Agitprop: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Propaganda

Saturday Song, Or: Pay No Attention to What the girls or chryon say, though it's an apt metaphor for something

My feral cats, Palin's resignation, more.

This Country of Ours

Here's wishing everyone a happy, patriotic weekend.

There's a bonus song after the jump.

Waltz Manifesto

Chris Hedges:

The ability of the corporate state to pacify the country by extending credit and providing cheap manufactured goods to the masses is gone. The pernicious idea that democracy lies in the choice between competing brands and the freedom to accumulate vast sums of personal wealth at the expense of others has collapsed. The conflation of freedom with the free market has been exposed as a sham.

Sarah Palin:

Oh, thank God, it's nonpartisan. It doesn't matter your background, your demographics, your race, your political affiliation—it's such a uniting, healthy, fun, awesome activity. It cracks me up going to some running event and seeing some dude who campaigned so hard against me, or a lady who's been blogging some mean comments about me. But we're all there together and we're smiling and we're having a good time because we're going to do something healthy and active. We need more of that. That's what sports are able to do. It's a wonderful kind of diversion from the divisiveness that is politics or that is life. And my parents, they've got so many friends from so many different political bents because of all their years participating in races and organizing races. I was lucky enough to have been brought up in that atmosphere where I see the value in that.

My friend Dr Z enticing me to disc golf tomorrow:

You could meet Sally, my genetically similar unit. She's genetically similar to you, but not so much, so you will only like her a little, or you will have ambivalent feelings toward her.

I vote option three. More.

What the fuck does Osama Bin Laden have to do with anything?! What the fuck are you talking about?!

Remember Ward Churchill? The marginalized and discredited college professor, who when asked what it would take to motivate people to stand up in protest of the Iraq war, replied:

I don’t have a ready answer for that. One of the things I’ve suggested is that it may be that more 9/11s are necessary.

The FOX News analog for marginalized and discredited college professor Ward Churchill, is former CIA Bin Laden Chief Michael Scheuer, who when asked what it will take to motivate people to stand up in protest of illegal immigration, replied:

The only chance we have as a country right now is for Osama bin Laden to deploy and detonate a major weapon in the United States.

The pwogs are beside themselves. This fellow dares us to, "Imagine what would happen if someone on the left had said this." Ward Churchill would prolly tell ya.

This Thing On?

Stuff.

Saturday Song

Thanks A Lot, Fuckwad

The LA Times is right to place the blame for California's lack of governability on the structural barriers erected by Howard Jarvis and his tax revolters almost 31 years ago. For those of you wondering why my state's government is prepared to issue IOUs next week, this op-ed breaks it down into six easy pieces.

But then they have to go and make it sound all hopey at the end:

So what can be done about the dysfunction? In the next few weeks, a blue-ribbon commission is set to recommend sweeping changes in the tax system to stabilize revenue collections. Voters last fall approved Proposition 11, which takes away the Legislature's power to draw its own districts in favor of an independent commission. Next year, as they elect a new governor, Californians also will vote on a system of "open primary" elections aimed at aiding moderates, and they also will probably decide on one or more initiatives to dump the two-thirds budget vote requirement.

California Forward, a bipartisan good government group financed by major foundations, is crafting proposals to conform government systems and processes to modern management methods. And the business-oriented Bay Area Council is pushing initiatives for a state constitutional convention, the first since 1879, to wipe the slate clean and build a new, rational structure for state government.

Ooh - a blue ribbon commission! What was that, President Camacho?

Now I understand everyone's shit's emotional right now. But I've got a 3 point plan that's going to fix EVERYTHING. Number 1: We've got this guy Not Sure. Number 2: He's got a higher IQ than ANY MAN ALIVE. and Number 3: He's going to fix EVERYTHING.

So the solution to California's woes is electrolytes...or Jerry Brown.

Before You Accuse Me...

It's true that everyone is a hypocrite. But as a culture, we Americans (or perhaps humans in general) relish watching our fellow brethren fail. Failblog, Blagojevich, Jon and Kate, the list goes on...

The harder the fall, the higher the interest.

But we're not merely sadistic voyeurs - we Americans are suckers for a good redemption. To our credit, we can be very forgiving. Or maybe it's just our short attention spans in this 15 minute of infamy news cycle...but in a few years I'm sure Sanford's political career will be just fine.

Don't Cry For Me, South Carolina

What is it with all these bizarre political suicides lately?

You all know about Democratic Gov. Mark Sanford. Buenos Aires is a long way to travel for a booty call, but hey, I ain't one to judge. I, too, enjoy tan lines and curvy hips.

