Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

With all due respect and assumptions of good faith, please fuck off into the sun.

People are weird.

Every reporter and pundit should have to declare if they ever vacationed with a billionaire.

Welcome to day five of every-bit-as-bad-as-you-thought-it-would-be.

Trump should be leading, not lying.

Take hopelessness and turn it into resilience.

“woke” is the new caravan.

Weird. Rome has an American Pope and America has a Russian President.

Today in our ongoing national embarrassment…

Every one of the “Roberts Six” lied to get on the court.

Their freedom requires your slavery.

Compromise? There is no middle ground between a firefighter and an arsonist.

Consistently wrong since 2002

Anne Laurie is a fucking hero in so many ways. ~ Betty Cracker

Stop using mental illness to avoid talking about armed white supremacy.

They don’t have outfits that big. nor codpieces that small.

People really shouldn’t expect the government to help after they watched the GOP drown it in a bathtub.

This really is a full service blog.

We will not go quietly into the night; we will not vanish without a fight.

Within six months Twitter will be fully self-driving.

When they say they are pro-life, they do not mean yours.

The fundamental promise of conservatism all over the world is a return to an idealized past that never existed.

“Jesus paying for the sins of everyone is an insult to those who paid for their own sins.”

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

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Reader Interactions

77Comments

  3. 3.

    Charity

    Scuse me, I have something in my eye…

    I just gave a buttload of $ to the DSCC, DCCC, and Planned Parenthood the other night, so I can’t give right now. But God, I would if I could.

  4. 4.

    ThatLeftTurnInABQ

    Tom Udall has been on fire the entire election, and to say that he is mopping the floor with his opponent is, quite frankly, disrespectful to mops.

    I will be very proud to call him my Senator in January.

  6. 6.

    Lavocat

    Wow. That one brought tears to my eyes.

    Anyone who fails to support these patriots just isn’t an American, in my book.

  9. 9.

    ronathan richardson

    "War is bad enough. There are no words for bullshit war."
    That really sums it up, doesn’t it.

    And the timer has started to count down to when Rush calls this guy a robot or a phony.

  11. 11.

    ThatLeftTurnInABQ

    @Whammer

    Not sure what you mean. Don Wiviott lost in the primaries to Ben Ray Luján who is running for the NM-03 seat. Is he (Don) running for something else now? If so, I missed it but I’ve mostly been paying attention to the very nasty race in NM-01 so I may be little out of touch.

    You might be able to find something from digging around at this site: New Mexico FBIHOP

  12. 12.

    Krista

    Kind of makes those magnetic bumper-stickers look even more meaningless, doesn’t it? Troop support isn’t something you buy at the dollar store.

  13. 13.

    The Other Steve

    Interesting. Udall to the west appears to be like Kennedy to the east.

    Mo Udall was the popular representative from Arizona. His son Mark Udall represents Colorado. Tom Udall is his nephew.

    Oh and apparently Gordon Smith of Oregon is related, as his mother was a cousin of Mo Udall. He seems to be wishing he was a Democrat these days.

    Good ad though, and you are right. elections have consequences.

  15. 15.

    Shade Tail

    You know, I can still remember after the Graham Frost blow-up last year, some mouth-breather pundit, I can’t remember which one, going onto Bill Maher’s ‘Real Time’ and whining about how "unfair" it is to show people who are affected by policy. He was whimpering about how "unfair" it was to show someone like young Mr. Frost as an example of what the S-CHIP program was meant for, because it was a "debate stopper" or some shit like that.

    I wanted to drive down to Maher’s studio just so I could march in, grab that piker by his shirt collar, and start slapping him. Seriously, this asshole was talking about how inappropriate it was to show the real-world impact of political policy, just because doing that was a "debate stopper". As if the mere debate was the only thing that mattered.

    And, of course, to jerk-offs like him, the debate *is* all that matters.

    That episode, and this poignant ad here, show the very high price of ignoring the fact that political policies and government affairs *do* have real-life impact on real-life people. If you conduct an illegal invasion and occupation justified by lies, if you privatize veterans’ hospitals, if you put incompetent cronies in charge of FEMA, then real people suffer.

