tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7576918686719572142024-03-14T00:22:35.396-04:00Abundant AbsurdityAbsurdity is obvious and everywhere. I like to be the fool pointing it out.
If you disagree with anything you read here please leave a comment. I hate being wrong so corrections are a way to go from wrong to right. Convince me!The Absurdisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01998472358970743359noreply@blogger.comBlogger62125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-757691868671957214.post-485772187112457422018-06-29T18:05:00.004-04:002018-06-29T18:07:03.245-04:00What are you trying to accomplish?Hello again,<br />
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Yeah, I've been AWOL for almost two years. Why? Good question. Some of it is the usual but the biggest reason is that I didn't think I had anything new or unique to say. Of course, I could rant with the best of them about Trump's latest outrage or scandal, but what then? The last thing we need is another repetition of what you've heard a hundred times.<br />
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Then Justice Kennedy announced his retirement this week and I lost it. While I've gone through some pretty rough times, I've never had PTSD, but the way I felt Wednesday can't be far off. I sat on my couch and stared at the wall unable to comprehend what just happened, and what it means for my future, and much more importantly, for my kids' future. After a few hours, I had to get my mind off of it so I grabbed my running shoes and headed to the Central Park reservoir. I ran hard. Exercise has a way of clearing my head and focusing my thoughts so what came to me then is what you're reading now. It's missing most of the humor I (try to) put into my mosts, but bear with me - I haven't seen this expressed elsewhere, and I think it will be useful.<br />
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As you probably know I have two children, ages 8 and 11. The question I ask them most isn't "how are you?" or "what did you do in school today?" but some variation of "What are you hoping to accomplish?" It's useful when they start a project, do schoolwork, etc but I pull it out much more often when there's conflict. Like when they're yelling at each other over some perceived slight. Or when my daughter asks, for the 11th time, if she can have another cookie for dessert. I get down eye-to-eye with her, with a very specific quizzical look on my face, and ask<br />
"Have you ever known me to say no the 10th time and yes the 11th?" <br />
"No, Daddy" (she still calls me "daddy". I still can't get enough of it.)<br />
"Then what are you hoping to accomplish? Will it get you what you want or will it get you in trouble?"<br />
"Trouble."<br />
"So..."<br />
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Not once has she asked that question a 12th time. It's to the point now I give them the quizzical look and rarely have to even ask the question.<br />
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Democrats, Liberals, Progressives, realists and everyone else who recognizes the shitshow that is the Trump presidency are tearing themselves apart trying to decide whether we should continue to take the high road with his followers and maintain decorum, or if we should fight fire with fire by yelling, screaming, lying, insulting and worse. I ask each of you the same question I ask my kids: "What are you hoping to accomplish?" You can roll around in the mud with a pig but you'll just get dirty and the pig will enjoy it.<br />
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If you're looking for a quick adrenaline hit and a round of accolades from the like-minded, then a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zNr8Pf1QkY" target="_blank">"Fuck Trump!" a la Robert DeNiro</a> is a good way to go. <br />
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What next? After the rush subsides and the applause are silent what have you accomplished? I'm not criticizing, I'm asking. In a room of other sane folks, I say let 'er rip.<br />
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But if you're in the public square, literally, figuratively or digitally, think about everyone around you. How's it going to look to <i>them</i>? Trump supporters will pass you off as a snowflake or otherwise whiny, limp-brained liberal. Who gives a damn? They're a lost cause. Basket of deplorables, indeed. What about the on-lookers? What will they see? As polarized as we are there may not be too many true independents left these days, but there are a few. How else would you explain a Democratic senator from <i>ALABAMA</i>? Yes, dedicated and energized Democrats (THANK YOU, black women!!) but also independents and even some conservatives disgusted by the TrumpOldParty.<br />
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A favorite blogger/tweeter of mine, Doc Bastard battles anti-vaxxers and other science deniers on a daily basis. (If you don't follow <a href="https://twitter.com/DocBastard" target="_blank">his tweets</a> and <a href="http://docbastard.net/" target="_blank">blog</a> you're <b>really</b> missing out.) When I was lucky enough to chat with him a few months ago I asked why he continues to beat his head against these very, very dead horses. He said he has little hope for the anti-vaxxer currently whose ass he's kicking at that moment. He does it for his followers, and more importantly, the anti-vaxxer's followers. He said he's received dozens, if not hundreds of emails from people who've watched him from the sidelines and been made to question their own anti-science beliefs, and a pleasantly surprising number of them have come around to reality. Best of all, that's just the people who've taken the time to email him, so perhaps 1% of the total? 10%?<br />
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We need to do the same thing in politics, especially those with a platform. If the undecided voter sees Nancy Pelosi or Chuck Schumer ranting like Trump they'll be more justified in thinking "all politicians are alike, and they're all vile toddlers." But if you can maintain your dignity while pushing back against the tide of darkness maybe, just maybe, you'll show them there's a difference after all. <br />
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Don't think, for a second, I'm suggesting we roll over and let them steal the spotlight with their bullshit. But we need to find another way to push back. A better way. I have some ideas to toss out in my next post, which I promise will be out soon. <br />
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We absolutely must win in November <i>and going forward</i>. "What do you hope to accomplish?" is a powerful tool. Use it. Please pass along a link to this blog, and let me know your thoughts in the comments section here. <br />
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Every election cycle someone says "this is the most important election of our lifetime" but normally that's just hyperbole. This time it really is. We stand at a precipice. Do we back away carefully, or go over the edge "Thelma And Louise" style?<br />
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What are you hoping to accomplish?The Absurdisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01998472358970743359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-757691868671957214.post-52770020632180684442016-11-10T02:00:00.003-05:002016-11-10T02:00:41.817-05:00Explaining the election to a childTuesday night my 9-year-old son went to bed around 10pm, crying at the prospect of a Trump presidency. I assured him it was early, the returns would go late into the night and everything would be ok by morning. At 2:30am, along with just under half of the country, I watched the news report that Hillary Clinton had called to concede. Tears poured down my face and I walked into the bedroom and told my wife that the United States as we know it died in that moment. I firmly believe that the country reached an inflection point and will never be the same: economy, environment, science, tolerance, acceptance, self-determination are on the chopping block. Dear Odin, I sincerely hope I'm wrong.<div>
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But I couldn't say any of that to my son in the morning. He's a smart, aware, curious, sensitive child and the last thing any father wants to do is terrify his son, so I owed him something better. My favorite part of the day is the half-hour I spent walking him to school in the morning. (My work calendar has that time is blocked off with the label "Sacrosanct".) As we left the apartment this morning he asked how so many people could be so stupid as to vote for someone so clearly wrong for the job. What I told him may not be especially profound but I think it came out well and might be helpful to other parents struggling with the same thing.</div>
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I started off saying it's not about smart or stupid. This country clearly has issues, though not the made-up problems most people think (immigration and unemployment to name two.) And they're complex problems. Because if they were easy they would be solved already. Difficult problems require thought, experience, effort, time, patience and dedication. In short, it's very hard work. We average citizens have enough to deal with in our own lives without having to take on the nation's burdens alone. So easy, simple answers have their appeal: Build a wall, take the country back, make America great, deport all of the illegals. A few moments of serious thought make it clear <b>none</b> of those are realistic, much less desirable, but without the effort those solutions can be comforting to people who don't know better. Compound that with the news bubble that feeds you only what you already believe and you get president-elect Trump. </div>
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It's unquestionable that many of his voters are racist, misogynist, xenophobic, homophobic and/or antisemitic. (Look at the virtual orgasm David Duke has been having for the last 24 hours.) But I just can't believe that this country has that many, well, deplorables, for lack of a better term. I blame last night on laziness more than malice. </div>
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None of what I've said is meant to excuse the laziness and its fallout. Far from it. I was just looking for a way to explain it to a precocious boy who's waking up to politics just in time for what promises to be a disaster. </div>
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Once again, dear [your deity here] please let me be wrong.</div>
The Absurdisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01998472358970743359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-757691868671957214.post-11545664453728239872016-11-01T22:32:00.001-04:002016-11-02T11:12:36.236-04:00Welcome to "The Apresidentist"I haven't posted much here in a while. (And by "a while" I mean almost three years.) I was hoping my absence would cause chaos and rioting in the streets by my (checking....) <strike>thirteen</strike> many followers but, come to think of it, there's already been too much of that the last year or so. I've had ideas to post here, but none were particularly original so I didn't want to waste your reading time or my writing time with the same things you've seen elsewhere. Finally, though, I think I have something to add. Let me know in the comments if you agree. Or disagree. I can take it.<br />
