Yeah, that'll fix it

Hat tip to Daily Kos and Tom Tomorrow for the cartoon and to Donald Trump and company for the idea behind it.

Everything's bigger in Texas - including the hypocrisy

I have lived in Texas for forty years, during which time I have given birth to two full-blooded Texans. And still, I have a hard time thinking of myself as a Texan. 

In fact, I don't think of myself as a Texan. I think of myself as an American.

My discomfort with being labeled a Texan has everything to do with the political image and leadership of this state where paranoia and a sense of superiority and privilege run deep. It has nothing at all to do with the ordinary people of Texas who are friendly, helpful, and good neighbors to have. 

With that in mind, I have been somewhat bemused but not really surprised by the actions of those said politicians this week - the week of the Great Texas Flood of 2015.

Keep in mind these are the same leaders who were last seen assigning the State Guard to keep an eye on a U.S. military training exercise called Jade Helm because it was seen as a potential move by that dastardly Obama to "take over" Texas. (Never mind the fact that there are already thousands of U.S. military personnel in the state at the many military installations located here.)

But as flood waters inundated much of the state this week, sweeping away cars, houses, businesses, and people, some of whom are still unaccounted for, the first reaction of political leaders was to ask that same dastardly Obama to intervene. Send help! Send money!

Many have pointed out, quite reasonably I think, that these same people sing quite a different tune when it is another part of the country that is in trouble and needs help. Sen. Ted Cruz provides an excellent example.

When the Superstorm Sandy hit the East Coast in 2013, the devastation was terrible. The states that were hit hard turned to the federal government for disaster assistance. 

When the bills for such aid were considered in Congress, can you guess how the Texas delegation voted? Most in the House did actually vote for the bill but eight members including the execrable Louis Gohmert voted against it. Both of our esteemed senators, Cornyn and Cruz, voted against the bill.

Here was Ted Cruz doing what he does best, demagoguing, during the Sandy Relief Bill debate: 

"This bill is symptomatic of a larger problem in Washington – an addiction to spending money we do not have. The United States Senate should not be in the business of exploiting victims of natural disasters to fund pork projects that further expand our debt."

And here is Ted Cruz this week on requesting aid for his drowning state: 

“The federal government’s role, once the Governor declares a disaster area and makes a request, I am confident that the Texas congressional delegation, Sen. Cornyn and I, and the members of Congress both Republicans and Democrats will stand united as Texans in support of the federal government fulfilling its statutory obligations, and stepping in to respond to this natural disaster."

Cartoonist Mike Luckovich of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution sums it all up quite nicely. 

Thursday Tidbits

Have you heard about this letter to the editor from a Canadian citizen in British Columbia? It's been making a bit of a stir on the internet this week.



It might be a bit difficult to read in that format, so here is the text:

"Many of us Canadians are confused by the U.S. midterm elections. Consider, right now in America, corporate profits are at record highs, the country's adding 200,000 jobs per month, unemployment is below 6%, U.S. gross national product growth is the best of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries. The dollar is at its strongest levels in years, the stock market is near record highs, gasoline prices are falling, there's no inflation, interest rates are the lowest in 30 years, U.S. oil imports are declining, U.S. oil production is rapidly increasing, the deficit is rapidly declining, and the wealthy are still making astonishing amounts of money.

"America is leading the world once again and respected internationally — in sharp contrast to the Bush years. Obama brought soldiers home from Iraq and killed Osama bin Laden.

"So, Americans vote for the party that got you into the mess that Obama just dug you out of? This defies reason.

"When you are done with Obama, could you send him our way?

"Richard Brunt


"Victoria, British Columbia"

Sometimes it is our closest neighbors who see us most clearly.  And what an image we present to them!

*~*~*~*

Ebola has essentially disappeared from the national headlines now that the election is over and it has served its purpose of scaring the bejeezus out of cranky old white voters.

(Of course, we shouldn't stereotype "cranky old white voters." After all, I am one myself, but I was never terrified by Ebola or ISIS or desperate brown children or any of the other bogeymen conjured up by fear mongering right wingers during the election season. There are still a few of us...)

Last night, Chris Hayes of MSNBC did a segment on Ebola in which he "congratulated" cable news on its even-handed and low-key coverage. It's pretty good.

*~*~*~*

So now that they no longer have Ebola to freak out about, what's the latest "outrage" they are screaming about? President Obama in China, of course!

