Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Monday, April 27, 2009
Bill Kicks Ass!
(Thanks, Tom!)
The GOP: divorced from reality
The Republican base is behaving like a guy who just got dumped by his wife.
By Bill Maher
April 24, 2009
If conservatives don't want to be seen as bitter people who cling to their guns and religion and anti-immigrant sentiments, they should stop being bitter and clinging to their guns, religion and anti-immigrant sentiments.
It's been a week now, and I still don't know what those "tea bag" protests were about. I saw signs protesting abortion, illegal immigrants, the bank bailout and that gay guy who's going to win "American Idol." But it wasn't tax day that made them crazy; it was election day. Because that's when Republicans became what they fear most: a minority.
The conservative base is absolutely apoplectic because, because ... well, nobody knows. They're mad as hell, and they're not going to take it anymore. Even though they're not quite sure what "it" is. But they know they're fed up with "it," and that "it" has got to stop.
Here are the big issues for normal people: the war, the economy, the environment, mending fences with our enemies and allies, and the rule of law.
And here's the list of Republican obsessions since President Obama took office: that his birth certificate is supposedly fake, he uses a teleprompter too much, he bowed to a Saudi guy, Europeans like him, he gives inappropriate gifts, his wife shamelessly flaunts her upper arms, and he shook hands with Hugo Chavez and slipped him the nuclear launch codes.
Do these sound like the concerns of a healthy, vibrant political party?
It's sad what's happened to the Republicans. They used to be the party of the big tent; now they're the party of the sideshow attraction, a socially awkward group of mostly white people who speak a language only they understand. Like Trekkies, but paranoid.
The GOP base is convinced that Obama is going to raise their taxes, which he just lowered. But, you say, "Bill, that's just the fringe of the Republican Party." No, it's not. The governor of Texas, Rick Perry, is not afraid to say publicly that thinking out loud about Texas seceding from the Union is appropriate considering that ... Obama wants to raise taxes 3% on 5% of the people? I'm not sure exactly what Perry's independent nation would look like, but I'm pretty sure it would be free of taxes and Planned Parenthood. And I would have to totally rethink my position on a border fence.
I know. It's not about what Obama's done. It's what he's planning. But you can't be sick and tired of something someone might do.
Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota recently said she fears that Obama will build "reeducation" camps to indoctrinate young people. But Obama hasn't made any moves toward taking anyone's guns, and with money as tight as it is, the last thing the president wants to do is run a camp where he has to shelter and feed a bunch of fat, angry white people.
Look, I get it, "real America." After an eight-year run of controlling the White House, Congress and the Supreme Court, this latest election has you feeling like a rejected husband. You've come home to find your things out on the front lawn -- or at least more things than you usually keep out on the front lawn. You're not ready to let go, but the country you love is moving on. And now you want to call it a whore and key its car.
That's what you are, the bitter divorced guy whose country has left him -- obsessing over it, haranguing it, blubbering one minute about how much you love it and vowing the next that if you cannot have it, nobody will.
But it's been almost 100 days, and your country is not coming back to you. She's found somebody new. And it's a black guy.
The healthy thing to do is to just get past it and learn to cherish the memories. You'll always have New Orleans and Abu Ghraib.
And if today's conservatives are insulted by this, because they feel they're better than the people who have the microphone in their party, then I say to them what I would say to moderate Muslims: Denounce your radicals. To paraphrase George W. Bush, either you're with them or you're embarrassed by them.
The thing that you people out of power have to remember is that the people in power are not secretly plotting against you. They don't need to. They already beat you in public.
Bill Maher is the host of HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher."
The GOP: divorced from reality
The Republican base is behaving like a guy who just got dumped by his wife.
By Bill Maher
April 24, 2009
If conservatives don't want to be seen as bitter people who cling to their guns and religion and anti-immigrant sentiments, they should stop being bitter and clinging to their guns, religion and anti-immigrant sentiments.
It's been a week now, and I still don't know what those "tea bag" protests were about. I saw signs protesting abortion, illegal immigrants, the bank bailout and that gay guy who's going to win "American Idol." But it wasn't tax day that made them crazy; it was election day. Because that's when Republicans became what they fear most: a minority.
The conservative base is absolutely apoplectic because, because ... well, nobody knows. They're mad as hell, and they're not going to take it anymore. Even though they're not quite sure what "it" is. But they know they're fed up with "it," and that "it" has got to stop.
Here are the big issues for normal people: the war, the economy, the environment, mending fences with our enemies and allies, and the rule of law.
