The Romneyshambles

So much of American politics depresses me. I see a Democratic President whose symbolism doesn't quite make up for the fact that his policies would be considered absurdly rightwing in Europe being pilloried as a 'socialist' by a Republican party that's far removed from its foundation by Abraham Lincoln and friends to assault slavery.

Willard Mitt Romney isn't just a cold, calculating plutocrat whose only aim is to capture the US Government for his class (as if it wasn't already in their hands: 80% of Representatives and Senators are millionaires), but an incompetent hypocrite. He receives tax breaks for a dressage horse which competed in the Olympics (like him, it lost). He's building a massive new 8th house (probably, I lost count) with a car elevator. While demanding 'American jobs', his business specialised in exporting jobs overseas and closing American factories, and he opposed government bail-outs for America's auto industry.

As this Democrat ad points out, while Romney was declaring that 'my job is not to care' about the 47% of Americans too poor to pay income tax - though they pay a lot of state, property and sales taxes - he has reduced his tax bill from the official 35% top rate to about 14%, and keeps his money in a surprising number of countries which aren't the United States of America. No wonder he won't show the American public his records.



Here's a chilling thought for you. When John McCain considered Romney as his vice-presidential running mate, he saw 23 years of Romney's tax returns. He then promptly chose Sarah Palin as his candidate instead. I really think Americans deserve to see what scared off John McCain

Peek into Palin's head

This, I imagine, is what her dreams are made of.



It's by Negativland. Are they still around?

Keep it up!

Despite being a sordid pornographer, Larry Flynt plays a useful role as America's court jester. What with announcing the release of 'Who's Nailin' Palin'' during the election, his part in various freedom of speech court actions and his wicked sense of humour, he's played his part in pricking the pomposity of the ruling classes (perhaps because he's simply an honest capitalist). In this vein, his latest PR stunt is genius. On the eve of some porn-industry event, he's applied to Congress for $5bn dollars of the bailout money available, to revive the flagging industry. On hard (sorry) economic grounds, who could refuse him? Or does America's turn away from capitalism also include a morality clause?