Jim Stillman
Nevar
Sarah Palin: failure of educational system
August 14th 2009 23:00
Sarah Palin: Proof that US schools are no better than our health care system
Every person who expresses opinions based on rational thought, from the Left or the Right, has to be grateful to Mrs. Palin, Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Michael Savage and the others who have brought political and social discourse to the level of Looney-Tunes cartoons, those silly and funny films that used to accompany the advertised motion picture. The reason is that, if one can strip away the racism that is the essential reason for the break from reality, all of these jokers are really funny and fodder aplenty for commentary. Late night television will have jokes, at their expense, for quite
a while.
Of course, the fact of racism is not funny at all.
And that is what this is all about.
Mrs. Palin has demonstrated repeatedly that not only is she not the sharpest tool in the shed, she isn’t smart enough to try and hide it. She is a foreign policy maven because Russia is closer to Alaska than it is from, say, Florida or Minnesota. She reads unnamed newspapers and magazines and cannot recall the publications’ names. There is one thing at which she excels: the ability to utter, with a straight face, the most outrageous statements. President Obama’s “death panels” will decide if an individual has societal value and if the person is judged to have insufficient worth, he or she will be permitted to die. She unquestionably repeats the talking points provided by the most cynical and mean-spirited spokespersons of the far right. A proposal by Congressional Republicans to reimburse physicians for time spent offering discussion and counseling patients on choices available for end-of-life situation is portrayed as euthanasia.
I would suggest that of the Rabid Right, Mrs. Palin is ignorant more than evil. Several days after she tossed a “Molotov Cocktail” into public discourse, she pleaded for people to stop irrational behavior and to embrace polite discourse about the issues. Sure!
A line from the motion picture Twilight Zone comes to mind, “Want to see something really scary?” Take a look at Mrs. Palin’s Facebook entries and the comments or her fans. One regular contributor wrote,
“Chuck Norris found in HC bill provision for Gov't. to invade our homes to check on & tell us how to parent our children! It's on Rush. [emphasis mine] Really Long Link
Notwithstanding the absurdity of Mrs. Palin’s rhetoric, both hysterical and hypocritical, the Rabid Right appears to be successful in stoking the insecurity of its base. I assume that there are anxious and frightened citizens who are uneasy about any major change in health care; many however, do not care about health care reform at all. They are fed by the lowest instincts of all, a feeling that President Obama is not a legitimate president and is an usurper, because after all, a black man who “doesn’t know his place” needs to be punished.
It is wrong in today’s society, as well as harmful politically, to suggest that race is the issue.
So Glenn Beck and Michael Savage and Lou Dobbs helpfully point out that, while Barack Obama may be an “OK” kind of guy, his being born in Kenya disqualifies him from being president. The approach by Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck has struck a chord with many of the Rabid Right base: the Obama administration is equivalent to Nazi Germany under Hitler, Obama supporters are just like the mobs cheering Hitler.
Not far under the surface is the hate of the horror that an uppity black could aspire to, much less get elected to, the presidency. In recent news stories, there have been pictures of Democrat officials being hanged in effigy, in scenes similar to the lynch mobs of years ago.
Where is the disgust by responsible GOP leaders? Why are they not repudiating the hate mongers on Fox or in the far right websites? Where is the outrage?
It’s not there.
While Sarah Palin acts and speaks out of ignorance, Newt Gingrich and others of his party are pleased to pander to the fears and basest instincts of the far, far right. I do not blame Mrs. Palin, just as I wouldn’t punish a six-month old child from spilling his or her drink. The others, however, deserve to be punished and publically condemned. As I have pointed out elsewhere, my primary criticism of President Obama is that he continues to seek cooperation and support from Republican leaders who want to destroy him and his programs, regardless of the consequences to the country.
Racism is ugly and like odors, cannot be covered up with the scent of flowers or rhetoric. It must be eliminated.
Every person who expresses opinions based on rational thought, from the Left or the Right, has to be grateful to Mrs. Palin, Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Michael Savage and the others who have brought political and social discourse to the level of Looney-Tunes cartoons, those silly and funny films that used to accompany the advertised motion picture. The reason is that, if one can strip away the racism that is the essential reason for the break from reality, all of these jokers are really funny and fodder aplenty for commentary. Late night television will have jokes, at their expense, for quite
Of course, the fact of racism is not funny at all.
