Friday Not-so-Funnies: Sudan, again

A day late, a dollar and thousands of bodies short. The International Criminal Court will seek to charge President Omar Hassan al-Bashir of Sudan with genocide and crimes against humanity. It's the first time the court's gone after a sitting head of state. Check out the story here. Karl Rove, supposedly in retirement yet somehow still covered by executive privilege, is ringing Dubya now saying "Ya know, this might not be such a great precedent for you..."

No need to rehash what this guy did in Darfur, or the regime's rapine war in southern Sudan. It is yet another item Islam refuses to discuss. The key here is that I have no doubt our pals the Chinese will somehow rescue him or indirectly pressure the ICC. No doubt.

Thoughts?

Let the Dog Waggin' begin...

Gas prices will mysteriously drop. Threats and great feats of patriotism to vanquish them will arise. Hey, why have an "October Surprise" when you can do it in the summer? As context, check out Dreyfus's blog piece in The Nation. I don't think we'll got to war with Iran, either. Bigger fish to fry out there, like fixing broke shit at home. Ultimately, we have to parse the rightwing paradox which refutes the GOP and Bush notion that "the terrorists [and who the hell are they?] want Obama to win. In order for Taliban, al Qaida, dickheads in Pakistan, mullahs in Iran, Hammas, Hezbollah, the Republican Party, Fox News, Glenn Beck, about 90% of the bloggers on Pajamas Media to have any purpose at all or reason to exist, there must be a counterveiling threat (real or invented, perceived or concrete). Ergo, the "terrorists" would want McCain, or another Bush/Cheney. Moderate Arabs, regular street folk in Islam love Barack precisely because he's not out here rattling sabers or dragging his knuckles or waving cross. Indeed, look at the contrapostive: China or Russia, India likes it when we are distracted and bankrupting ourselves and outsourcing. Israel--Lord, don't get started. The EU (yes, even Merkel and Sarko-tool), while bemoaning our cowboy and robber barron economy and sick disregard for the welfare of common citizens and consumers, loves to have Dubya as cartoonish foil. And what about North Korea? Hmm...

So here's my one little snipe at Dreyfus, and perhaps a novel extension of the Wag the Dog theory. Iran's doing this on purpose to provoke, all right--because they do want to influence our election. But not for the candidate Fox News would have to think...

Friday Funnies

Sorry for the late tip. I'm still chuckling over these. No Youtube clip this time. Listen here:
The usual wingnut Republicans in Congress and in bloggerrhea came out big time against a bill guaranteeing 4 weeks paid pregnancy leave for women and spouses. They said it was BIG GOVERNMENT and "government knows best." OK.
But then they laud the legislation immunizing the telecom companies from privacy suits when that same government wants to spy on your calls and emails. OK.
Barack wants to put this country back on track with massive fiscal policy moves--Keynesian stuff even Richard Nixon would have agreed with. Screw this monkeying around at the Fed. Repairing our f'd up infrastructures--taxing the very m-fs would have taken so much and tried to dupe the NASCAR dads into saying it's all for welfare mothers...Katrina cheats...TAX AND SPEND. OK.
Yet what they do: BORROW AND SPEND? Take cheap money from the Chinese, cheap goods from them, to run our economy? Mortgage our children's heritage to foreigners?
Oh, and they want to drill offshore when the oil companies have been sitting on thousands of permits already, and of course just cut sweetheart deals with the mob that runs what they call Iraq these says (and of course this war has not even come remotely close to Dubya's promise that it would pay for itself). This "market" is an artifice. Plainly. Yet oh no, don't let BIG GOVERNMENT get involved, don't let it police the domestic speculators! But hey, let us drill, and that will lower prices and solve our problems--always and forever. OK.
And the beat goes on. Kinda old school. Old. Like when Southerners before the civil war talked about how Northern States had to yield to BIG GOVERNMENT and not protect runaway slaves. Yet after the war...oh, it's states rights. Leave us be.
Wanna here more? I'll crack you up. Got a few about the pharmaceutical industry, privatizing Social Security (and maybe having Bear Stearns and Merrill Lynch run it, right?) etc...

If you're a regular, normal American, you'll get the punchlines.

A Forgotten Campaign Issue

That's Ed Burns, Dave Simon and bestselling mystery author (and neighbor of Me & Mrs Nat's) George P. Pelecanos . They write-produce-direct HBO's The Wire. Probably the best show on TV, ever. And not many people watched because it was too "real." Uh huh. When you poll members in focus groups--especially in places like Concord NC or Davenport, Iowa--that's the response you get, interestingly. Not that it's "alien" or "too black/ethnic" or "too East Coast" or "bleak" or "obscene." Nah. Too real. America in the Dubya Years--thanks.

Not too long ago in Time, Ed (a former tough street cop turned public school teacher turned Hollywood producer), David (a former Baltimore Sun reporter and editor who quit when the stories lost depth and were replaced with fluff by vapid, cost-cutting owners, now a MAJOR Hollywood producer) and George (one of the best "hard boiled" detective writers of all time and chronicler of the "other" D.C. beyond the monuments and K Street and embassy parties) presented their view of this so-called War on Drugs. They were joined by bestselling authors Richard Price (Lush Life, Clockers) and Dennis Lehane (Mystic River). My one regret--and trust me this IS a BIG issue--was that the new-school marquis African American authors were too busy writing about oral sex with the pastor, or strippers marrying a reformed pimp, thugs who must come to terms with their thuggery, to be a part of this in a meaningful way. Indeed, we produce "House of Payne" and "Norbit;" they do "The Wire." Something ain't right, and that's our cross to tote in this matter.

But I digress.This silly, draining war actually rivals the War on Terror in its destructiveness, collateral damage, horror, toll on governments, the cops, communities. Americans. No candidate is talking about it. Everyone wants to be "tough on crime." Hell, even recently a Bush Admin. official shilled on herself on NPR, declaraing "Yes, demand for drugs is one important element in this problem." Huh? Hey White Lady: it is THE element. The only element, really. Why do people get high? Ask Rush Limbaugh. Because they're weak? Stupid? Oh, no...

Here I link one modest proposal from the Time piece. Your thoughts? Rail if you will. OK, but how's the current course working for ya? And if if you're white and insulated from gas prices etc. I'd still ask the question. Poison is eveywhere, and I mean the effects of the drugs, the policies--not the drugs themselves.

Friday not-so-funny

Full disclosure: often I'll watch the wingnut/gun nut shows on the Military Channel, History Channel and the like (hell even the bass fishing and duck hunting stuff). And Barack is right, sorry to say: it is a distraction and a tonic for white boys who cannot bring themselves--lest they destroy the social contract--to blame OTHER WHITE PEOPLE for so many ills...and it's amusing. Case in point, check this out. Straight from the 1980s GI Joe versus Cobra crap. Of course, it's enough to make any Sean Hannity fan cream in his draws, but come on. Nevermind the fact that Chinese likely already have the plans (sold by one of our defense contractors). The more traditional Bush-Cheney like adversaries like random Jihadis on a rooftop in Pakistan, or throwback Taliban in the hills or Syrian guard atop a guardtower or FARC guerillas high on cocaine in the bush are going to see this coming and say What the F***k?! And then blow this dude out of the air. Pentagon as themepark. Why not?
We can't provide decent health coverage for folks. Affordable housing. Clean and renewable energy...but this is what gets us hard...this is proper use of tax dollars? Hell even the Blackwater folks would blush. Then again, I heard our 11 year old prez, Dubya, refers to the president of Iran as "Destro." Yo Joe!!!