The Road to Truth 2012

This US election is so far more steeped in desperate lies than I can recall in 20 years of my following such things.

But don't run away with the notion that I'm referring to misstated facts or selective filleting and twisting of certain stats because it's even more disingenuous that that; stuff is simply being made up. 

The republicans gave the Dems a gift in 2008 with Palin and they really just had to sit back and watch the car crash but this year, without a "silly" VP on the ticket and a Presidential candidate that can't be targeted too much on personal issues (although the tax return thing has got to be hurting Mitt), the GOP still feels the need to play really dirty.

They continue to play on the "removal of the work requirement from Welfare" (lies), the $700bn removed from Medicare to "pay for Obamacare" (lies), the "you didn't built your business" (Obama simply did not say that), the death panels (lies), the birther bullshit, the abortion voting history of Obama (he did not vote to not protect savable foetuses) and much more.

The weight of utter lies set out here is much heavier on the GOP side than the Dem side and it tells you all you need to know about them.

Also, Ryan just lied about a car factory (closed under Bush) where he blamed Obama for not having it remain open.

The GOP fall over themselves to say how counterproductive any non-military element of Government is to "economic growth" but they take pork and subsidies willingly (Bridge to nowhere is one of countless examples of such hypocrisy).

Romney, just like McCain, will say just about anything to get the GOP behind him or get him elected - even if it directly contradicts his past political expressions and actions (e.g. healthcare). Maybe more to come from me as the election progresses.

Obamalamadingdong

[Sources used are TV and radio so no links, I’m afraid]

We’re getting ever closer to history truly being made when Barack Hussein Obama takes the reigns as president of the United States – my that’s a fine set of words, innit!

However, as many suspected, a nation has decided to both get moving with a plan that only the outgoing Bush would tolerate and test Obama on the international front before he even has his feet under the table. The tactical master and bull in a china shop that is Israel is beating the hell out of Gaza because some rockets have nearly killed people. Somehow they think that killing hundreds of Palestinian civilians is proportional to the miniscule number they have suffered in comparison.

As many an objective observer has said, you can’t justify it by saying that Hamas are hiding in heavily populated areas because Gaza is one big heavily populated area! There are no serene tracts of rural idyll in which Hamas might seek sanctuary and all that nonsense – this isn’t Afghanistan.

Also, as many a sage neutral has observed, everyone knows that this will be resolved somehow via talking so why delay the inevitable? It would stretch the realms of sanity if Israel seriously thought they could just extend their actions long enough to wipe out Hamas and permanently stop missiles from flying out of there. And now we see, as tiresomely predictable as ever, the Lebanese militants joining in.

So here we are, with Obama swamped in a country drowning in debt and recession whilst the main region it’s supposed to have any clout in – in a direct, getting their hands dirty, level – is starting, once again, to slide into conflict. If the right things aren’t done, the whole region could be sucked into it. But I can only hope that those in the thick of it understand the risks and will make the necessary detours to avoid Armageddon.

He will be (ably?) assisted by his VP in this matter, of course. If Biden is clueless on this then you’d have to assume everyone else would be given his huge experience in such delicate matters. I’m afraid I’m just not well informed enough to just his past record in detail but from a distance you have to be grateful Obama picked him for VP at this tense time.

Obama’s $800bn package to invest in the long-term future of the US is broadly sensible. The infrastructure, both steel and concrete and electronic, has been neglected for an embarrassingly long time. This investment is simply so they can catch up with the Koreas, Frances and Germanys of this world. Universal access to broadband has got to be a minimum goal for every country for whom it can be within reach.

I think, too, that the contrast between the sublime impression of Obama embarking on a brand new presidency set for a more sensible course and our little Gordon Brown already losing steam barely 18 months into the job is starting to tangibly hurt him. Brown just has the air of a dour accountant who gives me the feeling that he’s just a little over confident of his abilities. Exceptionally clever though he is, running a nation – and more importantly a democratic nation with diverse views – is just not his bag. Chancellor I could buy but I never sensed he was really cut out to the be the PM.

But I don’t want Cameron’s Tories in either! Oh Blow!

McCain nailed on Healthcare

CNN Political Ticker: All politics, all the time Blog Archive - Fact Check: Are business groups critical of McCain’s health plan? « - Blogs from CNN.com

Well, this really looks like something Obama could capitalise on next debate. And when McCains appalling healthcare idea really becomes understood by voters, who the hell would wanna vote him in?

Fuller thoughts on Presidential and UK politics

I'll deal with the US first:

On analysing the polling patterns, it's looking more and more sewn up for Obama and the debates are going his way. The residual tactics of the GOP seem nasty, desperate and are old hat - I really think the public are sick of dumbed down discourse.

