The independently minded political animal always wrestles with times of transition, and the changeover from the Bush to Obama regimes has been worse than most. During the Dubya years it was easy to identify the enemy and to hate him with a blinding passion. Sweet Jesus, George II and his sidekick, The Dick Cheney, played their roles with less nuance
Read moreIt’s been maddening over the last few years listening to the “debate” over torture. On the one side you have your basic horde of patchouli-soaked dirty fucking hippie liberals wringing their hands and screeching over anything that damages a terrorist’s self-esteem, while on the other side you have a well-dressed cadre of chicken-hawks who think that Jack Bauer is a
Read moreYou have to love the headline: GOP set to launch rebranding effort WASHINGTON (CNN) – Coming soon to a battleground state near you: a new effort to revive the image of the Republican Party and to counter President Obama’s characterization of Republicans as “the party of ‘no.’” CNN has learned that the new initiative, called the National Council for a
Read moreA couple of weeks ago author and NYU media theory lecturer Douglas Rushkoff penned a provocative essay for Arthur Magazine. Entitled “Let It Die,” the essay explains why we should stop trying to save the economy. In a perfect world, the stock market would decline another 70 or 80 percent along with the shuttering of about that fraction of our
Read moreAbout three weeks ago, Jim Moss over at The Seminal laid the 2008 electoral results map over maps of poverty and income inequality. The visual comparison was illuminating, and Jim’s post got me to thinking – what if you did the same thing with a wider range of measures and rankings? What kind of picture would emerge? (Jim has himself
Read moreA few nights ago John McCain treated us all to a masterful concession speech. He was gracious, articulate, noble – he said all the right things and struck all the right chords as the nation and his party look toward the future in the wake of an epic statement on the part of the American electorate. If you’re like me,
Read moreTrusting is one thing I don’t know When it comes to the campaigning men But I’ll meet you at the election When I vote for the hope of this land – Sean Kelly You may have noticed, if you’ve been paying attention, that the music industry has gone to hell of late. It isn’t that nobody is making good music
Read moreWow. Didn’t see this coming. Yesterday: FOX News VP John Moody said that “If the incident turns out to be a hoax, Senator McCain’s quest for the presidency is over, forever linked to race-baiting.” Today: Police: McCain volunteer made up robbery story. There you have it, in black and white (as it were). But still, McCain? Race-baiting? I declare, I
Read moreIn a smoke-filled back room in an elite, moneyed private club on the East Coast, the following scenario is being discussed between two of the power elite’s more powerful elites. Let’s call them Dick Toole and Harry Johnson. As Dick and Harry see it: The numbers have been crunched and the party’s McCain problem looks terminal. This presidential election, they
Read morePart two in a series. There’s a rising tide on the rivers of blood But if the answer isn’t violence, neither is your silence – Pop Will Eat Itself, “Ich Bin Ein Auslander” When all is said and done, nothing communicates the racism and knee-buckling stupidity of all-too-wide swaths of our nation quite like video. So if you don’t trust
Read morePart one in a series. Listen to the victim, abused by the system The basis is racist, you know that we must face this In 1991 Pop Will Eat Itself produced one of the most damning comments on racism in society in the history of popular music. “Ich Bin Ein Auslander” was specifically aimed at anti-immigrant racism in Europe, but
Read moreWas There Too Much Sex And Profanity In The HBO Presidential Debate? Thanks to Mike Smith for passing this along.
Read moreMy colleague, Dr. Sidicious Bonesparkle, had a bit of sport last week with a Global Language Monitor analysis showing that Sarah Palin spoke at a higher grade level in the VP “debate” than did Joe Biden. As it turns out, the GLM isn’t alone in examining the language used by the presidential and vice presidential candidates.
Read moreWe’ve mentioned Lee Camp’s performance at the DNC in Denver a time or three, and our friends at Eccentric Production/Zero Coordinate have now posted it for your viewing pleasure. Funny stuff – enjoy…
Read moreAh – this explains a lot.
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lullaby pit 