Stuff that I Find Offensive: From Harry Reid to Wall Street

I wanted to provide some commentary, albeit short, about the current state of affairs. So, let me begin:

Harry Reid's remarks, and Obama accepting his apology? Not Offensive.
Former Governor Blagojevich saying he's "Blacker than Obama"? Not Offensive
The same banks we bailed out giving out bonuses? OFFENSIVE AS FUCK!!!!!

America, get your priorities straight. Thank you.

In Defense of Joe Wilson

I am sick and tired of hearing non-stop about how Congressman Joe Wilson is such a horrible person!

Why? Because, in the end, what he did wasn't that damn bad, that's why!

Lets get a few things straight: First off, what he did was stupid. Interrupting the President of the United States with a remark while hes making a speech to the joint-sessions is rude. That said, it isn't all that bad. Compared to countless other democracies with Parliaments, what happened was incredibly tame! Shouting matches, fist fights... someone yelling, briefly, "You Lie!"is next to nothing.

In this country, we have both a democracy and freedom of speech. We are allowed to say whatever we want to our democratically elected officials with very few restrictions. More or less, the only actual restriction is you can't threaten them, which is perfectly reasonable. That said, I, as well as everyone else, knows that there are still manners and moments to show dissent in a proper manner.

Think back to 2003. George W. Bush is making his State of the Union address where he lies to the American people and mentions something about a country buying yellow cake uranium. Not only was it a lie, but it was a bold-face lie. Not only was it a bold-face lie, it was a bold-face lie to get us to go into a unwinable war against a country we had no real reason to attack. I think its safe to say that the same people screaming outrage about Joe Wilson would applaud whoever would have yelled it then.

Or in 2004... or 2005... or 2007....

Remember when someone threw a shoe at George W. Bush? Basically, the agreement form a majority of American's was... amusement. An Iraqi Journalist threw a shoe at the President. His punishment was minor, and he's being released today after only 10 months in prison. No one called for his head or for him to resign.

What Joe Wilson did is excusable and understandable. This was not a Town Hall, it was not a campaign rally, it was an address to the nation. He did not threaten, he did not curse, he did not say anything horrible. When confronted with a Commander-in-Chief he believed was lying, he dared to do exactly what any of us would have wanted to say in that same situation ourselves. You and I may not agree with what he thought was a lie, we may not agree with this man at all.

To call for him to resign, to force him to apologize again AFTER he's already done so for speaking out of turn... for not apologizing for WHAT he said, which he meant... to do so goes against the First Amendment and smacks of censorship against something not considered the status quo!

Do I agree with what he said? NO! Do I agree with the fact he embarrassed himself and his state by making his comment during the speech? NO! Do I honestly feel he had every right in the world to do it? YES.

Cartoon Courtesy of Steve Benson

Obama's Speech: The New Healthcare Deal and the Return of Dissent

Last night, I watched as President Obama gave his speech on health care. Now, some may think at this point that I am anti-Obama to no end, and your wrong, very very wrong. Last night showed me why I'm glad I voted for him, and its largely because I wanted someone who, to be quite frank, got shit done.

Obama: You will no longer be denied coverage if you have a pre-existing condition. You will no longer be dropped if you get sick, or water it down. You can keep your insurance if you're happy with it.



THIS! THIS is what the people voting for Obama wanted. This is what a large majority of American's want! This, in the end, is what we need.

Health Insurance companies are, to me, the last privatized public service. While I am 110% in favor of capitalism, I don't think certain things should be privatized, like the police or fire departments. If you make your own system to compete, I'm 100% in favor of that, but not for it being entirely private. Health Insurance is an essential public service. Without it, people who get violently sick and could be otherwise productive members of society fall and die since they can't afford the coverage.

The only thing I'm worried with in this bill is that they would need to set caps and limits on the insurance companies on what, exactly, they will charge for this. They make money denying people, which we know for a fact, so if they have to take and keep sick people, are they going to, in turn, raise their rates for them and everyone else? "Oh, your not denied, but your monthly premium is $2000"?!

I'm happy and hopeful with what I heard, but I am nervous of the execution.

Also last night, there was something rarely ever done during a speech like this: Dissent. Yes, there have been gestures in the past (simply sitting while others stand), but in the middle of his speech, Republican Joe Wilson of South Carolina yelled "YOU LIE!" While I don't agree with him on his point, I do want to say this: I wish someone had the balls to say that during the State of the Union address back in 2003.

