Sarah Palin: We Must Give Terrorists What They Want
After Sharing An Office For Only Two Days, This Grizzly Took His Own Life
On balance, I tend to avoid wading into the rhetorical cesspool that is a Sarah Palin speech. But, one of Palin’s remarks at the American Fascism Rally (aka Tea Party Convention) struck me as noteworthy.
Criticizing the administration’s national security policies and specifically its handling of the Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab case (alleged Christmas airplane bomber), Palin asserted:
“Treating this like a mere law enforcement matter places our country at grave risk because that’s not how radical Islamic extremists are looking at this. They know we’re at war. And to win that war, we need a commander in chief, not a professor of law standing at the lectern.”
In this statement Palin provides a disturbing and if it wasn’t so self-destructive, pitiable portrait of the neo-con worldview: sheer cowardice shamelessly draped in anti-constitutional jingoism.
American Fascism: Tea Party Speaker Wants Executions For Homosexuals
Tea Party. 912ers. “Patriots.” They can call themselves whatever they like, but it doesn’t change the reality that they’re fascists. If you look at what they advocate, it’s definitional fascism. Unlike the corporate media – which is quick to point out extreme leftists – I’m actually going to call these teabaggers what they are: American Fascists.
With that being said, Sarah Palin is speaking tonight. But, who else is speaking at this event? Well, one speaker is a former Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court and current Alabama gubernatorial candidate – Roy Moore.
To put it mildly, Moore is a dangerous lunatic.
In 2002, Moore filed a concurring opinion in the case Ex Parte H.H. In it, he called for stripping custody from a parent that engages in homosexual conduct (even if they are the biological parents):
I concur in the opinion of the majority that D.H., the mother of the minor children in this case, did not establish a change of circumstances sufficient to transfer custody to her from H.H., the father of the minor children. I write specially to state that the homosexual conduct of a parent — conduct involving a sexual relationship between two persons of the same gender — creates a strong presumption of unfitness that alone is sufficient justification for denying that parent custody of his or her own children or prohibiting the adoption of the children of others.
Oh, and he also tossed in a little mention about his desire for the state to imprison and even execute homosexuals:
The State carries the power of the sword, that is, the power to prohibit conduct with physical penalties, such as confinement and even execution. It must use that power to prevent the subversion of children toward this lifestyle, to not encourage a criminal lifestyle.
Of course Moore ranted about homosexuals in his Tea Party speech. If you’re interested in what he said, you can read a summary here. But, two takeaways from this.
- That this man served at such a high level in our judicial system is shameful.
- Why the fuck is Sarah Palin palling around with people that want to execute homosexuals and/or pull their children away from them? And, more importantly, why is her embrace of such hate being tolerated by the mainstream media – and by us.
What do you think?
Fox Nation Is Like An M.C. Escher Painting
Imagine if the one of the Wonkavator’s many buttons transported you to a deranged land filled with sociopaths, religious zealots, cult members, racists, and the abjectly ignorant along with willfully ignorant. In this land, a popular fascist propaganda website is Fox Nation.
Well, this AM, I made the mistake of pressing that button and two stories struck my attention.
Number 1: Apparently, Fox News thinks James O’Keefe’s alleged offenses are in the same category as the guy who tried to blow up an airplane on Christmas Day
If Fox News didn’t think the two acts were equatable, then why are they juxtaposing O’Keefe with the underwear bomber and comparing the way they’ve been treated? I realize FoxIsNotNews is the champion of false equivalences, but even this one is a stretch for them. Oh, and, since when does Fox give a damn about civil rights?
Number 2: Evolution may be ridiculous, but of course Chimps can be hippies
I’m pretty sure these Bonobos are not actually hippies. But, Fox doesn’t let any opportunity to equate progressivism with genocide or liberalism with cannibalism go to waste.
GlennBeck.com’s Draconian Terms Of Use Policy
Back in late July and early August, Glenn Beck made a big fuss about the privacy policy for dealers using the Cash for Clunkers website. At the outset, I recognize that the language of the disclaimer was a bit off – and it’s worth noting that the government changed this language. However, Beck’s discussion of the issue was riddled with blatant falsehoods and extreme hyperbole – most of which are chronicled and debunked here as well as here.
