Santorum in the spotlight

At first, I was incensed that Rick Santorum was still getting press coverage. Seeing as the nomination is pretty much Romney's to lose, unless Cain somehow rides the current wave of enthusiasm to victory (unlikely) or Perry learns to construct a coherent sentence in a recognizable form of the English language (even more unlikely), Santorum is pretty much dead in the water at this point. And yet, he still slithers his way back into public discourse, this time setting his homosexuality obsession on men showering together which is a completely normal topic to occupy the mind of a normal straight man with no hangups about sexuality, obviously.

I was incensed because here is this man basically soliciting donations from American cavemen hell bent on the belief that homosexuality somehow adversely affects their awful, hate-filled lives. Then I realized, fuck those people. These mouth breathers send their money to Santorum, and while it's infuriating that he pockets it and likely uses it to renew his Playgirl subscription (purely for research purposes), it's reassuring to know that every cent spent on the pipe dream of a Santorum Administration in the White House is a cent not spent supporting one of those other GOP lunatics.

So, thanks homophobes and bible thumpers! Your useful combination of poverty and ignorance came in very handy. Keep up the good work.

Obama, the one-term wonder

The President lost the country today. He proved every pundit right. You know that tired old meme that Democrats have no spine? Today, it became painfully, evidently true, in a way that makes me sad and ashamed. I'm sad because I was lulled into loving Obama, and thinking that he was a transformational President, like an FDR for my generation. I'm ashamed because I should have known better.

Barack Obama inspired me to want to devote the rest of my life to public service. He's the reason I'm busting my ass in law school. I saw this eloquent and inspiring young senator and realized that it was time for me to start pulling my weight as a citizen again. He made me want to be a better American, a better citizen of the world, and a better person.

And now, I'm lost. If Barack Obama had been just another politician, it wouldn't matter. He would have gotten my default, non-Republican vote and I could be non-committal in my support, not being surprised when yet another Democrat shit himself in fear at Republican obstructionism. But he was supposed to be different. He was the man who was going to change the culture of Washington. He was the man who was going to revive decency and civility. He was going to give the rest of us a chance, after the rich had their way with this country for 8 years.

Well, it didn't pan out. Yet again, we were fooled by flashy oratory and promises he had no intention of keeping. We were fooled into thinking his election was OUR election. We were told we were a part of his victory. And that may be true. But once the party was over, it was back to business as usual.

At this point, I don't think there's anything he could do to win back his lost base. We were miffed about the watered-down health care reform. We were pissed off when he appointed the same Harvard cabal that helped ruin our economy to lead his economic team. We were also pretty steamed when he named a former Monsanto executive to the department of agriculture. Now that he's capitulated to the Republicans on yet another campaign promise, and this was a pretty big one, the overwhelming emotion I'm seeing isn't rage or incredulity. It's apathy. We just don't care anymore about this president, this party, or the fucking joke that is our federal government.

I'm sorry I had to see it happen. I thought I was going to see history get made with Obama in the White House. Instead, I get to see it repeated. If I cared anymore, I'd be sadder than I am. But I can't bring myself to care anymore. I guess that's what hurts the most. Obama made me care again, and then proved I shouldn't have bothered.

I hear Canada's nice.

Musings

Nothing is more infuriating than watching political advertisements, which are now apparently the only advertisements airing on New England television. The thing I've noticed most is that of the commercials I've seen, only one of them actually told me to vote FOR someone. All the rest are ads painting every left-leaning politician as Nancy Pelosi's best friend, and how they're intent on destroying this country with their liberal, socialist, blah blah blah blah blah. They're presented with all the subtlety of LBJ's "Daisy Girl" ad from 1964, and they're all sponsored by patriotic sounding GOP front groups with cornball names like the "American Freedom Coalition" and "The Association of American Freedom Patriots" and "The Freedom Patriot Freedom America Liberty Justice Foundation."

I'm done. Our legislature has proven, no matter who's in power, that they have no interest in legislating in the interests of the American people anymore, and instead have become more brazen and unashamed about upholding the interests of their corporate puppet masters. Why even bother voting anymore? Save a few exceptions, no one in the legislative branch has a conscience anymore. Instead of principled and respectful debate, we get the impassioned rhetorical flash of Anthony Weiner or Michele Bachman. Sure, it plays well on television, but it is ultimately destroying any possibility of encouraging civil discourse among those with differing views, and in my experience that doesn't represent America. One of my closest friends is what I can only describe as a right wing kook (and he would probably describe me similarly), but when we discuss our politics and debate our respective positions, the first thing we do is try to find the common ground and build from there. That tactic is lost in modern discourse, and it's sad and frightening.

To bother finding someone to blame for this would only further fan the flames of this dangerous and divisive rhetoric. We just need to call a truce and start seeing how we can work together to improve the country instead of working separately to dismantle it.

Fuck you, Rep. Joe Barton

First, see this article before reading this post, and it will make more sense.

Dear Rep. Barton,

Thank you for apologizing to BP over the unfair treatment they have received from the White House.

Here's a few other companies you should probably apologize to while you're at it:

- Comcast. Here they are trying to limit our access to the internet, and all we hear about are the advantages of so-called "net neutrality." Hey, if they want to turn the internet into an electronic caste system where some people get full access to the greatest democratic medium of our lifetime while others don't, so be it.

- Toyota. Their cars malfunctioned and hurt and injured people, and all we could do was give them a hard time about it. Hey, if they want to manufacture and sell deathtraps and people are dumb enough to buy them, I say it's the consumers' fault. You should probably get on that one soon.

