tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-323156002024-03-07T21:51:31.823-05:00Thru a Glass Half EmptyI am arguably bitter and acerbic (and sardonic, nihilistic, etc. etc. etc.) in both my tongue and my rather stilted perception of how the world operates - or at least <i>should</i> operate . There's plenty of candy floss vid-clip-level thoughts "out there" elsewhere to melt in your mind with no effort on your part. This stuff here, however, actually requires you pick those ideas out of your mind (and perhaps your craw) after chewing on them and thinking about them... Bon Appetit....http://www.blogger.com/profile/00521209008932814942noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32315600.post-22338749785595921762010-08-16T18:10:00.005-04:002010-08-16T19:11:56.009-04:00Home Skooling - Being Stung With Reality<div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">This started innocently enough...</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> I was looking for a picture of a caterpillar I found on my tomato plantand found the same one here at a site called "</span></span><a href="http://www.writeontheirhearts.com/2009/09/12/i-really-couldnt-make-this-stuff-up/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Write on Their Hearts</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">". How cute. Here's the pic of the little devil:</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333333;"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 264px; height: 300px;" src="http://www.writeontheirhearts.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/thcat-264x300.jpg" border="0" alt="" /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div></span></div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Apparently this is a </span></span><i><a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=Hy91lg-OK_IC&lpg=PA204&ots=FtpyB9-1vt&dq=tobacco%20hornworm%20caterpillar%20cotesia&pg=PA204#v=onepage&q=tobacco%20hornworm%20caterpillar%20cotesia&f=false"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">tobacco hornworm caterpillar</span></span></a></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. The white things attached to him are the cocoons of a particular kind of wasp - </span></span><i><a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=Hy91lg-OK_IC&lpg=PA204&ots=FtpyB9-1vt&dq=tobacco%20hornworm%20caterpillar%20cotesia&pg=PA204#v=onepage&q=tobacco%20hornworm%20caterpillar%20cotesia&f=false"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">costesia congregata</span></span></a></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. The wasp is a parasite, laying its eggs inside the caterpillar which then has to eat for everyone -</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">hence the lack of tomato plant I just discovered in only one day - until the larvae hatch, fly away, and leave the caterpillar for dead. Nice huh. If the caterpillar is left to its own devices it could grow into this, a moth the </span></span><i><a href="http://entweb.clemson.edu/museum/moths/local/moth1.htm"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">manduca sexta</span></span></a></i><a href="http://entweb.clemson.edu/museum/moths/local/moth1.htm"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> - or Carolina Sphinx Moth</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> - almost 4" inches across: </span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></span></div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 380px; height: 162px;" src="http://entweb.clemson.edu/museum/moths/local/moth1.jpg" border="0" alt="" /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Now this person was extolling how this tomato/backyard event was a great example of homeschooling form - learning about nature right there. Fine.</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">But then I decided to read some of this person's other "blog" entries on homeschool. This is where homeschooling goes right down the toilet as utter lies and bullshit:<br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><i><a href="http://www.writeontheirhearts.com/tag/christopher-columbus/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FF6600;">Christopher Columbus</span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FF6600;">:</span></span></span></i></span></div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FF6600;"><br /></span></span></span></i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FF6600;">Our family has begun the journey into American history and has started with Christopher Columbus. Although Columbus day is still a month away, we are excited about learning who Christopher Columbus is, the impact that he had on America becoming who it is today, and how God used him to set His plans in motion. [...]</span></span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /><br /><br />Um, yeah. Right. God directed Chris in his masterful plan and THAT's the important story here. Um, no. So I posted this response on the caterpillar page (since it's moderated you can bet it'll never make it there):<br /></span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FF6600;">This is creepy, selectively edited, and painfully lacking in the reality of what propelled Columbus here. Hope you told your kids about </span></span></span><a href="http://womenshistory.about.com/cs/medrenqueens/p/p_isabella_i.htm"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FF6600;">Queen Isabella</span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FF6600;"> and King Ferdinand and how they wanted to basically rape the New World of its resources? Oh, and did you include that little “show” she dreamt up, what was it called? Oh yeah </span></span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Inquisition"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FF6600;">THE SPANISH INQUISITION</span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FF6600;"> with its 45,000 cases and almost a thousand executions. Or did you leave that part out…. Home skuling iz gud fer kidz.</span></span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /><br />OK, so it's a little heavy handed but JEEZUH!. But why this creeps me out even more was because earlier today I was watching TV (and basic reduced cable affords less choice and certainly more density of religious crap channels, BTN, CBN etc.) and saw Pat Robertson's CBN (Christian Broadcasting Network) and their "news" segment was on. Think FOX, but then add just about every evangelistic turn on it you could imagine and you have their 'news' segment. The anchor was just finishing a segment about the Islamic Faith Center being planned in Manhattan (</span></span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/32527116@N06/4819485742/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">which is NO WHERE NEAR 'ground zero' you morons</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">) touting that more than 70% of Americans don't want it there. First of all: tough shit (that goes for the Anti-Defamation League's misguided propaganda on this and anyone else who doesn't like it. The "they should be sensitive" is just a bullshit, anti-Muslim ruse. Period). When the piece was finished Robertson when on to say to his cohost (who nodded approvingly) that<br /><br /></span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FF6600;">"Well, you know, the President's second name IS _Hussein_ ... there is some "lineage" there",<br /></span></span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FF6600;"><br /></span>HOLY SHIT. I mean, literally, holy, smoking, reeking pile of BULLSHIT.<br /><br />and </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">then </span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">he went on to say (I am paraphrasing but this is damn close):</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FF6600;">"Islam is a system not only of religion but also political and economic power!"</span></span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FF6600;"><br /></span><br />Right. And Christianity NEVER did anything in the name of Commerce. Yeah, how 'bout this gem from the American ENTERPRISE Institute: "</span></span><a href="http://www.aei.org/book/928"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Religion and the American Future</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">"<br /><br /><br />So back to our "Christopher Columbus was doing God's work home skooling mother in buttf**k nowhere, square state, U.S. of A."... Look, Pat Robertson and her are one in the same. They hock stories of saccharine sweet Christianity while eviscerating the reality of the damage its extracted along the way. N</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">eed I say two words: Pope + Children. Today</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> Robertson blathered on about the mosque being built being a "Cordoba" symbolic of Muslim domination in Spain. And this "homeschooling" savant is saying Christopher Columbus was directed by God's purpose - which, under Queen Isabella meant </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_II_of_Aragon"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">expelling the Muslims from</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">... guess where... Cordoba. These psychopaths are of the same ilk. </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">And all the while they live in these imagined spaces in their heads about THEIR purpose in directing the lives of OTHERS. </span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">And like Robertson, who bullshits about Christian tolerance while spewing hateful bigotry, my home skooler decided that the most effective way to "teach" her children was to leave the caterpillar in a sealed jar, allow the wasps to hatch, and watch it </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">suffer.</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> Maybe this was "God's Plan"? I don't think so. And she knew the caterpillar was in pain. </span></span><a href="http://www.writeontheirhearts.com/2009/09/15/the-wasps-hatched/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">She even filmed it and talks about its discomfort of being "bothered" by being encased in glass surrounded by all these wasps</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> that just escaped their cocoons. I don't recall "God" putting mortal enemies into cages to watch them "bother" each other as part of "learning".</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">And its the self-righteousness of both this woman and Pat Robertson that bind them together. They are both purveyors of lies while they </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">prosthelytize </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">that they are some how agents of the "good" God, of wholesome </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Christian</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> goodness. But those wasps ARE going to escape. And when they do they will sting you idiots back into reality - a plague upon you all, you moralists, you selfish, self-centered and insular morons. Now that's some "schooling" I want to watch. In the meantime I'm letting my caterpillar eat all my plant, grow as strong as he can and perhaps he'll/she'll make it through the birth of the wasps, and they'll fly free. After all, isn't that the 'christian' (purposefully small 'c') thing to do?</span></span></span></div></div></div></div>...http://www.blogger.com/profile/00521209008932814942noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32315600.post-75642244937048188172008-09-04T17:15:00.007-04:002008-09-04T18:25:27.740-04:00I'd rather have a "Community Organizer" than a "Hockey Mom" Running the CountryI'm frankly DISGUSTED by the comments made by Sarah Palin last night <a href="http://elections.nytimes.com/2008/president/conventions/videos/transcripts/20080903_PALIN_SPEECH.html">in her speech at the GOP Convention in St. Paul</a>. To belittle and degrade "community organizing" as not a competent form of experience was more than just "politics" as David Brooks suggested in interviews that followed it. It was a stinging attack that tried to frame Palin as somehow more "experienced" to lead. Specifically I wanted to wipe that smirk off her smug-ass face when she said:<br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 102); font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >"I guess -- I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a community organizer, except that you have actual responsibilities."</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">Sure Ms. Palin - except responsibilities means getting results. Responsibilities means improving the life lot of your residents - keeping them from harm, getting them jobs. So why have your "responsibilities" left your residents of Wasilla worse off than Baltimore in some important measures.</span> Must be "tough going" out there - but wait isn't Wassila, AL "Everytown, USA"? No, it's a town with problems. Still. Still after her leadership on city council and as mayor.<br /><br />In fact after the accusations that Palin wasn't experienced enough to be V.P. to McCain the Republican mantra-machinery trotted out the idea that she has more "executive experience" than Obama. OK, so she was Mayor of <a href="http://www.city-data.com/city/Wasilla-Alaska.html">Wassila, Alaska (population about 9800</a>, 2007). Whoopee fucking doo. While the picture everyone is painting is that Wassila is "small town America" is it? Sure it has a generally lower crime rate. But in this 75% white-person town (and <span style="font-style: italic;">that's not</span> Everytown, USA, now is it? That's Republican-Wanna-Be-Land) it was interesting to discover the following:<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Wassila, AL is more violent than Baltimore, MD</span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);">:</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;"><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-style: italic;">From 2001-2005</span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span></span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-style: italic;font-size:100%;" >violent assaults in Wassila, AL have CONSITENTLY ranked above the rate of assaults found in Baltimore</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-style: italic;font-size:100%;" >, MD - </span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" ><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.city-data.com/city/Wasilla-Alaska.html">a range of 950-1618/100,000 persons</a></span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-style: italic;font-size:100%;" > for Wassila, compared to </span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" ><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.city-data.com/city/Baltimore-Maryland.html">990-1350 assaults/100,000 persons</a></span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-style: italic;font-size:100%;" > in Baltimore, for the same period of 2001-2005.</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span></span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-style: italic;font-size:100%;" ><span>This includes time while Palin was Mayor</span>.</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-style: italic;"> Nice work Mayor!</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102); font-weight: bold;">And Wassila has higher arson rates than Baltimore too!</span><br /></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" >In 2002, the last year Palin was Mayor of Wassila, arson in Everytown, USA was almost <span style="font-style: italic;">three times the rate</span> of that found in Baltimore, that same year, and most years of Baltimore's rates. (</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" href="http://www.city-data.com/city/Wasilla-Alaska.html">124.6/100,000</a></span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" > vs. </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" href="http://www.city-data.com/city/Baltimore-Maryland.html">51.3/100,000</a></span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size:100%;">).</span><br /><br /></span>Assaults, by the way are important crime statistics. They are even more worrisome to police than murders because murders are assaults whose intent has been completed. Assault then generally those "murders" where the people never quite end up dead - they've been violently attack with the intent to maybe carry it further. That's why we measure them - they are a better indicator of ambient violence than just measuring murder - they are a measure of the proclivity of people to actually act on harming one another. So, while Baltimore's murder rate might be higher Sarah Palin's legacy to Wasilla's is a more violent life world than Baltimore, MD - who knew.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e1/Wasilla_cityhall.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e1/Wasilla_cityhall.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 102);">Wasilla City Hall - Home of Experienceville, USA - Sarah Palin's legacy to her town rates of arson and assault higher than those of Baltimore, MD. Nice work Mrs. Mayor! Now THAT's what I call "executive experience" and "responsibility"!</span><br /><br />Now Baltimore is hardly "Pleasantville" but when the Republicans use Wassila, AL as the experience touch stone of a woman that is touted as having more "executive experience" than Barak Obama <span style="font-style: italic;">and that person, Sarah Palin, is unable to keep the town as safe as Baltimore</span>....well then it gives me pause. At least here, in Murdaland I can be more secure someone won't assault me or burn my house down than if I lived under Sarah Palin's "better executive experience" and ability to keep me secure.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">So let's see Palin served two terms on the </span><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wasilla,_Alaska" title="Wasilla, Alaska">Wasilla, Alaska</a><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">, </span><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_council" title="City council">city council</a><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"> from 1992 to 1996, then won two terms as </span><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayor" title="Mayor">mayor</a><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"> of Wasilla from 1996 to 2002. And her legacy is a town with assault and arson rates higher than Baltimore and an unemployment rate above the average of other Alaska towns.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> So just what is this "executive experience" thing that Republicans are trotting out now, saying she has more than Obama, more than a "community organizer", and how has it served these residents so well I have to wonder.</span><br /><br />Me, well I'm biased. I've worked as a community organizer as well. <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">Hell if we want to compare "executive experience" I have as much as Sarah Palin - Better Waverly, the area I live in in Baltimore is comprised of about 1300 households - with about 5 persons per household let's say or a population of about 6500 people.</span> And the challenges I've worked on, the grants and finances and planning we've done are hella more complicated and challenging then running some podunk white town. So for my part I admire "experience" that is grounded in REALITY - not some cut-off sliver. That doesn't diminish Wassila as a place, nor its people. But it does say that it cannot be held up as an example that the experiences there will necessarily translate into efficacy in other, larger, more complicated, more challenging realms. And the same goes for the Governorship "executive experience". <span style="font-weight: bold;">Alaskan experience isn't simply going to cut it on the large stage - there are more voices, issues, politics and problems to deal with. It's not just a matter of scaling up the work.