Why are there so many ratbags?

Well – to have one of my photographs praised by (the great) Merisi is indeed an occasion to be treasured. I can only say that if you take as many photographs as I do then you will get lucky.

William thinks that it is time for a keynote state-of-the-union address from me. Hmm…I fear that if I reveal too much the mystery will be gone. I probably already say too much about my pet peeves. These often turn into rants and I am sure bore people witless.

But – it is difficult not to be passionate about all the awful stuff that is happening out there. As William remarked recently – all we do is Blog when the world is going to hell in a hand basket.

See Kristin's blog today to see what I mean. These are not isolated nutters - they are thick on the ground everywhere in the USA.

Wanderlust

I read far too much and worry about too many things that I cannot change. I mostly worry about the people who are dumber than Mud Ducks but have a constituency that they can influence.

Things like this – the Scientology Ratbags wandering into Haiti and causing even more damage to an already damaged country and its people.

Ratbags in Haiti

This is why I am an avid ready of PZ Myers Blog Pharyngula. He has a no-holds-barred, visceral approach to humbuggery, religion, pseudo-science and quackery in general and takes no prisoners. To me PZ is a hero right up there with Dawkins, Coyne, Dennett and Grayling.

PZ Myers blog is on my blog list

Today's rant

I really regret the lost opportunities of the Obama administration. My view is that the time has passed for them to make any useful changes. As many have already said, the only legislation that will pass now will be Republican legislation – and that will only happen if the Republicans can see that they will get the credit for it. The Republicans vote together and they vote together against every single piece of Democratic legislation.

The opportunities were lost because the Democrats dithered. They fought amongst themselves about tinkering with the health legislation while the right wing was out there banging on about costs and death panels and socialism and any other rubbish that could be floated in the ether.

The right wing marshaled the Loony Brigade,Fox, Beck, Limbaugh, Malkin, Coulter, O’Reilly, Hannity and they all banged the same drum, hour after hour, day after day. And they won – easily.

Until the Democrats can be as ruthless and cohesive as the Republicans then they have no chance of making any useful changes at all.

Unfortunately – the Obama administration has not just lost its mandate – it has also provided a platform for a Republican resurgence that will probably sweep them from office next election. They will do this with the ostensibly independent ‘Tea Party’ which is aligned in many places to the Republican Party and in some cases is run out of Republican premises.

This will have a dramatic and adverse impact on the political landscape generally. When the right wing talks about freedom from government control and restrictions and the freedom to do their own things - they don’t mean freedom for everybody – they mean freedom for themselves.

There will be no freedom for people who want to choose abortion, or gay marriage, or atheism or social equity or anything vaguely left wing – like universal health care (Eeeek Socialism!). Next time round they will really put the boot in!

So I regret to say the President Obama has buggered things for now and for some time to come and it is going to be a rough ride.

There are right wingers in America now calling for preemptive strikes on Iran and North Korea. Well – that should calms things down in the Muslim world!

All this depresses me no end - which is why I don’t rant all the time about it. And just don’t get me started on the climate change deniers.

Rant ends

Nobody asked – but a ‘Drover’s breakfast’ is a ‘cough and a look around’.

And William does a wonderful job of bringing his French countryside and community to life. He captures the very essence of a small French village and the life of the people. I think he does a much better job than I do in Wien. Maybe I should get some Donkeys?

Ratbag - Drongo, Dill, Dickhead