2/11/2006

The Incredulous Insanity of the Raving Right

In the ideological battlefield that the blogosphere has become, you'll often find right wing blogs referring to the "loony left". As anyone knows, name calling is the last resort of those unable to dispute the facts. But just who are the loonies out there? Let's let reason be the judge.
One sign of insanity is when ones does thie same things repeatedly in hopes of obtaining a different outcome. This is like the Republicans who vote for candidates based on their "moral fiber" who turn out, once elected, to have as about as much moral fiber as a chunk of concrete. Another example would be the neocons who are behind the wars in the Middle East. Even when these people were bonding during Bush Sr.'s administration, they were referred to as "the crazies" by people in their own party.
Another example of the "keep doing the same things but hoping for a different outcome" are the wars they love to start. They were sure when we went into Afghanistan that we would be welcomed as liberators,but the only ones who seemed to welcome the US were the opium poppy farmers, who increased production after the fall of the Taliban. We are still taking casualties there, four and a half years later, so something tells me that we are not seen by the Afghans as liberators. Donald Rumsfeld was so certain that the Iraqis would welcome the fall of Saddam and throw flowers at our soldiers feet that he didn't plan much strategy after "shock and awe".
Now, their brilliant strategy for Iran according to Scott Ritter, is to bomb strategic locations, sit back and wait for the Iranians to overthrow their government. I guess the King of the Conservative Crazies doesn't realize that, theocracy that it is, the peoples of Iran voted for this government!They probably wouldn't have voted for such a hard liner if they didn't feel threatened that the US was planning on going to war with their country, being conveniently next door to Iraq, and Iran having all that oil that the Bush administartion covets so much. (Not to mention the possiblity of a plethora of no-bid contracts for Halliburton)And, as it turns out, the people of Iran were right! The Bush administration plans on bombing Iran in late March of this year. Right after Iran begins trading it's oil in euros.
And if the Iranians don't overthrow their government (something that we should be doing in the US), then Rumsfeld is ready to send in "battle-hardened"(homoerotic chickehawk speak for overstressed)troops from Iraq to engage in another war not related in any way to 9/11 by using 9/11 as a pretext.
Is this crazy or what?

32 comments:

Anonymous said...

Now, their brilliant strategy for Iran according to Scott Ritter, is to bomb strategic locations, sit back and wait for the Iranians to overthrow their government.

Yup that'll work. Just like it did in Vietnam, Irag (post first Iraq War), and Serbia.

What? You say that we eventually had to send in the ground troops? Well shut your cakehole, liberal apologist!

Karen said...

Remember when Howard Dean said capturing Saddam did not make us safer?

Anonymous said...

...to bomb strategic locations, sit back and wait for the Iranians to overthrow their government.

And let's not forget the variations on this foolproof scheme — punishing civilians with harsh sanctions, as in Iraq and Cuba, in hopes that they revolt. And my personal favorite, sponsoring a ragtag invasion of a country, as in the Bay of Pigs, hoping the citizens join in.

Makes you proud to be an American.

Yukkione said...

I'm looney! In these times of blind faith, and staying the course, I still insist on following wacky things like science, and documented fact. I'm proud to be on the lonney left, because we're so diverse in our opinions and don't march in lockstep with educated fools. That we can be critical of ourselves and our Loony Leaders, and still be part of the left. That we can disagree on the nature of something like Islam, yet in unison raise our middle fingers to a failed president named Bush. To the Looney Left, I raise my glass (White Russian) in salute!

Omnipotent Poobah said...

Finally an explanation for Rummy's behavior!

"Donald Rumsfeld was so certain that the Iraqis would welcome the fall of Saddam and throw flowers at our soldiers feet that he didn't plan much strategy after "shock and awe"."

Obviously he feels this way because he is used to similar treatment and thinks that's how everyone acts.

NOw I get it.

Anonymous said...

"lockstep with educated fools" Educated? What do you mean? priviliged maybe. bought their way in maybe with power not brains maybe.

Anonymous said...

Thanks Lew, my blograde, for posting! I got home early to beat the coming snow storm (which means snow for tomorrow! Which means I will be out all day again- but its so nice to have real winter!)

