Sunday, August 10, 2008
Friday, August 8, 2008
Beyond the big lie
The Republicans are just going to keep lying, over and over and over, in more and more and more ways. Eventually the lies come so heavy and so thick, while the cries of "You're lying" seem so repetitive and dull and whiny, that people start believing the lies, almost out of exhaustion and a sort of resentful spite. If the Democrats tried the same thing, the media would be fact checking them like a hockey enforcer going after a wimp with the puck. Obama is going to keep losing ground to this stuff until there is a thorough, systematic, and honest evaluation of Republican campaign tactics by the media, and that simply will not happen by a media that hides its cowardice behind claims of "even handedness." When one side tells repeated, calculated, bald-faced lies, it isn't "evenhanded" to report those lies and then quote the liar's opponents as saying "that's a lie." An obvious lie ought to be called that.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Hell Naw!
When a black man has taken too much shit, he'll let out a "Hell naw," usually right before kicking some ass. This looks like Obama's "Hell naw" moment ("Hell no" for you white people):
The tone, the words, the delivery (He really nails the folksy black guy routine, reminding me of one of my uncles), and above all, some fucking spirit and outrage. He made me proud for a minute, and maybe he's figuring out that the gravy train is over and he's going to have to dig in and grind it out, that the only way to, not just get something done, but win, is to mix it up and let some elbows fly. The skills and ambition are there, he just needs to show the guts. In this bit he does Rush Limbaugh better than Rush Limbaugh, and people respond to that.
The tone, the words, the delivery (He really nails the folksy black guy routine, reminding me of one of my uncles), and above all, some fucking spirit and outrage. He made me proud for a minute, and maybe he's figuring out that the gravy train is over and he's going to have to dig in and grind it out, that the only way to, not just get something done, but win, is to mix it up and let some elbows fly. The skills and ambition are there, he just needs to show the guts. In this bit he does Rush Limbaugh better than Rush Limbaugh, and people respond to that.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
...
The Republicans have seized control of the discourse, as was inevitable. And Obama keeps cringing and ducking. The flip on drilling, when he could have made a strong stand backed by plenty of expert evidence, and taken the spotlight off the whole "race card" canard, was just plain weakness, and now he's set up to be attacked for "standing for nothing," with some actual justification this time, unlike the last two Dem presidential candidates. It's pretty clear now that the only thing Obama will stand up against is his own base and absent black fathers. For everyone else, he's an Uncle Tom. I despise him more each day, despise the stupidity of the Democrats for nominating him, yet every day McCain opens his mouth and demonstrates he is nothing more than a tool of the right wing machine, it becomes more vital that the gutless, conniving prick wins.
I am beginning to think this country has only about a decade of true greatness left. After that the slide we are on will become steeper and steeper, and in twenty or thirty years people will look back to the 1990s and think, "What the fuck happened?" You can look at almost every other empire in the history of the world and the signal event of its demise was a war. I can't imagine the war that could break this country, but I can imagine the country breaking itself, through apathy and complacency. We are going to collapse from within, like the Soviet Union, but unlike the Soviets, it isn't our system that's failing us -- we are failing our system.
...
Solzhenitsyn died. Great writer (I'll take Orwell over him because, for better or worse, Orwell, with the example of his own prose, the essay "Politics and The English Language," and a big assist from Andy White, changed the English language, whereas I'm unaware of Solzhenitsyn changing Russian in the same way), but an oddball of a human being. I remember reading his Harvard lecture and thinking, "This guy is a fucking crank, and I've been admiring him for all these years." But a non-crank couldn't have filled thousands of pages with prose of scarcely concealed fury and still made himself readable. Solzhenitsyn did that. He was a crank with a gift for story telling, and an understanding of how to make people listen to him. In his old age, he seems to have lost control of his anger to the point where he didn't care so much if people listened to him anymore. I haven't read his First Circle yet, maybe I should. I first read Gulag in, I think, my teens, and for years afterwards re-read it every year to remind myself how shitty and dangerous human beings are. Nowadays I'm such a crank myself I don't need the reminder.
