Captain Digital

Random musings on politics, society, and pop culture from the Internet's marketing curmudgeon.

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Republican

The UN-candidate.

Gov. Palin: You say Goodbye...I say Hello!
Gov. Palin: You say "Goodbye"...I say "Hello!"

We are all, at one level or another, creatures of habit. That’s a good thing, most of the time. I mean, if we woke up to a world everyday where we had to figure out how to feed and clothe ourselves, with no idea of what would come next, none of us would leave very productive lives. But there’s a dark side to habit – that being the phenomena whereby we attempt to pigeonhole everything that happens, so we can process it, understand it (in terms of previous experiences) and move on. This system of shorthand evaluations doesn’t work at all, however, when you run smack dab up against something new. New is…different. It doesn’t fit the mold. It doesn’t lend itself to snap analyzes, or fitting into patterns. But “new” is where innovation comes from. It’s where solutions come from. And it’s where our future lies.

Consider (soon-to-be former) Gov. Sarah Palin. [Read more…] about The UN-candidate.

Voting Early.

Vote as if your life depends on it.
Vote as if your life depends on it.

Yep. I did it. I cast my vote, as early voting runs through October 31 here in Amarillo. Mrs. Digital and I headed over to the mall and cast our votes for President, Senator, Representative, and a slew of local offices.

You might expect, given that I am a proud conservative, that I voted the straight Republican ticket.

And you’d be wrong. [Read more…] about Voting Early.

Whither Progress?

George Carlin once famously said, “words mean things.” Yep. But today, words can also be co-opted, where their original meanings are subverted, and new meanings assigned, thus changing it’s use and significance. 

Take the word “progress” and its derivatives. 

I, personally, believe that if “pro” is the opposite of “con,” then it’s logical and reasonable to define “progress” as the opposite of “Congress.” Progress is supposed to denote change for the better. But while progress requires change, not all change requires progress. [Read more…] about Whither Progress?

Palin Rocks!

Well, the VP debate is over. Whew! I can breathe again. From where I sit, Palin came, she saw, and she conquered. Flat out, she rocked. Biden was able to avoid putting his foot in his mouth verbally, but he did set a record for smirking, and another for forced smiles. Advantage: Palin. 

If we were to use the mainstream media standard, Palin made no mistakes (they would have judged her survival on the basis her not making more than one or two gaffes), and therefore “survived.” So if you’re a conservative, you’re going to say “Palin Won.” If you are a liberal, you’ll probably say something like “Palin acquitted herself adequately [sniff], but Biden enunciated his positions, where Palin made a base appeal to middle America.” [Read more…] about Palin Rocks!

If “Pro” is the opposite of “Con”…what is opposite of “Progress”?

As I write this, the bailout bill went down to defeat. 

Good.

From where I sit, the bill was flawed from the get-go. To start with, the boneheads that screwed the markets up to begin with (Committee chairs Chris Dodd, Chuck Schumer, et all) claiming that they know what to do to fix this mess. That’s rather like giving a fox the keys to the hen house, and a fresh supply of chickens, immediately after he’s eaten the previous stock. Not a good idea. 

With taxpayers of all political persuasions screaming blue murder about this bill, I’m not surprised that it failed. While it’s amusing to see Congressmen running for cover like so many cockroaches in a kitchen during a 3AM snack binge, the results are, we have an institution that is dedicated to two propositions (getting reelected and maintining the status quo) forced to face the music with voters. [Read more…] about If “Pro” is the opposite of “Con”…what is opposite of “Progress”?

War. And Rememberance.

It’s been seven years. As we approach the anniversary of 9/11, that’s the first thing that sticks in my head. I can’t believe it’s been seven years. Back when we ushered in the new millennium, I really thought that the most momentous milestone in time that I’d live through would be the change from the 20th century to the 21st. Turns out, I was wrong. We don’t really measure time today as in “before the millennium” and “after the millennium.” We live in a post-9/11 world, and long for the way things used to be, before that fateful day in September. [Read more…] about War. And Rememberance.

A Light Dawns.

Wow. When McCain sewed up the GOP nomination, I was resigned to hoping that he’d make a really great VP pick – somebody who would embody REAL Conservative values and principles. Sadly, none of the frontrunners really rang my bell. Jindal refused to be considered. Thompson wasn’t even in the running. Romney looked like a lock, but lost a lot of cred in the primaries, with unexplained “changes of heart” on core-values issues.

Then McCain surprised us all. [Read more…] about A Light Dawns.

Reading between the lines.

I just watched Hillary’s big speech at the DNC convention.

Yawn.

The best part of it was the anecdote about Harriet Tubman and the “Keep Going” phrase. Otherwise, it was straight Democrat talking points. The speech was interesting, however, but not for what Hill said – but for what she didn’t say. Hillary didn’t say “Obama will make a great president.” She didn’t give her endorsement of his ethics, his personality, or his perceived ability to get the job done. Essentially, she said what she had to say, in order to look gracious. She said everything she had to, in order to have plausible deniablity to those who would insist that she is scuttling Obama’s candidacy. In short, she went just far enough to “do the right thing,” but not one step farther. Not that I blame her. Her appearance was as much like a triumphant general returning home after a long campaign, as it was like a second-place finisher taking her consolation lap. Now it’s up to Joe Biden. If he doesn’t kill as a speaker, people are going to be wondering, “why wasn’t Hillary chosen as Veep.” Now of course, we know why – she’s got more baggage than a debutante on a sea cruise, and that’s not even counting the built-in scandal machine that is her husband, the former Bubba-in-Chief. [Read more…] about Reading between the lines.

Corruption Knows No Party.

Ted "Bridge to Nowhere" StevensI’m a conservative. So’s Sen. Ted Stevens (R, Alaska). I believe in drilling for oil in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge. So does Ted. I believe that conservatives principles should guide our government. Ted agrees. So why do I want to see Ted Stevens resign from office?

Here’s the deal: Corruption is corruption. It strikes Republicans and Democrats alike. No political party has the market cornered on kickbacks, under-the-table deals, favors-for-cash, and other financial hanky panky. For every Ted Stevens on the right, there’s a William Jefferson on the left. Don’t care. I want Congress cleaned up, and I want it done NOW.

If somebody gets in office, and then proceeds to use that office for personal gain, I want them gone. Conservative or Liberal, Republican or Democrat, that kind of thing has no place in our government. Period. So when a guy is exposed as a crook, I don’t care if I agree with him politically – he needs to go, and go quickly. [Read more…] about Corruption Knows No Party.