Oh - you didn't know that Sanford switched his party affiliation while strolling around the Palermo with his porteña Maria? See, I told you Fox News has big balls of steel. 

This got me thinking...haven't the Rhodes Scholars at Fox mistakenly labeled scandal-plagued Republicans and right-leaning politicians as Democrats before?

Yep. Click to enlarge...

And here's some bonus Shep hilarity for ya!

I love you, Fox News. Don't you ever change!

I, Rube

I would be shocked Froomkin's pings haven't drastically fallen: those who'd never read him still wouldn't, most who read him for Bush-flaying stopped the day after Obama won, and a significant number who did stay have since quit, repelled by Froomkin's Obama-flaying.

Irony being, if McCain had won Froomkin's site would be profitably pinging, which should remind not just neocons but all rubes everywhere what priorities rule.

(And here is proof of my roobiness, that I'd think neocons would find Froomkin more valuable disillusioning Obama supporters than he was as house liberal.)

(And here is proof of my roobiness: I obsess on this because I remember the civic pride in calling the Washington Post my hometown paper.) Stuff.

Would You Like To SuperSize That?

While the events being reported out of Iran are of mild interest to me, I find myself more drawn to the "understanding" (as I see it) of the next step in the evolution of political power: The SuperState. Of course, all States/Governments are interested in maintaining their existence/hold on power, but we are now seeing a new form emerging, an incarnation that has but one purpose, the maintenance of the status quo (the State's continued existence and its exercise of a monopoly of power).

The SuperState has existed in various forms in recent years with such sterling examples as the USSR, Communist China and East Germany. Notice how these monolithic, all encompassing Superstates were "the enemy" during the Cold War as opposed to our allies such as the Philippines under Marcos, Nicaragua under Somoza and any number of countries that we backed ("They may be bastards, but they're our bastards."). And yet these smaller entities were just as efficient, if not more brutal, playing at being Superstates. But size is not a major criteria for being a SuperState. A SuperState must be willing to engage in any activity that insures its survival even at the expense of the people it is supposedly sworn to protect.

(S)P(L)URGE?

Common sense requires assuming the neocon fuckfarts at Fred Hiatt's op-ed page said Fire that fucker Froomkin or else...." what, Charles will wetfart and mean it this time?

Why fire Froomkin? Again common sense requires we assume neocons are pussies and will not tolerate accurate, documented proof of their pussiness, yeahsureyeah, but what if...

Froomkin has already shown he will hold Obama to the same standard of accountability that he did George Bush. What if firing Froomkin is a neocon nod they know Obama is one of them (and will help keep their secrets)?

!hEh! Neocons are so pussy they're dimly aware Froomkin's a vital weapon against Obama but order his execution anyway because Froomkin has to call them pussies to call Obama a pussy. Patriotism, bitches.

More stuff.

Thursday Song

This one goes out to all the Democrats.

Reobamagasmdux

Concensus seems coagulating that Obama's .06% less shittiness than McCain vis a vis the crisis in Iran has saved us all from nuclear annihilation, which is just as stoopid a meme as right-wingers saying pwoggles wanna pweemptively suwwender and embwace shawia law (though, nuclear annihilation is .06% more likely, my faith teaches me).

Reminder: I love me some empire - I am invested, complicit, and rooting for my continued comfortable life. I'll do what I can that the lives of brown people on the other side of the world are .06% less shitty, I'll vote for whores who are .06% less likely to take pride in bombing civilians, who will order the military to adjust their tables of engagement so .06% fewer civilians die, but a man can only do so much and continue to disc golf on weekends.

.06% less shitty! Buy into your complicity whole-heartedly, skip the Adjustable Rube Mortgage, and then address your less-shittiness.

More here.

Fox News, Awesome is Thy Name

Their Iran coverage is just stellar, as in Interstellar Overdrive.

The bobbleheads on Fox and Friends recently displayed their concern about this election thing with this guy and that guy in the Iran and everywhere like such as. In another report, a Fox reporter erroneously identified a gray-bearded protester as opposition candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi.

I don't mean to pick on Fox necessarily. All cable news networks spew garbage (yes, even San Keith and Santa Rachel, sometimes) and are one month away from implementing a laugh track.

But Fox just has a fantastic track record. Remember two years ago when they picked some random black dude's photo to adorn their report on Congressman Cold Cash Jefferson? I bet the same intern has been working their Iran story graphics. 

Although, this might be one of my favorite news identification fails...

And for the bonus round, here's a little Bill Hicks for ya.