Stickybuffalo.com

Lately I’ve noticed a number of terms which are frequently used, particularly by the Anglo-American news media and punditry, in ways that seem deeply misguided and misleading. I would like therefore to challenge the assumptions made in current usage of the following terms:

Center (or centre). Frankly, in the context of American politics, the term “center” seems to have become nothing less than a euphemism for “conservative,” “reactionary” and/or “Republican.” “The center” always seems to be located in a rightward direction; the only time it ever seems to apply to Republicans is in the context of a primary race, usually for the presidency, in which there is a brief window between courting primary voters and commencing the general election campaign when a candidate might “move back to the center” by means of some modest leftward shift. Otherwise, the “center” seems exclusively used to describe a position to the right of Democrats.

(more…)

If I see one more of these various stories about the incoming Republican congress’ pledge to “repeal health care reform,” I think my eyes may roll out of my head entirely. I mean, what’s the point, right? Reactionaries’ assaults via the legal system (and where are the schoolmarmish types who are always clucking with disapproval over liberals‘ alleged use of the courts as an end-run around legislative action, by the way?) may lead to something of significance, but House Republicans’ huffing and puffing and threatening to blow our health care reform down?

Yeah: absolutely meaningless. They can pass whatever they want; guess what? Killed in the Senate! (Welcome to our world, fuckers.) And if it weren’t, guess what? Vetoed by the President. (He’s still The Decider, remember?) So who the fuck cares that Freddie the Freshman Congressman from Teaparty, Indiana is wetting his pants with excitement about the opportunity to repeal that evil ol’ socialist Obamacare?

Honestly, our media is normally so literally reactionary… and when they make an exception and attempt to anticipate something for once? It’s completely irrelevant. Pulitzer’s ghost, what a lot of ninnies.

This sound and fury hasn’t been entirely without benefit, at least for me, though. Because in reflecting further on the prospects for what happens to health care reform, in the months and years ahead, I’ve realized that for once, Democrats may actually have achieved a pretty confounding strategic victory over their opponents. (more…)

Early on in America’s recent dalliance with a “backlash” against the TSA, I read a news item about TSA honcho Pistole “Pete’s” early attempt to frame some sort of response to criticism. It was a combination of the industry standard bluff-and-bluster, with a sort of general rambling almost Randy Moss-ian in its fumbling aimlessness. “Yeah, just as I thought; the TSA is run by a bunch of complete tools” was my unavoidable conclusion.

And yet, maybe not quite. Certainly the people running the TSA are inept bumblers when it comes to planning and implementing genuinely useful security procedures. But in terms of public relations management, someone at least may actually be pretty crafty. Because, by the end of “National Opt-out Day,” the TSA appeared to be winning the PR war in something like a 96-0 shutout.

(more…)