Who The Hell Is Saul Alinsky?

That side panel quote appears to be grossly misinformed.

We on the left just want to destroy America.  We're far too

lazy to do the rest of that shit.

Before you sit down with your popcorn to watch the next Republican debate, know this: you'll be hard-pressed to hear any facts being thrown around on that dais.   Although, to be fair, if you're watching a Republican debate, you probably aren't all that interested in facts.

But if you're one of those "in the middle" types or, far worse, someone without a backbone that bends to the whim of predictable political fear mongering, then you've probably heard Newt Gingrich compare President Obama to Saul Alinsky who, apparently, was an evil, dirty liberal.

At face value, that does sound quite frightening.  Saul?  The name alone invokes feelings of dread.  I think of Darth Maul from Star Wars.  Don't ask me why.  I just do.  Let me be me.

Odds and Ends - About Me.

I realized last night that I removed my ABOUT ME page a long time ago in an effort to clean up the site.  I had every intention of finding an alternative way to do it, but probably spaced during my long absence last Fall.

The increase in traffic has definitely reminded me that you web surfers have no idea who is writing this blog (and hey, you might not care).  So I used a little something called Wordle and came up with these three images.  Note: Clicking on the images should make them larger and easier to read.


The first one is composed of "labels" that would describe me, though I would like to point out that I generally hate labels.  Hypocritical, I know, but... yeah, whatever.  There's really no dodging 'em. 

 

The second Wordle describes my interests.  Fairly cut and dry stuff.

And the third one was purely just for funsies.  You can link your blog into the Wordle and it will generate an image.  I assume it was only using my last couple of posts...

...I love how the acronym "C.U.M." just stands right out on this one.

Anyway, I'm going to be experimenting with a video post (a.k.a. me screaming into my computer) soon, so keep an eye out for that.  Should be exciting.

Iraq v. Libya.

 

This fantastic visual aid is courtesy of ThinkProgress.org and the Center for American Progress.  Of course, if you still believe that President Bush was a better leader for our military, than this chart - with all its big words and fancy colors - will probably just confuse you.  So go get some crayons!  Here's some space for you to make your own pseudo-reality chart in: 

President Obama made the right move in working with our allies to free Libya from it's tyrannical dictator.  In this age, we can't afford to just go in to every country we don't agree with sans N.A.T.O. support.  $1.1 billion and no American lives lost?  Sounds like a win to me.

Rick Santorum's C.U.M. Movement.

 

When I woke up this morning, I had one thing on my mind: writing about education.  My first post, as you all have no doubt seen, was about Maine's governor demanding the legislature to cut MaineCare recipients (or face school closings).  My second post, currently in draft mode, is about President Obama's recent vetoing (technically) of Bush's No Child Left Behind Act.  

I guess what I'm trying to say is that when I woke up, I had no idea that Republican Presidential candidate Rick Santorum would make my day and, really, my entire weekend.  In an effort to help fund his campaign, Santorum has decided to set up an online drive called "Conservatives Unite Moneybomb," or C.U.M.  I'll let that sink in for just a second (gross).

A man whose name is synonymous with a rather disgusting byproduct of anal sex is trying to raise money with C.U.M.

Mob Boss LePage.

I've never tried to keep it a secret - I think Maine's Governor, Paul LePage, is a goddamn lunatic.  He is better suited to running a branch of the mob than he is to running a state.  And my hatred of him really has nothing to do the fact that he is a Republican either.  Hell, our last governor was a Democrat, and he didn't do anything (go figure).

But I digress.  LePage has been the face of Maine for more than a year now, and it seems like every time I see my state on the national news, it's because of something idiotic he has said.  Sometimes, I admit, I avoid writing about it simply because it can usually be summed up in my earlier (and quite popular) LePage post.  But if anything gets me, it's the subject of education, and LePage decided to hold it hostage recently over a budget quandary.

I found this lovely little snippet over at AddictingInfo:


Maine Governor Paul LePage has threatened to close down schools statewide unless he is allowed to throw 65,000 people off of MaineCare, Maine’s version of MedicAid.

“Right now, in order to continue the way we are, I will close schools May 1 and use that money, because that’s where we are,” LePage said in an appearance in Lewiston on Thursday evening. “It’s a matter of not having money. It’s not a matter of policy. It’s a matter of when you have one hundred dollars in your checkbook and you’re spending two hundred, you’ve got a problem.”

Yeah, sure, why cut the tax breaks you've given to corporations here in Maine when you can just as easily cut schools?  I mean, kids don't need to be educated these days.  And those jobs?  You know, the teachers and faculty that run the school?  They don't need those either.

Ironically, the school faculty would probably end up on MaineCare if their jobs were cut. 

