I wrote three
mini-rants and felt they were too small on their own, so I stuck them all
together and posted them as a triple-rant.
The first is about
the small-minded FOX "News" misinformation-fueled Christian assholes hypocritically protesting the Islamic
community center proposed for construction in lower Manhattan.
The second is about
“Fair and Balanced” Rupert Murdoch.
The third is about
tax cuts for the rich and the lie that wealth trickles down.
Enjoy…
8/23/10
Mini-Rant 1: Córdoba House
For those of you
who get your “information” from Fox “News,” I would like to clear a few things
up about the “Ground Zero Mosque” controversy. As always, I do not expect facts
to get in the way of your partisan-fueled ignorance, hatred and fear.
1. It is not located
at Ground Zero, but two blocks away in a Burlington Coat Factory, which has
been abandoned since 9/11. The area surrounding the site has also been a
largely abandoned area for blocks since 9/11. Hopefully, this will spur
re-growth in the area.
2. It is not a
mosque, but an Islamic community center, which will include a 500-seat
auditorium, theater, performing arts center, fitness center, swimming pool,
basketball court, childcare area, bookstore, culinary school, art studio, food
court, September 11th memorial, and prayer space.
3. Imam Faisal
Abdul Rauf, the man behind the community center, was a long time Bush
administration collaborator, working to bring peace in the Middle East. And
between the U.S. and the Middle East. Suddenly, under the black, Democratic
president’s administration, he’s a terrorist?
4. There is an
actual mosque four blocks away from ground zero, which has been in service
since 1970. No one is protesting it. I do not know where the other 99 mosques
in NYC are, but no one has been protesting them, either (99 is not an arbitrary
number. There are 100 Mosques in NYC.).
5. If you think
this will be used as a terrorist recruitment/training center, then you are all
kinds of fucking stupid. I couldn’t even begin to explain in which all the ways
you are stupid. Go back to Kindergarten, start life over. Try and get some
semblance of an education.
6. Córdoba House. A
big, fatty, fat lie being bandied about on Fox “News” is that Muslims build
mosques on conquered sites and have done so throughout history. They cite as an
example the conquest of Córdoba, Spain by Muslims in 711CE. This example is
absolutely true and indicative of how Fox “News” ALWAYS does their reporting.
They give just enough information to get their partisan, right-wing,
fear-mongering narrative across, but don’t tell you all the facts - which makes
up “truth.” Córdoba was first a Carthaginian settlement, then conquered by the
Romans in 206BCE, then by Muslims in 711CE, which passed through several
different factions of the Muslim faith, then conquered on June 29, 1236 by King
Ferdinand III of Castile, during the Spanish Reconquista. Today, it is known as
the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption. They cite this one time a church
was converted into a mosque as all their proof that it was done so throughout
history. One time does not a pattern make. They conveniently forget to mention
all the times it was conquered by other factions and that right now, at this
very moment, it is a church – because these facts don’t fit their partisan, right-wing, fear-mongering
narrative. Hey, I wonder how many Native American settlements have been paved over
with the concrete and steel of U.S. cities? Hypocrite much? Imam Faisal Abdul Rauf wanted to call it
Córdoba House to invoke 8th–11th century Córdoba, which they call a model of
peaceful coexistence between Muslims, Christians, and Jews. Of course, due to
fake outrage fueled by Fox “News” and Republicans jockeying for donations and
votes, the center will now be called Park51.
I have to admit,
that’s a cool name, though.
7. Those who defend
the Constitution most vehemently are also the ones quickest to pick and choose
how and when to follow what parts of it they agree with and demand change of
what they don’t like. Amendment 1 - Freedom of
Religion, Press, Expression. Ratified 12/15/1791. Congress shall make no law
respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise
thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of
the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress
of grievances. Except
Muslims? Muslims and Mexicans are the new “Black Fear,” again, designed to push
the buttons of the ignorant to get donations and votes. And don’t even goddamn
fucking start me on them trying to change the 14th Amendment. Which
will never happen
(example: the 27th Amendment, passed in 1992 was first proposed in 1789
and sat in governmental
limbo for 203 years). Anchor Babies. Right, assholes. AGAIN, a fake
fear-mongered outrage designed to get donations & votes.
