You'd think the wingers would figure out that James O'Keefe makes them look like fools every time he posts another one of his "videos." You'd think they might consider not pimping those videos like they're real when they're so easy to debunk. You'd think.

This time, it's North Carolina under fire, but O'Keefe ridiculously claims voter fraud when the only fraud is O'Keefe and his bogus claims. This time around, O'Keefe features a "dead voter" and a voter who he claims is illegally registered to vote because he was not a citizen at the time he was called for jury duty. Unfortunately for O'Keefe, he became a citizen in the 80s, a fact that was easily verifiable before publishing the video.

As for O'Keefe's dead guy, it turns out James forgot that "Jr." at the end of a guy's name means he's the son of the dead guy and also happens to be a very much alive registered voter.

Via Media Matters:

Yes, as multiple obituaries for Bolton note, he was survived by, among others, his son Michael Gordon Bolton, Jr. Public records searches using the Nexis database confirm that Bolton Jr. was registered to vote at the same address given to the poll worker by the O'Keefe operative.

This isn't the only error of this sort O'Keefe made. As ThinkProgress noted, the "non-citizen" voter supposedly exposed by the video is actually a naturalized citizen.

The best screw-up of all is the one where O'Keefe punks the Daily Caller, Breitbart.com and Michelle Malkin. I love it when one of their own hangs them out to dry so thoroughly. In the opener of his ten-minute long video, O'Keefe's minions are walking up a driveway to "prove" that a non-citizen has voted in the North Carolina primary.

Via ThinkProgress Justice:

Now, it turns out that the second “non-citizen,” William Romero, is actually a citizen as well, according to his family.

The video opens with O’Keefe’s cameraman walking up Romero’s driveway and confronting a member of his family about whether he is a citizen. O’Keefe points to court records from 2010 where Romero was excused from jury duty because he was not a citizen at the time. Therefore, as O’Keefe argues, Romero’s voter registration dated December 5, 2011 is fraudulent because Romero “is not a United States citizen.”

Oops! That calendar can be a pesky thing. It turns out Romero became a citizen in early 2011, and registered to vote because that's what good citizens in this country do: they vote.

In fact, Romero’s family told ThinkProgress he became a naturalized citizen in early 2011.

What’s more, Romero’s family told ThinkProgress that they had began receiving harassing telephone calls two weeks before the incident in the video asking if Romero was a citizen. They confirmed to the caller — it’s unclear whether they were speaking with O’Keefe himself or another individual — that Romero is indeed a citizen. Nevertheless, O’Keefe proceeded to ambush the family at their home and publish this video claiming he’s not a citizen.

Continue reading »

DOWNLOADS: (147)

PLAYS: (1202)

Embed

Also in mid-September 2008, politician Geert Wilders said during a speech in Parliament that Moroccans are colonising the Netherlands. According to Wilders, Moroccans didn’t come there to integrate, but “to subjugate the Dutch” and rule overthem. “We lose our nation to Moroccan scum who go through life while abusing, spittingand molesting innocent people,” Wilders stated. “They happily accept our dole, houses and doctors, but not our rules and values”, he said. According to him there are “two nations.” The cabinet’s nation is that of “climate hysterics and uncontrollable Islamisation.”

The other nation, “my nation,” Geert Wilders said, “is that of the people who have to foot the bill and are being robbed and threatened by Islamic street terrorists.”

Dave Neiwert's question about whether we should ask who Sean Hannity hangs out with, or even just gives a pass to when he interviews them is a timely one. After all, Hannity tries to smear Barack Obama with the "extremist" brush on a near-daily basis while hanging out with a few himself. And just Tuesday night, he softballed an interview with the far-right wing Islamophobic extremist Geert Wilders.

In Europe, the radical right is rising faster than a full moon on a clear night and no single person might exemplify that rise more than Geert Wilders. After collapsing the Dutch government on April 21st, he's off on a book tour to pimp his extraordinary book about how the Muslims are out to kill him. Hence, the Hannitized interview to promote his peculiar brand of Muslim hate.

