MMM

I'm watching the press conference about Gustav preparation right now. Jindal has got his shit together, damn. Sounds like they're doing their damnedest to prevent another Katrina. Let's hope it's not too bad.

On a purely political level, this had got to be somewhat of a catch-22 for the people who mismanaged Katrina. If it's significantly less of a catastrophe than Katrina, it will show just how much of the tragedy was avoidable and a direct result of the failings of Brown, the Bush administration, and FEMA. If Gustav is really bad, than it will just show the sheer incompetence of the federal government to handle any serious natural distaster.

Chertoff just spoke for a bit and Jindal is back on the mic. Say what you will about his political persuasion, the man is on top of his game. Definitely makes me feel a little better about what may happen.

There a new political website, called Culture11, one many are calling a 'right-of-center Salon' that looks promising. It's more youth-oriented (by which I do not mean Young-Republican) and it seems to cater more toward thoughtful and intellectual analysis than mere campaigning and propaganda.

Assuming the Republicans lose this next election - and the more I consider McCain's VP pick, the more this seems likely - they should find themselves at a low enough point in which to rebuild themselves. They should tap into the growing sentiments toward libertarianism and traditional conservatism that seem to be present in the youth of today. The Ron Paul movement was largely fueled by the youth and was hardly a cult of personality. There are a lot of people on the fringes of the left and right, extremely dissatisfied with their parties' platforms but mindful of the crackpottedness of the "Big L" Libertarians, who are eager to see ideas of individuality and freedom enter the mainstream.

The mainstream voices of the left and right have degenerated into mere advocacy of whatever is the platform of their particular party. Even in the NY Times, the "opinion" columns of Bill Kristol and Frank Rich are nearly indistinguishable from press releases from the parties. Intellectual vitality is lost to activism, and the readers suffer.

I'm a weird case, as anyone who has debated with me knows. I doubt the legitimacy of any government - I certainly deny the right of a government to detain, imprison, and even murder its own citizens - and I simply do not believe that any human being or organization has any dominion over another. Some would say this makes me an anarchist. However, I also try to be a realist. So, I recognize that as long as we do have a government, and are likely to for a long freaking time, they might as well keep us safe from harm - by which I mean in terms of health care more so than security. Considering my own medical, um, hijinx this might not come as a surprise, but many would say that this disqualifies me from the political right-wing. Add to it the fact that I am pro-choice, anti-war, soft on immigration, etc and you might think that you've got a bona fide Lefty on your hands. But, add to it that I am generally pro-business, pro-small government, pro-states rights, anti-hate crimes legislation, etc. and my readers (mostly Lefties likely) might be surprised. I have my reasons for all of these stances, reasons with which I could inundate you, given the opportunity, but mainly I value independence of thought. I like reading thoughtful articles and blog posts I disagree with, just as much as I do the ones I agree with.

When I first got into politics I only read stuff on the left. I was a fan of Common Dreams and Tom Tomorrow; now I can't stand them. Stuff like that and The Huffington Post are utterly predictable. I might agree with a great portion of it, but if you only encounter agreeable material you will become intellectually stagnant. So, as usual via the loooong way, this brings me back to Culture11. I disagree with much of the opinions on the site, but I respect the thoughtfulness behind it.
For example this is from an article called They Doth Protest Too Much, about the DNC protests:

Perhaps it is true, as Susan Sontag posited in On Photography, that there is “an aggression implicit in every use of the camera,” but it is clearly not an aggression on par with the menacing gait, symbolic defiance and petulant attitude protesters attempt to co-opt into their faux insurgent chic. Admittedly, adopting a believable revolutionary stance must be difficult in a city where the Agency for Human Rights and Community Relations publishes a helpful pamphlet on how to avoid arrest. Yet something larger is at work here. “As photographs give people an imaginary possession of a past that is unreal, they also help people to take possession of space in which they are insecure,” Sontag wrote. “Thus, photography develops in tandem with one of the most characteristic of modern activities: tourism.”

The essence of the infamous 1968 Democratic convention to the Recreate68ers tourists, it seems, was not philosophical, but cultural. The protesters aren’t really here to shake up the system or tear down the edifice of a decaying society. None, not even those designated to speak to the press and police liaisons, exhibit the kind of charisma or ambition necessary for something as grand as all that. The Zapatistas in Chiapas would surely accept their aid if these twentysomethings and younger wanted to trade their hovel in the ‘rents basement and an X-Box for a jungle bunker and war against the man. No, it’s more akin to the conceit of Total Recall: they paid the price to come travel to a city where, for a week, they can live an artificial -- but lurid -- version of a dangerous -- but celebrated -- time in history. They came to rub elbows with a story, to gain that “imaginary possession of a past that is unreal”; to be able to say, like the vets of SDS and the Weathermen Underground, “Hey, we were there when the s*** went down.”

See, most analyses of the DNC protests either hail them as cultural heroes or unamerican criminals. This article definitely paints them in a less-than-glowing light, but at least it is thought-provoking. You may disagree with it, but you can't simply dismiss it with a snarky comment like most partisan commentary. Personally, I think that protest-culture is essential to the health of any society, yet damn, most of those motherfuckers are annoying and just as close-minded as the people they condescendingly condemn. And I've been one of them.

In short, we need more conservative voices at this level. Culture11 is coming at a good time, the market is dying for smart right-of-center voices. We'll see how it develops, but I'm optimistic. Give it a read, it will probably piss you off a little, but whoever said that's a bad thing?

Oh, for the love of God...

Commemorating the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, Ted Hearne has just released his acclaimed Katrina Ballads as a digital download on New Amsterdam Records.

I highly recommend it.

It is one of those rare pieces that manages to be dense and ornate, while being accessible to a large audience; sharply political, while avoiding a condescending, preachy tone. I've seen it live and it's an experience. All of my friends playing in it spoke of how challenging it was to perform, but it didn't seem much of an effort - partly because they're great players, but also because the music lends itself to a casual style of virtuosity. The music is deep and difficult, but unlike much modern music, the physical and interpretive challenges it poses are so linear and melodic in nature that the music translates very well to the audience. It helps that much of it has a groove behind it, likely inspired by both minimalism and rock/pop. It's a perfect project for New Amsterdam, who caters to the younger generation of devotees to music that is both series and accessible. And plus, it's got Nathan Koci playing electric fucking horn. How can you beat that??

You can listen to the whole thing streaming on the New Am site. Also, here's a cool article in The Times-Picayune about it. Seriously, give it a listen. You will not be disappointed. And 10 bucks for the whole 70 minute piece? Can't beat it.

Such a ballsy pick. And so political. Even I would rather blog about Palin than about Obama's speech last night.

Let's get this out of the way though:

She's hot.

Sorry.

Like serious hot librarian MILF hot.



I can't think of a woman in politics since, well um, ever who has given me near-impure thoughts. She also has a good deal of charisma and vitality, which McCain sorely lacks.

Now to the cynicism (oh the sweet cynicism...). It is so obviously a ploy to grab the Hillary-devoted idiots who have been threatening to vote for McCain. Many of them are women who were so insanely devoted to the idea of a woman president that they would spite-vote for McCain just to punish Obama for, ya know, having the audacity to beat Hillary fair-and-square. McCain is running from the Rove playbook 100% now. He's hitting Obama at his strengths, promising a historic ticket of his own. The messed-up thing is that this now will be a historic race no matter the outcome. The first senator president since Nixon. The first administration with either an African-American or a woman in the top office. It's hard not to be excited about that, even if it is such a blatant ploy.

Palin is also very young and inexperienced - she was not picked for her achievements - so if the Obama camp is smart they now have a golden defense for the Obama inexperience argument. They should be producing an ad right now that brings this to light.

Tracks by Silver Jews, Sam Cooke, Dolly Parton, Billy Holliday, Loudon Wainwright, and um... Ted Nugent.

Get 'em while they're hot!

-via Bargainist

Awwwww shit.

I'll get into the speech a bit more tomorrow, but I've been browsing the comments of CNN.com and Foxnews.com and there are a surprising amount of self-described conservatives and Republicans who were moved by the speech, many enough to promise Obama their vote.

One of my favorite "Obamacons", Andrew Sullivan, puts it well:

I'd like to support a conservative not beholden to the religious right, not indifferent to fiscal degeneracy, respectful of the constitution, hostile to torture, tough with foreign enemies but eager for new and old allies, and intent on making government smaller and leaner and more effective. Such a conservative is not available, and unless the GOP is reformed root and branch by a new generation, there won't be one available for a long while.

I got home last night just in time to catch the speech. Watched by more than 38 million people, it was definitely a speech to remember. It wasn't as intimate and honest as his race speech, it wasn't as optimistic and inspiring as his 2004 speech, but it got the job done. Peeps needed specifics, he gave them plenty - although some of it sounded a bit, shall we say, lofty (oil independence in 10 years? C'mon). He responded to McCain's bashing pretty well; I liked his line about the lives celebrities lead vs. his own, a classy response. But this is not to say that he didn't get his hands dirty. He gave the press several soundbites to work with.

