Was there ANYTHING in Joe Wilson's "YOU LIE!" outburst that could even be REMOTELY construed as based in racism??

ANYTHING at all??

The absolute ONLY thing "racist" about the incident was that the person who was mistaken was black and the accuser was white.

That's it.

How can ANYONE come away with, "Oh he's just a racist!" based on that??

The ONLY way is by being pre-disposed to crying RACISM where none exists..

Michale....

The fact that the GOP does it as well is equally abhorrent, but that doesn't mitigate that the race card is, predominantly, a Dem strategy...

One only has to see the current ACORN and "YOU LIE" issues to see it..

Michale.....

You forgot to mention the fact that the GOP is now not just stoking racism and fear, they're raising money off it. From a GOP "questionnaire" (actually a fund-raising letter):

"Are you concerned that health care rationing could lead to:

25. A "quota" system which would determine who would determine who would get treatment on the basis of race or age?"

But, of course, it's those dastardly Democrats who keep bringing up race, right? Except for when Republicans try to raise money off fears that your doctor will not see you because there's someone of another race in line in front of you.

Sheesh.

-CW

Imagine for a moment if, next week, Obama did a nationwide television address from an historic location in Columbia, South Carolina, and standing by the president’s side were Congressman Wilson along with his entire family. Michelle, Malia, and Sasha should also be on the platform right next to the Wilson clan.

As a result, Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream will have to continue waiting for a real leader to surface before it finally comes true.

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2009/09/21/noel-sheppard-health-care-race/

Couldn't have said it better myself..

Michale....

http://www.aarp.org/community/groups/displayTopic.bt?pageNum=1&groupId=1472&topicId=4316212

This is, pretty much, Obama's READ MY LIPS moment...

Michale.....

"For example…….???????"

That's why I have a blog, folks!

I'll take that as an invitation. :D

Michale.....

That's why I have a blog, folks!

Chris, I just looked at an interesting poll:

http://www.pollster.com/blogs/sixtyfive_views_of_hc_reform_o.php

For example.......???????

Michale.....

New "leaderboard" page is up for all-time lists of MIDOTW and MDDOTW award recipients! Check it out:

http://www.chrisweigant.com/index.php/ftpstats/

And thanks to Liz for first suggesting the term "leaderboard" as it's definitely a "keeper"!

:-)

OK, we now return you to the comment thread already in progress... oh, and pizza and beer is just fine with me!

-CW

I think you may owe Chris the internet(s)' equivalent of dinner - and we're all invited! :)

Hope everyone likes Pizza n Beer.... :D

Michale.....

Because I recall how, in the 2008 elections, I brought up time and time again the malfeasance of ACORN, only to be told that ACORN is as pure as the driven snow and all but the second coming.....

.....or words to that effect.. :D

This is an I TOLD YA'ALL SO moment.. Let me enjoy it. :D

If you're so concerned with government abuse, why not be angry at the $700+ billion given to the financial industry?

I am firmly on record at being royally pissed off at that as well... :D Not to mention the Auto Bailout and DunselCare as well... :D

Is it really just that you don't like the idea of a group that helps register poor people to vote because you think they'll vote Democratic?

I don't mind that whatsoever. As long as said groups play by the rules.

It's obvious to everyone NOW that ACORN has not. It was obvious to only me (at least here on cw.com) during the 2008 elections. As I mention above, this is my ITYS moment.. :D

And "hysterical left"? Not sure who you're talking to on this blog. Everyone seems pretty rational here and I don't think anyone has called anyone a racist. So not sure who you're yelling at to "please, please PLEASE get this thru yer thick skulls…"

Good point.. That particular rant WAS directed at the Hysterical Left, not to any of the regulars here. But who knows how many from the HL lurk here.. So it was for their benefit... As an aside, if you happen to know anyone from the Hysterical Left, please pass on my rant. And let them know that they deal racially equality a severe blow every time they scream RACISM where none exists.. :D

Peace as always,

Never a doubt... :D

Michale.....

On an interesting sidenote, I think the "welfare queens driving Cadillacs" story is a cross-cultural myth. When I was in Turkey, I heard them tell a story repeatedly about homeless beggars on the streets who went home to mansions at night.

The interplay at work here is between the middle class and poor. The middle class believe they work hard for their money and that it is solely the result of their efforts. Not disputing the truth of this, but what it also tends to lead them to believe is that everyone who is poor does not work hard or must somehow be gaming the system.

Guess it makes it easier to ignore the poor if you think it's their own fault or that somehow they really aren't poor.

Michale-
Why are you so obsessed with ACORN? And c'mon, ACORN=crime syndicate? Please.