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It goes without saying that I'm ardent in my beliefs, but at the same time I recognize that people disagree and, as long as their points are thought-out and well-reasoned, I respect and even understand them. At least I try to. And as a long-time political junkie I've been following this election cycle with intense interest.<br />
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And alcohol. <br />
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A lot of alcohol. <br />
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<i><b>A lot</b></i> of alcohol.<br />
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But until a few days ago I've been completely unable to wrap my head around how Donald Trump could be, well... Donald Trump. Even more, I couldn't grasp how anyone could not only support him, but do so vigorously. Then it clicked in - I understand not only his supporters but him. Every bit of it.<br />
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First the more obvious: his supporters. Two words: Fucking Nuts. No, wait, not those two. Ok, yes those two, especially for what's probably the bulk of his fans. AKA the basket of delporables.(#ThanksHillary). But for a subset who probably thinks that they're thinkers there are two more words: Supreme Court. Yeah, this one's been discussed in the media already but what really gelled was how this can be a prime motivator. Supreme Court justices almost always serve for much longer than the Presidents who nominate them and they end up impacting society for generations. When Antonin Scalia died I saw a chance to bring some real balance to the court. Of course the GOP saw that too so they've obstructed Obama every way possible hoping that a Republican would beat Hillary. Well, they're going to get what's coming to them - I'd put good money on President Clinton (yes, a week out I'm still confident she's going to win) nominating someone to the left of Merrick Garland. (Aside: wouldn't it be great if that nominee's name was "Obama"?). To <strike>staunch</strike> blind conservatives this must be a fate worse than, well, a Trump presidency. Hence, ardent support. Conservatives with <i>functional</i> brain cells, though, realize that no liberal justice could do more damage to the US, not to mention the world, than a President Trump.<br />
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I've tried to imagine the flip side. What if the GOP had nominated someone sane and reasonable (You're laughing. I'll wait.) but the Democrats had chosen a ranting idiot with no experience and an uncontrollable mouth? Bernie? Nope. Alan Grayson? Closer. Ralph Nader? Almost. Kanye? Ah, there we go. Mitt Romney vs Kanye West. Honestly, I'd vote for Romney. But I'm also not a rabid ideologue. The big picture matters to me, even if it means sacrificing what I want. <br />
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Now, as for Trump himself - what explains all of his behavior, going back to the now-legendary elevator descent? Reality. No, not reality <i>reality</i> but reality TV. Think about it: That's the only thing he's ever really done well. He's a lousy businessman and a crummy real estate magnate but he's a good TV host - in the way that a cattle prod is a good way to wake up in the morning. But he's no longer making "The Apprentice". Now he's the creator, producer, writer, director and star of "The Apresidentice". He doesn't actually <i>want</i> to be the POTUS. Why would he want to cramp his lifestyle like that? Think of the freedom he has now to do what he wants, go where he wants, live where he wants, buy what he wants, talk to who he wants, sell what he wants, grope who he wants, say what he wants. He could do none of that living at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. He may not even realize it but, subconsciously at least, he's doing everything he can to sabotage his own candidacy. <br />
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Evidence? Sure, I got ya: He lies far more than any other candidate in history; he rejects science and facts; he perpetuates conspiracies; he retweets bigots; he goes out of his way to insult the largest voting blocs in the country like Latinos, Asians and Women; he comes up with ever-more-ludicrous nonsense - like he's trying to see how far he can go; and most recently he's doing his best to depress turnout <i>of his own voters.</i> He talks about how the election is rigged, which makes people think "why vote - it doesn't count anyway?" He insists, despite all evidence to the contrary, that he's ahead in the polls and will win on November 8th so voters think "He has it in the bag - I don't need to vote." He fails to capitalize on news that should be harmful to Hillary's candidacy, even going so far as to create his own spectacles that push her out of the news. Last but certainly not least he's told people<i> the wrong day to vote</i>.<br />
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So what is his end game? Trump TV. What better way to start a network than to travel the country; hold huge rallies; get billions in free airtime; convince experienced, media-savvy former-politicians to go all out on your behalf; all on someone else's nickel? Give it a few weeks and you'll see his major campaign surrogates with their own shows. Give it a few more weeks and they'll all follow "Sarah Palin's America" into the footnote bin of history.<br />
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A year ago if you were to have pitched this script to Hollywood they would have laughed it off as absurd. Soon, though, this script will <i>be</i> Hollywood. <br />
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At least it won't be Washington. <br />
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I hope.The Absurdisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01998472358970743359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-757691868671957214.post-75559300762987042052013-11-14T19:11:00.003-05:002013-11-14T19:11:31.217-05:00Cash For Clunking Insurance Plans<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px;">Blog</span><br />
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So, Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn says that Obamacare is forcing everyone to buy a Ferrari even if they only want fords. </div>
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Bullshit. </div>
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Oh, was I supposed to surround that with "*cough*" to make it more subtle? Yeah, we'll, I'm tired of subtle. These idiots are about as subtle as a chainsaw so I'm just playing their game. </div>
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To continue with their goofy analogy Obamacare isn't taking Fords off the road, they're making sure Ford and all of the other manufacturers can't sell you a car with cheesecloth seat belts, smog-belching engines and airbags full of confetti. It's no different than when the government mandated seat belts in the 60s, pollution controls in the 70s, airbags in the 80s and increased efficiency every so often since. Every time that happened the auto companies swore it was the end of cars as we knew them, freedom, sunshine and chubby baby cheeks. Of course it never played out that way and now is no different except that this time the insurance companies *want* Obamacare. It's just the GOP standing in the way, screaming of doom and gloom and death to Grandma. </div>
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Don't get me wrong, the insurance companies are far from upstanding citizens here: They're sending out misleading (to put it mildly) letters to their members. Going back to cars for a moment it's as if Ford notified their customers that "we can't sell you the Pinto any more but wouldn't you look good in this lovely Lincoln Continental?" entirely ignoring the Focus that costs the same as (or less than) the Pinto but doesn't blow up when looked at cross-eyed. It's Cash For Clunkers 2.0. </div>
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If Oscar Meyer were selling selling hot dogs full of poison you'd want the government to stop them, right? And if Oscar Mayer agreed but then sent letters to all of their customers saying "sorry, no more Arsenic dogs, so you should buy some delicious filet mignon" that would be absurd, wouldn't it? So why do we let the insurance companies pull the same racket while somehow becoming the victims?? </div>
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Once again the GOP is completely full of crap and, as usual, they're hurting the very people they've convinced to elect them. It would be an impressive bit of salesmanship if it weren't, literally, a matter of life and death. I know people who were denied insurance coverage or treatment and died because of it. How <i>anyone</i> in their right mind could stand in the way of broader medical care utterly befuddles me. </div>
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But that's just it. They're not in their right minds. They're completely insane. Fortunately Obamacare covers that. Think they'll take advantage of it? </div>
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Don't be absurd.</div>
The Absurdisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01998472358970743359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-757691868671957214.post-82050668054841053602013-10-07T20:55:00.002-04:002013-10-07T20:55:56.310-04:00What takeover?This is a post I wrote over three years ago but never published. Not surprisingly it rings as true now as it did then, especially now with President Obama in the White House for another four years and Obamacare actually up and running as of a few days ago. Obamacare is our generation's social security: Reviled by the right at passage but a sacred cow a generation later. So with no further ado I give you Abundant Absurdity circa November 2009.<br />
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The right-wing keeps going on about how health insurance reform is a government take-over of 1/6th of the economy. If the reform were to institute a nationalized health care system, akin to the UK's, or our Veterans Administration I could see their point, (though I wouldn't agree with it). If the reform were to be a single-payer system akin to Canada's or Medicare they would have a shred of credibility to stand on, though only a shred.<br />
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But it's neither, so I can't and they don't. This is nothing more than strengthened regulation of an industry run amok and which provides no real value: health insurance. Some of the regulations, like monitoring premium increases, match what is already done for the energy, cable, telephone and internet industries. Were those government take-overs too?<br />
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Neither is this. Frankly, I wish it were because I don't think that profit has any place in deciding who gets medical care and who doesn't. Doctors add value. Pharmaceutical companies create value. Nurses add value. Hospitals add value. Insurance companies move money around and nothing more. They incur no risk, cure no ills, treat no wounds, reduce no pain, comfort no aching hearts. They are leeches who make profit only by keeping money that would otherwise be used for care. Parasites. Pain merchants. Death panels.<br />
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So GOP and other righties, your ranting is nothing more than scare tactics and, to the Democrats' credit, it didn't work. Who knew the Dems had a spine? I hope they keep hold of it for the coming battles including climate change, gay marriage, and immigration reform. <br />
