No, not the scary kind that blow stuff up and stone women or gays when they're not busy cutting off noses and ears.
Rather, a tall, gleaming stack of copies of the new book by our fearless leader Markos, American Taliban: How War, Sex, Sin and Power Bind Jihadists and the Radical Right.
Controversial? Fuck yeah.
Details over the fold.
“Markos Moulitsas vividly exposes how the radical right and many leaders in the Republican Party , contrary to their incessant claims, actually hate the cherished American values of freedom, justice, tolerance and diversity of thought and expression. With sparkling clarity, American Taliban sounds the alarm on the well-funded, highly-placed authoritarians in this country who work daily to strip away civil liberties and viciously malign gays, women and other groups, and shows why they are treacherous to American democracy. We better listen.”
—Michelangelo Signorile
“We all agree with the Taliban.”
—Rush Limbaugh
What makes this community so special, I think, is the sheer passion of its members. Passion for our shared values, for each other, for the unending labor of making this country of ours a better place. It takes a special kind of person to throw your heart and soul out on to this series of tubes, as someone - I choose to forget who - characterized it.
And these days, frankly, we need all the passion we can muster. The barbarians are howling at the gates. Is it rude or obnoxious to say that? As I said above: fuck yeah. It also happens to be true: what precisely is the difference between the Afghani and the American Taliban in the republic and tea parties?
Facial hair.
As it happens, that was one of the main points Markos made to the assembled Kossacks: that it's absolutely in order to give the baby a name, to call out radical, un-American demagoguery for what it is, to use our power as we see fit, and to fight like hell for what we believe in.
(left to right: unknown, sidnora, kos, NYBri)
It's long past time for Democrats to stop apologizing for what we are. When we apologize, we've lost the argument. When we talk about risk pools and they talk about killing grandma, they win. That's really all there is to it.
No matter where you are: there's an election coming up in less than five weeks. Get out there, read this book - I'm halfway through - knock on doors, open your wallets, man the phones, do whatever it takes to win.
And for fuck's sakes, don't ever feel bad about it.
Event hosts: sidnora, casperr
Photo credit: Design the Future