Joe Scarborough: 'Dick Cheney Has Won The Day' On Foreign Policy (VIDEO)

Joe Scarboroug­h also said that if his hero and mentor father was alive, he'd vote for Rick Perry - a man who's given back handed support to the South's sovereignt­y over slavery by showing how they could have avoided the Civil War, and thereby maintain slavery; a man opposed to the Civil Rights law...etc. etc. etc.



Hey Joe. We get it. You got your "twofer" - you BOTH coronated Cheney above Obama in the foreign policy arena by erasing Obama's nuanced, original and effective approach and making him a "follower" rather than "Leader" in order to legitimate the dominant right-wing narrative and cause doubts about his leadership in the minds of independen­ts AND you associated Obama with Cheney, who is hated on the Left, thereby casting doubt on Obama's promises to end the wars and change America's standing in the world etc., In other words, you created a little narrative plot point that could help turn off independen­ts as well as progressiv­es, both of whom he needs to win re-electio­n.



How fiendishly clever old chap.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Michele Bachmann Says Hurricane Irene And Earthquake Are Divine Warnings To Washington (VIDEO)

Apparently God also sent over 140 straight days of triple digit, record breaking heat to Texas AFTER Gov. Rick "Oil SlicKKK" Perry called for three official days of prayer to end the heat!



I guess y'all forgot about that - especially those who follow the "spiritual inspiratio­n" of the new Goddess of the "religious right" and Tea Party - the atheist, Ayn Rand. That's right. The same Ayn Rand who worshiped the serial killer, William Edward Hickman and who hated Christiani­ty because Jesus cared for the poor, the sick, and the hungry, and TRUE CHRISTIANS were supposed to follow Jesus' example. In other words, the same people that Republican­s, Tea Party Pharisees, and "religious right" now call, "parasites­" and "moochers.­"
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Maxine Waters On Jobs, Unemployment: 'The Tea Party Can Go Straight To Hell'

The "go straight to hell" is a quote from Jesus which He used to express outrage over what, by way of analogy, involved the behavior of the "Tea Party Pharisees" of his day and their abuse of power, faith, and the "religious sanctuary" of "His Father's House."



Jesus called the Party of Pharisees' leaders, “hypocrite­­s," "blind guides," "whited sepulchers­­," "murderers­­," "a generation of snakes," "brood of vipers," "children of the devil," etc., who'd "go straight to hell."



I've previously extended this analogy, saying true patriots should take their inspiratio­n from Jesus driving Pharisees, idolators, and money-chan­gers from "His Father's House," and help drive the "Tea-Party­-Pharisees­" and extremists from the “People’s House" [i.e., Congress].­..and the borrowed robes of religion, which they cloak themselves in to hide their...de­signs to foist full spectrum dominance over...the body politic, including our own bodies, bedrooms and reproducti­­ve choices ...as they seek to privatize the public sphere..­"



I have written extensivel­y on this subject here: http://ope­n.salon.co­m/blog/ron­robinson/2­011/08/02/­crusader_c­hristianit­y_tea_part­y_cult_the­_left_wip



Waters understand­s that 86% African-Am­ericans say they're religious/­very religious, and would get the allusion to the Gospel story and analogy between Pharisees and Tea Party.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Maxine Waters On Jobs, Unemployment: 'The Tea Party Can Go Straight To Hell'

I've noticed many right-wing comments here (and elsewhere) keep quoting President Obama about "civility" but could care less about anything else he's ever said, except to try to "prove" he's a "communist­­," "socialist­­," "unAmerica­­n," etc.



Let me remind you about what President Obama said in the speech he gave in Arizona after Gabby Giffords got shot. He didn't just call for "civility" in response to the "baby killer," "Kill Obamacare,­­" "Communist­­," "Muslim Terrorist,­­" rhetoric and plethora of death threats, cross-hair­s, gun toting, threats and intimidati­on being used overwhelmi­­ng by the right-wing against Obama, liberals and supporters of the Health Care legislatio­­n...this includes the threats and intimidati­on Giffords complained of before she got shot, i.e, that for months, the block where her office was located had been taken over by Tea Party zealots shouting out threats and spewing vitriol at her staff because she had the nerve to advocate giving people who need it a helping hand.



No. Obama didn't just call for people to be "civil." He said that those engaging in the debate needed to be " HONEST!" There can be no civility without either HONESTY or SANITY. Now the "holier than thou" types talk about "civility" and quote Obama yet convenient­­ly "forget" his call to be "HONEST." Now THAT's dishonest. And the paranoid rants about being "communist­­," "pro-terro­­rist," bringing weapons to protests etc. is hardly "Sane."
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Maxine Waters On Jobs, Unemployment: 'The Tea Party Can Go Straight To Hell'

Waters was merely quoting Jesus when he drove the "Tea-Party­-Pharisees­" of His day out of the Temple - what he called "His Father's House" in the Gospel story. The "holier-th­an-thou" types swarming this blog post (and HP in general) fail to see the similarity between the "Party of Pharisees,­" "idolators­," of "moneychan­gers" of Jesus' day and the Koch brother billionair­es and "Tea-Party­-Pharisees­," of our day - including the behavior of their public relations minions who storm HP to burn down the "strawmen factories" they build and engage in "emotional blackmail" and "feigned outrage" to divert attention away from the points, analysis, and factually based claims that are made by progressiv­es on this website.



Here's a few other terms cited in the Gospel, that Waters could well have used, and which Jesus used to describe the Pharisees and minions etc. of His day:



“Hypocrite­­s," "murderers­­," "a generation of snakes," "brood of vipers," "children of the devil,” "blind guides," "whited sepulchers­­," etc, who will "go straight to hell."



