It’s been almost a week since I did a tweets post, so you may have been wondering where I was. Mostly, I’ve been out of town at medical appointments. For obvious reasons, I don’t announce when I’m leaving town on the internet ahead of time! When I got back, it took me a couple of days to recover. Anyway, I’m pretty much back to normal now. (Well, normal for me.) So normal service will resume!
I got back on Alabama’s election day. It was about 8pm Alabama time when I turned on CNN and within about thirty minutes it was exciting to realize I was going to be proven wrong. Although Doug Jones was still behind at that point, it was pretty clear to me that the results that were in were from counties that support Roy Moore. The outstanding results were from the high population area, and all those were going strongly Democratic.
As always, there were a lot of factors contributing to a Jones win. Turnout was very high – around 40% – which was double what was expected. A lot of that extra turnout was amongst black voters. Apparently more blacks cast a vote for Doug Jones this week than for Barack Obama in 2012!
Alabama is a state that makes it harder than just about any other for those that are more likely to vote for a Democratic candidate to vote. (Read the article at the link – you’ll find it shocking the lengths Republicans in Alabama go to in order to suppress the black vote.) Despite this, or maybe because of it, there was a huge black voter turnout. Blacks voted almost exclusively for Jones (98% of women and 93% of men). Black women in particular, who were twice as likely to vote as black men, were a big help to Jones.
There was one more thing that was the tipping point though. On Sunday, the other Alabama senator, Richard Shelby, said he couldn’t vote for Roy Moore in good conscience. He made an announcement on national television that he would write in a candidate rather than cast a vote for Moore. He was putting #CountryBeforeParty. In total, 1.7% of voters did that. If those voters had given their vote to Moore instead, he would be the new senator.
Despite all the flaws in Roy Moore as a candidate, he came very close to winning in Alabama. With a better candidate, it is likely the GOP will take the seat back in 2020 no matter how well Jones performs.
However, there is a lesson Democrats in deep-Red states should learn from this election. There is a tendency in such states for Democrats to not bother voting because they are so sure the Republicans will win. But the values of the Republican party are actually not those of the country as a whole anymore. There has been a change in recent years. A majority now support things like marriage equality, Obamacare, and even women being able to choose whether they have an abortion or not.
The US saw the change recently in Virginia where, for example, a transgender woman took the seat of the man who promoted a “bathroom” Bill. Emily’s List used to support just a few hundred women. Now it’s thousands.
Further, young people are getting involved much more than in the past and they overwhelmingly support the Democratic party. As well as the reasons above, their better record on the environment is a big reason for this. The GOP is the only major political party in the world that denies man-made climate change. Young USians, in contrast, mostly accept the reality of science.
It’s a truism that people get more conservative as they age, but they do not get stupid. They generally retain their principles too. The GOP’s supporters are dying off. They have the reputation as being only for old, rich, white, men for a reason. In the future, there just won’t be enough of them to win elections.
Political Tweets
Some interesting data on the Alabama special election.
(Via Ann German.)
A very interesting piece of data from Alabama exit polls: While White women overall voted for Moore 63 to 34, when you break out evangelical vs non you get evangelical white women 76 – 22 Moore; non-evangelical white women 74 – 21 Jones!
— Matthew Dowd (@matthewjowd) December 13, 2017
Can you see what’s happened? 😀
(Via Ann German.)
Fox News unintentionally tells the truth for once… h/t @NickDAmbrosi cc: @doctorow pic.twitter.com/dNv30pp7xc
— Christian Nightmares (@ChristnNitemare) December 11, 2017
Just sayin’.
(Via Ann German.)
It’s weird how every week brings another story of a humongous, supposedly secure company getting hacked, but everyone considers the idea of voting machines being tampered with foil hat stuff.
