Aint That The Truth.

"In war, truth is the first casualty" ~ Aeschylus. This is the very concept that bloggers like Ruinous Right are trying to combat. Don't let the name fool you, Ruinous Right is all about debunking the shock-jock pundits that dominate the airwaves, creating confusion and delusions by spewing bitter-sweet half truths into the air, hoping for a political pandemic crisis. And mostly for the sake of a greasy buck, at that. But Ruinous Right has a solid sense of fair play, and as you will see, isn't ruinous, but is certainly right.
Q: You stated your website was designed to raise awareness about the actions and misdeeds of (some of ) the far right in the US. Explain what prompted this in the first place.

A: First, it's my opinion (and seeming the majority of U.S. citizen's opinion) that we've made some serious missteps since 9/11.

I believe retaliation against the Taliban and al Qaeda in Afghanistan was justified after the attacks of September 11, 2001. At the same time I believe the U.S. helped cultivate some of the hatred coming from the Middle East by supporting the totalitarian regimes of Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq and others thru the years. As well, our efforts to bring peace between Israel and Palestine have been biased and rather weak. That said, I in NO WAY support or defend suicide bombings or attacks on ANY innocent civilians - here, there, anywhere.

Our invasion of Iraq is where things really started heading south. There is evidence that it was a preconceived war and 9/11 offered a great excuse to further an agenda. I agree Saddam Hussein was a horrible tyrant who committed horrible atrocities, but there are others like him around the world that our country seems to ignore. The argument that we needed to view Iraq differently since 9/11 carries some weight. However, if you look back at how things played out with our leaders contradicting themselves and each other during the march to war, I would say deception won over logic. There was NO IMMINENT THREAT as was implied by the Bush administration. Colin Powell, who presented before the U.N., even spent two-and-half hours trying to persuade George W. Bush not to invade Iraq. He obviously did not prevail.

Donald Rumsfeld made this ironic statement during that time:
"Some people lie and get away with it"

Five years later 4,071 U.S. military, 312 coalition and tens of thousands of innocent Iraqi lives have been lost. Over 29,000 U.S. military personnel have been seriously wounded and many are not getting the care they deserve. The financial costs of the Iraq war are phenomenal. Over $516 billion has been spent thus far. That's estimated to be over $720 million a day / over $500 thousand each minute. Imagine what else those dollars could do for our country. There is widespread corruption within the Iraqi government and they recently reported a $6.4 billion dollar oil surplus. Meanwhile, we continue to sacrifice our young men and women plus use our tax dollars for an unjust war. It's our money and it could be put to better use here at home.

Secondly, It seems that the voices on the extreme right are getting louder and in some cases more violent in their rhetoric. Rush Limbaugh seems to have spawned a small army of drones that spread misinformation and distorted truths. Ruinous Right soldiers include Bill O'Reilly, Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity and others.

Fox News Channel, a Republican mouthpiece masquerading as a neutral "fair and balanced" news source, is the most visible platform for these ruinous right soldiers to opine and distort. Some other news programs and channels may demonstrate bias, but none of them are so blatantly obvious in regards to a political agenda. Fox News seems to follow Republican talking points in an effort to spread misinformation and to further an agenda. The film Outfoxed by Robert Greenwald clearly documents this.

Overall, 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. The result is the creation of a shrill discourse that silences opposition and destroys any chance for serious, civil debate.

The Ruinous Right blog is more about content aggregation than content creation. It's a side project to help spread awareness about the misinformation, distortions, violent language and destructive policies of some on the conservative right. It's also about turning people on to books, music and films that contain informative political content. The RR YouTube channel and associated focused channels are just as important, if not more important than the blog itself.

I'm just one person. A normal U.S. citizen without any formal political education. I have no ties to any political organization nor a defined political agenda. However, I am educated, I do follow politics and I VOTE.

What can one person do to change what's going on with the world? I don't know what one person can do except to connect with other people. In doing that, each of us plays a role. My role is to educate and spread awareness using the skills I have.


Q: If you could sit down with the top US officials and give the country, and the government your honest critique, what would you say?

A: Listen to the people. You work for the people.

Corporations and lobbyist have way to much influence over policy and you need to focus on the needs within the United States and spend less time trying to police the world. Only support governments that support human rights. Do more to reduce our dependence on foreign oil by investing more in alternative energy research and options.


Q: Tell us who you think has done a great service to the US, politically speaking, and who has been the biggest detriment?

