It's Sartre's Fault

During the February 6 edition of Christian Broadcasting Network's (CBN) The 700 Club, host Pat Robertson said that "Europe is right now in the midst of racial suicide because of the declining birth rate." Robertson blamed the declining birth rate on the existential philosophy of Jean-Paul Sartre which, according to Robertson, "has permeated the intellectual thinking of Europe" and has left Europeans without "a faith in the future."

From the February 6 edition of CBN's The 700 Club:

ROBERTSON: Studies that I have read indicate that having babies is a sign of a faith in the future. You know, unless you believe in the future, you're not going to take the trouble of raising a child, educating a child, doing something. If there is no future, why do it? Well, unless you believe in God, there's really no future. And when you go back to the existentialism of Jean-Paul Sartre, the whole idea of this desperate nightmare we are in -- you know, that we are in this prison, and it has no hope, no exit. That kind of philosophy has permeated the intellectual thinking of Europe, and hopefully it doesn't come here. But nevertheless, ladies and gentlemen, Europe is right now in the midst of racial suicide because of the declining birth rate. And they just can't get it together. Why? There's no hope.


A subscriber to Media Matters for America posted this:

Darling, I'd love to make love to you, but I'm too depressed after reading "The Age of Reason." -- Ellington

I was going to add my comments, but that was too good. Well, one comes to mind...I wasn't aware that Europeans were a race...notwithstanding that it has been shown scientifically that there is no such thing as race in humans.

Walker Threatens County's Long-Term Survival

Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker warned Monday that a mounting budget imbalance threatens the county's long-term survival. Dramatic changes are required, he said, including the building of more coffee shops and Burger Kings, drilling for oil, introducing off-reservation gambling, and opening a couple of charter schools to be run by ex-cons out of unused toolsheds on park grounds.

Walker said in the long run the county needs to scale back employee benefits to basically nothing, force the employees to live on-site in tawdry run-down shacks and, every month, rent themselves out to Waukesha elites to trim shrubs, cut the lawn, clean the pool, serve cocktails… whatever that can be done to increase revenues, he said.

He noted the success of the slums of Calcutta. If it takes a coffee shop, oil well, or greedy rickshaw owners to keep them open, then I'm all for it," Walker said.

Borrowing an idea from Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Walker delivered his speech during the ritual beheading of a homosexual at an evangelical church on the north side. Walker’s full head of hair was augmented to achieve the Perry affect.

Typically, Walker blamed everyone else for the delay in pursuing the idea. Walker believes that not taking responsibility for anything will eventually prove effective in getting him into the governor’s mansion.

Walker said care would be taken not to block park access to wealthy Republicans. Gates set up to block the entry of Democrats, the poor and illegal immigrants would have special scent sensors that would be able to recognize the perfumed elite.

Walker said the state of the county is good in many respects. A big management success involved dramatically reducing the error rate for processing food-stamp cases, he said. By eliminating food stamps for the poor, the error rate dropped to zero.

More Room for Jello

by Penn Jillette

I believe that there is no God. I'm beyond atheism. Atheism is not believing in God. Not believing in God is easy -- you can't prove a negative, so there's no work to do. You can't prove that there isn't an elephant inside the trunk of my car. You sure? How about now? Maybe he was just hiding before. Check again. Did I mention that my personal heartfelt definition of the word "elephant" includes mystery, order, goodness, love and a spare tire?

So, anyone with a love for truth outside of herself has to start with no belief in God and then look for evidence of God. She needs to search for some objective evidence of a supernatural power. All the people I write e-mails to often are still stuck at this searching stage. The atheism part is easy.

But, this "This I Believe" thing seems to demand something more personal, some leap of faith that helps one see life's big picture, some rules to live by. So, I'm saying, "This I believe: I believe there is no God."

Having taken that step, it informs every moment of my life. I'm not greedy. I have love, blue skies, rainbows and Hallmark cards, and that has to be enough. It has to be enough, but it's everything in the world and everything in the world is plenty for me. It seems just rude to beg the invisible for more. Just the love of my family that raised me and the family I'm raising now is enough that I don't need heaven. I won the huge genetic lottery and I get joy every day.

Believing there's no God means I can't really be forgiven except by kindness and faulty memories. That's good; it makes me want to be more thoughtful. I have to try to treat people right the first time around.

