tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77726092024-03-07T18:28:59.917-05:00DemiOratorFancy Words and Cheap Opinion from a Sullen MisanthropeDemiOratorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16387384765094459201noreply@blogger.comBlogger1142125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7772609.post-46066716130066316682011-03-12T00:26:00.005-05:002011-03-12T00:42:07.631-05:00Random 10 Songs: Petty Little BrotherLacking the brain cells to create a coherent narrative or assay an essay, I default to randomizing songs.<br /><ol><li>Iggy Pop - Shades</li><li>Rob Zombie - What Lurks on Channel X? [XXX Mix]</li><li>Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Rockin' Around (With You)</li><li>White Denim - Mess Your Hair Up</li><li>John Mayall - Bernard Jenkins</li><li>The Infidels featuring Juliette Lewis - Bad Brother</li><li>Earl Hooker - Hot 'n' Heavy</li><li>Spinal Tap - Break Like the Wind</li><li>White Stripes - Little Cream Soda</li><li>Yo La Tengo - Little Honda</li></ol><span style="font-weight: bold;">Bonus track:</span> Evil Stig - Drinking SongDemiOratorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16387384765094459201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7772609.post-75892201186986128722010-06-24T22:13:00.004-04:002010-06-24T22:33:18.673-04:00Random 10 Songs: Zombie ClashThus breathes a slight return of life from the recumbent, yet slightly somnambulant blog host. A dream of music, a muse of dreams speaks in whispers. Let me listen a while...<br /><ol><li>White Zombie - Electric Head, Pt. 2 [Sexational After Dark Mix]</li><li>Clash - What's My Name</li><li>Bob Mould - Black Sheets of Rain</li><li>The Cure - Out Of This World</li><li>British Sea Power - Fear Of Drowning-2002</li><li>John Mayall - Me And My Woman</li><li>J. Geils Band - Hard Drivin' Man</li><li>Live - Top</li><li>Todd Snider - Play A Train Song</li><li>Deftones - Can't Even Breathe</li></ol><span style="font-weight: bold;">Bonus track:</span> Rory Gallagher - Garbage Man [Live]DemiOratorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16387384765094459201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7772609.post-8819244759136137812009-10-16T20:59:00.005-04:002009-10-16T21:57:07.478-04:00James Arthur Ray Upbeat and Full of Positive Affirmations about Killing and Hospitalizing PeopleAh, the ability to deny all responsibility for deaths and injury, despite the fact they happened under your direct orders and supervision. <br /><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Arthur_Ray" target="_blank">James Arthur Ray</a> seems clear that people died of their own volition in his "sweat lodge" not, for example, because of being denied food or water for 36+ hours beforehand.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.examiner.com/" target="_blank">examiner.com</a> has an initial story (<a href="http://www.examiner.com/a-2261207~2_dead_after_hours_in_Ariz__sweat_lodge_identified.html" target="_blank">2 dead after hours in Ariz. sweat lodge identified</a>) but much more interesting are a pair of posts by a columnist named Cassandra Yorgey.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.examiner.com/x-11245-Philadelphia-Speculative-Fiction-Examiner~y2009m10d15-Breaking-news-transcript-of-private-call-between-James-Ray-and-sweat-lodge-victims" target="_blank">Transcript of private call between James Ray and sweat lodge victims</a> has plenty of disturbing quotes from Ray. Better yet is the quote in this section from Barb, a member of Ray's staff:<br /><blockquote>This, I think, is the worst part of the entire conference call. Barb is one of James Ray’s staff members and she goes on to talk <span style="font-weight:bold;">“of the two that had passed and they left their bodies during the ceremony and had so much fun they chose not to come back and that was their choice that they made.”</span> This is going to be really hard for James Ray and his people to explain when the autopsy results are released, because people do not cook themselves to death. They just don’t. Barb implying they do is asserting James Ray’s innocence and falsely supporting that the survivors are alive because they chose to live. In actuality, James Ray had to be interrupted and the participants were physically removed from the sweat lodge because they were not capable of transporting themselves. </blockquote><br />Read the whole thing. Cassandra Yorgey has another piece which also deserves some attention: <a href="http://www.examiner.com/x-11245-Philadelphia-Speculative-Fiction-Examiner~y2009m10d16-Breaking-news-Inside-accounts-of-James-Ray-sweat-lodge-tragedy-and-retreat" target="_blank">Inside accounts of James Ray sweat lodge tragedy and retreat</a>.<br /><br />I'd like to see Ray and his positive vibes in prison.DemiOratorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16387384765094459201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7772609.post-80681548103753401742009-10-14T22:43:00.005-04:002009-10-15T00:14:30.060-04:00James Arthur Ray and Deaths by Fake "Sweat Lodge"<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlCMN1n4jpKny-A7l3wFt5FLDLwadK6eUMthVZ267QnghnCIbXqZSYIS8NELH37speC3xtERIUizh4TgZDznHLmwq4-sAVO_R8OwrbQSFVL-WiA6WXLUYvO2kIN5tct4wFFYkV/s1600-h/2009_james_ray_spiritual_warrior_with_bodybags.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 242px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlCMN1n4jpKny-A7l3wFt5FLDLwadK6eUMthVZ267QnghnCIbXqZSYIS8NELH37speC3xtERIUizh4TgZDznHLmwq4-sAVO_R8OwrbQSFVL-WiA6WXLUYvO2kIN5tct4wFFYkV/s400/2009_james_ray_spiritual_warrior_with_bodybags.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392675116931191714" /></a> So what happens when a Newage "guru" named James Arthur Ray <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/11/us/11lodge.html" target="_blank">kills two people and puts a bunch more in the hospital from a "sweat lodge" he led?</a> So far, nothing.<br /><br />Oprah put Mr. Ray on her show several times so he <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">must</span> be important. He was profiled in the bestselling book <span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Secret_%28book%29" target="_blank">The Secret</a></span>.<br /><br />I highly recommend reading the posts over on <a href="http://nicdhana.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Pàganachd Bhandia</a> for some insight on the situation:<br /><br /><a href="http://nicdhana.blogspot.com/2009/10/plastic-death-sweat-2-dead-3-critical.html" target="_blank">Plastic Death Sweat - 2 Dead, 3 Critical, 16 More Hospitalized</a><br /><a href="http://nicdhana.blogspot.com/2009/10/new-age-death-sweat-ii-nyt-editorial-by.html" target="_blank">New Age Death Sweat II - NYT Editorial by Dr. Al Carroll</a><br /><a href="http://nicdhana.blogspot.com/2009/10/new-age-death-sweat-iii-response-by.html" target="_blank">New Age Death Sweat III - Response by Arvol Lookinghorse (Lakota)</a>DemiOratorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16387384765094459201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7772609.post-39498347084678486492009-04-20T13:41:00.001-04:002009-05-31T22:41:58.087-04:00Celebrating The Progressive MagazineOver a month ago, I was going to write a piece in praise of <a href="http://www.progressive.org/" target="_blank"><span style="font-style:italic;">The Progressive</span> magazine</a>. Their 100th anniversary issue had come out and I was duly impressed by the contents sampling their entire 100 year history.<br /><br />While I've been reading <span style="font-style:italic;">The Progressive</span> off and on for my entire adult life, I really was not aware of the history of the magazine and its pretty consistent, ah, <span style="font-weight:bold;">progressive</span> editorial perspective.