With seven million people working for the federal government, I'm surprised that we don't here more stories about government fuck ups and hare brained schemes similar to what we have seen in the last few days with the IRS and the Department of Justice. Honestly, it's fundamental sociology. Anytime you increase the number of people from 2 to 3 in any sort of situation, there are going to problems. Infighting, conspiracies, jealousy, and unlawful competition are just a few of the many problems that arise in any group of people. Imagine what sorts of issues seven million people bring to the table let alone trying to keep track of all of them. Why on earth would anyone want to be president? Simply by design, one would know very little about what goes on yet expected to take all of the blame.
This is truly the problem of "big government." Conservatives make the mistake and think that the government acts like a monolith, organized to an evil, Big Brother like perfection. That is completely false. In reality, the government is made up of hundreds of mini-kingdoms who all war with one another and behave in criminal fashion. With these latest two scandals in IRS and the Department of Justice, this fundamental truth will reveal itself.
The IRS story is the one that is really going to hurt, not just the president and the Democrats but the view of the federal government in general (as if it needed any more bad press!) Targeting only conservative groups is simply illegal and shameful. Those involved should be fired as quickly as possible but even then this one is going to linger for a long time.
The AP story will go away fairly quickly because conservatives hate the media and love national security. This whole thing was born out of desire to uncover who was leaking classified information, another thing hated by conservatives (exception: libertarians).We simply don't have enough information at this point to call for Eric Holder's head, although this fact alone would be a highly motivating principle for conservatives to stick around.
The good news for the president? I'd say this is pretty much the end of the non-scandal of Benghazi. That's not really saying much because the IRS story is going to seriously impede the immigration bill, budget talks, and a renewed look at a gun bill. Along with everyone else, I'm interested to see what information will be uncovered over the next few weeks.
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Monday, May 13, 2013
A Lesson Learned
The video below completely demolishes every pro gun argument I have ever heard and shows it to be exactly what it is: a paranoid fantasy.
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Mother Earth
It's Mother's Day and I thought I'd giver a shout out to Mother Earth. Recent data from the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration shows that we have now reached the milestone of 400ppm of CO2 in the atmosphere and I'm wondering if people are finally going to start to wake up.
Thankfully, the Department of Defense has been alert for awhile. Here are a few tidbits of what we have to look forward to regarding climate change.
• First, climate change will shape the operating environment, roles, and missions that the Department undertakes. It may have significant geopolitical impacts around the world, contributing to greater competition for more limited and critical life-sustaining resources like food and water. While the effects of climate change alone do not cause conflict, they may act as accelerants of instability or conflict in parts of the world. Climate change may also lead to increased demands for defense support to civil authorities for humanitarian assistance or disaster response, both within the United States and overseas.
• Second, DoD will need to adjust to the impacts of climate change on its facilities, infrastructure, training and testing activities, and military capabilities. DoD’s operational readiness hinges on continued access to land, air, and sea training and test space, all of which are subject to the effects of climate change.
Grim, indeed and we can already see it happening. Yet the good news is that we can affect change and reverse our course by simply changing the grazing habits of cattle.
When all is said and done, the end result is what counts. Environmentalist Bill McKibben observes, "Done right, some studies suggest, this method of raising cattle could put much of the atmosphere's oversupply of greenhouse gases back in the soil inside half a century. That means shifting from feedlot farming to rotational grazing is one of the few changes we could make that's on the same scale as the problem of global warming."
Not only could we stop loading up the atmosphere with CO2 but we could actually put it back in the soil within 50 years. Here is the full TED talk by Dr. Savory
The new milestone of 400ppm in our atmosphere should be the red line in the sand. If we implement these changes along with a gradual shift to renewable energy, the future detailed by the DoD will not come to pass. It's time to start taking care of Mother Earth.
Thankfully, the Department of Defense has been alert for awhile. Here are a few tidbits of what we have to look forward to regarding climate change.
