The Anaconda Plan or Canada's Great Snake

During the Civil War the The Anaconda Plan or Scott's Great Snake was a military strategy created by General-in-Chief Winifield Scott, and used by the Union forces to gain a stranglehold on the Confederate Army.  The plan was twofold: 1) Cut off the Confederate supply lines by blockading the Southern ports entirely. 2) Divide and conquer.  The Union Army would accomplish this by advancing  an amphibious force carrying army troops rapidly down the Mississippi River, defeating Confederate armies along the way while at the same time, effectively splitting the South in two.  The plan would have a suffocating impact on the South, much like an anaconda suffocates its prey before eating it.  The plan would be implemented in 1864 by Lt. General Ulysses S. Grant and Major General William T. Sherman to great effect during the last years of the Civil War. 




Canada's Great Snake

During the Anthropocene Era of the 21st century another Anaconda Plan is taking shape.  Canada's Great Snake, or the Keystone XL Pipeline , is in the planning stages to wind it's way from the dirty tar sands of Alberta, Canada through the middle of the United States and into Oklahoma, eventually routing it's way into the Gulf port cities of Texas.  It is an energy strategy that will divide our country and suffocate our future by continuing to burn fossil fuels as our primary energy source.  It is viewed as a threat to our resources, environment, and atmosphere.  I really don't think it's a stretch to view this pipeline as a total war strategy against our environment.  Much like Major General Sherman used total war strategy to completely destroy, and break the will of his enemy during the Civil War by burning and killing everything in his path, the Keystone XL pipeline will be viewed much the same way if it's construction is allowed . 

James Hansen, age 70, the popular and well loved NASA scientist and climate change spokesperson, who should be enjoying retirement and spending the rest of his years in peace with his family,  was instead arrested for protesting the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, and had these words for Obama:  "If  he chooses the dirty needle it is game over [for the earth's climate] because it will confirm that Obama was just greenwashing, like the other well-oiled coal-fired politicians with no real intention of solving the addiction," Hansen said  "Canada is going to sell its dope, if it can find a buyer. So if the United States is buying the dirtiest stuff, it also surely will be going after oil in the deepest ocean, the Arctic, and shale deposits; and harvesting coal via mountaintop removal and long-wall mining. Obama will have decided he is a hopeless addict."

It is incredible to think, that some in this world are so greedy, that they would jeopardize the lives of us all, so as only to enrich themselves.  It is also incredible to think, that the future of our energy path is now in the hands of one person - our President.  Obama has the power the say no to the pipeline.  He doesn't need Congress's approval.  This is part of the "change" many of his voters were hoping for.


If Obama approves the pipeline, the only logical next step for stopping the pipeline would be for large public demonstrations and unrest.  We wouldn't just see this from regular citizens either.  Government officals will participate as well.  We will see civil disobedience well beyond what we are seeing now.  He will awaken a sleeping giant.  Obama will be seen as a Divider instead of a Uniter.  Those who are one-issue voters in regards to the environment will surely not vote for a president who sides with oil over people and the environment.  And we will all wonder why any Peace award was given to a president who ignores peace so as to reward the privileged and powerful instead.  That's what it all boils down to.  Canada's Great Snake will divide our country, and bring even more protests and unrest on the next president. 


Tomorrow, November 6, thousands of people will meet in Washington, D.C. to protest the building of the pipeline.  I hope our President is listening.  Those of us who care and believe, will be watching.

Blake Farenthold Is Plagued by True-Believer Syndrome

No matter how many wildfires blaze across Texas, Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-TX) will deny till we fry.

“Global warming is scare tactic used by groups with a political agenda,” says Rep. Farenthold of the 27th district of Texas.

But when the state was burning just a few months ago, Farenthold had this to say, “Mr. Speaker, since December, fires have been ravaging drought-stricken Texas, claiming 2 lives, more than 1,500 homes, and 3.5 million acres of land,” Farenthold explained. “Just this week, fires have crept into eight more counties, forcing thousands to evacuate and wait in fear, praying their homes and life savings don’t go up in smoke.”

