Worthy Adversaries | What Obama is REALLY Up Against in November

My friend Monica had an interesting little video clip on her blog this morning that shows the much maligned "liberal gotcha media" in action... Soledad O'Brien from CNN gets tough with John Sununu over the difference between his claim that Obama has cut Medicare for seniors and the reality that a Democratic plan would actually just do some funny math and subtract from some kind of future savings.  We've seen this before when it comes to the Right Wing budget hawks... They take any savings that Democrats can muster up and chalk it up to a "heartless cut to essential programs"... which of course, never turns out to be the case and then the other shoe drops and it was THEIR cuts that turn out to be the harmful ones.

This is an example of the more obvious and predictable propaganda that we expect from the right in every election... Most of America just tunes it out.  But this year, there are much bigger truth-benders out there that voters won't immediately be able to put a finger on.

In 2010, I highlighted the funding behind Tea Party anti-healthcare reform demonstrations and how astroturf shills would dress up as doctors and nurses and "regular concerned citizens" and scream at our legislators about dystopian Nazi death panels...

We later learned that we could place a big chunk of the blame for those demonstrations on Koch Industries, a chemical company that hates regulation of any industry... and probably hates a black guy sitting in the White House as well.  But one, more obvious culprit sort of slid under the radar to most of America... That, would of course, be the insurance industry...  See, when we talk about "the insurance industry", we're talking about a collective alliance between all different types of insurance.  Health Insurance, Auto Insurance, Life Insurance, Homeowner's Insurance... They've all got each other's backs and they don't have yours! Everybody knows it's a racket... and everybody is intimately aware of how much that racket is costing them.

Progressive Auto Insurance has recently been exposed for putting money into the legal defense of vehicular manslaughterers in a desperate attempt to avoid paying out on policies that it created.  You know Progressive, right?  They have that cute liberal-looking chick named Flo in all of their advertisements...

I hate to break it to ya, America... but Flo and the GEICO gecko are manipulative assholes.  There, I said it... These much beloved icons of TV advertising are hiding a sleezy underbelly of cutthroat political propaganda that you can't even fathom.  Click here to see who REALLY best represents the interests of GEICO...

Progressive Auto Insurance, if you recall, was rumored to be the principal source of funding for the gay rights advocacy group called GetEQUAL.  GetEQUAL spent way too much time maligning other gay rights advocates and Democrats in congress to have been truly helpful in repealing DADT and fighting for equality.  Now many of the activists were not privy to these politics at the time they started screaming at the President through bullhorns - but that's how Tea Party-style astroturf works... You can get well-intentioned individuals to do some pretty counter-productive things if you really put your mind to it.

Moving right along... another massive propaganda front against the current President of the United States is being mounted by the FORMER President of the United States... You didn't really think that George W. Bush went anywhere did you?  Of course not... and he's not going to sit on the sidelines in this election.  Over 70% of Romney's Foreign Policy ministry is made up of old Bush pals... This is not a fact that Romney wants you to be overly familiar with.  It's a reluctant alliance... Bush was never really fond of Romney in the beginning but the good people of Salt Lake City, Utah proved just tricky enough to finally secure their guy as the Bush Dynasty's latest incarnation.  What does an alliance with Bush get you?  One hell of a new "Swiftboat" campaign... complete with Bush loyalists like Chad Kolton and a bunch of Navy Seals who will pretend that Obama's "loose lips" are sinking their ships...
Special Operations OPSEC Education Fund Inc. (or "OPSEC" for short) has all the same trappings as The Swiftboat Veterans For Truth but with a little more of an authoritative air.

Of course, this would be Bush's contribution to the dialogue because one of the group's main objectives is to show that Obama is taking too much credit for the killing of Osama Bin Laden, which has been a wound that Republicans just can't stop licking.

Finally and perhaps the most destructive wing of the Republican Ministry of Propaganda that is active in the 2012 election cycle would be the small lobbying groups who control larger groups of ideologically driven special interest groups... These include, but are not limited to, Richard Berman's Center for Consumer Freedom, The Rand Center (which calls for "a revolt against today’s intellectual mainstream"), ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Commission), NRA (National Rifle Association) and the Family Research Council (FRC).  In their alliances with right-wing "think tanks", these lobbyists produce massive quantities of anti-Democratic propaganda on a daily basis.  They all work in tandem to create special right-wing "talking points" and then saturate the mainstream media with them. Many of the people associated with one of these groups are often associated with the others to varying degrees as well.

