Irene

NOAA Irene Updates

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Old Yeller - Rick Perry Aggie Prop

Correction: The photo above is not Rick Perry. It's another Texas A&M Yell Leader. Thanks to an anonymous commenter for bringing this to my attention. I found another photo online of the student yell leader pictured above and sure nuff, just as the commenter noted - it's not Rick Perry in the photo above. Rick Perry (age 22) was an Aggie yell leader but that ain't him. However, the corndog molestation photo below IS Rick Perry (age unknown):




This is a photo of Barack Obama (age 22) graduating from Columbia University:





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Late Summer Post

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Vast Pretense

compare and contrast

more on this here over here

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Barnstorm-door Open - or - Who Let the Crazies Into the Cornfield!

To the Bozo Barn for the T-Paw 2012. As you know, tomorrow ended yesterday (four yesterdays as of this posting) for Tim Pawlenty who, despite delivering a respectable third place finish in the Ames Straw Poll contest in Iowa, can now return to his role as Kenny Powers' sidekick Stevie Janowski in the HBO comedy series Eastbound and Down.





apologies to Steve Little (pictured at left above).

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More Turkeys in the Straw:

Surfside Beach mugwump mystic and liberty for Me tympanist Ron Paul managed to purchase second place in the Ames Straw Poll behind Iowa State Fair Corndong Princess Michele Bachmann.

Paul is essentially a Bourbon Democrat with a Bonnie Blue Flag in his garage and no-one at FOX News or the mainstream media in general (aside from maybe Glenn Greenwald) wants to write glowing goo-goo-eyed man-crush media narratives for someone as predicatably esoteric and ultimately un-message manageable as Ron Paul and his merry band of suburban anarchists, Tea Party confederates, Christian/patriot/militia movement paranoids and various late nineteenth century monetary policy tossbacks. Face it, one of Ron Paul's greateast advantage is that the media doesn't ask him any tough questions! Interestingly enough, the libertarian paradise of Somalia flys a Bonnie Blue flag too (in the event anyone can find it). Just sayin'.

Meanwhile, Moroni's million dollar showroom dummy Mitt Romney finished in sixth position behind the write-in insurgency of Texas tinhorn apostle and Kingdom Now putsch revivalist Rick Perry.

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Rick Perry's Charismatic Dominionist Clan Rally

Perry's surge in the straw poll followed his boosterism on behalf of The Respone: a Christianist jihadi jump-n-bawl held in Houston, Texas on August 6th (a week before the Ames Straw Poll voting) and organized to promote the theonomic deputations of the New Apostolic Reformation.


In the photo above Perry cuddles with NAR herald Alice Patterson, who considers the Democratic Party...

"an invisible network of evil comprising an unholy structure" released by Jezebel (emphasis in the original). [See: Texas Observer]

Patterson also holds the rare distinction of being an actual eyewitness to the diabolical schemings of the harlot Jezebel - and all her fiendish little friends - at a prayer meeting in 2009 (via the same Texas Observer article linked above):

I saw Jezebel's skirt lifted to expose tiny Baal, Asherah, and a few other spirits. There they were–small, cowering, trembling little spirits that were only ankle high on Jezebel's skinny legs.

Yeah, well, psychosis comes bundled with a variety of special effects options but I'm guessing that what she witnessed that day in 2009 may have been Gary Bauer and a pair of squirrels trapped inside of a collapsed patio table umbrella. Who can say for sure.

In any case, here are some other links to articles about Rick Perry and his connections to NAR and the Charismatic Dominionist movement as well as honorable mentions to Michele "ain't nothin' but a corndog" Bachmann and her connections to the Christian Reconstructionist camp.

More Stuff to Read

1. The Rise of Charismatic Dominionism (Updated) - by Rachel Tabachnick - Talk2Action

Michelle Goldberg's recent article warns that we now have two presidential candidates with "Dominionist" ties and explains what that means. Goldberg emphasizes the Dominionism of Christian Reconstructionism and the huge impact of the late Rousas J. Rushdoony on today's Religious Right. The Charismatic Dominionists of the New Apostolic Reformation have emerged as a political force and were the organizers and leaders of Rick Perry's prayer rally to kick-off his campaign. How is the Charismatic Dominionism of the NAR different from Reconstructionism and where do they overlap? Where did the unique components of NAR's theology come from?

