obama300

"No Realignment" Claim from Republicans

2008-11-11T14:29:00.006-06:00

On the Republican Spin on this Election: Don 't Believe It

One thing I really despise about the Republican machine is that it is like something out of an Orwellian nightmare. Specifically:

They ALL echo the same bullshit lines, as if they have secret Republican Comissariat Doctrine Meetings.
They REPEAT AND REPEAT AND REPEAT their talking points as if it is reality. And unofrtunately, the sheer repetition and unanimousness has a way of making it persuasive.

The latest Republican Comissariat BS is that this election does not represent a "realigment" of the electorate, and that the results are attributable only to President-Elect Obama's personal magnetism.

This is bull. Does losing 6-7 senators and 20 or so Representatives not sound like a realignment? Does losing 52% to 48% sound not sound like a realignment? Those margings are just too huge to be due to one person's charisma. Plus, they are being disingenuous: they have claimed "mandates" with much smaller margins/

Let me just say this: I think the Republican Party is necessary. Without a briddle, the Democratic Party would create problems of its own. Also, I think the Republican Party is actually more effective as the minority party. But when they get the majority it is a nightmare: they crash and burn very quickly.

The Republican Party should not fool itself: there has been a fundamental realignment, particularly with regard to Young People, the Upper South (VA, NC), and the Rust Belt (OH, IN, PA). This realignment is likely to continue for 1 or even 2 decades, particularly with regard to the Young People. Brand Loyalty established early is much harder to break. (Ever met a College Republican?)

So, what next for the Republican Party? Continued....

Turning Point in History

2008-10-16T23:01:00.002-05:00

Sometimes, turning points in history come from unexpected places and in unexpected ways.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Goaj5V4tZoc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrqoSyKsAPw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXKaAQ-6BiU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkBQf4FJi-o

Watch these clips from the Al Smith Dinner, which shows Obama and McCain giving really gracious, funny roasts of each other.

What you are witnessing is the beginning of the end of the excessive partisanship in the tradition of Lee Atwater, and others. You witnessing the tone of the next 20-30 years: we are all Americans, and at the end of the day we can pull together, conservative and liberal.

Crusty, the Erratic Tanked Engine, Goes off the Rails Again

2008-10-12T20:22:00.009-05:00

Sodor City, Sodor Island
Feeling cross, Crusty went off the rails again today. "He's been to the works so many times we've lost count," huffed Sir Topham Hat. "Once again, Crusty has caused confusion and delay, and I don't like that at all," he added.

Sodor Railway crews investigating the site could find nothing wrong with the rails, despite Crusty's insistence it was not his fault. Crusty continues to claim, without evidence, that the crash happened because he was not allowed to use the rails by Town Hall Station.

" 'E's been a dodgy engine from the start," complained Nigel Muggleswaithe, machinist at the Sodor Engine Repair Shop, "Real temprimental-loike, 'an always insistin' we call 'im 'Guv'nah'. 'E's a right bollocks if yeh ask me."

At the McCain Locomotive Works in Scotland, we spoke to one Angus Podgorney, kilt designer and pipe-fitting foreman. "Aye, yeh know, the first two generations of this model were perrfect, but this one is runty, not very fast, and yeh knew, prone t' crashin'... and a real wanker tew," added Mr. Porgorney. "It's the only thing I can think of that's Sco'ish an' crrap tew," he mused.

What is next for Crusty? "The scrapyard," answered Sir Topham Hat, "If he doesn't express himself there first."

Satire Second Thoughts

2008-10-07T22:47:00.002-05:00

I have been parodying McCain as a violent, slightly demented old geezer for some time now, and you know--I am not sure--but maybe he is a little demented....like for real

I am actually starting to feel a little sorry for him. The guy was pretty damn heroic back in the day, and I know under there somewhere he still has some honor, but I think he is a little out of it. He looked really pathetic compared to Obama.

I think he time was in 2000, and he got robbed. Now he is paying the price for 8 years of Republican Incompetence at the helm. It's almost like a certain amount of reversal of the biblical truth: in the case the sins of a son (that PUNKASS Bush Jr.) are visited upon the fathers Bush Sr. and McCAin.

On the other hand, the is no way in HELL we can let him win. So, back to photshop (GIMP 2.6, actually) and blogging.

Debate Debrief

2008-10-07T22:24:00.002-05:00

Most of the polls went to Obama, and by a big margin. One of the biggest things playing into this is the obvious circular nature of McCain's reasoning and his rambling incoherence.

What is fascinating about this is that McCain's lack of coherence is not really all that different from Bush Jr's, Bush Sr.'s, or (Gasp!) Ronald Reagan. If the boilerplate has not changed much, then what has changed?

The answer is we have changed. We Americans tend to be a little blithe when things are going well. But when things are bad, we get serious. And what you are seeing is that Americans are taking this election very seriously. Consequently, we are not buying the Same Old, Spent, Residual Reagan Republican Boilerplate crap: not the shameless appeal to country or character; not the perpetual vilification of government and reasonable regulations, and certainly not the divisive culture war crap.

The Republicans are going to take it in the shorts this election, and big. Fortunately, the Democrats are inherently contentious, and the Republican Party will be reinvented. It and we will be better off for it. Ultimately, the nation will be stronger.

Geezer Lockdown Screenshot

2008-10-07T22:03:00.003-05:00

2nd Presidential Debate Preview

2008-10-07T15:26:00.005-05:00

Nashville, TN

In what was to be his comeback bout, Jasper "Mad Man Mav'rick" McDibbles, was knocked out early by a flurry of jabs and hooks he barely even saw.

"It's a one-way ticket back to Palookaville," commented Stanley Herschovitz, fight commentator. Added, Mr. Herschovitz, "For think for all his sound and fury and bluster before the fight, he was clearly no match for Barry "the Giant Killer" O'Bama. It wasn't even close."

