Sunday, December 26, 2004

pre-sale tickets for the NYE party are available here.

save $10, get free shrimp, and party....information 2 posts ago.

aight later....

Tuesday, December 21, 2004

D.C. Council Approves Deal to Finance Stadium (washingtonpost.com)

The D.C. Council gave its formal blessing to a deal to bring the Washington Nationals to the city today, ending two months of acrimonious debate by approving financing to build a baseball stadium along the Anacostia waterfront.

By a vote of 7 to 6, the council adopted a stadium package that contains several amendments to the deal Mayor Anthony A. Williams (D) struck with Major League Baseball in September to move the former Montreal Expos to Washington.


jeah....go nats....

Saturday, December 18, 2004

NYE in NYC//Colin Steel & the Sports//DJ Buck Wheaton//Shrimp//Champagne//$20 pre-sale////

Bar is called The Orange Bear. 47 Murray St in
Tribeca. A block from the Chambers street stop on the
ACE and 1239 subway lines.

Colin Steel and the Sports
(the sports are Noah Deutch and Garth Hallberg)

DJ Buck Wheaton (on the wheels or the iPod)
(DJ Buck Wheaton is Derek Teslik)

Champagne Toast at Midnight
(Champagne gets you drunk)

Free Shrimp
(shrimp are delicious)

$20 pre-sale.

anyone in NY got some turntables I can borrow?

Love to liz.

Friday, December 17, 2004

JONATHAN RICHMAN - DEMOS 1973

Merry Christmas

I'm done with exams and won't get notice that I've failed out of law school until February or so. I'm also currently nursing a hangover.

In celebration, here's an mp3 of Jonathan Richman covering "Do You Believe in Magic?" acapella from '73. It's from the tapes that are currently being distributed via BitTorrent at the link above (registration required).

Also, here's a demo version of Queen/Bowie's "Under Pressure" that sort of sounds like Brian May had been hanging around at the Guitar Center for too long and couldn't decide whether to thrash or noodle.

both the above via largehearted boy.

Wednesday, December 15, 2004

Video: A Message From The Iraq Resistance



Well, the Iraqi resistance forces/ba'athist regime remnants/evil terrorists (pick your poison WRT what to call them) have a pretty good propaganda division.

And part of the message, encouraging nations and people sympathetic to their cause to put their money into the euro instead of the dollar, could be more effective than another 9/11 at hitting the US where its/our power lies. And, given the inherent weakness in the dollar right now (shrinking US manufacturing base, huge defecits and debt, etc.) this straw might go a long way towards breaking Uncle Sam's greenback.

It doesn't matter too much if the markets agree with the message or the reasoning. If the markets fear a crash in the dollar, they'll pull out and percipitate exactly what it is they fear.

And this message, this video, is in English, the language of the global market.


p.s. one of the rumored "real" reasons that the US went into Iraq (I heard/read about this in the weeks leading up to the invasion) was to keep Iraq/OPEC from switching their Oil trading to a Euro-valuated system from the current Dollar-based market. By invading and occupying Iraq we got a seat at the table or at least a sympathetic regime sitting at the OPEC table. The fewer commodities globally that are pegged to the Dollar, the greater the inherant weakness in the Dollar, since the rest of the world loses incentives to prop up the Dollar. Merry Christmas.

Eggnog (click to listen)




here's the B-Side to the possibly never to be released Walkmen "christmas party" 7". It is the Bad Brains to the first song's Pogues. It also features jingle bells.

Monday, December 13, 2004

Dropping science:



Making a distinction between mass culture and consumerism. Edumacation.


Very little blogging because of law school exams. Sorry. But they'll be done on Thursday.

Wednesday, December 01, 2004

Merriam-Webster Online



yeah, yeah, "blog" is the word of the year. who cares. the exciting thing about Merriam-Webster's Words of the Year 2004 list is that an old favorite and completely badass word broke the top ten for no apparent reason at all. That word ranked #10 this year and that word is......"defenestration." From MW:
Pronunciation: (")dE-"fe-n&-'strA-sh&n
Function: noun
Etymology: de- + Latin fenestra window
: a throwing of a person or thing out of a window


also awesome about this word is that it, like me, is somewhat czech in its origins. from britannica online's "concise encyclopaedia":

Defenestration of Prague

(May 23, 1618)

Incident of Bohemian resistance to Habsburg authority.

In 1617 Catholic officials in Bohemia closed Protestant chapels in violation of the religious-liberty guarantee of 1609. At an assembly called by the Protestants, the imperial regents were found guilty of violating the guarantee and were thrown from the windows of the council room of Prague Castle. Though the victims were not seriously hurt, the incident sparked the Bohemian revolt against Emperor Ferdinand II and led to the Thirty Years' War.

(emphasis mine).

word.

Monday, November 29, 2004

China to Set Up Wal-Mart Union Branches

China's Communist Party-controlled union is ready to help Wal-Mart Stores Inc. set up union branches at its Chinese outlets 'as soon as possible,' reports and union officials said Thursday.

The 123 million-member All-China Federation of Trade Unions plans to push ahead with its demand that foreign enterprises such as Wal-Mart set up trade unions, its officials say.

The officials applauded an announcement Tuesday by Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart that it will allow the federation to set up branches in its stores on the mainland.

'We have not obtained any union-related statements from Wal-Mart itself. But we learned from media reports that they have changed their attitude on the issue and we welcome that decision,' said Li Jianming, division chief at the union's international liaison department in Beijing.

'After all, it is the right of the workers to establish workers' unions, and no company or employer has the right to deprive them of that,' Li said."


What gives? Wal-Mart has fought unionization in the US ferociously, but allows unionization of their Chinese stores. Are American workers less worthy of the protections unions provide? And will this announcement spur greater unionization here in the US?

Internet Archive: Wayback Machine


when you really should be doing something else, take a trip down memory lane to simpler times, when the internet was all about "under construction" signs and such, before there was CSS and RSS &c.

you could find my dumb home page from college, for example, if you knew where to look. or my proto-blogging on the KWUR hip-hop page......

Saturday, November 27, 2004

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | US campaign behind the turmoil in Kiev

With their websites and stickers, their pranks and slogans aimed at banishing widespread fear of a corrupt regime, the democracy guerrillas of the Ukrainian Pora youth movement have already notched up a famous victory - whatever the outcome of the dangerous stand-off in Kiev.

Ukraine, traditionally passive in its politics, has been mobilised by the young democracy activists and will never be the same again.

But while the gains of the orange-bedecked "chestnut revolution" are Ukraine's, the campaign is an American creation, a sophisticated and brilliantly conceived exercise in western branding and mass marketing that, in four countries in four years, has been used to try to salvage rigged elections and topple unsavoury regimes.


whoa. and they're doing it with "street teams" like a mid-90s rap record label:

"Stickers, spray paint and websites are the young activists' weapons. Irony and street comedy mocking the regime have been hugely successful in puncturing public fear and enraging the powerful."




Friday, November 26, 2004

BBC NEWS | UK | Ukraine state TV in revolt


Journalists on Ukraine's state-owned channel - which had previously given unswerving support to Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych - have joined the opposition, saying they have had enough of "telling the government's lies".

Journalists on another strongly pro-government TV station have also promised an end to the bias in their reporting. The turnaround in news coverage, after years of toeing the government line, is a big setback for Mr Yanukovych.

Tuesday, November 23, 2004

punk rock case law

from Ross v. Forest Lawn Memorial Park, 152 Cal. App. 3d 971 (1984):


We accept as true the following facts, as alleged in the complaint...Appellant and respondent entered into a contract whereby Kristie's funeral and burial would be handled by respondent, a corporation engaged in business as a cemetery. At the time the arrangements were being made appellant advised respondent that she wanted the funeral and burial services to be private. Only family members and invited guests were to be permitted to attend. In particular, [**2] appellant requested that no "punk rockers" be allowed at the services. Kristie had been a punk rocker. Appellant was fearful that her daughter's former associates would disrupt the private services, and so advised respondent. Respondent agreed to use all reasonable efforts and means to comply with appellant's request.

Many punk rockers attended both the funeral services in the chapel and the grave-site burial services. Neither their appearance nor comportment was in accord with traditional, solemn funeral ceremonies. Some were in white face makeup and black lipstick. Hair colors ranged from blues and greens to pinks and oranges. Some were dressed in leather and chains and twirled baton-like weapons, while yet another wore a dress decorated with live rats. The uninvited guests were drinking and using cocaine, and were physically and verbally abusive to family members and their guests. A disturbance ensued and grew to the point that police had to be called to restore order.
***
Appellant's allegation is not deficient for failing to show a causal connection between respondent's failure to timely perform certain acts and the punk rockers' failure to refrain from certain actions.

Monday, November 22, 2004

Opinion Backs Davis's Effort To Grant D.C. Vote in House

A former senior Justice Department official in the Bush administration has concluded that a constitutional amendment is not needed to grant the District voting representation in the House.

The 25-page opinion by Viet D. Dinh, a former assistant U.S. attorney general, was commissioned by Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.) as part of his effort to grant the District a vote in the House.

Davis, chairman of the House Government Reform Committee, called Dinh's conclusion a key development.


via election law

Saturday, November 20, 2004

Gawker Stalker: Bungalow 8, NYC's Best Crack Den



"Freemans, tuesday night the 16th of nov. the bush twins , along with 2 massive secret service men, tried to have dinner. they were told by the maitre'd that they were full and would be for the next 4 years. upon hearing, the entire restaurant cheered and did a round of shots... it was amazing!!! [Ed: We're hearing that this is actually true.]"

