Half of US Citizens think that reverse racism is a real problem. That's according to a recent Public Religion Research Institute poll. The numbers are even higher among working class white Americans — 66% of them believe that discrimination against white people is as big a problem as discrimination against "blacks and other minorities."
As noted in the piece, reverse racism doesn't exist. Here's why.
And that's the end of that bullshit...
Thursday, June 30, 2016
Are They Merely Lonely?
This showed up in my Newsfeed recently and it really struck me as being true. I've felt pity in the past for gun rights activists but not like this. A big reason why this resonates with me is my experience interacting with gun bloggers and their commenters. I got the real sense that they were pretty lonely people who were likely bullied in secondary school. The guns make them feel important.
If we can understand how this works on a sociological level, we can finally begin to take substantive steps towards progress.
Wednesday, June 29, 2016
Trump Supporters View Blacks Negatively
In what can be filed quickly under "No Shit," Donald Trump's supporters are more likely to view blacks negatively, according to a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll.
Supporters of U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump are more likely to describe African Americans as "criminal," "unintelligent," "lazy" and "violent" than voters who backed some Republican rivals in the primaries or who support Democratic contender Hillary Clinton, according to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll. Some 31 percent of Trump supporters said they "strongly agree" that "social policies, such as affirmative action, discriminate unfairly against white people,"
Right...because reverse racism is so much worse than racism...wow...
Supporters of U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump are more likely to describe African Americans as "criminal," "unintelligent," "lazy" and "violent" than voters who backed some Republican rivals in the primaries or who support Democratic contender Hillary Clinton, according to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll. Some 31 percent of Trump supporters said they "strongly agree" that "social policies, such as affirmative action, discriminate unfairly against white people,"
Right...because reverse racism is so much worse than racism...wow...
There Is A You
Now that the 89th Benghazi report has been released and no new evidence has come to light regarding malfeasance on the part of Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and the Ladies Auxiliary of Hibbing, MN, it's my hope that we can move past the conservative obsession (see also: jealousy, Obama better than Bush on terrorism) with this event. It might have been nice, however, to have such a report and investigation on the Bush Administration after the 9-11 attacks considering they represented the worst attack on our home soil in our history and cost many more lives. But you know conservatives...zero fucking logic. All anger, hate and fear...
As a post script, this pleased me greatly.
Amb. Stevens' sister: Don't blame Clinton for Benghazi
Nice.
In short, here is my message to conservatives now that Benghazi is all wrapped up.
As a post script, this pleased me greatly.
Amb. Stevens' sister: Don't blame Clinton for Benghazi
Nice.
In short, here is my message to conservatives now that Benghazi is all wrapped up.
Why Gun Nuts Lie
David Smalley has a great piece up over at Patheos called "Why Gun Nuts Lie – I Know From Experience." It is filled with many wonderful things but I'd like to start with two of the images from the comments.
Right. He was a carpenter after all:)
And fool them they have. Remember, a lot of these guys live in their parents basement and play video games all night so it makes sense. Here are some choice cuts from the rest of the piece.
Secondly, what if you were? I could hand you 50 AR-15s, give you 1000 illegal bombs, steal you a couple of tanks, and smuggle in some bazookas, and even let you fully train 500 of your closest friends. If the government wants your shit, they’re going to take it. You still wouldn’t be a match for even a single battalion of the United States Marine Corps. Not to mention the Air Force, Army, Navy, National Guard, Secret Service, FBI, CIA, and Seals. So stop acting like your little AR-15 is going to stop tyranny..
And you will give it to them without any sort of fight. Internet comments bravado is largely BS. Gun bloggers and their commenters like to brag about how they will never hand over their guns and would welcome a shootout with the federal government but they are completely full of shit. These are people who have families and children in their house and they will avoid any sort of conflict. And honestly, they are cowards at heart. The louder the protestation online, the quicker they will be the ones giving up their guns willingly.