And here's the list of Republican obsessions since President Obama took office: that his birth certificate is supposedly fake, he uses a teleprompter too much, he bowed to a Saudi guy, Europeans like him, he gives inappropriate gifts, his wife shamelessly flaunts her upper arms, and he shook hands with Hugo Chavez and slipped him the nuclear launch codes.
Do these sound like the concerns of a healthy, vibrant political party?
It's sad what's happened to the Republicans. They used to be the party of the big tent; now they're the party of the sideshow attraction, a socially awkward group of mostly white people who speak a language only they understand. Like Trekkies, but paranoid.
The GOP base is convinced that Obama is going to raise their taxes, which he just lowered. But, you say, "Bill, that's just the fringe of the Republican Party." No, it's not. The governor of Texas, Rick Perry, is not afraid to say publicly that thinking out loud about Texas seceding from the Union is appropriate considering that ... Obama wants to raise taxes 3% on 5% of the people? I'm not sure exactly what Perry's independent nation would look like, but I'm pretty sure it would be free of taxes and Planned Parenthood. And I would have to totally rethink my position on a border fence.
I know. It's not about what Obama's done. It's what he's planning. But you can't be sick and tired of something someone might do.
Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota recently said she fears that Obama will build "reeducation" camps to indoctrinate young people. But Obama hasn't made any moves toward taking anyone's guns, and with money as tight as it is, the last thing the president wants to do is run a camp where he has to shelter and feed a bunch of fat, angry white people.
Look, I get it, "real America." After an eight-year run of controlling the White House, Congress and the Supreme Court, this latest election has you feeling like a rejected husband. You've come home to find your things out on the front lawn -- or at least more things than you usually keep out on the front lawn. You're not ready to let go, but the country you love is moving on. And now you want to call it a whore and key its car.
That's what you are, the bitter divorced guy whose country has left him -- obsessing over it, haranguing it, blubbering one minute about how much you love it and vowing the next that if you cannot have it, nobody will.
But it's been almost 100 days, and your country is not coming back to you. She's found somebody new. And it's a black guy.
The healthy thing to do is to just get past it and learn to cherish the memories. You'll always have New Orleans and Abu Ghraib.
And if today's conservatives are insulted by this, because they feel they're better than the people who have the microphone in their party, then I say to them what I would say to moderate Muslims: Denounce your radicals. To paraphrase George W. Bush, either you're with them or you're embarrassed by them.
The thing that you people out of power have to remember is that the people in power are not secretly plotting against you. They don't need to. They already beat you in public.
Bill Maher is the host of HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher."
Sunday, April 26, 2009
A Beautiful Essay
Thanks to Sam Trego for this great forward. (may be old news to some of you - but I'm slow.)
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Friday, April 24, 2009
Got that ol' time garage?
"If going to church makes you a Christian, does going to the garage make you a car?"
(Thanks, Jean!)
(Thanks, Jean!)
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
For Uncle Joe
Many of you knew my Uncle Joe. He was a gay man, living in an incredibly conservative community. How he stayed there is beyond me, but I suspect it spoke to the beauty of the town, and the community that he was part of. Many of the people - very conservative - were friends with Joe. I believe he was a community treasure. He faught the hard fights. He lived in a time when being gay was incredibly hard. He came to my wedding on June 25th, 1983... and that was the weekend of the Gay Pride parade in NYC. Although he didn't explicitly say it, I think that was part of the motivation for coming. Can you imagine a gay man that gets to see his struggles rewarded with Gay Pride? He must have cried more than once.
My little sister is gay as well. She has a beautiful wife, and they love each other very much. She is on the second tier. She didn't have to fight the fights of Joe, but I'm sure she has had battles of her own.
My parents, conservative though they are, voted against Prop 8. They said - and this is key - "how could we vote against our daughter?"
So it's only a little disturbing for me that this video has recently come out:
Truly, it sickens me. But I have hope. And not the kind of hope that the people in this video have. I know... I talk to my children. I see the future. They could care less what someone's sexual orientation is. But they DO care that people have rights. Like a scab that flecks off the skin... our children will rid us of this injustice.
In the meantime, here are a few talking points to combat the homophobia of the above video.
Rock on, my peeps! The future will be bright.
My little sister is gay as well. She has a beautiful wife, and they love each other very much. She is on the second tier. She didn't have to fight the fights of Joe, but I'm sure she has had battles of her own.
My parents, conservative though they are, voted against Prop 8. They said - and this is key - "how could we vote against our daughter?"
So it's only a little disturbing for me that this video has recently come out:
Truly, it sickens me. But I have hope. And not the kind of hope that the people in this video have. I know... I talk to my children. I see the future. They could care less what someone's sexual orientation is. But they DO care that people have rights. Like a scab that flecks off the skin... our children will rid us of this injustice.