One of these very well orchestrated projects was "Chick-Fil-A Appreciation Day" which disguised itself as a response to an impending boycott from LGBT persons but which actually ended up serving to create a new right-wing media personality out of a Chick-Fil-A employee named Rachel.  (To read in detail how they pulled THAT one off, click here.  To watch Rachel join Fox News in a senseless refutation of "Obamacare" on behalf of all women, watch here.) 

Another project that these groups have been working on, which is truly frightening, is "The Real George Zimmerman".  George Zimmerman, as everyone now knows is the white/hispanic guy who stalked, shot and killed an unarmed black teen named Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida. Before that event had even entered mainstream news in any meaningful way, a few websites popped up online which presented a self-defense theory on behalf of Zimmerman.  The creepy problem with this concept is two-fold: 1)  Zimmerman hadn't even made a self-defense claim at the time and was in hiding while President Obama among others advocated on Trayvon Martin's behalf. 2) The claims being made (supposedly by objective 3rd parties) were all based on smearing the victim's character and circumstantial "evidence" which would later become the key points in Zimmerman's defense when he was finally arrested on charges.  The smears, which sought to incriminate Martin in his own murder were entirely based on the victim's race and repeatedly invoked statistics about African Americans and crime levels in the United States. 

In this last example, the "hidden agenda" is not merely freeing a supposedly "innocent" George Zimmerman - it is much more complicated than that.  ALEC and the NRA have heavily lobbied Florida's government to enact laws like the now infamous "Stand Your Ground" rule of self-defense - an adjustment to the Castle Doctrine.  The laws are far reaching and even nonsensical in their deregulation of firearm combat. The idea is that weapons manufacturers can use "panic" in the media to encourage more people to purchase firearms.  A shooting like the one in Colorado at a movie theater can be turned into a reason to DEREGULATE gun ownership and encourage MORE people to carry concealed weapons around with them for supposed protection.  However, the Stand Your Ground law fails to protect anyone at all and that becomes obvious when the Zimmerman/Martin case is considered.  In order to dust away their own tracks and act like nothing shifty is going on, the NRA and ALEC need to do their very best to see it that the case goes down the way they want it to... as mere self-defense.  They know that Zimmerman will have to go to jail - that is almost completely unimportant to them.  The most important thing that the NRA and ALEC want, they've already achieved (as of yesterday), which is legally disconnecting the case from "Stand Your Ground".  Another thing they hope to accomplish is putting enough racially motivated suspicion on the case to further implicate President Obama with the concept they've created from scratch - "black males who are going to get away with things if you let them".

Drunk On Sour Grapes - The Quotable Mitt Romney

Back in March, Mitt Romney got a little taste of political success in Illinois.  It was a mixed blessing, really, because the politics of Illinois (particularly Chicago) have become a dog whistle to Republican operatives seeking to tarnish Obama's reputation in the blogosphere and social media.  While Obama's familial home-base is Hawaii, Republicans have had more than their share of self-induced political misfortune in the Aloha State, leaving them with only Chicago (and sometimes the Republic of Kenya) to alienate in their propaganda.  For some unexplained reason, however, Romney's big win in the Land of Lincoln was short on dignity and long on misfired bravado.  While Romney isn't known as a "guy you could have a beer with", the Huffington Post/AOL reported that Romney slurred his words and stumbled in laps around his perfectly working teleprompter.

That being said, it is not Mitt Romney's inarticulate moment that I want to call your attention to... I want you to notice what Romney had PLANNED to say... what his entire campaign presumed to be fit for the scrolling screen in front of their candidate.  It's no "gaffe" that I'm sounding the alarms on here - it's what the so-called "Believe in America" troupe actually believes about America.  Ironically, it was the following sentiment that Mitt Romney spoke clearly without stuttering:

"I have had many business successes and failures over the years. Each step of the way, I learned something about what it is that makes our American system so powerful.  You can't learn that by teaching Constitutional Law at the University of Chicago."

This is a direct quote from a victory speech that the Romney campaign crafted and Mitt Romney read aloud from a teleprompter after an Illinois Republican Primary win.  Not only is it rather unbecoming of any professional to mar a victory speech with unnecessary character attacks against their eventual opponent, but it's also very telling that Romney and his campaign chose this line of attack to commemorate their small victory in Illinois. Mitt Romney knows that our President's achievements are far greater than his few years spent as a civil rights attorney and college professor.  Although Romney is 15 years older than President Obama, he received his Business Degree from Harvard University where Obama would ultimately become Editor and then President of the esteemed Harvard Law Review.

