We actually planned to get this piece out earlier, but life and the killing of Osama bin Laden (accompanied by the 24/7 news cycle) got in the way. But better late than never, and this week’s winner is a doozy.
Today we welcome Rep. Sally Kern (R – Oklahoma City), a member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives. Ms. Kern’s claim to fame? Kern argued on the floor of the Oklahoma House that Affirmative Action should be ended because it isn’t effective. The reason it isn’t effective enough? Because blacks don’t want to work hard.
Whoa. She said that? On the floor? Here’s the proof.
Yep, she really said it. But that wasn’t all. She didn’t have particularly fond words for women either. According to Kern, women make less than men because they don’t want to work as hard as a man either. But as she says here, don’t take it the “wrong” way, as if there is a right way.
We are not sure which is scarier… the fact that she holds public office in Oklahoma, or the fact that there are morons in that state who elected her. Watching the videos of Kern in action, we are reminded of Oklahoma’s other famous depiction in the media:
On the bright side, this rant by Kern did not go unanswered. Despite resistance from the Speaker of the Oklahoma House to seek a reprimand on Kern’s conduct, the House Democrats brought forward a motion to discipline Kern, which passed with a strong majority. For her part, Kern issued an apology and stated “I made my apology, and I do understand that just saying you’re sorry does not make everything right.”
But this is not the first time that Kern has shown her extremist side, and not the first time that she has even been recognized as a recipient of the Golden Momo. Indeed, if we learned anything from Kern, it is that she is the gift that keeps on giving.
As the war in Afghanistan draws on, Brave New Films asks how much money this is costing each of us as taxpayers. According to their calculator, I paid $4,798 to fund American war efforts this year. That’s a lot of damn money for a war that a large percentage of American taxpayers are sick of. It’s your war now Mr. Obama, and we are waiting.
Once you have determined how much you have paid, this site will send an automated letter to your Representative. The letter reads:
Dear Rep. (Name):
This tax season, I’m appalled to discover I have been charged $4798 in income taxes to pay for the Afghanistan War and other military spending this year. The Afghanistan War alone will cost taxpayers $107.3 billion this year just in direct costs. These huge costs are outrageous at a time when millions of Americans are still out of work and tens of millions more are fighting to pay bills and keep their homes.
I expect you to spend our tax dollars in ways more in line with your constituents’ priorities.
Next tax season, I don’t want to discover I’ve paid this much money for war. As my elected official, I respectfully request you honor that desire and do everything you can to support a swift, responsible withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan this year.
As long-time readers of this site know, a popular feature of the former incarnations of OLV was “Moron of the Moment,” where we poked fun at some of the idiocy of the day. And while our material didn’t always come from social conservatives, they certainly went above and beyond the call of duty in providing our content. The bit was phased out in the revamped OLV site, but it now being brought out of retirement. Hell, if conservatives can be forgiven for continuing to espouse that “trickle down” economics works despite decades of proof to the contrary, we think that we can be cut some slack for bringing one feature piece back!
This time around, we are establishing some criteria for the award, and genuinely seeking reader submissions. So here is the standard that we will utilize in making Golden Momo selections, and we ask you to apply the same standard as you email us your nominations at: onelittlevictoryblog@gmail.com.
Selection Criteria (any or all of the following must apply):
1. The nominee must have said or done something that is simply not consistent with objective facts.
2. The nominee must have said or done something that demonstrates public hypocrisy.
3. The nominee must have said or done something that was hurtful to others and which would be deemed offensive under the “reasonable person” standard.
Yes, these are fairly broad categories. But you will find that, unlike the previous Golden Momo segment, we won’t simply go after politicians because we disagree with them. Instead we will target specific words and actions that defy reason and/or civility.
And with all of that said…. drumroll please… it is time to bestow the first Golden Momo Award for 2011.
Our “Winner” – Grady Warren of the Tea Party
Mr. Warren receives the dubious distinction of receiving our Moron of the Moment Award for his rather bizarre defense of the Tea Party as a non-racist organization. Of course his defense is laden with some incredibly racist rhetoric that almost any thinking person would find objectionable. We defy any Tea Party member (or defender) to defend these comments. In this video alone, he refers to black leaders as “criminals,” “nigras,” and “race pimps.” We particularly love the reference to being civil and peaceful while displaying a sign saying, “We came unarmed – this time.” And note his “Peaceful but prepared” t-shirt… you know, because that’s how he educates people on the complex issue of the right to bear arms.
