GOAAAAAL!!!

Right then. I know everyone is so fucking gung-ho right now about the good old U-S-of-A futbol victory in the Copa del Mundo (including, apparently, Bubba). I dig that. I was going to say that we got lucky against England, but we were also quite unlucky against Slovenia and even had another goal disallowed against Algeria before the clock struck USA. I know I shouldn't be raining on the parade of what is truly an amazing and historic victory, and the sideshows that are sporting events are dependably good thought-taker-offers, but the fact remains that the aforementioned U-S-of-A is in a terribly bad place right about now and even if we were to shock the world and "win the whole fucking thing" (thanks be to 'Major League') our collective situation would still be about as good as Greece's (who were not as fortunate as US).

This fallout with McChrystal is huge, even though the White House will do everything possible to demonstrate otherwise. This, on top of the oil spill debacle, to go along with the debacle that will surely be the so-called financial reform bill, simply begs the question: what in god's name can Obama possibly do at this point in time to divert attention from just how entirely fucked we are, aside from praying to Allah we win the World Cup? Sorry to be the harbinger of bad news, but even that won't save us.

I would have a considerable amount more empathy for Obama if he had actually followed through with the whole 'change' campaign schpiel. I mean, I know that's the kind of thing one must regurgitate ad nauseum until the cows come home, but change is not continuing and (in one out of two instances) escalating the wars of the previous President, who couldn't have done more to catapult Obama into the White House if he tried (I guess escalation technically is change, just not the kind I can believe in).

The instances of such failure to be the 'change we can believe in' are excruciatingly many and not at all far between, and while I continue to hold out, at this point in time, an extremely dim 'hope' that perhaps Obama will come around and possibly do the right thing on any number of different issues, it will continue to be mere hope, for to borrow the campaign song of a certain also-ran in 2000: "[we] ain't [really] seen nothing yet."

BP-ed Off (Part I)

I suppose this has already been either alluded to or said plainly, but I would offer for one's consideration: the outrage that is BP’s (or Halliburton’s, or whichever demonic corporation one wishes to blame) astronomical oil spill is nothing short of a huge, tragic symbol of what this country has become; one that no longer has any control over its corporate masters. Totally and entirely beholden to the companies that should be regulated by the government, certainly not fully enabled. The Reagan Revolution has perhaps reached its zenith, for in the year 2010, almost thirty years after ‘the great communicator' was sworn into office, just as he said in his inaugural address: “…government [truly] is the problem.” We have reached the tragically comical point where this country has become Casablanca [“I’m shocked! Shocked that there was absolutely no oversight of these companies that drill offshore!” (BP lobbyist proceeds to conspicuously hand outraged politician bag of money with dollar sign on the side)]. We are no longer a truly functioning democracy, we are a third-world country where corruption is the name of the game and only approximately 1% of its people can play. Just as the Reaganites wanted, if you do not have an Inc. or a LLC or a LP after your name, your best interests are not going to be looked out for by your elected officials. The disproportion between politicians totally on the take and those somewhat on the take (if anyone can name one not beholden to someone or thing that is anti-social, I’d very much like to know) has grown to such a likely insurmountable disparity that the system simply no longer works.