Tensions between Brazil and Paraguay

The New York Times has a story up about "mounting tensions" between Brazil and Paraguay. This week, Brazil is conducting military training along their border with Paraguay. Paraguay is rather nervous over this, and Fernando Lugo this week made some strong statements about what would happen if Brazil violated even "one inch" of Paraguay's territorial sovereignty.

I must say, the tensions mentioned in this story seem to fall far more on the Paraguay side of the equation than the Brazil side. I think the implicit connections that the story tries to make between the training practices and the Paraguayan landless' efforts to seize land owned by Brazilians in Paraguay is tenuous at best. Yes, there is the possibility that naturalized Brazilians' ownership is at risk in Paraguay, and it is in the Brazilian government's interests to make sure its citizens are not harmed, be it in Paraguay or elsewhere. Still, I'm not really convinced that the Paraguayan landless movement and the military training have led to heightened nervousness in Brazil. That may be the case, but the article really offers nothing in the way of evidence to back that up.

As for Paraguay, I have little doubt that their tensions are very real and a bit more pervasive. None can fault Paraguay for being a bit worried about the fact that, just as there is a growing movement to remove foreign (mostly Brazilian) farmers from there lands in Paraguay, Brazil is training its military along Paraguay's border. Although it was nearly 140 years ago, the War of the Triple Alliance, in which Brazil (with nominal and brief aid from Argentina and Uruguay) invaded Paraguay. The 6-year war (1864-1870) ended up with nearly half of Paraguay's population dead, and more than 80% of its men over the age of 20 casualties of war or disease. It's not hard to understand why, even if so much time has passed, Paraguay might still be a bit on edge over this.

Still, I really don't think much is going to come of this, at least for now. Brazil does often train troops in that region, and it (along with the Amazonian basin) is a major site of illegal smuggling of drugs, weapons, and especially products like electronics and housewares, whose smuggling helps circumvent Brazilian taxes and tariffs. What is more, if there's any single word that could describe Lula's foreign policy, it's "diplomatic." Even when popular opinion in Brazil calls for sabre-rattling and takes a more aggressive stance towards its neighbors, Lula has practiced a calm, peaceful foreign policy. In short, "cooperation" has been the word for the last 6 years under Lula, and there is absolutely no good reason to see the military training as a sudden shift in that policy over what amounts to a domestic issue facing Paraguay.

That said, this does raise the specter of uglier regional politics in the post-Lula era. There can be no doubt that, since the beginning of the decade, Brazil has come to assume a new role as regional leader in South America, gaining a very real presence as the major power of the region, rather than a nominal presence (which is what Brazil's role as a regional leader often was throughout the 20th century). While Lula's administration has been one of reasoned diplomacy and cooperation, there's nothing to guarantee that future leaders will be as calm and patient in dealing with their neighbors, particularly when said leaders perceive Brazil's own interests to be at risk. In light of Lula's foreign policy over the past several years, I really don't see much aggression in and of itself in Brazil's recent definition of foreign aggression as "whoever threatens or commits “hostile prejudicial acts against Brazilian sovereignty, territorial integrity or the Brazilian people”. However, it is open-ended enough to leave room for future leaders to interpret it in a far more aggressive fashion than Lula probably would. And while it may seem strange to suggest that Brazil would provoke a war with another country over a perceived threat, geopolitics is strange, and it's not like countries haven't unilaterally declared war over "perceived threats" before. Thus, while I don't think there's much to the Mercopress article right now (and, like the New York Times article, I think the connections it and the Estado de Sao Paulo are trying to make are a bit tenuous), it does raise the interesting specter that, down the line, Brazil could become a bit of a regional bully in South America as the regional, hemispheric, and global geopolitics shift.

"Socialist" scare tactics (at GlobalComment)

So the McCain campaign won’t let go of Joe the Plumber. He’s still being trotted out in speeches by McCain and Palin. They mention again and again how Obama wants to “spread” Joe’s wealth.

Aside from the condescension (yet again) implicit in McCain’s reduction of Joe to a stereotype (and leaving out any of the frenzied investigations into just who Joe really is), I want to look a little closer at what the Joe the Plumber rhetoric really means.

Joe, of course, is white. He’s from Ohio, a state connected with middle-American whiteness, as opposed to the cities that McCain likes to emphasize in reference to Obama (”I don’t need any advice from a…Chicago politician!”).

The city is black; Middle America is white.

Read the rest. Because you love me.

Shorter Ralph Nader: Forget about Issues, I've Got Records to Set!!!

I don't know which is more embarassing/hilarious: that Nader wants this to show up in the Guinness Book of World Records (way to be concerned about the issues there, Ralph!), or that 2/3 of America is apparently unaware he's running again.


And people say he's only an egomaniac who is more concerned with himself than with any real establishment of a legitimate third party.....

Historical Image of the Day

Man with hair. Biloxi, Mississippi, early 1970s.

So, Exactly What Kind of Questions IS Sarah Palin Good At Answering (Besides Scripted Questions)?

Of all the delightful parts of this story, there's one portion that leaves me confused:

A Palin associate defended her [over allegations she's "going rogue], saying that she is "not good at process questions" and that her comments on Michigan and the robocalls were answers to process questions.

Um....what the hell is a "process question?" Is it a question that was formed in a process in which Palin could never take part (and therefore not be prepared for the answer)? Is it a question that requires basic cranial processes to work normally? Just what is a "process question?"


Given how Palin's history of "answering" questions has played out over the last 2 months, it's hard to see "not being good at process questions" as anything other than a jargony euphemism for "she lacks the basic brain functions and/or mastery of the English Language necessary to answer simple questions." And when your own "associates" are saying that, that's not a good sign.

The States

Here's a question--what is going on in state elections? According to this Times article, Republicans think they can win in a lot of the state legislatures. I don't know how true this is, the reality is that not only do I not know, I don't even know how to know. All these national political websites seem to be ignoring the states. I haven't seen a single thing on either Kos or 538.com on any state races. Even the governor's races, which are really important.

Obviously, the national elections are more important and the focus on the Netroots have been on these races. But one thing the Republicans know is the value of low-level down-ballot races. School boards. Judges. County commissioners. Things like that. The left has never focused on these races to much extent. For all the talk of the grassroots, we haven't done a very good job at actually building from there to bigger races.

This really matters because of congressional realignment in 2010. In Texas, we need to flip 5 House seats. That might happen. But if Republicans are making gains in other states, that's a problem. And if they win governorships, that's even worse. Hopefully, one place the Netroots can build in the next 2 years is to a greater focus and publicity machine for these state and local races.

Historical Image of the Day

Alfred Kazin, American writer and literary critic

Latin American Dictators, Counterrevolutionary Groups, and John McCain in the 1980s

It's no secret by now that John McCain has kept and still keeps company with unsavory characters, to put it mildly. Additionally, by now, it's highly unlikely that anybody who hasn't made up their mind about the election yet will be persuaded by any of this. Still, this month has seen a few stories come up with a couple of damning stories involving McCain and Latin America in the 1980s.

First, there was a report on McCain's role with the U.S. Council for World Freedom. The USCWF was a direct offshoot of the World Anti-Communist League, the latter of which "had ties to ultra-right figures and Latin American death squads" and that was charged with, among other things, anti-Semitism. As the article states, although the USCWF claimed to purge these elements from their own organization, it still "claimed to support "pro-Democratic resistance movements fighting communist totalitarianism." And during the 1980s it became a vehicle for the Reagan administration to prop up some of the more totalitarian, anti-communist efforts in Central America," most notably in financially aiding the Contras to the tune of more than $5 million. The USCWF became one of the main means for the Reagan administration to illegally fund the Contras, circumventing Congress. That McCain was involved with this board is thus problematic not only because he, as a member of Congress at the time, was involved with a group that was directly helping Reagan to violate the Constitution; it's also troubling because, as Stein says, "it firmly associates him with a foreign policy that was, at the time and still, controversial." And this is all involving a man who's claiming to be better prepared and on the moral high ground over his opponent in terms of foreign policy.

Additionally, the story about McCain's 1985 "friendly meeting" with Pinochet, revealed in declassified embassy records has been making the rounds this week. As Boz points out, that McCain met with Pinochet in and of itself isn't necessarily an issue today; many politicians met with Pinochet. But there are problems that Boz raises:

First and foremost, McCain disagrees with the view I set in the above paragraph. He's made his disagreement with Obama's willingness to meet with "dictators without preconditions" a major part of his foreign policy. Has his policy changed since the time he met Pinochet, did he believe Pinochet to be a US ally in 1985 (by '85, even most Republican leaders had turned against Pinochet), or was there some sort of precondition to this meeting that we remain unaware of?

