Rush Limbaugh Stokes Flames of Hatred and Violence: Compares Democrats to Nazis

Reacting to Rush Limbaugh’s latest hate speech comparing the Democratic Party to Hitler's Nazi Party, Rep. Steve Israel, Democrat of New York, condemned Republican Boss Limbaugh's stoking the flames of hatred and simmering violence in Democratic town hall meetings. Limbaugh's radio show rant alleged similarities between the Obama Administration’s health care logo and the Nazi symbol: "[President Obama's] healthcare logo looks DAMN LIKE the Nazi logo." Then he posted a morphing graphic (below) on his website to further this insanity:



The TRUTH is the medical symbol in the Obama Administration’s logo -- IN ITS ENTIRETY -- is common to medical organizations as far back as the late 1970s. Many medical organizations, notes a medical website, use

“a symbol of a short rod entwined by two snakes and topped by a pair of wings, which is actually the caduceus or magic wand of the Greek god Hermes (Roman Mercury), messenger of the gods, inventor of (magical) incantations, conductor of the dead and protector of merchants and thieves. It is derived from the Greek karykeion = "herald's staff", itself based on the word "eruko" meaning restrain, control.

It is interesting to see that most organizations using this symbol are generally either commercial or military (or American).

Walter J. Friedlander surveyed 242 logos or insignias of American organizations relating to health or medicine in which the caduceus or staff of Asclepius formed an integral part dating from the late 1970s to early 1980s.”

So much for hate speech with the BIG LIE comparing the Obama healthcare logo and/or Democratic Party symbology with the Nazi Party.

Using Limbaugh’s twisted illogic, the following symbols are dead ringers for the Nazi Party logo. Notice, for instance, the eagle head, wings spread out, turned to its right:

1. U.S. Air Force Symbol

2. Boys Scouts of America symbol

Rep. Israel, who is Jewish and founder of the Institute on the Holocaust and the Law, responded forcefully to Limbaugh’s hateful screed that Democrats, like the Nazis, were against big business, “and of course we all know they were opposed to Jewish capitalism.” Said Mr. Israel:

“I do expect my Republican colleagues to denounce his comments. The Holocaust taught us that silence in the face of evil expression becomes acquiescence to evil. And what Limbaugh said is pure evil.

Today, there are survivors of the Holocaust with tattoos stenciled on their arms who are registered Democrats. And he's treated them with vile contempt.”

As usual, Limbaugh’s statements and analogies are historical fantasies. The fact is the Nazi Party received its major private sector boost from Big Business interests and not from average voters. In this respect, the Nazi Party is a mirror image of the Republican Party, whose main constituency has traditionally been Big Business. The Nazi Party, at its zenith, was only as popular as the Republican Party, with 44% of the vote in the election of 1933.

But of course, this is where the comparisons end. Or do they?

GOP leaders from John Boehner to Mike Enzi have expressed sympathy for mob behavior in Democratic congressional town hall meetings. The GOP has been spreading the myth that the carefully orchestrated Astroturf uprisings are actually individual expressions of concern from average citizens, when in fact such thuggish behavior is driven by corporate interests and powerful lobbyists such as former Republican leader Dick Armey, with threats of violence aimed at intimidating proponents of healthcare reform -- a tactic straight out of the Nazi Party's Brown Shirts playbook.

It should be noted that the GOP’s self-described “maverick,” John McCain, is one of the few voices on the Republican side to publicly oppose mob rule in town halls:

“Town hall meetings are an American tradition -- we should allow everyone to express their views without disruption -- even if we disagree!”

How soon before the danger of escalating violence in this corporate-driven mob assault on Democratic town hall meetings -- with Republicans joking about their fellow Democrats being hung in effigy and Limbaugh spouting hatred into his mega-microphone -- turn the unruly mob into a lynch mob? At the very least, Republican Congressman Todd Akin (MO) who made this lynching joke, "different people from Washington, DC, have come back to their districts and have town hall meetings, and they almost got lynched" (LAUGHTER), should be censured by the full House.

