House of Eratosthenes

Think of this one (along with all the other d’jever-notice posts) as an inquiry of the “Am I The Only One Who” sort. Not so that I can tell others what they should be thinking…I really do want to know if I’m the only one.

Liberals are working on two pieces of “landmark legislation” right now. You know the drill: They pass “landmark” stuff, everybody else “sets the clock back a hundred years.” I’d sure like to exchange some ideas with them right about now — find out what in the hell is going on in their head, how it makes sense to call a new offense punishable by hard prison time a “public option.”

But it is at times like these that it is toughest to engage them. Going by their words, it is all my fault. I’m at my stupidest right now. I need to pipe down and shut up until the “landmark” is safely on the desk of “basically God” getting that Presidential signature. Then, presumably, I’ll smarten up and I’ll be fit for casual conversation again. They’ll be happy to discuss with me the latest Boston Legal re-run, and what a wonderful job it did of “presenting both sides.”

So am I particularly stupid during these times? Or am I always stupid, and it’s only evident when liberals are in the middle of trying to do something that makes the living of life a whole lot more secure but also a whole lot tougher?

I keep wondering, because when they are in the middle of doing their damage, I don’t get the impression that they think I’m stupid…or that they think it’s evident that I’m stupid. The impression I get is of a subtly different thing. It’s that there is great urgency in audibly pointing out how stupid I am. To sit there silently, nodding, thinking to one’s hardcore-liberal self about what a stupid dolt I am, is decidedly out of the question. It’s rather like an air raid siren. And it competes with others, because anyone else pointing out facts inconvenient to the latest liberal attempt, is just as stupid as I am, and it’s just as urgent an exercise to point out that too.

My God, the energy liberals spend giving instructions to each other on what to think about things. Just the sheer wattage involved. One must naturally wonder if it might not be a principal cause of global warming.

This is not natural. I do, just in my own personal stuff, some “landmark” things now and then. Like anyone else who labors to make things a certain way and wants them to turn out right, I try to avoid it. Go for the smaller, incremental, testable changes first. When a “landmark” thing becomes unavoidable, my readiness, willingness, and ability to engage ideas reaches a high zenith rather than a low nadir. It’s my natural desire not to screw up. When I’m doing “landmark” things I want to make sure they’re being done right. It’s when I’m doing the tedious, mundane everyday maintenance things that I might be inclined to brush off what other people say.

Here liberals are with not just one “landmark” thing, but two — health care and climate — and all of we who are not them, are cresting out in our dumb ol’ chuckle-headedness. Perhaps it is a lack of ammunition that is the liberals’ problem. As Ann Coulter said,

If liberals were prevented from ever calling Republicans dumb, they would be robbed of half their arguments…the loss of “dumb” would nearly cripple them. Like clockwork, every consequential Republican to come down the pike is instantly, invariably, always, without exception called “dumb.” This is how six-year-olds argue: They call everything “stupid.” The left’s primary argument is the angry reaction of a helpless child deprived of the ability to mount logical counterarguments…the “you’re stupid” riposte is part of the larger liberal tactic of refusing to engage ideas. Sometimes they evaporate in the middle of an argument and you’re left standing alone, arguing with yourself. More often, liberals withdraw figuratively by responding with ludicrous and irrelevant personal attacks.

And this does seem to be what I’m seeing.

It causes me great concern. There is supposed to be a whole lot of confidence that Nancy Pelosi has slapped together the perfect stack of 2,000 pages of stuff…stuff that’ll fine your ass thousands of dollars if you don’t buy a health plan, and then after that, throw you in the hoosegow if you still haven’t complied.

That it is a liberal idea, concerns me greatly. These never seem to be good ideas, in the long run. Never.

But it causes me much greater concern that it’s being defended by people who argue like six-year-olds. Even if they’re right about me and others being so stupid…does it matter? Stupid people, every now and then, have the right idea. Smart people, very often have the wrong one.

People who argue like six-year-olds, on the other hand, cannot select the right idea any more often than they would by random chance. To make a good decision more often than you would by random chance, you have to be able to evaluate an idea, figure out where it would lead over time, and think rationally and dispassionately on any objections to it. All that might very well, once in awhile, be within the capacity of a stupid person. But six-year-olds lack this ability, and so people who argue like six-year-olds also must lack this ability. Unless they’re hiding some secret skill set, which does not seem to be the case.

If it’s a great, wonderful plan that will help the country, seems to me it should be possible to see it defended that way now & then. But I don’t. The urgency in pointing out my brainlessness seems to always take priority. So is it just me?