— Schooley (@Rschooley) December 10, 2017
On Fox News yesterday they were complaining about the amount of negative news re Trump. It was a result of an analysis by a right-wing media organisation(the name of which I forget). BUT WTF DO THEY EXPECT! There is too much from Trump that IS negative. This tweet …
Very little discussion of all the purposely false and defamatory stories put out this week by the Fake News Media. They are out of control – correct reporting means nothing to them. Major lies written, then forced to be withdrawn after they are exposed…a stain on America!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 10, 2017
Got this response …
(Via Ann German.)
As of 11/14/17, WaPo found Trump had lied or misled Americans 1628 times since inauguration, an average of 5.5 false claims a day https://t.co/FJsbtWocsT https://t.co/3CQttML66F
— Amanda Katz (@katzish) December 10, 2017
Oh, and by the way, Fox News had to apologize this week for an error. They wrongly accused a Moore accusers of forging his name in her school yearbook.
Human Rights Tweets
A lot of women will be able to identify with Lucinda Franks, who wrote the article in the link. I know I can.
(Via Ann German.)
The Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Lucinda Franks: How successful women of her era under estimated “gender degradation” https://t.co/iDhTnWyTG0
— Brent Staples (@BrentNYT) December 10, 2017
This is extremely concerning.
(Via Ann German.)
I resigned from the U.S. Department of State yesterday. This article explains why. #StateDepartment #ForeignPolicy https://t.co/yspUPUULl6
— Elizabeth Shackelford (@lizzyshackelfor) December 9, 2017
CNN and the New York Times are reporting that Trump’s daily security briefings are deliberately structured to avoid talking about the Russia situation. The reason? It sends Trump off track and they can no longer reason with him.
‘As a veteran, not seeing Prez trump openly challenge Vladimir Putin undermines my service’
‘It’s up to the citizens of this country to hold Trump accountable’
— Tomthunkit™ (@TomthunkitsMind) December 15, 2017
What a ghastly woman!
This woman ranted at fellow Starbucks patrons for not speaking English. pic.twitter.com/LugYWjbG2L
— AJ+ (@ajplus) December 15, 2017
Quinnipiac University is a respected pollster. This result means that there is bi-partisan support for an investigation.
BREAKING: 70% of Americans want Congress to investigate @realDonaldTrump for sexual harassment, according to @QuinnipiacPoll. Democrats are working to get an Oversight Committee investigation into the many allegations – retweet if you’re with us!
— Rep. Lois Frankel (@Rep Lois Frankel) December 13, 2017
Religion Tweets
(Via Ann German.)
— JedLo (@jlocke 7272) December 9, 2017
Gun Safety Tweets
Makes you think.
(Via Ann German.)
“Identity Crisis” by Michael Murphy. Always chilling. Always hits home. pic.twitter.com/sjWHtzQiSk
— Ava DuVernay (@ava) November 26, 2017
Wow! There are some very disturbed people out there.
Breaking news from the post office parking lot pic.twitter.com/QwB0844bVV
— Kelsey Dallas (@kelsey_dallas) December 7, 2017
Funny Tweets
Only in Japan! The Bing translation isn’t much help:
Using the tape measure tables cross a dangerous Undertow.
(Via Ann German,)
【巻尺を使って危険なテーブルクロス引き】 pic.twitter.com/DQkGd03X7q
— ウエスP (@uespiiiiii) December 9, 2017
Oh, the irony!
This is a white house press release about eliminating redundancy.
The blue part.
Where is my bong… pic.twitter.com/njvbUn37bg— ALT-Immigration ???? (@ALT_uscis) December 15, 2017
Entertainment Tweets
The first Star Wars movie came out when I was thirteen. I knew the dialogue off-by-heart. I’ve been a fan ever since! The latest movie premiered in New Zealand yesterday, but I won’t see it before it comes out on video.
Here are 5 things to know about Kelly Marie Tran, the breakout star of Star Wars: The Last Jedi. pic.twitter.com/vJ0ppQfkYK
— AJ+ (@ajplus) December 15, 2017
I didn’t know he ever wore a uniform!