• First, climate change will shape the operating environment, roles, and missions that the Department undertakes. It may have significant geopolitical impacts around the world, contributing to greater competition for more limited and critical life-sustaining resources like food and water. While the effects of climate change alone do not cause conflict, they may act as accelerants of instability or conflict in parts of the world. Climate change may also lead to increased demands for defense support to civil authorities for humanitarian assistance or disaster response, both within the United States and overseas.
• Second, DoD will need to adjust to the impacts of climate change on its facilities, infrastructure, training and testing activities, and military capabilities. DoD’s operational readiness hinges on continued access to land, air, and sea training and test space, all of which are subject to the effects of climate change.
Grim, indeed and we can already see it happening. Yet the good news is that we can affect change and reverse our course by simply changing the grazing habits of cattle.
When all is said and done, the end result is what counts. Environmentalist Bill McKibben observes, "Done right, some studies suggest, this method of raising cattle could put much of the atmosphere's oversupply of greenhouse gases back in the soil inside half a century. That means shifting from feedlot farming to rotational grazing is one of the few changes we could make that's on the same scale as the problem of global warming."
Not only could we stop loading up the atmosphere with CO2 but we could actually put it back in the soil within 50 years. Here is the full TED talk by Dr. Savory
The new milestone of 400ppm in our atmosphere should be the red line in the sand. If we implement these changes along with a gradual shift to renewable energy, the future detailed by the DoD will not come to pass. It's time to start taking care of Mother Earth.
Saturday, May 11, 2013
Friday, May 10, 2013
The Obsessives
I've been saying for quite some time now that the Right's obsession with the deficit and the debt is detrimental to our economy. Apparently, everyone agrees now that this is the case. By "everyone," I mean the people who live outside of the bubble and actually deal with economic and financial matters on a daily basis.
Example #1
“Fiscal tightening is hurting,” Ian Shepherdson, chief economist of Pantheon Macroeconomic Advisors, wrote to clients recently. The investment bank Jefferies wrote of “ongoing fiscal mismanagement” in its midyear report on Tuesday, and noted that while the recovery and expansion would be four years old next month, reduced government spending “has detracted from growth in five of past seven quarters.”
Agreed. The article details how unemployment would likely be around 6.5 percent and quarterly growth between 3 and 4 percent as opposed to the 2 percent we are at right now.
Example #2
The Federal Open Market Committee, which sets policy for the central bank, noted signs of improvement in the private sector last week in a statement. “But fiscal policy is restraining economic growth,” it added, echoing public comments that Ben S. Bernanke, the Fed chairman, has made for months. In April, the International Monetary Fund said the United States would achieve further growth “in the face of a very strong, indeed overly strong, fiscal consolidation.”
Again, US fiscal policy is restraining growth. One would almost think that the Right doesn't want the president to succeed. Hmm....
Example #3
“Whenever I talk to our customers or clients, they sort of brush off everything that’s related to fiscal policy,” Mr. Daco said. “The view is, ‘Oh, it doesn’t matter.’ That’s what I hear a lot.” “What we try to convey is that it does matter,” he said. “It is important in terms of growth. It’s also important in terms of confidence.” He noted that the economy was much stronger than Europe’s largely because the United States initially opted for stimulus measures and allowed deficits to increase when the recession and financial crisis hit five years ago. European governments pursued austerity policies to cut their debts, further stalling economic activity and in turn inflating deficits.
Isn't it time we did away with all this debt and deficit obsessiveness? It's all rooted in emotion anyway. The Right just doesn't like government spending. The only way they would embrace it is if Jesus himself came down and told them it was poor fiscal policy. And even then, I'd have to wonder....
Example #1
“Fiscal tightening is hurting,” Ian Shepherdson, chief economist of Pantheon Macroeconomic Advisors, wrote to clients recently. The investment bank Jefferies wrote of “ongoing fiscal mismanagement” in its midyear report on Tuesday, and noted that while the recovery and expansion would be four years old next month, reduced government spending “has detracted from growth in five of past seven quarters.”
Agreed. The article details how unemployment would likely be around 6.5 percent and quarterly growth between 3 and 4 percent as opposed to the 2 percent we are at right now.
