CHRISOLITICS

Debate halls are the new gladiatorial arena

Thu, 04 Oct 2012 14:32:30 -0400

Are we shocked that debate victories are always handed to the person who steps into debate halls as if it’s a gladiatorial arena? No.

Are we sickened by the display? Of course we are! But moreover, we also aren’t. The trainwreck of watching one “calmly” irate candidate go for blows while the other takes it all with a smile is beautiful misery to us mere commoners.

Because let’s say it, politics is personal. To us politicos, the ones on the sidelines taking shots every time ” job growth” is mentioned- not so much- but to most people, politics is a button-pusher. And rightfully so. We all have our buzz issue. The thing we feel everyone should care about. And when the antithesis of our beliefs are espoused by others- wow.

This happened last night and of course it made liberals wrongfully angry with their “Jimmy Carter” candidate & it made conservatives wrongfully arrogant of their anti-populist candidate.

Tell me, how many times did Gov. Romney watch the movie “300” before entering the proverbial ring? how much gogo juice was consumed?

We should all give Mitt a hand though, for doing his best Maximus Deridius impression without actually jumping over his podium and taking Lehrer out in order to “say one thing”.

The spin is this. Mitt Romney wins! Because Mitt Romney was loud, and interrupted the moderator. He was abrasive and spoke out of turn which reads as passionate. He was rude to the president, you know- everything that the Republicans had been wanting him to be, UNpresidential. And way to look it, Romney!

Mitt Romney didn’t need solid facts because Mitt Romney gets to speak louder. Mitt Romney doesn’t have to defend his statements about half of Americans in this country because presidents are not allowed the luxury of those “petty” arguments. And are they ever? Why are we so confused by Obama’s performance?

Are we not entertained?

Media is a beautiful and scary thing. The notion of “liberal” media? Even more genius!

Let’s be honest though- would we have granted the President the audacity to stomp Mitt Romney down without hearing about Obama using some entitled respect as a tyrannical gavel to stop opposing thought?

Do we think that we could hear about Barack “Hussein” Obama coming out into a political debate fists swinging without hearing about how the “populous” doesn’t view his “aggressive” behavior as presidential? When has America taken pride in an “aggressive” black man?

The mere idea that the president is somehow going to storm the hall and argue about the direction of the country is laughable. And what? Project the image of insecurity by overly (and aggressively) defending his own policies? Project the idea that he doesn’t know what he is doing? That he is NOT in control?

Debates are boxing beauty pageants. Who can eat the most punches without looking the most bloodied up?

Unfortunately, most politicos knew how this debate would spin… because there was only one way it could. but we sit silent. Thinking america knows this too. But you don’t, do you?

Now there is only one other way to watch the events unfold for us- for Mitt Romney to continue seizing at the mouth every chance he gets on stage and for us to realize that the behavior is a front of desperation. A least plea if you will.

I think we have every expectation that the president will get stronger as each debate continues because he should’ve been strong to begin with but let’s say what we all know to be true- Barack Obama cannot now nor has he ever afforded the luxury of going full gladiator.

And why? Because society has made this glass of steel president who lives in a box of unreasonable expectations.

So lest we forget next time our POTUS takes a beating with a look of empty exasperation … this is our doing. Pat yourself on the back.

It’s really shocking that Mitt Romney’s campaign...

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:23:00 -0500

It’s really shocking that Mitt Romney’s campaign team has had such a hard time making the “down-to-earth Mitt” message stick… really, really, shocking.

As for the people’s vote- well, Mitt Romney has a different definition of “people” altogether so he isn’t really all that worried. And the “people” that fall under his definition, well, they aren’t too worried either.

But let’s be honest, Mitt’s a down-to-earth, run-of-the-mill, average Joe. I mean, what group of pals doesn’t have a picture of themselves eating/surrounded by money?

See, it’s completely normal.

Photo

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 14:33:00 -0500

Nancy Pelosi channels Pat Robertson, " I know something."

