Bad Deeds for 8-5-2010

A quote worth remembering in these times:

“I never did give them hell. I just told the truth, and they thought it was hell.”
— Harry S Truman, in Look, Apr. 3, 1956

 

Republicans Defeat Bill to Aid 9/11 Heroes; They Like Foreign Multinational Corporations Better – House Republicans killed a bill that would provide up to $7.4 billion to first responders and relief workers now suffering chronic health problems due to being sickened by toxins during their service during the 9/11 attacks. The cost of providing care to these heroes was to be paid for by a measure to prevent foreign multinational corporations from avoiding paying income tax on U.S.-earned money stored in offshore banks. Republicans objected to having rich boys actually paying for something in this country.

 

Republican House Leader John Boehner’s Idea: More Golf! – Despite all of the problems facing Ohio families, according to Golf Digest Magazine, Congressman Boehner finds time to play about 100 rounds of golf a year – most with special interest lobbyists. He says he pays special attention to the lobbyists he meets on the golf course, bragging “…if someone I’ve gotten to know on the golf course comes into my office with a good argument, I tend to want to listen,”— Golf Digest, October 2005

 

Republicans Have Been Lying About Action on [Undocumented Workers] – The Obama administration is deporting more [Undocumented Workers] than ever before. Statistics compiled at Syracuse University challenge criticism by Republicans, including Gov. Jan Brewer, that federal authorities are failing to deal with the problem.

Findings by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse show more [Undocumented Workers] were removed from the United States during the first nine months of this fiscal year than during the same period in 2008, when Republican George W. Bush was president and controlled immigration enforcement.

The number of those ejected from the country between Oct. 1, 2009, and June 30 of this year is nearly twice as high as it was in the same period ending June 30, 2005.

The TRAC report also shows the Obama administration is devoting more resources to removing those who have committed serious crimes. During the first nine months of the fiscal year, TRAC, using Immigration and Customs Enforcement data, figures 136,714 “criminal aliens” were deported. That same figure in 2008 was 85,334.

 

The Conservative Movement Has Undergone a Shift Toward Demagoguery and Hucksterism According to a Noted Conservative Author – David Klinghoffer, who writes for various conservative publications, says the following in his article titled “From neocons to crazy-cons”:

“Today, far more representative [of the political right] is potty-mouthed Internet entrepreneur Andrew Breitbart, whose news and opinion website, Breitbart.com, is read by millions. In his most recent triumph, Breitbart got a U.S. Department of Agriculture official pushed out of her job after he released a deceptively edited video clip of her supposedly endorsing racism against white people.”

“More characteristic of conservative leadership are figures on TV, radio and the Internet who make their money by stirring fears and resentments. With its descent to baiting blacks, Mexicans and Muslims, its accommodation of conspiracy theories and an increasing nastiness and vulgarity, the conservative movement has undergone a shift toward demagoguery and hucksterism. Once the talk was of “neocons” versus “paleocons.” Now we observe the rule of the crazy-cons.”

 

Fox News Has No Shame – Fox stood behind Beck calling the president a racist, now they’re standing behind him when suggesting the long-held beliefs of the Jewish people led to Nazism. Beck said that the head of the Jewish Funds for Justice’s statement in support of social justice “is exactly the kind of talk that led to the death camps in Germany.” Despite the fact that the Jewish passion for social justice is reflected in the ancient words of Jewish prophets and sages and in the declarations of their movement’s leaders throughout its history, Senior Vice President for Development at Fox, Joel Cheatwood, said, “We absolutely stood behind Glenn Beck 1000%.”

 

A Slimy, Toxic, Oozing Gusher is Polluting Our Nation (and it’s not an oil well) – The news this summer has largely focused on a slimy, toxic, oozing gusher polluting our nation. That, and also on the BP oil disaster.

As to the unstoppable, slimy, toxic, oozing gusher, the Associated Press has continued in the recent tradition of its failed corporate media brethren by gracing Rightwing propagandist Andrew Breitbart with yet another puff profile piece today. A few months ago, Time Magazine also did a feature story on Breitbart as if he was some kind of role model. Breitbart’s faked ACORN “Pimp” Hoax tapes were completely phony. Then there was his edited Shirley Sherrod tapes. And there’s the daily slime on his web sites. The more Breitbart reveals himself to be a fully-discredited, pathological-liar, race-baiter and opportunist, it seems, the more the corporate media regard him as a player in modern Republican politics. That kind of makes sense when you think about it. The “crazy-cons” have become today’s Republicans.

Regards,

Jim