Sarah Palin. Who? Sarah Palin, Governor of Alaska for the past twenty months. What is the population of Alaska? Less than a million people – in the entire state! As a point of comparison, that’s less than the population of San Jose, California, Jacksonville, Florida and Columbus, Ohio. Sarah Palin is the best the GOP can do? Palin is the most qualified Republican woman they can find?
I have nothing against a female vice-president or Alaska – but are they freaking serious!
Choosing Sarah Palin as his running mate simply shows that John McCain is desperate. Choosing Palin also confirms – as if any further proof were needed – that the GOP is done, out of ideas, finished, kaput, bankrupt, adrift on the sea of a failed ideology. Choosing Palin does not – even though Sean Hannity tried his best to spin it so – re-establish McCain’s maverick reputation. McCain has marched in lock step with George W. Bush, down the road, around the bend, and over the edge of a sheer cliff.
The GOP run is over. Hannity, Limbaugh, Barnes, Savage and the rest of the right-wing blowhards had their time in the sun, total control of the country -- White House, Congress, Courts – and tanked spectacularly, historically, monumentally.
McCain and Palin, a doddering old man and an untested woman from an isolated state that bears no resemblance to the rest of the United States. Where Palin’s from it’s fine and dandy to support gun ownership, indiscriminate oil drilling and other nutty right-wing ideas because at the end of the day we’re talking about Alaska – a state that, frankly, was added to the union as an afterthought and means next to nothing in the grand scheme of things.
Bill Clinton was right – absent another stolen, fraudulent election – Obama and Biden are on the right side of history and should capture the White House in a landslide. Clinton was also right when he said that this election boils down to two simple elements: restoring the American Dream at home, and restoring American credibility abroad.
And Barack Obama was right when he framed the election this way: “If you don’t have a record to run on (and how can John McCain and his Alaskan sidekick possibly run on the Republican record? Hi folks, we’re losers and we want you to vote for us!) paint your opponent as someone to run from.” Precisely, and that’s what the dying, sputtering GOP machine will do from here to Election Day. Only now the Democrats can do the same thing, spotlighting McCain’s age and mental confusion, his temper and history of ethical lapses, and now the gaffe of all gaffes, tapping unknown, untested Sarah Palin as his running mate.
Need we talk any further about John McCain, the blatantly transparent political calculator – crassly trying to attract female votes by choosing Palin – his abysmal absence of vision, or do we now know everything we need to know?
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Racists, Rednecks and Rove
This is a big week for the Republicans, even though the Democrats and Barack Obama are center-stage. You can bet the GOP brain trust – led by Karl Rove – is camped around a massive Plasma TV screen, drinking whiskey neat and recording everything that happens, everything that is said, reading between the lines and below the lines, seeking to uncover the story beneath the story -- all for the purpose of storing ammo for the general election.
If Barack Obama thinks he has seen the worst of the GOP attack machine he is sadly mistaken. Rove and his minions will pull out all the stops once Obama and McCain are officially anointed; oh yes, that’s when the big guns will be wheeled into position, and come September and October, the GOP will launch a major assault on the Truth, and millions of American voters will be cut down and left for dead. From now until then, Rove and his people will be working OT to paint Obama as too Liberal, too Foreign, and too much of a Muslim sympathizer. And if that PR offensive doesn’t gain traction, bet heavy that Rove and Co. will call their pals at Diebold and see about rigging voting machines to record votes for Obama as votes for John McCain.
Rednecks, racists and big money Chamber of Commerce types are worried about Barack Obama -- the idea that a black man with a strange name might take up residence in the White House makes a lot of white folks nervous. The cowboys at the county fair are talking about the possibility of an Obama presidency in apocalyptic terms. This isn’t the same as when Jesse Jackson ran because Jackson didn’t stand a chance of winning. Jesse was, frankly, too black to win over white voters. Not so with Obama, who is smart, articulate and charismatic.
Wall Street movers and their armies of K Street lobbyists are girding for war in the corridors of power. Money is already flowing to grease palms and buy loyalty, just in case Obama gets elected and proposes something sensible like re-regulating the banking system so that middle-class and working-class Americans are protected from predatory Titans of Finance.