In the meantime, here are a few talking points to combat the homophobia of the above video.
Rock on, my peeps! The future will be bright.
I wish her first name wasn't Maggie...
A fascinating discussion that I heard last week on my iPod catchup... There's a lot of fear out there, but the tipping point is coming closer. Our children get it. They will put this over.
No separate but equal.
Frank has this spot on. I heard an interview on NPR with Maggie whats-her-name the other day. Just clueless. The tipping point is near. Our children get it - completely. Thank god for evolution in that vector.
Jen Rocks!
I hate country. I do. The closest I ever got to it was the Dixie Chicks and what's her name... Mutt's wife (ex?)... Oh right... Shania Twain. Anyway, I wanted to get a Cajon so I found Jen Lowe's You Tube videos on demoing them. And I saw she had an album, so I said: "what the heck". I love supporting indie music. So when I saw the "country" genre pop up after ripping it to my ipod, I said "oh, no...." But I listened... and she has some of the snappiest tunes I've heard in a while. If she's country, she's got massive cross-over appeal. Tight harmonies, and toe-tappin' music. I give my friends indie music for their birthdays, and this girl is going into heavy rotation. Come out to the left coast, Jen! I'll pack your house with my peeps!
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Norm... it's looking bad for you, bro...
At some point (if it hasn't already arrived) the calculus will turn for Norm's future prospects by staying in this fight. If you can, consider giving a dollar a day. And just remember, we all started out as hippies. It's how you finish that matters.
jane, Jane, JANE!
I don't know WHAT Jane is talking about here?! I mean, abstinence worked VERY well for Bristol Palin... oh... wait... this just in... Nevermind. ( oh, and I really should let her live her private life... just like her mother did. )
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Larry Summers - Womens' Champion at Harvard
I hate Larry Summers. I mean he's just an ignorant narcissist. Thanks Frank for pointing this out.
Christian Nation
This is a response to a post that a dear friend made on Facebook about this article. His comment? "Good facts from Parker"
Wow. Where to begin. Whatever happened to separation of church and state? I guess Danny Elfman pretty well covers this issue for me, with the lyrics here.
If I had to guess, I think religion is on the rise and will continue.
People generally tend to turn to it in times of stress, to help explain things that are unexplainable (401K->201K, job loss, etc.). I get that. And I have no problem with that. The problem I have with it is their insecurity and intolerance of a world that doesn't agree with their view! Now, I realize that both the left and the right like to make strawpeople out of extremists. We have them on both sides. But how do these extremists play out on the world stage? They rally the troups to their point of view. Populist rage.
If you take a look at the big picture... we have a huge imbalance in the wealth of the world, and we're in the top slot. (Well, perhaps China is now... )
Nature seeks an equilibrium (Somalli Pirates, Taliban, Hammas - just to name a few equalizers), so that cannot spell good things for the top dog. China and India - traditionally very poor countries, are getting wealthier (this economic pause in your consuming pleasure notwithstanding). This will come at the expense of the richer countries. (seen any manufacturing jobs recently?) There's absolutely no way a worker here in the states can compete with the salary of a worker in developing nations. This is why we have such a huge trade deficit with China! All the WalMart Shoppers are sending their dollars to China.
But is this really a bad thing?
I claim no.
Firstly, there is no way we're ever going to go to war with China. (and I love that the hawks in congress are up in arms about repurposing our war machine to reflect that!) They want our dollars, and we want their output. Anybody want to stop that? Not going to happen with free trade.
Secondly, a world that can't afford to go to war with a country they trade with suddenly becomes at peace with them. This is why it's such a great idea to open relations with our "enemies". Cuba? The best thing we could do is let the Cubans see what they've been missing. THEY will throw out the Castros!
The same with Iran... what a tweet that Bush was for turning our back on Iran when they wanted to help us after 9/11. I mean... the tragi-comedy does NOT get any better.
So I see American wealth slowly trickling out to China, India, and points abroad. We will learn to consume less, and others will consume more. We will find an equilibrium, until all are at peace (unless we cook planet first.)
And more people will turn to religion to explain what they have lost. And that's perfectly fine with me, just keep it to yourself, please. I'm perfectly willing for you all to keep it in the Red States, and we'll keep the heathenry on the coasts. (with small islands in each: we have Orange County, you have to tolerate Chicago.)
Cheers!
p.s. this all changes if the price of oil makes it prohibitive to send Salinas lettuce to Japan and Chinese shoes to NYC. Then the living becomes local, the jobs come back, and we ramp up the military to protect our stuff!
