Kevin Koster commented on Hannity’s And Pavlich’s Nauseating Attitudes Toward African Americans
2013-08-31 01:02:13 -0400
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I think Ellen’s description is unfortunately accurate here. I heard the exchange on satellite radio and was shocked at the condescension coming from both Hannity and Pavlich.
Add to this that Hannity was openly lying about GOP speakers not being invited to the event and then trying to yell over Fowler when he tried to set the record straight. Add to this that Pavlich has no credibility given her clear bias and her repeated attempts to make a mountain out of the “Fast & Furious” molehill for her own aggrandizement. Her nastiness toward Fowler was chilling at times.
Add to this that Hannity was openly lying about GOP speakers not being invited to the event and then trying to yell over Fowler when he tried to set the record straight. Add to this that Pavlich has no credibility given her clear bias and her repeated attempts to make a mountain out of the “Fast & Furious” molehill for her own aggrandizement. Her nastiness toward Fowler was chilling at times.
Kevin Koster commented on O'Reilly Admits He Was Wrong That No Republicans Were Invited To March On Washington Anniversary
2013-08-31 00:57:49 -0400
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I think it was a decent thing for him to do after making the wrong statement the day before. Could he have proclaimed it louder and more prominently? Sure, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it actually comes up again on his show. But the point is that he did own up to it. That’s a lot more than can be said about Hannity or the others at this point. If I’m going to hold him accountable for bad behavior, it’s only fair to acknowledge when the man does something commendable. This was a direct mea culpa – he didn’t try to blame anyone else or duck. I admire that approach.
Kevin Koster commented on Fox News Loses More Young Viewers
2013-08-29 16:27:14 -0400
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To be fair, MSNBC has been losing younger viewers too, and they don’t have anywhere near the overall number of Fox News viewers. But CNN is sitting in the middle and gaining with the younger viewers. Which explains why Fox News is trying to maneuver to win some of those viewers back.
Kevin Koster commented on Hannity And Connie Mack Use Ted Cruz’ Birth Certificate To Go Birther On Obama Again
2013-08-21 05:09:39 -0400
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A few things to keep in mind:
1. Connie Mack isn’t a reputable source for comment in any case – he’s a hard-right former GOP congressman who lost his last attempt to stay in Washington. Maybe he’ll do better in his next local election – say for another congressional term rather than the Senate seat he now knows he can’t win.
2. Ted Cruz will not be running for President any time soon, if ever. The far right may like him and throw some money to his campaigns, but it’s more likely that he’ll be fighting to retain his seat in 2018 after what has already been a fairly disastrous track record.
3. This is yet another exhibit of Sean Hannity’s on-air meltdown following what’s been a fairly public humiliation for him. What he does upon Kelly’s return should be quite interesting. Will he completely go rogue on the air and denounce Fox News for demoting him? Should be interesting viewing.
4. The fact that these guys want to suddenly bring up the birther nonsense only illustrates further how ridiculous that allegation was in the first place. And there’s the obvious point about the double standard. But don’t expect the right wing to understand either part of the argument. The reality is that there were plenty of right wingers who simply hated Obama on sight and were happy to have that kind of issue with which to challenge him. Many of them still don’t accept him as a legitimate President. It’s extremely interesting that they would embrace Ted Cruz and defend him with the same breath they used to attack Obama’s legitimacy.
1. Connie Mack isn’t a reputable source for comment in any case – he’s a hard-right former GOP congressman who lost his last attempt to stay in Washington. Maybe he’ll do better in his next local election – say for another congressional term rather than the Senate seat he now knows he can’t win.
2. Ted Cruz will not be running for President any time soon, if ever. The far right may like him and throw some money to his campaigns, but it’s more likely that he’ll be fighting to retain his seat in 2018 after what has already been a fairly disastrous track record.
3. This is yet another exhibit of Sean Hannity’s on-air meltdown following what’s been a fairly public humiliation for him. What he does upon Kelly’s return should be quite interesting. Will he completely go rogue on the air and denounce Fox News for demoting him? Should be interesting viewing.
4. The fact that these guys want to suddenly bring up the birther nonsense only illustrates further how ridiculous that allegation was in the first place. And there’s the obvious point about the double standard. But don’t expect the right wing to understand either part of the argument. The reality is that there were plenty of right wingers who simply hated Obama on sight and were happy to have that kind of issue with which to challenge him. Many of them still don’t accept him as a legitimate President. It’s extremely interesting that they would embrace Ted Cruz and defend him with the same breath they used to attack Obama’s legitimacy.