The glass-jawed McDibbles had only this to say,"Fuck you--I was in prison for FOUR YEARS." Commented the Giant Killer, "Y'all, I may be skinny, but I can fight."

Photo Studio Snow Bunny, Possibly Rabid, Devours Toddler, Escapes Handlers

2008-10-05T21:35:00.010-05:00

(Picture taken shortly before animal devoured

Daniel Smirkowski, 2, at "Kidz Laffing" Studio.)

East Lansing, MI.

Area Hooter's Girl Manages to Serve "Republican Boilerplate Special" without Drooling or Falling, Hailed as "Exceeding Expectations"

2008-10-04T10:49:00.006-05:00

Hootersville, USA

Daphni Schmeizer, local area "Hooter's Girl" and mother of 5 served the famous "Republican Boilerplate Special" today without drooling or falling on her ass and splitting it wide open. Her manger, Joe Bronkowski, praised her as "wildly beating expectations."

Onlookers were amazed, "Hell yeah, man, she like totally transported this big ass special that these regular customers have been eating for, like 30 frikkin' years, and she read off the ingredients just like that.. and she didn't mess herself or fall or nothin'," added Vinny Piccialino, 32, " I was frikkin' amazed. It was like she was a natural gymnast and menu orator all in one--and with, you know, nice bazookas."

"She did what she had to do. Reading off the ingredients from the menu just like that, and delivering 'the usual' to table 23 without a hitch clearly cements her position in the executive track of the Hooter's Family of Eateries," added Mr. Bronkowski with emphasis. "It's too bad we don't have an airline anymore-- she's definitely Hooter's pilot material," lamented Mr. Bronkowski.

Ms. Schmeizer modestly replied, "Oh, heck, you betcha-- it's just all in a day's work for a good old-fashioned Hooter's Mom," and winked at the camera.

Game Review: "Geezer Lockdown" from Rockstar Games

2008-10-02T16:51:00.026-05:00

Atlanta, Ga.
Rockstar Games, of Grand Theft Auto fame, just released its newest ultraviolent video game titled "Geezer Lockdown". Using a combination of wiles, money, guns and a special "Rampage Mode" the protagonist maneuvers to a position of power in a ravaged nation, just rebuilding from a recent disastrous, bungling dictatorship.

"We feel that the protagonist as strapping young man is overdone," explained Tim Wasserman, Director of Marketing, "so we developed this character as more of a semi-demented, unpredictable occasionally incontinent, but extremely bloody, wiley, and violent old man. We feel that this is a neglected niche, and we intend on capitalizing on it."

I have been playing the game now for about 10 hours, and it incorporates many of the features of the GTA series. There are a variety of radio stations, including a station of Lawrence Welk tunes as rendered by Metallica. The only really weak station is Radio Hanoi, which just plays samples of the spoken word loop "I was in lock down for 4 years" over and with different background beats. Rendered in the reggae dub style, it is particularly annoying and monotonous. It can be silenced by enabling the "no more free passes" option on the radio.

The virtual world is well rendered. The crumbling infrastructure is entirely believable--and as I found out later--totally destructible. If the character finds enough used incontinence diapers on the street while in "Scavenger Mode," he can fully charge the "Rampage Mode." The character can then temporarily get out of deep trouble by activating the "Rampage Mode," which destroys all the surroundings and all the people, and takes the character back to a point 59 seconds earlier in the game.

In the "Lie Mode" the character can basically say bullshit that suits him, and the other characters will believe it. (Note: this can be used me a maximum of 3 minutes over the characters lifetime.) Activation of the"Hot Coffee" function allows the geezer function in "Lech Mode." His depends fall away and he has the (fully functional) lower body of a 24-year old male for up to 3 minutes. He can either hit on "fine young things" for action, or "rich old cougars" for money. The most points can be obtained by marrying the heiress of the devastated nation's only remaining non-outsourced business: a check-cashing/beer store chain. This allows the character to function in "Big Blingin' Mode" and gives him up to 13 cars to drive and 11 houses to live in.

Weaponology includes standard guns, knifes and machine guns. As an interesting variant, the protagonist, Wilford Hell, can use old urinary catheters or incontinence diapers to strangle and/or smother his enemies. (Spoiler Alert: as soon as he starts preparations for a really underhanded move, the character goes into "No Eye Contact Mode," potentially tipping of the enemies. So, it is best to play the character at its most randomly unpredictable.)

"We have no plans for a multiplayer mode at this time," explained Karen Singletary, Director of Development, "in early experiments with the multiplayer mode, basically the characters just blew each other up as soon as it got difficult, so we abandoned it. As we see him, Wilford Hell is a maverick, a go-it-alone type." Added Mr. Wasserman, "We feel this game will help us establish dominance in the market for the socially incompetent, the isolated, the slightly demented, and shut-in loners out there who really want a character that represents them."
I couldn't agree more. I fucking loved it. Buy it now, bitches.
3 stars.
Rated Ao.
Contains geriatric nudity, age-disparate innuendo, diaper dysfunction and leakage, foul language, and graphic violence.

Obama vs.McCain, Round 3

2008-09-29T02:34:00.004-05:00

Obama puts McCain away with an "anchor punch" after rope-a-doping him. Stings like a bee.

Obam vs. McCain Round 2

2008-09-29T02:27:00.001-05:00

Unable to land any serious punch in Round 1, McCAin is going to come out swinging, but is going to go for roundhouse after roundhouse and is going to look a little "over the hill."

Obama vs. McCain, Round 1

2008-09-29T02:26:00.002-05:00

Fairly evenly matched, the intellectual and instinctual fighters engage. The instinctual juke-and-jive fighter can definitely put the intellectual fighter away if he lands a good solid punch. But the intellectual fighter floats like a butterlfly--no major punches landed. Lots of decent jabs. A tie.