    This isn’t just some high school debate club, or a political science class, this is serious business.

  16. 16.

    burnspbesq

    Gordon Smith could have switched parties any time he wanted. He chose not to. His problem.

  17. 17.

    burnspbesq

    Time to pay the bills tonight. Whatever is left over is going to Martin and Lunsford. I do love the sound of "filibuster-proof majority."

  19. 19.

    The Grand Panjandrum

    I just moved away from NM and Tom Udall was my Rep. Damn fine man and always took care of the veterans. Glad he’s going to kick the Christianist Pearce’s ass. NM is getting rid of Heather Wilson and Steve Pearce in one election. Now that’s change you can believe in!

    If they can just elect Heinrich over that fat loser Darren White …

  20. 20.

    Napoleon

    Mo Udall was the popular representative from Arizona.

    I loved Mo. I really wanted to see him as President.

    That video was powerful. It is simply immoral not to do everything possible for those soldiers.

  21. 21.

    Jeff

    On a slightly different note, I was just in the DC area and I cannot believe all the political ads on TV. In California, we might see one McCain or Obama ad a day. There had to be at least one ad per commercial break in DC.

  23. 23.

    demimondian

    Gordon Smith could have switched parties any time he wanted. He chose not to. His problem.

    No, not really. Smith is actually quite conservative, which is appropriate since the Republicans in Oregon are also quite conservative.

    Of course, he *could* have adopted reasonable policies, and not organized mass fish kills and the like. That he might have fit in as a Democrat.

    Nah, that’s crazy talk.

  24. 24.

    donovong

    Kind of like a kick in the gut.

    I borrowed this from a comment at Kos, just to give more perspective on Mr. Schei:

    FACT: From the Associated Press, January 22, 2008: In October 2005, Erik was a 21-year-old Army sergeant serving in Mosul, Iraq, as a machine-gunner with the Army’s 94th Engineer Battalion. A sniper’s bullet pierced the right side of his helmet and passed through both frontal lobes of his brain.

    "They gave him zero chance of survival," Erik’s father, Gordon Schei, said. "They said if he did survive, he would be a vegetable. They wanted us to pull the plug on him. But we dug deep.

    "We’re people of faith, and we brought him home, and today he communicates with people. He laughs, he’s
    standing — not on his own, but with help. He’s doing so many things."

    Erik uses a wheelchair and lives with his parents and 7-year-old sister in the Rio Rancho home his parents
    helped him purchase in August. The family moved from Taos to be closer to the VA hospital.

    He is constantly impressing his parents, friends and therapists with the improvements he is making. He now
    speaks one or two words at a time. Often, "annoying" is one of them, speaking of his sister, said Christine Schei, laughing. He has a computer attached to his wheelchair, which often speaks for him. He activates it with his head.

    "We’re also teaching him to feed himself, which takes a lot of effort," Christine Schei said. "His brain just seems to have forgotten which muscles to use."

    There are some things, however, that his brain has not forgotten how to do. "He knows how to read, which
    was a shock to all of us," she said. "They held up cards and he mouthed the words. A lot of times, it’s a whisper. It’s not real loud. We have to push him sometimes, ‘Erik louder, try harder.’ He has been our
    miracle child. We have great expectations, and hopefully by the end of next year, he can walk in a walker even if it’s just two or three steps."

    Erik has occupational and physical therapists come to the house three times a week, and a speech therapist
    comes twice a week. His mother also drives him to speech therapy three times a week.

    "My hope is for him to be able to live independently, to be able to take care of himself and not be dependent on anyone else," Gordon Schei said. "He’s always going to need some kind of help. Right now, he needs 24-hour care, but nobody thought he would get as far as he is right now, so there’s no sense in thinking he won’t get further."

  25. 25.

    Comrade Stuck

    Elections Have Consequences

    Indeed they do. For some , more than others

    @ThatLeftTurnInABQ:

    Tom Udall has been on fire the entire election, and to say that he is mopping the floor with his opponent is, quite frankly, disrespectful to mops.

