Obama's re-election causing mental disorders

[nichomachus]

Seriously.

I have a good friend whose entire family are Foxers. They watch Fox from morning to night. Right along, he's been getting emails urging him to support Romney to prevent the disaster that Obama would bring.

After the election, he remarked that his family must be going crazy. Little did he realize.

On Wednesday, he was in a very important business meeting, when he got a call from his sister (who almost never calls him) saying she needed to talk to him right away. He panicked, thinking that something had happened to his mom or dad, who are in their 70s.

He excused himself from the meeting and called her back. She started sobbing uncontrollably on the phone. "What are we going to do? What's going to happen to us?" He asked her what she meant and was anything wrong.

She went on, still crying, that it was the end of the country now that "he" got elected. He asked her who "he" was. She said that she couldn't even say his name, but that it was the end of the US. She said the whole family had been on the phone with each other repeatedly since the election was called, crying and screaming. They hadn't been able to sleep or eat.

These are fairly well-off middle class people in the Northeast.

My friend spent a half hour trying to calm her down but was having no success. Of course, they were still glued to Fox and taking the propaganda by the minute.

Finally, all he could say was "Turn off Fox. Turn off the TV. Stay away from the TV."

Fox is really a dangerous, dangerous force in the country.

[freshwest]

1. So true! Couldn't talk Beckbatshitcrazy Sis out of 'We can't take 4 more years! What will we do?'

Hysteria recently. Steady infusion of toxic waste into the brain reduced a rather selfish person initially into a frothing maniac.

[bariloche]

7. posting this again......

"Being Republican is no longer a party...........it's a mental condition"..........

[agracie]

53. BINGO!!!

[calimary]

116. Welcome to DU, agracie!

Good to have you with us! First of all, YES DEAR GOD THEY HAVE TO BE WEANED OFF OF POX NOISE!!!!!!

Sorry to shout, but that's the true tone of my feelings on this matter. Pox Noise is toxic to the American Way. Look what a mess they've made, building this fantasy world where wrongney was about to win in a landslide, and up is down and "right" is UTTERLY wrong!!! And the naive and deluded have been completely sold down the river, so it's no wonder that they're lurching around in blind confusion and grief.

But then I remember how bereft a lot of us were when John Kerry lost. There remains some very credible suspicion that the 2004 election was stolen as well as the 2000 election. So it was extra painful. Many Dems were openly depressed and despondent. And guess what the other side did: LAUGHED at us. Turned their noses up at us, pointed, scorned, and laughed. They scoffed at the very idea of empathy - thought it was a big joke and that people whose hearts were broken by that loss (knowing we were facing another four years of bush/cheney) were stupid chumps well worthy of derision. They were horrible. So now that they're writhing in pain, well, so be it, I guess.

I want to feel compassionate because I'm a Democrat and because I'm a liberal. But I've got a memory, also.

[arikara]

129. Ah yes, the "poor loserman" meme

They were nasty. Nor was our side being interviewed on the radio screaming things like "now we're gonna have stoned fags gittin' married."

[heaven05]

199. these

reichwingers are getting what they deserve by not thinking things through. To hell with them. may they end up on the psychiatric wards of their respective states and watch ACA work for them. Gives me a warm feeling.

[Grown2Hate]

225. Aww... I'm gonna miss the obligatory, "Now get to work". :) NT

[dchill]

62. Yes. Insidious and aggressive.

Can only be treated by removal of cable.

[bulloney]

115. If I was a Republican and saw the election results after being fed all of that bullshit

about a Romney landslide win from the RW media, I'd question how long they have been lying and deceiving me in the past. I'd seriously question their credibility on everything. You heard prominent pundits from all of the networks predicting Romney would win easily...receiving well over 300 EVs. You heard Limpdick predicting a Romney landslide win, then attempt to backtrack and sound like he never said such a thing on Wednesday. You saw the Karl Rove meltdown on Faux Snooze on Election Night.

If I was deceived the way the RW sheep have been misled, I'd demand some answers.

But, as I stated in another post, if I was a Republican, my brain would likely not be able to process this information in order for me to ask such questions. I really believe Faux Snooze and the RW talk shows have systematically dumbed down a significant percentage of this country's population to where they cannot think for themselves and make any objective, rational decisions. And that's why this country is so divided to where people demonstrate against their own interests. Witness the senior citizens screaming to keep the government out of their Medicare.

[Cha]

126. +1 that's what I've been sayin' today, bulloney. Same bullshit they've been

fed..is the same bullshit of a romney "win". And, they freaking know that's not true. You can tell by their incessant batshit crazy reaction.

[Doremus]

136. Surprisingly, that's exactly the response I've witnessed in a couple of instances.

Another board I read has a large membership of RWers. In the days before the election, they were sponsoring a contest to guess the electoral vote numbers. The dumb shits were predicting landslide levels for Rmoney. Every time somebody tried to tell them the truth about the shellacking he was about to get, they jumped all over them, firmly convinced of the spew they were being fed by their propaganda outlets. One guy bet $350 Willard would get over 300 EVs. ROFLMAO.

Wednesday morning was precious, lol. It was a funereal atmosphere mostly, peppered with occasional outbursts by grief-stricken mental midgets. A couple of diehard hardliners surprised me though. Their terse posts revealed a deep hurt, as if they had been betrayed by a loved one. I was dumbfounded when they said they were disengaging and changing the channel.

Take heart. For all the screaming crazies, there are a small number of folks who are waking up and seeing the sunlight for the first time.

[heaven05]

202. wtf!

some of them can think?

[Zoeisright]

143. But they can't because they don't have any logical reasoning thought processes left.

Their brains literally can't process that they've been lied to. It's so much easier to blame everyone and everything else.

[Coyotl]

2. Causality and exacerbation need to be distinguished

The exasperation after the exacerbation is maddening

[liberal N proud]

3. The mental disorder is delusion

Delusion fed by the hype that the likes FOX news have instilled in these people.

[Liberalynn]

103. Exactly

it's like Rachel Maddow and Stephanie Miller have been saying, these people live in their own little Fox created world inside a bubble. Reality doesn't exist to them anymore.

[iemitsu]

203. Fox created the fantasy they subscribe to but

it is the dynamics of cognitive dissonance that explain their inability to swallow the truth and move on.
When they were making fun of us for losing in 2000 and 2004 we were not deluded into believing our candidates should have won because they should have. The evidence was on our side then as it is now but when people are faced with an undeniable truth, which negates previously held beliefs, they most often reject the new truth and cling more tightly to the dis-proven belief.
Its just the way we are built.
Fox viewers are struggling with this process right now. A few will learn form the experience and most will convince themselves that the election was rigged.

[seabeyond]

4. wow. i stopped watching the news oct 2004. kerry finally got on tv, they finally showed one of his

Last edited Sat Nov 10, 2012, 02:18 AM - Edit history (1)

speeches. i was so excited that he would finally be heard. all they did was say how boring he was and said the talking points. they continued saying he did not lay anything out. that was a fuckin 20 minute speech of him laying 4 areas out. simple. 20 minutes of focus. and the media couldnt do it. i turned the tv off. and stopped watching.

after the election my husband made a stand. NO news for 3 months. he was so pissed, sure it was stolen. 3 months NO news.

i wasnt watching so was fine with me.

but, yes, that is what people need to do, after this disappointing loss.

turn it off.

[politicasista]

148. Thank you for sticking up for the Senator

[seabeyond]

150. always...

i am ultimately and so into fairness and that election be it the repugs, media or even dems, fairness was nowhere a part of the equation.

[politicasista]

153. Exactly n/t

[musette_sf]

151. i felt the same way about Kerry's speeches

i'd hear him speak clearly articulated opinions and strategies, and all the MSM talking heads would say was how boring he was.

similar to listening to the 1st Presidential debate - i listened to it on the radio and thought "good lord, Romney is lying like a rug and sounds like a nitwit" - thought the President made good factual points throughout - and then the MSM burbles up the "Romney won the debate" BS.

[seabeyond]

152. same with me. on both of what you say. nt

[politicasista]

154. Strange that only a few people can answer

the question. If Kerry was so "weak" in 2004, what motivated those large crowds to show up for someone that was so boring, wooden, wonky and uncharismatic? Ok, they were only there to be on TV and see Edwards, The Boss, Big Dog Clinton, etc. .

Amazing how so many complain about the media, but buy into everything about Kerry, but see that it's spin when it comes to Obama.

Like them both, but don't understand what Obama gains by putting down Kerry (or Gore).

[MessiahRp]

165. I started volunteering for Kerry in June 2003

When we went to the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner in Des Moines, IA back in Nov. 2003 everyone was proclaiming Kerry's campaign dead in the water. The media told everyone that he would finish fourth or worse in Iowa and that would be the end of it. So when we got down there at an event with pretty much every candidate and hosted by Hillary Clinton there was all of this momentum behind Howard Dean. In fact, we had filled just one small section of the arena when we all got in. A corner section. Dean bussed in people from 3 neighboring states and had a massive four section audience.

Dean spoke before Kerry and got some nice loud responses. Kerry spoke and our little section blew the roof off of the place. People were stunned by our enthusiasm and his Real Deal speech hit all the markers.

