Give ’em Hell, In Simple Words

Tags

GOP, Obama, psychology, Rally for Sanity, sociology, teabaggers, wingnuts

We sit at the precipice. Tuesday looms ahead of us, fraught with thunder and lightning and darkening clouds. We are afraid, but mostly we are angry.

Frankly, being sixty years old gives one perspective. I’m not sure it hasn’t been this bad before. I certainly thought  it so during the Johnson years when war, ugly war, oozed from every pore, and we fought so vainly it felt, to end the madness.

It was marginally worse under Nixon. He assisted in that by being a president who was dark and foreboding himself.

But there seemed people of integrity, and oh, I guess we blamed ourselves for not working hard enough. By Nixon, most of us had finished college and were about the business of making a way for our own projected lives.

But today? Today America seems old and lumbering, drunkenly staggering ever closer to the abyss. Jill, at Brilliant at Breakfast, has a great piece today, contemplating the Rally for Sanity. She terms it, America, that is, as “a nation of willfully ignorant people ruled by their prejudices.” She is right.

A few moments later, I read this at Psychology Today: those with the greatest intelligence drink more alcohol. I mean, isn’t that obvious? Can you blame us? The truth is not that hard to ferret out, yet millions work as hard as beavers to remain purely childlike in their knowledge of current affairs, knowing not  much beyond the box scores or how many paid sick days they have left to use this year. Again, I ask? Can you blame us?

Take a look at these stats and weep away: In a Public Policy Poll, 39%  thought that the government should stay out of Medicare! Yes, you read that correctly. Another 15% were “unsure.” That was in mid-August. A majority of these empty-heads believe that their taxes have gone up, and not down, as they actually have. People who have no better knowledge of their own finances, can’t be expected to know  much.

What is the point of these sad numbers? Simply this. These folks are empty vats. They are only socially on the lower rung of things and feel left out and powerless. People like this used to go into law enforcement as a means to gain personal feelings of power. They probably still do, but most just plod along in their interchangeable jobs and feel that life dictates to them, and they don’t like it.

So they are susceptible to ANYBODY who spouts ANYTHING that tells them they are smart, savvy, and otherwise the bedrock of America. Anybody who makes them FEEL smart. Did you hear that? That’s why Sarah (there are corpses smarter than that woman) Palin gains leverage with “common sense” conservative  principles.  Time and again people when asked why they like her refer to her “down-to-earth-just-like-us” appearance.

What we as liberals have failed at miserably is the capture and control of the dialogue. We have allowed the GOPers and their message of screwy hate and fear to set the agenda. The 4th estate has been the willing dupe, sticking a microphone in the loudest  angry voice.

And where is our leader?

I’m not usually of a mind to tell those I consider my intellectual superior what they are doing wrong. But one thing glares out at me here.

Our golden-tongued orator, our Cicero, has failed to not only not claim the dialogue, he has failed to respond effectively. I recognize the moral and intellectual superiority of keeping to the high ground–of reaching out in sincere bipartisanship. That appeals to, well intellectuals–to people who are educated in the finer arts of discussion, debate and compromise as the “way things work” in civil society.

It doesn’t appeal to folks whose pass times include NASCAR-crashing races, and World Federation Wrestling. It does not appeal to those who love “action” films for the pretence of violence. They see compromise and civility as weak and sissy behavior. They are but a hairy knuckle away from being arrested for assault themselves. They watch violence as a way to “let off steam” for all the affronteries that life throws at them.

These people are not dullards, they are lazy! You appeal to them by hitting them over the head day in and day out with truth. A president is perfectly poised to speak as often as he wishes. He commands the airways at will. And Mr. Obama you have failed to take advantage of that.

You cannot go from the “Fireside Chat” to the Internet Chat. The weekender working stiff is not using the Internet for news. He uses it for games and porn. You use the TELEVISION as much as you can.

Screw the laughable GOP talking points. Do the same! It works! Yes, it’s beneath people like ourselves to act like marionettes, but good God, look at what is at stake!