Who Let The Blogs Out? :: Main Page



All I have to say is "It's Judgment Night, fools....."

jeah

I like Journey

you like this band? I like journey....

Thursday, November 18, 2004

you can run, and have your fun

Cheers to the Walkmen for their stunning set last night at the Bait Shop on Fox's The OC.

My favorite parts:

Whatever the criminal grandfather/father/creepy guy said right before the 2nd Walkmen song. It was something about someone becoming a lawyer but he has a voice that sounds like it should be introducing a song from a rap album, like "you'd better be down with the family, Shiney, or you know we'll come after you...."

There was also something great about the canned, non-Walkmen music that, inside the club, overpowered the band when the loser kissed his ex. He was thinking that pushing a mop for a week for Walkmen tickets would win her back, but his dreams died and cruel reality set in.

Q: So, do you like this band?
A: I like Journey.....

and some other Walkmen odds and ends:

The Christmas Party is their new single. The spoken interludes ensure that it will soon become a Xmas classic.

And they're also going to do a cover of "There Goes My Baby" for a video game about zombies from the retrofuturistic late 50's. via Max.

gobble

Tuesday, November 09, 2004

Monday, November 08, 2004

Keith Olberman on election fraud

As I suggested, this is the first time one of the Fix stories has moved fully into the mainstream media. In so saying, I’m not dismissing the blogosphere. Hell, I’m in the blogosphere now, and there have been nights when I’ve gotten far more web hits than television viewers (thank you, Debate Scorecard readers). Even the overt partisanship of blogs don’t bother me - Tom Paine was a pretty partisan guy, and ultimately that served truth a lot better than a ship full of neutral reporters would have. I was just reading last night of the struggles Edward R. Murrow and William L. Shirer had during their early reporting from Europe in ’38 and ’39, because CBS thought them too anti-Nazi.


with all that's coming out about this, it's shocking that this is the only coverage in the mainstream media, but cheers to Keith.

Bummed out about politics? Click here.....

get your cheer-up on with Tommy Seebach.......click above

Dan Ratherisms - Election Night Dan Rather Quotes - Danisms

'We used to say if a frog had side pockets, he'd carry a handgun.'

'No one is saying that George Bush is not going to win the election, and if you had to bet the double-wide, you'd have to bet that he'd win.'

'In southern states they beat him like a rented mule.'


awesome

Return of the Original: Radio Free St. Louis

So some of you might know me from college. Those who do know I used to do a radio show at the college station.

Well, I'm back on campus, and my radio show is back.

And here's an mp3 of my first show of the semester. Click on the link above to listen. More shows will follow.

And cheers and congratulations to Pete "Papa" Bauer....

Sunday, November 07, 2004

Dollar expected to fall amid China's rumoured selling

The first rumblings of the second great depression? I only took intro to Macroeconomics, so I don't know all the ins and outs of world financial markets, but a tumbling dollar isn't the greatest thing to look forward to. On the other hand, we can all sneak across the Mexican border, work as nannys and cleaners, then wire the money back to the US to pay off the defecit.....

"However, the market has been rife with rumours that the latest wave of selling has been led by foreign governments seeking to cut their exposure to US assets.

India and Russia have reportedly been selling US assets, as well as petrodollar-rich Middle Eastern investors.

China, which has $515bn of reserves, was also said to be selling dollars and buying Asian currencies in readiness to switch the renminbi's dollar peg to a basket arrangement, something Chinese officials have increasingly hinted at. Any re-allocation could push the dollar sharply lower and Treasury yields markedly higher."


Black Box Voting

"BREAKING -- SUNDAY Nov. 7 2004: Freedom of Information requests at http://www.blackboxvoting.org have unearthed two Ciber certification reports indicating that security and tamperability was NOT TESTED and that several state elections directors, a secretary of state, and computer consultant Dr. Britain Williams signed off on the report anyway, certifying it."


We will return to regularly scheduled blogging soon enough. Until then, enjoy the election fraud and new leather background.

Saturday, November 06, 2004

Singer Sues Rapper Jay-Z Over 'Sabotaged' Tour:

"'It's punitive-damages bling,' said Mr. Kelly's lawyer, Edward Hayes, referring to the astronomical size of the claim."


from the modern age, who's back, by the way.
Authentic GOP

Nothing like creepy comodification to heal the divide in our country, right?

Friday, November 05, 2004

OOPS! Machine Error Gives Bush Extra Ohio Votes...

No...no....don't get me wrong. I think you're mishearing me. Kerry already conceded. That's done. I've moved on. My entire apartment is clean as a whistle. I ate my bacon and eggs off my kitchen floor this morning, it's so clean. I've moved on. Promise.

But......why not.....as, say, proof of concept, for example.....why not, since we're not doing anything right now, just count all the votes. We'll make sure that we got this one right.

that way, next time that it's really close, we'll have confidence. And, say, if there was massive e-voting fraud this time around, we'd find it before the electoral votes are counted and avoid a massive constitutional crisis. So it's really win-win, right?

The best part about this election is that now I don't have to root against the Redskins four years from now.
HST owl farm party tuesday

"Their army is how much bigger than mine? Three percent? Well shucks, Bubba. Now is the time to establish a network and an attitude," he said. "You make friends in moments of defeat. People in defeat tend to bond because they need each other. We can't take the attitude that it's over and we give up. We're still here."

Thursday, November 04, 2004

Black Box Voting - Bev Harris - one of the leading groups doing voting machine investigations. A nonpartisan, nonprofit, consumer protection group for elections.:

kerry's already conceded. that's done. but let's make sure we count this right. just to make sure it can be done.

"THURSDAY Nov. 4 2004: If you are concerned about what happened Tuesday, Nov. 2, you have found a home with our organization. Help America Audit.

Black Box Voting has taken the position that fraud took place in the 2004 election through electronic voting machines. We base this on hard evidence, documents obtained in public records requests, inside information, and other data indicative of manipulation of electronic voting systems. What we do not know is the specific scope of the fraud. We are working now to compile the proof, based not on soft evidence -- red flags, exit polls -- but core documents obtained by Black Box Voting in the most massive Freedom of Information action in history.

We need: Lawyers to enforce public records laws. Some counties have already notified us that they plan to stonewall by delaying delivery of the records. We need citizen volunteers for a number of specific actions. We need computer security professionals willing to GO PUBLIC with formal opinions on the evidence we provide, whether or not it involves DMCA complications. We need funds to pay for copies of the evidence."
The Living Room Candidate

Campaign ads from Bush/Gore 2000. Certainly an interesting watch today.

Wednesday, November 03, 2004

Saturday, October 30, 2004

Yahoo! News - Homeland Security Agents Visit Toy Store

I wonder if they're coming after my mp3 player next? Buying knock-off merchandise is so letting the terrorists win. On the other hand, so is letting them go and giving them 380 tons of high explosives.

Friday, October 29, 2004

2004's Scariest Halloween Costumes

Rovian Slip?

Who brought the confetti to the 9-11 remembrance? nothing like a little falling debris and a president caught off guard to bring this presidency full circle. video above.

Thursday, October 28, 2004

Voter suppression time

nothin like some good old "ground attack." wouldn't be a presidential election without crap like this.
NDN's Memorable Media

My favorite ad of the election season. Hands down. But watch out, it's caliente!

Tuesday, October 26, 2004

Terrorists hope to defeat Bush through Iraq violence - The Washington Times: World - October 27, 2004

The most pro-Kerry, he said, are the former Saddam Hussein loyalists — Ba'ath Party members and others who think Washington might scale back its ambitions for Iraq if Mr. Kerry wins, allowing them to re-enter civic life.
The most pro-Bush, he said, are the foreign extremists. "They prefer Bush, because he's a provocative figure, and the more they can push people to the extreme, the better for their case."


Read that a few times.

As I read it, the Washington Times is saying that the Islamic Extremists (Al Qaeda, Zaquawi, etc.) are pro-Bush.

The real Iraqis, non-terrorist resistance fighters who want to go back to living a regular life in peace, support Kerry.

So a Kerry presidency, according to terrorists, would hurt the terrorists' recruiting efforts....
Love Cats, But Suffer From Allergies? ALLERCA Inc. to Develop the World's First Hypo-Allergenic Cats as an Alternative to Current Allergy Treatments

Finally, I can get a cat. I hope it doesn't mind a warm saucer of Lactaid Milk.....
The New York Times > Washington > Campaign 2004 > Same-Sex Marriage: Bush Says His Party Is Wrong to Oppose Gay Civil Unions

anyone have a pair of fashionable beach sandals that won't explode if they step on, say, 380 tons of high explosives?

