June 3, 2010 archive

Stoneleigh’s take on Obama.

I personally find it difficult to restrain my criticism of Obama, as he appears to be a recidivist lickspittle to the plutocracy, completely unfit for duty to the nation, the most non-hopiest, non-change-iest fucker ever born.  Nevertheless, I found these admittedly grim comments by Stoneleigh on Obama’s “historical context” worth taking into account, as well.

Replying to Erltonsquire (first quote, all emphases mine), she writes:

Erltonsquire,

I don’t want America’s first black president to be blamed for the next depression. He means too much as a symbol.

I don’t want to see that happen either, as the consequences for racial harmony could be catastrophic. Unfortunately, however, circumstance dictates that is exactly what will happen. Anyone elected at such a time takes the blame, whether or not it can plausibly be construed as his fault. Look what happened to Hoover’s reputation.

The two candidates at the last election were fighting over the poisoned chalice. I think it’s very unfortunate that Mr Obama won at this particular time and is now in the line of fire. I actually feel very sorry for him and especially his family. I don’t think he has any idea what is about to hit him politically. Unfortunately he encouraged people to believe he had the power to change things, which he doesn’t. It is very dangerous for politicians to believe their own propaganda and willingly step up on to a pedestal. It just means they have further to fall.

Whatever one may think of current events, it actually makes little sense to focus on blaming the president, as his actions are so constrained, and events are so dependent on long term socieconomic moves that precede his term. The system is larger than any man and it is simply broken. A blame game won’t help anyone. Sadly nastier and nastier blame-games are exactly what increasingly angry people engage in in such times. I always suggest that people save their energies for more constructive purposes that can actually benefit their loved ones.

Mr Obama is in the wrong place at the wrong time. All he can do is cheerlead while presiding over a sclerotic and dysfunctional system that is completely unresponsive to the needs of the populace. Such a system can no longer do anything constructive. Sadly the destructive power that remains is still being deployed, and probably will continue to be so on a wider and wider scale. Tragically, this will be Mr Obama’s legacy, whatever he personally does or does not do.

June 1, 2010 8:24 AM

Hard to gainsay much of anything said above, and what a mouthful!  I do think Stoneleigh’s acuteness reaches its vanishing when she says,

I always suggest that people save their energies for more constructive purposes that can actually benefit their loved ones.

One last question: Can Wall Street create catastrophe bonds for politicians?  Because I want in!

Late Night Karaoke

OPEN THREAD

NOAA Denies Plumes

From Huffpo (and elsewhere) :

NOAA Director Toes BP Line; Won’t Confirm Sub-Surface Oil Despite Evidence

No, no plumes.

Gulf Oil Could Leak For Years

Well known CUNY Physics Professor Michio Kaku appeared on NBC’s Today Show with some disturbing comments.

RawStory reports:

After six methods for stopping the [Deepwater Horizon] leak failed, BP is now trying a seventh method: “cut and cap.”

[snip]

If this seventh attempt fails, the next option will be to wait on one of two relief wells to intercept and block the original well. This is considered the best hope for permanently stopping the flow, but those wells won’t be in place until August at the soonest. Some predict that it could take until Christmas.

But Kaku thinks that even those predictions could be too optimistic.

“You would have to win the lottery to get on the first try an exact, an exact meeting at the bottom of the well in order to pump cement to shut it off,” Kaku told NBC’s Matt Lauer Wednesday.

If the attempt fails, the drill will be reversed, the hole will be filled with cement and they will try again.

“You have to do this over and over again until you get it just right,” Kaku said. “It takes many tries. So August is optimistic.”

“So this could be spewing oil for months. Could it last for a year?” asked Lauer.

“It could last for years, plural. Okay? If everything fails and all these different kinds of relief wells don’t work, it could be spewing stuff into the Gulf until we have dead zones, entire dead zones in the Gulf. For years,” Kaku said.

This video is from NBC’s Today Show, broadcast June 2, 2010.

On Loathing Windows 7

Why net neutrality is already decided.

What, because Microshaft is insecure I have to make my own backup disks before exploring a brand new laptop?

The wife wants me to copy a movie.  No I don’t sell them but the grandkids love to drag them across the floor.

Afternoon Edition

Afternoon Edition is an Open Thread

From Yahoo News Top Stories

1 Oil closes in on Florida coast

by Patrick Baert, AFP

1 hr 38 mins ago

GRAND ISLE, Louisiana (AFP) – The giant Gulf of Mexico oil slick was Wednesday closing in on the pristine Florida coast, as deep sea robotic submarines hit a new snag in BP’s latest bid to contain the spill.

Forecasters said it was virtually certain Florida’s panhandle, a major draw for tourists from around the world, would be hit by the spill this week.

The latest official projections from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) show the slick to be about seven miles (11 kilometers) off the state’s shores, a Florida official told AFP.

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