Yesterday Republicans forced the nation into shutting down hundreds of government services and putting nearly 800,000 Americans out of work. The impetus for this tantrum was the GOP’s tiny Tea Party faction’s obsession with crippling ObamaCare, a goal they cannot conceivably accomplish.
The effect of this shutdown will be devastating to many citizens, particularly those who are seeking home loans, attempting to pay taxes, traveling abroad, operating businesses in or around national parks, relying on food safety inspections, and victims of natural disasters and workplace discrimination. The shutdown is estimated to cost taxpayers $300 million per day.
Nevertheless, Fox News is editorializing their reporting with a distinctly unfair and unbalanced misrepresentation of the crisis. They have taken to calling the shutdown a “slimdown,” as if it were part of a beneficial dietary program, rather than an expensive, destructive, and painful disruption of the people’s government.
This is like calling a hurricane a gentle breeze. And this is not merely the product of an off-hand op-ed, it is a policy that has spread across multiple stories. For instance:
- Why the Government ‘Shutdown’ Is More Like a ‘Slimdown’
- The government slimdown’s effect on Hollywood
- Obama shortens Asia trip due to government slimdown
- Government slimdown leaves travelers in a state of flux
- D-Day cemetery among the victims of government slimdown
- Government slimdown blocks some seeking NIH research treatment
- What are next steps in resolving government slimdown?
- Americans turn to social media to air feelings on slimdown
- Obama just as responsible for government ‘slimdown’ as Republicans
- House to try again to pass 3 emergency funding bills amid government slimdown
- Lawmakers, World War II vets rise up against government slimdown at war memorial
- ObamaCare takes center stage in gov’t slimdown
- Heated rhetoric in blame game over government slimdown
- Hume: WH eager to see people ‘feel’ the gov’t slimdown
- Welcome to ObamaCare activation and government slimdown week
- Rep. Rigell calls for clean bill to end gov’t slimdown
- Congressional stalemate rings in government slimdown
- Government slimdown will weaken ability to track disease, flu outbreaks
- Slimdown Showdown: Are Dems, Obama seeking political coverage by making it hurt?
That’s twenty instances of this erroneous affectation in just one day that cut across the Fox empire including the news network, the business network, the web site, and the lie-riddled Fox Nation. This is a blatant attempt to deceitfully manipulate public opinion by inserting prejudicial language into what should be straight-forward reporting. Fox News is deploying the term they coined in stories where the actual content uses the correct term, shutdown. They even plaster their invented term, via headlines, over stories from other news sources (e.g. Associated Press) who never use the term themselves.
This is not really anything new for Fox News who have engaged in this propaganda tactic before. They call undocumented residents “illegals” even if they never broke any laws, including immigration laws for those who were brought into the country as children. Fox invented the term “homicide bomber” to use in place of the more accurate phrase “suicide bomber.” All terrorist bombings with fatalities involve homicide, but they were not all conducted by perpetrators who killed themselves. Fox adopted the phrase “government-run health care” to replace the “public option” after focus groups expressed a more positive response to the latter. In keeping with their opposition to reform, Fox chose to use the phrase that would generate the most unfavorable reaction. And Fox repeatedly made references to “job creators,” which they used to avoid talking about the ultra-rich, corporate exploiters of America’s workforce.
Clearly Fox has abandoned any pretense of objectivity with regard to the budget debate. They have ceased to apply ethical journalistic standards to their reporting, instead assuming an activist role on behalf of the Tea-publican extremists in congress. And their insensitive adoption of the artificially weakened “slimdown” rhetoric to describe something that is having such a harsh impact on the lives of citizens who are not responsible for this crisis, illustrates the depth of the callousness to which Fox will sink in order to advance an agenda that benefits the wealthy and corporations at the expense of ordinary Americans.
And when the shutdown starts to affect them personally, gee, it’s all Obama’s fault, he wants to destroy the economy, he has been trying to destroy the greatest nation in the world since the moment of his Kenyan birth. Oh, and the Republicans in Congress had absolutely NOTHING do do with this – whatever gave you that idea? It shure sounds like treason to accuse us faithful Republicans of having any part whatsoever in causing this disaster and Obama must be impeached since he is solely responsible here. So sayeth Lord Rush of Limburger and Fox News is His prophet.
Gee, this seems SO familiar…
Personal disclosure: I don’t have my SS check that was supposed to arrive yesterday. I thought the “slimdown” wasn’t supposed to affect recipients but apparently it does.