"OMG! HE'S WEARING A PURPLE SUIT!" (An outfit provided by his hosts to all their guests to wear.)

"OMG! HE BOWED HIS HEAD TO THE CHINESE LEADER!

"OMG! IS HE CHEWING GUM?"

"OMG! HE JUST SIGNED AN AGREEMENT WITH CHINA FOR A WAR ON COAL!"

There is literally no end to their store of outrage when it comes to President Obama and, frankly, it could all be summed up in just three little words: "OMG! HE'S BLACK!"

Monday musings: America the terrified (updated with links)

America seems to be scared out of its wits these days. At least, a significant and vocal section of the population seems to be.

They are scared of undocumented brown-skinned children showing up at our borders and asking for asylum.

They are scared of Muslims. Any Muslims, but particularly those who are part of ISIL/ISIS. Not that they really have any clue who they are and not that they seem to be capable of making the distinction between those who are and those who aren't. Again, brown-skin = scary.

And, of course, their latest terror is Ebola, the deadly virus that has killed thousands in West Africa and which one unfortunate visitor from that area is currently battling in a hospital in Dallas. The affected man is in isolation. Those with whom he is known to have had close contact (which is the only way the disease can be spread) are quarantined, but to hear the fear mongers in the media tell it, the disease is likely to spread throughout the country and kill us all by next Tuesday.

In fact, in a fear trifecta, some of our more benighted elected representatives in Congress have even suggested that the brown children at the border might be ISIL/ISIS secret agents who are carrying the Ebola infection to spread it around the country. I am not making this up. There is no suggestion too outrageous for these people.

And, of course, it is all Obama's fault which is why some Republican members of Congress are allegedly advising the leaders of the military with whom they are in contact to resign their positions rather than obey commands from their commander-in-chief. There are some who might call that sedition, but in these last days of the tenure of our first (scary) black president, that is what passes for normal political discourse.

Meanwhile, the Secret Service, which is supposed to be protecting that (scary) black president has lately seemed to be asleep at the wheel.

My recurring nightmare, and I suspect that of many people, throughout the Obama presidency has been that he will be assassinated, because I know the undercurrent of racial hatred and fear that exists in this country. I know, too, that it is the basis of the implacable, unyielding opposition and utter disrespect that has been shown this brown-skinned president from certain quarters throughout his tenure. They will never accept his legitimacy and they would rather see the country fail than for him to be able to claim any success.

Stir all of this fear, hatred, and sedition into a big pot, add heaping cups full of misogyny, self-righteous anger over the "oppression" of white men, and unquestioning worship of the Great God Greed/Capitalism (which is how they interpret Christianity) and let it simmer and what you get is conservative talk radio, i.e., hate speech radio, and the Fox News Network. It all provides great material for comedians like Stephen Colbert, but it isn't much fun for the rest of the country.

Stupidity reigns - even in the doctor's office

One of my daughters tells a story about her friend who recently visited her doctor's office here in the Houston area. A prominent sign in the doctor's waiting room proclaimed, "WE DO NOT ACCEPT OBAMACARE!"

Which just goes to prove that apparently you don't have to be very smart or well-informed to be a doctor. I'm not sure I would want to trust my life to that particular doctor.

The thing about the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, is that the insurance is provided by private insurance companies. Contrary to the lies told by its opponents, it is not government-provided insurance. The government mandates that the insurance policies must meet certain standards and must provide a minimum of services and, in the case of some low income people who qualify, it will provide subsidies to help pay the premiums. But the insurance policy itself comes from Blue Cross or Cigna or some other private insurance company and that is what the person's insurance card will show.

So, how exactly are that doctor and his staff going to determine if an individual seeking medical care has "Obamacare"? Are they going to interrogate all their patients by asking them, "Did you get your insurance because of the provisions of Obamacare?" And then turn them away if the answer is yes?

Actually, I don't think I would be surprised if they did exactly that.

Pity the poor billionaire

There has been a lot of comment about the letter from billionaire venture capitalist Tom Perkins that the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal thought was important enough to give space in their newspaper recently.

Oh, you haven't heard about this? Well, in his letter, Perkins compared today's "progressive radicalism," by which he apparently means having the richest one-percent among us pay a fair share in taxes, to Nazi Germany's persecution of the Jews.  Specifically, he made reference to the Nazis' attack on Jews and Jewish businesses known as Kristallnacht. The final paragraph of his letter seems to sum up his thought processes:

This is a very dangerous drift in our American thinking. Kristallnacht was unthinkable in 1930; is its descendant "progressive" radicalism unthinkable now?  

