politic fatigue

i have it.

maccain won the debate on points. but he always looks like a dick, so no one thought he won.

if i can somehow get a working internet connection in my fucking room, ill be back here with a rant sometime in the coming week.

a would-be review of the second debate

heres why im not doing it

-nothing important was said
-both candidates scare the shit out of me
-barack obama is already the president; mccain has all but given up

Excerpt from Bret Easton Ellis' Less Than Zero

As we walk out of the theater, ninety minutes, maybe two hours later, some girl with pink hair and roller skates slung over her shoulders come up to Trent.

"Trent, like, oh my God. Isn't this place a scream?" the girl squeals.

"Hey, Ronnette, this Clay. Clay, this is Ronnette."

"Hi, Clay," she says, flirting. "Hey, you two, what flick did you see?" She opens a piece of Bazooka and pops it into her mouth.

"Um . . . number thirteen," Trent says, groggy, eyes red and half closed.

"What was it called?" Ronnette asks.

"I forget," Trent says, and looks over at me. I forgot too and so i just shrug.

"Hey Trenty, I need a ride. Did you drive here?" she asks.

"No, well yeah. No, Clay did."

"Oh, Clay, could you please give me a ride?"

"Sure."

"Fab. Let me put these on and we'll go."

On the way through the mall, a security guard, sitting alone on a white bench, smoking a cigarette, tells Ronnette that there's no roller skating in the Beverly Center.

"Too much," Ronnette says, and rolls away.

The security guard just sits there and takes another drag and watches us leave.

Once in my car Ronnette tells us that she just finished singing vocals, actually background vocals, on Bandarasta's new album.

"But I don't like Bandarasta. He's always calling me 'Halloween' for some reason. I don't like to be called 'Halloween.' I don't like it at all."

I don't ask who Bandarasta is; instead I ask her if she's a singer.

"Oh, you could say. I'm a hairdresser, really. See, I got mono and dropped out of Uni and just hung around. I paint too . . . oh gosh, that reminds me. I left my art over at Devo's house. I think they want to use it in a video. Anyway . . ." She laughs and then stops and blows a bubble and snaps her gum. "What did you ask me, I forgot."

I notice that Trent's asleep and I jab him in the stomach.

"I'm up, dude, I'm up." He sits up and unrolls his window.

"Cla-ay," Ronnette says. "What did you ask me. I forgot."

"What do you do?" I ask, irritated, trying to stay awake.

"Oh, I cut everybody's hair at Flip. Oh, turn this song up. I love this song. They're gonna be at The Palace on Friday."

"Trent, wake up, asshole," I say loudly over the music.

"I'm up, dude, I'm up. Eyes are just tired."

"Open them," I tell him.

He opens them and looks around the car. "Hair looks good," he tells Ronnette.

"Did it myself. I had this dream, see, where I saw the whole world melt. I was standing on La Cienega and from there I could see the whole world and it was melting and it was just so strong and realistic like. And so I thought, Well, if this dream comes true, how can I stop it, you know?"

I'm nodding my head.

"How can I chage things, you know? So I thought if I, like pierced my ear or something, like alter my physical image, dye my hair, the world wouldn't melt. So I dyed my hair and this pink lasts. I like it. It lasts. I don't think the world is gonna melt anymore."

"I'm not to reassured by her tone and I can't believe I'm actually nodding my head, but I pull up to Danny's Okie Dog on Santa Monica and she trips as she climbs out of the small back seat of the Mercedes and lies on the sidewalk and laughs as I drive away. I ask Trent where he met her. We pass the billboard on Sunset. Disappear Here. Wonder if he's for sale.

"Just around," he says. "Wanna joint?"














