The Media Still Sucks

Today, some asshat decided to get all shooty down there in Arizona and shoot a bunch of people, including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, Federal Judge John Moll and a 9-year old child. The suspect, a one 22-year old Jared Lee Loughner, is now in custody. I have already heard my share of comments to the effect of "We don't yet know what motivated the shooter". I really don't like it when statements like that are thrown into the mix of reporting for various reasons. One, I'm not really sure, at the point, that it matters what may have "motivated" someone to go to a public event and start shooting people. And two, the most obvious and likely answer to the question of "Why?" is that there is obviously some sort of mental illness afoot. You can't tell me that, whether previously identified or not, whether previously treated or not, that someone who goes to a public event and shoots a bunch of people doesn't have just a touch of mental illness going on. And even if you think that this might be the exception to the rule (which, by the way, would make you such a softhead that I think that you should stop reading this right now and go buy yourself and industrial strength helmet for your soft, soft dome), what say you check out Shooty McShooterson's YouTube page and get back to me with your assessment of his mental stability.

Naturally, the media is practically soiling themselves over all of this news that they suddenly have to cover. It's just unfortunate that they suck so badly at it. And while they don't see the consequences of their suckage at non-critical moments in news coverage, there are quite obvious consequences to their suckage at critical moments in breaking news coverage. I am specifically calling out CNN, Reuters and NPR. I am vaguely calling out all of the others who participated in the same irresponsible acts that CNN, Reuters and NPR did. All of these news stations, with their rush to be the "first" to report, had reported that Rep. Giffords had died. She, in fact, has not died. She, in fact, was shot in the head (yes, I realize that isn't good, but if she's still alive, you can't say that she's dead) and made it through surgery and is in critical condition. That's not dead. (Her neurosurgeon said that he is "optimistic" that she will recover. I don't know what that means, but I do know that it means she still isn't dead.)

What is wrong with you, CNN, Reuters, NPR and others?! You are supposed to be news outlets. You're supposed to report the news, you jackwagons. What does that say about you when you report utter crap that just isn't true? It says that you suck at your job and, while I don't often call for people to lose their jobs, whoever it was that gave the go-ahead to say that someone was dead when she wasn't should lose their job, as they are obviously completely incompetent and incapable of performing at the level needed when the pressure is on. Do you know how many people, including those who know Rep. Giffords, could have been watching any of your crap news sources and heard that she had died? Of course you do! That's why you reported it! Can you imagine the grief that was caused by your irresponsible actions, probably due to wanting to get the story out there first? Of course you don't! That's why you reported it! At the risk of sounding like someone's grandmother, you really should be ashamed of yourselves.

You know what all of this means, don't you? I fear it means that the days of public access to those who represent the people who should be able to have access them are gone. Because if there are two things that the government does well, they are nothing and overreact. I fear the end of those town hall meetings that had gathered so much steam six months ago. I fear the end of any sort of elected official ever poking their head out in public again. (I also fear an overabundance of crappy news reporting on this story over the next few days, but that's a little off the point I was trying to make here.) Way to go, assclown.

In conclusion, The New York Post (while getting their facts straight in not incorrectly reporting that anyone had died, still can't manage to get the name of Gabrielle Giffords father correct, even though they have the SAME last name. Seriously, who edits stuff anymore? Anyone? How can you get his name WRONG? It's the freaking SAME!) reported that "The congresswoman’s father Spencer Gifford, 75, was rushing to the hospital when asked if his 40-year-old daughter had any enemies. "Yeah," he told The Post. "The whole Tea Party." OK, now I'm going to give the man a pass on that comment, as his daughter had just been shot in the head. I have nothing bad to say about that man and his statement at all. But I would like to point out that the Tea Party doesn't want to shoot Congresswomen in the head. The Tea Party does not want to shoot and kill Federal judges, nor does the Tea Party want to shoot and kill small children. The Tea Party merely wants less spending and lower taxes. See? No shooting involved at all in that statement. This isn't a Tea Party thing. This is a whack-a-do thing. Please remember that. Please encourage others to remember that. One crazy person does not necessarily define an entire organization. (Oh, and President Barry isn't a Muslim, either. I figured I'd just throw that one in there again. As long I'm encouraging people to speak the truth, it can't hurt to remind folks of that just one more time.)