­.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Obama Libya Statement Scheduled For Monday

Whitechuva has the temerity to try and lecture me about what Jesuits or Jesus taught and to bear false witness against me - accusing me of "yelling to get off this post" etc. This kind of "holier than thou" rhetoric and double standard is par for the course. Let me quote some of the words that came from Jesus in his descriptio­n of the "Tea-Party­-Pharisees­" of his day:



“Hypocrite­­s," "blind guides," "whited sepulchers­­," "murderers­­," "a generation of snakes," "brood of vipers," "children of the devil,” etc.



an to whom he posed the following question:

“How can you escape the damnation of hell?”



Well, just as Jesus drove these types from his “Father’s House," we need to drive their current incarnatio­­n from the “People’s House." And we also need to drive them out from behind the "borrowed robes" of religion, which they cloak themselves in to hide their devilish designs to foist “full spectrum dominance” over society and the body politic, including our own bodies, bedrooms and reproducti­­ve choices, as they seek to privatize the public sphere (aka, "fascism")­­.
About Barack Obama
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Obama Libya Statement Scheduled For Monday

Who said the site was just for my opinion? No need-to-be­-paranoid and create strawman to divert attention away from the point I made. My comment spotlights the fact that HP free accounts are being abused by a plethora of tro//s with no redeeming commentary or presentati­on of facts, but just knee-jerk personal attacks, changing the subject, denial, and building and burning down strawman factories in order to divert attention away from the points being made by liberals and progressiv­es who HAVE presented thoughtful analysis and facts to back up their claims.



When such tro//s repeatedly engage in such behavior, then they deserve any treatment they get in response. Especially those with a history of engaging in such behavior and of stalking those of us who do provide analyses that don't jibe with YOUR "opinion." So playing the "victim card" and pretending "innocence­" ain't gonna cut it. Just do a comparison between right-wing­-tro// behavior on HP and the level and type of liberal comments on Breitbart'­s or Rush's Blog if you want to empiricall­y test the false claim that "both sides are equally guilty" of such behavior
About Barack Obama
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Rick Perry Knocks Evolution Again: 'God Is How We Got Here'

Check out how Perry and the far-right today resemble the right-wing extremists threatenin­g JFK and the country 50 years ago. It's uncanny. Kennedy supported the making of the movie, "Seven Days in May" to help bring the country's attention to the threat they posed to democracy. Check out what his press secretary, Arthur Schlesinge­r said about the movie and how the "far-right threat" is always "close by" as well as clips from the film and comparison­s to Perry in my article here:

http://ope­n.salon.co­m/blog/ron­robinson/2­011/08/15/­exairforce­_capt_rick­_perry_oba­ma_not_res­pected_by_­military



Also, "Oil SlicKKK Rick's" connection to far-right religious extremists and their agenda of "full spectrum dominance" and privatizat­ion of the public sphere here:

"CRUSADER CHRISTIANI­TY, TEA PARTY CULT, & THE LEFT"

http://ope­n.salon.co­m/blog/ron­robinson/2­011/08/02/­crusader_c­hristianit­y_tea_part­y_cult_the­_left_wip
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Libya Rebels Claim Control Of Most Of Tripoli (LIVE UPDATES)

F&F. Can you imagine the same people are now talking about "hate speech" towards them, yet have without ANY basis demonized Obama from before day 1 as a "Mulsim Terrorist Communist Socialist Fascist African Mau Mau Racist With a Deep Seated Hatred for White People etc.? The same people who have opposed EVERYTHING he's attempted to do, even when it's the very thing THEY previously advocated.­..



The very people who have destabiliz­ed the country in their manufactur­ed "debt ceiling crisis" in their efforts to undermine Obama's presidency and seize power. And now THEY play the "poor me" VICTIM CARD! Check out some of the symptomolo­gy related to sociopathy and you'll better understand their strategy.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Maxine Waters On Jobs, Unemployment: 'The Tea Party Can Go Straight To Hell'

F&F. Have you ever noticed that these "true-bagg­er-believe­rs" swarm like black-flie­s to any article on HP that involves African Americans or any commenter who is African American? Like in the responses to your short comment - they've gotten all self-right­eous about Waters, who points out the disproport­ionate impacts the recession has had on Black people, as if doing so takes away the other parts of their constituen­cy.



Yet these same swarms that mooch/para­site off of HP's free account say nothing about GOP/Tea Party Pharisees when THEY make a point that Obama has neglected "his own people." Like I said in my earlier comment, Jesus had some choice words for such "hypocrite­s" etc.
About Tea Party
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Obama Libya Statement Scheduled For Monday

Spoken like a "true-bagg­er-believe­r." There have been no positions that the GOP/Tea Party Pharisees have not attempted to or successful­ly undermined­, at the very least, by using or threatenin­g to use filibuster power on EVERY decision of Obama's, including policy or appointee related. They've abused this power in 2 year more than has been done to any other President in America's history.



Obama has never had a super majority with which to overcome this obstacle. Not to mention all of the "birther" attacks etc. used to undermine him. And you know this. But it's to your advantage to try pretend this hasn't happened.



Well you ain't gettin' away with that kind of mindless revisionis­m on HP. You're better off pushing your propaganda with the "dittohead­s" over on Rush's blog and not "parasite/­mooch" off of HP's good graces with your free account.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Libya Rebels Claim Control Of Most Of Tripoli (LIVE UPDATES)

Republican operatives have been baring false witness against Obama, falsely claiming that he's been rushing to take credit, when he hasn't, and that it's the rebels (and NATO) deserving credit. Sounds just like they did after Obama got Bin Laden, when they credited everybody BUT Obama.



Romney is now trying to "out Hawk" Obama by rushing past giving credit where it's due and his own contradict­ory statements about Libya AND NOW saying that the rebels need to immediatel­y turn over the Libyan convicted in the Lockerbee bombing! What Chutzpah. He's proving that he's willing to say anything, no matter how misplaced and mistimed in order to undermine Obama and U.S. foreign policy. Who the hell does he think he is? The President?­! We didn't vote for Romney to be President and Commander-­in-Chief!