<br /><br />For example, in 1925 they took a stand against the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Americanization_(of_Native_Americans)&oldid=292746802" target="_blank">attempts to eradicate Indian/Native American culture through the boarding school system</a>.<br /><br />This got me to thinking about the role of truly left-of-center magazines in US culture. (I use the qualifier "truly" because I don't particularly count, say, <a href="http://www.thenation.com/" target="_blank">The Nation</a> or <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/" target="_blank">The Atlantic</a>. Mags like those are examples of the very conventional establishment talking to itself and not significantly challenging the status quo.)<br /><br />I look at the newsstands packed with lifestyle mags, entertainment and celebrity pablum, and I wonder why people are so easily distracted from the central issues in their lives. We seem so helpless and hopeless, acted upon rather than actors. <br /><br />I try to remember that revolution is always an option.<br /><br />You should too.DemiOratorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16387384765094459201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7772609.post-10699675450403644472009-04-02T00:41:00.003-04:002009-04-02T12:50:43.752-04:0025 Radical Ways to Change SocietyOn <a href="http://politicoholic.com/" target="_blank">Politicoholic</a>, I came across a post on <a href="http://politicoholic.com/2009/03/02/25-ways-to-use-your-blog-and-social-media-to-create-change/" target="_blank">25 Ways to use your blog and social media to create change</a>.<br /><br />I was struck by the weakly Liberal tone of many of the suggestions. Perhaps it's just the self-congratulatory attitude of self-importance permeating it that annoys me. The whole list reeks of "Look at me! I'm making a big change in the world! And I'm telling you all about it!"<br /><br />While educating people has value, it isn't the same as actually effecting change with sweat and physical action. Most blogs are the equivalent of parlor pontification.<br /><br />I started to wonder what a more radical version might look like, a version that put more emphasis on <span style="font-weight:bold;">doing</span> things in the world rather than just <span style="font-weight:bold;">blogging</span> about doing things. So here is my first attempt at such a list. It's repetitious in places but it's intended to mirror the original list linked above. I just re-wrote each numbered point as I came to it. It's not perfect but it's mine. <br /><br />1. Start simple: Steal from large corporations.<br /><br />2. Join an activist group, a group that performs direct action.<br /><br />3. Or if there isn't a group with politics or an activist philosophy you agree with, create your own. Form a small group of trusted people and collectively decide on goals and actions.<br /><br />4. Videoblog an interview with someone with radical political views. Ask them about strategies to transform society. <br /><br />5. Share a meal with a stranger, someone not like you. <br /><br />6. Has someone you love been affected by class warfare or capitalism's indifference to individual suffering?? Share your story and raise awareness.<br /><br />7. Demand change from government and corporations. Be specific. <br /><br />8. Petitions are rarely effective at changing institutions or governments. Do not delude yourself that they are useful. <br /><br />9. Vlog a political demonstration. If there is a strong police presence, show it.<br /><br />10. Twitter is a distraction. Don't mistake it for action. <br /><br />11. Write about your experiences and concrete methods for transforming society, not in the future but now, today.<br /><br />12. Instead of writing on how global human rights issues can be alleviated, volunteer at a soup kitchen, a homeless shelter, a free medical clinic. Find out how human rights are being violated in your neighborhood.<br /><br />13. Participate in a political demonstration or protest. Get arrested. <br /><br />14. Invite someone who is a political radical to mentor you. <br /><br />15. Discuss how direct action can change society more than blogging.<br /><br />16. Instead of correcting injustice through the proxies of non-profit and advocacy organizations, see if there is anything you can do in person. Be a participant, not a donor.<br /><br />17. Highlight grassroots organizations. <br /><br />18. Be involved in social justice/human rights efforts. <br /><br />19. Create an effective means to implement social justice.<br /><br />20. Discuss how school curricula stifles and suppresses citizen responsibility in students. Start independent student-led and student-run organizations. Empower students, don't patronize them.<br /><br />21. Find out who profits from wars. Develop an analysis of imperialism and how it relates to colonialism. Apply it to the United States foreign policy over the last century. <br /><br />22. Ask your readers to create a revolution, even a small one. <br /><br />23. Spend less time blogging and reading blogs. Spend more time acting, deliberately and radically.<br /><br />24. Participate. <br /><br />25. Blogging has limited influence, on you and others. Acting transforms you and society deeply. Never mistake theory for practice. Do it. Do it now.DemiOratorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16387384765094459201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7772609.post-76780051038405303052009-03-26T23:20:00.006-04:002009-03-27T00:53:20.705-04:00Random 10 Songs: "T.V. Scars, Glass Balls" EditionTonight is eclipsed by memory, moon visions drifting in from the edges. I am hollow and enervated, sustained by letters of little import. These songs provide the soundtrack to my memory palace. See them...<br /><ol><li>Jesse Malin - Scars of Love</li><li>Richard Thompson - Johnny's Far Away</li><li>Small Faces - Donkey Rides, Penny A Glass</li><li>Savoy Brown Blues Band - Cold Blooded Woman</li><li>Shudder to Think - Take the Child</li><li>Cramps - She's Got Balls</li><li>Filter - Columind</li><li>Nils Lofgren - Rock And Roll Crook</li><li>Holy Bulls - T.V. Eye</li><li>Placebo - Centrefolds</li></ol><br />Bonus track: Bob Dylan - Desolation RowDemiOratorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16387384765094459201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7772609.post-49002877014307303802009-03-05T13:50:00.005-05:002009-03-06T15:49:47.046-05:00Historical Revisionism of the Weather UndergroundWhile watching an episode of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_on_Mars_%28U.S._TV_series%29" target="_blank">the American remake of <span style="font-style: italic;">Life on Mars</span></a> on TV, I was intrigued by a plotline that supposedly involved <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weatherman_%28organization%29" target="_blank">the Weather Underground</a>. One bomb in the show killed three policemen and several civilians. A few other people were killed in subsequent bombings.<br /><br />Now, <span style="font-style: italic;">Life on Mars</span> is set in 1973 in New York City. At least part of the appeal of the show is it inhabits a real point in American history, a very specific milieu. Real historic events are often used as "color" for the characters' interactions and, in this particular case, a plot device.<br /><br />In point of fact, as far as I know, only <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_Police_Department_Park_Station_bombing" target="_blank">one death is attributed to a deliberate Weatherman bombing</a> and even that one may not have been the Weathermen. The case was never solved and the Weathermen never claimed credit for it.<br /><br />The manipulation or distortion of documented factual truth in service of drama is nothing new or unusual. TV shows are entertainment, not documentaries. Yet there is something to be learned here about historical memes and control of populations.<br /><br />Today, signing an online petition to bring back a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victory_garden" target="_blank">Victory garden</a> to the White House is considered an important form of activism. Contributing money to MoveOn.com for lobbying and advertising is considered radical activism in some circles. Actually, these activities are merely normal, conventional and long-established ways of appealing to government for change. There is nothing remotely "radical" about such tactics. They are "feel-good" tactics, unlikely to significantly change things but, rather, to make the individual <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">feel</span> like they are demanding important change.<br /><br />It's difficult to imaging a time when such mild tactics were sneered at by a sizable percentage of 16 to 30 year olds. Yet in a period where over a million Vietnamese had been killed in a "preemptive" war* and tens of thousands of US soldiers had been killed or maimed, it was considered very urgent to stop the US government from continuing the war in Vietnam. Anti-war protests seemed to be having no effect on US policy in 1970 when the Weatherman organization was at its peak activity level.<br /><br />In the late 1960s and early '70s, political radicals were being arrested and some were being shot dead. For example, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fred_Hampton&oldid=272337724" target="_blank">Fred Hampton</a> of the Black Panthers was drugged, probably by a police informant, and killed in a police raid. The FBI's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=COINTELPRO&oldid=275098428" target="_blank">COINTELPRO</a> was actively attacking leftist groups, usually by covert means but also through local police departments.<br /><br />There isn't a lot of popular support today in the USA for the tactics of the Weatherman Underground, for the bombing of military recruitment offices and police stations. Yet there is almost always a context for such actions, a philosophy behind the tactics. The Weathermen didn't spring out of nowhere, a mad radical group flailing wildly without goals or reason.<br /><br />I personally wouldn't endorse such actions but I'm also not unsympathetic to the impulse. Our political establishment is ponderous, difficult to affect, massively influenced by corporate money and lobbyists. Petitions and rallies don't change things. Elections rarely change things significantly or quickly.<br /><br />This brings me back to the issue of historic revisionism in popular culture. <span style="font-style: italic;">Life on Mars</span> writers opted to rearrange actual events. The motive behind the bombings in the episode isn't political, it's a personal vendetta. Superficial political trappings fall aside to reveal simple personal revenge, and misdirected revenge at that. In one fell swoop, the episode discredits the Weathermen as petty, misinformed and misdirected. It attributes historically inaccurate killings to the Weathermen, boosting the boogeyman factor of the group. Because if the group is illogical and murderous, people won't look too deeply at the historic record.<br /><br />There is a strongly articulated view today saying all that '60s protest stuff was just silly self-indulgence by pampered white college kids. It wasn't important. It wasn't significant. It was immaturity run rampant.<br /><br />I don't believe this view. I highly recommend reading some of the manifestos that came out of the time period in the USA. You might be surprised and inspired.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.itsabouttimebpp.com/home/bpp_program_platform.html" target="_blank">The Black Panther Party - Ten Point Platform & Program (October 1966)</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www2.iath.virginia.edu/sixties/HTML_docs/Resources/Primary/Manifestos/SDS_Port_Huron.html" target="_blank">Port Huron Statement, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), (June 1962)</a><br /><br />------<br />*The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domino_Theory" target="_blank">Domino Theory</a> foreign policy rationale of the 1950s-1960s is roughly equivalent to the "Stop the terrorists there so we don't have to stop them here" rationale for US intervention in Iraq.DemiOratorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16387384765094459201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7772609.post-86179634911935569052009-02-09T12:47:00.003-05:002009-02-10T00:15:54.049-05:00Basic Economics: NecessitiesWith all the talk about stimulating the "consumer" economy, I can't help but question the basic assumptions behind this approach.<br /><br />At heart, modern capitalism is designed to devour the lower tiers of society without mercy. Capitalism only cares if you have money, materials or labor. This can be simplified as the ability to create products or to purchase them. The needs of society and its members are moot, literally inconsequential to the process of acquiring capital resources. Or rather it is only important as it affects labor or the consumer ends of the equation.<br /><br />Humans have a few very basic needs to merely survive from day-to-day: nourishing food, clean water, adequate shelter. Coming close on those is social interaction/community, basic health care, meaningful work and some leisure time. (Some might contest the necessity of leisure time but I'd argue that without it many people lose something intrinsic to their humanity.)<br /><br />US society is exceptionally artificial and alienated from the natural world in many ways. The vast majority of Americans live in urban centers or the sub-urban communities surrounding these centers. This affects those basic needs.<br /><br />A prime example of is food. No urban center is able to feed itself. Think about that for a moment. There is no farmland to speak of in an urban center. No significant livestock. Because of this, if there was a significant disruption of our transportation system, cities would begin starving almost immediately. I'm not talking a terrorist attack. Just an increase in the price of gas to affect truckers would do it. The peak price of gas last summer created a crisis for truckers.<br /><br />While the Cold Warriors have been busy congratulating themselves about the collapse of the Soviet Union, we've been placid about the problems of capitalism. No society or economic system is so prosperous and perfect that it can't collapse catastrophically.<br /><br />I'd like to see a society that provides for the basic needs of its people. The USA isn't doing this.DemiOratorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16387384765094459201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7772609.post-49637149146815193202009-02-08T00:31:00.005-05:002009-02-08T00:54:44.663-05:00Random 10 Songs: "Godfathers Love Rattlesnake Ashes" EditionApparently unclear on the casual nature of blogging, I neglect this corner storefront. So here is another relatively empty post of music titles.<br /><ol><li>Bowie, David - Ashes to Ashes</li><li>Teenage Fanclub - Your Love Is the Place Where I Come From</li><li>Fleetwood Mac/Peter Green - Rattlesnake Shake [Live]</li><li><a href="http://www.foxytunes.com/artist/r%c3%ba-r%c3%a1/track/two+pence+worth">Rú-Rá - Two Pence Worth</a></li><li>The Caravans - Know Your Rights</li><li>Lightnin' Hopkins - Woman, Woman</li><li>Talking Heads - Crosseyed and Painless</li><li>Placebo - My Sweet Prince</li><li>Godfathers - Just Like You</li><li>The Donnas - You Don't Wanna Call</li></ol>Bonus track: Fleetwood Mac - Oh WellDemiOratorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16387384765094459201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7772609.post-90842152569828554492009-01-22T18:49:00.004-05:002009-01-22T18:58:33.599-05:00Nixon v Bush<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1386/495/400/Bush-farewell.