I've met the man on several occasions, heard countless speeches of his. He is NOT wooden or boring. He is articulate and when he gets feisty he can be as good of an attack dog as Joe Biden (see his 2008 and 2012 Convention speeches for proof).

It used to piss me off that the media treated Kerry like he was some aloof elitist who couldn't connect with a crowd. I was in the crowds when he spoke and he clearly connected. I also was in a Des Moines bar and he came in and had a beer with everyone (so much for that 'Candidate you'd rather have a beer with' nonsense) and legitimately inquired about people's personal issues, why they were campaigning and what issues mattered to them.

Theresa spoke with me for a good 15 minutes about Head Start programs (my son was in Head Start at that time) and couldn't have been nicer.

I dedicated a year and a half solid to that man and his campaign because I believed in him and knew he would have been the best President of my lifetime. If that's not connecting with people, nothing is.

And lest we forget, if not for John Kerry, we likely would not have had a Barack Obama Presidency. It was Kerry taking a chance on him with the 2004 DNC Keynote that launched Obama. It was Kerry's tireless work as a surrogate that helped defend Obama in the times where he was taking the most political flack. He even stood in admirably playing Mitt Romney in mock debates, sharpening Obama and making him better for that con artist. Whenever Obama has needed someone to defend him it wasn't his staffers that did the best job defending him, it was Kerry.

Our media has been a disgusting propaganda unit ever since Clinton took office. It's entire goal is to kill Democratic and Liberal causes and demonize their beliefs and politicians to the point where they are unelectable and should they somehow slide in, make their momentum unsustainable.

(Here we are in our section at the JJ Dinner in Iowa: Nov. 2003)

[BeyondGeography]

179. Reccing this post for the good Sen. Kerry

[renate]

207. that was a great reminder of the good parts of 2004--thank you!

Kerry wasn't my first choice for that primary but I grew to really respect and like him a LOT. And bless him for 1) choosing Obama for the keynote and 2) helping to prepare him for the debates. (We will draw a veil over the first debate... and he kicked butt hard in the second and third.)

for John and Teresa!

[politicasista]

213. Same here,

didn't have a first choice (guess if you count Rev. Al lol), but agree with your post.

Really wished that the same people that admire and respect the Obamas, Bidens, and Clintons could have seen the same with the Kerrys. They seem to be decent people.

for you too.

[politicasista]

210. Thanks for the on the ground report

Last edited Sat Nov 10, 2012, 04:29 PM - Edit history (1)

Not everyone got to see the Senator and Momma T in this light, but will kick this and the replies to you below.

[musette_sf]

208. so, you were motivated to post this BS

but not motivated enough to Google it first, to avoid sounding like a nitwit with a non-Dem agenda?

the kid had already been acting out as a pure-D a-hole before and during the event. but despite his belligerence and a-holeness, Senator Kerry ACTUALLY said "That's all right, let me answer his question".

and during the altercation, re which the pure-D a-hole could have exercised better self-control in the first place, Senator Kerry continued his response to the kid's question, which he referred to as "very important".

and the day after, Senator Kerry issued this statement:

"In 37 years of public appearances, through wars, protests and highly emotional events, I have never had a dialogue end this way. I believe I could have handled the situation without interruption, but I do not know what warnings or other exchanges transpired between the young man and the police prior to his barging to the front of the line and their intervention. I asked the police to allow me to answer the question and was in the process of responding when he was taken into custody. I was not aware that a taser was used until after I left the building. I hope that neither the student nor any of the police were injured. I regret enormously that a good healthy discussion was interrupted."

so, your issue, if you really do have one (which i doubt since you neglected to research your claim prior to posting here), is with the university's law enforcement department - over which Senator Kerry had no power or influence.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Florida_Taser_incident

[heaven05]

212. no

the kid was not acting like a-hole. I don't remember the situation being like your BS explanation. have a good one. And with my being a lifelong dem, not agreeing with all the gush kerry talk doesn't make me anti-dem. Grow up, please Please don't bore me with an answer. thanks.

[MessiahRp]

215. It seems you do not have command of the facts here.

This kid was rude, disrespectful of Kerry and others around him and Kerry tried to listen to and answer his question but after the kid acted like a total fool and kept going on and on, he lost any chance at a reasonable discourse.

Incident prior to start of video
University of Florida police attempt to force Andrew Meyer out of the auditorium.

According to eyewitness and police reports, the widely circulated video of the confrontation captured on Meyer's camera was not the first interaction between police and Meyer at the event that day. According to reports, Meyer was in line for access to the microphone, when it was announced by former Ambassador Dennis Jett, a University of Florida political science instructor and the forum's moderator,[7] that one more question would be taken from the microphone on the right as seen from the stage. Meyer then grabbed the second microphone, on the left, which had been shut off, and loudly demanded he be allowed to ask a question. Meyer reportedly yelled, "Why don't you answer my questions, I have been waiting and listening to you speak in circles for the last two hours." "These officers are going to arrest me." "You will take my question because I have been listening to your crap for two hours."[8] When an officer intervened, attempted to cut Meyer off, and attempted to escort Meyer out of the hall, Meyer then broke away and continued to shout. Kerry then intervened and requested that Meyer be allowed to ask a question. Meyer was then brought back to the microphone with police officers on either side of him.[9]

Meyer then handed his camera to the woman who was standing in front of him in line and requested that she record him. Kerry then finished answering a previous question, and Meyer was then recognized by Kerry to ask a question.
Video begins

At this point, Meyer's video began. Meyer spoke for approximately 1 minute and 20 seconds, beginning by citing the book Armed Madhouse and its author Greg Palast's description of the 2004 U.S. presidential election and reports of election irregularities.[10][11] According to The Washington Post, Meyer's question turned into "an increasingly agitated three-parter."[10]

Meyer questioned Kerry's concession of the 2004 U.S. presidential election, Kerry's support or lack of support of the efforts to impeach George W. Bush,[10] and Kerry's involvement in the Yale University secret society known as Skull and Bones.[10] After Meyer used the term "blowjob", (in reference to the impeachment of Bill Clinton) and while he was asking about Kerry's involvement in Skull and Bones, Meyer's microphone was cut off. Later, Steven Blank, ACCENT chairman, said, "We make it clear that any profanity and vulgarity by anyone asking questions will result in a cutting off of the mic."[12]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Florida_Taser_incident

[heaven05]

216. hey

I responded to the piece I saw on MSM and all I saw was what seemed like a rational individual getting tasered for asking a rational question. I can ALWAYS be wrong in my perceptions of incidents, but that person calling me a nitwit kinda pissed me off. We have some very arrogant and disrespectful comments directed to people who might disagree on any given point on this site and I find that type of behavior very stupid. But people are entitled to their stupidity, don't get me wrong. It's usually means they had no home training. But some people are also very immature and I try to allow for that type of ignorance and failing respect for others on this site. But thank you for your answer because I hadn't looked at Utube because of my inability to negotiate a lot of this technological morass. Thank you again.

[politicasista]

219. Interesting eye-opener

I remember Randi Rhodes (she is mellowed now) and other left leaning pundits and posters giving Senator Kerry a real hard time over that incident, but this an interesting account of what happen.


Thanks for sticking up for the Senator, and for sharing your stories. Good night and peace.

[Blue Meany]

5. Not causing mental disorder, revealing it...n/t

[GoCubsGo]

9. Yep. n/t

[nichomachus]

11. I thought of that after I posted it

In every other respect, however, these are normal people. Then, they started watching Fox. The first thing Fox does, is convince you that they, and only they, have the truth. Once they're accomplished that, the rest is easy. Eventually, you stop trusting any other source of information. In Fox Talk -- there are only two sources of information -- Fox and NFN, which stands for Non-Fox News. They actually use that term. I just learned that yesterday. If you try to talk to these people using information from any other source, they will immediately dismiss it, because it's "NFN information" and can't be trusted.

[Blue Meany]

37. I think you can go along ways with that model: Fox is the only one telling the truth.

But there comes a time when it becomes apparent that the "facts" turn out to be lies, the math does not add up, the predictions don't come true...and, in people with good mental health, the mental house of cards comes falling down and they develop a new paradigm. Now, to be sure, it is not fair for a society to allow a propaganda network to masquerade as a news outlet and test the mental health of a large segment of the population--it's crazy, really. But there it is.

Have you ever noticed that many Fox News watchers talk really fast and bring in all kinds of unrelated things when they are trying to make a case. Many are almost in hysteria when they call into a talk show or are interviewed in the media. Again, not a sign of good mental health.

[The Wielding Truth]

43. You post should be in bold letters on the home page of Freeperville. Reality need to shine in their

faces.

[marions ghost]

52. yes

it gives people, particularly unstable ones, an anchor. Brand loyalty is part of it.

They get addicted to Fox (& oxyrush too)--it's like a drug-- to get off it is some serious detox.

[xxqqqzme]

96. We had a 'saw the light' man come

into our local campaign office who weaned himself off faux. He said he will not allow it on when he is home. He also admitted, with a degree of sadness, that his wife just couldn't stop watching it. He tried sitting with her and pointing out the lies. He said occasionally she will agree w/ him but then she goes back to watching. I really felt for him. I think he came in because he needed to talk to someone.

[Cha]

127. Thanks for the story, xxqqqzme! I know it's bad..so incredibly sad..

that we're talking major brainwashing in the USA..21 Century.

