Tag: politics

I know the adjective “Orwellian” is used too much

But sometimes you need to drag it out. This time it’s  the BBC news trying to choke down the latest buffet of insanity from our military in Iraq:

IRAQ ‘REVERSE SURGE’ PLAYS ON U.S. MINDS

There are a few gems, but this one stands out for me:

“US commanders are reluctant to allow the backward momentum of the reverse-surge process to merge seamlessly into a wholesale withdrawal of American forces“

What the hell does that mean? Mostly, it means that they don’t really want to pull the troops out yet. Or maybe ever. So the pull-out of troops is now a “reverse surge” and since the “surge” was a “good thing” this means we should be really careful and probably not do it! And we don’t want it to “merge seamlessly” into an actual withdrawal. In other words, because we’re not “surging” we should not leave for an undetermined time, because that would be, well, bad. Got  it?

This is that rare and beautiful news story in which every single item is a lie. An easy way to fix it up would be to replace each paragraph with this: “There is blood everywhere and no plan.”

I’ll  sell t-shirts! Meanwhile, as Orwell put it, “The fascist octopus has sung its swan song, and the jackboot  is in the melting pot.”

GO READ HIM NOW and every week from now on, so you can understand the weird stuff in the news. It’s a short little essay and people forget how important it  is.

Has he stood firm against the manimals?

raar manimal

I didn’t get a chance to see or hear the State of the Union address this year, but I do want to know. He gave a stirring declaration of principle and courage in his 2006 address: that he would not tolerate man-animal hybrids. I have looked in vain for some evidence of action after this. The man is a lame duck, I understand. He’s had reverses. But can’t he think of his legacy?

This is not the first time I’ve expressed my concerns. And still the White House is silent.

Treachery, or mere incompetence? Please tell me he said something reassuring tonight.

Drums in the deep

Kelly Ramsey passed on this gem from Warren Ellis’ “Bad Signal” mailing list, causing me to resubscribe to the list. Here it is:

bad signal
WARREN ELLIS


It  occurred to me today that Mormon politician Mitt Romney’s
candidacy is, in  part, an experiment to see if America can
handle the idea of a figure of  authority who also believes himself
to be wearing magic underpants.

If that's so, then I think you guys are twelve years away from  a
Scientologist running for President.

And I think you know which  Scientologist I mean.

You're welcome.

-- W