Friday, August 1, 2008
So now it's Obama playing the race card...
... mainstream media coverage of and mainstream political reaction to the new turn in the tit for tat Presidential campaign blathering is truly maddening. Where is and was the under the microscope coverage of the Republican party's racist card playing capture of the once "solid Democratic south" when they pandered shamelessly to the Wallacite working class as well as the old plantation south's modern day ruling hierarchy? And the gutless Democratic party has never really stood up to it as a major national party should because they were afraid of losing even more ground to the crazy assed new breed Neocons lead by the likes of Karl Rove and Jack Abramoff. More on this later
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Open Source Internet is vital to any hoped for Re-Democratizing...
... effect that "new media" and blogging and Internet activism in general might have on the many debilitating consequences that mainstream business, politics, and media have on our lives, culture, carreers (or lack thereof), health care (or lack thereof), or quality public education system (Ibid.), or civil society with reasonably egalitarian opportunity structure (and again: Ibid.)
This truly is a cornerstone issue for any kind of Progressive Democracy Solidarity movement in the U.S. and the rest of the "Western Market Democracies" to be truly vocal and uncompromising about and is going to be my main area of investication and linking as I get started on my own efforts to take what I'm doing to that proverbial "next level". Anyway, for now check out and link around: http://www.virtualhosting.com/blog/2007/the-top-80-charities-for-open-source-and-open-access-advocates/
This truly is a cornerstone issue for any kind of Progressive Democracy Solidarity movement in the U.S. and the rest of the "Western Market Democracies" to be truly vocal and uncompromising about and is going to be my main area of investication and linking as I get started on my own efforts to take what I'm doing to that proverbial "next level". Anyway, for now check out and link around: http://www.virtualhosting.com/blog/2007/the-top-80-charities-for-open-source-and-open-access-advocates/
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Jerry Brown interview of Noam Chomsky...
... well worth checking out even if it's a little dated and soooo, you know, like `90's:
http://www.wtp.org - I don't know if this link will work to the article I intend but if it takes you to the "We the people..." Web Site just click archives and it's the first article link on that page. Jerry Brown was a good politician and Governor of California. He was ruined by mainstream media and right wing smear as being Governor Moonbeam. His biggest sin was that he supposedly flip flopped on Prop 13 (incidentally a watershed occurrence in the hijacking of American Democracy by the hack kneepad Tories that have lead us to the Rove-Bush Cheny and their cronies regime) because as governor of California when it was rammed down a hoodwinked and property taxed to ruin middle class's throat by a well funded media ad campaign Jerry Brown then tried to make state government and services work as well as possible in spite of the devestating effects of the Bill. (he had of course opposed the Bill as it was making it's way eventually to the ballot initiative that ended up making it the law of the Golden State)
One of the stories that circulated in the aftermath of Prop 13 was that the year before it was enacted Bank of America was the largest property tax payer in the state of California. In the year after it passed BofA's tax bill had allegedly plummeted to a mere $0.00. So... anyone out there have the truth of the matter.? Might have just been colloquial populist hyperbolization, I know- but one way or another the anti tax-dereg-get g'uvnment off our backs "Big Boys" had bullied a huge win and gained a lot of momentum that only continued with the Reagan "states rights" oriented win of the Presidency the following year- 1980.
http://www.wtp.org - I don't know if this link will work to the article I intend but if it takes you to the "We the people..." Web Site just click archives and it's the first article link on that page. Jerry Brown was a good politician and Governor of California. He was ruined by mainstream media and right wing smear as being Governor Moonbeam. His biggest sin was that he supposedly flip flopped on Prop 13 (incidentally a watershed occurrence in the hijacking of American Democracy by the hack kneepad Tories that have lead us to the Rove-Bush Cheny and their cronies regime) because as governor of California when it was rammed down a hoodwinked and property taxed to ruin middle class's throat by a well funded media ad campaign Jerry Brown then tried to make state government and services work as well as possible in spite of the devestating effects of the Bill. (he had of course opposed the Bill as it was making it's way eventually to the ballot initiative that ended up making it the law of the Golden State)
One of the stories that circulated in the aftermath of Prop 13 was that the year before it was enacted Bank of America was the largest property tax payer in the state of California. In the year after it passed BofA's tax bill had allegedly plummeted to a mere $0.00. So... anyone out there have the truth of the matter.? Might have just been colloquial populist hyperbolization, I know- but one way or another the anti tax-dereg-get g'uvnment off our backs "Big Boys" had bullied a huge win and gained a lot of momentum that only continued with the Reagan "states rights" oriented win of the Presidency the following year- 1980.
Monday, July 28, 2008
From Gonzo warning to the mainstream press gone wild for that maverick hero John McCain...
... A great review in a recent issue if the Cleveland Free times by Pam Zoslov (a tremendous writer on "the kultchuh" if ever there's been one) of the recent film about Hunter Thompson includes this quote:
“The most consistent and ultimately damaging failure of political journalism in America has its roots in the clubby/cocktail personal relationships that inevitably develop between politicians and journalists — in Washington or anywhere else where they meet on a day-to-day basis. When professional antagonists become after-hours drinking buddies, they are not likely to turn each other in.”
Check out the complete review at http://pamelazoslov.blogspot.com/
Which leads to this link this article by Eric Alterman & George Zornick titled "Loving John McCain" in the June 19th issue of The Nation: http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080707/alterman
Which leads to the inevitable hopefulness that all of this crap with McCain as the impossible heir to the Bush Family/Neocon Debacle reign in American national politics will be moot if only Obama wins in November. But while I find my own hopes hopelessly rising like a schoolboy's crush throughout my naively willing to believe psyche I know that even an Obama victory will only be a small step toward what needs to be accompished for a legitimate new Progressive Renaissance to even be on the radar screen of what's possible.