Kevin Koster commented on Sean Hannity's TV And Radio Troubles
2013-08-21 05:00:44 -0400
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Hannity does sound as if he’s growing fairly desperate lately. He’s grabbing onto any bit of conspiracy theory or vitriol to throw at President Obama or even GOP congressmen, as if his comments would sway them in the slightest. It will be curious to see how he handles his demotion once it goes into practice upon Kelly’s return to the airwaves.
Kevin Koster commented on Dana Perino Endorses Canadian Citizen Mark Steyn For NH Senate
2013-08-23 03:32:14 -0400
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One has to wonder if Robert B isn’t actually trying to discuss the presidency of George W. Bush, the man whose recess appointment inflicted John Bolton on the United Nations.
Kevin Koster commented on McGuirk Eviscerates The Kardashians
2013-08-17 23:53:30 -0400
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Takes a heck of a person to manage to unite left and right in this country these days. Let’s see, Paris Hilton, the Westboro Baptists and now the Kardashians. Pretty elite company to manage to tick off everybody.
Kevin Koster commented on O'Reilly Can't Understand Why Levar Burton Called Him A 'Patronizing' 'A**hole'
2013-08-17 05:52:42 -0400
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This is an especially smarmy outing for Jesse Watters, and it ironically drips with the patronization that Burton was correctly chastising them for.
First we get a bunch of silly Watters interviews with nerdy people dressed in the most outlandish manner possible – clearly intended to portray Trekkies as a bunch of, for lack of a better word, dweebs. Not a bit of footage of anyone NOT wearing a crazy costume and makeup. Not a bit of footage of say, a science fiction author or someone demonstrating any depth to their thinking. Just a bunch of opportunities for Watters, O’Reilly and their viewers to ridicule and laugh at Star Trek fans. The nastiest part of this is that Watters chose to go to a Star Trek convention, which has been viewed as a safe place for sci-fi fans to dress up and enjoy their show. And Watters used that moment, when these people thought they were in a safe place, to ridicule and deride them. I suppose MSNBC could return the favor by showing up at CPAC or at a Rush Limbaugh event, or at a WWE event. But what would that accomplish – just the same cheap shots Watters was enjoying taking here.
And O’Reilly’s feigned ignorance of LeVar Burton’s career was another smarmy touch. O’Reilly is certainly aware that Burton was an actor on Star Trek in the 80s and 90s, appearing in 7 years of one program and then 4 feature films. He knows that Burton wasn’t on the show in the 1960s, so his claim of “I don’t know anything about the show” is nonsense. And it was clearly intended to demean Burton again – here’s the befuddled O’Reilly who just doesn’t understand why this unknown actor is offended by O’Reilly’s crass comments. There’s a point where you wonder if the issue is crossing from being smarmy to being sinister.
But the hardest moment was the key to the whole segment. Watters clearly went to that convention to confront Burton – there was no other reason for him to make this his focus – he was only going to get so far by making fun of Trekkies and William Shatner. But the chance to try to catch Burton off guard on camera? Priceless for Watters. Except that Watters didn’t catch Burton off guard – which is why Watters showed only two quick moments of what was clearly a longer exchange. And even in those two moments, Burton cleaned Watters clock. Burton made very clear to Watters that he was more than offended by O’Reilly’s behavior, and that he wasn’t falling for Watters’ shtick. Burton wasn’t kidding when he said “I’m 56 years old – I know what patronizing is”. He was genuinely angry, and that’s one of the few times I’ve seen him provoked like that. Which was of course the entire reason Watters did this. One has to wonder what justifications Watters provides himself for his behavior. In what book is any of this acceptable?
First we get a bunch of silly Watters interviews with nerdy people dressed in the most outlandish manner possible – clearly intended to portray Trekkies as a bunch of, for lack of a better word, dweebs. Not a bit of footage of anyone NOT wearing a crazy costume and makeup. Not a bit of footage of say, a science fiction author or someone demonstrating any depth to their thinking. Just a bunch of opportunities for Watters, O’Reilly and their viewers to ridicule and laugh at Star Trek fans. The nastiest part of this is that Watters chose to go to a Star Trek convention, which has been viewed as a safe place for sci-fi fans to dress up and enjoy their show. And Watters used that moment, when these people thought they were in a safe place, to ridicule and deride them. I suppose MSNBC could return the favor by showing up at CPAC or at a Rush Limbaugh event, or at a WWE event. But what would that accomplish – just the same cheap shots Watters was enjoying taking here.