But most important, when do Limbaugh’s violent fantasies cross the legal threshold of yelling “FIRE!” in a crowded theater? Perhaps it will take a visit from the Justice Department and the FBI for Limbaugh to dial back his hatred.

The stupid, it burns

In a conversation between Bill O'Reilly and Glenn Beck, Beck apparently said that Obama's presidency is "the worst time in the Republic."

Just checking, but worse than the Civil War, when nearly half the country left the Republic and the country almost tore itself apart? Really?

My Kenyan Birth Certificate

http://kenyanbirthcertificategenerator.com/

Laffing, redux

Obviously, the silliest thing about the Arthur Laffer quote below is the meme that Medicare and Medicaid aren't already government-run, which just show how stupid they think we are. There's a second point to pick on, though, and that's the crack at the Post Office. I know that they're an easy target, but for the most part, they're a (private) agency that takes almost any item you give them and gets it to any other address in the country, often in a couple of days, and most items cost less than 50 cents. For any company, that's remarkably time-efficient and cost-efficient. The employees may be somewhat annoying at times, and the lines don't always move quickly, but if a new health care system was that efficient, we'd all be grateful.

The DMV, though, is a different story entirely. Of course, that's state-run, not federal, so it's still a sign of idiocy.

Rachel Maddow PSA: Exposing the Scripted G-NO-P Thuggishness

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

These people are incredibly pathetic tools; do they really think that such thuggish behavior is going to pull the wool over the American people's eyes? Do they think the American people are really as stupid as they are, despicable bottom-feeding morons? Pfft.

Moneyed special interest corporate agitators are as old as this republic. So, how much is the insurance industry corporate lobby paying their storm troopers? A check would be nice. Walk-around, scream and shout money? Travel expenses from and to their survivalist bunkers? Brown bag cash? Because if they're not getting paid, boy are they ever addle-brained pathetic tools on steroids!

Thanks, Rachel, for this point-by-point exposé of the insurance industry corporate lobby, the real entity behind this faux "grass roots" scripted right wing town hall thugghishness.

Fox News => Talking Point => Town Hall Disruption => Crank Cycle

(Thanks for this, Telemann.)

AMERICA’S MOST TRUSTED NEWS ANCHOR, Jon Stewart , brilliantly exposes the “Crank Cycle:”: Faux News plants the seed, a viewer pollinates the point, and an outrage-generating ecosystem is created. View video here.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Master Rebators - The Crank Cycle
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Spinal Tap Performance

We're not Laffing with you, we're Laffing at you

Arthur Laffer, developer of the mathematically trivial and utterly meaningless Laffer Curve:

"If you like the Post Office and the Department of Motor Vehicles and you think they're run well, just wait till you see Medicare, Medicaid and health care done by the government."

How to Make a Rightie's Head Explode

Score one for the Big Dog!

North Korea's official news agency says leader Kim Jong Il has pardoned two American journalists and ordered their release following a request from former President Bill Clinton.

Not a Hall of Famer...

But still, it is Corner Time.

One of our favorite loons, Nancy J. Thorner of palatial Lake Bluff gives us this:

Why was there no mention of tort reform? The insane cost and arbitrary rewards of our malpractice system is forcing doctors to practice defensive medicine--what the Tribune calls unnecessary medical treatment--for fear of getting sued. Tort reform would yield tens of billions in savings, yet there is no mention of tort reform in any of the proposed health-care reform bills.

Umm...Nancy?

"Tort Reform" has nothing to do with bringing down medical costs. It serves only to protect insurance company profits. From the jury system to review boards to several levels of judicial scrutiny to sanctions for frivolous litigation, we have more than adequate safeguards available to ensure that malpractice recoveries are just that--appropriate recovery for damages suffered.

So Nancy.....

New G-NO-P Strategy: Send in the Thugs

The Republicans finally unveiled their strategy to enlighten the American people on alternatives (read sarcasm here) to the President’s healthcare priorities and the bills that have cleared the House and Senate: Send in the screamers to drown out debate, information, and Q&As, do everything to disrupt the healthcare town hall meetings; in short, carpet-bomb the body politic with fear and loathing.

