A Victory For Us All Really....

This just in. Max Mosely, the President of Formula 1 Racing (and son of a prominent British facist) won his lawsuit againt Britain's News of the World. NOW had secretly filmed a five hour sadomasochistic orgy that Mosely arranged with a bevy of British prostitutes. In his lawsuit, Mosely alleged that NOW had inaccurarely termed the orgy "Nazi themed," when it was not. Mosely argued that NOW was seeking to leverage the fact that his dad was a Hitler pal. The Court agreed and found nothing about the spanking, slapping, thigh high boots, delosuing and ... other stuff... to be particularly Nazi in tone.

Perhaps now we will all be free of the tyranny of having our orgies mischaracterized in the press.

Strike a blow for freedom.

This Week In The News

(We will be out in Big Sky Country the week of June 26 through August 2 and will not be posting.)

This week, officials at the EPA publicly complained that the Bush Adminstration refused to allow them to state that global warming is a danger to human welfare. Apparently the White House was afraid such a statement would trigger various provisions of the Clean Air Act and the President was unwilling to have increased regulation ocur during his tenure. Earlier in the week, EPA officials also testified that they were pressured by the Vice President and American Petroleum Institute to artificially reduce the proposed economic benefits to attacking global warming and increasing fuel efficiency standards in the United States. Asked if he believed that his short sighted and greedy actions could damn him to hell, V.P. Cheney responded, "Hell. F-ck Hell. If I have my way, its gonna be pretty damn hot down here."

This week, Pew Research unleashed the results of a survey indicating that the Baby Boom Generation is overwhelmingly pessimistic about their future, their children's future and the future of this country. The study contradicts the popular image of Baby Boomers as idealistic and optimistic. For more of this story, TWN tracked down iconic Baby Boomer Michael Steadman at his Philadelphia home where he lives with his wife Hope and daughter Janey. Michael offered the following explanation: "Its been a long ride. We started off believing that we could create a more authentic and humane world. Then we find out that it would require a lifetime of work and not just a Spring Break in Mississippi. Then we discovered imported kitchen devices and suburban subdivisions. We started voting Republican and have been bitter ever since. Now we just use our idealism to sell stuff and as an excuse for our overwhelming sense of entitlement. " His friend Gary added: "Who knew that decades of tax cutting, military buildup and race to the bottom capitalism would destroy the prosperity our parents enjoyed? I mean talk about your bitter pill....."

This past few weeks Sen. John McCain 1) said he did not believe that Iraq's Prime Minister really did not want us to leave Iraq and that is statements were "just politics" 2) inferred that social security should be privatized, 3) joked about killing Iranians 4) had to disavow statements by his top economic advisor that America is" a nation of whiners," 5) offered a plan to balance the budget while cutting taxes and significantly increasing military spending, 6) offered his opinion as to the troop surge that completely revresed th erelevant chronology of events and 7) admitted that he was dating his second wife before he was divorced from his first. Asked how such a week did not end McCain's presidential ambitions, a spokesman for the campaign offered "Didja hear what [Jesse] Jackson said about Obama?"

Some Reasons to Vote GOP

Reading the conservative blogs early this morning, it seems folks are a little disheartened. The McCain campaign is just not capturing the hearts and minds of GOP votres. TWN to the rescue. Here are some reasons to vote GOP:

1) Because only the powerful should write the rules.
2) Becuase only criminals and terrorists really use their civil rights.
3) Because if you elect a Democrat, blacks/hispanics/gays or worse will move into your neighborhood.
4) Because you cannot have a succesful society unless people ruthlessly compete against each other like animals in the wilderness.
5) Because the last thing we need is some smarty pants in the White House.
6) Because a Democrat will let the rest of the world forget who is boss.
7) Because a Democrat will let other countries keep their make believe weapons.
8) Because Republican officeholder make us all look good by comparison.
9) Because Flag Pins are really really important. Really.
10) Because the social safety net just encourages losers.

Quote of the Day from the Perky One Herself

"I find myself in the last bastion of male dominance, and realizing what Hillary Clinton might have realized not long ago: that sexism in the American society is more common than racism, and certainly more acceptable or forgivable. In any case, I think my post and Hillary's race are important steps in the right direction." (Katie Couric, in an Isreali magazine interview)

Who Voted for This Guy?

