WWdN: In Exile

hillary clinton: the psycho ex-girlfriend of the democratic party

As many of you know, I'm an enthusiastic Barack Obama supporter. I have never been so excited or inspired by a candidate -- or, really, any leader -- in my life, and I view this election as an historical opportunity -- maybe even a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity -- to not only save my country from the disaster wrought by Bush and Cheney, but fundamentally change how my government interacts with the rest of the world, and how it works for me and my fellow Americans.

Knowing all of that, I'm sure it will come as no surprise that over the last 10 weeks or so, I've gone from respecting to feeling sorry for to actively despising Hillary Clinton.

It's over. She knows it's over. It's been over for almost three months, but she's been moving the goalposts and cynically and cravenly pandering to voters in a way that's not only insulting, but is embarrassing. John Cole frequently says that he can't believe he ever supported Bush, and I can now join him in saying that I can't believe I ever supported, defended and believed in the Clintons.

The thing about all of this is that, with a Clinton victory in the primary about as likely as jumping off the roof of your house and landing on the moon, it's become clear that this whole thing isn't about Democrats or beating McCain (who is inexplicably running for Bush's third term) or saving our country from the catastrophic failure of the Bush years. No, it's all about her. It's about her ego. It's about refusing to admit that she did her best, but voters (except those encouraged by Rush Limbaugh to cross party lines and fuck with our primary) have pretty clearly said "No thanks. You're a good senator, but we want something different now."

It's been crystal clear for weeks, yet she refuses to put party and country over personal ambition and drop out of the race, forcing Barack Obama to not only run against McCain and the Media, but also against her. It's particularly galling, because she can only win if her campaign can force Democratic superdelegates (one of the worst creations in the history of politics) to tell millions of Democratic voters -- many of them first time voters who, like me, finally feel truly inspired by someone -- to go fuck themselves.

It's driving me crazy, and I hope that someone sits her down with a calculator so she'll make this primary that is just strengthening McCain -- who, I feel obligated to point out again, is running for Bush's third term. That would be George W. Bush, the most universally hated president in American history.

At times like these, when it would be easy to despair, I find comfort in humor, like this post I saw on Reddit this morning: Hillary Clinton: The Psycho Ex-Girlfriend of the Democratic Party.

It's 2:31 AM. The Democratic Party is sleeping peacefully when it hears its phone buzz on the night stand. It rolls over and sees "Hillary" on the caller ID. It pauses briefly, considering pushing "END" and not dealing with this shit tonight. The thought is appealing but the Democratic Party knows that if it doesn't take this call, another one is only minutes away.

DEMS: ...Hello?

Hillary: Hey baby.

DEMS: C'mon Hillary. Enough with this.

Hillary: Don't you get it? You NEED me.

DEMS: No, I don't. It was fun while it lasted but I'm with Barack now. I made my choice, it's done.

Hillary: You can't really mean that. How can you say that after all the good times we had?

DEMS: To be honest, I started hanging out with you because Bill's pretty awesome.

Hillary: But I'm just like Bill!

DEMS: No, you're not. Bill is charismatic, inspiring, and gets me really good weed.

Hillary: Fuck you. You're elitist!

DEMS: I'm going back to sleep.

I hope that, after the crushing defeat in North Carolina and few thousand vote "victory" in Indiana, the undeclared superdelegates (again, the absolute worst idea in the history of politics) will respect the will of the people and commit to Obama, so we can all focus on introducing the real John McCain -- not a Maverick, not a nice guy, not an honest guy, not a regular guy, not substantially different from George W. Bush in any meaningful way -- to the American people.

And allow me to just head something off right now that's already come up on Twitter: I'm not sexist. This isn't sexist. That's a stupid straw man, and if you try to make that claim, I will point and laugh at you.

I voted today

I cast my vote for Barack Obama in California's primary this morning.