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 370px; height: 278px;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1386/495/400/Bush-farewell.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a href="http://demiorator.blogspot.com/2005/10/bush-waves-farwell-to-america.html" target="_blank">In 2005, I created this image</a> from the iconic photo of Richard Nixon leaving the White House after his resignation.<br /><br />At that time, I had the hope that Bush 43 would leave in disgrace, forced from office by scandal and massive popular sentiment. I didn't expect it, but I hoped nonetheless. Now he's gone and it seems appropriate to revisit the picture. Good riddance to bad rubbish.DemiOratorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16387384765094459201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7772609.post-57458375507597201942009-01-22T18:26:00.003-05:002009-01-22T18:49:04.756-05:00Gone, Bush, Gone!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1386/495/1600/ThisMutantBush.4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 396px; height: 272px;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1386/495/1600/ThisMutantBush.4.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Like a "farewell to arms," I see Bush 43 in my rear view mirror, receding into the distance. As a tribute to my various cruel renderings of him, I'm going to re-post a few.<br /><br />How sweet was the mocking of Bush! The jagged distortion, the manifest ugliness of his soul blooming and festering in images as he was morphed into monkey and goblin faces for my pleasure and amusement.<br /><br />Now the birds have begun to sing as he limps resentfully into decline and oblivion. If only early dementia could find him in the public eye.DemiOratorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16387384765094459201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7772609.post-35507115676383081522009-01-10T15:35:00.004-05:002009-01-18T14:08:29.793-05:00At risk on FacebookI've recently joined <a href="http://www.facebook.com/" target="_blank">Facebook (FB)</a>. I'm busy reconnecting with old friends there. There are all sorts of little applications on FB, often with admirable goals. One called (Lil) Green Patch contributes money to "save" rainforest areas from deforestation. Quite how it does this isn't exactly clear to me.<br /><br />There are "causes" you can join and "gifts" you can give and all of these little apps require that you give consent to allow them access to your profile and your friends list. I followed up on a few of the "privacy policies" and found the usual bafflegab and legal doublespeak designed less to explain things clearly to users and rather more to protect the companies from consequences. Of <span style="font-weight:bold;">course</span> they say the info they collect will be kept anonymous. Uh-huh. Sure. I trust you...<br /><br />Now here's an interesting thing about Facebook that may be totally obvious to people but I think is worth exploring: FB is for reconnecting with people from your past or current classmates or whatever. Because it is used as an online version of a real-world social network, people usually use their real names. That is, their legal names. To do otherwise sort of defeats the central purpose of the site.<br /><br />In most online sites or fora elsewhere on the internet, real names are optional. People pick handles of various sorts for these fora: variants of their name with birth year, a <span style="font-style:italic;">Star Wars</span> character, etc. On FB, however, your central account will be tied to you as an identifiable person with an online resume of sorts.<br /><br />Now the settings seem to default to only allowing your "friends" access to your information. It's not really that Google-able in this mode. But when you allow one of these numerous apps/companies to work with your FB account, you are allowing access to this same information. Where it goes from there is anybody's guess.<br /><br />While this raw info may be anonymous and stripped of a real name, I suspect the info in these exported accounts is close to real and accurate personal data. I also suspect that cross-referencing this data with other public info could create a rather more detailed than usual file on someone.<br /><br />Is this happening? Probably not but I don't know. If you trust online companies to protect your personal data from misdirection or misuse, you've got more faith in human nature than I do.<br /><br />So I've been very cautious about this on FB. I tend to not use my legal name in most online fora and perhaps I'm feeling a little twitchy about dangers of FB than is necessary. Everything ends up on the public internet eventually but I'd really like to limit what's available.DemiOratorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16387384765094459201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7772609.post-1651887895806770712008-12-27T22:17:00.003-05:002008-12-27T23:09:39.859-05:00Recent DocumentariesI'm a bit of a documentary lover so a fair number of docs make their way into my DVD player. Here are a few I've seen recently.<br /><br />A series called "Speaking Freely" has five volumes so far. Some may find them boring because the format has the subject talking for fifty minutes at a pop. There are a few edits to break it up into subject sections but that's it. No questions, no on-screen interviewer. At least, not in the two I've seen.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1245364/" target="_blank">Speaking Freely Volume 4: Chalmers Johnson</a> is excellent. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chalmers_Johnson" target="_blank">Mr. Chalmers</a> has a fascinating history including a stint as a CIA analyst. During the Cold War, he was a hawkish Cold Warrior. The collapse of the Soviet Union and the failure of the US to draw down their military in the aftermath led him to view the US as an imperialist power. Quite a change in perspective. He's an engaging speaker (he's a professor) and his analysis is clear and understandable. Five out of five spies in from the cold.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1245363/" target="_blank">Speaking Freely Volume 3: Ray McGovern</a> is a little less engaging but still very educational. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_McGovern" target="_blank">Mr. McGovern</a> was a CIA analyst for a long time but became disillusioned by the politicization of the agency. His familiarity with the intelligence community give added weight to his perspective. 4 out of 5 spies.<br /><br />I had high expectations for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Operating_Procedure_(film)" target="_blank">Standard Operating Procedure</a> (<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0896866/" target="_blank">IMDb listing</a>) by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Errol_Morris" target="_blank">Errol Morris</a>. While I enjoyed it, I was a little underwhelmed. I was particularly interested in seeing the uncensored photos and videos from Abu Ghraib. I'm sure these can be found online but I've never looked. The doc puts them into context and perspective and give a bit of a timeline for them. Memorable appalling moment: Lynndie England speaking about the infamous image of the hooded detainee on a box with his arms spread and wires attached to him. The detainee was told that if he fell off the box, he would be electrocuted. (The wires were not hooked up to any power source.) Ms. England says it was just words, not torture. How can only words be torture? Overall, though, it was a rather narrow perspective, rarely surfacing beyond the immediate group of MPs blamed for the events. 