wasn't the only Faux Democrat running in Tennessee, or that the majority of the voters who voted partisan democratic in Tennessee were NOT, apparently, genuinely Democratic EITHER.

There was this from the Daily Kos, written by a voter in that same Tennessee election:

Dems didn't vote for hate group's darling in the primary

by turkmen

I was very busy traveling this week and didn't have time to check who won the TN Democratic Party's primary for US Senate seat. Last night I caught a tail end of Rachel Maddow Show (it was promised to be a really good one - and it was) to find out that a guy named Mark Clayton had won the primary. And apparently, as first reported by Rachel and now even in the state's biggest (and fairly conservative) newspaper "The Tennessean", this Clayton guy is really not a Democrat, never voted for a democrat in his life (except for himself this time around), and that he also belongs to anti-gay hate group.
Unbelievable, right? How could the Dems vote for this guy? Could this be an accident? I strongly believe this was not an accident. Here's what happened when I went to vote during early voting period.

I must preface that this is only my second time voting in my life because I became a US citizen in early 2010. I had voted in that year's election so I don't know how everything works with respect to voting rules yet. So last month when I went to vote in the Democratic primary and once I provided my ID and other required documentation, I was put in line to wait until more voting booths become available. In front of me stood a tall gentleman in his late 30s - early 40s who also waited for an open booth. When two booths opened up, we were both directed to the booths and the people that get the machines ready proceeded to press the buttons so we could start voting. It was at that time, the man who stood in front of me asked the working volunteer if he would still be allowed to vote for Republicans in November if he voted in the Democratic Primary this one time. I didn't think much of it at the time but I wondered about it because as a new voter I didn't know what the answer to that question was.
But I was trying to focus on my own voting and not taking too much time while doing so because there were other people in line to vote, so I proceeded to vote for the best Democratic candidates.
By the time I finished voting, I had already forgotten about the question the man who stood in front of me asked and I went on with my life.

Fast forward to yesterday when I first heard the news about TN primary on the Rachel Maddow Show. When I was doing the research, Mark Clayton, the winner of the primary, really stood out to me as the craziest, I mean totally wacko candidate of the bunch, and even at that time I thought that Mr. Clayton couldn't belong to the Democratic Party. However, pretty much all but one (Park Overall for whom I voted) were either pro-life, deeply Christian, and overall conservative, so I thought: "It must just be the way Tennessee is these days".

So after a moment of disbelief I started thinking how could this have happened? Was this really an accident? Do Democrats of the state really support the things Clayton talked about on his website? No. No freaking way. And then it struck me. The guy in front of me! The guy who was asking all these questions about being able to vote for Republicans in November if he voted in the Democratic primary that one time. He must have been a Republican cross over to vote in our primary. It was all planned! How could 48 thousand plus people vote for someone who hasn't done anything during the campaign, whose political signs I haven't seen anywhere?

I have heard about all sorts of shenanigans in politics, but this episode really touched me. I am so mad this happened. I am so upset about this that I strong think that we, Democrats of Tennessee, need to do something about it. I know the state's Democrats have disavowed his candidacy and encourage to write in a candidate - any candidate but him - but we need to do more. We need to back a real Democrat and write in that candidate to send a message that we are not "dead" as some have called our party in the state. Let this event be a wake up call for all Democrats, not just the ones in Tennessee, but everywhere where Democrats have no solid chances of winning. We need to be better prepared to deal with such situations, to make sure this never happens and we should never give up just because we live in a heavily conservative state.
So what can we do? If you're in TN or have some ideas, please share in your comments. Park Overall, the most progressive candidate of the primary, placed third with 15% of the vote (.3% less than Gary Davis, a guy who wants to cut foreign aid, to do away with federal programs and restore state's right to give people full control of their own healthcare) and I hope we can get behind her candidacy for the write-in campaign. What should the next steps be? What tools can we use to start a campaign that informs people of what happened? How can we effectively spread the word about who the Dems' real candidate is?

I've written here on Penigma before about Right Wing Authoritarianism; fascist and totalitarian efforts like advocating for "bone crushing prison camps" for dissent.  Consistently it goes hand in hand with dishonesty and hate positions and groups; chronically, it is classically conservative.  It tends to be racist, and tends to be anti-gay, and tends to be in favor of denying full and equal religious freedom and other freedom for Muslims.

Before you even consider defending the conservatives above - ask yourself the following questions.
1. Would you feel that you were treated badly by your fellow citizens if they did this to you? (Seriously - can you imagine the feigned outrage by the right if this were the other way round?)
2. If this were done in a foreign country - say Egypt or Afghanistan or Mexico - would you think they had a legitimate or illegitimate and dysfunctional election process, and held a dishonest election?
3. Could you do this and then turn around and look a new citizen in the face, and say to them this is really how a representative government should work, after either running like this, or voting like this? (I would hope not.)

To answer the question in Turkmen's post - we get out the word by having the blogosphere and hopefully an honest 4th estate focus on this UNAMERICAN conduct by the right.  We turn the bright light of sunshine and transparency on the dishonesty and cowardice and cheating by the right, on their willingness to engage in deception.

If you want HONEST government, don't vote conservative, ANY kind of conservative, regardless of who they claim to be.

Affirmation versus Disaffirmation

Our new and appreciated commenter Joe Doakes raised a question that in turn led me to some analytical thinking. 

Joe raised the question of responsibility on the part of the Chick-fails guys for the electroshock to the nuts torture of gays just because they funded the organization that did the actual torture.

The problem I have with that is apparently the Chick-Fails guys were specifically supportive with their donations of efforts to 'cure' homosexuality in the mistaken belief that it represents something that is an illness or significant inadequacy.  They funded EXACTLY, KNOWINGLY, INTENTIONALLY what was being done, and have continued donating money for that purpose.  It was not a case of donating money to a worthy cause where the money is incidentally used for a different purpose or in a different way.  I would argue that Exodus International is an UNWORTHY cause, an inherently and fundamentally evil organization with bad intentions and dangerous methods.  To claim that funding was only for the good aspects of that organization is like saying you're contributing to only the good aspects of a neo-nazi hate group, or the missionary arm of the Westboro Baptist military funeral picketing church, or the Klu Klux Klan. 

There ISN'T any good activity they engage in.  They are free to believe in anything they want to believe in - but what they DO is harmful, destructive, and vicious.  There is a reason groups get identified as HATE groups -- and that would include those we have in Minnesota, which includes the Annandale-based Bradlee Dean pseudo-ministry which lies about what it does, including misrepresenting itself in soliciting money.  REAL churches arguably don't misrepresent themselves or get thrown out of schools, and they don't promote hate propaganda like Dean's claims about homosexual pedophilia. Promoting fear, and extreme disapproval to the extent that attacks by enemies are blamed on them, with lies about that group -- that is what HATE is, that is what HATE looks like.  That is the very personification of hatred.

To claim it is a religious belief, to claim you support and believe in the Bible - good for you, IF that is what you really do.  But if you only SELECTIVELY do that, if you for example eat shrimp and bacon, if you don't support polygamy rather than monogamy, if you oppose sex trafficking children into sexual slavery or oppose any other kind of slavery, if you don't believe women are unclean during menstruation where they have to leave their homes to spend the period of their period under a separate roof --- then you aren't REALLY all about the Bible as the inerrant word of God.  (The Chick-Fail-hey! guys like to boast that they are still married to their first and only wives - good for them, but if they adhere to Leviticus, I doubt that would be true.)

The Chick-Fail-guys adhere to the same hate message as the Hate group in Minnesota - that homosexuals are pedophiles. The evidence that they are NOT is overwhelming, as I've written about here; more than that, it has been well known for some forty years or more.

Joe Doakes gave me what he mistakenly believed was a comparable example to exempt the Cathys from blame.  He cited a philanthropist who was helping poor people vote, and in the process gave them cigarettes, which she paid for not with philanthropy corporate funds, but out of her own pocket.  The difference in amounts was a $32.50, compared to around $8 million, the difference in time was a one time event where she was present in person, smoking, and shared cigarettes with others - as one might do if the instance arose where someone was eating in front of others who were hungry - in contrast to a period of YEARS.