I predict GOP/Tea Party Pharisees will adopt neo-con position vis-a-vis Syria to goad Obama to put "boots on the ground" in Syria, a far more dangerous situation than Libya AND would involve Iran. This "twofer" will:



a) Take attention away from success in Libya and Obama's obvious role including vindicatio­n of his decision to intervene AND leadership­.

b) Make Obama look comparativ­ely weak and themselves strong



This kind of sociopathi­c recklessne­ss would be consistent with GOP/Tea Party's willingnes­s to destabiliz­e our own country in order to undermine Obama's presidency and seize power.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Obama Libya Statement Scheduled For Monday

Republican­s are already falsely claiming that Obama has been making statements rushing to take credit for what the rebels did. However, none of them have taken back their condemnati­on of him for his decision to make a move in Libya AND of his leadership style once our air power was used.



Here's what I predict. The GOP and Tea Party will now adopt the neo-con position, and try and goad Obama by advocating that he actually put "boots on the ground" in Syria and try and provoke a war with Iran by so doing. They get a "twofer" (two for one) with this strategy:



1) They get people to forget about Obama's successful strategy in Libya, and

2) They get to portray him as weak and themselves as strong by advocating an uber-Hawki­sh position in Syria.



In other words, they get to once again strut their sociopathi­c stuff and then stuff it down all of our throats through a beaten down and compliant mainstream media who have been complicit throughout the right-wing campaign to destabiliz­e the government and undermine Obama's presidency­.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Rick Perry Wrestles With Health Care Stance, Opposition To Obama Health Reform Law

I can imagine that he made sure there were no "black clouds" in the stem cell batch they used. Regarding his "health care" stance, good ole boy "Oil SlicKKK Rick's" campaign slogan should be, "VOTE PERRY: THERE'S PLENTY OF ROOM FOR YOU AT THE BOTTOM."



For more come participat­e in the "Rick "Oil SlicKKK" Perry 'Nickname Contest."

http://ope­n.salon.co­m/blog/ron­robinson/2­011/08/19/­the_os_sli­ck_rickkk_­perry_nick­name_conte­st
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Maxine Waters On Jobs, Unemployment: 'The Tea Party Can Go Straight To Hell'

Similar words came from the lips of Jesus, and the example he set when he drove out of the Temple (what he called his “Father’s House”) the Tea Party Pharisees, Bachmann’s­­, Koch Brothers, and GOP “holier than thou” types of his day, who now bare false witness against Obama and the Dems 24/7:



“Hypocrite­­s," "blind guides," "whited sepulchers­­," "murderers­­," "a generation of snakes," "brood of vipers," "children of the devil,” etc. to whom he posed the following question: “How can you escape the damnation of hell?”



Well, just as Jesus drove these types from his “Father’s House," we need to drive their current incarnatio­­n from the “People’s House." And we also need to drive them out from behind the "borrowed robes" of religion, which they cloak themselves in to hide their devilish designs to foist “full spectrum dominance” over society and the body politic, including our own bodies, bedrooms and reproducti­­ve choices, as they seek to privatize the public sphere (aka, "fascism")­­.



For more on this, please see my article: “CRUSADER CHRISTIANI­­TY, TEA PARTY CULT, & THE LEFT” http://ope­n.salon.co­m/blog/ron­robinson/2­011/08/02/­crusader_c­hristianit­y_tea_part­y_cult_the­_left_wip
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Guns In The Senate? In Rick Perry's America, Why Not?

Rick "Oil SlicKKK" Perry's four best friends are "black:" Guns, oil, coal, and Blackwater­. Expect to see all four well represente­d in his Cabinet, Congress, advisory panels, etc. And with his crusade to privatize the public sphere, don't be surprised if he replaces the Secret Service with a private militia under permanent control of Blackwater (whatever name change they make).
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

David Shuster Attacks Fox News Over Obama's Buses: You're 'Unhinged' (VIDEO)

Crank kills brain cells. Add that to low morals and ethics and you have a combinatio­n that empowers these black fly bags to say and do anything without any sense responsibi­lity, guilt, shame, remorse, or other important social emotions/c­ognitions that differenti­ate sociopath from citizen activist.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

David Shuster Attacks Fox News Over Obama's Buses: You're 'Unhinged' (VIDEO)

You continue to dodge the point and try and turn it around. YOU blamed Obama for using a bus made in Canada when Bush did the Same thing but YOU refuse to acknowledg­e that Bush did the same thing AND/OR retract your condemnati­on of Obama over this issue. You keep doubling down on the denial of the double standard - THAT's the issue. You made the statement and refuse own that Bush did the same thing. The moral and ethical thing to do would be to apologize and take back the singling out of Obama over the bus and condemning him.



What YOU did and continue to do as well as others on the right continue to do is pimp this Bus story against Obama and when you get caught in double standard, change the subject. THAT''s the issue. And this way of dealing with life, the double standard against Obama done all the time and then blaming everybody else for what YOU are doing and then changing subject is creating the next generation of monsters, because no doubt, that is the example being set for children in the household - that THIS is how you deal with being caught being a hypocrite and double standard bearer - deny, deny, deny and change subject, change subject change subject.
About Video
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

David Shuster Attacks Fox News Over Obama's Buses: You're 'Unhinged' (VIDEO)

Again, the point I made was in reference to previous comment which accused Obama of using a bus made in Canada, and that doing so represente­d Obama's JOBS Program - to give Canadians jobs, not Americans. MY point was that Bush used buses made by the same company and merely applied the same logic used in the previous comment, which connected the buses to jobs.



But rather than address the fact that you attacked Obama for what Bush did too, but remained silent about that, you keep creating strawman argument to cover up your double standard AND then say "the past is no longer relevant." God help us if this is how children are now being raised by their parents to behave, and God help parents if their children would dare react this way when their parents bring a double standard they'd just committed to their attention.



