Let Us See Your Nuts......

Today we’re going to have some fun and talk about insanity. There are different degrees of insanity. Some people are just a little off but seem to function fine in society. Let’s go ahead and cite Sarah Palin as one of those.

Lately, Sarah has been locked in battle with PolitiFact, a “Snopes” type website that polices the claims of politicians in an attempt to keep them honest. It was started within the Saint Petersburg Times but has since expanded to several other newspapers. Sarah was quoted saying that “Democrats are poised now to cause the largest tax increase in US history”. Well, PolitiFact called her a “pants on fire liar” for the claim. I should mention here that PolitiFact won a 2009 Pulitzer Prize for repeatedly fact checking claims during the 2008 presidential campaign. I guess “Pea Brain Palin” has dug in on Facebook claiming that no proposal currently exists to stop tax increases from effecting individuals making less than 200 grand and couples making less than 250 grand. Well, Mr. Obama has not only made that pledge on numerous occasions but has apparently penned it into the proposed 2011 budget (which would make it a proposal that exists right?). So Sarah, when will you learn that repeated lying does nothing other than to brand you a “pants on fire liar”? Do we need to fact check those “death panels” too? Since one definition of insanity is repeating the same behavior while expecting a different result (or so I’ve been told), I think we can conclude that “Crazy Pea Brain Palin” is just that… a little crazy in that pea brain of hers. Let’s put her up there next to a Pulitzer Prize winning journalistic endeavor and ask ourselves who we’re going to put more faith into? Duh?.....

Next, let’s chat about Newt Gingrich. Have you heard that his middle ex-wife has given an extensive interview providing us with insight into the nonsensical rhetoric that populates Newt’s mind? And before I go on I’ve got to ask, what the fuck is up with the name Newt? Who names their kid Newton? I checked Wiki and Newt’s birth father was a Newton. Now we can only assume the first Newt took some shit about that name right? “Hey Fig Newton!” “Look, he's a salamander!” “Newt, toots a skin flute!” So, why saddle your kid with the same name? Unless you knew in advance he was going to grow up to be a douche bag….

Newt’s ex has described in detail Newt’s affair with his current wife during his marriage to her, wife #2 (yes, he’s on #3). I guess he wanted her to just “accept the affair”. She didn’t like that option. She quotes him as saying “You’re a Jaguar and I want a Chevrolet”. Now, I wonder what wife #3 thought of that? She’s the Chevrolet. But I digress. Newt was hammering wife #2 for a divorce shortly after she was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. What a guy right? But I guess you would expect nothing less since he was negotiating terms of his first divorce with a wife who was still recovering from uterine cancer surgery.

Now, none of this would really be relevant if it wasn’t for the fact that Newtie preaches family values! And here’s the good part…. Wife #2 asked him how he could speak to that while living his life in a completely different way? He answered by telling her that "It doesn't matter what I do. People need to hear what I have to say. There's no one else who can say what I can say. It doesn't matter what I live."

Let’s quickly analyze this quote. Well, screw that… we don’t have to. Let’s just look at the part that says “There’s no on e else who can say what I can say.” Really Newt? No one? No one else can say what you have to say? You're nuts Newt. Maybe your dad did in fact know in advance that you would grow into a douche bag. I think Newt is just a little crazier than Pea Brain don’t you? Sure he’s smarter (but who isn’t… well, one former President comes to mind) but he’s a little further down the crazy scale.

OK, next on my list is an acquaintance who shall remain nameless. While engaged in a recent debate, I cited an op-ed piece authored by Paul Krugman. The acquaintance in question remarked that Krugman was “a dimwit” or “whack job” or some such diminutive nickname. OK, so he doesn’t like Paul Krugman. Does Krugman have any legitimate credentials? Well, let’s see…

He has a BA from Yale and a PhD from MIT (is there a smarter segment of society than those who have attended MIT?). He was a professor of Economics and International Affairs at Princeton. He was a centenary professor at the London School of Economics (and try as I might, I can not find a definition for centenary professor….only one comes around every 100 years?... not likely… anyone?). He has also taught at Yale, MIT, UC Berkley, and Stanford. He won a Nobel Prize in Economics. In 2005 he was voted 6th in a list of the worlds 100 top intellectuals by Prospect, a brainy magazine out of Britain. He’s written 20 books and over 200 published articles. Need I go on?


So, that acquaintance thinks he’s a “crackpot” (I wish I could remember the exact words). Does he sound like a crackpot to you or do you think the acquaintance in question is nuts? I think this is yet another example of insanity. The refusal to accept the thoughts of someone far more qualified than you because they don’t mesh with your thoughts. Rather than admit an error on your part, you throw dirt on the guy who really does know better than you. Sounds nuts to me!

Glenn Beck? Whoa…. He’s fucking nuts and you know it.