The only reason you want to protect your second amendment now, is to justify buying an AR-15 or weapons for your home. I understand. I have them. But is it worth it? Does it really make you feel safe? If it does, it’s a false sense of security that statistically puts us in more danger.
Yes, it does. And, unlike the Gun Cult, I actually care about what happens to other people in my society. More guns mean more chances for accidents...accidents, btw, which happen more often than defensive gun use as study after study has shown.
Treat guns like cars. Mandatory licenses License renewals Mandatory training Mandatory insurance Operating laws Operating age limits Restrict some models Require safety inspections Mandatory registration Background checks.
Amen. It's not all that I want but I'd go along with it for now to see how it would work.
Perhaps Smalley is the start of a trend and the ultimate defeat of the gun lobby will come from within. Isn't that what happened with tobacco? Reading this, I can see a few folks breaking ranks at first and then some sort of event will trigger a larger group breaking away. And then we might actually get some real progress.
Right. He was a carpenter after all:)
And fool them they have. Remember, a lot of these guys live in their parents basement and play video games all night so it makes sense. Here are some choice cuts from the rest of the piece.
Secondly, what if you were? I could hand you 50 AR-15s, give you 1000 illegal bombs, steal you a couple of tanks, and smuggle in some bazookas, and even let you fully train 500 of your closest friends. If the government wants your shit, they’re going to take it. You still wouldn’t be a match for even a single battalion of the United States Marine Corps. Not to mention the Air Force, Army, Navy, National Guard, Secret Service, FBI, CIA, and Seals. So stop acting like your little AR-15 is going to stop tyranny..
And you will give it to them without any sort of fight. Internet comments bravado is largely BS. Gun bloggers and their commenters like to brag about how they will never hand over their guns and would welcome a shootout with the federal government but they are completely full of shit. These are people who have families and children in their house and they will avoid any sort of conflict. And honestly, they are cowards at heart. The louder the protestation online, the quicker they will be the ones giving up their guns willingly.
The only reason you want to protect your second amendment now, is to justify buying an AR-15 or weapons for your home. I understand. I have them. But is it worth it? Does it really make you feel safe? If it does, it’s a false sense of security that statistically puts us in more danger.
Yes, it does. And, unlike the Gun Cult, I actually care about what happens to other people in my society. More guns mean more chances for accidents...accidents, btw, which happen more often than defensive gun use as study after study has shown.
Treat guns like cars. Mandatory licenses License renewals Mandatory training Mandatory insurance Operating laws Operating age limits Restrict some models Require safety inspections Mandatory registration Background checks.
Amen. It's not all that I want but I'd go along with it for now to see how it would work.
Perhaps Smalley is the start of a trend and the ultimate defeat of the gun lobby will come from within. Isn't that what happened with tobacco? Reading this, I can see a few folks breaking ranks at first and then some sort of event will trigger a larger group breaking away. And then we might actually get some real progress.
Tuesday, June 28, 2016
Another Gun Rights Activist Goes On Shooting Rampage
Texas mom Christy Sheats liked to post stuff like this on her Facebook page.
Sounds familiar, eh?
Well, two days ago she called a family meeting and proceeded to shoot and kill both of her daughters before finally being gunned down by police. It turns out she had a history of mental illness but thank goodness she retained her constitutional right to carry a firearm.
Two beautiful young women are now dead and why? Because...ground stood!!
Sounds familiar, eh?
Well, two days ago she called a family meeting and proceeded to shoot and kill both of her daughters before finally being gunned down by police. It turns out she had a history of mental illness but thank goodness she retained her constitutional right to carry a firearm.
Two beautiful young women are now dead and why? Because...ground stood!!
Monday, June 27, 2016
Lessons from Britain
Now that Britain has voted to leave the E.U., millions of people who voted for it now want to change their vote. They want a do-over. Why?
The proponents of leaving the union lied about pretty much everything: how it would affect immigration policy, how it would affect the budget, how it would affect the stock market, how it would affect the value of the pound, how it would affect free trade and free movement of British citizens in Europe.
