As IF Times

link Voters’ anxiety clouds Obama’s historic successes – USATODAY.com.

This article and those like it remind me of dry heaves.  Just as you think you have experienced the last of the horrible nauseating feeling, another wave overtakes you more excruciating than the last because you are spent from fighting the symptoms of nausea.  Let’s put a label on this and call if for what it is, ODDS, or Obama Deity Derangement Syndrome. 

While understandable during an election campaign to attribute other world capabilities to a favored candidate, surely after almost 2 years in office and undeniably mishandling ALL of the major issues during that time, you have to be delusional to continue to trumpet the skills and accomplishments of someone so utterly incapable of the job.   This is a real life Monty Python movie.  This is not a political observation, this is a business observation.  In the real world, success is measured  by results not spin.  The administration can claim no achievements during their time spent at the control levers of the nation.  Virtually all of the campaign promises so naively accepted during the campaign have been broken or will be. 

Politics as usual, certainly, but never before in the history of the nation have policies been so blindly administered purely for reasons of ideology and with such blatant disregard for practical consequences.  Regardless of this however, most of the media still get weak at the knees when describing the soaring achievements of the White House.  Well, it’s time we got the opinion of those that really matter, those who can coldly judge without the added spin.  The judges from American Idol and Dancing With The Stars weigh in with their assessments:

Bruno:  A decent performance, you have flair and your presentation is professional, but you need to express more emotion and passion.  You are a bit like a shopping cart being pushed around by your handlers.    5.

Len:  Well the Presidency is a very tough role and some are suited to it and some are not.  This is probably  not your best role, community organizer is a better fit perhaps.  Let’s just say you did your best and move on.  5. 

Carrie Ann:  Well the moves were a bit stilted and definitely lacked any passion.  I think that at this stage in your position, you should be more clearly expressing the will of your constituents, but I see conflicts with your natural inclinations.  It still looks very mechanical and the teleprompters don’t help.  5.

Simon:  For me, that was just  awful.  (boooo in the background) Clearly this role is not suited for you.  I think you picked the wrong role and you have the wrong backup people, I see you more comfortable battling authority than being authority.  We need to see you more as yourself rather than trying to fit into a free market capitalist disguise.

Paula:  Week after week you come on here and I just love your suit and haircut and I agree with Simon that this is probably not your best, but you look wonderful and I think you tried real hard with what you had to work with and you have a good stage  presence and  dress well every week and just try to be yourself and be the star that you are and your suits look good and maybe your next role is more suitable and I’m a fan and I just love you.

Randy:  For me dude, it was just a’ight.  I don’t feel it man. I get the feeling you are trying to be someone you really aren’t.  Dude, if you want to be a socialist, just say so and get real.  I don’t think this capitalist free market gig is your bag.

Geez, tough reviews.  I wonder if he’ll survive the next round of voting.

link The Associated Press: AP Exclusive: Playboy `readers’ get 3-D centerfold.

Just what the world needs, 3D porno.  In the old days before pornography became institutionalized, the raciest things people got to see in print were the fabled “french postcards”.  These were often grainy images of women in provocative poses which in those days was pretty spicy stuff.  With the proliferation of crude and vulgar images obtainable from literally anywhere these days, Playboy’s introduction of 3D centerfolds to their magazine is like adding color to the old french postcards, or  bringing a bikini to a nudist colony. 

 Hugh Hefner was the premier purveyor of post pubescent pulchritude,  but the times have passed that whole business by.  During a time when morality was still an issue with society, access to images of nude women was pretty hot stuff.  While the new feature will no doubt attract those hormonally charged young boys as well as curiosity seekers, this idea will not add any more to the fading cachet of Playboy than if they gave away images for free.  Silly me, they already DO that.  While no doubt the gals who pose for the magazine are undoubtedly comely, the fact is there are thousands if not millions of gals who are willing to do the same thing and whose images can be obtained for free.  Seems like a failed business model to me.  Unlimited supply, free of charge…hmm.. 

Who actually reads Playboy anymore? During its heyday, no doubt the magazine benefited much by the rising tide of liberalism that swept the west and in many ways contributed to that trend.  At one time a self described  reference manual for the avant garde male, it professed to offer guidance on all  matter of lifestyle issues.  Today however, it’s difficult to imagine the average 18 or 20 year old taking cues from Playboy on how to dress, what to listen to, or how to live. 

The main thing exposed these days at Playboy besides gals is their true raison d’etre: to hawk goods.  Playboy exists  to market their own brand of products, whether it be magazines, videos, cuff links, mugs or whatever tchotchke you can name with the Playboy logo.  At its heart is still the core of offering images of nude women.  Whatever attendant philosophy was behind that has,  like the clothes of these gals, long been cast off.   The Playboy Philosophy once offered as a noble accompaniment to the girly shots is like the founder, pretty much a relic of another era.  While he was a genius for seeing the need for his magazine in the late 50’s, we’re now in the 21st century.  Nice try on the 3D boobs, but I think it’ll meet the same fate as scratch ‘n sniff.