Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Fighting the Future, with Paul Krugman and a Dick named Morris

Paul Krugman read my mind this Sunday, meaning at leas one of us is telepathic:

The last time a Democrat sat in the White House, he faced a nonstop witch hunt by his political opponents. Prominent figures on the right accused Bill and Hillary Clinton of everything from drug smuggling to murder. And once Republicans took control of Congress, they subjected the Clinton administration to unrelenting harassment — at one point taking 140 hours of sworn testimony over accusations that the White House had misused its Christmas card list.


And GOP pollster Dick Morris has confirmed the veracity of my precognative powers:


Republican pollster Dick Morris told conservative political activists that newly elected Republicans should shut down the government next year. Morris said the party must elect lawmakers who will stand up and say "No" to President Obama's requests for more government spending and predicted a repeat of how Republicans forced a shutdown under President Clinton after they won control of Congress.

"There's going to be a government shutdown, just like in '95 and '96 but we're going to win it this time and I'll be fightin' on your side," Morris said at the Americans for Prosperity Foundation Conference on Friday in Washington.

Now, that's not exactly campaign trail material, but it's a fascinating glimpse into what Republicans may put into action should they win back control of Congress. Morris' suggestions, memes and talking points frequently end up in GOP campaign materials, so we'll be keeping a close eye on this one to see if Republicans will back up his promise for a government shutdown.

It's also quite interesting given that Morris was a Clinton campaign operative in 1995 and 1996 when the Republicans forced a showdown over government spending. (A gamble which, of course, didn't help them much politically. Clinton was able to win reelection in part by running against the GOP's obstruction.)


I've been saying it ever since nostalgia for the 1980s decayed into a sick and futile parody of itself: '90s Retro is coming, baby. You barely survived it the first time. Now get ready for round two and this time the President really is black. To paraphrase Jello Biafra, the 2010's may suck but at least they won't be boring.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Quote of the Day: Joe Bageant on Truth

After decades of hyper-militant consumerism and its attending alienation, and a national consciousness spun from pure capitalist bullshit and mirrors, it is testimony to the American people that they can still see to piss straight, much less recognize any sort of truth whatsoever.


(from Honk if You Love Caviar: Understanding America's Class System by fellow-strumpetocrat Joe Bageant, which, apart from being one hell of a rant, is also one hell of a sociopolitical history and required reading for everyone with eyes. Unless you care more about a mosque that isn't a mosque in a city that isn't yours which suffered a disaster you had nothing to do with almost nine years ago. Which, if you're American, you probably do.)

Monday, August 16, 2010

New Review: Kick-Ass (2010)



This week And You Thought It Was Safe(?) reviews Kick-Ass (2010). Because the power of nerds compels me.

Friday, July 23, 2010

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Memo From New Zealand: Twilight Kills!

Wednesday night, police discovered a twenty-three year "transient" slumped in his car, dead, outside a Wellington, New Zealand theater screening of Eclipse, the series latest film installment.

To paraphrase my favorite Quaid, I've been saying it for years. (Ain't I been sayin' it, Miguel?) Twilight is undeniable blueprint for murder, more potent and viable than all the "violent" video games I've ever played in my life put together.

The official cause of death is yet to be determined at press time...but I think we could hazard a few guesses. The continued success of the Twilight series has led me to contemplated suicide once or twice myself, and frankly I'm grateful to find I'm not alone. So I'd like to salute you, anonymous transient man, and let the whole world know that you're death was not in vain.

(h/t Jezebel and the NZ Herald)

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

From Your Cold, Dead Hands




Today, in a 5-4 decision that should surprise absolutely no one, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that gun ownership is an individual right. I know. "Duh," right? Apparently, this is only news to constitutional scholars and the court system that draws it's members from them.

Apart from restating an obvious, on the ground fact, this ruling once again proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that John Roberts and Sam Alito are the bought, paid-for, and kept whores of the knee-jerk, Wrong Wing, conservative ideologues who handed them their jobs in the first place.

The court was considering a restrictive handgun law in Chicago and one of its suburbs that was similar to the District of Columbia law that it ruled against in 2008. The 5-4 decision does not strike any other gun-control measures currently in place, but it provides a legal basis for challenges across the country where gun owners think that government has been too restrictive.