In the kickoff August follies, the thugs crawled out of their rocks and bunkers to assault healthcare town halls from Texas to Pennsylvania, trying to drown out questions and debate from solid majorities of attendees with legitimate concerns. At a Texas town hall for Rep. Lloyd Doggett, the G-NO-P storm troopers screamed the oh-so-original Nancy Reagan Republican solution to drugs, sex, and [everything else except tax cuts and military spending]: “just say no!”

Irony of ironies, these know-nothing thugs conceded their only point: Texas has the highest uninsured rate in the nation. But in their whacky wingnut world, the uninsured are the undocumented like, well … President Obama. Rep. Doggett said the thugs were outsiders summoned by Texas Republicans and the familiar corporate lobby Tea Bag networks now working for the "health"-for-obscene-profits industry with orders not to participate, but to scream and disrupt. According to a leaked memo, the thugs were urged to “yell,” “stand up and shout,” and “rattle” the members.

At a town hall meeting in Pennsylvania featuring the classy HHS Secretary Kathleen Sibelius and Senator Arlen Specter, about 40 thugs put this strategy to the test. They lined the aisles trying to drown out questions from the 400 persons who had come to participate in the healthcare debate with shouts of “abortion,” “socialism,” “rationing,” the usual ignorant rants from those who didn’t take the time to educate themselves on what’s in the legislation.

The HHS Secretary and the Senator navigated through the disruption and answered all questions. In this crazed incarnation of a G-NO-P led by right wing radio nuts, slogans and screams replace ideas and debate.

One sign read: "Go Home, ACORN." Huh ...? Bring it on, know-nothings.

Soylent Republicans

So now the Republicans have sunk to scaring seniors by threatening them with euthanasia. Seriously. An innocuous Medicare provision that lets the program PAY for seniors to discuss end of life issues with professionals is now...The president's health care plan...is PEOPLE!!!

Dear Mr. President:

In watching your recent town hall meetings on healthcare, it seems to me that you're losing the pro-healthcare reform message to the forces arrayed against it -- significantly the insurance industry, with its $1.4 million daily investment aimed at spreading fear and misinformation among vulnerable populations, such as our seniors.

I wish you'd hone your message. For example, why haven't you mentioned the waste, fraud, and abuse of the insurance industry? Twenty cents out of every dollar is spent by insurers on non-healthcare delivery; lining the pockets of CEOs and shareholders, and on advertising to defeat your plan. The other day you were at AARP. Their Medicare supplement is insured by UnitedHealth Group, which posted a 155% profit and had agreed to a $400 million settlement with the AMA and New York Attorney General for defrauding its customers over a period of years. The Lewin Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of UnitedHealth, has been dishing out misleading statistics in talking points to Republicans in the House and Senate, including Senator Grassley, slamming your public option.

The White House response: crickets.

Sure, you've spoken of the public option in town halls, but not once have you specifically pushed back against your opposition: the health insurance industry and Congressional Republicans. Why?

Rather than giving Congress a clear direction on your priorities, drawing a line in the sand, you have allowed the tail to wag the dog. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus is prancing around the Senate halls like a Maharajah with his loyal sidekick, Republican Senator Chuck Grassley. Their closed door meetings of the so-called Group of Six have resulted in the evisceration of key Democratic provisions and priorities of yours, most notably the public option. All of this to peel off two or three Republican votes so that it can be called bipartisan?

With all due respect, Mr. President, we didn't vote for change, we didn't hand you huge majorities in the House, and a filibuster-proof 60 votes in the Senate, to have the fate of meaningful healthcare reform for all Americans decided, or rather destroyed, by Senator Chuck Grassley, who is a shill for the insurance industry.

I'm among a growing number of Democrats who are outraged by Senator Baucus's capitulation. We believe Senator Baucus should be divested of his chairmanship. Senator Rockefeller favors this as well. We hear of all the hard work the Senator is putting into this effort, the long hours. The problem is, he's not working on behalf of the American people; he's working for the insurance industry. Are we really to believe it makes no difference that Senator Baucus is the second highest recipient of insurance industry campaign donations, behind Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell?