The Rally begins. I see sanity everywhere expressing. There is a crowd that is amazing, far far above the pathetic old white people’s picnic hosted by Glenn (if it’s a proven lie, I’ll utter it) Beck. And yet, Foxy will spin this, and every Rethuglian from DeMint to Michele Bachmann will claim it to be something it is not. And we will wonder why, since it is so obvious to anyone who bothered to watch. They believe that 2,000,000 attended Beck’s thing. They “heard” it.

But they are NOT watching. They need to be TOLD. Speak truth to power. Speak truth to lies. Speak, speak, speak. God help us all if we don’t.

Cicero the great Orator didn’t survive Caesar, even with his beautiful logic and words. We cannot depend on logic and truth. We must remember we are a nation of sound bites. We do not go and sit at the feet of the great speakers, we barely hear as we rush through the parking lot on our way to Wal-Mart.

Speak, speak, speak. As if your life depended upon it. It well may. And then go have a few drinks. It’s what we do.

Related Articles

• Carol Smaldino: Rally to Restore Sanity is Political. So is Our National Insanity. (huffingtonpost.com)
• Jon Stewart, Barack Obama and the Rally to Restore Sanity (newstatesman.com)
• Arianna Huffington: HuffPost Readers Weigh In on How to Restore Sanity to America (huffingtonpost.com)
• Seattle’s ‘Rally to Restore Sanity’ may be one of nation’s largest (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Political Fatigue: Or, America’s Trash Problem (nowpublic.com)

Whew! I Knew There Had to Be an Explanation!

Tags

Humor, Literature, short stories

I confess that there are times when it really gets to me. Being a defense attorney for twenty years, I was wont to say, I’d seen it all. Being a sardonic, sometimes witty commentator on the political scene, suggests that I”ve barely scratched the surface when it comes to the human ability to be stark raving MAD.

So, before losing the last shred of my own sanity, I wrote to God.

Dear God,

I hope that the day finds you in good spirits. I trust that the workload isn’t getting you down. I just have a question or two if you don’t mind.

I mean, I have no clue how chaotic the rest of the universe might be. Earth is probably not so special, so our problems might be small in comparison to some you’re dealing with. But, I’m just asking, could you turn your attention to us for just a bit? Things are really reaching a point where a lot of good people are going bald from pulling out their hair here. Sanity is becoming an elusive commodity for Chr. . . urrr, goodness sake.

Even if you are too busy, and maybe Buddha and Jesus and Gandhi are also tied up, but perhaps the Archangel Michael is free? We need someone!

If you’ve turned on the TV up there lately, you know we are in an election cycle. And all I can say is it’s CRAZY here. We have candidates and supporters who say things like this:

• I am not a witch! (now that starts you right off knowing that something has gone really wacky here. I don’t remember that phrase since those days of Salem, do you? )
• The President is channelling his Kenyan dead father! (this from a serial monogamist who claims to be a lawful member of one of your biggest churches, and is thinkin’ mightily of running for President!)
• All non-Christian immigrants should leave the country! (this from an ex congressman who is mounting a write-in campaign for governor, in a state called Colorado. Nice state, crazy people.
• Just build the dang fence! (this from a failed presidential candidate who sold his soul to satan (why you leave him around here beats the heck out of me!) and hates everybody who didn’t vote for him)

God, I could go on for hours, it’s purely insane as I said. People tell lies upon lies and nobody seems to care. Why people actually say they hate one party, but are voting for them anyway! It seems integrity and principle have no place in our world. Everybody wants more and they don’t care if everybody else has to suffer for.

You may have heard we had an awful environmental catastrophe here. Given the companies involved, we figured they were negligent. It’s proving to be far worse than that. They KNEW their stupid well was dangerous, and they just kept trying to fudge the numbers to make it look otherwise. You may have heard the names BP and Haliburton. A well-placed lightening bolt, Sir, would not be inappropriate, but of course, you be the judge. Literally Sir, you are the judge!

The whole dang planet is under attack from greed and jealousy it seems. All kinds of stuff is clothed with words that use YOU God, to justify what are really only personal goals of affluence and power. It’s a shame and the rest of us, that would be 97% of us, are beginning to suffer.

If you have a spare minute, could you maybe take a look and send us a little help?

Your mostly failing, but always trying, servant.

Sherry

Well, I got an answer! I truly did. I found this under my pillow this morning.