Here's a major reason why I did:

“When I am this party's nominee, my opponent will not be able to say that I voted for the war in Iraq; or that I gave George Bush the benefit of the doubt on Iran; or that I supported Bush-Cheney policies of not talking to leaders that we don't like. And he will not be able to say that I wavered on something as fundamental as whether or not it is ok for America to torture — because it is never ok… I will end the war in Iraq… I will close Guantanamo. I will restore habeas corpus. I will finish the fight against Al Qaeda. And I will lead the world to combat the common threats of the 21st century: nuclear weapons and terrorism; climate change and poverty; genocide and disease. And I will send once more a message to those yearning faces beyond our shores that says, "You matter to us. Your future is our future. And our moment is now.”

Patrick Nielsen Hayden, (via John Scalzi,) put my feelings into words, so I'm going to borrow them, rather than struggle to come up with my own:

I’m for Obama knowing perfectly well that, as Bill Clinton suggested, it’s a “roll of the dice”. A roll of the dice for Democrats, for progressives, for those of us who’ve fought so hard against the right-wing frames that Obama sometimes (sometimes craftily, sometimes naively) deploys. Because I think a Hillary Clinton candidacy will be another game of inches, yielding—at best—another four or eight years of knifework in the dark. Because I think an Obama candidacy might actually shake up the whole gameboard, energize good people, create room and space for real change.

Because he seems to know something extraordinarily important, something so frequently missing from progressive politics in this country, in this time: how to hearten people. Because when I watch him speak, I see fearful people becoming brave.

We've been afraid for too long, and it's cost us dearly. Karl Rove and George Bush and Dick Cheney will have many disastrous legacies, but one of the most despicable and enduring will be how they used fear to deeply and deliberately divide our country.

It's going to be a huge challenge for our next president to heal this nation, and end the Culture of Fear that's been created by the Bush Administration. I believe that Barack Obama is the best candidate to do that, and I was proud to vote for him today.

It felt so good to cast a vote that I was proud of, in support of someone, instead of resigning myself to voting for the lesser of two evils.

not that my endorsement means much of anything, but . . .

Thank you, Chris Dodd

When the Democrats -- who I thought were the good (or at least the anti-Bush, and pro-Constitution) guys -- took back Congress in the last election, I was overjoyed. I thought we'd see an end -- finally -- to the Bush administration's recklessness and lawlessness that's made me feel ashamed to be American. Of course, the Democratic leadership has been a pathetic, embarrassing, contemptible, miserable failure, and now we see that not only have they enabled Bush's insanity, they've been willing participants, helping him and Dick Cheney feed our constitution into the shredder. Yesterday, for the first time in ages, I felt my faith in our government begin to return, and I have Chris Dodd to thank for it.

It's been depressing to watch our Democratic congressmen -- the very ones we all worked so hard to put into the majority -- do nothing to slow Bush's destruction of what it means to be American.

I still don't understand why Harry Reid will honor Republican holds and do back flips to make Mr. 24% happy while he extends a hearty "F you" to Senate Democrats, the Democratic party, and now the vast majority of Americans who are begging congress to do something -- to do anything -- to stop this tyrannical lunatic before it's too late to save our country.

It is outrageous that Senators Clinton, Obama and Biden are asking for our votes, but are unwilling to provide leadership now. If they won't stand up for the principles we all hold dear when they're trying to earn our votes, how can we expect them to do it once they're in the White House? Leadership is doing the right thing when it's risky and when it's unpopular. (And how depressing is it that upholding your oath of office is risky and unpopular? How doubly depressing is it that the only people who think that -- and the only people being listened to -- are Joe Klein, the DLC consultants, and the rest of the pundit class?)

Well, as a complete idiot once said: Fool me once, can't get fooled again.

John Edwards has inspired the hell out of me with his message of hope for America, but Chris Dodd has shown real leadership on one of the most serious issues we've faced lately with telco immunity. While the other Senators have talked a good game, Senator Dodd actually did something when his country needed him.

I wanted to share my letter to him here, in the hopes that somehow it will find its way into his hands.

Dear Senator Dodd,

I doubt you'll get to see this personally, as you're very busy campaigning and defending our constitution from, well, everyone in government, it seems.

I hope a staffer will convey my immense gratitude -- not only as a Democrat but as an American -- to you for respecting your oath of office, and standing up to defend the very values that have made America great.