If you're so concerned with government abuse, why not be angry at the $700+ billion given to the financial industry?

3,000,000
700,000,000,000

If ACORN is a crime syndicate, they're not going to be a very successful one helping the poor.

Is it really just that you don't like the idea of a group that helps register poor people to vote because you think they'll vote Democratic?

And "hysterical left"? Not sure who you're talking to on this blog. Everyone seems pretty rational here and I don't think anyone has called anyone a racist. So not sure who you're yelling at to "please, please PLEASE get this thru yer thick skulls…"

Peace as always,
David

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125329467451823485.html

If the Administration follows thru with this, it would be a GOOD thing to do..

Michale.....

Save ya a lot of work cleaning up my messes.. :D

Michale.....

The video sting team was thrown out of quite a few of these offices (the more honest ones, perhaps).

That's ACORN's claim.. It's never been substantiated.

Matter of fact, some of the offices that ACORN claims the filmmakers were "thrown out of", they (the filmmakers) had video of helping with illegal activities.

So that claim of ACORN's appears to be a false one.

There's a few bad apples. They were fired immediately.

ACORN claimed that the filmmakers dubbed over audio to make the workers say things that weren't really said. If this is true, then why were the workers fired??

But isn't this exactly the same thing that you rail against "the left" for doing to the military? "Few bad apples, all the US military is a criminal organization, they're all psychos and killers, baby-killers! Baby-killers!"

While the concept is the same, the percentages don't match.

Using your number of 75 ACORN offices, 5 of them being bad equals 6.6 percent.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were total of 2.6 million service men and women in 2007. I am not sure if this includes Reserves and National Guard, but let's go with this number.

Using the ACORN percentages, there would have to be 171,600 child rapes/Abu Graihbes/Baby Killers for the situations to be similar all within the span of a month.

I see what you are saying and you do raise a good point. As I said above, giving ACORN the benefit of the doubt, they probably started with the best of intentions.

My only point is that, in the 2008 elections, the ACORN issues were pooh-poohed away as nothing but right wing fanaticism. It seems that the problems from ACORN back then were just the tip of the ice berg.

Which is simply a more diplomatic way of saying, "I told ya so!" :D

Kanye, well, I thought what he said about Bush and Katrina was pretty brave.

"There you go again."
-Ronald Reagan

:D

Both instances were stupid, moronic and borne of complete ignorance and self-centerness.

In the Katrina instance, it was simply another ignorant low-life crying WOLF about racism.

Michale.....

I'm not defending ACORN per se here, but seriously, they have like 75 local offices in cities across America. The video sting team was thrown out of quite a few of these offices (the more honest ones, perhaps). There's a few bad apples. They were fired immediately.

But isn't this exactly the same thing that you rail against "the left" for doing to the military? "Few bad apples, all the US military is a criminal organization, they're all psychos and killers, baby-killers! Baby-killers!"

Would you indict everyone who wears the uniform over the actions taken at Abu Graib? Or any other military scandal from some low-ranking member (like, say, a child rape on Okinawa)? If you're going to complain about generalizing from people you don't agree with, don't be so quick to do it against other organizations.

I actually think it'll ultimately be good for ACORN to get off the federal dime. I think they'll be just fine with private money. But I realize I'm in a minority on the left on that one.

Oh, and I fixed your tags. Gotta be careful about mixing up "b" tags and "i" tags!

:-)

Kanye, well, I thought what he said about Bush and Katrina was pretty brave. I thought what he did recently was pretty downright stupid, and rude. Perceptions differ depending on the context, I guess.

I've been thinking about racism, and my thoughts are "it is not binary" -- it is not "you are a racist" or "you are not a racist" but rather a spectrum. I may write about it next week, though, still thinking about it. But it did strike me this week, that there are a hardcore who HATE any president not of "their side." Obama, WBush, Clinton, (to a lesser extent) HWBush, Reagan, Carter, (again, to a lesser extent, except about the pardon) Ford, Nixon -- they've all had a hardcore segment of the population who absolutely HATED them. It's got me thinking about the big picture....

Osborne Ink -

Pretty funny, huh? When I pasted in the lyrics, I read them through, and thought "Whoa, I better warn people they're kidding!" But they most assuredly are...

The Austin Lounge Lizards are hilarious -- check out their "banjo/bluegrass" version of Pink Floyd's "Brain Damage" too (last song on "Dark Side Of The Moon") if you want a real laugh...

[Ba-twanga-twanga-twanga, Twanga-twanga-TWANG! "I'll see you on the dark side of the MO-OO-OON!"] Heh heh...

Elizabeth -

Answered you over on HuffPost. Thanks for you continuing support! It's fans like you who keep me going...

nypoet22 -

If you read the columns backwards (right-to-left) you'll discover the secret hidden message! Heh heh.

