More Election Post-Mortem: Spin Zone RIP

As observers have noted, one of the deserving casualties this election cycle has been the “spin zone.”

In a remarkable ceding of their authority as journalists who should report and analyze, media outlets have often allowed party hacks to “spin” the news and shape the message that went out from the media. This was especially egregious after presidential debates when whatever first messages came out often became accepted as conventional wisdom. I often found it appalling that news organizations would happily report these spins as fact. While the media often rather humorously noted the obvious biases of the spin zone, they nevertheless happily submitted to the system. It’s yet another example of how media has become part of the establishment rather than a critical check on government.

The rise of “snap polls” immediately following the debates have fortunately neutralized the ability of pundits and party hacks to shape the message to their liking. While the talking heads, of course, are free to make pronouncements on their thoughts, they nevertheless risk losing all credibility and being seen as seriously out of touch should their comments be completely at odds with what the instant polls of ordinary citizens are saying.

Right wing conservatives have always been notoriously adept at “truthiness”—stating outright lies knowing that if it’s said enough times it becomes accepted truth. But, again, snap poll technology has served to counteract such tactics because of the danger of making the pundit look seriously delusional.

The Consequences of Building a Team of Rivals

By now, President-Elect Barack Obama’s plan to model his Cabinet and senior staff team after the “Team of Rivals” approach used by President Lincoln has been well documented. This strategy was the focus of Doris Kearns Goodwin’s celebrated book, Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, which describes how Lincoln persuaded many of his political rivals to join his Cabinet believing the country needed to benefit from the brightest minds of his generation. Lincoln’s enduring legacy as one of the nation’s greatest presidents is a testament to the success of this strategy. Goodwin’s book not only shows how Lincoln successfully managed the varied egos and opinions of his Cabinet, but ultimately also gained the respect of men who initially dismissed him as an experienced backwoodsman.

Obama's desire to adopt such a leadership style says much about the confidence and self-possession of the President-Elect. Such a strategy ultimately requires a strong leader at the helm who is able to get everyone to work from the same page and accept his lead as chief executive.

The Team of Rivals approach may also have some additional side political benefits. Bringing in rivals from the opposition party into his inner circle—particularly those considered more moderate—also allows him to broaden his political base and reach across the aisle, while simultaneously pushing to the fringes the more extreme conservative wing of the opposition.

More Monday Morning Quarterbacking

Here's an eerie coincidence: The “Permanent Majority” envisioned by the GOP (as strategized by Karl Rove, President Bush and minions) lasted exactly as long as the 1000 Year Third Reich: 12 years.

With all the recriminations and soul-searching going on within the GOP, here is an objective outsider’s view of where the GOP has gone wrong:

One of the cornerstones of classic conservativism is small, limited government. It’s ironic then that this Administration, with the support of a Republican-controlled Congress, squandered a record surplus left to them by the previous Democratic administration, produced record deficits, and turned out to be the highest-spending administration of all time.

What happened?

As the minority party, it’s easy to say you are against spending. But once you are in power and have greater control of the purse strings, it takes great discipline and self-control to put your money where your mouth is. Obviously, the GOP failed to live up to its own principles and fell prey to the temptations of power, showing that they too could be profligate spenders when given the keys to the coffers.

In addition, the Republicans have been taken hostage by a minority fringe that is too far right and out of step with the rest of the country. Admittedly, this minority fringe exercises power by voting in high numbers, making noise on the issues that are important to them and contributing money. Ultimately, however, as a voting block, they are not sufficient enough in size by themselves to put national candidates over the top and can only succeed by creating coalitions with other groups, often using fear, hate and divisiveness to carve up the opposition.

As issues more important to the rest of the electorate emerged during this election cycle (such as the economy), these coalitions collapsed and exposed the rhetoric of the far right as devoid of positive ideas and thinking, and full of nothing but negativity. There exists in the far right a seething anger and resentment (evident even when they are in power) that really showed its teeth during the election through its nasty race-tinged smears of the opposition, and which showed a true contempt for the rest of America. While they give lip service to “Country first!”, it’s clear they mean “Ideology/Christian values first.” Which is ironic and unseemly given the intolerance and hate that emanates from this fringe wing of the party.