Reaction to Debate

2008-09-27T00:51:00.005-05:00

I think Obama won easily, but of course, I am an Obama supporter, so maybe I am biased.
But in a sense it does not matter who "won" the debate. I'll explain. Subtracting bias either way, it was probably a draw based on debate points. One could even assume that it was a small McCain victory.
The Tell: what McCain Lost
What did McCain loose to win? Our respect. He came across as petulant, and angry and generally unpresidential. And worst off, like not much of a man...honestly. The failure to make eye contact is not a sign of strength--it is sign of weakness. He knows Obama is going p*own him in November. But he can't man up to it, and he can't man up to Obama and look him in the face. To be too afraid of losing is very unmanly. To not look people in the eye is also a sign of submission. In monkey societies the dominant monkey looks at the less dominant monkey, but the submissive monkey does not look back.

I think part of it is also shame. I have won and lost competitions before. When I have done my best and most importantly, played honorably, and still lost, it is easy to make eye contact even when I lose. becuase I am defeated but not ashamed. One of the many reasons McCain and the Republicans are so afraid of losing this time is that they have been playing dirty for the last 20 years, and they have only never been called on it becuase they have mostly won. But when you play dirty and still lose, you look doubly the piece of shit.

That's what's going on with McCain: he actually has enough moral background to know his campaign and behavior are deeply dishonorable. And this dishonors America as well. he knows that. he just wants it too bad, and knows he probably ain't gonna get it. Hence, the eye contact avoidance. Eye contact with Obama will remind him of how dishonorable he is now.

He is barely maintaining. He can onyl keep up his mask of being together by minimiozing the emotional stimulus of eye contact.

I'll be honest, having been manly and honorable once does not give you a free pass to be dishonorable and unmanly later on. You are responsible for your behavior all the time. McCain has leveraged all his credit, and he is reeling with deleveraging like an investment house about to go under.

Just one other thing: there is a poker-like element. Obama has laid out his cards, and they are very strong. He can be open and expansive. McCain has got nothing, and just wants to bluff aas long as he can, hoping for some miracle. If he makes eye contact with Obama, he and all of us will see the "tell."

What Obama Gained
Obama gained exactly what McCain lost: our respect

It was on a general way like that time when Reagan met Gorbachev outside a house in the winter. Gorbachev was dressed way down with a hat on and a muffler and looked very dour, like a picture from some gulag. Reagan wore a suit only and ran up the stairs crisply, looking much younger, happier and more vigorous. Gorbachev is a very smart guy--you can see it on his face in the clip: he knows he just got p*wned.

First of all, Obama appeared relaxed, and like a good boxer, took his blows without losing his footing or his composure. He is not the early Ali--he was more like the mature Ali. Rumble in the Jungle style: let the other guy show what his moves are going to be and let him get tired out. Obama has yet to reliably sting like a bee. But he will.

Anyway, back to it. Obama was clearly able to handle the give and take, and alwasy had a reasonable response. He was very cool, and very manly, and very unafraid. Just by showing he was not afraid--such as by being able to initiate eye contact--he scores big points. Obama was also gracious and obvously not too afarid to losse--after all, he is fighting the good fight and an honorable fight, and there would be disappaointment--BUT NOT SHAME-- if he were to lose.

Obama'a body language and demeanor were perfect. He evn smiled in a very "cool cat" way when taking his licks--not smug or defensive, and certainly not p*wned when he got them.

My Only Criticism of Obama
Obama needs to hit McCain on being dishonorable. If McCain is going to actually call him "naive" then I think Obama can start chipping away at McCain's veneer of honor to expose the rotten plywwod underneath. I think that the next time McCain tries to pull off a whopper, I think Obama should call him on it, and hold eye contact right on McCain's sorry self, until he looks up and in making eye contact with Obama, gives us the tell: that Obama p*wns his ass, and he can't sleaze his way out of it anymore.

Area ManTries to Rock Salt Kids; Shits Himself Instead

2008-09-25T03:06:00.010-05:00

Minersville, Pa.

Local crusty old coot, Wilbert McAbel, shambled bellowing out of his dilapidated mansion on Shrub Street yesterday, armed with his Spanish American War-Era Shotgun, ready to "pepper the ass" of a bunch of "goddamn minority kids" on his property. Mr. McAbel's aim was spoiled by a sudden rush of depends-bursting fecal incontinence, which caused him to lose balance, and forced him to temporarily suspend his ongoing campaign against "outsiders" on his property.

Mr. McAbel has not been seen out of the house since, though loud obscenities and a foul odor emanated from the premises all night. Concerned authorities long ago removed all effective ammunition from the premises after his "once maverick" behavior became increasingly "erratic, unpredictable and haphazard."

The children, who were on their way to honors classes, were unharmed.

Republiban Radicals March, Rejoice at Success of Jihad on America's Economy

2008-09-19T22:18:00.013-05:00

(Translation: "Heritage Foundation:
Puttin' a Big Fatwa down on some Middle Class Ass!")

New York, New York.
Radical Republiban militants and clerics rejoiced in the streets of New York today, as their 20+ year campaign called "Deregulation Jihad" brought the American Financial System to its knees.

"I am so happy right now," proclaimed the leprechaun-faced Republiban cleric Nutah "Fallujah" Gingreshi, "When we declared our 'Fatwah on America' (1) in 1994 we were not sure when it would bear fruit. and now it is bountiful like the biggest date tree in the oasis. Our first evdicne of succes was when we shut down the Great Satan's Government on that secularist sharmuta infidel the Clinton. But this is big--it is akbar to the Max." Gingreshi then pumped his fist in the air several times, and fired his AK-47, purchased through the gun show loophole, into the air on full auto.

"It is like the proverb, 'remove the safeties, that the infidels machine might blow up,'" proclaimed the senior mullah Faeel el-Grahami. "We worked and prayed so hard for the fatwas on regulation. We first tasted the sweet dates of jihad with the S&L crisis. It did not succeed in bringing down the whole thing, but it showed what we could do. The infidel responded well to this, but by grace forgot the lessons of that. Later more of the infidel's regulations were struck down, turning the Great Satan's economic machine into an engine of self-destruction. In the process many of my friends and sheiks and fellow corporate jihadis are get so rich. It is as we say, 'Virtuous is he who enriches himself while also screwing the infidel! OH how I am like watching them WHINE!" El-Grahami was boosted on the shoulders of his followers and carried off.

