$2 a Day

in America, to clean Wal-mart floors. Disgusting. What can you eat on $2 a day, Bazooka Joes?

Body and Soul: Wal-Mart's agenda has more.

A New Military?

Whiskey Bar: Looking for a Better Body Count deconstructs the latest Rumsfeld follies and asks us is Donald Rumsfeld the new Robert McNamara?

"Do You Have A Minute For Greenpeace"

The Greenpeace street soldiers have one of the most insidious selling tactics around. They swarm a neighborhood asking everyone "do you have a minute for Greenpeace?"

And what are you going to say, no? Its a hard call, your traditional instincts are thrown off, to just say no is like saying "no, I don't have even a minute for Greenpeace, because I'm scum who doesn't care for the environment". But if you say yes they are going to beg for money and take your time. Over and over again. They've been at it for a couple years now, I assume that means its quite effective.

Me, I've developed a rote response, a substitute for no. "Not at the moment", works like a charm. Of course I have a minute for Greenpeace. I used it to put a link at the top of this post. But I sure don't have that minute on the street, love.

A Couple (Black) Soldiers a Day is OK...

Holy shit...

"You have to go where the target audience is," says Col. Thomas Nickerson, director of strategic outreach for the U.S. Army Accessions Command, who says that the Army just reached its recruitment goal of 100,200 enlistees this year. "Our research tells us that hip-hop and urban culture is a powerful influence in the lives of young Americans. We try to develop a bond with that audience. I want them to say, 'Hey, the Army was here -- the Army is cool!'"

Salon.com Life | The Army be thuggin' it

In other words, the Army's target market is young poor males. They are recruited with visions of pimping in a Hummer, then shipped off to Iraq where they become a different sort of "target market". And its ok if a couple of them die a day, cause they make great flypaper for terrorists. You know those people we are trying to trap in Iraq, the country that really doing better then the media tells us.

At least they are honest for once.

I think I'm going to be sick, have a great weekend everyone.

[via S/FJ]

Escape from Woomera

The Game is the ultimate piece of art, capable of incorporating all forms of art and expression known to humanity, expressed using all forms of technology, from the ancient to the bleeding edge, without compromising its identity as a game.

zero-game studio art

Now that's a touch extreme, but you can see where they are coming from, there is a lot of potency in video games.

Case to point the second political video game we've seen in as many weeks. Once again via Ashley Benigino's wonderful site.

You are a refugee, you've travelled ages across oceans for a better life. And now all that's left to do is ESCAPE FROM WOOMERA. Woomera being the place where the Australian government is keeping you prisoner. For you and me its a game, for many its a reality.

Why Escape From Woomera?

The videogame is the most rapidly evolving, exciting, subversive and feared cultural medium in the world today. It's akin to graffiti on the cultural landscape. As such it is ripe for an injection of interesting and progressive ideas that can effect social change. We are a team of game developers, digital artists and media professionals, committed to the videogame medium - not merely as a vehicle for conceptual new media art or profit-driven entertainment - but as a free, independent art form in its own right. The creation of Escape From Woomera is part of a larger goal: the rise of a counter-culture of developers and gamers who create and engage with game art outside the mainstream corporate industry.

Your Digital Vote...

The computerized voting scandal hits a mainstream paper. And it smells just as rotten as it did when only the fringe covered. Is this a real issue about to break into the big time? I think we'll find out in the next year my friends.

Stupid Predictions Time: Dean v. Clark

Ok, here is the deal. I'm going to make some dumb predictions on the eventual Democratic nominee for president next year. If I some turn out to be right you give me lots of respect and props. If I turn out to be wrong, we just forget the whole thing. Sounds fair? Good, I love you all.

So baring any crazy twists and turns (note this is an escape hatch) I think its Clark vs. Dean for this presidential nomination. Which sort of makes it a traditional top down approach vs a new school bottom up emergent technique, although I'm sure Dean has plenty of top down in him. Doesn't matter Clark's top down is going to win it. He's got Gore's veteran team, without its two major flaws; Al Gore himself, and the need to distance
the campaign from Clinton. Good shit, note how quickly Clark was able to grab first tier status.

Now if this goes down the really interesting stuff comes if Dean rolls in second place with a healthy amount of delegates. And more importantly a very potent bottom up team. A team that isn't exactly going to be under control by Dean and his advisors. The Clark people might not want Dean involved in their campaign as VP or whatnot. But they will want his machine supporting Clark. Only problem is that Dean isn't building a political machine, he's growing a political organism. Its living and breathing on its own, and its big and dangerous. The Clark people will be scared shitless of it turning against them in the general election, and they don't exactly have any precedent to base their actions on. Its going to be interesting...

Dean is developing a whole new political model for the US. Should he win outright it will be the new way to wage a campaign, bottom up all the way. But somehow I doubt he's going to win it all, I just don't see his model scaling large enough. But if he does well enough to have major impact on the results, something he's pretty much done already, then a whole lot of interesting crossbreeding is about happen. I'm keeping my eyes open.

Its pretty damn hard for grassroots to grow up to the height of the trees, but it might just attract some animals that can significantly shift the ecosystem...

Plame Gaming

Whiskey Bar: Latest on the Plame Game parses the latest info on America's little spy political scandal. This one is far from over kids. Nothing new, but a lot of clarification going on, looks like the original leaker (George Tenet head of the CIA?) is out to shear away all the various defenses the White House is using to cover over the crime.

One thing that struck me big time. If Tenet (or who ever this leaker is) wanted to he(or she) could just drop the full factual bomb into the media. Next Sunday's Washington Post might have a story with all the names and dates in it if the leaker wants it to. "Dick Cheney called Novak at 12:15 on July 13th" or whatever. In other words at least one side in this fight has a nice load of ammo left. The politicing continues, same as it ever was.

Narrative Politics

Its always nice to see an idea you've been pushing for a while achieve some real coherence and media. Well sort of...

Anyway the Guardian give a phenomena I've been dancing around a proper name and explanation. Narrative Politics. This is important pay attention if you care who runs your government:

The key to the election of Governor Arnie is a phenomenon which might be called narrative politics. American electoral campaigns have tended to be driven by the theory of retail politics the candidate made as many speeches, shook the maximum number of hands, accrued the largest air-mile account as possible. Races were won by imprinting a face and a few simple policies through ceaseless repetition.

But, in recent American elections, the centrality of chapped hands and battered soles to a candidate's chances has been balanced against the quicker, simpler power of narrative politics. The victor was likely to be not the man who put in most hours but the one who told the most extraordinary story about himself.

Hence George W Bush - a notoriously indolent campaigner - was able to match the more assiduous Gore because his candidacy was a better yarn: a son following his dad into the Oval Office, a drunk sorting himself out, a child taking revenge on the administration that beat his father.

Previously, the election of the wrestler Jesse Ventura as governor of Minnesota was an extreme example of narrative politics - voters bored with the process waking themselves up with an unlikely plot twist - but even Clinton can be seen as a beneficiary of this electoral mentality. In 1992, the entry into the White House of a womanising, draft-dodging poor Southern boy whose father had died before he was born was simply a better story to tell history than the re-election of the patrician George Bush senior.

A rough rule of narrative politics is that the candidate whose life story makes the best Hollywood movie will win the race. Which is why Schwarzenegger represents the greatest triumph of the theory to date. In the past, narrative politics has had to be combined with retail politics: Clinton, like Reagan before him, had spent years shaking hands and practising legislation.

Schwarzenegger, who had done the retail part unknowingly in multiplexes over decades, relied during his campaign entirely on his narrative: his pitch. Beginning with the neatness that a man who had made a film called Total Recall should be competing in a recall election, his run for governor was such a bold and ridiculous tale that you kept thinking it needed a script editor.

There is a lot more too it though. Narrative politics is a big part of the reason Dean did so well this year, his story is more interesting. Its the reason so few Senators win presidential elections, a life in DC is about as boring a story as there is. Its the reason Wesley Clark is leading polls for Democratic Presidential nominee after being in the race for only seconds, he's got a better story then the rest of the fools.

Of course there is more to it. You need to appear trustworthy and competent. You need to at least have vague stands on push button images. But more then anything a good candidate needs to tell a story. A good one. One that people can tell their friends.

Their is a nasty flip side to it of course. A boring ass candidate can win by telling negative stories about the other candidate. If you can't be the hero, turn your opponent into a villain. Dirty politics, but that's how the game gets played.

So who is the hero of 2004? I'm listening, tell me some stories and maybe I'll tell my friends.

[digsby has more and provided the original link]

I Love Me Some Angry Ass Jesus

Margaret Cho has a blog and of course its fucking brilliant.

The Roman Catholic Church is talking about how condoms don't block AIDS. I don't know what to say about that. And taking the vow of celibacy doesn't prevent pedophilia. What is wrong with them? If they oppose all forms of birth control, then when do we get to actually fuck? Or how do we get to fuck?

...

I am so angry, I don't want to just rip up a picture of the pope. I want to rip him a new asshole, wearing a condom, and I don't even have a dick, but this is the one time I wish I did. Fuck you John Paul whatever the fuck your fucking name is you fucking gold vestment tall ass hat wearing shit head. Why don't you just fucking die already? Doesn't God need a personal assistant? Fuck Fuck Fuck you. No seriously. Fuck you. You are not God's representative. God would not do that to people. God loves unconditionally. All are welcome in the true House of God. We need Angry Jesus to storm the Vatican right now, kicking out the money changers and the temple prostitutes and the child molesters. I love me some Angry Ass Jesus. Make your own loaves and fishes muthafucka! Get out of my Father's house!!!

A Noose Tightens

White House to Overhaul Iraq and Afghan Missions

Was the headline on Monday. The story, Condi Rice is taking over responsibility for Iraq from Donald Rumsfeld and the Department of Defense. That sounds sort of major, no? It sure isn't getting coverage like its a big time story. Perhaps that has something to do with it coming out the day before the big California recall election? Perhaps the Bush administration timed it very deliberately?

I for one would like to know more. By all appearances Rumsfeld is deep in the presidents doghouse. But still with his job. That leaves very few people with power hanging around our dear leader. Are they circling the wagons? Or perhaps tightening the noose around their own neck?

There is more story here, lets not let it go forgotten, ok love?

Harlan Ellison on Gov Arnold

I thought, early on, that it was a great slate with Gary Coleman and Schwarzenegger both running: remember in MAD MAX: BEYOND THUNDERDOME, the behemoth called "Master Blaster" - this seven-foot-tall brain-damaged, muscle-bound giant, with the midget strapped to his shoulders? Wow, what a terrific Governor we'd have if we just cranked Gary Coleman down onto Ahnuld's shoulders!! As long as nobody blew a high-pitched dog whistle, we'd be in sweet milk an' honey.

[via Boing Boing: A Directory of Wonderful Things]

Some Things Never Die

The trailer for Tupac Resurrection is up and its hot. Shit, if he's still alive he best get visible again and run for president... could have used him in that Cali recall race. Speaking of which the antic muse puts in some good last words. Except of course its far from over...

[Tupac news via Move the Crowd]

Conal on Arnold

A little dark of an image for my site at the moment, but ace political poster artist Robbie Conal has a new Arnold poster.

[via Mercurial]

California Tearing

To all my fabulous Californian friends,

I heard about what happened last night, and I'm writing you to express my deepest condolences. Don't worry, I forgive you. These are troubled times and we all make mistakes. This recall thing is a funny drug, no? I hear they might get another shipment in the spring. Fear not, I won't tell on you.

Lets look on the bright side ok? The inaugural orgy should be a blast! A couple girls I know in Austin are already planning a trip, but you didn't hear that from me...

Remember, its going to be ok.

All my love.
A

Cali

To all my beautiful friends in California,

Today is a special day, and I hope you don't mind if I ask you to do a small favor for me. Somewhere in your sunny state are these small dark holes known as polling places. Could you possibly find the time to visit one for me? You can look at it like an exciting trip to the seedier side of life, sort of like Tijuana, only closer to your house. Once you get there please vote NO on this recall thing, will you? I know you like drama out there but really it works better on the studio lot then in the governor's mansion. After that vote then maybe check off this Bustamonte dude's name on the ballot. He's a bit of a sleazy politician I know, but it'd be pretty cool to have a Mexican governor, yes? And if you don't vote for him, this rapist dude is going to win and raise your electric bills again, not cool.

So yeah, can you do this one for me, I'd appreciate it. New York is a blast, but I hope to be out your way sometime soon. Hope this mess is all cleaned up you know.

All my love,
A

Action

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Day 76: "I want to know the truth."

from :Brian Flemming's Weblog: 76 Days

That's the good Mr. Bush's sequence of action after a top White House official apparently committed a felony and blew the cover of an undercover CIA agent in a nasty political maneuver. Great to see such a decisive former CEO in the White House.

[via Whiskey Bar: Manhunt]

Move On the Plame Affair

MoveOn.org: Investigate the White House

yes MoveOn sends me too many emails, but this one seems pretty worth it. A criminal act was committed when the wife of Gulf War 1 hero Joseph Wilson identity as an undercover CIA operative was leaked. The White House has already stonewalled the investigation for two months. Time for an independent investigation.

Slime and Defend

"It's slime and defend," said one Republican aide on Capitol Hill, describing the White House's effort to raise questions about Mr. Wilson's motivations and its simultaneous effort to shore up support in the Republican ranks.

"So far so good," the aide said. "There's nervousness on the part of the party leadership, but no defections in the sense of calling for an independent counsel."

- White House Looks to Manage Fallout Over C.I.A. Leak Inquiry

no comment...

Joseph Wilson Gulf War Hero

I'm think we need start addressing Joseph Wilson properly, people seem to be getting the wrong ideas. From here on in I'll be referring to him as "Joseph Wilson, Gulf War hero" or "Joseph Wilson the hero of the first Gulf War" The evidence:

...Wilson was one of the key players. As the acting US ambassador on the ground in Baghdad in the weeks leading up to the war, the White House consulted Wilson daily. In those weeks, he was the only open line of communication between Washington and Saddam Hussein... Furthermore, Wilson was formally commended by the Bush administration for his bravery and heroism in the weeks leading up to the war. In that time, Wilson helped evacuate thousands of foreigners from Kuwait, negotiated the release of more than 120 American hostages and sheltered nearly 800 Americans in the embassy compound.

"Your courageous leadership during this period of great danger for American interests and American citizens has my admiration and respect. I salute, too, your skillful conduct of our tense dealings with the government of Iraq," President Bush wrote Wilson in a letter. "The courage and tenacity you have exhibited throughout this ordeal prove that you are the right person for the job."

- Amy Goodman and Jeremy Scahill: Does a Felon Rove the White House?

[link via The Right Christians]

19th Century Chess in DC

Talking Points Memo has an interview with Wesley Clark. Guess Clark sees the Bushco as a 19th Century flashback of sorts as well:

CLARK: But, in the odd kind of geopolitical chess board game this administration seemed to want to play, they seemed to assume that you could get your forces into Iraq, and, like a game of checkers, you could skip across the Middle East--plop, plop, plop--as though in some metaphysical sense, it was easier to come ashore up through the Euphrates and Tigris valleys into the heart of the Middle East and southwest Asia, and then cross into the mountains of Iraq--excuse me, of Iran--or pivot and go towards Syria. It was analytically, geometrically satisfying, even though those of us who understood the situation at the time said it made little sense. It was old-think. It was 19th century geostrategy--

TPM: So, the Great Game? A sort of a new version of the Great Game?

CLARK: It was the Great Game with modern equipment, and hypermodern risks. And, in reality, the problems with Osama bin Laden were not problems of states. They were problems of a supranational organization which alighted in states, used states, manipulated elements of states, but wasn't going to be contained and destroyed by attacking and replacing governments.

Why Plame?

Why? Why is a "Senior Administration Official" going ballistic in leaking the Plame affair to the press? I first wondered about the motive a couple days ago. Billmon is wondering in some other directions now.

Motives. I'm not wondering so much anymore. Sure it might not be Tenet leaking. There are other motives, stories untold and such. But there is one glaring, obvious, screaming in your face motive and it points straight to Tenet.

If the White House leaked Plame's identity as a undercover CIA agent, and they can get away with it, they will have set a precedent. They will have set precedent that they can leak any CIA agents identity on a whim, for a blatantly political motive no less. And that means they can do it again.

Now imagine you run the CIA, and you don't like the White House guys much, but you try and work with them. And they come over and say, "you know that we can blow your cover and take your jobwhenever we want?" Is that something you take lightly? Especially when having an operatives cover blown might mean they die, and could very easily mean their sources get imprisoned, tortured or killed? Not to mention that intelligence networks cultivated over years can disintegrate in days?

If the White House can get away with a leak like this then every CIA agent needs to wake up every morning wondering if Karl Rove and Dick Cheney have let them live another day. Now I just can't imagine that being pleasant or productive.

If this leak went down the way it seems to have, then the White House just stabbed the CIA in the gut and they want to twist the blade. Is it any wonder that the CIA is fighting back with a vicious vigour? Motives? They are all in the open now my friends. The CIA is fighting for its life here, I don't expect them to pull many punches.

Treason

"Truman initially rose to prominence as a fierce crusader against war profiteering, which he considered treason."

Yep, Krugman is back at the NYT and he's got another gem of a column: Who's Sordid Now?

Is ripping off the US government for the sake of profit an act of treason? The thought has been on my mind for a few weeks now. Honestly I'd be all for the US rebuilding Iraq if I had any faith is would be done properly. But it seems to be getting done in order to fill the pockets of a very select few friends of Dick and Bush. Illness. Yes I think there are executives committing acts of treason against our country, and they are doing it from high places. How long will we let this stand?

The Plame Affair Continues

The Plame Affair continues to evolve, straight into some Agatha Christie territory. Here is a bit of the White House spokesperson talking to reporters today:

QUESTION: But is the President getting his information from you? Or did the President and Karl Rove talk, and were there assurances given that Rove was not involved?

McCLELLAN: I've already provided those assurances to you publicly.

QUESTION: Yes, but I'm just wondering if there was a conversation between Karl Rove and the President, or if he just talked to you, and you're here at this --

McCLELLAN: He wasn't involved. The President knows he wasn't involved.

QUESTION: How does he know that?

McCLELLAN: The President knows.

QUESTION: What, is he clairvoyant? How does he know?

as usual Whiskey Bar and Talking Points Memo have the best dirt. Lots of it, with more to come.

Is Powell Leaking?

Josh Marshall is keeping up on this White House CIA leak scandal. He's of the opinion that the person leaking the scandal details to the press is CIA director George Tenet. Makes sense on a lot of levels, but something is missing, a motive. Well Tenet has a few, but they are a bit nasty, revenge and power. The Washington Post article cites "a senior administration official" as fingering "two top White House officials" in releasing the agents name to the press. Which opens up a question:

Which senior administration officials have a vested interest in pushing this story to the public?

Tenet does as head of the CIA, but he started the inquiry, does he need to push it further?

Lets also look at this quote:

It is rare for one Bush administration official to turn on another. Asked about the motive for describing the leaks, the senior official said the leaks were "wrong and a huge miscalculation, because they were irrelevant and did nothing to diminish Wilson's credibility."

Now Tenet is right to be furious about the leaking of a CIA agents identity, but would he really be saying he's talking because the actions "were irrelevant and did nothing to diminish Wilson's credibility"? Maybe, not going to rule it out, but it sounds like some other sort of political operation going on...

So who else has motives? Allow me to suggest Colin Powell. Earlier this week a video surfaced of him in 2001 talking about how the sanctions on Iraq had worked and there was no WMD threat in Iraq. And they were edging into the mainstream media. His credibility was potentially about to take a hit. On top of that he's a bit a of a victim of the Bush administration. Its pretty clear he was against the Iraq war and only joined up in the media campaign due to political pressure. The neocons got him to support a cause he didn't believe in and his political credibility is shot because of it. If the WMD videos became a big time story he'd be close to his political deathbed. Its not exactly hard to see how he might be angry at the likes of the head political strategist Karl Rove.

By pushing this story Powell could get some real revenge. More importantly there is a good chance that the scandal around the WMD statements might fade away. The CIA leek is juicier then the WMD video, way juicier. It buys Powell some time, makes him look better, and if he's lucky his blatant lies will be forgotten.

Its just a theory of course, the good money is still on Tenet leaking. But lets not rule out Powell. Could be someone else too, perhaps there is another angle?

High drama in DC, life is stranger then fiction, no?

addendum:

There maybe even more to this. This story has been circulating in slightly less credible journalistic circles for a while now. I first saw it written up by someone named Al Martin, just reread his article from September 2. Please note I have no idea how credible this guy is, but he's got lots of info that indicates that Powell would have access to all the necessary info know what went down:

When Ambassador Wilson was asked how he knew it was Rove, he had documents in his possession identifying Rove as the leaker from a secret investigation of the State Department’s Internal Security Unit. It was from a small clique, four Clinton holdovers in that department of the State Department that were sympathetic to what had happened to Wilson.

