The Stupid. It Burns

Feb 25, 2011 in RadioShow, sciolism

I don’t yet know which of our great co-hosts we’ll have around for the show, but the show will be dedicated to discussing the various ways that sciolism defeats discourse.

Two things:

One: that last phrase is willfully plagiarized from my (Synthaetica) old post by the same title, which is basically the inspiration for tonight’s show.

Two: Sciolism: 1. A pretentious attitude of scholarship; superficial knowledgeability. 2. Rare The practice of opinionating on subjects of which one has only superficial knowledge. 3. A superficial knowledge, especially when pretentiously revealed.

You can probably imagine where I’m going with this. I recently was doing some maintenance on my website and came across some old posts on this topic which I did for the Blogswarms Against Theocracy back in 2007 an 2008. The subject matter still rings true today, and in fact, as I have more and more “discussions” with theists hell-bent on saving our godless “souls”, I see it as more and more of a problem: and one that is actually rather multifaceted.

Show Title: The Stupid. It Burns

Who (tentative): Dawnne Gee (@Synthaetica), Paul Fidalgo (@PaulFidalgo), Kile Jones, Zach Garland (@Zachsmind)

When: 10pm EST, Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Where: BlogTalkRadio.com/Synthaetica

What: The Stupid. It Burns.

My previous posts on this subject:

I hope to gather some additional insight from other authors/bloggers prior to the show. If you’ve got something to say about the subject, please don’t be bashful! Use the comments below!

2 Comments »

Regarding the Willfully Enslaved

Jun 29, 2009 in theocracy

Earlier today, I tweeted: “they protest in the streets, on rooftops. chanting their devotion to the very faith that enslaves them and from which they beg deliverance.”

This is a thought that has been coming upon me for several days. Even with all the Twitter support for new elections in Iran, or at least a full recount of the vote, we are forgetting, if not simply outright ignoring, that the populace, in large part (even if proven not to be a technical majority), does not seek emancipation from its theocratic republic. All this outcry is, instead, the expression of a desire for a slightly more emotionally digestible form of theocratic rule.

Another way of saying that is: The protesters in Iran don’t want freedom. They are simply demanding that the shackles be loosened slightly so that they can scratch a philosophical itch or two.

And that, really, is it.

After some considerable consideration (pardon the redundancy), I changed my twitter avatar from a green one (Green is, as you might remember, the official color of Islam anyway), to a regular one a few days ago. In retrospect, I don’t support this Free Iran charade at all. Because it’s a charade. It’s pompous blowhardiness. Sure, if the elections were rigged, that’s wrong. Undoubtedly, if votes were ignored or uncounted, that’s wrong. But the desired end result is far too closely related to the status quo to be worthy of this much angst and bloodshed. How incredibly, unfortunately, disappointingly…

…ignorant.

“Save us from our self-imposed delusion with a slightly different form of self-imposed delusion” is precisely what this is all about. That ain’t freedom, friends and neighbors. That’s self-perpetuated willful enslavement. Iran will only begin to be “free” when the majority requires the government to remove the yolk of religious oppression. And it’ll still be a long way from there for them to go as a country.

And it’s this faulty, delusional presumption that makes the senseless, needless deaths, injuries, and property damage all the more depressing.

Humanity: the perpetually incessant bane of human progress.

7 Comments »

Thorn of Crowns

Jun 06, 2009 in JESUS CRAP™

(the following is a re-post from the otherwhirled. i felt like being snarky this morning.)

(Crown of Thorns at christianbook.com)

photo credit: Holyland Imports/ny

Are you tired of wearing the same old thing to church on Sunday mornings? Frustrated by losing your headscarf in strong winds? Wish you could have more dramatic effect when berating your children for not living up to your arbitrary, self-contradictory standards?