Via the Seattle Times:

Wilders — who spent time in his youth on an Israeli kibbutz — is pro-Israel and staunchly anti-Islam. Describing Islam as a religion of violence and hate that wants to "enslave" the West, he has called for the closure of Muslim schools, made a high-profile anti-Muslim film, and wants forced registration of all Dutch citizens holding two passports.

In 2010, he was put on trial on charges of inciting hate, though observers say the perceived liberal bias of judges and his eventual acquittal only elevated his popularity. It served him well at the ballot box, with his 6-year-old party winning so many seats in elections later that year that the center-right government required his support to stay in power.

His attempts to portray himself as a victim of the liberal elite has made him a darling of the right in the United States, where he has secured space on The Wall Street Journal's op-ed page. This week, Wilders is set to promote a new book published in the United States, "Marked for Death: Islam's War Against the West and Me."

Unlike our own right-wing extremists, Wilders is not above hijacking liberal causes in order to advance his extreme agenda, which seems to be to separate the Netherlands from the European Union and then cleanse it. His actions leading to the toppling of the Dutch government were a statement of resistance against the austerity measures imposed mostly by the German government. On its face, that would appear to be a good thing, except that Wilders offers no solution beyond peeling the Dutch away from the EU and then forcing registration of all residents who hold outside passports.

While the nuances of Dutch politics are far beyond my pay scale, it seems apparent to me that Wilders' ultimate goal is to ethnically cleanse Holland and rid it of all Muslims or people who might appear to be Muslim.

Here are some snippets from a speech Wilders gave on May 1, 2012. Read them and imagine Hannity going into paroxyms of paranoia if someone other than a right-wing extremist like Wilders had said them about Americans, or someone Hannity likes:

...we must stop the Islamization of our societies by restricting immigration from Islamic countries, and expelling those who violate our laws and commit violence. If you respect our laws you are welcome to stay; if you don't, you do not belong here..

And fourthly, we must reassert our national identities. The nation-state enables self-government and self-determination. This insight led the Zionists to establish Israel as the homeland of the Jews.

[...]

We are fighting for the future of our children, the survival of the Western spirit, the preservation of our liberty and democracy, our Judeo-Christian and humanist heritage.

These quotes are not all that different from what white nationalists say in this country. And yet, here's Sean Hannity, softballing an interview, not even mentioning the worshipful Breivik, and behaving as though it's perfectly all right to persecute people based upon their religious choice. (For what it's worth, Breivik not only cites Wilders some 30 times in his anti-multicultural "manifesto" justifying his rampage, he even traveled to England once to hear Wilders speak.)

Freedom must mean something different to Wilders than it does to the rest of us. And to Hannity, who thinks it's perfectly fine to smear the Occupy movement at will while holding Wilders up as a shiny hero.

My gratitude to the stalwarts at Right Wing Watch for watching nearly two hours of Phyllis Schlafly's seminar earlier this month at The Citadel. She had some interesting things to say about feminism.

In the World According to Schlafly, the word "liberal is a pejorative now since Michael Dukakis...no politician wants to be called a liberal anymore" and because it's a pejorative, Schlafly thinks "that's the way we should treat feminism." She goes on to say women don't want to be called feminists because it's a bad word, and that "everything they stand for is bad and destructive."

I admit, I'm confused by this, especially since the right wing has been trying to hijack the term feminist for the past several years, courtesy of Sarah Palin. As far as our badness and destructiveness, I guess it's bad and destructive to work to take care of our kids so we're not at the mercy of the welfare state? Let's see. She truly believes "America is a giant island of freedom, achievement, wealth and prosperity", too. I guess for her that means freedom, achievement, wealth and prosperity for men and men only?

But wait, according to Phyl, "American women are the most fortunate people who lived on this earth" and feminists just want to be victims.

