politics

375 posts

Society of Spectacle: A Tour of the Wall Street Occupation

Given that the mainstream American Left has been scared of its own shadow since the Reagan revolution turned “liberal” into a dirty word, I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised that many of these self-professed “progressives” have responded to the first genuine sustained mass youth movement my generation has seen by heaping scorn, doubt, and criticism upon it. I arrived in Zuccotti Park late Sunday afternoon hoping to catch a glimpse of the chaotic and disorganized mass of dirty hippies, drugged-out punks, and other standard bogeymen of the “get off my lawn” crowd. I was sorely disappointed. Continue reading

Will He or Won’t He? Chris Christie, Coy Media Darling

I think we all just won a date with Chris Christie. Well, that’s what the media would like anyway. Sure, yes, we get it. The Republican presidential candidate field is littered with wishy-washy, strange jokers, who can’t go more than two weeks without some sort of gaffe, image problem, or just plain inability to connect with more than just the Tea Party. So some Republicans are frustrated, but even more to the point, the media is just beside itself with trying to latch onto a candidate that actually offers a consistent message, and a measure of stately, unshakeable, staunch republicanism that can actually take Obama to the mat.

Enter the makings of a savior, Chris Christie. Continue reading

On the Congressional GOP Leader’s Letter to Ben Bernanke

As some of you may have heard, the Congressional GOP leadership, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Speaker of the House John Boehner, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, and Senator Jon Kyl (a member of the so-called deficit supercommittee) sent a letter to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Monday, ahead of the two day meeting of the Board Members of the Federal Reserve which began yesterday.

For those of you wishing to read the entire letter (and I suggest you do), here is the text. Continue reading

Canadian Political Cover Up

The recent right wing wins in the Canadian elections seem to have had a negative impact on tolerance for the good things in life. The Puritans that run the parliamentary website have deemed cleavage to be unbecoming of a politician. Though this shouldn’t come as a surprise given that the supreme court wears chin high shirts to ensure against any possible cleavage.

Even though she is a member of the Canadian Parliament, at 29 Rathika Sitsabaiesan can easily be classified as one of the “kids these days” and prone to doing things like lingering on lawns or wearing shirts that dip below chin level. Continue reading

Is it Possible for Fox News to be Anything More than a Right-Wing Shout Factory?

Fox News CEO Roger Ailes seems to think so. Or is this purely a red herring since the news channel is largely known for shouting heads Bill O’Reilly, Pundit Sarah Palin, and mean-spirited minotaur, Sean Hannity. Yeah, none of these people seems primed to take a more centrist viewpoint. However, according to Ailes, he is quietly repositioning the cable-news channel.

What exactly does this mean? Continue reading

Why I Can’t Take the Wall Street Protests Seriously

Hey, you know I’m as mad as the next gal about what’s going on with the current tax debate. Sure, yes, it floors me that some jerkoff multi-millionaire claims that in suffering a tax increase his net income would be diminished down to $400,000 after he feeds his family. That’s some crazy logic right there. No, seriously, that is something only an out of touch maniac would say. But is taking to Wall Street in some undefined protest, led by an anonymous internet movement, without focused demands or plan other to say “Thumbs down to Corporations!” really the answer frustrated, unemployed, mostly left-leaning Americans should take?

Seems like a long shot to me.

Continue reading

Rick Santorum Reminds People That He’s Not Likeable

Former Senator, current Republican presidential contender, and well-known douchecanoe Rick Santorum is frothy at the mouth because Google is not changing the ordering of their search results like he wants them too. Sex columnist Dan Savage’s highly publicized and highly successful 2003 campaign to re-define “santorum” as a byproduct of anal sex and the subsequent Google-bombing of the term has resulted in a hilarious (well, from my perspective) and damaging first page of search results. Savage’s efforts, prompted by devoutly Catholic Santorum’s anti-gay comments have proven to be a pain in the presidential candidate’s ass. Continue reading

Sarah Palin, Cocaine-Snorting, Basketball Star-Cavorting Adulteress?

Is it possible to believe that Sarah “Mama Grizzly” Palin could have dabbled in hard drugs, had at least one extramarital affair, and at one time reveled in a real “fetish” for black men? Well, no, it’s not impossible to believe. Will the release of a new tell-all book claiming all of the above make anyone feel differently about the former governor and vice president candidate? Continue reading

Elizabeth Warren to Run for Senate

Wall Streeters rejoice! In addition to the socialist usurper Barack Obama, your firms will have a new scourge against whom they may throw their campaign dollars. You know, when they aren’t throwing them at executive jets stocked with hookers.

According to the always helpful ‘multiple sources’, the architect of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau plans to mount a campaign to take a Massachusetts Senate seat away from sometimes naked-in-a-magazine person Scooter Brown.

The real question is: Can she win? Well, duh, Massachusetts is beyond blue, Brown’s odd Tea Party backed win in 2010 not withstanding. Comment.

The GOP Gets Down and Dirty With Voter’s Rights

The GOP is a mastermind coalition of terrific genius. Seriously. They are like the one true faction in identifying a problem, but not looking to solve it fairly and amicably or perhaps with honor and nobility. No, not at all. Instead of taking their message to the streets by producing the best campaigns they can muster, and letting the voting chips fall where they may in November 2012, the GOP plans to put Rick Perry, or Mittens Romney, or that crazy corndog, Michele Bachmann in the white house by basically taking the ability to vote away from millions of people in the next presidential election. Continue reading