Monday, October 25, 2004

DEAD LETTER OFFICE: GeorgeWBush.org: Bush/Cheney in 2004!:

e-mails sent to georgewbush.org instead of georgewbush.com


"----- Original Message -----
From: 'dullain Ehrlich' [dullainehrlich@wsrp.org]
To: ''Donald Povia'' [dpovia@georgewbush.com],''Peter Abbarno'' [peterabbarno@wsrp.org],'Jon Seaton' [jseaton@georgewbush.org]
Sent: Mon, 19 Jul 2004 21:07:52 -0700
Subject: FW: RE: Federal Campaign Law FYI DULLAIN

-----Original Message-----
From: Ann Humphreys [mailto:ash439@gte.net]
Sent: Monday, July 19, 2004 7:03 PM
To: Dullain
Subject: Fw: RE: Federal Campaign Law

----- Original Message -----
From: 'ardean anvik' [ardeananvik@hotmail.com]
To: [ash439@gte.net]
Sent: Saturday, July 17, 2004 10:08 AM
Subject: FW: RE: Federal Campaign Law

> FYI - I sent a request to Chris and here is his reply
>
> Ardean Anvik
>
>
> >From: 'Chris Vance' [chrisvance@wsrp.org]
> >To: ''ardean anvik'' [ardeananvik@hotmail.com]
> >Subject: RE: Federal Campaign Law
> >Date: Fri, 16 Jul 2004 12:52:54 -0700
> >
> >Will do!
> >
> >CV
> >
> >-----Original Message-----
> >From: ardean anvik [mailto:ardeananvik@hotmail.com]
> >Sent: Friday, July 16, 2004 12:47 PM
> >To: chrisvance@wsrp.org
> >Subject: Federal Campaign Law
> >
> >
> >Chris,
> >
> >I took the information you gave me regarding usage of County Party
> >assets
> >(e.g. newsletters, phone banks) for federal candidates to my County
> >Central
> >Committee and asked for direction as to accepting ads from campaigns or
> >individuals. I explained the information you had provided. Steve
> >VanDenover, Mason County Chair, asked me to check with other counties as
> >to
> >how they are handling national candidates, such as Nethercutt, Bush and
> >Congressional Candidates. I called a few counties and discussed this
> >issue
> >in detail with the State Committeewoman and Editor of the Skagit County
> >Republican newsletter, Ann Marie Humphreys. She was unaware of the
> >prohibiitions that you had outlined to me for newsletters. IN fact she
> >had
> >an ad for George Bush in her latest Newsletter. I told her what you had
> >
> >explained to me about newsletter prohibitions.
> >
> >May I request that you or someone on your staff send directions
> >regarding
> >what Counties can and cannot do as it pertains to newsletters and phone
> >banks usage for federal candidates. There is a great deal of ignorance
> >out
> >here and many counties are violating the campaign law as I understood it
> >
> >from you. God help us if the Democrats find out. I think we all need
> >direction. Can you help us?

> >
> >Thanks, Chris
> >
> >Ardean A. Anvik
> >State Committeeman, Mason COunty"

Sunday, October 24, 2004

ABC News: Bush: Several States Could Swing Election:

"'I wouldn't discount Michigan,' Bush says. 'I wouldn't discount the influence of Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota and New Mexico."


He almost sounds like Howard Dean after he lost Iowa. The wave might be breaking.....
Talking Points Memo: by Joshua Micah Marshall: October 24, 2004 - October 30, 2004 Archives

Apparently the explosives being used for roadside bombs in Iraq was under IAEA lock and key, "sealed," before the US invasion. But soon after the invasion 350 TONS of high explosives were carted off for use by the insurgency, and, although the Department of Defense has known all along that this stuff was missing, is hasn't told anyone, because of the political implications. Click above for more.
Candidates Hit Key States With Election Still a Tossup (washingtonpost.com)

GOP officials who talked to Bush-Cheney campaign leaders said the leaders had grown more worried about Ohio, Florida and other key states where Bush lacks a lead with just 10 days until the election. A poll by Ohio University's Scripps Survey Research Center, completed Thursday night, found Kerry leading 49 to 43 percent among registered voters, with a margin of error of five percentage points.

Sen. Pete V. Domenici (R-N.M.), campaigning with Vice President Cheney in northwestern New Mexico, told the crowd the GOP ticket will lose the state without a lopsided local victory in San Juan County, because of heavy Democratic activity elsewhere in the state. "Without a huge margin in this county . . . we can't win this election," he said.

One Republican official described the mood at the top of the campaign as apprehensive. " 'Grim' is too strong," the official said. "If we feel this way a week from now, that will be grim."
***
That Republican official said polling for Bush showed him in a weaker position than some published polls, both nationally and in battlegrounds. In many of the key states, the official said, Bush is below 50 percent, and he is ahead or behind within the margin of sampling error -- a statistical tie.

"There's just no place where they're polling outside the margin of error so they can say, 'We have this state,' " the official said. "And they know that an incumbent needs to be outside the margin of error."

Saturday, October 23, 2004

Lie Girls... call 212-875-7000

This is absolutely mindblowingly awesome.
RollingStone.com: Politics - Fear and Loathing, Campaign 2004

hst is batshit crazy, and this doesn't touch his work from '72, but it's worth a minute of your time.
KR Washington Bureau | 10/22/2004 | Former workers dispute Bush's pull in Project P.U.L.L.

70's Texans for Truth? Bush says in his autobiography: "My friend John White ... asked me to come help him run the program. ... I was intrigued by John's offer. ... Now I had a chance to help people."

But White's administrative assistant and others associated with P.U.L.L., speaking on the record for the first time, say Bush was not helping to run the program and White had not asked Bush to come aboard. Instead, the associates said, White told them he agreed to take Bush on as a favor to Bush's father, who was honorary co-chairman of the program at the time, and Bush was unpaid. They say White told them Bush had gotten into some kind of trouble but White never gave them specifics.

"We didn't know what kind of trouble he'd been in, only that he'd done something that required him to put in the time," said Althia Turner, White's administrative assistant.

"John said he was doing a favor for George's father because an arrangement had to be made for the son to be there," said Willie Frazier, also a former player for the Houston Oilers and a P.U.L.L. summer volunteer in 1973.

Fred Maura, a close friend of White, refers to Bush as "43," for 43rd president, and his father as "41," for the 41st president.

"John didn't say what kind of trouble 43 was in - just that he had done something and he (John) made a deal to take him in as a favor to 41 to get some funding," Maura said.

"He didn't help run the program. I was in charge of him and I wouldn't say I helped run the program, either," said David Anderson, a recreational director at P.U.L.L.
***
Other accounts have suggested his service was involuntary. A book published in 2000, largely discredited, said Bush was there to serve out a community service sentence for a drug arrest. At the time, however, Harris County, Texas, where Houston is located, had no formal community service program. A 1999 book, by a political reporter for The Dallas Morning News, said Bush's father had insisted on the service after Bush was involved in a drunk-driving incident.

Friday, October 22, 2004

WolfpacksforTruth.org: The Real Story on George Bush's "Wolves" Commercial
what do you call a bear....
holding a daisy under a mushroom cloud?

So you may have seen the new Bush ad, the one that looks like it was directed by M. Night Shyamalan, called "Wolves."

It's amazing. They're literally "crying 'wolf.'" Apparently when they showed the ad on Crossfire this afternoon the audience laughed at it.

It's admittedly scary, until the part at the end where W shows us that he can approve a message while reading a piece of paper AND talking on the phone. If he had approved at the top of the ad it would be much more effective.

And.....aren't the wolves getting into this country by hiding in uninspected freight cargo? how else did they get into that field in the first place?

And what about all the Wolves of Mass Destruction that we were supposed to find in Iraq? Apparently they weren't under the President's desk.

Maybe they were thinking of Paul Wolfowitz, but he's already breached the perimeter...
Hip-Hop Debate

word to cspan
Political Poseur - Pretending to be a Republican in Blue California. By Richard Rushfield

A story about wearing a Bush/Cheney t-shirt in my old neighborhood.

Thursday, October 21, 2004

RollingStone.com: News - John Kerry:

"Do you have a favorite Beatles song -- or Stones song?

I love 'Satisfaction' and 'Jumpin' Jack Flash' and 'Brown Sugar.' I love 'Imagine' and 'Yesterday.'

You're a greatest-hits kind of guy.

My favorite album is Abbey Road. I love 'Hey Jude.' I also like folk music. I like some classical. I love guitar. Oh, God. I mean, you know -- Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Buffett . . ."


he had me till that last sentence.
Monster Slash | The New Monster Mash

watch dick cheney do the dance from "thriller."
Regret The Error

a blog about newspaper corrections.
Daily Kos

desperate Bush to fly to Kabul/Baghdad? October surprise?
I'm Just Sayin': Poop Valhalla

triumph the insult comic dog in spin alley
the truth about john kerry

look for the tom harkin/tom arnold double dose.

Wednesday, October 20, 2004

George Bush Bulges

The thing about this web page here is not whether the president has a wireless receiver in his back. The thing about this web page right here is the president's tailor. There's a picture of him in the second to last row from the bottom.

It's the little guys like him that make this the most important election of our lives.
CNN.com - Robertson: I?warned Bush on Iraq casualties - Oct 20, 2004
CNN.com - Robertson: I?warned Bush on Iraq casualties - Oct 19, 2004

Tuesday, October 19, 2004

Lawmakers Ask CIA to Turn Over Internal 9/11 Report
The 9/11 Secret in the CIA's Back Pocket

Read this. Talk about this. Link to this. Demand this gets released before Nov. 2nd.

My guess is that this will sneak out before Nov. 2nd given the bad relationship between the White House and the CIA.

According to the intelligence official, who spoke to me on condition of anonymity, release of the report, which represents an exhaustive 17-month investigation by an 11-member team within the agency, has been "stalled." First by acting CIA Director John McLaughlin and now by Porter J. Goss, the former Republican House member (and chairman of the Intelligence Committee) who recently was appointed CIA chief by President Bush.

The official stressed that the report was more blunt and more specific than the earlier bipartisan reports produced by the Bush-appointed Sept. 11 commission and Congress.

"What all the other reports on 9/11 did not do is point the finger at individuals, and give the how and what of their responsibility. This report does that," said the intelligence official. "The report found very senior-level officials responsible."


(insert richeous indignation here.)

seriously, I'm so pissed off at these guys that I'm almost tired of being pissed off.

