Bad Government

I wonder what all those big-government hating, Tea-baggers in Indiana think of this republican-led government intrusion?

 [Singing the anthem: Are you doing it 'right'? | The Indianapolis Star | indystar.com]

"Sen. Vaneta Becker, R-Evansville, has introduced a bill that would set specific "performance standards" for singing and playing "The Star-Spangled Banner" at any event sponsored by public schools and state universities.

The law also would cover private schools receiving state or local scholarship funds, including vouchers.

Performers would have to sign a contract agreeing to follow the guidelines. Musicians -- whether amateur or professional -- would be fined $25 if it were deemed they failed to meet the appropriate standards."

tnb

Saturday Morning Links

[Stonekettle Station on those crazy Christians]

You know, our christian fundamentalists are just as crazy as those Islamic fundamentalists. They need to be kept as from from the control buttons of this country as possible.


[The Tea Party is the Enemy – Make no Apologies] . 

No I would say the Tea Party is just one small faction of the enemy. The real enemy are the corporate/lobby owned politicians on both sides of the aisle. It's this group who create the policies that favor big money corporate interests over the individual and make it easy for multinational corporations to control our media, markets and elections, ship jobs and technologies overseas, pollute our land, exploit our resources and people, and generally run roughshod over the less powerful all in the name of profits and free markets.

The Tea-Party is just a low-information, angry mob built and encouraged by propaganda from the right-wing of the corporate party and used as a tool to help them in the battle for power. Naming the Tea Party as "the enemy" looks to me like an attempt to build an off-setting, angry-mob tool for the left-wing of the corporate party.

[Gov. Barbour's; Disadvantaged Relative Masterminded $100 Million of Post-Katrina FEMA Fraud | Crooks and Liars]

This sort of corruption is rampant in our government, crony capitalism at its finest.

tnb

Rick Perry: Good Point !

From Juan Cole: [Historical Question for Governor Perry | Informed Comment]

So if we were living in Germany’s Weimar Republiic and it was 1930, and a politician warned a central banker that his policies were treasonous to the nation, and threatened to have him roughed up, and said that the current president did not love his country, can you tell me to what political party that politician most likely belonged?

tnb

The Daily Show: The Tea Party and The Deal

The Daily Show
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Fox News

A few links related to the propaganda network. First, a couple on the Jon Stewart appearance on Fox.

[Jon Stewart] and [Jon Stewart 2]

And one from GinAndTacos on Voter enthusiasm. [Gin and Tacos: Enthusiasm]

I think the Tea Party enthusiasm of the last election cycle can be directly attributed to the power of The Propaganda Network. All those old retired folk, at home all day, getting fired up by the crap on Fox were about as motivated as any voter could be. It wouldn't have been the same election without the Fox News created outrage.

tnb

Tea Party Peak?

Economist: Has the tea party peaked

All the crap in this post sounds good and the Tea party probably has peaked but I think the post underestimates, even ignores the effect of the right wing propaganda machine.

I'd say that the turning point, as shown in the chart, was when the financial crisis hit and it suddenly looked like a liberal black man could win the election. At that point, Fox news and the conservative media went on a full-on, attack against government and even remotely liberal ideas, a propagand push of lies, rumors and scare tactics this country hadn't seen in my lifetime, and basically scared a bunch of retired old white people to death. Without Fox news there wouldn't be a Tea Party.

I think the reason the Tea-party seems to have cooled is that the conservative leaders and their propaganda wings know they can't win the presidency with a wacked-out Tea-bagger so now conservative media is pulling back the propaganda push in an attempt to attrack some of the middle ground voters that the crazy propaganda pushes away.

tnb