Response to NPR article on CaveBruce:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/storyComments.php?storyId=135212785&pageNum=1

Brian L (TheReasonOfAge) wrote:
1. This is a news BLOG, not a news story. So uptight prigs can drop the inane funding snarks. You're probably not members anyway. Stop mooching off OUR NPR. :P

2. "When you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras." The simplest, most mundane explanation is that CaveBruce was gay. Gay and transgender happens in nature. And it happens far too often to be some horrible mutation or handicap.

3. Reality apologizes for having a liberal bias. Perhaps if the modern neanderthals here bothered to pay attention in science class, this wouldn't be such a challenging concept for them. Ancient fairy tales are NOT your best source for science.

4. Gayness is a positive adaptation in humans. Gay people generally don't have kids. So they don't bring as much 'baggage' to the clan as a breeder. They are able-bodied workers or hunters who are not adding to the child-care and mouths-to-feed burden of the clan. That's a big win, especially when times are tight. The % of gay people seems to be in the approximately 6-8% globally, the 'sweet spot' survival-wise. Gays are the MSG of society.

5. This was a loving, tender act by his clan. This proves that cavemen 4500+ years ago were more enlightened and tolerant than some people are today.

(I would have liked to have been more expansive, but the comments are limited to 1250 characters)

Just a brief note on today's events. We could not have been prouder as we watched our country inaugurate a president that represents a return to authentic American values. A man that understands that character, magnanimity and cooperation far outstrip the results of petty, selfish and narrow interests. And a leader that earnestly wants for everyone to benefit, not just his people, not just his supporters, not just his agenda.

The economic forecast is nothing short of daunting (Thanks W! Thanks GOP!). Yet, I nurture a tiny, secret hope that we, as a nation, will lend our collective might to fixing things that have too long gone unattended. I believe that if we act with harmony, speed and conviction, we can recover in many months, instead of several years.

We are on the threshold of gaining a new maturity as a people. But we must galvanize that maturity with courageous action, fortitude and sacrifice.

We have passed a proud milestone in the development of our nation. We have elected a black president. The vast majority of us didn't elect him because he was black. We elected him because we saw him as the most fit to lead us of the two major-party candidates. We elected him because of what we believe he can do for us, not because he is black. And despite shameless and cowardly pandering to peoples' worst fears and prejudices, the majority stood firm. The center held. America, my hat is off to you. The achievement is not one for Obama. It is not an achievement for blacks. It isn't even an achievement for Democrats. It is an achievement of our nation. It was our nation's enlightenment and courage triumphing over ignorance and fear.

Obama is roundly viewed as intelligent, articulate, eloquent, poised and charismatic. He is like water to the desert. After 8 years of buffoonery, bumbling and bungling, we are hungry for someone that reflects our better nature. We crave someone that will represent America with distinction, someone that can restore the world's trust in our country. He is the right man for this time. We have chosen well.

Our trials will be many. And very tough times loom on the horizon. We are about to renew our commitments to neighborhood and community in a trial by fire. But we can take comfort in having demonstrated a wisdom that many countries never find. And I believe that Obama will coach us, unite us and lead us to a brighter future.

I've been watching the public dismemberment of Barack Obama by Hillary Clinton. It's like an opening kill on CSI. She goes about her grisly business with all of the aplomb and class of an old-world butcher. I envision her with flecks of blood and bits of sinew splattering about as she hacks away at Barack, mindlessly focused on separating bone from flesh in a macabre duel with her own ambition. If, god forbid, Hillary should wrest the nomination from Barack, then it would almost assure the unthinkable, a Republican victory in the fall. This would represent an abject failure that even Kerry could ridicule. The Democrats would have succeeded in blowing a gift hand-delivered with engraved calligraphy by Dubya himself. On the right, this would be because of the wafting tones of deceit and gutless greed that Hillary seems to exude from her very pores. And, ironically, downscale Republicans find the smell of deceit and greed repugnant despite rich Republicans apparently bathing in it like it was Chanel No. 5. What would make it a certainty is that the droves of newly-registered, energized and hopeful Democrats would be left holding Hillary's bag, as it were. And, that is a fate no one should endure. I, for one, would have to consider voting for McCain before I would Clinton. And I would have thought that an impossibility a few months ago.

Welcome to my blog. I intend it to be a sparingly edited stroll through the seething morass that is my mind.

A little about me, just for voice and context. I'm a 44 year old father of what will soon be six children. A good midwestern boy, raised in a lower-middle class family. I had a mother of great love, and a father of minimal involvement. He lived with us and was married to my mom and all, but seemed to prefer spending his time away from the family. And, judging from the experiences we shared with him, it was probably for the best for all of us. My mother was a deeply kind and loving woman thrust into situations that could only reliably produce prematurely gray hair, a great childhood and laughter. My older brother and younger sister were my childhood companions, tormentors and nemeses. Okay, enough about me.

For tonight's topic, I wanted to address some basic politics. First, let me announce my utter disgust with the two party system. This is an abomination and affront to democracy. Even Thomas Jefferson spoke out against it. Only having 2 viable parties makes all political questions a True/False exam. It installs a steering wheel that can only turn left or right. But you have to wait 2-4 years for your next chance to turn the wheel again. It seems to primarily emphasize shallow thinking and knee-jerk reactions. As a consequence to this entrenched plague on democracy, politicos are indoctrinated to revile their opposing partisans. And, in the case of Republicans, apparently trained to practice genocidal politics, constantly seeking to utterly eliminate or neutralize all opposition without regard to law, ethics, moderation, free speech, the constitution, the vast middle of the road citizenry or intellectual balance.

This is the same sort of ideological blindness that makes some people think that their personal favorite -ism has all of the answers. If you think that an ideology or political party has all of the answers, then you're already waltzing down the road of delusion. If Human Nature or The World followed an ideology, we'd all be abundantly aware of it by now. To be sure, every political party has some cogent ideas. Even a broken watch is right twice a day. But don't mistake the "platform" of your party of choice for anything other than a marketing strategy intended to optimize their performance at the polls. I'm sure it's quite fashionable to pronounce themes and to try to give the illusion of ideological rigor to these rafts of half-baked ideas. We were fond of assigning themes to our parties in college, but they nearly all were indistinguishable from one another after the first 15 minutes. And my experience has been that whatever window dressing these parties wish to put up, the sausage gets made the same way as last time.

The audacity with which the two major parties have colluded to silence and bar additional parties is breath-taking. Personally, I'd like to see a RICO suit brought against them. But that won't happen until Robot War v2.7 in 2115. Suffice it to say that if you think that any slice of the population has all of the answers, you've sniffed too many of your own farts.

Go in peace,
Brian