Doug's Darkworld

The title pretty much says it all, we have gone from beyond partisan politics into some strange new world where no matter what Obama suggests, it must be some nefarious socialist plot. Yes, Obama is “indoctrinating” our kids, just for starters, but it gets worse. Terms like brainwashing, communist China, and Hiter Youth have been tossed out already. Here, for the record, is what the president proposes to tell America’s youth:

“President Obama announced that on September 8 — the first day of school for many children across America — he will deliver a national address directly to students on the importance of education. The President will challenge students to work hard, set educational goals, and take responsibility for their learning. He will also call for a shared responsibility and commitment on the part of students, parents and educators to ensure that every child in every school receives the best education possible so they can compete in the global economy for good jobs and live rewarding and productive lives as American citizens.”

To characterize this as some sort of nefarious plot, is, well, silly. If a Bush or Reagan had addressed America’s youth with a message like this, the Republicans would be parading in the streets and waving flags. Instead, because a “liberal” is telling kids to stay in school and get an education, it must be part of some sort of liberal conspiracy to brainwash our children. It used to be that right wing pundits railed against stuff they didn’t like, now they rail against anything that didn’t originate from one of their own. And as well there’s also been a growing trend for years for them to characterize anyone or anything they disagree with as being stupid. I find this all very disturbing. Yes, I’m not thrilled with some of the stuff that liberal extremists say, but there isn’t  a coterie of liberal media pundits making the same sort of, well, hate speech, every time a Republican leader makes any sort of proposal.

What bothers me here is that the right wing pundits and their fans aren’t getting it, Obama was elected. That alone says the average American is pretty liberal, and I mean liberal in the sense they are reasonably open minded about things like skin colour, and that they are tired of the endless negativity and scare-mongering from the Republicans. And now urging kids to get an education is something to be afraid of? Give me a break, I’m no Obama fan as readers may recall, but this is ridiculous. No wonder so many real conservatives fled to Ron Paul.

In other news, the unemployment rate just hit a 26 year high.

Brave new world insert, when I first copied the above link an hour ago the title of the story was just that: “Unemployment Rate Hits 26 Year High.” And now the story at the link is titled “Job losses ebb, but unemployment up.” I’ve heard about stuff like this before, amazing to see it in action. Could there be any more proof that the mainstream media is complicit in administration/corporate spin on the economy? Someone should start a website where they track these sudden watering down changes in mainstream news article, because it happens more often than one would think.           — Doug

Well, I’m not surprised about the economy. As I have said before, the economy tanked because basing an economy on the upward transfer of wealth and consumerism can only go so far before the whole rotten edifice collapses. And instead of letting the gangrenous parts of the economy die, both Obama and Bush simply redoubled efforts to transfer wealth upwards. Bush at least knew he was passing the whole mess off on his successor, I don’t think Obama is going to be able to keep robbing the public to pay the bankers for four years, but sure looks like he’s going to try.

Moving right along, in other historic news, Neil Armstrong recently said at a press conference:

“It only took a few hastily written paragraphs published by this passionate denier of mankind’s so-called ‘greatest technological achievement’ for me to realize I had been living a lie, ” said a visibly emotional Armstrong, addressing reporters at his home. “It has become painfully clear to me that on July 20, 1969, the Lunar Module under the control of my crew did not in fact travel 250,000 miles over eight days, touch down on the moon, and perform various experiments, ushering in a new era for humanity. Instead, the entire thing was filmed on a soundstage, most likely in New Mexico.”

Neil Armstrong admits the Moon landings were hoaxed? Of course not! The above appeared in The Onion, a satirical and spoof newspaper that prints all sorts of completely made up stories. The only reason I mention it is that two papers in Bangladesh mistakenly reprinted the story as fact. Um, oops.

And just because it’s been a long depressing week, here’s a few more fun stories from The Onion:  “Heroic PETA Commandos Kill 49, Save Rabbit” and “Christ Kills Two, Injures Seven In Abortion-Clinic Attack.” And of course “Nation’s Unemployment Outlook Improves Drastically After Fifth Beer.”

Have a great weekend everyone.

(The above image is claimed as Fair Use under US copyright law. It’s not being used for profit, and since it’s illustrating a link to itself, by definition it is the only image that will suffice. Lastly, my use of the image here in no conceivable way interferes with the copyright holder’s commercial use of the image, arguably the opposite. Credit and copyright: The Onion. And thanks to this article for inspiring me to run The Onion links. Wait, what is the picture above? It’s from The  Onion News in Photos:  Dye Pack Foils Art Thief.)