Tiller's Murder by Domestic Anti-AbortionTerrorists: A Problem of Conservatives

Most people following the trial of Scott Roeder, who killed Dr. George Tiller in cold blood in an act of domestic terrorism, know that Roeder was convicted for his act and will serve at least a minimum of 25 years in prison. I applaud the verdit.

However, this article is worrisome in that it shows how angry Roeder's supporters are and how much more likely we are to see even more acts of deadly domestic terrorism against abortion doctors in the future.

Let's just forget the fact that everything abortion doctors do is within the prescribed limits of the law. No matter what these anti-abortion terrorists think, there should be no outrage at the application of the rule of law to those like Roeder who kill abortion doctors in cold blood or who attempt to kill them. The fact is that their own personal morality, even if they think it justifies breaking the law, should in no way allow for an exception to the consequences for breaking the law.

I, for one, have a moral objection to war. Does that mean I should be justified in front of the law for killing soldiers who kill others, innocents included, because of my moral code? Should I expect to get some kind of exemption from the law that criminalizes the cold-blooded murder of soldiers simply because I oppose their killing others in the context of war? The short answer is: No way. If I want to kill soldiers because of my beliefs, I better be willing to take the punishment for doing so. And I certainly shouldn't be surprised, much less outraged, at the punishment I would get as prescribed by the law.

Anyway ... I want to leave you with this final comment on the matter: I would bet any amount of money that every single one of these anti-abortion extremists, those who think it is acceptable to kill an abortion doctor in cold blood, are conservatives (or at least self-identify as conservatives). I'd also say that a vast majority of them, if they had to identify with a political party, would characterize themselves as Republican. Let's chew on that for a while, shall we?

Obama vs. Congressional Republicans

This is why I admire and respect Obama. He faces down the GOP on their own turf and he methodically and intelligently breaks down and dismantles the empty partisanship of the GOP. And he does so in a way that demonstrates his clear command over, and impressive detailed knowledge of, the issues. He comes across as a serious leader committed to governing, while the GOP comes across as politicians less interested in co-governing and more interested in political grandstanding. How anyone can listen to Obama and think this man is the Muslim, anti-Christ, baby-killing, communist destroyer of all that is good and noble about America is simply delusional and hopelessly caught up in their own little ideological cocoon. Watch the whole exchange:

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The Cocoon of Ideology

I was thinking about the whole James O'Keefe situation and his apparent disconnectedness from any sense of right or wrong when it comes to pushing an ideological cause. His worldview is so distorted and disconnected from mainstream common sense and balanced critical thinking that I really think he perceives that the rightness of his ideological worldview, when buffeted and applauded by an uncritical, adoring cocoon of like-minded ideologues, justifies any behavior he might engage in. And I should say that I don't think this is the exclusive domain of the cocooned rightwing. There are a fair number of cocooned leftwing ideologues who think and behave likewise. In part, it's because of the unreflexive ideological polarization of our political culture, but it's also been entrenched and nurtured by an insular, but omnipresent ideological media -- ranging from talk radio to bloggers/twitterers/facebookers to alternative online media clearinghouses like Drudge, WorldNetDaily, and the Huffington Post.

The constant and circular reinforcement of the absolute certainty of the moral righteousness of their thinking and behavior leads these uncritical militants to do the crazy things they do. I'm not sure what can be done to counter this, but I think it is ultimately bad for our civil society and our political culture. Part of the reason why I am drawn to engage with the rightwing of the blogosphere and the new media is not only to "know the enemy" but also (and primarily) to constantly keep my own self from getting sucked into the ideological comfort of leftist groupthink.

Copyrighting and Trademarking the "Who Dat" Slogan

Word going around town these days is that folks who are selling stuff that has the phrase "Who Dat?" on it are being told to cease and desist by certain entities who claim proprietary rights over the phrase and any revenues generated from its usage.

I say to those entities: Screw You! If I were selling anything with the "Who Dat?" phrase on it, and if I were told to cease and desist under threat of a lawsuit, I'd tell that person to bring on the lawsuit and be prepared for a countersuit for punitive damages.

There's not a court nor a jury in this city that would ever recognize anyone's claim to own the "Who Dat?" phrase. First off, the phrase has been in the public domain for ages. Second, it belongs to Saints fans. We say it, we popularize it, we make it valuable. There's not an entity out there who can say they own the phrase because they invented it or created it. It's pure public domain stuff. Anyone creative enough to use it and profit from it, I say good for them. This is an instance where the rapaciousness of corporate greed (and the seediest, most pernicious side of capitalism) overreaches and sucks the very freedom out of community.

Quote of the Day

"Conservatives have become used to the idea that their ideology allows them to break the law. Because their ideology is above the law. Just ask Cheney."