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Showcase it on your coffee table to make your neighbors, friends, and extended family members feel smaller and more insignificant. Earn respect from drivers nationwide who pass you with little clearance by wearing it over your bandana on your first cross-country Holy Roller Crusade to Save the Lost in Sturgis! Wear it with your Official Robe of Martyrdom®** when beating your adopted oriental children for not understanding a word you say, so they’ll at least understand the awesome sacrifice the purchase of their faithless, heathen asses was!

Remember, nothing says “HolyShit!” like the Sweet Jesus™ Crown of Thorns®. Buy now, and we’ll give you a second Crown of Thorns® absolutely free! Use your second Crown of Thorns® along with your Holy Crucifixion Set®*** for fun-filled reenactments at the next church picnic!

Don’t get caught like Delay! Buy now and Be Saved!

*Limited 33-year warranty. Superior Cross of Sacrifice® sold separately. See package for details.
**Official Robe of Martyrdom® sold separately. Some assembly required.
***Holy Crucifixion Set® sold separately. Not recommended for children under the age of 7 and does not support persons over 100 pounds.

HolyShit! Technologies. Your #1 supplier of JESUS CRAP™ nation-wide! We make the stuff that makes the rest of the world nervous!

~~~~

one of my favorite groups when i was a younger lad was Echo & the Bunnymen. at least until they went and got all religious about life. back in 1984, on the album, “Ocean Rain”, they produced a song called “Thorn of Crowns”, hence the title of this post. yes, i do know the two things are distinctly different. nevertheless, i include a video version of the song below, because the one reminded me of the other. my favorite line is the opening:

You set my teeth on edge
You set my teeth on edge
You think you’re a vegetable
Never come out of the fridge

No Comments »

Dance-Dance Fever: Drunk & Disorderly Edition

Feb 19, 2008 in snark

(AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

photo credit: AP Photo/Charles Dharapak

President Bush proves once and for all that enforced Christianity is retarded on many levels.

“Ah’m not drunk, Ah’m high on Christ!” mumbled the president.

And the band played on, waiting patiently for the imminent fall.

1 Comment »

So, tell me agin, Condi…

Feb 19, 2008 in snark

()

photo credit: AP Photo/Charles Dharapak

“…why Ah hadta come ta yer fambly reunion?”

meanwhile, Laura checks out the well-hung gentleman in the grass skirt….

No Comments »

Depend®-able Renegade

Feb 19, 2008 in snark

(AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

photo credit: AP Photo/Charles Dharapak

President Bush reconsiders having left his diapers in the limo after making another meal of American values.

(my humblest apology to Watertiger. i admire you deeply. the title just couldn’t be resisted)

No Comments »

Captain Smirk attends the Star Trek Convention…

Feb 19, 2008 in snark

(AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

photo credit: AP Photo/Charles Dharapak

“Uh….’Live long an’….whu? T’udder way? Damn, this presidentin’ is hard work! Fuck you, Shattner!”

1 Comment »

Laura Blue Screens

Feb 17, 2008 in humor, snark

(AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

photo credit: AP Photo/Jerome Delay

Read the Custom Blue Screen

1 Comment »

Fashion Week, Tanzania

Feb 17, 2008 in snark

(AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

photo credit: AP Photo/Charles Dharapak

“Nurses and hospital staff members wear ‘kanga’, traditional African cloths, bearing the image of U.S. President George W. Bush as President Bush tours Amana District Hospital in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Sunday, Feb. 17, 2008. After the presidential visit, the ‘kanga’ will be reverted back to their original usage as diapers for incontinent patients.”

2 Comments »

So, yer tha new driver?

Feb 17, 2008 in snark

(AFP/Jim Watson)

photo credit: AFP/Jim Watson

“Nice ta meetcha. Tha car’s jist around back.”

No Comments »

If Pictures Could Talk

Feb 14, 2008 in snark

(Yuri Gripas/Reuters)

photo credit: Yuri Gripas/Reuters

…I’m pretty sure this one would be using a lot of four-letter words.

2 Comments »

A momentary pause

Feb 14, 2008 in snark

(AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)