Amazingly, the response of much of the right has been that they failed because didn’t veer rightward enough! Talk about out of touch! On the one hand, I would love to egg them on knowing that such a scorched-earth policy approach will only serve to push them further to the fringes. On the other, I find it disconcerting knowing that they will work to field even more far right candidates. I truly believe such candidates—as epitomized by the woefully ignorant, superficial and callow Sarah Palin—represent a real danger to the security and future of this country, and don't want them anywhere near a stone's throw of real positions of power.

Predictably, rather than working on new ideas, the far right is counting on the new President and his Democratic-controlled Congress to “overreach” by going too far to the left.

Fortunately, I think the President-Elect, who is a student of history, a pragmatist, and a consensus builder, will avoid that. Even the Democrats (including Speaker of the House and liberal stalwart Nancy Pelosi), who remember the humiliating losses of 1994, seem to understand that moving to the far left immediately out of the gate would be playing into the GOP’s hands.

I’m a pragmatist myself, not an ideologue. Hopefully, the Democrats will be disciplined and patient, and look at ensuring Obama’s chances for re-election in 2012. As any student of presidential history knows, it’s the second term when Presidents have more leeway to pursue bigger issues that require harder decisions since they no longer have to worry about re-election.

Your Fifteen Minutes are Up

The main reason Sarah Palin created so much excitement among her Right Wing Christian Talibanist GOP base was because they were desperate for their own “rock star” to counteract the clear charisma of the rival ticket. Palin was physically attractive and sassy, yes, but other than that she was a blank slate on which a disheartened fringe electorate could pin their hopes on. Their disappointment with the ticket they were stuck with was exposed in the “Palin/McCain” bumper stickers that cropped up which flipped the ticket, reflecting the preference of the Christian Talibanists.

As Palin became better known to the rest of the country, however, her appeal and poll numbers plummeted. It seems agreed now that Palin's selection was a disaster for the ticket, piling on top of the campaign's poor decisions and execution, as well as plain bad luck.

In deference to her popularity among the right wing faithful, Palin was a keynote speaker at a recent GOP meeting of governors. The invitation, however, appears to have been a bit pro forma and simply a nod to one wing of the party—her speech does not appear to have been very well received by her fellow governors or consistent, and some of her colleagues grumbled about the attention she received, whisking her away from her press conference after less than 5 minutes.

It's clear that Palin is ambitious—I presume she would not have reached the governorship of Alaska without some intelligence. (She certainly has the political shrewdness). Still, we're talking about Alaska here, which despite what the Governor says, apparently engages in the very socialist ideal of distributing oil wealth to its citizens.

To give Palin the benefit of the doubt, one explanation for her poor performance during the election was that until she had been plucked from the tundra to run as vice president, running for office at the national level was not yet on her radar and she hadn't had the years of preparation and education many candidates undertake when running for national office. Frankly, asking anyone to make the leap from governor of one of the least populated states in the union to vice presidential candidate is a huge one, and not something a few weeks of coaching would necessarily solve.

If Palin is serious about running for office in the lower 48 that would raise her national profile, I would suggest she prove herself as governor and develop some substance. Until then, she is doing nothing but wearing out her welcome and showing herself to be the empty suit she was during the presidential election.

Sarah, please go back to Alaska!

What Makes Us Great

Plenty will be written about the magnificent campaign Barack Obama ran to reach the White House, and of his soaring, inspirational election night speech.

But for now I'd like to give props to John McCain for exiting on a high note and delivering a concession speech that was gracious, healing and unifying. I am astounded McCain chose to run such a nasty campaign and did so to the bitter end despite the polls, partly because it was so contrary to what he seemed to stand for in the past. Nevertheless, at the very end he deserves credit for moving quickly to step aside for the new President-Elect in order to unify the nation behind their new leader.

