Thousands of Mad Hatters, One Tea Party: Dispelling the Myth of Victory.

Much has been made of the tea party and its impact upon early twenty-first century American politics. Depending upon your point of view, the weeks leading up to the election were full of hope or anxiety. The media spoke constantly of how the Tea party would be a game changer, a revolt against Washington. A September 2010 article by Kasie Hunt on Politico.com perfectly encapsulated the hype and fallacy leading up to the election. Hunt stated that after Christine “I’m not a witch” O’Donnell of Delaware’s Senate campaign, there were ten top tea party candidates “you need to know.” In addition to O’Donnell’s defeat, five of those featured candidates lost. The demise of one member of the Darjeeling Mafia, Alaska’s Senate candidate Joe Miller, is particularly worth noting.

     Although Miller’s Senate race unfolded in what should have been the fertile grounds of Scary Palin’s back yard, which incidentally has a lovely view of Russia, things went poorly. Miller was personally endorsed by the unholy Tea Queen, but was beaten by write-in candidate Lisa Murkowski. Let’s stress how embarrassing that is, shall we? Successful write-in campaigns for major offices almost never happen. The last time was when Strom Thurmond of South Carolina did it in 1954. What that means is that Alaskan voters proved they would rather go to the trouble of writing in the nine letters it takes to spell Murkowski on a ballot than make one simple ‘X’ beside the name of the Tea party candidate.

    There were many stories circulated about how this election spells the end for President Obama, but did anyone writing this drivel bother to pick up a history book first? A quick review for those keeping score: Harry Truman went into the 1946 mid-term elections with an abysmal 27 percent approval rating, lost forty-five House seats, twelve in the Senate and was elected in 1948. After his first two years as President, Ronald Reagan lost twenty-six House seats, gained only a single seat in the Senate, and was re-elected. Finally Bill Clinton lost fifty-two House seats and eight in the Senate, and was re-elected.    

     Like Reagan’s “Let’s make America great again,” or Goldwater’s 1964 appeal, “In your heart, you know he’s right;” the Tea party was nothing more than a clever Republican marketing tool. Regardless of whatever spin is being shoveled out; the reality is a marked failure for the Tea party. One-hundred and thirty Tea party candidates ran for US House of Representatives, but only forty won. If I smoked a bag of weed and hit myself in the head with ax, I still wouldn’t think this election was a successful outing for the Tea bags.

     So, with it understood that there really was no “Tea party effect,” here are your predictions for the 2012 election: barring any scandals, Mr. Obama has nothing to fear. He will face Mitt Romney or Mike Huckabee in the general election and will beat either handily. If she is stupid enough to run, the Marquis de Palin will achieve nothing in the Republican primaries. She will not even get a sniff at a running mate spot, as she has shown herself to be a steaming cup of political and intellectual poison. Or is it tea?

The Rise of J. Edgar Assange.

    

Wikileaks announced today that it would be posting data obtained from a disgruntled former banker. Julian Assange, founder of the so-called whistleblower website, made it known late last year that he would be posting damning information from US banks on his website. The renowned impresario, note the conspicuous absence of the word "journalist" here, announced today he would, instead, soon be posting information about those holding accounts in Swiss banks thanks to data passed to him by Rudolf Elmer.  Apparently, Mr. Elmer (sounds like the host of a television cartoon show) is unhappy over being dismissed in 2002 from Julius Baer. According to a statement issued by the bank, Mr. Elmer has "embarked upon a personal intimidation campaign and vendetta against Baer. The aim of his activities was and is to discredit Julius Baer as well as clients in the eyes of the public.”

     It seems that, like Assange’s charges in Sweden, Elmer is also currently facing some charges. Swiss courts are interested in an unrelated charge of stealing bank information back in 2005. Elmer has been accused of falsifying documents and threatening people at the bank.

     The troubling thing is that this is not an apparent situation where someone who, while working at the bank one day, came across something that troubled his conscience and decided to risk all by going public. No, we have a man who apparently was content with bank policies and practice until he was shown the door. Only then did we hear from him. His actions make him sound less like a hero and more like a vengeful ex-employee. After his sacking, the moment he left the premises with bank data makes his actions suspect: or somewhat calculated.

     Most troubling of all is the seizure of those private records. Any government investigation into tax evading account holders should normally require some form of writ or warrant to obtain private banking records. Why should a private citizen be able to publicly allege corruption with documents of dubious acquisition?