Wow. Where to begin. Whatever happened to separation of church and state? I guess Danny Elfman pretty well covers this issue for me, with the lyrics here.
If I had to guess, I think religion is on the rise and will continue.
People generally tend to turn to it in times of stress, to help explain things that are unexplainable (401K->201K, job loss, etc.). I get that. And I have no problem with that. The problem I have with it is their insecurity and intolerance of a world that doesn't agree with their view! Now, I realize that both the left and the right like to make strawpeople out of extremists. We have them on both sides. But how do these extremists play out on the world stage? They rally the troups to their point of view. Populist rage.
If you take a look at the big picture... we have a huge imbalance in the wealth of the world, and we're in the top slot. (Well, perhaps China is now... )
Nature seeks an equilibrium (Somalli Pirates, Taliban, Hammas - just to name a few equalizers), so that cannot spell good things for the top dog. China and India - traditionally very poor countries, are getting wealthier (this economic pause in your consuming pleasure notwithstanding). This will come at the expense of the richer countries. (seen any manufacturing jobs recently?) There's absolutely no way a worker here in the states can compete with the salary of a worker in developing nations. This is why we have such a huge trade deficit with China! All the WalMart Shoppers are sending their dollars to China.
But is this really a bad thing?
I claim no.
Firstly, there is no way we're ever going to go to war with China. (and I love that the hawks in congress are up in arms about repurposing our war machine to reflect that!) They want our dollars, and we want their output. Anybody want to stop that? Not going to happen with free trade.
Secondly, a world that can't afford to go to war with a country they trade with suddenly becomes at peace with them. This is why it's such a great idea to open relations with our "enemies". Cuba? The best thing we could do is let the Cubans see what they've been missing. THEY will throw out the Castros!
The same with Iran... what a tweet that Bush was for turning our back on Iran when they wanted to help us after 9/11. I mean... the tragi-comedy does NOT get any better.
So I see American wealth slowly trickling out to China, India, and points abroad. We will learn to consume less, and others will consume more. We will find an equilibrium, until all are at peace (unless we cook planet first.)
And more people will turn to religion to explain what they have lost. And that's perfectly fine with me, just keep it to yourself, please. I'm perfectly willing for you all to keep it in the Red States, and we'll keep the heathenry on the coasts. (with small islands in each: we have Orange County, you have to tolerate Chicago.)
Cheers!
p.s. this all changes if the price of oil makes it prohibitive to send Salinas lettuce to Japan and Chinese shoes to NYC. Then the living becomes local, the jobs come back, and we ramp up the military to protect our stuff!
Monday, April 13, 2009
How Easter Eggs Are Made
My wife smiled and put her head in her hands... then said "boy humor..." oh well. I still love it. (Thanks, Kellie!)
Friday, April 10, 2009
Making Banking Boring
Dr. Krugman once again puts his finger on the problem. People are reluctant to release power once they attain it, so I think it will be a long slog to repair the damage.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Unbelievable!
For the life of me, I cannot understand how Iowa is more progressive now that California. We take our victories one at a time.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Stop Kicking the Ball
We are just kicking the ball down the field if we don't do something about pricing the cost of what we're doing to this planet.
Our National Treasure
I heard this interview today on my iPod and it's just stellar. What a treat to share the same planet with a guy like this.
I LOVE Dorothy...
This is just plain silly, but it's such a fun poke in the eye to the current job market.
Monday, April 6, 2009
This is certainly frightening!
Holy moly... I wonder if it's too late to set up one of those toxic asset buying thingies... Anybody want to pool your 401K with me and we can clean up!
Bring in all Parties.
Have to agree with this: You have to bring in all parties. You must be inclusive. You must listen. The past is the past. I suspect that some Jews and Palestinians will not go along with this, however.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Wagner
There's so much to say about the car biz... my father was a Pontiac dealer. But for now, this is a fairly well balanced article.
Momo's Back!
This is probably one of the best pieces by Momo in recent memory. Accurate, incisive, hilarious. Keep away from that Snark bottle, Momo... 's bad for ya!
Thursday, April 2, 2009
No, No, NO!
Are you kidding me? This can't be right! It's got to be Dodd and Frank's fault. b'wa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Fishing Warden in the Gobi Desert
God, I love how Gail writes. She reminds me of Molly Ivins, R.I.P.
Perverse Incentives
I think that Stiglitz has this right. I think we may be kicking the can down the road here.
Share the Pain
Amen to Krugman and Blodget. There is no way that the bank's bondholders should get away scott free.
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