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 20:47:21 -0500

YAY!!! I know things that you dont know! YAY! And I’m not telling!

Earlier this month Pat Roberston tried so hard to become relevant in the presidential race that he actually went on television and claimed that God bestowed unto him the knowledge of who the next President of the United States will be. But then he didn’t tell us.

Today, Nancy Pelosi tried to become so relevant in the presidential race that she actually went on television and claimed that she knows who will NOT be the next President of the United States. But then she didn’t tell us how she knows. but she REALLY REALLY knows.

via realclearpolitics:

John King, CNN: “You make your case there passionately for President Obama. But also understand that this is a tough reelection climate for any president, Democrat or Republican in this economy. Because of your history with Speaker Gingrich, what goes through your mind when you think of the possibility, which is more real today than it was a week or a month ago, that he would be the Republican nominee and that you could come back here next January or next February with a President Gingrich?”

Rep. Nancy Pelosi: “Let me just say this. That will never happen.”

King: “Why?”

Pelosi: “He’s not going to be President of the United States. That’s not going to happen. Let me just make my prediction and stand by it, it isn’t going to happen.”

King: “Why are you so sure?”

Pelosi: “There is something I know. The Republicans, if they choose to nominate him that’s their prerogative. I don’t even think that’s going to happen.”

Oh you “know” things do you?

Hooray! Nancy Pelosi finally knows something!

stfuconservatives: Leading From Behind Ain’t Looking Too...

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 16:24:25 -0500

stfuconservatives:

Leading From Behind Ain’t Looking Too Shabby: Iraq v. Libya

-Joe

Things President Obama will say to make us feel warm and tingly during The State of the Union address.

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 16:09:33 -0500

Things President Obama will say to make us feel warm and tingly during The State of the Union address.:

Maybe Mr. President will sing another Motown song or read an excerpt from Go the Fuck to Sleep in Samuel L. Jackson’s voice to give the nation’s collective boredom a break. Maybe he will end by throwing up a metal sign \m/ and begin extrapolating in great detail on how he is going to crush Newt/Romney/Santorum this year… but who cares about those establishment cronies. Everyone knows Ron Paul is taking Florida… which is why he won’t be attending the primary in FL or even running ads.

Find 10 more facts about the nation’s economy at ThinkProgress:

1. Since the last SOTU, the economy has created 1.9 million private sector jobs. [Source]

2. The top 1 percent take home 24 percent of the nation’s income, up from about 9 percent in 1976. [Source]

3. Private sector job creation under Obama in 2011 was

BREAKING: Harry Reid Cancels Senate Debate Over Protect IP Act

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 10:04:00 -0500

BREAKING: Harry Reid Cancels Senate Debate Over Protect IP Act:

“In light of recent events, I have decided to postpone Tuesday’s vote on the PROTECT I.P. Act.

“There is no reason that the legitimate issues raised by many about this bill cannot be resolved. Counterfeiting and piracy cost the American economy billions of dollars and thousands of jobs each year, with the movie industry alone supporting over 2.2 million jobs. We must take action to stop these illegal practices. We live in a country where people rightfully expect to be fairly compensated for a day’s work, whether that person is a miner in the high desert of Nevada, an independent band in New York City, or a union worker on the back lots of a California movie studio.”

Should I tag this “winning” or would that be too obvious?

President Barack Obama did something that most people do...

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 09:14:00 -0500

President Barack Obama did something that most people do everyday, all the time, in the shower, while taking a walk, and after too many beers during karaoke night at your local bar… He sang two lines of a song! He really IS one of us. Not the cold, aloof man we’ve been trying to make you believe he is for 4 years now.

the internet broke! I'm preemptively blaming Eric Holder.

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 16:30:00 -0500

”Listen, if you make Fast and Furious go away I will help KILL the internet!”

Yesterday was the largest protest in online history to prevent another irksome Texan from screwing up America and our greatest pass time… the internet.