- Blackwater/Xe. Now our private military contractors can't even kill innocent civilians without being charged with war crimes. We should apologize and just let them kill whoever they want on the taxpayer's dime.

- Union Carbide... oh never mind. We never did anything after this company killed thousands of people in Bhopal, India. No apology necessary there.

Anyway, keep up the apologies. I'm sure another oil company will find a way to further rape our environment, and I'm sure you'll be lining up to kiss their a** too so you can ensure yourself a nice cushy job when your constituents realize that you don't serve them, just your corporate puppet masters, and they vote you out. Then again, it's Texas, so your greed and right-wing duplicity are probably assets.

By the way, can you pass on tips on how you sleep at night? I'm a decent person who doesn't enjoy standing up for evil and greed, but I still have trouble sleeping. What's your secret?

The MA Special Election

I know most of my liberal compatriots will be blown away by what I'm trying to say, but I'm gonna say it anyway. I kind of hope Scott Brown wins the special election in Massachusetts on Tuesday to fill the seat vacated by the late Ted Kennedy.

I didn't come to this decision lightly. In the primary, I was a big fan of Mike Capuano. I like his straight-talk, and I like how closely he engages with his constituents. I though Coakley would be more of the same in the Senate, a stuffy, uptight liberal with a few too many hands in her pockets.

Why do I kind of hope Scott Brown wins? Because it will make clear the real agenda of the Republican party, and in the long term can hurt them. That agenda? Obstructionism.

If Scott Brown wins, he has made it clear that he will vote against the health care reform bill (which is more of a giant giveaway to the insurance industry than anything, but that's another discussion). He has made it clear that he would be proud to be the 41st vote in the Senate, keeping the GOP in its position of fillibustering every piece of legislation that comes before them. He has made it clear he is also against reform of our financial industry. Neither of these positions are terribly popular among the moderates. They're bona fide teabag/Libertarian positions, but that's a political trend that will be (hopefully) dead by 2012.

If Scott Brown wins, the true colors of the Republican party will become clear to the everyday voter. Hey, middle America, remember how your house got foreclosed on because the GOP obstructed financial reform that would have allowed you to negotiate with your lender so you don't lose your home? Yeah, that was the GOP's fault. Remember how you wanted to see your insurance premiums go down, and the increased likelihood that you would get the treatment you needed without being dropped by your insurance company? Yeah, that was the GOP standing up for you by obstructing progress again.

Do you see what I'm getting at? The Republican brand is pretty broken right now, but it's only slightly more broken than the Democrat brand. If the GOP gets the opportunity to stand in the way of anything Obama tries to do to improve this country, they'll take it. Given that eventuality the Democrats should take that opportunity to try and get real reform, reform that will have popular support among the people, pushed through in Congress, only to see it languish at the hands of Republican obstructionism. It can be the position the Democrats can take into the 2012 election to say, "See? We tried to improve the country, but the GOP wouldn't let it happen because of something as trivial as ideological purity, and unbridled loathing for working with the other side of the aisle."

This is why, I, as a liberal, want Scott Brown to win this election. It's obvious that the Democrats have no interest in any real progressive causes anymore (as should be obvious by the castrated insurance company handout they're passing off as "reform"). Maybe the loss of a layup special election will be just the spur they need to start listening to their base again.

good point

This has been forwarded around, and copy-pasted into various discussion boards, but this is the first time I've seen it, and I thought I should share it.

"I am a conservative.
This morning I was awoken by my alarm clock powered by electricity generated by the public power monopoly regulated by the U.S. Department of Energy.

I then took a shower in the clean water provided by a municipal water utility.

After that, I turned on the TV to one of the FCC-regulated channels to see what the National Weather Service of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration determined the weather was going to be like, using satellites designed, built, and launched by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

I watched this while eating my breakfast of U.S. Department of Agriculture-inspected food and taking the drugs which have been determined as safe by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

At the appropriate time, as regulated by the U.S. Congress and kept accurate by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the U.S. Naval Observatory, I get into my National Highway Traffic Safety Administration-approved automobile and set out to work on the roads build by the local, state, and federal Departments of Transportation, possibly stopping to purchase additional fuel of a quality level
determined by the Environmental Protection Agency, using legal tender issued by the Federal Reserve Bank.

On the way out the door I deposit any mail I have to be sent out via the U.S. Postal Service and drop the kids off at the public school.

After spending another day not being maimed or killed at work thanks to the workplace regulations imposed by the Department of Labor and the Occupational Safety and Health administration, enjoying another two meals which again do not kill me because of the USDA, I drive my NHTSA car back home on the DOT roads, to my house which has not burned down in my absence because of the state and local building codes and Fire Marshal's inspection, and which has not been plundered of all its
valuables thanks to the local police department.

And then I log on to the internet -- which was developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Administration -- and post on Freerepublic.com and Fox News forums about how SOCIALISM in medicine is BAD because the government can't do anything right."

Discuss.

As Sponsors Flee, The Glenn Beck Show Gets More And More Awesomely Bonkers

The more I think about it, the more I realize that Glenn Beck is the PERFECT representative for the new Republican base. As fewer and fewer reasonable people give credence to his uninformed lunatic ramblings, the angrier and more paranoid he gets, much like the people who were blindsided by the overwhelming defeat of the GOP in '06 and '08. He IS the raving loony with a sign depicting Obama as Hitler. He IS the demented old coot screaming about how the guv'mint should get out of his Medicare. He IS the troglodyte screaming about long form birth certificates and falsified 48 year old birth announcements. These people's paranoia is now reinforced every time they tune into Fox News, and Beck is fanning the flames of their ignorance.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost