Puttin' the Hammer Down with Style

[onmyknees]

Col. Allen West doing his part to keep the House in the control of conservatives. Memo to Mr. Murphy....Might be time to start working on that concession speech. Kudos to The Tea Party Colonel. This is the way to deal with whiny libs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=R-lDL9_qDDs

[Ben]

These Lib dudes disagree -- :)

Mugshot Used By Rep. West To Smear Opponent Patrick Murphy - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63f1gVLnFfs&feature=plcp)

[Jericho]

Oops!

[broncofan]

I see that about 23 minutes after Jericho's last post OMK posted another propaganda piece on another thread. I don't know about you but when you've got something hanging in the air like this you lose any credibility you may have had by not coming back and defending your original post. Will OMK respond to the revelations about the Tea Party Colonel's (or whatever this assclown's self-appointed title is) military record? Surely what we heard about the mock execution is all liberal propaganda? Surely what these men in Ben's youtube video were talking about is only true in the liberal blogosphere and on pinko sites like Huffington Post?

It would be nice if OMK would set this one straight before moving on to the next topic and if prior form is any indication he is just about to respond with a devastating rebuttal!!!

[Prospero]

Bronco - the odious one never ever responds with debate or intelligence to any challenge or refutation of his lies. He simply slithers onwards leaving a stinking trail of illusory misinformation. It's all sheer bullshit.

Odd how he is an increasingly lone voice in here. I hope that reflects a wider reality - and that the lies and the monstrous reality of that predator par excellance Romney and his lickspittle sidekick of a VO choice are becoming clearer every day to the US public.

[Prospero]

So Allen West Wants to Talk About His Military Record...
George Zornick on September 28, 2012 - 5:03 PM ET
Tea Party superstar Representative Allen West released one of the toughest attack ads of the campaign season on Friday, contrasting his military career with his Democratic opponent’s arrest as a teenager following a drunken bar night—complete with a mug shot:



Transcript:

Feb. 16, 2003, Fort Hood, Texas. Lt. Col. Allen West had just received deployment orders, and prepares his men to go to war. That night, South Beach, Miami: Patrick Murphy is thrown out of a club for fighting, covered in alcohol, and unable to stand. Murphy then confronts and verbally assaults a police officer. Patrick Murphy was arrested and taken to jail. Two men, a country in crisis—you decide.

To make the point even more bluntly, the West campaign put out a press release along with the ad saying that Murphy is a “spoiled brat who knows nothing of duty, honor or service.”

The voters of Florida’s 18th District will have to decide if they want to hold Murphy’s run-in with the law against him. But it’s odd that West trumpets “duty, honor and service” in comparison to the transgression, while touting his military career—because his record there is, by almost any measure, more ignominious than an arrest for drunk and disorderly conduct.

West resigned from the military in 2004, following an incident involving his unit’s treatment of an Iraqi man. West himself was charged with two violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, including one against assault, and agreed to retire after an Article 15 hearing in order to avoid a court martial.

According to a 2004 account in The New York Times, West let the soldiers under his command beat the Iraqi man, whom West believed was involved in an attempt on his life. (No evidence was ever found implicating the man). Then, he staged a mock execution:

Soon, the soldiers began striking and shoving Mr. Hamoodi. They were not instructed to do so by Colonel West but they were not stopped, either, they said. ‘I didn’t know it was wrong to hit a detainee,” a 20-year-old soldier from Daytona Beach said at the hearing. Colonel West testified that he would have stopped the beating ”had it become too excessive.”

Eventually, the colonel and his soldiers moved Mr. Hamoodi outside, and threatened him with death. Colonel West said he fired a warning shot in the air and began counting down from five. He asked his soldiers to put Mr. Hamoodi’s head in a sand-filled barrel usually used for clearing weapons. At the end of his count, Colonel West fired a shot into the barrel, angling his gun away from the Iraqi’s head, he testified.

Far from being a scab on his political career, this episode actually helped propel West’s fortunes on the right. He initially became a minor cause célèbre among right-wing bloggers who felt West was being persecuted by those insisting on “political correctness” in a combat zone. West exploited this status as he was running for Congress, appearing on right-wing outlets to denounce the Army’s rules of engagement, which he believed were handcuffing American troops in their battle against the “Islamic enemy.”

West’s campaign was, in fact, a mini-crusade against Islam. On the trail, he declared that “Islam is a totalitarian theocratic political ideology, it is not a religion. It has not been a religion since 622 AD.” He also informed supporters at one town hall that jihad “is not a perversion” of the Koran—“they’re doing exactly what this book says.” Once he arrived in Congress, he singled out Representative Keith Ellison—one of two Muslim colleagues—as someone that “really does represent the antithesis of the principles upon which this country was established.”