These investigations could not have possibly been made without at least the tacit acquiescence of Secretary of State Colin Powell.

Very Hypothetical

So lets say, hypothetically of course, that Bush for some reason does not run for a second term. Who do the Republicans put up? Schwarzenegger?

Seriously though, they haven't built any alternatives at all have they? Schwarzenegger is the only person they seem to be pushing right now and as an immigrant (illegal?) he's not qualified. Who steps up, Giuliani? DeLay? Jeb Bush? McCain? Its not exactly a star studded field...

When You Fsck With the CIA...

Something is breaking in Washington DC. This tastes like big time my friends. The massive hubris of the Bushco administration has them back peddling like a mofo and they might just trip and break their backs.

The skinny?

Early this summer some White House officials thought they could pin the blame for some lies on the CIA, which is headed by a Clinton appointee George Tenet. Dumb move. You don't fuck with the CIA. Poppy Bush used to be the head of the CIA, his son should have known better. Tenet fought back, basically taking the blame for a minor issue and in the process letting it be known that he was untouchable from here on in. As todays Washington Post says: "Bush's aides said they believed in retrospect it had been a political mistake to blame Tenet."

So that's the start, it gets nastier. During that whole summer mess, a "senior White House official" leaked the name of a CIA operative, basically as an act of political revenge. When the Washington Post says "senior White House official" they mean someone major, its journalistic code and its taken seriously. All indications are the person is Karl Rove, Bush's campaign strategist, the dude in charge of getting him reelected.

Now the delicious irony here is that leaking the identity of a CIA operative is a very specific felony, and it carries a mandatory prison sentence. Why? because the law was a pet project of the first president Bush, father to the bumbler now in the White House. Papa Bush was CIA director when a high profile operative was killed after his name was leaked. Bush then spent 6 years fighting to get this law passed, finally succeeding while he was Reagan's VP. Perhaps he was fighting to plant the seeds of his son's downfall?

We'll learn more soon. The CIA is asking for an investigation. More to the point they are very publicly asking for an investigation. The Justice Department is run by Bush people so they can try and avoid investigating, but they will be doing so in the public eye. And that my friends would raise even nastier questions. It looks like the White House has lost its ability to feed the press faster then the press can investigate. And the press smells blood in the Bushco administration, will Bush feed them someone or will the press hunt their own victim?

Something is about to break. Lets hope its in the right direction. Lets not forget that Bushco is going to fight back, and try and lead the press elsewhere. Lets hope they don't use big bombs to do that. Stakes are high, drama is ramping up, the stories have just started. Stay tuned.

Welcome to the 3rd World

Every once in a while I'll find myself in a conversations with someone who is of the opinion that the Bushco Republicans are the "party for big business". Its usually meant as criticism, but ironically it doesn't really go the distance. Truth is the Bush Republicans are not for big business at all, have you seen the stock market over the past 3 years? Reality is they have no interest in promoting business, big or small and in fact they seem to have almost no knowledge of economics at all. What Bush and friends are out to do is turn America into a 3rd world country. One where ironically enough the government is a prime redistributor of wealth. From the hands of everyone into the hands of a select few.

Its got nothing to do with business at all really, except in that you need a front, preferably a corporation that could have existed in the 19th century (guns, construction, metals, railroads, more weapons, oil, etc). Once you have the front business, then you get to work, its all about who you know and who slips you the cash. Free Iraqi money is the way to go nowadays. The government borrows the cash in the name of the American people, then slips it to your firm for consulting on rebuilding the country we just tore apart. Nice work if you can get it. All you need to do is be part of the inner circle. Pay $2,000 at the door in the form of a fundraiser and see how far you can go...

Talking Points Memo's Josh Marshall shows a bit of how it works. Here's the kicker to an article showing the connection between a new "company" devoted to helping other companies find opportunities in Iraq and a big time republican lobbyist's office:

For one thing, the Vice President and Director of New Bridge is Ed Rogers --- the same Ed Rogers who is Barbour's partner in Barbour Griffith and Rogers.

Then there's the third partner, Lanny Griffith. He's Director at New Bridge and Chief Operating Officer at Barbour Griffith & Rogers.

Then there's former Ambassador Richard Burt. He's 'Director' at New Bridge and 'International Director' at Barbour Griffith & Rogers.

Needless to say, Allbaugh's wife Diane is 'of counsel' at Barbour Griffith & Rogers.

Isn't it weird how that happens when you apply for a second job and all the dudes from your first job work at the new place too? Anyway ...

Actually, you can see why it's so convenient to work at both of these two places since they both happen to be located on the 10th floor of 1275 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Shit, when you have a good hand, why not double down? Especially if the dealer happens to be a good friend...

Frontrunnin'

When Wesley Clark entered the race for Democratic nominee for president Joshua Marshall ran some words by an unnamed but highly regard source:

I don't think fundraising is that important now. I'd look for how [Clark] deals with the press. Is he comfortable? Is he brittle?... If he wins over the national press, everything else will fall into line.

So now its barely a week later and Clark is very close to being the front runner. Wonder why? Here is a taste, the NYT, online front page blurb for their debate article:

The newest entrant to the race, Gen. Wesley K. Clark, stood on the sidelines and was largely ignored for much of the debate.

Hmmm, stand on the sidelines and get ignored, is that how he got to be the only one of 10 candidates mentioned on the front? Interesting.

Not Even About Oil

Riverbend is the girl blogger supposedly from Bagdad, very well written, obviously from the wealthier side of the Iraqi spectrum. Hadn't read it in a while and what a shame, its chock full of interesting stories:

My father has a friend with a wife and 3 children who is currently working for an Italian internet company. He communicates online with his ‘boss’ who sits thousands of kilometers away, in Rome, safe and sure that there are people who need to feed their families doing the work in Baghdad. This friend, and a crew of male techies, work 10 hours a day, 6 days a week. They travel all over Baghdad, setting up networks. They travel in a beat-up SUV armed with cables, wires, pliers, network cards, installation CDs, and a Klashnikov for… you know… technical emergencies.

Each of the 20 guys who work with this company get $100/month. A hundred dollars for 260 hours a month comes to… $0.38/hour. My 16-year-old babysitter used to get more. The Italian company, like many other foreign companies, seems to think that $100 is appropriate for the present situation. One wonders the price of the original contract the Italian company got… how many countless millions are being spent so 20 guys can make $100/month to set up networks?

Plenty more stuff like this, including the infamous $50 million bridge story (in reality I believe a $5million bridge which is still far more then it would cost to get an Iraqi company to repair it). This is the story of how American taxpayer dollars are getting skimmed off by the Bushco. More like getting bulldozed off actually. Shit, this war wasn't even about oil it was just about stealing tax dollars for a few military contractors...

Here's another story, isn't this great?

The whole neighborhood knows about S. who lives exactly two streets away. He’s what is called a ‘merchant’ or ‘tajir’. He likes to call himself a ‘businessman’. For the last six years, S. has worked with the Ministry of Oil, importing spare parts for oil tankers under the surveillance and guidelines of the “Food for Oil Program”. In early March, all contracts were put ‘on hold’ in expectation of the war. Thousands of contracts with international companies were either cancelled or postponed.

S. was in a frenzy: he had a shipment of engines coming in from a certain country and they were ‘waiting on the border’. Everywhere he went, he chain-smoked one cigarette after another and talked of ‘letters of credit’, ‘comm. numbers’, and nasty truck drivers who were getting impatient.

After the war, the CPA decided that certain contracts would be approved. The contracts that had priority over the rest were the contracts that were going to get the oil pumping again. S. was lucky- his engines were going to find their way through… hopefully.

Unfortunately, every time he tried to get the go-ahead to bring in the engines, he was sent from person to person until he found himself, and his engines, tangled up in a bureaucratic mess in-between the CPA, the Ministry of Oil and the UNOPS. By the time things were somewhat sorted out, and he was communicating directly with the Ministry of Oil, he was given a ‘tip’. He was told that he shouldn’t bother doing anything if he wasn’t known to KBR. If KBR didn’t approve of him, or recommend him, he needn’t bother with anything.

For a week, the whole neighborhood was discussing the KBR. Who were they? What did they do? We all had our own speculations… E. said it was probably some sort of committee like the CPA, but in charge of the contracts or reconstruction of the oil infrastructure. I expected it was probably another company- but where was it from? Was it Russian? Was it French? It didn’t matter so long as it wasn’t Halliburton or Bechtel. It was a fresh new name or, at least, a fresh new set of initials. Well, it was ‘fresh’ for a whole half-hour until curiosity got the better of me and I looked it up on the internet.

KBR stands for Kellogg, Brown and Root, a subsidiary of…

Bush League Bets

So anyone want to give me some nice odds on a bet that Bush becomes the first president to commit suicide in the White House?

Serious though, odds are nothing of the sort will happen, but mofo has been so sheltered from the truth and it will probably pretzel him in the face sometime... Something strange will go down, lets hope its not another war.

And while we are on the gambling subject, anyone have odds on the fact that Bush will somehow find a way not to have to debate the Democratic nominee at all?

[inspired by Daily Kos: NBC/WSJ poll has Bush at 49]

The Emperor has a New Suit

Bush said he insulates himself from the "opinions" that seep into news coverage by getting his news from his own aides. He said he scans headlines, but rarely reads news stories.

"I appreciate people's opinions, but I'm more interested in news," the president said. "And the best way to get the news is from objective sources, and the most objective sources I have are people on my staff who tell me what's happening in the world."

- AP article

note that I added the italics, but AP put the quotes around "opinions"...

[via Whiskey Bar: Life Inside the Bubble]

Cartes, Maps

cartes, maps with a Brian Holmes essay, I've yet to read.

Activist Clips

RiniArt.org has loads of activist clip art from the late activist illustrator Rini Templeton. Free for non commercial use, but feel free to support them.

[via the always excellent Social Design Notes]

MoveOn Moves Again (updated)

Misleader.org: Daily Mislead

looking good, looking good. Could it be that Dubya Bush's biggest legacy will be getting the "left" to remember how to organize again?

One of the interesting things about this campaign is that Move On is clearly taken a logic driven approach to this particular propaganda effort. Its all about the facts, making it a fact that Bush is a liar. There is a real problem with this tactic though, it utterly fails on those who trust* or *believe in Bush. You can yell liar all you want, and its irrelevent to those with the trust in the man.

Now thankfully for Move On there is a sizable group of logical Republicans, ones open to the facts argument. Fiscal conservatives and libertarian leaners mainly. They already show signs of doubting Bush, so they are good targets. But I still think this is the wrong way to really go after Bush. Rather then making a hard accusation it be better to just raise doubts.

Instead of saying "Bush is a liar", ask "is Bush a liar?" Instead of stating "Bush can't be trusted", wonder "can Bush be trusted?" Be inclusive, bring in everyone to the discussion and let them decide on their own. The first pair of statements attack, they cause Bush fans to go on the defensive, and once they are there its going to be damn hard to convert them. But if they let their guard down and start to think, to ask questions, then they can decide on their own whether he can be trusted. And the seeds of doubt will be planted. Even if they still like Bush they'll be second guessing the choice. Worried perhaps they are wrong.

The facts will speak for themselves in the right circumstances. But challenging Bush fans with them in a head to head manner is not much of a winning tactic. It just puts people at odds, ready to defend and dying for some cognative dissonence, a denial of reality in order to maintain a belief system. So yeah, I'm here to take the other tact. To ask the questions and open up the doors. Meanwhile I wish Move On the best in their campaign.

Oh Shit

created by the razor sharp Billmon of the Whiskey Bar. Give him the credit he is due, I've been given more credit then I deserve on a few things lately.

Bush Killing Questions

There are couple Bush killing questions out there I'd like to see propagated more. One is for the people of the United States, and its just "can we trust this man?" The answer honestly doesn't matter, if enough people ask it the damage will be done. Just having people wonder if he's trustable will plant seeds of doubt that will sharply undermine his no turning back style of politics.

The second question could use an answer, but again its more important to ask. Its for the man himself, but should be broadcast to the public too. "Who will pay for this war and deficit?" Who indeed. I want to see him waffle those answers every time he faces the camera. More to read about it at: Prometheus 6: Oh, what to do, what to do.

Illness

So somewhere in my comments is a little thread about whether there is a problem with racism against Muslims and Arabs in the United States. Well I still find it hard to believe people can think its not an issue, and unfortunately I had to get my thoughts proven this morning by reading this:

I remember the day I took out the Koran from my bag in order to read it on the way to work. It was, I am ashamed to admit, my first and last day. It took only a couple of stops for someone to make a comment. "You’re making people uncomfortable". I turned to find a man scowling and a couple of people staring blankly at me. I asked the owner of the voice what exactly I was doing that was making people uncomfortable and he told me straight out that it was the Arabic "shit" I was reading and that I should put it away. Anything written in Arabic has to be a threat of course. I did not quite know how to respond to him. I looked around and saw the clutter of newspapers declaring war on innocent Iraqis (is there even such a thing?) I saw women reading their bibles in English, Spanish, Cantonese, Polish. Were the other commuters going to put away the newspapers that make me as an Arab uncomfortable? Were the women around me going to put away their bibles, symbols of the Christian fundamentalist thought that only a holy crusade would save America from the evil of the Arabs?

I was told by friends and family not to read the Koran in public anymore. "No sense in provoking people," they said. And as I mentioned before, I am very ashamed to admit that I have not read it in the subway since that day. I have developed a certain kind of self-censorship that I am not proud of and try to fight daily. My war zone scares me because I do not know what I am fighting against. I do not having anything tangible to battle and do not even have allies. How can I protect myself against something I cannot grasp? How can I reclaim my space?

I am scared. I will not deny it... What one considers a simple subway ride I have begun to consider a daily struggle. I struggle to maintain my identity, struggle to find the strength to stop hiding. I do not want to live in a war zone. I do not want to feel terror. Every moment I spend on the subway I spend FIGHTING for my existence. I have not taken out my Koran; I have not been able to be quite that defiant yet.

The author is Sherien Sultan and you can read the whole essay here.

Let me also add that this is New York City we are talking about, the second most liberal city in the US, and world renown as a cultural melting pot.

The neocons can call it Terrorism all they want, but the truth is its nothing more then a neat remixing of the red scare and racism tactics that have done the right wing so well in this country over the last hundred plus years.

[via Prometheus 6]

blackSpots

blackSpot sneakers: rethink the cool

Yes! Finally, this is something that's needed to happen for a long time. Activists love to go after Nike like the company is sitting on a mountain of cocaine and the activists need a fix. I agree strongly with these activists on some issues and disagree with them just as strongly on others. Regardless I as so damn down with what they are doing with blackSpot.

This is protest as it should be done. There is a space for criticism, especially of the constructive sort. But bitching and moaning will only get you so far. And boycotts and protests will only get you another inch or two farther. If you have a problem with a product or company then the constructive path is to build a better product.

Now I have certain doubts and issues with their approach, and similar issue with their parents at Adbusters, but that is for another post. Right now I am here to praise them. I once spent an entire day researching alternatives to Nike. The short version? There are Nike's on my feet right now.

The Longer? Well, most sneakers are built in sweatshops and even if they aren't the products they are made of probably are. Even if they aren't its almost impossible to prove it given the messy chain of suppliers involved, information that is often not publicly available anyway.

The only really sweatshop free sneakers are made in the US or Europe, and personally I like my money going all over the world, even if it risks funding a sweatshop or two. Plus the two US made sneaker brands are Sausony and New Balance. Now Sausony makes great shoes, but every pair I've owned has warn out at the rear inside corner of the sole within a few months. They just aren't made for my feet. As for New Balance, lets just say you couldn't make an uglier sneaker if you wrapped an insole in plaster then ran over it with a tractor while a dog humps it. I'll take my Nike's instead please, size 11 thank you.

But now we have an alternative in the mix. More importantly it sets the stage for a whole new breed of protest and transformation of the world. Finally activists might start waking up and realize that capital is a tool not the enemy. I'll be writing a lot more about this in the near future.

Protest

[via notes from somewhere bizzare: The poetics of protest]

Recall Davis

America's favorite dystopian thinker Mike Davis cuts loose on the California recall. As disturbing as ever, and as always points to (and exaggerates) real serious problems in our society.

The big question with Mike Davis is always "just how much is he exaggerating?" There is no question in my mind that the world as not quite as dark as Davis' neo-Marxist visions, but that doesn't mean he's not right sometimes...

[via Hit & Run]

The Postmodern President

Got to love"The Post-Modern President" by Joshua Micah Marshall.

That has created a strong incentive to delegitimize the experts--a task that comes particularly easy to the revisionists who drive Bush administration policy. They tend to see experts as guardians of the status quo, who seek to block any and all change, no matter how necessary, and whose views are influenced and corrupted by the agendas and mindsets of their agencies. Like orthodox Marxists who pick apart mainstream economics and anthropology as the creations of 'bourgeois ideology' or Frenchified academic post-modernists who 'deconstruct' knowledge in a similar fashion, revisionist ideologues seek to expose "the facts" as nothing more than the spin of experts blinded by their own unacknowledged biases. The Bush administration's betes noir aren't patriarchy, racism, and homophobia, but establishmentarianism, big-government liberalism, and what they see as pervasive foreign policy namby-pambyism. For them, ignoring the experts and their 'facts' is not only necessary to advance their agenda, but a virtuous effort in the service of a higher cause.

Of course Marshall's intellectual bias is self evident there, but you've got to love the skilled put down. Personally I've got no problem with revisionists as long as they are on my side...

Noney

Noney is a new currency. Each Noney note is a hand drawn, hand printed and hand signed piece of art. Each note can also be traded for things. Like all money, Noney is for people to circulate. The result is a combination of public art, performance art and printmaking.

...

Each Noney note has the same denomination: zero. This doesn't mean each note has no value... just relative value. There's no fixed exchange rate or area of operation. Noney's worth as both art and currency is something to negotiate through each individual transaction - anywhere.

-Noney

[via Boing Boing who also point out the obvious precedent set by JSG Boggs]

Who's Making the Killing?

Arms And The Man is the site. "Who's Making A Killing On Killing In Iraq?" is the theme. Warning: this is not a positive site. Unless of course you own stock in Halliburton, Bechtel and the like...

[via Daily Kos]

Guerilla Peace

"It's not a guerilla war that's killing us," Rumsfeld explained. "It's guerilla peace."

- Opinions You Should Have

Terminate with Extreme Prejudice

Schwarzenegger on power:

'My relationship to power and authority is that I'm all for it,' he once explained. 'People need somebody to watch over them.... Ninety-five percent of the people in the world need to be told what to do and how to behave.'

and freedom:
bq. 'The only thing that makes me nervous,' he has said, 'is when I don't get my own way.'

- Demisemiblog

como se dice nazi en California?

"we never had Al-Qaeda before this occupation"

I'm so angry and frustrated. Nothing is moving forward- there is NO progress and this is just an example. The media is claiming Al-Qaeda. God damn, we never HAD Al-Qaeda before this occupation... fundamentalists kept their heads down. Now they are EVERYWHERE- they 'represent' the Iraqi people on Bremer's puppet council...

Baghdad Burning

those are the words flowing from Iraq. God damn, how fucking retarded are Bush and the neocons. How could they plan a war without planning in the least for the occupation. Its pretty clear now that this invasion is a colossal failure, WMD or no WMD. Before war, no Al Qaeda. Now Al Qaeda. America is less safe, Bush failed once again, same way he's failed in most every other venture he's been in. I mean this is the man who traded away Sammy Sosa. Bush = Failure, its a simple equation, let it be known.

And since this is making me a bit upset, lets cut to some humor:

Today President Bush said the situation in Iraq had deteriorated to the point where he had no choice "but to declare war on that country."

"I've just become aware that good people are dying out there. Terrorists run rampant, killing people, blowing up oil pipelines, wreaking havoc, maybe just plain reaking. They've got to be stopped."

Bush said that he had recently learned that since May 1, 2003, Iraq has become the "number one nexus of the terrorist activities in the world," and he called it "the nexus of the axis of evil," speaking from his ranch in Texas.

He said that it was a difficult decision but he had "no choice" given the state of the country at this time.

"Whoever is running that country has allowed it to turn into a hornet's nest that threatens the stability of the Middle East, and with it, the safety and security of the United States, and of the world."

Opinions You Should Have - August 2003 Archives

Olive Branches

Social Design Notes: Olive Branch

War + Video Fog

CBSNews has some stunning video footage filmed during the bombing of the UN headquarters in Iraq the other day. RealVideo unfortunately, if anyone knows of a QuickTime version please let me know.

The footage captures the fog of war as good as anything. Noise, blackness, smoke, confusion, blow out to white as they get outside and figures shift in and out of view on the overexposed film. If it wasn't so tragic you could call it beautiful. Instead its a disaster.