Jimi Hendrix, pre fame pic.twitter.com/y31IC0zcLa
— History Lovers Club (@history lvrs club) December 15, 2017
I was a big fan of this show as a kid (and still am!).
On the set of Batman (1966) pic.twitter.com/PEuD6XHtkb
— History Lovers Club (@history lvrs club) December 15, 2017
History Tweets
Wow!
(Via Ann German.)
Control room of the UB-110 German submarine, 1918. pic.twitter.com/kD8igYwKJl
— Sardonicus (@RealSardonicus) December 9, 2017
I actually remember is being recommended to women to use the hula hoop while doing the housework to maintain their figures!
(Via Ann German.)
Good morning pic.twitter.com/fXze54lQH8
— Rabih Alameddine (@rabi hal a med dine) December 8, 2017
Very interesting. (Well, I think so anyway, and it’s my website.)
A canal in Venice being drained and cleaned, 1956. pic.twitter.com/jwFzKbxrgz
— Mood:Vintage (@mood vintage) December 15, 2017
Scenic Tweets
What a gorgeous setting!
Classic Brugge, Belgium. Photo by Olga pic.twitter.com/8sRgX89Ekh
— Architecture (@arch pics) December 15, 2017
Beautiful!
A serene winter scene reflecting in the waters of Loch Leven in the Scottish Highlands#EarthCapture by @PaulKingstonNNP pic.twitter.com/vXHFvkPWg4
— BBC Earth (@BBC Earth) December 15, 2017
Science Tweets
Very cool!
Awesome System – 3-D drawing on the Microsoft Surface Studio – check it out here: https://t.co/MT9Wr84cRr -Amazon pic.twitter.com/hY4Q4SQmG3
— World and Science (@World And Science) December 15, 2017
Space Tweets
FFS. SMH.
Could this asteroid actually be an alien spacecraft? pic.twitter.com/nn112gnqr4
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) December 15, 2017
I don’t know Sean Carroll, but I know I like him! 😀
I hope nobody is surprised that a rock flying through the Solar System shows no signs of being constructed by an alien civilization.
(Though are we sure we know what those signs would be?)https://t.co/d1GFNAmLNk
— Sean Carroll (@sean m carroll) December 15, 2017
Marine Tweets
I think stingrays are beautiful.
The Manta Ray:#Wild_Oceans #ScienceUnderTheSea #Nature
–https://t.co/ccBGTlKnBN— Amy Carparelli (@Amy Amy lou1993) December 11, 2017
Pareidolia! (There’s a study that says you’re neurotic if you see faces in things, but I think that’s ridiculous. Now if you started believing the faces were real, that would be a different story!)
(Via Ann German.)
This potato pic.twitter.com/HR64wmETg5
— Faces in Things (@Faces Pics) December 9, 2017
This is sad news for New Zealand!
BREAKING: 44 dolphins were caught in fishing nets in the Bay of Plenty in the last year, most of them were killed. https://t.co/GQ7zWeGMX3 pic.twitter.com/2lifIFz7vI
— Forest & Bird (@Forest_and_Bird) December 15, 2017
These are protected marine mammals. For so many to be caught in one year, in one region, is completely unacceptable
— Forest & Bird (@Forest_and_Bird) December 15, 2017
Reptile Tweets
Beautiful!
A spectacular fan-throated lizard basking in the sun. Photo by Hemant Kumar pic.twitter.com/FhhlPEZTk3
— Wild Nature (@mood wildlife) December 15, 2017
I wonder what they were doing with it?
Park employees wrestle with a snake, 1906 pic.twitter.com/FmeWig2Y2m
— Mood:Vintage (@mood vintage) December 15, 2017
What’s the bet this was a religious thing?!
Make sure he’s got a firm grip on his snake before you put your lips anywhere near it. pic.twitter.com/khIbssGDiq
— D Atten borough (@Atten boroughs_D) December 13, 2017
Actually, I find this a bit scary.
LOOK HOW CUTE pic.twitter.com/sUgqe5rdRs
— Cutest Animals Ever (@CUTEST_ANlMALS) December 13, 2017
Other Animals Tweets
The latest Cute News.
