Isn't it Ironic: Government Surveillance Version (with Remy)

"Isn't it Ironic: Government Surveillance Version (with Remy)," written and performed by Remy. Video and animation by Meredith Bragg. Music performed, produced, recorded, mixed and mastered by Ben Karlstrom. About 2 mins.

Original releasev date was March 20,2014 and original writeup is below.

Remy updates the Alanis Morissette hit with a certain senior senator from California in mind. 

Written and performed by Remy. Video and animation by Meredith Bragg. Music performed, produced, recorded, mixed and mastered by Ben Karlstrom.

Approximately 2 minutes. 

Lyrics:
A Senator lady
Got the news one day
The country's being spied on
by the NSA

So she went out defending
on each TV set
but when she found out she'd been snooped on
she got all upset

And isn't it ironic?
I mean, don't you think?

It's like you're at Chris Brown's
and there's punch in the fridge
or if The Bachelor 
passed a geography quiz

Learning Ted Kennedy
happened to be good at bridge.
And who would have thought?
It figures.

Senator, this may surprise you
and the irony bites
but Congresspeople ain't the only ones
with 4th Amendment rights

It's like a minimalist
who does their laundry with All
or if Woody Allen liked to watch
Kids in the Hall

it's like FDR
got locked in a Honda Accord
a cheap healthcare plan
that you just can't afford

If Oscar Pistorius
really hated The Doors
and who would have thought?
It figures.

I heard the government
is sneaking up on you.
Life has a funny, funny way
of calling you out
calling you out.

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Comments

[Archduke von Pantsfan]

It's a black fly in your chardonnay

[Gene]

If only it would warm up enough to allow for blackflies.

As much as I hate the fuckers.

[Christophe]

Gold. Terrible puns always brighten up my dystopian day.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Salon: The capitalist propaganda of The Hunger Games and Divergent

They are propaganda for the ethos of individualism, the central ideology of consumer capitalism, which also undergirds both major political parties and almost all American public discourse.

[snip]

When we convince ourselves that "Divergent" or "The Hunger Games" contains any sort of lesson about resisting authority or speaking truth to power, we have already accepted their central premise that personal liberty, as defined by contemporary capitalism, is a precious virtue and that it might someday be under threat from somebody, somewhere.

Fuck off, slaver.

The villainous daddy-state presided over by Donald Sutherland (in "Hunger Games") and Kate Winslet (in "Divergent") is as much a paper tiger as the corrupt old regime of landlords and kulaks seen in Soviet boy-girl-tractor romances of the 1930s. The model of individualism presented as so noble and so embattled in these oxygen-propaganda movies is in fact the authoritarian ideology of our time, the instrument used by the 1 percent to drive down wages, dominate and distort the political process and make all attempts at collective action by those below look stodgy, embarrassing and futile.

Oh for the days of proletariat fiction in cinema. Why isn't Katniss waving a Red Banner and promising peace, land, and bread?

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Strictly speaking, they're doing moral equivalence between capitalism and communism, not endorsing communism, God forbid!

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

O'Heir is a fascist, and I called him such in the comments there. He thinks individualism is a deranged and decadent ideology that stymies the State's ability to take action because it convinces people not to subvert their will to that of the State.

After all, if we could just lose the notion that individuals have rights that are inalienable we would have no problem with government encroaching on our economic liberty and freedom of thought because it's all for the collective good.

[Raven Nation]

Here's a snip from his review of Secretariat:

I enjoyed it immensely, flat-footed dialogue and implausible situations and all. Which doesn't stop me from believing that in its totality "Secretariat" is a work of creepy, half-hilarious master-race propaganda almost worthy of Leni Riefenstahl, and all the more effective because it presents as a family-friendly yarn about a nice lady and her horse.

Blogger Ace of Spades concluded of O'Heir:

"The man masturbates stupid and ejaculates embarrassment."