I am beginning to think this country has only about a decade of true greatness left. After that the slide we are on will become steeper and steeper, and in twenty or thirty years people will look back to the 1990s and think, "What the fuck happened?" You can look at almost every other empire in the history of the world and the signal event of its demise was a war. I can't imagine the war that could break this country, but I can imagine the country breaking itself, through apathy and complacency. We are going to collapse from within, like the Soviet Union, but unlike the Soviets, it isn't our system that's failing us -- we are failing our system.
...
Solzhenitsyn died. Great writer (I'll take Orwell over him because, for better or worse, Orwell, with the example of his own prose, the essay "Politics and The English Language," and a big assist from Andy White, changed the English language, whereas I'm unaware of Solzhenitsyn changing Russian in the same way), but an oddball of a human being. I remember reading his Harvard lecture and thinking, "This guy is a fucking crank, and I've been admiring him for all these years." But a non-crank couldn't have filled thousands of pages with prose of scarcely concealed fury and still made himself readable. Solzhenitsyn did that. He was a crank with a gift for story telling, and an understanding of how to make people listen to him. In his old age, he seems to have lost control of his anger to the point where he didn't care so much if people listened to him anymore. I haven't read his First Circle yet, maybe I should. I first read Gulag in, I think, my teens, and for years afterwards re-read it every year to remind myself how shitty and dangerous human beings are. Nowadays I'm such a crank myself I don't need the reminder.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Pet peeve
Putting "totally" in front of a statement as an (usually) unnecessary intensifier. As in, "I totally love that dress!" (Overheard today). Even worse: putting "so" in front of "totally." "I so totally agree." It's the modern version of Valley Girl speak, except unlike Valley Girl speak, even nominal adults do the "totally" thing, and as far as I can tell, without a shred of self awareness. Valley Girl speak was a recognized, and much derided, affectation; this new bit of jackassery is becoming an accepted part of the language. Shallow, stupid language patterns for a shallow, stupid, declining culture.... I keep reminding myself that it's human nature to see the world as declining, but even allowing for that, it's impossible for me to look at the direction the world is moving in with anything less than horror. Politically, culturally, economically, this is a shitty time to be an American.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Ring!
Youngish male black voice: "This is XXXX with the Barack Obama campaign. I won't take much of your time, but I want to talk to you about how you can help us bring change to America. This call may be recorded for quality purposes"
Me: "Sorry, but I'm not thrilled with Obama right now, and I'm a little busy."
XXXX: "OK, I understand that, but I really won't take much of your time. Why aren't you happy with Barack?" [OK, he's been trained a little bit in phone sales, unlike the last guy who called, who was a hapless tool]
Me: "OK, let's start with one word: FISA."
XXXX: "Umm, Umm, umm, let me see, I understand that" (Sound of papers rustling in the background, then long pause). "Yes, yes, ummm, I understand that. In fact, I was a little bit disappointed by the FISA vote, too. But wouldn't you say that voting for a flawed bill that was necessary to protect the country was good?" [His scripting needs a lot of work, but he's trying. Probably, he doesn't get many comments about FISA, so wasn't ready for it, but it's interesting to me that they have a script dealing with FISA at all -- they are ready to cover all the bases. Had I been quicker on my feet I would have hit him with the experience thing next, just to see what the script they have is, but instead I was honest]
Me: "Well, I think you and I have a different idea of how to protect this country. Let's move on to something I think we can both understand. I don't like hearing Obama talk around the problems of the black community in a way that shows he clearly cares more about getting white votes than solving black problems."
xxxx: Silence [I grew up in the ghetto, but don't have the typical black accent, so he was probably stunned to hear a "white" voice say something like that, plus it's probably not something he's heard at all, or was trained to respond to. I was sort of aiming for this, to get an honest response out of him]
XXXX: "Well, well, I think Obama would bring a lot, bring, umm, I think if you want to see change, Obama can bring it." [My guess is he wanted to say something personal about how Obama's candidacy had inspired him to get involved (which is probably true), and so on, but had either been trained, or instinctively felt it was best, to leave race as far out of things as possible, so he was at a loss, and choked out a bit of a script as a reflex.]
Me: "OK, I think we've gone about as far as we can here, and I really am busy."
XXXX: "Ok, ok..."
Call ends.
It's a 100 days until the election, and these calls are already coming. That kid had some promise; if he sticks with it he'll probably be a pretty slick advocate for Obama's campaign in a few months -- assuming he's a volunteer and not some hired telemarketing hack, in which case he'll probably have moved on to some other job just when he's getting proficient at this one. Anyway, the Obama campaign pretty clearly means business. I never received one call like this in '04, and I donated money to Kerry in that cycle, haven't donated a dime to Obama in this one, and probably never will. The script was OK, and it was interesting that they have something for FISA already in the can. I wonder what else they have. The question about experience should have been asked, and had I been malicious, I could have asked about the chances of a black man winning in a racist country. Anyway, I despise Obama, but still want him to win, and as such, it's good to see he has an organization that might become competent enough to be a force. I especially liked the idea (and it's only an idea, a lot of poorly educated blacks end up working as telemarketers, so this might have been just another job for this guy), that Obama is sparkling an interest in black people to get involved. The only hope I have left for positive change coming from an Obama presidency is that black people will be energized by seeing one of us in charge of this nation. Let's hope that kid was an inspiree.
Me: "Sorry, but I'm not thrilled with Obama right now, and I'm a little busy."
XXXX: "OK, I understand that, but I really won't take much of your time. Why aren't you happy with Barack?" [OK, he's been trained a little bit in phone sales, unlike the last guy who called, who was a hapless tool]
Me: "OK, let's start with one word: FISA."
XXXX: "Umm, Umm, umm, let me see, I understand that" (Sound of papers rustling in the background, then long pause). "Yes, yes, ummm, I understand that. In fact, I was a little bit disappointed by the FISA vote, too. But wouldn't you say that voting for a flawed bill that was necessary to protect the country was good?" [His scripting needs a lot of work, but he's trying. Probably, he doesn't get many comments about FISA, so wasn't ready for it, but it's interesting to me that they have a script dealing with FISA at all -- they are ready to cover all the bases. Had I been quicker on my feet I would have hit him with the experience thing next, just to see what the script they have is, but instead I was honest]
Me: "Well, I think you and I have a different idea of how to protect this country. Let's move on to something I think we can both understand. I don't like hearing Obama talk around the problems of the black community in a way that shows he clearly cares more about getting white votes than solving black problems."
xxxx: Silence [I grew up in the ghetto, but don't have the typical black accent, so he was probably stunned to hear a "white" voice say something like that, plus it's probably not something he's heard at all, or was trained to respond to. I was sort of aiming for this, to get an honest response out of him]
XXXX: "Well, well, I think Obama would bring a lot, bring, umm, I think if you want to see change, Obama can bring it." [My guess is he wanted to say something personal about how Obama's candidacy had inspired him to get involved (which is probably true), and so on, but had either been trained, or instinctively felt it was best, to leave race as far out of things as possible, so he was at a loss, and choked out a bit of a script as a reflex.]
Me: "OK, I think we've gone about as far as we can here, and I really am busy."
XXXX: "Ok, ok..."
Call ends.
It's a 100 days until the election, and these calls are already coming. That kid had some promise; if he sticks with it he'll probably be a pretty slick advocate for Obama's campaign in a few months -- assuming he's a volunteer and not some hired telemarketing hack, in which case he'll probably have moved on to some other job just when he's getting proficient at this one. Anyway, the Obama campaign pretty clearly means business. I never received one call like this in '04, and I donated money to Kerry in that cycle, haven't donated a dime to Obama in this one, and probably never will. The script was OK, and it was interesting that they have something for FISA already in the can. I wonder what else they have. The question about experience should have been asked, and had I been malicious, I could have asked about the chances of a black man winning in a racist country. Anyway, I despise Obama, but still want him to win, and as such, it's good to see he has an organization that might become competent enough to be a force. I especially liked the idea (and it's only an idea, a lot of poorly educated blacks end up working as telemarketers, so this might have been just another job for this guy), that Obama is sparkling an interest in black people to get involved. The only hope I have left for positive change coming from an Obama presidency is that black people will be energized by seeing one of us in charge of this nation. Let's hope that kid was an inspiree.
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