Needlenose

Self-delusion is a wonderful thing, but not if you’re a Black man working for Fox News. You think they want you on there, but in actuality you serve a slightly different purpose. Your presence is to justify that your employer can spout all manner of borderline to actual racist content without getting into trouble. Because, after all, they employ minorities.

Fox News’ “Of COURSE I’m not racist! I have plenty of Black friends” excuse got into a scrap with a college professor over his Fear of a Black Planet. The professor, Dr. Caroline Helmand, teaches at Occidental College. Their conversation on NPR began with her agreeing that Juan Williams shouldn’t have been fired by the news agency, even if she felt his comments on Muslims were bigoted. She further stated that “I think that if I were to say that I clutch my purse every time I walk by a black man that might resonate with a lot of Americans. It might be the truth but it’s a bigoted statement.”

Williams did what he is paid to do: He reassured his viewers by insulting me and other Black men. I spent several years in a Red Midwestern county, and several women clutched their purses when I walked by, even though I had no intention of robbing them. So Helmand’s statement is very well worded, and Williams could have run with that and made some valid points about profiling. He could have even worked his actual statement into that, making for an educated discussion from a Black perspective on Fox. Instead, he made a DIRECT pander to the predominantly White audience who watches Fox News.

First, he made a soothing “it’s perfectly OK to think like this, Fox viewers” blanket statement. He said “Let me just tell you, with the amount of black on black crime in America, I get nervous and I’m a black man.” So, every Black man scares Williams, even Steve Urkel and Buppies. After Helmand challenged him again, Williams dug in his heels: “I’m the father of black young men and I’m saying that if you saw a couple guys walking around looking like thugs down the street late at night, you’re saying ‘Oh, I’m not going to think it through.’ Caroline, I think you are way off base.”

Bullshit.

Let’s dismantle Williams’ bass-ackwards statement. Suppose those “couple guys walking around looking like thugs down the street late at night” were Williams’ KIDS. I’m sure they are very nice, respectable young men, but Williams’ statement paints them as potential thugs simply by inclusion. What is the description of a “thug?” To many people, the definition of a thug is “young, Black men.” Williams’ kids, to use the classic racial profiling excuse, “fit the description.” Would Williams be understanding if his children came to him, as I have more than once to my parents, to describe an upsetting racial profiling incident? With my bald head, stern look and—hell, my skin color—I look like a “thug” to some people. I suppose by Williams’ rationale I should mug the shit out of you. Then, since I am college-educated, I can give you a calculus lesson as you crawl down the sidewalk. Calculus is a lot more painful than mugging–trust me.

Williams does what the rest of the Fox pundits do: He blatantly disavows that his statements could offend. They always act stunned when someone calls them on the potential offense, knowing damn well what they are doing. This is cowardice. I state right now that what I am saying in this piece may offend you. I don’t give a shit, but at least I’ve given you the respect of acknowledging that your offense could exist. I can hear you now: In his comedy routine, Chris Rock made a statement similar to Williams’, and he won the Emmy for it! What liberal nonsense! Rock did indeed make this statement, but he surrounded it by 10 minutes of differentiating and absolving Black men who are NOT thugs. And Chris Rock is a COMEDIAN, not a news anchor. Actually, Rock used much stronger language than “thug,” and while Williams didn’t use that particular word, I’m sure Roger Ailes wouldn’t mind if he did.

Sadly, this isn’t the thing that pisses me off most about Williams’ subbing on the O’Reilly Factor. He missed a primo opportunity to ask for some motherfuckin’ iced tea. I would have. That is my biggest disappointment with this episode.

I am on a few reactionary email lists.  Normally I just delete them, but I got this funny one from NewsMax Corp.  If you aren’t familiar with NewsMax, they are the ass-clowns of the reactionary media world, basically doing Glenn Beck in print and online before Glenn Beck figured out the whole crazy/looney conspiracy theory schtick.  Anyway, here is NewsMax’s response to the situation in Wisconsin:

Dear Reader,

Bill O’Reilly was absolutely right last night.

