…and this is a 
We don't even seem to be aware of the mess we're in
Category: Politics
Posted on: October 27, 2007 1:30 PM, by PZ Myers
We have to rely on comedians to tell us the obvious.
And that's because over the last seven years, because of the incompetence that goes by the name George Bush, we've become the most insecure, paranoid superpower ever. We don't think we can get anything right anymore. We can't take care of our own citizens after a hurricane, or plan for our wars, or maintain our infrastructure, and our celebrity rehab facilities obviously aren't working at all.
Comments
It's too Maher is such a nitwit about vaccination and animal rights.
Posted by: T. Bruce McNeely | October 27, 2007 2:04 PM
"At the Republican debate this week, Mike Huckabee said, "Islamofascism is the greatest threat we ever faced." Really? More than the Nazis? And the Russians? And the Redcoats?"
No, what Huckabee meant was :
"If I get elected President, Islamofascism will become the greatest threat we ever faced".
I think it's fair, at least with him, we'll know what will be on the menu. M.Huckabee and R.Lionheart vor VP, and some nice little crusades...
Posted by: negentropyeater | October 27, 2007 2:25 PM
...weren't willing to take care of own citizens during and after a hurricane. I was shocked to learn that the order to evacuate was given after public transportation was cancelled and that no other buses were laid on.
And the effort to rebuild has been just lame. It wouldn't be tolerated for Florida or California. But here, people just suffer.
Posted by: Monado in New Orleans | October 27, 2007 2:32 PM
"It's too bad Maher is such a nitwit about vaccination and animal rights."
Yes, he has his fleas, but then do lots of people you agree with about some things; Hitchens for one.
Posted by: sailor | October 27, 2007 2:34 PM
Friends and I have formed a sort of think tank about the issues that face the United States. Actually when you look at George W. Bush and his ultimate goal, he's been VERY successful.
That ultimate goal is looting the treasury. Oh the big banks have been doing that for ages, and now the oil interests are doing the same.
We are in another age of robber barons. People just don't want to see it that way.
Posted by: Tony P | October 27, 2007 2:43 PM
It's obvious he just hates America and wants the terrorists to win. I bet he doesn't drive an SUV, have a "Support the troops" magnet on it, or wear a little flag on his lapel.
Posted by: dogmeatib | October 27, 2007 2:44 PM
We need an official "National Jester"--
Tell me that wouldn't be cool--
One who'll poke fun at the stuff that is done
By our current "National Fool".
Posted by: Cuttlefish | October 27, 2007 2:57 PM
No, what you need is to hold your elected (and those pesky non-elected ones too) representatives accountable for their actions. You need a citizenry that gives a toss about something other than the iPhone, teh gay, TV, and whether coke or pepsi is better (hint: they're both crap, and it's not important). You need to remove the definition of a corporation as a person, or start throwing corporations in jail (i.e., the CEOs and board of directors) when the corporate person behaves badly.
Posted by: AlanWCan | October 27, 2007 3:07 PM
Why did Laura Bush don the hood of the Islamofascists? She must be one of them!
Posted by: CalGeorge | October 27, 2007 3:07 PM
since scare-mongering is very "in" nowadays,
if Americans elect a Republican for president again (apart from R.Paul), I'm buying a ticket on the next space shuttle. At least I'll get a better "view" and it'll feel more cozy up there.
Posted by: negentropyeater | October 27, 2007 3:15 PM
I love watching Maher and just sort of tune him out when he goes into PETA mode.
Posted by: wildlifer | October 27, 2007 3:20 PM
Posted by: Cairnarvon | October 27, 2007 3:26 PM
"and whether coke or pepsi is better"
Oh please. That is so eighties.
Posted by: Rey Fox | October 27, 2007 3:39 PM
"We need an official "National Jester"--
Tell me that wouldn't be cool--
One who'll poke fun at the stuff that is done
By our current "National Fool"."
Colbert for President!
Posted by: RamblinDude | October 27, 2007 3:51 PM
Of course neither coke nor pepsi is the best, Irn Bru is clearly the best caffeinated softdrink in the world. Here in Scotland it outsells coke and pepsi. Be careful out there though folks, it is bright orange and the it stains if spilt...