Seriously, though, "Shana tova... Shana tova umetukah!"

Thanks to everyone for the anniversary wishes, too!

-CW

I think you may owe Chris the internet(s)' equivalent of dinner - and we're all invited! :)

I can remember my reaction upon first reading this column...it went something like this...

Hummph...talking points...the only people who need talking points are the ones who don't understand the first thing about what they are talking about...Senator Biden doesn't need talking points...he knows these issues, inside and out. And, he's not exactly the type who would stick to such a script, in any event.

Well, some things never change...but, I have become a huge fan of Friday Talking Points - mostly because these columns are so extremely well written and chock full of all kinds of information, historical context, music, awards (even one for Biden, every now and again...I think we may be due, by the way - but, the honorable mention here was very nice) and, to top it all off, they’re infused with laugh out loud humour...as all of your other columns are, literally! And, God knows, we have needed those laughs over the last couple of years.

I hope you intend to put all of these columns into book form someday - it would be a phenomenal retrospective and one that I would certainly treasure.

Here's looking forward, with no small amount of anticipation, to another years worth of http://FTP...and beyond!

Congrats on the 2 Year Anniversary!!! :D I am proud to say that I have been here the entire two years, giving you headaches all along the way!! :D

Could you please fix my attributes above? :D

Michale.....

Now, ACORN has been a favorite target of Republicans for years, because their whole purpose in life is to help poor people.

Assumes facts not in evidence.

It seems to me that, with all the criminal activity, embezzlement and the like, ACORN's whole purpose in life is to help ACORN..

But maybe that's just me...

But I keep thinking about the core mission of ACORN, which (again) is to help poor people.

And if ACORN had STUCK to that "core mission" then ACORN would not be in the problems it has now..

Let's not forget the FACTS here... Five (count them... 1 2 3 4 5) distinct and separate offices of ACORN have gone out of their way to try and help a pimp and a prostitute set up a brothel with underage foreign children..

One office may be a fluke.. Two offices may be a coincidence. Three offices, an intelligent person would go, "hmmmmmm"...

But FIVE (1 2 3 4 5) different offices in widely separate areas of the country???

That's nothing but a criminal enterprise, pure and simple...

I won't even bother going into the criminal (CRIMINAL!!) arrests that have been made of ACORN personnel for voter fraud..

Come'on... Let's call a spade a spade. ACORN is a criminal organization. Granted, it may not have started out to be one. It's mission, in the beginning, might have been legitimate.

But now?? At best, it's a bunch of opportunists trying to squeeze money to further criminal acts.
At worse, it's nothing but a crime syndicate.

. But this week, we've got to hand Rocky IV has very first Most Impressive Democrat Of The Week award, for immediately coming out against Max Baucus' healthcare reform bill.

"WHOOAAA!!! WAITAMINUTE!!!!
-Ralph Macchio, MY COUSIN VINNY

Ya are actually against the Senate Finance Committee's DunselCare bill???

On healthcare reform, Obama needs to do a much better job of using human examples of why the system is broken,

The problem with Obama using Human Stories to sell DunselCare, is that often times, the stories are false.

"Well, that was supposed to be off the record, but you're right, I did call Kanye West a jackass. I apologize if my language offended anyone, but I think I spoke for most of the country on that matter, and I stand behind what I said. Don't you think he was a jackass?"

Hooooraaaaaa!!!!! :D

For the record, West is, and always has been, a jackass... It's a common affliction. People actually start believing their own press releases...

Happens in politics as well.... :D

Not racism, but lunacy and hatred

Let me repeat that for you.

NOT RACISM!!!

Here's a shocker for those on the hysterical Left.

It IS possible to disagree with a black person and it NOT be racism..

I know, I know.. The hysterical Left just cannot seem to come to grips with that fact, but it is the truth..

So, please, please PLEASE get this thru yer thick skulls...

Not every questioning of Obama's methods and/or capability is steeped in racism..

Got that?

And just let me add that these false claims of racism is a personal pet peeve of mine. Because, when every Tom, Dick Or Harry (or, this case Al, Jesse or Jimmy) cries RACISM at every little fracking thing, it detracts and diminishes instances of REAL racism.

In short, by crying "wolf" (racism) when there is none, no one is going to give a flying frack when there IS racism..

So, give it a rest already.. Jeeezus....

Did you see the poll last week where eight percent of people polled in New Jersey — and 14 percent of Republicans in the state — flat-out believe I'm the 'Anti-Christ'?

Yea, about 34% of Hillary supporters said the same thing... :D I believe they were all Democrats...

Michale.....