Of all the comments that I have seen on this, I think it is best answered by Jen Sorensen in a cartoon in today's Daily Kos. (A cartoon does seem the most appropriate way to answer him.)



And on a related subject, have you noticed how people of a certain line of political thought are always comparing everything they don't approve of to Naziism? Either that or Communism - and sometimes both in the same sentence. It's evident that they have no understanding of the meaning of either philosophy, or else - what is more likely - they simply have no concern for the truth. These are the same kind of people who compare the Duck Dynasty guy to Rosa Parks or Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., or who say that something like offering all Americans a chance at getting health care is just like slavery!

Truly, at times I do despair for this country.

Stupid human tricks

The polar vortex evidently is messing with some people's minds and making them even more stupid than usual. Maybe their brains are frozen.

It seems that there is this idea abroad in the land about throwing boiling water into the cold air and watching it turn into snow. I'm not sure just how it got started. Probably has something to do with Twitter.

Apparently a lot of people are trying it and not all of them are drunk at the the time. They toss the boiling water into the air and the utterly predictable happens. It falls on them and burns their heads or arms or whatever parts of their bodies happen to be in the way. Many people have been painfully burned.

The lesson here is that the laws of physics are not repealed by the polar vortex. Boiling water is more likely to burn you than to turn into snow in the few feet that you are able to toss it into the air - regardless of how cold that air is. And if there is wind, as there usually is these days, you may just get the whole thing blown back into your face and wind up with a very red face.

Really, is there no end to human idiocy?

The Houston Chronicle editorial board are idiots

When we endorsed Ted Cruz in last November's general election, we did so with many reservations and at least one specific recommendation - that he follow Hutchison's example in his conduct as a senator.    - Houston Chronicle's mea culpa editorial for endorsing Ted Cruz for senator.

The Houston Chronicle is not known for its courageous and incisive editorials, but it may have set a new record for obtuseness yesterday with its whining about how their preferred candidate for the Senate from Texas, Ted Cruz, has not followed their advice and lived up to the example set by former Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison.

Of course, then they followed that up with a weasel statement about how, no, they were not unendorsing Ted Cruz! Way to go, guys. Way to try to have it both ways.

It was never a mystery what kind of senator Ted Cruz was going to be. The campaign he ran fully revealed him as a self-serving political nihilist only concerned with advancing the cause of Ted Cruz. He was and is a complete narcissist, lacking in empathy and concern for the effect of his actions on others. For any person of normal intelligence paying attention to last year's senatorial campaign, that was perfectly obvious. Apparently, that description did not include the Chronicle's editorial board which is now so disappointed that Cruz turned out to be exactly the kind of politician that he had said he would be, i.e., as someone aptly characterized him "a showboating far-right bomb thrower," and not the kind of  responsible moderate which they now praise Hutchison for being.

It's true that the Chronicle cannot be blamed for Cruz's electoral victory. I'm sure that their endorsement had exactly zero effect on the outcome. Even so, there was a more honorable and sane - and moderate in the mold of Hutchison - choice available to them. His name was Paul Sadler and he was the Democratic candidate. He's no bomb-thrower and he would have represented Texas with dignity and intelligent pragmatism.

But the Chronicle, as it almost always does, took the path of least resistance not the path of courageous and responsible journalism, because they are in thrall to their vociferous tea party readers and they knew they would get angry letters and possibly subscription cancellations if they endorsed a Democrat. So they gave their "vote" to the radical reactionary candidate and now they regret that he turned out to be exactly as advertised. Sorry, guys, you don't get a do-over. He's your candidate and you are stuck with him.

Will they learn from this experience? Not likely. I can practically guarantee that in the next state-wide election they will again endorse the candidate who loudly proclaims that he is "the most conservative" without any consideration given to the candidate who may be open to pragmatism, moderation, and bipartisanship. Because that's just the way these idiots roll.

Bring on the stupid

The implementation of the Affordable Care Act this week along with the government shutdown orchestrated by the tea party Republicans has surely brought out some of the most world class stupid reactions recently seen on our political stage. When you consider all the vast stupidity that has occurred in the political arena in recent years, you begin to get a true idea of just how insane this week's actors on the stage have shown themselves to be.

