Sunday, September 29, 2013
Good Words
“Manufacturers, who listening to the powerful invitations of a better price for their fabrics, or their labor, of greater cheapness of provisions and raw materials, of an exemption from the chief part of the taxes burdens and restraints, which they endure in the old world, of greater personal independence and consequence, under the operation of a more equal government, and of what is far more precious than mere religious toleration–a perfect equality of religious privileges; would probably flock from Europe to the United States to pursue their own trades or professions, if they were once made sensible of the advantages they would enjoy, and were inspired with an assurance of encouragement and employment, will, with difficulty, be induced to transplant themselves, with a view to becoming cultivators of the land.”
~Alexander Hamilton: Report on the Subject of Manufacturers December 5,
1791
Republican Type #2
The next type of conservative (and the best description of a few of my commenters). I'd add in that these are also "Right Wing Blogger" Republicans.
Fox News and Conservative Talk Radio Republicans:
This is one of the angriest groups of Republicans. They watch Fox News or listen to conservative talk radio and they think it makes them an expert on politics. The only knowledge they have of politics are parroted talking points without any facts to back them up. When you defeat them in debate, they will resort to calling you names like “liberal,” “commie,” “socialist”; “baby-killer,” etc. They think all liberals are socialists who want to take their money and give it to people who don’t deserve it.
The problem with this type of Republican’s views:
They have no idea what they are talking about. Usually they’re just repeating things they’ve heard from Fox News or Rush Limbaugh. They think that liberals want to take away their freedoms and they clearly don’t know what the word “liberal” means, or what liberals have contributed to our country and our freedoms. They think President Obama is comparable to Hitler for passing healthcare reform. They accuse you of watching MSNBC if you don’t agree with them. They call you a sheep but expect you to blindly believe everything they tell you, without question.
What to remember when debating them:
Keep demanding facts from them to back up their assertions until they break down and call you any of the aforementioned names. Ask them to name specific freedoms that liberals have taken away from them. They have a tendency to become violent so watch their hands if you are debating them face to face.
Fox News and Conservative Talk Radio Republicans:
This is one of the angriest groups of Republicans. They watch Fox News or listen to conservative talk radio and they think it makes them an expert on politics. The only knowledge they have of politics are parroted talking points without any facts to back them up. When you defeat them in debate, they will resort to calling you names like “liberal,” “commie,” “socialist”; “baby-killer,” etc. They think all liberals are socialists who want to take their money and give it to people who don’t deserve it.
The problem with this type of Republican’s views:
They have no idea what they are talking about. Usually they’re just repeating things they’ve heard from Fox News or Rush Limbaugh. They think that liberals want to take away their freedoms and they clearly don’t know what the word “liberal” means, or what liberals have contributed to our country and our freedoms. They think President Obama is comparable to Hitler for passing healthcare reform. They accuse you of watching MSNBC if you don’t agree with them. They call you a sheep but expect you to blindly believe everything they tell you, without question.
What to remember when debating them:
Keep demanding facts from them to back up their assertions until they break down and call you any of the aforementioned names. Ask them to name specific freedoms that liberals have taken away from them. They have a tendency to become violent so watch their hands if you are debating them face to face.
Children and Guns
Absolutely fantastic piece in the Times today about children and guns. Very illustrative about how statistics lie.
A New York Times review of hundreds of child firearm deaths found that accidental shootings occurred roughly twice as often as the records indicate, because of idiosyncrasies in how such deaths are classified by the authorities. The killings of Lucas, Cassie and Alex, for instance, were not recorded as accidents. Nor were more than half of the 259 accidental firearm deaths of children under age 15 identified by The Times in eight states where records were available.
Of course, this more or less ends the whole "Gun Free Zone" debate as well. Lift the perfectly legal ban on guns (see: Scalia, Heller, 54-55) in certain areas and you see more incidents like those described in this story. Compare the number of people (not just kids) that die in gun full zones with those that die in gun free zones. Discussion over.
The facts are very simple. There are many people in this country that are simply irresponsible and do not honor their right to bear arms appropriately. That's why we shouldn't let anyone who wants to carry a gun do so in a school, for example. Or even have a firearm to begin with if they are a convicted criminal or mentally ill.
This would be why I've told my kids that when we go to a house where there are firearms present (sadly, a few of my relatives) to be extra alert and vigilant for arrogant, gun owning parents who think they have trained their children just fine. They haven't. Their hubris (combined with heavy drinking and mental illness as is the case in a few of these homes) is exactly what causes accidents like these to happen.
