Rarified Air and Rotten Mittenses
Jul. 17th, 2012 09:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
captainsblogI don't chronicle many brushes with greatness here, frankly, because I rarely have any. Today was an exception.
After seeing her at a local show two winters ago, I became Facebook Friends with singer-songwriter Lucy Kaplansky, who we've adored for a very long time. Most of her posts are about upcoming shows and recent recording sessions, or about her awesome family, but earlier today, she mentioned having just gotten out to the Broadway production of The Book of Mormon. Since it's the time of the season for it, I replied thusly:
The local press has been making a big deal about this year's pageant a couple hours east of here, partly because it's the 75th anniversary of the event, but also because of the connection to a certain Presidential candidate who's not a Kenyan Muslim Socialist Marxist Space Alien. So it was already on my mind when Lucy mentioned the Broadway show. I had no intention or ability to follow through on my threat to carry out this two-day spectacle, but neither did I expect that my comment would be immediately followed on Lucy's Wall by this one:
I did some checking, and indeed, that was, in fact, THE Judy Collins. I watched my Kevin Bacon Number plunge to something in decimal points, and could only offer this as my reply:
Ray So Judy Collins is going to see this comment. Naturally, I'm rendered speechless;)
Time will tell if I get a reply to THAT. Time, which will Turn, Turn,Turn in the meantime.
----
My other obsession du jour was about the hideous unfairness of the Not-So-Loyal Opposition, who spent most of the day slandering the words of the President of the United States. These included Mittens himself, who sent his minions out into the press to claim that the President said in a speech,“OBAMA, TO BUSINESS OWNERS: ‘YOU DIDN’T BUILD THAT.’”
Only problem is, that's not what he said. Read the fucking full quote:
If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help. There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you’ve got a business, you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen. The Internet didn’t get invented on its own. Government research created the Internet so that all the companies could make money off the Internet.
The point is, is that when we succeed, we succeed because of our individual initiative, but also because we do things together. There are some things, just like fighting fires, we don’t do on our own. I mean, imagine if everybody had their own fire service. That would be a hard way to organize fighting fires.
So we say to ourselves, ever since the founding of this country, you know what, there are some things we do better together. That’s how we funded the GI Bill. That’s how we created the middle class. That’s how we built the Golden Gate Bridge or the Hoover Dam. That’s how we invented the Internet. That’s how we sent a man to the moon. We rise or fall together as one nation and as one people, and that’s the reason I’m running for president — because I still believe in that idea. You’re not on your own, we’re in this together.
Got that? Obama reminded "the job creators" (who've spent the past 11 tax-cut years not creating any new jobs) that THEY didn't build the infrastructure of roads and bridges and information superhighway that helped enable their success. He also referenced the Space Race (and could, just as easily, have referenced the Manhattan Project) as examples of government rallying the nation to a single cause for the good of everyone. So what does the Right do? Clip the clipping and claim, over and over in the past two days, that what Kenyan Muslim Socialist Marxist Space Alien REALLY said was, You didn't build your business.
I've been self-employed in small business for close to six years, two-plus under Bush and two-plus under Obama. The latter's stimulus bill did far more for me than Dumbya's one-time rebate check ever did- lowering my taxes, improving our access to COBRA, and keeping my town and surrounding community safer and smarter by not forcing crippling layoffs. All things being equal, I'll take the fairly painful hit in my "paycheck" next January if the "Bush tax cuts" have to expire for everyone, because I know it will hurt the Mittenses of the world more than it will hurt me. And I know selective editing of quotes when I hear it (unlike, say, selective production of prior-year tax returns), and I call bullshit on Mister Magic Underwear for trying it.
After seeing her at a local show two winters ago, I became Facebook Friends with singer-songwriter Lucy Kaplansky, who we've adored for a very long time. Most of her posts are about upcoming shows and recent recording sessions, or about her awesome family, but earlier today, she mentioned having just gotten out to the Broadway production of The Book of Mormon. Since it's the time of the season for it, I replied thusly:
The local press has been making a big deal about this year's pageant a couple hours east of here, partly because it's the 75th anniversary of the event, but also because of the connection to a certain Presidential candidate who's not a Kenyan Muslim Socialist Marxist Space Alien. So it was already on my mind when Lucy mentioned the Broadway show. I had no intention or ability to follow through on my threat to carry out this two-day spectacle, but neither did I expect that my comment would be immediately followed on Lucy's Wall by this one:
I did some checking, and indeed, that was, in fact, THE Judy Collins. I watched my Kevin Bacon Number plunge to something in decimal points, and could only offer this as my reply:
Ray So Judy Collins is going to see this comment. Naturally, I'm rendered speechless;)
Time will tell if I get a reply to THAT. Time, which will Turn, Turn,Turn in the meantime.
----
My other obsession du jour was about the hideous unfairness of the Not-So-Loyal Opposition, who spent most of the day slandering the words of the President of the United States. These included Mittens himself, who sent his minions out into the press to claim that the President said in a speech,“OBAMA, TO BUSINESS OWNERS: ‘YOU DIDN’T BUILD THAT.’”
Only problem is, that's not what he said. Read the fucking full quote:
If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help. There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you’ve got a business, you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen. The Internet didn’t get invented on its own. Government research created the Internet so that all the companies could make money off the Internet.
The point is, is that when we succeed, we succeed because of our individual initiative, but also because we do things together. There are some things, just like fighting fires, we don’t do on our own. I mean, imagine if everybody had their own fire service. That would be a hard way to organize fighting fires.
So we say to ourselves, ever since the founding of this country, you know what, there are some things we do better together. That’s how we funded the GI Bill. That’s how we created the middle class. That’s how we built the Golden Gate Bridge or the Hoover Dam. That’s how we invented the Internet. That’s how we sent a man to the moon. We rise or fall together as one nation and as one people, and that’s the reason I’m running for president — because I still believe in that idea. You’re not on your own, we’re in this together.
Got that? Obama reminded "the job creators" (who've spent the past 11 tax-cut years not creating any new jobs) that THEY didn't build the infrastructure of roads and bridges and information superhighway that helped enable their success. He also referenced the Space Race (and could, just as easily, have referenced the Manhattan Project) as examples of government rallying the nation to a single cause for the good of everyone. So what does the Right do? Clip the clipping and claim, over and over in the past two days, that what Kenyan Muslim Socialist Marxist Space Alien REALLY said was, You didn't build your business.
I've been self-employed in small business for close to six years, two-plus under Bush and two-plus under Obama. The latter's stimulus bill did far more for me than Dumbya's one-time rebate check ever did- lowering my taxes, improving our access to COBRA, and keeping my town and surrounding community safer and smarter by not forcing crippling layoffs. All things being equal, I'll take the fairly painful hit in my "paycheck" next January if the "Bush tax cuts" have to expire for everyone, because I know it will hurt the Mittenses of the world more than it will hurt me. And I know selective editing of quotes when I hear it (unlike, say, selective production of prior-year tax returns), and I call bullshit on Mister Magic Underwear for trying it.
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no subject
Date: 2012-07-18 04:37 am (UTC)Also, I LOLed at Mister Magic Underwear. Nicely done, sir.
no subject
Date: 2012-07-18 02:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-07-18 02:31 pm (UTC)It's all about me, and I did it all myself with no help from anyone. I pulled myself out of my mother's womb and I've been pulling myself up ever since.
Why should I pay taxes to support
liberal indoctrination centerspublic schools my children don't attend? I've got guns, why should I pay for police. If you can't be bothered to get off your lazy ass and look out for yourself, that's your affair. Why should I have to support your poor life choices?F--k you, Jack. I got mine. It's the American Way!
no subject
Date: 2012-07-18 02:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-07-18 02:33 pm (UTC)