I think the one who tops my own personal list - and, admittedly, he has lots of competition - is Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R. - Texas, of course!) berating a park ranger at the World War II Memorial and telling her that she should be ashamed of herself because the memorial was closed. As if she personally had made the decision to close the memorial when, in fact, it was Neugebauer and his fellow tea party posse members who locked those gates. Neugebauer and other tea partiers, like Michele Bachmann, who showed up to have their pictures taken with World War II veterans who had traveled to the city specifically to see that memorial were shocked, shocked that anyone would dare to close it to the public.

Of course, their outrage was purely for the cameras and it certainly did not extend to all those pregnant women, infants, and children who are not getting their supplemental food this week or all those Head Start kids who have been kicked out of their classes because of the tea party's actions. No, their photo-op outrage only extends to old white guys in wheel chairs.

Another day and another stupid statement from a Texan. This time from our dear leader, Rick Perry. In a campaign appearance in New Jersey this week, Perry opined that the implementation of the Affordable Care Act was a "criminal act." He said, in part, " If this health care law is forced upon this country, the young men and women in this audience are the ones who are really going to pay the price. And that, I suggest to you, reaches the point of being a felony toward them and their future." Perhaps Ricky could benefit from a brief review of the history of  the law.

The Affordable Care Act was passed by the House of Representatives and then by the Senate, after which it was signed into law by the president. It was then reviewed by the Supreme Court and found to be constitutional. After all that, there was this little thing called an election last year in which the candidate for the Republican Party promised that on his first day in office he would repeal the law. The Democratic candidate, President Obama, promised to implement it. The Republican candidate was defeated, rather resoundingly. So, Ricky, I really do not think that word "felony" means what you think it means.

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) joined the stupid hit parade by remarking that the president was perfectly willing to negotiate with the Iranians but not with Republicans in Congress. Well, that could be because the Iranians are more reasonable than Republicans in Congress.

And McConnell's teammate, Rand Paul (R-KY) chimed in that so far there had been no debate about Obamacare! Randy, you might want to read two paragraphs back, the paragraph beginning with "The Affordable Care Act was passed..." In fact, the ACA was debated extensively for eighteen months before it was passed and it has been vetted through every branch of the United States government and found to be viable and legitimate.

Finally, the last word in stupid comes from Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) who said, "People are probably going to realize they can live with a lot less government than what they thought they needed."

Yep, forget about NASA or NOAA or the National Institutes of Health with their totally unnecessary attempts to find cures for diseases like cancer or the Food and Drug Administration with all those food and drug inspectors. We don't need no stinkin' researchers or inspectors or scientists! At least not in tea party world.

And so, until such time as Speaker John Boehner finds the courage to stand up to the tea partiers and allow a vote on a bill to continue funding the government - a bill that would certainly pass with bipartisan support - the government shutdown and the uncertainty that it brings to our standing in the world will continue. Sad. And so, so stupid.

*~*~*~*

UPDATE: Another take on the gross stupidity of the moment.

This must drive Darrell Issa crazy!

The trifecta of so-called scandals currently being hyped by the inside the beltway press corps in Washington seem to have had the perverse effect of elevating President Obama's popularity with the great mass of Americans who live outside the beltway, outside the bubble. The results of the first polls since the stories broke show that his approval ratings have actually increased. His approval now stands at 53 percent.

I'm sure this has left Republicans scratching their heads, trying to understand why the American people are not responding to their faux outrage over Benghazi, the IRS, and the AP. The public, at first glance, seem to have sussed out just what that "outrage" is: A political attempt to damage and weaken a popular president.

We've all been down this road before, not so many years ago. We remember the Clinton era and Gingrich et al's attempt at impeachment. Now Republicans are tossing around the word impeachment once again. It seems almost certain that they will attempt it with this president as well. Because that's what their crazy base wants and expects. They are not into governing the country. They are into mischief-making and gumming up the works of government as much as possible.

When they do get around to attempting impeachment, they will find eager partners in the slavering Washington press corps who like nothing better than a ginned up phony controversy. With such stories to obsess about, they don't actually have to get out and work to dig out the real news that affects people's lives.