And O’Reilly’s feigned ignorance of LeVar Burton’s career was another smarmy touch. O’Reilly is certainly aware that Burton was an actor on Star Trek in the 80s and 90s, appearing in 7 years of one program and then 4 feature films. He knows that Burton wasn’t on the show in the 1960s, so his claim of “I don’t know anything about the show” is nonsense. And it was clearly intended to demean Burton again – here’s the befuddled O’Reilly who just doesn’t understand why this unknown actor is offended by O’Reilly’s crass comments. There’s a point where you wonder if the issue is crossing from being smarmy to being sinister.
But the hardest moment was the key to the whole segment. Watters clearly went to that convention to confront Burton – there was no other reason for him to make this his focus – he was only going to get so far by making fun of Trekkies and William Shatner. But the chance to try to catch Burton off guard on camera? Priceless for Watters. Except that Watters didn’t catch Burton off guard – which is why Watters showed only two quick moments of what was clearly a longer exchange. And even in those two moments, Burton cleaned Watters clock. Burton made very clear to Watters that he was more than offended by O’Reilly’s behavior, and that he wasn’t falling for Watters’ shtick. Burton wasn’t kidding when he said “I’m 56 years old – I know what patronizing is”. He was genuinely angry, and that’s one of the few times I’ve seen him provoked like that. Which was of course the entire reason Watters did this. One has to wonder what justifications Watters provides himself for his behavior. In what book is any of this acceptable?
Kevin Koster commented on Eric Bolling: Benghazi Is Bigger Than Watergate
2013-08-12 12:07:32 -0400
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DN, I understand what you were addressing. But it’s still a sidestreet. It doesn’t change that the attack on the Benghazi consulate was not a matter of a President and his administration committing criminal acts. And all the raging by Fox News pundits will not change that fact.
Kevin Koster commented on Megyn Kelly To Get Sean Hannity's Prime Time Slot On Fox News, Says Drudge
2013-09-02 19:27:38 -0400
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Jane, are you able to figure out what Dan is saying in that last post? He seems to be very angry but I can’t make more out than that. It honestly reads like the written equivalent of jumping up and down.
Kevin Koster commented on Fox Continues Its Trumped Up Racial Smears Of Oprah Winfrey Over Trayvon Martin
2013-08-09 21:01:26 -0400
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Wow. Two sock puppets at once. If we can get a third identity going within the same thread, can we refer to the poster as “Kukla, Fran and Ollie”?
Kevin Koster commented on Hannity, Duncan And Gohmert Gaga For Government Shutdown – For Your Own Good
2013-08-07 17:39:04 -0400
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This is great popcorn material. Here you have three guys whose hatred of President Obama and the Democrats is enough for them to once again raise the spectre of shutting down the entire government just so they can have a public tantrum about losing an election. Last year, they were all hoping the ACA would be thrown out by the Supreme Court. When that didn’t happen, they had a series of public tantrums and displays. And now this year, they expect everyone to forget the other 40 times they’ve held meaningless votes to defund or repeal the ACA. Because this time is different? How? This is the same sore loser mentality they’ve been using since January 2009. I had hoped that these guys would learn from their defeats and maybe try to work together to get something done. But it appears that they simply want to continue folding their arms and stomping their feet for the rest of Obama’s time in the White House. One has to wonder if they intend to do this during every Democrat Presidency for the rest of their lives.
Kevin Koster commented on Laura Ingraham Can’t Explain What The Scandal Behind Benghazi Is
2013-08-07 04:32:10 -0400
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Jason, I just wonder if you could name the Obama Administration policies you were supporting up to 9/11/2012. Are you saying that you support the ACA? Do you support the Dream Act? Were you opposed to the GOP obstruction before 9/11/2012? Since, as you said, you were supporting Obama before that time, this shouldn’t be a problem, correct? Please be specific with your answers.
Kevin Koster commented on Fox News Uses Embassy Terror Threat To Attack Obama
2013-08-05 15:38:16 -0400
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Had the Obama Administration done nothing, Fox News and AM Radio would be trumpeting anything they could find on this and accusing him of leaving people unprotected. If the Obama Administration acts cautiously and closes embassies under the scenario we’ve seen, Fox News and AM Radio attacks him for appearing to be “weak”.
Which means no matter what he does, they’re going to attack him. The reasoning becomes almost irrelevant after a while.
Which means no matter what he does, they’re going to attack him. The reasoning becomes almost irrelevant after a while.
Kevin Koster commented on Sean Hannity To Uninsured Americans: Get A Health Savings Account
2013-08-05 14:38:18 -0400
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Hannity, like all full-time Fox News employees, has full health coverage for himself and his dependents. He is also covered under his UNION membership with AFTRA, which provides for both a health plan and a pension plan.
For Hannity to tell his viewers and listeners that they should just try to save a few extra pennies to somehow cover a catastrophic injury or illness is beyond hypocrisy – it’s actually offensive.
