Showing posts with label Voices In My Head. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Voices In My Head. Show all posts
Friday, April 01, 2011
Thursday, March 31, 2011
The Rules They Don't Live By
A while back, Vann Jones (former climate guy for President Obama and current socialist/fag lover/grandma plug puller/statist who wants to rape all of our children) was asked why the Republicans get to behave the way they do. His answer?
"Because they are assholes."
He got fired over the remark by President Obama.
Gotcha right winger James O'Keefe captured former NPR exec Ron Schiller saying that the Tea Party was racist and generally slamming conservatives. He was fired along with Vivian Schiller (no relation) from NPR for his comments.
Sensing a pattern here? Other than the fact that Jones and Schiller were both accurate, of course:)
It's pretty simple. Generally speaking, the right wing of America does not have to live by the rules. They are, in fact, assholes and get to do pretty much whatever they want. They can call Barack Obama "the magic Negro" and it's not racist. They can sting other people in heavily edited videotapes but refuse to allow themselves to be videotaped as is the case with Mr. O'Keefe (so much for him being the right's answer to Michael Moore as Moore can wait to have his mug anywhere people will have him). Or they can say things like this:
Pussy. And YOU ARE STILL WRONG. NPR is run and produces nothing but liberal drivel. Pussy.
Yet I am the one with "voices in my head."
Democrats, liberals, and progressives have to live by the rules. Conservatives don't. And the more the left lives by them, the less the right does. This has lead to the right trying to "catch" the left in not living by them so they can (in typical school yard bully fashion) point and say, "See? They do it too!! N'yah N'yah!" See, when people like Schiller or Jones say things like they did, they get fired. When Rush Limbaugh or Sarah Palin says it, they get more money and supporters cheering them. Understand the difference between conservatives and liberals these days? It gets worse.
Governor Walker and the rest of the GOP in Wisconsin ignored a judge's ruling and are moving ahead with the bill they passed anyway. Starting on April 21st, union dues will no longer be collected from workers paychecks. The state of Wisconsin will also begin deducting more money for health benefits from each state worker's check. They had the law published already which basically means they are already in contempt. If they actually take this next step, they will have defied a judge's ruling twice. But, hey, she's a fucking commie so fuck her!
Will they do it? They say they are going to but I'm more interested in their frame of mind which is pretty much how most conservatives around the country think. They are under the (quite mistaken) impression that liberals cheated when they passed health care. Libs shoved it down their throats and rammed it through (time out for a chuckle on the penis metaphors) and, in their very warped minds, they can now do the "same" thing. Except it's not the same but they don't really know the difference. We are dealing very low emotional intelligence after all.
I'm curious to see how far they will get-both with the law and the American voter-but one thing is very, very true and I've said it all along. It's not that they don't like government. That's just their t 8 year old boy temper tantrum talking and looking for something to pick on. It's that they don't like certain laws and think that they don't all apply to them. Out of this comes a general attitude and perception-which is hilariously ironic when you think about it but perfectly consistent with their interaction and behavior with people on the left. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind, given how they continually flaunt the rules, that they feel this way and it's one simple word.
Entitled.
"Because they are assholes."
He got fired over the remark by President Obama.
Gotcha right winger James O'Keefe captured former NPR exec Ron Schiller saying that the Tea Party was racist and generally slamming conservatives. He was fired along with Vivian Schiller (no relation) from NPR for his comments.
Sensing a pattern here? Other than the fact that Jones and Schiller were both accurate, of course:)
It's pretty simple. Generally speaking, the right wing of America does not have to live by the rules. They are, in fact, assholes and get to do pretty much whatever they want. They can call Barack Obama "the magic Negro" and it's not racist. They can sting other people in heavily edited videotapes but refuse to allow themselves to be videotaped as is the case with Mr. O'Keefe (so much for him being the right's answer to Michael Moore as Moore can wait to have his mug anywhere people will have him). Or they can say things like this:
Pussy. And YOU ARE STILL WRONG. NPR is run and produces nothing but liberal drivel. Pussy.
Yet I am the one with "voices in my head."
Democrats, liberals, and progressives have to live by the rules. Conservatives don't. And the more the left lives by them, the less the right does. This has lead to the right trying to "catch" the left in not living by them so they can (in typical school yard bully fashion) point and say, "See? They do it too!! N'yah N'yah!" See, when people like Schiller or Jones say things like they did, they get fired. When Rush Limbaugh or Sarah Palin says it, they get more money and supporters cheering them. Understand the difference between conservatives and liberals these days? It gets worse.
Governor Walker and the rest of the GOP in Wisconsin ignored a judge's ruling and are moving ahead with the bill they passed anyway. Starting on April 21st, union dues will no longer be collected from workers paychecks. The state of Wisconsin will also begin deducting more money for health benefits from each state worker's check. They had the law published already which basically means they are already in contempt. If they actually take this next step, they will have defied a judge's ruling twice. But, hey, she's a fucking commie so fuck her!