Here's my favorite part of the article, though:

The state’s Democratic Party seems somewhat confused by this ultimatum as the Governor does not actually possess the legal authority to carry out his threat.

The Maine Constitution is very clear that the authority to fund public education lies with the Legislature, said Rep. Margaret Rotundo of Lewiston, the ranking Democrat on the Appropriations Committee.
“My understanding is that the Legislature would have to pass legislation not to fund the schools, and that’s not going to happen. It’s just not going to happen. So people don’t have to worry about the schools closing,” Rotundo said Friday.

This is very true.  Governor LePage doesn't have the power to just shut down schools.  If that were the case, most Republican-run states wouldn't have them.  Still, I find this to be quite telling of our governor.  Rather than cut the tax breaks he's given to Maine's corporations, LePage would cut the future's of Maine's children.

So yes, while education is safe from the mob boss (for now), rest assured that he will find something to cut - something that will affect the lower and middle classes far more than the upper.     






Both the quotes and the image above can be found at AddictingInfo.

Money: Democracy's Kryptonite.

No, I will not explain what kryptonite is. You should

know that already.  

 

So here's the story.  Back in 2010, the Supreme Court heard a case known as Citizens United V. The Federal Electoral Commission.  Citizens United is a conservative group that wanted to air a movie about Hillary Clinton that they had creatively titled Hillary: The Movie.  The strange part of all this was that they wanted to air it back in 2008 - the appeal didn't reach SCOTUS for about a year and a half.

It's really all convoluted.  The history of the case is so twisted and ridiculous, I'm surprised that the higher courts are able to remember what it is they are voting on.  I kid you not, SCOTUS benched the case in August of '08, heard oral arguments in March of '09, and then issued an order in June of '09 for the parties to reargue their cases in September of '09.  The vote, by the way, wasn't made until January of 2010.  

Comments: How The F**k Do They Work?

Following the trend of all successful bloggers, I'd like to say a little something about my comments section, because each and every writer has their own rules that govern viewer input.  Mine are, I'll tell you up front, a lot different than most other blogs.

Why?  Because of what this blog stands for, my goals for it, and my firm belief that if you are going to say something ignorant, you best be prepared to back up your facts.  If you don't, I will tear into you like a starving Tasmanian devil.  Here are a two perfect examples: my post on Maine Governor Paul LePage (very popular, might I add), and my post on a few random things that got one viewer's panties in a twist.  Check out the comments section on both of those.

So here's the deal: I will publish your comment so long as it is not "Anonymous" and it does not attack another commenter.  That's it.  You can curse, call me names, argue your possibly racist or sexist views, and I will not take it down so long as you are not "Anonymous" or attacking what I'll call an innocent bystander.

I guess there is a double-edge sword here, though.  If you give it, be prepared to take it; I reply to all comments.  All of them.

And this is for the few of you I know personally that have told me that I shouldn't respond to these negative comments, or that I shouldn't act so offended: I will respond, and I'm really not offended.  In fact, I find it funny.  I welcome comments of all shapes and sizes.  It amuses me to the point where I enjoy responding more than I enjoyed writing the actual post!

So I'm begging you... please comment.  I'd obviously prefer them to be positive or, in some way, a knowledgeable contribution (personal opinion, parallel experience, etc.), but if you've got something you want to say, then say it.



Note: I will give credit where credit is due here and say that I wrote this post after seeing a similar ones at Jobsanger (he did a post, then moved his rules to the sidebar on the right) and Day of the Woman (she did a fantastic vlog).  Their blogs, being different than mine, have different rules for commenting.  They're also awesome so please check them out.

How To Be A Good Lil' Customer.

"Oh, no, honey - it's okay.  I know I'm in a public place where

I'm expected to talk to other human beings, but I'd rather be rude

and make this call to you to talk about inane, unimportant nonsense."

 

I've worked in a lot of places in my life, and all of them have had something to do with food.  A movie theater, a gas station, two pizza places, and now the deli at a local grocery store.  It is my firm belief that everybody should experience the food industry (and maybe some retail) before settling into a career.  Why?  So that everybody knows what it's like to get treated like human garbage.  If you've served people, or used a cash register, or made people food, then you know exactly what I'm talking about.  Twenty people can come in and be absolutely great, but then that one asshole walks through the door with a ten foot stick up his ass, demanding that you make him a pizza while he simultaneously beats the piss out of you.

And what's the golden rule?  "The customer is always right."

That's why everyone should spend some time at Wendy's or a pizza joint.  It makes it a lot easier to empathize with the person on the other side of the counter if you've been there yourself.  Unless they are doing something completely idiotic (e.g. picking their nose while they make your sandwich), cut them a little slack.  A lot of people are far too impatient these days.  It's mind-boggling.  Here's a list of things people do as customers that they should stop doing until forever times.

