Look out! Liberals is idiots.

What You Think Is Not Always Fact
By Joseph Walther

A couple of things hit my radar this past week. First, two more books about all of those stinkin’, lowdown, lyin’, America hatin’ liberals hit the local bookstores this past week. The second thing involves an incident that happened in a local convenience store last Friday afternoon. One employee jumped all over another employee for “always lookin’ like she’s pissed off at the world.” The former is fodder for stand-up comics; while the latter borders on sheer ignorance.

Part One – The Books…

Mike Gallagher wrote the first book, “Surrounded by Idiots”. He was in downtown Wilmington, Delaware at the Ninth Street Book Store promoting it last week or maybe the week before. Bernard Goldberg wrote the second one, “100 People Who Are Screwing Up America”. I saw him on a couple of the cable channels hawking it.

“Surrounded by Idiots” is a compendium of Mike Gallagher tirades against people who question the veracity of the absolute. For those unaware of it, he is the host of the “Mike Gallagher Show”, a syndicated conservative talk radio show. Delaware’s WILM, 1450 on your AM dial, broadcasts his show weekdays. I don’t think it has anything to do with raw popularity. It’s more a matter of finding filler for the afternoon; and carrying Gallagher is cheaper than Limbaugh and causes less damage. In fact, I have listened to the Mike Gallagher Show and it would not surprise me to find that his show is one of the most listened to shows of all the shows that not many people listen to.

Mike also fills in for Fox TV’s Sean Hannity from time-to-time whenever Hannity’s wife permits him to go somewhere without her. Also, let’s not forget Fox is also the home of the most famous high-heeled pit-bull of all time: Ann Coulter. In addition, Fox is headquarters to that incessant windbag: Geraldo Rivera.

People have accused me of calling Mr. Gallagher stupid. I resent this because it is not true. Don’t get the wrong impression; I believe that there are truly stupid people in this country. Michael Jackson, Robert Blake, O. J. Simpson, Paris Hilton, Al Sharpton, Michael Moore, Ted Kennedy, and whoever invented that clear plastic wrap that wraps itself around your forearm whenever you tear a piece off, are a few that come to mind. However, compassion demands that I look at things from Mr. Gallagher’s perspective. Can any of you imagine how forebodingly steep a climb Mr. Gallagher sees at the prospect of raising himself to their level of intellectual sophistication?

No, I’m afraid that Gallagher’s problem goes much deeper than emotional masturbation. Mike Gallagher has the look and sound of someone in constant pain. Knuckles on both hands, raw-to-bone bloody from constantly dragging them along the ground, has to reduce the sharpness quotient greatly. It is bound to cause manifest irritation in even the most stoic amongst us. If you doubt me, go to his WEB Site, http://www.mikeonline.com/. This is definitely a look of ignorant bliss caused by chronic pain and Neanderthal Syndrome.

Bernard Goldberg is another matter, altogether. In his youth, Bernard was a confirmed lefty to say the least. In fact, the only one to the left of him was… Um… OK, no one comes to mind right now. His book, “100 People Who Are Screwing Up America”, while it includes some conservatives, still makes a point of bashing liberals. However, unlike Mr. Gallagher, Mr. Goldberg seems to have a 3-digit IQ; and there is some justification relative to the liberals mentioned in the book.

Let me clarify something right now. I am a registered Republican. This is because, at the time, I was in a hurry and the Republican check box came first. Registering as a member of a political party has also given me a role and say in local politics. I have never based my lifelong association with the Republican Party on feelings of moral superiority. It’s always been a matter of practicality. When it comes to the average voter in America, we need to watch the Republicans much closer than most of their Democratic counterparts. Extremists on the right have always scared me more than the ones on the left. We can see leftmost extremism for what it is: ideological hogwash. Rightmost extremism, however, tends to cloak itself in God, Country, and Family. It permits the Bible and Ten Commandments to trump the Constitution and Bill of Rights. It’s still ideological hogwash; but by the time we realize it, it’s too late.

Judgment-based books by people of either party are all the same: paraphrased bullshit! What really upsets me is the broad brush stokes used to condemn ALL liberals or ALL conservatives. Goldberg’s book, for the most part is correct in so far as those named. For that matter, Gallagher’s book makes some valid points—purely accidental, I’m sure— for the same reason. However, extremists are extremists and are not limited to just liberals or conservatives. Neither of these books acknowledges this. Both throw the baby out with the bath water. Both widen the divisions within America instead of narrowing them. And, oh yes, let’s not ignore the money to be made from the books, if any. Of course, this certainly had nothing to do with the motivation behind writing them.

I consider myself average. Most of you do, too. That makes us a lot of things. Conservative, liberal, libertarian, green, and any of the other “handles” out there, depending on the circumstances, comprise the tip of the iceberg. When the news media looks at the red/blue political map of the United States, it sees one or the other because it bases the color distribution on the electoral college breakdown. The facts that it also creates controversy and raises ratings by getting people to tune in aren’t all that undesirable either.

You and I, however, know that there is a lot of blue in the red. With the exception of a few elections, voters have provided slim margins relative to the red/blue breakdown. We elect politicians who are smart enough to know that they must move to the center without forgetting who they represent or what they stand for. George Bush did not win the last election by a landslide, nor did he receive a mandate. It’s just that he stood for something and stuck with it. More people bought it than didn’t. Just look at the popular vote breakdown.

Part Two – Looking Pissed Off…

We have all met people who just look angry. If you’ve ever met me, it’s a fact that you have. I have a natural scowl. It’s part of my physical makeup. I’m not mad about anything and I’m usually in a good mood. If you’ve met me and taken the time to get to know me, you know this to be a fact, also. So, you will understand why I have a special place in my heart for those similarly afflicted.

I frequent a convenience store close to my home. The employees, without exception, are very nice and accommodating people. There is one employee, however, who seems to frown all of the time. She’s sort of an equal opportunity frowner. It’s nothing personal. She does not have the weight of world’s problems on her shoulders. She is not in a dysfunctional relationship, family-wise. She just has a natural frown or scowl; something that developed over many years.

As in my case, when people take the time to engage her in some chitchat type of conversation, they find out that she’s an interesting person with as many hopes and dreams and desires as any one else.

The young woman—about 18 or 19 years old, I’m guessing—who felt compelled to yell at her for everyone to hear, “Why do you look like you’re always pissed off at the whole world?”, needs to start thinking before opening her big mouth. She embarrassed her more than anyone could know, and undeservedly so. I commend the older employee for her composure and the ability to go on working without making a big deal out of it.

I have lost count of the number of times that people have told me, well intentioned as they may have been, “Smile, it can’t be all that bad.” Again, people who know me know that I rarely kill without provocation. Unsolicited editorials concerning the expression on my face, in light of the fact that the editorial producer is clueless, insensitive, and an all-around bore, is sufficient provocation.

Tune in next week, same time and channel.

Joseph Walther is a freelance writer and publisher of The True Facts. Send email to: TheTrueFacts@comcast.net