In the Republicans' continuing campaign to bring down the Obama presidency, there is no more eager soldier than Darrell Issa, the California representative who has dedicated himself to destroying President Obama and has enlisted the committee he heads as his instrument. And what has been the net result of all of his "investigations"? Well, as noted, Obama's popularity has increased while the disapproval ratings of Republicans are at their highest level since CNN started polling the question in 1992. This must drive Darrell Issa crazy!

You would think that it might also cause the Republicans to stop and reconsider their policy of obstruction. They might gain more sympathy and support from Americans if they actually showed some attempts to assist in solving the nation's real problems - of which there are many - rather than simply being the party of "no." But, frankly, these guys seem incapable of such reflection and so I suspect their tantrums will continue and so will their attempts to bring down the president and the country be damned.

When they get around to impeaching Obama, I imagine his approval ratings will skyrocket - 90 percent seems imminently possible.

Shame, shame! Everybody knows your name.

One keeps thinking that the U.S. Senate cannot disgrace itself any further. Then it goes and defeats consideration of a very mild background check bill for people who are attempting to purchase guns. Even though a clear majority of senators voted for the bill, even though poll after poll show 90% of Americans want this to become law, a cowardly forty-five who are deep in the pockets of the National Rifle Association refused to let the bill proceed and so, under the arcane filibuster rules of the Senate, the bill was defeated.

Since the massacre of school children at Sandy Hook Elementary on December 14, 2012, at least 3513 other Americans have died as a result of gun violence. Some 80 more will die today! But those forty-five senators don't give a damn, as long as the NRA continues to fill their coffers.

Here are the names of the disreputable forty-five, along with their Twitter handles, should you wish to send them a message regarding this vote. I certainly intend to.

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) -- @SenAlexander

Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) -- @KellyAyotte

Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) -- @SenJohnBarrasso

Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) -- @MaxBaucus

Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska) -- @SenatorBegich

Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) -- @RoyBlunt

Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.) -- @JohnBoozeman

Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) -- @SenatorBurr

Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) -- @SaxbyChambliss

Sen. Dan Coats (R-Ind.) -- @SenDanCoats

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) -- @TomCoburn

Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) -- @SenThadCochran

Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) -- @SenBobCorker

Sen. Jon Cornyn (R-Texas) -- @JohnCornyn

Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) -- @MikeCrapo

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) -- @SenTedCruz

Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) -- @SenatorEnzi

Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) -- @SenatorFischer

Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) -- @JeffFlake

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) -- @GrahamBlog

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) -- @ChuckGrassley

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) -- @SenOrrinHatch

Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) -- @SenatorHeitkamp

Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) -- @SenDeanHeller

Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) -- @SenJohnHoeven

Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) -- @jiminhofe

Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) -- @SenatorIsakson

Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.) -- @Mike_Johanns

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) -- @SenRonJohnson

Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) -- @SenMikeLee

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) -- @McConnellPress

Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) -- @JerryMoran

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) -- @lisamurkowski

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) -- @SenRandPaul

Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) -- @robportman

Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) -- @SenMarkPryor

Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho) -- @SenatorRisch

Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) -- @SenPatRoberts

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) -- @marcorubio

Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) -- @SenatorTimScott

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) -- @SenatorSessions

Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) -- @SenShelbyPress

Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) -- @SenJohnThune

Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) -- @DavidVitter

Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) -- @SenatorWicker  

The slippery slope

From today's Daily Kos:

Click on image to enlarge.

Yes, everybody knows that any regulation of a dangerous instrument leads inevitably to its confiscation and outlawing. And by "everybody" I mean anybody who takes seriously the pronouncements of the National Rifle Association.

Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan can't stop insulting voters

First it was Paul Ryan blaming the Republicans' loss on "urban" voters. Wonder who he could have been referring to? No doubt all those people who listen for "dog whistles" understood him very well.

Of course, Ryan neglected to mention that his ticket also lost predominately white and rural states like Iowa and New Hampshire, and underperformed in Midwestern states, but then the flimflam man has never lived in a reality-based state. 

Speaking of the state where he does live, Wisconsin, he lost that, too, AND he lost his own home town! 

Then along came Ryan's partner in losing, Mr. Romney. Speaking this week to donors to his campaign, he blamed the loss on President Obama giving "gifts" to various segments of voters. Here's just a snippet of his insulting remarks about "those people" who didn't vote for him; you know, that irresponsible 47 percent. Except it turned out to be 51 percent.

