BUMMER TUESDAY

This is the biggest bummer of a Tuesday that I can remember. There were two gigantic bummers that occurred this morning.

First bummer: President Barack Obama capitulated to almost every Republican demand concerning tax cuts, most odious among these the extension of the Bush-era tax cuts for the top 2% of earners. For reasons why this is a serious bummer, look at two of the last three posts here, and also look to this article from Robert Reich. And here is Obama himself, in a press conference this morning, being condescending as fuck talking about this country being founded on compromise:

Dude, you are totally missing the point. The reason that us liberals, for which you apparently have a growing distaste, are so upset is that YOU'RE COMPROMISING BEFORE THE FIGHT EVEN STARTS. This process illustrates it perfectly. As far as I can tell, Obama worked exclusively with Republicans on this deal, forgoing Democratic input entirely. And when the bill ends up looking like some Republican, power-subservient wish list, he expects Democrats to simply get in line because he OK'd it and still believes that he's "our guy." It's time to discard this fallacy once and for all. This president does not work for the people that Democrats are supposed to be working for. He works for the rich and the powerful, just like almost any other politician. His policies thus far have looked at every turn like Republican policies. Adjust your expectations accordingly.

Secondly, Julian Assange was arrested in the UK this morning, and despite numerous people coming forward willing to put up bail money, was inexplicably denied bail, even though he has been completely cooperative since his arrest warrant was issued, including turning himself in. Not that you would know this with the media claiming his detention to be the end result of an "international manhunt." In related bummer news, Visa joined Mastercard today in refusing to allow people using their credit cards to register opinion on the matter by donating to WikiLeaks. The only way that anyone can donate to the organization now is through wire transfer.

I know everyone (myself included) has been seemingly talking about nothing but WikiLeaks the past couple of weeks, but I honestly think that this is one of the most important and revealing things to happen to this country in our lifetimes. I have never seen those in power this disturbed, even threatened, by civilian action before. Be it the political, financial, military, or media elites, everyone in power has been absolutely losing their shit over this. The sheer number and force of lies and the desperate attempts by politicians to make it seem like what they are doing is anything other than a gross violation of the rule of law is something unseen since the run-up to the invasion of Iraq. Sure, you could bring up any number of human rights violations that have occurred and been exposed in the interim, but none of those have had even close to the level of nearly unanimous support that the witch hunt of Julian Assange has received. Nevermind that those such as the editorial board of the New York Times who have been leading this crusade would by any standard be just as complicit in any alleged wrongdoing on the part of WikiLeaks since they are the one's who actually published the documents.

In light of this crusade against free speech and free press that the elites have embarked upon in recent weeks, this release by the State Department today is absurdly laughable:

The United States is pleased to announce that it will host UNESCO’s World Press Freedom Day event in 2011, from May 1 - May 3 in Washington, D.C. UNESCO is the only UN agency with the mandate to promote freedom of expression and its corollary, freedom of the press.

The theme for next year’s commemoration will be 21^st Century Media: New Frontiers, New Barriers. The United States places technology and innovation at the forefront of its diplomatic and development efforts. New media has empowered citizens around the world to report on their circumstances, express opinions on world events, and exchange information in environments sometimes hostile to such exercises of individuals’ right to freedom of expression. At the same time, we are concerned about the determination of some governments to censor and silence individuals, and to restrict the free flow of information. We mark events such as World Press Freedom Day in the context of our enduring commitment to support and expand press freedom and the free flow of information in this digital age.

So, yeah, Bummer Tuesday.

Edit: Thank goodness