GoldbergBlog

Even as the Democrats lead in the polls, even as the Republicans struggle to keep control by throwing everything and anything they can think of (from the old standard tax-and-spend and soft on terrorism claim to embellishing a misdialed call to a phone-sex line), I can’t help but feel the depression already setting in.

My faith in the political system crumbled on Wednesday, November 3rd, 2004. Most people don’t even discuss whether or not the 2004 Election was stolen because after stealing the 2000 Presidential Election, certainly they wouldn’t do it again. Personally, I blame the Democrats. What should have been a slam dunk instead became close race and you can rest assured that Karl Rove won’t lose a close race to a Democrat.

So even though Democrats lead in the polls right now, I have no faith in this country and even if I did, I have no faith in the electoral process. People want change but ask them to stand in a line and vote to do something about it and my cynicism only moderately compares to cries of “Oh, all politicians care about are the special interest groups,” and “My vote won’t count anyway.” Self-fulfilling prophecies that help to keep us in a cycle of shit.

It’s been hard for me to feel sympathy for this country for the past two years. They chose this government and even if you factor in cheating, tens of millions of people couldn’t figure out that Bush was the wrong guy for the job. And when they go to the polls, will they consider that this administration continues to feed them nothing but lies? Will they consider that this administration thinks they’re so dumb that they can say “We’ve never been stay the course,” and they’ll just forget that talking point of the past two years? Will they consider that non-partisan evidence shows that our presence in Iraq has only increased our risk of terrorism? Will they consider that their homeland security dollars don’t go to protecting our ports and borders but rather towards pork-barrel projects? Will they consider the simple math that you can’t cut taxes and increase spending? Will they consider that Ground Zero is just an open sore five years after 9/11? Will they consider the response to Katrina to the removal of habeus corpus to the redefining of torture so that we can make the rest of the world hate us even more?

Or will they just consider that they don’t want the homos to get them.

I don’t know if the Democrats are a better option. I don’t know if they’ll run around trying to find a cohesive plan. What I do know is that by voting Democrat, for TRUE Democrats and not neo-con butt-boys like Joe Lieberman, there’s at least a chance this country can stop its downwards slide into the pit of Orwellian nightmares to which we’ve been cast.

(If my language seems a bit heavy, at least I’m not trying to recreate the 1964 “Daisy Ad” and using terrorism to scare you into voting for my side)

Tags: politics, stupid by Matt
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Of course, the “they” to which Mr. Gaffney referred, turned out to be a lone 20-year-old grocery bagger from Wisconsin named Jake. A kid trying to one-up some loser in an internet game of ‘chicken.’ His threat referenced seven football stadiums, at which dirty bombs were to be exploded yesterday. It began with the one in New York City, even though there isn’t one in New York City and though the attacks were supposed to be simultaneous, four of the games were scheduled to start at 1:00 pm Eastern time and the others at 4:00 pm Eastern time. Moreover, the kid said that he had posted the identical message on forty websites since September. We caught him in merely about six weeks, even though the only way he could be less subtle, less stealthy and less of a threat was if he bought an advertisement on the Superbowl telecast.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rP4cw1zfYQk]

Tags: brilliant, politics, television by Matt
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Even though the Right is particularly adept at using broadcast media to further their talking points, it seems they lack a basic understanding of how videocameras work.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qt6pXTMGThA”>

So despite your attempts to rewrite history, we have you on tape. And you can wish all you want, but you’re not going to make those talking points magically disappear. But I suppose that humility would be a sign of weakness where as lying would be a sign of…strength?

Tags: politics, stupid by Matt
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So I was subbing today and a couple students were going over a draft of a paper. The following conversation follows:

Student 1: What’s “G dash D” ?
Student 2: Oh, that’s how I spell God.
Me: (brain crumples)

I tried to explain that writing God like that is incorrect. The reason people do it (and in my experience, it only seems to be Jewish people) is that if they have to erase the name or throw it away, they’re not throwing away the name of God.

Except God’s name isn’t God. No one knows what God’s name is. It can be Allah, Yahweh, Adonai, and a host of other names. None of them is God’s true name so you’re only showing piety to a fake name.

When I tried to explain this, these students responded that it’s just a matter of personal preference. But you can’t make up words out of personal preference. You’re not demonstrating piety. You’re demonstrating ignorance. Then again, I suppose if you believe that erasing or throwing away God’s name is something you should avoid lest you invoke the wrath of the Almighty (also not his name), then you’re already past the point of logic. I understand it’s important to be respectful to God. At the same time, there’s a difference between respect and fear of a giant invisible parent figure who’s going to send you to eternal timeout if you fuck up his name.

