47% or bust

Most people- well, some people- are aware that Romney's 47% figure is misleading, and disgustingly insulting when you know what he actually meant by it.

I pay taxes, and I vote.  I pay federal income tax, medicare tax, sales tax, other local tax, you name it.  I don't make enough not to pay.  A long time ago, though, I made so little that I didn't have to pay federal income tax.  I sure was living the high life in those minimum wage (or not much more) jobs.  Yeah, barely able to afford food, not able to afford going to the doctor.  That was living!

I'm not a victim.  I don't consider myself one.  And neither do most of the people who don't pay income tax. I, for one, don't vote for guys who don't work for a living yet desperately want to lower their own taxes.  All the while looking down on people who do work but don't make much, or are retired, or otherwise are decent people but don't pay federal income tax.

Special day

Today is my sweetie's birthday, and though I can't be with her I am thinking of her. These songs make me think of her too. Miss you, darlin'!

 Dedicated To The One I Love




I Wanna Hold Your Hand, The Beatles

Second That Emotion, Jerry Garcia Band

We Belong, Pat Benatar

Oceans, Pearl Jam

I Won't Give Up, Jason Mraz

Brown Eyed Girl, Reel Big Fish

You Are the Best Thing, Ray LaMontagne

Links links links

I know there's a way to post favorite links on Blogger as part of the template, but don't have the time to redo my blog like that.  So for now, here are a few links I've liked lately.  We'll see how this works...

Time essay on Republicans

Time- Beyond Copenhagen- a realistic climate change response

Frank Bruni on Michelle Bachmann

Local paper on 47%

More on 47%

Conservative evolution

Drug policy

Stinking thinking

Bad Obama!

Wow.  Isn't it amazing?  All the bad shit Obama has done- taken away guns, imprisoned preachers, imposed sharia law, made the UN our police force, taken over all the businesses, put a windmill in everyone's yard, abandoned Israel... We should have listened to all those smart people saying that would happen.

Obama's not perfect, but he's not nearly as bad as he's made out to be.  And none of the above happened.  And the people who said it would, are still getting attention.

So, really, why does anyone listen to those idiots?  Why do people still think these things are going to happen?  Why are they afraid of things that are clearly untrue?  Why do they allow themselves to be manipulated by politicians and pundits?

It amazed me how out of touch with reality people can be.  Even if they just looked around themselves, they'd see evidence of how things are.  But they listen to Fox News, or Rush, or whoever, and let their minds be warped.  It's sad.  It's bad for the country.  And yet they claim to be patriotic.

Vote Early, Vote Often!

Whoever you're voting for, wherever you are, please be sure to vote this year.  Actually, vote every year, every election, whenever.  It's important to the country.  It's your duty as a citizen.  Think about the issues, think about the future, then vote.  Well, as my sweetie says, "unless you're an asshole.  Then, don't vote."

Nowadays it's easy to vote early.  As for voting often, well, please try to participate in all elections, not just the big ones.  This year, I am voting early.  I will be out of the country for awhile before election day, and don't want to get back and have to stand in line all day.  I wish I could leave now, to avoid the electioneering for the next few weeks.  Both sides are starting to annoy me, and if I'm not careful I'll get into political arguments with people.  I try not to say anything, but when I hear something clearly inaccurate I have to correct them.

Turn the radio on,,,

The other day, I got to thinking about what I listened to when I was a kid.  I remember a plastic transistor radio on the counter, listening to whatever mom and dad were listening to.  AM, I'm sure.  We had a bigger stereo, a wood thing from the '50s with tubes in back and a record player, but I don't remember listening to the radio on that much.  Here are a few songs that stand out from those early days. (Hey, it was the '70s...)

Johnny Cash- A Boy Named Sue



Convoy



Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald




50 Ways to Leave Your Lover

Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people- H.L. Mencken

And conservatives are just so darn good at it! Such good businessmen, I guess.

Romney won the first debate. Obama was having an off night, apparently. There were plenty of opportunities for him to call Mittens out, point out his lies and faulty math; he passed up most of them. Romney was cocky, and smarmy, and full of sound bites signifying nothing... He won, but it was pretty clear to me that he expects his attitude to carry him, not facts, not issues. He talks a good game.

I think conservative politicians and pundits (and, sure, some liberal ones too) are dismissive of the American people. I think they think we are stupid, and that they can say whatever they want without fear of being called to task. And, in general, they're right. We seem, as a society, to have a very short attention span. All we know is what we heard on the news today. What the same person said yesterday is forgotten. What the facts are, what the context is, are irrelevant.

Following from that, we have no historical perspective (that is a theme I might return to...) And most really only have a 6th-grade understanding of history anyway. Which, essentially, means we don't understand life and the world, beyond what we had for lunch today. Little knowledge of American history, much less world history and culture, means we simply don't have the tools to assess serious issues.

Obama's problem, in the debate and in general, is that he assumes we're smart, and involved, that we'll think about things (and that we care enough to.) Romney plays to emotions, to shallow thinking. Obama understands the economy, social issues, international affairs better than Romney, better than McCain did, better than Bush did. Agree or disagree with his policies, during the debate at least Obama dealt with substance and fact; Romney dealt with dreams and lies.