The Plan: Have baby in America, wait 21 years, come back to America,
magically become legal just because child is legal, work until retirement age
(which will be 70 if Republicans have their way) and reap the benefits of a
well-designed plan to collect social security! Mwa-hahahaha! Fucking stupid
assholes.
8. Here’s a newy
but a goody - Fox “News” reports, truthfully, that Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin
Talal is donating to the construction of the community center, and has also
helped fund many of Imam Faisal Abdul Rauf’s projects worldwide. However, Fox
“News” also claims Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal is linked to the funding of
the terrorist group, Hamas and Iran.
“Terrorist” Saudi
Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal is the second largest shareholder of News Corp., the parent company of Fox
“News” - second only to Rupert Murdoch. Yes, the punch-line is that Fox “News”
claims Fox “News” is funding terrorism. I guess they are fair and balanced after all. When this
stupidity was told to FOX “News” personalities - since they don’t seem to
be able to do any real investigative work and stopped at the Arab man’s name
before blindly claiming he is a terrorist just to pander to their moronic audience - the reports mysteriously vanished.
Much like when it was determined that FOX’s hero, James O’Keefe, a guest on
every FOX show for a month straight, edited his exposé on ACORN to the point
that it was 100% completely false. James O’Who? Never heard of him.
9. Question: If you wish to
condemn an entire faith because of a group of twisted fucks within that faith,
then what faith would be exempt? Answer: none. The third largest massacre on
American soil (behind 9/11 & Pearl Harbor) was perpetrated single-handedly
by a white, Christian, American male. Unless for some reason you think Timothy
McVeigh doesn't count.
10. And why are our
soldiers fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq FOR the civil rights of Muslims while we're
here in America fighting AGAINST the civil rights of Muslims? Do you hate American soldiers?
Republicans would
do better to concentrate on actual problems in this country like the half-assed
job President Obama is doing on jobs, economy, health care and financial
reform. Except all of Obama’s plans are just the Republican plans watered down
and the Republicans don’t have any other plans for any of that stuff at all.
Except the perennial “tax cuts for the rich” idea, which is the ONLY idea they
ALWAYS have for EVERYTHING. But we’ll get to that later. So, instead they play
to the prejudices and fears of their uneducated base - the Tea Baggers. The
problem with this tactic is that the Nut Suckers just aren’t that big of a
group to win them elections. The GOP believes the media, which has been under
the entertainment division of television for decades and requires ratings to
stay afloat. So, in order to maintain high ratings, news media continually
shows crazy people in strange outfits carrying hilariously ignorant signs
around to get you to watch. Take Sarah Palin. On TV a lot, but she’s nothing
more than good, mindless entertainment with great breasts and a voice like a
red alert klaxon. She quit the governorship in order to Tweet policy ideas like
“Don’t retreat, reload.” Now, that’s entertainment you can’t ‘refudiate.’
Pandering to a small, yet extremely loud base and at the same time alienating
large voter blocks like Hispanics and the unemployed (filibustering
unemployment benefits. Really? Fucking assholes.) will not win the GOP any
elections.
About the tiny
amount of Teabaggers not being able to win them any elections - I did not take
into account the power of militant racism and lies and fear-mongering that holds the
Republican Party together.
Mini-Rant 2: Rupert Murdoch
Just because you chose “Fair and Balanced” as your slogan, doesn’t mean
it’s true.
Rupert Murdoch, owner, operator of Fox “News” Corporation, has donated
$1million (largest donation ever) to the Republican Governors Association. Fox
“News” has also sponsored and financed right-wing extremist Tea Bagger rallies.