Watch Yourself

"You Never Know Who's Listening" -- Sherman Austin - -- - -- . .- - . .- - -- tobias c. van Veen - -- - -

Raise The Fist!

antics and gang rape

hallucinations & antics . tobias c. van Veen .. ./ /. . ./ .. /. /. /. . .. . ./ ./ . /. .. . .. / /. has been playing fast and loose with its text size and now has the best looking weblog around.

On a more serious note tobias also brings ill news: 'Polish artist DOROTA NIEZNALSKA was sentenced to 6 months of confinement in her community for "violence to religious feelings."'

Among the suggested punishments *GANG RAPE*. An ill world indeed. Damn.

Fair Enough

The Technoarchy

Technoarchy: a form of oligarchy where society is controlled by those who use technology the best. Unlike traditional oligarchies technoarchies are generally emergent. For the most part they are not created deliberately, but rise out of the properties of the dominant technology of the time, ie the networked computers of the 21st century.

According to google it was used with a potentially similar meaning once before, in an essay I have yet to get my hands on. If anyone knows of any other prior uses, please let me know. Same goes for other words with a similar meaning.

Expect an essay in the near future.

What the Wha? Bush Admits He Destroyed the Economy

George W Bush: Yes. No, to answer the last part of your question. First of all, let me -- just a quick history, recent history. The stock market started to decline in March of 2000. Then the first quarter of 2001 was a recession. And then we got attacked in 9/11. And then corporate scandals started to bubble up to the surface, which created a -- a lack of confidence in the system. And then we had the drumbeat to war. Remember on our TV screens -- I'm not suggesting which network did this -- but it said, "March to War," every day from last summer until the spring -- "March to War, March to War." That's not a very conducive environment for people to take risk, when they hear, "March to War" all the time.

Damn. you read it. He said it. Could it be he can't make the connection that his drive to war is what was producing that "not a very conducive environment for people to take risk"? And he lets his scapegoats in the media off the hook before even dropping the bomb. Whoa. I usually try and give the fool a little credit, he can't be as dumb as it seems if he got to the White House, inbreeding and all. But this is retarded. Can someone give him an IQ test so we can know the real answer once and for all?

[via Eschaton + original source]

Terrifyingly Ambiguous Headlines

The headline reads: U.S, Officials Preparing for New Terror Attacks

So does that mean Bush administration is preparing to terrorize us some more? I'm certainly more afraid of John Ashcroft then "terrorist"...

Readage

Post A Thousand Plateaus I'm back to my usual read a lot of books at once style. Here is the state:

From Bauhaus to Our House by Tom Wolfe

Wolfe slices through the bs of modernist architecture with his usual flare and wit. It came out in the early 80's which probably added a cocaine fueled bitchy edge to all. Quite enjoyable, even if the targets are damn easy ones. Read it course with a grain of salt of course, not all the modernists are as bad a Le Corb...

Flashforward by Robert J. Sawyer

A good 2 hour scifi read to cleanse the palette. Ignore the fact the "deep philosophical questions" are a silly bore and its an entertaining read.

The Twenty-First-Century Firm : Changing Economic Organization in International Perspective by Paul DiMaggio (Editor)

Its a collection of essays by various authors so its a bit hard to judge the whole book at this point. The intro however is an excellent introduction to the current state of thinking on the organization of firms. The whole field is still too deeply interwoven with free market capitalist thinking, but its ripe for a divorce. And that's the exciting part. There is a new approach to political economy in the making and some the roots (rhizome?) are nicely traced in this book.

Smoke, Mirrors, War, Economy

So I read the headlines today, GDP grows 2.4%, finally some good news on the economic front. And unlike some I don't hate Bush so much that I don't want the economy to recover. We can get rid of him anyway. Anyway the good news last a whole couple of hours before the good Billmon set it strait:

Whiskey Bar: War, What is it Good For?

Shit, damn, motherfscker... At least the economy grew 0.7% that's better then nothing. But damn can Bush get anything right besides putting money in his friends pockets?

addendum: if that wasn't bad enough, Calpundit points out that the 2.4% number is projection for the whole year! It takes about 3.5% a year in growth just to the country from losing jobs. So were looking at something more like 1% growth this year, in other words a hair better then a full on recession. Like father, like son, only bolder and dumber, great.

Fence or Wall?

Just curious, would you call this a fence?

Armies of Money

Whiskey Bar: Mr. Dean's Army

As usual Billmon brings the sharpest political insights to the web. In the process he shows what's really going on with the Dean campaign and fundraising. Dean has empowered the managerial class. He's used the internet to bring campaign finance to the level where $200 matters. That's a half order of magnitude change from the previous level, where you really needed to give $1000 to make a difference. And for that he should be commended.

So its a change for the slightly better, but only slightly better. Instead of the top 2% running things its the top 10%. Its still an oligarchy. Power is still concentrated at the top. We can do better.

Just One

Apparently this photo has been circulating the web for a month now and just got mentioned in the NYTimes. Funny but sad. For those that don't get it the reference is to a long standing ad slogan of the Army Reserve, and perhaps the ROTC, and various National Guard units. They promise that you if join one of these programs you'll be obligated to be on duty for 'as little as one weekend a month'. Of course the 'as little as" gets very little emphasis. Bottom line though, is that US government seriously underestimated how much manpower they would need in Iraq. The blame falls almost entirely on Rumsfeld for this, he was well warned. A lot of the men in Iraq are reservists and National Guard units. The National Guard is actually just militia (as enunciated in the US constitution) from the 50 states! Pitiful.

Wonder what Bush, Cheney and co where thinking when they disrespected almost all our allies in the war build up? That they'd suddenly want to send their troops to Iraq to get killed off one by one a day after the "war" ended and occupation (aka war part 2) started?

[via the excellent Social Design Notes]

Simplify Your Life: Let Your Computer Vote For You

The noise in the system about problems with computer voting machines continues to rise. Nothing on the scandal level yet, but I'm listening. Anyway this looks like an excellent resource: Verified Voting - Campaign To Demand Verifiable Election Results

Bush's Grip on Reality Loosens Further

The larger point is, and the fundamental question is, did Saddam Hussein have a weapons program? And the answer is, absolutely. And we gave him a chance to allow the inspectors in, and he wouldn’t let them in. And, therefore, after a reasonable request, we decided to remove him from power, along with other nations, so as to make sure he was not a threat to the United States and our friends and allies in the region. I firmly believe the decisions we made will make America more secure and the world more peaceful. (Emphasis added.)

That was Bush speaking yesterday. And what? Did he really say Hussein wouldn't let inspectors in? You know those ones lead by Hans Blix that the Bush team continually tried to undermine. Yeah, the ones that where in Iraq, and as it turns out did an excellent job given that the WMD they were trying to find are virtually nonexistent. What meds are they feeding Bush anyway? Guess delusions must be a side effect.

[via Back In Iraq 2.0]

Organized Labor (in the 21st Century)

Had an interesting discussion with Josh On over the weekend. If you haven't checked out his They Rule project yet, run on over. Its one of the best visualizations of the concentration of power in America out there.

Josh happens to be a dedicated socialist party member and a really smart one to boot. Now I'm not very open to Socialism as a concept. How can you reliably implement social change and balance using an institution that will almost certainly be controlled by people opposed to your views at some point in time? But that's a topic for another day.

What was exciting talking to Josh though was his interest in labor unions. Now labor unions get almost no attention in the 21st century, at least here in America. Josh however seems them as a crucial avenue for social change. And I'd have to agree. With all the internet hype its easy to forget that there are tried and true techniques that still work. Organized labor still has the potential to be a vital force in the world. They can present a strong counteracting force to maneuvers of corporations, governments, and other mass groups. Of course an abuse of labor power can potentially be as damaging as an abuse of any other sort of power, but that's a given.

Have more questions than answers at the moment:

Is there a movement to reconstruct labor in a more 21st century form?

How wedded to socialist and marxist ideas are most unions? Is there a way separate unions from their early 20th century governmental fantasies? Or from their pragmatic late 20th century attachment to the Democratic Party (in the US)?

Is the "internet democracy movement" really just a way for the upper middle class to wield power like unions and the true upper class?

How many libertarians support labor unions? The US party supports them, but I suspect many members break from the ideology on that one.

More soon.

Yellowcake Words + History + Literature

Whiskey Bar: Darkness At Noon

Bill "king of quotes" mon, comes up with another gem. This one puts George Tenet's statement from Friday, and puts it into some historical context. That's the statement where Tenet takes the blame for George Bush's lies in the State of the Union address leading up to war in Iraq. Yet another scary chord gets hit.

That story of course still might have life. Tenet took the blame, but he did it in the manner of a man kissing his enemy on the cheek while stabbing him in the back. No one has answered who actually was pushing these known lies into the President's big speech. There is high drama in the halls of power, and while CIA director Tenet has taken the blame for part of it, the games are still on. The key thing is that Tenet did not resign. And Bush leapt up like a puppy and restated his "confidence" in Tenet. In other words Bush took the message, if his people push Tenet more they are going to get hurt. Tenet is now off the hook, either the scandal disappears or someone else gets tagged. More soon I hope.

Bush vs. the CIA

The Niger Uranium story gets even more complex. CIA director George Tenet (a Clinton appointee I believe) has technically taken the blame, but he's tossing hints at way more too. Fucking with the CIA is usually a bad political move. Did Bush and co. win this battle, or does the story continue to grow? We should know soon. My gut says the CIA starts leaking interesting and incriminating things all over the place. So far the Bush PR team has been masterful at staying inside the media's OODA loop, allowing them to manipulate the news easily. But that might be changing. Stay tuned.

W Knew

CBS News | Bush Knew Iraq Info Was False | July 10, 2003 21:04:30

hmmmm, things get bigger...

And little Howie Dean is calling for some administration heads to roll too. (no permalink) Interesting. We might have a real story here. As in something the media covers intensely. Maybe.

Dean's got a petition rolling too. You can't say he's not creative...

Vote Rigging

Scoop: Inside A U.S. Election Vote Counting Program

unconfirmed. unverified. treat as suspect.

that's about the article, but if the article is correct if will be about our election results. there seems to be growing noise in the system about computerized voting machines built by for profit corporations that do not leave proper audit trails. potentially very scary. be on guard, I suspect there is more to come.

Open Government

"Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own governors, must arm themselves with the power knowledge gives. A popular government without popular information or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy or perhaps both."
- James Madison (Fourth President of the United States)

Open Government Information Awareness

nice, very nice, this looks like an excellent resource.

July 4th: Declaration of Independence

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. --Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain [George III] is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

The Declaration of Independence

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by the Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

Is Howard Dean Electable?

Is Howard Dean electable? This could well be the question of 2004. The Economist has weighed in.

So would Mr Dean be able to repackage himself as a centrist if he won the nomination? Hardly. His views on guns count for little compared with his strident opposition to war in Iraq and his determination to repeal “every dime” of Mr Bush's tax cuts. For good or ill, Mr Dean has decided to climb on the back of the leftist tiger. He cannot climb off without being eaten alive.

I'm so sure, but I certainly not going to say they are wrong. Howard Dean is a centrist, but will he be able to communicate it? What's more is will he be able to connect with the majority of voters in a general election? Hard questions to answer. I think he has a strong shot at winning the Democratic nomination, but what then? He shuns the press, looks like crap on TV and hates to do the Bill Clinton handshake routine. That bodes poorly. If he doesn't improve his TV skills tremendously he's in big trouble. Nixon 1960 trouble. The good news for him is that he's got time to learn the ropes of communicating well on television.

But beyond that is the question of the big switch. Dean is appealing to the leftist side of the democratic party. I think its deliberate. And I think that part of the plan involves a switch. Win the left wing and then transform back into the centerist he's been all along. Can he do it? So far I've been impressed with every aspect of his campaign that doesn't involve Dean in front of a TV camera. Lets see how they perform over the next year.

[Economist link via WatchBlog]

"Bring 'Em On!": Bush Invites Iraqis to Attack Americans

Bush Press Conference Video (realVideo)

"Bring 'em on"

What? What the fuck? Wasn't the justification of the war to prevent further attacks on Americans? Is Bush of his meds or something? The cowboy tough guy schict is only going to go so far. Sure some violent mofo are always going to be turned on my it, but the "average" American. This bullshit won't last.

"Bring 'em on"

Yeah, go tell that to the mother's of the 50+ soldiers who have died in Iraq since Bush declared the fighting over.

"Bring 'em on"

Yep, yep, we're coming, we'll see you in the streets everywhere you go Mr. President. And we'll see you out the door come November 2004.

And yeah it anyone knows where I can get a QuickTime version of this, let me know. Actually I've been looking for any QuickTime version of Bush's speeches, if you got 'em pass em on.

Cash, the Concrete and Political Abstractions: Towards a New Economy of Ideas

Harry Potter did $100 million in book sales just last weekend alone. A successful Hollywood movie does $100 million in a few weeks.

The reason that political giving does not reach these sorts of totals —in a nation of over 280 million people—is not that people don’t value the presidency—but that the conventional mechanisms for political donating don’t scale. George Bush’s money is raised through small networks of wealthy individuals who tap their friends, family, and business associates. While this network is effective up to a point, it cannot compare to the scalability of a nationwide system of theaters, retail stores, or the Internet.

- Jim Moore

That's from Moore's post linked previously. And he's entirely right. But there is another dynamic at work here as well, one that politicians and non-profits have never successfully addressed. These groups are in the business of selling abstract ideas. A politician is selling the idea that he can improve the nation, community or world. An non profit sells the idea that they can fix a particular range of problems. They are selling intangible products.

Corporations on the other hand sell tangibility. A soda you can drink, a service that effects you quickly. These are easy sells. People are willing to drop $100 million on Harry Potter because they walk of with a book in their hands, or at least in the mail.

What do you get when you give to a politician or non profit? Its hard to say, maybe a t-shirt or mug if you are lucky. And then if things work out you get the reward way down the road, when you read the paper and hear you're candidate or group is doing a good job.

Now there is a massive amount of support for political and social action in the abstract. But cash is concrete. Credit cards and the internet make it a bit less tangible, but we still feel the flow of money. Its finite and has concrete effects. The problem facing candidates is that they need to transform abstract support into cold hard cash. Right now they use a few techniques, the main being face time with the candidate (for the wealthy only). They also throw in those mugs, stickers and t-shirts. You know the ones no one really wants unless they are obsessive...

The internet solves some of the problem by making the flow of money less concrete. Its easier to part with money by clicking on a link then by handing over cash or writing a check. But it still takes motivation to click that link. And how often do you wake up and say I feel like giving some money away to a candidate?

What politicians and non profits need to do is provide a more concrete method for abstract supporters of the cause to transfer their money. Here's one potential way it could work.

Suppose you are thirsty and walking down the street. You walk into the nearest store and head to the bottled water section. The usual corporate brands are there, Crystal Geyser, Poland Spring, Arrowhead, etc. But there is also bottles of Howard Dean and George Bush water on the shelf. They are well branded and taste great. (And whoever says water has no taste is just wrong). You can give your money to some corporation or you can give your money to a political cause. What are you going to do? I'd say most people would support a cause they care for.

So someone buys a Howard Dean water, and the campaign makes 20¢. 5 million supporters buying one bottle a day equals a million dollars a day in campaign funds. $350 million a year. More then the whole presidential election is expected to cost, for all the candidates combined... And that wouldn't even put a dent in the multi-billion dollar US market for bottled water.

Now this raises a lot of issues I don't have time to get into at the moment, but the bottom line is that opening up new paths for people to express their political views could transform politics dramatically. For the better and for the worse, but more for the better. More soon.

General Sitiveni Rabuka: Commander, Armed Forces of Fiji

I'll Trade you Two Pinochets for One Franco

Remember the Friendly Dictators? Well America want's you to forget them. But way back in the day (1990) one of my favorite comic artists Bill Sienkiewicz illustrated a set of Friendly Dictator trading cards. Beautiful in that twisted dictator sort of way. Not sure if I used to own them, or just got to rub my grubby hands on them at some point, but they seem subtly pertinent in this day and age. How? Well, now we don't need to hire freelance friendly dictators in other countries, we just keep them in house. You know, the white one... Anyway enjoy em you sick mofos.

[via Social Design Notes]

and since we brought up Franco, lets make it positive by mentioning the other Franco, aka the Rumba Giant of Zaire. A true master musician. Hopefully he's remembered far longer by history.

Politics is So Gay...

Daily Kos: The culture wars have begun

Shit, damn, Kos is right the culture wars have begun and they are going help us take down the Bush/neoconservative regime. We all know Bush has failed at everything he's ever done. And he's failing at being president too. And not just from a liberal perspective. The past week has shown that he's effectively destroyed the supreme court majority that won him the 2000 election, through his madness. Justice's O'Conner and Kennedy are must be in shock over what their votes in 2000 brought on our country. And they conscience has risen to the surface. The Gay Rights and Affirmative Action decisions make it clear.

And as Kos points out in the above post the legitimization and constitutional protection of gay rights is going to polarize American politics. The arch conservatives are freaking out. They are going to demand Bush make a statement. If he's for gay rights he lose the Christian right. If he is against them he loses the moderates. He'll try and avoid the issue or play the middle, but its time for war and he's going to have to take some side at some point.

A shit, the time for homophobia is over in America. Not that its going to disappear entirely, but its just not a popular position. A decade of outing and the tide has turned. The old conservatives can hold onto their assholes in fear of sexuality, but pushing homophobic legislation ain't going to win them elections. This is a administration of fear, and nothing going to show that fear better then the irrational fear of gay men that clouds the minds of the right wing. So lets bring this issue to the forefront, and bring the conservatives back to reality the harsh way.

MoveOn Primary Results

MoveOn.org PAC has posted the results of its primary. Dean comes in strong with 44%, but he needed 50% to get the nomination.

That's all good though. What's not is the 2nd place finish of Kucinich with 24% of the vote. WTF where they thinking? MoveOn of course represents the firmly left, but Kicinich? You could not build a better parody of the worst aspects of liberal America. Its like his sole purpose is the make the left look bad. Look at him, he's half man half rat. And filled with retarded ideas to boot. Didn't Cleveland go bankrupt when he was the mayor? Not to mention he was firmly anti-choice until about a minute before he announced his candidacy... Get this clown off the stage before he embarrasses us all. Please.

Kerry came in 3rd and he's not much better. All you need to do is look at him to know he's not fit to be president in the 21st century. You know, that time period where people have TV and actually have to look at candidates? I'm firmly convinced that if Kerry gets the nomination then the next 4 years are Bush's to lose. Thankfully Bush seems to be pretty good at failing, but I'm not counting on anything.

Sharpton came in dead last, which is sort of surprising. These are liberals voting, thought he go overwell. Course the voting is online, which means these are mainly white liberals. Bet there is a lot more unconscious racism then they'd like to admit...

Bush on 9-11 Video

The Memory Hole: 5-Minute Video of George W. Bush on the Morning of 9/11

It shows Andrew card telling Bush about the second plane hitting the World Trade Center and then staying the class room for 5 minutes. Pretty boring. But the conspiracy freaks seem to be interpreting this as signs of foreknowledge. What a bunch of crap. Not that it can't be true, but there are plenty of other interpretations. Perhaps its shows that Bush has full confidence in his advisors to take care of things (which of course usually means they fuck up our country). Or maybe it just shows that Bush is so medicated he has no clue what is going on. Sounds pretty likely actually. Anyway I like this video circulating, its not as damning as some may claim, but it doesn't make Bush look so good, that's for sure.

Breaking Down the Bush Fear

AlterNet: A Nation of Victims byRenana Brooks, PhD

George W Bush is generally regarded as a mangler of the English language. What is overlooked is his mastery of emotional language – especially negatively charged emotional language – as a political tool.

To create a dependency dynamic between him and the electorate, Bush describes the nation as being in a perpetual state of crisis and then attempts to convince the electorate that it is powerless and that he is the only one with the strength to deal with it.

Bush is a master at inducing learned helplessness in the electorate. He uses pessimistic language that creates fear and disables people from feeling they can solve their problems.

All political leaders must define the present threats and problems faced by the country before describing their approach to a solution, but the ratio of negative to optimistic statements in Bush's speeches and policy declarations is much higher, more pervasive and more long-lasting than that of any other President. Let's compare "crisis" speeches by Bush and Ronald Reagan, the President with whom he most identifies himself. In Reagan's October 27, 1983, televised address to the nation on the bombing of the US Marine barracks in Beirut, he used nineteen images of crisis and twenty-one images of optimism, evenly balancing optimistic and negative depictions... George W Bush's October 7, 2002, major policy speech on Iraq, on the other hand, began with forty-four consecutive statements referring to the crisis and citing a multitude of possible catastrophic repercussions.

