Thers' Day

Huh.

How the hell does someone who writes like this:

American's by and large DO believe in "free markets, free people, and in the greatness of the American people and the American nation". Only slackers whose greatest accomplishment is conquering World of Warcraft think otherwise. Most of us - "who aren't morons" believe that we should be free, that we are a great people and that America rocks.

have the nerve to criticize the intellectual capabilities of someone who writes like this:

No. My point was, rather, that it's a pretty pisspoor showing for Movement Conservatism to have labored mightily since the 1960s in the crucible of intense ideological struggle, only to ultimately bear forth... "America rocks." Perhaps if these deep thinkers are alloted another 40 years they might likewise determine that ice cream is delicious. That is if they can ever figure out how to keep it the fuck out of their nostrils.

The conservative movement certainly has a recent history of not knowing when it's in way over its head. But Thers at Whiskey Fire has a mastery of the language that you might think would cause even the most blindly arrogant of whackjobs pause. Certainly one could do better than calling him a slacker. Or maybe one couldn't.

Disapointment All Around

Nothing is quite as face-palmingly irritating as two bloggers I respect making asses of themselves in some sort of clumsy battle of wills against each other.

Wil Wheaton started it with his "hillary clinton: the psycho ex-girlfriend of the democratic party" blog post. Wil's a good guy, he has admirable politics, and I really respect that he, pretty much all by himself, acts as the American celebrity advocate for voluntary nerdiness. This blog post wasn't nearly as awful as it's been made out to be, but it isn't in particularly good taste either. Wil could have, and should have, done better.

Zuzu, the newest addition to team Shakesville, responded with a ham-fisted overreaction. While Wil was a bit harsher on Clinton personally than I can comfortably condone, his post wasn't misogynist or sexist in nature. It was a poorly-titled screed about the fact that Clinton staying in the race is bad for the Democratic Party. It didn't really have anything to do with her gender outside of the title. But Zuzu turned it into some sort of diatribe about how women aren't allowed to be ambitious, which it clearly wasn't. She also used that ridiculous, condescending pretending-to-be-sweet thing that drives me up a fucking wall, calling Wil "pumpkin" while implying he's a dick. Wil's a pretty easy target, as far as celebrities go. I'm not impressed that Zuzu decided to take him on at all, but even less so that she obviously takes advantage of his status as an outsider to condescend to him.

So Wil updated his post, and didn't help matters by doing so. Somebody should point out to him that you can't tell people what they can and can't be offended over. It never goes over well. His point is valid... the original post did not reflect misogyny, but calling people humorless is never a convincing form of self defense. It did come off as flailing... kind of.

Zuzu, as one might expect, reacted with mocking derision to Wil's piss-poor attempt to explain himself, managing to come off as twice the dick Wil did in the first place. She goes back to feigned sweetness, which, again, is way, way worse for your argument than flailing is. Seriously, don't call someone "hon" while arguing with them. It's a cowardly tactic, it's condescending, and it makes you look like an idiot. Stop. She also loses by completely misrepresenting what Wil said, out of quotes but meant to look like a quote, when she says, "Wil then tries to say that, sure, he called Clinton a bitch, but that's because she acts like one, so it's all okay!" Wil never called Clinton a bitch, Wil never admitted to calling Clinton a bitch, and it's a totally unfair, Republicanesque tactic to make it sound otherwise.

So Zuzu wins the "Who's The Biggest Asshole In A Room Full Of Assholes" competition, for employing the absolute worst form of condescending infantilization and gross misrepresentation. Congratulations.

The real point is, these two people should be allies. I guarantee that they both hate John McCain more than they love Barak Obama and Hillary Clinton, respectively. So why are they at each other's throats? Because Democrats, liberals, and progressives have lost all sense of perspective. We seem to have forgotten who the enemy really is. So keeping splitting us up by engaging in these stupid arguments. We'll see how well that works for us in November.

This Freeper Blogger Has Had Enough!

I just stumbled over this while doing a search for something unrelated over at FreeRepublic.com, and it made me laugh out loud.

An honest disagreement is one thing, but there is a phenomenon going around the internet, mostly at the expense of conservative bloggers like me, known as baiting.

These are liberals who get some kind of perverse pleasure by visiting conservative blogs and trying to harass them or tie them in knots. Their favorite technique is to seize on some trivial point or side issue and argue with it, completely disregarding the main point of the article. Another technique is to hunt for some reference that disputes something you have said – easy to do in a world where the liberal press is publishing lies daily and where situations change rapidly.

