Daily Topics - Wednesday - April 28th 2010
By louisehartmann
Hour One - Economist Dr. John Lott - Are fears of Arizona's immigration law bogus!?? www.johnrlott.blogspot.com Hour Two - Dan Gainor www.businessandmedia.org - Visibly carried guns and alcohol...free speech?
Hour Three - Dr. Heidi Beirich www.splcenter.org - What if all the anti-immigration activities in America were started by one man?
Comments
#2
Welcome to the blog USMCjock. Hope you have as much fun with this bunch as I do.
#3
Nice link, the bloggers on Rachels' site are quite vicious (seems the less intelligent, the more vicious too, but that just may be my point of view coloring my judgement).
Anyway, things don't start really to get going around here until about a 1/2 hour into the show, worthwhile to be here for it.
N
#4
Rachel Maddow does a great job with the information she will share with her viewers.
#5
I thought that I would share with you another of my favorite pastimes.
#6
I am very concerned for our young students. Their hatred and bullying tactics are starting to take hold within their psyche. They learn from adults, such as Limbaugh and Beck as well as their parents. We are losing our precious youngsters to hatred.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=why-soldiers-get-a-kick-out-of-kill-2010-04-23
#7
We are NURTURING our precious youth to be enthusiastic killers.
#8
I just heard the news on KPOJ talk about the oil spill; burning the oil before it reaches the mouth of the Mississippi River, home of "thousands of species"?!? Thats not true..at the mouth of the Mississippi is a "dead zone" the size of New Hampshire. Does anybody else see a huge disconnect here?
#9
Another thing..If cell phones and texting causes so many auto accidents, how come we haven't heard anything in the news about sharp increases in auto insurance rates?
#10
oh, and Maxrot..what does the "N" mean at the bottom of your note? If we're choosing letters, I'll take
O
#11
@harry ashburn
I think maxrot use to go by "nels" before the website was changed and people lost their old identities.
Doh!
#12
O
#13
harry, harry, harry, why must you persist with this issue about the oil rig? Come on now, its not getting that much press, it really isn't a big deal. If it was a big deal do you think the administration would be backing more off shore drilling? Now then, burning is quite a good idea, think of it as killing two birds with one stone, first the fish are marinated in oil then deep fried (this fits in well with Thom's food topic last week... what was it again? Fast Food Favorites of America... I'm pretty sure it was something like that). Water fowl will also be on the menu (tastes like chicken, mmm delicious). Really, I think you should be thanking BP and all the wonderful oil companies for this blessing they have bestowed upon the shores of the Gulf States. The summer season is getting kicked of with the worlds largest clam bake sponsored by the Oil Companies.
N
#14
Well yes my name is Nels, and yes I throw the N at the bottom for those prefer to call me out by name on this blog. Its just my acknowledgement to them that I'm still the same ol' jackass they knew way back when. Want me to really blow your minds, my first and last name: Nels Nelsen perhaps I'll just put Nels(en) at the bottom of my messages.
#15
@Maxrot: of course you're right and I stand corrected. Also, thanx for the generous donation!
Just don't ask me to eat any of the critters caught from the dead zone. They cant be of this earth.
O
#16
@Nelsmaxrot: I think my point was there's no living creatures in the "dead zone"., so how can the oil spill threaten "thousands of species" at the mouth of the Mississippi?
The whole gulf coast is a toxic dump to begin with, so, no, i dont think this oil spill is as big a deal as Exxon Valdiz.
#17
harry, there are starving kids in China that would love that... ummm uhhh that... I don't know, but they would love to have something deep fried like that, so you just eat it and be happy (remember if it doesn't come back up, its good for you).
N
#18
@Maxrot, considering most of China is more toxic even than the gulf coast, "dead zone" chow would probably be less harmful than local food.
#19
point taken harry, I understood it when you wrote it. But I'm thinking that this oil slick isn't going to be so kind as to remain in the 'Dead Zone' only. Unless the whole Gulf is such a zone (I wouldn't know, never been there) wouldn't be surprised if it was though, corporate oil has had is way in the area from way back when by my understanding.
N
#20
@Nels you oughta see Texas City. Looks like the ash pit in The Great Gatsby. Other-worldly, with gas flumes and orange sky.
"Whatever happens, the U.S. Navy is not going to be caught napping."
- Frank Knox, U.S. Secretary of the Navy, on December 4, 1941
#21
How about this for a t-shirt in AZ, I'm proud to be an Illegal Alien, I come from the United States of America.
N
#22
@Maxrot, you need a slogan that includes native americans
#23
Important Recent Post
A week or two ago Robert S. posted the text of a 1999 article by William Blum by the title of "A Brief History of U.S. Interventions: 1945 to the Present. I think it is one of the most important things posted on this blog since I started reading it over a year ago.