I hadn't had a tv in awhile when I got one in 99 and watched fox for about 2 weeks before I realized what a pimp they were for bush. I stopped watching all corpmedia in 2002 and now I don't even have a tv.

But, reading about all these horror stories is awful.. my heart goes out to those who have family and friends who are brainwashed.

[OnyxCollie]

157. They bring in all kinds of unrelated things

because they have no idea of how things are structured.

All they understand are "personalities." It's like they took the political version of People magazine, fed it into a paper shredder, and then read it back to you. Obama, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, George Soros. A Fox News watcher can imagine those people in the same room together, plotting to turn America into a Socialist country.

[FiveGoodMen]

38. Most of the Fox viewers have been conditioned since early childhood

to believe that truth is handed down from a designated authority and that righteousness consists of never considering other points of view.

They've been having that conditioning reinforced at special indoctrination centers on a weekly basis.

[LarryNM]

155. Agreed, Typical Authoritarian Mentality n/t

[TrogL]

162. Well said - the authoritarian mindset

[JNelson6563]

40. Fox reminds me of religion.

Each of those has the "real truth" too and Fox goes about brainwashing it's viewers in much the same way many religions recruit followers~at least the very zealous ones.

Julie

[Smickey]

104. Don't give them any ideas.

They will want non-profit status.

[treestar]

90. Sounds almost cultish

[StrictlyRockers]

137. I like the meme of associating the Republican Party and Fox Noise watchers with a cult.

I think I will start using that. It seems very appropriate.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

99. My mom finally started replying to the crazy RW emails she was getting by referring the sender (and

anyone on the Reply all list) to something on Snopes that exposed the lie. Not long after she had begun, one of the perpetrators wrote to tell her that Snopes was owned by George Soros and therefore is telling liberal lies.

When she told me this I thought, Well, that's it then. Mission accomplished. Brilliant, foolproof plan by the right. Anyone or anything that does not agree with Fox or Rush is a dirty, liberal lie. End of story.

I don't know if those people can be rescued. The door is locked from the inside and they are convinced they are surrounded by the enemy. Why would they ever open it?

[OnyxCollie]

156. It's how cults operate.

"Listen to us. We're telling you the truth. Everyone else is trying to brainwash you to follow their irrational agenda."

[calimary]

117. Indeed. When they're willfully ignorant, it's hard to be terribly sympathetic.

[donheld]

145. Exactly

[quinnox]

6. there should be fox news deprogramming centers

in every city.

[calico1]

10. +1

They really are like cult members.

[freshwest]

12. First sign of cult - isolate from all other viewpoints that disagree with the cult dogma.

[Ikonoklast]

73. If I can control your access to information, I can control you.

Better yet, if I can get you to ignore all other sources of information, you just made my job even easier, I don't have to eliminate other sources.

You got it.

[freshwest]

80. The GOP has done that in most rural, very red areas. Impossible to get away from them, even if just

searching for traffic, weather or other needed information.
And media consolidation in the hands of 5 or 6 corporations is exactly what FDR designed the FCC to eliminate. It's going to be a hard slog to get around this.

[Ikonoklast]

83. New anti-trust legislation to break up any entity that controls more than 10% of any segment

of any part of the economy.

Breaks up the 'too big to fail' banks, the hegemony in media, the health insurance conglomerates...

WE NEED COMPETITION WITHIN OUR MARKETS.

The Republicans are always harping about how competition is good for the Free Market, but do everything within their power to thwart it.

[freshwest]

87. We were warned. Then the big boogeyman was to get our minds off of it, thanks to the Koches.

"The really dangerous American fascist... is the man who wants to do in the United States in an American way what Hitler did in Germany in a Prussian way. The American fascist would prefer not to use violence.

His method is to poison the channels of public information. With a fascist the problem is never how best to present the truth to the public but how best to use the news to deceive the public into giving the fascist and his group more money or more power...

They claim to be super-patriots, but they would destroy every liberty guaranteed by the Constitution. They demand free enterprise, but are the spokesmen for monopoly and vested interest.

Their final objective, toward which all their deceit is directed, is to capture political power so that, using the power of the state and the power of the market simultaneously, they may keep the common man in eternal subjection."
~ U.S. Vice President Henry A. Wallace, quoted in the New York Times, April 9, 1944

This rheotric was so threatening to the 1% that they had to push terror in the minds of the American people through the John Birch Society funded by the Koches and they have never stopped with their long term plan. They are long term planners who learned at the feet of Stalin, literally.

Whilst the American people were busy bunkering down from the Red Menace, promoting by the same ones who made the most money in WW2, and refused to let us go back to a peacetime economy as much as possible, these essentials were forgotten. Eisenhower taxed the rich at 90% to build the country up, and frankly, to punish them for war profiteering in WW2, And they did not go hungry or lose anything by that tax rate. Their power is still very great and they are ruthless.

When some complain about spineless people in D.C., they have not faced the beast in the face and tried to negotiate with those who will lose nothing by the downfall of the entire government, Constitution and all. It's a dangerous game. That was how TARP I happened; that is how TARP II happened. It was not love of the rich or being lapdogs. It was intended to collapse the government and starve millions of people.

I suggest that none of these entities be allowed any tax breaks except for their direct funding to the US Treasury to educate, house and otherwise take care of their future workforce. That will require a sustained Democratic majority nationally, as we had in the past. Many don't remember the power of that era.

It was the one that made Nixon resign, that sent crooks to prison in his administration, and the Reagan administration. They just keep on marching along, they have nothing to lose but the people of the USA have everything to lose.

Thank goodness for this partial sweep this month. It needs to be sustained. They will continue.

[Wind Dancer]

108. Great post!

You should start a thread for those who have never read the op-ed piece by Wallace.

Great rant - wish I could K&R your post!

[freshwest]

128. Start a thread with the words, then. Thanks.

[Gabi Hayes]

186. excellent! this fits in quite well:

Karl Rove & the Spectre of Freud’s Nephew

http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig6/bender2.html

The Triumph of "Turd Blossom"

Karl Rove – given the above nickname by our jocular President – is an extraordinarily keen student of American psychology and history. He is well aware of the back story to contemporary political fixtures like the focus group – a technique innovated by Edward Bernays. Consequently, it doesn’t take too much effort to discern the afterimage of Bernays’s teachings in Bush’s rhetoric.

In Crystallizing Public Opinion, Bernays related how governments and advertisers can "regiment the mind like the military regiments the body." This discipline can be imposed because of "the natural inherent flexibility of individual human nature." He also instructed that the "average citizen is the world’s most efficient censor. His own mind is the greatest barrier between him and the facts. His own ‘logic proof compartments,’ his own absolutism are the obstacles which prevent him from seeing in terms of experience and thought rather than in terms of group reaction."

In addition to what Bernays saw as a widespread individual resistance to reason in public affairs, he contended "physical loneliness is a real terror to the gregarious animal, and that association with the herd causes a feeling of security. In man this fear of loneliness creates a desire for identification with the herd in matters of opinion."

Once within the "herd," the "gregarious animal" still wishes to express his or her opinion. Therefore, the public relations counsel must "appeal to individualism [which] goes closely in hand with other instincts, such as self-display."

Quoting Wilfred Trotter and Gustav Le Bon [two leading turn-of-the-century social psychologists], Bernays agreed that "the group mind does not think [emphasis in original] in the strict sense of the word… In making up its mind, its first impulse is usually to follow the example of a trusted leader. This is one of the most firmly established principles in mass psychology." [Emphasis mine] To sum up, what Bernays called the "regimentation of the mind" is accomplished by taking advantage of the human tendency to self-deception, gregariousness, individualism and the seductive power of a strong leader.

The allure of determined leadership – one can read all about it in management and self-help books – is heightened in times of turmoil. The last election almost certainly turned on the question of whose leadership could best "keep America safe." George W. Bush, thanks to Karl Rove, absolutely rolled John Kerry on this question. Kerry, the decorated vet, was successfully depicted as a French-loving, wind-surfing "liberal flip-flopper." And then we all heard, ad nauseum, that he "betrayed his comrades" in Vietnam by "throwing away his medals" at some hippie protest or other. That these smears had nothing to do with Kerry’s program ended up being irrelevant.

[Odin2005]

190. That is a great quote!

[callous taoboy]

97. Thank you for calling Faux what it is: A cult.

My parents, both intelligent, albeit, conservative folks, are changed people after many years of Fox. We used to be able to have honest, intelligent political discussion but we dare not go there any more.

[Blue_In_AK]

119. My one really rabid right-wing friend

says she trusts NO news source but Fox. Scary.

[reflection]

16. I don't know if you are being serious or not

but it really is something to consider. I wrote a piece awhile back about my wife's "detox" from Fox. She didn't know how bad it was until she was off it for awhile.

http://sync.democraticunderground.com/10021332298

[freshwest]

196. Yes, I appreciated that one.

[RepublicansRZombies]

29. we actually seriously DO need this, and not just from Fox News

Our media is supposed to be telling us the truth, but instead they promote so much propaganda people are confused with all the lies, and it's not their fault. Everyone is working and busy, the media is supposed to examine the facts and report the truth to us at the end of the day. And if they aren't doing that, what ARE they doing?