Second, additional documents indicate McCain and his wife stayed on the farm of a Pinochet ally for three days prior to the meeting, vacationing and fishing. That's not exactly an ideal circumstance to then meet with a dictator and demand better human rights or the release of political prisoners.

Finally, no attempt to publicly call for democracy? No public repudiation of Pinochet's human rights record? No meetings with pro-democracy opposition leaders (like Ted Kennedy did around the same time McCain met with Pinochet)? Why did McCain stay so quiet back then? [Answer: because Pinochet fought the "communists." - Mr. Trend.]

Certainly, neither of these stories will change much in the election, nor should they necessarily - there are manifold reasons why not to vote for McCain besides these. Still, they do reveal a really troubling side to his past activities that do give an important insight into how he might potentially deal with Latin America and in his foreign policy relations more generally.

A letter of which the Unabomber could be proud

The battle over California's Prop 8, already ugly, has gotten a little bit uglier this week. The Prop 8 initiative, funded by the likes of James Dobson and the Mormon Church, would establish a constitutional amendment in California defining marriage as only between a human with a penis and a human with a vagina. The Prop 8 proponents are still lagging in the polls, but have closed the gap significantly due to their deep pockets and significant advertising expenditures.

The Prop 8 zealots have a new tactic-- threatening businesses that have donated to groups that oppose Prop 8, like Equality California. Here is an excerpt from the linked letter, received by San Diego firm Abbott & Associates:

Were you not to donate [to ProtectMarriage.com] comparably, it would be a clear indication that you are in opposition to traditional marriage. You would leave us no other reasonable assumption. The names of any companies and organizations that choose not to donate in like manner to ProtectMarriage.com but have given to Equality California will be published. It is only fair that Proposition 8 supporters to know which companies and organizations oppose traditional marriage.

I'm surprised that the asshats who sent this letter didn't paste it together from letters clipped from magazines and newspapers. This is certainly a new low in this campaign, which features a highly motivated group of people with nothing better to do than be professional assholes. With all of the problems this state faces, one would think groups like the California Catholic Conference would be focusing on issues like foreclosures, poverty, education, child care, etc. I guess those issues just don't give one the same self-righteous jolt of disgusting, ugly piety that these bigots are getting from this campaign.

These fresh, new bloggers are really green!

I’ve been in India this past week, and contrary to what most Indians do here, I’ve surrounded myself with intense green foliage and very little technology, but today I decided to combine the two - or rather a Japanese scientist decided to combine the two, and I decided to write about it.

What would a plant blog about if it could?

"Today was a sunny day and I was able to sunbathe a lot... I had quite a bit of fun today," chimed one member of the plant kingdom from a café near Tokyo.

The plant's leaves, which respond to light and human touch, are attached to a sensor that measures bio-electric signals. These are then translated into blog posts using a computer algorithm. The plant entertains visitors to the café by talking about its health and mood on any given day. This is part of an effort from scientists at Keio University, who are studying communication with plants.

The site is somewhat lost in translation, what with its sole member being a plant talking in Japanese and all, but you could check it out yourself.

Since everything’s supposedly going green these days, why leave out the blogosphere?

Mr. Trend's Random 10

For those wondering, the seventh song's title translates as "Catechism, Toothpaste and Me." It's off Ze's debut album from 1968, right in the heart of the Tropicalia movement, and it really is a great (if unknown compared to Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, or Gal Costa) example of the multicultural questions it raises both musically and lyrically (in this case, the title implies the mixing of Brazilian culture with the image of modernism promoted by the U.S.). If you haven't heard any Tom Ze, find ANY and give it a chance.

1. "Long Walk Home" - Bruce Springsteen
2. Petrushka - "The Jovial Merchant with 2 Gypsy Girls" - Igor Stravinsky
3. "Feio" - Miles Davis
4. "Best Foot Forward" - DJ Shadow
5. "Three Women Blues" - Blind Willie McTell
6. "Fixin' to Die Blues" - Bukka White
7. "Catecismo, Creme Dental e Eu" - Tom Ze
8. "Lazy Line Painter Jane" - Belle & Sebastian
9. "1000 BPM" - Beck
10. "Snowstorm" - Galaxie 500

Link of the Day: Deadwood and Language

Deadwood is one of my favorite television shows of all time. It appeals to me on so many levels. Not only is the acting great, but, for once, a western tries to be historically accurate in ways that matter to me. Filth, language, social relations. Welcome to the Old West.

But of course the greatest part of the show is the language. Combining the conventions of Victorian Era American English with the most vile swearing known is genius. While the actual swear words have changed some over the last 130 years, making an actual recreation of the period's language untenable for a television show, Deadwood captures the spirit of language so well.

Over at Acephalous, there is a great post on this, made greater by the fact that Jim Beaver, who played Ellsworth, writes in the comment thread. Which would pretty much be the greatest thing ever if that happened to me.

Also, fuck HBO for canceling Deadwood. Cocksuckers.

Historical Image of the Day

Launching of Minuteman III ICBM. Date unknown.

Senate Races: New Hampshire

(posted at my blog a few days ago, sharing with you guys)

Like everyone else, I've been wrapped up in the presidential election. Pennsylvania doesn't have a governor's or Senate race this year, and Philly is such a Democratic lock that the primaries back in the spring pretty much decided who the state reps will be. If I get outside of Philly I see Patrick Murphy signs everywhere (which make me happy), but I've realized how little attention I've been paying to some of the really fun congressional races this weekend when I was in New Hampshire.

In addition to the Obama signs (and yes, McCain/Palin signs), I saw loads of bright green Jeanne Shaheen signs. Jeanne Shaheen is the former 3-term Democratic governor of New Hampshire and she's challenging John Sununu for the Senate. She would become New Hampshire's first woman senator.

Emily's List has a rundown on Shaheen on the issues. Opposed to the Iraq war, pro-choice--those should be enough for any of us, right? But Shaheen is also a former public school teacher, committed to public education, and lost the Senate race to Sununu back in 2002 by only 19,000 votes. In addition, Democratic GOTV phone banks were jammed by Republican operatives on election day--two were convicted and served jail time.

Sununu is an old familiar name in New Hampshire--John Sununu Sr. was governor. The current Sununu is an anti-choice hawk who has taken tons of money from oil companies (no surprise there, right?)

Plus, Jeanne Shaheen is a fun name to say.

New Hampshire is close to my heart--as I stated below, a lot of my family still lives there and every time I go to visit, I obsess over its beauty and small-town-USA perfection. The tiny downtown where my grandmother lives has a Thai restaurant, a coffee shop, and the best used bookstore (also with an amazing selection of records) that I've ever been to. I don't go there without coming back with gems: bell hooks, this time, and this book as well. Couple that with a train station and a Dunkin' Donuts, and I'm good to go. If the town were a little less white, it'd be heaven.

The "live free or die" state has been a swing state for a while now, and that's part of the reason I love it. I actually adore the fact that a McCain sign is next door to an Obama sign, and the division between neighbors isn't ethnic or income-based. I like that New Hampshirites take their early primary seriously, and even though as Jon Stewart pointed out, they're "cold white people," they care about voting.

So Jeanne Shaheen's lead in the polls makes me happy. And I hope it grows, and that she heads off to the Senate in January.

Bloomberg, New York City Council Ignore Majority of New Yorkers' Opinions, Decides They Deserve More Time In Office

After a weeks-long PR battle, the New York City Council today voted 29-22 to extend term limits for mayor and for council members to 3 terms (they had been limited to 2 terms). Mike Bloomberg began pushing for this several weeks ago, citing the "major financial crisis" the city was facing, and Council President Christine Quinn was quickly on board with the plan. Not coincidentally, both would have had to vacate their positions next year when elections rolled around. Instead, Bloomberg, Quinn, and about 2/3 of the City Council will be able to run for re-election for a 3rd term next year.

Although I'm relatively new to the city, this smells pretty bad to me. Voters already had a chance to turn down the 2-term limit twice (in 1993 and 1996), but both times, New Yorkers voted to keep the term limits in place. Yet Bloomberg and Quinn used a loophole to place the vote directly before the council today, without consulting voters, and the council rejected a measure earlier in the day to send the issue to voters in a referendum. I realize that it's been 12 years since the last time such a referendum was voted upon, and perhaps this time the citizens of New York would have turned over term limits. Still, the fact that the Council and the Mayor took it upon themselves to shut off that channel is disturbing, to put it mildly.

