Okay, I Give Up

I follow politics not because it's fun; not because it's a neat sport. I follow politics because I want to be prepared for what politicians are going to do to me. This blog is my catharsis for the frustrations I have when I follow politics. Simple as that.
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I disagree with conservatives on many issues: I didn't and don't think we should have gone into Iraq; I'm pro-choice, anti-death penalty, anti-"War on Drugs", pro equal rights for gays. I'm sure I agree with the American Left with a few other things as well.
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But when it comes to the issues involving economics and culture, it makes me sad to watch what the American Left is doing to what's left of my country. Four vivid examples are the Politics of Envy, Political Correctness, The Soft Bigotry of Reduced Expectations and the Politics of Victimhood. I've watched as the momentum on these issues has been clearly on the side of the American Left.
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Like a staggered boxer, I was close to hitting the canvas and crying "uncle". The latest blow was the argument that people who purchased adjustable rate mortgages were "victims" of The Evil Mortgage Companies and needed to be saved. Surely it was obvious to all that (1) a vast, vast majority of buyers knew what they were getting into when they signed on the dotted line, and (2) all these people needed to do was purchase a little less house, and they would not have needed the ARM. But no, there was and is no one on the American Left willing to admit it either.
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But the final blow (and it pains me to admit this) came from Joy Behar, of all people. Recently on The View, she blamed Those Big Evil Restaurants for America's obesity problem. Absurd, ridiculous, even funny. As if people are being forced to order and eat what they're ordering and eating. But then she uttered the words that finally did me in: “Why aren’t they (restaurants) being called to task instead of the victims of this type of eating?”
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When I heard about this, something snapped. Victims of this type of eating.
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Unlike the American Left, I think that Behar or anyone else is free to say whatever they want, no matter how bizarre, without being fired or suspended. My point is that her stunning comment probably sounded right to millions. Our country has become so soft, so "victimized", that there were probably millions of heads nodding in agreement with Behar from coast to coast. Bad restaurant, bad. It's your fault I ordered and swallowed that double cheesecake. Bad.

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To make this as clear as I possibly can: It's not the words. It's the nodding heads. The millions of people saying "yeah, she's right. It's not my fault. It's someone else's fault. I'm a victim of my own bad decisions and someone else must be blamed."
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It has come incrementally, but the Left has won. Standards, from education to employment to music to oral sex in the Oval Office, have been lowered and lowered and lowered. To the point now where people are victims when they make stupid, destructive choices. And now, if I purchase and eat food that is bad for me, I'm a Victim. The decay of my wonderful country has begun.
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The Western European-model socialist democracy the Left has been pining for is on the way, and soon. Government is here to protect us from ourselves. Self-reliance and effort are now officially indications of evil greed. And anyone who claims to be a victim, is.
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Dang it, I wish I had been born earlier. This is painful to watch.
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Let's Make PC Official

I think it's time that we did the right thing and made Political Correctness official.
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Looking around the news, it's clear that people are being offended by the things that other people say. And I think we all know that being offended causes significant and permanent harm to the offendee in a wide variety of emotional, psychological and financial ways, and that any offender must be severely punished.
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Don't worry. This will be simple. A three-step approach:
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First, we identify members of a Certified Victim Group (CVG). Members of this group would include women, blacks, hispanics, Muslims, illegals and liberals (or is that term offensive? Am I supposed to say "progressives" now? Please let me know, I don't want to offend). We make it a Constitutional Amendment that a member of a CVG can announce that they are offended by something someone else says, and the offender is immediately subject to a lawsuit (can't have enough of those) and job dismissal (before he offends a co-worker). We could have a code word so that everyone knows what's going on. I will suggest "Shenanigans!"
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Second, everyone knows that government exists to step in at every opportunity to micro-manage our lives, to make everything "fair" and "even." So, we create a government program (obviously) that maintains a web site of all of the words and phrases that we are not allowed to say in public. Because this list is constantly expanding, the government program will have to be very large and expensive. That's fine. No cost is too high to save members of a CVG from being offended. We can give the web site an appropriate name, like TheFirstAmendmentIsDead.com. This way, we can always be up to date on Words and Phrases That Are Not Allowed In America For Fear That They May Offend Someone. For Co-Directors, I will nominate Al Sharpton and Don Imus.
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Third, we figure out how to pay for this critical bureaucratic program. Oh come on, I'm just kidding! We all know we can just "tax the rich" to pay for it. Of course, "the rich" don't need all that money, they didn't earn it, they don't deserve it, and they're evil. Get their money. Unless, of course, they're a member of a CVG. Those people are okay. Because, you know, they're victims and all. We may have to wait in line behind those who are also expecting "the rich" to also pay for health care, energy, infrastructure and a few dozen government programs, all as we raise their taxes, but I'm not worried. I'm sure we can soak those rich meanies for a few more bucks.
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See? I told you this was easy.
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And I hope I haven't offended anyone.
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"The Truth" Silences Opposition

A while back I blogged about how I had visited a Keith Olbermann fan site, and was told quite clearly that his "Countdown" show is a "real" news program. While I was a bit surprised to learn that there are people who consider him a "newsman", I realized that, in the current hyperpartisan political climate, anything is possible.

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Anyway, here's an update.

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I've been in one of those back-and-forth running conversations with an Olbermann follower at the Huntington Post. It was pretty standard communication with a far lefty: I asserted that "Countdown" is not a news program; the follower insulted me, called me "stupid", came up with a few other names, and did not deny my original point. Of course, they rarely do. The insults and name-calling are simply diversionary tactics designed to avoid addressing the issue. I get them all the time on left wing sites. Luckily, I've been married for 25 years, I can handle insults.

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But at one point he said something that fascinating and quite illuminating.

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One of my points was that Olbermann is clearly afraid to interview anyone who disagrees with him. He launches vicious attacks, and then introduces a guest who reinforces his attacks. They agree and everyone is happy. Of course, on a "real" news program (especially on cable), the host has one guest from both sides of the story to provide balance. I pointed out that even Bill O'Reilly (whose goofy O'Reilly Factor is no news show either, but he doesn't claim it is) interviews people who disagree with him constantly.

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So the Olbermann follower says this: "Keith speaks the truth, so no other sides are needed."

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Did you get that?

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Keith and his sheep have decided that the people who hold opposing viewpoints to those of the sainted Mr. Olbermann are simply "wrong", and so their opinions don't deserve the light of day. This is why, they reason, he is clearly justified in not presenting two sides of a story. Since he represents and "reports" The Truth, no other input is required.

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Between the narcissitic hypersensitivity of Political Correctness and "news" programs like this, the American Left is succeeding in controlling free and open reporting and discourse in America. The First Amendment has become a relic, a punchline.

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How nice it would be to see the GOP candidates expose this fact.

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JFK GOP?

The great irony of the current Obama-Kennedy comparisons is that JFK would have no place in today's Democrat party.

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His most famous line, "Ask not what your country can do for you..." would be the antithesis of the Democrats' push toward a Western European-model socialist democracy.

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To today's Democrats, self-reliance and effort and nothing more than indications of greed. Success is to be attacked, as those who are successful certainly didn't earn it and don't deserve it.

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To today's Democrats, standards must be lowered across the board so that everyone can have an equal chance at mediocrity. If something is "too hard", we must make it easier, lower the bar.

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To today's Democrats, the role of government is to step in at every possible opportunity to "make things fair", to "make things even", and to punish anyone who is willing to put out too much effort.

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JFK's "Ask not what your country can do for you" assertion would get him invited to less Democrat dinner parties than Joe Lieberman.

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I can't imagine JFK would want to see us become a Western European-model socialist democracy. Anyone who denies that this is the direction the Democrats are taking is invited to provide a list of things they didn't like about pre-Sarkozy France. My list, the specifics the Dems are pushing for now, would be much, much longer.

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