Emerging from his spider hole after being absent for most of the crisis, the Jihadi Who Cannot be Named said, "Of course we also needed someone to steer the Great Satan's Economy into the ground." He explained, "When I was in MBA (Madrassa Business Authority) school my muftis were puzzled when I told them I was not interested in how to manage the economy; just how to make it go out of control. Now, hehe, I think they are understand. No taxes for the rich, no regulations, and spend like there's no tomorrow. It's the Jihad Trifecta." He jubilantly added,"Mission Accomplished!!" and made a peace sign. Explaining how he plans to avoid going down with the economy too, he explained, "golden parachute," and chuckled contentedly to himself.

The last to comment was the blind, heartless cleric Zakar el-Chenei, who was briefly brough out of cryogenic suspension for the event. "I am love waterboarding the Great Satan's economy," he croaked, "... and I can't wait to pass on my wisdom Moosetafa Q'aniss Al-Paleen." The strain of speaking these words made a variety of indicators alarm, and technicians quickly cooled him back down to -175 degrees Celsius. No visible change in his appearance was noticeable.

(1) "Mistranslation of 'Fatwa on America' to 'Fatwa with America' May Hamper America's Understanding of the Republibanic Party's Intentions," Cassandra, et al. Journal of Fringe & Radical Movements Studies. Dec. 1994. Pages 11-34.

Radical Cleric in Tribal Area Dismisses Subpoena as "Mark of the Infidel"

2008-09-19T14:22:00.015-05:00

Wa'asillah, Al-Aska. Moose-tafa Qaniss Al-Paleen, radical cleric of the Republiban Party in the tribal autonomous region of Wa'asillah in Al-Aska, emerged for her tanning spider hole to dismiss legal obligations for her husband, the tribal prince Al-Dood I, to testify regarding the Shariff-Gate investigation.

The orange-hued cleric threatened to "bring a fatwa down on your ass" to anyone who tried to enforce the subpoena on her husband to testify. Further explaining, she said, "Only infidels and people who believe in American Jurisprudence have to testify when subpoenaed," adding, "The Republiban Party sees no need follow a 200 year tradition of the American Constitution, as we are assured it was written by Secularist, Deists, Freemasons, and other Infidels."

This drew loud cheers from the local Wa'asillah tribe--many of whic have been appointed to local government spots based on tribal allegiance only. So much so, in fact, that Wa'asillah has become known as "The Tikrit of the Tundra". The crowd in attendance, flush from oil-derived welfare benefits, fired expensive hunting rifles into the air, amid loud cheers and chants of "Fatwa, Baby, Fatwa!, and "Jihad Here! Jihad Now!"

Jihadist from Oil-Rich Province Declares Fatwa, states, "Times Up, You Baby-Killing Bitches!"

2008-09-18T19:46:00.021-05:00

Wa'asillah, Al-Aska.
From the isolated, oil-rich breakaway welfare state of Al-Aska, Moose-tafa Qaniss al-Paleen, the local female fundamentalist cleric of the Republiban Party has emerged from her tanning spider hole to issue a fatwa upon women wanting reproductive freedom in the lower 48 states (AKA, "the Great Satan's Lower 48").

Casting aside considerations of incest and threat to mother's lives, the orange-hued cleric declared, "It doesn't matter whether you would actually do it or not, we just are not going to let you have the choice. And that means when I get elected, times up, you baby killing bitches!"

After a standing ovation from members of her local militia of Wa'asillah, she was whisked away by a security detail.

She refused to answer any questions about Shariff-Gate and has refused to cooperate with what she calls "the Democratic Infidel Subpoenators." As with many radicals residing in the West, she wishes the benefit and privileges of living in a Democracy , but refuses to accept the challenges and obligations of living in an open, Democratic society.

Commissar Carleton Fiorina "Disappears"

2008-09-18T13:23:00.009-05:00

Washington, DC. Carleton Fiorina, formerly the Commissar for Gender Propaganda for the Repupchik Party of America, has disappeared. All propaganda bearing her likeness has been returned to the Repubchik Under-Ministry for Propaganda (R.U.M.P.) for "SUMMARY DELETION."

Originally from the Repubchik Republic of Texistan, she came to prominence in the Repupchik Party by driving down the stock of a fortune 500 company while simultaneously waling away with 64 million American Rubles. She was a tireless advocate for the "people" which in Repubchik Argot means the "rich people."

As with other Commissars from Texistan, her frontier ways did not always fit in well with Repubchik Doctrine. Asked a question last week regarding the Commissar for Obscure Federally Funded Repupchik Fiefdoms, she answered candidly, which is strictly forbidden. She was immediately hustled off by Grand Established Technical And Repuchik Office of Police Enforcement (G.E.T.A.R.O.P.E.) officer, who said she "is going to disappear." She is now either in a gulag or a shallow political grave. All previous references to her have been deleted by the Repubchik Erasure Activities Ministry OF Unusual Technocrats(R.E.A.M.O.U.T.).

Radical Republiban Jihadist Releases Video from Hiding

2008-09-17T23:26:00.013-05:00

Late August. St. Paul, Minnesota. The Radical Leader of the American Republiban Party, in hiding since the "Mission Accomplished" Intifada of 2003, the Great "Torture is OK if it is for the Jihad" Rationalizationof 2004, the "Jihad Against the Constitution" Campaign of 2001-2006, and the "Electoral Martyrdom" Campaign of 2006 emerged from his spider hole to release a video to his hard line supporters.

