A simple equation...

With Glenn Beck (KTTH m-f 6-9a)  crying for the "future of this nation he loves", and an epidemic of tea parties where talk show hosts use the words of the Founders to issue secession statements (in the name of Patriotism) it's clear that America is about to break up into small city-states run by radio personalities. ~~ Dave Ross (KIROFM m-f, 9a-12p)

 

Comments

[joanie]

That's why I like Dave. Sometimes he's the most simplistic idiot and other times he nails it! Thanks, Michael.

I can't wait to catch up on that podcast.

[KS]

That quote is laughable and also improbable, but cute. Dave Ross wants to be all knowing.

True, Beck is sure getting a lot of attention of late. Rachael Maddow's ratings have gone down as a result of this - something that the Drive-by-media will not want to report.

[joanie]

Source please.

[sparky]

Hannity and Orally must be pretty pissed..all these years they have worked their asses off trying to pump up the fear, and then almost overnight, Beck laps them and surges ahead.

[Puget Sound]

"Source please.

Posted by: joanie | April 10, 2009 at 06:36 PM"

what a troll. demands sources but fails to provide same when asked.

efin ph(J)oanie

[M.Steele]

Rush Limbaugh:

"And now the liberals want to stop President Reagan from selling chemical warfare agents and military equipment to Saddam Hussein, and why? Because Saddam 'allegedly' gassed a few Kurds in his own country. Mark my words. All of this talk of Saddam Hussein being a 'war criminal' or 'committing crimes against humanity' is the same old thing. LIBERAL HATE SPEECH! And speaking of poison gas ...I SAY WE ROUND UP ALL THE DRUG ADDICTS AND GAS THEM."

-Rush Limbaugh, Nov. 3, 1988

Dang, I hate Rush...

[Highlander]

M.steele- Ahhh, once again, we prove that, for the cons, ruthlessly killing off innocent civilians is a family value.

[M. Steele]

slow your roll Highlander, I'm trying to prove another point. Let the nuts respond. maybe when they are done Teabagging.

[M. Steele]

Well Highlander, I guess that’s it. Crickets... I guess hypocrisy from the cons knows no bounds.

[Mark C.]

This tea-bagging stunt has no focus, and no leaders other than the talk hosts, and some pundits like Michelle Malkin.

Conservatives can't do protest, never could. Might be because they loath the very idea of "community organizing."

In 1994 when they pulled off their coup, they had political leaders. now they don't. That's not good, they do best with top-down situation.

It's not original, either. Mike Siegel and some other hosts did it back in '92. It petered out after the teabags were mailed in to Congress.

Very different now. Folks want rational solutions to scary problems, not just a bunch of grumpy white people yel,ling about secession or the impeachment of a very popular leader.

The right in this country has a tin ear for grassroots actitivism. Remember how much fun pain and everybody had scorning Obama's "community organizer" title? They could take a lesson from Obama'08 or even the Howard Dean 2004 campaign. They won't because they are still busy mocking them. It should be fun to watch.

A good community organization would have a second act. There ain't no such thing here.

[Sanders]

Beck isn't in the 6 PM time slot opposite Maddow. She's up against Hannity at 9. Beck is opposite what is now Ed Schultz. Beck killed off David Schuster. Doubt Ed will do him much damage. They are not competing head to head, but Beck is threatening O'Reilly's number one rating status. He is a Mormon.

[Highlander]

m.steele- is the official spokesperson of the right wingnuts now the Cricket? Hehe. Seriously, you made an excellent point, and it's well taken.
Mark C- spot on about the right not having a clue about how to make this "tea-bagging" thing into a real protest of any measure. There needs to be a revival of community and political activism in this country. And as you eluded to, the cons don't prefer to apply themselves in this way, because the work is hard and dirty, and it requires a lot of emotional and spiritual commitment.

[KS]

Source please.

"Talkers Magazine and perodically on the Drudge Report. I'll see how long it is before throw out the standard "its gotta a lie because the right doesn't know the truth... Goebbels would be proud of your bullshit, Ph(J)oanie - .

"Hannity and Orally must be pretty pissed..all these years they have worked their asses off trying to pump up the fear, and then almost overnight, Beck laps them and surges ahead."

Is that a joke ? BTW, its wrong. Actually, Bill O doesn't have a problem with Beck and has had him as a guest on his show and keeps warning him that the left is and will continue to come after you. We have seen a microcosm of that on this blog - but after reading all of the posts, there have been very few substantive arguments that uphold his craziness. Mainly just opinions by the lib trolls, who all of them have, like an a-hole, not calling anyone that - yet...

