Category Uncategorized

Nov 2 2020

Trump – The Stain

Trump and his People

“My philosophy is always to hire the best from the best.”

Trump and Business Acumen…and Honesty

“Trump Steaks are the world’s greatest steaks, and I mean that in every sense of the word. Treat yourself to the very, very best life has to offer you. And as a gift, Trump Steaks are the best you can give. One bite, and you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about, and believe me. I understand steaks, it’s my favorite food.” Trump marking the introduction of Trump Steaks by The Sharper Image (2007)

Trump and Women

“You know, it doesn’t really matter what the media writes as long as you’ve got a young and beautiful piece of ass.” Esquire Interview (1991)

“Wow! Just think — in a couple of years I’ll be dating you.” – Trump to two 14-year-old girls in 1992

“People want me to [run for president] all the time … I don’t like it. Can you imagine how controversial I’d be? You think about him [Bill Clinton] and the women. How about me with the women? Can you imagine?” – On Hardball with Chris Matthews

“I’ve known Jeff for fifteen years. Terrific guy. He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. No doubt about it — Jeffrey enjoys his social life.” On Jeffrey Epstein. Quoted in New York Magazine, 28 October 2002.

“All of the women on The Apprentice flirted with me – consciously or unconsciously. That’s to be expected.” Ny Daily News (24 March 2004)

“I’ll go backstage, before a show, and everyone’s getting dressed and ready and everything else. And you know, no men are anywhere. And I’m allowed to go in because I’m the owner of the pageant and therefore I’m inspecting it. You know I’m inspecting, I want to make sure everything is good, the dresses, “Is everyone OK?”, you know they’re standing there with no clothes, “Is everybody OK?”, and you see these incredible-looking women, and so I sort of get away with things like that.” Comments about his ownership of Miss Universe on the Howard Stern Show (11 April 2005)

“I did try and fuck her. She was married. I moved on her like a bitch, but I couldn’t get there. And she was married. Then all of a sudden I see her, she’s now got the big phony tits and everything. She’s totally changed her look. I’ve gotta use some Tic Tacs, just in case I start kissing her. You know, I’m automatically attracted to beautiful — I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait. When you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything… Grab ’em by the pussy. You can do anything.” To Billy Bush in 2005; “Transcript: Donald Trump’s Taped Comments About Women”, The New York Times (8 October 2016)

Trump and Healthcare

“I’m conservative, and even very conservative. But I’m quite liberal and getting much more liberal on health care and other things. I really say: What’s the purpose of a country if you’re not going to have defensive and health care? If you can’t take care of your sick in the country, forget it, it’s all over. I mean, it’s no good. So I’m very liberal when it comes to health care. I believe in universal health care. I believe in whatever it takes to make people well and better.” Interview with Larry King CNN (October 1999)

Trump and the Military

Trump and China

“I know the Chinese. I’ve made a lot of money with the Chinese. I understand the Chinese mind.” As quoted in Tony Pierce (3 May 2011), “Donald Trump has read a lot of books on China: ‘I understand the Chinese mind’“, Los Angeles Times

“I love China. The biggest bank in the world is from China. You know where their United States headquarters is located? In this building, in Trump Tower. I love China. People say, “Oh, you don’t like China?” No, I love them. But their leaders are much smarter than our leaders, and we can’t sustain ourself with that.”

Trump and Leadership

Leadership: whatever happens, you’re responsible. If it doesn’t happen, you’re responsible. Tweet (8 November 2013)

Trump and Personal Qualities

Written by a nice reporter. Now the poor guy – you ought to see the guy: ‘Uhh I don’t know what I said. I don’t remember!’ He’s going, ‘I don’t remember! Maybe that’s what I said.’ As quoted in “Trump mocks reporter with disability” (25 November 2015 by CNN)

I know words. I have the best words. Speech in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, 30 December 2015

Quite the Looker!

Trump and the Wall

I will build a great, great wall on our southern border, and I will have Mexico pay for that wall. Mark my words. Campaign launch rally, 6/15/15

Trump and Racism

I think I’ve done more for the black community than any other President and let’s take a pass on Abraham Lincoln because he did good but although it’s always questionable, you know in other words the end result.

