Category Archives: Politics

I like Hollywood liberals the same way that I like a hot fudge sundae.

It happens every political season. We get the parade of Hollywood actors and musicians… and journalists and athletes and comedians… alright… everyone else who is on TV. They all faithfully give us their liberal take on the candidates and issues. We have Matt Damon spreading internet rumors and rambling about the “absurd” choice of Sarah Palin. We get Susan Sarandon parroting a bumper sticker slogan about Jesus being “a community organizer” (another veiled reference to the deity of the democratic candidate… so stupid). We have Lindsay Lohan, of all people, adding Palin Derangement Syndrome to her long list of mental problems. And then there’s the poetry from the advanced intellect of Pam Anderson… “Suck it.”

Why does this irritate me so much? Why? I think it irritates me because I am a consumer of popular culture. I watch the movies and TV shows that these people produce… and I enjoy them. Please don’t ruin my enjoyment of these things by injecting your own unsolicited political opinion into the conversation… please. The only time I want to see your face is when you are entertaining me. That’s it.

In reality these people are nothing more than modern-day court jesters. They come out wearing the funny hat and jumping around for our enjoyment. That’s the job… stick to it. No one wants to hear what the court jester thinks about the war or the economy or anything else that real people struggle with. These aren’t real people. They are empty calories… enjoyable, but not suitable for a real diet. They are the hot fudge sundae after the meal. There’s nothing of substance to be found there. Why do they continue to think otherwise?

A Nice November Day

Palin 2012

I could quite possibly be wrong about this, but I think that McCain has shifted his fortunes right into the White House with the selection of Sarah Palin as VP. She has bought a real breath of fresh air to the ticket. The pick of another boring white guy would have doomed the campaign, but this selection has invigorated the race. He has the experience and she brings the change and ‘outside Washington’ credentials.

We’ll see how this will really pan out after the VP debate with Biden, but she seems to have excited the conservative base because she apparently embodies the American traditions of rugged individualism and self-reliance that Obama finds so offensive. Predictably, Palin is already being pilloried for lack of experience by the left (irony?), but having been a governor, she has more executive experience than anyone else running… especially the top of the dem ticket.

If McCain/Palin can get the same conservatives out that Bush did in ’04, and just a fraction of moderate democrats and independents that don’t trust Obama, he’ll take the election. Despite what the leftist elite class says, America is still largely right-of-center politically. Until the dems realize this, and stop sending up far left candidates, they’ll continue to lose the presidency. Haven’t they realized that is the formula that gave them two Clinton terms?

I’ll bet Obama makes a great concession speech.

Off The Grid

I’ve never really considered myself to be a counter-culturalist. In my mind that label is reserved for old hippies and people with extensive body piercings. Held in comparison with the general population I imagine that I come across as the picture of conformity. There’s nothing overt about my appearance or behavior that speaks to anything other than maintaining the suburban status quo. However, I cannot escape the idea that I do not belong. This idea really isn’t anything new to me. I’ve felt this way for most of my life. The difference now is my perspective. I’ve been trying to “fit in” for all these years with varying degrees of success, and I’ve recently had a revelation: I don’t want to fit in.

The term “off-the-grid” is generally used to describe people who have chosen to unplug from the electrical grid that supplies most American homes with electricity. I’m using the term in a social sense. Just as there is a network that has been built to make it easy to get electricity into your home, there is a social system that has been established to make living ‘the American Dream” simple and standard. The problem for me is that the outcome is templated and boring. I no longer want to conform to the set standards in order to achieve a standard life.

The two main ingredients for living off-the-grid for me will be self-employment and home-schooling. Two topics that elicit simultaneous pity and revulsion from typical suburbanites.

More to come on this subject.