Talk about Iran

A local professor will be giving a talk in July about the current tension between the U.S. and Iran. This is a flier I put together for the event.

Busy Weekend

Saturday I did my shift at the store. In the evening, Steve Masek (see flyer below) came in to talk about his book. I can't write how ridiculously happy I am that a bookstore volunteers has gotten a book published. He even thanked the store in his acknowledgements. On top of that, he was ridiculously happy when he realized I had actually read his book and could comment on what he had to say. Fancy that!

On a side note, when I got the book I made note of the man who made the cover design. He is a local artist. I e-mailed him to tell him how much I liked the design and to invite him to the bookstore event. He wrote back saying he had not even gotten his sample yet so he didn't know the book had been published. In addition, he never hears from book writers about whether they like his designs or not. Well Steve absolutely loved the design and has agreed to e-mail the designer as soon as I pass on the e-mail. How simple is that, yet apparently not done in the world of publishing. Weird.

Today I headed downtown to march in the Gay Pride Parade. It was a lovely day, warm and sunny and breezy. I marched with the Anti-War Committee. They always have the best antiwar chants:

"Don't Ask, Don't Tell! Take your war and go to hell!"

"Racist, sexist, anti-gay'; Bush and Cheney go away!"

"Take it in the front, take it in the back, whatever you do, get out of Iraq!":

The crowd, as always, loved our message and our irreverent attitude.

After that I headed back to work to do two new leaflets. I got home for a half and hour and then headed off to a board meeting for yet another nonprofit organization.

Life is good.

About 100 people showed up on Friday to protest the war

Pictures available at Circlevision: here

Also pictures at Indymedia from kayakbiker: here.

No pretty new pictures because I didn't have time to get the signs made. Next time!

2,500 in the official U.S. death toll

A sign to mark this passing. Feel free to use this and pass it on!

Pretty Hawks

In the past week, when I've gotten off the bus and walked the half block to my house, I've been seeing hawks flying over my house. One young Red Tail hawk seems especially fond of practicing her soaring technique directly above my house. The crows who are nesting nearby are not particularly pleased about this development. The other day I saw one of the crows repeatedly flying into the wings of the hawk. The hawk acted as if she wasn't disturbed in the least -- just flicked a feather or two. But the crow was persistent and after several minutes, the hawk altered her path just slightly to move away from the block. She was an awesome site. Here's some pics randomly chosen off the web to give you an idea of what I was seeing.

New book coming up by ex-Twin Citian Steve Macek

Another flyer for Mayday Books. This looks like a great book!

Activism

Fabulosa Mujer (Fabulous Woman for those not conversant in Spanish) has posted the Fifth Radical Women of Color Carnival with the theme of activism.

Read the posts. They are fascinating in the ways they expand the term "activism" to cover diverse revolutionary actions. It reminds me that I need to expand upon my own activism on this blog at some point.

But that won't be anytime real soon, so do yourself a favor and read the fabulous women who have posted at the Carnival.

Vacating, Reading and Cleaning

I've had the last few days off from work and I've spent it reading, cleaning and relaxing. This is good.

Recent reading:

The Red Tent by Anita Diamond. Had this for several years but just couldn't get into it. This time I plowed my way through it. Ho hum. This would probably be a lot more interesting to me if I had been steeped in the stories of Jacob and Joseph and needed a feminist antidote to all the testosterone. But since I haven't suffered the disease, the cure is pretty much useless. I had the same response to Ursula LeGuind's "The Mists of Avalon" -- a feminist retelling of the Authorian Tales. Since I hadn't been enthralled by King Arthur, I had no need of the feminist response. Bah!

The Day Philosophy Dies" by Casey Maddox. This is a distopian tale about a superstar who is kidnapped to help bring down the world's "addiction to Western Civilization". It is a good suspence novel, leaving us wondering what the fuck is going on half the time but wanting to read more and learn more. The climax, a sort of deep ecology distopia akin to the goals of Edward Abbey's The Monkeywrench Gang is basically kind of ... dull. Oh, well.