With regards to the young people, for instance, a forgiveness of college loan interest, was a big gift. Free contraceptives were very big with young college-aged women. And then, finally, Obamacare also made a difference for them, because as you know, anybody now 26 years of age and younger was now going to be part of their parents’ plan, and that was a big gift to young people. They turned out in large numbers, a larger share in this election even than in 2008…

You can imagine for somebody making $25,000 or $30,000 or $35,000 a year, being told you’re now going to get free health care, particularly if you don’t have it, getting free health care worth, what, $10,000 per family, in perpetuity, I mean, this is huge. Likewise with Hispanic voters, free health care was a big plus. But in addition with regards to Hispanic voters, the amnesty for children of illegals, the so-called Dream Act kids, was a huge plus for that voting group. 

Every word drips with disdain.

After he was caught out with his remarks about the 47 percent at that meeting of his backers in Boca Raton, he said that he had not expressed himself "elegantly," which may be the understatement of the year. He went on, of course, to assure us that he really cared deeply about 100 percent of Americans. But this latest meeting with backers gives the lie to that. The Romney who dismissed the "47 percenters" and the Romney who has nothing but contempt for "those people" who are swayed by "gifts," that is the authentic Mitt Romney. The sore loser.

Now, if Romney had been elected, you can bet he would have been passing out "gifts" left and right to his super-rich friends. Slashing their tax rates and putting in special breaks in the tax code that only apply to the very, very rich and, of course, doing away with that regulation thing and generally making the world safe for robber barons.

What a piece of work these two guys are. Real charmers. Wonder how they ever lost?

If they really want to know, they could look in the mirror. But that would probably be more reality than they can bear. 

The new Know-Nothings

I was reading a story about Bill Nye, the Science Guy, a couple of days ago when I came across a sentence that literally made me groan out load. It said, "In June, a Gallup poll revealed that 46 percent of Americans believe that God created humans in their present form about 10,000 years ago." So much for science and the fossil record. So much for critical thinking. These people prefer to accept the Bible as their scientific and historical text and not worry their little heads about any more complicated explanations. Oh, well, I guess we should just be relieved that the percentage wasn't even higher.

As the story pointed out, the United States stands alone among modern industrialized states in this Know-Nothingism. It's only in the most backward and theocratic places on earth that you would find such a high percentage of people who refuse to acknowledge evolution as settled science.

The same disheartening assessment can be made regarding human-caused global warming. The United States is the center, the hotbed of denialism.

Indeed, a denial of evolution and a denial of global climate change seem to go hand-in-hand. Both refusals to accept the facts established by science involve a kind of magical thinking. Dinosaurs and humans walked the earth at the same time and Noah carried two of them onto the Ark! God is looking out for us and will not allow the earth's systems to be destroyed by human negligence; therefore, global warming cannot be happening. Both thought processes, of course, absolve humans of any responsibility for the consequences of their actions.

In this march back to the Dark Ages, Texas Republicans proudly lead the way. Earlier this year, they came up with a party platform that sought to ban the teaching of critical thinking skills in schools! Their reason was that critical thinking causes people to focus on behavior modification and, according to them, it has "the purpose of challenging the student's fixed beliefs and undermining parental authority."  Heaven forbid that a fifteen-year-old should be forced to reexamine his/her "fixed beliefs" or that s/he should question whether father really knows best. 

This refusal of a large percentage of Americans to think critically and rationally about issues facing them and the country certainly goes a long way toward explaining many of the problems which our society has. It truly is enough to make one despair of the future. In fact, Bill Nye himself seems to despair of the adults whose brains are already ossified, but, in a video that is making its way around the Internet, he asks them please not to impose their beliefs on their children.



It seems a reasonable argument to me. Let the kids think for themselves and make up their own minds. Somehow, though, I doubt it will be persuasive to that 46 percent that the Gallup pollsters counted. 

The amazing shrinking penis

Have you heard the latest scientific theory from the great mind of Rush Limbaugh? It seems that men's penises are shrinking, according to an Italian study on sexuality, and Rush knows why! It's those darn "feminazis"! They strike again. But listen to the master speak:

I have a story, it's from Philadelphia, CBS News, CBS Eyeball News. "If size matters, male private parts are shrinking, according to a new Italian study on sexuality. [...] The study’s leaders claim to have bona fide research that says the average size of a penis is roughly 10 percent smaller than it was 50 years ago." And the researchers say air pollution is why. Air pollution, global warming, has been shown to negatively impact penis size, say Italian researchers.

