The exponential problem of paranoia

Anglican sent me an email sent to him by a right wing friend. In that email, the person admitted that some of the email might be extreme, but that was what people on the right were feeling about Obama. The actual substance of the email was frighteningly paranoid and rambling. It had me thinking of the nature of this kind of thinking, and it is something that both sides have to watch, but it seems to be embraced on the far right.

It goes something like this. You analyze something real and come to that part where you have to make a judgement about something that is, perhaps questionable. At this point, you choose to accept the most extreme position, which in that particular issue, is probably rather benign. But that becomes the base line for your next decision, and so on, and so on.

So you look at Obama and believe that he might not be Muslim, but that his association with Wright makes him a radical or even non-Christian. Moving forward from that point, you now assume him to be non-Christian and therefore a liar. Since he is a liar, you don't believe any of the things he says that are reasonable (which are most, frankly). And since he is not a christian, and a liar, you believe those who say he is some kind of radical Marxist. And as a Marxist, then you approach healthcare and the economy with the assumption, not that he is trying to make things better, but that he is trying to make things worse as a part of his plan to force the country into Marxism. You take partial bits of evidence, and read them in the most extreme way: this email said that Obama had already "taken over two major industries." I think Ford would be surprised to hear that they are now part of a nationalized industry, as would those banks who are out from under TARP. But facts, at this point, are meaningless.

By that time, Obama has become a monster and is a threat. I think that is pretty much the path I have seen from the far right and Christian right. To be fair, that same process occurred on the left under Bush. I will say that in my defense, I hesitated at each of those steps to assume the most radical option. Part of that was my own lack of clarity. Was Bush stupid or malevolent? Hard to believe he was involved in some plot to allow 9-11 to happen if he is so incompetent that he can't quite even enact any of his policies. I would also argue that my final disgust with the man came with the evidence of torture and wiretapping--things that were documented and factual.

Anyway. Thoughts?

I really hate Grover Norquist

Taxing Matters | The American Prospect.

And here is a related random, and unanswerable question. How much of our economy has government investment at its base? How many of our consumer goods go back to some government subsidized research?

Finally, a counter to Freedman

One of my colleagues is married to an economics professor and he told me recently that most economics departments are still dominated by Milton Freedman-type economics theory. Every other department has been influenced by broader philosophical trends, but for some reason, the economics field has continued to be quite conservative. With that in mind, I am glad to see that Soros has decided to fund a new economics institute. It isn't that Freedman was completely wrong about everything, or that Keynes was completely right. But our thinking about economics has been too narrowly accepting of free-market ideology, and as a result, we have entire populations (and one political party) that believes that free-market economics is magical while government regulation and intervention is always wrong. This last 20 year period should make us rethink that, but so far, we have continued with many of the same assumptions.

Time to rethink a little.

More on the right wing's violent side

I have read Niewert's blog off and on, and he writes at Crooks and Liars as well. I hope he is overstating the threat, but fear that he isn't. Anyway, here is the book: Amazon.com: The Eliminationists: How Hate Talk Radicalized the American Right (9780981576985): David Neiwert: Books

Interesting interview at Faithful Progressive with author Bethany Moreton

Faithful Progressive: The Faithful Progressive Interview: Author Bethany Moreton, "To Serve God and Wal-Mart"

couple of interesting stories

Associated Baptist Press - Fear Not: What does virtual rumor-mongering say about Christians?: "Gullibility may grow out of fear and anxiety, he added. And that directly relates to what people believe.
“I suggest to my students, ‘Tell me something about your fears, and I will tell you something of your theology,’” Tillman said. “Dealing with our fears -- an action usually dismissed or ignored -- may be one of the keys to understanding just which e-mails we forward and those we don’t.”"

and this one as well, which I can't help but think is a bit related.

Secret Service under strain as leaders face more threats - The Boston Globe.

Good news/Bad news for Republicans

According to a report by Democratic pollsters, the conservative wing of the Republican party does not hate Obama because of his skin color. That is the good news. The bad news is that they do hate him for irrational reasons. They believe that he has a "'secret agenda' to bankrupt the United States."