I think we know who the loonies are. People that destroy the planet because they figure the rapture will come take them away so their grandchildren will not have to suffer the impact of their misguided wicked ways. Or pay their deficit...or...

Anonymous said...

Quote from Lilly:
"People that destroy the planet because they figure the rapture will come take them away so their grandchildren will not have to suffer the impact of their misguided wicked ways."
Funny to read, but this might be part of there actual plan. I wish I was kidding, but remember Ashcroft singing "soring eagles"...creepy.

enigma4ever said...

LOC and Lilly pretty much said what my head was yelling...and I will be "looney" and "liberal" forever...
salute....good post....

Unknown said...

i WAS trying to read most of the conservative connecticut blogs. i had to give up. they were hurtful and some were just plain evil

Anonymous said...

I try not to give them traffic on principle. I know what they are saying: fuck the lazy poor, the uninsured, the alcoholic homeless, the gamblers,the heathens, the immoral people that don't tithe for god, the stoners that want hard working americans to support them,the people that want to let the muslims get us and take away our freedom, the french, Michael Moore, Air America sucks, the whores having sex all around, the gays that brought katrina that want to adopt your white babies and make them all fairies, the welfare mothers, the bad education that doesn't teach intelligent design, the need for women to get back in the kitchen, men to act like men and work five jobs, and children to eat,shit and pray. Blah blah blah blah... who needs it. If I want repetition, I'll listen to liberal repetitition. If I want stupidity, I'll watch American Idol on dvd. If I want to vomit, well, I'll just drink American beer.

Anonymous said...

Why not do a search for conservative blogs? Then pick from the half billion?

Or pick a conservative and search for them in the blogger search window? In my opinion there are different kinds of conservative blogs.

Those that are written by people (who exist on the left as well) that get a thrill from just sparring and arguing over issues that have been argued about already millions of times. These are the blogs that AGAIN discuss abortion, AGAIN discuss intelligent design, AGAIN discuss the war- WHICH IS FINE- but they do it solely to argue. Like a sport. Like playing fantasy football. A way of having one's intelligence validated by the 'point for me' game.
These can be fun to read, but really, I think people must seek more validation and appreciation in their REAL lives. Fighting trolls? Fun only for a month or two, tops.

Then there are the bloggers that are simply trying to RELATE OR APPLY these debates to current events. For example, to talk about how the recent Pharmacy cases on emergency contraception apply to the abortion debate.

There are bloggers that just like to throw out questions, food for thought. There are some that are actually EXCELLENT conservatice blogs that make some good arguments, that are at times at ODDS with Bushco, especially on Economics. These blogs are the best because we must conced that sometimes the opposition offers constructive criticism or information. To dismiss ANY group entirely is behaving as they do.

For a novice blogger looking for good reads, try the Lose The Noose Blogroll. They are all excellent, but some standouts to lurk at: Coalition For A Republican Free America, Deep Thought,Three Wise Men, Earl Bockenfeld, Dark Wraith Forums, UnSpunblog, No Blood For Hubris, Crest of Empire, Lothlorien Path, Clusterfuck Nation,and Thumping The Tub.

Anonymous said...
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Neil Shakespeare said...

This is crazy. I'm surprised we even recognize it anymore since we've lived with it so long. Crazy seems normal nowadays...

Anonymous said...

Excellent. I don't frequent right-wing blogs for the same reason my right-wing "friends" have been reduced to a Xmas-Card-Only contact ... I need to regular sleep & can't afford to keep waking up thinking about their horrible idea of what my life should be.

and tp "the gays that brought Katrina that want to adopt your white babies and make them all fairies" ... see, there's a consiracy I'd never heard about & now I'll probably wake up in a cold sweat over that, too. Thanks! D.K.

Wadena said...

I don't go to right-wing blogs or forums and I don't associate with right-wing people.

They are destroying the world and I am an adversary.

I rarely waste my time on them, and then only for a short time for entertainment.

Arguing with them can be fun, but it is addictive and, ultimately, destructive to my spirit.

Anonymous said...

We have enough to destroy our spirits nowadays. I used to think it was about changing thier minds, but that is an arrogant undertaking. We cannot compete with OReilly. How can one reason with people that think global warming is a myth? All the facts in the world cannot change the minds of people who are not using their minds in the first place. Facts do not reach those that cannot hear. Points are not made where people choose blindness, the soothing comforts of consumaculture and the trappings of trash tv, trash music, trash food, trash houses, trash minds. Reason cannot penetrate the fortresses of the stupid!

