SavageDem

"I don't belong to an organized political party – I'm a Democrat." – Will Rogers

Blog

  • Be Scared. And Then Do Something.

    You should be very concerned. Scared, even. There are people trying to take away everything you have. Your freedom. Your rights. Your family.

    It’s a tipping point in America: we are on the verge of losing our democracy and everything we believe sets our country apart. This is not hyperbole. We have one major governmental party that has given up all pretense of advocating for the populace, and instead is laser-focused on burning everything to the ground to achieve power for a small number of individuals. The Republican Party no longer exists as an entity that stands for the so-called “conservative” values of smaller government, fiscal restraint, and constitutionalism; it has become a sham party that installs racists, neo-Nazis, and zealots, people with no discernable qualifications to be in government barring their slavish devotion to the cult of Trump.

    There is no “both sides do it” argument here. We came within a whisker of a coup – having our government stolen from under us! – in the last election. Trump tried to use the Russian government to get elected! Republicans continue to try to make it impossible to vote unless you are white. These are not debatable statements: unless you go “la-la-la-la!” and put your hands over your ears and eyes and only watch Faux News, you have watched every day for the past 6+ years as these events happen.

    Now maybe you’re one of those people who says, “I don’t really get into politics”. You’re fine.

    You sit at your desk.
    You have Chick-fil-A for lunch on Thursday.
    You watch Yellowstone.
    You have a couple of beers.

    Most likely you don’t care too much because you’re white. You’re at least middle-class. These things don’t affect you…or so you believe. I’d start paying attention. You may think it’s only the black guy, the poor guy, the “other” guy that’s going to be affected. Heck, maybe you even think, “Gosh-darn it, that’s really quite unfortunate”, even as you pop open your third Busch Light. But these things WILL affect you. You know how 90% of Americans only have 23% of the wealth of this country, while the top 10% has 77% (including the top 1% that has 38%!)? Guess what: YOU are not in the top 10%. And it’s going to get worse if you don’t do something. Maybe you think racism doesn’t affect you. Or religious extremism. A bunch of people in Germany thought the same 85 years ago. Remember the poem by Martin Niemöller, which ends: “Then they came for me – and there was no one left to speak for me”.

    The whole promise of America is that we are a free and equal country. No matter the color of our skin. No matter what gender we are. No matter how we identify our gender – or lack thereof. No matter who we love. No matter to what god we pray – or do not pray. There are people right now actively trying to take that away from you. They are not “freedom lovers”. They are not “patriots”. They want to make you conform to their idea of how you should be: that is not freedom.

    There is one good way to combat this: vote. And yes, I will say it: vote Democratic. The Democratic party is the only party that is doing anything to help 99% of Americans. That is not to say they are perfect – far from it. But when you are facing the evil we are right now – and it *is* evil – then you must choose the better path, even if imperfect.

  • You are not a virologist, so STFU

    I do not suffer fools gladly. And there are a lot of fools that are causing me – and this world – suffering right now. The fools of whence I speak are those refusing to get vaccinated for COVID-19. And note I clearly say “refusing” – I am not referring to the very small percentage of people who cannot currently get vaccinated.

    Guess what, science-denier? Your opinion about the health risks of coronavirus means nothing. Actually, less than nothing. If you have some asinine belief about this virus that runs counter to ALL the science available, let me ask you these questions:

    • Are you a medical doctor?
    • Are you a virologist?
    • Have you spent years studying infectious diseases?

    If this answer is “no” to any of these questions, then Shut. The. Fuck. Up. Because you have NO IDEA what you are talking about.

    When you are getting your hair cut/colored/African-braided/mohawked, do you say to your stylist, “(Wo)man, my AMC Pacer makes this weird-ass noise and kicks out a ton of smoke when I step on it. Do you think the bypass valve actuator is wonky?” NO. Because your stylist is an expert in HAIR, not in the finer mechanical details of your ridiculously-customized 1980s ugliest-car-ever-made!

    When you finally take your bubble-windowed chick-repellant wheels down to Rodney’s Motor Emporium to get your bypass valve actuator detailed, or routed, or re-greased, or whatever they do to bypass valve actuators, do you ask Rodney, “Dude, I’ve got $200 grand in T-bills right now that are killing me with low yields. Do you think I should dump them into that CNRG ETF?” NO. Because while Rodney is hella good in replacing your blinker fluid, he is not a financial expert. And he’s much more conservative than you are financially and keeps most of his assets in bonds, anyway…

    So I’m not sure if we’re clear on this yet: YOU ARE NOT AN EPIDEMIOLOGIST (but if you are, then please contact me, as I’d love to talk about this stuff!). So you do not have any advice, opinion, knowledge, tidbit, idea, thought, or musing about coronavirus vaccinations that means more than the fecal material from the damn Jensen’s dog stuck to the bottom of your sandal that you got from walking out to the mailbox this morning.

    Get yo’ ass vaccinated. It isn’t political. It isn’t a conspiracy. Your friend’s uncle that got liver spots and boils after his vaccination doesn’t really exist. Science rules.