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2010 is going to be a good year after all. Perhaps absurdly so.The Absurdisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01998472358970743359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-757691868671957214.post-63735092582625702472012-12-22T17:25:00.000-05:002012-12-22T17:26:04.577-05:00What will it take before we learn?This post isn't likely to be funny (I know, I know: Why start now?). Many of you know I have a kindergartener so the shooting in Newtown, CT earlier this month really affected me. For days I couldn't read a news article or hear a TV report without tears streaming down my face. Of course my first thought was that this could only been committed by a monster, someone who looked human but wasn't. The problem there is once you've created a demon it's easy to blame, easy to hate, and easy to dismiss. Life doesn't work that way. Clearly the shooter was ill to the point of needing a new word to describe his illness, but he was still just a person with access to deadly force far beyond what he could handle.<br />
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Would an assault weapons ban have prevented Newtown? Or Columbine? Or Aurora? Or Virginia Tech? It's impossible to know. But the attack in China on December 14th, where 22 grade school children were stabbed yet all 22 survived, is a pretty good indicator that such a ban would have made the attack far less likely and almost certainly less deadly. You see China doesn't allow citizens to own guns so all the attacker had was a knife. Sure, knives can be deadly but as an able bodied adult if someone comes at me wielding one I have a good chance of dodging, fighting back and maybe winning. And if I don't win the next victim has a better chance if I've weakened the attacker. A gunman can kill from across the room without giving me a chance. And he can do it a hell of a lot faster with large clips and semi or fully automatic weapons.<br />
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Could Adam Lanza have used a bomb instead? Maybe. Would he have blown himself up in the process of making the bomb? Quite possibly since you can't walk into Walmart and buy a ready-made bomb. Some assembly is required and extremely dangerous as police statistics (and reason) prove. But that isn't even the point. Keeping military-grade weapons away from common citizens means they can't be used to kill which of course is the entire reason they were designed and built.<br />
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The debate is strikingly similar to that about climate change. Did global warming cause Hurricane Sandy? Or Katrina? Or Irene? Probably not. Did it make them more likely and more destructive? Obviously. <br />
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Want an analogy you can use with your friends? Assume baseball player X is taking steroids. Can you point to any individual home run and attribute it to doping? Of course not, but it does make that kind of massive hit far more likely. It's the same with climate change's impact on storm frequency and ferocity as well as gun safety/control. Sandy wasn't caused by global warming any more than Newtown was caused by an AR15. But they were certainly amplified by them. <br />
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So how do we turn down the volume on both? Clearly the US government can't confiscate all ~300,000,000 guns for a dozen different reasons. Nor can we completely releasing CO2 and other greenhouse gases. But we can limit and remove the biggest offenders: semi-automatic rifles, large capacity clips, armor piercing bullets; coal power plants, low-grade diesel, leaky natural gas wells. None of that will happen without government leadership and guidance - and after all isn't that what it's for? To protect the population from enemies foreign and domestic?<br />
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I've heard the arguments against both and they're the same hollow bullshit. Europe and China have proven that green technology is a net job producer. Yes, some coal miners will lose their jobs but aren't coal mines usually in the mountains? Where there's an abundance of wind? (Oh, yeah - some of the coal companies have leveled those mountains. Oops.) How about putting them to work building wind turbines and power lines? Manufacturing is surging in the US so put a factory in what are now coal mining towns. They're certainly an abundance of energy and ready labor. Green is the next economic boom and if we skip it we'll be sitting out the economic surge of the next decade or more.<br />
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By the same token, <a href="http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/second_amendment">the 2nd amendment</a> guarantees the right to "keep and bear arms" but read <i>all</i> of it and you'll see that it starts off justifying such ownership, stating that a well regulated militia is "necessary to the security of a free state." A) We have a professional defense force now so a militia is as necessary as the muskets they once carried; and B) it clearly says "<i>well regulated</i>". Anyone who says the Constitution guarantees the right to own any weapon is either misinformed, has poor reading comprehension, or is lying. Besides, we already have gun control - I can't buy a grenade launcher or a howitzer or a nuclear warhead. (Yet, right NRA?) So we're not debating whether to have gun control, we're trying to find the line between "I want to kill deer" and "I want to kill people."<br />
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The current course can't continue. As horrific and soul-searing as Newtown was the best thing we can do to honor the memory of those 20 children and 6 adults is reduce the chance this happens again. Likewise if we don't start taming climate change then hurricane Sandy will seem like a fond memory and all of the people who lost everything will have done so in vain, never mind the wasted billions. We need to learn from these situations otherwise we're no better than the bird that keeps flying into your window. No, wait. The bird eventually learns. Or dies. <br />
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Neither of these challenges can be conquered immediately, or easily, or without sacrifice. But the survival of our culture and society as we know it depend on it. One day our grandchildren will look at us and wonder why we didn't start working on climate change or gun violence sooner. At least I hope they do. Because if we don't start soon who knows what kind of world they'll inherit or whether we'll have those grandchildren at all.The Absurdisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01998472358970743359noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-757691868671957214.post-37325620129284451822012-11-06T00:55:00.000-05:002012-11-06T00:55:20.947-05:00Murder in the name of political expedienceHi. Miss me? I've missed you. I've missed having a place to express my thoughts since almost no one I know in real life has the passion for politics that I do. Or that you do. So before I get to my point I want to thank you for reading. I sincerely appreciate it.<br />
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Tomorrow is election day. Correction: it's 12:15am so today is election day and, as always Americans are being told they to make the biggest choice of their lifetimes, that no other election has mattered as much as this, that the future of the galaxy teeters on the brink. Who knows - maybe it's true. But I doubt it. Whether or not it's the most important election of our lifetimes, though, I do think it's probably the first time we've had the option to vote for someone who advocates murder, by his own definition.<br />
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No, I haven't fallen prey to conspiracy theories a la Vince Foster (look it up.) and I'm not talking about Mitt Romney, at least I don't think I am. Then again he's taken so many different views who knows what he really believes in his heart of hearts. If he has one. I mean a proverbial one - not like Dick Cheney who doesn't have a real one. <br />
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In the <a href="http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/112/hr212">112th congress Paul Ryan sponsored HR 212</a> which declared that human life begins at conception, meaning that killing it any time after that instant is murder. Ever. For any reason. If the mother's life is in danger I can see an ardent anti-abortionist asserting that killing the fetus to save the mother is good old fashioned self defense and, seeing it from their standpoint, I can't really disagree.<br />
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But what about allowing exceptions for rape and incest? Anyone who believes that life begins at conception yet accepts abortion in those instances is advocating murder in response to what they must view as a lesser crime. The GOP's candidate for Vice President believes that abortion at any stage is murder, yet he allows for the rape and incest exception. Using his definitions, that are entered into the US Congressional record for all time, he accept murder as does the rest of the hard-core GOP who claim the same faith-based belief. <br />
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And this is a person and a party that (hopefully less than) half of the voting public is likely to choose to guide this country for the next four years??? <br />
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Look, there's some maniacal sense of consistency to those who want to ban abortion in all cases except self defense. I think it's a consistency born out of an utter lack of understanding of biology, but at least it's consistent. But the "murder is OK sometimes" crowd? I don't get them.<br />
<br />
I've studied biology, including my own biology so I realize I have absolutely no right to tell a woman what to do with her pregnant body unless I'm the one who made her that way and even then all I can do is drop a note in the suggestion box and hope she takes it. That's not to say we shouldn't do everything we can to reduce the <i>need</i> for abortion, but banning it treats women like children who aren't capable of running their own lives. The civilized world put that behind us years ago. <br />
<br />
Romney and Ryan are right about one thing: They really do want to take this country back. wards.<br />
<br />
Look, I grew up in the South. I've lived the bigoted, sexist past. It sucks.<br />
<br />
I choose a future where the Vice President isn't the kind of person who thinks something is murder yet approves it anyway. It's a future where Barack Obama's second term sees job growth second only to Bill Clinton's.<br />
<br />
Going back-wards is almost as absurd as advocating murder. Don't drag us with you.<br />
<br />
<br />
The Absurdisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01998472358970743359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-757691868671957214.post-78633196057073752812012-01-12T18:59:00.004-05:002012-01-12T19:00:03.178-05:00Battle of the Bigs?I live in Manhattan. It has its ups and downs, but overall it's petty cool. There's new construction going up everywhere but those tend to be luxury, state-of-the-art, high-falutin places. IOW: Very expensive. So the place I live was built roughly 50 years ago and as with any aging infrastructure it needs upkeep. About two months ago they started repointing the brick facade of my building which normally means replacing the outtermost inch or so of mortar with new mortar to keep water out. Unfortunately the corner and floor where I live happens to have such severe damage that they're replacing entire swaths (we're talking 50sq ft areas at a time) of brick but the good news is that they're putting a waterproof lining behind the new brick. <br />
