[MD] Imaginings

[Arlo Bensinger]

[Khaled to Ron]
thanks for posting the article. Mr. Mears says 
something very interesting toward the end.

[Arlo]
I missed this, to much noise from the squalks.

I'd point this out, since it was squalked about here.

"There were no Republican complaints in 1991 when 
President George H.W. Bush spoke at a Washington, 
D.C., school and told the students, "Write me a 
letter — I'm serious about this one — write me a 
letter about ways you  can help us achieve our goals."

I presume the squalkers had their britches all 
bunjeed up about how Bush was using something 
"right out of the playbook of... Hugo Chavez". 
Apparently Mr. Chavez was Bush's buddy too.

And this.

"Answering questions, Reagan boasted of economic 
progress and a patriotic revival under his 
administration. He also said he opposed rigid gun 
controls or handgun bans. More politics there than in Obama's school session."

But this is trying to apply reason to vitriolic 
squalkers all riled up by the worst, distortive 
and deceitful rhetoric I have ever heard.

Remember Platt's original charge was about 
"speeches by professors, priests or politicians 
to a captive audience of school children."

When he was called on that, as many have now 
pointed out, that Bush had also been a 
"politician" who gave a "speech" to a "captive 
audience of school children" (something Newt 
Gingrich defended against mild democratic 
complaints), then he switched to another squalk 
point, pretending it was never about "captive 
audiences at all", but "Rhetoric justified by 
Obozo's lesson plan asking grade schoolers to 
write an essay on how they can "serve the president."

Now you're pointing out that Bush did the same 
thing? And you expect concession? Puhleeze. Its 
not about captive audiences, or letters, or that 
he would  "deliver a political message" (as 
Reagan did), its about demonizing, vitriol, using 
every squalk of distortion and deception possible 
to rile up as many people as possible to "hate" 
Obama. Same thing happened when it was shown that 
the "end of life counseling" provision in Obama's 
plan was not only added by a conservative, but is 
identical to the "end of life counseling" 
provision in the 2003 Medicare Act signed 
overwhelming by House and Senate Republicans. 
Where was Palin and her "death panel" nonsense 
then? Where were all the squalkers who re-squalk 
"death panels" like good little Pavlovian 
parrots? Its not about "end of life counseling". 
Its about inciting a riot mentality. Plain and simple.

You have likely heard about Steve Anderson, the 
whackjob "minister" who has been praying for God 
to kill Obama. One doesn't have to imagine hard 
to picture the reaction to this if it was a 
"minister" praying with his congregation for, 
say, Bush or Palin or McCain or Limbaugh to die. 
Can you imagine if people showed up at Bush's speeches with assault weapons?!

This is the level of "intelligence" (and I use 
the word sarcastically, for those who are too 
inept to recognize sarcasm outright) the 
discourse in this country has descended. And it 
ain't gonna get better any time soon (I say in a nod to John).

"Political victory" is now measured by how big of 
a mob one can incite, by who can anger the most 
people by telling the biggest lies, and spreading 
the most egregious distortions. And this is 
cheered, as more distortive squalking points are 
Wurlitzered throughout the fractured media.

Sad.