Happy New Year!

Happy Shoe Fear!

I mean, Happy New Year!

:-)

Global Warming Deniers are Still Idiots

While idiots in America are looking out their window and saying "it's cold outside, so there is no global warming", people in other countries are already seeing the effects.

In this humid, lush region where an important part of the world's breakfast is born, the evidence of climate change is — literally — a weak tea.

Growers in tropical Assam state, India's main tea growing region, say rising temperatures have led not only to a drop in production but to subtle, unwelcome changes in the flavor of their brews.

In a way, the denial of global warming has a racist and xenophobic undertone to it because the people most affected by it will be in third world/developing countries. So of course racists and xenophobes will be less likely to care about global warming. The flavor of the tea in India may seem like a small problem, but when so many people depend on a certain crop, the loss of productivity can lead to more poverty. This is why we need to do something about the REAL problem of global warming. While some idiots in the back woods of Florida are spewing bullshit, real scientists are already analyzing data and doing research. We should be listening to the scientists, not the idiots.

Patriot of the Year

Every year since 2004 I name a "Patriot of the Year." Here is my list:

2004 Michael Moore-For his documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 that has focused on the Bush tyranny.
2005 Cindy Sheehan-For protesting Bush's war and camping outside his Crawford ranch.
2006 Al Gore-For his documentary An Inconvenient Truth which exposes the fact of global warming.
2007 Michael Moore-For his documentary Sicko exposing the truth about our broken healthcare system.
2008 Dennis Kucinich-For his attempt at an impeachment resolution against Bush.
2009 Alan Grayson-For his awesome speeches he made that year.

And the 2010 Patriot of the Year Award goes to:

Tie between Julian Assange and Bradley Manning for Wikileaks exposing the truth about our government.

Thank you! America thanks you!

Shorter Mike Adams

The security system at Georgia Tech failed because burglars will keep coming up with smarter ways to burglarize. But guns will somehow help because they are magical protection devises and will provide automatic deterrence. (This is assuming A. the student knows how to use the gun well B. is always in contact with it and C. knows the burglar is coming and isn't surprised attacked. Because if the gun fails to protect the victim correctly and the armed burglar becomes stunned, a simple burglary becomes a murder. Unless he is a gun expert like John McClane, thank goodness Justin Myers didn't have a gun and all he lost was his teeth and some worldly goods.)

"Crazy Baby Names"

I'd be the first to say that certain celebrities name their children crazy names, but reading this, that criticism goes too far.

BabyCenter asked 2,000 moms to vote on the best and worst celebrity names of the year and the results are in.

5. Krishna Thea (Padma Lakshmi)

"Ha ha ha, Padma Lakshmi is Indian and she named her child after a Hindu god, that's stupid!" I wonder how many of those moms who voted are in the Klan. If someone named their kid after a figure in the Bible, would they get the same criticism for having "the worst name?" I don't think so.

Bad Move Neil

Hawaii's governor wants to reveal Obama birth info

Democratic Gov. Neil Abercrombie wants to find a way to release more information about President Barack Obama's Hawaii birth and dispel conspiracy theories that he was born elsewhere.

Bad move Neil, we WANT the conservatives to keep believing the birther conspiracy theories. That way we can keep making fun of them. Of course even if he releases the info, like 90% of them will continue to think Obama is from Kenya or Indonesia. This is because the birther theories are based on racism and racism is based on stupidity and you can't fix stupid.

Climate Idiots

As I'm sitting here in Florida in my sweater and pants, I'm reading post after post of idiot conservatives spew about how "there is no global warming cause it's cold, bla bla bla." But they are really fucking idiots.

1. Over 80% of all scientists and 97% of climatologists say man made global warming is true, so obviously I'm going to trust them over Fox News and Rush Limbaugh.

2. Climate is different from weather, so if it's cold outside, that's weather. Long range change is climate.

3. Global warming is global and in some areas might make the winters colder while other areas get warmer. Overall the entire planet gets warmer. In fact, these freakishly cold winters in Florida are evidence of global warming.

So it still stands, anybody who denies man made global warming is an idiot, period.

Finally Some Honesty

From Avigdor Lieberman:

Israel's foreign minister says a peace deal with the Palestinians is impossible under current conditions and that Israel shouldn't pursue one.