Example #2
The Federal Open Market Committee, which sets policy for the central bank, noted signs of improvement in the private sector last week in a statement. “But fiscal policy is restraining economic growth,” it added, echoing public comments that Ben S. Bernanke, the Fed chairman, has made for months. In April, the International Monetary Fund said the United States would achieve further growth “in the face of a very strong, indeed overly strong, fiscal consolidation.”
Again, US fiscal policy is restraining growth. One would almost think that the Right doesn't want the president to succeed. Hmm....
Example #3
“Whenever I talk to our customers or clients, they sort of brush off everything that’s related to fiscal policy,” Mr. Daco said. “The view is, ‘Oh, it doesn’t matter.’ That’s what I hear a lot.” “What we try to convey is that it does matter,” he said. “It is important in terms of growth. It’s also important in terms of confidence.” He noted that the economy was much stronger than Europe’s largely because the United States initially opted for stimulus measures and allowed deficits to increase when the recession and financial crisis hit five years ago. European governments pursued austerity policies to cut their debts, further stalling economic activity and in turn inflating deficits.
Isn't it time we did away with all this debt and deficit obsessiveness? It's all rooted in emotion anyway. The Right just doesn't like government spending. The only way they would embrace it is if Jesus himself came down and told them it was poor fiscal policy. And even then, I'd have to wonder....
Maybe A Different Spokesman?
In looking at the new NRA President, Jim Porter, one has to wonder why they are sticking with the "old, fat, bigoted paranoid white guy" image considering how that really has not worked in the last few elections.
Thursday, May 09, 2013
The Epitome of Appeal To Fear
Like Mr. Parkman in the video below, when I first saw the ad for the "Obamacare Survival Guide," I could not believe how deeply the Right had fallen into the logical fallacy of Appeal to Fear. Unlike him, however, I spent several minutes laughing my ass off.
Of course, that didn't sit too well with the militant looking individual behind the counter at Firestone where I was getting new tires. He was glued to Fox News (where the ad aired) like a true believer on a Sunday. He glared at me and asked, "What's not true about the ad?" I started to tick off the list and as the facts spilled out, he acted more and more like a 5th grade boy. By the time my new tires were on, he had proceeded to warn me of how Obama was destroying the economy and civil war was imminent.
Oh, and he also told me that Kim Jong-un was going to launch a nuclear missile at the United States. He knew this because he served in the military in South Korea. This was about a month ago and, as of yet, no missile.
Anyway, Mr. Parkman's analysis here is spot on.
Of course, that didn't sit too well with the militant looking individual behind the counter at Firestone where I was getting new tires. He was glued to Fox News (where the ad aired) like a true believer on a Sunday. He glared at me and asked, "What's not true about the ad?" I started to tick off the list and as the facts spilled out, he acted more and more like a 5th grade boy. By the time my new tires were on, he had proceeded to warn me of how Obama was destroying the economy and civil war was imminent.
Oh, and he also told me that Kim Jong-un was going to launch a nuclear missile at the United States. He knew this because he served in the military in South Korea. This was about a month ago and, as of yet, no missile.
Anyway, Mr. Parkman's analysis here is spot on.
Wednesday, May 08, 2013
Modern-Day Caligulas
The Roman emperor Caligula was notorious for his debauchery: he hosted orgies, turned the palace into a brothel, killed for amusement, and supposedly appointed his horse to the Senate of Rome.
Well, the people of South Carolina have done Caligula one better: they elected a horse's ass to the United States House of Representatives. Tuesday South Carolinians elected Mark Sanford in a special election to replace the congressman who was appointed to fill Jim DeMint's seat in the Senate.
Sanford was almost as notorious as Caligula: he conducted a years-long affair with a South American hottie, spent state money to see her, and told his staff he was hiking the Appalachian Trail when he was really seeing his mistress in Argentina. When caught he blathered about soul mates at press conferences and in TV interviews. His wife divorced him in short order after this most embarrassing and public betrayal, yet he had the gall to ask her to run his campaign when the House seat opened up earlier this year (he said he'd pay her this time!). He violated a court order keeping him off his ex-wife's property multiple times (he just admitted guilt and settled the complaint today). Even the national Republican Congressional Campaign Committee withdrew their support.