Will they do it? They say they are going to but I'm more interested in their frame of mind which is pretty much how most conservatives around the country think. They are under the (quite mistaken) impression that liberals cheated when they passed health care. Libs shoved it down their throats and rammed it through (time out for a chuckle on the penis metaphors) and, in their very warped minds, they can now do the "same" thing. Except it's not the same but they don't really know the difference. We are dealing very low emotional intelligence after all.
I'm curious to see how far they will get-both with the law and the American voter-but one thing is very, very true and I've said it all along. It's not that they don't like government. That's just their t 8 year old boy temper tantrum talking and looking for something to pick on. It's that they don't like certain laws and think that they don't all apply to them. Out of this comes a general attitude and perception-which is hilariously ironic when you think about it but perfectly consistent with their interaction and behavior with people on the left. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind, given how they continually flaunt the rules, that they feel this way and it's one simple word.
Entitled.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Nary a Peep
So, let me see if I have this straight. Schaeffer Cox, Lonnie and Karen Vernon (along with others) conspired to kill an IRS employee as well as a US District judge and Peter King isn't investigating? It seems to me this is terrorism, right? Given that the Vernons are part of the "Sovereign Citizens" Group I would think hat there should be some sort of committee set up to investigate some of these very clear threats. Oh, and I guess they wanted to kill some state troopers as well. And the family members of the IRS agent, the judge and the troopers.
I'm surprised, readers. We had a lot of links pointing to plots that evil Muslims were about to carry out yet nary a peep on this one. Hmm...
I'm surprised, readers. We had a lot of links pointing to plots that evil Muslims were about to carry out yet nary a peep on this one. Hmm...
Thursday, March 24, 2011
A Double Dose Of Irony
I had someone leave the following in comments recently.
When leftist ideology reigns, there is no point in striving or failing. If you succeed, the fruits of your labor will be taken from you and given to those who don't care to strive for anything beyond playing the lottery and watching American Idol and believing that anybody who has wealth must have gotten it by nefarious means. This is what produces countries like North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela, Zimbabwe. Equality is celebrated and encouraged until everyone but those at the top of government have become equally miserable.
When conservatism reigns, people are left alone to either succeed or fail on their own in freedom. If you don't like the fail part, then you don't understand the value of failure. Ray Kroc was nothing more than a mediocre paper cup salesman until he discovered and bought the restaurant from the McDonald brothers. Walt Disney failed over and over to find the right people to financially back his ideas for most of his life. Edison tried a thousand different ways to create a light bulb before he found the right design. The common denominator to success in this country has always been freedom and a rule of law that protects individual freedom.
Both of these would be great examples of what I mean when I speak of fantasy management. Ray Kroc, for example, did far more than sell paper cups. He was a jazz pianist, worked at a radio station, handled room and board in the restaurant business, and sold milk shake mixers. Nothing more than a mediocre paper cup salesman? I think not. He had vision and it was through his milk shake mixer sales that he got in contact with the McDonald brothers and saw how much bigger they could be. He purchased McDonald's in 1961. What did our country look like in 1961?
In 1961, the tax rate for high income earners was 91 percent. Congress passed Medicare a few years later. Social Security, at that point, was nearly 30 years old. So, with two gigantic socialist programs in place and very high taxes, Kroc still managed to wildly succeed and build an empire across the world. No one curtailed his freedom and, like Walt Disney, he prospered in the our system of welfare capitalism. That makes the assertion above is one giant pile of lying shit.
Further, there is not a single idea with which I agree in the first paragraph and I am a Democrat. I'm more moderate than some folks I know on the left but I have no problem with being called a liberal either. Every liberal I know works 2-3 jobs and has no time to play the lottery nor watch American Idol. They are more interested in figuring out how to pay for health care and educate their children. Interestingly, these same liberals don't complain about the "fruits of their labor" being taken away as they realize that their tax money supports the infrastructure of our society.
Oh, and they also don't "value equality above all else." That's code for at least two of Ferguson's four areas of denial and avoidance regarding racial issues. Suddenly, equality is bad as a word as "liberal" or "progressive." Super...
As I have stated previously on this blog, every liberal I know is employed and all the unemployed people I know are conservative. These conservatives actually do play the lottery, watch American Idol, spend hours a day watching and listening to Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh, post on right wing blogs or have their own right wing blog, and complain that their lot in life is due to liberals and progressives.
It's ALWAYS the fault of liberals. The first paragraph above is a fine example of this hypocrisy. You can't complain that an entire swath of our culture plays the victim card too much and then....play the victim car by blaming that same group. Honestly, the supply of irony is abundant. The descriptions, in addition to being devoid of all fact, above are accurate but in the reverse. Like the wild eyed idealists on the left in the 60s, the wild eyed idealists on the right today continually blame someone else for their problems in the most overgeneralized ways imaginable.