Cartoon - Tony Auth

You Don't Shout Fire in a Theater, and You Don't Bring Loaded Guns to the President

I love the fact that, in this country, we have the Bill of Rights. We're allowed to say what we want and to carry weapons to protect ourselves from those who would do us harms. To a degree, we have laws and customs regarding these two rights, and to a large degree, I don't have have a problem with them. You don't shout fire in a crowded theater unless there is one, and you don't bring a loaded gun to an event with the President of the United States. Simple, common-sense stuff.

So it's aggravating to see this asshole ruin it for the rest of us:

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The man went to a town hall event where the President was speaking. He held up a sign with a quote from Jefferson paraphrasing the line, "The tree of liberty needs to be watered from time to time with the blood of tyrants and patriots." He also carried a loaded gun. All in the name of reminding us of our rights.

To some degree, I agree with what his point was. Reminding people of our rights to freedom of speech and to bare arms is a good thing, but the way this was done was foolish, unwise, and fails in explanation. The fact alone that he carried a gun that was loaded makes his argument moot because, while one may have the right to carry a weapon in this country, its not a very responsible thing to have it loaded when you're near the leader of the free world.

Rights are one thing, using them responsibly is another.

Peter Schiff - Right About the Economy, May Run Against Chriss Dobb's. Thank God!

I'll make my remarks fairly brief: Chris Dobb has proven himself to be an idiot. Last year as the economy tanked, he blamed the Republican Party for the mess despite the fact that he, himself, permitted the payment of bonuses to AIG executives and was partly responsible for the Freddie and Fannie Mac situation last year.

Seeing him get kicked out by Peter Schiff, who was proven right as far back as 2007 when he said the fundamentals of our economy were weak and we were headed for collapse... well, it would be sweet. Incredibly sweet.

Peter Schif was on the Daily Show last night and had a great inteview. Make sure you check it out:

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Why I've Been So Hard On Obama, And Why You Should, Too

I am not a conservative, nor am I a liberal.

I was anti-Bush for the last 8 years and I've been a supporter of Ron Paul and Arlen Specter. I've been a fan of Al Franken and for legalizing same-sex marriage.

I am the undefinable, the unpredictable, the opinionated and free-thinking independent.

The last 8 years taught me something, something I thought would be remembered after 1-20-2009: That our leaders, no matter what we may personally think of them, must always be questioned, that it is our duty to not just accept what we were told but to think about if what they want to do is not only best for this country and ourselves, but if it was even feasible.

In 2002, Bush had a 62% approval rating. He had enjoyed support from his base through 9/11, which then put him over the top as we all said we wanted and needed faith in our leader, despite how we felt about him. By 2003, we was ready to declare war on Iraq, a decision that millions across the country, and the world, felt was wrong and stupid. We were told we were fools, we hated America, and that we were traitors. We were given a $300 check in the mail during his first term because we had a surplus and to help stimulate the economy. In the end, many said these moves were stupid and we were still told to sit down and shut up.

Here is it, 2009, and I see history repeating.

We were told that a Stimulus Bill, a bill that was meant to help us, needed to be passed and updated in order to save America. This bill was bigger and thicker than the USA PATRIOT ACT and was passed even quicker than that document! We have a president with a 65% approval rating going into his 100th day in office, and we have seen his leadership restore some faith in this country once again. All this, despite the fact he still favors warrant less wiretaps, will not punish those who committed war crimes in our government, ignored the dissent of what he considered a minority, and has had many of him nominees drop out because they were corrupt.

Let us also not forget this:

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Clusterfu#@k to the Poor House - Puppy Me!
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We are at a time where we face an economic meltdown, 2 wars, climate change, a problem with Social Security and Medicare, AND a possible (albeit kinda dumb) pandemic of Swine Flu. It's early in this administration, and dissent is still needed now. The time to ask questions is when no one else is, and right now the only dissent heard is dismissed as a bunch of insane conservatives. Even that has begun to change, even if only a little bit, with Obama-fan Keith Olbermann even attacking Obama for the stance on Wiretapping Americans.

But asking questions about Obama doesn't mean I hate the man or "want him to fail". I want Obama to succeed and to do well. I did vote for the man. His success is the success for everyman, woman, and child and future generations, and by showing dissent, by asking questions, we ensure that we see and understand what is going on. Some take my dissent as being "dissent for the sake of dissent", when I simply don't believe so. If everything was going fine, if there weren't any problems with what he was doing, I would simply let it go and move on. The problem, though, is that there are things that must be asked and doing so is what we need to do.

