Bad Deeds for 8-13-2009

Lou Dobbs Promoting Hate and Inciting Violence Towards Howard Dean – CNN pundit Lou Dobbs, speaking about Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean on August 10, said that the “bloodsucking liberal” could only be stopped by “a stake through his heart.”

With violence from right-wing extremist groups on the rise and Republican backed mobs hanging cardboard versions of members of congress in effigy, Lou Dobbs’ statement is dangerous.

Enough is enough.

This isn’t the first time Lou Dobbs has used the air waves to promote hate and embarrass CNN.
His relentless promotion of debunked, racially charged conspiracy theories about President Obama’s birth certificate have already seriously damaged CNN’s credibility. Yet, Lou Dobbs remains on the air.

It’s up to us to make sure CNN and the United Stations Radio Network know we’ve had enough.

Lubbock County Judge Posts Anti-Obama Posters in Courthouse – County Judge Tom Head of Lubbock, Texas, posted a flyer on his courthouse wall with photos of nine people that were arrested wearing Obama t-shirts and a narration about a person contemplating waking up, putting on an Obama T-shirt and then abusing drugs, robbing a store and hitting his wife. Of the nine persons depicted in the photos, seven appear African-American and one appears Latina.

Judge Head defended his actions, saying “he saw nothing wrong with the poster and had not heard from anyone in the community who did.”

There was nothing to say what the people in the photos had been arrested for, or if they were found guilty of any crimes.

In Emails, California Councilman Talks About Assassinating President Obama – The Merced Sun-Star says it has obtained 200 more emails sent by City Councilman Gary Frago, in which the elected official jokes about violence against black and Latino people, and even envisions a scenario in which the man who attempted to kill Ronald Reagan is enticed to assassinate President Barack Obama.
One of the most troubling of the new Frago e-mails, forwarded in January, joked that Nokia had designed a new cell phone for “nervous white people” who want to make calls in a series of cities known for their large black populations, such as Oakland and New Orleans. The phone was a gun.

Another e-mail forwarded by Frago on Dec. 9, 2008, was in the form of a fictitious letter sent by Sen. John McCain to John Hinckley Jr., a man obsessed with actress Jodie Foster, who attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan in 1981. The letter said that Hinckley would be released soon and he should know that Obama was sleeping with Foster now.

Right-Wing Pundits Tear Into 11-Year-Old Girl for Asking Obama a Good Question at Town Hall – Ever since the sixth-grade resident of Malden, Massachusetts, asked President Barack Obama a question at his town hall on health care Tuesday, the conservative punditocracy has unleashed a torrent of criticism against the girl, accusing her of being an Obama plant.

“As I was walking in, I saw a lot of signs outside saying mean things about reforming health care,” Hall asked the president when the microphone was handed to her. “How do kids know what is true, and why do people want a new system that can — that help more of us?” The president responded with a long polemic on the false rumors.

Rush Limbaugh, Michelle Malkin, and various right-wing bloggers all said in unison, “Blah, blah, 11-year old, blah, blah, phony, blah, blah, parents, blah, blah, Obama supporters, blah, the Bogey Man, blah, mysterious woman, blah, blah.”

Gladney Has Sad Knee, and an Even Sadder Brain – Over the last few days, a conservative activist in St. Louis named Kenneth Gladney seems to have become something of a cause celebre in far-right circles. Depending on which version of events you choose to believe, Gladney either initiated or was involved in a scuffle at a town-hall event late last week.

At least one prominent conservative blogger said Gladney was “brutally attacked” by SEIU members outside the event. After watching the video, there’s ample reason for skepticism. Gladney was, in fact, pulled to the ground during the fracas, but he seemed to bounce back up quickly, and is seen walking around soon after without any obvious injuries. His attorney has argued that Gladney was beaten during the fight, but there’s nothing in the clip to support that.

Gladney later went to the hospital, claiming to have sustained injuries to his “knee, back, elbow, shoulder and face.”

Yesterday, about 200 conservative activists held a protest outside the SEIU office in St. Louis. Gladney was there — bandaged and in a wheelchair — as a featured guest. Some of the activists held signs that read, “Don’t Tread on Kenny.” But, there’s this tidbit in the local news account of the protest:

Gladney did not address Saturday’s crowd of about 200 people. His attorney, David Brown, however, read a prepared statement Gladney wrote. “A few nights ago there was an assault on my liberty, and on yours, too.” Brown read. “This should never happen in this country.”

Supporters cheered. Brown finished by telling the crowd that Gladney is accepting donations toward his medical expenses. Gladney told reporters he was recently laid off and has no health insurance. [emphasis added]

Wait, the conservative opponent of health care reform, fighting (literally) to defeat a plan that would bring coverage to those who lose their jobs, lost his coverage because he got laid off?

I’m not in a position to say whether Gladney sustained genuine injuries or whether he’s exaggerating for 15 minutes of Fox News fame and a lucrative out-of-court settlement.

Either way, the new right-wing cause celebre needs to take up a collection to pay for his medical bills because he doesn’t have health insurance. It’s a fascinating sign of the times.

A Small Number of Negative People Get the Attention of the News – A New York Times story about a recent poll is titled “New Poll Finds Growing Unease on Health Plan” and says, “Americans are concerned that revamping the health care system would … blah, blah, blah.” But the actual numbers in the poll give a different story:

• 55 % say the government should guarantee health insurance for all Americans (only 38% disagree)
• 66% say the government should “offer[] everyone a government administered health insurance plan” (only 27% disagree)
• 77 % say insurers should have to cover anyone regardless of medical history (only 19% disagree)
• 66% are concerned that without reform, they could lose coverage at some point
• 75% think that without reform, the cost of their health care will go up
• 82% say that health care in the U.S. needs fundamental changes or needs to be completely rebuilt (only 16% disagree)
• 76% say the rising cost of health care is a major threat to the U.S. economy (only 8% disagree)

If You Have Referred to “The” Health Care Bill, You Are Stupid: Get Educated – [An] interactive side-by-side compares the twelve leading comprehensive reform proposals across a number of key characteristics and plan components. Included in this side-by-side are proposals for moving toward universal coverage that have been put forward by the President and Members of Congress. In an effort to capture the most important proposals, we have included those that have been formally introduced as legislation as well as those that have been offered as draft proposals or as policy options. This side-by-side offers a summary of the major components of these proposals

Ann Coulter Says Obama’s Health Care Advisor is on Her Death List – Ezekiel Emanuel has spent his medical career opposing euthanasia and working to increase the quality of care for dying patients. But, on Sean Hannity’s Fox News show Thursday night, conservative commentator Ann Coulter said that Ezekiel Emanuel is on her “death list.”

Emanuel, a medical ethicist and oncologist whose brother Rahm is the White House chief of staff, is also a senior adviser on health care to President Obama. After Hannity read a quote from Ezekiel and said it meant there would be euthanasia in the new health care bill, Coulter responded: “Totally ironically, Zeke Emanuel is on my death list. Hold the applause. I’m going to be on the death panel.”

Senator Chuck Grassley Responds to President Obama’s Compliment By Lying About the President’s Health Care Proposal – President Obama told a gathering in New Hampshire on Tuesday that Senator Chuck Grassley was one of his “Republican friends on Capitol Hill” who was “sincerely trying to figure out if they find a health care bill that works.” But, on Wednesday, Grassley endorsed an unfounded, extremist argument that Democratic health care legislation could empower the government to “pull the plug on grandma” and has once again raised question about the utility of the White House’s efforts at bipartisanship.

Regards,

Jim