CARNIVAL OF THE INSANITIES
Time for the weekly insanity update, where the insane, the bizarre, the ridiculous, and the completely absurd are highlighted for all to see! This has been a week of rare idiocy (as always!). So, if you want to remain sane, the best thing is to poke some fun at the more egregious absurdities.

DURING MY BLOGGING HIATUS, I WILL CONTINUE TO POST THE CARNIVAL EVERY SUNDAY! So keep those entries coming in, and try to get them to me by Saturday. If you have questions, go here before submitting an entry. You can also submit an entry via Blog Carnival.

Try to make it funny, ironic, or clearly insane, people...I get a lot of "self-help" stuff that doesn't seem particularly funny or even ironic to me--and, if it doesn't seem that way to me, then its likely it won't be included-- unless it just happens to fit in with one of the COTI themes for the week.

Also, a link back to the Carnival if your submitted post is included would be appreciated...and some extremely harsh penalties await those who do not comply with this simple and reasonable request!

REMEMBER, THERE ARE SO MANY INSANITIES AND SO LITTLE TIME!!!

1. You don't see this kind of sportsmanship much anymore....certainly not in the game of politics!

2. Presenting the mascot of Jihad A&M (Assassination & Martyrdom?) University...and the Palestinian Police ForceFarce.

3. There are all sorts of terrorist ties....but they don't like the Burberry plaid ones. They prefer terrorist chic or young terrorist chic.

4. Now here's an unusual dilemma you don't see very often. I shall go pop a few of these pills instead of commenting and let the multiculti, PC types figure it out.

5. Pacifascists among us. Not to mention the neo-marxist fascists: Channeling Hugo Chavez? Or is she stupid all on her own? Get lost, losers.

6. Insensitive, but he makes a really good point :)

7. Just a tad fascist. "Leadership" means finding out what other countries want from America and then doing it! Now that's big-time change. Does it sound like anybody you know?

8. It takes little courage or brains to join any mob. A perfect example. Myths busted.

9. Speaking of myths, where in the world is Mohammed al-Dura?

10. Uh-oh...shouldn't have said that out loud....There are stupid, insensitive gaffes; then there are 'Obama gaffes', which are refered to as his 'foreign policy', i.e., "The Chat" between a hairy munchkin and a rube. Or, maybe it will go this way.

11. Dances with Mullahs would be a great name; or, perhaps, Divorced from Reality ?

12. A greater danger to free societies than a cheerfully straightforward hater? I think so.

13. One is fighting for freedom and the other is intent on preventing freedom...I guess for some it's hard to tell which is which. So we lose a city or two, so what?

14. Hope. Change. White Guilt. Perfect campaign slogan. Maybe the Hope should be Hype and he should become a relationship counselor?

15. Scientology is a cult? Well, here's another one, even more fanatic. No one, NO ONE, can be permitted to criticize the Demo-god.

16. Consider the price of gas and how much the Democrats are costing us. Oh, and forget the pursuit of happiness, too.

17. A Separate but equal flipflop.

18. Even aliens have given up on Britain! Piss on them.

19. Venn diagram despair! It's ok, not everyone can be brilliant or scientific about such things.

20. Don't know much about poetry; Don't know much geography...Bet you didn't know this about Indiana Jones, either.

21. Beat the heat! How to make your vacation more interesting.... The root of all evil.

22. Does your chewing gum lose it flavor on the bedpost overnight? And, are bananas doomed?

23. Very fortunate for some of us--the way this research is being interpreted! :)

24. Have an awesome BBQ this Memorial Day!

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Carnival of the Insanities can also be found at The Truth Laid Bear's ÜberCarnival and at the BlogCarnival.

If you would like to Join the insanity, and add the Carnival of the Insanities button to your sidebar (clicking on it will always take you to the latest update of the Carnival), click on "Word of Blog" below the button to obtain the html code:


- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 8:36 AM |

 
BLOGGING HIATUS
Beginning today, I am going on an extended vacation from blogging. The only exception is that I will be posting the CARNIVAL OF THE INSANITIES every Sunday morning, so please feel free to keep sending in your submissions every week.

However, I need a break from all the daily insanity. Unfortunately, I am suffering from "blogger burnout", and consequently my level of enthusiasm for blogging has declined. Add to that some significant personal and professional issues; as well as the fact that there are several other major writing projects I have been putting off for a long time now and would like to begin/finish--well, it was either take a long vacation, or quit the blogging rat race entirely.