I pray for all of the victims and all of their families to find the strength and the courage to make it through this. (See? I don't have to mock everything.)

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The Condescending President

You know what I can't stand? Wait. Let me narrow that down a little bit, lest we be here all the live long day. You know what I can't stand about politicians? Wait. Hmm. There's no way of phrasing this without generating an incredibly long list of possibilities. I'll just cut to the chase. I can't stand a condescending politician. And I really can't stand a condescending President. I'm talking to you, President Barry.

The huffy folks over there at The Huffington Post tell us that President Barry was at some town hall meeting that CNBC broadcast live on Monday. And I guess that the question or the issue was simple enough. Apparently, an audience member pressed President Barry to chime in on what it is that makes the Tea Party movement do its thing. For some reason, President Barry seems to think that there are no specific goals that these folks have. I'm not sure why he thinks that. But whatever the reason is, he came across sounding like a condescending jackass.

Here's part of what he replied (and it's the part that really ticked me off): "So the challenge, I think, for the Tea Party movement is to identify, specifically, what would you do?....It's not enough just to say get control of spending. I think it's important for you to say, I'm willing to cut veterans' benefits or I'm willing to cut Medicare or Social Security benefits or I'm willing to see these taxes go up. What you can't do, which is what I've been hearing a lot from the other side, is we're going to control government spending, we're going to propose $4 trillion of additional tax cuts, and that magically somehow things are going to work. Now, some of these are very difficult choices." Oh, for cryin' out loud.

There are two basic goals of the Tea Party movement. The second one can be almost automatic if the first goal is met. It's all about smaller government. Yes, it's also about lower taxes, but it's largely about smaller government. The government is huge and bloated. You don't think that there could be some cut backs in government there, President Barry? Really? Because you seem to think that we're all a bunch of idiots who would believe you that the only things that could be cut would be services that are essential.

This is what politicians do. Arnold Schwarzenegger pulls it at least once a year in California when they can't agree on a budget for this fiscally doomed state. They tell folks that, in order to stay within a budget, they're going to have to cut services like firefighters and policemen and school teachers. You don't want that, do you? No, of course not! That's when they justify raising taxes. But hold on a minute! Aren't there things within the governmental bureaucracy that could be cut other than firefighters, policemen and teachers? I'm 100% positive that there are.

President Barry, are you trying to tell me that every single government agency and department and job is absolutely, completely necessary? I don't think that it is. Are you going to tell me that every single government pension plan isn't overly generous? I don't think that you can tell me that and not have your nose grow at least six inches. You're trying to tell me that none of these governmental departments overlap and do the same work that other agencies do? And I'm supposed to believe you? Really?

How about, before you go suggesting cuts to Medicare and to veteran's benefits, you cut all services to those who are in this country illegally. How much money would that save? And that's just one area where money could be saved and where government could be shrunk. Don't go around threatening us by minimizing our obligation to our soldiers by suggesting that we should cut their services. How dare you. Seriously.

Smaller government. Lower taxes. Reduce the size of the government and spending will go down some. Reduce the size of the government to what it really needs to be reduced by and watch spending go down a great deal. Watch spending go down and watch the need to taxes to raise diminish. Remember, over fifty percent of Americans want fewer services and smaller government according to two different polls, one done in April of this year and the other conducted in September of this year. Over fifty percent want smaller government. Is that specific enough for you, President Barry? How else do we need to spell it out for you?

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Tea Party Signage Goodness

On Sunday, there were Tea Party rallies across the country. And as is now the norm with these sorts of things, signs were abundant. This is neither a good thing, nor a bad thing, but it is in many instances, an amusing thing. I love signs. Let's see if the type of sign that is at every other rally of this sort was present on Sunday. Come on, signers! I know you won't let me down!

First, we're going to need a small child who has no idea what is going on. Do we have one of those? Indeed we do!

Next, we're going to need to see a small child who may have some idea of what is going on, but doesn't look thrilled about it. Do we have one of those?

Check! OK, now we need something inferring that President Barry is a Muslim. (He's not a Muslim, by the way. He's a socialist. That's bad enough. If you don't want to like him, you don't need to make things up. Just don't like him because he's a socialist and you won't end up sounding like a nutjob...or a complete nutjob.)

