For those of you living under a rock, here is what happened. Sensing a great disturbance in the Force, a vast swath of America submitted a petition to the White House demanding that the administration start construction of a Death Star. Team Obama has denied that petition and I think their reasoning is very instructive. Here are their reasons:
● The construction of the Death Star has been estimated to cost more than $850,000,000,000,000,000. We're working hard to reduce the deficit, not expand it.Grrr. Think about this. The first point really shows liberal hypocrisy. Aren’t these the same people who believe in Keynesian economics? Seriously, if a trillion dollar stimulus was supposed to create jobs, why won’t they spend $850,000 trillion? Huh? Tell me that... liars.
● The Administration does not support blowing up planets.
● Why would we spend countless taxpayer dollars on a Death Star with a fundamental flaw that can be exploited by a one-man starship?
The second and third points show that liberals are stupid. First, what’s wrong with blowing up planets? Damn environmentalists. Be even more, why is this administration so unwilling to be prepared? What are we going to do when somebody else’s Death Star drifts into our system? As for this idea of being exploited by a “one-man starship,” first, it was a snub fighter a-holes, not a starship. Secondly, how stupid do you need to be to decide that the project can’t be fixed? Just put a damn grate over the exhaust vent, don’t scrap the whole idea! Seriously, are liberals really this stupid?
And another thing, why the heck aren’t we deporting Piers Morgan? People want it. The guy is an annoying turd. He’s so annoying, the British... a land of arrogant, annoying people... tossed his butt out. Seriously, how bad do you need to be to get tossed out of binge-drinky, knife-fighty land? Sure, the Constitution guarantees you the right to be an ass, but dammit, aren’t we grown up enough as a people to toss this jerk off out of the country? And for those of you who think this isn’t a big deal, let me point out that since Morgan came to the US, there have been numerous mass shootings, the deficit has soared, New Yorkers have started robbing each other for pain pills, and millions of jobs have been lost. Coincidence? Hardly. I... blame... Morgan.
Finally, I am horrified that Team Obama turned down all those petitions to secede. What an outrage! Such tyranny! This is an issue talk radio should adopt. I’m sure that if they did, 70%, 80%, 90% of the public would be behind us! Grumble grumble grumble. Democracy is indeed a failure when a small group of citizens can ask for things that are either idiotic or which violate the Constitution and not get their way. Harrumph.
Nah, I'm just kidding.
In all seriousness, I’ve enjoyed the petitions and I need to give Obama credit for his responses, especially the Death Star thing. Team Obama took the Death Star thing in the spirit in which it was intended and responded with good humor. On the Morgan thing, they made a solid point about individual rights. And the secession thing, well that was just stupid, but Obama responded in good faith and pointed out the Constitution really doesn’t include an exit clause.
IF conservatives were smart, they would use these rulings to make a point.
1. Keynesian economics is garbage. If it was true, then we should start building a Death Star. You can’t spend your way to prosperity, nor can you spend your way out of debt. And Obama seemed to get that this time... too bad he didn't get it before he created trillion dollar deficits.Obama is right in each of his responses, but not for the reasons he thinks. We should be pointing that out to people.
2. Freedom of speech includes the right to say things that people might not like. We need to stop the assault on freedom of speech in college speech codes, in attempts to censor talking heads we don’t like, in censoring the internet, and in criminalizing “hate.”
3. The Constitution does indeed have mechanisms within it to change things you don’t like. We should respect those mechanisms and stop looking to judges to make law or change the Constitution without the consent of the people who gave their consent to Constitution.
56 comments:
As an aside... I hate the Patriots. Grrr. Damn Texans.
IF conservatives were smart...
We can always dream.
LOL! That's not how I meant it. That said, is it just me or has the world gone stupid? Seriously, I look around and I see rank stupidity and borderline insanity becoming official policy everywhere. I have never seen a period in human history quite like this.
As a geek, I have to say I smiled at the whole Death Star petition. I didn't sign it - I'm waiting for the Deep Space 9 petition myself.