Monday, October 18, 2004

it's all one thing: What if George W. Bush had been elected president?
Bin Laden is in China

Osama, of course, is the October surprise that Rove has been hinting at. We are selling Taiwan and MFN status to China in exchange for Osama. We also are likely giving up some leverage with respect to China's client state North Korea. Two weeks till the deal goes through.

Sunday, October 17, 2004

NIFL-WOMENLIT 2004: [NIFL-WOMENLIT:3015] Fwd: SCAM ALERT: Voter

Those GOP voter registration scam artists (America Votes, Sproul & Associates, etc.) were doing the same thing (only registering Republicans) in PA too. Their malfeasance may have been nationwide.

Friday, October 15, 2004

Rapper: Blacks 'cheered when 9-11 happened'

KRS-One: used to be dope. now his records kind of honk and he's saying some ignant stuff.

Thursday, October 14, 2004

A Tiny Revolution: Uh Oh

sy hersh from a talk last friday.
Daily Kos :: Comments Open thread

Very, very weird. Granted, this is coming from someone who can read lips, but...

apparently Bush wanted to meek with Kerry after the debate for a bit. and some speculation that Bush's health is seriously failing....note for example that his face was drooping on one side last night and there was some drool/froth on the right side of his mouth (his right, our left).

Wednesday, October 13, 2004

The Onion | 2004 Election Guide

FT.com / World / Europe - Germany in rethink on Iraq force deployment

John Kerry just passed the "Global Test"
Talking Points Memo: by Joshua Micah Marshall: October 10, 2004 - October 16, 2004 Archives

So it looks like a Republican funded voter registration group has been literally shredding registration forms of people who registered as democrats in Nevada.

literally shredding. hundreds to thousands.

shredding.

literally.

oh, and they did it in Oregon, too.

anybody got a phone number for a UN election monitor? or Jimmy Carter? or the FEC?

I mean, what the hell?

Please mention this tonight, John Kerry...
TVHeads.com Viewer

al roker is about to be blown away

Monday, October 11, 2004

and now for a quiz:

which major news organization recently circulated a flyer among its campaign reporters that encourages those reporters to double-check the accuracy of claims and features "Facty, the Fact-Checking Dog"?

Yahoo! News - Top Stories Photos - AP

you know, it really does look like there's something under his jacket.

Saturday, October 09, 2004

Live from New York...
It's 1-3 points nationwide!!!
want some wood?

John Forbes Kerry just won the second debate. Not the one that was broadcast live from Washington University in St. Louis (holla) friday night, but the one broadcast live from NBC studios in NYC.

Or, he just won the prior by absolutely cleaning up in the latter. Think back to 2000. The conventional wisdom about the debates was that Gore lost because he seemed so different at each debate. But polls taken right after the debates aired showed that people thought Gore won. It wasn't until Saturday Night Live spoofed the debates that the image of Gore as pandering reallt gelled. And I'd bet that you remember the SNL debates as well or better than you remember the actual debates.

Now, the friday debate: It was on a Friday night during a Yankees/Twins playoff game. Undecided voters aren't undecided because they, after watching C-Span/CNN/Fox religiously, just can't choose. They're undecided because they would rather go out on a friday night, or watch the Twins and the Yankees, than watch Bush and Kerry. And so the spin and the process of forming the Conventional Wisdom for this particular debate are much more important in terms of moving votes.

I thought it was a tie when I watched it. But now that my mind has been made up for me by television, I echo JFK's line from last night:

"Mr. President, you're 0-2."

and the last round, a domestic policy debate in the one-on-one format of the first contest, W isn't likely hit one out of the park.

remainders: is the forced airing of the Anti-Kerry movie on network TV one of Rove's October surprises?

(also there's a great Victoria's Secret ad I just saw that used "Monkey Man" by the Stones as the backdrop. It will not matter in the presidential campaign.)
Dred Scott, Explained: It's About Abortion

I didn't get it, when Bush said it, but now it makes sense. Code words and winks for the base. Got it. A Dred Scott litmus test is a Roe v Wade litmus test.

and this isn't the right place for it, but....

Bush-Cheney '04: Because I need some wood.

Friday, October 08, 2004

Monday, October 04, 2004

Jeffrey M. Stambovsky, Appellant,
v.
Helen V. Ackley et al., Respondents.
Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department, New York
July 18, 1991

Whether the source of the spectral apparitions seen by defendant seller is parapsychic or psychogenic, having reported their presence in both a national publication and the local press, defendant is estopped to deny their existence and, as a matter of law, the house is haunted.
Might as well forget Poland after all.

Friday, October 01, 2004

CNN's "undecided" voter is actually a patriot

I know my nose is a bit stopped up. Even so, this smells a bit like dirty tricks.... A similar odor wafts from this dude as the stench from the guy who snuck into that Kerry event, held up a Bush sign, then had his son, dressed up like a Union man, rip up the bush sign, so that his daughter cried.

By any means necessary...

Thursday, September 30, 2004

GeorgeWBush.com :: Breaking Pre-Debate Fact: Kerry For Lights Before Against Them

Honestly, are the folks at the Onion doing Bush's spin? "Breaking Pre-Debate Fact"???

Breaking fact: John Kerry looks silly windsurfing! He surfed left before he surfed right!!

I thought breaking facts was the job of the CBO, or the treasury secretary.....
Kerry vs. the Rules, Bush vs. His Temper (washingtonpost.com):

You think Mike Allen might have written some of this piece, or at least the title, before the debate started? Or did he just feel bad about titling it Bush v. Temper? Because there really was no "Kerry v. Rules" tension that I noticed during the debate -- it was Bush who was consistantly going over the alotted time -- and there's no mention of such tension in the piece as it's written now (first graf included, link above for the rest):


"Kerry vs. the Rules, Bush vs. His Temper

By Mike Allen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, October 1, 2004; Page A08

CORAL GABLES, Fla., Sept. 30 -- President Bush has thrown Sen. John F. Kerry's words back on him during nearly every speech of the campaign, but he rocked back in irritation during the first presidential debate Thursday night when the Massachusetts senator did the same thing to him."


EDIT: The name has changed on the site to "Kerry v. the format...." but that's still a lame name for a story that's all about how bush was flustered. Now, in fairness to Mike Allen, it's usually copy editors, not reporters, who title pieces. And the Post's copy editor must be wed to some notion of he-said, she-said fairness over accuracy. Because, if you don't actually read the story, just the headline, it looks like the story said it was a tie. If you don't get past the fold, or the jump, you assume that the section on Kerry's wrangling with the format comes later, and maybe we'll get there, but let's read about the Expos (soon to be Washington Grays) first. Actually, the jump's not a problem here, since the story's buried on A8, but still.
Bush and Kerry meet in first of three debates with Kerry needing to make up ground North County Times - North San Diego and Southwest Riverside County News - Celebrations:

tip from wonkette:

It's now 2 hours till the debate starts, and the AP past-tense, the debate already happened story is already filed. check the timestamp below, which preceeds the first 3 grafs.....

"Last modified Thursday, September 30, 2004 2:10 PM PDT"

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) -- After a deluge of campaign speeches and hostile television ads, President Bush and challenger John Kerry got their chance to face each other directly Thursday night before an audience of tens of millions of voters in a high-stakes debate about terrorism, the Iraq war and the bloody aftermath.

The 90-minute encounter was particularly crucial for Kerry, trailing slightly in the polls and struggling for momentum less than five weeks before the election. The Democratic candidate faced the challenge of presenting himself as a credible commander in chief after a torrent of Republican criticism that he was prone to changing his positions.

Bush was expected to confront questions about leading the nation into war on the still-unproven premise that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. He also has faced accusations that he lacked a strategy to deal with the violence and chaos that have left more than 1,000 Americans dead and that the Iraq war has diverted U.S. attention from al-Qaida and other terrorists.
ABCNEWS.com : Noted Now: ABC News' Political News Digest

some of my constituants have been asking about real-time debate blogging. I'll leave that to others, whose job it is to blog debates instead of enjoying debates, coctails, and snide comments in real life with real people.

that said, I will be taking lots of pictures as the Wash U debate goes down next friday and will generally be stepping it up around here as a service to those of you who can't actually go and ask those stoners on the 'hot rock' how they feel about the increasing cost of prescription drugs, &c.

but that's next week, and this week is Florida, and a sort-of fifth hurricane to hit the state, and so just watch it yourself and make up your own mind and if you need to doing something with your wi-fi while the debate's going down then just download porn or click on the link above and let the professionals take care of you and just leave me out of it, dun.

Vermin Supreme '04. word.

Tuesday, September 28, 2004

DrudgeReportArchives.com ? 2004

I mean, come on, drudge. Is this really the best you can do? $50 a barrel oil for the first time in the history of the world and you bump into a 72-point font the fact that John Kerry got a tan??? "Skin transition???" Thanks for the blue dress, dude, but you gotta do better than this.

Monday, September 27, 2004

MyDD :: Holy F---ing Jim Crow

Ohio Secretary of State makes two decisions to limit citizens ability to vote. See also recent moves by MO Sec. of State/ Gubenatorial Candidate Matt Blunt.

Vietnam ain't the only thing in this election giving off the old funk of the 60's....Some of these elections officials are rocking Malcolm X's "By Any Means Necessary" theory.....like, whoa.
Rivals Once More (washingtonpost.com):

"'You don't want to get on the wrong side of both of them. They can crack the whip,' said Henning, 62, who coached under Gibbs in Super Bowl XVII and XXII and under Parcells with the New York Jets. 'People might see Bill that way because he's more confrontational with the press. I've seen Bill charm the balls off a pool table. The beauty of both of them is that they know when to push the buttons.'"

