"The entire continent is asleep, and in that sleep, a grand nightmare is taking place." - Henry Miller, Tropic Of Capricorn
Did you watch the presidential debates? I didn't see all of the first and second one because I was at work. I did see all of the third one. From what I saw of all three, it was blatantly obvious to me which candidate had the confidence, the competance, and the leadership skills to get the job done. Am I the only one who saw Bush's lack of composure, his constant repeating of the same empty buzzwords and soundbytes, and that impish nervous giggle that he made several times in the third debate? It was the kind of giggle you hear from a troublesome child who has been caught red-handed. The kind of giggle you'd hear from that slacker who sat next to you in class who didn't study or do research and tried desperately to fly by the seat of his/her pants.
You could have watched every debate with the MUTE button on and just closely observed the body language and facial expressoins or both candidates, and you would still be able to tell that Kerry won.
It was obvious to me and many other Americans. For some people it just wasn't enough. This election, more than any other in recent history, has proven just how dumbed down American politics has become. After so many years of buisnesses working to simplify general commerce, a large portion of the American public has become so accustomed to having goods and services infantalizingly spoonfed to them, they now want their news and politics given to them in the same exact fashion : simplified, dumbed down, diluted, and compressed into a form that is as easily digestible as a breathmint.
The Republican party has become highly effecient at this new tactic, and it works. Countless demographics who were either too apathetic, lazy, or stupid to care about politics are now having big and complex issues being fed to them in neat little shallow buzzwords and soundbytes. The cash-and-carry-wash-and-wear-NASCAR dads and overworked soccer moms who are bossed around by their spoiled offspring are being fed a steady diet of fear, xenophobia, and, conformity.
This ties into the general dumbing down of America as a whole. People are becoming more and more intimidated by intellect. They are too lazy to make an effort to look up the definitions of words they don't know, too inconsiderate to make the effort to pronounce a foreign sounding name, and too content to try to wrap their heads around any entertainment or ideas that make them think or challenge their belief system.
That's one of the reasons why so many people voted for Bush. After having a flawed, yet extremely intelligent man in the White House for two terms, they felt comforted by the thought of a "regular guy" being in charge.
A president is not supposed to be a "regular guy". A president should be exceptional. John Kerry, for all of his flaws, agree or disagree with his agenda, is an exceptional man. He proved that to millions of viewers three nights in a row on national television. When asked about his "flip-flopping" he delivered sharp answers every time. In an article that was posted on the SG CE boards, Hunter S. Thompson wrote that after he saw the first presidential debate, he called up his good friend Muhammad Ali. Whoever answered said the former Champ was laughing too hard to come to the phone. Ali loves a good ass kicking, and that's what he saw on TV. It cracked him up that much.
How much does a man have to make his incompetance so blatantly obvious until the people see him for the fool he really is? How could any Republican look at Bush and think to "that's my man!"? How could anyone who works long hours for employers of varying degrees of intelligence and competence put their trust in the hands of a spoiled trust fund baby who has pissed away our budget surpllus and turned it into the largest federal defeciet this country has ever seen? How could any war veteran salute a man who has nothing to show for his natinoal guard duty but a smattering of pay stubs?
My uncle who lives in New York is a very blue-collar type of guy. His politics lean towards the conservative side. He's no fan of unions, but that's mostly based on personal experiences. There have been multiple instances in which he caught hell from union members for doing more and better work than the rest of them. They'd tell him that he was making them look bad and he'd say "Oh yeah? Well whose fault is that?" Though he is a conservative, my uncle is no party-liner. He absolutely loathes Bush. Dubya's politics, performance, and general way of presenting himself did not sit well with my uncle and his straight-up no nonsense worldview. He saw Bush for what he was: a pathetic, spoiled, inarticulate twerp who never really worked a day in his life.
Ironically, the Texans have a saying for a man like Bush: "All hat and no cowboy"
Someone told me that an astrologer said that Kerry's star was ascending and Bush's was descending, and thus Kerry would win, and if he didn't, then Bush probably wouldn't live to serve his full four years. As far as astrology goes, I agree with the personality descriptions of each sign, but as far as "predicting" stuff, meh. Putting that all aside, it got me to thinking how horrible it would be if something happened to Bush. Yes, it would be horrible, because all it would lead to is the martyrdom/canonizing/damn-near-sainthood of Bush. This country has become spineless cowards about speaking ill of the dead as of late. Why shouldn't we speak ill of the dead? How does being dead place someone above criticism? If it were a horrible person who died, we should most definitely speak ill of him. I wanted to vomit when Reagan died and all these imbeciles were babbling about putting him on Mt. Rushmore. My uncle whom I mentioned earlier was also disgusted by the canonizing of Reagan. He clearly remembers what it was like in those days when big buisness was booming and the middle and working classes were struggling. I want Bush out office as much as the next person, but I will not stoop to wishing death on him or anyone. Furthermore, it wouldn't do any good. It reminds me of the movie of Master of the Universe when Skeletor, played by Frank Langella, had finally captured He-Man and Evilyn suggested he be executed. Skeletor said something I've remembered all these years to this very day: "If I kill He-Man it will make him a martyr, a saint....no....I want him broken."
