Brain Fatigue And Rage Deficiency

My sincerest apologies to anyone and everyone who comes here to read this blog on a regular or even semi-regular basis and a special thank you to those who have emailed me to make sure that I've been OK over the past two weeks. I'd like to tell you that I've left the blog sitting idle because I've been too busy with various wacky adventures and sexy hi jinks but the truth is that I've recently realized that I'm extremely tired, so much so that I don't think that I can go on any longer. Don't worry, I'm not so tired of life yet that I'm going to eat a bullet or anything like that but rather I'm actually bewilderingly and completely tired of American politics.

I watch and read about the various races across the country lately and I struggle to give even a modicum of a fraction of a damn. Every campaign commercial I hear now sounds exactly the same to me: "I'm tired of career politicians and business as usual in politics. Our elected officials have forgotten who they work for. Help me send a message to Washington that we're not going to put up with partisan politics any longer. Together we can change the tone in D.C. and take our country back." Blah, blablabbity blah, blah, blah. You've heard it all before; I've heard it all before and you obviously don't believe it any more than I do. I consider this type of boilerplate populist tripe to be no more than insultingly simplistic rhetorical masturbation for the ignorant masses (and I hold the entirety of modern media and journalism specifically responsible for this phenomenon, but that's neither here nor there at this point).

"But James", I imagine you retorting to your computer screens, "I thought you were a big supporter of President Obama! He's all about change and ending the partisan divide in Washington. Have you given up on that message and his seemingly earnest attempts to make America a better place?" No I have not, but I have realized that political culture in this country is so disturbingly corrupt and hopelessly mired in a system of failure and inaction that I no longer possess the zeal to believe that it can be significantly changed within my lifetime, short of a national tragedy or a similarly significantly-sized event to shake the average asshole out of their chronic complacency. In short: I give up, and I just don't care anymore. I'm sorry but it's the truth.

I finally understand what so many of my friends and acquaintances have been telling me over the past several years about politics, about how it's just not that important to get so worked up over people and events that are largely and almost completely beyond the control of the average American. I get it now. It's all a game (as so much of life and society is but that's a topic for another time) to make you feel like what you have to say about how this country is run makes a difference and actually matters to those in power. Now I can imagine many of you similarly retorting to your computer screens, "But James, one man/woman can make a difference! The people still have the power of the voting booth!" I wish I could still believe that matters, but I just cannot.

That isn't to say that I'm going to stop voting or anything as ludicrous or ignorant as that. Hell, I've already registered and the county's going to try to nail me for jury duty as a result so I might as well flex my citizen rights every two years but I've realized that the amount of energy and stamina it takes to remain emotionally invested in American politics is hardly worth the meager reward, either emotional or electoral. I'm reminded of one of my favorite lines from the movie Blade: Trinity. Blade (who is a vampiric vampire hunter played by Wesley Snipes, for the woefully uninitiated) is in police custody and a government psychologist is questioning him to assess his connection to reality and concurrent level of sanity:

VANCE: What about the President? Do you know who's in the White House at the moment?

BLADE: Some asshole...

Now of course I don't think that Barack Obama is personally an asshole (the movie came out in 2004 so draw your own conclusions as to their nonspecific target...) but it does speak to a larger problem within our society: most people who decide to go into politics are either self-involved assholes or self-important assholes or both. Yes, there are some legitimately good men and women in Washington earnestly trying to make this country a better place but the vast majority of people who eventually gain any significant amount of power there, and thus have the ability to institute any significant amount of change within the system, find themselves so endlessly mired within it that they eventually become everything they ran against, if they even made any attempt to portray themselves as such in the first place. Again, in short (and with all due apologies to Orwell): power corrupts, and I'm finally sick of it.