<br />
Unfortunately that lining requires adhesive and the smell from it is horrific - it's like a vicious cross between paint thinner, nail polish remover and gear oil. How do I know? It has intruded into our apartment every day since but it's strongest between 8pm and midnight. The engineer swears it's not possible, but he's been there several times and he can smell it. The Superintendent can't figure it out and neither can anyone else. Worst of all it's strongest in my 20-month old daughter's room and the last thing I want is a toddler's brain subject to random industrial chemicals. I know, I know - I'm a helicopter Dad. Sue me. But every night we have to wheel her crib into a different room, basically chasing the fresh air. She doesn't sleep as well, we don't sleep as well and who knows what it's doing to her.<br />
<br />
We've been after everyone possible to send us the material safety data sheets on what they're using and finally, after six weeks, we got them today. I spent most of my afternoon reading documents published by the NIH, EPA and other government agencies chartered to protect us from this crap. Score one for the nanny state. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NgsW19wDrNc/Tw9zddanqXI/AAAAAAAAAEo/9y7h37aY5aA/s1600/large.IMG_3386_wm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NgsW19wDrNc/Tw9zddanqXI/AAAAAAAAAEo/9y7h37aY5aA/s320/large.IMG_3386_wm.jpg" width="239" /></a>To add insult to injury the picture you're looking at is a foot of 3/4" steel rebar poking through the wall of my living room. (Look in the corner and you'll see another hole). I had two more like it, both of which intruded into my daughter's play area, at about 12" off the ground: RIGHT WHERE SHE SITS AND PLAYS. The workers "<i>happened to misjudge</i>" the reinforcement point by almost two feet and they drilled into our apartment rather than between floors. And they did it four times! I don't even want to think about what would have happened if a child had been sitting against the wall when one of those came through. <br />
<br />
Unfortunately no one involved has been able to fix any of this and we've had enough. We're calling in our uncle. <br />
<br />
Uncle Sam.<br />
<br />
If the odor comes back tonight we're calling 311 to report chemical fumes and from what a friend tells me about his experience we'll have people in respirators carrying chemical detectors in our apartment within 24 hours. Even better if the building management can't or won't fix the problem the government will. "No, not my tax dollars!" I hear you cry. Be quiet. They bill the management company. <br />
<br />
So on one side we have big business possibly poisoning us, trying to stab us and refusing to fix their mistakes. And on the other we have the government who requires that companies supply their customers with safety information and who makes tons of details available about those chemicals. We also potentially have government coming to our rescue to make sure that bad things get fixed and forcing the guilty parties to pay for it.<br />
<br />
Tell me again that government can't do anything right and watch me laugh.<br />
<br />
Score one for the little guy and for big government.<br />
<br />
The whole damned situation is absurd. <br />
<br />The Absurdisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01998472358970743359noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-757691868671957214.post-47924866555273968432011-10-13T00:46:00.000-04:002011-10-13T00:46:33.784-04:00Whose job is it anyway?<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">Anyone who knows me will certainly agree that I can be a bit, how shall I put it, pedantic. People using words incorrectly drive me up a wall. (Having just written that I've virtually guaranteed that there will be a heavy sprinkling of typos, grammar mistakes and misspellings in this poost(sic)).</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">Like most other politically-aware people I've been watching the growing protests around the country with interest and fascination. Never mind that the genesis point is, literally, at the other end of my subway stop on the way to work. And while it's hard to disagree with aims of a stronger economy, more fair wealth distribution and a better life for all Americans I do have a bone to pick with some of the key talking points of many of the spokeshumans. Do me a favor and read to the end of the post before reacting. I think you'll be surprised.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">I keep hearing complaints that corporations aren't looking out for the people or that they don't have the interests of the population in mind. (First of all, Citizens United notwithstanding, corporations don't have minds, but I digress.) The speakers there are absolutely correct. Because corporations aren't <b>supposed</b> to care about people, or the environment, or goodness or even cute and fuzzy bunnies. Corporations sole purpose in existence (I almost wrote "purpose in life". Curse you Citizens United!) is profit. End of story. Businesses are a money-making entity. That's it. They're not supposed to do anything but reward their owners with a shower of cash.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">So, whose job is it to watch out for citizens? It's ok. I'll wait for you to come up with your answer.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">No. No I won't. If you don't know this you're not paying attention.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">That's the job of the government. It's even in the charter, otherwise known as the Constitution. Read it, if you dare, especially the part about protecting us from enemies "foreign and domestic". Asking corporations to keep you safe is like expecting a gun to heal a paper cut. Can't do it. Won't do it. Shouldn't do it. That's why we have the FDA, EPA, FAA, NIH, ATF, etc. They protect you.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">So stop shouting about the big bad companies who aren't playing nicely. They're not supposed to. That's not their job. Find the ones who are asleep at the wheel and kick them awake.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">Using the wrong tool for the job is a dumb thing to do: it's counterproductive, wasteful and just makes you look absurdly silly.</span>The Absurdisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01998472358970743359noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-757691868671957214.post-7700909891942026092011-09-22T00:44:00.000-04:002011-09-22T00:44:24.018-04:00UnfathomableI used to be a supporter of the death penalty. Not an ardent fan (who is, really? Wait, after the recent GOP debates please don't answer that.) but in egregious cases I thought it was the fair thing to do. You take a life, yours gets taken. <br />
<br />
Then I met my wife who, while she doesn't practice criminal law, did some research into capital punishment in law school. It took her a little while but she helped me understand the utter injustice in the way many death penalty cases are prosecuted. There have been countless examples of defense attorneys falling asleep in court, mishandled evidence, and simple legal malpractice which have lead to death sentences. But worse, it's clear that we, the American people, have consciously and willingly ended the lives of innocent people.<br />
<br />
Cameron Todd Willingham was put death in Texas in 2004 for the death of his three young daughters. Since then several investigations have concluded that there was no real evidence against him and he was almost certainly not guilty. But he is still dead.<br />
<br />
This evening Georgia executed Troy Davis despite the mounting evidence that he wasn't guilty of the crime for which he was convicted and sentenced. The US Supreme Court delayed the execution a few hours but eventually let it proceed. Troy David is now dead and nothing can ever change that.<br />
<br />
And therein lies my biggest problem with the death penalty: It's the one punishment that can't be reversed. Sure, no one wants to be locked up for 20 years only to be released with a slap on the back, an "Oops! Our bad!" and maybe a check. But at least you have the rest of your life. These two men, and plenty of others like them, never will. They're dead. <br />
<br />
And we killed them.<br />
<br />
There are very bad people in this world and many are behind bars where they belong. But sometimes we make mistakes. We're human. Judges are human. Jury are humans. Humans fuck up. And the best part of a mistake is making it right, learning from it. How do we learn from this? What is the lesson? And who needs to learn it?<br />
<br />
My brother, a surgeon, and I had a discussion on this topic a few years ago and his response was "Accidents happen. People die in the ER all the time. So what?" This wasn't an accident. It was more meticulously and carefully planned down to the second. Some would call that first degree murder.<br />
<br />
We can't always prevent accidents. So you take precautions. You wear a seat belt. A helmet. Nomex. Kevlar. And you don't kill people. Keeping them alive is the precaution to make sure you *don't* make the ultimate mistake. <br />
<br />
How would you feel, my beloved brother, if that mistake happened to me? Due to legal incompetence or something else beyond my control I was falsely convicted of murder and sentenced to die at the hands of my government? How would you feel then about accidents? About mistakes?<br />
<br />
I'm not saying we should coddle criminals or let them roam the streets. Far from it. We are a (mostly) just nation and we need to mete out punishment. Dangerous people need to be kept away from the rest of us. Crime can't go unanswered. <br />
<br />
But that's just it. Capital punishment isn't justice.<br />
<br />
It's murder.The Absurdisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01998472358970743359noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-757691868671957214.post-30373900319480675122011-05-21T01:33:00.000-04:002011-05-21T01:33:42.116-04:00... and I feel fineIt's now 1am EST so things are going to get pretty hairy about 17 hours from now, right?. (Apparently the end of the world is going to start promptly at 6pm local time as the rapture rolls round the world. Who knew total devastation was so punctual?<br />
<br />
By now you've no-doubt heard about this craziness. The only part of this story that grabs my attention, though, is how much people are talking about it - even ordinarily-sane friends of mine. As a New Yorker I'm used to running int oone of these end days loons every couple of weeks but, for some reason, this time it's gone viral. Maybe it's twitter's fault. Or sun spots. Or maybe some old, rich lunatic is dumping a ton of gullible money into advertising it and with Bin Laden dead what else is there left to talk about?<br />
<br />
Come Sunday the "true believers" should feel absolute shame and embarrassment at still being alive. But they won't. You'll see. They'll use the lack of the apocalypse as a sign of their god's love, mercy and patience rather than what it really is: just another day where we don't get to lock them up for spouting their nonsense simply because it involves a 2000 year-old, dead hippie rather than three-headed monsters or alien abductions. (When you think about it, doesn't religion sound an awful lot like aliens? powerful creatures we don't understand, tremendous powers, people vanishing into thin air, genital mutilation, etc.)<br />