We need to start by demanding more from our public airwaves, or giving the license to someone who has higher standards.

[tavernier]

192. Seriously, that's not a bad idea.

Well, not in all cities to begin with, but perhaps in some larger blue cities... NYC would be a perfect starter model. I wonder who would be the right people to approach for ideas on this type of program. Perhaps a psychiatric organization?

Anyone??

[socialindependocrat]

8. If you live by propaganda, you will go insane by propaganda n/t

[texshelters]

13. A suggestion

Let's get these people committed so they can no longer harm the nation with their votes, voices, or guns.

PTxS

[Patiod]

14. I'm picturing a lady that came into my polling place

announcing "I guess you know which party I'm voting for, as she pointed out her American flag scarf and pin.

I said "Because you guys own the flag?"

"Well, I still believe in American exceptionalism" she declared, waltzing into the hall where the voting was happening.

I bet she's laying on the bathroom floor sobbing right now.

(as someone pointed out when I told this story on an election day thread, it was Lenin that coined the term "American exceptionalism)

[savannah43]

71. I can picture her lying on the bathroom floor on her belly while kicking her feet and

pounding her fists, like a 3-year-old. It gives me great satisfaction to picture this. One, because she deserves to be laughed at, and two, we saved her SS and Medicare in spite of her and others who think like her.

[Spider Jerusalem]

75. I thought it was Alexis de Tocqueville?

[reformist2]

15. This is serious as a heart attack. I've also had to tell people to stop listening to talk radio 24/7

It really is brainwashing.

[NuttyFluffers]

17. detoxing from hate and fear?

hate and fear are a hell of a pair of drugs.

but oh, what a rush!

[trailmonkee]

18. +1 nailed it - fear is absolutely a drug

[RevStPatrick]

19. Cognitive dissonance...

It's a real problem in this country.

[1StrongBlackMan]

20. I haven't gotten up the nerve ...

to call my fox (non) watching, rightwing conservative, small business owning, (President) Obama hating friend. But I imagine there is much wailing and gnashing of teeth in that household, as well.

[PossumSqueezins]

21. Now it's their turn.

I had to deal with Bush Derangement Syndrome for 8 years and no amount of medication or alcohol helped me. I feel their pain.

<img src=>

[ProudProgressiveNow]

23. Oh ya!

Turnabout and all....

[CakeGrrl]

22. Here in WA state today, a guy with 2 big sandwich boards: "STOP AND IMPEACH OBAMA"

I think it's worse than after 2008.

Which makes NO sense, as their fears were obviously not realized during his first term. I guess the programming is that NOW he'll really destroy the U.S. in his second term.

Maybe once a few lawsuits roll in after the Fox kool-aid drinkers start acting out on their paranoia...

[PatSeg]

25. But that was FOUR long years

of being programmed by FOX to expect some major catastrophe. Add to that all the End of Days people and the combination is pure poison.

[PossumSqueezins]

27. YES!

I had some Republican ass tell me that he knew Obama was going to come for his guns in the second term PRECISELY because he HASN'T talked about it!!!

That Obama sure is crafty.

[AlbertCat]

49. That Obama sure is crafty.

You realize that was what he was told.... way back when the useless Repug House was going after Holder. It was the laughable conspiracy theory at the time.

[Bette]

159. Theories!

Oh I have been hearing all kinds of crazy theories. Just in the last few days and I gotta wonder, really who thinks up this shit? I mean it's so far out there most of the time, I just can't imagine where they come up with it? My friend has lost it from watching fox and he is convinced the Obama is a muslim who is infiltrating our army with muslims, and planning a big take-over, (worldwide) and cutting VA services...well, his list is long and this person used to be very level-headed..
And what's worse, my husband is also a fox watcher and gets so upset over things that I know are just untrue...can't tell him that. He walks around all mad, and he's one that needs to blame someone. Plus he drives over the road and gets nothing more than rightie talk radio, telling him all these horrors...But he refuses to see the truth...

[japple]

197. Welcome to DU, Bette! With all that BS you're subjected to, you can

at least come here to detox and find sympathy. Please take care of yourself.

[PatSeg]

24. I think this is happening all over the country

and those scam artists at FOX will never take responsibility for what they are doing to people in this country. Most of them are just using people's fears to make a buck.

I was shocked not long ago to hear about some relatives being addicted to FOX and Rush. Formerly reasonable people were suddenly spitting out the most illogical, crazy crap! It is like living in a B movie.

[Debau2005]

30. I think that Fox is probably thrilled that Pres Obama won

After all, if Romney had won, would they have had to complain about for the next 4 years? They would have had nothing to hypnotize their watchers with!

[PatSeg]

47. Wow, you're right

This is pure gold for them.

Why can't these people go back to watching generic reality TV and leave politics to people who know how to use FactCheck.org? American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, Honey Boo Boo, Survivor, The Apprentice, etc. There are SO many choices if they'd only switch channels.

[Rob H.]

78. IMO, if Romney had won

...it would have been, "Al Franken calls President Romney's tie 'ugly.' WHY DOES 'STUART SMALLEY' HATE AMERICA?!?!?" or some other such drivel, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

They were Bush's staunch defenders during the eight miserable years he was in office, yet morphed immediately into even worse right-wing attack dogs a split-second after Obama won in 2008, their calls during Dubya's term to "respect the office of the President" notwithstanding. I think it'd be fair to expect that they would've rallied around Romney like a pack of rabid wolverines to defend whatever he did, not matter how egregious it might have been.

[GatorLarry]

185. GOP Double-Standards

EXACTLY!

They went immediately from "if you criticize an American President during a time of war you're a traitor" to calling the new American President the most vile, hateful, racist things possible. A watermelon patch on the White House grounds, showing the Obama family as monkeys, etc.

It's always the same for Republicans: the rules only apply if it helps a Republican. Otherwise, it's their "patriotic duty" to politically dissent. GOP = the party of double-standards from top to bottom.

[renate]

209. welcome to DU!

So glad you're here!

[heaven05]

220. well

we can blame faux news, limpnuts ect for spewing all this Big shit, yet I still have to lay responsibility at the doorstep of all the people who refuse to think for themselves. Period. They act like mindless, dumbed down robots. Remember robbie, 'lost in space? DANGER! DANGER! Will Robinson. That's how I see people who won't think for themselves or are incapable of admitting they might be wrong. This countries citizenry is a mess! Rational, thinking individuals have a lot of work.

[PatSeg]

221. I don't think there are any simple answers to what is happening

If I'm speaking generally, I might lay most, if not all of the blame on the viewers of FOX, but when I see people I know become barely recognizable, I begin to realize that the problem is more complex.

The eight years of Bush had disastrous effects on the entire country and I think the fear and uncertainty manifested differently in people. Organizations like FOX saw an opportunity to capitalize on that fear and uncertainty, giving people targets for their anger. The people I know who got hooked on the right-wing media had gone through some really rough times and were easy prey for vultures like Hannity, O'Reilly, and Rush. There is plenty of responsibility to go around, but if people take advantage of the vulnerable to increase their power and profits, then I will tend to put more of the blame on the conservative media.

On the other hand, if someone is willfully ignorant, looking for reasons to justify their bias and hatred, then he/she shoulders most of the blame.

[heaven05]

222. you are right

I'm just looking at the result as of this election. Really, lockstep. You are 100 percent correct in your analysis of our citizenry.

[PatSeg]

223. You're so kind!

Don't Hear "100 percent correct" too often!

I try so hard to stay open-minded and rational, but it is hard when you're dealing with people who have no use for facts. A friend posted something on Facebook about using FactCheck.org and a conservative said, "But they lie". That's right up there with, "But the bible says" - end of debate.

[RepublicansRZombies]

26. all of the media has been lying to us, for their own benefit $$, on our public airwaves

They were unbelievably bad this election season, they ALL need to be held accountable.

[abelenkpe]

28. I'd stage an intervention for my own family if possible

FOX is some seriously toxic shit.

[zentrum]

31. I'm actually more concerned about O's safety

...than I've ever been. They are more upset this time than last and they've been pumped through with the idea that the country is turning Socialist/Muslim and needs saving. Haven't even wanted to say these thoughts aloud, but I'm really worried because of the insane reaction.

[Amonester]

146. I'm glad this lenghty campaign is over.

Obama doesn't need to go out there as often now.

And mostly, I think the Secret Service has done and will keep doing a great job to protect him.

[catbyte]

32. Just tell them what they told us in 2004, "YOU LOST. GET OVER IT."

Give them a big, nasty dose of their own medicine. I knew that some people would become unhinged, I just didn't expect the Romney Campaign and Party leaders. I don't know why I'm so surprised, though.

[skydive forever]

33. Your last sentence

"Fox is really a dangerous, dangerous force in the country." I couldn't have said it better.

[GermanDem]

42. I agree!

It's like Goebbel's propaganda in Germany during WWII! Seriously. Steve Jobs once had Rupert Murdoch over at his house for dinner and he told him that if he (Murdoch) wasn't careful, the division of this country via Fox News would be his legacy. He asked him: "Do you really want this to be your legacy?" Apparently that's what he wants.