Are you facepalming yet? Wait till you get to the part where she hypothesizes about a man and a woman competing for the same high-paying job, and the woman being at a disadvantage because the man has a WIFE, something the woman is "insanely jealous of", so she wants to "abolish the wife of the man" because she can't have a wife of her own.

Continue reading »

DOWNLOADS: (147)

PLAYS: (1915)

Embed

Bill O'Reilly has been studying Orwell, I see. Up is down, right is wrong, Breitbart is God, Media Matters is Satan. Lawrence O'Donnell's claims that the media never uses the word "lie" notwithstanding, Billo seems to have no problem using it, at least when it applies to Media Matters. Unfortunately he should try looking in the mirror.

The conflict centers around this Media Matters post about gas prices from March 5th, which contrasts a Billo clip from the summer of 2008 with one from this year:

Following GOP strategy, Fox News is again blaming the Obama administration for rising gasoline prices -- a claim that has been repeatedly debunked by energy analysts. But back in the summer of 2008, when the average U.S. gasoline price hit a record high of $4.11, Fox said that "no President has the power to increase or to lower gas prices."

I shouldn't have to actually say this, but I will since it's the center of the Billo lie: Republican George W. Bush was President in the summer of 2008. Keep that thought while I lay out his very weird, Orwellian up-is-down argument, where he invokes the ghost of Breitbart as proof of evil intent. More from Media Matters:

In 2008, Fox's coverage occasionally even mirrored the facts: expanding domestic oil drilling will not significantly lower prices, and the only way to reduce our vulnerability to gas price spikes is to use less oil. Perhaps there was more room for reality-based coverage at Fox when there wasn't an incumbent president to defeat?

Here is O'Reilly's insane argument:

O'REILLY: Before he died, Andrew Breitbart spoke to The Hollywood Reporter. That was the last interview he ever did. Mr. Breitbart was upset because he believed the left-wing media was trying to destroy him. He pointed to Media Matters as the primary offender.

Breitbart went on to accuse the far-left website of receiving orders from the DNC and passing those orders on to MSNBC. Breitbart called it a rigged operation and was furious that a news agency as powerful as NBC would engage in dishonest practices.

O'Reilly starts babbling about George Soros and corruption of the editorial process right after that.

So, Billo, That's some classic right-wing projection there. Accuse your enemy of what you are doing. I've written this so often it's probably etched on this site in stone, but let me adjust the tense: Breitbart lied. He lied, and he spoke lies easily because lies were his native tongue. So please excuse me if I scoff at Breitbart's paranoia for a moment.

There. Much better. If only his lying sites could have been destroyed with the truth, but alas. As long as there is an appetite for lies, those sites will soldier on, with or without Andrew Breitbart, and definitely in partnership with Fox News.

Billo now steps up with his claim that he, the Great and Powerful O'Reilly, has been Media Matters' victim, too!

O'REILLY: As you know, I've been very critical of the oil companies jacking up gas prices when there is plenty of supply available in the USA. I've criticized President Obama for doing nothing about it when he could call the oil chieftains and get behind legislation to limit oil speculation.

Continue reading »

DOWNLOADS: (508)

PLAYS: (3463)

Embed

Thanks to Newt Gingrich, it appears that a refresher course in Saul Alinsky and his teachings are in order, because clearly Bill O'Reilly and his sidekick Monica Crowley have no clue, even with Alan Colmes there to try and set the record straight.

Let's start with the end of this clip, where Colmes correctly asserts that the group most effectively employing Alinsky's tactics is the tea party. It's true. Tea party organizing has been exactly what Alinsky advised young radicals to do.

Via The Guardian:

It hurt me to see the American army with bayonets advancing on American boys and girls. But the answer I gave to the young radicals seemed to me the only realistic one: "Do one of three things. One, go and find a wailing wall and feel sorry for yourselves. Two, go psycho and start bombing – but this will only swing people to the right. Three, learn a lesson. Go home, organise, build power and at the next convention, you be the delegates.