The Known World by Edward P. Jones is a marvelous book about freed blacks who owned slaves in the years leading up to the Civil War. All about class analysis, class collaboration and the generally fucked up world that comes from separating people into classes. The author has several ownderful techniques that imply much research and follows several plot threads through history to the present day. All of which are totally fictional. What a wonderful way to "authenticate" a story that is so very true, despite being entirely made up by the writer. Read this book.

In the Bleak Midwinter by Julia Spencer-Fleming won all kinds of awards as a first mystery novel. The main character is an episcoplian priest -- a nice switch from the norm. She is also a former Army helicopter pilot. And so very unexpectedin a lot of ways. She becomes close friends with the Chief of Police in the small town in upstate New York where she is assigned to a church. This book gives a wonderful description of male-female friendship and I love the way the two main characters communicate past their various roles in society. Gonna have to read more of these.

Yesterday I wandered through some of my favorite indepedent bookstores and I must say the Twin Cities have an abundance of good people doing good things for the world of books. I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Meanwhile I am working on parts of this crazy house I call a home. Today I managed to clean up our bedroom and dig through piles of clothes I had buried over the weeks and months. Did some laundry. Did some more cleaning. Read some more.

Life is good.

Rereading Beloved

Recently, The New York Times named Toni Morrison's Beloved the best book published in the past 25 years. I took that opportunity to read the book another time.

Awesome. Just awesome.

Read the book if you haven't.

Because slavery can be a concept to you that you might choose to discuss rationally. This book tells you that taking a human being as a slave is beyond barbarism. It cannot be dismissed. It ought not be discussed without an open heart and a willingness to understand pain and love.

I am so lucky to be able to read this book. Morrison shows us that choosing to see each other and treat each other as less than human has consequences that should sicken us all. It's not about blame or guilt. It's about logical consequences.

If you haven't read it, read it now. Read it often. Then read it again.

About Greensboro

The Greensoro Truth and Reonciliation Commission has released its final report on the Klan massacre of political activists on November 3, 1979. I've read part of the Executive Summary and the blame lands squarely on the police department. Well, du-uh.

What's more, the effects are long-lasting. Poor blacks in Greensboro continue to have little or no faith in the police or the justice system. That's pretty much what racism is all about.

Another Remix

This is part of Pandagon's remix of a bad Chris Muir cartoon. Enjoy!

And then there's Iran

I'm just a flyering fool.

Another flyer

Milan Rai is coming next month to talk about his new book, 7/7: The London Bombings, Islam and the Iraq War. Here's the flyer I made.

Jean Said Makdisi is coming to Minneapolis

Here is a flyer I made for a local Arab American organization called Mizna. They are bringing in Lebanese writer Jean Said Makdisi to speak on June 8. I'm reading her book now. It's fascinating!

Cancer sucks

Yesterday I got together with my gal-pals from my reading group. We've been together over 15 years now, I think. Good friends and exceptional wonderful women. Last night we went out to dinner and P revealed that her partner has been fighting cancer for the last several months. His test results yesterday show that the chemo managed to decrease the size of the lung tumor and that is great news.

P had not told us about this because her partner was unwilling to share the news. So in addition to caring for him, she was unable to share with her friends. Well, OK, yeah, those are the agreements we make when we enter into relationships. But part of me is just furious that she felt unable to seek comfort from those of us who care for her and wish her well. And part of me completely understands and wants to accept the decisions she makes.

It's all very interesting in context. I'm currently reading Teta, Mother and Me by Jean Said Makdisi. It's a memoir the explores how Makdisi discovered that many of the assumptions she had about her mother and grandmother were wrong. Her ancestors were stronger, wiser and more influential than she realized as she was growing up.

We tend to believe we know and understand the people who are important to us. And yet more often than not we are amazed by the reality of other people's lives. My friend, P, is a strong and amazing woman and I am lucky to know her.

