Month: January 2010

Olbermann Apologizes for Forgetting to Call Sen.-Elect Scott Brown a ‘Sexist’

Jon Ponder

Earlier this week, Keith Olbermann sparked howls of derision from tea baggers and their ilk when he called now Sen.-Elect Scott Brown (TBP-Mass.) “an irresponsible, homophobic, racist, reactionary, ex-nude model, tea-bagging supporter of violence against women and against politicians with whom he disagrees.” In this video segment, Olbermann apologizes — because he left out “sexist.” He also offers proof for each of his charges and dares those who are complaining to refute any of them.

Tea Party Patriots, Stand Up, Don’t Be Counted! Boycott the 2010 U.S. Census

Dr. Democrat

Dear Dr. Democrat:

Is it true that Tea Partiers are boycotting the 2010 Census, and if so, why should I join them?

– A. Hugh Patriot

Dear Hugh:

Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, one of the heroes of the Tea Party movement, called for a boycott of the Census last year. Now, as Obama prepares to send out 2010 Census forms, many true Tea Party patriots are considering protesting via non-participation.

Here are five reasons Tea Party activists might object to the Census, written in the style of the paranoid emails that our friends on the right send each other. Please feel free to email this list to every Tea Party patriot you know:

1. Obama and the entire Democrat Party support the Census, which is sufficient cause for suspicion among Tea Party activists on all other issues.

2. Many libertarians believe the Census should not be under government control, not just because it is bona fide socialism, but also because, unlike private industry, government is inept. Who knows what mistakes the government has made in censuses over the past two centuries? Libertarians believe the Census should be outsourced to a private company with experience collecting data, like Equifax, Experian or other credit reporting companies, which hardly ever make mistakes.

3. According to World Net Daily, the popular conservative news site, Obama seized control of the Census from the Commerce Department within weeks after he assumed the presidency. The fact that the 2010 Census will be taken under the direction of the Obama White House worries Rep. Bachmann, who has raised concerns that Americans’ personal data could end up in the hands of ACORN. What ACORN might do with it is anyone’s guess.

4. Bachmann also pointed out that the government has used Census information in the past to round up Americans and force them into concentration camps. She cited the example of the internment of thousands of patriotic Americans of Japanese descent by FDR’s Democrat socialist government during World War II.

5. The Obama administration has already put patriots on notice that it will fine anyone who refuses to submit to the Census. However, boycott supporters say that if the government can’t round up 20 million illegal aliens, how could it possibly find millions of real Americans who boycott the Census because they choose to exercise their rights to be free of government intrusion?

For these reasons, true Patriots believe it is crucial that their fellow activists boycott the 2010 Census — so that their voices will not be heard by the career politicians in Washington.

I can’t say I agree with them, but it is fine with me — and better for the country — if the tea party folks leave governing the United States to the smart people.

In Victory Speech, New Tea Bagger Senator Offered His Daughters to ‘Anybody Who’s Watching’ – Even Glenn Beck Is Offended

Jon Ponder

Most Americans were introduced to Scott Brown, the Tea Bagger Massachusetts elected to fill Sen. Ted Kennedy’s seat, when he delivered his victory speech Tuesday night. But near the top of the speech when he was introducing his family, Brown went rogue, abandoning the speech for an ad lib that was extremely inappropriate.

Transcript:

SEN. SCOTT BROWN (TBP-Mass): And as always, I rely on Gail’s love and support and that of our two lovely daughters. So I want to thank Ayla and Arianna for their help as well. And just in case anybody who’s watching throughout the country — yes, they’re both available.

No, no no. Only kidding. Only kidding. Arianna is definitely not available, but Ayla is.

GAIL BROWN (wife of senator): STOP!

SCOTT BROWN: (Grabs Arianna’s arm.) This is Arianna. (Grabs Ayla’s arm.) This is Ayla. Well, I can see I’m gonna get in trouble when I get home.

Right-wing pols who tout “family values” but cheat on their wives with impunity are so commonplace that regular Americans are seemingly inured to their philandering. But Brown’s unfunny use of his victory speech to pimp his daughters like he was on an Internet porn site even upset Fox News’ Glenn Beck — who once called Pres. Obama a racist, and so should know from inappropriate:

“I want a chastity belt on this man. I want his every move watched in Washington. I don’t trust this guy. This one could end with a dead intern.”
– Glen Beck

Conservative talk show host Glenn Beck slammed Brown’s acceptance speech on his show Wednesday — specifically for broadcasting on national television that his two daughters are currently “available.” Beck appeared to compare Brown to Gary Condit, the former Democratic congressman who some suspected was involved in the disappearance of his mistress and congressional intern Chandra Levy, who was found dead.

“I want a chastity belt on this man,” Beck said. “I want his every move watched in Washington. I don’t trust this guy. This one could end with a dead intern.”

Beck has questioned Brown before, writing in his Fox News column recently: “I don’t trust Scott Brown yet. Americans don’t know him.”

Bonus Video: A Cutesy Ad with Scott Brown & Daughters

H/t: Keith Olbermann on Countdown

For Tea Baggers, the Future Looks Dumb

Trish

tea-bag-signOne thing tea baggers object to is “government schools,” or as normal people call them, public schools. You see, at the government schools, kids are forced to learn science, to associate with others not exactly like them, and every now and then, be subjected to an address from their president asking them to do their homework and become successful. And you know where all this leads. That’s right, buddy, the big “S.” Socialism with a capital…Well anyway. So following Trish’s Law of Coincidences, which states that there are no coincidences, a recent increase in home schooling must be correlated to rising numbers of tea baggers. In fact, one unscientific (how fitting!) online poll shows just that.

The people at the whyhomeschool blog came up with a poll that asks first if you support the Tea Party movement. Of the 99 people who responded in the affirmative, 88 percent selected this answer: “Yes, and I currently homeschool, have homeschooled in the past, or plan to homeschool my child(ren).” Slightly more than 5 percent (five votes) went with, “Yes, and I send, have sent, and plan to send my child(ren) exclusively to public school.” Another 4 percent checked, “Yes, and I send, have sent, or plan to send my child(ren) to private school.” And finally, 3 percent said that although they support tea bagging, they have no children.

On the other hand, only 36 readers said they do not support the Tea Party movement, but most of them also home school, and what with this being a blog for home schoolers, that’s not a huge surprise. Of those who felt negatively toward tea bagging, 89 percent still home school, and 3 percent each use private and public schools. A final 6 percent (two people) who don’t have kids also don’t like tea parties.

tebow-verseThe Orlando Sentinel recently published a story about the new-found popularity of home schooling, and linked it to the rock star popularity of home schooling’s most famous alumnus, University of Florida football quarterback Tim Tebow. Tebow, who sports a New Testament bible verse citation in his eye-black, was home schooled by his missionary parents until he showed promise in football. At that point, they enrolled him in a public high school, followed by a big fat football scholarship and four years at a public university.

This kind of self-reliance (yes, I’m being facetious) inspires both religious zealots and tea baggers alike, according to another poll published with the story. It asked, “If you home-school your children (or plan to), what is the primary reason you chose to do so?” While 18 percent answered that they would never consider such an option, the numbers were almost equal (16 percent each) for these three responses: “I want my child to receive an education that addresses spiritual issues that are important to my family,” “Traditional schools stifle creativity and frown upon nonconformists,” and most worrisome, “I don’t want the government involved in my child’s education.”

Anyone who has seen the movie Idiocracy knows where this is going. Over time, with even less exposure to challenging ideas, tea baggers will become stupider and stupider, until finally they will drown in a sea of dumb. The question is whether we will all get pulled under with them.

Verbatim

Buck Banks

It’s like in Roman times, they’d be trotted out to the coliseum and the lions would be brought out. I mean, they’re wanting blood and they’re not getting it so they want to protest, and, you know, you can’t blame them. But frankly, the fact is we inherited this mess and it’s becoming ours.

— Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-MA), quoted by Politico.

71 Percent to Palin: ‘Don’t Run for Prez!’

Buck Banks

A new CBS News poll finds that 71 percent of Americans say they do not want former beauty contest winner, former vice presidential candidate and former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to run for president, while only 21 percent say they do want her to run.

Just over half (56 percent) of Republicans say they do not want her to seek the office and 30 percent do, but 88 percent of Democrats do not want her to run. Among independents, 65 percent do not want her to run and 25 percent do.

The poll found that more people view Palin negatively than positively and that her recent book tour did not improve overall views of her. However, in a testament to her role as polarizing fugure, though she is a better-known today than she was last fall, both her favorable and unfavorable ratings have increased.

Now, 26 percent of people view Palin favorably, compared with 23 percent in November and July of last year. Forty-one percent now view her unfavorably, compared with 38 percent in November and 37 percent in July (both in CBS News polls). Nineteen percent of people in the current poll are undecided about Palin.

Forty-three percent of Republicans have a favorable opinion of her. Independents are divided, with 30 percent holding favorable views and 35 percent unfavorable.

Conservatives are the only ideological group that holds net positive views of her — just under half do, while a quarter are unfavorable and a quarter of conservatives are undecided.

But while favorable toward her, most conservatives say they do not want to see Palin run in 2012 — 58 percent of conservatives say she should not run.

Why not? Let’s see, she would rip the party apart and lose the election. ‘Nuff said. She’s got her nifty TV gig now, anyway, which is a lot easier than running for president, you betcha!