Finally, let’s talk a little about Scott Lively, president of “Defend the Family” and “Abiding Truth Ministries”. Look Them up… that part isn’t all that relevant. What earns Mr. Lively a solid berth on the last car in the crazy train is his insistence that most Nazis were….. ahem…… homosexuals. That’s right. They were gay. How does he determine this. Because it is “well known” that homosexuals lack the ability to contain rage and they are violent, unconscionable, maniacal, killing machines. That’s right. They’ll fuck you up! In fact, Hitler himself was a homosexual. Most of those in his inner circle were homosexual. They even hooked up in gay bars. They were uncontrollable “rageaholics”.

I saw a revealing (and quite funny) video piece concerning Mr. Lively on “The Daily Show” (which should be required viewing for all Americans). The guy obviously takes himself quite seriously. When it was pointed out that homosexuals were actually persecuted under the Nazis Mr. Lively insists that was a smokescreen to throw us off. My question is where the hell the guy initially got the idea? Hmmm, could it be he was looking for a way to FURTHER persecute the gay and lesbian community? My concern is that there are obviously people out there who believe him. Why does that concern me? You know why. It’s because these morons are allowed full access to society and they are so stupid they are dangerous.

Mr. Lively has written three books. In 2000 he wrote “Why and How to Defeat the Gay Movement”. In 1998 he wrote “Seven Steps to Recruit Proof Your Child: A Parents Guide to Protecting Children From Homosexuality and the Gay Movement” (that one amuses me…. Especially when I reflect on how many times I was “recruited” by the gay movement. It must have happened…. Well… OK, it never happened). But the relevant tome is the one he co-authored in 1996 with Kevin E. Abrams… are you ready…. It’s a hoot….. “The Pink Swastika”. When confronted with historical “fact” or the opinions of historians Mr. Lively has obviously practiced extensively to dodge reality. I think he’s stark raving mad….

Now, what do these people all have in common? A couple of things. Of course the obvious one is that they are living in some alternate reality. They live in a place where all you need to do is think something and it magically becomes true. Big tax increases, moron liberal journalists (or bloggers for that matter), gay Nazis, anything that comes out of Glen Beck’s mouth. Even if you confront them with indisputable facts, they won’t budge an inch. Whatever crazy notion they are pandering remains fact in their puny little minds. Maddening isn’t it?

The other thing they have in common (at least the one that immediately comes to mind) is that they all vote Republican! Do I absolutely, positively, know that for a fact? Well, what do YOU think? Do you think any of these people voted for Obama? Yeah, I thought so.

I’ve mentioned before that Republicans seem to share this trait. No matter how many facts, truths, personal accounts, photographs, sworn testimonies, or anything else you throw at them, they will not budge on their positions once they’ve locked in. I’ve mentioned before that my mother (life long Republican) was like that. What’s worse, it doesn’t matter if you show them video of themselves in direct conflict with the “position de jour” (as John Stewart LOVES to do… I’m telling you, required viewing) they will keep their heels dug in and babble some incoherent rationale that attempts to discredit the video of themselves that proves them to be idiots.

But here is the killer…. And it’s a doozy…. Despite all this, the Democrats are once again facing trouble in the mid terms. The stock market is up. The economy has shown definitive signs of recovery. Iraq is winding down (never mind that once we leave the shit will really start hitting the fan). We have a guy in the White House who can spell. I could sit here and reel off all sorts of positive things but it doesn’t matter. “Change” didn’t come fast enough. Never mind that the right stone cold road blocked every piece of legislation to come out of the administration. Landmark health care legislation did manage to get passed but the right has lied about it and distorted it’s reality to the point that people won’t realize positives for a few years. Things are incredibly better than they were when THE MORON left office but it just doesn’t matter.

The Republicans are even fighting to keep the Bush Tax Cuts for those wealthy enough to actually AFFORD paying taxes and they tell you the economic stimulus created by those taxes offset the loss in revenue. Bull shit. One thing that’s going on that I don’t like is the record setting deficits. But I believe we can recover from this with sound fiscal policy going forward. Tax cuts for the wealthy, when we need revenue, is NOT sound fiscal policy.

So please. I’m begging you. I’m on my knees (get your minds out of the gutter). My hands are together in prayer. When you vote in November, think about things like degrees, Nobel Prizes, intellect, well constructed speech, leading by example, Nazis that were straight and not gay, and open your eyes to the constant stream of unmitigated bull shit the right stuffs down your throat on a daily basis. Ask yourself if things are in fact better today. Ask yourself if you want people making over 200 grand a year getting tax breaks. Ask yourself if you want our country run by corporations. Ask yourself if Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich, Glenn Beck, and Scott Lively are the types of people you want influencing the machinations of government. Ask yourselves all these questions before you pull the trigger. Then PLEASE vote for Democrats. If the Republicans do take over, sell all your stock (and remember you heard it here first).

Peace,
Common Sense