Randomness

[sam_tem]

as stupid as they like to make themselves look, Republican politicians are on the whole well educated men from wealthy backgrounds who aren't actually stupid enough to believe what comes out of their own mouths.

I think you're being a bit too fair here Patroklus, these new Republicans are of a different breed altogether and many aren't bred from the old wealthy bloodlines as they were in the past...politics isn't the easy money it used to be. Mourdock's comments are understandable when looking at the intentions of his main point, but he's right to be pilloried for even trying to discuss such a topic in the same context as rape to score political points, the stupid idiot. The rest of the names on that list fully believe every word that comes out of their dumb mouths (all those TX peeps come from my neck of the woods).

The sad thing about it all is that the culture wars only seem that they're going to continue to play an outsized role in our politics moving forward from here. I think there's an even larger and more insidious threat here of religious fundamentalist changing the script and bringing down christianity as we know it along with them. There's christian benchwarmers all across this country being fed BS that are trying to raise up to protect their own eternal salvations at the expense of others and to the detriment of the less fortunate, the very definition of hypocrisy.

[lowrey]

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/borowitzreport/2012/10/weather-forces-romney-to-shift-lying-to-other-states.html

In Indiana, Republican Senate candidate Richard Mourdock weighed in on the approaching storm: “It says a lot about God that while he’s so busy impregnating women he still somehow finds the time to make a hurricane.”

[interest1]

lmao. what the fuck is this?

That's what I said.

But what I really want to know is if that hairy baby comes with a straight razor,
or if children just need to scavenge for one on their own.

[Fade to Black]

ahh interest1 if there was ever a single and all-encompassing symbol I could come up for you, it'd be the razor. And that's a compliment.

[zamb]

as stupid as they like to make themselves look, Republican politicians are on the whole well educated men from wealthy backgrounds who aren't actually stupid enough to believe what comes out of their own mouths. They also aren't very principled, which is why they're comfortable making shit up in the name of their political careers. I doubt that any of the men who are quoted there really believe that, except Santorum, because he's crazy, but their constituents are the types that would quietly nod their heads to this sort of thing. Their constituents are also the sort of people who don't think very highly of women as people and so find the whole concept of not secretly wanting it a bit foreign - hence all the talk about "legitimate rape".

Central to this perspective is the idea that education is an antidote for stupidity, however I have come to learn that this isn't the case.
Some of the stupidest people I know are some extremely educated ones. And the danger in it all is that many educated jackasses are so confident in their "education" that it is impossible to show them the serious flaws in their thinking and reasoning

[Patroklus]

are you familiar with J. Edgar Hoover? The homosexual and rumored crossdresser who lived in an effective marriage with another man named Clyde Tolson, while founding and chairmanning the FBI, blackmailing anyone who spread rumors about his sexuality, and using rumors of sexuality to tarnish people's reputation.

[Faust]

Zam, but education is by and large the antidote for stupidity and always has been. I understand what you saying is that there are plenty of pedants out there, but you are now coming dangerously close to "I don't need no education" rednecks that provide the votes for the well-educated Republicans.

[zamb]

Zam, but education is by and large the antidote for stupidity and always has been. I understand what you saying is that there are plenty of pedants out there, but you are now coming dangerously close to "I don't need no education" rednecks that provide the votes for the well-educated Republicans.

I don't think so,
education is an antidote for ignorance, and we hope that educated people would use the knowledge they have gained to make wise choices and sound reasoning. However when people have a flawed worldview, choose to be willfully ignorant and lack any kind of compassion towards people who may be different from they are no amount of education can combat that kind of stupidity.

The last thing I could come close to is American rednecks,
As I Christian from a foreign country, I have never really understood the relationship between right wing politics and Christianity in this country, because central to the Christian message is the unrelenting need for social justice and liberation of the oppressed.
Christian as far as I am concerned, should always be on the side of Justice and truth regardless of where that falls.......morality should never be politicized

[Faust]

Undoubtedly the American politics have veered to the right, but I beg to differ that there is no difference between Democrats and Republicans. I mean, it's pretty self-evident, I don't even know where to start the argument...

[Patroklus]

I don't support democratic politicians either, but since they court a constituency that is on average more well educated their shenanigans are different than the Republican shenanigans I had described. "Liberal" blowhards in America are more sophisticated in concealing their deceit, like when they enact green legislation as a trojan horse for corporate favoritism.

Republican politicians are ridiculous caricatures but you could almost believe that Democrats give a fuck about whales n shit.

[Faust]

Faust, I'm not saying there's no difference (that was badly phrased, my bad), I'm just saying that Democrats are far from being a serious opposition when it comes to some of the really really important issues.

Merz shall explain.

[zamb]

i understand russian that much ;)
i don't think i could vote in good conscience for either of those candidates if i were in shoes of a us citizen. the weird thing is that once republicans are in power, everyone all of a sudden begins to notice how much wars they make, how bad their foreign politics is, how much freedom of speech has been abused etc. and during obama's governance, none of that has sufficiently been pointed out by the media. and that makes me wonder whether the democrats would actually regain their left-oriented strength were they in opposition.

well as a newly minted US citizen, It has been very agonizing for me, as someone who cares about Human beings, the mean spirited and pompous approach of american republicanism is something I greatly detest, on top of that, the idea that being a Christian in the US you should automatically be a republican is something I personally find offensive, the current state of Christianity in America is needing a serious overhaul (but thats another discussion altogether)......
Republican politics has nothing to do with righteousness, as central to the Christian message is the concern for the welfare of the less fortunate among us, something that republicans seem to forget.

I want to support the president for many different reasons, as much as I disagree with many democratic policies, the idea of compassion, social justice and the freedom of the individual (even to live disastrously) is something I agree with. However on both sides of the political spectrum, there is a significant degree to which politicians are very dishonest and with an ease I find very disturbing...........as such sometimes I feel like I should just become an out about apolitical philosopher altogether.....

[Faust]

i understand russian that much ;)
i don't think i could vote in good conscience for either of those candidates if i were in shoes of a us citizen. the weird thing is that once republicans are in power, everyone all of a sudden begins to notice how much wars they make, how bad their foreign politics is, how much freedom of speech has been abused etc. and during obama's governance, none of that has sufficiently been pointed out by the media. and that makes me wonder whether the democrats would actually regain their left-oriented strength were they in opposition.

I quoted this before and I will quote it again

"If you are bored and disgusted by politics and don't bother to vote, you are in effect voting for the entrenched Establishments of the two major parties, who please rest assured are not dumb, and who are keenly aware that it is in their interests to keep you disgusted and bored and cynical and to give you every possible psychological reason to stay at home doing one-hitters and watching MTV on primary day. By all means stay home if you want, but don't bullshit yourself that you're not voting. In reality, there is no such thing as not voting: you either vote by voting, or you vote by staying home and tacitly doubling the value of some Diehard's vote."

- David Foster Wallace

[endorphinz]

i am a cynical mutha who has an extremely difficult time believing any politician acts from true altruism and love for his country/state/city/constituency. i know there are always agendas, some not very well hidden. it's human nature. not cool but until we're rewired, it just needs to be accepted. i pretty much ignore politics these daze but i hate self righteous,sanctimonious positions and go out of my way to vote opposing them. speaking of voting, i have, in the past, gone to my pole and not voted for any presidential candidate. i go to prove that i'm not apathetic, just disgusted.

[zamb]

yes but this argument assumes that the only way to affect the political process os by voting.

Suppose you are an ardent supporter of the democratic party, but somehow along the way you recognize that the democratic party has been infiltrated with ideas and policies antagonistic to what it once represented when you became a supporter........

you cannot vote republican because it contradicts your worldview, you go at lengths to point out the areas in which the democratic party has lost their original vision, been deceiving the people and taken a course that no longer represented where it once stood, but you decide not to vote as a protest against the views they now hold and against the corruption that aces you reluctant to vote for them.


A part of the problem here in this country is that outside of the two major parries there is no viable third option who will hold any meaningful power to effect change so what then do you do in that case?


........

I quoted this before and I will quote it again

"If you are bored and disgusted by politics and don't bother to vote, you are in effect voting for the entrenched Establishments of the two major parties, who please rest assured are not dumb, and who are keenly aware that it is in their interests to keep you disgusted and bored and cynical and to give you every possible psychological reason to stay at home doing one-hitters and watching MTV on primary day. By all means stay home if you want, but don't bullshit yourself that you're not voting. In reality, there is no such thing as not voting: you either vote by voting, or you vote by staying home and tacitly doubling the value of some Diehard's vote."

- David Foster Wallace