Webs’ Random Ideas

Kindly send them the link below or read through that post for some talking points. If they still continue on then there is just no hope for them.

I think maybe part of the reason you’re so angry is you keep demanding that you get screwed and then, not surprisingly, you keep getting screwed

Hey you. You there in the Glenn Beck T-shirt headed off to the Tea Party Patriot rally.

Stop shouting for a moment, please, I want to explain to you why you’re so very angry.

You should be angry. You’re getting screwed.

I think you know that. But you don’t seem to know that it doesn’t have to be that way. You can stop it. You can stop it easily because the system that’s screwing you over can only keep screwing you over if you keep demanding that it do so.

So stop demanding that. Stop helping the system screw you over.

Look, you can go back to yelling at me in a minute, but just read this first.

It’s a very good quick read that tackles the issue I’m sure confuses many, why would anyone making less than $250,000 vote for republicans? Maybe that number is too high, but it just has never made sense to me. If you are part of the middle or lower class it makes no sense to hurt yourself by voting in politicians that set policies based around helping the rich.

I could go on an on with this one, but really I just recommend reading the article linked above.

Global Warming: A Scientific and Biblical Expose of Climate Change.

I didn’t see too much noise on the Tubes for this documentary so I thought I should take the time to talk about it. Especially after catching this gem on the site:

Through on-location interviews with leading creationist scientists, climatologists, and other commentators the dangers and politics of global warming are revealed. Learn how you can be effective in caring for creation without becoming an unwitting accomplice to the myths of global warming. This balanced approach to a very “hot” topic will equip you with the information necessary to honor the Creator … without worshipping the creation.

God’s promise to Noah was that, “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and winter and summer … shall not cease” (Genesis 8:22).

I really hope the premise of the movie is not to say, “No need to worry about what we do to this planet because god promised us it will always be here.” If that really is the message than I can say this is a dangerous movie and should really be shunned

But what should really scare individuals away is the fact this movie is made by Answers in Genesis. This is the same group that brought us the creation museum in Kentucky that tells everyone how dinosaurs roamed the Earth with humans 6,000 years ago. Anyone that tries to prove such a thing and claim it as science can’t be expected to make a scientific documentary.

Well I haven’t seen the movie and likely never will, so I think a more apt use of the rest of this post would be to discuss the idea of such films.

What boggles my mind is how people accept information from source x with no trouble at all, but make source y do cart wheels and all kinds of tricky maneuvers to be accepted. What I mean here is, if I needed knee replacement surgery I wouldn’t go talking to my Dad (who had knee replacement surgery) to find out if I really did in fact need knee replacement surgery. I would go get the advice of medical professionals and I am assuming the majority of people in the US would do the same.

If my car was having problems and I thought I might need a new engine, I would get the advice from the 2 people I talk to about car advice, but I would consult with an engines expert (specifically someone that has worked on my make/model previously) for the final decision. Just like if I wanted advice on my bicycle I would ask DOF first before talking to anyone else.

We all know who an expert is and with a reasonable degree of certainty we could weed out bad sources if we stopped to think about it. So why when it comes to politically motivated subjects or even subjects of religion are we willing to accept information from a lower quality source?

Why do we listen to TV pundits and talk show hosts about matters of science? Why don’t we spend another minute or two to get the information from a reputable source. There are plenty of scientists that study global warming and can easily point out information and data to show how global warming is real and is happening now.

But instead it seems we would rather not question our beliefs and instead confirm what we think is the case. Or maybe the truth isn’t as exciting as the conspiracy. I don’t know the reason, but I can say I think it’s a poor decision to live your life without making reasoned decisions based on evidence from reputable sources.

Going back to a previous analogy… would you get a recommendation for heart surgery from Michelle Malkin? Then why trust her for issues of science?

Big news for those of you that dislike Blago as much as I do…

WASHINGTON – Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was arrested Tuesday on charges of conspiring to get financial benefits through his authority to appoint a U.S. senator to fill the vacancy left by Barack Obama’s election as president.

According to a federal criminal complaint, Blagojevich also was charged with illegally threatening to withhold state assistance to Tribune Co., the owner of the Chicago Tribune, in the sale of Wrigley Field. In return for state assistance, Blagojevich allegedly wanted members of the paper’s editorial board who had been critical of him fired.

Pretty serious stuff. The kicker here, for those of you remembering back to 2002 Blago ran for office on a campaign of cleaning up IL. Unfortunately for our state a majority bought it hook, line, sinker. Myself, I voted for JIM RYAN which many people confused or thought a relationship existed between him and George Ryan. Jim was clean, Blago was not. Now IL is in a bed of our own making.

So what makes this case of a dirty politician so special, the FBI has been investigating for over 3 years, and has got a judge to allow wiretaps and phonetaps. And this article… Blago is screwed…

Updated at 9:08 a.m.: Blagojevich and Harris were arrested simultaneously at their homes at about 6:15 a.m., according to the FBI. They were transported to FBI headquarters in Chicago, where they remained at 9 a.m.

