Deflation (Said very much like Cajun Man from SNL)

Typically I do not do a lot of that "reflective-journal" posting--you know, that "today I ate yams, then I washed my face and trimmed the hair on my feet" crap that chronicles my life and existence as it is known throughout my tiny corner of the universe--today is different though. For you see, today I experienced one of those truly life changing events... The deflation of a 'child-hood' (or teenaged) idol... Ok, so it's not really life changing but still--so here we go...

First, some background information. All the way up until the end of my junior year there was only one person who could walk into the room and completely blow the lid off of the 'cool-meter' and that was Ross Williams. To me, Ross was just "cool" in human form. Everything about him--his hair, the way he dressed, the way he acted, the fact that he was so smart and funny, his liberal views--oh, sorry--almost everything about him was cool, forgot about that liberal part haha... I always sort of idolized Ross hoping that one day I could be a fraction as cool as him.

I always knew that he had that one little short-coming--what with being a liberal and all--but I never really let it bother me. Lately, though, I'd been hearing that he's been quite the lippy-leftist on his little blog so I hit up a friend for the address and off I went browsing...sure enough...liberal CITY. I mean anti-Bush, anti-Styrofoam, anti-Meat...Classic lefty. As I read on I was almost shocked to stumble upon a post about...Little ole me? Yes, yes, it seems that I have become a big enough threat the the Hampshire County Liberals that my "lunatic right-wing views" must be discussed in the County newspaper AND in Mr. Williams' blog. I read through and it was truly fascinating just how WRONG these people are. Ross, the very definition of cool, is now the enemy. Ignorant, mouthy, intolerable--WRONG. Here's the blah from his blog:

yo folks: hope everyone made it home safely for a relaxing week of nothingness... well, nothingness until about Thursday when I need to study for my Italian oral exam and final, and all my other finals. Shit. Now I feel annoyed, so I’ll talk about what annoys me, and then finish on my lighter notes: so I was reading through the old Hampshire reviews today, and while I won't get into absolutely everything about that, I will offer up my kudos to Hasty and Arnold and Strother for keepin' it real, and I will question the evidence, motives, and general... well... I hate to say it, intelligence of Jeff k's letters... I know Jeff is a smart guy, and I've always liked him, and I guess you can do both of these and still disagree -- strongly -- with his political views, and the claimed "wisdom" contained in his letter. I'm sorry, Jeff, but I cannot "sit back. relax." and "enjoy 4 more years of dead terrorists and lower taxes" simply because there are dead terrorists and lower taxes; here are my reasons: the "dead terrorists" we're killing now in Iraq weren't there when we originally invaded this sovereign nation; we have created this group of people who are upset that we came into their country and leveled it so we could tally the numbers of their (and our) dead in the very numeric system that their society invented. I could go on forever about the thousands of dead Americans who have given their lives for a lie, and for the HUNDREDS of thousands of dead CIVILIANS (how's that for moral, you right-wing lunatics?) but I’ll cut short and go on to taxes. Bush's tax cuts are extremely ineffectual; sure, you get a little check in the mail from your refund, and that's great and all, especially if you're a working student, but what they don't tell you about that is that your financial aid, as well as other monies paid to your institution and all the schools below, k-12, is going down the tubes. Sure, bush granted more Pell Grants this year; what you don't hear is that the actual value of a Pell has decreased to the point of there being a serious gap between the actual money given now and the actual money given under previous administrations; oh yes, we'll all be enjoying our tax cuts all right; oh boy! No education! I guess I can just spend this cash I have sitting around on a pizza and halo 2...

In the "spirit-of-Jeff" I felt duty-bound to reply in order to set the record straight and defend myself. Here it is:

Ross-
I happened upon your little blog here by chance. I always knew that our views didn't exactly mesh, and I had heard that you were using your blog as a political forum, so I wasn't really surprised to read the liberal blah that is the leftest agenda, I was, though, a bit shocked (two years ago I'd have said honored and excited) to see you talking about ME. I mean, I assume it's me--what other "Jeff K" attacks the twits like Strother, Hasty and Arnold?
I don't mind you 'discussing' my political views. I can't even say that I mind you not seeing eye-to-eye with all of them. What I cannot accept, though, is you distorting the facts. What I cannot stand is you questioning my intelligence because I view things differently then you. Allow me to set the ticket straight:
First of all, there is slightly over A thousand dead American soldiers. There are not THOUSANDS, there is ONE thousand--a small price to pay for a safer America and a free Iraq. Secondly, the terrorists that we are killing in Iraq WERE in Iraq pre-Iraq War--even the 9/11 Commission says that. Zarqawi (sp?) and his little gang of hoodlums were in Iraq seeking refuge and medical treatment in the immediate days before we moved in to free the people of Iraq. Thirdly, you say "hundreds of thousands of dead civilians..." Perhaps you should learn to use the number system you go on and on about because the estimated numbers are between 8,000 and 100,000. Even if we are pessimists and say 100,000, that is not HUNDREDS of thousands of dead Iraqis. Lets compromise and say 50,000---this number doesn't come close to the amount of Kurds Saddam slaughtered--along with the Iranians in the Iraq/Iran war--how about the mass graves of Kuwaitis and Iraqi's who dared question Saddam's leadership? The numbers do not even compare. Do you realize that the amount of soldiers killed in Iraq during the invasion--the FOUR MONTHS of invasion--was less than the amount of murders that happened in Detroit? Think about that before you complain my friend.
And about Bush's tax cuts--they extend much further than the refund check my friend. My father, a small business owner, has directly experienced the benefit of Bush's tax cuts and, if he had followed his accountants advice, could be reaping even greater benefits than he is now. Obviously Bush's tax cuts--which do NOT take away from money that the federal government is spending on education, instead it takes away from the Pork barreling that the Almighty Senator from West Virginia is famous for--are doing some good as the unemployment rates when Bush was re-elected were even BETTER than those of Clinton in '96--and Clinton wasn't in the midst of two wars, nor had he experienced the first large-scale act of terrorism on American soil like Bush has. You know, even mentioning the Pell grants in the same breath as the tax cuts make me sick. You are an educated person, Ross, you should know better. I think it's great that now instead of Jonnie Twitface--who will probably drop out 10 days after getting his $1,000 Pell grant--getting one big check, Jonnie and Judy can both enjoy a little financial assistance. Besides that, why are you complaining? Do you really need a Pell grant? Probably not. No President has done as much for Education as Bush has--and if you follow the lead of the "ALL KNOWING CONSTITUTIONAL GURU BOB BYRD, Education isn't even in Bush's job description. Quit complaining.
Even with all that aside, you questioned my intelligence because I believe what I believe. I thought you said that I could still be a "smart guy who you've always liked" even though I disagree with you, then you say you must question my motives, evidence and intelligence. Viewing the facts in a logical manner, then deciding that I'd rather have dead terrorists and lower taxes than gay marriage, partial birth abortion and human cloning does not make me stupid--and if it does, then by God, print me out a t-shirt that says "STUPID AND PROUD!"
Take care,
jeff

Today's Moral: Never idolize crazy liberals freaks who rant about Styrofoam, dead terrorists or taxes because it will only come back to bite you square on the ass!