Journal of Post-Ralphaelite Thought

Much has been made in wingnut circles about the supposed "beating" of Kenneth Gladney at a St. Louis town hall meeting. Mobs of union thugs beat him! He was hospitalized! Yeah, right. MediaMatters has a clip of the incident as well as a pretty damning analysis which puts the lie to the hordes of rightwing media and blogosphere all foaming at the mouth. To quote from MediaMatters : Go watch the YouTube video. (Or, the "shocking video," as Power Line hypes it.) The first thing you notice when the camera starts rolling is a union member already sprawled out on the ground with somebody standing over him. No explanation of how he got there (pushed, shoved, punched?) and Ham couldn't care less. Then yes, Gladney is pulled to the ground by somebody wearing a union shirt. (At the :06 mark.) But instead of Gladney being beaten and punched, as his attorney describes, and instead of union "thugs" standing over him and threatening him, Gladney bounce...

All across America, spontaneous grassroot " Tea Parties " are springing up, protesting government spending! Woo hoo! Fox News has been flogging these for weeks now. How spontaneous is that? As for "grassroots," they have been largely organized and promoted by several big conservative think tanks/lobbying organizations: well-staffed and well-financed. Think Progress reports how these shadowy presences have been coordinating groups, producing "how-to" guides, writing press releases and registering internet domains. One of these is Freedom Works , a Washington-based "think tank," founded by Texas Republican Dick Armey, that's had a history of astroturfing . Aiding and abetting is Americans for Prosperity , a section 501(c)(4) organization funded largely by wealthy foundations affiliated with conservative and oil/gas interests (remember when gas hit $4 a gallon?). The Oligarchs may have lost power in the last election but they aren't givin...