Jeremy Maddux > Recent Status Updates

'Can you imagine God dropping in and asking us to explain how we got to the point where we thought it was OK to spill blood for dirt? Even worse. There are people who believe God actually WANTS them to do just that.'

Most people would spill blood if they were forcefully vacated from their own land. I don't think that's very unusual, sorry.

"To answer your question about the firewall system, it's easy to imagine that if the people could vote frequently on individual budget issues, you know, rather than just periodically on candidates in general, then I think the war would already be over.”

I think I would be okay with this.

This passage feels more than a little dated: “Rove is gone man. What an ass hole. He's an Orwellian evil genius. Bush's evil brain. I'd like five minutes alone with that pig.” “He's not so smart dude. His goal was to get a permanent republican administration. All that he caused was a permanent democratic administration.” They laughed. “I'm gonna call the BBC guy, and then I'll call you right back. OK”?

“Republican used to mean conservative. Balanced budgets and no world police. It meant being thrifty. Champagne and caviar on a credit card ain't republican. I don't know what it is but it ain't republican. Lower taxes and don't waste the taxpayer's money. These ass holes aren't republicans.”

Here is a liberal author that isn't obnoxious. This guy knows how to do it.

“To you it's all just gambling. Even stocks. It's not easy to argue with you sometimes.” He smiled. Just let him vent, he thought. “I suppose so. To me capitalism is like a bunch of crazy people playing poker and all of them expecting to make a profit and win at the same time. That's what I think about when I hear bull shit like a rising tide lifts all boats."

“I'm not on either side Dad. Capitalism is flawed. It doesn't work. There's no way to fix it. The patient is addicted to greed. Doc says you gonna die.” “Stop ducking. What would you do right now? You can't just sit on your ass and let people hit bottom.” “I'd erect a damn firewall between capitalism and the necessities of a decent human life. Are you listening”?

This is how you write a right-wing bashing book without coming off obnoxious or whiny like everyone else. I mean, the author leaves out all of the left's undesirable traits and falsely elevates them to 'men of reason', but the protagonist is a great spitfire.

'A third method was dubbed ‘opening the flower’. The victim was buried in a pit with only his head exposed which was then smashed, laying open his brains.'

I read the words written here, and yet my mind can conjure no images or impressions to match the content described. How could I imagine such cruelty, even vicariously?

'Those categorized as landlords were shot, hanged, beheaded, battered to death, nailed to the walls of buildings or buried alive. Sometimes, in winter, the victim was dressed in a thin cotton garment and water was poured over him while he stood outside in sub-zero temperatures. This method of death was called‘wearing glass clothes’. Burying victims alive in the snow was called ‘refrigeration’.'

'I turned on the television. "So we're breaking up, right?" "I don't know. Yeah, I guess we probably should." "Okay." "Do we have to make a big production out of it? Could you maybe just go home, and then maybe just not call me anymore?" "I can do that." I felt like I wanted to get in some sort of mean-spirited dig, like "You weren't exactly a hellcat yourself," but...no. That's not what I do.'

"But I'm saying it from the perspective that you think I'm going to cut off your head just because I'm missing a hand, and I'm trying to convey the message that you're making ridiculous assumptions based on my physical appearance. What I'm saying is that I'm not going to cut off anybody's head and that it's wrong of you to have thought that in the first place."

'Thorndike equated children with the rats, monkeys, fish, cats, and chickens upon which he experimented in his laboratory and was prepared to apply what he found there to learning in the classroom. He extrapolated "laws" from his research into animal behavior which he then applied to the training of teachers, who took what they had learned to every corner of the United States and ran their classrooms.'