More egregious than the implied insult and elitist dismissal of both the President and the University of Chicago, is Mitt Romney's contempt for Constitutional Law itself.  In Mitt Romney's world, the almighty dollar makes the world go around and there's no place for "governmental intrusion" in the private sector.  It is this lack of ethics that has led Mr. Romney into trouble throughout his various attempts at political office. He has personally signed his name to the dotted line allowing American jobs to disappear into foreign sweatshops. He has hidden the majority of his income from taxation - ultimately depriving the United States of the only dues he owes to this great country.  He has sought to convert the United States Government into an agency that conducts its affairs with his best financial interests at heart.  He has built his entire campaign for the Presidency with insults and personal criticisms, all the while avoiding the requisite details to explain his own positions on important matters.

These transgressions are not just the mark of a bad politician... They are cowardly and selfish. They are bad for America.  These immoral actions might be "business as usual" to someone like Mitt Romney, but small business owners and employees who pay their taxes and respect the laws founded in our Constitution will not likely adhere to Mitt Romney's myopic view of America as his personal ATM machine.

Mr. Romney never got around to explaining exactly "what it is that makes our American system so powerful". Hopefully, whatever it is, it will be used to help us all in our journeys toward freedom, independence and peace. We know it's already been used for quite the opposite purposes at times.

Long time until November...

Florida Rises Up Like Egypt

Floridians: Give Us Democracy Or Give Us Death!

“The Floridian culture is very threatened by Rick Scott’s dictatorial lockdown on the press,” says renegade blogger Jarrett Terrill who barely escaped the death panel imposed by the ruling party last year. “The people want to see what a real democracy looks like. Florida has not had a real election since the early 90’s and they blame the ruling party for this,” says Terrill.

Scott, like Mubarak, maintains a tight control over all communication online. If a worker’s internet access has been denied by Comcast’s clandestine operation called the Internet Owners for Freedom Regime (CIOFR), they cannot get necessary help or information. However, they may still receive Scott’s daily inspirational tweets on the preferred media outlet of the ruling party.

“The native people of Florida are feeling inspired by the Egyptians and Tunisians,” says Rebellion Leader Alan Grayson. “They are intent on upon achieving a real Democracy. It’s going to be a tough battle to the finish, but we’ve seen worse. So far, our plan is to not get sick and if we do, die quickly.”

But the rebel faction has received little help in the region from the United States. Although President Obama said “This is a way of endangering our troops, our sons and daughters, fathers and mothers, husbands and wives who are sacrificing for us to keep us safe, and you don’t play games with that,” about the radical regime in Florida, there is still a pervasive sense that those in the beltway see Florida as a Sovereign Nation.

Real journalists were denied access to the ruling party even before the so-called election. “It wasn’t an election, it was a dog and pony show just like always,” says Terrill. The small minority of Floridian people who did confirm that they voted for the dictator said they did so out of fear and desperation. They voted for Scott primarily so that his brutal Tea Party regime would stop harassing them. “I can take care of myself," said Evelyn Logas, a retired medical worker from Mount Dora. "I just want the government out of my life."


Logas, like other Floridians who were pressured into voting for Scott were also afraid that they would be denied medical care. The Dr. Mengele of the ruling Tea Party regime is named Dr. Jack Cassell. Outside of his office, he has signs posted that read “If you voted for Obama, seek medical care elsewhere.”

“I’m glad he’s shutting down transportation and denying medical care,” Liz Staub screams to a mob of protesters in Tampa. A Tea Party insurgent herself, she shakes her fist authoritarian style one more time at the crowd and retorts, “I hope he cuts it down to the bone!”

Staub is obviously under the advisement of Rick Scott’s minister of Propaganda, Sean Hannity. Activists stormed Disney World (which has since become the only refuge from snipers and car bombings) when they found evidence that no women were actually forced to give birth in the middle of the street under other leaders throughout the southern region of the United States and that their only government-approved media source had lied to them.

“The real issue here,” says Terrill, “Is that people finally realized the ruling Tea Party had been nothing but a front for Rick Scott’s regime all along. They were caused to realize this when Governor Scott vetoed their demand for a free democratic election. He did this by removing the people’s mandate to redraw the voting districts more fairly. The Scott regime employs a kind of propaganda about the situation in which they managed to convince their insurgents that Gerrymandering is ordained by God.”

