newt, can you not interject, please. Mr. Grump and I are having a private conversation.

OK. Where were we?

Oh yeah. Mr. Heartless.

If you don't have a heart then how do explain the anger and frustration you emit (yes, emit. That's how I got your sos) when you hear or see innocent people being hurt and/or killed and blah blah blah?

I don't think you're grumpy, radx. Granted, my posts tend to have that same ominous tone, in general so I guess I'm a grump too. If you really think about the scale of inequality today, the absolute plundering the ultra-rich enjoyed during the recent recession and the efforts to keep money in politics to perpetuate this cycle with brilliant tools like Citizens United, it's hard not to be bleak.

Unfortunately, what we like to call democracy simply does not have the teeth to affect meaningful change. I am encouraged by the relative economic performance from the list of countries that have scrapped first past the post (reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proportional_representation ) except for maybe Portugal, but even with more effective elections there is still an extra seat for the rich in every government.

Even more unfortunate will be the painful revolution the world will endure to either change from capitalism to some other form of economics (maybe resourced-based, a-la Peter Joseph.) If we don't simply slide obediently into greater and greater concentrations of wealth for the ultra-rich, we get closer and closer to revolution. But all it will take will be one upheaval to spur the revolution into action, be it:
- another, even more severe recession (maybe the EU will implode, taking the world economy down with it)
- severe global warming positive feedback loop from the arctic methane stores
- nuclear war

And who the hell knows what else might set people off. Maybe a solar flare will fry all the satellites in orbit and the lack of new tweets will create a world-wide frenzy of irate twats. And who knows when it will happen. Maybe 5 years, maybe 50 years. Since money pulls the strings, I think we're doomed to guess as to the source of VoodooV's "tipping point."

Ease up fellow German - It's just one of those things that is funny, even though not really true...

And you're not being a grump, it's called being German

As a german, without any patriotism in me, I have to say that i'm getting sick of hearing these language comparison jokes, which are only imitating the "Hitler" style of speaking. I get these impersonations nearly everytime my being german comes up. Let me assure you that no normal german talks like that (Except when we do Hitler impersonations, which is like all the time, but only behind your backs.)

Sorry if I'm being a grump, needed to vent a little.

I wanted to see Tartar's face! Grump in action!

this is the sour grapes portion of the election folks. we're going to hear more crackpot theories like this and other "theories" on how Obama stole the election

people like BillO (not BillO himself because he's just playing a role like Colbert) are going to continue to grump and whine as the nation moves more and more blue.

Unless the parties fundamentally change, the nation is going to keep going to the left more and more because they want equality for gays, they want equality for women (Republicans lost this election as soon as this became an issue again..WTF reps?) People are sick of beating war drums and they want health care reform.

Red stronghold states will eventually be whittled away until even Texas and the Bible belt go blue. the population of the cities (which tend to lean left) will outstrip the right leaning rural areas.

2016 will be the election to watch. Will Republicans not learn anything and continue driving hard right or will they actually figure out how to take the party back from the nutbags and kick the tea party and the christian fundamentalists to the curb

>> ^spoco2:

That was some awesome art... And you were right Eric, I do like Watsky, but I feel he needs to mature a bit now. He's stuck in this 'I'm going to mention weed and drinking in as many songs as possible' phase, and it's just getting tiring. Yeah, you're 'cool' Watsky, because you smoke weed and drink. Now be even cooler and leave it unsaid.
(I bring it up as I downloaded his last album (it was a free download), and he does it a couple of times there, and then in this one he says he gets paranoid when he smokes too much weed. He could have just as easily said 'sometimes I get paranoid'...)
I probably found it cool to have mention of smoking weed and drinking in every second song when I was younger, but now I just find it very try hardish and tiring.
Am I a grump?


No, you are a great being of spiritual power. And correct here.

That was some awesome art... And you were right Eric, I do like Watsky, but I feel he needs to mature a bit now. He's stuck in this 'I'm going to mention weed and drinking in as many songs as possible' phase, and it's just getting tiring. Yeah, you're 'cool' Watsky, because you smoke weed and drink. Now be even cooler and leave it unsaid.

(I bring it up as I downloaded his last album (it was a free download), and he does it a couple of times there, and then in this one he says he gets paranoid when he smokes too much weed. He could have just as easily said 'sometimes I get paranoid'...)

I probably found it cool to have mention of smoking weed and drinking in every second song when I was younger, but now I just find it very try hardish and tiring.

Am I a grump?

I guess the grump didn't grasp the separation of hardware and software, and that Bill Gates had nothing to do with where the on/off switch migrated to. Did Mr.Rooney bypass electric typewriters altogether?

>> ^spoco2:

Yeah, I'm kinda siding with dag on this... although also, I think it's not even so much it being 'sweet', but rather I'm getting sick of all of these 'look at us' videos of proposals. Why can't you do an awesome proposal to your woman without having to have your 'awesomeness' confirmed to you by thousands of strangers? Why can't you do a wonderful thing for her and then... oh, I dunno... NOT share it on the internet?
For all those that have done things like that, and kept it to themselves, bravo.
I liked the way I proposed to my wife, but I'm not going to detail it here, and I didn't have a group of people filming it, all in the hope that people say what a wonderful bloody guy I am.
Grump grump grump.
So... where's a cute kitten video?


I know someone who's jealous...

Yeah, I'm kinda siding with dag on this... although also, I think it's not even so much it being 'sweet', but rather I'm getting sick of all of these 'look at us' videos of proposals. Why can't you do an awesome proposal to your woman without having to have your 'awesomeness' confirmed to you by thousands of strangers? Why can't you do a wonderful thing for her and then... oh, I dunno... NOT share it on the internet?

For all those that have done things like that, and kept it to themselves, bravo.

I liked the way I proposed to my wife, but I'm not going to detail it here, and I didn't have a group of people filming it, all in the hope that people say what a wonderful bloody guy I am.

Grump grump grump.

So... where's a cute kitten video?

Look, the problem is not that there is a different opinion out there, the problem is that FOX is not, as it were just a different opinion, its a network of dishonesty. Its lying and distorting facts, it denies and undercuts reality itself, All while claiming to be the "fair and balanced" alternative.

This kind of opinion can only be aimed at the FOX commentary side of the equation such as Beck, Hannity, et al. It does not apply to the "news" side. Most cable news programs have a distinct division between "News" (updates of current events) and "Commentary" (talking head opinion programs). I have seen nothing in FOX News' "news" that in any way is described by your litany of grievances. The only stuff that fits your description is the "commentary" side.

But talking about OPINION programs as "dishonesty, distortion, denial, undercutting reality", belies the nature of what you are implying. You are implying their NEWS lies, distorts, denies - when in reality you are grumping at COMMENTARY that (based on your bias) you interpret as lies, distorts, and denies. Must you not freely acknowledge that MSNBC, CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS, NYT, AP, USA Today, and innumerable other news outlets are equal violators in that regard? How is the foaming commentary of Chris Matthews any better than Sean Hannity? How are the inane distortions and exaggerations of Beck any different than Maddow's?

FOX didn't start the birther movement. That started because Obama first refused to release his birth certificate, and then Hawaii refused to release it, and then they released a digitized copy, and finally released a document that does not necessarily rule out the possibility of being foreign born. FOX News didn't do all that. And the whole East Anglia corruption scandal is not FOX News' fault. Again, I only see this as you complaining that an critical voice is applying some strict standards of accountability to an organization that your personal bias prefers being given a free pass to lie. It isn't dishonesty - it is a rare application of journalistic standars to an otherwise unaccountable group caught red-handed cooking their books.

Try finding comparable examples on Olberman or Maddow, you wont. Because while they are opinionated, biased and crtical, they also care about the facts

Bullcrap. Madddow & Olbermann prove they are only interested in left-leaning slant every time they open their mouths and flap their yaps. Someone with a right-leaning slant will say the exact thing about Beck or Hannity and you cannot argue the point because they are using your same logic. They can say that Beck 'cares about facts' too - as long as they reinforce his position. Maddow cares about facts - if they make her opinions look good. Neither of them tell the whole story, and both of them deliberately hide facts that contradict their narratives.

Grump all ya like, Grumple Stilskins.

In reply to this comment by spoco2:
Well, dangit, I disagree with it as a tag then... I don't see how it can be evolution in action if it shows someone doing something stupid without being at least hurt by said stupidity... no evolution occurring there at all. (well, unless the video shows them being mercilessly mocked by women due to doing so, in which case it has the desired affect). I will continue to grump about it.



In reply to this comment by dystopianfuturetoday:
^EIA need not be quite so literal. Dumbness is the key factor.

From the channel description: "So if your video doesn't show someone attempting to eliminate themselves from ancestory, that's ok, because this is a place for general stupidity."

In reply to this comment by spoco2:
Remove the EIA tag please, it would have to be the most incorrectly used tag around here... how is that evolution in action? How is dropping the camera in the pool a form of her being killed off for being poor breeding stock for the future?

It's just not.

It's dumb, it's not EIA.

*grump over*

Well, dangit, I disagree with it as a tag then... I don't see how it can be evolution in action if it shows someone doing something stupid without being at least hurt by said stupidity... no evolution occurring there at all. (well, unless the video shows them being mercilessly mocked by women due to doing so, in which case it has the desired affect). I will continue to grump about it.



In reply to this comment by dystopianfuturetoday:
^EIA need not be quite so literal. Dumbness is the key factor.

From the channel description: "So if your video doesn't show someone attempting to eliminate themselves from ancestory, that's ok, because this is a place for general stupidity."

In reply to this comment by spoco2:
Remove the EIA tag please, it would have to be the most incorrectly used tag around here... how is that evolution in action? How is dropping the camera in the pool a form of her being killed off for being poor breeding stock for the future?

It's just not.

It's dumb, it's not EIA.

*grump over*

^EIA need not be quite so literal. Dumbness is the key factor.

From the channel description: "So if your video doesn't show someone attempting to eliminate themselves from ancestory, that's ok, because this is a place for general stupidity."

In reply to this comment by spoco2:
Remove the EIA tag please, it would have to be the most incorrectly used tag around here... how is that evolution in action? How is dropping the camera in the pool a form of her being killed off for being poor breeding stock for the future?

It's just not.

It's dumb, it's not EIA.

*grump over*