Author: corwin

Site administrative account, so probably Corwin, Felix or DD-B.

Rant: Obama, Reverend Warren, and my friends list

Apparently a number of my friends are hurt, puzzled, angered, offended, or some combination because known gay-bashing Reverend Richard Warren was asked by Obama to give the inuagural invocation.

I don’t know whether to be hurt, puzzled, angered, offended, or some combination by how they’re reacting.

Some of Obama’s appointments include: Ken Salazar for Secretary of the Interior.  He’s a supporter of the Iraq War.  He is a supporter of offshore oil drilling.  He backed continued tax breaks for Exxon-Mobile.  He is generally considered to the right of every Democrat except Lieberman.

Tom Vilsack is Secretary of Agriculture.  His credentials include backing everything that helps major agribusiness corporations at the expense of individual farmers–in particular, favoring ethanol subsidies for major corporations, which has the added bonus of driving up food prices.

The Secretary of Education is Arne Duncan, a proponent of the hated “No Child Left Behind” act, and a booster of privatizing schools, breaking teachers unions, and shutting down “underperforming” schools in low-income areas.

For Defense Secretary we have Robert Gates, the first Pentagon chief in US history to be retained in office when a new party took the White House.  The person leading the charge against personal freedom on behalf of the most hated president in recent history is being retained in office so he can–change, and become someone different?  I doubt it.  A supporter of the Surge, of continuing the Iraq war, and someone who has repeatedly refused to commit to withdrawing troops.  The national security team has been praised by Dick Chaney.  What does that tell us?

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who voted for the Iraq War and against gay marriage.

And then there are his financial appointments: a Who’s Who of Goldman-Sachs.

So then: Obama’s agenda, judging from his appointments, seems to be: Continue the attacks on education, drive food prices up while destroying the small farmer, continue the war, continue the attacks on our personal freedom, and continue raping the environment so long as it is in the interest of Wall Street.

And now, NOW, you are upset because a gay-basher is saying a prayer at the inauguration?

Look: if you want to include that in the long list of either What We Can Expect From Obama, or How Obama Betrayed Me, then fine.  But to single out that one item, it feels like I’m being told, “I don’t mind if you take away my freedom, continue invading and torturing around the world, destroy the lives of individuals and the environment so the rich can stay rich, but don’t you DARE mess with the right of affectional preference!”

Someone has priorities screwed up and I don’t think it’s me.

My latest chartbuster

The world that we call Mother

One morning at a requirements meet as the coffee break was ending
I got an IM from my buddy Jim and he said I’m not attending.
I’m tired of jobs that are pointless and dull where one’s just like another.
I’m headed for the tangle called Bermuda Triangle toward the world that we call Mother.

In the world that we call Mother there’s a land where the coast goes round.
Tasty contraceptive plants are growing in the ground.
Where the humans are all friendly, and the aliens rarely bite.
Where you can be kissed by an intimiste
And watch the sky while you’re good and high
In the world that we call Mother.

Oh the Gurge and the Gale no courtroom or jail
And you do just what you’d druther.
The drugs are free and the sex is kinky
In the world that we call Mother.

In the world that we call Mother LSD is mixed in vats.
There’s decent public transport, and there are no talking cats.
The internet’s a snap to use and pages load so fast.
I’m bound to where people like to share
Hemp abounds, there’s universal health care.
In the world that we call Mother.

Oh the Gurge and the Gale no courtroom or jail
And you do just what you’d druther.
The drugs are free and the sex is kinky
In the world that we call Mother.

In the world that we call Mother good sex is easy to find.
The nearest thing they have to cops always say, “If you don’t mind.”
The jobs are fun and easy and you pick the one you want.
They have lots of cheese and no STDs
You can park where you like without any fees
In the world that we call Mother.

Oh the Gurge and the Gale no courtroom or jail
And you do just what you’d druther.
The drugs are free and the sex is kinky
In the world that we call Mother.

On the bailout of the US auto makers

Damn, they sure do sound noble, don’t they? “We can’t bail out the auto makers unless they gave us a plan.” Lovely. “They shouldn’t ask the tax payers to pay for their mistakes.” Uh huh. “Look at those executives flying to meet with us in private jets.” Ducky.

Am I missing something? Didn’t they just give a bunch of Wall Street tycoons a trillion bucks? With no plan for how they were to spend it? With no oversight over what happens to it? With nothing to discourage the bankers who caused the problems from keeping–or even raising–their own saleries, with this money coming from taxpayers?

So, what’s the difference (aside from the obvious: Wall Street got a whole lot more than the auto companies are asking for).

OHHHH! I get it. It’s CODE! They’re telling the automakers, and especially the UAW: Get back everything from those damned workers that might give them the illusion they can have a reasonable living standard. They have the nerve to be earning a living wage! Some of them have a form of health care (poor, if you examine it, but still something). And, you know, there are even a few of them whose homes still aren’t in foreclosure, in spite of the best efforts of Wall Street and their own union.

So, yeah, everything Wall Street wants, but if big auto wants help, it damned well better shove those auto workers back down to the level they were at before they were unionized!

I feel all warm and fuzzy about President-elect Obama. Yeah. Right.

Steve