Past Lessons Remembered

“…we know without a doubt that Republican ideas of more freedom and less taxes — while sounding good and repeated by any and all candidates – are in fact, worth no more than the paper that they are written on.”

These are words written by 13 life-long members of the Maine Republican Party… officials within the party… as they resigned that membership and walked away from the former Grand Old Party.

In the letter (full text below) dated August 18, 2013, the former Republicans outline many of the same grievances expressed over the past several years by this writer. The defectors feel that the party of their fathers has lost sight of the goal; that there is an element within the modern GOP that has forsaken the true meaning of conservatism and steered the party into the netherworld of bigotry, divisiveness, social engineering, irrational spending and blatant unconstitutional actions. 

That last sentence at one time described Southern Democrats… The Party of Jackson... but those roles reversed shortly after Jack and Bobby Kennedy went to Washington.

The campaign for the Presidency in the waning years of the Eisenhower Administration illustrated all to well a schism within the Democrat Party… with much of the divisive rhetoric emanating from Southern Democrats. Jack Kennedy was Catholic, and there had never been a Catholic elected to high office. The last one to try was Al Smith in 1928. Fear mongers mindlessly and endlessly promoting the trope that the Pope would be running the White House if Smith won proved effective. Southern Democrats sat out the election and Smith was crushed… Hoover took the White House and the nation sunk into the Great Depression. The only winner in that election was bigotry.

32 years later another Catholic found himself fighting the very battles that sunk Al Smith. The dirty tricks weren’t as effective this time and Mr. Kennedy went on to win the Presidency in the closest election in history. Mr. Kennedy won 49.7% of the popular vote to Nixon's 49.5% with Kennedy polling only about 100,000 more votes than Nixon out of over 68 million votes cast. Nixon won more states than Kennedy but the Electoral College awarded the election to Kennedy by a 303-219 margin. The only southern states not called for Nixon were Mississippi and Florida. Anti-Catholic bigotry is blamed for a million and a half lost votes.

Three assassinations, two paradigm changing bills, an impeachment leading to the only resignation of a sitting president and a whole bunch of cross burnings later finds the freedom loving folks of the U.S.A. still fighting the battles of social injustice and fiscal conservatism. The political party names and the memes spouted haven’t changed, but the demographic certainly has. The once fiscally conservative GOP still proudly wears the mantle of conservatism, but has forgotten what that word really means. Many of those calling themselves Democrat still shout for social justice, but their actions seem more inclined toward social control.

Where once the southern bigots were the tail wagging the Democrat’s dog, following a decade of country-shaking events they abandoned the Democrats for the GOP. The Party of Eisenhower became infested with the parasites of the Party of George Gordon and John Clinton Porter.

Those of us in the middle… moderates yearning for a day when the search for social consciousness, constitutional justice and conservative fiscal policy can be balanced by compromise… find ourselves politically homeless.

Of the two available options, some choose simply to check None of the Above, but is that a logical option? The pragmatist’s answer is a resounding NO! Opting out and wasting a vote may make a valiant statement, but it solves no problem. The only real solution is to hold nose, vote for a candidate with whom one cannot 100% agree because that candidate represents a less oppressive path, and then work from within to weed out blind partisanship and taking a stand against hatred, bigotry and divisiveness.

The promise of Eisenhower conservatism has been lost in the swill of religio-political rhetoric, as the modern GOP has become the spend-spend-spend party of no compromise tirelessly struggling to elevate the almighty corporation to the tyrannical level we see today. Damn near every major Republican effort since the McCarthy/Nixon era has concentrated on things and people of which we should be afraid, why we should hate certain elements within our own house, constantly starting wars justifying the need to give more money to the defense industry corporatists.

