Recently in Politics Category
Felled By Bureaucracy
Noticed this little stone marker in the corner of a parking lot on a hill on a local university campus.
Home Cooking
I wouldn't mind this on a t-shirt. Still taken from Steal This Film.
Players and Workers
And for something a bit more recent, I found this essay about politics as a game quit good.
U.S. Sen. Hollings makes atomic bomb joke.
"You should draw a mushroom cloud and put underneath it 'Made in America by lazy and illiterate workers and tested in Japan.'"
How to Stop Worrying and Love the Incendiary Bomb
Recently I read a chapter from Mike Davis' Dead Cities that reminded me of part of Errol Morris' documentary The Fog of War. They both talk about the use of firebombs in World War II: bombs designed not to destroy military compounds but rather to destroy dense, urban civilian populations in order to weaken the morale of the enemy.
Here they both are, fascinating glimpses of history that show war becoming distilled from the unimaginably terrible horror that it is into statistics and ratings of efficiency.
Social Security: A Question of Numbers
This article presenting an interesting brief history of Social Security is almost a month old, but I've just now finally got around to posting it.
Saudi PR campaign
Speaking of full-page ads, the government of Saudi Arabia has been running full-page ads in The New Republic for months, which I find quite interesting. Also interesting are the full page ads by Exxon Mobil and Shell, but those are a whole different story...
Icelandic democracy in action
I've wanted to visit Iceland for quite some time, mostly from the perspective of exploring the fantastic landscapes. The Icelandic people have taken the time to place a full-page ad in the New York Times explaining their view on their government's participation in the war in Iraq. It's nice to see democracy in action. You go, Iceland!
Dismantling America's weapons of mass destruction
I finally got around to reading an article on tearing down an anthrax production facility on Fort Detrick, Maryland, in 2003. "Between 1954 and 1965, Army scientists there turned out more than three tons of the microbes that cause anthrax, tularemia, brucellosis, and other deadly diseases -- some of the same types of pathogens the United States was planning to remove from Iraq."
Moral conscious of America?
Two articles I recently came across that by themselves are not earth shattering, but the fact they were published at the same time is very interesting. In the first, defeated representative Brad Carson of Oaklahoma talks about red-state America rejecting "the general direction of American culture". Then, another article reveals the top-rated network television programs in these same areas (along with the rest of the country) to be awash in sex and violence. I guess it's hard to resist all that sin.
Democrat "Ownership Society"
Republicans invision an "ownership society", where all things are private and free markets reign. Elliot Spitzer recently had an interesting article talking about how Democrats should explain how their adgenda attempts to solve the failures of those policies.
Freedom to Farm
I started reading Thomas Frank's What's the Matter with Kansas? recently, and it's really interesting. I especially liked this excerpt that talks about the Freedom to Farm Act of 1996. It's funny the way congress names bills, I think. Who would possibly say "I don't want any freedom in my farming!" But titles can be so deceiving...
Religion at the workplace
Another interesting article about religion in the US, this time focusing on faith at the workplace.
Without a Doubt
This article from the NY Times Magazine in October was really interesting, about religious decision making by George W. Bush: Without a Doubt
Fear and Loathing in NYC
Found this video from my friend Brahm's blog. Yowza!
Pollution is not a family value
Came across an interesting interview with Martha Marks, founder of Republicans for Environmental Protection.
Afghanistan, Iraq, whatever... I've been to Italy!
Bush confused Iraq with Afghansitan, in front of Allawi, sort of like parents mixing up their kids' names.
Football Fans for Truth
This site is hilarious, and includes poetry Kerry has read to deer while hunting!
Far graver than Vietnam
Former head of the NSA calls the present situation in Iraq "...far graver than Vietnam. There wasn't as much at stake strategically, though in both cases we mindlessly went ahead with the war that was not constructive for US aims. But now we're in a region far more volatile, and we're in much worse shape with our allies." Reported in the Guardian.
Kerry to English translation
Slate has a concise take on Kerry's nuance vs. Bush's disregard.
Baghdad Year Zero
I found this article from the latest Harper's particularly interesting in its examination of the US's shaping of Iraq's govornment/economy. It pits the "pragmatists" versus the neoconservative "year zeroists" in a plot that reads like a fiction thriller. Sadly this is our reality.
UM professor gets cocky on Iraq
University of Michigan professor Juan Cole has a thing or two to say about the current situation in Iraq. He claims to not want to sound cocky, but even though he does come off that way you have to admit he does have enough justification to say "I told you so!" and has many an interesting point to make.
Everybody for Truth now!
Isn't this election campaign just a hoot? First those SBVT folks sought the truth, now Texas citizens seek it, too.
Chain emails: political clout for the right
Remember when chain emails were harmless and mildly amusing? Like "forward this message on to 10 people and you'll be rewarded with sex within 2 days!" Now chain emails have a way of spreading bogus propaganda that manages to shape popular opinion. Harper's magazine has an interesting dissection of this trend, where Jon Lackman tracks down the author of one of these emails to find out the story behind the email's story.
That matters to me, too
In case you didn't catch Barak Obama's speech from the 2004 Democratic National Convention, he was a fantastic speaker and it's worth listening to or watching and distilling some of the topics he mentions. I've copied the transcript along with highlights of my favorite parts, along with links to the video.
Wilsonian?
Is America isolationist? Imperialist? Promoter of self-determination? The Democrat Republican explores these ideas.
G.I. Joe Veterans for Truth lash out
G.I. Joe, our Real American Hero, has come under political fire!
Elite concerns
I'm still in the middle of Noam Chomsky's latest book, Hegemony or Survival. He can be pretty far "out there" at times, but even then relentlessly points out so many well-thought and researched observations that you at least have plenty to think about, no matter what you agree/disagree with.
Check out this sub-chapter called Elite Concerns from early in the book to get a taste.
Errol Morris
Error Morris is my favorite documentary film maker. For me it started with Fast, Cheap & Out of Control, which I found utterly fascinating both in content and style. His latest film, Fog of War, was exceptional and strikingly relevant today (even knowing McNamara was nostalgic about his own acts, I found him to at least have a soul, a stark contrast to Rumsfeld).
How he's produced a series of potential ads that interview people who voted for Bush in 2000 that have decided to vote for Kerry this November. Their stories are clear and personal, touching on issues that affect normal, everyday peoples' lives.
Ringing true, 11 years later
I stumbled on a magazine clipping in one of Minette's books today. It's an interview with Noam Chomsky from the New Zealand Listener from October 1993. The strangest (and perhaps most telling) thing about the piece is that it could have been written today... some things have not changed much in 11 years.
Like a Rock
I read an interesting article a few weeks back, and thought I'd scan it in and post it here. It talks about the White House's "decisiveness" and , as the White House would make the argument at least, John Kerry's "flip-floppiness". It's an interesting piece, touching everything from Bush's "I belive God wants me to be president" to Chirchill's "I am finished!" to FDR's "Above all, try something".