But words are not a matter of opinion. They’re not a matter of personal preference. If that were the case, why not always write in l33t? Why not write “women” as “womyn” so that the word “men” is not present? The ideas will still get across so who cares if you shit all over the English language in the process?

I’m not trying to hold up spelling as more important than reverence of God, but using G-d isn’t reverence. It’s superstition.

Tags: religion, stupid by Matt
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In a day where the “No-Spin Zone” is anything but and journalists jockey for fear-based ratings, something must be said for eloquence. Whether you agree with his views or not, anyone with a basic knowledge of rhetoric and style must applaude Keith Olbermann and his Special Comment piece on MSNBC’s Countdown with Keith Olbermann. While his “Worst Person in the World” are fun little afterwords, his Special Comment pieces are indeed special. The words echo in your heart and stay in your head long after Olbermann’s commanding baritone has ended. These are the words of a great newscaster.

It’s not just that I find Olbermann’s words reassuring. I usually become bored with those who merely preach to the choir. The Special comments are trying to push the dialogue forward. At the heart of these comments, there’s a belief that the right words can change minds. That well-reasoned rhetoric doesn’t have to be propaganda but rather an impassioned plea and a call to arms.

Below I’ve posted what I feel are the five best of Olbermann’s recent editorials:

August 30, 2006 - We Must Not Confuse Dissent with Disloyalty: “The man who sees absolutes, where all other men see nuances and shades of meaning, is either a prophet, or a quack. Donald H. Rumsfeld is not a prophet.”

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PxJN7XUQVQ&rel=1]

September 11, 2006 - This Hole in the Ground: “Five years later this space… is still empty. Five years later there is no Memorial to the dead. Five years later there is no building rising to show with proud defiance that we would not have our America wrung from us, by cowards and criminals. Five years later this country’s wound is still open. Five years… later this country’s mass grave is still unmarked. Five years later… this is still… just a background for a photo-op. It is beyond shameful.”

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdD6op0l2jk]

September 25, 2006 - Clinton vs. Fox News: “It was the kind of cheap trick which would get a journalist fired — but a propagandist, promoted: Promise to talk of charity and generosity; but instead launch into the lies and distortions with which the Authoritarians among us attack the virtuous and reward the useless. And don’t even be professional enough to assume the responsibility for the slanders yourself; blame your audience for “e-mailing” you the question.”

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70wOzCkWN5g]

October 5th, 2006 - Bush Lies: “Why has the ferocity of your venom against the Democrats, now exceeded the ferocity of your venom against the terrorists?”

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQfW9wjJZaY]

October 18th, 2006 - The Death of Habeus Corpus: “And if you somehow think Habeas Corpus has not been suspended for American citizens but only for everybody else, ask yourself this: If you are pulled off the street tomorrow, and they call you an alien or an undocumented immigrant or an “unlawful enemy combatant” — exactly how are you going to convince them to give you a court hearing to prove you are not? Do you think this Attorney General is going to help you? This President now has his blank check.”

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIe2fPmGFYw]

Tags: brilliant, politics, television by Matt
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What do scared people need? Time? Nah, they got plenty of that already. Counseling? A little too gay. I know! A gun! That will keep the bad people away!

After the recent school shootings, some teachers in Salt Lake City are deciding to make sure that if the unlikely should happen, they can shoot it in the head.

My question is this: why is it always shoot first, ask questions later? I understand there’s an argument for safety but did we have to go all the way to guns? Why not tasers? Or if you have to do guns, how about tranquilizer guns? How about using something non-deadly instead of bringing something deadly into a school so something else deadly doesn’t make people dead?

What’s been happening in these schools is terrible and truly tragic. If and when some kid gets the teacher’s gun, that will be tragedy invited. It’s possible that some teacher will use a gun to protect students from the mentally unstable, but I think it’s more likely that it just gives the mentally unstable, whether it be a student or teacher, easier access to weaponry.

Then again, this is America. If you can imagine something to be afraid of, I guess it’s only fitting to imagine a solution.

Tags: politics, stupid by Matt
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If you know where this post’s title comes from, we’re gonna be good friends.

A site redesign is coming very soon (the colors scheme just isn’t working for me and using frames was a big mistake…[and there was much rejoicing]), but I wanted to share this bit of awesome news I found on Kotaku: Warren Ellis is writing the animated Castlevania movie. While I think Castlevania is a great series (I’m currently playing Dawn of Sorrow while I wait for Bully to come out on Tuesday), we all know how videogame movies tend to turn out. But Warren Ellis is one of the best comic book writers working today. His series Transmetropolitan is easily my favorite comic of all-time (although for the record, I think Neil Gaiman’s Sandman is the best comic series I’ve read).