Every Republican Administration from Reagan through George W. Bush has dramatically increased the war budget, increased the deficit and pushed the country into further debtor status, yet the echo machine perpetuates the myth that the Democrats are the party of tax & spend and the meme that the deficits created by their own party are actually the responsibility for the Democrats. Facts prove this to be a lie, but corporate puppets never let facts get in the way of a good myth while blinder-wearing sheep wag tail and follow.

Last month a Pew study found 54% of self-identified Republicans believed that the GOP should “move in a more conservative direction” and 35% feel that Republicans compromise “too much” with Democrats. Less than half of GOP voters, 40%, say they feel the GOP should become more moderate and 27% felt their party hadn’t compromised with Democrats enough.

The reason we are seeing high profile defections from the GOP is represented by that poll. No reasonable human can fail to notice the blinders of a demographic a third of which believes Republicans compromise “too much”.

Further evidence of the blindness endemic in the GOP herd was evidenced in the results of a Public Policy Poll of Louisiana residents in which a greater number of respondents blamed Barak Obama for the poor response to the hurricane Katrina disaster than blamed George W. Bush.

The full text of the letter referenced above follows. Emphasis I've added it to illustrate where I find agreement. My more liberal friends will likely take issue with the fact that I agree with them on the gun legislation and that the FDA sometimes oversteps, but if so you need to understand that being a moderate means supporting our Constitution, regardless of emotion. 

August 18, 2013

To Maine State GOP Secretary Chuck Mahaleris:

There are times in your life when you must choose between two paths.

The first path, if taken, would require us to remain within the Republican Party despite the fact that we know without a doubt that Republican ideas of more freedom and less taxes — while sounding good and repeated by any and all candidates – are in fact, worth no more than the paper that they are written on.

The second path leads to a principled preservation of our individual integrity, helping out our fellow citizens at the local level, and doing our level best for our Creator, our families, and our friends.

We have therefore chosen to follow the path of the latter.

Effective immediately, we the undersigned are unenrolling from the Maine Republican Party. Furthermore, those of us who hold official Party positions, be they at the Republican National, State, County or even Town Committees, hereby resign. Our reasons for doing so are as follows:

The RNC:

At the RNC, we have fought the good fight and kept the faith with regards to the rules. The Resolution that was passed in January 2013 by the Maine Republican State Committee put the RNC on notice that the grassroots were listening (and watching), leading to the rules battles which have taken place consistently since the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa. The duplicity and lack of political courage which has been on display in this matter has sealed the fate of this Party.

Furthermore, it has become clear to us now that the RNC has no intention of reforming and would rather fly under invalid rules than to right the wrongs of Tampa. We therefore cannot, in good faith, support or defend the actions of the RNC. To violate our consciences and support those actions would make us part of the problem – especially after we clearly provided and handed the RNC the solution which was flatly rejected. The RNC now owns their demise.

Congressional Republicans:

In the House of Representatives, the cowardly leadership of John Boehner reached a new low in December 2012 when he purged the most fiscally conservative GOP members from leadership positions, citing their “unwillingness to be team players.” Political punishment such as this from Speaker Boehner has garnered justifiable rage from conservative groups, and from us, as we expected better.

Furthermore, the House Republican leadership’s utter disdain for the United States Constitution, specifically the 4th Amendment, was on full display as they worked overtime to kill the Amash Amendment which would have gone a long way toward constraining the NSA to the boundaries of the Constitution and seriously curbed their ability to conduct mass surveillance of Americans. Be it known that we cannot and will not support nor defend these actions.

In the United States Senate, we see Republicans all too willing to pass unconstitutional bills related to subjects such as the Internet Sales Tax and Immigration. Whether through arrogance or ignorance, they fail to understand the simple fact any revenue generating legislation must originate in the House of Representatives.

Additionally, the Senate Republicans continue to support undeclared wars, meet in secret and supply arms to our “terrorist enemies” who we vowed to destroy after 911, and then tell us they love our troops – so long as it’s our kids and not theirs who have to go fight.

