Lets all get McCainspaces
Sat Jun 07, 2008 at 07:41:51 PM PDT
I just wandered through John McCain's website and found my way on to his blog and it offers wonderful possibilities for absurdity and fun.
Spectacular Carnage - Britney Spears and the War in Iraq
Fri May 16, 2008 at 07:20:25 PM PDT
I wrote this diary in February, for the film Sir! No Sir! blog, which I edit - militarylies.typepad.com. I decided to not to post it, because it was not focused on the struggles of American servicemen, except in so far as it attempted to account for why the punditocracy that explain the world to the rest of us had decided to drop the war in Iraq in favor of a Britney binge. This was later replaced by primaries, however now these are over, I expect the media elite will return to Britney as the quintessential cultural commodity, a folk devil whose actions in public must be condemned to maintain moral order and avoid a panic.
This will be short and simple. I am sick of being told I should care about what the stupid prefer
Wed May 14, 2008 at 10:38:00 PM PDT
There have been so many Menes and viral themes in this primary season to leave one spinning in a sea of bullshit. But there is one in particular that continues to be emphasized that it makes me want to vomit buckets of green monkey shit.
Active Duty Dissenters, or Shame on you Barack, you should know better or not say anything
Mon May 12, 2008 at 10:26:15 PM PDT
<p.In what was otherwise a great speech today in West Virginia, Barack made the following inconsiderate and false statement:</p>
One of the saddest episodes in our history was the degree to which returning vets from Vietnam were shunned, demonized and neglected by some because they served in an unpopular war. Too many of those who opposed the war in Vietnam chose to blame not only the leaders who ordered the mission, but the young men who simply answered their country's call. Four decades later, the sting of that injustice is a wound that has never fully healed, and one that should never be repeated.(1)
While Greg Sargent, at TPMElectioncentral suggested it was the most interesting because it underlined Obama's "larger claim that he's a conciliator and bridge-builder" (2), I do not feel we should be so generous or charitable, they are in fact false and slanderous. While many of you will instinctively object to the following remarks, I think it is important we hold the Senator to an even rigorous standard than we hold Clinton and McCain.
The Brand As Fetish In The Society of the Spectacle (Part 2)
Sun May 11, 2008 at 10:19:22 PM PDT
In the first part of this paper, which I published yesterday, I make the claim that the culture industry on "communication was to strip it of any meaningful interaction, reducing it to a condition where language becomes an advertisement for talking. Under such conditions, communicative interaction is reduced to "light [communication]... It is the social bad conscience of serious [communication]" (1). As a consequence there emerges a "striking unity of microcosm and macrocosm...the false identity of the general with the particular. Under monopoly all. ..[communication] . . .is identical...[resulting in a]. ..circle of manipulation and retroactive need in which the unity of the system grows ever stronger "(2). In the following discussion, I explore the cultural consequences of this condition.
The Brand As Fetish In The Society of the Spectacle (Part 1)
Sat May 10, 2008 at 11:33:18 PM PDT
Warning this is quite a long diary and I hope not too academic, boring and esoteric. However as we are not in Hillary's cohort, I think it will not be too complicated.
--------------------------------------------------
I presented the following Paper, which will be posted in four parts, at the 1995 International Communication Association conference in Albuquerque. I have decided to revisit it, because it touches on a number of themes that have roiled the blogosphere over the last two months. My concern in this paper was to address what I believed was the failure of Critical Communication Scholarship to attend to the influence and role of talking heads and media paid professionals in the construction and reproduction of the spectacle.
Dr. Albert Hofmann is dead
Wed Apr 30, 2008 at 08:37:02 PM PDT
I realize we are in the heat of a political clusterfuck, but perhaps we could all take a minute to honor the memory of a man who changed the word for the better.
Hillary I am thinking of putting in my 2 cents for what its worth
Thu Apr 24, 2008 at 09:13:27 AM PDT
A couple of days ago there was a diary posted about making a two cent donation to the Clinton Campaign. This posting is a riff on that idea.
Why Hillary's argument is flawed and winning is meaningless
Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 09:52:05 PM PDT
I have been thinking about Hillary's absurd claim about the road to Pennsylvania Avenue leads through Pennsylvania. I am not as clued in as many Kossacks, but if the following questions have occured to me I am sure they are playing ok the mind of some of them.
Where is Lenny Bruce
Mon Apr 21, 2008 at 03:42:00 PM PDT
Many years ago Lenny discussed his opposition to segregation and how to convince a Klansman that segregation was against his personal interests.
How to end the war, hang McCain on his petard and win the election
Thu Apr 17, 2008 at 07:43:23 PM PDT
So George wants another 109 billion dollars so he can play soldiers and pretend he is a Commander in Chief, well fuck him and the horse he rode in on.
Who is going to ask Barack whether his mother loved America as much as Hillary's
Wed Apr 16, 2008 at 06:10:47 PM PDT
I think that there should be a requirement that the moderators should have to answer a questionnaire. The first of which should be do you gave a fucking clue.
What will be the soundtrack of the next administration
Mon Apr 14, 2008 at 12:43:49 AM PDT
While the sweetest girl in the world has a very different take than me on Fleetwood Mac, I really hated the album Rumors and one of the least useful contribution to the storehouse of cultural bullshit given us by Bill and Hillary was getting Fleetwood Mac to reform and play Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow at the inauguration. Let us indulge in a little fantasy and imagine who, in an ideal world, you would get to hear at the inaugural ball. Likewise, if you could access their iTunes, what songs would be in their Top 25 Most Played.
Hillary, Bill was right it does matter what the meaning of the word is is
Sat Apr 12, 2008 at 11:03:01 PM PDT
I realize it may seem that people pick on Hillary quite a lot and that Hillary's supporters got upset about that. I also realize that a lot of people who come here lurk before they feel safe and confident enough to decide to throw their virtual hats into the pond. It can be quite a frightening experience to decide to make a post, especially one that the community does not like because people can get diwnright rude. BTW if anybody decides this is a troll post, there was a great recipe for black bean chile published in the Times in 1988 and if anyone knows it could they please post it here. This introduction really does not have a lot to do with the main part of the post, but I lost that damned recipe years ago and it really was a good Chile. To get serious I would like to explain why I decided to start putting in my two cents and what I think it says about the Clinton campaign.
It's all my fault
Fri Apr 11, 2008 at 11:10:00 PM PDT
I admit it, I am to blame and I am so sorry for causing so much human misery to everyone because I am guilty of original sin.
I hate Frederick Kagan
Tue Apr 08, 2008 at 05:00:27 PM PDT
I just sat through the News Hour's coverage of Patraeus and Crocker's testimony before the Senate and while I am tempted to turn this into who won the struggle of ideas, HRC or BHO but that is largely irrelevant. I prefer Obama, so I am going to think he is smarter ant those who prefer Clinton will have the opposite reaction, that her questioning proves she is truly ready on day one to kick some ass. However I think it would be hard for any of us to fall into polarized bickering over how much we fucking hate Frederick Kagan and how the sections chosen by the News Hour highlighted the fact that John McCain and Joe Liebermann are a genuine threat to our stability.
Who are you going to call when your toilet is blocked at 3 o'Clock in the Morning
Sat Apr 05, 2008 at 11:42:12 PM PDT
Just how much bullshit do you have to dish out before you lose your soul and is becoming President really worth the price. I have had it and I am sick of the shit that is passed off as political rhetoric from McCain and Clinton