JustWalt's Mental Meanderings: Barak Obama

Showing posts with label Barak Obama. Show all posts

Friday, October 14, 2011

I Just Made Up a New Term: Assholitics

“So why,” you might ask, “have you come up with such a derogatory term?”
“It’s simple”, would be my response. “I just came across the most assholey piece of political crap that I’ve ever seen and I’m sick and tired of it.”

Or, the articulate political scientist in me would say, “I take extreme umbrage to the tone and tenor of the survey recently sent to my wife by the Republican National Committee.”

Yes, indeed folks, my wife is a registered Republican—but I love her anyway. I’m not sure if I forgive her for being a Republican but I love her. She puts up with my uber-liberal rants and even agrees with me some of the time.

Yep, my wife received a survey in the mail recently. On the outside of the envelope it says “2011 Obama Agenda Survey” and Republican National Committee. The 4 page letter inside “explaining” the survey and asking for donations is signed by Republican National Committee Chair Reince Priebus.

This diatribe is an absolute classic of every devious propaganda technique we learned in Dr. Tomasek’s “Political Propaganda” class way back in 1972. Hyberbole, reversal, half-truths run rampant both in terms of the description of Obama and Democrats and in reverence to the Holy Grail that is all things Republican. Good Lord, how can anyone with a measurable IQ buy into this crap?

And the “survey” itself. This is a classic of a “push poll” taken to the “nth degree”. It’s laughable. Here are some examples of questions in this “survey”:

Do you believe that Barack Obama deserves a second term as President?
(OK, not bad. A fair question although it smacks in the face for those who don’t believe he should have had a first term or for those for whom the word ‘deserve’ is a red flag).

Do you believe that Barack Obama’s nominees for federal courts should be immediately and unquestionably approved for their lifetime appointments by the U.S. Senate?
(OK, this is just wrong on so many levels. For some people if it were George Bush’s nominees then they would be fine with it. For others it’s the idea of a Democrat making nominations to the Federal bench. For still others the words “immediately and unquestionably” is a huge red flag. I’ve even got problems with that! And still others have issues with “lifetime” but that’s what the Constitution of the U.S. allows.)

Are you confident that new medicines and medical treatments will continue to be developed if the federal government controls prescription drug prices and sets profit margins for research and pharmaceutical companies?
(Huh? Confident? The evil federal government controlling drug prices and telling private companies how much money they can make? This is asking whether you think the “boogie man” will finally stay hidden under your bed and not jump out and scare you.)

There are a total of 16 questions in this “survey”. Yeah, I know that it’s only a pretense of a survey and really a pitch for donations especially since the bottom is a half page that is a “Contribution Reply”. Maybe this was written by someone who got their start doing mailers for a televangelist.

And I would imagine that it will appeal to only about 5% of those who receive it. Once upon a time I identified myself as a liberal to moderate Republican (socially liberal, fiscally moderate). But the organization turned mean-spirited in the mid-90’s. I can only hope that those who consider themselves “moderate Republicans” will read this and be appalled and turn away from those who would try to position their party in this way.

That’s why as soon I read through this I thought to myself, “Self, this is asshole politics”. And thusly a new term was coined “Assholitics”. We’re in for another 13 months of this and it’s only going to get worse.

I’ve always been naïve about politics—despite having both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Political Science. I believe it should be about issues and fairness (sheesh, how naïve is that!). I believe candidates should run “for” something rather than “against” someone. When I have been actively involved in campaigns I always strived to have the campaign focused in this way and was even successful in doing that several times.

But apparently Assholitics is now the way of American politics. I reject it and reject those who practice it. You know, if we all did that maybe we could get things to start changing just a bit.

Friday, May 13, 2011

Zombies, A Question of Ethics? Or Maybe Political Paranoia

I had a good time writing a post the other day on Zombie Awareness Month. There’s a political angle to it too with “Zombie aficionados” occasionally suggesting that the Zombie take-over may have already occurred in politics. I have to admit that it would certainly explain a lot of things here and around the world.

But this is about something else, though related.

I also wrote a blogpost a couple of weeks ago expressing outrage over a Southern California Republican party official, Marilyn Davenport, who e-mailed a decidedly unflattering and racist (at least by “liberal” consensus) photograph of Pres. Obama as simian to friends and Republican colleagues and claimed that it was innocent humor. You remember the photo, right? Here it is again:

So what’s the connection here? Well, my slightly demented brain suggested to me that zombies and politics might be related. (Wouldn’t that be a more than plausible explanation for the “Tea Baggers”?)

So I thought to myself, “Self, maybe there’s some faked zombie pictures out there of politicians. Wouldn’t it be funny to find a zombie photo of Sarah Palin?” (See, I talk to myself when I try to write).

And guess what, there are a bunch of zombie photos of Sarah Palin. And maybe it’s my liberal side coming out but I didn’t think that they were as “mean-spirited” or racially themed as the zombie photos of Barak Obama (are you surprised at all that there are zombie photos of Obama? Naw, I didn’t think you’d be surprised). And hell, there are even Osama Bin Laden zombie photos.

So I pulled one off Google Images and inserted it into my blogpost. It wasn’t the most ghoulish but it satisfied my inner smartass. Here’s the photo:

I thought it was really funny—especially located just after a Zombie Uncle Sam photo.

And then I got to thinking (contrary to what my wife or employer would say, yes indeed, I do think occasionally).

I thought, “wait a minute here Walt, you were outraged over a photo showing Obama as a simian. Isn’t this the same thing? Does it make a difference that you respect Obama and don’t respect Palin? Hmmmm?”

