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.
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.
Is America isolationist? Imperialist? Promoter of self-determination? The Democrat Republican explores these ideas.
G.I. Joe, our Real American Hero, has come under political fire!
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.
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.
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.
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".