2.5 out of 5.DemiOratorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16387384765094459201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7772609.post-76170662043041011902008-12-25T17:30:00.003-05:002008-12-26T15:55:25.624-05:00The Mirage of the American DreamThe week between Christmas and the turning of the calendar on New Year's Day is often a time of reflection, of gathering the strands of the past year, of planning for the future. It is a time of resolutions, a time of renewed determination, a time to envision change.<br /><br />The inexorable collapse of the US financial system is perhaps a sign for us, all Americans, to rethink our priorities on a personal basis. As a society, we're used to consuming impulsively, to reflexive pleasure-seeking. <br /><br />Our economy is not predicated on the well-being and health of the citizens or meaningful security of food and shelter. Instead, our capitalism consumes us, selling us fantasies on TV, entrancing us with empty celebrity news. We live other people's lives on "unscripted dramas" and we give little thought to creating a sustainable way of life. The captains of industry grow rich and use us, discarding the vast majority of Americans in the name of profit.<br /><br />One report I saw recently estimated that half of the US bailout dispensed to banks so far went to shareholders of the banks, not to increase reserves or loans. Of course it's difficult to know because <span style="font-weight:bold;">there is no way to check how the money is used.</span> No requirement for the institutions to report <span style="font-weight:bold;">how</span> they are using the bailout money. Now the banks are saying <span style="font-weight:bold;">they have no way of tracking how the money is used.</span> Banks that don't have a way of tracking money that comes in and goes out? Now there's a fable for modern America.<br /><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qui_bono" target="_blank"><span style="font-style:italic;">Qui bono</span></a>? Who benefits? It doesn't take a brilliant flash of "Eureka!" to see that the wealthy benefit. The system is set up that way. The poor-but-patriotic go off to fight a war and the majority of workers live in fear of job loss in an instant.<br /><br />As usual, the supporters of the financial bailout say the benefits will trickle down to the workers, to "Main Street," eventually. I've heard this before. Actually, it is the continual refrain of American capitalism to the vast majority of workers: "You'll get yours in the sweet by-and-by."<br /><br />So we are learning to watch the scrambling, the sliding of wealth down the drain. We are waking up to a new vision, a new awareness of where our money comes from, who our work benefits.<br /><br />There's a bumper sticker that reads "Think Globally, Act Locally." There is a wisdom in that epigraph.DemiOratorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16387384765094459201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7772609.post-53488108383760611752008-12-12T17:51:00.006-05:002008-12-13T14:48:53.700-05:00Winter Soldiers and War Machines<a href="http://ivaw.org/" target="_blank">Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW)</a> sponsored <a href="http://ivaw.org/wintersoldier" target="_blank">Winter Soldier</a> in March, 2008, an eyewitness indictment of atrocities committed by US troops during the ongoing occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan. For the most part, this event and the testimony offered has been ignored by the mainstream press. <a href="http://www.projectcensored.org/top-stories/articles/9-iraq-and-afghanistan-vets-testify/" target="_blank">The story was #9</a> in the <a href="http://www.projectcensored.org/top-stories/category/y-2009/" target="_blank">Top 25 Censored Stories for 2009</a>.<br /><br />The myth of the "clean" war and the uniformly honorable behavior of US soldiers in times of war is a persistent one. War is never waged honorably. Perhaps it has never been so. Civilians are always killed and those viewed as the enemy are regularly brutalized, maimed, and killed even when weaponless and in custody. Their status as the "enemy" makes them subhuman or non-human.<br /><br />For soldiers, war is often a maelstrom of situational ethics and mission orders, of tribal oaths against evil outsiders, of hate and fear.<br /><br />Because of the intimate intertwining of individual soldiers with a fantastically strong and monolithic command structure, it becomes difficult to separate <span style="font-style:italic;">opposition to a war</span> from so-called <span style="font-style:italic;">support for the troops</span>. <br /><br />That there is a strong sense of honor and patriotism among most individual US soldiers is a given. The bonds of loyalty squad or platoon members have for each other are strong. Tests of courage, of life and death under fire, reach deep. This is the special domain of the warrior's experience and it is difficult for most civilians to really grasp what it is like. <br /><br />If this seems like I'm contradicting what I've written further up, the relevant factor is the command structure itself. While soldiers and field commanders have some latitude on how to accomplish "objectives" logistically on the ground, often they are constrained by other standing commands or lack of particular resources.<br /><br />For example, lack of adequate translators leads to an inability of troops to communicate with civilians or prisoners. When compounded by opposition forces without readily visible uniforms to identify them using unconventional tactics like IEDs, this leads to a self-protective attitude of universal suspicion. <br /><br />Questioning the War in Iraq is not remotely like questioning the integrity or courage of individual soldiers. Yet the proponents of the war consistently accuse those against the war of doing just that. This is a classic instance of misdirection, false blame, and the use of a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straw_man_(argument)">straw man argument</a>.<br /><br />Yet here we are, many years into the war, still hearing these calumnies and "Why do you hate America?"DemiOratorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16387384765094459201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7772609.post-91473094742263898762008-12-07T11:22:00.004-05:002008-12-07T13:45:19.157-05:00Meet the New Boss, Same as the Old BossAs Prez-Elect Obama fills out his cabinet and administration positions I'm reminded of the inevitable strength of the "establishment" in maintaining consistency of policy.<br /><br />Many people are (justly) dazzled and proud of the achievement of electing Obama President. Cynical me, I try to look beyond symbolism and appearance. National politics is more about advertising than substance, collective vision/illusion more than policy, about aspirational hopes more than reality.<br /><br />Despite Obama's claim that <span style="font-weight:bold;">he</span> will set the tone and agenda of his administration, the number of <a href="http://www.alternet.org/blogs/waroniraq/109160/right-wingers_and_neocons_love_obama%27s_cabinet_appointments/" target="_blank">conservatives praising his cabinet choices</a> seems curious and discouraging to me.<br /><br />We seem to be a nation easily impressed by surface appearances and symbolic narratives. The strong celebrity worship nurtured by Hollywood and TV is part of it but it's more than that. We are prone to collective self-delusion when it comes to political leaders. <br /><br />Already the signs are there from Obama: Reneging on campaign promises, compromise on US troop withdrawal from Iraq, a weaker approach to economic problems, and the list goes on.<br /><br />Since Franklin D. Roosevelt, our political process has basically been a very conservative one. We do not like big changes despite the slogan of the past election. Obama was the <span style="font-weight:bold;">face</span> of change, but <span style="font-weight:bold;">actual</span> change? Not so much by the indications so far.