"We should have faith in our president, you know? We can't know everything about what's going on, and we don't have the type of information he does. We should just trust him to do what's best for us." I heard this in 2002 and I'm hearing it now. This is what I'm worried about, and this is why I show dissent.

The Tea Bag Protest: What Went Good, What Went Wrong

Today is Tax Day.

To some people, it is a day of dread and fear, one when American's are afraid of making sure they file their taxes on time. For others, it's just another day since they already filed them, or they are so poor they don't have to.

But this year, a portion of our American public has decided that enough is enough. Are we Taxed Enough Already? Apparently so. Today the TEA Parties were held at cities around the country.

Now, the best thing I can do is explain what this protest was originally about and go form there.

ORIGINS:

The idea for the protest, depending on who you ask, basically boils down to opposition to the Federal Reserve. At it's core, people are sick and tired of paying a yearly income tax. The solution to this varies, but plans have gone to taking more from your pay check to creating a national sales tax. I'm not in favor of either move, but another reason for the protest was anger over the stimulus bill and passing, and that is something I agree with to some degree.

So, let's get this straight: The protests were meant to go against the Federal Reserve.

Now, who organized this movement? Again, it differs on who you ask, but it was largely Libertarians. The Libertarian party is a mixture of conservatives and liberals, a group of people who strictly believe in the US Constitution. Ron Paul, who ran as a Republican for President last year, was a member of the party not too long ago.

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE MOVEMENT:

What happened is that, over a period of time, the protests were hijacked... sort of.

Around the end of March, more and more members of the Republican Party started to latch on and use the protests as a sort of "rallying point", a way to restore the Republican Party brand. Conservatives began to latch onto it as well, and soon, Fox News began to muscle itself in as a sort of "sponsor". In response, liberal media reporters such as Keith Olbermann and the Huffington Post began to label the event as nothing more than an "anti-Obama event", "A conservative rallying point", among other things.

Other media outlets began to take some sides, namely showing the event as a group of fringe extremists on the Right taking their anger and frustrations out on the Obama Administration.

In return, the movement was virtually eaten away from the inside out. What could, and to a degree, should have been an event to simply protest the federal reserve became a rallying point for conservatives, basically aimless, and muddled with things that it did not need.

But did it entirely fail?

THE RESULT:

While it is frustrating and angry as a supporter of this to see it corrupted, it didn't fail. It made national headlines without the derogatory "tea bagging" jokes, and President Obama himself stated that, starting now, that there would be changes to the US Tax Code to make the tax system more fair. In my opinion, the protests helped to push that along a littler faster and made it more of an issue, which means that, to some degree, it did succeed.

MY 2 CENTS:

It's a shame that the protests were so heavily marginalized. A movement that started organically, a movement to protests what citizens thought was wrong with the US Banking and Federal Reserve was , instead, turned into a rallying point for a political party that did not represent their ideals, or, at the very least, may have begun to re-embrace those ideals. I was going to one here in Philadelphia at Love Park at noon, but found out that the organizers pushed it, foolishly enough, to Saturday at noon instead.

People still attended. And Philberity decided to play a dirty, dirty angel:

1) It’s on, with a cast of perhaps 200-all-whites.
2) Not a lot of anti-Obama setiment on the signage, but man oh man, what did European Socialists do to these people?
3) Biggest applause for…the mention of Glen Beck

Nuff said.

To their credit, they are quoting a reader, but still, a dirty thing to print. I would have attended but, like I said, I thought it was postponed.

SHHH! Dissent Kills. - More On Obama being Pro-Wiretapping

SHHH! Dissent Kills. by LuvataciousSkull

Another day, another poster you need to check out. I did this before the inaguration for a series I wanted to do where I basically reminded people that, yes, you can and need to discus the policies of this man that so many are ready to call a god or Superman. We're starting to see people realize and admit that, yes, they did think that to some degree and that he isn't perfect. Thank god for rational thinking!

Keith Olbermann seems to have kept this concept in mind last night as he continued reporting on how the current administration wants to make sure you can never sue for the illegal warrantless wiretapping that was done by the Bush administration, and continues in the "administration of change".

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Obama Agrees With Bush: Warantless Wiretapping Americans is Good!

When Keith Olbermann criticizes Obama, you KNOW it must be big!

