The Tea Party Jacobins — Mark Lilla, NY Times Book Review

A new strain of populism is metastasizing before our eyes, nourished by the same libertarian impulses that have unsettled American society for half a century now. Anarchistic like the Sixties, selfish like the Eighties, contradicting neither, it is estranged, aimless, and as juvenile as our new century. It appeals to petulant individuals convinced that they can do everything themselves if they are only left alone, and that others are conspiring to keep them from doing just that. This is the one threat that will bring Americans into the streets.

I would have missed this, had it not been for the ever watchful @jayrosen_nyu who tweeted it again because it was his most popular recent link. For good reason.

There is almost nothing I could write that could make the point better than this thoughtful and prescient post does. Everyone should read it—twice.  It could be the first really complete overview of what is actually happening to this nation, and just how dangerous a predicament we are in.

The concorporate media is part of the problem, so they are hardly going to be the one's to tell this story well, despite articles like this which sneak into their product mix now and then.

If I have any criticism at all, it's that it pays far too little attention to Roger Ailes, the Koch brothers, Dick Armey's Freedomworks, and all the other cynical forces of darkness that are gaming the Tea Party movement—and America—more and more each day.

Please  click the GREEN Retweet button below, and help others understand this growing menace to this foundering American experiment.

Read: The Tea Party Jacobins

 

"Bernie Goldberg Fires Back"

The Daily Show 4/20/2010 — Length: 11:54

Jon "apologizes" for criticizing Bernie Goldberg and Fox News, but it's only because they're a terrible, cynical, disingenuous news organization.  Do NOT shut this off half way thru. The real punchline comes after the lengthy setup.

Please retweet this with the green button. Once again, Stewart explains what all the rest of the media never can. People need to see it.

 

The Money Shots

Jon Stewart to Bernie Goldberg (with gospel backup singers behind him.)

Bernie Goldberg..

You're criticizing me for not living up to YOUR tag line!

And you dismiss any criticism as further evidence of how the rest of the media persecutes you.

You like to pretend that the relentless conservative activism of Fox News is the equivalent of the disorganized  liberal influence you find at NBC, ABC and CBS.

You may be able to detect a liberal pathogen..in the bloodstream.. however faint.

But Fox news is such a crazy overreaction to that perceived threat,

you're like an auto immune disorder.

I'm not saying the virus doesn't exist in some small quantity.

But you're producing way too many antibodies.

Fox News. You're the Lupus of news.

So I guess what I'm saying to you is this.

So long as "Fair and Balanced" is how you sell yourselves.

So I guess what I am sayin' to you is this:

Go fuck yourselves.

Related