A: I admire Colin Powell, Wesley Clark, Madeleine Albright, Bill Clinton & Jimmy Carter. Each have contributed in some way to the advancement of peace abroad. Some have faults that I cannot deny, however we all have faults and that doesn't mean our positive contributions should be ignored. We should all be thankful for their service.

Dick Cheney, George W. Bush & Donald Rumsfeld have been the largest detriment to our country in modern times. They squandered the support of many nations after 9/11 in their defiant march to war with Iraq. The administration will certainly be listed as one of the worst in our country's history. I listed Cheney first, because I sincerely believe he is the brains of the operation (Some say he also has unexercised stock options and deferred salary with Halliburton - a war profiteer).


Q: Explain your personal philosophy on foreign policy, and National Defense? (What would you ideally strive for?)

A: As stated previously, I have no formal political education and I'm simply another citizen voicing an opinion and spreading awareness. That said, I think the U.S. should stop meddling in the foreign affairs of other counties. Concentrate on the problems and issues within our own borders and only confront other nations that pose a threat. I believe all political and economic options should be thoroughly explored and military action should always be a last resort.

"You can bomb the world to pieces, but you can't bomb it into peace."
- Michael Franti


Q: Do you feel that bipartisan politics works and serves the country well? If so, why, if not, what would you change?

A: No. I think there should be more influential political parties. I also think the primaries of each party should be held for all states on the same day just like the final Presidential election. The current long, drawn out process is flawed.


Q: Is it in your opinion that honest, open discourse on the hill, and throughout the US will prevail and serve to better the US government, or is it all a farce?

A: I believe it is possible otherwise I wouldn't be wasting my time with Ruinous Right. I've seen many young, old and middle-aged open-minded people taking action and spreading the ideas of hope and change. I believe the following year could bring forth a major turning point for our country. It will take a lot of hard work and we certainly have many obstacles ahead. I can only hope the ideals of this great country can be restored.


Q: Where do you see the US going (politically speaking) in the next five, or ten years?

A: That depends on the success of people left, right and center being able to communicate in a civil manner in an effort to find solutions to the serious issues facing us now and down the road. Again, this is a pivotal year in our history. More of the same or time to change course??


Q: Quick: 9/11 conspiracy or not?

A: Not.

Q: Do you think that some of the right-wing pundits you write about really believe what they are saying, or are they glorified shock jocks, with a political agenda? Furthermore, just how much damage do you think the pundit circuit has caused recently, and how do we right that wrong?

A: It's hard to say whether they believe their own words or they are simply in it for their own gain and bloated egos. I find it hard to believe any sane person could buy into some of the rhetoric coming from the ruinous right, but then again some people have taken their own lives to rendezvous with passing space ships.

A few select quotes from Ann Coulter provides some insight:

Arabs & the Middle East
"I think the government should be spying on all Arabs, engaging in torture as a televised spectator sport, dropping daisy cutters wantonly throughout the Middle East and sending liberals to Guantanamo."

Darfur Conflict:
These people can't even wrap up genocide. We've been hearing about this slaughter in Darfur forever — and they still haven't finished. The aggressors are moving like termites across that country. It's like genocide by committee. Who's running this holocaust in Darfur, FEMA?

Environmentalism:
The ethic of conservation is the explicit abnegation of man's dominion over the Earth. The lower species are here for our use. God said so: Go forth, be fruitful, multiply, and rape the planet — it's yours. That's our job: drilling, mining and stripping.

Gun Control:
Apparently, even crazy people prefer targets that can't shoot back. The reason schools are consistently popular targets for mass murderers is precisely because of all the idiotic "Gun-Free School Zone" laws.

Unfortunately, this group is quite effective. Their strategy of spreading misinformation and distorted truths seems to be spreading to other media including right-leaning blogs. Many are filed with name calling, violent rhetoric and they offer little in regards to constructive ideas for the betterment of society or our country. Some comically opine about rude, mean-spirited liberals in posts filled with the same type of content and behavior they claim to be against. Any attempts at serious civil debate offering an opposing opinion often leads to more name calling and sometimes even banning.


Q: Finally, is anyone really certain that Ann Coulter is a woman?

A: I take offense at some people calling Ann Coulter a "%#$@* - &$!#% *#&$%!"

She's a lying %#$@* - &$!#% *#&$%!

You can catch Ruinous Right's latest and greatest posts over at RuinousRight.com