photo credit: AP Photo/Ron Edmonds

“President Bush pauses while signing his name, having forgotten once again how to spell ‘W’.”

No Comments »

Heckuva Job, Mom!

Feb 11, 2008 in snark

(REUTERS/Yuri Gripas)

photo credit: REUTERS/Yuri Gripas

“Oh. Ah mean, Sandy! Heh-heh-heh.”

1 Comment »

Double your pleasure…

Feb 07, 2008 in snark

(Shaun Best / Reuters)

photo credit: Shaun Best / Reuters

“…on the Sit-n-Spin Express!”

No Comments »

ballot initiative

Feb 07, 2008 in snark

(Joe Raedle / Getty)

photo credit: Joe Raedle / Getty

“I’ve got a box of these in the dog carrier on top of my car. Everybody grab yourself a stack, and remember, my name’s not Huckabee!”

No Comments »

Graph and Corruption

Feb 06, 2008 in snark

i feel compelled to point out to those of you searching Google, Yahoo, Ask, and other internet search-engines, that the real phrase in question is “Graft and Corruption”.

this post, which sadly dates from a period in which i didn’t host the photographs internally, was a “pun”.

just sayin’.

to like, literally, 20-odd visitors per day since monday.

from domains belonging to certain universities on the east coast.

not that i assume that people are inherently morons or anything….but at least you can spell “graph” correctly, even though you apparently don’t mean to.

and since the vast majority of friends to this blog are east-coasters, i’ll tactfully refrain from drawing any analogies.

out loud.

but if you happen to know a college student in a poli-sci course who has to research “graft and corruption”, if you’d kindly smack them upside the head for me, i’d greatly appreciate it. because they’re searching, literally, on the title of this post, not “graft and corruption”, as one would assume any semi-literate college student to be doing.

pfffffffft!
;-)

No Comments »

I'm lost.

Feb 04, 2008 in snark

(Jim Young US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN 2008/Reuters)

photo credit: Jim Young US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN 2008/Reuters

“Have you seen me lately?”

2 Comments »

This Space Intentionally Blank

Feb 04, 2008 in snark

(REUTERS/Shealah Craighead/The White House/Handout)

photo credit: REUTERS/Shealah Craighead/The White House/Handout

“Yes, ma’am. I know who your husband is. Which is exactly my point. These seats are reserved for honored guests.”

2 Comments »

Buhjit

Feb 04, 2008 in snark

(Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

photo credit: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

“‘Budget,’ sir.”

“Buhjit.”

“No, sir. ‘Budget’. ‘Budge-it’.

“Buggit.”

“Sir. It’s ‘budget’, with ‘jet’ at the end, like an airplane, sir.”

“Airplane? Whar we goin?”

“No, sir. We’re not going anywhere. I’m trying to help you pronounce ‘budget’.”

“Wull, if’n we’re goin’ sumwhar, Ah’m gonna need mah flask.”

“You don’t pay me enough, sir.”

“Damn right, pardner. Now, gimme this here buhjit an’ les’ git on that plane!”

No Comments »

Living in the past…

Jan 31, 2008 in snark

(Robert Galbraith/Reuters)

photo credit: Robert Galbraith/Reuters

“…is now proven to get you nowhere. Thank fecking Gawd.”

No Comments »

STFU

Jan 29, 2008 in snark

ooops. my bad. that was SOTU. (the link is to the full SOTU text as posted by Think Progress)

{by the by, some of the “fun” in this post is in the image mouseovers. just sayin’….}

indeed. the last-and-final SOTU by Preznut Chimperator was yet another exercise in “Shut The Fuck Up, Chimpy”, flavored overmuch by the inherent sense of melancholy and dread that accompanies unbiased critical thinking as applied to careful consideration upon the actual state of the Union. in my humble opinion, it really couldn’t have been:

  1. more depressing
  2. more predictable
  3. more embarrassing
  4. more unremarkable

probably the most telling synopsis of this SOTU, as with any other, is the US Presidential Speeches Tag Cloud. i have this separately bookmarked in my browsers, because it encompasses all major presidential speeches, not just the SOTU/STFUs, and is a simple way to compare the focus of past speeches, and past presidents.

as usual, Think Progress has a great series of rebuttals to assertions and declarations made in this most recent SOTU. they even went so far as to provide separate tags for two different forms of capitalization: State of the Union and State Of The Union. either way you do it, the posts there are, as usual, a great window into how stupid he is.