</span><br /><br />And so for me I want a community organizer, not some "hockey mom" to run the country. I want a person who is experienced as an international diplomat. Not some "mini van driving" townie. And puhleeeze... the Palins are hardly "the usual folk". The "usual folk" right now can't figure out where they are going to get the money <span style="font-style: italic;">to fill</span> the mini-van with gas. Sheila Dixon, here in Baltimore, has subscribed to some of the same kind of misplaced rhetoric as Palin here in Baltimore - saying she wants to first "be everybodies friend". Her role, and the same for Palin, is not to be a "mom" or a "friend" - it's to get shit done. It's to engage in constructive conflict (conflict is not all bad remember).<br /><br />Chumming up to families is not getting stuff done. It's kissing their asses... and in the case of Palin this is while she lets others burn their houses down and let them get jumped in the alley outside some Wassila bar. Who knew I would think I would be safer in Baltimore?...http://www.blogger.com/profile/00521209008932814942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32315600.post-54250043989518822312008-09-02T00:26:00.007-04:002008-09-04T23:23:00.316-04:00Apparently It's Not the Same When a Republican's Kid is Pregnant Out of WedlockOK. Let's get real for a moment shall we. It DOES matter that Bristol Palin daughter of Sarah Paling the newly minted V.P. Nominee for the Republican Party, has a bun in the oven, is pregnant, and out of wedlock. To try to pretend otherwise just shows this party as the two-faced bullshit artists they've always been. They made this issue a cornerstone of vitriolic <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2007/mar/21/nation/na-abortion21">anti-black propaganda and social control (anti-anyone not white, more correctly)</a> for decades. But along comes Bristol Palin, daughter of Sarah Palin, and some how it's different! La dee da! Flowers and fields and pregnant teenage mothers running together! Feeling strong... all "womany" and stuff. What the fuck...<br /><br /><a href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=184086&title=sarah-palin-gender-card">Jon Stewart shows the two-faces assholes of the Conservative media and the GOP for what they are; picking them one by one he shows clips of when they said one thing that supported their candidate and then turned around and said EXACTLY the opposite thing, under the same subject about the Democrats.</a> Including teen pregancy, playing the gender card and "Sarah Palin's" experience issue. It's a bit of a digression here to cover so much but check the clip - it's all there. One by one Karl Rove, Bill O'Reilly, Dick Morris, and Nancy Pfotenhauer are shown to be truly collosal idiots who will say anything - the will LIE through their teeth - to get elected. For example, Karl Phat Fuck Rove is showsn saying that Sarah Palin is a experienced for being mayor and governor - of a town of 9000 people. Then in a clip just weeks earlier he is shown calling the possible choice of Tim Kaine as V.P. on Obama's ticket would be "an intensely political choice," noting that Richmond, VA, with its population of 190,000 is America's 105th largest city: "It's not a big town" Rove says. Of course Kaine, can hardly hold a candle to Governor Palin's 48th most populated state in the country vs. his 12th most populated state... Being Governor of a state barely larger than the population of Washington D.C. must be excruciatingly difficult. Phew!<br /><br /><embed flashvars="'videoId=" 184086="" src="%27http://www.thedailyshow.com/sitewide/video_player/view/default/swf.jhtml%27"></embed><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 102);font-size:130%;" >So then what are the rest of Republicans saying about their Teenage Unwed Pregnant Family Member?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">"It makes her (Sarah Palin) just like other people" </span><br />Just like "other people" huh? Funny, I thought "other people" weren't having babies out of wedlock? That's not what "they" do. And keep in mind, in this double-speak mentality, "they" or "other" means "other Republicans" - Republicans are <span style="font-style: italic;">never</span> going to be those <span style="font-style: italic;">other</span> "Other People", you know.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">"This is different because she won't be using foodstamps and welfare"</span><br />You people are fucking idiots: While <a href="http://www.jointcenter.org/DB/factsheet/sigpatn.htm">the proportion of black children being raised in single-headed family households is higher than whites</a> the sheer <span style="font-style: italic;">number</span> of single-parented households by <span style="font-style: italic;">white</span>s is far higher when taking account their proportionate volume of the population (roughly 60% whites vs. 20% blacks). Go and get your (our, I'm white, btw) tubes tied and shut the fuck up about blacks and hispanics. <a href="http://www.questia.com/googleScholar.qst;jsessionid=L8QfGxmHvHnxnSGLW8b62N0Ly2c9LBG0SqN12CjmmhzyLP0J1Lq6%21202834244?docId=5001384550">Maybe if we didn't make their lives a living hell</a> and put 2/3 of their fathers in jail (more than whites for the same crimes, so don't pull that "They did the crime" shit on me here either) then they'd <span style="font-style: italic;">have</span> dads now wouldn't they...<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">She's keeping the child and "I'm blessed by her decision she "Chose Life"</span> said one male Republican at the convention.<br />Two words for you: Fuck-off. OK, more than two - "It's not your body" <span style="font-style: italic;">and</span> "Fuck Off".<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">"I think this makes us stronger."</span><br />Bullshit. Stronger my fucking ass. Read this you dimwits: <span style="font-weight: bold;">This is </span><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.gop.com/images/2004platform.pdf">from YOUR own Republican Party Platform speech, given June 11, 2004,</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> by YOUR president, George W. Bush where he outlines unwed births as a health issue to be ended:</span><br /><blockquote style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 102);">"Each year more than three million American teenagers contract sexually transmitted diseases, causing emotional harm and serious health consequences, even death. We support efforts to educate teens and parents about the health risks associated with early sexual activity and provide the tools needed to help teens make healthy choices. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Abstinence from sexual activity is the only protection that is 100 percent effective</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">against out-of-wedlock pregnancies</span> and sexually transmitted diseases, including sexually transmitted HIV/AIDS. Therefore, we support doubling abstinence education funding. <span style="font-weight: bold;">We oppose school-based clinics that provide referrals, counseling, and related services for contraception and abortion</span>."(p 81)</blockquote>Just in time to keep sex ed from Bristol I guess huh? And "makes us stronger" huh? That's why THE REPUBLICAN PARTY put it into their platform speech of 2004 to get rid of it? That's why Ms. Sarah Palin, supporter of "abstinence based sex education" had her daughter go off and get pregnant - so they would be stronger? Guess all those teenage girls oughta put on their low rise jeans and go "get stronger" huh? (This just in... Oh, wait it was "just in" a year ago - I guess Ms. Palin never got the memo: <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/13/AR2007041301003.html?hpid=moreheadlines">Abstinence-based sex education programs do not delay sexual activity</a>. And while the administration has no plans of accepting the findings of the study - they rather have more car-crash family fuck-ups like the Palins instead I thought I'd share it here again. Just thought maybe she'd like to have this for her other daughter maybe...<br /><br />But back to the point - The point being played out here is that somehow it doesn't matter when some smary, white, Republican gets knocked up all '<a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&ct=res&cd=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.npr.org%2Ftemplates%2Fstory%2Fstory.php%3FstoryId%3D19274346&ei=dcm8SJyrL6XEeqC70Y4D&usg=AFQjCNEgki2n1IxAP9LDFQ5XkEASbu0ndQ&sig2=D1VHz35E6Cn7NgGekU7eYg">Juno</a>' like. But for decades it has mattered for Republicans. And not withstanding the difficult time Ms. Bristol Palin has ahead, and in no ways am I demonizing here, it is absolutely hypocritical of the Republican Party to try to spin this as some kind of "fortunate accident" of salvation.<br /><br />And while Obama was careful and I think noble in his comments when asked and he said "Look my mother had me when I was 18... this is a family matter" what he didn't get to say Tavis Smiley did later on while talking with Newt Gingrich this evening. Tavis asked Gingrich "So how do you think this whole political thing is playing out" (I'm paraphrasing) and Newt said... Blah, Blah, Blah... it won't be playing in three days etc. But Smiley came back and laid him out: "I can show you year after year, tape after tape, of Republicans going after Black unwed mothers." Gingrich hedged it again.... But then again, it's different if your a Republican unwed mother, daughter to the V.P. nominee for the party though isn't it....<br /><br />(BTW, this doesn't change the 'problem' - it's a problem given the particularly inflexible social structure of our times - of single-parented households. And particularly is difficult on Black folk. Listen, learn, hear more on NPR on <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4865449">Out of Wedlock Births in the Black Community</a>. Then go form your own EDUCATED position on the topic. Not some bullshit soundbite that's going to get someone an office on Pennsylvania Avenue. Oh, and this was the best comment of the whole night, from a female teen, interviewed on the street:<br /><blockquote style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 102);">Wow.. I mean, if she (Sarah Palin) can't control her own kids I can't see how she's going to control a country. I mean, I just don't see it happening.</blockquote>'nuf said. This isn't some disenchanted 'Hillary Supporter'. This is a person that sees something for what it is. A sham of trying to spin something back in the other direction after you've spent years trying to tar people with the issue. How's it feel now the brush is in the others' hands? Obama took the high road ... I wouldn't be so sure I wouldn't WAP! you one with that brush......http://www.blogger.com/profile/00521209008932814942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32315600.post-36269379658484561552008-08-31T14:38:00.010-04:002008-08-31T15:41:54.504-04:00Gustav The Guilter - How a Hurricane Reminds Republicans They've Failed Americans<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl5h5wFi76c9ABs-2HIjMtMCNbZgbR9-9OzEfckm5bbmgkiVGo-Eci4KmL8Gv2LfmAXAn-wikpeck2kgKjte1R8EUwK6_NN5mjgGJN0gsVSX0F7hUv7_PwdpOfs2SGaN_i_4sK/s1600-h/two_atl.gif"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 376px; height: 306px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl5h5wFi76c9ABs-2HIjMtMCNbZgbR9-9OzEfckm5bbmgkiVGo-Eci4KmL8Gv2LfmAXAn-wikpeck2kgKjte1R8EUwK6_NN5mjgGJN0gsVSX0F7hUv7_PwdpOfs2SGaN_i_4sK/s320/two_atl.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240753542484463970" border="0" /></a><br />There is no way I am about to applaud the media circus that has become Bush, Cheney and Chertoff dancing around in front of cameras, making preparations for hurricane Gustav's land fall, due to slam the northern Gulf Coast in about a day's time. Nor will I subscribe to McCain's iterations that he's making changes in the GOP convention to be sensitive about this possible catastrophe. This all "day late, dollar short" bullshit by politicians as usual. I, for one (out of dorky interest and car crash mentality too, no doubt) regularly read <a href="http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/index.shtml">the National Hurricane Center's forecast pages</a> around this time every year and <span style="font-style: italic;">Gustav has been brewing for well over a week now</span>. If you see the map there are more "Convention Spoilers" coming off of Africa right now - how 'bout "#2" there huh! Betcha that'll be something to pay attention to ... when it gets within a hundred miles of a coastline...maybe.... But it is only within the last 24 hours that Republicans and the President's Office have swung into action... er, um, swung in front of the cameras anyways. But not to save Louisiana or its people... to save their political careers. With the third anniversary of hurricane Katrina just passed people are well aware of what they've not done, they see the political damage this cost... and it will cost them the Presidency. As it should.<br /><br />Recapping then for action to take place now, three years later, it requires the confluence of the humility-inducing <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/katrina/katrina_timeline.html"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAckDyn78OAIZ33tBbluLRmJMyEw_ckE9QnipObnEhovrkpY7eDgQMzb0f4pJG4S9ndMerqiS1vJzGpgdvw2JFDe442M6kz-hStcMKPXOhWv5qof4ygYqvP8GbHl3MuH8rMYbz/s320/20050902LADM132.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240755931614159330" border="0" /></a><a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/katrina/katrina_timeline.html">hurricane Katrina</a>, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=George_W._Bush:_Hurricane_Katrina#Vacation_as_Usual">a vacationing president</a> (as usual), a <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/05/AR2005090501590.html">horse racing focused idiot FEMA director</a>, <a href="http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2008/02/formaldehyde_risks_in_trailers.html">formaldehyde filled trailers</a> (which were never supposed to be used), three years of inaction, stupidity, <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5022571">politicking and bickering</a> (Dems too), and THEN a pending Republican Convention (following the brilliance of the Dems frankly) and the arrival of <a href="http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/graphics_at2.shtml?5day#contents">hurricane Gustav</a> - <span style="font-style: italic;">and importantly on the eve of the Republican Convention</span> - to remind Americans that a) they've not done their due diligence to help New Orleans back to its feet, and b) that "small government" Republicanism has NOT been the solution to "getting things done".<br /><br />No, instead while we funnel billions of dollars overseas - whether in war or in corporate investments, oil and so forth - we let our own folk live in a risk society that is not of their making, in which they are basically imprisoned. And instead preparations for avoiding a second "Katrina" scenario have evolved into photo ops and <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/washington/AP-CVN-Convention-Rdp.html">lots of talk about "acting as Americans not republicans" and being sensitive about the plight of others during the coming onslaught.</a><br /><br />So changes are afoot! Action is being taken! Convention schedules altered! Republicans are standing to together as AMERICANS on the eve of this possible disaster! But wait.... Why is there NO mention AT ALL of Gustav on the Republican Convention website pages (this is 3:20PM on Sunday btw). I really, really, really hate bullshit and lies:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv3aWMnWybiGZIzn5RyCnmzN5zNVSHY8mqBKCnIR5OITESB1Cp8f1XvvLEFvTdjEhHNFDHzcanVcGG1CyU1Du-sAwzItBQXZBjln_ugoA_3ujWFAXKF72uKOIZmSAxy8kwKE1C/s1600-h/Picture+1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 398px; height: 190px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv3aWMnWybiGZIzn5RyCnmzN5zNVSHY8mqBKCnIR5OITESB1Cp8f1XvvLEFvTdjEhHNFDHzcanVcGG1CyU1Du-sAwzItBQXZBjln_ugoA_3ujWFAXKF72uKOIZmSAxy8kwKE1C/s400/Picture+1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240764340805215730" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"></span><blockquote><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">All talk and no action? While McCain talks of changes to the Republican convention because of hurricane Gustav, yet <span>the GOP Convention website makes</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> no mention of Gustav... at all.</span></span></blockquote></div>To be fair the Democrats don't have it on their pages but they're not the ones saying they're changing their convention schedule. So let's face it - this is window dressing on the need to accomplish two separate goals for the Republicans - get the convention in and look good, and show that Bush has done something in the past three years, that Republicans have done something <span style="font-style: italic;">for Americans</span>. If McCain really wanted to he could cancel the convention, delegates could send in ballots by mail, etc. But, no, you can't do that can you? Too much MONEY has been invested. Too many DONORS have contributed etc. Truth is laid bare here I think. And as for Shrub... it's just a pathetic swan song. New Orleans remains a disaster area and he remains the President under whom it happened - and allowed much of it to happen. No amount of sucking up to cameras will change that.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.cagle.com/news/HurricanesGas/images/keefe.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://www.cagle.com/news/HurricanesGas/images/keefe.gif" alt="" border="0" /></a>And three years later were still sitting on gas prices increases <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9146363/">caused during Katrina</a>. That's not going away. In this political cartoon Keefe notes we need a better energy policy. Yet, three years later where are we? Oh, wait, all of a sudden McCain is all about "windpower"!... Hmmm, maybe it's just "the prunes" talking.......http://www.blogger.com/profile/00521209008932814942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32315600.post-55679549715486712132008-08-29T17:06:00.008-04:002008-09-04T23:21:34.840-04:00McCain's selection of Sarah Palin: Radical or Unsettling?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.cbc.ca/gfx/images/news/photos/2008/08/29/vp-maccain-cp-5416664.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 174px; height: 238px;" src="http://www.cbc.ca/gfx/images/news/photos/2008/08/29/vp-maccain-cp-5416664.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">"There, there John... don't worry, here's </span><span style="font-style: italic;">your baby mama</span><span style="font-style: italic;">!"</span>. Ugh. I can't help but wonder whether or not there is something more to this than meets the eye... And not simply a calculated attempt to win over disenchanted Hillary Clinton-ites from the Dems. I remember reading about Sarah Palin a while back, and thinking, yes, she is a maverick, and yes, she does stand up to her other GOP old school cronies. So good for her. And first of all let's get it out there that this is not so shocking - <a href="http://palinforvp.blogspot.com/">it's been in the works for over a year.</a><div><br /></div><div>But let's be clear. She's also championed her keeping of her child through pregnancy and not having an abortion after learning it would be born with Down's Syndrome into some kind of cause celebre for Pro Life. I don't think she did it intentionally but I sure as hell don't see her stopping McCain and others in the campaign from using it as such either. That makes her complicit in using her child as a stump speech for Pro Life. </div><div><br /></div><div>And, once again (Surprise, surprise...) the elite Republicans have missed the point: She was also <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">able to keep this child</span>. While her husband is being painted as "blue collar" (remember position isn't everything - income matters too) I have the sneaky suspicion she and husband had the means, the health coverage, the access to schools and support to make this birth tenable. I am NOT saying it isn't "noble" - It's despicable however when others use it as the case that ALL women should have their babies then, regardless of their ability to provide them meaningful and comfortable lives. But back to the main point...