The common belief is that it is the Palestinians who are the ones who don't want peace because they are terrorists, bla bla bla. But in reality it's the Israeli government that has stood in the way of peace. Avigdor is just publicly admitting what many on his side believes, that peace is impossible and the Israeli government shouldn't even try to pursue it. Peace in the region means a permanent Palestinian state and Israel giving up territory and many don't want that. Especially those on the Christian right.

Idiot of the Week

The asshole who almost hit me the other day when I was driving home. Fuck you!

Idiocy of Doug Powers

Today's installment of my ongoing feature includes Doug's epic battle with, uh Ben Affleck.

He starts off replying to this quote by Affleck:

CEOs’ pay shouldn’t be 200 times the average worker. It used to be nine times.

With this:

Let’s throw Gigli, the disastrous movie that Affleck received $12.5 million to make, out of the mix and use a lower figure for comparison. Affleck reportedly earned a paltry $10 million for The Sum of All Fears. Let’s consider other “average workers” in that field. For example, according to Salary.com, the median salary for a camera operator in the television & motion picture industry in Los Angeles is just over $80,000 per year.

Affleck makes in the neighborhood of 125 times more than that on one movie. Factor in an entire year and he probably earns in the neighborhood of 500 times the “average worker” in his industry — maybe a lot more.

Before we start regulating CEO pay, maybe we should start with actors. The Hollywood left likes the idea of creeping socialism, just as long as it doesn’t creep any farther west than San Bernardino.

If you haven't noticed the flaw in Doug's "logic" by now, let me say it. ACTORS AREN'T CEOS!!!!! They are workers too, they just make a shit load of a lot more money than the others. They are comparable to athletes who make a lot of money too, but they aren't in the same boat salary wise as say a popcorn vendor. The actors work for a CEO as well. The CEOs run the movie studios they are the head of. Even directors are hired (and fired) by the CEOs when doing movies.

Maybe if Powers went after them instead of the actors for making a lot more money than the average worker, it would be a little different. But Doug's intent was "let's laugh at the Hollywood liberal, nah nah!" But even then, Hollywood ethically wise is not on the same level as the banking and financial industries. The movie industry might not be 100% perfect when it comes to labor and other standards, but they sure as hell didn't cause any major crashes in their history.

And of course the Hollywood left has been on the right side of stuff politically which is something I can't say about Doug Powers. D'oh!

Census Data Released, So What?

Article after article like this has ranted about how the 2010 census is bad for Democrats:

Republican-leaning states will gain at least a half dozen House seats thanks to the 2010 census, which found the nation's population growing more slowly than in past decades but still shifting to the South and West.

In 2008, President Barack Obama lost in Texas and most of the other states that are gaining House seats. He carried most of the states that are losing House seats, including Ohio and New York.

Let's look at the numbers:

Obama 365-McCain 173

Texas will gain four new House seats, and Florida will gain two. Gaining one each are Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, South Carolina, Utah and Washington. Ohio and New York will lose two House seats each. Losing one House seat are Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

New number: Obama 359-McCain 179

Wow, I'm not saying Obama would win reelection by that in 2012, but if that was the case, the news shouldn't be like "OMG, voters are protesting Obama by moving out of states he won in 2008", but they are making it seem like that. As for the new districts in Republican states, there is no guarantee they will go Republican unless they are gerrymandered that way. With the exception of Massachusetts, there is no guarantee every "blue" state will lose a Democratic representative. But also, there's a reason why certain states like Texas, Florida, Arizona, Nevada, and Utah are picking up seats, they have large Hispanic populations and they are the fastest growing group and guess who they are voting for? Democrats and after the killing of the Dream Act and other racist measures by Republicans, that number will only grow to vote for Democrats. I predict in a few years Texas will be a solid blue state.

So the news is not as bad for Democrats as you think. By the way, the census was something conservatives opposed, so I find the spinning of data to be ironic.

Vox Day=Racist Asshole

Some on the right have just given up pretending they aren't racist:

Marben should be fired and those obnoxious Somali families should be sent back to Somalia. This is why distrust, dislike, and even downright hatred of immigrants is not only quite reasonable on occasion, but can be well-merited.