Yeah, I'm not sure if that really infers that President Barry is a Muslim or not, but it has a pretty good depiction of a rather lopsided mosque and it says "Obama" on it, so it's going to have to do. Up next, I need a sign comparing President Barry to Hitler. Hitler. Anyone? Anyone? What?! NO Hitler comparisons?! OMG!

I could not believe that I didn't see a single sign with Hitler on it. Not one! I was kind of relieved, but I will admit that it also disappointed me just a tad. Hitler is always good for a laugh. Well, now. (It can't be too soon for that kind of joke, can it? Naaaahhh.) I'm going to need a sign that wasn't really thought out very well in terms of spacing.

Don't get me wrong. I suppose that she could have planned it like that. I just am not sure why she would have wanted to. Regardless, kudos to her for putting his hand on there anyway. It does make it kind of stand out a little bit; I will give her that. Now I'm going to need a sign that may have been planned out the way that it was, but it was probably a bad idea because it takes too much work to read it.

It's like looking at one of those charts when you go to the eye doctor. At first, I almost thought that the letters were supposed to spell something. And they are, just not cumulatively. We're still missing a sign which is perfectly fine on its own, but is photographed in an ironic manner.

Yeah, he looks anything but vigilant. He has the right idea for the type of sign that you need for these things, though. Bright colors on a dark background and a simple message. Granted, it's more fun the way that other folks do it, but if you're going for effect, follow this guy's lead. OK, we're almost done with our list here. We're down to needing a sign that makes absolutely NO sense what so ever.

OK, so, yeah. Wow. Is that our standard now? The ol' 18-letter standard? Anything that you can make fit in 18 letters makes for a good comparison, is that how this works? You know what else has 18 letters? TEAPARTYCUCKOOBIRD. And finally, we're going to need at least two signs that just make you laugh. Here's one:

I have no idea what Mickey Mouse has to do with any of this, but that's what makes it amusing. And here's the second one that just makes you laugh:

Good for you, lady, you smart ass cracker, you. Good. For. You.

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Tea Party Photo Goodness

Yesterday was tax day here in the US. And as one could expect, there were Tea Party protests/rallies/demonstrations across the country. They were entertaining, but not as entertaining as the health care protests last summer were. Now those were something. One of the main differences that I've noticed is that the Tea Party folks, for the most part, can spell. That doesn't mean they know what they're talking about, but it is concerting that they have a grasp of the basics. That being said, let's take a look at some signs and scenes from yesterday, shall we?

Here we have a child being made to hold a sign that is supposed to represent her feelings. The sign reads "Obama took my toof fairy money!" He apparently also took the forward facing Fs, Rs and Es, as well as the TH sound.

That wasn't the only sign wielding child out yesterday. Here's another one. Um, honey? I'm not so sure that you want to be part of a "tea bagger family". Tea party family, perhaps. But I think that being a "tea bagger family" is probably illegal. Definitely off-putting.

I appreciated the originality of the Tea Party Mobile or whatever you want to call it below. I like how there's just a little bit of everything thrown in there. Jesus. Truth. Insanity. Disaster. Lies. Taxes. Pork. Health care. Right. Wrong. Repent. Perverts. Wait. Perverts? Yep. Over there on the left. Next to Pork. Perverts. OK. I'm against perverts. Nice. Thanks.

This was one of the very few misspelled signs that were out there. The sign to the left of it was one of the most all inclusive signs out there.

It wouldn't be a protest in America without some nutjob questioning President Barry's citizenship. What is wrong with you people?

Where's the birth certificate? It's on the Internet, nutjob. And yes, it's real. For cryin' out loud.

And along those same lines, it just wouldn't be a protest without someone making the Obama-Osama comparison. Yes, we know. They sound a lot alike. Adolf and Rudolph sound a lot alike as well, but you don't hear folks comparing that little reindeer fellow to Hitler, now, do you?

Ahh. Go back to Kenya. Lovely. You're not doing a lot to add credibility to your cause, but you do make me laugh, so that's something. By the way, HE'S NOT FROM KENYA! Morons.

And here we have a little birther action combined with a little "In Living Color" action. Interesting combo to say the least.

Why bother with multiple signs when you can just cram it all onto one piece of poster board. The problem with it is that they're really only taking a stand against two of those things. They don't want the fascism or the socialism and they seem to think that the Obamacare sucks. Other than that, they're just sort of stating issues. Oh, how I only wish they had stated what "ALIAN CARE" was exactly and why it is illegal.

