John Boehner and Olympia Snowe In A Rare Private Moment
Why are Cameron and Osborne incapable of admitting that they made a bad mistake, firing their advisors, and changing their course?
His answer is “I think that it’s the fact that they have been raised on the myth of Margaret Thatcher, who Stayed the Course.” With all due respect, this is just wrong, and it illustrates the problem we liberals face in getting our agenda enacted. Too many of the people who represent our interests at the very top of media and politics are so hopelessly compromised – either by ideology or social connections – that they cease to see themselves engaging in a battle for the soul of the country with pitched enemies, instead deluding themselves that they’re having a polite debate with honest opponents.
Brad Delong is an effective advocate for the liberal POV in American discourse. Like Paul Krugman and Duncan Black, he’s exceptionally good at discussing the nuts and bolts of economics theory in terms understandable to laymen, he made excellent contributions to the political opposition during the Bush years, and he’s a hell of a good writer. But he’s an Ivy League-educated economist who served in the Clinton administration. He began his career as a part of the odious third way movement that has been largely responsible for ensuring that conservatives, even when out of power, are still able to fuck the country the hell up whenever they feel like it. Let’s not forget the man helped create NAFTA and GATT, and cites Milton Friedman as an influence instead of as someone who’s corpse ought to be pulled out of its coffin, bathed in holy water, and exposed to direct sunlight just to be sure he’s actually dead.
Whatever his personal views, Delong has spent the bulk of his adult life socializing with, doing business with, generally engaging with the shiny public face of the conservative movement. Which makes him far, far too willing to believe that obvious sociopaths are good people. That’s partly human nature of course. We all want to just get along, and it’s easy to convince ourselves that someone who is nice to us personally is also a good person. This is part of the reason Ben Nelson and Joe Lieberman are still members of the Democratic caucus despite the obvious fact that they are arch conservatives who will sell out their ‘allies’ every time it counts.
Conservatives, meanwhile, largely do not suffer from this delusion. The rare ones who do seem to believe this nonsense about bipartisan cooperation and crossing-the-aisle and all that other garbage that obfuscates the truth of either party’s agenda are really nothing more than Ernst Blofeld’s pet cat. They’re kept around to give the impression that the organization they’re beholden to is capable of compassion and reason. And they’re typically discarded as soon as they fail to toe the line. (See: Olympia Snowe and Lincoln Chaffe.)
Despite all evidence to the contrary, Delong talks about the Cameron government as though their problem is that they’re just golly gee too uncompromising, to unwilling to consider going a different way, by gum, because they worship a woman everyone believes always followed her vision and they don’t want to look weak, or dithering, or whatever nice-sounding euphemism for ‘fucking stupid’ you can come up with. Bollocks. Cameron and Osborne aren’t capable of ‘admitting they made a mistake’ because they aren’t making a mistake. They don’t want prosperity, they want the same thing the conservative movement has always wanted, going back all the way to when the Athenian oligarchs organized to roll back Solon’s reforms: to return society to its ‘natural’ balance, with the extremely wealthy in firm control of everything, the approved religion supporting them, and the hoi polloi in powerless awe of them. (Proscribing sexual behavior they themselves engage in, controlling women, and ensuring that the poorer you are, the more likely you are to be jailed, are all part of this.)
The Conservatives in Britain aren’t misguided, but good people. Like their counterparts here in the States, they’re getting precisely the policy outcomes they want. However, unlike the idiots atop the Democratic party who never seem to notice that their popularity goes up whenever they look as though they’re picking a fight with the plutocrats and child-rapist religious authorities, Conservatives are smart enough to know their agenda won’t sell to the poor sods they’re fucking over on a daily basis, so they brazenly pretend they’re doing the exact opposite of what they’re actually setting out to accomplish, while smoothly accusing liberals of their own crimes.
