Extremists can never admit their strategy is wrong. When it fails their response is to go further down the same road that has failed so far, resist compromising and never turn back. If the medicine isn't working, they will keep doubling the dosage until it does.
Its BS to criticize an imperfect reality by holding it up against a Utopian alternative reality that was dreamed up in hindsight.
You can never kill a conspiracy theory because in the mind of a true believer any evidence that refutes the conspiracy just proves that the secret plot runs even deeper than they originally thought.
It is mathematically impossible to create sustainable economic growth that relies on limited natural resources. It seems silly to need to point this out.
The moment bullying stops working the bully will turn into a victim. They are two sides of the same coin.
A thing is only really worth what you will be able to sell it for when you need to sell it. Hopefully you won't need to sell it when everyone else who owns the same thing needs to sell theirs as well.
The US dollar is backed by the full faith and credit of the American people. Our economy is based on our confidence in the economy.
Sometimes the best way to get an idea to spread is to convince someone else it was their idea.
The most basic and important function of a civilization is educating the young people to take over.
People generally tend to live up to or down to your expectations of them.
Good ideas spread on their own, bad ideas blame the marketing.
A poker player who is all-in with a lousy hand has no choice but to bluff. The same thing goes for a person trapped in their closed mind.
Test the logic by applying extreme examples.
Once a person is convinced their politics are aligned with the will of God, anyone who disagrees with them isn't just wrong, they're evil as well. This points at the basic reason politics and religion don't mix. Any political compromise becomes a "deal with the devil".
God doesn't need anyone to defend them in Court and they probably don't really care all that much where humans drew lines and built walls in the dirt.
It takes a leap of faith either way to be convinced that God does or does not exist. Logic requires proof before something can be taken as fact and uncertainty is logical without it.
To people who are accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression.
A pendulum can only stop in the middle.
You know you are over the target when you start taking flak.
Demagogues used to incite poor people to hate wealthy people. Now they incite poor people to hate other poor people.
You cannot be Pro-Life unless you are Pro-Earth. Eden is an acronym for Need.
Usufruct is a word used in early American history about property ownership that says owning a piece of land makes you the caretaker free to use the land to benefit from its fruits, but not yours to destroy and ruin for future generations. We should revive this word and concept.
The writers of the Constitution were so concerned with preventing tyranny by the majority that they enabled tyranny by the minority instead, which is much worse. Constitutional checks and balances were undermined by the proliferation of sparsely populated States because of their undue influence in the Senate over heavily populated States. The system of Federalism designed as a compromise between 13 colonies did not scale up well to 50 States with a huge variation in population.
Turning Government functions over to private corporations does not provide savings that weren't already available through better management of the operation. The same ideas to reduce waste can be implemented in public and private companies. Privatization has been primarily driven by politicians looking to undermine public labor unions and steer taxpayer funds toward their political supporters who then reap private profits from public funding. Free markets are something nice to talk about in theory but a kleptocracy similar to Iran or Russia is the real goal.
Reducing corporate taxes does not create jobs. Consumers with money to spend create jobs. Lower taxes may increase corporate profits but they won't spur hiring or investment in new factories unless there is increased demand for products and services. This is why it doesn't make sense to fund corporate tax breaks by chipping away at their customers' disposable income.
Religious faith and human reason must coincide because there is only one truth.
You can tell a lot more about a person from who their enemies are than you can tell from who their friends are.
Freedom of religion is logically equivalent to freedom from religion. "None of the above" has to be one of the boxes a person can check.
When politicians are allowed to make laws that impose a religion, the people are one election away from a different group of politicians imposing a different religion.
The Constitution established how the Government functions and how leaders are elected and how laws are made. There is no escape clause that enables insurrection. The most likely scenario for revolution is that voters will elect leaders whose intent is to burn down our house of democracy from inside. Attempting to discredit and dismantle the system of Government itself instead of working within its established framework to bring reform is an unforgiveable breach of the oath of office for a Government official.
Leave the campground cleaner than you found it. Earth is your campground.
The ones complaining the most about Socialism define it as "Whenever the Government helps someone besides me." They will go to great lengths explaining why the taxpayer funded programs they benefit from are not actually socialism.
Some believe that when there is an argument, the truth will only be found in the middle of the opposing viewpoints as if there was a magical balance fairy.
Not all people who are less than perfect are equally bad. There are degrees of just how bad.
A cult is proven when the members who leave are immediately transferred to the top of the shit list.
Practice does not make perfect if you are doing it wrong.
Just because you don't see the pattern yet doesn't make it random.
Quite often the more complex and difficult a problem seems, the simpler its solution will eventually be, you just haven't had the moment of inspiration to look at the same problem from another angle. When a persistent problem seems to magically disappear it could be someone who figured out the cause and was too embarrassed to admit it took them so long to figure it out.
The more you learn the more you will realize how little you know. The same thing applies in reverse.
It is not enough just to have a destination in mind, you need to formulate some sort of plan how to get from here to there.