Cross-posted at Cassy Fiano‘s place.

You are not alone.

A plurality of American votes now refer to themselves as Conservative; many because they always have, others because considering the alternative often causes projectile vomiting and explosive diarrhea. These numbers should provide some reassurance, as well as tea parties, last Thursday’s capital protest, the popularity of Talk Radio, etc.

It is in the best interest of the opposition to divide and conquer – feeling alone is a byproduct of that effort. It is Just A Feeling – nothing more.

We find ourselves in a daycare center with a class of preschoolers. How does one keep order? We Conservatives need to reign in the six-year-olds, establish ASAP who is in charge (along with the consequences of disobedience), and occasionally retire to the Teacher’s Lounge for encouragement and a recharge.

…and a reminder that we are not alone.
- stevehorth | 11/10/2009 @ 07:53
You are definitely not alone, but may I say you nailed it with a 50 caliber here:

I’d sure like to exchange some ideas with them right about now — find out what in the hell is going on in their head, how it makes sense to call a new offense punishable by hard prison time a “public option.”

A smouldering pit where that argument lay! Nice job.

As far as this:

Liberals are working on two pieces of “landmark legislation” right now. You know the drill: They pass “landmark” stuff, everybody else “sets the clock back a hundred years.”

… yes. They sneak or force bad legislation onto us and call it “progress”, and when we try to undo it or minimize the damage, we’re “setting the clock back”.

May I remind them of a cheesy scene in one of the Superman movies where Superman flies around and around the earth “backwards” to go back in time to rescue Lois Laine who’s been killed in a ginormous catastrophe. Yeah… sometimes it would be better if you could go “back” … to before something tragic happened.

The difference is, they don’t see it as a tragedy, and it’s failure to fix problems and the actual undesirable consequences will be used as both “proof” that they need to do more and … it will be blamed on the people trying to “set the clock back”.

The “stupid” people trying to set the clock back, that is.

Only their intentions count. Consequences don’t matter. They are exempt from them. If you are against their ideas, don’t argue consequences. (Don’t argue anything, because, of course, you are “stupid”.) No, if you are against their ideas, you are against their intentions — there is no way the consequences could differ from their intentions.
- philmon | 11/10/2009 @ 08:15
[…] Prejudice, Denial and Fort Hood Fifty-Eight Percent D’JEver Notice? XLVII Happy 234th Marines Your Latest Attention Whoring Episode: A 14-Foot Snake Good Night, Eileen, Good […]
- House of Eratosthenes | 11/10/2009 @ 08:25
[…] Redux Nidal Hasan Headline Roundup Prejudice, Denial and Fort Hood Fifty-Eight Percent D’JEver Notice? XLVII Happy 234th Marines Your Latest Attention Whoring Episode: A 14-Foot Snake Good Night, Eileen, Good […]
- House of Eratosthenes | 11/10/2009 @ 20:10
Liberals are working on two pieces of “landmark legislation” right now. You know the drill: They pass “landmark” stuff, everybody else “sets the clock back a hundred years.”

I remember the 2000 presidential campaign. According to Al Gore, their ideas were “a bold initiative” while our ideas were “a risky scheme.”
- cylarz | 11/12/2009 @ 01:56
Like clockwork, every consequential Republican to come down the pike is instantly, invariably, always, without exception called “dumb.”

No, Newt Gingrich was called “evil” and “stingy” and “wanted to take food out of the mouths of hungry schoolchildren.” He also was supposed to be some kind of dangerous reactionary for not wanting women in combat, as well as a tax cheat for improperly reporting the income from teaching some college class.

Clarence Thomas was an “Uncle Tom” and a pet of them white folks. You already know what one of them said about Robert Bork.

Rush Limbaugh was derided as a drug addict, a racist, misogynist, homophobe, and draft-dodger. Nixon was supposedly a liar and a crook.

See? They don’t ALWAYS just call us “stupid.” Sometimes they have other amusing insults as well.

Course, Ann’s right as usual. Palin, Reagan, Bush II…yep.
- cylarz | 11/12/2009 @ 02:02
[…] If you’re ready, willing and able to call dangerous things dangerous and safe things safe, you are a moron. […]
- House of Eratosthenes | 11/14/2009 @ 22:43
[…] If you’re ready, willing and able to call dangerous things dangerous and safe things safe, you are a moron. […]
- Cassy Fiano » On Intellectualism | 11/14/2009 @ 22:54

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