Monday, August 29, 2011

All Wet

Hurricanes in New York; earthquakes in Virginia; drought in Texas; historic flooding on the Mississippi, and the tornadic destruction of Joplin Missouri and Tuscaloosa, Alabama. That's quite a summer. But climate change is a hoax, right? It's just another racket for Al Gore to cash in on, like he did with his invention of the internet. Every sensible person knows it's only the Earth's cyclical behavior and we're just at the metaphorical top of the Ferris Wheel. We'll come down someday. Meanwhile, floodwaters are raging through Vermont and it's still too early to calculate the damage caused by last weekend's Hurricane. But, go ahead and have another cocktail and try not to think about it too much. Historic, destructive weather events are the government's responsibility. Or, they were before the conservatives chimed in. Presidential candidate Ron Paul declared there should be no FEMA relief for the storm's victims, and that federal disaster relief is, "bad economics, bad morality, and bad constitutional law."

In any other time in our history, if there's one thing the populace could depend on, it is federal aid in a natural disaster. Even the criminal Bush got to New Orleans, eventually. But since the Tea Party is flexing its flaccid muscle and trying to abolish the federal government, this time there are strings attached. Even while the hurricane was bearing down on Majority Leader Eric Cantor's district, he was explaining that no federal relief would be forthcoming without equivalent cuts in other social programs. Arrogance like this can only come from a representative that doesn't fear for his re-election, but let a bridge collapse in Richmond and we'll see if he combs the budget for something to cut before requesting funds. Cantor, the only Jewish Republican, is what is known in Yiddish as a nar, or a fool. There's lots of them, but Cantor's the poster boy. He has many positions on social matters, but they're all heartless and contrary to the Judaic principles of social justice. If I weren't so concerned about ugly mail from my fellow tribesmen, I'd go so far as to say Cantor is a disgrace to the Jews. The really troubling fact is that not a single Republican disagreed with or disavowed Cantor's statement about holding emergency funds hostage to their asinine budget process.

The televangelical wing of the Republican Party was quick to blame the erratic weather on an angry and judgemental God who is displeased with us for not mentioning Him before the football game. Pat Robertson pointed out that the Virginia quake put a crack in the crown of the Washington Monument and immediately took it as a sign of impending national destruction. Franklin Graham has been saying the end times are at hand ever since the Japanese tsunami, and phony reverend Glen Beck stated that "The hurricane was a blessing," to remind us that mankind is not in charge. I suppose a hurricane's a "blessing" until it hits your house. And if corporate radio blatherer Rush Limbaugh hasn't found a way to say the hurricane was sent to postpone the opening of the Martin Luther King Memorial, he will. The current GOP has a faith-based emergency response where you love your neighbor, unless they're poor, black, brown, Mexican or Muslim, and any government assistance is viewed as creeping socialism. As a grateful beneficiary of a Christian charity, (The Church Health Center), I can testify to the great good they do both in a disaster and on a daily basis. Why is there always some hair-sprayed, half-bright rube explaining God's motivation for visiting destruction on humanity? I would never have known why Hurricane Katrina destroyed New Orleans if not for Jerry Falwell's explanation that it was divine retribution for a gay pride parade.

Leave it to the Tea Party to lose another argument. As soon as they begin chanting "Drill, baby, drill," there's an historic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. They scream for more nuclear energy and additional power plants right before Japan goes radioactive. Then here comes Rick Perry with a six-gun in one hand and a Bible in the other. Pridefully ignorant, Perry believes he was called by God to run for President. But, then so does Michele Bachmann. I guess it's true that many are called but few are chosen, but somebody's God is punking them. This perfectly illustrates the difference between progressive and conservative thought. Liberals come by their beliefs by reading and staying informed of the news. The evangelical right is indoctrinated in church. Progressives have opinions. Evangelical conservatives hold to their beliefs as acts of faith. The most recent poll shows that the Tea Party is the same old religious right that's been around since Richard Nixon recruited them to his cause. They're the Silent Majority, the Dixiecrats, the States Rights Party, The Moral Majority, and George Wallace's American Independent Party. Nothing new to see here, folks. Just move along.. My question is, how do you  reason with someone who's convinced that their way is the only way?

Hurricane Irene could have been worse, but the damages will be substantial. With washed-out roads and damaged infrastructure, this could be a golden moment for the president. I expect Obama to seize this opportunity to introduce vast new employment programs to repair crumbling bridges and electrical grids, flooded tunnels and deteriorating highways. Give the old interstate system to the sixteen-wheelers and build a new one just for cars. Try some New Deal programs like the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps), which employed people to build public works and parks; or the WPA (Works Progress Administration), which involved millions in the construction of roads and buildings across the nation. Whatever Obama does, it may as well be something bold, because while the country is in need of a "new" New Deal, the GOP is still trying to repeal the last one. It's now clear that the time for negotiating with rigid ideologues is over. In the last presidential election, I had hoped to be voting for another FDR, not the next Gerald Ford. The Tea Party believes Obama re-regulated Wall Street because liberals hate capitalism. If the president would stop trying to appease those who only wish for his destruction, maybe we could make some progress on the nation's economic recovery and the emotional well-being of its people. To paraphrase Cee Lo Green, forget the Tea Party. They've become irrelevant. Yet again.


18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Once again you nailed it. Cantor is an asshole, no one wants to claim him but the GOP. It is the right time for bold steps to be taken by Obama. How can we encourage him to jump in with both feet and fix the problems. Damn the torpedo's full speed ahead! Keep up the great work.

ub navigator said...

Cantor is what we call "a shanda for the goyem"...........just another reason to point a finger at the jews.

Anonymous said...

Lieberman's not a GOP yet?

Alan said...

Dixiecrats, States rights party & George Wallace were Democrates. Lyndon Johnson Stopped the first attempt at civil rights legislation as Majority leader in the 50’s, a Republican initiative. Earthquakes and tsunamis are not related to Global warming. Do you even know the makeup of Greenhouse gasses? Water Vapor is by far the largest % of GHG, Carbon Dioxide is just under 400 parts per million in the atmosphere . Pre 1775 was 280 PPM. That is an increase of 100 PPM in 200 years. The Global Warming proponents claim an increase of 35% in CO2. They don’t mention hat it is only and increase of 100 PPM. If I gave you 1,000,000 marbles you would have a hard time finding even 1 of the 400 CO2 Marbles. Deforestation is by far the biggest contributor to Global Warming, not the industrialized world.

Anonymous said...

All wet? Right, looks like one big Wet Dream to me.

Randy Haspel said...

Nuclear weapons testing has been added to the list of unnatural causes for tsunami. I'd call that weather related.

Anonymous said...

Whenever anyone wants to prove that millions of Americans are either dumb or just plain nuts, they mention that 12% of the population is convinced that a badly scarred James Dean is living as a hermit and a 450-pound Elvis Presley is working at a 7/11 outside Nashville. I say that doesn't prove anything beyond wishful thinking. A far more convincing case can be made by pointing out that even now 40% of Americans believe that Barack Obama is doing a bang-up job. In a saner world, it's Obama who would be a hermit or working at a 7/11 in Chicago. Bert Prelutsky

Cousin Marty said...

Right on Randy. To the point, factual and rational and hence will draw uninformed statements and misrepresented "facts" from the far right.

Anonymous said...

I like this. It's like several hard jabs to the body followed by a right to the head.
Primo Carnera

Anonymous said...

Sun Causes Climate Change Shock
The science is now all-but-settled on global warming, convincing new evidence demonstrates, but Al Gore, the IPCC and other global warming doomsayers won’t be celebrating. The new findings point to cosmic rays and the sun — not human activities — as the dominant controller of climate on Earth.

The research, published with little fanfare this week in the prestigious journal Nature, comes from über-prestigious CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, one of the world’s largest centres for scientific research involving 60 countries and 8,000 scientists at more than 600 universities and national laboratories. CERN is the organization that invented the World Wide Web, that built the multi-billion dollar Large Hadron Collider, and that has now built a pristinely clean stainless steel chamber that precisely recreated the Earth’s atmosphere.

In this chamber, 63 CERN scientists from 17 European and American institutes have done what global warming doomsayers said could never be done — demonstrate that cosmic rays promote the formation of molecules that in Earth’s atmosphere can grow and seed clouds, the cloudier and thus cooler it will be. Because the sun’s magnetic field controls how many cosmic rays reach Earth’s atmosphere (the stronger the sun’s magnetic field, the more it shields Earth from incoming cosmic rays from space), the sun determines the temperature on Earth.

Runner said...

Cantor--Lieberman---"I wish I could be a really important person. Badly. So, whatever I have to do to get myself out there is fine. Doesn't matter what it is. Just make me important."

Sickening.

performs said...

Thank you, CERN, for doing what science does best, which is to observe from different perspectives in order to come up with different conclusions, which by next week will all be "proven" wrong by the latest limited observation.
After a rest, I hope CERN can get on to figuring out who or what is responsible for polluting and wasting our air, fresh water, soil, and food. Maybe it will turn out to be the mischievous Moon.

Anonymous said...

Cousin Marty, you are a prophet! You're right, just check the posts one above and two below your comments. Great blog, Randy, as ever! --Robespierre

Alan said...

How is the report from CERN an uninformed statements and misrepresented "facts" from the far right. Do some research on CERN. http://www.newsroomamerica.com/story/165340.html
Do a little research and you will find that just because Al Gore says all scientist agree it is not true. CERN is not a right wing org. or without credible scientist.

Chris Ellis said...

Haspel, you're a Jew??? If I could whup your ass before a congregation of thousands, they would call me a prophet and elect me Governor.

Anonymous said...

Not saying CERN is absolutely correct. Just saying the scientists don't all agree on this issue? I try to have an open mind.

Anonymous said...

Why do I get the impression when I read this blog that most of the people here are starry-eyed, beanie-with-a-propellor wearing unicorn chasers? Alan and the Anonymous who reported on the CERN findings are the exceptions. It was fun being a fool 40 years ago, but most people grew out of it over time. Maybe the effects of LSD never leave some personality types. Still into the Harmonic Convergence and the Space Brothers? I say that because you seem to believe all kinds of hare-brained things. But, the world would be a dull place without deceived weirdos, Hell's Angels, and other colorful types. It is sooo amazing to read the bilge that is written here and that is taken so seriously by some. Education should have corrected this kind of thing, but then most received a public school education...so called. Natural selection will take care of this type of problem caused by those in the shallow end of the gene pool, but it may take a while. Another homocidal dictator like Stalin could speed things up, but that is so tacky.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous who reported on CERN, if you have an open mind you will never be accepted on this blog. That is the one thing that is verboten here. Most liberals are like this, though. They only want to hear one point of view...their's. Only ideologues who completely agree with Sputnik's screed are welcomed. I attribute this state of affairs to devolutionary forces to which some seem to be susceptible. These forces seem to be working on the subconscious of those who are susceptible creating a new subspecies of Homo sapiens. Another deadend to the phylogenetic tree. They do make for an interesting case study for those who are interested in faulty psychological development, though. A book was recently written by an MD whose thesis is that liberalism is a mental/developmental disorder. He is on to something. However, I disagree with him as to the ultimate source of this malady.