November 19, 2009, 10:30 am
Psalm 109:8 ‘Let His Days Be Few’
An anti-Obama bumper-sticker slogan which seems to urge people to pray for an end to the President’s days (in office?).
“There’s a hilarious new meme in the wingnut sectors of the internet,” Gawker announced:
Posters to various message boards tell stories of seeing bumper stickers with the message “Pray for Obama – Psalm 109:8” on the highway, only to look up the verse and find, “Let his days be few; and let another take his office.” …
Anyway, now it’s a real thing: CafePress is selling T-shirts and bumper stickers, the Christian Science Monitor is wondering whether it’s “funny or sinister” to pray for Obama’s death, and Rachel Maddow referenced it last night on her show.
However, as a number of commentators have noted, the wording that follows this bumper-sticker appeal is somewhat more disturbing:
Let his days be few; and let another take his office.
Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow.
Let his children be continually vagabonds, and beg: let them seek their bread also out of their desolate places.
Let the extortioner catch all that he hath; and let the strangers spoil his labor.
Let there be none to extend mercy unto him: neither let there be any to favor his fatherless children.
Let his posterity be cut off; and in the generation following let their name be blotted out.
Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered with the LORD; and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out.
Let them be before the LORD continually, that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth.
In 1971, Lewis F. Powell, then a corporate lawyer and member of the boards of 11 corporations, wrote a memo to his friend Eugene Sydnor, Jr., the Director of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The memorandum was dated August 23, 1971, two months prior to Powell's nomination by President Nixon to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Powell Memo did not become available to the public until long after his confirmation to the Court. It was leaked to Jack Anderson, a liberal syndicated columnist, who stirred interest in the document when he cited it as reason to doubt Powell's legal objectivity. Anderson cautioned that Powell "might use his position on the Supreme Court to put his ideas into practice...in behalf of business interests."
Though Powell's memo was not the sole influence, the Chamber and corporate activists took his advice to heart and began building a powerful array of institutions designed to shift public attitudes and beliefs over the course of years and decades. The memo influenced or inspired the creation of the Heritage Foundation, the Manhattan Institute, the Cato Institute, Citizens for a Sound Economy, Accuracy in Academe, and other powerful organizations. Their long-term focus began paying off handsomely in the 1980s, in coordination with the Reagan Administration's "hands-off business" philosophy.
Most notable about these institutions was their focus on education, shifting values, and movement-building.
The resurgence of organized conservative activity was written about in a recent New York Times piece about Dick Armey and his influential movement organization, FreedomWorks. There are three points that strike me about about the conservative movement now:
ECONOMIC CONSERVATIVES ARE IN ASCENDANCE -- growing in influence and setting strategy for the right. The social religious wing, dominant in the Bush administration, has become less effective and relevant. Their message is angry, populist, and economic: FreedomWorks' slogan is: Lower Taxes, Less Government, More Freedom. Government takeover is their bogeyman. In 2010, they will focus on exploiting the economic pain in the country, railing against spending and taxes, and blaming all government and certain incumbents.
CONSERVATIVES ARE BORROWING FROM THE PROGRESSIVE MOVEMENT -- The NYT article quotes FreedomWorks staff saying that they are making close study of Saul Alinsky and other community organizers. Like progressives, the other side is increasing conservative candidate development (NY-23 and in GOP primaries all over the country), and improving their grassroots advocacy skills (like the impression made at August town halls).
THE CONSERVATIVE MOVEMENT CONTINUES TO BE BETTER FUNDED -- FreedomWorks, just one of many groups, easily raised $7 million from donors in 2008, including single gifts of $1 million and $750,000. The Leadership Institute, the premier training center for the right, sustains an $8 million dollar annual budget--at least twice the budget of any of comparable groups (like Wellstone Action) on the progressive side. Americans for Prosperity, another key conservative economic group has 73 staff people nationally and in 20 states.
Oprah to pull the plug on syndicated show in 2011
Posted: Nov 19, 2009 5:25 PM CST
Updated: Nov 19, 2009 5:25 PM CST
CHICAGO, IL (WMBF) - The president of Harpo, Inc., has announced Oprah Winfrey will be calling it quits on her syndicated show in 2011.
Tim Bennett made Oprah's decision public in a press release to television partners on Thursday evening. Bennett says Oprah will make the announcement live on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" on Friday.
"If you think the last quarter century has been something, then don't touch that dial, as together ,we plan to make history in the next 20 months," Bennett said.
Oprah's show will close as its 25th season comes to an end on Sept. 9, 2011.
Reid: 'We're Proud Of These Figures'
Rachel Slajda | November 18, 2009, 6:50PM
After meeting with the Democratic caucus to unveil the details of his merged Senate health care reform bill, Senate Majority Harry Reid held a press conference to announce the bill.
The bill "saves lives, saves money and protects Medicare, makes Medicare stronger," Reid said, flanked by several Democratic senators, including Chris Dodd, Debbie Stabenow, Al Franken and Chuck Schumer.
"Ninety-eight percent of the American people, those that have Medicare will be included in that number, will have health insurance," he said,
Earlier today, Reid's office briefed reporters on the Congressional Budget Office's analysis of the bill, which will require $849 billion over 10 years in new spending and will reduce the deficit by $127 billion. The CBO had a slightly different percentage of Americans who will be insured, saying the number would come in at 94 percent.
"We're proud of these figures," Reid said.
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