The Extinction Burst

Before the 2008 election, I told my wife that I think the real reason that the media was completely tossing aside even the pretense of objectivity was that it was - to me - obviously an "extinction burst."

Consider the following:

1) The continuing daisy chain of newspaper/newsmagazine failures
2) The utter failure of liberal talk radio
3) The declining ratings of the alphabet networks, CNN and MSNBC
4) The ascendancy of Fox News
5) The enduring popularity of conservative talk radio
6) The rise of the dextrosphere and the already peaked popularity of the sinestrophere.
7) The repeated best-selling success of conservative books - not just on current topics, but re-examining political history as well (e.g., Liberal Fascism).
8) The calamitous decline in union membership outside of government.

Put them all together and what do you have? The end of the ability of the Left to completely control the narrative, to hide inconvenient truths and to pretend that opposing views are without merit or that they even exist.

I believe that the media understood very well that 2008 would be the last presidential election in which they had as much influence as they did. So they had no incentive to pretend they were objective any longer. After all, most of them wouldn't even have jobs by the time the next election rolled around anyway.

By 2012, it is very likely that neither Time nor Newsweek will even exist as print magazines. The NY Times may or may not be putting ink to paper, but even if it is there will be far fewer copies to circulate. Air America has already gone silent. Etc., Etc.

The Leftists in this country have controlled political conversation in this country for generations now. That monopoly has effectively ended, and now their agenda is being shredded daily by Glenn Reynolds' "Army of Davids" who are pointing out that the emperor has no clothes, and in fact, never really did.

So the Democratic Party had no choice but to go "all in" after the last election. From ObamaCare to Cap-N-Tax to Card Check, every liberal wet dream is on the table.

They thought "we've only got one more shot to get this through, so we've got to jam as much through as possible RIGHT NOW." They know they're not likely to get another bite at this apple for a very long time to come.

Because not only have they lost control of the message, they've run out of money. Federal and state budgets are exploding across the country as the inevitable result of decades of liberal mismanagement (see California) and the extraordinarily high cost of government union workers (see GM and Chrysler for examples of where this is heading).

The appetite for, and the ability to fund, the expansion of government is over for the foreseeable future.

We just can't afford it. Democrats knew the debt bomb was ticking, but this recession and their own irresponsibility in passing the stimulus plan, sped up the countdown timer far faster than they had planned. The Tea Party movement was a completely unanticipated development which is why they were left floundering when it took off so suddenly. They never saw it coming, and it left them angry and sputtering ineffective, inaccurate and inane responses like "Nazis," "racists," and "unAmerican."

Time has run out. The steady flow of money and muscle from their union allies is quickly drying up, and that will affect the Democratic Party's ability to remain competitive. (And why they reacted so vehemently to the recent Supreme Court decision allowing corporate participation in elections.)

The Leftist agenda will always find a way to come back eventually. That totalitarian impulse isn't going to go away. It never really does as there are always people who seek to use the heavy hand of government to control other people's lives. But if it gets defeated now, it's going to have to go underground for a long time. And the actions of the Leftists for the last few years proves that they know it too.

State of the Union Drinking Game

Since this seems to be the day for it, let me set up the rules for tonight's State of the Union address.

1. Make sure you're not drinking anything with higher than 80 proof. Alcohol poisoning can be fatal.

2. On second thought, 80 proof might be too high. Or you'll only be able to take small sips rather than do full shots. Either way, use your discretion to avoid any unintended 911 calls.

3. Don't think that just using shots of non-alcoholic beverages is a good idea either. You're going to need the mind-numbing effects of a good inebriant to get through the entire speech. Like I said, we want to avoid any unintended 911 calls, so for your own good, make sure you're drinking something with at least minimal alcoholic content.