Bush's political opponents are caught in a fantasy that they can win against him simply by proving the superiority of their ideas. However, people do not support Bush for the power of his ideas, but out of the despair and desperation in their hearts. Whenever people are in the grip of a desperate dependency, they won't respond to rational criticisms of the people they are dependent on. They will respond to plausible and forceful statements and alternatives that put the American electorate back in touch with their core optimism. Bush's opponents must combat his dark imagery with hope and restore American vigor and optimism in the coming years. They should heed the example of Reagan, who used optimism against Carter and the "national malaise"; Franklin Roosevelt, who used it against Hoover and the pessimism induced by the Depression ("the only thing we have to fear is fear itself"); and Clinton (the "Man from Hope"), who used positive language against the senior Bush's lack of vision. This is the linguistic prescription for those who wish to retire Bush in 2004.

The Face of Fear (Bush2004 website)

Slate has what they claim to be a screenshot of the soon to be public Bush reelection website. It sure looks real to me, and in true W Bush fashion it scares me. Not the usual fear he likes to sow though. Scares me because its good, and it show just how well his team understands how to sell. Now the election is more then a year away, but this site just puts all the Dems to major shame. Its slick, uplifting and pushes just the right buttons, repeatedly. In true Bush form its also highly misleading. Scary shit.

"Keep America strong"

"President's tax relief helps working families, creates jobs"

"President signs jobs and growth act"

"Do you support a jobs and growth plan that gives taxpayers and average of $1,126 or more a year?"

"Do you stand by our President?"

No fucking wonder the Republicans are confident, for all their failures they have the selling game down pat. The Democrats need to step up hard and get their shiznit together. They have time, but not much of it... And they need to remember what sells to the left might not sell to the middle.

Who Watches the Watch Blog

WatchBlog: 2004 Election News, Opinion and Commentary

Been watching (ironically) this site for a few days now. Concept is great, 3 blogs combined, one run by Dems, one Repugs and one Independents. Love the concept. Design is good looking too. Leaves me a touch frustrated though, I go to the front page I'm a bit overwhelmed. Don't read anything, its too noisy. I start wishing for a nice way to visually compare what all three sites are talking to. But that speaks to the need for this site to keep developing. Going to make the effort to put all 3 RSS feeds into my sidebar.

Hint to the creator though, be really nice to have all 3 feeds listed to together someplace, and better yet integrated. Still its a strong start, lets see what emerges.

Christ...

BBC NEWS | World | Middle East | Radiation fears grow in Iraq

Judith Miller Neocon Commander?

Embedded Reporter's Role In Army Unit's Actions Questioned by Military (washingtonpost.com)

not much to say here other then WTF? Expect Judith Miller to get fired from the NYTimes quick. I hope. If not then the paper of record is due in for a credibility drop. Course they are coated in more teflon then Reagan, Clinton and W Bush combined...

[via Whiskey Bar]

Register for the MoveOn Primary

MoveOn.org PAC primary.

MoveOn.org is holding a primary to see if they will endorse a Democratic primary candidate, who they will do extensive fundraising for. Its and interesting experiment. For this brief moment at least it looks like the left is utilizing the web better then the right in America. Lets hope it lasts for a bit. But let me reiterate that my support of the left right now is mainly a pragmatic choice. I'd love to move beyond this 2 party divide and left/right distinction, there are better ways ahead of us. But for now lets just get Bush out of office...

Westar, An Enron With Legs?

Daily Kos: What's this Westar thing all about? is an excellent write up of a scandal I hadn't even heard about. The Hollywood synopsis? Energy company bribes congressmen then gets caught on record when the board of directors gets sick of corruption caused by management. The key thing here is that they have a paper trail. The fucked up thing is that the justice department has yet to investigate, wonder if that has anything to do with the money that Ashcroft received from Westar?

Yeah its a little dry, but so was Watergate. Don't think this can touch Bush, but if its played right some key Republicans go down. But first there needs to be some more noise around it. Be interesting to see if blogs can have an impact here, I certainly wouldn't have known with out reading Kos.

Land of the Brave

Where once Americans were rugged individualists, risk takers who opened new frontiers, now they are a nation paralyzed by fear. What then happens when the fear expands to diminish economic risk-taking, erecting citadel walls as opposed to monuments dedicated to capitalism? Wallin offered this thought provoking paradoxical question: How do you stop the spiral of fear when you declare war against an unsolvable problem?

That's from ark Federman's What is The Message?. He's writing about a talk by Pamela Wallin Canada's Counsel-General in New York. And it drives home a point that has been pretty obvious to many of us since 9-11, that the Bush administration is having its way with America by filling them with fear. And the news media is all to willing to go along, its no secret that fear sells.

As we've noted before, Jim Moore has been dealing with different ways for the left and the Democrats to rebuild their image and strategy "for the new year" as they say. "Respect" and "Choice" are what he's put forward so far as "political touchstones". I've got another one to add to the list. An old one actually. Bravery. Bravery as in the opposite of fear. You know as is, "land of the free, home of the brave".

Now conservatives have long coopted the word bravery, but lets not forget that it was FDR who said "we have nothing to fear, but fear itself". And every time I see Bush on TV all I can see is the fear in his eyes. Now some people might construe invading Iraq as an act of bravery, but the truth is beating up on a crippled nation is an act worthy only of a scared bully. And shit, September 11th was fucking scary, I once worked on the 60th floor, believe me I know.

There are a lot of ways animals deal with fear. They lash out irrationally (Afghanistan? Iraq?), They ignore their opponents (Remember Bin Laden, seen him on the news much lately?), They make a lot of noise (WMD?), and curl up in balls (sure are making a lot of friends in Europe aren't we?) and throw on protective armor (missile shields that don't work?). September 9-11 scared us as a nation. And the Bush administration saw just how effective that fear was at furthering their goals and are now determined to keep us scared. More then that many of the administration members are naturally scared and paranoid (Cheney anyone?).

Who wants to live in fear? I sure don't and I'm damn sick of a government that continues to push it upon us. More then that I think its a major key to any successful attempt by the Democrats to get Bush out of the White House next year. Every time I see Bush I see the deep fear in his eyes, and I want a presidential candidate brave enough to point out that fear to the nation. Bush is afraid of something, and paranoid to boot. Its about time he get pushed on it. He maybe a liar, but going after people for lying isn't a great tactic. Its your word verse theirs, and Bush is great at getting people to trust him and his downhomeness. Going after people's paranoia is another matter, it tends to be self reinforcing. Especially given how hard Bush is bound to be running from any debates with the Democratic candidate. Scared to debate. Sacred to fix the economy. Scared to tell the American people the truth. That's our Bush. Its time for bravery, its time for a Democrat in the White House.

Transnational Dynamics

Bruce Sterling takes a brief look at the various mechanisms that tie governments together. We can do better.

Live from the Front Line we Bring You the Culture War

There was this drop in young support for the Democrats, it was dramatic. Clinton beat Bush Sr. by 12 points among the 18 to 24's in 1992. He beat Dole by 19 points among 18-to-24's in '96. In 2000, Gore was only able to tie Bush in that group. A 19-point drop! There were 9 million people in the 18-to-24-year-old group, so that's a couple million votes, at least. That obviously would have swung New Hampshire, it would have swung Missouri. I think it would have swung Florida, although I acknowledge that Lieberman picked up some Jewish votes in Florida.

Dispatches from the Culture Wars: How the Left Lost Teen Spirit by Danny Goldberg is now on top of my wish list. Salon has a great interview with Goldberg. Loaded with good quotes.

My experience of Washington is that it has people who are incredibly knowledgeable about federal policy, laws and political culture. They're experts in the business of a company town, which is business that affects everybody in the United States and everybody in the world. Culturally, it's a very unsophisticated place. It's not a place where you can see cutting-edge theater, eat in the greatest restaurants. It doesn't produce great poets. Yet people in Washington, because they have political power, believe that everything about them is the height of sophistication. They are incredibly sophisticated about tax policy and healthcare policy and Middle East policy. But they are not sophisticated about culture. So there's an arrogance there. I think they misread the country when it comes to culture. Not all of them do, but certainly the Lieberman types, and the people who think what Lieberman's doing is so pragmatic. I just think, if they're so pragmatic, how come they lost? They lost the Congress, they lost the Senate, they lost the presidency.

What's shocking about this stuff is how unshocking it is. This is straight common sense. But no one is talking about it in either the political world or the media world. I shouldn't have to wait 3 years after the election for some record producer to tell me about the dramatic shifts in the youth vote in 2000. Fuck why do you think so many people supported Nader in 2000? He ran in 1996 remember? Same issues, but he couldn't remotely match Clinton on culture. And in 2000 he blew the rest of field away on culture.

Time for the left to wake up. Its lost touch with the street. Jay-Z is out making antiwar records while serious Democratic presidential candidates attack hip-hop as a whole. As Chris Rock said, that ain't right.

The Bush team understands how to work the media. The left has somehow forgotten, despite having massive Hollywood backing. And then Lieberman wants to cut of the Dems from one of their biggest financial supporters by going after pop culture? That's sort of like chopping off your balls to impress a girl... I lean more and more towards Dean, just because he seems to be the only media savvy player in the group. Cept Sharpton of course, but he can't win in this racist nation of ours. Ok rant times up, over and out.

Political Metaphors Round Up

The Lakoff and Political Metaphor discussion is spreading.

Way.Nu: Jonathan Peterson

Marginwalker (started by your's truly)

Jim Moore (who is on a roll lately, every day another great post)

and last but not least Doc Searls

The Doc Searls post is filled with great links, and also answered a question I had be wondering about for a bit, how exactly did I learn about Lakoff? Why from Doc's weblog of course! I even blogged it. Then I forgot the source. I should have just searched this site for the answer to my question. The weblog really does make a good extended memory system. If you remember to use it that is... Anyway big thanks to Doc for pointing me to an idea that's stayed on my find for quite some time.

Jim Moore on Lakoff and Metaphors for Politics

Jim Moore has a couple excellent posts on Lakoff's Moral Politics and the need for the Democratic Party (in America) to find a new guiding metaphor. Plus he's got some kind words for this very weblog, thanks Jim!

Lakoff has been on my mind a lot lately. I haven't been able to really push his theories in my mind to the point where I can say I fully support them, but so far they resonate pretty strongly with me. His conception of the liberal moral model for government as a family gels very well with my own liberal upbringing. And until reading Moore's posts I was mainly focusing on finding better ways to communicate Lakoff conception of the liberal moral view to the world. Now I thinking more along the lines of Moore, that we need a new moral model to guide 21st century politics.

More soon.

Unbrand America (with another brand)

Ok, I have really mixed feelings about Adbusters. On one hand I think they are dealing with some very important issues in Western culture and are quite vigorous and creative in the way they push their ideals. On the other hand I think they are often just plain wrong in the way they look at the world and its economics. They are infected by a very serious case of blame the messenger and also suffer from a serious case of delusional hypocriticalness. But often I find myself supporting their individual causes.

Brands and advertising are not the problem. The problem is the way certain corporations use brands and advertising. A subtlety that seems to be completely lost in world of Adbusters and Naomi Klein. The Brand is a tool. Advertising is a tool. Both are extremely useful. And both are used far more effectively by corporations then by their opponents. Blaming brands and advertising for the ills wrought by the likes of Enron, Monsanto and Dow Chemical is like blaming steel for the fact that Hitler and Bush use it to build weapons.

Branding and advertising are powerful tools. And in the right hands they can be used for very positive effects. And while they might not admit it, Adbusters just launched a potentially powerful branding campaign, ironically entitled Unbrand America.

The brandmark is a black dot, simple, bold and effective. The goal is get people to put it everywhere, blacking out corporate logos by the ceo-load. Good stuff. I support it completely and hope it takes off. Its about time we reclaim the power of branding and symbols from the publicly traded corporations that have been using them against us for the past century.

So go ahead and savor the irony by Unbranding America, with another brand of course.

Once Again Billmon Makes Fun of the Many Misteps of the Bush Administration

Whiskey Bar: The Naked WMD

If they didn't have all the power I might actually feel a tiny bit sorry for the neocons, given how thoroughly Billmon makes fun of their many blunders. But instead I just laugh and hope Billmon got a few more lined up in his sights...

Help End the Bush/Cheney Regime

Damn, a few years ago I don't think I'd ever be supporting an old school political party. And lets make it clear I still have a lot of problems with their approach. But its also crystal clear that Bush has got to go and go quickly. And that means supporting the Democrats. I just signed up for the DNC: ePatriots program. That means you should head over to my ePatriots page and give them some cool cash to help evict Herr Bush from his bright white house. Its time to end the era of fear and return to a prosperous America! Anyone but Bush in 2004. Don't be scared, lets do this.

The British Supreme Court?

Looks like Tony Blair is about to enact some pretty dramatic constitutional changes in the UK. 1400 years of precedent out the window, damn. Wonder if he's trying to distract attention away from his lies on Iraq?

[via plasticbag]

ePatriots

ePatriots is a new grassroots online campaign to raise money for the Democratic party. DailyKos is behind it and I like it so far. But note I'm not a member of the Democratic party, I just hate Bush. And I really like the way the fundraising operation is moving towards aggregating small contributions rather then focusing only on the big money. There is a real opportunity to change a bit of the political balance here, even if we are a long way from any real equality in the system. Check it out, I'll be exploring it more too.

The Dark Side of New York

New Yorkers Have Growing Pessimism About the City according to the NY Times at least. And that should scare Karl Rove and George Bush. In 15 months they are coming to town for the GOP presidential convention. And you best believe us New Yorkers aren't going to be too happy about it. Especially if the economy keeps sucking as bad as it does. Unemployment is at 8% already friends. NY 2004 is looking more and more like Chicago 1968 by the minute. Now that $20 billion Bush promised NY right after 9-11 will probably materialize sometime next summer, but its too late already. New York is a liberal town and Bush is the enemy. And when Bush rolls in trying to capitalize on NY biggest tragedy do you think we are going to be happy? More soon.

The Worst RAVE

DEA Uses RAVE Act Threats to Block Montana NORML/SSDP Benefit

While we were all preoccupied with Iraq and recession, the federal government managed to pass one of the most odious acts of recent history. It makes property owners liable for any drug use that occurs on their premises allowing the feds to shut down all sorts parties, raves and gatherings. Like many drug laws the penalties are draconian. And now its being used for political purposes to prevent drug legalization organizations from meeting. Foul stuff from Ashcroft's already repugnant Justice Department.

There is an upside though, or at least I hope there will be. The absurd parody of justice that makes up America's drug laws just can't hold forever. How many people under 50 haven't used drugs at some point? The last US presidential election was between a former pothead and a former coke fiend. Its only so long before the politicians collectively wake up and realize drug legalization (or at least marijuana legalization) is a winning position, both politically and economically. Not to mention its the ethical position as well.

Anyway the absurd laws just increase the chance that the whole thing will just break one day. And hopefully that's better then a gradual erosion.

Big shout out to my friends at the Drug Policy Alliance who have been fighting this fight for a long time. Give them your support they need it.

[via zephoria]

Don't Ask Don't Tell

Well don't ever say the US Soldiers aren't doing anything to improve the lives of Iraqi citizens... And all this time I thought Bush was against gays in the military. Perhaps this is part of the new Rumsfeld "quick and easy" doctrine?

[via The Reverse Cowgirl]

Bush, You Can't Believe A Word He Says

"He's given his opponents a dream slogan - 'You can't believe a word he says'."

from t r u t h o u t - Spies Threaten Blair With 'Smoking Gun' Over Iraq

Now they are talking about Blair, but it may as well be Bush. I want to hear it repeated endless for the next 18 months. Repeat after me, "Bush, you can't believe a word he says."

Again now:

Bush, you can't believe a word he says.

That's right, you heard me.

Bush, you can't believe a word he says.

Reclaim the Public Domain

Sign the Reclaim the Public Domain Petition

And don't just sign a petition. Release your work to the public domain. I've been doing that with windistheenemy for almost 2 years now. Not sure about you, but I like giving gifts. And who better to give a gift to then the whole world?

Right Wing Terror

Steven Johnson makes an interesting point about the politics of American terrorism. Once again it pays to be white...

There have been five major U.S.-based terror attacks over the past decade: the Unabomber's campaign; the original WTC attack; Oklahoma City; the Olympic pipe-bomb; and finally 9/11. So if you measure by number of high-profile attacks, and not by body count, it's basically a draw right now: two attacks by right-wing nuts, two by Islamic nuts, and one by a radical Luddite. If two attacks is enough to throw hundreds of innocent civilians with suspicious-sounding names into jail for months, what are Ashcroft and Ridge planning for the far right? Fundraisers perhaps?

Swimming on Oil

Let's look at it simply. The most important difference between North Korea and Iraq is that economically, we just had no choice in Iraq. The country swims on a sea of oil."

- Paul Wolfowitz in Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Wolfowitz: Iraq war was about oil

Christ, I almost have to respect Wolfowitz, despite all his evil, he at least shoots straighter then the rest of the Washington chickenhawk terror squad. The lies are coming out in the open. The question is, does anyone really care? My gut is that do care, but not on a scandal level. Come next years elections though, Bush is going to be in trouble convincing people to trust him though. He better pray for economic recovery fast...

Chain of Fools (Lying)

Been offline a few days and Billmon drops a brilliant collection of quotes documenting the "Weapons of Mass Destruction" story as told by all the big Bush administration players. Read it at the Whiskey Bar: What a Tangled Web We Weave . . .

mirroring it here as well to help spread the meme. Many, many thanks to Billmon for putting this together. Read his site folks its the shit, super sharp observations with a hilarious sting.

Whiskey Bar: What a Tangled Web We Weave . . .

Simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction.

Dick Cheney
Speech to VFW National Convention
August 26, 2002

Right now, Iraq is expanding and improving facilities that were used for the production of biological weapons.

George W. Bush
Speech to UN General Assembly
September 12, 2002

If he declares he has none, then we will know that Saddam Hussein is once again misleading the world.

Ari Fleischer
Press Briefing
December 2, 2002

We know for a fact that there are weapons there.

Ari Fleischer
Press Briefing
January 9, 2003

Our intelligence officials estimate that Saddam Hussein had the materials to produce as much as 500 tons of sarin, mustard and VX nerve agent.

George W. Bush
State of the Union Address
January 28, 2003

We know that Saddam Hussein is determined to keep his weapons of mass destruction, is determined to make more.

Colin Powell
Remarks to UN Security Council
February 5, 2003

We have sources that tell us that Saddam Hussein recently authorized Iraqi field commanders to use chemical weapons -- the very weapons the dictator tells us he does not have.

George W. Bush
Radio Address
February 8, 2003

If Iraq had disarmed itself, gotten rid of its weapons of mass destruction over the past 12 years, or over the last several months since (UN Resolution) 1441 was enacted, we would not be facing the crisis that we now have before us . . . But the suggestion that we are doing this because we want to go to every country in the Middle East and rearrange all of its pieces is not correct.

Colin Powell
Interview with Radio France International
February 28, 2003

So has the strategic decision been made to disarm Iraq of its weapons of mass destruction by the leadership in Baghdad? . . . I think our judgment has to be clearly not.

Colin Powell
Remarks to UN Security Council
March 7, 2003

Intelligence gathered by this and other governments leaves no doubt that the Iraq regime continues to possess and conceal some of the most lethal weapons ever devised.

George W. Bush
Address to the Nation
March 17, 2003

Well, there is no question that we have evidence and information that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction, biological and chemical particularly . . . all this will be made clear in the course of the operation, for whatever duration it takes.

Ari Fleisher
Press Briefing
March 21, 2003

There is no doubt that the regime of Saddam Hussein possesses weapons of mass destruction. And . . . as this operation continues, those weapons will be identified, found, along with the people who have produced them and who guard them.

Gen. Tommy Franks
Press Conference
March 22, 2003

I have no doubt we're going to find big stores of weapons of mass destruction.

Defense Policy Board member Kenneth Adelman
Washington Post, p. A27
March 23, 2003

One of our top objectives is to find and destroy the WMD. There are a number of sites.

Pentagon Spokeswoman Victoria Clark
Press Briefing
March 22, 2003

We know where they are. They're in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, south and north somewhat.

Donald Rumsfeld
ABC Interview
March 30, 2003

Obviously the administration intends to publicize all the weapons of mass destruction U.S. forces find -- and there will be plenty.

Neocon scholar Robert Kagan
Washington Post op-ed
April 9, 2003

But make no mistake -- as I said earlier -- we have high confidence that they have weapons of mass destruction. That is what this war was about and it is about. And we have high confidence it will be found.

Ari Fleischer
Press Briefing
April 10, 2003

We are learning more as we interrogate or have discussions with Iraqi scientists and people within the Iraqi structure, that perhaps he destroyed some, perhaps he dispersed some. And so we will find them.

George W. Bush
NBC Interview
April 24, 2003

There are people who in large measure have information that we need . . . so that we can track down the weapons of mass destruction in that country.

Donald Rumsfeld
Press Briefing
April 25, 2003

We'll find them. It'll be a matter of time to do so.

George W. Bush
Remarks to Reporters
May 3, 2003

I'm absolutely sure that there are weapons of mass destruction there and the evidence will be forthcoming. We're just getting it just now.