What is a greater difference in the two examples is that whereas the Cathys who are the corporate bosses of Chick-failure don't personally hook up the electrodes to gay men's scrota and penises, (presumably), they promote the most horrible and inaccurate disparagement of a group of people for simply being born with a different sexual attraction.  This is on a par with those who incorrectly used to assert that black people were inferior, flawed, deficient in intellect and ability, and in many instances claimed had a greater criminality of nature simply because of an inherent quality of race.

We now recognize that was a terrible and completely false view of black people, or any other race or ethnicity (and you could add culture to that list, in the way that Mitts on R-money uses it incorrectly).  It is more broadly recognized as a form of hatred because of how it wrongly denigrated and degraded a large group of people.

That is the same fault, inaccurately degrading and denigrating a group of people for inherent qualities, that is involved in the criticism of the Cathys and those like them.  The reality is that people with same sex orientation are just as honest, intelligent, make just as good parents or spouses, as heterosexual people -- and are NOT pedophiles or otherwise deviant or inferior or criminal human beings.  Claiming they are is an wrong about LGBT people as it was wrong to spread lies that encouraged hate and disrespect and disregard towards black people to justify treating them in an unequal, unfair, discriminatory, and highly damaging way.

Connie Milstein who gave cigarettes to a group of poor men having a nicotine craving, was in contrast engaged in helping people who had become marginalized in society engage in voting, become active and positive participants in our society. It is well-documented that when people vote, they feel involved, engaged and empowered as participants in our society.  When former - emphasis FORMER - felons vote for example, they are less likely to return to criminal behavior, and more likely to improve their lives including achieving successful employment and stable families, productive members of our society.  She treated them with respect, and compassion, and consideration; that is the OPPOSITE of the efforts of the Cathys and their Chick-Fail-hey money.

What I see in the larger contrast between the right and the left is the right tears down people, grinds down people, takes money away from the majority  - the 99% - unfairly and unequally in their tax and other policies, and oppose all efforts to provide greater opportunity and equality.  The left affirms people; the right discriminates against people, lies to disparage and disenfranchise people, and DIS-affirms people.

One builds; the other tears down and injures.  The right enfranchises and includes and encourages the participation of the largest possible group of people, to their benefit AND OURS.  The right? The right does the opposite; the Chick-fail bosses exemplify that effort.

No wonder mayors and council members reject the Chick-fail-way.

From the Miami Herald on Chick Fil A funded hate groups

I wrote about it first, but here is a different take on it, from the LGBT side of the issue, which I cannot experience as a heterosexual woman. Their experience deserves expression.

from Equality Florida:

Equality Florida: Chick-fil-A has donated more than $5 million to groups that 'dehumanize LGBT people'

Posted Friday on Equality Florida's Facebook page:

News release from Nadine Smith, executive director of Equality Florida:

“The firestorm currently engulfing Chick-Fil-A has been years in the making and reaches far beyond the recent incendiary remarks of its President, Dan Cathy. Chick-Fil-A has donated at least $5 million dollars to organizations whose primary focus is to dehumanize LGBT people and to pass laws that treat us as second-class citizens. Among Chick-Fil-A’s benefactors is Exodus International, infamous advocates for discredited and harmful "ex-gay" reparative therapy. The American Family Association and the Family Research Council also receive Chick-Fil-A dollars and are both Southern Poverty Law Center designated hate groups with close ties to those calling for the execution of gay people in Africa.
The fuel that continues to feed this fire is the knowledge that a portion of every dollar spent at Chick-Fil-A winds up supporting the discriminatory work of these anti-gay groups. While some will protest at Chick-Fil-A establishments today, most will not. They have simply chosen to spend their money elsewhere, resulting is a devastating 40% decline in the health of company’s brand since this controversy arose, according the industry experts.(1)
The franchise operators I’ve spoken with were unaware of how the profits they generate are being used and they lament being tarnished with corporate’s anti-gay image. They understand that a one-day bump in sales is nothing compared to the long-term damage being done. We encourage conscientious consumers to express their disappointment by contacting Chick-Fil-A corporate at (866) 232-2040 or visiting http://www.chick-fil-a.com/Connect/Contact-Us-CARES .”

(1) http://research.yougov.com/news/2012/07/27/chck-fil-takes-perception-dive-fast-food-eaters/

Read more here: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/2012/08/equality-florida-chick-fil-a-has-donated-more-than-5-million-to-groups-that-dehumanize-lgbt-people.html#storylink=cpy

FactCheck.org Busts Mitt R-money AGAIN - on his Tax promises, this time

Mitts on our money is enough of a money guy, and has spent enough time in government while he did a poor job as Massachusett's governor, that he has to know he's telling people a crock of crap.

From Factcheck.org:
Romney's Impossible Tax Promise

Experts say he can't cut rates without losing revenue or favoring the wealthy

August 3, 2012

Summary

Tax experts — including one who supports Romney’s plan — say the Republican presidential candidate’s promise to cut individual income tax rates without either favoring the wealthy or losing revenue isn’t mathematically possible.
That’s the conclusion of the Tax Policy Center in a report the Romney campaign attacked as “biased” (although the campaign previously praised the TPC as “objective,” when it issued a report critical of a rival’s tax plan).
And it’s also the conclusion of an expert from the pro-business Tax Foundation, who states that the Tax Policy Center analysis “correctly identified the Romney plan as a tax cut, at least in static terms, that accrues mainly to high-income earners.”
Romney has proposed very specific tax cuts. He would make the Bush-era income tax cuts and capital gains tax cuts permanent, then cut all income tax rates by an additional 20 percent across the board, repeal the Alternative Minimum Tax (which hits primarily upper-income taxpayers), and permanently repeal the estate tax (which currently applies only to estates valued at $5 million or more).
Romney has said he would offset the loss of personal income tax revenue (estimated at $360 billion a year by the Tax Policy Center) by reducing tax deductions and credits. And he has said he would do this while making sure that those at the top keep paying the “same share of the tax burden they’re paying now.”
But he has steadfastly refused to say which tax preferences would be cut or reduced. He has pointed to the revenue-neutral proposals for rate-cutting put forth by the deficit commission as evidence that what he proposes is possible in theory, but those proposals pay for the cuts largely by taxing capital gains at the higher rates that apply to ordinary income, a measure Romney has specifically ruled out.
So Romney has failed to produce evidence that what he promises is possible. And we judge that the weight of evidence and expert opinion is clear — it’s not possible.
Romney says this criticism ignores his separate plan to cut corporate tax rates, which he says will stimulate economic growth. Indeed, there’s evidence to suggest that cutting corporate taxes can do that, and the Tax Foundation expert (who supports Romney’s plan) suggests that more jobs would be an acceptable trade-off for a less progressive personal income tax system.
But how much growth to expect is debatable, especially because Romney proposes to cut only the corporate tax rate, not corporate taxes overall. He would offset the rate cut by eliminating tax preferences resulting in no loss of revenue. During the Bush administration, Treasury Department experts concluded that the corporate rate could be dropped to 28 percent without losing revenue (Romney proposes 25 percent), but that such a trade-off “might well have little or no effect” on economic growth.
Romney’s experts predict about a 1 percent increase in growth. One of the authors of the Tax Policy Center study says that is “implausibly large” and even if it materializes it wouldn’t prevent a tax increase on middle-income taxpayers under Romney’s income tax plan.
There’s room to argue that the benefits of increased growth are a fair trade for a less progressive tax system. In fact, that’s exactly the case made by the Tax Foundation’s expert, who notes that “the currently unemployed will receive the greatest benefit in the form of a job.”
But Romney’s claim that he can somehow slash individual income tax rates without losing federal revenue or favoring the wealthy remains at best unproven, and in our judgment, based on available evidence, impossible.
(Analysis in full continues after the jump break)

the Friday Factcheck.org Update - Romney Busted Again, on His Failed Middle East Foreign Debacle

Greedy Mitts has tried to deny that he said what he said.  Don't these guys get it that their statements are recorded?  Even his campaign has admitted he said what he said and meant what said.

