Grown Ups Talking

Perfect for Halloween week, this country is in the grips of scare tactics not seen since McCarthy was allowed to grill U.S. citizens as to whether they were, or ever had been, a member of the Communist Party.

This country has come too far to let McCarthyism slither back into the mainstream. Yet, Republican operatives will tell you that fear is a great motivator. Indeed, it worked to whip up support for a pre-emptive strike against Iraq, a country that had nothing to do with the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. Fear worked again to push through the civil rights gutting Patriot Act. It is the main weapon of the McCain/Failin’ Palin campaign.

Over the weekend, I heard that if Obama wins the presidential election, he will take away our money and our religious freedom, and allow terrorists to use America as a worldwide home base. And people actually believe this garbage.

I can’t help but think that the same people that buy this O’Reilly/Hannity/Limbaugh drivel also believe that you can get AIDS from a toilet seat; that Eve really was created from Adam’s rib; that Chuck Norris can sneeze with his eyes open; and they all waited with bated breath for Saw V (yes, Hollywood has actually made five of these movies.)

Well, far be it from me to contradiction FDR’s “the only thing to fear is fear itself” first inaugural address, but I think the biggest thing we have to fear this Halloween is a growing number of non-thinking Americas who would rather huddle scared under the covers of a failed status quo, than meet the boogieman head with heart, courage and brains. Vote Obama, all of our futures depend on it. – Chianti

The winds are howling and New York has battened itself down for the evening. The slipper and I have been dozing in front of the television watching re-runs and sipping cheap Italian wine.

It doesn’t take much to keep us happy; moderately tasty food and drink, moderately entertaining, on-demand drama/comedy/news.

Today it was Boston Legal’s turn. Boston Legal is a comic slash serious law show about a bunch of horny lawyers who, once a show, launch into a stirring speech relevant to the current political climate. They also get laid a lot.

Fun stuff, and also an incredible soap box for the creator and main writer of the show, David Kelly. He can make his characters mouth his personal feelings/peeves/prejudices, and as many as 13 million people get to hear.

Not like me and you and the slipper. He gets to rant at me, I get to rant at the radio. And I get to rant here and occasionally people listen.

But its funny how people usually don’t want to rant. My experience is that unless the person you’re talking to is a media/journalist type, they give you a set line (Obama is a saint, Obama is a terrorist, McCain is a hero, McCain is senile), then start complaining about their spouse or boss.

Except for now. This primary/election season has gone on for so long that everyone has gotten into the habit of feeling like their opinions matter. Well we have 10 more days in the eye of the election storm. After that it will be back to the normal hurricane of complaining about the president and losing your job.

And btw, vote Obama.—Pomerol

A crispy weekend. Fall is finally conquering global warming and the gentle leaves fall gently onto the gentle ground.

The gentle stock market is acting like a pogo stick. It turns out you’re not supposed to pay attention to the stock market. Buy something, then ignore it for the next year. That’s what the experts say.

I realized this week that what experts really want you to do is their job—”take responsibility” for your actions. Funny, I thought they were the experts.

And it’s not just in finance, “education experts” are constantly telling parents to spend their evenings helping their kids with hours of homework—that is to say, teaching them. Aren’t the teachers supposed to do that?

We have become responsible for the experts lack of experience. This is a DIY society where the experts get the money and we live with the consequences of their non-expertise.

I, Pomerol, am not really a DIY kind of a gal. I suspect most people aren’t. But we Americans are particularly susceptible to anyone saying that we can’t do anything. Politicians like to push this societal button: Are you saying you can’t survive without Government Handouts? Are you saying you would accept being told not to drive an SUV? What kind of a wuss are you? It’s un-American!

Well I’m ready to say that I am just as clueless as all the other financial experts, which I guess qualifies me for the job. Me and all the other experts got it wrong about the sub-prime mess, and I will admit this.

The only other expert who admitted he didn’t predict the sub-prime mess is Paul Krugman. And he just won the Nobel Prize in Economics.

And the gentle leaves fall…—Pomerol

Well I finally got to go to Pennsylvania to help the Obama campaign. At the last minute we switched from going door to door to just attending a rally. So a pleasant day out with some interesting teachers, a pizza lunch and a glimpse, far off in the distance, of Himself doing his thing.

A sense of history, a zing of excitement in the well-behaved crowd, an aching back and a late lunch characterized my first visit to Philadelphia. It’s a pretty city with murals all over the place, nice for a vaguely artsy-fartsy type like myself.

But I guess I still owe America a little time on the Democracy front. I need to take my ranting out of the blog, out of my early morning co-rants with the slipper, and onto the telephone to try and convince undecideds to make up their bloody minds.

It turns out many Americans don’t care about the issues. They care about “character” and “trustworthiness” and “height". They want to be convinced and persuaded and cajoled and comforted. Basically they want some attention.

Most people are ignored by their families and co-workers. But occasionally democracy allows them a tiny moment when their voice, in the shape of a ballot listing off the entrenched/syncophantic/manipulative/wealthy/ideological/self-serving egomaniacs who throw themselves at the public to gain acclaim, can be heard as a little squeak admidst the roar of multi-media analytical punditizing and media job-justification.

We just need a few more squeaks for Obama. —Pomerol

Quick! Iraq is falling apart! We just invaded, destroyed the government, militias are taking over. What do we do?

We send in billions of dollars. The Bush government literally packed four billion dollars of paper currency weighing 363 tons onto huge wooden pallets, loaded them onto troop carrier planes, and delivered them to Iraq where they pretty much handed it out to whoever was walking by.

Government by crisis management.

Now, does any of this sound familiar?

And Paulson had the temerity to say “It will take time and bipartisan leadership, cooperation and collaboration, as well as well-conceived and executed policies to overcome the challenges our nation is facing.” Taking time? After he hysterically whipped the country into a frenzy, promising the End of the World as We Know It unless he got his $700 billion? Now he’s going to take time?

In other words, the unbelievably aptly named Neel Kashkari (sounds like a Dickens novel) will be standing on the corner of Wall street handing out bundles of $100 dollars.

Will it work as well as it did in Iraq?

God help us.—Pomerol