Motley Moose – Archive

I have been putting more effort into these in recent weeks. There is just so much insanity to work with lately. Ah, the astonishing absurdity of it all, edged however, with echoes from a frightening past…er, um…

Aw damn. I should just get this over with now.

****A ***WARNING:* to all who read this diary: This is not one of my normal tubes. We have serious business to attend to, so do not enter if all you want is amusement!** Then again, perhaps the entire thing is such sheer lunacy, then all it can do is make you laugh and laugh and laugh;~P*** Oh and please note: this diary is very long.****

Either way, I hope you enjoy them.

Ahem.

The latest absurdity seems to be the rather fierce rise in Anti-Islamism in the United States of America since 9/11 and in the past couple of weeks. I use that word because it reminds best of Anti-Semitism. To me, there seems no difference between the two “isms”, except of course, for the actual religions involved.  

Ok. So I agree Keith Olbermann is a gigantic ego maniacal twit who thinks he is the second coming of Edward R Murrow , but he is also a MSM liberal voice I often agree with, if I can stand watching him. Bear with me here…

Too much? I am sure that is by design (much in the same way those faux people do), but I am a such a sucker for the dramatic, and will admit I clutched my chest during and after his…um… special thingy.

And yet, things do seem very dire in my country these days. I worry whenever I see a campaign of hate being fostered by the gop, but I am not sure I have seen one work quite so well and so swiftly. Perhaps too well. I wonder how many of them are getting worried about what they have created this past month (years, decades)?

Why do republicans get away with using hate as a campaign tool?

Wow. Wow. Just wow. I got nothing.

No! Now wait just one damn minute! I do have one bloody question, as this all seems pretty grim to me. Do you think these folks are fascists or Nazi’s or something else? Or…and/or, are they fomenting others to the task? I ask, because I really want to know what you think.

So fuck Godwin, ’cause the scene has changed for me. Am I crazy or does this woman have a point?

Good gawd, I truly hope I am just over reacting to recent events. It has been known to happen;~J Please, please let me know if you think I am…uh, taking this too seriously.

Perhaps we just need something funny to take our minds off of all of this annoying hate.

Yep, that was pretty funny, but it didn’t really make me feel any better;~J

A hard if not impossible act to follow, I’ve struggled to find anything further to say on US politics which hasn’t been expressed in comments to and from Chris in his recent ‘Sell Me’ diary.

So forgive this oblique and perverse turn to the personal, as I turn my fire to the Month of August which, in recent memory, has always been the worst month of the year.

I don’t know why that is. I always look forward to August as a sun-baked time of relaxation away from home or – if staying at home – a sneaky enjoyment of the absence of others and the emptiness of the roads and transport system.

But for all its promise, August has always let me down…

Ahem. Bad Hollede! I have been trying to work on teh ‘Tubes’ for a while now, but a couple of little imps (you know who you are;~) have been, um, distracting me, and in fact, holding me hostage when I log onto my computer;~J LOL. Ah well, I guess it wouldn’t happen if I didn’t let them lure me away from my (self) appointed duties;~P It has been a lot of fun and I have sorely missed chatting with my on-line buddies, so please forgive my indulgence…

That being said, on with the ‘Tubes’!

I noticed this on teh MSNBC and laughed my ass off. This tube was put out by collegehumor.com, a group of amazingly talented folks, who have (IMHO) nailed the lunacy of the media and the daffy criticism from the left and right toward President Obama.  

Let’s see, no one is happy…maybe he is doing something right;~P

By: Inoljt, http://mypolitikal.com/

American concern for global warming appears to have reached a nadir. Poll after poll indicates that Americans are more skeptical of global warming; meanwhile the Senate cap and trade bill has been left for dead. As with so many other liberal issues nowadays, the news is grim.

Most pundits attribute this skepticism to partisan politics. The theory goes something like this: with partisan bickering at an all-time high, Republicans are tending to reflexively oppose any Democratic proposal, and vice versa. Because preventing climate change has become associated with liberals, Republican voters are now automatically treading against it.  This Times article exemplifies the strain of thought; it is titled “Rising Partisanship Sharply Erodes U.S. Public’s Belief in Global Warming.”

There is only one problem with this theory: it is not true.

More below.

OK, so against my better wishes I find myself writing a diary.  It’s all Strummerson’s fault for getting me going, but I suppose I had a few pages stuck in me somewhere.

The topic is this: “Sell me on being concerned about the Democrats keeping control of Congress.”

I’m exactly the kind of person who was extremely motivated and involved in the Obama election who is today mostly sitting on the sidelines while – in theory – the Dems might get a trouncing in the mid-terms. I will vote in November and it looks like I will vote Democrat mostly, but I’m doing nothing other than my usual talking (here and elsewhere) about it.

Most of you know that I am pretty Centrist on average and hold views on different topics which are in many ways deep parts of both the political right and left. At first glance I put down most of my ennui to an “in power” as opposed to “out of power” situation combined with general up tick in busyness. The more I think about it, however, the more I realize that the answer is more:

“I already got everything I was after.”

So, assuming I am doing more than rambling my fingertips in late-night stupor, I ask my fellow Moose and any passerby who feels like chiming in to convince me that there is some urgency I should feel about November.

Consider this a “Short Attention Span Theater” Open Thread.

But did anyone notice? I just got home from a busy day and turned MSNBC on (as is my auto habit), and discovered that at this moment the last of US combat troops are leaving Iraq. I had not realized this would be occurring today as most of the news lately has been about the earth shattering story of the “Ground Zero Mosque” (please insert snark here)

I can say “Fuck you!” in public, but I cannot (with your permission) actually fuck you in public.

Have you ever wondered why is it that a statement of sex as an insult between people who don’t like each other is a protected right, when the actual performance of sex as an act between two people who like each other is prohibited?

Why is sex profane?  This is not something that comes from nature.  Sex is one of the basic needs of all mammals, along with air, water, space, warmth and food.  So, it doesn’t come from our DNA, which means that we made this shit up.  Sex is free.  Sex feels good.  Societies across the globe discourage us from having sex, talking about sex, thinking good things about sex, being proud of sex.

The opposition to sex is so widespread across human cultures, that it seems universal, but is it?

(Cross-posted at SexGenderBody)

The rise of Islamophobia across Europe in recent years has filled me with a kind a foreboding I haven’t felt since the early 90s and the Nationalism in Former Yugoslavia. So I salute your President for taking on Palin, the TeaPartyers and Islamophobes over the Mosque Prayer Room in Downtown Manhattan as he celebrated the beginning of Ramadan at the White House last night.

By: Inoljt, http://mypolitikal.com/

It can be easy to become immersed in Beltway politics, in which names like Tim Pawlenty, John Ensign, and Harry Reid are instantly recognizable – or debates over the Stupak Amendment can rage on for hours.

One wonders how much of this filters down to the average voter. Does he or she really know what the public option constitutes?  How important, really, are the 2010 congressional elections to the normal citizen?

Several days ago, some political comments made by a non-politically-obsessed friend provided me some insight into how “normal” people think.

More below.