[KS]

"The right in this country has a tin ear for grassroots actitivism. Remember how much fun pain and everybody had scorning Obama's "community organizer" title? They could take a lesson from Obama'08 or even the Howard Dean 2004 campaign."

There is truth in that. The community organizer is an attribute in any grass roots movement. Substance isn't that important, because this culture collectively has the attention span and concentration of a box of fleas. It plays to the lowest common denominator largely because of the influence of Hollywood.

For instance, John McCain ran a way more substantive campaign than Obama. The problem was that his answers weren't pre-packaged and flashy and vacuous, but instead they were factual, but not fancy with less flash. Alas, those who ran his campaign were the worst organized and were out-organized by a long shot. Whenever the right catches on to on-line organization from the ground up, the left will be surprised, kinda like 1994, but history doesn't repeat itself, it has similarities. It will eventually happen in this flattening world.

[M. Steele]

Hey KS....they seem to be kickin' our ass though huh?

[lotus eater]

Unfortunately, I don't think the Limbaugh quote is real...

http://www.snopes.com/politics/quotes/limbaugh2.asp

[Highlander]

By "substantive" campaign, you mean like where McCain couldn't remember if he was supposed to be for or against torture? Or when he kept insisting that the economy was stable and had a strong foundation? Or when he said he could relate to middle-class America, to "the common man" (insert fake plumber here), but couldn't remember how many homes he owned, or where they all were? Or by picking Palin as a running mate, a move that, by itself, is credited as the single most disasterous decision of his campaign.
Maybe "substantive" means fat campaign donations- wasn't the average donation to the Obama campaign just over $100? Roughly a tenth of what McCain contributors gave, yet Obama still outcollected him. One of the biggest reasons that Obama is now your president is that he spoke to every American, including the working class (those who only have one home, and they know where it is). They also were very concerned about the economy, and their jobs, and their children's futures. And Obama's supporters don't believe in torture, and know that it doesn't need redfinition.
Obama spoke to the people on a level that they understood and responded to. And this country was at least eight years overdue for that.

[Dave (not dave ross)]

i agree with what you say highlander, however the biggest reason obama got elected was 8 years of bush and the fact that republicans could not separate themselves from him.

[AuthenticAndrew]

I'm sort of exicted that Glenn Beck is a rising voice in conservative politics because it means Republicnas are being abandoned in favor of libertarians.

Libertarians are definately not Republicans but the Republicans will shift policies to win their vote if they become a big enough segment. That promises at least a decade's worth of confusion, in-fighting and watered down politics from the conservative side.

That's what happens when you have someone like Bush speaking on your behalf for 8 years; self loathing and siding with the enemy.

[Puget Sound]

"By "substantive" campaign, you mean like where McCain couldn't remember if he was supposed to be for or against torture?

Posted by: Highlander | April 11, 2009 at 11:42 AM"

Yeah, that John McCain fellow sure had no idea what the heck Torture is all about.
Of course, according to 'Randi' McCain's treatment at the Hanoi Hilton wasn't all that rough.

McCain lost for a lot of reasons. His position on Torture wasn't it.

[KVIFan]

HIGH(ass)LANDER's definition of torture probably means missing a meal. How dare he(she) question McCain's view on this after what he went thru in Viet Nam, all as a result of Democrat decisions to get near 59,000 Americans killed and literally millions of others.
And you compare those decisions with one's made by Pres Bush.
Give me a break! You are a dolt.

[KS]

They also were very concerned about the economy, and their jobs, and their children's futures. And Obama's supporters don't believe in torture, and know that it doesn't need redfinition.

It's people like Highlander's ilk that scares the bejeezus out of others - they don't think, they just emote. The issue of torture is like don't ask, don't tell - the topic is only brought up for political gain. What about Islamists that behead captives ? What do we do in the face of that ? If we do nothing, which is like Obama has done up to now with the Somali pirates, we might as well surrender.

Hopefully, our Navy will retaliate forcefully in the event that there are any American casualities from the Somali pirates who are really terrorists but the drive by media is too fucked up to say that.

[KS]

Hey M. Steele, you are missing in action. Get your sorry butt out there and kick some or the progressive/regressives will continue to have their way with the Dhimmitudization and Europeanization (one and the same) of this country.

The losers are we the people who are not useful idiiots. The useful idjotz are too willfully ignorant and screwed-up to know better. That Bush/Cheney albatross is still hanging around the neck of the loyal opposition.

[Highlander]

kvifan- Sorry, but you don't get to turn this into a "highlander hates the troops, because he questioned McCain's position on torture". In reality (a town you should visit sometime), McCain should have been able to stand by his ORIGINAL position on torture, but your party wouldn't let him stray from the official doctrine. Do I have a definition of torture? Sure. It's pretty much the same one as the UN has. Also the International Red Cross. See also, the U.S. Army Field Manual. All of those sources clearly contradicted what the Cheney/Bush Administration wanted to do with prisoners (oh, wait- you want us to call them "enemy combatants" now, in an attempt to keep the Administration from being charged with war crimes).
But I will give you credit for actually mentioning that millions died in Vietnam- how almost liberal of you!
You see, I never disrepected McCain's service; only his inability to make the right choice on torture.

[Puget Sound]

"You see, I never disrepected McCain's service; only his inability to make the right choice on torture."
or
""By "substantive" campaign, you mean like where McCain couldn't remember if he was supposed to be for or against torture?

Posted by: Highlander | April 11, 2009 at 11:42 AM"

You tried to impugn McCain on the topic of Torture and make him out to be pandering on a highly personal topic to the man. Anyone who spent 7 years under torture is given dispensation on the issue in my book.

So yeah, you actually did impugn his service and years spent in the Hanoi Hilton. Not directly, but by strong inference.

I can see you're one of Sparky's 'friends.'

Anyone not see that these 'friends' Sparky brought to the blog are just dressed up versions of 'Coiler?' I mean other than ph(J)oanie.

Too funny.

[Puget Sound]

Mark Malone of ABC News has a nice article on blog posters. See if you recognize who you are:

The Troll -- Everyone knows this guy (and it's usually a guy), who intentionally visits sites in order to stir things up, provoke a furious reaction from other posters and then disappear. Classic examples are the Free Republic types who visit Daily Kos and vice versa.

The Droll -- The mainstay of all fun sites, this poster regularly tosses out clever comments, plays on words, one-liners or amusing pictures. There are a lot of these characters on places like Fark.com

The Relentless Pol -- Posters who can't join any discussion without immediately using it to make a political point, i.e., "The current lack of sunspots is the direct result of the Bush administration's failed policies."

The Skimmer -- The commenter, usually sour, who reads only a headline or sentence of a piece, draws exactly the wrong conclusion, and then embarks on an embarrassing rant.

The Trimmer -- A commenter who initially stakes a strong position, and then under withering attack from other commenters slowly backs off until he or she has completely abandoned that original position.

The Angry Man -- We all know this guy. His solution for almost any problem in the world is the summary execution, in as grisly a manner as possible, of every possible perpetrator.

The Dismisser -- The ultimate arrogant commenter, this person never actually engages with the topic, but merely declares it beneath anyone's interest, already resolved, or improperly stated -- and thus hardly worth the bother. The dismisser's only real message is: I'm smarter than you and you need to acknowledge that fact.

The Butt-Kisser -- Famous writers and bloggers get this one. It's the poster who just can't say enough about how brilliant was that last entry, how they wish they could say it half as good, etc. My assumption is that these folks are angling for some kind of personal relationship with the writer.

The Kumbaya -- These folks always show up two-thirds of the way through any heated on-line debate and ask, "Why can't we all just get along?" They are inevitably ignored or trashed.

The Parser -- What would we do without the Internet Grammar Police? These folks assiduously correct the online writings of others -- never quite catching on that the Web is designed to be fast, fresh and sloppy.

The Pretender -- Everybody is a pretender on the Web -- on the Internet, no one knows you're a dog, as the New Yorker cartoon said. Look at all of those made-up names and sexy icons. But some people just take it to pathological extremes. If the real world actually had that many war heroes, beauty contest winners, Mensa members and Olympic lovers, it would be a very different place.

The Defender -- Bloggers love these guys. When you are getting hammered by other posters, this is the guy who watches your back, supports you, and tells your enemies off & and does a better job of it than your real-life friends.

The Perv -- These guys show up a lot on celebrity sites, announcing some really disgusting thing they'd like to do to that famous figure & and of course will never get the chance to, thanks to stalker laws, restraining orders, and the fact they have no driver's license. It's a toss-up in my mind whether the Web is a good outlet for these guys, or the platform they've always dreamed of.