Terrill says he also believes in God, but he is not a Talibangelical like the hostile majority in the Tea Party Regime. “My God would never allow for such deplorable behavior in his name,” says Terrill, who is now in hiding since insurgents took over his refugee camp. “These people are very dangerous because they believe in radical tax fundamentals like the idea that you can take more away from zero. So who can say what their concept of or respect for human life is like.”

“I only pray that the CREW is successful at infiltrating this dangerous regime at their highest levels. If I would have known things would get this bad, I would have voted for Alex Sink instead of the real Democrat I voted for... I was just thinking that at worst he'd be another Charlie Crist.”

Notice: Although this "news story" is obviously a parody, the photograph above is taken from inside the United States by PBS during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina... Some of the quotations above are real and some have been slightly embellished but the links lead you to the very real reasons that you should be concerned about our Democracy in Florida.

My Personal Endorsements for South Florida's Election in 2010

Jarrett Terrill is the News Editor at SFGN (South Florida Gay News) and a registered Democrat.

I limited myself to making endorsements in the races that I am very familiar with. If a campaign that you are a part of has not received an endorsement from me, it doesn’t necessarily mean anything other than that I don’t want to mislead people by making endorsements without all the facts. Now, with that being said…

For the US Senate, I endorse Kendrick Meek because of his solid Democratic platform, his refusal to put special interests ahead of his fellow Floridians and his unwavering support for LGBT Equality.

For US Representative District 23, I endorse Alcee Hastings. Hastings has also routinely gone to bat for equal rights and he has never let me down. He dares to bring much needed legislation to the floor where others might fear how it will affect their campaigns.

For US Representative District 20, I endorse Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who has without a doubt been a trailblazer for civil rights and equality in the House of Representatives. Schultz is a family woman who values safety for children and economic security for their families. Her constant advocacy and media appearances played a huge role in garnering support for passing the Mathew Shepard Act and keeping the repeal of unconstitutional laws like the Defense of Marriage Act on the table.

For Governor of Florida I endorse Michael E. Arth, an Independent candidate. While I break with my party on this endorsement, and while Alex Sink is a great candidate with many of my closest friends supporting her, I just really like Michael E. Arth that much better. He has brilliant ideas and isn’t afraid to be truly liberal in a time when other politicians are becoming rather fascist in their conservatism. Arth has written books, made documentary films, traveled Florida, and run a clean, honest campaign. Unlike his opponents, he supports FULL equality for all people – regardless of gender or orientation. He is an artist and an entrepreneur and he is also the only candidate who has addressed our state’s homeless population. While it’s very important to beat Rick Scott (possibly the worst candidate for governor we’ve ever had) and I believe that Alex Sink CAN beat him – I must support Michael E. Arth because he more strongly represents my personal beliefs and ideals.

For Attorney General, I endorse Dan Gelber.

For Broward County Commission District 4, I endorse Ken Keechl. He has a reputation for keeping a balanced budget, he is concerned about environmental affairs and emergency preparation and he most certainly will do everything he can to make sure that Broward County stays inclusive for ALL types of families and individuals. With this endorsement, it’s all about Keechl’s experience on the commission and the various boards, committees and associations he has worked with. His opponents just can’t duplicate his working knowledge of Broward County.

Most importantly in this election, I endorse Amendments 5 & 6. Both of these Amendments arose from grassroots campaigning for better re-districting in Florida and discussions nationwide about the fact that voters should be picking their candidates and not the other way around. If you don’t know what Gerrymandering is, let it just suffice to say that Florida is full of it… When career politicians get to re-draw the districts in their favor, it breeds corruption. Please, if you go to the polls for only one reason, make it to vote YES on 5 & 6.


Photo above: Congressman Kendrick Meek with Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz /Photo by Jarrett Terrill

"Let Us Not Be Nuts."

"Here is a grand old party frozen, suspended, mesmerized, in thrall to a gaggle of showboats and radio entertainers and small mobs of fist-shakers standing staunch for unreality, and no Republican elected official dares say, 'Let us not be nuts'."
- Garrison Keillor

John Boehner (R-OH) - I Don't think women should be paid as much as men for doing the exact same work. That's why I voted against The Paycheck Fairness Act (H.R. 1338). I also voted against protecting credit card holders from sudden interest rate increases surprise changes in terms of agreement (H.R. 5244).


