November 26, 2010

Rep Todd Akin is either a fucking idiot, or lying

Because he's wrong. Incredibly, wildly, laughably wrong.
He's wrong in the same way that people saying that the moon is made of cheese are wrong.
He's wrong in the same way that people saying that the earth rests on the back of a giant space turtle are wrong.

But what sucks most of all is that it does not matter that he is wrong. It does not matter that he is either saying this because he thinks it's true- making him a complete fucking idiot and the product of horribly failed parenting-- or saying this knowing full well what bullshit it is (which, arguably, still makes him the product of horribly failed parenting.)




The reason that it doesn't matter, is because people on the right wing of our political spectrum in the USA ARE fucking idiots. They don't CARE if he's lying or not. What matters is that what he's saying SOUNDS GOOD TO THEM.

Just like they don't care that there were no WMD's in Iraq.
Just like they don't care that Saddam Hussien had nothing to do with 9-11.
Just like they don't care that removing regulations from the market is what triggered the economic collapse.
Just like they don't care that NAFTA and the WTO have created a vacuum that sucked all the jobs out of the USA.

They don't fucking care at all. In fact, they'll keep voting for people who spout bullshit like this, because they are INCREDIBLY FUCKING STUPID. I would not be surprised if when the GOP cuts all their social services (which poor white people are the biggest recipients of) to our collapsing banana republic, that they throw a big parade for the GOP.

It wouldn't be so bad that they were so incredibly stupid if it weren't for the fact that they're also wrong about everything. And thanks to low voter turnout in 2010, now the gov't represents the fucking stupids in the Tea Party who actually bothered to go out and vote. Great job cynical lefties. Way to "protest" by not voting. Thanks a bunch.

16 comments:

  1. Well some of the earliest american societies like the Amish and Mennonites are socialist, and the Bible promotes what he'd call socialism, and also the early United States are arguably socialistic in it's approach to corporations charted by the states.

    Oh, they'll never care, they live in their fantasy land.

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  2. I think I'm a little dumber for having listened to this.

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  3. @ Progressive Audio-- everything he said is wrong. There's almost no point in going down the line about how wrong he is. It's just complete and utter bullshit.

    What is the phrase? "Every word out of his mouth was a lie, except for 'the' and 'and' and even THEY weren't true."

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  4. It's so laughable to even think that the pilgrims were anti-socialist, considering socialism didn't even exist as a specific theory at the time. I'm no history professor, but I believe Europe was primarily a series of constitutional monarchies, and England specifically had a significant corporate-friendly atmosphere. I suspect that the early colonial towns in America were closer to communes than representative democracies, considering the necessity of teamwork and cooperation to survive.

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  5. Why the fuck would you write this? What is it that you think you're creating here? News? Journalism? Do you think you're spurring the spread of knowledge by writing this? Is this igniting political interest in the hearts and minds of your readers? Read what YOU wrote again... There is nothing there... No information. No speculation on government policy. No account of historical fact. No suggestion for future action. This is shit. You copied and pasted a URL of an old man, who is admittedly not going to be winning any story-telling contests any time soon, sharing a story with his colleagues about something he read about the origin of T-Day. Our political leaders enjoy the holidays, too. He wasn't 'spreading commy propaganda', justifying an unjust war, slandering a political opponent, or attacking a political theory. He was telling a holiday story....

    After copying and pasting this URL you proceeded to rant about politics. I use the word rant here because it was a multi-level attack created out of thin air, I'm guessing just because a capital R appeared on the front of his name tag. Your mind presumably vomited all over your keyboard and the result unquestionably holds no journalistic value whatsoever. Christ, my four year old can make a better argument than, "They're stupid and they're always wrong and I hate them."

    Now comb the chunks of sensitivity out of your chops, dry those eyes and get back at 'em! Your ideas about the economy suggest there's a brain in there somewhere. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt on this one and assume you were fucking shitfaced when this was written, but this particular piece is fucking pointless, and I believe you know it.

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  6. WHY is he lying though? To propagate his political ideas? Gain the upper-hand in Congress? No... He's not a diabolical mastermind out to mislead the masses and fuck up the world through subversive means like propaganda-riddled Thanksgiving stories. And he's not out to GET YOU!!! AHHH! He's just not as eloquent as you apparently would prefer, but focusing on these few particular phrases in this otherwise-meaningless clip and tearing into him and his ideas like that is way out of proportion. I guess I'm saying that I believe you misinterpreted his message on the whole and that I'm surprised so much was read into the 15 seconds of it that included the attack-signaling keyword: socialism.

    The Pilgrims fled a powerful government that had it's ever-reaching hand in many aspects of society, including but not limited to religion. BIG GOVERNMENT. This and other ideas related to modern socialism far preceded the coining of the word. Look at the history of Europe more closely (ie feudalism) and you might see why they peaced-out. On the other hand, 'socialism' is used far too often by politicians and media-outlets as an umbrella word with the intended connotation of 'un-American'. In many ways it's like yelling fire in a theater, and is increasingly used to produce the same effect as the word 'communism' did during the Cold War - to incite emotion/fear/hatred/whatever... which is fucked up.

    However, forms of socialism as a way of providing for communities existed long before Merriam-Webster got involved. Arguing linguistics is trivial.

    He is incorrect in his use of the word. He is not representative of anyone but himself. This clip is not indicative of corrupt politics or an incompetent political ideology. Fuck, do you think anyone was watching this and thinking, "I should probably take notes... This is some good stuff!!!" I am not 'lapping it up' and laughing about it with my GOP pals while we shun homosexuals. I'm just surprised to see this on a blog as esteemed as yours. You have some good stuff on here - forward, thought-provoking stuff. But this is not one of them. This is pointless at best and emotional, partisan, diarrhea-of-the-mouth at worst.

