Archive for the Politics Category

Suffer Clinton.  The Devil.  We know. (November 7, 2016)

Posted in Blue States / Red States, Elections, Political Parties, Politics on November 7, 2016 by e-commentary.org

. . .

K          “The ‘D’ division of the War and Wall Street Party foisted a candidate who passionately believes in pursuing war and protecting Wall Street.  The ‘R’ division of the W.W. Party forwarded a candidate who may not be as passionate about pursuing war and protecting Wall Street but then with him who the devil knows.  He is a nativistic, nihilistic and narcissistic nut job.”

J          “Add Nazistic to that list.  And misogynistic, racistic, and xenophobic.”

. . .

K          “He is also supported by the Middle Finger Party.  Some of the more reflective people who support The Donald are thoroughly disgusted with a government and economic system that is corrupt to the core.”

J          “The Middle Finger Party is not the Middle Way Party.”

K          “I am confident that the only profitable party – The War and Wall Street Party – is the Wrong Way Party.”

. . .

K          “Her entourage includes punks, thugs, grifters, drifters, shop lifters, lifers, ex-cons, cons, future cons, neo-cons, neo-libs, criminals, war criminals, war mongers, inside traders, outside traders, traitors, terrorists, ne’er–do–wells and cattle rustlers (hereinafter “Kennedy School/Goldman Sachs” archetypes).”

J          “His gang includes punks, thugs, grifters, drifters, shop lifters, lifers, ex-cons, cons, future cons, neo-cons, neo-libs, criminals, war criminals, war mongers, inside traders, outside traders, traitors, terrorists, ne’er–do–wells and cattle rustlers (hereinafter “Wharton School/Fly By Night REIT” archetypes).  But we do not even know who he will put on the public payroll.” 

. . .

K          “Clinton is a globalist and Trump is a nationalist.”

J          “So that means that Clinton will usher in a World War and Trump will usher in a Civil War.”

K          “They do not call it the Peace and Wall Street Party.”

. . .

J          “I concede that Clinton privately supports and will sign the Trans-Pacific Partnership because it benefits the international corporations that fund and bribe Clinton, Inc.”

K          “Trump’s challenges to the international trade agreements, if genuine, are challenging because truly free trade can provide mutual benefits to many but not all.  He cannot reject all of the treaties carte blanche with executive orders.”

. . .

K          “Three score years ago, Adlai Stevenson ran against Dwight Eisenhower.  Statesmen both.  The nation could not go wrong with either candidate.”

J          “In two generations, a ‘win-win’ option then is replaced with a ‘lose-lose’ dilemma now.  That must be what they call progress.”

. . .

J          “Vote against Trump.  And for Clinton.”

K          “In the final analysis, it all comes down to the Supreme Court.  Vote for the crook over the crazy man.  With extraordinary reluctance.  Then despair.”

J          “It has gotten old.”

. . .

J          “Vote.”

K          “Vote.”

. . .

[See the e-commentary at “Better the crook we know than the crazy man we don’t?  Applying The Conservative Tie Breaker. (June 20, 2016)”, “The ‘War and Wall [Street] Party’ On The War Path (February 1, 2016)”, “The Donald:  The Consummate Republican.  Sort Of. (March 28, 2016)”, “On Male ‘Diss’ ‘Coarse’ And Electioneering (March 21, 2016)”, “A Second Party:  Trump or Sanders? (March 14, 2015)”, “Trans-Pacific Partnership / United Nations Convention On The Law Of The Sea (May 25, 2015)” and “The First Look At The ‘Second Political Party’ (January 3, 2011).”)

Bumper stickers of the week:

Vote.

Vote Clinton.  With extraordinary reluctance.  Then despair.

Clinton, Inc., Trump, Inc., Bush, Inc., Kennedy, Inc., O’Bama, Inc. (October 24, 2016)

Posted in Awards / Incentives, Bush, Cameo In Courage Award, Citizens United Decision, Clinton, Collapse, Kleptocracy, O'Bama, Politics, Profile In Courage Award, Schooling, Supreme Court on October 24, 2016 by e-commentary.org

. . .

J          “The Kennedy Corporation is in remission.”

K          “Earnings are down, but the brand is still in play.  They are keeping a spot at the round table with their ‘Profile In Courage Award’ that is bestowed on other members of the Ruling Class.”

J          “That’s it.  I need to give an award to get a reward.”

. . .

J          “After the proclamation by the Republican wing of the Supreme Court in Corporations United that two step corruption is legal and encouraged, the ‘Clinton Global Initiative’ provided the template.  The rich and powerful now can formally invest in and own those in public office.” 

