The Jesuits were right

The Jesuit's motto is: Give me a child until he is seven and I will give you the man.

Apparently, at least with regard to religion, they were right: East Germany is the most godless place on Earth.

All we need to do is break the cycle of abuse, and the future will be free! Well, not really, but at least free-er. And we don't even have to have a Communist revolution to get there: Norway will end State religion.

Another voice against Reaganomics

Nick Hanauer, a venture capitalist, speaking on capitalism:

It is astounding how significantly one idea can shape a society and its policies.  Consider this one.

If taxes on the rich go up, job creation will go down.

This idea is an article of faith for republicans and seldom challenged by democrats and has shaped much of today’s economic landscape.
But sometimes the ideas that we know to be true are dead wrong.

For instance:

Anyone who’s ever run a business knows that hiring more people is a capitalists course of last resort, something we do only when increasing customer demand requires it.  In this sense, calling ourselves job creators isn’t just inaccurate, it’s disingenuous.

And his most incredible fact:

If the typical American family still got today the same share of income they earned in 1980, they would earn about 25% more and have an astounding $13,000 more a year. Where would the economy be if that were the case?

This is what Reaganomics has cost everyone reading this blog: $13,000 a year in income.

Go read the speech, where he explains in very simple terms why Reaganomics cannot possibly work (and demonstrates that it has not worked). What he is saying is so obviously true you have to wonder: how did anyone ever believe the opposite? And yet, here we are...

One way to win an election

Keep your opponent off the ballot.

Arizona's Secretary of State goes birther, says Obama might not be on ballot

If this were happening in a foreign country, Americans - Republicans! - would be the first to condemn it as a violation of democratic principles.

And now they're doing it. They are acting exactly like the Communist politburo. It's like no one in the Republican party owns a mirror.

Time to quote Sinclair Lewis: "When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in a flag and carrying a cross."

The ultimate political flip-flop

For everyone who has felt like they didn't leave the Republican party, it left them, here's why you feel that way:

...over the past half-century, the two parties completely switched roles, with the G.O.P. turning into rebels and the Democrats defending the status quo.

The Big Flip

It is true: the Republicans are the wild-eyed revolutionaries of today, seeking to tear down the tawdry machinery of state and replace it with pure, pristine Utopia.

Patriotism on display

Michelle Bachmann just became a Swiss Citizen.

Seriously. After all that kvetching and conspiracy talk about whether or not Obama is a citizen, and now Michelle Bachmann chooses to become a citizen of another country. One where they don't even speak English. The Queen of the Tea Party now has a passport to a socialist nation with socialist health care. While still serving as a member of the US government.

How can any Republican look this shit in the face and still have the gall to breathe? I honestly don't know.

I am not speaking metaphorically here. I honestly do not know how any Republican failes to see the swindle going on.

EDIT: Apparently, she has surrendered her Swiss citizenship, after a firestorm of criticism. Leaving aside how the Swiss must feel about this, one has to wonder about her judgement. Did she not realize becoming a citizen of another country while serving in the government of ours might be a tad controversial? Should she be running a country with this kind of judgement?

Obama's big move

All those Lefties moaning and bitching that Obama never showed "leadership." So here he is, out in front and possibly risking his presidency, and what do the Lefties say?

"Too little, too late!"

Even P.Z. Myers was taking that line, and most of the time, he's a grown-up.

Nonetheless, as even a Fox news anchor acknowledged, Obama is on the "right side of history." Sometimes I'm proud to be American. (Are you listening, Julia?)