Trump and Work Ethic

I love working. I’m not a vacation guy. Right? Like Obama, he plays golf in Hawaii. He flies in a 747. Hardball with Chris Matthews, August 4, 2017 April 21, 2016 rally

Trump – Ethics and Honesty

I have no patience for injustice, no tolerance for government incompetence, no sympathy for leaders who fail their citizens.

Trump – Fooling some of the People some of the Time

“You can’t con people, at least not for long. You can create excitement, you can do wonderful promotion and get all kinds of press, and you can throw in a little hyperbole. But if you don’t deliver the goods, people will eventually catch on.“

And what does this say about America given Trump was elected as our President and Leader? Nothing good…

Maybe let’s get it right this time around.

Oct 30 2020

An Alternate Reality

If this last seven months have taught us in America anything, it is very clear our country hasn’t progressed out of the 1950’s to the extent many of us had thought…or at least had hoped. The election of 2016, if nothing else, has exposed to all of us who the people around us really are. I don’t like most people as a general rule but I can now put a pretty clear face on it – if you remain a Trump supporter in 2020, you are pretty much a piece of shit. It is likely that you and I have relatively little in common. It is likely you don’t have a college education. It is likely you wear a baseball hat. It is likely you watch Fox News (using the term loosely). You believe that the 2nd Amendment actually gives you, a private citizen, the right to have/carry a gun (or many guns). You believe that cars made in the US are superior to those made in other countries. You shop at Walmart, love how cheap everything is but don’t acknowledge that most of what you buy has been made in China. You think that electric cars are a fad or a phase. You think that Tucker Carlson, Laura Ingraham and Sean Hannity are actually journalists. You believe a 6 pack of beer and a pack of cigarettes just improve an evening. You remain convinced that women are less capable in most “important” things than men.

“I see the disinfectant, where it knocks it out in a minute, one minute, and is there a way we can do something like that by injection inside, or almost a cleaning? Because you see it gets in the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs, so it’d be interesting to check that.” – President Trump April 23, 2020

You believe that Trump is a successful business man. You believe kids in cages are okay and that 465 children, separated from their parents at the border and now will never see their parents again is justified. And you still think that Mexico is paying for that wall. You believe that Covid-19 is really just a worse version of the flu and only old people are really at risk. You believe in God and church but only on Sundays or when it works in your favor. You believe that Trump actually cares about you. You believe that most minorities only have themselves to blame for where they are in our socio-economic scheme. You think that wearing a mask out in public during the pandemic is a sign of weakness and an affront to personal liberty (please then take your seatbelt off when you drive). You believe that Government handouts are socialist actions…but you freely take Social Security and Medicare. You believe QAnon is real and based on fact.

“I love the poorly educated.” Trump – February 2016

I could go on and on but the reality is that most of us are living in entirely different and separate worlds. Where we live and how we have lived are most often key in how differently we think and how we live our lives. For me personally, I could give two shits about how you live, where you live and what you believe. I would ask however, you of different worlds, please stop trying to remake my world into yours. Stop trying to make sure that your values and beliefs are ones that everyone should be living.

I have a natural instinct for science…What you’re seeing and what you’re reading is not what’s happening…People are flushing toilets 10 times, 15 times…No, I don’t take responsibility at all – President Trump, whenever

Let’s keep it pretty simple – stay the fuck out of everyone else’s business. Keep just fucking up your life. I’m good with that…and don’t ask for help when your life has met challenges. Works for me.

Jun 3 2020

The Problem with Power

Watching the events that have unfolded over the past several days should shake this nation to its core. Without change, we will not survive as a free nation. The problem of taking and abusing power is endemic and at its base are people of weak character, challenged intellectual capacity and a “follower” lemming mentality. Whether it be members of Police Departments, the Secret Service, the National Guard, the Armed Services, The NRA, Neo-Nazis, protestors who storm state capitals with assault weapons, these are people who spend their lives being scared, realizing they have little to raise them up and realizing they are powerless against others with influence. These are the individuals who see guns and a badge or shield of some sort as the means to “be” powerful or at least feel something approaching adequacy.