The tea party did this quite well, and the Occupy movement has taken some steps in that direction as well. Alinsky's message is clear: Don't simply protest. Act.

There's nothing radical about that at all, but to hear O'Reilly go on about it, it's just socialism, writ large. It's not socialism; it's democracy. Here was Alinsky's stated purpose, as laid out in "Rules for Radicals":

“What follows is for those who want to change the world from what it is to what they believe it should be. ‘The Prince’ was written by Machiavelli for the Haves on how to hold power. ‘Rules for Radicals’ is written for the Have-Nots on how to take it away.”

In a democracy, the power can only be with the people when the people stand up and speak for themselves, and then act on the collective message by inserting themselves into the political process. Tea partiers did this by protesting, and then running for school boards, state assemblies, state senates, and the United States Congress. It's classic Alinsky, which absolutely horrified Billo when Alan Colmes calmly pointed it out.

Bill O'Reilly isn't a fool. He knows this. But as long as he can keep the audience terrified of the name Alinsky without actually pointing out that the man was not some kind of radical socialist but one who believed in the power of communities and the disempowered to self-empower, he keeps the lie alive.

Continue reading »

DOWNLOADS: (161)

PLAYS: (1238)

Embed

I keep hearing this ridiculous canard in Republican debates and now from John Boehner about the alleged jobs bills the Republicans have passed that the "Democrat Senate" refuses to act upon. Since I watched the better part of their activity in real time, I know this is a lie. But most people aren't obsessive-compulsive about government and politics and might not realize just how much of a lie it is. So without further ado, let me debunk this claim made by the disingenuous Speaker of the House.

WALLACE: Question -- how will you counter that line of attack?

BOEHNER: Chris, 30 jobs bills passed over the last year in a Republican House of Representatives that are sitting in the United States Senate -- thirty.

Our focus over the last 12 months has been on jobs. Our focus over the course of the next 12 months is going to be on jobs.

The president asked us to extend the payroll tax credit, to make sure that we extended unemployment insurance with reforms, and make sure that doctors that dealt with Medicare patients were adequately reimbursed. And he asked us to do it for a year. We did it for a year. It was the United States Senate who decided, we're just going to do it for two months and we can't agree on how we're going to offset these costs. And so, we'll just kick the can down the road.

To make sure they back up their public claims with what might appear to be "fact", they've built a page on the House of Representatives site with a list of their so-called jobs bills, which number 27 and not 30 as the Speaker claims. What follows is a list and a brief explanation of why they are not jobs bills. Feel free to share it widely with your friends who might be inclined to believe Mr. Tobacco Lobbyist Check Distributor without questioning it.

Continue reading »

DOWNLOADS: (444)

PLAYS: (5080)

Embed

No matter what happens to Rick Perry in the GOP primaries, this video will go down in my book as an all-time classic. Can it get much better than a Republican candidate claiming he's going to pare down government and then forgetting which parts he's going to pare down, or in this case, eliminate entirely?

Clearly Rick Perry was not ready for prime time. Anyone want to start a pool on when he drops out of the race? He's spent more than any other candidate in Iowa, and is still in the second-tier, just ahead of Michele Bachmann.

Up till now, I just figured John Boehner was incompetent as GOP Speaker of the House, and he may still be. But Rachel Maddow makes a compelling argument here; namely, that Boehner was set up to fail on purpose by his own caucus. Watch the whole video for her argument.

In thinking about it, that would answer a lot of questions for me about why it was Tea Party freshmen who defected first after firmly declaring they would not, could not possibly vote for a 2-month payroll tax cut. If Cantor saw this battle as one he could set Boehner up to lose, he must really have designs on that Speaker seat before he loses in 2012.

I think there will be more to this story in the months to come.

Today's daily dose of wingnuttery was so rich I hardly know where to begin, so I'll just dive in. We begin with Pat Robertson, who is very, very worried about President Obama's visit to Indonesia.

