Katrina/Bush: a Southern opportunity?

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Monday September 05, 2005 · 6:10 AM PDT

2005/09/05 · 06:10

Friday night I had a revelation as I read stories and insights here in the left blogosphere while also watching MSNBC's Joe Scarborough, CNN's Nancy Grace, and the "perspectival" battles between Fox News' on-the-ground reporters Shepard Smith and Geraldo Rivera and their top-tier studio pundits O'Reilly and Hannity. I've been away, so someone may have already posted something similar.

The revelation: the Katrina/Bush disaster threatens the GOP's decades-long "Southern strategy" and poses a very real opportunity for Democrats to reconnect with Southerners. The wrath shown by Mayor Nagin and the Times Picayune over the destruction of New Orleans may very well be just the tip of an iceberg of regional rage, akin to that felt over Sherman's burning of Atlanta, a defining event of the South.

This is not a opportunistic tactical "opening," but a profound and multi-dimensional opportunity with national and global implications. More below the fold: Read More

Scorch-earthing the MSM

JVictor

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Monday May 16, 2005 · 6:35 AM PDT

2005/05/16 · 06:35

As much as we dKossacks deride the MSM, often rightfully so, we should step back and connect some dots, including: Dan Rather's forced resignation, the recent Newsweek apology, the renewed attempts to cut back NPR's news reporting. Whatever their suspect merits, these events are a setback for journalism; at the same time, the rightwing media has suffered no such setbacks, which shows that the right is continuing to win the media war. We cheer when a long-ignored story makes it into the MSM: they cheer when they've driven an anchor or network or news magazine into almost total submission.

My point: We need to assess our role in criticizing the MSM (yes, I know some folks hate this acronym, but this is where I'm heading: we do so at our own peril) and ask ourselves whether we are not unwittingly assisting the right's efforts to take apart what remains of respectable news organizations. Read More

Bad day for GOP

JVictor

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Wednesday April 27, 2005 · 5:55 AM PDT

2005/04/27 · 05:55

It appears the worm is turning more tightly for the GOP, as the major news outlets are full of anti-Rovean stories.

Delayed satisfaction: The House plans to reverse its rule changes in the Ethics Committee, paving the way for Delay's demise.

Revoltin' Bolton: The Senate Foreign Relations Committee opens the doors to some two dozen witnesses to Bolton's fitfullness to be UN Ambassador.

SS crackin' GOP: Two-month Bamboozlepalooza Tour has been cracking us up via TPM: now it's cracking apart the GOP.

Terrible war on terra: Bushco's War on the World has tripled the number of terrorist attacks in the past year. (ok, yesterday's story).

The hits just keep on coming . . .

Trickle down (and out) torture: the children

JVictor

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Thursday March 10, 2005 · 8:36 PM PST

2005/03/10 · 20:36

The NYT has put up an article about the children at Abu Ghraib, a story that Sy Hersch has mentioned several times in the past, but which now has been officially substantiated due to ACLU actions to have Army records released to the public.

I have mixed feelings about the SCLM taking so long to get around to this story. On the one hand, it's ridiculous, as the Times and other news organizations could have been investigating and reporting on this story, linking it to other outrageous, immoral, and illegal actions that have trickled down from Abu Gonzales' memos on the quaintness of the Geneva Convention.

On the other hand, having stories about Abu Ghraib, Gitmo, and other sites of abuse trickle out over months and months may actually help outrage different portions of the American public at different times (eg, "My God, Marge, now it's kids! What else has been going on that we didn't know about?"), thereby possibly contributing to an erosion of support for our Dear Leader.

This Modern Friedman: Tipping Pointless

JVictor

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Monday February 28, 2005 · 6:16 AM PST

2005/02/28 · 06:16

Tom Friedman ends his Sunday NYT op ed piece on the Middle East, titled "The Tipping Points", with this upbeat conclusion: "tipping points are sometimes more like teeter-totters: one moment you're riding high and the next minute you're slammed to the ground. Nevertheless, what's happened in the last four weeks is not just important, it's remarkable. And if we can keep all three tipping points tipped, it will be incredible."

Teeter-totter, neater-natter, reading Friedman, I was reminded of a recent THIS MODERN WORLD cartoon about turning points by the always on-point Tom Tomorrow.

"Tipping point," "turning point," "turning the corner," well, you'll get the point below the fold. Read More

Liberal conservative & conservative liberal

JVictor

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Thursday February 10, 2005 · 4:23 PM PST

2005/02/10 · 16:23

Fascism makes strange bedfellows. Nazi German fascism brought capitalists and communists together in WWII. Now it appears that an incipient Neocon American fascism may start bringing together liberals and conservatives. Delaware Dem's Conservative diary highlights the growing criticism of BushCo in conservative blogs. One thing I found interesting in the citation was the positive use of the term "liberalism." This could signal the beginning of a watershed event as important as the capitalist/communist alliance.