Dear Amanda, Charles, Lisa Sherry,

Sorry, but we are into some serious recycling up here! I have read your letter and am aware of your wishes, concerns, and/or demands. If I were to list all the planets we are presently watching over, the number would take another page just to write it out. But we I am aware!

You can be sure that I am always doing my best to answer your prayer/request/demand/ and or delight in your offer of thanks. (Whichever applies)

No seriously, I’m only joking!

I am a bit sheepish merely because your letter prompted a look-see and mini investigation. Jesus is busy in the Delta Quadrant at the moment, but this is clearly his fault. He’s usually in charge of Earth, but we had this issue of a bleed-over from Beta, and well suns were exploding and it was a mess! But still there is no excuse for what happened.

When I say Jesus has been busy, well, I mean, here, busy can take a few millions of years. In this case it didn’t but it did take a few thousand. And I guess we lost track, and well, to use a local idiom, shit happens.

And it did. A low-level (I mean really low-level) newbie angel was supposed to monitor the transports. And well, she is a bit dyslexic and we didn’t know, and, well, it happened.

Earth does have imps about, we have a devilish time ferreting them out and getting them to their home world. It seems they have been diverting a transport of  new souls here and there from where they were intended–the planet Heart, to Earth. You can see the problem?

Well, Sylvia (that’s the girl with dyslexia), she misread the manifest. In fact, she did it many times.

Boy, this is embarrassing! Anyway, You were supposed to go to Heart, and instead ended up on Earth. You are not psychologically matrixed for that planet, so I can imagine your distress. It is not your fault. YOU ARE NOT GOING CRAZY. At least I hope not.

Please sit tight, and we’ll be arranging a transport for you and as many of the others as we can find. Sad to say, those that were scheduled for Earth and ended up on Heart are no more. They were eaten as soon as their insanity was discovered. JUST KIDDING!!!

But I do apologize, as does Jesus. Heck all of us do! Hope you understand. You are definitely on our to-do list!

Best Wishes,

Your God and Creator

My bags are packed. I packed the Contrarian’s too. I hope he’s going with me, but well, I’m outta here!

Don’t Look Now

Tags

Boehner, budget, Christian nation, cutgo, economy, foreign policy, founding fathers, GOP, History, Independents, Military, paygo, War

Yesterday was a day of being oot and aboot getting some things done. More on that perhaps in a future giggle post. But today, I was eager to (ready for a new metaphor?) get back in the saddle. So here we go!

Oh those sneaky snakes! Yeah, the GOP.  ‘Member how those Bushites managed to turn a surplus into a HUGE deficit? Yeah, I knew you remembered. Well they did it by reversing a Democratic policy called “paygo”. Paygo required than any new program or tax cut be offset by cuts or tax increases in other programs that offset the new costs.

Well the Rethugs don’t like it. During the Bush years they went to cutgo, which means you can’t pass new legislation without cutting somewhere, BUT it ignores tax cuts. That’s why the Bush tax cuts blew out the deficit to unprecedented proportions.

When Obama took over, we went back to Paygo. Well guess what Boehner plans to do after the apparent takeover of the House? Yep. Read it all at Crooks and Liars. They will try to force through the Bush tax cuts without offset and grow the deficit even more. Nice huh?

How will this sit with the new teabugger caucus in Congress? My guess is that most of them are slightly too stupid to ever get it. So much for ranting about the deficit.

***

Just saw numbers in Nevada and Kentucky. I’m afraid that unreal idiot Angle is going to win. Well the GOP deserves such idiots I guess. Same for Rand Paul. It’s getting too late for much change now, and Reed is actually losing ground.

Speaking of which, we don’t intend to watch the returns. I figure we are going to lose badly and figure I’d just as soon get hit hard in the face on Wednesday morning rather than bleeding to death slowly over the night. I think we may Star Wars our way through, just popping in now and again just in case the Universe tilts wildly and we actually do much better than expected.

***

Don’t know about you, but my food bill is getting out of hand. I decided to make some changes. First I’m going to go to a month menu plan. Harder is some respects and easier in others. First I can eliminate all Sundays, but then I have to account for leftovers. I realized the dogs were getting a lot of leftovers, which means I’m cooking too much, not preserving it or using up the rest in new creations. That will be the difficult thing–accounting for leftovers. Wish me luck, and I’ll keep you posted. A strict monitoring of food spending will tell if I’m doing any better.