Can this be fixed in the individual? Not at all since it reaches down into the depths of what makes an individual. It started as children who never felt they made the grade or never excelled at anything. It is part of the psyche, it is part of the soul of the individual. Watching the “police” responses to those peacefully protesting in our cities gives a good view into many of these people. No, not every one of those in uniform and in riot gear but the thought (or excuses) that “it only a few bad ones” is wrong. It is not everyone but it is endemic in these organizations we have evolved to maintain order. It is more than a few which means the fix is more than firing a couple when an obviously horrific act occurs – as it did in the murder of George Floyd. These organizations draw a good number of individuals who see it as a means to feel better and to exercise strength that without their uniform and weapons just won’t happen. Power without earning it. How convenient. It is time to start over. Watching many of the police who took their level of intensity over the top with the protesters was horrifying. Shades of 1968 as we watched police using tear gas, rubber bullets, batons and their shields as weapons to actually injure people. This was not maintaining order. This was the look of a fascist state.

It is time for a purge of active personnel that includes anyone who has shown their willingness to step over the line. It is time to stop the Police Unions whose first job is to protect their members no matter what. It is time for real external review boards to monitor, discipline and dismiss. It is time that police unions be disbanded or be made to focus only on just job benefits not job guarantees. It is time that psychological tests and instruments be mandated as a means to getting any job where a gun and position of power over the community is present.

It is time that people stand up for injustice and wrongs against other people. It doesn’t work to set up racial, ethnic, religious or whatever slice of life we have as a focus of who needs to change or who needs to take what action. At this juncture, we all have a way to go.

And we need a President who sets an example and who doesn’t cover the fact he is a pussy with power plays.

May 31 2020

The Whole World is Watching…The Whole World is Watching.

Chicago Transit Authority – “Prologue, August 29, 1968”

There have been only a handful of times where I have looked around and wondered what the hell is going on and how did we get there. I expect that many are at that point as we watch what has unfolded over the past several days. Aside from the unnecessary deaths that have occurred following and including the murder of George Floyd, most disheartening is the fact that if we were really paying attention, none of this should be surprising at all.

I am now well past 60 and three-quarters of the way to my 70th birthday. Interesting how age provides perspective that one never thinks they don’t have in their younger years. Not sure I’m that much smarter – just more experienced and more aware. As I watch what is going on in our country at this time, I can’t help to be brought back to some of the earlier times where our country seemed to be splitting in two. I’m sure it wasn’t the first time for the US but I remember how the 1960’s was playing out. While the long and arduous civil rights journey has started decades earlier, it was the first decade and time where civil rights was actually taken seriously – by some – and change was underway. President Johnson had begun the effort to move the country forward, signing and putting into law the Civil Rights Act of 1964, soon followed by the Voting Rights Act in 1965. Even for a young teenager, it just seemed right. But this was too much for many, leading to the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr and Bobby Kennedy in the latter part of the decade.

We, as a country, were also well into the Viet Nam conflict and the country’s appetite for what was becoming seen as an unjust war was reaching most of us as we watched bodies piling up – on both sides. It had taken it’s toll on President Johnson and was severely impacting any unity in the country. I was coming of age, so to speak, in the later 1960’s and I remember distinctly the events at the 1968 Democratic National Convention, taking place in Chicago that year. We all sat and watched on TV as Chicago police, under orders from Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, beat demonstrators with nightsticks as they arrested them. I believe this is where the idea of the “Establishment” leading to an “Us vs. Them” mentality worked its way into our young minds. This was just the beginning. It is now over 50 years since then where the chant of the Chicago demonstrators “The whole world is watching” was picked up by a new group in their first album – Chicago Transit Authority – soon to be known as Chicago, one of the most popular groups of the 70’s.

On May 4, 1970, members of the Ohio National Guard fired into a crowd of Kent State University demonstrators, killing four and wounding nine Kent State students.

Another “Us vs. Them”. Demonstrations grew across college campuses around the country. We became more distinctly aware of our generation vs. theirs. For many of us, racial division wasn’t really a big deal. Not sure why but I don’t recall any issues in college because someone was a different color or because they didn’t look the same as most of us. We had bigger things to do. It was a great time – our generation had moved into a space unoccupied by our parents – and the Establishment they represented. Sex, drugs and Rock and Roll, so to speak. But we got pulled back into it on occasion – Vietnam kept us engaged. As freshmen, we sat in the dorm watching TV as the Selective Service Draft Lottery was going on, each one of us knowing that if our number (birthday) got picked early enough, our lives would be dramatically changed as we would likely find ourselves embroiled in the Establishment’s Vietnam War. We had bigger concerns than the skin color of those around us. But we were college kids. For many in the country, the impact of the Civil Rights movement and what followed just solidified the racism and hatred that remains strong today.

