Barack Obama is not a Marxist!

If Obama is a Marxist, then Ronald Reagan, Richard Nixon, and Dwight Eisenhower were even more Marxist than Obama!

Real misinformation

I moved and got DIRECTV. I finally saw Avatar. Incredible movie! Also I've watched the last two episodes of Real Time with Bill Maher. In the first episode, Maher pointed out that the three biggest chunks of the US federal government's expenses are social security, Medicare & Medicaid, and defense. Elliot Spitzer responded and said basically the US is big insurance with a big army (I believe he quoted Ezra Klein). I've never thought of it that way, but it is true.

Some dubious and downright false claims were made in the last episode, which I watched last night. Bill Maher implied that Bill Clinton's tax hikes lead to job growth. Bill Clinton was a great president whose admininstration balanced the budget, but his tax hikes did not lead to job growth. The Internet and tech boom did.

Also Maher compared dissimulation in Islam to Jon Kyl's lies about planned parenthood. It was just a segway into the planned parenthood discussion, but he made it sound like Islam allows lying. Irshad Manji mentioned that it's allowed in times of war, but she did not explain that it's called taqiyya and that it's allowed by Shia to lie about their sect when Wahhabis hunt them down. I would lie about my religion too if a Wahhabi wants to kill me because I'm Shiite.

Manji also failed when she implied that most Muslim men force their wives to wear hijab inside the home. That's just silly! And the pic of Saudi men taking pics of a goat to prove I don't know what is also silly.

Also annoying in the last episode was Michael Steele, who disagreed with Maher that the Tea Party are Republicans. He said the Tea Party includes "Blue Dog Democrats". OK there may be a few independent teabaggers, and Blue Dog Democrats are conservative, but it's clear that the vast majority of the Tea Party patriots are Republicans. The audience laughed hard when he said the Tea Party includes Blue Dog Democrats.

At least Michael Steele was challenged appropriately, especially by Ed Schultz. Most misinformation on TV seems to go unchallenged.

Thomas Paine wanted to end slavery

"Thomas Paine wanted to abolish slavery at the same time that American Independence was won, but the pressure from slave owners was too great to overcome, and so it was left to another man to finish the job. Early in life Abraham Lincoln was inspired by Paine's writings, particularly his essay advocating the abolition of Negro slavery. Lincoln said, "I never tire of reading Paine." As a result of Paine's influence, Abraham Lincoln became the Great Emancipator and saved the Union."

WOW. And only six people showed up at Paine's funeral: 'At the time of his death, most American newspapers reprinted the obituary notice from the New York Citizen, which read in part: "He had lived long, did some good and much harm." Only six mourners came to his funeral, two of whom were black, most likely freedmen.'

I have learned much about Thomas Paine in the last 24 hours. Thank you Bill Maher! I've also learned more about the self-proclaimed "patriots" of the Tea Party. Tea Party "patriots" are not like the Founding Fathers. They are more like the people who repudiated Thomas Paine. I guess I should be glad that Glenn Beck thinks he's like Thomas Paine. LOL!

Tea Party not like the Founding Fathers

People on Terrorism Watch List can buy guns in America

at gun shows! The Tea Party will no doubt do something about this.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Also watch this. John Boehner is a dick.

The discourse is polarized in America, says Obama

I jumped to conclusions on Saturday with my "American Taliban" post. Obama said we should talk to each other in a way that heals, not wounds. I was not using "healing words" in many comments on Saturday. Obama is right. The discourse is polarized. There are good people everywhere, even in the Tea Party, I'm sure. Sometimes it's hard not to become emotional and reactionary, especially when a 9-year old (born on 9/11, no less) is killed, but civility and politeness are always important. Thanks for reminding me, Mr. President.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Sarah Palin steps in shit again

I'm starting to feel sorry for her. I don't think she knew about the history of the term "blood libel" and why Jews don't like to hear it. I didn't understand the history of the term until I read this blog post on the NYT:

Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Democrat of Florida, who is a close friend of Ms. Giffords, issued a statement condemning her use of the phrase “blood libel.”

“Palin’s comments either show a complete ignorance of history, or blatant anti-Semitism,” said Jonathan Beeton, Ms. Wasserman Shultz’s spokesman. “Either way, it shows an appalling lack of sensitivity given Representative Giffords’s faith and the events of the past week.”

The Anti-Defamation League issued a statement that, in part, came to Ms. Palin’s defense.

“It was inappropriate at the outset to blame Sarah Palin and others for causing this tragedy or for being an accessory to murder,” Abraham Foxman, the group’s national director, said in a statement. “Palin has every right to defend herself against these kinds of attacks.”

But Mr. Foxman added that “we wish that Palin had not invoked the phrase ‘blood-libel.’ ” He called it a phrase “fraught with pain in Jewish history.”

Jeremy Ben-Ami, president of a pro-Israel group called J Street, said that “when Governor Palin learns that many Jews are pained by and take offense at the use of the term, we are sure that she will choose to retract her comment, apologize and make a less inflammatory choice of words.

The conservative blogger Michelle Malkin defended Ms. Palin, accusing liberals of being “Tucson massacre opportunists” for criticizing her.

“The blamestream media is already up in arms — can we still say that? — over the use of the phrase ‘blood libel,’” Ms. Malkin wrote. “The more moronic of Palin-bashers will simply gnash their teeth because she said ‘blood.’ Idiocracy: The new normal.”

Apparently Michelle Malkin doesn't know the history of the term either. LOL

I feel sorry for Palin, who's been blamed by many for being an accessory to murder with her crosshairs map. I believe the crosshairs map was a bad idea and is symbolic of the Tea Party's obdurate clinging to unreasonable gun laws, but it is her right to free speech and the murderer in Arizona probably had never seen the map. She is tenaciously defending herself and I've read reports that claim the crosshairs map remains on her facebook page, although I don't see it there now. She is speaking to her supporters, who probably agree with her, but I wonder if most Americans do. She certainly does not deserve death threats (thanks CH for posting that link).

GOP district chairman in AZ resigns

"The sole black Republican Party district chairman in Arizona resigned from his post in the wake of Saturday's shooting, citing threats from the Tea Party faction and concerns for his family's safety, The Arizona Republic reports."