As he said on his Fox News show the other night, the Democrats know that if they lose in Wisconsin and that if Gov. Scott Walker wins, it means that all across the country the public employee unions will finally have to give up their outrageous pay demands, lavish benefits and fat pensions.

And, as Bill O’Reilly said, this will be bad news for the Democratic party which depends on these unions.

Worse, he said, it is bad news for President Obama and his 2012 election plans, because he desperately needs these liberal unions to win re-election.

This is why team Obama continues to throw everything but the kitchen sink at Governor Scott Walker.

This is why the work of the League of American Voters campaign to support Gov. Scott Walker is critical.

Despite raging protests and even threats of violence by union thugs, Governor Scott Walker is standing firm.

But already there are demands by some that he “cave”.

Frankly, according to my sources in Wisconsin, the pressure on Gov. Walker and the legislature is extraordinary.

You have to remember, this is not a local Wisconsin fight. It’s a national one.

That’s why Obama has brought to Wisconsin the full weight of every radical activist group in America.

That’s why the Obama allied unions are pouring millions into TV and radio ads in Wisconsin.

He’s dispatched his allies from the Democrat National Committee, Norman Lear’s leftwing People for the American Way, and even Obama’s own group “Organizing for America.”;

Another Obama crony liberal group, Moveon.org is mobilizing an “emergency call for rallies in every state capital this Saturday… demand that the rich and powerful pay their fair share.”

Governor Scott Walker needs every single ounce of our support. We can’t leave him alone in the arena to fight. You and the League must join him.

We urgently need help for our radio ad blitz to support Gov. Walker – PLEASE GO HERE NOW

This is why the League of American Voters is urgently launching a national effort to help Gov. Walker and to stop these bloated unions.

The League has prepared a powerful new radio ad to air throughout Wisconsin in support of Gov. Walker.

With your help we plan on exposing the Obama-Labor machine in ads across the nation.

The League of American Voters is at the forefront of the battle in Wisconsin defending Scott Walker.

Dick Morris, the famous Fox News analyst, says “The League is the most effective grassroots organization in America.” Dick credits the League for having stopped Obama’s “public option” healthcare takeover. The public option would have destroyed private health insurance, and we stopped them.

The League also led the fight to force Pres. Obama to renew the Bush tax cuts. Our national TV effort with Sen. Fred Thompson worked. Obama caved.

Now, the League has prepared a powerful new radio ad to air throughout Wisconsin in support of Gov. Walker.

With your help we plan on exposing the Obama-Labor machine in ads across the nation.

Our ad encourages Gov. Walker to stay strong and exposes how public employee unions are gouging the taxpayers.

We urgently need you to help the League in the vital effort to support Gov. Walker and expose the unions – Go Here Now

Help the League to end Big Labor’s ability to hold taxpayers, school students, and emergency services hostage to the lavish demands of public unions.

Governor Walker is under intense pressure. Team Obama wants to break him.

One Congressman who backs Obama even suggested violence is OK: “Every once and awhile you need to get out on the streets and get a little bloody when necessary.”

This is disgusting and this Congressman ought to be held accountable!

But it underscores the truth, Obama and his public union cronies are desperate.

They’ll do whatever it takes to keep power.

That’s why Obama says “Punish our enemies… Reward our friends”

But together, you and I can help Scott Walker do what’s right for Wisconsin — what’s right for America.

Help the League to support Gov. Scott Walker. Go Here Now

Yours for Freedom,

Bob Adams
Executive Director

P.S. -Moveon.org is organizing an “emergency rally” in all fifty states for Saturday. Millions of dollars from far left groups are pouring into Wisconsin. The League of American Voters urgently needs your help. Dick Morris, the famous TV analyst, says “The League is the most effective grassroots organization in America.” We stopped Obama’s “public option”healthcare takeover. We forced Obama to continue the Bush tax cuts. And we can save Gov. Scott Walker. But we need YOUR HELP today. Time is critical. Please DONATE HERE NOW.

