Welcome to Liam McGonagle's Great Amateur Hour!

You know, it's kinda ironic that they call this the "Information Age", isn't it? I mean, has there ever been a time in history when the collective intelligence quotient has seemed lower? The century that sees the rise of phenomena like the Jackass entertainment franchise and the election of an American President so stupid that he invades Iraq based on what is tantamount to a highschool kid's prank phonecall cannot have much claim to profound wisdom.

The sheer scale of the thing is sublime and its implications could be daunting when considered in context of immanent challenges to energy infrastructure, national security and to the fate of democracy itself. If you were of a mind to look at in the depressingly buttoned-down solution-oriented sort of way, that is!

No, the Spirit of Our Times speaks with a Different Voice--one not weighed down with the scoldful jeremiads of thoughtful old professors or turgid moral appeals to "Our Better Angels" --but rather one leavened with frenetic clarion calls to our own destruction by that self-selected tribune of the people, the amateur blogger. A thing fully in accord with the philosophical principles exemplified by my own revered great ancestor, William McGonagall.

This blog is dedicated to celebrating just this spirit, the tenacious obduracy, enthusiasm and ignorance that make the great American blogger's message what it truly is--a call to dunce-ity. Welcome to the Feeble Choice Awards, the Valhalla of the Vain, Liam McGonagle's Great Amateur Hour!

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Inaugural Entry: Dad29

The American Nation really owes a supreme debt to that sublime, mysterious elder known to his grateful fans only by the simple, unassuming moniker "Dad29".

As he describes himself, he is "Old" and "Nasty". A proud "Member of the Mob", Dad29 is a distinguished member of that coterie who have boldly overthrown the sclerotic notions of moral consistency and basic literacy of the Far-Leftist media in order to storm the Bastille of Bureaucracy and deliver Freedom of Choice to the American People. He is, in a manner of speaking, a modern-day Marat. If that is not too French of a thing to be. Or if it could somehow be possible to redefine populism as surrendering veto power over public policy to corporate elites .

As prolific as he is prolific, Dad29 produces a reliably prolific output, so it is difficult to select individual instances of his illiterary genius without doing injustice to its sheer breadth and depth(s). But so I must, if only to give the hungry public just a wee taste of the greatness to come.

My personal favourites include a notable rant about the deleterious economic effects of taxation and government spending , and his responses to a series of related inquiries. His unwavering unwaveringness was awe inspiring. When presented with the anomolous facts that in 1965, at the height of its world prestige, the United States both received 21.8% of its revenues from corporate sources and had a 4.5% unemployment rate, whereas 2007 saw that corporations had reduced their portion of funding governance to 14.4% and 2010's unemployment rates hover around 10%, his nabbs refused to be deterred by such evidence-based claptrap. When questioned whether he himself, as a die-hard budget hawk, declined to participate in Medicare or returned his Social Security checks each month1, he had but one response: "Thanks, John One-Note".

But there's so much to choose from. What about the blithe obliviousness of of accusing Barack Obama and the Democratic party of racism while simultaneously displaying on his own homepage a grotesquely Photoshoped image of the 44th President as a cadaver ? And who could ever forget the way Dad29's responsded to this question: "Doesn't your (Dad29's) advocacy of onerously expensive lawsuits instead of a strong net neutrality policy essentially put control of First Amendment rights in the hands of John Edwards and the litigation lawyer lobby?"

For me, however, as of the writing of this post, the all-time capper has to be his dramatic warning to the American People of the 'dastardly socialist' Obama's plan to steal their 401(k) savings. I feel confident in saying that no other blogger could have attacked the issue with such credulibility.2 Most of us, in our human weakness, would have been tempted to actually READ the DOL's press reslease ,and anyone with a fith-grade education would then have seen that what the administration proposes is to offer defined contribution plan participants annuity options or annuity-like features. But Dad29 is exactly what he says--a simple man. Maybe he doesn't know what the word 'annuity' means.

Congratulations, Dad29, you are this week's Great Big Amateur!!!

Footnotes

1 Clearly the fastest portion of federal spending is in the area of government social benefits--from 3.8% of GDP in 1965 to 11% in 2009. (see table 14.2), and within that category annual Social Security benefits and Medicare increased by $536 Billion and 3,355% and $243 Billion from $0 (see table 13.1, Medicare program having been established during 1965 congressional session). No surprises, I suppose, given the aging of the country and the tendency of companies to downsize their own retirement and medical benefits. But shouldn't a responsible "Member of the Mob" be proud to chip in his share? After all, Freedom Ain't Free.

2 "Credulibility", noun, portmanteau of "credibility" and "credulity", expressing an ignorant and gullible self-righteousness posing as grave moral seriousness.

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