Thanks to all the readers and commenters who have taken the time to visit Dr. Sanity on a regular basis. While I am away, please feel free to browse the archives and visit some of my links.

Chances are good that I'll be back after a time. Addictions are like that, you know.

I'll keep you posted.
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 6:44 AM |

 
PRICELINE NEGOTIATION ? I THINK NOT
Siggy, in moments of agitation and tribulation, tends to refer to me as "PMS"--usually when he is linking to the Carnival of the Insanities every week (see previous post for the latest COTI). Today, he conveys some serious truths in the ramblings of the reknowned "waste in space" expert:

The left needs war and strife, because without war and strife, they would have to make actual contributions to benefit others. Bitching about democracies and freedom does not contribute to the benefit of anyone but the frauds doing the bitching. In every case, bitching is a lot easier than actually working and contributing- and if you bitch loud enough, you can convince yourself you are more relevant than you really are....

What good is the Code Pink ‘Breasts not Bombs’ campaign? If they had an ‘Elbows not Bombs’ campaign, who would show up Do you think the cameras would be there? Do you think the victims in Darfur and Congo and Sierra Leonne see Code Pink as credible ‘negotiators’ on their behalf? Code Pink doesn’t care about victims. If they or anyone else on the left gave a damn about victims or war or oppressed people, they would do things very differently.

As I have noted many time before with regard to the political left--their ideology and behavior are all about them and have very little to do with life on earth.

Siggy's edgy parody basically says it all. Dealing with terror and terrorists is not a simple matter of Priceline.com negotiating to get the best possible deal.
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 10:22 AM |

 
CARNIVAL OF THE INSANITIES
Time for the weekly insanity update, where the insane, the bizarre, the ridiculous, and the completely absurd are highlighted for all to see! This has been a week of rare idiocy (as always!). So, if you want to remain sane, the best thing is to poke some fun at the more egregious absurdities.

Send all entries for next week's carnival to Dr. Sanity by 8 pm ET on Saturday for Sunday's Carnival. Only one post entry weekly per blogger, please. And you might read this before submitting an entry
**NOTE: I am now getting many more submissions than I can possibly include in the weekly Carnival. Please don't be offended if your submission is not used (oh, okay, be as offended as you like) as it only means that for a variety of reasons I wasn't able to fit it into the "flow" as I put together each Carnival.

REMEMBER, THERE ARE SO MANY INSANITIES AND SO LITTLE TIME!!!

1. Like, whatever dudes. Bamboozling alert! That's some Freudian slip!

2. Nakba means never having to say you're sorry. Especially for stuff like this. And, you can still continue to play the victim card!

3. Purple PTSD? Why not? Depression is blue.

4. An empty suit? He's still mulling a Derby pick but brings several crucial voting blocs on board.... Wants to make absolutely sure he's on the winning side.

5. Not unlike these swing voters. Their endorsement makes a lot of sense, too.

6. He's really really tough on those bad guys. Bet they are shivering with...laughter. They "heart" Hezbollah.... really.

7. You're so vain, you probably think this speech is about you. How dare they??? If the shoe fits, wear it; or, if the bumper sticker fits, print it!

8. And speaking of appeasement, here's Captain Appeasement himself! What we need is Steyn ex machina to save us! Oh look! It's an entire party...and everyone's invited.

9. Politicizing foreign policy is just plain wrong--unless they do it. At least he has honor.

10. When it comes to racism, "do as we say, not as we do" is the left's motto. A postmodernist moron extraordinaire! And her perfect match! (see # ) Perhaps the inspector should probe the Democratic Party? At any rate, their moral authority is a hard sell.

11. She is suffering the fate of all non-believers. The new affirmative action in academia?

12. No, this is part of a regressive process when one become more and more diverse idiotic. Not a bad idea on first reading perhaps. Now juxtapose this art with 200o burka'd subjects in a stadium...that would be making a statement

13. Bingo! All is explained. Harbingers of the apocalypse?

14. Your perfect mate is a mouseclick away. Or is it, your perfect mouse is a mateclick away? An older version.... If a bunch of suckers think marriage is the answer to anything, that's their privilege. They'll soon find out to the contrary.

