Sign Of The Times? Anti-Obama Billboard In Missouri
By Justin Gardner | Related entries in 2008 Election, Barack, Missouri, Partisan Nonsense
A billboard in West Plains showing a caricature of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama wearing a turban and using his middle name — Hussein — in quotes has sparked outrage and accusations of racism. [...]Outrage over the sign triggered West Plains resident Becky Estes to write a letter in Monday’s edition of the Daily Quill newspaper saying “such a tasteless display merely reinforces the wide-spread belief that Ozarkers are ignorant country bumpkins.” [...]
“I can find nothing wrong with this sign/cartoon, which is truthful by Obama’s own statements,” wrote James E. (Jay) Gentry Jr. of Mountain Grove. “If this is upsetting to Ms. Estes, then she should do some hard thinking about what is forthcoming if he is elected.”
Raymond Fine, 74, of West Plains, said the sign is a form of free speech.
“If they can burn a flag, then they can put a sign up like that,” Fine told the News-Leader.
This makes me feel sorry for whoever put this together, and I think what’s telling is that they choose to remain anonymous. In my opinion, if you’re going to put out something like this, have the decency to identify yourself.
Moving on…
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October 12th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
Burn it!
Burn it to the ground.
October 12th, 2008 at 1:37 pm
I love it, the Rethugs are only digging their own grave, and ensuring that the Dems will be the new majority party for the next 30-40 years, in ten years we’ll be talking about the 2008 realignment
October 12th, 2008 at 3:01 pm
Forgot to mention earlier…
If this sign is private land, then somebody’s paying taxes on the land.
Which means there are probably tax records… which are quite often public documents.
The name of the person that owns the land will be coming out quite soon… by Tuesday, if not sooner, I should think.
–Ag
October 12th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
I think it is a true/accurate depiction of Obama and his beliefs. Just take a look at the company he keeps(and close), Rev. Wright, Rev. Phelegan, Farrakahn and Bill Ayers and the like. I truely believe that he is right on track with them, as far as philosophy goes. Just look at his CHARACTER it is dispicable!
October 12th, 2008 at 3:25 pm
Whe I was a wee lad there was a billboard up in my community that was just as infuriating as this one, and a couple of balloons filled with paint kinda distorted the message. Not that I recommend that.
October 12th, 2008 at 4:34 pm
It is no more self serving or wrong than a super obama t shirt
October 12th, 2008 at 5:40 pm
Clearly the only reason failures like these are so horrified by abortion is because they’re society’s bottom-of-the-barrel that, given the circumstances, would have been aborted themselves.
October 12th, 2008 at 6:13 pm
I noticed this posted with great approval on another feed. Being the fearless little link clicker that I am, I followed the poster’s links right back to Storm Front. Lovely.
And Cheryle? You, and the other little Neocons need to get a grip. Some conservatives would like their party back sometime in the near future. I’ve been waiting since Ronnie handed it over to Jerry and Pat in the 80s.
October 12th, 2008 at 6:20 pm
Like we needed those beliefs to be reinforced? I already knew that from my many travels in the south. Nice people, but lacking in critical thinking skills.
October 12th, 2008 at 9:07 pm
Free speech,
it’s a bi@ch.
October 12th, 2008 at 9:19 pm
The first amendment seems safe in missouri. Its racist and propagandist and lame, but its not illegal. If you saw this on the internet you would just hit the “next” Button. So its on the side of a road. Whatever. I have more faith in this country than to believe anyone other then 10-20 people would take that seriously.
October 12th, 2008 at 9:20 pm
Cheryle, you should have just said, ” I’m one of those nuts who believes Obama is a Muslim despite a resounding lack of evidence and/or common sense” so I could have stopped reading right there.
October 12th, 2008 at 9:24 pm
Obama and Biden have, to my dismay, declared they do not support gay marriages.
Obama does not support raising taxes.
Obama does not support partial-term abortions.
Obama is not for banning guns.
If they got even ONE thing right, fine. But every last thing on that billboard is a lie.
October 12th, 2008 at 9:36 pm
I just want to know what all the fascination with his middle name is. My grandfathers name is Hussein so is my cousins. It simply translates into “beauty” or “handsome”. Much like the word “Madrasa” used to insight fear into the minds of people is the literal translation of the word “school”. Its all this racism that’s tearing this country apart and is exactly why we need Obama.
October 12th, 2008 at 11:07 pm
Anyone who watches a news channel other than Fox News should now know that Sen. Obama is not a close friend to most of the people Cheryle mentioned, especially Bill Ayers. And even if he was, I’m sure that Ayers is not the same person he was when he founded the Weather Underground. And to my knowledge he was never convicted of much of anything. It’s when people aren’t informed that they come to these conclusions.
I personally think we need a person younger than the 72 in the White House, and don’t think for a minute that Sarah Palin should be that person if something should happen to Sen. McCain. I mean, he’s 72 years old, for crying out loud, and Palin is nowhere near qualified. McCain used her extreme Right thinking as a way to rally the conservative base. Nothing more, nothing less. But have you ever heard her speak? Yeah, she’s got spunk; yeah she’s an attractive woman; no she is not the brightest bulb in the box. It’s like Dan Quayle to the 10th power.
Also… Hello!!! Can you say “Keating Five”? What about “Troopergate”? McCain’s past is certainly sparkling. Of course, he’s had 25 more years to screw up.
I have a theory that if McCain were to win the election that the Conservative Right will have him assassinated so Gov. Palin assumes the Presidency. I have no proof of this, but apparently that doesn’t matter anymore.
October 12th, 2008 at 11:08 pm
There is nothing wrong with the sign I have seen far worse signs in the city limits of St. Louis about McCain and I don’t see any outrage here about that. Hypocrites.
October 12th, 2008 at 11:14 pm
@smilidon
Let’s see some photographic proof and I’ll consider posting it.
Until then, don’t go throwing insults around here. It’s not welcome.
October 13th, 2008 at 12:07 pm
The McCain/Palin Crowds…
America, this is half of your country: “Terrorist” “Arab” “Kill Him”. Maybe we shouldn’t just be scared of November 4th, but of what will happen if Obama wins too.
Enjoy what you read? Subscribe to Prose Be…
October 13th, 2008 at 2:42 pm
Prose: half the country thinks Obama is a terrorist and wants to kill him? Really? Come on, these people are a minority and getting smaller all the time.
October 13th, 2008 at 4:25 pm
Okay, I have lived in West Plains all of my life and I feel the need to defend my town. While it’s true that some here are racist, we aren’t all that way. The maker of the sign is responsible for the words he published, not our entire town. I actually read some postings on other sites where people were afraid to come to our town, thinking that they wouldn’t make it back. That’s really stretching it. Sure, we are country folks, like to hunt, fish, watch NASCAR, etc. But that doesn’t mean that all of us are as crazy as the man who posted the billboard.
October 13th, 2008 at 5:00 pm
Holly,
Yeah, it’s pretty crazy, but I don’t think most rational people think that everybody in your town is like that OR that anybody is in danger.
Also, the article above pretty clearly states that citizens of West Plains take issue with the billboard. I wanted to make sure I featured that so as to not paint an entire town with a broad brush of bigotry.
In any event, I appreciate you sharing your thoughts. Please tell others in West Plains to come and post their thoughts here.
October 13th, 2008 at 5:23 pm
This is freaking wrong. I’m so sick of the freaking hatred. This man has a Obama has alot of support in Missouri and I hope Obama/Biden win Missouri.
October 13th, 2008 at 5:45 pm
You Democans and Republicrats are hilarious. You actually think either side has your best interests in mind. But hey, you also think it’s a free country – so go ahead and argue on and on over all the trivial peanuts the two-party system and their bought-and-paid-for media throw at you.
Enjoy your shackles.
HFB
October 18th, 2008 at 3:50 pm
My wife and I moved to Missouri a couple of weeks ago from Memphis. I saw this exact billboard driving up Highway 63 heading into West Plains. I just shook my head and wondered what we were getting into moving into an area (Waynesville) not too far from there.
In defense of West Plains though I must say that everyone we have ever come into contact with there has been nothing but nice. We always pit stop there on the way to and from Memphis because it’s roughly halfway. The folks there seem really nice but I have to admit that as an African-American seeing that sign on the day we were making our final move to Missouri made me a bit nervous.
October 18th, 2008 at 5:27 pm
[...] Sign Of The Times? Anti-Obama Billboard In Missouri [...]
October 20th, 2008 at 10:06 am
They want this election to be a referendum on race, that’s why they are calling white people racist (Lewis, Murtha et al) so they people will for vote Barack Obama to prove themselves not a racist. Thus overlooking the fact that he is a Marxist.
October 20th, 2008 at 9:06 pm
I’m a 45 year old white man who has lived in Missouri most of my life and it never fails to amaze me the number of lame-brained, redneck, uneducated, backward-ass, inbred, moronic country bumkins there are here.
If this ass is so proud of his opinion, then he should put his name on the sign.
I do agree that he has the right to his point of view. No matter how ignorant it is.
October 22nd, 2008 at 5:36 pm
Shows what “Real America” is like.
October 24th, 2008 at 10:11 pm
Carl, why is it “free enterprise” to give tax money to companies that made bad investments, but “socialism” to raise taxes on multi-millionaires, but lower taxes on the middle class? Because your Republican brain-washers told you so?
January 13th, 2009 at 3:24 am
Gary, conservatives hate the idea of giving money to failing companies. If they say otherwise they are not conservatives. The rest of you, listen to Fuzzy Happy Bunny.
October 3rd, 2009 at 5:25 pm
I love it! The liberal fools are so upset over this billboard! They want to pull the tax records of the guy who owns the land on which the billboard is situated. They want his name so they can publicly excoriate him.
The real problem with the billboard is that it is 100% accurate by Obama’s own admission. Gun regulations? How about trying to require a license so Americans can do their own re-loads? How about trying to but a serial number on each individual bullet? Is any of that going to have an impact on crime? Of course not. It will only limit the rights of the law abiding.
But wait…there’s more. A vote for Obama also equals a middle class tax increase, socialized medicine, health care rationing, mandatory end-of-life-counseling every 5 years (more frequently if the person of the targeted age group experiences a deterioration of their health), Federally funded abortions and health care for illegal aliens. Oh, some of you liberal ding bats will say that there is nothing in the bill that allows illegal aliens to have free health care but THEY ALREADY GET FREE EMERGENCY ROOM CARE. The point is that there is nothing in the bill that requires a person to prove citizenship (not even showing a driver’s license) thus there is nothing in the bill that PREVENTS illegal aliens from getting free medical care. Here’s a question to the liberals; after adding 100 million or so people to medicare and further reducing what doctors earn, where will we get the next 500,000 or more doctors to treat that 100 more million? Where will we get the next 10,000 hospitals? Where will we get the next 3 million nurses? You people had better start thinking. People don’t go through medical school to earn $70,000.00 per year and nurses don’t become nurses to earn $25,000.00 per year. After nationalizing medicine, might YOUR profession be next?????
That is too much information for a billboard but wait….there’s more. :)
Obama also equals a sharp increase in EVERY AMERICAN’S utility bills through cap and trade, a complete pre-emption of the student loan system in this country (which has already happened), government ownership of GM (very much to the detriment of GM’s bond holders, I might add), Bank of America and AIG.
But wait…there’s more.
Obama also equals a quadrupling of our national debt and inflation by the end of 2011 that will equal what we lived through under the Carter Administration.
