Working People Vote Republican? Sure.

I saw this ignorant piece of shit bumper sticker on the back of what I can only assume was an ignorant piece of shit person's truck (where else?) earlier this afternoon.  Had he looked into his rear view mirror, the driver would have seen me flailing about behind my steering wheel, flipping him the bird and screaming not-so-pleasant language at my windshield.

That's the point of his bumper sticker, after all.  It's not to proclaim something he's proud of  (else it would just say, "I vote Republican") - it is to purely insult people who don't lean to the right or vote Republican.

Essentially, this man has stated that the work I do doesn't count as work, as I am a lazy, good for nothing, liberal.  His work, however, is true American work.  Never mind the fact that I am going to college for a degree in human rights law, no.  He contributes more to society because he votes Republican, and Republicans contribute more to society because fuck you, that's why.

I don't buy this.  While my current job requires me to work part-time in a grocery store deli, I still believe that the work I do is actual work.  I get paid for it, and I pay a higher percentage of taxes than most high-income Republicans do.  I guess, by that logic, I'm contributing more to society than most Republicans. 

Most of the people in this country do, in fact, work.  Only a very small percentage are unemployed by choice.  So if all working people voted Republican, methinks that the elections last year would have gone a lot differently.  We should change this bumper sticker, huh?

Let's see... what would be more appropriate?

Well, I know that, on average, people that lean politically to the left have a higher IQ than those that lead to the right.  So it could say, "Dumb People Vote Republican."

IQ is also directly tied to religious affiliation.  Those without religion are generally more intelligent than those who follow one.  So it could say, "Religious zealots vote Republican."

And I guess if we're taking a small percentage of the population (those that don't work) and applying that to a larger whole (liberals), then it's only fair that I get to do it too.  For example, not all Republicans are racist, but most racists are Republicans.  I could say, "White supremacists vote Republican."

One last one.  Most people that watch Fox News lean to the right.  Fox News is known for its right-wing bias (so much so that it's not only common knowledge, but a huge joke as well), as well as its ability to dumb down information, twist it, and basically lie. 

From Daily Kos: "The allegation that Fox News exploits their audience's tendency to voraciously consume absurdly spun tales driven by fear has been documented by researchers at the University College London Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience (and yes, that's real). Conservatives regularly demonstrate their proclivity for barking at the outrageous falsehoods proffered by Fox and other conservative fabulists. Among the university's findings were that the brains of conservatives are more likely to have an enlarged amygdala which is associated with greater inflexibility, emotion, and fear response."

So another bumper sticker could read, "People with enlarged amygdala vote Republican."

The bumper stickers I came up with were just as insulting - if not more so - than the first one pictured above.  "But Shaun," you might say, "You're a liberal.  Aren't you supposed to stand for peace?" Of course.  I'll be posting something about this later, but there comes a point when you just have to tell people to shut the fuck up and stop being so goddamn ignorant, liberal or not.

I'm gonna wrap this up by changing gears.  Were I the man driving this truck, I'd be ripping that sticker off out of plain embarrassment.  Under our current GOP governor, Paul LePage (who was elected with only 39% of the vote), Maine has become the least attractive state in the union for business with a dying economy.

So congratulations, Republicans.  It's hard to do work in a state where there is none.  Who are you going to vote for now? 

Who am I kidding?  You're going to keep voting Republican, even if Democrats are better with money.





For IQ stats cited above, click here. 

If you're a Republican that takes issue with this article, click here.    

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.

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.

LePage Rage.

Note: Every picture of Governor LePage is followed by an actual, word for word quote.  Link is at the bottom.

"I would say intelligence, uh, the more education you have

the more knowledge you have the better person you are and I 

believe yes and yes." -When asked if he believed Creationism

should be taught in Maine schools, May 2010.

It should be of no surprise to anyone paying attention to American politics that the incumbent governor of Maine, Paul LePage, is a twit.  He won with 38.3% of the vote in 2010 because the election had numerous runners, including three independents and a democrat.  Had the latter dropped out, independent candidate Eliot Cutler would have received more than 50% of the vote.  To give you a sense of how much better of a person Cutler is than LePage, he didn't run a single negative campaign ad during the election season.  Not one.    

But we got stuck with the man that literally looks like how all big-business republicans are portrayed.  Some say the appeal of LePage is that he is blunt and straightforward - characteristics that most politicians unfortunately lack.  Those that do not support the governor, myself included, argue that his bluntness is an understatement.  He behaves more like a mob boss than a state leader.  He is supposed to represent the state of Maine and, as such, the people of Maine.  Instead, he is an embarrassment to us, and really to all of New England.  Like an unedited, walking conservative-republican talking points memo, LePage does everything in his power to tear down unions, education, labor laws, human rights, the environment, the president, and liberals.  Don't believe me?  Fuck it, let's take a good look at some examples, all of which will be rated according to the "Dick Scale."  The Dick Scale is a measure of how much of a dick an individual is, or how "dickish" his/her's actions are.  My scale is simple, ranging from 1-5, 1 being that the person/action isn't dickish, and 5 being a person/action that is clearly such a dick, words can barely describe it.

Miscarriage Equals Prenatal Murder... If You Are A Dumbass.

Representative Bobby Franklin of Georgia.

His appearance is similar to an "all-grown-up", "never been dead", 

Casper... assuming Casper was a pasty-faced, misogynistic, asshole.

Because I don't want to hemorrhage my brain this morning, I'm going to try and make this post as brief and as to-the-point as I possibly can: Georgia State Republican House Representative Bobby Franklin is a fucker.

He is a stupid, ignorant, uneducated fucker.  He has no idea how the human body works, and has clearly never even had an intimate conversation with a woman.  I like to picture him as the guy that always plugs his ears or leaves the room during health class because "private parts are icky".  Why do I say this?

Representative Franklin is drafting a bill to be put forth in the state house (not the federal, mind you) that would criminalize miscarriages.  I'm sure that you're probably thinking, "Well, if abortions are illegal, then self-induced miscarriages probably are too."  Well, you'd be wrong.

Doctors have little to no idea what exactly causes miscarriages.  In fact, many women miscarry before they even know they are pregnant- we only know about the ones that occur between the middle and the end of a pregnancy.  Let me run you through an imaginary conversation between a doctor and would-be mother.

Have Some Friggin' Pride, Mainahs.

"Maine?  Isn't that in Canada?"

Despite the fact that 31% of my state is responsible for electing the biggest moron in government since George W. Bush, I can't simply back down and fall into embarrassed isolation.  While many people my age would refuse to admit it, there are a lot of things to be proud of about this state.  Sure, we don't have giant amusement parks or cities, tropical weather or a diverse population.  So what do we have?  Without further ado, I present my top ten reasons why being a "Mainah" is the shit.  Hold your applause to the end, please.  I hate being interrupted.  ...Oh, and these are in no particular order.