Truth in Sarcasm

OF course, in the graphic below, all other countries, by which the writer appears to mean developed countries, have not eliminated mental illness.  But they have largely eliminated mass shootings. Most mass shootings are NOT the result of mental illness, such as schizophrenia, where an individual lacks the capacity to distinguish not only right from wrong, but reality from delusions.

WHAT those other countries do NOT have is our sick, failed gun culture which exalts individual capacities for violence.

WHAT those other countries do NOT have is the NRA, promoting obsessive single issue voting through fear mongering lies and propaganda manipulation.  No one in government or gun control advocacy is "coming for your guns"; they (the government, in the form of Republicans and Tea Partiers) ARE, as has been wryly observed, trying to take away your health insurance.

WHAT those other countries do NOT have is the sheer quantity of guns in private hands.  There is a clear correlation to gun violence and the number of guns, by state.

WHAT those other countries do NOT have is a gun lobby contributing to significant corruption and cowardice in government.

WHAT other countries DO have that helps drastically reduce mass shooting, is a combination of guaranteed health care, including for mental health, and significantly stricter and more effective gun control.

WE could have both of those, but conservatives obstruct and oppose it.  They would rather have wealth and income inequality by serving corrupt big money interests, not the citizens of this country.
The right wing politicians don't care if we citizens are killed or injured in large numbers, or in smaller number individual shootings, especially those which are murder suicides, seen daily across the country.  The party signified by the color red doesn't care if you or those you care about bleed, so long as they cash in on their nice green money.  The right wing voters believe they will somehow avoid, individually, any threat to their safety by carrying a gun.  Evidence does not support that emotional thinking.  Right wing voters believe they will survive the lack of a comprehensive medical policy by luck, and maybe prayer, and a false notion that, somehow, makes them more free.  That doesn't appear to be successful either, based on the number of people in this country bankrupted, regardless of religious belief or political affiliation.

Conservative ideology is a failure which is literally killing people in this country, by violence and by illness that is preventable.

GIGO 3: It's Friday the 13th, a look at 21st century superstition on the right, and some amusing videos

GIGO = Garbage In, Garbage Out, or my alternative version, Garbage Information, Garbage Opinion.

Do you remember any of the many examples of the radical right believing not in a true spiritual faith, but in foolish superstition, of the kind which denies real cause and effect, and replaces it with made up silly stuff? Here are a few, a little fun for those who are still superstitious about on Friday the 13th. Laugh at the superstition, and have a good laugh at the right wing nuts too.

This is one of my favorites, expressing the notion apparently that all that hard work, death and sacrifice, expense and effort to win the Civil War was unnecessary. Because the ridiculous religious right and the radical right generally believes God picks favorites; they believe HE doesn't love all his children, at least not equally. And until Lincoln made his prayer, depending on your interpretation of God's motives and reasoning, God was just flipping a coin as to which side of the Civil War to choose, until Lincoln lobbied Him or bribed Him with better prayers than the other side.

I don't know about you, but I find that offensive as a religious premise, I find it offensive because it is the dumbing down America by grossly misrepresenting our history. This is especially appropriate here on the day after Lincoln's birthday; he must have been rolling in his grave at this monstrous representation of the events of his presidency. This is not history, this is right wingnuts making up rubbish, and stamping it with the false approval of God, to make it appear something else.



A little historical information for comparison, George Washington lost a lot of battles -- most of them in fact, did not have a day of prayer, and still won the Revolutionary War. Because that's often the way the pattern of wars goes, early losses, later wins. Another example, Napoleon won a lot of battles, lost at Waterloo, end of Napoleon, effectively. This is rubbish, this is crap history, this is crap theology, this is religion as superstition, this is a serious break with reality, and cause and effect.

This is FAILED reason, this is FAULTY thinking, this is WRONG WRONG WRONG, but it epitomizes the failures of the right on every topic to seriously address our important issues of the day.

Let me give you a few more examples of right wing insanity under the claimed authority of religion:



and this:



or this:



or this:



there's this, advising irrational thinking regarding major financial decisions:




and this one, one of the many 'end days', aka the world is ending that don't come true:



and of course the one where Robertson ignores the science of earthquakes entirely - and maybe a whole lot less than sincerely:



and the most hilarious of the lot:


These people want you to be afraid, they want you to be emotional not rational, they want you to be superstitious, like worrying about when the 13th day of the month occurs on a Friday.

I think I'll celebrate by a litte binge watching of the two old classic ghost busters movies. Pop some popcorn and find your own version of laughing at the ridiculous superstitious nonsense.

There is no point in attempting bi-partisan efforts until the side that is nuts gets better, returns to normal, rational thinking, and embraces reason regarding science and the most fundamental notion of cause and effect. They can't do that while following crackpots like this, or pursuing their current ideology, or thinking like it's the Dark Ages.

The Right has to change. Too many of them think like this, and too many of them who don't pander to those who do, for money and votes, and then let these people shape policy.

They are failures, their ideology is faulty, their beliefs do not stand up to the test of observation of results.

There can be no meeting of the minds when one side has lost theirs.