As for Morgan, again, I don't watch his show but sometimes you know people are asses just by instinct - this is one of those times. I did not watch his chat with Shapiro since.... oh, nevermind. If they remake Animal House, Shapiro can play the Kevin Bacon role. And Morgan can be the horse that collapses in the dean's office.
(I have no idea where I was going with that analogy.)
Scott, LOL! Nice analogy. :)
I think Morgan is just trying desperately to upset people because he knows that "a pissed off viewer is a tuned in viewer" to quote Pontypool. People are attracted by controversy and he certainly got a lot of publicity out of stating nothing more than what most other idiot leftist hosts have stating.
As for the Death Star, I signed it. :D
Sorry, I was distracted by the item in the sidebar - apparently, Jennifer Lawrence is single. I have a shot now! :-)
I had no idea Pontypool had such wisdom. Of course it's true.
Truth be told, I'm not sure how I feel re: guns. I'm pro-gun ownership but the NRA could earn some sympathy points by not coming across as a bunch of insensitive dicks.
And the big crowds at gun shows? I keep reassuring myself, "These are law-abiding citizens... with a hobby... one they're afraid the bureaucrats will ruin." On that level, I get it. If the government decided to confiscate my Blu-Rays because "violent movies = violence in real life," there would be Hell to pay.
Scott, Good luck with Ms. Lawrence. :)
Yep, Pontypool. He's a talk radio guy, remember? And it starts with his producer being upset that he's spouting off and he makes the point that angry people will tune and will call their angry friends and tell them to tune it. That's pretty much true.
On the guns, I don't like the NRA and I don't think they are helping things right now by bragging how nothing will ever get out of the House... that's a recipe for a nasty surprise.
That said, I think it's ridiculous that liberals are focused so obsessively on guns. For one thing, nothing they are proposing would have stopped the Newton shooter -- and false solutions are always a sign of ulterior motives... or abject stupidity. For another, guns aren't a problem. With 250 million guns in the US and only a few thousand of them used for crimes each year, how can you say guns are the problem? They are no more a problem than cars or knives. This is just a powergrab, and I don't cotton to those.
I'm sorry, everything else just became background noise when I saw Scott state that Jennifer Lawrence is now single.
I actually signed all three petitions just for the hell of it! BUT, I'm actually serious on the Piers Morgan deportation one... HE MUST BE DEPORTED!
Kit, That's understandable.
Snape, I don't care about Morgan, but I can't lie that I would love to see us build a Death Star. :)
I think the Morgan think come from old Cold War or pre-Cold War laws about immigrants and foreigners living in or visiting the United States calling for the overthrow of the US government or Constitution.
Personally, I don't think it applies to Morgan. Though it might apply to certain members of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Ironically, if Michael Savage (who I think started this call) had made his call for a "Nationalist Party" (his words) in 1955, J. Edgar Hoover would be tapping his pone lines in a nanosecond.
And in 1942 Michael Savage would probably be in jail.
Just something Michael Savage should be pondering.
Keynesian economics is, most definitely, garbage. See Hayek, and, more recently, a tasty little tome written in 1959 titled "The Failure of the New Economics" - an analysis of the Keynesian Fallacies by Henry Hazlitt
Andrew.....Can you explain the point of the WH Petition site? Just in order to meet 25,000 signatures Team Obama has to respond? So? So what?
They won't do anything policy-wise about the petitions? Is this just a ploy to claim "We listen to the American people" (the shallow idiots)?
I saw one on there that I love though.....Make the White House, Senate and House chambers "Gun Free" zones. Remove all guns, including security, for Obama, Biden and every Congresscritter. Love it! Are they more important than little kindergarten children?!
Andrew, did you read Peggy Noonan's editorial over the weekend? I liked it and found it similar to what you have been proposing. Go after and claim as your own issues those that are important to the regular person. I really like the idea of going after the big banks. Force Obama and the dems into an uncomfortable position. I don't know if anyone here as recently tried to refinance your mortgage or try to get a home improvement loan, but it is insane. It is clear they have no interest in providing individuals with loans as they are too busy buying government bonds with tax payer money. GRRRRRR.