Many of the people who voted to leave did so out of frustration. They didn't really think there was a chance Britain would leave the E.U. and they didn't want Britain to leave. But they wanted to register a protest against the "elites."
Many of the people who wanted to remain in the E.U. didn't bother to vote because they were too busy, or automatically assumed the referendum would fail without their vote. They were wrong.
A lot of the people in this boat are young. They are like the people who voted for Barack Obama in 2008, but didn't bother to vote in 2010, because they assumed they had won, and the fight was over. But 2010 was a turning point -- Republicans, angered by their crushing defeat in 2008 and using the health care law as a rallying cry, took over the House and many state legislatures. They used that control to gerrymander House districts, and further increase their control.
In 2012 Obama won again, but the House remained in Republican hands, and Republicans in the Senate followed a scorched earth policy, preventing Obama from making any progress. Discouraged by Obama's "broken promises" many young and minority voters stayed home again in 2014, and this time the Senate was lost.
The United States is now facing its own "Brexit" vote this November. Trump has been spouting the same lies as the Brexit campaign. Trump wants the United States to seal its borders against the world, abandon our allies and trade partners across the globe and in the process destroy our economy.
People voting for Trump are motivated by the same impulses that motivated Brexit voters: frustration, fear, uncertainty, racism, nationalism. If Americans elect Trump, they will have the same buyer's remorse that Britain is now having.
Trump's reaction to Brexit was typically stupid. Trump was in Scotland for the opening of a new golf course. His reaction was delightedly selfish:
"Look if the pound goes down, they're gonna do more business," Trump said. "You know, when the pound goes down, more people are gonna come to Turnberry, frankly, and the pound has gone down, and let's see what the impact of that is."Which -- again -- shows what an idiot Trump is. His golf course is in Scotland. Not very long ago Scotland held a referendum to leave the UK. It failed, for exactly the same reasons that that leaving the E.U. was a bad idea. In this recent referendum Scotland voted overwhelmingly to remain in the E.U. (as did Northern Ireland, which now enjoys decent relations with the Republic of Ireland, which remains in the E.U.).
Now, Brexit may not even happen because Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have the power to veto it. But Scotland may also decide to be done with England, have their own referendum to leave the U.K., and then join the E.U. And then Trump's golf course will still be in an E.U. country.
Trump doesn't seem to be very good at real estate, does he? Or at business, considering that the sport of golf has been in a tailspin for the last decade and a half in the United States and the U.K..
In addition, Northern Ireland may decide they've had it with England, quit the U.K., and unify with the Republic of Ireland. That would stir up quite a hornets nest among Orange loyalists and possibly restart the Troubles.
The lesson for young and minority Americans is: old white people win elections in America because they show up. Hillary Clinton may not be Bernie Sanders, but if you sit on your hands you'll give the presidency to Donald Trump. And if Trump wins the presidency, he will appoint three or four Supreme Court justices. And then you can kiss the future goodbye.
It's not enough to vote in presidential elections. You need to vote in federal House and Senate elections as well, and your state legislative and gubernatorial elections to boot. It's once every two years; it's not that hard. But because people stayed home in 2010 and 2014, Republicans were able to run out the clock for the last six years of Obama's presidential term.
If you want the policies Bernie Sanders proposed to have a chance of succeeding, Clinton and Democratic senators and representatives have to have a majority in the House and Senate to make it happen. They need enough wiggle room to enact progressive policies without fear of losing to the Republicans again, and to know that you'll be there to vote for them in the next non-presidential election year.
If you get these people elected, they will owe you. None of them like hustling Wall Street and Silicon Valley for campaign cash 24/7. If they know they have the power of the people behind them we can get reasonable campaign finance laws passed, and other common-sense legislation like gun safety.
As well as put reasonable justices on the Supreme Court.