 

The VP debate had Palin looking like a cocky local station news anchor, winking in the "see you tomorrow at the same time" way and faking her folksiness to painful effect. I suspected she'd try this hideous flannelling tactic she used so effectively in local politics to this national forum and it failed as badly as I thought it would.

 

Sure, pundits can pundit on about "holding her own" and "beating expectations" but the US public are clearly horrified by this useless, misguided VP pick. She made statements such as "we need more oversight and regulation" but then next minute talk about government "getting out of the way" and so on. She seemed oblivious to the contradiction - but I don't think the US public is.

 

McCain has judged this whole campaign quite appallingly and certain key plays have gone very wrong - not least the "suspension" of the campaign. Palin sucks at least as hard as Quayle but McCain is nowhere near as strong as Bush Snr was. You combine that with the context in which the republican president is currently less popular than scabies and he's got a (surely) unassailable uphill battle.

 

Meanwhile, in the UK, Gordon Brown survived conference season and has just completed a reshuffle. Absurdly, for someone trying to show strength and new ideas he's brought PETER MANDLESON back into the cabinet. You read that upper case right. Frigging Mandleson - who is having a kidney stone removed, incidentally. Staggering is probably the best word.

 

So the Tories are resurgent if you believe the media, though I can't truly believe that there's any real swell of warm feelings towards them so much as they've had time to thin out previous Major/Thatcher staff and the bad memories aren't as severe.

 

It's a shame because Brown could have done really well - especially if he'd followed through on the "listening" promises he banged on about when he took over (remember those speeches?). Now, the country seems destined to be at the mercy of the most "expediency"-driven Tory party in history with some proper right-wingers in the mix that have not yet garnered attention.

 

The economy is tanking and I can't help but blame Labour and the US administration (corrupt beyond belief and prostrate at the altar of all powerful corporations) for the whole thing. Many were warning of this for about 5 years but nowt was done. Which is usually the way and, although i don't see armageddon hoving in to view, I do think it's going to be a very very rough ride for a good couple of years. But I'd rather be going through this in the UK than the (almost) safety-net free US. I really fear for the millions who are going to suffer hideously due to this exhibition of how dark, amoral and dangerous unfettered capitalism really is. I've always believed the system was this bad but it seems to be a revelation to many right-wingers over there.

Post Convention-ness

Two epic American conventions and by god they were as American as they've ever been! Yes, we had the usual theatrical gimmicks, lack of any political debate of any kind, talking points co-ordinated, wheeled out and used as if video tape didn't exist before September 2008. And such tree melting disingenuousness and cynicism the moon turned green instead of its usual brain grey.

Can we please pause for a moment to applaud the McCain VP pick. Not because it was a good pick or because it is in any way clever or was even presented well but because of the 1000-watt-torch-in-your face blatant cynicism which it demonstrated. I mean, a cursory watch of the average Daily Show will show you ever deepening examples of McCain's power-hungry pandering in stark contrast to previous remarks but this Palin move is the most staggering yet.

He's hardly met the woman, she's hardly held office in anger, she's helped her constituencies pork out like bandits and she holds more core policies in opposition to him than I do! And she has similar genitalia to a certain failed Democrat Presidential candidate. Forgot about that...nearly.

This is a metaphoric wave of McCain's bare arse to American women and in particular Clinton supporters who should see it as worthy of pure contempt. It is also a work of pure evil genius in countless ways not least of which is the delight I have had in watching the GOP contort itself into strangulating positions in order not to weep into their hands on Meet the Press.

McCain: "Boo, hiss to lobbyists!"

Fact: McCain's senior campaign staff are leading lobbyists.

McCain: "Obama is just not experienced enough to be President!"

Fact: McCain has selected a VP who's sole significant political office is governor of the least populous state in the US for under 2 years and who is younger than Obama.

McCain: "I'm an agent for change."

Fact: McCain has voted with his party almost the whole time in recent history.

You could go on for pages...

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I must confess I didn't watch the Obama speech or much of the Dems. I just kinda thought it'd go well no matter what and it seems everything basically went swimmingly. It's good to see that Obama is calling the GOP out when it really starts taking the piss with the reality-reversing "spin". He'll not call it lies but he'll use pretty much every term in the English language it equates to.

Amazingly, Gordon Brown has come out in favour of Obama. I don't know whether that's a good or bad sign...

The rest of the world favours Obama too but then they also favoured Kerry so it simply don't mean much. I'm really gonna just watch it all play out.

The Daily Show has been truly on the ball throughout the last two weeks. I watched the DVD of the 2004 election season a while back and it was not a patch on this year. This week they have effortlessly slain every single "selling point" of the GOP McCain/Palin/Guiliani/Thompson et al have put forward by laying out as clear as day their 180 degree about faces on subjects and O'Reilly being only one of the guilty many.