K          “The Owners now can formally own the owned.  ‘Bush, Inc.’ should get more credit because it was one of the first corporations to offer ‘preferred shares’ dubbed ‘Rangers’ and ‘Pioneers’ and the like.  The investment opportunity was first profiled in the e-commentary titled ‘The “Ownership State” and “Bush, Inc.” (April 11, 2005)’ years before Citizens United was foisted on us.”

J          “Trading interests in Senators is also discussed in the e-commentary titled ‘Commodities Futures / Future Commodities (March 8, 2010).’  Add a few shares of a United States Senator to your 401(k) portfolio.”

. . .

K          “Yet the ordinary citizen cannot be a large shareholder.”

J          “The ordinary citizen still can toil as a sharecropper for the shareholders.  The citizen cannot own anyone or anything of substance.  And only the Owners can own the apparatchiks.  It is very subtle.”

K          “There is no ‘Nader, Inc.’  I looked it up.”

. . .

K          “‘Kennedy, Inc.’ has executed a Memorandum of Understanding with ‘Harvard, Inc.’, ‘Bush, Inc.’ with ‘Yale, Inc.’, ‘Trump, Inc.’ with ‘Penn, Inc.’, ‘Clinton, Inc.’ with ‘Stanford, Inc.’ and now ‘O’Bama, Inc.’ with ‘Harvard, Inc.’ and ‘Chicago, Inc.’.”

J          “They sure have inked a lot of inside deals.  Yet ‘Clinton, Inc.’ plays the field and also owns and is owned by ‘Yale, Inc.’.”

K          “Clinton clearly plays the field, yet so do some of the others.  If there is a formal MoU, the kids just show up in the Fall; if there is not a formal MoU, the kids are encouraged to call ahead and let the administrators know they are matriculating.  Unless something more sexy comes up in the interim.”

J          “That’s what I heard.  Seems to work.  Well.”

. . .

K          “The kids who should not make it, do.  The kids who should make it, don’t.”

. . .

K          “There is so much inbreeding and cross breeding.”

J          “With predictable consequences.”

. . .

[See the e-commentary at “The ‘Ownership State’ and ‘Bush, Inc.’ (April 11, 2005)”, “Corporations United (February 15, 2010)”, “Commodities Futures / Future Commodities (March 8, 2010)”, “Schooling The Apparatchiks For the Kleptocrats (December 7, 2015)” and “On Merit and the Meritocracy (January 11, 2010).”]

[See the incisive commentary of America’s greatest political, economic and social commentator of the last century, George Carlin.  Professor G. William Domhoff’s classic examination of power in America, Who Rules America?, could serve as the written text and footnotes to accompany Professor Carlin’s public presentations.  Both develop observations developed earlier by Professor C. Wright Mills in The Power Elite.]

Bumper stickers (or window stickers) of the week:

Harvard, Inc. College            Yale, Inc. Law School

The Elite ain’t.

If Hamilton returned today to survey the outcome of his financial innovations, he would be appalled, outraged and disgusted by the degeneration of the American economy into a Kleptocracy. 

Better the crook we know than the crazy man we don’t?  Applying The Conservative Tie Breaker. (June 20, 2016)

Posted in Clinton, Elections, On [Traits/Characteristics], Political Parties, Politics, Presidency, Solstice, Sports, Supreme Court, Trump, Wall Street, War, War and Wall Street Party on June 20, 2016 by e-commentary.org

. . .

K          “Better the crook we know than the crazy man we don’t?”

J          “You sure?”

. . .

K          “Better the crazy crook we know than the crooked crazy man we don’t?”

J          “You sure?”

K          “Better the war-savoring, crazy crook we know than the xenophobic, crooked, crazy man we don’t?”

J          “You sure?”

K          “Better the war-savoring and Wall Street-favoring, crazy crook we know than the xenophobic, bigoted, crooked, crazy man we don’t?”

J          “You sure?”

K          “Better the lying, war-savoring and Wall Street-favoring, crazy crook we know than the lying, xenophobic, bigoted, crooked, crazy man we don’t?”

J          “You sure?”

. . .

J          “We are now stuck with two presumptuous Presidential nominees and zero hope.”

K          “Clinton is part of the problem; the Donald does not even understand the problem.  Full stop.”

J          “I’m sure that we have a problem.”

. . .

K          “The conservatives resolve these conundrums by resorting to the aphorism:  ‘Better the devil we know than the devil we don’t.’”

J          “I sure don’t know who is the devil we know and who is the devil we don’t?”