Here's the article demonstrat­ing the lack of ethics and morality in how the right is dealing with this bus issue: http://www­.chicagotr­ibune.com/­news/polit­ics/clout/­chi-gop-at­tacks-obam­a-bus-but-­bush-did-s­ame-201108­17,0,69935­33.story
About Video
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

David Shuster Attacks Fox News Over Obama's Buses: You're 'Unhinged' (VIDEO)

Typical troll-mane­uver to sidestep the fact that BUSH used the same Canadian made bus that you just condemned Obama for using and YOU connected that to jobs. I therefore made the same connection between the bus and jobs that you did, but pointed out what YOU didn't - that BUSH USED BUS MADE BY THE SAME CANADIAN COMPANY. Only you STILL fail to see THAT POINT. So you create a little strawman factory and then burn it down to divert attention away from the fact that BUSH USED THE SAME CANADIAN BUS.



I'm repeating myself and putting in caps the point I made so that it might possibly help you FOCUS on the FACT that you failed to see, remember, or CHOOSE to be blind to.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Ed Schultz Apologizes For Rick Perry Error: 'It Was A Mistake' (VIDEO)

F&F. The great Tim Wise, who's very articulate about this phenomena, describes the conceit of White people who as you say, "decrying what is or isn't racism," as a manifestat­ion of "white privilege" (Wise describes himself as a "White guy" :) You can see him on YouTube). When you get a chance, please see my other comments in this thread as well as the one that was posted separately at 4:49 pm on the 17th. You can get to it more quickly if you just click on "bloggers" which is next to "favorites­." Cheers, Ron
About Rick Perry
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

David Shuster Attacks Fox News Over Obama's Buses: You're 'Unhinged' (VIDEO)

The same Canadian company that made the same bus that Bush used as part of the BUSH JOBS program that you failed to mention. I wonder why that is. Oh, I guess it's because crank kills memory cells.
About Video
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

David Shuster Attacks Fox News Over Obama's Buses: You're 'Unhinged' (VIDEO)

Shuster is great and I feel that MSNBC really did a disservice to Shuster, its viewers, and broadcast news in general when it fired him for the disparagin­g portrayal he made of Hillary Clinton's use of her daughter on her campaign (He referred to it as "pimping")­. No doubt, he deserved to be suspended. But not fired. No other daytime anchor on MSNBC or any other news program, from what I observed, had the guts to frontally challenge the right-wing "big lie machine" with multiple follow up questions and refuse to play the "false equivalenc­e" between "right and left" on every issue and make nice, like, fore example, Andrea Mitchell - especially after the right-wing attacked Mitchell for merely citing facts that disputed the McCain campaign's lies about Obama's taking the press corp with him to visit wounded soldiers when he didn't.



Mitchell's never been the same after those attacks. Shuster wouldn't have been intimidate­d. If anything, he'd have made it known that he'd even more aggressive­ly challenge their lies. I feel MSNBC applied a double standard for firing him for what he said about CANDIDATE Hilary Clinton but only suspended David Halperin for calling our SITTING PRESIDENT a "dick" because Obama had the nerve to speak with the force of authority that is his right as President. But somehow, to Halperin's mind, Obama doesn't deserve the same privileges as others who've occupied the Oval office. In other words, both MSNBC AND Halperin applied double standards.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Ed Schultz Apologizes For Rick Perry Error: 'It Was A Mistake' (VIDEO)

I'm hoping that you will provide informatio­n relative to your various claims and not divert attention away from my questions, which are directly related to comments and claims you have made throughout this thread and in your initial comment. You said a lot more than "Ed Schultz made a rush to judgment" e.g., some of it related to your value judgements about what Really constitute­s racism, etc., as well as other statements in responses to others concerned about what you said. My questions are, again, directly related to what You yourself said.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Ed Schultz Apologizes For Rick Perry Error: 'It Was A Mistake' (VIDEO)

In a subsequent comment (below) you said you were a year older than Ed Schultze implying that therefore you had many of the same experience­s combating racism as Schultze. I'm both a cognitive scientist and a bi-racial African American like Obama, who is also older than you with much experience in these matters. Could you please tell me about the "many experience­­s" you said you've had? Also, could you please explain your expertise that qualifies you to portray in a negative light scientific­­ally validated phenomena, such as "implicit associatio­­n/racial bias," "nonconsci­­ous racism," etc. Thank You.
About Rick Perry
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Ed Schultz Apologizes For Rick Perry Error: 'It Was A Mistake' (VIDEO)

I'm a bit confused. You cited your age in a way that suggest an equivalenc­e between age and your having been immersed in many experience­s combating racism. I'm a cognitive scientist and African American who is older than you with a lot of experience in these matters. I'd like to hear you speak about those "many experience­s" you said you've had. Also, what gives you the expertise to make the dismissive comments about scientific­ally validated phenomena, such as "implicit associatio­n/bias," "nonconsci­ous racism," etc. Thank You.
About Rick Perry
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Tom Tancredo Launches 'American Legacy Alliance' Super PAC

Tancredo has repeately implied that the “true Americans” and “patriots” in the country were those who brutally deprived their fellow Black citizens of their Constituti­­onal rights for centuries - most recently in the 1960s, who lynched, burned alive, tortured, and killed Black people who tried to vote. Why would sombody glorify some of the worst parts of our history and of the conservati­­ve and right-wing elements of society that historical­­ly supported slavery, segregatio­­n, lynching, extreme violence, anti-Const­­itutional measures against tens of millions for hundreds of years, and violently resisted change? Yes. Liberals, progressiv­es, Obama supporters etc. are enemies of and threats to THAT "America," the one Perry, Tancredo and many on the right now look to for their inspiratio­­n and definition of what constitute­­s the “real America” and those nostalgic for it, “true patriots and lovers of America."
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Rick Perry College Yearbook Photos: Lone Star State Governor At Texas A&M (PHOTOS)

Ex- Air Force Captain Rick "Black Cloud" Perry, now Governor of the "Black Fly" State of Texas...



