Alarming News: I like Morgan Freeberg. A lot.
American Digest: And I like this from "The Blog That Nobody Reads", because it is -- mostly -- about me. What can I say? I'm on an ego trip today. It won't last.
Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler: We were following a trackback and thinking "hmmm... this is a bloody excellent post!", and then we realized that it was just part III of, well, three...Damn. I wish I'd written those.
Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler: ...I just remembered that I found a new blog a short while ago, House of Eratosthenes, that I really like. I like his common sense approach and his curiosity when it comes to why people believe what they believe rather than just what they believe.
Brutally Honest: Morgan Freeberg is brilliant.
Dr. Melissa Clouthier: Morgan Freeberg at House of Eratosthenes (pftthats a mouthful) honors big boned women in skimpy clothing. The picture there is priceless--keep scrolling down.
Exile in Portales: Via Gerard: Morgan Freeberg, a guy with a lot to say. And he speaks The Truth...and it's fascinating stuff. Worth a read, or three. Or six.
Just Muttering: Two nice pieces at House of Eratosthenes, one about a perhaps unintended effect of the Enron mess, and one on the Gore-y environ-movie.
Mein Blogovault: Make "the Blog that No One Reads" one of your daily reads.
The Virginian: I know this post will offend some people, but the author makes some good points.
Poetic Justice: Cletus! Ah gots a laiv one fer yew...
About a week ago I put out a voter test, because contrary to popular belief, the United States Constitution does not guarantee a right to vote. That test was tongue-in-cheek; it didn’t make much of a point about anything, other than that we have a lot of extreme dimwits walking around voting.
That seems a perfectly innocent state of affairs — until you stop and realize everyone gets one vote and only one vote. So when a mouth-breather goes out and casts a vote without knowing what he’s doing, it cancels out your vote, along with all the research you might have conducted behind it. You might as well not have engaged in any of it.
But anyway. What follows is a far more serious test. It raises a point for each of the ten questions on it…along with an eleventh point. And the eleventh point is, we have a lot of people walking around who are not stupid, not dimwits, in fact are perfectly productive and intelligent people. But they don’t put too much thought into voting. That problem is worse than the problem with dimwits voting, because these folks understand they’re not stupid, and they’re right. They’re intelligent. But thoughtless.
So give it a try, to make sure you’re not one of them.
1. When the minimum wage is increased from a lower rate of X to a higher rate of Y
a. Everybody who previously earned something between X and Y, now earns Y
b. All jobs that pay between X and Y, are outlawed
2. When it is illegal to own guns
a. Guns disappear
b. People who follow the law can’t have guns, but people who don’t follow the law, might
3. When the tax rate on a commodity is raised 10%, you can count on collecting 10% more revenue from this tax
a. True
b. False
4. People hurt and kill other people because
a. They’re impoverished
b. They are lacking in respect for human life
5. What we know about illegal aliens is
a. That they’re here to work hard, follow the law, and take care of their families
b. We don’t know anything about them, including who they really are, because they’re illegal
6. If you run an office with ten black women working in it, and two of them quit, and you hire two white guys in their place, you have
a. Decreased the diversity of the office
b. Increased the diversity of the office
7. If you inherit money from someone who paid taxes while they were earning it, and estate taxes are collected, that money has been taxed
a. Once
b. Twice
8. If your husband asks you nicely to bring him a beer, and you refuse to do it, you are
a. Standing up for the rights of women everywhere
b. Being an obstinate, irascible bitch
9. When people engage in discrimination, the rest of us have to
a. Force them to stop doing it, until the day discrimination is gone forever
b. Draw our own conclusions about their judgment and character
10. American values are
a. Separation of church and state, equal protection under the law, womens’ right to choose, fair and equal distribution of wealth, diversity
b. Privacy of religion, free exercise thereof, inalienable rights granted by a Creator, equal protection under the law, freedom over security
Scoring:
Ten percentage points for every question answered with “b”.
90-100: Go ahead and vote
70- 80: Vote with caution
50- 60: Discuss issues with friend or relative who got higher score, then vote
40 and lower: Don’t vote; there are wonderful reruns on the idjit box on Tuesday nights
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Mmmmmm. Guy like this test.
(Guy as in Guy LeDouche from Spike TV’s MXC … they pronounce the name /ghee/) 🙂
Ok, it’s an oddball reference. But I use it a lot.