K          “In the final analysis, it all comes down to the Supreme Court.”

. . .

K          “The solstice is the sunniest day of the year up here.  Defaulting to the lesser of the two diabolical devils isn’t the most promising ray of sunshine.”

J          “It starts getting darker every day after 22:34 UTC this afternoon.”

K          “There are still some long days in our future.”

. . .

[See the e-commentary at “The First Look At The ‘Second Political Party’ (January 3, 2011).”]

Bumper stickers of the week:

“And how many more of these stinking double-downer sideshows will we have to go through before we can get . . . a chance to vote for something, instead of always being faced with that old familiar choice between the lesser of two evils?”  Hunter S. Thompson

Better the crook we know than the crazy man we don’t?

The other election this week in Britain on the “Brexit” will be revealing.

Cleveland was hot yesterday and may be hot this July.

First Annual Pushitzer Prize In Commentary For 2016 (April 18, 2016)

Posted in Awards / Incentives, Global Climate Change, Global Warming, Journalism, Movie Reference, O'Bama, Politics, Press/Media, Pulitzer, Pushitzer, Race on April 18, 2016 by e-commentary.org

. . .

          “The envelope please.  . . .  This year’s Pushitzer Prize in Commentary is awarded to . . . all the unnamed, unknown and unheralded commentators not working for the Herald who are pushing the envelope and pushing against the absurdity, insanity, dishonesty and hypocrisy that envelops us from every direction every day.  For distinguished commentary in a print or digital or any format.  For good and honest stuff.”

. . .

[Please send nominations for the Pushitzer Prize in Commentary for 2017 and a supporting letter by January 27, 2017 to e-ssay@gci.net and send the entry fee to your favorite charity.]

[See the e-commentary at “Pulitzers Are Pro-War?  Pressing The Pushitzers (April 22, 2013)” and last week’s e-commentary.]

Bumper stickers of the week:

For good and honest stuff

Will the public respond to Ken Burns, Jr.’s production of “Barack Obama” in 2046 the way the public responded to Ken Burns’ production of “Jackie Robinson” in 2016?  Mitch McConnell is today’s Ben Chapman.  (Senate Majority leader) Chapman wielded a baseball bat; (Coach) McConnell a gavel.  See the e-commentary at “‘I Hate Obama.’  The Trip Hammer Of Hate Tolls Without Toll And With Toll (March 10, 2014).”]

April 22:  “Happy Birthday Earth Day (April 23, 2012).”

On Male “Diss” “Coarse” And Electioneering (March 21, 2016)

Posted in Elections, Politics, Society on March 21, 2016 by e-commentary.org

. . .

K          “They looked like vultures sitting on a circular fence waiting for a kill or to kill or to be killed.  Hunched over and looking back over their shoulders and then looking left and right, only a fool would dare speak.  If someone ventured to say something, the others would jump on the speaker and maul him.  Emotionally stunted, each hunched in wounded silence.  That was the only safe course of action and the only safe recourse during their charming diss-coarse.” 

. . .

J          “Sounds like the Republican Presidential debates except that they scream at each other mindlessly rather than suffering in silence.  And the one who is the most obstreperous and boisterous and obnoxious is winning.”

K          “They sure are ‘dissing’ each other and they sure are ‘coarse’ with each other.”

. . .

Bumper stickers of the week:

God grant me the serenity; To ignore this cacophony

Peaceful Equinox

The “War and Wall [Street] Party” On The War Path (February 1, 2016)

Posted in Banks and Banking System, Elections, Politics, Voting, Wall Street, War on February 1, 2016 by e-commentary.org

. . .

K          “The two divisions of the ‘War and Wall [Street] Party’ are conducting the first of their many charades and parades today.  The WW Party is on the war and Wall Street path.”

J          “The ‘D’ division and the ‘R’ division of the ‘WW’ Party are picking their faces and their facades.  At least with the Buffoon on the loose, the process is a more entertaining farce this year.”

K          “Bernie Sanders is not really a war and Wall Street person nor for that matter is Rand Paul.”

J          “The Owners will veto the Bern’s candidacy.  The Paul is not gravitating toward the war and Wall Street crowd fast enough to endure.”

. . .

J          “The rest of them are all Tweedlededumb for the ‘D’ division and Tweedlededumb for the ‘R’ division.”

. . .

[See the e-commentary at The Choice:  Pro War And Pro-Wall Street Candidate v. Pro War And Pro-Wall Street Candidate (April 13, 2015) and The First Look At The “Second Political Party” (January 3, 2011).]