While it's all part of the theater of American politics, to me it nevertheless underscores what makes the United States so great and unique among modern nations—that even after a bruising political battle, opponents can come together, shake hands, and re-affirm their mutual dedication to protecting and advancing the best interests of our great country.

God Bless America

The Anti-America Parts of the Country

Sarah Palin’s recent claim that parts of the country are “anti-America” —which was followed by Michele Bachmann’s call for investigations into alleged anti-American elements of Congress—ironically exposes the hate and contempt that Palin and her fellow conservative Talibanists have for the rest of the country and the principles it was founded on.

For as much as the extreme right wing likes to mindlessly crow “Country first,” it’s anything but—rather, it’s ideology first and their Christian God first, with no regard or respect for the views or opinions of others.

And nowhere is that more evident in their choice of Sarah Palin, a dangerous, ignorant and unthinking rabble-rouser who borders on demagoguery. By embracing a candidate so obviously unready for the Oval Office, and so unfit to lead the nation especially in this time of crisis and uncertainty, they have shown the rest of America that they are less interested in the future and security of the country than they are in turning it into a Christian Talibanist state.

See here for more about Sarah and Todd Palin’s anti-American secessionist activities.

I Couldn’t Have Said It Better Myself….

Amid all the sturm and drang of this election campaign, here are a few noteworthy and eloquent endorsements for Barack Obama, some of which are significant given their sources:

• The New Yorker
• Endorsement from National Review columnist Christopher Buckley, son of the late leading conservative William F. Buckley, Jr. (Buckley was forced to resign from the magazine afterwards)
• A follow up piece from Buckley discussing the epic failures of the Bush Administration and GOP
• A piece from conservative founder Barry Goldwater’s granddaughter
• An endorsement from Vanity Fair columnist Christopher Hutchins
• Endorsement from Republican and former Massachusetts Governor William Weld
• Endorsement from Reagan appointee and former McCain Adviser Charles Fried
  

And from Sarah Palin’s home state of Alaska, an endorsement for Barack Obama from the Anchorage Daily News.

As of October 27, the total number of newspaper endorsements received by Obama is 180, versus 75 for McCain. These include at least 35 papers that endorsed George Bush in 2004.

The Politics of Hate

While I’m not sure whether the Rovian/Bush approach to winning elections by cynically using hate speech to divide the country rather than running on anything inspirational or unifying will truly be completely buried and discredited with the current presidential campaign (depending on the outcome of course), it certainly so far has not gained serious traction. With fear in the air about the economy and the overall future of the country, it’s clear the electorate are looking for leadership and hope, and want nothing to do with the kind of toxic innuendo and hate that has been emanating from the GOP.

Surprisingly—and perhaps as a reflection of the desperation of the McCain campaign—McCain has done little to change his playbook. Indeed, if anything, the attacks have become even more shrill and ridiculous, with members of the GOP now recklessly claiming that some parts of the country are not “pro-American” and Minnesota Congressional Representative Michele Bachmann calling for McCarthy-like investigations of whether her fellow members of Congress are anti-American (which has spectacularly backfired as noted here and here). The GOP has puzzlingly continued this scorched earth policy despite most polls showing that voters are not only turned off by it (which admittedly they always say) but also that this strategy has made little dent to date in the numbers.

Of course, the GOP and McCain—who has embraced the right to the disappointment of those who once admired the Senator’s willingness to break at times with his party during the days of the “Straight Talk Express”—likely recognizes it now has little choice but to play the politics of fear, given that they cannot run on the economy, nor on their record, or on being agents of change. But at the same time, the shrillness and shameless mudslinging of innuendo and guilt of association has not only exposed the level of panic and hysteria in the GOP but also shown it truly is a party of hate, bereft of new ideas.

