Category: Uncategorized (Page 30 of 53)

I have no idea what is in Agenda 21, and I’m not sure I care. It probably consists of a lot of guidelines that could generally be considered either common sense or good-neighbor rules of thumb. So why bring it up? The right wing loons (RWLs) of several states have opted to propose legislation banning any adherence to Agenda 21.

David Frum in GOP: Ditch the Agenda 21 Tinfoil Hat Brigade quotes a conservative friend, Rob Sisson:

In 1992, President George H. W. Bush signed the U.S. onto a non-binding United Nations agreement called Agenda 21. The agreement is hardly more than a list of ways that local communities can better conserve natural resources. The general header for such practices is “sustainability.”

During my tenure as mayor of Sturgis (MI), a city of about 12,000 people, we implemented several sustainable practices that resulted in substantial savings to taxpayers. A green roof on a new public works building minimized heating and cooling costs in the building, reduced storm water runoff, and lowered long term maintenance expenses. When a neighborhood was annexed, we utilized rain gardens in lieu of costly curb and gutter to manage storm water, saving taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Hardly controversial, you’d think.

Yet Glenn Beck, the John Birch Society, and various tea party groups have condemned “Agenda 21” as a globalist conspiracy to destroy America. And state legislators are listening.

By the sort of logic employed by the Beck Rubes, since Mao espoused (at least, publically) female equality, the concept of female equality is forever tainted. Taking this reasoning to its logical conclusion, we could claim that, Since Pol Pot attempted to feed the population of his country, we should starve ours. Of course, this is difficult. In Jim Jong Il’s North Korea, foodstuffs were traded to foreign countries in exchange for hard currency with which to buy weapons. This was done in time of famine. Thus, if two despots have different priorities such that one cannot hope to “do the opposite” of both, this brand of logic becomes untenable.

Way to go Arkansas.

The Arkansas House of Representatives passes Republican 20 Week Abortion Ban. There are not even any exceptions for rape and incest. The current non-Huckabee governor, Mike Beebe, is a Democrat. In this part of the country, however, that is no guarantee of rationality. Fortunately, his office has issued a statement that he is unlikely to sign the bill. According to RH Reality Check,

[February 5th] he announced that his office’s preliminary research into the bill says it would be unlikely to survive a court challenge.

I wish that, for once, these clowns would lose the Orwellian names and just call a bill the “Filthy Slut Had It Coming, Now Get in the Kitchen and Make Me Some Pie Act.”

h/t Little Green Footballs

David Frum’s portion of the Daily Beast had a post up titled Limbaugh: Difference Between Cubans and Mexicans is… containing this Limbugh quote:

[T]he way the Republicans are looking at it is that they think that Hispanic immigrants are made-to-order conservatives. For some reason, culturally, they think that they’re invested in hard work. And using the Cuban exile model, they’re exactly right. But the Hispanic demographic, if you will, or population, has shifted. And the Cuban exile model is no longer the dominant model. The Mexican immigrant model is. And that — they arrive with an entirely different view of America. And I’m sorry if this is offensive, but it’s true.

You see, the Cubans’ embrace of the right wing is due to their work ethic. Unlike most “ethnics,” Cubans are not chronic layabouts. Look at any constructions site in New Mexico at lunchtime. The majority of these so-called “workers” will be of the “Mexican immigrant model.” There they sit, moochers and looters eating some vile ethnic fare, even as society’s producers like whites and Cubans toil away in air-conditioned office buildings.

I would hold that one can objectively claim that if you listen to Rush Limbaugh, you are a pox on the society in which you live.

I’m sure I’m a bit late on commenting on the Dewar’s ad. I had to go in to work early this morning, and somehow the conversation turned to wines. I thought I would make it a little more low-brow, so I introduced Night Train. My interest was piqued, and when I got home, I sought more information on such oenophilic delights. As I have the attention span of a toddler, I followed a number of different paths until I ran into the aforementioned:

Dewar’s Scotch claims to be for “serious” drinkers. Maybe it’s the cynic in me, but I when I think of “serious” drinkers, the starting point of my Google soujourn is what comes to mind:

via Bum Wines

It’s been around for a while, but the genre of television-delivered brain atrophy therapy known as the high school drama keeps intruding into commercials. Granted, my viewing of those commercials implies I am already undergoing a less potent form of the same therapy. Nevertheless, I am compelled to comment on that particular genre to my ones of readers.

I am reminded of the Bruce Springsteen song, Glory Days. It is an upbeat tune, but listening to the words is an exercise in depression.

I think I can make a general description of those people whose glory days occurred in high school: sad. I understand that there are exceptions. Many Olympic athletes certainly did attain a certain glory at that age, but for the most part the rest of us find it completely forgettable. I think we do our children a serious disservice by allowing them to believe that high school soap opera and sports will have any lasting interest for them later in life.