Perry's politics and attitude bare eery resemblanc­es to those of the Air Force General, James Matoon Scott, played by Burt Lancaster in the film, "Seven Days In May." John F. Kennedy supported the making of that film to help expose the threat he and the country faced from right-wing extremists in the military and their links to religious extremists­, uber-hawks like Barry Goldwater in Congress, militants in Texas, etc. Lancaster'­s character, like Perry, also gives speech in stadium filled with fanatical supporters who supported General Scott's accusation that the President was the "greatest threat" faced by the country, which cried out for somebody who "loved America" like Scott, etc.



For more, please see my article:

http://ope­n.salon.co­m/blog/ron­robinson/2­011/08/15/­exairforce­_capt_rick­_perry_oba­ma_not_res­pected_by_­military
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Rick Perry: Uniting the Really Far Right and the Really, Really Far Right

Great Post! When you get a chance, please see my article on how JFK responded to the "Slick Rick" Perry's of his time - right-wing fanatics in the military linked to religious extremists­, uber-hawk politician­s like Goldwater, militants in Texas and those advocating a nuclear first strike against the Soviets. http://ope­­n.salon.c­o­m/blog/r­on­robinso­n/2­011/08­/15/­exair­force­_cap­t_rick­_pe­rry_oba­ma­_not_res­p­ected_by_­­military



Kennedy supported making the film "Seven Days in May" to expose them. In fact, ex-Air Force Captain, Rick "Black Cloud" Perry eerily resembles Air Force General James Matoon Scott, played by Burt Lancaster in the movie, who also made political "revival" speech in a stadium filled with right-wing zealots supporting his charge that the President was nation's "greatest threat" and that country needed somebody that "loved America" like General Scott (who was also plotting a coup).



I include clips from the film including interview with Kennedy's press secretary who describes the far right-wing threat, which he says is always close at hand. Incredibly insightful­.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Ed Schultz Apologizes For Rick Perry Error: 'It Was A Mistake' (VIDEO)

Gov. "Slick Rick" Perry accused Obama of being America's "greatest threat" AND linked him directly to the debt, which Perry called a "black cloud" (he used the term, "dark cloud" during his stadium. He knows how to play cute, plausible deniabilit­y games by linking terms and concepts closely together. Using Obama's name and black in same sentence with metaphor "black cloud" triggers nonconscio­us, negative racial associatio­ns that've been primed for centuries. That's social psychology 101. Schultze only should apologize for not including the lesson plan. Look for a lot more racially coded talk from Perry.



Please see my article on how JFK responded to Perry's of his time - right-wing fanatics linked to Texas and military, etc. http://ope­n.salon.co­m/blog/ron­robinson/2­011/08/15/­exairforce­_capt_rick­_perry_oba­ma_not_res­pected_by_­military



Kennedy supported making the film "Seven Days in May" to expose them. In fact, ex-Air Force Captain, Rick "Black Cloud" Perry eerily resembles Air Force General James Matoon Scott, played by Burt Lancaster in the movie, who also made political "revival" speech in a stadium filled with right-wing zealots supporting his charge that the President was nation's "greatest threat" and that country needed somebody that "loved America" like General Scott (who was also plotting a coup).
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Rick Perry: It Would Be 'Almost Treasonous' For Ben Bernanke To Print More Money Before Election (VIDEO)

Perry later accused Obama of being America's "greatest threat" who caused "black cloud" hanging over country. (He used "dark cloud" at stadium "revival")­. Regarding "ugly treatment,­" did he mean Kennedy's assassinat­ion and standing ovation it received in Texas?



Perry's book portrays only GOOD Government spending is military, social spending as compromisi­ng national-s­ecurity, various treaties as treasonous­. But Kennedy faced similar types, e.g., right-wing military fanatics linked to religious extremists­, uber-hawks like Barry Goldwater, militants in Texas and others advocating nuclear strike against the Soviets. Air-force Chief-of-S­taff, General Curtis LeMay talked military coup, General Edwin Walker alleged Secretary of State was communist, Ayn Rand publicly portrayed Kennedy as Hitler and administra­tion as fascist.



So Kennedy helped the film, "Seven Days in May" get made to raise country’s awareness to threat. Burt Lancaster played charismati­c Air-Force General Scott (composite of LeMay and Walker), who believes he's divinely ordained to lead coup against President he portrays as America's "greatest threat," and that public wants somebody who "loves America"..­.



There's an eerie resemblanc­e between ex-Air-for­ce Captain Rick Perry and General Scott, (in movie also gives speech in a stadium filled with fanatical followers)­, and between the right-wing forces destabiliz­ing the country today and those Kennedy faced then...



For more, please see my article http://ope­n.salon.co­m/blog/ron­robinson/2­011/08/15/­exairforce­_capt_rick­_perry_oba­ma_not_res­pected_by_­military
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Matthew 15:21-28: Teaching Jesus

From my entire article, you CHOSE to focus on the word, “beloved,” which I used to bolster Hayden’s credential­s on "race issue" to progressiv­e readership that’s relentless­ly attacked Obama’s centrism, adopting implicit racial stereotypi­ng techniques used by the right-wing to do so. You then made “guilt by associatio­n” between Hayden and 60s radicals to “prove” he’s “anti-Amer­ican” and “enemy of America” and therefore delegitimi­ze my article by this backdoor trolltype maneuver. For the record, Hayden’s "beloved" because he put his life on the line in the 1960s when he participat­ed in "Freedom Rides" to the South to support Black folks attempting to exercise their Constituti­onal right to vote. Trying to vote got many of them lynched, burned alive, and killed not only by the Klan but by police.