Bugel said, "Behind closed doors, he [Gibbs] can rip your shirt off, and knock your teeth out."


There is nothing like Redskins-Cowboys. Nothing. Here's to football.

Tuesday, September 21, 2004

Federer for Congress

this link goes to Federers endorsements. Unlike Carnahan, he provides quotes, and some are amazing to read. Look for the ones from Chuck Norris and Alan Keyes......this should be fun.
Whoa.
make no mistake
strong and getting stronger

I'm sitting in the auditorium of Washington University's Business School, waiting for a debate between candidates for Dick Gephardht's congressional district, MO 3rd. There are only seven of us in the audience right now, but I am an hour early. I am what they call a civics dork.

Actually, I thought I might get some homework done while waiting for this thing to start. I still might.

The Washington Post has a copy of all the stipulated rules for the Presidential Debates. They regulate everything from temperature to camera angles. It's pretty interesting how absolutely stage managed these things are. The link's right here:

debate rules agreement

Sunday, September 19, 2004

gomi no sensei: i need a cigarette

awesome ads by cinema hotshots
Bush, Kerry Tentatively Settle on 3 Debates (washingtonpost.com)

The details. I'll have pictures here from the debate.
everybody's talking all this junk about me
why can't they just let me live

the police light is out on drudge's page. that can only mean one thing:

The Washington University debate is ON!

whut. bring it on.

also, I'm working with a group called Just Democracy. We're law students from all over the country trying to get ourselves and other law students working as election judges come November 2nd.

You'll probably be getting some voters rights commentary and information here over the next month and a half, and some on the ground reports if things go wrong in St. Louis like they did in 2000.
FOXNews.com - U.S. & World - Possible Saddam-Al Qaeda Link Seen in U.N. Oil-for-Food Program

Do they make tin foil hats for the right wing? Because, this just in, breaking news, thank god for fox news, if you play 6 degrees of kevin bacon in the mid-east, you might get what could possibly be a connection between Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden. More specifcally, between someone (Abdul Rahman Hayel Saeed) who runs a company (HSA) that sold something ($20 million dollars of palm oil) to Iraq while it was under sanctions, and someone else (Ahmed Idris Nasreddin) who is "on the U.N. watchlist of entities and individuals belonging to, or affiliated with Al Qaeda". Now, that palm oil was priced at 15% above market value, so Saddam could maybe have been sending $3 million to a guy who knows a guy who may know Osama.

It's estimated by the "General Accountability Office[sic]" (actually the Government Accountability Office (formerly the General Accounting Office, so it's not a hard mistake to make, although, you know, you could fact check...)(gao.gov) that Saddam got at least $4.4 billion out of the program by overpaying for goods. So, if you do the math, and if I didn't carry the one here, let me know, .07% of the minimum ammount that Saddam overpayed for foodstuffs went to a guy who knows a guy who knows bin laden.

OK. But....

Why is this kind of reasoning and dot-connecting crazy when Michael Moore does it, but newsworthy and groundbreaking when FOX News does it?

(Not that I think it's particularly persuasive when Moore does it, by the way...)

Is this connection the reason that Donald Rumsfeld got a bit confused on Friday, September 10th at the National Press Club?

Saddam Hussein (sic), if he's alive, is spending a whale of a lot of time trying to not get caught. And we've not seen him on a video since 2001. Now he's got to be busy. Why is he busy? It's because of the pressure that's being put on him.
...
(actually from earlier in the talk than that other line)
But if you think about it, that's not the way the world really was before September 11th. Consider the world of September 10th and before. Two Americans and six others stood on trial by the Taliban in Afghanistan for the crime of preaching their religion. The leader of the opposition Northern Alliance, Massoud, lay dead, his murder ordered by Saddam Hussein -- by Osama bin Laden, Taliban's co- conspirator. An Iraqi newspaper put out by Saddam Hussein's son Uday called on European corporations to pressure their governments to break with the United States and Britain, so that the sanctions would be lifted.


That's the guy who runs our army, navy, etc. I know he's endearing in a crazy uncle sort of way, but he should at least be able to keep our enemies straight. It's really hard to get fired in this administration, unless you tell the truth about what something will cost.

I'm tempted to mention some of the more direct connections between world leaders and entities guilty of moral and/or criminal wrongdoing that FOX News could be investigating, but I think it would be inappropriate in a criticism of tin-foil-hat journalism to encourage more of it.

Cheers. This one's for Johnny Ramone.

Wednesday, September 15, 2004

ESPN.com: Page 2 - The Colts can't close the deal

New Hunter S. Thompson. note the hint at the end that he's gonna be on the Ali G show at some point.

Actually, I hope they aren't just doing a TV segment. I dream of a half hour HBO Special, Borat's guide to Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '04:

open on a bush rally in Chesterfield, MO. Ground staff run around nervously, as a large white caddilac pulls into the parking lot. Borat, in suit, and HST, in visor, exit, and approach staffer.

GWB staffer: Can I help you?

Borat: Djekui! I am here to meet president.

Staffer: Who are you, (mumbles into walkie)gurraharragu, hold on a sec, I'mm ge-

HST: No time for that now, honey, we're late, where's the advance staff? I'll call mellman and put you through to him. We set this up a month ago. This guys big shit. Top guy in Kazahkstan. Broadcasts to 10,000 GIs daily over there. They won't go out to patrol for gooks till his shows over. big shit. dont's fuck this up, llll ... linda?

Borat: You are very nice. can I touch your shrum? you are his daughter, no?
-
-
-
-
a man can dream, right?

Tuesday, September 14, 2004

Unreleased document shows Bush failed to fulfil his commitments

This is a brand new one. the plot th-th-thickenses.

this will only be useful to the Kerry people if they can tie supposed lying about vietnam to supposed lying about Iraq, etc....

either way, joe gibbs is a winner.

i can't wait for the debates, if only because there's no substance in anything either campaign is talking about....it's all so f'n boring.

how bout we talk about substantive differences on policy???

anybody seen my lockbox?

Sunday, September 12, 2004

USA PATRIOT Act Enhanced Due Diligence Guide

ever want to masquerade as someone on a federal watchlist? i didn't think so. but if you click on the link above, then hit namecheck (on the right-hand saide of the page) you can search what I can only assume is a list of suspected money launderers. search for arab names, and you'll get a lot of info on some of these guys (and gals). a few entries include a whole lot of information, like DOB, SSN, address, etc. not that you'd want to steal the identity of someone on a federal watchlist. i can't think of many worse life decisions. but, you know, maybe they should put a password on this?
USA Freedom Corps

Are the 'freedom corps' mocking the president? check the W quote underneath the logo in the upper left.

Thursday, September 09, 2004

blaow! how you like me now
was clinton's an 'honorable' discharge?

ABCNEWS.com : ABC News' The Note: First Source for Political News

a few things:
1) the note, linked above, is certainly, at least for my tastes, the most valuable daily political jump-off out there. my gut tells me that the majority of the poltical reporters out there read it every day, and it's a great way to get the backstory to the headlines. if you care, and you should, you should read it. especially those of you in journalism school, but I know that I don't have to tell you that.

2) it's a bit phony for republicans to answer all investigations of bush's guard service with a reference to his honorable discharge after the 'purple heart' band-aids floating around their convention.

3) that's twice that debates here at Wash U have been cancelled the year I show up (clinton pulled out of the '96 debate). sorry if i jinxed it.

4) i'd like to welcome the counter-trey back to the NFL. thank you, joe gibbs. now will the new cornerback rules make the eagles lack of a secondary devastating or meaningless to their defense? answer that question for me, and I'll be able to handicap the NFC east with awesome and terrifying precision.

Tuesday, September 07, 2004

Monday, September 06, 2004

Mirror.co.uk - BUSH 'TOOK COCAINE AT CAMP DAVID'

That's some arrogant shit right there.
The traditional start of the fall season
work dat twerk dat

Clinton calls Kerry from his deathbed.

The fall has officially begun. Now, if you haven't been paying attention, there's an election on. Now, traditionally, people start paying attention and the race begins in earnest.

(Oh, were it that the race began for Earnest, now that he's back from camp, but no, a man can only dream, and this whole country isn't California)

Anyway, word on the street, and the street being the NYT article above, is that Clinton's bridge-builders are driving through the country in an old cop car, talking about getting the band back together. I'm especially excited about getting Carville back in the game. He's got my favorite kind of crazy in him, crazy like a fox, which I guarantee will contrast well with Zell Miller's batshit rabid feral-dog crazy.

Things to remember for fall:

Joe Gibbs is Back
You will be listening to my radio show over the internet, so block out some time accordingly.
Kerry is historically a good closer, and one of the reasons August was so bad for him that no one is mentioning is that he didb't spend any money.
If you're using a sharp knife to get the pit out of an avocado, use the face of the blade, not the tip of the blade, to cut into the pit. Sure, the tip will work, but what if you miss? What then? If you can't figure it out I'll send you pictures of my left hand. That'll wake you up, Bubba.
Be glad you're not in my fantasy football league.

Cheers. And remember, from here on out, it's a sprint, not a marathon.

Tuesday, August 24, 2004

Thursday, August 12, 2004

arrived in st louis.

am once again a st loser.
please stay tuned.

email if you need legal advice. I'm going to do a weekly advice column here.

