Mike Rosen: Forgetful Or Deceitful?

I try not to pay too much attention to people whose view of reality is in stark contrast to obvious facts – Mike Rosen is one of those people.  His columns for the Denver Post are usually so absurd, I read them instead of the comics.

Today’s column crosses a line, however.  This is the linchpin of his argument today [emphasis mine]:

Another covetous complainer, disparaging “absurdly ridiculous” sports salaries, argued that Manning’s salary could, instead, have gone to pay for school buses, textbooks, free lunches, teachers’ pay and other societal needs. In fact, the degree of our compassion and commitment to governmental largess on such items is already measured by $15 trillion of federal debt and more than $100 trillion in unfunded government liabilities.

As usual, extremists like Rosen over-reach to “make their case”.  Rosen wants readers to believe in his fantasy that the $15 trillion of federal debt is 100%, completely due to governmental largess and compassion (Rosen invokes disdain of the mythological welfare queens here).

Really?

Isn’t it interesting that St. Ronnie, the patron saint of modern Teabaggerism, was responsible for $3 trillion of federal debt.  Not only that, but St. Ronnie charged up that debt in 8 short years, tripling the debt of the previous 200 years.  How much compassion and commitment to governmental largess did St. Ronnie have again, Mr. Rosen?

Furthermore, Bushes Sr. and Jr. threw their weight into the federal debt explosion that Teabaggers like Rosen want to pile onto the shoulders of Democrats.  Did Rosen ever write a column taking Bush Jr. to task for invading and occupying two sovereign nations without making sure the budget accommodated such activitie?  No, he did not.n  You see, it’s alright for Teabaggers to rack up $13+ trillion of federal debt.  It’s not alright for a Democrat to rack up $1-2 trillion of federal debt (Clinton was actually paying the debt down in the late 1990s).

Would it be nice to fund schools, textbooks and teachers (not administrators!) to the same tune of Manning’s recent contract?  Sure, it would.  It would have been even nicer if more Denver voters had felt the same way when they agreed to build Pat Bowlen (a 1%er) a new stadium for him with our hard-earned tax dollars.  Denver schools would have seen increased funding and Mr. Bowlen would have faced the choice of extorting another city’s taxpayers or staying in Denver and spending some of his riches to keep his stadium up to date.

Denver voters’ commitment to corporate largess is what we need to discuss.  But Rosen would much rather keep convincing readers that the 1%ers are the victims in our society.  Boo-hoo!

This comment by Rosen is simply disgusting to read:

There are only a handful of people on this planet who can do what Peyton Manning does on a football field. There are many millions of people in this country who can do what teachers do in a classroom.  That’s not to demean teachers, just to recognize an economic reality in a free society.

It’s fascinating to read honest statements from extremists like Rosen.  There are many millions of people who can do teachers’ jobs.  That’s exactly what Rosen believes and he sees nothing morally wrong with insulting them.  The difficulty of a job isn’t what we should discuss here either.  What should we discuss?  The value we place on a teacher vs. a quarterback.  Rosen puts zero value in a teacher and millions of dollars’ worth of value in a quarterback.  In his fantasy world, teachers are not needed and quarterbacks deserve the largesse they receive.  Because entertainment is far more important than education!

Mike Rosen’s Hatred Is Overwhelming – Case Example

Occasionally, I will read Mike Rosen’s editorials in the Denver Post. Mostly, it’s just to keep the latest right-wing hate messages fresh in my mind. His column always includes lies and innuendo. He usually resorts to name-calling. Like most Teabaggers, he can’t seem to help himself. It is rare, however, that he achieves what he achieved today: multiple groups got lumped into the same hate speech.

The supposed topic is the repeal of the odious, unconstitutional “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy keeping certain Americans from serving their country as proudly as Americans who more neatly fit the idyllic vision of an imaginary America that Rosen and other scared, angry white males hold dear.

First, hatred of women,

When she [former Rep. Pat Schroeder] advocated the removal of restrictions on women in combat, it was to advance the cause of radical feminism.

then the real purpose of this diatribe, Rosen’s hatred of homosexuals:

The same can be said for those gay activists whose main objective was to score a symbolic equal rights victory regardless of its toll on the military.

followed by those durned lib’ruls

Public opinion polls showing support for gays in the military include the views of a majority of people with no military experience and no desire to join — liberal sociology professors, for example, who might make lousy leathernecks.

But don’t worry, Rosen’s warrior-worship tendencies come out shining:

Far more significant will be the damage to careers of soldiers and their officers accused of insensitivity, and retention and recruitment losses of those with a warrior disposition — people we can least afford to lose — who will spurn military careers because of religious, moral or cultural objections to open homosexuality.

Heaven forbid a few bigots don’t join or stay in the military. It would be far better, according to Rosen, if the bigots are allowed to openly display their hatred than allowing Americans who want to volunteer to actually do so. There will be no law preventing bigots from being openly bigoted, although that might do more to improve overall morale.

I have a better idea. Let’s pass a law that keeps white, warrior worshipping, others-hating males from displaying those characteristics in public if they want the privilege of serving their country. Then maybe Rosen will want to seriously address civil rights issues.

This is no longer the 1750s, Mr. Rosen. Most of us are thankful that this country has moved beyond the ownership of certain human beings and the open denigration of one of the sexes. Advocating for the outright discrimination of a demographic is morally repugnant.

Cross-posted at SquareState.

Mike Rosen’s Global Warming Disinformation Mouthpiece: Maureen Martin

He’s done it before, but this will mark the first time I’ve covered Mike Rosen’s efforts to spread global warming disinformation by hosting denyers on his radio program on 850 KOA (via Colorado Media Matters). Amy Oliver, another radio host in the market, has hosted plenty of her own denyers, so Mike has company. The thing that is similar between the two hosts is their utilization of “free marketeers” as “experts” on climate change. This episode builds on the right-wing’s attempt to scare people into thinking discussion about climate change is secretly hiding an anti-economy viewpoint. It’s nonsense of course, but they will fight tooth and nail to maintain their lock on our economic system, no matter how much it strengthens the disparity between classes.

Mike Rosen introduced Maureen Martin as a “senior fellow for legal affairs at the Heartland Institute”. That’s sounds impressive, doesn’t it? The Heartland Institute is only one think tank among many that focus on “free market” approaches. It has become more clear to Coloradans recently what kind of “free market” these advocates would like to move toward: indentured servitude, human trafficking, child prostitution and compulsory abortions, via the Schaffer-Abramoff proposal. No thanks, Bob, Mike, Maureen and Co. I actually support workers’ rights – they’re what created and what sustain the middle class.