Michele Bachmann (R-MN) - I don't want small businesses to get a tax-cut as a hiring incentive to create jobs. That's why I voted against the Small Business Lending Act (H.R. 5297). However, I did make firearms exempt from repossession during bankrupcy, but that was only for businesses - not individuals like you (H.R. 5827)


John McCain (R-AZ) - I think companies like Halliburton/KBR should be allowed to lock rape victims in shipping containers for days - even weeks - to keep them from testifying in court against the company. This happened to a young woman named Jamie Leigh Jones and she's my daughter's age. That's why I voted against Amendment 2588 to the Defense Appropriations Bill H.R. 3326. I also voted against repealing 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell', a pay increase for soldiers and a program to treat PTSD.


Carly Fiorina (R-CA) - I want to give all of America's jobs to China and India. I use the term "globalization" rather than "outsourcing" because we've added yet another way to take away American jobs. You see, by successfully promoting H1-B Visa programs, we can actually ship immigrants into the USA and give them your job for much cheaper than what you'd work for. You can call that "insourcing". When I was queen bee at Hewlett Packard, I laid off 18,000 American workers and made decisions which led to 30,000 more being laid off when I was gone.


Charlie Crist (R-FL) - I like to tell everyone that I'm concerned about the environment, but under my governorship, Pensacola FL became the American city with the absolute most polluted water. That was before the oil spill in our gulf. When the BP disaster happened, I thought it was more important to collect $25 Million from the oil company for tourism advertisements telling everyone to come to our beaches before I even knew whether or not that was safe. I have been suspected of being in the closet as a homosexual for quite some time now, but I think dashed those myths by signing a few anti-gay laws including one that forbids gays from even getting civil union in Florida, let alone marriage. And just to rub it in, I got married the week after I passed the no gay marriage bill.


Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) - I really hate homosexuals. In fact, my Senate staff likes to send death threats to gay bloggers in their spare time. I tried to pass a law that would effectively open up all of our Federal land including National Parks to hunting. This would probably result in children being shot, but I don't care. Even John McCain says I'm "reprehensible" because I attacked the patriotism of my veteran opponent to get my first seat in the Senate. I want to privatize social security, eliminate the IRS and get warrantless wiretaps on US citizens. I want to make it a felony just to drive a woman to an abortion clinic.

Sink Is Running... And The Drain Is Open

"Voice For Equality" Singing The Same Old Song...

UPDATE: Sink has finally made her position against the adoption ban solid. She can be seen in this video saying the same thing that the Herald quoted her as saying at the Equality Florida event. But it should be considered that this video was made after Sinks appearance in Broward, not before and that Sink really was misquoted by the newspaper... Therefore, I am not an asshole, she just didn't tell the crowd what she obviously told individuals. And the rest of the following post still stands true as well. However, it must be known that she DOES stand on the right side of the adoption ban and that she has now been willing to discuss it specifically.

I have condensed this post to its raw points, since it was getting way too long and boring to deal with:

1. Alex Sink (D), is a candidate for Governor of Florida in 2010.
2. She had not, until recently, been firm nor clear on any gay rights issues.
3. She was recently given an award by Equality Florida called "The Voice of Equality" where she gave a campaign speech even though, supposedly, Equality Florida was only giving her an award as CFO and not technically as a candidate for Governor (read as: an endorsement without the red tape of having to ask her to commit to her stance on the issues).
4. I went to the gala to get her opinion on the gay adoption ban and hopefully a statement of how she would work to remove it.
5. She did not specifically support repealing the ban in her speech at Equality Florida's gala even though a Miami Herald reporter wrote a misleading article which claims she did.
6. Her campaign staff ordered me not to record her on my digital video recorder and blocked my access to her. They did not want me to get her on record and made it known that I would not be able to ask the candidate any questions. (of course, I have all of this on video).
7. I raised a big stink about that.
8. Later, Alex Sink told a Florida TV news channel that she does support repealing the gay adoption ban in Florida.
9. So far, Alex Sink has specifically and verbally supported just that one agenda item for gays and lesbians, and I give myself some amount of credit for that because I really put pressure on her campaign and Equality Florida to be more specific and to actually express support on repealing the ban and not just let Sink get by with saying that she "looks forward to working with Nan Rich".
10. I am not really impressed with Alex Sink (D) and think of her as a noncommittal, political chameleon. Therefore, I will still be voting for Michael E. Arth (D) for Governor of Florida in the primary election.