Cute News 54:#Nature #RatedAwww
–https://t.co/u1uvacVALe— Amy Carparelli (@Amy Amy lou 1993) December 14, 2017
A cool video from the Norfolk Wildlife Trust about the county’s woodlands.
WildNorfolk Pt1: Woods
with @SupportNWT #LivingLandscape #Nature #Wild_Norfolk
– https://t.co/4d2No5w7s7— Amy Carparelli (@Amy Amy lou 1993) December 12, 2017
How to get a girlfriend when you’re an Arctic Squirrel.
How an Arctic Squirrel Survives Winter – Wild Alaska: #Nature_Sunday 2: #Nature #RatedAwww
–https://t.co/wfJh2ZLSwk— Amy Carparelli (@Amy Amy lou 1993) December 10, 2017
This looks very cool. I wish I could go.
New Zealand Geographic Photographer of the Year 2017 is on now at Auckland Museum until 25 Feb. #NZGeoPhoto pic.twitter.com/D8LBspjDPQ
— Auckland Museum (@auckland museum) December 14, 2017
Great pic.
Prancing in the sky Photo by Daniel Furset pic.twitter.com/8j3AOQdSmt
— Life on Earth (@planet epics) December 15, 2017
A happy ending.
This elephant was trapped in mud for 12 hours — and is about to be rescued. (via @caters_news) pic.twitter.com/UOEtndb51k
— The Dodo (@dodo) December 15, 2017
Bird Tweets
Very cool, and what a gorgeous bird!
“Its intelligence commands respect, and its helplessness, sympathy; while its genial nature endears it to all who know it well.” ‘Animals of NZ’, Hutton & Drummond, 1909. Love reading old accounts of #kakapo. pic.twitter.com/UuNQvss9Ml
— Dr Andrew Digby (@taka podigs) December 14, 2017
What a cool birthday gift!
Happy Birthday @HeatherHastie 😀 x
Something a bit different for this list of videos –
–
Brown Kiwi Courtship Spectacle – Wild New Zealand: #Nature #RatedAwww
–https://t.co/mK6Nxy1mDT— Amy Carparelli (@Amy Amy lou 1993) December 10, 2017
As Ann German commented when she sent me this, “Lovely.”
The call of an orange fronted fruit dove is a distinctive, soft ‘hoo’ and they can be recognized by their bright orange foreheads. pic.twitter.com/PObrBMsPR9
— Joel Sartore (@joel sartore) December 8, 2017
Very cool. Good job NZ Department of Conservation!
The reclusive rock wren/tuke is on the rise in Kahurangi National Park thanks to our predator control programme https://t.co/wPLWLtRxsE pic.twitter.com/65jBE8A38N
— Dept of Conservation (@doc govt nz) December 15, 2017
Dog Tweets
This is especially for my sister Brenda, who very kindly had me to stay earlier this week.
“Corgi Wrap. The little “arf” at the end just melts my heart” pic.twitter.com/5kND7Mb1KB
— Fluff Society (@Fluff Society) December 15, 2017
What a poser!
— Life on Earth (@planet epics) December 15, 2017
Brilliant! This will make you laugh!
90% floof pic.twitter.com/qg5vXv0Zmv
— Puppies ???? (@Popular Pups) December 15, 2017
Cool story!
This hero firefighter gave CPR to a dog — and saved his life! pic.twitter.com/WzH5QOgQYh
— The Dodo (@dodo) December 15, 2017
And another one to make you laugh!
BEWARE OF THE DOG.
(You might trip over him) pic.twitter.com/myvV7gXyn3— D Atten borough (@Atten boroughs_D) December 5, 2017
Cat Tweets
This kid’s parents are starting it out right!
Aww, so sweet! pic.twitter.com/oNQTWhzPws
— Daily Dose Of Kittens (@The DaiIy Kitten) December 15, 2017
Poor kitty!
