Significantly, the dog is black and white, an apparent stab at white supremacists who can’t stand the idea of a black man in the White House. That the dog comes from Portugal is problematic also. Rep. Spencer Bachus (R, Alabama) went on Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace to warn America that the creeping Socialist threat is alive and well. Bachus told Wallace, “Portugal is a member of the EU, that same organization that France belongs to.” Bachus went on to say that Portugal has a two-party system, but, unlike America, Portugal’s two parties are “the Socialist Party and the Social Democratic Party. And I personally have identified seventeen members of the United States Congress who are of Portuguese descent.”

Having granted an exclusive interview to The Washington Post,  the Obama sisters coyly claimed their new pet’s name was “Bo”, “in honor of our maternal grandfather, who went by the nickname Diddley.” Exclusive #TCOT sources have revealed, however, that “Bo” actually stands for “Barack Obama”, an effort to serve as a constant reminder to the White House staff that “BO”, i.e. Barack Obama, plans to continue to make, as Patriot Michelle Malkin has called them, “crap sandwiches”, which the White House staff will have to clean up. Republicans have called an emergency press conference for Tuesday. It is expected Eric Cantor will unveil the GOP’s latest addition to their “Road to Recovery”, which will include tax cuts for all non-dog-owning citizens. 

Other groups have noticed that the dog came from the farm of Ted Kennedy. Kennedy, last politician of the Kennedy dynasty, has been hard at work, despite serious health issues, to finalize his plans to convert the country to a vast, computerized, socialized medicine system. The dog is yet another reminder of the strong connection the two secret socialists have had for decades.

(Yes, this is satire.)

Now, between my personal Twitter account and my account for my blog, The New Civil Rights Movement, I have close to 3000 followers, so it’s not about losing a follower. But it is about someone leaving me, or worse, Twitter, without knowing that the Twitter stream ebbs and flows. Some days, I post a lot of great links to awesome stories. Some days, I’m chatty and like to hang out with my Twitter buddies. Some days, I’m hawking new blog posts I really want folks to read. And some days, I’m not on Twitter at all. 

Twitter ebbs and flows. It’s the water cooler. Your local diner. The hallway at work. Your town square. The conversation is different every day. It sounds different in the morning than it does at night, despite that, given it’s international popularity, it’s morning for some and night for others. But, unlike the streets you travel, there’s always someone you know. And more you want to.

I learn something new every day when I’m on Twitter. Others tell me they learn a lot from me too. Last night I was able to put the CEO of a startup in touch with an iPhone app developer. Took me about 20 seconds. A friend on Twitter wrote an amazing story of his life in the Navy as a gay sailor, detailing why “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is so destructive. I was glad I was able to get some folks to read it. Another friend, a very talented artist, shared some of his music with me the other day, and I’ve been listening to it ever since. (One song, I think, well over a dozen times!) I shared the link to his Last.FM account on Twitter. I hope others got to enjoy his talent also. 

A month ago, sheepishly, I might add, I posted, “So, how does one write a book?” I’ve been wanting to for a while now, based on the work I’ve been doing on my blog, and I just had no idea where to start. I got many responses, including a few who offered to put me in touch with their agents, and a few offers to coach me. Amazing. 

Sunday, debating a Blu-Ray disc player, I asked if I should buy one, or a Play Station 3. Nine foks responded. (Answers went both ways, in case you’re wondering.)

Many folks new to Twitter think, as I first did, that they have to read every tweet from everyone they follow and from everyone who follows them. You don’t. I stick my toe in the water, get a little wet, and get out without drowning. I make it a point to read as many of the tweets as I can from my close Twitter friends,  and those of some I call the “Twitter Elite”. People like Andrew Sullivan, Dave Winer, and Jay Rosen. 

I introduced a good friend to Twitter a few months ago. He tried it, got frustrated, and quit. A few days ago, for no apparent reason, he checked in again, and found he had gained a good number of interesting followers. He’s been Twittering like mad every day since. I got this message from him just this morning:

So, James, and anyone else debating their investment in Twitter, (or, for that matter, in following me!) in answer to your question, Twitter is for following as many, or as few, conversations as you want. There’s no obigation to follow them all. Or any. If you think unfollowing me is right for you, by all means, go for it. But if you think there’s value by hanging around a bit, I hope you’ll consider it. Dangle your toe. Then come in, the water’s fine.

A long time ago, after a rather intense debate at work, I told my partner, “The only thing better than winning a debate is having one.” I truly believe that. Civil discourse and debate are what grow our democracy, our culture, and our minds. I love to hike through other people’s ideas. Challenge their perceptions, and mine. Get folks, or me, to realize that what we thought was “true” might not be. Or, is more true than we realized. Which probably has a lot to do with why I decided to be a writer.

As most of you know, I love Twitter. I’ve made a lot of friends, several business acquaintances, and caught up with folks I haven’t seen in decades. I even met my better half on Twitter. It’s one of my primary sources of information, communication, and public interaction. I’ve learned about almost every major news story from Twitter first, even though I usually have cable news on TV during the day and get “breaking news” text messages from The New York Times and our local radio station, 1010WINS. 

So, yeah, Twitter is a pretty important part of my life. Which is why I post things on Twitter that are important to me and to my followers. If I have a strong point of view, I’ll shoot off a quick tweet. If I’ve written a new blog post, or read something impactful, I’ll post that too. If you want to know what I’m thinking, read my Twitter stream. It’s not all fascinating (though some of it is), it’s not all deep and meaningful (though some of it is), it’s not all insightful (though some of it is). But it’s all important to me. And it’s all mine. Which is why I use my real name. 