Of course he didn't mention the reason for all the wildfires in Texas. Climate change, to Mr. Farenthold, is a "scare tactic".  Well, aren't wildfires burning out of control scary?  Isn't the fear of losing your life in a burning blaze scary? Here in San Antonio, over a period of  about two weeks in September, we had a wildfire almost every day.  The smoke from the fires here in San Antonio combined with the smoke from wildfires in Bastrop, and hung over our city like a gray thick blanket.  That was scary.  Practically every day during the summer, the digital information signs over the highways warned us here in San Antonio of "extreme fire danger" and to "conserve water".  Portions of I-10 were shut down from fire and smoke, and whole neighborhoods were forced to evacuate not far from where I live.  You're a FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt)  Mr. Farenthold, but for the wrong reasons.  You are trying to quell the fear of climate change by causing uncertainty and doubt.  You are saying that there is no legitimate reason to be scared - but there is...

Climate change is scary.  There is a legitimate reason to be scared.  Like when the weatherman says you need to get the hell out of Corpus because a hurricane is coming.  That's not a "scare tactic". You're the guy telling everyone to stay home because the weatherman doesn't know what he's talking about.  There is a legitimate reason to be concerned.  People are losing their homes.  Ranchers are losing their cattle.  Farmers are losing their crops.  Kids with asthma have to stay inside because of the pollution, smoke and heat.  What kind of planet do you want our kids to grow up on?  How is the drought there in Corpus?  Pretty severe by what I've seen on the drought maps. 

You've been bitten by the propaganda bug that carries the true-believer syndrome.  It's congressmen like you who refuse to do anything about our warming planet.  There are a handful of congressmen who are responsible for our warming future, and you are one of them.  I hope the people in the 27th district of Texas will do us all a favor, and vote you out of office.  There is no hope with a true-believer denying what everyone else can see - our state is burning; our climate is changing, and you are doing nothing. 

For more on this story: U.S. Rep. Blake Farenthold; true-believer syndrome;

Record Heat in Texas for November 2011

There have been 7 record breaking or record tying heat temperatures set in November.  Six of those are in Texas.

Record Breaking Heat

WINK FAA AP	WINKLER	TX	88.0	88.0	2011-11-01	2001-11-01
EL PASO AP	EL PASO	TX	84.0	84.0	2011-11-01	2003-11-01
MCALLEN INTL AP	HIDALGO	TX	93.0	93.0	2011-11-02	1994-11-02
HARLINGEN RIO GRANDE AP	CAMERON	TX	92.0	90.0	2011-11-02	1990-11-02
COTULLA LA SALLE CO AP	LA SALLE	TX	91.0	90.0	2011-11-02	1950-11-02
SAN ANGELO MATHIS FLD	TOM GREEN	TX	87.0	87.0	2011-11-02	1973-11-02

Anonymous Hacks Westboro Baptist Church

I know this is old news.  I missed it.  I don't know how, but I did.  So here it is, just in case you missed it too.

Westboro Baptist Church is located in Topeka, Kansas and is infamous for it's use of rhetoric against those who are different than they are.  Look at this open letter from Westboro Baptist Church  attacking Anonymous and gays:  Open Letter Westboro Baptist Church

Unbelievable stuff...

Anonymous gets the last laugh though.  Read the story here: Anonymous Shuts Down Westboro Baptist Church Website

Anonymous has been involved in a lot of hacking lately.  I'm not going to publish the other stories because, frankly, the type of audience drawn to those stories would concern me.  But I like this story, and I hope you do too.

Keystone XL Pipeline Protest November 6 in Washington D.C.