    Yep, and Gumby Pearce will be out of our hair in SW NM, although the chances are good we’ll get another wingnut just as bad. But having Udall as Senator will more than make up for that.

  27. 27.

    Martin

    On a slightly different note, I was just in the DC area and I cannot believe all the political ads on TV. In California, we might see one McCain or Obama ad a day. There had to be at least one ad per commercial break in DC.

    NoVA is in the ad market. CA is only getting the national buys. Obama dumped $3M last week in VA ad buys. Only FL and PA are getting hit harder.

  28. 28.

    J. Maynard Gelinas

    Wow. That’s a tough spot to watch. I don’t know what to say, except I sincerely hope stem cell research some day is able to regrow brain tissue and return that man to a normal active life.

  31. 31.

    r€nato

    let’s hope the wingers have at least the small amount of decency it takes to leave this guy alone. He is NOT "fair game". (god I hate that phrase)

  32. 32.

    Seebach

    Hate to go off topic, but Americablog just has a post up about Vicki Iseman, all but forgotten, reporting in an interview that "she did not have a sexual relationship" with John McCain.

    Is something about her about to break? Why bring this story up in the public memory at all?

  33. 33.

    Brian J

    This is what pisses me off about talking to some people. I’ll get to one of my conservative friends later, but for now, let me talk about one of my bosses. He’s an Independent who would have voted for Hillary but is probably going to vote for McCain. He thinks Obama is too much of a Socialist, or rather he doesn’t really like him talking about "spreading the wealth" and doesn’t think he has enough experience. He also was saying that he doesn’t think anything is going to change and that every four years, we hear the same stuff. There’s some truth to that, but I find it enormously frustrating. It’s fairly obvious, I think, who is interested in doing what and for whom. McCain may have a health care plan that tries to expand coverage, but I don’t think it’s one of his priorities. I think it’s safe to say the opposite is true for Obama. Wouldn’t it make sense, then, to vote for Obama and other Democrats?

    I guess what I am trying to say is that saying what my boss said seems like a very defeatist, almost nonchalant attitude. Progress and reform won’t happen overnight, but by not even trying to see that they are enacted, people are making damn sure it’s not going to happen. I guess you could say that I am in the mindset of ‘If you don’t vote, if you don’t try to make things better, you don’t have a right to complain.’

  35. 35.

    Brian J

    NM is getting rid of Heather Wilson and Steve Pearce in one election. Now that’s change you can believe in!

    A few weeks ago, Heather Wilson was on Chris Matthews’ show. Maybe it’s just me, but she looked terrible. And for the love of God, what is with her voice? She sounds like a Canadian transexual who didn’t have the voice down pat

  37. 37.

    nabalzbbfr

    Massive voter fraud, aided and abetted by MSM and pollsters,

    There are now numerous indications that the leftist liberal establishment and their allies in the mass media are in the process of mounting a fraudulent electoral coup d’etat on Nov. 4, using every possible means to undermine the democratic electoral process. The spearhead of this effort has been ACORN, which has been blatantly set up a massive vote rigging scheme. An example par excellence of this is Cuyahoga County, Ohio, where ACORN has fraudulently registered 105% of the voting age population. The mass media has complicitly rigged their polls, by changing from the "traditional model" of likely voters to the "expanded model", which incorporates all the bogus voters which ACORN and their ilk have registered. The traditional model shows either the race at dead heat or with a slight McCain lead. The "expanded model" dupes the American people into believing that Obama will win in a landslide. But hte American people will not be deceived. If this diabolical coup succeeds, there will indeed be a Bastille day on Nov. 4, but not at all the kind the rad-libs are already crowing about!

  38. 38.

    libarbarian

    There had to be at least one ad per commercial break in DC.

    Yeah, I would say that’s about right.

  40. 40.

    tomjones

    Bring our boys (and girls) home. If I have to admit that the SURGE worked to do so, very well. Just bring them home.

  41. 41.