I've got feathers and a pitchfork. I also have torches and axe handles if you need some of those as well, sir.

And finally, we have these folks. The one, dressed like a priest (I think) is proclaiming that God hates taxes. I don't know why God would care about taxes. God doesn't pay taxes. But that's not really what I'm focused on here. I'm focused on what in the hell that is over to the right of that dude! It's like one of those guys from the cantina in Star Wars wearing some sort of mossy coat and trousers. It's odd and I have no idea what it has to do with tax protests. And I'm dying to know what brochure he's holding.

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Ignorance Is Bliss for Protesters

I don't scare easily. Sure, certain things frighten me. Heights. Spiders. Nancy Pelosi. All terrifying to a degree. But rendering actual fear inside of me requires an element of the unknown, an element of the unpredictable, and an element of imminent danger to me and/or my surroundings. Having laid that groundwork for the appropriate context I can now say that a fair number of those folks at the Tea Party protests in Washington, DC on September 12 scared the crap out of me. Holy Bat-S, Robin.

I typically find the Tea Party protests to be amusing and I really like checking out the signs that people have made. While I am all for a peaceful protest against governmental incompetence and screw jobs, I find the idea of taking the time to make a sign that you are then going to lug with you down to some park or plaza or whatever so that you can hold said sign and then march, perhaps chant, and maybe make an appearance on Fox News, to be an activity that I just can't see myself doing. I could possibly see myself showing up at one of these protests, but probably just to take pictures of the signs, not to actually align myself with some of these misguided folks. As I stated earlier, it takes a lot to scare me and the protesters in Washington, DC on the 12th scared me.

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The folks over there at LiveLeak.com provided some extremely amusing video of some 'man on the street' style interviews with people who were protesting. That's where the fear began to seep in for me. Most disconcerting was that whenever people were asked what it was specifically that they were protesting, they all had to pause and think as if that was the LAST thing they expected to be asked and as if they hadn't really considered WHAT the protest was about. If I go to a football game and I've taken the time to know what time the game starts and where it is and then to actually put on pants and get myself to the game on time to watch it, if someone asks me why I'm there, I'm going to be able to say in less than a second without any thought at all, "I'm here to watch the football game." (I'm also likely to add: "You moron. What do you think all of those guys down there on that field wearing pads and helmets and throwing that funny shaped ball are doing?) How do those people need time to think about what they are protesting against? Why don't they know right off the bat? Were they hoping for a Phone a Friend?

Let's take a look at some of the more colorful people and some of their intriguing, often perplexing, statements that they give to the man on the street interviewer.

"I just wanted to see the Capitol building, see the White House. I had no idea all of this was going on here." Um, sir? Excuse me, sir, but I couldn't help but noticing that you're carrying around a rather large wooden cross with you. If you didn't know the protest was going on, what's with the cross?

This chap was able to articulate that he was there to protest against the health care bill because he doesn't really think it's the government's job. I don't know what that means exactly, but it's a pretty good answer. Too bad that was only part one of the question. When posed with, "Can you tell me anything about the health care bill?" You know. The one that he's there protesting against? Yeah, that one. When asked if he could tell the reporter anything about it, Mr. Mohawk just laughed and said, "Not really!" Sure, that seems reasonable.

This guy, when asked what should be done with Medicare, said, "You probably don't want my opinion. Abolish it! Abolish it!" He said it while giggling. I think he just liked saying "abolish".

This sign was inquired about as to whether the Kennedy's would think it was funny. The answer was "Probably not, but hey! They've done some things too, so...." When asked for something specific that the Kennedys "have done", dude shrugs his shoulders and says, "Well, I can't think of anything right off the bat!" You can't?! Why NOT?

I don't know who this guy is that's asking the questions, but I like him. Not much gets past him. He always looks at these folks with an expression that they interpret as his being genuinely interested in what they have to say. Really, he's absolutely perplexed as to how they became this way.