Colin Powell
Remarks to Reporters
May 4, 2003

We never believed that we'd just tumble over weapons of mass destruction in that country.

Donald Rumsfeld
Fox News Interview
May 4, 2003

I'm not surprised if we begin to uncover the weapons program of Saddam Hussein -- because he had a weapons program.

George W. Bush
Remarks to Reporters
May 6, 2003

U.S. officials never expected that "we were going to open garages and find" weapons of mass destruction.

Condoleeza Rice
Reuters Interview
May 12, 2003

I just don't know whether it was all destroyed years ago -- I mean, there's no question that there were chemical weapons years ago -- whether they were destroyed right before the war, (or) whether they're still hidden.

Maj. Gen. David Petraeus, Commander 101st Airborne
Press Briefing
May 13, 2003

Before the war, there's no doubt in my mind that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, biological and chemical. I expected them to be found. I still expect them to be found.

Gen. Michael Hagee, Commandant of the Marine Corps
Interview with Reporters
May 21, 2003

Given time, given the number of prisoners now that we're interrogating, I'm confident that we're going to find weapons of mass destruction.

Gen. Richard Myers, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff
NBC Today Show interview
May 26, 2003

They may have had time to destroy them, and I don't know the answer.

Donald Rumsfeld
Remarks to the Council on Foreign Relations
May 27, 2003

For bureaucratic reasons, we settled on one issue, weapons of mass destruction (as justification for invading Iraq) because it was the one reason everyone could agree on.

Paul Wolfowitz
Vanity Fair interview
May 28, 2003

It was a surprise to me then — it remains a surprise to me now — that we have not uncovered weapons, as you say, in some of the forward dispersal sites. Believe me, it's not for lack of trying. We've been to virtually every ammunition supply point between the Kuwaiti border and Baghdad, but they're simply not there.

Lt. Gen. James Conway, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force
Press Interview
May 30, 2003

Do I think we're going to find something?  Yeah, I kind of do, because I think there's a lot of information out there."

Maj. Gen. Keith Dayton, Defense Intelligence Agency
Press Conference
May 30, 2003

The Evil Becomes More Transparent

"We are trying to change the tones in the state capitals - and turn them toward bitter nastiness and partisanship," said Grover Norquist, a leading Republican strategist, who heads a group called Americans for Tax Reform.

DenverPost.com

Christ.

Statements like these make me more and more of a Lakoff fan by the day. The problem with this right wing fight picking is that no one knows how to transform the dialog back into the realm of reason and community building. Luckily if the right wing keeps blustering like this they are going to stumble over their own rhetoric and fall straight into their decline. But how much can they ruin before they collapse?

[via Kathryn Cramer]

Build Your Own Cruise Missile

Build you own cruise missile for under $5,000. Very scary and pretty much inevitable.

The need to build a worldwide culture of nonviolence becomes more potent every day it seems. Bush and Company are running into the age of terror with the worst possible strategy, escalation. Scary shit, and the worst of it is that they are happy to use that fear they generate to increase their own power. A paranoid world filled with off the shelf cruise missiles, something ain't right.

[via pseudorandom]

Matrix, Agitprop?

Are the Matrix directing Wachowski brothers the biggest subversives in America? Well, if they are getting any sort of percent on the box office receipts then they certainly are the richest subversives not named Soros or (for the brief moment) Buffet.

Forget the action and the sci-fi minutia and ignore all the player haters while your at it, the untold story about the Matrix franchise is that its the biggest piece of leftist agitprop to hit the western mediasphere in years. And so far only Salon seems to be getting it. And they only touch on the beginning it (not to mention their bizarre enjoyment of the worst sex scene to grace an A list movie in years). In a time when Bush and Co are trying their best to make American's believe in a one dimensional world of us vs evil, the Matrix is an elaborately crafted vehicle for undermining the conservative message. And countless Americans are eating it up. I wouldn't be surprised if we saw the effects come the 2004 elections.

Hollywood is a left wing paradise with a big problem. Most of the major movie players lean heavily to the political left, but their bread and butter comes from pumping out Good vs Evil themed flicks that play directly into the Lakoffian moral politics of the right wing. Regardless of the explicit messages in a film, the very structure of a Hollywood Blockbuster leads to a reinforcement of a conservative world view.

The first Matrix had a pretty explicit leftist agenda: rise up and revolt against a rigid power structure, question reality, the wool is getting pulled over your eyes by those in control of the system. But that message was undercut by the reliance on the standard Good/Evil binary. For every person driven to question the hidden network of powers driving our world, there is someone who sees another example of the good guys beating the bad guys.

The Matrix Reloaded is out to shatter that trope and its far more effective at calling attention to the structures of power. Remember those hippie "Question Reality" bumper stickers? Well the Matrix is getting people to question reality on a scale that Timothy Leary couldn't even dream of when high off his premium LSD + bullshit blend. The left has been content to release memes into their own marginal subcultures for far to long. The Matrix unleashes memes into the heart of pop culture. "Choice is an illusion created by those with power to control those without", says the Merovingian and the Architect adds in: "nearly 99.9% of all test subjects accepted the program, as long as they were given a choice, even if they were only aware of the choice at a near unconscious level."

The way the Matrix Reloaded points out the multiple layers of control built into society is perhaps the most potent of the messages it carries. Its one thing to make people aware of the first layer of control. Its far more powerful to make them aware of the way that a built in "resistance" can be used to solidify the power structure.

These are powerful seeds for any campaign to make the American public aware of the way the Bush administration is using the rhetoric and the media to sell a system of control. The left has been pushing these ideas for decades now, and general public couldn't give a fuck. Thanks to the Wachowski the ideas are now seething through the subconscious of the suburbs. And its far to soon to guess at what the ramifications are.

Six months from now, when the Matrix Revolutions hits theaters, we'll have a much better sense of it all. Most exciting to me are the indications that the Wachowski's are ready toss the Good/Evil binary out the window in a big way. Neo is the hero of the series so far, but everything else is way less clear. (*Spoiler Alert*) Who are the bad guys though. The Agents are now apparently on their own, at least those without earpieces. Morpheus is now a deluded fool of a leader. And where the Oracle, Merovingian, Persephone, Locke and the Architect fit into it all is up in a cloud of mystery. Perhaps it all collapses back into a nice binary, ala classic Hollywood. But I have a feeling we are in for something more complex. Perhaps a Princess Mononoke style peace making is in the offering.

Regardless of the binary, the leftist agenda is pretty advanced already. The Berkeley wet dream make up of the Zion Council, the Baudrillard references, the Cornell West guest appearance, the unverified anti-Bush jab, the corporate blandness of the Agents, the pro revolution plot-lines, etc, etc. Six more months and we'll find out exactly how extensive the agitprop goes.

Premium Propaganda

Some premium left wing Propaganda via nettime. No idea who is behind this but it pretty clear its a liberal pretending to be a Republican. Well done although I don't know how many Republicans would actually buy the argument or forward the mail. If it works its a really nice trojan horse designed to raise doubt in the minds of hawks everywhere (in America). I'm archiving it here.

Dear Fellow Republican,

Because claims continue to grow that Vice President Cheney knew about and
allowed the September 11, 2001 attacks for political and strategic gain,
the Republican Party needs your moral and financial support more than
ever.

Liberals are spreading over a hundred accusations that our Vice President
of the United States of America knew about and allowed the 9/11 attacks.

Fellow Republicans, we recommend not directly addressing all the details
spouted by liberals and their bleeding heart press. During a recent
prayer meeting here at Patriotic Citizens for the Defense of American
Values, deep inspiration and humility moved us to develop a special answer
to the mounting liberal propaganda. We call our answer the "Daisy Cutter
Moab Rebuttal."

Here it is: "Even if Vice President Cheney allowed the attacks on the WTC
and Pentagon, he did so for the good of the nation. Franklin Roosevelt
did this when he allowed the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor so the United
States could join the war against the axis of evil of that era." (Use in
#13 below.)

Because liberals love Franklin Roosevelt so much, this answer shuts them
up quickly.

Only a true leader can make the toughest decisions in order to lead his
nation to its destined greatness. Even if our President allowed the
attacks of 9/11, this proves Bush is an even bigger hero for allowing Vice
President Cheney to make such a tough, necessary decision. We elect our
leaders to lead, not flirt and carry on with interns. It was President
Bush's amazing post-9/11 leadership that unleashed the American people to
free others around the world, including oppressed women in Afghanistan and
Iraqi victims of Saddam Hussein.

You can help. Our views will win over liberal propaganda regardless of
their so-called evidence.

Please donate to the Republican party to protect the truth from the
snooping eyes of the unrighteous (liberals).

Thank you,
Patriotic Citizens for the Defense of American Values

LIBERAL LIES and FACTS
**************************************
Liberal Lie #1: In October 24-26, 2000, detailed drills were held in the
Pentagon practicing response in case an airliner crashed into the Pentagon
building.

FACT: If God inspired the planners at the Pentagon to prepare for an attack
on their building nearly one year before the September 11, 2001 attacks,
they should be commended, not cast into suspicion.
********
Liberal Lie #2: Field FBI agents in Arizona notified their superiors of
information about hijackers using planes as suicide bombs, but the superiors
didn't act on this information.

FACT: The FBI management can not act on every wild claim made by field
agents.
********
Liberal Lie #3: In 1995 the FBI under Clinton's administration raided
flight schools looking for potential hijackers. The FBI and other gov't
agencies already knew of this specific real danger.

FACT: In government, six years is a long time and with all the FBI
personnel changes, the agency was unaware of its past diligence. It is
impossible a few high-ranking members of Herbert Hoover's esteemed FBI along
with other high-ranking officers from other U.S. intelligencies would betray
their own country by blindly following heinous orders to allow a mass attack
on their own country's civilians. Some agents would be truly patriotic
enough to risk even their own lives to uncover such a high-level crime
against the people of the United States of America.
********
Liberal Lie #4: A United States Air Force Intelligence Colonel at the
Monterey Language Institute U.S. Intelligence School told his class, "Bush
is a joke. He knew about 911 and let it happen." He was forced to resign.

FACT: Though this did happen, similar outbursts by military personnel about
gays in the military occurred under President Clinton. Those critical
officers also resigned.
********
Liberal Lie #5: Before 9-11 a con-man working for Navy Intelligence fled to
Canada with a sealed document showing the impending attacks by suicide
hijackers.

FACT: This person is clearly a con-man, and though he worked for the U.S.
Navy, he is unreliable and has a long criminal history during his entire
service in the United States Navy. This exposes him:
http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0210/S00005.htm
********
Liberal Lie #6: Russian and other foreign intelligence agencies warned the
Bush administration in the summer prior to the 9-11 attacks that hijackers
intended to use planes as suicide bombs and were soon going to attack.

FACT: Foreign intelligence sources frequently notify the United States
about many so-called impending attacks, most of which never happen.
********
Liberal Lie #7: Ashcroft and some other government officials did not fly
commercial flights in the weeks leading up to 9-11 for fear of being on a
hijacked plane.

FACT: Ashcroft and others as citizens of the United States of America are
free to choose any method of transportation within their means and legal
rights. They stopped flying commercial for scheduling reasons and their
heavy workload.
********
Liberal Lie #8: Mayor Willie Brown of San Francisco was warned a few days
before 9-11 not to fly to New York on a commercial aircraft as he had
planned.

FACT: It is illogical a so-called Republican conspirator would call a
liberal Democrat Mayor to help him.
********
Liberal Lie #9: Vice President Cheney wanted to take over parts of the
Middle East and boost the his administration's sagging popularity. An
attack would fulfill both.

FACT: This accusation of treason against the Vice President should not
even be dignified with a answer.
********
Liberal Lie #10: U.S. armed forces were massing in the Middle East in the
weeks and months before the 9-11 attacks.

FACT: Though true, the forces were involved in a large military exercise.
Such U.S. military exercises occur regularly throughout the world. This was
only a routine military exercise.
********
Liberal Lie #11: The head of Pakistan's Intelligence agency (the ISI) was
in the United States meeting with Condaleeza Rice and others in the Bush
administration in the week before the 9-11 attacks. During that week this
Pakistani General wired $100,000 to hijacker Atta.

FACT: Pakistan is our ally, not our enemy. Iraq was our enemy, but we
liberated them and rid them of weapons of mass destruction and thwarted evil
in God's name.
********
Liberal Lie #12: A few years prior to September 11, 2001, Philippine
police discovered a document outlining suicide attacks with hijacked planes
in the United States. The Philippine police officer who found the document
gave it to police commanders who passed it to U.S. intelligence.

FACT: It is completely understandable and expected that such a document
would get lost on its way from a Philippine police officer through the
Philippine government then to the United States then through the US
Intelligence community. This happens all the time.
********
Liberal Lie #13: Families of 9-11 victims threatened the Bush
administration with going public with their questions about 9-11 after the
Bush administration stonewalled an independent 9-11 inquiry. The
Administration responded by backing an investigation led by Henry Kissinger
and by stalling the whole process. President Bush is terrified of an
independent inquiry into 9-11.

FACT: Use the "Daisy Cutter Moab rebuttal," which we feel is more
effective than diving into liberal-minded detail: "Even if Vice President
Cheney allowed the attacks on the WTC and Pentagon, he did so for the good
of the nation. Franklin Roosevelt did this when he allowed the Japanese
attack on Pearl Harbor so the United States could join the war against the
axis of evil of that era."
********
Liberal Lie #14: Attorney General Ashcroft is secretly using the powers of
the Patriot Act to investigate Vice President Cheney and others in the Bush
Administration for treasonous actions against the citizens of the United
States of America regarding the 9/11 attacks. Some members of Congress and
the Senate are also being secretly probed under the Patriot Act.

FACT: Completely false. Attorney General Ashcroft is an honest Christian
and loyal Republican committed to the cause of anti-abortion. To suggest
the Attorney General of United States would secretly investigate treasonous
crimes perpetrated by his Republican superiors is ridiculous regardless of
so-called liberal evidence. True Christians follow orders and are always
loyal to their bosses. The rumors regarding this are just that: rumors.
This is completely false.
********

To waken you and your friends to action, please rebut the liberal
propaganda. To view the details of their plot, study the following, but
only if you're over 30 years old (the age of Jesus when he started his
mission) and a committed Republican. Do not view otherwise!

http://www.communitycurrency.org/MainIndexMX.html
http://www.fromthewilderness.com/free/ww3/02_11_02_lucy.html
http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/MOO208B.html
http://www.guerrillanews.com/after_math/

***********************

WE SALUTE the brave men and women behind the scenes in the ONI, FBI, NSC,
NSA, CIA, MCIA, AIA, OIG, DIA, USAIC, USSS, OFAC so willing to risk their
lives for their country and every bit as brave as single and married combat
soldiers on the front lines. Their courage to serve the U.S. Constitution
and U.S. citizens even when their superiors command otherwise protects our
democracy. This commitment prevents our agents from serving evil by
covering up internal high-level crimes against their country and fellow
citizens. Only athiests and the guilty fear the truth. God is Truth. Life
is short, and our agents are committed to doing the right thing. They are
part of the solution, not the problem. To paraphrase Jesus Christ in modern
language, "Real psychopathy is not the snapping, it's the ability to
maintain a calm presence and give plausible explanations to implausible
events." Matthew 23:27-28

***********************
* Warning: Do not be fooled by liberal hoaxes trying to stop this message
by claiming it is a virus.
* Neither this email nor the Patriotic Citizens for the Defense of American
Values are authorized by or affiliated with the Republican Party, but the
Republican party needs your financial help and prayers more than ever.
* "Daisy Cutter Moab Rebuttal" is not a trademark of Patriotic Citizens for
the Defense of American Values, but can be used by Republicans only.

Emergentism

Mitch Radcliffe is turning Emergent Democracy into a book. He outlines his key ideas on his blog. Good and interesting stuff although and he's got a degree of the over-optimism I see in a lot of Emergent Democracy discussion. No one is really dealing with the fact that the same tools that could lead to democracy can also lead to its corruption of downfall.

Now I'm all for optimism and positivism, but I like mine cut with a nice dose of pragmatism and an occasional dash of the paranoid critical method. What I find most telling is that no one has yet to really define what they mean by "emergent". There are a handful of attempts to bound the concept, but the term is kept vague enough to let everyone imagine their own particular version of it. Straight from the failed buzzword cookbook. Pitch a concept that sounds cool and new and structure it in a way that it triggers future fantasies. Let people run with concept while everyone pushes their own poorly defined vision. Enjoy it while the bubble expands.

Now like many buzzwords there is some really meat hidden in the concept. But until the idea is broken down to its seed, its not going to grow, its going to pop. Radcliffe does a good job bounding the concept of Emergentism, which is a nice start. But there still is no definition, and that's a problem.

Lesson From JFK

I'm not a big fan of "what if" history, but this argument as to why JFK might have stopped Vietnam has something more then just an overactive imagination. It has real facts, the kind they don't teach you in school. And it makes me a touch annoyed. In 1982 it was revealed JFK cut a deal with Khrushchev to pull missile out of Turkey in exchange for the removal of those from Cuba, against the advice of all his advisors. In 1982 I was in 2nd grade. You'd think that info would have made my high school history books. Guess not.

Back to 2003, we've got our own right wing low rent JFK in the White House. And his advisors sucker him left and right, day and night. Sad. Wonder how history will rember Herr Bush?

[via Calpundit]

Occupied Iraq (Permanently?)

Back In Iraq 2.0: U.S., Britain put off Iraqi self-rule "indefinitely"

Wow what a double edged sword. Signs increasingly point toward the neocons having no idea what they were getting themselves into. The Rumsfeld doctrine of fast, cheap and light troop commitments is getting disposed of quicker then an aged jim hat. I agree with Allbritton that at this moment this is actually better then fleeing the country ala Afghanistan. But unless the US is ready to drop the cash to really rebuild the Iraqi infrastructure there are no long term benefits.

Something that I haven't seen mentioned yet is how fragile Saddam's regime appears to have been. Could he have been toppled without mounting an invasion? We'll never know. But I have a feeling a well planned subtle long term plan could have gotten him out of power within a few years. Without the massive infrastructure collapse, and without exposing the Iraqis to the crude hands of US troops.

The 5 Principles of Rovean Newspeak

So the NYT goes into constructing the president's media image. Time to go a bit deeper. Mike Malloy breaks down the way Bush's speeches sell terror and government control. Its an audio file, and its well worth a listen. Take note that I am pretty biased against audio online, I'm much happier reading on my computer. This sound file is pretty potent though, check it out.

Building the Presidential Facade

Keepers of Bush Image Lift Stagecraft to New Heights

All Democratic presidential candidates should read this religiously and learn every lesson. The 21st century president exists mainly in the media, and any winning candidate is going to have to embrace that fact.

War Comes Home: DHS vs the Democrats

Homeland Security Department Used to Track Texas Democrats. You know the department that's supposed to protect us from foreign terrorists, and never used for domestic partisan politics. Yeah that one. The Bush Administration loves war, and I have a strange sense they are going wind up bloody from their bloodlust sooner or later.

[via bIPlog]

Hope

Wow, this one brought tears of hope to my eyes. 16 years ago Oral Lee Brown, a real estate agent making $45,000 a year, told 24 first graders she would pay for their college if they graduated from high school. In a school district where 75% of high school freshmen dropout, 19 of those first graders went on to college, and the first has just graduated.

A rich as America maybe there are still areas of extreme poverty, areas where hope and encouragement are in short supply. And this shows just how much that hope and encouragement can make a difference. Lets never forget that.

Struggle, support, sheepskin / Oral Lee Brown's 1st-graders reach for finish line

[big thanks to Thomas Vander Wal for linking to this article]

Graham Accuses Bush of Cover-Up

Presidential candidate and former chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee Bob Graham, just skyrocketed in my personal approval ratings by accusing Bush of a cover-up in the 911 investigations. Lets see some light shined in this direction, please?

Moral Paine: George Lakoff Interviewed at Tom Paine

Great George Lakoff interview, part 1

and part 2

[via - forgot where, sorry]

Hot Damn Its Political Warfare in Texas

52 (or 53) Texas state representatives have fled the state in order to shut down the Texas House, blocking the passage of a controversial redistricting bill. They are subject to arrest in order to be brought back to the House chamber in order to restore quorum, allowing for the House to legally operate.

In other words its all out political warfare, as some politicians are finally ready to stand up the Bush Administration's abuse of 911 to cement their power. I support them big time.

[via the Political State Report: straight from the trenches]

Beyond Friendster: Openness and the Future of Social Networks

Posted this at marginwalker.org, reprinting it here for your info and my archives.

There has been a lot of talk of Friendster and its kin in the network lately. The sharpest of the observations so far comes from Marginwalker's co-founder Adam Greenfield. As usual Adam's observations are right on the mark. However his conclusion throws me off a bit:

Something tells me these services won't reach their maximum potential until they can incorporate our less salutary feelings about association: the latent but powerful distinctions we make, the dislikes and fears we, however subtly, import into our presentation of self. These are precisely the shadows we may have "gone online" to escape in the first place, but they are a part of what we've always meant by "social," they serve a function evolved over a very long span of time, and I believe we ignore them at some disservice to our ambitions.