Racism has never been reasonable dude. But thank you for not pulling punches with your racism like other conservatives who pretend to not be racist.

Idiot of the Week

Senate Republicans

Senate Democrats failed Thursday to win a procedural vote to open debate on a bill that would provide medical benefits and compensation for emergency workers who were first on the scene of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Republicans complained that the $7.4 billion price tag was too high

Do you all understand why I fucking hate Republicans?

December 16th

In a coincidence, December 16th is not only Bill Hicks' birthday, it's also the anniversary of the Boston Tea Party. No, not the teabagger, we-are-a-bunch-of-fucking-retarded-fascist-conservative-assholes Tea Party, but the real Boston Tea Party. You know, the one in 1773 where patriots protested a large corporation. It was a liberal revolution and it's time to reclaim it.

News Story that Makes me Pissed

For someone who in their youth defended a country that killed millions of Jews, the Pope should be the last person in the world to talk about persecution.

Bill Hicks Day

Today marks the 49th birthday of Bill Hicks if he were alive. Let us honor a hero whose life was ended too early by cancer by dedicating ourselves to his philosophy:

The world is like a ride in an amusement park, and when you choose to go on it you think it's real because that's how powerful our minds are. The ride goes up and down, around and around, it has thrills and chills, and it's very brightly colored, and it's very loud, and it's fun for a while. Many people have been on the ride a long time, and they begin to wonder, "Hey, is this real, or is this just a ride?" And other people have remembered, and they come back to us and say, "Hey, don't worry; don't be afraid, ever, because this is just a ride." And we … kill those people. "Shut him up! I've got a lot invested in this ride, shut him up! Look at my furrows of worry, look at my big bank account, and my family. This has to be real." It's just a ride. But we always kill the good guys who try and tell us that, you ever notice that? And let the demons run amok … But it doesn't matter, because it's just a ride. And we can change it any time we want. It's only a choice. No effort, no work, no job, no savings of money. Just a simple choice, right now, between fear and love. The eyes of fear want you to put bigger locks on your doors, buy guns, close yourself off. The eyes of love instead see all of us as one. Here's what we can do to change the world, right now, to a better ride. Take all that money we spend on weapons and defenses each year and instead spend it feeding and clothing and educating the poor of the world, which it would pay for many times over, not one human being excluded, and we could explore space, together, both inner and outer, forever, in peace.

Bush Tax Cut Renewal Bill Passes

81-19

Of course the hostage of jobless benefits was attached to the flawed bill Obama constructed, so I really don't blame the Democrats for voting for it, but it shouldn't have been set up that way. Personally, I would rather slit my throat and bleed to death than allow the tax on the wealthy to go down or stay the same, even if it meant the jobless benefits didn't pass.

War on Christmas, A John Birch Conspiracy Theory

It didn't start with Fox News or Bill Donahue, but with some anti-commie nutjobs in the 50's. Not really surprising, but while the JBS was radical back then, its views have become mainstream in conservative circles.

Quote of the Day

"The most beautiful aspect of an Ayn Rand novel is the thought of it being turned into confetti."-Albert Cirrus

Idiot of the Week

The anti-Wikileaks Gestapo.

Seriously, has there ever been a group more targeted for persecution by governments and corporations than Wikileaks? And I have officially declared the rape accusation to be bogus against hero Julian Assange. I mean, how often does one randomly end up hooking up with someone with ties to the CIA? Assange is innocent and should be freed. Wikileaks doesn't deserve to be treated the way it's being treated.

Get Pissed

Talk about adding insult to injury, Bernie Goldberg wants us to thank our oppressors.

Right there, among the sacred national structures that honor great Americans, we need to build a shiny monument to ... (this is where the drum roll would come in) The Rich -- otherwise known in liberal circles as the filthy, no-good, greedy, heartless rich.

The statue could be simple and elegant: a rich guy in a business suit holding hundred-dollar bills in both hands, extended toward the blue sky.