A New York Times review of hundreds of child firearm deaths found that accidental shootings occurred roughly twice as often as the records indicate, because of idiosyncrasies in how such deaths are classified by the authorities. The killings of Lucas, Cassie and Alex, for instance, were not recorded as accidents. Nor were more than half of the 259 accidental firearm deaths of children under age 15 identified by The Times in eight states where records were available.
Of course, this more or less ends the whole "Gun Free Zone" debate as well. Lift the perfectly legal ban on guns (see: Scalia, Heller, 54-55) in certain areas and you see more incidents like those described in this story. Compare the number of people (not just kids) that die in gun full zones with those that die in gun free zones. Discussion over.
The facts are very simple. There are many people in this country that are simply irresponsible and do not honor their right to bear arms appropriately. That's why we shouldn't let anyone who wants to carry a gun do so in a school, for example. Or even have a firearm to begin with if they are a convicted criminal or mentally ill.
This would be why I've told my kids that when we go to a house where there are firearms present (sadly, a few of my relatives) to be extra alert and vigilant for arrogant, gun owning parents who think they have trained their children just fine. They haven't. Their hubris (combined with heavy drinking and mental illness as is the case in a few of these homes) is exactly what causes accidents like these to happen.
Saturday, September 28, 2013
Cheerleading California
Bill Maher tells quite a different story from all the griping I hear from conservatives about California. I wonder why. Could it be that the things he says in this video are true? Crap. Now what? Quick! Time to make up some bullshit!
Republican Type #1
Matthew Desmond over at Addicting Info has put up an hilarious typography of conservatives and how to debate them. Here is the first one.
The Educated Republicans:
These are the rarest of all Republicans. Occasionally you will run into one in public or in a public forum online. These Republicans can be the most difficult to deal with. They have learned everything there is to know about their position… from a Republican perspective. They’ve educated themselves on all the reasons why their position is correct, and are not concerned with anything that contradicts their beliefs.
The problem with this type of Republican’s views:
Anyone with the Internet and five minutes can find something that thoroughly discredits their version of the “facts.” Even when confronted with contradictory facts, they continue to fall back on their original arguments; try to change the subject to something they are more comfortable talking about, or start expressing opinions with no factual merit.
What to remember when debating them: Keep them on-topic. Don’t let them ignore your counterpoints and then change the subject on you. They’re masters of that, but if you can keep them on topic, eventually they will just start expressing opinions to which you can say “do you have any facts to back that up?”
The Educated Republicans:
These are the rarest of all Republicans. Occasionally you will run into one in public or in a public forum online. These Republicans can be the most difficult to deal with. They have learned everything there is to know about their position… from a Republican perspective. They’ve educated themselves on all the reasons why their position is correct, and are not concerned with anything that contradicts their beliefs.
The problem with this type of Republican’s views:
Anyone with the Internet and five minutes can find something that thoroughly discredits their version of the “facts.” Even when confronted with contradictory facts, they continue to fall back on their original arguments; try to change the subject to something they are more comfortable talking about, or start expressing opinions with no factual merit.
What to remember when debating them: Keep them on-topic. Don’t let them ignore your counterpoints and then change the subject on you. They’re masters of that, but if you can keep them on topic, eventually they will just start expressing opinions to which you can say “do you have any facts to back that up?”
Good Words
“When a religion is good, I conceive it will support itself; and when it does not support itself, and God does not take care to support it so that its professors are obligated to call for help of the civil power, it’s a sign, I apprehend, of its being a bad one.”
~Benjamin Franklin, letter to Richard Price, October 9, 1780
IPCC Report Findings
The IPCC released its fifth assessment yesterday and, as expected, found that it is extremely likely (95 percent) that humans are causing climate change. It's key findings:
— Global warming is "unequivocal," and since the 1950's it's "extremely likely" that human activities have been the dominant cause of the temperature rise.
— Concentrations of CO2 and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere have increased to levels that are unprecedented in at least 800,000 years. The burning of fossil fuels is the main reason behind a 40 percent increase in C02 concentrations since the industrial revolution.
— Global temperatures are likely to rise by 0.3 to 4.8 degrees C, or 0.5-8.6 F, by the end of the century depending on how much governments control carbon emissions.
— Most aspects of climate change will continue for many centuries even if CO2 emissions are stopped.
