the Big Mattress - Freeform Interactive Radio on the Net

I don't remember the lead up cuz I was only 5, but I remember the day. These teabaggers are out of their minds. And to think 8 years ago they were calling war protesters "sore losers". All of a sudden it's okay to protest taxes on the rich. Why aren't you doing that, Charles? Ummm, perhaps you have a conscience?
According to these morons, there is something wrong with trying get along with the rest of the world.
If what you're thinking does happen, we might as well bend over backwards and kiss our asses goodbye.

I spent part of the morning worrying about what will happen with the rabid Right Wing as well. It all started when I read an opinion piece in Saturday's Herald by Jay Ambrose, linked http://is.gd/teq3. I couldn't tell what the guy's stance was at first but then got to the line: "The Denver tea party was mostly a grassroots, Internet-coordinated occurrence like some 730 others that took place across the country." Of course these tea baggers were worked up to a froth by a well oiled conservative machine and aided by Fox coverage. NECN, which I respect very much, even did a non-biased piece on it but unfortunately they didn't get into the backers' money and resources input. I re-read the Herald column and then it hit me, end of the third paragraph: "Anyone still suspecting President Barack Obama was the day’s hero need only have glanced at this message: 'Hail to the thief.'"

So, I started doing a little checking on this guy Jay Ambrose. Who is he, I don't remember reading him, there is no photo, etc. His contact info at the end, rather than something like "Jay Ambrose is Senior Professor of Economics at Kansas University" was in fact "Talk back at SpeaktoJay@aol.com". Another red flag. So, I find out he is a "contributing columnist" for something called the Independence Institute, which is a front for heavy right rabble rousing by the Coors family. See http://is.gd/texR. They along with Dick Armey's FreedomWorks and Michelle Malkin, who defended Japanese Internment and is a fervent radical conservative (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelle_Malkin) have been pushing the Tea Party since the election. I am now going to let you form your own opinion about the rest of my research, in part because it is getting late. Here are some important links:

Jane Hamsher: A Teabagger Timeline: Koch, Coors, Newt, Dick Armey There From The Start
http://tinyurl.com/cqnzeo

Open Left:: Popular Movements Are Not Funded By Billionaires and Oil Companies
http://tinyurl.com/ddcx52

Media Transparency: Recipient Grants: Independence Institute
http://tinyurl.com/djrngb

Take a look at this guy:
http://tinyurl.com/5laokm
Apparently he is one of the Twitter Idiots, but not Eric Odom. From the underlying HTML, the grinning gingrichite is from Freedoms Watch, a Bush young guns group.

So there is the smart bright smiling conservative. And all the money goes out to help him convince us to stop the insane tax crazy "thief" we blindly support, President Obama. But in fact I would guess that, unlike the rather wealthy Joe the Plumber, most of the attendees at these rallies will actually benefit from Obama's policy to reverse the unfair cuts given to the top five percent. Yet they lump us and Obama with criminals - a thief! Only a true insane conservative could come up with that one. But it reinforces your point about worrying about the President; if enough people fall for that lie and Obama can be equated with a criminal, and vigilantism and "Dog the Bounty Hunter" self appointed do-gooders believe that crap, it could get very bad. I am getting exhausted at this point, but you know that this crowd of ultra-rich, ultra-conservative maniacs exists and the main thing that trickles down is hate and fear. The quote I often go back to is "Taxes are what we pay for a civilized society" by Oliver Wendell Holmes.

During the election, a friend who is inclined to be depressed about a lot of this sent me a video you may have seen: http://tinyurl.com/58e4ty when my wife and I saw that one, we hit this sort of "death denial" phase and speculated that they were actors, but no- the whole thing is very real!

I sent back this, which captures some of the hope right before the election but also includes a woman saying "Obama wants America to die." The next interviewee with the beard is dead nuts on. http://tinyurl.com/595k6w

Peace, Charles, I have to head to bed. You are part of the solution, you keep us all on our toes with your concerns and your blog. The best we can do for now is keep pushing the truth.

democracynow.org is the answer :-)

It's soo cute watching all of the little sheeple clambering over each other to pay homage to the great one.

I did not live through it but I have read about the rise to power of a certain leader in the 30’s. People swooned over his every word, they followed him in lock step, he pulled them out of a recession, he slowly nationalized industry, his face and words were everywhere, the news outlets spread his propaganda with undoubting loyalty, those who opposed him were chastised and eventually crushed, and a new world power had emerged.

I have patiently watched this buffoon and his cast of ingrates, morons, liars, thieves, and ethically challenged hypocrites screw up time and again since his coronation

Go ahead and criticize me, ridicule me, try to humiliate me – it’s what you people do best. But I will not go away nor will I be silenced. This country was founded on rebellion from an oppressive government. MY forefathers risked their lives to stand up to tyranny and they were not called “teabaggers” (in your face), they were not labeled as “anti-government”, the media did not dismiss them as “not family oriented” – it’s because of them that you have the right to your media based opinion and I have the right to mine.

You spent 8 years criticizing George Bush for every word and action. And now I am supposed to sit down and shut up while these clowns destroy this country. You can kiss my ass.