Colin Powell summed it up best when speaking about his endorsement of Barack Obama. He took the time of his endorsement as an opportunity to also express concern about the direction both of the campaign and the GOP in its strategy of using fear and hate to divide the country and to claim some people for being un-American. It’s a strategy, I trust, that history will eventually condemn as a dark time in American politics.

End Teen Pregnancy Now

For further proof of the hypocrisy and whining of the GOP and their Christian Talibanist supporters, one need to look no further than their response to Sarah Palin’s unwed, underage pregnant daughter.

The right have been up in arms that this is a private “family matter” that the media has no right focusing on.

Generally, I agree. But by the same token, it is this party that extols “family values,” decries the decline in morality in society, and believes that morality should be legislated. If the GOP and Christian Talibanists are serious about their belief that morality is not a private matter but deserving of public and community judgment, then certainly shouldn’t their own be held to the same standard?

Angry Grandpa!

There's still a lot of time yet until election day, but for now neither the trends nor the momentum are in McCain's favor.

While McCain and the GOP predictably have moved into attack mode, given people's worries about the economy, his attempts to avoid the elephant in the room (i.e., the economy) and instead engage in mudslinging and character attacks further reinforces many people's belief that McCain is out of touch and doesn't understand the concerns of middle class Americans. Plus it smacks of desperation.

McCain, of course, didn't help himself in the recent debate. While McCain pushed for the town hall format, he came off as stiff and uncomfortable. McCain conveniently forgot that the town hall meetings he has participated in and finds so invigorating consist of audiences who are selected to be enthusiastic and support him. True, the format used for the debate was hardly a true "town hall" meeting, and instead was clinical, controlled and cold. But Obama adapted easily while McCain, perhaps showing his age, did not.

McCain has partly painted himself in this corner. In instant responses and polls, viewers reacted negatively when McCain went on the offensive, which only served to underscore his unlikability and reputation for being a hothead. So McCain must tread a delicate balance to avoid looking too unhinged. (One commentator likened McCain as coming off as an "angry grandpa" when he referred to Obama as "That one.") By contrast, Obama's ratings went UP when he went on the offensive.

McCain also has the disadvantage of being closely tied to this Administration and the GOP. As much as he tries to run away from it and portray himself as a "maverick," McCain nonetheless is part of the status quo and the Washington beltway, who supported deregulation with his Congressional colleagues and has been an especially vocal proponent of going to war, whether it be Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran or North Korea.

Though some have expressed amazement that there still remain a significant group of "undecideds" as we approach election day, my take on it is that many of these people simply are trying to get comfortable with the idea of Obama as president. Obama's cool, measured performances in his debates have served him well and made him look more presidential.

One month left to go!

Mission Accomplished

What does it say about the viability of Sarah Palin's candidacy when her main goal in her vice presidential debate was to prove she isn't a complete drooling idiot—well all I can say is, "Mission Accomplished!"

While some hoped to see Palin meltdown onstage, all indications from Palin's background and experience demonstrated that so long as she prepared, she would do fine. After all, given all her other missteps, one would hope that at least being able to not hurt the ticket further by not embarrassing herself in the debate would be a minimum load she could handle.

At best, Palin did not personally embarrass herself as she has already done numerous times. However, this hardly qualifies her for the vice presidency of the United States. Nor does it help McCain much other than to somewhat stanch the damage she already has done to the ticket. Nevertheless, while many seemed to credit her for at least showing up and standing her ground, in terms of substance and presence, she nevertheless fell far short, as early polls from CNN and CBS seem to suggest. Palin continued to Palinize by skirting around questions and answering with vague message points that were long on platitudes and cheerleading, and short on substance or specific plans of action.

Palin’s answers do not lack confidence, they lack coherence. —Bob Schneider, CNN

Research Shows Conservatives are Genetically Cowardly

Explaining the root cause of the Bush Doctrine, a recent study showed that "people with strongly conservative views were three times more fearful than staunch liberals."

