Silly Science Fiction Conversations

Firstly, Ouch. I am full of disappoint.

***

I read the first 5 chapters of War of the Worlds for Science Fiction class, and thoroughly enjoyed it!  Martian invaders with ray guns and all that. Classic.

So I walk into scifi class, sit down. The teacher asks "What can we know about these aliens?" (we're comparing Wellsian aliens to Bradbury's beasts, see.)

We know they're ugly.

We know they're way more technologically advanced than we are.

We know they're from Mars.

What else...

It's early in the semester, still time to establish a positive relationship with the prof. I raise my hand, partly for class participation, partly to smugly expound objectivity (I'm a big proponent of objectivity) and say "We know they're EVIL."

Professor X cocks his head and says, "are they?"

"Are they really evil?"

Now I promised myself I would not take this class too seriously. It's a science fiction course at community college. We are discussing the philosophy of fictional 19th century aliens at 1 pm on a Friday for crying out loud.  But to say that everything's relative when big gray aliens are obliterating every human in sight is simply not right.  It's NOT!  Seriously, what do you call big gray aliens that obliterate every human in sight? You call them BAD GUYS. Bad guys who are trying to kill you and take over the world and look super creepy doing it. That is the extent of the story. That is all.

This is starting to remind me of my Art Appreciation course last semester.

On Ironic Detachment

I read Rich Lowry's latest column, and one sentence in particular stuck out to me.

"Perry apparently lacks all ironic detachment, the quality that so endears liberals to Pres. Barack Obama even though they constantly exhort him to become a fighter."

When I was younger, it was always the coolest kids who knew best how to wield that wall of ironic detachment.  Everything was lame to them. Even my imitations of their cool was lame. As I've grown up, however, it has become more and more apparent that this facade of exclusivity is simply the easiest line of defense for the insecure.  It is also one of the defining features of a true liberal, and (as I am learning) establishment Republicans.  Lack of this not-so-elusive feature immediately puts you up for fire from weaker individuals trying to certify their superiority. Thus, if Rick Perry truly lacks all ironic detachment, then he will quickly become vilified by the liberals. Not to reiterate Mr. Lowry but this is unremarkable and extremely predictable. The fact that it has happened already and with such force is what is awesome. It firmly cements Rick Perry's 'apparent lack of all ironic detachment'. And if that's the case then I'm all for him!


More importantly : Ryan for President?

Cue squeals of fangirlish glee. I don't think he would win, but it would really set him up for a future run. Which would allow me to become an even bigger fangirl!!!

Britain's answer to Paul Ryan?

You don't have to have known me very long to find out that I have a massive crush on Paul Ryan. The gentle curve of the rep's perfectly coiffed hair, his ice blue eyes and endearingly crooked nose.  It's enough to make any girl's heart melt, conservative or not. All the outward trimmings, however, pale in comparison to his policies and communication skills. The Wonkish Wisconsin Wonder never fails to make the muddiest economic concept clearer than crystal to my mind. His rhetoric has a sense of urgency that always fires me up.  And maybe it's just because I don't know too much about economics yet, but his ideas about the fiscal state of things in this country make a whole lot of sense. I could go on and on and on.

Republicans don't just have all the pretty women.

 Now keep in mind my fascination with all things Paul Ryan. Keep in mind that he is one of my few points of reference.

I was traipsing around the conservative areas of the web, looking for something good and serious to write about for my first blog post.  There are plenty of newsworthy things going on today, but I feel that my rather rudimentary knowledge of economics and current events prevents me from diving into a heavy opinion piece just yet.  Fortunately, I did stumble onto this lovely bit on Free Republic. It's a speech by Britain's 'Chancellor of the Exchequer', or Treasury Secretary, George Osborne.

These events did not come out of the blue.
They all have the same root cause.
Debt.
I believe that events around the world completely vindicate the decisions of this Coalition Government from the day it took office to get ahead of the curve and deal with this country’s record deficit.
While other countries wrestled with paralysed political systems, our Coalition Government united behind the swift and decisive action of in-year cuts and the Emergency Budget.
While other countries struggle to command confidence in their fiscal forecasts, we have created an internationally admired and independent Office for Budget Responsibility.
These bold steps have made Britain that safe haven in the sovereign debt storm.
Our market interest rates have fallen, while other countries’ have soared.
And the very same rating agency that downgraded the United States has taken Britain off the negative watch that we inherited and reaffirmed our AAA status.
[...]
Ours is an absolutely unwavering commitment to fiscal responsibility and deficit reduction.

Deficit reduction? Budget responsibility? I may be a total rookie, but don't think I am mistaken when I say that I'm getting a definite Paul Ryan vibe here.  George Osborne is absolutely on top of it.  I hope for America's sake that we start making the same 'bold steps' he speaks of.

Could it be?