Kerfuffle

Apparently, the people of Arlington TN elected their village idiot, Russell Wiseman, mayor

From the "You can't make this shit up" department of the Memphis Commercial Appeal...

In the opinion of Arlington Mayor Russell Wiseman, President Barack Obama's speech on Tuesday night on the war in Afghanistan was deliberately timed to block [wait for it...] the Christian message of the "Peanuts" television Christmas special.

Wiseman made the statements on his Facebook page, where he declared Obama to be a Muslim. Only people on Wiseman's "friend's list" had access to the post. He has more than 1,600 friends on Facebook.

"Ok, so, this is total crap, we sit the kids down to watch 'The Charlie Brown Christmas Special' and our muslim (sic) president is there, what a load.....try to convince me that wasn't done on purpose. Ask the man if he believes that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and he will give you a 10 minute disertation (sic) about it....w...hen the answer should simply be 'yes'...."

[notation and implied eye-rolling mine]

Wow.  Wowity wow wow.  What an asshat!  And this guy is the mayor.  Granted, he's only the mayor of Arlington, Tennessee, which boasts most prominently on its website that... "With a population of approximately 9,700, Arlington is the eastern-most municipality in Shelby County [so they have that going for them]... and offers excellent schools, community activities, and commercial amenities all with a strong sense of small-town charm."  Presumably Mayor Russell Wiseman is the walking embodiment of that lovely charm of which they speak so glowingly.  He's a townie, and is happy to say he is the third generation of Wisemans to go to his high school, according to his biography. 

Please, Mayor Bigot, continue making an ass of yourself...

In Wiseman's extensive thread that attacked the president, his supporters and Muslims, he stated "...you obama people need to move to a muslim country...oh wait, that's America....pitiful."

At another point he said, "you know, our forefathers had it written in the original Constitution that ONLY property owners could vote, if that has stayed in there, things would be different........"

Wiseman declined comment, of course, except to say that the press was making "a mountain out a molehill" and that it was ridiculous for "someone to send my Facebook* post." 

As ridiculous as thinking, even for a second, that the President of the United States would actually choose a time to tell the nation that he has the unfortunate duty to send more troops into harm's way specifically so he could pre-empt the 44th airing of "A Charlie Brown Christmas?  Really?  And thinking this because you still think he's a Muslim even though it's widely known he is a Christian... as if his religion even matters?  Oh, right.  I forgot.  You're a bigot.  My bad.

Equally appalling but also fascinating (in that way we are fascinated with truly bizarre behavior) are the hundreds of comments left on the Commercial Appeal's website.  Racism, xenophobia and religious bigotry are very much alive and well, and it's pretty clear Tennessee hosts a lot of it (supported by this online poll).  Unfortunately, Tennessee doesn't come close to cornering the market on that kind of ignorant thinking.  But for the moment, when I picture ignorant thinking, I picture Mayor Russell Wiseman of Arlington, Tennessee.

I am a firm believer in freedom of speech, and everyone holds that right, whether the mayor of Hooterville or Houston, common working man or titan of industry.  But you can't post on the Internets via something as public as Facebook and feel like it is private communication.  Indeed, we are all free to speak our mind, but words have consequences, especially when said in the public sphere.  (The Internet and Facebook are the public sphere, Russell.  May I call you Rusty?.  Welcome to the 21st century.)  You said these things, Mayor Wiseman.  Time to man up and stand behind your comments, Rusty.  But you won't.  You'll hide until someone else says or does something really ignorant.  And that's probably happened already.  But as mayor, you represent the almost 10,000 people of your little town of Arlington.  See if you can try not to embarrass them or the bank where you make loans (thinking Old Man Potter) any more than you already have.  And good luck with that.  Given your level of religious bigotry and simple stupidity, I know it will be hard.

* Wiseman's Facebook page seems to have gone away, but he now has a (sort of) Russell Wiseman Facebook Fan Page.  Consider joining, won't you?

You may also give Rusty a shout out via email:  russwise@aol.com

At first, I thought I was being asked a totally different question

To be a member of a college fraternity is to have a bunch of friends with weird, stupid, embarrassing, meaningless or otherwise odd nicknames.  Some are drug-oriented (Pheno).    Some are trait-based ("O" as in obnoxious).  Some are just abbreviations (Goldy). Two others attached to my Sig Ep brothers include "The Narl" and "Toast."