By the time you hear "To make a long story short.." its usually too late for that.
Pay attention in math class. Life is a series of one story problem after another.
The right to vote should be granted at age 16 when young people have to start paying payroll and income taxes. No taxation without representation!
When gun rights activists claim there is no point in new gun control legislation because criminals will just ignore the law anyways, they are making the case that all laws are pointless. Why have speed limits? Drivers will speed anyway. Why have laws against robbing banks? Crooks will rob banks anyways.
The final shape of a stack of cannonballs was determined by the bottom layer.
It is hypocritical for politicians to promote the skilled construction trades as a viable career opportunity for young people and at the same time work to destroy labor unions and collective bargaining rights that brought living wages and safe working conditions to these occupations.
A person cannot claim that evolution is nonsense unless they also claim that using DNA evidence in a court of law is nonsense. It is the same science.
"Do not put the Lord your God to the test." appears in both the Old Testament and the New Testament yet many seem to view God as a benevolent superhero will protect them from their own bad choices as long as they pray hard enough before making them.
Overlooked in all the polarized rhetoric about reproductive rights is the message in a 1994 speech given by Mother Teresa of Calcutta, (now Saint Teresa of Calcutta) in Washington DC to a room full of American political leaders to whom she spoke boldly on the topic of abortion, including how to convince pregnant women who are considering an abortion to decide against it, Saint Teresa said "As always, we must persuade her with love and we remind ourselves that love means to be willing to give until it hurts". She called persuasion not coercion, for charity and love not for political agendas, for us to reach out, not for us to judge and condemn. I can't think of another time God sent a future Saint to address our political leaders in Washington DC, and I can't imagine why so few actually listened to her.
Climate denial is the easy alternative to looking at children and grandchildren in the eyes and admitting you really don't care what kind of planet they will inherit. Its all fun-and-games political theatre for loudmouth climate denying gasbags until you make it personal.
Beware of arguments that rely on anecdotes. There is always an anecdote out there to support any idea or proposal even when there is overwhelming evidence against it.
Replacing carbon based fuels with renewable energy will create economic growth and not hinder it. Reducing the demand for carbon based fuels will contribute to excess supply and lead to downward pressure on market prices for oil and gas, leaving consumers more disposable income for other things. Renewable energy is technology and technology becomes more affordable over time. The green agenda is worthwhile just for the economic growth it will bring. Saving the planet is the added bonus.
Its easier to get someone to believe a lie than it is to convince them they've been lied to.
No organization is immune from having some percentage of people of poor character within their ranks who should be removed before they tarnish the reputation or create financial liability for the entire organization. Respecting law and order does not mean blind loyalty to anyone who carries a badge regardless of their actions and conduct. The system of law and order needs protection from attacks either from outside or from within.
There is nothing patriotic about cheating on your taxes and sticking future generations with the bills for benefits and services you received.
People tend to be afraid of what they hate and really afraid of what they really hate. When someone defends a preemptive attack out of fear, there is a strong chance hate was the real driving factor.
You can't change a person's mind. The most you can do is plant a seed of doubt and wait.
A scientist seeks out facts and data in order to arrive at a conclusion. A politician starts at a conclusion and then seeks out information to help support it.
It takes an occasional shitty day to help you appreciate the mediocre ones.
If you emerge from a brainstorming session with a to-do list for someone else you are doing it wrong.
The worst of humanity and the internet can be found in the reader comments section below the news stories. Carnival barkers with CAPS LOCK keys. Just stop supporting this idiocy please. It is like handing out sharpie pens in public restrooms.
The bias is proven by what was left out of the story. No media outlet has a duty to report every single fact or piece of information on a story they are covering. Read from a variety of sources and you can see for yourself who leaves out what details.
Nothing says you are filled with fear than a need to carry around a loaded firearm so you can kill anything that poses a threat when you leave your bunker to get toilet paper at the dollar store.
Its not the responsibility of a person who knows a subject very well to spend time educating those who are wholly and willfully ignorant on a subject but are compelled to debate anyway.
Anyone who concludes the Gospels are a call for God's people to coordinate with political leaders and employ the legal system to promote their religion must have skipped the part about how Jesus died.
Before you parse the wording and punctuation in the Constitution attempting to divine the writers' true original intent, read the Preamble and note the phrases "insure domestic tranquility" and "promote the general welfare". If a long, twisted interpretation of the Constitution promotes domestic upheaval and societal chaos or an economic system in which the masses are permanently indentured to a ruling class, the interpretation is nonsense because it doesn't even pass the sniff test of the Preamble.
The number one rule in Liars Club: As long as the guy up front pretends to believe all the lies he is telling, everyone else will pretend to believe all the lies they are hearing.
Lots more where these came from.. This will take a while.
-Jim
There are so many gems in here! It is clear that we need to "reset" the way we approach politics. We have lost our way. And, this is a great start. Keep writing, Jim! I love this!
ReplyDeleteWow thanks. I appreciate that.
ReplyDelete