"Goodbye from the world's biggest polluter." (The President to his fellow members at the G8 Summit)

As Goes Larry Hunter

This is from an op -ed by GOP big wig Larry Hunter:

I'm a lifelong Republican -- a supply-side conservative. I worked in the Reagan White House. I was the chief economist at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for five years. In 1994, I helped write the Republican Contract with America. I served on Bob Dole's presidential campaign team and was chief economist for Jack Kemp's Empower America.

This November, I'm voting for Barack Obama.

When I first made this decision, many colleagues were shocked. How could I support a candidate with a domestic policy platform that's antithetical to almost everything I believe in?

The answer is simple: Unjustified war and unconstitutional abridgment of individual rights vs. ill-conceived tax and economic policies -- this is the difference between venial and mortal sins. . . .

But here's the thing: Even if my hopes on domestic policy are dashed and Obama reveals himself as an unreconstructed, dyed-in-the-wool, big-government liberal, I'm still voting for him.

These past eight years, we have spent over a trillion dollars on foreign soil -- and lost countless lives -- and done what I consider irreparable damage to our Constitution.

If economic damage from well-intentioned but misbegotten Obama economic schemes is the ransom we must pay him to clean up this foreign policy mess, then so be it. It's not nearly as costly as enduring four more years of what we suffered the last eight years.

Ok. If this guy is in the Obama camp, who is voting for McCain?

They Will Try Anything....

London's Guardian is reporting that the US is seeking to set up a diplomatic presence in Tehran, a first since the 1979 Revolution. After all the saber rattling and tough talk, it seems the White House has decided that diplomacy may be part of a solution. You know this Adminstration is despreate when they propose a foreign policy not premised on the use of force....

So Who Is to Blame for the Housing Mess and Oil Prices?

"Although the high rate of delinquency has a number of causes, it seems clear that unfair or deceptive acts and practices by lenders resulted in the extension of many loans, particularly high-cost loans, that were inappropriate for or misled the borrower," (Fed Chief Bernanke)

Northwest Airlines is leading a group of airlines seeking a federal probe of speculation on the oil market. Northwest and their coalition contend that speculation may account for up to $30 of the price of each barrel of oil, currently around $145. Notably, Warren Buffet and other investor blame liberalized trading rules hidden in the Commodities Futures Modernization Act, which he claims lifted too many restrictions on oil trading and allowed for too much speculation.

In both cases, it would seem we have a situation where relatively few enjoyed the benefits of some shady business practices, while the many feel the pain when the bill comes due. Reward is privatized. Risk is socialized.

You Heard it Here...

After a week of watching Sen. Barak Obama shuffle all over the political terrain and virtually baste himself in juices of bipartisan-feel good -bullshit, many observers said that he was running to the center. (Sen. Obama has not said anything in the last month that any politician could not have said.)

Not so, I think. The reality is much worse.

I think Sen.Obama has become increasingly aware of the tumult within the McCain campaign as evidenced by the Arizona Sentaor's failure to shuffle his campaign anywhere. In response, Sen. Obama may be making the worst mistake he could make: he may be running not to lose. He may believe that Sen. McCain will beat himself and that he need only avoid mistakes to emerge victorious.

Sen. Obama may be right. Even die hard republicans are concerned that the Straight Talk Express needs a GPS. However, if Sen. Obama continues to dally around with small bore policies, mushy faced nonsense (a technical term)and traditional American pieties, he will lose an opportunity to not only politically capitalize on the Republican implosion, but actually lead some positive change in America. Fortune favors the bold.

Nice....

According to the sheets, Sen. McCain has turned over the day to day of his campaign to some veterans of the Bush Cheney campaign. No way to combat the McBush moniker...

