Monday, July 26th, 2004

The Convention 7

Enjoy these fine writing establishments…

1) Pop and Politics (relaunching today!)

2) Boston Indymedia

3) Afro-netizen (Re-corrected, sorry! Blame Ashcroft, MyDoom, Britney Spears, William Hung, etc. etc. In any case, definitely catch the adventures of the self-proclaimed “only credentialed blogger of Negroidal descent”. Brother, as one of a small crew of under-35 reporters of color in Los Angeles–Los Angeles!–4 years ago, I feel your pain. Cop all the free food and martinis you can!)

4) Alternet

5) Tom Paine

6) TalkLeft

7) Wonkette

posted by @ 10:10 am | 0 Comments

Sunday, July 25th, 2004

Here We Go!

And let the protests begin.

I wish I was out there in Boston with yall, but I had to be realistic. Truthfully, covering the 2000 protest season almost killed me, literally. I ended up in the hospital after the Republican Convention, and nobody wanted to let me go to L.A. I did, and it was great, but I’m older now with more adult responsibilities, so I’ma live vicariously through yall. At least for the Dem Convention.

In the meantime, the run-up has been hilarious and chilling, at the same time. Thursday CNN breathlessly reported that the latest security threat was an alleged band of “domestic anarchists” who were set on blowing up downtown Boston. Anyone remember the New York 21? Same plotline. These wag-dogging narratives all seem to come out of a standard-issue handbook, they’re used so often.

Here is indymedia’s report on the on-the-ground surveillance that precedes any protest season, and another on the free-speech zone set up to specifically to contain that protest.

More info on today’s protests as they stream in…

posted by @ 3:43 pm | 0 Comments

Friday, July 23rd, 2004

What Blogs Are Great For

Discussions like this and this, continued here and here and on a host of other blogs (Gimme a bit to catchup, and thanks to Funk Digital.)

posted by @ 9:01 am | 0 Comments

Thursday, July 22nd, 2004

What Blogs Are Good For

Mind dumps from people with fascinating minds. Today’s example: Jess Harvell on Nas, including gratuitous Polyphonic Spree disses. But leave Jimmy Buffet alone, brah. Best concert I attended in 8th grade.

posted by @ 10:24 pm | 0 Comments

Wednesday, July 21st, 2004

The Most Intellectually Honest Republican

is Kevin Phillips, hands down. His book American Dynasty is a must-read, kinda like a bloodier-and-oilier-and-scarier version of Fahrenheit 9/11, and without all the references to Michigan.

Phillips is the star of the new Harper’s cover story, a roundtable on the future of progressive politics with such luminaries as Frances Fox Piven, Eric Foner, Ron Daniels, and a strange golem-like Republican-backed creature named Ralph Nader.

Anyway, here’s an excerpt in which Phillips holds forth on what we like to call Republicans dumb, Democrats dumber:

Daniels: Instead, the word “liberal” is a word that the Democrats distance themselves from. They avoid it as if it were the plague.

Nader: And if you get on the defensive in politics, you remain on the defensive for a long time. (Jeff note: Word to Florida, Ralphie!)

Phillips: The reason, of course, is that Democrats have been anesthetized by campaign contributions. And I should add that they have been anesthetized cheaply. During the last 20 or 25 years, the Republicans have been able to take money for granted, but the Democrats know they need to get it, and so they’ve become willing to soften their language and back away from their convictions. Their neediness cripples them.

Nader: The Democrats could be hammering on the money that Bush raises at these $3 million dinners. They could say, ‘This one is for pharmaceutical money, this one’s for oil.’ They could make an issue about it every time. But the Democrats are caught in the same net.

Phillips: It would be devastating if they could attack the conservatives for having used public money to bail out Wall Street and the corporations. But they can’t. the Republicans have so many weaknesses that the Democrats can’t exploit, because they have taken a second, smaller helping form the same trough. What hands you a political opportunity in the United States is when something goes very wrong for the people who have power. Today the Republicans are in trouble, and the main thing they have to keep them from imploding is that the Democrats are not much better…

And later in the roundtable, he adds this in response to what issues could motivate the electorate:

Phillips: the obvious thing is the mess that the Bush Administration is making in Iraq. The imperial approach has lost us credibility all over the world. If this can’t be used as an indictment against Bush, I don’t know what can. The man is the least competent military leader since James Madison let the British burn Washington. Other issues moderates are concerned about are deficit spending and campaign finance. You’ve got to assemble a new progressive movement with disaffected elements of the existing Republican coalition…

posted by @ 7:24 pm | 0 Comments

Wednesday, July 21st, 2004

7th Inning Hero

Props to Carlos Delgado for taking a stand in (the somehow appropriately named) Yankee Stadium.

Here’s yet another good reason to hate Steinbrenner. Yeah, I still hate the player, what.

For the record, none of this was an issue earlier this week here in Oakland where the only song sung during the 7th inning is “Take Me Out To The Ballgame”. As it should be, yo.

posted by @ 6:52 pm | 0 Comments

Wednesday, July 21st, 2004

More Year of the Monkey Stuff…

In discussing the making of the police state for the Reep convention next month, Nicholas Turse talks in passing about how security measures in Bloomsburg/Bush’s 2004 New York parallel Daley’s 68 Chicago. Whoa!

posted by @ 4:18 pm | 0 Comments

Wednesday, July 21st, 2004

Fix Up Look Sharp

OK, happier now. The novelty has worn off and so the silly headers and their annoying exclamation points are gone.New template also means titling is now an issue. Still no comments section. I don’t wanna hear it, OK? Next project is cleaning and updating the links. OK nuff metablogging for now. You don’t care aboout this stuff. Real soon come.

posted by @ 7:06 am | 1 Comment

Tuesday, July 20th, 2004

OLD TO THE NEW?

ah hell. i changed the template and now I gotta figure out how to get my sidebars back. til then no links and lists. rrrrrrrah! (maybe photos tho, soon) a big shout to matty c for encouraging this old-ass late adopter to get on the bandwagon…how’s that for mixing metaphors?

10:16 pm–OK it looks all good…woo-hah.

posted by @ 7:39 pm | 1 Comment

Tuesday, July 20th, 2004

Farai Chideya on what Kerry needs to do:holla at the hip-hop generation.

posted by @ 12:07 pm | 0 Comments



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