Beck compared to Laura Schlessinger

I've never been a fan of Glenn Beck, though unfortunately my husband is so there were times when I'd feel as if I was being held captive when he'd listen to Beck on the radio -- then the one Beck event that I attended that I am probably still emotionally damaged from that my husband will owe me for until the day he dies...

Yet what I find interesting is Beck loves controversy and attention, his planned event today, that some of our local television stations actually covered live (they didn't cover the true "civil rights" one interestingly enough) worked. He's gotten lots of attention. Articles like this one by Mary Mitchell -- Boorish Beck makes mockery of King's dream will fuel the fires of the two sides. Mitchell makes her thoughts about Beck very clear, in addition to calling him boorish and a demagogue:

In fact, Beck has a lot in common with the deposed talk-show host Dr. Laura Schlessinger.

Neither one of these personalities have much respect for the African-American experience.

Schlessinger, who was forced off her long-running radio show after she said the N-word 11 times during a broadcast, has been in the media long enough to know that whites can't get away with using the word.

Yes, I recognize this prohibition is a double standard.

But given the painful history the word carries, this is a double standard that whites ought to be able to live with.

Schlessinger, though, tried to defend her use of this racial slur by cloaking it in her First Amendment rights. "I want to be able to say what's on my mind and in my heart and what I think is helpful and useful without somebody getting angry, some special interest group deciding this is the time to silence a voice of dissent and attack affiliates, attack sponsors," she said on the Larry King show.

Ironically, Beck's "Restoring Honor" rally is being promoted as a "moment" that will "reclaim the civil rights movement."

How disingenuous.

I think most people realize that Beck's brand of freedom was not what Martin Luther King Jr. had in mind.

Unfortunately, this is another area where people are divided, there are some out there that are trying to argue Beck's brand of freedom is something King would support. I'm not sure if the continued name calling is the answer, though for those interested in a balanced view, I'd recommend this Chronicle piece.

Can Obama fight the flight from facts?

The flight from facts is one that's hit our nation when it comes to more than just the President, despite the increase of fact checking sites and myth busting, study after study has demonstrated some of our population is mired in only wanting to believe what they want to believe, no matter what the facts truly are.

This Newsweek piece -- How Obama can fight the lies is an recommended read. Part of which:

Our maddening times demand that the truth be forthrightly stated at the outset, and not just that the president has nothing in common with the führer beyond the possession of a dog. The outlandish stories about Barack Hussein Obama are simply false: he wasn’t born outside the United States (the tabloid “proof” has been debunked as a crude forgery); he has never been a Muslim (he was raised by an atheist and became a practicing Christian in his 20s); his policies are not “socialist” (he explicitly rejected advice to nationalize the banks and wants the government out of General Motors and Chrysler as quickly as possible); he is not a “warmonger” (he promised in 2008 to withdraw from Iraq and escalate in Afghanistan and has done so); he is neither a coddler of terrorists (he has already ordered the killing of more “high value” Qaeda targets in 18 months than his predecessor did in eight years), nor a coddler of Wall Street (his financial-reform package, while watered down, was the most vigorous since the New Deal), nor an enemy of American business (he and the Chamber of Commerce favor tax credits for small business that were stymied by the GOP to deprive him of a victory). And that’s just the short list of lies.

Moments that inspire dreams...

Last weekend part of my family and I gathered around our grill roasting marshmallows and making s'mores. During that very enjoyable moment, it dawned on me how long it had been since we had been able to go anywhere to vacation together as a family.

The last time we had all gone on vacation together was over ten years ago when my five children joined my then new husband and I on our honeymoon. Our lives have become so busy...We need to just unplug...

Outer Banks vacation rentals have been on my mind before, but after looking in more detail at some of the homes that Carolina Designs have, it'd be possible for the whole family to spend time together. Some of us could drive, some would have to fly.

I spent some time viewing the pictures and the floor plans, imagining watching my bunch gather around the pool table, lounging by the pool or hot tub or taking a nice stroll down to the beach. Maybe we'd be able to do that clam bake dinner on the beach we talked about during our family honeymoon trip.

