Politics

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Whatever Happened To Righteous Indignation?

[ 3 Comments ]Posted on March 28, 2009 by admin in Politics

Saturday, March 28th, 2009

AIG stands for Avarice, Insolence, Greed.


Go ahead. Think about butterflies.

As I shopped at a resale clothes shop yesterday, I was mostly thinking about how cool it was that I spent less than twenty bucks and managed to buy 4 shirts and 2 jackets. It wasn’t until this morning – when I was assembling some tax documents – that it came back. There it was, welling up inside me. Righteous Indignation. I’m not going to try to sound intelligent here (something many of my friends would say is a lost cause), because as far as I’m concerned this series of images explains the TARP program well enough. It’s so incredibly obvious that in simple terms, the American public is directly paying for the outrageous speculative wealth-building of a very small group of people. Even the beneficiaries of the current bailout plans know they’re creeps; see this internal AIG memo that advises employees on how not to fall victim to the populist horde calling for their heads. In America, the protests have been a little feeble. Small groups have protested at AIG executives’ homes, and there have been under-reported and isolated Tea Parties across the country. In the UK, things have been a little edgier, with acts of vandalism against bankers’ homes. And although millions protested in the streets in France about a week ago, you have to go to sites like AlJazeera.net to find images and reporting. So tell me. Where’s your indignation? I really want to know what you think. If you want to leave an anonymous comment, use the name “Guest” and the email “dissociatedguest@gmail.com”. Read the rest of this entry »

Same Oldbama?

[ 1 Comment ]Posted on March 15, 2009 by admin in Politics

Sunday, March 15th, 2009

Is Obama The Next Jimmy Carter?

On occasion recently I’ve missed the simple message of terror and paranoia served up on a regular basis by the Bush administration. At least you felt like you knew where things stood. Although I got a definite kick out of the Democratic Party’s brief dalliance with making Rush Limbaugh the new GOP leader, it ultimately just smacks of politics as usual, and as a friend of mine pointed out yesterday, a candidate isn’t likely to get elected in this country unless they’re playing pretty nice with the existing (and frankly corrupt) Washington bureaucracy. All of which leaves me a little disillusioned; although my gut tells me that Barack Obama is a good man with good intentions, can those good intentions survive in the cesspool that is our nation’s capitol (and guidance from a guy like Rahm Emanuel who offers parenting advice like this), or will Obama end up being another Jimmy Carter?

New Improved GOP: Rush Limbaugh And Teenager Jonathan Krohn

[ 1 Comment ]Posted on March 8, 2009 by admin in Politics

Sunday, March 8th, 2009

With Ann Coulter For Vice President!


Watch the creepy little Mr. Krohn
Channel Michael J. Fox’s Alex Keaton

Some of my friends are a little suspicious of my support of Rush Limbaugh as the GOP presidential candidate for 2012. Well, let’s get realistic for a moment. I voted for Barack Obama, and am mostly trusting my gut that he has a little more integrity than the average politician. I’m still tracking the ObamaMeter though, and if Washington continues on its self-serving path of enrichment and protectionism of the already-wealthy, my faith in the two-party system will finish its long, downward spiral with a catastrophic impact into the metaphoric Mount Rushmore in my head. At that point I’ll be voting more for sport than actual results, and what could be more fun than watching the latest darlings of the GOP – Rush “Bonehead Gangster” Limbaugh, Bobby “Mr Rogers” Jindal, and the 13-year-old punk in the clip featured here, Jonathan Krohn – duking it out for dominance of the party base? If Obama is miraculously able to provide the inspirational leadership to keep the country moving forward during these difficult economic times, it will be no contest. If he can’t, this should prove to be the biggest free-for-all since Smokey and the Bandit or the Sack of Rome, and I’d rather have a front row seat to the spectacle and lose, than be sitting in the winner’s circle of of the victors-by-default Democrats. Read the rest of this entry »

Hungry For Change

[ 6 Comments ]Posted on February 25, 2009 by admin in Politics

Wednesday, February 25th, 2009

Hunger is a reality for 1 in 8 Americans – Support FeedingAmerica.org

I was impressed by the “We Will Rebuild” message of President Obama’s speech last night. Although I’m hesitant to start plugging into the idea that we’re entering a catastrophic depression, it’s been on my mind that things are already pretty bad in certain spots around the country, and I’ve been wondering if there was something in particular I might do to help out. Ironically, while we have problems here at home, I’m currently busy working on a project with a Kenya/US non-profit called Amara Conservation. Kenya’s pretty proud of the Obama connection, but has some problems of their own! As fate would have it though, I received an e-mail today from Dan Michel of Feeding America, asking that we help spread the word that an astounding 1 in 8 Americans don’t have enough to eat. In the clip at left, President Obama talks about places like Elkhart, Indiana, where the 15% unemployment rate is contributing to a situation in which the food banks are running out of food. Yes, right here in the states. Visit feedingamerica.org to learn more, or feedingamericacentral.org to download media to help you spread the word. If you have any worthwhile causes to promote, drop us a line, we’ll be glad to do what we can. Read the rest of this entry »

Does Obama Have A Message?

[ Comments Off ]Posted on February 23, 2009 by admin in Politics

Monday, February 23rd, 2009

I still have lots of Hope but I’m running out of Change

Like many, I was deeply moved by Barack Obama’s inauguration speech. In spite of this, I can’t at this moment remember a single word of what he said. And this troubles me slightly, in spite of my mild disdain for the sound-bite-centered language of the era we live in. I’ve recently been reading Words That Work by Frank Luntz, the man that has helped define the messages that have been helping the GOP win elections for over a decade. Luntz comes across to me as kind of an arrogant jerk, but I guess if you’re the Wizard to to the GOP’s Land of Oz, you’re entitled to poke out from behind the curtain once in a while. If you read around his gloating and self-aggrandizement, the book is full of excellent insights. Insights about language which I hope are put to work in Obama’s speech Tuesday night; this is an incredibly critical moment, with the global economy more obviously lurching back toward a downward spiral after what was feeling like a brief pause, and world leaders rattling sabres as they’re obligated to do at times like this. One hope I have is that he can provide a galvanizing message, as he did so well during the elections. America needs a simple set of words to pull it together. I certainly wouldn’t want Obama speechwriter Jon Favreau’s job at this point. See this US News piece for some amusing insight into how the guy works. Can he come up with the next “Nothing to fear but fear itself” or “Ask not what your country can do for you”?

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