Red Dawn for the Gun Nuts

Remember the move “Red Dawn”? Not the crap-tastic waste of film they put out last November, but the original 1984 version. It starred Patrick Swayze and a young Charlie Sheen as leaders of a group of teens who fight off invading Soviet forces. The movie is pretty much a wet-dream for conservative hawks and right wing conspiracy theorists (Glenn Beck probably stores it with his porn collection). It’s just the kind of fantasy scenario that gun-nuts are absolutely obsessed with, the fantasy of fighting an invading army, or a tyrannical government, against impossible odds and emerging victorious. Well, strictly speaking, the kids in the movie weren’t very triumphant, and realistically speaking, neither would the gun nuts in a similar situation.

Dear Liberals: Please Step Back From the "Cliff"

Late New Year's Day congress passed a deal to avert the so-called "fiscal-cliff" that has had everyone crapping their pants with angst for the past month.  As these "deals" often go, no one got everything that they wanted.  Republicans were forced to raise taxes on rich folks, committing a cardinal sin against their great Gods of Limbaugh and Norquist, while President Obama was forced to settle for less in taxes than he originally wanted.  Needless to say, the Magic-Pony Progressives among us immediately took to Twitter, Facebook, airwaves, and blogs to claim that Obama "caved" once again to Republicans, with most of them starting their rantings before even reading the actual deal.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Resolutions and Wishes for 2013!

It's that time of year again, fellow liberals, to take stock of what's been accomplished over the last 12 months, and to look forward to another year with hope and optimism and all that stuff that sounds nice on December 31st but starts to stale around February. With that in mind, here's my wish list for 2013.

In Case You Forgot...

Blogger's Note:  I originally posted this in the blog.com account on 12/19/10.  Given the events of the past week, I thought we could use the reminder.  And besides, who DOESN'T love it when Linus recites the Gospel of Luke.

With all of the hustle and bustle of the season - folks doing the shopping thing, the party thing, the caroling thing, and every other thing – not to mention all of the arguing, fussing, and fighting that seems to have been taken to the next level of late over “Merry Christmas” vs. “Happy Holidays”, it’s easy to forget exactly what we’re celebrating and why. So, in the spirit of the holiday, I’d like to offer this reminder. Fair warning to all of the Atheists, Jews, Muslims, and various other groups and individuals who don’t celebrate the holiday. You know I love and respect you all, but this time you’re just going to bear with me ‘cause I’m about to go all Christmas on ya’.

Tell Me Again Why It's "Too Soon" To Talk About Gun Control

When I first saw the story of Friday's massacre at a Connecticut elementary school, my first reaction was almost boredom.  That would turn out to be the most positive emotion that I would have that day.  The fact that this being the second public shooting this week isn't the most astonishing thing about this story should at least give us some pause.  What really hurts my heart, and I'm sure the hearts of most people, are the victims.  Of the 27 people killed in this shooting, 20 of them were children, some as young as 5 years old.

It's the Most "Socialist" Time of the Year

So we come to another season of unbridled avarice, greed, and materialism, our annual celebration of the birth of Christ.  There are some who believe that Christmas has become too commercial to be considered a religious holiday anymore, and others who question whether it ever was.  They believe it started out as a Pagan celebration, but that's an argument for people way smarter than I.  Anyhow, whether you believe Christmas to be Christian, Pagan, commercial, or just a nice way to take your mind off the snow for a few weeks, there's one word that you'd hardly use to describe the holiday.  A word which, ironically enough, seems to fit more than any of the others...Socialist.

"Lincoln", and Right Wing Delusion

I don't normally post my personal activities on-line, whether it's on Twitter or in this blog. First off, they're really none of your business. Secondly, I really don't think I'm that interesting. That being said, I feel compelled to make some observations regarding the movie "Lincoln" which I had the pleasure of seeing this weekend, and ignorant crazy stupid of the Right-Wing. Usually before giving my opinion of a movie, I like to let it stew in my brain for a day or two so I can give a truly thought out assessment. Now that I've had the time, I've come to the conclusion that when it comes to Lincoln, and his Republican Party, the Right Wing actually has it right...they're just too stupid to realize it.