Dear Mitt,

So you're dropping out of the race, too? It's amazing to me that people didn't want to vote for you. I mean, you're a clever guy. People want their president to be clever. You figured out you can avoid using the term "taxes" by just calling them "fees," and people will still have to pay the government money for services. That way you don't have to raise taxes. That's smart!

You've managed to avoid having to explain that you wear 'special undergarments.' You've managed to avoid the conversation about Jesus living in America, and the Native Americans really being one of the lost tribes of Israel. That takes some doing.

You've even managed to try and paint John McCain as a 'tax and spend' liberal. I've never heard a Republican call another that. I was waiting for you to refer to him as a 'flip flopper.'

Well, the race won't be as fun with you not in it. I won't have someone to loathe with every fiber of my being.

Good luck in your future endeavors!

Your Pal,

The Idea of Progress

Quote of the Day

“J.F.K.’s speech was to reassure Americans that he wasn’t a religious fanatic...Mitt’s was to tell evangelical Christians, ‘I’m a religious fanatic just like you.

- Jon Krakauer, quoted in the New York Times.

If you haven't already had the opportunity, I'd recommend Krakauer's excellent and frightening book Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith, which tells the story of the Mormon church, which is more interesting and disturbing than you might think.

Gettin' around

Ron Paul supporters have purchased a blimp for his campaign. The Idea of Progress took a look at what modes of transportation that the other Republican candidates are using:



Mitt Romney - Horse and buggy

Fred Thompson - Rascal scooter

Rudy Giuliani - Firetruck used in 9/11, because he was there, you know, on 9/11

A few words for Mitt Romney

"Freedom requires religion, just as religion requires freedom. Freedom opens the windows of the soul so that man can discover his most profound beliefs and commune with God. Freedom and religion endure together, or perish alone."

--Mitt Romney, speaking today, Thursday December 6th.

Mitt Romney, shut the fuck up.

Seriously.

Combining ideas like 'freedom' and 'religion,' and making them sound inseparable, is as asinine as telling someone they're either with you or against you. The concepts, while often intertwined, are not the same damn thing. And more often then not, religion is used to extinguish freedom, often under the maxim, "If you're not with us, you're against us."

Shut up, Mitt Romney, and go back to that hole you crawled out of.

Wow, am I angry.