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Keith, thank you for reminding me yet again why I watch you show!

The Obama administration is actually trying to expand immunity. For more, please read this article from the San Francisco Chronicle.

Anti-Stimulus Cartoon "Offends" People

When Obama was running I told all my friends the same thing; "I'm afraid of him winning if for nothing else than we may not get to make fun of him. Too many people will be afraid that they'll be labeled racists or offensive or whatever!" My friends... well, they tended to look at me with glazed eyes because they didn't care.

So when the Obama Sock-Puppet Monkey came out and I laughed because I thought it was cute, you can imagine why I wasn't shocked that a lot of people found it offensive. "Your comparing him to a monkey! RACIST!" Well... yes and no. In the past, yeah, comparing black people to monkeys was racist. At the same time, we have a tradition of comparing politicans to chimps, orangutans... simians of all shapes and sizes. We've never cared about the race of poltiican, just the fact that they were an inept chimp.

And then this.

Seriously, outrage over this? “OH MY GOD! It’s two WHITE cops shooting a CHIMP! RACISM!” What are you, 5? If it was two black cops, would it be racist, or just a really interesting political statement no one would care about it? What if it wasn't a chimp at all, but a snake. "Oh no, they killed a snake!" No one cares about snakes! Everyone fucking HATES snakes! Chimps? We like them!

The only people offended by this are people who want to see some sort of racism in and of itself. How many cartoons have there been over the last 8 years comparing Bush to a chimp? Seriously, how many? I lost count after the first 1,000,000.

Apes, monkeys, chimps… people compare politicians to primates all the time! I didn’t see it as a racist; I saw it as them saying only a idiotic chimp would write a stimulus bill like that, that the bill was stupid and seemed to be written by a chimp.

I'm 99% sure that the guy who drew this said, "You know, some people might get offended by this, but I'm sure that it's just going to be a few people and that'll be it. No one is going to care about what a few idiots think. I'm certain that the audience of The New Post have enough of a brain to realize it's not racist but basic social commentary using ideology and imagery we've used for years." He vastly underestimated the basic level of intelligence the average New York Post reader has.

How many people “outraged” laughed at the Bush-Monkey comparison? How many people “outraged” love Obama and voted for him and would shout outrage at any bad press about it, screaming “conservative bias”? How many of these “offended” people think black people have had it so hard they need to be protected? How many people “offended” realize that Al Sharpton is a idiotic douche bag who has said and done horribly racist things himself?

At the same time, how many people laughed at this:

You remember this, right? Mohammed with a bomb on his head. People laughed and chuckled at it but we all said, "you know, that might be offensive to some people, but at the same time, the guy is basically saying that religion can be used as a weapon. He isn't saying 'All Muslims are crazy, just some of them.'" We all used our brains and made a rational decision and moved on. We laughed at the crazy bastards over the ocean who protested and thought it was so horribly bad.

Well... your turn. It's your turn to realize that your an adult and you need to be treated as such, to be challenged, to be offended! You don't have a right to not be offended, you have a right and a privileged TO be offended! To question! To be treated as thinking, rational, mature human beings!

This cartoon isn’t racist unless you want to be. If you think it is, please cancel your subscription to the New York Post, boycott it, whatever... meanwhile, I'll be over hear laughing at how silly you look.

QUESTION: Does Obama Have a Right Now To Not Be Put On Merchandise?

Over the last 8 years, a small cottage industry developed and was created to insult and defame now-former President Bush. It was fun! Anti-Bush merchandise was everywhere and was fun to look at sometimes. Selling your own anti-Bush shirt meant being more clever and smart than the next guy... and getting there early. I didn't have either so my anti-Bush designs never took off.

Enter #44, President Obama. I wrote previously about how his image was used on just about everything (literally) and how I thought it was tacky. In turn, the Obama team is trying to stop it... which doesn't seem like a good thing to some degree.

You have two things at work here that you need to keep in mind: On one hand, you can't use the image of a celebrity to promote something without their permission. On the other hand, a publicly elected official tends to loose those rights. The First Amendment protects everyone to allow them to insult, defame, and parody the President anyway they want without needing rights to do so. You can make money insulting the guy, and no one can do a thing.

On the other hand, you have businesses using the President in a positive way to attract business. It isn't parody at this point, it's getting a false endorsement.

At this point, I can't say I have an actual view on this yet. I'm angry and think it's wrong for the Obama administration to clamp down on people for using his likeness because we have laws stating that, well, your allowed to. This could set a terrible precedent in the future with other leaders and not being allowed to parody or insult them.