The tape was also released via the Republiban party's mouthpiece, the Al-Foksa Satellite News Network. Cryptanalist Experts from the Institute of Counter-Extremism (ICE) in Quantico, Va. warn that the boilerplate, seemingly moribund may contain passages that represent coded messages to his hardline supporters. "The Republiban Party has a well-documented history of sending coded messages through seemingly benign phrases," explained an expert who asked not to be identified. "For example," he continued,"in the 70s, 80s and 90s they repeatedly used the phrase "cultural heritage," in southern jihads to mean "Support our Jihad if you still hate black people."

"There are several phrases of interest in his latest rant against America," said the expert, "for example, when he says 'the angry left,' what he actually means is the American Middle Class. As you know, he has vowed to eliminate this class in America."

"Similarly," the expert continued, "when he states 'John McCain is ready to lead,' we think this may represent a coded message to CEOs and other corporate terrorists to sell all their stock before a big collapse. Don't be surprised if the stock market takes a big dump 2 or 3 three weeks after the Republiban Convention," he added.

Asked about references to a "Sara Al-Paleen," the expert explained," We believe the references to this obscure, inexperienced frontier jihadist constitute a nothing more than a distraction--a red herring, if you will, and are intended to draw away attention from the real issues." Queried further, the expert did describe the separatist commander (in what he called "cryptanalyst terms") as a "Snow-MILF." He declined to elaborate further.

The tape also appeared to signal that he was "passing on the turban" to his erstwhile enemy from the Republibanic succession struggle of 2000. In that battle, the deciding moment came when he accused his now successor as fathering a black child out of wedlock. Since then, the two have cooperated to a remarkable degree, appearing even in birthday celebrations together while their polices cut down poor and middle class "infidels" as non-party members are described.

He is thought to be hiding somewhere in the tribal region of Texistan.

His spiritual leader, the heartless cleric Sharmut Al-Cheneii, is in hiding in an undislosed bunker. He has appeared occasionally for $25,000 a plate dinners with supportive hard-line oil and big business sheiks. Presently, he remains beyond the reach of the law, because a partisan Supreme Republibanic Court has deemed that he is not subject to the Constitution of the United States, despite living there. As with many radicals living in Western Democracies, he wishes the privileges of living in a Democracy , but refuses to accept the challenges and obligations of living in an open, Democratic society.

Look for more republican filth

2008-09-17T09:37:00.005-05:00

On issues the repubs are dead meat this election cycle. They managed to fubar the economy in less than 8 years. When mccain talks about issues, no one listens--not because they are not interested, but because he has nothing new to say other than the repub's hackneyed biolerplate of tax cuts and deregulation. He tries to blame it on the media--as do his water carriers like david brooks--but the fault is his and the repubs.

The mccain response to his own failings on the issues has been to make the campaign as filthy and disgusting and low as possible, hoping that it will at least level the whole thing down to personal preference and/or prejudice. He also hopes that people will become so disgusted with the process that they will become apathetic about the race. The Obama Campaign has thus been stuck with the dilemma of what to do with a pig that wants to fight. In this case, if they don't fight, they look like pansies--if they do fight then the race becomes a dirty race. It's a real piece of shit move on mccain's part that is a huge disservice to America. But there you have it. The repubs would rather dishonor America than lose an election. But it does put an additional burden on Senator Obama: he has to win the war of ideas and at the same time the mud fight with the pig (who likes it).

Now, mccain and the repubs have been called out recently for their filth, and I think they will take a break. But Senator Obama is slowly retaking the lead. So, expect the pig to start trying get the fight back into the mud.

What you are going to say is the daily vile, emotionally charged smear that you saw in August. Don't fall for it. Senator Obama will have to 1) continue the war of ideas, 2) lay the blame for the filth fight directly on the repubs, and 3) win the mud fight--or at least tie. The only other disadvantage I see is that the Democratic Party generally takes the initiative when doing good things, but not when doing shitty things. So, the option to go negative and filthy and Un-American is generally with the repubs, and anytime they start to lose, they go to like flies to feces.

Small Town Arrogance/ Big City Humility

2008-09-16T17:12:00.007-05:00

The republican party has over time painted itself more and more as the party of the small communities, while painting the Democratic Party as the party of the big city. Along with this, it has painted itself as the party of the humble, down-home folksy person as opposed to the big city egghead.

There's about a million ways to deconstruct this bogus dichotomy, but I am going to stick to what I think becomes the salient feature of the republican intellectual. make no mistake about it, their people are smart too, but they are a different kind of smart: an arrogant, small town big fish in a small pond type. Sara Palin is the perfect example of this: there is no doubt she was among the smartest in the community. I was like this: the smartest person in a little bitty town. With only relatively trivial debate tricks I could pretty much wipe the floor with anybody in that town. I could beat anyone in chess in about 10 moves. I thought I was some serious hot shit. I was about as sure of myself--even about things I didn't know crap about--like the Russia in palin's backyard. And why not? It's not like anyone could beat me at that kind of stuff.

That all changed when I got to University: I got my ass kicked in the honors program. Suddenly I was with really smart kids who had gone to private school, and had already read, you know, James Joyce, and could actually make sense of it. Shit! It was really hairy-- i had to work my butt off just to catch up. I suspect something similar happened to palin, but she did not have a scholarship which kept her at a particular University, and that's why she went through more Colleges than madonna goes through s&m outfits. She just couldn't take suddenly being humbled and having to be really disciplined. So, she skipped around until she found a College shitty enough that she was really smart again. Intellectually, she does not like the competition and gravitates to where she is the smartest and/or to where she is not questioned or ever called on her beliefs. The good news for me is that I stuck with it, and actually learned from those people, developed more humility and went on to a very successful specialized career. The point is, when I got to the big city, I became much more humble, and by virtue of that successful.

It is no surprise that palin would end up in the ideological wing of the republican party. It is full of mediocre intellects.* Their salient characteristics are that they are slightly insecure --which leads them to arrogance--and lacking in humility, which leads them to make snap decisions without considering the repercussions when they are wrong. The Neocons who helped sell the war in Iraq are a perfect example. bush jr is a perfect example. They can make it sound good, and if they are right great, but when they screw up, they screw up infinitely worse than anybody else. Hence, in only 8 years of having power, the republicans have lead us to one really shitty 9but totally preventable) crisis after another.