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Oh that was his writing? I remember that because even Roger Ebert--who was so liberal he panned "Team America: World Police" because it mocked Hollywood anti-war activism--wrote a response that basically told him to calm down and enjoy a movie about a nice lady and her horse.

[Raven Nation]

Ace of Spades on Ebert/O'Heir:

This review was so stupid that even archliberal Roger Ebert declared it "bizarre" in one of his last pronouncements.

Shortly later he died. I am tempted to speculate that Roger Ebert could have read more Andrew O'Hehir reviews, but he took the coward's way out.

[Suthenboy]

Thats Salon in a nutshell isn't it?

[Max Power]

That's some good trolling right there. I think someone that's a better writer than me could write a ridiculous parody of this kind of article and get it published by Salon. Like that one about how sexist the Legend of Zelda is.

[Suthenboy]

"...speaking truth to power..."

I don't know what that means, and neither does anyone else, but every time I hear it or read it I want to punch someone.

When I hear someone use that phrase I immediately discount everything they have to say.

[Derpetologist]

I get the same feeling whenever I hear someone use the words "we" or "society" more than 5 times in 10 minute conversation.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

ditto "the people".

[Francisco d'Anconia]

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union...

the right of the people peaceably to assemble...

the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects...

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

I rarely hear anyone talk about the constitution. The phrase has been hijacked by lefties, and I most often hear the phrase "the people" invoked in anti-corporate diatribes.

[Francisco d'Anconia]

I know. Just couldn't pass up the opportunity to fuck with ya.

[Raven Nation]

I was really bored so I looked up some other things this guy has written:

As payback for the worldwide revolution symbolized by hot jazz, Smokey Robinson dancin' to keep from cryin' and Eminem trading verses with Rihanna, New Orleans and Detroit had to be punished. Specifically, they had to be isolated, impoverished and almost literally destroyed, so they could be held up as examples of what happens when black people are allowed to govern themselves.

Hang on, you can stop composing that all-caps comment ? I don't actually believe that what happened to Detroit and New Orleans resulted from anyone's conscious plan. Real history is much more complicated than that. I do, however, think that narrative has some validity on a psychological level, and that some right-wingers in America are so delusional, so short-sighted and, frankly, so unpatriotic and culturally backward that they were delighted to see those cities fail and did everything possible to help them along. (I'm not exempting the Democratic political class of those cities from responsibility. Speaking broadly, those in city government there inherited an unsustainable situation in a downward-trending economy, pursued their own short-term objectives and only made things worse.)

Umm, shit, how does one even start to respond to that?

[Suthenboy]

I think he is saying that leftist policies impoverished and destroyed those cities and the wingnuts were happy to see that so it is all the wingnut's fault.

I guess leftist policies would work fine if we would stop pointing out that they are flawed.

[Strapping Young Lad]

those in city government there inherited an unsustainable situation in a downward-trending economy

Also he's using shreek logic. I'm not sure if he knows just how long team blue has been in power.

[Raven Nation]

I refuse to go back and re-read the column but, while I think you are partly accurate in your analysis, I can assure you that nowhere in the column does he attribute the failure of Detroit to leftist politics.

[Suthenboy]

He alludes to it, claims not to let them off the hook, then launches into excuse making on their behalf.

[Ted S.]

Somebody needs to do a mashup of O'Heir and Thomas Friedman.

[Wasteland Wanderer]

I'm afraid the prose would collapse under the weight of its stupidity and form a singularity.

[Wasteland Wanderer]

It would be the densest material known to man.

[Tejicano]

I would say that if somebody dared the fates and took it to that level - postulating that it would even be possible - even people with an extra chromosome would read it and wonder if it knows how stupid it sounds.

[Strapping Young Lad]

Why isn't Katniss waving a Red Banner and promising peace, land, and bread?

Waiting in breadlines would be hard to make for interesting cinema.

[jesse.in.mb]

I dunno. We should ask Ted S. if there're any interesting films where the hero stands in a bread line.

[Francisco d'Anconia]

I Walk the Breadline?