That sure explains a lot—and why, I think, John McCain initially asked to cancel this Friday's presidential debate, and why they are trying to cancel the vice presidential debate.

Burn, Baby, Burn

I understand the desire for the proposed $700 million bailout of financial institutions as a necessary safety net for the overall health of the national economy. However, I’ve changed my mind about this bailout for the following reasons:

This crisis is the result of an Administration and an ideology that believes that government should stay out of the way of business, that “government is the problem and not the solution,” and that the market should be allowed to take care of itself.

As such, I do not see why these financial institutions merit being saved when the crisis they are experiencing is the result of their own bad judgment and greed. It seems rather hypocritical to ask the government to stay out of business, then to turn to them for help when they get into trouble. Isn’t such weeding out simply an example of market forces at work?

While I somewhat agreed with the general argument that many homeowners who got themselves into mortgage trouble by overextending themselves and by making bad decisions did not deserve to be bailed out, it follows that the financial institutions who enabled those homeowners and were as much part of the problem deserve no assistance or sympathy as well.

This is cronyism at its worst. These financial institutions have always resented government intrusion into their business and many of the people in this field have resented government intervention programs for the disadvantaged. I say it is time to let these institutions burn down to the ground and let new more prudent ones take their place with the lessons learned.

And if such a bailout is to occur, I would expect the senior CEOs and managers of these institutions either to be fired or, at the least, expect them to be subject to a drastic reduction in compensation, and a loss of property and income. Given the obscene wealth and arrogance these people have demonstrated over the years, it is time for Wall Street to experience the same tangible pain as their victims on Main Street if they expect to beg the American people for their hard earned money to rescue them from their own greed and fiscal mismanagement.

Fit for the Presidency?

In my view, the issue isn’t so much whether GOP presidential candidate John McCain’s choice for vice president, Sarah Palin, is qualified to be president in the event that McCain, as president, would for some reason be unable to serve—but rather what Palin’s selection says about the judgment of McCain.

All indications state that McCain’s choice was made on the cuff and impulsively, with little vetting or consideration. Cynical reasons aside, while McCain is known for being his own man and often shooting from the hip, one must wonder whether such recklessness—particularly given the past 8 years—is what this country needs in this moment in history.

Even leading, thoughtful conservatives have questioned McCain’s suitability for the job….

God Has Spoken

So James Dobson prays for rain during Barack Obama's nomination acceptance speech, and instead God brings Hurricane Gustav down on the GOP convention.

If ever there was a sign of God, I believe this was it.

We hear you God!

'Nuff said.

Bring It On

Barack Obama has just brought the fight to John McCain.

After weeks of McCain baiting Obama, Obama used his youth and vigor and defied McCain to come at him.

By the very fact that he came out strong, willing to stand up and go toe-to-toe against an opponent who has positioned himself as the tougher fighter, Obama proved he is ready for the Oval Office.

The McCain campaign's pathetic response shows they were caught flat-footed. Reports say that McCain's campaign will try to resist the bait, which only affirms that they have been cowed by what they witnessed tonight.

Bring it on.

Florida: Shithole of a State

The NRA has attacked Disney for not allowing it's employees to bring weapons into work.

I always suspected Florida was a shithole, and this confirms it if citizens don't have access to basic law enforcement protection and need to be armed against the crazed gunmen running rampant throughout the state.

Florida's real estate market is one of the worst hit in the country due to the recent mortgate loan meltdown—I guess no one wants to live there but criminals.

Let's hope Florida passes an ordnance requiring ALL citizens to pack heat so that we can watch the mutual genocide of the whole state.

A Lesson from the Redeem Team

One of the most remarkable stories to come out of the Olympics has been the turnaround of the U.S. men's basketball team, the "Redeem Team."

The goal of the team wasn't just to bring gold back to U.S. basketball, which had become vulnerable to opposing international teams. Rather, it was also to rehabilitate its image.

As many outlets have noted, including a recent L.A. Times article, the arrogance of the team had alienated opposing teams and players, and earned it little respect. In many ways, it confirmed the worst stereotypes about Americans.