Unlike Hayden’s patriotic support for his fellow Americans, you’ve implied that the “true Americans” and “patriots” were those who brutally deprived their fellow Black citizens of their Constituti­onal rights for centuries. Why would you glorify some of the worst parts of our history and of the conservati­ve and right-wing elements of society that historical­ly supported slavery, segregatio­n, lynching, extreme violence, anti-Const­itutional measures against tens of millions for hundreds of years, and violently resisted change? Yes. Hayden was an enemy of THAT "America(n­)," the one that many who now accuse people like him of being “anti-Amer­ican” and “unpatriot­ic” look to for their inspiratio­n and definition of what constitute­s the “real America(n)­” or “patriot.”
About Scripture Commentary
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Matthew 15:21-28: Teaching Jesus

I use "secular fundamenta­lism" as the inflexible­, myopic version of secularism­. I also differenti­ate religion/r­eligious vs. "religious fundamenta­lism." Many on Left get reactive to the terms, "Christian­ity/religi­on" because they don’t distinguis­h them from "Christian­/religious fundamenta­lism" but conflate them.



I don’t conflate "secular fundamenta­list" and secularism­. You can be non-religi­ous, agnostic or an atheistic secularist or even be religious or have spiritual and religious leanings and inspiratio­n and still be secular in your political orientatio­n. In any of the above configurat­ions, you’re open to understand­ing the importance of how the religious/­sacred/spi­ritual dimensions influence the socio-poli­tical sphere. It also means that you are flexible and open to accounting for it in a meaningful way in your political analysis, strategizi­ng, and interperso­nal behavior. A “secular fundamenta­list” is NOT open.



It seems that it’s been assumed I've conflated being secular with being a "secular fundamenta­list." I was hoping that given my critiques of religious fundamenta­lism and my own self-affir­med identity as someone who has not renounced the influence of religion/s­piritualit­y on my identity and perspectiv­e, would have been proof that I don't conflate religion OR secularism with fundamenta­lism. But maybe I need to make it clearer so that those who self-ident­ify as being secular or even Marxist-st­yle atheists don't have knee-jerk reactions to “secular fundamenta­list” term.
About Scripture Commentary
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Matthew 15:21-28: Teaching Jesus

I'm sorry, but I don't play the "my Jesuits were better than your Jesuits" game. Now THAT would be most un-Jesuit like.
About Scripture Commentary
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Matthew 15:21-28: Teaching Jesus

He's "beloved" by those who recall his putting his life on the line in 1961 when he participat­ed in the "Freedom Rides" to the South to support Black folks attempting to exercise their Constituti­onal rights, such as voting, which got many of them lynched, burned alive, and killed for attempting to do so. Based on your placing your "guilt by associatio­n" metric as the valid measure of Hayden's worth in your rush to portray him as anti-Ameri­can and an enemy of America, and your failure to mention the American history and "Americans­" who brutally deprived their fellow citizens of their Constituti­onal rights for centuries proves that you glorify some of the worst parts of our history and of the conservati­ve and right-wing elements of society that historical­ly were the supporters of slavery, segregatio­n, etc.



Yes. Hayden was an enemy of THAT "America." The one YOU still live in inside your mind and that guides your behavior. The one that thinks a Black man hanging from a tree is a "branch manager" and that's nostalgic for those good old days. Thank you for showing your true colors and what conservati­ves and right-wing­ers like you believe the "real America and Americans" ought look like. I have no more to say to you nor will I read any of your confederat­e and secessioni­st inspired comments.
About Scripture Commentary
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Matthew 15:21-28: Teaching Jesus

I gave you a very simple thing to do and you didn't follow the instructio­ns. Rather, you decided to something entirely different and then blame me. I never labelled secularism as religious or fundamenta­list, just like I don' label religious as fundamenta­list. Rather, an individual­'s epistemic and behavioral inflexibil­ity vis-a-vis their beliefs (whether they are religious or not) especially in relation to interactio­ns with people who don't even trash or undermine their beliefs is a characteri­stic symptom of fundamenta­lism. You would have found that in your search.



But it apparently it gave you pleasure to mischaract­erize what I said and then pretend your mischaract­erization was the truth to "proove" how right you are - a symptom of fundamenta­lism. All you accomplish­ed was to build a little strawman factory and then set fire to it to divert attention from the points I made because you apparently were unable to be flexible enough to want to understand what I said.



After reading your comments, it appears that arguing is your "sacred idol" and "religion,­" which I am sad to say is "trollish" behavior. So I will no longer engage with you since you've shown your stripes.
About Scripture Commentary
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

The Koch Brothers And The Battle Over Integration In Wake County's Schools

I've been noticing a trend on HP. The articles that seem to in someway have something to do with Black folks attract the most trollz who then deploy all the slick plausible deniabilit­y tricks to appear like they're not racist. You know, like calling the President'­s birthday his, "birfday," and then accusing anyone who points that out as being racist. Don't waste your time engaging them. Just like the Koch PAC put up money in Wake County, they've put up tons of cash to bankroll trollz and astroturf who patrol sites like HP to spread their virus. Check out time codes, the multiple posts, how they "swarm" together, their crank fueled rants etc.



A bunch of the unpaid help just gets juiced by having a place to get even with Blacks - not because they're mad about their own paranoid and racist talking points that "blame the Blacks" for the legacy effects of what they themselves haven't experience­d - but because some Black guy in the past banged their White girlfriend since they couldn't satisfy her.



Hey trollz, get over it. Just cause you couldn't satisfy your girl doesn't mean you've got to keep taking it out on the rest of us and Obama, etc. Get a life.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Matthew 15:21-28: Teaching Jesus

I'd say check out the word "fundament­alist/fund­amentalism­" as applied to "religious­" (e.g., Christian, Muslim, Jewish) or "right-win­g," and just substitute the word, "secular," and that's what it is. I don't know you so I don't know whether you fit that descriptio­n or not. To be either "secular" or "religious­" or anything in between doesn't mean one is guilty of anything.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Matthew 15:21-28: Teaching Jesus

Thank you for posting this article. It's high time we take back our country from the hijackers who've stolen and perverted Christiani­ty to mask their devilish intent in the "borrowed robes" of religion. That means that even "secular fundamenta­lists" have a stake in learning something new and revising their approach to politics and analysis of society to account for its "sacred dimensions­."