Thursday, June 03, 2004

ex-methhead shoeless w/ remote-controlled harley-riding parakeet in central california motel parking lot, morning. Posted by Hello
a brief program note
then back to your regularly scheduled nothing

so, yeah. I've been laying low for a while. I've been (more or less) unemployed in LA packing and planning for my move across the country, beginning about June 12th. I'll be back in Washington, DC, until about the end of July, at which point I'll be moving to St. Louis, MO, to start law school at Washington University. I did my undergrad studies there as well. I've been back in DC for the last week and a half for a friend's wedding.

It's become clear to me that one of the factors driving me to write here was a desire to avoid doing actual work at my day job. Without a day job, this incentive has disappeared. Thus, radio silence.

I asume that once I start studying in the fall, this motivation will return. I assume I'll start using this space as a stress ball again.

Over the summer I'll be helping my mother clean out my grandmother's house. My grandmother is at an assisted living center in Rockville, MD, and will never return to the house, so we're selling it to help pay for her care. While this work this summer will be stressfull and intense in its own way, I don't know if it will drive me to write here. It may. We'll see.

I'm planning to move to St. Louis a few weeks before school starts in part to register young voters or volunteer for John Kerry. Missouri is a swing state, and I'd love to help it swing the right way.

In the fall, though, I should be back, and hope to make the title of this site somewhat appropriate. I'll try to offer hasty, half-baked legal advice, perhaps in a weekly feature column. Other than that, the subtitle may change to: "Selling Out: A punk rocker goes to Law School."

For now, waste your time on the internet somewhere else. I may blog my cross-country trip, but it's far more likely that I'll just enjoy it and force you to buy me a beer if you want to hear my stories.

Go wate your time on the internet somewhere else. And if you want me to FedEx you dead cicadas, holler. I'll see what I can do.

Thursday, May 06, 2004

split decision
a cheesehead for halloween

those that know me know that there is little i love more in this world than the washington redskins, and there is little i love less in this world than the bush administration. so it broke my heart to see (via CJR's campaign desk) that i must choose between joe gibbs or john kerry this halloween:

The deciding factor in the presidential election, according to Bloomquist, will be the outcome of the Washington Redskins-Green Bay Packers game two days before voters head to the polls. Eighteen straight pre-election Redskins games have predicted the presidency, Bloomquist writes. If the Redskins win, Bush wins. If they lose or tie, look for the moving van that's headed from Washington D.C. to Crawford, Texas.


i pray for a tie.

Tuesday, May 04, 2004

e-commerce

oh, and the recoys CD is now available from amazon.com
my own private falluja
just tryin' to disengage

so I'm going to st. louis this fall insetad of new york. I'll be studying law for 3 years and doing my best to, you know, keep it real.

I'm trying to get out of los angeles but that eagles song keeps haunting me and hopefully I will be able to leave at some point.

I have OK GO tour pictures.

I have to schedule a going away party.

Tuesday, March 30, 2004

new york city
angels to apples

odds are i will make my escape from the hotel california before my room service bill gets to the front desk.

new york is the only place big enough in which to hide. i'll be there before the summer is out. until then i'll be studying subway maps.

Sunday, March 21, 2004

affordable justice feature: RPS II
alternately, ninja-hunter-bear



it began as an easy way to settle minor disagreements, like who gets to ride shotgun if shotgun is called by more than one person. it grew into a drunken betting pastime. propelled by force of character, the game rock paper scissors has become an international sensation, to be included in this summers centennial olympic games.



and, if you don't mind my saying so, I'm damn good at it. damn good.



last summer, under a bridge in downtown los angeles, dozens of the best RPS-throwers in the western US converged to determine who might be the best in the land. the winner? an unassuming criminal named "Da Burgla." he entered the tournament a man. he left a legend.



two weekends ago, our friends at a-diction held the second los angeles regional rock paper scissors contest in as many years.



money changed hands all night, but the crowds came to witness the crowning of a new champion. this year, that would not be me. i finished third, but another man stepped up to challenge last years champion in the finals:



the challenger had an exciting, crisp style, but the champion would not be shaken easily.



who would prevail? you'll have to check the whole photo album to find out.

Wednesday, March 17, 2004

I met my love by the gas works wall
Dreamed a dream by the old canal
Kissed a girl by the factory wall
(Dirty old town, dirty old town...)


happy st. pattys, everyone.

The Irish are backstabbing, gossiping and begrudging, with a tendency to mindless violence. But they're faults that all people have. You can't say the Irish are worse than anyone else. Their faults are few. But the last thing the Irish are is perfectionists. And they're more interested in having a good time than in making millions. Lazy.

Shane MacGowan, from A Drink With Shane MacGowan



i lost my full time job a few weeks ago, and have been scrounging for work and food recently, sitting on my ass to save money and enjoying having the time to cook. so that's where I've been, kind readers. accept my total lack of care with respect to your missing me; the last thing I am is a perfectionist.

i have been keeping it real, however. eventually, I'll put up some pretty pictures of one hell of a party/contest that was held last saturday: RPS II, the second annual LA invitational rock-paper-scissors championship. I finished 3rd and gave out free mohawks -- my persona was "the Barber."

but tonight, anyhow, i raise a pint of black to you. erin go, brah....



Tuesday, March 02, 2004

you got bored...
honey, that makes two of us.....

i got back from the walkies tour a week ago, but was too exhausted to even think until today. so to everything and everyone that i ignored, sorry. pictures, eventually, on another site.

it's kerry v bush, i guess. no real news there. anyone else find "super tuesday" less than super? hell, i went all the way to new hampshire, but didn't even vote today. back then it mattered, and back then (in the 'before time,' the 'long, long ago') i hadn't seen that urban outfitters t-shirt.

i've gotten into a few journalism schools so far. i might end up in LA, evanston, or college park this fall. no word yet on nyc.

bling.

Wednesday, February 11, 2004

what's in it for me?
i came here for a good time

i'm in an internet cafe in vancouver. everything is breaking. pete blew up a rental bass rig yesterday and just bought a "My First Peavey" amp from a pawn shop down the street. the screen on my laptop just refuses to turn on. guitar cases are leaking and the sound guy was almost refused at the border and sent away on the first plane to wichita. all of our bad karma has come home to roost, and quick. which is good. it's out of the way now and from here on out our good deeds will smile on us tenfold. knock on wood. see you down the road.

Wednesday, February 04, 2004

low culture: The Naked and the Dead via wonkette, aka 'DC's gawker,' which, whatever, but i like it (wonkette, i mean) because I'm both a sleazeball and a civics dork.
tomorrow, tomorrow...
it's a whole new season
and not just in the NFL

so i guess there's some catching up to do, and some remainders to throw down, and well, I'll be all over the place for a day or two, so take a second and then dive in. there's no other option.

the panthers covered the spread (more than i can say for janet) and made me richer by $20. thank you stephen davis. i believe that fellow carolinian john edwards will also cover the spread but will also not be able to eek it out in the long run.

as we enter what has been the most exciting and uplifting part of the Washington Redskins' football year, the offseason, I would like to ceremonially link to this picture. joe gibbs joe gibbs joe gibbs. also, joe bugel, Ernie Zampese, earnest byner. go redskins. (Darrell Green).

now that that's out of the way....

as I mentioned earlier, all signs point to a Kerry/Edwards ticket. the deanies can remember the alamo, conveiently located near seattle (or detroit) this year, in 4 to 8 years, if they so choose.

it's too early to really handicap the november vote. but here are some factors to watch as they develop:

in the democrats favor:

kerry's military record v. bush's lack thereof. currently bubbling up in the media, but this'll be in front of people for a long time.

CIA Plame/Novak/Rove/Cheney leak probe concurrent w/ presidential investigation into pre-war intelligence. Even when your dad ran the CIA for a while, and is the highest ranking mason in the country, it's bad form to have two White House v. CIA investigations going on at the same time during an election year. blood will be spilled, and even if it's not W.'s, there will be blood on his hands.

a bush challenge from the right. it looks like judge roy moore, who created a stir by refusing to remove that ten commandments monument from the courthouse in alabama, might make a run for the white house. considering the flack the president has been getting recently from ideological conservatives, rightly flumoxed by poll-driven policy moves (NEA funding, immigrant amnesty), a loack of fiscal discipline, etc., moore could get enough support to be significant in close states.

in bush's favor:

$100,000,000. aka the approx. cash on hand of the bush campaign. that's a lot of cheetos.


el has been doing a rundown of our trip to New Hampshire. it is spectacular.

the posthumous recoys album that was released last year on vinyl has arrived in CD form. it will soon be available via mail-order here.

a new album by my friends the walkmen was released yesterday. it is highly recommended. my jam on the record is "hang on, siobhan." I am actually thanked in the liner notes for my driving and tour managing prowess. you're welcome, boys, and thanks for fulfilling one of my long-time dreams (since I was 10 or so) of being thanked in the liner notes to something. I can now cross that off my list of things to do before i die. next on the list is having sex in outer space, and it is high time i started working on that one.

speaking of travel, I'll be tour managing for the walkies again on this coming west coast tour. come and visit me at the t-shirt booth if you come to any of the shows. I will have a laptop with me this time and will try and be a bit more timely on covering the tour and the election.

it looks like george mcgovern is tired of being kicked around as a code word for a democratic disaster.

congratulations to john kerry and his organization, and congratulations to tom brady and his.

Friday, January 30, 2004

i know I'm not a superdelegate, but....
an affordable endorsement

I think I've seen enough to make a call, to take a stand, and to encourage anyone who reads this to do so as well. As many of you know, I just got back from New Hampshire, where I was exploring and covering the first Primary of this election. I got a chance to see Kerry, Edwards, and Dean in person. After standing back for this long, waiting and watching, I've made my choice, and I just hope it isn't to late.

