How Do You Stay Strong, Informed, And Sane These Days?

[BlogBox]

Seriously, how do you do it? This week on the blogs, hot topics ranged from gossip to great fact-based coverage of presidential politics, including these burning questions: Got an analogy even a Bushbot can understand?; Is straight-talkin' just a bunch of lies?; Did you know that "diversity" and "inequality" are synonymous?; And, did you miss Martin Luther King Opposite Day? All these questions and more. Plus, DUers catmandu57, radfringe, and H2O Man rock your world. Enjoy!

Better Late Than Never: Notable Blog Posts Overlooked Last Week

Find The Female! Oops! There aren't any. The Sneeze's Steve points out that there are currently no major brand cereal mascots without...um, pointy things. Pebbles doesn't even score a pic on the Fruity Pebbles box these days. Alas, only the Disney Princesses get to represent some form of sugary smackiness. Why is that?

God's Busy Week... Is Hello Kitty your personal Jesus? Why not shout it to the world with a permanent tattoo? From LOL Theist:

Avid reader Rowan, undoubtedly knowing our soft spot for Hello Kitty, sends us word about this tattoo posted on Hello Kitty Hell. Some soul out there, in Ohio of all places, is walking around with this glorious tattoo. Personally, I'm hoping they start a blog about their new experiences because if the mail/internet posts we received over the HK-AK-47 are any indication, the potential for hilarity is high.

In other God-related news, Galileo-1; Pope-0. Guerrilla News Network reports that Pope Benedict XVI has been dropped from La Sapienza University's opening week ceremonies because of this:

Pope Benedict stated that the trial (of Galileo) was "reasonable and just," lending to possible speculation that he is simply crazy.

All flat-earthers and earth-centrists are rejoicing the Pope's unwavering faith in... uh, unscientific fact. Enough said. And now, for this week's notable blog posts...

It's The Analogy, Stupid!

Trying to get your average Bushbot to understand how bad things are is like trying to drain the lake with a slotted spoon. The economy sucks. But how do you explain its suckiness to Bushbots? The New York Crank writes:

It's a heck of a lot easier to bust delicate things with a baseball bat than to fix them, whether you're talking about crystal goblets, fine Swiss watches, computers or the economy.

(snip)

Their theory (I suppose): "If you try it and it explodes in your face, try exactly the same thing again. Maybe this time it won't explode in your face."

Hm. Sounds like this year's $800 Bush tax rebate promise is exactly like that previous $200 Bush tax rebate promise deal. Surely people aren't stupid enough to fall for this twice. Kinda reminds me of those Keep On Truckin' patches so popular back in the 60's. Speaking of keeping on truckin', those anti-choicers are all riled up this year...

Bring Back Wire Hangers Now!

Well, that might as well be the rallying cry of the "I must control your body" zealots, who marched to return abortion to the back alley this week. Miss Laura at MyDD says it best:

Roe v. Wade Turns 35

As we reach the 35th anniversary of the Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade here are some important things to remember:

John Paul Stevens is 87 years old.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg is 74 years old.

Stephen Breyer is 69 years old.

David Souter is 68 years old.

By contrast,

John Roberts is 52 years old.

Samuel Alito is 57 years old.

If that's not enough to get women to vote this year, I don't know what is. While we're looking at hard truths...

Straight-Talkin' Lies And More Lies

The Daily Howler's always had the 411 on that asshat, Johnny Boy McCain. This week, Howler dissects David Broder's latest novelesque love song to the man who couldn't beat Gee Dubya in 2000. Read it all, but here's the best part:

If you want to be honest about it, McCain lied his way from state to state during the 2000 primaries. He misstated his view on South Carolina's state flag. He endlessly misstated, and restated, about those Michigan phone calls. He endlessly told his false, funny story about Al Gore and the Buddhist Temple. He lied about fliers his campaign passed out in South Carolina; he baldly misstated Bush's tax plan (over and over again). And every time he opened his mouth, he restated his views on abortion. But so what? In the press corps' novel, he was known for "straight talk." And so they ignored these diversions.

At THE HOWLER, we discussed these matters in real time. (For some examples, just click here, then scroll back to our eight reports from February 21, 2000 on through March 1.) By the way: Prepare for more of this well-scripted novel if McCain gets the GOP nomination - especially if he runs against Clinton. Dems and libs should be reviewing this history - deciding what to do with this novel.

While we're on the subject of "scripted, novel" ideas...

"Republican Intellectual" Is An Oxymoron

Or, at least, a moron. Or, more precisely, a "moran." Did you catch Crooked Timber's smackdown post on David Frum's new Book? You just have to read these three paragraphs from Frum to believe that anyone would actually dare write such crap, publish such crap, and have the nerve to defend it:

It's an observable fact that those voters who care most deeply about equality - deeply enough to organize their lives to live in egalitarian communities - overwhelmingly vote Republican.

Take a look at a map of the state of Missouri. A recent study conducted by the state identified a dozen of the state's 114 counties as "equality centers." These equality centers were located on the outer fringes of St. Louis, Kansas City, Columbia, and Springfield. Every single one of these highly egalitarian areas of the state voted overwhelmingly Republican.

Meanwhile, the most unequal parts of Missouri, the cities and especially the city of St. Louis, voted heavily Democratic. Where you find many different lifestyles and races; where you find singles, immigrants, and gays; where you find high-rise buildings, country estates, and really great take-out - there you find inequality. After all, what is inequality but another form of "diversity"? And what is "equality" but another word for homogeneity? Communities with lots of married families, lots of single-family homes, and low proportions of nonwhite minorities and single people - communities that Democrats and liberals would inwardly disparage as "white bread" - are communities in which people tend to earn similar amounts of money. (p. 37)

Recap: White, ticky-tacky suburbanites vote Republican, and the unequals (Blacks, Gays, single people, et al) vote Democratic; Inequality is another form of diversity, and equality is another word for homogeneity. All those unequals have to do to be equal is make enough money to live in ticky-tacky harmony with Republicans. Got that? Does your brain hurt? Anyone who has ever spent any time in St. Louis knows that there's a world of difference between the city (Frum's unequals) and the county (Frum's new definition of egalitarian). And the city is where everything exciting, uplifting, and distinctly "diversified" is happening. Now for the news (aka "the pulp you can't avoid") that makes you want to scream, but you just can't look away...

The Paparazzi And The Pulpyness

Why, oh why, do we need to see those "Ewwww, that's nasty" photos and other pulpy blog posts? It's not because we need to see the day-to-day weirdness of random movie stars, wretchedly behaved heiresses, or even has beens trying to regain some semblance of relevance. Let's admit it: it's because we want to see some not-so-pretty behavior so we can all feel - momentarily - a tad superior. Holy Candy has posted one such paparazzi prize:

Pop Quiz: Lindsay Lohan


Lindsay Lohan looks like this because:

1) Her doctor recommended some fresh air for her cheeks after suffocating them in leggings for 92 straight days;

2) Her ass is tired of her boobs getting all the attention;

3) Her shirt is trying to hide in embarrassment from being worn as a dress;

4) She is getting in character for her next movie, I Know Who Mooned Me;

5) Three words: Playtex Product Placement;

6) None of the above. It's because ____________.

Alas, even the blogosphere is prone to pulp. DCist tracks this week's staff shakeup at Wonkette:

Seems the folks over at Gawker can't quite figure out to do with the staff of their political blog Wonkette lately. Late Friday afternoon, former Wonkette associate editor Megan Carpentier was fired from the position she took on just a few short months ago. The Huffington Post aptly sums up the merry-go-round, when last fall then-editors Alex Pareene moved up to New York to start writing for Gawker and Ken Layne stepped down to a contributor. A new editor and associate editor were brought on board, and Carpentier, who had been writing their "Ask a Lobbyist" feature and, coincidentally, had just been laid off from her lobbyist job, was asked to join them full-time.

She quickly outed herself with a full photo spread and most readers seemed to enjoy her less-inside-joke-more-ranty style of writing. But according to her personal blog, not everyone did, including Layne, who decided he was going to take over as editor again and "move the site towards being what it was under him and Alex and that my voice and writing didn't fit with that vision." So the world of blogger turnover goes. In Carpentier's goodbye post on Wonkette she notes that she'll still be writing some posts for sister-site Jezebel while she starts looking for a new job.

The moral of these stories: no one really cares for more than the few minutes it takes to read these posts. But they're sorta fun, aren't they? And sometimes, you find the best smackdowns of morans among us on these gossip sites. Case in point: Best Week Ever's picture-worth-a-thousand-words post:

CAPTION THIS: Flag Stay! Hulk Smash!