Rescued Cat Makes A Fluffy Recovery! CLICK for this great story > https://t.co/szKg1CyjnW pic.twitter.com/ExUgbicH7K
— Cats and Kittens (@cat n kittys) December 15, 2017
That’s one cute kitty!
Food approaching! pic.twitter.com/AOpXZmJRKk
— Sweet Cats ???? (@sweet cat sss) December 5, 2017
A very patient cat!
Baby pug tries to play with grumpy cat pic.twitter.com/29SLgG6b8F
— Cutest Animals Ever (@CUTEST_ANlMALS) December 13, 2017
A film festival to look forward to!
Call for entries! Submit your film for the Int’l #BigCats Film Festival by 31 December! Winners will be announced on 2 March at @UN Head quarters to celebrate #WorldWildlifeDay 2018 https://t.co/jC5q2IriCQ #WWD 2018 #Predators Under Threat @wildlife day pic.twitter.com/Q9NGVT9Ntj
— CITES (@CITES) December 11, 2017
A note to end on?
.@GoPro, whose #GoProForACause produced the film on Muli and her species, is joining our 2nd Annual Million Dollar Act for Big Cats Challenge! Loyal Panthera donors are putting $500,000 on the line to inspire you to #actforcats this holiday season More: https://t.co/1yjLVTwarL. pic.twitter.com/yTKFjCkayd
— PantheraCats (@Panthera Cats) December 14, 2017
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“The GOP’s supporters are dying off.”
Well, yes, everybody’s dying off. Seems to be a fact of life.
The ideals and principles upon which this country was founded, and that have made it the shining city on the hill, will endure forever, as long as people yearn to breathe free.
The Republicans at least occasionally pay lip service to those ideals. The only thing that Democrat politicians seem to stand for is concentrating power in their own grubby hands and keeping the population servile, stupid and poor. They represent everything that people come to America to escape.
What I always notice about your comments is that your worldview seems to contain absolutely no shades of gray.
We all understand your complete disdain for those of us with differing viewpoints. You have repeated yourself endlessly. We get it, OK?
What, exactly, is it that you are hoping to achieve by coming here daily and alleging the total perfection of your tribe and the total horror of everyone else?
And, if you’re so right about everything, and your tribe is so perfect, then why do you continue to hide behind anonymity? Why not have the pride in your beliefs and the courage of your convictions?
L
This.
You ceased being the shining light atop the hill several decades ago. Like you’re the only functioning democracy?
“The only thing that Democrat politicians seem to stand for is concentrating power in their own grubby hands and keeping the population servile, stupid and poor.”
It seems to me that’ both parties in the US want to keep the population servile, just to different things. As for stupid and poor, the Republicans win that one hands down. Karl Rove, for example, has openly said that too much education for the masses is a dangerous thing. And the discredited “trickle-down” economics that they embrace is what keeps people poor. Those that get rich in the US have a great life, and it’s possible to do that there, but more and more the advantages of coming from wealth are important.
I find it quite interesting that the delusional morons who run their mouth about “personal responsibility” and “morality” etc. etc. voted over 80% for two sexual predators for the highest offices in the US. Their reason? Because…because…because abortion! Apparently, in addition to being morally bankrupt hypocrites, they’re too stupid to realize that by encouraging and giving their stamp of approval to the sexual predation of vulnerable young women and girls, they are increasing the liklihood for the need for services to terminate unwanted pregnancies.
+1
The thing is that it has been well established that if you want to reduce the number of abortions, a comprehensive sexual education program with availability of contraception works incomparably better than criminalising abortion. So it appears, ‘ because abortion!’ in itself is not the reason. I think most of them do not really care about ‘abortion’.
I suspect that denying women control over their reproduction and body, keeping them ‘in their place’ in other words, is the real motive for wanting to criminalise abortion.
+1.
Suspect all you want, but that’s nonsense.
Nope, it is not. The facts are there, 2 illustrations:
– The Netherlands, where the legalisation of abortion was combined with a comprehensive sexual education program had the lowest abortion rates in the world (until recently, that is, the Muslim immigrant population has relatively high abortion rates).
