Sliding Toward The Downspout of the Slippery Slope

• I thought I'd linked to this article in March; I certainly read it in March, but I just checked March, and no, I did not link it in March.  As it happens, I was looking at Mike's Blog Round Up this morning (instead of getting myself ready to Face the World) and one of the featured articles was one I'd earlier cited, but more eyeballs are more eyeballs, so

  In deep-red America, the white Christian god is king, figuratively and literally. Religious fundamentalism has shaped most of their belief systems. Systems built on a fundamentalist framework are not conducive to introspection, questioning, learning, or change. When you have a belief system built on fundamentalism, it isn’t open to outside criticism, especially by anyone not a member of your tribe and in a position of power. The problem isn’t that coastal elites don’t understand rural Americans. The problem is that rural America doesn’t understand itself and will never listen to anyone outside its bubble. It doesn’t matter how “understanding” you are, how well you listen, what language you use…if you are viewed as an outsider, your views will be automatically discounted. I’ve had hundreds of discussions with rural white Americans and whenever I present them any information that contradicts their entrenched beliefs, no matter how sound, how unquestionable, how obvious, they will not even entertain the possibility that it might be true. Their refusal is a result of the nature of their fundamentalist belief system and the fact that I’m the enemy because I’m an educated liberal.
  
  At some point during the discussion, they will say, “That’s your education talking,” derogatorily, as a general dismissal of everything I said. They truly believe this is a legitimate response, because to them education is not to be trusted. Education is the enemy of fundamentalism because fundamentalism, by its very nature, is not built on facts. 

  (Forsetti's Justice, AlterNet) Emphasis added.
• Also via Mike's Blog Round Up, Vixen Strangely follows the money behavior of the dramatis personae of this re-boot of The West Wing (paging Aaron Sorkin) and throws out a suggestion of slight skulduggery.  Angry Bear has some musing on the president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, who does not seem to understand that:

  Social Security has nothing to do with funding for any of these programs. Social Security is paid for entirely by the workers who will get the benefits. It subtracts not one dime from the federal budget. Except, of course, when the Congress is obligated to REPAY the money it BORROWED FROM Social Security.

• Leaks, firing, optics:  Joy Reid, video.  (Susie Madrak, Crooks and Liars)