I’m not sure of proper commenting etiquette here, but I posted this comment earlier last month on another article and I felt it was wholly relevant:
Looks like merit is not something the right cares about anymore. In fact, it looks like they dug their party into a hole with who they now like to elect. People who openly advocate doing damage to government processes and goals; it’s gotten so bad that now the two sides’ versions of ‘getting something done’ is totally different. One side wants to govern and do more for the people, while the other is anything but covert in its desire to ‘throw a wrench in the machine’ and bring shit to a violent and damaging halt. They apparently don’t give a rat’s flaming asshole that the people fucking hate a congress that gets nothing done. They aren’t intelligent or aware enough to know that they’ve set themselves up to fail. Or, I’m wrong and they are, so they go after voting rights and gerrymander everything to rig it up in their favor. Like I said, merit means dick to the right in the new century. If it did, they wouldn’t be fucking with the system like they are. It all adds up to show a disrespect of democracy and the republic. And what did it to them? Two things, a black president and money money money. History will see them as myopic and immovable, with no desire to elevate the best and brightest among us or to further perfect the union as we move forward into the new era. Everything about them screams a decay of relevance and an active desire to be left behind as the rest of the species moves forward. This is what happens when an entire political organization allows the lowest vices mankind can experience to dictate its outlook and mindset. They should’ve known better.
Stewart put it best the other night, something about an asshole hauling ass in the wrong direction in your lane while you’re on your way to work. Ya know what’s funny? A few days ago you saw moderates expressing ambivalence about this whole thing, even on bullshit mountain. But now, it seems they’ve all been convinced by somebody to totally fall in line. This is just another pre-death GOP convulsion. The consequences of this epicly dumbass stunt might spell the beginning of the fractures that the hijackers, or teabaggers, made inevitable. If this isn’t the straw that breaks their back and forces them to realize that these guys will only fuck things up for them, then they are lost.
No pain No gain…we’ll see how it ends.
How callous. I guess subverting a perfectly valid democratic process and throwing 800,000+ people off work, spreading hunger in children and infants and pregnant mothers, throwing upwards of 300mil of our tax dollars in the shitter, closing down the FDA, the FCC, and myriad helpful programs that help not just the poor and needy, withholding pay from fucking active duty soldier’s families (that right there renders them deserving of a huge FUCK YOU PEOPLE, and there’s so much more….I guess all that is worth….what exactly Steve? What’s this gain you speak of? What’s worth making a traitor out of yourself and causing this much damage to the country? Hey look, when has this ever changed: If you don’t like it here, if you hate this country or its government, then get the fuck out!! When did that ever change?? If you think things are so fucking miserably bad here that you feel the need to cause harm to the country, then go the fuck away!!
….No pain no gain?? Do you even care about politics? That’s not a serious comment right?? I mean, that sounds like those guys you talk to and the conversation might turn to the middle east and they say ‘Nuke it and turn it into a parking lot!’ as of thats a serious policy position or viable course of action. It shows an unserious attitude and a level of intelligence that is simply unsuited for actually caring about politics. You aren’t that guy…are you Steve? I mean…no pain no gain?? That’s like a half joke right??
The comment is only half serious since I know this whole thing will end with no real change – I could say a lot, but nothing I haven’t said before. You don’t observe how the president so desperately tries to convince the markets how important the state is and that they should be more concerned – he is practically begging them to crash so he and all state lovers can say, “look how important we are” – what a joke. Don’t you see how pathetic it is…a chief executive for the USA trying to convince the people how important the state is by practically begging things to fall apart – how can anything be running. How can we all just be going along with our lives and not be deathly afraid of the failure of the state My contempt for government as it exists today is no secret, but this is just a big yawn – the world will not end, I’ll go to sleep tonight and wake up and get on with my life – I didn’t choose to depend on the federal government for my livelyhood, I just wish so many others didn’t fall for the false promise of the state as you so clearly did. There is no desire to see people suffer, but it’s not by my hand, it’s the dependency created by government that causes pain and suffering – people can no longer take care of themselves – that is the saddest part of all of this and it’s in your response.
Dude…firstly, I don’t even know wtf you’re trying to say in the first half of that nonsense. You always have a tenuous, at fucking best, grasp on the issue at hand. I don’t know if you don’t really pay attention anymore or what, but you should read the paper today. Big business stands with the president in this, including the us chamber of commerce.Anybody involved knows that uncertainty is the biggest risk to our economy, and businesses and investors look at what republicans are doing and wondering, with great curiosity, what the flaming fuck is going through their heads. Apparently wanting our intelligence agencies to stay open and protect me from domestic and international threats is statism. Is that right? I guess I should just want to start my own intelligence agencies and public safety agencies like the CDC and FDA and FCC. I guess it’s ok to withhold pay from soldiers families in a time of war.
