tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-118653632012-05-19T23:09:41.549-04:00ContratimesConfronting the Zeitgeist one day at a timeBill Gnadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18343608982238562089noreply@blogger.comBlogger973125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11865363.post-43049499136792769842012-05-16T11:34:00.002-04:002012-05-17T10:09:17.222-04:00Marriage According To The White House's Favorite Sitcom
It is a curious thing indeed. On "Meet the Press", Vice President Joe Biden said the following:
Look -- I just think -- that -- the good news is that as more and more Americans become to understand what this is all about is a simple proposition. Who do you love? Who do you love? And will you be loyal to the person you love? And that's what people are finding out is what -- what all Bill Gnadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18343608982238562089noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11865363.post-72862099727094747942012-04-30T10:24:00.001-04:002012-04-30T10:24:31.230-04:00Do You Trust This?An interesting article about the neurobiology of trust.
Bill Gnadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18343608982238562089noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11865363.post-91333225053146606832012-04-27T08:30:00.002-04:002012-04-27T08:36:58.416-04:00Open Source
QUESTION of the DAY: What do you say to that man who boasts of rejecting all orthodoxies after he rebukes you for asking the wrong kind of question?
(Perhaps that's the wrong question to ask.)
__________________
Is orthodoxy possible anymore? Does it matter? Or is even heterodoxy a form of orthodoxy? Isn't it evident: that the new orthodoxy is to be heterodox?
I attended a lecture Bill Gnadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18343608982238562089noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11865363.post-8516642479737257412012-04-26T11:45:00.001-04:002012-04-26T16:01:55.824-04:00The Greatest Rock Song Of All Time: A Replay from 2006[What follows is the culmination of a conversation that started here. Also, I notice quite a few internet searches for "analyzing [insert title of song discussed below]" leading people here. That is wonderful. However, I hope that readers intend on doing their own analysis, and do not intend to lift my words for use in some term paper.]
It is finally time for me to fulfill a promise. Today I Bill Gnadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18343608982238562089noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11865363.post-76072010411955953072012-04-11T10:57:00.000-04:002012-04-11T10:57:45.593-04:00A New Slogan: "You MUST Conclude That ... !"It's too easy, I know, but I can't resist.
I was passing through a discussion on Moveon.org's website; the topic was the new slogan Move.on created for Fox News. The slogan is beside the point, largely because it is lame, bereft of anything interesting. What did interest me was something in the comments thread I fell on as I rushed through:
Liberal_Goof_Ball: "When Bush was president and Bill Gnadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18343608982238562089noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11865363.post-66902907198390751302012-04-04T09:35:00.000-04:002012-04-04T09:37:23.094-04:00The Executive EqualizerMoments ago I wrote this comment in an online discussion forum. Someone had asserted that Barack Obama hates America and wants to destroy it. Here's my reply:
I am not sure Mr. Obama wants to destroy this nation because he hates it. I think he wants to destroy what makes America unique because he is a radical egalitarian: he believes no nation should shine brighter than any other. He is Bill Gnadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18343608982238562089noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11865363.post-90518670155024672362012-02-17T18:55:00.003-05:002012-02-17T22:28:34.020-05:00Chris Christie Stops Homophobia In Its Tracks
Governor Chris Christie has vetoed the gay marriage bill in New Jersey. What does that say, really, about his character? Does it say anything?
Here's one way to interpret the news:
I recently read an online article written by someone who self-defines as homosexual. I say self-define because, well, if gender is a social construct -- as we are so often told -- it follows that homosexuality isBill Gnadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18343608982238562089noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11865363.post-79900914762328387602012-02-03T12:16:00.001-05:002012-02-03T12:16:17.514-05:00It IS Interesting, Isn't It?
It is one of life's greatest puzzles how often in a day a man can be condemned for being 'judgmental.'
Bill Gnadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18343608982238562089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11865363.post-60516831450318582492012-02-01T12:48:00.000-05:002012-02-12T13:45:39.893-05:00Occupy Yourselves
Thus saith the Sage:
Alas, how desperate we've become when we hold out our hands begging the rich to deliver us. How sad it is that we constantly define ourselves by what others have that we do not have. In this we've been reduced to crass consumers, crass materialists: "We want to consume as much as they consume! We want to consume as much political power as they consume! It's not fair! Bill Gnadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18343608982238562089noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11865363.post-32394895287809959932011-10-08T10:52:00.003-04:002011-10-08T10:52:40.038-04:00Fact of Life, #2Envy is the broadest vice. And it crushes.Bill Gnadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18343608982238562089noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11865363.post-72686831395957612722011-10-08T10:51:00.002-04:002011-10-08T10:51:53.121-04:00Fact of Life, #1There is always a top 1%.Bill Gnadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18343608982238562089noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11865363.post-22553220566526245472011-10-07T18:01:00.003-04:002011-10-07T18:01:56.149-04:00So THAT'S What They've Been Chanting!I've been hearing it wrong all this time: It's "Descent is patriotic!" Now I get it.Bill Gnadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18343608982238562089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11865363.post-17233550177110707172011-10-07T00:25:00.000-04:002011-10-07T09:18:14.011-04:00From The "Battlefield""I'll hold up my anti-corporation, anti-capitalism, anti-consumption Occupy Wall Street protest sign as soon as I finish downloading this pirated new release to my iPhone, rolling up my Patagonia bag, airing out my Marmot tent, eating my free -- Hey, who the hell bought this?! -- Sal's Pizza, drinking this -- also free! -- Venti Cafe Misto, and ... wait! Look over there! Is that Fox News?! Quick!Bill Gnadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18343608982238562089noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11865363.post-77990234957016440152011-10-05T23:21:00.000-04:002011-10-05T23:21:27.748-04:00One Small Problem With Herman CainI have to say that every time I look at Herman Cain's tax plan when I'm standing on my head -- using my feet, of course -- I see 666. (Perhaps his handlers might consider changing 9-9-9 to 8-9-10. Perhaps.)Bill Gnadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18343608982238562089noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11865363.post-77298364242141145462011-09-19T23:53:00.002-04:002011-09-19T23:53:28.499-04:00I thought you should know...... that I have to take this blog offline for a while.Bill Gnadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18343608982238562089noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11865363.post-68680479497492873692011-09-19T09:15:00.003-04:002011-09-19T09:18:12.133-04:00Learning To Let Things Slide1. Remember when "they" promised there was no such thing as a slippery slope? Yeah, they were lying. Regardless, I am resolving, albeit slowly, to let things slide.