</div><div><br /></div><div>Karl Rove phoned Lieberman and told him to bug off. I have little reason to believe he wasn't involved in this arrangement either. Why should that matter? Well because Rove is a slimy, lying, prick that belongs in jail (and don't even try to contest that charge) so there is no reason to trust him that he selected Palin to further champion the rights of women in politics. It's a calculated political decision to get Republicans into the White House again - at whatever cost to the moral and political fabric of most of the country. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/30/opinion/30sat2.html?ref=opinion">From the NY Times</a>:<br /><br /><blockquote style="font-style: italic;">The McCain campaign is eagerly citing Governor Palin’s appeal to Christian conservatives, as a Christian and mother of five whose oldest son is in the Army and will leave for Iraq on Sept. 11. “<span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">She’s exactly who I need</span>,” said Mr. McCain, a Capitol insider who is trying to make the case that he can shake up Washington as president.</blockquote><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Yes, exactly who McCAIN needs to win the ticket. Not what Americans need. Not what women need. Not what environmentalists need.</span> No, what Republicans need. A "maverick" is someone who breaks the rules all over the place - not just standing up to one or two fellow party members. <a href="http://www.new.facebook.com/share_redirect.php?h=6a337732857106d78aca9e09ca46b374&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.now.org%2Fpress%2F08-08%2F08-29.html&sid=23884476771">As NOW (National Organization of Women) notes - while Palin might speak to women who share similar interests and challenges she clearly does NOT speak for women</a>. And as <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/30/opinion/30collins-.html?ref=opinion">Gail Collins of the NY Times also notes:</a><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><blockquote>"I do feel kind of ticked off at the assumptions that the Republicans seem to be making about female voters. It’s a tad reminiscent of the Dan Quayle selection, when the first George Bush’s advisers decided they could close the gender gap with a cute running mate....The idea that women are going to race off to vote for any candidate with the same internal plumbing is both offensive and historically wrong.</blockquote></span></div><div>In the coming days we'll see more on her no doubt as the muck raking machinery gets to work. For my part I will say I'm pleased to see a choice that shakes things up. But I am unsettled by who's still doing the shaking...<br /><br />This is an edit - add-on from another post - it bears being in two places to make the point:<br /><a href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=184086&title=sarah-palin-gender-card"><br /></a><a href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=184086&title=sarah-palin-gender-card">Jon Stewart shows the two-faces assholes of the Conservative media and the GOP for what they are; picking them one by one he shows clips of when they said one thing that supported their candidate and then turned around and said EXACTLY the opposite thing, under the same subject about the Democrats.</a><a href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=184086&title=sarah-palin-gender-card"> </a>Including teen pregancy, playing the gender card and "Sarah Palin's" experience issue. It's a bit of a digression here to cover so much but check the clip - it's all there. One by one Karl Rove, Bill O'Reilly, Dick Morris, and Nancy Pfotenhauer are shown to be truly collosal idiots who will say anything - the will LIE through their teeth - to get elected. For example, Karl Phat Fuck Rove is showsn saying that Sarah Palin is a experienced for being mayor and governor - of a town of 9000 people. Then in a clip just weeks earlier he is shown calling the possible choice of Tim Kaine as V.P. on Obama's ticket would be "an intensely political choice," noting that Richmond, VA, with its population of 190,000 is America's 105th largest city: "It's not a big town" Rove says. Of course Kaine, can hardly hold a candle to Governor Palin's 48th most populated state in the country vs. his 12th most populated state... Being Governor of a state barely larger than the population of Washington D.C. must be excruciatingly difficult. Phew!<br /></div>...http://www.blogger.com/profile/00521209008932814942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32315600.post-49071301802750510802008-08-25T22:42:00.022-04:002008-08-26T02:16:26.261-04:00Michelle Obama "...needs to be less Jackée and more Jackie O." - Byron Pitts, CBS<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >More of this! How wonderfully 'Camelot'!</span><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://cache.boston.com/bonzai-fba/Original_Photo/2006/02/01/1138815275_0898.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 172px; height: 264px;" src="http://cache.boston.com/bonzai-fba/Original_Photo/2006/02/01/1138815275_0898.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://popwatch.ew.com/photos/uncategorized/10316__jackee_l.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 197px; height: 263px;" src="http://popwatch.ew.com/photos/uncategorized/10316__jackee_l.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-style: italic;">Less</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">of </span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0); font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;font-size:130%;" >this</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-style: italic;">!</span> Too...Um... 'Black-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Alot</span>!'</span><br /></div><br />Yes, it's the opening of the <a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.demconvention.com%2F&ei=uoGzSMa1K6LSeqK1qHo&usg=AFQjCNHYWKb3eimAYSBFdCkwv5mrhNFy7w&sig2=hznTXIzjz1mvFI3eXCaiLg"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">DNC's</span> Denver Mile High Love-In</a>. Let's get all together, bury the hatchet and get on with the election (PLEASE!).<br /><br />But not <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/">CBS</a>...First <a href="http://mikeresponts.wordpress.com/2008/05/29/katie-couric-sucks/">Katie <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Couric</span></a> kept prodding, asking <a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=2&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.governor.ks.gov%2F&ei=Jm6zSLuyCYPyefigyHA&usg=AFQjCNGQf6OeNDkXR1GXmScXQEbRYdz7ng&sig2=S_CtcTGgRqFGfSBA7pWHhA">Kathleen <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Sebelius</span></a> what she thought <a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=4&url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FMichelle_Obama&ei=DX6zSNOsJo-seZrkyHY&usg=AFQjCNGHfdg1EMSCTOhVf-XRCE1VbpZ55A&sig2=xI--bhpc43ckakNDF1yqnA">Michelle <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Obama</span></a> "needed to do" to basically make people love her. How could she appear... pause... less, as she put it, "controversial" and "edgy". Now wait a sec. The only fucking people worried about her being "controversial" and "edgy" in the manner <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Couric</span> was suggesting are those bozos at <a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&ct=res&cd=4&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.americablog.com%2F2008%2F07%2Fnetroots-nation-calls-out-fox-its-not.html&ei=BoOzSNSeGYHaeuP_hJQI&usg=AFQjCNG59pt3Qk2RhwZisk1c94b8G552aw&sig2=__IZJAvBpuAFw0JjEA2TBA">Fox "News"</a> (the quotations are on purpose) with their "<a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200806060007">terrorist bump</a>", and the <a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FFar_right&ei=N3OzSPfsIYfUef-TxY4B&usg=AFQjCNE1_CYMWFZMjJW66YuKyqhuggvEfw&sig2=AQU5wQ-y0Xq1TUI9JJ8FaQ"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Pyscho</span>-Right-Wing-O-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Nauts</span></a> (BTW, I made that word up just now, I like it. It's "mine"). But wait...that wasn't enough bullshit...So! On then to the convention floor for more idiotic comments....<br /><br />Here, <a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cbsnews.com%2Fstories%2F2002%2F10%2F09%2Fbroadcasts%2Fmain524933.shtml&ei=k3OzSMrkFpTAet-imX0&usg=AFQjCNFt3qgYusim4ZWOwkdADd7IX6m5PA&sig2=YtxgN6gYJQNiuqDNCa1h_Q">Byron Pitts</a> showed, once again, that in this country, race and stupidity march down the same street, hand in hand ... <span style="font-style: italic;">no matter who</span> is opening their mouths, not matter what the color of their skin. In this case it was a "respected" African American newsman. After speaking to a Man of the Cloth, whom he was also interviewing about what Michelle ought to do to suck up to people (read: Men) who can't stand a smart, strong woman in any position of power, he did a "back to you Katie" and said in summary, and I quote, "(Michelle) needs to be less <a href="http://www.superiorpics.com/jackee_harry/"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Jackée</span></a> and more <a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=4&url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FJacqueline_Kennedy&ei=x3azSKH4IomUecv2xHk&usg=AFQjCNGXducUoE_Amf-5mGp-FTcbAyh5Tw&sig2=YFvKv5cGNKESkA01aQ4Qgg">Jackie O.</a>" Holy fuck.... He didn't just say that did he??? You've got to be kidding me. He just compared Michelle <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Obama</span> to a slutty black woman character from an old TV sitcom. Yes, he did just do that. I looked across the room at my partner (who's black by the way). He looked back, and then said -- speaking dead-pan, matter-of-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">factly</span>, and only as a black man can, one who has seen this kind of bullshit for decades -- "<span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0); font-style: italic;">She can't be Black AND</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0); font-style: italic;"> the First Lady, you know."</span> Holy crap, he's right I thought. We're so fucked.<br /><br />So on national television the presumptive First Lady just got compared to a 'Ho - one of the mouthiest and obnoxious female black characters to grace a sitcom in years Sandra Clark, played by <a href="http://www.superiorpics.com/jackee_harry/"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Jackée</span> Harry</a> on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/227_%28TV_series%29">the black comedy sitcom "227"</a>. Some have kindly described her character as "flamboyant" and, to her own credit, she won an Emmy for her role. But others, and those others being African American "others", were less than thrilled with her, and many other network television characters in such "black sitcoms" (Note: There are no "white sitcoms", are there?). And these portrayals have long lasting effects, symbolically and culturally in our society. And so it has consequences when a national <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">newsperson</span> makes even the worst attempt at a joke (which it was not, <span style="font-style: italic;">it was advice</span>) that suggests Michelle <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">Obama</span> is even remotely like <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Jackée</span> (as she was later known by her one name moniker in her spin-off).<br /><br />In <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=91UVXquXilcC"><span style="font-style: italic;">Enlightened Racism: The Cosby Show, Audiences, and the Myth of the American Dream</span></a><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-style: italic;">, </span></span><a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=3&url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FMedia_Education_Foundation&ei=k3azSLlcqN56j_OtdA&usg=AFQjCNEHwR9jGkzbHMliJfs81zjliJz5mw&sig2=Zd9Ckz1PaKvN9UoK1pzFow"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">Sut</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">Jhally</span></a>, television and culture critic, notes that many black folk were offended by the main characters found on many of the networks' prime time "black sitcoms" and have been vocal critics. The shows were, and continue to be, offensive, exploiting stereotypes to get the laughs, all at the expense of the audiences they are supposedly empowering. Just take a look at one such recent incarnation (brought to you by those bright and forward thinking folks at FOX, fucking surprise there....) that <a href="http://jezebel.com/383737/an-open-letter-to-chuck-d-what-do-you-think-of-flavor-flav-now">car-crash of a sitcom</a> starring <a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FFlavor_Flav&ei=gnizSPrIGoGieoTTyYoB&usg=AFQjCNFKfYzh-XHOYhbdx6XxVERD7_LmCQ&sig2=5ZDGS3JYYgkposHqGpC_mw">Flavor <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">Flav</span></a> "<span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span><a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=2&url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FSambo_%28ethnic_slur%29&ei=xXizSN-yO5jEetb1xYIB&usg=AFQjCNGarsLLov1mOBKyB_gkcee6T8u1sA&sig2=uLNj9Tnq3sabEzxsqmZjrA"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">sambo</span>-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">ing</span> it up</a>" for all to see. Right down to the white gloves and playing the butler sometimes. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">Jhally</span> notes the critical comments Blacks make about these enslaving performances:<br /><blockquote style="font-style: italic;"><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);">"These are comments from people who are acutely aware of the power of images and for whom stereotyping is not just a minor problem, but one that affects their everyday lives. Moreover, these stereotypical representations were seen not simply as one-dimensional but as negative and demeaning." (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">Jhally</span> & Stewart, 1992, 118)</span><br /><br /></blockquote>And though Sherman <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">Helmsley</span> ultimately topped all as the actor who received the most sustained critique for offensive portrayal of black characters in such sitcoms<span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0); font-style: italic;"> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">Jhally</span> points</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0); font-style: italic;"> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">out</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0); font-style: italic;"> a dubious honor goes to "Jackie" (Sandra Clark of </span><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0); font-style: italic;" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/227_%28TV_series%29">227</a><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0); font-style: italic;"> ) who was<span> </span>ALSO found to be "</span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">especially offensive</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0); font-style: italic;">" to Black viewers</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0); font-style: italic;"> </span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0); font-style: italic;">for her stereotypically-demeaning </span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0); font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">performances</span> <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0); font-style: italic;">in such sitcoms</span> (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24">Jhally</span> & Stewart, Ibid). Pitts must know this character still resonates - <span style="font-style: italic;">hell it resonates with me - a 45 year old white guy from Canada, you bone head!</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://politicalkudzu.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/michelle-obama.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 351px;" src="http://politicalkudzu.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/michelle-obama.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Now, looking back at the two pics above I think comparisons to either person - <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25">Bouvier</span> or Harry - are wrong. One is racially offensive but the other is also woefully romantic for a bunch of elitist democrats who fucked up JFK's and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_26">MLK's</span> dreams. So now they live vicariously through some twisted version of Camelot (in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_27">Southside</span> Chicago? <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_28">Blackalot</span>) but the damsel has to subscribe to <span style="font-style: italic;">white</span> ideals of behavior and carriage if she is to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_29">suceed</span>. When <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_30">Couric</span> says "She is so '<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_31">edgey</span>'" - it's basically code for <a href="http://uppitynegronetwork.wordpress.com/about/">don't be "uppity"</a>. So get over it. Now. But, in the mean time, this is the best that Bryon Pitts, himself a previously illiterate, self-made, pushed to college out of the shit-hole that must have been Baltimore for him then (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_32">cuz</span> Christ knows the schools aren't any better here now) can come up with to compare Michelle <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_33">Obama</span> to? And his best advice is "She needs to be less <a href="http://www.superiorpics.com/jackee_harry/"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_34">Jackée</span></a> and more <a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=4&url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FJacqueline_Kennedy&ei=x3azSKH4IomUecv2xHk&usg=AFQjCNGXducUoE_Amf-5mGp-FTcbAyh5Tw&sig2=YFvKv5cGNKESkA01aQ4Qgg">Jackie O.</a>" That's just very, very, very sad... So, for my part I hope Michelle <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_35">Obama</span> takes her <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_36">edgey</span> self, goes out into the back alley, and then PUTS THE BEAT DOWN on you <span style="font-style: italic;">and</span> Katie <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_37">Couric</span> for that drivel you call "news commentary". And as for being more like Jackie O.... She'll be there. Pill-box hat and all. Looking over Michelle's shoulder, maybe even getting one in for JFK - Jackie O. was more than fashion, she had more substance, she'd kick your ass too....http://www.blogger.com/profile/00521209008932814942noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32315600.post-47469946900219713982008-08-19T08:40:00.005-04:002008-08-26T00:28:35.008-04:00NBC and Nastia Liukin - SHUT UP already... she lost, fair and square<span style="font-weight: bold;">Holy christ... Roll out the conspiracy theories of how the </span><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=4&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fedintgym.com%2F&ei=icCqSPHTFqWQetWeoTI&usg=AFQjCNFHyxDWQ8ZpQhbGKNVv9rMG-0GQwg&sig2=3Tk_mFXYGnhj7153mr0Y7Q">Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> waited until an Olympic Moment to screw Nastia Liukin out of a gold medal.</span> Yahoo! has it's idiot blog on the Olympics running today with the header (front and center on Yahoo! homepage):<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-style: italic;">Olympics' Big Injustice:<br />Nastia Liukin should feel cheated after scoring the same as gold medalist He Kexin. </span><br /><br />Enough already.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.nydailynews.com/img/2008/08/19/amd_hekexin.