On Wednesday, the The Rachel Maddow Show show briefly mentioned the Keystone XL pipeline demonstration Tar Sands Action that will take place in Washington DC this weekend.  That's a good thing for sure; Rachel Maddow is a popular progressive talk-show host, and there are many people who watch her show.  But the way she announced it rubbed me the wrong way.  She said that the protest is not just for "tree huggers" but also for many people who are worried about their water supply because the pipeline will be located just feet above the Ogallala Aquifer (one of the largest fresh water aquifers in the world) that people and agricultural businesses rely on for water and irrigation purposes.  It's good that she brought this to the public's attention, but it goes way beyond that.  Tree huggers and water dependents aside, there's an even larger issue than that which is - climate change.  James Hansen, well known scientist at NASA and very outspoken spokesperson on the dangers of climate change, has called the Keystone pipeline "the fuse to the biggest carbon bomb on the planet" for the climate if the pipeline is constructed.  Oil sands are not only bad for the environment because of the methods used to extract the oil sands from the ground, but it is a dirty energy source because of all the CO2 that it emits into our atmosphere, helping to further accelerate global warming and climate change.

Here's the problem with the progressive media.  They never talk openly about climate change other than to give it a brief blurb every now and again, but it is always just an aside issue.  It's never a focused issue for them.  Chris Matthews, Ed Schulz, Rachel Maddow, and Keith Olbermann would serve their listeners even better if they decided to make climate change a more relevant issue along with the other things that are going on in politics today.  Rachel Maddow is one of my favorites, and I never miss her show, but maybe she could take a little more time educating herself and discussing climate issues a bit more...that's all I ask.  She is intelligent and candid about how she makes issues relevant.  She can phrase and write things the way no one else can; that's why she's so popular among her listeners.  Maybe she could make climate change a relevant issue as well?  After all, recent polling reveals being green is good politics. Rush Limbaugh and the other conservatives talk about climate change more than the progressives do.  I know because I'm constantly reading their junk bunk.  If popular progressives spent more public time debunking as the conservative nit-wits do bunking, I think climate change might have a chance, but right now progressives are ignoring the climate change issue into oblivion.

Just give it a chance...that's all I ask.  We need your popularity and punditry to push this issue back into relevance and importance.  Our planet depends on it.

Officials study effects of Lake Michigan ash spill

By DINESH RAMDE and JOHN FLESHER - Associated Press | AP – Thu, Nov 3, 2011

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Decades-old coal ash hurled from the grounds of a Wisconsin power plant into Lake Michigan during a landslide this week probably doesn't pose a significant environmental risk, experts said Wednesday.

Officials rushed samples of tainted water and spilled ash to laboratories to analyze the debris that plummeted onto the shore and into the water Monday, seeking to assess the extent of any possible harm to the lake. The ash slid into the lake when a section of cliff about the size of a football field gave way near a We Energies plant outside Milwaukee. Company officials said the cause hadn't been determined.

It will take several days to complete the analysis, said Phillippa Cannon, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Of particular concern were heavy metals such as arsenic, lead and mercury found in the ash from coal incineration

About 2,500 cubic yards of ash, or enough to fill about 200 dump trucks, may have reached the water, utility spokesman Brian Manthey said.

The material has the potential to smother fish habitat and pollute sediments near the lakeshore, said Val Klump, director of the Great Lakes WATER Institute in Milwaukee. But even if a large volume got into the water, the ecological fallout probably won't reach far beyond the immediate spill area, he said.

"It's a big lake. It gets diluted pretty fast," Klump said.

A vessel from the research institute also took samples in the area and was analyzing them, he said. Crew members spotted a debris plume and an oily sheen in the water.

"Obviously this spill is not a good thing," Klump said. "It's too early to know for sure. But I would think the stuff that comes off our city streets and farm fields during a major rainstorm and washes into the lake probably has as big an impact as this."

Ann Coakley, spokeswoman for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, also said she didn't anticipate widespread damage from the ash.

"Most will stay where it is and they'll scoop it out," Coakley said. "That's not to say none of it will migrate but it's likely not going to cause a great deal of environmental harm."

The spilled ash was generated in the 1950s, state and federal officials said.

Coakley said the heavy metals concentration could be different from that of present-day ash because the coal burned a half-century ago might have had different characteristics. Also, the plant would have lacked modern emission control equipment.