Sunday, June 26, 2016
Gun Toting Soccer Mom=Dead
Remember the woman pictured left? This was Melanie Hain, the gun toting soccer mom who made the headlines when she open carried and stood her ground against the dark denizens that were ready to pounce on her and her daughter any second in suburban Pennsylvania.Yeah, she's dead now.
Was she shot by the gun grabbers? Mooselems? Those evil criminals that lurk around every corner with the weapons they will always have even if there are new gun laws?
Nope.
She was shot by her husband in a domestic dispute who then turned the gun on himself. Most sadly, both of their children (ages 2 and 6) now have to live the rest of their lives without their birth parents.
Perhaps that's a good thing, though, given both of the Hains were part of the Gun Cult and clearly presented a danger to themselves and others. I guess I'm wondering what happened to the whole guns protecting people and good guys with guns thing here.
Sorta looks like that theory just shit the bed...again!
Saturday, June 25, 2016
Britain Was Suckered by Russia
So, Britain decided to leave the E.U.
Putin's devious plan is working: have Assad torture his own people, force them to flee to Europe, which makes Europeans crazy with paranoid Islamophobia, which destabilizes European governments and makes Britain leave the E.U.
Phase One is now complete. On to phase Two.
Once Europe is no longer a unified force, Putin can pick them apart one by one, and reassemble the Soviet empire, starting with the rest of Ukraine -- the original Kievan Rus, the real Mother Russia.
After Trump is elected, he pulls the United States out of NATO. Putin and Trump form a mutual admiration society. As long as Putin keeps praising Trump's wisdom, brilliance and handsomeness, the United States won't interfere with Russia's territorial acquisitions.
Putin goes into high gear. He retakes the Baltic states, then the rest of the former Soviet Union (especially oil-rich Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan). Putin moves on to Poland, then the former Yugoslavia, the former Czechoslovakia, Romania, etc.
Putin makes a deal with Trump to let Germany keep the part that used to be East Germany, as long as Germany agrees to buy Russian oil and gas at inflated prices. Trump claims this is a foreign relations coup, and he has bested Putin at his own game. He congratulates himself on Twitter.
Seeing how successful Putin is, the Chinese and North Koreans start praising Trump for his brilliance and wisdom. And handsomeness. Trump withdraws American troops from Japan and South Korea. Japan and South Korea start building nuclear weapons. There are a few . . . unfortunate incidents, but scientists estimate that the craters where Pyong Yang and Seoul once stood will be habitable again in another 200 years.
Meanwhile, Trump spends $500 billion building a wall between the United States and Mexico, using mostly illegal immigrant labor.
It's the biggest, greatest, most beautiful wall in the world.
Putin's devious plan is working: have Assad torture his own people, force them to flee to Europe, which makes Europeans crazy with paranoid Islamophobia, which destabilizes European governments and makes Britain leave the E.U.
Phase One is now complete. On to phase Two.
Once Europe is no longer a unified force, Putin can pick them apart one by one, and reassemble the Soviet empire, starting with the rest of Ukraine -- the original Kievan Rus, the real Mother Russia.
After Trump is elected, he pulls the United States out of NATO. Putin and Trump form a mutual admiration society. As long as Putin keeps praising Trump's wisdom, brilliance and handsomeness, the United States won't interfere with Russia's territorial acquisitions.
Putin goes into high gear. He retakes the Baltic states, then the rest of the former Soviet Union (especially oil-rich Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan). Putin moves on to Poland, then the former Yugoslavia, the former Czechoslovakia, Romania, etc.
Putin makes a deal with Trump to let Germany keep the part that used to be East Germany, as long as Germany agrees to buy Russian oil and gas at inflated prices. Trump claims this is a foreign relations coup, and he has bested Putin at his own game. He congratulates himself on Twitter.
Seeing how successful Putin is, the Chinese and North Koreans start praising Trump for his brilliance and wisdom. And handsomeness. Trump withdraws American troops from Japan and South Korea. Japan and South Korea start building nuclear weapons. There are a few . . . unfortunate incidents, but scientists estimate that the craters where Pyong Yang and Seoul once stood will be habitable again in another 200 years.