This is a pretty thorny issue and, really, only time is going to tell...

Photo: Shazmosis

Article: No, You Can't Commercialize Obama

Shepard Fairey Part 2: What We Can Learn About Freelancing

This one is going to be incredibly short because, really, it's cut and dry.

One argument I've heard in defense of Fairey is that even if the Associated Press one, the original photographer wouldn't be compensated. The problem with that argument, though, is that it's still the property of the Associated Press.

Mannie Garcia is the freelance photographer who took the photo under a work-for-hire provision. That means the work created by the freelancer was bought by the Associated Press and they own it, not the original creator. While Mannie thinks it's "pretty cool", which I won't lie, it is, there's still the fact that the Associated Press has a point.

So in this I think is a lesson to any and all freelancer's out there: Realize that when you do work for a client, sometimes your waving your rights as a creator by doing it as a "Work-for-Hire". Doing something as a "work-for-hire" is always risky since you never know what sort of life the piece of art will take on later on.

Shepard Fairey: A Tale of Lawsuits and Arrests

When you do art, there are always a legal problem around the corner. Or, more accurately, when you do any form of street art, there is.

Fairely has become famous, both for his "OBEY" slogan and images of Andre the Giant, and the "HOPE" posters of Obama. His images are iconic and known the world over, but it has always come at the price of other artists. I've seen him defended countless times, and rightfully so; most of what he does falls under "Fair Use" laws and I fully support them. At the same time, a double standard constantly comes up. Frankly, there is a lot of issues in the case and a lot of ground to cover, and it's up to me to kinda give you a round down that is easy to digest, so here goes:




Above us are two images. On the left is the "Big Brother is Watching" poster from the 1956 film adaption of the George Orwell novel, 1984. On the right is Fairely's poster. It can, and has, been argued that Fairely simply "re-created" the image entirely and put his own spin on it. That's true, he did give it a different spin. The problem, though, is that it's still 90% recognizable as the original image. No credit was given to the original artist or film maker, no one was given compensation, and he didn't have permission to use the image for anything.

Now, let's look at another case:



This time, we have a different artist and a different case. On the left, we have an original piece of art and t-shirt by artist Jess Fink. On the right is an image NewBreedGirl is using. Looks similar, doesn't it! Jess Fink had an image, design, and concept stolen by NewBreedGirl and sent them a letter to stop making it. It worked. The company apologized and it was settled the matter out of court.

But when it was found out that the image was stolen, a massive outcry from artists and designers came out at the anger and outrage that the mans idea and concept was stolen. Angry letters and protests images were created in response. Artists agreed: This wasn't fair use, this wasn't a case of basically creating something your own and being inspired, it was 100% plagiarism.



Again, NewBreedGirl ripped off another artist and this time the rip-off was a lot more obvious. The response from the artist?

I can tell we're not happy about it, and are definitely dealing with it. It's hard enough out there striving for some level of originality – a moustache character with a moustache is pretty specific at least – so to have our Moustachio character ripped off so blatantly is really frustrating and annoying. Independent artists and designers like us are constantly striving for and succeeding in coming up with interesting, compelling concepts and visuals, and while most celebrate and enjoy them, some opportunistic, unoriginal hacks can't help but try to cash in.

Sad, isn't it?

Then you have this case where Hot Topic (or a company that hot Topic bought from) stole a piece of artwork from someone after using Google Image Search for a piece of "Pirate Girl" artwork.




As you can see, they stole the image and ripped out the persons name. Blatant copyright infringement and abuse? Unfair use? Yes, yes, and yes.

So, we've just seen 3 cases where companies stole artwork from an artist and used it for their own personal profit and gain. We've seen outrage in response to this, and we've seen that most of the time the plagiarist admits defeat and moves on his way.

Now we have the image of Fairey's "Hope" Poster:



We're left with the question of if this falls within "Fair Use" and if this is protected. The Huffington Post made a good statement about how, in 2006, a case was bought up against an artist who used a woman's face without permission. The judge said that the use of the image was "different enough" to justify using it. In turn, the case was dismissed. So, in turn, is this protected as well? Does the Associated Press have a case on which to sue?

