Glenn Beck..."now you've done it!"

Some things Glenn Beck says I agree with. Some I don't. It's like a seminar - if you take one good thing away from it at the end of the day, great.
But Beck's recent comment, regarding the shootings at the Norway kids' camp, comparing that camp to Hitler's youth camps? That's about as asinine and ignorant as a comment I've ever heard.

...sounds a little like the Hitler Youth or whatever. Who does a camp for kids that's all about politics? Disturbing.

I'll tell you who puts on a "political camp" for kids, Beck, you dumb fuck - the American Legion Boys/Girls State program. Every state (except Hawaii, I wonder why?) has one and it's been going strong since 1935. I've been affiliated with the Badger Boys State program in Wisconsin since 1981 and I've never been prouder of what it stands for and what it impresses on boys (and girls).

That's me - top row, far left - on the Ripon College campus back in the, ohhh...mid-80's...at the Badger Boys State program while I was a counselor. Now if by Beck's comment, he means to extrapolate and say that I was akin to a Hitler youth counselor, than here's my standing invite for Mr. Beck to come to Glen Mar (my home) in Greendale, WI so I can kick his ass. 

Beck has defended his comment, so....but hold your horses, liberal-folk...this doesn't mean I'm against everything Beck says.

But this is truly moronic.

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Don't ever go against the family, Donny.

Fox News gets ripped by the liberal media on a daily basis for being one-sided and distorting the news in order to make the Obama administration and the right look like a bunch of douche bags. And since Fox News describes itself as being "fair and balanced", I can see this as being a valid issue by the left. But is the left any different?

I've seen Bill O'Reilly on numerous occasions get into debates with other Fox News correspondents where they've disagreed. I've heard Glenn Beck admit things on his show in support of the left. But how "fair and balanced" is the liberal media - really?

Advertising exec Donny Deutsch was pulled from MSNBC last Wednesday during a week long guest hosting stint after an "unflattering" mention of MSNBC's No. 1 anchor, Keith Olbermann, the day before. It was during Deutsch's, “America the Angry", show where he analyzed the role the media plays in adding to the public’s anger and showed clips of various media figures from both the right and left getting into tirades on the air, including Keith Olbermann. Some say Olbermann got pissed which led to Deutsch being pulled from the network. Other's say Olbermann's reaction had nothing to do with Deutsch's removal.

The one thing that is not in question is that Deutsch was pulled for ripping on MSNBC "talking heads" - Olbermann. “The segment did not go unnoticed and we’re dealing with it internally,” said Jeremy Gaines, an MSNBC spokesman. And there goes Deutsch. Now how fair and balanced is that, MSNBC?

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Chris Matthews needs to shut the fuck up.

Seriously. No one can get a word in edgewise because he constantly interrupts his guests.

I try and watch both liberal and conservative media because I favor issues on both sides. But whenever I turn on MSNBC and Chris Matthews' Hardball is airing, I switch it. Now, I rarely listen to Rush's radio show but he at least lets his callers talk. Hannity and O'Reilly (both of FoxNews) certainly do their share of interrupting, but NO ONE's as bad as Matthews.

The right bitches about the left. The left bitches about the right. I'm right. You're wrong. Vicious circle. So many issues to tackle and too many talking heads on both sides for my taste.

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Texas suicide dude influenced by Tea Party Movement?

Fifty-three-year-old Joseph Andrew Stack III deliberately flew a stolen Piper Cherokee PA-28 into an Austin federal building that housed the local office of the Internal Revenue Service on Thursday.

It seems a number of media outlets (with liberal tendencies) are thinking out loud: "Boy, this Stack dude's suicide letter/manifesto sort of resembles - you know, that Tea Party rhetoric." I paraphrased all that.

A Washington Post blog read: "His (Stack) alienation is similar to what we're hearing from the extreme elements of the Tea Party movement." And Time magazine's online write-up twice included links to a background on the Tea Party movement - but those have since been removed. Removed? Why?

Chris Rovzar of New York Magazine stated, "In fact, a lot of his (Stack) rhetoric could have been taken directly from a handwritten sign at a tea party rally."

"Similar"? "Could have been?" Remind me to approach some random man in the street, punch him in the face because he looks as though he might be thinking about possibly assaulting me...and worry about the ramifications of my actions later.

I hate politicians. I hate the media. Liberals accuse the conservatives of fear mongering and chastise Fox News, Rush Limbaugh and Glen Beck. Then the liberal media turns around and surmises that Stack's beliefs are somehow/maybe/possibly/perhaps/almost like the Tea Party's platform. Ergo (third time I've used "ergo" in a blog post in the last two months), the Tea Party's philosophy is as whacked as a guy who embarks on a airplane suicide mission. Am I assuming too much? Like the liberal media is? That IS what they're saying, right?

New York Magazine attributed its assertion (I don't know that you'd call it an "assertion") to portions of Stack's suicide letter:

"We are … brainwashed to believe that there is freedom in this place, and that we should be ready to lay our lives down for the noble principals represented by its founding fathers. Remember? One of these was "no taxation without representation." I have spent the total years of my adulthood unlearning that crap from only a few years of my childhood. These days anyone who really stands up for that principal is promptly labeled a "crackpot" traitor and worse."

Sound like the Tea Party? Maybe it does. I agree with the above statement. I know a lot of people who agree with that statement. And they're not all conservatives and Republicans. Don't worry - I don't know how to fly one anyway.