-- Andrew Sullivan, commenting on rightwing hack nutcase pimp-impersonator James O'Keefe's brazenly criminal attempt to wiretap U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu's phones.

The Lunacy and Criminality of the Unhinged Fringe Rightwingnuts

Remember that guy who posed as a pimp to bust ACORN? Well, now the dude is engaging in a bit of Watergate criminality of his own. This nutjob is taking the law into his own hands (and actually violating the law) by engaging in a surreptitious effort to wiretap Senator Mary Landrieu's phones. He and his cohorts in crime, thinking that they are engaging in some kind of college prank, are falsifying their identity, posing as telephone repairmen, all with the intent to break into and wiretap the phone lines in US Senator Mary Landrieu's offices.

I blame the damn Patriot Act and its legitimization of warrantless wiretapping for encouraging these punks to break the law. After all, if you break the law in service of some self-defined higher political good -- even if it is ideologically motivated and driven by a clear partisan agenda -- then not only will all be forgiven, it will actually be rewarded with fame and money. Hell, if the US Government can torture people to extract information, what's the big deal in wiretapping someone's phone to extract information. Where are the civil libertarians in all this.

And what's the punk's reaction? Apparently it's a Mel Gibson Braveheart moment (or maybe a Joe Wilson moment), only this time it's not "FREEEEEEDOM" or "YOU LIE" that is the clarion call at the moment of being oppressed by the state, but "TRUUUUUUUUTH"!!! The guy's a deluded publicity hound who will apparently join the parents of the Balloon Boy in hare-brained schemes to garner some attention. I'd like to know who is funding this crackpot's operation.

And you know something else? The damage to this guy's credibility will serve, in a way, to vindicate the claims of ACORN that this guy's methods are not only unfair, but also criminal.

If the rightwing wants to embrace this kid, go for it. He's yours anyway. Thank God for that.

Sour Milk at the Tea Party

I couldn't help but chuckle with smug satisfaction at the disintegration of the Tea Party movement. It was a cynical movement built upon rage against the machine to begin with; but this latest fiasco will only hasten the demise of a wannabe social movement. Sure, there will be fragmented bursts of local Tea Party frenzy every now and then, but as for making it a national movement with legs? Forget about it. Now, every Teabagger associated with the movement (or at least the Tea Party Convention in question) -- and this includes Sarah Palin, whose exorbitant speaker fee is an outrage against the very sentiments of fiscal frugality and average-Joe accessibility that the Tea Party movement supposedly represents -- is forever tarnished by the fraud and controversy it has engendered. If I were a politician facing the wrath and ire of a Teabagger at a town hall meeting, I would patiently sit through the rants and then get up and ask if they would rather that I protect the public trust according to the example of the Tea Party Nation as reflected by the Tea Party Convention. And then I'd watch their veins pop as they try to explain how that Tea Party is not this Tea Party. And then I'd just smile and say: "Oh, really? ... Interesting ... Next question."

Teen Pregnancies

On the rise. One question: Bristol Palin ... cause or effect?

Saints Going to Da Show!

Saints going to the big show? I must be dreaming. Who woulda thunk that falling down the rabbit hole to wonderland would be such a nice feeling. Surrealicious. Someone pinch me.

Yaaaaaahhh Whoooooo Aaarrrrrggh Daaaaattt?!?!?!?

Geaux Saints!

Just to give folks a sense of things in the Big Easy about the Saints game today ...

All of the major sections of the Sunday print version of the Times-Picayune (except for the Metro Section -- wassup wit dat?!?) had a front page story on the Saints and the Who Dat Nation.

It is true what "they" are saying out there: New Orleans will be awash with tears one way or the other this evening.

I hope they are tears of joy!

Saints 38, Vikings 21.

The two keys to victory -- and they're both defensive: (1) Pressuring Brett Favre; and (2) Containing Percy Harvin -- both on returns and from making receptions as a WR.

Please Wear Your Bicycle Helmets!

I know the temptation to just hop on your bike and ride around with the breeze blowing through your hair is almost irrestible; but please always put on the bicycle helmet.

I have just spend a very stress-filled and worrisome weekend with a close acquaintance who was riding without a helmet and was hit by a car. He was thrown fifteen feet through the air and ended up with in the hospital emergency room. He was extremely lucky because, incredibly, he only suffered a serious concussion and a number of pretty ugly and bloody abrasions. 90% of his abrasions were on his head and face.

The ER Doc told me that it was a miracle that he didn't die, given the force of the collision and the nature of his fall. Even more incredible was that he suffered no broken bones, no skull fracture, no brain-swelling or bleeding, and no internal injuries. Just a nasty concussion and some pretty serious scrapes and bruises. He is now at home resting and recovering well. He should be back to normal activity in a few days.

But the fact is that had he been wearing a bicycle helmet, he might have been able to walk away from the accident with just some minor bumps and bruises and a bit of a fright. The lesson: Buy a helmet and wear it. Always.