And it goes beyond just the cheap shots at the ACA. What the GOP won’t tell you is that they would have been fine to support this plan, particularly after President Obama caved and took out the most important component, the public option. But they didn’t want to support it under this President. As former President Carter noted when he tried this and was blocked by Senator Kennedy, they didn’t want him to have that achievement. When it passed anyway, the GOP went into full tantrum mode. Now they just keep playing this game of trying to pass repeal or defunding votes, none of which will pass the Congress. It’s childish, and it’s the sort of thing that causes most Americans to throw up their hands when they see what people are doing in Congress. Or just throw up, one supposes…
For Hannity to tell his viewers and listeners that they should just try to save a few extra pennies to somehow cover a catastrophic injury or illness is beyond hypocrisy – it’s actually offensive.
And it goes beyond just the cheap shots at the ACA. What the GOP won’t tell you is that they would have been fine to support this plan, particularly after President Obama caved and took out the most important component, the public option. But they didn’t want to support it under this President. As former President Carter noted when he tried this and was blocked by Senator Kennedy, they didn’t want him to have that achievement. When it passed anyway, the GOP went into full tantrum mode. Now they just keep playing this game of trying to pass repeal or defunding votes, none of which will pass the Congress. It’s childish, and it’s the sort of thing that causes most Americans to throw up their hands when they see what people are doing in Congress. Or just throw up, one supposes…
Kevin Koster commented on Kirsten Powers Confronts O’Reilly’s B.S. About Black-On-Black Crime
2013-08-02 14:38:21 -0400
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O’Reilly wasn’t “pointing out some basic facts” and his argument has already been extensively debunked.
Powers, in a rare show of temerity given her unfortunate statements of late, pointed out the obvious here.
The reality of this situation is that right wing media has no idea how to answer the difficult issues that the Trayvon Martin case raised – the fact that a black teenager could be profiled, stalked and killed simply for the act of “walking home while black in a hoodie”. George Zimmerman may say that he really didn’t think about Trayvon Martin’s race, but the reality is that he profiled Martin. The understandable outrage has come from not only the black community but from people across all ethnicities. Because people are shocked to see that even today, you have racial intolerance at a level that could result in someone being killed. People had hoped that this kind of thing was long behind us, but the case, and the right wing reaction to it, demonstrate that we still have a long way to go.
The right wing media of AM radio and Fox News further exacerbated this situation by enthusiastically cheerleading the George Zimmerman side of the case, and then trying to fan white paranoia about potential black riots in response to the verdict. (And that doesn’t even get into the fact that right wing media was campaigning for Zimmerman’s defense fund, and likely doing more to keep it going. I’d be very curious to see what the numbers were of monies coming in for that month of trial, when the attorney costs would have exploded beyond all reckoning.)
In the aftermath of the case, how did Bill O’Reilly present himself? Did he acknowledge the hateful rhetoric he had participated in? Did he castigate right wingers for trying to gin up fears of rioting? No, he tried to change the subject. Suddenly, he’s trying to lecture the black community on what he perceives as its moral lapses and its own responsibility for violence.
Now, he might have had a point if he’d actually taken the time to do the research that Richard Deitering is trying to present as somehow convincing. But he didn’t. He cherry picked a few polls and stats to fit his preset conclusion. O’Reilly’s whole meme was that unmarried Black parents were the whole source of the problem, which he sees as a matter of a wave of violence from young black males.
It’s not just offensive that O’Reilly thinks he can make statements like this with impunity, particularly when he’s way off on his assumptions. It’s offensive that he tries to pillory community organizers and public speakers like Jesse Jackson, saying that they haven’t been speaking out about issues within the black community. On what planet is O’Reilly living? Jesse Jackson has been talking about these issues for over 40 years, as have multiple community leaders and organizers. People have been discussing the issues of crime and violence in black communities as well as all ethnic communities for decades. Where was O’Reilly when these discussions were happening, and who does he think he is to lecture these communities at this time?
O’Reilly seems to think that the solution to crime and violence is for the parents of children in black neighborhoods to all get married and to send their kids to strict schools with uniforms, or at least that seems to be the solution he proposed. This would be ridiculous on its face, if it weren’t clear that O’Reilly seems to really think that this is the answer. Meaning – let’s go back to O’Reilly’s fantasy version of the 1950s, where nobody misbehaved and kids knew their place.