In short, Mark Sanford represents everything Republicans claim to hate: he violated the sanctity of his marital vows, he's a liar, a cheat, he stole state money, he shredded every bit of his dignity in the national spotlight, he eviscerated his own manhood with his weepy pronouncements, and he made South Carolina a mockery and the butt of endless jokes.
Dozens of elected officials have resigned from the House of Representatives for far more minor offenses, including numerous Republicans for extra-marital affairs, and even relatively tame offenses such as inappropriate Internet postings like Anthony Weiner tweeting pics of his weiner.
Yet South Carolinians have just elected a man who has no shred of dignity or shame. The crazy thing is, these people had a choice! Sanford had 16 opponents in the first Republican primary held a few months ago, but he survived that handily and Republican voters picked him in the runoff!
There's been a great deal of debate about Caligula's appointment of his horse to the Senate. Some say he was crazy, but others say he was simply showing his low opinion of the Senate.
Do the people of South Carolina hold the House of Representatives in such low regard that they elected an adulterer, a liar and a cheat? Did they elect him because their moral and ethical standards are as low as his? Did they elect him simply because they heard his name before? Did they elect him out of spite for the rest of the country?
Or did they elect him because he's a good old boy in the Republican money machine and all that talk about morals and ethics and responsibility is just a standard line of BS, and the Republican Party is just another criminal organization like the mafia where the currencies of power are loyalty, intimidation and violence?
My money is on the last.
From now on, any time a Republican starts talking about "character" and "Republican Party" in the same sentence, just saying "Mark Sanford" should shut them right up.
One thing is for sure: Mark Sanford will embarrass South Carolina many times again.
Well, the people of South Carolina have done Caligula one better: they elected a horse's ass to the United States House of Representatives. Tuesday South Carolinians elected Mark Sanford in a special election to replace the congressman who was appointed to fill Jim DeMint's seat in the Senate.
Sanford was almost as notorious as Caligula: he conducted a years-long affair with a South American hottie, spent state money to see her, and told his staff he was hiking the Appalachian Trail when he was really seeing his mistress in Argentina. When caught he blathered about soul mates at press conferences and in TV interviews. His wife divorced him in short order after this most embarrassing and public betrayal, yet he had the gall to ask her to run his campaign when the House seat opened up earlier this year (he said he'd pay her this time!). He violated a court order keeping him off his ex-wife's property multiple times (he just admitted guilt and settled the complaint today). Even the national Republican Congressional Campaign Committee withdrew their support.
In short, Mark Sanford represents everything Republicans claim to hate: he violated the sanctity of his marital vows, he's a liar, a cheat, he stole state money, he shredded every bit of his dignity in the national spotlight, he eviscerated his own manhood with his weepy pronouncements, and he made South Carolina a mockery and the butt of endless jokes.
Dozens of elected officials have resigned from the House of Representatives for far more minor offenses, including numerous Republicans for extra-marital affairs, and even relatively tame offenses such as inappropriate Internet postings like Anthony Weiner tweeting pics of his weiner.
Yet South Carolinians have just elected a man who has no shred of dignity or shame. The crazy thing is, these people had a choice! Sanford had 16 opponents in the first Republican primary held a few months ago, but he survived that handily and Republican voters picked him in the runoff!
There's been a great deal of debate about Caligula's appointment of his horse to the Senate. Some say he was crazy, but others say he was simply showing his low opinion of the Senate.
Do the people of South Carolina hold the House of Representatives in such low regard that they elected an adulterer, a liar and a cheat? Did they elect him because their moral and ethical standards are as low as his? Did they elect him simply because they heard his name before? Did they elect him out of spite for the rest of the country?
Or did they elect him because he's a good old boy in the Republican money machine and all that talk about morals and ethics and responsibility is just a standard line of BS, and the Republican Party is just another criminal organization like the mafia where the currencies of power are loyalty, intimidation and violence?
My money is on the last.
From now on, any time a Republican starts talking about "character" and "Republican Party" in the same sentence, just saying "Mark Sanford" should shut them right up.
