Huckabee Obamacare Ad Plays Fast And Loose With The Facts

screen grab of Huckabee advert

Political issue ads are a sad fact of life. One thing I really wish would happen is that issue ads would be required to be factual about the issue in the ad. One ad which lacks the facts is one featuring Mike Huckabee speaking out against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act derided by the right as ‘Obamacare’. The ad gets heavy play on the Military Channel and plays fast and lose with the truth about the law and the reaction to it. Free speech shouldn’t give cover to a false political advertisement.

I couldn’t find the exact ad online that is playing on the Military Channel but below is one that is 98% close. I did transcribe the audio from the one playing on TV following the clip.

Continue reading “Huckabee Obamacare Ad Plays Fast And Loose With The Facts”

Conservatives losing the debate makes them show their ass

You would think that when a political debate involved adults, that there would be a civil debate about issues. If either side resorts to name calling then they have lost the debate. Conservatives know they have lost the debate on many current issues like the upcoming health care reform, so they resort to name calling and basic racist banter. Then when you call them on it they cry about “freedom of speech”. I agree they should be allowed to say what they want – even when it shows how much of an ass they really are.

A good example was a recent e-mail that was sent out with a picture of President Obama with a bone in his nose:

And then this morning someone forwarded me this email, which as far as I know is unrelated to the Malkin contest BUT follows a similar vein AND has been “making the rounds,” as the kids say, under the subject line Obamacare Healthcare is coming soon!

That’s right, folks! Barack Obama will tax your health benefits and then flee with the money to Africa, where he will convert all the tribespeople to Socialism and become their king after developing inhumanly muscular calves.

The Health Care Debate is Unleashing Creativity from Every Crevice of America 

Then there was this:

“A typical street whore.” “A bunch of ghetto thugs.” “Ghetto street trash.” “Wonder when she will get her first abortion.”

These are a small selection of some of the racially-charged comments posted to the conservative ‘Free Republic’ blog Thursday, aimed at U.S. President Barack Obama’s 11-year-old daughter Malia after she was photographed wearing a T-shirt with a peace sign on the front.

The thread was accompanied by a photo of Michelle Obama speaking to Malia that featured the caption, “To entertain her daughter, Michelle Obama loves to make monkey sounds.”

Conservative Free Republic blog in free speech flap after racial slurs directed at Obama children

And that happened after Conservatives basically accused comedian David Letterman of being a pedophile for telling a bad joke about Sarah Palin’s daughter – never mind that the joke was about the 18 year old daughter and not the 14 year old daughter the Conservatives tried to pin it on.

But like I said when you have no real answers to the policy debate it is easier just to call people names. I mean it worked in school – right?

Findlay loses free speech suit to anti-abortion group

The City of Findlay lost a federal lawsuit to the anti-abortion group Missionaries to the Preborn that had been asked to stop a protest held near a busy intersection in July 2007. The judge found the city’s permit requirements to be unconstitutional. The group, which numbered about 60 people, showed photographs of aborted fetuses. 

After many complaints the police department told the group to disperse saying they didn’t have an event permit. At the time it was said the permit had to be obtained 30 days in advance and could only be approved by the Mayor or safety director. Reports noted in the Courier in its reporting on August 7th said:

[Mayor] Iriti said the decision to ask the group to leave was related to public safety only. “Folks were in the right of way, bringing harm to themselves and others,” Iriti said Monday. “It has nothing to do with content. It was simply related to the time, place and manner (in which the message was delivered),” Iriti said.

[Assistant Law Director Donald] Rasmussen said no federal laws have been broken. “The issue was a violation of local law,” he said. “It had nothing to do with the First Amendment at all. It was about blocking ingress and egress to businesses, blocking traffic … walking out into the street, and we’re always concerned with those things.”

Pro-life group files suit against city after being told to disperse last week (published 08/07/2007)

Rasmussen also noted to the Courier that there was no permit requirement in place and the group was allowed to protest on August 11th.

Missionaries to the Preborn however kept the lawsuit going after the city refused to pay attorney fees related to the filing.

I wanted to read the text of the court decision because I am interested in these kinds of cases, but the court doesn’t release them electronically for 90 days. The reason I want to read the transcript is because the reporting in the Courier of the city side of the case seems a bit unbelievable. Either there was an informal permit policy in place or Findlay Police Chief Bill Spraw lied to the group. Cities can and do have a need to regulate actions when those actions can cause issues of safety but those policies have to be applied equally to all groups or events and be content neutral (although I will note that some content is not allowed – like sex acts for example).

I really don’t care about the group’s message, even if I don’t agree with it, but they should have the right to express that message as long as they aren’t causing safety issues – like a riot or something like that.