I'm endorsing Howard Dean.

Of all the candidates, Dean has the best chance to beat George W. Bush in November. He governed in Vermont as a centrist. Kerry's record in the Senate is to the left of Ted Kennedy. Edwards doesn't have much of a record in the Senate, and he's running for President because he didn't think he'd get re-elected to the Senate.

Of all the viable candidates, Dean has the best blend of charisma and substance. Edwards is all style and no substance, entrancing, yes, but empty. Kerry is terribly, unescapably boring. At Dean's town hall, he presented nuanced arguments in an engaging manner. He made sense.

Dean provides a clear vision and direction for a party that has lost its way. Terrorist attacks, gloablization of corporations, trade, and ideas, and the rise of information technology require a reassesment and realignment of the two major political parties. Both are having trouble making the shift. Bush's "compassionate conservative" vision of the new Republican party is, in practice, jumbled and confusing. Most Democrats, on the other hand, have not even tried to recast their party and principles for the new challenges of the new century. Howard Dean's candidacy and platform provides a clear way forward that positions the Democratic party in the mainstream on the important issues of today and tomorrow. Fiscal discipline and equal rights under law for all Americans are not losing issues.

Dean's wife, Judith, is a powerful and inspiring person, a normal woman, independent and sucessful. In contrast, Theresa Heinz Kerry carries with her the air of Washington wealth and power. This is not unusual or fatal on the campaign trail, but there is something so beautifully radical about Judith Dean's commitment to her practice and intention to continue practicing medicine were whe first lady.

There is so much more to say, but I will stop here, and leave the rest for another time. Right now, I need a favor. The Dean campaign is running a bit low on money. And Dean, not John Kerry, and not John Edwards, is our best hope to beat George W. Bush. So we all need to make a choice. Can we afford to give $20, $50, or $100 to help keep this campaign going?

Because I don't think any of us can afford four more years of George W. Bush.

Thursday, January 29, 2004

i'm sorry.
back in california

I'm sorry that I called NH wrong, expecting a bigger bounce for edwards. I'm sorry that i misspelled every other word i typed for the past few days. I'm sorry I don't have pictures up yet, although they are coming. I'm sorry that the bulk of what I'm writing about the trip will end up in a magazine in a few months, but rest assured most of the content will find its way here early in some form. I'm sorry that joe trippi had to go, but Dean's campaign needed some bloodletting, and the shakeup guarantees some coverage and maybe a new approach by the press. I'm sorry that lieberman ever said the words "joementum," and that you may have had to hear him say it. I'm sorry that I'm so exhausted, and can't write for too much longer. I'm sorry that some of the most interesting things that happened in NH are things that I'm not going to share with you. I'm sorry you couldn't be there.

Tuesday, January 27, 2004

i have not yet begun to fight
countdown to New Hampshire: it's over, dude

two quick things. just saw dean's concession, over bar hubaloo. didn't really hear it, but I caught a few things that made me think that he's got a chance to turn it around and win the nomination. He wore a suit and used the time in front of the country to deliver, effectively, a policy adress. the rhythm of this words, the clarity and mannerism of his delivery, they all make me think that the man might bring in 1-2 million over the next few days. he looked and sounded great and i think this is far from over.

I also talked for a minute to a reporter from florida who finished second to bush in the republican primary tonight. He claimed that the US has invaded syria, citing Jane's Defense Report, and that articles of impeachment against bush will be brought up within the week by the Judiciary comittee. lunacy or a peek into the future? only time will tell. last night's best piece of gossip, that Giulliani will replace Cheney at the bottom of the republican ticket, made it onto fox news today. cheers and goodnight.
oh, I'm doing some long format pieces for tiny magazines you've never heard of
countdown to New Hampshire: all up in the shit

and when I say up in the shit, I mean UP IN THE SHIT. like, fighting my way past joe trippi cause I left my hat in the bar. arguing with joe scarborough. etc. there goes mccauliffe. anyway....

Edwards' stup speech last night: he kinda creeps me out. part of it is his consumate skill at controlling a room. you can tell how well he knows how good he is. and it's all about him, although while you're sitting there, listening, all he's doing is talking about you: "Me and you were on one side of the courtroom and on the other side would be armies of corporate lawyers. [...] and what happened is, I beat 'em, and I beat 'em again, and I beat 'em again. [...] You give me a shot at George Bush, and I'll give you the white house." You know, like the only two people in the room are him and you.

Last night, between the Edwards town hall and the post last night in the bar, we went by Kerry HQ for his talk to his volunteers. Nothing really struck me, positive or negative. Cem mentioned to us the feeling of entitlement he got from the candidate, and I think there might be something to that. One thing is for sure: the organization certainly felt more professional, in contrast to the Dean camp around the back of the same building. Firefighters in their union T's acted as bouncers.

Another great thing about being up here is running into all the lesser candidates. Vermin Supreme, for example, who's paraded through town with a boot on his head and a ram's head on his belt. Chris P. Carrot, a guy in a plush carrot suit, is carrying PETA's hopes on his orange shoulders. more on these guys later. Right now Cem needs to get some work done on his Asia Times article and I want to finde and heckle the guys from The Daily Show. keep an eye out for us on C-Span. apparently we were all over it yesterday.

Monday, January 26, 2004

gin and tonics at the momentary center of the universe
countodown to New Hampshire: -about 10 minutes

back in JDs, looking cheesy as hell rocking the wifi from the bar as the first votes are coming in in dixville notch, NH.
fighting for a drink to my left is this guy.

saw edwards' town hall. pitch perfect reproduction of his other stump stops, and i left feeling just about the same as i did coming in. damn he can speak, controlls the room like a preacher, lets all his applause grow and die on its own, never cutting it off. watch how he runs his thumb across his chin and bares his teeth as the applause carries through the room. this is too cheesy. I'm done.
ain't that america
countdown to New Hampshire: 1 day

Mon., Jan 26th, 1:38. JD's Tavern, Holiday Inn, Manchester NH--
Just came from a Dean town hall meeting in Manchester. Quick notes:

1. the mood was definitely subdued, at least through most of the talk. probably due as much to general exhaustion as to Dean's standing in the polls.
2. Martin Sheen is one of the few people left in this country who can credibly deliver powerfull oratory. I mean, damn, dude can talk. I really liked Gore's eventual concession speech in 2000, it was well crafted and well delivered, but Sheen blows him out of the water. Of course he's an actor, so it follows that he can deliver a line, but he's put in enough time as an activist that you can tell he both understands and believes in what he's saying.
3. The content of the talk was a standard stump speech. Same lines, same delivery. The only aberration was during the question and answer preiod. The last question was about Iran, and the waysin which the US can support the student/democracy movement there. As the question was being asked, a bunch of LaRouche-ies started shouting. First one, then, after he was silenced, another and another. The commotion drowned out most of the relatively nuanced response to the question, the gist of which being that the US can't really vocally support the students, as we would open up the students to charges of being anti-Iranian.
4. Edwards can work the hell out of a room and say nothing. Dean has a LOT of meat in his stump speech, but he doesn't have the charisma to take a crowd where politicians need to take them. Clinton had both.
5. WiFi in the Holiday Inn is greedy.
6. Judy Dean is great. The image of a working wife, a two career family, is more powerful and progressive in person than I had imagined.
7. Kerry/Edwards is the ticket. That's where I'd put my money. Anyone want some of that action?

Tonight, visits to some more campaign HQs. Visited Kerry and Dean's HQs last night. Max Weinberg was kicking it at Kerrys. At Dean's there was this hippy who accidentally spit a huge chunk of donut onto Cem when he came in to tell his supervisor that he'd forgotten why he went into the other room. Cem still has donut powder on his shirt. Later, at 6, to see edwards at his town hall meeting at the palace. Tomorrow, hang out with the kucinich team and try and see the Kerry post-election party. cheers.

Saturday, January 24, 2004

my ship came in, on time...
countdown to New Hampshire: 4 days

I'm home. slept all day after the red-eye in, now stuffed peppers with the team and one night in DC before we fight our first battle with the ice storm that will haunt us for the rest of the trip.

and it looks like a new newsweek poll is saying that if the election were held today, I'd be richer to the tune of $100 (see below).

Friday, January 23, 2004

pick em
countdown to New Hampshire: 5 Days

I've made a habit, I'm not sure how wisely, of following my heart at least as much as I've followed my head, in living, and in betting. In living, things have turned out all right. No complaints here. In betting, on the other hand, I haven't allways done so well. When I win, I win big. I have a standing bet with a friend that Bush will lose this Novermber. $100, no line, no odds. Lord help me, I just might collect.

Tonight I take leg 1 of the journey to NH: Long Beach to DC on the red-eye. Today, I give you my picks for a few of the more significant contests of the next week or so:

Super Bowl: Everyone's taking the Pats to win big and decisively. They've won 14 straight and who cares about the Panthers, right? We're doing some work at my job for that new Jingoistic Hockey movie, Miracle, that Disney's bringing out. There's a line in the locker room from that movie that stands out: "If we play them ten times, they'd win nine of those games. But not this game. Not tonight." Two powerful halfbacks for the Panthers and an overpowering D can and will change the tempo of the game, shorten it, and the Panthers D will score a touchdown on one hell of a play, some miracle play. I've seen too much out of Stephen Davis in my day to bet against him, unless he fumbles. if he gives up a turnover, the Panthers lose. otherwise......Panthers 20, Pats 17.

