The PCTC Blog

Yes, John; "The Prez" CAN Sleep at Night. Why Freedom of Speech Entails Responsibility

Okay, so I open up my Twitter feed earlier this afternoon, and the following Tweet, by one John Cusack (the actor), smacks me in the face.

          

Now, there are two ways to take the above. Either he sincerely hopes the president is able to do his difficult yet challenging job, and is able to sleep despite the numerous difficult decisions he must make every day. Let’s hope he doesn’t sweat tiny details. On that, we agree; why would anyone want a job like the President’s, where one is daily asked to makes Hobson’s-style Choices.

The second way to take the above is as sarcastic; a cowardly dig at a president who has to make decisions every day that can potentially effect billions of people, from an actor who pretty much never has to decide between life and death for anyone of any significance.

Be Skeptical: George Soros Didn't REALLY Say Obama/Romney Same

I’ve been writing a lot lately about the importance of checking facts and making sure those you’re being fed are actually as represented. Here's a perfect example of what I'm talking about. There was a story about George Soros floating around the left and right blogospheres yesterday, that revolves around an interview Mr. Soros gave to Reuters, in which he was asked about the coming election.

The headline on most news stories and blog posts was a variation on “Soros: Not Much Difference Between Him and Romney,” with honest bloggers and publications adding an ellipsis, and the “less honest” adding a period, or implying that was the entire quote. Many of the right wing bloggers put Romney’s name first because, well, they hate Romney. Here’s a Google search on the above headline:

Pro Lefties' and Advanced ODS (Obama Derangement Syndrome): Case Study: Robert Scheer

I woke up this morning preparing to finish a post on capitalism and the right wing this morning, so that I could put it up this weekend, when I received an email from the “Truthdig!” web site. The author, who is also the Editor of Truthdig, was Robert Scheer. I dropped my capitalism post immediately, out of concern for what has to be the worst case of Obama Derangement Syndrome I've ever seen in a professional lefty. 

Robert Scheer was a liberal reporter and columnist of incredible note for many years. I’ve been a fan of his since I was a kid. Unlike many on the professional left, Scheer has unquestionable journalistic chops. He’s one of the few on the professional left who can boast of Pulitzers and legitimate acclaim. 

So, when I found the following article linked in my email this morning, I was concerned. If ODS can hit a pro lefty with his reputation, is anyone really safe? Here's the article of which I speak. 

Obama’s Faux Populism Sounds Like Bill Clinton

Pro Left Insult Obama Every Chance They Get: Case Study #2: Huffington, Michael Moore

If you want to quibble with President Obama’s State of the Union address last night, feel free. This is a free country, after all, even if the right wing would like for everyone to be less free. But the speech was masterful for two reasons. First, it laid out a bold vision for the future that every progressive should be excited about. But just as importantly, it used the Republican Party’s own rhetoric to frame the issues, which means they'll have to abandon the few principles they have left, to attack Obama. This should make progressives downright giddy.

Yet, my Twitter feed has been chock full of naysayers this morning; mostly, they’re self-professed “progressives” who are managing to twist themselves into something of a pretzel shape in order to backhand President Obama for not being perfect. The professional left have been particularly harsh.

Arianna Huffington, for example, Tweeted the following first thing this morning:

 

On Skepticism

You know why Fox News is so popular? This may seem strange, but it’s precisely because they don’t tell the truth. They tell people what they want to hear. Many people have preconceived notions about how things should be, and they like to feel validated, regardless of the lack of truth contained in their opinions. In other words, right wingers tend to be low-information types, and they care more about seeing their opinions being validated than telling the truth.

One thing you can count on from extremists; they don’t care about the truth much at all. And if you think only right wing extremists fall victim to the Fox News curse, then you need to pay better attention. Many on the professional left sell us misinformation in much the same way. If you fall for someone trying to flatter you into believing something they want you to believe, and you don't check the facts, that makes you just as gullible as those poor saps who depend on Fox News for all of their information. 

Here are a few facts to chew on:

The Main (But not the only) Reason to Vote Democratic; The Current GOP Sucks; Here's Proof

You've heard this from me many times over the years, but both parties are NOT the same, and anyone who says such a thing is not an "expert," no matter how he/she portray themselves.

The 2012 election is a crucial one for progressives. This is our tipping point; if we don't make our mark now, we risk becoming a historical asterisk. We have allowed the right wing to pretty much run the show for the last 32 years, and it's time to take the country back. I'm not talking about marching and singing and playing political theater. I'm talking about opening our eyes and seeing the real problem with our politics and getting rid of it. 

 Whether you like it or not, the economy will always be the number one issue, regardless of the year. But the Republican Party still touts economic policies which were proven wrong many years ago, like supply-side economics, which is often called "trickle-down." Unless we're comparing the economy to molasses, a lot more should have "trickled down" to us by now, don't you think? It has been 32 years, after all. 

Pro Lefties Can't Give Obama Credit for ANYTHING. Case Study #1: FDL

I’m really not all that worried about President Obama winning reelection. The GOP Klown Kar is doing all it can to help Obama win another four years. Seriously, if the best they can do is Willard Romney, progressives will have to screw this one up worse than we did in 2000. 

Yes, progressives; it wasn’t the Katherine Harris or the Supreme Court that decided that election; Even running an admittedly lousy campaiogn the choice of Al Gore over George W. Bush should have been a no-brainer for progressives, including Ralph Nader, Michael Moore and the like. But alas, those savvy political thinkers on the professional left undermined Gore mercilessly, while leaving Bush untouched.

That was twelve years ago, and you’d think such savvy political thinkers might have learned a little something by now.  After all, they’re supposed to be “professionals” right? And aren’t professionals supposed to be better than the rest of us amateurs at politics?

They haven’t learned much of anything.

Last Word on NDAA: If You Don't Like it, Stop Helping Right Wingers Win!

See, the problem with us progressives is, many of us think we know all about issues, but we don’t. We get so bogged down in pointless minutiae, we completely lose sight of the issues themselves. The funny thing is, some "progressives" PRIDE themselves for knowing about millions of small details on every issue, at the same time they lose sight of the big picture, and what politics is REALLY about.

Take the NDAA, for example. Oh, my, are some people on the left pissed off about this! It started with the professional left, but a lot of far lefties took up the mantle. 

Oh, my goodness, folks! The entire republic is about to go up in flames because the president might actually be able to imprison some non-citizens indefinitely during a war! Gosh, when has that ever happened, right? And it’s ALL President Obama’s fault! That hopey changey bastard! How DARE he sign a bill that passed with a veto-proof majority in which 2 of its 565 pages were flawed?