Repubs can't accept 2006 loss, circulate false arguments via email

[texanshatingbush]

I love my brother dearly, but he is one of Bush's "12 percenters". Here's a copy of RW Whining Points which he forwarded to me, hoping I will "come to my senses". My brother is a smart guy, but I am appalled at the egregious distortions, falsehoods, and half-truths which people like him are willing to accept as fact:
==============
"The Democrats now promise "A New Direction For America."

The stock market is at a new all-time high and America's 401K's are back.
A new direction from there means, what?

Unemployment is at 25 year lows.
A new direction from there means, what?

Taxes are at 20 year lows.
A new direction from there means, what?

Federal tax revenues are at all-time highs.
A new direction from there means, what?

The Federal deficit is down almost 50%, just as predicted over last year.
A new direction from there means. what?

Home valuations are up 200% over the past 3.5 years.
A new direction from there means, what?

Inflation is in check, hovering at 20 year lows.
A new direction from there means, what?

Not a single terrorist attack on US soil since 9/11/ 01 .
A new direction from there means, what?

Osama bin Laden is living under a rock in a dark cave, having not surfaced in years, if he's alive at all, while 95% of Al Queda's top dogs are either dead or in custody, cooperating with US Intel.
A new direction from there means, what?

Several major terrorist attacks already thwarted by US and British Intel, including the recent planned attack involving 10 Jumbo Jets being exploded in mid-air over major US cities in order to celebrate the anniversary of the 9/11/ 01 attacks.
A new direction from there means, what?

Just as President Bush foretold us on a number of occasions, Iraq was to be made "ground zero" for the war on terrorism -- and just as President Bush said they would, terrorist cells from all over the region are arriving from the shadows of their hiding places and flooding into Iraq in order to get their faces blown off by US Marines rather than boarding planes and heading to the United States to wage war on us here.
A new direction from there means, what?

Now let me see, do I have this right? I can expect:
The economy to go South
Illegals to go North
Taxes to go Up
Employment to go Down
Terrorism to come In
Tax breaks to go Out
Social Security to go Away
Health Care to go the same way gas prices have gone But what the heck!

I can gain comfort by knowing that Nancy P, Hillary C, John K, Edward K, Howard D, Harry R and Obama have worked hard to create a comprehensive National Security Plan, Health Care Plan, Immigration Reform Plan, Abortion On Demand Plan, Tolerance of Everyone and Everything Plan, How to Return all Troops to the U. S. in The Next Six Months Plan, A Get Tough Plan, adapted from the French Plan by the same name and a How Everyone Can Become as Wealthy as We Are Plan.

I forgot the No More Katrina Storm Plan.

Now I know why I feel good after the elections. I am going to be able to sleep so much better at nights knowing these dedicated politicians are thinking of me and my welfare.

Please pass this good news along to all of your friends so they can
feel better also.

Happy New Year!"
==============
I don't know whether to cry or to rebut him point-by-point. How can two people look at the same reality and paint such different pictures of it?

[applegrove]

1. Unemployment is low because the Boomers are beginning to retire.

Inflation is low because only part of the US population participate in these boom times... the have nots..fight inflation for the rich.

[jgraz]

2. Unemployement is not the issue -- it's wages

Someone published a point-by-point response to this a while back. Needless to say, the whole screed is complete bullshit.

ETA this:

"How can two people look at the same reality and paint such different pictures of it?"

That's the key -- only one of you is looking at reality.

[damntexdem]

6. Oh, both can be looking at reality.

But those who have find it good, those who don't find it bad. That is, until the disasters invoked by the GOP policies overwhelm even those who have had.

[applegrove]

7. Very true. But demographics deemed that unemployment will go

down as the boomers start to retire. Same as crime when down in the early 1990s. Fewer young people, more employment. And they fight for descent wages and jobs as good jobs are lost to globalization.

[napi21]

9. I don't know if I aagree with that. I happen to think the Shrub

unemployment #'s are not true!

The stock market might be high, but all that means is that the publically held companies have shipped all their jobs overseas and are making more money because of it. It's damn near eliminated the middle class in America!

[applegrove]

13. It is demographics. Boomers are more plentiful than younger workers.

It is like Guliani and the Crime rate in New York. Because there were fewer kids in the 1990s, there was less crime. But he took credit for it. Same with Bush. The market for young jobs is not great..and good jobs are getting fewer..but fewer young people looking so it looks good stats wise. It will just become more and more job openings in service fields in the years to come..and then the guest worker program will come to be ... and again..those on the bottom of the scale should be facing an employees market (rising wages) but will not because of guest workers. Still the unemployment numbers will look good on the aggregate. I guess that is what I am saying. With demographics as they are..if there wasn't globalization and guest workers..kids today would have it made in whatever field they studied in. But a slow economy for the have nots and wages not rising as fast as they should..the "haves" in the economy keep facing low inflation and a rising stock market while the workers are left doing all the sacrificing: of quality jobs, of wages, of opportunity.

[n2doc]

10. It is low because they don't count many people who have stopped looking

And the numbers are crooked.

As for the other crap, well, if things are so great, why didn't everyone vote for the pukes last fall?

[applegrove]

14. They don't count those people who are underemployed..and don't

have a job worth their education..either. So true.

[WCGreen]

17. Unemployment is low because they changed the way

the "official" number is calculated...

Back when Clinton was president, and all prior administrations, they calcualted the Unemployment Rate so that it would take about 150k new jobs per month to keep to keep up with the growth in the jobs market...

That would mean the "Bush economic miricle" should have created somewhere in the vicinity of 10 million new jobs...

They were touting the number 6 million the last time I heard any bragging about Job Creation....

[ChairmanAgnostic]

3. none of those survives an honest examination.

the deficits are a prime example. The WH wildly over-estimated the deficit, against GAO's strong complaints, just so they could say they came in under the estimate.

[Rebellious Republican]

4. Oh how I have longed to utter these words to the freepers..........

"GET OVER IT"

[azmouse]

5. Send him a copy of NanceGreggs post

titled "You Have the Right To Remain Silent" from the front page of DU. It's wonderful.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x3057188

[wryter2000]

11. I second this suggestion

The problem with these rw forwards is that they're long and convoluted. Some things are true but trivial, others are outright false, others are what Franken calls weasels -- "Technically true but meant to deceive." If you only pick out a few truly egregiously untrue points and rebut those, it leaves the impression that the rest are correct. No one has the time or energy to rebut every dishonesty.

If you swamp him with something contradictory, it'll put him on the defensive. And as someone else said, a good dose of "Get over it!" would add a bit of panache.

[Greyhound]

8. He buys this crap, yet you claim he is "a smart guy"?

You'll have to explain this as I am apparently not smart enough to make this leap over common sense.:shrug:

[gizmonic]

12. "Not a single terrorist attack..." Not True

Remind your brother about the Anthrax attacks shortly after 9/11. Also remind him that we still haven't found the Anthrax terrorist.

[LaBanty]

15. Yes, more flannel talking points

This is the most prevalent tool of the prayer chain senders, the Patton-quoting idiots, the Fundie homeskoolers, the War on Christmas believers, the Chicken Fried dumbasses that think G*d and Bush give two shits whether they live or die. It's sort of an underground rabble-rousing by people too blind to see their president doesn't have the brains to pump gas, and embodies the honesty of a career criminal - a president that insulates himself from reality with the blanket of (faked) Christianity.

As I sit here through a particularly harsh winter - of unprecendented weather conditions - these are the same asshats that support museums depicting charming Christian girls in white dresses staring into space within a garden of velociraptors, but say global warming is "bad science". I mean, WTF kind of mentality are we dealing with?

I get these letters all the time. If they were written on paper I'd forego recycling and wipe my a$$ with them. Or, I suppose could burn them to stay warm.

[sendero]

20. Beautiful....

... well said and 100% true.

[Cobalt-60]

16. I accept only the data from my wallet and phone

They're better than Spock's tri corder.
Even if the air is filled with lies, the internal pressure sensor in my wallet tells me the true state of affairs.
And I'm detecting negative pressure in my wallet.
No matter who says what, if my phone isn't ringing with offers of better quality jobs than the one I have now, there are no opportunities.

[HuskiesHowls]

18. Ok, quick and easy, point by point....

"The stock market is at a new all-time high ..."Longtime Wall Street basic philosophy-buy on the rumor, sell on the news...the stock market started going up in late October, when it looked like Democrats were going to win, then dropped some right after the election. Now, Democrats control both houses of Congress, so it will go higher, as it historically has when Democrats are in control.

"Unemployment is at 25 year lows."...Already discussed

"Taxes are at 20 year lows."...and China now owns how much of the debt of the US??? And with taxes so low, how can we EVER hope to pay it off??

"Federal tax revenues are at all-time highs." That's only because the dollar isn't worth anything anymore. Compare it as a percentage of GDP, or something that is consistent. I'm making a LOT more now than I was when I was 25....but I still can't afford to buy anything.

"The Federal deficit is down almost 50%..." and 6 years ago, there was a budget surplus, NOT a deficit!!!!

"Home valuations are up 200%..." just try to find someone to buy it at that price. Once again, the dollar isn't worth much, so of course prices go up.

"Inflation is in check, hovering at 20 year lows." Right, nobody has any money to spend. Has he bought gas recently, or groceries, or anything else that the present (mis)administration has decided to leave OUT of the inflation numbers??

"Not a single terrorist attack on US soil since 9/11/ 01 ." Already discussed

"Osama bin Laden is living under a rock in a dark cave,..." What happened to getting Osama, dead or alive?? The point being, he is still not captured, and no one is even TRYING to find him!!

"Several major terrorist attacks already thwarted..." For an explanation, check here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x3133739
Also, the REAL story on the "liquid explosives" that no one ever heard about is here, explaining the myth of binary explosives:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/08/17/flying_toilet_terror_labs/

"Just as President Bush foretold us on a number of occasions..." 3,000+ dead American troops, and 30,000+ maimed in some way is GOOD for us???

I think that covers most of it quickly. Have fun explaining, if you can.

[ktowntennesseedem]

19. Well you don't expect Repugs to circulate VALID arguments, do you?

What else do you expect except lies, innuendos, distortions and more lies?

I know how you feel, my whole family is like your brother, but they learned long ago not to ever discuss politics (or religion!) with me or my wife, or my kids (trying my best to raise another generation capable of thinking for themselves.)

[Mz Pip]

21. Been discussed before

There are some killer responses on this old thread... I had it bookmarked.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=2949848

Mz Pip
:dem:

[jgraz]

22. One point that hasn't been mentioned

The stock market is going up because the dollar is going down. Each dollar buys less of a company, just like it buys less gold, copper and oil. Taking one economic number and using it make any kind of conclusion is the worst kind of voodoo economics.

[HuffleClaw]

23. wow, how many outright lies is that?

though imo it would be more newsworthy had that been even slightly truthful.