4. Make sure it's not rubbing alcohol.

Now on to the game itself:

5. Each of the following words or phrases will require a shot:

"fight(ing) [for you*]"
"anger/angry"
"anxious/anxiety"
"frustrated"
"fat cat(s)"
"let me be [**] clear"
"make no mistake"
"middle class [folks ***]"
"inherited [from the previous administration****]"
"bipartisan(ship)"
"transparency"
"[green ******] jobs"
"back to work"
"health care"
"freeze/freezing"
"tax credit"

* - one shot for any variation of "fight:" double shot if he's doing it "for you"
** - one shot for a straight-up "let me be clear:" double shot if he also tells you just how clear he's going to be, i.e., perfectly, absolutely, totally, etc.
*** - one shot for just "middle-class:" double shot if he shows just how folksy and not out of touch at all he is with ordinary folks by adding "folks." Triple-shot if he adds "hard-workin'."
**** one shot for just "inherited:" double shot if he specifically has to point out to you people who are just too dense to get it that everything bad that has happened for the last year, for the next three years, and also going back to the crucifixion of Christ is George W. Bush's fault. Obama's the good guy here who just got stuck with the mess. He's doing his best. No one told him there was math involved, and it's really, really hard. Don't forget that, champ. He won. He will trump you on that. Got it?
***** one shot for just "jobs:" double shot for all those "green jobs" that Obama has/will save(d)/create(d). And just because no administration in history has ever measured progress by the jobs they saved doesn't mean that they're just making it all up and expecting you to be stupid enough to buy into it. Really...What? Hey look over there! Squirrel!

Those are the "gimmes," and it's almost unfair to make you drink each time he uses one of these. Almost. But see #3 above. You're gonna need the "gimmes" just to make it through.

6. Now come the double-shot words and phrases:

"I understand"
"Speaker Pelosi"
"Majority Leader Reid"
"Congressional leadership"

7. If you find yourself feeling faint, dizzy or nauseous during the speech, just assume the lotus position, close your eyes and chant "November 2010 is coming...2012 isn't that far away..." over and over again until you feel better.

On Greenhouses and Plants in New Hampshire

After reading the latest updates on the fake doctor at Sheila Jackson Lee's "townhall," I was directed to an article at the Lone Star Times website that covers much of the same ground. What caught my eye was this comment on that article:

I live in new Hampshire and was particularily interested in seeing how well Obama’s staged “town hall” meeting held in Portsmouth, NH, resonated with “Granite Staters”. The wife and I were watching the local news last night and of course, the lead story was the “town hall” meeting. The video clip included a woman who was identified by name and her home town. She had been invited to stand at the podium and provide a short statement as to why she supports Obamacare.

The lady stated, “I have hepatitis-C and I am UNABLE to get healthcare”. Well…that was a lie. And how do I know this? My wife, who is a nurse practitioner, happens to be her primary health care provider!! The woman is enrolled in a health care plan with Blue Cross/Blue Shield!

Of course, it would be a HIPPA violation to release this information to the press, so she…and the Obama administration…will get away with this bold faced LIE!!!!!

I also hadn't heard this particular nickname for these phony townhall meetings, but I like it: They aren't "townhalls any more: they're "Greenhouses"...because there are so many plants.

I think I'm going to appropriate it for myself. Feel free to pass it around amongst yourselves.

ObamaCare, Disinformation, Democrats, Barack Obama, AstroTurfing

Obama Lies Making Doctors Mad

Just a couple of weeks ago Barack Obama got himself into hot water with cops across the country by saying that Officer Crowley "acted stupidly." Then a couple of days, he managed to get under the skin of postal workers by pointing out the failures of the Post Office while extolling the performance of UPS and FedEx. Now he's got surgeons angry by lying about them again.

Obama really is beginning to sound like a younger Biden with a better tan every time he speaks without a TelePrompter. He desperately needs to have doctors onboard if he's going to sell the American public his socialized medicine, but he just can't seem to stop insulting them at every turn. First, he claimed that doctors were taking out kids' tonsils purely because it paid better than treating them for allergies. Now he's claiming that surgeons are amputating feet because they're getting tens of thousands of dollars to perform the procedure.

Marc Ambinder calls the press release "amusing," but I really fail to see how it is. It's not amusing that Obama can't stop lying, and it's not amusing that the surgeons are rightfully angry about being accused of what is, in essence, gross malpractice and general inhumanity. Perhaps Marc can explain what he finds so funny...

Barack Obama, Disinformation, ObamaCare

Answering Back On ObamaCare

I've talked to several people recently about the various lies being told by Barack Obama and the Democrats about ObamaCare, and the constant refrain I hear is that it's difficult to find out what actually is and isn't true about the proposed government takeover of our health care system.

