They've called us smelly hippies. Nazis. Socialists. Idiots. Nevermind that there's never been such a thing as a blue haired, goose stepping, hugo boss hemp baggies wearing, septum peirced, blue eyed, master racist flowerchild, hippienazi. That's the two sided lie of fox news. We can't at once be an all powerful and unstoppable paramilitary force, and a bunch of pot smoking jobless losers. Are we jobless, or are we professional protesters on George Soros's dime? Are we tree hugging pushovers or are we dangerous totalitarian nazis? If you're going to make up bullshit about us, the least you could do is give your viewers some consistency.
Or maybe they're just cackling to themselves at how clever they are getting people to believe two completely contradictory things at once. Who knows what horrors lurk in the mind of a fox news anchor? I'm sure the logic is more twisted than lovecraftian architecture.
Sean and Annie give us the textbook contradiction tango. Watch as much as you can without making yourself sick:
Sean Hannity has called us "Unamerican" because we want to defend our democracy from an attack. He had the gall to call us and the veterans standing with us "Unamerican." The response, I think, is unequivocal.
Transcript:
Henry: Hi, I'm Henry I'm with the other 99. I just wanted to ask the Marine veteran: "Why are you here at Zuccotti Park?
Marine 1: Different Reasons. These wars that are going on? I don't believe in them. I want my brothers and my sisters to come back home. The Bailout was a Farce that robbed the American people.
Henry: And Over to my Army veteran-
Also A Marine: Marine. Marine Corps.
Henry: Excuse me, Marine Corps Veteran, why are you here at Zuccotti Park?
Marine 2: Like the other 99%, I got forced into student loan debt I'm never going to be able to get out of because with two degrees and a full time job I still don't make enough to pay all my bills.
Henry: Now did the GI bill help with your student loans?
Marine 2: I had to fight for my GI bill by writing to my senator a couple of times, and No, it gave me just enough money to buy books each semester.*
Henry: The other thing I wanted to ask both of you now, Is: last week on Hannity's Show, he called a protester unamerican, and said that the protesters out here hate freedom.
Marine 1: That's pretty funny. When they have these protests overseas, we call them democratic, and say that the people are trying to get theirs. But then, as soon as we start doing it here, they call us unpatriotic. So it's very Ironic that he would say something like that.
Henry: Is there anything you'd say to him if he were here?
Marine 1: I'd tell him to fuck off, that's what I would tell him.
Marine 2: I think that's the biggest load of shit I've ever heard. Everybody here loves this country and wants to see it grow and wants to see it better. They love the people, they love their community, their neighbors, there hasn't been racism here, or bigotry, or anything of that sort, we've all gotten along as one big family, and that's what we want for the rest of the country. All the people who are suffering in debt, all the people who can't speak for themselves or are too afraid to voice their opinion, we're here fighting for their rights, because that's the oath we swore when we became Marines, that we would defend our people and our country, and I'm going to do it till the day it's over.
[Camera pans back, Marine 2 is holding sign that reads: 2nd time I've fought for my country, first time I've known my enemy.]
*This would have been my case as well. I talked to a military recruiter about potentially joining the military. The GI Bill would only cover about 5% of my student debt. The system has been cut back significantly, and doesn't apply to many people, especially those who go to a private college.
Historical Note
Sacks of cash applied liberally to democratically elected politicians destroys nations. Persia bribed the Greeks to look the other way as the empire picked off city states one by one. The Roman Republic collapsed because the wealthy used their money to prevent significant reforms, like those attempted by the Gracchi. The Scottish Parliament was bought by the Crown, and legislated Scotland into non-existence in return. Money flowing into the hands of politicians has destroyed nations and empires. To quote wikipedia on the Gracchi:
Another reason for the efforts' failures was the Gracchis' idealism; they were deaf to the baser notes of human nature and failed to recognize how corrupt and selfish all sections of Roman society had become. According to Oswald Spengler, the characteristic mistake of the Gracchan age was to believe in the possibility of the reversibility of history [7] – a form of idealism which according to Spengler was at that time shared by both sides of political spectrum – Cato had sought to turn back the clock to the time of Cincinnatus, and restore virtue by returning to austerity.[2]
And so corruption and Cato's austerity combined with an expanding military empire led directly to massive unpayable debt which the Gracchi attempted to respond to with too-little too-late reform efforts that couldn't cut through the corruption. This ended in a military coup and a brutal dicatorship. In short, America must end the legal corruption of our politicians, before corrupt politicians end America.
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Furthermore, we ABSOLUTELY MUST keep the pressure on another story. The following three diaries have excellently outlined a situation where an Assistant Editor with the American Spectator INFILTRATED AND ESCALATED the OccupyDC protest.
http://www.dailykos.com/...
http://www.dailykos.com/...
http://www.dailykos.com/...
http://www.dailykos.com/...(NEW)
HE NEEDS TO BE EXPOSED. This story needs WAY more attention! Take the information here, and write goddamn everyone. Post these diaries on facebook, on twitter. Send this information VIRAL.
Live up to your name, Kossacks!
If someone from Kos did something like this it would be ALL OVER the mainstream media, but when an EMPLOYED right winger does it, it's acceptable behavior. Write your local newspaper. Write MSNBC, write Keith, write EVERYONE.
This sort of vile political manipulation must be exposed.
Update
The ultra right wingnuts are already pulling out their old tricks.
If you dare criticize the war, you're not a hero anymore. Freepers are already aping Limbaugh's "Phony Soldiers" bullshit, (nevermind the fact that most of them are chickenhawk poseurs anyway.)
Remember Limbaugh?
LIMBAUGH: "Save the -- keep the troops safe" or whatever. I -- it's not possible, intellectually, to follow these people.
CALLER 2: No, it's not, and what's really funny is, they never talk to real soldiers. They like to pull these soldiers that come up out of the blue and talk to the media.
LIMBAUGH: The phony soldiers.
CALLER 2: The phony soldiers. If you talk to a real soldier, they are proud to serve. They want to be over in Iraq. They understand their sacrifice, and they're willing to sacrifice for their country.
The freepers are pulling the same bullshit again.
Here are some choice quotes:
Yup, and even ole Hitler was patriotic. Remember how that turned out?
So... we shouldn't support the troops then?
They’re not Marines, they’re members of the FSA...The Free Sh!t Army. They want their free sh!t and they want it now!
Yes, because a good job = free sh!t? The opportunity too work hard is free shit? Asking to not get raped so hard by the banks is asking for free shit?
The younger Marine stated that he had to fight for his rights to the GI Bill? So strongly that he had to contact his congressman several times and then it only paid the cost of the books.
Doubt it.....
Then he mentioned “Progressive” nonsense.
Does not pass the smell test....
In my imaginary america, everything is perfect, and you're only poor because you want to be poor. The government is perfect and right, when it's convenient to my argument for the government to be completely competent. In five minutes I'll be back to screaming about how the government doesn't do anything right again.
Pay no attention to this massive contradiction.
Ignorant bottom feeders are numerous. No suprise that it extends to the marines....(lowercase M is deliberate)
So if veterans don't agree with your crazy politics, they're ignorant bottom feeders. I think the Marines here (capitol M is deliberate) would give you the same advice they gave Hannity. And if they don't, I will.
Something smells... I think there is BS in the air... EGAs on the collar?
Two degrees and he can't find a good paying job? Degrees in what? 16th Century French Lit? Monster.com is screaming for degreed engineers, DAILY. Aerotek is a contract shop, nationwide, and they pay a third more then scale for people willing and ABLE to contract out in engineering.
Granted. A position for a PHD in Egyptian heratic within 5 miles of Goodland Kansas, ain't gonna happen. BUT...
What country do you live in?! I know people with chemistry degrees flipping burgers at McDonalds! Have you stepped out of your overly-fortified armory in the last ten years, or was the terrorism alert level too high?
Let me guess, he’s gay, too.
Aaaand of course the repressed homosexuality comes out. I love how the "not gay" freepers can't shut up about who they want to be gay.
The right wing has it's claws out. Any Marine or Soldier who dares to stand up for this country will be torn down by rear echelon chickenhawks.
But I think this marine would tell them that they can go and, well, you know.