Random Thoughts on Current Events

June 17th, 2009 by skippy

On Iran

There was this old episode of The Simpsons where Bart changes his report card from an F to an A. Lisa looks at his pathetic forgery and goes “Oh Bart…couldn’t you at least fake a plausible grade?” That pretty much sums this one.

Rise in Right Wing Extremism

In handy script format

DHS: Current circumstances indicate a good possibility that there will be a rise in right wing extremism.

Right Wing Commentator: Blarg! The Democratic administration is trying to create an excuse to put us into a camp!

Right Wing Wacko #1: Take that abortion doctor!

RWC: Ummm…he’s not with us….we are just minding our own business talking about teabags, and secession, and that someone really ought to do something about those horrible liberals who are-

Right Wing Wacko#2: Take that holocaust museum!

RWC: Oh for #%*$ sake!

Obama on Gay Rights

The Defense of Marriage Act is a farce of justice which flies directly against an even cursory examination of the constitution and established precedents. Attempting to publicly defend it is probably not a wise decision for a politician whose core supporters are center and left politically. And then to turn around and offer same-sex benefits is just confusing. Evidently the current administration is like a drunk abusive trucker, who hits his wife, and then buys her something nice to try to makeup for it. Perhaps this is a political reach-around?

Health Care

At this point, for the amount of money that we are talking about spending on this, wouldn’t it be cheaper to just bribe the insurance companies into taking everybody? Wouldn’t be cheaper that that to threaten them into doing it?

“Hello insurance companies. This is the government. Come up with a way to cover all of the people who don’t qualify for group insurance plans or we start regulating your industry. The hard way.”

Supreme Court Nominee

I think one comment which sort of sounds racist does not make a person a racist. I think that if Sotomayor was racist, the opposition would have produced some better evidence of it by now. All the “racist” argument did was make it harder for people on the right to raise any real issues they might have with her. Order levitra pills online visit http://www.noc2healthcare.com/levitra-generic/ website.

Given the current power balance in Congress, it’s a rather moot point. If the Republicans had wanted to have a say in the Supreme Court nominations they shouldn’t have run a septuagenarian career politician who tried to run as a Washington outsider with his sidekick, the bad Tina Fey sketch.

Mexican Cartels

On the one hand, I don’t like organized crime. On the other hand, smuggling stuff across the border inside of a shark, is just awesome. I later found out that the sharks where dead and frozen. Which is a lot less cool that what I was imagining.

Did I miss anything crucial?

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 17th, 2009 at 7:51 pm and is filed under Just kind of babbling. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

Billy Says:
June 17th, 2009 at 8:14 pm

I always had one problem with how they tried to denounce gay marrige. They always say that it essentially mocks marrige, but then again, divorce already does that, and I can guarantee that no polition in the world will try to fight divorce. So, in the end, is gay marrige really that much worse than divorce?

Ihmhi reply on June 17th, 2009 8:20 pm:

Always been fond of this:

The Top Ten Reasons Why Gay Marriage is Wrong

1. Homosexuality is not natural. Real people always reject unnatural things like eyeglasses, polyester, and air conditioning.

2. Gay marriage will encourage people to be gay, in the same way that hanging around tall people will make you tall.

3. Legalizing gay marriage will open the door to all kinds of crazy behavior. People may even wish to marry their pets because a dog has legal standing and can sign a marriage contract.

4. Heterosexual marriage has been around a long time and hasn’t changed at all; women are still property, blacks still aren’t supposed to marry whites.

5. Straight marriage will be less meaningful if homosexual marriage were allowed; the sanctity of Brittany Spears’ 55-hour just-for-fun marriage would be destroyed.

6. Heterosexual marriages are valid because they produce children. Homosexual couples, infertile couples, and old people shouldn’t be allowed to marry because our orphanages aren’t full yet, and the world needs more children.

7. Obviously gay parents will raise gay children, since straight parents only raise straight children.

8. Gay marriage is not supported by religion. In a theocracy like ours, the values of one religion are imposed on the entire country. That’s why we have only one religion in North America.

9. Children can never succeed without a male and a female role model at home. That’s why we as a society expressly forbid single parents to raise children.

