Posts Tagged ‘President Barack Obama’
the scene, politically speaking »
Friday, March 26th, 2010
Okay, so we have health care reform. It’s change, maybe, but more like my changing from jeans to khakis after landing a contract position than overhauling my wardrobe (which, admittedly, may need some work).
Where does that leave us? Here’s a look at the political climate as I’ve gleaned from lack of insight and caring very little…
Republicans:
Are idiots. But, with this new bill and some other factors (complete dolts as base; distaste for facts, reality and history; a powerful but shrinking upper-upper-upper class; etc.) they may balance things come fall. They’ll maintain their hate-speak to ensure their ignorance aligns with their ignorant base.¹
Democrats:
Are morons. They could have pushed through real reform but were distracted by sand in their vaginas (I imagine). They forfeited nearly all of their ideas (and all of their good ones) and still barely eked out a majority. They’ve weakened their position, which is apparently how they like it.
The President:
Belligerence is tossed in his face and he wants to sit down and talk about it. Then he agrees with most of the poorly-formed points and suggests changes. That sort of discussion is thoughtful, constructive and progressive but he’s the only one who believes in such things. (More sound-bites, sir. Please. The idiots are confused.)
Pundits: (err… “Media”)
They play both sides against each other in a battle of sound bites. While a battle of wits would be more suiting and could benefit us in the long-run, wits are hard to find just now. They’ll go the easy route and let stupid people verbally wail on each other betwixt commercials.
Ron Paul:
With all of his ideas stolen by the Tea Party, then by Fox News and still being shunned by Fox News, he’s fading. Expect him to only last another seven or twelve terms before he retires. (Career politics, while ineffective and regressive, is incredibly gracious.)
Tea Party:
If anyone from this movement is elected, all members (are we calling them “colonists” yet?)² will become infertile like that one country in Children of Men. (::fingers crossed::)
Health Care Industry:
Two words: Cha! Ching! With all the forced profits enhanced enrollment, without any substantial regulation, revoked exemption from trust laws or rejection of the pay-per-service model, things are looking good. (If you have any health stocks, keep them. You’ll need them.)
… That said, the Blues could add functioning health reform to their bill with a series of amendments. The media could shift focus (with the iPad reminding people how to read and all) to collaborative and comprehensive coverage of issues. The Colonists could merge their message into coherent and realistic complaints, sparking debate and true compromise.
Of course, I could also grow my hair into dreads and start working for a hedge fund. Now that I’m eating vegetables and riding my bike to work, anything’s possible.³
¹ I don’t mean “ignorant.” I mean ignorant or grotesquely rich. It’s easier to lump them together.
² Wait, why aren’t we calling them Colonists? They’re racist, abysmally educated and misinformed, not unlike those that lived three centuries ago. The name fits.
³ This is not possible.
use an ipod, get arrested »
Tuesday, March 24th, 2009
Modern Humorist
We all know Obama is the beacon of light in a sea of darkness, the destined prince of Dubya’s evil reign. Totally a given. But, what if he’s just a president, pressured by the same rich folk and backed by the same metaphorically (and sexist-ly) dickless non-leaders as those before him?
Horrifying, right?
According to Threat Level, Obama supports a fine of (up to) $150k per track for file sharing. They, probably for good reason, mark it as a low-level threat but this could be important.
This goes directly in line with the RIAA‘s goals and brings more confusion into copyright and infringement issues. Copyright is supposed to facilitate new ideas and expand creativity. Currently, it’s used to perpetuate music/movie monopolies. (Changing the definition a bit, yes?)
The music industry could have easily shifted to a digital medium, created vast archives and sold tracks off individually for $1 each for billions. They didn’t. Apple did. And now they’re looking to get their money back by suing small-time audiophiles.
Having the drummer from Metallica*, the RIAA and the President in the same camp could spark other intriguing results:
- RIAA comes down on all music sharing, people go local, music “industry” dries up
- Every mix-tape or CD you burned for any girl (guy) you wanted sans-pants is ordered destroyed; teen romance moves to MySpace dies
- Content ownership decomposes (we’re left with a great Beyoncé v. Rihanna debate that kills herds of cattle)
* Demanding ISPs block P2P users and increasing fines to comic proportions is overkill, which describes dual base drumming well.
manufacturing a source »
Tuesday, March 10th, 2009
It’s not surprising Fox News tweaks about something related to Barack Obama. It is slightly surprising to see them completely decompose their minuscule credibility so easily. Let me explain (sort of).
