Last week, Mitt Romney picked Paul Ryan, the Republican architect of Congress's radical right-wing budget plan, as his running mate. Ryan has previously cited Rage Against the Machine as one of his favorite bands. Rage guitarist Tom Morello responds in this exclusive op-ed:
"Paul Ryan's love of Rage Against the Machine is amusing, because he is the embodiment of the machine that our music has been raging against for two decades. Charles Manson loved the Beatles but didn't understand them. Governor Chris Christie loves Bruce Springsteen but doesn't understand him. And Paul Ryan is clueless about his favorite band, Rage Against the Machine."
"You see, the super rich must rationalize having more than they could ever spend while millions of children in the U.S. go to bed hungry every night. So, when they look themselves in the mirror, they convince themselves that "Those people are undeserving. They're . . . lesser." Some of these guys on the extreme right are more cynical than Paul Ryan, but he seems to really believe in this stuff. This unbridled rage against those who have the least is a cornerstone of the Romney-Ryan ticket."
"But Rage's music affects people in different ways. Some tune out what the band stands for and concentrate on the moshing and throwing elbows in the pit. For others, Rage has changed their minds and their lives. Many activists around the world, including organizers of the global occupy movement, were radicalized by Rage Against the Machine and work tirelessly for a more humane and just planet. Perhaps Paul Ryan was moshing when he should have been listening".
There is of course much more to this exquisite verbal take down of Ryan and his philosophies to be found by clicking the Rolling Stone link at the top, and I recommend that you read the entire thing as it is pretty awesome.
You know I think this is illustrative of a certain pattern we are seeing emerge concerning Ryan. He listened to "Rage Against the Machine" without hearing their lyrics, just like he read Ayn Rand without understanding that she was perhaps one of the worst examples imaginable of an Atheist.
I have to imagine, considering his antipathy towards his fellow man, that he also did not truly comprehend the teachings of Jesus Christ he surely must have been exposed to while attending his Catholic church.
It kind of makes you wonder if Paul Ryan has a clear understanding of ANY of the information to which he is exposed? And if not, HOW does that make him the designated "intellectual" in the Republican party.
Or is that a question that just answered itself?
I'm always amused by some of these Republican candidates for office and their musical choices. It seems that they 'pick' a song to play at their rallies, but then the actual artist who wrote and played the song comes out against them and tells them to stop playing their song! It's pretty funny sometimes. They simply don't get it. Maybe they should just start playing "We're in the Money". Perhaps whoever wrote that is dead by now!
ReplyDeleteLiz
It killed me that in one Republican campaign (either Bush or McCain's campaign) they were playing the Who's Won't Be Fooled Again. It's astonishing their lack of awareness or sense of irony.
DeleteM from MD
Liz, do you remember when Princess was using "Rage Against the Machine" as one of her catch-phrases? All the wee pee-bots were championing the slogan and using it in their comments. All I could think of was, have any of you you even listened to Rage's "Do What They Told Ya"?
DeleteAlso, too -- Tom Morello is a long time political activist and a huge supporter of OWS. Ryan is messing with the wrong guy.
I think I have to go buy a new album. or download.
ReplyDeleteBut yeah, the Ryan/Rand link is hysterical. Rand's "selfishness is good (aka Randian Objectivism) only works if one can be truly selfsh - no Christian morality rules, no care about the z/e/feez. Otherwise, it's just a rubberstamp on the greed of people of privilege - white males like Rmoney and Ryan and their female appendages Ann and Janna.
Mitt Romney's 'Entitled Mormon Male Problem' Discussed On HuffPost Live (VIDEO)
ReplyDeleteHuffPost Live's Abby Huntsman and Marc Lamont Hill led a discussion Friday morning on Mitt Romney's Mormon faith.
"What a lot of people don't understand is [that] what makes Romney tick is his Mormon faith," Huntsman, who grew up as a practicing member of the church, said.
Sue Emmett, an ex-Mormon and a descendant of Brigham Young, explained that she believes Romney suffers from an "entitled Mormon male problem," compounded by his family's wealth and the faith's inherent feeling of being "chosen."
"In the Mormon culture, men have all the power in the church," Emmett said. "Women do an awful lot of work in the church but they don't really have any ability to have power positions or to make final decisions."
Huntsman, Hill and Emmet discussed how this plays into his policies towards women and a disturbing story of Romney's threat to excommunicate a woman who refused to give up her baby.