As you know, SOPA (stop online piracy act) totally blows (thanks for helping, Chris Dodd). But the reason you probably already knew that is because unlike the legislators trying to pass SOPA, YOU actually use the internet and all the trimmings this vast porno hub comes with.

If you were living under the proverbial rock (bridge) or your dial-up connection was busy yesterday, you lucked out, because the internet was semi-broken. Everything was blacked-out and pseudo-censored and alarming and scary. You couldn’t read anything because “reddit” went dark. Even if you could read you still couldn’t see the Google logo so you didn’t know what day it was or what the day meant or if days even existed anymore, so why bother reading?

In laymen’s terms (that simpleton) if your website is deemed “illegal support of copyrighted material (this means you, YouTube)”, under SOPA, US Attorney General Eric Holder will hunt you down and smack the proverbial shit out of you! That’s so close to being a police state just thinking about it makes me want to black bloc something. After hunting you down and censoring the crap out of -or altogether killing - your site Eric Holder will sleep with your lover while making you watch, take all of your beers and neuralyze you. (ala Men in Black.)

The good news? No more videos of lonely girls singing Alicia Keys songs into the camera.

Senate votes January 24th, 2012. Make your voice heard.

What Is SOPA? Here Are 5 Things You Need to Know | AlterNet

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:02:05 -0500

What Is SOPA? Here Are 5 Things You Need to Know | AlterNet:

the definition of “foreign infringing sites” is too vague. As it’s written now, they argue, the bill will fundamentally alter the relative freedom with which the Internet currently operates. What’s certain is that it’ll add a level of supervision to the Internet that’s never existed before.

Who’s opposed to SOPA? Basically, every website that you visit regularly. Most notably, Wikipedia, Craigslist, and Reddit, along with at least 200 other websites, have chosen to go dark in opposition to the bill and to help educate users about its potential impact. But the list doesn’t stop there: Google, Yahoo, YouTube, and Twitter have also publicly opposed the bill. The White House has also announced that should the bill reach President Obama’s desk, he will veto it.

How would SOPA work? It allows the U.S. attorney general to seek a court order against the targeted offshore website that would, in turn, be served on Internet providers in an effort to make the target virtually disappear. It’s kind of an Internet death penalty.

todaysdocument: Born on January 15, 1929, Martin Luther King,...

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 09:50:12 -0500

todaysdocument:

Born on January 15, 1929, Martin Luther King, Jr. was a key leader of the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s in the United States. President Lyndon B. Johnson issued this proclamation for a national day of mourning after King was assasinated on April 4, 1968. This year we celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. with a Federal Holiday on January 16th.

Happy King Day America. Overcome.

barackobama: How many jobs did Mitt Romney help create during...

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 09:40:00 -0500

barackobama:

How many jobs did Mitt Romney help create during his time as a corporate buyout specialist? Even he can’t get his story straight. Click through for a larger image.

That’s because Mitt Romney knows that every time he hired someone and then fired them they probably went on to get ANOTHER job. Therefore, by the transitive property he got them BOTH jobs. Economix master!

think-progress: Can you believe it? Mitt Romney’s tax...

Sun, 15 Jan 2012 18:58:28 -0500

think-progress:

Can you believe it? Mitt Romney’s tax plan favors the rich EVEN MORE than President Bush’s plan did.

… I ~~just can’t~~ believe it.

ryking: Florida Senate pushes to privatize prisons in 18...

Sun, 15 Jan 2012 16:23:00 -0500

ryking:

Florida Senate pushes to privatize prisons in 18 counties

The Florida Senate Rules Committee has proposed a bill that would require the state’s Department of Corrections to privatize all prisons and other correctional facilities in 18 counties, according to the News Service of Florida.

The state legislature passed nearly the same measure last year, but the law was ruled unconstitutional in court because it didn’t go through the committee process, violating the Florida Constitution.

