Learning about conservation on The Daily Show:
“I’m not worried. I figure I’ve got 40 years left, and I can’t use everything up.”
-Jon Stewart
Month: July 2001 (Page 5 of 5)
I’ve finally figured out what bugs me so much about many conservatives: they’re so damn sure of everything. Everything is black or white, good or evil, with no greys or muddled intentions intruding. This is so contrary to our everyday experience with the world that it makes what they say all that much more absurd. Communism: bad; Capitalism: good. Abortion: bad; Capital punishment: good. Case closed, end of story. And it spreads eventually to everyone around them: agree with me, you’re OK. Disagree with me, you’re a foolish bastard. Conservatism seems to breed a sort of “my way or the highway” mentality, a hardness, that I find particularly difficult to stomach.
Me, I’m not sure of a lot of things (other than that I need to lose a few pounds). But I’m willing to learn, to discuss, to consider. That’s what life’s all about, isn’t it?
My new favorite weblog: IsDickCheneyDeadYet.com
(stolen from Anil)
“I heard about the president’s announcement that we’re going back to Star Wars, and I just about burst into tears. In a world that can’t feed itself, we’re too busy defending ourselves. And defense isn’t even the right word – it’s militarism. Don’t fool yourself – it’s militarism.”
-Nobel Peace Prize Winner Betty Williams, on CSPAN2
Of course in the previous post, I’m not mad at the checker. I know she’s just doing her job. I’m irritated at the stupid corporate policy which insists on demeaning the employee and tweaking the customer at the same time.
“Welcome to Taco Bell. Would you like to try our new Chicken Quesadilla today?”
Standing in line at Toys-R-Us yesterday, I watched as a long line of people were asked, “Can I get your phone number?” before their purchases were rung up. They all docilely complied. As someone who gets far too much junk mail and phone solicitations, my radar is up for ways we make it easier for corporations to sell stuff to us. I guess I was somewhat surprised that no one else failed to volunteer their phone number other than me. But I was also pleased that the clerk didn’t put up even a token fight, as they often do when you tell the grocery store clerk you don’t have a store card:
“Would you like to get one? You could have saved [looks at receipt] $1.26 today with the card. Here, let me get you an application. [rummaging] No? OK, well, if you’re sure…”
Just ring it up, lady, and we can both get on with our lives.
Like Kevin, I sometimes watch infomercials and the shopping channels. I especially enjoy watching HSN and QVC when they have computer shows, since it’s particularly entertaining to watch the clueless hosts when they have absolutely no idea what they’re talking about. Sort of like George W. Bush on CNN. Last night, I watched a Tammy Faye wannabe struggle to get through her segment on a Compaq desktop computer, assuring us that we didn’t need to know any of the “technical gizmo lingo” in order to use it. Apparently, she didn’t know it either.
I do have a sort of grudging admiration for these shopping channel hosts, in that you can set just about any object down in front of them, any object, and they can talk about it at least mostly coherently for 20 minutes. That’s a talent.
Had a dream last night that someone took one of my black dress shoes and threw it in the lake, so I had to go to the shoe store and ask if I could buy just the left shoe only. (Can you do this?) Not sure what that means.