Thursday, January 22, 2015

State of the Onion

Okay, I admit it.  Along with literally hundreds of other people around the world, I tuned in for the State of the Union yesterday.  Primarily for the opportunity of watching the grim-faced, anally retentive Republicans do their best zombie impersonations as they stared with death ray intensity at President Obama.  Who, let's face it, was talking about all the things they rabidly oppose - progressive government, economic equality, environmental responsibility, intelligence, consciousness, etc.

Not to mention the added bonus of having John Boehner, House Republican zombie leader, lost somewhere in his own private narcissistic fog, sitting directly behind the President. What is up with this guy's face? He either has a serious drinking problem, or a secret tanning bed in his congressional office.  Did anyone else notice the  I'm a total prick and proud of it  name tag he was wearing?  You had to look closely.

As good as Obama's speech was - one especially appreciates the subtly he employs while giving the finger to the right wing rabble - the highlight had to be the 'other party response.'
This is the Republican's chance to drag out one of their so-called rising stars to point out in simplistic jargon why everything the President just said is wrong. This time it was Joni Ernst, former Iowa pig farmer turned Senator, who gave one of the creepiest little political rebuttals in recent history.

Incredibly, the talking heads on CNN pronounced her efforts commendable, well done, compelling, even.
Sure, if you're into scary, smiley-faced robot women. This is the sort of woman who's all  I am here to help you, humans,  until you turn your back and the long titanium claws come out, and the next thing you know you've been lobotomized and suddenly talking like a conservative Republican.

Credit where credit is sue, however. Joni's poignant story of having to wear plastic bread bags over her shoes while walking fifty miles through ungodly wilderness to her one room, Christian fundamentalist school house definitely plucked at more than a few heart strings.  This is a woman (maybe) who, lest we forget, went on to major in animal castration at a highly regarded Iowan community college.  Still, I wonder if these plastic bags were re-used, at least recycled, or simply thrown in the trash? Are Joni's makeshift shoe covers still lying somewhere in an Iowan landfill? Her launching a search to find them would definitely be a savvy public relations move for her next campaign.

Not satisfied with Ms. Ernst's televised triumph, the Republicans also trotted out their big guns, the big three, as it were, a.k.a. the primary Presidential wannabes.  Paul Ryan, Rand Paul and Ted Cruz.

(Hey, If Paul Ryan married Rand Paul, he'd be Paul Paul. Or would Rand Paul be Rand Ryan?)

I swear, these three guys could star in their own horror movie, and they wouldn't need any make up.

The saga of three Republican zombies trolling the red states, feasting on the remnants of liberal flesh.
 
Whatever you do, don't look at their eyes.  Eyes that say,  I know I'm lying my ass off, but I'm clever enough to get away with it, particularly among my dumbbell constituents.

Ted Cruz' eyes also remind us that  a) you don't have to be particularly smart to go to Harvard  and b) you don't necessarily have to be sane to be a Senator.

Talk about some scary shit!   But then, hey America, you asked for it....

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Sheepishly Aclimating To The New Year

Late-Breaking News Flash: Cue maudlin music.  A new year has apparently started. I know what you're thinking. When the hell did this happen?  And thanks a lot for informing us, we who attempt to systematically ignore the devastating effects of passing time, who can with a certain amount of concerted effort convince ourselves that it's still 1976.

Any chance this is nothing more than a mean-spirited rumor?

Afraid not. Time is a cosmic phenomenon, more or less immune to the petty, narcissistic concerns of time-obsessed humanoids.

Oh well. It's not as if last year was anything but a big disappointment. Not as if anything is slated for change this year. According to noted futurist and prolific author Fredrick Crust , we can pretty much expect more of the same, only worse. Last year's intermittent insanity becomes this year's full-blown psychosis.

Religious idiocy (pardon the redundancy) continues to thrive, terrorists continue to terrorize, continuing to believe that indiscriminate murder is their first class ticket to paradise. Yeah, that makes sense. Has to be a joke, right? I mean, how dumb do these people have to be to actually buy into this crap?

Let's see, I have no job skills, my mother consistently withheld love from me, girls refuse to have sex with me, the weather bugs me ... me, me, me ... I might as well just kill a bunch of people, shout something insipid about God and go directly to paradise.

Meanwhile, Al Qaeda is now referred to in the media as a brand. Supposedly, compared with more extremist nut-job groups such as ISIS (Insane State of Iraq & Syria), Al Qaeda is perceived as fairly banal. Mainstream, even. How long before we see Al Qaeda boutiques popping up in various cities, offering jihadist fashion options for non-believing infidels. Why be a terrorist when you can simply look like one?  Call it Martyrdom through Merchandizing.

Back in the land of the free / home of the mostly mindless, the newly elected Republican-led Congress has taken power.  Not only does it already have the lowest approval rating of any Congress is history, it also lays claim to the lowest average I.Q.  And here we've been wondering how stupid people must be to vote Republican. Turns out they were clever enough to elect people even more stupid than themselves.

See, we're not as dumb as everyone thinks.

True, but you do realize that the Republicans won't do anything to improve your miserable existences.

Sure, but at least now we'll know why.  It's called being an informed participant in the democratic process.
 
 Sadly, no sooner had the New Year commenced than a 2-year-old in a Walmart store (where else would this happen?) pulled a handgun from his mother's purse and shot her in the head. Yet another tragic incident of gun-related violence in America, guaranteed to have absolutely no impact on the prospect of increased gun control.  But at least it provided the N.R.A. with a new angle of spin for their insidious propaganda machine: Guns don't kill people, toddlers kill people.

Welcome to the Year of Sheep and Goats!