In short, Glenn Beck not only misrepresented the terms of the policy and the relevant law, but he continued to spread misinformation even after accurate information was brought to his attention. Read the rest of this entry »
Sentencing Commission Proposes Weakening Criminal Penalties For Corporations
As the Supreme Court was handing over our political system to corporations (see Citizens United), the U.S. Sentencing Commission began considering a rule change that would weaken criminal penalties for corporations.
In short, the proposed rule would allow the offending corporation to reduce its penalty, if it can show that it has an effective compliance program. This penalty reduction is available even “when high level personnel are involved in the offense.” In order to qualify for the reduction, the corporation must show all of the following:
- that the individuals responsible for compliance have direct reporting authority to the board level; and,
- “the compliance program was successful in detecting the offense prior to discovery or reasonable likelihood of discovery;” and,
- “the organization promptly reported the violation to the appropriate authorities.”
Now, you’re probably thinking to yourself: “Come on Angelo! What’s the big deal? This seems like a good idea to me.”
You know what? Perhaps it is. But, compared to what? I’ll refrain from offering up a final opinion about its efficacy for now. However, I do want to just offer up two broad considerations…
#1) Cops On The Beat:
For the most part, when you hear cheerleading about being “tough on crime,” just remember that corporate crime is generally not including in all those ra-ras. Consider this: When there is an uptick in crime, people demand more cops on the beat. Doesn’t matter if it’s the right solution, people demand it – ra ra. But, when it comes to corporate crime, our society doesn’t demand more. To the contrary, we promptly capitulate to corporate transgressors.
I understand what the proposed change is trying to do. It seeks to encourage a corporation to enforce the law against itself. The reality though is that our regulatory enforcement structures have been systematically weakened during the past couple decades. Although this policy’s intention may be good, it is a sad reflection of a regulatory system that is aware of its inability to effectively enforce the rules (whatever inadequate ones remain, I might add).
When crime involves flesh and blood people, we have a tendency to increase the stick. Yet, when crimes deal with corporate persons, we shrink the stick and offer them carrots.
#2) Corporations: A person, but with magic
As Citizens United emphasized, corporations are people too! Except, these “people” (or corporateople) are apparently capable of doing some pretty amazing things. If I were to shoot someone. Then, march myself to the cops and say “hey, my hand just shot someone…arrest him!” The cops would arrest all of me…and all of me would be incarcerated, not just my hand. However, what the U.S. Sentencing Commission’s rule change says to corporateople is that they can in fact send just their hand away and avoid criminal penalties. Oh, and unlike us regular people, corporateople won’t miss their hand since they can easily replace any of their appendages.
Yea, yea. I’m aware there are some counters to my analogy. But, my underlying point remains: we certainly do allow these corporateople to do some pretty magical things that us regular people can’t do.
———————–
Given how unbalanced the scales are, this rule might be the best available option. My point isn’t to necessarily rail against this particular rule change. Although, I think a case can be made for stronger alternatives. Rather, my point is to underscore our weakened regulatory system and emphasize just how much work people, as in real people, need to do in order to wrestle our democracy back from these corporateople.
If you feel strongly about this particular regulation, you can submit a comment to the U.S. Sentencing Commission, which they are required to consider when making a decision. If you’d like information on how to do that, just leave a comment or shoot me an email.
My Grandfather Gets Wind Of Tiger Woods…
Last night, my grandfather called me. He had heard a lot of news about Tiger Woods and wanted to discuss. For the record, I have no interest in the story and up until this point, I hadn’t discussed it or mentioned it once. However, I wasn’t about to tell my near 90 year old grandfather to shut up, so I endured.
His opening question inspired me to tweet some of our convo. Here is what transpired
9:52PM: 89yo grandfather calls just now: “Angelo! Have you heard all this news about Tiger Woods? Why wld a golfer need so much sex?”
10:04PM: Grandfather (still about Tiger): “I know it’s human. But who needs more than 1 mistress? Maybe he has bad self-esteem. He looks weird.”
10:17PM: This conversation needs to end, quickly. Grandfather: “well, i hv my theories on y he wants more than 1 mistress. But it’s sexual.”
