Category: Politics

Happy 4th

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The first motion in the Continental Congress for independence was made on June 4, 1776. After hard debate, the Congress voted unanimously, but secretly, for independence from Britain on July 2. The Congress reworked the text of the Declaration until July 4, when the 12 colonies voted for adoption and released a copy signed only by John Hancock, President of the Congress, to the printers.

John Adams the unofficial whip of the independence-minded, wrote to his wife Abigail on July 3, 1776:

The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.

He forgot to mention beers, bbq’s, baseball games and fireworks – but otherwise he pretty much nailed it

Also, a song for today: Independence Day by Ani (click here)

Iraqi War Video. Animation that's a little too real

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Yo, check this out. It’s a video about Army infantryman Colby Buzzell’s ambush in Mosul. This event actually happened and this video is produced by PBS. the video is based on a blog entry that Buzzell posted during his Iraq tour — he later wrote a memoir published in 2005 by Putnam — and it originally appeared on the PBS show Operation Homecoming.

Crazy stuff. Makes you really want the war to stop.

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=avHPWiwMpR8]

Stephen King & Experiencing Something Real

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In Newsweek this week, there’s an article by the horror writer Stephen King. I’ve always like Mr. King, especially his non-horror writings. In Newsweek, he lists things he wants to happen before he dies. They are:

  1. To live to see George W. Bush tried for crimes against humanity.
  2. To fly in space – orbital would be fine – and to write about it.
  3. To see “American Idol” canceled.

This is an interesting list. This is a list about experiencing things that are geniune and not being sold a bad of good, not about being marketed to.

Bush is a marketing act. Many politicians are like this, but Bush has taken it to another level. He repeats phrases and has his entire PR staff do nothing but parrot his statements. Like an idiotic beer commercial, Bush believes we’re morons and need to be spoken to as morons. He’s used this practice to bring us into war. He justifies everything with blanket statements like “Failure is not an option – we’ll be victorious” without addressing the fact that most people don’t even want to be involved.

Going into space would be amazing and truly “out of this world.” Humans were not meant to leave Earth and getting out of the atmosphere and looking back on the little blue ball would be a beautiful and authentic experience. This is not marketing, not hype, not based on buzz or what the blogosphere or Hozack is saying. This has nothing to do with what society wants us to desire like low-cutting jeans, an iPod or Beyonce – this is just something that is objectively awesome.

American Idol is a fascinating show. It is promoted in every nook of America. It takes regular people, makes them sing popular songs on national TV, chooses the person that is most marketable (based on viewer feedback), signs them to a very restrictive contract and then promotes the hell out of them for people to buy it. It is a cash cow. It is the perfect marketing engine. But it isn’t real. These “Idols” don’t write their own stuff, they don’t acheive their own success and are really just pawns for corporate bigwigs who are looking for something to sell.

All of King’s statements make sense to me. The first is a pretty hard-hitting statement. I mean we are all upset with Iraq and Bush’s performance, but this goes beyond that. It is an attack of politics. The 3rd is attack on american culture. And the 2nd is a desire to get away from both of those to a place that is untouched and pure – at least before Fox gets there and puts up some celestial billboards.

What would your top 3 be?

Top Phrases of 2006

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Here are the top phrases – some ironic, some funny, and some just great in the way that your grandfather is great. Not because he’s cool, just because he is.

  1. A tie with “Double-True” and “I’m dropping Hamiltons like my name is Aaron Burr” from the best video of 2006, SNL’s Lazy Sunday. Which just goes to show that the internet is where it’s at. Remember these guys began on the internet doing funny stuff on thelonelyIsland.com, then got hired by SNL and made a kickass video which showed on TV where nobody watched it and then it only became famous when it want BACK on the internet. They came full-circle.
  2. “It was very hot, I think that was the only explanation for the water. Or maybe it was because the beer I had last night.” -Floyd Landis in Cycling News which reminds me of another great quote: “Son, when you participate in sporting events, it’s not whether you win or lose: It’s how drunk you get.” – Homer Simpson
  3. “Keep in mind Brian McBride is playing with titanium plates in his face.” John Harkes discussing McBride’s condition while the states were playing World Cup champion Italy.  McBride broke his face in the first game when the US lost a shocker to Poland and then with a lot of grit and heart they tied the eventual champs 1-1.
  4. “Join Bode” from a huge marketing campaign from Nike for the 2006 Olympics. It fell flat on its face when Bode fell flat on his ass and didn’t win any metals.
  5. “I think it’s better to buy real estate than say, a yellow and purple Corvette or an elephant that can speak sign language. My parents help me out a lot with that stuff. They don’t want to see me when I’m 30, dead broke, selling bootleg tapes of my snowboard movies on the side of the freeway.” — Olympic gold medalist Shaun White on how he spends his endorsement money. Unlike Bode, he won a few. My take on Snowboarding in the Olympics is here although this is helping me possibly change my mind.
  6. “I enjoy Cocaine because it’s a fun thing to do.” – Representative Robert Wexler. Said on the Colbert Report in mid-July by the Boca Raton representative, who was running unopposed for reelection. He played along with Colbert’s “Say Anything, You Can’t Lose” game and jokingly expressed his fondness for cocaine, and it was genuinely hilarious. Colbert then came under attack from the morning shows and responds in typical Colbert fashion
    [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbhLKgzep1w]
  7. “I’m sick and tired of these motherfucking snakes on this motherfucking plane” said by Samuel L in Snakes on a Plane one of the most anticipated and ironic movies to come out in a long, long time.
  8. “Little 8 lb 6 oz baby jesus, i’d like to thank you for….” – Ricky Bobby saying grace before dinner.
  9. “I had one margarita (and) was starving because I had not eaten all day. Maybe I was speeding a little bit and I got pulled over. I was just really hungry and I wanted to have an In-N-Out Burger.” – Paris Hilton, establishing herself as a professional name-dropper.