Wow! So not just charged, but arrested.

Blagojevich and Harris conspired to demand the firing of Chicago Tribune editorial board members responsible for editorials critical of Blagojevich in exchange for state help with the sale of Wrigley Field, the Chicago Cubs baseball stadium owned by Tribune Co.

Blagojevich and Harris, along with others, obtained and sought to gain financial benefits for the governor, members of his family and his campaign fund in exchange for appointments to state boards and commissions, state jobs and state contracts.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg with what he has done. I will write more about this later.

Oops, I almost forget to include this gem!

On Monday, Blagojevich said he has done nothing wrong in his stewardship of the state and challenged critics to record him because his discussions were “always lawful.”

according to Rachel’s fans at least…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2uljnDw0z0[/youtube]

Found via Greg.

I keep hearing the word redistribution every time I hear anyone republican talk about Obama’s tax plan. So I decided to look into where this comes from. Basically it works like this (so say republican sources), Obama is going to tax the rich at a higher rate, and give tax cuts to those not paying anything in taxes already. Thus redistribution of the wealth of the rich.

Well I thought this still sounded strange to me so I looked and did some simple Google searching to find some information. Here’s one source I found that is old, but still does a great job of explaining Obama’s plan which hasn’t changed since he started running for president.

His plan means billions in breaks by nixing income taxes for the 7 million senior citizens making less than $50,000 a year, establishing a universal credit for the 10 million homeowners who do not itemize their deductions — most of whom make less than $50,000 annually — and providing 150 million Americans with tax cuts of up to $1,000.

“I’d reward work by providing an income tax cut of up to $500 per person — or $1,000 for each working family — to offset the payroll tax that they’re already paying,” he said.

Did you catch that? You should of, I highlighted it for you… Each Bush election we heard how his tax plan was to cut taxes for the lower class so they wouldn’t pay a dime. But what Bush failed to mention was those are income taxes he is cutting (which for a family making under $50,000 already was very low) not payroll taxes (which at the same election time either 00 or 04 were higher than the payroll).

So while it sounds like Obama is a “redistributionist”, he is really just trying to help people offset their payroll taxes with a greater tax cut. And this cut is going to families that work, not those that sit on their ass and collect welfare.

But what about those taxes on the rich…

Obama also said he would repeal the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans.

“At a time when Americans are working harder than ever, we are taxing income from work at nearly twice the level that we’re taxing gains for investors,” Obama said. “We’ve lost the balance between work and wealth.”

We are taxing income from work at nearly twice the level that we’re taxing gains from investors. Seems to me like that is a balance out of wack. Why? Because few people in lower and middle classes prosper from the current model.

Obama proposes funding the tax cuts by closing corporate loopholes, cracking down on international tax havens and increasing the dividend-and-capital-gains tax for the wealthy, he said.

He called his proposal a “fair” alternative to the present tax code and said it was necessary because hard times on Main Street translate to hard times on Wall Street.

“When the changes in our economy are leaving too many people behind, the competitiveness of our country risks falling behind,” he said. “When that dream of opportunity is denied to too many Americans, then ultimately that pain has a way of trickling up.”

If you want to see what Obama himself says about his plan: Obama’s official claim on his website.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rljwPXMBE6Y[/youtube]

As well as Ohio and Florida. I realize these are all early projections, but if true I fail to see how McCain still can win. All pretty big news.

Any rational person planning to protest the GOP Convention would, in light of this Government spying and these police raids, think twice — at least — about whether to do so. That is the point of the raids — to announce to citizens that they best stay in their homes and be good, quiet, meek, compliant people unless they want their homes to be invaded, their property seized, and have rifles pointed at them, too. The fact that this behavior is producing so little outcry only ensures, for obvious reasons, that it will continue in the future. We love our Surveillance State for keeping us safe and maintaining nice, quiet order.

An excerpt from a well written Glenn Greenwald post. What will it take to get you upset enough to do something? For those of you already peeved, you can call the office of St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman here: 651-266-8510.

Hopefully the argument of dependency on foreign oil and using alternative energies can be laid to rest.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQ30c8IZQR8[/youtube]

Not a bad idea really. Sure I would rather see a faster transistion to alternative energy, but we do not have the infrastructure to transistion over night. Nor are we currently spending enough money on research to advance technology.

But how exactly does the plan work?

The Pickens Plan is a bridge to the future — a blueprint to reduce foreign oil dependence by harnessing domestic energy alternatives, and buy us time to develop even greater new technologies.

Building new wind generation facilities and better utilizing our natural gas resources can replace more than one-third of our foreign oil imports in 10 years. But it will take leadership.

Seems like a good idea to me. Check out the site and see what you think.

Check out this blog…

Thanks to Pete for the link.