Joe the Moron

Ol' Sam "Joe Not a Plumber" Wurzelbacher showed up in Greenville, WI this past Sunday to hand out chunks of red meat to the decidedly partisan though "non-partisan" crowd in attendance at the second Tea Party Fox Valley. From the Oshkosh Northwestern:

He described himself as a "dumb plumber" who could understand the Constitution. Then extolled the virtues of capitalism and said that "It’s our right as Americans."

Really Joe? Our right as Americans? For one who "understands the Constitution" you may want to read over it again. I can't recall anywhere in that document it prescribing, much less guaranteeing a right to, a particular form of economy. Where exactly is capitalism a guaranteed right in the Constitution?

"They want to shove health care down our throats right now. That’s just not the right way to go, people. Talk about the kind of money they want to spend on health care, which hasn’t worked in any other country that has socialized health care."

Because the current system of health care is so overwhelmingly effective at combating disease and provides all citizens regardless of ability to pay the best medicine available right? I've got a rude awakening for Joe and the rest of the conservo's who are flailing away at this issue...we already have socialized medicine. We already have programs run by government bureaucrats that provide people with the medicine and treatment they need. They are called Medicare, Medicaid, and the Veterans Administration. What do Joe and the rabid conservo's have against veterans receiving socialized health care?

He said torturing terrorists was acceptable if it saves American lives.

Really Joe. It's okay so long as it saves American lives? So an American life is worth more than someone else's life? It's okay to shove the Constitution, of which you proclaim to understand, into a shredder so long as it saves American lives? And what, dear Joe, President Obama decides you are a threat to national security and declares you to be an enemy combatant? Then will torture and indefinite detention (ala Jose Padilla) be okay with you? Somehow I think you'll be doing your best to get the ACLU on the phone then.

“The bailout is ridiculous,” said Gary Owens of Appleton. “I would like to see people vote out the people responsible for this.”

We did you moron. That's why we have 60 Democratic Senators, an overwhelming majority in the House of Representatives, a Democrat in the White House, and captured more governorships last fall. Fucking idiots like this just shouldn't talk about what they don't know anything about.

Hard to argue

Can't really disagree with her on this one.

Tennessee Road Trip Day 2

When does IT happen?

I've had something on my mind lately and it's time to get it off. When do you begin to feel like an adult? Like a grown up? When do you begin to feel like you've got a handle on your life?

I thought it would be when I joined the Army. Nope, I was a goof all through my time in the service. I thought it would be when I got out of the Army and could do what I wanted to do. Nope. I was screwing things up for 10 years after that day.

I thought I'd finally feel like an adult when I got married. Or when I bought my first house. Or when my Mom died last September. I still feel like a kid just trying to make it week to week.

I look at my friends and they seem so much older and more with it than I am. One of them just had a beautiful little girl. Another has his second baby on the way. I look at pictures of old high school classmates on Facebook and they seem so much more mature than I feel. They all look like they have their shit together.

Maybe all of us feel like we're just barely hanging on most of the time. Maybe it's just me. Does anyone else feel like they've yet to really become an adult?

This is crap

You can really measure a person by who they criticize. It's terribly easy to be self-righteous and offended by those with whom you disagree on a regular basis. It's a lot more difficult to tell those whom you admire, respect, and like that they've pissed you off. Well, that time has come again.

Last night President Obama was on Leno. He made a crack, an offhand remark an aide said, about how his bowling skills were like that of the Special Olympics. What the FUCK? How is that helpful Obama?

Obama deserves everything he is going to get on this, and a whole lot more. The president, the position, is a bully pulpit all the time. There is never a moment when the mic is off. And it's a position that influences everyone whether they believe it or not.

This president has legitimized every moron out there to make Special Olympics jokes. He's legitimized every moron out there to use the word "retard" as a pejorative.

I fight almost daily against these incredibly stupid statements by friend and foe alike. People with disabilities deserve the same respect that would be given to any other person. And making stupid jokes about them is the height of disrespect. And to then clarify it as an "offhand" remark makes the matter worse. It indicates that Obama applied no thought to what he was saying. That that kind of statement is so common and easy to make that he didn't even notice he did it.

President Obama, you're going to take a buttload of criticism over this especially from the right who've been waiting for the chance to criticize you mercilessly. All that is to be expected. But it's the criticism from the political middle and left that will determine their level of commitment to the disabled community.

The Beckster's 9-12 Thing

Ol' Glenny Beck is still rolling with his 912 project thing. He's got these 9 values and 12 principles (could be the other way around) up on the website. I thought I'd take a look at them tonight. Here's what's listed:

America is good.

--Well, Glenny, I'd agree that America CAN be good. But America can also be bad. America can be a force for spreading democracy, but can also depose democratically elected leaders around the world. American can be a force to stand up for universal human rights, until those universal human rights interfere with our goals as a government.

I believe in god and he is the center of my life.

--I don't, and he's not. If that is your thing then go for it. But it's not for me. So I reject this one out of hand.

I must always try to be a more honest person today than I was yesterday.

--That's a good one. Pretty easy to agree with that one. But I wonder Glenny does this apply to those in public office? Like our former president George W. Bush?

The family is sacred. My spouse and I are the ultimate authority, not the government.