The Democrats, on the other hand, tend to have a healthy dose of humility and self-skepticism. This make it more difficult for the to get elected, because they tend to work their differences out in a more consensus-driven way, and to an outside observer, it can be painted as more "eggheadish" and less decisive. In this sense, the conflict between the Democratic Party and the republican party is similar to that between democracies and authoritarian states. It is difficult for Democratic States to get "the jump" on authoritarian states, and often early on, they get pushed back against the ropes. But the upside is that once they attain consensus, they are truly bought in--as opposed to just partisan-- and they come back and kick some serious ass. That's why after the Democratic Party took over in 1932, it's agenda remained in power and highly effective for at least 40 years. As opposed to 8 years, and the wheels come off. The Allies v. the Axis. Greece v. Persia. Rome v. Carthage. USA v. Al Qaeda. Democracy v. communism. Democratic Party v. republican party. They all share the same salient feature of the consensus driven v. the partisan autocratic

(ANGRY FOOTNOTE: * Just look at half of the so-called "intellectuals" in the republican party: bill kristol--if his daddy weren't one of the original commies turned neocons, he would be running a fucking shoe store. john podhoretz, widely known as an insufferable asshole, often introduced as john normanson--if his father weren't norman podhoretz, he would be, maybe, this is a stretch, running a shitty talent agency (loves the glitz--too fugly to be on camera). Brooks: making local ads for used cars. Grover Nordquist, without funding from big corporations, would be living in a shack in idaho, publishing neo-nazi literature and banging his cousin. Karl Rove, without funding, would be a catamite in someone's basement. Rush Limbaugh would be a prescription abusing blowhard (wait, sorry--that one's hard-wired))

republicans: ugly choices 2008

2008-09-14T22:44:00.005-05:00

I am sure glad I am not a republican this election. Every week yields yet another devil spawn of short-sighted, careless republican policies. Now, Lehman brothers is going to go belly up. People with degrees from Harvard are being told "you got 30 minutes to get your shit outta here." Peoples life saving will be lost. But the bigwigs will get to keep all the money they made when times were good, but won't have to give any of it back when the whole things goes down in flames. And guess who is gonna pay for it? That's right, you guessed it: you and me. Those fuckers are capitalist when it comes to the profits, but commies when it comes to the loses--the losses get shared in the big risk pool known as "USA," which has been to the financial shenanigans what Cuba was to whorehouses in the 50s.

In any case, history will saddle the republicans with the responsibility for this. That's OK-- they deserve it-- it really is their baby. But the problem is: it ain't over yet: we could slide into an out-and-out depression, and not just a depression for "whiners."

So, what happens if the republicans loose this election? They still get the blame, and it is going to get worse for several years--so much so that they can kind of escape the blame a little the way they escaped blame for the 70s crisis by the election of a folksy but incompetent southern governor. With the right tweaking they can probably be back in the White House in 4-8 years. But, they are out, and they are going to be in the deep freeze for a while because they also lost both houses (heckuva a job, delay and frist). The point is: unless the Democratic Party can pull off a miracle in 4 years, they have a shot in 4 years--that's enough time for sarah palin to learn the "bush doctrine" (more on her as a marginalizing figure later).

So, what happens if they win? They are truly screwed. Why? Because as things get worse, they get more of the blame. Remember, the stock market crash happened in 29, and it was the credit crunch following that that caused the Great Depression. Hoover got to sit around and really take the blame for it for another 3 years. And what was the result? the republicans were voted out of office, and for the next 36 years they only held the presidency 8 years (with a Eisenhower), their agenda was in the deep freeze until 1980 (48 years). They did not control all 3 branches until 2002. And how long did it take them to screw it up again? 3-4 years... When a party is extremely rigid in its ideology, and is not moderated by skepticism from within or from the outside, it is more likely to screw up big, and screw up fast. Kind of like a germany 1933-1945, or a soviet union, or Ancient Persia. The Democratic Party is by nature much more self-questioning and consensus-forming, and so while it is hard for them to look as smooth and unified, they are less likely to go blindly down some stupid path, and more importantly, when they do reach consensus, they are much stronger and their policies much more durable. Like America and Britain, or the Alliance of Greek city states that fought off the Persians.So, while they full blown Republican agenda was tried and failed in less than 10 years (and please save the Reagan as messiah crap for your own shrine--more later) Hence, the basic Democratic Party Agenda was fully in place and very successful for about 40 years (middle class incomes were highest from the mid 30s to 1972, when they started declining and have been declining ever since.)

If I were a republican mandarin, I would sit this one out. maybe that's why mccain had to pick palin: if he can't get the bigwigs interested, maybe he can motivate another demographic. It's working some, but as I will explain in a later post, palin is going to push the republican party so far off the emerging mainstream that I worry the republican party will be marginalized for another 40 years.

And that would be bad for America. Why, because we need the two parties to compete, so that neither gets too sure of itself and too corrupt. I truly believe that Democratic Party is superior to the republicans in every way, but if they have an overwhelming, and sustainable majority for too long, they will become corrupt. I just want them to have an overwhelming majority for about 8-12 years. Why only 8-12 years? That's all you need: good policies, like the New Deal, once enacted, are self-perpetuating through their success.

2008: the Year Women Really Arrived

2008-09-14T19:23:00.006-05:00

One interesting thing we will look back at is the incredible power that women have wielded in this political season.

In one case, the influence was like a drug: sarah palin is unsubstantial and truly a creature of a very marginal America, and she will not have a long-term good effect on the republican brand, except to marginalize it further. But in the short term, she is like a big suck of a crack pipe for the republican wingnuts. Short-term, it has yielded a huge amount of sound and fury--though retrospectively it will be seen as the death throes of a decrepit beast.

