Osler's Razor

Is it just me, or do others find Western Kentucky's Big Red mascot incredibly unstable? That monstrosity confuses me as much as Akron's Zippy. What is a Zip? And why is Charlie Frye such a spare?

These things make my soul hurt.
 

OK, I guesss this means I should stop chewing my fingernails and convert to Catholicism when I visit my ancestral home of Maryland.

But how exactly does the government tax progressives? Why just the progressives? Shouldn't the radicals and conservatives be taxed too?
 

Big Red has a felony record as long as your arm. There is no way he should be allowed around children.
 

I thought that was Stephen Baker.
 

It's funny how certain parties have co-opted good words like "liberal" and "progressive" to make them derogatory somehow. That's the beauty of the Big Lie -- you keep saying it and saying it and some people will eventually believe ANYTHING.

And is it just me, but is your e-mail box filled more than usual with barely disguised hate e-mails about Obama and Democrats these days? There's some nasty stuff out there.

Tom
 

The term "socialism" means something, and that something is not minor adjustments in tax policy, any more than the Bush tax cuts for the rich created "serfdom." There is one guy on the radio who even says that not continuing these Bush tax cuts for the rich will make us "Marxist."
 

"Liberal" and "progressive" didn't have a negative connotation until the left started calling themselves those things. I can't help it if they have bad ideas that have tainted those words in the minds of Americans.

If you wanted to fix the problem, Democrats could call themselves all kinds of things that are already negative to avoid damaging the good name of other words. For instance, they could just call themselves, "wrongists" or "fantasy landers" or "crazies." Or they could just go with "Socialists" or "Marxists." That would work.
 

"For instance, they could just call themselves, "wrongists" or "fantasy landers" or "crazies." Or they could just go with "Socialists" or "Marxists." That would work."

I want to be mad, but man, this is really funny. As a "wrongist" - I hate how much I enjoy rrl's posts.
 

No matter what you call it, I think that once Obama finishes that internship, he'll be ready to be president.

Bush never did figure out the "collate" function of the printer, I hear.
 

Ugh, I want the election results so I can harass Carson.
I'm waiting on it because I don't want to be like the newspaper that tried to predict the election decades ago.
The entire time Obama has been in the running, I've had a line from 2pac's "Changes" going through my head. I'm hoping we've progressed enough to prove that certain lyric out-dated.
 

Osler,

Did you remove me from your blogroll because my blog was too controversial?

I certainly hope my blogging is stirring up some dust.

Sincerely,
Clark
 

Huh... I'm not sure why I did, unless it was because it moved or something.

Do you want me to put it back on?
 

I would not mind if you did.
 

Aye, but will you link to me?
 

I think it's just endemic to American political discourse that no one knows what "socialism" means anymore. I mean, we're living in the world where most academics with even a hint of socialist leanings had to hide it for fear of being tossed out by the lingering vestiges of that Real American Hero Joe McCarthy. In law and philosophy, being labeled as a "Marxist" is still considered pejorative (though I take it as a badge of honor).

How many law professors do you know that will cop to being a sympathizer of the CLS movement? Even in the philosophy area, lots of Continental philosophers find themselves ostracized in the US. In Texas, we have lots of big-name universities, but only one (Rice) has a program that offers a degree with a specialization in Continental philosophy because of the stigma.

So it doesn't surprise me when people can't get the definitions of socialism, communism, Marxism, collectivism, etc. correct. Hell, I saw Brian Moore, the SPUSA candidate, on the Colbert Report a few nights ago, and he looked like an idiot trying to explain the tenets of socialism. He got flustered trying to explain that by and large, Obama is not a socialist. He supports more socially-aware policies, which is about as good as we're going to get here, but no one--except, you know, me-- has suggested that we do something truly radical like nationalize certain industries. Except given the sheer ineptitude of the US government right now, I'm not sure that's a good idea.

I've just resigned myself to the idea that Marx's ideas are going to be associated with totalitarianism and Soviet communism, despite the fact that they're available for free online.
 

I am not the WKU Hilltopper, though it is one of the few funny pictures I beat Osler to. I would like to moonlight as the Hokie Bird, though.

Maryland has a Catholic name because it was a Catholic colony. It was also the first colony to grant religious freedom. Not because of any great tolerance, but because not enough Catholics were willing to move to Maryland. That's us Catholics, ever the pragmatists.
 

Yes, I will link to you in kind.
 

Done!