Yesterday, this South Carolina protester was tricked by his older brother into believing that Martin Luther King Day was actually Martin Luther King Opposite Day.

FYI: Comment #11 is my favorite. Scroll down and have a good laugh. Then, take time out to...

Thank A DUer!

Thanks to catmandu57 for the best ever "Bush Rebate" analogy:

This tax rebate scheme sounds like giving a free hit to a junkie

Because the dealer feels sorry for the poor fool standing there shaking and shivering, drooling snot and bodily fluids every where, begging for just a little taste.

The amerikan consumer is a junkie, a credit junkie with no thought of tomorrow, they just have to have another dollar to spend NOW. With refinancing, rolling over mortages dead and gone and jawbone george* is the friendly neighborhood pusher with the fix.

It's time to get off the damn sauce, say no thank you and get into rehab for real.

Thanks to radfringe for bringing back those witty toons we all looked forward to. Here's a new one:


Ain't it the truth?

Finally, thanks to H2O Man for this thoughtful, inspirational post:

I was enjoying the democratic debate last night, including having the opportunity to discuss it with a number of DUers on the "debate threads," when the phone rang. It was one of my siblings, calling to discuss the now daily frustrations associated with a medical crisis with another extended family member. Things are difficult enough without having to deal with the bureaucracy of the hospital and the other associated institutions.

A little more than a week ago, an old friend and neighbor died. He could not afford the high price of oil to heat his home, and had been burning a lot of wood. His nearest son would bring him loads of firewood that were split to a size my friend could easily handle. But his son had an infection, but no insurance, and was doing what poor people do -- going without appropriate medical attention. My friend had a guy bring a truckload of wood, but it wasn't split small enough. My friend split the wood, until his heart stopped. His sone has been calling me a lot in the last week, wondering what went wrong with this country.

My wife just called me from work. She had run an errand at lunch, and went to a store. An elderly woman was in line ahead of her. The woman was buying two cans of soup, but did not have enough money on her. The cashier became impatient, and the woman said she would put the soup back. My wife bought it for her. She said the woman told her she just didn't realize how expensive two cans of soup had become.

There are things going terribly wrong with our country, and while I know the fault is not the exclusive property of the republican party, I believe that the current administration is the most immediate problem our nation faces.

I watched the late night/ early morning replay of the debate on CNN (had it been republicans, I could have gone to sleep), and while no one candidate is perfect, I am convinced that all three are fully capable of serving as President of the United States in a positive, meaningful manner. I think that it is important that we discuss the strengths and debate the weaknesses of each of the three. But I wish people would take the time to do so in a constructive manner.

Well said, and definitely bookmark-worthy! There's way too much at stake for us to remain divided after this primary season: Supreme Court appointments; the BushCo wars; the BushCo economic nightmare; hideously horrible healthcare; and the beat goes on...

How do you stay strong, stay informed, and stay sane as we fight the tightie righties? If you've figured out how to avoid the traps set by paid pundits, hungry reporters/stenographers, and random single-issue zealots, please let me know. Meanwhile, keep an eye toward the future, and watch out for "them what brung ya" to this disastrous danse macabre in the first place. You think Republicans want to give up the power they spiked the public punch bowl with? Not hardly.

-- Delilah Boyd

[Tuesday Afternoon]

1. Oh well, 2 out of three ain't bad.

strong and informed, that be me :crazy:

[ananda]

2. By playing bridge and..

.. not talking politics..

.. except here and one other board.

:-))

[emilyg]

3. Kick

[Bonobo]

4. Have a practice.

I do karate.

[liberalmuse]

5. I've been noticing how crazy everything is...

The world seems to be spinning more and more rapidly out of control. I've never seen things this incredibly whacko, and the insanity is growing exponetially. Either that, or the world is the same as it's always been and I'm the one who's going nuts. Probably a little bit of both. It's hard staying informed when two minutes of reading the news makes you feel sick, but it can be done.

[ConsAreLiars]

6. Recommended, not sure why.

Probably something to do with absurdism or surrealism or nihilism. But thank you. A counterpoint to years of watching this:

[troubleinwinter]

7. That's a mighty complicated post for someone who doesn't post much. I didn't read it.

[BrklynLiberal]

8. What a fantastic post. Thank you Thank you Thank you...