Read a Pacific Northwest, liberal perspective on world, national, and local politics. From majestic Redmond, Washington - the Northwest Progressive Institute Official Blog.

Friday, July 20, 2007

JetBlue strands itself in convention flap

Still catching up from vacation, I see that Bill O'Reilly has managed to cow JetBlue into removing its logo from the YearlyKos Convention site.

Seems Bill-o compared Daily Kos to the Nazi Party and the Klan, which is about par for the course for Bill-o and the rest of the psychotic right. They don't have much in the way of facts or accomplishments on their side, so this sort of thing is what they are left with. It's pathetic when you think about it.

I can't go to YearlyKos, but I would have if possible, and NPI is sending at least two staff members. To equate Daily Kos or the convention with genocidal maniacs may be good for ratings, but it's not journalism and it's not (ahem) civil. I know, politics ain't beanbag, but this appeal to lizard-brain conservatives has been going on for decades now, and look where it has led.

It's also pretty insulting to those whose families were affected by the horrific violence the Nazis and the Klan were responsible for.

O'Reilly is nothing more than a caricature, and as his overlord masters at Fox and the GOP continue to slip, so does he.

A more practical question is: who there is left for conservatives to hate on all the time? And for our conservative fellow citizens, we must ask, didn't your mothers tell you how tiring and corrosive hate is? You claim to love America and support the troops, but you spend all your time hating on people. This is not the way forward for our country or our region. In the end all you wind up with is more hate.

There needs to be a rapprochement in this country so that we can better face our common threats and challenges. But that won't happen in the current media climate. As long as the GOP encourages and supports its noise machine, progressives have every right and responsibility to fight this evil, corrupt and destructive ideology through every legal avenue possible. And if we have to throw some rhetorical elbows now and then, so be it.

Marginal tax rates can be debated; you call me a Nazi and you deserve an unprintable expletive in response. Nothing mysterious or duplicitous about that, and in fact making politics a miserable, unpleasant endeavor has been a hallmark of the GOP for a very long time now. Drive enough regular people out of the process and special interests and ideologues get to run things.

It would be easy to get all up in arms with JetBlue, but I long ago stopped worrying about companies that run cruddy businesses. I crossed JetBlue off my list when they became yet another airline that leaves its passengers stranded on planes in miserable conditions, with the stench of human waste filling the air.

Of course, that's better than putting human waste on the air, which is what Fox Noise does. Any way you look at it, it's all an unprintable expletive.

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