***

It comes as no surprise I assume those who declare war have very often never been to one. Only about 30% of Congress has been in the service. There are a couple of new books out on our “war strategy” and how we seem in a perpetual state of war these days, and have for decades now. The Chronicle has a fine review and, well it’s an important article that you shouldn’t miss. It explains why the religious right is also so damned gung-ho when it comes to war. Sick as that is. Forty percent of the ranks are filled with Southerners for instance. Best line comes from a comment:

The society that separates its scholars from warriors will have its thinking done by cowards and its fighting by fools.  ~~Thucydides

***

I saw an interesting poll. It suggested that Independents are going Republican this year. No surprise there. What is of interest is that something like 47% of them, don’t trust the GOP. So this is mostly a protest against the Obama administration not doing enough, and fast enough to suit them. The Rethugs won’t do anything they like, and they will swing back the next cycle. We are a bunch of lemmings.

And while I’m at it, let me say this, again, if I haven’t already. Some few independents are philosophically motivated to be such. They think deeply, study, and vote probably mostly for one party but occasionally for superior “other” candidates. Most independents are know-nothings who simply blow with the wind. Today it’s blowing against the Democrats, and so they vote that way. They have picked up a few odd phrases which they mumble if asked, but truly they have no clue.  (end of rant)

***

A poll of chimpanzees and gorillas and orangutans finds that only one percent think Obama is a Muslim. The other 99% just think him uncommonly homely for a bipedal hominid. When asked, they uniformly thought the “hairlessness” of his type most unbecoming and immodest.

***

It never gets old it seems. The religious wackodoodles are constantly trying to “inform” us that the Founding Fathers (FF’s) set up a Christian nation, governed by a Christian Constitution. The religionists, led by David Barton, pseudo-“historian”, leads the way. Well, how about a reasoned and learned response from law professor, Steven K. Green, writing in Cardoza Law Review—Understanding the “Christian Nation” Myth.

And by the by, just so we are clear. What David Barton does is called “proof-texting.” What that is is simply mining letters and writings for quotable quotes that appear to support your pet theory. They are out of context and show no actual understanding of the actual beliefs and arguments present. Often the quotes are asides, having little to do with the main subject of the writing. It is not legitimate historical research.

***

Later Dude

Related Articles

• Get to know ‘Cutgo’ (washingtonmonthly.com)
• David Barton: Con Law Expert? [Dispatches from the Culture Wars] (scienceblogs.com)
• Will The GOP Reduce The Deficit? (andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com)

Weird, But no I before E Except After C

Tags

American Family Association, Election 2012, GOP, homophobes, Michael Bloomberg, Michelle Obama, Mike Huckabee, Politics, Sarah Palin, Steven King, teabaggers, wingnuts

Ya know, Ole Mikey (the pudge) Huckabee has always struck me as a kinda nice guy. Not the bright light mind you, but a guy whose misguided heart is at least in the right place.

I guess I’m not thinkin’ that so much any more.

Mikey, it seems feels that he was badly treated by GOP “elites.” I’m not sure exactly who he would stick in that category, but I imagine some of the old guard–the McConnells, the Boehners and the McCains. Sad little men who try valiantly to jump on the Tea Party bandwagon, but for all the world can’t keep the smirking “don’t touch me you goats!” kinda look off their faces as they glad hand the “folks.”

I shouldn’t wonder that Mikey was sort of looked upon as a country parson come a courtin’ the town beauty. After all, the man does refudiate 🙂 evolution and all. That does tend to tell the intellectual elite of any party or group that they are dealing with a personage of the tenth level of IDIOCY.

That may be why Mikey decided to be critical of those GOPer elites who have been snickering about Christine O’Donnell and her creationist/no masturbatory policy/where is that separation of church and state in the Constitution, candidacy in Delaware. And while snickering, being fairly pissed since it probably cost them any real chance at taking the Senate.

Mikey identifies with Christine I guess. Though truth is he has probably got about 40 IQ points on her.