Karl over at HotAir has done some yeoman's work in putting together some highlights of Obama's most outrageous disinformation. It's by no means a comprehensive list of all the ugliness hidden within the depths of 1,000 pages of legislation, but it does provide a good overview of the topic. If you want to find out how Obama's rhetoric really matches up with reality, then do yourself a favor and read his post. Then when you're done, e-mail it to everyone you know: especially those who are currently supporting Obama's latest socialist endeavor. You never know: you might just open a few eyes.

P.S. If you (or those to whom you e-mail his post) have any questions about where he's getting his information, just follow his links within that post.

Barack Obama, Disinformation, ObamaCare, Democrats

Single-Payer Health Advocates Create 'Obama As Hitler' Signs

It's been all over the news: anti-ObamaCare protesters are using Nazi imagery! They're putting Hitleresque mustaches on pictures of Obama and demanding a stop to Obama's "Nazi" Health Care. Those TEA Partiers are just crazy!

One major problem with the narrative: the Obama-Hitler signs aren't from TEA Partiers at all:

The takeaway from the video? LaRouchePAC created the 'Obama as Hitler' signs, and it is a staunch supporter of a single-payer system. They support a government takeover of the healthcare system too: they just want it done on their terms instead of Obama's.

So much for those Democratic talking points that falsely smear TEA Partiers. With the army of citizen-journalists across the nation doing the work that the media won't do, none of their talking points are holding up and their AstroTurfing is being exposed left and right. What desperate tricks does Obama, Pelosi, Reid and their allies have up their sleeves next?

TEA Parties, Nancy Pelosi, ObamaCare, Barack Obama, Disinformation, Democrats

Does Obama Have An Inherent Right to Lie?

Jeffrey Lord has an interesting piece up over at American Spectator comparing Linda Douglass and Arthur Sylvester, the press secretary for Robert McNamara during the Vietnam War. He contends that Linda Douglass is Sylvester's intellectual descendent in her eagerness to lie to the American people on behalf of Barack Obama about the actions of their government.

He reprints a quote of David Halberstam's, The Best and the Brightest, which seems extraordinarily timely:

In Saigon…Arthur Sylvester, McNamara's press officer, was
arguing with a young New York Times reporter named
Jack Langguth over the government's lack of credibility in its
Vietnam statements. Sylvester said that although it was
unfortunate, there were times when a government official had to
lie, but that he, Sylvester, as a former newsman, had a genuine
objection to lying. Langguth answered that if you had a real
objection to lying, you would quit, and the failure to resign
meant that you had a soft job where you could exercise power,
and that your principles were secondary. Sylvester looked at
him almost shocked. "If you believe that, you're stupid and
naïve, (said Sylvester) and you didn't seem that way at lunch
earlier today."

Pretty damning indictment of Ms. Douglass, wouldn't you say? Shouldn't we expect the truth from our government? Don't we have the right to the truth? Well, Sylvester had something to say about that too:

"Look, if you think any American official is going to tell you
the truth, than you're stupid. Did you hear that? -- Stupid."

Just stop and let that sink in for a minute. So when it comes to ObamaCare, are you really looking into the bills before Congress or are you just being stupid?

Barack Obama, Disinformation, ObamaCare

GOP Puts Out a Fishy Ad

The GOP cut together the previous clips of Obama stating his desire for single-payer health care into a web ad:

Somebody needs to turn them in to flag@whitehouse.gov because Linda Douglass is definitely going to find this fishy. Somebody needs to make that Barack Obama guy quit spreading disinformation about the goals of ObamaCare.

Barack Obama, ObamaCare, Disinformation, Republicans

CNN 'Reliable Sources' Not So Reliable

CNN's Reliable Sources had ABC's Obama mouthpiece turned White House Obama mouthpiece, Linda Douglass, on to discuss the Naked Emperor News YouTube video compilation of Obama repeatedly stated desire for single-payer healthcare.

Fair enough. But only if CNN had actually bothered to actually show the damning portions of the video where Barack Obama actually said over and over again that he wanted single-payer healthcare. Instead, they picked out one of the most innocuous portions possible, and then brought Douglass on to say how they were "out of context."



Since CNN won't actually show you the full NEN video so you can decide for yourself if they were taken out of context, I will:

Do you still think Obama was "taken out of context"? Or do you think CNN took the "Reliable" out of "Reliable Sources"?

ObamaCare, Disinformation