Shit From A Mile High...

... can hurt.

I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't invest a great deal of time shouting at my t/v over the sham in Denver and, for the most part, I've been faithful to that commitment. Besides, Dennis Perrin and Barry Crimmins have it pretty well covered as far as I'm concerned. This is not to say that I haven't been paying attention to developments mind you, it's just that I've found the whole sordid spectacle marginally more palatable when I've filtered most of the white noise from Mile High through the lenses of a relative handful of writers whose instincts I've come to trust. I don't have the patience I once had for political theater anymore, of this I'm certain.

So while I've watched some of the bullshit from Denver It's rarely for any extended amount of time for the hackneyed clichés became tiresome rather quickly. I swear, I could almost finish some of Hillary's sentences. The only breath of fresh air was of course Dennis Kucinich whose speech, predictably enough, was prominently displayed... on YouTube. DK in prime-time offering fundamental criticism of US political culture? Please. Silly rabbit, tricks are for kids.

On a more promising note, however, I happened upon this gem of political analysis courtesy of American Leftist, hereafter to be known as Werther's Law...

Welcome Aboard Mr. Crimmins

It's extremely gratifying to see that a pundit and cultural observer of Barry Crimmins' caliber has managed to fully purge himself of the Obamalaid. Earlier in the campaign season he showed distressing signs of infection which had him agitating on the Barockstar's behalf. Clearly he's recovered.

Arthur Silber Returns

And not a moment too soon. Silber weighs in on the Barockstar's underwhelming, yet throughly predictable choice for a running mate, Senator Joe Biden.

Empire Tricks

Everyone knows how to find the best deal at Costco or Target, but very few understand how to make contacts and politically organize in an attempt to influence policy. It is difficult even at the local level, and almost impossible when the issue is national or international in scope. Furthermore, they perceive institutions with people that have such skills as discredited, with labor unions being the most well known example. The exception is when the issue directly involves the family. The most vociferous opponents of the war in Iraq have been veterans, members of their families and families of children, with the parents fearful that their military will somehow persuade their child to volunteer when they aren't around
-American Leftist

That little quote sums up rather succinctly what's been bugging yours truly of late. Yes, I'm afraid things will have to get a lot worse for most Americans before they make substantive demands for change. I must admit, however, that I derive a small bit of consolation from how thoroughly Putin & Co. just fucked Team Bush's plans in Central Asia (at least for the time being). I guess we'll all see soon enough if the Bushistas are reckless enough to up the ante. Russia ain't Haiti.

Update: Chris Floyd has a great deal more as well on the Russia-Georgia conflict.

A Wall Street Rally?

Please. Our rulers and their sycophants in Congress are merely playing us for chumps--again.