One thing is for sure: Mark Sanford will embarrass South Carolina many times again.
More Benghazi Bluster
The Benghazi attacks have resurfaced again in the political world with the same ol' lines and tired reasoning. The mouth foaming about anti-Muslim videos, not using the word "terror," and not providing additional security remind us, once again, which party really embraces the credo "Do it again, only harder" (see also: the Affordable Care Act). Apparently, the Right needs a reminder again of a few key facts.
First, the attack in Benghazi was not on a US Embassy or a consulate. The official word is that it was a "diplomatic mission." In truth, it was a CIA listening station and that's why it was attacked. If you want to bitch about government secrets, that's fine but that means you can't move to crucify guys like Julian Assanges. There are secrets the government is keeping about this location and they have everything to do with why the word "terror" wasn't used and why additional security was not allowed there. The latter was also hampered by lack of funding, another fact that seems to have been conveniently forgotten.
Second, FORMER, not present, Navy SEALS were killed, along with Ambassador Chris Stevens. These men were private contractors working for the CIA. Be honest about this.
Third, this was an extremely destabilized area of the world, not on US soil. We had another attack on September 11th that was on US soil in which there was none of this "outrage" from the Right. Anyone remember that one? We've also had a few other attacks on consulates over the years that (hmmm...) were met with the sound of crickets.
Fourth, just admit that you're pissed off that the anti-Muslim video was brought into the mix because it reveals the rampant bigotry in your population of red faced miscreants. I love the "IT WASN'T THE VIDEO!!! IT WASN'T THE VIDEO!!!" screeches of desperate insecurity combined with the redirect on the president. Methinks thou protest too much...
I realize the Right is trying to find something to latch onto that will stick with the president but nothing is working. So, they keep going over the same ground because they can't find anything new. About time for another vote to repeal Obamacare, isn't it?
First, the attack in Benghazi was not on a US Embassy or a consulate. The official word is that it was a "diplomatic mission." In truth, it was a CIA listening station and that's why it was attacked. If you want to bitch about government secrets, that's fine but that means you can't move to crucify guys like Julian Assanges. There are secrets the government is keeping about this location and they have everything to do with why the word "terror" wasn't used and why additional security was not allowed there. The latter was also hampered by lack of funding, another fact that seems to have been conveniently forgotten.
Second, FORMER, not present, Navy SEALS were killed, along with Ambassador Chris Stevens. These men were private contractors working for the CIA. Be honest about this.
Third, this was an extremely destabilized area of the world, not on US soil. We had another attack on September 11th that was on US soil in which there was none of this "outrage" from the Right. Anyone remember that one? We've also had a few other attacks on consulates over the years that (hmmm...) were met with the sound of crickets.
Fourth, just admit that you're pissed off that the anti-Muslim video was brought into the mix because it reveals the rampant bigotry in your population of red faced miscreants. I love the "IT WASN'T THE VIDEO!!! IT WASN'T THE VIDEO!!!" screeches of desperate insecurity combined with the redirect on the president. Methinks thou protest too much...
I realize the Right is trying to find something to latch onto that will stick with the president but nothing is working. So, they keep going over the same ground because they can't find anything new. About time for another vote to repeal Obamacare, isn't it?
Tuesday, May 07, 2013
Charles Ramsey=Greatest Interview In Television History
This is the man that many across the nation are hailing as a hero today. His name is Charles Ramsey and he rescued three women in Cleveland who had been held hostage for more than a decade. Greatest interview EVER!
Miserable and Pathetic
I watched in complete wonder and awe at last weekend's annual NRA convention. I say that because I don't think I have ever seen a collection of more angry, hateful and paranoid people gathered in one place. Everyone is out to get them and they are eternally in a state of conflict. What a miserable and pathetic way to live your life. I'm nearly certain that many of the folks who fought hard for Manchin-Toomey and who still are fighting for changes to our gun laws felt beaten down after seeing the all the chest thumping and mouth foaming going on down in Houston last weekend. To those of you that do, I say this: the NRA is finished.