2. ...Becoming Educated About the New Apostolic Reformation - by Rachel Tabachnick (Talk2Action)

In The Refomer's Pledge, C. Peter Wagner discusses why the long-promised "great transfer of wealth" from the ungodly to the godly, prophesied by numerous apostles, has yet to take place.

"... I believe God was waiting for the biblical government of the Church to come into place under apostles and prophets. But this happened in 2001, when, at least according to my estimates, the Second Apostolic Age began. What more? I now think that in order for us to be able to handle the wealth responsibly, we need to recognize, identify, affirm, and encourage the ministry of the apostles in the six non-Religion mountains. They may or may not want to use the term `apostle' but they will function in Kingdom-based leadership roles characterized by supernaturally empowered wisdom and authority. We have more work to do here."

3. Christian Plot for Domination?
- by Michele Goldberg (The Daily Beast)

Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry aren't just devout—both have deep ties to a fringe fundamentalist movement known as Dominionism, which says Christians should rule the world.

[...]

The Christian Reconstructionists tend to be skeptical of Pentecostalism, with its magic, prophesies, speaking in tongues, and wild ecstasies. Certainly, there are overlaps between the traditions—Oral Roberts, where Bachmann studied with Eidsmoe, was a Pentecostal school. But it’s only recently that one group of Pentecostals, the New Apostolic Reformation, has created its own distinct Dominionist movement. And members see Perry as their ticket to power.

“The New Apostles talk about taking dominion over American society in pastoral terms,” wrote Wilder in the Texas Observer. “They refer to the ‘Seven Mountains’ of society: family, religion, arts and entertainment, media, government, education, and business. These are the nerve centers of society that God (or his people) must control.” He quotes a sermon from Tom Schlueter, New Apostolic pastor close to Perry. “We’re going to infiltrate [the government], not run from it. I know why God’s doing what he’s doing ... He’s just simply saying, ‘Tom I’ve given you authority in a governmental authority, and I need you to infiltrate the governmental mountain."

4. Rick Perry's Army of God - by Forrest Wilder (Texas Observer).

A little-known movement of radical Christians and self-proclaimed prophets wants to infiltrate government, and Rick Perry might be their man.

[...]

The pastors told Perry of God’s grand plan for Texas. A chain of powerful prophecies had proclaimed that Texas was “The Prophet State,” anointed by God to lead the United States into revival and Godly government. And the governor would have a special role.

~::~::~::~::~::~

"I don’t know what you mean by ‘submissive'", Alice said.
Michele Bachmann smiled contemptuously. "Of course you don’t—till I tell you. 'It means respect'"
“But ‘submissive’ doesn’t mean ‘respect’,” Alice objected.
“When I use a word,” Michele Bachmann said, in rather a scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less.”

~::~::~::~::~::~

5. Bachmann Is Lying - by Frank Schaeffer (personal blog).

Are Michele Bachmann's Views About 'Christian Submission' Even More Extreme Than She's Letting On?

The people, churches and groups that shaped Bachmann's thinking are far more anti-woman than most Americans fully comprehend.

[...]

Bachmann's Reconstructionist Gurus

Besides my father, Bachmann signed on as a follower of other
leading “Reconstructionists” teaching “dominion.” And out of that movement came the big family, home-school movement that included a push to restore “traditional” roles of women.

This is a subject I know something about because I was the person who discovered and promoted one of the leading anti-feminist leaders who teaches absolute submission of women to their husbands -- and not in the “We respect each other” Bachmann-style whitewash.

In fact, the whole conservative evangelical movement Bachmann is part of is distinguished by its hatred of the feminist movement top to bottom.

In her hedging about what submission means to her, Bachmann has signaled with a wink and a nod to the Fox News crowd that she’ll have to soft-peddle some of her harsher views – at least as she’d theoretically apply them to other ordinary evangelical moms not running for president.