Also disturbing is the possible conflict-of-interests at hand. When you have 2/3 of a governing body that would have to vacate their positions at the end of the next year, leaving the vote up to them and not the regular citizens to decide whether or not they should stay in power seems a bit...problematic. Of course, Bloomberg, Quinn, and supporters of the 3-term-limit have been defending taking the issue out of voters' hands by saying that if the voters don't like it, then they can vote against Bloomberg and their council representatives next year. However, that seems disingenous to me, particularly given how much money Bloomberg has. As anybody with half a brain knows today, elections in largely-populated areas, be they cities, states, or countries, are determined in no small part by how much money the candidates have to spend, and there's no question that Bloomberg can and probably will outspend any opposition. That's not to say Bloomberg's (or other council members') opponents are guaranteed to lose, but they are facing a pretty big mountain to climb.

As for Bloomberg's argument that the financial crisis hitting the U.S. makes this an "exceptional" time, he's not necessarily wrong. Yet September 2001 was also an exceptional time, and even Giuliani "only" suspended elections for a few months. While that too was an appalling move, it was nowhere near as vulgar as the power-grab Bloomberg may be pulling now (though I'm certain Giuliani is sitting at home, kicking himself and saying "Why didn't I think of that???"). Bloomberg's gotten backing from (suprise suprise) Quinn and others, who insist that his business acumen makes it imperative the city have him at the helm of the ship while it tries to navigate this financial crisis. However, if Bloomberg is such a financial genius, one can't help but wonder why he didn't see this coming sooner and try to prevent it any way he could. I'm not saying he's necessarily the wrong man in the way, say, that McCain's just the wrong guy right now, but I'm sure as hell not convinced he's the right guy, either.

If there's any silver lining to this issue, it's that Bloomberg most likely will not make a run for governor of New York in 2010. There had been talk that he would try to replace David Patterson, the current Democratic governor of the city, running as a democrat. I like Patterson, and I like the job he's done overall (though I'm not thrilled about his refusal to raise taxes on the wealthy in order to address the state's deficit problems).

Still, this is a pretty ugly local example of the mechanisms of politics. I hope people will remember this next year in November, but I doubt it.

The $150,000 Clothing Budget

I can't believe I am saying this, but I actually sympathize a little bit with Sarah Palin on this $150,000 clothing budget thing. Unfortunately, women in public life are judged on how they dress. And considering that her real national constituency is right-wing males like Rich Lowry who see her as a sex object as well as a political figure, it was not unreasonable for the Republican Party to make these expenditures. Plus, it is totally legal. If Obama or McCain don't look super great all the time, it's not nearly as big a deal as if Palin had a bad fashion day. Plus, those guys do look good. They wear expensive suits and clothes.

So this is a total double standard. Frankly, it's sexist.

However, there is one important caveat. And this is where I lose most of my sympathy with Palin. She based much of her appeal around the bullshit political construction that she was like you and me. This is completely absurd. She almost nothing in common with regular people. She is like W in this way. One of the most frustrating things about the 2000 election was the whole "who do you want to have a beer with" thing. It wasn't just that it was an asinine question; it was that the obvious answer was Gore. Bush is a stupid asshole frat boy. He's like a guy in a beer commercial. You think you might want to have a drink with this person. Until you meet him. Then you realize that he is a jerk. Gore on the other hand might actually have something interesting to say and would probably want to chat with you a little. And he probably has better taste in beer.

Obviously, Palin's background is less elite than Bush, but she still lives a lifestyle that is far distant from that of "average" Americans, whatever that means. So the significance of the clothing budget is not the clothes themselves. It is the exploding of the bullshit media narrative the Republicans constructed around her.

They're still trying to execute Troy Davis

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Historical Image of the Day

Robert Welch, founder of the John Birch Society, giving a speech in Portland, Oregon, 1966

Volunteering for Obama: What it's Really Like

I’ll say it right away: the campaign trail is not for the thin-skinned.

You will have doors slammed in your face, sometimes by sweet old ladies who take one look at your button and scream “NO!”

You will see people peer out through a crack in the blinds and then pretend they’re not home.

More than that, on a presidential campaign, you will have to use the things you like least about your candidate as selling points to “swing” voters. You will have to choke down your anger at blatant racism and sexism to try to keep smiling and convey your point.

You will have to keep yourself honest.

Read the rest at GlobalComment.com

NFL @ Week 7: AFC Edition

I’ve decided to alternate NFC to AFC every week. There’ll still be one every week, but it won’t be so damned repetitive. I’m only slightly less disgusted about the Broncos today than I was yesterday (though this is still quite disgusted), so I can think about football again.

AFC EAST

The Patriots’ trashing of the Broncos is not a sign that New England is back. Given that the first team to throttle them was KC, this should not be a sign of hope for New England fans still reeling from the kick in the gut Tampa gave them. The Pats will be back to their usual crappy Cassel-led team soon enough. It was great to see Buffalo derail the Chargers little comeback, keeping them a game back from Denver. It’s hard for me to believe that the Bills are an elite team and this will bear out in the second half. There’s no doubt that Miami’s “Wildcat” offense is a gimmick, but I love gimmicks and I love what they’re doing on the field. I never would have thought in a million years that Chad Pennington would line up at receiver, but there he is a number of times every game. I hope the Jets are happy with Favre. He’s playing moderately well but, like the Packers before them, Favre is quickly bringing them down.

AFC NORTH

Pittsburgh is a good team with bad injury problems, but they’re all there is in the North. They’re winning games, and that’s obviously the most important thing, but they’re putting on some of the most boring games I’ve seen. Running teams are great, but when you’re working with the likes of Najeh Davenport, there isn’t a lot of excitement in the runs. It’s amazing to me how similar Baltimore looks, year after year, no matter who runs the team and who mans the positions. Crappy offense, top defense. This keeps them right around .500 over the long-haul but they’ll never be a consistent playoff team this year. I like Joe Flacco’s name, so I’m rooting for them more or less. Mr. Trend has something to be happy about in Ohio sports this year: the Browns aren’t the Bengals. Ohio on Ohio violence is hilarious, and so was their game. But Derek Anderson beat Ryan Fitzpatrick in the worst chess match in history. With the Cowboys, these two teams could almost make a full division out of extremely talented, yet worthless teams. Those would be some amusing division games, I’m sure.

AFC SOUTH

The South is, by far, the toughest division in football this year, and this has been consistent over the last couple (no matter what the loser NFC East fans want to think about themselves). The Texans may not be in the running for the division, they are a good team with a lot of offensive weapons and a great, young defense. That they are in last place, 0-3 in the division and 2-1, while playing tough teams, is evidence of this. I’m thrilled that the Colts look as bad as they do, but I’m not convinced that they won’t turn it around. I’m also not convinced that the Titans are actually 6-0. I mean, seriously, Kerry Quitter? How does a guy like that lead anybody to do anything but quit. This must be a huge liberal-elite media conspiracy to make them look good for some obscure reason.

AFC WEST

From the best to the worst. Sad as it is to say, you’re in a terrible division when this Denver team is leading and has tie-breakers. There is no doubt that this is the worst Bronco defense the team has ever fielded. Injuries to both Champ and Boss Bailey hurt badly and the pass D should be that much more terrible. Still they won’t be at the bottom of their division at the end of the year like the Cowboys and the Seahawks, so there’s always a positive outlook. The Chargers look like a Norv Turner-coached team. High on talent, low on brains. He’s an idiot and here’s to the San Diego organization giving him a fresh new contract this year. The Chiefs and the Raiders still play football, I suppose. At least their QBs don’t run out the back of the end zone, so this is more than some teams have, but KC is fielding Tyler Thigpen for the rest of the year, so the comedy should quickly ensue. Go Broncos!...no matter how bad they fall apart against stupid New England.

The 2008 Presidential Longshots: Belly up to the Barr for smaller government and more moustaches!

I wouldn’t want to be a Libertarian today. The financial meltdown that has shaken the core economic gospel of even the current administration has dealt the Libertarian movement, if not a mortal blow, at least a fairly rounded whoopin’. Granted, the public anger over the government bailout could inject some excitement and interest in the Libertarian party and their candidate, but any sense of long-term intellectual authority seems damaged.

My guess is that Bob Barr doesn’t see it that way. The irascible, outspoken candidate for the Libertarian Party is trying very hard to capitalize on the public resentment over the government’s bailout plan (though interestingly enough, less has been made about the government buying shares of banks; it is the free ride that stokes the rage, and many people seem to accept government investment). A cursory glide through his website yields all of the traditional Libertarian talking points—smaller government, foreign isolationism (include pulling out of Iraq, Afghanistan, South Korea, Germany, etc.), low-to-no taxes, no government regulation of the economy (!), eliminating welfare, privatizing social security, and tax credits for home schooling.