    Perry Como

    @nabalzbbfr: I’ll let you in on the secret. This entire election is a plot by a race of lizard men that live in the center of the Earth. Barack Obama is actually one of these shape shifting lizard men and so are all of the people in positions of power in the media.

    It’s a little known fact, but 6,000 years ago when the Earth was created, lizard men and human beings both lived on the surface. There was a bloody conflict and the lizard men were forced underground. Since then they have been plotting their revenge on humans and Barack Hussssssssein Obama is their herald. Sometime during Obama’s first term he will alert his armies and we will all be forced into reptilian reparations camps.

    And don’t even get me started on the Squirrels of Armageddon.

  42. 42.

    tomjones

    @nabalzbbfr: Y’know, I respect your right to troll. But this is an inappropriate time and place.

    We "leftofascists" are attempting to pay homage to the troops, and you come and shit all over it. Fuck you.

  43. 43.

    Comrade Stuck

    The mass media has complicitly rigged their polls, by changing from the "traditional model" of likely voters to the "expanded model", which incorporates all the bogus voters which ACORN and their ilk have registered. The traditional model shows either the race at dead heat or with a slight McCain lead. The "expanded model" dupes the American people into believing that Obama will win in a landslide.

    Duh, the stoopid rains supreme in the land of nabalzbbfr. First off, the expanded model is present in every election and so is the traditional model, which mostly just represents additional weighting for those interviewed that have, or say they have voted regularly in recent past elections. Pollsters only call people who have a telephone and the bogus registrations with bogus names DON’T HAVE PHONES so they won’t be called, and ipso facto there is no relation with the phony registrations. But some of those grifters like Mickey Mouse and the Duck Brothers are on the run somewhere in Bolivia, but I bet’cha we’ll get the scoundrels.

    @nabalzbbfr:

  44. 44.

    JL

    @tomjones: Ignore the troll, who knows where he is coming from. For all we know he could be in Alaska and belong to the AIP. Udall’s ad is great and I’m proud of him to high light the needs of our military.

  45. 45.

    DFD

    And don’t even get me started on the Squirrels of Armageddon

    It seems obvious that ACORN is a front group for these subversive rodentia.

  49. 49.

    Luddite

    Even though I see these horribly wounded young veterans all the time in downtown Silver Spring MD (a few miles from Walter Reed Hospital) this commercial made me cry too.

    If you think it’s tough to see someone like Sgt. Schei (and it is) to see them with their families is at times even worse. They are always with their mothers, and the mother’s look like they have been kicked hard in the stomach. The mothers are barely holding it together. The only thing preventing them from a total emotional and physical collapse is to support their sons (and on a few occasions their daughters). It’s the haunted and wounded look on the mothers’ faces that still cause me to cry.

    Those who knowingly lied to lead us into this false war and destroyed the lives of tens of thousands of people must face war crimes. Period.

  50. 50.

    Cassidy

    @nabalzbbfr:

    If this diabolical coup succeeds, there will indeed be a Bastille day on Nov. 4, but not at all the kind the rad-libs are already crowing about!

    This particular video brings up a lot of bad memories…bleeding, crying Soldiers, Soldiers dying, gunfire, etc.

    So you’ll pardon my mood if I say "Please, come out into the streets". Start your culture war. I’ll help you by putting two in the head and one in the face. And when I’m done with you, I’ll move on to the next traitorous wingnut like you and keep putting you down like the mutts you are.

  52. 52.

    demimondian

    So you’ll pardon my mood if I say "Please, come out into the streets". Start your culture war. I’ll help you by putting two in the head and one in the face. And when I’m done with you, I’ll move on to the next traitorous wingnut like you and keep putting you down like the mutts you are.

    You know, however much he and his would deserve such a treatment, I don’t want any more Americans to die for his ideology, particularly when we will have finally defeated it at the ballot box.

    Besides, Ol’ Nab’s a member of the 101st Chairborne. He would have other priorities; it’s everybody else who should die for his beliefs.

  53. 53.

    Perry Como

    Besides, Ol’ Nab’s a member of the 101st Chairborne.

