Do these few things today. Laugh, help someone, read and comment on this blog entry and please, for the LOVE OF GOD Stop Neocon Pedophilia

I tried a little experiment yesterday. As we have learned over the last six years the neoconservative movement has mastered the art of spreading political propaganda in the mainstream press under the guise of "Fair and Balanced."

Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly and all of Fox news for that matter claim to be fair an balanced but are hardcore extreme right wing propaganda machines.

Another bastion of the neocon right is the website FreeRepublic.com For those of you who are not familiar with it, it is the leading far right wing bulletin board/discussion site. I read it sometimes to see what the wingnuts are actually thinking.

One of their hallmarks is that they instantly delete anyone who does not fall 100% in line with their beliefs. So VERY American of them.

So, to my experiment. We have Republican Rep. Mark Foley caught in a pedophilia scandal with a Congressional page. He has resigned in disgrace and has entered drug and alcohol rehab.

He follows Ohio Republican Rep. Bob Ney who resigned in disgrace on corruption charges and also entered rehab(is this the new vogue on the hill, steal, lie, pillage and say the booze did it?) and California Republican Rep.Randy "Duke" Cunningham who resigned on charges of tax evasion and conspiracy.

So I registered on FreeRepublic and posted a VERY simple post.

What does the Foley scandal mean for the election in his district?
Is anyone as disgusted by his hypocrisy as I am?

That was it. The second part refers to the fact that he pushed for legislation against underage sexual abuse.

So I waited about an hour and came back to see if I got any replies. I was met with the message.

"You have been deleted for inappropriate posting and violation of our terms"

Well, if that doesn't just typify the last six years.

My questions were inoffensive, non-sectarian and legitimate. Just as the Bush team has declared anyone who comments on or critiques their policies with simple-minded sound bites like "disloyal, traitors, cut and runners" so FreeRepublic does the same.

IF YOU DON'T KNOW THERE IS A WORLD OUTSIDE YOUR BUBBLE YOU CANNOT BEGIN TO DEAL WITH IT

What I experienced with FreeRepublic is much like what the country is dealing with with the Bush administration.

Hypocrisy and insulation are thy name.

The books "Fiasco" "State of Denial" and "The Looming Tower," articles in Vanity Fair, Harper's, The Atlantic, to speeches and comments from numerous Republican congressman and Senators, colon Powell, and former White House Chief of Staff Andy Card.

What do they all have in common? They have all shown hard evidence that Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld are either completely blind to the disaster in Iraq have been purposefully lying about it or more likely, both.

Its like my mom told me: If you tell a lie, you have to keep lying to support the first lie, and so it was and is in Iraq.

What has been shown is that these men and their devout followers in the electorate have an incredible ability to deny reality, to close the doors on constructive criticism and are living in a bubble where the only voices they hear are their own.

A free republic? I'm not so sure anymore.

October 3, 2006 UPDATE

Its good to some Republican members of Congress doing the right thing and speaking out.Shays and Jones speak out "This thing should have been looked into months ago," said Rep. Walter B. Jones Jr. (R-N.C.), who said he is "disgusted" by his leaders' response. "That's abnormal for a 52-year-old man having those kinds of e-mails going to a 16-year-old child."

In a written statement, Rep. Christopher Shays (R-Conn.) said the Republican leadership needs to be shaken up. "If they knew or should have known the extent of this problem, they should not serve in leadership," he said.

Hastert should step aside, just as Delay did, just as so many other Republican leaders have in the last two years. Their feral corruption, and their absolute power corrupting absolutely have further stained the ideals, institutions and sensibilities of America.