She said local officials weren't concerned about drinking water contamination because the spill wasn't close to Lake Michigan intake pipes.

Environmentalists said the spill illustrated the need for strong regulation of coal ash, which is not classified as hazardous under waste laws. They have pushed for new rules since an ash disposal pond failure in Kingston, Tenn., flooded hundreds of acres and killed fish in nearby rivers.

"We know coal ash contains toxic substances," said Joel Brammeier, president of the Chicago-based Alliance for the Great Lakes. "The Great Lakes region is still digging out from a legacy of contamination that's 100 years long. We shouldn't tie the hands of agencies that are working to protect the lakes."

The Republican-controlled House voted last month to put states in charge of regulating coal ash, which would pre-empt EPA standards that could be tougher.

Workers built earthen berms Wednesday to keep rainfall from the debris and to prevent more of the ash from washing into the lake, Manthey said. Two skimmers were cleaning the water's surface.

The company and its contractors will stabilize the shoreline and bluff over the next several days, Cannon said. After the area is declared safe, additional cleanup will be done.

No one was hurt in the landslide. A pickup truck and other equipment tumbled into the lake.

___

Flesher reported from Traverse City, Mich.

More reports on this story here: tree hugger; huffington post; House of Reps. Inaction; photos of the coal ash spill

Propaganda Makes Zombies Of Us All

There are many children in the United States who believe in Santa Claus.  It is a Culture of Santa.  The believing children associate in large groups with other children who reinforce this belief because they, too, also believe in Santa.  Rarely does a child come across a another child or community of children whose parents don't reinforce this  "Santa" belief , and if they do, the child probably keeps quiet about it so as not to stir any dissatisfaction from the believing "Santa Claus is real" child's parents.   This deception can go on for years until the child becomes old enough to understand that Santa is not real, and that the real culprits were the parents all along.  Every now and again the believing child might come across a  shrewd and scheming teenager who might think it's funny to let the kid know that Santa isn't real and that it's only their parents.  The upset child runs back to their parents with the shocking news, only to have the trusting parents reinforce the idea that it is the teenager who is stupid, and that he is only jealous because Santa has stopped delivering all gifts to his house for Christmas to punish his disbelief.  The child, whose fears have been eased, goes on their merry way knowing that the teenager is a fraud and that Santa is coming to their house for Christmas.

Now imagine this scheme on a much larger scale.  Large portions of the U.S. population believe that global warming is not real.  They run around with other people and communities that help reinforce their beliefs.  Their ideas are further reinforced by conservative radio and talk-show hosts as well as politicians who these people listen to and trust.  When they hear a dissenting opinion that leaves them a little uneasy and doubtful, they just turn their radio back to their favorite conservative station to have their beliefs reinforced and their doubts extinguished.  The lie is fueled by an infinite amount of money from conservative and libertarian think tanks Exxon Secrets who represent the interests of the fossil fuel industry. Preachers pontificate the lies from their pulpits and shout and scream and don't make any sense, but they are entertaining to watch and listen to, and so the masses listen and believe and think that they understand, when really they don't.  They are only being manipulated by good speakers and nonsensical pithy motto's and slogans. 

Meanwhile, those who are professionals at propaganda and hoaxes and have the same skill as those in PSYOP operations, that study the attitudes desires and beliefs present in those they wish to manipulate, then attack their targets emotions with fear, uncertainty and doubt.  They use their billions to attack climate scientists in court and hire the very best computer hackers and mind-manipulators they can find.  Then the hoax begins.  Disinformation is sowed.  Politicians are paid off to keep their mouths shut.  Websites Watts Up With That are created as pump and dumb whores for misinformation from the energy industry and conservative think tanks to validate a climate deniers beliefs.  And while scientists and government agencies continue to show proof of global warming, the super-funded giants of doubt attack attack attack with lies that are believed because they have been skillfully prepared by propaganda professionals. 

Would a corporate propagandists ever name something "Global Warming" if their goal was to get people to believe that the Earth is warming too fast for human survival?  Of course not! It is the worst name ever conceived for trying to convince the masses that Earth's destruction is imminent. The name is too easy to attack.   But the name was conceived by scientists, not by propagandists, and that is why science is losing and the fossil fuel industry is winning.  Scientists don't create propaganda, but corporations do.  Corporate power extends all the way to the top in D.C.  Where do these people come from?  Who do they work for?  I'm not just talking about the fake scientists.  I think that there must be some people deep behind the scenes that are being kept from the publics eye that no one would want us to discover.  Peoples attitudes and deep seated beliefs have been played to fuel their denial attitudes.  This had to be skillfully manipulated by professionals. 
Governments and corporations are very good at smear and doubt campaigns. Look at what just happened to Herman Cain.  Those working for a government campaign (Rick Perry?) or some business interest cleverly released information about Cain's sexual exploits with women knowing that it would cause public controversy and doubt about Cain's Christian sincerity and moral beliefs.  It goes on all the time.  Push polls. Whisper campaigns. Smear campaigns.  I don't give a flying freak what happens to Cain, but I just use this as a recent example to show the reader just how good these people are at feeding information that can destroy a reputation and spread fear and doubt about an issue or a person.  Sometimes it's true and sometimes it's not - but who cares as long as the goal is achieved.  Pretty cut-throat, but that's how these people are. 

Propaganda made us believe in Santa - now its making people into zombies .  We need to stop the madness, before it's too late. 

Michael Mann Under Attack by Professional Smear Goons

Michael Mann, known for his hockey stick graph which shows that temperatures have been steadily warming since 1900, as well as for trying to defend his climate research that was smeared by climate change deniers as a result of hackers who stole his and other scientists emails relating to climate research at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, United Kingdom.  The emails were sifted through by goons and corporate hacks,  who  cherry picked  information that was then taken out of context and used to cast doubt on the science behind climate change. 

The investigation into the science behind Mann's results were found to be open, honest, and accurate leaving no doubt that climate change is indeed happening, and also revealed that the emails were meant as a discussion among scientists about facts and data pertaining to climate change, but not meant to be a final analysis to be placed in a published report.

Mann is under attack again by the conservative think tank American Tradition Institute, which is attempting to hijack his and other scientists emails again by using the Freedom of Information Act to obtain his and other scientists discussions on global warming, hoping to do what was done in the past - smear his name and research unfairly by cherry picking data and throwing doubt on the science behind what 97 percent of scientists believe - that global warming is happening because of human burning of fossil fuels. 

But yesterday "A county Circuit judge in Virginia has sided with the University of Virginia's effort to restrict the release of personal emails from one of its former faculty members. The decision late Wednesday would allow the university to alter an agreement it had reached with the American Tradition Institute which was seeking communications between Michael Mann, a physicist and climate scientist, and other scientists from 1999 to 2005, when Mann was employed by the university. The American Tradition Institute, headquartered in Washington, D.C., and Colorado, is a nonprofit policy research and education group that has close ties to energy interests that have opposed climate legislation, including the Koch brothers." judge restricts release of emails

The American Tradition Institute has a powerful ally in the Koch brothers, who have a net worth in the billions of dollars.  With unlimited money as their weapon, they will seek to continue to harass and attack Michael Mann in court and in the arena of public opinion.  They are professionals at smear campaigns and negative propaganda and seek to delay and doubt and dispute as long as their money will hold out, which will be forever.  They have an opposition research team that will pump and dump junk information that will continue to distract from the real message that global warming is real.  They are professionals at the techniques of fear, uncertainty and doubt.  They seek Mann's information to warp and manipulate for their own evil purposes.  They won't stop -ever.

Fox Host Eric Bolling a Propaganda Nit-Wit

A scientist's job is not to produce propaganda.  Their job is to study, examine, prove and discover.  So when the term "global warming" was used by climate scientists to describe our warming planet thirty years ago, who knew that it would be so viciously attacked by climate change deniers?  Every time it snows or gets a little cold, a denier will claim, "What global warming!"and that's exactly what Eric Bolling did. 