<br /><br />Radicals do not get to be party nominees. Hell, <span style="font-style:italic;">Liberals</span> can barely be heard in the debates. The winnowing process starts long before it ever get to the conventions, by the media and by the party brokers. Candidates who really desire to change things do not get to the end of the process. <br /><br />I hope I'm wrong. I see the small telltale signs and my heart begins to sink. Symbolism is not policy. <br /><br />This is all preliminary impressions, though, and from indirect signs. Obama is not yet in office. We haven't seen what he'll do in the first 100 days.<br /><br />So we wait and we watch.DemiOratorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16387384765094459201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7772609.post-67896585449146382152008-12-01T23:02:00.005-05:002008-12-01T23:55:53.884-05:00Debtor SuicidesWith foreclosures and overwhelming personal debt ravaging American society, I was surprised that I had not come across more about rising suicide rates. Apparently this is because few people want to know about it. <a href="http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/174991/nick_turse_going_to_extremes_in_america" target="_blank">"The Rising Body Count on Main Street: The Human Fallout from the Financial Crisis" By Nick Turse</a> examines some of these stories that peek out behind the better-covered macro view.<br /><br />I've personally experienced the depths of desperation evoked by rising debt. It is an ugly, dead-end feeling, hopeless and bottomless. It's not like I'm an extravagant spender. I'm childless and my vices are few: used books (<span style="font-weight:bold;">not</span> rare books), magazines, and used CDs (yes, I still buy music CDs; is my age showing?) I don't buy gadgets or console/computer games. My cell phone is 7 years old. So here are some excerpts from the article.<br /><blockquote>In February, when a sheriff's deputy went to serve an eviction notice on a home owner in Greeley, Colorado, he found the man had slashed his wrists and was lying in a pool of blood. Rushed to a nearby hospital, the man survived, while the Sheriff's office tried to downplay economic reasons for the incident, saying, according to the Denver Post, that "it wasn't linking the suicide attempt to the eviction because the man had known for a week that he was to be kicked out."<br /><br />In March, Ocala, Florida resident Roland Gore killed his dog and his wife, set fire to his home which was in foreclosure, and then killed himself.<br /><br />In April, Robert McGuinness, a 24-year-old process server, arrived at the Marion County, Florida doorstep of Frank W. Conrad. According to an article in the local Star Banner, the 82-year-old Conrad was reportedly "cordial" at first. When McGuinness produced the foreclosure notice, however, Conrad got angry and left the room. He returned with a .38 caliber pistol and announced, "You have two seconds to get off my property or you will go to the hospital." Marion County sheriff's deputies later arrested Conrad....<br /><br />Pinellas Park, Florida resident Dallas Dwayne Carter was a 44-year-old disabled, single dad who lost his job, fell into debt, and was faced with eviction. "He always talked about needing help -- financially and help with the kids," neighbor Kevin Luster told the St. Petersburg Times. On July 19th, Carter apparently called the police to say he was armed and disturbed. When they arrived, Carter fired his pistol and rifle inside the apartment, before emerging and pointing his weapons at the officers on the scene. Police say they ordered him to drop them. When he didn't, they killed him in a 10-round fusillade.<br /><br />On July 23d, about 90 minutes before her foreclosed Taunton, Massachusetts home was scheduled to be sold at auction, Carlene Balderrama faxed a letter to her mortgage company, letting them know that "by the time they foreclosed on the house today she'd be dead." She continued, "I hope you're more compassionate with my husband and son than you were with me." After that, she took a high-powered rifle and, according to the Boston Globe, shot herself. In an interview with the Associated Press, Balderrama's husband John said, "I had no clue." His wife handled the finances and had been intercepting letters from the mortgage company for months. "She put in her suicide note that it got overwhelming for her," he said. In the letter, she wrote, "take the [life] insurance money and pay for the house."</blockquote>DemiOratorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16387384765094459201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7772609.post-75752326177783959112008-12-01T18:34:00.002-05:002008-12-01T19:35:39.432-05:00Self-Reflective TautologyI'm once again entering one of my periodic phases of wondering what point or goal I'm pursuing with this blog. While I'm moderately entertained by crafting some of my individual posts, it remains rather random in scope and intent. One post will be relatively serious analysis with original synthesis of sources and the next might be a complete piece of fluff.<br /><br />I've never really defined DemiOrator other than orienting it generally toward political subjects with some social commentary. Even that has often gone by the wayside in the last couple of years, with long stretches of very shallow content or no content at all.<br /><br />My participation in the wider blogging community has also been completely non-existent for many months, leading to a reduction in my site traffic from other forums. While fame or a wide readership has never been my primary reason for blogging, I admit that my current traffic stats are a discouraging factor in continuing the project.<br /><br />So I'm thinking of either abandoning this blog entirely in favor of one of my other online venues or seriously focusing and retooling it. The effort of such an overhaul seems daunting to me. I'm not that thrilled with Blogger anymore but I'm really not skilled enough at HTML to easily redesign it for another blogging site.<br /><br />Truthfully, the name "DemiOrator" has begun to feel like a drag on me. It's a created word that feels awkward and difficult to use. I long to have some easily understandable blog name like "The Culture Ghost" or "Dark Wraith". OK, maybe those aren't the best examples but you probably get what I'm saying.<br /><br />So I'm wondering and thinking about these things.DemiOratorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16387384765094459201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7772609.post-34381079254158105452008-11-28T20:37:00.005-05:002008-11-28T21:03:22.155-05:00Over One Million Iraqi Deaths Caused by US OccupationEvery year I await the arrival of <a href="http://www.projectcensored.org/" target="_blank">Project Censored's</a> <a href="http://www.projectcensored.org/top-stories/category/y-2009/" target="_blank">Top 25 Censored Stories</a>. I like to get the book version even though the basic stories are online. There's a fair amount of extra material in the book version not available online, making it worth the price in my opinion.<br /><br />Their number one story was <a href="http://www.projectcensored.org/top-stories/articles/1-over-one-million-iraqi-deaths-caused-by-us-occupation/" target="_blank">"Over One Million Iraqi Deaths Caused by US Occupation"</a>. These figures are consistently glossed over by the American press. I was shocked by this:<br /><blockquote>"...an Associated Press poll conducted in February 2007, which asked a representative sample of US residents how many Iraqis had died as a result of the war. <span style="font-weight: bold;">The average respondent thought the number was under 10,000, about 2 percent of the actual total at that time.