The reality of increasing violence among all communities, including black, white and everyone else, is that we’ve had multiple factors contributing to the problem. The biggest one is that you have a growing number of people living on lower and lower wages, and they’re constantly shown the greatest levels of excess from all the various TV shows and commercial material around them. You have a growing number of people in crumbling public schools, where teachers are being laid off due to lack of funds and where teenagers get the idea that there’s no point to staying in school. You have communities where people struggle to find work beyond the local fast food place, and where hope becomes a much rarer commodity than it should be. Couple that with the complete intransigence of our politicians, particularly the GOP congresspeople who lecture these communities without knowing anything about them. Couple that with pundits like O’Reilly, who continue the lectures without showing any understanding for who he’s insulting. And you’d think that O’Reilly would understand, given that he always touts his experience in 1971 as a teacher – but we should remember he was teaching at a private Catholic high school, not an inner city school as he regularly tries to allege.
The fact is that communities around this country have been trying to wrestle with the issues of crime and violence and racism for decades. Community leaders have addressed it more times than anyone can count. And yet we still have increasing violence, and we still have racism, regardless of what Bill O’Reilly thinks a quick-fix solution might be.
But telling the black community that it’s their fault that kids are dying, and saying that it’s due to children being born out of wedlock, is flat-out offensive and unacceptable. O’Reilly is being properly criticized, and if he truly cared about these issues, he would humbly accept the criticisms and apologize for his behavior. Instead, he’s doubling down.
And, frankly, his attempt at creating a distraction from the disturbing issues of the Trayvon Martin case only reinforces those issues. He may be working hard not to answer the hard questions here, but his desperate attempt to do so is only adding more of them.
Powers, in a rare show of temerity given her unfortunate statements of late, pointed out the obvious here.
The reality of this situation is that right wing media has no idea how to answer the difficult issues that the Trayvon Martin case raised – the fact that a black teenager could be profiled, stalked and killed simply for the act of “walking home while black in a hoodie”. George Zimmerman may say that he really didn’t think about Trayvon Martin’s race, but the reality is that he profiled Martin. The understandable outrage has come from not only the black community but from people across all ethnicities. Because people are shocked to see that even today, you have racial intolerance at a level that could result in someone being killed. People had hoped that this kind of thing was long behind us, but the case, and the right wing reaction to it, demonstrate that we still have a long way to go.
The right wing media of AM radio and Fox News further exacerbated this situation by enthusiastically cheerleading the George Zimmerman side of the case, and then trying to fan white paranoia about potential black riots in response to the verdict. (And that doesn’t even get into the fact that right wing media was campaigning for Zimmerman’s defense fund, and likely doing more to keep it going. I’d be very curious to see what the numbers were of monies coming in for that month of trial, when the attorney costs would have exploded beyond all reckoning.)
In the aftermath of the case, how did Bill O’Reilly present himself? Did he acknowledge the hateful rhetoric he had participated in? Did he castigate right wingers for trying to gin up fears of rioting? No, he tried to change the subject. Suddenly, he’s trying to lecture the black community on what he perceives as its moral lapses and its own responsibility for violence.
Now, he might have had a point if he’d actually taken the time to do the research that Richard Deitering is trying to present as somehow convincing. But he didn’t. He cherry picked a few polls and stats to fit his preset conclusion. O’Reilly’s whole meme was that unmarried Black parents were the whole source of the problem, which he sees as a matter of a wave of violence from young black males.
It’s not just offensive that O’Reilly thinks he can make statements like this with impunity, particularly when he’s way off on his assumptions. It’s offensive that he tries to pillory community organizers and public speakers like Jesse Jackson, saying that they haven’t been speaking out about issues within the black community. On what planet is O’Reilly living? Jesse Jackson has been talking about these issues for over 40 years, as have multiple community leaders and organizers. People have been discussing the issues of crime and violence in black communities as well as all ethnic communities for decades. Where was O’Reilly when these discussions were happening, and who does he think he is to lecture these communities at this time?
O’Reilly seems to think that the solution to crime and violence is for the parents of children in black neighborhoods to all get married and to send their kids to strict schools with uniforms, or at least that seems to be the solution he proposed. This would be ridiculous on its face, if it weren’t clear that O’Reilly seems to really think that this is the answer. Meaning – let’s go back to O’Reilly’s fantasy version of the 1950s, where nobody misbehaved and kids knew their place.
The reality of increasing violence among all communities, including black, white and everyone else, is that we’ve had multiple factors contributing to the problem. The biggest one is that you have a growing number of people living on lower and lower wages, and they’re constantly shown the greatest levels of excess from all the various TV shows and commercial material around them. You have a growing number of people in crumbling public schools, where teachers are being laid off due to lack of funds and where teenagers get the idea that there’s no point to staying in school. You have communities where people struggle to find work beyond the local fast food place, and where hope becomes a much rarer commodity than it should be. Couple that with the complete intransigence of our politicians, particularly the GOP congresspeople who lecture these communities without knowing anything about them. Couple that with pundits like O’Reilly, who continue the lectures without showing any understanding for who he’s insulting. And you’d think that O’Reilly would understand, given that he always touts his experience in 1971 as a teacher – but we should remember he was teaching at a private Catholic high school, not an inner city school as he regularly tries to allege.