Fox News is despicable. They pretend to report the news, but all they do is constant, 24/7 Obama bashing. No wonder so many people are brainwashed. It is also very concerning on a different level. If half of the population is totally misinformed, this is disastrous for everything, education, economics, you name it.

[moondust]

34. BE CAREFUL OUT THERE!

I'd say be extra cautious for a while, especially in deep red areas. No telling what some people will do when their reality bubble pops.

[tavernier]

194. You got that right!

I put my Obama magnetic sticker on only two days this year, one being on election day, and it came off when I parked. These people have become rabid.

Oddly, four years ago there were stickers all over the place, both parties, but this year... crickets. I think a lot of people were cautious about the whack jobs out there.

[hobbit709]

35. Not causing them, they were there all along.

It's just the trigger for some people to act out.

[VWolf]

36. What's scary is, Pres Obama is hardly a leftist

Most would say he's a centrist, and some would go so far as to say he's slight RIGHT of center.

He hasn't taken away all of our guns, or done any of the myriad things that the RW echo chamber has suggested.

Can you imagine if a true liberal (eg, Ted Kennedy) were elected?

[AlbertCat]

55. Can you imagine if a true liberal (eg, Ted Kennedy) were elected?

It'd be a minor prob to them.... because Ted was white.

[denvine]

39. Fox news and Rush Limbaugh are poisoning 1/2 of our country.

When did all the division begin? When Fox news emerged as a so called "Fair and Balanced" view (Bullshit Mountain, thank you Jon Stewart), and Rush Limbaugh (He who should not be named) became a household name. I made the mistake of going to their website yesterday, just to see the talking heads explode. OMG, I was not ready for what I saw. How can we get the message out to the American Public, that they are being used and lied to. Jim Jones comes to mind!!

[kelliekat44]

57. No, just 25%. Another 25% are just plain racists.

[reformist2]

107. This is accurate. But we need to get those 25% some help!

[AlbertCat]

41. I'm sorry.... that's just fucking pitiful.

I would've just told my sister to get her head out of her ass and grow up...and hung up.

Either that or told her they would be put in FEMA camps. "What's gonna happen to us???"

Jeeeesus!

[Skittles]

67. I have to agree

if my brother called, hysterical, and made me ditch a work meeting to wail about politics, I'd fucking kick his ass

[callous taoboy]

98. Bwaa ha ha ha.....

I'm waiting for my brother to start up with me. I will calmly ask him to count with me as I slowly and deliberately hold up a finger at a time, "one... two....
three.... four. Four more years." Then give him the

[IL Lib]

218. I don't understand it

I just can't grasp adults being brainwashed to the extent they are. I don't know anyone who watches FOX, so i'm clueless other than seeing it discussed on this forum.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

44. Faux News Bubble Disorder:

[yellowcanine]

45. "Put down the remote and back away slowly! We can beat this!

[toby jo]

46. The fear just rolls off em

A guy was telling me he's afraid, really afraid for the country:

Why?

We're weak.

We have the strongest military in the world, it's bigger than the next 5 combined.

But we haven't put any money into it in years.

We don't need to.

Oh, you don't know.

The boogey man station.

Oh, yeah, he went on: and they're tellin us what to do all the time.

???

I gave up. Like talking to a little child.

[ErikJ]

48. The 1st thing a cult does is claim that everyone else is lying to you.

[hue]

50. Great thread!! I also think the RW mindset is a cult--their sheeple are addicted!!

[CoffeeCat]

51. Fox is a dangerous cult that lies and abuses people...

It's time to stop referring to Fox and right-wing radio hosts as "entertainment."

These people are destroying our country. They are lying about everything and tearing this country apart.

I have no problem with conservatives. I have no problem with people holding different beliefs that I do. However, denying science and ignoring facts--and enabling people and keeping them in a lie-based stupor--is criminal.

I don't know what we do about this.

I have Glenn Beck fans up the street who were normal a few years ago. Now they're crazy. Our kids used to play together and now their children hate our kids. They were friends since they were five. Now that's gone. I rarely post about politics and when I do its respectful. One of them defriended me.

It has gotten ridiculous. Fox has these people amped up on hate, fear and they are breeding mental illness and trauma.

[BellaKos]

77. +1 Dangerous, poisonous, insidious, sophisticated, and divisive.

For the sake of the nation, this national brainwashing must be stopped.

[go west young man]

106. I refer to the condition as "Faux psychosis".

Sadly my own parents have been suffering from it for years. Trumpet fear, paranoia, anger, and delusion and throw in a few quick upskirt shots and you have a recipe for the limbic primordial part of the brain to go off the rails. Wrap it all in the flag for just the right amount of glorified fascism acceptance.

[sebastianj333]

54. Ain't it Great???

Hell, i've been watching Fox New for 3 straight days and I NEVER watch Fox News......I'm loving it!

[PatrynXX]

56. Suppose I could just irritate some friends on that site by saying Fox News is the Devils channel

stirring up hate, anger and division among families... seriously I used to watch fox to see what the republicans were doing at some point around 2005 I began getting these severe headaches. Never recovered from that but not quite as bad now as it was then.

[aletier_v]

58. And it's only Day 3 of 365,256 Days of Darkness

[nobodyspecial]

59. Well, if it's any consolation

When none of the doom and gloom predictions come to pass and things DO get better, perhaps they'll learn their lesson. But if you think about all of the horrible things they have been told by the RW and their preachers, no wonder they were freaking out.

We knew Bush's second term would be disastrous, but we didn't actually think the world would come to an end. I actually feel sorry for these people who have been so manipulated and terrified.

[Posteritatis]

60. Oh boy, one of these threads again. (nt)

[BellaKos]

72. Yes, one of these threads

An' I read every one of them, because I need to know that I'm not the only one who's surrounded by crazy people.
My cousin: "Obama's the worst president ever. BushII wasn't so bad. Reagan made him "feel" good."
My sister-in-law: "Obama's gonna' make women wear burkas."
My friend: "The 'controllers' fixed the election."
A forum I used to read: "We need to get more ammo."

AAARRRRAGGGHHHH!
I come here just to make sure I'm still on *this* side of the "looking glass." You know, like in the real world.

[Auntie Bush]

95. Where in the world did she get this idea? That's a new one right out of the blue!

"My sister-in-law: "Obama's gonna' make women wear burkas."

[BellaKos]

147. Well,

My sister-in-law is devoted to Neil Bourtz. Listens to him everyday. Told me to check out his website so that I, too, can know the truth. Consequently, I suppose, she believes that Sharia Law is going to become the law of the land in the US. She's not alone as evidenced by the Oklahoma state legislature passing a law that said, basically, that Sharia Law would never supplant American law in Oklahoma.
Now, I ask you, where to begin to refute that? Must we go back to the Magna Carta, trace this line of thinking through the Enlightenment, to John Locke, to Thomas Jefferson in order to explain that there's really no way in hell that the US will adopt Sharia Law? Or do we explain the three branches of government like a high school civics teacher might?
I mean, where do you start?
I try to be nice -- or I used to. I'm now seriously considering just sayin' to these people the kindest remark I can think of, which would be, "I'm so sorry. You have been egregiously ill-informed. Check back with me when you come back to earth."

[Bluegene]

125. The Ammo, what is with the Ammo??

Listened to these guys today on the computer go on an on about their automatic weapon purchase and how they got to load up on ammo. Scared to death they will be dragged off to the death camps. I so wanted to say, but they didn't know we were listening in, What are you afraid of ideas? You can't kill an idea with a gun.

[BellaKos]

149. That's true.

But the problem with your reasoning is that it is reasonable. Unfortunately, reason has no place in their alternate reality that exists as a Cartoon Land -- a Fantasy Land complete with its very own Bullshit Mountain. They have to buy ammo because Obama is planning to take it away -- or, Obama is planning to put them all in Fema Camps -- or, Obama's lazy supporters are planning to riot in the streets.
It's insane!
Dangerous.

[barbtries]

61. wow.

that is extreme. but it's not obama's election that's making these people crazy, it's fox, and rush, and beck, etc.

[savannah43]

63. That's how I probably would have felt if Romney had won.

Forward to the mid-term election. Take the House back!

[nichomachus]

69. I would have been upset and concerned

and I would have been planning (plotting) how we could make things better, but I don't think I would be on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

[BellaKos]

64. Faux Nooze -- the gateway drug to insanity. n/t

[marions ghost]

65. Fox is a dangerous force

I couldn't agree more...

We've got to stop seeing it as just a TV network--it is destroying the (sanity of) the country.

[begin_within]

66. So let them go crazy.

[nichomachus]

68. Nobody likes to see their family like that

[begin_within]

70. But what can you do about it?

[StarryNite]

74. My cousin's cousin is postive it's the end of the world...

She thinks that because Obama won reelection it means that God has decided to end the world. WTF? Obama was President for four years! Hellooooo....We're still here!!!!

[Johnny2X2X]

76. WOW

It is FOX News, they are the problem with civil discourse in this country.

Honestly, I tuned in for a day or 2 to watch the post election meltdown, I knew they were bad, but my god, they are 24 hours a day of railing against Obama, calling him names and lying about him. If you watch that on a regular basis, there is only one conclusion you could come to, Obama is the anbti Christ. It's every minute of every hour just talking about how awful Obama is, it's totally insane!

[Uncle Joe]

79. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, nichomachus.

