Puttin' the Hammer Down with Style

[fred41]

stop feeding the fucking troll!

Oh c'mon...you may not like his style, but without that it would probably just be an Amen corner in here...

[Prospero]

True RL... true...

[broncofan]

Actually there's nothing for OMK to defend...It seems to me that he's merely pointing out that West's campaign is being handled well so far...and from what I'm reading...it is.

Many of the posters following the OP are trying to point out an event in West's military record is more detrimental than the arrest of his opponent...however it really isn't shocking to West's supporters, in fact it probably helped him in the "type" of campaign he's created. It's probably only an outrage,at this point,to people who weren't going to vote for West anyway.
But we'll have to wait and see.

OMK used this campaign ad as an example of how you deal with whiny libs. Perhaps the example is intended to show that Republicans should create ads that are intentionally misleading and hide an actual crime committed during one's military service by lauding that same service as honorable. If that was what he intended to say then maybe he thinks Republican campaigns should be run cynically, and be dependent for their success on the racism, intellectual laziness, and moral corruption of their constituents. Fair enough. He could say so.

To my mind when you hold up a campaign advertisement as the right way to approach a pending campaign it should be accurate rather than misleading. Just because it's effective with Republicans does not mean it's a good rebuttal if it requires the suppression of the truth. Yes, it may be that terrifying Muslims in violation of international law sells well in certain parts of the country but if that were so then he (Tea Party Colonel) could have bragged about his crimes rather than obscured them.

[Ben]