<br />
In fact, on the subway this evening there was a man ranting on this subject for the full half hour I shared a car with him. Even through my noise blocking headphones (try commuting in NYC for a month and you'll want them too) some of his words slipped through especially the part about God not punishing people for being wrong or for making wrong predictions. What a *convenient* piece of scripture, huh? "The world is ending! God says so! But if not, well, uhm, God is still awesome and loves me for being a panicky liar." <br />
<br />
As I've often said you can't argue logic against magic. Magic will win every time because it's bullshit and therefore infinitely flexible. I didn't even bother trying. I was too tired for a good argument anyway.<br />
<br />
If this is the end, well, it's been fun. If not I'll just chalk this up to another batch of collective absurdity.The Absurdisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01998472358970743359noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-757691868671957214.post-29915283085663651452011-05-04T18:57:00.000-04:002011-05-04T18:57:44.855-04:00Guns don't kill people... Seals do.A good hunter has a process: He chooses his weapon with the utmost care, learning it inside and out and practices with it until it's almost an extension of his own being. When it's time to hunt he waits patiently for his prey to come into view, using all information available, and when it does he fires his weapon hoping that all of the preparation and diligence pay off. The hunter and the weapon both deserve credit when all goes well.<br />
<div><br />
</div>Last Sunday night President Obama ordered an attack on Osama Bin Laden which resulted in the death of the world's most wanted criminal after almost 10 years of searching. Obama was the hunter. Seal Team 6 (the same titanic bad-asses who killed the Somali pirates just over two years ago) was the weapon - probably the most lethal, accurate, surgical-strike weapon on the planet. The majority of Earthlings rejoiced at the news but there were some American right-wingers who insisted he deserved no credit, instead laying it at the feet of George Bush (who <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PGmnz5Ow-o">famously said he wasn't too concerned about Bin Laden or his whereabouts</a> only SIX MONTHS after the brutal attack) or anyone else who happens not to be named Barack Obama. Even former President Bush himself had the grace and basic dose of clue to applaud Obama's move, but many on his side said otherwise, showing them to be not just unpatriotic but antipatriotic.<br />
<br />
As the (rabidly right wing) NRA likes to say "Guns don't kill people. People kill people." In this case "people" covers both the person giving the order as well as the boots on the ground.<br />
<br />
There's plenty of credit to go around and I'm not saying that the President deserves all of it - far from it. But he was the one who made the decision to proceed and it would have fallen on his shoulders had there been another Blackhawk Down moment, or a replay of Jimmy Carter's failed attempt to Iranian hostages which permanently stained his presidency, virtually ensuring his loss to Ronald Reagan. The buck stops in the oval office and to deny Obama the credit he earned by showing off his huge brass balls is to lose all grasp on reality.<br />
<br />
I used to say that President Obama could walk into the Rose Garden with the head of Osama Bin Laden on a pike and the GOP would bitch that he'd bloodied the Whitehouse carpet. I thought I was exaggerating to the point of absurdity but it turns out I wasn't as far off as I should have been. Most of the GOP either was able to drop their partisan slant for a little while or they read the political winds and realized that criticizing the President here would be a career-limiting move, but the remaining craven idiots? They're beyond all hope. And don't get me started on those who claim that torture provided actionable information that happened to take SEVEN YEARS to unfold (I'm looking at you Steve King).<br />
<br />
"Absurd" is too good for them. They're just, plain sick.The Absurdisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01998472358970743359noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-757691868671957214.post-57407463144922707342011-05-04T01:10:00.000-04:002011-05-04T01:10:42.245-04:00The chess master strikes againIn my last post I said that six months from now I'd look back and better understand why President Obama released his long-form birth certificate when he did. (Go ahead and check - I'll wait.)<br />
<br />
Six months? It wasn't even six half-days. As he released his birth certificate, toured storm-ravaged areas in the south and cracked wise at the Whitehouse Correspondent's Dinner he knew there'd be the mother of all news stories coming in a few days that would wipe everything else off the front page for weeks. Imagine the thoughts running through his head during those events!<br />
<br />
So after demonstrating what a publicity-hounding jackass The Donald (who the hell gives themselves such a pompous nickname??) really is, and making sure the birthers looked as stupid as humanly possible President Obama grabbed the headlines with both hands and made sure that their 15 minutes was over. Birthers and Trump's presidential ambitions: relegated to already-forgotten footnotes. If we see either again it will be purely for comic relief.<br />
<br />
The entire choreography was nothing short of brilliant. As I've said, this is easily the smartest man we've had in the Whitehouse during my lifetime and I'm proud to have helped put him there in my own, small way.<br />
<br />
Absurd? Naaa. Not this time.<br />
<br />
-Jason<br />
<br />
PS: Camera in-hand, I went down to the World Trade Center Monday night after the announcement of Bin Laden's death. If you'd like to see the pictures I took you'll find them <a href="http://yfrog.com/user/2jase/photos">here</a>. If you'd like a higher resolution shot just e-mail me.The Absurdisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01998472358970743359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-757691868671957214.post-76331910212192998642011-04-30T00:24:00.001-04:002011-04-30T00:33:02.882-04:00Winning through whining... Or not[Hello again. I can't believe it's been almost six months since my last post. Life has been, well... life. There's been ample absurdity just not enough time to point it out. But now I'm back. Hey, don't run away now!]<br />
<br />
As many of you know I have a preschool-aged son and one of the lessons we're working to instill in him is that whining doesn't work. When he whines we make a concerted effort to make sure he doesn't get what he's whining about. (Heaven help us <s>if</s> when he gets wise to this and starts fussing that he wants more air, or gravity or something like that. Watch for exploding heads.) So far that strategy seems to be working and he whines much less for us than he does for others (*cough* grandparents *cough*).<br />
<br />
Unfortunately a bad example of rewarding whining was set this week when President Obama released his long-form birth certificate after almost three years of bitching, moaning and.... well, let's just call it what it is: lying, from the rabid right wing and even some of the previously-saner members of the GOP. Whining worked. What a great lesson for my son. They got what they wanted. <br />
<br />
Or did they? <br />
<br />
Does anyone think the birthers *really* wanted to see the birth certificate? Anyone sane, I mean. <br />
<br />
Of course not. They wanted an excuse to trot out their latent (and sometimes overt) racism under the guise of a Constitutional challenge to his legitimacy, giving it the faintest patina of possibility. ("Patina Of Possibility"? Sounds like a Yanni album.) These buffoons never questioned John McCain's legitimacy to run for the presidency despite his admitting that he was born in the Panama Canal zone. Was it ok with them because he's a Republican? Hell no. It was ok because he's white.<br />
<br />
This week President Obama didn't give in to whiners. He called their bluff. They're not the kids who cry that they want another cookie for desert. They're the ones trying to hold their breath forever until Daddy buys them a pony. (A white pony, of course.)<br />
<br />
My preference would be to have let them hold their breath longer, releasing the long form closer to the election but, as I've mentioned here before, Barack Obama is probably the smartest man we've ever had in the Whitehouse. Six months from now I suspect I'll look back and understand his timing better.<br />
<br />
Until then, I'm going to pop some corn and watch the birthers foam at the mouth trying to dispute the paperwork they've "wanted" for years all the while coming up with new "challenges" each more absurd than the last. This should be good.<br />
<br />
Sometimes it's good to be the absurdist.The Absurdisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01998472358970743359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-757691868671957214.post-84499316573043276122010-11-07T00:59:00.000-04:002010-11-07T00:59:16.557-04:00It's not cheap or easy.... being greenMany pundits have compared 1994's political climate to this year's: A new, young Democrat in the Whitehouse, poor economic conditions leading to a major shift in control of congress during mid-term elections, little hope in sight for improvement at that point. What we now know is that the internet and computer industries exploded causing a boom that resulted in a record 25,000,000 jobs being created under President Clinton. (And before you say anything yes, Al Gore, as the sponsor of the bill that funded the commercialization of the Internet, really did have a lot to do with that. Bullshit media memes and misquotes be damned.)<br />
<br />
The situation we face now really is similar. And, just like in 1994 there's a technology boom coming. This time, though, it's green tech: alternative energy, conservation, efficiency improvements, solar, wind, electric cars, insulation, geothermal, batteries, cogeneration and a lot more. The Chinese and Indian governments see this green wave coming and they're pouring billions of [INSERT CURRENCY HERE] into it because they know it's the economic driver of at least the next decade if not the next century. We're not. We're falling behind. FAST.<br />
<br />
Whether or not you believe that humans are responsible for global warming or even if you doubt global warming entirely green tech is still a sure thing. Natural resources are limited so reducing consumption preserves them for everyone. Reducing pollution saves lives and saves money. Much of our current energy comes from countries that, even if they don't hate us, certainly aren't our best friends and don't share our beliefs in things like religious freedom, gender equality, human rights, etc. There's no good reason *not* to change. None. Sure, some business will make less profit but overall it will be a massive boost to our economy if we commit. <br />
<br />
But we're not doing much about it. Ok, to there are a few research programs and a bunch of new start-up companies but it's nothing like the early 90's where every other garage had a high-tech company growing out of it. And this time we're not the ones driving the train. Hell, we're barely holding on to the railing of the caboose. Like the research that led to the Internet this kind of R&D requires a government seed. Certainly it needs to balance the massive subsidies and give-aways to our existing energy industry to truly level the playing field. Or we could repeal those subsidies. <br />
<br />
I'll wait while you finish the hysterics...... <br />
<br />
Over the next 10-20 years our energy sources will at least start to shift from fossil fuels to renewables and other cleaner technology. If we don't act we'll just shift our dollars from the middle east to Asia, leaving us in a similar hole to the one we're in now. Saudi Arabia and China have a lot more in common with each other than they do with us. Clearly it would be better to keep that money here and, in fact, to attract it from the rest of the planet as happened with the dotcom explosion. But it takes investment, commitment and vision. Do we have it as a country? Do our leaders have it?<br />
<br />
I wish that were an absurd question. Sadly it's not.The Absurdisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01998472358970743359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-757691868671957214.post-1606279783496953482010-09-06T23:31:00.000-04:002010-09-06T23:31:20.024-04:00This is who we are now?I was in a pharmacy this afternoon in suburban New Jersey (don't judge - I was visiting good friends and they're worth it) when I had a sobering and sad realization with a very nice employee there. <br />
<br />
The pharmacist who helped me had an unusual name so, after some pleasant conversation and as I am wont to do, I politely asked her the origin. She quickly replied "My family is from Iraq, but I was born here and I'm a Christian". I was taken aback and somewhat embarrassed that she felt the need to go into so much detail for such a simple question but after half a second I completely understood: Anyone with a Muslim sounding name or Arabic appearance immediately feels like they're on the defensive whenever they are asked about their race, religion or nationality. I explained to her that people's names and family origins are two of my favorite things to discuss, greatly relieving her angst, but after <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/25/cab-driver-attacked-stabbed-new-york-muslim_n_694091.html">what happened to the NYC cabbie</a> two weeks ago I can't blame her for the initial reaction. <br />
<br />
So is this what the United States has become? People who were BORN HERE and are just as American as any President we've ever had are immediately defensive whenever their background is discussed? Folks, that's repulsive. Yes, some lunatics wearing the cloak of Islam killed 3000 of our fellow citizens, but this woman didn't. The 1billion other Muslims world-wide didn't. Why should she feel so defensive in the country where she was born and raised?<br />
<br />
All I'm saying is THINK before you label people. You don't know them and the odds are that your label is wrong, making your assumptions hurtful and making you a jackass. An absurd jackass. <br />
<br />
PS: Yes, I suggested she not take a trip to Arizona any time soon. She laughed and said "I know." It's a sad state of affairs.The Absurdisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01998472358970743359noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-757691868671957214.post-30455366410069366452010-08-25T12:56:00.000-04:002010-08-25T12:56:59.721-04:00An overlooked victim of 9/11<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">I've been wanting to say something about the Islamic Community Center being proposed in lower Manhattan just a few miles from where I sit right now and while much has been said about it I don't think it's been said quite this way. Read on and let me know what you think in the comments.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Let's begin with some clarity: The "Ground Zero Mosque" isn't. First, it is <b>not</b> at ground zero. It's 2 blocks away from the closest corner, which is a long way by Manhattan standards and it's not even visible from the site. And it's <b>not</b> a mosque. Yes, there's a small prayer space inside but there are small chapels in airports and on military bases. Are those churches? There are often small prayer areas in Jewish Community Centers. Are those synagogues? Of course not. A true mosque does not permit entry to non-Muslims. The Islamic Community Center, including the prayer area, will be open to all. By any reasonable definition it is NOT a mosque and if you continue to call it that you're either misinformed, confused or you're lying and fear-mongering.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">So with that out of the way:</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">The first amendment guarantees Muslims the same religious freedom as Christians, Jews, Hindus, Atheists, Buddhists, Mormons and anyone else who lives in the United States. Of course this includes the right to build a cultural center anywhere they meet the zoning regulations, even two blocks from the WTC site.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Now, if it were Al Queda trying to erect a building near the site where they murdered 3000+ souls I would be marching in the street with just everyone else in North America. But it's NOT Al Queda. It's the OPPOSITE of Al Queda. The Imam who is heading up the project was lauded by none other than George W Bush for his moderation and Presidents Bush and Obama have both sponsored his trips to Muslim countries to try to bridge the gap between the cultures. This is <i>exactly</i> the kind of ally the United States needs against the radical monsters who so badly pervert their religion that they can excuse and even applaud the killing of innocents.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">The murders of the 9/11 attacks are no more Muslims than the Klan are Christian. Or the Nazis were. Or the Aryan Brotherhood are. All of them killed Blacks, Jews, Gays, and more in the name of Jesus Christ. And let's not forget all of the bloodbaths that the Church <i>itself</i> perpetrated like the Crusades and the Spanish Inquisition, among others. Then there are crazies like Scott Roeder, who killed abortion provider George Tiller in his own church and Eric Rudolph who bombed an abortion clinic, and all of their allies who have maimed and killed for Christ. Can we paint all Christians with the blood from their hands?</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Of course not. Which brings me to one of the biggest and least-mentioned victims of 9/11: Islam itself. There are over 1.5 billion Muslims world-wide and all but a tiny shred of a percentage of them are peace-loving and just want to provide for their families, especially those who live in Western countries like the USA. Sure there are a few hundred monsters who have twisted it beyond recognition but how is that different from the monsters who've perverted Christianity for the same purpose: to kill or convert all who are different?</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">"Oh, but the Koran calls for killing infidels" some cry. Have you actually read the old or new Testaments? The first few chapters have one brother killing another and not long after there's the drowning of most of the world, followed by a father almost killing his son, husbands sleeping with their servants, enslavement of an entire people, calls for stoning and so forth. It's not rated-G, to say the least, and it's no less brutal than the Koran. Reasonable people ignore unreasonable passages in their holy books.</div></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Through no fault of their own those 1.5 billion innocent Muslims and the very religion itself have been smeared and persecuted based on the actions of a few maniacs. Is that fair? No. Is that right? Hell no.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">How many of them have lost their homes, their property, their loved ones to that persecution? How many Americans have been beaten or killed for being Muslim or even just because someone thought they were were Muslim? Islam has been dragged through the mud because a few hundred psychopaths have wrapped themselves in its name. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">If the 9/11 hijackers had come from Sweden and called themselves Lutherans would we have attacked Finland? Would we have invaded Iraq if it were a Christian country? </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">The best way to combat their disgusting hatred is to welcome and embrace the reasonable.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Anything less amounts to abandoning the fundamental ideals and freedoms of the Constitution and the very foundation on which this country was built. It's doing the terrorists' work for them.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">And that would be totally absurd.</div>The Absurdisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01998472358970743359noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-757691868671957214.post-65337190473771049162010-08-10T00:43:00.002-04:002010-08-10T00:51:24.075-04:00Work EthicsIf your business had an open, entry-level position and you wanted to hire someone you'd likely conduct interviews, right? What if a somewhat reasonable-looking candidate told you that once he got the job he wouldn't do the tasks you give him and that he'd spend all day harassing the other employees who were just trying to do their work. Would you hire this guy?<br />
<br />
Of course not. Because you value hard work and dedication. <br />
<br />
Then why are so many voters so enamored of the GOP? Many of their candidates for the House and Senate have promised to sit on their hands if they win and do nothing more than conduct investigations of the Obama administration in an attempt to smoke out some scandal, any scandal that will play in an endless loop on Fox Vuze Channel.<br />
<br />
Do these people lack all business sense? They claim to be the party of business big and small yet they nominate these ridiculous candidates and then proceed to elect some of them! Or are they just so wrapped up in partisanship that their sense of irony and grasp on reality are gone? Not that these two options are mutually exclusive, of course.<br />
<br />
Do yourself a favor if you have any GOP friends who might vote for these buffoons. Present the scenario I outlined above and see that they say. If they won't hire a do-nothing to make their french fries why would they elect a do-nothing to make their laws?<br />
<br />
The GOP: Proving that fact really is more absurd than fiction.The Absurdisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01998472358970743359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-757691868671957214.post-59488372357356400572010-07-21T01:17:00.000-04:002010-07-21T01:17:25.836-04:00IslamoJudeoChristian valuesUndoubtedly you've heard the term "Judeo-Christian values". It's trumpeted by the right wing as the basis for, well, everything. While they're yelling about Jewish and Christian history they're conveniently forgetting that Islam is Christianity's fraternal twin. Both are offshoots of Judaism, both have their own book that adds to the Old Testament; both offer salvation through a once-human savior who is expected to return any day now, both admit to worshiping the same god, etc. <br />
<br />