Here are a few of the most effective in my opinion:

John McCain has voted with George Bush ninety percent of the time. Senator McCain likes to talk about judgment, but really, what does it say about your judgment when you think George Bush has been right more than ninety percent of the time? I don't know about you, but I'm not ready to take a ten percent chance on change.

Snayap!

We are here because we love this country too much to let the next four years look like the last eight. On November 4th, we must stand up and say: "Eight is enough."

Aw damn!

Now, I don't believe that Senator McCain doesn't care what's going on in the lives of Americans. I just think he doesn't know.

You go girl! I uh, mean, boy.


He did a good job of equating McCain with Phil Gramm's "nation of whiners" quote, only briefly mentioning that an adviser said it, and then proceeding as if the words had come directly from McCain's mouth. A Republican tactic but hey, they started it.

My favorite line of the night was this Clintonesque quip:

In this election, the greatest risk we can take is to try the same old politics with the same old players and expect a different result. You have shown what history teaches us - that at defining moments like this one, the change we need doesn't come from Washington. Change comes to Washington.

This wasn't an inherently risky speech - which is why it won't exactly go down in history as one of his best - but you don't save your surprises for the convention. The speech had to be smooth, confident, and tasteful for the swing-voters who suddenly found Obama on all of their TV channels one night. It was a good closing to a convention that started out mediocre and ended with a bang (literally, you see those fireworks? damn.). I'm pretty sure Obama is going to win the election. Obama/Biden is a smart, charismatic ticket. They are confident and rather clear on where they stand. These are all things that the Gore/Lieberman (!) and Kerry/Edwards tickets sorely lacked.

Let's hope they win anyway, or this is one stupid fucking country.

Ummmm... is he being sarcastic? Is he being sincere?? I mean, I consider myself a master of irony and sarcasm, but McCain is fucking with my brain right now.

Seriously dude, what the fuck?

Well it definitely seems to be getting better doesn't it? It had its ups and downs (ouch to be that lady who followed President Clinton!), but the headliners were pretty effective. Of course to the general population they were only as effective as the mainstream media will allow them to be through soundbites.

Harry Reid was as usual, sharp and biting but filtered through his soft-spoken manner. If only we could mix his message with Kucinich's delivery...




As everyone - except the mainstream media - has already noted, Kerry was on top of his game, holy crap. He spoke with more life and fervor than I had ever seen him do. I kept thinking, much like with Gore circa 2003-ish: Where the fuck was this passion when he was running for fucking president? Damn!




Biden was charismatic and smooth. He speaks in a casual manner that will hopefully balance out the ticket with those who are daunted by Obama's gravitas. It seems that the Democrats are making this the charisma ticket: two very likable men with a flair for public speaking. This wasn't Biden's best speech ever, but it got the job done I think:




Unsurprisingly though, it was Clinton who stole the show. Easily the most effective speech so far, historic actually. The line that will make history:

People the world over have always been more impressed by the power of our example than by the example of our power.

It's a brilliant quote - quintessential Clinton wordplay - that should appeal not only to anti-war liberals, but also to traditional conservative and libertarian isolationists. True, he didn't exactly govern with that principle 100%, but he is free to make the statement simply by comparison to the current Bush's brazen interventionism. Sorry to say that Bill Clinton completely outshone Hillary Clinton - he will never admit it, Obama will never admit it - but it's true. Who knows how effective it will be - again mangled through the media filter - but it was inspiring nonetheless. The only person I could see rivaling the speech will be Obama in his acceptance speech tonight, which makes for a nice political narrative.

Here is Clinton's speech:



PS. Watch around 1:28 where Bill actually starts getting pissed at the audience. Not surprising I guess, I kinda wanted to give those corny sign-waving Democrats a collective slap across the convention floor...

Federal authorities say they have arrested a blogger suspected of streaming songs from Guns N’ Roses unreleased album, “Chinese Democracy,” on his Web site.
FBI agents arrested 27-year-old Kevin Cogill on Wednesday morning on suspicion of violating federal copyright laws. Federal authorities say Cogill posted nine unreleased Guns N’ Roses songs on his Web site in June.

Nice to see we're using our federal power where we most need it, to stop reckless bloggers from uploading new music from dated 90s metal bands. Good job guys.

A helpful illustration:



There. All clear now?