I make it a point to teach my kids to learn from their failures and revel in them. Out of failure, comes immeasurable reflection and self actualization which invariably leads to success. "When one door is closed, another one is open" is what my grandmother used to say.
My DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST grandmother, b to the w!
When leftist ideology reigns, there is no point in striving or failing. If you succeed, the fruits of your labor will be taken from you and given to those who don't care to strive for anything beyond playing the lottery and watching American Idol and believing that anybody who has wealth must have gotten it by nefarious means. This is what produces countries like North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela, Zimbabwe. Equality is celebrated and encouraged until everyone but those at the top of government have become equally miserable.
When conservatism reigns, people are left alone to either succeed or fail on their own in freedom. If you don't like the fail part, then you don't understand the value of failure. Ray Kroc was nothing more than a mediocre paper cup salesman until he discovered and bought the restaurant from the McDonald brothers. Walt Disney failed over and over to find the right people to financially back his ideas for most of his life. Edison tried a thousand different ways to create a light bulb before he found the right design. The common denominator to success in this country has always been freedom and a rule of law that protects individual freedom.
Both of these would be great examples of what I mean when I speak of fantasy management. Ray Kroc, for example, did far more than sell paper cups. He was a jazz pianist, worked at a radio station, handled room and board in the restaurant business, and sold milk shake mixers. Nothing more than a mediocre paper cup salesman? I think not. He had vision and it was through his milk shake mixer sales that he got in contact with the McDonald brothers and saw how much bigger they could be. He purchased McDonald's in 1961. What did our country look like in 1961?
In 1961, the tax rate for high income earners was 91 percent. Congress passed Medicare a few years later. Social Security, at that point, was nearly 30 years old. So, with two gigantic socialist programs in place and very high taxes, Kroc still managed to wildly succeed and build an empire across the world. No one curtailed his freedom and, like Walt Disney, he prospered in the our system of welfare capitalism. That makes the assertion above is one giant pile of lying shit.
Further, there is not a single idea with which I agree in the first paragraph and I am a Democrat. I'm more moderate than some folks I know on the left but I have no problem with being called a liberal either. Every liberal I know works 2-3 jobs and has no time to play the lottery nor watch American Idol. They are more interested in figuring out how to pay for health care and educate their children. Interestingly, these same liberals don't complain about the "fruits of their labor" being taken away as they realize that their tax money supports the infrastructure of our society.
Oh, and they also don't "value equality above all else." That's code for at least two of Ferguson's four areas of denial and avoidance regarding racial issues. Suddenly, equality is bad as a word as "liberal" or "progressive." Super...
As I have stated previously on this blog, every liberal I know is employed and all the unemployed people I know are conservative. These conservatives actually do play the lottery, watch American Idol, spend hours a day watching and listening to Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh, post on right wing blogs or have their own right wing blog, and complain that their lot in life is due to liberals and progressives.
It's ALWAYS the fault of liberals. The first paragraph above is a fine example of this hypocrisy. You can't complain that an entire swath of our culture plays the victim card too much and then....play the victim car by blaming that same group. Honestly, the supply of irony is abundant. The descriptions, in addition to being devoid of all fact, above are accurate but in the reverse. Like the wild eyed idealists on the left in the 60s, the wild eyed idealists on the right today continually blame someone else for their problems in the most overgeneralized ways imaginable.
I make it a point to teach my kids to learn from their failures and revel in them. Out of failure, comes immeasurable reflection and self actualization which invariably leads to success. "When one door is closed, another one is open" is what my grandmother used to say.
My DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST grandmother, b to the w!
Monday, March 21, 2011
Managing Fantasies, Wasting Time
Last in Line recently sent me an amusing email that apparently has gone viral in right wing circles of late. Essentially, it says that the new health care law will somehow morph into sharia law and that's been Obama's secret plan all along. Being the reasonable man last in line is, I know he sent it in jest but I found his note to be serendipitous considering Bill Maher's final new rule last night. It starts at about 2:25
While this is amusing, I find the truth of it to be very frustrating and sad. "One reason nothing gets done in America is that one of the political parties puts so much more into fantasy problems." Indeed. Not only is it holding us back from advancing as a nation but it may well threaten our status as the leader in a unipolar world. Dangerous when you consider that it is our democratic society combined with our military and economic strength that keep the world in line.
My other thought on this was...does Bill secretly read my blog? Because this does sound an awful lot like things I have said. Or maybe it's the simple fact that he feels the same frustration I do that we have to waste our time managing people's fantasies. Ignoring them clearly won't work as it was these fantasies that, more or less, won back the House of Representatives.
His list is quite ridiculous, though, and when you hear it all together one has to wonder how much longer are we going to have to dither with these manufactured crises? We have real problems that we need to deal with and the screaming about the New Black Panther Party pushes us backward.
