Putin on the Ritz

The love affair a lot of self-proclaimed "conservatives" have with Russian President Vladimir Putin may have finally provided the answer to their long-standing question, "do liberals think we're stupid?" Doubtless they won't like the answer, but what else can you say about a group people who use words like "dictator" and "tyrant" to describe President Obama and then fawn over an honest-to-god dictator like Putin without a hint of self-awareness? Seriously, are they taking numbers to see who gets to suck him off first? I wouldn't want to speculate too deeply about this crowd's paraphilias, but I suspect they'd be in for a big surprise when the object of their infatuation decides to perform an impromptu colonoscopy on them with his KGBoner. 

Counting Down to 1/20/17

I wonder how all the people who've been complaining about President Obama so venomously are going to feel when he leaves office in January 2017. As much as I'd like to think that most will realize that they've spent the better part of a decade being taken in by the Hannity/Levin/Limbaugh-industrial-complex's brand of scare-mongering, I'm skeptical it will unfold that way. More likely, a large number will proudly assert that their commitment to freedom is the only thing that stopped the weak-willed Muslim socialist tyrant in the White House from taking all their guns and declaring "marshal law" (yes, usually spelled that way) so that he could make himself President for Life. 

There are very valid reasons to criticize any President, because - as any responsible citizen understands - politics is easy but governing is hard. The criticism of President Obama is something different - and fouler. It's fouler not just because of its racial/xenophobic undercurrents but rather because it stems from a substantial portion of Americans taking leave of their senses. 

In some ways, it's reminiscent of George Orwell's concept of "doublethink" from 1984, where being a good party member requires one to believe multiple contradictory ideas. Instead of "2 + 2 = 5", it's believing that a bacon-eating, beer-drinking, gay-marriage supporting smoker is actually a Muslim despite evidence to the contrary (and the irrelevance of their faith to being President). The sad part is that those ignoring all evidence to the contrary in an effort to believe that President Obama somehow isn't "one of us" aren't doing so to survive a totalitarian regime but rather by choice. The fact that they have this choice is, of course, empirical evidence that they do not live in a totalitarian society - evidence all too many of them will doubtless ignore.

"War" for Idiots

I can't imagine that any sensible person would see this year's (superficially less festive) Starbucks holiday cups as a sign of some sort of "war on Christmas". On the off-chance that someone who holds such a view is reading this, allow me to make a modest proposal. If you honesty feel compelled to boycott Starbucks over this issue, please put your Christian values to work by donating the money you would have spent there to your local food bank. That way there will be more people able to experience some sort of Christmas while you steel yourself for the battle to save it. Of course, that presumes that the holiday needs saving from anyone other than self-proclaimed Christians who seemingly care more about the cups in which overpriced coffee is served than putting Jesus' teachings about compassion to work here on earth.

Doctor Wow

I was somewhat amazed by tonight's episode of Doctor Who. Before today, I'd always rated Patrick Troughton and Christopher Eccleston as the best actors among the traditional Doctors (i.e. John Hurt is a special case) with incumbent Capaldi and predecessors David Tennant and Paul McGann not too far behind. After tonight, it's clear to me that Capaldi is second to none. Kudos to Steven Moffat and the whole team making the show. There was a time when the idea of a sequel to an earlier story was something to be dreaded - or, at least, approached with major trepidation. So far this season, they've taken on two (arguably three) of the show's most beloved classics and found ways to build on them while telling unique stories in their own right. The only question I have is how this season's finale can possibly top what's come so far.