Bob Barr the Republican and Bob Barr the Person are much more interesting than Bob Barr the Libertarian Candidate. Like most 3rd party hopefuls, a great deal of his website is dedicated to issues relating to ballot access (one of the most important fights that the 3rd parties en masse are fighting) and attacking the mainstream candidate that is closest ideologically. Barr mentions McCain quite a bit, and offers this lovely bit about Governor Palin:

But there’s been nothing I’ve seen in her academic background, in her business background or her husband’s business background or in the relatively short time she was mayor of Wasilla and the Governor of Alaska that would indicate to me a depth of experience that would make me feel comfortable having her sit across the table from Vladimir Putin and not be taken in by him or some other leader. We paid a heavy price for those sort of miscalculations with the current president.

Barr has a reputation for being something of a loose cannon. He was a leading figure in the impeachment trial of President Clinton, though his zeal was not always appreciated. In fact, many other Republican leaders involved in the impeachment process urged caution and patience—people like Dick Armey, Henry Hyde, and John Boehner. Barr didn’t listen and published daily updates on the inquiry on the internet (or, as the linked Washington Post article phrased it in 1998, ‘his World Wide Web site’).

I would be remiss were I not to mention the very public escape in 1992 where Barr licked whipped cream off the “chests of two buxom women”. At a leukemia benefit dinner. Remember that this is the guy that was the quickest to pull the trigger on the Clinton impeachment. He has been married three times but worked hard for the Defense of Marriage Act (which he now opposes in his second life as a Libertarian).

Initially, many thought Barr could play spoiler, especially in his home state of Georgia. Thus far, the polling doesn't seem to reflect that. He would need to pull 7 - 9% of the vote to really swing Georgia for Obama. Part of the problem is Barr's credibility with Libertarians; he is something of a flip-flopper. After years of working for rock-ribbed GOP positions, he switched sides on many issues when he joined the Libertarian party. He was one of the most adamant and zealous opponents of medicinal marijuana and a major player in the so-called "War on Drugs"; he now supports marijuana legalization. He voted for the Iraq War and the Patriot Act, votes he now regrets. He even apologized at the 2008 Libertarian Convention for championing DOMA.

I must admit, it is really hard to see how many of his positions on the economy and energy policy make any sense in the real world. With energy policy especially—the Barr-Root ticket’s energy policy is basically whatever—when energy becomes prohibitively expensive or destructive enough environmentally to harm the economy, something will be done by someone that will help somehow. That’s really the big problem with the Invisible Hand of the Market argument—it is only ever reactive. There is no mechanism for heading off problems before they start doing damage to the economic system, even if you have an awesome moustache that makes you look like Floyd the Barber from The Andy Griffith Show.

Tempus Fugit

JP Stormcrow pointed out two radically-different-yet-equally-startling things in this thread.

1) The Cleveland Indians' (1948) and Cleveland Browns' (1964) last championships are temporally closer to the founding of their respective leagues (1901 and 1950) than they are to today. (The Cavs have never won a title, so that eliminates them from this little game).

2) John McCain's birth-year (1936) is closer to Appomatix Court House and the end of the Civil War (1865) than it is to this year's election. John McCain: older now (72) than the abolition of slavery was when he was born (71).

Yikes.

Life in New York - Electoral Politics

The Times has an interesting article about a very strange phenomenon here in New York: a street with four houses displaying McCain signs.

That may not sound weird anywhere else, but, politics, as with so many other aspects of life, in New York is definitely different. Here we are, 13 days away from the election, and I have yet to see any McCain-Palin signs or buttons or anything. About a month ago, I saw my first and only "McCain-Palin" bumper sticker; it was surreal, because my first two simultaneous thoughts were, "Oh, so that's what their layout looks like," and "How bizarre is this? It's September, and I hadn't seen any propaganda for McCain-Palin!" And the kicker to the bumper sticker? I saw it on a car from Jersey - not even a New York resident. (And I love the fact that, in the article, the Olson family had to go to New Jersey to get their McCain signs, too).

That's politics in New York. There are of course people who will vote for the Republicans here this election; after all, Vito Fossella was elected, and this is the home of Giuliani and Bloomberg (though to be fair to the latter, he at least became independent; to be unfair to him, he's also seeking to remove term limits, a move even Giulani didn't push for in the wake of 9/11, even if Giuliani did postpone elections). Still, you really don't see people waving around McCain-Palin propaganda on the streets or in front of their homes here. I've never been in a place during an election where I could remain so unaware of Republican voters and trends. That's not necessarily bad, but it's not necessarily good, either, because it makes it really easy to think that things are going great for liberals in the country if you don't pay a lot of attention to other regions' elections. In a lot of ways, you can't avoid a bit of the insularity that many people in the country accuse New York of having, but when there's so much going on in your own city, it's easier than you'd think to not focus so much on Pennsylvania, Georgia, Idaho, or Arizona.

Recession and Environment

Brad Plumer makes a good point about the recession being bad for the environment. Some theorize that because recession means less building and less traveling, that it is good for nature. But this is short-sighted. It might mean a temporary reprieve for some land that is slated for development. It might mean a tiny reduction in greenhouse gas emissions (or more precisely, a smaller rise). But as soon as the economy picks back up, those slight changes will reverse themselves.

Moreover, lower oil prices are likely to dampen Americans' move to change their life styles. That SUV doesn't look so bad now, especially if it is close to paid for. Americans are incredibly short sighted on environmental issues. If scarcity is directly affecting their pocketbooks, they'll consider green alternatives. But as soon as they don't have to think about, they will revert to their most environmentally unfriendly habits.

Plus, we see the credit crunch slowing the building of wind turbines and other alternative energy projects.

The problem is that environmental issues are simply not central to our political narratives. They are not national priorities. In the 3 presidential debates, I believe the environment has been discussed for 5 minutes. Which is actually more than I thought it would be. It is not sufficient to leave alternative energy and larger environmental issues to the market. They need to be made national priorities that require direct federal intervention, along with the military and the economy. Each day we ignore our environmental problems is one day closer to them becoming a national emergency that will be incredibly difficult to handle.

Historical Image of the Day

William Jennings Bryan

Is Mr. Trend Sleeping with Ted Turner?

I simply ask because for the 3rd time in 2 weeks, cnn.com has picked up on his posts directing large numbers of readers to our site. Thanks CNN--I promise we will never criticize you again....

Shorter Sarah Palin: Making Alaska Pay for My Kids' Flights Also Is Not a Breach of Ethics!

If a report my home-state's legislature issued had already found me guilty of a breach of ethics in public office (despite my flat-out lie that the report said I wasn't guilty), I don't think I'd really be billing my home-state for my kids' flight expenses on PR jaunts around the country. After all, I'm pretty sure that 7-year-old Piper Palin is not conducting any "official state business" by attending hockey games or anything.

Updated Pointless Maps

I haven't updated these in like 2 years and have done a decent amount of traveling since then. In a desperate attempt to put off grading, I might as well do it now. So here we go.


visited 42 states (84%)
Create your own visited map of The United States or determine the next president



visited 13 states (5.77%)
Create your own visited map of The World or determine the next president

It Was A Different Time....

Although the interview featured within is terrible, check out the beginning of this Mike Douglas Show clip from I guess the late 70s. The three guests: Frank Zappa, Kenny Rogers, and Jimmy Walker. The topic they start with: classical music.

Certainly classical music is not being discussed on talk shows today. But I am not sure that this is such a bad thing. Do I need to hear what kind of classical music Kenny Rogers likes? No. In fact, hell no would not be too strong of a statement.

Before the 1980s, so-called "high culture" was much more prevalent in the media. Any perusal of magazines shows this to be so. Even TV featured these sorts of figures and topics. Truman Capote, even though he was a bad imitation of himself by this point, was on TV all the time at the end of his life. Is there any equivalent today?

Why did these cultural references disappear? I suspect it is because nobody cared. One analysis of this kind of thing is to say that "Oh, we just aren't as cultured anymore. TV, movies, internet--all of this has made us stupid." But I don't think so. I think that stuff disappeared because the American public never knew much about Shakespeare, Bach, or Nabokov. And frankly, they didn't want to know. People figured this out and dumped for more coverage of Brittany, Paris, and Amy Winehouse. Lots of people are happy with this. I certainly am not. But we aren't stupider because of it.

Also, the animation in the last 2 minutes of the clip to the Zappa song might be of interest to people. I guess it is kind of cool, though I really don't care about animation as an art.