Believing there's no God stops me from being solipsistic. I can read ideas from all different people from all different cultures. Without God, we can agree on reality, and I can keep learning where I'm wrong. We can all keep adjusting, so we can really communicate. I don't travel in circles where people say, "I have faith, I believe this in my heart and nothing you can say or do can shake my faith." That's just a long-winded religious way to say, "shut up," or another two words that the FCC likes less. But all obscenity is less insulting than, "How I was brought up and my imaginary friend means more to me than anything you can ever say or do." So, believing there is no God lets me be proven wrong and that's always fun. It means I'm learning something.

Believing there is no God means the suffering I've seen in my family, and indeed all the suffering in the world, isn't caused by an omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent force that isn't bothered to help or is just testing us, but rather something we all may be able to help others with in the future. No God means the possibility of less suffering in the future.

Believing there is no God gives me more room for belief in family, people, love, truth, beauty, sex, Jell-O and all the other things I can prove and that make this life the best life I will ever have.

Al Qaeda Ain't Stoopid

by digby

The oceans no longer protect us. The terrorists are coming over any minute to kill us all in our beds. They are a ruthless enemy who hide in caves until they suddenly decide to strike without mercy. But they have an achilles heel. They are all suffering from serious memory problems. Unless they see it in the paper they forget that we are tapping telephones. Then they slap themselves in the forehead and say "Oh no! I've been calling my friend Mohammed in LA planning that awesome terrorist attack and like, totally fergot that the infidels are listening in. Fuck. Man, Zawahiri is gonna to be so pissed." This is why it was so horrible that that the NY Times revealed the program. It jogged the terrorists' memories and now they won't use their phone and e-mail accounts anymore. Until they forget again, that is. So, shhhh. Loose lips sink ships.

So says Alberto Gonzales.

Wrongo

"The right to freedom of thought and expression... cannot entail the right to offend the religious sentiment of believers." -- Vatican statement re: Mohammed cartoons

My Son's First Post

The Beatles came to do a concert in Ianville once, and the band liked it so much they never left. Now every Friday night, all the people who live in Ianville put on their small, black blue jeans and walk their gerbils to the town square. Then they sit on the grass, listen to The Beatles play movie sound tracks, and eat granola bars.

No one has to go to school in Ianville unless they want to. Of course, everybody wants to because Janis Joplin and William Shatner are two of the teachers. Janis Joplin teaches mathematics and William Shatner teaches video games.

One day Janis Joplin said to William Shatner, “Maybe we should take the students on a field trip.”

“That's a big idea, Janis Joplin,” said William Shatner. “Let's take them to the most fun place we can think of.”

“But that would be Ianville,” said Janis Joplin.

“You're right!” William Shatner exclaimed. “Call off the field trip! We're already here!”

The Vitriol is Thick On Both Sides - An Apology

Had an interesting e-mail conversation with Chris at spottedhorse2. I responded to a comment of his, he e-mailed me...it went back and forth and Chris doesn't like me anymore.

The problem with all this is that in the midst of starting up this blog and "feeling the power" I have come to see that I have allowed much of my deep-seated anger to seep out into my posts and communications. I don't know Chris. I simply didn't like what he had to say and responded. Tit for tat. The communications were not pleasant.

And sitting here as I listen to my kids play in the background, I don't feel good about it.

So, while I will continue to be passionately liberal, I am going to try to tone things down. My fellow bloggers like James at Wigderson Library & Pub, Dean Mundy, etc., are just as passionate at what they believe. They are not wing nuts (Coulter, O'Reilly, Hannity, Limbaugh still are though...sorry, some things are too hard to overcome). They are Wisconsinites just like me.

Lastly, a public apology to Chris, and to any others I have offended inappropriately (hey, some offense is necessary at times, but it can be civilly done). Nuff said.

Too Much

"The Republican Party would have the American flag and the swastika flying side by side." -- NAACP Chairman Julian Bond

It's too much, but I still don't feel sorry for Republicans or conservatives.

Rather Take a Turn to the Port

Those on the right like to make jokes about Clinton's dalliance with an intern...endlessly. Personally, if I had to choose between losing my freedoms because the current administration has nothing but contempt for them, or a blowjob...I'll take the blowjob.

Vitriol on the Left...Ha Ha Ha...Too Much

Poor James at Wigderson Library & Pub. His feelings have been hurt. He didn't like what Belle at Leaning Blue posted, so he counters with the "poor poor College Republicans" jab and the classic "vitriol on the left" uppercut. Bwah ha ha.

I remember James and the College Republicans at UWM and I can tell you they dished it out pretty good and usually anonymously.

The "vitriol on the left" line is too good to pass up. We've done this once before, but here are a few more:

Rush Limbaugh

I'm talking about the activists. I'm talking about the leaders of these. These are the original feminazis, folks, if you want me to go back in time and define the term for you. Every abortion possible must happen. Every abortion that can happen, that doesn't happen, is a setback for the cause.