When I joined Twitter I decided it was time to grow up and stand by my words. If what I was writing wasn’t worth having my name attached, it wasn’t worth writing at all. And if what I was writing wasn’t what I believed, or wasn’t what I was willing to stand by, it wasn’t worth writing at all. A few months ago, on my blog, The New Civil Rights Movement, about the Prop 8 donors who all-of-a-sudden realized their funding of a hate bill was public record and were trying to get those records sealed, I posted, “If you don’t believe in your opinion, if you don’t think your contribution is worth putting your name on it, why make it? I don’t know about you, but I sign everything I write.“ 

Unlike the Twitter cowards. You know, the grenade throwers who hide behind a mask brazenly constructed of pseudonym and bullying. I’m not talking about the folks who made up a name so they can bitch about their boss. Or the ones so shaken by the economy or their loss of a job and occasionally blow off steam by twittering shouts and shots at their congressman. Or the gay guy who can’t afford to lose his job or family if his “real life’ is discovered. I’m talking about the full-time bigoted bullies who don’t have the balls to sign their names to their mean-spirited holier-than-thou assaults on their country, their president, and their fellow Twitterers. The ones who usually start every tweet with either “Obama” or “RT” and usually end every tweet with #TCOT. The ones who use the word “liberal” the way McCarthy used the word “communist”. The ones who probably have the words “Conservative”, “Christian”, “God”, or “Country” in their bio. The ones who probably don’t have any real clue what those concepts truly mean. 

Here are some examples:

“Air America, the sole liberal network, does so poorly its on welfare. Liberals are incapable rational debate. #topprog #tcot”

“Why you won’t find libs on Twitter: like talk radio, it requires active thought and debate. #tcot”

“How about I hope O fails because if O succeeds then the GOP is screwed.#tcot”

“…is getting agitated at the extent to which every socialist America-hating campaign promise is being painstakingly executed. #tcot #hhrs”

I’m tired of the Twitter Cowards. I’m tired of having to do all their leg work. I’m tired of having to prove their ignorance. I’m tired of them demanding answers to irrational questions. I’m tired of debating them, showing them facts, and then having them say, “Yeah, but.” I’m tired of debating them, showing them facts, and then having them dispute accepted truths. I’m tired of debating them, showing them facts, and then having them take pot-shots at our president and our democracy. I’m tired of debating them, showing them facts, and then having them take pot-shots at “Libs.” Or, “Lefties.” Or, “Democraps.” Cowardice isn’t pretty. It isn’t the sign of a strong mind or spirit. And it has absolutely nothing to do with God or Country. 

So, here is my promise to you, Twitter Cowards: I will not debate you. I will not engage you. I will not waste  my time or energy or thoughts on you, because you don’t exist. You are nameless, faceless, fearful, hateful. And you are powerless because you haven’t the guts to stand behind your own words and ideas. 

You may or may not like my words. You may or may not like me. You may or may not like what I represent. But you damn well know who I am. Because unlike the Twitter Cowards, well, me, I sign my name to everything I write.

At today’s Congressional hearing investigating the AIG debacle, Minnesota Republican Representative Michele Bachmann opened her questions to Treasury Secretary Geithner and Federal Reserve Chair Bernanke by claiming socialism. 

“The American people are wondering if their government is making an historic shift, jettisoning free market capitalism in favor of centralized government economic planning.”

(”Centralised government economic planning” being a tenet of socialism.)

She interrupts Geithner’s response and asks,

“What provision in the Constitution could you point to to give authority for the actions taken by the Treasury since March of ‘08?”

(The look on Geithner’s face is palpable. Understandable, for many reasons, including that he has been Treasury Secretary for two months, and it is a ludicrous question, because the answer is, “congress”.)

Geithner responds that it was congressional legislation that authorized the Treasury to take the actions it has. 

Bachmann again interrupts:

“Sir. In the Constitution.”

Geithner:

“Every action taken by the Treasury, the Fed, and the FDIC is authority granted by this body, by this body of the Congress.”

Bachmann: “And in the Constitution, what could you point to?”

Geithner, justifiably frustrated: “Under the laws of the land!” (Quick smirk.)

Bachmann: “To the Federal Reserve Chair, what authority could you point to in the Constitution, this has been over $10 trillion.”

Bernanke: “I don’t know where $10 trillion comes from.” He then gives her a history lesson of the powers granted to the Fed by congress in the 1930s. 

Bachmann: “Could you tell me why AIG was not put into receivership as opposed to conservatorship?”

Geithner: “No legal means existed under US law …”

When will the people of Minnesota wake up and realize that their Representative, who made an embarrassing name for herself last year before the November election by demanding the press invstigate all members of congress, including Barack Obama, for anti-American bias, is operating in another universe?

Bachmann’s other intellectual efforts include attempting to get intelligent design taught in schools. She opposed a higher education finance bill. And she introduced the Light Bulb Freedom of Choice Act, designed to repeal the ending of conventional incandescent light bulbs.

Given her questionable intelligence, I think Bachmann could use all the light bulbs she can wrap her head around.

See Michelle embarrass herself last year on Hardball:

First, my personal site is up. I kind of like it, its simplicity is comforting. Regardless, it does its job. davidbadash.com exists as an online portfolio of my work. 

The New Civil Rights Movement is progressing well. Its getting linked to well, and some critical notice. I’m happy about that because it represents the majority of my focus and I do think its having a positive effect by educating our proponents and arming them to deflate the arguments of our opponents. 

Lastly, I want to remind myself of two posts here. First, my Thanksgiving post, which reminds me of all the freedom and good things in my life. And second, the post I wrote at the beginning of this year, Three Words For 2009, which outlined some thoughts and ideals I wanted to focus on this year. 

Good stuff.

Obama should have said,
It’s not surprising Americans get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment AND ANYTHING ELSE THEY CAN USE TO DEFEND THEM FROM #FACTS, as a way to explain their frustrations.