You're A Moron

You wrote a book that explicitly named people who were tied to illegal activities (purchase and consumption of steroids) in order to enhance their career. You had to know (from the questions fired at Barry Bonds even before you began writing your book) that people do not generally approve of "doctoring" any sport via drugs and "performance-enhancers." You most likely knew that America, in all of its contradictions, likes its sports exciting but hates knowing that their players aren't perfect. This all could have crossed your mind at some point while you named names in your book. You presumably spent months writing stuff that was obviously going to throw up a giant question mark over 15+ years of baseball and throw into question a generation's worth of "great" baseball players. Yet only now do you realize that "this was going to blow up and hurt so many people"???

Hey! Jose Canseco!

You're a moron.

The Absurdity of Flying

I guess it is almost a cliche to complain about the airlines. But I can't help it. I'm still jet lagged.

Kos links to a great piece on how freaking stupid TSA security regulations are. Why do we have to take our shoes off? This is incredibly dumb. Nobody is going to be lighting shoe bombs on planes. For that matter, no one is going to be hijacking planes anymore. Why not? Because who would let them live? Who would not sacrifice their own lives rather than let the plane be flown into a building? If you are going to die, die honorably. And I think virtually every person in the country believes the same thing.

That doesn't mean we don't need security. But we need smart security. Forcing people to take their shoes off is not smart security. Putting liquids in 3 oz. containers is just idiotic. First of all, 3 oz. of a lot of liquids is plenty to blow something up if that is what you want to do. Second, no one is actually checking what those liquids are. They can be labeled as one thing and in reality be an explosive device.

Meanwhile, in the most predictable move ever, the airlines are not cutting any of their new fees after the price of jet fuel has plummeted in the last 2 months. And they probably never will. I understand that they lost a tremendous amount of money over the past 2 years. And I think they need to make some of that back. But these fees are never going away. On a basic level, I don't mind a few fees. If you are checking 2 bags that each weigh 50 pounds, well, maybe you should pay more than I do with my 15 pound bag. But if we can't take liquids on planes, it is impossible to get away with no paying a baggage fee. This is utterly unfair. There should be no fee on a first bag in any circumstance. If you need to raise rates, just raise them.

The only thing that could roll back some of these fees is a Democratic government, which could threaten regulation if the airlines don't start playing fair. The Republicans certainly will never do anything, as they don't care about consumers. New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez is starting to raise a stink about this and I think other Democrats will hop on board. First, it is politically popular to do so. Second, it is the right thing to do, especially if fuel prices remain low.

Jerry Jones, NFL Antichrist

Peter King has an excellent piece up at the Sports Illustrated website about how Dallas' trade for Roy Williams was the opening salvo in the upcoming NFL labor war. Jerry Jones wants to turn the Cowboys into football's New York Yankees (and in so many ways they already are). He is pushing for no spending limits and no salary caps. I don't think this will lead to success but that is beside the point. Williams' new contract is incredibly frontloaded. Why? It is quite possible that the owners will pull out of the current collective bargaining agreement after the 2010 season. That season there will not be a salary cap. The players' union have stated that if there is no salary cap that season, they will never submit to one again.

Jones is assuming this is true. He has several heavily front-loaded contracts that would lead to an enormous salary cap burden after 2010. He is betting that there will be no salary cap and is acting on it. He thinks he can win now by adding all these big-name players and won't have to pay later. If there is a salary cap, the Cowboys will be a terrible team for several years as they won't be able to sign any players.

The problem with this is that a lot of NFL owners don't want this to happen. They want a salary cap. But Jones, along with a few other of the richest owners, are trying to change the league to help themselves out. They don't want the parity of the last 20 years; instead, they hope for a league where the richest teams can buy themselves championships. But the majority of owners won't accept this and are likely to lock out the players for the 2011 season rather than play with no salary cap.

Thus Jerry Jones just took the NFL on a big ol'step to a work stoppage.

Thanks Jerry.

Historical Image of the Day

Edward Curtis photograph of Apaches on horseback, 1905

Performatives redux: Colin Powell

Colin Powell was always one of those Republicans I had some respect for (like McCain used to be, but I digress). Powell seemed to have at least some awareness of the world around him and especially of the importance of diplomacy. Like everyone else, I was disappointed when he went before the UN and, well, lied. When he stepped down in the wake of Bush's re-sort-of-election, I was really angry, because I felt that residual respect and affection for Powell in this country could've swung the election for Kerry if he'd resigned before the election. He wouldn't even have had to make an explicit endorsement--his leaving the ship would've been a sign.

Powell was head of the State Department--the department that relies most on performative language, according to Cook. The Secretary of State and his underlings do their job mainly by making statements. Approval, disapproval, etc. are expressed through the media as well as through direct diplomacy.

Powell, then, knew exactly what he was doing when he took to Meet the Press to make his endorsement of Barack Obama.

He didn't appear on stage with Obama and probably won't (though you know the ad people are working overtime to cut his words into a spot). He sat in a chair, comfortably, and spoke honestly. He didn't invoke race once. He prefaced his statement with both respect for and criticism of John McCain, and especially of the choice of Sarah Palin, and then spoke of Obama as a potentially transformational figure.

And most importantly, he called out the Republican party on scare tactics and fearmongering, on xenophobia and hatred. Powell of all people has tremendous power to make the comments that there's nothing wrong with being Muslim. As a general, as one of the architects of several of our recent wars in the Middle East, he will be accused by no sane person of being a terrorist sympathizer. When he spoke of an American Muslim soldier who died in Iraq, he sounded sincere, unlike McCain's phony invocations of a bracelet from a soldier's mother.

Implicit in those statements was an endorsement of Obama as the better leader on Iraq. He didn't have to say it outright. He invoked Iraq and a fallen soldier in a way that if I didn't know better I'd call a left-wing dogwhistle. I felt for just a second as if Powell had whispered in my ear, "I'm sorry about that, guys. I'm trying to fix it."

Powell's appearance on a news talk show was itself the top headline on the New York Times and the third headline on the Washington Post today. While I'm not going to go into what that says about canned news events and the corporate media here, suffice it to say that once again, we can see that speech is itself a form of action, especially in the executive branch.

Journey to Portugal

I'm finally back from Portugal.

Go jet lag!

I am really glad that I traveled fairly extensively in Asia and Latin America before going to Europe for the first time. I certainly wish I had been in Europe before I was 34 years old. But I think if I had gone to Europe in college I would have become a Euro-phile. Because Portugal was awesome in so many ways. The castles and palaces, great public transportation, awesome food, good music, etc., etc. It was an awesome place. I think traveling to those other places though put Europe in greater perspective, where I could appreciate Europe as well as the developing world for what they are, rather than constantly comparing those places to Europe, which is obviously unfair.

Also, I should move to Europe for my health. I lost 3-4 lbs in 10 days from all the walking. Walking=healthy lifestyle. Americans just don't understand this. I walk a good bit, but nothing like I did in Portugal. In related news, I have little doubt that in walking to the college today, someone will stop and offer me a ride, unable to comprehend why someone would walk when they could drive.

The Sporting Life

Go other 28 teams! The Red Sox lost, reminding America that there are 28 other teams that are worth rooting for. I was sure that Major League Baseball was somehow going to fix this so that Red Sox won and the World Series ratings were saved. But I guess this isn't the NBA, where this would actually happen.

Tampa-Philadelphia. That's a great World Series right there. I don't really care who wins, though it has been a long time for the Phillies and I am kind of rooting for them I think. Tampa is a great story but they have a few years to get back here. Either way though, no Yankees, no Red Sox. Great.

In other news, the Dallas Cowboys just lost to the St. Louis Rams! No, I'm sorry, they were blown out by the St. Louis Rams. Even my Seattle Seahawks, who are terrible, beat the Rams. I'm real glad Dallas decided to trade their entire 2009 draft for Roy Williams, who paid them back with 0 catches.

Does Dallas win another playoff game in my lifetime? Here's hoping not.

Historical Image of the Day

FBI agents talking on field phone, 1940s.

I find this picture hilarious. Those guys don't look enough like FBI agents. That phone is awesome. Very subtle too. And I am sure they are fighting against some true menace to American society, like moderate leftists or something.

This is also the period during which the FBI took to TV and the movies, creating propaganda to serve Hoover's purposes. Some of it is actually pretty good though, particularly The Street With No Name, a 1948 film starring Richard Widmark.

Movie Review - Kill Your Idols (Now It's Free!!!)

For those with about an hour to kill, PitchforkTV has the no wave documentary "Kill Your Idols" up for viewing in its entirety until this Friday (the 24th). I admit up front that I'm biased, because there have been few musical movements that have hit me quite as personally as no wave. That said, it's an excellent little documentary about the creation and legacy of no wave.