The list was overwhelming and I'm sure there were omissions. I recall hearing Stephen Kinzer speaking about his book "Overthrow". He said that whenever he spoke about his book people would raise U.S. interventions that he'd omitted from his book. He always explained that he left out the particular incident raised because it didn't meet the criteria he set for the book; that the U.S. was the main force behind the "overthrow". After one talk an older gentleman approached him and said that he'd left out Portugal to which Kinzer responded that he wasn't aware that the U.S. was involved in that coup (1950s or 60s, I think). The man told him that he knew that we were because he occupied the number two desk at the CIA station that organized the coup.
This article is 12 pages long. I'm giving a link to it because the formatting is much better than in Robert's post. I think it's a must read because it exposes the true nature of U.Sl foreign policy. One warning though. If you read this artice (and you should) you might turn into Gerald.
Doh!
http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Blum/US_Interventions_WBlumZ.html
#24
Renquist didn't just challenge Latinos and Indians to prove their citizenship. He approached Blacks, Latinos, and Indians and administered literacy tests, using things like law books, dinging them if they they couldn't read all of the words or explain the meaning of what they read.
I was at the confirmation hearings to confirm Renquist as Chief Justice.Witness after witness testified about how he or she had been questioned by Renquist.
He personally and with great enthusiasm administered literacy tests to block non-whites from voting!
You bet this is aimed at no small part at suppressing non-Republican votes.
#25
For info on the Dead Zone in the Gulf of Mexico, go here. Memo to mstaggerlee, not related to the Phil Zone, despite the name...
#26
re my reference to Portugal
I said that I knew Blum's article wasn't complete (even for the period it covered) and I mentioned Portugal in reference to Stephen Kinzer's excellent book "Overthrow". I did a word search for "Portugal" in Blum's article and it only appeared once, but that was in reference to Indonesia and East Timor.
Doh!
#27
@Maxrot: you said: "We are NURTURING our precious youth to be enthusiastic killers."
you are so right and its so tragic. The local news shows a group of 4th graders going to junior soldier camp at a military base, wearing junior uniforms and riding in vehicles; prepping to sign up. And the news crew is so enthusiastic!
reminds me of when news covers a poor Iraqi wounded kid coming to the US for surgery, they go awww....cute little guy ,so brave,and arent we good to fix him up for free? After having rooting for war for 10 years.
#28
Hi, Thomm,
Instead of wearing your birth certificate on your shirt, which may expose you to identity theft, wear one of these t-shirts asking "Do I look illegal?"
http://act.bravenewfilms.org/go/55?akid=1010.1060333.-RHH1Q&t=2
Count me as another American non-lawyer waiting for a clear definition of "reasonable suspicion"
Thanks for all you do!
#29
Ironically harry, Mexicans are native Americans, for the most part they descend from the Aztecs. Also, prior to white men conquering and seizing the Southwest, all the naturalized citizens were Mexicans (who subjugated the indigenous tribes where necessary). I'd love to see the Mexican families that whose families lived in AZ prior to 1848 start there own anti-illegal seizure of lands party.
N
#30
@harry, I wasn't talking about our youth, I think that was Gerald. Agree with his comment though.
N
#31
Thom how about - Totalitarian?
#32
@Meet John Doh,
Thanks for the reinforcement, the formatting of my posting of Mr. Blum's worthy piece was a result of the failure of the website here to recognize the paragraphs in the original, and my lazyness in fixing the same. The shear size of the document made it a formidable visual, even if it made it difficult to read.
@Harry,
Thanks for mentioning the passing of Jack Herrer, I had the opportunity to meet him a few times before he suffered the stroke a number of years back. Beyond the obvious topic, he was an individual deeply interested in language, and had a whole collection of index cards related to words and their derivations, or etymology. An interesting man, and not a one song troubadour.
#33
The Drug War exception to the Fourth Amendment is long established...as per callers worry.
#34
harry, I went to Google Earth and checked out Texas City, looks like quite the lively Ghost Town.
#35
Coldstone Creamery is based in AZ!, I can't in good conscience boycott Coldstone, my wife will divorce me on the spot!
N
#36
@Robert S.
I was about to send out a search party for you. I hadn't seen you post here since last Wednesday when you had an energetic exchange with Mark K and the next day Mark posted a message, under a new name, saying that he had "an account outage". I took that to mean that his membership had been revoked for the way he conducted himself in that conversation (although that's how he always conducted himself, I could write a book about that topic) and I was afraid you were collateral damage. The fact that his posts from Thursday (under the name constantine) seem to have disappeared and you were MIA reinforced my suspicion.
Glad you're still here. You saved me the embarrassament of starting a "We want Robert S. back" protest movement. I was going to launch yesterday, but I was waiting for Quark to be here because I figured could count on her and her good heart for support.
