Entries Tagged 'politics' ↓

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Fuck you, Palin. You can’t talk about running the US as a nation of equality like it was intended at the same time as you tell an entire group of the population they’re worth less than you as human beings. You may actually be the worst person on Earth. You lie blatantly, revel in hypocrisy, and engage in personal assaults at the same time you complain you’re under fire. I don’t doubt that you wools run a totalitarian fascist regime given the chance, but call it freedom protection, grizzly style. And people would eat it up. You take pride in ignorance, you turn stupidity into a virtue. If there’s really as hell, I take comfort knowing you’ll be there. Considering you may be Satan herself, though, I’m not sure how comforting that is. All I know is you’re unbelievably stupid or a complete sociopath. Either way, I don’t know why people fall for it.

Urge to expatriate rising. If this woman gets into office come 2012, I apologize to the world, and suggest we all get in our bunkers before she presses the red button.

The saying goes that a broken clock is right twice a day. The idea is right, but the actual mechanics are wrong, depending on circumstances. A clock that’s stuck between two and three and is an old style analog may be right between one and three times a day, depending on daylight savings time. A digital clock may be right once a day, twice a day, or not at all, depending on those same circumstances.

The phrase “a broken analog clock is right between one and three times a day depending on what time it constantly shows and the presence of daylight savings time changes” isn’t catchy, though. The phrase “A broken clock is right an average of twice a day” is better, if not wholly accurate, but the point gets across.

The point, of course, is that something that lacks all function, that simply does not work and has no purpose will still be right regularly.

Glenn Beck has been right once a year at the high end. He has less function than that which is totally without function. He’s actually managed to take functionality into a full negative.

That’s fairly impressive, I have to admit.

It turns out beyond being a major crazy player in the Tea Party doesn’t do it these days to get traffic. You have to manipulate the SEO too. I know, shocking, right?

Now it’s one thing, of course, to use normal meta tags. Only these aren’t meta tags. Mark Williams, writer of the “colored people letter to Lincoln” and leader in the Tea Party Express, has done the same thing you see on shady shady websites. Text hidden by Javascript or simply slapped down to size 1 font blended with the background, with clearly politically related text like “Buy Adobe CS4″, “Windows 7 Ultimate License”, and “Download Macromedia Software.” Yes, they’re sales/piratey terms, spamming up the page. BEFORE the actual content. Really. Header image, SEO bait, crazytext.

Naturally, Mark Williams has not responded to the questions about why he feels the need to do this, and why he doesn’t consider it unethical.

Edit:In the interest of fairness, I’m finding out if this was intentional, or if it was a hack. This could be someone attacking his site, him setting up an “I’m a victim of the liberals!” play, or a genuine attempt to get more traffic through deceptive keywords. But we’ll find out soon! Well, probably not, because I think the odds are a declaration of “It was an attack!” is assured, no matter what it was.

That’s the only logical explanation. Also the internet, paper, written language, audio, and facts elude him, as proven by his debate last night with John McCain. I’m sure some of the highlights will hit the national news rounds quickly, but if you didn’t see it (IE, don’t live in Arizona and had something to do on a Saturday night), John McCain went after him for the “Free government money seminar!” informercial. The one he’s starring in. Hayworth’s response was effectively “You’re making that up, I did no such thing.”

The man looks, sounds, and acts like a cartoon villain. How did he ever get a congressional seat in the first place? I can see how he got a radio show, those are the requirements, but not a congressional seat. Also, how did a crazy Republican manage to LOSE a congressional seat to a Democrat in Arizona, and what business does he think he has running for senate?

Fuck.

Politicians sure enjoy their time in them, don’t they? Carly Fiorina mocks someone’s hair. Rush Limbaugh defends the sanctity of marriage from gays while he races to out-divorce Larry King. Republican senators yell that the government shouldn’t  be involved in business affairs, then yell about the fact Barack Obama isn’t involved enough with the BP oil spill, demanding he start commandeering ships and rigs.

And yet, JD Hayworth and John McCain have run a nearly mudless campaign. Both have had years of scandal (though only the former was voted out), both have records that will make the base and independents mad, and yet I’ve never heard the words “Abramoff” or “Keating.” I suspect it’s that both realize bringing up one means the other comes up, and that it means a surefire defeat in the election proper, post primary (assuming one doesn’t run as an independent and split the base). They both want to, they’re desperately TRYING to find ways to insult each other. But bringing those two things up is the end for them.

So I guess what I’m saying is…pretty please? I’ll be your best friends and not write any more mean things if you do, really!

Not the one who’s hooker beat up a valet. Another guy named John from Arizona who’s an elected official and is a tremendous asshole. Today it’s John Kavanah, Republican from district 8 in the state house. Right wing talk show host, defender of SR 1070, regular Fox News guest, teabagger.

With the prior list I believe that brings us up to six assholes named John and a Joe. As common a name as John is, I feel like I should be able to find one who’s NOT an asshole. So far, nothing. Anyone? Anyone seen any Johns elected by Arizona that aren’t assholes?

If you’re in Arizona, involved in politics, and your name is John or some form of it…you’re probably an asshole.

