Singing Pigs

It's been a strange week politically for me. I used to really admire Congressman Anthony Weiner as a Liberal stalwart. One of the good guys, who was always on the right side of the issues. Now? Not so much. As Jon Stewart would say. What an idiot. If you're smart enough to get elected to Congress how do you do such dumb things?

Then, I've been engaged in a long running political argument on Facebook with two different guys. One I know, the other I don't. That's not a bad thing, I love that sort of stuff. I love to argue politics.

But only with people who read newspapers, have an education, and don't buy all their books at Costco.

The guy I don't know, gave as good as he got, and he knew what he was talking about. Even could back up his arguments. At least as well as Conservative, right wing, Republican arguments CAN be backed up. I mean, if you hate the thought of a National Health Care Plan, but want your Federal Flood Insurance, and support tax breaks for oil companies, how logical can you be?

And when he uses, "The Washington Times" as his paper of record? Well, that's just crazy. The Washington Post is a paper of record. The Times is run by the, "Moonies", and is a notorious right wing rag. But at least, credit where it's due, he reads newspapers. Unlike Sarah Palin.

I was really disappointed in the arguments from the guy I DO know. Hate to say it, but he's a Murray High alumni. A guy I've known since we were 8 years old.

If I remember correctly, his dad was a dentist. So he came from an educated family. I assume he could have gone to college if he'd wanted to.

But, he doesn't list one on his FB profile. Doesn't mean he didn't go, but if you did, isn't that one of the defining things of a persons life? Where they went to school. If you know nothing else about me, you will know that, "I'm a Utah Man, sir".

And his arguments were all just the Faux News talking points about how, Obama is ruining the county, is responsible for high unemployment, caused the deficit, is going to tax the rich which will make us all poorer, yada, yada, yada...

Every time he would say some of this stuff, I would ask him to back it up. What exactly, freedoms have you lost since 2008? How is this Obama's war/deficit/job's problem since he walked right into it all?

And I'd ask him what his educational background was. I gave him several chances to tell me what makes him an expert. Do you have a degree in Political Science? Sociology? Something that would qualify you to dissect the information you're receiving at give your opinion? He wouldn't answer. Just kept telling me I didn't understand, "cause and effect". Well, I'm trying too. You tell me the cause, and show me the effect, with actual examples, and I'll look at it critically. But he wouldn't.

He just stuck to the party line about, Obama's, "redistribution of wealth". Really? I still have MINE.

He would go on and on about how America in the 50's is what we should all be striving to be living. How other countries just aren't as good as us.

The 50's were a great time to be an American. As long as you weren't a Black, Homosexual, Asian, Female, Hispanic, Poor, Handicapped, American. Life was pretty good. But if you came home with you're new neighbor and he was not exactly, "white and delightsome", well? "Jeez, Beaver. Dad's gonna be sore!"

And I asked him several times which other countries he's visited so he had something to compare us to. He wouldn't answer. Just kept repeating that we were the best, but couldn't explain why he thought that. Except that that was what he was SUPPOSED to believe.

Reading what he was writing, with no back up to anything he said? I finally understood why the rest of the world hates the, "U-S-A! U-S-A!" chant when ever we are winning at an international sporting event of any kind. It's really obnoxious, kind of morally superior and just pisses people off. I think we should keep doing it anyway, but I get it.

The last post was a really silly one. He said something to the effect of, go to Democratically controlled states, and see how bad it is there! Well, again, which ones have you been to, and how was it bad? Because I travel a lot, and I'd like to compare notes.

Nothing. But he did suggest if we just had more religion, things would be better. Oh, "God".

How would it be better? More Catholic kids would get abused? More young, polygamist girls would be married to their uncles and drop out of school in the 8th grade? More doctors would get shot for practicing medicine? More Woman's Clinics would be blown up? Sarah Palin would actually have a shot at ever holding another public office? None of those things are a positive for me.

I had to remind him that in Massachusetts, one of the MOST Liberal states, Conservative, Mormon, Mitt Romney, when he was Governor there, signed into law public health care with a MANDATE to buy insurance, and Gay Marriage. I was in that state a year ago this month, and it was not in total anarchy.

I got to the Jimmy Buffett concert, the Red Sox Game, Lexington and Concord and Salem without encountering any road blocks, or needing to show my papers. But I have to admit that those folks are, "Wicked bad dryva's!" But I hear from the locals that this predated, Romney. And even Ted Kennedy.

And at one point, a woman who we both went to school with, pipped in with how much she found political correctness confusing. WTF? Neither of us was being politically correct! We were savaging each others closely held belief's.

But this doesn't surprise me. This woman and I were FB friends for a while, but I asked her to quit sending me, via email, all the, Tea Party/Sarah Palin shit a year or so ago, so she called me a moron and, "defriended" me. So I'm pretty sure she finds MOST things requiring any thought at all, "confusing" to say the least.

So in a week when, Sarah Palin completely blew the story of Paul Revere in front of a national audience, and then when confronted about it, even by one of her, "familiars" (obscure witchcraft/Salem Township/Massachusetts reference here) at Faux News still wouldn't, "Weiner Up" and just tell the truth, no matter how bad it made her look, I have decided to quit arguing politics with Republicans.

I got some advice from a guy I knew in college years ago. Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time, and annoys the pig. Arguing with Republicans is like trying to teach pigs to sing.

Oh, anyone who knows me, knows I can't stick to that.