The fact is that communities around this country have been trying to wrestle with the issues of crime and violence and racism for decades. Community leaders have addressed it more times than anyone can count. And yet we still have increasing violence, and we still have racism, regardless of what Bill O’Reilly thinks a quick-fix solution might be.
But telling the black community that it’s their fault that kids are dying, and saying that it’s due to children being born out of wedlock, is flat-out offensive and unacceptable. O’Reilly is being properly criticized, and if he truly cared about these issues, he would humbly accept the criticisms and apologize for his behavior. Instead, he’s doubling down.
And, frankly, his attempt at creating a distraction from the disturbing issues of the Trayvon Martin case only reinforces those issues. He may be working hard not to answer the hard questions here, but his desperate attempt to do so is only adding more of them.
Kevin Koster commented on Rush Limbaugh Takes Over On The Record
2013-08-01 20:31:14 -0400
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I’m greatly appreciative that Ellen has spotlit this unfortunate moment for Greta van Susteren. I’ve had moments of being rendered speechless by her choice to just let Rush Limbaugh vent out some of the angriest and most hateful comments I’ve heard – and he’s very consistent about doing it. Where are the hard questions about Limbaugh’s enthusiastic discussion of possible rioting in Florida? Where are the questions about his sinister comments about Sandra Fluke? Where are the challenges to the ridiculous assumptions he regularly makes about the motivations of President Obama and his staff?
Interviews like this must be pointed out, for all those who would consider van Susteren anything other than a right wing host who’s comfortable with even the most extreme rhetoric that Fox News can muster.
Interviews like this must be pointed out, for all those who would consider van Susteren anything other than a right wing host who’s comfortable with even the most extreme rhetoric that Fox News can muster.
Kevin Koster commented on Sarah Palin: It’s ‘Common Sense’ To Shut Down The Government Over Obamacare
2013-08-01 20:22:34 -0400
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David, we can absolutely agree that the public school system in the United States is facing some significant challenges. And it’s been facing those challenges for decades now. I don’t agree that it’s in a state of abject failure, but I do think that the constant attempts to defund it and chip away at it have been extremely destructive.
You’ve now reverted back to the idea of not compromising. I’m honestly confused. Either you believe compromise is necessary for governance between rational people or you believe that compromise is a problem to be avoided. I believe the former – I believe that governance is impossible when people refuse to talk to each other. Politicians folding their arms and just saying “NO!” does not constitute governance. It constitutes exactly what it’s been called – obstruction.
The left in the United States has enunciated its principles on more occasions than I could possibly enumerate here. If you are unclear on what those principles are, I recommend you spend some time listening to a radio program called Democracy Now. You can find it on the internet at democracynow.org. If you want to understand a progressive view of the U.S. school system, I highly recommend the writings of Jonathan Kozol, particularly a book called Savage Inequalities. If you were to ask the left, they would tell you that programs they wanted to see have never really been implemented in the United States. For example, the left wanted single payer health care, and the Obama Administration removed the public option from the ACA in an attempt to placate GOP congresspeople who continued their efforts to obstruct it anyway.
It’s strange that the right wing has decided that the Great Society programs from the 1960s were failures. I’ve heard this meme usually coming from Bill O’Reilly as a way of attacking the ability of government to do anything. But there are plenty of success stories from the Great Society. How about Medicare and Medicaid? How about the Voting Rights Act? How about the various Civil Rights Acts?
I appreciate that you’ve acknowledged that Head Start worked. How about the creation of the NEA and the NEH. These are not small things, and it’s really a shame that the right wing seems to think that all of this was a waste of time.
I also find it interesting that the right wing tries to cherry pick the quotations of the earliest national figures of this country as though there is some kind of right wing claim on the birth of the nation. As we’ve discussed, scholars from the left and the right have endlessly debated the intentions of the people who started this country. Scholars from the left and the right continue to debate the meaning of various sections of the constitution, as well as the meanings of various laws and case law findings. Nobody has an exclusive claim on the intentions or wishes of the founders of this country, and it belittles an argument for any pundit to claim that they do.
