Aimless. But pissed.

I'm so miscellaneously angry right now.  I'm mad at my fellow citizens for being idiots- this is a complex anger, because they are simple in so many varied ways, from sea to shining sea.  I don't expect people to agree with me all the time, or even most of the time.  But why is intelligence and education vilified, while blind adherence to ignorance and venality is cheered?  Gross.  Racism and idiocy- alive and well in the Land of the Buy 1 Get 1 Free!

I'm angry at the media for being an echo-chamber for the stupidity.  NPR- that supposed bastion of the left- is so center-right it makes me feel like I'm standing in the middle of the Dust Bowl in 1935:  howling wind, dirt clouding the sky and coating everything, no one around.  The other day the House voted in favor of extending the Bush era tax cuts for all but the wealthiest, which is a useless vote because it wont get to the Senate.  NPR essentially snickered at this whole thing and then aired some asshole Gopper saying that it is just more Democratic class warfare.  Well, DUH.  Of course it's class warfare- it's the GOP's war against the working and middle classes, and the Dems response to it.  What really ticked me off, however, was simply that the Dems were responding to what we- their constituency- wants.  That's important, even if the vote can't go anywhere.  Cynicism aside, this is the vote that should be on the record, and I'm happy they didn't just roll over and present their parts to be sniffed.  Maybe being on the defensive will actually make them represent us, the progressive majority who is too lazy/disillusioned/fucking LAZY to vote.

I'm familiar with this feeling of anger, and I don't like it.  The whole Bush II regime was like one long "Hunh?  WTF?" for me.  Actually, I first felt it when I was 10 and Reagan was slimily bringing social justice and progress to a MIC-assisted halt in the 1980s.  God knows the Democrats are no one's heroes in a general sense- they just can't get together and fight the way the GOP does- they're too even-handed, informed, wanting to pat everyone on the back and discuss all sides and compromise until they've given it all away. 

But the question I ask myself is this: do we WANT to be the Borg?  I have developed a visceral hate for the Republican M.O.- it's anti-human, dirty, and selfish.  It's like Ayn Rand combined with a redneck to give us this hideous travesty of political culture.  We have so many lies that undergird the foundation of our truths- I don't want to get down into that slime and further debase our society or myself. 

Like wearing Spanx!

I was walking back to my office the other day behind two male students having a very serious conversation.  It went something like this:

Student 1: I've been too busy to do my laundry, so I'm down to my athletic underwear. It's spandex!

Student 2: Oh, yeah, me, too! Heh heh. It's all slippery.  Heh.

S1: Yeah, I don't like it.  It feels weird.

S2: Oh, I don't know- I kind of like it.  I feel like I'm wearing Spanx!

Me: *snork*

Surrounded by all of these 20-somethings I feel very old some days, but there are many other days where I feel like an immature teenager.  These kids crack me up- they remind me of how complex, and yet (in retrospect) how simple life was back in the bubble of college.  I really enjoy them...um, well, I really enjoy laughing at them, actually. 

I wish the women would stop wearing leggings as pants, though.  Not attractive!  Also: if your leggings look like they are made out of rubber, perhaps college is not the right venue for you at this time.  Just a hint!

Ach, well- that's democracy in a time of turmoil and ignorance (i.e. always, in this reactionary country!)  1994 Republican Revolution, anyone?  Remember how well that went for them?  And us?  Ever onward, my friends!

Immigration law in Arizona brought to us by our friendly neighborhood private prison.

This makes me really angry.  It's bad enough that we can't come up with sensible policies for dealing with immigration, but we are now passing anti-immigration laws that benefit private corporations and do nothing to stop illegal immigration.  In fact, history suggests that this law will not have any deterring effect- which makes sense if one considers that it is not actually designed to do anything but bring money into private coffers.  Here is NPR's investigation of the subject.  Gross.  Arizona immigration law

and:Immigration law follow-up

I don't mean to sound naive- I understand the role business plays in policy here in the States quite well.  But this turned even my stomach, cynical as I am.  After discussing this issue with one of my more righty politics friends, who ended up by not believing me, I sent her some quick facts about the economic impact illegal immigrants actually have on this country.  Pretty small in terms of public service use, and a bit larger in terms of paying taxes and buying goods and private services.  It makes sense to be concerned about illegal immigration, but don't do it via ridiculous, unsubstantiated sound bites.  And don't let some corporation looking to make several million bucks provide you with your opinion.

And, because I'm sick of politics right now, I link to this fabulous (and entirely valid) stick-poking at my profession.  I howled when I watched this: So you want to be a political scientist?

I'm a qualitativist, and thus feel somewhat smug about the math bits, since I avoid those for exactly the reasons mentioned here.  But it's hard to be *too* smug because the rest of the thing is entirely accurate.