10. Gay marriage will change the foundation of society; we could never adapt to new social norms. Just like we haven’t adapted to cars, the service-sector economy, or longer life spans.

Stickfodder reply on June 18th, 2009 3:24 am:

Oh I’m going to have to remember some of those.

speed reply on June 18th, 2009 5:10 am:

Screw that! I copied it into a doc and emailed it to everyone, heh.

I saw a bumper sticker that I liked:
If you don’t like gay marriage, don’t marry a gay.

Daaaaaammmmmn!

Minty reply on June 18th, 2009 9:36 am:

Marriage is special–it’s two individuals declaring themselves as part of a greater whole. How this all works (theoretically) is because of strong emotional bonds between the members of the whole. The purpose of a wedding is to aid the individuals in making the mental/emotional transition into that state, both through the mechanism of the “marriage rite” and said rite being witnessed (and, as such, validated) by representatives of society. This is the heart of what homosexuals want–social validation of a bond that already exists between many of them.

And this is where the big problem lies with anti-gay marriage advocates–they’ve gotten all caught up in the trappings that have been built up around marriage–the big party at the beginning, civil benefits/rights throughout and at the end, etc–until they think that’s all marriage is about. You’ll hear differently, of course, but the sick reality is marriage hasn’t been “sacred” for thousands of years.

And as for the whole children thing, well, what children really need is a stable environment to grow up in. It doesn’t matter whether or not that environment is controlled by two opposite-sex parents, two same-sex parents, or one parent of either gender. The whole “kids need a mommy and a daddy” is bullshit, and the people who claim they’re screwed up because they grew up without one have been socially brainwashed.

SSG Hay reply on June 19th, 2009 6:03 am:

You can’t use logic on the “anti-gay” segment of the country. One of the funniest arguments I ever had with one of the proponents of “anti-gay” was this guy who tried to argue that if we let the homosexuals marry the world would come to a screeching halt because we would be a) destroying the sanctity of marriage and b) teaching our children the wrong thing. After he got done sermonizing, I pointed out that he a) cheated on his wife all the time, and b) didn’t want to have or raise any children (how did I know this? he told us all of that himself!), ever, so how did he think he was right with such arguments? At that point the debate turned into a yelling match, and logic was thrown right out on its ear.

“Ha, puny left-wing liberals, I, Conservo-Man, scoff at your puny logic and counter with ill-considered, wrongly interpreted Bible Passages!”

Billy reply on June 19th, 2009 4:05 pm:

Suddenly this remindes me of something I used to do to my friends in high school. We would be in the cafeteria, and I would stop, and look around the room and say “Think about it, this is the future of america… We’re screwed.”

Anonymous and STILL Employed reply on June 19th, 2009 8:21 am:

Anyone remember sgt Generic?

paula Says:
June 18th, 2009 at 3:23 am

I’ve always found it laughable that that McCain is one of those denouncing gay marriage. How can homosexuality and gay marriage mock marriage any more than he himself did by
1) his long well-known (to friends, family and coworkers) history of cheating on his first wife, both before and after he served in Vietnam;
2) starting yet another an adulterous affair at age 42 with a 24-year-old (and by the way lying about his age, and telling that girlfriend he was 36);
3) then while still living with his first wife, ten months after starting to date the 24-year-old HE filed against his wife for divorce, claiming they hadn’t lived together for a year — which was quite a surprise to his wife!
4) somehow managing to get that divorce filed and finalized in time to re-marry to that 24-year-old in less than four months. Even Ron and Nancy Reagan disapproved of his behavior, to the extent of dropping him and taking care of that discarded first wife.

Where in there is anything about the sanctity of marraige?!?

David Stock Says:
June 18th, 2009 at 3:24 am

Honestly, how stupid do authoritative figures think we are? Or perhaps they’re just not smart enough to think of plausible excuses.

StoneWolf reply on June 18th, 2009 4:23 am:

They think we’re idiots. The sad thing is that most of them are right. The average American adult is a child. They’re used to being treated like children and they treat everyone else like children. Mommy and daddy take care of them (US Gov), they aren’t responsible for their actions, and they want everything and they want it now. Our grandparents were mostly adults who understood they had to work for what they wanted and earn it. Some of our parents are adults, and the presence of sites like this and the people here prooves some of us are adults, but most people are children. Retarded children at that.

Raven Prometheus reply on June 18th, 2009 7:38 am:

Hear, Hear!

Captcha: flying House: Hide our witches and ruby slippers! Dorothy’s back!

Phantom reply on June 18th, 2009 8:01 am:

I’m still in high school, and I think that I know how to parent better than some of the parents I see around. If the kid is screaming and throwing a tantrum, TAKE THEM OUTSIDE!!! Nobody wants to hear that!

Pericles07032 Says:
June 18th, 2009 at 3:28 am

Skippy For President! Been said a bunch of times but hell, really he should.
Ihmhi, you should stick that on any major anti-gay marriage right’s doors Martin Luther style. Challenge them to a debate and bring a large fish(Like wild tuna big, preferably larger) with you. Whenever they make any point you slap them with the fish. If they complain that they don’t have a fish, tell them they should have known to bring one.

Raven Prometheus reply on June 18th, 2009 7:40 am:

I always claimed Skippy for Emporer is better. Anyone here ever read “Empire” by Orson Scott Card?

paula reply on June 18th, 2009 9:13 am:

sorry, I gave up on OSC years ago: shoving the Mormon philosophy (plus what sometimes seemed like a touch of pedophilia…..) down my throat just got boring!

StoneWolf Says:
June 18th, 2009 at 4:20 am

On Iran-Yeah.

On RWE-Right, left, up, down, extremists all suck, I don’t care what they’re preaching. Extreme lefties are as annoying and retarded as extreme righties.

On Gay Rights-To the Opposition, fucking drop it already! They’re here, they’re queer, get fucking used to it. Just becuase two guys want to get married and fuck like bunnies doesn’t mean you have to. So shut up and let them live their lives.

Health Care-Its boned. There is no good solution. That said, I loose enough money to taxes (apx 33%), I don’t want to pay more so some slacker gets heathcare, ’cause trust me, you may not be paying for it, but it ain’t free.

Mexican Cartels-We are not responsible for their law enforcment problems. That said, whoever sells the rights to the “Shark Smuggler” movie to Sci Fi channel will summarily be fed to a shark. A live one that I haven’t fed for a week.

Minty reply on June 18th, 2009 10:04 am:

“Extreme lefties are as annoying and retarded as extreme righties.”

And this is why I always hesitate before describing myself as liberal. Gah, they’re so embarassing.

TeratoMarty reply on June 18th, 2009 2:02 pm:

My old man always said, “Beware of zealots, for they are humourless.” My kid brother says “bother zealots, for it is humourous.”

Minty reply on June 18th, 2009 2:52 pm:

Somewhat unrelated–when I first read that, I mistook “humorless” for “humerus.” I don’t know what that’s supposed to mean in a Freudian sense. My brain isn’t working right now. Gah.

Captcha: “World putters” about while zealots ruin it for everyone!

StoneWolf reply on June 19th, 2009 4:49 am:

I like your brothers train of thought.

StoneWolf reply on June 19th, 2009 4:48 am:

I think I know what you mean. Being from Vermont, I am like most locals, meaining I’m liberal. Until recently, I did not know what I should have been saying was either a “Classic Liberal” or “Libertarian”. Apparently the meaning changed in the last few decades and nobody sent Vermont the memo.

Minty reply on June 19th, 2009 9:02 am:

Stay away from the Libertarians. Aside from a scant handful, Libertarians I’ve known were pretenious assholes.

StoneWolf reply on June 19th, 2009 9:20 am:

Well I looked at the party and it seems that is so. My roomate in college, after listening to my ideas while he was taking a poly-sci class said my ideas were very libertarian. Most of Vermont is too, I think. I don’t know what they’re like outside of VT, but here if you leave us alone we leave you alone. No matter how stupid a Vermonter may think you are, if you don’t interfere with his life he won’t with yours.

Random reply on June 19th, 2009 10:42 am:

Stonewolf: “No matter how stupid a Vermonter may think you are, if you don’t interfere with his life he won’t with yours.”

That’s libertarianism? Americans keep calling it socialism when we do it.