    He strikes more as a member of the 3rd Cheetos Division.

  54. 54.

    cyntax

    @nabalzbbfr:

    You know as a veteran, I gotta say maybe you could’ve picked a more appropriate thread for your wingnuttery, but at this point I’m pretty used to you Rethugs being unable to do anything other than use soldiers and veterans as a means to an end. Guess a toad can’t change his warts so I shouldn’t be surprised you’d sink to these levels:

    There are now numerous indications that the leftist liberal establishment and their allies in the mass media are in the process of mounting a fraudulent electoral coup d’etat on Nov. 4, using every possible means to undermine the democratic electoral process.

    But what’s kind of amusing is that apparently Governor Crist isn’t on the same email lists as you:

    TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida’s governor says his fellow Republicans may be exaggerating claims of voter fraud in the state.

    Gov. Charlie Crist said Wednesday that he has confidence in Secretary of State Kurt Browning, who says there’s only been a scattering of isolated incidents.

    Crist said in the closing days of any campaign "there are some who sort of enjoy chaos." There may be more of that going on than fraud, he said.

    Anyway, thanks for all the disrespect–I’m gonna really enjoy Nov 4th.

  55. 55.

    Ed Marshall

    You know, however much he and his would deserve such a treatment, I don’t want any more Americans to die for his ideology, particularly when we will have finally defeated it at the ballot box.

    He says he’s not going to be defeated there, he wants a street war. I think he’s a chickenshit blowhard selling wolf tickets on the internet, but if he’s not I’d be perfectly happy to see these idiots try their hand at revolution. These people don’t understand just how many people are really, really, sick of their bullshit and frankly, if they are going to be a violent, murderous, pain in the ass I’m all for dirt-napping them. It solves all sorts of problems.

  56. 56.

    r€nato

    An example par excellence of this is Cuyahoga County, Ohio, where ACORN has fraudulently registered 105% of the voting age population.

    what a pity for Republicans that they aren’t in charge of the government so that they could be sure to investigate this rather obvious and blatant case of voter registration fraud.

    ========

    I know nazgulbabble is just engaging in moronic trollery, but really this is just a taste of the sour grapes which are currently being fermented into the inevitable wingnut whinery we’ll all get to sample for the next four years after McCain gets his righteous butt-whoopin’ on November 4.

    They can’t believe that any Democrat could ever be legitimately elected to the White House, so there MUST be some other explanation. Yeah, ACORN, that’s the ticket! They stole the election! I guess they are rigging all the polls too, to hide the massive groundswell of support for McCain that’s out there.

    Or perhaps McCain’s campaign just blows and the public is sick to death of GOP misleadership. I guess Occam’s Razor is also part of the Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy™.

  57. 57.

    ilsita

    Is there any parent out there who could see this ad and remain rigid in their righteous belief that the results of this this occupation are worth the sacrifice this boy made, the devastating sacrifice his parents made?

    I remember seeing the photos of the Iraqi boy whose arms and legs were all blown off (while his entire family was killed) in an explosion. If that wasn’t enough, what possibly could be enough?

    I truly believe that there are more than one species of human. One that can see a child suffer so; see another parent suffer so, and feel RIGHT and CORRECT about it, has an enormous piece of their soul missing. Spiritual lungfish.

  58. 58.

    tripletee (formerly tBone)

    @Cassidy:

    Making trolls like nabalzbbfr pee themselves really isn’t fair to their mothers, who shouldn’t have to clean up after their adult children living in the basement.

    btw, saw in another thread a couple of days ago that you’re getting ready to deploy again. Good luck and stay safe.

  59. 59.

    John S.

    Good luck and stay safe.

    I may have butted heads with Cassidy a few times, but I would never in a million years wish harm to the guy.

    Come back safe and sound so you can piss me off again one day, okay?

  60. 60.

    trollhattan

    Holy shit, that’s…holy shit.

    I know a marine whose humvee was hit by an IED in Iraq. He survived, barely, but two buddies sadly did not make it. He was all of 20 at the time, and will be physically challenged by his injuries each and every day of his life. Like tens of thousands of others.

    That seems like a lifetime ago (IIRC it was in ’04) but this goddamn war is still going, still killing and maiming our best, still draining our coffers. And they can barely speak of it this campaign.

    "Pallin’ around with terrorists," my ass, you mewling shitheads.

  61. 61.

    Charity

    OK… if you REGISTER people who don’t EXIST, they CAN’T SHOW UP TO VOTE.

    I’m surprised I have to explain this again. (Well, no, not really.)

  62. 62.

    ilsita

    Goodlord, nabalzbbfr! Would you mind very much citing your sources? Is Mickey Mouse really going to show up at the voting booth? This is enormous.

    By the way, do you know who’s selling tickets for the next evolutionary leap? You might want to get on that ride.

  63. 63.

    Ed Marshall

    I know a marine whose humvee was hit by an IED in Iraq. He survived, barely, but two buddies sadly did not make it.

    My first cousin died May 23, 2005 outside of Haswah in an IED attack on a humvee. His father had an "accident" with a shotgun a month later.

  66. 66.

    Comrade Stuck

    Goodlord, nabalzbbfr! Would you mind very much citing your sources?

    His source is likely the Great Wingnut Orb, also known as Redstate, that gets it from God, or Drudge when God’s busy smiting swarthy terraistsss.

  67. 67.

    theturtlemoves

    I’ve watched that six or seven times now, and it still brings tears to my eyes every time. My oldest friend is likely in Baghdad right now (was in Kuwait to acclimate again). He’s a Major, so I’m thinking he’s not going on any raids himself, just planning them, but I worry about him. He has four little girls at home that he’s already spent a year and a half away from back in 03 and 04. Looking good for us to have a president that will bring him home and keep his troops out of wheelchairs, though, so there is hope.

    The trolls here are increasingly desperate. I’m a peaceful guy, but I do hope that, like the marketing division of the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation, the wingnuts are the first against the wall when the revolution comes down…

  68. 68.

    Tsulagi

    I’ll help you by putting two in the head and one in the face.

    Well now there’s a prime candidate for straight from the squad to classroom as a teacher. Poli-sci for sure. j/k

    Will echo what tripletee and John S. said, stay safe. Have a cousin who recently deployed back to Iraq. Here’s to hoping she doesn’t pick up a bronze oak leaf for her Purple Heart.

  69. 69.

    jcricket

    This was really incredible, and honestly, quite respectful for a political ad. Didn’t accuse the opponent of voting against troops, or funding for research, just promoted what Udall did. Great message, including the "humble" part at the end.

    And, btw, ads like this exist because the Republicans "support for the troops" ends when we take a pretty picture and ship them off to war. BTW, I’m the third in a line of a military folks – all volunteers (WWII, Vietnam, Gulf I) and no one in my family votes Republican. My dad, who’s a classic "independent" voter, is an off-the-charts Obama supporter/McCain hater at this point, based on how the Republicans have f*ed up the war, the economy, and how they’re all sleaze/all the time.

    No, not really. Smith is actually quite conservative, which is appropriate since the Republicans in Oregon are also quite conservative.

    Demi – since i know you live in WA state – have you noticed the same thing here? The growing parts of the state are uber-liberal (like 85-90% Democrat/left) and the stagnant parts of the state are becoming arch-conservative (75% right/Republican). Very polarized, but frankly, I don’t really care. Let’s start defunding Garfield county by enacting the policies of Tim Eyman (which they always support). See if I care.

  70. 70.

    Cassidy

    @Tsulagi: Funny enough, I’ve been considering going into teaching when I retire. I want to teach HS level Gov’t, so that some of these kids actually have a familiarity with the way things should work and The constitution, etc.

    Great joke, btw. Made me laugh.

    And honestly, I’m reaching that point where i want these scared little, doughy shits to come out into the street for their culture war. I’m so fucking sick of these cowardly punks using us as campaign props and talking points. I’m sick of these punks thinking they know what is best for me and mine and that we’re only good for advancing their agenda. I would happily use my 10 years of training to send these assholes to their maker.

    I have a friend like SGT Schei. Except, he can’t communicate with a computer. He’s significantly brain damaged and lost his hand and foot.

    My dad, who’s a classic "independent" voter, is an off-the-charts Obama supporter/McCain hater at this point, based on how the Republicans have f*ed up the war, the economy, and how they’re all sleaze/all the time.

    You’d be surprised how many of us are supporting Obama.

  71. 71.

    Tsulagi

    I’ve been considering going into teaching when I retire

    That would be good. Ever thought of becoming a doctor? Knew a SF medic who went that route. Was commissioned as an officer, Army paid for all his medical training, and at the end only owed them four years. Great deal.

  72. 72.

    Cassidy

    That would be good. Ever thought of becoming a doctor? Knew a SF medic who went that route. Was commissioned as an officer, Army paid for all his medical training, and at the end only owed them four years. Great deal.

    For a little bit. The Military’s Med School is top notch and you’re guaranteed a Residency program afterward. These days, you end up owing the Army 7 years (4 for med school and 3 for res) and your for years of school don’t count towards retirement until you have served 25. It isn’t a bad program, but after 10 (and eventually 20) years of the military, I’m getting burned out. I’m 30 years old and my body hurts all the time. I continuously bang my head against small-minded people. I have nightmares and am on medication. Hell, I’m thinking of getting out after this enlistment (13 years), because of how tired this all makes me. I want to do something different.

    Secondly, as an NCO, I like having a direct and tangible effect on the world around me and I think teaching would fill that need after the Army. Despite my angry responses at times, I really do believe in the power of The Constitution and the optimism of our system of gov’t. And I want to pass that on to the kids coming out of HS, so that if nothing else, they don’t get into the real world and regurgitate their parent’s beliefs, but instead take the time to research their own.

  73. 73.

    demimondian

    Demi – since i know you live in WA state – have you noticed the same thing here? The growing parts of the state are uber-liberal (like 85-90% Democrat/left) and the stagnant parts of the state are becoming arch-conservative (75% right/Republican). Very polarized, but frankly, I don’t really care. Let’s start defunding Garfield county by enacting the policies of Tim Eyman (which they always support). See if I care

    I’ve thought about that a lot, actually. After all, I have a kid in college up here who has thought about a political career; it focuses the mind. I wonder if it’s a reflection of the aggressive anti-intellectualism which Sarah Palin embodies so well.

    I see no good reason that academia, the engineering community, the legal community, or the medical community should be overwhelmingly populated with Dems; if anything, all of those groups have deep stakes in "things being as they are" and in the current societal norms. To pick an example I know well — my father is and grandfather were both scientists with PhDs, as am I. Yet my grandfather was a rock-ribbed republican, my father is fairly middle of the road, and I’m quite far left. I don’t think that’s a coincidence; Grandpa Mondian grew up in an academic culture which fed mostly the right — colleges were the provinces of the wealthy or the brilliant. Papa Mondian was a young scientist in the sixties, the era when science was repected, and everyone, on both sides of the aisle, listened. I was a young mathematician…during the Reagan years.

    When the Republicans were dealing death to liberal academia, though, they were eating their own seed corn. The ones who were best able to learn from me were also the ones most influenced by me — and a teacher’s influence never ends. I never talked politics in the classroom, or with my undergraduates at all, but I was very vocal about my union membership when asked, and very clear about why I belonged. To those students, this kid hardly older than they were was a real person, who, like his colleagues, had to fight for health insurance because of the Republicans. That makes a difference. The best and the brightest who would make money in the next years spent time with me or others like me, people who they liked, yet who were regularly targeted by their president…what effect is that going to have on their politics?

  74. 74.

    Whammer

    @ThatLeftTurninABQ,

    Thanks for the scoop re Don Wiviott. I’m in CA, haven’t been paying attention, as you can tell. This thread prompted me to google his campaign site, and it wasn’t obvious that he lost.

    I guess you don’t often put up a "I lost, move along, nothing to see here………" notice on your campaign site……..

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