Lastly, all too many Senate Republicans are more than willing to pass new “feel good” gun control legislation that would do nothing to stop another Sandy Hook massacre, all the while restricting 2nd Amendment rights of law abiding American citizens. We cannot support nor defend these actions in good faith.

Maine Republican Legislators:

In Maine, the Republican legislators in the House and Senate failed to sustain the Governor’s veto on one of the most important pieces of legislation of the 126th. Maine Republicans were justifiably outraged, especially at those legislators who campaigned on lower taxes.

We have been told that many donors have refused to donate one more cent to the MEGOP due to this budget debacle, but nevertheless we are expected to ignore these facts and get out there and raise funds for the party. This we cannot do in good faith; the Republican Party has lost its way and the donors know it.

The LePage Administration:

Not to be outdone by the legislators, this Administration’s support for Common Core Education Standards, the Internet Sales Tax, the atypical meddling in the business of the Maine State Committee, as well as the vetoes of the Drone and Cell Phone bills left many of us incredulous.

However, the straw that broke the camel’s back for many of us was the veto of LD 1282 (the “Raw Milk Bill”) and those who voted to sustain it: a sad day indeed for the small farmers of Maine. We want our God-given rights to buy, sell and consume what we want protected by the law – not restricted by FDA or USDA directives. These actions we cannot explain nor defend in good faith – the Republican Party has lost it’s way.

Therefore, for the above-stated reasons, we can no longer allow ourselves to be called nor enrolled as Republicans; we can no longer associate ourselves with a political party that goes out of its way to continually restrict our freedoms and liberties as well as reaching deeper and deeper into our wallets.

We instead choose the path that focuses on ways to help our fellow Mainers outside of party politics.

Some of us may be town officers or board members. Some of us may leave all options on the table with regards to running for higher office as Independents.

Some of us may be small farmers and gardeners who desire to help feed their communities.

Others may simply want to just get part of their life back, catching up and spending more time with friends and neighbors.

Sincerely,

Republican National Committee Member:Mark Willis, Washington County

Maine Republican State Committee Members:Thomas Barry, Androscoggin County

Ann-Marie Grenier, Cumberland County

Gregory Hodge, Lincoln County

Olga LaPlante, Cumberland County

Russell Montgomery, Knox County

Violet Willis, Washington County

Maine Registered Republicans:

Sam Canders, Penobscot County

Bryan Daugherty, Penobscot County

Maria Hodge, Penobscot County

Randall J. Grenier, Cumberland County

L. Scott D’Amboise, Androscoggin County

Debbie D’Amboise, Androscoggin County

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Tom Ricks probably won't be back on Faux Noos anytime soon

Ricks very simply points out that the Faux outrage over Bin Ghazi is trumped up and politicized by Fox News, and that Fox is the media wing of the Republican Party. Jon Scott was not amused.

Fox News later said that Ricks “apologized in our offices afterward but doesn’t have the strength of character to do that publicly.” Ricks says that did not happen.

The true outrage ought to be over the way the fate of four Americans is being used by the wingnut right for political points, all the while ignoring the dozens or even hundres of similar incidents that have happened under Republican administrations.

This shouldn't be political.

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It pays to be skeptical

For a day or two I've been listening to and reading as much as I can find on the recovery progress in the eastern states so badly hurt by Hurricane Sandy. A recurrent theme coming from Faux news and several of the more bitter right wingnut bloggers has been the story of non-union Alabama electrical crews being turned back and not allowed to work in union New Jersey. There was so much of this noise out there I figured it had to have some truth, so I started working on a blog post chapping union asses. I support unions, but more than unions I support common sense.

They almost had me. I almost swallowed it and posted that blog, but something told me to keep looking. I'm glad I did... because as it turns out it is just more of the same old extremist Republican bullshit. This is just one link for one story out of several dozen that have come out refuting the allegation. More Republican dirty tricks. More bullshit from the right. 

You almost got me this time. Crying wolf next time won't buy you as much real estate. 

