Stagemanager misses the point - again
Submitted by James Protzman on Mon, 05/07/2007 - 8:08am
Over the past year, I've made it a point to try to understand the "thinking" of the Puppets at the John Locke Foundation, and in particular to explore the tactics and techniques they use to drive the political agenda in North Carolina. There are three methods to their madness.
First is flat out deception and lying. In their steady stream of "reports" (one of which will be dumped on an unsuspecting General Assembly this Wednesday), they generate whatever "facts" they need to support their positions and then report those facts as representing an objective view of reality.
Second is the routine use of double talk. This is John Hood's personal favorite. He throws a handful of 50-cent words into an obscure diatribe and all the uninformed Luddites in the Party of Greed assume he must know what he's talking about.
Third is the reliance on an entire school of red herrings to set up and win absurd arguments. That's what Hood has done today in his commentary on the General Assembly's pathetic failure to pass a smoking ban. By casting the issue as one of property rights, the death merchants have again carried the day among the rabid right and the chicken-littles in the Legislature. In doing so, Hood ignores the single argument that trumps all others on this issue: workers' rights.
In some parts of our state, the economic environment is such that people often have literally no choice about where to work. And those having to work in smoke-filled establishments are being sentenced to death.
Of course, John Hood doesn't give a damn about poor people with few or no choices. After all, they are the engine that drives the machine that fills the coffers of his benefactor, Art Pope. Like free-market fundamentalists everywhere, Hood understands that a permanent and disadvantaged underclass is key to the economic model he so happily advocates. And if a few unlucky souls have to die at the altar of property rights, well, that's just tough shit.
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Bravo, -A-
You have, as usual, accurately described Hood, Pope, et al and their efforts.
They don't care about the "every-man/woman", only those that have the money to pay to play.
Thomas S. Brock
www.brocknet.net
http://blogs.brocknet.net/brocklog/
My dream is that one day
every rag and so-called journalist that mislead the public will be tried for treason. Ok, ok, momo's world.
No matter that patriotism is too often the refuge of scoundrels. Dissent, rebellion, and all-around hell-raising remain the true duty of patriots.
Progressive Discussions
Cappy Bastards
I would like to commend you on your ever-vigilant effort to keep the capitalist pig-dogs in check, comrade. It is an insult to every citizen who has virtuously abandoned the free exercise of thought in order to espouse a more enlightened ideology which is pursuant to the greater social good that such heretics should be allowed to freely spread such malicious ideas. Indeed, the underlying fault of the pig-dogs is a complete lack of self-discipline. Given that the government is in a better position to decide which policies produce the greatest societal benefit than individuals, the refusal of the pig-dogs to quietly accept that the government make the best decisions for them and benevolently work for the benefit of society is indicative of this lack of self-discipline. Instead, they seek to derail society by making decisions in their own self-interest.
Moreover, the type of insiduous ideas spread by these pig-dogs are designed to relegate mankind to a state of rebellion and uncertainty; a state of being which they conveniently enshrine as "freedom." The only true path to freedom is to relieve people from the burdens of making personal decisions which they have no need of making. True freedom is freedom from insiduous dissension or even the from temptation to dissent. As I have discussed before, we, as enlightened citizens have recourse to aid our maligned fellow citizens and cure them of the dimentia which gives rise to such dissension.
We must also, however, continue to remain vigilant in safeguarding our freedoms away from private individuals. GOOD WORK, COMRADE ANGLICO! I commend you in your efforts.
Enlightened citizens of America...I call on you to cast off archaic notions of private property and cede your belongings to the omnipotent state. Follow me, comrades, into the enlightened century of benevolent central planning! Vive la revolution!
Not so funny
When the individual making the "personal" decision is three generations out from being a slave and is now working in a smoke-filled bar/restaurant 12 hours a day in a distressed community where no other jobs exist . . .
. . . well, your attempts at humor just aren't very funny.
Two things:
First, Hunter S. Thompson (May he live forever) has already done the "pig" thing as an insult. You are not allowed to use it unless you are as clever witty and funny.
Second, if you are going to criticize the smoking ban, try something other than "property" rights. That is an over used argument of the right-wing corporate-elite who themselves have no real belief in private property. They only believe in THIER private property.
Myself, I don't like the smoking ban, mainly because FL went to that when I was still a smoker and it is a sin not to be able to smoke in Waffle House at four o'clock in the morning after last call. But then that is just me. (I have deeper ideological reasons too, but I am lazy and don't want to type them out.)
All in all, I think our comrade (isn't it great that the right has turned this word and what it symbolizes [communities working together in brother and sisterhood] into a bad thing. Sure the soviets helped, but come on!) has simply proven that certain kinds of people just shouldn't try and be funny.
CM
--
The Great appear great because we are on our knees – Let Us Rise!
-- “Big Jim” Larkin
Officer! That's him! With the rain coat and nothing under it
Cappy Bastards
comrademikey
I would like to commend you on your ever-vigilant effort to keep the capitalist pig-dogs in check, comrade. It is an insult to every citizen who has virtuously abandoned the free exercise of thought in order to espouse a more enlightened ideology *comrademikey aka John Hood in a bad impression of a loyal communist deep within the Fascist Pope Cell.
John! Have you consider working for the Blackwater disinformation group now since Congress is cutting off your conservative republican war mongering funds? And stop watching those John Wayne movies and hanging out in those Orange county porn shops to catch liberals.
Oh no, he's on to us!
a fourth technique is to ignore
available information that proves their contentions are pure horseshit.
Example...their fight against carbon credits, etc., for environmental reasons...which they screamed would exorbitantly increase our power bills Another state that had actually already done this produced a report showing the kwh rate went up something like $0.00147
I wrote them on this one and, as usual, they don't reply when you've got em by the ears and are sticking their face in it (the horseshit)..
SE NC Dems