In contrast, this team made it a point to not only step up its game, but also to raise its image. And by all accounts, this team of star players from the top down—including Kobe Bryant, who seems to have been genuinely moved and re-energized by the experience—have bought into the importance of being good ambassadors both for the sport and for the U.S.

As the team's managing director noted, in order for Team America to be successful, it didn't just need to come out on top, "We have to show respect for our country, show respect for our team, show respect for our opponents. And anything less than that’s not going to fly.’ ”

Sounds like a lesson our present (and any future) Administration should take to heart.

The Naivete of George W. Bush (the Appeaser not the Decider)

As I mentioned in an earlier blog, the President's toothless response to Russia's invasion of Georgia serves as yet another painful reminder of the impotency of both George Dubya and the United States under his leadership (as if they could sink any lower). As much as G.W. pays lip service to defending democracy around the world, like a deer caught in the headlights (in fact, similar to his immediate response to 9/11 when he froze in wide-eyed fear) he stood around and did nothing early on while Russia moved into Georgia and consolidated its land-grab. In response, Bush simply said nations shouldn't act like bullies.

The fallout? The Russians likely will say entrenched in the contested territory as this lame duck President sells out a nascent democracy and cowers in fear of upsetting an upstart power that this President desperately needs as an ally for reasons related to oil, Iran and Iraq.

This latest fiasco is yet further proof of this President's incompetency, naivete, and downright poor judgment. As noted in an a recent L.A. Times article regarding this latest failure of U.S. foreign policy under this Administration, "early in his term, Bush famously said that he got a 'sense of his soul'" after a meeting with then Russian President Vladimir Putin, adding, "I found him to be very straightforward and trustworthy."

Putin clearly seized upon Bush's naivete and Christianity to play him for a fool.

Peace in our time

Given all the noise this administration likes to make about the dangers of appeasement, the rather pathetic response it has made about Russia's invasion of Poland, er, I mean, Georgia, speaks volumes. At first essentially turning a blind eye to the conflict hoping it would go away, the President finally felt compelled to speak out against Russia's brazen invasion a week later.

If anything, the President's appeasement of Russia and reluctance to initially rock the boat underscores the U.S.'s decline in power under this administration and its desperation to stay on Russia's good side.

If this President wishes to be consistent in his policies and is sincere about protecting democracy around the world, he should be prepared to rattle his saber a little louder and threaten Russia militarily. Aren't we the world's policeman?

But we all know this President is a pussy who only pays lip service to the idea of protecting democracy, willing to invade for a personal grudge rather than to protect innocent lives.

At left: It's not Hitler we should be comparing the President to. It's appeaser/coward Neville Chamberlain.

Where's the Love?

What's with all the fucking whining about the media coverage Barack Obama has been receiving?

One would think such coverage only fitting to balance out the Pravda-worthy lovefest that the GOP and George W. Bush have enjoyed the past eight years from party flacks like Fox News and Fat Fuck Drug Addict Rush Limbaugh the last eight years. It must be bad when even they're abandoning you though.

Why They Hate Us, Part II

While recently watching the Schoolhouse Rock series on DVD with my children, I was taken aback by one of the shorts from the collection, "Tax Man Max," which I've posted below.

It's obviously a fascinating artifact given the "no tax" mantra that pervades modern-day American politics and discourse, a knee-jerk position I've blogged about previously here.

Were it to air today, I could very well imagine many people being enraged by it. For some, it might well qualify as propaganda—and, worse, propaganda focused on indoctrinating our children!

I have little doubt it was made with genuine sincerity and all good intentions. It is a reflection of a time when there was a stronger sense of civic responsibility and even "sacrifice" in the American citizenry. The animated short effectively makes the very point I tried to make in my earlier post—that taxes play an important role in providing services and creating a sense of community in a society. As I said earlier, it amazes me that people expect our government to wage war, take care of our service men and women, improve schools, and build better roads, yet feel they shouldn't need to pay a dime for it.