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Voter fraud

Well, I'm not too proud to admit it when I'm wrong. Since the beginning of the Republican efforts to stamp out voter fraud I've argued that these bills were addressed at a crime that was all but nonexistent. I'm ashamed to say that the Republicans have proved me wrong. 

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Is there a war on job growth?

Welcome to the modern Republican Party.

From the moment Barack Hussein Obama was declared the winner of the 2008 Presidential elections, the GOP has been on the move. Who could forget Mitch McConnell’s reaction to Obama’s success and the petulant assertion that the Republican’s “top priority” over the next four years was about making Obama a “one term President.”

Three years have gone by since McConnell uttered those words and the "Party of No" has held true to the course. GOP actions (and inaction) had until recently stalled the economic recovery. A successful campaign of distortion turned everything bad in the world into Obama’s fault.

The 2010 mid-term elections resulted in a new GOP controlled House and a greatly diminished Senate majority for the Democrats, severely compromising the ability of Congress to move any progressive legislation. The drag on economic recovery would continue.

Truth has always been a bit of a stranger in American politics, but the modern GOP has taken this truism to even greater horizons. The misinformation and dirty tricks machine was successful prior to the mid-term elections.

The oft-repeated mantra was that the bad economy was an entirely Obama creation. Questions were raised about the President’s right to hold office, his patriotism, even his religious faith. GOP resistance was framed as a patriotic mission denying an evil President the pleasure of destroying America.

Following the mid-terms, flaunting their new Congressional prowess, GOPers continued to block efforts to rebuild the economy. But these efforts have ceased working, mainly because some of the programs and policies put in pace prior to the mid-terms were actually resulting in modest job creation. In spite of the best Republican efforts the economy was improving. A GOP change in tactics became necessary.

The new complaint eminating from the GOP is the administration’s “economy busting” “crony capitalism,” and “job killing” green energy agenda. After some great successes in casting the now bankrupt Solyndra as epitomic of President Obama’s energy policies, Republicans now are lambasting what they have dubbed “Obamacars.”

Congressional Republicans and FOX News talking heads targeted the Chevy Volt, made by an auto maker saved from bankruptcy by Obama administration policies. The claim was that the vehicle is a fire hazard and economic boondogle.

Unhappy with these characterizations, the electric car industry is fighting back. Bob Lutz, a UC Berkeley business school graduate who championed the Volt when he was vice chairman at GM, wrote in his blog…

“…the loony right has its jaws sunk into the Volt with all the stupid determination of a terrier who has locked his teeth into the mailman’s butt. And with the same result: painful, but without any useful purpose.”

The same “loony right” has also targeted Tesla Motors, claiming that grants issued to the upstart electric car manufacturer amount to crony capitalism. Tesla received a $465 million Department of Energy loan but has since dropped pursuit of any further federal loans. They are instead raising private cash. The car maker plans in July to start deliveries of its $50,000 S car, claiming it is on its way to the mass car market.

Ricardo Reyes, a spokesman for Tesla, very gently told the GOP exactly what they are full off...

“We applied during the Bush administration, and we were approved under the Obama administration, so as far as we’re concerned, we at least had a bipartisan relationship for the loan...

We got one of first loans and we used it to build the car that is now going into production in a U.S.-based facility…

I’d like to think we’re pretty much a case study on what the loan program was designed to do.”

It is unfortunate that much of this tactic has been successful... and that jobs have been lost because of it. The GOP managed to taint the renewable energy loan program in spite of the fact that this particular program was started by the Bush administration as an effort to wean America off of imported oil. Now, due to character assassination by the right wing, the formerly bipartisan effort is in jeopardy.

GOP tricksters have pulled the wool over an under-informed electorate, but the efforts likely will not kill the electric car. This Republican led campaign of misinformation has General Motors pissed, and theyre doing something about it. GM Chief Executive Officer Dan Akerson has complained about the political atmosphere that surrounds the Volt.