10:18PM: Grandfather: “It’s called a menage a three. Do you know this expression.”
10:19PM: Up until now, I have completely avoided Tiger coverage/talk. I can’t believe my grandfather has been discussing this for 30 mins.
10:27PM: Me: “Pop, I don’t think he was sleeping w/them @ same time.” // Grndfthr: “Come on! He’s kinky. Don’t be gullible. The TV protects rich ppl”
10:32PM: We’re at the 40 minute mark. After a confusing reference to Eddie Murphy & transvestites – now talking about Arnold Palmer & Jack Nicklaus
10:38PM: Finally. Grandfather: “Ok. I’m going. Don’t spend too much time on all this gossip – u shld be smarter than this. Love you. Night.”
Oy.
CNN: We Are All White Women Aged 18-26 Now
Would CNN give a front page story and nearly 1250 words to describing the parents’ defense regarding a black person or other racial minority accused of murdering someone? I’m guessing no.
But when a white girl is accused of it? Stop the presses, let’s get a full story from the parents on how they raised her. It makes me sick.
Finally, A Proposal to Fix Our Problematic School System
NYT:
If Merry Susan Hyatt has her way, every public school pupil in California will have the voter-approved right to sing “Joy to the World” in the classroom.
Ms. Hyatt, 61, a substitute schoolteacher, is the chief proponent of a proposed California ballot initiative that would require the state’s public schools to offer Christmas music during the holiday season.
I don’t really care if this outrageous or if it is Constitutional or what not. It just strikes me that this is a terrible use of resources.
Why is anyone spending money on proceedings of what holiday songs kids sing at public schools? This is fucking absurd.
The best part:
“I don’t think I’ve ever had a Jewish child in one of my classes,” she said. “If so they never said anything.”
Why Are Private Prisons Bad, You Ask?
Like many important topics, the rise in private prisons in the United States is grossly under-discussed. There are many good arguments against private prisons – one of which is corruption. The argument goes: if operating a prison is done for profit, then the nature of the ever-hunger profit beast could adversely impact the administration of justice. This concern was recently brought to life in Pennsylvania, where the state Supreme Court just “vacated the convictions of all juveniles that appeared before former Judge Mark Ciavarella” between 2003 and 2008.
Why would the state Supreme Court do such a thing? Well, you see Ciavarella accepted $2.8 million from the owner of two juvenile detention centers, where he sentenced youths. Ciavarella is currently awaiting trial after being charged with accepting the money “in exchange for rulings that impacted the operation and construction of the two centers. Regardless of how many juveniles were affected by this, this is pretty awful. Worse yet is the staggering number of impacted cases – 6,500.
Of the nearly 1.7 million prisoners in the United States, a bit over 100,000 are currently held in private prisons. For some bizarre reason, demand for private prisons continues to escalate and the industry is expected to continue growing. The most common argument in favor of private prisons is that they’ll save costs. However, a 2004 DOJ study debunked this claim.
So, to recap…private prisons don’t save money. Instead, they increase risks of escape, are often poorly run, and inject new types of corruption into our criminal justice system. Sigh.
CNN: We’re Not Paying Attention
CNN: New website, same old ineptitude.
CNN thinks the race in the New York 23rd hold “little national interest” and that Palin is taking some strange tact by endorsing Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman over the GOP candidate.
Well, here’s a list of national figures who have endorsed in the NY 23rd: Newt Gingrich, Dick Armey, Tom Cole, Jim DeMint, Dana Rohrabacher, Tim Pawlenty, Fred Thompson, Rick Santorum, Steve Forbes, Michelle Bachmann, sort of Mike Huckabee, John Linder, the New York Post editorial page, Michael Barone, and Todd Tiahrt. And all but Gingrich endorsed Hoffman.
Moreover, Hoffman on his website has audio clips of him on three popular (unfortunately so, but still) conservative radio shows: Mark Levin, Glenn Beck, and Rush Limbaugh.
Yet, to CNN, there is “little national attention” on this race, and it is only a referendum on Palin. This makes literally no sense whatsoever if you pay more than 5 minutes attention to politics per day.
