stupid
Here’s a Crazy Idea
“I think that everybody that supported one of the Democrats will have an obligation to now — as the President would and has in races that the nominee that he has supported hasn’t one — now support the Democratic nominee,” Gibbs added.
- Press Secretary Robert Gibbs regarding last night’s a quote from a “senior White House official” (*cough*Rahm Emmanuel*cough*) regarding unions of flushing $10 million “down the toilet” by supporting Blanche Lincoln’s challenger, Bill Halter in the Arkansas Democratic primary run-off election.
Here’s a thought that Gibbs–who follows the grand tradition of White House Press Secretaries being smug, boneheaded schmucks that would easily crumble under serious interrogation if the White House press corps wasn’t completely fucking useless–should consider: The unions and self-identified Democrats don’t have to support anybody! AFL-CIO spokesman Eddie Vale said as much in the following email statement:
“If the White House thinks everyone has obligation to support someone just because they’re a Democrat, they are still really missing the point of last night.”
The White House? Missing the point? I’m shocked! Shocked to my very core! But liberals have to shoulder some of the blame here. We’re so anti-conservative that we let any weak-sauce Democrat saunter into office because it’s the lesser of two evils. And what incentive do Democratic leaders have when they know that the liberal base, as much as we bitch and moan, will eventually fall into line no matter what?
Liberals need to bite the bullet and not vote for Democrats who clearly have no progressive aims in mind. It’s not a matter of a litmus test. It’s a matter of supporting your constituents when they take up a liberal cause, as when a majority of Arkansans wanted health care reform and Lincoln voted against it. But corporations have put such a stranglehold on our politics and this pro-business White House is only happy to help pull the rope tighter.
We can’t avoid voting Democratic in every election and it’s going to become more difficult when there’s the danger of an insane tea-party candidate getting into office. But remember: we survived–somehow–eight years of George W. Bush. And as long as we give away our vote to Democrats who take it for granted, we have no chance of stopping this bullshit conservative-lite agenda let along furthering progressive causes.
If the White House truly wanted to stop playing the same old Washington politics, then they would stop supporting the same old Washington politicians.
Supreme Court Once Again Invokes Right to Remain Stupid
In a 5-4 decision (surprise, surprise), the Supreme Court rules that a suspect must invoke his right to remain silent just as a suspect must invoke his right to an attorney. Of course, this poses two problems:
1.) Suspects will have no way of knowing that they’re the ones who must actively say (ironic, I know) that they wish to remain silent. Does this mean that when a suspect is read their Miranda rights, an officer must state, “You have the right to claim silence,”?
2.) Rights, by virtue of being rights, do not always need to be actively invoked. When someone criticizes the government, they do not first proclaim “I will now exercise my 1st amendment right of freedom of speech.” Rights pertaining to the actions of the individual are granted rather than announced. Requesting an attorney must be announced because it requires a second party.
I’m not a lawyer. But I do know that this is yet another example of conservative-dominated court that has fundamentally changed yet another aspect of American life. Earlier this year, there was debate over how long interrogators could go without reading the Times Square bomber his Miranda rights. Now the Supreme Court has added the question of when those rights are read, will the suspect be aware of this major (and counter-intuitive) caveat?
Why the BP Oil Spill Doesn’t Impress Me
The BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has been front-page news for over a month now. It’s a story that fails to grab my interest because I already know the outcome. Here’s what will happen:
- Eventually, they will somehow stop the leak.
- The effects to the environment will last generations.
- No criminal action will be taken against BP and attempts to sue them will take decades.
- Rather than be a watershed moment in calling for innovation in energy technology, we will continue to remain dependent on oil (not to mention the coal-mining related disasters that tend to occur every 6-8 months). People will continue to purchase their gas from BP.
- The media will move on. When Obama comes up again for reelection, no one will remember how he let BP handle the mess (and fail at it) for over a month rather than stepping in, working to solve the problem, and then handing BP the bill.
BP’s latest attempt, “Top Kill”, failed. Their next plan is to send in–I shit you not–robot submarines. After that fails, BP will crack open their ACME catalog and ask Wile E. Coyote what else he recommends.
Maybe it doesn’t impress me because I feel helpless to do anything about it. I know that nothing is going to change that would prevent a spill like this from happening again. There won’t be any political ramifications and we’re too dependent on oil to create financial repercussions against BP. Environmentalists will continue their failed campaign of trying to scare people into being good stewards of the Earth. And BP will put more money into repairing its image rather than preventing the next catastrophe. Looking at the BP oil spill, I just can’t bring myself to muster any impotent rage.
Update: I think this video proves my point:
Steve Jobs Is Weird
I don’t hate Apple. I hate the Cult of Apple. Of course, zealotry in all its forms is annoying, but Apple actually weaves it into its marketing and image. I didn’t know “smugness” could test so well. Apple competes with PCs, but other competitors–Coke and Pepsi, Marvel and DC, PlayStation and XBox–I don’t see a complete condescension to the consumers who prefer one over the other. Sure, there was the Pepsi Challenge, but Pepsi didn’t go out, show someone drinking a coke, and then vomiting. Of course, that’s down to personal preference whereas technology can be scientifically measured and analyzed to achieve objective results.
But Apple marketing isn’t about science. It’s about making sure its users seem cool. Which is why the iPad is a “magical and revolutionary” device. While I’ve had no problem making fun of that slogan, I’ve held off on commenting on the machine itself until I actually tried it out. I played with one a few weeks ago at Best Buy. My conclusion: it’s a very neat toy. To call it a giant iPod Touch is pretty much on the money. And that’s fine. I’m planning to buy the new model of the iPod Touch whenever it comes out later this year. But I think Cory Doctorow of BoingBoing put it best when he said of the iPad: “Incumbents make bad revolutionaries.”