Stonewolf reply on June 20th, 2009 2:37 pm:

Well, that’s the grossly simplified version of it. It basically comes down to the idea that everyone should be allowed to live their own lives their own way so long as that same right of others is not infringed upon. Government basically exists to provide for the common defense, provide public works like roads, and provide a forum for redress of grievances. Its actually almost diametrically opposite socialism in that its not the government’s job to take care of you, its yours. Its more similar to a meritocracy than socialism. Unfortunately, all the subtle differences are difficult to explain in little captions like this. I think what you are thinking of is not socialism but socially liberal. For example, a guy I work with thinks homosexuality is WRONG, but he also figures as long as he doesn’t have to marry a dude, then its none of his business.

speed Says:
June 18th, 2009 at 5:08 am

You have to take into account that most of the “reporters” got into the biz because they thought it would make them “cool.” A sizeable minority of “reporters” want to “make a difference.” Oh really? Join AmeriCorps, the Knights of Columbus, or an urban street mission, and give up the high $ job.

Left-wing & right-wing is all political propoganda. Ya gotta love the Letterman-Palin fued too. Earth to Palin, Letterman tells jokes and sometimes they bomb. Besides, Dave did NOT parade Palin’s children across a stage at the Republican Convention, making them newsworthy and opening them up for jokes, defamation etc.

Any sort of marriage should be left to the states, as required by the 10th Amendment. The cool part is if you don’t like gay marriage, you can go to a state that bans it and vice versa.

People, being human, say all sorts of crap, and in politics it will all be taken out of context. Sotomayer will neither make nor break anything at the court.

Mexican land sharks would be cool.

captcha: vulvae irs – why the irs is full of dicks?

Tim Covington Says:
June 18th, 2009 at 5:49 am

1. The whackjob at the Holocaust was not a right wing anything. He was a national socialist who also had on his list of targets Christians, Fox News and the Weekly Standard (some decidedly right wing organizations). National socialists are their own breed of whack jobs that are so far off the scale that they are neither left or right.

2. The government should be completely out of marriage. Marriage is a religious institution. Anything else is a civil union (regardless of what you call it). Civil unions should be contracts that set up the rights and responsibilities of those involved. The government could offer whatever standard contract it wished. If you want anything else bu the standard contract, you need to see a lawyer. And, before anyone brings up the idiotic children and animals arguments, children and animals can’t sign contracts.

Captcha: Thursday teamster – I didn’t know Thursdays were teamster days.

TeratoMarty reply on June 18th, 2009 8:40 am:

1. The “national socialists” are neo-Nazis; the term ‘
“Nazi” itself is short for Nationalsozialismus, the German for “national socialism.” They’re socialists in name only, and so right-wing that the right wing has disowned them for being utter nutbars.

2. I agree- separation of church and state. However, all the laws say “marriage” in the text, and it is MUCH more of a bitch to go back and change each and every one of the laws that refers to “marriage” than it is to just add “oh fine, and the gays too” to the end of the existing law, which is what we did in Massachusetts.

paula reply on June 18th, 2009 9:26 am:

In a way, you’d think the Republicans, being the pro-big-business party that they are, would ENDORSE gay marriage.

After all, look at the profits waiting to be made! With the average cost of an American wedding currently at around $24,000, just think of all the extra reception hall rentals, wedding outfit sales, flowers by the ton, wedding cakes and caterers, honeymoon packages (don’t forget the ‘destination weddings’ too!), and — because gay people are all-too-human, just like everybody else — lawyers for pre-nups and divorces. Ya wanna make some money? Vote ‘YES’ on gay marriage!

captcha: bristow united — what’s a soccer team doing in here?!?

Tim Covington reply on June 18th, 2009 11:12 am:

One mistake people make is to mistake the major political parties (both the Republicrats and Democans) as monoliths. The religious conservatives have had control of the Republicrat leadership for way to long. But, the alternatives for fiscal and governmental conservatives just aren’t there. The Libertarian Party seems to live in a fantasy land of what they believe the world and government should be like, and their really isn’t any other alternatives for non-religious conservatives.

Billy reply on June 18th, 2009 10:29 am:

To quote the Blues Brothers: “I hate Illinois Nazi’s”, but for me, expand that to all nazi’s, they are the ones dumb enough to turn it into a religeon, i’m waiting for the day that what they did to the jewish people happens to them.