The same siege mentality prevails in the health care industry, lest Obama get uppity and use his bully pulpit to promote Universal health care. The Privileged and the Profit Makers know that the time is now to inoculate themselves against an assault on everything they’ve gained during Bush’s reign.
There are, of course, a few realists in the McCain camp who know their man is a corrupt stiff with a liability-laden resume; all they can do is stoke the fears of the masses – fears about Mexicans swarming across the border to rape and rob defenseless white suburbanites; fears of socialized medicine; fears of reverse discrimination; fears of high taxes; and the Numero Uno Fear -- bearded Muslims.
McCain’s operatives know that peddling Fear is all they’ve got. When it comes to policy McCain is Bush Redux, and even the thickest, dumbest, shit-kicking, tattooed American has figured out that Bush and the GOP are responsible for the shit-storm sweeping the country. When citizens are weaned on TV you can fool most of them most of the time, but sooner or later even dolts wake up and realize that George W. Bush and his cronies are guilty of sodomizing the United States of America.
More to the point, McCain’s people know their man can’t hold his own against Barack Obama in a televised debate – even one with cream-puff questions lobbed by journalists infatuated with McCain. “I was a POW” is a statement of historical fact, not a policy position. Moreover, “I was a POW” is irrelevant to this election. This thing is about pulling us out of the open sewer Republican greed, corruption and incompetence put us in.
If Barack Obama thinks he has seen the worst of the GOP attack machine he is sadly mistaken. Rove and his minions will pull out all the stops once Obama and McCain are officially anointed; oh yes, that’s when the big guns will be wheeled into position, and come September and October, the GOP will launch a major assault on the Truth, and millions of American voters will be cut down and left for dead. From now until then, Rove and his people will be working OT to paint Obama as too Liberal, too Foreign, and too much of a Muslim sympathizer. And if that PR offensive doesn’t gain traction, bet heavy that Rove and Co. will call their pals at Diebold and see about rigging voting machines to record votes for Obama as votes for John McCain.
Rednecks, racists and big money Chamber of Commerce types are worried about Barack Obama -- the idea that a black man with a strange name might take up residence in the White House makes a lot of white folks nervous. The cowboys at the county fair are talking about the possibility of an Obama presidency in apocalyptic terms. This isn’t the same as when Jesse Jackson ran because Jackson didn’t stand a chance of winning. Jesse was, frankly, too black to win over white voters. Not so with Obama, who is smart, articulate and charismatic.
Wall Street movers and their armies of K Street lobbyists are girding for war in the corridors of power. Money is already flowing to grease palms and buy loyalty, just in case Obama gets elected and proposes something sensible like re-regulating the banking system so that middle-class and working-class Americans are protected from predatory Titans of Finance.
The same siege mentality prevails in the health care industry, lest Obama get uppity and use his bully pulpit to promote Universal health care. The Privileged and the Profit Makers know that the time is now to inoculate themselves against an assault on everything they’ve gained during Bush’s reign.
There are, of course, a few realists in the McCain camp who know their man is a corrupt stiff with a liability-laden resume; all they can do is stoke the fears of the masses – fears about Mexicans swarming across the border to rape and rob defenseless white suburbanites; fears of socialized medicine; fears of reverse discrimination; fears of high taxes; and the Numero Uno Fear -- bearded Muslims.
McCain’s operatives know that peddling Fear is all they’ve got. When it comes to policy McCain is Bush Redux, and even the thickest, dumbest, shit-kicking, tattooed American has figured out that Bush and the GOP are responsible for the shit-storm sweeping the country. When citizens are weaned on TV you can fool most of them most of the time, but sooner or later even dolts wake up and realize that George W. Bush and his cronies are guilty of sodomizing the United States of America.
More to the point, McCain’s people know their man can’t hold his own against Barack Obama in a televised debate – even one with cream-puff questions lobbed by journalists infatuated with McCain. “I was a POW” is a statement of historical fact, not a policy position. Moreover, “I was a POW” is irrelevant to this election. This thing is about pulling us out of the open sewer Republican greed, corruption and incompetence put us in.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Irony Abounds & Abounds & Abounds
It’s ironic to hear George W. Bush lecturing Russia about invading a sovereign nation, and demanding that Russia pull its occupying forces back. Isn’t that like telling Russia to cut & run?
