Staff Issues

The clusterfuck in Austin continues to provide amusement. Somebody says that the plantation mentality is alive and well in the Texas U athletic department, and apparently letting Charlie bring in his hand-picked assistant coaches wasn't part of the deal.

Recipe for disaster

The health care reform issue has become the definitive clusterfuck . I've reached the conclusion that the millions of people without health insurance have zero political clout. That's zero as in zero, zilch, zip, nada. In congress, the Democrats can't agree on how to proceed, and Republicans have decided they won't proceed at all. There are too many Democrats elected in red states who are intimidated by the Republicans, and the Republicans have basically devolved to the point that their only remaining agenda item is to hand Obama a crushing defeat on this issue.

Millions of voters don't have health insurance, but there are many more millions who do and they aren't in the mood to risk it on systemic changes. See previous references to "I got mine -- go fuck yourself."

Democratic indecision, Republican obstructionism, public apathy and antipathy. Those are the ingredients. Stick 'em in a bowl, stir 'em up, and place in a pre-heated oven to get clusterfuck cake, zero servings. Messed up the whole kitchen without a damned thing to show for it.

ADDED 11:06 AM, SAME DAY:

Laura 1973 wrote: i would just like a straigh answer on this health care. i have heard some many stories on it.all i know my health insurance is okay, i DO NOT repeat DO NOT want to paid for someone else inusrance for them, the way i see it no one is helping me to support my kids not even the fathers im not going to help someone else, get a job and get your own insurance

Copied and pasted verbatim from the opinion page of the local newspaper's website. A comment by a Texan illustrating the point presented in second paragraph above -- with the spelling, grammar, and punctuation I'd expect.

ADDED 2:18 PM, SAME DAY:

And then, there's this.

Mrs. bee and I have been AARP members for several years, and it's one of the better organizations I've joined. They send me a pretty good magazine each month; it has an excellent crossword puzzle and a few articles in each issue worth reading. Plus, I got a deal on homeowner and automobile insurance through AARP that I'm really happy with. All factors considered, AARP membership has been well worth the ten bucks a year, or whatever the dues are. If a bunch of dimwits want to cancel out because AARP endorses health care reform, I say fuck 'em and good riddance. A lot of old people are just plain embarrassing, and I'm not sure why their petulance is newsworthy.

Pet peeve

It's time to send both these yahoo packin'. We don't need the hair (who can't ride a bike, much less sign a bill supporting it) or the old lady who is out of Texas with real Texans. Don't we have anyone out there that represents real Texans?

Comment, cut-and-pasted verbatim, from Austin American Statesman online article regarding Kay Bay's recent criticism of Ricardo. Notice the usage (twice) of the expression real Texans.

I wish the fucking moron who wrote this gibberish would define the term "real Texan." I need to know if I qualify to be one. I doubt that I do -- at least I hope so.

When people in Texas use the term real Texan, they really mean other Texans exactly like themselves: piss-ignorant redneck shitpokes and bottom-feeders which no one with any intelligence would want to emulate. So I've spent most of my adult life trying to be an unreal Texan.

On reader comments

There's an old expression: Even a blind hog will root up an acorn now and then.

This column in the Dallas Morning News by conservative radio host Mark Davis is the first thing he's written that I partially agree with.

Since I started maintaining blogs, I've scanned the opinion sections of online newspapers for comments by readers that either (a) make a point I agree with, or (b) can be ridiculed on the basis of ignorance and illiteracy. What I noticed at Houston Chronicle, and especially at Austin American Statesman, was a regular daily domination of the comment boards by handfuls of people who apparently never go outside and spend too much time sitting at their computer keyboards. In each case, what began as an open forum for reader feedback devolved into a chatroom with established cliques swapping "attaboys" or insults. I found that out of 100 comments, as many as 80-90 were posted by fewer than ten "regulars."

Soon, I could spot a poster's screen name and accurately predict the gist of his comment on any given subject, particularly since nearly all the "regulars" were hardcore conservatives. I'm not sure there's a correlation between radical right-wing opinions and having too much free time to fill, but it's something to consider.

At any rate, the result is a lot of clutter, much of it loaded with spelling and punctuation errors or enough typos to render it unreadable. I'm finding it easier to just skip the whole thing.

Added 3:00 pm:

A case in point:

DEMOCRAPS are for a fact ruining America.....Illegals are NOT owed VOTing rights for the democrap scum..

Anonymous reader comment, copied verbatim from Dallas Morning News article on the progress of the voter ID bill in the House.

She gets around...

Here are 13 races that could lock up the Senate for left Politics Chron.com - Houston Chronicle:

SavedGirl wrote:

We must stop the dems at any cost!! My country will not be the America I love and the America I want with these shameful democrats in control of America. There will be the blood of white people, the blood of Christian's, and, the blood of baby's in the streets if Obama is elected...wake up American's you are about to loose your country!!!!"

I'm usually at the DMN website when I stumble upon the mindless ranting of Saved Girl, but this morning I was reading the Houston Chronicle article at the link and was amazed to find that SG had something to say about that, too. If Obama wins I'll try to avoid walking in the streets, which will all be full of blood. This chick personifies the concept of epic fail.

Saved Girl's ideas on campaign thrift

Obama pitches self in new ad; McCain hits back on tax plan News for Dallas, Texas Dallas Morning News National Politics:

"Posted by SavedGirl 20 hours ago

Why do Obama need to spend money when they can just have there black goons attack white people with mccain bumper stickers."

Another penetrating insight from Saved Girl, this time on campaigning economically. Sheer genius.