Jaded Times

Ladies and gents, meet Florida Representative Mark Foley. Now, say goodbye to Florida Representative Mark Foley. Most valuable quote?

Federal authorities say such messages could result in Foley’s prosecution, under some of the same laws he helped to enact.

I don’t even need to bother with a joke. But just to be clear to all you homophobes out there, all gay men are not pedophiles. Just the Republican ones.

Think it would be, well, fucking nuts for a standing president in the modern age to propose a budget that is almost two thirds military, showing dramatic cuts in social programs, the arts, and education? Think again.

Note the increases in spending and the size of our “intelligence” spending. Then also note the actual endowment to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and the drop (25%). Other interesting bits: 68% increase in spending on the international drug war (we takin this shit global, b!). And a 64% drop in the Small Business Administration funding and a 30% drop in higher education funding, along with average drops of 16-18% on all student loan points! Add all this up (with the many, many other examples of cuts in public programs, housing, and care) and one might be inclined to think that our President doesn’t actually give a shit about the people in his own country!

Crazy, of course. I mean, they’re just numbers. You can’t pick up a number, make a goo-goo face at it, and kiss it on the forehead. In front of the press cameras. Well, Fox News cameras. The point is numbers aren’t people; everyone knows that. Just ask all the bodies being flown back weekly from Iraq.

Ah, the burning bush. A lovely mental image.

*ahem* According to the BBC, Pope Benedict XVI has drawn the ire of the Muslim world for making anti-Islamic comments during a speech in, of all places, Germany. Proving that a quiet pope is a good pope, Benedict apparently quoted a 14th century emporer who, being himself Christian, had questioned what Islam offered the world:

The emperor’s words were, he said: “Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.”

Needless to say, it went down like a lead balloon. Fortunately, Germans have some experience in these matters.

Truly the Pope was not displaying much in the way of compassion or common sense; perhaps something from the works of Pablo Neruda might have been less risque. Or maybe something from, what is that book…oh, yeah, the bible, I think he’s got a copy somewhere. There’s lots of good stuff in there, like loving your neighbor and leaving judgment to God, that sort of thing.

Several Muslim nations, including Turkey and Pakistan, have made public and political calls for a full retraction of the statement. All I can say is, as a Jew, it’s nice to not be involved in this one.

Ok, the title may be slightly misleading, as I honestly have no idea what the “docu-drama” is about, but thank fuck for people like ActForChange, this week’s group of brainless retarded moveon.org clones. Their call to arms over the upcoming ABC show serves as a great example of why not to listen to left wing extremists, as well as the value of a well argued position (or even a not-so-very well argued one).

Let’s look at this logically. These alleged “activists” want me to get fired up over the fact that ABC, the channel that brought us Growing Pains, is airing a drama that is not historically accurate? Pardon me, but there’s a list of about ten million things these people could be spending their time and energy on that is far more productive. Like killing themselves.

And, in fact, their complete lack of any argument, or even description of content, has done nothing for me at all. It has failed to stir any anger, rage, or empathy of any sort, but it has made me a tad curious about what the show is like. If I had a tv, I would be tuning in.

So well done, you whiney liberal bitches, this thing will likely be the highest rated pile of dung on TV for months, and they didn’t have to do a damn thing to get it there.