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://www.nydailynews.com/img/2008/08/19/amd_hekexin.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>At issue here is <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/olympics/gymnastics/story/2008/08/11/gymnastics-scoring.html">a scoring system that prevents ties</a>. It's quite simple. Drop the high and the low score of the judges for each athlete's score. In the event of a tie drop EACH athlete's lowest score. And last night guess what. It works a tie happened it was broken - "no shit sherlock" event: <a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/CHN/Kexin+He/235312">He Kexin</a>, the Chinese gymnast, had more high scores. They did not, <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/2008olympics/2008/08/18/2008-08-18_allaround_champ_nastia_liukin_loses_tieb.html">as the NY Daily News reported</a>, have the same score. That's like students of mine demanding they get the same rank in my class just because they can't see the "rounded off" part of a grade. It's there, trust me. And when <a href="http://www.star-telegram.com/olympics/story/841190.html">the Star Telegram reports that "Not unexpectedly, Liukin and her father and coach, Valeri, weren’t familiar with the tiebreaking rules</a>, nor were many in the National Indoor Stadium." it give me pause. Come on. These people are at THE PINNACLE of competition in the field. And she lost by 3/100 of a point (which in a scale of 10 is fairly substantial - NOT 1/1000 as the NBC commentators professed last night.Knowing the rules is part of the game. Accepting that you lost by them is part of sportspersonship.<br /><br />But NBC commentators on gymnastics last night (at a loss of what to talk about since Mike Phelps wasn't there to jis all over the place about) were falling all over themselves trying to explain how Liukin had been denied her gold medal. Saying things like "It's problematic when you have the best gymnastics teams on the floor and countries aren't allowed to sit on the judging panel when they are competing themselves. So we end up with inexperienced judges like New Zealand, South Africa, Bulgaria (now there's a country with absolutely NO experience in sport systems domination...). They don't know how to score properly." and then followed that explained that Nastia Liukin lost the gold medal because a <span style="font-style: italic;">computer</span> split the tie between the two of them. Ooooooh! The Mystery Box did it! That's all wrong. It's those under age Chinese! That's not fair.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.dw-world.de/image/0,,3524528_1,00.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://www.dw-world.de/image/0,,3524528_1,00.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Holy shit. Think about it for a second. United States is about to embark on yet <span style="font-style: italic;">another</span> voyage of telling the world what is fair and democratic. And they've been such a beacon of hope in this field for years now haven't they (<a href="http://www.alphacdc.com/necona/jimthorp.html">Jim Thorpe's humiliation</a>, <a href="http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,3524582,00.html">Tommie Smith and John Carlos' humiliation</a> at Mexico by the US Olympic team, Title IX and <a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=3&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cato.org%2Fpubs%2Fjournal%2Fcj19n2%2Fcj19n2-9.pdf&ei=jMWqSJSFE6DyeYTlqCU&usg=AFQjCNEm9GfLrGBML_FmgL4QPF0_8u1ZsQ&sig2=t2x1-4Zr06cQ9DwrfG5dEg">Title IX dismemberment</a> from that bastion of good research <a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cato.org%2F&ei=U8aqSOXdC6Kqev30rSI&usg=AFQjCNFKIJNTMqh_7m1bl_9RuPD3PC6z4w&sig2=DDknClniZle3rRysau2Yzg">The CATO Institute</a> ("<a href="http://www.conservapedia.com/Essay:Title_IX_Destroys_Our_Olympic_Team">Title IX Destroys our Olympic Team"</a> from Conservapedia (that well of reality itself, WTF), see "<a href="http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9F05E4DF103DF934A35753C1A962958260">Hoop Dreams</a>" <a href="http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/133403/Hoop-Dreams/trailers">the movie</a> (race and exploitation are alive and well decades after Jesse Owens, Thorpe, and 'Black Power, <a href="http://www.sportssafety.org/sports-injury-facts/">catastrophic youth injuries</a>, etc., etc., etc.) But the <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%20http://gymnastics.teamusa.org/news/article/3328">US Olympic gymnastics team is out front leading the charge</a> that this is "too complicated" and puts athletes "at risk" and that the experience of figure skating is to be noted (that athleticism was valued more than aesthetics. Where to start, where to start..<br /><br />OK, at the top, with the immediate accusations they've been screwed out of a gold medal (boo fucking hoo...).<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Inexperienced judges</span> - Sure, maybe. But first of all that's such a fucking arrogant stand in the first place. Ooooo those "developing countries" how could they <span style="font-style: italic;">possibly</span> understand the nuances of scoring US (that's 'us' not "U.S." but the two are synonymous is this self-absorbed shit-hole of a country most days). Regardless, <span style="font-style: italic;">even if they are inexperienced then they are going to be EQUALLY inexperienced to ALL athlete's scoring.</span>. U.S. '0', Logic '1'.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Black Box Did It</span> - This is so incredibly lame it hardly warrants intelligent attention. The Black Box only does what we tell it to do. The FIG, AND the U.S. of A. agreed to how it would work - it simply does what people tell it to do, just more quickly. It's a no brainer. Liukin has fewer higher scored scores than Kexin. MORE PEOPLE ranked Kexin higher than Liukin. Period.<br /><br />Oh, and about that young gymnast accusation the U.S. keeps throwing about... While <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/olympics/gymnastics/story/2008/08/14/olympics-he-age.html">there may be some truth to this</a> we may never know. HOWEVER... Age doesn't when medals. Skill does. Is it an advantage to be younger and female in gymnastics? In some cases definitely. <a href="http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/gymnasts-menstruation.html">And are there risks for young females? Definitely. </a>But maybe it says something about our own expectations of the female form (no fat thank-you very much) and is more connected to disordered eating and even inability to keep athletes performing for the sake of the sport (rather than advertising contracts?) etc. And puhleeze.... It's not like women in this country are not pimped out on the un-even bars every evening by "soccer-mom" cum-Cathy Rigby-ies in ever suburban hell hole in United States. We just don't bring them to the Olympics. We wait until they're older and then dope 'em up <span style="font-style: italic;">and then send them</span> to the Olympics (of course <a href="http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE5D9153AF93BA25753C1A96E948260">we'll lie about it first</a>(Joyner-Kersee fought rumors of steroid use in <span style="font-weight: bold;">1998...until...)</span>... and <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2007/oct/06/sports/sp-jones6">then we'll tell the truth.</a> (2007 when she finally admitted to doping). <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/01/11/jones.doping/index.html">Or try Marion Jones</a>... Ah yes, taking the the high road of Team USA.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/sp/getty/c9/fullj.51b18560bdc375a56305625687eca808/51b18560bdc375a56305625687eca808-getty-oly-2008-gymnastics-final-podium-chn-usa.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 239px; height: 302px;" src="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/sp/getty/c9/fullj.51b18560bdc375a56305625687eca808/51b18560bdc375a56305625687eca808-getty-oly-2008-gymnastics-final-podium-chn-usa.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Look. The bottom line is Liukin didn't slam dunk the routine. She "left the door open". The other girl scored BETTER than she, AND with MORE judges. The tie is an artefact of system - NOT a reality measure of performance. The U.S.A. doesn't deserve to win every time. And everytime they don't win it's not because the system is against them. In fact they rigged most of that system themselves. Some are just better atheletes. But what is worst of all is listening to pundits (ESPECIALLY NBC) fucking whine about it all. The evening became one of the most vile moments for NBC and the American Olympics in broadcast of the last week and a half. After a week and a half of <span style="font-weight: bold;">wallowing</span> in the world domination of Michael Phelps they ran with it... She deserved this medal, she was cheated, the judges were incompetent, the FIG system is flawed. Holy Shit.... <span style="font-style: italic;">They went on and on trying to justify why the loser should be the winner</span>. And with NO valid (to any form of scrutiny anyways) reason. And to top it off she was a shitty sport about it as well. Her disgust of not winning was supposed to be "hers" was more than apparent as NBC trained their cameras on her watching her rightfully anguished emotions (it <span style="font-style: italic;">is</span> the Olympics, I don't fault her for wanting it so bad.).<br /><br />I had to turn the TV off. I almost threw up. So this is "fairness" in American sports for you? If you don't get what you want then cry foul. Say they're cheating. Say you didn't know the rules. That it was fixed. Shut up already. You lost. Fair and square....http://www.blogger.com/profile/00521209008932814942noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32315600.post-73101061397644998272008-08-13T14:10:00.009-04:002008-08-14T14:15:50.589-04:00"Community Inactivism" or "NIMBY Your OWN Backyard, Not Mine"<span style="font-style:italic;">What to do when community action bites you in the ass? or "No good deed goes unpunished" they say. But there is something more afoot in Better Waverly, and other neighborhoods that needs to be discussed perhaps....<br /></span><br /><br />Now it's nothing new to community activism folk out there that when you try to help them, you guide and support, endorse and facilitate, that they can often be thankless and even bitter for your work. It's understandable given the upheaval change can bring. But I've encountered a particular "flavor" of this as a resident here in Better Waverly, since I've lived here. It comes, particularly, from a group of those who are the self-appointed arbiters of "good change" vs. "bad change", with little regard to the social majority or will of those that do live here. It's NIMBY-ism, but not in their own backyard. They're in <span style="font-style:italic;">your</span> backyard.<br /><br />A friend pointed out that here in Baltimore, as most places, the NIMBY thing runs deep. Race and class also, not surprisingly, ting it. What you NIMBY in Better Waverly <a href="http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/bal-ed.le.rolandpark09jul09,0,1768641.story">is decidedly different than in Roland Park where they have been fighting to retain green space in a area resplendent in the verdant</a>. And then the point becomes clear how you can't "NIMBY" something if you lack the resources to respond to it effectively. Roland Park residents are all over the Sun article, complaining and discussing it. But what has been weird here in Better Waverly is that some persons, namely ex-officios of the of community's BWCO board, in particular use this lack of residential resources and response as a way to maintain their own, twisted image, of a status quo.<br /><br />Since these folk know others <span style="font-style:italic;">don't know</span>, and that people lack the resources to effectively mount responses to issues - <span style="font-style:italic;">even when they are the majority</span> - these manipulators have learned to gerrymander issues to their benefit. To get issues that threaten their views silenced. Meetings are held quickly, opposing voices are not informed or invited. Options, or information that would counter these few people's visions of community are is <span style="font-style:italic;">not</span> circulated or shared (the annual plan was suggested to be brought door to door, or at least sample residents, rather than present it, cold, to the neighborhood at an upcoming meeting. The board completely and utterly ignored this suggestion - instead they do what <span style="font-style:italic;">they <span style="font-weight:bold;">think</span></span> people are wanting them to do!)(To their credit the <span style="font-style:italic;">have</span> a plan for the first time.) So all actions are directed to smooth over issues, not investigate or entertain alternatives. All so that the decision about some neighborhood change <span style="font-weight:bold;">will proceed in the image and ideals of a few, not the community itself</span>.<br /><br />Now that's quite an accusation. How could this be you might ask? Well, NIMBY-ism is different, I think, than NIMBY folk that are vocal, public and coordinated - those with power. And usually that's the sticking point that powerful people push things on the less powerful. And so this is not so different but this is <span style="font-style:italic;">supposedly</span> the voice for the community doing it to their own - it's the "powerful" <span style="font-style:italic;">masquerading</span> as the "powerless". In the case of the true NIMBYs they work to gather support and vet issues because they are strong and loud. In this case, however, a few, seasoned, well intentioned, but generally self-serving, folk work carefully, quietly and <span style="font-style:italic;">strategically</span> to get what <span style="font-style:italic;">they</span> want, all while making it <span style="font-style:italic;">appear</span> they are the Champions of Democracy. All under the guise of community partnership and "democratic action". I would say perhaps these persons are somehow myopic but their actions (see below) suggest otherwise - they are quite cold, methodical and calculate. There is no lack of awareness of action and fallout. So how the hell does this messed upper perception of we are "Champions of Democracy" yet are really "Stalin in Better Waverly" take root? How does it continue? My partner had a thought...<br /><br />Part of the focus needs to turn to the residents themselves maybe. Part of what comes from the above perception, that some action has been taken without consulting others, is a need to place blame, or at least the desire to. Rather than accept the responsibility for their own actions <span style="font-style:italic;">or inactions</span> perhaps residents learn to instead blame city services, their councilperson or their other neighbors. But never their community organization! It's the Champion of the Little Guy, right? But "blame" (responsibility, more accurately) should be – and only if they are throwing it around, I’m not placing it on anyone here, let's be clear – <span style="font-style:italic;">place on residents themselves perhaps</span>. How could that be though you ask? <br /><br />It's rather remarkable I've noticed that folk here in most of Baltimore want something for nothing - and our community organization often exploits this. It continually paints our neighborhood as "getting less than its share" - the blame game. And this Black folk <span style="font-style:italic;">and</span> White folk but it does seem to be a minority (race, class, education, ability etc.) response to action events: I'm going to "cry foul" that you did me wrong. You did this to me because I'm __________ (insert minority status here). Now that's a pretty conservative statement from me, I would agree. But I struggle only to understand how it is a city of neighborhoods of so much folk who want SO much yet the majority do SO little to effect that change. Yes there are heroes and yes there are resilient people and groups, and I know about community and social capital etc.. I'm not talking about those issues per se. What I'm talking about is the bitter and damaged neighborhoods. Ones that <span style="font-style:italic;">have resources, potential, volunteers etc.</span> yet seemingly skew reality <span style="font-style:italic;">so badly</span> that their perception becomes that their present circumstances are a) somehow 'OK' and that b) folk shouldn't work to change them (even though they can and want to and have the means) and, indeed, that c) change is bad. In the end this means too that change agents are somehow "bad" - <span style="font-style:italic;">that change agents are the ones to be blames - <span style="font-weight:bold;">even for good changes</span></span> follows logically. And don't get me wrong, I'm well versed in the subtexts and tensions of gentrification - I'm not talking about that. This is about people warping <span style="font-style:italic;">any</span> change into a threat if it disagrees with a particular vision.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">In the end this community gestalt is one that's untrusting, selfish and petty, and often a place, contrary to hope, without a place for compromise - changes are things to be quashed, not embraced. </span> And so those "leaders" (the past ones of the BWCO in particular to be fair to the present group) in Better Waverly have learned to manipulate community responses to be sure that conflict is avoided, that compromise is not an option. There is but one vision of how it will be and how it will be done. A recent issue about saving green space here serves as an example. Like the Roland Park group the majority of residents agreed to save a space (<span style="font-weight:bold;"> 84% of them)</span>. But then along comes one of the self-appointed demagogues of status quo in Better Waverly to rally the 16% of folk who were <span style="font-style:italic;"> against</span> the plan and spins it into nothing short of a <span style="font-weight:bold;">shit storm</span> of dissent. It skewed the issue - and purposefully so, because conflict here in Better Waverly <span style="font-style:italic;">only</span> happens when it serves a few persons desire to <span style="font-style:italic;">stop</span> something from happening. Then it is bridled and harnessed for use by those few. This issue made this minorities voices appear like they were never heard, like they were purposefully excluded from the discussion etc. (This is classic BWCO action by the way: Can anyone say <a href="http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/baltsun/access/199315751.html?dids=199315751:199315751&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Sep+29%2C+2002&author=Eric+Siegel&pub=The+Sun&desc=Giant+store+is+food+for+thought+in+community+%3B+Supermarket+chain%27s+plan+in+Better+Waverly+stirs+hopes%2C+protests&pqatl=google">"The Giant" grocery store debacle of 2002?</a>). <br /><br />And so, with this green space issue, we see the pattern unfold again. No open discussion, just the <span style="font-style:italic;">impressions</span> of such. No compromise or community building <span style="font-style:italic;">just fractures and splits where they had already been healed</span>. No trust but continued lack of trust of particular community member's roles in manipulating public opinion to their own ends. A previously bound and trusting group, worked together, survey, consulted, linked residents to government and agencies and came up with a solution. And then someone stoked the issue - ripped it open, scabs were torn off, and only new scars will come of it, wounds taking longer to heal. Revisiting <span style="font-style:italic;">is effective</span> on one level - but this discussion brought the same, valid, concerns and comments <span style="font-style:italic;">that were already heard <span style="font-weight:bold;">and</span> were previously addressed within the bounds of budget, time, and all neighbors' compromises to inconvenience and so forth.</span> Yet now here they were again, resurrected. How? Because after goading by a particular person who <span style="font-style:italic;">doesn't even live close by</span> the minority residents were encouraged to open the wound again - and make it sound as if they were being utterly screwed by other neighbors. All while this one person sat back and watched - NIMBYing, but not in their own backyard, mine. What was telling in this discussion is that each tempered by a complete lack of compromise: "I want parking, but I don’t want to have to be inconvenienced,”; “I want a picnic spot, the cars need to go,”; "The illegal garage wasn't bothering <span style="font-style:italic;">me</span> why did <span style="font-style:italic;">you</span> all have to make him leave,"; “I want access to my backyard, I don't care if it's illegal to drive there to do so and breaking the law be damned,”; “I don’t want to park there, I want to park in front of my house so I'll continue to park on the <span style="font-weight:bold;"> side walk</span>". The compromises <span style="font-style:italic;">had been met</span> - someone encouraged them to not see them that way anymore. I am not beyond revisiting issues, I must add, democracy when in full swing is a messy affair. But one cannot be paralyzed by discussion - and conflict we need resolution and democratically achieved compromise, a la <a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.csudh.edu%2Fdearhabermas%2Fpublsbm01.htm&ei=BUGjSOvmC4Ss8QT766wd&usg=AFQjCNHKya8C3RVr-DBUzyWeOUyLKSJPzA&sig2=lP8BnqTsg6a4r3eTJJQhUw">Habermas</a> and <a href="http://www.bowlingalone.com/">Robert Putnam</a> <span style="font-style:italic;"> and importantly when consensus is achieved </span> <span style="font-weight:bold;">you cannot simply "backtrack</span> - that's a violation of the trust you worked so hard to build (which, BTW, was the reason the BWCO was excluded from this whole affair from the start - <span style="font-style:italic;">no one trusted them to act for the residents, rather than particular board members.</span><br /><br />So, instead, backtracking happened, indeed it was encouraged. In one fell swoop the compromises brokered over a matter of 18 months are dashed away. Trust melted. All because a particular person decided to amplify <span style="font-style:italic;">their</span> concerns (when they had already been heard, and compromises made, etc.), <span style="font-style:italic;">above the majority's</span> because <span style="font-style:italic;">this person</span>, who <span style="font-style:italic;">doesn't live nearby</span> also didn't like the outcome. It's not just NIMBY - it's not in the backyard of those people I don't necessarily like if what they are doing doesn't suit me, fit my view. That's an authoritative and totalitarian stance. That's Stalin in Better Waverly. Period. And this is not the first time such things have happened here; particular BWCO board members have had a history of such behaviors. Thank god that's changing though as people stand up for themselves and take the community back from a few well-intentioned, but <span style="font-style:italic;">seriously misguided</span> folk. And since those folk do not, or will not take critiques and constantly demand "facts" the following is an example of how seriously messed up these kind of retrograde actions have been here in Better Waverly, by these particular persons ( and this is since the Giant debacle - <a href="http://www.citypaper.com/news/story.asp?id=3362"> when the community was split again by the same people)</a>.<br /><br />In September of 2005, when we had first moved here, there was plenty of trouble at Independence and Gorsuch streets. The residents, besieged with constant drug dealing, random vandalism and petty violence came to the BWCO, then headed by Eleanor Montgomery, and asked for help. The police were invited into this discussion as we, along with councilperson Mary Pat Clarke sought solutions. I followed up with a resident during the process and they noted "That it was nice that someone from the BWCO board showed they actually cared about our part of the neighborhood for the first time". Whether truth or perception, there you have it. (I left the board in May 2007, btw). For their part, the police, headed then by Northern District's Major Pristoop, found a "blue light camera" in inventory that could be placed there - an ugly, yet temporary and perhaps needed solution to serious problems. The few residents that lived locally that I spoke with wanted it. Those further were not so clear on "yes" or "no". So we agreed we should bring it to the community for further discussion, after the board itself discussed at its next meeting. Eleanor Montgomery, single-handedly, decided against these actions. <br /><br />After about 10 days of internal back and forths we were about to have our board meeting to discuss this issue. Ms. Montgomery appeared at meeting with copies of an email she had just sent to Major Pristoop. As she handed it out she remarked, quite publicly, "I know people aren't going to like that I did this, but I did it anyways." I looked at the header - it had been sent <span style="font-weight:bold;">just <span style="font-style:italic;">15 minutes</span> earlier.</span>. What it said floored me: Basically "We (Better Waverly) discussed this and can't come to a resolution as to have the light or not so I'm deciding we won't have it." HOLY SHIT I thought. Not only was this an outright lie (we never had a chance to even discuss it between board member, never mind the community) it was something that was on the table to be discussed <span style="font-style:italic;">that evening</span>. Ms. Montgomery <span style="font-style:italic;">knew</span> before she sent it, and 15 minutes later was utterly unapologetic. She (we, the board more accurately) didn't discuss it further.<br /><br />The police, pissed off, pulled the offer and put the light elsewhere. Our community reputation with City Hall was again damaged - the community that can't get its shit together in a crisis, the one that turns down helpful change when it's needed most, and when it's being given the special treatment it's crying out for. Her (Ms. Montgomery's) decision to reject the cameras was unilateral - it did NOT represent the <span style="font-style:italic;">majority</span> will of those that <span style="font-style:italic;">did</span> live in that part of Better Waverly. She decided, for residents, in an area she did not live in, what they should get, how the direction of their lives should go <span style="font-style:italic;">and the risk to their lives that they would then have to face</span>. Her decision thoroughly ignored what they asked that the BWCO might do - help them. <br /><br />In that winter Eleanor Montgomery suggested a "block meeting" be held when she sent me a personal note that there had been muggings on my block. Block meeting? WTF?! No, we need to alert neighbors. I asked her, as member of the Quality of Life committee of the BWCO to send out such a note to residents to warn them to carry themselves with purpose, and security. <span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-style:italic;">She outright refused to do so.</span></span>. Sensing a pattern here and frustrated I followed up with a discussion with Major Pristoop the following January (2006). In that meeting he revealed to me that he had been sending "Crime Alerts" on to Ms. Montgomery <span style="font-style:italic;">regularly</span> with the explicit intent that they be passed on to residents. <span style="font-style:italic;"><span style="font-weight:bold;">NOT ONE</span></span> was shared with residents. This is serious stuff. It's one thing to want a particular kind of change. It's one thing to refuse to accept reality, but it’s an entirely different problem when that process <span style="font-style:italic;">puts residents at risk so you can live in that wonderland.</span><br /><br />The rationale presented in this, and other cases I've seen here, for such kinds of bizarre human action comes as people lay claim to their right to say how things should be here in Baltimore because they've lived here longer than you, or they somehow "deserve it" because they've been "busy doing community works". And then they want something (change) but ONLY so long as there is no conflict in that progression. And so they don’t/won’t/have learned how to compromise or work for it. But folk are plenty ready to offer you up as the "point person" - basically why not label me "witch" and send me to Salem c. 1660. The naysayers will boldly trot out their wonderful "community commitment" and "community service" and involvement. That's just plain <span style="font-weight:bold;">bullshit</span> I say. You don't get medals for your work. Community building is <span style="font-style:italic;">never</span> something you get to wear on your sleeve as support for <span style="font-style:italic;">your</span> position of how something <span style="font-style:italic;">ought</span> to be. And time lived here is no more a reason to make one an expert - it makes them wise, yes, but a wise person with a voice that can be heard <span style="font-weight:bold;">and</span> two ears to listen <span style="font-weight:bold;">and</span> ONE vote. Not power to derail, warp, twist and otherwise steer community discussions in their view.<br /><br />Now, I am not being patronizing, and I'm not trying to get myself out of some conservative hole I'm digging either when I say that I appreciate, recognize, value and am so thankful for the resiliency of my neighbors. BUT, they don’t have the only opinion on an issue, and living here the longest doesn’t give them more say than others. and their vote, opinion, perception does <span style="font-style:italic;">not</span> outweigh those of others. And, more emphatically, those that do not live in, or immediate to, an area in which an issue occurs while they are certain party to effects of neighborhood change ought to recognize that this it <span style="font-style:italic;">not their neighborhood and should keep their noses out of business that residents are rightly working on figuring out for themselves</span>. <span style="font-weight:bold;">A public, the <span style="font-style:italic;">most affected publue</span> should have the chance to determine their trajectories in life - that's how a democracy works.</span><br /><br />Those here longer, those seasoned veterans of an urban war (and I don't say that tongue in cheek - this town has been a shithole beyond compare for decades now) certainly may be wiser, but again, they aren’t the grand arbiters. People, like Ms. Montgomery, seem to act as if time stands still. The kind of perception of “We’re coping just fine until people like you come along” is basically fucked up. Communities are built on ALL residents. Yet here it's been tempered by this weird, distorted “status quo” idea that things are somehow “OK” - when they sure as hell are not. One person against resolution of the green space discussion said "If they dump stolen cars back here we'll just call the police. And if they don't come and get it we'll call again. No. The answer - as agree upon by the <span style="font-style:italic;">majority</span> was to <span style="font-style:italic;">end</span>, and <span style="font-style:italic;">prevent</span> the actions - not to be constantly reacting to someone's abuse of you. This is a twisted kind of learned helplessness: The answer isn't to stop the abuse but to somehow <span style="font-style:italic;">adapt</span> to it - so long as it's an adaptation "I" like, others be damned. This is the legacy of the BWCO's previous actions.<br /><br />I recognize in the end there is some kind of combination of the feeling of being left out and one of being dissed – and belief always trumps reality And while it means, then, more trips to the negotiation table in order to get things done, the more trips hammering out “Have you said your piece?” - “Do you know you are being heard?” - “Do you realize that we cannot do that?” - “Do we all agree we have this compromise?” then at least we can move forward and include <span style="font-weight:bold;">ALL</span> in the resolution of issues. And there <span style="font-weight:bold;">will</span> be conflict while do so. But it <span style="font-style:italic;">doesn't</span> mean that conflict is all bad, nor that it cannot be navigated artfully, productively and in a manner that enhances the capacity of all to participate in the process. Only by recognizing that conflict - OPEN conflict where all sides are <span style="font-style:italic;">invited </span> to discuss their views and angles on an issue is part of a healthy change process will we move forward. In the meantime I hope persons here realize and learn the damage they cause in their selfish attempts to create a community in <span style="font-style:italic;">their</span> image. They continue to create divisions rather than bridges, and fail to recognize the importance of autonomy in the locality of geography and folks <span style="font-style:italic;">own ability and efficacy to effect change</span>. Maybe then they'll stop coming down from the E. 30th St. mount and allow people to find themselves, their voices, their vision for a community. In fact we've already found it... now let us get on with the "doing of it"....http://www.blogger.com/profile/00521209008932814942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32315600.post-34822464453682413692007-10-05T13:55:00.000-04:002007-10-05T14:12:59.139-04:00We have the right to know when the government lies - NYT's Torture Memo Investigation ResponseThis is <span style="font-style:italic;">really</span> frightening. The press discovers the president's office has lied, again, about its use of torture (<a href="http://www.counterpunch.org/stephens05132005.html">see here for a timeline of torture related events and news</a>). They've been <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/04/washington/04interrogate.html?ei=5065&en=ce26653ff9fdc691&ex=1192161600&adxnnl=1&partner=MYWAY&pagewanted=print&adxnnlx=1191607247-4kT34S7Gxi37JX4b5k9Zag">found out by the New York Times in a n October, 3, 2007 article</a> which notes they continued to authorize certain extreme "interrogation" measures.<br /><br />"It's troubling," Tony Fratto said Friday. "I've had the awful responsibility to have to work with <a href="http://www.nytimes.com">The New York Times</a> and other news organizations on stories that involve the release of classified information. And I can tell you that every time I've dealt with any of these stories, I have felt that we have chipped away at the safety and security of America with the publication of this kind of information."<br /><br />What should be even more bothersome to people here is Fratto's response to <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/04/washington/04interrogate.html?ei=5065&en=ce26653ff9fdc691&ex=1192161600&adxnnl=1&partner=MYWAY&pagewanted=print&adxnnlx=1191607247-4kT34S7Gxi37JX4b5k9Zag">"Secret U.S. Endorsement of Severe Interrogations" By SCOTT SHANE, DAVID JOHNSTON and JAMES RISEN</a>. This is the stuff of fascist control of the press. The "war on terror" over and over again has had the same effect as the "war on drugs" - it doesn't work. We're no more safe and in fact the government's own reports have show us to be <span style="font-style:italic;">less safe</span>.<br /><br />The only "chipping away" going on here is on the rights and freedoms of the U.S.'s own citizens. They need to wake up and remove these bozos....http://www.blogger.com/profile/00521209008932814942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32315600.post-50779716299434557592007-09-19T19:32:00.000-04:002007-09-19T20:02:33.092-04:00Democractizing Barry Bonds Questionnable LegacyToday I came across this:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.vote756.com"><img src="http://www.vote756.com/marcecko/banners/banner_250.gif" border="0" /></a><br /><br />What can I say. I think it's a stroke of genius. <a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/3918/;_ylt=AvVllOXxni22qnKJBz7ennepu7YF">Barry Bond</a>'s home run record <i>reeks</i> of <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5314521">baseball's debacle involving cheating using steroids</a>. And he knows it. <a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-bonds-756ball&prov=ap&type=lgns">His response to Marc Ecko </a>is telling. He calls him "stupid" and "an idiot" for spending a quarter of a million dollars and then letting <i>fans</i> decide three choices for the fate of the questionable No. 756 ball: 1) whether or not it belongs in the realm of true heroes (just send it to <a href="http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/">Cooperstown</a>); 2) treat it <i>a la</i> <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=jJ-s8snbHCIC&dq=&pg=PP1&ots=hgZ8fDD4tg&sig=mPWea9ZP1Dug72vSVSh6gnqYEOM&prev=http://www.google.com/search%3Fq%3Dscarlett%2Bletter%26ie%3Dutf-8%26oe%3Dutf-8%26aq%3Dt%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26client%3Dfirefox-a&sa=X&oi=print&ct=title">The Scarlett Letter</a> - forever <i>branding it</i> (nice permanent touch I might add) with a hot ironed-in "*" (asterisk) to denote the truly needed and neglected footnote to his supposed record, or 3) should we just be done with it (and him) and shoot the thing into space. I voted for the second option - no more garbage in space and the reminder <i>should be</i> here on earth that we can't seem to bring ourselves to hold Bonds, and so many others, accountable for cheating.<br /><br />OK, sure, innocent until proven guilty. And <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A43422-2005Mar17.html">Mark McGuire</a>, and <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/cycling/news/story?id=2532029">Floyd Landis</a> in <a href="http://select.nytimes.com/2007/07/26/sports/sportsspecial1/26vecsey.html?n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fPeople%2fL%2fLandis%2c%20Floyd&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1190246177-tpitCk6wmC6N+6uVLuozxA">cycling doping</a>, and, and, and... Ecko spent his money to turn a moral spotlight on Bond's cheating. And Bonds don't like that because all the doping in the world can't improve a body's sullied soul. And better still that fans will decide since clearly the sports press (standing right behind <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/17/AR2007071701393.html">Michael Vick and his dogfighting</a> for <i>four years</i> until he himself confessed - disgusting...) aren't about to turn on their darlings - for without their cheating they'd all be out of jobs too. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Ecko">Marc Ecko's</a> done a daring, possibly even noble, social act. It's always ugly when someone calls you on it though....http://www.blogger.com/profile/00521209008932814942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32315600.post-37380600085796640542007-09-18T14:21:00.000-04:002007-09-19T01:41:39.664-04:00Maryland Court Cherry-Picks Griswold v. Connecticut to Strike Down Deane and Polyak v. Conaway Challenge for Right to Marry in Maryland for LGBTs<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw-45Pbz3DKWVQRiKDPDbMPN3j8-39w1KH7KJyKWgf9siuoP6km8x4kEit-5sHqNMbAbyrtAhEB6BQiU1IqevAsgwAK7ZoXHzb-t00Fg4UrprvHFZZuUdwDXJ1qkDS2hR7n7mP/s1600-h/washmon_righthetonly.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw-45Pbz3DKWVQRiKDPDbMPN3j8-39w1KH7KJyKWgf9siuoP6km8x4kEit-5sHqNMbAbyrtAhEB6BQiU1IqevAsgwAK7ZoXHzb-t00Fg4UrprvHFZZuUdwDXJ1qkDS2hR7n7mP/s320/washmon_righthetonly.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5111765885196445538" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);font-size:180%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">T</span></span>oday another black eye to the LGBT community as <a href="http://mdcourts.gov/coappeals/">Maryland's Court of Appeals</a> ruled that same-sex couples don't have the right to marry in the state (<a href="http://mdcourts.gov/opinions/coa/2007/44a06.pdf">read the entire published opinion here</a>). The judges seem "infected" by the right-wing rhetoric of late that says that courts shouldn't be "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judicial_activism">activist judges</a>" (and here is <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0413/p15s02-usju.html">another piece which explores both the right and left politics of judicial activism</a>, vs. restraint, found in the <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/">CSM</a>), that these decisions are best off left to legislatures. This is of course bullshit. The courts are there to refine and interpret the darkened corners and idiosyncrasies of law as made BY legislatures. Their purpose is not to put on a show and then hand it back to legislators - in ANY democracy the legislature represents but a handful of those in the population. Courts are there to protect the invisible, the oppressed and the ignored.