Well said, Rich. Even though the post was only sharing a fear of the exteme hatred and dangers of the type of rage and dissent currently on the Net, and the intensity and caliber of some of those hateful and threatening remarks. You chose to see this post as a desire to limit dissent in general. No one reading it and clicking all the links would take that interpretation) but you did- ( and with a rage which gives credence to the author's main point ).
So, if America's fear of losing Obama to an assassination (God forbid), does result from all of this extreme
over-the-top hatred, you can feel good. You can be the first one to stand up and applaud the curtain call of '63.
Again- It isn't about dissent and disagreement- it's about something a bit more dangerous and sinister. This is not paranoia. It is the reality of how some humans act when they lose the vote, their voice and their power.
Now- speaking of what you call, “clamoring sheeple-” get back in line with your flock of November loser whiners- and wait until your time comes again. The way things are heading- it shouldn't be long; you have all the guns and all the crazies.

I just want to briefly thank Steve S for his research and Almond Joy for reasoning against hysteria.

I'm always perplexed at how political change always lapses into diatribe.
We can have two or three or more political parties but we only are one nation, indivisible. The right and the left often forget this. The claims perceiving "Nationalism" is purely tilted rhetoric borne of disaffection.
This disaffection is an emotional reaction,
as we all are human. And so, humans are emotional beasts. I only hope that that folks with such passionate reactions can sit down and remember that America is ONE nation, and we must always strive to prove that democracy isn't about one side or the other. It's about finding that balance- for the good of all- not just me, or you, or just America either.

Not sheeples, "rich". If you read what I wrote, you would see that I was being sarcastic about the concept of Obama voters like myself "blindly supporting" him. And, you appear to take offense at the term "tea baggers", defending your "forefathers" against such a name. Well, it was used pretty broadly in the days around 4-15-2009, including here http://is.gd/tH2V by Fox Business.

I never said you should sit down and shut up, far from it. What I am saying in support of Charles' post is that there is a hidden hand behind the protests that plays on the fears of people who didn't vote for Obama. That hand is the same one that shifted a vast amount of income and wealth to the top five percent during the past administrations, while ignoring ballooning deficits and regulations that could have reined in Wall Street. They wouldn't want most of the Tea Party participants at their daughter's wedding, but they'll sure let them take a day off to help them demand their tax cuts back.

George W. Bush, like a Connecticut Yankee in redneck clothing, sickened a lot of voters after declaring "Mission Accomplished" in the months following with his twangy peeved tough guy act, and that helped Obama win. It was easy for millions to criticize Bush-Cheney and McCain-Palin for their intransigence and fear mongering, and we voted with much more open minds than the New Hampshire woman who declared "Obama wants America to die" in the video I linked. Her statement was exemplary of many of the hate filled lies told by placards and loud voices at the Tea Party rallies, and what the atmosphere created by that activity can foster among the less stable among us is what is dangerous. It's dangerous for everyone because it only adds to the stresses of an already extraordinarily difficult time.

America IS one nation, but the divisiveness and shrill protests at these events was promoted by people with vast wealth attempting to play to the fears and use the voices of people with far less means, all the time through disinformation. They hid behind the concept of "grass roots" organization while using professional supporters like Jay Ambrose and the money of men like the Coors family. Just watch the video of Dick Armey calling an intelligent argument against his statements "prattle" at this link: http://is.gd/hCiC. "Prattle" means meaningless babble, so you tell me who's trying to tell who to "sit down and shut up."

The corporate owned broadcast media...radio and tv alike, are the best venues for manipulating public opinion. They always have been, and the right wingnuts know this.

Please watch this video commentary to understand the real enemy out there...and it's not a political party:

http://tvnewslies.org/tvnl/index.php/editorial/jesse-richards-commentary/7919-video-americas-worst-enemy-the-mainstream-media-an-explanation-a-challenge-a-a-solution.html

I also remember that day in Dallas. I was a seventh-grader living in Boston. I do not remember billboards, talk-show radio hosts, or ads in the paper railing against him. I remember southern racists. I have since learned about fuming wiseguys, who were more upset with his brother than him. And yes, it was Boston, the main suburb of Camelot. But Chet and David and Uncle Walter loved him. And in the end, it was one lunatic who ruined the fairytale, and made life dirty and gritty. It was not the right wing, nor Jimmy Hoffa and the unions, nor the goombas, nor the Russians, or anyone else - just one nut with a gun. Security today is much better - no more open limos, for example. I did not vote for him, but I certainly don't want him to fail. If he does, where does that leave me and mine?

Congratulations, DaPlumba!
You are one of the 11 people (who remember the Kennedy assassination) who bought into the Warren Commission cover-up theory that Oswald acted alone.

And you KNOW that Sam Giancana, Fidel, Hoffa, Hoover, and LBJ were plotting, and used mind control so that both Oswald and Ruby would truly believe they were on their own.

Now tell me the one about the three bears.

#1: Oswald never believed or said that he acted on his own. He loudly complained that he was a “patsy” from the very beginning.
#2: You were in the seventh grade at the time.
There were many others a lot older and a lot more inquisitive who actually followed the issues very closely- who were much more informed than you. Just because they didn't buy into the Warren report doesn't make them ”fairy tale conspiracy“ nuts. Go listen to Frank Zappa's song, ”It Can't Happen Here“ and know that it can- and maybe really did..
and could happen again.
That's all chuck is saying.

It's time to move on to color blind and that's all good, but let's skip the BS that he's black.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuEc-nFULY8

ellen, that youtube link is a scream! "Her name is Ms. Ann!"