This Week in The News

This week, columnists and pundits opined on what they perceive as Sen. Barak Obama's careful move to the political center in the wake of his clear victory as the Democratic presidential nominee. Ahh the political center, where campaigns go to die among the corpses of the lowest common denominator and the withering mediocrity of "non controversial" policies. Not everyone was unhappy though. Vince T. Ankles of Gloucester, MA told us " Thank god he is moving to the middle. I mean if he stuck by his progressive guns I would have to make hard decisions. And I can't do that. I have been in the middle all my life. I just can't decide what I think is right or wrong or what is smart or stupid, so I am always looking for a candidate who gives me some watered down policies that seem to make everyone happy. I can remain essentially empty headed and amoral. Its like Surf and Turf. Thanks Senator Obama."

This week, Congress began debating a billion dollar aid plan aimed at helping Mexico control its drug gangs which are in a vicious battle to control trade with the biggest consumer of narcotics, the USA. After a nearly forty year War on Drugs that has yielded little or no results, many Americans asked whether a further commitment to a militarized drug policy is worth the cost. We posed this question to Harold N. Kumar in the federal Office of Drug Policy. He responded, "Absolutely. This really isn't about Drug Policy its about protecting our home grown -- pardon the phrase-- industry. I mean we cannot have an America where people are taking controlled substances just to feel better or have a good time. We already promised that market to the liquor and pharmaceutical industry. They will be none to happy if we allow increased competition. So we look at the aid pacakage a more like a tariff on imported goods. A tariff with guns, but a tariff non the less. "

This week, five major oil companies announced they will sign no bid contracts with the Iraqi government to service Iraqi oil fields. The companies had been cut out of the market since the 1970s when Saddam Hussein nationalized Iraq's oil industry. In other news, a Senate Committee determined that the Bush Administration tacitly endorsed a deal by the Hunt Oil Company with the Kurdish government in Northern Iraq in September 2007, despite the fact that the deal violated stated US policy and angered Iraq's government. Hunt Oil and its executives were allies of President Bush in both his presidential runs. Dismissing any wiff of scandal or impropriety, the State Department issued a press release stating that, "This week's news signals Iraq's re-entry into the community of nations. Nothing says democracy quite like highly profitable no bid deal for allies of the Bush family." The Press Release also contained a bold letter reminder that, "The Iraq War Was Not About the Control of Iraq's Oil Reserves. Promise."

And They eat Way Too Early

I just listened to a streamed conversation between writers from the conservative Reason magazine and the libretarian Cato Institute. They were debating whether older Americans damage the democratic system. They concluded that older Americans distort our democracy because they are really scared of everything and "lack dynamism."

Discuss amongst yourselves.

Quote of the Day

"Our problems stem from our acceptance of this filthy, rotten system." - Dorothy Day

Patriotism

If you have not bothered to read Sen. Barak Obama's speech on patriotism, delivered in Missouri a few days ago, you missed something. It is available here: http://www.salon.com/news/primary_sources/2008/07/01/obama/print.html

I have to admit, I am a little hard on people who call themselves patriots. Partially because that term always seems to come with a whiff of hypocrisy. Patriotism also too often sounds like a thuggish nationalism. That is, love of country seems to equal a disdain for other countries that grows into the perverse belief in our singular moral righteousness or worse - the belief that "protecting your own" is justification for just about anything. Too often in the last six years invoking patriotism has only served as a distraction from some very bad, very inhumane, decisions.

What I like about Sen. Obama's speech is that it presents patriotism not as a shield to hide behind, but as a challenge, a recognition that American has a mighty potential that we must meet and mighty obligations that we must keep. This patriotism is partially enacted by government, but more often by citizens, sometimes in opposition to their government. This patriotism will more often lead you to question rather than affirm. This patriotism leaves little room for smug self satisfaction or the simple repetition of the idea that we are a great country. It is a patriotism that challenges us and requires Americans to realize that living here requires sacrifice as well as benefits.

It is a patriotism that thankfully has little to do with guns and bombs and which recognizes that silence is the ultimate treason. Most of all it is a patriotism that recognizes that to walk in the light of our best days we are going to have to overcome our narrow self interest and bigotries be they personal or religious in order to create a more perfect union.

Sen. Obama's speech is a powerful antidote to the toxins present in a world of Swift Boat Veterans and flag pin wearers. The people who sell you a sacrifice free patriotism that excludes rather than includes, that calls for sacrifices to be made by others, and devolves the world's oldest democracy into a shopping mall where everything is paid for on credit.

Anyway, it is worth a read.