But wait, that’s only the springboard to bashing Muslims for their “infiltrating, procreating, and then eliminating…” I guess in his view all Muslims should be celibate… which truthfully is kind of how we feel about people like Grady Warren. He then calls for the deportations of all Muslims “as soon as possible.” Newsflash for you, Grady: If we deported people on the basis of violence committed in the name of religion, there wouldn’t be any Christians here either. Warren then moves on to blast blacks as criminals, and as being the cause for why government doesn’t work. And according to Grady, trillions of dollars in reparations have been given to blacks as a repayment for slavery. We are sure that this will come as a welcome bit of news for blacks across the United States; never mind that it is utterly false. He also gets in the obligatory Tea Party shot about gay marriage. Of course, Warren suggests that he will be accused of being racist for his opposition to gay marriage, completely missing the fact that he is too ignorant to understand which “ism” he is guilty of. Then, Warren seriously asks if it is racist to love Sarah Palin. Is it racist, Mr. Warren? No, it is not. But it ain’t bright. He castigates blacks for voting based only on skin color and party affiliation only. Not only is he dead wrong, but we’re going to go out on a small limb and just guess that Mr. Warren hasn’t voted for any Democratic blacks, Asians, or Latinos anytime in the part thirty years. Thus, Mr. Warren’s hypocrisy is evident for all to view. He goes on to extend his criticism of blacks to Hispanics and to the “rest of the ignorant and uneducated liberals.” Talk about painting with a broad brush. Best rest assured, he is painting with white paint on a white picket fence that surrounds a white house that exists only in the recesses of his own small mind. Warren closes with an acknowledgement that if people think differently than him, then “this huckleberry is just a racist.” Well put, huckleberry.
Just one question… what the hell is a nigra? And yes, that is a rhetorical question.
On this final piece… even Fox News “can now confirm” that Obama is a citizen. Careful Shep… you are starting to sound way too reasonable for Fox News!
Might we suggest a new Facebook status for any people who believe that Birthers should form their own island colony and leave the rest of us the hell alone? It should read:
“If you are a Birther, please de-friend me. Really. Pass it on.”
We at OLV are becoming big fans of the Coffee party. Initially formed to promote civil debate (as opposed to the tactics of the Tea Party), the Coffee Party seems to have found its progressive voice and is now actively calling on citizens to engage our government. Right now the focus is on calling Congress’ attention to the income disparity in this nation and refusal of our government to make corporations pays their fair share in taxes. Only 7.2 per cent of federal income is derived from corporations, while 33.7 per cent is derived from individual tax payers. By now most of us are aware of the wonderful example set by General Electric. Just what good things are they bringing to life? How about profit in excess of $12 billion. Oh, and they not only paid no taxes, but also got a big fat tax refund in excess of $3 billion. That took place while GE was shipping jobs overseas as opposed to creating them here in America. Exactly how much more profitable an environment are we supposed to create before GE decides to create some American jobs?
Here is some information from the Coffee Party. Please share it widely.
Welcome to the third incarnation of One Little Victory.. and yes, the third time is the charm!
We’ve been away for some time because life has taken us in many directions, and there simply hasn’t been a lot of time for writing. Luckily for our readers, the American political system never really does seem to improve. Our head-shaking leads to muttering and grumbling. And then our grumbling leads us back to, ” Why aren’t we writing again?” So we are back, and committed to again becoming a reliable source of progressive opinion as well as a direct challenge to the right wing that has seized control of our nation.
Where previous iterations of this site mixed politics with personal interests, that is no more. From now on, it is current events and politics only. Our first couple of pieces that will follow will address what it means to be progressive. After all, we know what Glenn Beck and the right wing think of progressives, but who are we and what do we actually stand for? Follow-up pieces will focus on the shifting of American politics over the past forty years to the right, and then our contributors will let fire on various issues of the day. We will continue to post summaries and links on solid progressive pieces that we discover, just as we did on the previous site.
So with that, let me welcome back our wonderful readers. Even without fresh contant, I have been surprised to see how active the site was and how much traffic we were receiving. We know it will take some time to develop a library of content and win back a larger reader base, but we are committed to doing so and look forward to seeing what our readers have to offer.
If you are interested in being a contributor, please send us some information about you, as well as a writing sample. You can submit it to: onelittlevictoryblog@gmail.com.
Welcome back and happy reading!
Welcome to One Little Victory
Welcome to One Little Victory: Your source for progressive news and analysis. Email us with feedback, suggestions, comments or submissions.
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