Why “Trickle-Down” Economics Has Lost Favor Since Katrina…

ENOUGH!

Last Thursday night, along with about 38 million other Americans, I tuned in to watch Barack Obama give his historic acceptance speech for the nomination of his party. I have to admit that I was already a strong supporter, but I was happy to be so powerfully reminded why. I’m proud to support a candidate who will stand up to the powers that be and say, “ENOUGH!”

As he began to lay out the case for his economic plan, over John McCain’s, he obliquely referred to “trickle-down” economics:

“For over two decades, he’s subscribed to that old, discredited Republican philosophy—give more and more to those with the most and hope that prosperity trickles down to everyone else. In Washington, they call this the Ownership Society, but what it really means is—you’re on your own. Out of work? Tough luck. No health care? The market will fix it. Born into poverty? Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps—even if you don’t have boots. You’re on your own.

Well it’s time for them to own their failure. It’s time for us to change America.”

As most people know, this weekend is the three year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina causing 53 different breaches in the levees surrounding greater New Orleans, which led to eighty percent of the city being submerged in water. When I hear the term “trickle-down economics,” I can’t help but think of those poor souls crowded into that stadium, rain dripping from above, to weather the storm. After spending most of the Labor Day weekend that year, transfixed by the Katrina coverage, I posted a brief response, which listed four words, which had started running through my mind that weekend, and corresponding quotes:

“AMERICA,” as in: “Is this really happening in AMERICA?”

“POVERTY,” as in: “If you live in POVERTY, you don’t have an SUV to drive out of town before the hurricane arrives.”

“LEADERSHIP,” as in: “People aren’t frustrated by the lack of LEADERSHIP, they’re dying because of it.”

“WATER,” as in: “The streets are filled with WATER!” and “Where the fuck is the food and WATER?”

The aforementioned words inspired the following QUOTES OF THE WEEK:

AMERICA:
“I love AMERICA more than any other country in this world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually.”
—James Arthur Baldwin
“If we ever pass out as a great nation we ought to put on our tombstone ‘AMERICA died from a delusion that she had moral leadership.'”
—Will Rogers
“I believe the most solemn duty of the American president is to protect the American people. If AMERICA shows uncertainty and weakness in this decade, the world will drift toward tragedy. This will not happen on my watch.” (…unless you’re poor.)
—George W. Bush

POVERTY:
“It is a tragic mix-up when the United States spends $500,000 for every enemy soldier killed, and only $53 annually on the victims of POVERTY.”
—Martin Luther King, Jr.
“The mother of revolution and crime is POVERTY.”
—Aristotle
“POVERTY may be the mother of crime, but lack of good sense is the father.”
—Jean de la Bruyere
“POVERTY is the worst form of violence.”
— Mahatma Gandhi

LEADERSHIP:
“One of the true tests of LEADERSHIP is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency.”
— Arnold H. Glasgow
“The only safe ship in a storm is LEADERSHIP.”
—Faye Wattleton

WATER:
“You don’t drown by falling in the WATER; you drown by staying there.”
—Edwin Louis Cole
“WATER, WATER, every where, Nor any drop to drink.”
—Samuel Taylor Coleridge

I can’t help but notice that the quotes I posted that day resonate even more today than they did three years ago.

In Thursday’s speech, Barack Obama had it right when he spoke of his and and the Democratic party’s promise to America. He said:

“Ours is a promise that says that government cannot solve all our problems, but what it should do is that which we cannot do for ourselves: protect us from harm and provide every child a decent education; keep our water clean and our toys safe; invest in new schools, and new roads, and science, and technology.”

Yes, we all hate paying taxes. That said, we do pay taxes as part of our compact with the government that it will use that money to “establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity.”

The quote from Glasgow about leadership reminds us that:

“One of the true tests of LEADERSHIP is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency.”

Last week, both Obama and Biden made the case that John McCain “doesn’t get it.” In Joe Biden’s Aug. 27, 2008, convention speech he said of McCain:

“He voted 19 times against the minimum wage for people who are struggling just to make it to the next day.”

Obama made this point:

“John McCain has voted with George Bush 90 percent of the time. Senator McCain likes to talk about judgment, but really, what does it say about your judgment when you think George Bush was right more than ninety percent of the time? I don’t know about you, but I’m not ready to take a 10 percent chance on change.”

Obama and Biden have met that test many times in their statements and speeches both last week and throughout Bush’s presidency.

McCain has failed it miserably many times:
January 10, 2008:
John McCain says, “I don’t believe we’re headed into a recession. I believe the fundamentals of this economy are strong, and I believe they will remain strong. This is a rough patch, but I think America’s greatness lies ahead of us.”

March 16, 2007:
McCain said “he was ‘stumped’ when asked whether contraceptives help stop the spread of HIV.”

October 31, 2005:
Three years ago, John McCain said, “Afghanistan—we don’t read about it anymore in papers because it succeeded.”

Septeptember 12, 2001:
Senator McCain was already turning his sights to Iraq just days after 9/11, and he became a leading supporter of an invasion and occupation of Iraq.

Finally, I want to speak briefly to the issue of whether or not Barack Obama is ready to lead:

There are those who argue that he lacks the experience to lead this nation. However, that claim falls flat with me, as I have watched him lead an inspired and inspiring national campaign for the nomination of his party, of my party.

Under his leadership, the Obama campaign both strategically and tactically outmaneuvered the most powerful and experienced political organization in modern times. Strategically, he understood from the beginning that “change” was what voters were looking for. Clinton could easily have claimed the “change” mantel, but she chose a different strategy. Additionally, his team investigated the intricacies of the primary process, like how many delegates were up for grabs in which state and; used this information to formulate the tactics that would result in the most delegates. Clinton’s strategy was to focus her resources on winning the majority of delegates in the states with the largest number of delegates. This meant that tactically, they lacked the field operations to do as well in the caucuses as the Obama campaign did.

While some argue that the process was somehow “unfair,” I must admit that I’m puzzled by that argument. Every decision our next president makes will involve thoughtful and intelligent navigation around and through unfair obstacles created by eight years of poor leadership. The Commander-in-chief will be left with a military that has been stretched to its limits, while still facing war on two fronts and threats on many more. Our next leader will face a deficit of good-will in the rest of the world, at a time when we most need their cooperation. The dollar has become weaker, gas and oil prices have risen, economic inequity is at an all-time high. These are but a few of the unfair circumstances that will challenge any efforts our next president makes to improve our daily lives. From day one, I’ve seen Barack Obama exhibit the judgment and character to devise and refine a winning strategy. Going forward, we will see if he and his
supporters manage to take back the White House, but from my vantage point, he is the only leader who has proven he can win.

