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[Aug. 28th, 2008|12:28 pm] |
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Today is Vani's birthday, by the way. Call her to say what's up. |
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| You're "Obama being attacked for his race" thing of the week |
[Aug. 28th, 2008|11:13 am] |
My mom called me this morning regarding this story, and it appears our local Fox news (which is actually our local CBS news in the same studio with a greenscreen backdrop, and its on one hour earlier) may have broke a story regarding one of McCain's recent campaign ads.
( Read more... ) |
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| An image to help explain politics to children (and perhaps adults as well) |
[Aug. 28th, 2008|12:03 pm] |
The pipes are meant to serve as a metaphor for the situations or niches that people occupy in a society. The big fellow on the right can see "the big picture" and how the metal pipes could fit together to create an effective and efficient system. The little fellow on the left has a much more restricted perspective, a perspective that is limited to the one pipe that he occupies. It can be hard for these two fellows to reconcile their two very different perspectives, and for these fellows to reach agreement on serious matters that confront society, including how these "pipes" should best be connected together.
The sort of niches or situations that these pipe components might represent could include people performing functions in the fields of health care or in education. |
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| Robert's Events and Services |
[Aug. 28th, 2008|11:01 am] |
I called Robert's mom this morning to see whether we could bury him in Corpus. She said we couldn't, and that she was taking his ashes.
There will be a wake in Corpus tonight (Thursday) at Roy Trejo's place, which is on Water St. in the same center that Tango Tea Room is located in. (Where the Lotus Cup used to be.) I don't know if we'll need money, but I mentioned to Billy that the money could be put towards the headstone of Marcus, who is currently resting in an unmarked grave.
There will be a show for Bob on Friday night at Bob's house in Austin, which is at 50th and Duval, where Leon used to live. Billy had mentioned another show at another venue, but I forget where and when that is. I'll need that info from him before I can say anything else about it. Maybe it's the same show.
The casket viewing will occur on Saturday morning in Laredo, but at the moment I don't know where it will be at. I forget the hours for it, too, but I would say you need to get there in the morning to play it safe.
This miserable triangle completes Robert's funeral arrangements. I believe his altar will be moved to the house of his father, who actually cares about what Bob's friends want. |
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| We Want Unity, We Want Strength, We Need A Democrat As President |
[Aug. 28th, 2008|11:14 am] |
"I hate Obama so much that I'm going to devote as much time to McCain as I did to Hillary," said Adita Blanco, a Democrat from Edward, Okla., who has never voted for a Republican. "Obama has nothing. He has no experience. The Democratic Party doesn't care about us. You couldn't treat [Clinton] any worse."
Source
Yes, we've heard quite a bit from the disaffected Clinton supporters. It's within their own right as American voters who were passionate for their candidate and what she stood for. Hillary Clinton gave an impressive speech last night, many say looking forward to that 2012 election when she will sweep the primaries and general election for her time to shine. The suggestion that all Clinton supporters will fall in line with the party to elect Obama is a dream at best. Just as there are Republicans jumping ship, the same is and will be occurring with Democrats. The party is doing the best it can do to acknowledge and respect Clinton's run for the presidency.
All that responsible, well-informed American voters and elected officials can do from here on out is reiterate the fact that this nation can not afford a John McCain administration. We have suffered through 8 years of George W. Bush's failed policies and by electing McCain, we would essentially be asking for much of the same policies as well as more hate on the gay and female rights movements to continue. We would effectively see no progress on compromising on the abortion issue, instead hardlined bans. We would see no pushes from our government to pressure corporations into recognizing gender equality in the workforce. We would see little interest in searching and implementing new energy sources.
( Read more of my article behind this cut, please comment! )
Link to my article on Newsvine
[x-posted] |
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| Most Influential Americans |
[Aug. 28th, 2008|10:28 am] |
Yesterdays was so much fun, I started to think who have been the most influential Americans over the past 50 years. Love them or hate them they influenced us. This is my list:
| 1. Martin Luther King | | 2. Ronald Reagan | | 3. Bill Gates | | 4. Bill Clinton | | 5. Richard Nixon | | 6. Bob Dylan | | 7. Earl Warren | | 8. George W. Bush | | 9. Dwight Eisenhower | | 10. John Kennedy | | 11. Stephen Speilberg | | 12. Lyndon Johnson | | 13. Robert McNamara | | 14. Donald Rumsfeld | | 15. Oprah Winfrey | | 16. Colin Powell | | 17. Ray Kroc | | 18. Muhammed Ali | | 19. Hillary Clinton | | 20. Rush Limbaugh | | 21. Elvis Presley | | 22. Stephen King | | 23. Newt Gingrich | | 24. Tom Delay | | 25. Ted Kennedy |
Who did I omit? |
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| Dragoncon |
[Aug. 28th, 2008|09:31 am] |
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I'll be down there tonight and all through the weekend. See you there! |
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| Stealz from Socialists |
[Aug. 27th, 2008|09:17 pm] |
Dead Prez plays a show:
Cops block and attack demonstrators:
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| Historic Events |
[Aug. 27th, 2008|08:59 pm] |
Whether you like him or not, the nomination of Barak Obama is an exciting and historic event in the short history of the United States. It got me thinking what were the most historic events in this country's history over the last 50 years. Listed below are my thoughts:
1) Man Walks on the Moon;
2) Nixon Resigns;
3) Assassination of John F. Kennedy;
4) Cuban Missile Crisis;
5) Vietnam War ends;
6) September 11, 2001;
7) Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
8) Impeachment of Bill Clinton;
9) Assassination of Martin Luther King;
10) The Civil Rights Act;
11) The Demolishing of the Berlin Wall;
12) Hostages in Iran;
13) War in Iraq;
14) Roe v. Wade
15) Nixon visits China
16) The Assassination of Robert Kennedy;
17) Camp David Accord;
18) The Falling of Saigon;
19) Bay of Pigs;
20) Kent State
What would you have included? |
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| Hugo, Hugo, Hugo |
[Aug. 27th, 2008|08:47 pm] |
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Hugo Chávez has become the Russian propagandists' best friend of late. This brought to my attention that it's been a while since I ranted about what a moron he is.