The notion that the right wing wants “a restoration of American values and principles” is false on its face. The right wing was perfectly happy to trample on American citizens’ rights and values throughout the Presidency of George W. Bush. The idea that the entire country went out the window the moment that Barack Obama became President is silly on its face. The fact is that the policies inflicted under the Bush Presidency (and abetted by Democrats in Congress who did not engage in the obstructionism we’ve seen over the past few years from the GOP) resulted in the inflation of possibly the worst financial bubble I’ve seen in my lifetime. While the Bush people clearly wanted to get out of town before the bubble burst, the whole thing came crashing down on them. So yes, we’ve seen a transformation over the past few years, as the country has struggled to get itself out of a pretty deep mess. I would agree that the Bush Administration policies (and Clinton policies before them) that led to this mess absolutely failed. No question about that. But I wouldn’t blame President Obama for taking actions to try to stem the disaster. I do have an issue with GOP politicians and pundits who chose that moment to try to obstruct solutions – particularly those who were clearly trying to use such a position as a campaign plank.
I find it interesting that the right wing tries to fan a concern about “the growing tyranny of government”. They must be kidding. Is this the same right wing that acted as cheerleaders for the Patriot Act, that supported warrantless wiretapping, that supported a Bush Justice Department that got itself into more trouble than it knew what to do with? Is this the same right wing that wants to tell women what medical choices they are allowed to make regarding a pregnancy and their own bodies? The idea that these people want to preach to the rest of us about the “tyranny of government” is so absurd that it nearly provokes laughter.
I absolutely agree that more bankruptcies like what happened in Detroit are not something most people want to see. But I should note that there are plenty of right wing AM radio hosts who’ve been saying just the opposite. For years now, these people have been advocating for state bankruptcies and city bankruptcies, specifically so that they could throw out all the public employee union contracts and cancel the union pensions. There are people I’ve heard repeatedly call with great enthusiasm for major statewide bankruptcies. Part of this is the libertarian approach of “Why should I pay for public employee pensions?” and part of it is a tactical approach – if you kill the public employee unions, you might do some damage to the Dems and thus help GOP candidates win more races.
I also agree that the world could at any time choose to stop using the US dollar as a basis for international trade. We’ve been hearing for years that everything could go to the Chinese Yuan or something like that. And if that happens, I believe the path toward it will have been greatly accelerated by the GOP politicians who chose that “lock step no” approach in dealing with the financial obligations of the U.S. and triggered that credit downgrade a couple of years back. If ever there was a case of obstructionism, that was it. So yes, we could be looking at a disaster there. But the right wing will not be able to stand back and claim innocence. They will need to step up and take some personal responsibility for their behavior.
Personally, I hope that such a moment does not happen. I hope that GOP congresspeople will decide to do the right thing for the country and not keep putting their partisan ideology ahead of the necessary end result of governance.
You’ve now reverted back to the idea of not compromising. I’m honestly confused. Either you believe compromise is necessary for governance between rational people or you believe that compromise is a problem to be avoided. I believe the former – I believe that governance is impossible when people refuse to talk to each other. Politicians folding their arms and just saying “NO!” does not constitute governance. It constitutes exactly what it’s been called – obstruction.
The left in the United States has enunciated its principles on more occasions than I could possibly enumerate here. If you are unclear on what those principles are, I recommend you spend some time listening to a radio program called Democracy Now. You can find it on the internet at democracynow.org. If you want to understand a progressive view of the U.S. school system, I highly recommend the writings of Jonathan Kozol, particularly a book called Savage Inequalities. If you were to ask the left, they would tell you that programs they wanted to see have never really been implemented in the United States. For example, the left wanted single payer health care, and the Obama Administration removed the public option from the ACA in an attempt to placate GOP congresspeople who continued their efforts to obstruct it anyway.
It’s strange that the right wing has decided that the Great Society programs from the 1960s were failures. I’ve heard this meme usually coming from Bill O’Reilly as a way of attacking the ability of government to do anything. But there are plenty of success stories from the Great Society. How about Medicare and Medicaid? How about the Voting Rights Act? How about the various Civil Rights Acts?
I appreciate that you’ve acknowledged that Head Start worked. How about the creation of the NEA and the NEH. These are not small things, and it’s really a shame that the right wing seems to think that all of this was a waste of time.
I also find it interesting that the right wing tries to cherry pick the quotations of the earliest national figures of this country as though there is some kind of right wing claim on the birth of the nation. As we’ve discussed, scholars from the left and the right have endlessly debated the intentions of the people who started this country. Scholars from the left and the right continue to debate the meaning of various sections of the constitution, as well as the meanings of various laws and case law findings. Nobody has an exclusive claim on the intentions or wishes of the founders of this country, and it belittles an argument for any pundit to claim that they do.