“Sometimes I feel bad for President Obama,” he said this month after an appearance at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco. “This car was designed and committed to well before he was president, and it’s called the ‘Obamacar.’ It’s not the Obama car. I’m proud and I’m pleased that he thinks highly of it, but it’s all on us. It’s not a political issue.”

The automaker accused Republicans and the right-wing media of hyping claims that the car caught fire during testing.  1,300 jobs were lost at the Volt plant due to GOPer posturing and mischaracterizations, even though there has never been a fire except in one in a controlled testing environment. A battered test vehicle burned hours after a crash test, blamed on test workers neglecting to properly secure the wrecked vehicle.

On March 1 GM opened an unprecedented campaign to re-introduce the Volt in California, the biggest U.S. auto market. Sales are expected to be brisk and the company hopes to re-start manufacturing once inventory levels drop. In spite of the GOP, people will be going back to work.

For the GOP it has never been about job creation, the economy, helping the environment, creating stability in the financial markets, making sure Wall Street never again melts down, jobs, budgets, controlling the debt, or paying off our deficits – that was just smoke and mirrors.

For Republicans it is all about ensuring Obama is a one term President... economy be damned.

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Contest

How many lies, distortions of the truth and points of outright hypocrisy can you count in this article?

WARNING: You'll need to take your shoes off... and then some.

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Lies and the lying liars who tell them

Newt qualifies.

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Lies and the lying liars who tell them

It was just over a month ago when Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn blocked a transportation bill. He said that the government is spending ten percent of federal transportation aid dollars on projects he deems wasteful. Coburn’s aim was to force changes that would allow the states to use their full allotment on roads and bridges and tunnels, and not be forced by regulation to set aside monies for enhancement programs.

As examples of waste, Coburn cited some previous projects he claims were funded only because of the federal enhancement requirement, such as a giant roadside coffee pot and constructing tunnels for turtle.

The onerous “transportation enhancement” is a new GOP meme and cause célèbre. Their rhetoric has been repeated insistently by from the Senate floor, in public appearances and in news releases. The requirement causes states to dedicate a portion of their federal highway aid allotment on enhancement programs that include everything from landscaping to sidewalks, and according to Republicans has paid for the coffee pot and for turtle tunnels.

The only problem is that this isn’t true. As politicians tend to do when making a case, the GOP lawmakers have exaggerated and misrepresented the projects that benefitted from the requirement.

Coburn’s action was the shot across the bow. "We are not pouring asphalt, we are not laying concrete, we are not decreasing congestion, and we are not increasing safety," Coburn complained. He produced a list of 39 projects that he said exemplify extravagance at a time when states don't have enough money to repair structurally deficient bridges.

Coburn’s examples were cherry picked from the more than 25,000 projects that have received money since Congress established the enhancement set-aside nearly two decades ago… like the Lincoln Highway 200-Mile Roadside Museum in south-central Pennsylvania which was described as receiving $300,000 in 2004 for signs, murals, colorful vintage gas pumps painted by local artists and refurbishing of a former roadside snack stand from 1927 that's shaped like a giant coffee pot.

Sen. McCain worked from Coburn's list two weeks ago when he offered an amendment to narrow the types of projects eligible for enhancement funds, stating "Pennsylvania ranks first out of all states for deficient bridges. Yet it seems to be more important to furbish large roadside coffee pots."

But this is where the lie surfaces. There were no transportation funds involved in the coffee pot restoration. The entire $100K for that part of the project was raised locally. Olga Herbert, the executive director for the Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor stated "We did not use any of this $300,000 award for anything to do with the coffee pot," she said. "It's interesting that nobody from Senator Coburn's office called me about this."

Also on Coburn's shame list but not receiving any federal enhancement aid set aside were a lighthouse renovation in Toledo, Ohio, a saddle tree factory in Madison, IN, landscaping for a junkyard in Aiken, SC, and $16.2 million intended to restore the Battleship Texas. DOT turned that application down, but Coburn still pointed his boney, accusing finger.