The Indecipherable John Georges

I don't know about most observers of the New Orleans mayoral race, but I am finding John Georges to be increasingly unintelligible and off-his-rocker in this campaign. We all know that Georges went on a tirade against the very popular and very effective US Attorney Jim Letten, apparently only because Letten is a Republican. Hell, even I support Jim Letten, because he's done a great job of prosecuting corrupt politicos of whatever partisan stripe. But after his rant got Georges into some hot water, the man just did an unbelievable 180 degree about face and said that he was just joking about Letten and actually supported his continuation as US Attorney. And this is coming from a man who only recently joined the Democratic Party after a much longer stint as an Independent/Republican.

The latest vexing thing to come out of Georges's mouth is this choice bit responding to a question on how the mayoral aspirants in the current race voted in the last, 2006 Mayoral race pitting Landrieu against Nagin:

"Believe it or not, I supported Mitch," he said. "But I voted for Ray because at the end of that campaign, I wasn't satisfied with Mitch. At the very end of the campaign, of course, I listened to Rob [Couhig]. Rob's a smart guy. And he said go with Ray. So I voted for Ray."

Try to wrap your mind around that statement. He supported Mitch but didn't support Mitch. And what changed his mind was that the Republican candidate in that race (and who is currently running again in this race!!!) told him to vote for Nagin. And he did!!! Without question!!! Makes one wonder who, really, would be running New Orleans City Hall in a John Georges administration. Would Rob Couhig be running the show as shadow mayor? Sure seems possible, doesn't it? Regardless, it shows an incredible absence of leadership, independence, and principled conviction in the Georges campaign. The man is such the cynical chameleon, it seems, that knowing what he really envisions for New Orleans and what principles are guiding his candidacy is nigh impossible. I'm not even sure the man has any convictions or guiding principles. Tangentially, it makes me wonder what influence his media contact and communications director, Helena Moreno, has in shaping his message and in getting it out there. Maybe that's the task of a campaign manager; but Ms. Moreno has aligned herself with a candidate whose communication skills leave a lot to be desired, and that just can't be good for Moreno.

Meanwhile, with a slew of important endorsements behind him, it sure looks like Mitch Landrieu is running away with the race, and may even win in the first round out of a crowded field, which would be something indeed. I'm still leaning towards Mitch, but I am not ready to make a solid endorsement as of yet. The thing is, James Perry continues to impress me, and I just can't and won't throw in the towel on Perry. Although it's still a long shot and requires some extra convincing of me on the experience front. Not only does Mitch have good presence and a wonderful communication ability, but his extensive experience and knowledge of the workings of government is almost an insurmountable advantage in my book. But James Perry could still could get my vote and my endorsement if he can translate more convincingly his non-governmental leadership experience to an effective governing leadership capacity. Perry certainly has the charm, the disposition, the attitudes, and the values I want in a candidate (but so does Mitch); but he's got to push that little extra bit to challenge Mitch on the experience and knowledge front.

Racism, Birtherism, and Basketball

The All American Basketball Alliance is proudly calling for a new segregationist culture. Apparently, this group is consciously and purposefully setting up an all white basketball league. Why? No reason than it just doesn't like non-whites and can't stand the thought of shooting hoops with them. Good God Almighty. What has this country come to?

And, yet, the most illuminating thing about this whole bizarre thing is how the anti-Obama birther movement is intimately linked to the All American Basketball Alliance's mission. Read this statement from the All American Basketball League:

"Only players that are natural born United States citizens with both parents of Caucasian race are eligible to play in the league."

These people are nuts. And I bet every single one of the league organizers, players, and supporters identifies as an anti-Obama birther and a movement conservative.

Fallout from the Brown Win in MA

Here's an interesting summation and evaluation of the Brown victory in Massachusetts. Grim news for Democrats. But there was this little tidbit in the article that I wanted to address:

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said Obama has an opportunity to strike a more bipartisan approach.

"The president ought to take this as a message to recalibrate how he wants to govern and if he wants to govern from the middle we'll meet him there," he said.

That's pure b.s. Obama has been "governing from the middle," so to speak, since he came into office. So much so that he's ticked off the hard left. The Republicans, to a person, perhaps with the singular exception of my own House Rep, Republican Joseph Cao, have refused to even consider meeting Obama anywhere near the middle. My gut thinks it's time for Obama to tell the GOP to piss off, to go balls-to-the-wall left populist, and rabble rouse the left in preparation for an epic fight with the tea bagger right. Tit-for-tat and screw any efforts to compromise. Force the "Blue Dog" Democrats and the RINO squishes to take sides once and for all and to let the chips fall where they may. It's a recipe for a kind of civil war, but my irrational side takes some kind of solace in this notion. Left wing rage for right wing rage. And I think the left wing wins if this beast is unleashed. Albeit at great cost to the decency that this country stands for. My brain, though, tells me that Obama has forged the correct path in these trying times and that he should just keep cool and do what he can to govern as effectively as he can with those Republicans and Democrats willing to work with him. It is a compromise solution that absolutely no one likes in the gut, but which is perhaps the only way to really save the decency of this country. I'm trying to let my brain guide me, but the pull of the gut is strong.

