Category: politics

politics

Tea Anyone?

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In the past week, both Time and The New York Times have published very good in-depth articles about the Tea Party Movement. If you ever wanted a good background on the subject, read who they discuss what is fueling it, what various groups fall under its vast umbrella, what these groups believe in and how their natural decentralized inclinations may prevent them from truly being as powerful as they might scarily be. As the NYT says, “it is an amorphous, factionalized uprising with no clear leadership and no centralized structure.” One thing is for certain: they are mad as hell and just aren’t going to take “this” anymore!

If you aren’t familiar with the film “Network” (where the clip above is from), you should know that it came out in 1976 – a good long 33 years ago. The fact that this has happened before just sadly means that will all happen again. Its happening now and that is bad enough.
What can do we do about what is going on? Is anyone truly satisfied with what is happening in this country? I have my own thoughts, but that is for a different post.
Bill Maher is someone who didn’t hear the calling the way Tea Baggers, as he calls those in Tea Party Movement, did. Tea Baggers to him are protesters who are longing for the return of the 1950s in America, who are 99.99% white, are who are extremists and so on and so forth. To hear it out of his mouth, check out the video below from his recent HBO special ” …But I’m Not Wrong” – enjoy.

politics

US Under Cyberattack

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Last night I post about how I’m so grateful that I don’t live in a war zone without ever thinking about how rooted I was by the bangs and the booms in a Twentieth Century mindset. Because of the US’s global geographic location, the kinds of artillery battles that I felt like I was in while in my backyard jungle on July 4th are very unlikely to happen here, though I could see some of the drug battles in Mexico spilling over the border.
I somehow forgot all about the Terminator movies and the existing botnets that might control the very computer I’m writing this post on. Today I have learned that since July 4th, the South Korean and US governments have been under a sustained and sophisticated cyberattack.
From the NYT, “The Treasury Department, Secret Service, Federal Trade Commission and Transportation Department Web sites were all down at varying points over the holiday weekend and into this week, The A.P. reported, citing officials inside and outside the American government. The fact that the government Web sites were still being affected after three days signaled an unusually lengthy and sophisticated attack, the news agency reported, citing anonymous American officials.”
Read the article for more geek nightmare details. We are living in the future.

politics

Independence Day

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A few years ago, I remarked when listening to the cacophony of fireworks exploding in the same suburban neighborhood that I was in this past weekend that “this is what it must be like living in Iraq.” Well, this past July 4th made me feel like I was in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, the unruly Chinese province that is in the news now and every other war zone in the world combined for a few hours.
There was the pop-pop-pop of firecrackers, the whistling and bang of bottle rockets and the boom and eventual crack of larger fireworks. As the tree cover was dense, you could rarely actually see what was exploding and the noise lasted for hours and hours and hours.
What I experienced was not the “oohs and ahhs” I experience normally while watching a nice, big professional display and instead of enjoying the explosions, I actually found them frightening. I never knew how far away the explosions were or if one shell or rocket was going to go off in an errant direction and possibly land in my backyard, hit the house or even somehow hit me. I never knew if my dog was going to start to howl and therefore wake up my sleeping and oh-so-tired daughter or if some of the explosions were going to wake her up outright.
This non-stop noise once again made me think about war, about how there are many places in the world where war is either raging or where it could break out at a moments notice and how supremely lucky I am to be an American because all else being equal, I’m pretty sure that a sustained war will not be fought on these shores and in my backyard anytime soon.
July 4th has therefore turned into another form of Thanksgiving. I get to experience a pseudo-war zone, where there are explosions for sport, clay pigeons – no harm, no fowl – with a bit of danger thrown in because you don’t know if the person aiming at the bird is blind, for 1 day a year in order to appreciate the fact that I don’t live in a real war zone for the other 364 days of the year.
For that, I am very thankful.

politics

On Iran

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There is so much going on right now to comment about regarding Iran – the protests, the internal and external reactions, what this means for the future, etc. Believe it or not, Jimmy Fallon said it best:

“Well, the results from Iran’s presidential elections are in. And Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has declared victory. But his opponent, Mir Hussein Moussavi, is claiming ballot fraud and wants an investigation. If that doesn’t work, he’s planning on making a documentary about global warming.”

politics

51st State = Long Island?