"It is clear that the Framers ... counted the right to keep and bear arms among those fundamental rights necessary to our system of ordered liberty," Justice Samuel Alito Jr. wrote for the conservatives on the court.

[...]

Alito said that the court had made clear in its 2008 decision that it was not casting doubt on such long-standing measures as keeping felons and the mentally ill from possessing guns or keeping guns out of "sensitive places" such as schools and government buildings.

"We repeat those assurances here," Alito wrote. "Despite municipal respondents' doomsday proclamations, (the decision) does not imperil every law regulating firearms."

Sir, with all due respect (that is, none)...bullshit. And you know it. You know it, and you don't care, because you've spent your whole life imbibing this brand of NRA bullshit. The NRA's executive vice president, Wayne LaPierre, has already said, “We’re going to go everywhere cynical politicians attempt to pervert, defy or nullify the decision,” and they won't stop until they've got the whole chicken coop sown up. Hell, they won't stop until every one of this Empire three hundred and fifty million citizens has a Glock 17 strapped to their ass, ready to go at a moment's notice.

Today, the halls of Remington, Smith & Weston, and Charter Arms are ringing with jubilation. They've won, their butt-boys (like LaPierre) know it, and they're going to make sure they keep on winning, regardless of the human cost.

Not that that really matters. If you're a citizen of the West your hands are already covered in the invisible blood of your fellow man. Why not slather on a few more layers by "accidentally" shooting your wife and child in a fit of work-stress-related rage?

I used to favor gun "control" measures, whatever their source...then, one day, I realized favoring such policies is a self-defeating exercise in Playing The NRA's Game. It's a Game they've spent forty years rigging, and thanks to Our (former) Glorious Leader, George Jr., and the shaved apes he placed inside the Nation's Highest (and I do mean highest) Court, their efforts are finally paying off.

Except this Empire armaments industry has always reaped extraordinary benefits from careful manipulation of the "democratic" process. Hate a gun-control advocate? Brand him/her a communist terrorist socialist in disguise. Then, all you have to do is sit back and throw money at his/her Primary or General Election opponent(s). Should your candidate ever express concern about the amount of gun-related homicides in this country, or our massive cultural addiction to adolescent Rambo fantasies, all you have to do is remind them of how they got their job in the first place. And that they could loose it just as easily.

But assume the worst and suppose a gun "control" law actually makes it on the books. No problem. Sue. And sue. And sue. Tie up the local, state and federal judiciary for as long as it takes because, remember, you're right and they're wrong (whoever "they" are), so fuck them, their fat wives, and their so-called courts. Don't worry: if you need more lawyer money you can always tell the NRA's rank and file to "remember Ruby Ridge." Or Waco. And watch the money tree grow.

In mixed company its best to avoid mention of those unfortunate incidents. Instead, quote from Gospel of Reagan, chapter 6 verse 66. Repeat along with me, kids: "If Guns are Outlawed, Only Outlaws Will Have Guns."

(Bonus points if your handpicked Legislative lackies regularly decry "frivolous lawsuits"...you know, like those brought by individuals against corporations who've screwed them out of pensions, poisoned family members, or dumped toxic waste into the local water tables.)

The real irony is, Wayne LaPiere is right. Over a year ago he told the Conservative Action Committee "Our founding fathers understood that the guys with the guns make the rules." Thus our two hundred year history of genocide, frontier violence-as-justice, and our Do What We Say or Die foreign policy. Furthermore, the return of the Armed Maniac to the national, political stage (more of them every day, as seen in this campaign ad from the National Socialist State of Arizona) will only encourage those of us who honestly hate guns to go out and buy them. For personal defense, of course. This will, in turn, further enable the Iron Mongers among us, allowing them to pack "our" government with their handpicked allies, ensuring more Judicial homicide enabling. So it goes.

I'll let George Washington Universe law professor Paul Butler have the last word, he being a law professor and all.

It’s not every day when four justices of the Supreme Court accuse the other five of having blood on their hands. The majority opinion doesn’t immediately lead to any change in a specific law, almost like the court is afraid of what it is setting in motion. But the dissenters were correct. Sooner, rather than later, the blood will flow.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Artificial lifeform created: Microbe declares mankind "already dead."

Via the Daily Mail:
But the breakthrough, which took 15 years and £27.7million to achieve, opens an ethical Pandora's box. Ethicists said he is 'creaking open the most profound door in humanity's history' - with unparalleled risks.