<br /><br />But it is the cherry-picking of case law here that is also disturbing. The interpretation of Constitutional statutes is purposefully spineless on the court's part. The Court took a <b>record</b> period of time working on (delaying?) their decision and yet in the end their defense seems pitiful. This is from their decision:<br /><br /><i style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">"Looking beyond the fact that any inquiry into the ability or willingness of a couple actually to bear a child during marriage would violate the fundamental right to marital privacy recognized in Griswold, 381 U.S. at 484-86, 493, 85 S. Ct. at 1681, 14 L. Ed. 2d 510, the fundamental right to marriage and its ensuing benefits are conferred on opposite-sex couples not because of a distinction between whether various opposite-sex couples actually procreate, but rather because of the possibility of procreation." </i><br /><br />But then one ought look at the case then of <a href="http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0381_0479_ZC.html">Griswold v. Connecticut</a><br /><href></href><br />I'm hardly a constitutional scholar, but this is "interesting", and if you read the <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%28http://www.equalitymaryland.org/deane_polyak_qanda.htm">Equality Maryland FAQs on the Deane and Polyak v. Conaway decision<href></href></a> I have to agree that the court used the weakest and least demanding interpretation from this decision. Basically "Yeah the constitution says marriage is a right and marital privacy particularly, for sure, BUT it doesn’t say anywhere in it that it’s guaranteed to same sex people... So you're screwed." When, in court cases interpreting the constitutional veracity of an amendment, was it necessary to explicitly state all those who should be covered?<br /><br />Then there is <a href="http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/griswold.html">the actual opinions document of the judges on that case (Griswold v. Connecticut)</a> that bears review.<br /><href></href><br />The overall gist/point of the Griswold v. CT case is that CT had a law that out-lawed the use of contraceptives. The Court ruled it was unconstitutional since it violated the privacy of a married couple’s life – But what it is “cherry picked” here is that this was a case where married couples were choosing NOT to pro-create.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Wombs and Penises Need Only Apply</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8pxhY5ILQ75LuWu-2ae0RniOs7Xry-8LMcEcriQBIkJIFXQALq0oRdbpNGNrQK7bm10iSSmqlX51dy2b99MGHjClWk8f8pT3PEP3ubD0L_wqQ-_vp4LOi54VqNK20YZNeZ0K8/s1600-h/procreate.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8pxhY5ILQ75LuWu-2ae0RniOs7Xry-8LMcEcriQBIkJIFXQALq0oRdbpNGNrQK7bm10iSSmqlX51dy2b99MGHjClWk8f8pT3PEP3ubD0L_wqQ-_vp4LOi54VqNK20YZNeZ0K8/s400/procreate.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5111767014772844402" border="0" /></a>So back to Maryland in 2007 - <u>42 years after Griswold I might add</u> - ...Given the <a href="http://www.msa.md.gov/msa/mdmanual/29ap/html/msa11681.html">Judge Harrell</a> comment that benefits should be based on the “possibility” of procreation that the ruling finds that the state has an "interest in promoting procreation" - then what they are saying is that when people are getting married we need to be sure that they are man +plus+ woman in order to play out the the odds that he'll poke her (or in equal power footing she'll wrap her vagina around his penis, etc.) and that they <i>might just get pregnant</i> because it solidifies the state (supposedly) by encouraging the <i>chance</i> more people are <u>born</u>.<br /><br />From a pure demographics point of view one could run with this... for a very short distance. So many other things are really in play here that makes this logic patently absurd (so shouldn't heterosexuals not be allowed to get <i>divorced</i> then? Isn't that a threat to the 'state'? And then the logic stands too that some ought be denied to heterosexual marriages when and given the <i>possibility exists</i> (and remember <b>procreation <i>possibility</i></b> is the crux upon which this ruling stands) they will, or could, choose to enforceably ensure procreation could <i>not</i> happen by choosing to use contraceptives, for example.<br /><br />Of course, this is absurd - and exactly the reason Griswold v. CT struck down the CT law in the first place. No one can control "procreation" possibilities in the bedroom, least of all the state intervening in the "bedroom" as such. And so <i>what</i> if LGBT get married... <i>what threat</i> is that to "procreating heteros" in the first place?! And given science etc. of the day gay and lesbian couples can procreate without marriage anyhow, as can straight couples - the whole point it moot. This is NOT an issue of sanctity of marriage. It is NOT an issue of promoting procreation (I can't even believe I'm wasting letters typing such an idiotic defense). This is an issue of CIVIL access to equal rights. Not one church can marry a person in the State of Maryland <i>without a license from the State <b>first</b></i>. And no one would make them. The whole "sanctity" of heterosexual procreation possibility protection is ridiculous beyond the fray.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdA0XquDWVxuURLJwDAa3RUn9Sy5y9-k8tTRryyugw_NEAiTc-zn6VZJ-FD-1_98x0aNTnBeLwjCJH0PBHFO2OJB6t5XclU0Ifd0ao_rK41lLmcoxuFpOTQ39GQxrjdzJQaWpl/s1600-h/church_mrg.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdA0XquDWVxuURLJwDAa3RUn9Sy5y9-k8tTRryyugw_NEAiTc-zn6VZJ-FD-1_98x0aNTnBeLwjCJH0PBHFO2OJB6t5XclU0Ifd0ao_rK41lLmcoxuFpOTQ39GQxrjdzJQaWpl/s400/church_mrg.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5111768857313814402" border="0" /></a>So no matter which way you cut it <a href="http://mdcourts.gov/opinions/coa/2007/44a06.pdf">the Maryland</a><a href="http://mdcourts.gov/opinions/coa/2007/44a06.pdf"> Appeals Court decision</a> is reprehensible. It cedes responsibility instead of forcing action (and do not mistake the court's comparison to be like that of other states - there is <u>NO mandate</u> that the legislature take this case up and develop non-discriminatory laws to redress the injustices LGBT persons face at every turn. Another red-herring sadly.) In the end LGBT couples are not only denied marriage, and this is important to point out, but also the most <i>practical</i> access to things like legal recourse in death of a partner (for example guaranteeing their will is administered as they and their partner agreed), hospital and health issues (benefits and rights of survivorship, decision making etc.) and so much more.<br /><br />If the Court's decision was about making civil society persist then the rights to liberty must be extended to all. Not just those who <i>might</i> have a child one day. Inserting "Tab A" into "Slot B" does not civility make. To interpret it as such is to suggest biology rules the social world. Are we not eons away from such a medieval view. Clearly on the Maryland judicial bench the answer is "no"....http://www.blogger.com/profile/00521209008932814942noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32315600.post-44857720307273624132007-07-17T15:20:00.000-04:002007-07-17T15:21:55.359-04:00NYT's David Brooks' Remarkablistickierest President Ever!!!<img src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2006/04/02/opinion/ts-brooks-75.jpg" /><br /><br />In David Brook's New York Times most recent op-ed delusion of reality he titles <b>Heroes and History</b> he claims that <a href="http://select.nytimes.com/gst/tsc.html?URI=http://select.nytimes.com/2007/07/17/opinion/17brooks.html&OQ=_rQ3D1&OP=1b5082e3Q2FQ25P9tQ25zQ60VllzQ25O77Q24Q257Q24Q25Q2BQ24Q25lQ51aAalAQ25Q2BQ24tVll3Q60s_zGD">President Bush’s self-confidence is the most remarkable feature of his presidency.</a><br /><br />Here's my take on Bush's most remarkable features, a top ten, if you will from most remarkable to least... and basically since David Brooks seems to feel Bush is some kind of hero for lying about a war, acquitting a guilty man, sneaking around Americans and spying on them, surrounding himself with thieves, liars and the like then perhaps most of these apply to him as well...<br /><br /><ol><li>Arrogance</li><li>Ignorance</li><li>Self-Importance/righteousness</li><li>Stupidity</li><li> Carelessness/Recklessness</li><li>Communicative Idiocy</li><li>Isolatedness</li><li>Myopic Imperialism</li><li> Criminality</li><li> Desire to be all he can be to Daddy, not his country or its citizens.</li></ol><br /><br />Oh, and if I had to add an '11' it would be "Most Hated President" <i> in the history</i> of this country.<br /><br /><p class="poweredbyperformancing">powered by <a href="http://performancing.com/firefox">performancing firefox</a></p>...http://www.blogger.com/profile/00521209008932814942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32315600.post-26981956428616503512007-07-03T00:17:00.001-04:002007-07-03T00:35:24.226-04:00An open letter to Mayor Sheila Dixon, Baltimore MD - Your Commisioners "surprised" by Community Policing? FIRE THEM!!!This letter was sent out June 23rd. Only Northern District Police <u>bothered</u> with an answer and sadly it was a "We know you're frustrated. We only do the policy given to us." Sad, ineffectual.<br /><br />Helllloooooo??? Sheeeeiiillllaaaa???? Any body home? Or at least <span style="font-style: italic;">anybody home that might actually have a plan of action and is willing and <u>gutsy</u> enough to fire Hamm before the election?</span> Or are you all more concerned about getting elected than stopping murders. Well "Girls" in the Mayor's House... congrats. You've proved you are <span style="font-style: italic;">exactly</span> like the men your replaced. I'm disgusted.<br /><br />------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br />To:<br /><br />Ms. Angela Fraser, Mayor's Office of Neighborhoods (and so Mayor Sheila Dixon), Baltimore<br />Ms. Mary Pat Clarke, District Councilperson, 14th District, Baltimore<br />Major Michael Pristoop, Northern District Police Command, Baltimore<br />Officer Douglas Gibson, Northern District Police Community liaison, Baltimore<br /><br /><br />Can you please provide any more information on the murder of George Wilson at the corner of Ellerslie and Gorsuch Streets June 22? Specifically motive? Criminal element involvement (deliberate or just “wrong place wrong time” - not that that makes **any** life more expendable). Are there any things we can be looking out for (a car, a description of a person etc.)<br /><br />And what follows is an angry, frustrated citizen diatribe... But someone needs to say it since Hamm and Dixon seem oblivious to action and more concerned about elections....<br /><br />Finally, and this is directed more perhaps to Major Pristoop, given what continues to be an escalation of events in the city, what is Northern doing in terms of deployment to solve this problem. This is the third murder within 3 blocks of our house in less than 2 years. Add to that multiple shootings and the violent nature of Better Waverly, while hardly rivaling worse off sections of the city, is hardly doing well.<br /><br />Over and over again we have heard the drum beat of “community policing” and officers walking the “beat”. Not once in TWO YEARS have I EVER seen a police officer WALK down our street. But what’s really frightening is people like Commissioner Hamm’s (at least appearance of) a lack of leadership and putting the foot to the asses of people like detectives who want to be desk jockeys rather than put a face to police in the streets and then comments like those of Deputy Commissioner Fred Bealefeld on the <a href="http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wypr/local-wypr-597840.mp3">Mark Steiner show last week (WYPR, NPR in Baltimore) </a>. This is particularly disturbing to hear him show surprise that he “learned” so much from walking the beat in a neighborhood. He said, and I quote:<br /><br />“I learned more... in those eight hours walking that foot post than I have learned in the past five months of all the Comstat processes we have.”<br /><br />DUH!!!! I mean, oh my God – HOW out of touch can he, Hamm and all the others “at the top” with the reality of the streets that he is actually surprised by this. I wanted to FIRE HIM when he said it. It’s MIND BOGGLING that that could be such a surprise. And especially when residents have been clamoring for more police presence in terms of footpatrols and community policing for YEARS and all of a sudden there’s this “revelation” by the second in command that it’s useful. That’s sad. Very, very sad. And ridiculous. But worse still is the reluctance of people like Commissioner Hamm to see it through in an expedited fashion and to hold ALL of BPD responsible. And the same goes for Mayor Dixon (Ms. Fraser I hope you’ll share this with her – as a resident I’m am so tired of hearing “the communities need to help solve the problem”. NO. We’ve done enough. She needs to LEAD, not put it off onto communities because it’s an election year. So if Comm. Hamm isn’t going to make it happen, and Mayor Dixon won’t make the detectives walk, or permit the filling of vacant positions, then who will?<br /><br />To drive the point home one more sad comment on where we really stand on this whole issue: Bealefeld shared another sad comment – he prefaced his experience of “walking foot post” with the meeting of a woman that he stopped and engaged and she said to him “Do you know who you’re talking to – I’m the mother of the young man who was murdered - I’m the reason you’re here”. I can’t think of policing going more sad than that. Only after the fact do the uppers in command come to understand that community policing is the thing (NOT helicopters and pod cameras, the latter he also admits are a stain on communities – though I believe they can be of interim usefulness myself).<br /><br />Please let us know what we can do to make your case to the City to get what you need. Dixon’s mantra of “community involvement” is only half the answer – and we’re already doing more than enough – please don’t have to show up in our neighborhood because someone was murdered here, meeting someone who’s the mother or father, sister, brother or uncle of some murdered child. Please help us help you get the pressures on the people that are going to get community policing ACTUALLY happening NOW – not six months from now (it’s already been six months since this steady increase in crime has begun).<br /><br />Detroit they were saying in the same or earlier show has basically given up. Accepted crime and killing as part of daily life. And I remember when 8 years ago I lived in Ann Arbor, outside Detroit, safely sequestered away, much like those here in Roland Park, Federal Hill, and Baltimore County, that it was horrifying that people could get so blasé about killing. Reactions and inactions like those of Hamm and comments like those from Bealefeld tell me we’re well on the way to exhaustion and acceptance. But the citizens are not ready to accept this yet. Please GET ON THE STREET. I know I’m preaching much to the choir perhaps so let the members in the pews know what the choir needs to raise the volume and drive the devil out....http://www.blogger.com/profile/00521209008932814942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32315600.post-60725453837255191292007-07-02T23:47:00.000-04:002007-07-03T00:10:48.264-04:00Commuting the last faith remaining in this current White HouseThe day I heard Libby was going to jail I was driving my car and admittedly let out a whoop. I, like many people, agreed that <span style="font-style:italic;">finally</span> someone was going to receive <span style="font-style:italic;">some</span> justice for the whole "yellow cake" Valerie Plame affair. And recall... the judge stated his deliberation time, though long, had <span style="font-style:italic;">nothing to do with his doubt that Libby was guilty</span>. No, the evidence was incontrovertible.<br /><br />So the long pause was to determine what would be an appropriate sentence. So a ruminating court, finding someone guilty, lying about their role, perjuring themselves in court, and all about the heart of a cover up of national security debacle, felt a 2 year plus sentence was in order. Enter "The Decider": <br /><br />"I respect the jury's verdict," Bush said in a statement. "But I have concluded that the prison sentence given to Mr. Libby is excessive. Therefore, I am commuting the portion of Mr. Libby's sentence that required him to spend thirty months in prison."<br /><br />In one fell swoop Bush basically bitchslapped (not my favorite expression but seems appropriately offensive here and abrasive) the entire justice system, the American Public, Plame and anyone else who dares turn the light of truth onto their fucked up, insular "realities".<br /><br />To call Bush's move "stunning", as the Press has done, is actually doing more of what the press said it was going to stop doing - uncritically looking at his Presidency and not holding his feet to the fire when necessary. Why are people "stunned". We all knew he would do this - why didn't "you all". Why doesn't the press say what <span style="font-style:italic;">really</span> just happened:<br /><br />BUSH FUCKS AMERICAN PUBLIC AND JUSTICE SYSTEM ONE MORE TIME - SMILES WHILE DOING IT<br /><br />and perhaps this byline?<br /><br />PRESS REPORTS ITSELF AS 'STUNNED' LATER RETRACTS AND SAYS "WE'RE JUST STUNNED" AS IN STUPID, UNABLE TO REPORT TRUTH.<br /><br />Well maybe the press will be less stunned (I personally doubt it) when they start reporting that the White House is blocking access to Cheney for his subpoenas. We're already there. <br /><br />The faith in this White House doing <span style="font-style:italic;">anything</span> remotely stinking of telling the truth or serving justice when they've been caught with their pants down: "Oh, look! We <span style="font-style:italic;">do</span> seem to have those emails you asked for on the back up server" (NB - DUH!) "But we're not going to give them to Congress or the Senate - we're not really part of the "Executive Office". Seems Libby was executive enough that Bush sat <span style="font-style:italic;">waiting</span> for the appeals verdict so he could commute Libby's sentence. Hell, the White House didn't give that much attention (and still doesn't) to Katrina Hurricane victims. They are eviscerated and empty souls that sit at Pennsylvania Avenue.........http://www.blogger.com/profile/00521209008932814942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32315600.post-54101799242839580792007-06-28T14:26:00.000-04:002007-06-28T14:27:45.337-04:00Justice Clarence Thomas and the Conservative's 'Colorblind Constitution'In today's decision the Supreme Court struck down the ability of schools to limit diversity among student ranks on the basis of race. While the issue of diversity and equality is a difficult path to navigate this quote from Justice Clarence Thomas, the bench's only African American judge, is most disturbing:<br /><br /><i>"What was wrong in 1954 cannot be right today," Thomas said. "The plans before us base school assignment decisions on students' race. Because 'our Constitution is colorblind, and neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens,' such race-based decisionmaking is unconstitutional."