No, It's Not a Manufactured Outrage

POSTED BY JHW22

This is what I was saying before and after Gabby Giffords was shot: there's a line we shouldn't cross. This is not comparable to jokes that one can say are offensive. This is actually suggesting that killing a President is a necessary action. Nugent, at an NRA event, tells a bunch of scared men to be afraid of becoming something America will NEVER become and says it's because Obama is something he will never be. He wasn't "joking" or being "creative." He honestly believes that patriots need to stand up to the government led by Obama. And he knows that referencing America's past, and the words "patriot," and "guns" and "self-sacrifice," all are loud and clear messages that people need to take up arms against enemies domestic. And he's making it very clear that he thinks we should see and treat Obama as an enemy.

This isn't about rhetoric from a rock star. This is about a group of Americans getting louder AGAIN, as the election looms, who INSIST on making you think the only desperate act is to remove Obama from office ANY WAY NECESSARY.

Do YOU think that's how Americans have to handle their struggles? Do you think things are SO BAD that we need someone to assassinate the President? Do YOU think this kind of behavior is inconsequential? Well, it's not. And if you think this doesn't matter, then you're willfully ignorant of what's happening out there and how many people don't just disparage the President but who actually threaten harm by stirring people up to think they have to.

The Tea Partiers around here say, "Wake Up, America." Yes, wake up. Wake up and see that this kind of discourse is BAD for America. And just ignoring it and saying, "Oh, it's JUST Ted Nugent" doesn't make it stop.

I have admitted when liberals have crossed a decency line or when liberals have gone too far. I don't like when liberals suggest Nugent should suck on his own machine gun because that's unproductive and stupid. But even that suggestion is FAR from as HARMFUL to the nation as someone actually implying our President is so dangerous that he should be stopped with force.

Forget the fact that Nugent has OBVIOUSLY missed the 8 years of illegal activity. Forget the 8 years where we did suffer at the hands of a dumb President led by a vicious Vice President and aided by an bumbling, egotistical administration. Forget all that.

IF a fellow liberal went to a convention of people with the firm belief that guns are a God-given right to protect ourselves from the government just as much as a wild boar out in the uncharted lands of the west, and these men would die before giving their guns up to some phantom government gun collector, and these men truly fear their rights are being violated every second of the day, and IF the fellow liberal stirred those fellas up and suggested something should be done about the evil, criminal who is a threat to AMERICA'S SURVIVAL, then I would tell that liberal to shut the fuck up!

But I don't hear a liberal doing that. I don't hear a liberal inciting a bunch of gun-clingers to protect America. I don't hear a liberal saying that to fight for our country we actually have to fight to the death.

When liberals worry about America, we threaten challenging elections and recalls and boycotts and facts!

This isn't about the ugly name calling from any side. This is about ONE PARTY consistently coddling people who actually speak as if our President is the enemy from within and that the only way to take him out is by death.

See, a while back some liberals were mad that Obama signed some bill that clarified and tightened language about protesting at events held by elected officials. I actually supported Obama on that. Why? Because I remember the guy who showed up at an Obama event with a gun strapped to his hip and nothing could be done about it. And I knew we were entering the general election cycle and I remembered that at the last election someone yelled out "kill him." So, you know what? I'm fucking scared.

This Ted Nugent thing isn't manufactured and it's NOWHERE NEAR the level of Hilary Rosen v. Ann Romney.

We're at Gabby Giffords level here. And to mock or ignore it is fucking dangerous. These freaks actually are desperate enough to think Obama is evil. What on earth makes you think one of these freaks won't act on it?

Will it be manufactured outrage if something actually happens to Obama? NO. So stop pretending the threat is fake.

Bro-Choice. CLASSIC!

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Lame

When Democratic strategist Hilary Rosen took Mitt Romney to task for putting his wife, Ann, front and center as an expert when it comes to women's economic issues with the factual statement that Ann Romney hadn't "worked a day in her life," the Romney campaign and the right lost their collective shit, accusing Rosen of waging a war on stay-at-home mothers. They work hard too, dammit! And they weren't going to let an opportunity pass to misconstrue Rosen's comment and try to tie her to the Obama camp even though she doesn't work for the Obama campaign. The faux outrage was palpable - enough for Rosen to apologize while clarifying her comment - and for the story to run at least three news cycles.

Fast forward just a week or so later. Today, rock-n-roll has been and NRA gun nut Ted Nugent, whose endorsement was sought out by the Romney camp to bring the NRA into the fold, made some pretty scary comments regarding President Obama and Democrats in general.



"If Barack Obama becomes the president in November, again, I will be either be dead or in jail by this time next year." Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are criminals. We will be a suburb of Indonesia. We need to chop their heads off.

