As I was waiting in the long line at TNT this morning, I decided to hear what right-wing radio was upset about this morning. I found 740 AM KTRH out of Houston, which was hosted by a local racist named Michael Berry. This guy started several sentences by saying “this may sound racist” as if that was supposed to give him cover.
The subject was about another James O’Keefe sting, where he found black government health care navigators helping black people fraud the government. This was a case about the navigator advising the applicant not to go back and file a tax return for some janitorial work he did as an independent contractor. The listeners would never investigate this Michael O’Keefe hoax because it fits a narrative they want to hear. For example, the applicant probably didn’t make enough to file a tax return and even if he did, he probably would be 140% below the poverty level. Mr. Berry enhanced the story by saying that ACA will be the biggest welfare fraud ever perpetrated by man. He said the leader, President Obama, greatest claim to fame was his work as a community organizer, which gave him the contacts and experience to pull off this fraud. There you go a perfect trifecta; the listeners can get angry at black navigators and the applicants, and they found another reason to hate the president.
A poster asked the other day why someone was a bigot or a racist for not liking the president’s policies. You can go a step further and not like the president without being a bigot or a racist. People know where that line is, and they know when they have crossed it. Many like to go to the water’s edge, but no one wants to be called a racist. Michael Berry uses best his black voice to pretend that he was an applicant seeking welfare; as part of his monologue. I know it when I see it.
Yesterday, Chris Matthews made a good point by saying that Democrats need to even the playing field. The media is covering the disastrous ACA rollout, as well they should, but part of the story should be about GOP obstruction and their refusal to take part in extending Medicaid. The Democrats should always own up to mistakes, but they should also ask their opponent “what’s your plan for reducing high cost of health care.” This should be done at the local, state and national level.
It’s a good thing I don’t listen to talk radio daily because an aspirin a day wouldn’t be enough to keep me alive…. I’m on my way to a full recovery from rotator cuff surgery. Yesterday was my last day of therapy and today my doctor told me to ease into my normal activities; except for riding my bicycle; another month of recuperating before I can do that.
6 comments:
I'm kind of to the point of not even listening anymore. What's the point? You have the same talking points from both sides anyway. Nothing ever changes, so why bother?
I don’t see the equivalency because I don’t see where the Democrats are protecting their own turf. I see where the Republicans are blaming everything on Obamacare, and the Dems just agree that the website is terrible.
I believe things are changing, but the change is coming very slow. For example, I can remember the VA threads having hundreds of comments about abortion and gay marriage where people were at each other’s throats. Today the issue barely comes up and when it does the comments are pretty mild. It’s the same way for discussions on religion.
The minimum wage increase was thought to be a liberal pipe dream that would destroy businesses. Today, I read where Republicans open to a $9.00 an hour minimum wage hike.
Climate-change arguments used to be about Al Gore but now people are sitting up and taking notice because big oil is slowly losing the battle.
Yes, originality gives way to sound bites a lot of times but eventually the truth usually wins out…IMO
And now that I read Juanita's blog, I was reminded about what Michael Berry said about the black health care navigators gathering all your private information and putting it in a database for Lord knows what...A secret file to get your guns, check your IRS files or something else...Can you trust the government?.
I'm thrilled that you took the plunge over at the VA. Let's see how long some people can keep up the argument when they are presented with actual facts.
They ignore me over there..:-)
Hopefully I'll be able to submit a blog later today and we'll see what happens.
Don't let that stop you. They are ignoring you because they cannot come back after you point certain things out.
Post a Comment