The three religions are actually stunningly close to one another if you look at them deeply. Of course that hasn't stopped untold millions from killing each other over those slight differences and more that they've invented out of thin air. Islam, as written in the Koran is no less peaceful than Christianity straight out of the New Testament. And you can no more paint Muslims with the Al Queda brush than you can say all Christians are members of the Klan. The fringe (or worse) do not define the group. Now, it is up to the core to repudiate the radicals and, admittedly, Islam hasn't done as good a job of that as they could lately, but then again it took the Pope until 1964 to admit that the Jews didn't kill Jesus, so their track record is spotty at best.<br />
<br />
So the next time you hear someone ranting about Judeo-Christian values remind them the proper term is "IslamoJudeoChristian". <br />
<br />
Then stand back or you're likely to be spatted with gray matter.<br />
<br />
That's my job: showing you how to take absurdity into your own hands.<br />
<br />
You're welcome.The Absurdisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01998472358970743359noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-757691868671957214.post-91394568466748928142010-07-17T22:43:00.000-04:002010-07-17T22:43:05.753-04:00A basketball game you'd never want to seeYou're a basketball fan, right? Well, even if you're not you probably enjoy watching the Harlem Globetrotters beat up on the Washington Generals. Imagine you went to a game and saw this happen:<br />
<br />
The Globetrotters are up by their usual 40 points around half-time at which point the Generals coach begs them not to score any more points, in fact, he asks them to remove all of the points they've scored so far this game. Even worse he whines that point scoring confuses other teams so they should agree that neither side will score any further points the rest of the season. The Globetrotters would absolutely leap at the opportunity, right? <br />
<br />
Of course they wouldn't. <br />
<br />
But they would in John Boehner's world. <br />
<br />
Back in reality what makes him think that the Democrats are going to stop producing regulations especially while he's whining about wanting to repeal everything they've done over the last 18 months anyway? Has he forgotten that his party got trounced in 2006 and 2008 and they went from control of both Congress and the Whitehouse to control of neither? He has no legislative power, no moral authority, no mandate. Yet he's out there demanding things that are laughable, at best. The economic and environmental disasters over the last few years have been directly as a result of the GOP's push for deregulation and lax enforcement of the laws that were left. We have to return to sanity, though I guess it makes sense that the Republicans have no concept of sanity. Just look at their so-called leadership. <br />
<br />
Maybe all of the spray tanning has gone to Boehner's brain. <br />
<br />
I could be nuts but I think if he wants to have any influence on policy he needs to stop stamping around like a spoiled toddler and start participating in government the way it was intended to be done. Opposition is vital and frequently constructive. Obstruction is neither. <br />
<br />
Let's just hope that we, the American people see the difference in November and, once again, show these clowns that we're not falling for their hi-jinks any longer.<br />
<br />
We're not laughing with you, John. We're definitely laughing at you.<br />
<br />
Because you're absurd.The Absurdisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01998472358970743359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-757691868671957214.post-54183219311668073952010-07-17T22:24:00.000-04:002010-07-17T22:24:16.341-04:00As Roger Ebert Requests, so shall I do:This evening Roger Ebert posted a link to a bunch of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pargon/sets/72157623594187379/">misspelled Tea Party signs </a>and wondered what would happen if those signs were put through the <a href="http://www.iwl.me/">"I Write Like"</a> comparison engine that attempts to match your writing style with that of a famous author. So I got inspired and typed in each one of them. Here's what came out:<br />
<br />
A couple of notes and observations first:<br />
1) Some of the signs didn't have enough text to make a match<br />
2) I did my best with spelling, punctuation and capitalization and what I have pasted here is what went into http://www.iwl.me<br />
3) There seems to be a small number of possible matches, though it's also possible that due to the similarity of the signs and their authors' poor English skills that the selection of writers is self-limiting. <br />
4) I'll let the Tea partiers, their signs and message speak for themselves. <br />
<br />
And with no further ado or comment here they are:<br />
<br />
1) Socilism: not my cup of tea<br />
[too short]<br />
<br />
2a) If you can read this sign your smarter than nancy pelosi<br />
Charles Dickens<br />
<br />
2b) If you can read this sign you're smarter than nancy pelosi<br />
Charles Dickens<br />
<br />
3) say no to socilsm<br />
[too short]<br />
<br />
4) patriotic resisance<br />
[too short]<br />
<br />
5) i am a arrogant american unlike our president i am proud of my country our freedom our military our<br />
generosity no apology from me<br />
Kurt Vonnegut<br />
<br />
<br />
6) wealth redistribtion = red communism<br />
Kurt Vonnegut<br />
<br />
7) feedom doesn't come free<br />
[too short]<br />
<br />
8) bank of barock = us going baroke<br />
Harry Harrison<br />
<br />
9) I did'nt serve 22 years for socialism<br />
Kurt Vonnegut<br />
<br />
10a) you cannot multiply wealth by deviding it<br />
Oscar Wilde<br />
<br />
10b) don't spread my wealth spread my work ethic<br />
Margaret Atwood<br />
<br />
11) control our boarder stop illegals<br />
Margaret Atwood<br />
<br />
12) not a extremist just extremey over-taxed!!! no amnesty<br />
H. P Lovecraft<br />
<br />
13) don't mortage my childs future<br />
J. D. Salinger<br />
<br />
14a) Congress shred your taxing scholiast policies not my constitutional freedoms!<br />
Dan Brown<br />
<br />
14b) My Name is HOPE not the congress taxing hope so stop using my name for you<br />
Charles Dickens<br />
<br />
15) This is America and our only lanaguage is English<br />
H. P. Lovecraft<br />
<br />
16) NO LARD<br />
NO FAT<br />
NO PORK<br />
NO!!<br />
STIMULAS<br />
James Joyce<br />
<br />
<br />
17) thank you fox news for keeping us infromed<br />
Margaret Atwood<br />
<br />
18) just say no to big ear's big goverment after 4 or 8 years of change=!!! All we can hope for is<br />
another Bush to clean up the mess<br />
Daniel Defoe<br />
<br />
19) don't give away my daugters' future<br />
<br />
20) OBAMA COMMANDER AND THEIF<br />
[too short - bummer]<br />
<br />
21) amensty<br />
[too short]<br />
<br />
22) English is our language no excetions learn it<br />
H. P. Lovecraft<br />
<br />
23) STOP waisting my hard earned TAX MONEY<br />
Harry Harrison<br />
<br />
24) obama has a crisis of competnce<br />
P. G. Wodehouse<br />
<br />
25) OBAMA My forefathers were christian yours were from kenya that explains a lot about you<br />
Kurt Vonnegut<br />
<br />
26) one hugh mistake america<br />
[too short]<br />
<br />
27) you'r a fake we know it al sharpton acorn, rev wright, jesse jackson, americas poison<br />
James Joyce<br />
<br />
28) Lets keep the Tea Dump The Polititions<br />
Margaret Atwood<br />
<br />
29) THE US of A constution lives we arew awake now!!<br />
Bram Stoker <br />
<br />
30) OBAMA LIER In CHIEF<br />
[too short]<br />
<br />
31) Impeah Obama Socialism is NOT the answer!!<br />
George Orwell<br />
<br />
32) Make English Americ's Offical Language<br />
Dan Brown<br />
<br />
33) ObamaCare best name for lobbyest payoffs EVER<br />
James Joyce<br />
<br />
34) Remember Descent The HIGHEST FORM of PATRIOTIC<br />
H. P. Lovecraft<br />
<br />
35) NO MAS ILLEGAL ALLIENS R FUGITIVES FROM JUSTICE GO HOME!<br />
Charles Dickens<br />
<br />
36) Honk If I Baught You A Flatscreen<br />
William Gibson<br />
<br />
37) THE BORROR IS THE SLAVE OF THE LENDER. HOW DO YOUR CHAINS FEEL AMERICA?<br />
James Joyce<br />
<br />
38) Protect INTEGRITY of U.S. CENSUS BAN ACCORN<br />
James Joyce<br />
<br />
39) Obama-care is to DIE FOR SOCIALIZED HEALTH CARE EQUALS DEATH of CHOICE<br />
Mary Shelley<br />
<br />
40) Preserve the SACTITY OF MARRIAGE<br />
Mary Shelley<br />
<br />
41) I'M A MAVRIK HOW ABOUT YOU?<br />
[too short]<br />
<br />
42) 1930's Gemany all over again<br />
[too short]<br />
<br />
43) were not slaves<br />
[too short]<br />
<br />
44) NO TO CLUNKKER CARE<br />
[too short]<br />
<br />
45) OBAMA COMMANDER EN THIEF<br />
[too short]<br />
<br />
46) AMERICANS HELP US BOYCOTT MEXICO RESPECT ARE-COUNTRY SPEAK ENGLiSH<br />
David Foster Wallace<br />
<br />
47) Making Me Pay for Other People's Homes and CREDIT CARD bills: Rediculous <br />
Responsibility: Priceless<br />
Chuck Palahniuk<br />
<br />
48) Taxed Enoungh Already!<br />
[too short]<br />
<br />
49) So... Hows that whole "hopey-changey" thinkg working out for ya?<br />
J. D. Salinger<br />
<br />
50) I Am Joe The Plummer<br />
[too short]<br />
<br />
51) WE'RE NOT RASCISTS YOUR ARE ILLEGAL<br />
Margaret Atwood<br />
<br />
52) No Hussien Obama<br />
[too short]<br />
<br />
53) Birth Certifict where Obama<br />
[too short]<br />
<br />
54) NO AMNETY<br />
[too short]<br />
<br />
55) Stop Taking From Hard Wroking People<br />
Chuck Palahniuk<br />
<br />
56) HELP MOM! a megalomaniacal narcissist and a band of rogue congressmen dressed as pirates just broke in to my PIGGY BANK!! there there Honey, go back to sleep<br />
Stephen King<br />
<br />
57) I'm a veteran and proud of it. If that makes me a right wing extremest then I'm proud of that also<br />
Mark Twain<br />
<br />
58) if your not outraged your not paying attention<br />
Jane Austen<br />
<br />
59) Don't Take My Rights. I'm Still Useing Them!<br />
Ernest Hemingway<br />
<br />
60) Washington let's make a deal. Uphold our constitution and we'll let you keep your job.<br />
Charles Dickens<br />
<br />
61) Repeel COngress<br />
[too short]<br />
<br />
62) You work for me! Your fired!<br />
[ too short]<br />
<br />
63) Recession: When your neighbor loses his job!<br />
Depression: When you loose your job!<br />
Recovery: When Obama losses his job!<br />
David Foster Wallace<br />
<br />
64) Standing Together Against Tyrany<br />
Chuck Palahniuk<br />
<br />
65) IBAMANiSM SOiALiSM ISLAMOFACiSM NOT AMERICAN VALUES<br />
David Foster Wallace<br />
<br />
66) Carpenters against new tax's<br />
[too short]<br />
<br />
67) Take Back Amercia Nov-2-2010<br />
[too short]The Absurdisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01998472358970743359noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-757691868671957214.post-37147540944493990312010-07-03T00:06:00.000-04:002010-07-03T00:06:26.316-04:00Giving credit where credit is necessaryHopefully I'm not about to describe you, but for a moment pretend I am. <br />
<br />
Let's say you lost your job a year ago and despite scrimping, cutting coupons, dropping HBO and the Playboy channel you've long-ago burned through your savings paying for the basic necessities like rent, food, gas, insurance, car. You're now using your credit cards to simply keep yourself and your family alive. <br />
<br />
Fortunately you've just been offered a menial job that won't even pay the bills, but may start you on the road to getting back on your feet. With some hard work, training and a bit of luck you could advance and within a year start rebuilding that nest egg.<br />
<br />
Quiz time. (Don't worry - this is easy if you have more than four brain cells to rub together)<br />
<br />
Should you:<br />
A) Immediately cut up your credit cards and never use them again<br />
B) Keep on as before<br />