Most of us have labored under the thought that in the past 50+ years the racial divide had been closing and that we were always moving forward. Donald Trump has brought that idea to a screaming halt. While he himself hasn’t caused the hate and discord, he has given it a platform and the energy of resurgence. This false sense of progress most of us have had is probably worse than if the reality of race inequality was obvious all along. Maybe we wouldn’t have taken our eyes of the ball. Maybe it would not have been so easy to assume. Maybe more real progress could have been made. Maybe we should have paid more attention to the riots we’ve seen over the years.

Our great country isn’t really so great after all. Making America Great Again has been shown in all it’s glory to make it a return to a time of demonstrated intolerance. It isn’t really a surprise when we look at those most responsible for Trump’s victory. They are those people most threatened by change. These are the people who never really accomplished much personal growth. Some might be “successful” in terms of what they have but they are stunted human beings. If someone else succeeds then they don’t believe they can. In comparison to others, they always fall short so they need someone a few rungs down on the ladder. I still don’t understand the mindsets or the attitudes but they would likely have criticisms and reservations about me. Am I always right? Not by a long shot. I can be an asshole and I can be intolerant but I am an equal opportunity asshole and intolerant. But I can judge myself to some degree by looking at the children we raised and the adults they have become…and I think their intolerance of hate and inequity speaks volumes.

There is still no other place I would want to have grown up and raised my children but I am disheartened by what we have not accomplished as a people who have generally had it much better and much easier than most other countries. But this is not the America on which our values have been based for much of our existence. It is time that we actually need to get a leader who knows how to lead (where is Obama when we need him?) and we need that person quickly. Without leadership, we are like an orchestra without a conductor – a lot of noise and everyone on their own. Not music I want to hear. No matter what, the path forward, assuming we get our act together at all, is a long one.

But here we are again – The Whole World is Watching…

Mar 22 2020

It’s time to deal with this.

I have spent the last 3+ years pretty much out of the way given the travesty the current POTUS has brought to what was one of the most powerful and influential nations the world has ever seen.  This asshole has taken us back to a time over 60 years ago when the country was of one color, minorities basically knew their place and where people like Trump could manipulate, abuse and work around any sense of decency that existed at that time – which, in what is today’s terms for the educated and aware – was still rather uninspiring. While I hold Trump personally responsible for the “great again” he has foisted on this country, the real issue are the people who provide undying support for him and his ways.  The Christians (professed) who look the other way when he speaks of grabbing pussy.  The uneducated who actually think he is looking out for them and is like minded (but again, there are the uneducated).  The Republican politicians whom have sold their soul because they believe with enough time Roe vs. Wade will be overturned.  We do have the inmates running the prison, the crazies running the asylum.  Use whatever metaphor you like, we have no leadership of any principle, integrity or intelligence in charge.

Our situation today, as COVID-19 runs rampant and the daily task force briefing stands in front of a weakened nation basically providing no real or accurate information, is one where we are basically fucked.  Well, not all of us.  Some of us, actually the more aware among us, have been preparing for weeks, not waiting for our leaders to get their collective heads out of their asses.  We are not waiting for God to take care of things (or maybe given where this country is at the moment, he is fixing the wrongs and letting us know he is not pleased).  I jest at some level given I have been and will always remain a devout atheist.  I depend on my own intelligence and experience to tell me what is good and what is bad.  I don’t wait for others to show me the way.  In my sixty-six years on this earth I’ve figured quite a bit out and have been reasonably successful at it.  I am far from perfect but I do have eyes, I do have a brain, and I can see that things are not good.  Not just with COVID-19 but with where this country has headed in the last 3 years.  The reckoning is upon us, however, and the stupid and the sheep will be many of the ones that fall.

By the time this pandemic has completed it’s first pass thru the US, there will be more than 100,000 people who have died.  We can only hope that many of them are those who, even today, we see cavorting on the beaches of Florida, the visitors who can’t forgo seeing the Cherry Blossoms in D.C., the church goers in Michigan, whose Republican Senators have forced the hand of the Governor to not include places of worship under the mandate to not meet in crowds of 50 or more.

Yes, we can only hope that we are thinning the herd.  You can’t cure stupid.

Oh – last point – just got a notification on my phone – Rand Paul has tested positive for COVID-19.  Maybe there is a god.