15. Extraterrestrial brothers? Pedophilia chic? Diamond-studded Mercedes? The world is truly insane.

16. Career advice for the lazy. Party advice for the batchelorette party.

17. The absolute dumbest WSJ article ever. Really.

18. A perfect Storm. We don't need no stinkin' lady journalists....

19. Email hell? That's just purgatory. She should read the emails I get.

20. Just to make it interesting....

***************************************
Carnival of the Insanities can also be found at The Truth Laid Bear's ÜberCarnival and at the BlogCarnival.

If you would like to Join the insanity, and add the Carnival of the Insanities button to your sidebar (clicking on it will always take you to the latest update of the Carnival), click on "Word of Blog" below the button to obtain the html code:



- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 8:42 AM |

 
NO BLOGGING TODAY
...or tomorrow. The Carnival will be up on Sunday as usual.
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 10:41 AM |

 
MEDIA MANIPULATION & A HINT OF POSTMODERN SEXISM?
I am no fan of Hillary Clinton, but even I am starting to get annoyed at the blatant, anti-Hillary bias of the MSM--dare I say that it is rather sexist? The casual dismissal of her presidential campaign in general since the charismatic black candidate came along by the MSM--and especially since the woman won by 41 percentage points in the most recent primary against Obama is rather striking. I can't think of a single instance where a male in her position was so vilified for deciding to stay in the race, expecially when it was so close.

Check this out from Byron York:

ABC to Clinton: You Won West Virginia? We Don't Care. Look! It's John Edwards!

John Edwards's appearance in Michigan to endorse Obama just happened to be set for 6:30 P.M., at the top of the networks' nightly news feeds. ABC's World News went to a live picture off the top, but Edwards apparently missed his slot, so ABC went to its China coverage and promised to return to Michigan live.

Unlike cable news, the network newscasts do not usually carry live events in their carefully-timed programs. But after China, ABC went back to Michigan while anchorman Charles Gibson explained that the Clinton campaign had hoped "that the headlines would be all about her victory in West Virginia, and yet with this…they seem a bit trumped." Gibson explained that Edwards' appearance was "timed for maximum exposure…timed for the evening newscasts." And with that, guess who walked onto the stage, with ABC carrying it live? "George Stephanopoulos, this is the kind of publicity that you can't buy," Gibson said. "This was designed to completely squash the West Virginia story," Stephanopoulos added. And with that, ABC took Obama's introduction of Edwards live, and…completely squashed the West Virginia story. Didn't even report it in any real sense. A big victory for Obama — the kind of publicity that you can't buy — courtesy of ABC News.

Whatever else she may be, Hillary Clinton happens to be the FIRST viable female candidate for President of the US and does not deserve this...well, maybe she does deserve it in the same way the left always talks about "chickens coming home to roost" (I can barely believe that I am actually defending her); but as a woman, even I am appalled at the way she is being treated in the media and by her fellow progressives, the compassionate and caring people of the left.

Yeah. Go away, sweetie; your very existence is starting to bother the left, who after all, have their priorities.


[Cartoons by Larry Wright ]
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 6:44 AM |

 
A MAN FOR ALL TERRORISTS

Hezbollah's terror army dismantles Lebanon, the world whistles "Ain't That a Shame."

With its heavily funded proxies marching through an Arab democracy's ruins, Iran has arrived on the Mediterranean, outflanking Israel.

Syria's surrogates punish Beirut. Lebanon's crippled government cringes at the whims of Hassan Nasrullah, Hezbollah's strongman. Terror rules.

And not one civilized country lifts a finger.

This doesn't mean that war will be avoided at the "negligible" cost of Lebanese lives and freedom. It just means that the inevitable showdown with Hezbollah will be a bloodier mess when it finally comes.

When will we face reality? Hezbollah can't be appeased. Hezbollah can't be integrated into a democratic government and domesticated. And Hezbollah, whose cadres believe that death is a promotion, can't be deterred by wagging fingers and flyovers.

This effort to undermine Lebanon’s elected government needs to stop, and all those who have influence with Hezbollah must press them to stand down immediately. . . It’s time to engage in diplomatic efforts to help build a new Lebanese consensus that focuses on electoral reform, an end to the current corrupt patronage system, and the development of the economy that provides for a fair distribution of services, opportunities and employment.

