Just a quick one to fill us all in on how stupid conservatives are by going over some of the latest memes in the conservative world. By happy coincidence, they come together today.
First off, it’s the way the government is taking over the national communication system. Oh, did you miss that? Maybe that’s because if you noticed it at all you just heard that there was a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System today. For a whole thirty seconds the government broadcast an alert signal on television and radio, all channels, all stations.
To hear the wingers, though, it was going to be like this, posted by our friend Kestrel:
Nateas by kestrel9000
Here’s just one of the comments by right wingers at a site I frequent:
Will this warning system warn us about our internal enemies? I understand that TSA is asserting jurisdiction over our highways, waterways, railroads, and bus terminals. They assured us that the searches are necessary to protect us from terrorists!
If I remember correctly, they have started random searches in Tennessee already.
First the IRS, then BATF, now TSA. I don’t think we need to worry to much about foreigners!
Or this:
This coming test is obnoxiously STUPID! Good grief, each state of this nation cares for its own. We have alarm systems in place, regular tests, etc. So, what is the reason for it? A national alert system and with WHO doing the announcing?!
Well, news at the start of this year was that our peculiar president was going to put his own voice over the alert systems! Oh, good grief, joke about conspiracy nuts all ya want, this is insanity.
Yeah, way back in time I know I saw a movie of a Communist leader announcing in hypnotic fashion, telling all of the citizens of his nation what to do, where to go…etc.
Rather damn Orwellian, indeed since this is the same “peculiar” president that wants a “Civilian Security Force” that he said will be “as big, powerful and well funded” as our current military forces.
Meanwhile, Homeland Security is doing some checkpoints on roads? highways? in Tennessee for Halloween?!
At any rate, it’s over now, so if the black helicopters didn’t arrive this afternoon to drag you out of your house you’re probably safe.
Next up: Christmas trees. Or rather, how President Barack Hussein is waging War on Xmas(TM). Either that or how he’s breaking his promise not to raise taxes on people who make less than $250,000 a year.
What’s the real story? Just like the campaigns for “The Other White Meat” or the Beef Council, the Christmas tree growers came up with a plan a few years ago to assess a fee of $0.15 (yes, that’s a total of fifteen cents, people!) to fund marketing efforts for natural grown Christmas trees, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture has just released the final rule approving it.
Take this from the Heritage Foundation:
Acting Administrator Shipman had the temerity to say the 15-cent mandatory Christmas tree fee “is not a tax nor does it yield revenue for the Federal government” (76 CFR 69102). The Federal government mandates that the Christmas tree sellers pay the 15-cents per tree, whether they want to or not. The Federal government directs that the revenue generated by the 15-cent fee goes to the Board appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out the Christmas tree program established by the Secretary of Agriculture. Mr. President, that’s a new 15-cent tax to pay for a Federal program to improve the image and marketing of Christmas trees.
http://blog.heritage.org/2011/…
Or this:
Originally Posted by Mr. Mon View PostYou’ve been paying small extra taxes on all kinds of agricultural products to fund similar campaigns for years. Why is this a big deal to you now?
Its always a big deal , look at the federal goverment , it looks OK to you ?
Or:
I am concerned. will i have to pay an extra tax when its time to dye easter eggs?
the sooner obama goes the better. its going to be a long year.
Or even:
Why is obama getting away with taxing non-muslims yet again?
So yes, take your pick. Today was just Bonus Conservative Insanity Day. I don’t promise a double dose of conservative insanity every day (but I could).
spin on the Christmas tree tax is incredibly dumb, but to be fair, the tax on Christmas trees is also an incredibly dumb policy (not that Obama is directly responsible for it or anything, but still).
The right is so frustrated in its efforts to gain traction on any of its mean-spirited, crackpot ideas that it is flailing about wildly in the dark.
Fifty years from now, when historians look back on the social tenor of the times, it will be a great source of embarrassment to realize how poorly half of this country dealt with having its first racially-mixed president.
You can’t convince me that the non-stop hysteria from the right since Obama swept into the white house hasn’t been pretty much all about race.
I think the “conservatives” got it right in their objections to the emergency broadcast system. I didn’t hear a chorus on the “right” complain that the government was trying to control us with this specific test, but rather that the test firmly established the government’s ability to instantly shut down or take over the entire media system at will. That’s a frightening authority and power, and far more harmful to the fundamentals of our democracy than any traditional terrorist could hope to achieve.
Similar control efforts in other countries have drawn the United States government to condemn those media control efforts. And, if an American conservative Republican administration deployed this test, the left would be raising the issue.
Think about it…The left is rightly rallying against a government that is serving the wealthy. Imagine if the cause gains enough traction that the powerbase is threatened. The government can now shut down all communication at will. It can broadcast its own message, or simply thwart communication by the opposition. It can control media on the national level, or geotarget the action locally. It can shut down Twitter and other Internet services, and can easily seize control of the mainstream media.
Control of the media isn’t a “left” or “right” issue, and the Emergency Broadcast System has been developed and enhanced by administrations of both Parties. This national control of the media is a direct threat to our ability to organize for change, and that’s a serious harm that both sides of the political spectrum should be resisting.
everyone in national security has been working on this one.
It is a legitimate debate to have as to whether this signals a degree of information control that should be concerning; but it is completely bogus for the right to pretend that this wasn’t their idea first.
What we really need to be concerned about, though, is net neutrality. Radio and television are the passive information sources of the twentieth century.
“Gort. Obama nikto iodin! Republican xanda dumbodo. xto naranga! Spupido!”
Particle Beam………………………….
How stupid? Here you go-
Empty stomach huh,maybe a little food for thought wouldn’t hurt but it certainly couldn’t cure an empty head.
http://thinkprogress.org/speci…
“I know all about this Alarm System. Women are behind it. It’s aimed at me. Alarms go off now all the time, every time I walk into a room. This is part of the conspiracy to destroy my campaign. 5(50?) women making false claims, false alarms. 999 women? Something has to be done about the women who are secretly running this country and setting off all these alarms. Do I look like someone who is oversexed? Are you going to let 999 women run this country? Turn it into a Feminist-Lesbian-Socialist State where all power is concentrated in secret signals put out by women to drive men to distraction. I address this further on my new website: sexmaniacsarenotnamedherman.org. They must have me mistaken with Eddie Murphey. I…what? Another one? Oh…another two? You see what I mean? And it’s only Thursday. I never did anything. I don’t even know these women. I was never there. I…there goes another alarm. What? My hands? Those are not my hands, madam. Not mine. Never saw them before. Please stop that alarm or I shall have to restrain you in the name of National Security and A Fairer Tax Structure. I’m trying, My Fellow Americans. But there are too many of them. They keep hitting my hands with their…alarms. Michele, help me. Come over here…closer…closer………….”
The discussion here pretty much makes my point.
We’ve had way more comments than I expected, including comments from people who have disagreed with both the EAP and Christmas Tree programs.
Nobody suggested that the broadcast system is being used to round people up and lock them up in FEMA concentration camps. Nobody has suggested that President Obama is using the Christmas tree marketing fee, since put on hold, to penalize non-Muslims for their religious practices. What we’ve seen here is generally reasoned debate based on the merits of the two ideas.
If it were possible for conservatives to have that kind of debate we’d be better off.