Lest We Forget This Basic Fact

Rant: I Cannot Believe The Way People Are Behaving

Then again, given the pathetic, crude, and nakedly craven examples being set by our supposed political "leadership," I am not really that surprised.  The name-calling, finger-pointing, abject temper tantrum-pitching, unabashed blame-throwing, obvious attempts to play this for selfish gain ... all couched in the most ludicrously hateful terms possible.  

Even worse is seeing people whom I personally know now acting out on social media and having absolutely epic meltdowns.  I have to say, sorry, people, but I just lost a whole bunch of respect for you.  I can't help it.  I won't be able to look at you the same way again.  It doesn't matter how smart you are or think you are; acting out like that makes you look awful.  Gee, it's enough to make you think that some people actually get off on spewing hatred.  Apparently a government shutdown also translates into the total shutdown of all civil discourse and basic courtesy.

Still worse is seeing my elders, including professional elders, acting like this.  

I'm sick and tired of all of this, so maybe you'll be OK with my decision to refuse to comment much more and to decide to write a big fat Breaking Bad review instead.

Meanwhile, after the fold, there's a little something musical for those post-Breaking Bad blues.  What a hilarious tribute to a classic catchword from the show.  I may or may not in a moment of rage deploy this tune in the next round of the apartment music wars (if a new round becomes necessary ... After the MmmBop offensive, the rude neighbor has been relatively well-behaved. Yes, MM believes in speaking softly and carrying a big 90s playlist).

Quote of the Day: Linguistic Lunacy

Indeed:

"So farcical have the linguistic games become that we have reached a point at which Congress is being instructed that, Assad having crossed a red line that the executive branch didn’t set, it must accord the executive branch the permission that it doesn’t need to start a war that isn’t a war."

Satire Alert: The Onion on Syria and Congress

I can't tell the difference between the Onion's fake news and actual reality anymore.  Here's the headline: "Majority of Americans Approve of Sending Congress to Syria."

Satire Alert: Coordinating Schedules

This is satire, but only just barely, given the unbelievable, mind-boggling incompetence going on in DC:

Dear Syria: 

An update on your impending bombing: we are waiting for Congress to come back into session and hoping to work out our autumn schedule at that point. 

With the NFL season kicking off in earnest on Sunday, September 8, and series premieres rolling out through most of the month, scheduling your punishment is not going to be easy. We thought we had an opening on September 20 but Secretary of State Kerry refuses to DVR Shark Tank. 

While we’re on the topic of scheduling, if you had it to do over again, would you have scheduled the gassing for mid-August? I mean, seriously, do you guys vacation? Do you have any idea how hard it is for our government officials to look stern and judgmental against the backdrop of a yacht club? 

Anyway, our indignation at you gassing your own people hasn’t faltered, blah blah blah. A carefully-measured, congressionally-approved (fingers crossed) response awaits you. We’ll send a scheduler. 

President Barack Obama

NOPE: Feinstein's "Assault Weapons" Ban

The guys over at Reason are Schadenfreudeliciously happy.  Well, good, because the despicable demagoguing and hypocritical skulduggery that went into the current gun control hysteria was well nigh intolerable.  And all for naught if Reid can't even scare up 40 votes in the Senate.  Here's a little song:

Satire Alert: Sequester's Day Speech

Kudos, Dignified Rant!

GOP Governors vs GOP Congress

No surprise there, and, to be fair, here's a reminder that just about all my friends hate Congress.  Not just Dems or Republicans in Congress, but everybody in Congress, period.  Why?  Because it's blatantly obvious that our current political class is just plain horrible.

Geek News: Congress, the UN, and Internet Regulations

For once Congress did something right.

Rachel Lucas on the Fiscal Cliff Shenanigans

What do you think? Rachel's also running an impromptu poll, where currently the "let it burn" option is winning by a huge margin. 

An additional thought: everyone's howling about taxes, but the bigger problem is the government spending, and that does include entitlement reform.

Meanwhile, I'm sure we're all delighted that Obama's apparently scheduled a 20-day Hawaiian vacation over Christmas, so if we do go sailing over the fiscal cliff in fine Thelma and Louise fashion, he'll be off sunning himself in Oahu or whatever on $4 million of taxpayer money.  "Let them eat Hawaiian vacations"? 

Yeah, that really demonstrates how much he cares for the little guy, the unemployed guy, the people actually suffering from the toxic effects of this craptastic economy.  Hey!  I thought a bunch of people voted for him because you thought he was more "empathetic" or some touchy-feely nonsense like that.  O RLY?  I bet he'll really be feeling your pain when he's out there surfing for 3 whole weeks.  The optics are horrible, but nobody seems to mind. (No, I don't care if it's a habitual place to go for him. I'm talking about right now.)  Meanwhile, the closest your humble hostess is going to get to Hawaii any time soon is this.

RELATED POST: LOL, though it's not funny, not funny at all.  There's no way you can seriously propose $50 billion for another ill-advised round of stimulus spending, much less - well - any of the rest of it.