Jul 2 2013

Religious Freedom???

credit: en.paperblog.com

credit: en.paperblog.com

In the continuing spirit of calling out stupid, we have a new contender for stupid of the month.  No, not speaking about Rick Santorum but close.   Not to dump any more than necessary on the religious zealots out there (something that should actually be a bit more of a focus) but they again step into the realm of “you’ve got to be kidding me” with a recent lawsuit out in California where parents have sued to stop the school district from having kids perform yoga as part of gym class.  The parents see teaching yoga in schools as a violation of Church-State Rule.  The parents sued claiming the classes are being used to indoctrinate children and  “spread the gospel” of Ashtanga yoga.  I’ll have to say, if anyone knows about “indoctrination” and “spreading the gospel”, it is the Christians.

Here is the original source of the news:  http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Yoga-Class-Encinitas-Lawsuit-San-Diego-Reglious-208538581.html#ixzz2XuEUSfP0

credit: sodahead.com

credit: sodahead.com

Doesn’t it seem interesting that these religious nuts are always the ones seeing things that are bad and evil being foisted on them, no doubt as part of a scheme by Satan himself to disrupt those good Christians just out to do good and follow the ways of the Lord.  The level of paranoia is pretty amazing and one must ask what is really feeding it.  If one is so secure in one’s belief system, why so concerned that it will topple in a 30 minute gym class.  It’s not like these kids aren’t going home and being brainwashed on a daily basis.  If it isn’t an alternative religion, it’s sex or some other prurient interest that these people apparently fell short on getting enough of so their interest and attention remains rather high.   I would submit that most of these people don’t need to look too far to see where the devil really lies.

credit: cafepress.com

credit: cafepress.com

Maybe if these people spent a fraction of the time they spend focused on other people’s habits and beliefs and spent a bit more energy on looking inwardly and working on developing some insight (assuming ability to do so – a big assumption), these Christians would soon realize that many of us look at them the same way – as those out to make everyone else see, think and act like they do.  The only difference is that we are more confident in our beliefs and are not taking them to court to force our views into how they live their lives.   Does anyone doubt these same people wouldn’t see any issue with prayer back in the schools?  Let’s make sure we have the “violation of Church-State Rule” argument ready to go next time they complain about something taking away their religious freedom.  But of course the rules are different for them because they have God and the bible behind them.

Mar 28 2013

William Shockley…in another Flavor?

Maybe it is Brain surgery...

Maybe it is Brain surgery…

Interesting paths that some individuals take to relative notoriety.  Dr. Ben Carson, a neurosurgeon and the Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at the prestigious Johns Hopkins Hospital, has made the rounds as of recent from addressing President and Mrs. Obama at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C to wowing the crowds at CPAC.  Hard not to make a splash at CPAC when you take an obviously successful black man who is Republican and have him attack Obama policies…but again, he was preaching to the choir, so to speak.  Apparently quite the Christian also.  But just when you have an new face in the Republican camp who is all of a sudden being talked about as the next best thing next to sliced bread who will be a leading contender for the 2016 Republican amazing race, it becomes obvious they left the bread in the toaster a little too long.  The good Dr. choose poorly and joined Sean Hannity on Fox News and again, quickly provided evidence of why the Republicans are where they are and why many even within the party are shaking their heads in wonderment.  If you missed it, the exchange basically was as follows:

HANNITY: All right, last question, we have the issue of the Supreme Court dealing with two issues involving gay marriage. I’ve asked you a lot of questions. I’ve never asked you that, what are your thoughts?

CARSON: Well, my thoughts are that marriage is between a man and a woman. It’s a well-established, fundamental pillar of society and no group, be they gays, be they NAMBLA, be they people who believe in bestiality. It doesn’t matter what they are. They don’t get to change the definition. So he, it’s not something that is against gays, it’s against anybody who wants to come along and change the fundamental definitions of pillars of society. It has significant ramifications.

Huh?  You’ve got to be kidding – say what?  Brain surgeon?

So here we have someone who is apparently an esteemed surgeon (questionable) who equates gays with pedophiles and people into bestiality.  Excuse me?  I wouldn’t let this guy near my brain if it was leaking out all over the floor.  I guess the good news is we can really see what this guy is made of and where his values lie.  Reach a little further back into his views and you get that which is the hallmark of these conservatives and right-wing nut jobs – “I can tell you what to do and how to live but don’t try to do that to me.”