2. While using Facebook, I have contended with the nearly constant temptation to challenge every socio-political inanity posted there. However, I am, albeit slowly, resolving to let things slide.
3. While listening to Mr. Barack Bill Gnadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18343608982238562089noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11865363.post-50746496406599058502011-09-18T15:58:00.000-04:002012-02-12T13:45:09.252-05:00On The Nature Of Debates: A Satirical Look
What IS a debate? Aren't debates generally between people who have disagreements of note?
Here's my partly facetious take on the recent Republican debates; my thoughts apply to ANY debate held between candidates vying for either Republican or Democratic nominations.
__________________
MODERATOR: Who here believes in A?
MICHELLE BACHMANN: I believe in A, but my opponents only believe Bill Gnadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18343608982238562089noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11865363.post-69688466295648302702011-09-04T17:14:00.001-04:002011-09-04T17:14:52.797-04:00Visiting My Own HouseI stopped in at Contratimes today almost out of nostalgia. I haven't been thoughtfully active here in so long, this blog no longer feels like it's mine. Perhaps it isn't; perhaps I shall find it to be the work of some alter ego. But I doubt it.
Somewhat without meaning to, I read through my old essay regarding NPR's firing of Juan Williams, and I must say it is really quite good. Did I really Bill Gnadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18343608982238562089noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11865363.post-4030368897345087382011-08-24T12:58:00.002-04:002011-08-24T12:58:44.002-04:00A Moment NoticedPersonally, I find it all rather astonishing. Need I say more?Bill Gnadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18343608982238562089noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11865363.post-32616578638619613312011-07-13T09:09:00.007-04:002011-07-13T09:18:20.445-04:00"OVER 1/3 OF WISCONSIN VOTERS PREFER FAKE DEMOCRATS TO REAL ONES"Contratimes readers should read this AP dispatch regarding the Democratic primary election in Wisconsin. It is quite interesting. The primary sets the stage for the upcoming "recall" election in August. The recall is essentially a protest and reactionary vote to Gov. Scott Walker's actions to limit certain aspects of public-sector union bargaining options (one can't really call them "rights", as Bill Gnadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18343608982238562089noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11865363.post-75399676029080597442011-07-06T10:28:00.004-04:002011-07-08T19:59:45.621-04:00Still Weeping, Weeping StillSilence is a good thing.
On the last day of March, while enjoying a moment of sheer exhilaration skiing in Utah's Wasatch Range, I broke my leg and badly sprained my ankle. My ankle remains swollen; the bone is repaired -- mostly -- but ice is still part of my life.
On April 13, exactly two weeks after my skiing accident, my sister-in-law and niece were killed in an early morning fire at their Bill Gnadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18343608982238562089noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11865363.post-52146471062760082722011-05-20T22:01:00.000-04:002011-05-22T11:08:18.366-04:00Sign Of The Times?I took this photo this afternoon and I have to say my feelings about it are decidedly mixed.
I am not blind to the humor or the irony: I can see that, if May 21, 2011 is indeed "Judgment Day," then it follows -- at least I think it follows -- that the Fire Danger Index would be considerably higher than a mere 2. I also get that if there is a Rapture tomorrow -- something far different than the Bill Gnadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18343608982238562089noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11865363.post-6193686729676707202011-04-28T23:08:00.000-04:002011-04-28T23:08:56.976-04:00It's Only ProperSetting aside all cultural differences while invoking the highest orders of decorum, propriety, punctiliousness and conviviality; and without equivocation or ambiguity, hesitancy or diffidence, I declaim -- with indefatigable exactitude -- that I am royally disinterested.
©2011/William GnadeBill Gnadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18343608982238562089noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11865363.post-68045284900311914182011-03-22T12:16:00.001-04:002011-03-22T12:17:01.884-04:00My Caption EntryYesterday talk-radio host Laura Ingraham asked listeners to go to her Facebook page and write a caption for a photo of Barack Obama in Brazil; it was a rather small and silly contest. The photo, and my caption submission, are posted below. Ms. Ingraham read the winners on her radio program moments ago; they were lame. Obviously I did not win.
Rio De Janeiro, BRAZIL -- Responding to criticism Bill Gnadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18343608982238562089noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11865363.post-9035640963136584612011-03-21T09:46:00.001-04:002011-03-21T09:47:29.722-04:00I'm Just Dis-Putin'Regarding the UN resolution to establish a no-fly zone over Libya, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said "It allows everything. It resembles mediaeval calls for crusades." REALLY, Mr. Putin? Didn't the Arab League petition the UN for such a no-fly zone?
©2011/Contratimes. All Rights Reserved. Bill Gnadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18343608982238562089noreply@blogger.com0