Last week when a freak snow storm knocked out power to 3 million homes, Eric Bolling proclaimed on Friday that "it's snowing and not even Halloween" and later on during his program, showed a clip of him last winter throwing Al Gore's book An Inconvenient Truth into a snowbank and proclaiming that his book was a "bold-faced lie" and "here is your global warming".  Truthfully, global warming can make winter storms worse!

This is a good example of a talk show host who is using glittering generalities as a propaganda technique.  Glittering generalities are emotionally appealing words that are applied to a product or idea, but present no concrete argument or analysis. This technique has also been referred to as the PT Barnum effect. glittering generalities

Attacking Al Gore and his book, while also declaring that there is no global warming because it is snowing outside, is all an emotionally charged argument, and I guess entertaining to watch because Bolling is acting like an idiot, but there was never any concrete argument or analysis, even though there was an appearance of that on his show as he lambasted his experts for attempting to prove that the world was warming, but it was only an appearance because he never really gave them a chance to prove their arguments. 

Bolling is a true-believer propagandist. He is a fool, and wants you to be fooled along with him. 
true-believer syndrome

"In God We Trust" Motto Used as Propaganda Tool by House Republicans

Yesterday in the House of Representatives, Republicans voted to reaffirm the nation's motto of "In God We Trust". The motto has been with us since the 1950's and is found on our paper and coin currency.  If the motto has been with us since the 1950's why are the Republicans voting on it again? Simple, they are using the "In God We Trust" motto as a propaganda ploy to appeal to the evangelical Christians.

Rep. J. Randy Forbes, R-Va. explained it this way, "[ It will ] directly confront a disturbing trend of inaccuracies and omissions, misunderstandings of church and state, rogue court challenges, and efforts to remove God from the public domain by unelected bureaucrats...As our nation faces challenging times, it is appropriate for Members of Congress and our nation--like our predecessors--to firmly declare our trust in God, believing that it will sustain us for generations to come."  CBS News

The propaganda tool used in this case is known as flag-waving or transfer.  Flag-waving is used to stir up the support of a particular targeted group based on their core beliefs or values.  It has no substance and is only a symbol showing support of those values.  Propaganda

Evangelical Christians believe that the most important thing in a person's life is their spiritual relationship with God.  Anyone who has spent time in and around this group will know that they believe strongly in spiritual values.  Everything else takes a back-seat.  They would say that if the U.S. will just turn from its sin and reaffirm its belief in God, then all will be right again.  To evangelical Christians, the path to America's prosperity and success is through a right relationship with God.  The Republicans are playing on these deep-seated beliefs.  To an outsider, it looks like the Republicans aren't doing anything realted to helping the country.  To the Christian; however, the Republicans are demonstrating a support of their beliefs and values by trying to do what they can to get the country back on track spiritually. 

The Propaganda Techniques Used by Rush Limbaugh When Accusing President of Sending Troops to Kill Christians

The purpose of this writing is to show the reader how Rush Limbaugh uses propaganda to manipulate his listeners.  I'm going to start off with a recent example, and then explain what propaganda techniques were used, and why. 

On October 14, 2011 Rush accused President Obama of sending troops into Africa to hunt down members of the LRA (Lords Resistance Army) that Rush called a "Christian" group. His statement is below.  For the full transcript,  click here > Rush Limbaugh:

Rush: Now, again Lord's Resistance Army is who Obama sent troops to help nations wipe out. The objectives of the Lord's Resistance Army, what they're trying to accomplish with their military action in these countries is the following: "To remove dictatorship and stop the oppression of our people; to fight for the immediate restoration of the competitive multiparty democracy in Uganda; to see an end to gross violation of human rights and dignity of Ugandans; to ensure the restoration of peace and security in Uganda, to ensure unity, sovereignty, and economic prosperity beneficial to all Ugandans, and to bring to an end the repressive policy of deliberate marginalization of groups of people who may not agree with the LRA ideology." Those are the objectives of the group that we are fighting, or who are being fought and we are joining in the effort to remove them from the battlefield.
...They are fighting the Muslims in Sudan. And Obama has sent troops, United States troops to remove them from the battlefield, which means kill them. That's what the lingo means, "to help regional forces remove from the battlefield," meaning capture or kill.
So that's a new war, a hundred troops to wipe out Christians in Sudan, Uganda, and -- (interruption) no, I'm not kidding."