– Romania, where abortion was used as’contraception’ had the highest abortion rates. Until dictator Ceausescu decided birthrates were too low, and abortion was made illegal overnight. A great peak of births followed (with an accompanying peak in numbers of abandoned children), but about a year later the birth rate was back at it’s previous level. No import or production of contraceptives. Conclusion: abortion went underground.
Those anecdotes do not justify your vile “suspicion” — i.e. you cynical impugning of the motives of those who would defend the right to life.
@j.a.m. It is but a suspicion, and I presented it as such, I do not see how that is vile.
Since the facts are so clear and established, why don’t they agitate for a comprehensive sexual education program if they really wanted to reduce the number of abortions?
The Christianist/GOP don’t want to reduce abortions. They oppose safe abortion, they oppose sex education, and they oppose access to contraception. What they really want is to control women’s sexuality by making them afraid of pregnancy.
Nobody opposes sex education or access to contraception. That’s just a ridiculous distortion of reality. If anything, it is the abortion industry that aggressively opposes making most contraception available without a prescription.
Conscientious parents want their children to learn the full truth about family life from a trustworthy source in a trustworthy setting. Government-run schools flunk on both counts. And parents certainly have a right and duty to care about who’s giving their minor children intimate advice and access to contraception.
I’m aware of only one other controversy remotely related to the subject of contraception, and that is Obama’s efforts to force employers to provide insurance coverage for abortifacients. That dispute had nothing to do with family planning per se, nor had it anything to do with anybody’s “access” to these drugs.
Bear in mind that an argument carries more weight when does not depend on distorting the facts and impugning other people’s motives.
IUDs are NOT abortifacients. Learn some science. And there are millions of religious conservatives, including in your own religion of Roman Catholicism, that absolutely do oppose contraception. The pope says they should!
@HH: Yeah, but the claim was that the GOP opposes “access” to contraception. That’s not true.
It is if they support those who want to prevent access.
@jam, I did not claim the GOP opposes contraceptives. I claimed that if those (whether GOP or other) vociferously opposing abortion were serious in that claim, the would put there energy in agitating for comprehensive sexual education combined with easy access to contraceptives.
‘ they’ would put ‘their’ energy…., with spellchecker one should always proofread, sorry.
Exactly. Evangelical Christians are also some of the few that still rail against contraception. In NZ, education in schools re safe sex and the use of contraception is what is credited with reducing our abortion rate. Religious conservatives, with all their guilt and dirty minds around sex, are the ones that make it hard for victims of sexual predators to speak out. There are two main reasons victims don’t speak out. The second is that won’t be believed. The first is what people will think of them – the guilt, feeling dirty, and a whole host of similar things as if it’s their fault. All those feelings come from the way they’ve been taught to think about sex by religion.
Indeed. Some forms of religion arise largely from a basic failure or refusal to deal with sexuality responsibly.
Welcome back Heather.
Cheers Rick. 🙂
When I was young I used to be quite a hipster, so to speak, with a hula hoop. I’ve recently tried to redevelop my skill but for the life of me, I can’t get my hips to do the right thing any longer. Yet it’d be a great limbering exercise for older us folks. Well, if I can’t do that, I’m getting a pogo stick — good for bones and balance.
What’s going on with the woman kissing the snake? It looks like it’s a constrictor, so wouldn’t qualify as “snake handling” in the American sense (where people handle poisonous snakes in a religious context). Perhaps it’s something to do with Eve and the serpent? If so, what?
They have terrible teeth though, that woman’s face will bear the scars for life, I fear.
Don’t try and make sense of religion! The easiest thing is to remember that it doesn’t make sense. That’s why you need faith!
Religion makes no sense until you consider the alternative.
You mean logic and science? How do those things not make sense?
You seem to have the idea that without a belief in a supernatural being, people are unable to appreciate, understand or experience things like love, literature, art, music, or just the beauty of a sunset.