It's like Franco's Spain, but without the Catholics. Like the Taliban, but with better dental work.

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Restoring Honor and Dignity to the White House

Iowa State Fair Corndong Queen and next President of the United States, Michele Bachmann, wins Ames Straw Poll.

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You ain't nothin' but a corn dog
Lyin' all the time
You ain't nothin' but a corn dog
Lyin' all the time
Well, you ain't never clubbed a halibut
And you ain't no friend of mine


Straw Poll Results:

Michele Bachmann - 4823
Ron Paul - 4671
Tim Pawlenty - 2293
Rick Santorum - 1657
Herman Cain - 1456
Rick Perry (write in) - 718
Mitt Romney - 567
Newt Gingrich - 385
Jon Huntsman - 69
Thad McCotter - 35

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Wisconsin

a Jessica King (Dem) - 51% / 28,188
defeats Randy Hopper (GOP) - 49% / 26,937

a Jennifer Shilling (Dem) - 55% / 33,192
defeats Dan Kapanke (GOP) - 45% / 26,724

a Milwaukee Brewers (NLC) - 5
St. Louis Cardinals (NLC) - 3

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Summer re-runs

Thunder on the Left - Thunder on the Right

The year 1935 was marked by what historian James M. Burns called "thunder on the left," a wave of protest against the New Deal's slow progress toward recovery and its reluctance to confront business power and redistribute income and wealth. Millions responded to Louisiana's senator Huey Long, whose Share Our Wealth program promised to bring a decent life to average citizens through redistribution of large fortunes; to Father Coughlin, the "radio priest" of Royal Oak, Michigan, whose National Union for Social Justice burgeoned as he criticized bankers, capitalism, and the caution of the New Deal; and to Dr. Francis Townsend, the Long Beach, California, physician who mobilized millions of elderly Americans behind a promise of government pensions.

These leaders of mass movements for social change ran only a little ahead of other ambitious politicians who sensed that Roosevelt's New Deal was failing. Some were to FDR's left - socialists like Norman Thomas and Upton Sinclair, progressives such as Robert and Philip La Follette of Wisconsin. There was also in 1934-35 a "thunder on the Right," - attacks upon the New Deal by businessmen, former president Hoover, and the new American Liberty League, an organization funded by large capitalists and conservatives to argue that the New Deal threatened liberty. The year 1935 presented Roosevelt with a still depressed economy and swelling numbers of politicians eager to replace him. In the face of that political challenge, he altered and energized the New Deal, proving that in a political fight he had no peers.

The first evidence of a change came in the annual message of January 1935, when FDR spoke of unfinished business, including public works and a comprehensive social security program. In April, Congress agreed to spend $4.8 billion for a new relief and public works package until turning unemployables back to the states. The sheer size of the appropriation suggested a strong commitment to the casualties of the depression. A comprehensive social insurance proposal had been sent to Congress in January, but for months Roosevelt exerted little pressure for its passage and held back on tax reform and permanent labor legislation. Then on 27 May the Supreme Court by a 9-0 vote invalidated the NRA [National Recovery Administration], centerpiece of the early New Deal.

Roosevelt was furious, denounced the Court for a horse-and-buggy interpretation of the government's capacity to regulate the modern economy, and then energetically backed broad range reforms: Social Security, progressive tax reform, an attack upon public utility holding companies, and compulsory collective bargaining as envisioned in a bill by Senator Robert Wagner. The New Deal had entered its second phase. The "concert of all interests," cooperate-with-business rhetoric of NRA days gave way to a denunciation of entrenched interests, big business, and the wealthy. The New Deal was now more clearly than ever identified with the working class and the disadvantaged, as it challenged the existing distribution of income and business power.

The measures of 1935 (Social Security with old-age pensions and unemployment insurance, tax reform, dissolution of utility holding companies, and the Wagner National Labor Relations Act plus an undistributed profits tax passed in 1936) were more modest in impact and more conservative in design than was implied by the language of the president and his increasingly vocal conservative critics. The tax measure raised little income from the wealthy or corporations; Social Security was financed by a regressive tax and excluded millions who worked in agriculture and domestic service; and compulsory collective bargaining in time was seen even by employers as a measure contributing to labor-management industrial stability, leaving untouched the basic prerogatives of management.