Then Mikey went and jumped on the old white men’s bandwagon of support for the new “liberal” Juan Williams, so rudely treated by NPR. I mean, it took them no time to get out the talking points did it? All in lockstep. How dare you raise a leg on our resident “boy?”

Apparently Mikey is still of the opinion that his chances in 2012 exist. And thus we have all this tighty-whitey “I’m one of y’all,” simpatico crap with teabuggery.

Sarah Posner has a nice piece on The Pudge, and it turns out he’s not your usual “I’ll be anything you need me to be” kinda candidate. He may actually believe the bilge he utters.  He’s  in bed and has been with American Family Association, one of the most rabid anti-gay hate groups around. Read it! (This organization is behind robo calls in Michigan against gay candidates, and also the recall of judges movement in Iowa) Don’t look now Mikey, but your homophobia is showing!

***

AlterNet has a really comprehensive article (reprint) on the entire Tea Party phenomenon. Tracking the money and the players and how they co-opt the real anger of the average joe and turn it not only to their own advantage, but to the disadvantage ultimately of that same unsuspecting average joe.

***

There is an interesting article at the NY Magazine that you should probably take a look at. It’s written by John Heilemann and he was talking about it last night I believe on Chris Matthew’s Hardball. I don’t buy his premise mind you–it involves how not only could Sarah run, but how she might win. It involves an unlikely scenario involving Bloomberg. While Bloomberg is an interesting thought, I think he is wildly too smart to get caught up in this can of worms. But read it and make your own assessment. Sarah it seems is destined to be with us in 2012 in some form or another. It’s best we think through all the possibilities. A breathtakingly unqualified person such as this is dangerous and we best remember that.

***

Resident wacko-nut Steven King (R-IA) is on the hate tour bus run by NOM, touring Iowa to stir up the voters to vote out our three justices up for re-election. They mustered  the humongous number of 42 who came to hear King vomit his homophobic sludge. So reports Joe.My.God.

***

Sven and Olga lived in Mina-SOOO-TA. It was winter and exceedingly cold, the wood stove burned low in the long night, and the two cuddled in the bed. The phone rang. Sven got up and answered. Olga heard presently a shouted remark by Sven: HOO THE HELL WOULD I KNOW?

Sven returned to bed and Olga asked him who it was. Sven mumbled something incoherent and snuggled back in. A few moments later, the phone rang again. Dutifully Sven got up and answered. Olga heard this even louder refrain: HOO THE HELL WOULD I KNOW? IT’S TWO THOUSAND MILES AWAY!

Sven again returned to bed. Olga again prodded him. “Who was that?” she asked. “Some damn fool  that wanted to know if the coast was clear,” Sven grouched.

***

Julie Gunlock (I swear it’s her name) writing for NRO, moans about how the media attacks Michelle Obama’s cheeseburger lunch, and then goes about the business of attacking Michelle Obama for her choice of a cheeseburger lunch. The wiggy right-wing is like that–illogical and inconsistent. She finds it just wrong and well wrong for big mama Obama to be telling the Merkican public how to eat. They are adults and can decide for themselves.  Guess she forgot about the Nancy Reagan “Just say no” campaign. I’m sure Julie would find some point of difference. Oh yeah, one is a Democrat and the other a GOPer. Yeah that’s it. Um….do you think there MIGHT be an important issue to waste your ink on there lady?

Time for a New Rule?

Tags

choice, conscience, Politics, psychology, religion, sociology, voting

In an e-mail between my cousin and I, I told him about my blog, inviting him to keep up with me through it if he liked. I told him it generally discussed politics and religion. He begged off, suggesting that he found these subjects ripe for argument, and thus unhappiness between friends and families.

And I don’t disagree. They do foment discussions that often erupt into argument. But perhaps we need to rid ourselves of the niceties of “Ms Manners” and recognize that our rejection of such topics in “polite” conversation is precisely what is wrong in this country and perhaps the world.

It seems to me that those who engage in “hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil” tactics in a social context are really helping to cause the extraordinary hardening of positions that we find in America today. It’s really a matter of degree. Most people, let’s face it, don’t pay much attention to either-what they understand of either of these subjects is pretty much limited to small sound-bites they hear through the day and evening, or see in headlines on newspapers they only subscribe to for the sports section.

