Stump Lane
in the dirt since history began

Image courtesy Guys From Area 51.

I’M NOT VOTING. WATCH ME. I’ve put off writing this post for a while now, though I have hinted at the conclusion I’ve come to several times previously. The thing is, coming out and saying “I’m not voting,” doesn’t play well. Even friends and family don’t seem to know how to process such a radical idea. It’s similar to coming out as an atheist to a casual acquaintance. When the discussion doesn’t go well, it really doesn’t go well. To the religious: like the proverbial fart in church. But how radical an idea is it really, when a full third of the population regularly engages in the practice? (Or more correctly, doesn’t.) Yet when you read the first sentence of this post, you thought, hey, here’s “a deadbeat, a loser, someone the square community won’t give a shit about.” (My Captain, forgive me for borrowing your shtick.) Which is why I wouldn’t ordinarily make the admission unsolicited. Very few of my acquaintances ever come out and inquire about my religious affiliation. Of course, with the election coming up, many have been asking about my political affiliation.

But it seems silly to even bring it up! Why not post instead that I don’t believe in fairies, or Santa Claus, or in honor of Halloween, ghosts? Because when someone asks, “hey, Montag, you believe in ghosts?” I can answer with a simple “pssshaw!” But when someone is asking for your take on very personal, deeply held beliefs and articles of faith, as in: ‘this is democracy and my vote really matters!’, it would be impolite to answer so dismissively. I’m not a monster, after all. “Government of the people, by the people, for the people,” sounds great, but then again, so does ‘if you catch a leprechaun he’ll take you to his pot of gold.’ The veracity of one of these things, I am absurdly compelled to hold an opinion on. So he goes.

YOU: Hey, Montag, who you going to vote for?
ME: I’m not voting.
YOU: Wait, what?
ME: I’m not voting. Watch me. (more…)

BY NOW YOU’VE HEARD that Barak Obama is a transparently socialist candidate, groomed for power by radical socialist terrorists, who will presumably take up the mantle of extralegal unitary executive powers to usher in something like a Stalinist police state.

The Obama Socialist meme which started with a handful of the more rabid right-wing partisans, (who will relish hating to tell us they told us so,) seems to be gaining traction in the mainstream media, if only because John McCain is touting the accusation in his campaign as he decries The Other’s alleged desire for ‘redistribution of the wealth.’ To the players who play at national party politics as if national party politics were of anything more than nearly complete irrelevance to the course of government or the fate of its subjects, this narrative could prove very useful. For whatever steps taken by the federal government to deal with financial turmoil will in some way resemble Socialism, and will be described as such by right-wing cheerleaders.

Don’t get me wrong! The financial powers who fuel the aspirations of our rulers want these steps to be taken! Look no further than the recent bailout legislation which enjoyed the bipartisan support of both major party candidates. The Socialism narrative simply gives cheerleaders and opinion makers the means to demonize the faction that gives them what their superiors wanted. You know, in the same way that partisans who oppose the Iraq War give cover to the Power Seekers who simply abhor the “handling of” the Iraq War.

As to the exercise of extralegal unitary executive powers, I was just kidding! While we already live under a paranoid surveillance state with an incredible prison population, a “Stalinist police state” is in no way realistic here on the ground, so long as our rulers wish to maintain the thin but reliable facade of nominal democracy that obscures their political apparatus. Though, “It’s Obama’s Great Purge!!!1!!” will make an effective slogan should investigations of war crimes of the previous administration come to pass, hell, even if prosecutions of political corruption continue.

“footage from roller boogie— music by of Montreal”

of Montreal — Gallery Piece:

RE: SOCIETY (and gay marriage)

“It is up to society to channel polymorphous human sexuality into an exclusively heterosexual direction[.]“

[Via: TPMI.]

Read Wisdom I Learned on the Internet #1 in the Stump Lane Deep Archives.

SOME THINGS ANNOY Your Montag.

What is this?

1. Obama’s $3 million glorified overhead projector?
2. A tool for science education?
3. Bounty hunter turned club DJ, IG-88?
4. A great way to teach our littlest soldiers celestial navigation for use on the battlefields of tomorrow?

Let’s face it, we all know what it is. It’s a perfect example of the vacuous political bumblespeak of our rulers. What does John McCain take us for when he mentions this fucking thing three times in two presidential debates?

Don’t answer that.

[H/T: Pharyngula]

TO PARAPHRASE Bob Schieffer’s question on education from tonight’s debate: Hey, Senator Obama, what do you say about education? In terms of national security, of course.

What the hell type of weird-ass question is that?

Schieffer: …the U.S. spends more per capita than any other country on education. Yet, by every international measurement, in math and science competence, from kindergarten through the 12th grade, we trail most of the countries of the world.

The implications of this are clearly obvious. Some even say it poses a threat to our national security.

Do you feel that way and what do you intend to do about it?

Obama: This probably has more to do with our economic future than anything and that means it also has a national security implication, because there’s never been a nation on earth that saw its economy decline and continued to maintain its primacy as a military power.

[CNN: McCain, Obama go head to head in last debate]

We must improve the education to keep the economy strong so we can keep on killing people.

Fuck me that’s not what I had for an answer at all.

PS: I’m sure Joe the Plumber is a great guy, but it would have been cooler if the candidates had debated Bob the Drummer instead:

Shirey: Senator, as a retired Navy chief, my thoughts are often with those who serve our country. I know both candidates, both of you, expressed support for Israel.

If, despite your best diplomatic efforts, Iran attacks Israel, would you be willing to commit U.S. troops in support and defense of Israel? Or would you wait on approval from the U.N. Security Council?

[CNN: Transcript of second McCain, Obama debate]

Can you spot any daylight between the two candidates on this issue? (more…)

JOHN McCAIN MISSED the point of what Your Montag was saying the other day.

McCain:

As president of the United States … I would order the secretary of the treasury to immediately buy up the bad home loan mortgages in America and renegotiate … at the diminished value of those homes and let people … be able to make those payments and stay in their homes.

[CNN: Transcript of second McCain, Obama debate]

Not exactly what I had in mind when I proposed a way for the dumb fuck lenders who got themselves into this bind to cut their losses:

Hey, Lenders, you bet poorly, you lost. Now cut your losses. You aren’t going to be able to sell those foreclosures in this market, so keep the homeowners in the homes. Look at what the borrower has paid thus far in interest, and give back a goodly portion of it in equity. (Call this the portion of the value that you made up in your head when you thought you could push housing prices upward indefinitely.) Then, lower the interest rate so that they can afford to make payments. (Call this is the part where you admit it’s ridiculous to charge someone $127,520 interest on a $100,000 loan.)

[Stump Lane Archives: ]

See the difference here? In my scenario the federal government doesn’t officially control the title to your property, rhymes with ‘Snerf.’

Been having (more) technical difficulties since Friday. But in our own way, we’re still here.

Los Angeles Times: Reversal of fortune: House approves $700-billion bailout bill