Outright Barbarous

Since September 11, 2001, most attempts at reasoned political debate in America have been severely limited by the violent language of the Right. In books and on television, it has become a regular ritual for conservative pundits and intellectuals to infuse violence—particularly against Democrats or liberals—into discussions of the major issues of the day, such as terrorism, immigration and gun violence. The result is the creation of a shrill discourse that silences opposition and destroys any chance for serious, civil debate.

In Outright Barbarous: How the Violent Language of the Right is Poisoning American Democracy, political language expert Jeffrey Feldman analyzes the words of leading conservative figures Ann Coulter, Dinesh D’Souza, James Dobson, Wayne LaPierre, Pat Buchanan and Bill O’Reilly to show how the Right’s language of violence is polluting our public discourse and limiting the free exchange of ideas. In addition to exposing the conservative obsession with violence, Feldman also shows how the civic discussion in America can be reshaped without the use of violent language, creating a healthier political climate.

“Outright Barbarous turns the spotlight on the rhetorical thuggery of the Right, exposing how the verbal excesses are being perpetrated not just by media blowhards like Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh but by conservative thought leaders. But Feldman does more than point fingers; he offers practical steps for cleaning up our too-often-toxic political discourse.” - Arianna Huffington

“Since 9/11, America has been contaminated by the violence of right-wing language, in the speeches of Republican politicians and the rantings of the talking heads on Fox News and on conservative talk radio. Jeffrey Feldman’s insightful and important book cuts through the violence, and shows how we can restore the democratic ideals that America was founded upon.” - Thom Hartmann

“Jeffrey Feldman warns us to ignore the right wing noise machine at our own peril. Backed by right-wing think tanks, foundations and millionaire families, conservative standard bearers will continue to enrich themselves at the cost of a more civil, equitable society. Read Outright Barbarous to find out what they're really saying, and how we can stop it!" - Sam Seder

Available May 1st 2008

Outright Barbarous @ Ruinous Right Store
Frameshop Blog

Shiites, Sunnis, What?!

Enlighten me, please.

Our military is befriending and arming the Sunnis in Iraq to help us temper the Shiites according to various reports. It's all part of the surge.

• The Shiites are the predominate force within the Iraqi government.
• Nouri al-Maliki, the Prime Minister of Iraq, is a Shiite.
• Moqtada al-Sadr, theologian, political leader and militia commander, is a Shiite.
• Moqtada al-Sadr seems to have the backing of Iran.
• The leader of Iran, a predominately Shiite nation, thinks Israel was most likely behind the 9/11 terrorist attacks thus providing an excuse for the Afghanistan and Iraq invasions.
• Most Sunni's don't care for Shiite's and vice-versa.


• al Qaeda is a Sunni organization.
• The 2nd in command of al Qaeda, Al-Zawahiri, denied the conspiracy theory that Israel carried out the September 11 attacks on the U.S., and he blamed Iran and Shiite Hezbollah for spreading the idea to discredit the Sunni al Qaeda's achievement.

Bottom line: Our current administration has created one gigantic mess! The next U.S. President will certainly have his/her hands full and if it's a Democrat, the Right will be quick to point the finger if there are any missteps.

The Myth of the Surge offers more details.

I welcome a response from anyone (left, right, middle) who can unravel this mess and explain the best path forward.

info@ruinousright.com

Michael Franti: Music and Messages

"We can bomb the world to pieces, but we can't bomb it into peace"
- Michael Franti / Bomb The World

Thank goodness for people like Michael Franti. This world-renowned musician and human rights worker delivered two outstanding works of artistic expression and political awareness in recent years.

In 2005 Michael traveled to Iraq, Palestine and Israel to explore the human cost of war with a group of friends, some video cameras and his guitar. This resulted in the powerful film I Know I'm Not Alone.

A compelling soundtrack, visual and musical montages, and Franti's intimate voiceovers make the film speak to the MTV, X, Y & Z generations, as well as the baby-boomers. A true armchair travel film pulling the audience into these war zones in the company of Michael's guitar, eloquence and wit - you feel the humanity, artistic resilience and sometimes horrific experience of what it's like to live under the bombs and military occupation.

With its guerrilla style footage captured in active war zones, the documentary is unlike the many academic and politically driven pieces in the marketplace, instead offering the audience a sense of intimate travel and the opportunity to hear the voices of everyday people living, creating and surviving under the harsh conditions of war and occupation.

In 2006 Michael and his band Spearhead released one of the best albums of the decade. The collection of songs from the album Yell Fire! has been praised by fans, critics, activists and others. The tracks are not only fun and danceable, they contain some very important messages for a public burdened with a ruinous war.

Michael Franti and Spearhead just put the finishing touches on their new album, All Rebel Rockers, which was recorded in San Francisco and L.A., but mostly in Kingston, Jamaica. They say it's their tuffest recording yet and travels deeper into the reggae/rock/dancehall groove than they've gone before.