Today it's a nice dream, tomorrow? Perhaps...

Fire and Imagination and...Rain...

Bob Herbert's column Fire and Imagination made me think about James Taylor's Fire and Rain. While the song is about relationships, it fits how I feel about what's happening in our country.

The Obama administration seems to be feeling sorry for itself. Robert Gibbs, the president’s press secretary, is perturbed that Mr. Obama is not getting more hosannas from liberals.

Spare me. The country is a mess. The economy is horrendous, and millions of American families are running out of ammunition in their fight against destitution. Steadily increasing numbers of middle-class families, who never thought they’d be seeking charity, have been showing up at food pantries.

The war in Afghanistan, with its dreadful human toll and debilitating drain on the nation’s financial resources, is proceeding as poorly as ever. As The Times reported on Friday, an ambitious operation that was supposed to showcase the progress of the Afghan Army turned into a tragic, humiliating debacle.

And while schools are hemorrhaging resources because of budget meltdowns, and teachers are losing jobs, and libraries are finding it more and more difficult to remain open, American youngsters are falling further behind their peers in other developed countries in their graduation rates from colleges and universities.

This would be a good time for the Obama crowd to put aside its concern about the absence of giddiness among liberals and re-examine what it might do to improve what is fast becoming a depressing state of affairs.

We've seen fire and we've seen rain, it's hard not to hope at times that our nation will come back to what it was...


James Taylor - Fire and Rain (live 1970)
Uploaded by lameplanet. - Music videos, artist interviews, concerts and more.

Progressives tired of Democratic failures

The following came in via e-mail as a fundraising request, but I think it's important that what is being said be pointed out.

Democrats: Epic Fai


Lisa -

That's right, I said it -- Insider Democrats scored another epic fail.

I mean, just take a look at this headline in yesterday's New York Times -- "Plan to Aid 9/11 Victims Is Rejected in House."

Here's the best part -- the vote was 255-159 in favor of the bill. Now, I wasn't a math major, but 255 was bigger than 159 last I checked.

So, what happened? Democrats brought up the bill under special rules requiring two-thirds support to pass. So even though the bill had clear majority support, it still failed.

This isn't the sort of bold progressive leadership I fought for in 2006 and 2008. I worked to elect Democrats to get stuff done, but they keep letting Republicans trip them up with parliamentary tricks. I'm sick of it.

That's why here at DFA we don't support just any Democrat, we support Better Democrats. We support Democrats with backbone, who are willing to lead on the tough issues and get stuff done -- Democrats like Howard Dean and Alan Grayson. But we can't do it alone. We rely on small contributions from supporters across the country to get our work done. Contribute today to support our mission.

Help elect Democrats with backbone, leaders who know that 255 is bigger than 159 -- Contribute $10 right now.

Progressive legislation has been killed or watered down over and over again. The public option -- killed. Climate change legislation -- killed. Wall Street reform -- watered down. Now, Democrats are letting Republicans kill bills to help 9/11 victims.

In 2006, Insider Democrats told us to sit down and be quiet -- we needed to retake the Congress, even if it meant we weren't electing the most progressive candidates.

In 2008, Insider Democrats told us to sit down and be quiet -- we needed to retake the White House and get 60 votes in the Senate, even if it meant we weren't electing the most progressive candidates.

Well, now it's 2010 and it's time they learned DFA members aren't going to sit down and be quiet. We're not going to support candidates just because they have a "D" next to their name.

But if we're going to fire up progressives and elect a real, progressive majority then we need to start today. So here's the plan: We're going to put staff on the ground in critical states where our progressive primary challengers won, like Joe Sestak in Pennsylvania and Elaine Marshall in North Carolina. And we're going to work to elect progressives like Beth Krom in so-called "red" districts, just like we did with Alan Grayson in 2008.

I don't want to see headlines like that one in the New York Times again. I want to wake up on the day after Election Day and see "Progressives Win" in big, bold letters. Contribute today to help make it happen.

-Arshad

Arshad Hasan, Executive Director
Democracy for America