This prompted Senator Inhofe (R-OK) - arguably the most conservative senator in the Senate - to speak out against Rush, and publicly do something he has probably never done before - come to the President's defense:

 "Some people have mistakenly said this guy Kony is a Christian, and I want to make sure everyone knows he officially was disavowed by the Catholic Church in Uganda."
Inhofe went on to note, "I stand behind the President in his decision. I do not very often stand behind this President, but I do in this case because we passed it without a dissenting vote. Every Member in here--there is not one who voted against it. So let's keep that in mind, that is the truth about what is happening now with the LRA. Joseph Kony and the LRA are responsible for one of the longest, most violent, and costly conflicts ever on the continent of Africa."
Limbaugh responded today to Inhofe's comments by laughing them off and blaming the error on his staff, without explicitly conceding he had completely mangled the issue.

Propaganda is being used by Rush as political warfare to positively influence and arouse hate among a certain group belonging to the Republican base - Christians.  One of the propaganda techniques used in this instance is referred to as name calling. According to a 2011 George Mason University study on Propaganda techniques, propagandists use the name-calling technique to start fears and arouse prejudices [Obama is a Muslim who kills Christians with American troops] in their hearers in the intent that the bad names will cause hearers to construct a negative opinion about a group or set of beliefs or ideas that the propagandist wants hearers to denounce. The method is intended to provoke conclusions about a matter apart from impartial examinations of facts. Name-calling is thus a substitute for rational, fact-based arguments against the an idea or belief on its own merits.

Another  propaganda technique used by Rush to attack President Obama is referred to as an appeal to fear. Appeals to fear seeks to build support by instilling anxieties and panic in the general population, [Christians will panic when they hear that the President of the United States is using American troops to exterminate Christians.  That is why Senator Inhofe had to come to the President's rescue.  It would not surprise me in the least if there were thousands of phone calls made to congressmen fearful that our US military is being used to kill Christians] for example, the Nazi, Joseph Goebbels, exploited Theodore Kaufman's Germany Must Perish! to claim that the Allies sought the extermination of the German people.   It is an ad hominem attack Rush used and is a Latin phrase that has come to mean attacking one's opponent, as opposed to attacking their arguments. 

In the propagandist playbook, Rush would be referred to as a cult of personality.  A cult of personality arises when an individual uses mass media to create an idealized and heroic public image, often through unquestioning flattery and praise. The hero personality then advocates the positions that the propagandist desires to promote. For example, modern propagandists hire popular personalities to promote their ideas and/or products [like the Republican Party using Rush Limbaugh to spread their ideas and disinformation]. Rush often boasts of his talents i.e. "The golden microphone at the EIB (Excellence in Broadcasting) Network". Listeners and callers refer to him in glowing and flattering terms which Rush allows because it furthers his image as a cult personality figure.  Read any transcript of his show, and you will see that callers use flattery and praise before asking him a question or commenting on a topic.  Rush sometimes refers to himself as "El Rushbo" which is a nonsensical title, but psychologically, in the listeners mind, is a reference to his status and power which furthers his cult personality image.

Rush is a manipulator; his attacks are dangerous, and don't doubt for a second how the powers of propaganda can sway its intended target.  It  is used to dehumanize and create hatred toward a supposed enemy [the President and the Democratic Party], either internally or externally, and helps to create a false image in the mind of his listeners [Christian killer].  Even if what he has said was reputed and proven to be false, it's too late; it's already out there - among a million people, and the damage is already done.

 He knows what he's doing, and now... you do too.