A Culture Of Delusion

by PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS

A writer’s greatest disappointments are readers who have knee-jerk responses. Not all readers, of course. Some readers are thoughtful and supportive. Others express thanks for opening their eyes. But the majority are happy when a writer tells them what they want to hear and are unhappy when he writes what they don’t want to hear.
For the left-wing, Ronald Reagan is the great bogyman. Those on the left don’t understand supply-side economics as a macroeconomic innovation that cured stagflation by utilizing the impact of fiscal policy on aggregate supply. Instead, they see “trickle-down economics” and tax cuts for the rich. Leftists don’t understand that the Reagan administration intervened in Grenada and Nicaragua in order to signal to the Soviets that there would be no more Soviet expansion or client states and that it was time to negotiate the end of the cold war. Instead, leftists see in Reagan the origin of rule by the one percent and the neoconservatives’ wars for US hegemony.
In 1981 curtailing inflation meant collapsing nominal GNP and tax revenues. The result would be budget deficits–anathema to Republicans– during the period of readjustment.
Ending the cold war meant curtailing the military/security complex and raised the specter in conservative circles of “the anti-Christ” Gorbachev deceiving Reagan and taking over the world.
In pursuing his two main goals, Reagan was up against his own constituency and relied on rhetoric to keep his constituency onboard with his agenda. The left wing heard the rhetoric but failed to comprehend the agenda.
When I explain these facts, easily and abundantly documented, some of leftish persuasion send in condescending and insulting emails telling me that they look forward to the day that I stop lying about Reagan and tell the truth about Reagan like I do about everything else.
“Knee-jerk liberal” is a favorite term of conservatives. But conservatives can be just as knee-jerk. When I object to Washington’s wars, the mistreatment of detainees and the suspension of civil liberties, some on the right tell me that if I hate America so much I should move to Cuba. Many Republicans cannot get their minds around the fact that if civil liberties are subject to the government’s arbitrary discretion, then civil liberties do not exist. The flag-waving element of the population is prone to confuse loyalty to the country with loyalty to the government, unless, of course, there’s a Democrat in the White House.
Rationally, it makes no sense for readers to think that a writer who would lie to them about one thing would tell them the truth about another. But as long as they hear what they want to hear, it is the truth. If they don’t want to hear it, it is a lie.
Both left and right also confuse explanations with justifications.
When a writer writes about the perils that we as a society face and the implications, it is very discouraging for the writer to know that many readers will not listen unless it is what they want to hear. This discouragement is precisely what every truth-teller faces, which is why there are so few of them.
This is one reason I stopped writing a couple of years ago. I found that solid facts and sound analysis could not penetrate brainwashed and closed minds seeking vindication to keep the mind locked tightly against unsettling truths. Americans want to have their beliefs vindicated more than they want the truth. The success of print and TV pundits is based on allying with a prominent point of view or interest group and serving it. Those served make the writer or talking head successful. I never thought much of that kind of success.
But success as a whore is about the only kind of success that can occur in Washington or in the media these days. Those who refuse to prostitute themselves arouse pity and denunciation, not admiration. A couple of years ago an acquaintance from a university in the northeast called me to say he had recently had lunch with some of my former associates in Washington. When he inquired about me, he said the response was, “Poor Craig, if he hadn’t turned critic, he would be worth tens of millions of dollars like us.”
I replied that my former associates were undoubtedly correct. My acquaintance said that he hadn’t realized that he was having lunch with a bunch of prostitutes.
The incentive to speak the truth and the reward for doing so are very weak. And not just for a writer, but also for academics and experts who can make far more money by lying than by telling the truth. How else would we have got GMOs, jobs offshoring, the “unitary executive,” and a deregulated financial system? It is a very lucrative career to testify as an expert in civil lawsuits. It is part of America’s romance with the lie that experts purchased by the opposing sides in a lawsuit battle it out as gladiators seeking the jury’s thumbs-up.
And look at Congress. The two members of the House who stood up for the Constitution and truth in government will soon be gone. Ron Paul is stepping down, and Dennis Kucinich was redistricted out of his seat. As for the Senate, these thoughtful personages recently voted 90-1 to declare war on Iran, as the sole dissenter, Rand Paul, pointed out. The Senate is very much aware, although only a few will publicly admit it, that the US has been totally frustrated and held to a standoff, if not a defeat, in Afghanistan and is unable to subdue the Taliban. Despite this, the Senate wants a war with Iran, a war which could easily turn out to be even less successful. Obviously, the Senate not only lies to the public but also to itself.
Last week the Pentagon chief, Panetta, told China that the new US naval, air, and troop bases surrounding China are not directed at China. What else could be the purpose of the new bases? Washington is so accustomed to lying and to being believed that Panetta actually thinks China will believe his completely transparent lie. Panetta has confused China with the American people: tell them what they want to hear, and they will believe it.
Americans live in a matrix of lies. They seldom encounter a truthful statement.There is no evidence that Americans can any longer tell the difference between the truth and a lie. Americans fell for all of these lies and more: Saddam Hussein has weapons of mass destruction and al Qaeda connections. Saddam Hussein’s troops seized Kuwaiti babies from incubators and threw them on the floor. Gaddafi fed his troops viagra to help them rape Libyan women. Iran has a nuclear weapons program. Change–yes we can!
The US is “the indispensable country.” America is broke because of food stamps and Social Security, not because of wars, bankster bailouts, and a failing economy. Russia is America’s number one enemy. China is America’s number one enemy. Iran is a terrorist state. Jobs offshoring is free trade and good for the US economy. Israel is America’s most loyal ally. The US missile shield surrounding Russia is not directed at Russia. The South China sea is an area of US national interest. Financial markets are self-regulating.
The list is endless. Lies dominate every policy discussion, every political decision. The most successful people in America are liars.
The endless lies have created a culture of delusion. And this is why America is lost. The beliefs of many Americans, perhaps a majority, are comprised of lies. These beliefs have become emotional crutches, and Americans will fight to defend the lies that they believe. The inability of Americans to accept facts that are contrary to their beliefs is the reason the country is leaderless and will remain so. Unless scales fall from Americans’ eyes, Americans are doomed.

Paul Craig Roberts is a former Assistant Secretary of the US Treasury and Associate Editor of the Wall Street Journal

[trish]

So why would the assistant secretary of the treasury under Reagan have a completely unbiased view of the merits of reaganomics, Reagan foreign policy, the Iran-Contra affaire and the invasion of Grenada? People don't choose to believe lies, but it happens when they don't question their sources of information, or think things through on their own.

[Prospero]

On the subject of lies and disinformation I received the following overnight by email from someone who circulated it without questioning its content . It contains a number of outrageous lies.