Oh, I personally find most "petitions" to be a waste of time and energy. I generally refuse to sign anything.
I didn't sign the secession petition - but only because I didn't want the fed'l gov't having my name and email on that petition. I thought the sheer numbers of signers gave an indication of frustration - even if they didn't technically want to secede from the Union.
Unfortunately, I think that Patriot is right that it's a feel-good, we're listening kind of site that is "full of sound and fury, signifying nothing".
Scott and Kit, I propose we take action on this matter before Bradley Cooper steals her. Because, really.
As far as the Death Star goes, I don't see why the cost renders this impossible. Surely there's enough platinum in the world for us to mint 850,000 coins.
"The Administration does not support blowing up planets."
Yeah, well, tell that to poor Pluto who was destroyed when it was downgraded from "Planet" to "Dwarf Planet"! But then, THAT was during the Bush Administration...
As for Piers Morgan - his show is one of the lowest watched shows on CNN, so the only way he gets any press is to say outrageously stupid things anyway. So let him. I did find it funny that the British filed a counter-petition rejecting his return to the UK! They made it clear they didn't want him back!
rlaWTX - I didn't sign any of them either for the same reason. But then, I know I must be on some government list as a suspected subversive somewhere. And frankly, I would be really disappointed if I weren't!
BUT, the fact that so many people DID sign the Texas secession petition should surprise no one. I think they reached the required 25K signatures in about 4 hours. You put those three words together in front of a Texan - Texas/Secession/Petition - and the only other words you will hear will be either "Where do I sign?"
Oh yeah. Football. That happened too. Frankly, after Green Bay and Denver botched the job, I have very little interest in the rest of the playoffs. I'll root for just about anybody playing New England, though.
Krugman is already on record as favoring preparation for an alien threat - where's the coverage on where HE stands on constructing a Death Star? More censorship to cover the Obama administration by the NY Times, obviously.
As we all well aware by now, democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for dinner. That's why we're a republic.
Kit, Are you suggesting rounding up alien talk show hosts? :P
Jed, It is garbage. It's premised on the idea that you can steal from the future and become so profitable that by the time the future arrives, paying it back isn't a big deal. That works with mortgages, but it doesn't work with countries.
Patriot, I think the idea was that (1) people would propose things Obama could adopt as his own -- basically it was a trial balloon tester to see what people did or did not respond to, and (2) it's a way to make the public think out political class is listening. That's all it is.
The public kind of turned it into a joke, but I suspect it all still benefits Obama with the public.
Koshcat, I think it's vital if the Republicans want to win back the public that we start looking at what the public actually wants.
As for going after the big banks, that makes a LOT of sense on many levels. For one thing, conservatives oppose concentrations of power and they are highly concentrated power -- they've become a substitute Treasury the government can uses. Secondly, they are not our friends, they support the Democrats and the Democrats support them (sadly, the Republicans don't get that). Third, too big to fail has become WAY TO F**ING BIG TO FAIL, and we need to stop that because these banks are right back to taking risks with money we've guaranteed. Fourth, the banks are the power structure that protects Washington. Take them down and Washington loses a LOT of influence.
rlaWTX, It's all just feel good, there's no substance at all.
The secession thing certainly shows frustration, but it's time to stop talking about it. It doesn't resonate with the public. To the contrary, the public sees it the same way we do when a Hollywood moron promises to move to Canada.
T-Rav, There are two problems with the platinum coin idea.
1. They are too large to fit in your pocket, so nobody wants them.
2. They would put some lousy PC character on them and again, nobody would want them.
Bev, I forgot about poor Pluto. What an atrocity!
Yeah, I laughed too when the British counter-petitioned. I don't think Morgan was expecting that. The guy is a waste of time, people should just ignored him and let his show fail.
Bev, Texans need to think in bigger terms... don't secede, eject California! :)
T-Rav, This was actually a great weekend for football -- which is really rare these days, except the Texans for stupid. I can't stand that. Why do teams get stupid when they play the Patriots? Arg. I hate the Patriots.