On A Personal Note...

My break between semesters at college is officially over and that means, unfortunately, I won't be posting quite as much.  I do not want to do what I did during the Fall of 2011 - you know, not post at all.  So I'll try and be better when it comes to that.

But there is good news!  As you all probably know, I am a blog-view, number hoarding, whore.  And I, with your help, of course, have passed the 7,000 mark.  Please, hold your applause.  I have had an influx of traffic recently, and while I'm not entirely sure why, I believe some of it has to do with my (ahem) colorful language and choice of google images. 

I'll tell you this much: some of your googling motherfuckers are sick.  I can see what keywords you google to find my site.  So whomever Google image searched for "dog ass"... gross, dude.  I hope you found what you were looking for because ya certainly didn't find it here.  Not that I checked or anything (I did).

Anyway, back on track here, the influx of traffic has made me want to take this whole blogging thing to another level.  That's right.  Say goodbye to "Blogger" and HELLO to Asanebreakfromtheinsanity.com!  More on that later.

I'm also going to try and step away from the political sphere from time to time and focus on just every day things that irritate everyone, like I was originally doing (check out my old stuff using the archives on the right-side of this text!).  My intent when I first created this blog wasn't to rail on Republicans as much as I have been doing, so I'm going to try and reel that in a bit.  Not everyone likes to talk about the insanity that is the U.S. government, and I feel as though I've lost a lot of viewers because they don't want to read about the depressing shit I've been writing on. 

In other words, as much as I like the informative posts, I'm going to try and balance out the information with the humor.  50-50, ya know?  I didn't like the way it was tilting: 90-10. 

So anyway, that's my update.  Keep checking in and definitely subscribe if you haven't already.  Other than finding me on Facebook (don't do that), subscribing is the absolute best way to keep up to date on my posts. 

You guys complete me.

Pennslyvanian Teachers Suffer From Lack Of Funding.

Great teachers definitely do inspire, and it's fitting that my 100th (!!!) post be about my future career.  The news I bring is both fantastic as well as awful.  Let's start from the ground and work our way up, shall we?

Pictured above is the Republican Governor of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett.  Don't let his soft, blue eyes fool you - Tom Corbett is a motherfucker.  When faced with drawing up the state budget, Corbett had a bit of a dilemma on his hands when it came to funding education.  "As ThinkProgress’s Travis Waldron pointed out, Corbett could relieve school districts if he let special interest groups like tobacco and the oil and gas industry go without their tax breaks." 

Then he remembered his party's platform: Fuck Poor People.  So Corbett cut $900 million from the state's education funding.  "But Shaun," you're probably thinking, "Teachers are overpaid anyway!  $900 million is blahpoopfartblaggublaggu!"

If that were the case, then the Chester Upland School District would be able to pay their teachers.  As of Wednesday, January 11, 2012, the educators will not be receiving a salary.  This is, by the way, after laying off 40% of its professional staff. 

So the teachers begged the governor for more funding to education.  And so did the school boards.  And so did the unions.  But Corbett said, "Nay!"  Worse, even the State Secretary of Education turned them down, saying that they "had failed to properly manage [their] finances and would not get any additional funds."

Now a lot of children are minus an education because those greedy fucking teachers are - 

Oh, shit, I'm forgetting the amazing part!

From ThinkProgress.org:

The teachers decided to work for free. As one teacher put it, students “need to be educated, so we intend to be on the job"...

At a union meeting at Chester High School on Tuesday night, the employees passed a resolution saying they would stay on “as long as we are individually able.”
Columbus Elementary School math and literacy teacher Sara Ferguson, who has taught in Chester Upland for 21 years, said after the meeting, “It’s alarming. It’s disturbing. But we are adults; we will make a way. The students don’t have any contingency plan. They need to be educated, so we intend to be on the job.”

I cannot express how fantastic this is.  The teachers are unwilling to let students go without an education, despite the possibility that they won't be able to support themselves and pay their bills.  This makes Governor Corbett look... well, like a motherfucker.  I can only hope that, for the sake of the teachers in the Chester Upland School District, this pay freeze is temporary.

Personally, I think Governor Corbett should give up his salary.  He does far less than teachers do, and makes twice as much.  How's that for fair?   

That about wraps it up for my 100th post!  No need to thank me, please, hold your applause.  Stick around for my 150th, and maybe even my 200th.  My 7,000 view mark is also right around the corner... Because you, all of you, my readers, are fucking awesome.

Charles Van Zant Wants To Make Abortions In Florida Illegal.

