A Thought on Patriotism

     If a permanent peace of the world is ever to be achieved; if mankind is really to rise above the mediocre standards which it has been satisfied with for more than two thousand years; we must bring patriotism down off the pedestal from which some have placed it and humbly offer it as a foundation-stone for larger ideas - something to be built upon rather than an idol to be worshiped.  
     It is as a United States that we led the world in invention, in industry and in the council of freedom. We can have that again.
     If the nation is to fully recover, thrive and reach beyond the circumscribed aims of mere patriotism, we had better get to work. Because it has, for too long, been an unworked-up theme awaiting the attention of idealists.

The Right-Wing Guide on How to Argue with Liberals on Twitter: 2013 Edition

Author's note: This guide has been updated for the faster, shinier albeit slightly more apathetic Right-Wing movement of 2013.

Many patriots wonder how they can best serve their country. I have two words for you. Attack liberals. How do you find liberals to attack?

The easiest way is to piggy-back someone else's conversation. If you see another Right-Wing Patriot in a debate with a liberal, put yourself in their shoes; they're obviously struggling. Jump in, attack their opponent with a short, unrelated insult and, then quickly - jump away! You'll be helping a fellow conservative plus, you'll look cool!

Now, if you get involved in a debate, it *can* be hard to remember all of the important elements involved in arguing with a liberal, but here is a handy checklist to make sure you've included all of the pieces essential to maintaining the purity of the Right-Wing brand.

1. Whatever FOX says, you say. When in doubt, toss out a Drudge headline or quote any conservative talking head you watch or hear in any form of media. It doesn't matter who they are; they will all be saying the same thing.
2. Incorporate the #fox, #tcot, #tlot or #ocra hashtag in every tweet, because by calling forth other Patriots to also attack your opponent, you'll never have to give a real answer for anything.
3. If a liberal asks you to prove any claim you have made is a fact by providing a source for the info, always respond: "Do your own research!!" or "I'm not going to do your research for you." That way, you don't have to do any research.
4. If you feel you must send them a source link, make sure you only offer links from Drudge, The Blaze or other right-wing blogs or op-ed pieces. It doesn't matter if you've read them.
5. It is also helpful to have a ready list of links on-hand that are completely unrelated to the topic of discussion to flood your opponent's @replies with. Again, it doesn't matter if you've read them.
6. If you're unsure about how to start a tweet, try "Why do liberals hate gay/black/poor people?" That should get your creative juices flowing. 
7. Whenever you mention Obama, make sure you cleverly alter his name into something insulting, such as the easy-to-remember 'Obummer'. Or if you really want to get the debate moving, just refer to him as 'the most radical President in American history'. The liberals will go crazy sending you all kinds of links with numbers and facts. Don't worry; no one expects you to read them.
8. All of your tweets (whether you are in a debate or not) should contain at least one insulting name for liberals. Libtard is a favorite, but it is getting a bit less effective from constant overuse. I suggest the more modern twist, Libturd.
9. Stay away from facts. Facts are only opinions reinforced by truth.
10. If a Liberal has insulted you (especially using large, hard to understand words), don't panic. Simply tweet back their own words as though they were your own. That way, you don't actually have to come up with anything clever to say.
11. Never answer a question. The best way to counter the left's expectation for meaningful dialogue is to ask them an unrelated question in return, such as "Why do you like to kill unborn babies?"
12. Make sure each of your tweets is riddled with grammatical and spelling errors. After all, you wouldn't want anyone to be able to accuse you of being one of the "intellectual elite".
13. Each of your tweets should include one of the RWNJ signature terms - commie, Marxist, socialist, or Nazi. You may use them interchangeably to keep things fresh. To keep up on the latest trend, trying using "Caliphate" or "sharia law".
14. If you're a conservative male arguing with a liberal female, make sure you call her several misogynistic names to make sure she understand that you're a REAL man and then, tell her she's pretty or mention how great her ass looks. The ladies all enjoy compliments.
15. Whenever a libturd (see how I slipped that in there?) presents you with facts, you will most likely be tempted to turn tail and retreat, but don't panic. Simply toss out any one of the many variations of this phrase: "That must be some good Kool-aid you're drinking." Be creative with it. Maybe ask them what flavor of Kool-aid it is. Advanced technique: Suggest a possible flavor for them but, make sure it's a liberal sounding one like Black Cherry or Piña-Pineapple. The important thing is to include the word "Kool-aid". I'm pretty sure Hannity said they pay the tea party every time we use it.
16. If they happen to bring up GW Bush, tell them they need to stop living in the past. Then, tell them President Lincoln freed the slaves and make sure they know he was a Republican.
17. Mention the most trendy new "scandal" word like Benghazi or PRISM. But, if you get flustered and forget what's hot right now you can always fall back on the old reliables: Obamacare, Soros or Alinsky.
18. Be subtle with your racism. Insist you don't like the President because of his policies and then, RT a picture of him as a monkey. Then, when the liberals call you a racist, turn it around on them. Tell them at *they* are, in fact, the racists because they keep black people down by helping them. They will be left speechless.
19. Sprinkle the terms "Patriot," "Constitution," "liberty" and "freedom" here and there to constantly remind others that you're a real American, even when you're not acting like one.