Watch
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/17/mitt-romneys-entitled-mor_n_1798219.html
Paul Ryan Tax Returns Released For 2010, 2011
ReplyDeleteThe returns look much different than Mitt Romney's, which run longer than 100 pages. Ryan and his wife Janna Ryan's return is fairly straight-forward, reflecting income in the low to mid-six figures.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/17/paul-ryan-tax-returns-_n_1799485.html
What is the salary of a congressman? How do they make mid six figures?
DeleteIt really bothers me that all of these guys are giving only 2 years. There. We'd to be stricter requirements BY LaW. Because these assholes are so entitled think common standards don't apply to them.
It really depresses me that half the country is so illogical in their hate towards the president that they would vote for these immoral Cretans.
If they represent capitalism, I'm beginning to be a real socialist and proud of it.
Paul Ryan released two years of tax returns Friday evening, fulfilling a promise he made on "60 Minutes" the day after he formally became Mitt Romney's running mate. Ryan and his wife, Janna, "paid an effective tax rate of 15.9% in 2010 and 20% in 2011," according to a review of the returns by the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
ReplyDeletePaul Ryan and his wife, Janna, paid an effective tax rate of 15.9% in 2010 and 20% in 2011, according to tax returns provided by the Romney-Ryan campaign to the Journal Sentinel on Friday.
ReplyDeleteIn 2010, Ryan and his wife paid $34,233 in federal taxes on $215,417 of adjusted gross income.
In 2011, they paid $64,764 in federal taxes on $323,416 of adjusted gross income.
A little more than half of the Ryans' total income in that two-year period came from the congressman's congressional salary.
But the couple also earned significant outside income from dividends, capital gains, real estate and other sources.
For example, in 2010, the couple reported $39,013 in income from "rental real estate, royalties, partnerships, S corporations, trust, etc."
In 2011, the Ryan reported $116,143 in income from the same category of sources.
A Ryan aide told the Journal Sentinel last week that much of Ryan's investment income is from holdings that belonged to his wife.
"As these are properties Rep. Ryan 'married into,' for lack of a better term," Ryan spokesman Kevin Seifert said last week, "he does not play an active role in them and has no plans to."
Seifert said last week that the Ryans' investments include several companies that lease land and mineral rights to energy companies.
Ryan also has assets passed down through his own family.
Federal financial disclosure forms show that last year Ryan, 42, had assets of between $2.1 million and $7.8 million - figures that include a trust valued at between $1 million and $5 million that belonged to his wife after her mother died in 2010.
The Ryans, who have three children, also earned $26,052 in dividends in 2010 and $29,987 in 2011.
The couple reported $3,135 in capital gains in 2010 and $33,153 in 2011.
The Ryans donated $2,600 to charity in 2010 and $12,991 in 2011.
The Ryans filed a corrected return in 2011 after their original return understated their income by $61,122.
According to campaign spokesman Brendan Buck, that additional income related to a holding called the Prudence Little Living Trust:
"The required K-1 form from the Prudence Little Living Trust had not been received by the filing deadlines for the PFD (Personal Financial Disclosure) and the tax return, and therefore was omitted on the originally-filed documents. When the K-1 form was later received, the omission was realized and corrected," said Buck.
The Ryans' 2011 return shows an underpayment penalty of $59.
http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/ryan-releases-tax-returns-for-last-two-years-bm6hj2b-166584486.html
Yes, you have to wonder! The man is a complete confusion of interests. It feels like the GOP machine is attempting to construct a person to fit whatever preconceived ideas of what would be interesting and acceptable to non-GOPPERS. But they just don’t get it. They truly engage in an alternative reality.
ReplyDeleteIt reminds me of the different worlds Janis Joplin and Tricia Nixon inhabited in 1968. The GOP has not grown in any way since then. The GOP is stagnant and fetid still.
While Angry Ann Romney Rages, First Lady Michelle Obama Charms
ReplyDeleteAs Ann Romney angrily raged at the American people, Michelle Obama was charming voters voters by describing our shared experiences.
Here is the video of Ann Romney:
http://www.politicususa.com/angry-ann-romney-rages-lady-michelle-obama-charms.html
Ann Romney would be a horrible first lady as she doesn't relate well to those beneath her. The same impression is given by her husband.
DeleteThank God we have President and Mrs. Obama representing all of us. Love them!
Anti-Obama Navy SEAL leader: I’m a Birther
ReplyDeletehttp://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/08/17/anti_obama_navy_seal_leader_i_m_a_birther
All the Koch brothers butt boys look the same. They all look like they have iq's that are 25 points lower than average. Issa, Walker, Ryan, Santorum. They are all Koch butt boys who take their marching orders from the Kochs.