George W. Bush and his ideological allies invaded a sovereign nation, Iraq, on a sand dune of lies and insist, five years, thousands of dead and wounded and billions of dollars wasted later, that American forces remain in place until “victory” is achieved. Why should Russia, which has its own interests, do any different?
And isn’t it ironic, not to mention telling, that during the Russian incursion into Georgia, the American media showed viewers plenty of images of war, but that same media machine cannot be bothered to show Americans what is really happening on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan. Are we to believe that there are no weeping elderly women in Iraq, or orphaned children in Afghanistan? Compared to the coverage in Georgia, the Iraq and Afghanistan campaigns have been bloodless.
Ironic that conservative ideology asserts that the answer to every social problem or need is to turn to the private sector, where the profit motive and competition will insure efficiency. But then why are Conservatives masters of the “no-bid” contract awarded to big political donors? Where’s the competitive advantage in that?
And, frankly, why would taxpayers want the functions of government turned over to American business? In case Conservatives have forgotten, we’re the nation that cannot compete in manufacturing -- our auto industry is pitiful, we’re losing our edge in technology and science, and our banks and investment houses are run by greed-mongers who can’t tell a sound investment from a bogus one; these people and their regulatory enablers created the mortgage crisis that has the home foreclosure rate up above 50%.
America may be a world leader in entertainment, but that’s not enough to sustain a superpower. The only business arena the American private sector excels in is buying and selling paper, swapping stock, consolidating corporations and lobbying the Federal government for public subsidies, hardly the stuff of which great powers are made.
Ironic that Barack Obama feels compelled to submit to a “faith” grilling at the hands of mega-church leader Rick Warren. If there ever was a tyranny of the “minority,” this is it. Evangelical Christians make up a relatively small part of the electorate and yet our presidential candidates find it necessary to pander to this group. Didn’t John McCain sound tough when he said he’d follow Osama bin Laden to the gates of hell? Uh, John, your party and your friend George W. Bush have had seven years to bring Mr. bin Laden to “justice” and you’ve failed in spectacular fashion.
The world may indeed be divided into good and evil, but if so, how does humankind defeat evil as Mr. McCain told the Christian faithful he would? By force of arms? By eradicating the distinction between church and state? By making public school children recite the Lord’s Prayer and the Ten Commandments?
Ironic that in a time of great social complexity, nuance and shades of gray, that one of our presidential candidates, Barack Obama, is ridiculed by the Right for being too smart, too intelligent, too eloquent. In a time when we desperately need fresh and bold thinking and all the smarts we can muster to meet the challenges facing our world, the mainstream media echoes the notion that a corrupt dolt is the man we should rally behind. Sorry, but for nearly eight years we’ve followed a fool, an embarrassment on the world stage, a man with an unmatched absence of curiosity and a super-abundance of hubris, and look where we stand: locked in a war on a “tactic,” in debt to foreigners, and in the midst of an economic meltdown.
Yes, these days irony abounds, and woe to the nation that cannot see it.
George W. Bush and his ideological allies invaded a sovereign nation, Iraq, on a sand dune of lies and insist, five years, thousands of dead and wounded and billions of dollars wasted later, that American forces remain in place until “victory” is achieved. Why should Russia, which has its own interests, do any different?
And isn’t it ironic, not to mention telling, that during the Russian incursion into Georgia, the American media showed viewers plenty of images of war, but that same media machine cannot be bothered to show Americans what is really happening on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan. Are we to believe that there are no weeping elderly women in Iraq, or orphaned children in Afghanistan? Compared to the coverage in Georgia, the Iraq and Afghanistan campaigns have been bloodless.
Ironic that conservative ideology asserts that the answer to every social problem or need is to turn to the private sector, where the profit motive and competition will insure efficiency. But then why are Conservatives masters of the “no-bid” contract awarded to big political donors? Where’s the competitive advantage in that?