So, the next obvious and obviously self-involved question here is: does this spell the end of Brain Rage? I would very much like to answer in the negative and say "Hell no! Are you fucking kidding me?!" but the more honest answer is "I just don't know". Continuing on the honesty kick, I have to say that it's been fairly liberating not worrying about what I'm going to write here day to day and it's been even more refreshing not paying much attention to the 24 hour news cycle as if it were my job to do so, despite the nagging voice in the back of my conscience urging me to do just that on a continuous basis. I'd be lying if I said that I don't enjoy writing about current events here but I'd be lying even more if I said that I find the entire enterprise of caring about most of those said events more fulfilling than I do taxing of late.

So again, where does this leave us? And again, I just don't know. I've always been one to follow my intellect over my instincts on most matters because I've realized over the years that my instincts amount to exactly jack shit when compared to my intellect (which definitely says more about my instincts than it does my intellect) and I'm not planning on abandoning that line of reasoning anytime soon but I have been known to change my mind on occasion. Regardless, I plan to spend the vast majority of my time in the immediate future concentrating on real world plans that've been fomenting for some time now outside of the blogging world, i.e. dressing up as a masked crime fighter by night and solving mysteries. So if these are indeed my last words here, many thanks to those who have taken the time to read the meager thoughts I've committed to cyberspace over the past few years and bon chance in your own future endeavours. I'll be around, somewhere.

I remain, as always, James B. Webb. Adieu.

P. S.: I would be remiss here if I didn't take a moment to address my conservative counterpart and constantly comedic foil Donald Douglas of American Power. Don, I've tried to find even an iota of entertainment within your posts or even from one of your sycophantic commenters over the past few weeks as I have in the past but I've woefully come up short on both counts. To say that you're a caricature of your side of the aisle, again as I have many times in the past, is still entirely accurate but unfortunately it's no longer nearly as entertaining. To happily quote one of my fellow nihilistic bloggers: "You're fucking clown shoes". I'll be around two years hence to collect my one hundred dollars when Barack Obama is successfully reelected as our president. Enjoy rhetorically beating off to your big victory this November: it will almost assuredly be short-lived. And good luck with that whole "leftists hate America and are trying to destroy it" schtick. I can think of no more suitable nor entertaining epithet for this blog. Please have someone explain the concepts of humor and irony to you at some point before you shuffle loose this mortal coil. And again, adieu.

[Update: There's no way I'm going out on a down note by addressing Don. Here's something a thousand times more kick-ass: Sgt. Adam Sniffen from the 101st Airborne Division delivering the game ball via parachute before the Michigan vs. MSU game at Michigan Stadium two weeks ago:


Too cool. Adios.]

Home Again, Home Again...

I flew back in from Vegas late Sunday night and then spent most of Monday nursing one of the most dehydrating hangovers I've ever endured. One of the problems with getting together with my buddies from college is that we always drink and party as if we're still twenty years old, and I certainly felt it this time. On the plus side however I actually broke even at the tables, which is quite a rarity for me as I totally stink at cards (plus the Texas/Texas Tech game was easy money).

I had a couple of revelations as it concerns my blogging on this trip that I'll go more into later but for now I'm just going to get myself some Gatorade. So, what'd I miss while I was gone?

Vegas, Baby!

That's right: when Sin City calls you have to accept the charges. I'll be back in a few days. Be careful of the Sasquatch traps I've set throughout the blog, they usually only snare idiots but better safe than sorry. I'm out.

Picture Of The Day

For the record, both of these countries have now been eliminated from the World Cup:

President Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron kept their word Saturday and fulfilled a recent bet made on the World Cup match between the United States and England.

The wager, made two weeks earlier, had the leader of the losing country owing beer to the leader of the winning country. But the two teams tied so both men brought beers to the summit and exchanged the items during their bilateral meeting.

Obama presented Cameron with Goose Island 312 beer from Chicago while Cameron gave the President 5.2 percent Hobb Goblin beer.

I think Obama got the better end of that beer swap. It's nice to see our president acting like an actual everyday person rather than some weird joyless teetotaler, isn't it?

