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How come every time I hear a reference to Netanyahu I immediately think Gesundheit?  By the by, Julian Jaynes believes that one of the Greek words for 'soul' was phrenes. Phrenes referred to the lungs. When someone breathed out their last breath of life, that last breath was the individual's soul leaving the mortal coil as it were.

 With that said, I wish to discuss nutsos today. In the Daily Beast, by coincidence I picked up this from the man who wrote the book on nutsos, so to speak:

Obama Derangement Syndrome--pathological hatred of the president posing as patriotism--has infected the Republican Party. Here's new data to prove it:

• 67 percent of Republicans (and 40 percent of Americans overall) believe that Obama is a socialist.

The belief that Obama is a "domestic enemy" is widely held--a sign of trouble yet to come.

• 57 percent of Republicans (32 percent overall) believe that Obama is a Muslim
• 45 percent of Republicans (25 percent overall) agree with the Birthers in their belief that Obama was "not born in the United States and so is not eligible to be president"
• 38 percent of Republicans (20 percent overall) say that Obama is "doing many of the things that Hitler did"
• Scariest of all, 24 percent of Republicans (14 percent overall) say that Obama "may be the Antichist"
  

John Avlon wrote a book entitled Wingnuts. This is just a nice list of nutso beliefs. His piece is dated today so the figures cannot be that old.  Is the 14% figure that represents the satan perspective worse than the 40% of Americans who think our President is a socialist? Evidently 32 % of the American populace think Barack Obama is a socialist Muslim--are there really socialist Muslims in the world? I mean a good Muslim would not be an anti-cleric. Oh well.

Why this surprises me is not in the least bit logical. I mean look at this creationist:

"Evolutionary Darwinists need to understand we are taking the dinosaurs back," says Kenneth Ham, president of Answers in Genesis-USA, which is building the museum. "This is a battle cry to recognize the science in the revealed truth of God.

They want to take their dinosaurs back. I mean think about it.  What they wish to do is to take Fred Flinstone out of the world of cartoons and breath new life into him. I like the XMen. I always liked Superman. But I have never been involved in an organization attempting to lure Batman into our local police department.

There is a large percentage of Americans, a significant number of our countrymen who think the earth is less than 10,000 years old. There is some confusion in the polls because some experts maintain that there is a portion of people labeled as Creationists who simply believe human beings have only been around for ten thousand years.

It would be extremely difficult for National Geographic to reap many subscriptions from this group.

I wish to make clear that Homo Sapiens Sapiens, in my humble opinion has been on this planet for at least 70,000 years and most probably 200,000 years. It is my opinion that Homo Sapiens has been around for as long as 600,000 years building hearths to cook their meats and floating upon the sea in boats or rafts.

But it is the incendiary beliefs that scare me the most. I mean tens of millions of people, as far as I can glean from these polls wish my President dead. Even more millions do not believe that Barack Obama qualifies to be President of the United States and therefore feel there currently is no one legally holding that office.

Where do these incendiary beliefs come from anyway? I ran across a nice piece in Mediamatters that kind of does a list of outrageous statements from the right wing pundits. I abridged that list and include it here:

Beck: "This is the end of prosperity in America forever ... the end of America as you know it." Telling his audience, "You must not allow this to pass," Beck stated in November 2009 that "they're going to get passed that 60-vote barrier... This is the end of America as you know it." [Premiere Radio Networks' The Glenn Beck Program, 11/19/09]

Beck: President Obama will be able to "control every aspect of your life." Beck "warn[ed]" that if the bill "passes, the country is in real dire trouble." He went on to say: "The pieces that the president needs to control every aspect of your life, to fundamentally transform America, will be finished. He'll have them all," adding: "If health care does not pass, warning, those on the left are going to become violent." [The Glenn Beck Program, 3/5/10]

Beck: "[T]he fundamental transformation of America is complete." 3/15/10]

Beck: "If you can be deemed someone who maybe shouldn't have a baby, they can have their people come in." [Fox News' Glenn Beck, 3/16/10]

Beck: We lose "the Democratic Party to the socialists." On his March 19 Fox News program, Beck stated: "If this passes, I think it makes the election of people like Lindsey Graham, who are the compromise with big government, darn near impossible, because you can't tone this one down. ..And the Republican Party either has to be, you know, real federalists, real people that understand controlled power, or you are going to have a third party?" [Glenn Beck, 3/19/10]

Limbaugh: Bill will "hasten" granny's death. ..It is a government takeover of health care and granny is gonna die. Granny always dies at some point -- we all do. It's gonna be hastened under this bill. And it is a government takeover. They're lying through their teeth." [The Rush Limbaugh Show, 3/19/10]

Limbaugh: "I am leaving the country" if "all that stuff gets implemented." ...I'll go to Costa Rica." [The Rush Limbaugh Show, 3/8/10]

Morris said he was "100 percent positive" Obama will create panels to "curb medical care to the elderly." On the March 3 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, Fox News contributor Dick Morris said what Obama "has in mind is curbing medical care to the elderly," and that he's "going to set up a panel" to determine treatment. Morris said he's "100 percent positive" this will happen. [Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, 03/03/10]