Although it will probably never happen since, in the words of Raekwon, "these fiends they got it cracked up", I would really love to see Bush get nailed on something, anything: tax evasion, fraud, a Watergate scandal etc. The most they could get Clinton on was infidelity. I'd love to see Bush get derailed for something huge, something dirty.
The Republicans now also have the majority in both houses. As grim as this looks, there is slight upside: when they fuck up, and with this schmuck in the White House they most certainly will, they won't have anyone to blame but themselves. It won't be like last time when they blamed the economic downturn on Clinton, but still take credit for the economic upswing in he was still in office because there were lots of Republicans in both houses.
This all sounds even more grim when you take into consideration the prices that will have to be paid when the aforementioned fuck-ups take place. How many soldiers have to die until this country finally hears the echos of Vietnam in this current war? How many more real jobs have to go down the tubes or be replaced with McJobs?
The future is indeed looking very grim. However despite all of this, I am not ready to give up fighting. You see my current profile pic? That's Christian Bale starring as John Preston in the movie Equilibrium. To make a long story short, in the movie he is a member of an elite secret police that seeks out dissenters. One day he finally wakes up and switches sides. That profile you pic is from the ending of the movie when he's got the head honcho of the police state staring down the barrel of his official sidearm. No I don't own a gun. What I'm trying to say is that pic now describes how angry I am right now. Fuck all this shit about moving to Canada. I'm staying and fighting. Fighting is part of what democracy is all about. This country was founded on the basis of disagreeing with the status quo. That's one tradition I want to maintain.
"Who are the real patriots? Who are the real traitors? Who will stand up? Who will be the new leaders? If you love this country, take it back from those who would destroy it. PROTEST IS PATRIOTISM!" - Boysetsfire, "Eviction Article"
Did you watch the presidential debates? I didn't see all of the first and second one because I was at work. I did see all of the third one. From what I saw of all three, it was blatantly obvious to me which candidate had the confidence, the competance, and the leadership skills to get the job done. Am I the only one who saw Bush's lack of composure, his constant repeating of the same empty buzzwords and soundbytes, and that impish nervous giggle that he made several times in the third debate? It was the kind of giggle you hear from a troublesome child who has been caught red-handed. The kind of giggle you'd hear from that slacker who sat next to you in class who didn't study or do research and tried desperately to fly by the seat of his/her pants.
You could have watched every debate with the MUTE button on and just closely observed the body language and facial expressoins or both candidates, and you would still be able to tell that Kerry won.
It was obvious to me and many other Americans. For some people it just wasn't enough. This election, more than any other in recent history, has proven just how dumbed down American politics has become. After so many years of buisnesses working to simplify general commerce, a large portion of the American public has become so accustomed to having goods and services infantalizingly spoonfed to them, they now want their news and politics given to them in the same exact fashion : simplified, dumbed down, diluted, and compressed into a form that is as easily digestible as a breathmint.
The Republican party has become highly effecient at this new tactic, and it works. Countless demographics who were either too apathetic, lazy, or stupid to care about politics are now having big and complex issues being fed to them in neat little shallow buzzwords and soundbytes. The cash-and-carry-wash-and-wear-NASCAR dads and overworked soccer moms who are bossed around by their spoiled offspring are being fed a steady diet of fear, xenophobia, and, conformity.
This ties into the general dumbing down of America as a whole. People are becoming more and more intimidated by intellect. They are too lazy to make an effort to look up the definitions of words they don't know, too inconsiderate to make the effort to pronounce a foreign sounding name, and too content to try to wrap their heads around any entertainment or ideas that make them think or challenge their belief system.
That's one of the reasons why so many people voted for Bush. After having a flawed, yet extremely intelligent man in the White House for two terms, they felt comforted by the thought of a "regular guy" being in charge.
A president is not supposed to be a "regular guy". A president should be exceptional. John Kerry, for all of his flaws, agree or disagree with his agenda, is an exceptional man. He proved that to millions of viewers three nights in a row on national television. When asked about his "flip-flopping" he delivered sharp answers every time. In an article that was posted on the SG CE boards, Hunter S. Thompson wrote that after he saw the first presidential debate, he called up his good friend Muhammad Ali. Whoever answered said the former Champ was laughing too hard to come to the phone. Ali loves a good ass kicking, and that's what he saw on TV. It cracked him up that much.
How much does a man have to make his incompetance so blatantly obvious until the people see him for the fool he really is? How could any Republican look at Bush and think to "that's my man!"? How could anyone who works long hours for employers of varying degrees of intelligence and competence put their trust in the hands of a spoiled trust fund baby who has pissed away our budget surpllus and turned it into the largest federal defeciet this country has ever seen? How could any war veteran salute a man who has nothing to show for his natinoal guard duty but a smattering of pay stubs?