I sent e-mails and I made phone calls yesterday, but you stood up on the floor of the Senate and did something no other Democratic candidate for president seems to be willing to do: you were a leader. You stood not only with the base of our party, but with the vast majority of Americans who want the recklessness of this lawless president brought to a halt.

Your real leadership has inspired me and many others I know who have lost faith in our government, but especially in the Democratic party.

Best of luck to you in the primaries, and thank you for restoring a little bit of my faith in America.

Sincerely,

Wil Wheaton
Pasadena, CA

Star Trek alumni support the WGA

"Logic clearly dictates that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few . . . or the one."
- Spock.

When I was a little kid, I loved this show you may have heard of called Star Trek. When I was a teenager, I worked on a show called Star Trek: The Next Generation. It was like Star Trek, but with jumpsuits and snazzier special effects.

They were both popular programs, inspiring and bringing joy to generations of viewers, while putting loads of cash into the pockets of Paramount and its shareholders.

Today, the WGA is having a Star Trek picket at Paramount to honor the people -- like Harlan Ellison, John D. F. Black and Ron Moore -- whose stories over the years made Star Trek such an important part of our culture, and inspired writers, actors, engineers, and others to reach out for the stars.

The picket is scheduled from 11-3 at Paramount's Windsor gate. I'll be there, and I hope you'll all join me, at least in spirit, as we thank the people who made Star Trek possible, and fight for the rights of the next generation of writers.

Can media conglomerates afford to pay the writers?

As someone who hopes to be in the WGA one day, and as a current SAG member (and former member of the Board of Directors) I am in complete and total solidarity with the Writer's Guild. It's quite heartening to me, also,  to see that so many people refuse to be fooled by the lies that the six companies who control all of the media have been trying to spread.

The AMPTP has been successful (and helped by the news media they own) in spreading FUD about the things the writers are asking for. This post at United Hollywood puts some important numbers into perspective:

"But can the corporations really afford to pay you what you're asking for?"

Let's set aside for the moment the issue of what the congloms say in their press releases to us (which is basically "There's no money! Ever! And if there was, we spent it all on other projects that lost money so it's gone! Forever! We're broke! We're having to rent our yachts!") and focus on some hard numbers thoughtfully provided by Jonathan Handel on the Huffington Post yesterday.

He writes an excellent (I think) and even-handed analysis that takes into account the effect pattern bargaining will have in calculating real numbers of what we're asking for, and what it will cost the companies, individually, to pay us.

It comes, by his calculation, to $125 million per conglomerate per year -- if we got every single thing we're asking for.

That, by the way, is less than the $140 million Disney spent to fire Michael Ovitz for 15 months of work.

Also, Carson Daly is still an epic douche.

Also, also:

And finally, a meager contribution from the actor half of me:

Colbert Report writers on the strike

Yesterday, The Daily Show writers gave us their take on the WGA strike, and today the writers from The Colbert Report share some Truthiness:

Quoth John Scalzi: This is why it’s not smart to get into a snit fight (or labor dispute) with a writer. Because they write. Which means they know how to make you look bad.

Not the Daily Show explains the writer's strike

If I haven't made it clear already, I fully support the Writer's Guild of America. I'm happy to note than a clear majority of Americans does, too.

If you're unclear on the main reasons the WGA is on strike, allow one of the writers from The Daily Show to explain it.

Uh, you should actually watch it, uh, anyway, even if you already understand the issues behind the strike, because it's the closest we're going to get to The Daily Show for quite some time, I fear:

Man, I miss The Daily Show. Those guys are awesome writers, and they deserve better than they're getting from the AMPT.

these points of data make a beautiful line

I got my dates confused in my head, and thought today was Veteran's Day. I'm embarrassed and a little ashamed that I completely missed it yesterday. So even though it's one day late: Thank you, veterans, for your service.

And now, some various things, most of which I came across while Propelling today:

Researchers in Russia found what they believe to be the impact crater of the Tunguska Event.