The naivety of this statement is staggering. As Noah Pollak asks: "Does Obama understand that the people who 'have influence with Hezbollah' happen to be the same people on whose behalf Hezbollah is rampaging through Lebanon?" And does he really believe that Hezbollah and its sponsors can be pacified or neutralized by electoral reform, an end to corrupt patronage, and "fair" distribution of services?

Obama may well fail to comprehend the first point and believe the second, just as naive leftists of an earlier generation thought that Ho Chi Minh was, at root, an agrarian reformer. In any case, Pollak is correct that "Obama is rhetorically cornered; since his only prescription for the Middle East is diplomatic engagement, every disease gets re-diagnosed as something curable through talking."
No wonder he's Hamas's man.

Palestinians in Gaza Are Phonebanking for Barack Obama
Phil Klein calls our attention to an al-Jazeera news report that sounds like a parody, but is genuine: A report on Palestinians in Gaza who are phonebanking in support of Barack Obama's campaign.

I transcribed the most jaw-dropping parts:

REPORTER: It may be hard to believe, but working in this tiny Internet cafe in Gaza City may just be one of Barack Obama's biggest fans.

Before every U.S. primary, 23-year-old Ibrahim Abu Jayyab gathers 17 of his friends to try and rally support for Obama's campaign in the U.S.

So why does a young Palestinian living in Gaza spend so much of his time and money on an election thousands of miles away?

ABU JAYYAB: [translated] It all started at the time of the U.S. primaries. After studying Obama's electoral campaign manifesto, I thought, 'this is a man that is capable of change inside America.' As for potential change in the Middle East, he can also do that. I think he can bring peace to the area, or at least this is what we hope.

REPORTER: And the game plan? Ibrahim and his friends call random numbers in the U.S. before every primary to deliver one simple message:

ABU JAYYAB: [in English] Elect Senator Obama. I will change. I will achieve... the justice in the Middle East.

The rest of the report is about Bush failing to achieve peace in the Middle East, the U.S. "unwillingness to apply pressure on Israel over illegal settlements," a professor who says his students are following the election but

A potttery maker says, "unless you support Israel, you won't get in the White House."

The report concludes by showing graffiti in Gaza depicting a monstrous Bush, lips dripping with blood, clutching the world and drinking blood through a straw from a pile of skulls. The caption is, "Good bye Mr. Bush, we wont' miss you."

The reporter's voice over of the graffiti: "There does to be one thing people here agree on."

The jist of all this is that terrorists from all over the world sense "hope" and "change" is in the offing.

All they have to do is get past the evil Bush Presidency, and then what will stop them from achieving their most heart-felt dreams for the world? They know they are on the cusp of a major victory.

Obama may not like it, but he has become a man for all terrorists. He needs to think about that.
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 12:55 PM |

 
BUSY
Blogging will be light today because of work committments. More tonight.
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 7:37 AM |

 
LOST BEARINGS


[Cartoons by Eric Allie]
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 7:19 AM |

 
HEROES AND VILLAINS
Thomas Sowell discusses the supposedly "complex" dynamics of supply and demand:

Is there anything complex about the fact that with two countries-- India and China-- having rapid economic growth, and with combined populations 8 times that of the United States, they are creating an increased demand for the world's oil supply?

The problem is not that supply and demand is such a complex explanation. The problem is that supply and demand is not an emotionally satisfying explanation. For that, you need melodrama, heroes and villains.

It is clear that many people prefer to blame President Bush. Others prefer to blame the oil companies, who have long been the favorite villains of the left.

Politicians understand that. Numerous times they have summoned the heads of oil companies before Congressional committees to be denounced on nationwide television for "greed," with the politicians calling for a federal investigation to "get to the bottom of this!"

Now that is emotionally satisfying, which is the whole point. By the time yet another federal investigation is completed-- and turns up nothing to substantiate the villainy that is supposed to be the reason for high gasoline prices-- most people's attention will have turned to something else.

Somehow, people have come to equate "heroism" with indulgent self-righteousness and appeals to victimization; and "villainy" with market forces. It is a formula that is tried and true in political circles, particularly on the political left, but all politicians these days suffer from the malady.

