Fuckface Von Clownstick

I must admit, I didn't see that coming. Mind you, I didn't think Brexit would happen either. AND I was hoping for Scottish independence.

I recently read an analysis of inequality that made a sort of sense to me. It doesn't matter how much inequality there is. It matters how much inequality people perceive. This is why most Americans are comfortable with inequality. They see it as an inspiration or aspiration. British people are much more disdainful about wealth and so prefer to redistribute wealth.

I'm not sure I see wealth as an inspiration or aspiration, but inequality doesn't bother me.

But it does strike me that you could make the same argument about democratic inequality. There is a large section of society that feels like it doesn't matter how they vote. The same old bien-pensant shit keeps on coming out of government.

Of course, a large section of society is comfortable with the same old bien-pensant shit. They're the ones that vote. They hold earnest discussions with their peers. They tweet pious messages of virtue, solidarity and instruction.

Along came the Scottish independence referendum. An unusual opportunity to effect real change. And the Scots leapt at it. Of course, the case for independence was too optimistic. The Scots declined the opportunity.

The Brexit referendum was an appalling display of the worst of British politics. Neither side made a compelling case. The unique history of Britain means Britons are sceptical about the European project. I think Britons don't trust the EU. The ongoing accusations of racism and xenophobia are wide of the mark. Of course there are some bigots who are anti-EU. But most Britons just don't trust the opaque, rapacious EU. I don't think claims of money for the NHS swayed a single person.

But this wasn't just about the rumbling mistrust of the EU. This was a chance for British people who feel like their votes don't matter to change things. To upset the bien-pensant apple cart.

And so to the US election. I'm pretty sure there were some racists and xenophobes who voted for Trump. I'm pretty sure he's a prick. But although he's moneyed and a gobshite, he's not a politician. I think a lot of people looked at the Clinton machine and thought: that's going to be more of the same. The chattering classes who like the way things are going just assumed she'd walk it. But it turns out that enough people are sick of the same-old, same-old to change it.

Of course, Trumpism won't change anything. It won't herald a new white supremacist era. It won't lead to walls. I don't think it will lead to any significant drained swamps. I don't think he'll sit on the the Big Red Button by mistake.

I hope Trump's election will make politicians and the commentariat think. Especially about how they treat people they just dismiss now.

Suing the US government

I hope they win.

Not bashing B&D

But this was put up, and followed by more invective in the comments:

Hate probably comes into it, to an extent, but it is a blend of sentiments all mixed up together. Palin elicits feelings of dread and fear in me. Bemusement. Bewilderment. Despair. Annoyance. Bitterness. But nothing I have not carefully thought over or discussed with the wife.

To which I can only say: All the abuse leaves me none the wiser. Palin is to me, no better than any other politician, but crucially, she is no worse, no dumber, no more fatuous. She is, however, much more open and honest.

It seems to me that much of the outrage is that we don't want to confront the honest truth of what useless meatsacks our politicians are, because let's face it, it doesn't exactly reflect well on us for voting them in, does it?

Anti-Palinism

I'm consistently amazed by the visceral hatred of people all over the political spectrum for Sarah Palin. The latest diatribe to catch my eye is this hysterical offering from The Keepers of the One True Libertarianism.

I'm not going to get into a bitch fight about that post in particular, but it is symptomatic of the kind of mindless rage that seems to grip people whenever they talk about Palin. The Appalling Strangeness also has regular goes at her.

And I have to say: I really wonder why?

I frequently read that she's stupid. Compared to what? The towering intellect of Gordon Brown? The legendary insight of Nick Clegg?

And she's warlike. Compared to ... the peace loving Tony Blair? Bill Clinton, who actually started more wars than George Bush?

She has crazy ideas about economics. Hah. Please, compared to which fucker exactly?

No, as far as I can see, Palin is no dumber, no more warlike, no more anything than any other fucking politician. She's just more overt, more honest about what she is.

So ... why the hatred?

Wow.

Just ... wow.

The Ground Zero Mosque (for @sunny_hundal )

Well, I must admit, I fell for this shit. Calling it the Ground Zero Mosque just made it sound like a vulgar and insensitive* thing to do, even if it was being done on private land. But it turns out that actually, it's not actually at Ground Zero.

Which is, let's face it, kind of important. The fact that it's not a mosque, but some sort of community centre is less important, in my opinion, but still a factor.

So when the people objecting to this are saying is "it's tacky to build a mosque at Ground Zero", they're actually saying "it's tacky to build a thing of a Muslim-ish persuasion within a certain distance of Ground Zero, and by the way, we get to decide the distance that's acceptable."

So if you're a fucking Muslim within some arbitrary distance of Ground Zero, you better be prepared to travel to hang out with your mates.

Jesus. So here's me applauding Obama again and agreeing with Sunny Hundal.