-PurpleMountains

Oh, yes. Those dirty, dirty liberal trolls. Always pulling some underhanded trick, like holding you accountable for arguments you've written and presenting researched data that disputes your claims. It's madness, I tell you. There you Freepers are, trying to create a nice, insular world, free from dissenting opinions and the rigid boundaries of reality, and some jerk has to come in and spoil it by pointing out all of their factual errors. Have you no sense of decency, Liberals? At long last, have you no sense of decency?

Blogs of Note

Yeah, yeah, I know. Sorry. It has been a really busy few weeks, and on top of that I've been worried about my health. When I get worried about my health, I tend to lose all focus, so any activity that takes more than a few minutes is automatically out. So there it is. I'll try to pick the pace up again.

I've been tagged by The Angry Sicilian himself, so I figure I'd better come out of hibernation to keep it going. Don't let it be said that I sat back and let a meme die.

Here are the Rules:
1. Once you are tagged, you must write up short review for 5 blogs that you read regularly, including the blog of the person that tagged you.
2. Leave a comment tagging the blogs you've reviewed, telling them to continue the meme.
3. If someone writes a review of your blog, you must respond by writing a review of their blog (unless you've already written one for them).
4. After a few days, you must write a post compiling what all the other bloggers say about you, good or bad, true or untrue.

Now, there's a gap in the rules there... what if the blog that tags you is not a blog you read regularly? It's not a problem for me; I read the Angry Sicilian. But it may be an issue for some of the blogs I tag. So, for my part, I excuse my taggees from having to write up my blog. If you don't read it, don't review it.

That said, here are my five four blogs, in no particular order. (Sorry. I only read 4 blogs regularly that aren't too big for this kind of activity)

The Angry Sicilian:
Great political and social commentary from Chicago. Not nearly as irate as the name would suggest. Usually he's just critical of bad politics, and often he's very tired. (Planning a wedding can do that to you.) Always worth reading, with a lot of good insight on unusual topics.

The Radioactive Quill:
Amy at the Quill is probably my favorite blogger on the web, and the Radioactive Quill deserves a lot of the readership that swarms to more popular but inferior group blogs. She's a feminist and proudly liberal, but she shuns the mob mentality and irrational fervor that too often make me shy away from others who share those labels. She's also witty, profound and sharper than... uh... something really, really sharp.

redjenny:
Quite simply the best political commentary blog coming out of Canada. Red Jenny is on top of a lot of issues that would otherwise fly under the radar, and she's incredibly well researched. It's not updated terribly frequently (like I'm one to talk), but what it lacks in frequency it more than makes up for in depth of content.

Slacker Nation:
I may disagree with Weird at Slacker Nation with some regularity, but that doesn't mean I don't take his opinions seriously. Slacker Nation is libertarianism well-defined and well-argued. It's rare to find someone with whom one disagrees politically on so many issues, but with whom one can still have rational, friendly discourse. At least for me, anyway. If all Republicans were like Weird, I still wouldn't rejoin the party, but I'd certainly respect them as a well-informed, rational political party instead of the bloviating circus sideshow they actually are.

So that's it for my blog reviews. I'll be back later with some opinions and stuff.

There's No Place Like Home

Oh, man... I still can't keep my nose out of the Syracuse Post-Standard opinion pages, and here's a brilliant example of what keeps me coming back.

To the Editor:

"Lolz. Blogs r the gr8est thing Eva! Idk wat I'd do if I couldn't blog evryday!" That's an impression of a chronic blogger.

Bloggers are getting out of control! Even though some may have valid arguments, the majority are just trying to reach out to anyone who agrees with them.

There seem to be blogs for everything: food, Pokemon and everything that has happened in their entire life. People got along just fine for millennia without blogs, so there's no possible way that they could be that important to anyone.

Advice to bloggers: Write a diary! That way, you can pour your heart out without bothering me. If you really need to tell me about your day, call me.

What? You don't know me? Exactly why I do not need to know about you and your day.

If you want to know anything more about me, just read my blog. Just kidding!

Jamie Parmele

Jamie apparently thinks the best way to stop people from expressing personal opinions publicly is to... write a letter to the editor and have his personal opinions published.

People got along fine before newspapers too, Jamie, but that didn't stop you from putting your ill-conceived little thoughts on paper and sending them along, did it?

Advice to Jamie: If you don't like blogs, you might do well to avoid reading blogs. The problem seems to be less about the method other people use as an outlet, and more about the fact that you can't control your web browser.