— Sea levels are expected to rise a further 10-32 inches (26-82 centimeters) by the end of the century.
— The Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets have been losing mass over the past two decades. Glaciers have continued to melt almost all over the world. Arctic sea ice has shrunk and spring snow cover has continued to decrease, and it is "very likely" that this will continue.
— It's "virtually certain" that the upper ocean has warmed from 1971 to 2010. The ocean will continue to warm this century, with heat penetrating from the surface to the deep ocean.
All of this means we need to take action now to avert the various international stability issues that are going to arise as a result of these facts. Whatever money we invest now in reducing emissions will be paltry compared to how much we are going to spend in the next century on dealing with the fallout.
Naturally, the Church of the Climate Deniers are raging in full mouth foam (complete with tin foil hat) about how they are going to be controlled by some sort of secret cadre of New World Order folks. Sadly, they fail to note the number of new markets this could create, the innovation that will occur (most of which will likely come from our country), and ultimately the amount of money to be made from this technology. That latter is what is finally going to get them to come around.
The link above contains quite a bit of data and research for you scientists to pour over. Check it out!
— Global warming is "unequivocal," and since the 1950's it's "extremely likely" that human activities have been the dominant cause of the temperature rise.
— Concentrations of CO2 and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere have increased to levels that are unprecedented in at least 800,000 years. The burning of fossil fuels is the main reason behind a 40 percent increase in C02 concentrations since the industrial revolution.
— Global temperatures are likely to rise by 0.3 to 4.8 degrees C, or 0.5-8.6 F, by the end of the century depending on how much governments control carbon emissions.
— Most aspects of climate change will continue for many centuries even if CO2 emissions are stopped.
— Sea levels are expected to rise a further 10-32 inches (26-82 centimeters) by the end of the century.
— The Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets have been losing mass over the past two decades. Glaciers have continued to melt almost all over the world. Arctic sea ice has shrunk and spring snow cover has continued to decrease, and it is "very likely" that this will continue.
— It's "virtually certain" that the upper ocean has warmed from 1971 to 2010. The ocean will continue to warm this century, with heat penetrating from the surface to the deep ocean.
All of this means we need to take action now to avert the various international stability issues that are going to arise as a result of these facts. Whatever money we invest now in reducing emissions will be paltry compared to how much we are going to spend in the next century on dealing with the fallout.
Naturally, the Church of the Climate Deniers are raging in full mouth foam (complete with tin foil hat) about how they are going to be controlled by some sort of secret cadre of New World Order folks. Sadly, they fail to note the number of new markets this could create, the innovation that will occur (most of which will likely come from our country), and ultimately the amount of money to be made from this technology. That latter is what is finally going to get them to come around.
The link above contains quite a bit of data and research for you scientists to pour over. Check it out!
Good Words
“It is only when the people become ignorant and corrupt, when they degenerate into a populace, that they are incapable of exercising the sovereignty. Usurpation is then an easy attainment, and an usurper soon found. The people themselves become the willing instruments of their own debasement and ruin. Let us, then, look to the great cause, and endeavor to preserve it in full force. Let us by all wise and constitutional measures promote intelligence among the people as the best means of preserving our liberties.”
~James Monroe, First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1817
Friday, September 27, 2013
Good Words
“Strongly guarded as is the separation between Religion and Government in the Constitution of the United States, the danger of encroachment by Ecclesiastical Bodies, may be illustrated by precedents already furnished in their short history.”
~James Madison; Monopolies, Perpetuities, Corporations, EcclesiasticalEndowments
A Tough Day for Extremists
During a number of interviews on his stateside trip, Hassan Rouhani has made many bold statements regarding the future of Iran and its place in the world. But the one that has everyone buzzing is his description of the Holocaust as a “crime that the Nazis committed towards the Jews” He went further, calling it “reprehensible and condemnable.”
It's always special when a religious extremist can admit reality. I'm forever holding out hope that our own American Taliban can begin doing that (although I'm certainly not holding my breath). But this admittance is clearly the result of Iran feeling the pressure from the rest of the world in terms of sanctions. Of course, his statements will obviously send the extremists in his own country into full mouth foam. How dare he admit that the Jews were not at fault for something?
And our own moonbats here in the US probably ran screaming to their pillow for a long sob. What is the world coming to when all the bestest bad guys start acting all nice and shit?
Ah well, time to go demonize the liberals again. Look out! They're trying to steal our guns!!