In the other case, a group of women journalists/commentators showed that they have more balls that 99.9% of the male journalists/commentators by calling mccain on his lying. And he just had to face the music. This will be a watershed event: they have been cowed like a docile herd by the predatory republicans, but once one of them stand up, they will all stand up. Once that deference and benefit of the doubt is gone, it can not be recovered. BTW just exactly how bad of a lying republican do you have to be for even a republican apparatchik (Rove) to call you a liar.

Say what you want about bush jr. but other than the Gulf War II, he was relatively honest. He said he was going to cut taxes for the rich, and he did. He said he was going to give huge breaks for the corporations and he did. He said he was going to privatize social sec. ,and thank God he failed but he did at least stick to his word. He said he was going to deregulate as much as possible, and the present financial meltdown is evidence that he did a "heckuva job" at it.

With mccain you are not sure what you are going to get. But there are only two real options:
1. more of the same,
or
2. even worse

The American Brand, Part 2

2008-09-13T12:16:00.005-05:00

(Nativist "Know-Nothing" Party Flag, 1800s)
So, anyway we have a party that is really talking about the ideas and issues, and a party that wants it to be about personality. It's also more than than: the republican party has become very anti-scientific and very anti-rational. Now, that's not such a big surprise the Enlightenment has been going strong for over 300 years, and it's only natural that there should be occasional backlashes: Romanticism, Nazism, Communism, Al-Qaeda, Islamic Anti-Western Sentiment, and Late Reactionary Republicanism. Late Reactionary Republicanism is not to the same extreme as these other movements in many areas, but int terms of privileging faith/party doctrine over rational analysis and science it is similar.
Take Global Warming. It's not conjecture at this points: it is well established and demonstrable that the globe is warming and that fossil fuels play a huge part. Do you think the republicans are too dumb or stupid to understand that? No, it's not that they are too dumb: it's that they are unwllling to consider the possibility of their doctrine being wrong. If only it were just stupidity or ignorance: those can usually be fixed. Willing know-nothingness is actually much more dangerous.
Take stem-cell research: another area where they do not leave what is scientific to the scientists. Their party doctrine allows them to feel like it is OK for them to basically bring stem cell research in America to a grinding stop. And hell, we need that! It's growth industry. What we will see is "brain drain" of researchers in this area.
Take evolution. Is there really any question about it? Is it hard to understand? No. If you don't understand it, that's because you don't want to. Again, that is much more dangerous: willed know-nothingness requires mental self-deception and is dangerous. It is similar to the mental deception Germans played to themselves in WW II re: Hitler and re: the concentration camps. Granted, different degree: the republicans sacrifice reason and science--and not actual human beings--to accomplish their ends. But the underlying mechanism of willed ignorance and self-deception is similar.

I have often thought of them as "American Taliban." When people in most of the rest of the world look at this, I imagine they shake their head on wonder.

The American Brand

2008-09-11T13:52:00.007-05:00

First of all, a moment of silence in memory of the victims of 9/11.

If you ever get a chance, you should see the movie "United 93". It's amazing. It has an amazingly real feel: many of the air traffic controllers in the movie are people who were actually there on 9/11. Watch the commentary version on DVD.

...........

If we elect john mccain, what are we saying about the American democratic process?

The first thing I think it says is that we are no longer a marketplace of ideas. Basically, we have one a platform of cogent ideas and very specific plans, and who sees the vital need to readjust our economy, our education system and our health system in order to improve the our opportunity to thrive in the new and the next century. I just need to make clear: in terms of importance for our future prosperity, green technology is the automobile industry, the chemical industry and the computer industry all rolled into one. whichever nation gets the lead in this will be the economic leader for the next 2 centuries. Also, whichever country produces the best trained people in the world will be the leader. But what has happened is that republicans are having some major success turning what should be a debate about ideas into a debate about trivial crap, about non-existent demographics, about culture wars, and about distractions. The mandarins of the establishment media and their cowardly "reporters" have cooperated with this fully because 1. a nice gross brawl gets a lot more attention than a chess match, and 2. the mandarins of the media have gotten fabulously rich with the republican welfare for the rich tax breaks, and they quite frankly don't want to give it up and more than the fuckers who run exxon.
continued...

Victimology 101

2008-09-10T10:16:00.006-05:00

(Image Copyright Andy Rash 2008. www.andyrash.blogspot.com)

Straight outta the most whiny-assed left-leaning feminist post-modern literary theory coffee klatsch archives, McCain now wants to really bust Obama for using a well-worn, gender neutral commonly understood metaphor: lipstick on a pig.

For all you Obama fans, and the undecided, remember: the main thing you will see from the republicans this campaign season is attempts to distract us from the fact the their policies have failed and that their boilerplate beliefs are now kind of fringey. So, see this event in this light. It's not just that they are desperate, it's like the whole palin thing: it's an attempt to distract from the fact that McCain is just 4 more years of the same thing.

Now, for the McCain camp, I have some hints for you. There are a few things you are going to have to do if you are going to play the victim card. remember, you have an uphill battle after what you have done and tried to do to Senator Clinton.

1. If you want your female VP candidate to be a believable victim, don't have her liken herself to a pit bull with lipstick.
2. Don't have your female VP candidate act like an attack dog, but then when the going gets tough play the victim card. Makes you look weak.
3. Don't call the other side on an expression you have used yourself at least 3 times.
4. Don't talk tough out of one side of your mouth and play the victim card on the other.
5. Don't use commentators like Pfotenauer who have repeatedly ragged on Hilary for playing the gender card come out to attack the Democrats.
6. The victim card is not in your blood. Remember, you are the party that called Senator Clinton "the bitch" which in retrospect I think was your way of showing respect. You are also the party that calls any attack on you "shrill". You are the party that labeled Edwards "the Breck girl". It's just not believable.