Quote of the Day: Sen. Rand Paul and A New Standard

This is too hilarious not to post even though I should be working:

I will tell you, since I know this record of this debate will be widely read, that I want to make formal objection to the "crazy bastards standard." I don’t really think that if we’re going to have a "crazy bastards standard" that we shouldn’t have a right to trial by jury, because if we’re going to lock up all the crazy bastards, for goodness sakes would you not want if you’re a crazy bastard to have a right to trial by jury?

All right. For using the term "crazy bastard" repeatedly in an actual Congressional debate about terrorism, you get your own blog tag, snarky Rand.

Here's the video:

 

What Fresh Hell Is This? Email Privacy

Oh yeah, I'm sure this is going to turn out frickin' awesome:

A Senate proposal touted as protecting Americans' e-mail privacy has been quietly rewritten, giving government agencies more surveillance power than they possess under current law.

CNET has learned that Patrick Leahy, the influential Democratic chairman of the Senate Judiciary committee, has dramatically reshaped his legislation in response to law enforcement concerns. A vote on his bill, which now authorizes warrantless access to Americans' e-mail, is scheduled for next week.

Leahy's rewritten bill would allow more than 22 agencies -- including the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Communications Commission -- to access Americans' e-mail, Google Docs files, Facebook wall posts, and Twitter direct messages without a search warrant. It also would give the FBI and Homeland Security more authority, in some circumstances, to gain full access to Internet accounts without notifying either the owner or a judge.

UPDATE: Given universal outrage, Leahy backs off. Good.

An Open Letter to the GOP Leadership

Vodkapundit Stephen Green has something to say, and I love how he starts out with "Dear Speaker Boehner and Other Assorted Clueless Bozos on Capitol Hill ..." 

Post-Vote: We Hate the Status Quo. Let's Have More of It!

Apparently so.  The same president and the same Congress that we've all been sniping about for (literally) years.  The same gridlock, economic mess, debt and deficit, and unserious approach to serious problems.  In fact, the entire debacle reminds me of this scene from Star Trek: Generations (1994):

IT'S ELECTION DAY! GO VOTE!

Go vote for the candidate of your choice.  Go exercise your right and responsibility as a citizen of this great nation.  (And for goodness sake, if you're in a swing state, you better go vote!  Do it with this in mind too.)

Can I say too: I AM SO FREAKING HAPPY THAT THE CAMPAIGN SEASON IS OVER.  I voted early to avoid the crowds at the polling place, so I intend today to do some work and then tonight to make a lot of popcorn and watch election returns.  I think we might even win this thing ("Ride right through them -they're demoralized as hell "?), but that doesn't mean I won't be on pins and needles all day long.  I'll leave you with one last bit of fun if you're also voting for members of Congress, one of the most reviled political organs ever:

Hope. Change. Whatever.

Killing CISPA

Too much power.  You know, probably the most troubling thing about bills like this and SOPA/PIPA is how the people behind them seem to know/care waaaaay too little about the Internet, technology, reality, etc. and then get all defensive when actual geeks, nerds, and Internet users object.  Anyway, CISPA's pernicious:

What sparked the recent privacy outcry over CISPA -- including a petition signed by nearly 800,000 Internet users -- are portions of the law that would allow Internet companies to open their networks and customer databases to the Feds for cybersecurity purposes. 

Probably the most controversial section of CISPA says that "notwithstanding any other provision of law," companies may share information with Homeland Security, the IRS, or the National Security Agency. By including the word "notwithstanding," CISPA's drafters intended to make their legislation trump all existing federal and state laws, including ones dealing with wiretaps, educational records, medical privacy, and more.

Seriously?  Come on, Congress.  Orwell was meant as a cautionary tale, not a playbook.  So, sure, cybersecurity is a real issue, but we mustn't settle for horrible "solutions."

The Imperial Presidency, Updated

*Sigh.*  I found this bit of the article interesting (my emphasis in bold)

William G. Howell, a University of Chicago political science professor and author of “Power Without Persuasion: The Politics of Direct Presidential Action,” said Mr. Obama’s use of executive power to advance domestic policies that could not pass Congress was not new historically. Still, he said, because of Mr. Obama’s past as a critic of executive unilateralism, his transformation is remarkable.

Heh.  YOU DON'T SAY!  

What Fresh Hell Is This? Hey, Let's Give the IRS the Power to Confiscate Your Passport, Comrade

WHAT.

What Fresh Hell Is This? The Anti-Protest Law

I just got this link from a nerd friend, and all I can say is:  "WHAT."

Mini-Rant: Politics and Arguments About "Morality"

A former student of mine sent me this little article, and I feel compelled to say something.  I haven't posted much about politics because I'm so disgusted by the state of both it and its practitioners, and the persistent use of so-called "moral arguments" on all sides has been both laughable and deplorable in its utter cynicism and demonization of everyone who disagrees with (insert asinine issue du jour).  Rant follows.