ReplyDeleteThe late great Root Boy Slim, a Yale classmate of W. wrote this song years ago.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFkzfJCSg-c
The Republicans need to stick to Ted Nugent for their music and everyone will be happy.
ReplyDeleteAnd don't forget John Rich, who wrote that No. 1 song for John McCain, "Raisin' McCain" ub 2008. I think he actually said something like, "I gave this to John McCain and it's my gift to America."
DeleteLiz (blue girl living in a red state)
Why would you state that Ayn Rand was a poor example of an Atheist? A person of no faith has absolutely no reason to help those less fortunate; we're not going to hell if we don't. However, there are Atheists that have empathy, probably the same percentage of people with faith that have natural empathy. Atheists and Deists alike only provide assistance to others if that is a natural part of their personality. I think that the philanthropy gene is "hardwired" whether you are a believer or not. Rand was what she was; an Atheist and an unapologetic self-involved person that did not believe in helping others. People are people, religion generally does not change them.
ReplyDeleteNo that is not what I meant.
DeleteWhat I meant was that she was a poor example for others to use in order to describe what type of person was drawn to atheism.
I agree that our belief, or disbelief, in a God has little to do with our humanity or defines our morality.
Sorry Gryphen, I just had my panties in a twist for a second. I never mean to offend, but it's always nice to hear from you, and I truly mean that :-)
DeleteI guess that sometimes I feel that perhaps we, you and I and some other Atheists that post here, would be better labeled as "Humanists" because regardless of our lack of faith we still seem to care about the condition of our fellow humans, and the other creatures that share our planet. I have been walking a fine line between Atheism and Humanism for quite some time and while it is satisfying at times to just be a "fuck it all" Atheist, I can't always find that to be a completely worthwhile way to live my life, and I see so much of you in me and many of the other folks that post here that question religion.
Have a nice weekend, it's always nice to see what you have to say. I'd love to buy you lunch one day if you make it out to the Valley.
If you haven't heard what Bill Maher said recently, it went something like this: if Ryan is the intellectual of the Rethugs, and Supergrifter Granny is the stupidest person in the world, and they agree on everything, what does THAT mean?!?!
ReplyDeleteOf course Paul Ryan was the kid who had all the right music but didn't really know what it meant. He probably wore a crew neck sweater while he moshed. The only thing he was raging against was anything having to do with love of his fellow man---and understanding the role of government for we the people.
ReplyDeleteRyan is a liar and hypocrite. It must depress him to be called out by a member of one of his favorite bands.
Obviously, Paul Ryan isn't as smart as he thinks he is or has been projected to be. Think he is a failure to Romney's ticket, which was already a failure!
ReplyDeleteThink he's going ot have a history like Palins - a liar and fraud too!! Are we surprised? They are Republicans!
OBAMA/BIDEN 2012
Group Attacking Obama On Leaks Has Deep GOP Ties
ReplyDeleteThe Special Operations OPSEC Education Fund, the group attacking President Obama's administration for allegedly leaking classified information, has deep ties to the Republican Party, Reuters' Mark Hosenball reports:
Records filed with federal and state authorities, and material posted on the Internet, show that key players in the campaign by the Special Operations OPSEC Education Fund include individuals with current or former affiliations with national and local Republican Party organizations. These include the group's treasurer, lawyer and TV producers.
OPSEC shares an office in Alexandria, Va., with a consulting group with Republican ties. Other clients of Greener and Hook, the communications firm that produced the 22-minute video OPSEC put out this week, include the Republican National Committee, the 2012 Republican National Convention, the Republican Governors Association and the National Republican Congressional Committee. Read Hosenball's full piece here.
http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/group-attacking-obama-on-leaks-has-deep-gop
Mitt Romney’s entitlement problem
ReplyDeleteThere are reasons candidates make mistakes in campaigns, and they usually have something to do with the candidate’s psychology. The most infamous example of this was Richard Nixon’s authorization of the plumbers’ operation and the whole Watergate scheme. Nixon was paranoid about everybody from Ted Kennedy to his own staff.
But more subtle mistakes are worth analyzing, too. Why in the world, for example, did Mitt Romney bring up his taxes again? And why did he tell us that he has looked at them and never paid less than 13 percent? And why would he proffer that if you add in charitable deductions, he has never paid less than 20 percent?
This seems a dimwitted mistake. First, he raises, but doesn’t dispose of a serious vulnerability; he simply gave the sharks more chum. Second, his self-reported 13 percent tax rate is more than zero but less than many Americans pay and highlights the tax advantages available only to the very select. Finally, what in the world do charitable contributions have to do with it? Should we add those together with our taxes to compute our tax rate? Did he deduct them?