I keep hearing this ridiculous line of bullshit that writers make massively inflated salaries, so nobody should support them and their greedy strike. It's the same tired line of crap that's thrown out at any group of skilled workers who have the audacity to expect a fair wage from our employer, and are forced into a work stoppage to get those employers to negotiate with us in good faith.

I hope to be a WGA member one day, but even if I didn't, I would completely support the writers. John Rogers has written several great posts that lay out, in simple but passionate terms, why the WGA has to strike against the AMPTP. He also linked a video that is quite effective in helping the WGA make their case to a skeptical and misinformed public.

Sean McDevitt reviews The Happiest Days of Our Lives:

The Happiest Days of Our Lives is all about surrounding yourself with people you care about, interests you enjoy and finding the passion in the "every day." It’s why people come in droves to read Wil’s blog and why he has been as successful in nearly every endeavor he has pursued. The book is a collection of the happiest parts of his day. I’m glad he put it all together.

Flickr'r *Out of My Mind* took a very cool picture, with a little Geek in it.

Mental Floss is one of the greatest magazines in the history of life. Their website pointed me to The Nerd Handbook, which I think WWdN readers will enjoy (and Propel, maybe?):

Written as sort of a "Nerds are From Mars..." guide for nerds' Significant Others, The Nerd Handbook explains nerd habits and motivation. While the article seems focused on computer nerds specifically, many of the nerd behaviors described are applicable to the entire nerd spectrum.

Reader B sent me a link to an awesome polyhedral dice desktop image.

John Scalzi's brilliant and wonderful The Sagan Diary was just made available online, in its entirety, from Subterranean Press. In announcing this news, John says something I've believed for a long time, but was never able to articulate in print:

I think the story just lives better in book form. One of the things you learn when you get published is that a book isn’t just about the text; there’s a whole aesthetic that goes with the book, and that esthetic matters. This is one of the reasons I think that printed books are going to be around for a while, in some form or another.

Okay, now I'm going to try: I like to read things online, and I believe that publishing online is part of the future of any writer's life, but nothing compares to actually holding a book in my hands. Books just feel right, magazines just feel right, and I hope that readers of my blogs and books will agree, so I don't have to make the difficult business decision to save all the stories people tell me they love from my blog for my books, so I can make a living and support my family by writing.

What They Play seems like it could be a cool and useful resource for parents, if the editors steer clear of Thompsonesque hype and pandering. [via game politics]

If you enjoyed my Geek in Review from last week, and are interested in Interactive Fiction as a result (or if, like me, you got to the end and really wanted to play Lurking Horror again) you may want to stay away from the Interactive Fiction archive. It's an easy (and awesome) way to lose an entire day.

The cake is a lie, but I'm still alive.

And now I'm going outside. It's a spectacularly beautiful day here in Los Angeles.

they can polish their medals and sharpen their smiles

Wow.

A small private intelligence company that monitors Islamic terrorist groups obtained a new Osama bin Laden video ahead of its official release last month, and around 10 a.m. on Sept. 7, it notified the Bush administration of its secret acquisition. It gave two senior officials access on the condition that the officials not reveal they had it until the al-Qaeda release.

Within 20 minutes, a range of intelligence agencies had begun downloading it from the company's Web site. By midafternoon that day, the video and a transcript of its audio track had been leaked from within the Bush administration to cable television news and broadcast worldwide.

The founder of the company, the SITE Intelligence Group, says this premature disclosure tipped al-Qaeda to a security breach and destroyed a years-long surveillance operation that the company has used to intercept and pass along secret messages, videos and advance warnings of suicide bombings from the terrorist group's communications network. "Techniques that took years to develop are now ineffective and worthless," said Rita Katz, the firm's 44-year-old founder.

In recent years, those of us who question our leaders, want to preserve our Constitution, and believe supporting our troops is more than a bumper sticker slogan have been vilified, attacked, and consistently called "traitors" by this administration, their supporters, and their allies in government and media.

But when powerful Bush administration officials leak classified information to further their own personal political agenda, the self-appointed defenders of the American way of life fall conspicuously silent.

I used to be outraged by this sort of thing, but now it just makes me sad. What happened to my country?

(via Propeller)