September 9, 2014

I Approve This Message On Job Approval

Events that have nothing to do with a president can cause his approval rating to increase or decrease, and it is because of this that it’s safe to say “job approval” is a meaningless statistic. Okay fine, I understand it’s not meaningless, because perception matters, but can we at least acknowledge that perception in this case is based on bullshit? Take a look at President Reagan’s approval rating. It averaged around 53% for his entire presidency, but it was up to 73% after he was shot in an assassination attempt. Why would that affect his job approval rating? Could it be that it’s a bullshit statistic? Or let’s look at the 80 to 90% approval (peaking at 92%…WTF were people smoking?) President George W. Bush saw after 9/11. What exactly did he do to deserve that unusually high approval? I’ll tell you what. He presided over the worst terrorist attack on American soil, then he got on a bullhorn at Ground Zero, pumped his chest, talked tough, and America approved. Yeah, I’d say the “job approval” statistic is based on bullshit, wouldn’t you?

∼ Continue Reading ∼

• • •

September 6, 2014

The First Amendment Does Not Exist If…

The First Amendment does not exist if it does not apply to everyone. There are no religious exemptions. There are no racial exemptions. There are no ideological exemptions. There are no “thought police” exemptions. There are no asshole exceptions. So, for the handful of conservatives out there who think Muslims in America do not deserve First Amendment protection, the equation remains unaltered: The First Amendment does not exist if it does not apply to everyone.

∼ Continue Reading ∼

• • •

September 2, 2014

Deficit Spending: We Always Seem To Find Money For War

Republicans are against deficit spending. They are so against deficit spending, or even budget neutral spending, that they blockade nearly every bill that comes their way. But many of these same Republicans have no problem finding funds, even if it means running a deficit, as long as these funds are explicitly earmarked to dismember, maim, and blow shit up. Chris Hayes once said, “If you can run a deficit to go to war, you can run a deficit to take care of the people who fought it.” And that is true, unless you are a Republican, in which case you get to editorialize on the failings of Veteran Affairs (VA), put the blame at the feet of President Obama, and do so while voting against any additional funding for the VA.

∼ Continue Reading ∼

• • •

August 30, 2014

Logic And Reason vs. The Immovable Iron Curtain Of Emotion

Sometimes when you find yourself on the logic and reason side of an argument, which is hopefully most of the time, you have to learn when to pack it up and call it a day. Because at some point you enter into the territory of hurt feelings and worse when the side of emotion feels they are being attacked or ganged up on. It is up to those of us who value logic and reason to recognize this, and then politely change the subject. Yeah, I know this is a counterintuitive, because after all, if not for logic and reason how will we ever solve problems and move forward. But when you encounter the immovable iron curtain of emotion, there is no amount of logic and reason that will overcome.

∼ Continue Reading ∼

• • •

August 29, 2014

Do Conservatives Understand Government Is NOT Inherently Corruptible?

Conservatives would like to weave you a tale of inevitably corruptible big government, but it is not government that is inherently corruptible, it is human beings who are inherently corruptible. And if you realize this truth, you realize distinctions should be made based on integrity, not on the line that divides public/private. Because it doesn’t matter whether it’s the public sector or the private sector, human beings can be compromised, human beings can be paid off, human beings can do the wrong things. Conservatives must move beyond their singular focus on corrupt government and understand that any human-based entity is corruptible. When conservatives come to this realization, they too will understand that we hold the public sector to a higher standard than the private sector.

∼ Continue Reading ∼

• • •
1 2 3 4 5 6 … 8