Or put more simply, the arguments British conservatives are making in favor of austerity are a nice-sounding smokescreen that no one is willing to call a lie, functionally identical to the neocon project to invade Iraq.
The greater mystery is, of course, why the LibDems agreed to caucus with them in the first place. I think the answer is clear: like the American Green Party, they have a nice sounding platform and some dedicated activists, but little broad support. More importantly, at the top they are dominated by egomaniacs and con artists who have no interest in actual government. Nick Clegg clearly wanted glory and a job title that made him sound important, nothing more. The conservatives realized this, and knew that by giving him the the cool-sounding but utterly pointless title of Deputy Prime Minister, they could completely play the LibDems for chumps and get everything they want. And they have.
And on that subject, Brad Delong is right: It’s long past time for the LibDems to pull out of the coalition and sink the government. Perhaps they’re afraid crashing the government and forcing new elections will probably kill their long term prospects. But that’s they’re own fucking fault. The fatal blow was dealt the day they decided to aide and abet the political party that is their precise ideological opposite. It sucks that Labour under Tony Blair was nothing more than a corporatist, pro war shell, but Labour is a big party, and Tony Blair was, essentially, pushed out for having driven them into a ditch. If LibDems wanted to actually help save the nation, they should have swallowed their pride, caucused with Labor and have been willing to work with some of the other, smaller parties to create a government not dedicated to driving Britain into a ditch.
Yeah, maybe Labor should have been as intelligent, politically, as the Conservatives and promised that odious little troll an equally cool-title; that they didn’t is further proof they’re as dunderheaded as the Democratic Party here. But it isn’t Labour’s fault that the LibDems cared more about their own short term gain that the health of their country, so fuck em. Let them die along with the Green Party.
To make up for my recent laziness, here’s a series of lazy links to what I’ve been up to:
Halloween Bingo for Boxoffice Magazine.
My take on that hilarious Herman Cain youtube commercial, also for Boxoffice.
A few recommendations for Halloween viewing:
Part one – Blood on the Highway
Part two- Threads
Part three – Vampire’s Kiss
Finally, some musing on the Gaddafi death video.
In other Boxoffice Magazine news, the latest issue for the iPad is now out, which means my weekly column and video are there for your enjoyment. But never mind all that, here’s the image accompanying my column:
If you have an iPad, I would urge you to subscribe, or, just pass it on to people who you know have one of their own.
Very very shameless, y’all.
Lately, I’ve blogging over at Boxoffice magazine, and I wrote a few posts that I’m kind of happy with:
First, I asked if Zach Quinto’s decision to come out of the closet represents a kind of turning point for the hollywood closet. An excerpt:
What is surprising, however, is that the passage of Prop 8 looks in retrospect like the last major success for opponents of gay rights. 3 years later, gay people may serve openly in the military, the Affordable Care Act included provisions ending abuses of gay couples, and in 2011 polls showed for the first time that a majority of Americans now support gay marriage rights. It’s also quite likely that Proposition 8 will be overturned, which would have enormous consequences for the rest of the nation. But despite these gains, the hollywood closet remains very much alive and well.
I also talked about my too-much-time-on-my-hands theory about the recent Footloose remake:
Most of the songs you’ll hear are modern remakes of songs from the original film’s soundtrack. But two critical scenes actually use the original film’s versions:
* During the opening title sequence, the teenagers at a party are dancing, drinking and, yes, actually singing along to the Kenny Loggins version of “Footloose”.
* When Willard learns how to dance, his montage is set to the original Deniece Williams version of “Let’s Hear It For The Boy”. Before the montage kicks off for reals, the song is played in a banged up old tape player by Renn’s young cousin and her friends.
Let that sink in for a second. Are you terrified? You should be, because that’s confirmation that the kids in the Footloose remake are totally aware of songs from the 1984 original. And that means that the Footloose remake takes place in a world in which the original 1984 version totally exists. How the hell is this even possible? Do the kids in the film know that their lives just played out identically to one of the most popular movies ever made?
