Holiday Cheer

"I find you to be an insufferable crank, your curdled political ramblings infuriating as much for their pointlessness as their solipsistic denial of reality."

Try saying that fast three times.

This is a taste of some of the fan mail I've received since Obama's ascension, and I expect more of the same as we approach that magic date, 1/20/09, the day of liberal deliverance, where Republican duplicity evaporates to reveal a "new dawn," as Obama himself recently put it. New Dawn. Year Zero. Shake the Etch-A-Sketch and start again -- or in Obama's case, apply electrodes to the Clintonite beast and zap it back to life. After watching him trot out his team, it appears that Obama's "new dawn" will emit a familiar old stench.

Some of you who find it painful to read me (yet, not only do you return, you seem to know a lot about my work, going back a year or more) have been blowing me shit about criticizing Obama before he's taken the oath. "What ever happened to the presidential honeymoon?" is a common question. Well, honeymoons are usually filled with consensual fucking, and since I didn't vote for Obama, I don't see why I should voluntarily spread on his behalf. If you want to be fucked by Obama, offer yourself freely, though the line appears a few thousand miles long, so you may want to bring along one of his audio books to keep you stimulated while you wait.

I never hear that it's too early to praise Obama, and there's certainly no shortage of hosannas. Every political carny and wannabe player is flexing and spinning to serve the new imperial manager. Nothing "new" there.

On it rolls. I suppose an upside to this is that I fully expected Obama to go this route, or something very similar, so the word "betrayal" means nothing to me. That I'll have to help pay for his decisions, murder chief among them, diminishes whatever solace I can take in not being surprised.

Do keep those emails coming. I never tire of watching people tie themselves into fantasy knots.

Why was there so much head-scratching over the deadly Wal-Mart stampede? Powerless, atomized people can and often do treat each other horribly, especially if consumer toys are marked down and waved in their faces. Trampling another poor person in order to grab a plasma screen isn't terribly shocking, given how many value property over fellow humans. It's merely a reflection of the larger system, only more honest and direct. Death by sweatshop and death by consumer crush are woven from the same bloody cloth, serving and enriching many of the same people. The only real concern is whether any of it hurts sales. Still, the special edition DVD of "The Incredible Hulk" for nine bucks ain't bad.