NEON GODS

PZ Myers: Republicans are "stagnant, festering slime." And that's just the beginning!

You got to love PZ Myers who writes the superb science blog, Pharyngula.  He believes we have a responsibility to challenge and call out people who say and believe stupid things.  It bothers him a lot when society and the MSM feel they must treat stupid ideas and the lies of stupid people with respect. 

And nowhere is stupidity more evident than in religion and the Republican Party, two of Myers' favorite targets. Yesterday it was the Republican's turn to be the target of one of Myers' wrathful rants.  He writes about a college professor who finally got fed up with the College Republicans on campus and responded to one of their emails with this great response (and I quote): "Fuck You, Republicans."  A bit uncivil, perhaps.  Myers writes:

But you know what? I approve of incivility and disrespect towards organizations that deserve it, and the Republican party is currently the party of know-nothings, hypocrites, liars, and greed — it's the stagnant, festering slime towards which all the worst elements of society now gravitate. The problem isn't college professors snarling at them, it's that the party itself encourages short-sightedness, idiocy, and hatefulness. So, until the grown-ups wake up and clean out the bigotry and ignorance from their own house, I think it's only fair for us to air our vigorous disgust with them.

I highlighted the parts I especially like.  Every word of his response is true.  The Republican Party is no longer a bunch of thoughtful conservatives whose main goal is to make America better.  They now intentionally appeal to the haters, the disgruntled, the bigots, the stupid, and the angry - and then feed them lies to make them even angrier.  They no longer give a damn about America, their only goal is to destroy the left, Obama, and the Democratic Party.  Yet the press treats them like they are still the party of Lincoln.  I can say with almost certainty that if Abraham Lincoln tried to get the Republican nomination for President in 2012, he would get less votes in the primary than Donald Trump.  He would be Tea Partied to hell.  Yikes!

--Trakker

Blacks are in prison because they want the government to take care of them. Right....

Sally Kern is a Republican state representative in Oklahoma. She represents the citizens of Oklahoma City.  Evidently she is or was a school teacher.  This is what Rep. Kern, the school teacher said in public in front of the Oklahoma House of Representatives:

"We have a high percentage of blacks in prison, and that’s tragic, but are they in prison just because they are black or because they don’t want to study as hard in school? I’ve taught school, and I saw a lot of people of color who didn’t study hard because they said the government would take care of them.”

That, of course, is pure bullshit.  I have never heard an African American say that.  Never! It's been my experience that successful African Americans generally have to work harder than whites to achieve what whites achieve.  There are exceptions. Some whites know how to game the system: brown nosing, sucking up, etc. and there are Blacks who do the same, but in general Blacks have to work harder to succeed.

And speaking of Oklahoma, and not working hard in school, an article in the same Oklahoma newspaper reported that,

"The number of Oklahoma schools failing to make "adequate yearly progress" under the federal No Child Left Behind Act jumped dramatically from 2009 to 2010, according to preliminary data released by the nonprofit Center on Education Policy.

The percentage nearly quadrupled to 41 percent in 2010 from 11 percent the previous year,..."

Considering that Blacks make up only 8% of Oklahoma's population, it sounds like a whole lot of white students aren't working very hard either. I wonder what Sally Kerns' explanation for that is.

Would you want Sally Kerns to teach your child?

--Trakker

 

Soon, a window into how much influence the Tea Party has in Congress.

Whoa, we will soon get to see just how much influence the Tea Party has on the Republican leadership in Congress.  With Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) resigning his office on May 3rd, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell must find a replacement for Ensign on the Senate Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over taxes, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.  According to The Hill, guess who are the two major contenders?  Jim DeMint (R-SC), a leader of the Tea Party movement, and Johnny Isakson (R-GA), "a well-liked member of the Senate Republican conference who is respected for his pragmatic approach to solving policy problems."

DeMint has slightly more seniority so it will be hard for McConnell to pick anyone else, but we all know DeMint would be a "no compromise, shut-it-down" force on a very important Committee.  Isakson would be a voice of reason (comparatively).  I'm sure the sane people in the Republican party would much prefer Isakson, including McConnell.  If he picks DeMint instead, we will know the Tea Party is calling the shots in Congress.

--Trakker

Some interesting reading for a lazy Sunday afternoon, or anytime.

If you happen to be trapped in the house during a downpour and feel like doing some interesting reading, you can do worse than read these links selected by Mark Sumner at DailyKos (you can probably skip the NYTimes editorial if you are pressed for time).

The first is a very interesting piece contrasting the lives of Benjamin Franklin and his sister Jane.  A must-read.

The other piece I highly recommend is David Stockman's op-ed.  Remember, Stockman was chosen by Ronald Reagan to head the Office of Management and Budget so be sure to consider where Stockman is coming from, but for those of us who read Paul Krugman regularly, this is an intelligent counter to Krugman.  I lucked onto a great discussion the other day on C-Span3 between some economists from the US and Europe, which included Stockman.  It was taped at the Newseum here in DC on 4/14. If you happen upon a replay, don't pass it by (bottom line is that there is not a lot of agreement about what's going on with our economies, so don't expect the experts to fix the problem!).