The other day I saw a photo of the Group of Six: Senators Baucus, Grassley, and Snowe were chortling, while the Democrats around the table looked grim. This was in the wake of the news the Group will slash the public option and other Democratic priorities. Not surprisingly, Aetna stock rose 12% on this expectation. One observer noted that insurance industry CEOs would be exchanging high fives in their corporate boardrooms.

I know you're a student of history, Mr. President, and if I could suggest a role model in this fight, it would be Bobby Kennedy. One reason that Bobby could bridge the great divides in American society, communicating as easily with inner-city blacks and latinos as with white conservative hardhats and rural voters is that he didn't pander to any of these groups. He told it to them straight, he didn't back down, and he couched his message in clear moral terms. When he said something was unacceptable, people knew he meant it.

We're losing this fight, Mr. President. If you don't push back against the powerful anti-reform forces, we will not get meaningful healthcare reform for all Americans. Honestly, I'm tired of hearing of the $80 billion the pharmaceuticals pledged to "give back" to us. They're not philanthropies. They stand to reap windfall profits (as do the private insurers) from a $1 trillion healthcare reform package without a public option that can negotiate down prescription drug prices and ensure competition.

In getting out your message, Mr. President, my advice is to take a page from Ronald Reagan's playbook. One thing he did to great effect communicating to the American people was to personalize his message. When you mention the "heartbreaking" letters you receive from people with life-altering health crises, rather than speak of them generically, I wish you would read some of these letters in your speeches. The American people relate well to personalized accounts that humanize the issue.

We can still win, Mr. President, and you have our support. But we need you to hone your message, to be more specific about the reforms and the opposition's lies, to be more like Bobby.

Sincerely,

Carlos

Now that Walter Cronkite Cronkite has left us …

Why is a comedian rated America’s most trusted newscaster?



This is why:


Congratulations, Jon, for bringing us news we can believe in with a Cronkite (liberal) bias, and … humor. Unlike the phony meme black T-shirt/blue flak jacket (to match his eyes) AC360 franchise, Jon Stewart wears his heart on his sleeve. Lesson learned, Coop?

While we're in the file cabinet...

This one is from the "Things You Can't Make Up" file.

Apparently suffering from irony deficiency, Sen. David Vitter (R-La) said in response to charges by Sen. Voinovich (R-Oh) that southern conservatives were dragging the GOP down that "I'm on the side of conservatives getting back to core conservative values...there are a lot of us from the South who hold those values, which I think the party is supposed to be about. We strayed from them in the past few years, and that's why we performed so badly in the national elections."

Really, Dave? And how does paying, umm, "professional" women to dress you in diapers fit in with those "values?"

From the "Well Duh" File

So Jefferson Beauregard Sessions, pictured below



is going to vote against Judge Sotomayor. I'm shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here!

Sorry, haven't been around much. I've been very busy lately, working hard to help the people of Alaska.

BIRTHER CONGRESSIONAL LIST - FIRST INSTALLMENT

Submitted as a public service to promote good government, here is an incomplete list of "Birther" Republican Congresspersons, who are on record as subscribing to the wingnut conspiracy theory that President Obama is not a natural-born citizen. Please share this information with the voters from their respective districts who will have the last word on whether these nutjobs win re-election. Hey, there are some nice 30 second TV and radio spots here for their opponents, too!

In fairness, Rep. Trent Franks deserves our respect for answering a simple question directly, honestly, and correctly, regardless of his ultra-conservative views.


REP. CATHY McMORRIS RODGERS (R-WA)
REP. CHARLES BOUSTANY (R-LA)
REP. TIM MURTHY (R-PA)
REP. AARON SCHOCK (R-IL) WISHY WASHY!
REP. DAVE REICHERT (R-WA)
REP. TOM “ROCKY”/”CHARIOTS OF FIRE” PRICE (R-GA)
REP. THADDEUS McCOTTER (R-MI) WEAK DODGE!
REP. JEFF FORTENBERRY (R-NE)
REP. GREG HARPER (R-MS)



REP. TRENT FRANKS (R-AZ) YAY! WE FOUND AN HONEST RIGHT WINGER!!!