While the White House basically shrugged off the rantings of a crazy, stupid person, this threat was enough of a concern to have the Secret Service launch an investigation. Now, while I haven't been watching much cable news lately, my guess is that the right will come to the defense of Nugent with yet more misunderstanding of the First Amendment and they too, will shrug off what I consider to be a disturbed man discussing thoughts of assassinating the President of the United States. Eh, it's only Obama, right? It's not like someone was threatening George W. Bush. But I digress.

You'd think that Mitt Romney would come out and denounce these types of comments and specifically tell Ted Nugent that he can take his endorsement and shove it up his rifle warmer. Right?

...Andrea Saul, a campaign spokesperson, said in an email, "Divisive language is offensive no matter what side of the political aisle it comes from. Mitt Romney believes everyone needs to be civil."

Lamest. Condemnation. Ever.

No matter what side of the political aisle? Ms. Saul, Mr. Romney, are you trying to equate what Hilary Rosen said (not related to the Obama campaign) about Ann Romney to an assassination threat on President Obama by a man who is ENDORSING YOU for the Oval Office?

So weak.

Leave Romney ALLONNNE! *bawl*

POSTED BY JHW22



Hey, give the guy a break!

When you have that much money and can claim every deduction the rest of America can't even qualify for, and you have to keep track of what money is off-shore, and you need to make sure you have the illegal lawn guys off the paperwork, and you are trying to decide how to deduct the new mansion you just demolished so you can build a new one, and you're wondering if the car elevator is considered a business expense since you are a "job creator", and your paperwork is spread over multiple states and houses, it's just hard.

The Romneys struggle, y'all. And it's damn class warfare to criticize them for having so much money that they get to take advantage of opportunities we will never have. And we're just envious. It has nothing to do with fairness at all. So quit whining over not being able to take more than the standard deduction! You got your $400 refund already. So what if you had to use it to pay the termite people to insure the termites don't come back and destroy your ONLY house that is worth $113,000. Waaaahhhhh. You can't relate to the Romneys and that's not *their* fault.

This is TOTAL snark, FYI.

As a Dog Lover...

...all I can say is, "Holy crap!"

Weighing in at over 245 pounds and standing 43 inches tall, George is the Guinness World Record holder for the Tallest Living Dog and Tallest Dog Ever. The Great Dane, now 6 years old, is almost 100 pounds bigger than other dogs of his breed, twice as tall as an average Golden Retriever and about the same weight as four German Shepherds, 11 Beagles or 26 Shih Tzus.

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What Is Wrong With Foster Freiss?

Billionaire Santorum, and now apparently Romney, backer Foster Freiss should just sit quietly behind the scenes, sign the checks and keep away from the lens side of a camera.

“There are a lot of things that haven’t been hammered at because Rick and Mitt have been going at each other,” Friess said during an interview on Fox Business Network. “Now that they have trained their barrels on President Obama, I hope his teleprompters are bullet-proof.”

What. The. Fuck.

Look, I know he was speaking in metaphors and his comment wasn't meant to be taken literally, but is it possible for just a moment to not use gun analogies when speaking of the President, ANY President, of the United States?

I think the best way for Freiss to stop with the stupid comments is to put an aspirin between his lips as an effective method to stop diarrhea of the mouth. What an idiot.

**UPDATED** Relatability

POSTED BY JHW22

Hilary Rosen created quite a firestorm last night. In my view, the firestorm is more about the offense people perceived rather than the truth she put forth. Her phrasing was inarticulate, but her point was relevant.

Yes, I know the Obama administration is wanting people to back away from Rosen's comments. I understand that. But guess what? I don't always agree with the administration and in this case, I'm going to take a stance as someone a little more knowledgeable on the issue than Axelrod or President Obama.

I am a Stay-at-Home Mom -- a SAHM. But not married to a millionaire. And I think Rosen's comments were valid: the wife of a millionaire should not be revered as a "surrogate" for her husband on women's economic issues. We can share being moms and the regular concerns that go with that. But the relatability stops there. I think it's MORE than acceptable to call out Ann Romney as being out of touch with women who make the work/family choice because of economic requirements. Good for her for choosing to stay home to raise her kids. But she can't relate to moms whose choices are made for them by economic realities.

I also notice a trend lately. Seems that when women get mad and start debating, the issue we're debating is called a "distraction". Sorry folks, but talking about how women provide for their families, whether they can or want to stay home or work outside the home, how she manages to pay bills, save for college, pay for activities, etc IS AN ECONOMICALLY RELEVANT DISCUSSION!

The war isn't between SAHMs or moms who work outside the home. The war is on women who are consistently being pushed back -- in policy and discussion. Mitt Romney is SO out of touch on women's issues that he is sending his wife out to defend him and speak for him and gather information for him.

