Philosophy, politics, and religion from behind the bar.

  Melissa Harris-Perry on MSNBC and Megyn Kelley on Fox are engaged in an epic philosophical battle over the race of Santa Claus. This crucial and critical question that affects the fate of all mankind and the future of the planet, has been covered thousands of times across all media platforms.   Meantime, in a rare show of bipartisanship, the GOP and Democrats in congress were able to pass a budget and forestall any more talk of government shutdowns for another two years. It makes cuts across the board on welfare, pensions, and investments in education, infrastructure, and research.. It does not cut tax loopholes, has nothing to do with jobs, or wages, or keeping people off of the streets. It maintains our theftocracy and transfers even more of the nation's wealth from the working and jobless poor to the wealthiest among us. It continues the lies of austerity and "job creators". And it is hailed across the media as, well, sort of a milquetoast compromise, but more or...

WestJet Christmas Miracle: real-time giving This ad for a Canadian Airline has gone viral. Everyone seems happy to comment about the "Christmas Miracle" and people having a tear in their eye because "miracles DO happen". Sure, they happen to all those white folks that get what they want for Christmas from a promotional campaign because they are wealthy enough to fly and lucky enough to happen to be there at the right time. Jesus and Santa certainly do love those that are already "blessed". It's a brilliant advertizing coup. They made a pampered, entitled, privileged class feel even more deserving. At least it was a Canadian company, where the ethical bar is set a bit higher than in the USA. Imagine if something like this was done for Walmart's clientele, while they left their employees scrambling for government assistance.  This post did not go over well with a lot of people. Here's an article I stumbled across that better describe...

In South Africa, during the funeral for Nelson Mandela, Raul Castro was caught shaking the hand of a world leader from a country known to imprison and enslave it's own people. A country known for torture, and the denial of legal rights for prisoners on the island of Cuba. Oddly, the Cuban people did not go fuck-stick nuts. Well, the Cubans in Cuba...

  Right wing ideologues, most notably Newt Gingrich and Ted Cruz have recently been blasted by their own supporters for deferring to the historical impact and import of the legacy of Nelson Mandela.   The irony of this may not be lost on Gingrich, who claims a superior grasp of history, but I doubt that either one of them understand that the heat, the ignorance, the hatred being spewed by these bigots is only natural, and that these are exactly the idiots that these two megalomaniacs courted, comforted, and developed to win power. This is their base.   The one time that these two can say something honest and obvious about reality, the one and only time that they have no choice but to speak honestly to history, and it alienates the people who gave them a megaphone in the first place.   This brings up the question of whether they will be savvy enough to understand the impact of their own legacies.   They will not.   But, fear not, Ted and Newt, an...

http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=11150 I was there. Lived among them. Know them. Hedges has it EXACTLY right.