First of all - (0.00 / 0)

I would like to make clear that I welcomed the Sherrifs words tremendously - because he kept it 'general' and so mainly the ones who knew - that they were adressed howled. And it shows how unnecessary it sometimes is - to make the additional point that it is 'the right' - and 'the right' and nothing but 'the right' who does this 'uncivilty' thing - I believe most of the people are aware of it -(right wingers for sure or they wouldn't howl THAT loud) - but somehow the people also don't like it either if it is pointed out to obviously - Nearly everybody who does it has to live with a certain kind of a backlash which makes me otimistic that the times to 'politicize' everything -(at least for a certain time) are over - And so we will probably also will see -(like always) -  a backlash to the action of the foolish teapartiers!

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by: pieceofcake @ Sat Jan 22, 2011 at 21:25:48 PM UTC

Rolling Over And Playing Possum Hasn't Worked For 40 Years (4.00 / 4)

Time to try something else, for a change.  

For a bit more than 40 seconds.

"You know what they say -- those of us who fail history... doomed to repeat it in summer school." -- Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Season 6, Episode 3

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by: Paul Rosenberg @ Sat Jan 22, 2011 at 23:37:24 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

yeah - but it's a whole new world - (0.00 / 0)

and it kind of works like that: The Right Wing - Beck, Palin etc. love to be attacked simplistically - Like one of this Marvel characters they 'grow' on it and the harder they get hit directly - the more they can put us on the defense. The only thing they really fear -(like nothing else) - is to be ridiculed. That's why somebody like Beck develoved such an allergy to 'Stewart', 'Stewart'. The way Jon 'destroyed' Sarah -(sorry for the use of 'destroyed') -
he  (Jon) looks good enough to reduce FOX to a joke of mumbling 'foamers'.
If somebody might be responsible for the already achieved 'takedown' of FOX it will be Jon. I actually found out that most of people fear nothing else more than to be ridiculed. If you are on a Internet blog -(for example) - and you insult the others - it nearly has no effects. Most of them actually love it, because they also can 'release' and sooner or later everybody plays this game of 'he said she said'. But if you stay enjoyful - now that seems to be really really painful for some! Just think about how some of us react to the cute little sidesweeps Jon Stewart sometimes is dishing out."Oh my god FALSE EQUIVALENCIES - THEE HORROR!! as if it wouldn't be important that our major 'warrior' (sorry for this 'warrior') - plays with us from time to time to give 'the people' the impression that he is one of the few Americans who really propagades 'the truth'!
And that's the only working strategy in these 'entertaing' times. The way to empower the Left! AND it has worked pretty well lately. 'The people' finally see the ugly role FOX was - and - is playing in propagading 'uncivility' -(the crazies there are losing their 'standing' and somebody like O'Reilly sounds more and more desperate) -      
One of the major proponents of hate speech -(Sarah) - is diminished -      
The national mood is: "Please be civil" and most of the people are very well aware, that the Right always (historically?) - had and - still has a problem with civil discourse -  Now there have been drawbacks - Fools on our side - who somehow thought this is the right moment to score political points - but 'the people' don't like that -(I don't know for how long) - and they punish every obvious 'political warrior'!      
So I think it could be time for some celebration?  

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by: pieceofcake @ Sun Jan 23, 2011 at 03:28:54 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

and furthermore - (0.00 / 0)

I once was on a political blog where the 'mantra' was: It doesn't matter what one says - all what counts are 'results' - And the results in these unusual contradictionary times are - that Sarah lately has been one of the best promoters of 'lefties' ideas -(unvoluntarely but that could be the new rule!) - and naive 'warriors'  like our Cohen brother has been one of the worst!

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by: pieceofcake @ Sun Jan 23, 2011 at 03:52:54 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

The mind boggles. (4.00 / 3)

Let's see if I have this right:

(Funny thing is, any time someone from out of state gets involved in AZ politics in a way they don't like, they're always labeled "foreign"-- especially liberals and the ACLU, etc. Hence my usage.)

An out of state (read: "foreign") xenophobe and all 'round bigot is really mad at the Pima Cty sheriff for "politicizing" a political assassination. He's no doubt going to pay for this with a lot of out of state money (read: foreign money), most likely including some from the Mormon Church, itself a wholly apolitical organization, in order to depoliticize an act of terrorism.

Is that right?  

"More than any other time in history, mankind faces a crossroads. One path leads to despair and utter hopelessness. The other, to total extinction. Let us pray we have the wisdom to choose correctly." -Woody Allen, My Speech to the Graduates

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by: Emocrat @ Sat Jan 22, 2011 at 21:31:00 PM UTC

That Pretty Much About Gets It! (0.00 / 0)

So far, at least.

"You know what they say -- those of us who fail history... doomed to repeat it in summer school." -- Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Season 6, Episode 3

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by: Paul Rosenberg @ Sat Jan 22, 2011 at 23:34:40 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

The satirical possibilities are endless with this crowd. (4.00 / 1)

I'm not sure they can be outdone, but dammit, it's worth a try. :^)

"More than any other time in history, mankind faces a crossroads. One path leads to despair and utter hopelessness. The other, to total extinction. Let us pray we have the wisdom to choose correctly." -Woody Allen, My Speech to the Graduates

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by: Emocrat @ Sun Jan 23, 2011 at 00:42:16 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

No irony deficiency here (0.00 / 0)

Dupnik's situation is ironic. The courageous Sheriff Dupnik definitely started that media feeding frenzy, and well he should have. He knew whereof he spoke, living in the state with the famous fascist anti-immigration law, and having to enforce it. He knew the hatred that spawned the law and the hatred the law would advance.

He was entirely right to invoke that hatred as the spark that provoked the deranged gunman.

So now tea partiers there, supporters of the anti-immigration law I suppose, want to oust him, and you call it irony deficient? I don't get it.

Oh, okay, they are going to oust him for "politicizing a tragedy" that was prima facie political. No, I still don't get irony deficient.

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by: Upward and Onward @ Sat Jan 22, 2011 at 22:08:11 PM UTC

That's Right! (0.00 / 0)

Oh, okay, they are going to oust him for "politicizing a tragedy" that was prima facie political.

You get it!

No, I still don't get irony deficient.

Take it up with yourself!

"You know what they say -- those of us who fail history... doomed to repeat it in summer school." -- Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Season 6, Episode 3

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by: Paul Rosenberg @ Sat Jan 22, 2011 at 23:36:21 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

The Tea Partiers (0.00 / 0)

like their idol, Sarah, are a bunch of narcissistic jerks who now are in their 15 minutes of fame. I wish the MSM would ignore them but they don't.  They are dolts, ignorant, stupid, dolts who need to demonize anyone who does not worship them, their leaders and does not buy into the violence laden, hate rhetoric.

Dupnik hit too close for comfort in calling out the hate mongers, and the tea partiers, like Palin, are whining and making it about them.  Jerks, violent, gun toting jerks.

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by: Jjc2008 @ Sat Jan 22, 2011 at 23:54:51 PM UTC

Don't you know (4.00 / 1)

The only people who can get away with criticizing Limbaugh are NFL players.  I guess the dittoheads don't want to tangle with them.

(It's true.  They drove him out of the Monday Night Football booth and stood squarely in the way of Limbaugh's attempt to buy a franchise.)

Wasn't it the NFL player's and the league who successfully pushed adoption of MLK day in Arizona?

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by: David Kowalski @ Sat Jan 22, 2011 at 23:59:08 PM UTC

It was a lot of people and groups. (4.00 / 2)

The boycott resulted in Phoenix losing NBA games--I think the All-Star game in particular. And any March Madness rounds. And a Superbowl. Phoenix alone lost a huge amount of money, or at least the appearance of revenue. Some said $4 Billion worth, just from the lost athletic events. It also hurt Spring Training attendance.

Add in some lost conventions and other boycotty goodness and the tally got pretty big.

So while the pro ballplayers of all stripes certainly helped a great deal, it was local groups pushing the boycott more generally that should get a lot of credit. Teachers convinced the NEA to have their convention elsewhere and that's a huge convention. So on, so forth, etc.

"More than any other time in history, mankind faces a crossroads. One path leads to despair and utter hopelessness. The other, to total extinction. Let us pray we have the wisdom to choose correctly." -Woody Allen, My Speech to the Graduates

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by: Emocrat @ Sun Jan 23, 2011 at 00:51:33 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Dupnik was a major villain to rightwing extremists long before his Giffords' comments (4.00 / 3)

Here's a pic from a June 26, 2010, protest outside the Pima County Jail:

The cause of the protest? These are people from a group called "The Committee for Justice for Shawna Forde" and they were/are apparently upset about Dupnik's treatment of accused double-murderer Shawna Forde, an anti-immigrant/anti-Mexican militia leader who, along with fellow militants, allegedly killed a latino father and his 9-yr-old daughter in a Pima county drug robbery gone bad.

The pic is from the website "justice for Shawna Forde" and is accompanied by this text:

On June 26, 2010, in honor of the UN's Day Against Torture, civil rights activists from The Committee for Justice for Shawna Forde demonstrated outside the Pima County Jail on behalf of pretrial detainee Shawna Forde, and others whose rights have been violated in jail.  Forde, a white woman accused in the murders of two Hispanics in Arivaca, has been held in solitary confinement since June of 2009.  Members of other groups supporting prisoner's rights and civil rights were invited but did not attend.

Protesters marched outside the jail carrying signs comparing Sheriff Clarence Dupnik to Josef Stalin and Fidel Castro, and calling the jail "Dupnik's Dungeon."  Marchers wore T-shirts with Forde's picture and the caption "Free Shawna."

Dave Neiwert is following the trial. More here.

The MSM has tagged Independents the party of swing-voting 'centrism.' If Democrats no longer represent your liberal values, show America there is still a Left by registering for another left-aligned party.

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by: doubledown @ Sun Jan 23, 2011 at 02:07:04 AM UTC

Yup. (0.00 / 0)

Basically the same thing as the white racist terror out of Idaho in the early80s that helped lay the groundwork for the militias emerging a decade later.  Neiwert grew up around there, so he's been following this same sort of shit for a looong time.

Members of other groups supporting prisoner's rights and civil rights were invited but did not attend.

Gosh, I wonder why?  Could it be that they're not afflicted with conservative victimology?

"You know what they say -- those of us who fail history... doomed to repeat it in summer school." -- Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Season 6, Episode 3

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by: Paul Rosenberg @ Sun Jan 23, 2011 at 16:36:29 PM UTC

[ Parent ]