He said it; Factcheck.org busts him on it, and on at least some of  the OTHER times he has said similar things.  Romney's wrong, and Romney's a bigot for what he has said.  He made a total fail on understanding and relating the work of Jared Diamond; he is horribly wrong for thinking that the openly eurocentric bigotry of John Landes is credible either.

If Greedy Mittens REALLY believes HONEST government is essential to an economy, that would rule out the kind of bribery inherent in the way big money buys our govenment, turning it into an auction instead of elections.  Mittens is in favor of special interests, and wealth redistribution to the already wealthy, resulting in the impoverishment of everyone else below that 1%.  His tax plan is just one more indication of that intention.

from Factcheck.org:Romney’s ‘Racist’ Reference to Palestinian Culture

Posted on August 1, 2012

Mitt Romney says he “did not speak about the Palestinian culture” at a fundraiser in Israel, where his remarks were denounced by a Palestinian leader as “racist.” It’s true that Romney didn’t directly disparage the Palestinian culture, but he did say “culture makes all the difference” when explaining why Israel’s per-capita gross domestic product is more than double that of neighboring areas managed by the Palestinian Authority. Palestinians say that ignores the effect of Israel’s economic sanctions.

The Fundraiser

Romney, who is on a six-day trip to England, Poland and Israel, made his remarks at a July 30 fundraiser in Jerusalem.
The presumptive Republican nominee started by making the observation that there is a “dramatic, stark difference in economic vitality” between Israel and areas managed by the Palestinian Authority. (The Romney campaign did not make his comments available to us. But Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom confirmed that the campaign provided Talking Points Memo with a copy of Romney’s remarks, and he confirmed its authenticity.)

Romney, July 30: I was thinking this morning as I prepared to come into this room of a discussion I had across the country in the United States about my perceptions about differences between countries. And as you come here and you see the GDP per capita for instance in Israel, which is about 21,000 dollars, and you compare that with the GDP per capita just across the areas managed by the Palestinian Authority, which is more like 10,000 dollars per capita, you notice a dramatic, stark difference in economic vitality.

Romney went on to discuss some of the possible reasons for that. First, he dismissed the possibility that Israel’s natural resources are a reason for the economic gap, citing “very similar … geographic elements” between the two countries. He then went on to discuss “the power of at least culture and a few other things,” including the “hand of providence.”

Romney, July 30: But then there was a book written by a former Harvard professor named “The Wealth and Poverty of Nations.” And in this book Dr. Landes describes differences that have existed — particularly among the great civilizations that grew and why they grew and why they became great and those that declined and why they declined. And after about 500 pages of this lifelong analysis — this had been his study for his entire life — and he’s in his early 70s at this point, he says this, he says, if you could learn anything from the economic history of the world it’s this: Culture makes all the difference. Culture makes all the difference. And as I come here and I look out over this city and consider the accomplishments of the people of this nation, I recognize the power of at least culture and a few other things.

The Fallout

That day, the Associated Press reported that Romney’s remarks angered the Palestinian leadership. Saeb Erekat, a senior aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, blamed the “Israeli occupation” for the economic gap and said Romney lacked an “understanding of this region.”

Associated Press, July 30: “It is a racist statement and this man doesn’t realize that the Palestinian economy cannot reach its potential because there is an Israeli occupation,” said Saeb Erekat, a senior aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
“It seems to me this man lacks information, knowledge, vision and understanding of this region and its people,” Erekat added. “He also lacks knowledge about the Israelis themselves. I have not heard any Israeli official speak about cultural superiority.”

The New York Times noted that the CIA World Factbook attributes some of the economic problems in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to Israeli economic restrictions.

New York Times, July 30: In the West Bank, according to the C.I.A. World Factbook, “Israeli closure policies continue to disrupt labor and trade flows, industrial capacity, and basic commerce, eroding the productive capacity” of the economy.
In Gaza, the C.I.A. says, Israeli-imposed border closings “have resulted in high unemployment, elevated poverty rates, and the near collapse of the private sector that had relied on export markets.” The agency added that “changes to Israeli restrictions on imports in 2010 resulted in a rebound in some economic activity, but regular exports from Gaza still are not permitted.”

The Response

A day later, Romney denied speaking about the Palestinian culture when asked by Fox News about his remarks in Israel.

Romney, July 31: I’m not speaking about it, did not speak about the Palestinian culture or the decisions made in their economy. That’s an interesting topic that perhaps can deserve scholarly analysis, but I actually didn’t address that. I certainly don’t intend to address that during my campaign. Instead, I will point out, that the choices a society makes have a profound impact on the economy and the vitality of a society.

It’s true that he did not directly speak of the Palestinian culture. But he did indirectly address it by citing Israel’s culture as a reason for the “dramatic, stark difference in economic vitality” between Israel and the areas under Palestinian Authority. He also did not mention Israeli economic sanctions — which, as the New York Times points out, the Palestinians have long blamed for their economic problems.
Romney also wrote an opinion piece for the National Review Online that elaborated on his belief that “culture does matter,” as the headline put it. In his op-ed, Romney praised Israel for “a culture that is based upon individual freedom and the rule of law,” but said nothing about the culture of the Palestinians.
It’s not the first time that Romney has cited culture to explain the economic inequalities that exist between some neighboring countries. In fact, twice he has held out the Israeli economy as an example of the power of culture.
He compared, for example, Israel and Egypt, the U.S. and Mexico, and Chile and Ecuador in a March 19 speech at the University of Chicago. As he did in Israel, Romney also mentioned the book by David Landes called “The Wealth and Poverty of Nations.”

Romney, March 19: I spent 25 years in business. My work took me to many countries. I was often struck by the enormous differences in the wealth and well-being of people living in different nations. I was interested in how nations that were so close to each other in terms of geography could be so different in terms of prosperity. Take, for example, Mexico and the United States, Israel and Egypt, Chile and Ecuador.
I read books that purported to explain the disparities between such nations. Jared Diamond argued it was largely due to their physical differences, their minerals and natural resources. But this only explained part of what I saw.
Then I read a book by historian David Landes called The Wealth and Poverty of Nations. In it, he traces the rise and fall of the great civilizations in history. After about 500 pages of scholarly analysis, he concludes with this observation: “If we learn anything from the history of economic development, it is that culture makes all the difference.” Culture.

In his book “No Apology,” Romney also asked, “How could Israelis have created a highly developed, technology-based economy while their Palestinian neighbors had not yet even begun to move to an industrial economy?” In his book, Romney again cited Landes’ conclusion that “culture makes all the difference.”
So, Romney has a history of making such cultural comparisons. What makes all the difference in this case is where he said it.
– Eugene Kiely

A Little Light Friday Content

But this mostly-below-the-radar caught my attention, as being Friday-worthy.  It is certainly unprofessional for people who should have their metaphorical fingers on the hot buttons of missles to focus their attention on something else hot fingering.  But isn't that true of more than just porn? 
I am not a prude; heck, I wrote a post here with the title in praise of porn and freedom that involved quoting the Marquis de Sade's political philosophy quotes.  Most people know de Sade only for his sexual exploits and writing, and are not aware of his heroism or his support for democracy in france, including as an elected delagate to their National Convention during the Revolution.
Aren't there plenty of OTHER sites that are sources of malware -- or do I run security scans for the heck of it, since I'm not spending my time on porn sites?  Are we less victims of those?  The worst malware I've had to contend with came from a translation / dictionary site - related to Babylon.  If you follow this line of reasoning, we're victims of dictionary sites too.  But THAT doesn't plug into the right wing anti-porn position, like that of Mitts on R-money who wants to make all computers after he's elected incapable of accessing porn sites.  I personally have no problem with computers on our missile control networks being disabled from porn access - but the right wants to control what EVERYONE can - or can't - access.  Yeah - so much for the freedom lovers, NOT.

right wing porn?