I don't buy this. I think it's feminism. If it's tied to the last 50 years, the average size of a member is 10% smaller in 50 years, it has to be the feminazis. I mean, the chickification, everything else. Give 'em time and they'll blame Bush. Give 'em time. But air pollution versus feminazis? Ha.

Wow! Who knew we had such power? I mean I'm still reeling from the recent discovery, thanks to that other great mind and authority on women, Todd Akin, that my ladyparts have a magic barrier which they can employ to reject any sperm from a rapist. Now I learn that simply by the power of my mind, by standing up for my rights as a human being, I can make men's penises shrink!

Now if women could only learn to employ these superpowers to actually shield themselves from rapists or other physical assaults, or even if they could use those powers to actually ensure that they are paid an equal wage for equal work, then we would truly be living in the age of Superwomen.

A profile in stupidity

Mitt Romney may be an absolute whiz when it comes to making money by shutting down companies and outsourcing jobs, but when it comes to understanding the way the real world works, he's an idiot. That's the only explanation I can see for his behavior in response to recent events in the Middle East. Moreover, not only is he an idiot, he is a craven political opportunist willing to make "profit" from capitalizing on the deaths of devoted American public servants who put their lives on the line every day to protect and defend the interests of this country. In that sense, not only is he an idiot and an opportunist, he is unpatriotic.

I can write that last paragraph because we have freedom of speech in this country. It is a concept that is sometimes hard for people in other parts of the world to fully understand. So when they see or hear of an offensive anti-Muslim film like the one that was used as an excuse to incite the riot in Benghazi that resulted in the deaths of four Americans from the consulate there, it is hard for them to understand why the U.S. government cannot just arrest the perpetrator of the obscenity and shut down distribution of the film. When the U.S. government fails to do that, they jump to the conclusion that the government itself condones the film and its message and they use that reasoning to stir up hatred against the government. The concept that a government cannot control what its citizens say or write or what images they load to YouTube is literally foreign to them.

And so we have riots occurring around the Middle East today and U.S. diplomats lives' are being put in danger because another bigot with a political agenda of his own produced a film deriding the Prophet Mohammed and insulting the Muslim religion and loaded it on YouTube, an act that was calculated to incite violence thus lending credence to the self-fulfilling prophecy that Muslims are violent people. His actions may not be against the law (although that is yet to be determined, I think) but they are most certainly immoral and unpatriotic. Anyone who would knowingly, willingly put the lives of our public servants in other countries in peril cannot be said to have the interests of this country at heart and they deserve our censure and disgust.

And what of politicians in this country who would take advantage of such a volatile situation to try to advance their own political agendas? Yes, people like Mitt Romney and the few like Republican Party Chairman Reince Priebus, loudmouth radio host Rush Limbaugh, Senator John Kyl, and half-Governor Sarah Palin who have supported him. They deserve a double serving of our censure and disgust and they deserve to be run out of public life altogether.

Ironically, as demonstrations, some of them violent, spread across the Middle East in response to a film that is utterly stupid and without any artistic merit, the United States is apparently viewed more positively by the ordinary citizens of the area than it has been in many years. There has, for example, been an outpouring of outrage from citizens of both Libya and Egypt over the violence that took the lives of Libyan ambassador Christopher Stevens and others. Likewise, the governments of Libya and Egypt have expressed their outrage and regret. It should be noted also that Libyans fought to defend the consulate in Benghazi from its attackers and that at least ten of them died defending it. While it is natural for Americans to focus on the deaths of our own citizens, we must not lose sight of that and we must remember and honor the memories of those brave Libyans as well.      

Free speech is a difficult concept. It may be our greatest strength as a country, but it can cut both ways and it can be used against us. It is sometimes a burden as well as a gift, because we have to put up with a lot of stupid speech to ensure that we protect everyone's rights. But I think that the very least that we can expect of someone running for the highest office in our country is that she or he speak with probity, thoughtfulness, and intelligence about issues, and if s/he cannot meet that standard then s/he should remain silent. Mitt Romney should have remained silent. Instead, he gave us a memorable and devastating profile in stupidity.

UPDATE: And then there are the thoughtful responses - Pictures from a pro-American Libyan rally.