But West has rarely returned to the topic of the incident in Iraq that ended his military career since being elected to office. For the same reason his campaign now believes an arrest will hurt Murphy, it’s not going to be helpful to remind voters in the general election that he was charged with assault by the US Army and nearly court-martialed.

But Friday’s ad may have opened the door to that topic. Murphy’s campaign immediately responded by pointing out the episode and that West’s military career wasn’t so “honorable” after all. That’s an attack that could get more play in the weeks ahead—but either way, there’s no doubt this is becoming one of the ugliest and most brutal congressional races in the country.

[Prospero]

Written some months ago- but revealing.


Beware the Rise of Congressman Allen West
Do you know Allen West? If not, you should. A lot of folks think he'll be president someday.

He's a 50-year-old Army vet and the congressman from Florida's 22nd District—a polyglot district stretching from the ghettos of northern Fort Lauderdale to the snootiest enclaves of Palm Beach County. West was booted from the military in 2004 after torturing an Iraqi cop whom he suspected of plotting a surprise attack on his unit.

West's subsequent reprimand and forced resignation became a minor media event and earned him plenty of fans, none of whom were too concerned that the cop was probably innocent. "If it's about the lives of my soldiers at stake," said West, "I'd go through hell with a gasoline can." That's pure catnip to a certain kind of American; the kind that pines for an old-fashioned desperado to lead us through the encircling throngs of blubbery bureaucrats who've gummed up our institutions and made us feel inferior to the commie Chinese. (With whom West thinks we should enter an arms race.) After his discharge, West received thousands of supportive letters from Americans around the country.


The erstwhile Lieutenant Colonel Allen West put in time as a high school history teacher before launching an unsuccessful campaign for the House of Representatives in 2008. He finally attained national office in 2010, on the strength of rabble-rousing videos like the one featured here.

Nowadays, he's most famous for sparring with terrified Democrats at town hall meetings, and for his relentless Muslim-baiting. Put a microphone in front of the man, and he'll recount the names and dates of every skirmish between a Western military power and an army of Mohammedans from the 7th century onwards. (Only he doesn't call them "Western military powers" and "armies of Mohammedans," but rather "us" and "the Muslims.") It's a lucrative schtick, because in the last quarter, Lt. Col. Rep. West managed to raise an unbelievable $1.5 million for his re-election campaign.

That might not sound like much, and compared to the money that gets tossed around in presidential campaigns, it isn't. But Allen West is a representative—the lowest form of congressional life. And he's a freshman. Yet he's managed to out-raise Florida's senatorial candidates. In the last quarter, George Lemieux, the super-establishment GOPer who worked as Gov. Charlie Crist's Chief of Staff, raised only $950,000 to run against entrenched Democrat Bill Nelson. No other Sunshine State candidate even came within spitting distance of West's numbers. The Democrat who intends to run for West's seat in 2012, a young man named Patrick Murphy, briefly felt like a big man for raising $400,000 last quarter. No longer.

What's it mean? Why should you care? Well, the smart money's beginning to hint that Allen West will abort his run at a second House term and head straight for the Senate. If so, he'll kick ass. As the Miami Herald pointed out, West's current district is full of liberals. If he runs for Senate, his political fate will be decided largely by north Floridians. Those are Terry Jones' people, and they like Allen West. A lot.


The goal of Allen West's political life seems to be to rebrand the United States' "War on Terror" as part of an ongoing, millenium-long struggle between the forces of Islam and the forces of Christendom. He's never explained what victory would look like, perhaps because the details would be too ghastly for even the most bloodthirsty Islamophobes to think about. The closest he's come to offering specifics is implying that Palestinians ought to be relocated to Jordan. And, maybe, this: On July 24th, West will sponsor a Capitol Hill briefing on the state of the Muslim Brotherhood's infiltration of America. The group responsible for the briefing, Citizens For National Security, will report the findings of four task forces, the job of one of which is to identify "Islamic" businesses, social and religious organizations, schools, and so on, throughout North America.

Not "terrorist" businesses, or even "Wahabbist" or "conservative Muslim" businesses. Just "Islamic" businesses.

This is apparently what wins you campaign donations in the United States of America, 2011. A quick googling reveals that the "Draft Allen West for President" movement has more devotees than that of any other representative in the country. Muslims, take note: It's West's world. You're just living in it.

[Marts]

and that the lies and the monstrous reality of that predator par excellance Romney and his lickspittle sidekick of a VO choice are become clearer every day to the US public.

And from we onlookers across the pond here in dear old Blighty.

[fred41]

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.

[robertlouis]

stop feeding the fucking troll!

[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.

[BluegrassCat]

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.....


It's just trolling without a modem.

"O Slimy bin Rotten is fag..." You can't be truly serious about hatred with this bit of adolescent taunting on your bumper.