I know what it is. You’re selectively naive. You think you don’t depend on the government. You depend on them for safety from the world we live in, you depend on them every time you drink tap water, for being able to transport yourself, for enforcing the law. Do I depend on government? Of fucking course I do. I don’t live off the fucking grid, I live in a society, that’s how it fucking works. Those that have to depend on government for survival, do so OUT OF SURVIVAL. You think, for SOME reason which you have never admitted or addressed here, think that people that depend on the government out of survival do so cause its such a sweet deal. Why the hell do you think that?? According to the parts of your comment that I could digest, you seem to only be concerned about welfare programs and the like being affected. I don’t know why, maybe you adhere to solipsism I don’t know, but you just aren’t able to see the whole picture. Your bubble is thick and opaque friend, but the biggest pillar of conservatism saves you the moral headache: Why should I care? I got mine, so fuck off. Right?
Guys like you don’t actually care about politics, you just think you do. You are a republican because you think that’s manly and real America. You only care about what affects just you, namely taxes, and everybody else could drop off the planet for all you care. You don’t live in a society, you live in your house. That’s a choice, however childish and naive, that you made because you favor apathy and myopia. I WANT TO KNOW WHY. PLEASE.
‘I don’t depend on government at all, everything just functions because I will it to function.’
That was mostly just a rant..You really have convinced yourself that your position is so much more enlightened – all the while turning over your money and freedoms for the promise of a better society run by our government – maybe you’re the naive one as every dollar in your pocket is being picked by inflation that benefits only the government and your dreaded 1%. You’re right, I don’t care about politics – I care about this country and being rid of what has become an oppressive, overly burdensome government and having a reasonably sized government that doesn’t intrude and trample on individual rights and steal my hard earned money at gun point and threat of imprisonment if I don’t pay. The affordable care act is just another example of oppressive government with it’s individual and employer mandate. I’m 100% about the individual – so the collectivist mindset just doesn’t compute. I think I’ve answered the republican issue many times – I may be registered republican, but that party no longer represents my conservative/libertarian beliefs – so it’s just a party and it means very little to me anymore. Naive or not, handing in my money and freedom for government run society makes little sense to me – so it won’t be something I vote to do. Oh yeah – I got mine by working for it – so yes, fuck off.
Weak. Why be so vague? What fuckin freedoms? Wtf are you talking about? Laws? Is that you mean? The fact that people can’t go out and do whatever the fuck they want? Also, way to ignore half what I said.
Of course my position is more enlightened, more goes into my position than just ‘I love money and hate taxes and don’t give a shit about anything but me so fuck off!’ You said it right there, you don’t see government as doing anything other than fucking you over. Which is fucking insane. You said it, you don’t want any govenment at all, or a county to belong to, or a community that facilitates human life. Your not 100% about the individual, you’re 100% about your individual. Are you not able to see that in the modern world that view is totally irrelevant and completely stupid?? There’s no other way to describe the ‘individualist’, anarchist, view!! There just isn’t!! It’s a view that purposefully overlooks facts and reality as it plays in to even YOUR OWN LIFE!! You…somehow, look at this country in everything it is and everything it’s ever accomplished and say ‘Government didn’t and never has and never will do shit for me.’ And so I say myopia and stupid and opaque bubble and shit like that. You think government doesn’t give us better lives? How fuckin stupid is it that anyone can say that the us government didn’t make life in the us better? I mean, fucking REALLY?!?! Aside from the species remaining alive and helping to usher humanity into the new age, three times, the us government has made THE WORLD a better place to live. You fucking hate this country. Put your running shoes on AND GET THE FUCK OUT. I’d take a Mexican that knows what a shitty life is and what a good life is jumping the fence to get one than a dumbass like you that thinks pure individualism, anarchy, is a viable and valid fucking ideology in the year 2013. I was right way back when I called out as just being fuckng stupid.
You know what I just noticed? I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen you actually defend your own positions, other than vague statements about how freedoms are being taken away or something, you just shit on the other side.
Jesus Christ, I just remembered that truly epic comment about your ideal government that does nothing to anybody for not paying taxes, youre the dumbest fuckin guy I know.
I mean, I try so hard to get valid and realistic ideas and positions out of you but it just doesn’t happen. It all boils down to stupidity. You take your positions because you’re a stupid person. That’s all it is.
I just don’t comply, well too bad. And i vote, so you just need to put up with my dumb choices – you pretty much got the summary at the end – I’ve got mine through my own hard work so fuck off – yep, that’s dead on perfect. I’ll enjoy what’s left of my paycheck after government steals its part first and I won’t feel ANY guilt at all. If I have more that my neighbor, too fucking bad. I’m not capable of feeling guilt on this subject, so stop trying.
Oh look, now someone’s shooting at the Capitol building. This is the best example of a self inflicted nationwide clusterfuck I’ve ever seen.