#37
I've heard a few recent talks by Charles Bowden recently, here is a link to one, from Democracy Now!:
Charles Bowden on “Murder City: Ciudad Juárez and the Global Economy’s New Killing Fields”
First Lady Michelle Obama arrived in Mexico City Tuesday night after making a stop in Haiti on her first official trip abroad without the president. Her trip to Mexico comes as a new report by the Mexican government has found the death toll from the so-called drug war is much higher than previously thought. Nearly 23,000 people have been killed in drug-related violence in Mexico since a US-backed military crackdown on cartels began more than three years ago. The report said 2009 was the deadliest year in the drug war, with over 9,600 people killed. The death toll is on track to be even higher in 2010. We speak to reporter Charles Bowden, author of Murder City: Ciudad Juárez and the Global Economy’s New Killing Fields
Until such time as we end the War on Some Drugs, we are locked into an increasingly militarized paradigm which is coming closer and closer to home. The recent immigration debacle in Arizona is only one manifestation of the criminalization of the other. We can trace the rhetoric of the drug war and the criminalization of the other from the Reefer Madness epoch into the present.
#38
Thom,
I understand where you're coming from regarding the proposed Arizona boycotts. However, I was living in Arizona when the state did not want to recognize Martin Luther King Day as a state holiday. As I understand it, the NFL that basically boycotted Arizona as a location for the Super Bowl if the state did not recognize MLK Day. It seemed to be enough of an incentive for Arizonans to eventually approve the hoiday by ballot.
#39
@Meet John Doh! the blog wouldn't be the same without Zero G. It would be like losing rladlof, mstaggerlee, Foodfacist, DDay (who's been too busy to post lately... miss him), Quark, harry or Gerald (even if he does intimidate some, I still like him). There are more, but you get my point, there are just so many great contributors here.
N
#40
Hi everyone!
I just got back from a workout with my ex-FBI profiler friend. As we were pulling into the parking lot of the fitness center, we saw a young man loping along the sidewalk in front. He had a guitar and a shot gun on his back. Jane and I got out of the car and tried to see where he went. He just seemed to disappear.
I had to wonder if he was going to shoot someone, then sing a song about it! Creepy.
#41
Although I have never met Dan Gainor and do not know him, there is a chance that he is kind to animals. Unfortunately, the opinions he expresses are typically harmful to human beings.
This does not mean that he hates humans . . .
#42
-blushing-
My absence wasn't related to the dust-up with Mark, it was solely because I don't always have an opportunity to participate everyday. That said, it did frustrate me that I could be so misunderstood, but, you can't please everyone, and I no longer try to.
Why does Dan Gainor have such a presence on this show, I rarely even pay attention to his segments.
#43
None of these new Arizona Laws
Would have been signed into law if Governor Janet Napolitano had not been moved to Homeland Security by the newly elected President Obama. He did the same favor for Virginia... removing their newly minted and hard fought governor Tim Kaine to head the DNC, ousting the grass roots favorite, Howard Dean.
First week in office, Rahm Emmanuel returns and the above happens. And we continue to think this guy is playing chess on our behalf? How STUPID can democrats be?
#44
@Maxrot re: Mexicans/Native Americans: You're right. In fact, many people who we brand as "hispanic" are actually american indians of the southwest who were given hispanic names by the Spanish padres.
#45
Gainor "We don't need to make things harder" (for gun owners). So therefore, we must make it easier for them to carry them, especially when they're going to engage in an activity that impairs good judgment. Way to go Gainor, still proving you're an incredible douchey ass hat.
N
#46
Robert S.,
Thom and Dan Gainor are friends. That doesn't always make for a good conversation.
#47
Yellowbird7,
I guess we know by now that Obama spent the first year playing checkers and dithering.
#48
"We're going to overturn this unjust and racist law, and then we're going to overturn the power structure that created this unjust, racist law," - Az Congressman Raul Grijalva, who supports the boycott of his home state.
#49
Yellowbird7 meet rladlof, rladlof meet Yellowbird7, you two might just find a lot to talk about, both of you seem to be singing the same tune. (Not knocking your point-of-views in the least by the way).
@Quark, how did your ex-FBI profiler friend profile this guitar/shot gun toter?
N
#50
@MAXROT: There is no actual evidence that Dan Gainor IS an “incredible douchey ass hat.” The ideas he regularly and consistently expresses are sound “incredibly douchey” and have the definite flavor of “asshatery.”
He might be kind to animals.
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Hi Thom, just registered with your site. Brand new listener. Thom, this is FRIGHTENING --just pulled from talkingpoinsmemo.com
http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2010/04/27/4210613-racist-roots-of-arizonas-immigration-law