DAR
A rightwing friend responds, and my response:
***
-- On Tue, 10/21/08, Bill wrote:
BILL
> You have made a good point.
DAR
That is a good point isn't it? Bill O'Reilly is a liar. If the claims and refuting facts were the same and were made by Keith Olbermann I would be just as disgusted with the dishonesty.
BILL
> But at least he DOES give
> liberals a chance on
> his show, which is more than some do.
DAR
Actually, it's worth noting that the even the "democrats" in the list are only marginally democrats at best. No one would consider any of them liberals.
1) Juan Williams is a regular FOX bobble head and only marginally a democrat, that is to say, if you listen to him speak you wouldn't necessarily know it. In fact, it may just be a front. He isn't as extreme as the overtly right-wing bobble heads on the show with him but this hardly makes him in any sense a liberal democrat.
2) Jerry Brown used to be quite liberal decades ago but he has moved far to the right and is now only marginally a democrat at best.
3) Gerado also, except perhaps on immigration issues, is only marginally a democrat. I did a little checking and on his wiki page and home page and could find nothing implying he is a democrat.
But your statement just says something about the conservative mindset and the disdain for listening to alternate viewpoints. I listen to all kinds of shows on my TV and my satellite radio. On the liberal side, thanks to satellite radio I can now get Ed Schultz, Thom Hartmann, Alex Bennet, Rachael Maddow and Mark Thompson. They all regularly have all persuasions and opposing opinions on their shows. I don't even know of a show that doesn't, except for blowhard wimps like Limbaugh.
BILL
> It is true that in
> talk radio and on
> Fox network, the conservatives have a foothold.
DAR
Do you know what the word foothold means?
foothold
noun
1. an area in hostile territory that has been captured and is held awaiting further troops and supplies; "an attempt to secure a bridgehead behind enemy lines"; "the only foothold left for British troops in Europe was Gibraltar" [syn: bridgehead]
Here is the reality:
"In the spring of 2007, of the 257 news/talk stations owned by the top five commercial station owners, 91 percent of the total weekday talk radio programming was conservative, and only 9 percent was progressive."
http://thinkprogress.org/2007/06/20/radio-report/
Fat-cat republicans have bought the radio stations and use them as a propaganda tool to program the docile and ignorant population. And it works. Conservatives don't have a "foothold" in talk radio, they have 91% of it. That's not a foothold.
You say conservatives have a "foothold" on the Fox network? No, the conservatives, neo-cons, republicans have enjoyed having their very own network on Fox. Top to bottom. Other networks have a variety of shows and then also have exclusive rightwing nutbars who have their own shows, i.e. Glen Beck (CNN) and Lou Dobbs (CNN). Only Fox is all right-wing all the time. And we have just seen how their "independent" stacks his show and then lies about it.
BILL
But that
> doesn't even
> compare to the number of TV, newspapers, magazines, etc.
> that are openly
> favoring the left.
DAR
This hasn't been true in the past and I have roasted it, but it may be becoming true now. Bush and the whole conservative movement has so completely crapped the bed that it is becoming overwhelming obvious to everyone. It can only be denied so much. The nation is now "openly favoring the left." It happens.
Regarding the past, here are the stats for newspaper endorsements in 2000.
In 2000:
▲ 41 newspapers endorsed Al Gore.
▲ 37 newspapers endorsed George W. Bush.
▲ 20 newspapers endorsed no one.
BILL
> You have probably heard about the exchange between Obama
> and Joe the
> plumber.
DAR
But of course.
BILL
When Joe complained about Obama's tax plans,...
DAR
His complaint was based upon ignorance and lies. Joe the "Plumber," who has trouble paying his taxes as it is, does better under Obama's tax proposal. Period. So if Joe complains about Obama's tax plans he is either ignorant or lying.
Here is what Joe the Liar said, according to the transcript of the recording:
"I’m getting ready to buy a company that makes $250,000 to $280,000 a year. Your new tax plan is going to tax me more, isn’t it?"
A few facts:
He wasn't getting ready to buy the company because it wasn't for sale (and he doesn't remotely have the money) and it didn't make nearly that much money, and if it did, it wouldn't have been affected by Obama's plan. How high does someone get to stack the lies before his credibility is destroyed? That's high enough for me. But it gets better. Consider:
MSNBC reported that "Ohio business records show the company’s estimated total annual revenue as only $100,000. Actual taxable income would be even less than that."[24] According to Bloomberg News, IF Wurzelbacher bought the company and IF it did have the earnings he described, by the time he took proper business deductions, he would be left with between $150,000 and $200,000 in taxable income and wouldn't be affected by Obama's proposed increase in the top rates.[25]
--
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_plumber
BILL
> Obama said,
> (paraphrase) "I am not against your success, but we
> need to "spread the
> wealth around." Is that not an open admission that he
> is a Socialist?
DAR
No, it is not an open admission that he is a socialist. America has had a progressive taxation system since 1910. If you make more, you pay a higher percentage. It has nothing to do with socialism and to suggest it does is an insult to those who understand what the word means.
Incidentally, I took a little break from writing this to watch my Daily Show and he played a wonderful clip from John McCain (Campaign 2000) explaining to a young girl at a town hall meeting why her father, who is a doctor, paid taxes at a higher rate. The girl said this seemed like socialism. John McCain set the girl straight by saying the same thing I just said above. When you make more, you can afford to pay a higher rate. I can find the clip and send it along if you are interested. It was good stuff.
But none of this applies to Joe the lying plumber since he doesn't even remotely have a taxable income of $250,000. The irony is that under Obama's plan he would receive a larger tax cut than he would under McCain's plan and would be further along in his dream of buying a business and making more money.
BILL
He is
> for "wealth distribution." Take from those who
> have, and give to those who
> have not. Tell me if I have missed something.
DAR
A progressive tax system is not wealth distribution or socialism, so says John McCain. Tell me if I have missed something.
D.
------------------------------
From Olbermann tonight:
***
So tonight, as promised, a Campaign Comment on the continuing adventures of Governor Sarah Palin in the big leagues...
Or... "Are You Smarter Than A Third Grader."
Q: Finally governor we've been trying to engage some local grade schoolers for the last few elections. We do a feature called 'questions from the third grade.' Brandon Garcia wants to know, "What does the Vice President do?"
PALIN: Aw, that's something that Piper would ask me, as a second grader, also. That's a great question, Brandon, and a Vice President has a really great job, because not only are they there to support the President agenda, they're like a team member, the team mate to that President. But also, they're in charge of the United States Senate, so if they want to they can really get in there with the Senators and make a lot of good policy changes that will make life better for Brandon and his family and his classroom. And it's a great job and I look forward to having that job.
OLBERMANN:
Oh! I'm so sorry, Governor!
The correct answer can be found in the Constitution of the United States...
Article One, Section Three: "The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided."
So, the Vice President is not in charge of Jack, Governor, let alone in charge of the Senate.
And you are not smarter than a Third Grader."
--
http://crooksandliars.com/nicole-belle/ ... ov-palin-a
