The Largest Minority

May 25th, 2008 by Manila Ryce

That question was seriously posed on some website I came across, and your typical emotionally-charged debate followed. My God, there must have been millions of comments to this manufactured question about whether Barack Obama is “experienced” enough to be president. You could scroll to the middle of this bullshit sandwich and the comments wouldn’t be any different than they were at the top of the page because NOTHING was being said.

“Is Obama ready for the White House?” The question itself implies that he’d actually be the one calling the shots - that he’d be the master of our country’s destiny. Let’s try reality on for a change and see how it fits. If Obama becomes president, he’ll be just another puppet like the presidents before him. Politicians take orders from business. The president’s constituency is corporate America. Being able to read while looking pretty is essentially all his job requires. Judging from Obama’s platform and cult status… yeah, I’d say he’s ready to do that.

May 19th, 2008 by Manila Ryce

As some of you may have noticed, posts around here have been a bit slim, and it’ll be like that until about Wednesday.

I’ve been volunteering for the Nader campaign to get people registered to vote, and in leaving my comfy computer chair for the uncertainty of the real world, I noticed something I never had before. There are no public spaces where people can just exist as citizens rather than consumers. Where have I gone to talk to voters? Malls and supermarkets. That’s the only place where people gather in numbers. There is no town square where we can just talk and not be on a mission to consume. People walk through you at the mall, determined to fill whatever manufactured void they have at the moment, and you become just an obstacle in their path to completion.

And there are absolutely no places to rest in public, because “public” space doesn’t really exist anymore. Parks are the only place where you can sit down without being harassed for not consuming. If you dare to rest anywhere else it’s called loitering, an arrestable offense. You need to either buy something or move along because your right to enjoy this nation as a citizen is trumped by your duty as a consumer. In Vegas, the only place to sit is in front of a slot machine. Even planters are slanted so that nothing can rest on them. Our cities are becoming casinos.

Capitalism gives us the illusion that we have choice because we can choose between products in the market place. Can we choose not to buy anything at all? Of course not. You’re forced by all authority to stay in a perpetual cycle of consumption because the market is like a great white shark which will die if it stops moving. So please take some time today…

to be still.

May 12th, 2008 by Manila Ryce

I apologize for posting this Mother’s Day message a day late, but I was busy yesterday with my family and the many mothers in it. As proof, here’s a pic of the omelet buffet line I set up to give the ladies a day off from cooking.

It went over quite well. Forget jewelry and flowers. Apparently, the best gift of all consists of two bowls of ham and three bowls of assorted cheeses. The pastries my brother bought were damn good too, but I like to think of eggs and cheese as the real stars of the show. Mimosas also did a spectacular job in their supporting role.

May 9th, 2008 by Manila Ryce

“Israelis can always count on the United States to stand with them against any threat, from as close as Gaza or as far as Tehran, and to ensure that Israel has the means to defend itself.”

- Barack Obama, At 60, Israel Has Much to Celebrate

May 5th, 2008 by Manila Ryce

source

May 1st, 2008 by Manila Ryce

April 30th, 2008 by Manila Ryce

Excuse the language, but yes, Barack Obama is a giant pussy for consistently giving in to right-wing pressure to disown his acquaintances and political positions. On a side note, maybe it says something that we have a male candidate who’s a complete pussy and a female candidate who’s a huge dick. Hooray for breaking barriers in terms of sex-specific terminology.

No one expected a capitalist sell-out like Obama to defend Reverend Wright, but few expected him to outright denounce the man in public. Whether I agreed with Barack’s politics or not, I at least respected him for playing it cool and having a certain amount of integrity. Not anymore.

Just as Obama has seemingly refused to criticize Hillary’s hawkish behavior towards Iran and her vote for the Iraq War (he would’ve sealed the deal by now if they were a bigger issue), so too has he wussed out on the media by legitimizing their witch-hunt of the reverend. Grow a pair Barack. Stop betraying your liberal base to appease your enemies. Stop fueling their misconceptions.

If McCain tells you to repudiate Carter, you don’t have to do it. If Fox News says that Wright is an anti-American bigot, you don’t have to agree. Is this what your unified America looks like? A place where liberals must capitulate to the demands of the ignorant until we are indeed all unified behind one conservative narrative, free of independent thought and dissent?

Because Wright was critical of American policy and society, Obama said the reverend was “giving comfort to those who prey on hate”. Hmmm, I remember a certain president saying something similar in that critics of American foreign policy were giving comfort to the enemy.

So there you have it. It’s clearly our fault for encouraging those bitter white folks to cling to guns and religion. They’re the true Americans whose attacks are perfectly acceptable, but anyone on the other side of the fence must be silenced if they get too uppity.

April 26th, 2008 by Manila Ryce

I try to stay away from discussing mainstream politics and pop culture as much as possible, but…

I’m worried about Keith Richards. Not only is it obvious that he’s doing heavy drugs again, but he looks like crap in drag. No self-respecting tranny would ever leave the house looking like that.