Their recent gathering demonstrated that they are going all in with one political party. They have more or less given up on the Democrats and have aligned themselves with the nutballs running the GOP today. Ultimately, this will prove to be a fatal error. Why? Because the GOP have a political agenda consisting of one belief: denying President Obama and the Democrats success. We've seen in the last several elections that only being the party of "No" is a loser. You have to stand for something.
The NRA used to stand for something and had broad support in both political parties. Heck, they used to even stand for universal background checks. Take a look at this...
WTF happened? Well, politics, along with business, did. The NRA knows that there are less people that own guns today than they did 20 years ago. They want those people to buy more guns and the only way to get them to do that is use the propaganda of fear, hatred, and anger. What better place to have a captured and ripe audience for this than the GOP in 2013.
The problem is that this demographic is shrinking and the NRA knows it. This is their last gasp to earn enough money to invest and live comfortably on a beach somewhere for the rest of their lives. There aren't very many younger people that own guns or are as fervent about this issue. Further, it's only a matter of time before the political head winds blow them over. The 80-90 percent of Americans who support universal background checks are going to remember this vote next year and in 2016 and it's not going to be good for many senators.
It's going to be even worse for them when another shooting happens, especially if the shooter purchased the guns at a place that would have had to require a background check under the new law. I'm betting that one of the next shootings is going to personal affect the gun community in such a horrific way that the paranoid bullshit will all finally be over.
Here's to hoping I'm wrong because I'm truly sick and tired of a collection of psychotic assholes putting the people I love at greater risk every day simply because they are riding the Randian high of a fevered, adolescent power fantasy that is clearly causing them to see and hear things that do not exist. Truly, we do not need any more senseless death from gun violence, particularly at this time when some of it could be mitigated by simply refining our gun laws.
Take heart, sensible people everywhere who don't see visions of government troops seizing your guns. It's only a matter of time now. Be patient...
Their recent gathering demonstrated that they are going all in with one political party. They have more or less given up on the Democrats and have aligned themselves with the nutballs running the GOP today. Ultimately, this will prove to be a fatal error. Why? Because the GOP have a political agenda consisting of one belief: denying President Obama and the Democrats success. We've seen in the last several elections that only being the party of "No" is a loser. You have to stand for something.
The NRA used to stand for something and had broad support in both political parties. Heck, they used to even stand for universal background checks. Take a look at this...
WTF happened? Well, politics, along with business, did. The NRA knows that there are less people that own guns today than they did 20 years ago. They want those people to buy more guns and the only way to get them to do that is use the propaganda of fear, hatred, and anger. What better place to have a captured and ripe audience for this than the GOP in 2013.
The problem is that this demographic is shrinking and the NRA knows it. This is their last gasp to earn enough money to invest and live comfortably on a beach somewhere for the rest of their lives. There aren't very many younger people that own guns or are as fervent about this issue. Further, it's only a matter of time before the political head winds blow them over. The 80-90 percent of Americans who support universal background checks are going to remember this vote next year and in 2016 and it's not going to be good for many senators.
It's going to be even worse for them when another shooting happens, especially if the shooter purchased the guns at a place that would have had to require a background check under the new law. I'm betting that one of the next shootings is going to personal affect the gun community in such a horrific way that the paranoid bullshit will all finally be over.
Here's to hoping I'm wrong because I'm truly sick and tired of a collection of psychotic assholes putting the people I love at greater risk every day simply because they are riding the Randian high of a fevered, adolescent power fantasy that is clearly causing them to see and hear things that do not exist. Truly, we do not need any more senseless death from gun violence, particularly at this time when some of it could be mitigated by simply refining our gun laws.
Take heart, sensible people everywhere who don't see visions of government troops seizing your guns. It's only a matter of time now. Be patient...
Monday, May 06, 2013
Yet Another Terrorist We'll Immediately Forget
The FBI arrested a terrorist in Montevideo, MN, last Friday.
Buford “Bucky” Rogers, 24, of Montevideo, was arrested and charged Friday with being a felon in possession of a firearm after federal authorities found Molotov cocktails, suspected pipe bombs and guns during a search of his mobile home, according to a federal criminal complaint and affidavit.Authorities believed Rogers was about to attack the Montevideo Police Department.