What do you think?
Do you like any of the characters?

the vice presidential debate

i had the distinct pleasure of watching this particular debate with a bunch of dumbasses who saw fit to bash palin everytime she stuttered and make dumbass remarks about the issues that were being discussed. thats why its taken me so long to post this review. i had to go back and watch the debate by myself, so i could actually get a real handle on what was being said.

insofar as what the world expected from sarah palin and joe biden, they both exceded expectations, which i suppose is not a bad thing at all. but i was left partially unsatisfied [suprised?] by both candidates.

lets go ahead and get this out of the way. joe biden won the debate. let there be no doubt about it. joe biden, in terms of debate points, just smashed palin. as for the aestetics, palins victory was in the fact that she made it seem that she hadnt completely lost.

this debate was a little different than the first presidential one. the moderator, ive already forgotten her name, actually asked some of the questions i wanted to hear the answers to! the debate started with economic issues, as one would expect, and both had little to quibble about in terms of the recent senate bill [ill talk about where that went to shit in the next blog]. unlike the petty debate on earmarks mccain and obama had, this debate turned into one on taxes. palin tried to bludgeon the point across, bringing it up after the debate had already started turning in the next direction. but if youre gonna fight about something petty, taxes is the least petty of them all.

the economic rounds were, of course, the source of my dissatisfaction.

the next rounds of debate focused on a couple of issues that i thought were actually handled very well by both candidates: foreign policy and energy policy. joe biden showed a pretty firm grasp on the situations America finds itself lodged in and adeptly detailed the the sdvice of our commanders on the ground. palin, apporpriately pointed out the successes of the surge and the advice of some military higher ups on afghanistan. both overstated a little. biden attached mccains name to the bush-cheney administration. palin got all coloquial and annoying. it happens. im used to it. on the energy crisis, biden may actually have lost points, fumbling through what hes said about clean coal and going for the jugular on offshore. palin came off as very competent on the issue. and actually came out in opposition to mccain, saying shes going to work on changing his mind in regards to drilling in anwr.

then came the social issues. palin claimed her stance was the same as senator bidens on gay relationships, extending them the full rights under the law but not redefining the institution of marriage to include a same sex couple. that was a little surprising. the rest not so much.

they finished with the question we all wanted to know the answer to: if your principle dies and you have to take office, how will your administration differ. biden pointed out that he and obama were on the same page on nearly every issue. palin said she was her own person and might differ in some areas implying energy policy more than likely.

overall, i was much more impressed with this debate than the original presidential one. biden won. palin didnt necessarily lose. i pretty much knew that would be the outcome. im pretty content nonetheless. they both seemed competent, something i couldnt say for either before.

oh and biden got all choked up and almost cried when he started talking about his kids and the car accident. one of the most touching moments ive ever seen from any politician. but it didnt fit the response he was supposed to be giving, so... yeah. im not sure what to make of that.

the economy revisited

i really suck at articulating my stances on issues. all of these little rants are only half-coherent. heres another one :P

just a short while ago, the senate passed a bill very similar to the bill that failed in the house. it had a few little add-ons meant to entice a few of those who were weary of voting yes on the last bill. im not going to say that the adjustments they made were not good ones.

theres more insurance for peoples savings
they have incentivized private participation (not to the extent that i wanted, but in the right direction)

and thats about it. ive only read summaries. the thing is 400-something pages.

im most certainly not endorsing the bill, but there was a subtle shift toward my position in the adjustments made. it gives me a little hope. and the fact that it enjoyed three-quarters support was pleasant considering how partisan things have been lately.

i keep wanting to endorse the bill. but i still cant. too much of the original language. too much tax payer money. it still supports this idea that the american government has to ride in and save the day, that it is our responsibility to buy faulty mortgages and place a check on the banking industry. i know it looks bad out there. i know the markets are turning to shit and we are trading at a loss an unemployment is going to be higher this quarter. but we cannot afford government intervention to this degree for the sake of the tax payer and for the sake of the market as a whole.

i keep hearing that the crisis is a fire that needs to be extinguished. that we can sort out who started it later. but thats all wrong. i see this unprecedented intervention as rewarding a bad kid simply because you dont want to see him cry. i know there are innocent folks who will lose their jobs. thats going to happen either way. i know we may see a recession and the econoomy wont be as stable. but thats only in the short term.

im just stressing myself out. ill be back soon to review the vp debate.