Friday, February 20, 2009

New York Post Racist Cartoon & Obama's Stimulus Bill: More Attacks on Obama by The Right

Anyway there is a lot of controversy over a cartoon which appeared in the New York Post which many have called racist but there are those who seem not so sure.


Obama's Stimulus Bill - The Right calls Obama a socialist etc.
Republicans and Conservatives in America attack Obama and his policies
The Right uses Hysteria and Fear Mongering
It appears they are still quite angry & mystified that Obama is their new president

UPDATE: Ann Coulter and her racists friends at the Council of Conservative Christians

Let's begin with an excerpt from a speech about the issue of race in America by Obama's newly appointed Attorney General Eric Holder who calls America "a nation of cowards" when it comes to openly discussing issues of race & racism Feb. 18, 2009.



Photo below of Ultra-Right Winger- Michelle Malkin with Swastika Guy at Anti-Obama anti-Stimulus Rally in Colorado.

The Swastika is inserted in the letter " O " of Obama which suggest that Obama is a Nazi or Fascist and UnAmerican .





Photo montage of Obama Signing the Stimulus Bill
followed by Racist cartoon
Does the Chimpanzee represent Obama ? - are the police just killing another black man ?

Given American history and the history of racism in America and given the hysteria which was whipped up by Palin and McCain against Obama calling Obama a socialist, a communist, a secret Muslim , a secret domestic terrorist and the racism which became apparent at the Republican rallies it would seem justifiable to judge the cartoon as racist- Since the election of Obama the racist slurs and attacks have continued yet we see someone like Michelle Malkin posing beside Swastika Guy what message does it send-



Republicans and conservatives continue with Obama Bashing & Fear Mongering portraying Obama as an evil anti-American Socialist and by the way he 's not one of us because he's Black -

" They ( These Liberal Socialists) Must Be Stopped " Rush Limbaugh

Limbaugh likens Democrats to murderers, rapists, and "this Muslim guy" that "offed his wife's head" Feb 19, 2009 by Media Matters staff




Sean Hannity like Limbaugh is continuing to fear monger claiming that America is being destroyed by Obama and in this particular case by Obama's Stimulus Bill.

Sean Hannity's Apocalyptic Stimulus Plan Montage (VIDEO) by Nicholas Sabloff at Huffington Post Feb. 17, 2009

President Obama's stimulus plan may be met with dismay by conservatives such as Sean Hannity, but it has clearly stimulated a flourishing of creativity among his Fox News video team. Opening his show tonight was a 2-minute video montage, set to the ominous sounds of "O Fortuna" from Carl Orff's Carmina Burana (you'll know it when you hear it), that painted the passing of the stimulus bill as a practically apocalyptic event.

The clip splices together scenes of GOP leaders denouncing the push to pass the stimulus spending (such as John Boehner's theatrics before the House last Friday) while Democrats aggressively argue for their agenda. The piece ends with an undeniably cheesy graphic showing a recent edition of Newsweek--the one with the headline declaring "We Are All Socialist Now"--rising up from the ocean to tower above the Statue of Liberty and the Lincoln Memorial.






Here's a good one. After eight years of the largest government expansion in American history, Sean Hannity complained last night that the recovery bill is "the largest government expansion in American history."


" Sean Hannity's Ridiculous War Against Socialism " by Bob Cesca at Huffington Post Feb.18,2009


There was Sean Hannity on television: breathlessly announcing the red dawn of "socialism you can believe in." "The New America." He called the recovery bill, "a liberal hijacking of the American way of life." Uh-huh. Hijacking. Terrorists rather than goblins on the wing. I get it. And even though we just wrapped up eight years of the largest government expansion in our country's history, Hannity derided the recovery bill as "the largest government expansion in our country's history."

But, unbelievably, that wasn't the most ludicrous part of the show. The frantic announcement was preceded by a newsreel-style montage featuring video of the various congressional floor debates about the bill, footage of Boehner throwing down the bill and, naturally, President Obama signing the bill. All backed with the frighteningly pulse-pounding choir chants of the apocalyptic anthem "O Fortuna."

There's no gray area in what he was suggesting. Socialism is here, said Hannity, and it's really scary. The choir music said so.

Hannity is once again joined in this crusade by very serious pundits like Rush Limbaugh, Steve Doocy, Alex Castellanos, Joe Scarborough, Laura Ingraham and Glenn Beck who, at one point, claimed that President Obama is both a socialist and a fascist -- a feat that calls to mind an old George Carlin joke about how it's physically impossible to "put your seat-back forward."