I realize the statue reference is a joke (I hope), but the "kiss the asses of the rich" references is what Bernie is trying to get across. This is another might-makes-right puke-inducing piece that just makes anybody concerned with social justice get pissed. And the "filthy, no-good, greedy, heartless rich" reference is just a way to diminish our criticism of the rich, because they generally are with a few exceptions filthy, no-good, greedy, and heartless. Then Bernie goes on to cite some misleading stats:

I offer a few numbers to make my case:Did you know that the top 1 percent of Americans pay about 38 percent of all our federal personal taxes (according to the National Taxpayers Union)? Or that the top 5 percent pay just under 60 percent? Or that the top 10 percent pay about 70 percent of all the personal income taxes collected in this great land of ours?

Uh, maybe that's because they earn more in income, so of course the tax rates will be higher, dumbass. But as I point out, the richest 1% used to pay 70%, so obviously they are not paying as much as they used to, so because of this the rich will only get richer and the poor and middle class will get poorer. We deserve better than this.

So let's get busy on that shiny monument in our nation's capital. And let's get some unemployed people out there building it. It's the least they can do for those nice rich people who have been keeping them afloat.

Elitist fuck, rich people are the cause of our problems, they don't deserve a monument, they deserve a kick in the ass. It's time that we stand up to this injustice and reclaim our country from the rich and powerful. Get pissed.

Quote of the Day

"We live in a world where John Lennon was murdered, yet Barry Manilow continues to put out fucking albums. God-dammit! If you're gonna kill somebody, have some fucking taste."-Bill Hicks

RIP Elizabeth Edwards

She died sooner than I thought, may she live in our memories.

Fuck the Rich*

Here's something pukeworthy from the New York Times reprinted on Malkintented's blog:

I want the wealthy to keep doing what they’re doing.

Barfbag yet?

The richest of the rich, in most cases, provide more value to the world via the items they create than any charity or government organization could dream of. Their wealth is an exact measure of the value they have provided to society.

The first line if true is really sad, I believe we can almost eradicate poverty if every government puts effort into it (of course if enough wealth is taken away from the rich, but the shithead who wrote the letter would never acknowledge that.) The second line is a load of crap. Most rich people are rich because of luck (stock market) or they already have wealth in their family and easily move up in the system. If anything, these people are rich because they take away from society, they are leeches. They cut wages of workers, pollute the environment, or cut corners to make their money. Let's not forget that the reason why many of these people are richer in the first place is because they are paying less taxes than they were 30 years ago. This might makes right mentality is wrong and because rich people are richer doesn't make them right.

But what I love about the letter, and by "love" I mean "hate" is who is writing it:

J. Todd Larson

The writer is the president of Citium Wealth Management and an adjunct professor in the M.B.A. program at Seattle University.

Lol! The letter is titled "Thank the rich", but it should be titled "Thank me." I see this all the time with journalism, the writer discloses some bias and expects that just mentioning that will make things better, but it doesn't. A president of a business writing something that basically says "thank us for screwing you, but we will lie about it and claim we are doing good" is about as terrible as you can get.

*Not all of them, I believe there can be a few rich people in existence, but they are in such low supply these days.

John, I Think You are to Blame for This

John Edwards cheats on his wife and suddenly, this happens:

The 61-year-old Edwards -- who separated from her husband in the wake of revelations of his infidelity -- has been battling breast cancer since 2004. It's been reported recently that the cancer had spread to her liver.

Elizabeth seems like a really good person, too bad her scumbag husband had to cheat. It's so much more devastating when someone who you used to support does something wrong and I've lost complete support for John. Somehow, John is partially to blame for the cancer spreading. I know it sounds unrealistic and cliche, but John's betrayal has done her in.

Idiot of the Week

Steve King

Rep. Steve King, a Republican from Iowa, referred to President Obama as "very, very urban," while charging that as a senator he gave special favor to African American farmers who were victims of government discrimination.

Please say it with me: Racist, Racist, Racist, Racist, Racist, Racist, Racist, Racist, Racist, Racist, Racist, Racist, Racist, Racist, Racist, Racist, Racist, Racist, Racist, Racist, Racist, Racist, Racist, Racist, Racist, Racist, Racist, Racist, Racist, Racist, Racist, Racist, Racist, Racist, Racist, Racist, Racist, Racist, Racist, Racist, Racist, Racist, Racist, Racist, Racist, Racist, Racist, Racist, Racist, Racist, Racist, Racist!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Quote of the Day

"You can't support small business without standing up to big business."-Albert Cirrus