I think it is a stretch to claim that having to run cyber security for malware makes us porn victims - we have overt cyber attacks frequently, not just a risk from dormant code waiting to strike the unsuspecting lusty government employee or contractor. 
It is EVERY source of malware that attempts to harm us, not porn itself.  Conservatives, and especially the religious right HATE sex.
This is a bit of a stretch, to claim our national security is a porn victim because of potential cyber attack.  It can be as true of a badly secured on-line shopping sites; but claiming business makes us victims wouldn't conform to the God Loves Capitalism mantra of religious fundy nuts like Fischer.
Before you are too persuaded, remember this guy was also claiming that Butterball turkeys were not only Halal, but were part of a secret plot to Islamicize us all by tricking us into eating Muslim poultry.  Apparently, Fischer believes you become Muslim like you contract Salmonella, from eating bad poultry.  (The Butterball turkeys aren't Halal of course, until IN MUSLIM COUNTRIES THAT IMPORT THEM, the are further processed through a religious ceremony, formal/official marking, etc.).
So take EVERYTHING Fischer says with a highway department dump truck load of salt; he's part of that right wing media that consistently fear mongers with factually inaccurate bullshit.  WHY conservatives just love love love to be lied to still eludes me; but it seems to make them happy.
Certainly their logic-challenged factually-defective propaganda entertains the rest of us who live in fact-based, verifiable, objective reality.
From Right Wing Watch : Fischer Discovers Proof that Pornography is not a Victimless Crime
Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on Fri, 08/03/2012 - 10:28am

Recently the Pentagon’s Missile Defense Agency issued a warning to employees and contractors not to use their computers to visit pornographic websites because it was not only unprofessional and a violation of government regulations, but such websites often contain viruses and malware that could compromise the missile defense network.
And for Bryan Fischer, that was proof that pornography is not a victimless crime because "you and I could get incinerated, burned to a crisp, toasted because some guy is looking at porn instead of taking care of our missile defense system; [so] do not tell me it is a victimless crime":

Chick-fail-HEY! Promotes Hate Groups, and are NOT good corporate citizens for communities

Would you eat in or take out food from a restaurant that funded anti-Muslim hate groups - say, supporting groups which advocated burning down American mosques, with or without people inside them?  Would you patronize a business that gave a couple of million dollars to a group like that, openly - and was PROUD of doing so?
Would you want to eat at a restaurant where the owner and founder routinely made statements that were derogatory to Hispanics, calling them terms like wet backs or spics? What if the owner asserted that countries south of our southern border, from Mexico onwards, people should be exterminated?  Would you eat there or want them open and making more money to fund that hatred in YOUR neighborhood - or would you prefer a different business that made more healthy and constructive philanthropic choices?
How about if the owner of a proposed new restaurant was anti-Semitic instead of an Islamophobe - how would you feel if that owner gave money to organizations that funded white supremacist groups that staged public rallies claiming that Jews were dirty, and were responsible for killing Jesus, or were part of some secret plot to control the world's banks / gold supply/ oil supply/ water supply / or media? Would you want them welcomed by your city council when they applied for a business permit?
How about a business that was anti-asian, that referred to Asian Americans as 'gooks' or 'chinks' or 'slanty-eyed sloping headed morons'? Would that be ok?  Or maybe they were anti-disabled, and felt that anyone born that way should be sterilized so they didn't reproduce -- and they gave a lot of money to eugenics-oriented pseudo-science promoting groups?
If you said NO to one or more of these hypothetical examples, you wouldn't want such a business or it's owner invested in an enterprise on one of your neighborhood street corners...........then how is it different  from a mayor or a council person from objecting to Chick-Fail-hey!?
NO, not for supporting marriage inequality; they should be able to believe whatever religious nonsense, intolerant or otherwise if they wish.  But here is a list of those organizations and the harm those organizations do, and the hate statements they make that are anti-gay, that received money from Chick-Fail-Hey!.
From Equality Matters, looking at documentation of actual hate groups funded by Chick-fail-hey!:

Chick-Fil-A Donated Nearly $2 Million To Anti-Gay Groups In 2010

July 02, 2012 9:26 am ET

In early 2011, Chick-fil-A came under fire for its donations and political ties to a number of anti-gay groups. Though Chick-fil-A continues to deny supporting an anti-gay agenda, the company has donated over $3 million to organizations like the Family Research Council and Exodus International between 2003 and 2009. And in 2010 alone, Chick-fil-A donated over $1.9 million to anti-gay causes, more than any other year for which public records are available.

Chick-Fil-A's Charitable Arm Gave Nearly $2 Million To Anti-Gay Groups In 2010

WinShape Is Chick-Fil-A's Charitable Arm. The WinShape Foundation is Chick-fil-A's charitable arm, created by Chick-fil-A founder and chairman S. Truett Cathy in 1984. WinShape has received a substantial amount of funding from Chick-fil-A: in 2010 alone, WinShape received $8,067,161 from Chick-fil-A Inc. [WinShape 2010, Publicly Available IRS 990 Form via Foundation Center, accessed 6/27/12]
WinShape Gave Over $1.9 Million To Anti-Gay Groups. In 2010, WinShape donated $1,974,380 to a number of anti-gay groups:

• Marriage & Family Foundation: $1,188,380
• Fellowship Of Christian Athletes: $480,000
• National Christian Foundation: $247,500
• New Mexico Christian Foundation: $54,000
• Exodus International: $1,000
• Family Research Council: $1,000
• Georgia Family Council: $2,500

[Winshape 2010 Publicly Available IRS 990 Form via Foundation Center, accessed 6/27/12]
Click here to learn more about WinShape’s history of anti-gay donations

The whole article is too long to repost here, so I'll provide some excerpts that identify the problem areas with Chick-Failure-hey! donations:

EXODUS INTERNATIONAL

Exodus International Promotes “Ex-Gay” Therapy. Exodus International is a major promoter of “ex-gay” therapy, the practice of trying to change a person’s sexual orientation from gay to straight. The organization refers to being LGBT as “perverse” and a form of “sexual brokenness.” [Truth Wins Out, accessed 6/27/12]

What is wrong with 'Exodus International'? In the past, Exodus International has engaged in torture of gays, including but by no means limited to strapping electrodes to male genitals, and then trying to shock them 'out of being gay'.  ZAP!
from the article:

I first learned about Exodus International when doing some preliminary reporting on reparative therapy. Also known as conversion or reorientation therapy, reparative therapy has been rejected by the American Psychological Association and every other major professional medical organization in the United States. Considered harmful and damaging by mainstream scientific organizations, reparative therapy is a set of practices built around the assumption that homosexuality is a mental disorder that can be fixed. Using that as a starting point, reparative therapists use masturbatory reconditioning; social skills training; prayer groups and even aversive treatments, such as the application of electric shock to the genitals, in an attempt to turn gay men and women straight.

Chick-fail-HEY! also contributed to Exodus International's iphone app (subsequently removed  after very successful petitions against it)  that was supposed to force gay kids into becoming heterosexual, an app that was withdrawn because of it's links to gay teen SUICIDES:

Truth Wins Out claims that the new iPhone app "is the latest move in Exodus' dangerous new strategy of targeting youth," in the petition for removal. "In light of the recent wave of LGBT youth suicides," it argues, "this tactic is particularly galling as it creates, legitimizes, and fuels the ostracism of LGBT youth by their families."

Can you think of any other group where it would be acceptable to  administer junk psychology treatments involving elctrical shocks to men and women's genitals -- treatment linked to serious psychological damage and death?  Or any company that would receive municipal approval that was linked to actively funding and contributing to iphone apps with strong causal links to teen suicides?
I can't; companies that did things like that are usually NOT considered good corporate citizens or desirable members of communities.
THAT kind of corporate donation and corporate advocacy is why cities have rejected Chick-Fail-hey!, not their embracing Christianity, albeit a very toxic religious version of it.
Here's another of the MANY anti-gay causes and organizations that Chick-FAIL-hey supports in terms of advocacy and financially:

FAMILY RESEARCH COUNCIL

Family Research Council Is Deed As An Anti-Gay Hate Group By the SPLC.

The Family Research Council has been labeled a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) for its propagation of known falsehoodscommunity. For example, president Tony Perkins has a long history of false and inflammatory attacks, such as claiming that pedophilia is a "homosexual problem." [Washington Times, 11/24/10; SPLC, accessed 6/27/12]

WinShape Donated $1,000 To Family Research Council.