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  7. Negative, attack ads increase frustration with American politics in general and lead to (even) lower voter turnout (my problem with this article).

    So what do we do?

    Logically, it's the lazy, corn-fed idiots that don't vote (over half the country) who have the largest potential to cause real, systemic change/progress, contingent, of course, upon their hypothetical future participation in the vote. After all, they are the least indoctrinated into this political affiliation BS as well as the system as a whole. Their hands as well as their minds are clean of it. But keep in mind some of the largest subgroups of the non-voter population are the extremely poor, the uneducated, and the youngest generation of eligible voters. This is who we must put our faith in to enact change? The people arguably affected most by our stagnant government and gimp economy are also those who participate least in it? Is that karma or just irony? What do we do?

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  8. The term "socialist" and even communist actually existed long before the socialist and communist movements of the 19th and 20th Century. And besides, the earliest american societies were among the closest things to socialism the worlds ever seen, indeed the Amish and Mennonites, and many Mormon groups are "socialist." All ironically religious groups too. So this asshole is dead wrong.

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  9. I'd like to think Ryan is right on the subject of name calling and the like. While it's perfectly understandable to be frustrated, I'm actually a little shocked to see a legitimate, dictionary-defined rant out of you. You win no favors by alienating others, except for those who already agree with you. But I'm certain you already know that.

    On the other hand, Ryan, I think you've missed the point. I've seen so many people make completely incomprehensible arguments based on their own ignorance-based assertions and oversimplification, and to see this happen in a political arena regardless of the presence of a political agenda (or lack thereof) is appalling. My reasons are this: it's not about whether he knows he's wrong, but that he BELIEVES he's right.

    As was stated, most people don't care about the facts, because it sounds good, however the only reason that it sounds good is because people who seem to be most passionate about these leaders don't care about the facts. That being said, any step in the wrong direction under any circumstances will inevitably take you in the wrong direction.

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  10. So, what, now we're against sharing? Is this how far down the American political system has gone?

    Newsflash, the pilgrims were EXTREMELY communalistic, and were against "desire", which is a cornerpoint of consumer capitalism. (I"m not saying I'm against desire, just describing how they were) To say they abandoned their way of life in favor of "Capitalism", is ridiculous, as capitalism as they know it didn't hit the United States until the late 1800s (Ya know, the industrial revolution?)

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  11. Absolutely, I agree. When confronted with such baffling bullshit, I believe the only appropriate weapon is ridicule.

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  12. The most disturbing part is, people are actually backing him on this.

    *facepalm*

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  13. The idea of the pilgrims leaving England to avoid religious persecution is an over-simplification. The Mayflower set out only a couple decades before the English civil war, when things were getting really bad for any non-Anglican in England, but there were also economic restrictions that were stifling the lives of these people. Like the corporate oligarchy we have today, it was a system where only established business interests got their way, usually because they had access to government through birthright, bribes or providing military support to the king. Non-establishment political activists were subject to imprisonment, branding and mutilation. These people were looking not only for a place they could worship and speak freely, but also one where they wouldn't be jailed without trial or convicted without evidence, where high rents and low wages wouldn't make them de-facto slaves, where government wouldn't seize their property and hand it over to friends of the crown. Basically they'd be telling us to close Guantanamo, raise the minimum wage, establish strong third parties, limit lobbying and oppose TARP.

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  14. Thanks for that James, I knew there were economic components to their journey, but I knew it wasn't because the fled "socialism".

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  15. Just to dismiss this idea the Pilgrims were some anti socialist good GOP republican type, here's some quotes from the Bible that they took to heart:

    Exodus 22
    24 And my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.
    25 If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not be like a moneylender; charge him no interest.

    Luke 18
    21 And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up.
    22 Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.

    Leviticus 25
    35 'If one of your countrymen becomes poor and is unable to support himself among you, help him as you would an alien or a temporary resident, so he can continue to live among you.
    36 Do not take interest of any kind from him, but fear your God, so that your countryman may continue to live among you.
    37 You must not lend him money at interest or sell him food at a profit.

    Ezekiel 18
    13 He lends at usury and takes excessive interest.
    Will such a man live? He will not! Because he has done all these detestable things, he will surely be put to death and his blood will be on his own head.

    Acts 4:32
    The entire group of believers held everything in common, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions. Any who owned houses or land sold them, and the money they laid at the feet of the apostles.

    The Bible sounds like a socialist rag to me.

    Also, most "socialist" societies back then were anti-modernist, religious and extremely conformist, socialist and leftist as they are called now didn't become modernist and progressive until far later.

    Just to add some fun, the Pilgrims didn't make a model government or a free society in Massachusetts, it was so theocratic and oppressive Providence was formed for people fleeing it, that's what eventually became Rhode Island

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  16. Since you showed some interest in the verses I showed, here's some more info on evil biblical socialism:

    http://www.thebricktestament.com/the_teachings_of_jesus/on_wealth/mt06_19plk12_15.html

    http://www.thebricktestament.com/acts_of_the_apostles/accept_communism_or_die/ac04_32p34-35.html

    http://www.thebricktestament.com/the_law/lending_money/ex22_24.html

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberation_theology

    http://rationalrevolution.net/articles/contradictions_inherent_in_ameri.htm

    Glad I could help.

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