There are fears that the research, detailed in the journal Science, could be abused to create the ultimate biological weapon.

And there are also warnings that one mistake in a lab could lead to millions being wiped out by a plague, in scenes reminiscent of the Will Smith film I Am Legend.
Like this

Your humble author's reaction to the above news.

That fucking tears it. Every crap sci-fi film you've ever seen or even heard about is coming true. Soon, the killer robots will feast on our flesh side by side with all the victims of the zombie-sparkly-vampire-apocalypse virus, right before the killer tidal wave washes a bumper crop of giant monsters into the remains of our more-photogenic cities. Indeed, God help us all.

In Deference to Reason

...Reason Magazine, that is, we celebrate the First Annual Everybody Draw Mohammad day. And, since I can't draw, I offer you this blast from the past:

(The Prophet Mohammad defends Washington D.C. from the ravages of a giant, stone Abraham Lincoln. Circa 2001.)


Saturday, May 15, 2010

Time Warner Gives USCG, Federal Courts, One-Fingered Salute.

In a strange twist of fate, Time Warner Cable threw itself under the anti-movie piracy bus today, stating publicly that it had no intention of complying with the 2,049 subpoenas generated by German crap-filmmaker Uwe Boll's suit against peer-2-peer downloaders. None. Zip.

I have mixed feelings about that. On the one hand, this is just one more example of the fact corporations can do whatever they want, and will do whatever they can get away with, employing any excuse. In this case, it's lack of manpower, and resources tied up in the parallel wars on Crime (remember that one?) and Terror.

"Copyright cases involving third-party discovery of Internet service providers have typically related to a plaintiff's efforts to identify anonymous defendants whose numbers rank in the single or low double digits," wrote the cable company. "By contrast, plaintiff in this case alone seeks identifying information about 2,049 anonymous defendants, and seeks identifying information about 809 Internet Protocol addresses from TWC."

Time Warner Cable does not have enough employees to respond to these requests. In a typical month, the company receives an average of 567 IP lookup requests, nearly all of them coming from law enforcement. These lookup requests involve everything from suicide threats to child abduction to terrorist activity, and the company says that such cases take "immediate priority."

On the other hand, I cannot support anyone, anywhere, exchanging money for a Uwe Boll film. Fuck Uwe Boll, and his horrible movies. Fuck the underwear models posing as lawyers on the U.S. Copyright Group's website. USCG has made a name for itself partnering with independent film studios, distracting the courts with these massive lawsuits in a futile attempt to roll back the technological clocks to 1995.

On the third hand, I can't support illegal file sharing, because I'm afraid I'll get sued if I do. And that, in case anyone was wondering, is how terrorism works.


Friday, May 14, 2010

The Policeman Will Shoot Your Pet

On February 12 of this year, police in Columbia, Missouri, serving a search warrant for narcotics, raided a man's home in full SWAT regalia, guns drawn. Acting on a tip that the man was some sort of Kingpin of Pot, the police handcuffed him and "accidentally" shot his pet corgi.



Via the very evenhanded (all things considered) Reason Magazine, which rightly points out raids like this go on all the time. The only difference is, this one was caught on film.

Look around your back yards. Ask yourself, what are your local police doing? Do you even know? Quick, who's your local Commissioner Gordon? Mine's the mayor, Sam Adams. He just fired Chief Rosie Sizer two days ago, officially taking the helm of a police department he'd delegated to city commissioner Dan Saltzman. Saltzman must've drawn the short straw. He got the task of apologizing to the family of James Chasse Jr, who died in September 2006. Portland police officers broke 16 of his ribs in the process of tackling him, puncturing his lungs.

And my friends tell me the drug war is over. Barack Obama is supposedly going to save us all. But how long will this naivete allow our nation's cops to take out their pent up aggression on the nation's defenseless pets?

Answer: As long as Pakistani's trying to set off bombs in Times Square.

Question: Why in God's name would anybody want to blow up Times Square?

Answer: Because nothing's changed. Two wars going nowhere fast, U.S. sanctioned torture, spying, environmental catastrophes...sounds like 2005 to me. Where are we again?

Friday, May 07, 2010

I would communicate with others...

...but I'm in school. I'll let Professor Chomsky explain that to you: