Sneaky Bastard » Politics

I AM $name THE $profession

joseph — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 18:18:04 +0000

Last week, a friend tweeted about a hilarious Internet meme based on the McCain campaign gimmick called “Joe the Plumber.” Their idea was to fool working-class voters into thinking that their tax plan would benefit them — the tradesman or small business owner. To support the scheme, the McCain-Palin 2008 website offers a web form allowing a visitor to request his or her own personalized rally sign. This proved far too tempting for clever readers of FARK.com and Wonkette. I couldn’t resist creating my own, and preserving the best from others.

Feel free to comment with your own.

Prop 8 Nonsense

joseph — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 22:31:14 +0000

As a result of this whole Prop 8 nonsense, I have become increasingly aware of my delusional and righteous neighbors here in the Conejo Valley. Of course, I’ve seen the religious auto decorations for years. My (least) favorite two are the children praying beneath a cross. I don’t know what messages this sends — perhaps “Please, God, make my parents stop brainwashing me.” There’s also an interesting story behind the unauthorized use of Calvin, of Calvin and Hobbes, and copyright lawsuits.

I was also reminded of the these stickers today because I was driving behind someone I’m fond of, and I thought I saw one of these stickers on her car. It was incredibly disappointing to consider the possibility. I was relieved to learn that it wasn’t a Jesus sticker, but a firefighter crew sticker. Cut me some slack — they looked similar at a distance! ;)

Later today I’m going to take some photos of the daily “No on Prop 8″ rally at the intersection of Lynn Road and Hillcrest Drive as I drive to the gym. I’d really like to interview some of the people to get some material to ridicule on YouTube, but I don’t have that kind of time.

Really, Hillary? Really?!

joseph — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 21:30:01 +0000

I checked my voice mail today for the first time in a few weeks. I was rewarded by this little gem, leftover from the California primary frenzy.

Note that I did not alter the speed of the audio clip in any way. It is exactly as it sounded on my phone. Why would someone pay for this kind of telemarketing? I wasn’t going to vote for her anyway, but now I’m even more satisfied with my choice for Obama.

The Free Market

joseph — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 09:45:09 +0000

I’ve been listening to the recent political posturing about “stimulating the economy” with a package of government spending. It seems that the President and Congressional leaders from both parties are stumbling over themselves to propose the biggest and best. I agree that maintaining a healthy economy is a good idea — who wouldn’t? I even think that business tax incentives to encourage increased employment is appropriate. I’d love to see some new public works projects, such as mass transit, used to prop up that part of the economy (not holding my breath on that though). The Federal Reserve has dropped the funds rate aggressively, which should make capital more available, and appears to have settled the stomach of Wall Street. I’m fine with all of this, but what pisses me off to no end that as soon as the stimulus package legislation has been completed, and someone suggests that Congress should require some regulation regarding investor fraud, predatory lending, corporate collusion, or repeal of sweetheart subsidies, we’ll start hearing “No government interference with the Free Market!” For better or for worse, there’s no such thing as a free market.

The Hunger Myth

joseph — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 18:06:58 +0000

I was listening to the Tavis Smiley Show a couple days ago. He had a segment regarding hunger in America. His guests were Maura Daly of America’s Second Harvest and conservative analyst Robert Rector of The Heritage Foundation. I’ve gleaned the audio of the segment.

So, let me see if understand Mr. Rector’s argument correctly: Many Americans are overweight, including those with incomes lower than the federal poverty level. Families with very low annual income are at risk of going hungry. Therefore, hunger does not exist because many poor people are also overweight. Government should not fund programs for a problem that doesn’t exist. I don’t think that’s an unfair assessment of his crack research.

What a jackass.