But to make it all the sweeter, check out this artwork from James Jean (the man who does the brilliant cover art for Fables):

Tags: comics, movies, videogames by Matt
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Man, that’s the console name that’s gonna keep on giving.

So I go by the GameStop at Lenox Mall today. I have a feeling that they’ll probably be out of Wii pre-orders but I have some time to kill and I can stop by the food court to get some lunch anyway. And yes, they were sold out. There was a line when the store opened at ten this morning and they sold out.

So why do I call shenanigans? Because unlike the 400,000 launch units PlayStation 3, Nintendo is claiming to have 1 million Wii units ready at launch. Reading reports at sites like Joystiq and Go Nintendo, it seems like the most pre-orders available were around twenty five. That’s ridiculous. Sure, I know that there has to be units for all the Best Buys, Circuit Cities, Wal-Marts, and so forth, but I have a tough time believing that the largest videogame chain store in the country could only get a handful of units per store.

But I’m not bummed. Best Buy will get my money instead of GameStop. Their loss. Although they did give me a good laugh when they tried to sell my Wii accessories, which is like selling floor mats and air freshners to a guy with no car.

For some reason, the song “The Impossible Dream” is now playing in my head.

Tags: stupid, videogames by Matt
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In a fair and just world, President George W. Bush would already be impeached. His crimes revealed, his lies exposed, and every other impeachable offense would be laid bare and all would be right with the world.

Until his successor took the oath of office. That’s right kids: by impeaching King Dum-Dum, you would be putting a Batman villain in to office. You could argue that Cheney could also get impeached and then we can just go on down the line of succession until we get to someone we like.

The truth is, the entire administration deserves to be impeached. Unfortunately, even if the Democrats do take back the House, they’d have to fill their agenda with impeachment hearings for both Bush and Cheney. If they managed to impeach Cheney, then Nancy Pelosi (again, presuming the Democrats take back the House) would be President. Unfortunately, we just killed at least half a year trying to undo the 2004 Presidential Election.

I have a better solution: IMPEDE BUSH.

George W. Bush has the record for longest time without having to use his veto. His first and only veto was on July 19th of this year in order to prohibit stem cell research. God literally forbid we alienate people who would like to bring our country back into the dark ages. But the fact that Bush was able to go six years without having to use that veto speaks to the homogenization of Congress. The Republicans had a majority, but not enough to break a filibuster. The Democrats decided that it was better to hide than to fight and lose. And our country is far worse for wear six years later.

Sure, you can impeach Bush, impeach Cheney, try to stop their agenda, or you can do something that requires slightly more work than holding up a sign: write your congressman or congresswoman.

People complain that only those with loads of money have the ear of politicians. This is true to an extent. However, it’s still one man, one vote and guess what: you don’t have to vote for anyone. If your Democratic congressman is afraid of looking weak and votes to torture strangers in a sad attempt to provide some semblance of security, don’t vote for them. Let them know that they lost your vote because you don’t have to vote for the lesser of two evils. They don’t get your vote by default. They have to earn it and they earn it by fighting for an idea and not fighting against phantom attack ads. If your Republican congressman is supporting neo-conservative ideas and not conservative ideas like he or she once did, don’t give him or her your vote. The government has only increased and with it so has spending. While 9/11 warranted such an increase, the pork-barrel spending has made a joke of this country’s security and of the conservative credo of “fiscal responsibility”. Your vote is important and you shouldn’t have to throw it away just because it’s November 7th.

But you can’t simply sit on your couch as a sign of protest. You have to write. You have to make sure you’re shouting and not just at people who already agree with you. If you really want to stop the administration, then you have to do more than hold up a sign or autograph a petition. Cynics will tell you that your voice doesn’t really matter, but that voice of cynicism is really an excuse for inaction and malaise. “Hey, you’ve already lost, so why fight?” And if you want to lay down, that’s fine. Just don’t say a word until you’re ready to stop bitching about the problem and start creating the solution.

Tags: politics, stupid by Matt
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Speaking about his dissatisfaction with the NBA’s new ball:

“Feels like one of those cheap balls that you buy at the toy store, indoor-outdoor balls,” O’Neal said. “I look for shooting percentages to be way down and turnovers to be way up, because when the ball gets wet you can’t really control it. Whoever did that needs to be fired. It was terrible, a terrible decision. Awful. I might get fined for saying that, but so what?”

Yes, Shaq. You’re going to get fined because you don’t like the ball.

If they do fine Shaq for his comments about the ball, he should also be fined for Shaq-Fu. But then again, he should be fined for Shaq-Fu anyway.

Tags: humor, videogames by Matt
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