And, frankly, why would taxpayers want the functions of government turned over to American business? In case Conservatives have forgotten, we’re the nation that cannot compete in manufacturing -- our auto industry is pitiful, we’re losing our edge in technology and science, and our banks and investment houses are run by greed-mongers who can’t tell a sound investment from a bogus one; these people and their regulatory enablers created the mortgage crisis that has the home foreclosure rate up above 50%.
America may be a world leader in entertainment, but that’s not enough to sustain a superpower. The only business arena the American private sector excels in is buying and selling paper, swapping stock, consolidating corporations and lobbying the Federal government for public subsidies, hardly the stuff of which great powers are made.
Ironic that Barack Obama feels compelled to submit to a “faith” grilling at the hands of mega-church leader Rick Warren. If there ever was a tyranny of the “minority,” this is it. Evangelical Christians make up a relatively small part of the electorate and yet our presidential candidates find it necessary to pander to this group. Didn’t John McCain sound tough when he said he’d follow Osama bin Laden to the gates of hell? Uh, John, your party and your friend George W. Bush have had seven years to bring Mr. bin Laden to “justice” and you’ve failed in spectacular fashion.
The world may indeed be divided into good and evil, but if so, how does humankind defeat evil as Mr. McCain told the Christian faithful he would? By force of arms? By eradicating the distinction between church and state? By making public school children recite the Lord’s Prayer and the Ten Commandments?
Ironic that in a time of great social complexity, nuance and shades of gray, that one of our presidential candidates, Barack Obama, is ridiculed by the Right for being too smart, too intelligent, too eloquent. In a time when we desperately need fresh and bold thinking and all the smarts we can muster to meet the challenges facing our world, the mainstream media echoes the notion that a corrupt dolt is the man we should rally behind. Sorry, but for nearly eight years we’ve followed a fool, an embarrassment on the world stage, a man with an unmatched absence of curiosity and a super-abundance of hubris, and look where we stand: locked in a war on a “tactic,” in debt to foreigners, and in the midst of an economic meltdown.
Yes, these days irony abounds, and woe to the nation that cannot see it.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Straight Talk
Editor's Note: Things haven't been going the McCain Campaign's way of late, and some in his inner circle are becoming worried that McCain is flat-lining when he should be peaking for the GOP convention. The charge that a vote for McCain is the same thing as voting for a third Bush term rankles the Arizona Senator as much as the charge that he's too cozy with DC lobbyists.
McCain tried to set the record straight at a recent press conference.
McCain: Hey guys.
Press: Hi John!
McCain: I have a statement and then I’ll take your questions. Most of you guys have been on my campaign bus, so you know I like straight-talk, not elitist twisting of the facts. Some liberal media outlets have reported that a vote for McCain is a vote for George W. Bush’s third term. That’s a lot of hogwash. John McCain has his own agenda for America. OK, that’s it, short and sweet. Fire away!
Press: Mr. McCain, what is your stance on taxes?
McCain: I stand firmly on the principle that taxes are bad. My position is simple: no new taxes on business or the American people, ever.
Press: Mr. McCain, by nearly every measure the economy is in rough shape. How do you plan to turn it around?
McCain: Frankly, I disagree with you. The fundamentals of our economy are strong. What we need to do is cut taxes. Taxes are killing us.
Press: No offense, sir, but thanks to the tax cuts enacted by the Bush Administration, corporate and individual tax rates are at historically low levels.
McCain: Listen, pal, if you disagree with me again I won’t let you on my campaign bus. No more free booze or cozy access to me and my staff for you. Read my lips: taxes are the problem. Cut taxes and the economy will take off like a cruise missile.
Press: Speaking of missiles, what are you planning to do about Iran?
McCain: Well, I was a military man and I know that we can’t let tyrants get hold of nuclear weapons. If Iran acts up, threatens its neighbors, Iran will pay the price. If Iran wants to test John McCain’s will, John McCain will not hesitate to respond.
Press: Given that the US is bogged down in Iraq and Afghanistan, is it wise to confront Iran militarily?
McCain: What are you suggesting, that America cut and run? You sound like Senator Obama. Look, the only thing that Iran understands is force. We have to do whatever it takes to keep Iran from acquiring a nuclear device, and if that means military action, so be it.
