This morning, I read an interesting blog post by Paula Reed. Her entry was based on a quote she'd received by email:
“The Left: People who demonize those with whom they disagree.”
My first thought was to think of how so many neocons today are masters at the art of projection: they take what is commonly done by neocons and turn it around saying it's really liberals doing it.
Personally attacking one's opponents, instead of coming up with reasoned rebuttals to their ideas is intellectually dishonest and is a symptom of the creeping anti-intellectualism in this country; an example of the dumbing-down of America. It's much easier to blame liberals for everything that's wrong in our world today, than to come up with ideas on how to fix these problems together.
Gone are the days of erudite conservatives, such as William Buckley. Also largely gone are those conservatives, such as Barry Goldwater, who was able to often put ideological differences aside and work in a bi-partisan manner with his Democratic colleagues (now, I bet that is a word you don't hear too much in Washington nowadays) for the good of the country.
Now, it's neocon pundits, such as Limbaugh, Savage, and Coulter, among many others, who have brought the black and white, simplistic tactic of using ad hominems against their opponents in from the far right fringes of the tinfoil hat brigade into mainstream conservative thought. Or what passes for thought. This is not to say that the left is entirely free of such nonsense -- there are liberals, such as Rosie O'Donnell, who could hardly be called intellectual. But those such as O'Donnell hardly have the reach or the influence tha those in the pantheon on the right wing do
I heard a prime example of this type of anti-intellectualism the other night while listening to the radio. A man called the Dennis Miller show to express why he rejected intelligent design. Miller didn't give him much of a chance to speak. Instead he cut him off to say that he couldn't get on board with Darwinism because he just couldn't get into the idea of "worshipping a pile of amino acids" and that he liked the idea of an intelligent being creating life on Earth.
My jaw dropped when I heard this nonsense. I could not believe that Miller, a former liberal and former cast member of Saturday Night Live -- in other words, someone who should know better -- was spouting off such simplistic ideas. There was once a time when being a conservative did not mean one also had to accept intellectually bankrupt, fundamentalist Christian beliefs as well.
Instead of the Buckley types being the mainstream of conservatism, we now have the Archie Bunkers of the world running the Republican party, which is a sad thing for old-school Republicans and the party in general.
Thoughts?
We got a kitty cat. Her name is Clementine. She's a funny little thing.
Finished The Christmas Lamp by Lori Copeland.
I think this is another example of "books I like because I am completely exhausted and they are easy and sweet." And also, in this case, seasonally appropriate. :)
Roni lives and works in Nativity, Missouri. The little town isn't doing so well (not many tourists; businesses are closing) and someone's just arrived to help cut expenditures, a guy named Jake.
It's a sweet story and it ends happily. :) It's a little less than realistic, but it's Christmas, so who cares, right? :)
I did this at the end of last year and it was pretty entertaining; so I thought I'd give it another go.
- January: I just saw a headline that reads, "Merle Haggard has kicked the pot habit."
- February: We are not allowed to play Monopoly in my house anymore.
- March: And if you know me at all, you know I don't like snow. Ever.
- April: So I've decided I need to voice this out loud (or at least through typed words) because I've that admitting the problem is the first step towards recovery.
- May: I really hate comic sans font, and any adult who uses this font to produce email, memos, or any other form of important document should be shot on sight.
- June: When I was 21, I bought my very first new car.
- July: Last week was a rather emotional week for me, so when my dad called and asked if we wanted to go camping for the 4th, I jumped at the opportunity.
- August: Natalie has stepped away from Vox and will return when her life ceases to be a massive pile of grownup busy work.
- September: The children started school today, and as you can see, everyone was thoroughly excited.
- October: I saw Regina Spektor at The Tabernacle in Atlanta last night.
- November: Sitting in class today, watching my students work on their final group projects, I heard a loud sort of bang just outside our building.
- December: Teaching evaluations were released today for us to read.
Im going home
Downhearted and hoping
Im close to some new beginning
I know
Theres a reason for everything
That comes and goes
But so many people are looking to me
To be strong and to fight
But Im just surviving
I may be weak but Im never defeated
And Ill keep believing
In clouds with that sweet silver lining
Most days
I try my best to put on a brave face
But inside
My bones are cold and my heart breaks
But all the while
Somethings keeping me safe
And alive
But so many people are looking to me
To be strong and to fight
But Im just surviving
I may be weak but Im never defeated
And Ill keep believing
In clouds with that sweet silver lining
I wont give up like this
I will be given strength
And now that Ive found it
Nothing can take that away
Finished The Sweet By and By by Sara Evans with Rachel Hauck for Thomas Nelson.
Jade is about to get married but there's a sticking point--she has to decide whether to invite her mother to the wedding. She's been estranged from her mother (Beryl) for years, and she isn't sure whether it's worth the drama to have her there. Beryl used to be a hippie and spent much of her three kids' childhoods on the road with one musician boyfriend (or husband) or another.
You should know that this is Christian fiction, although that wasn't too noticeable until the end. So if that would bug you, this probably isn't a book you'd enjoy. (Although you'd probably like it until the end.)
I liked the pacing of the book a great deal. The details of Jade and Beryl's relationship was revealed in a timely fashion and there was a decent twist that kept changing everything.
I read the book yesterday, after I was exhausted from being at work for 30 hours. Would I have liked it this much if it weren't essentially the literary equivalent of comfort food? I'm not sure. But I read this book at the perfect time, and I really enjoyed it.
It's probably also good that I read it right before Christmas, since the book's main themes are about love and forgiveness.
I'm done with school and I am exhausted but for some reason sleep has not been coming easily to me. I have been tossing and turning for the past three nights. I wake up around 1 am and I can' t seem to fall back to sleep for another hour. Then I woke up around 6 am and had the same problem. I am so exhausted and yet my mind won't let me sleep, it's just racing a million miles a minute. Hopefully tonight I will finally fall asleep.
Friday I had a ceremony that was just for my school. They had refreshments for us and we could talk with all the professors and our parents could meet with them as well. It wasn't a cap and gown ceremony so we just wore business casual clothing. I was so nervous that I pretty much didn't eat the entire day. I really don't like being the center of attention and I get really nervous being in front of crowds even if I don't have to say anything! They did pass out a little certificate and did a couple of speeches.
That night my brother, dani and the kids showed up and brought New York Pizza which is just sooo yummy. We basically just talked for the night and didn't do anything exciting and then I went to bed early but couldn't sleep. I woke up Saturday and Dani did my makeup which was really nice of her and I think she did a good job. I was again really nervous for this ceremony because this time I was walking across a stage to get a memento of sorts. Also my whole entire family was coming to this ceremony as well as other important people in my life. I was having panic attacks in the morning and almost crying and Dani had just done my makeup so I had to keep calming myself down. Then my mom came in and told me how proud she was of me and almost made me cry again! The ceremony ended up going well and I found some friends to sit with so I wasn't alone. However when I was walking across the stage and I basically tuned everyone out and just looked straight ahead. I didn't hear anyone cheering for me because I was just way to nervous.
My mom threw a party for me and we had Eegees and cup cakes as well as a couple of other treats. It was a very a nice day but again I ended up being really exhausted but like I said I couldn't sleep :o(.
We celebrated Christmas with my brother and his family today. We had a family breakfast and then opened presents. After they left I went with my mom to the grocery store because it's her birthday and I thought I'd help out. After that I have pretty much just sat here doing nothing except reading through my google reader and uhh staring at the wall. If there are any mistakes in this I apologize now but I'm too tired to go back and read through it and check it!