Fox Business: "Does Obamacare mean millions more jobs destroyed?" During a discussion about the health care bill on the Fox Business Network, an on-screen graphic asked: "Does Obamacare mean millions more jobs destroyed?" [Fox Business' America's Nightly Scoreboard, 03/16/10]

Cramer: "Obamacare will topple the stock market." On the March 18 edition of CNBC's The Kudlow Report, CNBC host Jim Cramer predicted that, in the words of host Larry Kudlow, "Obamacare will topple the stock market." [CNBC's The Kudlow Report, 3/19/10]

Hemmer: "Could people be going to jail for not owning health insurance?" 03/19/10]

Limbaugh: Democrats will regulate "every aspect of our lives." Limbaugh stated in November 2009: "People have been either unwilling to accept or unwilling to believe just how radically left the current Democrat Party is. There is nothing remotely Democratic about this bunch. There is no democracy going on here."  [The Rush Limbaugh Show, 11/20/09]

Cal Thomas: The government will deny care to "granny" because "she's costing too much." [Fox News' America's News HQ, 3/20/10]

Quinn: The government will be able to "commit a violent assault on your body." Referring to the Obamas, radio host Jim Quinn said that "Bolshevik Barbie and our marginally documented president" want "the power to control your body and your life. [Clear Channel's The War Room with Quinn & Rose, 2/26/10]

Quinn: "You are going to see insurrection. You're going to see an uprising." Quinn predicted that "if they pass this thing, you are going to see insurrection."  [The War Room, 1/13/10]

Quinn: "The response" to passing health reform "will be insurrection." [The War Room, 02/16/10]

Moore: "This is a dark day for America if we pass this bill." Discussing the market reaction to passing the health bill, The Wall Street Journal's Stephen Moore said on Fox News: "I think personally -- I think that the markets have always thought for the last year and a half that eventually this day would come." [America's News HQ, 3/21/10]

http://mediamatters.org/research/201003220034

 

Cal Thomas claimed health reform "is an outrage" and "a sham"; "[e]uthanasia is coming." On Fox News' America's News HQ, Thomas said the health bill is "a triumph of the humanistic, atheistic philosophy. ...Euthanasia is coming. You can call them death panels.  [America's News HQ, 11/21/09]

Siegel: "[U]nder ObamaCare, guidelines will quickly become mandates." In a November 2009 New York Post column, Marc Siegel wrote that the new mammogram guidelines from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force mean that "under ObamaCare, guidelines will quickly become mandates, and patients will routinely face the choice of paying hundreds of dollars out of pocket or accept higher risks of cancer.

Limbaugh: "Human beings will die earlier than normal" under "freedom killing" and "life threatening" health-care reform. [The Rush Limbaugh Show, 11/09/09]

Baker warned that health reform would lead to euthanasia for overweight people. Guest-hosting The Glenn Beck Program, Chris Baker suggested that health reform will lead to overweight people going to jail or being put to death: " [The Glenn Beck Program, 11/09/09]

Hannity: "If we get nationalized health care, it's over; this is socialism." [Fox News' Hannity, 11/2/09]

Limbaugh: When you turn 65, "hello death panels." I [The Rush Limbaugh Show, 10/27/09]

Limbaugh: "Obamacare" will "smother the individual," "aimed at robbing you of your humanity," "all of us will be slaves."  [The Rush Limbaugh Show, 09/30/09]  http://mediamatters.org/research/201003220034

The lies about killing grandma, the lies about death panels, the lies about a total government take over of the health care industry and the lies about who Barack Obama is just keep coming. They will never stop. They will never stop because the people voicing this nonsense make millions...some tens of millions...some even hundreds of millions of dollars lying for a living.

We have a gullible populace. Behind all this crap, all this propaganda is a belief system  that is tenable; a belief system that is believable, believe it or not.

To many conservatives in this nation, health care is a privilege; a privilege that must be earned. An individual's karma should decide whether or not he or she can be brought back from illness and disease. If you have bad karma, you deserve to die, it is your own fault.

The right is inciting a portion of our population to violence. There is no doubt in my mind. Yesterday at least three democratic representatives saw their offices pummeled with rocks and bricks. This is the type of reaction that can be ignited by fascist radio and cable. And the individuals who are incited to action do not have $400,000 homes. The aristocracy has the lower classes doing its work.

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/vandal_attacks_on_dem_offices_nationwide.php

I earned it, let them earn it.  http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/201003220088  O'Reilly said of adequate health care recently. And he believes this tenet. 

Bill O'Reilly is going to be sticking around the Fox News Channel for another four years.

The top-rated cable news network is expected to announce as soon as Wednesday that O'Reilly has signed a new multi-year contract. The deal is estimated to be worth between $10 million and $12 million a year

Bill O'Reilly thinks he has earned this money.This is pure silliness as far as I am concerned. He may be one man out of a hundred in his field. Not one in a million.  Millions out there could do his job tomorrow.

There is a new aristocracy in this country that will never give up its money or power.

Neither will this aristocracy ever give up the fiction that  its members merit their place in America.

the end