It's always special when a religious extremist can admit reality. I'm forever holding out hope that our own American Taliban can begin doing that (although I'm certainly not holding my breath). But this admittance is clearly the result of Iran feeling the pressure from the rest of the world in terms of sanctions. Of course, his statements will obviously send the extremists in his own country into full mouth foam. How dare he admit that the Jews were not at fault for something?
And our own moonbats here in the US probably ran screaming to their pillow for a long sob. What is the world coming to when all the bestest bad guys start acting all nice and shit?
Ah well, time to go demonize the liberals again. Look out! They're trying to steal our guns!!
Good Words
“Every new and successful example of a perfect separation between ecclesiastical and civil matters is of importance.”
~James Madison, letter, 1822
Thursday, September 26, 2013
The End of the Lying
With the Affordable Care Act set to open the exchanges and, for the most part, fully roll out next week, I thought I would put up a post with several links that essentially dispel all the lying that is going on about the new law. The Right knows that once the law rolls out and begins to work, any last vestiges of their relevance will fall away completely. What will they do when the federal government does something that works for Americans? So, they are being completely dishonest and far too many people are believing the bullshit.
The first place to stop is the White House web site itself, specifically the myths and facts section. There you will find the lies that your weird uncle with titties has been foaming at the mouth over since the law has passed juxtaposed with the actual facts of the new law. Perhaps after seeing reality he might just storm off to purchase his 20th gun and leave you alone. This site also contains a state by state look at the new premiums. Click on your state to see how much lower your premiums are going to be.
Factcheck is also a great source to sift through the BS and see what is really going on with the ACA. Politifact has frequent updates as well. Here is a link to their Top 16 myths about the law.
Wendell Potter, insurance industry whistleblower, has put up a couple of posts recently that are most excellent torpedoes of the false information flying around, courtesy of the Right.
Bill Keller put out a good piece last year on his top five favorite lies.
It might take a little time for these myths to fall away but their demise will be coming soon to a theater near you once the impoverished people in the many red states (the ones that are letting the government run the exchanges) begin to feel the benefits of the law.
Who will be left to listen to their psychotic ideology?
The first place to stop is the White House web site itself, specifically the myths and facts section. There you will find the lies that your weird uncle with titties has been foaming at the mouth over since the law has passed juxtaposed with the actual facts of the new law. Perhaps after seeing reality he might just storm off to purchase his 20th gun and leave you alone. This site also contains a state by state look at the new premiums. Click on your state to see how much lower your premiums are going to be.
Factcheck is also a great source to sift through the BS and see what is really going on with the ACA. Politifact has frequent updates as well. Here is a link to their Top 16 myths about the law.
Wendell Potter, insurance industry whistleblower, has put up a couple of posts recently that are most excellent torpedoes of the false information flying around, courtesy of the Right.
Bill Keller put out a good piece last year on his top five favorite lies.
It might take a little time for these myths to fall away but their demise will be coming soon to a theater near you once the impoverished people in the many red states (the ones that are letting the government run the exchanges) begin to feel the benefits of the law.
Who will be left to listen to their psychotic ideology?
It's Official
Well, it had to happen. Our nation has become so fucking stupid with guns that we now have this.
Iowa grants gun permits to the blind
What's next? Guns for epileptics?
They are going to keep going farther and farther until it gobbles up their asses, aren't they?
Iowa grants gun permits to the blind
What's next? Guns for epileptics?
They are going to keep going farther and farther until it gobbles up their asses, aren't they?
Good Words
“And I have no doubt that every new example will succeed, as every past one has done, in showing that religion & Govt will both exist in greater purity, the less they are mixed together.”
~James Madison, letter to Edward Livingston, July 10, 1822
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Good Words
“The civil government functions with complete success by the total separation of the Church from the State.”
~James Madison, 1819, Writings, 8:432, quoted from Gene Garman, “Essays In Addition to America’s Real Religion”
Calling All Science BuffS!
If science is something you enjoy learning about but also a tad overwhelming, you should check out Phil Plait's Welcome to Science cartoons. Even if you are not a comic geek like me, these pieces are just plain fun and insightful. Phil is a regular contributor to Slate.com with his Bad Astronomy posts which I also recommend checking out on a regular basis.
Thanks Ted!
Ted Cruz is currently providing the nation (and the Democrats in 2014 and 2016) with some fantastic material in his fakebuster on the Senate Floor. He's over 20 hours at this point and his remarks serve as an excellent illustration of how the Right is completely fucking nuts.
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