As a young broadcaster in the 1970s, Limbaugh once told a black caller: "Take that bone out of your nose and call me back." A decade ago, after becoming nationally syndicated, he mused on the air: "Have you ever noticed how all composite pictures of wanted criminals resemble Jesse Jackson?"

'What about Hillary? What about Hillary?' So, I told them, 'I'm not worried about Hillary. She puts her pants on one leg at a time like every other guy does.' "

Sean Hannity

"[W]hy wouldn’t anyone want to say the Pledge of Allegiance, unless they detested their own country or were ignorant of its greatness?"

Ann Coulter

My only regret with Timothy McVeigh is he did not go to the New York Times Building.

We should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity. We weren't punctilious about locating and punishing only Hitler and his top officers. We carpet-bombed German cities; we killed civilians. That's war. And this is war.

Liberal soccer moms are precisely as likely to receive anthrax in the mail as to develop a capacity for linear thinking.

Pat Robertson

The founding document of the United States of America acknowledges the Lordship of Jesus Christ because we are a Christian nation.

Feminism is a socialist, anti-family, political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians.


These are some of the tamer ones because I don't want to offend James and the other College Republicans too much. So a question: The constant Hillary innuendos, Clinton slap downs, etc. are okay because...why? Get off your high horse, James...the vitriol is pretty thick on both sides of the aisle.

Corruption Attracts

Colorado Republican Rep. Marilyn Musgrave (one of the 13 most corrupt politicians in America) and Shrub share a Kodak moment just after the ritual beheading of a homosexual.



Bush: Marilyn, baby...I love what you do to me. Oh, that's not your ear.
Musgrave: Oh George, George, George. You're getting me wet.

Death Threats for Voting

Typical. This news item from Channel 3000, WiscTV.com shows just how dangerous neo cons and wing nuts are. Because Democratic Rep. John Steinbrink voted to sustain Gov. Jim Doyle's veto of the conceal carry bill, two wing nuts decided to call his home and threaten him.

These bastards have no regard for civil rights. These bastards have no balls...they call anonymously. They can laugh all they want about the perceived antics of Cindy Sheehan, or about Michael Moore, but these people are simply exercising their right as Americans to protest. The right wing nut jobs, on the other hand, cannot tolerate differences of opinion. These idiots are egged on by:

Charlie Yikes: He refuses to allow anyone with an opposing view on his show amd continues to show his racist colors by fanning the flames with incendiary pieces like the School Voucher ad. It wasn't too long ago that he was fueling the fears of white suburbanites regarding Northridge. Additionally, Mr. Defense of Marriage is on his third now.

Ann Coulter: Despite the denials of conservative bloggers, she IS representative of the conservative movement. She just isn't afraid to speak it's beliefs in public. But it's okay at home by the well-stocked...liquor...cabinet.

Bill O'Reilly: has there ever been a blowhard like this fool? He makes Goebbels look like a saint.

Jessica McBucher: This trite little trollop comes from the Yikes mold. Spew the rhetoric, but don't allow anyone to comment. Can you say Pravda?

Pigs all. And yet, I would not deny them the right to mouth off. Ain't the Constitution grand? Problem is, they would do away with it if they could.

Why?

While I don't have the same view of Venezualan President Hugo Chavez, as Pat Robertson and the rest of the wing nut world does, I have to ask (and agree with Greg Saunders at This Modern World)...Why did you have your picture taken with him, Cindy Sheehan? It was not the most politically astute move.

You were doing great up until that moment. Please use your head and get back to what you do best...proving that Shrub and the rest of the chichen hawks do not give a damn about our servicemen or America...it's all about the oil and gaining more power.

Being Red Is Taxing

Belle at Leaning Blue got excited about doing her own taxes for the first time. All the wingnuts can say is...ya know you allowed the government to use your money interest free, and what is it with liberals they can't hold a single job.

By the way, I'm sure every conservative remembers that first time he/she was indicted for fraud.

Way to go, Belle, and stay blue. You're at risk of losing your soul if you go the other way.

Those Crazy Wingnuts

Conservative bloggers hanging around for the beginning of Carnival of the Badger.

Keep It Simple

Not feeling well...yesterday and today. Not much in the mood for posting. My mom sent this over. I saw it earlier, at the Doonesbury site, but it is funny.

WOMAN IN AUDIENCE: "I don't really understand. How is the new plan going to fix the problem?"

