civil rights and universality

This is a nice approach to protesting California's awful Proposition 8. I just hope it works.

ObamaMania!

The New Yorker just published a very intriguing article on Obama and Race. It's kind of long, but it is a fascinating read.

Likewise, Newsweek had reporters embedded in the Hillary, Obama, and McCain camps. Their reports from inside the election are fascinating in their insight and scope.

evil from the top

Why do many people refuse to acknowledge global warming or believe it's a man-made process? Sadly, the truth is that they're being lied to from the top levels. As it turns out, Vice President Dick Cheney's office is guilty of hiding the science. Hey, at least he didn't try to shoot the author of the article in the face.

digging covert actions

Do you liken covert political movements? How about Los Angeles guerrilla gardeners?

methods of our gub'ment

Christopher Hitchens, that brave man, got waterboarded for Vanity Fair. Would it give away too much to tell you the title of the article is Believe Me, It's Torture.

appropriate honors

A group of wonderful smart-asses in San Francisco are starting a movement to rename the SF sewer plant after George W. Bush, which I find totally appropriate. My fave quote? "Most politicians tend to be narcissistic and egomaniacs," said Brian McConnell, an organizer who regularly suits up as Uncle Sam to solicit signatures. "So it is important for satirists to help define their history rather than letting them define their own history."

one drop?

Is racism really a thing of the past? Did you know that the state of Alabama only legalized mixed race marriages last week? Slate has a good article covering what miscegenation laws say about us as a culture

he's as popular as I was in high school

And here's another thing that I'm not alone in thinking: Historians rate our current president as the worst ever. And it comes with handy dandy charts...it's almost as good as USAToday!

our wacky government

In the eighties, the CIA published a comic book for the people of Nicaragua which illustrated ways to help bring about the overthrow of the government. Thanks to the wonders of the internet, you can now read it!

For the record, I am not advocating that you do any of this.

another "pop culture is evil" story

...only this one has a twist. CNN tells of the anti-popular culture crusades of the evangelical movement. It's a sign of humanity that there are so many people who, rather than examine something with an open eye, would rather regress into puritanical rage.

you can"t look away!

From the "this is important and I should pay more attention to this, but I spend more time thinking about conservative weirdos than I want to already" file, apparently media blowhard Rush Limbaugh is taking exception to Newt Gingrich's assertion that the era of Reagan is over.

It's both interesting and convoluted, which is why I'm trying to rebrand myself as a media studies scholar rather than an eighties guy.

the domino theory goes global

The Chinese Communist Party is considering opening up an outer space branch. Are they going to try to actively overthrow the governments of Alpha Centari 6 or Betelguise?

Onion headline of the day

The Onion never fails to make me giggle and feel good, and this headline is no exception: New Heart Device Allows Cheney to Experience Love...now if only it were true.