Category Archives: Propaganda

We Should Eliminate the Tax Deduction for Charitable Giving and Exemption for Religious Organizations

Posted on May 17, 2012 by

I don’t want to do that, because I think we should encourage people to give. But the basic problem is that too many ‘charities’ are political organizations masquerading as do-gooder entities. And tax deductions always favor the rich over the … Continue reading →

Posted in Propaganda, Religion, Taxes | 1 Comment

Crony Capitalism: Neo-Liberal, Third Way Style

Posted on May 12, 2012 by

Chicago-style corruption isn’t what it used to be. Former Obama chief of staff and current mayor of Chicago Rahm Emanuel has developed an ‘infrastructure trust’ to repair Chicago’s roads, rails and schools. Naturally, needless rent extraction by private entities is … Continue reading →

Posted in Bidness, Progressives, Propaganda | 2 Comments

ZOMG!! TEH E KOLI R IN UR CHICKENZ!! BARGLE BARGLE!!

Posted on April 18, 2012 by

The NY Times recently had a story about a study by a pro-vegan medical group which claimed that 48 percent of chickens bought at supermarkets are contaminated with E. coli. Of course, the vegan group referred to the E. coli … Continue reading →

Posted in E. coli, Food, Propaganda, Public Health | 9 Comments

Juicy Fruit

Posted on April 10, 2012 by

From the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History: These are circa 1959. What I love about them is that, even though they’re just advertising, they are wonderfully optimistic. It would be nice to have that optimism back.

Posted in Museums etc., Propaganda | 1 Comment

The GOP Has Not Become (More) Stupid, Just Unconstrained

Posted on March 10, 2012 by

There has been some surprise that the Republicans and movement conservatives let themselves get dragged down by the whole contraception ‘controversy’*. But this shouldn’t have come as a shock at all: the Republicans have never been especially clever. Lee Atwater, … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservatives, Fucking Morons, Propaganda | 6 Comments

Why the Washington Post Must Go Out of Business: The Cult of the Stupid

Posted on December 8, 2011 by

Jay Rosen often refers to the Cult of the Savvy as one of the major reasons why political news coverage is so poor. But this interview with Washington Post reporter Paul Kane, by way of Doug J, lays out a … Continue reading →

Posted in Fucking Morons, News Media, Propaganda | 1 Comment

The Sooner the Washington Post Goes Out of Business, the Safer the Elderly Will Be

Posted on November 1, 2011 by

Ordinarily, I would put this in the links round-up, but this post by Dean Baker eviscerating a Washington Post story about Social Security is worth highlighting. The entire Post story is, well, wrong, but here’s one part: The basic premise … Continue reading →

Posted in Fucking Morons, News Media, Propaganda, Social Security

Our (Adult) Education Crisis Continues: When Will Journalists Take More Responsibility for a Misinformed Public

Posted on September 27, 2011 by

(from here) I post that picture from CNN because it’s funny in a pathetic sort of way. But a NY Times column by Timothy Egan about conservative denialism engages in a more subtle error (boldface mine): The medical community was … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservatives, Education, Environment, Global Warming, News Media, Propaganda | 1 Comment

Why Krugman Is Right About “The Years of Shame”

Posted on September 12, 2011 by

Anyone who read yesterday’s post, “The Hardest Part of Remembering Sept. 11, 2001 Is…“, probably won’t be surprised that I agree with Paul Krugman: What happened after 9/11 — and I think even people on the right know this, whether … Continue reading →

Posted in Basic Human Decency, Conservatives, Iraq, Propaganda | 1 Comment

Why Would We Take the GOP ‘Flip-Flop’ on Taxes Seriously? It’s Called Lying, Not Motivated Skepticism

Posted on September 10, 2011 by

One of those things that disappeared from collective memory is the conservative call for economic stimulus through deficit spending…in 2001. I guess you could they were for deficit spending before they were against it (to use a phrase). Ezra Klein … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservatives, Creationism, Propaganda | 2 Comments