It’s not a typo, but a play on FOX, America’s favorite source for made-up conspiracies tying liberals with right wing Muslim Brotherhood in a grand conspiracy. Go figure.
It’s the new blog by Keith Olbermann, the ousted host of MSNBC’s Countdown.
Fortunately, for us, in one of his first comments, he mentions a synchronicity. Well, he doesn’t use the word, but…he pointed out that Tea Party idol Rand Paul appeared on The David Letterman Show the same night that Dave featured Stupid Pet Tricks.
‘Was that coincidence?’ Keith asks, then says he doesn’t think so.
That means it was either planned, a matter of cause and effect. In other words, the producers and/or Dave said let’s put Rand up against Stupid Pet Tricks. Or it was a meaningful coincidence, a synchronicity. But I suppose if you’re a Tea Party supporter rather than a Dave or Keith fan, it’s meaningful in another way – not as a joke – but as evidence of a left-wing, socialist conspiracy.
When will the tea-baggers realize that, yes, it is socialism here – socialism for the rich– who are getting more and more wealthy thanks to government subsidies and tax cuts–not the middle class or poor. Abundance and prosperity consciousness is not about creating a society of haves and have-nots fighting over the pie, but spreading out the benefits for all to enjoy and prosper by. Enough spouting off.
We wish Keith well, and hope he soon starts using the term synchronicity when he encounters these meaningful coincidences.
Not having a draft just shows how Americans don't care about war or politics unless it is their ox that is gored.
Here is a little quote I found on my computer while searching for something else.
“If there is any principle of the Constitution that more imperatively calls for attachment than any other it is the principle of free thought — not free thought for those who agree with us but freedom for the thought that we hate.”
~Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.
(1841-1935)~
Ray
Ray – I remember when we invaded iraq, 10 million people worldwide protested. CNN didn't bother covering it. Vietnam was different; a draft. That galvanized people.
Marcus – this is fascinating stuff about China. Enjoying your insights into this culture/mindset.
Rob or Trish ;-), China is relatively stable now, but there are about 90 000 protests of 100 or more people evrey year, and 4 million people go to Beijing each year to diectly petition the government for perceived injustices, according to the government. There are usually one or two major uprisings a decade, esp. in places like Tibet and Xinjiang. The main reason it all hangs together is that stability is of higher value than political freedom for most Chinese people. Around 90 million Chinese people died in the 20th century from political upheavals and war. People just get tired of that, as you can imagine. The othr factor is that economic growth remains strong, despite inequality and injustice. When the last factor goes, I predict major problems in China.
This has been a great discussion.
At one time until the Iraq war I used to listen to Rush Limbaugh for comic relief. One thing he did that used to disgust me (now everything he says does) is when he used to tell his listeners to think for themselves and not blindly believe him, but on the same program totally humiliate any caller who disagreed with him and even found fault with those who did, but whose explanation diverged from Rush's.
As to thoughts on Vietnam, I can't understand why there isn't the same outrage against current wars. The US has never entered a war without a less than honorable agenda. Even the American Revolution was for the benefit of the wealthy.
Ray
I agree with you there Mike.That's the danger that all of the above mentioned countries are facing,at present.What I really meant was how they have been running,as far as social services go (take Michael Moore's movie "Sicko",for example) as models of socialism in action,but alas,the world is just one great Monopoly board for the corporations now 🙁
Some interesting comments – but have to disagree with Brizdaz. Britain is no longer a socialist country, it is being governed by the elite wealthy for the wealthy – as is most of the world.
One of my biggest problems with conservatives in America is that they are very anti-government at home but when it comes to foreign policy, they believe we have the right to tell other countries what kind of government they should have and even go to war without broad international support to topple governments we don't like. I find that hypocritical: they hate our government's involvement in our lives, but want it to interfere in the lives of people around the world who can't even vote in our elections.
I'm the opposite. I'm very pro-government at home, at least when its under Democratic presidents and Congress because as the Republicans have proven time and again, they believe government should only serve the already wealthy class. I'm also against government interference abroad, unless there is a broad international coalition for intervention to prevent genocide.
As a young man living in Europe, I often met people who told me that they hated the U.S. government because of our interference in the politics of other countries. I agreed with them on that point, but also told them that on a personal level, the U.S. government has been very good to me. Much of what I've experienced in life that has been great and extremely privileged came because of the U.S. government.
I wish more Americans would have my viewpoint: yes to government involvement domestically, no to government interference in the politics of other countries. Its a less hypocritical stance to take. Its also very "golden rule", as I know for a fact that conservatives / teabaggers / Fox News sheeple would all go ballistic if a foreign government interferred in our domestic politics.
I must say though,that there is no main stream news media,on this planet I could trust.They all have an agenda of some sort.
I find it's best to try and get viewpoints from all angles…and then THINK for yourself.
I can tell you for example that the Australian news media is just as full of BS as the American media.
Truth is a rare commodity in this world,that we live in, unfortunately 🙁
Great post,Marcus.
I agree when you say,
"I do find the American terror of socialism strange, however. Many Americans can't seem to distinguish between socialism and hard core Communist dictatorships."