--I wonder if this applies to non-traditional families as well? How about parents who are gay or lesbian?

If you break the law you pay the penalty. Justice is blind and no one is above it.

--I wonder again if this applies to our former president, or just to those who hold office now?

Uber Patriot or Crazy Loon?

Ol' Glenn Beck, Fox News Channels newest acquisition, had his "We Surround Them" special this past Friday. All over the country the neo-cons gathered in bunches to watch Beck blubber his way through half of the show, and thump his chest through the other half. Even Chuck "Can Lead a Horse to Water AND Make It Drink" Norris hosted a big viewing party on his Texas Ranch.

I DVR'd the show and watched, with a fairly open mind, last night. And the neo-cons called liberals alarmist! He starts out backstage throwing red meat to the viewers telling them how great they are and how much they are ignored. How they didn't take out certain kind of home loans and are now being forced to bail those people out. He asks what happened to the voice of the forgotten man and that the forgotten man is YOU! (the viewer)

He's got a little theme working here with 9/11 as the basis of it. On 9/10 we were all "keeping our heads in the sand" oblivious to the threat that lurked within our borders. On 9/11 he said we realized "for the first time" how vulnerable we are (maybe for the first time in a generation Glenn, but not for the first time ever). And on 9/12 we were united against our enemies, that we'd never forget what happened the day before and we'd focus on what was important. That we'd focus on family, friends, and the "eternal principles that allowed America to become the world's beacon of freedom." Then he announces the point of the show: The 912 project.

I'll be keeping an eye on Beck's new project website. Let's just see what pops up there. While he says this isn't about "politics or party" I have a little trouble believing that. He slams President Obama everyday. He slams the Democrats in the House and Senate everyday. Not that there is anything inherently wrong with that, but if you're going to say this isn't about politics then shouldn't you spend equal time slamming the Republicans as well? We'll see what happens, maybe he's saving his rage on Republicans for later.

Hunting Demons in STYLE!

I saw a guy driving around Neenah today with a "Demon Hunter" sticker on his bumper. It's a Christian hard rock band I later discovered on Google. Dude had a little micro beard on his face, dark glasses, and all dressed in black. I thought he was a ninja. Turns out he's just a douche bag. Why? I'm not sure but I don't think you're gonna be hunting a whole lot of demons in his ride. I don't think Highlander ever drove around in a Kia Spectra.

Just watched Jon Stewart tear apart Jim Cramer on The Daily Show. Kramer had been talking tough for the past few days on other shows, but when confronted by his accuser he turned into a pile of pudding. My apologies to pudding.

The video isn't up on YouTube or The Daily Show website yet. Keep an eye on those sites for it. It's worth the time to get through it. If only to see Cramer squirm.

The New Safari

Apple release Safari 4 last week and I was on the download as fast as I could be. As a browser it's the best thing out there and has been for a while. There are a few problems here and there, but overall it's a solid product. And there is one new feature to S4 that should help convince more people to download it. Your Top Sites. S4 takes the sites you visit most and puts clickable thumbnails of each into one page. It's incredibly helpful.

SLOW DOWN!

When you see someone in a crosswalk be they on foot, in a wheelchair, or in a wagon please....

SLOW THE FUCK DOWN.

Oshkosh Woman Killed in Crosswalk.

Recent Gifts from a Friend in Louisiana

I Speak Wisconsin Ya Der Hey

Great group on facebook.

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2224257384

And nearly all of them are completely true.

VINDICATION

Jay Breyer has been vindicated.  

I KNEW It!

I knew it had to be true!

Trouble Right Here in River City

That is Jerry Bader.  He's a radio talk show host in Green Bay, WTAQ radio.  His station has been in the limelight lately because they broadcast Rush Limbaugh's commentary of President Obama's inaugural speech and a local middle school inadvertently played it.  Apparently a lot of the kids got uspet over it.  Bader, while disagreeing with Limbaugh's decision to make comments during the speech, is nonetheless defending the decision of WTAQ to air it.  He seems to be pretty defensive over the decision.

Last week there was the story of a Texas Christian high school hanging 100 points on a far inferior team.  Reaction has been largely negative towards the coach/coaches of the superior team.  Bader has taken a decidedly different opinion on this.  His first question on this topic on his Friday January 23rd show (segment 8 on iTunes) was should the Christian team "have to apologize for being vastly superior?"  His answer, speaking for himself and his producer Jason, is that this is "insane."  An additional question asked by Bader is should the superior team have shown "mercy" to the inferior team?

A caller, Steve, suggested the Dallas coach (the losing team) should have conceded the game at the half when the score was 59-0.  Steve would rather blame the losing coach for losing in this!  And Bader gave him the round of applause sound effect calling his comments, "good stuff."  When Kevin from Green Bay called in he made the point that for the superior team it's a character issue.  And that they failed the test.  Bader, no surprise here, disagreed.  Later Bader made the observation that in the NFL running up the score is not, sometimes, the "wisest" thing.

Lots of stuff to comment on, but I'll keep it short this time.  The lack of depth of "Christian compassion" on display from the coach of the Christian school and Jerry Bader is stunning.  Both need to ask themselves the question, "WWJD?"  I doubt he'd hang a century mark on another team.  Where are the Christ-like Christians nowadays?