by Guest Blogger Jesse Hendrix
Much attention has been paid to the recent tragedy in Texas, where a wealthy teenager who killed 4 people while driving drunk and was given a sentence of probation and treatment instead of jail time. 
The teen’s lawyer argued that he was suffering from Affluenza, an inability to understand the consequences of his actions brought on by wealth and privilege.
While this case is a tragedy and a miscarriage of justice, it may finally bring attention to the dangerous epidemic of Affluenza. Affluenza effects thousands of wealthy Americans and it’s more virulent cousin, Affluenza-by-proxy is suffered by millions more.
There are many possible symptoms of Affluenza including:
Belief that you are immune to the consequences of your actions;
Belief that your personal wealth is more important than the lives and fortunes of others;
Paranoia that the poor, unions, or the government are coming to steal all your wealth;
The belief that Ayn Rand was a genuine philosopher, and that selfishness is a virtue; and
Immunity to factual information.
The widespread prevalence of Affulenza among the richest members of society is responsible for hardship throughout the country. When CEOs triple their own pay while refusing to raise wages for low-paid workers, that’s Affulenza in action. When Republicans in Congress refuse to extend unemployment benefits and insist on food stamp cuts, that’s Affulenza as well. When Donald Trump turns tragedy into insanebirther conspiracy theories, that is a mind completely ravaged by this disease.
What makes Affulenza so dangerous is that its sufferers are driven to spread it. Affluenza is spread through audio-visual means via vectors such as Fox News and talk radio. This allows the disease to spread to non-wealthy people in the form known as Affuenza-by-proxy. Sufferers of this variant demonstrate the symptoms above combined with a delusional belief that wealthy sufferers have the best interests of the country at heart.
Unfortunately there is no cure for Affuenza. But there is treatment available. If someone you know might be suffering from this condition, it is important to separate them from the causes. Exposure to non-biased news sources can ease early cases of Affluenza-by-proxy, but full blown cases take more intensive treatment. Those with a fully developed case of wealth-driven Affluenza can only be treated by forcing them to confront the consequences of their actions. This requires a careful balance of popular and government pressure.
While fighting other diseases requires funding, fighting Affluenza can only be accomplished by keeping the money away. As a concerned member of the public your most potent tool is carefully deciding where to spend your money. If a business is demonstrating signs of being run by a sufferer, take your business elsewhere. The only way to help sufferers of this disease is reduce their access to the wealth and power that cause it.
Together we can put an end to Affluenza.
Reproduced from Politlcal Moll and used with permission.
Jesse Hendrix writes political satire at http://www.stoptellingliesaboutliberals.com. Questions, comments, good jokes and job offers can be sent to him at jessemhendrix@gmail.com
All of the Republican candidates for Lt. Governor in Texas have reaffirmed their commitment to forcing schoolkids to learn creationism because the Constitution knows not to mess with Texas.
These candidates may be dumb, but they’re at least smart enough to couch it in words that in their tiny little minds makes it OK — “We’ll teach both theories.”
Next, they’ll require astronomy teachers to also teach astrology, and chemistry teachers to teach alchemy, because you know, let’s be fair here.
Mind you, the only creationist story they want taught equally with valid science is theirs. They don’t mean some American Indian creation story, or some Hindu one! Ha ha! Those aren’t real religions! Everyone knows the Constitution only allows for Christian beliefs. It’s in there somewhere, they know it, it has to be.
Let’s see… remind me again why Americans score so poorly in science?
“It’s snowing so therefore there is no global warming” is like saying “I know a guy who smoked for years and never got cancer so clearly scientists are wrong and cigarettes aren’t bad for you.”
It’s pretty simple to disprove climate change. Submit your research to peer review and if it is conclusive, science will acknowledge it. That’s how it works.
Every time someone says to me “climate change has been proven wrong” they point me to some internet article, usually by someone who is not a climate scientist, denying what 99% of all scientists say. It’s a conclusion that isn’t peer reviewed and usually is backed by industries that want to deny climate change because they are afraid of government conservation policies.
Now, it’s good to be cynical and skeptical. That’s what science is all about. But when the vast majority of people whose job it is to know these things say it’s true, why should I, who have no experience in these things, not believe them? 
It always amazes me how people only deny science when it contradicts their already held political or religious views. They never seem to challenge the theory of relativity or the theory of gravity. Evolution? Can’t be true because God told me so. Climate change? Can’t be true because Fox News told me so.
Do you really think that scientists, whose livelihood relies upon being correct, would lie about this? That there is a vast conspiracy of scientists who have made up the research from every country on earth and are working together for the purpose of … what? What exactly is their benefit?
What possible reason would they have to make this all up? I can’t think of anything, unless you want to believe in some sort of cliched organization of evil scientists who evilly laugh about the evil they are evilly performing solely for the purpose of being evil.
I can’t wait for them to make their demands. “We will solve this problem for a milllllllion dollars!”
Megyn Kelly from Fox News is at it again, insisting that not only is Santa Claus white (despite being based on St. Nicholas, who was from modern-day Turkey) but so is Jesus (who was a Jewish lad from the middle east). 
This fits in with the conservative bubble, where everything involves them and has to fit into their world view or it either doesn’t exist (climate change, evolution) or it is changed to be just like them (Jesus and Santa).
It’s a lack of empathy, a lack of being able to see things from others’ points of view that is the basis for much of conservative thought. They are against gay marriage until they have a gay child; they are against maternity leave until they have a baby; they are against Obamacare until they need health care coverage for their family. Whatever problems anyone has don’t mean a thing if they don’t affect them personally.
Megyn Kelly has had to backtrack a bit over her statements, but, as you can expect, she now claims that she is a victim of racism. As if insisting that your personal heroes can’t be of a different color than you means you’re a racist! Oh, right, yeah it does.
Prior to Obamacare, insurance companies raised rates constantly without justification and tried their best to refuse care whenever possible, since that cut into their profits.
Obamacare solved some of the problems (no more denying care for pre-existing conditions, for instance) but many remain.
So when I read how people are still dealing with rate increases and problems with insurance companies trying to deny care, I can’t say that I am surprised.
No law in the world can make a grinch’s heart grow three sizes.
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