I Know I'm Not Alone

"Watch this film then insist that Michael Franti becomes President of the United States!"
- Anthony Minghella (Academy Award Winning Director, English Patient, Cold Mountain)

"Michael Franti is the most important artist recording and touring today who has yet to reach the mass audience. The subjects he sings about are totally genuine and derived from personal experiences."
- Chris Blackwell (Founder-Palm Pictures, Island Life)

"Michael's (Franti) a modern minstrel weaving stories of war and occupation into his heart of peace, giving us hope, not just tears. The film is powerful, honest, and touching."
- Serj Tankian (Musician-System Of A Down)

"Michael Franti so easily embodies the kind of artist we must all yearn to be, forever connected to the heart of the people and always giving us something meaningful to dance to, even and especially, in the face of war and despair."
- Saul Williams (Musician, Actor, Poet)

"I Know I'm Not Alone" is an antidote to despair. With soulful music and boyish charm, Michael Franti sings his way through two brutal occupations--Iraq and Palestine, breaking through the hate and revealing the oneness of our human family.
- Medea Benjamin (Founder-Global Exchange)

Yell Fire!

"Michael Franti is in] the pantheon of political pop."
- Boston Globe

"the album blends Franti's hip-political-hop with Spearhead's body-moving funkadelica"
- Paste Magazine

Michael Franti and Spearhead Website
Michael Franti @ Wikipedia
I Know I'm Not Alone DVD @ Artist's Website
I Know I'm Not Alone DVD @ Ruinous Right Store
Yell Fire! Album @ Artist's Website
Yell Fire! Album @ Ruinous Right Store
Yell Fire! MP3 Album Download @ Ruinous Right Store

Michael Franti and Spearhead - Streaming Concert Video

Body of War

Body of War is an intimate and transformational feature documentary about the true face of war today. Meet Tomas Young, 25 years old, paralyzed from a bullet to his spine - wounded after serving in Iraq for less than a week.

Body of War is Tomas' coming home story as he evolves into a new person, coming to terms with his disability and finding his own unique and passionate voice against the war. The film is produced and directed by Phil Donahue and Ellen Spiro, and features two original songs by Eddie Vedder. Body of War is a naked and honest portrayal of what it's like inside the body, heart and soul of this extraordinary and heroic young man.

Body of War is an award-winning film that will be in select theaters beginning April 11th. 

Visit the Body of War Website to view the trailer and for more information.

Follow the lead of anti-warriors like Tomas and take action to help end the war and bring our troops home!

• Vote!
• Stop the next war now!
• Support GI resistance
• Demand the best for our vets
• Go on record against the war
• Twist the arm of Congress

Hear the songs that inspired an Iraq War veteran. The double-disk album includes tracks from:

• Eddie Vedder
• Pearl Jam
• Bruce Springsteen
• John Lennon
• Neil Young
• Michael Franti & Spearhead
• Ben Harper
• Roger Waters
• Many more

Album CD
Album digital download
Album website

Women Shouldn't Vote & Jews Need To Be Perfected

Well, at least that's what conservative author and pundit Ann Coulter believes. Her spin and rhetoric are a perfect example of the Ruinous Right. Conservatives should be ashamed to be associated with this kind of garbage, but Fox News and other right-wing media keep inviting her back to 'stir up the pot'.

Below is a sampling of more Ann Coulter quotes and beliefs:

"My only regret with Timothy McVeigh is he did not go to the New York Times Building."

"I was going to have a few comments on the other Democratic presidential candidate, John Edwards, but it turns out that you have to go into rehab if you use the word 'faggot,' so I'm - so, kind of at an impasse, can't really talk about Edwards, so I think I'll just conclude here and take your questions"

"Faggot isn't offensive to gays; it has nothing to do with gays. It's a schoolyard taunt meaning 'wuss'"

"If only we could get Muslims to boycott all airlines, we could dispense with airport security altogether."

"...It would be a much better country if women did not vote. That is simply a fact. In fact, in every presidential election since 1950 - except Goldwater in '64 - the Republican would have won, if only the men had voted."

"If we took away women's right to vote, we'd never have to worry about another Democrat president. It's kind of a pipe dream, it's a personal fantasy of mine, but I don't think it's going to happen. And it is a good way of making the point that women are voting so stupidly, at least single women."

"It also makes the point, it is kind of embarrassing, the Democratic Party ought to be hanging its head in shame, that it has so much difficulty getting men to vote for it. I mean, you do see it's the party of women and 'We'll pay for health care and tuition and day care -- and here, what else can we give you, soccer moms?'"

"Jews need to be perfected."

Ann has also stated that if John McCain won the Republican nomination for president, she would support and campaign for Hillary Clinton.

Judge for yourself:

Wikipedia: Ann Coulter
Ruinous Right: The Ann Coulter Channel

The Myth of the Surge

Nir Rosen wrote an in depth piece for Rolling Stone last month disputing the effectiveness of the surge in Iraq. Fortunately for the Right it appears to be working, but if you dig a little deeper it's more like a ticking time bomb. Click here for more.

WMD Lies

Was it simply bad intelligence or was the truth distorted in the march to war? We've compiled four videos that show our leaders contradicting themselves and each other before and after the start of the Iraq war. You view, you decide.

Here we go!

I simply cannot sit back and take it anymore. The past seven years of the Bush Administration and it's destructive policies driven by greed is astonishing. In addition, the conservative right propaganda machine led by pompous television and radio personalities has become a cancer to fair and balanced news reporting. Now that a new presidential election season is underway, this destructive group seems intent on spreading fear and misinformation while promoting bigotry in the hopes of keeping a Democrat from leading this nation forward. This blog has been established as a venue for sharing news, stories, opinions, music, videos and more regarding the Ruinous Right.