[Tejicano]

Hey, shut up before you give hollywood any ideas.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

And--surprise--the Salonistas mostly agree with him:

I don't think anyone is going to dismiss the idea of fundamental human rights. The critique here is the feeding of ego, the belief in ones uniqueness and worth. From advertising messages that constantly inflate your sense of self-grandiosity, to political appeals that state that you personally have the right to be served all off your political wishes, even though ?.99999 of the rest of the voting population may disagree with your views.

Well there you have it, none of you are unique or worth shit. Repent of your ego and submit to the will of the majority.

It's hard to think of any contemporary American movies that question individualism. Alexander Payne's "Nebraska", maybe? "Inside Llweyn Davis"?

There's also "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance", though that's older.

Some good non-American (not necessarily contemporary) movies that question the collective/individual polarity are: Aguirre The Wrath of God, Berlin Alexanderplatz, Dekalog, The Rules of The Game, The White Ribbon, Rosetta.

Of course, there's also the 1930 Ukrainian "Earth" if you're not fond of Kulaks.

I can't tell if that last suggestion if facetious or not. And that disturbs me.

[Strapping Young Lad]

political appeals that state that you personally have the right to be served all off your political wishes, even though ?.99999 of the rest of the voting population may disagree with your views.

What the hell does this even mean? That individualism is some kind of reverse democracy where the minority imposes their will on the majority?

[General Butt Naked]

What if the body politic decides that there aren't enough workers to support the welfare state and make abortion and homosexuality illegal? Not unheard of in "People's Democratic States of Whatever".

I posited this situation to Tony once and his response boiled down to, "those rights are different".

[Tejicano]

The most common responce from any leftist, when cornered, is "Well, that's different".

[MJGreen]

Drive down wages? It's as if the great proletariat were making great "wages" for all of history, until suddenly the capitalists came along to start taking attacking their wages. They're so sneaky, they're able to drive down wages while the standard of living continues to skyrocket.

[Scarecrow Repair]

I always figured that if there can be no proof that either individualism or collectivism is better, individualism allows collectivists to contract with each other to simulate 99% of collectivism, but collectivism does not allow simulating individualism. Therefore individualism is a better choice for government, again in the case that you can't prove one better than the other.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

"Sloppy researchers beware. A new institute has you in its sights

"...METRICS, as the new laboratory is to be known for short, will connect enthusiasts of the nascent field in such corners of academia as medicine, statistics and epidemiology, with the aim of solidifying the young discipline....they will spread the message to policymakers, governments and other interested parties, in an effort to stop them making decisions on the basis of flaky studies. All this in the name of the centre's nerdishly valiant mission statement: "Identifying and minimising persistent threats to medical-research quality.""

Medical research - whew! I thought for a minute they would be examining social science research.

http://www.economist.com/news/.....physicians

[Notorious G.K.C.]

OK, I better not see some guy posting this in a later thread and not credit me.

[Suthenboy]

Does some guy still post here? I haven't seen him for a while now.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Speaking of which, what ever happened to Art-P.O.G. and Xeones? It has been a couple of years...

[Archduke von Pantsfan]

Asking the tough questions

Is private enterprise possible in a post-capitalist economy?

[Suthenboy]

Capitalist.

That word does not mean what they think it means.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Not if everyone is starving or in fear of immediate liquidation. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is a great example of a post-capitalist society uncontaminated by private enterprise.*

*although I don't doubt that even in a Stalinist shithole like North Korea there exists some black market for luxuries like...food and clothing.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

*and meth

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Lucy S on another case of forfeiture abuse:

"On Friday, the district attorney's office in Humboldt County, Nevada, agreed to return the $50,000 that had been seized from Tan Nguyen during a traffic stop on September 23, 2013. Nguyen had never been charged with a crime, much less convicted of anything?Humboldt County sheriff's deputy Lee Dove pulled him over for allegedly going three miles over the speed limit, then searched his car without permission (though the cops claim consent was given) and found what Nguyen said was gambling winnings. The 37-year-old California resident's luck clearly ran out when he was stopped by Dove, however, and according to his lawsuit, Nguyen was given a choice?give up his money or try to get home without his vehicle.

