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Steven Weber

Steven Weber

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Bullies

Posted: 04/27/11 11:25 AM ET

And so the president has to produce his papers.

Some country we have, where bullies have effectively held Democracy and progress hostage for over a decade now.

Aided and abetted by a media bent on steering the public away from the truth of things, the fringe factions have elbowed and threatened and their way to the center of the town square and terrorized the national discourse, intimidating the rest of the those WHO JUST WANT TO GET ON WITH THEIR LIVES into an embarrassing display of Stockholm Syndrome, with a trembling fealty to its round-the-clock tormentors.

The shame of it all is the years of wasted opportunities and time.

The disappointment of it all is the pathetic gullibility of a nation distracted from its purpose and potential by being inundated with glittering high-tech baubles and low-brow spectacles.

The irony of it is that the enemies to democracy have exposed their intentions through their own overwhelming, unquenchable appetites. The corporate industry behemoths who call the shots are enormous, swollen addicts to profit, lords of an old order now empowered beyond all understanding, unregulated, ungoverned, immoral, inhumane and inhuman.

Our public schools suck, our mercy and sensitivities snuffed, our creativity stifled. And all because of bullies who have pulled a bait-and switch on a nation of suckers.

Suckers and bullies. It's the schoolyard dynamic writ large.

It won't be much longer before all the suspect wars and legislative poison pills and rightwing double-speak will become obvious even to those poor dopes who believed it, who toiled against their own interests because their firm-handed Daddy-figures or sexy but unflinchingly loyal Mommy-figures or their ivory-tower hypocrite Jesus-figures told them to, who'll realize that the boogie man isn't in The White House or wearing a turban or doing their gardening or washing their dishes or picking their fruit. The real threat to our savings and our safety are the beasts who seek profit at the expense of people, who wage war to secure oil, who share a bed with the purveyors of the poppy. It won't be much longer.

But by that time it might be too late. America might be permanently, fatally crippled, its once proud infrastructure co-opted by those who would use it to keep pumping bilge into the public's minds and profit into their own pockets.

And instead of the country that inspired people who were trapped in oppressive dictatorships or religious persecution or oligarchies or widespread poverty and who looked to the United States as a beacon of freedom will now be looking for inspiration elsewhere, lest they arrive here confronted by an angry, ignorant mass of terrified, badly educated, misled and misinformed xenophobes who harass their own duly elected president because of the color of his skin; a country which has granted the same rights of the humble individual to the arrogant and unchecked corporation; a country whose greatness lay behind them thanks to the bastard children of unregulated, unrestrained and pitiless capitalism.

Bullies.

 

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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
FerrellGummitt
http://ferrellgummit.wordpress.com
11:10 AM on 05/09/2011
Do you think Rachel Griffiths is hot?
12:45 PM on 05/06/2011
Democracy's great..until it doesn't vote the way you (any of us) wants, then it's a conspiracy.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
johnny g locker
12:57 AM on 04/29/2011
Big Corporations paid you your millions for you t.v. rolls Steven. It's called advertising and it's the big corporations you rail against that spend the money for.

So, while you made millions in t.v., know that it is blood money from those companies you hate.
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HUFFPOST BLOGGER
Steven Weber
Winner of 1967 Pond's Cold Cream Man of the Year
01:33 AM on 04/29/2011
Just because this is fun in the same way shooting fish in a barrel is, I refer you to an earlier statement I made to one of your spiritual brethren concerning my feelings about corporations: a "good" corporatio­n is one that puts the interests of the shareholde­rs and customers ahead of its CEO, is environmen­tally responsibl­e, doesn't outsource to foreign countries, and treats its employees as essential components in that company's success, rather than a faceless mass to be whittled away with diminished salaries and health benefits.
So you are saying I (we) should all just suck it up and not try to improve conditions? Hey, Johnny g---I earned my pay (Millions? Do your research, you knucklehead, you.) in my chosen profession. I pay taxes, support my family, believe in democracy and fair play. Now go read something. Anything. It will hurt for a while but that's called "knowledge". Then come back and try again.
08:27 AM on 04/29/2011
I'm your brethren Weber talks about in his reply. Don't stop at his" "good " corporations" spiel. Read the whole give and take. He mis-quotes me, doesn't answer questions, answers about corporations with a speech on capitalism, insults my reading comprehension skills, and more.
He knows he's got mostly friendly readers here, so in a way, he's like the bully at school who finds a victim, brings his friends along, verbally taunts his victim, and lets the laughter of his sycophantic friends bathe over him.
And no, I don't consider myself a victim of Weber because of his childish retorts. Just saying there's similarities in his writings and the taunts of the schoolyard bully.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Anna Nicole Dahmer
Lie like that & you won't go to heaven
09:16 AM on 04/29/2011
"doesn't answer question."
doesn't answer questions?

