Thursday, September 17, 2009

Max Redroom

In 1980, the great director Stanley Kubrick committed to film his version of the Stephen King novel, “The Shining”. In the film as in the book, there is a scene where the son Danny writes “REDRUM” on the wall in lipstick so that when it is viewed in the mirror by his mother Wendy (Shelley Duvall) and she sees “murder”.

Max Headroom was a fictional character that was pure artificial intelligence and had a TV show in the 80s.

Max Baucus is the United States Senator from Montana and Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee who, yesterday, revealed his health care bill.

Put them all together and you get a guy named Max who was on TV today and many times in the past, whose intelligence seems as artificial as Styrofoam who has murdered his own Senate health care bill, his reputation in Congress and possibly, and hopefully, his chances of getting re-elected in Montana.

One of my favorite comments from Deep Throat, Hal Holbrook’s character in the movie “All the President’s Men”, is appropriate here: “These guys just aren’t that bright and things got a little out of hand.”

These are a few of Baucus’s comments, “It is balanced, a common sense bill that can pass the Senate,” and “It is time to act. This is our moment in history.”

Now you see why I compared Baucus’s brain to Styrofoam.

Baucus has received more money from the health insurance and pharmaceutical industries than almost any other Senator. No one expected him to deliver anything substantial on health care reform. But he thinks we believe he did.

All these guys do is lie anyway. Even Olympia Stone reportedly described the legislation he created as “watered down”.

All that time wasted in pursuit of bi-partisanship

This makes Obama that much more frustrating. I knew Baucus was ridiculous way back when. Could Obama not have exercised some leadership in July, for God’s fuck’s sake?

Could Obama not have written the health care bill he wanted back in February or March or April and told the Senate and House to make it work by September?

As I offered in a previous post, perhaps Obama was allowing the Teabaggers (and even Blue Dogs connected to the health insurance and pharmaceutical industries) to run their course and then he would take control. I’m paraphrasing my own theory—it had more to do with poker and being Captain Kirk.

Hang on. Am I talking about the same Obama who was brown nosing Wall Street Tuesday, basically asking them to regulate themselves or he’s going to hold his breath?

If Obama can call Kanye West a “jackass”, you know what he thinks about Baucus, Grassley, Palin, Enzi and the rest.

Well, today everyone balked at Baucus. Why? Because Baucus bogged us down and Baucus mocked us.

Yes, the plays on his name are important.

Repetitive ridicule is a superiority tactic most apparent in the principles of school yard/locker room bullying from my youth. I know it well because I was subjected to it mercilessly and failed in turn at it miserably.

We all need superiority over these assholes. I am tired of my government behaving the way it does—and that’s before the corporations take over everything after the Supreme Court rules in favor of Citizens United and makes multi-nationals people too!

HEAVY AGONIZED SIGH