Sorry, guys, but the right spent decades blowing dog whistles. Now that you've got a candidate who has graduated from a dog whistle to a bull horn, you shouldn't be surprised when some of his supporters decide that thank God it's time to stop being politically correct and fling out fascistic symbolism in this new, accepting environment. Disavowal is difficult when the difference between Trump's tactics and the ones the right has been using for numerous election cycles is in degree, not kind. You get to own this one. Enjoy it." ~ John Scalzi
Stolen (and Edited a Bit)
We don't need to take America back. No one stole it. It's right here…you're sitting in it. Chillax.
Mexico isn't going to pay for the wall and we're not going to deport millions of people and break up families. If you think either one is a good idea, you're not smart and probably not a person I want to hang out with.
We don't live in a democracy. Technically we are a Federal Republic. But in reality we are ruled by an oligarchy. If you don't know what that is, look it up. Reading will do you good. You probably need to do more of it.
FoxNews, CNN, and MSNBC have an agenda and are not "fair and balanced" or in any way unbiased. I'll reiterate…read more. Read newspapers (even online ones). Read lots of opinions and sources and then (stay with me here), THINK! Form your own opinion based on as many facts as your can brain can tolerate.
Speaking of facts…there actually is a difference between facts, opinions, and propaganda. You should learn the difference. (Another opportunity to show off your mad reading skills.)
Science is real. We know things because of science. Don't be afraid of it. You have an iPhone and Facebook because of science. It's your friend.
Global warming or "climate change" as the cool kids call it IS REAL. Anyone who tells you it's not real is not a smart person and probably should not be dressing themselves or caring for children.
Racism exists. And you are probably a little racist and should work on that. Seriously.
American Christians are not under attack. They are not being persecuted. They wield so much power in this country that politicians pretend to be Christian just so they will vote for them. No one is trying to take their bible away from them. Gay people are not destroying their families—they don't need any help to do that, thank you. They do a fine job of that by themselves. So stop saying they are persecuted. You sound stupid.
Poor people need help. If you're not helping them but complaining about how the government helps them with your money you are not a nice person.
Be nice to the people who teach your children. Don't send them nasty emails or yell at them. Their job is 10,000 times harder than your stupid job. You are not a professional educator so just shut your mouth and be thankful someone is willing to teach your offspring.
You don't know what Common Core is. You think you do, but you don't unless you're a teacher. So stop complaining about math problem memes on Facebook. You can't do the math anyway.
ISIS is not an existential threat to the United States. We do not need to rebuild our military. Our military is the strongest, scariest, most badass killing machine the world has ever seen. So stop being afraid and stop letting politicians and pundits scare you.
Guns do in fact kill people. That's what they are designed to do. If you feel you need a gun to protect yourself in America, you are probably living in the wrong neighborhood and should move before you go out and buy a gun. There are like a billion places to live where you won't need a gun, or even need to lock your front door.
If you do own a gun, then make sure you know how to use it really, really, really well. Seriously…get some training because you still don't know how to record stuff with your DVR. Go to the gun range and shoot the thing a lot. Learn how to clean it properly and be able to disassemble it and reassemble it with your eyes closed. It's a freaking gun and it deserves that level of care, proficiency and respect. And for God's sake, keep it locked up and away from your kids.
If you are even a little bit crazy, sad, or pissed off…you shouldn't have a gun. And the Founding Fathers would totally agree with me.
Stop being suspicious of American Muslims. I guarantee the guy sitting next to you in the cubicle at work is probably more of a threat to you than any Muslim. He has to listen to your uninformed ranting day after day and has probably already imagined very colorful and creative ways to end you.
Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, and all the rest are ENTERTAINERS! Stop getting your opinions from them. (Here's where that reading thing can really be an advantage.)
Stop sharing Facebook memes that tell me to share or else Jesus won't bless me with a laundry basket full of cash. That's not how prayer works, even if it did work. And I don't want money delivered in a laundry basket anyway. Nobody ever washes those things out and they just keep putting nasty dirty clothes in them. Yuck!
We are the United States of America and we can afford to house every homeless veteran, feed every child, and take in every refugee and still have money left over for Starbucks and a bucket of KFC.
Unless you can trace your family line back to someone who made deerskin pants look stylish and could field dress a buffalo, you are a descendent of an immigrant. Please stop saying that immigrants are ruining our country. Such comments are like a giant verbal burrito stuffed with historical ignorance, latent racism, and xenophobia all wrapped in a fascist tortilla.
That's all for now. I feel better.
