Evelyn's Comments (531)

“If it's true that the folks at the first Thanksgiving ate only 550 calories, they were going badly hungry, because those folks did 8 hours of moderate exercise every single day.”

“Can't make this kind of sh-t up. She is a real American all right.”

“A trial whose outcome is certain in advance is known as kangaroo court.”

“Right, sure. And there are a dozen or more people in NYC likely to be chosen as jurors who are predisposed to believe that these guys are innocent? There is a strong Jihadist element that will be on the jury?”

“I think part of the difficulty is the kind of workers we have. Back in the 1930s, we had millions of men whose skill was manual labor. They were ready and able to pick up a shovel or a load of bricks and build things. Today, our economy isn't based on manual labor. Jobs are not as interchangeable.

In the 30s, a young man who grew up on a farm could transition to ditch-digging or bridge-building without much difficulty. But if you take the mass of unemployed people and you propose to build a bridge or a tunnel or a highway, is there any match between the skills and abilities they have and the work that needs doing? My guess is, probably not. A lot of people lost jobs in the auto industry and the construction industry, but does that mean they can be put to work paving roads? Maybe, but maybe not.”

“Calling it an act of war would put it outside of a court system entirely. Killing your enemy in war is not a crime--it's the nature of war. The whole point of terrorism is that it is not a legitimate act of war, but rather indiscriminate killing of civilians who have not taken up weapons against you. Don't dignify what these guys did as acts of war.”

“I don't understand this line of reasoning. We try child rapists and serial murderers all the time. We tried Nazi war criminals at Nuremberg. Terrorists are murderers, criminals. They are not some kind of supernatural beings who are too powerful to be dealt with. Being shackled and led into a court room to hear the evidence against you, and then sentenced by a jury of 12 men and women to life without parole, or death, is not some sort of reward--it is the justice system. Do these folks not believe in the American justice system?”

“Hasan is alive. There will be a criminal trial. No need for a Congressional investigation at this point. Let the justice system do its job! A congressional investigation could compromise the ability of the courts to convict.”

“I watched a half hour of that show last week and it was a painful 30 minutes. No pacing, no timing, no nothing. It was as flat as a pancake.”

“Your Irish Eyes are lying. Of course trees and sky don't matter, but lying and distorting the truth matters a lot. The Conservative movement is growing through fraud and deception. Doesn't that matter? I saw a handful of teabaggers in my local city last week with signs reading "Obama is destroying the best healthcare in the world." Problem? Well, factually speaking, it's not the best healthcare in the world. And Obama is not destroying it, he's expanding it. Which might make it better than the healthcare in Slovakia.”

“I can understand the stresses that a Palestinian Muslim would be under serving in the US military, but jeez, this guy got quite a lot out of the system that he apparently despised. He got a free medical education and advanced training in his chosen field, leaving school with no debt. A little gratitude would be in order there. And if he couldn't take the pressure of serving overseas, he could have had the honor and decency to quietly take his own life, not that of 13 or more other people.”

“All I'm saying is that the word "cockpit" sounds a little different to me now when I hear it. What do they call that part of the plane? And why?”

“Somalia is one of the poorest, least developed countries, with a life expectancy somewhere in the 40s. So this guy *claims* he's 112, but he could be 57 for all we know.”

“"There is no evidence that increasing social programs -- such as low-cost health care and day care, college grants and maternity homes -- will impact a woman's abortion decision. It is rare in our experience to find a woman who says the reason she is choosing abortion is that she doesn't have day care, or that she'd rather go to college...­More than 3,000 pregnancy centers in the U.S. are ready to help a woman with material needs, emotional support, counseling and medical care. Anyone who wants to stop abortion should promote these centers."

These free-marketers would like us to believe that social needs such as these can be provided on an individual charity basis. There is no evidence for that! In fact, even agencies that appear to be private charities, like Catholic Charity or the Salvation Army, receive large amounts of tax dollars. If you want to provide a social safety net and a context in which a poor woman can provide for her child, you need tax-based government programs. One reason conservatives disapprove of these programs is specifically because they are non-judgmental. They want to use a crisis pregnancy as an opportunity for emotional blackmail. They want to save souls more than lives. Ask them, they'll tell you.”

“Who mentioned the death penalty??”

“And Mr. Obama, please note: you do not send soldiers to build schools. That's lovely when they try, but it's not their job! If you want to use peaceful means in Afghanistan, and I hope you do, then you must send people equipped for peace, not men and women with automatic weapons! Would YOU want armed Afghans in your neighborhood, helping out at your kids' school? Use the army to protect our country. Use aid providers to provide aid. And don't confuse and confound the two.”

“Too far away? With today's technology? It's easier to communicate or travel between Los Angeles and New York today than it was to get from Albany to New York City in 1789.”

“The biggest thing holding back the creative forces in our life is the lack of universal health care. Many people would start up new businesses or go free lance, if it didn't mean risking their family's health and fortune in the event of an accident or serious illness. We would have far more freedom and liberty if our ability to pay for needed medications that enable us to be productive were not dependent on who our employer is. I could never start a business, simply because I have asthma and ma therefore uninsurable except under a group policy. The same goes for millions of others. Get your head out of that volume of Utopia and deal with reality.”

“Pie in the sky. Has there ever been a country that relied on private rather than government resources that built schools for all, a natipnal road system, a legal infrastructure, and that provided effective healthcare for its people? No, there hasn't. Conservative ideology is utopian in its belief that private money would do what medicare and social security has done--it didn't and it wouldn't. To see what a nation with small government looks like, see Somalia and Afghanistan. To see what a nation with an effective government looks like, see Switzerland and Japan. Then let me know which one you'd prefer to live in.”

“Did anyone stop to question whether that amount of helium could lift a 50 or 60 or 70 pound boy? Seems a little doubtful to me.”

“cry. me. a. river.”

“Used to be "If it bleeds, it leads." But today, it could bleed all over the ground, but if there' s no video footage, it doesn't exist. What made this story compelling is that there was live video. A kind of ultimate low-speed chase. A meaningless car chase, if there are helicopters following it, will trump kids being murdered any day. And angry people shouting into the camera at a town hall will always edge out actual information on health care reform. The medium is the message--if it's live, breaking, stupid, meaningless news, it will air. If it doesn't have video, it could be the second coming and it would be ignored. That's why they call it EYEWITNESS news.”

“Wow. And what about the people who have to replace me at minimum wage? If companies are paying people minimum wage with no benefits (and we know how righties like to hold down wages), someone is still going to end up uninsured. Or do you propose to require that every job provide health insurance? And why is it your employer's job to provide health insurance? Do you know what a drag that is on competitiveness and entrepreneurship? Of course not. You were suckled on reaganism and you haven't had a thought since.”

“Exactly, and price out that $350-400,000, add in condo fees, and see what you have to make to have the "luxury" of 1100 sq. feet and no land--it's way too high compared to salaries.”

“Dear High School Students of America,
Please let these pictures cheer you up. As you can see, most people look their worst the day they have their yearbook picture taken. You will be normal as an adult, even if you look like a complete loser in your high school yearbook.
A High-School Survivor”