It's funny how easy it is to turn around the slogan the North Iowa Tea Party put on their Mason City billboard (see picture and story at http://bit.ly/anXzAJ). It's even funnier how tone-deaf this particular group of Tea Partiers was -- so much so that they had to be rebuked by their brethren from other parts of the state. One of them called "these kinds of signs" that equate Obama, Hitler and Lenin "borderline hate crimes." It's hilarious, then, that when the North Iowa Tea Party spokesman finally talked to the media, he said that the comparison was valid, but the billboard was just "misunderstood" (see story at http://bit.ly/aIq35g). It's worth listening to what he has to say, though, about why they made the comparison. He's denouncing the whole sweep of government assistance going back to the New Deal and social security. And he rightly points out that the latest wave government involvement started under George W. Bush (whom he is also critical of). The question still remains (and, as far as I'm concerned, it hasn't been answered in a satisfactory way): What would you have done instead? A path of reform, though certainly imperfect, is preferable to total economic collapse. One other point is valid: Strengthening this country's social safety net is not equivalent to embracing Nazism or Communism. It's not even a step towards those philosophies. See the whole series of Globe-Gazette stories at http://bit.ly/bj5MT8 and see an editorial on the topic from The Courier at http://bit.ly/9P5Vcm.
Showing posts with label Hitler. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hitler. Show all posts
Friday, July 23, 2010
Fear & Loathing in the Tea Party
It's funny how easy it is to turn around the slogan the North Iowa Tea Party put on their Mason City billboard (see picture and story at http://bit.ly/anXzAJ). It's even funnier how tone-deaf this particular group of Tea Partiers was -- so much so that they had to be rebuked by their brethren from other parts of the state. One of them called "these kinds of signs" that equate Obama, Hitler and Lenin "borderline hate crimes." It's hilarious, then, that when the North Iowa Tea Party spokesman finally talked to the media, he said that the comparison was valid, but the billboard was just "misunderstood" (see story at http://bit.ly/aIq35g). It's worth listening to what he has to say, though, about why they made the comparison. He's denouncing the whole sweep of government assistance going back to the New Deal and social security. And he rightly points out that the latest wave government involvement started under George W. Bush (whom he is also critical of). The question still remains (and, as far as I'm concerned, it hasn't been answered in a satisfactory way): What would you have done instead? A path of reform, though certainly imperfect, is preferable to total economic collapse. One other point is valid: Strengthening this country's social safety net is not equivalent to embracing Nazism or Communism. It's not even a step towards those philosophies. See the whole series of Globe-Gazette stories at http://bit.ly/bj5MT8 and see an editorial on the topic from The Courier at http://bit.ly/9P5Vcm.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Hitler vs. Satan
The deadlock between cable provider Mediacom and Sinclair Broadcasting Group was looking pretty ugly. The fee Sinclair was demanding to allow Mediacom to carry its 22 TV stations across the U.S. was more than the cable company was willing to pay. Those stations include Cedar Rapids-based CBS affiliate KGAN and Fox affiliate KFXA plus Des Moines Fox affiliate KDSM. The disagreement festered and threatened to keep fans from seeing the Iowa Hawkeyes play in the Orange Bowl until the two sides reached a temporary agreement. Pile that on top of the less-than-positive feelings viewers have for these two companies and you come up with a Hitler vs. Satan situation. To read more, follow this link to the Cedar Rapids Gazette: http://gazetteonline.com/local-news/2009/12/31/former-fcc-commissioner-no-white-hats-in-mediacom-sinclair-dispute
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