What's most important to remember is that as a right-winger, you have an image to uphold and a duty to build yourself up by putting others down. For freedom.

Romney's Dismal Record as MA Governor

Romney ran for governor of MA promising more jobs, decreased debt, and smaller government (just as he’s doing now, for President). Here’s what they got instead:

He claims he cut spending and balanced the budget but, the reality is that left he behind a $1 billion budget deficit for the next governor and saddled MA taxpayers with more debt per person than any other state.

State budget spending increased every single year under Romney. As the rest of the nation’s economy grew and the median income rose, MA plummeted from 36th to 47th out of 50 states in job creation, and the median income declined. MA manufacturing declined by double the national rate, and was the 3rd-worst overall in the country.

The Washington Post reports http://wapo.st/KBY4bx that as CEO, Mitt Romney advised companies that were “pioneers” in outsourcing jobs overseas. As MA governor, he outsourced state jobs. And now, he has proposed eliminating all taxes on companies’ foreign profits—which would actually encourage companies to send jobs overseas.

Not to mention that he increased taxes and fees by as much as $750 million per year. Personally, it doesn't sound to me like he knows how to fix anything but his personal profit level. Just sayin'.

An Election Year Social Network Housecleaning

An election year is an excellent time for a housecleaning. In other words, it's a great way to tell which people need to be booted from my social network friends lists. Allow me to clarify:

If you repeat ignorant bullshit that is easily debunked by reading anything other than Fox News, the Blaze or Breitbart.com...I have no need for you.

If you spew half-cocked, racist memes or quote the uneducated vitriol of Rush Limbaugh, Anne Coulter, Bryan Fischer, Michelle Malkin or their ilk as though you're some sort of 'patriot'...you're gone.

If you call yourself a Christian yet, insist God hates all the people you hate...good riddance.

If you refer to our President as a Muslim, a communist, a socialist-Marxist, a terrorist-sympathizing pussy or a monkey...consider us over.

If you wave the sacredness of The Constitution like a flag to justify your bigotry yet, demand we amend it to keep other citizens from benefiting from the same inalienable Rights that you hold dear, and our Founding Fathers intended for ALL Americans...careful that the door doesn't hit you in the ass.

I hope I've made myself clear.

My Response to the Rhetoric of a Conservative Friend From High School

I was having a chat with an old high school friend on Facebook who is a Romney supporter, which I am obviously not. He posed this question to me:

Now, there was not enough room for me to say all that needed to be said in a Facebook reply so, I decided to answer him here.

1.      Unemployment is higher

Really? Obama was inaugurated near the end of January, 2009 so; the first unemployment rate under his Presidency was in February, 2009. It was 8.3%.

The newest numbers released from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show the unemployment rate currently at 8.4%.

Now, that number would be significantly lower but, during the last four years, there have been major differences in the number of public vs. private sector job growth.

Check out this chart (red is public sector employment, blue is private sector employment):

In case you’re wondering, that spike in public sector employment was due to the hiring of temporary census workers in 2010.