When someone calls a person of socialist leanings a dirty Commie,I find that as offensive as if that person had said you're a dirty Capitalist pig.
If you want to see socialism in action,then read the New Testament.
To me Jesus is the personification of a socialist.
To me,countries like Australia,
New Zealand,Canada,Great Britain,Israel,France,Sweden…just to name a few,are fairly good examples of socialism in action.To me socialism is the middle path,between the extremes of Capitalism and Communism.
Realistically,I don't think you could get better examples of socialism in action,then by looking at the above countries…not in the real world at least.
Rob,
Re:
"Please take Murdock back to the land of love."
We don't want him back,he's not Australian,anyway…he's an American…read his passport.-)
Last I heard he was living in China with his Chinese wife.Maybe he is working on becoming a Chinese citizen,so he can exploit the Chinese,like he did to you guys.-)
Vietnam was along time ago, Marcus. That's the difference. Many americans these days are so caught up in the minutia of their lives that they fail to connect the dots. Or just don't bother to do so. My neighbor talks abut the end times- the biblical end times. At the gym, fox news is usually showing on at leaswt one of the TVs…spouting the same lies they did during the lead up to the invasion of Iraq. Americans seem to need an enemy, and that's our downfall.
YOu bring up some really good points about the dif between america and china, however. What has always puzzled me, though, is how a country with China's populaiton manages to maintain such tight control.
This is a bit off topic, but… Sansego, I think America is no different from Communist nations in respect of people wanting to be lied to. Many people are easily manipulated. In China, where I have spent a lot of my time, people know the media is BS, but will completely lose all awareness of this as soon as the government whips up some hysteria about Westerners trying to interfere in China or the Japanese trying to claim bits or rock in the ocean between the two countries, (which the Japanese already legally own anyway, and have for over a century).
In western countries a healthy % of the population question governments and authority deeply. Look at the uproar over the Vietnam War. Compare that to China's invasion of Tibet, where even 60 years later, you'd be lucky to find a single Chinese person in China who questions the official lies about the event. As far as I know, only two Chinese people haver ever protested about the event – one a young woman in Hong Kong who pulled out a Tibetan flag when the Olympic torch went there in 2008. She was immediately bundled into the back of a police van. And that was in Hong Kong, which is supposedly a free society.
The other was a Chinese student studying at Duke, who joined some Tibetan students on a campus rally to raise awareness of what was happening in Tibet – also in 2008. Some other Chinese students saw her, and immediately reported her to the authorities. Her name was published in the Chinese students association newsletter. Sina.com in China (China's Yahoo) put her photo on the home page and basically called her a traitor. The student's high school in China immediately revoked her diploma, and the girl's parents home in China was attacked by "patriots". The words "Kill those inside" were written in big red letters on wall of their house, and a bucket a human feces was splashed over their front door. They fled.
I don't see that America is anywhere near as bad as this.
I do find the American terror of socialism strange, however. Many Americans can't seem to distinguish between socialism and hard core Communist dictatorships. America and China are actually quite similar in many ways. Both are "every man for himself" countries, where those who don't make the cut are left to rot. China is about as Communist as a Big Mac these days. It's a hyper materialist authoritarian society, where workers are gravely exploited for the benefit of the rich and powerful (the latter two categories are synonyms in China). China today approximates pre-socialist, pre-democratic Europe, where there are few workers rights, and little civil society – rather ironic, since there was a "Communist" revolution here in China 60 years ago. So America is most certainly not up against Communism. It's up against a developing country where people are more easily exploited, thus making labour cheap, and the entire country super-competitive. Marcus
Sansego – great comment. I've wondered the same thing – especially with some of my family members who are anything but conservative, yet never miss faux news.
I have a messenger bag with a design that alluded to Faux News as a Nazi propaganda machine. A few years ago, I happened to be in Walgreens and an elderly lady noticed the bag. She asked me what it meant. I told her what I thought about Fox News. She got very upset and blamed the young people today of "ruining America."
I never understood why Americans want to be lied to. One thing I learned about people who grew up under the communist regimes is that they didn't believe the government run media. They would often make fun of the news. They knew they were being lied to. What a difference between America, where a sizeable part of the population wants to be lied to rather than knowing the truth. They should have been born in a communist country!
teabaggers, sigh. Hope keith gets back on the air soon!
Daz,
Please take Murdock back to the land of love. He's just fueling hate here.
R
Faux news and teabaggers..
GAK!
always liked that faux news shirt!
Re:
"It's not a typo, but a play on FOX, America's favorite source for made-up conspiracies tying liberals with right"
I have a set of t-shirts that I've purchased over the years,which I have relegated to bed shirts/PJ's,because they are a little gaudy,in a fashion sense
(in my opinion,anyway),or a little to political,or both gaudy and political at the same time.
One of them (which I haven't worn for months,because it has been too hot here,but which I wore to bed last night) is my FAUX NEWS t-shirt,which I was wearing this morning,as I was reading this post,that you have put up overnight (my time).
I took 2 pictures of it with my phone-cam.I've used one for the icon in the top right corner of this comment,and posted the other on my blog,if you would like a better look at it (a picture is worth a 1000 words).
The syncs just keep coming 🙂