Gingrich-Cain 2012

If the Mayan prophecy is accurate, then the GOP ticket will likely be Newt Gingrich and Herman Cain.

With Perry's campaign implosion and the unlikelihood of Romney garnering weary swing voters and evangelicals who find Mormonism out of the mainstream coupled with each being GOP establishment outsiders - winning the nomination seems increasingly unlikely for them.

This brings me to the conclusion - albeit a horrifying one - that good ole' boy and  resilient GOP veteran - who has thus far sustained little damage from Perry and Romney's squabbles - will snatch the nomination and take a token African American running mate with him to contest Obama for the presidency.

Newt is already gambling on a controversial immigration stance - perhaps courting the increasingly important Latino swing voters in the process - while his campaign is also stealing valuable media coverage from Perry and co.

So, the question now is will the economy tank President Obama's chances of re-election or will killing Osama Bin Laden and pulling out of Iraq be enough to save his aspirations?

My Goldfish Died

He was a good fish, though at times gluttonous. He was strong too, outlasting his shoal mates by a good four months.

In the end Bangkok's fetid tap water probably killed him (yes - I dechlorinated the water and let it sit for a few days - and yes I should have used bottled water but with the recent shortage it seemed too valuable of a commodity).

I was saddened by the realization that perhaps my selfishness caused his death. I saw his death as a dark omen.

But then I realized - he was not really gone - he simply went back to the place from where he came from.

Although his corporeal form is no longer - his life force will be passed on. Maybe a street cat will consume his corpse (it was too big to be flushed) and gain enough energy to survive the night. In time that cat too will perish - but maybe its body will be composted and come back as some flowers - or even some grass that a cow will eat.

And one day that cow too will die - and perhaps some starving child will consume its flesh - thus keeping him alive for just one more night. And maybe that child will go on to change the world - all because of the life force passed on from my goldfish.

The Terrifying 2012 Presidential Election

There is roughly a year before the next U.S. Presidential Election - and things are starting to look scary. Very scary.

With much of President Obama's liberal base disfranchised by what has been perceived as a lackluster performance - reelection seems less and less likely.

First - civil discontent is growing by leaps and bounds everywhere in the United States. Protesters have taken to the streets in almost every major city demanding financial equality. Unfortunately for Mr. Obama much of the discontentment lies within a key demographic - young voters. Many of these young voters are pissed. Many will not vote for Obama or any candidate for that matter.

Second - the Electoral College has been quietly altered as have some important election laws in key states.

"Eight States (Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, South Carolina, Texas, Utah and Washington) gained votes, due to reapportionment based on the 2010 Census. Similarly ten States (Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania) lost votes."

"In 2011, several states enacted new laws that the Democratic Party attacked as attempts to improve the Republican Party's presidential prospects. Florida, Georgia, Ohio, Tennessee and West Virginia made their early voting periods shorter. Florida and Iowa barred all ex-felons from voting. Kansas, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin began requiring voters to identify themselves with government-issued IDs before they could cast their ballots." Source.

Bill Clinton denounced it, saying, "There has never been in my lifetime, since we got rid of the poll tax and all the Jim Crow burdens on voting, the determined effort to limit the franchise that we see today". He said the moves would effectively disenfranchise core voter blocs that trend liberal, college students, Blacks, and Latinos.

Finally - the Republican candidates are frightening. Mitt Romney, Rick Perry, Herman Cain, Ron Paul and Michelle Bachmann. Need I say more?

A Few Hemingway Quotes

"Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut." 

 

"An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools." 

"Fear of death increases in exact proportion to increase in wealth." 

"I like to listen. I have learned a great deal from listening carefully. Most people never listen." 

"Never think that war, no matter how necessary, nor how justified, is not a crime." 

"They wrote in the old days that it is sweet and fitting to die for one's country. But in modern war, there is nothing sweet nor fitting in your dying. You will die like a dog for no good reason." 

The Amazing and Frightening 20th Century

Some random facts about the 20th Century:

• Life expectancy increased from 35 years to 65 years.
• The number of people killed by government actions could be as high as 400 million.
• It started with horses, but ended with the space shuttle.
• By the end of the 20th century, more technological advances had been made than in all of preceding history.
• World population increased from about 1.6 billion people in 1901 to 6.1 billion at the century's end.
• Nuclear weapons gave humankind the means to annihilate itself.

Do you think we'll make it to the next century?

Marketers Love Disasters

Disasters are great for certain businesses and corporations. Marketing folks love setting up photo ops displaying their logos prominently and crafting nifty CSR themed websites.They've done something good - and they want to make sure you damn well fucking know that they've done something good (or that they're really sorry for doing something really bad).

They are responsible - they are socially responsible - they ooze Corporate Social Responsibility (I'd like to shake the hand of the copywriter that coined that term).

Do these soulless multinational entities give a fuck about those affected by the hurricane/earthquake/flood/fire/oil spill? Probably not - but their PR/Marketing teams (internal or external) are expert at spinning catastrophes - either self-made (as in the case of Shell below) or naturally occurring - into a positive PR marketing message.

Sure - a nice big fat check does a lot to alleviate suffering.

Shell has paid out over $34.5 billion in taxes and royalties to the Nigerian federal government. That's good right? That money has probably helped the poorest and most impoverished people of the Nigerian delta, right? That money probably set up some really great environmental protections, right? That's enough cash to make all those human rights violations and crimes against the environment go away, right?