But these were major steps even if hedged with compromise. Accompanied by administration rhetoric more radical than the eventual social impact of the extended reform agenda of 1935, the second New Deal had a decisive political effect. Franklin Roosevelt had firmly regained the leadership of the many elements of society who were pressing for governmental action against the depression. Opposition within the Democratic party vanished, and when FDR ran for a second term against the GOP's Alfred M. Landon, he not only buried the Republicans under a forty-six-state landslide but steamrolled the Socialists and obliterated the third (Union) party effort mounted by a coalition of Townsend, Coughlin, and the followers of Huey Long (who had been assasinated in Louisiana in September 1935). Roosevelt had reshaped American politics, grafting together with his New Deal a coalition of urban workers, farmers, ethnic and racial minorities, and intellectuals that would give the Democratic party majority status until well into the 1970s.

The election of 1936 appeared to give Roosevelt an irresistible mandate to complete the New Deal in his second term. [...]

[...]

There were also critics on the Left, who argued that the New Deal saved a capitalist system that had manifestly failed, that it achieved only minor reforms when more sweeping change was possible. They pointed out that recovery did not come until wartime, that inequalities of income were not noticeably narrowed, that regulatory agencies were soon captured by the industries they regulated, that relief of poverty was stingy and limited. These arguments, as well, were rejected by a majority of the electorate and by most historians, though a significant minority of historians has kept such a perspective alive and influential.

[...]

In private, FDR mixed the satisfaction of achievement with disappointment that the New Deal system had not come closer to his intentions. But he often acknowledged its flaws as democracy's price. Obstacles could not be simply overpowered, as in closed societies; like the sailor he was, Roosevelt had been forced to tack toward harbor but had not yet made it by the time war intervened. Historians refer to the developments of 1933-38 as "the New Deal," but Roosevelt in 1944 and 1945 was talking with friends about how much of the New Deal was yet undone. After the war, he said, there must be renewed efforts to achieve resource and public works planning, more river valley authorities, perhaps even a third, liberal party. In the meantime, shortcomings should be noted in the spirit of a remark he made in 1936, so often quoted:

The immortal Dante tells us that divine justice weighs the sins of the coldblooded and the sins of the warm-hearted in different scales. Better the occasional faults of a government that lives in a spirit of charity than the constant omissions of a government frozen in the idea of its own indifference.

Intending to lead the nation closer to the New Deal after the war, Roosevelt died [April 12, 1945] in Georgia as spring pushed up the eastern seaboard. He had more than once said that a democratic people could address and remedy errors of omission and commision through experimentation in the future. For half a century and more, that experimentation would take place within the framework laid down by the New Deal.

[ Excerpted from Franklin D. Roosevelt, His Life and Times (Otis L. Graham, Jr. and Meghan R. Wander; G.K. Hall & Co., 1985) ]

Previously aired HERE, on March 12, 2010.

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Thank You Tea Party!

DC Douglas and the American People Thank the Tea Party




Watch Thanks, Teabaggers! video at Rumproast

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ProgWorld's Greatest Strategists and Negotiators

I'm being told by countless high aristos of progressive thought emanating from the AM radio and cable television as well as the world wide online political blab-o-sphere that president Obama is a terrible strategist and negotiator.

Laura Flanders, Paul Krugman (and all his little Kroogies), Robert Reich, Bill Press, Bill Maher, Thom Hartmann, Arianna Huffington, Cenk Uygur, Joan Walsh, Glenn Greenwald, Nicole Sandler, Jane Hamsher, Dennis Kucinich, Bernie Sanders, Emanuel Cleaver (the Dem House Rep guy who apparently sees the face of Satan on sandwich bread, or something like that), Peter Daou (whoever he is), and any number of other great thinkers, strategists, negotiators and general all-round swells rising from the progressive political policy and opinion miasma... have all taken special care to clearly emphasize for the public good the terrible shortcomings of president Obama's negotiation and strategy skill-set. And surely these analysts must be supreme master strategists and negotiators themselves - or at least deeply skilled and schooled in such arts - to be able to reach such authoritative conclusions. But of course! Who could question such special correspondence?