"This wasn't an isolated incident or a mistake on behalf of the cops. In a photo that the Humboldt County Sheriff's Department put on Facebook (and has since deleted), Dove posed proudly with a police dog and the $50,000 he had seized...."

http://www.vice.com/read/the-p.....th-a-crime

[Notorious G.K.C.]

This place is deserted.

[Suthenboy]

It is saturday night.

My wife does a ladies night every tuesday. Immediately after work she and her friends go out and have drinks. I am the designated driver. For the record, I hate the place they go, and most of her friends are awful sticks in the mud.

On one occasion everyone had their drinks and some food, then most of them left and went home. My wife and I and about three others stuck around. After a bit we also decided to go home. One of them made a remark about the ones who had left earlier and then my wife said "Yeah! I guess we know who the hard-core partiers are!".

I then pointed out to her that it was only 7 O'clock.

Yeah. It is saturday night and here we are posting on H&R. Truly sad. Heh.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

I'm sitting at the club, listening to the Vienna Philharmonic posting from my device, and nobody complains because I'm in the You Get to Use Your Devices section to which my first-class ticket entitles me. Meanwhile, has-beens like Harrison Ford are trying desperately trying to get into the club and the bouncers won't let them.

Now you'll have to excuse me, a waitress named Lacey is bending over to hand me a cocktail.

[Suthenboy]

I have no problem letting you be the most interesting man in the world. I am very comfortable in my uneventful life. I had a lifetime's worth of excitement in the first half of my existence, now I want peace in the second half.

Tell Lacey I said hello. And pinch her ass for me.

[Suthenboy]

Letting you. Ugh. Smack my head.

Have no problem with you being.....

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

First half? How old are you and when do you plan to die?

[Suthenboy]

Actually I plan to live forever. I meant the first half of a natural lifetime.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Question withdrawn. In all likelihood, my life is probably half over, and I'm in my 30's.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Um, did I mention that I'm here with my girlfriend?

http://www.theapricity.com/for.....-Fairchild

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

That story started out like a Penthouse letter, and the BAM! You hit me with reality.

[General Butt Naked]

I am the designated driver...

...most of her friends are awful sticks in the mud.

At least they do anal, or this "designated driver" bullshit wouldn't be worth the hassle.

[Sunmonocle Backwards Tophat]

I've made peace with staying in on weekend nights. Tonight I'm building a workbench so I can finally get a circular saw and start into my summer woodworking projects. Last night I bled and replaced the brake fluid in my high maintenance mountain bike. Next weekend I'm planting my pepper and tomato transplants, and the weekend after that I'll be moving the components from my busted mountain bike to a new steel frame.

I'm sure to most people those things sound like boring work, but when you're a desk jockey sitting at a computer, doing manual work with your hands is amazing. I would much rather do that than go to bars with acquaintances.

[Strapping Young Lad]

Humboldt County sheriff's deputy Lee Dove pulled him over for allegedly going three miles over the speed limit

This is the real crime.

[Suthenboy]

I don't think that is forfeiture, is it? It is just outright armed robbery.

[Derpetologist]

It's like 10,000 squirrels, when you just want to post...

[Derpetologist]

"It's finally ironic" lyric sample:

An old man turned 98

He won the lottery, and died the next day

from a sever paper cut from his lottery ticket

It's a black fly in your chardonnay

that was specifically purchased to repel black flies

It's a death row pardon that causes your demise,

because you leave the jail and get hit by a bus

And that really is ironic

We fixed it for you, Alanis (you're welcome)

It's like rain on your wedding day, a day and place

You chose because it's known not to rain

It's a free ride, but you get mugged on the way

We've got good advice we're forcing you to take

And who would've thought, it figures!