- philmon | 08/30/2008 @ 10:16Oh, and whatever you do if you score below 50, please … Don’t Rock The Vote
- philmon | 08/30/2008 @ 10:22I suppose that makes me an obstinate, irascible bitch…..who plans to vote….
- ASoldierswife | 08/30/2008 @ 11:26Well, if he’s happy with you, then so am I. And we all have our areas of potential self-improvement.
- mkfreeberg | 08/30/2008 @ 11:28I guess I got only 80 and have to vote with caution because I think the answers are all (b) except:
6. Not enough info. How do I know just from info given how “diverse” the previous group of 10 black women was vs. how “diverse” the current group of 8 black women + 2 white men? Unless of course by “diversity” you meant only racial and/or sexual diversity, in which case the question needs clarification (and of course the answer would be b.)
7. I’m not sure money taxed via estate taxes has been taxed only twice. The estate tax is levied on money that is left over after income taxes and sales taxes, capital-gains taxes, property taxes, etc. The answer is at least twice, of course, but it may be more.
- Sonic Charmer | 08/30/2008 @ 17:53Hmmm. If my wife asks me nicely to bring her something, I bring it. If I ask her nicely to bring me something, she brings it. Much of the time, neither of us even has to ask.
I pity those who feel the urge to balk at doing nice things for their spouses. “I shouldn’t have to.” That’s right. You shouldn’t have to. You should want to. Otherwise, why, exactly, did you marry the dude? (Or if you’re not married, what are you doing with him? What is the basis of your relationship?)
- philmon | 08/30/2008 @ 19:05Hmmm….. I respect the opinions of others and definitely see can see their point of view…..but let me further my answer a bit….being married to a Soldier is never easy, nor is it anything like the show “Army Wives.” But being married to one who has been in a War Zone more then he has been home (not his fault, but none the less easy either) and my having to be everything, to everyone, all the time, for years, (me to our children, him to his Soldiers) leaves both of us a little raw around the edges at times. Throw in a good dose of fear and our having to move 6 times in 8 years, just adds fuel to the fire, but we cope and we adapt the best we can.
So if I happen to “balk” at doing something for my husband on the rare occasion, I would certainly not attribute it to my standing up for the rights of women everywhere, to me that would be ludicrous, so of course I would consider myself a bitch for not doing it…..and then I will apologize to him….
And I married him because I happen to love him more then life, he’s my hero, my champion and the most wonderful man I have ever known. He is gentle and forgiving even when he doesn’t have to be….. a rare quality I have found in few men, much less in a seasoned Warrior….. and let’s not forget the fact that he is hot, even at 41 (can’t forget that)…… my original answer was simple truth, much like everyone else in the world, I have my not so great moments, am I proud of them, NO, but neither are they a stand for a greater cause….ya know? And I do plan to ROCK THE VOTE! 😀
- ASoldierswife | 08/31/2008 @ 11:45Well, like I said if you’re a good enough wife for him, then you’re all gold in my eyes.
The target of my “test question” is the woman who behaves as if this is a civil rights issue. I understand this may give rise to the temptation that this a product of my imagination, and if that’s the case, I suggest you poll some married-and-divorced gentlemen about it. To me, a lady is never actually obligated to bring her man a cold beer, any more than she would be obligated to lie with him in the marital bed or do anything else pleasing to him.
But once she’s up, and he’s not, and she’s closer, and he asks nicely and says “please”…socially, it is on par with, or above, a situation involving a complete stranger making the same request. And this is where I draw the line. Married women treating their husbands with less hospitality, pleasant disposition and common courtesy than they’d show to strangers. Having been married I understand it’s natural to want to do this sometimes, but there’s no excuse for actually doing it.
And anyone thinking women who refuse to bring a man a beer, are better than women who go ahead and bring him one — or that the social status of other women who will never be met has been somehow elevated when they so refuse — should not be voting. Doesn’t appear to me that you’re in that camp.
- mkfreeberg | 08/31/2008 @ 12:24That’s all cool if you are both happy. Guess I just don’t understand it.
You sound like a right decent person. I went over and gave a gander at your blog. Plus, what you said about your love for your husband does speak volumes. And it’s also clear to me that when you vote it won’t be a mindless “rock the vote” vote.
I see the “Rock the Vote” campaign as a way to get very young voters out to vote in numbers, precisely because they are easily manipulated and tend to break strongly to the Left — not because they are interested, informed, rational young minds. That’s why it turns me off.
Please, feel free to Rock it in the other direction 😉
- philmon | 09/02/2008 @ 11:21