</i><br /><br />To suggest that the Constitution is "colorblind" is <u>absurd</u>. The refusal of current historians, academicians and others to admit the power of race that was built <i>into</i> this document is folly. A folly that continues to be played out some 130 years later. <a href="http://www.ushistory.org/presidentshouse/news/ajc030203.htm">Archaeological digs</a> at Philadelphia put into perspective <a href="http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract;jsessionid=76823EFBF2E7EFB7AB94CE6C2549A518.tomcat1?fromPage=online&aid=57651">the reality of George Washington keeping slaves</a> at the home of the president and continue to call into question his practices of scooting them in an out of the state every six months just so he could stay within the "legality" of keeping them indefinitely (it was long since illegal to keep slaves, unless you removed them from state lines before the six month period had passed). And then there's Jefferson mistress, <a href="http://www.nndb.com/people/619/000026541/">Sally Hemings</a>. From CNN to others it has been bantered about as to whether or not it is "true" that Jefferson fathered Sally Hemming's children but the Thomas Jefferson Foundation itself reported "<a href="http://www.monticello.org/plantation/hemingscontro/hemings_report.html">that the weight of all known evidence - from the DNA study, original documents, written and oral historical accounts, and statistical data - indicated a high probability that Thomas Jefferson was the father of Eston Hemings, and that he was perhaps the father of all six of Sally Hemings' children</a>". Yet others then mounted challenges against this "disgrace" because, of course the <i>architects</i> of the Constitution too must be color-blind in our eyes.<br /><br />To have them, the architects of the Constitution, as slave holders, as oppressors of individual freedom of course runs counter to core purposes of the country and its ideals. But the Constitution <i>was</i> written by people who owned slaves, who were <i>not</i> permitted their freedoms - and "on purpose" since it would have financially ruined many, likely. At what point do/will people like Thomas admit this reality, that the Constitution is FLAWED in many respects. It can be revisited and <i>should be </i> re-interpreted with an eye to the <i>reality</i> of the day that casts forward the <u>truth</u> of our reality <i>today</i>. But Clarence has too much to lose... just ask <a href="http://chnm.gmu.edu/courses/122/hill/hillframe.htm">Anita Hill what it's like to live in the world of his blind idioc</a>y. And so the fragile fiction continues - but choose to know the <i>whole</i> story - not what the conservers of power want you to believe. Colorblindness is only a convenience, exercised at once to preserve white power (and I'm a white guy) but the glasses come off when it comes to terrorism, or crime don't you know it.......http://www.blogger.com/profile/00521209008932814942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32315600.post-54876996804866470122007-06-21T20:10:00.001-04:002007-06-21T20:17:41.820-04:00Operating Under the Law? Cheney's Dream Prison of Guantanamo Bay<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://educate-yourself.org/cn/Photos%20to%20post/prisoners%20tortured%20at%20gitmo.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://educate-yourself.org/cn/Photos%20to%20post/prisoners%20tortured%20at%20gitmo.jpeg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Today the AP wire runs the story "White House near decision to close Gitmo" by Matthew Lee.<br /><br />In it the expected tormented White House is progressively (if there was ever an anachronism it has to be "White House" and "progress" in the same sentence) being forced into the reality of accepting this hell hole should be shut down if they country is to retain <i>any</i> semblance of respect by its international neighbors when it comes to issues of international justice.<br /><br />But lurking in the background is this observation:<br /><ul><li>"Cheney's office and the Justice Department have been dead set against the step, arguing that moving "unlawful" enemy combatant suspects to the U.S. would give them undeserved legal rights."</li></ul><br /><br />And while Cheney hasn't said as much lately let's face it, 'Dick' (if there ever was a better double entendre....) hasn't likely changed his tune. Nor has Dubya. Cheney's argument is simple since they're "unlawful" they don't deserve rights. Fine. But you can't extend that argument to your <u>own</u> prosecutorial practices - you don't get to say "Since they're unlawful then we should be about to <u>operate outside our own legal framework</u> to detain them, interrogate and prosecute them." Just because Gitmo's closing maybe doesn't change the hypocrisy of the Office of the Attorney General and the manipulation of the current Justice Department mechanisms to suit a few people on Pennsylvania Avenue.<br /><br /><p class="poweredbyperformancing">powered by <a href="http://performancing.com/firefox">performancing firefox</a></p></div>...http://www.blogger.com/profile/00521209008932814942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32315600.post-6621369547173959182007-05-15T16:45:00.001-04:002007-05-15T17:33:34.794-04:00Baltimore (NON) Opportunity Summit 2007 - Pimping Out Citizens<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">This past weekend the <a href="http://baltimorecity.gov/">City of Baltimore</a> and <a href="http://safeandsound.org/page.php?id=59">Safe and Sound</a>, a <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeDSLPz5beCZ9ah2k0xUbfal28ypeXQ-iEIxFGafG51jaBZt_5n0O5jfCP7KMg92tsVdd8bWXyrtQYIJbCipnG8DIWa4y5i2cWnpEw63qIlSpUHbrHRQiFLvThRRT_sIrkU1It/s1600-h/logo.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeDSLPz5beCZ9ah2k0xUbfal28ypeXQ-iEIxFGafG51jaBZt_5n0O5jfCP7KMg92tsVdd8bWXyrtQYIJbCipnG8DIWa4y5i2cWnpEw63qIlSpUHbrHRQiFLvThRRT_sIrkU1It/s200/logo.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5064895423661052962" border="0" /></a>non-profit community organizing group, hosted the Baltimore Opportunity Summit at the city's convention center.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);"><ul><li>"The goal of the Baltimore Opportunity Summit is to empower Baltimoreans with the knowledge that they can revolutionize the way we spend our public money and increase investments in opportunities so all Baltimoreans have a real chance to grow up safe and healthy."</li></ul></span>That's all well and fine... but was that what it was all about? Not really.<br /><br />Let me first say that I applaud the intent - the intent to educate, to inform to even infuriate residents that they are not being treated in a way that any human being <i>should be</i> treated. BUT....<br /><br />The summit was really the <a href="http://baltimorecity.gov/">City of Baltimore</a> <i>using</i> its citizens as drum beaters to get State funding approved and maintained. Now is that all bad? No - citizenry should be informed and outraged when Annapolis lets their city rot. But should Mayor Sheila Dixon use the summit and her residents as tools, sticks to beat Annapolis and Governor O'Malley to demand what she, as <i>the elected leader and spokeperson of the people</i>, ought already be saying to them? No. This is politicking plain an simple.<br /><br />Banners and information were posted and made glossy and beautiful in a car crash kind of way. Empty buildings, poor folk. Statistics were rampant and pointed. Tragic numbers. Contrasted with smiling children, happy elders and green trees they told the story of what "could be". They and told people how much rehab costs less than incarceration, how education was the tool to empowerment... ad nauseum. And at the end of this "tunnel of oppression" was the gloried solution - a straw vote that asked residents to complete a ballot that asked Annapolis to continue funding somethings and to add additional funding to seed future change.<br /><br />This is one huge "DUH". And it is made without forethought - indeed even irresponsibly so - without addressing <i>where</i> Annapolis will get those funds from, and it only comes now when we all know full well we're, like the rest of the state, on the financial chopping block. In Mayor Dixon's recent anti-gun brouhaha, "tables of guns" were paraded about to show just how many guns there are in Baltimore (another DUH - <a href="http://www.wypr.org/M_Steiner.html">Mark Steiner</a> mentioned the other day that <span style="font-style: italic;">guns are ambient</span> in Baltimore like <span style="font-style: italic;">air</span> - we already know they're here what are you doing to <span style="font-style: italic;">do</span> about them) and in this case the same thing was done with Citizens. The <i>caring citizens</i> were used, and paraded about as pawns for the City's case for maintained and increased funding. Why because, in an election year Dixon doesn't want to come across too pushy. And let's face it Baltimore's management of everything from public works to schools to rehabilitation services has been less then stellar. So since they won't believe City Hall maybe they'll listen to desperate citizens?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinPzdV9Kut55L8XFLkH0YUFyYc8sqCajALLQJRJvLYAPN5SxoA0yfjq56EfZzo4u01YOhxsndIOL7ds-F1xSMtArdiGI8jTfXwErMrN7A62faElEeaMhL5dzF1I6b3DgSgxYaD/s1600-h/dixon.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinPzdV9Kut55L8XFLkH0YUFyYc8sqCajALLQJRJvLYAPN5SxoA0yfjq56EfZzo4u01YOhxsndIOL7ds-F1xSMtArdiGI8jTfXwErMrN7A62faElEeaMhL5dzF1I6b3DgSgxYaD/s200/dixon.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5064892451543684114" border="0" /></a>The reality is that Dixon, and she's taken on O'Malley's mantle of problems, have deputized and pimped out their own citizens to do the work a city ought already be doing. Baltimore no doubt has some of the most engaged citizenry in the nation - from community action groups, child welfare, poverty, housing and health interventions, arts enhancements you name it. But these are <i>wrongly identified</i> only as strengths while ignoring they are also <i><u>responses</u></i> to a failed public services administration - one which fails to serve its citizens in the most basic ways at times. So much so that citizens have <u>had to</u> take on those responsibilities or flounder in their own despair.<br /><br />I put the call out then to Baltimore City Hall, particularly Mayor Dixon, to <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">Stop asking citizens to do <span style="font-style: italic;">more</span></span><span style="font-style: italic;">.</span> Instead city officials should stand up and do that which <u>they are paid and elected to do</u>: to lead. <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">Stop <span style="font-style: italic;">deputizing</span> citizens and cease the incessant drum beat asking for "more community involvement"</span> to solve problem your offices are <span style="font-style: italic;">already</span> supposed to be working on but, frankly, don't. And It's time City Hall took the heat when they take the stand on an issue <span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;">Stop using citizens as your front line response team, your political buffer.</span> Whether <a href="http://legalsoapbox.freeadvice.com/n38976_Baltimore_Mayor_Apologizes_For_7-Year-Olds_Arrest.htm">against mini-bikes</a>, <a href="http://www.citypaper.com/news/story.asp?id=11352">assassinations (calling them murders is a misnomer if there ever was one)</a>, <a href="http://www.drugstrategies.org/Baltimore/BaltCh_8.html">drugs</a>, <a href="http://wjz.com/health/local_story_121070230.html">filth and trash</a>, <a href="http://www.treelink.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1886">greening (as tree "stewards" again citizens are pimped out)</a> and so much more you need to take a stand. Support the police, the courts (with and under due diligence, not some carte blanche fascism either).<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">Stop putting it back on "us" to do your job</span>... Last time I checked I put in <span style="font-style: italic;">many</span> hours for the City, my neighborhood, the trees, the kids, I picked up trash, called in stolen autos - all <span style="font-style: italic;">after</span> I got home from my "other" job. But no paycheck appeared in my mail box for this work. Perhaps if we're going to be doing even more Sheila won't have a problem sharing her check with us. In the meantime summits are only political peaks scaled by the citizens doing all the work but the mountains being named after the politicians.<br /><br /><br /><br /><p class="poweredbyperformancing">powered by <a href="http://performancing.com/firefox">performancing firefox</a></p></div>...http://www.blogger.com/profile/00521209008932814942noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32315600.post-61019653549720847022007-05-15T16:05:00.001-04:002007-05-15T16:16:02.937-04:00The Wolf(owitz) Guarding the Chickens? Farmer Condi Rice doesn't think so...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqFVmW5OOIOQygLwaYIzicm7jF9xsFa0llMkDk7F4Gn-QqGdn24m7o8XugVeOrsivz21eEcpfhEHlLUeQcDTn7g9_wbsYJ29w6i5bUBR5TDDaTO5eY4h28-YOtYNEPwdsSroag/s1600-h/wolfowitz.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqFVmW5OOIOQygLwaYIzicm7jF9xsFa0llMkDk7F4Gn-QqGdn24m7o8XugVeOrsivz21eEcpfhEHlLUeQcDTn7g9_wbsYJ29w6i5bUBR5TDDaTO5eY4h28-YOtYNEPwdsSroag/s200/wolfowitz.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5064883780004713474" /></a><br /><div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br /><br />How are we honestly supposed to believe <i>anything</i> that comes out of the White House when comments like "It seems to me that what happened there, as he said, he made some mistakes but it doesn't seem to be the kind of thing that you would want to see the dismissal of a World Bank president over," come out of Condelezza Rice's mouth in support of the beneficial, and found unethical, treatment of Wolfowitz' girlfriend. So what <i>is</i> the "kind of thing" one gets fired for? Firing attorneys without reason but political gain? Uh, no. Lying about WMDs so you can go to war? Uh, no. Lying to make sure Dick doesn't go to jail? - Oh, actually that one will get you in trouble.<br /><br />This kind of Alice in Wonderland appraisal of Wolfowitz' actions tells one just how far the current Bush administration is willing to go in order to live in their own little world - a world where reality, never mind simple <i>logic</i> - never intrudes or when it does it's poo-pooed away.<br /><br />It is, contrary to White House spokesman Tony Snow's fractured reality view that it is not "firing offense" it is. When other CEOs give perks to employees based on nepotism <i>especially when acting as the de facto figurehead of that organization</i> they are more than likely to be fired. It's paramount as part of the ability to trust that organization. Lower folk who commit stupid acts, sure. Slap them on the wrist. Do they affect our ability to trust that organization as much? Surely not. Do those at the top realize that they <u>must</u> act above reproach in <u>all</U> dealings - a helluva a lot more than the plebes at the water cooler every morning. And let's say for the moment Wolfie didn't know better... Well Wolfowitz is hardly immune from understanding public policy gaffes and image management following his Iraq foreign policy garbage. Fire him.<br /><br /><p class='poweredbyperformancing'>powered by <a href='http://performancing.com/firefox'>performancing firefox</a></p></div>...http://www.blogger.com/profile/00521209008932814942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32315600.post-55717890312423008312007-05-15T14:30:00.001-04:002007-05-15T14:34:12.444-04:00Immoral Majority is Less "Major" Today...That's a good thing<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br />There are I think very rare times in my life when the passing of some one from this planet brings me relief. But with the death of Jerry Falwell today I can only say "good riddance". There have been few bigoted persons that can compare with Falwell. I challenge any "Christian" to show me how he adhered to the word and spirit of God - any god of spiritual following for that matter - in a way that's meaningful, empathetic and in keeping with the ideals of love, forgiveness and brother/sisterhood. If there's a hell he's on the way to it in a basket... Assuming "someone" didn't give him an express ticket...<br /><br /><p class='poweredbyperformancing'>powered by <a href='http://performancing.com/firefox'>performancing firefox</a></p></div>...http://www.blogger.com/profile/00521209008932814942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32315600.post-34294412500603342292007-04-18T15:10:00.000-04:002007-04-18T15:46:44.560-04:00The Court Jesters - Supreme Court Upholds Partial Birth Abotion BanLooking beyond what you consider to be the morality of the question of abortion for a moment, since it is the white hot center that often burns the recognition of the fact of the matter at stake here is <u> how we do law</u> in this country, not "what's right", then what does today's Supreme Court decision upholding "partial birth abortion" (a bullshit propagandistic misnomer if there ever was one) say about the country we want to live in?<br /><br />What does it say when what really what happened was Sandra Day O’Connor steps down from the court and the White House chooses/delivers two clearly anti-abortion judges to that court, a White House pushs a <i>moral</i>sided version of the question into the Supreme Court (and pushed is more than kind rendition of what happened), and then in their decision they more or less toss aside 30 years of legal precedent (not moral, legal). Is the argument Bader-Ginsburg is making “legitimate”? I think yes. <br /><br />It's a sad sad day for LAW in this country. Not just women's rights. But this is keeping with a White House that tramples law, disregards it, makes up where and when need be, filter, choosing, ignoring, manipulating it. Secretizes it. Gonzales. Wolfowitz (<a href="http://www.yahoo.com/s/559724"> "Bush has full confidence in Wolfowitz"</a>) . Rumsfeld. Rove. Cheney. Libby. I mean crap... these are jsut what come to mind off the top of my head... Oh yeah, that whole "habeus corpus" thing too. Oh... and "rendition". I've not seen such a morally corrupt, yet more morally self-righteous clan of hooligans in my life.<br /><br />And PLEASE, try to step away from a “knee-jerk reaction” of “It’s a woman’s right” or “Fetuses are people too” - these issues are embedded in this decision yes, but by having the lasers of our opposing and bifurcated ideas on the issue focused on annihilating one another it obscures the issue of how the code of law of precedent was supposed to shape their decision on this matter. This is White House bait and switch in classic style. <br /><br />And it makes you want to crawl into the outwardly collected and almost debonair stylings of Robert's or Alito's perhaps less savvy self and ask "How the fuck did you reconcile this little "detail" about precedence in your decision making?". For the women in my world and the world in general (since the U.S. insists on foisting its morality through everything including foreign policy, health and development dollars through some idealistic moral morass of sexual politicking as "help") I wear black tomorrow. I mourn the loss of their rights. I mourn the loss of the publics' control of their courts.<br /><br />Look far enough down their throats of those new justices and you'll see the hands of one man shoved so far up their political hemmoroidic assholes as they are used like puppets. And this one man only - speaking from his moral high horse - is <u>not</u> the moral savior of this country, nor is he being a representative of the people but rather being his <i> own </i> perceptions and righteous indignation in selfish action. This remember is the same person that applauds this decision remember but does <u>nothing</u> about the sanctity of life lost at Blacksburg, VA at Virginia Tech. What's wrong with this picture? Welcome to your puppet democracy. Pinnochio had more freedom....The Tin Man more heart, the lion more courage - and without a doubt the scarecrow, more brains....http://www.blogger.com/profile/00521209008932814942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32315600.post-1159561115430871372006-09-29T16:13:00.000-04:002006-09-29T16:18:35.446-04:00In memoriam...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2300/3530/1600/IMG_0399.