Not Surprising

Newsweek Magazine poses the question as to whether Tea Party members are racist. No surprises in that one!

"A new survey by the University of Washington Institute for the Study of Ethnicity, Race & Sexuality offers fresh insight into the racial attitudes of Tea Party sympathizers. "The data suggests that people who are Tea Party supporters have a higher probability"—25 percent, to be exact—"of being racially resentful than those who are not Tea Party supporters," says Christopher Parker, who directed the study. "The Tea Party is not just about politics and size of government. The data suggests it may also be about race."

"Surveyers asked respondents in California and a half dozen battleground states (like Michigan and Ohio) a series of questions that political scientists typically use to measure racial hostility. On each one, Tea Party backers expressed more resentment than the rest of the population, even when controlling for partisanship and ideology. When read the statement that "if blacks would only try harder, they could be just as well off as whites," 73 percent of the movement's supporters agreed, while only 33 percent of people who disapproved of the Tea Party agreed. Asked if blacks should work their way up "without special favors," as the Irish, Italians, and other groups did, 88 percent of supporters agreed, compared to 56 percent of opponents. The study revealed that Tea Party enthusiasts were also more likely to have negative opinions of Latinos and immigrants."

Just goes along with the scary remarks made by people like Sarah Palin and Glen Beck. These people and groups are only gaining more followers and momentum.

Pitchforks & Torches at the Gates

Just like the days ,when the angry mobs were at the castle gates looking for the Wolfman or Frankenstein, I expect them to show up at the gates of the White House any day now. Yes, now that health care seems to be on its way, their are Republicans that are ready for blood.

In the mornings, as I get ready for work, I listen to talk radio. The guy is not a real big name, but syndicated I believe. As you might suspect, VERY conservative. The caller told him that he, Rush and Sean Hannity are the voice of their future. The torch bearers for the voice of the party.

They scare me. It reminded me of the way the villagers would storm the gates of the castle. They get people riled up after they are already not happy with the way things are going. I just get so pissed off at the juvenile ways that they pick at and on people to stir the pot. Very high schoolish.

Divider & Hater

Glen Beck is just another, in a long list, of TV talking heads that pisses me off and drives me insane! He is another one of those talking heads who is also not very nice. Sure, some may call that his "schtick", but I don't think so. I think he is just as narrow minded, racist and fear mongering as many of his contemporaries.

Fox may claim various things about him, but they have to be loving all the attention that he and their network are getting due to his asinine behavior on air. Someone once said that there is no bad press.

He epitomizes the typical conservative Mormon man. Anything that is not like him or his faith is suspect. As someone who spent many years around them, and is a recovering Mormon, I know what I am talking about. They are rigid and afraid of anything that is not part of their faith and church. This is why the crap he spews on his show is real. He really IS that conservative, religious whack job.

Jefferson Who?

Are they or have they gone crazy in Texas? I can not believe that they are still so backwards and conservative. I lived there in the early 80's and found them to still be very critical of the North. They used to say, about the Civil War, that there was nothing civil about it! Until I adopted the local accent I would get all kinds of comments and stares. That was 20 years ago...yet they are now re-writing history. ACTUALLY!

Jefferson who? Yes the Texas school board is opting to leave Thomas Jefferson out of their new text books and replacing him with John Calvin.

"The Board removed Thomas Jefferson from the Texas curriculum's world history standards on Enlightenment thinking, “replacing him with religious right icon John Calvin.”

How can this even happen in 2010?

"After three days of turbulent meetings, the Texas Board of Education on Friday approved a social studies curriculum that will put a conservative stamp on history and economics textbooks, stressing the superiority of American capitalism, questioning the Founding Fathers’ commitment to a purely secular government and presenting Republican political philosophies in a more positive light. "

"The board’s far-right faction has spent months now proclaiming the importance of emphasizing America’s exceptionalism in social studies classrooms. But today they voted to remove one of the greatest of America’s Founders, Thomas Jefferson, from a standard about the influence of great political philosophers on political revolutions from 1750 to today. "


“We are adding balance,” said Dr. Don McLeroy, the leader of the conservative faction on the board, after the vote. “History has already been skewed. Academia is skewed too far to the left.”

I actually laughed at this one, BALANCE? How can they even think that they are offering any balance when they are taking pieces and parts out they THEY disagree with and do not like.

Just another example of the conservative movement to make the world into what they want it to be. They don't like history, so let's just change it and make it into what they want it to be with the values they want to reflect.