I'm A Little Bit PC

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Yet another take-off on the infamous "I'm a PC, I'm a Mac" advertisements. Only this time, it's in song! Apologies go to Donny and Marie Osmond.

Just Having a Conversation

Yunno, in light of my recent posts, I feel as if I should probably let you know that not every argument I’ve ever had ends in an…argument. For example, I recently posted another video to my Facebook page:



I like PJTV. Not all the time, of course, but particularly the commentaries put out by Alfonso Rachel. I like his attitude. But I was rather surprised to get this response:

can i ask why you posted this james?

Again, I won’t tell you the guy’s name, but I will say it’s been years since I spoke with him. Here’s my response:

Well, simply put, I have my Youtube and Facebook accounts connected. One of the effects being, every time I give a video a thumbs up on Youtube, it automatically crossposts it to my Facebook account. Why do you ask?

His answer:

im curious about your interest in both pjtv and your relationship to race and minorities. i have trouble understanding the worth of this video. Why are they, and (by extension) you interested in minimizing the significance of the minority in america?

To put things in perspective, he just lightly accused three black guys of “minimizing the significance of the minority in america.” This ought to prove interesting:

I'm not particularly trying to downsize anyone per se. I just try to follow what I believe was Martin Luther King Jr.'s philosophy of judging not by the color of one's skin but by the content of their character. Alfonso Rachel, as interviewed in this video, talks about getting to a point where we no longer have a "black experience" but an "American experience." I know a lot black folks myself who would probably agree with that notion.

His response:

I think the many minority voices and experiences only amplify what is great about America, that it's different for everyone but protects each person's right to that experience. I think until we are rid of prejudice in our laws there is work to be done.

In light of some things I know about this person, I’m sure he probably considers himself a minority. Albeit, he is a white person, but there are other reasons one might consider themselves in such a light. My response:

Yeah, there is strength in numbers and I understand that, but I also believe in strength in the individual. For example, as an Aspergian, I could consider myself a minority and classify myself as such, or I could accept myself for who I am ...and not blame my personality on a condition. I also know a woman with arthritis so bad she can barely move. She could think of herself as a handicap, but she chooses not to and enjoys life much more that way.

And yes, you're right. There is prejudice in the legal system. no one can deny that, but many of those laws are put into place with the best of intentions. And there are times when race or any other such category plays a part in it. I knew a guy who tried to move into a low income apartment, but couldn't because he wasn't Hispanic. Sometimes rules are put into place like that by people who consider themselves a category and it's little things like that we need to work against.

See? It’s quite possible to disagree with someone and not have it turn into a mouth foaming argument. I’m glad we had this discussion.

Arguing with Idiots Part 6

We come down to the home stretch with NShutterbug:

They are NOT spending like crazy HCR will save billions. Adding jobs means more tax revenue. Bush spent like crazy - borrowed from China to finance two wars and gave tax cuts to the wealthy that were supposed to create jobs. In no presidential term in history were fewer jobs created than under Bush - 750,000 jobs were being lost a month at the start of 2009.

And here are his responses to my other responses:

Load of nonsense - right wing BS.

You have ABSOLUTELY no idea what you are talking about. None. Nada. ZIp.

Who needs an argument when you can resort to crying BS? My response:

Health Care Reform will drive up taxes and cause small businesses that are already having trouble to go under, thus increasing unemployment. This ought to be common sense. Even China asked how Obama was going to pay for Health Care when we were already broke. So sorry, but I don’t buy it.

You wanna know why jobs looked sluggish under the Bush administration? While I was out working part time, the unemployed people under the Bush administration acting like bums pretty much refusing to get jobs until Bush was out of office. I spoke with these people. Now we’re facing even higher numbers under a Democratic administration, as usual.

And now, you’re not even going to run a proper argument anymore. You might as well stick your fingers in your ears and start humming. Don’t bother me anymore.

I have a feeling this guy’s gonna respond just to get my goat. We’ll see.

