Juan Williams Whining All the Way to the Bank

NPR was absolutely right in firing Juan Williams after he made anti-Muslim remarks. Most news organizations would. Which is why he is moving to Fox, where he will make more money and spew his racist bilge.

Williams' remarks--about how people in "Muslim garb--made him nervous are not only offensive but stupid. Does he really think that terrorists are goint to draw attention to themselves by wearing ethnic clothes? In addition Williams has a long history of making anti-Hispanic remarks. He fit in with the crowd of right-wing bigots, who will embrace him to "prove" they are not racists. Just one suggestion though. Williams should stop calling himself "Juan" and adopt a name more to the liking of his new friends, like "Jonbo."

Stupidity Isn't Cool

The Tea Party has produced a grotesque spectacle of kooks, crackpots, and ignoramuses a fair example of which is Christine O'Donnell, the Repub candidate for the Senate seat in Delaware. This odd person with a checkered history--she attended Fairleigh Dickinson University but didn't get a degree until 2004 apparently because of unpaid tuition bills-- suddenly became a "commentator" on the right-wing media circuit. Her only qualification being that she bears a physical resemblance to Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

O'Donnell has the ability to maintain a straight face while uttering the most stupid right0-wing trash; that masturbation is a "sin" and that evolution is a "myth." The most recent debate with Democrat Chris Coons O'Donnell showed her utter ignorance of the Constitution. One can't help but wonder if O'Donnell has even read the Constitution.

It is a mystery how anyone can say such stupid things in public and not feel ashamed. Maybe it all started with Rush Limbaugh, who has no shame about saying things that are not only false but stupid, but still he continues to blather on like an ignorant idiot. The stance of the contemporary Right might be summed up as "Say it loud I'm stupid and proud!" Of course their hero was GWB who never passed up a chance to show his contempt for knowledge and education.

I think its time that we as a nation stop rewarding people for being stupid. It might seem funny, but we must never thing it admirable.

When Things Don't Add Up

The term doublethink is used to describe the process of holding two contradictory ideas in one's mind simultaneously, and believing both of them. It's seems strange but we see these kinds of examples all the time. As I mentioned earlier Republicans say they want to cut the budget deficit but keep the Bush tax cuts. Don't they realize that the deficit is the principal cause of the budget deficit?

Another example comes from the latest issue of The Economist which laments the lack of growth in the world economy. Part of the reason why the world economy isn't growing is because governments all over the world are cutting back on spending, which has a depressing effect on living standards. Simply put, you can't have economic growth when standards of living are falling.

This is what happens when people insist on viewing things through a set of dogmatic beliefs, without examining whether those beliefs make sense.