Frighteningly, these people think nothing of voting based on these vague ideas they have about health care, the economy, the deficit, and all the rest.

Another group have distinct personal ideas of what they think and then go out and look for confirmation. They are the Fox Noise watchers, the fundamentalists, and frankly, the extreme left. They feel cheated somehow by the society and look for scapegoats and there are plenty of those around to point to.

A small group are those who sincerely wish to know. They seek out lots of points of view, stay actively engaged in the news from several sources, and think. They have learned to read and think critically about these issues.

I suggest that the largest group is the first, the “too busy for that stuff.” These people must be reached, and the way to reach them is to engage them in talk. They are unfortunately the ones most likely to push back with the “not in polite company” remarks.

We have lived with that rule of thumb for decades, and it has gotten us nothing but the worst polarization of all time in America. (No doubt a good argument could be made for the run-up to the Revolution, and the Civil War.) It seems we must discuss these things, no matter how difficult and painful it might be in families and among our friends. We owe it to ourselves and our posterity that we make good decisions, not ones based on knee-jerk talking points and other silly “feel good” phrases like death panels, and Obamacare, and anchor babies.

On the other side of the coin, I read an article yesterday that suggested that a small but very vocal group of right-wing Catholics blog with the intent to expose any and all Catholics that they feel are not orthodox enough. They are having some impact. I can tell you that the ones I have visited, have no qualms about calling very well-known and revered religious personages, heretics.

I recall in discussions on a right-wing forum that the argument was made about conscious thusly:

Of course, one must always follow one’s own conscience. That’s in the CCC, but what cafeteria Catholics don’t get is that it says that one’s conscience must be “properly formed.” If one finds oneself in disagreement with Catholic teaching on ANY subject, it means that one’s conscience is not so properly formed.

Of course this is not at all true. The Catechism is quite clear that one’s personal conscience is ”
man’s most secret core and his sanctuary.” (PT III, Art. 6, #1776)

It speaks to the formation of conscience and that “the education of conscious is indispensable for human beings.” (#1783) Further, “it is a lifelong task.” (#1784)

When we are talking about matters of either religion or politics, we would do well to accept these reminders of what is entailed in making up our minds about all these issues.

What it is not, is some simplistic, “I like A better than B.” What it is not, is some “A is better for me than B.” What it is not, is that, “I’ve always been a Democrat or Republican and so I just vote the ticket.”

It is about learning to read and think critically. It is about reading broadly, as much as possible from sources that have no obvious point of view. It is about seeking out those who have spent years studying such issues through their education or work. It is about avoiding people who are “industry” insiders, whose financial interest is likely to taint their opinion. It is about viewing the issue from different points of view–especially how other countries and ethnic/racial/religious/groups view the matter.

It is about, if you are so inclined, praying often and deeply on these matters. It is first seeking above all to be moral in your choice. It is always seeking to do no harm to anyone or anything, if that is possible, and to seek to minimize such damage if it is not.

That’s my take.

Ezra Kline has a piece on what the GOP intends to do in regards the EPA if they gain the House. I’m going off to read Fred Upton (R) and his op-ed piece as to why he intends to declare war against EPA standards against pollution. His cohort, Kit Bond, in the Senate, claims he will attach an amendment to every Senate bill stripping the EPA of any ability to control greenhouse gases. I’d like to know why these folks are taking that position. Wouldn’t you?

Related Articles

• TX: Texas leads resistance to EPA climate action (texastribune.org)
• EPA in the cross hairs (politico.com)
• MICHAEL GERSON: Comfortable, but flawed, view (commercialappeal.com)

Standing on the Roof With a Megaphone

Tags

civilization, fundamentalists, GOP, History, Juan Williams, liberals, Louis Gohmert, political ideology, Politics, progressives, right wing nuttery, Sarah Palin, sociology

I may as well. Things on the old computer front are getting rather ugly. So if I disappear, well I haven’t, I’ve just dragged this mother to a hospital for repair.

I’m almost at a standstill on FB these days, I can barely scroll. So I figured to download another foxfire which I had dumped as corrupted. Well, I didn’t get far before it “file corrupted me”. I tried opera again, same deal. I tried Google’s chrome, and you guessed it.

I finally got a forum question into Google, and maybe I can get an answer. It may be some security setting that needs changing.