Back To Our Regularly Scheduled Programming
Quote of the Day
Donald Trump is a carnival man, an entertainer, a buffoon. His fans are white, scared, and angry. He will never be elected—not so long as minorities, liberals and educated people vote, but he has certainly exposed the ugly underbelly of conservatives in America today." ~ Stephen King, author
Like A Tweeker High on Meth, Furiously Masturbating…
…but just can't cum:
A Florida congressman has introduced a new bill that would forbid federal agencies from purchasing Apple products until the company cooperates with the federal court order to assist the unlocking of a seized iPhone 5C associated with the San Bernardino terrorist attack.
In a statement released on Thursday, Rep. David Jolly (R-Fla.) blasted Apple.
"Taxpayers should not be subsidizing a company that refuses to cooperate in a terror investigation that left 14 Americans dead on American soil," he said. "Who did the terrorist talk to? Who did he message with? Did he go to a safe house? Is there information on the phone that might prevent a future attack on US soil? Following the horrific events of September 11, 2001, every citizen and every company was willing to do whatever it took to side with law enforcement and defeat terror. It's time Apple shows that same conviction to further protect our nation today."
Last month, Apple was given a controversial court order to create a customized firmware that would enable investigators to brute force a seized iPhone 5C and get past its passcode. Apple has vowed to fight the order in court, and the company is set to appear before a judge later this month.
At least for now, Jolly's bill is unlikely to advance very far in a Congress that can barely agree on the time of day; GovTrack gives it a 1 percent chance of passage.
[Source]
Quote of the Day
There have always been 'warrant-proof places' containing information inaccessible to law enforcement: our minds. I support the right to use unbreakable encryption for the same reason I support Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights, especially the right to remain silent." ~ John Gruber in response to James Comey's comments at yesterday's Congressional Hearing
King Of The Pig People
(With apologies to members of the genus Sus everywhere.)
Amateur
Why stop with that wannabe Donald Trump?
To The Moon, Donald!
EXACTLY.
From Homer:
So Justice Scalia died and people are blabbering that we should show his dead corpse some respect because he was reportedly brilliant. At first I didn't think I should say anything, but then seeing people clamoring about how I am supposed to feel sadness and respect for that narcissistic psychopath, I changed my mind. Someone I have been blogging friends with for over a decade unfriended me on Facebook. I actually didn't care.
As someone else said, Scalia showed no respect to large numbers of living human beings. He openly hated LGBT people, African-Americans, mentally disabled people, and women (I am sure I am missing a few groups). If you weren't straight, white, Christian, and male, you were to be despised. Sorry, but I am not interested in respecting someone who feels that way. I didn't respect him while he was alive (I loathed him), and certainly not going to respect his embalmed body.
I believe people have one life to live. That's it. I do not go out of my way to make other people miserable. I could care less if you believe in some sky fairy or another. But if you try to force me to live my life following your particular set of myths, I do not feel inclined to be nice to you. Scalia was like that, he wanted everybody to be Catholic like him. He was like a little boy, having tantrums because he often did not get his way (oh his judicial dissents were so wonderful! puke). I'm glad he lived long enough to see gay couples getting happily married.
Politics in America
Someone recently described the Republicans and the Democrats in Congress as the pets of the Corporatocracy. They said the Republicans were the dogs and the Democrats were the cats.
The dogs did tricks on command, would slavishly follow their masters everywhere, and would even die to protect their masters. The cats pretended to be aloof and ignore their masters, but still always came running when they heard the can opener.
That about sums it up.
Bernie Sanders, however, seems to be the exception.
A Map Showing…
…who various countries consider the biggest threat to world peace.
BOOM!
Yup.
AT&T CEO Says US Encryption Policy Is Up To Congress, Not Apple
US government policies on device encryption should be decided by the public and Congress, not companies like Apple, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson said in an interview at the World Economic Forum being held this week in Davos, Switzerland.
Well of course he did. AT&T, probably more than any other company in US history has not only bent over for government spying, but actually spread their ass cheeks and lubed up for it.
And that, my friends, is why I will never buy services from AT&T.
And good luck getting Congress to listen to anything "the public" has to say. "The public" doesn't own them the way AT&T does, after all.