The second largest private prison company in the world, GEO Group, has donated $822,000 to political campaigns in Florida, according to the nonpartisan National Institute on Money in Politics. The company also spent $25,000 for Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s (R) inauguration party.

“We’ve been saying all along that these proposed prison closures are about turning Florida’s prisons over to for-profit corporations,” Ken Wood, Acting President of Teamsters Local 2011, said. “This is payback to the powerful prison corporations that spend millions on lobbyists and political donations.”

Because as we all know, indentured servitude is a great way to maximize profits and “save the government money”.

Read more about fat cats banking on the disproportionately colored “criminals” they justifiably lock up for 15 years over weak dime bag charges. Three strike laws= BIG MONEY!

The United States imprisons more people — both per capita and in absolute terms — than any other nation in the world, including Russia, China, and Iran

ACLU

The Weekend Republican Roundup!

Sun, 15 Jan 2012 11:09:00 -0500

Rick Perry condemns the Obama administration for their condemnation of the US marines who haven’t yet been condemned for their actions toward the Taliban. That action being… pissing on their dead bodies… and filming it. I know, Rick who? But this guy is still in the race! His margin for qualification is thinner than Betty White’s skin but that’s neither here nor there. Kudos to Rick Perry this week, for finally finding a message he can forget at the upcoming debate.

South Carolina’s newspaper The State endorsed John Hunstman. Newspapers can do that because nobody reads them anymore. This isn’t really news because this is exactly what happened in New Hampshire… where Huntsman came in third. Third. That’s behind Ron Paul. (who you honestly have to question. If you hate government so much Mr. Paul, why are you always running to head it?) If I were Huntsman I would reject the endorsement. That would create more headlines for his candidacy… and maybe then he could stop being the ghost candidate that only small town Middle-American newspaper editors can see. (“I see dead campaigns.”)

But you know what? In New Hampshire, John Huntsman still did better than Newt Gingrich. (crazy I know. google it.) Newt Gingrich used to be Speaker of The House (where he resigned and was disciplined for some of the 84 ethical sanctions filed against him). Now he can barely place in a Republican primary.

Newt Gingrich… sigh… oh Newt. As if Newt Gingrich hasn’t shoved his proverbial Italian-loafer wearing hoof down his proverbial escargot-eating gullet enough in the past (remember when he announced that spanish was the language of the ghetto? and then apologized for it in la lengua del barrio?) But now he comes out with the brash idea that we should be able to fire federal workers for being too liberal. Not enough? How about just getting rid of them over their beliefs in general? Hey! If that’s not doing the job we can always place them in “work camps”(wink, wink).

Newt also decided to make President Obama’s yearly “Holiday” card list by doing all of Jim Messina’s work for him! A super-PAC that is clearly not affiliated at all with Newt Gingrich just put out this ad in South Carolina ignoring Obamacare and instead attacking its sister-wife Romneycare all while calling the frontrunner for the GOP candidacy “RINO Romney”! Wow, after that they took his lunch money and stuffed him into a locker. The ads also go after Romney’s business background:

“Romney’s objective was never a focus on creating jobs,” the ad states. “In South Carolina, Romney took $12 million then laid off hundreds. No wonder some see a questionable business background.”

Damn. I’m pretty sure Obama Headquarters called it an early night, ordered pizza and beer for the entire staff, all while flexing their huge-from-programming-deltoids and high-fiving each other. Yes, the only thing it could have resembled is this scene from Top Gun.

The campaign is getting so real. More to come…

I'm Occupying this blog!

Sat, 14 Jan 2012 22:18:00 -0500

this is a nice picture of an American Apparel model getting arrested in the fight against corporate greed.

Hot chicks of Occupy Wall Street

The Occupy Wall street protests were hands down the most significant news story of 2011. It cannot be debated. And what’s even barmier for the brain is that they managed to become the most conversed story of 2011 in little more than 3 months.