And I thought again, “who gives a rat’s behind, this is freedom of expression and humor or satire.” So I dropped the photo into my blogpost, giggling to myself as I did it. “I’m so clever; this is funny,” I thought to myself.

And then another thought crossed my mind which created a scenario compelling enough to convince me to eliminate the Sarah Palin zombie picture. I thought to myself, “Self, this person is a politician probably running for President. She’s a ‘whacko’. You could end up like this:”

This was because the last piece of “art” was a poster which said this:

“Self, Palin is enough of a whacko that this could easily be considered as a threat or a suggestion that someone shoot her in the head to destroy her brain. She’s a (shudder to think of it) ‘national political figure’. You could be detained, interrogated and arrested.” I got images of waterboarding and Guantanamo. I saw myself being questioned by Lenny and Green until I confessed—confessed to what I don’t know.

So, I pulled it out of the post. I found a “poster” of Obama, Biden, McCain and Palin as zombies. Hooray for me! Equal opportunity Zombies!

OK, so now I know. The “simian” photo of Obama was offensive. Arguably the zombie photo of Palin is offensive too (as are zombie photos of Obama). But, a zombie photo of Obama, Biden, McCain and Palin…now that’s funny. And it’s different from the others. That’s poking fun at politicians and the process not at the individual. I’m glad I found it.

Self-censorship is one thing. Censorship because you’re worried that the FBI or Secret Service might come and break down your door is something else. It’s a bit scary. And, even though I call Palin a whacko, there are enough super whacky-whackos out there that some idiot might have taken it literally. And that’s doubly scary.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Obama's Health Report--Let the Man Smoke!

Yesterday some of the results of President Obama’s physical exam came to light. His “bad” cholesterol is up and there was veiled reference to his continuing efforts to stop smoking.

There was also mention of how his smoking and apparent eating of “bad foods” are a bad example to the nation, in particular to Michelle Obama’s new crusade on childhood obesity and the health risks of smoking. Oh, and he likes his cocktails too.

Oh for crying out, damn loud!

Let the guy eat whatever he wants and smoke like a chimney if he wants. This guy’s got a tough job made much tougher by all the a-holes he has to contend with each day who try to stymie and stifle his efforts every step of the way. He’s scrawny. He works out.

Does he go outside to smoke? Is that why he’s always walking Beau? I could care less if he lit one up during a photo opportunity with the poster wheezer for the Emphysema Society. If he wants to chainsmoke or puff a hookah during a Cabinet meeting or a meeting with the military Chiefs of Staff, let him. They’re big boys. They work for him. Tough toenails.

Might his smoking harm some of the antiques that are undoubtedly in his office? Who cares. It’s old crap anyway which I’m sure has been exposed to its share of smoke over the centuries. Besides, there’s a minor army of people on the government payroll whose job it is to restore that stuff.

Get together with anyone you want Obama and go out and “burn one”. Sit in the Oval Office, chug a brewski and smoke a Camel straight. One rule. Use an ashtray. Michelle would be P.O.’d if you burned or spilled on that carpet with the seal in it (that’ll be going to a museum someday).

You’ve got a mess with health care legislation. You’ve got 2 wars still going on. You’ve got jerks criticizing every damn thing you do. And, you’ve been kind of vacillating because you hate to tick anyone off.

OK, so here’s what you do: Sit back and start telling yourself, “I’m the President. I’ve got a lot of crap to get done. I’ve got 59 votes in the Senate. So work with me Republicans or you can all go and screw yourselves. The buck stops here. FDR and Truman were smoking fiends.”

Light up a butt. Blow smoke rings. Smoke as much as you want. Just get something done. Drink a Bud and eat some chips (chip crumbs are OK on the carpet in the Oval Office because they’ll vacuum right up).

And besides, if you start using nicotine lozenges or gum, you’re going to stink up the Oval Office and Cabinet rooms even worse with the nasty gas it’ll give you. And there’s way too much nasty gas in Washington, D.C. already.

Friday, September 11, 2009

Is 9/11 the "New" Memorial Day? "Counting Flowers on the Wall" & Joe Wilson's Caput in Recto Award

Things have been too heavy this week. First a bunch of folks got their shorts twisted up into knots at the audacity of a black President wanting to give a speech to school kids about hope and goals.

Then some jackass has to holler out “You Lie” at that same President when he was talking about healthcare and how we can do better for the 15% of Americans who don’t have any health insurance. And now that cracker is being made out to be some kind of hero in his home state. That’s something I just don’t get.

And today. It’s as if 9/11 has become our actual Memorial Day. The one at the end of May is just a holiday anymore—a day off work—but the 9/11 Memorial Day is one where people actually reflect on our nation and honor those who have sacrificed. It’s become a day where we are more introspective, where we actually appreciate those who are so diligent on our behalf. And that’s a good thing. What do you think? Has 9/11 become our “true” Memorial Day?

So, the weekend is upon us. Those are pretty much just a couple of more days to me. When you’re not working and your days seem to be increasingly endless; when you’re afraid to spend a dollar because you don’t know when that dollar might be the last one you’ve got; when those things are in your life, you don’t look forward to the weekend too much.

With that out of the way, how about a little bit of music. There’s been some stuff about music here on OS lately. And, I was thinking about being “idle” this morning and thought that maybe I could share this old Statler Brothers song with you:

Enjoy and have a great weekend--kick back, relax and let go of the crap. What's the old saying? "Don't sweat the small stuff. And it's all small stuff." Hopefully this provided you with just a bit of a break from all the too serious stuff we’ve got going on.

And last but certainly not least, Congressman Joe Wilson, Rep, S.C. this award is for you: "The Caput in Recto" Award.