In his book America the Beautiful, he shares the following view:
“I have no problem whatsoever with allowing gay people to live as they please, as long as they don’t try to impose their lifestyle on everyone else. Marriage is a very sacred institution and should not be degraded by allowing every other type of relationship to be made equivalent to it.”

Interesting point I must have missed – I didn’t realize the gays were trying to “impose” their lifestyle on everyone else.  I might be a little slow but I still don’t get how gay marriage somehow changes marriage between a man and a women.  Is this anything like gay teachers trying to convert children to their lifestyle?  In all honesty, in looking around at the state of most heterosexual marriages, one might be able to easily make the case that it needs a little help or change.
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So again we have someone who gets a great deal of attention as a conservative who manages to step wholeheartedly into the pit of ignorance by demonstrating not only an opinion that most in this country would obviously abhor (at least if they are younger than 40 years old if we go by polls) but also the stupidity to say it aloud so there is no room for error when someone looking and listening to him tries to figure out if this is someone to whom they can relate as a person.  I guess the net result of the comments made in this last election cycle by the likes of Todd Akin and Richard Murdoch (and even the 47% speech by Romney) hasn’t made much of an impression on some in the party.
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What I might suggest to the good Dr. here is a quick review of the position taken not all that long ago by another Republican. William Shockley.  William Shockley won the Nobel Prize for inventing the transistor, founded Silicon Valley, was a virulent racist, and donated sperm to a sperm bank for the super intelligent.  So on one hand a rather accomplished physicist and inventor.  On another hand, he managed to pretty much put it all out there with his views of blacks.  While teaching at Stanford he became intrigued by racial questions and population control, and began publicly claiming that blacks are less intelligent than whites, by genetics and heredity.  Shockley believed that the higher rate of reproduction among the less intelligent was having a dysgenic effect, and that a drop in average intelligence would ultimately lead to a decline in civilization.  When asked if his views amounted to racism, he famously answered “If you found a breed of dog that was unreliable and temperamental, why shouldn’t you regard it in a less favorable light?”

William Shockley showing off his latest invention - Siamese Tea Cups

William Shockley showing off his latest invention – Siamese Tea Cups

So, I ask Dr. Ben how different his views of gays as equals to the rest of us are from how Shockley viewed blacks a few decades ago.  Looks like some haven’t learned much about how it feels to be looked as inferior.   And these are supposedly the “smart’ ones.  I might suggest that Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Reince Priebus consider reprinting the latest Republican Manifesto so maybe a wider population can “get it”.
                                                                                                                                            RNC Growth                                                 growthRNC
Mar 26 2013

Time to get off the Religious Bandwagon

Source and owner of picture = dingo.care2.com

Source and owner of picture = dingo.care2.com

With all eyes on the Supreme Court today with what will eventually be an historic ruling and leap forward, I still find it amazing the people who stand against what is an obvious (to some of us) civil right for our LGBT citizens.  It remains tiring and disheartening that I needed to have the conversation with my son today to not let this ongoing crap and the ignorant comments get to him as it is really just a matter of time as law catches up with where the majority in our country are going with gay rights and gay marriage.    Yes, it might not be this time around where we get it right but it is inevitable.  What is just and what is right will prevail.  We have time on our side as many of the naysayer’s are of that “Greatest Generation” and they will not die off soon enough.  Giving them that honor (Tom Brokow – you are undoubtedly an asshole) just because they served in WWII managed to dismiss the fact that they have been one of the most bigoted, most selfish and most self-entitled generation this nation has ever seen.  But I digress – we still have all the other bible thumpers – most of whom are religious in name only and then only when it serves their personal need.  These are also people who hide their prejudice behind some crap out of the bible – a novel from the hands of pure mortals at best.  I might have a little more respect if these same people actually lived their life based on the purported beliefs but these are the same people who make up the 41% of people in marriages that admit to infidelity or the 57% of men and 51% of women who admit the same (and these are just the ones who admit it).  If the bible is your only course of pushback to gay marriage, your platform is rapidly shrinking and will likely catch up to your brain shortly.

Source and owner of picture = i.imgur.com

Source and owner of picture = i.imgur.com

But again I digress.  I’m thinking that maybe it is time to take this same approach these anti-gay people are taking and start to apply it to other human traits/characteristics/whatever you want to call it but basically aspects of being a person that you really have no control over and were likely pretty much born with – yes, pretty much like those people who are gay ( and it you still believe it’s a choice, it is time to take that gun you are so afraid is going to be taken from you and do us a big favor and move ahead with an unassisted suicide event.)