WinShape donated $1,000 to the Family Research Council in 2010. [Winshape 2010 Publicly Available IRS 990 Form via Foundation Center, accessed 6/27/12]

If you aren't willing to support falsely claiming Jews are inherently pedophiles (or, as was the case repeatedly at intervals in Europe, baby murderers) or Blacks are innately pedophiles, or disabled people are usually pedophiles, then WHY? Why would it be ok with anyone to accept THIS lie about same-sex attracted people?  Those things are the kinds of false 'hate speech' statements you would expect to find from one of the other groups identified as a hate group by the SPLC - like the KKK or other white supremacist groups.  Do you want any of THEM in your community closely linked to a restaurant or other business? NO? So.......then the mayors and city councils aren't so very far off, are they -- not for the marriage discrimination position, bad as that is, but for the anti-gay HATE funding.
Keep in mind - we're talking about donations in mulit-MILLION dollar amounts, not chump change.  That is a serious amount of support for hate groups, junk hate science, contributing to teen suicide and genital electro-shock.

Is it really a good civic investment in more unhealthy fast food and a few part time minimum wage jobs -- or is it better use of the space and the community investment to get a GOOD business in the location?  I say the latter, unless you're looking to increase the number of dead teens in YOUR town.

I'll venture further - if your town has any programming to prevent teen suicide, you'd probably end up paying out more than what you'd make in tax revenue.

The Failed Theory of GDP (per capita) and Superiority

I followed the sense of Mitt's on R-money's statements about cultural superiority.

I suspect that, like his close ties to birther Donald Trump is just more dog whistling for the right wing racists.

But having read books on the topic of culture and relative dominance, like Jared Diamond's excellent work Guns Germs and Steel, and having done some comparisons between our own red states and blue states here in the U.S., where red states are frequently less successful than blue states in important metrics - like health care and insured populations, prison populations, number of innocent people executed, education standards, etc.

So it was not a surprise to me to see this in an article over on the HuffPo where Diamond asserts Mitts on R-money doesn't understand his book:

Scientist and author Jared Diamond said that Mitt Romney mischaracterized his book, "Guns, Germs and Steel," to theorize why Israelis and Palestinians have such vastly different levels of economic development at a fundraiser in Jerusalem Sunday.

and

"That is so different from what my book actually says that I have to doubt whether Mr. Romney read it," he wrote in The New York Times on Tuesday. He also said that he focused mostly on "biological features" and there was no mention about iron ore in the book.

He said that the other author Romney cited, Harvard economist David Landes, would find Romney's thesis that culture accounts for economic differences "dangerously out of date."

I would strongly encourage all of our Penigma readers to read the Diamond book; it is excellent.  There is a pbs television series made of it as well.  I'm not as familiar with the David Landes work, but what little I do know agrees that R-money didn't get that right either.

And it wasn't a surprise to see that over on the Daily Kos, someone put up a list comparing how poorly red states do when contrasted to blue states.  There is a similar pattern if you look at the U.S., and compare us to those developed countries which are much more successful through mixed capitalism / socialism based economies.  The more laissez-faire / 'pure' (hardly - mostly very dirty) capitalism, the less successful we have been as a nation.  The years when we have had more, not less government have been our most productive and our most successful, not only economically but by other metrics.

Here is the list of successful blue states and failed red states, with the Kos post noted are trending for R-money and more failure:

The 2010 US Census data shows that most of the poorest states are red states. In fact, 14 of the 15 states with the lowest per capita income are states which Romney is currently counting in his win column:

RANK R/D STATE INCOME

1 D Connecticut $56,001.00

2 D Massachusetts $51,552.00

3 D New Jersey $50,781.00

4 D Maryland $49,025.00

5 D New York $48,821.00
--------------
36 R Georgia $35,490.00

37 R Montana $35,317.00

38 R Tennessee $35,307.00

39 R Arizona $34,999.00

40 R Indiana $34,943.00

41 R Alabama $33,945.00

42 R South Dakota $33,865.00

43 D New Mexico $33,837.00

44 R Kentucky $33,348.00

45 R South Carolina $33,163.00

46 R Arkansas $33,150.00

47 R West Virginia $32,641.00

48 R Utah $32,595.00

49 R Idaho $32,257.00

50 R Mississippi $31,186.00

R-money's comments will play well to the we are white Anglo-Saxon / western European crowd, the one that is beloved by the bigoted white supremacists and anti-cultural diversity groups that frequent CPAC.  They do not reflect the views of a man who genuinely would try to be the president to a nation that is comprised of immigrants from the entire world.  Those views represent the position of someone who would show tremendous preferential treatment to those like him, and disfavor those he perceives as not like himself.  That is the last thing this nation, or the world, needs; it would be a disaster.

War Mongering Mittens, and Our Current Deficit and Future Deficit under the Right

Minneapolis held a long-overdue parade to recognize and to show our gratitude as a grateful state and nation for the service of our armed forces on Sunday. If you missed the parade itself you can read about it here in the STrib. 
I sometimes find myself resenting what seems to be the attempt by the right to claim as their exclusive domain both patriotism and especially support for our military.  It is not true, on either count; I am honored to co-blog with a very patriotic but NOT right wing blogging partner, as an example.
Given we are still trying to extricate ourselves from an ill-considered war in Afghanistan that was not given sufficient resources to resolve quickly and with minimal loss of life, blood and treasure, and without a clear cut goal, much less exit strategy - or apparently any strategy whatsoever when Bush started it - I am doubly concerned that before we are even out of Afghanistan, we have a new militant and belligerant neo-con as the presumptive candidate for the GOP.
Compounding the failures of the right in foreign affairs is their failure to pay for the wars they started, the wars they seek to prolong, and the new wars the right, at least those supporting Romney, appear itching to start.
The disastrous combination of unfunded wars and tax cuts that overwhelmingly redistributed wealth to the rich is not a nation busting political cataclysm we can afford to repeat.  We couldn't afford it the first time around; we are even less able to do so now.
I am very concerned that the numerous advisers recruited by R-money, far too many of whom hold dual citizenship with Israel, will be extremely eager to use a close link to the White House to further destabilize the middle east, to encourage the equally war-loving hawks in the Israeli political spectrum to join together to launch attacks - on Iran, on Palestinians, possibly on our ally Turkey, or Egypt, or Jordan.
Israel treats the citizens of their country who are not Jewish, who are Christian, Palestinian or other, as second class citizens.  REAL democracies don't have second class citizens; not in this country, and not in other countries. REAL democracies simply have citizens, citizens who have equal rights.  Obama is pro-Israel; he is simply not pro-mistreatment of minorities in Israel in the name of theocracy rather than democracy, including Palestinians. 
I love a good parade, but I don't want to see the next parade any time soon for another wrong, ill-considered war the right has pushed us into starting or joining.

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I was offended, as I am offended by the ignorant Islamophobes on the right, by Mitts on R-money's comments while in Israel.
His denials as so many of his denials do, lacks truth and integrity. He said what he is accused of saying, and he meant it - and he has said it more than once.
 He may have meant it mostly to get contributions -- and why is he soliciting foreign contributions for his campaign for President in this country in the UK and Israel? Aren't foreign contributions ILLEGAL?
What matters is that he said it; he lies so often no one can afford to believe his protestations after he is caught making these gaffes anymore. There are too many of them for such denials and protestations to be credible.  But we also should be concerned about how the GOP candidate might be willing directly or indirectly by his advisers, to intrude into another nations' politics - which is an issue given that R-money canceled meeting with the Labor party in Israel. 

The best way to protect Israel is for the U.S. to broker peace in the region, including fairness and equality for all people in the region, with respect for all of them to exist.

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And to get a little further insight into how much cherrypicking R-money does, how profoundly wrong his assertion is - there's this:

Mitts on R-money - Greedy AND Dishonest, and bad for the nation

Apparently the only Americans that matter AS AMERICANS to Mitt R-money are the wealthy; the rest of us are only apparently useful as cannon fodder for the military, and for exploitation as his victims.  That is true as well of the rest of the GOP and the Tea Party.

Here's why.  The unanswered questions, the media strategy of only dealing with soft-ball questions by the right wing media......should be unacceptable to the voters in this country --- ALL voters.

Second only to his dishonesty, voters should reject the lack of transparency and accountability for the plans that Mitts on R-money is running on, the ones he won't tell us about.  We had someone in office from the right who told us what he did was none of our business - that was Richard Nixon.  Remember how THAT worked out?  R-money is already being caught in dishonesty again - we don't need this, we don't want this.

And we sure as hell don't want someone who blames everyone else for mistakes, and who takes more credit than he is due for successes.

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Chick-Fil-A is Soooo Gaaayyyyy!

Here are a couple of reactions to Chick-Fil-A's anti-gay statements:

I can proudly say I have never bought any of their product!

In Anticipation of the August 14th Primary, my election judge training

I recently signed up for and attended the election official training in our county so that I could serve as an election judge in the upcoming primary and general elections this year.
The training was incredibly well organized, well conducted, well staffed.  We had hands on time with not only using the required election equipment, but trouble shooting it as well for any of the usual problems. (The automark voting machine is particularly impressive.)
We were familiarized with all the possible forms for voter registration, precinct finding practice, and were familiarized with all of the various oaths that go with the different forms and their function.  It was very interesting stuff; it was fun to see that a couple of the other people in the class also had been volunteers for the 2010 Governor's race recount.
That experience - the recount - started out as a somewhat tense experience, but by lunch, volunteers from both parties observing the recount had come together.  There was a lot of hard work put in, but also a more pleasant give and take, laughing, joking and pleasant banter that grew as the day went on, as people could see that neither side was trying to pull anything or do anything underhanded.  The GOP volunteers early on DID, as was reported elsewhere, try to challenge ballots that really were not even remotely challenge worthy in the count.  But as the scrutiny made them look foolish and unreasonable, that tapered off rapidly. 
As partisan polarization and partisan politics, particularly dirty politics, causes more and more division, and as I see the right wing media and blogosphere, and especially the parties and their politicians try to generate fear, distrust and suspicion, and in particular as I see them circulate misinformation (unintentionally erroneous content) and disinformation (deliberately erroneous content), I hope to see the same pleasant and happy polling places in my county that has always characterized elections.  In that vein, one of the subjects of our election training included some of the stories from the LAST election that received a lot of public attention - but that were FALSE.  Unfortunately the false accusation fuss gets a lot more attention than the outcome of investigations and the truth does.
I am very impressed by our county auditor; and I have no idea what his politics are - nor do I care.  He clearly knows his job, is used to dealing with difficult people, and with actions that could result in his finding himself part of a court case over an election.  He is down to earth, and intensely factual, both qualities I admire and respect.  One of the topics of interest covered was the enforcement of not having campaign materials inside the polling place; apparently wearing political buttons or clothing while voting is something currently involved in a court case.
I was particularly intrigued when we were covering the topic of challenges to a voter having the right to vote - a challenge can be because someone known to the challenger is not 18, or is not a citizen, or not a resident of a precinct where they are attempting to vote,  or because of their status as a felon, or because they are not eligible to vote because their right to vote was taken away as part of being placed under a guardianship because of some form of incapacity.  Voter roll purging - it is automatic if you haven't voted in the last four years for example - was another topic.  We have a much more fair, honest, and accurate method than some southern states like Florida where their purges appear to be intended to alter the outcome of electiosn by disenfranchising legal voters who would likely vote for democratic candidates and initiatives.
In light of the pending Minnesota Constitutional amendments - we received copies - which would change our practice of voting, one of the instances of a voter being challenged in a previous election was brought up for educational purposes.  In that case, one of the election judges knew the person, and knew they were voting fraudulently.  The judge specifically knew that the voter owned property in the precinct but did not live in the precinct; however the voter had a utility bill for that property in the voter's name, which entitled the voter - with photo ID required by MN law to do so - to vote.  The voter was given the benefit of the doubt, and allowed to vote --- BUT the case was submitted to the county attorney's office.  The outcome of the county attorney's investigation was not clarified in the class, nor was it clarified if the person who made the challenged vote ALSO voted or not in the precinct where they actually resided.
What it did clarify for me was one more case where photo ID is ineffective in preventing voter fraud. We covered examples of where someone's ID would not reflect a change of address for voting purposes, such as a voter having moved into hospice for the final days of a terminal illness.  I'm looking forward to the upcoming elections, and I hope that we have our usual good Minnesota turnouts.   What I took away from my election judge training was not only more in-depth information on top of what I had learned about our election process from previous elections, but also a deep faith from what I learned about how we hold those elections that our elections ARE honest, that we DO have more than adequate safeguards in place, more than the average voter is aware of -- and that's too bad in a way.  Because there is a lot of unfounded suspicion about our elections that is not warranted.  There were a lot of people in my class session - and that class session was only one of eighteen sessions training people over a period of a month or so. 
If you are concerned about election fraud - go vote, but more than that, go take the training to be an election judge, and go serve your community.  One of the aspects of the 2010 recount that I found so striking was the difference in how the experience was described by the Republican election judges, versus the right wing fanatics who insisted on believing without any evidence to support them that fraud was taking place.  Same politics, same facts...........but facts did not make a difference to the conspiracy fantasy crowd.
Fight the fantasy with facts. Fight the conspiracy theories with volunteering.  Our democracy is participatory --- PARTICIPATE!  Don't sit on your behind, don't expect someone else to do it for you, and don't whine, accuse - or make up shit.  Participate!

And a little appreciation for whomever your county auditor/treasurer isn't a bad idea; whatever their political party, if they do a good job they put up with some incredibly long hours, tedious and meticulous accuracy, and a lot of unpleasant people.  I think some of them should qualify for a sort of secular sainthood for what they are put through by our citizens.

We've got Birthers, Tenthers, Truthers, Secesseniosts, Oathers ....but what do we call this new group of crazies?

SOME of the right wingers, the further to the right you get, are pretty fringed (past participle of to fringe, the new political verb), pretty badly unraveled, not-wrapped-too-tight crazy.  They have all kinds of conspiracy theories based on just plain made up foolishness.  We need a catchy name for the 'assassination faker' crazies..... should we call them 'Stagers'?

They do a lot of fund raising off this stuff.  They get their other little crazy fringies all worked up with this stuff.

But it used to be, before the GOP became far extreme, and before the Tea Party went even further over the edge of extreme and beyond into all-crazy-all-the-time land, that you would not find someone in political office putting crazy on official correspondence of any kind.  That minor claim to decorum and legitimacy has completely gone out the window in Tennessee.

From the HuffPo:

John Celock

Kelly Keisling, Tennessee Legislator, Mass Emailed Obama 'Staged Assassination' Rumor

WASHINGTON -- A Republican member of the Tennessee state legislature emailed constituents Tuesday morning with a rumor circulating in conservative circles that President Barack Obama is planning to stage a fake assassination attempt in an effort to stop the 2012 election from happening.
Rep. Kelly Keisling (R-Byrdstown) sent an email from his state email account to constituents containing a rumor that Obama and the Department of Homeland Security are planning a series of events that could lead to the imposition of "martial law" and delay the election. Among the events hypothesized in the email is a staged assassination attempt on the president that would lead to civil unrest in urban areas and martial law.
Keisling appears to have forwarded a more widely circulated email from Joe Angione, a Florida-based conservative blogger. Angione prefaces the rumor by saying it has not been confirmed but likewise notes it has not been denied. Angione also writes that people need to work to prevent the rumor from becoming reality.
The conspiracy theory started with an article written by Doug Hammon and posted on CanadaFreePress.com, which he said arose from conversations he had with an informant within the Department of Homeland Security.

Ah........the anonymous source, eternal origin of conspiracy craziness!

Of course, we have Michele Bachmann, so we can't laugh too hard when we point the ridicule finger at Tennessee.  There is something about the southern states though, and especially Texas, that lends itself to that kind of foolishness; I suspect that 'something' is ignorance, given their low standards of education; they just don't know any better.