I don't know, Andrew....personally, I'd like to see an official coin with Kermit the Frog on it.
K, The problem is that the wolves have learned to make the Republic work for them too.
As for Krugman, you are correct. The man is a fool.
T-Rav, Now THAT I could get behind! :D
I think we should appoint Krugman head of NASA.
Didn't you hear? Krugman refused the Treasury job no one was offering because he's too valuable as a blogger for the NYT. I don't see him taking the NASA job either.
I didn't say it had to be a voluntary appointment.
LOL! Nice thinking! :)
mmm Bradley Cooper
tryanmax: will the new head of NASA get to try out any new, experimental, untried, unproven, or already failed transports to Pluto? If so, I have some other nominations - it's a big agency, it needs multiple "leaders".
Maybe we should start a petition to have Obama appoint Krugman as "Op/Ed Blogger Laureate" or "Internet Blogger Czar". He can write for Obama's propaganda website - whitehouse.gov I mean, Obama likes his "firsts" and he can have another one by appointing Krugman to yet another pointless/worthless "Czar/Laureate" government positions.
rlaWTX, I like that idea. We could appoint all kinds of people as Head(s) of NASA and send them to Pluto on failed transports! :)
We could even send Congressional Delegations. They could investigate whether or not it really is a planet.
Bev, LOL! That would soooo sounds like something Obama would do! Although, he would probably appoint Krugman to issue regs for other bloggers. The next thing you know, we'd be stuck writing about phantom alien invasions and spaghetti monsters, and praising bankruptcy and 100% tax rates. :(
Hey, things could be worse. Obama could appoint Tom Friedman to the job, and then we'd have to sing hallelujahs to China and hawk the latest edition of The World is Flat. Yikes.
rlaWTX and Andrew - Isn't that plot to "Hitchhikers Guide to the Universe"? I think it was a great plot sending all the bureaucrats off to establish a new colony under the guise that Earth was about to be destroyed. Only it was just a ploy to get rid of all the bureaucrats...
Yes it was Bev! I believe it was bureaucrats and telephone polishers who were sent off. And sadly... the planet they were sent to turned out to be Earth. :(
T-Rav, If we're going to have a blogger Czar, it should be somebody really ludicrous. Somebody illiterate... who doesn't even know what the internet is... who spouts off offensive comments left and right...
Joe Biden.
Or Al Gore! He DID invent the interwebs and all. I hear he may be available since he just sold CurrentTV to a terrorist front for Al Qaeda. Oops, did I say that?? Al Jazeera is THE most trusted journalistic endeavor in the world. THey are even better than the New York Times with their highest journalistic integrity and all.
Bev, I think we've misjudge al JeGore on this. I think this is his own personal plan to bankrupt Al Qaeda by selling them worthless assets.
He did the same thing to the environmental movement with his carbon indulgences.
The man is right-wing plant.
Andrew - Shush!!!! Don't you know that we NEVER are supposed to say stuff like that about "Agent 666"??? Someone might be listening....
Oh shoot! Sorry Bev... yes, Al Gore is evil... he's such a horrible, horrible liberal. ;)
I have always and will always say that there is a spot next to Madoff with Al's name on it.
Al JaGore is smarter than Madoff. His victims never expected to get their money back. It's the perfect crime...
Andrew Andrew Andrew
did yoiu not hear this is the Year of the Woman or the Year of the Victory of the War on Women by electing the guy the Sexual Harasser wanted er... You get the point....
Anyway Death Stars are way too mysoginsitic plus the Empire had a serious lack of Gender Diversity aboard their ships ...
See women would not make a Death Star they'd make a weapon that would make everyone on the planet wish they were dead from incessant nagging and hen pecking..... See Douglas Adams the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy... Point of View Weapon
As to the Cost No Problem ... we just print a 850 Quintillion dollar Coin... see easy... what...what do you mean... Rebels stole the 850 quintillion dollar coin... but but we had a state of the art alrm system.. with two way communication and everything...
Would it be misogynistic if we built two Death Stars? B/c then they'd look like giant boobs.
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