So despite the fascination with the sporting event styled competition with its high profile jousting ad and spin campaigns I feel the need to do more than just join the pro or con side of either of the mainstream "bipartisan" choices.
Ultimately I may "work" for Obama in one or another of the door to door GOTV campaigns. I know he represents the best hope for the possibility of the needed progressive pendulum swing that is needed in American politics, economics, and throughout Society to finally counteract and roll back the horrific consequences of the 40-60 year right wing backlash that "has my head spinning," (see http://dialogdemocracy.org/what_and_whom_we_oppose.htm for more detailed commentary) just as deposed Nixon Attorny General John Mitchell supposedly said it would as he was leaving Washington in disgrace some 35 years ago.
“The most consistent and ultimately damaging failure of political journalism in America has its roots in the clubby/cocktail personal relationships that inevitably develop between politicians and journalists — in Washington or anywhere else where they meet on a day-to-day basis. When professional antagonists become after-hours drinking buddies, they are not likely to turn each other in.”
Check out the complete review at http://pamelazoslov.blogspot.com/
Which leads to this link this article by Eric Alterman & George Zornick titled "Loving John McCain" in the June 19th issue of The Nation: http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080707/alterman
Which leads to the inevitable hopefulness that all of this crap with McCain as the impossible heir to the Bush Family/Neocon Debacle reign in American national politics will be moot if only Obama wins in November. But while I find my own hopes hopelessly rising like a schoolboy's crush throughout my naively willing to believe psyche I know that even an Obama victory will only be a small step toward what needs to be accompished for a legitimate new Progressive Renaissance to even be on the radar screen of what's possible.
So despite the fascination with the sporting event styled competition with its high profile jousting ad and spin campaigns I feel the need to do more than just join the pro or con side of either of the mainstream "bipartisan" choices.
Ultimately I may "work" for Obama in one or another of the door to door GOTV campaigns. I know he represents the best hope for the possibility of the needed progressive pendulum swing that is needed in American politics, economics, and throughout Society to finally counteract and roll back the horrific consequences of the 40-60 year right wing backlash that "has my head spinning," (see http://dialogdemocracy.org/what_and_whom_we_oppose.htm for more detailed commentary) just as deposed Nixon Attorny General John Mitchell supposedly said it would as he was leaving Washington in disgrace some 35 years ago.
So now John McCain starts to play the racist's cards the Repubes...
... Have been playing successfully at least since Ron Ray-Gun's successful stressing the coded language of "states rights" all through his presidential campaigning career throughout the south. Hell, it's the biggest reason for the biggest electoral shift in modern times: the Solid South going from solidly Democratic to for sure pure Republican. And every Republican candidate since has played the same race baiting tunes and now McCain tips his hand. Check out this article by Kevin (freaking) Freking of AP: http://www.cleveland.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/base/politics-16/1217163842282220.xml&storylist=president
Well well well. Good to be in the post racist era of the American experiment. And good, too, to be in the post surge stage of the Iraq debacle so the Republicans can go around the country demanding loyalty oaths to the "commanders on the ground" and testemonials to all the mission accomplished successes of the preemptive seizure of a resource rich trouble spot whose cooperative and complicit U.S. backed strongman had gotten a little too big for his britches.
Well well well. Good to be in the post racist era of the American experiment. And good, too, to be in the post surge stage of the Iraq debacle so the Republicans can go around the country demanding loyalty oaths to the "commanders on the ground" and testemonials to all the mission accomplished successes of the preemptive seizure of a resource rich trouble spot whose cooperative and complicit U.S. backed strongman had gotten a little too big for his britches.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Norman Soloman is out there and should probably be more ...
...widely known and read than he is.
Check him out at his blog: http://www.normansolomon.com/
He has written War Made Easy; How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us To Death- http://www.warmadeeasy.com/ and I think even more recently Made Love Got War; Close Encounters With Americas Warfare State.
Of course guys like him have been around forever conducting highly admirable careers and doing great work and some Im sure really fighting the good fight and yet we have the mainstream business and politics as usual that we have today. "Speaking truth to power" is of course a necessary part of what is needed but we have to use and better develop the projected potential of DemocracyWeb 4.0 (beta) to get better coordinated, organized, and mobilized. What say, eh?
Check him out at his blog: http://www.normansolomon.com/
He has written War Made Easy; How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us To Death- http://www.warmadeeasy.com/ and I think even more recently Made Love Got War; Close Encounters With Americas Warfare State.
Of course guys like him have been around forever conducting highly admirable careers and doing great work and some Im sure really fighting the good fight and yet we have the mainstream business and politics as usual that we have today. "Speaking truth to power" is of course a necessary part of what is needed but we have to use and better develop the projected potential of DemocracyWeb 4.0 (beta) to get better coordinated, organized, and mobilized. What say, eh?
I'm getting closer to operating on...
...at least a couple two tree cylinders, which is a start. And which also means I will soon be getting a little less smarmy and journalish at least in my post titles on this here blog. The titles should be a concise nutshell of what the post's contents is going to be about. And pretty soon after that I am going to have to take it all to the next level and start up brazen communications with other seemingly progressive democracy types I find "out there" in the ether of the Internet- so to speak. One of these guys is going to be mentioned in the title of the next post and he will be linked to in the post itself.
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