here where I talked about credit card minimum payments going up.

Which prompted Betty to leave me the following note:
"I don't nec. disagree with what you said regarding the debt discussion, but tell me if I'm wrong when you were referring to the republican diarylander. You said 'Elvisload, you're a republican. Since I can't afford gold membership right now, you'll have to leave a note, but please tell me - am I reading this wrong?' I get the feeling that you're making a statement that because he's republican, he has money. I do apologize for being stuck on this one sentence because the whole of the entry makes sense. I am liberal. I just hate it when fellow liberals accuse republicans for being rich when some of the richest people in the country are liberals. So yeah. That was all. And if you're reading this as negative I'm not meaning it to be in the slightest. "

Because I still haven't bought gold (although I might), and because I'm never sure what the etiquette is on notes (Do I reply to your note to me in my notes page or yours?), I figured I post a response here.

Elvisload and I have had a lot of disagreements in the past. I wasn't implying he was rich, in fact, being in the top 5% of wage earners myself I'm fairly sure (95% sure) I make more than he does.

But he is a right-wing bible bashing gun-toting conservative, and I'm a candy-ass tax and spend liberal pinko, so I wanted to get his opinion because, as a supporter of the current administration, I figured he would be able to explain why they're doing this (increasing personal debt repayments and reducing disposable income thereby dragging the economy down) and where the flaw in my logic may be.

Since he hasn't replied that means he either isn't reading me anymore, or doesn't care, or doesn't have an answer. I suspect its the first one. And that doesn't surprise me because most of what I've written in here lately is a bunch of crap. This entry being no exception.

To address Betty's comment about Dems making more money, I do agree. There are a lot of rich Republicans out there, but there also a helluva lot more poor ones.

This goes back to a comment I've made before, which I'm sure will ruffle some feathers when I restate it here.

Smart people tend to make more money in the long run.

There are less smart people than there are dumb people. By smart, I mean anyone with an IQ over 125. By definition there are a lot less smart people, since 100 is the average IQ (And I might add, 100 ain't that smart. (And no, Yoyo, Whatever you claim, your IQ is not 92. I've read you in some of your deeper moments and I've seen your artwork.)

Dumb people tend (note the use of the word 'tend' here) to be beligerent, intolerant and won't read anything that doesn't have naked women in it (Which is why I took them out of this diary. The hits went down but the average IQ went up) unless its a scorecard or a bible.

Smart people tend to be compromising, tolerant and willing to read stuff that 'makes you think'. And alright, preferably has naked women in it.

Guess which way each group tends to vote.

This is why you will not see significant improvements in the education system in this country while the republicans are in power.

There are more dumbasses than there are smart people. Smartasses don't count.

There are more dyed-in-the-wool republicans than there are dyed-in-the-wool democrats in this country.

Do the math. Unless you can't, in which case you have my sympathies, Mr. President.

To be fair, there are a lot of moderates in the country, which is why we have any kind of change in power at all, and which is why in the next election I suspect the republicans are going to get bitten in the ass because they have become far too right-wing-heavy of late. Case-in-point, if the Senate chooses the Nuclear option, they will wish they hadn't when the Democrats get control and the next Supreme Court Justice retires.

A strong education system is the silver bullet, generationally, for what ails ye.

It also means that the republicans become more moderate, and the moderates become more democratic.

A weak education system moves everything the other way, and that's why you will never see the Republicans vote for real education reforms, and why the Democrats always will.

It's a bit like the Catholic Church, and their rules of no contraception. No contraception means more Catholics.
No education means more Republicans.

Hope this clears things up, Betty :)