conservatives

Conservatives routinely paint Barack Obama as a socialist looking to redistribute wealth in the United States. (Or worse, as Rep. Bob Inglis (R-S.C.) reported that tea party leaders, during a meeting, espoused paranoid delusions of a totalitarian takeover of the U.S. by Obama.) This charge is cynical and outrageous, not just because it is false and a naked attempt to use fear mongering to drum up votes, but because there is actually a group of Americans actively engaged in wealth redistribution, and they have been for quite some time.

I must admit that only two shows into Season 8, I’m hooked all over again. I already have my favorites, I already know who’s going home sooner than later, and I think Season 8 has the makings of a really strong season. That being said, I’m kind of not sure how some of the 17 contestants on the premiere made the final cut. But Reality TV has its own modus operandi and this show is just as formulaic as the rest; in other words, some folks are picked because they will obviously make for good television.

OK, write-it-on-the-palm-of-your-hand Tea Party darling Sarah Palin has issued a major foreign policy statement on her Facebook page taking a generally hawkish neocon line. She wants, for example, to eliminate the withdrawal timetable for US troops in Afghanistan and presses for support of that war, along with other aggressive measures. This puts her with Liz Cheney and Bill Kristol and other conservatives who are demanding Michael Steele’s resignation for knocking the war.

The indispensable George Lakoff has been very illuminating on the topic of the political brain this week. He explains how what appears irrational to liberals is experienced without a whiff of irony by the conservatives. One of the glaring inconsistencies I’ve noticed is the Tea Partiers’ insistence that the bank bailout was wrong and evil, coupled in the same breath with a denunciation of higher taxes on the rich.

Former Alaska Public Safety Employees Association Executive Director John Cyr (left) and Alaska State Trooper Mike Wooten, Sarah Palin's former brother-in-law and the trooper at the center of the Alaska Govenor Palin Troopergate Scandal.

Sarah Palin vs. Pit Bull

Senators John McCain and Joe Lieberman appeared with former Governor Sarah Palin on Septmber 22, 2008 in Media, Pennsylvania.

Wingnuts of the world unite. You have nothing to lose but election … after election … after election.

As New York residents know, ever since Governor Spitzer got caught in the wrong hotel room, Albany has been in turmoil. The latest tempest involved the 23rd Congressional district where, to the astonishment of the political establishment, the Republican candidate was forced out of the race because of her positions on gay and abortion rights. Her departure left the field wide open for the Conservative Party nominee.

U.S. Rep. Bill Owens (D-NY) (L) poses for photographers with Speaker of the House Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) (R) as (2nd L to 5th L) Owens' granddaughter Caroline Antonipillai, wife Jane, son Brendan and daughter Jenna look on during a mock swearing in November 6, 2009 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Owens won the special election for seat that was vacated by John McHugh.