Let’s look at a few of the options.

Intelligence – Maybe we need to start looking at people’s IQ as a means of differentiation and begin to allocate access to things based on level of intelligence.  Maybe if your IQ is under 120, you should be limited in access to certain societal institutions – like access to college or maybe even high school if you’re too far down that IQ scale.  Maybe we should limit the jobs available to these dumbbells as our economy as an institution is one we should be protecting from those who contribute little.  You can still get married but only to other people of lower IQ but I think we might want to limit your ability to have a baby as if you aren’t able to really add to the family as an institution in a positive sense, maybe a limit is in order.   Not sure you should be able to drive a car – I don’t think I need to elaborate on the benefit of that direction – have you been out there on the road recently?

Attractiveness – We could look at how attractive people are and limit certain access based on where they are on the ugly scale.  We could actually memorialize height and weight as a differentiator.  As I understand it there are many clubs that ugly people already can’t get into.   There are other aspects of this that exist already so this one is already underway.

Statistic Verification
Source: American Psychological Association, Smart Money, Princeton University
Research Date: 11.27.2012
Attractive People Success Statistics Data
Percent chance an attractive person will receive a callback after an interview 72.32 %
Percent chance an unattractive person will receive a callback after an interview 62.02 %
Percent more that attractive workers earn than unattractive 10 %
Average lifetime earning difference $230,000
Average salary for people with low self-esteem $50,323
Average salary for people with high self-esteem $78,927
Average salary for someone who was 6’0″ at age 18 $51,880
Average salary for someone who was 5’1″ at age 18 $40,000
Percent of salary increase with each standard deviation increase in facial symmetry 8%

I won’t belabor the points here but at some level this is all wrong.  And it seems stupid when you put it on paper but yet it is not all that different.  Discrimination is wrong no matter the justification or rationalization.  It is not up to any one individual or group to limit the access a person has to that society has to offer or to impede their ability to live a life equal to the rest of us based on their own personal beliefs.  I’ve said it before and I don’t know how people don’t see it (maybe it’s the intelligence factor cited above) but just because you believe something and choose to live your life a certain way doesn’t give you the right to force that on everyone else. I do wonder what you are really scared of because that is the only thing that explains this unthinking and unfeeling behavior.   Your justification, usually based on some religious doctrine or belief, doesn’t hold water into society today.  We don’t all want to follow your God (and most of you really don’t anyhow) and we don’t want your rules to be our rules.  I don’t force my ways or beliefs on you – I might think you are stupid or an asshole – but I’m not asking you to do it my way.  And don’t limit my son’s ability to live and enjoy life to its fullest.  When you do I don’t just think you are stupid or an asshole – you have removed all doubt.

Jan 16 2013

Fire with Fire

It has now been probably 10 minutes since President Obama finished the news conference on actions to curb gun violence in our country.  While I don’t tweet or watch trending issues among those that do, I expect the internet is swarming with irate NRAers and the rhetoric will take on an even higher dimension of fear and threat as the efforts Obama has put into play become more real.  I expect there are those already heading out to re-supply their food and ammunition coffers as they undoubtedly see this as only one step from the government knocking down their doors to take their guns.  Just that picture alone and that there are those who actually believe it is pretty amazing.  I have to wonder how some of these people would score on an MMPI, Rorschach Ink Blot or even Myers-Briggs Personality test.   But I digress.  It is obvious that Congress will likely be a large part of the problem in making change so depending on that will be futile.  As the President said it will be incumbent on all of us to make sure our politicians not only understand what we want but that we will hold them accountable for their actions – or lack there of – in not taking the wants and needs of the majority of the US public into account when making the decisions they do.  We need to make it clear that while these politicians might fear a loss of money from the NRA and other related lobbyists, those we elect must realize that all that money won’t make a difference when they are no longer in office.  It is time to tell these politicians we will not only not support and not vote for them, we will actually vote against them – no matter who is running.  Start the letters, emails, phone calls, whatever works for you.