Of course, this makes complete sense when you consider one of my favorite books, recently updated, by Barry Glassner. In The Culture of Fear, Glassner's essential point is that we are afraid of all the wrong things. It is our perception, not reality, that has changed. I submit that perception is exactly what the right wing media (in particular the right wing blogsphere) very much want to control. They have found great success in doing this and will continue as long as there is an audience.
So, what would cause them to lose that audience? Teachers and media outlets like NPR.
What a coincidence....
While this is amusing, I find the truth of it to be very frustrating and sad. "One reason nothing gets done in America is that one of the political parties puts so much more into fantasy problems." Indeed. Not only is it holding us back from advancing as a nation but it may well threaten our status as the leader in a unipolar world. Dangerous when you consider that it is our democratic society combined with our military and economic strength that keep the world in line.
My other thought on this was...does Bill secretly read my blog? Because this does sound an awful lot like things I have said. Or maybe it's the simple fact that he feels the same frustration I do that we have to waste our time managing people's fantasies. Ignoring them clearly won't work as it was these fantasies that, more or less, won back the House of Representatives.
His list is quite ridiculous, though, and when you hear it all together one has to wonder how much longer are we going to have to dither with these manufactured crises? We have real problems that we need to deal with and the screaming about the New Black Panther Party pushes us backward.
Of course, this makes complete sense when you consider one of my favorite books, recently updated, by Barry Glassner. In The Culture of Fear, Glassner's essential point is that we are afraid of all the wrong things. It is our perception, not reality, that has changed. I submit that perception is exactly what the right wing media (in particular the right wing blogsphere) very much want to control. They have found great success in doing this and will continue as long as there is an audience.
So, what would cause them to lose that audience? Teachers and media outlets like NPR.
What a coincidence....
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Voices in My Head
I've been waiting for this video to come out in its entirety. Sit back, pop some corn, and enjoy 44 minutes of the "voices in my head."
Thursday, March 03, 2011
A Question Answered
A recent New York Times headline:
Teachers Wonder, Why the Scorn?
Short Answer: Because the people that are dishing it out waver back and forth between an 8 year old having a temper tantrum and an adolescent power fantasy.
Even Shorter Answer: Because they are assholes.
Teachers Wonder, Why the Scorn?
Short Answer: Because the people that are dishing it out waver back and forth between an 8 year old having a temper tantrum and an adolescent power fantasy.
Even Shorter Answer: Because they are assholes.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Making Complete Sense
Ah, now I get it.
A 51% majority of national GOP primary voters erroneously think President Obama was not born in the U.S. 28% know that he was. With the latter, Palin’s favorability rating is 41-52—other than Ron Paul, the only candidate these voters view negatively. But with birthers, she has a soaring 83-12, far higher than for any of the others.
I completely understand Sarah Palin now and why she is as popular as she is.
A 51% majority of national GOP primary voters erroneously think President Obama was not born in the U.S. 28% know that he was. With the latter, Palin’s favorability rating is 41-52—other than Ron Paul, the only candidate these voters view negatively. But with birthers, she has a soaring 83-12, far higher than for any of the others.
I completely understand Sarah Palin now and why she is as popular as she is.
Monday, February 14, 2011
He's Correct!
There are a few things on which Mitt Romney and I agree. At the recent CPAC conference, Mr. Romney stated that Canada created more jobs than the US. This statement was verified by the folks at Politifact which is illustrative (once again) that they are not in the tank for the left. Here are they are rating a statement as "True" made by a Republican (although he probably is an impure RINO to some of you).
More importantly, however, is the fact that a country with socialized medicine can create jobs. I was under the impression that all of those countries were falling apart and looked like Detroit now. What the--??!!?? How dare Canada with its liberal ways beat us at something!
Thanks for the heads up, Mitt!
More importantly, however, is the fact that a country with socialized medicine can create jobs. I was under the impression that all of those countries were falling apart and looked like Detroit now. What the--??!!?? How dare Canada with its liberal ways beat us at something!
Thanks for the heads up, Mitt!
Saturday, February 05, 2011
A Simple Suggestion
"WAAAAAAH. They are trying to make me do something I don't wanna do. WAAHHHH"
No, that's not my 8 year old son. Nor are "they" making you do anything. First Lady Michelle Obama is suggesting that people eat less shitty food. Every first lady has a pet project and hers is childhood obesity. Because the Right has to counter every single thing the left does (winning the argument, never being wrong, bully power fantasies), Sarah Palin made a media event out of bringing sugar cookies to a school. Rush Limbaugh claims that Ms. Obama is coming to get your furnace.On Laura Ingraham’s talk show she challenged Michelle Obama to “get off our back and allow us as individuals to exercise our own God-given rights to make our own decisions.”
And what has to be the most idiotic fucking thing I have ever heard, Matt Drudge has suggested that Michelle Obama is to blame for the increase in pedestrian deaths because more people are walking per her suggestion. Are you kidding me?
