It's a Christmas Holiday Season Get Together

As I opened the door to the refrigerator and placed my coffee cup in there to warm it up, two thoughts occurred to me nearly simultaneously: coffee warming is usually performed in the microwave and once again 'tis the season to get all bent out of shape over what to call the season.

Having hot coffee in hand --not literally -- I have to say I don't see the big deal. What's the big deal about calling it Christmas. I mean, seriously, it's always been Christmas (or at least for quite a long time). I have no problem referring to the season as the Christmas season -- and I'm an agnostic bordering on atheism.

But I'm also not a hysterical agnostic bordering on atheism. I recognize there are certain constants in our society and one of them is the holiday labeled Christmas. Now, to be sure, I also don't get bent out of shape when some business decides to refer to the season in a more generic way for fear of offending shoppers. Isn't it their right to do so?

Apparently not at the cost of slamming the sensitivities of the sensitive sort. I'm amused at this bitter dichotomy conservatives seem to suffer from all the time. One example: we should not ban cigarette smoking in restaurants, bars and other public places the conservative argument goes, because it will likely hurt business and shouldn't we leave it to businesses to make these sorts of decisions? And yet, when businesses make decisions like seasonal name-calling, suddenly they're in cahoots with Marxist leftists?

People. Take a deep breath. The one truism of the season is it's a time of giving and for love. Relax. Let it go. Celebrate and/or worship as you deem appropriate and don't let it bother you too much.

No, Not the Muzzle

I think that there are really good local conservative bloggers. There are those who are not so good. And then, there are those whose content borders on the hysterical. One of these is Mary at Freedom Eden.

Her latest "masterpiece" is a look at Bill Cunningham, a Cinncinati-based radio show host, who has been running afoul of Media Matters, a self-professed media watchdog. Ms Freedom Eden claims that Media Matters is targeting Cunningham because of his continued use of the Barack Obama's middle name. Which, she writes, is ridiculous because Obama will need to use it when he is sworn in as President. And, she pants, this is just the beginning. She believes that Cunningham is the first of a “long list of conservative talkers to be deemed a 'purveyor of hate speech' by the Left. The effort is underway to silence conservative talk radio, to squelch free speech, to muzzle dissent.”

Look out hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet. Those darned leftists.

But really, dissent? She calls what Cunningham spews dissent? Mary must have missed the following examples of sewerage dished up from the septic tank that is Cunningham's mind.

From the October 28 broadcast of Clear Channel's The Big Show with Bill Cunningham:

“Imagine being 10 years old, being raised -- imagine being 10 years old in Jakarta, Indonesia, being raised as a Muslim, and your mother, Ann Dunham, hates you so much that she sends you to Honolulu to live with her mom and dad, so she can stay in Jakarta, Indonesia, and being raised -- being married to Barry Soetoro. And imagine at the age of 1 or 2 seeing your father for the last time. See, his father was a typical black father who, right after the birth, left the baby. That's what black fathers do. They simply leave.”

Wow. Barack's mother hated him and black fathers don't stick around after birth. I don't know about you, but that seems a bit of a sretch. Oh, and where's the dissent?

Or, how about this turd from the October 30 broadcast of The Big Show with Bill Cunningham:

“... because Obama wants to gas the Jews, like the PLO wants to gas the Jews, like the Nazis gassed the Jews.”

Cunningham was having a conversation with a fictional character, Randy Furman, when he uttered that classic piece of – what did Mary call it -- oh yeah, dissent. And on his November 3 broadcast of Clear Channel's The Big Show with Bill Cunningham:

"He goes out to his left-wing buddies in San Francisco and smears God, smears guns, smears everything great about this country. Then he comes to these rallies like bromides, like Adolf Hitler in 1933, and the faithful are shouting, 'Yes we can, yes we can.'”

What was that thing called Godwin's Law.

Anyway, my definition of what contitutes dissent differs markedly from Mary's, because I'm fairly certain my definition actually includes some differences of opinion. All I read of Cunningham was ginned up hate. Yes, hate. That's my opinion, my dissent.