Journalism RIP

In another example of the continued gradual decline of the American newspaper and the field of journalism in general, the Los Angeles Times recently announced that it was planning to cut 250 jobs, including 150 news staff.

I'm of two minds on this. On the one hand, I do feel newspapers are an essential part of a functional democracy. Aside from providing a check on the three branches of government for the citizenry as the "fourth branch of government," I appreciate that newspapers provide a depth of coverage that most new media news outlets do not. In contrast, online "journalism" can be far from impartial, and it's often difficult to differentiate responsible reportage from unintended or willful misinformation (if it's online, it must be true, right?), let alone outright demagoguery.

On the other hand, however, I also have little sympathy or patience anymore for modern journalism, which have abdicated the basic values of great American journalism.

Modern journalism is now simply part of the "establishment," owned by media conglomerates that are more interested in protecting the status quo and their access to the corridors of power than truly acting as a responsible watchdog for the average American.

One only needs to watch classic films like the Front Page, His Girl Friday, and even the relatively recent All the President's Men to see that journalism in its heyday had a rough seedy edge to it, made up of rough-and-tumble outsiders who were skeptical of anyone in power. Perhaps that cynicism still exists, but now that these people are part of the moneyed establishment, they have happily ceded that role and primarily are more interested in "gotcha" politics and making even the most minor inconsistency a major issue—all at the expense of their role to keep the citizenry informed and educated. (Mixed in with all the eulogies that followed the passing of journalist Tim Russert, I must admit I was encouraged to see some contrarian comments. While his passing was certainly sad, I did feel he embodied in many ways what was wrong with American journalism, happily wielding a bullying power and influence that I don't think necessarily served the American public, nor was healthy either for journalism or political discourse.) In this sense, ironically it may be the blogosphere that will adopt this role, though given the inherent fragmented nature of the Web, one must wonder how effectively.

RIP to print journalism? As much as I would miss it, perhaps we should also say, "Good riddance!"

Why They Hate Us, Part I

Below is a number entitled "Cool Conservative Men" from the musical 1776 that perfectly captures the central goal of the GOP/conservative position—to protect the place and power of the privileged in society.

While some may argue that the song has no relevance today and that it simply reflects the views of the Tories who wished to remain loyal to the crown (and, by extension, protect their interests as landed gentry), it's worth noting that Jack Warner, who was the Warner Bros. studio head at the time this hit musical was adapted for the screen, cut the number from the film at Richard Nixon's request before its release.

(Note: The scene was restored to the recent DVD release of the film, but an online link to it did not appear to be available, hence this link to this stage production.)

We Let This Man be President?

If there's anything that best underscores the poor judgment of the idiot we elected president, it surely is this fag quote from the Decider-in-Chief after meeting the Vlad:

"I looked the man in the eye.... I was able to get a sense of his soul."

My God, lead this fucking country, don't go fucking trying to read men's minds--especially when you're obviously so fucking bad at it.

With Friends Like These... (Part 2)

Yeah, I know it's been awhile since I last posted. While the usual intrusions of real life have contributed to the lack of posts, part of it was general fatigue and disinterest in this longer-than-usual primary season. Anyway, I hope to get back on a roll and post on issues!

First up is this article from the Los Angeles Times that confirms what I have been thinking and blogging about recently: with new powers on the rise like China and India (as I have discussed here), the U.S. can no longer arrogantly depend on its preeminence as the leading economic power to get all the oil it needs affordably.

Nor, apparently, can we depend on our friends. Even the well-documented cozy relationship that the Bush family has enjoyed with the house of Saud over several generations has not helped this Administration ease surging oil prices in the U.S. Despite the spectacle of an American president going hat-in-hand again to beg for help from Saudi Arabia (as I noted here the first time it happened) , the Saudis have all but told Bush and the U.S. to take a hike—now that they've got the Chinese to kiss up to.