Jon “People living on unemployment are lazy because they have no reason to look for a job and unemployment pays more than a real job would” Kyl

John “It’s illegal to be an intern while Muslim” Shadegg

John “I’m not a maverick, really” McCain

John David “We’ll have to disagree on that empirical fact because I really don’t like gay people” Hayworth

John “The bill I cosponsored isn’t racist, because it prevents crime by checking who’s illegal after you arrest them for crimes they already committed, really” Huppenthal

I’m pretty sure this extends to Joes too, but the only person I can think of offhand is Joe “Everything I say is a lie” Arpaio. Joe, however, at least manages to redeem himself on the subject of animal rights, those other four are as bad as it gets.

Every two years, Republicans complain that Democrats are fiscally irresponsible and driving us into debt. Yet it’s almost always under Republican-led governments debt hits record levels. Reagan’s Debt, Bush’s debt, both prime examples.

Now there’s another piece to add to the ironic puzzle. The RNC itself, the very committee run by Republicans for Republicans…spends more money than it makes.

Yes, that’s right, the RNC runs itself into debt. Apparently balanced budgets only matter when Democrats are in charge, even when it comes to your own committee.

Does the Republican party actually have any ideas left? That’s rhetorical, they don’t obviously, or they’d have found a new strategy. Obviously the tactic of just saying “No!” to everything the Democrats say for the last four years has been extremely ineffective, but they keep it up anyway. Now they’re threatening to filibuster a financial reform bill, siding with Wall Street, the only collective group more unpopular than the government right now.

If Barack Obama came out right now and said “The sky is blue and this grass is green”, Mitch McConnell would stand up in the senate and declare “No it isn’t, and you’re a fucking Muslim.” Then he’d call for an end to the ad hominem attacks against him so the senate can move forward and get something done instead of being gridlocked.

It’s about time we start legalizing pot, and throwing out the dishonest arguments. MSNBC just aired a segment on the possibility and, surprise surprise, the Heritage Foundation is against it. Then again, the Heritage Foundation probably worships at the alter of Hearst.

The same arguments are still in use against marijuana as ever, despite having been shown to be wrong over and over.

I’ve been hearing “gateway drug” since I was eight I’d venture, in DARE classes. But you know what? Pot hasn’t ever made me try cocaine, meth, or heroin. It hasn’t made me drop acid or take any drug I wouldn’t already have considered. I don’t even drink, both for not liking the feeling of drunkenness and for the knowledge I’m a genetic land mine of alcoholism.

You know what pot made me try? Unusual pizza toppings and exotic brownies.

Pot is safer than any other drugs on the market, and I mean the legal ones too. Adderall causes horrid withdrawal and suicidal tendencies. Alcohol poisoning is a very real thing, people die from drinking too much and nothing else. Nobody has ever overdosed on pot. THC isn’t a power toxic substance. It would take 1500 pounds of marijuana to kill someone, within 14 minutes. The LD50 is 1000 times the effective dose, whereas alcohol is 10. If you’re buzzed on a shot of tequila, ten can kill you. If you’re high as hell off one bowl of pot…well, good luck smoking enough to overdose.

I’ve seen someone try to overdose on pot. He couldn’t do it, not because of the lack of pot, but because he forgot how. It’s self-limiting, he had all his vapor bags set up, and he just forgot how to do it. He’d hold it up to his mouth, and nothing happened.

Beyond the fact it’s less addictive and less toxic by far compared to alcohol, it’s also a way to reduce the power of criminals. When it’s legal to grow, the cartels that have taken over Mexico lose the profit from the drug. Law enforcement benefits from that, AND not having wasted time and money in war on a drug that’s responsibly used by so many. We can even tax it and make money off it, plus regulate it to remove so many of the dangers that can be involved. We can stop spending money putting people in jail for vice crimes where nobody is actually hurt but the user, if even that person.

Prohibitions are historically known not to work, even when we take them all the way to a constitutional amendment. We’re wasting time and money on this, particularly when we admit to ourselves that marijuana is less harmful than the alcohol and tobacco we support now. The same laws that apply to alcohol or any other intoxication can apply now, there’s no reason they shouldn’t. Don’t be a nuisance, don’t get behind the wheel, and don’t smoke around kids.

It’s time to get beyond that. Most of our founding fathers, the men and women we look up to so much, were on drugs. Cocaine was commonly used in the past, opium was everywhere, and marijuana was far from frowned on. Historically, people have always found a way to get high. Peyote, cactus juices, dodgy berries and mushrooms. Now people do something that really can get dangerous, kids even. They choke themselves and huff paint, or raid the medicine cabinet. The Tussin is a powerful thing.

Now what’s more harmful? A regulated drug that most of the last three generations have tried if not used regularly, that plenty of good presidents and other great men have used (and still do, even), or depriving yourself of oxygen?

It’s time to move beyond the propaganda. There’s no doubt in this country one loud, well-funded voice can do years of harm. People still listen to Dr. Harvey Kellogg, afterall, a quack in every sense of the word. Now it’s time to stop listening to William Randolph Hearst and his anti-hemp interests.