Snippet: Not Taxing the Wealthy

In 2010 -- the only year we have seen a full return from him -- Romney would have paid an effective tax rate of around 0.82 percent under the Ryan plan, rather than the 13.9 percent he actually did. How would someone with more than $21 million in taxable income pay so little? Well, the vast majority of Romney’s income came from capital gains, interest, and dividends. And Ryan wants to eliminate all taxes on capital gains, interest and dividends.

Romney, of course, criticized this idea when Newt Gingrich proposed it back in January by pointing out that zeroing out taxes on savings and investment would mean zeroing out his own taxes.

Almost. Romney did earn $593,996 in author and speaking fees in 2010 that would still be taxed under the Ryan plan. Just not much. Ryan would cut the top marginal tax rate from 35 to 25 percent and get rid of the Alternative Minimum Tax -- saving Romney another $292,389 or so on his 2010 tax bill. Now, Romney would still owe self-employment taxes on his author and speaking fees, but that only amounts to $29,151. Add it all up, and Romney would have paid $177,650 out of a taxable income of $21,661,344, for a cool effective rate of 0.82 percent.

- Matthew O’Brien, The Atlantic

Snippet: Slavery, Eugenics, and the Olympics

It’s a pretty commonly heard idea – even if it is usually whispered – that black people (especially in the Americas and Caribbean) were bred by slave owners to be superior physical specimens. I don’t think this is the case. If this were true, black people from these regions would be winning events where strength was important, but black people seem to dominate in speed events. I ask you: what plantation owner in their right mind would breed slaves who were faster and harder to chase down?

Snippet: US Elections

For me, elections come down to either voting for the Democrat or not voting. People have asked me why I won’t even think about voting for the Republican, but I tell them: I have thought about voting for Republicans. That’s why I won’t do it.

Snippet: Torture

The CIA insists that torture works, yet when I tortured a CIA agent recently, he not only assured me that torture is not a good way of getting accurate information, but also that the Easter Bunny was responsible for the extinction of the dinosaurs.

Snippet: Healthcare “Freeloaders”

I keep hearing about how we treat people who in hospitals and then the state pays for it if they don’t have insurance… and I call bullshit. I was hospitalized without insurance, I got this thing called a “bill.” There’s also people who are kicked out of hospitals and denied medical treatment because they can’t pay.

Where is this magical free healthcare the government was paying for?

Snippet: Praying

I stopped praying when I got older and understood how relationships worked. I realized I was trying over and over to contact someone who I thought loved me, but who never replied. I saw that I wasn’t so much praying as I was being a creepy ex-boyfriend.

Snippet: Atheist Conversion

I don’t think I can get people to stop believing in God. I may try, because I would like people to stop being religious, but I can’t beat myself up about it when I fail. I can’t change what’s in someone’s heart, only Atheist Jesus can do that.

Snippet: Conservative Media

There are actually Americans who get most of their information from conservative talk radio, Fox News, and the Bible. These people would have a better understanding of the world if they had been born blind and deaf.

Snippet: Exploration

We live in a very interesting time for exploration. Centuries ago, when Europe began exploring the world, they were faced with the dilemma of not being able to see the destination, though it turned out to be not all that far away (a journey of just over a month or so). Now, we train our telescopes to the sky and can see zillions of places we would like to visit… but none of them are within reach. Exploration used to be a leap of faith, but these days we are left tantalized by countless destinations that are out of reach.

Snippet: Corporate Privilege

If Middle Easterners poisoned our food and water, we would call them terrorists. When American companies do it, we call them capitalists.

Snippet: Fundamentalists

“Normal” religious people don’t want you to focus on fundamentalists because they treat women like second-class citizens, persecute gay people, and see the non-religious as inferior. However, the problem isn’t religious fundamentalists… the problem is that these are religion’s fundamentals. Fundamentalists are just religious people who don’t actively ignore the wretched aspects of faith.

Snippet: White Minority

Why are Republicans worried that white people will become a minority? Is it because they know minorities don’t vote Republican, or because Republicans believe one of the government’s primary roles is to mistreat minorities?

Snippet: Steady Ground

We all need something in life to stand on, something to be our foundation, that always holds firm. For an atheist like me, it’s always been the floor.

Snippet: Aging Artists

Many artists would be better off if they bowed out at some point. Whether they die or hide from the public eye, they must disappear before they get to an age when they feel the need to “fix” (i.e. ruin) the great work they did in their youth, or as I like to call it: the Lucas/Spielberg Effect.

Snippet: How to Get Religion to Respect Atheism

I have been racking my brain trying to figure out what it is that atheism lacks that religion cannot seem to deal with. After much deliberation, I have decided that atheists will never be taken seriously by the religious until we have old atheists wearing funny hats speaking for us.

Snippet: End of the World

If humanity found out that the world was about to end, most people would basically go nuts. This pretty much explains religious people.

Snippet: Manscaping

I don’t keep a strict regimen of maintenance, but I like to keep the old bush trimmed. The problem with shaving (at least, for a guy like me…) is that it’s hard to know where to stop. I end up trying to do a sort of reverse-bikini, where the only places I shave are those which would be covered by a speedo, although this still leaves the matter of the taint.

There’s quite a lot of debate on the subject among philosophers, but I’m in the “Stop at the back of the balls” camp. If you start shaving the taint, it’s only a matter of time before you’re shaving your asshole, and then you have to shave the whole ass, cheeks and all, but then where do you stop? Do you just keep going all the way up your back? What, now you have hair on the front but a shaved back? When shaving the ass, you end up shaving around to the thigh, and you end up doing the whole leg. Suddenly, your arms (which were never a problem before) look bushy, and it’s got to go.

Now you look a lot younger, but a few days later every inch of your body is covered in stubble, and don’t even get me started on the itching and ingrown hairs…

Snippet: Condescending

I’ve seen many people be labeled as “condescending,” and I have even been called such myself, but I think feeling “condescended to” is one of those emotions I don’t experience, like feeling “offended” or “ashamed.” I guess I’m just not weak and self-conscious about it… like some people…

Snippet: Digging to China

I used to play in the sandbox, and my mom would say I was “digging to China.” Back then, I really thought that if I kept going deeper, I would eventually reach fancy plates.

Snippet: Seppuku

I never used to understand why Japan came up with the idea that when you fail tremendously in public matters, you are expected to kill yourself. Then the American financial crisis hit, and I watched as everyone with power, who had failed miserable, walked off with massive fortunes. Meanwhile, those who were children as these criminals were bilking the country are unable to find a job.

If these assholes at the top killed themselves, it’s not even so much a matter of justice being done. Rather, it would create some job openings and save us from having to pay for the retirement benefits of thieves. It’s not about morality, it’s economical.