Knowing that, maybe you will understand my confusion when offered either Narly head or Toasted head.  Whaaaaaaaat?

Oh, we're talking about wine.  Like the red stuff in a bottle.  Wow.  That's totally different.

My bad.

Either way, I'll pass. 

[h/t to The Narl for the photo!]

And now, time for yet another (sigh) look at the face of today's Republican Party: honoring the act of teabagging

Believe it or not, House Republicans are looking to pass this resolution, honoring the millions, umm, hundreds of thousands, OK, fine, tens of thousands of people who marched on Washington on September 12 to protest whatever Fox News was telling them they were protesting.

Seriously.  It reads as follows...

RESOLUTION

Expressing gratitude and appreciation to the individuals and families who participated in the Taxpayer March on Washington on September 12, 2009.

Whereas, on September 12, 2009, hundreds of thousands of American patriots, who refuse to sit idly by as the Federal Government advances skyrocketing deficits, taxpayer-funded bailouts, pork-barrel projects, burdensome taxes, unaccountable policy czars, command-and-control energy policy, and a government takeover of health care, came to Washington, DC, to show their disapproval;

Whereas individuals also wanted to convey their displeasure with the future tax increases that will be required to pay for deficit-financed spending;

Whereas these individuals understand that the fundamental American principles of limited government and personal liberty are under direct assault;

Whereas this dedicated group of freedom-loving Americans believe in open, accountable, responsible, constitutionally based government;

Whereas hundreds of buses, multiple caravans of cars from across the country, and many individually chartered flights, as well as thousands of lone-traveling cars and trucks, brought these patriots to Washington, DC, solely for this event;

Whereas these individuals endured considerable personal expense to get to the march, including transportation and lodging expenses, as well as lost wages in many instances;

Whereas estimates of the number of people who peacefully marched from Freedom Plaza to the West Front of the U.S. Capitol on September 12, 2009, range as high as 1,700,000 marchers;

Whereas all 50 States were represented in the march;

Whereas this event is considered to be the largest ever gathering of fiscal conservatives in Washington, DC;

Whereas special accolades are due to the grassroots citizens organizations across the country who helped individuals exercise their constitutionally protected First Amendment rights in the Nation’s capital; and

Whereas when the current trends of government expansion and freedom retrenchment are reversed, it will be due in large part to the efforts of the hundreds of thousands who marched on Washington, DC, on September 12, 2009: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives expresses its gratitude and appreciation to the hundreds of thousands of people who marched on Washington, DC, on September 12, 2009, to show their love of liberty and their grievance with recent government actions.

Really, Republicans?  This is how you're spending your time?  This is the legislation you're working on?  An homage to the Beckians?  Seriously?  Wow.

To Hell with passing health care reform!  The GOP would rather focus on giving kudos to their intellectually challenged and don't-call-us-racist-but-we-are-kinda-racist base.  You remember:  these people...

 

Ever the classy bunch, don't you know.

[h/t Jed at DK for the photo montage]

What is it about Republicans and dopes named Joe?

Images of some core constituents of today's Republican Party faithful. Ever the Klasy ones

When I was a kid, my parents were regular suburban Chicago Republicans.  So when I was old enough to vote, I started out that way too.  There were things I thought (wrongly, in hindsight) were good about Ronald Reagan, and even GWH Bush.

As I became more politically aware, I realized that while there may have been some good things about the GOP, they were long gone.  The Republican leadership recognized that too, and really turned up the volume on their "Southern Strategy" of building a base around mostly southern, mostly fundie-Christian voters.  You know, the people who claim to put God and American first, but vote only on a narrow list of issues based on their creative interpretations of the Bible.  They seem to generally be less educated, more bigoted, and tend to vote against their own best interests often.  It seems that, unwittingly and without hesitation, they vote in favor of corporate America and against the people of America.

As anyone paying attention knows, that seemed to stop working for them in 2006, and really tipped over in 2008.  And now, those who remain under the spell are freaking out.  How else can you explain shit like this:

Or this:

And Klassy gentlemen like this guy...

Wow.  I mean, WOW.  These are the people who have taken over the Republican party. I am tempted to describe them like this...

JR at DK (who had a similar idea for a post while I was writing this one) collected a few photos that further tell the story in all it's scary and pathetic detail.  As he said in his post, take a look in the mirror, Republicans:

 

Yes, as they showed us with Bill Clinton, hating someone is a reason enough to impeach them.

 

Not wanting to be Corporate America's lap dancer means you must be just like Hitler.

 

The words "sick fuck" as a modified noun come to mind.  What an asshole.

But let's look at a root cause for this behavior.  These people are racists. 

 

And they are teaching their children to be racists too...

Teaching your kids to hate.  How is that a family value?  Oh, right.  It isn't.

If you are a Republican, and you don't like what you see, you can do something about it.  Work to retake your party.  Or, like many already already have: run away.  Run far, far away from these hateful, narrow-minded troglodytes.  If you do like what you see, well, keep it up.  I'd like nothing more than to see the GOP continue to shrink away.

What's so amazing to me is how these "real Americans" are played for the patsies they seemingly are happy to be.  They don't even realize that the so-called grass roots efforts going on right now to disrupt town meetings held by Congressman across the country are bought and paid for by Big Insurance and Big Pharma, and being organized and implemented by lobbying firms.  They even have detailed instructions (leaked memo pdf) on how to disrupt meetings and act like asshats...

– Artificially Inflate Your Numbers: “Spread out in the hall and try to be in the front half. The objective is to put the Rep on the defensive with your questions and follow-up. The Rep should be made to feel that a majority, and if not, a significant portion of at least the audience, opposes the socialist agenda of Washington.”

– Be Disruptive Early And Often: “You need to rock-the-boat early in the Rep’s presentation, Watch for an opportunity to yell out and challenge the Rep’s statements early.”

– Try To “Rattle Him,” Not Have An Intelligent Debate: “The goal is to rattle him, get him off his prepared script and agenda. If he says something outrageous, stand up and shout out and sit right back down. Look for these opportunities before he even takes questions.”

Talk about being corporate tools.  But these people are too ignorant to even get that.

You know... morons.

[props to JR for some of the links.  Great minds think alike.)

The search is on for some area -- any area, regardless of how small and insignificant --in Illinois government that isn't corrupt.

Good luck with that.

Illinois, my home state, continues to demonstrate that if there is a way to work the art of the political favor, bribe, or gaming of the system, they are all over it.  And usually, they are fumbling the ball.

Take, for example, this jowly face:  Niranjan Shah, the chairman of the University of Illinois Board of Trustees.  He just became the latest Illinois public official to resign in disgrace.  Seems he had a penchant for getting his kids and the kids of friends and business associates green-lighted into the University of Illinois even when they didn't exactly deserve it.  And while he was "helping" the university system with admissions, he also "helped" them allocate scholarship money and create jobs for those (family and friends) most deserving.

Grades not good enough?  Test scores sub-par?  Forgot to apply?  Need a job that you aren't qualified for?  Hey, No matter, "Uncle Niranjan" has got you covered!

Well, that is until the pesky media shined some light onto Mr. Shah's creative application of admission policy...

University records reveal that Shah, more than any of his fellow board members, sought advantages for his relatives and friends in admissions, housing and employment matters.

In 2007, for instance, Shah parlayed his connection with Chancellor Richard Herman to secure a high-paying university job for his future son-in-law, a Dutch citizen seeking work in the United States.

University records and e-mails detail how U. of I. officials created a position without conducting a routine search, secured a work visa and paid Maarten de Jeu $115,000 - more than other employees with the same title. Herman dipped into campus reserves to pay the salary because the position was not funded by the university department that ultimately hired him.  [Chicago Tribune news service]

Oh, Illinois. Silly Illinois.  You are not learning from your own star player:  Chicago.  If you are going to get creative with rules and policies and law and stuff, don't fucking get caught.  Somewhere, the original "Da Mare," boss Richard J. Daley, is shaking his own jowly head and mumbling:  "Look at deez guyze over der.  Dey're fucking amateurs."

I see crazy people. They're on the street in front of the Ed Sullivan Theatre in New York. Oh, my bad. They're just members of the Sarah Palin fan club

Wow.  In another context, this could be one of Letterman's gag videos. 



I especially love the lady in yellow.  She's not only very articulate as she presents her argument, but so well informed.  And she speaks "Jewish!"

Oy.

The Glenn Beck Comedy Tour: Laugh until you're incited to beat someone senseless

Sure, we all know that Glenn Beck is laughable.  No matter that thinking people are laughing AT him, not WITH him.