Via Right Wing Watch:

Robertson: You know Lee the thing that somehow concerns me, they say he’s going back to the place that he spent his childhood, he spent four years in Indonesia, I don’t know if he was trained in a madrassa, one of those Muslim schools, but nevertheless that is his inclination. His father was a Kenyan socialist and he talks about the roots of his father. So he’s got an African and an Indonesian background. I don’t know what his mother was doing; she just sort of flitted around. But nevertheless, this may give him a warped perspective of what needs to be done to make America the greatest nation on earth.

Yes, of course. The President is going back to the country where he spent a few childhood years. Funny how Robertson never thinks about whether those childhood years were as great as he thinks they were, because you know, every 9-year old looks back with fondness on local children pelting him with rocks for being a black guy, after all.

Pat Robertson, king of the smarmy insinuation, pandering to the Christian loyalists waiting to lap it all up.

Then we have Rick Perry sounding the dog whistle for the faithful with this, via TalkingPointsMemo:

Rick Perry says President Obama, the son of a teen mother who frequently was absent from his life and often was stretched financially, grew up the easy way. It’s the latest in a series of winks at conspiracy-minded conservatives deeply suspicious about the president’s background.

Perry’s comments came as he discussed his new ad attacking Obama for saying US policymakers have grown “lazy” about honing America’s competitive edge, a comment that Republicans have inaccurately suggested was aimed at American workers. Asked by FOX News host Sean Hannity about the spot, Perry launched into a highly personal attack on Obama.

“It reveals to me that he grew up in a privileged way,” he said. “He never had to really work for anything.”

He added that “we need a president who has been through their ups and downs in life, and understands what it’s like to have to deal with the issues in our economy that we have today in America.”

Why that dirty, lowdown, food-stamp sucking President! Rick Perry's going to set the record straight about him, because you know, those poor folks just don't ever work for anything. They just wait for the government to hand it to them, right?

Finally, we have Andrew Breitbart's Big Hollywood editor-in-chief, John Nolte spewing a series of tweets hoping for violence against OWS protesters.

Continue reading »

DOWNLOADS: 80

PLAYS: 524

Embed

Ohio's referendum on pay cuts and union-busting is coming up for a vote on Tuesday. As outside right-wing money floods the state, Republican lawmakers are trying to shift from defense to offense in the face of very long odds, since most Ohioans support repeal of this horrible law.

This short clip from a public radio interview in Ohio should give you a sense of the attitudes of Republicans in that state. In it, State Representative (and Speaker Pro Tempore) of the Ohio House of Representatives makes this statement in response to a question about why lawmakers expect sacrifice from public workers while not sacrificing anything themselves. Here's the money quote in response to the question:

Because it’s not merited. I earn my pay. I think that was just political baloney. So they can say in an ad, `Gee , you know, they didn’t support a pay cut.’ Well, no, I don’t support a pay cut. Republicans earn their money. Apparently Democrats don’t. They feel they should be paid less. That may be true. Maybe we’ll just cut the Democrats’ pay.

Daily Kos:

This time around, the Republican-dominated Ohio legislature has already attempted to disenfranchise 900,000 Ohio voters---nearly 20% of the overall electorate. The vast majority of these newly disenfranchised citizens come from demographics indicating they are progressive voters who would vote to defeat Issue 2. Republican efforts came through HB 194, designed to make it difficult for the elderly, disabled, poor, and students to vote. Thankfully, a separate petition drive has temporarily blocked this latest reincarnaton of Jim Crow in the north.

But the GOP did kill early voting on the weekend before the election. This hugely successful expansion of the effective franchise had allowed tens of thousands of Ohioans to vote at public locations the Saturday and Sunday prior to the 2008 presidential election. This “excess of democracy” proved too much for the 1%, which got rid of it this year on the back of one of the legislature’s many anti-voter rights bills.

Everyone should view this vote as a testing ground for 2012.

Continue reading »