How about we take a look at the number of lard asses that die every year because they don't take a walk once in awhile? Must the right find fault with everything the Obamas do even if it is a good idea?
Yes. Yes, they must.
What's truly hilarious about all of this is these aren't laws. They are suggestions. Within a one mile radius of my house there is a McDonald's, a Dairy Queen, several greasy bars, and three grocery stores that all have fully stocked bakeries. The government is not regulating my ability to pile on to my gut.
Yet the fear is still there. More and more these days any remaining doubt that I had about the conservative brain being wired differently is being washed away. All Rush Limbaugh has to do is look in the mirror when he gets out of the shower to see that the government is not forcing him to do anything.
No, that's not my 8 year old son. Nor are "they" making you do anything. First Lady Michelle Obama is suggesting that people eat less shitty food. Every first lady has a pet project and hers is childhood obesity. Because the Right has to counter every single thing the left does (winning the argument, never being wrong, bully power fantasies), Sarah Palin made a media event out of bringing sugar cookies to a school. Rush Limbaugh claims that Ms. Obama is coming to get your furnace.On Laura Ingraham’s talk show she challenged Michelle Obama to “get off our back and allow us as individuals to exercise our own God-given rights to make our own decisions.”
And what has to be the most idiotic fucking thing I have ever heard, Matt Drudge has suggested that Michelle Obama is to blame for the increase in pedestrian deaths because more people are walking per her suggestion. Are you kidding me?
How about we take a look at the number of lard asses that die every year because they don't take a walk once in awhile? Must the right find fault with everything the Obamas do even if it is a good idea?
Yes. Yes, they must.
What's truly hilarious about all of this is these aren't laws. They are suggestions. Within a one mile radius of my house there is a McDonald's, a Dairy Queen, several greasy bars, and three grocery stores that all have fully stocked bakeries. The government is not regulating my ability to pile on to my gut.
Yet the fear is still there. More and more these days any remaining doubt that I had about the conservative brain being wired differently is being washed away. All Rush Limbaugh has to do is look in the mirror when he gets out of the shower to see that the government is not forcing him to do anything.
Monday, January 31, 2011
No Shit
If traffic lights were invented today, the Republican Party would be against them.
No shit. And so begins Anthony Schlaff's wonderful opinion piece in a recent issue of the Christian Science Monitor.
It's a very honest discussion about how the word "freedom" has been hijacked by the conservative movement in this country. As with many things today, we need to unhijack it.
This thought experiment about traffic lights points to how simplistic and wrong-headed current Republican rhetoric about freedom is. Freedom is about rights, choices, and opportunities. Government action, whether through laws or taxes, does not necessarily restrict freedom. As with traffic lights, it can enhance freedom, and we need to be thoughtful, not reflexive, in how we view what we ask of government.
This is really all I have been saying. So have many other Democrats and even some (no longer pure) Republicans. Yet, we are now Hitler. Or Commies. Or whatever demonized bullshit word they come up with for the week.
As for the notion that the new health-care law robs us of freedom because it is a mandate, let us not forget that we as a society created our government to make our choices and we used this mechanism to do so. This was an exercise of our freedom!
Freedom starts with the opportunity to make choices, including the choice of whether to act individually or collectively. A choice once made sets us on a more limited path – but are we not freer for making choices rather than remaining forever frozen in a prechoice world of possibility but no fulfillment?
Therein lies the problem...acting collectively. Any sort of talk involving collective action is quickly demonized. This would involve following a law that some people (8 year old boys and/or adolescent power fantasists) don't like. Right around now is where I imagine my 8 year old son, shouting, "I DON'T WANNNA!!!!!!"
Well...too bad....is what I usually say...followed by "Grow Up."
But here's the best part of the whole piece.
I know of no one on the left of the political spectrum who accepts the right's characterization that they are against personal responsibility. They believe in both personal and social responsibility, as these are complementary, not competing, notions. Trying to address major public problems with just a greater push for personal responsibility is like tying one of our hands behind our back. We must leverage social responsibility, too, enabling us to use both hands to tackle our toughest problems.
Complementary, not competing notions. This is what I have been saying all along. It has to be both.
Schlaff ends the article with a question.
If public schools or public drinking water and sewer systems were invented today, would Republicans oppose them, along with the traffic lights?
Sadly, he answers this in such a way that it demonstrates the enormous naivete on the part of the left. The answer is a simple YES because the conservative movement in this country worships (fake) people like Daniel Plainview. To them, Plainview is the perfect hero.
After I read this piece, I reached a conclusion. I am going to make it my life's mission to demolish Reagan's Nine Terrifying Words and all that lies behind them. They are a boy's fantasy meant strictly to undermine government efforts at regulation and to encourage private industry greed.
In short, they are a lie.
No shit. And so begins Anthony Schlaff's wonderful opinion piece in a recent issue of the Christian Science Monitor.