Granted, such conservatives aren't embracing liberal positions, but some recognize the legitimacy of liberal concerns, the importance of our criticisms, and, perhaps implicitly, the need to form a tactical alliance to counter BushCo's economic and foreign policies, his embrace of torture, and his PR campaign of smears, lies, and propaganda. I will call such conservatives "liberal conservative," if only to signal their willingness to embrace an old but core notion of "liberalism": the belief in liberty.

In parallel fashion, I think we need to consider dimensions of "conservative liberal." (more below) Read More

End of Civil Service: neoconsolidation?

JVictor

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Thursday January 27, 2005 · 8:40 AM PST

2005/01/27 · 08:40

The Washington Post reports that the Bush Administration proposes reforming the way the Department of Homeland Security hires, promotes, and fires employees, effectively ending long-standing Civil Service criteria and introducing a "pay-for-performance" program.

Significantly, the WaPo states that the Administration plans to extend such reform to other Federal agencies. Neoconsolidation, anyone?

Performance management techniques have been used by the US government for decades, with VP Al Gore's National Performance Review being one of the most recent and highly publicized examples. The crucial question now is whether the Bush Administration's performance reform is not only aimed at reducing the power of labor unions and decreasing workers' rights (as the WaPo article suggests--see below), but also at instituting a top-to-bottom ideological overhaul of the Federal government. Read More

Inauguration of Abu Bush

JVictor

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Sunday January 16, 2005 · 7:55 PM PST

2005/01/16 · 19:55

Inspired by the report that the President thinks "there was no reason to hold any administration officials accountable for mistakes or misjudgments in prewar planning or managing the violent aftermath;" by the impending confirmation of Alberto Gonzales as US Attorney General; by the selection of Michael Chertoff to head the Homeland Security Administration; and by Tom Ridge's belief that the US "should not rule out torture," here's an image to commemorate the inauguration of George W. Bush for a second term as President of the United States of America.

It's good to see Bush stand behind something.

Trickle-down violence: Bush World and the Chile Fracas

JVictor

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Saturday November 20, 2004 · 8:43 PM PST

2004/11/20 · 20:43

First the Pistons-Pacers' brawl. Then the South Carolina-Clemson brawl.

And now, at the APEC conference in Chile, Bush's own security guards get into a fracas with Chilean security. Reportedly, Chilean TV is showing the incident.

But let's back up: White House lawyers writing memos "legitimating" torture, an illegal war in Iraq, US GIs and intelligence agents torturing detainees at sites around the world, and now sports brawls and security guards fighting on national TV networks: trickle-down violence: welcome to Bush World. I guess maybe the US should ban the use of stun-guns on our children, wadda ya think?

Eminem on SNL

JVictor

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Saturday October 30, 2004 · 9:25 PM PDT

2004/10/30 · 21:25

Just performed Mosh, holding up a simple handwritten sign at the end with the word "VOTE." The audience was ecstatic from what I could tell, but hey, it's a TV crowd.

The song, for me, is much stronger with the animation but having him sing it live(?) on national TV just before the election adds to its effect as a GOTV effort.

Have folks been watching the rest of the show? Have they played off the Mosh video in other segments?

BBC: BushCo blocking own site to furriners and ex-pats?

JVictor

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Wednesday October 27, 2004 · 8:03 AM PDT

2004/10/27 · 08:03

The BBC online is reporting that folks outside the US cannot access Bush's reelection web site. Further, they write that:

The blocking does not appear to be due to an attack by vandals or malicious hackers, but as a result of a policy decision by the Bush camp.

If this is a policy decision (and not a hackjob), any ideas on the motivation: suppress access to some incriminating info? protect "secret appeal" of BushCo? blame it on furrin terraists? or "whoops, we meant to block Kerry's site!"?

Nightline: JFK vs GWB by Anna Deavere Smith

JVictor

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Monday October 25, 2004 · 7:26 PM PDT

2004/10/25 · 19:26

Tonight's Nightline will feature a performance by actor and performance artist Anna Deavere Smith based on the recent Presidential debates. Smith appears as Nancy McNally on West Wing but is perhaps best known for her solo performances, including Twilight: Los Angeles and Fires in Brooklyn, based on the riots in LA and Crown Heights, Brooklyn, respectively.

Smith's method of working often involves interviewing scores of people relating to a given social incident or controversy, developing distinct characters based on them, and then weaving together a performance in which she portrays an extraordinary range of perspectives and identities. Smith also teaches at NYU, where she holds a joint position in the School of Law and Tisch's Dept. of Performance Studies.

Tonight's performance should be interesting: tune in after Jon Stewart.

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