Press: Switching subjects for a moment, health care is of great concern to the American people. What is your health policy?
McCain: Tax cuts and the free market. My opponent supports socialized medicine, I don’t. Next question?
Press: Mr. McCain, do you think the US can drill its way out of its energy problems or are renewable fuels like wind and solar power the answer?
McCain: We drill, we win our independence. What we need to do is provide tax incentives to oil companies for expanded exploration. The government should get out of the way of oil companies and let them do what they do best.
Press: Mr. McCain, best estimates by the oil industry itself is that the US only has 2% of the world’s oil reserves. If that’s correct, domestic exploration won’t come close to meeting the country’s needs.
McCain: I don’t buy it. Keep your engine tuned and your tires inflated. Stop talking like a defeatist.
Press: Major oil companies are making record profits. Why should the taxpayers subsidize expanded exploration by Exxon?
McCain: Because that’s how business gets done in America.
Press: Mr. McCain, you’ve surrounded yourself with advisors who trained under Karl Rove, and it has been widely reported that your campaign is taking the low road. How do you respond?
McCain: I don’t. John McCain lives on the high road. I’ve never taken the low road in my life. People who insinuate that my campaign is taking the low road are un-American and unpatriotic. I don’t surround myself with lobbyists, either. With John McCain you get straight-talk and a new direction for America.
Press: Gee, no offense Mr. McCain, but your positions sound positively Bush-like!
McCain: No beer for you!
McCain tried to set the record straight at a recent press conference.
McCain: Hey guys.
Press: Hi John!
McCain: I have a statement and then I’ll take your questions. Most of you guys have been on my campaign bus, so you know I like straight-talk, not elitist twisting of the facts. Some liberal media outlets have reported that a vote for McCain is a vote for George W. Bush’s third term. That’s a lot of hogwash. John McCain has his own agenda for America. OK, that’s it, short and sweet. Fire away!
Press: Mr. McCain, what is your stance on taxes?
McCain: I stand firmly on the principle that taxes are bad. My position is simple: no new taxes on business or the American people, ever.
Press: Mr. McCain, by nearly every measure the economy is in rough shape. How do you plan to turn it around?
McCain: Frankly, I disagree with you. The fundamentals of our economy are strong. What we need to do is cut taxes. Taxes are killing us.
Press: No offense, sir, but thanks to the tax cuts enacted by the Bush Administration, corporate and individual tax rates are at historically low levels.
McCain: Listen, pal, if you disagree with me again I won’t let you on my campaign bus. No more free booze or cozy access to me and my staff for you. Read my lips: taxes are the problem. Cut taxes and the economy will take off like a cruise missile.
Press: Speaking of missiles, what are you planning to do about Iran?
McCain: Well, I was a military man and I know that we can’t let tyrants get hold of nuclear weapons. If Iran acts up, threatens its neighbors, Iran will pay the price. If Iran wants to test John McCain’s will, John McCain will not hesitate to respond.
Press: Given that the US is bogged down in Iraq and Afghanistan, is it wise to confront Iran militarily?
McCain: What are you suggesting, that America cut and run? You sound like Senator Obama. Look, the only thing that Iran understands is force. We have to do whatever it takes to keep Iran from acquiring a nuclear device, and if that means military action, so be it.
Press: Switching subjects for a moment, health care is of great concern to the American people. What is your health policy?
McCain: Tax cuts and the free market. My opponent supports socialized medicine, I don’t. Next question?
Press: Mr. McCain, do you think the US can drill its way out of its energy problems or are renewable fuels like wind and solar power the answer?
McCain: We drill, we win our independence. What we need to do is provide tax incentives to oil companies for expanded exploration. The government should get out of the way of oil companies and let them do what they do best.
Press: Mr. McCain, best estimates by the oil industry itself is that the US only has 2% of the world’s oil reserves. If that’s correct, domestic exploration won’t come close to meeting the country’s needs.
McCain: I don’t buy it. Keep your engine tuned and your tires inflated. Stop talking like a defeatist.
Press: Major oil companies are making record profits. Why should the taxpayers subsidize expanded exploration by Exxon?
McCain: Because that’s how business gets done in America.
