The Snarky Files - Euripides' Views on the Week (June 17)

Joe Biden, 47th Vice President of the United States has chronic foot-in-mouth disease.

The Snarky Files. Snarky means several things. I prefer the definition of "sharply critical." Here's my take on some news stories this past week. No real news here, just snark.

Edumacated
I've posted several times before about the sorry state of today's education. (See Liberals, Nihilism and Education - An Abusers Guide for example.) As a teacher, I get to see a lot of classroom examples from our young men and women who have become inculcated by the latest liberal ideologies, spewed from clueless teachers who themselves were inculcated by liberal ideologues. Here's an example of what I mean. I recently encountered this from a conversation on Facebook.

"Don't you think that this is the traditional social order rather than a inherent capability of men?... This is the 21st century, it is time for the gender stereotypes to be viewed with a huge grain of salt....

I am saying that it shows this because we are brainwashed to believe these socially constructed roles."

OK, without going into the argument, just take a look at the jargonated speech, so easily typed from the fingers, hardly passing through the brain in the interim.

My first reaction was to decide who the sociology teacher was who destroyed the thinking ability of this person. My second reaction was to write a response, outlining the true dangers of blindly believing in today's social constructionists. My third reaction was to keep quiet, knowing full well that students such as these only have a chance of redeeming their brains through a long and painful process that we in the "biz" call learning.

Students today learn all of these great sounding catch phrases of socio-babble nonsense. University students come out of sociology classes, or worse, "studies" classes, spouting the latest jargon. They are smug in their knowledge and understanding, having been indoctrinated into the great priesthood of believers. They talk the talk and they walk the walk.

Here's the problem. Modern sociology, with its attendant sacred texts and ideals, lacks a fundamental basis from which to judge modern society. These classes do not teach the roots of our marvelous Western civilization. They do not teach anything other than cultural relativism. They do not build historical context. They do not offer any opposing viewpoints from which to adjudge. They are, in reality, as vacuous and specious as this quoted text indicates.

Marriage Deceit
Same sex marriage activists continue on their rampage to neuter natural marriage. In their zeal, they will stop at nothing to confuse and hide their true goals - not equal rights as they would have everyone believe, but rather special rights, above the rights of all other citizens.

The deceit continues in New York, where two men tricked a city clerk into giving them a marriage license.

Hakim Nelson and Jason Stenson married on May 26 with nary a raised eyebrow among the oblivious city bureaucrats who not only OK'd the marriage license, but conducted the ceremony, despite gay marriage being illegal in the state. (NY Post)

The NY Post article goes on to call the couple "plucky" for their temerity to flaunt the law.

This news is a metaphor for same sex marriage advocates. The gay activist community spreads "plucky" lies and deception to try and neuter a fundamental social institution. In so doing, they create chaos in their wake, thwarting laws and long held traditions which stretch the political and legal systems to the point of breaking.

Plucky indeed.

Violated
California Governor Schwarzenegger also lent his voice to the cause célèbre of same sex marriage.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger today told a federal court in San Francisco that the state does not dispute that Proposition 8 may violate the federal Constitution and called for quick action to resolve the legality of the anti-gay measure law. (LA Times)

In case you missed them, there are four deceptions in this paragraph alone: Schwarzenegger discounted the California Supreme Court ruling upholding Proposition 8; he implied that, as governor, the entire state disputes Proposition 8's US constitutionality; he implied that the federal district court should quickly overturn the amendment (what is meant by "quick action"); and the news writer implies that Proposition 8 is "anti-gay," which it is not.

Here is yet another deception from the same news article:

"We are extremely pleased Gov. Schwarzenegger does not dispute the unconstitutionality of Proposition 8 and agrees that swift action is needed to ensure that every person is treated equally under the law,” said Chad Griffin, president of a group formed to back the federal challenge. (LA Times)

The idea that Proposition 8 has anything to do with a violation of equal protection stretches and bends the US Constituition's 14th Amendment into a misapplied pretzel. The fact remains that natural marriage does not exclude anyone under the law. Gay activists would wish us to perceive inequity when, in fact, there is none in marriage law.

This flaunting of the rule of law, with its attendant deceits, is at the core of the same sex marriage debate. Don't be fooled by these kinds of news stories with their heavily propogandized language.

Obama on the Gay Hit List
Here is one last set of stories about gay activists.

This first article talks about gay activists who got angry with Obama for dropping his campaign promise to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in preparation for gays to neuter the institution of marriage.

The letter Monday from Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese included a detailed critique of the administration's filing. "This brief would not have seen the light of day if someone in your administration who truly recognized our humanity and equality had weighed in with you," he wrote.

A Justice Department spokeswoman said in a statement that the department was following routine in the filing, and wasn't making a policy statement. "As it generally does with existing statutes, the Justice Department is defending the law on the books in court," said Tracy Schmaler. "Until Congress passes legislation repealing the law, the administration will continue to defend the statute when it is challenged in the justice system." (Wall Street Journal)

In effect, the Human Rights Campaign was angry at Obama for doing his job as president of the United States - enforcing the law. What did the HRC want or expect? Implied here is that President Obama shouldn't enforce the law, or at least this particular law. Considering Obama, and politicians in general, who ignore laws at their own convenience, the Justice Department filing to uphold the law is surprising.

In an attempt to reconcile with his beloved homosexual constituents, Obama offered this appeasement:

Reporting from San Francisco and Los Angeles -- Faced with growing anger among gay and lesbian supporters, President Obama is expected tonight to extend healthcare and other benefits to the same-sex partners of federal employees. (LA Times)

In effect, caving in to political correctness pressure from the left, Obama tried to silence the loud and angry gay activists. Yet, the gay activists are now on the warpath, not accepting the tribute.

[Charles] Moran said Obama has had multiple opportunities to fulfill his promises to the gay and lesbian community -- including by repealing the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy and standing against the Justice Department motion filed last week in support of the Defense of Marriage Act.

"Here we are, several months after he's been inaugurated, and we've gotten basically nothing. So it is too little, too late," Moran said. (CNN)

Don't think for a minute that Obama has taken the high ground and showed a modicum of morality against gay activists' pursuit of protected class status. I am certain he will cave in once this vocal minority finishes terrorizing the Washington elite.

Moral Failing and Political Suicide
Senator John Ensign from Nevada admitted this past week that he'd had an affair with a campaign staffer.

The Nevada Republican admitted in Las Vegas Tuesday that he had “violated the vows” of marriage by having an affair with a staffer. (Politico)

As a consequence, Ensign lost his politcal clout and resigned from his position as chair of the Republican Policy Committee. (Breitbart)

What is it with politicians and immorality? This just verifies the addage "power corrupts." How are we, as citizens of the United States, to keep our representatives in political check when they have absolutely no self control over their personal lives?

Biden's Bald-Faced Truth
Vice President Joe Biden has gained quite the reputation for political blunders. I find it refreshing when he actually tells the truth, no matter how idiotic is sounds.

"No one realized how bad the economy was. The projections, in fact, turned out to be worse. But we took the mainstream model as to what we thought -- and everyone else thought -- the unemployment rate would be."

"Everyone guessed wrong at the time the estimate was made about what the state of the economy was at the moment this was passed." (Time Magazine)

Well, there were a few folks who knew the economy was bad, and there were a few folks who knew passing the spending package ("stimulus") was a bad idea. I refuse to gloat about that, however.

Economic Good News
The International Monetary Fund, projects that the US economy can expect a gradual recovery by next year. (Daily Telegraph)

I've never trusted the IMF before, but having an independent and outside source indicate a brighter future for the US economy is heartening.