Now Adam may very well be right, but I really hope he isn't. We have the ability to use services like Friendster and its descendent's to effect profound changes on the make up of society. Instead of giving into the base discrimination (or "shadows") we incorporate into our daily life I think we should be using technology to eliminate the subtle biases that underlie our culture and selves.

Openness is a potent tool. The public emergence of homosexual culture over the past 35 years provides a telling example. Before Stonewall gays and lesbians stayed hidden from society. And as a result homophobia was able to flourish. You can be certain a lot of homophobic conversations took place in front of closet homosexuals who were too afraid to speak out. Now in 2003 the stigma of homophobia, while still present, is rapidly fading. Major presidential candidates are making gay rights a campaign issue in America, and only the far right gives a damn. Its pretty damn hard to be homophobic when you become aware of the fact that a handful of your friends happen to be gay. And at least in urban America its pretty damn hard not have a handful of gay friends.

The very openness that Adam takes offense too in Friendster, to me is an engine of social change. It forces us to reevaluate some of our hidden prejudices and calls into question some of the forces that segregate society. Now its entirely possible, as Adam seems to imply, that when faces with this sort of info, people will just look upon their friends for the worse. But I personally believe that in the long run the results would be positive. There is a mess of small discriminations that drive many of our social interactions. And when placed into larger contexts they just look silly.

Sousveillance is a term, coined by Steve Mann, which has been gaining some buzz of late. Its roughly the opposite of surveillance. Instead of a power watching over the people, sousveillance is the people watching over a power, and as a corollary watching over themselves. The openness that the architecture of Friendster creates is an integral part of a sousveillance society. And we as a culture are going to have to either learn to embrace the openness or attempt to make it go away.

This is all part of a larger emerging conflict between transparency and privacy, and we are going to dealing with the ramifications for a long time. But for the moment what I'm really interested in is how do we build better social networking technology? Adam is probably right that Friendster, LinkedIn and company are just the beginning and I agree that the ideal solution is an open source one. An open social networking standard which permits people to choose and build their own interfaces. I think some standard will inevitably be emerging in the next few years, and hopefully its not a proprietary one.

The question I have is what do we want this network to do? Is it there to cement our social networks and further our interactions within them, or is the goal to open up our social boundaries and push us towards new cultural understandings? These are delicate lines to walk. And if we build the right structures I think there is a tremendous opportunity to change society for the better. But there is a constant threat of building the opposite, tools which reinforce existing inequalities. How do we ensure we do the right thing?

Salam Pax Returns

Where is Raed ?

Only read a bit so far, loads of stuff written from Baghdad during and after the war. Extremely interesting so far. You just can't get this stuff anywhere else.

"If You Want To Win An Election, Just Control The Voting Machines"

Never heard of Thom Hartmann before, but he's seems very smart and is definitely a prolific writer. And he writes of some scary stuff in this article.

It verges towards conspiracy theory, but the threats are real. What threats? The rigging of elections through privately owned voting machines. At the absolute least some more light needs to be shined in this direction. More details to come I hope.

Why the WMD Matter

So they still haven't found those weapons of mass destruction. Who cares? Honestly I was as ready to forget about it as rest of America is, until this post showed me the spin.

We don't know if Iraq ever had the WMD, but that's not that relevant as we know that Bush and friends stated very clearly that Iraq had them. And if Bush says it, it must be right, yes? Now if we can't find them, and they exist, that means they went someplace. And that someplace could very well be in the hands of a terrorist.

Now if the goal of the war was to get the WMD out of bad hands, then that means we lost (nevermind that they never existed). Bush's war increased the danger of terrorism to the US. Bush's war put us American citizens in greater danger.

Now I'm no spin master, but if the Dems could spin it like that... Of course they seem to have forgotten the art of spin as of late. Not to mention the off chance the WMD are already in Rove's office being prepped for the right PR oppurtunity...

American Dialectic

Damn, the bar is raised. Billmon gets serious and god damn has he done it right. A treatise on the dialectic of American political history. A long read but worth every second. All that stuff you've forgotten in school, put into a dialectical context and uploaded to the web. Refreshing.

Read it if you dare.

Whiskey Bar: The Dao of American Politics, Part I

New Blog: State of Emergence

State Of Emergence is a new blog I've started. For politics only. Everything posted there will also be posted here, so there is no need to read the new blog if you read this one regularly. However if you are only reading this blog for the political content you'll probably be happier just reading State Of Emergence.

Reflections on the First Democratic Presidential Debate

Just watched the first presidential debate among the Democratic Party challengers. A pretty interesting affair all told, although the candidates all have their blandness...

I missed the beginning which I think featured some Kerry vs. Dean scrap, but caught most of the action (or at least I believe I did, I've avoided reading much about it as I want to write down my reactions before comparing them to others).

No strong winners or losers other then Kucinich who was already a loser, so he doesn't count. I think the closest thing to a winner was Gephardt and Kerry was the closest to a loser. In terms of Washington insiders with legitimate chances at the nomination, Gephardt really seems like the pick. Of all the candidates he simply looked and acted the most presidential. Had a sort of golden glow to him, real comfortable on TV acting like a leader.

Kerry on the other hand looks like the leader of a failed opposition party. He's one ugly ass prick, he doesn't stand much of a chance against Bush. He's straight out of central casting as the loser in this election movie, way too skinny and wrinkled. Still don't like Gephardt much, but I'm a lot more comfortable with him as a nominee then I had been. Add in the fact that he's from the South/Mid West and much more down to earth then Kerry and I think he's a much better candidate. Have a feeling Kerry's front runner status is about to disappear quickly. On the flip side though, Gephardt also looks strangely like Al Gore, but without any of that cold robot quality. Actually he looks sort of like a cross between Gore and Bush, really strange.

Edwards and Dean are the wild cards. Edwards really needs to step up a level, he's just not reaching his potential. Needs to gain a few pounds for the camera for one. There were a couple points when he started talking about his childhood where his empathy really started to show through. He's got some of that Clinton "I care for you, and can solve your problems" magic in him. But he needs to be pumping it out non-stop if we wants to be a contender. Its just not flowing consistently yet. He also looks really young.

Dean is a strange one. He needs some serious training in front of the camera, he's got to be looking the audience in the eye. His straight talking rep didn't manifest itself. Nothing about him really rose him above the rest of the pack, with one exception. He has perfected the psychological trick of getting the audience to view him as president. He talks like he's already nominated or even in the White House, dropping references to the "Dean administration". I've seen it in some of his writing too. Good stuff, straight out of the hypnosis handbook. The Republicans are good at that sort of manipulation, lets hope the Dems can get it down too.

Graham is a joke, he looks like a picture perfect corrupt fat cat insider. Sure he could win Florida, but he'd lose half the states Gore won. His hyper hawk position makes him completely irrelevant anyway, no way will he win a democratic nomination. There was one segment where all the candidates could ask one question to one other candidate, almost all where directed to Graham. The reason? Because everyone knows he's not a threat but he looks more serious then the other joke candidates, so he was the perfect way to not give extra TV time to competitors.

As for the jokes, anyone have any idea where Lieberman got it into his head that a short, ugly, ultra right wing, orthodox Jew could ever become the Democratic nominee for president? I have news for him, he can't.

At least Sharpton and Moseley-Braun know they don't have a chance. I've been a Sharpton fan ever since I saw him speak when he ran for NY mayor. He's probably the best speaker I've ever seen. He's running because he has an agenda he wants to push and I'm all for it. If he keeps attacking Bush and then pushing his issues, he can only help the Democrats and America's cities. He had a great line about Bush's tax cuts. "Its like getting Kool-Aid from Jim Jones, it might taste sweet, but it'll kill you". He'll never get the nomination, but there are definitely some strange scenarios where he'd actually be the best nominee, he's the only one who really seems to have the skill to lyrically devastate the Bush agenda and show the world just how bad it is.

Like Sharpton, Moseley-Braun also has an agenda, but sadly the agenda is to advance herself. Actually there is a bit more, I think she's out to rescue the image of black women from the horror of Condoleezza Rice. And that's fine by me. She's damn a damn smart women, and I think its a good thing for the Dems to have someone like her in the race. As long as she doesn't attack the other candidates its good to have a black women running, at least at this stage of the campaign. Hopefully she'll resign at the right time. She's putting herself in a good position for a cabinet post, smart woman, I respect that.

That brings us to the bottom of pile, Kucinich the loser. I had no idea before today that Cleveland went bankrupt while he was mayor. And now that I do I don't ever want to here a thing about him. How in the world can you even try and run after that sort of fiasco? You better have done something mighty impressive to make up for it, and Kucinich sure hasn't. On top of that he looks and acts exactly like a rat, I could practically smell rodent through the TV. He represents some far left ideals that really should be represented in the race, but all he can do is make those ideas look worse. He's exactly the wrong person to be representing anything, and he really needs to get out of the race.

Final thoughts? If John Edwards can step up and start running a strong campaign then I think he's the best candidate out there. He has capability to be a truly charismatic leader. But its really unclear if he can live up to his potential. If he can't I think Gephardt and Dean are the two best picks. Its still unclear if either of them really have what it takes though. Kerry is clearly overrated, and due in for a crash soon, I hope. He maybe could win if Bush keeps destroying the economy at record pace, but when it comes to insider power players Gephardt is a better candidate. All in all there is a bit of hope showing through in this debate, but not much. Its early still...

The Bush Administration Admits Inspections Worked?

"He couldn't put them together as long as the inspections were going on" before to the war, he said.

That little gem, attributed to a "senior administration official" is buried at the very end of the NYT cover story on Bush's 'War Over' speech.

Now lets think about it. If Iraq couldn't assemble its weapons of mass destruction because of the UN inspections, doesn't that mean the inspections were working? I think it does. Wonder if the senior official is a black man from the Bronx?

Mind Opening Blog + Humane Punishment

Mind open, mind blown. Every once in a while I come across some fact, story or writer who really blows open some of my worldview.

Al-Muhajabah is a white American woman, highly educated, very sharp and who is a devout muslim who wears the complete islamic dress (hijab). That adds up to a pretty unique perception of the world. Very opening to read her blog (if you let yourself be open of course). Plus she's a Movable Type master, all sorts of really well thought out plug-in implemented on her site.

Her post on issues in penal law hit me hard:

It's taken as a given in America that prison is far more humane than corporal punishment. But is it? The body heals; the mind and the soul may not. When we consider whether the prison system is humane we should look at the psychological damage caused by captivity. It's not as easy to measure as physical damage, but it may be far worse and more lasting.

So true, but I never would have thought of it like that in a million years. I have serious issues with the current American penal system, but I still was locked into a knee jerk corporal punishment = evil thought process. Now I still don't like corporal punishment, but I don't think I'll ever be thinking about it in the same way again. Damn, I love having my worldview widened...

They're Only Evil When They're Not Repressing Their Wifes..

"It so happens there are times when there are issues where social conservatives, whether they be Muslim or Christian, find common ground."

that's from Newsday

Iran, Syria, Iraq, Axis of Evil. Yep, unless its about repressing women. All of a sudden they become our best friends in the UN. Perhaps Bush and Co want to fight with all them because jealous of the way they mix politics and religion and get to beat their wifes. How fucking backward is this country going to be after another 1-5 years of this crap? We'll be acting like cavemen soon enough. Christian cavemen.

[via Matthew Yglesias]

Headline Flow

Ethan Eismann maybe on hiatus from blogging with Information Flow, but he did post some really interesting stuff on a mailing list we belong too.

Headlines around the world an incident in Iraq. I believe taken from Google News last night:

US Force Said to Kill 15 Iraqis During an Anti-American Rally
New York Times - 16 hours ago

US Troops 'Massacre' 13 Iraqis
The Mirror, UK - 8 hours ago

US troops 'shoot dead two more Iraqis'
Guardian, UK - 3 hours ago

Iraqis say US troops killed 14 protesters
San Francisco Chronicle, CA - 5 hours ago

US troops take fire, shoot back at Iraqis
Casa Grande Valley Newspapers, AZ - 12 hours ago

US forces kill 13 pro - Saddam protesters
Hi Pakistan, Pakistan - 13 hours ago

A good reminder that media bias is certainly not all structural...

Another Gem at the Whiskey Bar

Whiskey Bar: The Doctor is in - billmon keeps rolling. No idea who he really is or what he does, but he writes some of the funniest, sharpest political comedy around.

Fabrica Ocupada: Naomi Klein on Argentina's Quiet Revolution

Here in Buenos Aires, every week brings news of a new occupation: a four-star hotel now run by its cleaning staff, a supermarket taken by its clerks, a regional airline about to be turned into a cooperative by the pilots and attendants. In small Trotskyist journals around the world, Argentina's occupied factories, where the workers have seized the means of production, are giddily hailed as the dawn of a socialist utopia. In large business magazines like the Economist, they are ominously described as a threat to the sacred principle of private property. The truth lies somewhere in between.

Naomi Klein: Snapshot of a nation: Argentina

There is a revolution going on in Argentina and only Naomi Klein seems to be noticing. This is Klein at her absolute best. My take on her has always been that she's a marvelous journalist and a god awful theorist/figurehead. And now that's she's playing journalist again the results are great. No one reports better from the front lines of corporate globalism then she does. Read the whole article, its worth it. If the world economy doesn't U-turn soon then this piece is a crystal ball.

The Structure of Media Bias

The Liberal Media, the Conservative Press, which one is it? I find it interesting and sometime amusing the way liberals and conservatives always seem to think that the media swings the other way. I once thought it was a nice indicator of a relative balance in the media. And the media is a bit more balanced then many give it credit. But there is something else, something structural, let me break it down.

There is a strange dynamic inside our most popular media of today, minus the internet and books. That means TV, movies, radio, newspapers and magazines. Those 5 media have a structural bent towards conservative messages. But counteracting that bent, is a tendency for the staff to lean a bit liberal.

The typical result? A liberal leaning reporter trying to act balanced, but producing a story that comes off with a bit of conservative edge to it. The dynamics are easiest to see in Hollywood. Politically the players in the movie industry on average are strongly to the left, and they contribute mainly to the Democrats. But somehow a fuck of a lot of patriotic movies with strong moral messages come out of system.

Why? Because the conservative approach of pushing strong simple moral messages is tailor made for movies. It makes a nice strong ending to the story. Same goes for TV spots, newspaper headlines, and magazine covers. Simple, basic and familiar but dramatic. Its the conservative way. The structure of these media encourages the right wing worldview to show through on the simplest level.

However, the traits that make good reporters, actors, directors, editors and the like are more in tune with a liberal world view. Creativity, rational thinking and detailed exploration of stories. The nurturing liberal worldview breeds these ideas and encourages liberal reporters. Hence the "liberal media". And in times of slow news, the questioning liberal worldview slowly takes over the tone of the news.

You could see it in GW2 when news was hot and running quick the tone was pro-war, celebrating the moral clarity of soldiers heading to battle. A couple days later as things settled in, the questioning and exploration of the darker sides would return. And then bam! more war motion and the bombastic conservative headlines were back. Slow down, more liberal, explode fast, more conservative. Cycle. Repeat.

I have a feeling this sort of dynamic has been around for a long time. What's different now is that the Bush administration has a great feel for the rhythms of media, and have been timing there actions remarkably well. Their over the top conservative rhetoric and action is pace perfectly for maximum US media exposure. They understand the structure better then the Dems and it shows. And the advantage is huge. The left just doesn't have the rhetoric to win in the game of overblown headlines. Their arguments are better suited for a slower more reasoned environ. Its no coincidence that the lefts biggest media victory of late, the downfall of Trent Lott, came during the slow news time around Xmas. The Left needs to throw off the Bush administrations rhythm and slow the pace down. Summer is dead when it comes to news, and they'll need to maximize that to their advantage. And come Fall its all about setting the pace, whoever does it going to control the media game.

The Bush Media Silencer Strikes Again

Sharon Bush is moving on. One week after the grueling two-day mediation that sealed the deal, Bush is turning philosophical about her split from presidential brother Neil Bush.

She won't be writing a Bush family exposé after all. "You know I'd never write a hateful tell-all," she said Tuesday...

As for her post-divorce financial situation, Bush said Tuesday, "The grandparents (former President George Bush and Barbara) have been good to me and to the children."

HoustonChronicle.com - Bush ex-inlaw decides not to spill

Ok, lets paraphrase. After a nasty split with her husband Sharon Bush threatens to write a tell all exposé of the family. Papa Bush steps up and makes it clear that isn't an option, and tosses in a pile of cash to sweeten the deal. This stuff is old hat the Bush family. Nothing gets written about them. Those that try have a habit of dying... or at the least staying out of print. (note to self if you plan on writing a Bush bio it pays to be a loony who is down with Lyndon Larouche.)

Not Lying...

"We were not lying," said one official. "But it was just a matter of emphasis."

That's from ABCNEWS.com : Officials: 9/11 Was Main Reason for War. Not that I'm happy about it, but it does fit in with my thesis on The Art of Lying in Politics. Point 3, never admit that you are wrong. How true. If you are more concerned with manipulating the public via the media then with keeping friend and making diplomacy that is. The Bush administration continues to work the media effortlessly. More on that soon.

Analogy of the Day

Being Senate majority leader is akin to being grounds-keeper at a cemetery; you have a lot of people under you, but they aren't paying much attention.

[via Semi-Daily Journal]

Bush v. Hollywood

Amazon.com: Listmania! R-rated films that George W. Bush tacitly approved of

On Santorum, Resign Now

Think its pretty evident that Senator Rick Santorum should be resigning from office, effective immediately. If he has any sense of decency that is. What a disgusting and morally repugnant creature. Couple quotes from the now infamous AP Interview:

In this case, what we're talking about, basically, is priests who were having sexual relations with post-pubescent men. We're not talking about priests with 3-year olds, or 5-year olds. We're talking about a basic homosexual relationship.

So let me get this straight a priest using his position of authority to molest a 12 year old boy is "a basic homosexual relationship"? Don't know what world Santorum lives in, but he needs to leave the world of the Senate pronto.

Lets not even get into his man on dog comments...

Course Bush is fully behind this sort of repugnant immoral homophobia:

"The president believes the senator is an inclusive man. And that's what he believes," Fleischer said.

So I guess inclusive now means you are willing to group homosexuals with pedophile rapists priests and bestiality, I think I'm going to be sick.

Let me say it again. Senator Santorum should be resign and resign now.

Bush, that is a whole other story...

[links via DailyKos]

Tables Turned

What if Iraq took over the US?

CalPundit: Turning the Tables

some good points in there.

When the Shiite Hits the Fan at the Whiskey Bar

I knew I was going to link to it just for the title, but Billmon has really topped himself with, When the Shiite Hits the Fan. Get this man a sitcom or something...

Michael Wolff on Al Jaz

"Al Jazeera, like so much else in the region, becomes part of an Americanization machine." Michael Wolff's latest column,
Al Jazeera's Edge digs into the breakout network of the GW2. Good stuff. His point is that Al Jaz is a business, a TV station. What grabs me more then that though, is that its making money by selling a political viewpoint. On a similar note is Mecca Cola, pitched as an alternative to Coca-Cola.

Both are examples of something, I've been thinking about a long time, the commercial viability of ideology. I call it Revolutionary Capitalism, and there will be more coming in the near future.

The Coming Iraqi Civil War?

In the previously mentioned A Farewell to Arms post, Christopher Allbritton talks about a rumor going round Iraq:

The marchers in Baghdad demanding a quick end to American occupation, he said, were incited by Ahmed Chalabi and the INC to stir up trouble against the Americans, so they will leave and the INC can seize complete control.

Now Chalabi is the neocons man in Washington/Iraq. His position of being the next potential leader of Iraq arose due to his extensive DC connections and lobbying. No idea if that rumor is true, but if it is then Iraq is going to get really nasty real soon. If even Chalabi wants the US out, then imagine what others think? As Allbritton points out there are a lot of ethnic groups, tribes, religions and invaders involved here. And they all want their power in a limited space.

Messy indeed. Lets see how Bush, Rove and company handle the news. More Afghanistan style ignoring I expect. But the stakes are larger in Iraq will the media be willing to step up and report? Unlike some who have given up on mainstreams media's ability to criticize the current administration I have some hope left. I think a good deal of the mainstream Bush dickriding that went on during the war was the product of the media's laziness combined with good timing on the part of administration PR machine. The admin PR people where able to keep creating new news events for the media. And since the media is lazy they went for the easy story. After a couple slow news days you could see the more balanced reporting return. But then the PR machine would hit back with new stories. Return to lazy media.