The alternative to religion is to deny that there is any transcendent truth or meaning. That doctrine beggars belief more than any religious tenet.
Rubbish. The reason most of us have no time for religion is because we prefer the truth! And you’ve just said too what I said in my last comment – you think it’s not possible to have meaning in your life without belief in the supernatural. Atheists have just as much meaning in their life as anyone else. In fact, I suspect we have more as what we believe comes from the truth and not a myth.
Atheism is a wholesale rejection of truth, indeed of the very possibility that truth is real. If only nature is real, then where in nature is truth?
And what is meaning, if it does not proceed from transcendent truth? Is not what you call meaning merely a feeling?
Your comment makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. If I’m reading you right, you think Truth and God are synonyms, and that facts aren’t true. I don’t know how you can function in the real world like that.
Yes, God is truth. If you don’t believe in God, and you believe that the physical world is all there is, then what do you mean by “truth”? Is it true that “Honesty is the best policy”? Or that “All men are equal”?
It’s true that water is made up of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. It’s true that humans developed from other animals via evolution. We are not the result of any of the creation myths of the various religions. Facts are true. God is not a fact. You believe he is real. He is real for you. That does not make him reality. Yes, the physical world is all there is, but there is also imagination. What we imagine may or may not be true. God is part of your imagination. I don’t deny that it’s possible that God is real, but I think it’s highly improbable. It’s also possible that there’s a teapot orbiting the Sun between Earth and Mars (Google Russell’s teapot), but it’s improbable and I don’t think it’s there. Whether it’s there or not, it’s not a fact until it’s proven. There is no proof of God’s existence. Some people believe he is real. That’s all.
We don’t need belief in a god to have a full and wonderful life. In fact, you could argue that it’s more likely if you don’t believe in a god. This is all there is. We have to make the most of what we have.
But what do you mean by “truth”? If the physical world is all there is, and empiricism is your only tool, then you really are denying that truth as such exists: There are only meaningless patterns of data, observed and predicted in an endless cycle. In a world where everything blindly fits into a preordained but quite meaningless pattern, there is no place for a unique, unrepeatable human person who breaks the pattern — an “I”, or a “you”, much less an “us”. There is no possibility of meaning or value or identity. That’s what one signs up for when they choose such a worldview. So they make the most of it.
Sorry. but what a load of rot.
How so?
Your religion seems to have turned you into a vile person. Perhaps it’s not the cause, perhaps your vileness is what attracted you to it. But either way, you offer this blog nothing except risible putdowns and insufferable arrogance. You’re not a good advertisement for any version of christianity. If you were truly christian, rather than a republican first, that reaction would trouble you. But it won’t, because your real religion is feeling superior.
Brugge (Bruges) is one of the best preserved medieval towns in Western Europe. Worth a visit.
It’s another place on the bucket list!
Glad you’re back. Missed your tweets and your take on what is happening.
Thanks Lee. 🙂
Regarding rays doing cool acrobatics–
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqNxco4xcpI&feature=youtu.be&t=42
What some foolishly deride as “trickle-down” economics is the system that has taken in generation after generation of wretchedly poor people from every corner of earth, in their tens of millions, and made their descendants rich beyond their imagination. If somebody told you it’s been discredited, you should come here and see for yourself.
No, that’s not what did it. Globalization is what did it, Globalization has made the whole world much wealthier and pulled literally billions out of poverty. Unfortunately it has left some behind, so there is more work to do.
Trickle-down makes the rich richer. Ask a real economist about tickle-down. 90% of them will tell you that it doesn’t work. It seemed logical when people thought of it – a rising tide raises all boats etc. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way in reality. We have years of hard data as proof now. Few people still cling to it.
The three richest men in the US – Bezos, Gates, and Buffet, who together are worth the same as the entire bottom 50% of your country, all say trickle-down doesn’t work. It made them wealthy, but it made the poor poorer.