It's a very honest discussion about how the word "freedom" has been hijacked by the conservative movement in this country. As with many things today, we need to unhijack it.
This thought experiment about traffic lights points to how simplistic and wrong-headed current Republican rhetoric about freedom is. Freedom is about rights, choices, and opportunities. Government action, whether through laws or taxes, does not necessarily restrict freedom. As with traffic lights, it can enhance freedom, and we need to be thoughtful, not reflexive, in how we view what we ask of government.
This is really all I have been saying. So have many other Democrats and even some (no longer pure) Republicans. Yet, we are now Hitler. Or Commies. Or whatever demonized bullshit word they come up with for the week.
As for the notion that the new health-care law robs us of freedom because it is a mandate, let us not forget that we as a society created our government to make our choices and we used this mechanism to do so. This was an exercise of our freedom!
Freedom starts with the opportunity to make choices, including the choice of whether to act individually or collectively. A choice once made sets us on a more limited path – but are we not freer for making choices rather than remaining forever frozen in a prechoice world of possibility but no fulfillment?
Therein lies the problem...acting collectively. Any sort of talk involving collective action is quickly demonized. This would involve following a law that some people (8 year old boys and/or adolescent power fantasists) don't like. Right around now is where I imagine my 8 year old son, shouting, "I DON'T WANNNA!!!!!!"
Well...too bad....is what I usually say...followed by "Grow Up."
But here's the best part of the whole piece.
I know of no one on the left of the political spectrum who accepts the right's characterization that they are against personal responsibility. They believe in both personal and social responsibility, as these are complementary, not competing, notions. Trying to address major public problems with just a greater push for personal responsibility is like tying one of our hands behind our back. We must leverage social responsibility, too, enabling us to use both hands to tackle our toughest problems.
Complementary, not competing notions. This is what I have been saying all along. It has to be both.
Schlaff ends the article with a question.
If public schools or public drinking water and sewer systems were invented today, would Republicans oppose them, along with the traffic lights?
Sadly, he answers this in such a way that it demonstrates the enormous naivete on the part of the left. The answer is a simple YES because the conservative movement in this country worships (fake) people like Daniel Plainview. To them, Plainview is the perfect hero.
After I read this piece, I reached a conclusion. I am going to make it my life's mission to demolish Reagan's Nine Terrifying Words and all that lies behind them. They are a boy's fantasy meant strictly to undermine government efforts at regulation and to encourage private industry greed.
In short, they are a lie.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Head....Hurts....:(
Last night, Michele Bachmann (MN-06) delivered the Tea Party response to President Obama's SOTU address. For the most part, it was fairly predictable. But that's not the speech that has everyone scratching their heads this week. Last week, Ms.Bachmann delivered a speech in Iowa (see: dipping toe in water for possible presidential run now that Palin is tanking) which left many to wonder why someone so incompetent is leading anyone.
Here is the speech in its entirety. C-Span ran the whole thing so we have it all. I didn't want to be accused of taking anything out of context. If you don't want to watch the whole thing, pay close attention to minutes 24 to 26.
Anyone care to explain WTF she is talking about?
Immigrants to this country were always treated like crap and there certainly was no equality. Our entire history is filled with people from different cultures and races being treated like shit. Sorry, but that's human beings, folks. And John Quincy Adams was not a Founding Father. His father was but he was not. He was in short pants when this country was born. In addition, small point but I think that her use of the word 'forebearer' is also incorrect. I think she meant "Forefather' because forebearer is the noun form of the verb forebear which means to restrain from, avoid or cease; to endure or tolerate; to keep oneself in check or control oneself under provocation.
How ironic...
The real head scratcher, though, was her statement about how the people that wrote the Constitution worked tirelessly to end slavery. Um....Michele? THEY OWNED SLAVES!!!!
It would be OK to excuse this if she was just another fringe person spouting lunacy but this woman is the head of a very large and powerful caucus in the United States House of Representatives. She has won her district three elections in a row with record contributions from around the country. She is a leader of the conservative movement with many supporters and has been dubbed the head of the Tea Party.
Are you kidding me?!!?
Delusions are not opinions, folks. Our history is filled with a lot of good, a lot of bad, and a whole lot of ugly. To put this kind of spin on it goes beyond batshit. It's irresponsible. People look up to our leaders and trust that they will be competent enough to use our history as a learning tool. Her view of US History is destructive. Pure and simple.
I truly hope this means people will stop listening to her.
Here is the speech in its entirety. C-Span ran the whole thing so we have it all. I didn't want to be accused of taking anything out of context. If you don't want to watch the whole thing, pay close attention to minutes 24 to 26.
Anyone care to explain WTF she is talking about?
