Fustia

To Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, et al.

I hope this isn’t too complex for you: Where does snow come from? It comes from clouds. Where do clouds come from? Water evaporating from the oceans. What causes water to evaporate? Heat. The oceans are heating up because of global warming. If I could make this more simple, I would. Perhaps reading it twice will help.

Populists like show and tell. So use the State of the Union video. Obama: “Tax breaks for small businesses” Cut to Republicans not applauding as Democrats cheer. Obama: “Banks repay us for loans.” Cut to Republicans not applauding as Democrats cheer. Repeat with other statements. Repeat again.

Show them for what they are.

Show and tell even tea-baggers can understand.

The Republicans claimed that they submitted a budget for consideration, and that Obama ignored it.

I wonder why…?

Here’s a real budget:

and here’s the Republican “budget”:

Yeah. Right.

November 23, 2009

ZURICH (Reuters) — Scientists have smashed together proton beams for the first time in a 27-kilometre tunnel under the French-Swiss border in an initial step toward discovering how the universe came into existence, they said on Monday.

Unfortunately, the prediction of the doom-sayers proved correct, and the Earth has been completely swallowed by a massive black hole. All traces of the planet have been obliterated from the known universe.

This occurred unbeknownst to the occupants of the planet, however, since time dilation is relative, and the event passed completely unobserved by anyone, except for the God-like creatures in the Andromeda Galaxy, a few million light years away.

Some panic was observed when it was noticed that the sun was no longer visible and the entire sky had turned black. Panic subsided somewhat when it was pointed out that the current time was 11:20 PM.

Details in the late edition.

Playing Sherlock Holmes here…

Re: the $27-$80 million “art heist” in Pebble Beach… we all agree it smells fishy, but the question has been “how are they going to make money off it, especially if the paintings are not insured?”

Simple: the money isn’t >going< to be made; it's already been made.

I suspect the Dr is a patsy in all this, and it’s been engineered by his “partner” (he of notorious background) once he saw how much $$ in art the good Dr had.

I suspect that the art was stolen and sold on the art black market during the trip from Boston to California, and that the money has already changed hands.

The “theft” here in Pebble Beach is a cover-up for that. And a clever criminal would have (between Mass and CA) not only sold off the originals, but substituted fakes, knowing that no true appraisers would see them before the scam was perpetrated… but that they would be good enough to keep the Dr and any insurance agent at bay for at least a few days….

That’s my take on the second-largest art heist in US history.

Yours truly

Sherlock Holmes

(& yes, I did send a copy of this hypothesis to the Sheriff of Monterey County on October 8, 2009.)

Those senators who voted “no” on the public option have shown their true colors: corporate profits are more important than human life. Disgusting.

To the folks who marched on Washington on September 12, 2009.

You proclaim that “Democrats want the terrorists to win” without thinking that would mean that 2 out of 3 people in the street, in the theater or grocery store, are terrorists. Without thinking that would mean that your neighbors on all three sides are out to kill you; that most of your relatives are traitors. That it would mean the 2/3 of our military are armed subversives dedicated to overthrowing the our country.

You believe that your government is out to kill our old folks (without thinking for one second that any politician saying that would would be committing political suicide.)

You don’t want government-run health care, without realizing that Medicare IS government-run health care, and we all -love- it.

You claim that you don’t want “government-controlled health care because some bureaucrat would be making life/death decisions for you” without thinking that is -exactly- what is happening right now with private health care. That a company who stands to make LOTS of money if they just let you die IS in control (and they -will- just let you die if it affects their profit. It happens every day.)

You say “we” are not listening to the health-care debate. “Debate?” What “debate?” Yes, it’s a problem that it’s going to cost too much; yes, it’s a shame that we’ve had to spend our way out of the economic issues left from the last 8 years of corporate favoritism.

That is a real problem, and we have to face it.

But name me ONE single proposal put forward by the Republicans. ONE. Any one. Just one. You can’t because there has not been one. There is no “debate” – there is just the selling of fear; the saying of “no” from the Republicans. Nothing else. No proposals; no reasoned talk. Nothing. You can’t have a debate if one of the parties to it stays outside and throws a temper tantrum.

You kind folks are the “my country is always right” people, without thinking that your country is made of mortal, fallible human beings, and that we can improve it by keeping an eye out and saying “whoa” when things get off course. Just like raising a child: there is no doubt that you love him, but when he goes off course, it is -because of that love- that you straighten him out.

Look: you folks are not less intelligent than the rest of us… but you are the people who proudly do not think. You chose to not reason, probably during your schooling. (“It’s too hard. I don’t think about it.”) You prefer to live guided exclusively by your heart and emotions, and your heart a fine and just guide. But it is only 1/2 of a guide. God gave you a brain too, with which to achieve balance. The rest of us use it to balance our heart and emotions with thinking and reason.

Yes: it is easier to be lead by others who you respect, than to think things thru for yourself. Yes- thinking is harder, and so you don’t do it.

There are many clever people who understand this about you, who know that they can appeal to you with lies, and you will believe what they say. Why? Because you are good, honest, trusting people, and simply cannot understand why -anyone- would lie to you, “…especially about something as important as this…” and “…he couldn’t be on TV and say that if it wasn’t true…”

But they do, and they can. Not understanding that is the price you pay for not learning how to think, and reason things out.