All Rosen was saying, and I agree, is that as lovely as Ann Romney may be, as wonderful of a mother as she may be, she will NEVER be able to relate to me or the millions of other women who didn't have the luxury to make the "choice" she made. That's a point we should all be ready to state again and again. It's not a personal attack. It's a reality that must matter in the debate over women and our economic role in America and the fact that the Romneys have no business speaking for the average family.

UPDATE:

Since I posted, Ann Romney has said "my career choice was motherhood." Seems to me that is as rhetorically offensive as Hilary's implication that being a mom isn't a job. But I haven't heard anyone criticize her implication that women who don't stay home, don't choose motherhood. But that's OK. I also find it interesting that Ann Romney also said we all need to respect the "choices" mothers make. Oh, so she's pro-choice?

Also since my original post, the Catholic League Tweeted

Lesbian Dem Hilary Rosen tells Ann Romney she never worked a day in her life. Unlike Rosen, who had to adopt kids, Ann raised 5 of her own.

And I haven't heard any outrage about that.

Hilary Rosen has also since apologized.

Here's the deal, folks, Ann Romney has had struggles. Yes, MS and motherhood is hard. But PLEASE understand that we do not relate to each other based on our struggles. We relate to each other on how we can get through those. My mother-in-law had MS and eventually had to stop working as a nurse, go on Medicaid and live in adult foster care. Her resources were limited. THAT was hard on all of us. I'm not about to suggest Ann let nannies raise her kids and, let's face it, moms who work outside the house have to rely on others to help raise their kids, but the struggles Ann Romney faced or faces today are lessened by her access to help with those struggles.

We can relate about being moms. DO NOT try to relate to me on the economics of being moms.

Why Do We Care...

...what this deranged, megalomaniac has to say about anything?

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He's "heard"? Well I "heard" that Allan West likes to have sex with goats, and how can you trust a goat fucker? No really, it must be true because I "heard" it. See how that works?

A big round of applause for the 21st Century Joe McCarthy.

ADDING... A Sarah Palin endorsement for VP must count for something, huh? Well, at least in the Land of the Cuckoos.

ALSO... Yes, I'm sure one of the smartest Presidents we've seen in generations is "scared" to debate or have a conversation with Allan West. That must be it.

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Santorum will make the announcement at a press conference in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania shortly, a senior member of his campaign staff told CBS News.

My first thought: He didn't want to get embarrassed in his home state in two weeks. My second thought: He may be crazy, but at least he's smarter than Newt Gingrich. And my final thought: Santorum making his announcement at Gettysburg seems so apropos.

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...Here's [a] chart -- which reflects the revised, seasonably-adjusted data -- showing weekly, initial unemployment claims going back to the beginning of 2007. (Remember, unlike the monthly jobs chart, a lower number is good news.)

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More like this, please. Watch the whole thing if you have an hour.

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...Christie's trip, billed "Jersey to Jerusalem," is a trade and diplomacy mission, according to his office.

How many bialys can one guy eat?!

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SCOTUS Loss GOOD For Us? HELL, NO!

POSTED BY JHW22

I'm sick of the "a SCOTUS loss is a win for Dems" crap. A SCOTUS loss means another goddamn fight for healthcare reform. And right now, I need my insurance to stay as it is and not as my insurance company will want it to be. I LIKE ObamaCARES. I like that my son’s pre-existing condition didn’t impact our premium when we switched companies after ObamaCARES passed. I like that his and my annual exams are covered at no additional cost. I like that Sebelius is going after companies that are hiking rates too high. I like that companies can’t charge more for their income than for our care. I like ObamaCARES!

And this shit about “it will fire up the base if SCOTUS rules against the law” is pure BULLSHIT! We were fired up during the last debate and what good did it do us? We had infighting aka BITCHING from day one. Democrats fired on Obama as much as the Republicans did. We left him undefended from the shit storms of death panels every time we decided he wasn’t “fighting” hard enough. Remember? Remember how the whole “grow a pair”, “grow a spine”, “fight” rhetoric was fired at Obama every damn day by his own damn party?

Yah, we were fired up! Fired up and ready to fucking yell at our own President.

I do not want that shit again. And I don’t trust all of you to fight the next round any differently. Some of you get me on this. Some of you know EXACTLY the shit I mean and know that it will require composure and energy we don’t want to waste on the same assholes who were so COUNTERPRODUCTIVE and then didn’t even fucking bother to get out the vote the next time. Why THE FUCK do I want to enter that stadium AGAIN?!?! I don’t trust my team enough to march into that game all over again. Hell, I know what to expect from the right, but from the left? I sure as hell know some of you would fucking bail and wail.

Will I be fired up if this fails? Yeah. Will I trust that you’ll all be fired up in a productive way? HELL, NO!

I want single payer and I think either SCOTUS decision could fire us up to move toward that. But some of my teammates will totally fuck this up for all of us either way. So I’d rather keep ObamaCARES in tact and go from there. Not go back to 2009 and fuck it all up from there.