In Other News, Wolcott Drops the Mets for the O's
Just watched Recount on HBO (or most of it) and if nothing else, it does a nice job of twisting the knife one more rotation in those of us who've waited almost 8 years to use the words "former President" right before we get the chance to. Obtuse pain is sometimes the worst.
But like professional sports which we forfeited following a long time ago, we've passed on keeping score of the political game because the contests and crowds amount to little more than cockfights with larger purses. Franchises, all two of them, produce disenfranchised results in a system of uppers and downers that's rigged and pointless unless the vig is on your side. The pundits, whether in noisy bleachers or behind newsy keyboards, are the same complicit assholes who manufacture drama that's tailored for maximizing ad revenue and spectator desensitization. The only change you can expect is the channel you're watching.
Someone recently asked (too lazy to Google, and boy, that's wringing a handful), "does writing about politics count as political activism?" Are we really asking that? Are we such fat fuckin' slobs that we are giving ourselves that out? Answer: yes, but sit tall, what about those who only read about politics?
While The Freedom of Information Accessible by the Google Algorithm Act has given everyone an equally drowning voice, it has also turned us into a nation of point-n-click protesters, hands too covered in goo to effectively attack anyone but ourselves. (You see where this is headed, right? Should I just skip over the crocodile heads, pacing scorpions and quicksand pits and get to it?) Yeah, this is where I make my usual climb up the horse in shining audacity to tell my blogging compatriots to DO SOMETHING beyond moneybag rubbing, pageview counting and empty sloganeering.
But first watch this video I made two years ago and was reminded of while watching Recount.
Related:
The Farmhands (Baseball's Greatest Band) - "Cory Snyder"
Let None Call It Treason [James Wolcott's Blog]
But like professional sports which we forfeited following a long time ago, we've passed on keeping score of the political game because the contests and crowds amount to little more than cockfights with larger purses. Franchises, all two of them, produce disenfranchised results in a system of uppers and downers that's rigged and pointless unless the vig is on your side. The pundits, whether in noisy bleachers or behind newsy keyboards, are the same complicit assholes who manufacture drama that's tailored for maximizing ad revenue and spectator desensitization. The only change you can expect is the channel you're watching.
Someone recently asked (too lazy to Google, and boy, that's wringing a handful), "does writing about politics count as political activism?" Are we really asking that? Are we such fat fuckin' slobs that we are giving ourselves that out? Answer: yes, but sit tall, what about those who only read about politics?
While The Freedom of Information Accessible by the Google Algorithm Act has given everyone an equally drowning voice, it has also turned us into a nation of point-n-click protesters, hands too covered in goo to effectively attack anyone but ourselves. (You see where this is headed, right? Should I just skip over the crocodile heads, pacing scorpions and quicksand pits and get to it?) Yeah, this is where I make my usual climb up the horse in shining audacity to tell my blogging compatriots to DO SOMETHING beyond moneybag rubbing, pageview counting and empty sloganeering.
But first watch this video I made two years ago and was reminded of while watching Recount.
Related:
