Saturday, January 31, 2009

Republicans Hate Sex

And they hate you all for getting more action than they ever will. Pretty much sums it all up, dontcha think?

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Ironic

When you think about it, President Obama's Inaugural speech - and I will never grow tired of hearing the words "President Obama" - was almost classically Conservative. It was a call to tradition, history, and the values of the past. He also preached responsibility, sacrifice, and adherence to the rule of law.

Barack Obama marks the generational paradigm shift in American politics. This happens every 40 years or so, and it establishes the vocabulary and the rules for how our politics operate. Since 1968, we've been living in Nixonland. For the 40 years before that, it was FDR and the New Deal. Now it will be Obama and...what, exactly? Ah, that's part of the mystery. The poles are being reshuffled. Concepts that were once defined as "Conservative" - tradition, caution, prudence - will be redefined to Obama's realm.

Today's conservatism - the GOP right - is hopelessly lost. They've burned away their candles at both ends, and all that's left is cruelty, paranoia, fear and loathing. They're a support group for cranks, conspiracy theorists, and Oxycontin junkies. Their kind will not return. Their time is past.

The Madness of King George

I think one of the enduring mysteries of this past decade is why exactly Conservative Republicans lost their minds. Somewhere along the way, between Reagan/Bush, Clinton, and Bush II (forgive me, I keep wanting to type 'Stupid'), these people went completely, laughably insane. And as the Bush/Cheney presidency collapsed, so did the conservative ideology.

What's left now more closely resembles the rantings of frustrated teenage nerds than sober adults. This can't possibly be the face of the GOP. Right? These are emotionally troubled children with unresolved Daddy issues. This is not a viable political party. And I think it may take a couple more election cycles before this situation changes.

Why any Republican worth their salt would continue to cling to George W. Bush in 2009 is just bizarre. We're talking "Vanilla Ice has a new CD" bizarre.

Words Fail

The Inauguration was a wonderful moment, transcendent, historic. I wish I had the words to describe it or provide context, but words fail. We see history being written before our eyes, and for the first time in many years, I have hope for the future again.

President Barack Obama. Isn't that just amazing? It's almost as surreal as President Miles Davis.

Change We Can Believe In

Excellent first steps towards repairing America's reputation. Of all the crimes of the Bush era, the torture regime was the most apalling. That will be the stain that Bush and Cheney are remembered for, and it will take us years, decades possibly, before our global image is restored.

I remain skeptical that there will ever be formal investigations and prosecutions for torture, rendition, Guantanamo, CIA "black sites," etc. But Obama's first moves as President give me a glimmer of hope. These criminals must be brought to justice.

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Now it's Crystler's Turn

That didn't take too long. Surprise, surprise.

The Party of Personal Responsibility

Somewhere along the way, the Republican Party became the domain of whiny crybabies. Nothing is ever their fault. Whaah! Whaah!

Deep Thought

Three days until we have President Obama!! Yaaay!

As Leonard Cohen once promised, democracy is coming to the USA.

Two New Turntables!

Today I find myself the proud owner of two new turntables: the frightfully impressive Sony PS-X5, and the spectacular Sony PS-X75. The first one arrived on Thursday, and I've been having enormous fun playing with it. The second arrived on Friday, but I wasn't able to get at until this afternoon. A fella has to catch up on sleep sometime.

I'll post pictures later today if I can. For now, I'll be switching my Denon DL-160 MC cart between the two. I picked up a Sumiko headshell from Needle Doctor, and it is absolutely spectacular. It's a real joy to be able to switch headshells on these classic turntables.

Considering my January turntable budget was $1,000, I came away with a spectacular hunt. The PS-X75 cost just under $300, and the PS-X5 cost a mere $100. Each table today would easily sell for a couple thousand. The moral of the story, kids? GO VINTAGE.

My humble Pro-Ject Debut III will now sit in a closet somewhere, until I can find it a new home. I may just put an Ortofon 2M Red cart on it and give it to my sisters. We'll see what happens.

Monday, January 05, 2009

Deep Thought

Remember back when Ralph Nader said there wasn't a dime's worth of difference between the Democratic and Republican Parties? What a kooky guy.

Waylon Smithers Offers Tax Cuts?!

Are you freakin' kidding me? Tell me this isn't some sick joke, that this is really some sort of master head-fake on Obama's part.

The problem with American politics is that one party fights a full-court press, regardless of their popularity or the election returns. And the other party endlessly frets about accomodating them. Back in the '90s, we thought of our two-party system as Kang and Kodos. We were wrong. It's really C. Montgomery Burns and Waylon Smithers.

If the Dems can't show any damn spine, even now when a generational opportunity presents itself, we're screwed. It's gonna be a long four years.

Friday, January 02, 2009

Your 2009 Republican Party

Release the hounds, Smithers!

Amazing, really, that such monsters are ever successful in American politics. That the GOP has been in dominance since Richard Nixon, I fear, says something about the character of the American people.