What a classic case of projection!  Several times this mentions “union thugs” threatening the Governor’s life!!!  Jeez, I don’t know what Universe these pukes inhabit, but in this Universe, it’s the reactionaries that are doing all the killing and the death threats!  Particularly humorous from a “Bizarro Universe” point of view is their attack on MoveOn:

Another Obama crony liberal group, Moveon.org is mobilizing an “emergency call for rallies in every state capital this Saturday… demand that the rich and powerful pay their fair share.

You gotta wonder about the other readers of NewsMax who would consider getting the rich and powerful to pay their fair share to be a bad thing!  Are all of their readers rich and powerful?  Or just stupid and crazy?   Having seen the typical ‘Bagger with his/her tricorn hat festooned with tea-bags and badly spelled signage, I’m guessing it’s the latter.

*Update 4:47P* got another reactionary email – Ponce Riebus is getting into the act!  I won’t bore you with another full email, but here is one of the terrible things we Liberals are doing in Wisconsin:

These Union Bosses have sent thousands of out-of-state union jack booted thugs into Wisconsin and Indiana to try and intimidate lawmakers and thwart the will of the people.

Haha here is the translation – a rag-tag band of union activists with little or no money hoping not to get squashed by the Koch brothers in this key state.  Neither Ponce nor NewsMax make any mention of the Koch Brothers and the oodles of cash they are investing in an intense lobbying effort to bust the unions in Wisconsin!  Talk about projection!  The Reactionaries are taking everything that they are doing and projecting it on us to confuse their addled followers.

Hates Non-Whites Immigrants & Government.

Jared Lee Loughner.  6 dead, 15 wounded.

Hates Liberals, Jews, Abortionists, Non-Whites & Government

Scott Roeder.  Killed 1.

Hates Liberals, Jews, Non-Whites & Government.

James von Brunn.  Killed: 1

Hates Liberals, Abortionists, Non-Whites & Government.

Eric Robert Rudolph.  Killed 1, Wounded 111.

Hated Liberals & Government ?

Unknown Anthrax Letter Bomber(s).  Killed 5, Infected 17.

Hated LIberals, Non-Whites & Government

Timothy McVeigh.  Killed 168, Wounded 450.

Notice anything?  For the last 20 years, America has been under attack by Reactionary Nut Jobs, not a Liberal among them.  Makes it easy to profile terrorists, at least!

*Update 1-10-11* Sarah Palin ‘reloads’ her targeting system – “surveyor’s symbols” not gun sights !!!  10A – Glenn Beck urges Palin to ‘get protection’ because there are “nutjobs on all sides.”  Yeah, Ass Clown, but the ones on *your* side are the ones stalking around Town Hall meetings with guns and shooting people!  11A – Jane Hamsher lays out the history of escalating reactionary violence alongside the inciting rhetoric (not exhaustive, doesn’t include all the guys stalking around town hall meetings with guns, nor the loons that plotted to kill Obama.  12:30A – LimpBoy squeals out apologia.

*Update 1-11-11* Poor Bill-O The Clown – what about his security needs? Boo Hoo!  1:30P - LimpBoy has proclaimed that the Reactionary shooter is in fact a Democrat, backed by the Democratic Party!!

*Update 1-24-11* Being a true Republican, Jared Loughner won’t take responsibility for his actions.

Bill-O the Clown is calling to execute the guys who leaked the recent diplomatic cables as ‘traitors.’  How about a fair balance, Bill-O?  We’ll execute the cable leakers provided we also execute all the guys who were behind the  exposure of Valerie Plame (and thereby exposing all her undercover contacts and other agents)?  Yep, I’ll looking at you Dick Cheney!

