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Cameraphone Follies: The Most Hypocritical Man in the World

August 24, 2010 | 2 comments

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I’m John McCain, and I Approved These Lies

September 12, 2008 | Permalink

As of right now, the McCain campaign is nothing more than a firehose of lies. Period.

Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and countless others from both parties have spoken highly of John McCain, praising his honor and dignity.  I’ll take it on faith that McCain may have once possessed those qualities… but not anymore.  There is not a shred of honor in how the McCain campaign is being conducted.  He may have handed off the reins to subordinates, but it’s his name on the door.  His staff and his campaign are his responsibility.

John McCain is a corrupt, unprincipled, ethically bankrupt old man.  His personal judgment is abominably bad.  And he is a liar.


How Satellite TV Saves Democracy

November 10, 2006 | 2 comments

Pictured below is the Lightsaber of Democracy: my satellite TV remote. Subtly highlighted is the “skip forward” button, which allows the viewer to jump ahead in 30-second increments while watching recorded programming. The practice of skipping over commercial breaks, normally a mere convenience, in pre-election months becomes absolutely vital for the prevention of Autumnal Voter Disgust Syndrome.

remote

A VoterShield 1000
and its mighty
“Skip Fwd” button.

Campaign advertisers are a crafty predator. They’ll often position their ad as the last one to play before resumption of the TV show, meaning that even skillful ad-skippers will see their final slogan as it fades to black. This year’s slogan I most often saw in this manner was the phrase “No on 87.” Noticing this trend, each future occurrence prompted me to think “Wow, somebody is spending a ton of money to defeat Proposition 87. Eh, I’ll probably end up voting ‘Yes.’ ” Flippant? Sure, a bit – but allow me to explain my rationale.

I’ve noticed that like nearly every aspect of American politics, ballot initiatives are by and large about money. Initiative campaigns that churn out a lot of TV advertising are about A LOT of money – specifically, either a promotion of or an impediment to someone making a lot of money. To discern what a given ballot measure proposes to put into effect, a voter needs only to find out what interests are pouring money into the respective “No” and “Yes” campaigns, and then connect the dots through critical thinking. Read the rest of this entry »