As the Republican Convention and Hurricane Gustave loom, and the memories of Katrina linger, I’m comforted by the knowledge that Barack Obama is at the helm of the ship that promises change. As Faye Wattleton reminds us, “The only safe ship in a storm is LEADERSHIP.”

That’s something I try to remember when the leaders of this country tell us to eat cake:

Why PUMA People Piss Me Off…

As my closest friends know, I am an avid consumer of political commentary. My television has the MSNBC logo burned into it. I get and read the New York Times everyday and; I actually think it’s “fun” to watch C-SPAN. I love to talk politics more than anyone I know, so my friends and family often encourage me to post my own political commentary here. In part they do so because they believe I am fairly well-informed, given my news consumption. They tell me my thoughts would be a valuable contribution to the public political discussion going on in the world today. Mostly, I suspect, they want me to shut up about it and; they hope I’ll channel this energy toward my blog and away from them =-)

Unfortunately, while I’ve written many a post in my head about whatever is pissing me off at the time, I’m often too distracted, busy and/or lazy to actually type out my thoughts. Well, not so today. Last night, while watching Hardball on MSNBC, there was a segment on “Hillary Clinton Democrats for McCain.” The guests really annoyed me so; I went online to find more information about their group, PUMA. What I found agitated me enough to actually post something about it, so here I GO:

There were two people included in the Hardball segment, Darragh Murphy, founder of PUMA PAC, and Will Bower, who started a PUMA website called “Just Say No Deal.”

Both insisted that they were planning to vote for John McCain, despite being Hillary Clinton supporters in the primary. Bower and Murphy described PUMA as a “movement” driven by frustrated Hillary Clinton Democrats, like themselves, who are devoted to “righting the wrongs” perpetrated on Clinton and her supporters. They accused the DNC and the Democratic Establishment of “silencing” their voices.

It doesn’t take an Obama supporter to notice the absurdity of the sentiment that the voices of Clinton and her supporters have been “silenced,” given that the first two days of the Democratic Convention will feature speeches by both Hillary and Bill Clinton, not to mention the fact that Hillary’s name is even scheduled to be put into nomination for the first roll call. By the way, the last time a primary loser insisted on such a display, it was Jerry Brown in 1992, when he lost to Bill Clinton. Reportedly, it really pissed Clinton off. The reason going into this is moot is that Clinton’s candidacy really has nothing to do with the PUMA cause, at least as far as I can tell. Will Bower’s Just Say No Deal Website tells it all when it opens with the following statement:

“We are a coalition of millions with one thing in common: NObama”

Presumably, the site would at least say “we are a coalition of millions with one thing in common: electing Hillary Clinton.” That is, if there were any truth to what they’ve been claiming their motives to be in their media interviews.

In the Hardball interview, Darragh Murphy explains that P.U.M.A. stands for “People United Means Action.” However, in researching PUMA, I found that the original derivation of this acronym, is “Party Unity My Ass,” which is appropriate since it’s much more akin to a bowel movement than a political movement. The thing that most offends me about these people and their media coverage is that they are claiming to be “Democrats.” Democrats My Ass…

If you look up most of the people representing PUMA in the media on the campaign contribution tracking Website, NEWSMEAT, they’ve only given money to Republicans in the past, or not at all. Darragh Murphy, for example, gave John McCain $500 in his 2000 primary run: Kim Mann, a PUMA supporter recently quoted in a CNN article about PUMA, has only contributed once to any candidate since the 1980s. According to NEWSMEAT, that was $250 to Republican Jim Ramstad from Minnesota in 1991.

My favorite “Democrat” has to be Will Bower, who recently quit his job to spend all his time administering JustSayNoDeal.com. One of the main areas of this site is the “Oppo-research” area. If you have any doubt about the motives of this site, go there and you’ll find a list of links to right-wing blogs on topics that range from questions about Obama’s birth certificate to his “Muslim Heritage” and his “Terrorist Ties.” Other than a desire to keep Republicans in the White House for another term, it’s hard to imagine any reason to foster false rumors and innuendos, meant to smear and “swift-boat” Obama. Pointing visitors to lies about Obama will hardly change the outcome of the primaries and make Hillary the Democratic Nominee. It might improve McCain’s chances of being elected. It’s certainly an effort to make people more afraid of things that aren’t true about Obama than they are about things that are true about McCain…like the fact that McCain has promised to continue numerous policies that have been unpopular under Bush if he, McCain, is elected.

I’m not saying that all the PUMA people are closet Republicans. What I am saying is that many of the founders of the group are. Furthermore, those who aren’t might as well be. They are more dedicated to destroying Obama than they ever were for the things Clinton stands for. If that weren’t the case, they’d be supporting Obama now, whose policy positions are close to hers, while McCain’s are MILES away from those of either.

Did I mention these people piss me off?

Quotes of the Month…

Hello Readers!

Long time no post. Sorry about that. I finally found someone to keep me out of the comically miserable world of online dating. While I’ve thought of many other topics about which to comment since then, I haven’t gotten around to posting any of them.

In an effort to break open my writer’s block, I’ve decided to gather some quotes here that I believe speak to some of the craziness bouncing around the airwaves this month about religion in the public square. In fact, there have been various moments in this unusually long presidential primary season in which God, Christianity, the Bible and differences in creed have emerged. In addition to Romney’s “Faith in America” address on December 6, 2007, one of the more memorable of such moments happened at the May 3, 2007 Republican debate, where one reporter asked the GOP hopefuls the following question:

“Is there anyone on the stage who does not … believe in evolution?”

Of the 10 candidates, three (Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee and Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo) raised their hands. Brownback has already dropped out of the race and Tancredo’s numbers are still too low to count, but Huckabee is surging to the front in many polls. He’s become what you might call a “contender.” This actually makes sense, given that according to a recent Gallup poll, 68% of Republican voters  say they DO NOT believe in the theory of evolution (compared to 37% of Independents, 40% of Democrats who don’t and 48% of Americans overall.)

Given that in a 2006 poll, 84% of Americans said that religion played a very or fairly important role in their lives, no one should be surprised to see the candidates for the presidency wearing their religion on their sleeves. Even the candidates of the relatively secular democratic party are testifying about their faith and its importance in their lives. Thus, with candidates on both sides of the “aisle” flinging religiosity at the cameras, I thought it was time to look at some of the things that others have said in the past about God and about religion’s place in society. I’ve gathered quotes from a variety of voices, from various points of view. I’ll leave you to figure out mine from the editorial choices I’ve made, both in selection and juxtaposition. I will open with one of my favorite jokes by Emo Philips, which is exactly on point:

I was walking across a bridge one day, and I saw a man standing on the edge, about to jump off. So I ran over and said, “Stop! Don’t do it!”