In case you didn't think that the guy who does this every day to the delight on conservative neanderthals is just playing them for entertainment's sake, it's good to know he's openly promoting himself as "comedy."

From the website of Fathom Live Events, which oddly call its offerings "groundbreaking cinema entertainment," which sort of contradicts the "Live" thing...

Glenn Beck is bringing his summer comedy stage tour to movie theaters nationwide so that no matter where you live, you can join! Bring your family and take a trip to your local movie theater this summer (complete with comfy seats and air conditioning) to examine common sense, which is no longer common! Glenn spares no one, including politicians and celebrities, as he takes a look at the state of our culture and the frightening lack of common sense, especially in Washington. [emphasis mine]

So far, this appears to be booked only in Kansas City, so the "nationwide" attribute is perhaps a bit premature.  It's a start, I guess, for the man who provides a face to America of the angry, clueless, condescending, bigoted, misinformed, delusional,  white asshat.  So he's got that gong for him.

Hopefully this Canadian SportsNet reporter has some sort of back-up career

The amazing thing about this video clip is not what  field reporter Roger Millions says.  It's how cool and collected the studio anchor transitions away from the indiscretion.  I wonder if they teach you how to take one of these hand-offs in broadcast journalism courses.

Of course, this is a hockey reporter, and this kind of language is rather tame compared to where I used to sit in the United Center.

When hysterical homophobic political communication meets really bad advertising: The National Organization for Marriage poops its rhetorical pants (UPDATED with video)

Normally, I don't like to drive any traffic to websites operated by crazy people, as it is either endorsing bad policy, encouraging idiots,  or, in this case, giving the site the false impression that people support them.  In this case, I have to make an exception.

A group of bigoted wingnuts pooled their money to produce a television spot that might be alarming to thinking people if it didn't seem to be a parody of bad issue advertising.  On first look, the fake lightening and poorly delivered lines scream Saturday Night Live.  But, no, it's meant to be straight (pun only partially intended) effort from the creepy National Organization for Marriage.

The NOM is ever so afraid of the gays, don't you know.  Gay marriage will apparently be the downfall of the institution of marriage.  Unfortunately for the NOMers, their attempt to make any sense of their untenable position was totally overshadowed by their laughable inability to defend their position.  This reached its pinnacle yesterday when the audition tapes for the spot's casting were leaked.  This development not only showed that the people portrayed as real Americans were actors, but that they were really, really bad actors.  (I'm guessing their casting call went to non-union actors from local church theater groups.)

Mark Morford of the San Francisco Chronicle has a great take on this...

My favorite part has got to be the lightning.

The fake lightning, that is, flashing just off to the side, a cheap 'n' cheesy special effect that momentarily lights up the actors' faces in the most sweetly melodramatic way as they stand there against the dark 'n' stormy backdrop like devout Christian zombies, delivering delightfully weird and wooden lines about being openly terrified of those openly terrifying gay married people.
:::
The ads emphasize how the gays are moving closer to Christian homes, businesses, schools and genitalia, and many terrified citizens with souls the size of marbles clearly don't know what to do or how to protect their children -- or their crotches -- from the onslaught because, oh my God, I think I just saw two men kissing on the mouth! Help me, Jesus!

But something is different. Unlike the comparatively sophisticated Proposition 8 ads funded by huge amounts of Mormon "panic cash" here in California, these low-budget spots reek of something else, something a bit more briny and stale and, yes, ultimately enlightening.

Morford goes on to explain that that "something else" is desperation.  He's right.  The divide between the inclusionary and exclusionary, the tollerant and the intollerant are coming down.  All kinds of polls show that while the country is split over gay marriage, this is a generational issue.  As time marches on, more enlightened younger citizens will eventually overtake older, more socially ignorant citizens who just don't seem to get it.  This is not unlike the movement to give women the right to vote or to allow inter-racial marriage.

Interestingly, the NOM site doesn't mention a thing that I can find about divorce.  Seems to me that nothing kills a marriage more than... divorce.  Maybe they'll get on that after they turn back homosexuality. I won't hold my breath.

UPDATE:   Although the casting tape video got yanked from YouTube, it does live on in this clip from the Rachael Maddow show on MSNBC, beginning at about the 2:10 mark...

Calling those people "actors" is, indeed, very generous. Very, very generous.