Meanwhile, Trump spends $500 billion building a wall between the United States and Mexico, using mostly illegal immigrant labor.
It's the biggest, greatest, most beautiful wall in the world.
Friday, June 24, 2016
Thursday, June 23, 2016
Real Leaders
House Democrats, lead by civil rights icon John Lewis, are staging a sit-in on the floor of the US House of Representatives demanding a vote on new gun legislation that will expand background checks and prevent terrorists from acquiring firearms.
A live feed of the sit in is available here.
This is what real leaders do. They fight for what is right despite any minor discomfort they may feel. Poor leaders, like Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan, chicken out, refuse to call a vote, shut down the cameras, and go on summer vacation...while continuing to allow terrorists access to whatever firearms they choose.
Do Republicans really think they can fuck with this guy?
He's the one about to be cracked across the head on the Edmund Pettis bridge in Selma, 1965. Today, in 2016, he's doing it again.
A live feed of the sit in is available here.
This is what real leaders do. They fight for what is right despite any minor discomfort they may feel. Poor leaders, like Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan, chicken out, refuse to call a vote, shut down the cameras, and go on summer vacation...while continuing to allow terrorists access to whatever firearms they choose.
Do Republicans really think they can fuck with this guy?
He's the one about to be cracked across the head on the Edmund Pettis bridge in Selma, 1965. Today, in 2016, he's doing it again.
Wednesday, June 22, 2016
Domestic Terrorists
With the failure (once again) to pass any sort of meaningful new gun safety laws in the wake the Orlando shooting, the president should declare the NRA a domestic terrorist organization. This should extend to all gun rights groups and activists as they are essentially accessories to terrorist attacks on home soil.
He should direct Attorney General Loretta Lynch to use the FBI to investigate and possible arrest high ranking members of the NRA for aiding and abetting enemy combatants who seek to murder US citizens. If they are found guilty, they should be sent to Gitmo. Since we can't seem to close it, why not use it for the purpose intended?
The NRA and gun rights supporters are unmoved by the piles of dead bodies we accumulate every day. They feel that their entitlement is more important than US security. They have created a country that has zero domestic tranquility and an incredibly warped reality where we actually bear little children gotten shot in the face. US citizens need to understand that we can't negotiate with these guys. They essentially have the same level of ideological intransigence as the fucking Nazis. They only understand one thing: force.
So, let's start using it.
He should direct Attorney General Loretta Lynch to use the FBI to investigate and possible arrest high ranking members of the NRA for aiding and abetting enemy combatants who seek to murder US citizens. If they are found guilty, they should be sent to Gitmo. Since we can't seem to close it, why not use it for the purpose intended?
The NRA and gun rights supporters are unmoved by the piles of dead bodies we accumulate every day. They feel that their entitlement is more important than US security. They have created a country that has zero domestic tranquility and an incredibly warped reality where we actually bear little children gotten shot in the face. US citizens need to understand that we can't negotiate with these guys. They essentially have the same level of ideological intransigence as the fucking Nazis. They only understand one thing: force.
So, let's start using it.
Tuesday, June 21, 2016
Missing Their Opportunity
I haven't said this in a while but I really love Quora. Why? It's because of questions like this that produce a veritable treasure trove of wonderful answers for tens of thousands of people to see. Here are a few choice cuts...
Until the GOP really tries to shed itself of the policies that help perpetuate racism and poverty in America, they will have a difficult time attracting significant numbers of black or minority voters.
Yep.
They keep doing stuff like gerrymandering districts to minimize the effects of black voters, and passing voter suppression laws aimed at discouraging blacks from voting, and so on. They're actually proud of it. So there you are. The only black Republicans are so enthused by conservative ideology that they're willing to overlook the howling racism in their party.