  • Ode to a Loser. HUGE loser.

    The Orange Idiot
    His imbecilic untruths
    They vex me bigly.

  • Thinking Is Hard

    I’m beginning to doubt this evolution stuff. Take away the facial hair – although that’s now back in style – loincloths, and woolly mammoths, change hunting/gathering to shopping/eating out, and we haven’t changed much in 40,000 years. Oh sure, we’ve got bigger brains and (some people) walk more upright and we’ve got iPads and space rockets and $5 frappés; but most people still can’t – or won’t – think.

    After all, it’s much simpler to watch “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo” than to try and understand health care legislation. To play “Angry Birds Star Wars” than comprehend the inanity of the “debt ceiling.” To rail about how you’re being taxed to death than to actually read and find out that your taxes are at a historic low and have only gone down in the last four years.

    Thinking is hard. People are lazy. And that’s why we have Fox News. It’s “news” for people that don’t want to think. There’s really no other explanation for it. Many people are content being spoon-fed a simple black and white message tailored to their ideological prejudices. It doesn’t matter that five minutes of using the Google machine could provide countless factual rebuttals to the propaganda being perpetuated by the proponents of perfidy; that’s too much work. Better to believe the convenient lies than activate some dusty neurons.

    I apologize for my ranting. I grow more and more frustrated with the apathy of our population. And this is exacerbated when I see bourbon-besotted bozos like John Boehner lying with impunity to the American public and putting party before the economic future of our country. As has always been the case, knowledge is power. And those who put their personal interests over those of the country seek to manipulate the populace through withholding knowledge. Or willfully distorting it. The only way to fight back is to not be satisfied with what the talking head on the TV machine tells you. You must arm yourself with data, put aside preconceived notions, and use the enlarged cerebrum that – theoretically – separates us from our ancient forebears. Be a seeker of truth. Think! Even when it’s difficult.

  • Mmmmmm….beer

    In these days of the explosion of craft beers, it becomes more and more important to determine what truly IS a beer. This is what the Australian government defines as beer (from the recently amended Excise Tariff Act 1921):

    Beer means a brewed beverage that:

    (a) is the product of the yeast fermentation of an aqueous extract, being predominantly an aqueous extract of cereals:

    (i) whether the cereals are malted or unmalted; and

    (ii) whether or not the aqueous extract contains other sources of carbohydrates; and

    (b) contains:

    (i) hops, or extracts of hops, such that the beverage has international bitterness units of not less than 4.0; or

    (ii) other bitters such that the beverage has a bitterness comparable to that of a beverage mentioned in subparagraph (i); and

    (c) contains not more than 4.0% by weight of sugars; and

    (d) has not had added to it, at any time, artificial sweetener; and

    (e) may have had added to it, at any time, other substances, including flavours, but only if, in the case of substances that contain alcohol (other than spirit distilled from beer), the alcohol did not add more than 0.5% to the total volume of the final beverage; and

    (f) may have had added to it, at any time, spirit distilled from beer, but only if that spirit did not add more than 0.5% to the total volume of the final beverage; and

    (g) contains more than 1.15% by volume of alcohol.

  • You Might Be a Fundamentalist If…

    John Fugelsang has an easy 5-step process to determine if you’re a fundamentalist. I like it, I can dance to it, I give it a 42.

    You might be a fundamentalist if:

    • You believe women are inferior and need to be told how to manage their bodies
    • You don’t like the gays
    • You think God is okay with violence…as long as it’s for your cause
    • You believe your religion is the only true faith
    • You have a a lot of hang-ups with sex, who does it, and how they do it

  • Jesus Wept

    Pop quiz: what do you see here first? Ovaries and a uterus? A “holy” couple? Or discrimination, ignorance, and misguided theology?

    Stupid Sign

  • There’s No “There” There

    If you really consider yourself someone who examines the facts – and not just an ideologue – you need to read this from Paul Krugman. The Romney/Ryan plan makes no sense. There’s no “there” there. Their numbers come from thin air. And this is not up for debate: the Congressional Budget Office says so.

  • Be Kind to Beggars, I Beg of Thee

    The merit of charity is so great that I am happy to give to 100 beggars even if only one might actually be needy. Some people, however, act as if they are exempt from giving charity to 100 beggars in the event that one might be a fraud.

    – Rabbi Chaim Halberstam, as quoted in Introduction to Judaisim: A Sourcebook

  • I’ll Take Personal Dignity for $400, Alex.

    The blockbuster news yesterday of the resignation of Best Buy’s CEO Brian Dunn – and subsequent fall-out indicating that there are “personal misconduct” issues that led to it – made me wonder: would you rather be a relatively anonymous middle-class person or a publicly-disgraced rich person?

    What is the price of personal dignity? Would you trade the security of never having to work again for the loss of respect of your family, friends, co-workers, and general public? Granted, the public’s memory is short, but still…

    I’m pretty sure I’d keep (what’s left of) my personal dignity and wallow in the (rapidly vanishing) middle class.