Vote For Kodos: Obamboozled
President-elect Obama campaigned on "a new kind of politics," embraced by pudding-minded voters and the disingenuous tribunes of the Fourth Estate alike as "post-partisan," as if partisanship is somehow dirty and un-American. Mr. Obama wants us all to work together. So, I must ask, why was his first hire after the election Representative Rahm Emanuel to act as White House Chief of Staff? Since being elected to the House of Representatives, Congressman Emanuel's political raison d'être has been nothing less than the eradication of the Republican Party as a viable electoral force. Now, that is a reasonable goal and I don't begrudge him it. What fun, after all, is politics if it is not akin to a bloodsport? (And I freely admit, or at least sincerely hope, we have full-time staffers dedicated solely to permanently kneecapping the Democrats. Karl Rove came tantalizing close before we were, as Macmillan warned, overtaken by events.) But, the Chief of Staff is central to the operation of the White House and Mr. Emanuel will be at the center of the Obama Administration. How exactly are we supposed to enter a new "post-partisan" era with a consummate hatchet man at the center of said effort? At your peril do you underestimate the viciousness of Rahm Emanuel. Need some perspective? Imagine if Senator McCain had won the election and then selected as his Chief of Staff former Congressman Tom "The Hammer" DeLay. Emanual and DeLay are two sides of the same coin, the Chief of Staff-designate has a better reputation simply because our sycophantic press corps regards Republican ruthlessness as underhanded and Democratic ruthlessness as the height of virtue. The brave new world of post-partisanship is shaping up to look like good old-fashioned partisanship at it's most petty and malicious.

Congratulations, you're a sap.

The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day
Rogue Traders, "Voodoo Child" from the Doctor Who episode "The Sound of Drums" (T.L.A.M.)

***SPOILER ALERT***

Commentary: ...in which The Master reveals the Toclafane invasion of Earth with a cry of "Here! Come! The drums!" followed by the chorus from "Voodoo Child." The Toclafane then proceed to decimate Mankind, in the true meaning of the word, murdering one-tenth of the human population. (Hoorah for time-traveling do-overs.)

***END SPOILERS***

Coming Attractions
(a) "Vote For Kodos: An Appeal to Reason, Second Half by Special Request" which will not be a thorough presentation of why Senator McCain was the superior choice to be the 44th President, but a mirror of the quick and dirty arguments of "Vote For Kodos: An Appeal to Reason."

(b) An as yet untitled explanation of why I kind of hate John McCain and want to punch him in the nose.

(c) Mumbai, possibly sporting the grossly insensitive, massively inappropriate title "Bombs & Bombay."