Immigrants to this country were always treated like crap and there certainly was no equality. Our entire history is filled with people from different cultures and races being treated like shit. Sorry, but that's human beings, folks. And John Quincy Adams was not a Founding Father. His father was but he was not. He was in short pants when this country was born. In addition, small point but I think that her use of the word 'forebearer' is also incorrect. I think she meant "Forefather' because forebearer is the noun form of the verb forebear which means to restrain from, avoid or cease; to endure or tolerate; to keep oneself in check or control oneself under provocation.
How ironic...
The real head scratcher, though, was her statement about how the people that wrote the Constitution worked tirelessly to end slavery. Um....Michele? THEY OWNED SLAVES!!!!
It would be OK to excuse this if she was just another fringe person spouting lunacy but this woman is the head of a very large and powerful caucus in the United States House of Representatives. She has won her district three elections in a row with record contributions from around the country. She is a leader of the conservative movement with many supporters and has been dubbed the head of the Tea Party.
Are you kidding me?!!?
Delusions are not opinions, folks. Our history is filled with a lot of good, a lot of bad, and a whole lot of ugly. To put this kind of spin on it goes beyond batshit. It's irresponsible. People look up to our leaders and trust that they will be competent enough to use our history as a learning tool. Her view of US History is destructive. Pure and simple.
I truly hope this means people will stop listening to her.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Unhijacking The Founding Fathers
Usually I put up a Bill Maher final New Rule without comment but this one needs a second audio track. How about we start with...It's about time someone did this!
For too long, conservatives and libertarians have cloaked themselves in the founding fathers and the Constitution. Much like they interpret the Bible (my way or a lake of hellfire for you), their view of the formation of this country is filled with delusions. Maher points out one of these when he describes Glenn Beck's propensity to dress up like Thomas Paine. In fact, if you want to know how close Glenn Beck is to playing with his own poo, read his 'version' of Common Sense. As I mentioned the other day, events that took place in the latter half of the 18th century have an historical context. Paine's Common Sense was written from the point of view of someone taxed by a monarch. Barack Obama is not King George III. This is going to be one of my new mantras, b to the w.
The other thing that Bill points out in this commentary is yet another sad (and tragic) making of a myth. Take a look at the photo at left. Somehow this image is historically accurate for a large segment of our country. There are a couple of my regular readers who have said as much in comments. The image here is so far from reality that I can't help but call it for what it is.
It's a child's fairy tale.
Many of you will jump to the conclusion that I am being mean or snarky. Quite the contrary. That's Maher's job. Mine is one of profound frustration and great sadness. The founding fathers were products of the Age of Enlightenment and the big ones (Washington, Paine, Jefferson, Franklin, Adams, Madison, Monroe) were Deists. Paine and Jefferson believed in the teachings of the morality of Christ and did not believe that he was holy nor resurrected. But somehow, through a very sad delusion, they were conservative and would've tarred and feathered any liberal or progressive. This is a sad perception that honestly causes so many problems that they are too numerous to list here.
Maher has some pretty great quotes from our founding fathers in this clip that more or less prove that, if they were around today, it's pretty clear that Sarah Palin would be accusing them of blood libel.
For too long, conservatives and libertarians have cloaked themselves in the founding fathers and the Constitution. Much like they interpret the Bible (my way or a lake of hellfire for you), their view of the formation of this country is filled with delusions. Maher points out one of these when he describes Glenn Beck's propensity to dress up like Thomas Paine. In fact, if you want to know how close Glenn Beck is to playing with his own poo, read his 'version' of Common Sense. As I mentioned the other day, events that took place in the latter half of the 18th century have an historical context. Paine's Common Sense was written from the point of view of someone taxed by a monarch. Barack Obama is not King George III. This is going to be one of my new mantras, b to the w.
The other thing that Bill points out in this commentary is yet another sad (and tragic) making of a myth. Take a look at the photo at left. Somehow this image is historically accurate for a large segment of our country. There are a couple of my regular readers who have said as much in comments. The image here is so far from reality that I can't help but call it for what it is.It's a child's fairy tale.
Many of you will jump to the conclusion that I am being mean or snarky. Quite the contrary. That's Maher's job. Mine is one of profound frustration and great sadness. The founding fathers were products of the Age of Enlightenment and the big ones (Washington, Paine, Jefferson, Franklin, Adams, Madison, Monroe) were Deists. Paine and Jefferson believed in the teachings of the morality of Christ and did not believe that he was holy nor resurrected. But somehow, through a very sad delusion, they were conservative and would've tarred and feathered any liberal or progressive. This is a sad perception that honestly causes so many problems that they are too numerous to list here.
Maher has some pretty great quotes from our founding fathers in this clip that more or less prove that, if they were around today, it's pretty clear that Sarah Palin would be accusing them of blood libel.