personally, i think his opening lines were the most telling (and thus ensues the quotational cherry-picking!):

Seven years have passed since I first stood before you at this rostrum. In that time, our country has been tested in ways none of us could have imagined.

yeah, no shit, Chimpy. first of all, it’s really uncool to rub in the fact that it’s been SEVEN FECKING YEARS since you stole the preznutty. and “tested in ways none of us could have imagined” means far more to the average, every-day American than a coked-up fuckwit like you can likely fathom.

All of us were sent to Washington to carry out the people’s business. That is the purpose of this body. It is the meaning of our oath. And it remains our charge to keep.

again, no shit. it’s been SEVEN FECKING YEARS, moron. when exactly the fuck are you going to start carrying out the people’s business? ALL the people’s business. oh. never? yeah, go fig.


The actions of the 110th Congress…

now, just stop right there!

…will affect the security and prosperity of our Nation long after this session has ended.

i said, stop. gah. pinhead. yes they will, but only because they’re having to hop around cleaning up everything you’ve thrown your fetid chimpanzee feces at for the past SEVEN FECKING YEARS. do you seriously not realize that even your own party hates you? pfft.

most of us know better. even the lady with almost as much corporate baggage as you have knows better. STFU, Chimpy.

In the work ahead, we must be guided by the philosophy that made our Nation great.

exactly. thus, presuming a majority of the people vote for a Democrat for preznut, we’ll start getting better guidance in about a year.


In the long run, Americans can be confident about our economic growth.

“for the war machine and major corporations”

We have other work to do on taxes. Unless the Congress acts, most of the tax relief we have delivered over the past 7 years will be taken away. Some in Washington argue that letting tax relief expire is not a tax increase. Try explaining that to 116 million American taxpayers who would see their taxes rise by an average of $1,800. Others have said they would personally be happy to pay higher taxes. I welcome their enthusiasm, and I am pleased to report that the IRS accepts both checks and money orders.

oh, hah-hah-hah. very funny. your speech writer obviously crafted that little gem while snuggling with Jonah Goldberg in his mother’s basement. i’ll give you this, little man. you did a hell of a job reading through the cheetoh stains. anyway, STFU, Chimpy. ignorant bastard. not even “Uncle Ben” there seems to agree with you.


The people’s trust in their Government is undermined by congressional earmarks….

while that statement isn’t necessarily untrue, it misses the larger point that people’s trust in their government is undermined by the ineffectual and often embarrassing “leadership” of a “man” who is only marginally capable of communicating his own inadequacy. look, Chimpy, the idiots on the left there are the only ones who are happy with you, and they’re only happy with you when you’re not around.

Our shared responsibilities extend beyond matters of taxes and spending.

holy shit, Chimpy. it only took you SEVEN FECKING YEARS to figure that out. oh, wait. my bad. you were already hip to the “war” and “hypocrisy” squares.

The No Child Left Behind Act is a bipartisan achievement. It is succeeding. And we owe it to America’s children, their parents, and their teachers to strengthen this good law.

this, coming from The Chimpanzee Who Should Have Been Left Behind. i have yet to meet an education professional who has positive things to say about No Child Left Behind. it’s not a good law, Chimpy, and your opinion on the issue, my brave little below-average student, hardly matters.

{….skipping a whole bunch of shit because i have responsibilities….}


One of the most important tools we can give them is the ability to monitor terrorist communications. To protect America, we need to know who the terrorists are talking to, what they are saying, and what they are planning.

i was waiting for that. it wouldn’t have been a genuine Boosh Speech without a paragraph or two of fear-mongering.

America is leading the fight against global hunger.