Globalization indeed is a factor, to the extent that the initial colonization and peopling of the Americas was motivated by trade. And since the founding of the republic, population growth was fueled by immigrants, as I said. Their success, and America’s, was due to their own ingenuity, and the freedom to unleash it. It was not due to big government programs or redistribution schemes. Nor was foreign trade a big factor.
No “real economist” uses the term “trickle down”, because it’s not an economics term, just ideological gibberish. We have centuries of real life data proving that free enterprise, beyond the reach of grasping politicians, produces the best results for all. Come and see for yourself.
Are you asking Heather to come to America and see for herself something better than what she knows and experiences in New Zealand? Do you even read what she writes here? What an insult to her. I wish she would banish you, but she won’t; she is a better person than you. Yes, an atheist is better than a christian. Does that trouble you? It should. It is an obvious reality to me.
I’ve traveled the world enough to realize America aint shit. You’re blind if you think this country is somehow special or “exceptional”. Under our new world order under this dip-shit in chief, things are spiraling down and down. Sorry you still think people should come here to learn about freedom and whatever else you think we have to offer. Did you know that tourism to America has dropped 4% since the election…that’s $billions$. Who wants to visit a country that elects a pussy grabbing, scumbag, punk-ass fool? If I didn’t live here, I wouldn’t visit during this time of obfuscation and hate. People like you really need to pay attention to how the rest of the civilized world considers us now. Not good. People like you just need to consider. A tall order, I know.
So, everyone who rushed to California for the Gold Rush was successful, and no one ripped off anyone or got rich by exploiting others, and if someone didn’t get rich it wad his own fault for not working hard enough.
People succeeded in the early days of the US. Many more were exloited, and died of that exploitation. Farmers got rich through the use of slave labour. Rail builders got rich by under-paying, over-working, working people in dangerous circumstances via which they were often killed, housing them in disgusting circumstances etc. Sweatshop conditions and slums were common.
Land was stolen from those already living there, and if the Native Americans complained they were killed. Then there were incidents like the Trail of Tears.
You have a very romantic view of history. It also doesn’t seem to to consider the suffering of Native Americans, slaves, other ethnic groups (like the Chinese who were used for the most dangerous parts of rail building and died in droves) etc. You need to educate yourself.
May I respectfully suggest that everyone could benefit from your advice (no exceptions)?
So much good shtuff in this one. Sorry about your life challenges right now. Arrgh. Though I must say when you take a break, you come out swingin’. Now that PCC(E) is off to India, we’re gonna need you to pick up the slack. Just kidding. This time of year is so damn busy, I can’t keep up with posts anyway…always late to the party.
I’m really freaked that trump advisers water down his daily intelligence briefs and purposely leave out anything “Russian” or anything that “irritates him”. WTF squared. We’re screwed. Basically giving Putin the green light to keep meddling as he’s been meddling in our elections because it never happened. Trump is handing over so much power to the Pute it’s boggling to the mind. And why do so many still think it’s a conspiracy theory? America is seriously doomed if things continue like this. Of course the Pute told his minion he’s doing a great job. Then trump broadcast’s that to the world. “Putin said I’m doing a great job”. Just a fucking bumbling fool and wreck of a human. Sad.
It worries me a lot too. I don’t think he’s doing it deliberately, but Trump is giving Russia and China the space to be the dominant world powers.
Too many people don’t think for themselves. Trump has been on a campaign to discredit the media so the US people don’t trust them and only trust him. He’s succeeded with a significant proportion of the population, and in many parts of the country that proportion is a sizable majority. If anything is found against Trump, those people will believe his denials over the facts. He is further dividing an already divided country.
“I’m the Divider in Chief, there’s never been such a great divider, god divided the red sea, but I divided an entire country. I’m greater. Are you tired of my greatness yet?”
The lamestream media discredited themselves way before Trump. Then the Internet came along, and suddenly the great unwashed, the deplorables, suddenly found themselves empowered to hold the big media accountable. Credit Trump with being astute or instinctive enough to get that.