It’s good to see the government doesn’t need funding to shoot and kill citizens. Good Job, I feel so much more secure and protected by society. I guess the baby can say when they can speak she/he was lucky they weren’t shot too as her possible accomplice.
No they do, they just work without pay because they know what function they serve to the people. And guess who employs them? Isn’t that funny Steve? Government employs the guys that neutralized a threat in dc. What a fuckin nightmare!!
They aren’t serving the people dumbass – they are keeping the people in line in front of the white house fence – have you ever been to DC in front of the white house? It’s more fortified than an army base. There is a high fence and a granite curb around the white house lawn – kids (like 8 year olds) get yelled at if they stand on the granite curb – even though you have no way of getting over the fence from the top of the curb unless you’re superman. Yes, they are doing the important business of the country – sounds like your kind of order. How would you deal with people who just won’t comply? Shoot them all? Yes, I really like your idea of a free country. The woman was a bit off – yes – but is this what you want you country to look like – government security killing anyone who is out of line? This may be a bad example, but it could easily go beyond a crazy driver and into something less threatening someday – sounds like you may be ok with that kind of society because you can feel safe and order can be maintained.
Wow, so on top of stupid we can add warped. That must be a tasty cherry.
If ‘out of line’ means trying to kill a cop with your car, then yeah, kill em all. They yell at 8 yr olds? GASP. Sounds like a parent wasn’t doing their fucking job. You’re starting to sound like one of those 10th amendment batshits.
By the way, you just said that cops killing would be cop killers while they’re trying to kill cops is a slippery slope. You define stupid. It doesn’t get any lower. Won’t comply???? She tried to kill a cop….yea no, clearly I’m the dumbass. Just FYI, you look ridiculous wearing your ass as a hat.
What exactly is a 10th ammendment batshit? I know what the 10 ammendment states, not sure where batshit enters. That is real question.
This really is a fruitless argument. You hate what I believe and I hate what you believe…I will resist being ruled and you just accept it and want me to accept it willingly – it just won’t happen. I’m the least of your concerns as I’m not violent and wouldn’t hurt anyone – so just accept that there is a part of this population that fights government control over our lives and will continue to do it – it’s happening now, maybe not the best way possible, but it’s happening.
Steve, damn shame the lady was killed but seriously it was not because the government has some weird secret plot going designed to kill everyone who acts crazy. In this case no one knew if the driver was armed or if the car was carrying a bomb.
Now as to the issue of your beloved individuality. I take it you went to private schools exclusively. Couldn’t be tax payer funded public schools could it? You must work at home right? Can’t see you driving to work on tax payer roads build and maintained by the government. It’s obvious you must grow all your own food…can’t imagine you eating food delivered by trucks over tax payer maintained roads. Or eating food inspected by federal inspectors. I know you don’t fly or take trains, they are all regulated and inspected by the government for safety. Got to have a car I’m sure, perhaps something from the 50’s getting 8-9 MPG. If you own something newer with 20-30 MPG, one with seat belts and air bags, you know the stuff that protects you and your family. Why that would be due to government regulations. And obviously you pay no attention to pesky red lights or speed limits, and hate those guard rails the government installs being the rugged individual you claim to be. None of that government required seat belt stuff you you I’m sure. I’m just in awe of you individualists…so independent aren’t you.
Actually Steve you’re just a typical GOP blowhard who believes you’ve accomplished everything on your own when in fact the government you hate has provided for your education, your job and your safety mostly without your notice.
When I read something like that I think what a bunch of losers as you can’t comprehend life without your security blanket. Do you honestly believe nothing would be possible unless it was provided or thought of by the government. Do you give them the credit for every success in your life. Even for wiping your ass – it’s good you have them, you would be lost and I’m sure we would all be living in the stone ages still. How did the human race ever survive. I’m willing to see the other side with a government debt default – how about you? I wasn’t so sure, but that maybe the only way to get you off our backs – I’m sure we would survive.
I was being generous when I suggested you have successes in your life to attribute to the government. Based on what you wrote, I think you have none to speak of, which is why you attack those who do, you need to justify your own failures and suggesting we wouldn’t have any successes without your list of reasons – and it makes you feel better. I get a lot of that on this blog – lots of excuses, no real responsibility – hence “losers”.
I know I’m hogging this comment column, and I apologize for that, but just one more thing here..so my head doesn’t fucking implode.
The fact that 80 people in one half of one branch of this government shut the whole thing down PISSES ME THE FUCK OFF!!!!! GODDAMMIT I’M ANGRY!!!!
embrace anarchism – you would feel sooo much better.
You’re an idiot. You have nothing better to do with your time than argue with liberals. You really need to get a life.
When liberals stop trying to dictate behavior to the masses through government, then I’ll stop arguing. Stop messing with people.
Vote for the worst Republican? there’s a tough call!