( Read more... )
Cross-posted to ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif) politicsforum and journal |
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| Useful information |
[Aug. 27th, 2008|11:51 am] |
For those people who complain about large pictures and autoplaying videos, you have the power to control your own destiny.
http://www.livejournal.com/support/faqbrowse.bml?faqid=40&q=placeholder
Even though I find whining enormously entertaining, I figured that some of you might actually prefer to continue your lives rather than be continually hamstrung by the irritations other people post just to rile you up, so there you go. |
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[Aug. 27th, 2008|01:14 pm] |
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You will need to log in to LiveJournal to read my recent posts regarding Robert's death and funeral. Billy has more info on this as well. |
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| Dear Saakashvilli: Recognize Chechnya as an Independent Nation |
[Aug. 27th, 2008|11:03 am] |
... while you're at it, bring China into the fray: Recognize Tibet.
There's two issues that Mikhael Saakashvilli can bring into the debate that would very much change the tone and direction of the negotiation between Russia and the West. (1) If South Ossetians have been given Russian Citizenship and Russian Passports, then they are illegal immigrants to Georgia, or Russia has, de facto, invaded Georgia and has seized land. In any case, where Ossetians may have the legal standing to discuss secession from Georgia, Russian citizens decidedly do not. Ossetians may challenge Georgia for the right of independence, but Russian Citizens only have the right to leave Georgian territory for reason of 'lack of a valid visa.'
(2) Russia has spent a lot of time declaring the rights of Ossetians to be free and has focussed on such reasons that are not similar to Kosovo. What nobody is bringing up is the fact that Ossetian's Russian 'right to secede' is very similar to another country: Chechnya. Mikhael Saakashvili could dramatically escalate the debate in a 'soft' way by simply coming onto the television and stating, "Russia has set a precedent by recognizing Georgian territory as independent. We therefore recognize, under the terms and conditions defined by Russia, that the territory of Chechnya is recognized unilaterally as an independent nation and invite Chechnya to set up an embassy in this country. We are furthermore worried that we must also consider the fate of all other territories that fit under the Russian definition of independent states and invite China to consider the fate of Tibet. It, too, deserves recognition." |
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| Important issue for the success of new energy technologies |
[Aug. 27th, 2008|11:04 am] |
I just read this article in the NY Times, about an issue I frankly didn't know existed. It is a problem, relatively simple from a technologic point of view but quite complicated from a political point of view, that could make or break the success of all the new energy technologies we're all so interested in these days.
I thought you might be interested in this. We should all be aware of it, to push the issue forward, and make our political leaders act on it.
http://pixellle.livejournal.com/11552.html
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[Aug. 27th, 2008|05:51 am] |
Hey all.
I'm protesting DNC today, any ideas what my sign should say? |
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| how cool is that? |
[Aug. 27th, 2008|06:41 am] |
aren't you guys aware of the world war III cooking in Europe as we speak? it's due pretty much right now. And this is all centered around 2 tiny regions that just had their independence recognized by Russia... and - lo and behold! - emphatically turned down by the US which, instead of fighting for freedom as in Iraq, sponsored a genocide against two self-determined ethnic groups; and the agenda was almost accomplished with the hands of regional state nationalists – not without tens of thousands of victims as it happens in such cases. This reversal of roles is significant in itself and one would think the plot should somewhat matter in this community. But it is perfectly silent on this issue.
http://in.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idINIndia-35170520080826?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews |
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| New strategies for demonstrations |
[Aug. 27th, 2008|03:11 pm] |
Sammaelhain’s question “Do you have alternative strategies ready to go?” regarding the relevance of demonstrations inspired me to go find this article by Matt Taibbi that was written about the Republican convention of 2004. The whole thing is below the cut, but the main idea is this:
“That's why the one thing that would have really shaken Middle America last week wasn't "creativity." It was something else: uniforms. Three hundred thousand people banging bongos and dressed like extras in an Oliver Stone movie scares no one in America. But 300,000 people in slacks and white button-down shirts, marching mute and angry in the direction of Your Town, would have instantly necessitated a new cabinet-level domestic security agency.
Why? Because 300,000 people who are capable of showing the unity and discipline to dress alike are also capable of doing more than just march. Which is important, because marching, as we have seen in the last few years, has been rendered basically useless. Before the war, Washington and New York saw the largest protests this country has seen since the 60s--and this not only did not stop the war, it didn't even motivate the opposition political party to nominate an antiwar candidate.”
Unfortunately (or not), I no longer live in America, but if I did I would be going to these actions and urging activists to try it. Maybe even add skinny ties. Slacks and button-down shirts can be found at any thrift store, and it would look good on TV. And I know this isn’t an anarchist-specific critique of demonstrators, and that anarchists tend to stress function over creativity, and skinny ties may not be all that a good idea if there is a confrontation with a police (except for clip-ons maybe?) but I think its worth trying. The thing is, all demonstrators would have to do it, not just anarchists, and it might take some convincing to get the RCP to dress like Mormons.
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