Minty reply on June 19th, 2009 9:04 am:

Let’s all cross our fingers and hope it doesn’t. Otherwise, it’s just fueling their belief that no one appreciates what they’re trying to do for the ~~white~~ human race.

JdJdJd Says:
June 18th, 2009 at 6:53 am

Did you miss anything crucial?

I think you left out all the sabre rattling coming out of North Korea.

M578Jockey reply on June 18th, 2009 10:29 am:

North Korea is easy. A couple if Trident Submarines could solve the whole problem ….

Captcha: Grandchildren Beers…won’t that get you put in jail?

Billy reply on June 18th, 2009 10:31 am:

As much as I hate the Chonger,(as he is refferred to in intel), I feel a little sorry for him after I found out that his government had decided his fater is eternal presisdent. He is still playing second fiddle to a dead man! Makes it a bit more clear on why the lil’ bastard keeps trying to prove himself to the world.

McNutcase Says:
June 18th, 2009 at 8:15 am

I just keep wanting to ask all the people who are scared shitless of “socialized medicine” (which would actually be CHEAPER than the system as it is now, as well as being less hassle for the end user) how their campaign to abolish public schools is going. Why are my child-free taxes being used to pay for educating someone else’s children? Where’s the fairness in that? I don’t need to have kids educated, so I shouldn’t have to pay for it out of my taxes! Private enterprise! The free market!

Captcha: Midnight day – a phrase just as bullshit and nonsensical as the arguments against giving the entire population access to affordable healthcare.

kat reply on June 18th, 2009 9:14 am:

Or, even better, if you pay to send your child to a private school and you still pay the taxes for the public ones. I love that. I may either send my child to private school or go co-op, but I still get to pay the taxes for the public schools. We should be able to opt-out of taxes for things we don’t support.
captcha: spooning Beverly – Skippy you didn’t?!?!?!

Billy Says:
June 18th, 2009 at 11:01 am

I just came up with a way to help not only the healthcare industry and the world at the same time! add a new law for taking care of people, if they got seriously hurt because they were being a dumbass (jackass imitators and such) do not treat them. I’d call this the Darwin’s law.

captcha: kohn flywheel, is that the korean version of Wolf J. Flywheel from Devil’s Rejects?

StoneWolf reply on June 19th, 2009 4:57 am:

Though I am not in favor of socilized medicine, for a number of very good reasons, I do not have the “stark terror” kneejerk reaction that McNutcase mentions. However, if we included a Darwin’s Law, that would actually clear up most of my reservations about the idea. If you fuck yourself up because you were an idiot, either you pay for it yourself or you don’t get treated. Oh, and check to see if they’re taxpayers.

Minty reply on June 19th, 2009 9:08 am:

That’s up there with the one good idea the French have ever had–in France, it used to be that you can sue anyone you want, but if the judge decides it’s a frivolous lawsuit (like people burning themselves on coffee labeled “hot” on the lid), regardless of whether or not you win, you have to pay all the court costs. And I mean all of them. The lawyers, the judge, the electricity bill, the heating bill. Everything.

StoneWolf reply on June 19th, 2009 9:22 am:

That is bloody awesome! I don’t care if they’re cheese eating surrender monkeys, we need to borrow that idea yesterday!

Billy reply on June 19th, 2009 10:44 am:

I still thing the best thing to come out of France is the guillitine, fast, simple, and no sterilization necessary, plus, its painless and merciful. Of course, it was invented when France became the first to publicly kill their own leaders. Maybe that is where my french ancestory came from, because I dont surrender, I perfer cheap meunster cheese, and I bath on a regular basis. And i’m not a jerk to people, unless they give me reason to be one. Gah! Unrelated tangent attack!

captcha: uproot to, to america, not wherever the hell my ancestors came from.

Maven reply on June 25th, 2009 11:52 am:

Cap the fees lawyers can charge in a lawsuit, and have their fee forfeit if the judge rules the case without merit (rather than letting them get a percentage of the settlement or their billable hours) and that crap would stop.

Jim A Says:
June 26th, 2009 at 5:15 am

Well it turns out that those narco-subs are really semi-submersibles too, so nothing’s as cool as the headlines.

Captcha: vamoosed officers…I TOLD you we shouldn’t have shot LT Niedelmeyer.