Bob Bergdahl
These three stories divide us into two groups of people. Bob Bergdahl appears to be a rather unusual man of unusual intellect. His son was being held by a group that any parent would fear. He determined to do whatever it takes to help save his son.
The Guardian reports: “The ponytail and straggly beard, the phrases in Arabic and Pashto, the refusal to look or sound like a conventional dad, the theories about Bowe’s alleged desertion – all have fueled the clamor, prompting many to ask: just who are the Bergdahls? Interviews with friends, neighbors and colleagues in the valley and in Hailey, the nearest town, paint a nuanced portrait of a family that on one hand is sporty, Christian and all-American, fond of horses, hunting, chocolate muffins and Jimmy Fallon; and on the other bookish, private and iconoclastic, carving an individualistic trail in its own private Idaho. That lifestyle bred idealism – and, arguably, naivety”
Spot the Terrorist
“But it is Robert Bergdahl, the father, who is also engendering some controversy. He has learned to speak Pashto, the language of the Taliban, and looks like a Muslim. He is also somewhat sympathetic to Islam, actually thanking Allah right in front of the president.”
There is so much ignorance in this statement, especially when one considers O’Reilly’s audience, who on average are 72, mainly white male, and vote more reliably Stupidparty than do registered Stupidparty voters. Consider a) America is not under its own constitution Christian; b) not all Muslims are bad; c) Allah = God; and d) learning to speak Pashto = smart move. But this above image is of course all in the eye of the beholder, and it perhaps provides a mirror into one’s soul, revealing if you are ignorant (birthplace of bigotry) or not so ignorant. Regarding some of the controversies surrounding Bob Bergdahl, his humanistic concerns – first, many people elected Obama, assuming Guantanamo Bay would be shut down, being antiwar is perfectly legitimate, and understanding that one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter is an aspect of a mind capable of nuance, introspection, and curiosity. O’Reilly, not being able to evolve, stood by his comments by saying Bob Bergdahl’s behavior was inappropriate; thus, O’Reilly simply has learned nothing from a “teachable moment.”
How to best establish what type of human being Bob Bergdahl is? Try seeking insight from his community. By this measure, Bob Bergdahl is a Good person.
Nancy Binker, a prominent figure in the Texas GOP, found that she had to cope with a personal crisis. Her sister had died of breast cancer, and suddenly healthcare issues became important. So she co founded the amazingly successful Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. It was a great cause, born out of pain from a person who now had good reason to care, who had put pettiness aside. But over time success spoils the chemistry, Stupidparty thinking resurfaces, and that thinking concluded that bringing an insidious, myopic political agenda to a beloved charity was appropriate. Karen Handle, having lost her effort to become governor of Georgia, is invited to the cancer charity. Oblivious to the fact that a fundamentalist stance on abortion can only lead to polarization – thus, making the goal of less abortions less achievable – Karen Handle uses her Stupidparty-thinking skill set to encourage the foundation to cancel its relationship with the respected charity Planned Parenthood, who plays a limited role in abortions. This created uproar. The charity reversed itself after three days, and Karen Handle resigns. Undaunted, Handle writes a book about the bullies at Planned Parenthood and goes on to come in third in the Stupidparty primary for the 2014 open senate seat in Georgia.
The point here is that while reducing abortions is a laudable goal, attaching an extreme viewpoint onto a fundamentalist religious bandwagon that actually has no foundation in the teachings of Jesus is not so laudable. While I have problems with both pro-life and pro-choice sloganeering, it just strikes me that the evangelically inspired pro-lifers in every other aspect are really pro-death. What do I mean by that? Pro-lifers can rarely be heard on the subject of the actual death penalty, of war, or on affordable healthcare.
The proof of Handle’s sad effort was to be in the pudding. Stupidparty is not so good at charity unless it begins at home. Bringing Stupidparty thinking to the Susan G. Komen Foundation did not work out so well, especially for people whose lives may depend on the charity. Annual revenues 2013 fell from $348m to $270m. The odd thing about abortion – after it was protected by the Supreme Court in 1973, legal abortion was one of the factors for rapidly improving violent crime statistics, especially in urban area such as New York City, for reasons that I will not get into herein. The Stupidparty claims that more guns created this condition, a notion worth thinking about if in fact gun ownership had increased during the period in question. Again, the pro-lifers are on the pro-death side of history.
Meanwhile, the problems for the charity are ongoing, women preferring to contribute to properly motivated charities. At the very time the foundation is having to cancel its walks, Brinker is securing a 64% pay rise to $684,000. Having married and divorced Norman Brinker, the founder of the Steak and Ale, Bennigan’s, and later taking over the Chili’s restaurant chains, “Brinker doesn’t need the money, as she made out like a bandit in her 2003 divorce….She jets between her home in the Ritz Carlton in Washington DC and her second home in Palm Beach, Florida.” (Palm Beach happens to be the hive of Stupidparty support. I am not sure why anyone would contribute to this charity – since there are better options.)
Now, in the context of what was a beloved charity, take a look at this picture (putting aside Binker’s distasteful waste of the Charity’s resources), are her “freedom loving” fundamentalist abortion views so worthy as to impose on others, worth the significant negative consequences? To take this position, Karen Handle’s position, supported by Nancy Binker – that strikes me as Bad
George Zimmerman
Is it OK for an armed adult White vigilante to murder a Black child? This was the inevitable consequence of “stand your ground laws,” dreamt up by the extremists within the NRA – who have found a cunning way of controlling the NRA membership by sidestepping its vaunted democratic process – and by ALEC (the American Legislative Exchange Council), an insidious legislative group posing as a grass roots-run charity, when it is in fact is a tax-dodge enterprise backed by the likes of Koch and certain large corporations. On this simple question, one can perhaps determine what type of individual you are.
Of course, Zimmerman immediately becomes a poster boy for Roger Ailes (even though Zimmerman is not “a blond”) and his Fox minions. But his guilt in this case is likely to lead to O.J. Simpson-style resolution one day. So what has happened to this Stupidparty hero?
One year after the trial the Orlando Sentinel reports: “Life after the acquittal has been turbulent for Zimmerman, who’s now 30. He moves among the homes of people who let him sleep on the couch, said his brother, Robert Zimmerman, Jr. He’s jobless and has been arrested once, accused of threatening his girlfriend with a gun, and put in handcuffs another time, accused of punching his father-in-law. In both cases, authorities filed no criminal charges.
One year after the trial the Orlando Sentinel reports: “Life after the acquittal has been turbulent for Zimmerman, who’s now 30. He moves among the homes of people who let him sleep on the couch, said his brother, Robert Zimmerman, Jr. He’s jobless and has been arrested , accused of threatening his girlfriend with a gun, and put in handcuffs another time, accused of punching his father-in-law. In both cases, authorities filed no criminal charges.He evidently correctly believes that he has every right to kill more people as evidenced by this road rage incident. He also continues to be a nuisance in Florida employing himself as a guard at a Gun store, the owner of which had no notion of this brilliant scheme. (If you want to begin to understand how murder is suddenly becoming legal for gun toting whites then read more about ALEC – another arm of the Kochtopus)
“He left his wife, Shellie, a month after the trial and is in the midst of a divorce. He owes defense attorneys Mark O’Mara and Don West $2.5 million. He has sold paintings on eBay and toyed with but rejected the idea of taking part in a pay-per-view boxing match with rap artist DMX.”
Jan 10th 2015 – George Zimmerman was arrested late Friday for aggravated assault and domestic violence with a weapon after allegedly throwing a wine bottle at his girlfriend, Florida police and his lawyer said. On May 15th, 2015 a driver evidently takes a shot at George Zimmerman. Both parties had guns, but then Guns don’t shoot people and only good guys have guns. Zimmerman the human disaster magnate.
Can you see the picture now? This Zimmerman, and his instant fans, they are Ugly
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