PRESIDENT BUSH: "Because the...all which is on the table begins to address the big cost drivers. For example, how benefits are calculated, for example, is on the table. Whether or not benefits rise based upon wage increases or price increases. There's a series of parts of the formula that are being considered. And when you couple that, those different cost drivers, affecting those...changing those with personal accounts, the idea is to get what has been promised more likely to be...or closer delivered to that has been promised. Does that make any sense to you? It's kind of muddled. Look, there's a series of things that cause the...like, for example, benefits are calculated based upon the increase of wages, as opposed to the increase of prices. Some have suggested that we calculate...the benefits will rise based upon inflation, supposed to wage increases. There is a reform that would help solve the red if that were put into effect. In other words, how fast benefits grow, how fast the promised benefits grow, if those...if that growth is affected, it will help on the red."

First there was Reagan. Then there was Quayle. Now Bush II. Is this a genetic defect in conservatives...or just a remake of Dumb, Dumber and Dumberer?

Dem Bible Thumpers Is Scary

This is why I fear for our country. I work part-time at a service station. The owner is a nice enough guy...has worked hard. But some of his ideas (and things I've heard him say) are juuuust a liitle foreign to me.

The world was created 6,000 years ago.
There is no life out in the universe, everything is here.
What have we gotten from all our travels in outer space, just some moon rocks. There's nothing out there for us. When we run out of oil and such, that will be the end of times.
Blacks would complain if you didn't use a new rope when lynching.
Damn Arabs own all the stations and run them into the ground. Should send them all back.
I read the Bible every night and go to church every Sunday, you betcha.

Oh, and he voted for Bush, because he's a god-fearing man.

This guy is likely representative of a huge chunk of Shrub's electorate. Think about it.

Learn a Second Language, Listen to the Prez

This from The Borowitz Report...

BUSH'S STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS TO BE SIMULCAST IN ENGLISH
President Hopes to Reach Broader Audience, Aides Say

For the first time since he was elected President of the United States, George W. Bush's State of the Union address tonight will be simulcast in English, the White House confirmed. With the president's approval ratings sagging, the decision to simulcast the speech in English was widely seen as an attempt by the president to make an appeal to a broader audience. "The majority of people in this country are English speaking, and quite frankly, we can't afford to ignore them any longer," one senior aide said. "Hopefully, by doing the English simulcast, we'll be reaching out to a lot of those folks." Once the decision was made earlier in the month to launch the historic first English simulcast of a speech by President Bush, then began the hard work of translating the text of the address from Mr. Bush's language into English. Davis Logsdon, a professor of linguistics at the University of Minnesota, was one of several scholars approached to do the translation who ultimately quit in frustration. "The problem is that the language the president speaks, by most measures, is not a language at all," Professor Logsdon said. Still, the White House remains guardedly optimistic about tonight's simulcast, and aides said that if all goes as planned they might soon offer English simulcasts of press briefings by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Elsewhere, former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein stormed out of his courtroom today, got a good look at what was going on in the streets of Baghdad, and quickly hurried back in.

Get Jimmy Carter to Supervise the Vote

I really don't care if Mark Riordan is replaced at 620 WTMJ. However, Belle at Leaning Blue provides a list of characteristics for voting purposes along with pics of the current members of the lineup.

James at Wigderson Library & Pub makes the excellent observation that it's radio, who cares what anyone looks like.

I must say, that after looking at the guys, my only comment is...there's a real hair problem at WTMJ. I mean, come on. Charlie Yikes looks like his is greased on. Jeff Wagner's looks like...well, nobody really looks that hokey, do they? Jonathan Green...look out for Ragnar Mentaire's flys.

I wish I had more.

Disinformation Part Two

Read comment under first posting titled Disinformation. One comment before continuing...James claims on his blog that I took his remarks out of context. It's hard to understand how that could have happened. His only remark was restricted to one sentence...the rest was a recap of the part he cherry picked from the article. I didn't know you could take one sentence out of context. Now if James had continued in his original piece with the information he provided in his comment, AND I had replied as I did, then he would have had a good argument.

But, still, this is why I like James. He's not afraid to weigh in, understands that amongst the serious issues one can still entertain.

Anyway, everything in his comment I essentially agree with, except that "trickle down" just don't work, James. If it did, then why has nothing changed for the better? And, I continue to say that my post was not inaccurate. He did cherry pick facts in an attempt to be sarcastic. Sarcasm is very difficult to write. Only the best writers can master it and I am by no means even close to doing so. James, if the sarcasm in something you write is only visible to you, then it wasn't done well.