The Slut -- The best thing about slut commenters ("What's wrong with having sex with your best friend's dad?") is that they don't know they're sluts & until 800 other posters happily point it out to them.

The Boaster -- Few of us have ever driven a Lamborghini at 190 miles per hour. But this guy has. And can bench press 350 pounds. And dated Jessica Alba in high school. And &

The Tough Guy -- Remember the kid who talked tough, then ran off when confronted? The Internet is filled with these clowns, all secure in the knowledge that they will never be called to account.

The Pwn3R -- Most people are lucky to come up with a truly brilliant and devastating comeback a couple times in their lives. But the Web, thanks to its unique characteristics, has bred a population of posters who regularly drop verbal and visual bombs on unsuspecting recipients (like The Boaster and the Tough Guy) that are so devastating that the victims can only slink off and be grateful for their anonymity. I don't know who these men and women are, but I both worship and fear them.

The Lecturer -- This is the buzzkill pedant who feels the need, even in a casual, light comments section, to post a 1,000 word exegesis on what everyone should be talking about. Hey, thanks pal!

The Illiterate -- The blogosphere is still mostly a written medium -- so it's always bizarre to encounter (in about one out of 100 comments) that poster whose spelling and grammar are so awful that you hope that they are just some drunk pounding on a Blackberry.

The Unacknowledged Expert -- A version of the lecturer, this is the undoubtedly insufficiently credentialed poster who feels the need to systematically point out how stupid everyone else is in order to prove how brilliant they are. I always picture these guys as the frustrated adult result of smart kids who didn't listen to their high school guidance counselors.

The Mystery Genius -- These folks are just the opposite of unacknowledged experts. Whoever they are, they post comments that are so shockingly clever or brilliant that you are left wondering who they are: Slumming Nobel Laureates? Bored nobility? The first glimpse of the Internet gaining consciousness?

The Confesser -- You're going along, casually reading some comment stream & and suddenly you are taken up short by a poster who, for some unknown reason, feels compelled to make some stunning confession -- "and that's why I buried the drifter in my crawl space" -- and then disappears. These are some of the most disturbing comments on the Web.

The Tomboy -- Every geek's dream girl. These women show up on sites frequented mostly by young men and instead of professing shock at the proceedings, actually raise the stakes: "Well, I happen to like playing World of Warcraft all weekend in my underwear and only eating Doritos and Top Ramen &"

The Handyman -- This poster is basically dad in disguise. Someone mentions a mechanical or computer problem as an aside, and this poster instantly has the solution -- the wrong jets in your carburetor, a poor ground on your toaster, insufficient cache memory. Whatever it is, they've got the answer.

The Alien -- This is a poster from another country who has no context for what every commenter is talking about, and so asserts his or her own cultural solution: "Why this complain about wife? Sell gotes and buy more wifes!"

The Martian -- Finally, these are the commenters whose combination of pretzel logic, conspiratorial tone and downright weirdness -- "Well, we all know the pope is behind that big lake of fire at the South Pole, don't we?" -- reminds you that the world is an even scarier place than we imagine, and makes you wonder if this writing for the Internet gig is such a good idea after all.

[Highlander]

So by putting me in the same bracket as Sparky, I am supposed to be insulted? Not hardly. We don't agree on everything, but we're both progressives, and we both are really glad that America finally got a President who might just represent the people. I know, it's really got the hackles up of you republican'ts, but here we are. Deal with it.

[Coiler]

Don't worry about Putz, he's paranoid about having opposition

[KVIFan]

And then there's the 'highlander' a combination of all of the above.

[sparky]

It's ok Highlander...at least you are quotation marks. Puts could have put you in italics!!

Actually, I prefer:
Friends of Sparky ™

[KS]

OK, friends of Sparky - Progressives are a phony label. You who call yourselves that are in reality Progressive/Regressives or permissives.

The first American progressives were those who helped get Woodrow Wilson elected President. The progressives in the USSR were instrumental in getting Lenin and Stalin into power. We have your number as to who you really are - Word parsing and lieing by omission are some of your favorite pastimes. You best fit the "Relentless Pol" on PutS's blogger stereotype list.

[KVIFan]

"Friends of Sparky"

Is this person full of themselves or what. FOS, more accurately translated as "full-of-sh**"

[sparky]

"We have your number as to who you really are"

Curses, this disguise has always worked before!