The message is clear. The voices on the far-right are unanimous.

Therefore, I'm calling upon Sean Hannity to use his prime time television program as a platform to rally Republican politicians, cable news hacks and citizens alike to refuse delivery of not just recovery bill spending, but all so-called "socialist" government programs. Send it all back. End American socialism now! All of it.

Refuse to send your kids to socialized public schools and universities; refuse to use socialized roads and highways; refuse to call upon socialized police and fire departments; shut down the socialized air traffic control; refuse to visit socialized national parks; tell grandma that her Social Security and Medicare will have to be sent back to the government; demand the immediate dismantling of our socialized American military. Sarah Palin and her supporters in Alaska should refuse all forms of "redistributed wealth" by sending back their checks from the socialized oil program there.

Send it all back. I'm sure the entire roster of Neo-McCarthyite pundits enumerated above -- Limbaugh, Scarborough, Hannity and the like -- have already forgone their usage of these socialist services so we can assume they've figured out a ways to get by. How hard can it be really? I mean, who needs roads when there are hot-air balloons and jet packs. Socialist fire departments? A house fire will eventually burn itself out, won't it? As for the pre-socialist 50-percent poverty rate for the elderly? If we can put a man on the Moon (also a socialist program), we can invent some bootstraps that'll fit over grandma's therapeutic stockings.

As for the recovery bill, the states aren't forced by law to accept the funding. They're entirely within their rights to, borrowing Hannity's spasmodic metaphor, thwart the hijacking.

Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana is apparently mulling the idea of refusing the recovery funds. Paul Begala, in his weekly column, has already dared Governor Mark Sanford of South Carolina to send it back.

Meanwhile, on her MSNBC show Tuesday night, Rachel Maddow asked Governor Pawlenty of Minnesota if he would refuse his state's share of the recovery plan. Pawlenty hemmed and hawed and finally relented that he wasn't totally opposed to the recovery bill -- just the yucky parts. I assume Pawlenty meant the totally nonexistent parts like the fake ACORN thing and the fake mouse thing, both of which were entirely conjured from thin air by the Republicans. Or did he mean the part of the bill that's otherwise known as, you know, the largest middle class tax cut in American history? Was he opposed to that part?


New York Post Cartoon Racist?

When we combine the hysterical ravings of Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh with these other images it begins to look rather ugly . This is not intelligent discourse but rather propaganda from the right attacking President Obama not merely on policy but suggesting that Obama has some nefarious motives for what he is doing.

But the question really should be what are the intentions of the Republicans and the conservatives in their hysterical attacks. Already they are talking about somehow developing a campaign of resistance to the policies of the Obama administration. Are they trying to frighten and stir into action their right-wing base . Are these just signs of desperation on the part of the Republicans and the conservative movement in America ?

" The Cartoon and Trafficking in Racial Symbolism " by Michael Fauntroy at Huffington Post Feb.19, 2009

I understand satire can sometimes be harsh and be painful to some. But Sean Delonas' cartoon that recently ran in the New York Post -- with two policemen standing over a prostrate chimpanzee sporting two bullet holes and leaking blood under a caption "They'll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill" -- doesn't meet any reasonable satire test. Indeed, the vile cartoon continues the degradation of our political discourse that has gone on too long. The difference here, however, is that it adds a heaping helping of racial symbolism to the mix.

The imagery of this cartoon is foul on at least two levels. First, the truth of police brutality is real in the black community and there are more than a few examples of police killing black people. Second, is the centuries-old degrading device of referring to black people as monkeys. It cannot be said that monkey in the cartoon refers to anyone else but President Barack Obama. This cartoon isn't referring to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, or anyone else involved in it's passage. It's Obama's bill.

It's appropriate and necessary for the Right to oppose Obama on policy differences. That's the primary role of the loyal opposition. It's absolutely out of bounds to traffic in racism to give voice to that opposition. This is no small point. Obama's supporters must understand that if the Right is allowed to push this garbage with impunity, its volume will only increase. The Constitution offers us many guarantees, even those that make us cringe and angry. Those guarantees should be protected at all costs. But that doesn't mean those who promote racial symbolism should be able to do so in comfort.

