I Don’t Care What Your Delusion Is, I’m Not Obligated To Share It

[20score]

The earth revolves around the sun.
The earth is billions, not thousands of years old.
Fox News is neither fair, nor balanced - nor news.
Evolution happened and is happening.
Torture does not work.
Bush did not keep us safe.
Markets do not regulate themselves.
Fascism is not the same as socialism.
The world was not with us with regards to the Iraq War.
Iraq never attacked us and was never a threat.
Trickle-down economics is extremely insulting on its face. More so if examined.
Obama is not a socialist, or a communist.
A weak public option for a fraction of the country does not spell doom.
Prayers in school did not avert any wrong doings. Nor are prayers prohibited now.
There is no correlation between religiosity and morality.
The world can be and is over-populated.
Supply-side economics makes no sense, period.
Lying to soldiers about why they are fighting is not equivalent to support.
Supporting any war for any reason is not equivalent to patriotism.
Tax cuts for the rich are not a fix-all. In fact they hurt after a certain point.
Gays are not asking for special rights. They are asking for human rights.
An economist from Exxon does not equal the entire peer reviewed data from the world’s climatologists.
We really don’t have the #1 healthcare system in the world, and pretending we do only hurts our chances of improvement.
The fact is, now there really is a Northwest Passage for the first time in human history.
Intelligent Design is creationism in a dress. Un-burying her and dressing her up does not make her smell any better.

Facts are facts and do not have an ideology. Pretending that an impassioned denial is equal to established facts is extremely harmful. And the number of people sharing your particular delusion is irrelevant to its status as a fact.

[Fumesucker]

1. What are you, some kind of pot smoking hippie?

Isn't it amazing that the dirty fucking hippies were right all along and *nobody* in the mainstream will admit it even to this day?

[handmade34]

6. I ponder

the same thing everyday... 40 years ago, I (along with multitudes of my peers) talked about, read about, discussed these things... how does this happen that many do and have known the truth for ages and it continues to be conveniently dismissed?

[Fumesucker]

11. "Being right too soon is socially unacceptable" -Heinlein..

Erasmus thought that in the country of the blind the one eyed man was king. Erasmus was a flaming optimist, in the country of the blind the one eyed man is thought to be a whackaloon.

[handmade34]

21. I wondered why I never fit in

[Fumesucker]

23. I'm pretty sure I've known all along why I don't..

I'm too much like Calvin..

[tblue37]

49. Or a witch. nt

[Knight Hawk]

54. Power

It is dismissed by people who gain by dismissing it.While many are pondering ,thinking ,reading and discussing, others,people of action,hard nosed realists,are seizing the high ground.They are seizing power and even though they will not admit it they believe what Mao said"Power comes from the barrel of a gun".It is hard to climb the mountain when they are on top and blasting you with well fortified cannons.

[20score]

17. Well,

yes and yes, I guess. You and handmade34 rock.

[Fumesucker]

24. Well, that and $5 will get you a cup of coffee these days..

[Triana]

62. Yeppers. Amazing. Along with all the other stuff the lame$tream won't admit

they were wrong about. Ah well...got any rolling papers?

[JackInGreen]

64. and not bitter at all man..

not at all...just glad to see everyone else getting on board the peace train.

[monktonman]

67. Were still dirty, fucking, and right all along.

You didnt think all that time smoking pot on the couch was for nothing
did you?

[cali]

2. You know, I agree with almost everything you wrote but

like so many, you're confusing facts with opinion. Some of your statements are facts. Some are not. That I agree with your opinions doesn't make them facts.

[suede1]

3. Point out what you are disagreeing with. Your comment is arbitrary.

[Fumesucker]

4. Could you be more specific as to which are facts and which opinions?

Honestly I only see a couple that are questionable..

[Ineeda]

8. All look like facts to me. Which are 'opinions'? n/t

[dmallind]

9. Not my post you responded to but I'll jump in if I may

For a start there is no objective measure that indicates the world is overpopulated. That it CAN be is axiomatic as numbers have no limits, but there is more than enough arable land and water to feed and satiate the current population. Where starvation and want exists it is a result of politics or infrastructure or logistics, not lack of capacity.