But what are "market forces"? And what is "supply and demand" all about? They are about millions of individual actions; the behavior of each and every person going about their daily business, pursuing their own happiness--for good or ill-and making choices.

In short, the marketplace is the ultimate democracy. "Supply and demand" is simply the description of the simple laws governing how that marketplace works in reality, i.e., the real world. When those millions of individuals pursuing their own happiness run up against reality--i.e., when something they want very badly is in short supply because many others also want it very badly--they have two choices: they can adjust their behavior to accommodate this reality (e.g., decide they don't want it after all; or pay the going price). The clever collectivist, whose happiness is having power over others sees a way to personally profit from this choice, and offers a third alternative to those seeking to avoid reality. He or she becomes the "heroic" politician who, telling the masses what they want to hear, assures them that, "It's not YOUR fault! You are the victim of a vast, evil capitalistic plot. YOU don't have to change YOUR behavior at all--YOU can have your cake and eat it too.... I will heroically confront the forces of greed and profit and YOU won't have to deal with any consequences of YOUR behavior. Vote for ME because I'm on YOUR side!"

This is what passes for heroism these days: finding new and creative ways to avoid reality; exploiting and empowering the inner 'victim' of people who don't want to deal with the real world by changing their own behavior.

I know all about this because I deal with people like that every day in my profession. They don't want to change their behavior, they want a pill to make themselves feel better so they can keep on doing what they have always been doing no matter how destructive or irresponsible or counterproductive it is.

Today's politicians scramble all over each other to make the most outrageous and unrealistic promises for their particular brand of feel-good pills. Funny how they denounce pharmaceutical companies for doing the same thing they do--except the politicians do it on a much larger and far more destructive scale.

And the side-effects of the politician's feel-good pills almost always result in those dreaded unintended consequences that make a bad situation far worse. From the clever politician's perspective, however, this is good because they can continue to find some greedy profiteering bastard somewhere--or, even better, their political opponent--to blame for the even worse situation.

Of course, it goes without saying that instead of recognizing the problem is their own behavior and their denial of reality, the statist will continue to insist that more regulation, more government, more telling people what to do and how to live their lives is the solution to all problems.

They are players in that good old Marxist melodrama, which gives people the choice of belonging to either the oppressed group (victimhood can be yours!) or the [evil] oppressor group.

Notice how politicians--particularly those on the political left--regret nothing, they renounce nothing and take no responsibility for the fact that their lovely policies don't work and their promises are empty. If their policies don't work; if people suffer more because of them; it's not their fault because they "meant well".

And, as they play out this little melodrama, reality continues to exist anyway.

But they are 'heroes' who promise 'hope' and 'change'.

Siggy notes:

A real hero is someone who acts out of concern not for him or herself, but rather, for the consequences his or her actions have on others. The fireman, policeman or average Joe goes into a burning building because in doing so, the consequences of those heroic efforts will impact the life of another. The real hero does not see him or herself as noble or as especially different. Rather, they see themselves as doing what needed to be done, no more and no less.

There is another kind of hero, with a very different motivation, best exemplified by the hard leftists. They act- or rather, pretend to act or demand that others act, with little or no concern about how the consequences of their efforts will impact others. The ‘heroism’ they focus on is centered around themselves. The see themselves as better or special.

Gagdad Bob goes even further in his explanation:

Among other things, the upside-down education of the left emphasizes rights over duties, self-esteem over self-transcendence, and the antihero over the hero, since the former is the authentic nihilist who sees through the sham of hierarchy, eternal values, and first principles. The left worships these monsters because only they have the courage — i.e., violence — of the leftist’s absence of convictions (see here for example).

A hero, on the other hand, is only heroic to the extent that he risks life and limb for something transcending himself. Since transcendence doesn’t exist for the secularist, the hero must therefore be an idiot or a manipulative liar — as the left regards, say, General “Betray Us.” This is why masturbatory leftism and fruitless cynicism go hand in gland.

But the crowds will always cheer for the hero politician who panders to their narcissism and tells them they don't have to make any changes to accommodate reality; who promises them everything for nothing...forever; and who awakens the powerful victimhood within.

As Sowell notes in closing, "If you want cheering crowds, don't bother to study economics. It will only hold you back. Tell people what they want to hear-- and they don't want to hear about supply and demand."
- Diagnosed by Dr. Sanity @ 8:04 AM |