Posted by: Peter Ashby | October 27, 2007 4:13 PM
Cairnarvon, I am a European. As long as you don't elect a war mongerer and AGW denier, the rest is up to you. I don't know well enough R.Paul's agenda, but at least I know he doesn't belong to that category (as well as all democratic candidates).
You see that's the benefit of being the only superpower on this planet, you Americans get to decide if you are going to mess it up the most or not. We Europeans can only be polite observers.
As long as you don't mess up things for the rest of us as much as you did with the last two elections, it's all up to you guys !
Posted by: negentropyeater | October 27, 2007 4:35 PM
I plan to vote for Colbert. If he's not on the ballot, I shall write him in.
[Eddie Valiant]: "Seriously, what do you see in that guy?"
[Jessica Rabbit]: "He makes me laugh."
Posted by: Caledonian | October 27, 2007 4:41 PM
Rey:"and whether coke or pepsi is better" Oh please. That is so eighties. s/coke/republican/g
s/pepsi/democrat/g
There brought it up to date for you. Happy?
Posted by: AlanWCan | October 27, 2007 4:55 PM
He is running. Unfortunately only in South Carolina.
Posted by: David Marjanović, OM | October 27, 2007 4:58 PM
Unfortunately negentropyeater, our system may be far more broken than simply electing someone other than a Republican. Many of the Democratic candidates have plans that favor business (and kickbacks, outsourcing, etc.) that play a major role in our corrupted system. The candidates who see this (to varying degrees) either are unwilling to run (Gore) or are effectively unelectable (Kucinich or any 3rd party candidate).
On top of that the members of Congress are just as entangled, if not more so.
Posted by: dogmeatib | October 27, 2007 5:21 PM
PZ: "We have to rely on comedians to tell us the obvious."
Excuse me, but what do you mean "we," paleface? I rely on a variety of (mostly) non-corporate media to tell me what's going on. What I've seen of Maher leaves me highly ambivalent at best; but he says nothing new to me here.
It seems to be mainly liberals who gush like you're doing here; "Finally someone (Maher, Michael Moore, whoever) has the courage to speak the truth to power, blah blah blah!" I know that there are plenty of people around who've been dozing for the past three or four decades, but there's no excuse for this kind of ignorance, or misinformation (as though Maher or Moore were the only person saying such things). I found "The Nation" and "The New Republic" (back in the day when TNR was actually a fairly liberal rag) and "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" in my small-town, midwestern high school in the 60s. I was probably the only student who read them, but that is the point: I wanted to know what was going on.
Posted by: Duncan | October 27, 2007 5:31 PM
If California can elect Schwarzenegger, America can elect Colbert. John Stewart for V.P.
Posted by: CalGeorge | October 27, 2007 5:50 PM
I hate to say it, but I am seriously thinking about writing in Colbert for President. I don't like anyone, and there's a couple I seriously hate. Ron Paul is one, because he hides some of his views, and he would do no favors to people like me...I was thinking of voting for O'Bama just for his inexperience, but his actions lately are bothering me.
Wouldn't that be a blip if Colbert won?
On a side note: we need to find a way to get these "candidates" to quit moving the campaigns earlier and earlier. There's got to be a way around the fundraising and freespeech issues, and somehow have two or three month campaign. It's over a year to the Presidential Election, and I'm burnt out. I am not even listening to these people any more. I can't stand it. Don't some of these people have jobs they need to be doing instead? Like being a senator or governor? For crying out loud...
Yeah, and Stewart for VP...Gotta get my bumper sticker.
Posted by: Rjaye | October 27, 2007 8:11 PM
Ahh, but we know how to hold fake FEMA news conferences, don't we?
When I first turned on Morning Edition on Thursday, I was quickly filled with something I rarely feel: Malice towards another individual, in this case Condy Rice practically telling us WHEN we'd invade Iran.
Unfortunately, I've pretty much made up my mind, with my kids at the age of 13 and 10, that if we invade Iran, I will try to convince my family why we need to leave. I'm 49, have a good career, we have a lot of money invested here, we own a house, all our friends live here... And if we invade Iran, I will leave.
Condy drew that line in the sand, not me.
Fake FEMA news conferences not only do not help, well, if you're not outraged by that, you're the biggest apologist ever.
What the hell? What has W done? How can anyone say Bush is better than Clinton?
Posted by: MikeM | October 28, 2007 2:45 AM
Cthulhu - why vote for the lesser evil?
Posted by: Hank | October 28, 2007 5:05 AM
The Twilight Zone had an episode years ago which foretold of the neocons blustering.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OBnFzF7m4k
If you liked the Iraq war, you're going to love the Iran war.
Posted by: bernarda | October 28, 2007 5:34 AM
Oh please. Alright, I'll bite: enlighten us, oh Wise One, how exactly are we, the Americans who might be sympathetic to your agenda, actually supposed to implement that laundry list of changes? If our system were democratic enough that a grassroots movement of thoughtful individuals could reform the power structure accordingly... well, you wouldn't be enumerating such a list in the first place, now would you? I'd love to see impechments and criminal procecutions, and war crimes charges brought against those poticians and bureacrats responsible for the current state of world affairs. I'd also like to see proportional representation, instant run-off voting, and universal health care. If you have any actual concrete ideas on how to make any of those ideas materialize faster than their current rate, let us know, m'kay?
With that? No, not remotely! I'm sick of this smug, cynical, contrarian bullshit. It ill-informed, and it doesn't do a thing to promote progressive politics. If the last seven year haven't taught you that there's a difference between Democrats and Republicans, you are truly tone-deaf. Are there Democratic politicians that have let us down? Well yes, but I can't think of any of them that are actively trying to bring on Armageddon; as far as I'm concerned, that's a key difference.
Posted by: j.t.delaney | October 28, 2007 7:48 AM
"Well yes, but I can't think of any of them that are actively trying to bring on Armageddon; as far as I'm concerned, that's a key difference."
They are enabling the bastard and sitting on their hands; they aren't anti-Empire, they just want a "kinder, gentler" Empire.
A pox on both their houses. I won't vote for R. Paul in the general election, but I might vote for him in the Republican Primary, just to stir the pot.
"If the last seven year haven't taught you that there's a difference between Democrats and Republicans, you are truly tone-deaf."
And the people rose up, voted back a Democratic majority in Congress, and...what, exactly? Still waiting...
Posted by: JJR | October 28, 2007 10:01 AM
Well what, pray tell, were you expecting? There was no way that there would be a supermajority of progressive Democrats elected last fall, but a simple majority did succeed, and that means at least that Bush doesn't have a congress that will automatically rubber-stamp the neoconservative legislative agenda -- it's not a perfect situation, but it's a far cry from "who cares, they're all the same". My goodness, I'm not sure if you've been following the news for the last couple of years, but the chickenhawks have been trying to drum up support for a war in Iran, and having an uncooperative congress is at least one safeguard against that happening.
Of course, even if a supermajority of oldschool Wellstone/McCarthy-style Democrats had been elected to the House and the Senate, it's easy to imagine Bush using executive signing statements to neuter any laws he found too disagreeable, but that's too depressing to even think about.
Posted by: j.t.delaney | October 28, 2007 4:06 PM
Now that in Russia they've abolished the option of voting "Against All"...
Embiggen da gubbermint. Erm... seriously. Over here the duration of campaigns is limited by law. If you are caught campaigning before the official start (and, obviously, some other party will catch you), you are punished. I can remember one such case where two parties had to pay.
Posted by: David Marjanović, OM | October 28, 2007 5:24 PM
i'm not sure i would call bill maher a commedian any more. most of what he now does is political commentary -- with humor mixed in. most of our legitimate news and political opinions seems to come from the "comedy" direction these days.
Posted by: arachnophilia | October 28, 2007 7:06 PM
arachno: I've noticed that too, and wondered why. You can get reasonably well-thought-out comment on blogs, but hardly ever in the US mass media, except in comedy.
j.t. delaney: It seems to me that the Democrats look good only in comparison to the Republicans, but they do pretty well in that contest. Though I worry a lot that once the Democrats get hold of all those nifty anti-terror tools/laws and theories of executive power pushed by Bush and company, they'll find they like them about as well as Bush. Having your political advisors reading the medical records, e-mails, and phone conversation transcripts of your political opponents or allies must be really useful.
Posted by: albatross | October 29, 2007 11:08 AM