Now generating stories is hard work. Especially without an army of 300,000 people working for you to create some news. I have a feeling that the media will start hitting harder when slow news periods emerge. All of a sudden they'll need to investigate a bit to find the story. And odds are the story will sometimes be in Iraq. And it might not be pretty. I'll be keeping my eyes open.

Primary Reforms

Been thinking a lot about what it will take for the Democrats (for lack of a better alternative) to retake the White House. The Primaries are less then a year away. 8+ men (and probably just one woman) all competing with each other for the nomination over a span over a year. Its an archaic process and one that needs changing. Too much time is spent on the internal competition and not enough focusing on the opposition. It presents a picture of an un-unified party and draws attention to the flaws of the candidates. And the odd week by week progression through states is just bizarre, its designed to give jobs to obscure strategists, not help out the process. Anyway here are some thoughts on a better process, no idea what it would take to implement any of them.

1. A one day nation wide primary. Just get it over with. Skip all the state strategy BS and pick a candidate. Early. Maybe a full year before the presidential election. Once there is one candidate they need run an intense and focused campaign, and they'll have plenty of time to do it.
2. Prenuptial agreements. If someone wants the parties nomination, they should be required to play by some rules. No negative campaigning against other party candidates. No sore loser tantrums, if they lose they need to support the winning candidate 100% That includes campaigning hard for the nominee in the losers stronghold. Maybe it even includes using remaining campaign funds to support the winning candidate.
3. Coordinated attacks on the opposing party. Before the primary the party should be planning certain unified points of opposition with the other party. Each candidate can push their take, but together they all should be coordinated as part of a larger strategy.

Again this is all said while being relatively ignorant of the actual structure of the Democratic party system, but still they can do better and we all know it.

Anyone but Bush in 2004!

Dean Steps Up on Bush

Howard Dean just wrote a tearing attack on Bush. Strong, clear and on point. Gives me a lot more respect for Dean. Someone needs to call Bush on the tone of paranoia and anger that he's setting for the world. And Dean comes real close to taking him up on the fact. Good stuff.

Theirs is a radical view of our role in the world. The President who campaigned on a platform of a humble foreign policy has instead begun implementing a foreign policy characterized by dominance, arrogance and intimidation. The tidal wave of support and goodwill that engulfed us after the tragedy of 9/11 has dried up and been replaced by undercurrents of distrust, skepticism and hostility by many who had been among our closest allies.

and

When did we become a nation of fear and anxiety when we were once known the world around as a land of hope and liberty?

On day one of a Dean Presidency, I will reverse this attitude. I will tear up the Bush Doctrine. And I will steer us back into the company of the community of nations where we will exercise moral leadership once again.

And not only will I seek to heal the divisions this President has caused in the world community, but I would also begin the process of healing the divisions he has exploited here at home.

This President shamelessly divides us from one another. He divides us by race ? as he did when he claimed that the University of Michigan uses quotas in its law school admissions. He divides us by class by rewarding his campaign donors with enormous tax cuts while the rest of us are deprived of affordable health care, prescription drugs for our seniors, and good schools for our kids. He divides us by gender by seeking to restrict reproductive choice for women. He divides us by sexual orientation by appointing reactionary judges to the bench, and as he did in Texas by refusing to sign the Hate Crimes bill if it included gay or lesbian Americans as potential victims.

It is a Bush Doctrine of domestic division, and I want to be the President who tears that doctrine up, too. I want to restore a sense of community in this country.

The whole article is archived below.

Published on Thursday, April 17, 2003 by CommonDreams.org

Bush: It's Not Just His Doctrine That's Wrong
by Howard Dean

[Note: After reading a recent article that called into question my opposition to the Bush Doctrine of preemptive war, I wanted to state my position clearly to set the record straight. I appreciate that the editors of Common Dreams have given me this opportunity.]

When Congress approved the President?s authorization to go to war in Iraq ? no matter how well-intentioned ? it was giving the green light to the President to set his Doctrine of preemptive war in motion. It now appears that Iraq was just the first step. Already, the Bush Administration is apparently eyeing Syria and Iran as the next countries on its target list. The Bush Doctrine must be stopped here.

Many in Congress who voted for this resolution should have known better. On September 23, 2002, Al Gore cautioned in his speech in San Francisco that ?if the Congress approves the Iraq resolution just proposed by the Administration it is simultaneously creating the precedent for preemptive action anywhere, anytime this or any future president so decides.? And that is why it was such a big mistake for Congress to allow the president to set this dangerous precedent.

Too much is at stake. We have taken decades of consensus on the conduct of foreign policy ? bipartisan consensus in the United States and consensus among our allies in the world community ? and turned it on its head. It could well take decades to repair the damage this President and his cohort of right-wing ideological advisors have done to our standing in the international community.

Theirs is a radical view of our role in the world. The President who campaigned on a platform of a humble foreign policy has instead begun implementing a foreign policy characterized by dominance, arrogance and intimidation. The tidal wave of support and goodwill that engulfed us after the tragedy of 9/11 has dried up and been replaced by undercurrents of distrust, skepticism and hostility by many who had been among our closest allies.

This unilateral approach to foreign policy is a disaster. All of the challenges facing the United States ? from winning the war on terror and containing weapons of mass destruction to building an open world economy and protecting the global environment ? can only be met by working with our allies. A renegade, go-it-alone approach will be doomed to failure, because these challenges know no boundaries.

The largest, most sophisticated military in the history of the world cannot eliminate the threat of sleeper terrorist cells. That task requires the highest level of intelligence cooperation with our allies.

Even the largest, most sophisticated military in the history of the world cannot be expected to go to war against every evil dictator who may possess chemical weapons. This calls for an aggressive and effective diplomatic effort, conducted in full cooperation with a united international community, and preferably with the backing of the multilateral institutions we helped to build for just this purpose. This challenge requires treaties ? such as the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty ? that this Administration has sometimes treated cavalierly. In any case, war should be a last resort or an option to be used in the face of an imminent threat.

The UN Charter specifically protects the right of self-defense against armed attack, and most agree that action against imminent threat is also justified. As President ? as has been the case with all previous presidents ? I would not hesitate to use our military might to protect our people or our nation from an imminent threat. But you will not find a Dean Administration turning to the option of force in the first instance as this President does.

The immediate task at hand of the next president will be to begin rebuilding our relationships with our allies so that we can work in concert on tackling these challenges.

The next president will need to undo the work of this band of radicals currently controlling our foreign policy ? who view the Middle East as a laboratory for their experiments in democracy-building, where no such traditions exist. Their approach will drastically change the view that the world has had of the United States.

Our nation should be viewed as a moral and just power, a power that seeks to do good, one that has led by example and with a spirit of generosity, and one that works with the world community in advancing the ideals of human dignity and rule of law across the globe.

The people of this country must understand that this Administration has a far different concept of the role of America in the world. This concept involves imposing our will on sovereign nations. This concept involves dismantling the multilateral institutions that we have spent decades building. And this concept involves distorting the rule of law to suit their narrow purposes. When did we become a nation of fear and anxiety when we were once known the world around as a land of hope and liberty?

On day one of a Dean Presidency, I will reverse this attitude. I will tear up the Bush Doctrine. And I will steer us back into the company of the community of nations where we will exercise moral leadership once again.

And not only will I seek to heal the divisions this President has caused in the world community, but I would also begin the process of healing the divisions he has exploited here at home.

This President shamelessly divides us from one another. He divides us by race ? as he did when he claimed that the University of Michigan uses quotas in its law school admissions. He divides us by class by rewarding his campaign donors with enormous tax cuts while the rest of us are deprived of affordable health care, prescription drugs for our seniors, and good schools for our kids. He divides us by gender by seeking to restrict reproductive choice for women. He divides us by sexual orientation by appointing reactionary judges to the bench, and as he did in Texas by refusing to sign the Hate Crimes bill if it included gay or lesbian Americans as potential victims.

It is a Bush Doctrine of domestic division, and I want to be the President who tears that doctrine up, too. I want to restore a sense of community in this country ? where it?s not enough to worry whether your own kids have health care, but whether your neighbors? kids have health care. I want to go to the South and talk about race. White southerners have been flocking to the Republican Party in recent years, but I want to offer them hope that their children will benefit from better schools and affordable health care, too. The Republican Party has done nothing for working people, black or white, and we need to remind Southern white folks that the only hope for better schools, and better job opportunities, and health care that is affordable is a Democratic President.

I am what is commonly referred to as a social liberal and a fiscal conservative. I am proud of the fact that as Governor I routinely balanced the budget ? which I was not required to do by Vermont?s constitution ? and paid down our state debt by nearly a quarter. I had to make tough decisions, and I will admit that some of them did not make the progressive community happy. But I made those decisions because I have a guiding principle that social justice must rest upon a foundation of fiscal discipline. Because of that approach to governance, Vermont today is not cutting education and is not cutting Medicaid despite the perilous economic times brought on by the Bush fiscal policies.

One of my goals as a Presidential candidate is to represent the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party ? a line made popular by the late Paul Wellstone. Some have questioned why I would so closely align myself with a politician whose politics were considerably more liberal than mine. The fact is that I admired Paul Wellstone greatly, not only because of his politics, but because he stood up for his beliefs and fought for them until the day he died. I can only hope that someday people will say the same about me ? that I, too, remained true to my core principles no matter what. I believe that the Democratic Party needs to stand for something if we want people to vote for us. And by standing against the Bush Doctrine of preemptive war and domestic division, we may yet rediscover the soul of our Party.

Cons vs Neocons: A Growing Discord?

MyDD: Fallout has a couple of nice instances of discord among the conservatives. Lets hope this grows enough to shatter the tactical unity they've been enjoying in recent elections. Favorite quote is Eagleburger:

If George Bush [Jnr] decided he was going to turn the troops loose on Syria and Iran after that he would last in office for about 15 minutes. In fact if President Bush were to try that now even I would think that he ought to be impeached. You can't get away with that sort of thing in this democracy.

Wonder if he's thinking he's got better job prospects in a Democratic White House then he does in the current. Nevermind that he's probably ancient and in no need of work. Guess that's the radical side coming out in the neocons
like old communists they are upsetting the old conservatives. Be funny if it wasn't so damn upsetting. If I become president, be sure to remind me to wake Osama out of retirement, so he can bomb me a carte blanche to do whatever I want in DC. And for those .arpanet and .mil people who periodically visit this that's a joke, get it.

Is There A History to The Evil in the Washington?

How neoconservatives conquered Washington -- and launched a war raises far more questions then it answers. I've heard many times that the neocons where originally Trotskyists, but never have seen the story laid out. If its even true, that is. And if its true it should be documented someplace. Anyone have any pointers?

Will T-Mobile ever get it?

T minus 1 year and counting. Been over a year now that Starbucks has been offering 3rd party wireless internet. Forgot the initial company name, but the service is run by T-Mobile now. And its a case study on how not to attract customers.

Would you rather rip off one customer or have 10 happy customers? T-Mobile apparently wants the former. From the get go the Starbucks wireless service had 2 pay options. Pay by the minute at super sized prices or unlimited access provided you commit to a year contract. What's missing is a middle ground, the space where all most all their target market lies. People's need for wireless internet comes in bursts, on random trips where they don't have access in an office or hotel. And when they have need for access they want it to be unlimited. If T-Mobile offered day passes for $10, weeks for $20 and months for $30 they'd be racking up customers. Instead they rack up animosity. I've paid them at times, but each time I do I hate them more. And I sure don't recommend them to people.

Writing this up now because for a second I thought T-Mobile had learned. They finally offered a month to month option for a sort of reasonable $40 I only need a week but I almost paid up, it make this week a bit smoother. Until I saw the $25 cancellation fee. WTF? What is the point of a monthly option if you get penalized for only taking a monthly. Could have easily bought 3 or 4 months scattered through this year at $40 a pop. Instead I'll be taking my business else where, thank you.

And just for google let me add that T-Mobile sucks.

The Republicans Vote Racism

How low can they get? The Republican Party was the party of Lincoln. I know its hard to believe in this day and age, and it just got even harder:

Yesterday's debate suddenly veered from guns to race when Cubin criticized a failed Democratic amendment that would have banned gun sales to drug addicts or people in drug treatment. After noting that her sons, ages 25 and 30, "are blond-haired and blue-eyed," she said: "One amendment today said we could not sell guns to anybody under drug treatment. So does that mean that if you go into a black community you can't sell any guns to any black person?"

Rep. Melvin Watt (D-N.C.), who is black, interrupted and demanded that Cubin retract the statement. Cubin said that she did not mean to offend her "neighbors" on the Democratic side, and maintained that her comment was within House rules.

Watt was not satisfied. "She needs to apologize for using words that are offensive for the entire African American race," he said. He demanded Cubin's comment be "taken down," meaning it was inappropriate for a House debate. In a largely party-line vote, the GOP-controlled House voted 227 to 195 to uphold the chair's ruling that the remark fell within House rules.

In other words the entire Republican party in the House of Reps just voted in favor of racism. Disgusting.

Debate on Gun Rights In House Turns Racial (washingtonpost.com) is the reference.

[via dailyKos]

Peace Americana

I'm an American, no doubt about it. I was born here and lived here for all but a year of my life. America represents a lot of things I'm proud of and some I'm not. I'm not a big fan of nationalism, but I still love this country, despite all that Bush and friends have done lately. Been pretty disturbing since S11 to see just how much the anti-war movement is willing to hand over the American Flag to the conservatives. Waving a flag is almost like being pro-war. And that's fucked up.

The American Peace Sign flag is my favorite response to the co-option of the flag by the right wing. It simultaneously promotes a support for America and support for peace. As my small contribution to spreading the meme, here is vector version of the peace flag. Its an Illustrator 10 .ai file so its really for designers only, but if anyone wants other versions just email me. And yeah feel free to do whatever you want with the file. If you improve it at all, be cool to get sent a copy, but there are no restrictions.

Before I Stop Loving My Country

The Onion as Nostradamus

Right at the beginning of Bush's Presidency the Onion had a piece called Bush: 'Our Long National Nightmare Of Peace And Prosperity Is Finally Over'. Scarily they were all too right.

Mere days from assuming the presidency and closing the door on eight years of Bill Clinton, president-elect George W. Bush assured the nation in a televised address Tuesday that "our long national nightmare of peace and prosperity is finally over."

"My fellow Americans," Bush said, "at long last, we have reached the end of the dark period in American history that will come to be known as the Clinton Era, eight long years characterized by unprecedented economic expansion, a sharp decrease in crime, and sustained peace overseas. The time has come to put all of that behind us."

and a bit later

During the 40-minute speech, Bush also promised to bring an end to the severe war drought that plagued the nation under Clinton, assuring citizens that the U.S. will engage in at least one Gulf War-level armed conflict in the next four years.

Good Propaganda pt 2

Keep them coming

2004 Strategies - part 1 of ?

CalPundit has a good post on strategies for the Democrats in 2004. Most intriguing are: 1 - Gay rights and 2 - a 1964 Barry Goldwater strategy.

Gay rights is interesting. As Calpundit points out there is a 30 trend of increase acceptance of gays in America. Has it passed the tipping point where the acceptance outweighs kneejerk homophobia? Definitely close, but it merits further investigation. Drug policy reform, especially with marijuana is a similar issue with an even stronger case behind it I think. Is there an American born after WWII who hasn't smoke a joint?

The Barry Goldwater strategy is potent as well. Don't know much about it but CalPundit claims "Lyndon Johnson beat Barry Goldwater in 1964 by making him look like he was set to plunge us into World War III". Considering Bush and Co are running things on fear and loathing, if the Democrats go figure out a way to make this approach work they could be in really good shape. End the bloodlust and paranoia, that's exactly what the country (and the stock market) needs.

On a Mission From God to Ruin Us All

"Bush believes he was called by God to lead the nation at this time, says Commerce Secretary Don Evans, a close friend who talks with Bush every day."

This is one scary fucking article. As Bush might say, will God help us all...

[Via Daily Kos]

Anti-War Propaganda

So nice to finally see good propaganda coming from the side you support.

[via zephoria]

Does Protesting and Extremism Work?

Does protest and extremism work? CalPundit has some solid thoughts. Don't think he factors in culture enough though. The question I'm still trying to answer is how much do extremist movements shift cultural norms?

I think its pretty clear that at times extremist movements pave the way for the eventual acceptance of ideas into the mainstream. Slavery is a great example. But how often does this happen? And what factors make an extremist movement succeed?

Damn He's Good: Robin Cook on the Current State of War

Sunday_Mirror.co.uk - COOK: BRING OUR LADS HOME is an op-ed by Robin Cook, the former british cabinet member who resigned over the war. Think it sums up the current situation better then anything else I've seen.

For a much more detailed sum up, Daily Kos is the place to go. Kos has been spot on over the past couple weeks, highly recommended once again.

How Do We "liberate" Iraq When We Can't Even Feed Our Troops?

"Use of gas-guzzling armored vehicles has been restricted to save fuel and food is also in short supply. In one frontline infantry unit, for instance, soldiers have had their rations cut to one meal packet a day from three."

The Art of Lying in Politics

The Bush Administration's media manipulation skills never ceases to amaze me. As the war in Iraq skewers away from the chickenhawks dream plans its starting to become clearer just how the Karl Rove media technique works. Its all pretty simple really, it can be broken down into 3 steps:

1. Keep the message simple
2. Keep the details secret
3. Never admit you are wrong

Follow those steps and you look like you are doing a good job in the mass media. Up close or under close scrutiny all the lying and bullshitting the administration engages in is pretty evident. But when broadcast over mass media it looks like the administration is right on track.

Never admitting you are wrong is the most important step. Once you admit you are wrong your words become circumspect when broadcast. Bush always maintains that things are going well, and because he never entertains the possibility of being wrong, he projects and image of being right and believable. Not everyone buys it off course, but in the mass media and winner takes all democracy all you need is a healthy percentage of the population to buy it.

Clinton used this technique as well, but not quite as deftly as Bush. Clinton's problem was the details, he was too willing to dig into them. Once the details are out its harder to maintain the image of always being right. And Clinton missed the secrecy as well, Bush keeps as much info secret as possible so there are less details to complicate the projection of being right.

Perhaps the greatest tactical failing of the Bush administration is the way they've let the success of these media techniques infect their attempts at diplomacy. These techniques work when broadcast in the media, as I said before they fail completely when used up close and in person. They just don't work in diplomacy, hence the outrageous failings of the Bush administration in the UN, Turkey and elsewhere.

Worst part of it all is that now the world hates America, and Bush is still sitting pretty at home. I think (hope) I can handle 2 more years of this crap, but if he gets 4 more beyond that then I don't know...

New Stereotype Alert: Violent Peace Protester

There is a new stereotype on the rise, the violent peace protester. Seen it popping up all over the web. Usually comes from an amused and/or angry conservative and generally is phrased in a way that ignores the fact that the vast majority of protesters are completely nonviolent. Not exactly the best PR for the antiwar movement.

Still I'd rather have a Black Bloc and an extra stereotype then no Black Bloc and a bunch of whining liberal protesters. Peace doesn't mean being a wimp and the Black Bloc tactic at least tries to escalate protests to a level of higher impact. No hard evidence whether the tactic works at achieving positive results (of for that matter that any protest tactics work). But an experiment is better then nothing so I'm all for it at the moment.

Yes Moore: Micheal Moore's Next Film is on Bush Laden

Michael Moore plans Bush-bin Laden film

Horrors of War

The Memory Hole > This Is Gulf War 2 and its not pretty. The pictures a pretty horrifying, but America needs to see them to remember how horrifying war can be.

Dollars Vs. Euros the Winner Gets the Oil

The Real Reasons for the Upcoming War in Iraq: A Macroeconomic and Geostrategic Analysis of the Unspoken Truth, by W. Clark
is a fascinating document. No idea how much of it is true, but it sounds like its potentially on point. And if it is its scary.

Key underlying idea is that oil is currently bought and sold using dollars exclusively. Iraq recently switched to a Euro standard and OPEC is thinking about it as well. If that switch happens it will result in a huge drop and destabilization of the dollar, fscking up the US economy majorly. Need to investigate more, anyone know how true this might be?

+++ Update +++
Paul Krugman has rebuted this rumor pretty strongly. I'm inclined to believe him.

And He's Off

Back to Iraq for Christopher Allbritton. Well he leaves in a day or two, but he's got some strong words on corporate media to part with.

bq. Starting this week however, the real purpose of Back to Iraq comes into view, as this becomes a much more heavily reported site instead of one based on analysis and commentary. (That will still be there, but in much smaller portions.)

bq. I’ve been doing a fair number of interviews, too, as various media members want to know my story. Often they ask me why I’m doing this, what do I expect or hope to get out of this, am I crazy, etc. Well, I’m probably crazy, yes, but what I’m hoping to get out of this is some respect for the Web (and blogs) as a serious medium for independents. To all the journalism professors who say blogs aren’t “real” journalism, I say, “I don’t see you getting out of your tenured chair and putting your butt in the middle of Kurdistan to report on what’s happening.” To those who say, “You’ve got no editor,” I reply, “My readers are my editors.” To those who complain, “You’re biased, you offer nothing but op-eds,” I reply, “I am biased, but at least you know where I’m coming from. And just wait until next week when my butt is in Kurdistan.”