It all starts with a moron at World Net Daily (like that e-zine your dad subscribed to that told him Osama Bin Laden worked for the CIA) named Aaron Klein. His article (Wikipedia scrubs Obama eligibility) claims Wikipedia is actively wiping references to Obama’s past.
Fox News ran with it and it’ll likely be a full-fledged controversy among the Rights before Limbaugh pops his first pill tomorrow. I’m all for after-the-fact barely-doubts coming to light. Unfortunately, they seem to miss certain issues (that Wired takes note of).
The statement that banned Jerusalem21 (casting “doubt” on Obama being born in America) is only fact if you have an affinity toward racism, haven’t found time for your GED and/or are Sean Hannity. Jerusalem21 has made contributions to exactly two pages: Obama’s and Klein’s, which s/he created (following me here?).
Probably what happened:
- Erroneous Klein goes crazy, adding his own Wikipedia page and keeping it up to date.
- He’s suspended for putting gossip onto Obama’s page.
- He writes about it on a fringe website.
- Fox News picks it up as fact and is outraged. (Much like a three-year-old that doesn’t understand why he has to leave the zoo at closing time.)
That, boys and girls, is journalism at its finest. (Seriously. This is probably the best Fox News can do.) In any case, Erroneous Klein makes Randall Stross look like Walter Cronkite.
The Telegraph has more, ignoring Jerus— err, Aaron Klein’s credibility issues.
speeches: a comparison »
Wednesday, February 25th, 2009
President Obama threw out some orating last night. Then Governor Jindal of Lousiana vomited a response. (Videos here.) It was a war of words, Obama (Mike Tyson) vs. Jindal (Steve Urkel). (90s sitcom reference; what?)
Obama’s speech was strong, poised, articulate, blah, blah, yawn. He sounded like he always does and harped on all the points Americans hate. Personal responsibility, fiscal responsibility, general responsibility and peace.
He did mention how America should be the leader again, which just reminded everyone how far we need to go to keep up with most others (buzzkill). There was an outline for new jobs and tax cuts to most families and boring.
S’all lame and redundant so the real fun was in Jindal’s response. He was down-home, barely-educated with a side of wishes-he-were-a-war-hero. He dropped how we’ve beaten everything from slavery (we held on longer than most) to the Russians (who crumbled from within).
To top off the parade of clichés, he said it all in a voice that made me feel seven (or somewhat mentally incapable). His devotion to a flawed economic system and blind eye toward real turmoil borders on impressive. (His thoughts on avoiding beauracratic nightmares in health care alone prove he’s never had an ailment more serious than a headache.)
One quote stands out though: “After hurricane Katrina, we reinvented the New Orleans school system.” They dismantled the public system, replacing it with private facilities that are generally cost prohibitive. Then they instituted exclusive scholarship programs. (read: capitalistic segregation.)
I’m for funding schools and education but I’m not for a child being brought up in a for-profit environment. This would put decisions in the hands of those that have already corroded our health care and decomposed our financial security. That’s irresponsible, regressive and ineffective.
Or, put another way, everything Mr. Obama professes against. Him using it in his response is laughable but his audience wasn’t listening. His audience never made it past the kindergarten-teacher-like cadance and World War references.
history just happened. two hours ago… »
Tuesday, January 20th, 2009
I’m sure almost all of you watched the coverage and speech as (most of us) welcomed a new President at 12p, EST. I don’t care. (I do, promise.) Did you see the real historic change?
Just before the speech, WhiteHouse.gov was redesigned. Take a minute, feel it out, then come on back. Or stay there. I can’t trust you people with anything. (President Obama’s proclamation is already there.)
The spacing, typography and colors are outstanding. I have to wonder how much they paid for this and why it wasn’t paid to me. The navigation is intuitive and in-depth. It’s subtle, smart and a perfect reflection of what we hope will come from this new administration.
Most importantly, there’s a little social media. According to @s4xton, the RSS feeds need a little work but I’m encouraged by a blog being there at all. In one of the first posts, there are some changes listed. (Quite awesome.)
The ideas are novel: communication, transparency and participation (and opposite the last eight years). I don’t know how close to the assertions they’ll stay as more traffic heads there and more changes come through but it’s a start. I imagine a controlled, precise and vague set of information but timely and informative.
Congrats to the new WhiteHouse.gov… and Mr. President.