kimmy

There are many great reasons to love the United States. I don't feel that this is one of them. I am not sure whether to interpret these ratings numbers to mean that a lot of people watched "Here Comes Honey Boo-Boo", or that few people watched the Paul Ryan thing on Wednesday. I presume the answer may be some combination of both. --- In regard to the presumably low Republican convention ratings: Some people watched on Wednesday because they wanted to make a critical assessment or Ryan's speech, or were curious to see whether he would say anything of substance. Some people watched on Wednesday because they are mindless cheerleaders. Some people declined to watch on Wednesday because they didn't think there would be anything of substance, or that they would be better off reading about it in the news or obtaining the information some other way. Some people declined to watch on Wednesday because they are too apathetic or ignorant to care in the least about politics. There were respectable reasons to watch, and respectable reasons to decide not to. There were also rather unflattering reasons to watch, and unflattering reasons not to. --- In regard to the presumably high ratings for Here Comes Honey Boo-Boo: While I don't know a lot of Americans, those that I do know are repulsed child beauty pageants and by the fact that "Toddlers In Tiaras" even exists, and I'm sure they will be doubly grossed out to find that it has a spin-off. This stuff is not one of the things they love about America, much in the same way that the plantar-wart on my left heel is not one of the things I love about myself. If I recall, "Honey Boo-Boo" was on an episode of "Toddlers in Tiaras" that had so cringe-inducing and so WTF that it went viral on the internet. Since cringe-inducing and WTF are the main reason that many people watch this crap, a spin-off for "Honey Boo-Boo" will probably be a big hit. While that's great news for the 2.9 million people who tuned in to watch it, I bet far more than 2.9 million Americans feel nauseated at the whole idea. On the other hand, I hear that "Jersey Shore" has been cancelled. I imagine that many Americans feel that's one reason to love the U.S. a little more today. -k

It appears that the ruckus while the Puerto Rican woman was trying to speak is actually in regard to a commotion that was going on, where there was some motion to disqualify Maine's Ron Paul delegates. Texas delegates began changing "Seat Maine now!" and other delegates attempted to drown them out by chanting "USA! USA!" It could be that the poor woman on stage was just there at a really unfortunate time... -k

Here are some coal miners who are probably feeling a little Romney Derangement right now. ugh. -k

Now, let me preface this by saying that Tim Tebow isn't crying that he's being persecuted for his religious beliefs. Sports-media dumb-guy Skip Bayless is saying that Tim Tebow s being persecuted for his religious beliefs. Here's the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dW0q4yixfC0 Amusingly, some people apparently think the network was trying to censor Skip with the commercials. It's a persecution conspiracy! I like that Skip remembered to bring out the ever-popular "if he were a Muslim, people wouldn't be attacking his beliefs!" Funny stuff, Skip. Steven Smith does a good job in refuting it. Just for laughs, here's Skip Bayless getting humiliated on TV by Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hv2jqFd2-qI -k

I actually thought Erin Burnett was misty-eyed after Ann's speech. (edit: she said she did. ) Condoleeza Rice was shown on TV during Ann's speech, and just mentioned as well. Has she spoken or is she expected to? -k

This guy is good. I think it's pretty odd hearing several of the Republicans talk about "bipartisan compromise" considering how utterly inflexible the Tea Party wing has been. -k

Well, there's no doubt that convincing female voters that Mitt understands and will help was a big part of her task tonight. The speech ... I think a big part of what made her popular during the primaries was that she was genuine and spontaneous and had endless enthusiasm. I don't think those qualities really translate as well into a half hour speech that probably had a lot of help from writers and strategists. *cringe* -k

Ann Romney about to speak. -first is to ask everyone to hope and pray for the people in the path of Hurricane Isaac. She was usually the best part of Mitt's speeches during the primaries. I find her very likeable. -k

As a prairie kid, I was in awe when my family moved to the ocean and to the mountains. Never got tired of it. -k

I've bumped the "Bible" thread so that people can take the discussion of what an awesome dad Lot was over to there. -k

The Persecuted Christians in America thread has kind of veered off-topic into discussing how awesome the Old Testament is. I'd like to transfer that discussion here, so that I can get back to tales of Christians being thrown to the lions in 2012 America. Tim Tebow is suffering as we speak! To kick-start things a little, I present one of my favorite parts of the Old Testament: 2 Kings 2:23-25, Elisha's road-trip. Feel the love! God sends two bears to maul 42 children to death because they called Elisha "bald-head". It's like Stephen Colbert told us, bears really are the #1 threat. -k

I didn't pick her. The Republican National Convention picked her. It's hardly my fault that the person they chose to stand up in front of America and say "I built this!" is a shoddy example of the story they want to tell. If they didn't want people talking about them, then it was probably a poor decision to choose this particular week to throw a party congratulating themselves for being awesome. meh. -k

Wondering how Shar Valenzuela's company was so successful in winning government contracts? Shar explains: -k

Congratulations to Mrs Valenzuela for having a successful business. She should pay her taxes so that the next person can receive the same sort of support that she received. Meanwhile, at WeBuiltThisPalooza: A Salute To Entrepreneurs Building America! David Koch and Art Pope are pleased to host a tribute to entrepreneurs David Koch and Art Pope, featuring guests of honor David Koch and Art Pope, and special guest speakers David Koch and Art Pope! Two dudes receiving a tribute from an organization that they founded, operate, and fund. Wow. What a circlejerk. Aside from sharing an enthusiasm for self-congratulation, these two Giants of American Entrepreneurship have something else in common: they inherited their companies from their dads. -k

My former special guy had a patent, and worked with others who had patents. He said that the entire process was a complete joke. If rectangles with rounded corners are patentable, I think Zest has "prior art" to nullify Apple's patent and sue their asses. -k

Speaking of hero worship... Christians have been repeating the following verbatim, in large numbers: A couple of problems... first off, Armstrong's official time of death was 2:45, not 3:03. And second, Genesis 3:3 doesn't even say that. Genesis 3:3 is the one where God tells Adam and Eve to stay out of that Jello tree. #Dumbasses -k

It's a good thing they didn't let Toonces the Space Cat drive! -k

That wasn't really the point at all. The point was that Neil wasn't the one who "did it"; it was a massive team effort of which Armstrong was an easily replaceable part. As celebrity astronauts don't die that often, I'm not sure there's really an established standard of "normal". Sally Ride also died recently; it went more or less unnoticed except for some brief controversy relating to her long-time relationship with another woman. I think that using Steve Jobs as an analog to Neil Armstrong is incredibly flawed. If Armstrong had gotten terribly sick the day before the mission, NASA could have replaced him with an equally competent back-up pilot and the mission would have gone ahead as planned without him. If Steve Jobs had died 5 or 10 years sooner, the direction of the technology industry would probably be quite different. "If somebody else had the technology they would have done it first" isn't an idea that can be applied to what Jobs did, because Jobs' competitors already had the technology. Jobs' role in shaping the technology of today wasn't in inventing technology nobody else had thought of, it was in coming up with new ways of using it. That's not a criticism of you and Wilber specifically, it's a general reaction to the outpouring of headlines over the past day or so, which to me do indeed smack of hero-worship. I don't dismiss any of that. Armstrong isn't famous for being a nice guy, or being humble, or for being a man of few words, or a good family man, or a guy who took his slide-rule and pocket protector to work just like everybody else, although all of those things might be true. Neil Armstrong is famous for one thing, and one thing only-- being the first man to set foot on the moon. And his death is an excellent time to talk about the state of the program that made it possible. Sorry if you feel it's disrespectful or inappropriate; I obviously disagree. -k

I'm not sure it's an obvious point, and I did think it needed to be made. In the midst of all this hero-worship of Armstrong and talk of Apollo 11 as "Armstrong's historic achievement", it seems as if a lot of people don't recognize that it was a team of scientists and engineers that made it possible. There seems to be very little mention of anything other than how awesome and inspiring it was to watch Neil Armstrong on TV. And while people reflect on "awesome and inspiring" things, it seems like a good time to mention that we could do awesome and inspiring things today too, if we weren't spending our money on wars and bailouts. And also a good time to mention that we're making it much harder for people to go to university to learn the skills that make awesome and inspiring things possible. Neil deGrasse Tyson on funding NASA: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7i2QDpGRQKc -k

Well for example, Leviticus also has rules about how to conduct a proper animal sacrifice to atone for your transgressions, and what to do with witches and wizards. Deuteronomy has rules about what to do with a girl who isn't a virgin on her wedding night (hint: there's rocks involved.) -k

You just changed it from "his momentous accomplishment" to "his momentous moment". I definitely agree that it was his momentous moment... but it wasn't his accomplishment. That's your hypersensitivity talking. I'm not sure why you need to look for anti-Americanism in everything. I don't resent America getting to the moon first, because if the United States hadn't done it, it could well be that nobody would have gotten there. My point is that Neil Armstrong was not any braver or better than Yuri Gagarin (or Buzz Aldrin or Michael Collins or John Glenn or any of the other pioneers of space flight.) Who were all indisputably brave, for the record. My point is that the difference between Armstrong and his Soviet counterparts is that Neil Armstrong was on a better team. The Soviet space program couldn't have put Neil Armstrong on the moon. NASA could have put Laika the Space Dog on the moon. Yes, that was my point. -k

The *arena*, dumb-ass. The Tampa Bay Ice Palace was 38% paid for by Rugged Individualist Entrepreneurs, and 62% paid for by taxpayers. -k

That law still applies? What about all the other laws? -k

To be clear, I don't share his views. I just feel that the "no exceptions" stance has more moral consistency than those who'd make exceptions if they have enough sympathy for the woman seeking an abortion. -k

Calling it "his" momentous accomplishment is ridiculous. -k