Do You Smell The Chum?

Well, this past Tuesday certainly was freaky.  In case you hadn't noticed it, a massive disturbance rippled through the Force with enough power to knock the shoes off of anyone paying attention.  It's unclear to me precisely what it all adds up to, but I suspect that the universe just passed through a Paradox Inflection.  Just possibly the forces of Right Wing Corporatist Perversion have actually begun to turn on themselves.  Here's just three examples of what I mean:

1.  Rupert Murdoch retreats on his bid to monopolize Britain's largest satellite service BSkyB.  In the wake of the recent phone hacking scandal where person's in the employee of Murdoch's flagship publication News of the World was forced to close up shop for illegally eavesdropping on the survivors of terrorist attacks and bribing police officials.  Many initial reports saw that as a savvy move to divert attention from Murdoch's attempt to acquire control of a much more lucrative and influential television market, but apparently British politicians are reacting more like a shark sensing blood in the water.

2.  Mitch McConnell, leader of Republicans in the U.S. Senate publically sh*t upon himself by begging Obama to release Republicans from the responsibility of actually acting on the looming debt crisis.  Mitch did act with characteristic fascist flare, however, by structuring it as an end to the Constitutional "Separation of Powers" principle whereby Congress holds responsibility for the nation's purse strings.  Is there any principle of democracy that Republicans aren't willing to throw away?

3.  In the Wisconsin recall primaries, Real Democrats scored shattering victories (i.e., almost all 66%+) over fraudulent candidates set up by Scott Walker's black op's department.  The state Republican Party rationalized its attempt to deceive the voting public as an attempt to buy time to campaign in races they do not feel they could win honestly.  Frankly, there's no way of recapping that last bit without them outright admitting that they are in thrall to the Master of Lies.

Yeah, it's bizarre alright, folks, and the best seems yet to come.  But it calls to mind nothing so much as RNC chief Rancid Priebus diving into the Pacific waters of Shark Alley wearing a pair of chum-flavoured speedos.