Confirmed by science, or, Just as I always suspected…

I’ve often said here and elsewhere that, in my observation, conservatives tend to be very lazy-minded and/or drink-addled. Now, it appears that science bears me out:

And now there’s the new study linking conservative ideologies to “low-effort” thinking.

“People endorse conservative ideology more when they have to give a first or fast response,” the study’s lead author, University of Arkansas psychologist Dr. Scott Eidelman, said in a written statement released by the university.

Does the finding suggest that conservatives are lazy thinkers?

“Not quite,” Dr. Eidelman told The Huffington Post in an email. “Our research shows that low-effort thought promotes political conservatism, not that political conservatives use low-effort thinking.”

So John Stuart Mill was onto something when he said “Conservatives are not necessarily stupid, but most stupid people are conservatives”? Who’d of thunk…

As to the “drink-addled” bit, here ’tis:

Bar patrons were asked about social issues before blowing into a Breathalyzer. As it turned out, the political viewpoints of patrons with high blood alcohol levels were more likely to be conservative than were those of patrons whose blood alcohol levels were low.

But it wasn’t just the alcohol talking, according to the statement. When the researchers conducted similar interviews in the lab, they found that people who were asked to evaluate political ideas quickly or while distracted were more likely to express conservative viewpoints.

“Keeping people from thinking too much…or just asking them to deliberate or consider information in a cursory manner can impact people’s political attitudes, and in a way that consistently promotes political conservatism,” Dr. Eidelman said in the email.

I’m not surprised by this drink link, either. Sloppy snap decision-making seems to be a common denominator in both cases. I once met a rabidly conservative man (who fancied himself a writer, alas); he was also the only person I’ve ever met who was actually PROUD to be an alcoholic, and who did not even see his condition as an illness. (Yes, that IS fucked up. I’m just glad I no longer have anything to do with him.)

Friends don’t let friends drink and drive; maybe we should also put out bumper stickers saying Friends don’t let friends drink…and vote Conservative. A laudable public service message, don’t you think?

PS: And on the flipside of that, here’s some more sciency stuff about how some people are just plain born nicer. Liberals and socialists, the lot of them!

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Posted in Schadenfreude, She Blinded Me With Science, Sick Frickin' Bastards, The "Well, DUH!" Files, The Hardcore Stupid | Comments Off on Confirmed by science, or, Just as I always suspected…

Campaignus Interruptus

So long, Rick…and thanks for all the wanks.

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Posted in Fascism Without Swastikas, Fetus Fetishists, Isn't It Ironic?, Karma 1, Dogma 0, Not So Compassionate Conservatism, Pissing Jesus Off, Schadenfreude, Sick Frickin' Bastards, The United States of Amnesia | 3 Comments

Stupid Sex Tricks: Dept. of Unenforceable Laws, Ukraine

Straight from the Wide World of WTF, we get wind of some wildly stupid fetus fetishism from Eastern Europe:

“An incredible project of law was presented before the parliament of Ukraine: banning the missionary position in sexual relations.”

That was the headline on Actualidad RT. The authors of this controversial project of law explained that with it, they intend to combat the problem which is consuming the country little by little: low birth rates.

Also, this bill proposes penalizing abortion and couples who go more than 25 years without conceiving; these would see the man’s salary garnished by 6%.

According to parliamentary deputy Natalia Korolevskaya, who is one of the principal defenders of the proposed law, the idea was born of a series of studies which demonstrate that the classical position, known as the missionary position, is highly inefficient for conception.

Korolevskaya not only said that, but emphasizes that “rear entry” intercourse, which in Chile and other countries is known as the “doggy style”, is much more efficient for conceiving children.

Even though the bill has not even been revised, various reactions from within the parliament suggest that it could be approved.

Deputy Oleg Lyashko was especially enthused with the idea and applauded upon hearing Korolevskaya’s words.

However, there are also those opposed to this project. Activists assure that the law is no more than a media strategy to distract attention from the anti-abortion initiative which is under debate. All of this, according to the opposition, is a series of assaults against the rights of women.

Translation mine.

Y’know, I was always of the impression that the missionary position was recommended, among other things, precisely BECAUSE it is so conducive to conception. After all, it sends those little wigglers right along the most direct path to Ye Olde Fallopian Tubes. But hey, I guess those Ukrainian lawmakers know more about these things than I do; after all, I’m a socialist who’s child-free by choice, and they’re a bunch of fucking boneheads who don’t grasp the very basic fact that women aren’t having kids because the Ukrainian economy is in such a hopelessly pathetic state. Which, BTW, they will only make MORE hopeless by garnishing the wages of couples who fail to conceive.

And no, this is not a joke. It’s a real bill. There’s even a petition against it here. Sign it, and keep it in mind next time you go to vote. Today it’s Ukraine; tomorrow, unless you lose the apathy and ignorance, it could be a lot closer to home.

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Posted in EuroPeons, Fascism Without Swastikas, Fetus Fetishists, If You REALLY Care, Law-Law Land, Stupid Sex Tricks, The WTF? Files, Uppity Wimmin | 4 Comments

Music for a Sunday: And don’t it feel good?

Not sure what’s up with those three shivering dudes in the trenchcoats, but I do suggest you get out there and enjoy the sun while it lasts. Where I’m at, the forecast is calling for rain.

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Posted in Music for a Sunday | 1 Comment

A novel use for eggs and yogurt

What happens when you host a neo-Nazi on your TV show in Greece? Nothing…for about a week. And then, you get THIS:

According to Russia Today, here’s what happened:

A Greek TV host has become the target of a massive egg-and-yoghurt attack carried out by leftist activists angry that he had invited a member of a neo-Nazi party onto his show the previous week. Panagiotis Vourhas was interviewing a local politician on Friday when a group of 17 intruders with their faces hidden behind handkerchiefs broke into the studio, Associated Press reports, citing private channel Epiros TV1. The video from the Epiros TV1 shows the disgruntled presenter cleaning his laptop as protesters keep pelting him with eggs and yoghurt.

They also broke out in anti-Nazi chants, as you can hear. If anyone who knows Greek can tell me exactly what was said, please feel free to leave a comment in the slot below. Efharisto!

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Posted in Fascism Without Swastikas, Greek Salad, Karma 1, Dogma 0, Schadenfreude | 1 Comment

Wankers of the Week: Easter Bummers

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Crappy Easter, everyone! If you’re feeling kinda butthurt, or like your ears’ve been chewed off, the chocolate bunnies above can relate. So can I. Because I’ve been tracking the reasons why this past week has just sucked all kinds of eggs. And here they are, in no particular order:

1. Lee Fucking Aronsohn. Who? Oh, only the half-a-man who gave us the atrocious sitcom that enabled Charlie Fucking Sheen for waaaaayyy too fucking long, and is now doing the same for Ashton Fucking Kutcher. Seems he doesn’t like vaginas, because they keep breaking his shrivelled little heart and being too goshdarn pretty for him. So he decided to create an entire unfunny TV show that has run for HOW many fucking seasons now? TOO MANY! — celebrating dicks and assholes and their general assholish dickery and dickish assholery. And hating on teh vajayjays. Thus torpedoing his chances of ever getting within hollering distance of one again, although — ha, ha — he’s going to be hearing from a lot of them, in excruciating detail, from now on.

2. Yaron Fucking Segal. Being an MIT post-doc researcher? Nice job if you can get it. Throwing it all away by going online to troll for moms willing to sell their underage daughters to a skank-ass sexual predator such as yourself? NOT SMART.

3. Lila Fucking Rose. It’s one thing to make a choice based on your personal feelings; it’s quite another to try to legislate the same choice as the only one for everyone else, regardless of their feelings. And to advocate for that kind of legislation with phony propaganda is NOT pro-woman, much less feminist. Anyone who thinks it is, is full of right-wing sexist doublethink. So, Lie-là, no, we’re not going to give you your F-card. Unless, perhaps, you meant the one stamped FAIL.

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4. Raymond Charles Fucking Foley. Pissing to mark “your” territory: It’s not just for dogs anymore.

5. Tucker Fucking Max. Christ, this makes two superannuated, famous-for-nothing fratboys named Tucker that I’ve heard of now. And this one has even more unmitigated chutzpah than his floppy-haired namesake, the Bowtie Boy. Yeah, I know — hard to believe, eh? But he managed it…by trying to get Planned Parenthood of Texas to name a building after his sorry ass. A cynical move, since they’ve been stripped of funding by the state, and could sure use some donations. But give them full credit for dignity: they told him to shove his half-a-million dollars’ worth of income-tax evasion back up the orifice from whence he and his PR team oh-so-cynically pulled it. What do you bet they’re about to see a replay of what happened when the Komen Foundation tried to fuck them over?

6. Samantha Fucking Brick. Don’t hate her because she’s beautiful. In fact, don’t hate her at all. Just pity her because she thinks she’s beautiful, and that she is therefore obligated to bore us all to tears with endless anecdotes about how mean other people have been to her onaccounta she’s not all that. PS: And the wank keeps fapping on. Flirting with the male interviewer, but not half as friendly to the female? Gee, I can’t imagine why other women don’t like her very much. Or why I kept wanting to punch her conceited (but not all that pretty) face in. PPS: Ha, ha.

7. The Fucking European Commission. Flying to Syria = “supporting terrorism”? BULLSHIT. In case they’ve forgotten (and I can see that they have), Al-Qaida is supporting the anti-Assad opposition movement. Just like the European Commission, in other words.

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8. Mitt Fucking Romney. Hey Mittens, have you ever tried shopping when you’re sick? Silly me, of course you haven’t. A man who wants to build elevators for his own cars can’t possibly be expected to understand that healthcare is not a trip to the mall. Perhaps you’d like to meet someone who can explain it to you? Here you go. I give you Tommy Douglas, the Greatest Canadian, and founding father of our no-shop single-payer universal healthcare plan. Who, I might add, would have lost a leg in childhood if it had been left to the markets to decide.

9. Heather Fucking Childers. Thanks ever so much for introducing us all to the latest loopy, stupid, racist Birther conspiracy theory. Now fuck the hell off.

10. Levi Fucking Johnston. Dude, either learn to use condoms properly, or get a vasectomy. PLEASE.

11. Francis Fucking Grady. I really wish that these anti-choicers would drop this “killing babies” bullshit. Everyone knows that none of these guys (and they are ALWAYS guys!) really give a good goddamn about babies; if they did, they’d be adopting all the AIDS orphans from Africa. No, it’s all about controlling women though willy-nilly reproduction. And just once, I wish one of these fucking clinic-bombing losers would be honest about that fact.

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12. Hunter Fucking Moore. Pudding-faced douche with badly-drawn tattoos makes a living invading others’ privacy (with lame excuses, yet), and is not-so-secretly hoping that some of his victims-for-profit will kill themselves so that he can rake in even more profits! No, I can’t imagine anything going wrong with this. I’m sure a ruinous class-action lawsuit will do wonders for his bottom line, too. Go for it, Hunter, you edgy bitch, you. (PS: Your nose job didn’t work. You are STILL fugly.)

13. Steve Fucking King. Back to the closet with the queeeeeeeerz! Yeah, that’s a GREAT solution to discrimination. It’s only what the queeerrrrrzzzzz have been doing FOREVER, and STILL getting killed. Guess individual rights only matter to Repugs when the “individual” is a corporation…or high within the ranks of one.

14. Rick Fucking Santorum. Still there. Still wanking. Still clinging to guns and religion…because he’s got nothing of substance left. Even on home turf, Mittens is beating him. How pathetic is that?

15. Gene Fucking Simmons. Look who came out in support of Mittens. Because he thinks his country should be run like a business. Forget this “by, of and for the people” shit, eh Gene? Yeah, let’s run it by, of and for the MONEY. And let’s run it into the ground, the way big businesses so often are. Fuck democracy, it’s just another pussy…eh Gene? Well, guess what…I can’t wait till YOU can’t afford it, either. And I can hardly wait to hear what tune you play then.

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16. Nikki Fucking Haley. “Women don’t care about contraception”? What is she, a robot? Maybe she doesn’t care because she’s got the taxpayers paying for hers. But then she’s also one of those who endorse the view that the Little People should be the ones paying the Big People through the nose for everything. And of course, she gets to have her cake, eat it too, and leave taxpayers on the hook for the slice.

17. Bristol Fucking Palin. Just like her endlessly obnoxious Mama Grizzly, she keeps calling the media “lamestream”…but then she keeps courting them, waving her pom-poms, and pouting when she doesn’t get the attention she only thinks she deserves. If it’s so lame, why do they both keep wanting it so badly? And does that not make them even lamer? PS: And speaking of lame…

18. Donald Fucking Trump. Trust me, Da Donald…I speak for all women when I say NOBODY would be impressed with your penis. In fact, our entire half of the human race wants you to keep that out of our collective face. Lock that shit away and NEVER let it see daylight. ‘kay???

19. Karl Fucking Rove. So, Barack Obama is a “thug”? Well, Unka Karl, you know what they say…IT TAKES ONE TO KNOW ONE! There is NOTHING more thuggish than letting people die for money’s sake. (And why do I get the strangest feeling that “thug”, coming from a very white rightard and directed at a black man, is really just dog-whistle code for “nigger, nigger, nigger”?)

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20. David Fucking Horowitz. And speaking of right-wing projectionists, get a load of this mafioso, calling democratic student uprisings against 400% tuition hikes “mob rule”. He’s just pissy, I think, because HIS ideas are so unpopular that he’d never get an actual crowd behind them…only a crappy cabal of astroturfed idiots such as himself. Poor, irrelevant little man! But don’t feel too sorry for Davey; he gets paid an awful lot of money by very rich interests to do little other than occasionally appear on FUX Snooze, bashing the 99%ers. Maybe it’s HE who should get his pampered ass expelled from universities across the Fruited Plain…and his moneymen, too.

21. Scott Fucking Walker. Gee, Scotty, I’m really sorry about your kids. Mostly because they have such a wanker for a dad. Something like that is bound to make most anyone’s young life hell for a while. But don’t worry, they’ll soon be hearing the last of it. When your ass is recalled, I promise you, things will settle right down!

22. Reince Fucking Priebus. Yeah, Funny Name Dude, you tell those paranoid, uppity women. I’m sure all the measures your party is taking to strip rights away from them is absolutely for their own goddamn fucking good, eh?

23. John Fucking Williamson. Using the words of a famous gunshot murder victim to celebrate the “freedom” to own unregistered murder weapons? Only in Harpolandia. Since this ain’t Canada anymore, we can’t even call him a national disgrace. He’s not one of us, you see. He’s wholly owned and subsidized by the Fucking NRA. I can only hope for his own sake that he never meets one of his “law-abiding” constitutents in a moment of derangement and disaffectation. Because then, the equally disaffected police (who, you may remember, opposed the SupposiTories on this one) won’t lift a finger to stop that law-abiding gun owner from taking the ever-abiding law into his law-abiding hands. Which, you know, can easily happen now in one of these hick-SupposiTory ridings full of law-abiding gun nutters who voted for barrel-sucking assclowns like this.

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24. Phyllis Fucking Schlafly. Hey, who ever said irony was dead? Just witness this woman…who is apparently slathered in more layers of it than there are layers of shellac on her hair. And speaking of which, now we know why right-wing women all have that awful helmet hair. The poor dears are trying to hold their heads together with hairspray — otherwise, those cognitive-dissonance-laden gourds would simply EXPLODE!

25. John Fucking Derbyshire. How does somebody so stupid, sexist, perverted and paranoid get to have kids? Much less inculcate them with his bizarre, twisted, racist pseudo-values? People like him make me think that child-siring should become a licensed, registered thing. Also that people like him should be automatically excluded from all such privileges. PS: Ha, ha.

26. Jeff Fucking Schoep. He and his fellow neo-nutters are “patrolling” white neighborhoods in Sanford, Florida — home of the racist murder of Trayvon Martin — just in case a “race war” breaks out. Or, as I suspect will actually prove to be the case, they are trying to foment one. In which case, I hope they get it…and LOSE. Badly.

27. Glenn Fucking Grothman. Shorter: Women get paid less because they really just want to make babies and more babies! And besides, we make it up by paying their husbands more! Note: This is the same wanker whom I’ve listed here previously for claiming that single mothers are practically child abusers for bringing their kids into the world without a husband. Additional note: All this dumbfuckass talk of child abuse could be avoided if working women were paid at least as well as men…and working mothers were paid MORE. And if dumbfuckasses like Glenn Fucking Grothman could be voted out of a cushy, taxpayer-subsidized job, since he’s not supporting anyone but his dumbfuckass self.

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28. James Fucking Hooker. Funny how quickly “love” hits the skids when your much older “lover”, who was actually your TEACHER before you quit school and shacked up with him, turns out to be a serial creeper on teenage girls, and the law finally catches up to him. Eh? Meanwhile, let’s hope his victim has learned her lessons: (a) that older men are Bhad Nhews, especially when you’re that young and they are in positions of trust, and (b) to always, ALWAYS listen to her mother.

29. Terry Fucking Jones. Well, hey HOWDY! I was wondering what his next idiotic stunt would be. It’s pretty hard to top a staged Koran-burning, but by Jove, he managed it with a staged cross-burning. That is, I meant to say a rally in support of George Fucking Zimmerman, whose inbred defenders all still insist he shot Trayvon Martin because homeboy was a thug, instead of just some kid in a hoodie, Eating Candy While Black.

30. Ted Fucking Nugent. Bwahahahahahaha! I’m sorry. I just can’t picture anybody going up against the pants-soiling author of “Wango Tango” and “Wang Dang Sweet Poontang”…and LOSING.

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And finally, to all the so-called “progressive bloggers” who think there’s ANY merit in ANY conservative notions about abortion. NO THERE IS NOT. There is a reason the last anti-choice law in this country was struck down in 1988. That reason is that WOMEN CAN BE TRUSTED TO MAKE THEIR OWN DAMN MEDICAL DECISIONS, WHETHER ANYONE ELSE AGREES WITH THOSE DECISIONS OR NOT. Sorry for the all-caps shouting, but it seems it has to be said at full volume to be heard over the stupid fucking cacophony of “we must now pander to social conservatives or we will lose lose lose!” Newsflash: You are losing BECAUSE you pander to social conservatism, and the SupposiTories already have THAT vote all locked up. It’s an extreme minority opinion anyway. So why fucking bother trying to court it? Have you no pride? Have you no sense of history? This so-called debate was ended and settled nearly a quarter of a century ago, and you’re ceding ground to those who say it should be re-opened NOW? Who the fuck are you to call yourselves “progressive”, and when did you so-called Liberals get so fucking namby-pamby? Clearly yours is no longer the party of Pierre Trudeau, who rightly said that the state had no place in the bedrooms of the nation. And now you’re making common cause with those who say the opposite? Too bad for you, because that’s why I am not a Liberal. And it’s also why my party is now in a good position to challenge the SupposiTories. Yours? Not so much.

And if this criticism costs me MY ProgBlog feed, so be it. I’m sticking with the REAL progressives. You can tell them by the fact that they unconditionally recognize the personhood of WOMEN.

Good night, and get fucked!

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Posted in Wankers of the Week | 6 Comments

Festive Left Friday Blogging: Evil Dictator Makes Venezuela Happy!

Film at 11. Meanwhile, the story:

Last Friday, the Washington Post highlighted a global happiness survey released last year by the polling firm Gallup, which found that Venezuela is the fifth happiest country in the world. According to the poll, 64 percent of Venezuelan respondents said their well-being was thriving.

The poll measured how people in 124 countries rated their lives at the current time and their expectations for the next five years.

Topping the list were Denmark (72 percent), Sweden (69 percent), Canada (69 percent), and Australia (65 percent). Finland is tied with Venezuela, sharing the fifth spot.

Venezuela is the Latin American country with the highest wellbeing, followed by Panama (11), Costa Rica (14), Brazil (15) and Mexico (19).

The classifications according to which respondents rated their wellbeing included “thriving,” “struggling,” or “suffering.” People who considered themselves to be thriving rated their lives a 7 or higher on a scale from 0 to 10.

According to the Post, the poll showed that the respondents with highest wellbeing also reported fewer health problems, less stress and sadness, and more happiness, respect and enjoyment.

Out of the 124 countries polled in 2010, the majority of residents in only 19 countries (mostly in Europe and the Americas) rated their lives as “thriving.”

And this with an evil, democratically elected, socialist “dictator”. Figure THAT out.

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Posted in Festive Left Friday Blogging, Huguito Chavecito | Comments Off on Festive Left Friday Blogging: Evil Dictator Makes Venezuela Happy!

Quotable: Arundhati Roy on the ghosts of capitalism

“Though capitalism is meant to be based on competition, those at the top of the food chain have also shown themselves to be capable of inclusiveness and solidarity. The great Western Capitalists have done business with fascists, socialists, despots and military dictators. They can adapt and constantly innovate. They are capable of quick thinking and immense tactical cunning.

But despite having successfully powered through economic reforms, despite having waged wars and militarily occupied countries in order to put in place free market ‘democracies’, Capitalism is going through a crisis whose gravity has not revealed itself completely yet. Marx said, ‘What the bourgeoisie therefore produces, above all, are its own grave-diggers. Its fall and the victory of the proletariat are equally inevitable.’

The proletariat, as Marx saw it, has been under continuous assault. Factories have shut down, jobs have disappeared, trade unions have been disbanded. The proletariat has, over the years, been pitted against each other in every possible way. In India, it has been Hindu against Muslim, Hindu against Christian, Dalit against Adivasi, caste against caste, region against region. And yet, all over the world, it is fighting back. In China, there are countless strikes and uprisings. In India, the poorest people in the world have fought back to stop some of the richest corporations in their tracks.
Capitalism is in crisis. Trickledown failed. Now Gush-Up is in trouble too. The international financial meltdown is closing in. India’s growth rate has plummeted to 6.9 per cent. Foreign investment is pulling out. Major international corporations are sitting on huge piles of money, not sure where to invest it, not sure how the financial crisis will play out. This is a major, structural crack in the juggernaut of global capital.

Capitalism’s real ‘grave-diggers’ may end up being its own delusional Cardinals, who have turned ideology into faith. Despite their strategic brilliance, they seem to have trouble grasping a simple fact: Capitalism is destroying the planet. The two old tricks that dug it out of past crises—War and Shopping—simply will not work.”

–Arundhati Roy, “Capitalism: A Ghost Story”

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Posted in A Passage to India, Economics for Dummies, Filthy Stinking Rich, Isn't It Ironic?, Quotable Notables, Socialism is Good for Capitalism!, Spooks | Comments Off on Quotable: Arundhati Roy on the ghosts of capitalism

Dear Harper Government™: Fuck You. Love, Quebec.

And thanks so much for forgetting the Montréal Massacre, too. It only took you bastards 23 years to set us collectively back half a century. Bray-fucking-vo. Meanwhile, les Québécois(es) se souviennent:

On a day the government fulfilled a long-standing goal and saw legislation to destroy the federal long-gun registry set to receive royal assent, it was stymied in a Quebec courtroom.

Quebec Superior Court stepped in and ordered a delay in the deletion of registry data from that province, following a request by the provincial government.

The court has granted the reprieve until further motions for an injunction can be argued in a Montreal courtroom next week, as the Quebec-Ottawa registry fight moves to its next phase. The province wants to keep the data for Quebec so that it can set up its own provincial registry.

In the interim, the registry will continue to function in Quebec — long arms will continue to be registered and the information will be kept for now.

“For the moment, it’s the status quo that is maintained. The information will continued to be registered,” said Quebec government lawyer Eric Dufour.

“The information will be continued to be amassed for an eventual provincial database.”

Vive la Belle Province! (And could you PLEASE liberate the rest of us from these woman-hating hacks?)

PS: And a special fuck-you to John Fucking Williamson. Using the words of a GUNSHOT MURDER VICTIM to celebrate the untrammelled right to murder weapons? Welcome to my wankapedia, you quote-twisting dirty fucking BASTARD.

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Posted in Canadian Counterpunch, Guns, Guns, Guns, Isn't It Ironic?, Law-Law Land, Men Who Just Don't Get It, Morticia! You Spoke French!, Schadenfreude, Uppity Wimmin | 6 Comments

Clip ‘n’ Save: Jesus vs. Jeezus

A handy-dandy primer to print out and distribute to all the confused fundies you might know. I suggest leaving a few hundred copies in the tracts rack at your nearest fundie church, too.

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Posted in Clip 'n' Save, Isn't It Ironic?, Pissing Jesus Off | Comments Off on Clip ‘n’ Save: Jesus vs. Jeezus