Passive Aggressive Positivity

good news will work its way to all them plans.

Fri, 24 May 2013 19:49:36 -0500

good news will work its way to all them plans.

grangerbread: the great gatsby is not a love storythe great gatsby is not a love storythe great...

Fri, 24 May 2013 17:10:39 -0500

the great gatsby is not a love story
the great gatsby is not a love story
the great gatsby is not a love story

the great gatsby is not a love story

the great gatsby is not a love story

the great gatsby is not a love story

the great gatsby is not a love story

the great gatsby is not a love story

the great gatsby is not a love story

the great gatsby is not a love story

the great gatsby is not a love story

the great gatsby is not a love story

THE GREAT GATSBY IS NOT A LOVE STORY

shortformblog: Abstinence-only education is now illegal in...

Fri, 24 May 2013 16:13:00 -0500

shortformblog:

Abstinence-only education is now illegal in Illinois. A bill passed two days ago by the state senate will require that schools with sex education classes include units on birth control. Schools can opt out of sex education altogether if they so desire (as they can now), and they’ll still have to teach that abstinence is the only absolute, surefire way to prevent pregnancy and STIs, but now they’ll have to provide information on contraceptives as well. The governor is expected to sign the bill. source

Way to go, Illinois!

I loved this

Fri, 24 May 2013 01:33:31 -0500

I loved this

pol102: From liberalsarecool: The GOP hates students, loves...

Wed, 22 May 2013 17:13:59 -0500

pol102:

From liberalsarecool:

The GOP hates students, loves their debt payments.

I don’t think this is just the GOP’s fault, so I’m not going to jump on that bandwagon (but, yes, the recent incarnation of the GOP is particularly prone to the sin I’m about to point out). The real underlying problem is that we’ve all bought into a poorly made analogy about how government budget is “like a family budget” (a terrible analogy trotted out by everyone).

Many economists will point out that governments enjoy many privileges that families (or even businesses) don’t enjoy: Governments can print money, set interest rates, and otherwise affect the basic economy under which we all operate. Once you “get” the concept that all wealth is really just a fiction—that the concept of money and all its associated subconcepts—are mere inventions (and inventions only made possible by governments, or more precisely states, btw) then it all makes sense. States (what most of us call “governments”) are sovereign. That word derives from a European theological notion. States are the ultimate authority on earth—they are a secular replacement for The Lord God Almighty. Once you fully internalize this, you realize that the “rules” of a household budget simply can’t apply to governments. After all, governments make the law and they also make the money.

Anyhow. All this short sightedness has made both parties blind to the sheer fact that states were created originally to make life better. If you believe in a Hobbesian state of nature, then the state emerged because we desperately needed it for security—to protect us from a real world in which life was “nasty, brutish, and short.” If you believe in a Rousseauian state of nature, then states emerged because we willingly exchanged our unlimited freedom (the kind that wild animals have) in order to build civilization (we became slaves to market forces, to consumerism, to fashion, etc). For Rousseau, the “slavery” of civilization could be tamed by democracy, of course—and it was the hope of our Founding Fathers (peace be upon them) that they had devised a formula to both have freedom and civilization.

But what that means is that it was only states that made life not only safer, but also better for humanity. Keep in mind that the estimated median income for a person in sub-Saharan Africa and a person in Europe was about the same for most of human history (until about the 1600s or so). It was the rise of states in late medieval Europe which facilitated a tremendous expansion of human wealth. It’s also no coincidence that capitalism emerged first and then thrived in the very countries known for having strong states (Britain, Germany). To this day there’s a strong correlation between the strength of the state and the vitality of the economy. How else do you think South Korea went from having the same standard of living as Angola in 1960 to being one of the wealthiest countries in the world.

So where am I going with this? Easy. Those early states rose to prominence not by spending little, but by spending a lot. It was Germans who invented the publicly funded education system and universal health care. And not democratic Germany, mind you, but Bismarkian Germany of the late 1800s. The reason was simple: Investments in health, education, and general welfare would ensure a strong military and workforce, and give German industry a decisive edge. Between 1800 and 1900 Germany went from a backwater farmland to a major world power (heck, Germany didn’t even exist prior to 1860!).

Today, our government has decided that investments in health, education, infrastructure, etc. are too expensive. It’s more important to give easy access to credit to business or tax breaks to the wealthy. But what are the long term consequences? Where will America’s workforce be in 20-30 years?

If you really want to use the family analogy, then you have to consider that when a family tightens its belt, it also looks to the future. The father and mother give up new clothes or amenities in order to pay for their children’s education and food. The father may sacrifice a meal before he takes food or clothes from his infant child. After all, the only shot at escaping poverty in the long term is for that child to grow up smart, healthy, and strong and help lift the family out of poverty.

Today, we hear about the government as a family analogy all the time from politicians on the left and the right. It’s a terrible analogy. But, when you hear it, ask yourself one simple question: Is the person making the analogy suggesting that the family cut spending on its children’s food, medicine, and education to ensure that the father and mother have more disposable income? Or are they suggesting that the father and mother sacrifice a little bit (perhaps they don’t go out to dinner as often or stop buying expensive lattes on their way to work) in order to ensure that the kids have their basic needs met. In other words, are we investing in our future? Are we working to expand the market and our citizens’ productive abilities?

The Greatest Cultural Contribution of the American South

Wed, 22 May 2013 17:10:55 -0500

The Greatest Cultural Contribution of the American South:

Sweet tea.

Goodness how I love living in Texas because of the sweet tea. And when I say sweet tea I mean sweet. Very sweet.

I hate traveling outside of the South and going into restaurants and asking, “Do you have sweet tea?” The servers look at you and say, “No, but there is sweetener on the table.”

Huh? Sweeter on the table, are you kidding me?

reasons to write a book set in 2005. the music was pretty...

Wed, 22 May 2013 02:04:43 -0500

reasons to write a book set in 2005.

the music was pretty fucking rad.

Capricorn: wow you pissed me off so I'm going to sulk in silence and snap if spoken to

Wed, 22 May 2013 00:49:45 -0500

Capricorn: wow you pissed me off so I'm going to sulk in silence and snap if spoken to
Aquarius: YOU MADE ME UPSET IT'S THE END OF THE WORLD /melts into a dramatic heap
Pisces: I'M GONNA FUCKING THROW THINGS. LIKE THE BIGGEST TANTRUM. YOU HAVE -EVER- SEEN.
Aries: WOW I'M SO MAD for like a second. What's for dinner?
Taurus: BRB SMASHING HEADLONG THROUGH A WALL TO KILL YOU
Gemini: Oh, I'm not mad. Wait. YES I FUCKING AM. Okay maybe not. BUT THEN AGAIN--
Cancer: ...oh. I'm angry. But you'll never know. Tillit'stoolate. Cookie?
Leo: /INDISCERNIBLE NOISES OF RAGE
Virgo: how could you do this to me. how. HOW??? Get out of my life. No wait baby come back...
Libra: Passively plotting your demise.
Scorpio: This'll only sting for a second. Unlike my wounds which'll bleed FOREVER and you'll never hear the end of it. WHIIIINE
Sagittarius: I have to leave before I kill someone. Bye!

Took advantage of the beautiful weather and the fact that I live...

Tue, 21 May 2013 19:04:33 -0500

Took advantage of the beautiful weather and the fact that I live steps away from the beach. #basicallyonvacaythisweek #vitamindfordays (at The Columbian Shore)

lol this is a rascal flatts lyric.

Tue, 21 May 2013 17:50:51 -0500

lol this is a rascal flatts lyric.

Nice to see green again. #summertime #beautifulday #rogerspark...

Tue, 21 May 2013 14:15:09 -0500

Nice to see green again. #summertime #beautifulday #rogerspark #thisischicago (at Dicktown)

"For the last three decades many Americans have puzzled over a system that gives an R to a movie in..."

Tue, 21 May 2013 12:45:08 -0500

““For the last three decades many Americans have puzzled over a system that gives an R to a movie in which a women is carved up by a chainsaw and an NC-17 to one that shows a woman sexually pleasured. From such ratings one might conclude that sexual violence against women is OK for American teenagers to see, but that they must be 18 to see consensual sex. What message does this send to the kids the MPAA presumably means to protect?””

- Carrie Rickey

(via fireworkselectricbright)

“You have to question a cinematic culture which preaches artistic expression, and yet would support a decision that is clearly a product of a patriarchy-dominant society, which tries to control how women are depicted on screen. The MPAA is okay supporting scenes that portray women in scenarios of sexual torture and violence for entertainment purposes, but they are trying to force us to look away from a scene that shows a woman in a sexual scenario which is both complicit and complex. It’s misogynistic in nature to try and control a woman’s sexual presentation of self. I consider this an issue that is bigger than this film.”

-Ryan Gosling on the controversy around the rating of his film ‘Blue Valentine’

(via misandry-mermaid)

"If they don’t need you, it’s okay. You do not live for other people."

Tue, 21 May 2013 12:32:02 -0500

“If they don’t need you, it’s okay. You do not live for other people.”

- Kyo (via modernhepburn)

This show is going to be the gayest thing I have ever...

Mon, 20 May 2013 18:25:32 -0500

This show is going to be the gayest thing I have ever experienced. So stoked. #lonelyhearts #marinaandthediamonds (at Casa De CHILL)

fefeferi: when u accidentally hurt ur friends feelings and they insist that its fine but u know it...

Sun, 19 May 2013 21:39:19 -0500

fefeferi:

when u accidentally hurt ur friends feelings and they insist that its fine but u know it isnt

genocidercyo: clockey: you’re the window to my wall you’re the sweat that drips down my balls

Sun, 19 May 2013 11:18:27 -0500

genocidercyo:

clockey:

you’re the window to my wall

you’re the sweat that drips down my balls

I just submitted my very last thing for my screenwriting class. I AM DONE MOTHERFUCKERS. FINALLY.

Sat, 18 May 2013 19:19:59 -0500

I just submitted my very last thing for my screenwriting class. I AM DONE MOTHERFUCKERS. FINALLY.

redtournews: Houston...

Sat, 18 May 2013 17:24:48 -0500

redtournews:

Houston, Texas now capture it remember it!

PERFECT THO

Remember when everyone thought the world was going to end in 2012?

Sat, 18 May 2013 17:19:27 -0500

Remember when everyone thought the world was going to end in 2012?

callmetierra: norafox: Cyanide and Happiness nails it. Oh...

Sat, 18 May 2013 09:05:10 -0500

callmetierra:

norafox:

Cyanide and Happiness nails it.

Oh my….this makes me think of one person….

This is the best thing ever.