McCain, however, initially failed to mention a $198,000 grant in 2007 to the National Corvette Museum in Warren County, KY. McCain is a former Corvette owner. Later the Senator said that since a Corvette simulator really didn’t have anything to do with transportation, he ”felt compelled to add this."

Next Kentucky’s Mitch McConnell got into the act, making a statement criticizing President Barack Obama's request for $50 billion for highways, bridges and airport runways as part of his jobs plan. "Don't tell the people of Kentucky they need to finance every turtle tunnel and solar panel company on some bureaucrat's wish list in order to get their bridges fixed." Not to be outdone, the other Senator from Kentucky said "Something is seriously wrong with government when we are forcing state governments to spend 10 percent of their transportation money on turtle tunnels, white squirrel parks, and movie theaters."

The Florida “turtle tunnels” are actually a traffic safety project. Turtles are not the only wildlife using the tunnels. Beavers, otters, alligators and snakes also use the culverts, making driving safer for motorists who were swerving to avoid the critters.

To boot that, it isn’t even the enhancement set asides that funded the project. Florida used economic stimulus funds, yet Coburn's list insists that Florida has spent $3.4 million on the project, implies the money comes from federal highway aid, and that $6 million more will be needed to finish the project.

Wrong again. The project was completed under budget at $3 million in September 2010.

The list of lies goes on. The Grand Old Party that so reveres that great conservative St. Ronnie that they have proposed to have Reagan’s likeness carved onto Mt. Rushmore alongside Washington, Jefferson, Roosvelt and Lincoln now spends more time telling lies, saying NO and labeling as socialist a president with policies more conservative than Reagan.

Go figure… then remember to vote.

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Governor Goodhair sure has Helen stirred up

And well she should be. Every Texan should be stirred up. The crap this Governor has elevated to emergency status is beyond imagination. 

Texas is facing a $27 billion budget shortfall, the balancing of which will inevitably cripple public schools, post secondary education, the ability of nursing homes to care for the elderly, and even of the highway department's ability to repair roads. The first budget proposal calls for cutting 9,600 state jobs, and will undoubtably to the loss of thousands more due to collateral damage to private sector industries and support services.

But this is not an emergency, according to Rick Perry. He just kind of brushes it aside and gives another speech railing against Washington excesses. Goodhair pretends the true emergencies in Texas don't exist, and that he and his wingnut cronies are not responsible for anything.

But what does Goodhair call an emergency deserving of the full and undivided attention of our state legislature? ...a bill requiring every woman seeking an abortion to view a sonogram of the fetus.

Helen does not understand. Texas is crumbling around our ears and Goodhair is only concerned with social issues. Read Helen's commentary HERE first, and be sure to read the comments. There are some doozies. Then read HERE where Helen addresses one of those comments. 

Priceless.

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Apologies to Michael Shermer

The debate over healthcare reform, like just about everything these days in this highly polarized America, has become contentious. This time however, things are a bit different. The rhetoric has risen to a frenzied pitch and there is actual public violence like we haven’t seen since perhaps the Viet Nam protests. There are a good many talking points in this debate that are misleading - many outright lies - yet the masses are swallowing the bait and taking protest to the streets. So, with apologies to Michael Shermer, I will ask…

… Why do people believe strange things?

In a survey and interview-based study published in a recent issue of the journal Sociological Inquiry, sociologists from four major research institutions concentrated on the most curious aspect of the 2004 presidential election: the strength, intensity and resilience of belief held by many of the Bush administration lie that Saddam Hussein was linked to the 9-11 terrorist attacks.