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2300/3530/400/IMG_0399.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />A Memorial Fund has been set up to benefit the 3 children of Antonio Gilmore, the slain manager of the Blockbuster store in Waverly. Donations, which are not tax deductable, will be accepted until October 22, 2006.<br /> <br />Checks should be made payable to the "Antonio Gilmore Memorial Fund" and drop it off at any local Provident Bank location. Or mail the check to: <br /> <br />Attn: Antonio Gilmore Memorial Fund<br />c/o Provident Bank<br />Govans Branch<br />5234 York Road<br />Baltimore, MD 21212...http://www.blogger.com/profile/00521209008932814942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32315600.post-1158670102585512102006-09-19T08:41:00.001-04:002010-09-15T22:58:18.517-04:00Walking 'The Wire' ? - Life is not Art - Life is Real<a href="http://www.hbo.com/thewire/?ntrack_para1=leftnav_category0_show1" class="leftnav-show-link">The Wire </a>is "of course" or rather <i>was</i>, I just discovered today, it's now been <a href="http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=10735">canceled</a>, <a href="http://www.hbo.com/">HBO's</a> critically acclaimed yet not well watched, television show about Baltimore's "gritty" urban life. From the Chicago Tribune they note:<br /><br /><ul><li><span id="text" style="color:#ff6600;">“The Wire” steers clear of preaching, but it’s impossible not to see the graft and wheeling and dealing that goes on in the higher echelons of Baltimore’s power structure without also seeing parallels in the petty larceny on the street corners and the theft and betrayals among the city’s drug dealers. What we see in “The Wire” is how all of these pieces of the city fit together -- and, in a way, depend on each other to survive.</span></li><li><span id="text" style="color:#ff6600;">“Every dying institution, like a dying animal, seeks to protect itself,” says Ed Burns, a cop and schoolteacher turned “Wire” writer/producer in an <a href="http://www.hbo.com/thewire/interviews/ed_burns.shtml">interview</a> on HBO’s Web site. “The schools and [the] police department [are] unresponsive, because it’s about keeping the world as is, so you’re on top of it.”<br /></span></li></ul><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span id="text"><span id="text"></span></span></p><p><span id="text"><span id="text">That's all well and fine. But I see relatively little criticism about how, perhaps, the show exploits reality, the lives of these people "depend(ing) on each other to survive". Isn't it odd, think for a moment, that a show that purports to show reality in all its </span><a href="http://printculture.com/?itemid=770"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;">hopelessness</span></a><span id="text"> is considered an "art form". Well then holy shit! Don't I just have the National Gallery of Hopelessness on my fucking doorstep then don't I? I've been interested in <i>The Wire </i>for sometime. But I can't <i>afford</i> to watch it. And who of Baltimore's tens of thousands of others or poor can as well.<br /></span></span></p><p><span id="text"><span id="text">It's all very </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baudrillard"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;">Baudrillardian</span></a> on some level - Baltimore is shown as <i>hyperreal</i>. It's not enough for people to see shootings and murders, drug crime and beatings in some news clip, or more high brow perhaps in a documentary. No, instead we have to have it repackaged as drama with characters and plots that are based <i>on</i> reality sold back to us <i>as really realistic.</i> So how does that de-base the local riff-raff's lives then? Well it commodifies their experiences as objects to be refigured and sold back to the <a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6604599715&rd=1%3Cbr%3E&sspagename=STRK%3AMESE%3AIT&rd=1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;">highest bidder</span></a> . It makes their realities into fantasies by distancing the viewer from the object and instead exoticizing their </span><a href="http://dir.salon.com/story/ent/tv/review/2003/07/12/wire/index.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;">richness of the show's characters.</span></a></p><p><span id="text">To their credit the show has offered some integrated support of the Baltimore communities it supposedly is so wonderfully realistic in portraying (</span><a href="http://www.hbo.com/thewire/news/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;">see some of their press releases here)</span></a><span id="text">. But let's face it - like the cop characters in Simon's show, those that are so driven by 'reality' of their own desires that they </span><a href="http://dir.salon.com/story/ent/tv/review/2003/07/12/wire/index.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;">simply stay the course, often discouraged, blind and bitter along the way</span></a><span id="text"> - they're not doing all this just out of the goodness of their hearts. If it was a) they wouldn't adverstise their good works and would quietly claim it on a tax return, or, b) they would be giving all the receipts to of EVERYTHING to community development. No, this is BUSINESS, make no mistake about it. If you're unclear then try to travel through Baltimore while they film <i>The Wire</i>. You're treated as intruder, not resident. And part of Greenmount Ave. has been turned into a huge empty lot where they park their production equipment with signs everywhere screaming "PRIVATE PROPERTY" and "KEEP OUT". Of course maybe the lot is better than a burned out building but my point is that the city considers <i>The Wire</i> like a revenue stream - and I highly doubt that the monies from that lot are going into <i>that</i> community: Art imitates life in this case about the inability of the City to function and in the course of doing so perpetuates the issues it supposedly wants to eviscerate and change.<br /></span></p><p><span id="text"> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Simon"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;">David Simon</span></a> is also the producer of the acclaimed mini-series (is there another word?) of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Corner"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;">The Corner</span></a> (2000, HBO) and noted for producing Baltimore's other crime drama <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homicide:_Life_on_the_Street"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;">Homicide</span></i></a> (1993-1999, NBC) which people </span><a href="http://printculture.com/?itemid=770"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;">"remember (it) fondly".</span></a><span id="text"> </span><span id="text"><span id="text">I was told by my partner that the producer </span></span><span id="text"><span id="text">ought be given more slack. </span></span>I don't know. <span id="text">Mr. Simon, previously a writter for the <a href="http://www.baltimoresun.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;">Baltimore Sun</span></a> has his own ideas about the visual and dramatic portrayal of these worlds and he and co-worker Pelecanos waxes nostalgic about their ability to capture a visual history of Baltimore that's disappearing, bemoaning the yuppification of neighborhoods. I'm sorry but those shitty neighborhoods are hardly something to be grieving. Now, what happens to those displaced by such events - for example when a movie production company squats on land that isn't theirs in the first place and leaves it empty when they're gone, <i>those</i> <u>are</u> issues, things to ruminate on. (Hear the interview with Simon and Pelacanos on NPR's </span><i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresh_Air" title="Fresh Air"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;">Fresh Air</span></a></i><span id="text"> here: </span><a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=3933251" class="external text" title="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=3933251"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;">"'The Wire's' David Simon and George Pelecanos")</span></a><span id="text"><br /></span></p><p style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span id="text"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;">The Chicago Tribune says in its review: "And once you’ve seen the season’s closing image, you won’t be able to stop thinking about what it all means." Ooooooo! Gee! What does it all mean!!!! Here, let me sum it up for viewers: </span><br /></span></p><p>It means we live in a privileged fucking society that is more interested in watching the 'reality' of the miserable moments of others' live - as long as they're held away, at arms length, or 'TV's length' if you wil, and they're not expected to do anything about it then they can indulge in others' misery and then go to work and talk about how 'fascinating' the writing is, what 'interesting' plot twists in that last episode. Try asking the Blockbuster clerk who was shot dead last week a block from my house how much 'depth of character' his assasins had, or how 'bleakly listful' they portrayed their own horrific lives before blowing him away.</p><p> Maybe Simon and others were finally successful...maybe it was so real people finally felt nauseous watching people kill, maim, screw and fuck each other over - because they know that's what O'Malley, his <a href="http://www.citypaper.com/bob/story.asp?id=60">police department</a>, Erhlich and so many others are doing. Betcha they never watched much in Baltimore - all we had to do was look out our window to see the 'real deal' - and <a href="http://www.comcast.com/shop/buyflow/default.ashx">save ourselves <i>at least </i>78.95 a month from Comcast</a>. Yeah, there's enough slack in <i>The Wire</i> - enough to hang one's self with. Good riddance.</p>...http://www.blogger.com/profile/00521209008932814942noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32315600.post-1158562354689629312006-09-18T02:26:00.000-04:002006-09-18T02:52:34.706-04:00Death doesn't take the weekend off...in fact it visited Waverly twiceIt's been a particularly shitty weekend for me in Waverly. First late Thursday evening at the area Blockbuster on Homestead an irrate, would be, robber and his assistant gunned down the manager clerk because he didn't have any money for them (it says so on the door your IDIOTS).<br /><br />This was a first in my life. I've never known anyone who was subsequently "murdered". That might seem like a stupid comment, since here (in the U.S.) it's such a common place occurence. But it's more telling that my grappling with this event has heard comments back like "This is the city", "This happens all the time" etc. as I try to come to grips with it. Don't get me wrong, people are supportive - but they've already acquiesed at some level to this as "business as usual".<br /><br />And so it was that I was lying in bed, trying to sleep late Sat. into Sunday morning and I heard a "shot"(and I've learned to distinguish between "shot" and fireworks since i moved to the U.S. - who knew I would be such an aural connoisseur...). I jolted awake from that nether land of neither sleep now wake and cussed "Jezzuh fucking christ..." heard nothing, so lay back down. RAT...RAT! TAT! TAT! TAT! TAT! TAT! - I shot upright in bed, shaking my partner - "THEY"RE SHOOTING GUNS!" I said... he hadn't heard it (like I said above).<br /><br />I ran down and dialed 911 and called in "shots fired in 3000 block of Frisby". That was it. The operator asked me nothing more - not from where, how many nothing. Blase and chilled - bored even with the constancy of death at her console. <br /><br />I thought I was imagining it but about 15 minutes later, at 5:44am, the ambulance taking victims of what I would learn late Sunday night was a double shooting to the hospital (morgue?). This is the actual ambulance going to where ever they were being taken ...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2300/3530/1600/ambo.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2300/3530/200/ambo.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />This was another first - the first time I've called in something that turned out to be so bloody violent on my doorstep. Sure there've been domestic fights and craziness in my life that have required police being called to neighbors, even close to home. But none like these events. Brutal. Cold. Calculated death. Death on your doorstop.<br /><br />Oh, and where are the Baltimore police in all of this? Good question. No one has canvassed our neighborhood about suspects in the Blockbuster murder - even though the suspects supposedly fled into our neighborhood. No one from BPD has called me about my emergency call to 911 to ask about when I heard what I heard, how many shots, where I was etc. It's all like - and I think it's true after being here a year - that they can't won't or don't give a shit about crime, death and decay in Baltimore. Witness instead the reaction to the "horrific" murders in Baltimore County over the weekend. Detectives shown in the news going door to door, asking people for help. Here? Not a fucking chance. And what about Frisby? Me and another neighbordhood friend had been asking for more help and presence after a highspeed chase ended up in a person shot and killed at the corner of Montpelier and Frisby - a half a block from 3033 Frisby where the double shooting happened Sunday morning (and you won't find any news about that in the press either - just another shooting, ho hum, la dee da... back to Fells Point and Whole Foods for my nutrigrain bagel....)<br /><br />So I basically feel like I want to puke. Can't sleep. Can't eat. Sullen and confused with not dread, but some other feeling, like I've had the soul ripped out of me - and not by the shooters - but more by the lack of reaction by those around it (many <span style="font-style:italic;">do</span> have a reaction but most don't. This has got to end.......http://www.blogger.com/profile/00521209008932814942noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32315600.post-1155772928416842942006-08-16T19:46:00.000-04:002006-08-16T20:05:19.276-04:00Simple is good...I came across this person's blog when I was madly clicking away trying to "solve" the widget puzzle that they had created. He/she created something called "<a href="http://www.routeword.com/games/solution_6QRBG1BO.html">RouteWord</a>" - a kind of simple network of letters jumbled that you have to figure out what their connection is (tracing only the available paths) after given a clue. <br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2300/3530/1600/how_to_play.0.gif"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2300/3530/320/how_to_play.0.gif" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br />I, apparently like others, had figured the answer but somehow we were "incomplete" without the picture changing, it giving us feedback, or otherwise saying "CONGRATULATIONS!" (perhaps we were looking for some kind of reward?) Well, Andrew explained his reasoning on his entry "<a href="http://www.routeword.com/blog/2004/02/confusingly-simple.shtml">Confusingly Simple</a>". He says:<br /><br />"We've come to so expect that everything -- online and off -- demand our attention with squawking, dancing, popping, zapping, clicking, shrieking, streaking, bleating, yammering, clamoring, or beeping that the idea of "You just look at it" seems from another era."<br /><br />My own mashing actions (and even weirder the unsettled feeling of "not being done yet" that pushed me even to search more about this "broken game" and Andrew's explanation of why he made it they way he did (<a href="http://www.routeword.com/blog/2004/02/confusingly-simple.shtml">read his blog</a>, I'm not telling) say more about us as slave-animals to 21st Century technology age rather than evolved masters. Andrew makes this rather profound observation with something incredibly facile, once again proving less can be more. Pavlov himself would salivate no doubt....http://www.blogger.com/profile/00521209008932814942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32315600.post-1155507966426543892006-08-13T18:13:00.000-04:002006-08-13T18:57:04.616-04:00When a pending truce means "kill while you can"Israel's wanton disregard for the safety of civilians in their dispute with Hezbollah is one thing. Their thumbed noses at international organizations, like the Red Cross, the UN outpost they bombed etc. is now history. But now, on the eve of a U.S. and France-brokered truce what does Israel do? They <i>escalate</i> their attacks as if to say "We're running out of time before the truce happens lets kick the shit out of Hezbollah before the international community says we shouldn't be (since we agreed ourselves)".<br /><br />Since the altercation escalated - and I am hardly alone to think Israel's reaction was more than out of scale with the kidnappings that launched their offensive into southern Lebanon in the first place - Israel has consistently acted out what I expect are <i>its</i> desires - to crush and terminate the Lebanese state. <br /><br />The argument could be made that it is about ridding the world of terrorists but no one attempted to deal with the sour reality that was Lebanon's <i>democratically elected</i> government - dominated by Hezbollah members. And here Israel took a page from the U.S.'s foreign policy of late - "If it moves, toward you, kill it" - and especially because such a policy itself defines what a move towards one's state is, or can be - no matter how obliquely seen, construed, or, in the case of Iraq and more recently Iran, politically motivated rather than truly about a state's safety and sovereignty.<br /><br />Hezbollah is not to be excused in this mess, to be clear. However Israel's actions are is simply out of line - they don't even hold support at home as polling in their own country shows. The staggering scope of their actions speaks volumes of what they believe to their own self-imposed superiority. Monday morning at 8 am EST will tell the world where their minds truly lie.<br /><br />And one it <u>not</u> an anti-Semite to speak out over Israel's actions. Here, in the U.S., I've learned it's fine to blaspheme <i>every other religion</i> <u>except</u> "the Christians" (read "neo-con Christian) and the Jewish faith. Islamic? Sure! Call 'em fascist! Haitian? Sure! Call 'em weird and creepy voodoo ritualists! But <u>whenever anyone says anything critical about Israel they are anti-Semites</u>. What a crock. If I said something about Canada being bad does that instantly make me "anti-French"? Or about France - does that make me "anti-Catholic"? Israel uses the charge of "anti-semitism" as it's own shield, as Teflon to any criticisms levied towards them for their (often) precarious actions, land grabbing in the West Bank etc.<br /><br />It has become such a "natural" state of affairs that the international community operates in a knee-jerk mentality now when it comes to dealing with Israel and the mid-east - First, see how Israel wants it, Second, Identify the threats to that, Third, construct them as threats to a Judaic state, Four, identify any other responses as rantings of "Islamic" or "Muslim" radicals - in need of obliteration. <br /><br />And so its gone this round. Recently, Prime Minister "I want a vote from the Jews because I won't win the next election without them" Steven Harper, of Canada<a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/viewpoint/vp_zolf/20060717.html">, jumped on board defending Israel</a> - after a long and careful history of neutrality that has meant Canada could speak <i><a href="http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2006/07/18/graham-israel.html">objectively</a></i> about the mid-east it was dashed in a moment of self-absorbed politicking. It was NOT about Jewish persons <i>or</i> Israel - it was about getting <i>elected</i>. And Bush is just as bad. So Israel perhaps ought look beyond its own doorstep to see how nations are using their plight as the window dressing of support when in actuality it's about self-serving politics. But then again maybe it's monkey see, monkey do......http://www.blogger.com/profile/00521209008932814942noreply@blogger.com3