     If any tax evasion has occurred, isn't it the job of governments and not private citizens to pursue the case? By providing a forum for anyone to post anything he thinks is damaging, Mr. Assange has pointed us toward a slippery slope. At what point will anyone who feels wronged, by a former employee, ex-lover, business partner, or any other scenario you can imagine be guaranteed a place to post damaging material on the web and seemingly face no reprisal? How long before reputations are destroyed and people start killing themselves or others over something of unproven credibility posted on Wikitrash? With all of these bits of data at his fingertips, can we be sure someone in Assange’s position isn’t capable of extortion and will he someday fancy himself a modern J. Edgar Hoover, hoarding dirty little secrets to gain power over those in government, the media, or the corporate world? It might be smart to get in his good graces now, before he decides that your secrets are worth sharing.

     No one can be certain what Assanges’ motives are in publishing the data of private businesses and citizens, but the capacity for something sinister is astounding. Perhaps in his concern of a totalitarian, all seeing government, Orwell should have also warned us about the possibility of Big Brother.com.

Mourning a Hero.

     Seems a little strange to weep for someone you've never met. (Apologies to those still crying over Princess Di and John Kennedy, Jr.) So there will be none of that foolish sentimentality here regarding the recent death of Major Richard "Dick" Winters. Most people first heard of Maj Winters in Stephen Ambrose's Band of Brothers. Winters' story is not exceptional; he graduated from college in the summer of 1941. He was not a military academy graduate and had to earn his commission the hard way at officer candidate school. In his career, he received some of America's highest awards, but he always downplayed his hero status. Keeping his dignity and exemplifying what a gentleman soldier should be, he was a shining example on what a common man can achieve in extraordinary circumstances, We could use a few more like him. He will be missed.

Bring Me the Head of Julian Assange: or How to Be a P.R. Genius!

     Wikileaks founder Julian Assange was in court yesterday and he just couldn't resist the temptation to fan the flames of nonsense that the media is trying so hard to keep burning brightly. In a document posted on the worldwide web, Assange says that if he is extradited to Sweden, he could end up in the United States, where he will be executed. This is just another example of Assanges' genius for self promotion. A quick check of the facts reveals that no person has been executed for treason or espionage in the United States since the 1950's.The espionage efforts of Robert Hanssen and Adrich Ames, on behalf of the Russia and the former Soviet Union have been shown to have profoundly compromised America's intelligence efforts and to have resulted in the deaths of informants, yet these men were not executed for their actions and are now serving life sentences in American prisons.
      Assange has the cheek to suggest he could die for posting some data on the web. Who is he kidding? No one, not even this hacker demigod, can actually believe this assertion. Does Assange actually think he is some kind of information age martyr? No, it only confirms his mastery of self-promotion and the media. In putting out this fable of his impending demise, the Wikileaks founder has shown a profound understanding of the rule that if you say something that it is just stupid enough, the papers will print it.

Not Quite Ghandi.

     Poor Edward Woollard is going to be Her Majesty's guest for the next 32 months for his role in the Millbank debacle. Hopefully, young Woollard will get a second chance at an education someday, but the whole protest seems a bit misguided.  Let me see if I can wrap my American mind around this issue. Years ago, students in the UK enjoyed free tuition, then they had to start paying a modest fee and because the government is strapped for cash, they say you have to pay more. So you have a government still willing to subsidize a large part of a degree, but that just isn't enough for the students.  Sounds a lot like getting a five pound note from your uncle and punching him for not giving you a because you a tenner.
     Stranger still is that these students think themselves to be real freedom fighters. I have had this idea in my head of a conversation between one of the recent student fee protectors and one of the kids from the 1989 Tianamen Square protest. "We were out there fighting the good fight!" says the British student. We had the courage to stand up to the authorities." "That's wonderful, says the Chinese student, "What were you protesting for? Democracy? Human Rights? Was it Civil Rights like Martin Luther King or perhaps you were taking a stand against some needless, bloody war?" "No," says the Brit, "much more important than anything like that. The government says my parents will have to pay more for school next year and that means I'll have to get a job to help pay for my Media Studies or Art History degree. That's why we're angry." "What?" says the Chinese student. "Well, um, t-t-tell me about standing up to the British authorities,"the Chinese kid says nervously, "I'm sure it took a lot of courage to stand up to those tanks and hundreds of armed police." "Absolutely," says the Brit. "There were like twenty unarmed coppers. It was terrifying!" The Chinese student gasps with surprise,"You're kidding! How could you even think to compare yourselves to those who have risked their lives to protest to promote freedom and equality? You guys are only out for yourselves!" "Shut it," says the Brit, "or I'll hit you with a fire extinguisher." Wouldn't Ghandi and Martin Luther King be proud?