I’ve been warning for some time about the rising levels of wrong-wing hate, and how that hate is again turning to either outright violence, preparing for violence or just simple hate-mongering and hate-speech that can incite others to violence.  Now others are noticing a dramatic resurgence of militia activity that is

“(is) reminiscent of what was seen in the 1990s – right-wing militias, people ideologically against paying taxes and so-called “sovereign citizens” are popping up in large numbers, according to the report to be released Wednesday. The SPLC is a nonprofit civil rights group that, among other activities, investigates hate groups”

Did you catch the news about the wing-nut who brought and dropped a gun at a political meeting?  I mean I know the reactionaries are crazy and stupid, but do they really believe the Libruhls are gonna attack their crazy tea-bag parties and protests?  Don’t they realize that we aren’t armed?

Back in the Clinton era my own life was threatened by some wing-nut because I had posted a tongue-in-cheek website parodying the ‘black helicoper’ crowd (the main reason why I remain anonymous on this site).  Bad as the Bush years were, the wing-nuts seemed to calm down in spite of the volume and stridency of the reactionary media hate speakers like Billo the Clown and Ann Coulter.

However the massive rejection of the Repugs at the polls and the election of a centrist President seems to have thrown them back into a frenzy that if anything seems even nastier and scarier than before.  Living in San Francisco as I do I rarely encounter reactionaries, but today I was having a conversation with a self-described “moderate” from the South who went on at length about Obama’s Socialist agenda for health care and financial services, and railed about the swelling deficit – a guy who never squawked once about how Shrubya threw Clinton’s balanced budget to the wind and drove up the deficit like a two-bit lobbyist with a federal credit card.

I guess one of the downsides of the end of the “War on Terror” is that the reactionary talking heads have turned the other half of their hate rhetoric, formerly targeted at the Islamic world, at us Libruhls, again firing at us figuratively and literally with ‘both barrels.’

*Update* Bill Clinton better worry if he plans to participate in the contentious health care ‘town hall’ meetings - wing-nuts might use this guy’s technique to conceal an assassination weapon.

It galls me to admit it, but the vile Repugs have got a point – the ‘stimulus’ bill is overladen with pork.  It’s just another bloated omnibus spending bill like the Repugs spewed out over the last 8 years, business as usual.  

I don’t buy the complete Foxublican spin, that pork items such fixing State Department computer systems or cleaning up the National Mall won’t create or preserve jobs – of course they will!

But the nation is looking for national stimulus, targeted at Joe Sixpack’s home town, not at the offices, home towns and garages of our overpaid politicos.

Likewise, while I am a firm believer in better healthcare, familiy planning services, and child care for our troops, these items have little or nothing to do with stimulus; our fat & lazy politicos should get off their asses and create and debate legislation specifically for these items.

The stimulus package must stick to core infrastructure investment and development, those things that the venal Repugs of yore were too corrupt and stupid to address, such as improving our transit systems (rail, road & bridge), investing in local, regional and national mass transit, assisting local governments in mixed-use, urban infill development, modernizing our archaic national ‘grid’ and making it distributed, renewable green-energy ready.

This type of spending would cover the U.S. and provide local and regional jobs from unskilled to professional type.  It would address the neglect of previous misAdministrations, mitigate future disasters (bridge collapses?   train derailments?), and start moving the economy to sustainable jobs (wind & solar energy, local business in mixed-use development).

And it would only be a start.

On the flip side, somebody should tell the vile Repugs to shut-the-fuck-up about more tax cuts.   We don’t need to repeal the AMT, we need to adjust the salary limits to account for decades of inflation.  We should rescind the Shrubyian tax cuts for the rich.  In fact, to my first point, all the tax shit should be stripped out of this bill, and the lazy-ass politicos should deal with these tax change issues in a separate bill.  While ramming the changes down the throats of Boner and his cronies.

Now is not the time for timid half-measures, or more groveling to Billo the Clown and Limp Boy.  Nor is it time for Congressional pork barrel politics.  If Obama doesn’t get in front of this cart, he’ll find himself being dragged behind it in 4 years, watching his squandered mandate transform into Shrubyian approval ratings.

If only some politician would do this to Bill O’Reilly!  He’d be an instant hero!