Howling racism? Ah, Ernest...so many followers and so many views on your answers. I'd be jealous but you are saying all the things I would say anyway and so much more eloquently.
A signal doesn't clearer than that. As such it is no wonder that white supremacists and other racists naturally flock to the GOP, while blacks and other minorities find in the Democrats a more welcoming home.
Ooo...that one had some stank on it!
It will never cease to amaze me just how much the GOP is in denial about the racism in their party. They could attract so many more voters if they ejected the angry old white people by the wayside.
Until the GOP really tries to shed itself of the policies that help perpetuate racism and poverty in America, they will have a difficult time attracting significant numbers of black or minority voters.
Yep.
They keep doing stuff like gerrymandering districts to minimize the effects of black voters, and passing voter suppression laws aimed at discouraging blacks from voting, and so on. They're actually proud of it. So there you are. The only black Republicans are so enthused by conservative ideology that they're willing to overlook the howling racism in their party.
Howling racism? Ah, Ernest...so many followers and so many views on your answers. I'd be jealous but you are saying all the things I would say anyway and so much more eloquently.
A signal doesn't clearer than that. As such it is no wonder that white supremacists and other racists naturally flock to the GOP, while blacks and other minorities find in the Democrats a more welcoming home.
Ooo...that one had some stank on it!
It will never cease to amaze me just how much the GOP is in denial about the racism in their party. They could attract so many more voters if they ejected the angry old white people by the wayside.
The Trumps Can't Do Basic Arithmetic
Mother Jones is running a series of articles about Donald Trump called the "Trump Files," which is pretty hilarious if you're a Democrat, and downright depressing if you're a Republican.
In one of his many, many appearances on the Howard Stern show (in which Trump usually talked about inane things like his wife's poop), Trump and his kids said they got into the Wharton School on their own merits, and not because of who their fathers were. Stern didn't buy it.
To test them, Stern asked them a basic math question: how much is 17 times 6? They couldn't figure it out. The boy variously offered 94 and 96, and the girl didn't even try, saying it wasn't a "practical application." Trump said it was 112. Even after Stern revealed the answer -- 102 -- Trump insisted it was 112; no wonder he thinks he's so much richer than he actually is.
Like the girl, many people may not think basic math is practical in this day and age of smart phone apps and Google. And, yes, the math itself is irrelevant. What's important here are the extremely useful skills of problem solving and BS detection.
There are two easy ways to solve this basic problem. Both involve breaking it down into components that you can easily answer. The first way is to realize that 17 is 10 + 7. You multiply 10 by 6 = 60, then 7 by 6 = 42, and then add them up to get 102. The other way is to realize that 17 is 20 - 3. Multiply 6 by 20 = 120, and then subtract 6 x 3 = 18 from 120 to get 102.
This mindset is essential to solving any complex problem. We can't solve modern society's problems with one masterstroke -- every problem this country faces requires addressing a bunch of smaller problems that we can solve.
Most of these problems involve numbers -- big ones: the federal budget, the deficit, the debt, tax policy, the GDP, the balance of trade, the influx of millions of immigrants, the outflow of millions of jobs to Asia, millions of unemployed people.
If you have a basic facility with numbers, you can use that a BS detector when someone spouts numbers at you. If their basic numbers don't add up, you know they're lying. If you can't understand basic numbers, you can't tell when people are lying to you.
Trump can't do basic arithmetic, and is surrounded by people who can't do basic arithmetic. If he and his people can't handle small numbers, they will be incapable of handling big ones. This is clear from his tax proposals, which are giveaways to billionaires, and would leave a giant hole in the budget, bankrupting this country.
Worse, Trump thinks it's okay. He's fine with the United States defaulting on the debt, and forcing creditors to "take a haircut." Yeah, Donald Trump wants to make America great again by copying Greece's economic model: low taxes and debt default.
A recent analysis by Moody's Analytics found that Trump's economic plan would be a disaster for the United States. Instead of being a stable haven for the world's wealth, the United States would become third-rate junk bond market. Just like the several casinos Trump used to own that went bankrupt because he borrowed money at high interest rates.