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Every so often you’ll hear a report about someone trying to become the 51st State, like Puerto Rico, or someone thinking about seceding from the Union and becoming its own sovereign nation, like Texas.
Long Island a few months back started to explore the idea of seceding from NYS because as Suffolk Comptroller Joseph Sawicki had said, “The state of Long Island has always been a romantic idea, its been fun to talk about and exciting to discuss. Now, it’s become a matter of economic survival,” and he pointed out that Albany gets $3 billion more from Long Island than it gives back (NYC does that to the tune of $10 billion but who’s counting?).
Cue Jon Stewart and his crack commandos. “The Daily Show” last night had a segment focusing on this plan and of course hilarity ensued. My favorite line of the segment was when some LI Guidos were talking about beating up the residents of NJ: “Isn’t like beating up up your conjoined twin? You’re so genetically similar…” Enjoy.

Via Neu

politics

More Reasons to Be Afraid

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Oh lovely – even more reasons to be afraid in this recession. The Gray Lady is reporting that China is spending money like a drunken sailor and buying up all sorts of commodities. The scary opening quote reads as follows:

China is taking advantage of the economic downturn to go on a major shopping spree, investing in energy and other natural resources that could give it an economic advantage it has never had before.

Basically, the gist of the article is that while the rest of the world is going bankrupt, China is buying up all sorts of stuff so that when things finally turn around, which they always seem to do as everything is cyclical, it will be in the supremo driver’s seat. Lovely. I think I said that already but still, it bears repeating. China is 5,000 years old and will outlast us. This could be an after midnight rant but I’ve been scared of China for quite some time now and this is just article is another example of why I’m not just some paranoid crazy loon…

politics

Our New President

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The Guardian has a photoset of 11 pictures of America’s new President on its website which are flat out amazing.
As a father who has a little girl, I just love the one of Malia Obama taking a picture of her father in his dinner suit as her sister Sasha looks on:

Feel free to click through and check out the rest of their photos – you will not be disappointed. For instance, the tenth picture just makes you say “awwww.” I just love the love that exists between Michelle and Barack – it’s exactly what this country needs right now – something to rally around and feel good about.
Via Jessie

politics

Praise Song for the Day

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I was very impressed by the poem “Praise Song for the Day” that was written and read by Elizabeth Alexander at the Inauguration, though I was surprised that the current Poet Laureate Kay Ryan did not perform this job.
The poem was straight forward and profound at the same time, something that is often difficult to achieve in poetry, and I looked all day for the text of this beautifully simple poem. I liked how it described the every day and especially the stanza which reads, “We encounter each other in words, words spiny or smooth, whispered or declaimed; words to consider, reconsider.” That is what I do with this blog – meet you with my words, sometimes taken from others, sometimes written by myself. We lurch along this life, moving from one moment to the next, never realizing except in extreme circumstances what is routine and what is exceptional.
Thanks to the Grey Lady and CQ transcriptions, below is a transcript of the inaugural poem. If you missed it the first time or couldn’t wait to read it again, enjoy.
“Praise Song for the Day”
Each day we go about our business, walking past each other, catching each others’ eyes or not, about to speak or speaking. All about us is noise. All about us is noise and bramble, thorn and din, each one of our ancestors on our tongues. Someone is stitching up a hem, darning a hole in a uniform, patching a tire, repairing the things in need of repair.
Someone is trying to make music somewhere with a pair of wooden spoons on an oil drum with cello, boom box, harmonica, voice.
A woman and her son wait for the bus.
A farmer considers the changing sky; A teacher says, “Take out your pencils. Begin.”
We encounter each other in words, words spiny or smooth, whispered or declaimed; words to consider, reconsider.
We cross dirt roads and highways that mark the will of someone and then others who said, “I need to see what’s on the other side; I know there’s something better down the road.”
We need to find a place where we are safe; We walk into that which we cannot yet see.
Say it plain, that many have died for this day. Sing the names of the dead who brought us here, who laid the train tracks, raised the bridges, picked the cotton and the lettuce, built brick by brick the glittering edifices they would then keep clean and work inside of.
Praise song for struggle; praise song for the day. Praise song for every hand-lettered sign; The figuring it out at kitchen tables.
Some live by “Love thy neighbor as thy self.”
Others by first do no harm, or take no more than you need.
What if the mightiest word is love, love beyond marital, filial, national. Love that casts a widening pool of light. Love with no need to preempt grievance.
In today’s sharp sparkle, this winter air, anything can be made, any sentence begun.
On the brink, on the brim, on the cusp — praise song for walking forward in that light.