--Trakker

Capitalism and Democracy don't mix.

I think it's becoming more and more obvious that capitalism and democracy do not mix.  As successful capitalists gain in wealth they begin buying politicians by giving them huge sums of much needed money for their election campaigns.  Those politicians are then indebted to their capitalist sponsors, not their constituents.  We, the people, now find ourselves completely powerless, with no one looking out for our best interests.

"Wait!" you say, "What about the Tea Partiers? They have actually defeated Republican politicians who didn't do their bidding.  Isn't that proof that people still have power in politics?"  The answer is yes and no.  The tea party actually began as a bunch of people who were frustrated and angry that our politicians weren't responsive to their constituents.  In the beginning it included lefties and righties who were equally contemptuous of both parties.  But soon the capitalists realized they had better quickly diffuse the movement to protect their interests, and co-opt its energy and anger if possible, so they began a stealth campaign to organize and direct that anger toward goals that benefited them.  Now almost all of the Tea Party's goals benefit the very wealthy!  But the movement does show us that a large group of motivated people can still scare politicians and get them to pay attention to the group's demands.

Since the vast majority of both Republican and Democratic politicians are bought and now indebted to the capitalists, what can we do?  Well, first we have to leave the two party system and organize around an alternative that we believe will serve the American PEOPLE better.  I propose we look at the Democratic Socialist movement.

The word socialism and socialist are old words that have been turned into "very scary words" to most Americans (so has liberal!), so we must get past that stigma and look at what the Democratic Socialists believe.  From their position paper downloaded from their website (see the link: "What is Democratic Socialism?"):

Democratic socialists believe that both the economy and society should be run democratically—to meet public needs, not to make profits for a few. To achieve a more just society, many structures of our government and economy must be radically transformed through greater economic and social democracy so that ordinary Americans can participate in the many decisions that affect our lives. ...

Democratic socialists do not want to create an all-powerful government bureaucracy. But we do not want big corporate bureaucracies to control our society either. Rather, we believe that social and economic decisions should be made by those whom they most affect.  Today, corporate executives who answer only to themselves and a few wealthy stockholders make basic economic decisions affecting millions of people. Resources are used to make money for capitalists rather than to meet human needs. We believe that the workers and consumers who are affected by economic institutions should own and control them.

Their very pursuasive position paper goes on to answer the following questions:

Doesn't socialism mean that the government will own and run everything?

Hasn't socialism been discredited by the collapse of Communism in the USSR and Eastern Europe?

Private corporations seem to be a permanent fixture in the US, so why work towards socialism?

Won't socialism be impractical because people will lose their incentive to work?

Why are there no models of democratic socialism?

But hasn't the European Social Democratic experiment failed?

Aren't you a party that's in competition with the Democratic Party for votes and support?

If I am going to devote time to politics, why shouldn't I focus on something more immediate?

What can young people do to move the US towards socialism?

If so many people misunderstand socialism, why continue to use the word?

I became interested in this movement because Bernie Sanders considers himself a Democratic Socialist and I see that their philosophy is very similar to mine, so I am going to join their national organization.  I urge you to check out their position paper and see if that is the kind of economic system you believe would be better for the PEOPLE of America. 

I suspect that after a few more years of having our economy ravaged and our middle class raped of it's meager wealth, socialism and Democratic Socialism will no longer be a dirty word in America.

--Trakker

50,000 new jobs in one day!

Well, this is good news!!  A major American firm hired 50,000 new workers yesterday.  50,000 new workers hired in just one day by just one American company.  Watch those unemployment figures go down next month, right?

The company that hired those new workers?  McDonalds.  Yes, a fast food restaurant is at the forefront of lowering unemployment.  Welcome to the new America.  Got a degree in accounting?  Need a job?  Unemployment benefits running out?  Gotcha'!  The class war just won another battle!  Woo-hoo!

It isn't funny.  Annie Lowry at Slate writes:

The [National Employment Law Project] says that just 14 percent of recent job growth comes from high-wage industries. About half comes from low-wage industries. According to NELP's report, restaurants and food services businesses, "especially" fast food outlets, comprised 7 percent of hiring. And most gigs, NELP found, came "from rapid hiring by the temp industry," meaning the positions that often come without benefits, health care, or much income security.

She continues:

The country has produced far too few good, stable, middle-income jobs over the past 10 or 20 years, not just the past three.

Why?

--Trakker

Why the rich should pay more taxes

Sometimes I get so sick of politics I just want to move to the Yukon and pan for gold or something. 

I've pretty much resigned myself to the fact that the Tea Party/Republican Party will destroy our economy, and I'm just as resigned to the fact the Democratic Party will do little to prevent it. The Republicans keep pushing, gleefully, closer and closer to the edge of sanity and all we can do is stand back and watch, knowing that at some point everything will crash...and the liberals will somehow be blamed.