I gotta say, you Liberals are sooo freakin stupid! See if you can cogitate this concept; liberalism is antithetical to liberty. Got it? When government owns the mechanisms that generate money it means that the private sector DOES NOT! All you liberal geniuses out there who aren’t already working for the government ARE PART OF THE PRIVATE SECTOR!!!!!
October 4th, 2009 at 8:16 pm
Necromancy is bad man.
Real bad.
December 3rd, 2009 at 12:28 pm
I grew up in West Plains and my family did too, when I come home to see this hate filled, ignorant crap, it makes me literally face-palm. I couldn’t believe it when I drove past it.
There’s nothing wrong with the first amendment.
But, there is a problem when people think that Obama is a muslim and want to project that false image to the rest of their ignorant friends.
It’s just like if someone but a big sign up with a black man that says the “N” word with chains on. It’s racist and ignorant.
My faith in my town’s intelligence has significantly dropped a few more points.
October 23rd, 2011 at 10:02 am
Bet all those who had negative things to say about this billboard are feeling very foolish. How many scandals does it take to show the left for what they are ? How many underhanded acts does it take to see that the liberals are nothing but socialists communists liers and political terrorists. Here is a little info for all you libtards out there from government sources so they may be a little light when it comes to the bad info for the democrates. Remember the Federal civil servents vote heavilly democratic.
Jobs 39,761,000 net new Jobs
Jobs created when Democrates controlled congress (12years) =8,100,000 net new jobs
Jobs created when Republicans controlled congress (10years) = 21,773,000 net new Jobs
Jobs created when congress was split (8years) =9,888,000 net new Jobs
Defeicits ($7.304 Trillion)
Total when Democrates controlled congress (12 years) = $5.022 Trillion
Total when Republicans controlled congress (10 years) = $1.219 Trillion
Total when congress was split (8 years) = $1.063 Trillion
National Debt. (12.878 Trillion = 93.4% of all debt in our history)
Total new debt when democrates controlled congress (12 years) = $7.859 Trillion.
Total new debt when Republicans controlled congress (10 years) = $3.238 Trillion
Total new debt when congress was split (8 years) =$1.781 Trillion.
Economic Growth ($11.873 Trillion of GDP growth)
Total Growth when Democrates controlled congress (12 years) = $3.887 Trillion
Total growth when Republicans controlled congress (10 years) = $5.623 Trillion
Total Growth when congress was split ( 8 years) = $2.383 Trillion
Draw your own conclusions, but these are undiputed facts from Government sources.
Sources –
Democrates controllec congress from 1987 – 1994 and from 2007 to now
Republicans controlled congress from 1995 – 200 and from 2003 – 2006
There was split congress at 1980 -1986 and 2001 & 2002
Links
Jobs http://www.bis.gov/cps/cpsaat1.pdf
Deficits http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/historicals see table 1.1
Natinal Debt- http://www.treasurydirect.gov/np/bpdlogin?application=np
There is your democratic party and Obama!!
This should start people thinking about 2012. Can we afford four more years of the democrates and Obama ??
October 24th, 2011 at 9:44 am
Terry Weston @: “Here is a little info for all you libtards out there…”
Typical right wing line of attack: insults coupled with selective reasoning. The real question is can we afford to turn the clock back to more of this?
October 25th, 2011 at 11:29 pm
No, it’s can we afford either set of nitwits to be in charge.
October 26th, 2011 at 12:59 pm
You’ve gotta admit Terry manages to poison the dialogue in his opening paragraph before he gets to numbers. Not that khaki doesn’t rise directly to the bait. But once you get past the habitual and reflexive ad hominem I don’t see how the reasoning (or rather, the math) is terribly selective, at least not in any cherry-picking distortionary way. Data NEEDS to be selective to have any real meaning. After a decade of listening to the Dems and the left blaming everything on Bush it’s downright refreshing to see the data from a broader perspective that includes the partisan weightings in Congress.