From Depression To Rage - The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan

If you are as disgusted by the cynical nature of what passes for the "patriotic" rightwing these days, you must read this commentary from one of Andrew Sullivan's readers.

I glide around my world trying to understand what the current GOP and conservative movement's purpose is, and all I come up with is not a single productive suggestion about how to solve any of the current problems facing us and our world, but rather a singular focus on destroying Obama and taking down the country in the process.

Conservatives and their frenzied tea-bagger nihilism are Gollum-esque in their behavior. In their pursuit of their "precious" vision of the United States, they would rather see the country fail so miserably if it brings down the un-American, socialist-fascist-nazi-joker Muslim traitor in the White House than work with Obama to try to make this country better.

The country was on a precipice of unimaginable collapse a year ago and their response: let's not work with Obama to get us off the cliff, but rather let's just plow into Obama and take us all over the cliff all the while smiling contentedly on the descent into the burning hell of Mount Doom in the smug satisfaction of having recaptured their precious.

Andrew Sullivan Rates Obama's First Year

Andrew Sullivan evaluates Obama's first year in office. And gets it just about pitch perfect, if you ask me.

Who Dat?!?!

The Saints demolished the Cardinals in the Dome. They finally look as if they have recovered their offensive mojo. Highlights here: Link. Reggie Bush had the game of his career.

Now I hope that the Vikings beat the Cowboys today, not because I'm scared of the Cowboys, but rather because I detest the Cowboys and can't bear the thought of the Cowboys possibily going to the Superbowl. Of course, I think the Saints will be at the Superbowl, but if they have to cede that to another team, I'd much prefer that other team to be the Vikings.

Anyway, WHO DAT?!?!

On Haiti: Rush Limbaugh is a F$%&ing A$$

Part of the transcript:

This will play right into Obama’s hands — humanitarian, compassionate. They’ll use this to burnish their, shall we say, credibility with the black community — the both the light-skinned and dark-skinned black community in this country. It’s made to order for them.

To which I say at the top of my lungs: FYYFF!

This is the worst play of the race card I've heard in a long time. For Rush, the US Government, which happens to be led by Obama, sending immediate assistance to a country in which perhaps 100,000 people have died in a horrible tragedy, is nothing more than a ploy to gain some race-hustling credibility. And yet the only person making the US Government's response to a humanitarian crisis caused by an unexpected national disaster a racialized event is Limbaugh. I had very little respect for the man before. I have none now. Piss off, Limbaugh.

Haiti

The long-suffering people of Haiti are facing yet another unimaginable natural disaster and the ensuing human crises.

I haven't written anything about this yet because I am so saddened and feel so helpless that writing about it almost seems fruitless. That, and I'm not quite recovered yet from the paralysis I felt upon hearing the news and seeing the massive destruction to the infrastructure of Port-au-Prince and the loss of so many innocent lives.

Haiti is a country that has had a significant presence in my line of work. I have met and befriended numerous Haitians over the years. I have studied Haiti's people and culture. I have had my students study and learn about Haitian life and culture. In fact, this semester my students in one class will be reading Edwige Danticat's first novel, Breath, Eyes, Memory, and will be watching Jonathan Demme's documentary film titled The Agronomist about the great Haitian radio figure, Jean Dominique. In another class, we'll be reading Paul Farmer's Pathologies of Power, which features Haiti as an important case study of his thesis of structural violence.

May God bless and be with the Haitian people in this sad, terrible tragedy.

Obama's Outrageous Defense Appropriation

I was just mind-boggled and dumbfounded at Obama's $709 billion Defense Department budget appropriation for next year. That's not to mention the recent request being formulated for an additional $33 billion on top of that for the Afghan and Iraq wars.

Can this be correct? $742 billion in total defense expenditures? Almost three-quarters of a trillion dollars on bombs, guns, and violence? WTF?

That's almost as much as the cost of the current Healthcare Reform bills, which the Obama administration and the Congress have tried to make as defecit neutral as possible.

As I've said before, 2010 is the year where one of Obama's absolute top priorities needs to be to get a handle on the federal budget deficit and begin to bend that deficit curve downwards. A Defense Department budget for 2010 of $742 billion is NOT a good start down the road to dealing with this priority.

Obama just needs to take the heat from opportunistic Republicans who will call him soft on defense for cutting defense spending, and revisit this absurd Defense Department appropriation.