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[ Comments Off ]Posted on May 20, 2010 by admin in Politics
Thursday, May 20th, 2010Maybe change DOES come from within. It certainly doesn’t seem to come from Washington. But I wouldn’t mind if Obama still ACTED like it does.
 Maybe Small Change Is Good Too |
As one of the early supporters of Mr Hope and Change, I have to confess that the last two years have been a real exercise in personal and spiritual growth for me, often inspired by politics. I’ve learned to accept that people can be even greedier and more irrational than I imagined, and that change doesn’t happen overnight. I’m usually cynical enough to read between the lines of the kind of talk the president served up on the campaign trail, but was still moved by his words and the upswell of hope that he inspired across America and around the world. Now, not so much. Mostly because he doesn’t come across as the same person I voted for in 2008. Strangely, all I really want from the president right now is for him to talk like he’s campaigning! I don’t expect that after the recently approved finance reform legislation takes the beating policy always takes moving through congress that it will fare any better than the health care bill did; Washington is just far too awash in the self-interest of the affluent elite that live and work there. So stop being so damned modulated and reasonable, will you Mr President? I don’t think we’re getting anywhere, and now Teabaggers are co-opting your brand. I have a friend who – when a street person asks him for change – actually uses the old line “change comes from within, brother“. I’m now learning a new truth in that. It’s certainly not likely to come out of Washington in a hurry. Maybe I need to learn that small change is a good thing too.
Sick & Tired Of The Government? Become One Yourself!
[ Comments Off ]Posted on May 14, 2010 by admin in Politics
Friday, May 14th, 2010But you’ll still get arrested by the one you’re rejecting when you present the passport you printed on the crappy inkjet printer in your “embassy” office.
 This seal accompanies the bizarre terms of use mentioned in the article. |
Remember when you were in grade school and you would insult somebody, and say “no takebacks“, and they’d say “I’m in a no ‘no takebacks’ zone, so your ‘no takeback’ doesn’t count!” and it would perpetually escalate into an absurdly recursive game of making a rule about a rule that didn’t exist? Well, apparently some people have trouble outgrowing this behaviour. Back in March I saw this piece about a flurry of arrests in Indiana involving Sovereign Citizens, who – among other things – claimed they weren’t US citizens, but rather diplomats living in embassies, and would produce documents they’d made themselves to back it all up. I kind of wrote them off as typical rural Midwestern loonies; there are areas in just about every one of the United States where you might wanna turn down the Cat Stevens as you drive through if you don’t wanna get shot. But it turns out these people are for real, and as ginormously high-larious as their proclamations are, their deranged and misinformed logic has already caused one of the greatest tragedies on American soil, the Oklahoma City bombing. Yes, Terry Nichols, friend and accomplice of Oklahoma City Federal Building bomber Timothy McVeigh was one of them. More recently, you may have read about how the group Guardians of the Free Republics sent letters to 30 state governors demanding their resignations. Well, as my grandpa would say, “their elevators don’t seem to go to the top floor” either. Their site has a deadline of March 31 of this year for the bizarre actions they ramble about on this page. And all the pages of the site have a weird seal at the bottom that says “Private web site under non-corporate venue. This seal conveys immunity from public scrutiny, discretion, regulation or trespass. Trespassers beware. Co-claimant fee applies to impairment.” I’m sure if you stop by their embassy they’ll be glad to explain what that means. If you can find the bomb shelter it’s located in.
Is Obama’s Record On Transparency Worse Than Bush’s?
[ 1 Comment ]Posted on May 7, 2010 by admin in Politics
Friday, May 7th, 2010The Obama administration has been a little more like “translucent” so far.