 

State Representative Charles Van Zant (R) of Florida is your typical Republican. He's old, he's white, and he's attempting to push a law forward that is radically insane: The "Florida For Life Act." The FFLA would make it a felony not to have an abortion, but to perform one.  And the consequence?

Oh, you know, life in prison.  Physicians won't be able to perform abortions, even if the patient wants one, even in cases of rape, unless:

(a) Two physicians certify in writing to the fact that, to a reasonable degree of medical certainty, the termination of pregnancy is necessary to prevent the death of the patient;

(b) Two physicians certify in writing to the fact that, to a reasonable degree of medical certainty, the termination of pregnancy is necessary because to continue the pregnancy would unreasonably reduce the likelihood of successful treatment of a life-threatening disease of the patient; or

(c) A physician certifies in writing that a medical emergency existed and another physician was not available for consultation prior to the time necessary to perform the termination of pregnancy. The physician’s written certification must clearly describe the medical emergency.

   

This bill is psychotic.  At least Van Zant stopped at the maximum life sentence as opposed to his Georgian counterpart, Bobby Franklin, who wanted to make miscarriages a felony, punishable by the death penalty.  

Van Zant is such a cool, villain name too.  I say he should go for broke.  You know, up the ante.  Why stop with the physicians performing abortions?  How about locking up people for talking about it?  After all, that could easily be considered intent to murder.

The "License to Bully" Bill.

 A few months ago, I wrote a post about a Tennessee student who was attacked by his own principal for wearing a shirt that supported gay rights.  Now, when I think of gay-friendly states, Tennessee is not one of them.  Recent developments in the state's legislature have definitely proved this to be true.  Here's how:

On December 7th, 2011, 18-year-old Jacob Rogers (pictured above) took his life because of how bad the bullying was at his school.  He was, of course, bullied for being gay, and school officials (according to his friends) did absolutely nothing to stop it.  Suicide rates among gay teens - and even misunderstood teens in general - appear to be rising, and many states have passed anti-bullying legislation in order to give their schools more options in how to deal with such behavior.

Bryan Fischer Wants Gay Sex To Be Criminalized.

This creepy lookin' bleached raisin is Bryan Fischer of the American Family Association.  He hosts the radio program, Focal Point, is the AFA's "Director of Issues Analysis," and is constantly trying to out-hatemonger Fred Phelps of the Westboro Baptist Church. 

At approximately 1100 hours on January 3rd, 2012, Fischer really upped his game when he wrote an article for the AFA's blog "Rightly Concerned."  It's content?  Allow me to give you the first sentence of the article.  "Homosexual sex ought to be against public policy, simply as a matter of public health. It is behavior which is immoral, unnatural and unhealthy." Do I have your attention, oh faithful reader?  Good. 

Below, in bold text, is the remainder of Fischer's commentary, in which he suggests that the government fine homosexuals every time they have sex.  In regular print are my own little comments.  I think this is easier than showing you the entirety of the article and then commenting on it.  Let me know what you think is best in the comments below. 

Santorum Uses Brief Media Spotlight To Ruin His Chance To Be President.

"Shhhhhh....I'm crazy...."

My original plan was to write about Donald Trump's possible run for president in the Independent Party, but a quick pop over to ThinkProgress.org (one of my new favorite websites - definitely bookmark it) showed me that Donald Trump's craziness can wait just a little bit longer.  Rick Santorum is using the brief media spotlight of his - and his potential win tonight in the Iowa Caucus race - to amp up his inner republican.  

I am going to post the entirety of the article here, and have comments of my own at the bottom.  I'd write about it myself, but I have a few more of these posts to crank out tonight.  Besides, the folks over at ThinkProgress.org do a wonderful job at summing this whole fiasco up - certainly better than I could.

Outlaw Contraception?

I'm not a huge fan of any of the Republican Presidential candidates, and I pretty much laugh at the idea that the party will "take back America" in November.  When I think of the people that these out-of-touch individuals represent, a few things come to mind: the constituents are either: 1) Rich, 2) old, 3) extremely religious, or 4) extremely ignorant.  Oh, and I suppose one last thing.  I tend to think of most republicans to be male.  Why? 

Well, the answer to that is a long one.  Suffice it to say that the republican party rarely puts forth legislation that helps women.  The big issue is one everyone is familiar with - abortion.  I personally don't believe that men should pass legislation on things that do not affect them.  I tried to think of a good metaphor for this, starting with, "That would be like female legislators trying to pass a law that...", but no dice.  The truth is, whatever the flip-side of that is, it would probably cause permanent physical damage that would result in no less than two bodily functions from...functioning. 

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I do not understand why any woman would vote republican.  Men?  Sure.  We're dumb enough to do shit like that.  But not you ladies.