But this is really over the top, on a par with the craziest and most offensive Bachmann "members of Congress are Un-American" or "Huma Abedin has Muslim Brotherhood ties" or "HPV vaccines cause mental retardation" nonsense.

That it is at the state level political office in Tennessee doesn't alter the fact that the same rumor has a hold in Florida and elsewhere.  These are the same people who believe that there are Russian tanks in quantity just waiting to take over the U.S. for the U.N. as part of their general suspicion of that organization. These are the same kinds of crazy right wingers who do not fact check, who believe garbage --- and we've seen that kind of garbage circulated by the right wing media and especially by the right wing blogosphere.

EVERY damned time we see a right wing crazy claim, across the whole range of usual topics, there is a pattern of indicators -- 'insider information' sources are a common factor they cite, but always, always anonymous; when there is a source cited, it is often internet fallacies, not factual or verifiable sources.  That was true of the Indiana crazy state legislator who attacked the girl scouts for information he insisted on believing, despite all the evidence to the contrary, about the girl scouts, 'because he saw it on the internet somewhere'.

Even one of the witnesses in the Prop 8 court cases out in California presumed to testify to information, which he tried to pass off as expert and factual, that he 'saw somewhere on the internet, and therefore believed to be true'.... because it was ON THE INTERNET, so it MUST be true?  The reason the Prop 8 crowd has consistently lost is because they have consistently claimed false things; they have no case so they either make stuff up, or recycle made up stuff from someone else.

This is reminiscent for me of my friend Mitch Berg's many claims and apparently sincere belief that 103 ballots in Dinkytown were faked, because someone he knew who was a Republican candidate told him so.  That story was originally based on 'eyewitness first hand personal experience' but later became second hand or more removed...........but he still believed it!  The source of course remained anonymous, there was no multi sourcing, and there was clear and compelling evidence that the story was completely wrong.  You could, as with this story, track the rumor pretty clearly, and you could definitively from available information, including the full and complete records from the Secretary of State's office, corroborated by both Republican and Democratic observers at the 2010 recount process, but he insisted on holding to his claim.  Sadly, there are people who read this kind of fact-free crap on these right wing blogs, and do not question if it is accurate, or even reasonable. 

Part of the problems the MN GOP has is that they don't apparently vet their leadership very carefully, as we've seen from Tony Sutton and Michael Brodkorb crashing their party's finances and reputation, followed by a replacement leadership that still hasn't ordered an independent audit, and which has apparently rejected having one paid for by concerned Republicans. With that conduct by the party, how can we expect them to be accountable, responsible, or honest -- or factual, when they so clearly don't want any examination of fact?

We need more fact-based politics and politicians, we need to hold the right accountable for their factually deficient fantasies and fear mongering.  We are not far enough beyond Indiana or Tennessee in holding the right accountable here in Minnesota - but we should be.

People Brining Guns to the Batman Movie - a bad idea

We had a recent instance where a man in Colorado brought his pet firearm to the movie.  Apparently he was socially maladroit, and it failed to dawn on him that other people would not be as enthused with his fetish object, or be as impressed with his magnificent judgment as he was with himself.

Now I read that 3 different men brought THEIR little pet darling firearms to a showing of the movie in Tennessee, in spite of the clear signage not to do so.  Because nothing says respect for law and property rights like ignoring posted signs (you know, property right, those pesky things covered in the Constitution, and not just as relates to the militia).  No doubt the cinema owner has serious financial reasons relating to his property and liability insurance that determines that decision as much as any personal preferences he or she is entitled to have for how they operate their business.

Yessirree, the gun nut vigilante expects all of us to be just thrilled that he brought his lethal weapon.  Somehow it eludes the vigilante that simply by BEING a vigilante, he makes himself NOT a lawful or responsible person, and very much NOT a person who is trustworthy or of sound judgment.

Yet I predict that there will be more of these occurrences; I suspect there are more than are widely reported already.  Only the substantial arsenal, explosives, overt threatening / copycats are getting the big attention now.  All the responsible business owners of theaters do NOT want this stuff hitting the news. Because contrary to how happy the gun carriers were to be so very helpful to the unwilling unhappy theater owner, their actions were not wonderful; and any time you have such poor thinking not-grasping the normative guys with guns, it IS a concern.  I can imagine the gun guys, entranced with how shiny their guns are, drooling slightly, but with an unpleasant degree of agitation.

Our gun culture is a failure. If we needed corroborative proof, here it is.  If you're too dumb to read and obey the rules, you're too dumb to know when it is a good idea to shoot.

From Opposing Views:

3 People Bring Guns to 'Dark Knight' Screening at Movie Theatre in Tennessee
By Kim Dahlgren, Tue, July 31, 2012

Tennessee police confirmed that three people brought guns into the same showing of “The Dark Knight Rises” last Friday night at the Carmike Highland Cinemas.
After a theatre employee noticed a man enter with a holstered pistol, police were notified and the movie was stopped. Police entered the theater and asked the viewers who had entered with a gun.
At that point, three men -- not just one -- told the police that they were, in fact, armed.
While the Herald Citizen reports that all three men had legal permits for their guns, the theatre had a displayed sign prohibiting weapons. Because of this, the men were asked to leave the theatre and the movie was resumed.
In many states, like California, there are very limited circumstances as to who may carry a concealed firearm -- and the majority of citizens don't have that option.
However, in Tennessee, where the instance occurred, carrying a concealed weapon with a permit is allowed in public places. While the Tennessee permit is valid in several other approved states, it is not recognized in places that have a California-like concealed weapons policy.

Animation of Aurora Shooting

Today 'Obamacare' Pushes Back HARD Against the Right-Wing War on Women

While the conservatives yesterday wasted valuable time re-victimizing rape and incest victims, to force those women to endure violent pregnancies inflicted on them against their will, they wonder idly (and I suspect disingenuously) why it is that they are accused - quite accurately - of waging culture war on women.
Today, as health care benefits for 47 million women improve, the right wing nuts, the right wing women-hating extremists who view women apparently as expendable, are trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act, for what........the 36th time, the 37th time?

Here is an excellent piece from CNN yesterday about the new provisions coming into effect today:

Some women get new benefits under Obamacare

Beginning Wednesday, all new health insurance plans will be required to provide eight preventive health benefits to women for free.
The benefits include contraceptives, breast-feeding supplies and screenings for gestational diabetes, sexually transmitted infections and domestic violence, as well as routine check-ups for breast and pelvic exams, Pap tests and prenatal care.
The services are a requirement of the health care reform law Congress passed in 2010. A new report released Monday by the Department of Health and Human Services estimates 47 million women are in health plans that must offer the new benefits.

10 lesser known effects of the health care law

“Women will be able to have access to essential preventive services that will provide early detection and screening for those situations where they’re most at risk, and also provide opportunities to care and services that they need as wives and mothers,” Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Maryland, said at a press conference Monday.

An additional 14 free preventative service benefits for women have already taken effect as a requirement of health care reform, including mammograms to screen for breast cancer in women over 40 and screenings for osteoporosis in women over age 60.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius trumpeted the need for the reforms.
“Before the health care law, many insurers didn’t even cover basic women’s health care. Other care plans charged such high copayments that they discouraged many women from getting basic preventive services. So as a result, surveys show that more than half of the women in this country delayed or avoided preventive care because of its cost,” Sebelius said Monday. “That’s simply not right.”

The right wingers want women to continue to pay MORE for their health care coverage than men, to make it more costly for women to obtain contraception.  Because of course any woman must be a slut, in their eyes, if they wish to engage in sex with their partner - including husbands - without risking pregnancy.  Women are supposed to lie their passively, shut up, think of anything other than enjoying sex, and just get pregnant - preferably, in the eyes of the right wing religious fundamentalists, while being appropriately submissive.

Never mind that stuff about pap smears testing for cervical cancer, never mind the breast cancer screenings, or any of the other many and important kinds of health care for women that SHOULD be inexpensive - better, free -- and readily available to ALL women in this country, including rural women.