It starts off as most generic music-movement documentaries, going through the (in this case rapid) rise and fall of no wave as a musical expression. It has some really good interviews with some of the "biggest" names from the scene (Arto Lindsay of DNA, Lydia Lunch, Jim Sclavunos, J.G. Thirwell, Glenn Branca) as well as Lee Ranaldo and Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth and Michael Gira of the Swans, both of whom were big fans of the no wave bands and who were clearly influenced by no wave on their early albums (indeed, Moore and Ranaldo both played in some of Branca's early guitar symphonies). The interviews alone are great, not for the insider's information they provide (though that can be fun, too), but for the wildly differing attitudes of people, from the soft-spoken, reflective Lindsay, to Sclavunos's humorous take on things, to Lunch's still-hot anger, to Thirwell's disdain.

After this first portion (roughly a half hour), though, the film really picks up on the originality, immediately juxtaposing recent New York bands the Liars, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, A.R.E. Weapons, Gogol Bordello, Flux Information Sciences, and Black Dice on top of the no wavers. With no narration or interviews guiding you, it's patently clear how much the latter owe to no wave bands. In the wake of the no wave sound, the newer bands' efforts to make a claim to be doing something "new" and "different" isn't necessarily that accurate. They all sincerely admit to being huge fans heavily influenced by at least some of the no wave movement, and everybody cites Sonic Youth as being a major influence (I forget now who, but one of the new bands' members says Sonic Youth really formed the bridge between No Wave and what the new bands are doing). You can really see how much bands like the YYYs and Black Dice admire no wave even while they apparently remain youthfully naive about how "new" their sound is (and in case you didn't get the point, Crary named one section of film "Amnesia").

From that point on in the film, Crary does a great job tracing how the two generations simultaneously respect and condemn the other. Many of the no wavers (especially Lunch and Thirwell) have thinly veiled criticisms for the "New York" movement of music, even while admitting to liking individual bits. Lunch particularly comes off as a bit of a rock curmudgeon, insisting that anybody who dares pick up a bass, guitar, and drums now simply is incapable of offering anything "new," and suggests trying a tuba if you really want to be new, even while what Gogol Bordello's combination of Eastern European music and the Stooges hasn't really been done before. And somewhat incongruously, everybody gets in their digs on the Strokes, who clearly do not have no wave as their influence and who are completely outside of the narrative arc until all the no wavers start digging in on them. It's not all mean (Lee Ranaldo has some insightful comments on how the Strokes' "explosion" is symbolic of a strange and not necessarily good new way of hyping music nobody's heard yet). At the same time, while singing their elders' praises, the younger generation clearly bristles at being labeled inauthentic in any way, and occasionally reveal the youthful mistrust and anger towards what they view as a bit of snobbery.

Crary does a pretty good job of staying out of the way of this. Certainly, there are flashes where he seems to be more sympathetic with the no wavers (who are, after all, the main focus of his film). I'm not sure Crary is "out to get" the new bands, but he doesn't jump to their defense, either. The juxtaposition of the claims of new-ness stacked on top of no wave acts live in the 1970s really points towards the naivete of the newer groups in their earnestness to do something "new," and in case you didn't get the point, he titles that chapter of the film "Amnesia." Later on, in discussing the "success" of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs after their first album, he points to them as "An American Success Story." While the Yeah Yeah Yeahs are fairly well known, I'm not sure calling them an American Success Story is terribly fair or accurate. Sure, they're more famous than the Theoretical Girls ever would be, but it's not like you can say their name or mention Karen O and almost all of America stops and says, "oh, what now?" Still, Crary doesn't really reveal any open antagonism to the new bands, either, leaving it mostly up to the viewer to sympathize with them or the no wavers (or both).

At any rate, it's a really well done documentary. If you're into pretty wild music, the really rare live footage of bands like DNA and Teenage Jesus and the Jerks in the 1970s is great, and although not nearly as rare in the Youtube era, live stuff from the Liars, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and others is great too, and the interviews are really interesting. Overall, it's a good film for anybody interested in New York music, the avant-garde, or just music documentaries. And hey, it's free - it doesn't get much more no wave than that.

Quick Political Snark

As regular readers to our blog must be aware by now, Obama's latest supporter is clearly racist.

Random Anecdotes from Mindless Surfing While at Work

So, I was surfing the tubes today, and typed in the address to visit our good friends over at Lawyers, Guns & Money. However, my fingers, in their flurry of typing, got their timing off, and instead of typing "lefarkins.blogspot.com," I ended up typing "lefarkins.blogpsot.com" (getting my "p" and "s" in the "blogspot" reversed). Having mis-typed, it didn't just re-direct me to a "page not found" site. Instead, I got this.

So my question to our good friends at LG&M and throughout the internet is, are they aware of this crass exploitation of their site name among those who can't spell? And if so, which of them has a degree from said site?

....UPDATE: Acting on what Venha Futuro said in the comments, I did a little more (3-second) investigating, and apparently, it's not just LG&M that has this problem (note the address on the new link). So, Erik...you pursuing another backup degree, just in case crazy evangelicals end up outnumbering college students? I'm sure "I Need Jesus," "7 Seals, Trumpets, Vials," "Revival - Is It Coming?," "Abortion," and "Antichrist" Parts 1 AND 2 would all be valuable for the future.

What Is Wrong With My Generation?

According to the Daily Kos tracking poll, the only age group McCain leads is the 30-44 group.

What is wrong with my age group? This is not new. A big reason for the Republican dominance from 1994 to 2006 was that young voters were much more conservative than they usually are. What is up with this? I could totally feel this in college. Even at the University of Oregon in the early to mid 1990s, one of the most liberal public schools in the nation, there was a definite rightward feel, particularly within student elections. Old left-leaning student-funded programs were cut and the place felt like it was changing. I guess this is some kind of reaction to the 1960s, but it is shocking to find that my age group is more conservative even than senior citizens.

Mister Trend's Random 10

I love the little amusing shuffles you get with music sometimes. This week, I'll simply note my bemusement at the fact that Sonic Youth was followed by one of their two namesakes, Big Youth (Fred "Sonic" Smith of the MC5 providing the other half).

1. Music for 18 Musicians - Section 1 - Steve Reich
2. "Raisans" - Dinosaur Jr.
3. "The Shepherd" - Culture
4. "Statesboro Blues" - Blind Willie McTell
5. "Androgynous Mind" - Sonic Youth
6. "Ten Against One" - Big Youth
7. "Polygyne" - Efterklang
8. "Girl Is On My Mind" - Black Keys
9. "Not What You Want" - Sleater-Kinney
10. "Gota de Sangue" - Maria Bethania

Gargoyles

I have a question concerning gargoyles.

A topic on which I don't believe I have ever asked a question in my life.

Anyway, so many of these churches have gargoyle images in them, staring down on the interior of the monstaries usually.

Why? What is the significance of the gargoyle? I assume there are people out there who have more knowledge on this than me. I know nothing on medieval Europe and my tolerance for the kind of contemporary writing that uses gargoyles and other such things is extremely low.

Eloquence, Performatives, and the Presidency

So I have 8000000000000 things to do right now, but I'm going to take just a moment to comment on something because I think it's important to note.

The New Yorker's Obama endorsement makes many excellent points. You should read it. But to my mind, the most important point it made was this one:

Although his opponents have tried to attack him as a man of “mere” words, Obama has returned eloquence to its essential place in American politics. The choice between experience and eloquence is a false one––something that Lincoln, out of office after a single term in Congress, proved in his own campaign of political and national renewal. Obama’s “mere” speeches on everything from the economy and foreign affairs to race have been at the center of his campaign and its success; if he wins, his eloquence will be central to his ability to govern.

See, the presidency is largely a symbolic office. Congress is the body that's going to have to actually make and pass these tax cuts and health care policies--all the president can do is encourage and sign. One of the reasons I was an early Obama supporter was that he seemed to have a much better grasp of and less warmongering slant on foreign relations. And foreign relations are carried out by, yes, talking. Words. Speeches.

There's a huge place for performative language in all of this. Timothy Cook outlines this whole process expertly in Governing With the News. The president makes a speech, and policy changes. Need an example? Remember the "Axis of Evil" comment, and how suddenly after that we seem to be dealing with North Korea and Iran increasing their nuclear capacities?

Every time the president makes a speech, it is news. Even now, when the candidates make a speech, it is news. That news gets carried not just to voters, but to other countries and other governments. The reason McCain keeps harping not on Obama's willingness to go into Pakistan in search of Bin Laden, but his willingness to talk about it, is that he knows that by making a statement the president has to back it up.