[Fumesucker]

10. The amount of arable land decreases each year...

Not even allowing for global climate change, which looks to be a net negative as far as the growing of food crops is concerned.

Our agriculture is largely based on the easy availability of cheap energy and often on chemical fertilizers that start with an oil feedstock.

A truly sustainable agriculture would likely be far more labor intensive and require even more energy than do current practices.

[20score]

12. Really? Please, come on. Besides the obvious, here's a few studies:

http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/overpopula...

http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/overpopula...

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/0904180757...

http://pds.lib.harvard.edu/pds/viewtext/3003804?op=t&n=...

http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1998/7/98.07...

There are many more, plus the oceans are already over-fished, rain-forests are disappearing, species are disappearing. Is your definition, "it's okay as long as we fit?" Quality of life has to be taken into account.

And if you're going to say the first world countries need to scale back. That's true, but it does not at all negate the fact the world is over-populated. They are not mutually exclusive propositions.

[Scruffy1]

46. Malthus and population

I remember many years ago the same arguments in class of Malthusian reasoning on the limits of resources. While I reject the idea that our resources in total are completely finite under our current system of production and distribution the world is definitely overpopulated compared to its ability to sustain production with the current levels of technology. Dr. Norman Borlaug commented on this in an alumni magazine I get several years ago. he felt that population increases had negated any impact from his "green revolution". So it seems to me that unless we can control population growth we are doomed to have a large portion of the population living in wretchedness while destroying the planet. This is not to say that advances in our methods of production and distribution could not lead to higher population sustainability. I don't believe it is possible, though, until we advance our social system beyond short term exploitation of people and resources. Now that's an opinion of mine and thanks for the excellent post.

[bananas]

58. Overconsumption is the real problem

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/09/resource-overco...
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20327271.700-popu...

[Lorien]

66. Consumption will not decrease without ZPG

and current consumption rates are completely unsustainable.

[Lorien]

65. Lol! I knew someone here would fume over the fact that the world can be

and in fact IS overpopulated. At CURRENT consumption rates the World Wildlife fund estimates that we will have exhausted every natural resource by 2045. If you think that consumption rates won't increase before then, you're as crazy as the flat earthers.

[Raineyb]

30. The public option line is most definitely opinion.

I shall refrain from pointing out that a "public option" that only serves a small fraction of the population is neither public nor an option.

[punkin87]

5. How true! k& r!!

[Ohio Joe]

7. Well said - K&R - nt

[kickysnana]

13. Obviously we all have our delusions:

"A weak public option for a fraction of the country does not spell doom"

A weak public option is not reform, anything else it is a giveaway to the Insurance Industry. It continues the forced transfer of wealth from the middle class and keeps the dysfunctional medical model where chronic illness is mismanaged for profit.*

Excellent piece of propaganda though. The exact model they used with to indoctrinate the religious for the last 40 years. Make a list of true statements and stick in one that is untrue but you are tasked to make people believe.

*My Aunt develops fluid filled blisters on her right foot due to poor circulation, muscle weakness following a strok3e 3 years ago and diabetes that flairs with colds or flu. I have been managing them with hygiene, bandages and topical antibacterials as needed. Only the first blister ever became slightly infected and required oral antibiotics before we developed the protocol. My Aunt switched to a clinic much closer to where we now live and we got a brand new primary care doctor who observed a fresh blister that occurred because I was hospitalized for 3 days and my Aunt didn't want to bother her substitute care giver to help her in and out of her recliner from her power chair to get her feet up twice a day for an hour.

This new doctor ordered a very expensive surgical prep, expensive special dressings, a nurse to come out and change them 3 times a week for three weeks, a consult with a podiatrist and with a vascular surgeon who wondered why she was referred because 10 days later when she saw him the wound was totally healed. We asked her primary care doc if all this was really necessary but because it was a brand new doctor my Aunt did not want to appear to be a difficult patient so she did not refuse.

The cost? It was a over $2200 at Medicare rates. The doctor was following protocols to generate $$ and cover her butt. She had no choice we had no choice. And you had no choice but to pay it with your tax dollars.

I have an atypical MS. After years of relative calm it flared many times last year and caused major problems with my heart, concentration, memory and mobility. My long time neurologist had no suggestions for stopping the attacks or lessening the symptoms. I knew that there had been advances in the last 10 years and decided to seek an second opinion with the approval of my Primary Care physician. I consulted with and followed up with a new neurologist at the U of MN. I saw him at an intake at the end of a flare and one month later for follow-up He was intrigued by my case but told me he really needed me to be at the start a flare to treat. It happened. I called and there was no way I could get anyone to schedule me except for 30 days out. They suggested I go to be admitted to the hospital. I am caregiver to my Aunt and I was told that it would take at 30-60 days to obtain respite care for her. She could be placed in the first available nursing home on an emergency basis. Those placements put you in the dregs of the nursing home system. My doctor intervened and I was able to get in to see a screener, a PA who documented the deficits, offered no suggestions, did no tests and scheduled an intake with the department head a month after. The Department head saw me, again at the end of my flare. Told me my atypical MS was not subject to daily treatment and that if I flare again I should go into the ER and be admitted.* He also strongly suggested that I should stop my twice daily ibuprofen that keeps me moving despite chronic arthritis without offering any alternatives. My repeated inquiries to all of these doctors to be tested during a flare for the lack of a specific enzyme that shuts off the immune system after it is activated was again ignored.

*A hospital visit will entail a battery of tests that I have taken over the years whose results are always the same. I will draw whatever doctor shows up that day, never the ones I see in clinic and will be at his mercy for diagnosis and treatment based on my acute symptoms THAT DAY not the overall history. Cost $3-5,000. Cost for the nursing home stay for my Aunt $1200.

Cost of these referrals with no benefit? $2200 at Medicare rates.

[20score]

14. I agree. And you reversed what my intent was. I am not for a week public option.

I was talking to the people who have lost their minds over any reform. I was saying that the crap being shoved down our throats is not a take over and nothing to fear. At least not in the way they have. Exactly the opposite.

So, is what I wrote propaganda?

[kickysnana]

19. Ahhhh.. I see your point now. My apologies. Carry on.

[ashling]

70. Do you mean a "weak" public option or

a public option for a week?

[rd_kent]

35. Why are personal anecdotal healthcare stories always used as the REASON why

this will or wont work. Everyone has a story, they are different and personal.

[TexasObserver]

15. You are so money. Right down the line. Recommended.

Although I don't really agree about the public option comment.

[snake in the grass]

16. Totally correct! n/t

[leeroysphitz]

18. Best rant I've read in months. I'm copying it now and plan to paste it EVERYWHERE.

Good job!

Do you have a news letter or something I could subscribe to?

[HughBeaumont]

20. This is why I'm harsh on Republicans.

I'm not going to sit idly by and listen to them try and make a staunch defense of FAILURE. You cannot call what's been happening to this country, mostly under the watches of either Republican (or a moderate who believed in deregulation, free-trade and laissez-fail) presidents or congress, a SUCCESS.

Take it from someone who lives in Northeast Ohio.

[emulatorloo]

22. Nice rant! EOM

[Vidar]

25. Great collection. Recommended

[Hatchling]

26. k&R

Wish I could Rec more than once.

[ihavenobias]

27. 36.

Soon to be 31! Oh wait, nevermind, I was thinking of something else.

[hbskifreak]

28. bravo

I agree with just about everything except 1 point....
everyone knows that the sun REALLY revolves around the earth, that's
how come we are the very center of the universe...dummy.

[Raineyb]

29. Any option that is only for a fraction of the population is not a public

option weak or other wise.

You are entitled to your OPINION on that one.

[Swamp Rat]

31. SHUT UP!!

[mullard12ax7]

32. But the Iraq War is Over, DOW is at 10,000, Dominoes are Falling!

Nobody needs a job, everything is wonderful!

[suede1]

33. Kick

[Tippy]

34. K&R

[20score]

36. Clarification.

To any that misunderstood what I meant in the line about healthcare. I was addressing Teabaggers and should have worded it as, "Helping other Americans by assuring them healthcare will not destroy the country."

Hope that clears it up.

[AlbertCat]

53. Actually.... I like your original wording.

It covers two camps:

The Teabaggers who think EVEN a weak PO would ruin the country (like everything else ever proposed by Dems, apparently)

AND the rabid progressives who don't think a weak OP is good enough..... and thus will destroy the country.


Either way..... it's not going to destroy the country. It may suck.... it may not.... but destruction of the US of A is not going to be its legacy.



What IS going to destroy this country is anti-intellectual Repugs (and others) to whom facts are not true if they tell them something they don't want to be true, and what I call 20th century Dems who think that they must defer to the useless opinions of such people. That and $$$$$ in elections.

And that was opinion!

[BrklynLiberal]

37. Yep..Whether or not someone actually believes something does not actually

affect the veracity of it.

The ACTUAL, objective truth does not depend on being believed in.

[dysfunctional press]

38. back atcha.

[ProleNoMore]

39. Have You Sent This To The Congressional Democrats And Obama Administration?

eom

[The Straight Story]

40. You could help with fixing what you see is overpopulation

[20score]

41. From a link in post 12.

"Over-population is defined as the condition of having more people than can live on the earth in comfort, happiness and health and still leave the world a fit place for future generations."

[The Straight Story]

42. Is that defined by some religious entity, or some personal one?

"comfort, happiness and health and still leave the world a fit place for future generations."

So we all now live and exist for everyone else in the world? Do we have one person (a pope perhaps) to define what is happiness for us people? Didn't we have health issues back from the start of the race - even more so than now?

A fit place? Like when it was hotter, or during the ice ages - like we humans alone control all of that, and it is mapped just to how many of us there are?

Sounds to me like same old shit - people who want to have control over others and use the idea of 'sin' to keep them in line.

We used to call it religion, but it has had many names.

[20score]

43. Deny it all you want.

It will change nothing.
On edit:

That's the definition I used, used by the scientists in that study.

If you want to think that it cannot be defined, well...

[Bette Noir]

44. Is there a button for "rec a hundred times"?

[HughMoran]

45. Good post - K&R

I don't agree 100%, but I'm not going to quibble over 1 or 2 items.

[hulka38]

47. Preaching to the choir always results in many recommendations.

[Golden Raisin]

48. You go boy!

Great rant. Now you'll have to excuse me as I'm off to the Creation Museum to view the dinosaurs that came with Noah on the ark, or was that the dinos who lived with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden? Wil--ma!!!!!

[ooglymoogly]

50. Kr....agree with most all of what you have to say that to many of us

is the line of reasoning we are following...."There is no correlation between religiosity and morality". There is however a correlation between religiosity and immorality.

[JackRiddler]

51. Did you know that these things do not all go together?

And out of all those there's only a single one where I might disagree in the least. (The illusion of a public option being better than the status quo until real reform can be won.)

But putting them all together comes across as a creed, ironically enough.

[JNelson6563]

52. Damn Skippy.

Well said.

[jfkraus]

55. You rock!

Wish I would have compiled that! Mind if I steal it?

[gleaner]

56. You're right.....

and you said it so beautifully. I agree with everything you listed, and I don't think you are delusional at all. Maybe being an old boomer has a lot to do with it. As several OPs said, we got it right at least some of the time, but it is very convenient to ignore it.

[demwing]

57. Bravo. From a very spiritual person, I say again, bravo!

If God is reading your post, I would bet that he and she just gave you a rec, and kicked your post.

[Junkdrawer]

59. "A weak public option for a fraction of the country does not spell doom."

But it's NOT what the vast majority wants nor voted for.

Just kind of slipped that into the middle of the mix. Clever.

[20score]

60. See post 14

[20score]

61. Thanks to all for the fantastic comments!

And if you'd like to post/forward this, please feel free.

[pleah]

63. K&R When are they going to fix the share button?

I miss being able to share with those that look forward to reading these treasures.

[Autonomy]

68. This is not the type of post I usually rec

but I am making an exception for this post. Gotta love the list format.

[Duppers]

69. Hell yeah! Bravo.

Bravo!

I copied and am sending this nice summary out.