The Best Intelligence is Russian?

Venik's Aviation is a Russian site that is providing very detailed reports on the military situation in Iraq. Not sure of the accuracy, but so far it seems on point. Has about a 24hr lead time on bad news, versus it being reported in the American Mass Media. Damn how things have changed from the cold war days. Now Russian has the freest flow of information, ironic no?

"I understand when the government wants to brainwash the enemy, but bullshitting its own people is just sad." is the choice quote from the site's Russian (apparently at least) author, Venik.

Wartime News Feeds

Daily Kos has quickly emerged as my favorite info feed for this awful war. Essential reading.

More Protest Thoughts

I'm writing this sitting safely at a computer as helicopters and sirens scream through the streets. SF Indymedia indicates 30,000 are marching and some being arrested. Enemy Combatant Radio is giving legal updates. I was out in the streets all day Thursday, but I'm still pretty ambivalent on the effectiveness of the protests. Here's where my thoughts stand at the moment:

Protest Positives
* Emotional Unity: people feel better knowing they are not alone in the opposition to the war.
* Emotional Outlet: breaking Starbucks windows isn't too cool, but its better that energy gets taken out on corporate property then on people someplace.
* International PR: its essential that some internationally newsworthy protests happens so that people around the world don't think all Americans are with Bush and Co.
* Domestic Results - Personal: Shutting down the city means people in America will start associating war with domestic uncomfort. They may not be able to realize that war = major deaths in foreign places, but maybe being personally discomforted by traffic and city shut downs will change people's willingness to support wars.
* Domestic Results - Political: Can't imagine the national economic losses of protests can measure up to the cost of waging war, but perhaps the it can encourage local and state governments to be more vocal in resisting the drive towards military violence. And of course politicians can't be to happy to see all these voters upset in the streets.

Protest Negatives
* Bad Domestic PR: Protests don't look so hot on TV and they sure piss off those stuck in traffic. They don't encourage people to change there views towards those of the protesters. Probably alienate a lot of people actually.
* Success Unproven At Best: Did the protests of the 60's lead to the end of Vietnam or the election of Dick Nixon. Could be both, could be neither, but Nixon certain came into office well before the war ended.
* Perpetuates Fear: The government is using fear to sell war and reduce civil liberties. Protests in the street (or at least the police response to the protests) help spread that fear.
* Economic Damage: Slowing down the economy isn't usually the best thing for the people.

All in all I'm still on the fence. Happy I was protesting hard on Thursday, those actions made the international papers. But now I'm more interested in figuring out actions that produce more long term results. In other words I think my time could be spent better doing something besides protesting. What it is exactly I can't say yet, but I firmly believe that there are ways we can improve this world on a large scale, so its back to the lab for me. Stay tuned for further developments.

Support Independent Journalism in Iraq

Christopher Allbritton is an independent reporter who was in Iraqi Kurdistan last summer. He's about to head back in a few days. Posted his website before.

His goal for fund raising was $10,000 which seems like a minuscule amount to be covering a war in a foreign country with. So far he's only raised $7,000 and he's going to Iraq anyways, but his trip will be cut short unless he can raise more funding.

We all know that independent journalism is in trouble as the media companies continue to consolidate. The need for people like Christopher Allbritton is huge. there is a war being waged in our name in Iraq, it be nice to at least get some independent reports of what is going on inside the country. I urge you all to contribute what ever you can to his efforts. This list is all about finding the news that isn't being reported in the mainstream media, here is a chance to really make a small impact in the way the story of this war is being told.

You can donate to Allbritton by going to his website and clicking on the PayPal icon on the right side. Its an easy process, no need to have a PayPal account to make payments. I just donated, be great to see you contribute as well.

Post Protest Decompression and Reflection

Decompressed a bit from all day protesting, tired but ready to put some thoughts together.

First off I spent the whole day protesting on a bike. This is the way to do it. The theme of the day was decentralized swarming and it appeared to completely overwhelm the cops. Choice quote from the NY Times: "By late in the day, Assistant Chief Alex Fagan said, the situation in San Francisco deteriorated into 'absolute anarchy.'" And that was with a vast majority of the protesters being on foot.

The mobility and versatility of the bike is incredible. If the goal is to shut down the city then the bike is the tool. While bulk of the protesters were swarming downtown, me and a friend connected with about 100 other bikers and did a long range protest. Whatever street we rolled on was basically shut down. Every couple intersections be circle in for a few minutes cutting off cross town traffic. We did about a 5 mile circle around downtown. With all the cops in the core, we didn't encounter a single po-po. In other words if there were a handful of other crews of 100 bicyclists doing the same thing we were the city would have shut down to a whole other level.

I think 10 or 20 crews of 50-100 bicyclists could completely shut down a city the size of San Francisco, or maybe even NY. Shut down quick and move to the next intersection. If the police try and intervene they just shut things down more. And with enough crews moving randomly traffic will back up chaotically. Cars turning off one blocked street only to encounter traffic from another blockade. And with a bike the risk of getting arrested is way lower as its far easier to make a quick get away. Its a far more decentralized tool for a decentralized protest.

*** warning technical bike tangent ***

Those who know me well know I ride fixed gear and generally look down upon those who ride mountain bikes in urban areas. But I have to say that a mountain bike is probably a better bike for protesting. The fixey treated me right but the mountain bikes curb hopping ability is damn useful when negotiating crowds and trying to escape in an urban area. Being able to coast while riding really slowly all day would be nice too. Come to think of it I should have flipped that flip flop hub. First time ever since switching to fixey that I've seen a benefit to heading back to the other side though.

*** technical bike tangent over ***

All that said, let me note that I'm not 100% sold on the effectiveness of protest as a revolutionary tactic. How exactly does protesting change the world? The answer is unclear and unfocused. I was out there today partly in solidarity with the other protesters and partly just to experience it. I'm still up in the air on whether is an effective use of energy. Its pretty obvious that Bush couldn't give a fuck if SF gets shut down, but that's not the only factor to consider.

After today's experience I'm far more inclined to think protesting is important and helpful, but maybe I'm still high off the days energy. Effective or not, protesting is damn fun. Not always, tear gas, getting arrested and getting abused by the cops are not exactly pleasurable. But hanging in a crowd of like minded energized people is great. As is the feeling you get shutting down an intersection. Or the feeling of riding free in miraculously car free streets.

Not only is protesting fun, but it gives the protesters a great feeling of connection. Not only to the other people protesting around you, but also to all the people protesting around the world. That's a powerful feeling and a prime reason why protest can be good.

To tired to finish this now, going to post and then add more tomorrow, going into some of the reasons I'm on the fence about protesting.

Scenes From Gulf War Round One

The Unseen Gulf War by Peter Turnley

Just So We Can See What My Country Wants to Destroy

Bagdad from space.

[via Where is Raed?]

The Blogger as Independent War Reporter?

War looks more and more inevitable now. The last one in Iraq was a disaster in terms of independent journalism, although the Bush administration probably seems it the opposite. Arguably the fact that the Pentagon had almost perfect control over the presses access to info in the Gulf War 1 was a major factor in the fact that it was so easy for Bush and Co to manufacture the Gulf War 2. How different is this one going to be?

There are few online attempts to provide an alternative information source for the Gulf War 2. Hope they do a better job then the mainstream press did a decade ago.

http://www.back-to-iraq.com/ is a pretty much unknown journalist, Christopher Allbritton, going at it alone. This is a real attempt to be an independent journalist using an online blog as the outlet.

http://www.kevinsites.net/ is the blog of CNN reporter Kevin Sites. Given that he gets paid by a big cable network his ability to speak his mind is a bit more truncated. Still this blog appears like he might have a "what I do on my own time is my own business' attitude. Hope that its true and he can provide a really candid view of the war.

http://dear_raed.blogspot.com/ is the blog of Salam Pax an Iraqi living in Bagdad. No pretenses of being journalism here, but its never the less far more informative about what's actually happening in Iraq then anything I've ever read in the papers. Good stuff, hope it can stay up and Salam can get through this evermore inevitable seeming nightmare untouched.

As the Bloodthirst Builds

how could “support democracy in Iraq” become to mean “bomb the hell out of Iraq”?

Drinking Green Art (and Politics)

Had drinks with Sam Bower director of the excellent Green Museum last night. Talked about the way that art movements don't take off unless there is a portion of the establishment that finds the philosophy of the art useful. Modernism for instance was a tool for the US government to push American ideals onto the world after World War II. A artistic complement to the Marshall Plan. The book to read apparently is How New York Stole the Idea of Modern Art. Its now on the top of my wish list.

Interesting to see how our new school imperialists in the Bush administration just don't get it. They push with raw power, without understanding that the war can't be won without a cultural victory. Of course winning a cultural war is just as distasteful to me as winning a military one. A cultural marriage on the other hand is quite intriguing. What happens when Islamic and Western culture mix? Could such a cross breed (if allowed to exist) lead us closer to a political movement of unity and peace?

Yet Another Specter

A Specter is Haunting Gaming. Hmmm isn't this great, all this time I've been thinking video games are this growing field where innovation and creativity can still lead to a successful new idea that also is profitable. Guess not, at least by this take on the industry. Sounds about halfway between the music and movie industries. Which is exactly where video game budgets sit.

Guess the game industry is just a bit too likely to vote democrat. Only the oil and war companies are allowed to flourish nowadays.

Psyops Stepping Fast

Target Iraq - Art of War is a collection of what seems to be psyops (psychological operations aka propaganda) fliers dropped on Iraq. No documentation though. If they are real (and they feel real to me) the scariest bit is the tone. They are all written as if the war is a given. Obviously there are psychological reasons to use that tense, but its damn messed up the way the military is taking this unneeded war for granted.

Key Lessig

Larry Lessig's SxSW Keynote [via Aaron Swartz: The Weblog]

Search and Resist

Resist!ca Activist Search Engine is a cool tool to search the web with all the corporate bs stripped out. Good stuff, although its obviously weighted towards a particular political result. Highly needed, even though I often prefer a more balanced set of results showing all sides to an issue.

Paint Fast, Young Revolution

The Stencil Revolution is gaining ground with Banksy in lead. Respect.

While One Hand Waves Iraq..

While making major noise with Iraq it appears that the Bush administration does have a bit of a domestic agenda. Not to improve the economy, but to crack down on the harmless makers of glass pipes. Raids Put Drug-Paraphernalia Traffickers Out of Business is the NYT headline, but word on the streets they mainly went after people selling hand blown artistic glass pipes. Guess the economy isn't bad enough and the feds want to put some more people out of business. 1984 pops up again as the spectre of war distracts us from the oppression in our back yard.

Reconstituted States

Adam Greenfield drops An Open-Source Constitution for Post-National States over on his excellent v-2 site. Tasty food for thought, although to be perfectly honest I'm not quite sure how it relates to the real world. And for god's sake if the goal is to move forward why hold onto the regressive concept of the state?

I've never drank the social contract Kool-Aid. There is something deeply disturbing about the fact that governments somehow are vested with the ability to control everything that goes on with a give territory. And as a reluctant citizen of the Bush-Cheney fiefdom I don't need to venture far to find an example of why vesting large amounts of power in Governments is problematic. If we are looking to build a better way organize society isn't it time we look beyond the state?

Big Bears, Stupid White Men

sophismata puts the bear market into a well needed historical perspective.

State of the Remix

Altered State of the Union

Real Men Know When to Pull Out

wake the world - copyright free anti-war posters

404 - No War

Cannot find Weapons of Mass Destruction

Political Mapage

So you want to know my politics? The Political Compass puts me as being strongly (but not extremely) libertarian (anti-authoritarian) on social/political issues and very close to the center leaning slightly to the right on economic issues. Closest label is anarchist. They're probably 75% right, their labeling system seems a touch dated, not sure my true politics would fit very neatly on their 2-D graph.

"Pirate" Maps

Where The Pirates Are is another interactive map for today, this one showing "piracy" rates for various countries.

Very interesting and highly informative, despite the fact that it reports some extremely dubious figures. All the "loss" figures are a load of crap. There is no way most people would really be buying all that software and movies at the official prices. How many people who are willing to download Photoshop for free would pay $600 for it? In Pakistan? It hasn't even been proven that file sharing and "piracy" are actually causing any losses at all. Last I checked having a bigger audience/user base was a good thing.

Right On, Move On

Virtual March on Washington Headquarters. Anti war gets digital.

Subcomandante Insurgente

Once again Subcomandante Marcos addresses the news with the strongest, clearest and most poetic voice around. Not sure where the english version is on the web so I'm placing it here.

"This is the war of fear.

Its objective is not to defeat Hussein in Iraq. Its goal is not to do
away with Al Qaeda. Nor does it seek to liberate the people of Iraq. It
is not justice, nor democracy, nor liberty which drives this terror. It
is fear.

Fear that the entire world will refuse to accept a policeman which tells
it what it should do, how it should do it and when it should do it. It
is fear.

Fear that the world will refuse to be treated like plunder.

Fear of that human essence which is called rebellion.

Fear that the millions of human beings who are mobilizing today
throughout the world will be victorious in raising the cause of peace."

Originally published in Spanish by the EZLN and the FZLN
************************************
Translated by irlandesa

http://www.fzln.org.mx

Communique' from the EZLN which was read during the demonstration in
Rome, Italy, on February 15, 2003. It was read by Heidi Giuliani, the
mother of activist Carlo, who was assassinated by the Italian police in
Genoa in July of 2001.

Zapatista Army of National Liberation.

Mexico.

February 15, 2003.

Brothers and Sisters of Rebel Italy:

Greetings from the men, women, children and old ones of the Zapatista
Army of National Liberation. Our word is made cloud in order to cross
the ocean and to reach the worlds which are in your hearts.

We know that today demonstrations are being held throughout the world in
order to say "No" to Bush's war against the people of Iraq.

And it must be said like that, because it is not a war by the North
American people, nor is it a war against Saddam Hussein.

It is a war by money, which is represented by Se~or Bush (perhaps in
order to emphasize that he is completely lacking in intelligence). And
it is against humanity, whose fate is now at stake on the soil of Iraq.

This is the war of fear.

Its objective is not to defeat Hussein in Iraq. Its goal is not to do
away with Al Qaeda. Nor does it seek to liberate the people of Iraq. It
is not justice, nor democracy, nor liberty which drives this terror. It
is fear.

Fear that the entire world will refuse to accept a policeman which tells
it what it should do, how it should do it and when it should do it. It
is fear.

Fear that the world will refuse to be treated like plunder.

Fear of that human essence which is called rebellion.

Fear that the millions of human beings who are mobilizing today
throughout the world will be victorious in raising the cause of peace.

Because the victims of those bombs which will be launched over Iraqi
lands will not only be Iraqi civilians, children, women, men and old
ones, whose deaths will be merely an accident in the headlong, arbitrary
path of he who, from his side, calls on God as an alibi for destruction
and death.

The person leading this stupidity (which is supported by Berlusconi in
Italy, Blair in England and Aznar in Spain), Se~or Bush, used money to
buy that power which he is trying to hurl upon the people of Iraq.

Because it must not be forgotten that Se~or Bush is the head of the
self-proclaimed world police, thanks to a fraud which was so immense that
it could only be covered up by the shadows of the twin towers in New
York, and by the blood of the victims of the terrorist attacks of
September 11, 2001.

Neither Hussein nor the Iraqi people matter to the North American
government. What matters to it is demonstrating that it can commit its
crimes in any part of the world, at any moment, and that it can do so
with absolute impunity.

The bombs which are to fall in Iraq seek also to fall on all the nations
of earth. They would also fall on our hearts, and thus universalize that
fear which they carry within.

This war is against all humanity, against all honest men and women.

This war seeks that we should know fear, that we should believe that he
who has money and military force also has right.

This war hopes that we shall shrug our shoulders, that we shall make
cynicism a new religion, that we shall remain silent, that we shall
conform, that we shall resign, that we shall surrender...that we shall
forget...

That we shall forget Carlo Giuliani, the rebel of Genoa.

For the zapatistas, we are the men who dream our dead. And today our
dead are dreaming a rebel "NO."

For us there is but one dignified word and one conscientious action in
the face of this war. The word "NO" and the rebel action.

That is why we must say "NO" to war.

A "NO" without conditions or excuses.

A "NO" without half measures.

A "NO" untarnished by gray areas.

A "NO" with all the colors which paint the world.

A "NO" which is clear, categorical, resounding, definitive, worldwide.

What is at stake in this war is the relationship between the powerful and
the weak. The powerful is powerful because he makes us weak. He lives
off our work, off our blood. That is how he grows fat while we languish.

The powerful have invoked God at their side in this war, so that we will
accept their power and our weakness as something that has been
established by divine plan.

But there is no god behind this war other than the god of money, nor any
right other than the desire for death and destruction.

The only strength of the weak is their dignity. That is what inspires
them to fight in order to resist the powerful, in order to rebel.

Today there is a "NO" which shall weaken the powerful and strengthen the
weak: the "NO" to war.

Some might ask whether the word which has convened so many throughout the
world will be capable of preventing the war or, once it has begun, of
stopping it.

But the question is not whether we can change the murderous march of the
powerful. No. The question we should be asking is: could we live with
the shame of not having done everything possible to prevent and stop this
war?

No honest man or woman can remain silent and indifferent at this moment.

All of us, each one in our own voice, in our own way, in our own
language, by our own action, must say "NO."

And, if the powerful wish to universalize fear through death and
destruction, we must universalize the "NO."

Because the "NO" to this war is also a "NO" to fear, a "NO" to
resignation, a "NO" to surrender, a "NO" to the forgetting, a "NO" to
renouncing our humanness.

It is a "NO" for humanity and against neoliberalism.

We would hope that this "NO" would transcend borders, that it would sneak
past customs, that it would overcome differences of language and culture,
and that it would unite the honest and noble part of humanity, which is
also, and it must not be forgotten, the majority.

Because there are negations which unite and dignify.

Because there are negations which affirm men and women in the best of
themselves, that is, in their dignity.

Today the skies of the world are clouded over with warplanes, with
missiles - which call themselves "intelligent" merely so that they can
conceal the stupidity of those who are in charge of them, and those who,
like Berlusconi, Blair and Aznar, justify them - with satellites which
point out where there is life and where there will be death.

And the land of the earth is tarnished with machines of war which would
paint the earth with blood and shame.

The storm comes.

But dawn shall come only if the words made cloud in order to cross
borders is turned into a "NO" made stone, and they make an opening in the
darkness, a crevice through which tomorrow can slip.

Brothers and sisters of rebel and dignified Italy:

Please accept this "NO" which we, the zapatistas, the smallest, are
sending you.

Allow our "NO" to unite with yours and with all the "NO's" which are
flourishing today throughout the earth.

Viva the rebellion which says "NO!"

Death to death!

>From the mountains of the Mexican Southeast.

By the Comandancia General of the
Clandestine Revolutionary Indigenous Committee of the
Zapatista Army of National Liberation.

Subcomandante Insurgente Marcos

Mexico, February of 2003.

Rise Up Streetside

A New Power in the Streets front page New York Times. Right on, for once street protest is making an impact on the traditional media. Here's to more to come.

Impeach!

Can't make it the protests in SF today, but I am behind my computer, so here is me playing my part.

Merriam-Webster definition 2 of impeach: to cast doubt on; especially : to challenge the credibility or validity of.

As the Bush administration continues to manipulate the media like a virtuoso, its time to start question their actions. To cast doubt upon Bush.

These images are designed to multiply, to spread throughout our visual frames of reference. They are released to the public domain. They can be used freely for whatever purpose you so desire. They are free. You can alter, use and share them at your leisure and/or haste. High quality vector art is available to all. The Bush administration PR machine is high gear, lets get the opposition marketing operation rolling in response.

www.abe1x.org/impeachbush/

Spread the word in the name of freedom.

Internet Pathways to Metaphors

Doc Searls has an interesting column on the metaphors underlying the recent arguments on copyrights. Even more interesting for me though was the hyperlinked + google journey it sent me on. Been a while since I've jumped off on that sort of exploration of new ideas. An excellent counterpart to warning about over reliance on the internet for news I just posted.

Searls references an essay by George Lakoff, a cognitive scientist I had previously known nothing about. Haven't had enough time to really figure out how much I agree with his theory on the moral metaphors behind American Conservatism and Liberalism, but it is certainly innovative and interesting. Makes a great companion piece to this weekend's "Memo to the Democrats: Quit Being Losers!" NYT Magazine piece.

Looking for more info on Lakoff lead me to this excellent edge.org interview. Lakoff comes off as one of the rare thinkers who is able to let his ideas evolve all over the traditional academic boundries, leaving a trail of insite behind. Leave no doubt his books are now on my wish list...