What psychological “tell” might explain this mistake? I think it is an unhealthy sense of entitlement. Romney seems to believe that in certain ways he is better than others. How dare we question his tax rate; he has paid millions and millions of dollars in taxes. He pays more in one year at 13 percent than 99.9 percent of Americans pay in their lifetimes. It’s guys like him who are funding the government, for gosh sakes. And what about all that charity money? Doesn’t that count?
Romney’s entitlement problem has manifested itself at other times as well. A very insightful article by LZ Granderson deconstructs Romney’s standard stump take-down of Barack Obama’s infamous “you didn’t build that” line, which was taken from an Obama riff about how we are all interdependent. Romney says something like: If you are an honors student, a bus driver may have gotten you to school, but you deserve the credit for the good grades.
At first read, this seems reasonable, but the more you think about it, the worse it gets. There is something elitist about his dismissal of the bus driver. In Romney’s world, there are the bus drivers whose value is in serving honor role students. Perhaps this is too harsh, but at best, in Romney’s story, the bus driver seems a forgotten figure. As are the millions of American taxpayers who don’t quite understand why people like Romney pay a lower tax rate than them. Or combine their taxes and charitable contributions as if they are the same. Maybe Romney’s sense of entitlement is so vast that he thinks taxes and charity are one in the same: both his discretionary gifts to mankind, for which we should be thankful.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-insiders/post/mitt-romneys-entitlement-problem/2012/08/17/66bf6864-e878-11e1-8487-64e4b2a79ba8_blog.html
Wow...I'd rage against that machine, Tom Morello! Btw they put on a great show!!!
ReplyDeleteThe expressions...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.flickr.com/photos/barackobamadotcom/7798954484/in/photostream/lightbox/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/barackobamadotcom/7798954062/in/photostream/lightbox/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/barackobamadotcom/7798952762/in/photostream/lightbox/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/barackobamadotcom/7789097066/in/photostream/lightbox/
The LOVE.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/barackobamadotcom/7798952186/in/photostream/lightbox/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/barackobamadotcom/7798952890/in/photostream/lightbox/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/barackobamadotcom/7798952310/in/photostream/lightbox/
Obama/Biden 2012!
Good job tying in the Rand stuff and making a good case that Ryan has a serious comprehension problem. He certainly seems to be an idiot, a fool, or a liar to admit his favorite band was the socialist Rage Against the Machine. How funny would it be if he was relying on Palin's frequent use of the 'rage against the machine' expression to think it was a tea party band. At least, he seems mentally balanced so he's a slightly better pick than Palin.
ReplyDeleteI think that dude was very eloquent and accurate in his assessment. and it's sad that he needs to be, because frankly anyone who puts a damn dog on the roof of their car and drives several hours is a heartless piece of shit who should get NO votes for any goddam thing - regardless of who is #2 on the ticket.
ReplyDeletehow could ryan even agree to be on the ticket with a fuck head who puts his dog on the roof of the car?
ReplyDeleteRyan listens RATM because he thinks it sounds 'bad ass' Another fake tough guy.
ReplyDeleteWhat's really baffling is, how can Ryan listen to RATM and Looooooove the novels of Ayn Rand? Even Rush Limppaw uses their music for his propaganda.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad this guy spoke up. It galls me to no end when politicians use musician's intellectual property to represent them, without asking or doing the research first.
I guess "Cat Scratch Fever" wasn't good enough?
OT
ReplyDeleteI'm a huge fan of a Canadian Rock Group, whenever I hear this song, it makes me think of President Obama
Rush
Closer to the Heart
And the men who hold high places
Must be the ones who start
To mould a new reality
Closer to the Heart
Closer to the Heart
The Blacksmith and the Artist
Reflect it in their art
Forge their creativity
Closer to the Heart
Yeah, it's closer to the Heart
[ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsfreak.com/r/rush/closer+to+the+heart_20119974.html ]
Philosophers and Ploughmen
Each must know his part
To sow a new mentality
Closer to the Heart
Yeah, it's closer to the Heart
You can be the Captain and
I will draw the Chart
Sailing into destiny
Closer to the Heart
Closer to the Heart x7
Closer to your heart.
renegades of funk...
ReplyDeletePaul Ryan will say ANYTHING if he thinks it will make someone like him. Natural Kiss Ass. I guarantee, if asked the question, "Name two Rage Against the Machine songs" He would blank.
ReplyDeleteKind of like Sarah Palin's love of the Constitution, but really doesn't know or understand it.
Shellyamberstone@yahoo.com