The freaky post-modern hybrid approach the republicans are taking is actually predictable. Movements go through predictable stages:
1. Revolution--Reagan, Teddy Roosevelt
2. Management--Bush Sr., Coolidge
3. Maximum Expansion and Rapid Senescence--Bush jr, Coolidge/Hoover.
4. Attempt to Regain Initiative at any cost--McCain, Goldwater (both from Arizona). Usually also results in the destruction of the original template.

Don't get too upset. You had your turn for the last 10-12 years, and you did a "heckuva job". You'll have your turn again in another 20-40 years.

Thoughts on the republican "brand" and John McCain.

2008-09-09T16:09:00.014-05:00

The standard boilerplate Republican ideas is this:
1-Lower Taxes, but military spending good

The government's only job is to ensure good markets and safety from terrorism of military aggression, and belatedly natural disasters
Health, Infrastructure, Economic Security, Education, Retirement Security: you're on your own.

2-Trickle Down Wealth
3-Guns
4-Religion
5-Life begins at conception, so

Abortion bad, but
Death penalty good (?)

6-American exceptionalism in foreign policy
7-Privatize everything
8-Deregulate everything

Now, three things about this.
1. This approach actually had some validity when we had a much more massive government and a lot more entitlement programs, and when we were emasculated in the foreign policy arena. Think Jimmy Carter (the GWB of the Democratic Party). The adoption of these ideas over the course of the 80s and 90s, when alloyed with a little Democratic prudence, worked great.

2. As we have swung as a nation towards this boilerplate agenda without any moderation (ie, when the republican controlled all 3 branches, wa predictable set of disatsrous outcomes have been inflicted upon our nation from undiluted drinkage of the Republican Kool-Aide.
What we are seeing from John McBush is that he is trying to escape the brand while actually fully embracing it.

Huge deficits
Widening Income inequality
Disastrous foreign policy: "Go it alone, and you end up alone"
Rising number of the uninsured
College now unaffordable for many
Disastrous Financial Crises from poor regulation
Personal religion and faith as a litmus test for fitness for office
More Guns (actually I like that one)
More death penalties (sorry, some people can't be rehabbed)
Ironically, more abortions, higher teen pregnancy rate(abstinence only prevention)

3. Now, John McCain buys into the republican boilerplate 100%. That is evident from his present platform and from his choice of Sarah palin as running mate. But he has to manage the fact that the Republican boilerplate, call it the direction America is going, is now seen as wrong by 80% of Americans. So, what is his strategy? To make us think he doesn't buy into it, or that he will somehow change it, his platform, his advisers, his base and his running mate notwithstanding.

The startegy for us Obama fans is to quite simply not let him get away with rebranding himself, because not matter what he says, it's just the same old boilerplate again.

He has voted with Bush 91% of the time.
He offers no significant change for healthcare.
He wants to continue the tax cuts for the super-wealthy
He wants to give more tax breaks to corporations and Big Oil
His running mate is, basically, a religious fundamentalist (she, too, is trying to hide it, but make no mistake about it--even in a town of 7000 people, she made religious orthodoxy a wedge issue.)
As evidenced by his approach to Russia and Georgia, he talks big, and without consideration, and without making plans with allies.
He will appoint that will overturn Roe v. Wade and will always favor Big Business over the little guy.
He has no insight into the mortgage meltdown

The republicans succeeded as spinning the 200 election as there being not a big difference between the candidates. I think we all know now that the difference was huge.

This time, they are going to try to brand themselves as the agents of change, and try to cash in on mccains' personal history ("noun, verb, POW") to make the difference.

Don't let them pull a bait-and-switch on America again.

Electoral College

2008-09-08T14:36:00.012-05:00

The Big Picture

If you look at previous elections, and rank states according to how strong they are red v. blue, one thing you come away with is that the strong and weak states tend to stay in the respective candidate's column, whereas the barely states can easily flip either way. Therefore, the strategy is to maintain as many of your states in the strong and weak categories. The fewer states that have to break your way on election day, the more likely you are to succeed.

(Chart from www.electoral-vote.com)

In this light Obama maintains an advantage: many more of his EC votes are in the strong and weak blue category. John McCain's are spread out quite a bit: he has approximately 1/3 in each of the categories of strong, weak and barely. In that case. virtually every possible has to line up his way to win.

Now, before getting too happy about that, realize that the good news also plays into a characteristic Democratic Party weakness--the inability to "close" the deal, and plays to pathological Republican strengths: 1- the relish of the blood sport of tearing down Democrats, and the addiction to winning with grossly inferior candidates and policies. Yes, I did say grossly inferior candidates. But think about it: they were not as excited about Ford or Bush Sr., or Bob Dole as they were about Bush Jr. or about sarah palin. They basically keep beating the Democrats, who usually have at least a full-house (except for 1972, 1980 and 1984), with two of a kind (200, 2004) or thee of a kind (1988). Basically, they bluff them out by putting them on the defensive. But the gambling, blood sport mentality that comes post lee atwater is predicated on coming from behind and having nothing to lose. This is a race that fits well into the standard republican template of base energizing and attempting to portray the Democrat as out-of-the mainstream--even when in fact the Republican boilerplate of ideas is hugely out of touch with the majority of Americans.

(Chart from www.electoral-vote.com)

Anyway, the pattern of this election is not dissimilar to 2004. Kerry started out with a huge lead, which the Republican chipped away at until by mid-September, his lead was gone. He briefly recuperated at the debates, but was too far gone. Despite this, he came within 18 EC votes of winning.

That being said, Obama has several huge advantages:
1- He has a high probability of hanging on to all Kerry 2004 states and their 252 EC votes.
2- He has huge operations on the ground and will likely turn out the Democratic vote better than Kerry. This will particularly matter in Ohio. If he just hangs on to all the Kerry 2004 states and has a killer turnout in East Ohio, it's a done deal. 271 EC votes.
3- He does not really have to beat McCain: he just has to beat Kerry by 18 electoral college votes. That's Ohio, or any of a variety of other combinations. For my prediction, see below.