Why will we forget Bucky? He's a white supremacist. He formed a group called the Black Snake Militia. Some of his Facebook rants include:
“The NWO [New World Order] has taken all your freedoms the right to bear arms freedom of speach freedom of the press ...” read one profanity-punctuated message.In short, Rogers is parroting all the nonsense the NRA and the Republican Party have been spewing for the last five years.
“ever one better get your guns ready cuz there comeing FEMA” and “The war is here tsa agents are doing random cheeks and shooting people for no reson,” read others.
When two smart Muslim kids kill three people and injure hundreds it's time for a witch hunt. But when crazies like Adam Lanza mow down dozens of kids in a school, or illiterate white supremacist militiamen like Bucky Rogers plan to murder police with pipe bombs, there's absolutely no cause for alarm.
The right in America has a double standard on terrorism. If you're a Muslim or a lefty and you plot mass murder in Boston or New York you're a terrorist. But if you're a Christian, or a right-wing white supremacist, or a tax protestor who parrots everything Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh say, and then plot to blow up a Martin Luther King day parade, an abortion clinic, an IRS office or a police station in Montevideo or Spokane, you're a "wacko bird," as John McCain is wont to say.
The Southern Poverty Law Center has tracked more than one hundred incidents of right-wing terrorism and conspiracy to commit terrorism between 1995 and 2012. These include attacks on temples, the police, judges, abortion clinics, race-based murders, murders of co-conspirators, IEDs planted along parade routes, and so on.
Much has been made of the fact that the Tsarnaev brothers watched videos of Anwar al-Awlaki, ostensibly motivating them to plan the Boston bombing. But, by the numbers, we should be more worried about the people who are watching Internet videos of Glenn Beck and the president of the NRA.
How Do We See Ourselves?
Take a look at this video from Dove...
It's truly amazing to me how so many women look upon themselves so negatively. What is it about culture that drives them to do this? It's not just advertising or Hollywood.
Nor is it just women. The next time you are in a group of people try this experiment. Tell a story about how you fucked something up and watch everyone laugh along with you. Then tell a story about how great you are at something and listen for the crickets. Maybe you might get one person that gives you some props but for the most part, we cheer self deprecation and jeer self affirmation.
I don't get it.
It's truly amazing to me how so many women look upon themselves so negatively. What is it about culture that drives them to do this? It's not just advertising or Hollywood.
Nor is it just women. The next time you are in a group of people try this experiment. Tell a story about how you fucked something up and watch everyone laugh along with you. Then tell a story about how great you are at something and listen for the crickets. Maybe you might get one person that gives you some props but for the most part, we cheer self deprecation and jeer self affirmation.
I don't get it.
Sunday, May 05, 2013
Saturday, May 04, 2013
Perfect For A Saturday Night
This is one of the most deranged and hilarious things I have ever read. Apparently, things are just as bad in sororities as we thought they were. Here is an excerpt:
I will fucking cunt punt the next person I hear about doing something like that, and I don't give a fuck if you SOR me, I WILL FUCKING ASSAULT YOU.
Since authoring this email, she has resigned from Delta Gamma. She should take heart, though. There is a place for her on the inter webs...the right wing blogsphere.
She'd fit right in!
I will fucking cunt punt the next person I hear about doing something like that, and I don't give a fuck if you SOR me, I WILL FUCKING ASSAULT YOU.
Since authoring this email, she has resigned from Delta Gamma. She should take heart, though. There is a place for her on the inter webs...the right wing blogsphere.
She'd fit right in!
Come Again?
Poll: Gun vote boosts Kay Hagan, Mary Landrieu
TUCSON SHOOTING SURVIVORS GAVE JOHN MCCAIN 19 ROSES TO THANK HIM FOR HIS GUN VOTE
What was all that business again about senators being afraid to vote in favor of Manchin-Toomey?
TUCSON SHOOTING SURVIVORS GAVE JOHN MCCAIN 19 ROSES TO THANK HIM FOR HIS GUN VOTE
What was all that business again about senators being afraid to vote in favor of Manchin-Toomey?
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