The reality is, we in the United States are NOT number 1 anymore in anything except imprisoning people.  We have slid down the slope to - AT BEST - the middle of the pack, often LOWER - in important metrics of our society.  That would include health care, education, pretty much anything that involves a societal and governmental organization and expenditure.  EVERY country ahead of us, in every single instance, has a more socialized and more successful mixed economy, and a better result with more but fairer taxation (especially of the rich) and more government involvement, especially in safety nets, RESULTING IN A BETTER RESULT THAN WE ACHIEVE.

Hollow and empty claims of 'American Exceptionalism' have not improved our rankings in any category, nor has relatively unfettered capitalism or lack of regulation.

Our 'pure market capitalism' system is NOT all that effective; it is less effective, less efficient.  Countries with better - and larger - government and taxation have better results - happier, healthier, longer living, more successful people than we are.  THEIR SYSTEMS WORK BETTER THAN OURS DOES.  We should evaluate what works - and what doesn't - by merits, by results and outcomes, instead of relying on knee-jerk hysterical ideology that was outdated when it was fresher back in the dark, cold era of the 1950's.

Simply, mindlessly mouthing the word socialism, as if is a bad thing is stupid.  Socialism, as for example practiced in the early days of the Soviet Union, where it was a euphemism for a totalitarian regime, is not how socialism is practiced in the rest of the civilized, developed world.  Socialism is not Un-American, it is not horrible.  It means efficient and productive use of resources for people -- PEOPLE, not corporate welfare and a few rich people.  The absence of those institutions like universal health care mean we have a weaker, sicker, less long-lived and less productive population. PERIOD.
We are not more free; but more of us are dying who should not even be sick.

In mid-July there was an opinion / commentary piece that makes the profoundly important distinction, that ran in the STrib, originally from the New York Times, written by the director of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest", director Milos Forman titled :

"Americans shouldn't fling the 'socialist' label so casually"  Millions lived -- and still live -- under the brutality of its truly totalitarian form.
When I was asked to direct "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," my friends warned me not to go anywhere near it.
The story is so American, they argued, that I, an immigrant fresh off the boat, could not do it justice.
They were surprised when I explained why I wanted to make the film. To me it was not just literature but real life, the life I lived in Czechoslovakia from my birth in 1932 until 1968. The Communist Party was my Nurse Ratched, telling me what I could and could not do; what I was or was not allowed to say; where I was and was not allowed to go; even who I was and was not.
Now, years later, I hear the word "socialist" being tossed around by the likes of Rick Perry, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh and others. President Obama, they warn, is a socialist. The critics cry, "Obamacare is socialism!" They falsely equate Western European-style socialism, and its government provision of social insurance and health care, with Marxist-Leninist totalitarianism. It offends me, and cheapens the experience of millions who lived, and continue to live, under brutal forms of socialism.
...Whatever his faults, I don't see much of a socialist in Obama or, thankfully, signs of that system in this great nation. Obama is accused of trying to expand the reach of government -- into health care, financial regulation, the auto industry and so on. It's fair to question whether the federal government should have expanded powers: America, to its credit, has debated this since its birth. But let's be clear about how frightening socialism actually could be.

R.I.P. Gore Vidal

The world is a lesser place without him:

"The United States was founded by the brightest people in the country - and we haven't seen them since."

"In America, if you want a successful career in politics, there is one subject you must never mention, and that is politics. If you talk about standing tall, and it's morning in America, and you press the good-news buttons, you're fine. If you talk about budgets, tax reform, bigotry, and so on, you are in trouble. So if we aren't going to talk issues, what can we talk about? Well, the sex lives of the candidates, because that is about the most meaningless thing that you can talk about."

"Half of the American people have never read a newspaper. Half never voted for President. One hopes it is the same half."

Another I-35 Bridge Anniversary

This is an anniversary that underlines for me why the 'smaller government' extremist conservative crowd gets so very very much wrong.

As I listen to the early morning news marking this anniversary today, the 'good news' from the tragedy is that we've gotten 55% of the WORST, most dangerous bridges repaired.  We've done something, but we haven't done enough, and we haven't moved towards repairing so very much more of our infrastructure, much less built more to expand to accommodate growth and our increased population since the majority of our highway building that dates from the Eisenhower era with the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956.  We should have repaired ALL our bridges, we should have replaced bridges too damaged to repair, not simply closed them; we should have built more new bridges, not just that one on I-35 into downtown Minneapolis.

Most of all, we should have done more to modernize and make more efficient our energy and transportation systems, including getting further on light rail and other mass transit, and developing renewable, green energy rather than fossil fuels.

NO assurance that we will not have another collapse of a bridge, either in Minnesota, or somewhere else in our nation, NOOooooooooo, not that much progress.  Just that in five years, we've made progress on slightly more than half of the worst, most dangerous, closest-to-collapsing bridges.

We've replaced the fallen bridge; we did that pretty quickly thanks to former Congressman Oberstar; unfortunately he's been replaced with a do-nothing special-interest-serving culture-war-making just as fact-averse male version of Michele Bachmann, not a real member of government, not someone who genuinely serves his constituency.  Progress in any area other than more and easier guns and less and more restrictive health care for women, and forcing their religious beliefs on everyone have no interest.

We have had the hypocritical no-values family-values-claiming crowd in power since 2010, with poor results.  Other than their culture wars (mostly anti-abortion) legislation, we have climate denying, big military spending, infrastructure ignoring, special interest gratifying redistribution of wealth to the wealthy, as our national credit rating declined thanks to their ignorant and ill-considered sabotage of our economic recovery.

Conservatives used to be discriminating and socially intolerant - like those who opposed civil rights in the 50s and 60s; but they were not stupid.  They understood the value of Keynsian economics, because it worked; they understood the value of regulation, because it worked, and they understood the role of government in growing and safeguarding our nation.

Instead we have voting suppression, a terribly shameful and Un-American thing I thought I would never see again in this nation in my lifetime. 

The bridge collapse should have united us in repairing and expanding our infrastructure.  It did not.

We have climate denial; don't confuse anyone with the facts.  We have attempts that should have ended after the Scopes Monkey trial to ban teaching solid science, including teaching evolution, with attempts to 'teach' a non-existent controversy with creationism.  We have junk science being represented as serious science for religious and ideological reasons superseding reason.

Enough, and more than enough.  It is time to return to reason, and to sanity, and to knowledge over ignorance and ideology.  We need to spend what we need to spend to fix our roads and bridges, to respond to people in need of disaster relief from government assistance for climate change events.  We need government to help us reverse the human-caused global damage to our environment, instead of waiting for the reality deniers to catch on and sign on.  If we don't, falling bridges will be common, and they will be the least of our problems.

As I watch the ads for former Governor Romney from his cronies who explain how they built their own businesses ALL BY THEMSELVES, I am struck by the reality of how each and every one not only benefited from our infrastructure far more than they are willing to credit, but how EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THE PEOPLE IN THE ADS GREW THEIR BUSINESS FROM GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS.

That would be contracts and business from that government they want to shrink, that they want to go away.  It would be a safe bet that they want OTHER GOVERNMENT that they pay for to go away, not the government on which THEIR business is based.  That is selfish, that is narrow-minded, that is special-interest in nature, and that is BAD politics and bad governance.

It is time to have corporations pay a fair tax rate, and to end corporate welfare for successful industries like big oil, and to some degree, big Ag, and big Pharm.  It is time to properly regulate the financial industry, including breaking down the too-big-to-fail banks, into separate entities that either do investment banking OR, not AND, commercial banking.  We need BACK the undone regulation like Glass Steagal, but not only Glass Steagal, and we need new regulation and consumer protection put in place for the dark markets like credit default swaps.  We need prosecution for banksters, not free passes with golden parachutes.

We need to return corporate control to stockholders, we need to stop the buying and selling of our legislators, and get back to having elections, not auctions -- especially the buying and selling of our conservatives in office who don't even try to hide the big money they take, or the inside trading they do at our expense and at the expense of good HONEST government.

The I-35 bridge anniversary is an occasion for sorrow, not only for the lives lost and for the tragedy, but for how little changes for the better we have made, and in some cases how far backwards we have gone instead of forwards.