Linkee-poo, it's a celebration

You know, when Eric is bored, he finds some neat stuff to keep the rest of us entertained. I say we should mount an expedition to keep Eric's life boring.

Remember when Iceland was imploding into the sea? Yeah, not so much anymore. Look, it's another real world example of how austerity measures aren't the appropriate response to recession. Not like anybody will really ever believe it, though. (Grokked from Teresa Nielsen Hayden)

How money changes us. And not in the way I described yesterday, but research showing that having money (or thinking about it) makes us less generous, less empathetic, and less likely to help or seek help from others. (Grokked from Tobias Buckell)

On privilege. Or, "privilege is not a synonym for douchebag." (Grokked from Jay Lake)

You know, when I was young we used to lock up nutbags like this. But now that most of the state hospitals/asylums are closed, they run for office on the GOP ticket. Dear Bob Morris, Um, you're comment about "after talking to some well-informed constituents, I did a small amount of web-based research…" can be pretty well summed up and demised with "echo chamber" and "any crackpot can create a website". You, sir, are a tool. Might want to see to that. I'll have to research if someone is running against you in the next election. I may need to make a donation. On the plus side, my Girl Scout Cookie order just arrived today. I many need to buy a few more boxes of Do-si-dos.

And to the point above, is it becoming clearer that the conservative movement is anti-female (let alone antifeminist)? You know; abortion, birth control, pre-natal screening and amniocenteses, and finally, the Girl Scouts. What's next, requiring women wear skirts? Oo, maybe hoop-skirts. Yeah, that's the ticket.

'Rhut 'rho 'raggy. You know all that bullshit debatable crap worldview things I've been talking about with the GOP primary? You know, wondering just what place these people have been living for the past 4 years to come up with some of the shit comments they say? Yeah, more proof the world isn't how conservatives see it.

Whiy is the right-wing so concerned about "left-wing agendas" and "Sharia law supplanting the Constitution"? Because that's what they want (only with the right-wing agenda and Biblical law supplanting the Constitution). That's an article on Rick Santorum promoting the belief that because of "Creation" God wants us to pillage the Earth, and he'll make it all right. I'm reminded of the Robin Williams routine where Jesus comes back to earth, "I gave you a nice planet and you fucked it up."

I don't know, Senator Lugar, why don't you pull your license out of your wallet and check which address is on it? Hint to soon to be former Senator Lugar, state DMV records are public. How long do you think it will take for someone to realize you falsified your application? I know, you can say that you just haven't thought about it every time you've updated the license for the past 3 decades. Yeah, that should work.

"'I’m against very wealthy ­people attempting to or influencing elections,' Adelson says, 'but as long as it's doable I’m going to do it.'" And that, my friends, is pretty much the conservative mind set. Against earmarks but they're the most egregious perpetrators. Against social program spending but always first in line to get theirs. Against the stimulus, but worked hard to get as much of that dough to their constituencies. All for cutting wasteful spending, until that means the military base in their back yard.

Look, the GOP sees things that aren't there, believes things that have been disproved, can't let go of a damaging belief, believe in wacky mythologies, and and postponing the hard decisions. If this were therapy, it would mean a long, intensive course of intervention.

Tweet of my heart:
@shunn: Graffito at Foster & Winthrop: "I'll believe that corporations are people when Texas executes one."