This man wins for the tallest sign of the day. The tallest sign reads "Joe Wilson for President". The man is pretty adamant that HE himself yelled out "You lie!" before Joe Wilson did. (Apparently, he isn't aware that because he was in his living room and the rest of the country was NOT, that it doesn't matter who yelled it first.) When the reporter brings up that Joe Wilson, in the past, had voted for some bills which did extend some benefits in different forms to illegal immigrants. That took about 20 seconds to soak in, but the guy seemed to get it and asked, "Joe Wilson did that?" The reporter nods and then, the guy, still holding his sign says, "I am not supporting Joe Wilson for President." Yes, I think you ARE! Look up! Look up at your tall, tall sign! "Joe Wilson for President"! That's what it says. And you're holding the sign that says it! You ARE supporting Joe Wilson for President. Surprise!

Unfortunately, this woman here must not read this blog. If she did, she would know that President Barry is NOT a Muslim! But she doesn't seem to have that information, as evidenced by her stating, "I'd like to see a Christian in the White House is what I'd like to see." Reporter: "You don't think Obama's a Christian?" Woman who doesn't read this blog: "No! He's a Muslim!" ::: deep breath ::: He's NOT a Muslim. For cryin' out loud.

This kid can't be more than 15 and he already has SO much to UN-learn it's going to take a while. Don't look for him to be a productive member of society until he's at least 32. His assessment of President Barry's impact on the United States during his first 8 months in office? "It hasn't even been a year yet and he's already like...like destroyed like half of the country. I mean, come on. That's crazy." Truer words could not have been spoken, my boy. You're right. That IS crazy. (And ma'am? First of all, your hair is on fire. Second, please stop nodding whenever the boy starts babbling like that. He's going to think you're endorsing that school of thought and that's not going to help anything.)

And now for a theology lesson, brought to you by old, overly tan, large conspicuous silver necklace wearing protester guy. "It mentions his name in the Bible. I think it was under Hebrew. But it stated that, uh, uh, Barack Obama. They took his name and they separated his name and they deciphered it and Barack Obama, in it's content means 'anti-Christ'." Well. That explains that. What it doesn't explain is who the hell this 'Nancy Poloskie' is on your sign there.

"The Nazis have the brown shirts. OK? Obama has proposed, I keep hearing him talk about it, he wants to have a nation of, what is it, two million citizen army! Armed as well as the army?!" The reporter tries to reassure her that it would be a volunteer army and that they wouldn't be armed. She just repeats herself, "Armed as well as the army!" She then looks almost sideways at him, her eyes full of fear, not for her crazy talk, but for his not knowing about this mythical brown shirt-esque army. Ma'am, I'm going to go out on a limb here without any formal knowledge of anything having to do with our armed forces and just say that I believe it is highly unlikely that private citizens are going to be as well armed as the US Army is. Again, I'm going out on a limb, but I see it as very doubtful that the nuclear codes are going to be handed out to this group, so why don't you just calm down a bit, get out of the sun, take that Prozac and head back to bed.

Seriously. I think I'm in love with this reporter. He gives folks a very impromptu, very easy to understand, primer on the "czar" posts. See, people were confused. They couldn't figure out why these "czars", which are from Russia, were here in the US and they didn't know what they were doing, what they were being paid, who they answer to or if they were going to be given land and start making some rules. When he calmly explains to them that they have no executive power, that they are simply an advisory board position and that the first czar was appointed by Ronald Reagan, he is met with confused stares. I can't tell if they're really surprised though, or if they're just being polite and trying not to call him a crackpot. One guy (who looks an awful lot like Gary Sandy from WKRP in Cincinnati') is clearly not buying that line of crap and says, "That I don't know." One of the women mentions that it's the first time she's ever heard of that notion. But then the old guy with the hat, without blinking, flinching or batting an eye says assertively, "And you know this HOW?" WHY weren't they asking questions like that, WHY weren't they being skeptical like that when they first heard their MIS-information?! WHY?!?

Their skepticism continues along the lines of an inquisition with the woman who is as tall as she is wide there, asking indignantly, "We appoint them to start advising anyone? Who? Who are they advising? The President? Our government officials?" But they seem to listen when the reporter explains that there have always been advisers to the President and that this time it seems to be the terminology more than anything else that has people concerned. The one older woman (who is wearing a pair of jeans that I just cannot figure out what is going on with them.

What kills me is that these are folks who claim to be oh-so "concerned" about the direction the country is going in and I have to assume that they vote accordingly. But they still think the country is going in the wrong direction. Yeah, see, it's not so much just people like that who scare me; it's people like that who can vote who scare me. The video of all of the interviews with the geniuses I've quoted above and many others can be seen below or over there at LiveLeak.com

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