Domestic terrorism, domestic politics

David Sirota of Salon.com has named yesterday's massacre in Colorado for what it is - terrorism. Our media would lead us to believe that terrorism is only the purview of dark-skinned Islamicists, but that is faulty thinking. The country is under siege and at the mercy of domestic terrorists like the Colorado murderer because we refuse to take responsibility for standing up to the NRA and passing and enforcing laws that will inhibit the gun traffic in this country. This will not change until we mature enough as a country to give up our adolescent obsession with guns and violence. Frankly, although it depresses me beyond measure to say it, I see no possibility of that happening.

Meanwhile, predictably, a certain segment of our society rushes to the microphones to say that if only there had been someone else in the audience with a gun to take the shooter down, all of this could have been avoided. Never mind that the shooter was wearing full body armor and that the hero would have had to shoot around the vast crowd that was in the audience and that was panicked by the assault and then have his bullet pierce the armor in order to take him down. All it would have taken is one Clint Eastwood type hero and he would have made the day for all of us, so goes their reasoning.

One of the proponents of that kind of thinking is our own Texas Republican Tea Party Representative and resident wackadoodle Louis Gohmert. He believes that the massacre was caused by "ongoing attacks on Judeo-Christian beliefs" and that if only that hero gun toter could have been in the audience, all would have been well. Gohmert was last heard from last week when he signed on to Michele Bachmann's hate campaign against Islamic Americans. And he is one of our elected representatives! Do we wonder that the country is in such trouble when we continue to elect such idiots?

This man is an idiot

Geraldo Rivera said Friday he would “bet money” that Trayvon Martin wouldn’t have been fatally shot if the teenager hadn’t been wearing a hoodie....

“I am urging the parents of black and Latino youngsters particularly to not let their children go out wearing hoodies,” Rivera said on “Fox & Friends.” “I think the hoodie is as much responsible for Trayvon Martin’s death as George Zimmerman was.”

Wow. You think that you've seen and heard it all and then along comes Geraldo Rivera to blame an innocent teenager's murder on the hoodie he was wearing. I suppose if the young man had been a young woman and that young woman was wearing a short skirt, then Geraldo would expect that she would be raped and it would be all because of the skirt. Just another instance of totally clueless commentary by one of the most utterly clueless so-called pundits on television today.

Now, I wear a hoodie when there is a chill in the air. It doesn't happen too often here in Southeast Texas, but when it does, a hoodie is my outerwear of choice. It's the perfect garment to protect one from a light chill or a light rain, which I believe was the weather on the day that Trayvon Martin was shot.

So the next time I go to Target wearing my hoodie, do I have to be afraid that some jerk will mistake me for a criminal and shoot me in cold blood and then claim self-defense? Well, probably not. In the first place, I'm white. In the second place, the arthritis in my knees and hip make me move slowly and I doubt many people, seeing me move, would  feel threatened by me.

Nevertheless, I feel a solidarity with Trayvon Martin and with all those kids who wear hoodies. One's life should not be placed in jeopardy because of the garment the s/he chooses to wear no matter what Geraldo Rivera blathers on Fox. The man is an idiot.

A few interesting poll results

The polling organization Public Policy Polling has been busy in Mississippi and Alabama ahead of this week's Republican primary there. What they have found is that there is a virtual tie among Gingrich, Santorum, and Romney. That's probably bad news for Gingrich since this should be his natural territory.


The poll-takers have been asking questions besides candidate preference, as well, and some of their findings are really interesting, if not particularly shocking for those of us who lived a good portion of our lives there. On questions involving President Obama's religion and the respondent's belief about evolution, this is what they found.

Alabama Republican Primary voters:

Do you think Barack Obama is a Christian or a Muslim, or are you not sure?
Christian: 14
Muslim: 45
Not sure: 41

Do you believe in evolution, or not?
Believe in evolution: 26
Do not: 60
Not sure: 13

Mississippi Republican Primary voters:

Do you think Barack Obama is a Christian or a Muslim, or are you not sure?
Christian: 12
Muslim: 52
Not sure: 36

Do you believe in evolution, or not?
Believe in evolution: 22
Do not: 66
Not sure: 11

Tomorrow, these people will be helping to decide who the next Republican nominee for president will be, and, in November, they will help decide who the next president will be. And, not to just pick on Mississippi and Alabama, there are people who are just this ill-informed and close-minded all over this country, which doesn't say much for our educational system or for a political system that encourages such ignorance. Truly, the mind boggles.