Yes... and no. Most of the people who are defending Shepard are Obama supporters, and that's a fact. That doesn't mean that they don't have a point. Duchamp was the man who created the DaDaist movement by basically taking a urinal to the Philadelphia Museum of Art and saying, "Hey, this is my latest piece." In turn, a controversy about if it really was "art" or not was created and the entire concept of "found art" and re-purposing items for art was, in short, created. Well, not really, but in the modern world it was.

I bring up Duchamp because Fairey is, in a lot of ways, doing the same thing: Taking an existing image and recreating it into a new context. The problem, though, is in how he does it and what it means.

Let me boil down what (I think) he did: He took the image into Illustrator, traced it, added his own personal touch, and in the end, created his own take on the image. He traced the image, he put his own vision and idea into it, created a new platform for it, and made it his own. Did he rip off someone for it?

Well, ask yourself this: I've pointed out 3 examples where an artist was ripped off by a larger company. These companies may have done exactly what Fairey did: They saw an image or idea, re-purposed it into their own vision, and made it "their own". The image created by/for the AP (or their freelancer, more accurately) was to make them money and convey an idea; Fairey did the same thing.

I think it's both. He did create his own version of the image, his own idea on how to use it. In turn, though, he used an image that is incredibly similar to the one that was already created and copyrighted.

To add insult to irony, Fairey supposedly threatened to sue someone who parodied his "OBEY" image:



The artist is Baxter Orr from Austin, TX. Funny, isn't it? Didn't this guy re-purpose the piece for his own use and made it his own? Isn't this a re-imaging of a piece?

In the end, it's a lesson any art student needs to learn early on: Be careful about what images you use.

For more on this issue, please check out this awesome article by artist Mark Vallen titled "Obey Plagiarist Shepard Fairey."

A Humbling Gesture

I would like to say Thank you and give a bow to Philadelphia Weekly for doing something that, frankly, was the most humbling, thoughtful, and nicest thing I've had happen to me in a long time.

On Tuesday, I felt the need to vent about the coverage of President Obama on the day of his inaguration. It seemed that the media took a holiday and instead of doing their job, instead decided on being the mouthpiece of our administration. While I am thrilled with what Obama has done in his... well, 2 days in office, I pointed out something that I'm glad resignated so much that they felt compelled to make it a headline:

The time to question is when no one else is.

We can not, at this time in this nations history, simply allow ourselves to turn off our brains and be complacent with this election and this outcome. Obama has been built up to a level that no human being is capable of, and it is up to us, those who voted for him, those who elected him, those who want him to live up to his message of "hope" and "change"... it is up to us, the American People, to question this administration and still use the same critical thinking skills we used on Bush.

Today he closed Gitmo, something I am happy about. But, at the same time, what is the result of this? What are both the good and, yes, bad in this move? I don't have the answers, but is this a step in the right direction? I think it's safe to say yes.

Meet The New Boss... Same As the Old Boss

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Changefest '09 - Obama's Inaugural Speech

Barack Obama Interview
John McCain Interview

Sarah Palin Video
Funny Election Video

The Daily Show had a pretty good look at the first speech by Obama and what Bush has said over the last 8 years.

Our Free Press is Now Propoganda Again

I keep forgetting that people never learn from the past.

Eight years ago on this day, an idiot was elected president. Despite that, the media simply ate up whatever Bush did or say and didn't question anything. They simply stayed content to follow the lead, to do whatever he said, and when it came time for the war on Iraq, they went with the name they were given. No objective reporting, no warnings, no original thought. Instead, we were fed lies and propaganda and were told it was news.

Today we get to see history made; we get to see the end of the last 8 years of Bush and the start of a new president. I won't echo his words, and I won't simply say I agree with what he has to say. His actions will say more than anything he could give in a speech. I will say, though, that I do have fairly high hopes.

Just remember this quote as we go into the next 4 years: The Time to Ask Questions is When No One Is.

There's Money To Be Made in This Obama Thing!

This Obamania is getting out of hand.

The Gaza Ceasefire lost out in coverage over Obama riding a train. Let me repeat that: The Israel-Gaza ceasefire, a war that's gone on for nearly a month, happened and instead, 2 of the 3 24/7 news networks covered Obama riding a train.

I think I'm going to be sick.

A lot of things are going into this entire Inauguration: The end of the last 8 years of Bush tyranny and incompetence, the election of a non-Republican, the first black president... you have all three of these converging at a time when the country is experiencing fiscal unrest and an uncertain future in the world stage... and the presidential campaign slogan has become the theme of the same news networks who job it is to criticize and be objective of our leaders.