[Puget Sound]

Oh Sparky, if your going to trademark your name you should also trademark Coiler, Highlander, and the rest of your 'friends.'

And Coiler, it's not paranoia. It's more amusement. At some point ol Sparky will get tired of loggin off and on under the different names. Whatever happened to Critter? Duffman was right.

KS. don't forget Sparky likes to play the role of 'The Parser' as a wannabe grammarian. I still laugh at how Eric Earling squashed 'Sparky' over at Sound Politics as she tried that monkey trick on his blog one day. Now THAT was funny.

I am nominating Roz for 'The Trimmer' and ph(J)oanie as 'The Skimmer' with touches of 'The Tough Guy' given her lack of comprehension coupled with the 'feets-do-your-stuff' tendencies when asked to back up a discussion with facts/reason.

[KS]

"Curses, this disguise has always worked before!"

Not any more - you have been exposed, Ms. Parser. Better take that progressive/regressive magnet off of your forehead if you care. Rozkat and Ph(J)oanie head the local chapter of disciples of Lord of the Flies with Re-coil, Highlander and Authentic Andrew part of this as faithful bloviators.

[Puget Sound]

basically what you have is that 'sparky' likes to stay above it all while 'coiler' and the crew do the more obnoxious crap. although sparky let her slip show on the twig palin parentage hunt.

the only one who hasn't figured it out is ph(J)oanie.

hell, ph(J)oanie probably still thinks that Sparky is a chick and not an old dude who gets off on pretending to be a woman. it's harmless so lets not spoil it for ph(J)oanie. too funny.

on another note, looks like it won't be a tax problem but a religion issue that will keep caroline kennedy from being the ambassador to the vatican.

[KS]

Nice theory, Puts. Whether it is a conspiracy theory will play out in time. Here's another one; Sparky is a cross dresser. LOL

[sparky]

Please, Putz, tell us more.

[Puget Sound]

KS
That theory has been espoused before:

"I do wish my son Sparky wouldn't go online to pose as a female.
I find it disturbing. Reminds me of when he was a young lad and I caught him going through my closet with nothing on but the music.
He absolutely ruined 'Moon River' for me.
Bad Sparky Bad Bad Bad!

Posted by: Momma Sparky | May 09, 2008 at 02:31 PM"

[Mack]

Welcome to the latest episode of Homophobe Rehab, where conservatives go to come to grips (or maybe it's "grope") with some very personal issues.

[Mack]

Ok, Sparky- fess up! Was your son J Edgar Hoover, or Larry Craig?

[Puget Sound]

too funny. especially after all the larry craig kerfufflel.

now 'sparky-mack', KS wasn't being homophobic.
as coiler can attest, cross dressing doesn't have anything to do with sexual preference.

although it does make it 'dicey' at times for coils when he has to elect which restroom to partake.

[Puget Sound]

looks like we found a devoted follower of Randi!
No doubt this poor soul was going to free Knut from the clutches of his Blackwater Prison.
No more Gitmos she was heard to scream as the Polar Bear took a bite out of her ample backside!

Crazy woman decides to swim with Polar Bears

[Puget Sound]

make sure you scroll down to the video.

[sparky]

Republicans are rather entertaining when they lose elections.

[rozskat]

Putsie – Trimmer? And my liberalism acknowledged from KS? I would like to thank the conservative academy for their attempted insults….Christ Putsie you must have a lot of time on your hands to dig up this list. Reading you and KS is like watching Waldorf and Statler from the Muppets. You guys come up with a few cute insults and then high five each other. In addition, what new ideas have you guys come up with aside from selected newspaper articles, shrewd quotes from politicians long gone from the scene (i.e. Republicans and Conservatives), recycled Reaganomics and constant whining about government? I agree with Joanie, it is the same old shit from you guys. Apparently, no one on the blog is as smart as you fellas so you two go ahead and amuse yourselves.

[KVIFan]

Thanks for acknowledging we are smart. Keep working at it.

[joanie]

Roz, you have made an admirable try! They are like rocks that have been around for a million years. No moving them.

There are about five million such rocks on American soil. Fox was created for them.

[KVIFan]

Thanks for acknowledging our immovable resolve.

[rozskat]

KVI Fan – Smart as in sarcasm, not in contents. Is KVI a metaphor for sinking conservative ideals?

Joanie –They remind me of John Keuster’s “High Fiving White Guys” on the old “Almost Live” show. Besides, in dialogs we have better luck with rocks. We know where they sit or stand!