American Power And A Wager Accepted

Yes, that's right: my conservative counterpart Don Douglas of American Power has accepted my wager (the above image has been changed to two white guys shaking hands because... I don't know, for some reason Don's really sensitive about being black or something and he hates that I know he's black I guess. You tell me; I can't figure it out) although he did attempt a bit more obfuscation first:

JBW: I thought you were done with the blog? It must be more than babes that keeps bring you back, LOL?

We have a bet, remember? I'll take a C Note if the GOP picks up at least one seat in Congress this fall. If Obambi's so great, the Dems should have no problems holding their majority, and in fact should gain seats. If they do, I'll pay you ...

Which I had to answer with some cajoling and good natured ribbing:

The entertainment value is just too good to ignore, Don. And I think I've addressed your "I bet Obama can't stop the sun from rising tomorrow" counter-bet before. This is a simple bet between two guys who disagree about politics. Nobody is going to think any less of you if you lose; losing publicly is certainly a risk I'm willing to take.

So I'm having trouble divining the reason for your slightly absurd behaviour on this count. Is it that you're just cheap? I could understand that but if it's the case just cop to it, don't make up ludicrous counter-wagers just to avoid throwing down a Benji.

You have until midnight at the end of July 4th to take the bet. Man up, man.

Admittedly this worked better than my usual tactic of taunting him and making fat jokes, although he's still having trouble letting go of his dumbass counter-offer:

JBW: We'll bet, fine, but after November. I'd be surprised by then if you still expect Obama's reelection, that is, after the Dems get slaugtered. Until, then, are you sure you don't want to shake on $100 that your party expands its majority in Congress this fall?. You seem so confident?

But no matter because the challenge has been met. I set the terms of our wager:

There's much difference between confidence and detachment from reality, Don. I'm confident that the Dems (they're not "my party" by the way, I'm an Independent and they are sadly my only alternative to Repubs in many cases) won't lose either of their majorities, not that they won't lose any seats. Midterm elections historically don't turn out like that and you know it. You're a political scientist: don't play dumb about poli-sci 101.

Of course I could be wrong about November and the Dems might get slaughtered as you predict. In fact, it was definitive predictions like that that confused me as to why you wouldn't bet on it but no matter: we now have a bet! $100 American, I'll take Obama and you'll take whomever the Republicans decide to run in 2012. With my guy destroying the country at such a fast clip all you'll need to beat him is a warm body in a suit, I'm sure.

You now have 2 years, 4 months and 18 days to convince as many people as possible to back your guy/gal. If I win I'm going to spend your hundred dollars on an incredible bottle of vino (I know a place where I can get Opus One relatively cheap). Oh, and good on ya for stepping up. You just went up a notch. See you in 2012.

And there it is. I'll be honest, I've had easier times talking women into sex than I had convincing this poli-sci prof who seems to be supremely confident that Obama and the Democrats are headed for a crushing electoral defeat to put a few bucks down on the outcome of a race but maybe I'm just losing my touch. I am confident that Obama will win reelection but as Don says it's still a long way off but as I say that's what makes it interesting. Plus I got some good advice from bad ass martial artist and tax dodger Wesley Snipes:


So wait, is Snipes a racist now or merely "obsessed with race"? I'm sure Don could tell me.

Drunken Introspection

I just had a Texan moment of clarity in my kitchen: what are the odds that I'm the only person in California drinking Shiner Bock and eating fried catfish at this exact moment in time? A crisp new Benjamin says I am. Life is good. Yee haw, yo.

I Don't Think Donald Douglas Likes Me...

My corpulent conservative counterpart Donald Douglas of American Power finally stopped moderating his comment sections the other day so I promised myself that I'd leave something witty and brilliant on his doorstep as soon as he said something hateful and/or ignorant. I didn't have to wait very long for his post "BUSH = HITLER: The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same...":

When it comes to the Democrats, I'm ashamed for my country. But I'm not resigned. The tea parties are the salvation of democracy.

And since I know lefties will say "both sides do it." .... No, sorry, there's nothing -- absolutely nothing -- comparable to the secular demonization and violent rhetoric against the GOP during the Bush years, and it contiues today.

Yes, it appears rather innocuous despite its hyper-partisanship but since it continues Don's "Conservatives are always super cool and civilized while liberals are always a bunch of evil meanies" blogging meme I took exception to his argument that his side of the aisle is somehow exceptional:

...both sides do it Don, no matter how many times you tell yourself and others how much better your side is for doing so. Ah, hypocrisy...

To which he replied with his usual cries of persecution and victim hood:

The difference is the leftist-progressive media never report the left's extremism. All you hear about is the "racist teabaggers" ... blah, blah.

Of course, the Democrats embrace their extremists, while genuine tea partiers repudiate those you focus on.

So, sorry, and I repeat, nothing, nothing is comparable to the left's demonization and double standards. You guys win, hands down.

As refreshing as it was to see him finally admitting that he was a loser I always have a problem letting dumbassery go unchallenged:

"Blah, blah" is right, Don. "The leftist liberal commie pinko media is so totally against us and there's a conspiracy to smear teabaggers and Sarah Palin must be destroyed because they're so scared of her and you guys are so incredibly evil while we're just patriotic Americans who bring guns to presidential appearances and compare him to Hitler, for Christ's sake".

Yeah, you're so evolved. If what you say is so then answer the question I asked on my site last week: Why don't I see other tea partiers trying to eject the racist and violence advocating assholes from your little rallies? Yeah, you claim to repudiate these idiots and their ideas but I don't see anyone amongst you actively doing anything to distance your movement from them or them from your movement.

...If I were at an anti Iraq war march in 2003 and some idiot was standing next to me with a "BUSH = HITLER" sign I'd give the guy shit and tell that he should get lost because he's hurting the movement, yet I see tea partiers blithely standing next to someone holding a picture of Obama dressed as an African witch doctor with a bone through his nose not saying shit to them.

Even here, your post decries "leftists" holding signs comparing Bush to Hitler and one of your frequent commenters calls Obama worse than said Hitler and you also don't say shit, because he agrees with you and hates the same "leftists" you hate. As I commented on another of your threads, you and your side put up with extreme haters because they help your cause.

And before you retort: yes, the left does this too but I don't inanely spout off phrases like "nothing, nothing is comparable to the [side I don't agree with]'s demonization and double standards" because I'm not a myopic hack with no sense of self-awareness. Again, both sides do it and if you weren't a hypocrite of the first order you'd be able to see that.

Per his usual M.O., rather than answering my question and refuting my points he countered using the brilliant rhetorical tactic of simply calling me an "idiot slob" at the end of a couple of posts as if calling someone names actually substitutes for intelligent debate. When I tried to politely remind him that he was still wrong...:

Both sides do do it, Don. You're no more of a saint than I am. And "slob" was a nice touch but please come up with something a little more varied than "idiot" every time you mention me. I'm sure your readers would appreciate some variety in your ad hominem insults and name calling. Tubby.

...It appeared that I might have upset the old boy. I'm pretty sure it was the "Tubby" remark (Don's been a little sensitive about his weight ever since his genitals permanently slipped below the horizon of his expansive waistline). First he responded with this timeless classic:

That's fail, JBW. YOU. ARE. FAIL.

But apparently Don thought that a wholly monosyllabic response just wasn't persuasive enough so 45 minutes later he decided to type the word "fail" several more times in order to expound upon his argument. Enjoy "April Fools: Fail Blogger James B. Webb on Fail President Barack Obama":

From fail blogger James B. Webb, last November ...

... I plan to hold our new president's feet to the fire for the next four years; having defended him on many different levels and issues over the past few years I now fully expect him to follow through on his promise of trying to build a better tomorrow for the citizens of this country ...

Okay. Right.

...JBW fail and Barack Obama fail. Separated at birth?

From April Fool's Day approval ratings at Rasmussen:

Overall, 47% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of the President's performance. Fifty-three percent (53%) disapprove ...