indeed, eradicating those who follow the path of Islam, the most populous religion in the world, will certainly help make more food available for others.

America is leading the fight against disease.

except where it came to electing presidents over the past two elections, anyway.


America is a force for hope in the world because we are a compassionate people, and some of the most compassionate Americans are those who have stepped forward to protect us.

maybe it’s just a product of my own public schooling, but i didn’t think the word “compassion” was spelled I·N·V·A·S·I·O·N. or O·I·L. let alone G·R·E·E·D.

The secret of our strength, the miracle of America, is that our greatness lies not in our Government, but in the spirit and determination of our people.

again, a bit of truth shines out at the end. we’ll see how your kind fares in November. in the meantime, STFU, Chimpy.



photo credits (in order of appearance): Tim Sloan/Pool/Reuters, AFP/Pool/Tim Sloan, AFP/Mandel Ngan, Jim Young/Reuters, Larry Downing/Reuters, Tim Sloan/Pool/Reuters, AFP/File/Mandel Ngan

2 Comments »

State of the Imbecile

Jan 28, 2008 in snark

(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

photo credit: AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

Tonight, Preznut Boosh will give his last State of the Union address. Undoubtedly, it will be a hallmark occasion. Meaning, we should all probably go out and buy apology cards for everyone we know in Europe and the Middle East as we begin to invade Iran. Oh, and sympathy cards for every family of a marine, soldier, airman, or seaman that we know.

3 Comments »

Bush Meets With Mormon Leaders…

Jan 28, 2008 in snark

(Eric Draper/White House/Handout/Files/Reuters)

photo credit: Eric Draper/White House/Handout/Files/Reuters

“…to find out if he’d be more popular if he drove around with Barney on the top of his car.”

No Comments »

Thank you, Jonah!

Jan 18, 2008 in politics

i admire Jon Stewart. his willingness to play host to controversial individuals is remarkable. one of his latest guests was the Doughy Pantload himself, Jonah Goldberg, who is currently out peddling his latest intellectual diarrhea entitled Liberal Fascism. i just can’t bring myself to link to anything that full of shit, so i won’t.

however, Comedy Central has generously posted the edited interview as it was broadcast, which i do include below. if by some remote chance you were unable to view the episode and the interview in that hole under whatever rock you must live, or if you would enjoy watching Jon treat such an inept buffoon with far more respect than he deserves once again, here it is:

i seriously hope that Comedy Central will eventually make available the entire interview. 18 minutes, it was. there’s enough there for an entire half-hour episode.

this morning, over at Sadly, No!, Cliff wrote an exceptional post which goes well beyond the site’s traditional snark and acerbity. a serious piece on why Jonah Goldberg and the National Review (which employs him) are absolutely No Laughing Matter. i believe it falls in the general category of “must read”, so please do.

apparently, the new spin from the National Review, and the “right”, is to attempt to obscure the negative ground upon which they stand, rewrite history, and redefine current arguments in intellectually archaic memes. this is troublesome, and it is dangerous. and i will admit it is frustrating that such demagoguery and willful ignorance must be given the same freedom of expression as truthfulness, compassion, and other non-stagnant forms of intellect.

but at least we have people like Jonah Goldberg out there, making the self-contradicting spin so blatantly obvious. the “right” continues to support progressive ideals by virtue of its own self-deprecation. it’s kind of beautiful, in a sickening way.

so, thank you, Jonah Goldberg. you’re one of the most helpful douchebags supporting the causes i believe in today!

1 Comment »

Sister-Wives for Mitt

Jan 16, 2008 in snark

(AFP/Scott Olson)

photo credit: AFP/Scott Olson

“Sorry, ladies. Those are the wrong kind of mitts for supporting oven-Mitt. Now, if you really support him, go take off your shoes and get back in the kitchen where he believes you belong.”

tip of the hat for the updated title goes to Pissed in NY, from the comments. bravo, Pissed, bravo!

6 Comments »