The Lost Art of Rational Thinking

Consider the Libertyville Abortion Demonstration and ask yourself: Is it logical to stage a demonstration to criminalize an act without once giving thought to how said criminals should be punished? If this is an indication of the thinking process of the average believer... well, guess I'll just stay faithless in Seattle....

The girl who silenced the world for 5 minutes

The girl who silenced the world for 5 minutes

Watch and learn.

Why McCain May Well Win

In Robert Parry's excellent article on why the unthinkable just might happen, I heard my own oft repeated rhetoric... which has been oft met with disdain by Dems and Republicans alike... be afraid... be very afraid...

Excerpt:

It might seem unlikely that the United States would elect John McCain to succeed George W. Bush when that would ensure continuation of many unpopular Bush policies: an ill-defined war with the Muslim world, right-wing consolidation of the U.S. Supreme Court, a drill-oriented energy strategy, tax cuts creating massive federal deficits, etc., etc.

But there are reasons - beyond understandable concerns about Barack Obama’s limited experience - that make a McCain victory possible, indeed maybe probable.

Here is one of the big ones: The U.S. news media is as bad as ever, arguably worse.

On Monday, Obama gave a detail-rich speech on how he would address the energy crisis, which is a major point of concern among Americans. From ideas for energy innovation to retrofitting the U.S. auto industry to conservation steps to limited new offshore drilling, Obama did what he is often accused of not doing, fleshing out his soaring rhetoric.

McCain responded with a harsh critique of Obama’s calls for more conservation, claiming that Obama wants to solve the energy crisis by having people inflate their tires. McCain’s campaign even passed out a tire gauge marked as Obama’s energy plan.

For his part, McCain made clear he wanted to drill for more oil wherever it could be found and to build many more nuclear power plants.

These competing plans offered a chance for the evening news to address an issue of substance that is high on the voters’ agenda. Instead, NBC News anchor Brian Williams devoted 30 seconds to the dueling energy speeches, without any details and with the witty opening line that Obama was “refining” his energy plan.

So, instead of dealing with a serious issue in a serious way, NBC News ignored the substance and went for a clever slight against Obama, hitting his political maneuvering in his softened opposition to more offshore drilling.

Williams’s quip fit with one of the press corps’ favorite campaign narratives, Obama’s flip-flopping. But the coverage ignored far more important elements of the story, such as the feasibility of Obama’s vow that “we must end the age of oil in our time” or the wisdom of McCain’s emphasis on drilling - and nuking - the nation out of its energy mess.

And, as for flip-flops, McCain’s dramatic repositioning of himself as an anti-environmentalist - after years of being one of the green movement’s favorite Republicans - represents a far more significant change than Obama’s modest waffling on offshore oil.

Later:

Given the persistent superficiality - and cowardice - of the major U.S. news media, there’s even the larger question of whether a meaningful democracy can survive when the public is so thoroughly misinformed.

Although there are some Internet sites that challenge the major media’s errors, the imbalance remains tilted heavily toward the ideological Right. Especially when prestige newspapers like the Washington Post contribute to the distribution of false or misleading information - as with Milbank’s quote about Obama - the pro-Republican media eagerly amplifies it and most Americans never hear the other side.

Right-wing Internet sites also have proven to be very adept at inserting completely false claims about Obama that stick with many Americans, such as the oft-repeated lie that Obama is a Muslim or that he trained at a radical Islamic madrassah.

To assume that people will somehow see through such distortions has proven to be naïve in the past. More likely, many millions of Americans will head to the polls in November having internalized a hodgepodge of negative themes about Obama. Indeed, a significant number who have absorbed the uglier accusations will have come to hate him.

So, even if a McCain victory guarantees that the United States would solidify the policies of a deeply disliked President, many Americans may set aside what may be good for the country - or even good for their own pocketbooks - and vote against Obama, more based on perceptions than reality.

Read the whole sad truth here.

Raisin' McCain

Found this over on thoughtcrimes and needed to share...

"To prove that he is as hip and relevant as Obama, The Great White Mope has got himself a theme song.

Written by country singer John Rich (who?), Raisin' McCain is sure to set some toes a tappin', provided you've taken your arthritis medication.

First off, let's talk about the title. Are they sure the word "raisin" is a word they want associated with McCain? Advertising Age pointed out the problem with that:

Seriously, "Raisin"!? As in a grape that's been left out in the sun to become sticky, shriveled and packed in a box?

And then things don't get much better from there.

Well we're all just raisin' McCain
Everywhere across the USA
You can get on the train or get out of the way
We're all just raisin' McCain

Always nice to be threatened by the Republicans. Do things our way, or we will run over you with a train. Personally, I prefer a fork lift.

Well he got shot down in a Vietnam town
Fighting for the red, white and blue
And they locked him up in the Hanoi Hilton
Thinking they could break him in two

If dropping bombs on civilians is his idea of "fighting for the red, white & blue" then I guess this explains a lot about McCain's Iraq stance.

He stayed strong, stayed extra long
'Til they let all the other boys out
Now we've got a real man with an American plan
We're going to put him in the big White House

I get chills when I hear that, it's so, so....

No, wait. That's nausea."

Posted by David Allen in John McCain: Bush continued