[AndyA]

81. I think some of these people may have been mentally challenged to start with

The good news is, they can get help and be happy again. With Obamacare, it will be easier for them to get well and be happy again.

Life is too short to be a Republicon.

[oldbanjo]

82. Obama will take care of her.

[meeshrox]

84. David Frum even called them out on Morning Schmo today.

Not by name, of course, but anyone with a brain new what his smirk meant. Not that it will change anything.

[nolabear]

85. Not causing, triggering. The underlying problem has to be there.

I feel for them. Something has them easily terrified and prone to reinforcing one another rather than calming one another. And yes, Fox is heartless and believes not one whit the things they say, except that they are all in meltdown over the possible loss of the power to scare people and are in emergency spin.

[anneboleyn]

109. Exactly, these people were already mentally ill. Fox and the election dynamics "trigger'

the emotional response. Sounds like a very unhealthy family.

[drm604]

86. The right-wing propagandists, including Fox News,

have been intentionally psychologically manipulating and abusing half the population for years.

I also have relatives like this. My mother told me that she recently spoke to her cousin on the phone and her cousin said the she and her husband have been sick for days because of the election result. I haven't seen or spoken to them since before the election but in the past I've seen her husband suddenly launch into ridiculous rants about Democrats etc. for no good reason. You could see the anger and FEAR he's experiencing. When he was acting like that, I simply ignored it and avoided engaging him at all.

I'm concerned that there are going to be people doing stupid desperate things, either alone or in groups.

Can't they see that the world hasn't ended, or even changed much, in the last 4 years? If he was going to take away guns, or put people in FEMA camps, or declare himself dictator, wouldn't he have done it by now, rather than wait and risk losing the election?

[DaveJ]

88. My wingnut relatives seem about the same

So far. I'll see what they are like on Thanksgiving.

They are just finding new lies to tell on Facebook so far. And saying they're going to move to Texas. Dumasses.

[sarcasmo]

93. Glad we are out of town for the holiday.

[olegramps]

89. Basically these people are fascists employing fascist propaganda tactics.

Last edited Fri Nov 9, 2012, 06:50 PM - Edit history (1)

When I was a kid in high school I thought that George Orwell's 1984 was pure fantasy in that people could not be convinced that lies are the truth, slavery is freedom, etc. This was until I explored the subject in greater depth in preparing my senior thesis and happened to choose Nazi propaganda as a subject. I had help from an acquaintance of my father who a young man living in Holland during the Nazi occupation who was fluent in German and translated several speeches by Hitler and his Propaganda Minister, Joseph Goebbels. Their control of the press clearly demonstrated a basic principle of all dictators that when they have control of the press they can convince a sizable majority of any absurdity. The German people believed up until the very end that their country was prevailing in the war. Not unlike the people in the US who rely soled on the right-wing press and TV for their misinformation and are shocked that Romney lost the election.

He said that although the Nazis attempted to control the press in Holland there was a active underground that countered their lies and keep the people informed as to the progress of the war and that many had short-wave radios, that were outlawed, as major source to counter the German propaganda. Unfortunately, the ultra-right wing has gained significant control of the American Press. Not only do they dominate so-called "Talk Radio" and selected TV stations such as FOX, they have had a demonstrable affect of major new media sources that are controlled bymajor corporations. A prime example of this is how the major news bought into the concept that this was a very close election and actually ignored some of the major indications that it wasn't. I believe that the Internet has provided an alternate to the garbage that is spewed by most news organizations, some what like what happened in Holland and France during World War II. This is especially true of younger people. I am not in the least surprised that there have been attempts to bring this resource under the control of the right-wing and this must be resisted at all costs.

[sarcasmo]

91. I would like to see Psychologist numbers this week compared to the last four years of the same week.

[DaveJ]

92. These types don't see psychiatrists. They should though.

That's why they remain mentally ill.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

94. Is there a way to get them to watch just one hour of another news outlet like PBS?

If they say, "that's just government propaganda", ask them to watch it for one hour and see if they still think that.

[Swede Atlanta]

100. Yes, these folks are totally wacko......

I recall being very angry at the Supreme Court decision to enthrone GWB. But I had empathy for him after 9-11 until, of course, the facts came out that he had received multiple intelligence briefings warning of OBL's intentions to strike in the U.S. and did NOTHING.

Similarly I was pissed off when GWB remained in the W.H. after the 2004 election which I think very likely was stolen out from underneath John Kerry by GOP operatives in Ohio.

I pouted and grumbled but I didn't go off the deep end. I knew GWB was bad news. And it wasn't even so much GWB in my view but the people he had surrounded himself with, especially Darth Cheney. I suspected the whole thing would end badly and of course now we know it did with the total meltdown of our economy.

But I knew that another election would come and that politics is like a pendulum. It swings back and forth. I figured if the Democrats nominated a competent and experienced candidate in 2008 there were very good chances he or she would win because of this historic back and forth.

I really wonder if there is some underlying mental disorder in being conservative. There must be because they are all going off.

[tomm2thumbs]

101. FoxNews folks will eventually realize this 'sugar high' Fox feeds them is hollow of nourishment

and they will begin feeding elsewhere....

in the meantime, withdrawal symptoms will be moderate to severe

[undergroundpanther]

102. FOX IS a CULT

Those Faux hounds have just lost their religion. They have to face the cognitive dissonance of the real world crashing into their faux bubble.

[ivanincali00]

105. Fox is dangerous to this country.

The people who watch it really do live in bubble!

[calimary]

123. Welcome to DU, ivanincali00!

Happy to have you here! Yes to both: Pox IS dangerous to this country - a veritable national security threat if you ask me, and a proponent of high treason against the Commander-in-Chief during wartime. AND the people who watch it truly do live in a bubble. Time to bring a few nice long pins. Or maybe horses and bayonets!

[Raine]

110. Suck it up like we were told to do in 2000 when it literally was stolen from us. No sympathy at

all, the more you cry and whine the more pleasure it gives me.

[calimary]

122. AND in 2004. Don't forget how vicious and smug and cruel they were then, too!

That was HORRIBLE!!!

Payback maybe.

Or Karma.

Or both.

Which is fine with me.

I won't gloat too much or rub it in too aggressively, but I DO reserve the right to feel quietly gleeful. No group of meanies deserves it more.

[Politicub]

111. The Fox media bubble is seriously freaky

I can see how reality would scramble Fox viewers' brains.

They needed a wakeup call anyway. Progressives are the majority.

[mechtech]

112. "end of the country"

Isn’t it amusing how some very wealthy white pundits think that this is “their country”, especially after making millions on daily hate speech made up completely from straw men and red herrings?
…………………………..
Rush Limbaugh
“I went to bed last night thinking we are outnumbered,”
“I went to bed last night thinking we’ve lost the country. I don’t know how else you look at this.”

@Mechtech to Rush
I wonder if Paspahegh territory Chief Wahunsenacawh felt that way in 1607 as his land was renamed Jamestown by Captain John Smith’s colony?
Or maybe the Pokanoket chief Massasoit expressed similar sentiments as William Brewster and Myles Standish renamed his land Plymouth Colony in 1621…
…………………………………………
Bill O’Reilly
“The white establishment is now the minority,”
“And the voters, many of them, … want stuff.”
“… People feel that they are entitled to things …”

@Mectech to Bill-o
Perhaps the Aztec emperor Moctezuma II, said something like that when he first met Hernán Cortés, just before Moctezuma was killed for his gold…
These two white guys cannot stomach the reality that there are people of other colors in this country, and more coming every day... How incredibly ironic!

[calimary]

121. Welcome to DU, mechtech!

Glad you're here! Good points. But then again, maybe limbaugh SHOULD feel surrounded and outnumbered. His side IS. There are more of us than there are of his angry-old-white-guys brigade. Seems appropriate, somehow.

Let's protect and build upon what we've gained this week. DON'T ANYBODY ROLL OVER AND GO BACK TO SLEEP!!!!!! It's CRITICAL that we all stay vigilant! This bunch may be moaning and groaning and off licking their wounds. But they'll soon snap out of it and be back, ready to start making trouble again. And we have to be ready. They're gonna plague our President, and we HAVE TO have his back in the days ahead!!!! Especially when it comes to sunsetting the damn bush tax cuts!!!!!!

[gulliver]

113. These are pre-existing conditions

And they truly can turn psychotic and/or clinical. You can't harness your emotional well being to a cognitive model of the world in which climate scientists are hoaxters, 47% of people are parasites, women should carry rapist babies, and people like Mitt Romney and George W. Bush are leadership material.

[Incitatus]

114. Doesn't Obamacare cover mental health?

[YOHABLO]

118. Well she can always immigrate to Argentina .. Oh wait..

that was the Nazis. Hmm let's see .. I don't know what the remedy for a FOXAHOLIC IS. Yeah just turn the tv off. And keep it off.

[stuntcat]

120. I have an 'acquaintance' whose been crying over and over since the election

The person who told about her said she's so upset, crying all day Wednesday. I imagine she was sitting watching FOX news? Being told over and over how it's The End for America?

I bet lots of people have cried much more over this than they did about 9/11 . (and certainly much more than they did about Katrina!)

