5+ Reasons the Starbucks Red Cup Fiasco is a Hoax

I hate to be the one to break it to you, but the Starbucks Red Cup fiasco is a hoax, a contrivance, con, hoodwink, swindle – it just isn’t an issue. Are people talking about it? Yes, but the people talking – every single one of them – are decrying the idiocy, not whining about how the Starbucks mermaid killed baby Jesus in his manger. So, in this article I will completely unscientifically prove that the whole “controversy” is nothing but a lot of bull feathers.

Questions and (Non)Answers

Yes, I owe you a book review. No, I have not finished the book yet. Yes, I realize it's been seven months since I made that promise or last posted. It's been a long and busy seven months.

Sigh.

Today I had the interesting opportunity to hear a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, specifically the representative from Ohio's Second Congressional District, talk about a number of topics, but mostly the evils of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the necessity that it be repealed. Over the course of his talk and as a response to various questions, Rep. Wenstrup made a number of decent points highlighting some of the many deficiencies in Obamacare. Problems or perceived problems with this legislation are legion, and a simple Google search will undoubtedly help you find many of them, so I won't take the time to go over them here. It was a pretty typical litany, but the issue I eventually took with his opposition is that he didn't offer any viable alternative.

(P)Review - Parties Versus the People

Being the slave to NPR that I am, now that I log 20,000+ business miles each year, I get to sift through their rampant liberal propaganda and run across the occasional interesting story. Yesterday, Fresh Air had former Republican Congressman Mickey Edwards on the show talking about his new book Parties Versus People: How to turn Republicans and Democrats into Americans. The topic of how political parties are ruining America is very close to my heart, so I immediately ordered the book on Amazon (and so can you!) and I can't wait until it arrives.

Rather than give you a rundown, I'll let the NPR website give you an overview - and even a chance to listen to the radio segment for free if  you so choose.

The reason I call this a (P)Review is that I'll be reviewing this book completely as soon as I've finished. For both of you reading this blog, I encourage you to get the book, read it as well, and then weigh in on your thoughts.

Happy reading!

Debate

Is it possible that I keep forgetting that not everyone is as interested in discussing politics as I am? Yes. Yes, it is.

Not too long ago I was unfriended on Facebook. Most of us are unaware when someone takes this action, as there is no jubilant timeline post letting us know that one of our "friends" no longer likes us. This is something I know, not because I obsessively stalk this person, but because he and I were engaged in what I thought was a civil discussion about the recent issues with Chik-Fil-A.

This "friend" (merely an acquaintance from a few years ago, not a true bosom buddy), was taking the time to vehemently denounce my favorite purveyor of chicken sandwiches because of comments and actions taken by the owner of the company regarding homosexuals. If you don't know about this recent issue, you're probably on the wrong website anyway. Please feel free to click here.

Harper's Index (TM)

Harper's Magazine is a deliciously pretentious periodical written by intellectual snobs for intellectual snobs and is full of the overwrought, the droll, and the peculiarly insightful. Naturally, I have a subscription.

A pearl of brilliance that graces the pages of the magazine is the Harper's Index, a collection of particularly pointed facts and figures that form a narrative all their own. Like many too clever for their britches, the folks behind the Index do their best to use completely non-contextualized data to make a series of points and impressions on their readers, throwing in the healthy non sequitur mostly for amusement, but occasionally for poignancy and likely mostly to take advantage of a readership who likely takes itself far too seriously (i.e. - me).

Born again...

So then, let's start over. This sorry excuse for a blog has been disused for far too long and deserves more than it's been given so far. Let's be a little blasphemous, slightly irreverent, a bit off the beaten path but with new things to offer.

This blog is wordily called "Beyond the Dichotomy" because American politics as we know it has been artificially divided. Because of a number of outdated policies that have yet to be upgraded, we live in a country that is politically dominated by two heads of the same hydra, an animal that exists solely to acquire and wield power. If you are naive enough to believe that the government has your best interests in mind, please keep reading this blog, because I will do my best to show that our system is mostly self-perpetuating.

I too, am naive. I believe that, despite this self-serving system that the American people (yes, American, not "US Citizens" or other such ridiculosity - a discussion for another day) are a dynamic and caring group of people. I believe that we, as a nation, have a set of core values and goals that make us somewhat unique in the world, something that Alexis de Tocqueville noticed in our growing nation over 150 years ago and something that continues today. We want to prosper, but not at the expense of the failure of others. We want to live well, but not let others live in squalor.

I consider myself neither liberal nor conservative, neither Republican nor Democrat, but fiercely independent and passionately moderate. These are things that I also think the country at large shares with me. There are very few people who accept the entire party line and there are very few who whole-heartedly accept a hackneyed ideology. We are a rugged, intelligent people who resent being confined to a one-dimensional view of politics. Not everything falls so neatly into a binary spectrum of left or right.

This isn't a manifesto, it's an introduction. I will humbly do my best to share those thoughts of mine which I feel are worthy of sharing and do my best to communicate them with a bit of humor and wit. So join me as I infrequently post about those ideas that eschew the current dichotomy that has been thrust upon us. Lord knows, we're beyond that sort of thing.