I'm tired now but some immediate reaction is now up. :-)

America...can't decide 2008

Well we're finally tiptoeing through the Election Season proper of the US 2008 presidential election and it's starting out rather farcically, if you ask me.
 
Four different winners, none of which were predicted in December and some which weren't even predicted 12 hours before the primary itself!
 
Well, I have to say as politicians go, I do feel there is a fair range of talent out there, so I can imagine this could be a strong factor in making both GOP and Dem races so open. But most of the Republicans are either unpalatably right-wing or religious (e.g. Huckaby and Romney) or unpleasant buffoons (e.g. McCain, Romney and Giuliani). McCain is bland and too hawkish, although well versed in Washington cross-party dealing, and the others smell of fakeness, power hunger, or plain wrongness (anti-evolution Huckaby).
 
The Dems have a Robert Kennedy, a schoolteacher with teeth and a little southern man with nice words.
 
Obviously, all breath should be held until Super Duper Tuesday (only in America!) where the real shakedown will start. Literally no one can confidently call it for either party so it just boils down to who you want to win yourself.
 
Me, if Obama really is a force powerful enough to even get into the whitehouse, then he will be a good president. Just getting the whitehouse for him will be such a massive achievement that the talent, energy and policies he would have to have put forward will have to have been so good as to mean he would have to perform well. So I think in this sense, the process will find him out, will flush out whether he really has got what it takes. So if he wins the election then I'll be happy because of this rationale.
 
If he wins the nomination but not the presidency, I will have rather Hillary had won the nomination. I hope this makes sense!
 
To break it down beyond the nomination, I would like to see Edwards as VP nom, whoever wins. Imagine a black president and woman VP or vice versa, crikey, the US (middle class) wouldn't recognise itself!
 
On the GOP side, the least worst is unquestionably McCain. Giuliani is incompetent, Romney is sleaze personified, Huckaby is unacceptable, Paul is a libertarian mentalist (no income tax, my arse) and I can't even remember the other fella.
 
Meanwhile, I'm hungry and have to go. :-)

Rhys Jones

OK, so we've got some more hype over a killing. Now it is a very sad death and no one can possibly argue otherwise but the hype is incredible.

I have to say though that in many ways I go along with it because it serves a purpose. It serves to show the whole city united in horror and disgust at the murder and to possibly shame some key youths into squealing. It appears to be working and I expect it to die down now.

The whole problem with youth violence and other lower level crime is that the media have to report significant incidents but it is not reflective of the situation. What I mean is that it can't be denied that plenty of crime is committed by youths but it simply isn't anarchy UK either. Crime is falling but crime is still "bad" and should be combated and this tension beign mishandled by the media makes for a distortion of the wider truth.

Nasty crimes and accidents always come about in the school holidays but the obvious signs that adolescents can get their hands on guns is a worrying development. I'm sure the police are working on getting to grips with this supply but in a more intelligence driven method, not so much in the public glare. Too much hype will make getting guns trendy, the next must have after some make of trainer or other. They should try to calm fears and suggest only scumbags use guns. Make it unglamorous.

Gonzales has buggered off at last. But, as with Rove, the timing seems a little too convenient and will only serve to reduce the damage further Senate probing can cause. The impeachment of Bush is long overdue and he has been protected solely because the US is in two wars it can't get out of. If this were a peace-time president and all the non-Iraq scandals had happened, he'd have been out on his ear within 4 years. But Iraq did happen and that is the biggest of all reasons for an impeachment, ironically. If Iraq had been over by now, again impeachment would be more than just a dream.

I saw Barack Obama on the Daily show recently and the difference between him and Bush is like the difference between Cartman and Stephen Fry. America needs someone like him to bring some semblance of sanity and real humanity to the White House. I think Americans are sick to the back teeth with dogma and rhetoric and want someone who will shake sense into the Beltway and the Executive.

He seems to be essentially a more bearable Clinton with all the charisma of a Kennedy but less of the ultra-elite-wanting-to-run-the-show about him. All other candidates in the far-too-long campaign are either far too hot, blunt and thuggish or so cold and/or calculated they make Thatcher seem homely. We appear to have a wily but ultimately passable prime minister in office here and if we can just get Obama in power over there we would have a fairly decent pairing on our hands. I just think that having Obama as president would be too good to be true and therefore, something will stop it. It will either be more GOP corruption messing with the election or something else.

The GOP candidates range from the annoying - Guiliani - to the most cynical politician on this side of the universe - Romney. Not one of them have learnt from Bush's utterly miserable presidency. Not one. In fact, several of the front-runners seem to think that acting like Bush on steroids is the way to go! What are they on??!