Anthony Weiner | Existential Ennui

Tags

American History, Anthony Weiner, boredom, David Barton, early humans, evolution, founding fathers, Health care, Herman Cain, immigration, lifestyle, Neandertals, paleontology, philosophy, psychology, Rick Santorum, science, self

Shocking? I guess it should be given the fact that Darwin didn’t publish his seminal work until 1859, more than half a century after our government was formed.

That is the claim however of the pseudo-historian David Barton. And he claims that no less of a questionable religionist than Thomas Paine, who died the same year that Darwin was born, argued that creationism must be taught in the schools.

If all of this leaves you a bit skeptical, well, Barton has plenty of other ideas that would make a big business CEO grin from ear to ear. Jesus was opposed to minimum wage laws, and therefore unions, as well as progressive income taxes.

Even more shocking Mr. Barton explains the real impetus for the revolution was not economic, but a persistent dedication to the eradication of slavery. Somehow, England ultimately beat us to the punch on that, but no matter, it’s the thought that counts.

You can read all this and watch the actual interview wherein Barton espouses his unique “history” by following the link.

♦

Herman “step ‘n fetch it” Cain is busy these days, yakking up the airways with his bizarre understanding of the world. He too has a slippery grasp on history as he reminded us to “read that small section of the constitution” wherein we were promised life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Except that that little phrase doesn’t come from the constitution, but rather from the Declaration of Independence.

Cain then went on to and pontificated that as President, he would not sign any bills longer than three pages. Given that much of any bill deals with its impact on a plethora of other agencies and legislation and regulations and interfaces are essential for all these things to work together, this presents quite a problem. It suggests that Cain would end up signing zero bills. It also suggests Cain has no sense whatsoever of how the government operates.

Now Cain explains how he would deal with the problem at the border with Mexico–a wall, akin to the Great Wall, and one with a companion moat, and yes, filled with alligators!

Cain appears to subscribe to the Palin school of knowledge–just say what seems sensible to you, even when its demonstrable that you are not a very sensible person.

♦

“To thine own self be true?” Okay, but how exactly is one to determine who the true self is? It’s a lot harder question than you might have thought. Depending on what standard you use, you can end up at quite different conclusions. A very thoughtful article by Joshua Knobe.

♦

That leave you bored? Well join the club. Boredom is a human condition, no matter what anyone says. Even animals get bored. Boredom can be normal or abnormal, situational or existential. So if you find yourself bored, then read all about this subject! Nothing could be less boring.

♦

Memo to Antony Weiner: Dude, don’t miss the next meeting of “How I threw away my life”. Lots of your favorites will be there! Tiger Woods will offer the first testimonial. Also, a good move would be to check into rehab forthwith. That tends to get a sympathy vote. Sex addiction is the hottest trending rehab these days.

♦

When I was growing up, to call someone an Neandertal was essentially to call them something just barely above the level of ape. Today, our understanding is vastly superior, and we find that most of our old assumptions were wrong. Neandertal DNA shows up in some parts of today’s populations. And there is no evidence that Neandertals were in conflict with more modern man.

♦

: These chin-ups are sure to pay off in the future!

♦

If you aren’t totally tired of Weiner jokes, then bop on over to Political Irony and see the late night comedians do their thing.

♦

Ricky “don’t google me” Santorum, just can’t stop being a boob. It’s his nature. He has told Johnny McCain that he don’t know nothin’ bout no torture, said that climate change is a patent absurdity, claimed he would make marriage inequality the center of his campaign, and so forth. Now in the growing Republican revision of history, he tells us that the D-Day invasion occurred precisely to insure the American right to private health care. Yes, he said that:

Almost 60,000 average Americans had the courage to go out and charge those beaches on Normandy, to drop out of airplanes who knows where, and take on the battle for freedom. … Those Americans risked everything so they could make that decision on their health care plan.

Yes, my friends, the ultimate nutjob said that.