I also took a moment to wonder how viral video (like the current Gaddafi snuff film) will affect historical drama, and discuss one of my favorite movies – the indie horror comedy Blood On The Highway – and why you need to see it.
So yesterday, Obama’s DOJ announced plans to really crack down on pot dispensaries. That’s kind of weird, thought I, since it kind of does nothing aside from angering their supporters, but it looks like they’re going all-in on being dicks about the matter:
Federal prosecutors are cracking down on some pot dispensaries in California, warning the stores that they must shut down in 45 days or face criminal charges and confiscation of their property even if they are operating legally under the state’s 15-year-old medical marijuana law.
In an escalation of the ongoing conflict between the U.S. government and the nation’s burgeoning medical marijuana industry, at least 16 pot shops or their landlords received letters this week stating they are violating federal drug laws, even though medical marijuana is legal in California. The state’s four U.S. attorneys were scheduled Friday to announce a broader coordinated crackdown.
I am not a states’ rights guy – the little war we fought in the 1860s kind of settled that issue once and for all, or should have – so I’m forced to agree wholeheartedly that federal law trumps state law. Of course, I think prohibition is stupid and should be ended. I also think that a case can be made that medicinal marijuana laws already regulate pot in a manner similar to prescription drugs that are far more powerful and dangerous, and if a state had the gonads to try to defend their medicinal laws on those grounds, I am willing to bet the argument might hold up in federal courts. Well, at least in the lower courts. The current SCOTUS would probably come up with a reason why medicinal marijuana laws are proof that McCain won in 2008.
But even if I think the case that marijuana *should* be legal and that the war on drugs needs to be ended is self evident, pot remains just as illegal today as it was before the laws allowing medicinal dispensaries were enacted. Despite this, the issue has traditionally been left in a political grey area. Every now and again, the feds issue a few token crack-downs, everyone complains and then people go back to making nonsensical statements about state law versus federal law. Even under the horrors but George Bush, that was about it. Things got a little more hopeful when Obama, distinguishing himself from Bush, promised at the beginning of his term that he intended to defer to state statutes on the matter of medicinal marijuana. Which is what makes this sudden hard right turn so baffling.
Obviously, being surprised when Obama breaks a promise on something his supporters actually like while giving his enemies a big french kiss is like being surprised by the sun rising in the East. Even so, what happened? The political calculation sure doesn’t make sense, or at least it didn’t last night. Every single person who supports medicinal marijuana is a potential Obama supporter. More importantly, social conservatives who hatehatehate pot will never change their minds about Obama just because he’s cracking down on it. Alienating potential supporters with a move that will not gain a single vote just seems stupid to me.
Then this morning, this happened:
The Obama administration has asked a federal appeals court to block a tough new immigration law in Alabama from going into effect, saying it “invites discrimination against many foreign-born citizens and lawfully present aliens.”
The emergency motion from the Justice Department was filed Friday, and asks the Atlanta-based 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to quickly issue a temporary injunction, until the larger questions over the measure’s constitutionality can be addressed.
Now it all makes sense. Anticipating an inevitable shit-fit about states’ rights from the people who love institutionalizing bigotry, they decided to punch a few hippies to totally show everybody they’re not hypocrites. Fine, I suppose. Defending voter rights against an onslaught of institutionalized hate is vastly more important than getting into a legislative battle about legalizing marijuana on the national level. The former may end up leading to the latter and I can see wanting to preemptively shield against charges of government overreach. But even with that calculation, there is literally nothing Obama can do to inoculate himself against charges that the government is ZOMG TOALTLY TYRANNIZING ERRYTHING.
Social conservatives, particularly the ones who hate pleasure and believe the constitution enshrines their prejudices, will never see him or any other democrat as anything other than an illegitimate usurper. It’s not like this is going to win them over to his cause. It would be nice if the Obama team would learn that lesson. Going after cancer patients and chronic disease sufferers isn’t going to win them a single vote. And it also breaks yet another campaign promise. Though I suppose I ought to be used to that by now.
