President's Residence

I didn't watch the inaugural speech last week and have only heard second-hand reports about it, but it seems that we are now living in Disneyland, finally. The policies of this idiot are so catastrophic that one must wall oneself firmly into a fantasy world in order to sustain the belief that things are going well. This is particularly true in the realm of foreign policy, which the speech was largely about, I hear.

Unfortunately, not even Disneyland would be comfortable for poor George, since news of the difficulties in Iraq is carried into the park like a virus by thousands of visitors every day. Where can a cartoon president go for relief?

How about Neverland? I hear Michael Jackson is thinking of selling it, so it might actually become available soon. In my opinion, this is a perfect place for our president to take up permanent residence. I'm sure you'll agree after perusing this lovely photo:


This picture came from a website about Jackson's Neverland theme park. Is it kosher to cross-link pictures on other people's websites? Here is a link to the actual site that Michael and his diminutive pals can use to track back through to find out who's responsible for originating this wonderful idea that would be so beneficial for everyone. I'm sure the president's financial buddies would be glad to pony up top dollar to buy the park, and Michael could use all the powerful friends he can get about now. It's a win/win situation, a perfect meeting of the minds. We just have to make sure that the gate locks from the outside.

Luminosity of the POTHUS

Toward the end of the reign of George the First (alias Bush pere, alias George Herbert Walker Bush), Mark Shields once said of the sitting president that he was "born on third base and thought he hit a home run." If we stretch this analogy to the younger generation of Bush presidents, we soon end up with the current occupant of the oval office having been born at home plate, the ball already belted out of the park by a pinch hitter (James Baker, Karl Rove, or God Almighty, take your pick).

"Only the Paranoid Survive," the title of a management book by former Intel CEO Andy Grove, is a popular credo in the Darwinian shark tank of American free enterprise, where a constant awareness of imminent danger is essential for survival. Without the wisdom to be afraid, one cannot hope to compete, a maxim that may explain the serial business failures of our current president before he cashed out of the oil patch, gave up alcohol, got religion, and joined the real Bush family enterprise in politics.

Boosted straight to the forefront by family connection, George the candidate could leave the technicalities of survival to the ferocious schemes of Karl Rove, whose paranoia had been honed by decades of the dirtiest political maneuvering ever seen in this country. The rest, as they say, is history, and now shall we behold the brave scion of inherited wealth who, having been tragically denied the fundamental American right of being allowed to struggle for his own survival, swings the swift sword of his terrible vengeance as the mighty POTHUS (President Of These Here United States) and Commander in Chief of the greatest military power the world has ever known.

Nothing could be more offensive than the prospect of this sneering and wealthy prep-school brat, whose faltering career was repackaged as a political dynamo by the redeeming power of wealth and class, now wielding the full authority of presidential directive to initiate the phase-out of Social Security, a retirement fund that provides crucial economic assistance to those who have paid into it throughout their careers. Exactly how Bush's initiative will fare in congress is not yet clear, but it will take more than faint-hearted democratic opposition to counter republican support.

If that support is monolithic, Bush will succeed in ramming privatization down our throats, with the result that most of us can look forward to increased pain and difficulty as we slide down the razor blade of our declining years. The claim that only part of the system will be privatized is simply a convenient lie that is deployed to overcome initial resistance. There will be a short "trial period," accompanied by loud applause and proclamations of success no matter what the numbers indicate, after which the final dismantling will commence. Sooner than most people imagine, there will be no security for anyone not independently wealthy, so the best advice for younger members of the workforce is to get rich before the age of fifty. The rest of you are free to invest in the Almighty after your private accounts in the stock market plummet toward zero.

While we're giving advice, let's emphasize once again that God helps those who help themselves, and nobody but you is responsible for your problems. If you're hungry, eat dog food. If you're sick, you will likely get sicker, and if you're old and dying, let nothing stand in your way. Those venerable souls among us whose worthy ancestors fought and scratched their way up the economic ladder are not here to help or protect you. We're here to select the highest quality jacuzzis for our bathrooms. Everything worth having belongs to us because we're better than you, a fact that is clearly demonstrated by the long sequence of zeroes before the decimal point on our bank statements.

But you are owners too. You may own that which is required for you to serve us cocktails and install our jacuzzis, and you are free to purchase media receivers for the display of morally righteous content broad-blasted by our entertainment subsidiaries. Under our democracy, you are also granted the right to own limited communications equipment with which to transmit individual messages across the internets, but only so long as such traffic does not interfere with entertainment venues and does not violate religious or moral precepts. Remember that only you are the owner of your destiny.

Welcome to the Ownership Society, and have a nice day!

News Update: Bush Won!

Yes, the national election is finished and George II won, so there is no further need to keep a lid on the tsunami of bad news that might have allowed voters to properly evaluate the actual performance of the Bush administration's first term in office. The blundering project in Iraq is a catastrophe of historical proportions, a fact that has been apparent to everyone around the world, but here at home we were subject to an unceasing barrage of happy propaganda from the hired guns at Fox News, Clear Channel, and Sinclair. At what point will the multitudes of O'Reilly and Limbaugh clones be unable to keep this up? With several Americans and over twenty Iraqis meeting violent death every day, haven't we arrived yet? Will the turning point be the upcoming Iraqi national election that gives every current indication of approaching massacre, complete with explosive polling stations?

The fact that republican control of communications and entertainment venues has corrupted the media beyond recognition is now fully apparent, so can we at least put an end to this fluorescent pretense that things were just as bad during the Clinton years?

What is this?

This weblog is intended to be about the elephant in the room, the large and radioactive issues that are sitting right there in plain view but are – for some reason – all but unmentionable in public forums.

For example, congress is meeting at this very moment to certify the election of G. Bush, and a group of senators have apparently joined up with the Conyers contingent in the house to object to the Ohio vote, which was unarguably corrupted. There is not a single mention of this in the NYT. The messy problems in Ohio are quite well known but vastly under-reported in the major news outlets since the election took place. If the challenge does happen, if Senator Boxer raises an objection as I've heard that she will, then the two houses will be forced to vote separately to certify the election after a maximum of two hours of debate, and then that will be the end of it. Is this a big deal?

Is it a big deal that Bush has stolen the presidential election for the second time and will easily get away with it? Of course it is, and the fact that it is not treated as such elsewhere and that folks are not screaming from the rooftops everywhere makes this topic fluorescent.