a wiki brings clarity

Meritocracy is a system of government or other organization based on demonstrated ability (merit) and talent rather than by wealth, family connections, class privilege, cronyism or other historical determinants of social position and political power. Thomas Jefferson was a stong advocate of meritocracy types of government believing it was superior to all other known forms of government….

The word “meritocracy” is now often used to describe a type of society where wealth, position, and social status are in part assigned through competition or demonstrated talent and competence, on the assumption that positions of trust, responsibility and socilal prestige should be earned not inherited or assigned on arbitraty quotas. Critics claim meritocracy is a form of Social Darwinism. Just why this is considered wrong is unclear….

In a representative democracy where power is theoretically in the hands of the elected representatives, meritocratic elements include the use of expert consultants to help formulate policies, and a meritocratic civil service where membership is based on passing tests and being promoted on demonstrated talent and merit to implement them. The perennial problem in advocating meritocracy is defining what is meant by merit and immplementing a fair system of promotions and testing.

hmph?!

Episode 4 is in the can. Lots of fun. Audio inequalities with our voices have returned..but not too bad. Theres also a fine song by Todd Snider about halfway through. Enjoy.

 Matt and John Show Episode 4: 08-30-06 [33:40m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (1598)

Even the Man of Steel can have a papier-mâché heart. Much hype preceded the release of the movie “Superman Returns” a film many thought would bring the fabled Superhero back amongst the pinnacle of Heroes, back where he belonged. Yet even though the feature film garnished millions of dollars there are those that say it is just not enough!
Superman tired of the intrusions into his life, tired of the speculation, of all the added pressure and stress today held a press release in Metropolis where he announced his retirement. Sadly none of the major cable news channels carried it and it was ignored by even the local stations as well. Here it is for those who still believe a man could fly…

Silliness aside how can anyone not see what these right wing lunatics are trying to do? The woman is basically a Loyalist looking to return the country back to England and a monarchy! 

U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris told a religious journal that separation of church and state is “a lie” and God and the nation’s founding fathers did not intend the country be “a nation of secular laws.” 

The Republican candidate for U.S. Senate also said that if Christians are not elected, politicians will “legislate sin,” including abortion and gay marriage. 

Harris made the comments — which she clarified Saturday — in the Florida Baptist Witness, the weekly journal of the Florida Baptist State Convention, which interviewed political candidates and asked them about religion and their positions on issues. 

Separation of church and state is “a lie we have been told,” Harris said in the interview, published Thursday, saying separating religion and politics is “wrong because God is the one who chooses our rulers.” 

“If you’re not electing Christians, then in essence you are going to legislate sin,” Harris said. 

This is where the giant Monty Python hand of god comes down and zaps her… ok… cue giant hand of god!!!

Matt and I will be meeting via skype on wednesday night. Look for a podcast to available Thursday. BTW if anyone has a skype address (anyone can…they are free) perhaps you can call us on wednesday night. We’ll let you know the time and info needed to join us.

I just finished watching a cnn report about a church in Watertown, NY that fired a woman for…Well being a woman. The pastor cited a verse in Paul’s letter to Timothy that said a woman should not be “in authority over” or “teach” a man. The thing is, this woman has been teaching there for 50 years and is now in her 80’s. The pastor, a city councilman, said that he respects womens rights but that the world inside the church and outside the church are different. He wrote a long letter basically stating that many of his best friends are women:-) I’m not kidding. Anyway, I wanted to check this guy out so I found his blogger accoount and clicked on a sermon of his. The first thing he starts off with is a Blonde joke about “a woman with blonde hair” going into a library. Its a dumb joke and his delivery is awful…but it made me wonder how much of this firing comes from scripture and how much comes from his own personal experiences. The church is really talented at masking their bias and bigotry with scripture. They do it with gays. They do it with addicts. They do it with politics. And they do it with women. How sad. Anyway, I was amazed at this blonde joke from the pupit. I’m a comedian and actor and I can laugh at an off color joke and in certain company with trusted friends I can tell em like the best of them…But in a sermon? From the pulpit? Standing in front of a cross and a bible and the best he can come up with to illustrate his point and inspire his flock is “This blonde walks into a library.”

Check out the AOL article.
Check out the audio of his sermon.(click on the heading “Part IV of “Made in the USA!”)

We finally overcame our schedule conflicts and my travels to release our much anticipated 3rd episode! Enjoy and please let us know what YOU think.

 Episode 3: Court, Is It Rude?, The Politics of Terror [38:22m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (506)

Cripes, where have the shows gone? It’s a legitimate question and one I will gladly respond to. John’s on the road again, and after a crazy weekend that featured more personal angst than I wish to talk about, let’s just say we are recuperating. Yes, but no one turns in to a blog for nothing, do they. So I started to think what could I possibly provide that would be entertaining to our audience?

This video entered my mind. Have you seen it, it’s considered an internet classic. This poor bastard, you think you’re having a bad day!? I mean think about it; once your head has been up an elephant’s ass where do you go from there? Does food ever taste the same? Do flowers ever smell as sweet? Or does everything just smell like the inside of an elephant’s ass!?!

I started to ponder; this is also symbolic to me. The elephant represents the Republican Party and the zookeeper the American public, who have their heads so far up the grand oil parties ass that even when they emerge everything stinks. No wonder they can’t consider a new path, no wonder they are stuck within the bowls of misery and unable to truly see how crappy it is. Once your head has been up any elephant’s ass your vision is skewed, your instincts gone and your personal value has been violated.

Then again sometimes an elephant’s ass is just an elephant’s ass. It’s all how you look at it… Look again.

P.S. I’m not dismissing the Democrats this week, tune in this weekend and hear for yourself!

What could he possibly be thinking? When the cameras are gone do you think they make her get them coffee?