[Cha]

124. Best Advice Ever. Step Away From FoxScrews. You will see

that you're not going to be taken away in government vans and desposed of in the desert.

Did they also think romney was going to win? Same kind of propaganda they got as every other distortion from fox? Maybe they Should question their Sources? Ya think.

[The Wizard]

130. Fox is a pox

on the easily frightened and ignorant.
There are laws against inciting people to violence and it's about time that entire propaganda operation was shuttered.

[ffr]

131. Similar?

[jtuck004]

132. It's the nacebo effect.

In medicine, a nocebo reaction or response is the harmful, unpleasant, or undesirable effects a subject manifests after receiving an inert dummy drug or placebo. Nocebo responses are not chemically generated and are due only to the subject's pessimistic belief and expectation that the inert drug will produce negative consequences.

[Kennah]

133. Ever since the President's victory speech, I have fallen victim.

I continue to lapse into bouts of grinning like a crazy man.

[Doc Holliday]

171. I know, right?

I went into my usual watering hole on Wednesday. I'd been feeling good about the election results all day, although it was kind of frustrating to have to keep my feelings damped down because I'm one of only two Dems in our office. Everyone else was all gloom & doom; no one wanted to talk about politics or the election. There was the requisite mumbling about how we're gonna lose our guns, how you might want to go on Social Security as soon as possible to be sure that it's there for you (before Obama gives it all away to his supporters, of course). These were some seriously bummed-out people. I heard that, according to one guy who claims to have seen it on CNN, there were UN troop convoys waiting on the other side of the Canadian border to assist with curbing civil disorder in the event of a Romney victory. I heard that our local Sam's Club and a Convergys call center were going to have layoffs almost immediately. Needless to say, all of this stuff was anecdotal, and in some cases certainly untrue. CNN wasn't on in the bar, and the folks telling me this stuff didn't work at Sam's or Convergys...but they had "heard"..... When people are drinking and talking politics (or, in this case, grumbling about it), it's easy to discount the more obvious bullshit.

I didn't gloat or anything....at least, not aloud. But nothing and nobody could shake my good mood. Oh, sure. I wanted to shout, "Hey, you lost! Get over it!" But I'm a regular; some of these folks are friends, they're all my drinking buddies, and that ain't how I roll.

The good mood is still in full effect. I sang at a cancer fundraiser last night; they did a thing called "speed donations" where people went around with aluminum buckets and took donations while whoever is performing at the moment is up. I helped raise $650 in twenty minutes onstage, and that kicked the good mood up a notch.

[elbloggoZY27]

134. Poor Losers

I am appalled at the comments of those on the RIGHT but not surprised. What shocks me is that had the GOP taken the White House we surely would have had a Civil War. One analyst even called the President a Sociopath.

I am outraged as a Veteran of these really ugly outbursts.

[EmilyAnne]

135. Soon after Obama's first win, I posted about neighbor who lost it.

When my husband and I moved to Pittsburgh from Texas, this man was one of the first neighbors to welcome us. He had an old Kerry-Edwards sticker on his car, and being from Texas, I was really happy to see signs of Democrats in our new neighborhood.
During the 2008 primary he had a Hillary sign, but when Obama won the primary, he put up some NRA "I'm a bitter gun owner and I vote" sign in his yard and began exhibiting some really antisocial behavior to me and the rest of our neighbors who had Obama signs.
Up until then, he was always friendly.
But after Obama's primary win, he'd be working in the yard and then stop and glare at me while I got in my car. Just a really creepy, hostile vibe.

After Obama was finally elected, he stopped sleeping in his bedroom with his wife and went up to the little crawl space of their bungalow style house with all of his guns. I don't even think he could stand fully upright. Anyway, he would stay up all night ranting and looking at bullshit on the internet. Once again, this was in Pittsburgh, just a few blocks from where those police officers were murdered by that right wing psycho. A few weeks after that shooting, the man and his wife split and he ended up going to live with his elderly mother in Florida. And soon after their little bungalow was sold.

I am absolutely certain that this guy was racist. Add to it all the hate media and whacko conspiracy theories and you have a recipe for a serious mental break.

[MN Treehugger]

138. Forced reality is the cure for the Faux disease

My health club plays Faux in front of the elliptical machines so sometimes I am visually force fed their steaming load of bullshit (I always have headphones on, tuned to my albums). It's hard to believe that any human being with partially functioning synapses buys into it. Hate radio is even worse. There's a station here, AM 1130 that churns that garbage out 24-7. Bob Davis, Tom Emmer (ICK - almost our Governor), Batshit Beck, Lush Limpballs, Insanity, Billy Cunningham . . . I can't even stomach it enough to tune in for more than a few minutes just to laugh at them even this week. The nutters that call in from the fringes of society are actually even worse - scary, scary stuff.

My sister from Michigan hasn't called me since the election. She's unfortunately afflicted with this disease which makes her vote against her own self-interest. I had to smack her down in 2004 for her Kerry hate mails so I think she probably thinks I'm going to report her to re-education camp. Myself on the other hand, couldn't be happier about the outcome all across the country. Here, we fought for against discrimination and won, beat back Voter ID and got our House and Senate back.

There are a lot of angry, old, racist, and dare I say "ENTITLED" white men and their ilk out there. They are severely butt injured that they are losing their iron fist rule over society. Be careful and take care of each other out there!

[Beartracks]

139. Couldn't even speak his NAME???

WTF. I had a family member compare Obama to Voldemort once, half in jest, but at least he didn't regard the President as he-who-must-not-be-named. That's ridiculous. Maybe the Surgeon General could declare FOX a health hazard....??

=================

[Doc Holliday]

173. You want ridiculous?

A co-worker told me, in all seriousness, with a suspiciously Bachmann-like gleam in her eye, that since we liberals think Obama is a god, then it makes perfect sense for conservatives to see him as the antiChrist. I had to ask her if smoking her breakfast was an everyday thing around her house.

[Beartracks]

214. Only conservatives think liberals regard Obama as a god.

It's in their nature to accuse others of the kind of behavior that they exhibit themselves -- mindless adoration of Romney, for example, or blind devotion to Rush.

===================

[Shankapotomus]

140. friggin sheep

pathetic

[DeSwiss]

141. Those who watch Fox News already have a mental disorder.....

...RACISM. It's why they watch in the first place.

- K&R

[Odin2005]

193. Love LBJ!

[Zoeisright]

142. A few years ago I saw my 74 year old mom sitting

on a table about a foot from the TV watching Beck. It was the scariest thing I've ever seen. She didn't move or blink. It was like she was being hypnotized. Faux Noise is truly dangerous and should be banned.

[Bette]

160. scary!

Wow, now that is really scary...and I have seen it before. It is like they are immobilized and in a trance. I was very relieved to see beck go off the air, unfortunately, he's not gone completely and can still mess up someone's brain with his 'religion' propaganda.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

144. I know a right-winger who's actually RELIEVED Romney lost....

He was convinced that if Obama lost all the blacks were going to riot and the whole country would be in flames and white people would be shot on sight.

Seriously.

He fled the country until it was all over.

[tavalon]

158. Geez, I was pretty damn angry about the eight years of Bush and

even wondered if he was driving us off of a financial cliff toward the end (he was) but I never needed tranquilizers. That's pretty screwed up.

[RandySF]

161. If I were that guy...

I would have just told her that I will call her back later.

[outsideworld]

163. screaming !!

[img][/img]

[sarahoopla]

164. This one girl I know regrets having children

She's my Facebook friend and old childhood friend. She has a 1 and 3 year old. She was ranting right after and she actually said "I'm regretting that I have children right now, I see no hope for their future." and "We are planning on closing our business and moving out of this FU(*@ING COUNTRY" She's a religious nut (we grew up in the same cult) so the best I could do was quote scriptures about fear "nothing to fear but fear itself" and "Perfect love casts out all fear". OMG

[MFM008]

166. im watching frequently

I havent seen cycling like this on the Bipolar ward.

[no_hypocrisy]

167. Several members of the Third Reich went through similar breakdowns.

Josef Goebbels and wife committed suicide rather than live in a world without Hitler. And took their children with them.

[GTurck]

168. Visited our son's....

mother-in-law in the hospital where is waiting to have part of her leg amputated because of diabetes and yup she was watching Fox News. Our youngest son is also a Fox watcher and he posted the most repugnant rant on his facebook page which landed, of course, on mine. His snit about liberals and progressives being sheep was global and he included the parents, us, who raised him and sacrificed for him on a very low budget salary. Now he says he only meant others not us because he really truly cares about us. I still am not convinced about that.

[Ford_Prefect]

169. Post WWII Germany had a problem like this. So many had believed the lies for so long.

The real danger is that it does not go away. As long as FOX and others prop up the mythology and it is echoed under the false equivalence now ingrained into MSM.

Those afflicted have a genuine addiction to the false universe and the fear it generates. I have seen the same thing with old racists anywhere I have worked in America. They keep looking for a fix that sustains the fear because they truly believe it is what matters. One more hit is all it takes to generate the chemical thrill that paranoia operates on. They can be as bad as anyone in withdrawal from Heroin.

The really sad thing is they are still dangerous to the real world without knowing it. That is why Rove/Rupert spend so much on propaganda machines like hate radio and Fox et al. Until we shut that machinery down the disease will continue to grow and infect and eat away at what we have momentarily won.

