I just realized something.  The Tea Party movement is actually borrowing a tactic used by protesters and political factions ever since people were given a right to public assembly.  "The right of the people peacably to assemble," as the First Amendment says.  So long as they're not beating on people or vandalizing neighborhoods and buinesses, intimidating voters or stuffing ballot boxes, and other subversive or destructive activities, I have no problem with organized protests.  It's one of the things I can agree with Glenn Beck about, when he expresses his concern that the Tea Party movement can be undermined if it allows itself to be subverted or provoked into violent reactions.

   What I could disagree with is his Cassandra complex ("Expect Miracles in our time!"  When I see a flock of pigs flying, Glenn.) and some of the theatre he puts on with his show, but he's only doing what comedians and Keith Obermann have been doing.  From the "Right," if those of us railing against him and FOX News are inclined to say so.

   Using the selfish and dangerously unstable individual who performed the kamikaze attack on that IRS office a couple of days ago to paint legal and peaceful pro-Constitutional citizen organizations only shows me how willing some of us are to help fan the flames of this escalating civil war.  I can only shake my head and go back to those surviving accounts of a much earlier conflict which predated even the Roman empire: the fatal conflict between classical Athens and Sparta which we know today as the Pelopponesian War.

   According to the accounts handed down to us by Thucycides and Xenophon, the Greek city-states were swept up into an extended war between their two dominant cities.  I now see parallels between that and the ongoing conflict between the Left and Right in the United States.  In Thucycides's account, even the language was subverted to support the claims of the opposing factions and those they were able to win over to their respective causes.  The result, at the end of it all, was the collapse of the tradition of the city-state and the weakening of the Hellenic Greeks so that they would fall, first under the domination of the Macedonian monarchies, then under the domination of imperial Rome.

   As a  parallel to that destructive conflict, I see the United States as having disintegrated into warring factions akin to those of Athens and Sparta.  One favoring commercial interests at the expense of the rights of the individual and the common welfare of the citizens of the country; the other proclaiming the cause of the common welfare while establishing direct control over every aspect of the lives of those citizens.  I do not see this ending well.

Jodi said, "Fox stirs up hate for profit."

I guess you've never watched or listened to Chris Mathews, Keith Olberman, Joy Behar or Rosie O'Donnel.

Oh wait, you said profit.  These people do it for free or to lose money for their companies.

Woah, woah woah.

If we're going to be issuing challenges to people, let's start with this one:

The right loves to talk about taxes being raised.  I say each time any of you tries to play that card, I want to see concrete hard evidence that your FEDERAL tax went up.  FEDERAL.  Not state or local or municipal, the FEDERAL - the Obama tax.

Next?  Kevin, seriously.  You ought to be ashamed of yourself.  The nut was worked into a frenzy by the left?  Are you on heroin?  Which political party works their lemmings into a santorum over taxes and federal government?  WHICH ONE, Kevin???

There are two choices and only one correct answer. 

You disgust me, Kevin. 

And finally, Jeff... you work in broadcasting, you should know better.  There is a difference between a WHOLE network and a few commentators.  You get back to me when MSNBC gets rid of their conservative hosts and has an all-liberal network.  Because for now, they've got both - it's just that their most popular ones are left wing and thus, suddenly, the talking point is that it's the anti-FOX, which it's not.

And before any bright sparks here talk about the liberal media, I'll drop this stinky fact into the stew again:  Where was the so-called liberal media when we went to Iraq?  The New York Times was the biggest proponant of that effort.

There is no liberal-media.  There is a corporate whore media. 

You're right Mike, there is a difference between a whole network and a few commentators.  Over on FNC there's Shep Smith that's hardly a right winger doing 2 hours of news coverage a day, including one in early primetime.  Plus there's Gretta that has come out many times saying that she isn't a republican.  She's on in primetime.  When again are the consertive hosts on MSNBC?  Not in the prime viewing hours.

Jodi and others here are so quick to want to blame all the ills of the world on someone they politically disagree with, it's to the point of laughable. 

And Mike, when reading over the "manifesto" Stack left behind, I was struck by the following,
"…the joke we call the American medical system, including the drug and insurance companies, are murdering tens of thousands of people a year and stealing from the corpses and victims they cripple, and this country’s leaders don’t see this as important as bailing out a few of their vile, rich cronies…"
For a second I was worried that you Mike were using a fake name here and had just flown a plane into a building.  Glad to see it wasn't you though.  We may not agree on much politically, but I would miss you if you weren't here.

Next?  Kevin, seriously.  You ought to be ashamed of yourself.  The nut was worked into a frenzy by the left?  Are you on heroin?  Which political party works their lemmings into a santorum over taxes and federal government?  WHICH ONE, Kevin???

There are two choices and only one correct answer. 

You disgust me, Kevin.

------------------

Well, that came out of nowhere, as usual.

My primary assertion - that this guy is just plain crazy, on his own, a self-starter, bootstrappy crazy fella - is the one I stand by.

I said IF (capital i, capital f) he was worked up by anyone, it was on the left because while he lays down some timid Bush hate, he all but misses the rich vein of  the countless batshit crazy talking points that come from the right, and he doesn't mention Native Kenyan Communist Barry Hussein Osama Seotero jr, certified Socialist Fascist Nazi, at all.  And what kind of person gets whipped up into a frenzy by the right but makes no mention of the present and future worst president in the history of anything ever?

So, to recap: the guy was just crazy.  No one's fault but his own.

And we mustn't discourage the liberal media myth!  I love the liberal media myth.  It's a great way (along with the mention of teleprompters or snow) to quickly find out if you need to listen to anything else a person has to say.

"The right loves to talk about taxes being raised.  I say each time any of you tries to play that card, I want to see concrete hard evidence that your FEDERAL tax went up.  FEDERAL.  Not state or local or municipal, the FEDERAL - the Obama tax."

Anyone that smokes had their taxes go up.  And who's the majority of smokers?  I do believe it's the people making under 250K per year.