But my e-mail is now acting up. If I’m sent a link, like a FB comment, I can’t answer it within e-mail, they won’t open anything. A pain, but I can cut and paste at least. It’s sooo totally frustrating.

The Contrarian doesn’t have problems since he usually just plays poker and goes to a couple of sites. I’m the one with four windows open and starting and stopping. Basically I figure that I’m moving stuff faster than the dial-up speed can take, and it just locks up. Then I have to shut down everything (I get lots of “not responding”) and start over. Over time, I guess I wind things up inside and suddenly everything starts to go awry.

Then it’s into the shop where they clean it all out again. Which seems unfair, since the Contrarian does maintenance every evening, clean-ups, virus updates, defrags. But apparently it can’t overcome my crazed Internet maneuvers.

And then there’s Twitter, which only partially works now. The New Twitter is crap as far as I’m concerned. They continue to say they are fixing it, but never do, at least not my problems. I’m about ready to return to Fred and Wilma and ask if they have an extra room I can rent. The MODERNITY is driving me nuts.

***

Many muse on why the West arose as the leader in civilization, dominating the landscape for several hundred years. Superficial answers don’t satisfy. You really have to go far back to uncover the probable reason, and it may well be location, location, location. Hardly a new idea to modern marketing! Anyway, it’s an interesting article and moreover it’s an even more interesting site that you might want to bookmark for return visits, if you are history minded that is.

***

Interesting question. Republicans self-identify with being conservative. Democrats are loath to even accept the designation “liberal”. We try to substitute progressive instead. We get ready to defend if accused of liberalism. It’s like having the plague, or a STD. Why?  Jonathan Alter attempts an answer. Bonus is that Alter gives mini-reviews of a lot of political themed books on Washington politics in general and Obama specifically.

***

BlackMagpieTheory has a great little poem about Sarah, dear Sarah. Short and sweet. Go see.

***

New GOPer Idiot to enter onto the radar screen is Repiglian Louis Gohmert, from the great sludge state of TexASS. Gohmert says Merika would be more fine if all the fine Christians, as he would define them were to take control and just impose God’s law on the land of the not-anymore-free. H/T to Ahab at Republic at Gilead for the above.  By the by, word is that Louis is perhaps the dumbest representative in the entire House, but I guess that is pretty self-evident.

***

I must say, there is something mildly giggly about a whole bunch of aging white men and their sexy grizzly girls, all fawning over Juan Williams, and trying to act all-inclusive and everything. Let’s slay the almighty NPR, with its tiny government funding to show how much we love our HOUSE NEGROES, cuz they make us look soooo COLORFUL and not at all the bigoted asshats we truly are.

We are after all, agreeing that it’s okay to think that Muslims who wear traditional Muslim clothing, place being Muslim above being Americans or whatever nationality they might be. Like Catholics who wear crucifixes and Jews who wear yarmulkes are of course placing their faiths above their citizenship. Native Peoples who wear braids, obviously will defend their ethnic group before they will carry a rifle for American against enemy invaders. Yeah, I can see that this all makes sense, and is not just another RACIST FEAR MONGERING TACTIC to gain the approval of the RIGHT WING BIGOT, ya know the ones with NASCAR/BUDWEISER  jackets and FLAGS on their car aerials all to announce that they place their JUST US above the common good of the ENTIRE country.

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Related Articles

• Rose: Williams’ firing reflects fear in media (boston.com)
• Louis Gohmert’s Exquisitely Dumb Solution To The Unemployment Problem (huffingtonpost.com)

Christine O’Donnell Declared Hazard to Mental Health!

Tags

1st Amendment, American economy, campaign contributions, Christine O'Donnell, economics, GOP, John Bolton, Juan Williams, Karl Rove, Obama Administration, progressive Christians, religion, Sarah Palin

The good news is that Witchypoo will soon be able to go back to fabricating her resumé searching for that ever-desireable non-profit job with a big salary that she has dedicated her sorry life to.

The bad new is, we won’t have the ever-generating nonsense Christine to kick around any more.

As I noted earlier, nowhere was there a O’Donnell reply to her outrageously funny and nationally known OOPS wherein she asked in ALL seriousness, “It’s IN the first amendment?”

