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friends said, in years past fools often did not get heard too much, and for publishing, there was often peer review. Today, anyone can be heard, and often the fools have risen to the top. Many politicians today would have been comedy ... but today, they often take center stage with the fools that support them. I find it all rather chilling.

he bemoaned the age of specialization.

Boy, did he nail it!

When I first started in IT, in the 80's, I quickly realized how many jobs my job was eliminating. After a while, I figured this career would last my lifetime. Welcome to 2014. The entire job scene has changed in IT where they are mainly looking for specialist(engineers, architects, project managers,etc) on contract assignment. Over the years, many technical advantages have eliminated a lot of the "old" IT jobs(operator, managers, administrators, desktop support). The only jobs left are the specialists, a few mid range jobs, and the putz jobs (answering phones for the help desk). Anyone caught in the middle were screwed. And that's where I'm, at today. Unemployed, and can't wait for retirement age. It's a total rat race in IT out there(shortage of qualified people, too many unemployed, and extremely competitive). I can't wait until I no longer have to deal with getting a job in IT at this age.

At the current rate of technological advancements, I see, in the near future. where IT jobs will be a small percentage of the population.

Technology is taking over in leaps and bounds.

Hint: My prediction? Desktop jobs are the next to go and will soon be a thing of the past.

infuriating, blasphemous, slave culture supportive, audio torturing, vote wasting, carotid artery throbbing reason I sometimes stare at my monitor screen desperately fighting to retain a half century's worth of toilet training is; the stupid in intentional.

A deliberate choice by either the victims of the stupid or their handlers.

rather than the actual handlers.

it took me the longest time to see it because I never would have believed people could be that stupid.

And then they nominated George W. Bush.

I think after Dimson was selected, stupid became really popular among the reich wing. They all wanted to emulate the Moron in Chief.

... and then realize half the country is more stupid. Its pretty easy to propagandize these people with religion, fear-mongering, bigotry, lies, etc.

I'm leaning towards 2/3s. In case you haven't noticed there is stoopud on both sides of the aisle.

Mythology trumps facts every time.

Coming here to read helps some.
The ignorance of science by those who have some sort of scientific education bewilders me the most. How did they get through school or how have they forgotten it all?

It is a cottage industry that pays very well catering to the fringe. It has been around a long time. Just look what happened to Gallieo.
The oil and gas industry also the know consequences of global warming but like the tobacco companies, they put profits over the health of people.

I found this quote during the bush war years and it is so true

"Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities"
Voltaire

Bachmann, Cruz & Palin. Now profit trumps everything. The media amplify the fools' voices & now every dumbshit in America thinks their views are valid.

I just hope that we don't wake up the day after the elections in November and find that we have "more" of these stupid people elected to any office, from state to national, that will now be trying their best to "force" all the insane things they believe on the entire population of this country.

I just spent a week with teabagging moron relatives. I refuse to discuss anything involving facts with them. If I do, I'll give them an honest, factual answer, and they'll tell me I'm wrong, and reply with a stupid Faux News sound bite. The stoopid sprains the brain..

And next week, I get to travel to visit more relatives in the cradle of stupidity.

... with my teabagger brother. We love each other so much that we now refuse to discuss politics and get into those drawn-out hurtful arguments. Of course, the passing of our Mother and our older brother, gave us a deep understanding to that old adage "Life is too short." because WE are next.

The Plutocrats continue to ravish our planet's labor and resources.

It happens every week: a stupid comment is uttered on a Sunday morning talk show; it becomes "news" leading to a week of "debate" in the media; then it's repeated the following Sunday.

The Oligarchs never had it so good.

the structure of the US right wing since the late 70s:

the fundies hate science because they're a lot like methheads (if methheads only interacted with one another and didn't get out in the world)--but they're theologically bankrupt (i.e., they're creationists but not flat-Earthers) BUT megachurches are basically lifestyle clubs and they're the biggest buyers of CS Lewis (wonder if they even read 'im)
the anarcho-capitalists LOVE science, except for all the global-warming and nature-conservation stuff: they're rigorous social Darwinists and hate any theology (warping their sense of history very badly--they're still operating off an 1890s view of the world where they're all Galileans and captains of industry against the teeming horde) BUT the whole movement was founded by 1) SF writers with no business or combat experience, 2) megacorp conglomerates (Hunts, Scaifes, Kochs), and 3) Dominionist preachers
the corpos love science when it's profitable, but science also tells them that pollution and CO2 are bad for everyone; they create the AnCaps' "opinion leaders" like Penn & Teller; the corpos also have a nucleus of technocrats ("humanist" and antihumanist simultaneously!) who see themselves as Wells's "Samurai" guiding the "redundant" herd

these groups are all characterized by having their cake and eating it too, IOW

A role model for sure.

thanks.

... "climate change (science) is a hoax," just tell them you think religion is a hoax.

from the wishes, beliefs and observations of a set of people, we have a corporate 'culture' that does nothing for people, but does extract the maximum amount of money from them while distracting them with nonsense. It seems to work -- for the corps. Not so well for us poor bastards who have to live with it.

Not sure who first said this. Box office receipts are reported as news at least weekly; literary prizes are all but ignored.

The search for intelligent life. That was a decade ago. The levels of idiocy have only increased exponentially since that time.

The stupid you will have with you always.

The important thing is how we react to the stupid.
We jump up and do a little self righteous dance on their head...call them stupid and ridicule them.
And as is the case with many people, attention even if it is negative satisfies them...and so they learn they can push our buttons be saying and believing things that dispute every thing we hold dear in our heads.
And so they keep us occupied with it...

The solution?...don't react to it emotionaly...say "fine if that is what you want to believe but the facts show a different picture"....instead of "That's stupid and how can you believe that kind of stupid nonsense, there is no evidence for that, nada, zip", (You know the routine)

I suspect that the left needs a little Gandhi training...we seem to have forgotten a lot that the past has taught us.