“Why shouldn’t I?” he said.

“Well, there’s so much to live for!”

“Like what?”

“Well… are you religious?”

He said yes.

I said, “Me too! Are you Christian or Buddhist?”

“Christian.”

“Me too! Are you Catholic or Protestant?”

“Protestant.”

“Me too! Are you Episcopalian or Baptist?”

“Baptist”

“Wow! Me too! Are you Baptist Church of God or Baptist Church of the Lord?”

“Baptist Church of God!”

“Me too! Are you original Baptist Church of God, or are you reformed Baptist Church of God?”

“Reformed Baptist Church of God!”

“Me too! Are you Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1879, or Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1915?”

He said, “Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1915!”

I said, “Die, heretic scum!”, and pushed him off.

QUOTES OF THE MONTH:

Mitt Romney:

“There is one fundamental question about which I often am asked. What do I believe about Jesus Christ? I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Savior of mankind. My church’s beliefs about Christ may not all be the same as those of other faiths. Each religion has its own unique doctrines and history. These are not bases for criticism but rather a test of our tolerance. Religious tolerance would be a shallow principle indeed if it were reserved only for faiths with which we agree.”

Quentin Crisp:

“When I told the people of Northern Ireland that I was an atheist, a woman in the audience stood up and said, ‘Yes, but is it the God of the Catholics or the God of the Protestants in whom you don’t believe?'”

Thomas Jefferson, 1816, in a letter to Mrs. H. Harrison Smith:

“I never told my own religion nor scrutinized that of another. I never attempted to make a convert, nor wished to change another’s creed. I am satisfied that yours must be an excellent religion to have produced a life of such exemplary virtue and correctness. For it is in our lives, and not from our words, that our religion must be judged.”

James Madison, 1785, Memorial and Remonstrance:

“Who does not see that the same authority which can establish Christianity, in exclusion of all other religions, may establish with the same ease any particular sect of Christians, in exclusion of all other sects?”

John F. Kennedy, Address to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association on September 12th, 1960:

“I believe in an America that is officially neither Catholic, Protestant nor Jewish—where no public official either requests or accepts instructions on public policy from the Pope, the National Council of Churches or any other ecclesiastical source—where no religious body seeks to impose its will directly or indirectly upon the general populace or the public acts of its officials—and where religious liberty is so indivisible that an act against one church is treated as an act against all.”

Dan Quayle:

“…I pledge allegiance to the Christian flag and to the Savior, for whose Kingdom it stands, one Savior, crucified, risen, and coming again, with life and liberty for all who believe.”

Benjamin Whichcote:

“Among politicians the esteem of religion is profitable; the principles of it are troublesome.”

Aldous Huxley:

“At least two thirds of our miseries spring from human stupidity, human malice and those great motivators and justifiers of malice and stupidity, idealism, dogmatism and proselytizing zeal on behalf of religious or political idols.”

Mitt Romney:

“Freedom requires religion just as religion requires freedom.”

Thomas Jefferson:

“Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blind-folded fear.

Wendy Kaminer:

“I don’t spend much time thinking about whether God exists. I don’t consider that a relevant question. It’s unanswerable and irrelevant to my life, so I put it in the category of things I can’t worry about.

Francis Bacon:

“Atheism leaves a man to sense, to philosophy, to natural piety, to laws, to reputation; all of which may be guides to an outward moral virtue, even if religion vanished; but religious superstition dismounts all these and erects an absolute monarchy in the minds of men.”

George Santayana:

“My atheism, like that of Spinoza, is true piety towards the universe and denies only gods fashioned by men in their own image to be servants of their human interests.”

Margaret Mead:

“We will be a better country when each religious group can trust its members to obey the dictates of their own religious faith without assistance from the legal structure of their country.”

Pat Robertson:

“…There is no such thing as … separation of state and church … in the Constitution. It’s a lie of the left.”

Thomas Jefferson, in a Letter to Connecticut Baptists:

“Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legislative powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should ‘make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,’ thus building a wall of separation between Church and State.”

John McCain, Campaign Speech of February 28, 2000:

“I recognize and celebrate that our country is founded upon Judeo-Christian values, and I have pledged my life to defend America and all her values, the values that have made us the noblest experiment in history. But public—but political intolerance by any political party is neither a Judeo-Christian nor an American value. The political…”

(APPLAUSE)

“The political tactics of division and slander are not our values, they are…”

(APPLAUSE)

“They are corrupting influences on religion and politics, and those who practice them in the name of religion or in the name of the Republican Party or in the name of America shame our faith, our party and our country.”

(APPLAUSE)

“Neither party should be defined by pandering to the outer reaches of American politics and the agents of intolerance, whether they be Louis Farrakhan or Al Sharpton on the left, or Pat Robertson or Jerry Falwell on the right.”

George Washington:

“The government of the United States is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion.”

Abraham Lincoln:

“The United States government must not undertake to run the Churches. When an individual, in the Church or out of it, becomes dangerous to the public interest he must be checked.”

Mitt Romney:

“…in recent years, the notion of the separation of church and state has been taken by some well beyond its original meaning. They seek to remove from the public domain any acknowledgment of God. Religion is seen as merely a private affair with no place in public life. It is as if they are intent on establishing a new religion in America—the religion of secularism. They are wrong.”

Barry Goldwater:

“Religious factions will go on imposing their will on others unless the decent people connected to them recognize that religion has no place in public policy. They must learn to make their views known without trying to make their views the only alternatives.”

Sinclair Lewis:

“When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross.”

Martin Luther:

“Religion is not “doctrinal knowledge,” but wisdom born of personal experience.”

George J. Mitchell:

“Although he’s regularly asked to do so, God does not take sides in American politics.”

John Dietrich:

“The President of the United States summons the nation to church on Thanksgiving Day to give thanks to “Almighty God” for the abundant harvest and all other blessings. But what has Almighty God—I have no desire to appear irreverent—what has Almighty God as a personal being to do with the harvests? If it is he who produces our crops, then being Almighty there should never be a failure of crops. But since crops frequently fail, it follows that there is no Almighty person in charge of them—unless he brings failure purposely. Therefore, if God is to be thanked for large crops, he must be blamed when the crops are a failure. . . If God sends the rain and the sunshine which develops and ripens our wheat, who sends the storms and the insects which destroy much of it? And if he sends both, then why not thank him for one and blame him for the other?”