where is that "proof" of Weber's racism, that you promised?

"verbally taunts his victims",
Whaaaaaa....? you are the one making accusations of racism against someone you cannot prove. like a poor man's Tronald Dump.

and so sorry for you CCape that once again you feel the "victim".

"hahahhahahaha" sycophantic laughter courtesy of Anna Nicole Dahmer.
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HUFFPOST BLOGGER
Steven Weber
Winner of 1967 Pond's Cold Cream Man of the Year
12:23 PM on 04/29/2011
Dear Poopy-Head: so, you never wrote "Same old same old from "Broken Record" Weber. Corporatio­ns are evil, you're racist if you don't love Obama, etc.etc. There is absolute hatred coming from Mr. Weber."? Even though, uh, you DID and I quoted directly from WHAT YOU WROTE? Hmm. Next: you really need an itemized list as a response to your question: "How many paychecks have you received, Mr. Weber, from an entity that wasn't a large corporatio­n?"? I won't provide you with that itemized list but as recently as YESTERDAY I was compensated for an audio book I recorded (one by Tom Clancy, you'll be thrilled to know) by a small company I have worked for before and which has no direct ties to the big, scary corporations I (and the majority f the American public---see countless polls---dislike. Let's see, what else...brings my friends along? My friends are here of their own volition as are you. So, now that I have answered your accusations to your complete satisfaction, are you happy now? Just kidding. Bye now and please save your money. I see stress-related health issues in your future.
12:23 AM on 04/29/2011
Really good points made, Mr. Weber!

Your last two paragraphs are truly powerful in their truth. I only hope that you are correct, that people will wake up before it is too late. Otherwise, we will be reading your final paragraphs in a future history book as an explanation of the fall of this once great country.
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HUFFPOST PUNDIT
FlamingLibrul
100% Snark, Guaranteed!
10:39 PM on 04/28/2011
I feel your disgust, Steven. You're not alone. What more can be said about the insanity?
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triplettam
Mind Bender
09:56 AM on 04/29/2011
You have to fight insanity with . . . medication! Shove it down their throats.
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HUFFPOST PUNDIT
FlamingLibrul
100% Snark, Guaranteed!
10:19 AM on 04/30/2011
There is no medication in the world that can cure deliberate ignorance, fueled by hate. Happy Saturday to you, my friend.
01:58 PM on 04/28/2011
You are so right about bullies. All the talk lately about what to do about bullying in our schools when we have adult bullies everywhere you look. Snide, cynical and, quite often, proudly ignorant -- they're doing their best to destroy polite society.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Anna Nicole Dahmer
Lie like that & you won't go to heaven
08:42 AM on 04/28/2011
Perfect.
Mr. W. i'm better with visuals than with words.
i designed this "artwork" of the queen bully herself,
Mz. Crosshairs, "don't retreat, reload"
specifically as a result of this article.
thanks for your "basket of inspiration".