I need to wash.

Update: It does appear that there is a very strong, different point of view. I am now confused again.

*Yes, I really did just say this.

Fuck me sideways with a rusty spoon

In which, really, I praise Barack Obama:

Yesterday, Barack Obama signed into law a provision blocking his country's thinkers and writers from foreign libel laws. The target is "libel tourism," by which complainants skip around the First Amendment by taking their cases to less conscientious countries. And by "less conscientious countries," I mean, erm, here.

Three cheers for Barack Obama! Unqualified praise for protecting your citizens from our awful, pernicious libel laws!

Can I have that with chips and mushy peas, please?

Oh my giddy aunt

Cunts:

The compulsory Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (Esta) is free at present, but from 9 September visitors to the US will have to pay for it.

The fee has been introduced to fund a programme which aims to promote tourism in the US and attract foreign spending.

Just how fucking stupid can you be?

It is rather strange that this fee is mainly going to promote US tourism. You would've thought keeping it cheaper to get in would help more

Quite!

"Holy fucking Jesus" ...

... was my reaction when I read this:

It's a shame to let accountants spoil the charming romance of war, but sometimes they insist. Recently the Congressional Research Service reported that our military undertakings in Iraq and Afghanistan have marked an important milestone. Together, they have cost more than a trillion dollars.

That doesn't sound like much in the age of TARP, ObamaCare, and LeBron James, but it is. Adjusted for inflation, we have spent more on Iraq and Afghanistan than on any war in our history except World War II. They have cost more in real dollars than the Korean and Vietnam wars combined.

But we can only wish we were getting off so lightly. Neither war is over, and neither is going to be soon. The House just approved $37 billion in extra funding to cover this year, and the administration wants another $159 billion for 2011. That won't be the final request.

Worse, the CRS figure is only part of the bill so far. It noted the sum doesn't include the "costs of veterans' benefits, interest on war-related debt, or assistance to allies." All of those will go on after these wars are over, which someday they may be.

Scholars Joseph Stiglitz of Columbia and Linda Bilmes of Harvard published a book in 2008 called The Three Trillion Dollar War, which gives a more realistic estimate. But that, too, is an understatement. They figure that when all long-run costs are factored in, the tab will be at least $5 trillion and could reach $7 trillion, or nearly twice as much as this year's entire federal budget.

And that was two years ago. I asked Bilmes for an update, and she said some obligations, like veterans' medical and disability compensation costs, "have exceeded our earlier projections." Do I hear $8 trillion?

Gentle Jesus on a pedal-powered three-wheeled cycle.

$8,000,000,000,000.00

That's a fucking lot of money, spent on what appear to be one pointlessly won war and one war that will never be won.

Now I know there's a school of thought that says that wars generate economic activity, but the reality of it is that ANY activity channelled through a government has a negative multiplier. A certain amount of any government budget is just wasted on shuffling income from one department to another, and doesn't find it's way back into the real economy, for example.

The "broken windows" fallacy also comes into play here, so for all the money actually spent making weapons and military kit, and paying for VA care, etc., there is an unseen pile of money that could have been spent on many other things.

And eight trillion dollars dished out directly to the citizens of the USA would probably be enough to turn the US back into a massive economic powerhouse, dwarfing China.

Eight fucking trillion dollars.

Fuck.

If the yanks will eat their spinach...

... why wouldn't we?

The news that a Rasmussen poll has Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) running in a dead heat against President Barack Obama in a hypothetical Paul-Obama face-off for the White House has the pundits fuming. Ben Smith, over at Politico, can hardly contain his annoyance: the poll "is a useful reminder of how totally flaky early polling is," he rants, and "this is the Ron Paul who polled, literally, thousands of votes placing fifth in the Iowa caucuses," and then only breaking ten percent after everyone but McCain had bailed. This evaluation depends on a static model, however: back then, there was no bank bailout, no insurance industry takeover, no tea party movement, and Ron had no real public record to run on – the 2008 campaign, in short, was a way for the country to get to know Rep. Paul, and the Rasmussen poll is a clear indication they liked what they saw. Instead of invoking Paul’s showing in the Iowa caucus, it’s more useful to compare this poll to the results of another similar Rasmussen poll taken in 2008, in which, as the pollster reported, "For Ron Paul, 10% of all voters would definitely vote for him. Fifty-nine percent (59%) say it’s No, no matter what."

Voter sentiment is now completely reversed: today, he’s in a dead heat with a sitting President. No matter how hard you try to minimize that, it’s an astonishing fact.

It's probably nothing, just a poll blip ... but, hell, if he did win, I'd be over there so fucking fast, my feet wouldn't touch the ground.

Change we can believe in

It's all so different from what it was before: the President of the USA is not spending huge amounts of taxpayer money on his cronies, he's not pissing money away on meaningless pork barrel projects, he's closed Gitmo ... yes, it's all so very different.

But now the Nobel Peace Prize winner has taken a bold step that will have Dubya smacking his forehead and asking himself: "Why didn't I think of that?"

He has publicly authorised the murder of a US citizen. This is, as far as I'm aware, an entirely unprecedented move. I'm sure the government of the US has killed annoying citizens before, but they've never openly done this.

Fortunately, it's one of those dusky, foreign looki... uh... anyway, he's a terrorist, definitely. Look, here's the proof:

He gained prominence after it emerged that he had been in frequent e-mail contact with Major Nidal Malik Hasan, the army psychiatrist who went on a shooting rampage in Fort Hood, Texas, in which 13 people died last November. After the Christmas Day airliner plot, US and Yemeni officials said that Mr al-Awlaki had met the suspected bomber, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who tried to ignite explosives sewn into his underwear.

Yes! He's sent some emails to someone and it's alleged that he's met someone else. And he's said lots of things that the POTUS doesn't like to hear. On that basis, I'm sure nobody else in America has anything that they need to worry about.

There is no way that this could be interpreted as a warning to "right-minded" citizens of the USA to calm down on their criticism of the government, lest they suddenly find themselves associated with a couple of people who have suddenly found themselves facing a show trial, nudge, nudge, narmean?

And I, of course, am not reminded in the slightest of the authoritarian New Labour project. It's becoming clear to me that Obamalamadingdong is nothing like the amoral, unprincipled, vacuous control freak, Tony Blair.

What America needs is more Hope like this! It's a Change anyone can believe in!

Tip of the clown wig to the ASI.

One rule for us...

... it's the same the world over:

For as long as the political fight took over the past year, the abbreviated review process on the health care legislation currently pending on President Obama’s desk is unquestionably going to result in some surprises — as happens with any piece of mashed-up legislation — both for the congressmen who voted for it and for the American people.

One such surprise is found on page 158 of the legislation, which appears to create a carveout for senior staff members in the leadership offices and on congressional committees, essentially exempting those senior Democrat staffers who wrote the bill from being forced to purchase health care plans in the same way as other Americans.

It's cunts all the way down, clearly.

But seriously, if this fucking "Obamacare" is all fucking that, why are the motherfuckers who wrote the bill exempting themselves from it?

And why do cunts let them get the fuck away with this shit?

Same shit, different arsehole

Click the picture to see it in full.

Would that we could be so lucky!

Lucky, lucky bastards:

If the Department Of Education doesn't show up for work, does that mean that the sad decline of our schools will cease? The decline that has accelerated ever since the founding of that department?

The Department Of Energy was founded to decrease our reliance on foreign energy sources. Despite a 28 billion dollar budget, and more than 100,000 employees, the amount of oil we import has increased since then. Do we need those guys?

Can anyone remember the last time the Department Of Housing And Urban Development was worth its salt? Why should ACORN grants be funneled through that department, when we could so easily write the checks to ACORN ourselves?

If the Department Of Agriculture were to be snowed in for a year, and we were allowed to import food from more economical sources overseas, do you think this would eliminate some poverty in the U.S. and overseas? In fact, if the Department Of Agriculture were to sink into the Potomac, would it be missed by anyone except some coddled millionaires?

What would happen if the Department Of Defense stayed home for a decade, and it was all our military could do to defend our borders? Do you think the number of attacks on America would be about like the number of attacks on, say, Switzerland?

Does anyone suffer when Secretary Of State Clinton can't get out of her driveway because of the snow?

Think of the pounds of regulatory mess that The Department Of Commerce will NOT write today.

Imagine that you just won the mega-lottery, and you wanted to give most of the money to effective charitable organizations that efficiently deliver aid, medicine, and comfort to low income people in the U.S. How many organizations would you consider before you voluntarily wrote a check to The Department Of Health And Human Services?

Look at what The Department Of Organized Labor has done for Michigan. Stay home, folks. We'll call you when we need you.

Think of what the Treasury Department has done for Wall Street, banks, AIG, Goldman-Sachs, and their buddies at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for the past year. Treasury will not be able to cover gambling losses with your money today.

A big thank-you should go to the Department Of Transportation for not getting the roads cleared.

Gordon HAS been showing the way!

Where Gordo leads, Obama follows!

Outsourcing could actually help America!

Teh funneh!

Booyakasha!

I'm fucking knackered, but there's no way I'm not going to register my delight that the fat cunt Teddy "Chappaquiddick" Kennedy's seat has fallen to the Republicans.

I love guns

Tip of the old clown wig to Dizzy.

If this had been Bush ...

... you just know that it would be highlighted and mercilessly lampooned by everyone. How come this cunt gets a free pass? Iz it becoz he iz blak?



Tip of the clown wig to the Whited Sepulchre.