The mantra at Trump University was "OPM" -- Other People's Money. This was how Trump survived his catastrophically stupid business decisions: he used other people's money to prop up his casino corporation, then he loaded his personal debts onto the corporation, then he declared bankruptcy, leaving himself richer and all his investors poorer.
Now, the Other People are us, the US taxpayers. If we give Donald Trump our money, we know exactly what's going to happen to it.
In one of his many, many appearances on the Howard Stern show (in which Trump usually talked about inane things like his wife's poop), Trump and his kids said they got into the Wharton School on their own merits, and not because of who their fathers were. Stern didn't buy it.
To test them, Stern asked them a basic math question: how much is 17 times 6? They couldn't figure it out. The boy variously offered 94 and 96, and the girl didn't even try, saying it wasn't a "practical application." Trump said it was 112. Even after Stern revealed the answer -- 102 -- Trump insisted it was 112; no wonder he thinks he's so much richer than he actually is.
Like the girl, many people may not think basic math is practical in this day and age of smart phone apps and Google. And, yes, the math itself is irrelevant. What's important here are the extremely useful skills of problem solving and BS detection.
There are two easy ways to solve this basic problem. Both involve breaking it down into components that you can easily answer. The first way is to realize that 17 is 10 + 7. You multiply 10 by 6 = 60, then 7 by 6 = 42, and then add them up to get 102. The other way is to realize that 17 is 20 - 3. Multiply 6 by 20 = 120, and then subtract 6 x 3 = 18 from 120 to get 102.
This mindset is essential to solving any complex problem. We can't solve modern society's problems with one masterstroke -- every problem this country faces requires addressing a bunch of smaller problems that we can solve.
Most of these problems involve numbers -- big ones: the federal budget, the deficit, the debt, tax policy, the GDP, the balance of trade, the influx of millions of immigrants, the outflow of millions of jobs to Asia, millions of unemployed people.
If you have a basic facility with numbers, you can use that a BS detector when someone spouts numbers at you. If their basic numbers don't add up, you know they're lying. If you can't understand basic numbers, you can't tell when people are lying to you.
Trump can't do basic arithmetic, and is surrounded by people who can't do basic arithmetic. If he and his people can't handle small numbers, they will be incapable of handling big ones. This is clear from his tax proposals, which are giveaways to billionaires, and would leave a giant hole in the budget, bankrupting this country.
Worse, Trump thinks it's okay. He's fine with the United States defaulting on the debt, and forcing creditors to "take a haircut." Yeah, Donald Trump wants to make America great again by copying Greece's economic model: low taxes and debt default.
A recent analysis by Moody's Analytics found that Trump's economic plan would be a disaster for the United States. Instead of being a stable haven for the world's wealth, the United States would become third-rate junk bond market. Just like the several casinos Trump used to own that went bankrupt because he borrowed money at high interest rates.
The mantra at Trump University was "OPM" -- Other People's Money. This was how Trump survived his catastrophically stupid business decisions: he used other people's money to prop up his casino corporation, then he loaded his personal debts onto the corporation, then he declared bankruptcy, leaving himself richer and all his investors poorer.
Now, the Other People are us, the US taxpayers. If we give Donald Trump our money, we know exactly what's going to happen to it.
Monday, June 20, 2016
Hold Them Accountable
When United States citizens are polled on guns, a majority (57%) want more strict gun laws and that includes Republicans. A massive majority (89%) want background checks on all gun purchases. A majority wants a ban on assault weapons (57%). With voting set today in the Senate on four separate pieces of gun safety legislation, keep track of who votes and how they vote.
Hold them accountable.
Hold them accountable.
Sunday, June 19, 2016
The Trump News Network
Remember back when email started? It was right around that time when that crazy uncle you have got on the computer machine and started in with the email forwards about how Bill Clinton was building an army of robots that were going to steal our luggage.