Rabbi Sherwin Wine:

“There are two visions of America. One precedes our founding fathers and finds its roots in the harshness of our puritan past. It is very suspicious of freedom, uncomfortable with diversity, hostile to science, unfriendly to reason, contemptuous of personal autonomy. It sees America as a religious nation. It views patriotism as allegiance to God. It secretly adores coercion and conformity. Despite our constitution, despite the legacy of the Enlightenment, it appeals to millions of Americans and threatens our freedom.

“The other vision finds its roots in the spirit of our founding revolution and in the leaders of this nation who embraced the age of reason. It loves freedom, encourages diversity, embraces science and affirms the dignity and rights of every individual. It sees America as a moral nation, neither completely religious nor completely secular. It defines patriotism as love of country and of the people who make it strong. It defends all citizens against unjust coercion and irrational conformity.

“This second vision is our vision. It is the vision of a free society. We must be bold enough to proclaim it and strong enough to defend it against all its enemies.”

Susan B. Anthony, on the Women’s Suffrage Platform:

“I tell them I have worked 40 years to make the W.S. platform broad enough for Atheists and Agnostics to stand upon, and now if need be I will fight the next 40 to keep it Catholic enough to permit the straightest Orthodox religionists to speak or pray and count her beads upon.”

Thomas Jefferson:

“The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket, nor breaks my leg.”

Ulysses S. Grant:

“Leave the matter of religion to the family altar, the church, and the private school, supported entirely by private contributions. Keep the church and state forever separate.”

Albert Einstein:

“Science can only determine what is, but not what shall be, and beyond its realm, value judgments remain indispensable. Religion, on the other hand, is concerned only with evaluating human thought and actions; it is not qualified to speak of real facts and the relationships between them.”

Anaïs Nin:

“When we blindly adopt a religion, a political system, a literary dogma, we become automatons. We cease to grow.”

Benjamin Franklin:

“Lighthouses are more helpful than churches.”

Noam Chomsky:

“Three quarters of the American population literally believe in religious miracles. The numbers who believe in the devil, in resurrection, in God doing this and that—it’s astonishing. These numbers aren’t duplicated anywhere else in the industrial world. You’d have to maybe go to mosques in Iran or do a poll among old ladies in Sicily to get numbers like this. Yet this is the American population.”

Albert Einstein:

“Scientists were rated as great heretics by the church, but they were truly religious men because of their faith in the orderliness of the universe.”

Galileo Galilei:

“The intention of the Holy Ghost is to teach us how one goes to heaven, not how heaven goes.”

Clarence Darrow, at the Scopes trial, Dayton, Tennessee, July 13, 1925:

“I do not consider it an insult, but rather a compliment to be called an agnostic. I do not pretend to know where many ignorant men are sure—that is all that agnosticism means.”

E. B. White:

“Democracy is itself, a religious faith. For some it comes close to being the only formal religion they have.”

Frederick Douglass:

“I prayed for twenty years but received no answer until I prayed with my legs.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson:

“The religion that is afraid of science dishonors God and commits suicide.”

Galileo Galilei:

“I do not feel obligated to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reasons, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use.”

James Baldwin:

“If the concept of God has any validity or any use, it can only be to make us larger, freer, and more loving. If God cannot do this, then it is time we got rid of Him.”

Karl Marx:

“Religious suffering is at one and the same time the expression of real suffering and a protest against real suffering. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people.

“The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is the demand for their real happiness. To call on them to give up their illusions about their condition is to call on them to give up a condition that requires illusions. The criticism of religion is therefore in embryo the criticism of that vale of tears of which religion is the halo.”

Mark Twain:

“Man is the religious animal. He is the only religious animal. He is the only animal that has the True Religion—several of them. He is the only animal that loves his neighbor as himself and cuts his throat, if his theology isn’t straight. He has made a graveyard of the globe in trying his honest best to smooth his brother’s path to happiness and heaven.”

Jonathan Swift:

“We have just enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love one another.”

Blaise Pascal:

“Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction.”

Albert Einstein:

“Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.”

Susan B. Anthony:

“I always distrust people who know so much about what God wants them to do to their fellows.”

Thomas Paine:

“I believe in one God, and no more; and I hope for happiness beyond this life. I believe in the equality of humans; and I believe that religious duties consist in doing justice, loving mercy, and endeavoring to make our fellow creatures happy.”

Jane Wagner, (line from The Search for Intelligent Life in the Universe, performed by Lily Tomlin, 1986):

“One thing I have no worry about is whether God exists. But it has occurred to me that God has Alzheimer’s and has forgotten we exist.”

Gore Vidal:

“I’m a born-again atheist.”

Sigmund Freud:

“Religion is comparable to a childhood neurosis.”

Clarence Darrow

“I do not believe in God because I do not believe in Mother Goose.”

Henny Youngman:

“I once wanted to become an atheist but I gave up . . . they have no holidays.”

On that note… I wish you all a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Best, Noetical.

Quotes for the Week

Hello all.

Happy Independence Day Weekend!

I’ve gathered some quotes to share with you. Some are funny, some are odd and others are inspirational. All are interesting…at least to me. I hope they are to you as well. Enjoy!

“Experience has shown how deeply the seeds of war are planted by economic rivalry and social injustice.”
—Harry S. Truman

“It is a shame we can’t go in and devastate Germany and cut off a few of the Dutch kids’ hands and feet and scalp a few of their old men but I guess it will be better to make them work for France and Belgium for fifty years.”
—Harry S. Truman (Written at age 34, on November 11, 1918, in a letter to his then fiancée, Bess Wallace. He wrote it from the trenches, near the Verdun front, in reference to the Armistice that ended World War I.)

“The ‘C’ students run the world.”
—Harry S. Truman

“When even one American, who has done nothing wrong, is forced by fear to shut his mind and close his mouth, then all Americans are in peril.”
—Harry S. Truman

“Our conference in 1945 did much more than draft an international agreement among 50 nations. [We] set down on paper the only principles which will enable civilized human life to continue to survive on this globe.”
—Harry S. Truman

“I’ve said many a time that I think the Un-American Activities Committee in the House of Representatives was the most un-American thing in America!”
—Harry S. Truman

“Leadership is a word and a concept that has been more argued than almost any other I know. I am not one of the desk-pounding types that likes to stick out his jaw and look like he is bossing the show. I would far rather get behind and, recognizing the frailties and the requirements of human nature, would rather try to persuade a man to go along, because once I have persuaded him, he will stick. If I scare him, he will stay just as long as he is scared, and then he is gone.”
—Dwight David Eisenhower

“When people speak to you about a preventive war, you tell them to go and fight it. After my experience, I have come to hate war. War settles nothing.”
—Dwight David Eisenhower

“We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security.”
—Dwight David Eisenhower

“I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity.”
—Dwight David Eisenhower

“A prisoner of war is a man who tries to kill you and fails, and then asks you not to kill him.”
—Winston Churchill

“Naturally the common people don’t want war; neither in Russia, nor in England, nor in America, nor in Germany. That is understood. But after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.”
—Hermann Goering

“There was never a good war or a bad peace.”
—Benjamin Franklin

“Don’t talk to me about atrocities in war; all war is an atrocity”
—Lord Kitchener

“To wage a war for a purely moral reason is as absurd as to ravish a woman for a purely moral reason”
—Henry Louis Mencken

“I find war detestable but those who praise it without participating in it even more so”
—Romain Rolland

“I believe in compulsory cannibalism. If people were forced to eat what they killed, there would be no more wars.”
—Abbie Hoffman

“Wars are, of course, as a rule to be avoided; but they are far better than certain kinds of peace”
—Theodore Roosevelt

“Every immigrant who comes here should be required within five years to learn English or leave the country.”
—Theodore Roosevelt

“A typical vice of American politics is the avoidance of saying anything real on real issues.”
—Theodore Roosevelt

“If you could kick the person in the pants responsible for most of your trouble, you wouldn’t sit for a month.”
—Theodore Roosevelt

“The government of the United States is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion”
—George Washington

“It is impossible to rightly govern a nation without God and the Bible.”
—George Washington

“Firearms are second only to the Constitution in importance; they are the peoples’ liberty’s teeth.”
—George Washington

“A government is like fire, a handy servant, but a dangerous master.”
—George Washington

“If I were two faced, would I be wearing this one?”
—Abraham Lincoln

“The true character of liberty is independence, maintained by force”
—Voltaire

“The Declaration of Independence was a denial, and the first denial of a nation, of the infamous dogma that God confers the right upon one man to govern others”
—Robert Green Ingersoll

“Men say they love independence in a woman, but they don’t waste a second demolishing it brick by brick.”
—Candice Bergen

“Independence? That’s middle class blasphemy. We are all dependent on one another, every soul of us on earth.”
—George Bernard Shaw

“In the United States today, the Declaration of Independence hangs on schoolroom walls, but foreign policy follows Machiavelli.”
—Howard Zinn

“The Declaration of Independence I always considered as a theatrical show. Jefferson ran away with all the stage effect of that… and all the glory of it.”
—John Adams

“Those who won our independence… valued liberty as an end and as a means. They believed liberty to be the secret of happiness and courage to be the secret of liberty.”
—Louis D. Brandeis

“Every kind of service necessary to the public good becomes honorable by being necessary.”
—Nathan Hale

“A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government.”
—Edward Abbey

“Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.”
—Mark Twain

“A nation reveals itself not only by the men it produces but also by the men it honors, the men it remembers”
—John Fitzgerald Kennedy

“The human soul has still greater need of the ideal than of the real. It is by the real that we exist; it is by the ideal that we live.”
—Victor Hugo

“All men are prepared to accomplish the incredible if their ideals are threatened.”
—Hermann Hesse

Enjoy your weekend!

Best, Noetical.

Why I Would Date Keith Olbermann…

Hello all!

I’ve decided it’s probably better not to publicly post about my real love life. It hurts feelings, engenders anger and mistrust and tends to scare away potential future dates, who fear our private lives may end up in this public forum. While I don’t think I’ve gotten that personal in my posts about the guys I’ve actually dated (as opposed to the guys who have just written stupid things to me from dating sites,) from here on out, I will be confining my dating posts to commentary on people I haven’t actually met…those are funnier anyway. In addition, I think I’ve been writing too much about my own navel…meaning, there are so many things going in the world today that are more important than whether or not some boy likes me. (Not to worry though, I’m still open to publicly mocking mean or rude idiots who send me stupid emails, without even knowing me.)

In other news, I just read a post on Miss Kitty’s blog called, “ann coulter is hate-filled.” That she is. Miss Kitty’s post reminded me that I want to share with you all a “news” segment I saw on television the other night about Ann Coulter.

Ann Coulter, for those of you who don’t know of her, is a right-wing pundit. She shows up on news talk-shows whenever Bush needs defending (or spanking, like when he nominated Harriet Miers for the Supreme Court) or when there is a chance to criticize the Democrats for something. While she has plenty to do defending Bush these daze, there are few targets for her wrath on the Left at the moment…mostly because so few of them are powerful enough to be relevant enough to bother attacking (although I certainly hope that changes in November.)

In searching for targets of her venom, she has recently published a book that spews much of it at the out-spoken widows of 9/11, who have consistently fought for improving our National Security since the day they lost their husbands to the terrorists who smashed through a chink in that security. I actually think her point is well taken that 9/11 happened to all of us, and that the fact these women have suffered more personally from it doesn’t make their positions infallible, any more than losing someone in a war means yours is the only valid point of view on the topic. However, she loses even the most conservative ideologues when she moves beyond that particular point into personally attacking the widows and their right to speak out. She suggests that these women should leave it to the journalists and the politicians, as their status as widows doesn’t make them qualified to speak on such important topics as National Security.

What Coulter fails to acknowledge is that their status as citizens of this nation does qualify them…or at least gives them the right and some may argue the responsibility to stand up for their beliefs…just as both Coulter and I have the right to disagree with them or with each other because we’re citizens too. Coulter is actually quite bright and articulate, but her political agenda, predictably, has once again led her to crash headlong into a big fat impolitic mess. Last week, when she started pushing her new book, Godless: The Church Of Liberalism, on the circuit, her nasty attacks on these women created a public outcry (and probably a spike in the sales of her book.)

Of all the people who commented on Coulter’s malevolent rants, my favorite was a brief segment about her on Countdown with Keith Olbermann last Wednesday, June 7th. I really like Olbermann. He’s funny, bright and not a partisan hack. In the article by Liz Halloran, “Making Sport Of It All,” that ran last March in the Hartford Courant, he was quoted as saying:

“No matter what your political orientation is, if you don’t stick up for freedom of all opinion,
eventually the wheel will turn, you’ll be the minority and you’ll have written the rules by which you yourself are squashed.”

You can’t really argue with that…well you could, but I wouldn’t agree with you. So, he’s pretty cool and, as cable news shows go, his is one of the more entertaining ones. That being said, it’s also one of the more informative, since he spends more time reporting the news and less time pontificating about it…and when he does throw in his two to five cents, I usually agree with him. Oh yeah, and he ends each show by telling the audience how many daze it’s been since the President announced “Mission Accomplished.” (I didn’t say he doesn’t have a point of view, I just said he isn’t a hack about it.)

Anyway, here is the transcript of his Ann Coulter segment from June 7th:

KEITH OLBERMANN: Also here, Ann Coulter, the shrill, shill of the right has evidently run her mouth one too many times.  Outrage pours in across the country.  There have been complaints from everybody except the predators they caught on “Dateline.”

(OTHER NEWS ITEMS)

KEITH OLBERMANN: Ann Coulter takes her cold condemnation of 9/11 widows to an unexpected high and low.

(OTHER HEADLINES AND A COMMERCIAL BREAK)

OLBERMANN:
Honestly, if you were Ann Coulter’s attorneys at a sanity hearing, where could you possibly start?  Our No. 2 story in the COUNTDOWN, eclipsing even Bill O’Reilly and Malmedy, the Connecticut screech has continued her assault on 9/11 widows.  After calling them “witches who acted as if the terrorist attacks happened only to them.”  She’s now told Reuters News they are, quote, “professional victims,” all as part of the promotion of a book in which she claims liberals are, quote, “godless.”

(Video Clip starts in mid-interview between MATT LAUER, HOST OF THE TODAY SHOW and ANN COULTER, CONSERVATIVE SYNDICATED COLUMNIST…I’ve added the start of the 9/11 widows conversation for context.

LAUER: All right…on the 9/11 widows, and in particular, a group that had been outspoken and critical of the administration:

“These self-obsessed women seem genuinely unaware that 9/11 was an attack on our nation and acted as if the terrorist attack only happened to them. They believe the entire country was required to marinate in their exquisite personal agony. Apparently denouncing Bush was an important part of their closure process.” )

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, AS SEEN ON COUNTDOWN)

MATT LAUER (CONT’): And this part is, is the part I really need to talk to you about:

“These broads are millionaires lionized on TV and in articles about them reveling in their status as celebrities and stalked by “grief-arazzis.” I’ve never seen people enjoying their husbands’ death so much.”

ANN COULTER: Yes.

LAUER: Because they dare to speak out?

COULTER: …To speak out using the fact that they’re widows. This is the left’s doctrine of infallibility. If they have a point to make about the 9/11 Commission—about how to fight the war on terrorism—how about sending somebody we’re allowed to respond to? No, no we always have to respond to someone who just had a family member die…

LAUER: But aren’t they the people in the middle of the story?

COULTER: …Because then if we respond, “Oh you’re questioning their authenticity.” No the story is…

LAUER: So, “grieve, but grieve quietly”…?

COULTER: …No, the story is an attack on the nation…

LAUER: And by the way…

COULTER: …That requires a foreign policy response…  That does not entail the expertise…

LAUER: …And by the way, they also criticized the Clinton administration for their failures leading up to 9/11.

COULTER:  That …oh …not, not the ones I’m talking about.

LAUER: No they have.

COULTER: No, no, no. Oh no, no, no, no.

LAUER: But is your message to them, “Just grieve” …?

COULTER: No, no they were cutting commercials for Kerry. They were using their grief in order to make a political point, while preventing anyone from responding.

LAUER: So, if you lose a husband, you no longer have the right to have a political point of view?

COULTER: No, but don’t use the fact that you lost a husband as the basis for your being able to talk about it while preventing people from responding. Let Matt Lauer make the point …let Bill Clinton make the point. Don’t put up someone I’m not allowed to respond to, without questioning the authenticity of their grief.

LAUER: Well, but apparently, you are allowed to respond to them.

COULTER: Well, yeah I did.

(END COUNTDOWN VIDEO CLIP)

(Here, again for context, I’ve included the end of the LAUER/COULTER interview, although it was not included in the clip shown on Countdown:

LAUER: Right, so in other words…

COULTER: But that is the point of liberal infallibility…of putting up Cindy Sheehan, of putting out these widows…of putting out Joe Wilson. No, no, no you can’t respond—it’s their doctrine of infallibility.

LAUER: But what I’m saying is they’ve…

COULTER: Somebody else make the argument.

LAUER: I’m saying, I don’t think they’ve ever told you, “You can’t respond.” So why can’t they make their point?

COULTER: Look you’re getting testy with me.

LAUER: No I’m not. I just…

COULTER: Ohhh.

LAUER: I think it’s, I think it’s, I think it’s your dramatic statement. “These broads,” you know are, are “millionaires stalked by grief-arazzi.”

COULTER: You think I shouldn’t be able to respond to them.

LAUER: (quoting her book again) “I’ve never seen people enjoying their husbands deaths so much.”

COULTER: They’re, they’re, yes. They’re all over the news.

LAUER: The book is called, Godless: The Church Of Liberalism. Ann Coulter, always fun to have you here.

COULTER: Hey where’s Katie? Did she leave or something?

LAUER: She did. 7:17am. And now here’s Ann.)

(BACK TO KEITH OLBERMANN)

KEITH OLBERMANN:
Let’s return to this planet. To recap Coulter’s argument, the wives of those who died in the worst attack in this nation’s history enjoyed their husbands’ deaths and profited off them. They have publicized 9/11 …their positions as widows immunize them from any criticism or debate over their opinions …all of this stated by a commentator, much of whose income in the last four-and-a-half years has derived from her speaking and writings about the deaths of those same men on 9/11 …all this stated by a commentator who staunchly, repeatedly, and enthusiastically defended an administration that began to politicize 9/11 within a month of the nightmare, and has never paused for a moment since …all of this stated by a commentator who has called those who have criticized her and her party “un-American” and now “godless” …all of this stated by a commentator who is bitching that these 9/11 widows can’t be criticized, while she is writing a book and going on TV and venomously criticizing them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP OF COULTER ON THE SITUATION WITH TUCKER CARLSON)

COULTER: If people are going to use a personal tragedy in their lives to inject themselves into a national debate, I’m sorry, you can’t say, “Oh, we’re off limits. Oh, now we’re going to invoke the fact that our husbands died and you can’t criticize us.” They were specifically using their husbands’ deaths and there were, gosh, hundreds…

TUCKER CARLSON, HOST OF THE SITUATION WITH TUCKER CARLSON (duh): That doesn’t mean they are enjoying it.

COULTER: …In fact thousands.

CARLSON: I mean, their husbands are gone, and kids are there. I mean, geez, it’s so depressing.

COULTER: And so are the thousands of widows who are not cutting campaign commercials for Clinton. These women got paid, they ought to take their money and shut up about it.

(END VIDEO CLIP, BACK TO KEITH OLBERMANN)

OLBERMANN:
The way Ann Coulter always does when she’s criticized. Ms. Coulter’s monthly walk on the swaying tightrope of her own emotional stability did not end there. In her book she also wrote:

“And by the way, how do we know their husbands weren’t planning to divorce these harpies. Now that their shelf life is dwindling, they’d better hurry up and appear in Playboy.”

OLBERMANN (CONT’): Appearing in Playboy and getting divorced, neither of those being scenarios Ann Coulter is ever going to have to deal with in her life. Five of the most politically active of the 9/11 widows, including Kristen Breitweiser and Lorie Van Auken have responded in a written statement:

“Contrary to Ms. Coulter’s statement, there was no joy in watching men that we loved burn alive. There was no happiness in telling our children that their fathers were never coming home again. We adored these men and miss them everyday. It is in their honor and memory, that we will once again refocus the nation’s attention to the real issues at hand:  Our lack of security, leadership, and progress in the five years since 9/11.”

OLBERMANN (CONT’): And lastly back to my illusion about the nightmare of having to defend Ann Coulter at a sanity hearing… that was inappropriate, because that was insufficient. Imagine, in fact, defending her on Judgment Day…trying to find her soul.

Funny, smart, kinda cute and not a Republican…I’d date him.

Speaking of funny, I have to leave you with this picture I found while I was looking up quotes for this post. It’s the “Ann Coulter Talking Action Figure!” OMFG, it’s hilarious…gotta love it!

Just what every little girl needs—indoctrination!

She says 14 different phrases, including:

“Liberals can’t just come out and say they want to take more of our money, kill babies, and discriminate on the basis of race.”

“At least when right-wingers rant, there’s a point.”

“Swing voters are more appropriately known as the ‘idiot voters,’ because they have no set of philosophical principles.”

“By the age of fourteen, you’re either a Conservative or a Liberal if you have an IQ above a toaster.”

“Why not go to war just for oil? We need oil. What do Hollywood celebrities imagine fuels their private jets? How do they think their cocaine is delivered to them?”

“Liberals hate America, they hate flag-wavers, they hate abortion opponents, they hate all religions except Islam, post 9/11. Even Islamic terrorists don’t hate America like Liberals do. They don’t have the energy. If they had that much energy, they’d have indoor plumbing by now.”

Music To My Ears…

How is it that a song…just one song can change your whole day?

Why don’t I listen to music all the time?

Why don’t I just turn on music when I’m feeling down?

I was feeling shitty a few minutes ago…a song later, my spirits have lifted. Three minutes later, I’m dancing around my house.

What business do I have feeling anything less than euphoric anyway?

It’s a beautiful day…none of my loved ones are fighting in Iraq; I have a beautiful home…and a stereo.

QUOTES ON THE SUBJECT OF MUSIC:

“Who hears music feels his solitude peopled at once.“
~ Robert Browning

“Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent.“
~ Victor Hugo

“After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music.“
~ Aldous Huxley

“Music is the shorthand of emotion.“
~ Leo Tolstoy

“Without music, life would be a mistake.“
~ Friedrich Nietzsche

Quote from National Security Expert on National Pastime.

Last night on “Real Time with Bill Maher,” former counter-terrorism adviser on the U.S. National Security Council, Richard Clarke, was one of the guests. When the topic turned to the Bonds–Babe home-run debate, this is what he had to say:

“Well, they say, you know, you can’t compare him to Babe Ruth. Well, yeah, you can’t. ‘Cause the ball was a different size, the bat is a different size, the field is a different size…you know. As far as I’m concerned, I go to baseball games to see people hit home runs. If they want to take pills that shrink their balls and lose their hair and it makes them better hitters, that’s fine with me.”

Word and Quotes of the Night

mel·an·chol·ic [mel-uhn-kol-ik]
adj.

Characterized by or causing or expressing sadness; “growing more melancholy every hour”; “her melancholic smile”; “we acquainted him with the melancholy truth”

[syn: melancholy] n : someone subject to melancholia [syn: melancholiac]

Source: WordNet ® 2.0, © 2003 Princeton University

---

RELEVANT QUOTES:

“Melancholy is the pleasure of being sad”

— Victor Hugo (French romantic Poet, Novelist and Dramatist, 1802–1885)

“I can suck melancholy out of a song as a weasel sucks eggs.”

— William Shakespeare (English Dramatist, Playwright and Poet, 1564–1616)

“Many men are melancholy by hearing music, but it is a pleasing melancholy that it causeth; and therefore to such as are discontent, in woe, fear, sorrow, or dejected, it is a most present remedy”

— Robert Burton (English Writer and Clergyman, 1577–1640)

“Who can explain the secret pathos of Nature’s loveliness? It is a touch of melancholy inherited from our mother Eve. It is an unconscious memory of the lost Paradise. It is the sense that even if we should find another Eden, we would not be fit to enjoy it perfectly nor stay in it forever.”

—  Henry Van Dyke (American short-story Writer, Poet and Essayist, 1852–1933)

“I think that the indefinable space between happy and sad is the most moving and compelling place for an artist to be. If there’s anything I consistently strive for, it’s a melancholy limbo.”

—  Shawn Colvin

“‘Tis melancholy, and a fearful sign Of human frailty, folly, also crime, That love and marriage rarely can combine, Although they both are born in the same clime; Marriage from love, like vinegar from wine – A sad, sour, sober beverage – by time Is s”

—  Lord Byron (English Romantic poet and satirist, 1788–1824)

“. . . she indulged in melancholy – that cheapest and most accessible of luxuries . . .”

— Charles Dickens quotes (English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian era, 1812–1870)

Why I Am Often Unrealistically Afraid That I’m Not “Man” Enough.

Hello Friendly Readers:

Last summer I read about a report one can order about anyone, from a company called Akiba. It provides a full psychological and personality profile, based on all the different data that the person has unwittingly dispersed into the electronic ether by shopping, joining, dating, chatting, etc. (Below, I’ve listed the search site’s information, regarding the places they mine to uncover this information, as well as their disclaimer notice.*) I have to admit that I found the idea of this intriguing.

I am someone who has been actively engaging in online activities for over a decade now…even longer than most. As such, I was very curious to discover what the information, I’ve provided along the way, might say about who I am. We all wonder how others perceive us, and what our habits and behaviors say about us. I decided that this was a wonderful opportunity, not only to learn more about myself, but also to find out who I am to the world around me. So, I ordered a report on myself. I had the advantage of knowing some very specific information about myself, like my social security number, current and past addresses, gender, date of birth, etc. My name (which I’m not using here, but which I did use in requesting the report) is also rather unique, thus ensuring that the information would be exclusively about me. I had no fear that it would be polluted with data from some random “Noetical,” who lives in Little Falls, Minnesota. At least, that’s what I thought…until I read the report. I have to say, I learned a number of things about myself that I never would have guessed!

The first piece of surprising information Abika revealed to me is that I am in fact a man. You can imagine my surprise. I’ve always considered myself to be a woman and, in fact, I mentioned that fact to Abika, in order to help them conduct the search. The most interesting aspect of the gender confusion, is that they didn’t even say that they found conflicting data…they simply listed my gender as “male.” Okay, that was an inauspicious beginning, and did not bode well for the accuracy of their report. Nonetheless, they had managed to list every single address at which I’ve resided, within the last ten years, without listing any in Little Falls, Minnesota…or any other superfluous domiciles for that matter. Maybe then, this was a fluke. After all, they did note that I attended Columbia University, which I did and; they knew I had worked, at some point, for a company, which happens to be a company in which I am a partner.

So, the profile they sent me reads as follows in bold, with my italicized comments beneath each statement:

Psychological and Personality Profile:

Subject is generally thinking of how others think and why they do what they do.
This one is pretty much true.

Subject wants to be fair-minded and would rather risk being indecisive than be wrong.
I suppose this is true sometimes.

Subject is quick to take offense at the remarks of others and to find fault with their actions.
Not so much this one…at least not since my twenties.

Subject has many expansive ideas.
This one sounds good…I like this one.

Subject seeks emotional harmony.
Don’t we all?

Subject enjoys mature intellectual stimulation.
Yep…this one is me…guilty as charged.

Subject is analytical and curious in relationships.
This one too…okay, this is really starting to seem mostly accurate.

Subject is on the extreme of crude or refined or sloppy or neat.
I don’t know about this…so I’m either north or south or east or west? Whatever.

Subject is attracted to difference and variety.
Okay…I guess…

Subject is also attracted to partners of other races.
Well, this is an interesting tidbit given that I’ve never really dated partners of other races…but maybe that’s why I’m still single.

Subject has a short attention span and gets bored with one partner after a while.
Perhaps I should find two partners of other races to date at the same time to address this issue.

Subject is fascinated by partners with dark tones and features.
Pretty much a light eyes, dark hair kinda gal…at least, I think I’m a gal.

Subject is fascinated by foreign cultures.
Not really…I figure men are foreign enough for me.

Subject finds crude sex and talk to be a big turn on.
Not! …Sorry guys, not really my thing.

Subject cannot resist sexual temptation.
Except when I can.

Subject gets along well with most people.
Except when I don’t.

Subject works to project refined tastes and manners.
Apparently I only do this when I’m not being crude, sloppy or talking dirty.

Subject is plagued by emotional frustration that blocks him from making lasting relationships. Perhaps I’m emotionally frustrated that I don’t make lasting relationships.

Subject likes the excitement of competition.
Okay…this is true…but only at work.

Subject is fearless in dealing with others.
Unless they are really hairy and tall.

Subject has a warm sensuality.
Yeah, baby!

Subject’s imagination has produced a clutter of unrealistic fears that puts him down in his own eyes.
True, I am often unrealistically afraid that I’m not “man” enough.

Subject has great sales and public relations ability.
True…again, only at work.

Subject thinks big, plans big and talks big.
True.

Subject is not hesitant to embark on grand enterprises and plans.
Me.

Subject has a hard time giving up on relationship unless it is on his own terms.
Okay, I’m guilty of this…but who isn’t?

Subject is generous.
As they say, “to a fault.”

Subject is diplomatic when needed.
Always in my personal life…but unfortunately, never at work…although, I’m working on that.

Subject has great common sense.
I might have sense…but it isn’t common.

Subject has leadership abilities.
Only when I need to lead.

Subject is fascinated by all things classic.
Whatever that means.

Subject has a hard time living in the present. Echoes of bad experiences from his past activate his fears and imagination.
Yes, every time I see the color red, I flash back to that time I was fighting the Bull and he gorged me…I can still hear the roar of the crowd as he pierced my flesh…Seriously, if I lived in the past, I’d be a basket case…the present is much more pleasant.

Subject likes to build on the solid ground of past experiences.
Um…what’s this? Okay, really I like to build on the future…What?

Subject is fascinated by structured institutions.
Yes, fascinated by people who can deal with and within structured institutions.

Subject is attracted to older partners when young and vice versa.
Okay…this is me. My boyfriend when I was 17 was 34, and I likes ’em young now!

Subject’s insecurities has made him very touchy.
Touchy-feely.

Subject uses the oppressive martyr complex.
Only when I’m being a martyr.

Subject is good at planning large operations from behind the scenes.
Aren’t we all?

Subject is detail oriented.
Not even a little bit! …but I am good at managing others to pay attention to details.

Subject may have been subjected to strict parental discipline and punishment as a child.
Um…my parents didn’t know whether or not I was alive most of the time…although, I will say that they probably cared…they just didn’t know.

Subject comes up with creative solutions to problems at work.
Yep…me.

Subject enjoys things that demand careful attention to detail.
Well, I am a bit OCD…but again…I prefer to delegate attention to detail.

Subject is inventive and unpredictable.
…or so I’ve been told.

Subject is inspired by parents and vice versa.
I will say that my Mother is awesome…my Dad is great…and they seem to like me, now that I’m an adult.

Subject needs someone to get him started however he can finish projects if no one hurries him.
Hurrying me is never a good thing…I have issues with Time…in constant battles with Time.

Subject likes good food and creature comforts.
Don’t we all?

Psychological and Personality Scores:  (Maximum Scores – 100)

And Here Are My Scores by Category:

Cheating (Marriage or Romantic Relationships)—88 (Higher the score, higher the tendency to cheat)
Never cheated in my life…not yet, at least.
Short attention span—92 (Higher the score, shorter the attention span)
What were you saying?
Leadership—80 (Higher the score, higher the leadership ability)
Wanna follow me off that cliff?
Decisive—70 (Higher the score, higher the decisiveness)
Not sure about this one…I guess I can be decisive…I don’t know…sometimes, I’m not.
Jealousy—84 (Higher the score, higher the tendency to be jealous)
Actually, I think jealousy is a big waste of time; I would never waste my time with someone who was interested in someone else.
Possessive—68 (Higher the score, the more possessive is the person)
Only with food.

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Okay…that’s it for now…I hope you enjoyed learning about me as much as I did.

Best, Noetical.

Word of the Day

Augur

n. (au•gur)

1. One of a group of ancient Roman religious officials who foretold events by observing and interpreting signs and omens.
2. A seer or prophet; a soothsayer.

v. (au•gured, au•gur•ing, au•gurs)
v. tr.

1. To predict, especially from signs or omens; foretell. See Synonyms at foretell.
2. To serve as an omen of; betoken: trends that augur change in society.

v. intr.

1. To make predictions from signs or omens.
2. To be a sign or omen: A smooth dress rehearsal augured well for the play.

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[Middle English, from Latin. See aug- in Indo-European Roots.]

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Source: The American Heritage. 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.