People whose job it is to -sell- you something do not care about you one bit and will lie thru their teeth to get you to follow along… and they know you will, because you are good, honest, kind, moral people, who have chosen not to think, and are thus do not know when you’re being yanked around like a puppet on a string.

They know you won’t check to see if what they are saying is correct, because that takes thinking and work… and they know you won’t do it.

And why would these people do this? Why would they lie to you? Well, look around : Wall Street; Exxon; Enron, big pharma, health insurance…. it’s the MONEY. Goodness, morality, honesty have nothing to do with it. It is -always- about money.

And when those of us who do think and understand try to explain to you that you’re being had (because we hate to see our neighbors being taken by con-men) instead of listening and thinking, you simply shout louder, because it’s human nature, in all of us, to be reluctant to change our beliefs, and to admit we’re being conned.

It’s not that you can’t think… it’s that you have chosen not to.

Or do you really “think” that most Americans are traitors?

Do you want to know what the primary emotion is from us over here, to you over there? I believe it’s sadness. We’re sad that you’re being lied to; conned; ripped off to the point where you will act and vote against your own best interests, and the best interests of your country. Sad that you live in fear, to the point where you don’t trust your neighbors and your government.

I would much rather you join us in trying to solve these problems, instead of just hoping that yelling loud enough will make them go away.

I’m sorry you won’t listen any more. I’m sorry that you’re blindly following people who are only interested in picking you clean. I’m mostly sorry that you don’t see that.

And to those who come back saying “we don’t need your pity” I can only say “Yes. You do.”

That’s how it looks from over here; at least from one of those Vietnam-era veteran Democrat “traitors” you hate so much.

Dear Sarah

You are a beauty pageant queen. You have as much knowledge of the world as the average beauty pageant queen who has depended on looks to get by.

About 25% of the world gets by without knowing how to think. They are proud of that lack of skill. They find “thinking too hard.”

They are likely all fine, decent folks, but don’t expect much, or any, depth of understanding from them.

And they are your “base” in your forthcoming run for the Presidency.

Fortunately, they are a minority, and cannot, by themselves, elect you.

This is hard for you, and them, to understand, but the world is a complex, nuanced (look it up) place, and requires more than simple platitudes. It requires at the very least, leaders who can actually -think- and not just repeat simple sayings, with the same level of understanding and sophistication as the average 14-year old.

I’d like to suggest that you are in WAAAAY over your head, and that just because others who think the world is simple like you do, will support you, is not enough reason, by a long shot, to think that you’re qualified to take the most powerful office in the world.

We had 8 years of leadership that was “simple” and look where that got us. And those people went to Yale, not the Miss Junior Beauty Queen school of hair and makeup.

On the other hand… and come to think of it… please DO run. At least that will assure us of -someone- (else) who actually -can- think for at least 4 more years.

Don’t get me wrong from reading my previous posts… or if you do read them, read all of them.

While Republicans are fearful, terrified, irrational and childish, and have done more damage to this country in the last 10 years than any foreign attack or terrorist could have even dreamed of doing (like trashing our rule of law; eliminating the checks and balances of our government; shredding our Constitutional rights; giving the President the powers of a dictator; spying on our citizens and splitting us in half instead of uniting us) they certainly did it with the full aid and acquiescence of the Democrats.

The House and Senate Democrats are weak, sniveling cowards who are far more interested in their own re-election than supporting this country, and fighting for the Constitution. They protested mightily about everything… and then went ahead and passed on our demise anyway. Absolutely no BALLS! Start with a fight, and end with a whimper.

Those in Congress on both sides of the isle are ONLY concerned (with a handful of exceptions on both sides) with getting re-elected. They are NOT concerned about this country… or certainly not as much as they are with their own political careers.

Where the Republicans “win” is their outrageous, irrational fear-mongering hysteria. All that yelling and screaming, no matter how childish and patronizing, is at least yelling and screaming, as opposed to the whimpering Democrats.

I’m a veteran. Luckily I’m still alive, but a lot of friends and family are not, having given all for the principles this country was founded on.

I am DISGUSTED by the cowards we have in Congress. These people DIED for you! Have enough balls to do the right thing!!!

Shit! Nothing changes. Government now is the same as government throughout history.

Jerks.

Barack Obama: “I am a citizen of the United States and a citizen of the world.”

Ronald Reagan: “I am a citizen of the United States and the world.”

Newt Gingrich: “I am not a citizen of the world.”

(Which is also why you’re not President of the United States, Newt. But thanks for point out the downhill, fearful and isolationist direction of your party.)

——

Republican leader Bohnner: (referring to trying terror suspects from Gitmo in the US. (We already have done this, and they were convicted and put in federal prison in Colorado.) “This is the first step in the Democrats plan to release terrorists on our streets.”

Once again the Republicans are saying that “Democrats want the terrorists to win.”

That is simply INSANE. Not rational. Hysterical. Childish.

Does the Republican party -really- believe that? To they -really- believe we are all so stupid as to buy that transparently childish, school-yard hysterical accusation?

The longer they make up outrageous fantasies, outright lies, and accuse their neighbors of them (just as grade-school children do) the the more and more obvious it becomes that they are not mature enough to govern, and the deeper and deeper they will slide into irrelevancy.