Journal of Post-Ralphaelite Thought

I confess, I'm ready to be done with the 2012 election. I'd feel this way regardless of the outcome. Unfortunately, conservatives can't quite let go. The recriminations and finger-pointing are in full swing - amusing but eventually tiresome. Latest members of the Sore Loser Club are restauranteurs John Schnatter, CEO of Papa John's Pizza, and Zane Tankel, who owns 40 or so Applebee's Restaurants in the metro New York City area. Both are incensed that Mitt Romney's loss means ObamaCare is no longer going to be dismantled. Tankel has announced he'll start firing employees and stop building restaurants. Of course, he's a franchisee, so it remains to be seen if parent company Applebee's will fill the gap with other franchise holders. Applebee's International president, Mike Archer, said Tankel's remarks, "were not the views or opinions of either Applebee's or other franchisees, although we respect his right to speak freely as an ...

Well, I certainly can't fault him for preparing this in the first place. Leaving it where someone can use it to ridicule and generally add insult to injury - now that's a different matter. I am, of course, referring to the premature (by several lifetimes) launch of Team Romney's Transition Website, screen-captured in all its glory by Taegan Goddard and shared on his Political Wire website. See more pages on Political Wire , including a jobs page (you too can join Team Romney!), and Mitt's plans for his inauguration. Taegan Goddard says, "The site was quickly taken down but I saved screenshots ."   I can't thank Taegan enough, no to mention the low level web tech who forgot to take down the site right after Mitt conceded. As a web pro, I don't fault him for creating a site - things like this don't happen overnight. What I do object to is the pompous, arrogant tone, which screams, "You people have had your fun - the grownups are here...

Tired of hearing relatives and old high school acquaintances that tracked you down now bitching, pissing and moaning on Facebook about the outcome this week's election? Things like " We're doomed," and " R.I.P. America, you just died," and " Another 4 years of O and the 1st Hoe with her big Ass." I don't know about you, but I'm freaking sick of it. However good Unfriending your cousin's father-in-law in a fit of righteous indignation may feel right now, it could make for awkward conversation at the next family reunion after memories of the election fade away. Take heart - there's another way to keep from having to listen to Uncle Fred's FoxNews-fueled rants on Facebook.  Just Unsubscribe. The advantage of Unsubscribing vs. Unfriending is that he'll never know you've chosen to silence him. He'll still see your posts and be able to comment, but you'll never see another of his postings about Obama's Ke...

Back when I was in college, a couple of my hippie friends decided they'd vote in the Republican primary, with the intention of boosting the prospects of the Republican candidate they felt would be least electable in the general election. They pulled the lever for former California governor Ronald Reagan. Whoops. In the 2000 election, a number of "progressive" voters (my dear wife among them) turned up their collective noses at Al Gore and voted for Ralph Nader. Enough of them did in Florida to usher in 8 years of George W Bush. Whoops. Despite years of voting primarily for Democrats (with a few notable exceptions ) I found Gary Johnson, Libertarian presidential candidate intriguing - fiscal conservative, socially progressive, and to all appearances, not a bad sort. I reasoned that since Obama had a snowball's chance in hell of carrying Texas, it didn't really matter if I abandoned him to vote for Johnson. Besides, I found myself somewhat incensed at seve...

I went to a Libertarian gathering the other day (it was in the neighborhood). The Libertarian crowd talks a good game. They seem to be, for the most part, fairly intelligent people,committed to their cause. While I don't always agree with them (and on quite a few issues I *do* agree with them), they make interesting arguments for their side. That being said, I've come to realize they are as full of hokum as the political types for whom they display their sneering superiority. They make much of their supposed political purity, espousing opinions that fall outside the mainstream on social and personal freedom issues, as well as small (and no) government stances on other issues. The truth of the matter - other than the Republican-friendly small government stuff, the rest appears to be all window dressing. During the 2010 election, Tea Party Libertarian, Rand " yes my dad's name is Ron " Paul, stated on his website in 2009 that " life begins at concepti...