I confess, the angst and anger of the Obama supporters is killing me with laughter.
The latest outrage is over people’s outrage that President Obama has decided to institute a spending freeze. “I mean, come on, we haven’t even HEARD the proposal yet.” they are crying.
So, for the intellectually-challenged folks that simply cannot figure it out on their own, I’m here to give the road map to the Obama super-secret-multidimensional-chess strategy.
And… I’m going to use the Titanic to show people this strategy.
NOTE: The following diary is adapted from a series of articles that were posted last week on my blog. Links to these articles are provided at the end of this diary.
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Recently, I discussed the need for two fundamental electoral reforms that I believe are needed in order to lay the groundwork for a more open and truly representative multi-party system: ballot access reform, to make it easier and fairer for minor parties and independent candidates to both get on the ballot and stay on the ballot in successive elections; and electoral fusion, to make it easier for voters who have grown accustomed to having to choose between two monolithic parties to transition over to a multiparty system by giving them the option of supporting minor parties that cross-endorse major-party candidates. While I believe that these two elements of reform are essential and should be given first priority for tactical reasons, I nonetheless acknowledge that they are only components within a broader reform program, and that by themselves they probably won’t be enough to bring about the change we need to open up American politics. Ultimately, we will also need to address basic deficiencies in the way that votes are cast and counted.
This weekly diary takes a look at the past week’s important news stories from the perspective of our leading editorial cartoonists (including a few foreign ones) with analysis and commentary added in by me.
When evaluating a cartoon, ask yourself these questions:
1. Does a cartoon add to my existing knowledge base and help crystallize my thinking about the issue depicted?
2. Does the cartoonist have any obvious biases that distort reality?
3. Is the cartoonist reflecting prevailing public opinion or trying to shape it?
The answers will help determine the effectiveness of the cartoonist’s message.
This weekly diary takes a look at the past week’s important news stories from the perspective of our leading editorial cartoonists (including a few foreign ones) with analysis and commentary added in by me.
When evaluating a cartoon, ask yourself these questions:
1. Does a cartoon add to my existing knowledge base and help crystallize my thinking about the issue depicted?
2. Does the cartoonist have any obvious biases that distort reality?
3. Is the cartoonist reflecting prevailing public opinion or trying to shape it?
The answers will help determine the effectiveness of the cartoonist’s message.
Now that the “Plouffe You, You Dirty Effing Bedwetter Brigade” has taken over the public communications again for the Obama administration, we are treated to the Trial Balloon of the State of the Union address, which says the President wants a 3 year spending freeze which would exempt the Pentagon, Veterans affairs, and Homeland Security. Of course, the senior Administration official spoke anonymously.
It’s not every day that I get a welcoming forum to discuss the death penalty and why state killing should be abolished. So I was particularly delighted to appear today on WBAI’s “Law and Disorder.” Want to hear what I had to say? Click this to play the interview.
A special thanks to Michael Smith, Michael Ratner and Heidi Bogosian for inviting me and to WBAI in New York for broadcasting this show both on the radio and the Internet.
President Obama plans to announce a three-year freeze on discretionary, “non-security” spending in the lead-up to Wednesday’s State of the Union address, Hill Democratic sources familiar with President Obama plans to announce a three-year freeze on discretionary, “non-security” spending in the lead-up to Wednesday’s State of the Union address, Hill Democratic sources familiar with the plan tell POLITICO.
Mr. President, wouldn’t it be kinder to ritually disembowel yourself with a sword? To honorably throw yourself upon the country’s funeral pyre? Perhaps an over-dose of sodium pentobarbital would provide a gentler exit?
And get the reasoning behind this:
The move, intended to blunt the populist backlash against Obama’s $787 billion stimulus and an era of trillion-dollar deficits – and to quell Democratic anxiety over last Tuesday’s Massachusetts Senate election …
Obama’s latest political stunts aimed at “quelling the populist backlash” are not only the ridiculous make-up and clown shoes of political burlesque, but sheer insanity. The blow out in 2010 will be spectacular. Bush and the Republicans were a hard act to follow, but Democrats and especially Mr. President, you’ve outdone yourselves. Chases, collisions, pratfalls, and boisterous comedy. Bring out the slapsticks.
Once upon a time, a long time ago, in the not too distant future. Far across the universe, on the other side of the string theorists membrane that lies just to the left of the right side of my brain there is a universe not unlike ours and in that universe a planet spins around its sun. This planet is special, it has developed in such a way that it supports life. Over its billions of years of spinning around the life on this planet has developed and matured,through fits and starts, some dead ends some just splits to the point where one species of life has risen to the top of the heap as it were. The planet is called Terra by these folk who call themselves Terrans and this is there story.
Rae Ericson sat atop a bluff of sand and beach grass overlooking the bay of Portstown, the bay all windsweapt with whitecaps popping up here and there isn’t large by our standards but it had served the folk of Portstown for many many years. Portstown itself sits across the opening to the sea. A once impressive city known as the hub of power and influence by its now dead inhabitants. Now abandoned and crumbling the city is no more than a reminder of a long history, of heros and villans, progress and depravity, excess and poverty.
Around Rae sit his pupils, a motly crew to be sure. These are the sons and daughters of the few reamining families able to spare a child for several cycles, children who would otherwise be working the land or fishing the seas.
Brilliant. Booman cites this reprehensible call to victim-hood, with apparent approval. The diary, entitled “We’re too busy criticizing ourselves to counter our critics,” is essentially a call to improve Democratic propaganda by accepting your proper role as the sap who will take the syrup on shit and call it pancakes, a disgusting exercise in reflexive blame. The call to lackey-dom reverberates of prior admissions of internalized guilt by the voting stooges: Isn’t it really our own fault that Barack Obama is a total sell-out? Sadly, well, it sort of is!
Thus spake Booman:
It seems to me that the progressive blogosphere is useful to the Democratic Party and liberal interest groups because it is a free source of media counterinformation to the crap the corporate media spews out on a 24-hour basis. But, the progressive blogosphere is actually more concerned with amplifying critiques of the Democrats because the Democrats are unwilling and unable to feed and tend to their base. So, we’re now more a part of the problem than we are part of the solution. Some people have a degree of self-awareness about this situation, but the majority do not. Yeah, it would be great if the Democrats were more willing and able to do the types of things we advocate, since most (but by no means all) of the advice we provide is solid. But since [Democrats are] not doing it, we’re just piling on and helping to demoralize the troops.
It’s not something I’m eager to associate myself with.
Because the Democrats suck shit out of an elephant’s ass, the resulting bad narrative surrounding them is our own damn fault!
Suckers: There’s one born every minute.
Or perhaps these aren’t your average flunkies: maybe they’re cognitive infiltrators. Fhtagn!