Arguing with Idiots Part 5

The honor of this attack ad response goes to tristramshandy3, who illustrates another level of idiocy:

neither party has any credibility whatsoever. Instead of arguing who is the worse of two evils, let's just ABANDON these pricks altogether.
There is ZERO justification for voting for republicans OR democrats in the year 2010. The facts and history make it too clear who these corporate whores work for- and it ain't you or me.
Bush sucked. Obama sucks. Let's stop having this self-defeating argument so we can move BEYOND these fools

Ah yes, I know this type of person. They’re so disenfranchised with either party, they won’t listen to anyone telling them different. I would try to explain this guy the obvious reasons as to why voting for third party would be damaging (they always lose and pull the rug out from under the mainstream candidates,) but that would be pointless. Instead, wanna see somebody snap a fuse? Check out awlreslr2:

I see yet another uninformed lazy person who would rather post a comment than find the facts. If you want a good read on basic economics, don't go to a political hack from the Lassez Fair school, that's how the Bush policies got us in this present mess in the first place.

In case you’ve forgotten, dear reader, the political hack he’s referring to is Thomas Sowell, one of the most respected economists living today whose credentials include the Hoover Institution, UCLA, the Urban Institute, Brandeis University, Cornell University, Howard University, Harvard University, Columbia University and the University of Chicago. I don’t know what this guy’s credentials are or who he listens to, but here’s my response:

Yeah, I know what got us into this mess. The Democrats regulated Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the late nineties to start giving out loans to pretty much whoever needed them. When the banks started failing as a result, Democrats like Barney Frank pidgeonholed efforts to deregulate. As a result, the banks failed when they ran out of money, companies who were attached to them got in trouble and had to lay people off. If you want culprits, your side has more explaining to do than mine.

Here’s the part where the guy freaks:

You must be either very stupid or very much addicted to the lies propagated by Fox News. Such a bunch of falsehoods posted as facts, you obviously don't know anything about banking laws, nor about history. Barney Frank, as a Congressperson cannot "pigeonhole" anything as one member of a Republican Controlled congress of 535 members, House and Senate. I see you are not interested in facts, just Fox News spin floats your boat. My side is the American voter, what is yours?

EVEN IF all your lies were facts, (of course they are not!) George W Bush, as President for 8 years, had the power and authority to reverse or fix anything you claim Barney Frank did, all on his onesome. You not only lack facts and propagate complete falsehoods, (Republicans Controlled Congress from 1995 -2007) you also lack any sense of logic. Enjoy your fantasies, that's all you've got.

It’s on:

Ah, Fox News. If I had a drink for every time someone accused me of watching Fox News when they ran out of options, I’d have to go to rehab. The truth is, sir, I barely even watch Fox News, nor do I drink for that matter. If I turned around and accused you of watching MSNBC or any film by Michael Moore, I’d just as well be guilty of scapegoating. And if you’re thinking of attacking Rush Limbaugh next, don’t. I never listen to him either.

Now for the truth. Under the Bush administration, Democrats blocked to deregulate saying that there was nothing wrong with the way the company was being run. Don’t believe me, you can check out C-Span. Check out the Youtube video "Nancy Pelosi, Barney Frank, and Democrats are Clueless on Freddie Mac Fannie Mae and the financial credit" for more. Barney Frank was just one guy who cashed in.

Now, my side is with the American people. Since you’re so proud of where you stand, you can check out pollster.com for a good sum up of many polls regardless of which way they are spun. But I would like to ask now, what’s with all these personal attacks on me? Are you perhaps embarrassed that the Obama administration didn’t turn out as you’d hoped and you’re too proud to admit it? Or are you just afraid of losing a significant amount of political power come this November?

That ought to shut him up for a while.

Arguing with Idiots Part 4

Revenge of the attack ad responses part deux: when libs attack! Starring Wingtipshoes:

That's not quite true - the vast majority of the deficit is the result of Bush's 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, which took place while the GOP had majorities in both the Senate and the House. And don't forget the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq (and the cost they cause) were started while the GOP controlled the entire government.
Anyway, when the budget went into surplus, Speaker Gingrich didn't want to pay debt - he wanted to cut taxes. It was Clinton who insisted on paying down the debt.

Have a read of how the GOP opposed Clinton's economic plans, which resulted in massive economic expansion, employment and debt reduction. They've done the same thing with Obama - they reject good economic policy and bet against the national interest.

Ah yes, I remember that. The business safety bubble Clinton helped create that popped and led to recession. I think somewhere in Greece, a fictional god is missing his flying sandals. If I didn’t have a life other than Youtube, I may have had time to respond to this one. Instead, I got this from xClarissaV6661:

You need only watch the news, read the paper or tune into c-span to see how correct these #'s are. And what would you have the current administration do in light of what they inherited? If $ was not spent there would be millions more unemployed, no US car industry (except maybe Ford), millions more filing for bankruptcy due to no healthcare and the list goes on. The party of NO is gone or will be.

I think she meant to say “numbers” up there: My response:

Yes, I've watched C-Span. I watched C-Span when the Republicans attempted to remove the regulations on the banking industry that got us into this mess. Now these guys are sitting pretty up there thinking that it was conservatives that were the only problem. And as for the car industry, yeah, I remember what they did with that money...in Vegas. I also remember how the stimulus money that disappeared into area codes that don't exist in the U.S. Makes one curious.

My apologies for the grammatical error up there.

Arguing with Idiots Part 3

Revenge of the attack ad responses! This time, we have fun with Datajlzone:

The Democrats are not spending like crazy; it is the Republicans who gave us this crises for eight years when Pres George Bush was in office. Pres Bush did not pay for the Tax breaks for the WEALTHY, did not pay for the 2 wars, did not pay for the prescription drug part d that gave away money for drug companies. All of this was not even in the budget, it was off the books. So President Obama had to put it on the books for everyone to see. So we are in a Republican Recession.

Take note of the “Blame Bush” instinct. It’s going to be a recurring theme with this crowd. My response:

I did not deny that Bush went on a spending spree, but if it doesn't occur to you that most of this happened under Democrats, then you haven't been paying attention. I do appreciate you, though, being a little bit more level with me than some of the other folks here.

Yes, I gave credit to Bush. Now watch as the party of zero accountability continues to attack.

Arguing with Someone Polite For a Change

More on the attack ad. This time, the response comes from the admin of the SenateDemocrats channel themselves:

Facts are facts. For details on the numbers, please see
democrats.senate.gov/gopjobkilling/

Of course they send me off to an address run by their boss that shows statistics spun to “prove” that the Democrats are saving jobs and how the GOP voted against their measures. But they forgot to post how much each of these bills are spending. Curious. My response:

And the facts are the numbers you posted there don't necessarily correspond to the jobs cited. The stimulus bill didn't save jobs, the economy under it's normal fluctuation kept those jobs. I understand you're probably being paid to put this stuff up here, but sooner or later you're going to have to come to terms with the fact that your side has been in the majority for years now and the job-killing agendas are your doing.

I appreciate someone being polite with me when discussing politics, but how polite do you think this guy would be if he wasn’t working for them?

Arguing with Idiots Part 2

Time for some real fun. Last week, the SenateDemocrats channel on Youtube posted an attack ad on their Youtube channel. And for once, they actually allowed people to make comments on it:



In the days since this video was posted, it has been a tremendous personal source for left wing demagoguery. Comments from a user named ronald6838 have been removed, and with a name like Ronald, I reallywonder which side he supports. And these comments really must’ve been bad if they had to be removed, because the lefties using words like “asshole,” “dumbass,” and “Republitard” seems to be perfectly acceptable.

Anyhow, here was my first response to the video:

And in reality, no one knows how accurate these numbers really are. They think that by spending like crazy, their somehow saving money and saving jobs. If you want a good read on how to save the economy and save jobs, read Thomas Sowell's "Basic Economics."

My first response came from “TheMisken,” who was relatively polite considering what I had coming to me:

at least we're spending to at least TRY to save jobs. Bush's presidency's spending consisted of WAR WAR WAR and tax cuts. (which, by the way, completely screwed up his Clinton-inherited budget surplus)

Right off the bat, he whines about the Iraq War that Bush started, Democrats supported and now still keep going. Typical what they’ll do when they’re out of options. My response:

I understand the need to save jobs, but spending in ways that will inevitable raise taxes on businesses or dig us deeper into debt is not the way to do it. And yes, Clinton DID have a surplus by taxing people like crazy. That's why when you look at the Clinton years, you'll notice that he had a higher unemployment rate.

And yes, Bush did go on a spending spree, which constitutes a sizeable portion of our debt now that got dwarfed by the current administration. Which is why we need to start hiring real conservatives in order to fix the economy and fix the unemployment rate.

This is me being polite. And considering what I’ve had to put up with since then, I don’t feel like being so polite anymore.

Arguing with Idiots Part 1

Well, folks, election time is coming up this year, and you know what that means. Politicians are campaigning, spending more on proving to people why the other guys stinks and I come to the realization that I haven’t made any political posts in a REALLY long time. As a result of all this political fevah, citizens are getting that second wind jolt supporting whatever party they so please and are more likely to be verbal when it comes to supporting them.

That being said, you won’t believe some of the things I’ve been hearing from people. So I’ve decided to start up a new written mini-series here documenting my escapades of arguing with idiots. Because when you’re unemployed in an economy and job market like this one, nothing passes the time like arguing with idiots.

First off, I’ll talk about Facebook. What wonderful little tool, isn’t it? It’s great for passing the time with games, getting in touch with old friends and automatically crossposting videos from Youtube whenever you give something a thumbs up. So when I give a thumbs up to a video posted by Republican Whip Eric Cantor that’s a clip from CNN talking about the possibility of Obama raising taxes (which has been removed for some odd reason,) someone’s bound to respond like this:

This is typical right-wing bullshit. It is NOT an Obama tax hike!! It is a law that was passed UNDER BUSH with AN EXPIRATION DATE! Simply letting something end (and oh, but the way, going back to the rates that were there before) is NOT the same thing as RAISING taxes. And James, when I friended you, I didn’t expect an endless stream of right-wing propaganda. I could just as easily post non-stop things from Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow (with the major difference being that they actually deal in facts and truch, not lies and half truths) but I don’t want to constantly inflict politics on people. Please stop with the constant political posts.

Remember kids, if you agree with the message, it’s noble, pure and for a good cause. If you don’t agree with it, it’s propaganda. Here’s my response:

So your argument is that the tax cuts were put into place by Bush, thus confirming that the video is correct? Good. Then it’s up to Obama to keep his promises, which he has a lousy track record of doing, and keep the tax cut going. I know people personally who will have to start tightening their belts if it does happen.

You think Keith Olbermann is a beacon of truth? Keith Olbermann pretty much blamed the V-Tech shooting on Bush saying that the guns used by the guy doing the shootings would not have been there had Bush not repealed a certain gun ban. And lo and behold, those guns were NOT under the gun ban, ignoring the argument that the guy would have found other weapons to use anyway.

Keith also had it in for the Tea Party movement without even having to go to one, which is quite peaceful despite how MSNBC poorly portrays the (A reporter of theirs got in trouble for doing that.) And I’ve seen the guy start calling people names after losing certain political battles. That’s childish, immature and the kind of thing you guys slam Bill O’Reilly for doing.

P.S. If you don’t like the videos that I post here, you can go ahead and unfriend me. At least I gave you enough time to hear your opinions, but if you wanna shut me out, then you might as well not even call yourself an American.

I won’t give out this guy’s real name (yet), but I should also probably mention that he had a problem with Bush “chipping away” at our basic rights and doesn’t mind bombarding people with his own ideology when he thinks he has them cornered. Even with people he works with. It’s been well over two days since we had this exchange and he hasn’t unfriended me yet, but I doubt he’ll be responding anytime soon. He answered my post with his foot in his mouth. If he responded again, the shoelaces would be coming out of his nose.