When you blatently support one party, you may not claim to be fair and
balanced. Fox “News” responded to accusations of partisanship by claiming the
donation has no impact on the reporting of “news.” Really. And I believe you
because I’m a fucking idiot. General Electric, owner of MSNBC, donated
$105thousand to the Democrat party this year. I guess the same partisan
favoritism can also be said of the left-wing media station. At least that’s how
Fox “News” would report it. The whole truth is that GE also donated
$105thousand to the Republican party this year, as well. The true definition of
fair and balanced. The other day, I was pointing out to a neighbor that I
belonged to no political party, which leaves me free to formulate my own
opinions instead of blindly following
a party agenda. I was accused of being in the Independent Party. No. No party.
Independents, just like Dems and GOP have a party line you need to blindly
follow in order to stay in that party. I am free to be me. He said he wasn’t a
member of any party, either - but will never vote for anyone but Republicans.
That seemed very similar to the Fox “News” narrative to me (also the only
“news” channel he watches). Not fair. Not balanced. He also believes Obama is a
Muslim and wasn’t born in the USA. I could turn that moronic belief into a
giant Rant on just how completely fucking stupid you have to be to ignore all
the facts to the contrary, but I won’t. For now…
I certainly do later, though.
Mini-Rant 3: Trickle-Down Magic
Tax cuts for the rich do not create jobs. In fact, they contribute to job
loss.
Everybody hates paying taxes. That’s what makes pandering to the tax-hating
crowd easy. “Do you hate taxes? I’ll get rid of them! Vote for me!” The problem
with that is that cutting taxes causes deficit. It is a program that does not
pay for itself. People argue that less taxes paid to the government equals more
taxes in your pocket. You have to have a misunderstanding of basic financing if
this is what you believe. If taxes are cut, that means: less money for
roads/less jobs; less money for schools/less jobs; less money for
libraries/less jobs; less money for police/less jobs; less money for fire
department/less jobs; less money for public transportation/less jobs; less
money for national parks/less jobs; less money for social security/more money
out of your pocket; less money for Medicare/more money out of your pocket.
(Yes, these are all socialist government programs. Like it or not, we have
always been a combination socialist/capitalist country. A purely capitalist
society wouldn’t work. All those jobs I just listed would be insanely
expensive, like health insurance. Imagine if you had to pay health insurance
prices for all those functions of society, on top of everything else.) Not to
mention all the jobs connected to those jobs. There would be less lunch food,
paper, electricity, crayons, etc purchased by schools. Less concrete, tires,
gas, etc purchased by the DOT. Less bullets, coffee, doughnuts, etc purchased
by police. And on and on. In 2001, the Bush tax cuts (passed by the heinously
evil reconciliation – well, only when Democrats use it) caused a $1.5trillion
deficit (look it up). In 2003, the Bush tax cuts (also passed by reconciliation
– it’s OK, Republicans did it) caused another $350billion to be added to the
deficit (sure, look it up). You may blame Obama for not doing as much as he
should to get us out of the recession (which I do), but the blame for getting
us here falls squarely on Bush’s shoulders. At least Reagan only tripled the
deficit from $900billion to $2.8trillion. And how do Republicans pay for tax
cuts to the rich and corporations, you ask? Raise taxes for the middle/working
class. Investigate how the Tax Reform Act of 1986 effected the Alternative
Minimum Tax. Nutshell: It shifted the tax burden away from the richest 1% of
Americans and greatly increased it for… yes, the middle/working class (I
fucking DARE you to look that up). This has only gotten worse ever since. Tax
cuts for the rich - Trickle-down Economics/Reaganomics does not work. George
H.W. Bush dubbed it Voodoo economics because it is a method that is apparently
supposed to pay for itself by magic. He ran his 1980 campaign against Reagan on
that platform. Of course, he became VP and forgot all about it.