Bumper stickers of the week:

“If voting made any difference they wouldn’t let us do it.”  Mark Twain

Professor George Carlin was right (left?).

The bottom 1% are fighting wars for the top 1%.

Making the world unsafe for Wall Street.

The Confederate Flag:  What Does It Mean To You? (July 6, 2015)

Posted in Politics, Race, Slavery, Society, South on July 6, 2015 by e-commentary.org

. . .

1          “It means that Blacks are second class citizens.”

2          “It means that voting rights should be denied.”

3          “It means that discrimination should be allowed.”

4          “It means that lynching should be legal.  For Blacks, I mean.”

. . .

Bumper stickers of the week:

E          “All of the above.” 

It’s mean?

Trans-Pacific Partnership / United Nations Convention On The Law Of The Sea (May 25, 2015)

Posted in Clinton, Foreign Policy, International Finance, Kleptocracy, O'Bama, Politics, Presidency, Trade on May 25, 2015 by e-commentary.org

. . .

5          “The United Nations Convention On The Law Of The Sea (UNCLOS) cedes minimal U.S. authority to international institutions; the Republicans vehemently oppose the treaty.  The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) concedes substantial U.S. sovereignty to international corporations; the Republicans ecstatically support the treaty.”

6          “Go figure.  If O’Bama supports something, the Republicans hate it.  If O’Bama opposes something, the Republicans love it.  O’Bama supports the TPP, the Republicans love it.  What is up?”

5          “What is up?  O’Bama is not allowing anyone other than a few Senators to review the language of the legislation.  That is surreal.”

6          “And perverse and undemocratic.  If the Republicans had pulled that stunt, they would have gotten hammered.”

5          “At the end of his administration, Clinton capitulated to the Republicans and signed the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and the Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act (GLBA), the legislation that repealed part of the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 and has led to reckless financial speculation.  The damage done by DOMA has been undone, but the damage done by GLBA will undo America.”

6          “O’Bama may be the first President in American history to switch political parties while in office.”

5          “Other than Clinton.  They will still hate O’Bama because he remains Black.”

6          “Historians so inclined will be able to uncover the critique of a few prophets with honor who chronicled the dismantling of America in real time.”

. . .

Bumper stickers of the week:

“A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself within.  The essential causes of Rome’s decline lay in her people, her morals, her class struggle, her failing trade, her bureaucratic despotism, her stifling taxes, her consuming wars.” Will Durant

George Carlin was right

“Peak Advertising” (November 3, 2014)

Posted in Consumerism, Economics, Elections, Facebook, Football, Google, Minimum Wage, Occupy Movement, Peak Advertising, Politics, Press/Media, Social Media, Sports, Television, Voting, Wages, Writing on November 3, 2014 by e-commentary.org

. . .

1          “‘Mt. / Everest / Sherpas / Prefer / Burma / Shave.’”

2          “Turns out that some of the first ‘six-word memoirs’ were crafted by English majors laboring for BBDO.”

. . .

1          “‘Peak Advertising’ occurs when all of a person’s senses are assaulted all of the time with non-stop commercial advertising.”

2          “That is the collective business plan of all the social media platforms.  They are premised on their presumed ability to bombard the right demographic with saturation advertising all the time.”

1          “At some time, the marginal utility of each additional fusillade will not provide any return because the consumer has nothing to spend and no source of additional debt.  What if they don’t have any more money?”

2          “They have huge advertising budgets.”

. . .

2          “Well, right, those people may be out of money.”

. . .

1          “If the television is viewed as a mirror rather than a monitor, what should one make of a string of ads for fortified barley soda interspersed with those huckstering elixirs for erectile dysfunction.”

2          “Potents for potency.  The medium is also a microscope into the ‘Land of Skinny People’ where the people have BMIs below 22 and definitely do not reflect their viewers.  They hawk products that make a person fat ninety percent of the time and concoctions that purport to make a person skinny ten percent of the time.”

1          “When others talk about ‘thinking inside the box’ are they referring to the big flashing box in the home and the little flashing box in hand?”

2          “A wide body watches a wide out on a wide screen doing battle for his team and town.  The viewer should go out and do.”

. . .

1          “Seventy percent of the economy is attributed to consumer spending.  The total amount and the percentage of consumer spending in the next few years will be revealing.”

2          “Hard to spend if you have no money and no one will provide any more credit.”

. . .

1          “One thought might be to have parents lease a newborn’s forehead to tattoo an advertisement.  You can’t let an unbleached beachhead canvas go untrammeled.”

2          “Start young.  The kid surely would develop an affinity for the product or service.”