At the same time, anyone and everyone is trying to cash in on this Obamania fad as much as possible. T-shirts, posters, bobble heads, dolls, commematrive plates, collector coins, mugs, stickers, buttons, wristbands... LIPBALM!

Here's a list of the 35 Weirdest things... including a wine bottle.

I was standing around about 2 weeks ago in a subway station in Philly and some middle-aged woman was selling Obama posters, buttons, and other merch. I felt a need to say something:

"How great a time we live in when we can profit of the election of the first black president! Yes, in a time when our economic future looks bleak and we're not sure of what tomorrow will bring, thank god we live in a capitalistic society where we can make money of our president! And god bless it!"

The Story of Roland Burris: Or How To Make People Hate You

When Illinois Governor Rob Blagojevich was accused (and, basically, found out) to be selling Obama's Senate Seat, one thing was basically agreed: If he appointed anyone, they would be rejected. When I heard about it, I decided to put myself in the position of someone being asked to do it. "Larry, would you please replace President-Elect Obama as Illinois Senator?" "Sir, thank you very much for the offer, but I'm going to have to decline. I'm going to prepare a statement and release it stating that I am thankful for the seat, it's an honor, but I don't feel it's appropriate at this time to accept it."

So Roland Burris, what's your excuse?

Instead of doing the right and honorable thing, he has, instead, pushed himself into a media circus where he has become... well, I don't know. I guess an idiot. But who can entirely blame him? If you were offered a job as a US Senator, would you simply turn it down, especially if you knew it was yours, 100% legally, free-and-clear? The only catch... is that your appointed by a corrupt politican and may never get to serve because of it, especially if you don't try to distance yourself from it.

Here's a fact you may not know; if he doesn't get the job, there will be no black senators this time around. And, in turn... some people have dragged race into this. Great. Pointless racism. Just what we need with our first black President.

Long story short: He should have publicly turned it down. Said it was an honor to be asked, but he can't do it. Now? Now it's too late. And that's sad.

I Wish I Was Kidding: Anti-Obama Shirt Sales UP After Election

Well, first gun sales went up after Obama, and now my "False Messiah" shirts are doing better NOW than during the election!

Here's a disclaimer: I actually voted for Obama!

Since he won the election, I've sold 6 shirts, 2 of them within the first 24 hours of his win.

It's interesting to see the reaction to the win across the board; some places are like this:



Other places are like this:



In other words, mixed.

Myself? Well, let me at least try to explain myself, my position, and my upcoming actions:

I voted for Obama for one simple reason: If I had to choose between Obama, McCain, Nader, Bob Barr, and the crazy bitch who ran for the Green Party... I'm stuck with Obama. Why? Because McCain has Sarah Palin, Nader wound up calling Obama an "Uncle Tom", Bob Barr helped to Impeach Clinton but not Bush, and the Green Party Nominee is A CRAZY BITCH! Also, Obama's tax cuts and overall plans are actually OK save a few things I don't feel like explaining right now.

But, despite that, I'm still going to be critize him whenever I can. Why? Because you have to! The time to ask questions is when NO ONE is asking questions, and right now all dissenters are being labeled as "right-wing", "conservative", and, yes, "unpatriotic". The same harsh criticism that was used to label people who critized Bush is now being done when you critize Obama, and frankly, I will not let that stand!

In fact, it's gotten so bad that my "False Messiah" piece is now rated "Mature" on DeviantArt because of the criticism!

So, well... you know, look for some more pieces soon. It should be interesting.

Obama Says Lipstick, McCain Screams Foul, and Obama Makes A Dumb Issue Dumber

Every single election, we deal with some dumb comment or two and these things or easily forgotten. I'm sure if you think about it, one or two things that were said this election, the other side said it was wrong and, in turn, it's normally forgotten in a day or two.

So when Obama mentioned "Lipstick on a Pig" and the Republicans called it sexist, I rolled my eyes, saw it as stupid, and just ignored it. 

Obama didn't.

Instead, Obama took the issue, issued his own press releases and, in turn, made a stupid non-issue a bigger one than it should have been. Depending on who you want, it's either one of two things: Brilliant because what better way to show your enemy is dumb than by pointing out such a naive flaw? Stupid because it comes off as desperate when your no longer in the spotlight and your poll numbers are slipping, so is your popularity.

This is just a really dumb, really big diversion, and Obama, the man screaming about change, is taking the same-old same-old route by focusing on this.