This was the email....


"This is so "Unbelievable".....
In Houston, Texas

Harwin Central Mall: The very first store that you come to when you walk from the lobby of the building into the shopping area had this sign posted on their door. The shop is run by Muslims.

Feel free to share this with others.

In case you are not able to read the sign below, it says, "We will be closed on Friday, September 11, 2009 to commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Ali"


Imam Ali flew one of the planes into the twin towers.

Nice huh?
Try telling me we're not in a Religious war!
THIS HAS NOT BEEN AROUND....SO MAKE SURE IT DOES!

PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW AND HAVE THEM DO THE SAME




When I was a kid, I couldn't understand why Eisenhower was so popular. Maybe this will explain why.

General Eisenhower Warned Us.

It is a matter of history that when the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, General Dwight Eisenhower, found the victims of the death camps he ordered all possible photographs to be taken, and for the German people from surrounding villages to be ushered through the camps and even made to bury the dead.

He did this because he said in words to this effect:

'Get it all on record now - get the films - get the witnesses - because somewhere down the road of history some bastard will get up and say that this never happened.'

This week, the UK debated whether to remove The Holocaust from its school curriculum because it 'offends' the Muslim population which claims it never occurred. It is not removed as yet. However, this is a frightening portent of the fear that is gripping the world and how easily each country is giving in to it.

It is now more than 60 years after the Second World War in Europeended. This e-mail is being sent as a memorial chain, in memory of the six million Jews, 20 million Russians, 10 million Christians, and 1,900 Catholic priests who were murdered, raped, burned, starved, beaten, experimented on and humiliated' while many in the world looked the other way!

Now, more than ever, with Iran , among others, claiming the Holocaust to be 'a myth,' it is imperative to make sure the world never forgets.


This e-mail is intended to reach 400 million people! Be a link in the memorial chain and help distribute this around the world.

How many years will it be before the attack on the World TradeCenter

'NEVER HAPPENED',


because it offends some Muslim???

Do not just delete this message; it will take only a minute to pass this along."


So the untruths.....

1. That the closure of the shop featured was to celebrate one of the 9/11 suicide hijackers. It wasn't. Imam Ali referenced here was, in fact, the son-in-law of the Prophet Mohammed who died hundreds of years ago. None of the hijackers was called Imam Ali.

2. That the UK is considering dumping Holocaust education because of pressure from Muslims. It is not.

3. That all British Muslims think the Holocaust never happened. Again wholly untrue. A tiny majority of extremist Muslims believe this. (and the Government of iran).

Stuff like this - and the nonsense pedalled by the GOP and Our Mutual Friend, the OP, is really dangerous because many will believe it. And the people who start pedalling this nonsense are sinister in both their intent and impact.

[broncofan]

"Those on the left don’t understand supply-side economics as a macroeconomic innovation that cured stagflation by utilizing the impact of fiscal policy on aggregate supply"

This is quite the unsupported statement from Paul Craig Roberts; some might even say unsupportable.

It is very easy to obscure a clear-cut issue of an intentionally misleading campaign ad with platitudes about knee-jerk decision-making and a culture of lying that has bipartisan roots. But the Arch Duke Grand Colonel of the Tea Party misrepresented his military service. And mock executions, firing weapons near the heads of Muslim men is anything but honorable regardless of the effect it has on a segment of the public who willfully abdicates their sense of decency.

As Prospero says, there are numerous lies being spread about Muslims that have taken root. The fact that this campaign ad may be effective only ads to our political problems. There should be some accountability when the truth is clearly obscured; if people don't care, they should.

[Prospero]

A little addendum. The sort of values promoted by the great Colonel West are well reflected in this picture from Kentucky.

Good to see that certain downhome and traditional Southern values endure. Bring on them burning crosses.....

[Odelay]

The disability marker on the license plate seems incongruous for an obvious diehard right winger.

[robertlouis]

A little addendum. The sort of values promoted by the great Colonel West are well reflected in this picture from Kentucky.

Good to see that certain downhome and traditional Southern values endure. Bring on them burning crosses.....

There are times when you begin to wonder about the limits of free speech.