A popular president's speeches could buoy Wall Street just by pledging support; it is a measure of Bush's lame duckitude that he can't. Any president can screw foreign policy up majorly just by mistaking the names of countries or leaders; just ask Richard Nixon about Mauritius and Mauritania.

The president has to know when to speak and when to shut up, what to say and what not to say, and yes, be willing to talk to other leaders. Talk doesn't prevent action, or require some sort of soul-selling to Ahmadinejad like McCain seems to think it does. But it does indeed have an effect on what happens.

So having a president who is a man of "mere" words, as opposed to one who regularly mistakes one country for another (or one Supreme Court Justice for another--ask Justice Breyer if he's slightly insulted at being confused with Alito this morning) is actually rather important when you think about it.

And after watching those debates, which candidate do YOU think is more likely to shoot himself in the foot while attempting diplomacy, whether it's face to face or through the press?

Some Sage Advice for the Tampa Rays and Their Fans from a Grizzled Veteran of Pain and Suffering

Dear Joe Maddon and the Tampa Bay Rays,

You're a great story. I mean, really great. I've never felt that Florida should have professional baseball - that's what spring training is for - and the Florida teams and fanbases have never done much to convince me otherwise. But seeing a Florida team that's built a good, young, team, and is succeeding and could keep it up for years, instead of holding a fire-sale and losing 104 games the year after winning it all (yes, I'm still bitter), well, that's just beautiful. It's just good to see that at least one of the two Florida teams is going about things the right way, and I wish you all the success this year. A lot of people, myself included, are genuinely pulling for you.

But please, be careful, and don't get cocky. Boston has been here before.

Best wishes,

Mr. Trend

More Media Snark

Boy - CNN is making it too easy today, though this time is much more serious. In an election in which racial tensions are running high already, is it really necessary to put up a headline like this? I understand the article's point (that Obama's candidacy could lead to even more African-American votes, and every vote will matter in this election). I don't agree with that point; it's not like African-American votes aren't usually important, nor is it exactly fair to vaguely portray African Americans as people who normally don't turn out to vote, but are doing so for Obama this time, but hey, whatever - I guess you just ran out of white micro-demographics to break down how whatever tiny little fraction of the (white) population will "swing the election.

But for the love of God, if you are going to run such a story, could you at least try to avoid headlines that will scream to the racist and/or nutty, "Don't like the potential new president? Well, if he wins, you can blame the n----s!!!"

NFL @ Week 6: NFC Edition

Last year, I wrote one of these every week and, boy, did it get boring fast. This year, I plan to do three: one at each (approximate) third of the season, and in much shorter form. Normally, I’d do the two conferences alphabetically (to talk about the Broncos first, naturally which, incidentally, I still just managed to do…GO BRONCOS!) but, since the single move of the trade deadline is so hilarious, I will eschew my incessant alphabetizing for one week.

NFC EAST:
It’s Joey Galloway all over again! Now, it’s been a bad week the Cowboys, no doubt (and I’m totally crying over it), but gambling away their future for another top receiver is classic Jerry Jones stupidity. Their 1st, 4th & 6th round picks next year to the Lions for Roy Williams and their 7th? Wow…. Since Pacman’s done, likely for good this time, my suggestion is to play this Williams at corner on the same side as the other Roy Williams, hopefully confusing quarterbacks about which one is the fast one. Hell, it can’t be any dumber than that trade.

As far as the rest of the conference is concerned, they’re as competitive as ever. The Redskins have picked up Shaun Alexander to replace Ladell Betts, which is a great move. Even if Alexander isn’t a starter anymore, there was no reason to expect he wouldn’t have a job until now. He’ll be fine in that role if he doesn’t have aims to take Portis’ slot. The Eagles could be anywhere in the next few weeks. They’re inconsistent but, when they look good, they look great. McNabb looks very strong again and calls for his head will stop for, at most, two weeks. Eli Manning looked like the old slack-jawed, short bus Eli I remember before the Super Bowl last year. While this is nice to see from a personal perspective, my fantasy football team cannot handle another quarterback meltdown so they’re who I’m picking to roll over their division.

NFC NORTH:
These teams may be a bunch of losers, but at least they’re competitive with each other. Adrian Peterson still looks great this year but, if you have to depend on the dumbest move an opposing quarterback can possibly make, your team has problems. In their comeback win, the fans are calling for Childress’ job during the game…hilarious. The Lions, working with Dan Orlovsky and praying for him to stay out of the back of the endzone should bode real well for the rest of the season. At least they have Dallas’ entire draft next year. I know the Matt Millen era is over, but I’m making the bold prediction that they’ll use their first pick in the draft on Oregon’s Jaison Williams. More crappy receivers to Detroit is just what they need to build their future. Did I actually see Devin Hester catch a pass for the Bears? Yessir, he’s arrived. Aaron Rodgers continues to look solid, even when hurt, for the Packers. I’m glad because it means I don’t have to hear the ridiculous talk about Brett Favre regardless of the conference I’m watching. Favre sucks.

NFC SOUTH:
You’ve got to love the reporting on Reggie Bush’s stats. He gets 20 yards rushing and 20 yards receiving and is scarcely an NFL running back. Yet, because he gets two touchdowns and 200 yards on returns against a terrible secondary, they report 240 total yards and two touchdowns, making him great. Well, he isn’t. He’s a returner only and, while that is an important role, he’s terrible behind the quarterback…terrible. Matt Ryan is looking very good for the Falcons. They’re not a playoff team, but with his continued progression and continued good play from Michael Turner and Roddy White (by whose name could moonlight as a game show announcer), they may be the team to beat in the South next year. I’m wishing for all the success in the world for Jonathan Stewart in Carolina but, if they keep playing like they did last week, I’m praying for a trade.

NFC WEST:
These are the Seahawks I remember: laughing stocks. On paper, they look better than they are, but this team is pretty well finished and Mora won’t help as new coach next year. With Charlie Frye under center, they can expect at least three more touchdowns this season. They’ve given up to the power of Arizona, whose receivers are still hugely powerful even with Boldin out. The receiver group must hang out in Sedona in the offseason to draw from the catching power of the vortex. Finally, we have the Niners and the Rams. Indeed, they are teams in the NFL and, by that very fact alone, they are in this post. Let’s see, Mike Nolan still wears a suit and the Rams have a new coach, who is perfect since he did ever so well with the ‘Aints and guiding St. Louis’ “defense” at the first part of this year.

Well, It's a Start

Now if he'll just apologize for each and every one of his other albums...

More political snark (geeky wordplay style!)

I thought I would get in on Trend's trend of snark.

First, we have the Sarah Palin Baby Name Generator. Her kids' names are Track, Trig, Bristol, Willow, and Piper (I really feel bad for Trig; how can you grow up and not be a total douchebag with a name like that?). With the above tool, you can enter your name and find out what your name would be had you been born to Governor Palin.

Apparently, I would have been Revolver Trooper Palin. Ironic, no? Take that, Crop Schooner Palin!

And then there are the anagrams.

"Sarah Louise Palin: Hail, Pious Arsenal!"

Or my favorite, "Vote McCain - Palin: Manic. Vocal. Inept."

Strange New Frontiers in News Marketing

It's not news that news networks (see what I did there?) have pushed non-news stories for years. Still, I must say I'm puzzled by the apparently new idea of selling t-shirts advertising the fact that you run BS stories and chronicling exactly when you did it. "News" networks really will do anything to see if they can get a few extra bucks. Plus, I guess if people with mind-numbing jobs (or people who are trying to do something other than work on their own dissertation) were looking for a way to use their clothing to say to the world, "Hey! I was actively looking at the most banal shit pretending to be "news" in order to avoid work!", then I guess that opportunity that they've been waiting for has finally arrived.

Seriously, who would buy this, and why?

Quick Political Snark

Apparently, yesterday Sarah Palin sent out an e-mail claiming "we can't leftist groups...steal this election."

Her concern is probably fair. If any leftist group "stole" an election, it would break the monopoly of the right on stealing elections.

Twitter and the election

I've been digging into this book for one of my classes, and I think I'd recommend it to anyone concerned with the state of journalism (which I assume, since you're reading political blogs, that you are).

In any case, as I was winding up the 150 or so pages I had to finish today, I got to a mention of the "social production of journalism."

So far, McChesney hasn't mentioned Twitter, (the book is from this year) but I'm going to.