Fail.

And last week at CNN: "Majority Disapprove of Obama for First Time."

EPIC. JBW. FAIL.

If you go there to read it don't bother trying to leave a comment because Don disabled them for that post alone, presumably because he obviously "welcomes comments and debate". A few things: my post he took the above quote from isn't from last November. Not only is it clearly dated as November 5, 2008 but it's also featured in the sidebar to the right with the words "Read My Post-Election Essay". I don't blame Don for the mistake though; I've been told that when older folks reach a certain age it becomes rather confusing trying to keep track of which year it is. At least he can take heart in knowing that Reagan had the same problem at one point.

He also quotes two polls concerning Obama's approval ratings that seem to definitively prove that the president is also subject to this bout of "epic fail", except of course that they don't. The most recent RealClearPolitics accumulation of polling data shows the Rasmussen poll to be a statistical outlier (there is a consistent right-leaning bias in Rasmussen's methodology; pay attention to how often the right points solely to this organization's polling data to back up their talking points) while every other major polling firm shows Obama's approval rating to be either positive or within the margin of error (he's +2 overall). And the CNN poll Don cites from last week?:

The new poll was conducted before the House on Sunday narrowly approved the Obama administration's signature domestic policy proposal: health care reform.

Their most recent numbers put Obama up by +3. DON. TUBBY. DOUGLAS. EPIC. FAIL. WRITING. IN. ALL. CAPS. MAKES. ONE'S. ARGUMENTS. MORE. CONVINCING. ISN'T. THIS. ANNOYING? HE'S. ACTUALLY. A. COLLEGE. PROFESSOR. YOUR. TAX. DOLLARS. PAY. HIS. SALARY. PERHAPS. I. SHOULD. PROTEST. THIS. BY. SPITTING. ON. MY. CONGRESSMAN. LIKE. A. GOOD. AMERICAN.

If however Don is so certain about Obama's dismal approval ratings translating into epic failure then I'll offer him this meager yet serious wager: $100 says that the Republicans fail to gain a majority in either house of congress this November. I'm making the offer publicly so that every one reading this will be privy to it. I think Obama's a chess master of the highest caliber Don, and he's moved his pieces into position to retain his party's majorities through the remainder of his first term. Care to put your money where your mouth is, Fat Boy Slim?

Of course the larger point I've been trying to make to Don over all the noise of constant capitalization and funny fat guy nicknames is that in American politics there are people from both sides of the aisle who say and do things that are morally and ethically reprehensible. Sure, one side's arguments may be more cogent, better articulated and better for the country (hint: I'm not talking about Don's side) but it has become exceedingly clear that the current atmosphere of partisan antipathy seems to bring out the worst in people from both political parties. Neither side has a sole claim to the practice of civilized discourse, and conversely neither side is free from uncivilized behaviour.

Ask yourself this question: knowing what you do of humanity, do you trust a man who constantly insists that he's morally superior to anyone who disagrees with him to be intellectually honest with you about anything? Don seems to believe that he's on the side of the angels, and in order to prove it he must frame everyone he hates as devils. It's a belief system that's as delusional as it is myopic and no amount of persuasion or logic can sway people like him from their illusions. Should I write "fail" here one more time for emphasis?

F-18 Hornet Buzzes Guy's Head

Flight suits come with a built-in poop sack, right?


(via)

Something Someone Else Said

"...one of the funniest things that I think hasn’t gotten much attention is the fact that Harry Reid is depicted in 'Casino.' He’s the guy who forces Ace Rothstein to accept some relative as a slots manager. Look it up in Pileggi’s book. Reid was the Clark County Commissioner. All sorts of fun Vegas stories around HR." -Matt Taibbi, FireDogLake.

I've seen Casino literally dozens of times and the county commissioner, while somewhat of a character, strikes me as just the sort of person I might imagine Harry Reid as being back in the day. Local. Very local...