I live in North Carolina where the fascist money has overwhelmed truth. We came close to resisting it but in the end there were many more lies than truth repeated in the regional press.

We now have a mutton head Bush/Romney clone governor-elect and a rabidly Tea Party super majority legislature thanks to 2010 Rovian midterms that lead to radical redistricting. Wisconsin will seem like paradise once they are sworn in. They already legislated away Global Warming over the head of a progressive Democratic Governor. Similar fates await in other states where truth is no longer defined by reality. Regardless of the landslide the Tea Party will not simply wither away.

Unless Obama starts doing the justice he spoke about in 2004 and 2008 the disease will continue to threaten all of us. It is well past time for the man to step up to his words and do the job. As Dr. Cornel West said we need to push him in the direction he needs to go...great presidents are not elected, they are made.

[Hubert Flottz]

172. Same thing in West Virginia

The Big money did major damage...the FOX is in the chicken house here now thanks to Citizens United. The people who did that should be impeached. FOX should be removed from the USA. Send it to 1939 Germany, where it's roots came from.

[aandegoons]

170. Pre-existing Condition.

Not covered. At least by the media.

[justiceischeap]

174. It's a shared psychosis by 47% of the population

I forget which show, maybe The Ed Show, and I don't recall who said it, maybe Howard Fineman, that basically there are two sets of "facts" that people recognize--actual facts and then the other "facts." They ingest media that makes them feel better about their distorted world-view. Was that world-view distorted by the right or does the right attract those with this already distorted view? It's a bit like the chicken and the egg.

Whatever the cause, being in that bubble further creates a different history and set of facts, which people who don't share this psychosis, call propaganda. I have no doubt that this is the intention of FoxNoise and its ilk.

[4 more years]

175. Fox news always on in public areas in GA.

When we travel in our motorhome we can't get MSNBC on cable in GA. fOX is allways available . When we get to FLA we can get MSNBC. fOX is everywhere all the time WHY ?

[still_one]

176. idiots. that is what they get from watching fox day in day out. If they are that distressed, might

I suggest Canada, of course Canada actually does have healthcare for all so that might not work out

[bushisanidiot]

177. My mormon, Romney fan sister in law just posted something today on FB

wanting information on emergency preparedness/food storage sites.
As an ex-mo, I know that this is something we were always encouraged
to pursue in order to take care of our families in case of a national disaster.
However, I have a feeling she and my brother are going to jump off the deep
end and join the doomsday prepper nutcases who are convinced that
Barack Obama is the anti-christ and the end times are coming.

i've never understood why anyone would want to survive such a disaster.
I'd want to be the first to go. I do have some canned food and some water
but I am not going to plan for power to be out for more than two weeks.

[BeyondGeography]

178. Garbage in, garbage out

[alarimer]

180. I think it's just bringing it out.

I will repeat: these people believe things that are simply untrue.

I don't know if the batshit wing has always existed and it's just more visible now, with the internet, or if this is a new kind of crazy, but it scares me.

[vduhr]

181. Fox is dangerous because.....

the RW followers rely on what they are told. They have no capacity for critical thinking, so they believe everything that their perceived authoritarian leaders tell them. It is very dangerous, and a large news organization like Fox, which contributes to that is more dangerous than anything. Also, people like Rove and the entire Republican party know the mental makeup of these people, and have used them to their advantage. They feed them the fear because they know they can manipulate them with it.

[bowens43]

182. Their mental disorder wasn't caused by Obama.

the fear they have of Obama and an Obama presidency is just a symptom of a pre-existing condition.
Thanks to Obama , they should be able to get treatment.

[TXDem1984]

183. I am so thankful for this site...

I recently found DU while perusing a liberal friend's FB page and I have been an avid follower for the last few weeks. You see, I am from rural Texas originally and now live in a suburb in the Dallas, Fort Worth area. In other words I am in, quite possibly the reddest area of the country, where FOX News is actually considered "fair and unbiased" and to speak out and suggest anything otherwise is considered downright treasonous. Everyone in my immediate family (myself, my parents, and my 2 siblings) are liberal democrats but, outside of that I can't think of a single person I know personally who supports Obama(that isn't either African American or homosexual). So sorry to ramble on like this but, being able to read posts like this and reassure myself that everyone in the country is not as hateful as it may seem living here has been a godsend. To the point of why I replied to this message; my in-laws are avid FOX followers. I do love these people and when politics is not involved they are good people. Very kind and generous. They are all college educated and seemingly intelligent. They also are huge Glenn Beck fans as well. I can say from personal experience that these types of posts are not an exaggeration in any way. If anything the mind control tactics of the RW media (ie FOX News and GB) are being understated. They are so badly misinformed yet will not, or cannot even entertain the notion that they have been mislead in any way. You guys should see some of the FB news feed posts I saw on election night. Everything from Obama is the antichrist to our country just punched its own ticket to hell. I feel so hopeless sometimes for the state that I have lived in for nearly 30 years and love so much. I want so badly to be proud of my state again but, as long as the accepted status quo is an intense anti-Obama/blatantly racist and homophobic sentiment, I fear this will never happen. Thank you all for letting me vent to you. That is all....

[Coyotl]

211. Get out more.

Every community has its liberal members. Find them!

[SHRED]

184. oh well

[coeur_de_lion]

187. Some of my Facebook friends

Are old chums from grade school. This one guy has been posting stuff from all these radical right wing sites about how Obama stole the election. You click on the link and some tinfoil hat website comes up.

It makes me think to myself how I must have appeared to people when Bush "won" back in 2000.

This same guy posts links about how wrong it is that Obama won't renew the tax cuts for those making more than $250,000. He works at a convenience store as a cashier. He does not make $250,000.

I don't understand how Fox News got this guy to vote against his own self interest.

Do they do some kind of voodoo brainwashing thing?

[TXDem1984]

191. Not voodoo....

Racism. But, your friend and many of mine, in reality have no clue what's going on in politics. Since they have no legitimate beef with Obama they just cut and paste whatever they find attacking him. Then the rest of my dumb fuck conservative friends like the post 100 times and comment saying shit like "he's ruining this country" and "we gotta impeach him!"

[coeur_de_lion]

201. Yeah that's the thing TXDem no legitmate beef

None at all! If you ask them for specifics they don't have any -- because there are none.

Just mindless hate.

Fox News is whipping up more and more hate.

But -- I can't stand the thought that so many of our fellow countrymen could actually be racist. Dear God.

[TXDem1984]

217. On 2nd thought you're right...

I agree, it's not ALL racism. Some of them are just rich and greedy and some really believe they are right. I doubt Romney is a racist.

[Gabi Hayes]

188. it is NOT a mental disorder:

[mwooldri]

189. I know exactly how to get people to turn off Fox.

Topless women.

If it is good enough for Murdoch to have topless women on Page 3 of The Sun, then why not Fox "News" ? Those people who would be outraged would switch off, other people would switch on for different reasons. Also ensures that more people will realise Fox "News" is not a serious news organization.

Of course there will be people who say that any media outlet shouldn't be doing this kind of thing anyway.

[ancianita]

195. It's not causing mental disorders. It's revealing them.

Only when the sick finally learn the cause of their sickness can they get well. In the meantime, they will fight all forms of help and stew in their suffering.

[milestogo]

200. Bingo~!

[allan01]

198. re:Obama's re-election causing mental disorders

in my small apartment complex the conservatives have been glum and quiet . day before halloween one yelled today is elction day . who did u vote for ? i said this . that . and the other , to which he replied " i hope obama gets out . obvisuly these people were poor and on federal , state and county assistance. hem .their funding would have been the first to go if romney and rs swept both houses , but it wasnt to be !!!! not so cherrful now are we ? i havent watched faux noize and conservative news network for years. havent even watched any of our "local" channels (our ada is sacramento ca) for years . news is a contraction and news stands for "NEW Story , and news aint truth.

[Agnosticsherbet]

205. Obama is now "He who must not be named."

That is pretty funny if you think about it.

[awoke_in_2003]

206. I had a normally rational coworker...

go off on me. He was mumbling about how this was the end of the country. I said "what has changed? Obama is still president, the dems control the senate, and the repubs still control the house". He stopped mumbling, got red in the face, and shouted that he doesnt want this to become a socialist country. I said "what socialism are you talking about?". Of course it as Obamacare. When I pointed out that is was the same program Gov. Romney rolled out, and that it was praised (at the time) by the Heritage Foundation, Newt, and Rush he started getting redder. I left it alone and went to smoke. It was alarming.

[progressivebydesign]

224. Glen Beck was one of the absolute WORST and most irresponsible.

I have no doubt that he contributed to some suicides, etc., after the election. The shit he was saying... OMG, was like Jim Jones stuff. He talked about the "death of America" and that "evil will now take over." And he said that America would be better off being destroyed than to live under Obama again. I don't think that ordinary people understand the absolute insanity these guys are spewing...

My next door neighbor has look absolutely shell shocked and destroyed since Tuesday night. She won't even look at me.. and they listen to Beck all the time. Have their ham radio because he said that they'd need it when the Dems come for them to put them in concentration camps (yah, that crazy AND armed, btw.) Glen beck should be in prison or an institution. Period. He is the worst of them.