art's blog

Yesterday I noticed that a church near where I live has a new banner hanging up outside.  It says:

"Our faith is over two thousand years old.  Our thinking is not."

Clearly this is a not-so-subtle jab at conservative churches that try to dictate how people should live based on modes of thought that are outdated.  Still, it's good marketing (especially in northern California, where I live), and I hope we see more of this type of openly progressive church.

The church is a Congregational Christian church (on San Mateo Drive in San Mateo, for those in the area).  Read More »

I post this because it highlights one of the most common arguments against new media -- that any form of media that allows participation from non-professionals is likely to be biased or factually inaccurate. (Link to Chicago Tribune source)

A man who posted false information on an online encyclopedia linking a prominent journalist to the Kennedy assassinations says he was tricking a co-worker.  Read More »

I just got a message from someone at Nise Music who had composed a song called "Catapult the Propaganda." The song features the Bush clip that we attach here, along with several others from Bush, Cheney, et al.  One quote sounds similar to what Colin Powell said when he appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

Listen to the song here.

I wonder who it is making the powerful "pack of lies" quote at the end of the song?

Given how depressing and frustrating the news can be, whenever something truly funny winds up in my inbox I feel an obligation to pass it on.  I recently watched Will Ferrell in Bewitched and was totally unimpressed, but when it comes to impressions of President Bush, Ferrell is a genius. 

In this clip Ferrell shows Bush awkwardly trying to feign knowledge and concern about global warming, reminiscent of his attitude toward the war in Iraq ("I start my day thinking about the warming of the globe....").  After he realizes that he can't even fake concern about the problem, he calls global warming a false alarm created by "liberal scientists,"  and ends by explaining that "nature needs to listen to us, we're not gonna listen to nature."

The only thing missing from this satire is President Bush's usual claim that working to prevent climate change would damage the economy.  Most of us now realize that this is a false choice, and in fact the state government of California and the goverment of Brazil recently jointly issued a report outlining how their clean energy programs have actually strengthened their respective economies.

I like reading the opinions of everyday people (people like me), as opposed to the carefully crafted responses of politicians, which are almost always designed to gain poll points while avoiding angering any major campaign funders.  CNN published a collection of emails from people regarding their opinions about when we should bring troops from Iraq.  Most favored a speedy withdrawal.  Here are a few of my favorites:

I remember a big giant banner supposedly made by the crew of a carrier: Mission Accomplished! Today I hear: "When we win the war," "victory must be assured," and all of these things that talk about the continued "war." What mission did we accomplish exactly? Get them home. Now.  Read More »

I recently read about an article called Fascism, Anyone? by a fellow named Laurence Britt.  Before he became a writer and journalist, Britt was an executive at Allied Chemical, Mobil, and Xerox -- so he's not your average left-wing hippy that you centrists out there love to dismiss. 

In the 2003 article, Britt outlines 14 characteristics common to fascist regimes such as Nazi Germany, Mussolini's Italy, Franco's Spain, and Pinochet's Chile.  Here's a summary list:  Read More »

I announced a program similar to this a few weeks ago.  This one also sounds very promising:

From: Zack Exley, New Organizing Institute

Dear friend,

In 2004 a lucky handful of us had the opportunity to fiddle a bit with the Internet as a political tool. We learned a thing or two, but really only just scratched the surface. Now, as 2006 elections approach, we need a new generation of online organizers to build on the lessons of 2004 and discover a whole new way of winning campaigns.

If you think you have what it takes to be one of them, then please apply to the New Organizing Institute's first online organizer training. The training will take place Feb. 24 to Mar. 4 in Washington, DC. All travel and expenses will be paid for those accepted.  Read More »

I have another friend who is now fascinated by the question of whether or not the 2000 and 2004 elections were rigged.  I have to admit that I kind of got him started on this.  I volunteered in Florida during the 2004 presidential election, and when I came back I had to explain to him, and anyone else who would listen, all the biased and outright illegal things I saw happen before and during the election in Florida.

I'm still not sure whether the biases were severe enough to have swung the election in 2004, but I do know this: if Democrats and progressive independents want to make sure that future elections are fair, they need to start getting involved now, not just on election day.  Conservative Republicans have spent decades working their way into all levels of the election infrastructure.  They make decisions about where polling places are located, how many voting machines are allocated to each precinct, which machines are used, when the voting roles are purged, who is purged from the roles, who gets provisional ballots on election day, whether those ballots are counted or not --- all kinds of things that are impossible to correct after the fact.  Read More »