. . .

1          “Anyone in a political battleground state has been subject to ceaseless fusillades of hate and fear from all quarters for months.  In interviews, voters criticize the negative campaigning and yet in the voting booth vote in favor of those behind the vicious attacks.  The candidates provide what the public really wants.  Each political battle is part of the ceaseless war in American politics to own the government with its ability to plunder from the populace.”

2          “I vote to be a non-combatant.”

. . .

Bumper stickers of the week:

Mt. / Everest / Sherpas / Prefer / Living / Wage

Occupy Namche Bazaar

Namaste

Peak Oil, Peak Water, Peak Land, Peak Advertising, Peak Peaks

“Don’t mind your make-up, you’d better make your mind up.”  Frank Zappa

“If voting made any difference, they wouldn’t let us do it.”  Mark Twain

A ‘tax and spend’ Democrat versus a ‘no tax and spend’ Republican.

Vote

Bulk Collection Of Telephony Data. Again. (December 16, 2013)

Posted in Book Reference, Civil Rights/Civil Liberties, Constitution, Courts, Due Process, First Amendment, FISA, Journalism, Judicial Arrogance, Law, Newspapers, O'Bama, Politics, Press/Media, Privacy, Republican Federal Judge Syndrome on December 16, 2013 by e-commentary.org

. . .

L1        “You never know what a Monday will bring.  A federal judge ruled that the NSA’s bulk collection of Americans’ telephony records likely violates the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.”

L2        “You did not hear the word ‘telephony’ in polite parlance two dozen years ago.  The courts must now address the interplay of law with technology far more sophisticated than a pair of soup cans and a string.”

L1        “Most federal judges were ‘Arts and Crafts’ majors in college who may understand Tennyson but really do not understand technology.  Listen to the techs who install IT systems in the state and federal courts.  Some of these judges are still looking for the rotary dial.”

L2        “The government’s reliance on a case from the prehistoric days of telephony – way back in 1979 – is proof positive that the issue must be addressed anew in light of the new technology today.”

L1        “They will need to refer more often to Newton’s Telecom Dictionary than to Black’s Law Dictionary.  That will be fun.”                  

. . .

L1        “Within a fortnight of the Democrats’ decision to require the Senate to ‘advise and consent’ and vote on O’Bama’s appointments to places such as the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals, the decision will have consequences.  One or more of the new appointees could be assigned to the reviewing tribunal.  If there is en banc review of the three panel decision, there are now more Democrats than Republicans.”

L2        “But will the Democrats defer to their benefactor?  Is there another Republican appellate court judge who may be a fan of the Constitution rather than unchecked federal intrusion?  And we always have the five Supremes who will get to chime in.” 

L1        “Who just don’t get it.  They do not even want to admit that the NSA exists.”

. . .

L1        “Judge Leon (Bush II) overcame the always pernicious ‘Republican Federal Judge Syndrome’ that almost always plagues Republican appointees.  Yet the judge once again displays the occupational hazard of these imperial federal judges.  His opinion is snarky, arrogant, condescending, intemperate, and sloppy.  The screed deserves a B+ for intuiting basic truth, a C- for style and an F for arrogance.”

L2        “When you are going to be courageous, you must be flawless.”

L1        “There are more than a few good women and men who are concerned that collecting the metadata is constitutional and may prevent a great catastrophe.”

L2        “But in the final analysis, there is the Constitution.” 

. . .

[See the “e-ssays” titled USA PATRIOT ACT (April 4, 2005), Less Government Regulation Series: Google (Nov. 30, 2009), Boycott Facebook? (August 2, 2010), Brave 1984 Farm: The Best Of All Possible Worlds (March 19, 2012) and Hero or Traitor? (June 10, 2013) and I Spy, You Spy, They Spy (October 28, 2013).]

[See the “e-ssays” titled Judicial Activism: Rogue Republican Judges (January 28, 2013), The Paradox Of The Republican Federal Judge: Republican Federal Judge Syndrome (September 23, 2013) and Past Time: Exercising The “New Clear Option” (November 25, 2013).]

Bumper stickers of the week:

Free Edward Snowden

Pardon Edward Snowden

Bestow a Presidential Medal of Freedom on Edward Snowden

Quash the sub poena issued to James Risen

Free the Press

In a dozen plus years and without a debate or a vote, technology has deprived us of privacy.  With little debate and many hasty votes, Congress has deprived us of privacy at every opportunity.  We as a society should create a rebuttable presumption in favor of privacy even if it appears to sacrifice security.  Our personal insecurities are actually creating greater national insecurity.