Image This

There's been a lot of coverage pertaining to violent right-wing rhetoric; Sarah Palin and her idiotic cross-hairs link, for example. And, yes, because of that, a lot of people have been left with the notion that imagery such as this is ONLY coming from the right. Well, guess what, folks, it isn't. I site specifically Slate.Com's David Plotz. In a recent rant against Wall Street (a very easy target, granted), Mr. Plotz advocates (his tongue firmly in cheek, I hope) that "We should burn them down. We should go after them with pitchforks, knives, guns, clubs we find, mace - anything, because it's appalling.".......................................................................................................Add to this little blurb, a sentiment from one of Mr. Plotz's colleagues over at Slate. According to one Mitch Deerfield, "Obama needs to break some knee-caps." He needs to "use some of the goons from the SEIU to pressure recalcitrant blue-dog Democrats" and that "You'd be surprised how persuasive brass-knuckles can be when used against Senators and Congressmen who stand in the way of progress and economic justice."............................................................................................................Oh, and how 'bout this one from the normally well-spoken/measured, Roland Martin? On CNN.com, Mr. Martin says that "It's time for Obama to go gangsta' on the GOP. It's time for him to channel his inner Al Capone. Let 'em know that if they aren't with you, then they're against you, and that you'll pay a price."...................................................................................................................And, yes, folks, sometimes it's more than simple words. Add to all of this rhetoric, the fact that Harry Reid supporters threw eggs at a tea party bus, Congressman Cantor apparently received death threats, a black tea party dude was beaten badly by union thugs, pro illegal-alien protesters were seen hurling various objects at the cops, etc. and, yeah, it really does seem to be coming from both sides of late. Too bad that the mainstream media only seems to want to demonize one side.

Licence To Operate

Just to be fair and balanced here, I don't think that the Republicans have exactly been above-board on this whole immigration issue, either. Laura Ingraham is a perfect example of this. While she correctly points out that the new Arizona law only allows the police to question people (aka, ask for their papers) during the commission of a different crime, I think that, yes, we all know the brusque way that certain cops (absolutely not all - some, I'm saying) have operated elsewhere. In Louisiana, for instance, if certain cops see five or more Hispanics in a car together, they'll pull the frigging car over (DWH - driving while Hispanic is what it's euphemistically called) as a matter of course, blaming it on an "illegal" lane-change or something. Man, huh? Talk about pretty damned icky situation...............................................................................................................Look, folks, I really don't mind a tough approach (i.e., a border fence, getting tough on companies that hire illegals, etc.) to this illegal immigration issue. But, come on here, let's not eviscerate the Constitution completely. It's like, even Jeb Bush is against this Arizona law. Shouldn't THAT alone tell the Republican folks a thing or two? Yeah? No?

Grading the Hyper-Partisan Opinion-Makers (Again, An Independent's Perspective)

In no particular order (or should I say, odor?).......... 1) Keith Olbermann - F (a mean-spirited partisanship the likes of which I rarely see).....2) Rush Limbaugh - F (I can't really give Olbermann an F and not this guy).....3) Sean Hannity - F minus (probably the worst of them all - and, plus, he's stupid).....4) Rachel Maddow - D minus (claims not to have an agenda but totally does, laughs at her own stupid jokes, etc.).....5) Bill O'Reilly - C (has seemingly gotten more reasonable in his old age and, yes, he really supports the troops, too).....6) Glenn Beck - D (crazier than shit, occasionally provocative/interesting).....7) Chris Matthews - B (by far the smartest and least predictable of the bunch, definitely makes for good television).....8) Fox and Friends - D (partisan and not particularly bright, but at least they seem to have some fun).....9) Joe Scarborough - B (easily the most reasonable of the conservative hosts, and plus he's on with frigging Mika!!).....10) Ed Schultz - D (a dick, a well-intentioned dick, but, yes, still a frigging dick).....11) Laura Ingraham - F (totally obnoxious - even if I agreed with her I probably still wouldn't like her).....12) Stephanie Miller - B minus (partisan but, yes, adorable, too, and being that I'm a guy....)......................................................................................................P.S. I know that there are others out there; Randi Rhodes, something Levin, Melanie Morgan, etc.. I just don't happen to know them well enough to give them a grade. Sorry. As for Ms. Ann Coulter, I'm probably going to have to take a pass on that one. This, in that I still can't figure out if she's serious or not.

Uncivil Liberties

I agree with Mr. Olbermann that the recently passed Arizona law involving immigration no doubt DOES go to extremes, that it probably will in fact end up impinging on civil liberties, etc.. I just wish that this same Mr. Olbermann would occasionally show this same level of concern for those ranchers/farmers on the border who are terrorized LITERALLY DAILY, the bulk of those hard working health-care workers who end up losing their jobs whenever an overburdened hospital goes belly-up down there (never mind the lack of care that such a situation produces), etc.. It's like, please, help me out here? Does Mr. Olbermann just not understand that this is a complicated issue, an issue that doesn't necessarily lend itself to such a hackneyed political viewpoint? Hm. So much for that vaunted Cornell education of his, huh?

Speaking of Hoops Interviews

Have you ever seen anything quite as pointless as a basketball interview? I mean, seriously here, apart from an occasional injury update, have you ever actually learned ANYTHING from ANY of them? And talk about some major-league cliches. Me, I'd be happy just to hear one, ONE, of these "interviews" that didn't contain the words; intensity, focus, aggressive, and execution/execute. Now, granted, the hotness of some of these sideline reporters can in fact make the experience tolerable at times. But, STILL!

My Favorite Allen Iverson Sentence Of All Time (Well, At Least One That Doesn't Contain the Word, Practice)

"He did what he always do." This, in response to a game-winning shot by Reggie Miller that ended up sinking the 76ers.

Yeah, It's a Movement Alright

My main problem with the tea party movement isn't so much that it's incendiary (though, yes, there's clearly a fringe element of it that is) or that it's radical (though, yes, there's clearly a fringe element of it that is). My main problem with the tea party movement is the mere fact that it IS a movement. I mean, don't get me wrong here. I'm well aware that a lot of important things can happen/have happened when people join forces and galvanize (civil rights, for example) but, still, I'm not so sure. In my mind, there can also be a downside to it.......................................................................................................I mean, just look at the two main political parties we have. God, if I had a frigging nickel for every time that a Democratic/Republican politician went on TV and defended the indefensible (just, folks, so that they could protect the "team"), I'd be a frigging wealthy man, for Christ! Sure, every once in a while you might see some statesmanship over there (i.e., Washington). Senator Corker, for example - he goes onto the floor of the U.S. Senate (I saw the speech on C-Span) and gives an extraordinarily bipartisan speech - one in which he actually criticizes minority leader, Mitch McConnell. Too bad, though, that, yeah, within 48 hours or so, he was back to towing the party line/narrative. It's funny, isn't it? They never do seem to stray too far from that narrative, do they? It must, folks, be kind of what Eric Hoffer meant when he said that most of these grandiose movements, no matter how flaming good their intentions may have been at the start, at some point eventually become rackets. Al Sharpton, anybody?