The notion that the right wing wants “a restoration of American values and principles” is false on its face. The right wing was perfectly happy to trample on American citizens’ rights and values throughout the Presidency of George W. Bush. The idea that the entire country went out the window the moment that Barack Obama became President is silly on its face. The fact is that the policies inflicted under the Bush Presidency (and abetted by Democrats in Congress who did not engage in the obstructionism we’ve seen over the past few years from the GOP) resulted in the inflation of possibly the worst financial bubble I’ve seen in my lifetime. While the Bush people clearly wanted to get out of town before the bubble burst, the whole thing came crashing down on them. So yes, we’ve seen a transformation over the past few years, as the country has struggled to get itself out of a pretty deep mess. I would agree that the Bush Administration policies (and Clinton policies before them) that led to this mess absolutely failed. No question about that. But I wouldn’t blame President Obama for taking actions to try to stem the disaster. I do have an issue with GOP politicians and pundits who chose that moment to try to obstruct solutions – particularly those who were clearly trying to use such a position as a campaign plank.
I find it interesting that the right wing tries to fan a concern about “the growing tyranny of government”. They must be kidding. Is this the same right wing that acted as cheerleaders for the Patriot Act, that supported warrantless wiretapping, that supported a Bush Justice Department that got itself into more trouble than it knew what to do with? Is this the same right wing that wants to tell women what medical choices they are allowed to make regarding a pregnancy and their own bodies? The idea that these people want to preach to the rest of us about the “tyranny of government” is so absurd that it nearly provokes laughter.
I absolutely agree that more bankruptcies like what happened in Detroit are not something most people want to see. But I should note that there are plenty of right wing AM radio hosts who’ve been saying just the opposite. For years now, these people have been advocating for state bankruptcies and city bankruptcies, specifically so that they could throw out all the public employee union contracts and cancel the union pensions. There are people I’ve heard repeatedly call with great enthusiasm for major statewide bankruptcies. Part of this is the libertarian approach of “Why should I pay for public employee pensions?” and part of it is a tactical approach – if you kill the public employee unions, you might do some damage to the Dems and thus help GOP candidates win more races.
I also agree that the world could at any time choose to stop using the US dollar as a basis for international trade. We’ve been hearing for years that everything could go to the Chinese Yuan or something like that. And if that happens, I believe the path toward it will have been greatly accelerated by the GOP politicians who chose that “lock step no” approach in dealing with the financial obligations of the U.S. and triggered that credit downgrade a couple of years back. If ever there was a case of obstructionism, that was it. So yes, we could be looking at a disaster there. But the right wing will not be able to stand back and claim innocence. They will need to step up and take some personal responsibility for their behavior.
Personally, I hope that such a moment does not happen. I hope that GOP congresspeople will decide to do the right thing for the country and not keep putting their partisan ideology ahead of the necessary end result of governance.
Kevin Koster commented on Alan Colmes: Hannity And Limbaugh Not Leaving Talk Radio
2013-08-26 13:48:54 -0400
· Flag
Not sure what that complaint is about. People are completely free to post positive comments if they wish about Rush Limbaugh or Sean Hannity. It’s clear that they are not choosing to do so. That doesn’t mean they don’t have freedom of speech. It means they are exercising it in a manner that pat ange doesn’t agree with.
BTW Limbaugh’s desperate announcement last week about his new deal with Cumulus is revealing in a way he did not intend. Limbaugh was trying to spin his situation as yet another victory lap for himself, in that his agent has negotiated a new 3 year deal for himself with almost all of his stations. Although he admitted he’s being taken off the air on his key New York station and is being forced to retreat to WOR. Here’s the thing. Back in his heyday, Limbaugh would not have needed this extra time to negotiate what would have been a slam-dunk deal. They simply would have re-upped him and given him his usual raises, etc. This time, Cumulus dumped Hannity and played a lot harder against Limbaugh’s agent. So our point here stands – the bloom is off the rose for Limbaugh. He’s not going away this year or next, but he’s slowly spinning downward.
BTW Limbaugh’s desperate announcement last week about his new deal with Cumulus is revealing in a way he did not intend. Limbaugh was trying to spin his situation as yet another victory lap for himself, in that his agent has negotiated a new 3 year deal for himself with almost all of his stations. Although he admitted he’s being taken off the air on his key New York station and is being forced to retreat to WOR. Here’s the thing. Back in his heyday, Limbaugh would not have needed this extra time to negotiate what would have been a slam-dunk deal. They simply would have re-upped him and given him his usual raises, etc. This time, Cumulus dumped Hannity and played a lot harder against Limbaugh’s agent. So our point here stands – the bloom is off the rose for Limbaugh. He’s not going away this year or next, but he’s slowly spinning downward.