Press: Mr. McCain, you’ve surrounded yourself with advisors who trained under Karl Rove, and it has been widely reported that your campaign is taking the low road. How do you respond?
McCain: I don’t. John McCain lives on the high road. I’ve never taken the low road in my life. People who insinuate that my campaign is taking the low road are un-American and unpatriotic. I don’t surround myself with lobbyists, either. With John McCain you get straight-talk and a new direction for America.
Press: Gee, no offense Mr. McCain, but your positions sound positively Bush-like!
McCain: No beer for you!
Saturday, August 09, 2008
Hot Dogs
Are these the dog days? Why do I see dogs sleeping on raised and rickety porches in the Deep South, where the heat and humidity melt asphalt? Strange visions in a strange time. For all I know it’s raining in Savannah and the dogs have taken shelter. Out here in the dry, dry west, one hundred miles north of Los Angeles, where the beautiful people come to relax and play, it’s another warm and beautiful evening. State Street, our shopping Mecca, is hopping and bopping as if the price of gas is $1.29 a gallon and home values are still in the stratosphere. The beautiful young have credit cards with available balances, and line up to buy Coach handbags, Juicy sweatpants, and $300 Versace sunglasses.
President Bush lectured the Chinese about human rights the other day, without a trace of irony, in fact, though everybody in the world knows that Bush is the great American jailer, sponsor of torture and an all-around despot. Bush lecturing anyone about human rights is like Darth Vader preaching non-violence. The Chinese know Bush lost all credibility long ago and that nobody pays any attention to him. Every time Bush appears in public and opens his mouth Republican Party bosses wince and hold their breath. “What drivel will the fool spew this time? Will he assert that the US is winning the war in Iraq? Will he say that the American economy is fine, just fine, humming like a top? Will he claim that global warming is a myth of the ‘liberal’ media?”
Bad times, dark days. Israel has the bomb and Iran wants the bomb and Bush doesn’t care how many innocent people die in a “pre-emptive” conflict to insure that Israel remains the Middle East’s sole nuclear power. Hell, do they even bother to count dead Iraqis anymore? Americans, yes -- Iraqis, who cares! Pile their dead bodies like cordwood and never mind the weather! The important story of the day is John Edwards and his love child!
I’m sad that Hunter S. Thompson is dead and gone -- we need his crazy energy more than ever. Hunter would stare down the barrel of the upcoming election and give us the deal without all the watered-down mainstream media “analysis.” Matt Lauer would give his left testicle for one-eighth of Hunter’s political acumen. We need Hunter to stride into his pasture at two a.m. with a loaded .357 Magnum and pump a round into a 55-gallon drum full of jet fuel; Hunter to snort coke and throw butter knives at his housekeeper; Hunter to rail against the death of freedom and the police state that America is in danger of becoming.
Ah, but Hunter’s drinking with the Gods and no one can fill his sneakers here on earth. We’re on our own with the plutocrats, Bush, the Chinese, and the sleeping dogs.
President Bush lectured the Chinese about human rights the other day, without a trace of irony, in fact, though everybody in the world knows that Bush is the great American jailer, sponsor of torture and an all-around despot. Bush lecturing anyone about human rights is like Darth Vader preaching non-violence. The Chinese know Bush lost all credibility long ago and that nobody pays any attention to him. Every time Bush appears in public and opens his mouth Republican Party bosses wince and hold their breath. “What drivel will the fool spew this time? Will he assert that the US is winning the war in Iraq? Will he say that the American economy is fine, just fine, humming like a top? Will he claim that global warming is a myth of the ‘liberal’ media?”
Bad times, dark days. Israel has the bomb and Iran wants the bomb and Bush doesn’t care how many innocent people die in a “pre-emptive” conflict to insure that Israel remains the Middle East’s sole nuclear power. Hell, do they even bother to count dead Iraqis anymore? Americans, yes -- Iraqis, who cares! Pile their dead bodies like cordwood and never mind the weather! The important story of the day is John Edwards and his love child!