Who, you may ask, is responsible for the massive number of public sector job losses? Why, states that are GOP-controlled.

There were 12 states in which Republicans came into power in 2010 – Alabama, Indiana, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. There was no data available for Mississippi but, the remaining 11 states were responsible for 40% of the total state and local public sector job losses in 2011. Add to these Texas, which because of its large size is responsible for 31% of the total at the state and local level.

Taken together, these 12 red states drove over 70% of the total losses. The rest of the states suffered much smaller losses or even slight gains.

In other words, erosion of public sector employment isn’t a problem affecting the entire country equally—it’s a problem in particular states, thanks to very particular legislators.

2.      He has increased the Nations debt by 60%

I sure would like to know where you’re getting your numbers because that’s absolutely incorrect. Let’s compare the *actual* numbers, shall we?

Increase in the National Debt by President & percentage:

            Reagan - 189%

            Bush 1 - 55%

            Clinton - 37%

            Bush 2 - 86%

            Obama – 35%

Federal spending under Obama, including his stimulus bill, is only rising at a 1.4% annual pace – slower than at any time in nearly 60 years.

            Reagan (first term) - 8.7%

            Reagan (second term) - 4.9%

            Bush 1 - 5.4%

            Clinton (first term) - 3.2%

            Clinton (second term) - 3.9%

            Bush 2 (first term) - 7.3%

            Bush 2 (second term) - 8.1%

            Obama - 1.4%

While it *is* true that Obama has increased the debt, Bush 2 actually increased federal spending by more than 2 times as much as Obama has.

Bush 2 inherited a budget surplus (the first surplus in decades) from Clinton. Then, a recession hit and he took the budget into deficit. Then, Bush 2 cut taxes, which grew the deficit to $400 billion a year. Then, we had a booming economy between 2005 and 2008, which reduced the deficit to $200 billion a year. Then, we were hit with a financial crisis, and the Bush deficit ballooned back to $400 billion a year.

President Obama took over in early 2009, during the worst recession since the Great Depression. He signed an $800 billion spending increase at the same time that GDP and tax collections tanked. The combination of these two factors (a growth in spending and a drop in revenue) exploded the deficit to $1.4 trillion. In 2010 and 2011, the economy and tax collections improved slightly, and the deficit shrank to $1.3 trillion a year.

In addition, the increase in federal spending is not the only factor that has caused the deficit. Another factor—equally, if not more, important--is the reduction in government revenue (you know, tax receipts). That can be blamed on 2 things:

1.      The Bush tax cuts, which reduced revenue.

2.      The weak economy, which reduced incomes of the middle-class and poor and capital gains upon which most federal taxes are based.

And since America is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and we have 3 equal branches of government, even you must admit that Congress plays a big role in spending and debt creation.

3.      His foreign policy stinks

That’s an opinion, not a fact, and I don’t care about your opinion.

4.      The average price of a gallon of gas has almost doubled

I was unaware that the President sets the gas prices. Please, tell me when he was awarded the authority to do that.

I do not have the time to explain how they are ACTUALLY set to you but, a simple Google search yields the answer. And to make things simple, I have done the research work for you: http://auto.howstuffworks.com/fuel-efficiency/fuel-consumption/gas-price.htm

5.      He has increased the gap between the middle class

Between the middle class and what? The rich? The poor? The elderly? The aardvarks? What?

6.      Consumer spending has decreased along with personal savings

Actually, that would make sense in a down economy because, as I previously explained, incomes of the middle-class and poor have been reduced, and many of those households have pulled equity from their homes and overloaded on debt to simply maintain living standards. This has happened while wealth has concentrated at the top 1%.

I can go on on on.

Feel free, because so can I.

Oh and I think it's really sad when the DNC comes to town that all the local hotels kick the homeless out on the street to make room for all the LWingers.

Then, take it up with the ‘job creators” who own the hotels. I guess that’s just the free market at work, right? And perhaps your right-wing blogs or The Blaze…wherever you heard that, forgot to mention that the exact same thing just happened in Tampa for the RNC.