And take away all the guns.
Now, with the age of social media, Facebook has become the new haven for the "email forward" crowd. These mentally unbalanced conservatives have concocted all sorts of bizarre nonsense about Barack Obama, liberals, and Hillary Clinton. This is Donald Trump's crowd...the voters that have propelled him to the GOP nomination...and he knows it.
So, when he says, "I hear that ______________" he's talking about this network of insanity that bears no resemblance to reality. He's getting his information from people just making shit up on the computer machine! In fact, the political pundits of Morning Joe think that Trump isn't really serious anymore about running for president. He's merely priming these people for being the future audience of his own news network.
Makes sense now, doesn't it?:)
And take away all the guns.
Now, with the age of social media, Facebook has become the new haven for the "email forward" crowd. These mentally unbalanced conservatives have concocted all sorts of bizarre nonsense about Barack Obama, liberals, and Hillary Clinton. This is Donald Trump's crowd...the voters that have propelled him to the GOP nomination...and he knows it.
So, when he says, "I hear that ______________" he's talking about this network of insanity that bears no resemblance to reality. He's getting his information from people just making shit up on the computer machine! In fact, the political pundits of Morning Joe think that Trump isn't really serious anymore about running for president. He's merely priming these people for being the future audience of his own news network.
Makes sense now, doesn't it?:)
The Arrogance of the Gun Cult
Here's a great example of the arrogance of the Gun Cult.
“I think a lot of the fear comes from something [people] don’t understand,” said Maxwell. “They don’t understand that there is a sport that revolves around shooting. They just know that [the AR-15] looks scary on TV.”
What's not to understand? It's a toy. You guys like it a lot. And, like children, you don't want it to be taken away.
Further, it's not the gun that scares us, asshole. It's the mentality behind it...a mentality which continues to allow events like Orlando to happen on a regular basis and is directly responsible for murder.
“I think a lot of the fear comes from something [people] don’t understand,” said Maxwell. “They don’t understand that there is a sport that revolves around shooting. They just know that [the AR-15] looks scary on TV.”
What's not to understand? It's a toy. You guys like it a lot. And, like children, you don't want it to be taken away.
Further, it's not the gun that scares us, asshole. It's the mentality behind it...a mentality which continues to allow events like Orlando to happen on a regular basis and is directly responsible for murder.
Friday, June 17, 2016
An AR-15 Owner Has Had Enough
Daniel Hayes' recent piece says it all. He's an AR-15 owner and he's had enough. His solution?
There’s a saying that goes “when seconds count the police are only minutes away.” It’s meant to enforce the truism that we are all ultimately responsible for our own defense when the chips are down. But what it really reinforces is the importance of time. Time matters immensely when you’re defending yourself. You need time to do so. You need opportunity. Ban magazines over ten rounds. Give potential victims time and opportunity and in giving them that time we will deter murderers from attempting these mass shootings. They will fear that they won’t be able to kill enough to make their point before they are crushed by their chosen victims. They are cowards. Give them reason to fear.
My only quibble is that non gun owners have, in fact, been calling for this for quite some time. So, a little bit of the gun owner condescension aside, he's right that this would make an immediate impact. Of course, we have to do more.
There’s a saying that goes “when seconds count the police are only minutes away.” It’s meant to enforce the truism that we are all ultimately responsible for our own defense when the chips are down. But what it really reinforces is the importance of time. Time matters immensely when you’re defending yourself. You need time to do so. You need opportunity. Ban magazines over ten rounds. Give potential victims time and opportunity and in giving them that time we will deter murderers from attempting these mass shootings. They will fear that they won’t be able to kill enough to make their point before they are crushed by their chosen victims. They are cowards. Give them reason to fear.
My only quibble is that non gun owners have, in fact, been calling for this for quite some time. So, a little bit of the gun owner condescension aside, he's right that this would make an immediate impact. Of course, we have to do more.
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