I do think it’s legally consistent, even if it’s really dumb,and I’m glad that they’re going after attempts to keep people from voting with both barrels. I just wish they’d find a way to do it that pisses off actual bad guys, instead of inconveniencing sick people.
When I was a kid, my dad’s favorite boxer was Sugar Ray Leonard, which means my favorite boxer was also. As a result, when I had the good fortune to interview him at a junket for Real Steel a couple of weeks back, I was completely star struck. Luckily, the interview turned out greaaat, and best of all, we even convinced him to give me a quick boxing lesson.
That video and article are over at Box Office Magazine.
The Republicans were right! Check out this expose about the horrors of Canadian health care.
A night in the ER: adrenaline, chaos and very long waits
At Los Angeles County/USC Medical Center, as many as 550 patients a day pass through the emergency room. ‘It’s like a battlefield in here.… It just doesn’t stop,’ says a nurse supervisor.
Zing! Just kidding. HIOOOO.
I have a new trifle up on GameFront, this one a list of the 10 most difficult games in video game history. Some of the usual suspects are there, like Contra and Devil May Cry 3, but my number one is such excellent evil trolling I can’t stop giggling.
I’m not going to tell you what it is of course. You’ll need to click. But I think anyone who experienced middle school in the 80s will relate to the choice.
That’s how they stay silky:
Note to women in the South Park Slope and surrounding Brooklyn: You might want to think twice before wearing shorts or skirts when you walk home alone at night.
That’s the message some women say police officers are spreading as they step up patrols in the area in response to at least 10 unsolved sexual attacks that have taken place since March.
…
Lauren, a South Slope resident, was walking home three blocks from the gym on Monday when she was stopped.
The 25-year-old, who did not want her last name to be used, was wearing shorts and a T-shirt when she claims a police officer asked if she would stop and talk to him. He also stopped two other women wearing dresses.
According to Lauren, the officer asked if they knew what was going on in the neighborhood. When they answered in the affirmative, he asked if they knew what the guy was looking for.
“He pointed at my outfit and said, ‘Don’t you think your shorts are a little short?’” she recalled. “He pointed at their dresses and said they were showing a lot of skin.”
He said that such clothing could make the suspect think he had “easy access,” said Lauren.
She said the officer explained that “you’re exactly the kind of girl this guy is targeting.”
I know what you’re thinking: this is yet another patriarchal asshole using the threat posed by an at-large serial rapist to enforce his own views of how women should behave in public. But if any organization on earth knows how the mind of a rapist works, it’s the New York Police Department. Just ask officers Franklin Mata and Kenneth Moreno. Or Officer Justin Volpe. Or officers Richard Kern, Alex Cruz, and Andrew Morales.
Really ladies, I know this looks like a chance to have one of your cray cray feminist freak-outs, but when it comes to rape, if a NYPD officer tells you that you might be at risk, believe him. Because he knows what he’s talking about. At the very least, if someone else doesn’t do it, he certainly will.
Debit card fees announced by Bank of America are sparking outrage among consumers who turned to social media with their vows to switch banks, boycott Bank of America and otherwise show their condemnation of the banking giant’s controversial move.
Bank of America announced Thursday it would charge customers $5 a month to make purchases with debit cards — a fee that could cost consumers up to $60 a year and raise a stunning $3 billion a year for the company.
We obviously should have expected this kind of shady end-run around recent regulations slashing the fees banks can charge customers for individual ATM transactions. But I, for one, am quite optimistic that BofA will be using the 3 Billion they’re grifting from their customers to hire back the 40,000 employees they cruelly laid off a few weeks ago, amirite?
Ross Lincoln is a freelance writer and wine-soaked dilletante based in Los Angeles. He writes about console and PC games for 
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