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/fbx/?set=a.205034792862311.55072.100000673758156&l=4af6c1e22c

hope you enjoy as much as i enjoy your expose's of right wing dementia.
Thank you.
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triplettam
Mind Bender
09:34 AM on 04/28/2011
Ha!
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HUFFPOST PUNDIT
FlamingLibrul
100% Snark, Guaranteed!
10:41 PM on 04/28/2011
Reminds me of Medusa. Pretty appropriate. I did just watch Clash of the Titans last week though, so maybe I'm biased.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Anna Nicole Dahmer
Lie like that & you won't go to heaven
09:09 AM on 04/29/2011
Speaking of Medusa, kkkams is no longer with us. Cannot i stop laughing?
08:40 AM on 04/28/2011
Same old same old from "Broken Record" Weber. Corporations are evil, you're racist if you don't love Obama, etc.etc. There is absolute hatred coming from Mr. Weber. Actually, your writing is intellectually vacuous.
I do have a question. How many paychecks have you received, Mr. Weber, from an entity that wasn't a large corporation? Even if the entity itself wasn't a large corporation, the end result of your work would go to a large corporation, and they would be looking to make a profit from your work. They would hope for a large profit.
A couple weeks ago I posted a comment that "proved" that Weber was a racist. The moderator chose not to publish it. We'll see about this one.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Anna Nicole Dahmer
Lie like that & you won't go to heaven
10:11 AM on 04/28/2011
oh CCape, you and Donald Trump get your best people on that.
Shut down the government,
alert the "World Net Daily",
self martyring christians unite.
CCape can "prove" Mr W. is a racist.
(we're holding our breath)

Oily Taintz shall rise again. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHVoR9jGn78

"Go home, you're fired, go play with Donald Trump" - Lawrence O'Donnell
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HUFFPOST BLOGGER
Steven Weber
Winner of 1967 Pond's Cold Cream Man of the Year
10:20 AM on 04/28/2011
Well, records were made to be broken! (I thought I'd lead with a joke, just as the right's been doing legislatively for years now)
The intellectual vacuity is demonstrated by those people (such as yourself) who genuflect to the pervasive corporate approach of marginalizing hard-won rights of the individuals who work for them. I have, if you've even cursorily perused my humble writings instead of cherry-picking offending phrases, never decried responsible capitalism, only truly irresponsible capitalism. Make a profit, please. But don't do it by scaring, lying, distracting. Your (implied) support of failed right wing policies must be a fetish, as is most of the right wing's hatred of Obama, as he's demonstrated he's more centrist than lefty/socialist/Kenyan. The only broken record is the repetition of regularly refuted right wing constructs from Trickle Down to Climate Change to Birtherism. I do have absolute hatred for those who would brazenly rob the nation's citizens of their dignity and their future, of those who manipulate facts instead of having the guts to simply face them. You do realize that facts are stubborn; not as stubborn, it seems, as the people who loathe them. Thank you. Don't forget to tip your waiter. You know, the person who makes that minimum wage Republicans want to abolish...
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Anna Nicole Dahmer
Lie like that & you won't go to heaven
12:16 PM on 04/28/2011
8 to 10 days... at the next loonar ellipse...
07:54 PM on 04/28/2011
First, you don't know my thoughts on corporations, you just assume you know.
Second, I didn't cherry pick any "offending phrases", I made a generalization of what you write. And generally, you write that corporations are evil, etc.
Third, my reply doesn't mention capitalism, responsible or otherwise. I talked about corporations. You write, ad nauseum, about evil corporations. Where do you differentiate good from bad corporations? I don't have the stomach to re-read your collective works to find mention of good corporations.
So, are those corporations that writes your paychecks (or the corporations that use your work) good corporations? Or, when it comes to you, it doesn't matter. I didn't say that there was any hypocrisy in your making money from corporations. It was just (implied),
And since I'm a conservative, I'm also a racist(implied). Right?
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
sonvolt48
Friend of Bernie
11:15 PM on 04/27/2011
Bravo! Righteous indignation at it's very best!
This comment has been removed due to violations of our [Guidelines]
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HUFFPOST BLOGGER
K.J. Dwyer
American Ex-Pat/Writer
02:58 PM on 04/27/2011
I've been living abroad now for almost 7 years and the spectacle of the American decline, not only in world opinion but in every other way Weber so pointedly and eloquently describes, is truly sickening to watch; even and perhaps especially from afar.

