Last week Japan was hit by earthquake, tsunami,
and volcano. As the country tries to come back from
this series of disasters, donations are pouring in from world citizens.
Rightbloggers are doing their part, too. They're using the catastrophe
as a teachable moment to explain that Obama sucks, global warming
doesn't exist, and what America needs now is more nuclear power plants.
We wish to state up front that we didn't find rightbloggers doing
the kind of karmic-payback-for-Pearl-Harbor nonsense reported here. That's not counting Republican Faith Chat ("IT'S NOT AS THOUGH GOD
HASN'T WARNED THE JAPS!"), The Good Kentuckian ("Well, maybe THAT is the real
reason Jesus punished Japan: Jesus hates socialism and big
government!"), and other sites that we're telling ourselves must be
parodies.
Last week it seemed no one could get enough of Charlie Sheen. Though
he'd previously made the papers with his drug problems, domestic
violence incidents, and hit TV series, Sheen attained internet meme
status when, after his ravings derailed his show, he responded with spectacularly
outsized references to himself as "an F-18" with "flaming fists" and
"tiger blood" who was in all things #winning.
This led to humorous Charlie Sheen random quote
generators and flow charts as well as outraged remarks, some of
which were pretty astute, and some of which were silly.
You know rightbloggers had to get a piece of this action. In their hands
Sheen became a metaphor for liberalism, homeless policy, union
violence, and America's moral decline in the gay marriage era.
Last weekend rallies were held in all 50 states in support of
the teachers' union in Wisconsin. And at the Wisconsin state capitol, at
least 70,000
people came out on Saturday to protest Governor Walker's attempt to
break the union.
Sounds like a big deal, right? Hundreds of thousands of people turned
out on behalf of teachers in one state who were holding out for
collective bargaining rights, despite opposition from Republicans and
from bigtime "liberal" columnists who also consider
schoolteachers grossly overcompensated.
Yet rightbloggers dismissed these demos as paltry, insignificant, and a
failure.
To understand why they think so, we need to review the history of the
Tea Party, which has sometimes summoned big crowds itself.
The 2011 Conservative Political Action Cnference (CPAC), held last week, was in some respects like the previous year's: For example, everyone loved that the place was full of young people, until the kids gave libertarian Ron Paul their straw poll vote.
There were some changes, though. Perhaps hoping to convince people in
preparation for a 2012 Obama challenge they weren't all uptight white
guys, CPAC threw a little multiculturalism into its mix, with gays and
Muslims gaining a sliver of representation.
You can guess what followed -- some of the brethren accused CPAC of selling them out to the gay/Muslim enemy.
You may remember Ronald Reagan, whose centenary was celebrated last weekend, as former Secretary of State James Baker does -- as the man who "taught us how to love"; or, as Arizona GOP Congressman Ben Quayle does,
as "the nice man who gave us jelly beans when we visited the White
House" and "shrank the scope of government," somehow, with his escalating deficits; or, with Bush White House torture enthusiast John Yoo, as the reviver of the "presidency's constitutional prerogatives."
Or may remember him as the destroyer of America's middle class, pioneer of the banking crisis, etc.
Rightbloggers incline toward the former view, as their hilarious
birthday tributes show. Plus, they see a second Reagan in Sarah Palin.
(Reagan's actual son? They hate him plus he's gay!)
Hordes of citizens stand up to their nation's hated leader. But
observers worry that when the revolution finally comes, religious
fundamentalists hostile to democracy will seize power.
We're not talking about the Tea Party this time -- we're talking about
the ongoing, massive demonstrations against Egyptian President Hosni
Mubarak.
Rightbloggers were torn about this one. While many at first enjoyed the
people-power street scenes as a celebration of freedom, their enthusiasm
waned as they realized that Muslims were involved.
"Red China" had been effectively closed to U.S. trade for years when President Nixon began softening things up in the 70s.
Subsequent Presidents from both parties have followed Nixon's lead, and
now, along with state visits like the one Chinese Leader Hu Jintao made
last week to the White House, we get nearly everything from China, from
t-shirts to iPhones.
We've also racked up an impressive trade deficit with our valued partner. And China holds $895.6 billion in U.S. Treasury debt, along with millions of jobs that might have gone to Americans. Hooray for free trade!
But never mind all that -- for rightbloggers the history of
Sino-American relations began with Hu's visit, when President Obama sold
America down the river by letting the Chinese invade the White House
and sing their America-hating songs.
If you've quit paying attention to the Tucson shooting case, first of
all, congratulations. Here is what you've missed: The
nearly-assassinated Democratic Congresswoman is getting better, and the
public discussion of her shooting is getting worse.
There's just too much nonsense being circulated to cover here, so we'll
focus on a relatively narrow but instructive development: How
rightbloggers have promoted to their primary object of hatred -- above
even the despised Obama, at least for the moment -- mild-mannered
economist Paul Krugman.
After Saturday's shootings in Arizona
-- which left Democratic Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords badly wounded
and six people dead -- rightbloggers were swift to condemn ... any
possible criticism of themselves.
You can understand their defensiveness. Back during the 2010 campaign,
Sarah Palin had endorsed tea party challengers to Giffords and others
with little gun-sight images and the cry, "Don't Retreat -- Reload!" Giffords had noticed ("When people do that, they've got to realize there are consequences to that action..."); so did the local sheriff.
Oops. You might expect rightbloggers to be pouring oil on troubled
waters right now, eschewing violence, promoting civility, etc.
Merry War on Christmas! This conflict has been dragging on for years, which is not entirely a bad thing, as it has produced a thriving War on Christmas industry, which our economy desperately needs.
The opportunities for outrage this year are slim, but where there's a
rightblogger, there's a way, whether via imaginary banning of the colors
red and green or via Planned Parenthood gift certificates. Cover the
children's ears and continue!
Don't mess with the Army, feds remind two local businesspeople
Homer's Drive-In: the oldest drive-through in the metro
Parisi's Pete Licata is a World Barista Championship semifinalist
Oklahoma Joe's ribs named the best in the country by The Daily Meal
Soundgarden's sludgy sound, last night at the Midland (review)
Yo La Tengo is at Grinders tonight
Royals fan sprints on the field, steals rosin bag
Police leave Union Station after suspicious package found