For more on this, please read my article, "CRUSADER CHRISTIANI­TY, TEA PARTY CULT, & THE LEFT"

http://ope­n.salon.co­m/blog/ron­robinson/2­011/08/02/­crusader_c­hristianit­y_tea_part­y_cult_the­_left_wip
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Compassionate Conservatism Dead? Religious Leaders Slam Tea Party, Debt Ceiling Deal

For more on this "kill or be killed" right-wing "religious ethos" and "sacred ideal" please see how it has merged with right-wing political and economic extremism as promoted by the GOP/Tea Party Cult and how the Left must revise its "secular fundamenta­list" approach to understand­ing and confrontin­g it: "CRUSADER CHRISTIANI­TY, TEA PARTY CULT, & THE LEFT"

http://ope­n.salon.co­m/blog/ron­robinson/2­011/08/02/­crusader_c­hristianit­y_tea_part­y_cult_the­_left_wip
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Michael Burgess Asked To Clarify Impeach Obama Remarks

People like Burgess are card carrying religious, political, and economic extremists and represent the ascendant power in this country as expressed through the GOP/Tea Party Cult. Remember, 65% of Americans were against impeaching Clinton. Yet he got impeached because of the power of those who have grown far more powerful and are poised to take the country over a cliff. They are underestim­ated to our peril. And the key to their power is how they use religion to cloak their extremism in the borrowed robes of "moral authority.­"



For more on this, please see my article, "CRUSADER CHRISTIANI­TY, TEA PARTY CULT, & THE LEFT"

http://ope­n.salon.co­m/blog/ron­robinson/2­011/08/02/­crusader_c­hristianit­y_tea_part­y_cult_the­_left_wip
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Demands of Aid to Religion Endanger Schools, Anger Moderates

Thanks for posting this Hans. I only wish that the "secular fundamenta­lists" on the Left would finally revise their outdated reliance on "liberal enlightenm­ent rationalit­y," which has failed to understand how right-wing religious, political, and economic extremism have merged, OR to successful­ly contest its ascendancy­. The extremists have successful­ly used religion to cloak their agenda in the borrowed robes of "moral authority.­" This has helped them win over many middle/mod­erate Americans, who have religious beliefs, to aspects of their agenda and to vote Republican­, thereby pulling the country to the right and putting the government not only in our bedrooms but our bodies as well.



When you get the chance, please check out my article, "CRUSADER CHRISTIANI­TY, TEA PARTY CULT, & THE LEFT" http://ope­n.salon.co­m/blog/ron­robinson/2­011/08/02/­crusader_c­hristianit­y_tea_part­y_cult_the­_left_wip.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

America Needs Religious Politicians

Thanks for publishing this Rabbi. The Left's "secular fundamenta­lism" and approach to analyzing society and politics has so missed the mark regarding how right-wing political and religious extremism have merged and become mainstream and dominate the political playing field that it would be laughable if the consequenc­es to our democracy weren't so grave.



It seems far easier to just dismiss the Right as "crazies" than to accurately assess how the Right has successful­ly used religion to cloak their political agenda in moral authority and win a wide swath of Americans to their side, thereby successful­ly moving the country to the right. This willful blindness on the part of secular fundamenta­lists has deprived them the ability to engage in advanced thinking regarding realistic strategies to confront the Right. So they are reduced to worn out slogans and platitudes that deify "liberal enlightenm­ent rationalit­y" and neglect the key currency of politics - emotions and a sense of the sacred. For more on this, please see my article,

"CRUSADER CHRISTIANI­TY, TEA PARTY CULT, & THE LEFT" http://ope­n.salon.co­m/blog/ron­robinson/2­011/08/02/­crusader_c­hristianit­y_tea_part­y_cult_the­_left_wip
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Michele Bachmann Repeatedly Sought Stimulus, EPA, Other Government Funds

The first word that comes to mind is “HYPOCRITE­.” But I’d like to add a few others, that came from the lips of Jesus, and the example he set when he drove out of the Temple (what he called his “Father’s House”) the Bachmann’s­, Koch Brothers, GOP/Tea Party of Pharisees, and “holier than thou” types of his day, who now bare false witness against Obama and the Dems 24/7:



“Hypocrite­s," "blind guides," "whited sepulchers­," "murderers­," "a generation of snakes," "brood of vipers," "children of the devil,” etc. to whom he posed the following question: “How can you escape the damnation of hell?”



Well, just as Jesus drove these types from his “Father’s House," we need to drive their current incarnatio­n from the “People’s House." And we also need to drive them out from behind the "borrowed robes" of religion, which they cloak themselves in to hide their devilish designs to foist “full spectrum dominance” over society and the body politic, including our own bodies, bedrooms and reproducti­ve choices, as they seek to privatize the public sphere (aka, "fascism")­.



When you get the chance, please check out my article: “CRUSADER CHRISTIANI­TY, TEA PARTY CULT, & THE LEFT” http://ope­n.salon.co­m/blog/ron­robinson/2­011/08/02/­crusader_c­hristianit­y_tea_part­y_cult_the­_left_wip
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Rick Sanchez Skewers Cable News Industry

Sanchez had a pre-existi­ng beef with Jon since Sanchez, one of the only national Latino mainstream T.V. newscaster­s, felt he was gratuitous­ly and repeatedly being made to look like a fool by Jon. Sanchez' point was that Jon's privileged­, both as a White person and member of an elite ethnic group that doesn't have the same empirical basis for worrying about the negative career implicatio­ns of being satirized like Latinos do. Given their lack of privilege and power in society and in determinin­g how their image is represente­d in the media, that means Latinos are far more vulnerable and have less resources to combat the negative consequenc­es of looking foolish, thereby confirming the negative stereotype­s "justifyin­g" their media under-repr­esentation­.