Turning back the clock to the spending levels of a few years ago would be eminently affordable, by definition.
October 26th, 2011 at 1:16 pm
Tully, surely you’re honest enough to admit that years “controlling Congress” is not equivalent to causality. I’m not making a case one way or the other here regarding who is really to blame or to take credit. But to look at statistical results that occur during a given time frame and attach all the blame or credit to whatever group had a majority in office at the time is intellectually dishonest. Republican pundits still try that slight of hand by noting that the country lost X number of jobs during Obama’s time in office compared to under Bush and attaching the causality to Obama’s policy. That nonsense is about as obvious as it gets and yet you still hear in in GOP talking points to this day. What the GOP is good at, is repeating the nonsense so often that it starts to sound plausible. As another poster once said, they’ll shit in their hand and tell you it’s chocolate.
October 26th, 2011 at 1:34 pm
One more thought: Isn’t it more likely that economic data vs. which party is power is to blame/ gets credit is a lagging indicator. Doesn’t the political pendulum swing AFTER policies start taking effect. It certainly did this last go around.
October 26th, 2011 at 2:43 pm
Tully, surely you’re honest enough to admit that years “controlling Congress” is not equivalent to causality.
Since Congress is in control of spending, debt, and such, I’d say there is a most reasonable presumption of direct causality present in relation to debt and deficits, where the linkage is direct, established, and definitional. Deficit spending and debt go hand in hand and are under Congressional control (they hate to admit it, though). For employment and growth the causality would be much less direct, and no, it’s not unreasonable in the least to call for linking that up before accepting the presentational context as righteously causative. The overall causation factor of the government there is indeed debatable, though that one exists is axiomatic. Everything has SOME degree of direct/indirect causation in relation to everything else, and that’s a two-way street. Maybe voters just like to elect Dems when unemployment is up, for example. Not making that claim, it’s just an example.
Aside: It’s somewhat disingenuous to deploy the old “Surely you’re [blank] enough to … ” line. Implying that to disagree once must be the opposite. Surely you’re sober enough to see what I’m saying here. :-)
The obviously direct causality of two of the factors won’t keep me from noting that that anyone who thinks the ONLY factor involved in ANY of the (accurate) stats presented was the partisan composition of Congress as the presenting context suggests is at best somewhat underinformed.
Isn’t it more likely that economic data vs. which party is power is to blame/ gets credit is a lagging indicator.
Yes and no, and thank you very much for being aware of the lag factor. Spending tends to lag budget approval for the obvious reason that time doesn’t run backwards and spending is not instantaneous with budget passage. This year’s spending was set by last year’s budget. But there are some caveats there too, as spending relates to control of Congress. When there’s a change in control, there’s a one-time opportunity for the new majority to change the current year’s spending, but unless the newly ascendant party has both houses of Congress and either veto-proof majorities or filibuster-proof ones, it’s a very limited opportunity.
Examples: Budget lag does not apply so well to things like the Porkulus bill, which is self-contained within the current administration and the Dem control of Congress. And the bailouts were under a Dem-controlled Congress with near-veto-proof majorities. Those aren’t lagging indicators.
Oh wait! this year’s spending was NOT set by last year’s budget, because the Dems still in control of the Senate have FAILED TO PASS A BUDGET the last three years. THEY HAVEN’T EVEN SUBMITTED ONE. IN THREE YEARS. Obama’s own budgets were DOA in same Senate, despite his party’s control and without regard to potential filibuster. None of them rose to the level of even simple majority, which is why they never came to the floor.
October 27th, 2011 at 8:31 am
@ Tully: “Aside: It’s somewhat disingenuous to deploy the old “Surely you’re [blank] enough to … ” line. Implying that to disagree once must be the opposite. Surely you’re sober enough to see what I’m saying here. :-)”
Fair enough. Sorry.
October 27th, 2011 at 12:09 pm
Thanks, khaki. I catch myself doing it on occasion. Feel free to to slap me around if I do.