My uncle who lives in New York is a very blue-collar type of guy. His politics lean towards the conservative side. He's no fan of unions, but that's mostly based on personal experiences. There have been multiple instances in which he caught hell from union members for doing more and better work than the rest of them. They'd tell him that he was making them look bad and he'd say "Oh yeah? Well whose fault is that?" Though he is a conservative, my uncle is no party-liner. He absolutely loathes Bush. Dubya's politics, performance, and general way of presenting himself did not sit well with my uncle and his straight-up no nonsense worldview. He saw Bush for what he was: a pathetic, spoiled, inarticulate twerp who never really worked a day in his life.
Ironically, the Texans have a saying for a man like Bush: "All hat and no cowboy"
Someone told me that an astrologer said that Kerry's star was ascending and Bush's was descending, and thus Kerry would win, and if he didn't, then Bush probably wouldn't live to serve his full four years. As far as astrology goes, I agree with the personality descriptions of each sign, but as far as "predicting" stuff, meh. Putting that all aside, it got me to thinking how horrible it would be if something happened to Bush. Yes, it would be horrible, because all it would lead to is the martyrdom/canonizing/damn-near-sainthood of Bush. This country has become spineless cowards about speaking ill of the dead as of late. Why shouldn't we speak ill of the dead? How does being dead place someone above criticism? If it were a horrible person who died, we should most definitely speak ill of him. I wanted to vomit when Reagan died and all these imbeciles were babbling about putting him on Mt. Rushmore. My uncle whom I mentioned earlier was also disgusted by the canonizing of Reagan. He clearly remembers what it was like in those days when big buisness was booming and the middle and working classes were struggling. I want Bush out office as much as the next person, but I will not stoop to wishing death on him or anyone. Furthermore, it wouldn't do any good. It reminds me of the movie of Master of the Universe when Skeletor, played by Frank Langella, had finally captured He-Man and Evilyn suggested he be executed. Skeletor said something I've remembered all these years to this very day: "If I kill He-Man it will make him a martyr, a saint....no....I want him broken."
Although it will probably never happen since, in the words of Raekwon, "these fiends they got it cracked up", I would really love to see Bush get nailed on something, anything: tax evasion, fraud, a Watergate scandal etc. The most they could get Clinton on was infidelity. I'd love to see Bush get derailed for something huge, something dirty.
The Republicans now also have the majority in both houses. As grim as this looks, there is slight upside: when they fuck up, and with this schmuck in the White House they most certainly will, they won't have anyone to blame but themselves. It won't be like last time when they blamed the economic downturn on Clinton, but still take credit for the economic upswing in he was still in office because there were lots of Republicans in both houses.
This all sounds even more grim when you take into consideration the prices that will have to be paid when the aforementioned fuck-ups take place. How many soldiers have to die until this country finally hears the echos of Vietnam in this current war? How many more real jobs have to go down the tubes or be replaced with McJobs?
The future is indeed looking very grim. However despite all of this, I am not ready to give up fighting. You see my current profile pic? That's Christian Bale starring as John Preston in the movie Equilibrium. To make a long story short, in the movie he is a member of an elite secret police that seeks out dissenters. One day he finally wakes up and switches sides. That profile you pic is from the ending of the movie when he's got the head honcho of the police state staring down the barrel of his official sidearm. No I don't own a gun. What I'm trying to say is that pic now describes how angry I am right now. Fuck all this shit about moving to Canada. I'm staying and fighting. Fighting is part of what democracy is all about. This country was founded on the basis of disagreeing with the status quo. That's one tradition I want to maintain.
"Who are the real patriots? Who are the real traitors? Who will stand up? Who will be the new leaders? If you love this country, take it back from those who would destroy it. PROTEST IS PATRIOTISM!" - Boysetsfire, "Eviction Article"
VIEW 4 of 4 COMMENTS
I was hopeing that Kerry would win the election, at the moment relations between Australia and the USA seem to be more important to the Australian government than our own health care system or even the economy. If you talk to many "thinking" Australians, we are actually very scared of this cossy relationship our priminister (howard) has with your president (bush). It seems our priminister may be even more of an idiot than your President. What is this world coming to?
Yes it was an understatment when I said a "bit dim", but I can't help being polite its just the way I am.
"All hat and no cowboy" Sounds spot on the mark when it comes to Bush. And its probably the only language he'd understand.
Texans come up with the weirdest sayings. Hmmm, that coming from an Australian, could be seen as a little hypocritical.
Anyway, has the fat lady sung yet? Is it officially over for Kerry?
Will check on ya later, Mwah
Oooooh cunty cunt cunt. cunt cunt cunt cuntie. cuntie cunt cuntie. Anyway you get the idea.
She sings this down the street, at the shops, doing the washing or whenever she gets bored. Its still a very off-putting word. But it really does depend who says it and how they say it that makes all the difference.
The most commom word you'll hear is "bugger". It has a rather bad literal meaning but being Australian we'v managed to corupt it and turn it into something different.