By VictorM: Today I gave a ride to a coworker of mine. The ride was about 15 minutes. In this period of time, and although I have not really spoken about politics with this person but knew of her right-winger views, I learned the following:

• CNN is a Communist TV network
• Global warming is a hoax
• What Dom Imus said about the black members of the Rutgers women’s basketball team wasn’t so bad, after all, rappers and other black people treat their women even worse and call them worst things
• If Don Imus gets in trouble so should Rosie O’Donnell because she said the American government was responsible for killing the 9/11 attack victims.
• The model guy was the father of Anna Nicole Smith, not the lawyer guy.
  

I didn’t jump down her throat because this person is ill with cancer, so I wasn’t about to start the morning with a confrontation with her.

But I asked if she thought that whatever insults blacks have for black women (as she understands it) are nice things to say. She said, no. Then why is Dom Imus saying it OK? Well, she said, it wasn’t a nice thing to say, but come on, why should he get in trouble over it. So, it’s OK if Dom Imus had similar insults about your mother or sisters? Well, she repeated, I know what he said wasn’t right, but other people say worst things. But other people don’t have millions of listeners. And his insults were specific about eight young women who did nothing to him. Yeah, she admitted, he was wrong, but he apologized so people should leave him alone. But, I said, that apology means nothing because he’s said other racist things before, and even now, at first he didn’t think what he said was bad. It took days for the apology to come, and only after the whole thing had snowballed. But then Rosie should go too, she said.

I couldn’t hold back. I said, Rosie did not say she thought the government was behind the 9/11 attacks. She questioned the falling of building 7. But even if she had challenged the government, should we not as citizens keep an eye on those in power, whether they are Republicans or Democrats? Yeah, you’re right, she said.

Maybe she agreed because she was tired and we had arrived at work.

The one thing I have noticed, not only with this right-winger encounter but others recently, is how much more subdued they are these days. They still cling to the beliefs that make them right-wingers – disdain for people, talking in slogans, repeating talking points, not offering a single solution to any problem, etc. -- but the wind is out of their sails.

Labels: don imus, right-wing, Rosie O'Donnell

By VictorM: When confronted with possible wrong-doing by someone in their flock, right-wingers go into deflection mode. If you recall, with Mark Foley, they started pushing the "when did Democrats know?" defense rather than deal with the skeevy details of the man's behavior. In the case of Purgegate, the common refrain from them now is that "Democrats are just after Rove".

OK, let's for the moment assume they are correct, Democrats want to nail Karl Rove. I have a few questions for you, right-wingers:

1. What is wrong with going after Rove? After all, Rove has been toxic in American politics for a long time, is the architect behind using 9/11 and the Iraq war for political gain, and has been the mastermind of numerous shady campaign practices. Doesn't matter if you agree or not, if Democrats think he's corrupt, why shouldn't they try to prove it?

2. Even if that is the Democrats' sole intention, does that alter the facts of the Purgegate case? After all, Monica Goodling pleading the 5th, Kyle Sampson contradicting his boss, and Alberto Gonzales blatantly lying are strong signals that there is something serious being hidden. There's plenty to investigate for very good reasons. Unless you hate democracy, that is. Do you?

3. Do you believe that just because people consider themselves conservatives they are incapable of being corrupt or incompetent? Among the millions of members of your flock, aren't there some bad apples? Why not get rid of them?

Protecting corruption or incompetence in the government is something you should not stand for, but you do. Why is that? Could it have something to do with the massive quantity of bad apples you'd find, including yourself? Could it be because you know that unless you lie and cheat you will never get into power?

So, are Democrats out to get Rove? I sure hope so. For if they get him, they take a big bite out of corruption. And if that happens, democracy wins, America wins. You'd have to be unpatriotic to be against that.

Labels: karl rove, kyle sampson, monica goodling, purgegate, right-wing

By VictorM: I figure that with food, if you wait long enough, some new study will find whatever was no good for you yesterday, fine today. So the news that pizza can be healthy is long time coming:

University of Maryland food chemists said on Monday they had found ways to enhance the antioxidant content of whole-grain wheat pizza dough by baking it longer at higher temperatures and giving the dough lots of time to rise.

Antioxidants are substances that protect cells from damage caused by unstable molecules known as free radicals. Some experts believe antioxidants can lower the risk of cancer, heart disease and other ailments.

Yeah, yeah, there are some warnings about fatty toppings... blah, blah, blah... I didn't read the rest of the article. I pick and choose what I like from the news. I don't bother with the details, particularly if they contradict what I want to believe.

*This was a brief right-wing-approach-to-reading-the-news moments*

Labels: health food, pizza, right-wing

By VictorM: The regular members of Free Republic are a good sample of people that reflect right-winger mentality. Take a gander at some of their reactions to the news that Elizabeth Edwards, wife of Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, has been diagnosed with non-curable cancer:

C'mon, Dan, let us have a little shadenfreude. Just because a man's wife has breast cancer is no reason to suddenly get all compassionate and understanding is it?

I will hold a good thought for his family but if that scumbag uses this down the line to bash conservatives it wouldn't surprise me.

He could be using this as a cynical ploy to get a sympathy vote later. He is a sleazy trial lawyer after all. I don't put anything past them.

I think if we looked hard I'm sure we'd find a heart in the bunch. Very hard.

I took the above quotes from Pairodimes. Please visit that site for more quotes and commentary.

Labels: cancer, elizabeth edwards, free republic, john edwards, right-wing

By VictorM: Why do right-wingers feel that some gun controls mean we’re taking away their guns? Why are safety laws an intrusion into their lives? Why would gays being allowed to marry threaten their own marriages? Why if you’re not religious you threaten all of society with lawlessness and lust? Why are they supporting the reckless war in Iraq?

The simple answer is FEAR! Right-winger attitudes have roots in terrifying fear that sees anyone not like themselves a threat that must be destroyed, not just opposed. To gain a better understand of the dynamics that cause this attitude, read "The Authoritarians", by Bob Altemeyer. You can read the whole book online for free by going here, but this quote gives us the general idea:

High RWAs [right wing authoritarians] are, in general, more afraid than most people are... we do know that they were raised by their parents to be afraid of others, because both the parents and their children tell us so. Sometimes it’s all rather predictable: authoritarians’ parents taught fear of homosexuals, radicals, atheists and pornographers. But they also warned their children, more than most parents did, about kidnappers, reckless drivers, bullies and drunks--bad guys who would seem to threaten everyone’s children. So authoritarian followers, when growing up, probably lived in a scarier world than most kids do, with a lot more boogeymen hiding in dark places, and they’re still scared as adults. For them, gay marriage is not just unthinkable on religious grounds, and unnerving because it means making the "abnormal" acceptable. It’s yet one more sign that perversion is corrupting society from the inside-out, leading to total chaos. Many things, from stem cell research to right-to-die legislation, say to them, "This is the last straw; soon we’ll be plunged into the abyss." So probably did, in earlier times, women’s suffrage, the civil rights movement, sex education and Sunday shopping.

Thanks to JuliaAnn for pointing out this book and website.

Labels: Authoritarians, Bob Altemeyer, fear, right-wing

By VictorM: So, Valerie Plame was indeed a covert CIA agent. And her undercover status “was not common knowledge on the Georgetown cocktail circuit,” as some people have suggested.

No worries, the right-wing lunacy will invent other lies.

Labels: right-wing, valerie plame

By VictorM: Commenting on a poll by the NY Times that showed a majority of Americans support Health Insurance for everyone, this right-wing blogger has this to say: The problem is that the Democratic Party has a problem understanding that "Americans" word, and think it includes all of Mexico and most of the rest of the world. I ask, are people born this stupid or do right-winger have to go to some school to learn this "skill"?

Labels: health care, health insurance, idiot of the day, right-wing

By VictorM: Why is it that some people cannot grasp the simple concept that if you are against leaders and their ideas, you're not against the country? Sounds something that even a child should be able to understand, yet, so many people don't. Why is that? Is it in their DNA, their upbringing, or their preponderance for being wrong? I don’t know but it's not restricted by ideology. We saw that with communists in China, Cuba, and USSR, with fascists in Italy and Spain, with Nazis in Germany, and more recently with conservatives in America. The string pullers who led these different groups had one thing in common: to muzzle criticism so they could rule unilaterally. This is not the American way. If you cave in to the temptation of being one of these people, well... *gulp* you hate America! (No you don't, you're just an idiot!)

Labels: blind follower, hate america, right-wing

By VictorM: Talking about the deal with North Korea, this right-wing nut says: "As the UK's Guardian pointed out, may [sic] of us are dissastisfied [sic] with Bush playing the fool for Kim Jong Il and giving away US taxpayer money in the mean time. Now, conservatives are lashing out at Bush.... Liberals have pressed the Bush administration to engage with North Korea, is this the deal they expected?" Is it built in the DNA of these critters to accept no responsibility for their actions? Somehow, once again, Bush screws up and rather than blame him, the nut turns his ire on liberals. Idiot!

Labels: north korea, right-wing

By VictorM: There is no way of knowing how old Sister Toldjah is, but from the actual writing and lack of understanding about global warming my guess is that this right-winger is a pre-teen: "LOL! If I’m not mistaken, this has also happened to Al Gore in the last couple of years. He gave a gw speech in the middle of a really bad snow storm. Delish. This was also posted at Drudge: SAVE IT FOR A SUNNY DAY: Maryville Univ. in St. Louis area cancelling screening of Al Gore’s ‘Inconvenient Truth’ because of a snowstorm. Heh." Hey, you want to buy into ExxonMobil's talking points, fine, but even they understand that global warming produces imbalances that will result in some places getting colder and experiencing more storms. Is this person too stupid to understand that? The answer is, Yes!

Labels: conservative, exxonmobil, global warming, idiot, right-wing

By VictorM: Conservatives are beating the drum that debating the Iraq war will cause us to lose and that the Democrats' plan is certain to bring us defeat. I have a simple question: What credibility should we give to people who are predicting that a certain action is doomed to fail when every action they've taken has already failed? No credibility. That's the right answer.

Labels: conservative, Iraq war, right-wing

By Roger Ailes: When a wingnut quotes Abraham Lincoln, the quote is almost certain to be bogus. Frank Gaffney Jnr. starts today's column in the Moonie Times with the following: "Congressmen who willfully take actions during wartime that damage morale and undermine the military are saboteurs and should be arrested, exiled, or hanged.-- President Abraham Lincoln."... But, of course, Lincoln didn't speak or write like a third-rate blogger with his pants around his ankles after watching 24. The quote is entirely fabricated, and it originated in another Moonie rag, Insight. And these morons didn't even spend the two seconds needed to confirm the quote is bogus.

Labels: right-wing

By VictorM: John Edwards hired two bloggers who have said things in the past that right-wingers and religious fanatics aren't happy about. Some of those things were stupid and, if they were aiming for humor, not funny. But this remark by a conservative nut puts things in perspective: Edwards keeps bloggers? Sounds like it... It appears that Edwards has caved to his Nutrootian base, which isn’t bad news for us. See, things are so bad in right-winger land that this is about the only not bad news they've seen in a while. Maybe, just maybe, their 15 minutes of "fame" is up because they're so goddamn petty.

Labels: conservative, john edwards, right-wing

By VictorM: This right-wing nut prefers another terrorist attack on America rather than allow its citizens to exercise their first amendment right: Unless we speak out against the Jane Fondas and Tim Robbins and Sean "Spiccoli" Penn of the world, we will deserve them... Seeing Jane Fonda Saturday was enough to make me wish the unthinkable: it will take another terror attack on American soil in order to render these left-leaning crazies irrelevant again. What a pathetic, hateful idiot.

Labels: conservative, jane fonda, right-wing