Here's another excerpt from Stack's letter: "While very few working people would say that they haven't had their fair share of taxes (as can I), in my lifetime I can say with a great degree of certainly that there has never been a politician cast a vote on any matter with the likes of me or my interests in mind. Nor, for that matter, are they the least bit interested in me or anything I have to say."

Gotta agree with Stack on this one as well - though I might not go as far as to say "never been". Can any of us really be sure of our elected officials' motivations? I realize they're supposed to be working SOLELY for their constituents; I also know that Washington politicians are taking monies from special interest groups for their reelection campaigns and then voting the way those special interest groups want them to vote. Is that working for me - or you?

One more. "It also made me realize, not only how naive I had been, but also the incredible stupidity of the American public; that they buy, hook, line, and sinker, the crap about their "freedom" … and they continue to do so with eyes closed in the face of overwhelming evidence and all that keeps happening in front of them."

Well - I believe, even while this country is trying to pick itself up from last year's economic fuck-up, most Americans feel the United States is the best country in the world. Think about the shit going on in Haiti, Iraq, Iran, Israel, North Korea, Africa, parts of South America - we have it good. But people are pissed. People are out of work. They lost their savings. And homes. This Stack guy is just one man. I don't know...maybe he wasn't whacked. We may not ever know. Maybe he was perfectly sane and simply wanted to drive home a point by giving up his life for his cause.

They've been doing that in the Middle East for thousand of years. And they don't have a Tea Party over there.

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S.E. Cupp. Conservative pundit with panache.

I don't read a ton of political blogs. Enough political blah, blah, blah slaps me in the face without having to search for it. And since I'm a moderate, I'd have to read double the amount of blogs to get both sides of the story. However, one pundit caught my eye. If you're a conservative, you might wanna check her out. Her blog, that is.

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"City on the Hill", a poem by Citizen X.

Conceal your ears and passions,

When the smiling man says,

We will be as a City upon a Hill,

No Ideal lasts outside the mind,

Of the Mad King.

Burn the bridges of that City,
Flood the moats til' bursting,
The Levees drown the fires,
Then hurl your stones ov'r,
And watch collapse with pleasure.

The painting is by Zdzisław Beksiński, a renowned Polish painter, photographer and sculptor who was best known as a fantasy artist. The poem is by Citizen X, a fellow blogger; we both contribute to another blog - Ditalini Press.

If I didn't know any better, I'd swear this poem was commissioned by the Republicans to reflect their attitude toward the Obama administration and its affect on our country.

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Are liberals thin-skinned or is it just me?

So I sent people a link to my blog post about the Obama inaugural gala costing $150 million. Apparently there are conflicting reports on what the actual cost was. Some are saying it was less. Guess it depends on who you talk to. Here's my original post. Isn't anything you haven't read on the Internet already. That's not the point of this post.

I'm flabbergasted at the reaction of some of my liberal friends. I'm dead serious - it's like I beat a baby harp seal (which I'm against) in front of a group of 1st graders. I'm a moderate who leans more toward the conservative side. But I believe in a woman's right to choose, that we should get out of Iraq, more funding for the arts, and gay rights/gay marriage. Now the reaction I've received - honestly, leaves me scratching my head. It's like the liberals won - Obama's in office - and everyone else's opinion counts for shit. Shut up - they don't wanna hear anything negative about Obama. They ripped on McCain the entire campaign but now that Obama's in office, all negative diatribe must cease.

1. One friend called me "a grump" - and she ripped on McCain throughout the campaign process. I love this person - go back a long way and I respect her tremendously. But I'm a grump because I complained that millions of dollars (whatever the figure was) were spent on Obama's inauguration while the American economy is in such dire straits?

2. One friend asked that I take him off my email list if I continue to send "inane" emails about Obama. My opinion is now considered "inane". Another long-time friend whom I love.

3. Another friend kindly said that I'm entitled to my opinion and that she can just hit DELETE - referring to my email to her. She's very busy so we don't do much together.

What the fuck? Are you shitting me? This is disconcerting, to say the least. Politics have never come between me and my friends - or my friends and I. But my God, now that Obama is President are the liberals going to totally follow him like lemmings? I mean, I'm rooting for the guy too, but that doesn't mean I'm gonna kiss his ass (no disrespect to our President) regarding everything he does. If I wasn't supposed to take everything as Gospel truth regarding George W. Bush and the Republicans, why is it any different when it concerns Obama?

And why is OK for the liberals to attack conservatives regarding their loyalties but the liberal's way is now seemingly the only way and they don't wanna hear anything to the contrary? I sort of feel like every issue that I lean liberal on - I wanna switch to the conservative side just to spite these people. These people WHO ARE MY FRIENDS.

If you know me or have visited this blog, you know I LOVE Brett Favre. Regardless of what he does, I've always stuck by the man. You'd think I'd just killed BF and that these guys are BF fans out for my blood. Perception's reality and that's the vibe I received. I love my friends - and I didn't use their names out of respect to them - and we're all entitled to our opinions (that's why I started this blog - and I'm extremely opinionated). But differing in opinion and getting really pissy about it to the point where I'm going, "what the fuck did I do?" are two different things. I'm truly sorry if I pissed a few people off, but I won't apologize for it. And if they get mad because I blogged about them (didn't name names) and wanna write me off, then I'm prepared to deal with that. Then they weren't the friends I thought they were, in the first place? They won't. Will they? No...

Would this new administration want me, you - us - to stifle our right to question? To demand accountability? I would think President Obama would say, "no".

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