Now we know why. Christine, is shocked, shocked I say that everyone is not clasping her to their breasts and falling to their knees in adoration at finding a true understander of the Constitution.

As she put it, “WE were all high-fiving each other having thought I clearly won the debate. And the next day, WE were confused when THEY didn’t agree. ” Yes, kiddies, Christine didn’t go back to her lair and lick her wounds, crying in crocodile tears that nobody ‘splained the constitution to her. No indeed, the remained unaware, and still does it seems that she is an IDIOT.

The Contrarian worries that she used the term “we.”

“Can there be others?” he said shivering in his literal boots.

“At least one, I guess,” I mused.

“They” it seems must be the rest of the world’s population. Why, I imagine even a reasonable good student in Beijing U could figure out that “separation of church and state” was not only implied in the 1st Amendment, but also used directly by a Founding Father, to wit: Thomas Jefferson.

The best line uttered, was (don’t recall her name but she is an ex-House member, and mother-in-law to Chelsea Clinton) this great line on MSNBC’s Chris Matthew’s Hardball: “She makes Sarah Palin look like a Rhodes scholar.”

And we hear she gets money from Angle in Nevada who appreciates having the limelight turned off her as witchypoo expresses a much superior degree of air-headedness. Unintended consequences I guess.

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The Revealer reviews a book that looks sensational. In a post entitled Stories the Religious Left Must Tell Itself,  Brent A.R. Hege looks at Changing the Script: An Authentically Faithful and Authentically Progressive Political Theology for the 21st Century, by Daniel Schultz.

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Need I say more than Margaret and Helen? I promise you, you will not regret going over and reading another knee-slapping, rib-splitting take on Merika and the Po-lit-ikal scene.

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Almighty God, I confess. . .that whenever I see the name John Bolton, I am overcome with a desire to tie him down, and with a pair of tweezers, pull out every hair of his mustache, one at a time, slowly and with as much upper lip pain and I can foment. Whew, I’ll say 3 “our Father’s and 3 Hail Mary’s for that tonight!

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I saw something on MSNBC this morning about Clinton (Bill that is) being rather dumbfounded that the Democrats (read Administration) has done such a lousy job of speaking on its successes in turning the economy around. I’ve seen this graft before, but it bears another look. Does anything more needs be said?

H/T to Moe at Whatever Works!

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There are two new posts at Walking in the Shadows. One was written about a week ago, but somehow, never “published.” One deals with Catholic matters, the other is more general. Enjoy if you are so inclined.

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Tengrain points out that which we all noticed in Sarah (where’s the money?)Palin’s tweet about Juan Williams: notably that Ms. Moosey thinks that an employer is required to employ someone whose views conflict with the employer’s business. All this is part of the 1st Amendment, Ms. Palinator thinks. She says everyone is outraged at NPR’s behavior. Hmmm, don’t think so there Mooselini. I think they are appalled at your lack of understanding of basic constitutional law. Try again, or call up Witchypoo, she seems quite clear on 1st Amendment issues.

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The Contrarian and me too are getting really tired of women telling men to “man up.” No such alternative by men would be tolerated. And the only women using such terms are anti-feminist women who are trying to hi-jack the term to apply to conservative Phyllis Schlafly types. Feminists don’t indulge in just trying to be the new DICK on the block. We change the atmosphere of discourse. Learn up Sharron and Christine, and Sarah, and Carly and Meg, and all of you “traditional” women masquerading as “liberated”.

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Oh and a big thanks to NBC for FINALLY doing a decent piece on mainstream news about the outrageous influx of big business money to Republican coffers. They called out Rove and his band of CEO ass-kissers. They have received several checks (at least 4 in a week or so) in the $1,000,000 range. Talk about buying an election! If I see Alito shaking his head one more time,  when Obama warned of this, I’ll be ready to get my tweezers again and start searching his body for hair to pull.

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See ya tomorrow!

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Related Articles

• Is Sarah Palin Giving Up On Christine O’Donnell? (alan.com)
• Sarah Palin Thinks NPR Firing Of Juan Williams Is Unconstitutional (alan.com)
• Exclusive: O’Donnell Stands Her Ground on 1st Amendment (abcnews.go.com)