Sunday, January 09, 2011
Consequences
"I'll tell you who should be tortured and killed at Guantanamo -- every filthy Democrat in the U.S. Congress." (Sean Hannity)
"I tell people don't kill all the liberals. Leave enough so we can have two on every campus -- living fossils -- so we will never forget what these people stood for." (Rush Limbaugh)
"My only regret with Timothy McVeigh is he did not go to the New York Times building." (Ann Coulter)
“I didn’t think I could hate victims faster than the 9/11 victims.” - (Glenn Beck)
"To fight only the al-Qaeda scum is to miss the terrorist network operating within our own borders ... Who are these traitors? Every rotten radical left-winger in this country, that's who." (Michael Savage)
"We are past the time for reasoned discourse" (said several times on The Smallest Minority by various posters and the site owner himself)
"I tell people don't kill all the liberals. Leave enough so we can have two on every campus -- living fossils -- so we will never forget what these people stood for." (Rush Limbaugh)
"My only regret with Timothy McVeigh is he did not go to the New York Times building." (Ann Coulter)
“I didn’t think I could hate victims faster than the 9/11 victims.” - (Glenn Beck)
"To fight only the al-Qaeda scum is to miss the terrorist network operating within our own borders ... Who are these traitors? Every rotten radical left-winger in this country, that's who." (Michael Savage)
"We are past the time for reasoned discourse" (said several times on The Smallest Minority by various posters and the site owner himself)
It's not legal to yell "Fire!" in a crowded theater. And the theater is currently filled with a lot of pissed off and paranoid wingnuts.
Saturday, January 08, 2011
Front Loading
Nikto has a post going up tomorrow that needs a little front loading. And it just so happens that it's also a "voice inside my head."
"The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama's 'death panel' so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their 'level of productivity in society,' whether they are worthy of health care. Such a system is downright evil." –-Sarah Palin, in a message posted on Facebook about Obama's health care plan, Aug. 7, 2009
"The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama's 'death panel' so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their 'level of productivity in society,' whether they are worthy of health care. Such a system is downright evil." –-Sarah Palin, in a message posted on Facebook about Obama's health care plan, Aug. 7, 2009
Nikto will be explaining how this is an outright lie. For today, though, we can take note of yet another leader of the conservative movement demonstrating a monumental lack of responsibility. More importantly, this is not a voice inside of my head. She said this. Millions of people believed her....so much so that our health care legislation did not contain a public option.
We see comments like this come every day from major conservative leaders. They are more outlandish with the fear peddling every day. I can promise all of you that if they stop making comments like this, I'll stop having arguments with "the voices inside my head."
Friday, January 07, 2011
Voices "In My Head"
So, we'll try again, because ALL of you lamebrain lefties could really learn something if you would simply read it (repeatedly if necessary).
----juris imprudent in comments.
"Good for you, you have a heart, you can be a liberal. Now, couple your heart with your brain, and you can be a conservative."
----juris imprudent in comments.
Democrats should “stay home on Election Day… for the sake of the nation.”
"Good for you, you have a heart, you can be a liberal. Now, couple your heart with your brain, and you can be a conservative."
Wednesday, January 05, 2011
Voices in My Head
In this post and the one below it, you will notice a new tag that we will be seeing from time to time. "Voices Inside My Head" refers to a few of my readers who are under the mistaken impression that conservatives/ libertarians don't actually say the things they say and that I make it all up due to voices in my head. Or a straw man argument. Or some other logical fallacy. Or maybe it's bad chili. I can never keep it straight.
We aren't as gullible as the Democratic base who sop up stupid as a rule.
This was written by 6Kings in comments in a ROTFLMFAO attempt to prove that Nikto's comment about how change, to the Right, is like Kryptonite. Hmm....
"Who are you going to believe?" they ask," me or your lyin' ears?" Well, the answer is my lyin' ears because, starting today, you will be able to click on the tag and see all the posts with direct quotes from those very same conservatives and libertarians. Some may be in politics, some may be my family, and some will be pulled from comments...like this one.
We aren't as gullible as the Democratic base who sop up stupid as a rule.
This was written by 6Kings in comments in a ROTFLMFAO attempt to prove that Nikto's comment about how change, to the Right, is like Kryptonite. Hmm....
So, enjoy the "Voices Inside My Head" as it will be sticking around for awhile.
Relax.
To many of you, this image is a soothing as the softs sounds of the ocean as it gently laps up on the shore a mere 100 feet from your bungalow on the beach. "That bitch in the House," as my uncle Bill so fondly put it on several occasions, has finally been deposed. The Wicked Witch of the West has been sent packing, folks, and a MAN is back in charge again. No more vaginas telling us what we can and can't do...praise the Lord!
And John Boehner is not just any man. He has name that sticks out loud and proud. It's a hard fucking cock that won't let anyone mess with it. Best of all, it's white just like its owner.
So have no fear, old white men of America, there's finally someone to stop that "anti colonial Kenyan" (© Newt Gingrich) in the White House. Actually, what am I saying? There's always someone to be afraid of, right?
It is the federal government after all...
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