Three things create jobs. 1. Bringing jobs back to the U.S. from overseas. America
is now almost completely a consumer society. We make almost nothing. If you
don’t make anything, you don’t need any workers for non-existent jobs. 2.
Demand for a product. 3. Not cutting taxes for the rich.
Giving tax cuts to corporations creates no jobs. And creates no economic
growth. It just allows the wealthy to keep more money. Let me give you a
simplified reason why. You are a pizza box making corporation. For some unknown
reason, pizza becomes a much less popular food item. Demand for your product
drops by 60%. You have to lay off a lot of employees. You get a massive tax
cut. You get to keep more of your profits, but how many workers do you re-hire?
NONE, BECAUSE YOU STILL DON’T NEED ANY EXTRA WORKERS. YOUR BUSINESS DROPPED BY
60%. You’re richer, but that’s about it. No jobs created. No wealth trickled
down. No money went back into the economy.
Rich get richer, poor get poorer. The rich don’t spend money, they keep it.
That’s why they’re rich. Their tax rates are lower. They give themselves increasingly
higher pay (in 1965, CEOs earned 24 times more than employees - in 2008 they
only earned a measly average of 319 times more), get bigger bonuses and pay
their workers less and less. The bigger a corporation gets, the less employees
are hired in order to maintain profit growth. Or their benefits are cut. Or
their salaries are cut. Or employees are just laid off in order for CEO’s keep
more of their money. And corners are cut, resulting in their workers’ deaths
(not always the case but I can think of a few greedy mining & oil companies
off hand where this practice directly resulted in what I consider murder).
The richest 5% needs to have their tax rates raised so they’re at least
paying the same rates as the working class. And tax loopholes for the rich also
need to be closed. The 2001 Bush tax cuts, as the Republicans all by themselves
set up with no help from the Dems, are set to expire soon - because that’s how
the Republicans set it up - because the rules of reconciliation state that if
it causes deficit, it can’t last more than ten years - so the Republicans know
the Bush tax cuts are causing deficit (So far to the tune of $2.3trillion, and
if left in place would add another $36billion next year alone - Don’t believe
me? Look. It. Up.) - an issue which they now completely skirt and try to blame
Dems for “raising” taxes. This is not true. It is what is known in some circles
as a lie. The Bush tax cuts are expiring and taxes are going back to the way
they were - with an exception. The Dems are going to keep the tax cuts for the
middle/working class and just let them expire for the richest of rich. Whenever
Dems raise taxes for the richest of Americans, the GOP loves to claim the Dems
are making “the largest tax increase in history!” An honor that oddly still
belongs to Reagan (go ahead, look it up). They did it to Clinton in ’94 when he
only raised taxes for the rich and now when Obama is letting the Bush tax cuts
on the rich expire, as the Republicans set them to.
Of course, if Obama actually has the balls to let taxes go back to where
they were 10 years ago for the rich and keep the cuts for the working class,
I’ll be surprised. I am prepared for another screwing, but I can still hope for
change, can’t I?
I had a gut feeling Obama would turn out to be a pussy. Just like George
W. Bush, I go with my gut. The only difference is, my gut feelings are a
hypothesis based on observed circumstances and gathered information. Bush’s
guts are just what his infantile mind wants to do.
Now, giving tax cuts to the middle/working class does create jobs
and stimulates economic growth. How, you ask? The middle/working class buys
things. Lots of things. This creates greater demand. Jobs get stimulated, more
workers are hired. The process is slow at first, but gradually increases. The
economy gets up and running, jobs
are growing, America is once again awesome. Simply, that’s how.
Money does not ever trickle down. Money only ever trickles up. The opposite
of standard Republican practice. That is a researchable fact. That’s why I’m
designing a pair of boots made out of $100 dollar bills so I can have
anti-gravity boots like Spock in Star Trek 5.
If you think I’m full of shit on any of this, please, by all means, show me
facts to the contrary. I will gladly apologize. But you have to show me facts,
not partisan rhetoric, half truths or innuendo.
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