Category Archives: Politics
I have a great deal of respect for President Obama’s intelligence, character, and commitment, yet I’m not thrilled by his leadership or public speaking abilities (and I consider the latter an important part of the former). That said, he thoroughly impressed me at last night’s Guns in America town hall event on CNN!
Now already, in Philadelphia, we have news-worthy gun fire. In this case, despite numerous rounds fired, everyone (that is to say, both guys) lived. (Which, ironically, makes it kind of like TV.) To raise the public fervor ante, the shooter did it in the name of the Islamic State.
What was that curse about interesting times?
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11 Comments | tags: CNN, gun control, gun debate, gun laws, gun ownership, guns, Guns in America, President Obama, town hall | posted in Opinion, Politics
The thing about climbing up sand dunes is that you keep sliding downwards. If you slide downward one step for every step you take upwards, you stay in place and get nowhere. Worse, if you slide two steps down for every step up, you go backwards!
To climb a sand dune successfully, you have to take more steps upwards than you slide downwards. I’ve climbed sand dunes; it’s hard; it takes effort (or a dune buggy).
The thing about social progress is that, without real effort towards moving upwards, society tends to slide backwards. Or just stay in place.
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7 Comments | tags: gun control, gun debate, gun laws, gun ownership, guns, movie violence, Quentin Tarantino, The Dark Knight Returns, TV violence, violence, violence in movies, violent society | posted in Politics, Rant
Well, here we are in 2016, a Presidential election year, and — man, oh man — it’s going to be a weird one! High waters from several rivers seems to be converging to form a flood unlike any we’ve seen in modern politics. And while that’s kind of fascinating from a sociology perspective, as a citizen some of it seems kind of scary.
As I write this, actual rivers are flooding Midwestern cities in the USA, but the rivers I have in mind are reality shows, the interweb, and our social environment (where global unrest and terrorism is a primary topic). The flood here is a lack of sense, nuance, and thoughtfulness.
My question today: When did we so fully embrace lies and illusion?
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17 Comments | tags: Anyone But Trump, Bernie Sanders, cable news, democracy, Democratic Party, democratic society, dialectic, Donald Trump, Election 2016, evil, GOP, Hillary Clinton, illusion, lies, Marco Rubio, politicians, Republican Party, rhetoric, social change, social issues, social media, Ted Cruz, Trump is a loser, Trump is a monster, truth | posted in Politics, Rant
I’ve been watching the cable news a lot lately, and it fills me with dismay. I’m seeing coming to fruition a crop that I’ve been warning about for over 40 years. I’ve referred to it as the Death of a Liberal Arts Education.
As this crop of useless weeds chokes the life out of the nutritious and necessary political and social fauna and flora, I find that we’ve arrived at an even greater loss: Utter Dialectic Failure!
That’s a topic for future posts. Right now I want to ask:
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16 Comments | tags: Anyone But Trump, Bernie Sanders, democracy, Democratic Party, democratic society, dialectic, Donald Trump, Election 2016, GOP, Hillary Clinton, Marco Rubio, politicians, Republican Party, rhetoric, social change, social issues, social media, Ted Cruz, Trump is a loser, Trump is a monster, violent society | posted in Politics, Rant
So now we have 12/2 to go along with 9/11. And while the death and injury this time isn’t of the magnitude it was 14 years ago. The hysteria seems to be greater. Only five days after the tragedy, the leading Republican candidate engages in a form of hate speech not seen in mainstream American politics since Joe McCarthy.
To say that I’m appalled doesn’t begin to describe it. That people cheer on and support this blustering carnival barker speaks directly to the decline of real American values and principles. Trump is a childish clown seeing how much he can get away with.
It’s the people who follow him that scare the crap out of me. The ignorance and lack of critical thought is — as I have long said — very dangerous.
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46 Comments | tags: 12/2, 9-11, Anyone But Trump, democracy, Democratic Party, democratic society, Dick Cheney, Donald Sterling, Donald Trump, Election 2016, GOP, Hillary Clinton, Joe McCarthy, Leon Wieseltier, Marco Rubio, politicians, Republican Party, social change, social issues, social media, Ted Cruz, terrorism, Trump is a loser, Trump is a monster | posted in Opinion, Politics
You did, too, right? (Non-USA residents excused.)
2 Comments | tags: democracy, Democratic Party, democratic society, Election 2014, Election Day, government, I voted, politicians, USA, USAnian, vote | posted in Life, Politics
I’m not sure Eric Clapton is the greatest guitar player ever. I can think of a number of other guitar “gods” that seem in his class (Carlos Santana and Lindsey Buckingham, to name just two). But I am pretty sure the late (great!) George Carlin was without peer. I can’t think of anyone else who lasted longer (50 years!), worked harder, gave us so many classic bits or been more consistently good. He died in 2008, at 71, having done his 14th HBO special just four months earlier.
I thought he went through an angry period (the 1990s, maybe?) where he seemed to lash out indiscriminately at everything and everyone. He seemed a little less funny to me then, but he was never really wrong… just angry. I only ever really disagreed with him once.
And that was on his view that you shouldn’t vote.
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40 Comments | tags: Carlos Santana, democracy, Democratic Party, democratic soc, Election Day, Eric Clapton, George Carlin, government, I voted, Lindsey Buckingham, politicians, USA, USAnian, vote | posted in Life, Politics
I would say that I’ve been watching the goings on in Congress with growing horror, but my horror-level with regard to politics these days is largely tapped out. I’d also like to say that Great Evil must be at work here, because no one could possibly be as stupid as to participate in — or as to allow — this horror show. Unfortunately, there seems no limit to human stupidity, and perhaps Hanlon’s Razor* applies: “Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.”
I’d already been pondering the spectrum that leads from discontent through activism and ultimately to terrorism. In the USA, we saw extreme activism with regard to civil rights. And we’ve certainly seen terrorism throughout the world, including on our own shores.
Lately, I think you can view the Republicans as having become home-grown terrorists!
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15 Comments | tags: asshats, Congress, Democrat, GOP, government, Republican, Republican Party, stupidity, terrorism | posted in Politics, Rant
It’s bad enough now in politics (and for all I know, it has been ever thus) that one winds up so often voting for the least worst candidate. This year many of us are faced with having to vote against a candidate we feel would be real disaster for the country.
I’m speaking, of course, of the Republican contender for the Presidency, Mitt Romney. It’s hard for me to understand how someone like him got as far as he did, but the Republicans are the ones who thought Sarah Palin was a good idea.
I never imagined I would write about politics here, but the current situation seems to demand all able bodies speaking up and making their voices heard. I doubt anything I write will change anyone’s mind, and so this may be nothing more than a rant.
But apparently this is my week to rant about stuff that’s going on. I started the week ranting about NCIS, now I rant about politics.
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3 Comments | tags: Barack Obama, Between the Bridge and the River, Craig Ferguson, Election 2012, Mitt Romney, Obama-Romney debate, vote, weasel | posted in Politics, Rant
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