It's a kind of obscene necromancy in which the established corporate power structures are engaging. Their 30-year sway of free-market economic atrocities have demonstrably financially crippled the vast majority of the population, while making a very tiny fraction of less than one percent spectacularly rich. Instead of being made to put their own house in order, the American financial elite have been given further freedom and support to burn down the entire neighborhood; leaving only themselves economically prepared to "rescue" a democracy they so purposefully destroyed.

We are rapidly approaching The United States of America, Inc. Alredy in states like Michigan, laws have been passed to dissolve local towns and fire elected officials under the guise of "economic crisis"; replacing those democratic structures with a government (republican) appointed fiscal manager who answers to no one (except perhaps to the rotting corpse of Milton Friedman).

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/#42672552

Unless enough people wake up, prepare for the privatization of everything you can imagine (and, likely, a few things you can't).
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
JohnLorenzo
Examine the reasons of your true intent.
01:46 PM on 04/27/2011
Steven – dead on as always.

I'm not surprised by the endless rhetoric of Birther-birdbrains, screaming for Obama's birth certificate. America has become a country awash in the mundane. To prove this, all one need do is look at the fascination citizens have for so-called "Reality" shows. People are more interested in what others are doing – complete strangers broadcast into their living rooms. These strangers scream, throw fits, cry, plot, and attack one-another in a ceaseless parade of idiotic antics.

So it follows that many citizens are also busy voting and campaigning against trumped-up dramas like same-sex marriage. Why work on your own faltering marriage when you can easily slip into denial and worry about how the gay couple next door, getting legally hitched, will undoubtedly become the destruction of your feeble straight relationship.

Corporate owned media is expert at dangling the distracting baubles and glitter in the faces of numb Americans. They know the under-informed and fearful, that they have been instrumental in creating, will be so busy focusing on silly theatricals that they won't notice much when laws favoring big business get passed.

No, too many humans today would rather project their personal dilemmas out into the world and point the finger of blame anywhere but on themselves. Because reality is SO overrated.
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triplettam
Mind Bender
03:20 AM on 04/28/2011
Hey, John. We need to do lunch someday. : ))))
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Anna Nicole Dahmer
Lie like that & you won't go to heaven
08:56 AM on 04/28/2011
hi 3xttam, John.

3xttam, i love your new tag line.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
JohnLorenzo
Examine the reasons of your true intent.
08:00 PM on 05/02/2011
I'd love getting together with the gang for a lunch!
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HUFFPOST PUNDIT
FlamingLibrul
100% Snark, Guaranteed!
10:45 PM on 04/28/2011
I'd like to join y'all for lunch! We can go down the long list of classic right wing smoke-and-mirrors games disguised as a political platform/ideology. Keep the rich, rich is far too blatant, hence the need for multiple shiny objects and catchy insults.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
JohnLorenzo
Examine the reasons of your true intent.
07:59 PM on 05/02/2011
Hi, Flaming! I'd love to all get together for lunch! I don't have a clue where everyone lives – we might have to do a half-way point to all meet. "Let's all meet in Denver!" LOL!
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
ChrisDWard
Real eyes realize real lies
01:41 PM on 04/27/2011
Excellent piece - again - Steven. Astute, well written, and cogently expressing what so many of us feel but don't have the ability to say as well as you do. Thank you!!!

P.S. Great to see you on Parenthood a couple of weeks ago. Hope your role is expanded on that most excellent show.
Konnie
PO'd PROGRESSIVE
01:40 PM on 04/27/2011
well as usual my wordsmithie you have said it better than my sputtering. i understand why the president finally gave in - but i wish he hadn't. that before the end of the news report, trump was taking credit for it,
made me throw up in my mouth. the president should have just played the scene from the movie with michael douglas standing at the podium - one more use of the word "serious" and everyone would
have broken into laughter. our enemies don't have to do anything but stand back and watch, we are
rotting from the inside out.........
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triplettam
Mind Bender
01:38 PM on 04/27/2011
He should have waited, Steven, Get all those racists slavering at the gills and then BOOM! A month before the elections, discredit their ONLY platform. Once again I'm disappointed. But I'm still going to vote for him next time. And I would even if he WAS born in Kenya. Slainte my friend.