If this in itself isn't enough to find new alternative sources of energy, then I don't know what is. The American people are now paying the price of our cronyism with and unwavering support of slimy oil regimes. It's time to stop letting backward Third World fiefdoms from running our lives.

America: Love It or Leave It!

One of the things that irks me most about the conservative agenda is their constant pandering for lower taxes and their railing about government being Evil.

I don’t like paying taxes any more than the next person, but in a time when people are being asked to support the country, our troops, and the war on terrorism without a war draft and without making any attendant sacrifice, I feel that the most minimum way to show civic duty and responsibility is to pay taxes to support what we want our government to do. And this from a party that not only squandered a $559 billion surplus left to them by a liberal president (Clinton), but became the highest-spending federal legislature of all time. How’s that for hypocrisy?

Today people are so spoiled by the harping of “No New Taxes,” everyone seems to expect new roads, better schools, and national security without having to pay for it.

If conservatives believe the U.S. government is so evil, they should leave. The American government was the first government “for the people, by the people.” No, it’s not perfect, and it has its bureaucratic waste. But if not for government (and, I might add, a Democratic president), this country during the Depression would have sunk into despair and do-nothingness. Instead, the Federal government put together the New Deal which has been the safety net for hundreds of thousands if not millions of disadvantaged Americans and restored trust and hope in the power of government to effect change.

I find it amusing with the housing market now bust and the threat of a recession upon us, conservatives have suddenly found government to be a politically expedient tool. If they are true to their principles, they should simply let “the market” work things out themselves shouldn’t they?

State of the State of the Union

Too little too late.

And at least it's his last one.

With Friends Like These....

Has it come to this? The leader of (ostensibly) the world’s preeminent nation appearing before the Saudi royal family with hat in hand begging the Saudis and OPEC to lower oil prices?

Surely, if there is any image that underscores the declining prestige of the United States in the world, this is it. We are supposedly a nation that believes in the free market, unless of course, it is contrary to our own economic well being.

I’m sure the President believes that his “special relationship” (read cronies) with the Saudis gives him the latitude to go on his knees before the royal family on the subject.

In response, a Saudi oil minister stated at a press conference after the event, “We will raise production when the market justifies it.”

So much for the President’s special relationship.

Meanwhile, in a region where Bush has called for a "forward strategy of freedom" to promote democracy throughout the Middle East, he conspicuously said little on the subject during his whirlwind tour, and instead strove to shore up his relationships with well known non-democratic states like Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Additionally, after nearly 8 years of allowing the Israeli-Palestinean conflict to fester, he made a desperate, obvious attempt to salvage what little left is of his legacy with a Hail Mary attempt at a peace accord before he leaves office.

Given the distrust and dislike for Mr. Bush in the region, it’s unlikely any such accord will be looked at favorably until there is a new administration in place that will offer a fresh face and clean slate to move forward—assuming that the issue hasn’t been irrevocably damaged beyond repair.

The State of the Male 2008

The latest ploy by the anti-abortion crowd is to bring in the men who now claim to have experienced the trauma of abortion, as reported here in the L.A. Times.

Jason Baier talks often to the little boy he calls Jamie. He imagines this boy -- his son -- with blond hair and green eyes, chubby cheeks, a sweet smile.

But he'll never know for sure.

His fiancee's sister told him about the abortion after it was over. Baier remembers that he cried. The next weeks and months go black. He knows he drank far too much. He and his fiancee fought until they broke up. "I hated the world," he said.

My God, what pussies. If these are the kind of whipped men we’re raising in the United States, it’s no wonder we’re losing the war in Iraq and the respect of the world.

Y’know, gentlemen, if you really were concerned, perhaps if you had taken some personal responsibility and practiced some abstinence and kept your dick in your pants—or at the very least wore a condom—maybe your life wouldn’t have been ruined. I think it’s just as well your DNA be removed from the gene pool and the memory of this world.

Enjoy hell child killers!