C) Buy some decent, but not extravagant new work clothes to replace the scruffy jeans and t-shirts you've lived in the last year; and pick up a couple of books or even take a class on your new career so that you can move up the ranks faster, increasing your marketability and value to the new company..<br />
<br />
If you're a member of the GOP I'll bet you answered A. After all, that's what the party is advocating for the Federal government. The economy is starting to show shoots of recovery so now they want to slash spending on things like benefits for those most effected by the down-turn; health care; infrastructure and other items that will improve life for most Americans. Economists the world over have shown that benefits to the poorest members of society have the most stimulative effect but these idiots want to stop the spending now before the recovery is solid.<br />
<br />
Don't get me wrong - I'm no lover of routine deficit spending. I complained when Reagan tripled the debt and when Clinton increased it too before balancing the budget for the first time in my lifetime. But there's a time and place for tapping into credit. Do you have a mortgage and/or car payment? Then you agree with me whether you like it or not. Especially when times are tough - that's when you go into debt. Once finances are better, though, the card should be used only when you have the funds to pay for it - *of course*! You don't buy a new car every year. Well, you *shouldn't* unless you're a Rockefeller or a Bieber. <br />
<br />
When the economy is soaring and there's a yearly surplus but a national debt (if you don't know the difference leave me a comment and I'll be happy to explain) the LAST thing you do is give it away like George Bush did with the tax cuts for the rich and corporate in 2001 and again in 2003. The money should have been used to pay off the debt or at least invested for a rainy day. Like the kind of torrent brought on by mostly-Republican deregulation and incompetence. (For the record, infrastructure improvements are an absolute investment in his country's future, but I digress, right Rachel Maddow?)<br />
<br />
Bush's cuts amounted to 4 <b>trillion</b> dollars in lost government revenue. No, that's not a typo. Never-mind the wars that were never funded honestly, the medicare drug benefit that was fraudulently overpriced and oversold, etc. And now those same a-holes are screaming about federal spending for the downtrodden to feed their families, pay rent and look for work? <br />
<br />
Their level of cruelty and heartlessness is positively, you guessed it, absurd.The Absurdisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01998472358970743359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-757691868671957214.post-79447771890715207572010-05-26T17:29:00.000-04:002010-05-26T17:29:58.456-04:00Drill where? Drill how?Every now and then someone comes up with what seems like a brilliant ad campaign or slogan but which ends up being very, very wrong. The GOP's "drill baby drill" and "drill here, drill now" sound patently insane in light of the volcano of oil erupting into the Gulf of Mexico courtesy of BP, Halliburton, MMS and a host of others. Yet there are those who insist that it's still the right strategy, never mind the unparalleled environmental damage we're only now beginning to see and the fact that it will take weeks to stop and decades to clean up.<br />
<br />
I have to say I think the GOP was onto something, though as is typical they had it ass-backwards. It shouldn't be "drill <i><b>here</b></i>" it should be "drill <i><b>there</b></i>." The US only has 2% of the world's oil reserves so even if we were to drill every known resource we wouldn't even make a dent in pump prices. Experts estimate that if we were to go full-bore with domestic drilling we might reduce the cost of gasoline about $0.03/gallon by 2020. At today's prices that's 1% and if you think prices won't go up between now and then I have a bridge with your name on it.<br />
<br />
Additionally, as any econ101 student knows, crude oil is a fungible resource so, once it's refined, it makes no difference where it was drilled. So why drill here?<br />
<br />
Why not leave ours in the ground and use up what other countries have, all the while working on finding alternatives? If oil is $75/barrel now it's a safe bet that it'll be double that in a few years, then double again not long after. Who knows, maybe what amounts to 2% now will be 10% then giving us a lot more control and making sure we have oil when it's far more scarce and expensive than today. The EPA recently published a study saying if the average car's mileage were to go up 10mpg, which is well within the reach of technology, that would be equivalent to a reduction of <b>$1/gallon</b> in 2020. Which makes more sense: "drill, baby, drill" or "sip, baby, sip"?<br />
<br />
And keep in mind that petroleum is used for a lot more than just automobile fuel: pharmaceuticals, lubricants, jet fuel, plastics, clothing, food, chemicals, etc and right now there is no cost-effective replacement for it in and of those applications. Would you burn something you knew was crucial to the manufacture of medicine if there was another viable option?<br />
<br />
But more to the point, let the drilling and the accidents happen elsewhere. Don't get me wrong: I don't wish these calamities on anyone and I'd love to see a world where there are no oil rig explosions or coal mine collapses at all, but at the moment that's nothing more than fantasy - accidents and human error happen with alarming ferocity. Maybe in another decade or two we'll have more confidence that we can drill in miles of rock beneath a mile of water. But that time isn't now. Who knows, by the time that technology does roll around we may be lucky enough to not need it at all.<br />
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But drilling near critical, fragile, irreplaceable environments like the Gulf coast, coral reefs (aka: fisheries) and ANWR? Positively absurd.The Absurdisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01998472358970743359noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-757691868671957214.post-63700560675520975352010-05-06T15:19:00.007-04:002010-05-06T18:47:12.222-04:00God? Complex. Part 1. (The Personal)<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">I'm not an avid believer in a hands-on, take-charge, active God. I don't buy that there's an omniscient, omnipotent old man with a long, white beard who plays us like a game of meat chess. But there are millions of Americans and billions of others who do. They pray for big things like recovery from illness. And they pray for small things like a good grade on a pop quiz or a better score for their sports team (because surely such a being would have nothing better to do). If they don't believe that their God tweaks the world then their prayer is a silly waste of time so shouldn't they be doing something more fun like folding laundry or watching NASCAR instead?</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">People in that latter camp wait for signs that their prayers are being answered, or at least heard. Some see signs in trivialities like a song played on the radio, an ad on a passing bus, or a leaf fallin at just the right moment. Other signs are more obvious like large accidents or natural disasters (They're not called acts of God for no reason, right?)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Those looking for the larger signs have had quite a few lately. Interestingly many could be tied quite closely to American politics. (For the sake of this discussion, let's ignore the American egomania that implies.)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">[Continued in Part 2: The Politics]</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div></div>The Absurdisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01998472358970743359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-757691868671957214.post-79755160038125318252010-05-06T01:06:00.025-04:002010-05-06T15:22:07.382-04:00God? Complex. Part 2 (The Politics)In January of 2009 Governor Bobby Jindahl of Louisiana mocked a federal proposal that would fund research on volcano monitoring. Two months later the Mount Redoubt volcano in Alaska erupted, blowing an ash and steam plume 15,000 feet into the atmosphere but doing avoiding major damage because it's in a remote part of Alaska (and that's really saying something). But then, just over a year later, volcano Eyjafjallajokull <em></em>in Iceland erupted, causing the largest disruption to European air travel in history. It slowed down after a week but now, two weeks later, it looks like it may be getting ready to go again. The cost to airlines ran into the billions of dollars and it wrought havoc on air travel for hundreds of thousands of people.<br />
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All through the 2008 Presidential campaign John McCain, Sarah Palin and the rest of the leaders of the GOP mindlessly chanted "Drill, Baby, Drill" at every opportunity. Less than 18 months later an oil rig off the coast of Louisiana collapsed, killing 11 workers and for the last two weeks has been dumping over 200,000 gallons of oil into the delicate Gulf waters <b><i>every day,</i></b> with the possibility of the flow increasing by a factor of 10 before it can be cut off at the source in 3-4 months. A week later <i>another</i> Gulf of Mexico oil rig collapsed but, fortunately isn't spewing oil. Yet.<br />
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That same campaign saw discussions of clean coal, a misnomer if there ever was one, and in April of 2010 the Upper Big Branch coal mine in West Virginia exploded, killing 29 workers in the worst mine disaster in three decades.<br />
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There have been other such disasters including mine collapses in China and the devastating earthquakes in Chile, Haiti and southeast Asia but those I've mentioned seem remarkably pointed at the USA and it's not like God would suspend his normal world-wide activities even while majoring in one country.<br />
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If you're looking for signs from God these couldn't be more obvious. But I can hear the replies now: a year or two is a long time between events. Is it? Isn't even a century as but a blink of God's all-seeing eye? Why cause a disaster right away without the proper planning when you can wait an instant and get it just right?<br />
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Maybe God is trying to teach the Democrats a lesson, you say? After all, President Obama is a Democrat. But He is going after distinctly Republican targets. If he wanted to spank the Liberals wouldn't he be better off knocking over a couple of windmills instead of oil rigs? Bankrupting Whole Foods rather than GM? Collapsing Ed Begley's ecohouse not a coal mine? Allowing a terrorist to complete his goal rather than giving them all a chronic case of the incompetent stupids? The list goes on. <br />
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Fortunately I don't believe in such things, but if you believe in a do-it-yourself, over-achiever God the signs are all around you and they're crystal clear. Your God is telling you something. And if you're still supporting the GOP you're not listening. How do you think that makes Him feel?<br />
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Still looking forward to that afterlife?<br />
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That would be absurd.The Absurdisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01998472358970743359noreply@blogger.com1