No Blood for Hubris said...

The stupids are unable to recognize their stupidity because it is so obscured by the stupidness itself.

rev. billy bob gisher ©2008 said...

go ahead and make comments girl. I lit candles and left space for you.

Anonymous said...

All done, Rev. Thanks. I am going to post on a related theme later, and still have to check out Those Bastards..

Anonymous said...

But, Lilly, what if some your conservative friends are smart, well-educated & normally rational people??? I mean people who can usually take 1+1+1 and come up with 3. When I lay out liberal arguments for them, they agree on every single point, but in the end, still think Bush is better for the country than ANY liberal alternative!!! Their minds have a complete disconnect somewhere & I don't know how to cross that chasm. Any ideas? D.K.

Anonymous said...

Good questions. One approach?? Dialectics. "change through the conflict of opposing forces". Further... I think asking more than we try to answer. Question people, versus preaching. I think, in my uninformed view, that we get further when people draw their own conclusions.
Ask questions until the obvious reveals itself.

I also think we have to start in a place of connection.
Instead of saying "Why the hell don't you give a damn about global warming????" Trying: "Sir, do you have children??" "Why yes I do.""Then I am sure you can understand why a parent would have concerns about an energy bill, and would want to come away satisfied with your answers. I'm sure we can start by agreeing that the health of our children is important." "Of course." "Well, let me ask about some parts of this bill, because I want to understand.."

My neighbor last night:
"It doesn't matter if Saddam had WMD's, the world is safer with him gone."
"Are we safer when we are lied to, even misled about the rationale for war?" "Yes."
"Its ok for the President to lie?" "Sometimes" "When???" "When he's just got to work on protecting us." "Do you think we need the cooperation of other nations to do that??" "Yes."
'What are the consequences of a global community that cannot count on our President to be truthful?" "I don't know."

"Do you think that useful intelligence requires an element of trust?"
"What is the purpose of paying hundreds of elected officials if the President can govern exclusively on his own? Does that constitute a waste of money?" "Why would we not be interested in discerning intelligence failures if our priority is security?" "Why would we prevent experts from testifying in the 9-11 hearings?" "What do you think the purpose of government is,if not to respond to disasters like Katrina? Beyond paving roads and printing more money?" Questions, questions.

In my real life, D.K. I ask alot of questions of alot of people. I tend not to argue and debate. I tend to ask questions. It is less of an attack posture, and who knows, I might learn something!!!!! It is important to be open even when we feel 'correct'.

There are some 'conservatives' that make a lot of sense. These are not the ones that constitute the public menace though. Some old school 'fiscal conservatives' have even attempted to distance themselves from this government because they do not approve of their financial direction. These are often people with sound reasonable idealogies that are not really represented by the MODERN DAY conservacrats.

These new conservacrats have made a business out of being 'right wing' and they laugh all the way to the bank. They are divisive, and opportunistic. They are hypocritical and self contradicting, and these are typically NOT the people telling you 1+1+1=3.
They are telling you a rat and an eraser make moonshine.

AJ said...

"..who seemed to welcome the US were the opium poppy farmers.."

An excellent and damning point, Lew.
If this was brought out in the open on FOX & CNN,
as it should be
it would give second thoughts to the truth of what the "War on Drugs" is actually all about.

Rory Shock said...

The loonies are those who declare migratory birds "avian bioterrorists" ... ie this administration ... am I, a humble, neophyte blogger a loonie for reporting this? Nope ... "they" are the loonies ...
check out story at www.roryshock.blogspot.com

W.B. Picklesworth said...

Contrary to prevailing opinion conservatives aren't, by definition, stupid or loony. Sites like redstate.com encourage debate. Understandably the slant is to the right, and partisan shots are fired (as they have been here), but discussion can be quite good.

Anonymous said...

Again I say that there is a difference between an ideological conservative (not necessarily stupid or loony, IMO) and the talking heads we see on tv spewing hate and trashing civil liberties, and the First Amendment... or better yet, desiring an eradication of the Bill of Rights as Coultergeist would like us to do. While we are at it, we can become a military dictatorship with state imposed religion and state sponsored/censored media...and maybe someday a democracy can liberate us!!!!