Man Killed By His Own Good Luck Charm

Call me a heartless bastard if you will but I think that stories like this are just hilarious:

Kuala Lumpur - A good-luck talisman worn by a Malaysian man brought him the ultimate misfortune when a lightning bolt struck the copper emblem he wore around his waist and killed him instantly, a news report said Thursday. Champee Kelean, 46, died late Wednesday while he was taking shelter under a shed during a thunderstorm in the northern state of Kedah. The bolt of lightning was believed to have been attracted by the copper talisman he wore for good luck, the Star online news portal said.

It's almost as if luck doesn't even exist and is just something that humans have dreamed up to make themselves feel better about the randomness of their lives and the universe at large, huh? On a completely unrelated topic, I've come up with a fantastic new system for winning at the roulette table...

The Right Wants To Get Righter

Eric Kleefeld at Talking Points Memo sees a flaw in what could be the GOP's next strategy:

A new Rasmussen poll further demonstrates that the GOP could be in for a long stretch in the wilderness: A majority of GOP voters now say that the party should be more like Sarah Palin.

The numbers: 55% of Republicans say the party should be like Palin, compared to 24% who say they should be like John McCain.

As I've previously noted, poll data like this could indicate that the Republican Party is getting ready to relive the classic cycle of ruling parties who get turned out of power in a landslide: With the party base itself shrunk down, the people who are still around are the most hard-line members, and are really the least fit people to fix the situation.

I find it hard to believe how many on the right are still blaming their loss in the last election on not being right enough, as if being more and more conservative is going to bring you closer to the norm in America. This is a center-left country and being able to recognize and understand that from the right is the difference between a savvy politician and an unthinking ideologue.

Making Fruit Salad

It's too bad they've already cast the part of Gambit in the upcoming Wolverine flick 'cause this guy's a natural:

McCain's Campaign Suspension Lie

Unless you're a political junkie you might not have noticed much of a change on the airwaves and the blogosphere since John McCain announced that he was selflessly suspending his presidential campaign to put "country first" (his newest of many slogans thus far) and work towards a bipartisan solution to the current financial crises we're facing. Wait a minute, I am a political junkie and I haven't noticed any changes either, and apparently I'm not the only one:

So, what does a "suspended" campaign look like? As it turns out, it's eerily similar to a regular ol' campaign.

What have we learned since McCain suspended his presidential campaign?

* McCain campaign offices in battleground states are open and operating, just like yesterday.

* McCain's television ads are on the air, just like yesterday.

* McCain media flacks are all over the news networks, just like yesterday.

* McCain's campaign staffers are working, just like yesterday.

* McCain's campaign website is up, soliciting contributions and promoting McCain's message, just like yesterday.

* For the big White House meeting today, Barack Obama was told not to bring any campaign aides, so he's bringing a legislative assistant from his Senate staff. John McCain is bringing a campaign advisor.

I don't want to alarm anyone, but I get the sinking feeling that maybe, just maybe, the "suspension" announcement was some kind of (gasp!) gimmick, and that nothing has actually changed at McCain Campaign HQ.

And then of course there's this little tidbit:

Barack Obama is committed to hosting a public, televised event Friday night in Mississippi even if John McCain does not show up, an official close to the Obama campaign tells the Huffington Post.

In McCain's absence, the Senator is willing to make the scheduled debate a townhall meeting, a one-on-one interview with NewsHour's Jim Lehrer, or the combination of the two, the official said.

That's right: McCain took a big gamble by trying to look magnanimous in front of the American people and Obama called his bluff. As I said in the comment thread of a previous post, McCain is going to be at that debate tomorrow, and I'll stake every last dollar this blog has generated on that prediction coming true.

The Betting Process

"Short version: McCain is a high-stakes craps player who loves the pure, adrenalin-pumping, rush of the game. Obama is an exceedingly low-stakes poker player who sizes up his odds methodically and rarely loses money." -political writer Noam Scheiber, summarizing Michael Scherer's and Michael Weisskopf's article in Time magazine on the candidates' respective gambling habits