I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked, dragging themselves through the negro streets at dawn...

Maureen Dowd
Kathleen Parker
Dana Milbank

"It's the Southerners. They get on TV and go 'errrr, errrrr." - Sen George Voinovich

"Southern Republicans, it seems, have seceded from sanity." - Kathleen Parker

"Barack Obama is a Big-Eared Idiot' " - Rush Limbaugh

I didn't want to write about the birther movement because so much has already been written, endlessly analyzed, and made fun of. I've linked to a few opinion writers in the past few days who have made fun of them, so here is an opposite opinion from the NY Daily News: "It is not Obama's right-wing opponents, however, who are devoting the most attention to this obscure, Internet-driven "movement," if one can even use that label to describe such a paranoid groupuscule. Rather, it's liberals, bent on portraying their conservative opponents as extremists - and changing the subject to help a President under increasing scrutiny for the substance of his policies - who are driving this story."

I don't know. These kind of rumors were originally spread by Fox News and Rush Limbaugh, then reported as a fringe phenomena by MSNBC, then the other networks. Even Lou Dobbs at CNN reported sympathetically about them, raising questions about his waning critical faculties, perhaps he is in the beginning stages of Alzheimer's? A poll placed most of the birthers in the South, but I doubt if rural Washington, Montana, and Idaho were canvassed, I think you would find discontent is pretty evenly spread, geographically.

They are not happy with Hawaii's Certificate of Birth, which has been posted online at various sites since the campaigns. They want a Birth Certificate. Dr Orly Taitz, a woman of Russian origin and who has the weirdest eyes I have ever seen, has filed a lawsuit requiring Obama to produce a Birth Certificate, which may end up with Hawaii changing the wording of their certificates. She has also produced a Kenyan birth certificate for Obama, except it has proven to have been faked from a real Australian birth certificate, a victim of bad Photoshopping...

There has always been a small percentage of people unhappy with their lives, frustrated that the changes going on in our country is not in alignment with what they would like to see happen. Some of it is racism, that a Black man is in charge, but there are many other reasons: we have not become a fundamentalist Christian nation, feeling that the "government" is constantly intruding in their lives, that all taxes are illegal, older folks unhappy with their health, and their retirement money is less than they planned, and many more. OK, I have friends who never became rock stars, and I never finished the half dozen books I started... There is also male rage, that is usually overlooked when it's channeled into a career, but becomes pitiful and impotent once we grow older. Hence, this blog.

What bothers me is that lobbying groups have been creating "movements" to tap into this frustration and try to manipulate and direct it into things like the Tea Party, birthers, and now the disrupters at Democratic town hall meetings. My neighbor, Michele Malkin tries to connect the angry town hall disruptors by naming them Tea Part activists, wanting to connect those dots... One lobbyist has created a website against health care reform, and lists all of the Democratic town hall meetings where people can go to protest. Before the first Tea Party rallies, there were web sites that listed rules of behavior, what to do if protesters or hecklers showed up, and about 75 different slogans to put on signs. The same thing has happened with the town hall protesters, whose goal is to shut down all discussion and vilify the person holding the meeting. Some protesters are professional being paid, but most are not and they gleefully follow instructions.

All of this reminds me of the early days of the Communist Party, when they would stage demonstrations and try to agitate them into violence or extreme emotions. Its dangerous ground, dishonest and immoral. Millions of dollars are being spent by the medical and insurance industries to provide a public platform for these people's discontent, yet not one penny is spent confronting their underlying fears that make them vulnerable to this kind of propaganda, and that is the real crime.

On an upbeat note, and I find it strange to be saying this, but God Bless You, Bill Clinton.

"LING: Thirty hours ago Euna Lee and I were prisoners in North Korea. We feared that at any moment we could be sent to a hard labor camp and then suddenly we were told that we were going to a meeting. We were taken to a location and when we walked through the doors we saw standing before us President Bill Clinton. We were shocked but we knew instantly in our hearts that the nightmare of our lives was finally coming to an end. And now, we stand here, home and free. Euna and I would just like to express our deepest gratitude to President Clinton and his wonderful, amazing, not to mention, super-cool team."



late night jokes:

"Bill Clinton got the two journalists released. This is fantastic news. And then afterwards, Clinton told the hostages, 'I, too, know what it's like to be held captive by an evil tyrant who wears ladies' sunglasses. I feel your pain.'" --Conan O'Brien

"It's President Obama's 48th birthday. The President has asked that in lieu of sending a gift, people just make a donation to his favorite charity, General Motors." --Conan O'Brien

"Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is on vacation. And today -- I don't know if you saw this -- he was photographed on horseback without his shirt. The photograph won't appear in the newspaper, but it will appear on the cover of Danielle Steele's new novel 'Iron Fist, Velvet Heart.'" --Conan O'Brien

"The United States Postal Service says they might lose $7 billion this year. Apparently, the post office will lose the seven billion when it mails the money to itself." --Conan O'Brien

"I want to say happy birthday today to Barack Obama. The President just turned 48 years old, if he was ever really born, that is." --Jimmy Kimmel

"But Obama's birthday is a reminder of why healthcare is so important. As you probably know, due to a lack of healthcare coverage, Obama's mother was turned away from a number of hospitals and was ultimately forced to give birth in a manger." --Jimmy Kimmel

"And it's a shame to see people out of work, but I have to admit I am looking forward to hearing postal workers complain how slow the lines are at the unemployment office. Right?" --Jimmy Kimmel

"Hey, congratulations to former President Bill Clinton. He traveled to North Korea today, met with Kim Jong-Il and won the release of those two female journalists. It was great for Obama to use Clinton that way. I think I know how he got him to go over there. You know, he's probably like, 'Bill, I need you to go to North Korea for me.' 'I can't do it. I'm completely booked. I have numerous obligations.' 'I want you to visit a woman's prison.' 'What time's my flight?'" --Jimmy Fallon

"It's a great day for our former President Bill Clinton. He went to North Korea and negotiated the release of two female journalists. He did it! Clinton agreed to go as soon as he found out the mission was picking up chicks." --Craig Ferguson