Anonymous said...

Ah, Iran. What prize that would be. Come here my precious. Before we could make that happen though we would have to get that old gang back together. Wolfie, he's now over at the Worldbank. Think we can get him back as the bottom to Uncle Donny's top? And Dougie Feyth, he is gone too. can we get him back? If not who is going to stove pipe intel straight to A Gun For Hire Cheney? And John Bolton is now over at the UN. Hey that may actually be a good move for the Neo-con agenda. But so much of the infrastructure is gone. Pearle is no longer on the Defense advisory panel, and all of the second tier guys have sort of drifted off in the vapor like Mikie Ledeen and oh so many more. Could we really pull it off without all these Koolaid Kids calling the shots?
I'm sure Uncle Donny could make a go with it with the Army he has rather than the Army he wants.
Actually, I think the gears are stripped and if you ask for anything much more than lip service you will be asking for more than can be delivered.

Anonymous said...

Rummy and the Army he has versus the army he wants- hilarious. Wargasms-love the one you're with.

Mr Accountable said...

What are loons anyway? Duck-like animals that sit real low on the water and make an interesting noise, unlike any duck or goose. What's wrong with that? They can dive to 90 feet. And such an interesting noise. Cultural parallels would be Nirvana, Hey Ya by Outkast or Will Forte. What is wrong with these? If the right keeps using this word it will backfire. Loons are a good thing.

BibleBelted said...

I hate repeating myself. God knows I've posted this enough in the past, but it seems relevant to the conversation...Hope you enjoy it.

Can a country, or rather a political party, have a sociopathic breakdown? This is a question that has been gnawing at me since George W. Bush and his merry band of empire builders decided to wage a war of aggression against a sovereign nation which, while brutal and repressive, had been militarily contained and represented no serious threat to the United States.

During the course of the next few years I came to the conclusion that the modern Republican Party is the first political movement in the history of the United States to be based on a mass personality disorder.

Something has gone very wrong. The parts, the qualities which might allow these people to act or function like normal human beings are either stunted or missing. Under normal circumstances you would think that the same people who so fervently claim to love God and his commandments would be the same people who would want to condemn brutality and sadism in anyone on religious grounds. But these are not normal times and our leaders clearly have some problems that they need to deal with,

Ever since we learned about incidents of sexual assault and sadism (there just isn’t another way to describe it) in Iraqi prisons and at Guantanamo Bay, I have been increasingly concerned about the flippant manner in which this administration dismisses or denies allegations of human rights violations. Never mind the rhetoric from Mister Gonzalez about the Geneva Convention being quaint , or foolish rhetoric about how the Nuremburg accords don’t apply to America (a suggestion which in and of itself might be illegal under international law in that it promotes torture); we have a real problem on our hands and it seems to be stemming not from the immorality within the Republican Party but from the amorality within the Republican Party.

Assistant Propaganda Minister Scott McClellen brushes off allegations of prisoner abuse as fabrications by Islamic terrorists, and our enabling media never press him on the issue. They never say something to the effect of, “well Scott, if that’s the case, then why don’t you prove your denials and give the media more access to Guantanamo Bay?” In the mean time Karl Rove tells is that “liberals saw the savagery of the 911 attacks and want to offer therapy and understanding to our attackers,” completely oblivious to the fact that it is he and his partners in crime who need the therapy.

Bush supporters on AM hate radio tell their favorite reactionary demagogues that “things like this happen in war,” or that “we’re not as bad as Saddam,” and I find myself thinking:

“YOU’VE GOT TO BE KIDDING?!”

Wow! We’re not as bad as Saddam Hussein—a leader which those same right wing callers and talk show hosts have compared to Hitler. Which means what? That we’re not as bad as Hitler? Am I supposed to be impressed or puzzled by this? A handful of American soldiers, guards, and interrogators have been caught, indeed photographed, performing acts of sexual abuse and sadism, but the radical, sociopathic right feels comforted by the fact that Americans aren't as bad as Hitler or Saddam.

Yup. I know that makes me feel a lot better.

