Man who heckled man with Parkinson's apologizes

By GottaLaff

Doral Chenoweth III | Dispatch

Chris Reichert

A few days ago, we witnessed a pathetic Tea Tantrum crowd bullying a man with Parkinson's, all caught on video.

Now he's very, very sorry. That's commendable, but let's take a step back and consider the broader point. When people are stirred up, encouraged, cheered on by others (are you listening Republican Congress members?), they do things they might not ordinarily do... ever.

Getting whipped into a frenzy tends to do that:

"I snapped. I absolutely snapped and I can't explain it any other way," said Chris Reichert of Victorian Village, in a Dispatch interview. [...]

"He's got every right to do what he did and some may say I did too, but what I did was shameful," Reichert said. "I haven't slept since that day."

"I made a donation (to a local Parkinson's disease group) and that starts the healing process."

He had denied being involved earlier this week. He apparently saw the light when he started getting threats himself:

"I wanted this to go away, but it won't and I'm paying the consequences," Reichert said.

"I've been looking at the web sites," he said. "People are hunting for me." [...]

"That was my first time at any political rally and I'm never going to another one [...] I will never ever, ever go to another one."

Good idea.

And on behalf of Parkinson's disease groups everywhere, thank you for the donation.

H/t: JamieHarbor

VIDEO- Targeted by the Tea Party: Parkinson's Hero Speaks

By GottaLaff

Previously, I posted a video of a man with Parkinson's disease getting verbally abused, right up in his face, by a bunch of vulgar Tea Tantrumers. They accused him of wanting "handouts" because he supports health care reform. They threw money at him, humiliated him, and harassed him.

Now he is speaking out, and he says he "didn't feel afraid." He's a lot braver than I'd ever be:

Bob, the man with Parkinson's who was targeted by the Tea Partiers, sat down with ProgressOhio for an interview. He is 60 years old and was first diagnosed with Parkinsons 15 years ago. He has two masters degrees and a Ph.D. from Cornell. He taught at the University of Michigan and worked as a nuclear engineer.

Bob was able to have a $150,000 surgery that greatly increased his quality of life, thanks to Medicare and the Cleveland Clinic. He attended the event in Columbus because he believes in giving back and thinks everyone should have access to affordable health insurance and quality health care.

"Everyone take your own action."

He's right, and he is a hero.

H/t: Digby, who has a lot more "sickening behavior" to share with you.

VIDEO- Hardball: Matthews v. Tim Phillips

By GottaLaff

My original post on these despicable tea bagging hecklers, including the video, is here.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Tim Phillips, the president of Americans for Prosperity, previously got ripped to shreds by Rachel Maddow.

L. Os. Er.

VIDEO: Teabaggers harass man with Parkinson's disease

By GottaLaff

Relevant segment at about :50...

Be proud, Tea Tantrumers:

Video shot by the Columbus Dispatch from today's Honk and Wave in Support of Health Care at Congresswoman Mary Jo Kilroy's district office contains a segment wherein the teabaggers mock and scorn an apparent Parkinson's victim telling him "he's in the wrong end of town to ask for handouts", calling him a communist and throwing money at him to "pay for his health care".

Yes, there it was, outside of Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy's district office, an unruly crowd adorned with bumper stickers (including a baby) and Palin for President tee shirts. And yes, one even threw dollar bills at a man with Parkinson's, and another shouted directly into his face.

How compassionate. How humane. How patriotic.

Note the man standing nearby, smiling serenely, rocking that very baby to the lullaby of cacophonous shrieks of "Obama's a communist!"

You know what they say, love the fetus, expose the child to crass, despicable behavior. Some role models.

H/t: DKos

Someone please shut Donny Deutsch up

The past 40 minutes on MSNBC has been unbearable. Above video is from yesterday, today is worse.