"Bachmann's entire political career has followed this exact same pattern of God-speaks-directly-to-me fundamentalism mixed with pathological, relentless, conscienceless lying. She's not a liar in the traditional way of politicians, who tend to lie dully, usefully and (they hope) believably, often with the aim of courting competing demographics at the same time. That's not what Bachmann's thing is."- Michele Bachmann's Holy War - Matt Tabbi - Rolling Stone
posted by The Whelk on Jun 23, 2011 - 283 comments

In Europe, bail-out and immigration fears have led to the rise of nationalism and xenophobia, a crisis that now threatens the EU itself. Right-wing euroskeptic parties and politicians have gained in power, such as the True Finns, they can roughly be seen as "Europe's Tea Parties". Greece is talking about dropping the Euro currency (due to Finnish demands), other PIGS could be next. Denmark has introduced custom checks at its borders again, seeking to stop the flow of intra euro traffic, while France and Italy have raised the possibility of reintroducing their own border controls.
posted by stbalbach on May 12, 2011 - 49 comments

In 2007, Beck, then the host of “Glenn Beck,” on CNN’s Headline News, brought to his show a John Birch Society spokesman named Sam Antonio, who warned of a government plot to abolish U.S. borders with Mexico and Canada, “and eventually all throughout the Americas.” Beck told Antonio, “When I was growing up, the John Birch Society—I thought they were a bunch of nuts.” But now, he said, “you guys are starting to make more and more sense to me.”

A secret history of Glenn Beck, by way of Robert Welch, Willard Cleon Skousen and the John Birch Society. From the New Yorker.
posted by gerryblog on Oct 15, 2010 - 41 comments

There is a bitter feud between the two women who are trying to gain supremacy in the battle to make all of the Tea Party's travel arrangements.
posted by reenum on Aug 9, 2010 - 70 comments

Exposing the money behind fake climate science Koch Industries, possibly the largest private industry you never knew about; is secretly funding the Climate Denial Machine; and also funds Americans for Prosperity, the organisation behind the Tea Party movement as well as the Cato Institute among others. The companies founder Fred Koch was a co founder of the John Birch Society. AFP invited the mad Lord Monckton to speak at Copenhagen where he called climate protestors “crazed Hitler youth” and “Nazis.” The Greenpeace story has been largely ignored by US main stream media; apart from HuffPo ; but covered in Europe. Koch Industries have also been involved in dubious studies about the viability of renewable energy.
posted by adamvasco on Apr 1, 2010 - 74 comments