The Great Protection Racket

Today at Yearly Kos, Chris Dodd hit big with his pitch for public financing of campaigns. Yeah, right.

It just dawned on me: Hillary Clinton has been put on the inevitabilty train by virtue of the big bucks she’s raised. And by that virtue alone. But the money isn’t important because all the advertising she will be able to buy will get her message out and persuade votes her way.

It’s important because all the advertising she will buy will boost the bottom line of the mainstream television outlets. They want that campaign advertising money, and they are happy to declare the one with all the money the frontrunner.

It’s a racket. The corporations supply the money to the candidates who funnel it to the media who disseminate the narrative that keeps us in bondage and powerless. It doesn’t matter that the commercials are mindless; the candidates don’t give a shit whether we watch the ads or not. They care about the narrative the networks will tell, and by plying the networks with all those advertising dollars, they guarantee the tone of the coverage.

You want journalism? Reportage? How quant.

The Clueless Concern of the Aristocracy

See the clip at this story in the WaPo. Charles Dickens in the 21st century. When the waitress talks about the burden of her insurance premiums and co-pays, Romney doesn’t even know what the words mean. It’s probably to be expected that an aristocrat should think of a waitress as a lower form of creature beneath his notice. But that an aristocrat running for high office doesn’t even care to pretend to care about the lives of the lower orders shows just how established is the New Guilded Age.

I Knew They Were the Forces of Darkness

Digby Hits Another One

Sayeth the Soothsayer:

“Never make a bet that Republicans will do the right thing. You can’t even count on them to act in their own self-interest — witness their just tanking the immigration bill that will probably sink their chances of a real majority for many years to come. Their only purpose in government is to steal from the taxpayers, help their rich friends, cover up their leaders’ crimes and destroy Democrats. That’s it. That’s all they do.”

(emphasis added)

For the Record

This isn’t easy to read, but it is necessary to document. From a TRex post at Firedoglake –

Take the death threats against Amanda Marcotte and Melissa McEwan which we excerpted here the other night. Let’s review some highlights (Via Teh General):

Bud Phelps, another person who opposes “bigotry”, as defined by right wing shill Bill Donohue.

It’s just too bad your mother didn’t abort you. You are nothing more than a filthy mouth slut. I bet a couple of years in Iraq being raped and beaten daily would help you appreciate America a little. Need a plane ticket ?

[…]

Romanco De Leone was also moved by Donohue’s poignant claims about insulating the Catholic church from legitimate criticisms.

YOU RACIST WHORE. FAT UGLY BITCH. SUCK MY LONG COCK ASSHOLE I HOPE YOU KIDS NEVER LIVE AND YOUR PARENTS DIE A TRAGIC DEATH YOU ASSHOLE BITCH! I HOPE YOUR WOMB IS BARREN AND YOUR CAREER PLUMMETS TO HELL YOU BITCH

Mmmmmm. Aren’t those some good christian values, y’all?

Read all of TRex’s post, though this should be enough to disgust. I am so tired of bullies — especially stupid, ignorant bullies.

Delusional

The venerable Beeb has the story.

I wonder, how much of this mistake was made because the powers that be thought of the Iraqi people the same way they think of the American people — in terms of docility and gullability?

I would say the Bush adminstration (Cheney administration?) forgot about the bread and circuses — except that I realize: They don’t even provide bread and circuses anymore!

Queen George

I am not a fan of using female labels to denigrate male phenomena. It pisses me off, and I hope the reason is obvious.

But . . . What we have here are conflicting rules to live by. I am a fan of insulting a opponent with what will stick the opponent, with the thing the enemy hates. Homophobic, mommy-hating, little-man-complex embodying, cheerleader Georgie Bush, I am convinced in my heart, would hate being called a girl above all things.
Now comes this article by Robert Kuttner in The American Prospect about how Dick Cheney has, all tinfoil accusations notwithstanding, accomplished a coup d’etat.

The article is more important than this post, and if you are reading this you must surely know your time would be better spent going to Kuttner.

Still with me? Read this paragraph from Kuttner:

If Cheney were the actual president, not just the de facto one, he simply could not govern with the same set of policies and approval ratings of 20 percent. The media focuses relentless attention on the president, on the premise that he is actually the chief executive. But for all intents and purposes, Cheney is chief, and Bush is more in the ceremonial role of the queen of England.

Bush, Shrub, Chimpy, Clusterfuck, President Baby, The Deciderer, King George . . . the list goes on. I’ll bet Bush smirks whenever he hears the different names people call him.

But I think “Queen George” would really make him Rumplestilskin mad. So mad, that I let this be “the exception that proves the rule” — (I have never known what that means). From now on, it’s Queen George.

George W. Bush Will Burn In Hell

And so will the people who support him.

Exhibit A

Can George W. Bush Be Any More Horrible? Yes.

From TPM:

(December 26, 2006 — 04:33 PM EST // link)

Hmmm. From TPM Reader RP …

Last we heard was just before the elections, now comes this news, out of the blue that Saddam has to be sentenced within the next 30 days. Would it not then put it right before the state of the union address so that the Commander-in-chief and after all the surge in negative discussion from the announcement about a surge in troops. Is the surge even to stem the violence backlash from the sentencing. I am not wiling to overlook any conspiracy theory by this corrupt bunch.

– Josh Marshall

What horrifies me about this: That a President of the United States would consider it a bragging point to put to death another human being. No matter how awful Saddam Hussein is, shouldn’t it be a matter of sadness that evil exists in the world, even if we think killing someone for his evil deeds is the right thing to do?

We know George W. Bush has no shame. But if he is planning to brag about the execution of Saddam Hussein at the State of the Union address, he is planning to incorporate our approval into his shamelessness. I loathe this man more than I ever thought I would or could loathe a human being.

High Anxiety

Oy, the FODs (Forces of Darkness) must be really, really afraid of the coming Democratic majority. Stories like this one are flooding all media outlets. You can hear the little screams coming out of the gears in their pitiful little brains — “Please don’t let the Democrats investigate!” and “Please, PLEASE don’t let the Democrats take away our government teat!”