Better than open racism, and actually confirms a lot of what I see myself, but not terribly wedded to reality. What is further interesting and confirming, is that while this group tends to mock minority groups for their "victimology," they themselves are absolutely whining that their shared beliefs are mocked by elites. Of course, when some of your shared beliefs include a belief that Obama as President wants to bankrupt the country, perhaps some of your beliefs need to be mocked.

slactivist on the conservative bible movement

slacktivist: Apocalypseses

Well, this will ruin your evening

Everyone here knows I am adamantly against the death penalty. I think it is barbaric and beneath us, and I am amazed at the bloodlust that arises in this country. The evidence is growing that Texas has executed at least one innocent man, and I would be absolutely stunned if it were not a very high and shocking number. I know from past reading that Texas has executed people even when their defense attorney slept through trial, or slept with the judge.

And if you want to see the face of this death machine, watch the two clips at Ta-Nehisi Coates' blog. Watch them deny science and say that they are quite comfortable with using folklore and old wives tales to send a man to prison. Or that they consider a person who listens to heavy metal to be likely to worship the devil.

Texas justice is essentially sorcery, and there will be people who say that we can perfect it, that we can close the loop-holes. They're wrong. The problem isn't with loopholes--it's with us. We are fallible. Conservatives, more than anyone, should know that--it undergirds their entire philosophy. They don't think government can perfect much of anything. What makes them think we can perfect murder?

Sigh

At once a cool website from a design standpoint and one of the more offensive paintings I have ever seen. Just check out which side they placed Satan.

The myth of the middle class

Saw a great historian speak Friday night (James Kloppenberg) on Obama's connection to broader political philosophical trends. He made several really great points, but one was how Obama was unconvinced by the idea of "original intent" after noting the intense compromise necessary to get the constitution through. How could there be "one" intent?

During a post-talk discussion, he also spoke to the legacy of Roosevelt and the economic boom of the 1950s. (This column speaks to that as well.) Real quickly, as I run out the door to teach, I am reminded of what seems to be the biggest bit of conservative blind faith--that the middle class came out of some historical ether. The middle class that so many of us grew up in, was a creation of government programs dedicated to a more shared prosperity. That is derided by today's conservatives as "socialism" or worse, but it allowed one hell of a lot of Americans to live the middle class dream. Removing that government hand has led to the decline of that middle class (not the only reason, obviously) and conservatives seem to hold to some fantasy that a libertarian approach to governing will bring it back.

It won't.

What has become of the Republican party

SOF had a rough sinus night so our normal dog walk or sitting outside in the fall weather was shelved for Mucinex and tea. I watched the new Ken Burns PBS documentary on the National Parks and felt sad. Watching people of wealth and privilege work so hard to set aside some of America's treasures made me sad for today. Yeah, their concepts of nature and value were different than many today, and their motives were not always pure, but they valued something for the public good. Can anyone honestly tell me that any elected Republican today would go out on a limb to set aside the Grand Canyon as a national park? When there would be millions in lobbying money from the mining interests right there to urge them the other direction?

Hell, I don't have to play Kreskin. I know that they have gutted support for the Parks and anything public over the last 25 years. I am so sorry for those responsible Republicans who read here. I really am. I am sorry that I think so badly of their party, and so sorry that their party has been taken over by moral twits.

That is exactly what I thought when I read about Liz Cheney's rising star in the GOP. Evidently she goes to public speaking engagements for right wingers and is mobbed by people who just cheer every time she accuses Obama of not protecting America, or when she trots out the ticking time bomb scenario to justify her father's war crimes. She is mobbed by people asking her to run for office. Hard not to come to the same conclusion as this Tapped writer:

"For the GOP, torture is no longer a 'necessary evil.' It is a rally cry, a 'values' issue like same-sex marriage or abortion. They don't 'grudgingly' support torture, they applaud it. They celebrate it. Liz Cheney's unequivocal support for torture methods gleaned from communist China has people begging her to run for office."

I am beginning to understand why so many Republicans believe government is evil. When their people are in charge, it becomes that way.

Sigh.

If you ever wanted to see how much of a rodeo clown Glenn Beck is--just watch this

The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan.

I have to say that Katie Couric doesn't come off very well here either, but you see just how little there is to Glenn Beck beyond his roots of a morning radio personality. He isn't terribly intelligent. Smart in how he understands how to be a demagogue, but has no real understanding of the things he is talking about. All he has is some charm and manner of speaking. There is no there, there.

Sigh. Kirk Cameron connects Darwin to Hitler

So I have to post this rather funny and biting video. Not sure who the woman is in the video, and perhaps it is her accent that makes it rather funny, but still, she makes some good points.