</span>"</blockquote>The whole "we don't do body counts" attitude by the US military seems clearly designed to trivialize and marginalize the Iraqi dead and displaced.<br /><blockquote>Interviewers from the Lancet report of October 2006 (Censored 2006, #2) asked Iraqi respondents how their loved ones died. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Of deaths for which families were certain of the perpetrator, 56 percent were attributable to US forces or their allies. </span>Schwartz suggests that if a low pro rata share of half the unattributed deaths were caused by US forces, a total of approximately 80 percent of Iraqi deaths are directly US perpetrated.<br /><br />Even with the lower confirmed figures, by the end of 2006, an average of 5,000 Iraqis had been killed every month by US forces since the beginning of the occupation. However, <span style="font-weight: bold;">the rate of fatalities in 2006 was twice as high as the overall average, meaning that the American average in 2006 was well over 10,000 per month, or over 300 Iraqis every day.</span> With the surge that began in 2007, the current figure is likely even higher.</blockquote>DemiOratorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16387384765094459201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7772609.post-15668276910195759082008-11-26T23:23:00.005-05:002008-11-27T12:40:25.486-05:00A Day Without a Gay?I'm not really sure this will work but the rationales are good and the timing seems appropriate. So on 10 December 2008 (International Human Rights Day), call in "gay." Invisibility is one reason why people think they don't know anyone who is gay or lesbian. Even if you're not "out," I think participation is easy and won't necessarily force you out. It's early winter; lots of people get sick this time of year.<br /><br />For more info, go to <a href="http://www.daywithoutagay.org/" target="_blank">http://www.daywithoutagay.org/</a>.DemiOratorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16387384765094459201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7772609.post-55830412795912706812008-11-26T11:20:00.003-05:002008-11-26T11:32:21.602-05:00National Day of MourningThis is late but people around the Northeast may be interested in this event in Plymouth, Massachusetts.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">UNITED AMERICAN INDIANS OF NEW ENGLAND<br />284 Amory Street Jamaica Plain, MA 02130<br />(617) 522-6626<br />E-mail: info@uaine.org<br />Website: <a href="http://www.uaine.org">www.uaine.org</a><br />ORIENTATION FOR 2008 NATIONAL DAY OF MOURNING<br /><br /></div>WHAT IS NATIONAL DAY OF MOURNING?<br />An annual tradition since 1970, Day of Mourning is a solemn, spiritual and highly political day. Many of us fast from sundown the day before through the afternoon of that day (and have a social after Day of Mourning so that participants in DOM can break their fasts). We are mourning our ancestors and the genocide of our peoples and the theft of our lands. NDOM is a day when we mourn, but we also feel our strength in political action. Over the years, participants in Day of Mourning have buried Plymouth Rock a number of times, boarded the Mayflower replica, and placed ku klux klan sheets on the statue of William Bradford, etc.<br /><br />WHEN AND WHERE IS DAY OF MOURNING?<br />Thursday, November 27, 2008 (U.S. "thanksgiving" day) at Cole's Hill, Plymouth, Massachusetts, 12 noon SHARP. Cole's Hill is the hill above Plymouth Rock in the Plymouth historic waterfront area.<br /><br />WILL THERE BE A MARCH?<br />There will be a march through the historic district of Plymouth. Plymouth has agreed, as part of the settlement of 10/19/98, that UAINE may march on Day of Mourning without the need for a permit as long as we give the town advance notice.<br />PROGRAM: Although we very much welcome our non-Native allies to stand with us at NDOM, it is a day when Native people only speak about our history and what is going on with us now and the struggles that are taking place throughout the Americas. Speakers will be by invitation only. This year's NDOM is once again dedicated to our brother Leonard Peltier.<br />SOCIAL: There will be a social held after the National Day of Mourning speak-out and march this year. It is possible that the hall that we have obtained is not large enough to seat everyone at once. We may have to do two seatings. Preference for the first seating will be given to Elders, children and their mother/caretaker, pregnant women, Disabled people, and people who have traveled a long distance to join National Day of Mourning. Please respect our culture and our wish to ensure that these guests will be the first to be able to sit and eat. With this understanding in mind, please bring non-alcoholic beverages, desserts, fresh fruit & vegetables, and pre-cooked items (turkeys, hams, stuffing, vegetables, casseroles, rice & beans, etc.) that can be easily re-warmed at the social hall. Thank you.<br />TRANSPORTATION: Limited carpool transportation may be available from Boston. Contact the Boston IAC Office at (617) 522-6626. There is transportation from New York City via the International Action Center, for more information call 212-633-6646.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Directions:</span> National Day of Mourning is held by the statue of Massasoit at Cole's Hill. Cole's Hill is the hill rising above Plymouth Rock on the Plymouth waterfront. If you need directions, use Water Street and Leyden Street in Plymouth, MA as your destination at mapquest.com. That will bring you to within a few hundred feet of Plymouth Rock and Cole's Hill. You can probably find a place to park down on Water Street.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Donations:</span> Monetary donations are gratefully accepted. Please make checks payable to the Metacom Education Project and mail to Metacom Education Project/UAINE at 284 Amory Street, Boston, MA 02130.DemiOratorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16387384765094459201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7772609.post-68078135486375880342008-11-05T11:59:00.003-05:002008-11-05T16:59:28.617-05:00I am the Bitterness Amid CelebrationPerhaps the reality of Obama's win is unhinging me. I should be, if not jubilantly happy, at least satisfied with the outcome. Yet I remain somewhat gloomy about it.<br /><br />While everyone celebrates the milestone of Obama's win, I look at the things he probably will not do.<br /><br />Troops will not be withdrawn from Iraq with any speed.<br /><br />Troop levels in Afghanistan will probably be increased.<br /><br />While Obama has said he will pursue diplomacy more actively, I very much doubt that will significantly decrease U.S. military interventions over the next four years. I suspect that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Realpolitik" target="_blank">realpolitik</a> will be a central consideration rather than compassionate or idealistic generosity.<br /><br />Whatever actions he takes on the economic front won't happen until after his inauguration. And whatever he does will probably take a long time to take effect.<br /><br />As I've said, Obama is inheriting a huge pile of problems from Bush: systemic de-regulation, ideological politicization of science, demoralization of career civil servants, etc. The list is extensive and Obama will be hard pressed just to correct the shambles left by the Bushies, much less advance a positive agenda.<br /><br />To be blunt, I haven't heard anything to lead me to believe Obama is anything but a centrist. While this is an enormously refreshing change from the extreme bellicose hard-heartedness of Bush, I remain unconvinced we will actually see substantive changes quickly in an Obama administration. I may be wrong. I hope I'm wrong.