Anon1

In the meantime, speaking of fire with fire.  While not really surprised at the depth of human nature the NRA has stooped with their latest ad drawing the President’s children into the issue, it becomes increasingly clear we are not dealing with thinking and feeling human beings.  It is obvious that common sense, compassion, empathy, and a myriad of other real capabilities will not work with these people.  It is time to take it to a level they understand.  It would be nice if the group Anonymous had some sort of signal like Gotham City had for Batman when they needed him that we could just shine it up onto the clouds but let me just reach out and make a suggestion to them – I doubt they haven’t started down this path on their own but wouldn’t it be a nice gesture if we could see the names, home addresses, pictures, personal email addresses, telephone numbers of not only all the leadership of the NRA (both past and present) but also have the same info for all their families – wives, children and grandchildren as the case may be – posted somewhere out for all to see.  Of course they would cry “foul” but maybe this would jolt some of them into some semblance of human form.  If it was good enough for the Westboro Baptist Church, why not the NRA.  Both pretty despicable organizations.

Nov 15 2012

If You’re a Republican, Politics Trumps America Every Time

McCain caught doing his best Rodney “I don’t get no respect” Dangerfield imitation

There is no doubt the killing of four Americans in Benghazi is a tragedy and there should be the required reviews and assessment of the situation to learn what we can, understand what was not done that maybe should have been and to work to reduce the likelihood this will happen again.  I say reduce as I expect to take any position that implies there is anything we can do that will prevent these sort of incidents in the future would be stupid and illogical – especially given the temperament of the world today.  I would doubt that any ambassador or any staff member in a US embassy in most of the rest of the world recognizes they take the position with some element of risk being evident.   Doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do everything we can to protect them but we are not dealing with people or situations where we can anticipate every move and action.   There are actions to be taken but to turn this political is unacceptable.  This brings me to today’s “Head in the Butt” award.

The Dynamic Duo of 2008 – Two halfwits not adding up to a whole

There was a time where I had a lot of respect and time for John McCain.  He was a man who had served his country and a man who appeared to obviously have some standards for which he stood – and he actually seemed to be a pretty nice guy  – at least from afar.  My naiveté.  As he took the national and global stage in his run for President, it quickly became clear that behind the public persona I had seen was someone who was pretty much a jerk, someone who was pretty angry and basically a man who was pretty much a bastard.  With his pick of Palin for VP he further showed his inability to understand what was important and the degree of his shortsightedness.  To think he could have foisted that half-wit of a governor on this country is unconscionable and the fact he would allow the Republican Party to push that on him puts his leadership ability seriously in question.  His recent attacks on Obama and Susan Rice continue to show this is a man who has an ax to grind and again reminds us of the Peter Principle in practice.  I can only imagine where this country would be four years later and with the challenges we have faced.  But I digress.  These most recent McCain political attacks show that he is no different from the rest of his party and he will put politics before country.   His grandstanding and his obvious lack of civility brings only one good thing to the forefront – we get to see the newly enthused Barack Obama start to show the muscle and attitude many of us have figured was there and were waiting to see.  So on that note, thanks, John.  You’re still an asshole but every cloud has a silver lining.

So today, please take a bow and accept the most recent “Head in the Butt” award.  In reality, I think it is long overdue.

There was a close runner up but not this time Lindsey.   Lindsey Graham, by joining the same chorus with McCain, definitely put himself in contention for the “Head in the Butt” award.  Unfortunately, this time around you weren’t quite up to the same level of cluelessness but I have to give you some slack given your area of study in college – one I expect leaves you entirely out of step with many of us but probably more in line (or at least a little ahead) with many of your Republican peers.  Your B.A. in Pseudoscience actually implies you have some inkling that science might have some bearing in our lives.  I, for one, didn’t know this even existed as a major in any college.  It seems somewhat contrary to most of what I would expect from any college curriculum but that could be my shortcoming.  For others in my same stead, Pseudoscience is often characterized by the use of vague, exaggerated or unprovable claims, an over-reliance on confirmation rather than rigorous attempts at refutation, a lack of openness to evaluation by other experts, and a general absence of systematic processes to rationally develop theories (Wikipedia).  I expect this helps when you want to basically ignore fact and make it up as it meets your need.  So, Lindsey, I’m not of the mindset you should get the “Head up the Butt” award but have no issue giving you a runner up prize of the other award of notice – the “Bag of Shit” award seems appropriate given I can’t expect you to look at anything beyond the use of vague and unprovable claims.

Yes Lindsey, that is pretty rank – on par with your recent attack on Susan Rice.