Occupy (while itself being a chain-reaction to mass protest in Tunisia, Bahrain, and Egypt) swept the entire world with their very own chain-reaction of mass protests, solidarity marches and celebrity shout-outs (Americans are such usurpers). Occupy was so indie cool that Jeff Mangum crawled out from under his rock and performed for them. (The rest of this article is written with scathing jealousy.)

From taking over Times Square like an apocalyptic horde of hipster zombies, to shutting down the ports in Oregon that are run by unions while “fighting for union workers”, it seemed the entire world had turned into one huge occupation! The NYC subway was going ape-shit! Every youtube clip looked like Burning Man met up with Bonnaroo at an Apple product convention. All of this was happening so fast while still “not being reported” by mainstream media.

Unbeknownst to the uninformed, a massive call to arms had been sent to the “apathetic” generation (via this poster). The vagueness and ambiguity of the call to arms did not matter. What mattered was that Americans by the thousands turned into occupiers over night because the only requirement was being one of the 99%. (everyone wants to be on the winning team)

Occupiers everywhere were giving people who wore a suit to work a massive middle finger. Take that 1%! There are way more 99% than 1%! (that’s just simple math)

Clearly, this message struck the core of the mega-rich on Wall Street. And they drowned out their pain by popping bottles of Cristal while overlooking a march.

It was all so invigorating and exciting and so easy to be swept up in. Everyday there was some headlining news story about how Mayor Bloomberg had really screwed himself over this time by not allowing protesters to do this or that. Amy Goodman almost smiled on one episode of “Democracy Now!”

The world was looking so erratic and chaotic and interesting.

The word “occupy” was used so much that it became an actual caricature of itself! I thought the only thing that could do that was Charlie Sheen and Cash Money records! Any action was now grounds for “occupation”. Occupying shit was so tres chic in the last 3 months of 2011 that Americans made an app for it… damn.

This was it. This was the revolution. We were all going to go back to zero. The Mayans had predicted it. Chuck Palahniuk gave us Tyler Durdin which gave us the manifesto. Occupy was the next big movement since the anti-war movement and the civil rights movement!

So… what the hell?

Where did they all go?

Why is the only thing really left of Occupy Wall street a small clickable link in the dark corner of Huffington Post?

Every damn pundit from here to Instanbul was pontificating on the effects of Occupy Wall street and their affect on the reelection of President Obama and his affects on effection (last part only half untrue). Bandwagon occupations popped-up in towns faster than CVS drugstores.

So… what the hell?

What happened?

In a recent news article, ” a group of about 50 protesters“ protested at the opening day of the FL senate. The opening day. In Florida. A state where the Governor has a 26% approval rating. And at his new year debut in the Senate only 50 people could show up? That’s LESS THAN 1% of the population of FL.

That is the revolution?

What went wrong?

For a moment is seemed that America and everyone around the globe was astounded and awed by the ignition of passion from the seemingly too-busy-to-be-interrupted crowd of American populous. And a wave of solidarity crashed unto their shores in support of their dissent in ways that we had not seen in almost half a century.

It would be idealist to say that America is still wearing their solidarity badge. Clearly excitement for the “movement” has waned and I don’t think it’s just the weather.

Was it that Occupy became the very thing that they wanted to eradicate? (note: “hot chicks of occupy”) or The Daily Show: Zuccotti Park Divided or trying to trademark the name.

Was it possibly that by having perpetuated a broad “we are the 99%” mantra it allowed “occupiers” to coalesce in a state of excitement only to realize after the ticker tape had fallen that many ideologies were diametrically opposed to one another? Is this why Occupy could not hang on to an issue and work toward bringing gratifying change within the political system? Or is it really just the winter hibernation?

Did they marginalize themselves by getting swept up in the politics of protecting their space instead of their message?

Did they lose members by treading into the vast and heavy waters of anti-capitalism and anarchism?

It’s tricky to know and something to ponder.

The question remains, will Occupy have a lasting effect on our country? Our world? The future looks bleak as criticism of protesters grows. But we can still wonder what can happen to reignite the embers of the fading revolution.