Move Over Scientology, Here Comes Beckopolis!

By Nathan Rothwell

Apparently Glenn Beck wants to start a cult town.

Now, before we get too worked up over this, odds are that this plan will never come to fruition. Beck’s schemes are usually never fully realized, due to a combination of mismanaged execution and his own hubris. Remember the “Restoring Honor” rally, where Beck had originally hoped that as many as 300,000 people would crowd the National Mall to hear his 100-year plan to save America? As it turned out, only about a third of that projection actually attended. And the great “transformation” Beck hyped for months turned out to be nothing more than a proclamation of his love for the Mormon Jeebus.

So there’s an excellent chance that Beck’s proposed city/theme park hybrid (entitled “Independence, USA”) never actually materializes. Or if it does, the amount of attendance it actually gets will make Euro Disney look like a huge success by comparison. All things being considered, outrage doesn’t seem warranted. But that doesn’t mean we can’t take a look at the pre-hype hoopla and make lots and lots of fun of it.

GETTING IN:

The front entrance “is based on Ellis Island,” Beck explains. “Everybody that would come through would come through the front gate… through Ellis Island. And the reason why we put Ellis Island there is because that’s how most of us, or our families came through.”

TRANSLATION:

“We’re pre-screening you bastards before any one of you gets into my dreamtown! And you can’t bring any stuff with you, either!” You’ve got to hand it to Beck here, with his use of descriptive language to transform the hallmarks of joining a cult (appeasing Dear Leader, giving up worldly possessions) into reliving an episode of American history.

Actually, I take that back. Many think of Emma Lazarus’ “huddled masses yearning to breathe free” when picturing Ellis Island, which conveniently omits the ugly parts. Like the part where quotas on certain ethnic groups were enforced, or the part where officials could change your last name if it was too hard to pronounce, or just sounded too foreign-y.  Nothing enhances the theme park experience like making people stand in line to make sure they share in Beck’s delusions of grandeur / aren’t Muslim!

The Rumble: political satirist takes on political pundit

The Daily Show's Jon Stewart took on Conservative pundit, Bill O'Reilly in a debate "rumble" that took place at George Washington University yesterday. The Rumble was arguably more substantive than the Presidential debate.

The GOP's Last Gasp: The "Independent" Voter

By Nathan Rothwell 

As the Republican National Convention convenes this week to officially nominate Mitt Romney for president, the GOP is desperate to reclaim the narrative from the potential devastation of Tropical Storm Isaac and the definite devastation of party castout Todd Akin. Governor Bob McDonnell, head of the GOP Platform Committee, spent time on This Week with George Stephanopoulos to drive home a new narrative: Mitt Romney is the new best pal of independent voters.

After attempting to lay the blame for the U.S. credit rating downgrade on President Obama, McDonnell had this to say:

“So on the things that really matter to voters, George, I think the records are stark, and I think that’s why independent voters have a ten-point margin in favor of Mitt Romney right now.”

Such a claim seems dubious. And according to Politifact, the poll McDonnell referenced comes from (surprise!) a Fox News poll. Recent CNN and Gallup polls, however, show a Romney lead among independents closer to the 3-4% range.

In my opinion, if Republicans are willing to exaggerate how well Romney is doing among independent voters, that narrative must mean something to them. Yet this seems like a fool’s errand. I would argue that these independents Romney seems so desperate to court don’t actually exist – or at least, the GOP doesn’t quite understand what an independent voter actually looks like.

Using "the pill" equivalent to using a condom? Are uptight Conservatives that in the dark about women's sexual health?

Conservatives seem to think women use the pill like men use a condom. Idiots.

Gotta watch your baby-maker. I mean, uterus.

To the vast majority of women, taking the pill is no big deal. There are a variety of reasons why women begin taking the pill and at what age they start. I got a prescription for contraceptives in my late teens. Other women I know, including in my own family, started the pill much earlier because of highly irregular, unusually painful or heavy cycles. Some women try the pill, but find they prefer not to be on it. Some women prefer patches, shots, rings or implants. The point is, we all have to go through it and deal with it (our periods that is) ... and we all pretty much end up having sex at some point. Enter (more than 50 years ago I might add): oral contraceptives. Except in 2012, women's access to the pill is under attack, as well as the reputations of women who take the pill.

In Arizona, women may be forced to provide personal details from their health care providers to their "moral" employers to justify that they aren't just using the pill for pregnancy prevention. (In other words, for sex). These details could range from including the very nature of your uh-em, lady cycle, to private medical disorders whose symptoms oral contraceptives help treat (such as polycystic ovarian syndrome and endometriosis).

Besides the medical reasons, there are plenty of other non-sex benefits, which include acne control, PMS relief, and to time that time of the month more conveniently. However, the "it's violating my religious freedom" or the "who's going to pay for it" arguments are the only intellectual backbone social conservatives can pretend to give this "controversy". To me, it seems there is a false equivalency being drawn between the pill and condoms. Although it isn't always said outright, this is how the pill is being treated rhetorically by conservatives (including high profile conservatives):