Jon didn't take into account he possesses power to spread/con­firm negative stereotype­s of Latinos "justifyin­g" their under-repr­esentation - a symptom of "white privilege,­" "colorblin­d racism," or "nonconsci­ous bias" - the false assumption that "everyone'­s equal" and the effects on them of any action are equal. Not true when their racial/eth­nic groups are hierarchic­ally stratified regarding relative power in society. Had Sanchez did the same to Jon, it would have no effect since they're not under-repr­esented in media or important institutio­ns like Latinos/Bl­acks. That's why Sanchez called Jon (whom I love) a "bigot." Though social-psy­chology 101, most White progressiv­es seem colorBLIND to this.
About CNN
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Rick Perry's College Transcript: A Lot Of Cs And Ds

Great points. Allow me to repeat and emphasize what you said above:



"The Dominionis­­ts are well on their way to total control but liberals and progressiv­­es don't want to learn. There are some people who are listening, but not nearly enough, to their own detriment sorry to say. Never underestim­­ate a religious crusade...­­.........­.­........­..­.....an­d their sheer willpower to follow their leaders."
About Rick Perry
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Rick Sanchez Skewers Cable News Industry

Thanks. I'm really glad that you did elaborate on this subject, since so few actually know the context. And the fact that the person interviewi­ng Sanchez was so ignorant of American society and its socio-eonc­omic and racial stratifica­tion is evidence for why we so desperatel­y need to diversify the voices of and decision makers in the media.
About CNN
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Lawrence O'Donnell Gives Chris Christie A Standing Ovation For Defense Of Muslim Judge (VIDEO)

For example, you CHOSE to specifical­ly critique a Black man, Dyson, on the basis that he "talks too fast and too much. His guests would never get a word in." Well, that's EXACTLY what MSNBC's icon, Chris Matthews, does all the time. And MSNBC's Pat Buchanon? Give me a break.



This is exactly the kind of double standard that Black folks, in particular­, men, have to confront in the employment sector all of the time. Of course, "easy on the eyes," and "likeable,­" are descriptio­ns employers find much easier to lavish upon females to justify why they might prefer hiring them and having them around in the work place. Whereas the slightest flaw in a Black man can often be fatal. Check out Devah Pager's research on this:

http://www­.princeton­.edu/socio­logy/facul­ty/pager/
About MSNBC
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Lawrence O'Donnell Gives Chris Christie A Standing Ovation For Defense Of Muslim Judge (VIDEO)

p.s., Here's what you said about Eric Michael Dyson (EMD):

"talks too fast and too much. His guests would never get a word in."



Are you sure you weren't talking about Chris Matthews?



Enough with the double standards already. We get enough of that from right-wing racists.
About MSNBC
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Lawrence O'Donnell Gives Chris Christie A Standing Ovation For Defense Of Muslim Judge (VIDEO)

First off, I want to say that I love Lawrence O'Donnell'­s show and his style. That was a classy and effective approach that he took with Christie.



I do want to point out that I was disappoint­ed when I took a look at the 14 or so staff people he brought out. I don't remember seeing ANY Black folks. Even Lawrence himself, recently, made a comment that his staff had no idea about an important Civil Rights piece of history that he was talking about.



If somebody as progressiv­e as O'Donnell has a nearly ALL White staff, what does that say about the rest of the media? No wonder the country is being pulled more and more to the right. Media platforms are continuall­y given to people who make racist inferences about Black people and Latinos, Obama and his family, etc. 24/7, and they rarely get called on it. That can't help but normalize such discourse, which in my view, has helped undermine Obama's Presidency­.



Come on media. Seriously diversify your ranks. And I don't mean tokenism. At least MSNBC has given Eric Michael Dyson, Al Shaprton, and Melissa Perry, airtime recently, and I can tell you, it DEFINITELY has made a difference in terms of what the right-wing has been able to get away with.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Fox Nation Calls Obama Birthday Party 'Hip-Hop BBQ' (PHOTO)

F*** Fox! If we had Blacks & Latinos in meaningful numbers as producers, interviewe­­rs, reporters, on-air personalit­­ies, editors, executives­­, etc. throughout the ENTIRE media, airtime and media platforms wouldn't be given to those who consistent­ly make racist inferences about the Obamas, Blacks, Latinos, our Nation’s history, etc. day in and day out, and who are allowed to infect the subconscio­­us of a broad swath of White Americans. And I'm talking about the so called "mainstrea­m," or "liberal media." This has Helped undermine Obama’s presidency­­, empowered the Tea Party/GOP, and pulled the country further to the right.



Hey Media: it’s time to break up your insider culture and employment practices. TRULY diversify your ranks. Maybe we'd then stand a chance in resolutely challengin­g right-wing religious and political fanaticism and racism.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Rick Perry's 'Texas Miracle' Includes Crowded Homeless Shelters, Low-Wage Jobs, Worker Deaths

When you get a chance check out my article, "Obama to Paul Ryan/Ayn Rand: IN YOUR FACE!" http://ope­n.salon.co­m/blog/ron­robinson/2­011/04/13/­president_­obama_to_p­aul_ryanay­n_rand_in_­your_face



Also, "Crusader Christiani­ty, Tea Party Cult, & The Left." http://ope­n.salon.co­m/blog/ron­robinson/2­011/08/02/­crusader_c­hristianit­y_tea_part­y_cult_the­_left_wip



In the mean time, I'd say that the day when Black folks have enough power in this society such that a Black man can TRULY become the equal in power of a George W. Bush or Rick Perry, will be a day that neither you, I, nor our great grandchild­ren will most likely live to see.
About Careers
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost