Democrat Contract With America

Here is an interesting article in , The Nation, that addresses the issue of Democrats using the Katrina debacle to illustrate how Republicans have failed to live up to the promises they made in 1994 and cynically never really tried to.

Getting the Best of WingNut "Debaters"

If you are new to blogging and decide to debate wingnuts you have a fun and somewhat challenging task ahead of you. Your goal is to so "fshimmle" your opponent that they are practically screaming through the computer at you.

You've bugged your target wingnut a little if you are called a moonbat, kooky liberal, or a Socialist. You know that their face is red with rage and their jowls are flecked with spittle if you are called a Communist, Stalinist, or Leninist -- or any combination of these words -- and you can imagine a beer can being thrown at the monitor. This is the desired emotional state you seek to put the wingnut in.

Most wingnuts are quite stupid and extremely inflexible. They do, however, refresh their grab bag of arguments by going to a website ( like Free Republic) that is there specifically designed to fill their heads anew each day with logically twisted arguments that are so breathtaking in the lie they are attempting to propound that you will be taken aback. These lies are provided each day by professional wingnut liars who have been twisting the truth for so long that they no longer know themselves what it is.

The main thing you must understand in debating wingnuts is that they have about ten basic ( and easily refuted ) assumptions about the world and everything they say revolves around these simple assumptions.

A few of these core wingnut concepts is that a reference to Ted Kennedy's car wreck over 30 years ago in which his girlfriend was tragically killed automatically trumps any argument that you ( the Stalinist) is trying to use. Similarly, The oral sex that Bill Clinton received from Monica Lewinsky also trumps any crime, no matter how coarse, crooked and venal, that any Republican has committed. This especially applies to the President and the vice-President.

I have included a link to a site that will inform you about any subject you wish to debate a wingnut on. I think you will find the site very interesting, informative and educational.

Zero Sum Games and Economics

I, Headless Lucy, have been reading a bit about zero sum games and also conservative commentary about how tax cuts for the rich and the oil business as currently structured are NOT zero sum games but, rather, "win / win" situations.

They look an awfully lot like zero sum games to me.

Any comments?