But you know, what even more remarkable is nowhere in the pieces written at Media Matters covering this horse manure does anyone suggest that Cunningham should be muzzled. Why not? Well, here is how Media Matters itself describes its mission.

Media Matters for America is a Web-based, not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) progressive research and information center dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. Media.

Monitoring, analying and correcting conservative misinformation. Hmmm. I don't see any references to muzzling.

Launched in May 2004, Media Matters for America put in place, for the first time, the means to systematically monitor a cross section of print, broadcast, cable, radio, and Internet media outlets for conservative misinformation — news or commentary that is not accurate, reliable, or credible and that forwards the conservative agenda — every day, in real time.

Using the website http://www.mediamatters.org/ as the principal vehicle for disseminating research and information, Media Matters posts rapid-response items as well as longer research and analytic reports documenting conservative misinformation throughout the media. Additionally, Media Matters works daily to notify activists, journalists, pundits, and the general public about instances of misinformation, providing them with the resources to rebut false claims and to take direct action against offending media institutions.
Meida Matters posts rapid-response items documenting conservative misinformation. And, provides resources to rebut false claims and take direct action against offending institutions.

Oh, I see, it's the take direct action part that Mary doesn't like. But, how does that equate to muzzling? Well frankly, it doesn't.

You see, the issue now is that the conservative media no longer can get away with saying the frothingly inaccurate crap they've gotten away with and they don't like it. Having been able to frame discussions with inaccuracy, downright lies and race-baiting for years, the conservative media and their apologists see anyone highlighting their hate speech as attempts at muzzling. In the same way they call any attempt to reenact the Fairness Doctrine (btw: I'm against) as censorship when in fact no speech is being censored, the intent is merely to bring balance. But that's another post.

Some conservatives simply don't feel good about themselves unless they can spew hate recklessly or alternately play the victim game, which Mary buys into well.

Have a Peaceful Thanksgiving

Be thankful. I will be -- with family.

Blessings and safe travels to everyone in the SE blogosphere world. And as a gift, click the link for a preview of Wisdom, Andrew Zuckerman's new book. My Mom sent me the link. Thanks, Mom.

Another Victim of Hate Radio

Because that's what some conservatives are best at (the victim part). This was posted at Plaisted Writes:

Mike, you bitter devisive hate mongering liberal coward. The hate you and you cowardly liberals have shown Bush (personally) and all things conservative. This country is still solidly center-right. The only thing the nigger has done is assured that Republicans will regain control quicker. When Obamaramma takes current 6.5% unemployment numbers and turns them into 35%, by raising taxes and creating huge government welfatre programs, this country will lynch the nigger faster thana CC Sabathia fastball.

Another tragedy fostered by the divisiveness of hate radio.

I can't help but note that dad29, a local conservative blogger likes to refer to the President-Elect as Obamamamamama. He must be related to the person above. Or, he's a victim, too.

From Where He Sits Over There

I met Elliot about two years ago at one of the first blogger functions. It was held at Marquette University and had as panelists Charlie Sykes, Jessica McBride, Ed Garvey and some flack named Brain Fraley. Mike Mathias and I joined up with James Wigderson at the local Starbucks, exchanged pleasantries and talked behind Elliot's back for at least an hour.

No, we really didn't.

I met Elliot's alter ego later during one of the breaks. Interesting guy. I mentioned I had read his on-line first chapter of "The Abortionist" and thought it dark. I wrote my own -- needless to say an anti "The Abortionist" tale. Elliot thought it pretty good. Or, he was just being nice.

Seriously, Elliot is one of the friendlier bloggers in SE Wisconsin. He's a partisan guy but with sense of humor. And he's not so quick to tell you to go buy a mirror store like a certain blogger I won't name who owns an unlimited supply of whiteout.

So here you are, Elliot. I won't do this for everyone, but then hey, you're not just anyone to me.

*Breaks out into song.*

Open Season Enabled by Hate Radio

According to the New Yory Times, six Long Island teenagers have been charged with hate crimes in the death of a Hispanic man, Marcelo Lucero.

Mr. Lucero’s killing has brought to the fore a fierce debate about race relations in Patchogue, a comfortable village of 11,700 where Mr. Lucero lived and worked for most of the 16 years he had been in the United States.

Latinos make up a quarter of the population, according to the 2000 census, a figure that is growing, fanning what some residents describe as a deepening resentment toward illegal immigrants in general, and day laborers in particular.

And no doubt fanned by hate radio in all its guises and forms. As documented by Media Matters, hate radio has gone out of its way to enflame hatred toward not just Hispanics, but minorities in general.

G. Gordon Libby

On the June 5 broadcast of his radio show, G. Gordon Liddy asserted: "[T]he problem that I have is with people who come over here and instead of wanting to become Americans, you know, fly the American flag, learn English, and so forth, they want to fly the Mexican flag, they want to speak Spanish, you know, and other varieties of illegal alien." Liddy later added: "They want to reconquer America, they say."

Jim Quinn

On October 10, KSFO's Lee Rodgers repeated a variation of the claim that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) reported that it gave "5 million illegal aliens" subprime loans which have not been paid back. The same day, Quinn & Rose's Jim Quinn also claimed that "[f]ive million of these bad mortgages went to illegal aliens" without citing a source for the figure. But neither noted that HUD has reportedly stated that this statistic is false.

Michael Savage

We need to get our troops out of Iraq and put them on the streets of America to protect us from the scourge of illegal immigrants who are running rampant across America, killing our police for sport, raping, murdering like a scythe across America while the liberal psychos are telling us they come here to work." Savage added: "[Y]ou turn on the cable news, they're covering again a missing child. Not a missing country but a missing child. ... We hear about the rape of a woman, but not about the rape of the Statue of Liberty. The Statue of Liberty is crying, she's been raped and disheveled -- raped and disheveled by illegal aliens."

And regarding Muslims, Savage, said this:

"Why would a nation that is as evolved as America, and as liberal as America is socially, want to bring in throwbacks who are living in the 15th century?" He also asked: "What is the societal benefit of bringing in throwbacks, some of whom are no doubt terrorists, and some of whom are gonna produce children who will become terrorists?"

I have heard people repeat verbatim crap like this espoused by others hate squawkers as though it's truth from on high. It's this sort of language that sets people off and enables barbaric behavior like what occurred in New York.

Is there Something in the Water

The these two stories had me shaking my head today in wonder. The first involved the young child who was tortured and died before the age of two. At the funeral, a fight broke out -- at one point the brawl apparently came close to toppling the child's coffin.

Several people began to taunt Thomas [the chil'd father] because of his relationship to the foster parents. He clutched the funeral program in his fists, his eyes closed.

Glover [the child's mother] was assisted to the casket. Just as she reached it, the brawl began.

Who threw the first blow was unclear. Thomas was punched on the left side of his face. He was removed from the chapel and taken to a couch, the left side of his face severely swollen, a bloody gash beneath his left eye. Family surrounded the couch to protect him.

In the chapel, chairs were thrown aside and flower displays were knocked over. Several people grabbed the boy's casket to keep it from being flung down. Glover screamed.

As people cried out for calm, the fight spread to the funeral home lobby and into the street. The lectern with the visitor's book was knocked over. Someone reported seeing a gun, and stunned onlookers fled the building.

The other story, same day, had to do with a mother who apparently felt that giving her son a gun to go out and finish an altercation that had occurred earlier was the correct thing to do.

[Milwaukee Police Chief] Flynn said he did not know what sparked Tuesday night's altercation.

"Listen, we're dealing with immature young men who do dumb things," he said. "The only problem for us now is they do dumb things with semiautomatic handguns."

And a mother who is not terribly grown up either.