In many ways this reminds me of the old joke. A wealthy man approaches a woman at a cocktail party and asks her if she would sleep with him in exchange for a million dollars. After a brief hesitation the woman says, “of course I will.” Clearly satisfied, the man then asks her if she would sleep with him for $1.50, prompting the woman to snap: “Well of course I wouldn’t. What do you think I am?” To which the man says, “We have already established that, we are now arguing over price.”

In other words, it’s all a matter of degree. Sexual assault is wrong under any set of circumstances. It either existed or it didn't; and as we have seen in the infamous photos, it clearly existed. I suppose I wouldn’t feel so offended if so much of the casual, ho-hum approval weren’t coming from the moralistic, “Christian” Right, which routinely condemns those of us on the left for alleged moral relativism.

But when I look at their attitude on this matter I can only see another glaring moment of right wing duplicity. This is another, painful time when the radial right needs to cast the beam from its own eye before it condemns others for its own sins. Not only is their tacit approval of sexual abuse under military circumstances an example of right wing hypocrisy—it also takes moral relativism to an absurd extreme.

The whole thing has me wondering: why do our leaders tout sexual morality when they’re condemning legal, consenting acts between gays and lesbians (who they love to hate and persecute here at home), but then turn around and condone forced, sexual assault and sadism when it involves perverted goons who they so clearly love to idolize?

Don’t ask the Radical Christian Right or our Republican leaders in Washington DC, because it appears as if they don’t even know.

So here I am, still wondering what has gone wrong in our leaders on the right. And the answer that comes to mind is both probable and chilling at the same time. The answer didn’t come from the Bible and it didn’t come from an mean-spirited sermon by Jerry Falwell or James Dobson. Rather, it came from a book that my Great Uncle loaned me. It came from the pages of the Fourth Edition of DSM-IV-TR, The Diagnostic and Statistic Manual of Mental Disorders as published in the year 2004 by the American Psychiatric Association.

This is the answer:

*Sociopaths are frequently deceitful and manipulative for personal gain or pleasure.

*Sociopaths lie and malinger

*Sociopaths are irritable and aggressive and may repeatedly get into physical fights or commit acts of physical assault

*Sociopaths have a reckless disregard for their own safety and the safety of others. Not only are they reckless but they can be neglectful and irresponsible. Their work habits and work histories reveal irregular habits and tend to be unpredictable.

*Sociopaths show little remorse for their acts and are indifferent to the pain and suffering of others. They may blame their victims for being foolish or helpless. Sociopaths fail to compensate. They do not make amends.

*Sociopaths can be charming, charismatic, exploitative, and manipulative.

*Sociopaths may have trouble controlling their finances.

*Sociopaths have problems with self control and may suffer from addictive disorders.

Now do you see why some of us are worried? We have a president and a cabinet of advisers who wanted to wage a war of aggression for years but who were so disorganized and unprepared when they actually got around to doing it that they gave a new meaning to the word irresponsible. That same president has a history of reckless, alcoholic behavior, and seems irritable and even aggressive when questioned about his past or questioned about his policies. The way in which he went to war revealed a basic dishonesty and a disregard for the lives of American soldiers that bordered on the delusional. Neither Bush nor his appointed goons have shown a scintilla of regret for what they have done; the Demander and Thief has yet to attend a funeral, but he has been caught on camera joking about the weapons of Mass Destruction that he lied about.

Moreover, Bush and his appointed goons refuse to take responsibility for anything but continuously blame Democrats and the supposedly liberal press for their many blood soaked failures. And if you want to see how well they can handle their finances, we would only use the term “sky rocketing deficits” to point out how inept this crowd is when it comes to spending and wasting our hard earned tax dollars.

I suppose I have just answered my own question. There is no point in expecting the Bush Administration and its many dysfunctional followers to show a modicum of concern about human rights violations. That would be a humane response, and that is something that this president nor his cronies will ever be able to muster.

Anonymous said...

I am with you on this, as usual Brandon. I do think that elements of the sociopathic behavior pattern might be attributed on a macro level..perhaps the psychopathic behavior pattern. The inability to discern right from wrong, the inability restrain one's self from pathological malice..
Thank you as always for your thoughts and contributions. Always great to read your words.

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