I've mentioned before, I think, that I've been sucked into live-Twittering the debates. I got addicted to reading live Twitter feeds during the DNC, when I was all over the place and rarely at home in front of a television. My first two experiences live-Twittering myself were at Karthika's, in front of her TV, with the computer open in front of us, giving us two levels of social production: the interpersonal, with the two of us discussing in real time, face to face, as the debates went on, and then of course the interaction with my Twitter-buddies (mostly bloggers, a few real life friends, and even some comics industry folk that I follow because of my other gigs covering comics for Newsarama and Bust).

Twitter runs a feed now specifically for the election, with hot political topics across the top of your home screen any time you go to the Twitter page. I've gotten some news from this--I wondered why the Flyers were a hot political topic on Saturday, so I clicked the link to find out that Sarah Palin got booed at a Flyers game. (Which begs the question, why did she think that Philly would be a good city to drop a puck at? Not only are we overwhelmingly Democrats here, but we boo at anything. Really.)

But more importantly, I get a lot of my news from my Twitter buddies. People will post a link along with a short synopsis of the story they're linking, and I can check it out. I found out about my bank's buyout through Twitter, found out that the bailout bill passed the House through Twitter, and many other things.

The people I choose to follow on Twitter are a self-selected group. Like I mentioned, it's mainly bloggers, a few real-life friends, and comics industry folk. They are to a person liberal, though some are to the right of me and some to the left (if that's possible). They are smarter than the average bear--I don't hang out with dumb folks. Yet not all of them are journalists or even journalism students. They are artists, fiction writers, editors, photographers, and students of diverse subjects. They are scattered across the country (and a few outside of it).

What they have in common is a tendency to use Twitter to communicate not only personal details, but larger issues. And with most of them, we communicate back and forth. We share blog posts that we've written and articles that others have written. We provide support for each other when we're having a bad day, and often a Twitter post will lead to me emailing or texting or even calling to see what's up with a friend.

But most importantly, as I've noted, the use of Twitter to socially construct media is the primary interest. Our discussions during live-Twittering the debates shape our views and contribute to what we write. It's a community not in the sense of geography, but in the sense of like minds coming together. Not all of the people that I follow know each other, but I'll retweet a point made by someone the others aren't following, and they'll retweet me. We pass information along, rippling outwards, and with the hash tags feature you can make sure your political posts are encompassed into the Twitter timeline.

I get new followers with each liveTwitter debate.

Last Thursday I started trying to fact-check the candidates in real time. It's hard for just one person to do, but imagine if we'd organized that sooner? If each of us were trying to fact-check one statement, to pull up documentation to prove it true or false, and tossed that into the mainstream?

I have plans to be in New York for a friend's art opening/debate watch party on Wednesday, but you can bet I'll have the Crackberry out and twittering.

I don't know if this is exactly what McChesney was meaning by social construction of journalism, but it comes close, in my mind. Because though it starts out in our little echo chamber, it spreads outward, gets pulled into the main stream of data, and with a little help...who knows?

Any of you on Twitter? Talk to me. Follow me. Join my experiment and help live-fact-check the debate. Or just listen to me rant occasionally about Vikings, back pain, family, and Sarah Palin.

One Down

The first American history that I had applied for was cancelled because of the financial crisis. How many more will it be? I hope those unemployment checks pay OK. Or maybe I'll end up living with my parents....

Paul Krugman, Nobel Prize Winner

That's right, everybody's favorite proponent of universal health care in the pages of the Times is now a Nobel Prize winner.

I'll take this as a good sign, thanks.

Congratulate him.

Palin, Petitions, Pulling out, Polling down...

Just for the record, I'm not angling for a job at Variety.

The McCain-Palin campaign's recent decision to suspend operations in Michigan was widely reported this past week, as was the latest poll that shows Obama with a very healthy 16 point lead (Rasmussen's October 8th poll).

Michigan Republicans are feeling a little abandoned and have started a petition to convince Sarah Palin to come back to Michigan.

No to be outdone, the Michigan Democratic Party has started a petition to bring Tina Fey to Michigan.

As my good friend and frequent commenter Sator Arepo might say, "an hilarious development".

On the Palin ethics probe

Once again, I have more up at GlobalComment.com

It’s official. Sarah Palin was found to have abused her authority in the firing of a public official who would not fire her state trooper ex-brother-in-law, according to the probe released Friday.

Public Safety Commissioner Walter Monegan refused to fire Trooper Michael Wooten, who was involved in a divorce and custody dispute with Palin’s sister. The report cites repeated attempts and pressure by Palin’s husband, Todd, the “first dude” of Alaska, to have Wooten removed from his job.

The real question is, is this having any effect on the race?

The investigation has been under way since July, and Palin originally promised to cooperate. Yet after McCain asked her to join his ticket, Republicans began to claim that the investigation was politically motivated, even despite Republican dominance in Alaskan politics.

The Wooten probe has been, until now, just another punchline in the story of McCain’s largely unvetted Veep pick: the pretty conservative with the sharp tongue and folksy manner who couldn’t name a single newspaper she reads and didn’t know what the Bush Doctrine is.

Now that it’s out, will it change anyone’s mind?

Read the rest.

Quick Portugal Notes

Just a few quick random notes from Portugal

1. I have never experienced such open offers of drugs as I have here. This place makes Eugene feel like, well, someplace where there are no drugs. It's really quite shocking. People just come up to you in the streets or when you are eating dinner and don't just ask you, they show it to you. Pot, hash, even cocaine. Weird.

2. I saw a woman who was really impressed by a guy riding a Segway. He was telling her all about it. Clearly Gob needed to move to Europe. Segways are big in Portugal.

3. Smartcars are everywhere. How do you know when you are not in the United States? When you see Smartcars.

4. People are definitely asking me about the election as soon as they find out I am an American.

5. I was lucky enough to take a great picture of rainbow over an 11th century Moorish castle. Although I probably screwed it up somehow.

6. Eating and drinking outside is a good thing.

7. As are cups of sangria for a Euro.

8. European breakfasts are so far superior to American breakfasts. It is not even close. I would way rather have some good bread with cheese or jam than eggs and other heavy foods. Not to mention bacon.

9. They like really steep steps here. My knee hurts.

That is all with the banal observations.

Haider

I was less than sad about the death of Austrian right-winger Jorg Haider. I was a bit outraged to read that Austrians were devastated by his death.

My own response that I was glad the Nazi fuck is dead. Burn in hell fascist. It is just too bad that Jean-Marie Le Pen wasn't in the car with him. That Austria was so taken by a man who supported the SS says a lot about how they are unwilling to deal with their Nazi past.

Jorge Videla Finally Sent Back Where He Belongs

This is just outstanding news:

Former Argentine dictator Jorge Rafael Videla was taken to a military prison Friday, after a federal judge revoked the benefit of house arrest that he had enjoyed for 10 years.

Court sources said that Videla, 83, was taken to the Campo de Mayo military prison near Buenos Aires, in line with a decision by federal judge Norberto Oyarbide.

Videla was charged with kidnapping the children of political opponents and leftists, and putting them up for adoption. The children disappeared during his dictatorship from 1976-1983. According to human rights organizations, the military regime caused the disappearance of an estimated 30,000 people - most have never been traced.

Argentine law grants the benefit of house arrest to people over 70. But judge Oyarbide said that the military jail at Campo de Mayo "has the equipment, infrastructure and personnel required" to handle any medical emergencies that the elderly Videla might have.

Argentina has done an outstanding (if belated) job of going after criminals for crimes committed (including by clergy) during its 1976-1983 dictatorship, undoing a lot of the damage done by Carlos Menem's inexcusable and unforgiveable 1990 pardon. Videla should have spent the last 23 years in prison, and while he has been under house arrest for the last 10 years. While he is 83, it's excellent to see that he will spend the rest of his life (as he was sentenced to do in 1985) in prison for the crimes he committed as the head of one of Latin America's most murderous, repressive states ever.

Mister Trend's Random 10

Haven't done one of these in awhile. Not much to say about the selection this week (due to writing that damn paper), save for this - I'm not a big reggae fan, but The Congos may have the best reggae album ever.

1. "Contrabajisimo" - Astor Piazzolla
2. "Can't Come In" - The Congos
3. Bacchiana Brasileira No. 2 for Chamber Orchestra - Heitor Villa-Lobos
4. "Jinrikisha" - Joe Henderson
5. "Percolator" - Stereolab
6. "Neverending Math Equation" - Sun Kil Moon
7. "Japanese Sleepers" - Fiery Furnaces
8. Satyagraha, Act II (Tagore), Scene 1 - Philip Glass
9. "A Ra" - Gal Costa
10. "Ogunde" - John Coltrane