Afterall, whenever I need to hear from a maestro of strategy and negotiation I immediately think of someone like Laura Flanders or Dennis Kucinich. Especially Dennis Kucinich; what with the masterful strategic negotiating abilities he deployed while recently visiting Damascus where he masterfully arbitrated a peaceful resolution to imperious Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad's vicious crackdown on the country's dissaffected anti-goverment "saboteurs". Bravo Dennis, bravo! Somewhere in the Bab Tuma borough of Old Damascus a post office is waiting to be renamed in your honor.

Laura Flanders was on the Ed Show last night and she was explaining why the recent debt ceiling bill fiasco didn't secure the needed stimulus money required to help boost economic recovery and create jobs for the American people. She is also a master strategist and negotiator so she has a profound understanding of these kinds of things.

She also said that president Obama needs to understand that Republicans are up to no good - that they don't want to provide any stimulus money for jobs and so forth - and that the president needs to stop rolling over like a campground slattern whenever the dirty bastard Republicans want to have their way with him. Because apparently the president is unaware that the dirty bastard Republicans are trying to keep him from doing things like create jobs and stuff and are trying to force him into lewd compromising positions. Or something like that. I didn't hang on every word because I was busy sweeping up mouse shit from the floor of a kitchen closet where I keep a garbage can and a 35 pound plastic jug of peanut oil. But I caught the general drift. In any case, as I understand it, whatever it is the Republicans do it's pretty much all president Obama's fault anyway for not stopping them from doing it in the first place. And for not being a supreme master strategist and negotiator. I sure hope the president was watching the Ed Show last night so he could hear what Laura Flanders had to say - she is afterall a master negotiator and strategist who would never be caught in a compromising situation.

Unfortunately Laura Flanders - and all the other master strategists and negotiators mentioned above - have yet to tell me what exactly they would have done (had they actually been in a position to do it) to raise the debt ceiling while also securing a trillion dollars or two for economic recovery and job creation while preventing the Republican controlled House of Representatives from obstructing the entire effort.

Surely, Laura and the others could tell us all if they wanted to. But they just don't want to. Clearly, being a master strategist and negotiator requires you to keep such cards close to your vest. You don't want to reveal your master negotiator or strategist trade secrets on cable TV or on the radio or in the blab-o-sphere or else the next thing you know everyone and their twitter followers will be a master strategist and negotiators also too. And what the hell good is that?

I'm confident that if Laura Flanders or Peter Daou or Thom Hartmann or Dennis Kucinich or any other master practioners of strategy and negotiation (including the vast multitude of dirty hippy pulpit bullies and comment thread boo-chorus wheeler-dealers that populate the intertoobs) had been the president negotiating the debt ceiling deal with the Republicans we would not only have ended up with the desired clean as a whistle debt ceiling boost but there would be a brand new shiny billion dollar hemp powered supertrain hurdling its way from Trenton to Staten Island by this time next August.

A brand new supertrain passing right past Paul Krugman's home in Princeton! Because there's nothing like sitting out on your back porch on a warm summer evening in western New Jersey re-reading Essays in Persuasion while enjoying a cold Arnold Palmer with a fresh slice of lemon kush indica and listening to the distant lonely rumble of a brand new shiny supertrain hurdling by at 250 miles per hour only 300 yards from your back porch bully pulpit. Jeepers, I can't forsee any environmental or quality of life issues with something like that. Can you?

But if there are any you can be sure they're president Obama's fault. And if you can't see that by now you probably belong to a cult that thinks that Hillary looks fat in a pantsuit and hates the legacy of FDR and is against Gitmo prison pottery classes and single payer health care and homosexuals serving openly in outlaw motorcycle clubs and dirty hippies and freedom. And other stuff too.

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