There Is No Such Thing as Post-Partisanship
Obama’s front-runner to replace retiring Supereme Court Justice is the President’s Solicitor General Elena Kagan. Huffington Post says, “Conservatives are responding favorably to the potential of a Justice Elena Kagan,” particularly her views on Presidential power (powers which Obama has somehow managed to make even broader than they were under George W. Bush), civil liberties, and anti-terrorism laws.
The reason why Obama wants her should come as no surprise to anyone following our President’s modus operandi over the past year and a half: She’s an easy confirmation that will give Obama a boost going into the 2010 elections, and her conservative positions on various issues appeals to Obama’s notion of post-partisanship. Nevermind that she wouldn’t follow in the footsteps of retiring Justice John Paul Stevens. She could shift the balance of the court on key issues from 5-4 to 6-3. Yes, she’s pro-choice and pro-gay rights, but why give conservatives a nominee when they’re not in the executive office?
I Deeply Regret You Think You Apologized
Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R-Tex)
During last night’s historic vote in the House of Representatives, Representative Randy Neugebauer (R-Tex.) shouted at Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), “Baby killer!” Stupak tried to get stronger anti-abortion langauge into the bill even though the bill already specified that there would be no federal funding for abortions. Stupak reached a deal with the White House where Obama would make an executive order that there would be no federal funding for abortions, a token gesture that would let Stupak appease his Christianist constituents. White the source of the outburst was unknown, Neugebauer admitted today that he was the one who shouted the slander at Stupak. Here’s how Neugebauer “apologized” today:
“Last night was the climax of weeks and months of debate on a health care bill that my constituents fear and do not support. In the heat and emotion of the debate, I exclaimed the phrase ‘it’s a baby killer’ in reference to the agreement reached by the Democratic leadership. While I remain heartbroken over the passage of this bill and the tragic consequences it will have for the unborn, I deeply regret that my actions were mistakenly interpreted as a direct reference to Congressman Stupak himself.
“I have apologized to Mr. Stupak and also apologize to my colleagues for the manner in which I expressed my disappointment about the bill. The House Chamber is a place of decorum and respect. The timing and tone of my comment last night was inappropriate.”
You see, saying “you regret that your actions were mistakenly interpreted”, that’s not an apology. You’re saying you apologize for people who didn’t understand that shouting “Baby killer!” at someone was actually shouting it in the heat of the moment to apparently no one in particular. Also, Neugebauer apologized to his colleagues only for how he expressed himself. That was not the best time to shout “Baby killer.”
Of course, this isn’t something new. Every time a public figure messes up, listen closely for the words “I’m sorry,” and “All the blame lies with me.” Also, see if they equivocate or make excuses. More often than not, especially in politics, you’ll hear a variation on Neugebauer’s “apology” where you apologize that other people didn’t understand your offensive statement.
This Is Our President
Earlier this week, President Obama finally laid out clearly and concisely what he wanted in a health care bill (and only 14 months after he should have!). What he didn’t want: a public option. No government-run health care even though 23 Senators recently signaled that they would support it if the bill were going to go through reconciliation and would only need 50 votes instead of 60. Also, polling shows that a majority of Americans wants a public option. But Obama didn’t include it in his wish list. Why?
As Press Secretary Robert Gibbs revealed today, “We have seen obviously that though there are some that are supportive of this, there isn’t enough political support in a majority to get this through.” They don’t have the votes. Because the President thinks that the measure wouldn’t pass, he doesn’t support it. It isn’t because he thinks the public option is bad or that it needs better definition. It’s because he thinks he might lose. He is a coward.
So this is our President: a man who will fight for the people as long as he thinks he can score a political victory. He won’t fight for us, he won’t fight for change, he won’t even fight for what’s popular. He’ll fight for what he thinks Congress can accomplish. He’ll fight for nothing.
Go Throw Yourself into Mount Doom
If you look at the Amazon pre-order page for the upcoming Blu-ray box set of The Lord of the Rings, you’ll see it has a 1 1/2-star rating based on 1,979 “reviews”. Why all the negativity? Because the extended editions aren’t included. This is the problem with consumers who think they’re owed something by a company because they’re not getting the product they wanted. Not that they bought, but the one they wanted. Here’s a very simple solution:
Don’t buy it.
Women Respond to Stupid Dodge Super Bowl Ad
Perhaps the most tone-deaf, misogynistic Super Bowl ad of this year (although it’s certainly a crowded field) was Dodge’s ad for the Dodge Charger which is “Man’s Last Stand” against being emasculated. To which I and hopefully most viewers, both male and female, responded with a resounding “Boo-fucking-hoo.” Now here’s a fake ad from a woman’s point of view. It’s only a billion times better.
First, for those who didn’t see it, here’s Dodge’s ad:
Now here’s the response:
Joe Lieberman Shows Democrats as the Losers They Are
Nobody likes Joe Lieberman. He’s a puny, unimpressive twerp whose purpose is to make Democrats do whatever Republicans want. But it’s hard to blame him when Democrats bend over time and time again to acquiesce to his demands even though those demands run completely counter to the Democratic platform. Lieberman, after speaking at the Republican National Convention in support of John McCain, still gets to caucus with the Democrats and hold all of his committee chairmenships.
And the White House, so desperate to wrap up a turd of a health care reform bill and shove it under the tree in time for Christmas, doesn’t care. And when the 2010 midterm elections roll around at the Democrats lose control of both the House and the Senate due to their own ineptitude, Joe Lieberman will still be smiling pretty because the Republicans will give him a big slap on the back and say, “Good work, Joe. Always knew you were one of us.”
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