Don’t you hate it when you meet someone, and they say all sorts of hopeful things with a genuineness that makes you kind of like them, things about changing the world and making it better, and then over time you get to know them, and you find out they really were just “saying hopeful things with a genuineness”? Well, that’s how I feel about Barack Obama right now. Before all you Obamaphiles and Obama-defilers start in, let me say that the fact that I voted for the guy doesn’t tell you much about me. I’m a little bit republican, in the old-school sense. I believe that when reasonable people do business in a socially conscious manner, the government doesn’t need to get very involved. I’m also a little bit democrat, in the sense that I know that reasonable people don’t go into business, so social programs, regulation, and taxation are a must. I’m almost libertarian, except I don’t think the world has ever really benefited much from a bunch of Americans owning a gun. But I DID vote for the guy, because I believed him a little bit when he said things. I’m continuing to wonder if I should have. He let me down in a big way before I even voted for him, with the FISA bill. His staff is way more Clintonian than I would have liked to see, and although he’s doing fairly well over on the Obamameter, he has repeatedly supported Bush era policy , he was far less transparent than promised on the health bill process, and his track record on transparency in general has been even worse than the Bush administration. Even HE thinks it could be better. My last hope for the guy at this point will almost certainly be dashed; I’d love to see him continue to go after the banking industry with gusto, but I don’t think he wants to go down in history as the guy that collapsed the global economy, even if it would be the right thing to do. I fear he has little hope of bringing real change, given the insurmountable mess he inherited and the depth of the festering rot that is Washington in 2010, but I would admire him for the rest of my life if he went down swinging with his intelligence and oratory genius intact. Read the rest of this entry »
It’s My Party And I’ll Lie If I Want To
[ Comments Off ]Posted on May 1, 2010 by admin in Politics
Saturday, May 1st, 2010Party switching politicians shouldn’t bother you. I mean, why do you think they call it a “party”.
 Yeah, yeah. I know. This is the Roman god of war. But I think it could get new mileage as the Roman god of politicians. |
The hubbub recently surrounding Charlie Crist jumping ship from the GOP reminded me of how I found it amusing back in 2004 that one of the key strategies that the Bush camp used to beat John Kerry was to peg him as a “flip flopper”. To me, that’s the very definition of a politician. And even politicians I admire seem to adhere to flip flopping as a modus operandi. I personally feel that given the fact that in the states we have what is – in reality – a two-party system that’s manipulated by a corporatocracy, that switching parties or running as an indpendent immediately before an election is a powerful reflection of that politician’s lack of character. Kind of a “Dick Move”. Which is one of the reasons I have so much contempt for one of the most famous Dicks in America, who for some reason prefers to be called “Joe”. Some of the other reasons are that he looks like he probably eats flies for breakfast, drools in his sleep, and lives under a toadstool. But I digress. Charlie Crist’s decision is generating a lot of dialogue, ranging from those who believe it’s more a reflection of Crist’s style, to those who believe it’s a powerful statement about the US political system being broken. But the fact is that party switching is nothing new. If you don’t realize just how common it is, check out the roundup on Wikipedia. You’ll probably be surprised. Just over forty US politicians have done it each of the last two decades.
This Summer Could Be A Real Riot
[ Comments Off ]Posted on April 24, 2010 by admin in Politics
Saturday, April 24th, 2010They say that when things heat up in this country, all the scum seems to rise to the top.
There’s an old expression in southern political banter that goes something like “seems like when things heat up in this country, all the scum rises to the top“. It does seem like things are heating up lately; everybody from survivalist nutjobs to the New York Times are saying so. That NYT piece talks not only about the tea party movement, but “A Sprawling Rebellion” that seems to be spreading across the entire liberal/conservative spectrum. I’ve mentioned revolution with a little humor for a while, but I usually do so in jest; you have to understand that I live in the state that spawns the weird “Christian” Militias you hear about in the news. This is different though. The unrest in Greece, Thailand and Kyrgyzstan has all been largely driven by economics and employment/labor issues, and aside from the paranoia that some spread about the proposed bill that would supposedly make domestic internment camps possible right around the same time that a US Army Brigade is being deployed on US soil under Homeland Security control, the fact is that when the global investment ratings firm Moody’s is worried about civil unrest in the states, maybe we should take pause too. And it’s not just the possibility of riots in a long hot summer of unemployment to think about. In this Chris Hedges piece, the not-very-popular but always insightful Noam Chomsky points out that “The United States is extremely lucky that no honest, charismatic figure has arisen…Every charismatic figure is such an obvious crook that he destroys himself, like McCarthy or Nixon or the evangelist preachers. If somebody comes along who is charismatic and honest this country is in real trouble because of the frustration, disillusionment, the justified anger and the absence of any coherent response.” In fact, I’d be willing to bet that in spite of his comical appearance and peculiar speech mannerisms, the guy in the video below would have no trouble getting elected if he ran for office today. Read the rest of this entry »