I believe that there should be a place in our society for vigorous political debate; it's helps to make a society strong. I also believe that it would be a mistake to have media that comprehensively sings the virtues of any political, social, or cultural leader. But it's at least as dangerous to have a media, particularly a venue as powerful as the New York Post, that proffers racial imagery to attack those with which they disagree.

Delonas and the New York Post have hidden behind the horrific details of an event in Connecticut to traffic in racist imagery and gratuitous violence in the name of parody. This is cowardly and they should not be allowed to escape public scorn and ridicule. The aid and comfort they provide to those that have yet to make peace with the fact that the United States of America has a Black President should be met with the unified voices of reason.


and Obama Photo Preceded Cartoon Of Gunned Down Chimp by Sam Stein at Huffington Post Feb. 18, 2009

In the page preceding a New York Post cartoon that depicts drafters of the stimulus legislation as a gun-downed chimpanzee, the paper published a large photo of Barack Obama signing that very piece of legislation.

The succession of the story and cartoon creates a rather jarring visualization for some readers. One person who pointed out the layout to the Huffington Post expressed bewilderment that anyone "would think that this is okay."

...Inside the paper, however, the mood is much less defiant. An employee of the paper told the Huffington Post that the phones have been ringing incessantly with complaints from readers and the general public. "As they f---ing should be," said the employee.

Meanwhile, the New York Times reports that "many Post staff members were dismayed by the cartoon."


Anderson Cooper at CNN- New York Post Cartoon Racist-





also see: NY Post Cartoonist Under Fire for Racist Cartoon by Amanda Terkel, Think Progress February 18, 2009.

Some members of the Mainstream Media are unable to see that some of their rhetoric is in fact racist. Yes for some we can give the benefit of the doubt. Maybe in heated discussions they say something out of character. Others appear to have a well documented history of making racist remarks .

Fox News & Racism

America is not Post-Racism

Obama as merely an affirmative action President- voted in by Black racists and guilty whites:



FOX Continues to Attack Black America by ZP Heller, Brave New Films Feb. 9, 2009.

We first created FOX Attacks Black America two years ago in an effort to illustrate FOX's penchant for airing bigoted views. Not only do they bring on racist guests, but some of the most inflammatory remarks come from African Americans guests like Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson--FOX's insidious attempt to lend credence to their racial prejudice. And despite Barack Obama's historic election, the network continues to smear the President and black America with the same kind of hateful rhetoric we saw throughout the election cycle.

On Sean Hannity's show last week, Peterson said, "I think we all agree that Barack Obama was elected by, mostly by black racists and white guilty people." Now, Hannity pretended to be shocked by Peterson's words, but as News Hounds noted, Hannity has had Peterson on the show repeatedly over the years to spout similar bigotry. In December of 2006, for instance, Peterson told Hannity, "Racist blacks have the freedom of expression when it comes to the issue of race and morality... but white folks are made to be quiet and not even mention race." How did Hannity reply to Peterson during that segment? He merely said, "Always love having you," and that he was proud to be on the advisory board of Peterson's organization, BOND Action.

...There's no question that Hannity himself is a bigot. But what FOX does by bringing on guests like Peterson and giving them the last word is to legitimize these racist views because they're coming from a black reverend and not Hannity's mouth. Since FOX clearly has no intention of curbing or curtailing racially loaded rhetoric, it might be time for a FOX Attacks Black America sequel.

----
Although Sean Hannity professed to be shocked, shocked by Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson's bigoted remarks, he has a long history of making similar statements in Hannity's presence. Hannity has long been associated with Peterson's organization and gave no indication that he would discontinue or that he questioned that association. From the 2/3/09 Hannity.






And a reminder from People For The American Way that the Far Right and the Religious Right have not been defeated and are alive and well and are working to push their agenda forward . They have made great gains over the past eight years and they are not going to sit idly by while those gains are chipped away bit by bit by the Obama administration.

" The Right's Agenda Under Obama "
By Kyle People For The American Way | February 11, 2009



...fund-raising letter from the Family Research Council in which FRC President Tony Perkins warned that the Democratic leaders in the White House and Congress are "the most radically liberal in the history of our country" but that FRC will be at "maximum strength" to fight back an "seize the opportunities God has given us."

Perkins crows that FRC has already "scared away the Left from their plan for an all-out blitz to pass their entire wish list of nightmarish legislation in the first 100 days" but ominously warns that "[President] Obama and the Left are [still] insidiously planning to destroy your values and freedoms piece by piece under the radar."