The paper, authored by researchers Steven Hoffman, Ph.D., a visiting assistant professor of sociology at the University at Buffalo; Monica Prasad, Ph.D., assistant professor of sociology at Northwestern University; Andrew Perrin, Ph.D., associate professor of sociology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, addresses what it refers to as a "serious challenge to democratic theory and practice that results when citizens with incorrect information cannot form appropriate preferences or evaluate the preferences of others."

The study revealed that, although this belief influenced the election outcome, it did not result from as much pro-Bush propaganda as it did from the urgent need by many in this country to justify a war to which we were already committed. The findings illustrate possible reasons why some Americans form or accept false beliefs regarding Obama's citizenship, and in the healthcare debate.

The journal article, titled "There Must Be a Reason: Osama, Saddam and Inferred Justification," calls unsubstantiated beliefs, a "serious challenge to democratic theory and practice," and the authors discuss how and why such beliefs continue to be maintained by so many voters for so long in the absence of supporting evidence.

Co-author Dr. Hoffman says that over the course of the 2004 presidential campaign, several polls showed that majorities of respondents believed that Saddam Hussein was either partly or largely responsible for the 9/11 attacks, a percentage that declined very slowly, dipping below 50 percent only in late 2003. "This misperception that Hussein was responsible for the Twin Tower terrorist attacks was very persistent, despite all the evidence suggesting that no link existed," Hoffman says. In the study a rather substantial sampling of voters reported believing in a link between Saddam and 9/11. The researchers presented the available evidence of the link, along with the evidence that there was no link, and then urged respondents to justify the incorrect belief. For all but one, the overwhelming evidence that there was no link left no impact on their arguments in support of the link.

Hoffman says "Our data shows substantial support for a cognitive theory known as 'motivated reasoning' (similar to ‘confirmation bias’), which suggests that rather than search rationally for information that either confirms or disconfirms a particular belief, people actually seek out information that confirms what they already believe. "In fact," says Hoffman. "For the most part people completely ignore contrary information. [the study] demonstrates voters' ability to develop elaborate rationalizations based on faulty information."

So while pundits and politicians continue to blame the all-so-obvious misinformation campaigns of the Bush administration and FOX news, this study argues that premise and points to an individual or collective desire to believe in a pre-conceived worldview instead. While these deluded individuals point to the false authorities as support for the belief, it is the individual who is seeking confirmation.

As Hoffman says, "the argument here is that people get deeply attached to their beliefs," and that we humans form “emotional attachments that get wrapped up in our personal identity and sense of morality, irrespective of the facts of the matter. The problem is that this notion of 'motivated reasoning' has only been supported with experimental results in artificial settings. We decided it was time to see if it held up when you talk to actual voters in their homes, workplaces, restaurants, offices and other deliberative settings."

The same phenomena appear to be at work in this healthcare debate, with lies and hypocrisy bubbling from the bowels of advocates and opponents alike. Even as the bills have passed both houses we are seeing the talking heads still on the offensive. It don’t matter what the other side is for, I’m agin it…

The results of this study are rather dramatic, proving that irrespective of which political wing a person is affiliated, individuals exist in mass who are comfortable in their delusion and wishing to not to be confused by facts; almost all refusing to change positions even when confronted with the falsity of beliefs.

We need far more skeptics and many fewer sheep.

This missive was heavily plagiarized from a published interview with Dr. Hoffman, which can be found HERE.

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Its Michele again

Sarah has her death panels, and now Michele rants about sex clinics. These wingers never lose enthusiasm for lying, do they?

"And as a matter of fact, the bill goes on to say what’s going to go on — comprehensive primary health services, physicals, treatment of minor acute medical conditions, referrals to follow-up for specialty care — is that abortion? Does that mean that someone’s 13 year-old daughter could walk into a sex clinic, have a pregnancy test done, be taken away to the local Planned Parenthood abortion clinic, have their abortion, be back and go home on the school bus that night? Mom and dad are never the wiser."

The nonpartisan fact checking organization Politifact, rates this one Pants on Fire."

(H/T)

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