And that is what this is all about.
Mrs. Palin has demonstrated repeatedly that not only is she not the sharpest tool in the shed, she isn’t smart enough to try and hide it. She is a foreign policy maven because Russia is closer to Alaska than it is from, say, Florida or Minnesota. She reads unnamed newspapers and magazines and cannot recall the publications’ names. There is one thing at which she excels: the ability to utter, with a straight face, the most outrageous statements. President Obama’s “death panels” will decide if an individual has societal value and if the person is judged to have insufficient worth, he or she will be permitted to die. She unquestionably repeats the talking points provided by the most cynical and mean-spirited spokespersons of the far right. A proposal by Congressional Republicans to reimburse physicians for time spent offering discussion and counseling patients on choices available for end-of-life situation is portrayed as euthanasia.
A line from the motion picture Twilight Zone comes to mind, “Want to see something really scary?” Take a look at Mrs. Palin’s Facebook entries and the comments or her fans. One regular contributor wrote,
“Chuck Norris found in HC bill provision for Gov't. to invade our homes to check on & tell us how to parent our children! It's on Rush. [emphasis mine] Really Long Link
Notwithstanding the absurdity of Mrs. Palin’s rhetoric, both hysterical and hypocritical, the Rabid Right appears to be successful in stoking the insecurity of its base. I assume that there are anxious and frightened citizens who are uneasy about any major change in health care; many however, do not care about health care reform at all. They are fed by the lowest instincts of all, a feeling that President Obama is not a legitimate president and is an usurper, because after all, a black man who “doesn’t know his place” needs to be punished.
It is wrong in today’s society, as well as harmful politically, to suggest that race is the issue.
So Glenn Beck and Michael Savage and Lou Dobbs helpfully point out that, while Barack Obama may be an “OK” kind of guy, his being born in Kenya disqualifies him from being president. The approach by Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck has struck a chord with many of the Rabid Right base: the Obama administration is equivalent to Nazi Germany under Hitler, Obama supporters are just like the mobs cheering Hitler.
Not far under the surface is the hate of the horror that an uppity black could aspire to, much less get elected to, the presidency. In recent news stories, there have been pictures of Democrat officials being hanged in effigy, in scenes similar to the lynch mobs of years ago.
Where is the disgust by responsible GOP leaders? Why are they not repudiating the hate mongers on Fox or in the far right websites? Where is the outrage?
It’s not there.
While Sarah Palin acts and speaks out of ignorance, Newt Gingrich and others of his party are pleased to pander to the fears and basest instincts of the far, far right. I do not blame Mrs. Palin, just as I wouldn’t punish a six-month old child from spilling his or her drink. The others, however, deserve to be punished and publically condemned. As I have pointed out elsewhere, my primary criticism of President Obama is that he continues to seek cooperation and support from Republican leaders who want to destroy him and his programs, regardless of the consequences to the country.
Racism is ugly and like odors, cannot be covered up with the scent of flowers or rhetoric. It must be eliminated.
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Comment by Jeff Musall
Comment by rickb_georgia
I am not sure what / who bothers you the most, Mrs. Palin or that big ole Confederate battle flag flying near downtown Tampa. Someone sure seems to find all your hot buttons.
I still think there is a large chunk of folks that exist between the "rabid" right and "lemming" left and I think that group of folks makes up 2/3 to 3/4 or our population. They have two things in common, they vote AND they pay taxes and I include those who might be temporarily unemployed but have a real desire to find work. They do not make a lot of noise but I think Washington is very much aware of their presence. I don't think many of these people pay much attention to Mrs. Palin or other radical commentators, from either the right or the left.
Comment by Jim Stillman
Political Certainty
As to the Confederate Battle Flag, the organization behind this, the Sons of Confederate Veterans, continue to deny that a primary rationale for the Civil War was the retention of slavery. Anyone who doubts this should read the Cornerstone Speech by the Confederate States' Vice President. Then the SCV refuses to realize that their side lost! The Battle Flag is offensive to many for the same reason that a swastika is offensive to many. Both are symbols of efforts to subjugate and kill; neither should be celebrated.