Also: Never, under any circumstances, explain that you're doing an impression of someone. If it's not obvious, it's not funny. Ever.

Jammies Wearing Fool Quote of the Week

I'm really starting to enjoy Jammies Wearing Fool almost as some sort of social satire without self-awareness. I really want it to be the work of some brilliant performance artist, but I don't think that's likely. Instead, the site and its appropriately-monikered administrator stand out as a shining example of why neoconservatism is stuck in a pattern of self-parody. Also, it's a constant reminder of why I'm not a Republican anymore. There may be crazies on both sides, but left-wing crazies usually have good intentions. Right-wing crazies are almost always selfish, self-righteous jerks looking out for their own interests at the expense of others. I believe wisdom lies somewhere closer to the center, but I'd rather be closer to the people who still make an effort to work for the greater good.

I'm still banned from commenting on Jammies Wearing Fool, which is too bad, because he's such a muse to me. Apparently, as I discussed earlier, JWF does not like anything to shake his world view that the only people who could possibly disagree with him are crazy or psychotic.

Here's a little bit of inarguable truth from JWF this week, as written by contributor 3 Wood. It's great in that it needs so little commentary.

After a somewhat loopy discussion of John Edward's plan to eliminate hunger in America, including a disturbingly surreal comparison of the economies of the United States and Zimbabwe:

Hey Edwards, I have some suggestions for you.

1. Get out your own check book and get your hands off of mine.

2. Go put the arm on some of your fat cat friends for a contribution.

3. Get your hands off of the economy, too.

-3 Wood

Yeah, John Edwards! If you want to help people, go out and do it yourself! Don't go putting pressure on me in the form of social change! I don't want any of this irritating substance you call 'responsibility'! Go 'put the arm' on your friends, who probably also won't know what 'putting the arm' on someone means! Also, get your hands off the economy that you don't at all have your hands currently on and would only get to have a say in if you were elected by a majority of electoral college votes in a fair presidential election, imparting upon you the mandate of the people to do so!

Here's a bonus gem from the comments page:

FWIW, Edwards overstated "the hungry" in America by a factor of three; per the USDA, there are 35.5 million "Food insecure" but only about 11 million are in the "Very low food security" group that actually experiences hunger.
- Tom Maguire

Dude, only 11 million people in dire need of food on a constant basis? In the whole country? Man, yeah, that's NOTHING!

Ah, compassionate conservatism, do you ever cease in disproving your own existence?

Random Bits

It's been quiet here of late, I know. I haven't been feeling very well. Something is off in my throat and neck, and so far I have no idea what it is. My throat is intermittently sore, and my neck is almost constantly stiff and fatigued on the left side. It's coming up negative for an infection, and there's no visual issue in my throat. I go for an MRI today... joy. I had one years ago, and I have vague but generally unpleasant memories of lying in a banging tube for 45 minutes.

Just some things I've been thinking on lately:

Nintendo Fires a Blogger
This isn't the first time an company has fired an employee for blogging. It always annoys me, but in most cases you can see the employer's side. In this instance, however, the blogger did not use her real name and made no mention of her employer. Now, granted, the blog is terrible... skimming through it, my eyes rolled frequently at the artificial 'edginess'. That aside, it's ridiculous to be fired for anonymous writing.

Batshit Dude Cuts Down 'Illegal' Flag

Okay, a few things about this. First of all, flag display laws are ridiculous and a violation of the first amendment. Hell, even back in 9th grade I stopped saying the Pledge of Allegiance, because my allegiance is to a set of ideal about human value and liberty, and not a piece of cloth that could just as easily be waved over a country that supported torture, imperialism, and rampant xenophobia. Also, this douche videotaped himself engaged in illegal destruction of property and theft. Look at the guys watching him... do they look like they want to fight? No, like most immigrants, they look like they want to work, and can't figure out why some bearded nutbag hates them for it. Xenophobia is not, historically speaking, a good sign for the continued prosperity of a nation. That the news ran this story as they did suggests we're there.

Cruel Nostalgia
Why is it that, after almost 10 years, you can have a dream in which someone you once knew shows up in a walk-on cameo appearance, and you can spend the entire next day feeling as awful and insecure as that person once made you feel, even though you've successfully dealt with and gotten over the events of a decade previous? It's like some sort of self-sabotage. Look, brain, I long ago decided that the person in question was poisonous to my mental health. Please refrain from creating scenarios where she stands in front of me in line at Cosi. Thank you.