I'm Just Gonna Throw This Out There…
15 Fundamental Differences Between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton
1. Sanders has served as an elected official for over 34 years. Clinton has not.
2. Sanders has supported gay rights since the early '80s. Clinton has not.
3. Sanders wants to end the prohibition of marijuana. Clinton does not.
4. Sanders wants to end the death penalty. Clinton does not.
5. Sanders wants to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour. Clinton does not.
6. Sanders wants to break up the biggest banks. Clinton does not.
7. Sanders voted against the Wall Street bailout. Clinton did not.
8. Sanders introduced legislation to overturn Citizens United. Clinton did not.
9. Sanders refuses to accept money from super PACs. Clinton does not.
10. Sanders supports a single-payer healthcare system. Clinton does not.
11. Sanders refrains from waging personal attacks for political gains. Clinton does not.
12. Sanders considers climate change our nation's biggest threat. Clinton does not.
13. Sanders opposed the Keystone XL Pipeline since day one. Clinton did not.
14. Sanders voted against the Patriot Act. Clinton did not.
15. Sanders voted against the war in Iraq. Clinton did not.
I will also add the differences in their support of the TPP. Bernie has lead the opposition to the TPP, while Hillary has been a major supporter until just a couple of months ago.
(Source)
Indeed.
Couldn't Be More Fitting
Quote of the Day
The next time you hear me attacked as a socialist—like tomorrow—remember this: I don't believe government should take over the grocery store down the street or own the means of production, but I do believe that the middle class and the working families of this country who produce the wealth of this country deserve a decent standard of living and that their incomes should go up, not down.
I do believe in private companies that thrive and invest and grow in America, companies that create jobs here rather than companies that are shutting down in America and increasing their profits by exploiting low-wage labor abroad.
I believe that most Americans can pay lower taxes if hedge fund managers who make billions manipulating the marketplace finally start paying the taxes that they should.
I don't believe in special treatment for the top 1 percent, but I do believe in equal treatment for African Americans who are right to proclaim the moral principle that Black Lives Matter.
I despise appeals to nativism and prejudice of which we have been hearing a lot in recent months, and I do believe in immigration reform that gives Hispanics and others a pathway to citizenship and a better life. I don't believe in some foreign "ism", but I believe deeply in American idealism.
I'm not running for president because it's my turn, but because it's the turn of all of us to live in a nation of hope and opportunity not for some, not for the few, but for all." ~ Bernie Sanders
'Murika!
While I don't feel this is a completely accurate depiction of politics in these United States, I think it is a good rendering of its overall Zeitgeist. Yes, I agree that the Democrats by and large do much, much more for the 99% than the Republicans would even consider, and by and large (there are exceptions, of course) they are —at least for now—foregoing the current fear-mongering being spewed by the Right Reich, but when it comes down to the interests of the 1% who ultimately control both parties, I think this is pretty much spot on.
A Little Note to Republicans…
To all Republicans who insist on banning abortion because it "kills innocent humans":
So do chemical spills in our water. And gun rampages in our malls at at our schools. And starvation because mothers can't earn a living wage even working 60-hour weeks. And curable diseases when parents have no access to affordable healthcare.
And yet you insist on sanctimoniously sticking your noses into family-planning choices, have smugly opposed every attempt at safety regulations, gun controls, raising the minimum wage, and the ACA you DARE to fixate on banning abortion.
You are the worst kind of hypocrites: arrogant and ignorant. YOU ARE WHAT IS WRONG WITH AMERICA TODAY.
Deserving of Every Bit of Ridicule He Receives
Now I know these are all just riffs to highlight the absurdity of actual statements that Carson has made regarding the pyramids being nothing more than biblical granaries, but still…
This is the best the Republicans have to offer? Frightening.
Season Six Will Be The Scariest Yet
Any Questions?
BOOM!
Bitch wants to be a Martyr for Jeebus©? Let her.
Look at that glare she's giving the camera. There's no Christian love there. Defiant cunt.
Quote of the Day
Donald Trump is trying to insult his way to the presidency. It's not gonna work. People want an uplifting, hopeful message. People come to this country to pursue their dreams. Sometimes they start without speaking English. But they learn English. And they add vitality to our country.
To say you can only speak English is kind of ridiculous, if you think about it….This is a diverse country. We should celebrate that diversity and embrace a set of shared values. Mr. Trump doesn't believe in those shared values. He wants to tear us down. He doesn't believe in tolerance. He doesn't believe in the things that have created the greatness of this country. ~ Jeb Bush (Someone whom I never thought I'd find myself quoting.)
Submitted Without Comment
Voldemort is Polling Better Than Almost Every Republican Presidential Candidate
Quote of the Day
"You may not have heard it here first, but hear it now: the 2016 GOP primary season is going to be a mind-killing bloodbath of legendary proportions, primarily because almost everyone involved so far has no business being in a national conversation about the tallest seat in the land, and there is still space on the clown bus waiting to be filled." ~ William Rivers Pitt, Truthout
Read the whole thing here.
A New Word for Our Lexicon