<br /><br />"But," you sputter, "This is a historic moment, a shining beacon of achievement that renounces racism in America and affirms the highest aspirations of our Constitution! We have shown that America has moved beyond racial divisions!"<br /><br />Uh-huh. That and US$3.50 will get you a latte. (For now.)<br /><br />Even with the "mandate" Obama received from a large majority of the voters, his path will be enormously hard. He's an excellent rhetorician, an eloquent speaker who clearly articulates the desires of many Americans but it's difficult to judge how effective he will be.<br /><br />However much I want Obama to succeed and accomplish a re-invigorated liberal agenda, he will be constrained by enormously powerful economic and political forces. I am certainly not pointing a finger at some vague free-floating racism but at the resistance of the system itself to change.<br /><br />I hope for change but my expectations are exceedingly low.<br /><br />If he doesn't accomplish some major items quickly, I strongly expect all that wonderful goodwill flowing from the electorate in these celebratory moments will turn to resentment. <br /><br />No one falls faster than a hero.<br /><br />I'm sorry if this all comes across as harsh or overly judgmental of a man who hasn't been President-elect for even 24 hours. I'm sorry to rain on this golden parade of optimism and bright visions of the future I see blooming everywhere. I'm sorry to cast doubt on accomplishments yet to come. <br /><br />My contrarian nature has emerged to spoil the party and I am sorry.DemiOratorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16387384765094459201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7772609.post-2402613552447359472008-11-03T15:02:00.002-05:002008-11-04T18:00:30.088-05:00Rashid Khalidi's Connections to Obama... And McCain<a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2008/10/30/headlines" target="_blank">This item</a> was on Democracy Now! on 10/30/08 and the sheer gall behind the "accusation" made me laugh aloud. The contradiction is ineffably amusing. [All emphasis mine]:<br /><br /><blockquote><span style="font-weight:bold;">McCain Faults Obama for Ties to Professor He Once Funded</span><br /><br />On the Republican side, Senator McCain has revived an old attack on Obama by bringing up his alleged ties to Palestinian American professor <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rashid_Khalidi&oldid=249497117" target="_blank">Rashid Khalidi</a>. Khalidi teaches Arab Studies at Columbia University, where he also heads the Middle East Institute. The McCain campaign has cited few allegations against Khalidi aside from the fact that he is a Palestinian and supports Palestinians’ right to resist Israeli military occupation. Speaking last night on CNN’s Larry King Live, McCain criticized the LA Times for refusing to release a video of Obama appearing at a 2003 event honoring Khalidi.<br /><br /> Larry King: “Speaking of newspapers, there is the LA Times.”<br /><br /> Sen. John McCain: “Yeah.”<br /><br /> King: “They apparently—your campaign says that they’re suppressing videotape of a 2003 banquet when Barack Obama praised Palestinian activist and scholar Rashid Khalidi. What’s this all—what is this?”<br /><br /> Sen. McCain: “Why shouldn’t they—”<br /><br /> King: “Why would the paper suppress this?”<br /><br /> Sen. McCain: “I have no idea. If they have the tape, they ought to make the American people aware of it, let them see it and make their own judgment. Frankly, I’ve been in a lot of political campaigns, a whole lot. I’ve never seen anything like this, where a major media outlet has information and a tape of some occasion—maybe it means nothing. Maybe it’s just a social event. I don’t know. But why should they not release it? And why shouldn’t the Obama campaign want it released?”<br /><br /> King: “Is this Palestinian some sort of terrorist?”<br /><br /> Sen. McCain: “We know that at that time, the PLO was a terrorist organization.”<br /><br /> King: “He was PLO?”<br /><br /> Sen. McCain: “Yeah, yeah—that’s what the allegation is, Larry. I haven’t seen the tape. So—but we should see the tape to make it—the American people make a judgment.”<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">McCain went on to compare Obama’s appearance at the dinner to appearing at a “Neo-Nazi” event.</span> The LA Times says it won’t release the tape because of a promise made to the source who provided it. Khalidi has never worked as a spokesperson for the PLO. McCain’s attack on Khalidi marks the latest in a series of efforts to disparage Obama because of real or concocted ties to Arabs and Muslims. Khalidi is a respected scholar who has called for a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict in accordance with a majority of public opinion in the US and worldwide. <span style="font-weight:bold;">The so-called Khalidi “controversy” also comes as a surprise in light of McCain’s own previous ties to Khalidi’s work on behalf of Palestinian rights. During the 1990s, McCain chaired the International Republican Institute when it gave several grants to Khalidi’s Center for Palestine Research and Studies.</span></blockquote>DemiOratorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16387384765094459201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7772609.post-33845341105184316422008-10-29T10:32:00.004-04:002008-10-29T11:10:02.866-04:00Is Palin the Future of the GOP?I'm not so much interested in the question as how many news stories are talking about it. <br /><br />It's not much of a surprise though; Palin is the current golden girl because of her VP run. McCain is obviously not going to run again if he loses and all those folks from the primaries are just memories at the moment. This will change after the election, assuming McCain/Palin lose the election.<br /><br />The <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/29/us/politics/29palin.html?partner=permalink&exprod=permalink" target="_blank">New York Times says</a>: <br /><blockquote>Brent Bozell, president of the Media Research Center, a conservative group, called it a “top order of business” to determine Ms. Palin’s future role. “Conservatives have been looking for leadership, and she has proven that she can electrify the grass roots like few people have in the last 20 years,” Mr. Bozell said. “No matter what she decides to do, there will be a small mother lode of financial support behind her.”<br /></blockquote>Unless Palin is really developing her skills, it's difficult for me to see her in the Presidency except as a front for other interests/power brokers. She may be top dog in Alaska but that is not saying much compared to a broader political stage.<br /><br />The superficial similarities to the current Bush are difficult to ignore. (Although I think Palin comes by her "folksy" mannerisms more honestly than Bush.) The appeal of the "shucks, I'm just like you" factor isn't to be discounted but I don't think it really plays well in these times. Even four years from now, it's unlikely that our economy will be in great shape. The "drill, baby, drill" motto won't solve our longterm energy problems. Her foreign policy approach until now has been shallow and naive. Unless she (or her team) can work up a more nuanced approach to issues, she remains all surface and no depth. Undoubtedly, those who will try to educate her will be the Neocons.<br /><br />I don't think she's stupid. It's possible she will get up to speed, particularly if she has four years to prepare, but I personally think it's a losing proposition for the GOP to go with her as the future. Just because she "galvanized" the GOP base this time around doesn't mean she's a good candidate. The longer you look at her positions and responses, the less there is to her appeal. Smiles and winks are not substantive positions.DemiOratorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16387384765094459201noreply@blogger.com0