Wulfie's Wurld

CaliforniansSo as not to be outdone by all the redneck, hillbilly, and Texan jokes, you know you're from California if:1. Your coworker has 8 body piercing and none are visible.2. You make over $300,000 and still can't afford a house.3. You take a bus and are shocked at two people carrying on a conversation in English.4. Your child's 3rd-grade teacher has purple hair, a nose ring, and is named Flower.5. You can't remember . . is pot illegal?6. You've been to a baby shower that has two mothers and a sperm donor.7. You have a very strong opinion about where your coffee beans are grown, and you can taste the difference between Sumatran and Ethiopian..8. You can't remember . . . is pot illegal?9. A really great parking space can totally move you to tears.10. Gas costs $1.00 per gallon more than anywhere
else in the U.S.

11. Unlike back home, the guy at 8:30 am at Starbucks wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses who looks like George Clooney really IS George Clooney.

12. Your car insurance costs as much as your house payment.

13. You can't remember . . .is pot illegal?

14. It's barely sprinkling rain and there's a report on every news station: "STORM WATCH."

15. You pass an elementary school playground and the children are all busy with their cells or pagers.

16. It's barely sprinkling rain outside, so you leave for work an hour early to avoid all the weather-related accidents.

17. HEY!!!! Is pot illegal????

18. Both you AND your dog have therapists.

19. The Terminator is your governor.

20. If you drive illegally, they take your driver's license. If you're here illegally, they want to give you one.

Commentary: The Religion of Politics

Emory University did an interesting study just prior to the 2004 elections, using both Democrat and Republican subjects. Each was presented with information that threatened their preferred candidate. Their brains were monitored as well as their responses. Anyone want to venture what they think happened? Did the subjects, perhaps, evaluate the information presented in a logical way, weighing the pros and the cons, and come to an informed decision based upon the facts? It seems that for those subjects who were very partisan in their beliefs, that did not happen. In fact, the part of the brain that deals in logic and higher functions did not light up at all. It didn't matter whether they were Democrats or Republicans.

Are we surprised?

Generally, the following scenario took place:
1. When presented with information that was contrary to their preferred candidate, the area dealing with negative emotions fired.
2. They came to a biased conclusion by ignoring the information.
3. They then got a pleasure spike identical that of an addict getting a fix.

What that means is that people in partisan politics are not interested in what's good for the country. They're trying to score cheap highs, undetectable by any drug tests. And it's happening on both sides of the aisle. It's kind of like this:

Demmie: "Neocons suck because of a, b, and c."
Pubbie: "Libs suck because of x, y, and z."
Demmie: "Oh yeah? Well, your mother wears combat boots."
Pubbie: "And your father smells of elderberries."
. . . and both walk away, having gotten their fix, and convinced more than ever that they are right and the other side is wrong.

Way to run a country, guys.

I've seen the same thing happen in a room where two different religions fling Bible texts at one another. There's this constant ebb and flow of disgust and pleasure. Neither side gives any ground, and both are convinced the other group is on an express train the Hell. What's funny is that both sides think they're Christians.

There's a reason for the separation of Church and State. Now let's see if we can take the religion out of politics.