"If our side shows any softness," he warns, Democrats will ram through bills that will destroy everything they hold dear and, as such, it is vitally important that people not only send donations but also fill out the enclosed "Values Voter National Survey on Faith, Family, Freedom, and Other Major National Issues in America."

The first part of the survey asks FRC members to rank their top policy priorities and their choices include stopping FOCA, stopping the Fairness Doctrine, stopping hate crimes legislation, stopping ENDA, and stopping Obama’s judicial nominees.

The second part asks FRC members to rank issues of concern to them and includes things ranging from fighting green energy policies that will "restrict your family's use of heating and air conditioning" to making sure President Obama does not "restrict current anti-terror activities inside our border."

This is just a reminder to anyone who thinks that the Religious Right is on the verge of disappearing, because the Right obviously has different ideas … and they have an entire laundry list of issues on which they are prepared to fight.


Anyway here's a bit about Ann Coulter and her racist friends:

Columnist Ann Coulter Defends White Supremacist Group
Posted in Extremist Propaganda by Mark Potok on February 13, 2009


In her latest foaming-mouth tome — Guilty: Liberal “Victims” and Their Assault on America, released on Jan. 6 — Coulter spends the better part of three pages defending a group called the Council of Conservative Citizens (CCC), which The New York Times had described as a “thinly veiled white supremacist organization.” Coulter begs to differ. The CCC, Coulter opines, is “a conservative group” that has unfairly been branded as racist “because some of the directors of the CCC had, decades earlier, been leaders of a segregationist group.” “There is no evidence on its Web page that the modern incarnation of the CCC supports segregation,” she says. “Apart from some aggressive reporting on black-on-white crimes — the very crimes that are aggressively hidden by the establishment media — there is little on the CCC website suggesting” that the group is racist. Indeed, its main failing is “containing members who had belonged to a segregationist group thirty years earlier.”

Coulter could hardly be more wrong. And even if she can’t find time to read beyond a page of the CCC’s website, she really ought to know — after all, the organization where she frequently speaks, the Conservative Political Action Committee, has publicly banned the CCC from its annual gathering because it is racist. Also in the late 1990s, Jim Nicholson, then-chairman of the Republican National Committee, asked GOP members to stay away from the CCC because of its “racist and nationalist views.”

How could conservative Republicans be inspired to say such ugly things? Let us count the ways.

The CCC’s columnists have written that black people are “a retrograde species of humanity,” and that non-white immigration is turning the U.S. population into a “slimy brown mass of glop.” Its website has run photographic comparisons of pop singer Michael Jackson and a chimpanzee. It opposes “forced integration” and decries racial intermarriage. It has lambasted black people as “genetically inferior,” complained about “Jewish power brokers,” called gay people “perverted sodomites,” and even named the late Lester Maddox, the baseball bat-wielding, arch-segregationist former governor of Georgia, “Patriot of the Century.”


see: Council of Conservative Citizens

with articles with such racist titles such as these on their home page :
" White is still the standard of beauty."
" Censored News: Race Riots in Guadalupe "
" No end in sight for “black on black” crime."
" Marine Corps unit asked if they would be willing to murder US citizens who refused to comply with a future gun ban."

and their Statement of Principles are rather racist :

(1) We believe the United States is a Christian country. We believe that the United States of America is a Christian country, that its people are a Christian people, and that its government and public leaders at all levels must reflect Christian beliefs and values. We therefore oppose all efforts to deny or weaken the Christian heritage of the United States, including the unconstitutional prohibitions of prayers and other religious expression in schools and other public institutions.

(2) We believe the United States is a European country and that Americans are part of the European people. We believe that the United States derives from and is an integral part of European civilization and the European people and that the American people and government should remain European in their composition and character. We therefore oppose the massive immigration of non-European and non-Western peoples into the United States that threatens to transform our nation into a non-European majority in our lifetime. We believe that illegal immigration must be stopped, if necessary by military force and placing troops on our national borders; that illegal aliens must be returned to their own countries; and that legal immigration must be severely restricted or halted through appropriate changes in our laws and policies. We also oppose all efforts to mix the races of mankind, to promote non-white races over the European-American people through so-called “affirmative action” and similar measures, to destroy or denigrate the European-American heritage, including the heritage of the Southern people, and to force the integration of the races.


and for more on the Council of Conservative Citizens see: " Sharks in the Mainstream Racism underlies influential 'conservative' group "Southern Poverty Law Center
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and so it goes,
GORD.

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