What’s Wrong with this Picture?

After the President said that the Cambridge police Department had acted “stupidly” in arresting distinguished Harvard professor Louis Gates in his own home, he made more conciliatory statements today that both the white police seargent and professor Gates had “overreacted.” The President is correct, politically, in dialing this back.

But here’s what I don’t get. Did anyone see the Massachusetts police unions press conference today? (See picture below.) I happen to think the picture is at variance with the AP story lead on this, by Bob Salsberg, which was widely distributed in the mainstream media:

“CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — A multiracial group of police officers today stood with the white officer who arrested a prominent black Harvard scholar and asked President Barack Obama and Gov. Deval Patrick to apologize for comments the union leaders called insulting.”

“Multiracial group of police officers” –– really?


When the camera pans out to include the entire group, there are a whole lot of ethnic white middle-aged men (sorry, but these guys come across as Archie Bunkers to me) with two African American men and two women that I could see –– tokenism at its best. One of the women was hidden behind a wall of plump beer-and-donuts white guys, and the other was a P.R. step ‘n fetchit responsible for tapping microphones and making sure everyone exited stage right. None of the black officers or women onstage spoke or were introduced as leaders in their organizations.

Is it me, or was this lineup of Massachusetts' finest long on obesity and white ethnic homogeneity and short on diversity and promotional opportunities for women and minorities?

Chris Matthews (mixed feelings about this guy) made an awful analogy, when he said had it been a black police officer and the “GREAT” white Henry Kissinger who was arrested in his home, the black officer would have gotten all kinds of grief for treating such a “distinguished” academic in this way.

Not from me, he wouldn’t. My hope is, the black officer would be arresting Kissinger on an order of extradition to a ballsy country, like Spain, or to the World Court at the Hague, which the Obama Administration had rejoined as signatory, to be tried for war crimes.

The black officer might not get an invite to the White House for a beer with the President, but he wouldn’t lack for invitations from those of us who believe no one is above the law.

The Dumbass Hall of Fame

Our newest inductee of this special and elite section of the corner is Peter J. Riga of Houston, Texas. In an inspiring work of pure genius appearing in today's Chicago Tribune, our newest Hall of Famer pens that

History is both revealing and obscuring. Walter Cronkite was a superb TV anchorman--calm, collected and intelligent. The one time he deviated from his position was a disaster. When he came back from Vietnam and told the American people that Vietnam was a stalemate that we could not win, that was a turning point of public opinion. Even then-President Lyndon Johnson said that view from Cronkite lost America the conflict in Vietnam. That was precisely when we were on the verge of victory in Vietnam and Cronkite turned public opinion massively against the war, which then became unsustainable for the president. In other words, Cronkite was indirectly responsible for our defeat in Vietnam, which history will show.

Mr. Riga, I have little to add to your perceptive grasp of history except to point out the obvious, that you are a pathetic and delusional little man.

And oh, by the way...

,

Those Obamas were clever birth conspirators

Imagine the depth of the conspracy, when the Honolulu papers printed the phony birth announcement!!

Matthews Exposes Whacko Birther Wingnuts

I'm not a big Chris Matthews fan, but every so often he's pitch perfect, as in this instance:



Anyone up for the circus, free of charge? Look up your local Repugnant town hall meeting and show up incognito, which means dressing like Joe the Plumber with an American flag in each hand. Be sure to bring a copy of President Obama's birth certificate. When the Birthers disrupt the meeting screaming that Obama is not a citizen, stand up and demand to be heard by waving your American flags. As soon as the dumbass Birthers cede you the microphone, proceed to mock them by producing the President's birth certificate and reading its contents aloud. Then call for all red-blooded Americans to stand up and recite the Pledge of Allegiance while you make your getaway.

One more thing. Today, Lou Dobbs of CNN -- aka Faux News Lite -- picked up on this garbage, venting his ill-concealed racism by calling President Obama "undocumented."