NH Primaries: Like I said, dean blew it. Kerry's got the juice and barring some manic episode on his part he'll take 30% of the vote. Edwards takes 25%, dean and clark walk away with 17% each and frostbite. dean just walks out of manchester, heading west into a snowstorm, arrives 2 weeks later in burlington with 300 forest animals in cute little animal sized union t-shirts. the menagerie storms into dean HQ, Dean is screaming at Joe Trippi that they (he motions at the badgers) "have the power. they have the power. they have the power." Zephyr Teachout blogs about it. dean, bearded, in earth tones, then endorses gore for 2008 v. hillary and they spend the rest of the summer in owl farm shooting things.

sluts v. nerds, tuesday nights @ the echo, in LA, free: nerds technically win, but sluts look better and have more fun losing.

see you in NH....

oh, and anyone who wants an RSS/Atom/XML type syndication of this blog can get one here.

Tuesday, January 20, 2004

since you left me, I've moved around
countdown to New Hampshire: 8 days

Well, Dean blew it. Not by coming in third in Iowa, mind you, but by sounding like a professional wrestler when he gave his post-caucus speech, face beet red, and not using a second of his national TV time to talk about issues. Listen to the weird scream/whinney at the end....not exactly presidential, you know?

Late Edit: already, there is a "dean remix." (via stereogum)

My gut tells me Kerry don't have what it takes, but watch Clark and Edwards....

speaking of which: that's exactly what I plan on doing. A while back I decided to go to new hampshire. and the time has come to start the countdown and read up and write up and find my artic gear and my hip flask and get it all together. and as a sort of countdown to the trip I'm going to introduce/critique all of my companions on the trip, who all, incidentally, write blog-type-things, and there are three of them, and I'll skip a day or two, and that'll get us to friday, when I leave for DC to meet up with them and head to points cold and north. so watch for that here.

and LA people: Myself and my friend Alejandro are spinning FOR FREE!!!! every tuesday night at THE ECHO at 1822 Sunset Blvd. so come out and have a drink and dance or don't but just come, it's a good time and it's free so it's not like we owe you anything or you owe us anything. laidback, neighborhood, etc. 9pm-1am or so. drink specials, etc. 213-268-5685 for more info.

but back to NH. I promised a piece I wrote about dean and springsteen, and here it is, largely unedited or put together because between friends in town and watching football and doing grad school/law school apps. and etc, I haven't gotten around to fixing it up. and it already looks dated. but here it is, with typos and holes and notes to myself:

Jan 4th, JFK Airport, Terminal 6, Gate 12—

I’m sitting, waiting for my plane home to board, reading and listening to an mp3 player. The opening piano chords of “Thunder Road” play, and I feel that familiar stomach tug I remember from adolescence, thinking of girls and the moments right before kissing them.
This gut punch emotion is not just limited to love or music. It can be evoked by almost anything, even politics, and it is what I sense I might find in the legions of Dean supporters I’ll encounter when I go to New Hampshire for the Democratic Primary.
In It Ain’t No Sin to be Glad You’re Alive, the book I read as I wait for the plane, Eric Alterman describes the arrival of Bruce Springsteen, especially the release of Born to Run, as, in his eyes, the arrival of a savior leading the poor downtrodden masses of disenchanted youth back into the home courts of the great figures of rock music. Bruce, he says, channeled the pure spirit of rock and roll.
The stage he sets, loosely: the idealism of the late 60’s, and the powerful rock and roll that had been a part of that time and that idealism, had dissolved into and economic and spiritual depression by the mid 70s. Springsteen arrived and, with Born to Run, kicked down the gates that led to the promised land, a 6-string Moses leading millions of teenagers out of the bondage of that time and place.
I think I recognize in the online scribbling of some Deanies the same wild-eyes fervor I encounter in Alterman’s book.
Before I get any deeper into all this, though, I want to take stock of What I Know to Be True:

1. There is something unique going on in and around the Dean campaign, something heretofore unseen in American politics.
2. Whatever is happening (WIH from here on out) has something to do with the Internet.

There are a few other ideas I’d like to file under What I Believe to Be True:

1. WIH has little or nothing to do with Dean’s policies which, when considered as a whole, are not significantly different from those of the other Democratic candidates. Although the anti-war stance that Dean took early on the campaign brought him into the public eye, there are other anti war candidates who have received nowhere near the levels of support Dean has enjoyed. The same can be said of other policy points. I find it hard to believe that Dean’s often muddled policy pronouncements are behind his front-runner status.
2. WIH has little to do with Howard Dean himself, his history or his manner. Although he certainly has more charisma than Kerry or Leiberman, he clearly lacks the entrancing manner of Bill Clinton or W’s affable friendliness (the “aw-shucks” thing).

Also useful to consider before really examining WIH are a couple Possible Other Explanations for Dean’s ascendancy:

1. He’s a governor. This fact, statistically at least, makes him among the most electable of the 9 candidates. Senators and Representatives are much less likely to hold the office of President in recent years. Before JFK, the last member of Congress to be elected to the Presidency was Harding [check, but it was back at the beginning of the 20th century even if it wasn’t harding.] G. W. Bush, Clinton, Regan, Carter, were all governors. Vice Presidents often win the office frequently, but there are none running in this race.
2. He’s anti war. So are others, though. And I believe that WIH was coming into being, if not fully formed, before Iraq became an issue.

But what is WIH? Dean Campaign Manager Joe Trippi’s early use of meetup.com [explain] created independent, autonomous hubs of political activity under the common banner of Dean’s campaign. These hubs, empowered and organized by modern technology instead of organizational man-hours, could operate and recruit independent of not just orders from headquarters, but also with less financial support [why?]. A lean, organic political and social animal is born.
The attraction of the sort of social network the Dean campaign is providing through the meetups [and …] [alt: social network such a campaign provides][to whom?], distinct from any interests particular to the candidate, is undeniable. The recession of the last few years is nowhere near as deep as that of the early 70’s, but it is real. Young idealists are unemployed and underemployed, disheartened by the decay of the “roaring 90’s” into what they see as unpunished corporate treachery, an unending and (linquistically, at least) unendable state of war, etc…
[The republicans and Democrats are forced by economic necessity to cater to the corporate or organized interests that fund increasingly expensive campaigns. ]
[[useless and unsupported as is]If Dean is Springsteen, or “Born to Run,” the other candidates might have analogs in songs of the day: Kerry (Styx’s “Mr. Roboto”), Leiberman (The Eagles’ “Hotel California”), Sharpton (Ray Stevens’ “The Streak”), Clark (Bob Seger’s “Night Moves” [sounds like a Springsteen song, at least])
In these meetups for dean the lost or looking are finding something of value: each other. Every outcast in the country is simultaneously meeting by the dumpster behind school for a cigarette and planning session. Then they call their friends, who show up and find, at a Dean meetup, the same sense of belonging and purpose that earlier generations found in the ________ _______ of their first punk rock show, or, like Alterman, in Born to Run. They shiver and close their eyes. They smile and then open their eyes and then get to work. That lean, organic political animal grows larger and stronger than even it imagined. The rest of the political world is dumbfounded, disbelieving, and resentful (the jocks just hate it when the weirdoes, stoners, and longhairs have any fun.
This is where I think we are, a few weeks out of New Hampshire. The growth of Dean’s political animal as a cousin to the beast that is rock music is merely a hunch, my best guess as to WIH. I have never been to a Dean meetup, as I write this, but I’ll try to go to one before the trip to NH to see if I can confirm any part of the hunch.

A bit deeper explanation of the nuts and bolts, the whys and hows of WIH, as I see it.

Fundraising:
The meetups and word of mouth attract the masses to the candidate, and the blog and other intensely interactive elements attract visitors to the web site, not just once or twice to read policy papers but again and again, to read and reply to the continuous (alternate) narrative and discussion that occurs on the blog. Just a few clicks later, they’ve given dean a couple bucks. An hour or so later the bat (it fills like a thermometer as donations are received) gets fuller. Expectations, eventually, are surpassed. This is, again, about a sense of belonging, about screaming the chorus with a hundred or a thousand or tens of thousands, being a part of the beast that shook the walls, all without leaving the desk.

Structure: The structure of autonomous, individual cells mimics the architecture od the internet, which was built to be robust to point of near indestructibility. The network built around “people powered howard” so differs from the architecture of most candidate’s support that gaffes or misstatements or policy flip flops don’t have as much of an effect on dean as they would on others because, at the root of it, that’s not what his campaign is about. It’s barely about dean himself. It’s about the rest of the people supporting him. He’s a meta-candidate.
Find in springseen the uncelebrity, the man who spent an off night on tour at the home of a fan who asked him outside a movie theatre about the burdens of fame, the man who left that meeting feeling that he was the luckier of the two men to have had that opportunity. Find in Dean’s organization the same down to earth manner, especially in the earlier months of the campaign, when he and his staffers would stay in the homes of supporters while on the campaign trail.
Dean has shown in recent days a smugness obviously absent in his days as underdog. Alterman notes Springsteen’s habit of “subverting” audience applause by raising his guitar above his head, focusing the crowd’s reverence on it, not him. He was merely the conduit for the holy spirit of rock and roll. The only person who can keep the Dean campaign from achieving all it could may be Dean himself. The catch phrases, famously “you have the power” to close stump speeches, still jump from his lips, but he must remember that, more than any other candidate, and precisely because of the things that have made him the presumptive nominee, this is not about him. He must walk the people powered walk.