Tea Partiers are like children throwing a tantrum, and like children, they lash out at authority and try to hurt it.  Often the tantrums are funny when you think about it.  "If you don't give me what I want I'll hold my breath until I die, and then you'll be sorry!"  Yeah, but what good will that do you?  You'll be dead.  Kids don't think that far ahead.  The Tea Party is the same way.  "If you don't cut the government right this minute I'm going to refuse to raise the debt ceiling and ruin our economy forever and ever, then you'll be sorry!" Yeah, and so will you.

Okay, so as my regular readers know, I hate spiders.  My biggest nightmare is waking up in the middle of the night with a spider in my bed. So I really try to avoid them. Today I had to replace the light outside our back door.  The old one had been there for 15 years and it was rusted and took a lot work to get it off...and of course the new light didn't fit the hole cut in the siding and the wires were stiff, and the screws didn't line up at all.  As I was trying to get the screws started, hundreds of tiny baby spiders started pouring out of the hole in the siding and crawling up my arm and into my shirt and yet I couldn't drop the light.  An hour later the light is installed and it works, but I'm still finding the little devils on me.  Rich people don't have this problem, they pay people to get bit by spiders.  That's why they should pay more taxes.

And now that I'm off topic, how about those Cleveland Indians!!!  12-4 after 16 games, the best record in baseball (tied with the Rockies).  I know it wont last so I'm enjoying it now, and I just had to gloat while I can!

Gloat!

--Trakker

We think 91% of Blacks are too ignorant to vote, but don't call us racists.

I think it is safe to say that the Republican party uses code words that appeal to racists.  It's pretty obvious that a fair number of Tea Partiers are racist.  But when you call these people out, you get outraged denials like, "We're not racist!" or "No, it's the Democrats and liberals who are the real racists."

What is becoming increasingly obvious is that racists don't recognize their racism.  For example, a great many believe that most Blacks in this country are welfare cheats, thus making hard-working (white) taxpayers pay for their food and shelter while they have trouble paying for their own bills.  So they aren't anti-Black when they demand that we end these programs, they are anti-cheating.  Do you see the logic?  Me either.

I just finished watching the Tea Party video below and it positively drips of hatred for non-whites and Muslims, and yet the asshole talking is certain he's not being a racist, just a good American fighting to keep his country white and Christian like it used to be.

Just a warning, do not watch this video if you are currently nauseated, or if you have a history of heart trouble, this might trigger something dangerous and I don't want to lose any of my meager readership.

(h/t angryblacklady.com)

--Trakker

When your arguments are weak, respond with great condescension

To be honest, I think it is good to have a political party, or at least a large group in Congress who oppose government spending and tax increases.  We shouldn't make it easy to raise taxes and create new programs.  We should look for better solutions first.  So in the past I've felt that the conservative's natural opposition to new programs and raising taxes has been generally healthy for the country.

An then came Grover, "shrink the government so you can drown it in the bathtub," Norquist.  If you have a strong stomach and aren't currently armed or suicidal, check out this Q and A in the WaPost today. 

Last year I read the first few chapters of Norquist's book, "Leave Us Alone," but alas, his acid reflux-generating selfishness and sense of entitlement ambushed and choked me.  His answers in the Post today are worse, even giving the word 'condescending' a bad name. I think Norquist just hit #1 in my personal list of "People I Would Most Like To See Relocated Permanently to Tristan da Cunha."  Sorry Jim DeMint .

--Trakker

Our greatest President was elected because Northern progressives formed a new party

150 years ago today, Fort Sumter was fired on and the Civil War began.  I feel like we're on the verge of another civil war sometimes.

Lately there has been a lot of acrimony over at DailyKos over President Obama.  A year ago anyone who dared speak out against Obama over there was hooted down.  But now it looks like almost half, maybe more, have turned on him.  It will only grow.

I've expressed my feelings there, I've written that I can't support someone who pretended to be a progressive, pretended to be for the common man, the middle class, just to get our energy, our money and our votes,  and then kicked us and the middle class aside.  I'm told to look at Nadar and how he swung the 2000 election to Bush.  I'm told if we don't support Obama, a truly loony Republican might win instead.  I'm told liberals can't start our own movement, that we are stuck with a two party system and if I turn my back on the Democrats it's like throwing my support to the Republicans.

I say NO.  We are not stuck with the two party system.  At one other critical moment in our history our parties fractured, and guess what, it resulted in the election of what my have been our greatest President ever, Abraham Lincoln who won the 1860 election with just 39.8% of the vote.  That's because there were four (4!) viable political parties with candidates for President in that election.

Lincoln's Republican party was formed in 1854 (just six years earlier!) by Northerners who had a "vision of modernizing the United States—emphasizing free homesteads to farmers ("free soil"), banking, railroads, and industry. They vigorously argued that free-market labor was superior to slavery and the very foundation of civic virtue and true republicanism" (from Wikipedia).

Check out the Wikipedia entry for the 1860 election.  We must break with the Wall Street controlled Democratic Party.  We can't afford to let them control us any longer.  We must start now and get the poor and middle class behind us.  We won't be very effective right away but perhaps by 2016 we can be strong enough to make a difference.

--Trakker