I’m sad that Hunter S. Thompson is dead and gone -- we need his crazy energy more than ever. Hunter would stare down the barrel of the upcoming election and give us the deal without all the watered-down mainstream media “analysis.” Matt Lauer would give his left testicle for one-eighth of Hunter’s political acumen. We need Hunter to stride into his pasture at two a.m. with a loaded .357 Magnum and pump a round into a 55-gallon drum full of jet fuel; Hunter to snort coke and throw butter knives at his housekeeper; Hunter to rail against the death of freedom and the police state that America is in danger of becoming.
Ah, but Hunter’s drinking with the Gods and no one can fill his sneakers here on earth. We’re on our own with the plutocrats, Bush, the Chinese, and the sleeping dogs.
Sunday, August 03, 2008
Viva!
It’s Fiesta time in Santa Barbara and the city is geared up for brisk tourist business, catering to wide-eyed Europeans flush with cash, out-of-towners here to enjoy Flamenco dancing and overpriced tortas. Most locals head for the hills when Fiesta rolls around, or, if they stay in town, do no more than check out the happenings at Our Lady of Guadalupe church, where the scene feels organic and authentic and one isn’t likely to see many Caucasian guys wearing silly sombreros and shouting “Viva La Fiesta!”
Again this year, the “El Presidente” is a pudgy Caucasian fellow with a European surname.
Fiesta wasn’t always such a big production around here. True, the event has always had a commercial angle, though in the old days it wasn’t as crassly commercial as it is now, but then again, the entire U.S. economy grooves to a crassly commercial tune, twenty-four hours a day, so why should the good merchants of SB (most of them now upscale corporate chains) miss an opportunity to hawk their wares? If some German tourist is willing to lay down $10 for a watered-down house margarita, and $25 for an official Fiesta T-shirt, what’s the problem?
Our Spanish heritage is hailed without getting into the messy details of what the Spanish did to indigenous people during their reign. Instead of an imperial campaign for God, Gold, Guns, and Genocide, the arrival of the Spanish in SB is placed in a benevolent light during Fiesta; the Spanish were decent folk who came to spread the Good Word and bring civilization to the heathen. OK, maybe some Indians croaked laying adobe bricks for the Mission, but on the whole it was a worthwhile endeavor, right? Maybe a few Indians didn’t cotton to the new arrivals, didn’t appreciate their style, and made it a point to say so and were summarily beaten to a pulp, but that was the exception, not the rule, the work of some bad apples. Just like Abu Ghraib a few hundred years later, right?
But despite the commercialism and the historical myopia, it’s still sweet to see the kids in the parade, and the dancers who work so hard at their art. For a few days these events take our minds off the failed Occupation of Iraq, the crumbling economy, and the nastiness of the Presidential campaign.
So bring out the mariachis and let’s get our collective Viva on!
Again this year, the “El Presidente” is a pudgy Caucasian fellow with a European surname.
Fiesta wasn’t always such a big production around here. True, the event has always had a commercial angle, though in the old days it wasn’t as crassly commercial as it is now, but then again, the entire U.S. economy grooves to a crassly commercial tune, twenty-four hours a day, so why should the good merchants of SB (most of them now upscale corporate chains) miss an opportunity to hawk their wares? If some German tourist is willing to lay down $10 for a watered-down house margarita, and $25 for an official Fiesta T-shirt, what’s the problem?
Our Spanish heritage is hailed without getting into the messy details of what the Spanish did to indigenous people during their reign. Instead of an imperial campaign for God, Gold, Guns, and Genocide, the arrival of the Spanish in SB is placed in a benevolent light during Fiesta; the Spanish were decent folk who came to spread the Good Word and bring civilization to the heathen. OK, maybe some Indians croaked laying adobe bricks for the Mission, but on the whole it was a worthwhile endeavor, right? Maybe a few Indians didn’t cotton to the new arrivals, didn’t appreciate their style, and made it a point to say so and were summarily beaten to a pulp, but that was the exception, not the rule, the work of some bad apples. Just like Abu Ghraib a few hundred years later, right?
But despite the commercialism and the historical myopia, it’s still sweet to see the kids in the parade, and the dancers who work so hard at their art. For a few days these events take our minds off the failed Occupation of Iraq, the crumbling economy, and the nastiness of the Presidential campaign.
So bring out the mariachis and let’s get our collective Viva on!
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