Activist humor

On Sunday I participated in the annual Heart of the Beast Puppet Theater Mayday Parade. This is a mostly fun, hippy-type event, rather than a political activity. But after all the earth-friendly, puppety goodness marchers, there is a "Free Speech Zone" that political groups can join. Since it's an election year, lots of local politicians were there. But there were also various activist organizations included Military Families Speak Out and Veterans for Peace. I decided to march with the Anti-War Committee this year. They had flags from all over the world. I carried a "Free Palestine" flag, but we also had flags from Iraq, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Colombia, Mexico and a Rainbow flag.

There's always a huge period of waiting for the march to take off since we're asked to come early and we're at the end of the march. There's usually several thousand participants. We tried to practice a couple of flag routines, but we were too silly to pull it off. At one point we just started having fake sword fights with the flags.

All of a sudden a woman from an ethnic dance group came running up to us and said, "I see all this international fighting going on and I believe we need a represenative from the United Nations here. I shall be that representative and I shall stand here observing and doing nonthing productive. Carry on!"

She had us all rollling with laughter. What a fun, spontaneous thing to do! But that's really what the event is all about. A time to have fun and support our cause.

An odd thing happened this year, though. I've been attending Mayday parades for almost 20 years and this is the first year I've run into people I work with. They all gave me huge hugs. We don't talk politics at work, much, so I never know who is an activist and who is not. But I also believe that more people are politically active this year than in the past. And that's a good thing.

Beaver Overthinking Dam

This article ran in the onion in April, but I still get a chuckle out of it and decided to quote parts of it here:

Beaver Overthinking Dam

April 19, 2006 | Issue 42•16

HUNTSVILLE, ONTARIO—Local beaver Dennis Messner is spending an inordinate amount of time and effort in the planning and construction phases of building his dam, according to neighbors close to the project.

In the past four months, Messner, 4, has visited hundreds of other dams and drawn up detailed and extensive blueprints. He has researched topics ranging from advanced dome acoustics to the near-extinction of the North American beaver in the early 20th century, and plans to incorporate much of his research into his design.

There's photos and everything. For anyone who works in a creative field, there are some painful similarities to be found. Plus, I just love how the beaver has both a first and last name and his age is tossed in as well. Very nice writing at the Onion.

Your name in biscuits!

What you've always wanted, eh?



Make your own here. Found via Typophile.

Billmon sums it up about Colbert's performance at the correspondent's dinner:

The underlying message, never stated or even acknowledged, is that there are no disputes that can't be resolved within the cozy confines of our "democratic" (oligarchic) system. Friends don't send friends to jail -- or smash their presses or abolish their political parties or line them up against the wall and shoot them.

Read the whole post. It's excellent.

Workers good. Bosses bad.

I've been searching around for a decent, well-written fact sheet to express why so many millions of people are standing up for the rights of illegal immigrants. I haven't been successful, so far. But I'm sure it's out there somewhere. Referrals greatly appreciated.

Until then, let me just say this: workers = good.

Yeah, that's my bottom line. People who actually lift a finger to contribute something are pretty much okey dokey in my book. Those who sit around and whine and complain, not so good in my book.

And another thing....

If life was hard for you and you had to jump over a hundred thousand irritating hurdles just to survive, that really sucks. It sucks so much that I hope nobody else ever has to go through the shit that you had to go through. Makes sense, right?

But, no. Instead, there is this bizarre theory that because I had it bad, you ought to have it just as bad. As if shittiness is a requirement. People seem to be saying life was totally unfair for my grandparents, the immigrants, so it should be totally unfair for you, too.

Where are the people who say, my life sucked and I sincerely hope that you never have to have a sucky life like mine? Surely I can't be the only one.

General Strike

I have the day off so I can join in the demonstrations in support of illegal aliens, their families, friends and support networks against proposed federal legislation that would turn us all into felons. The action is called A Day without Immigrants.

I took Friday off as well so that I could participate in the student walk-out against the war. It was great to attend an anti-war event I didn't help plan and to see the energy and brainpower of so many young people speaking out against the war. There were about 500 people in a steady rainfall.

On Saturday, I worked at the bookstore and spent the early evening at a forum about the labor movement today. Lots of talk about the strike on Monday and the sense that progressive movements are popping up all over the place.

Saturday night I watched the White House Correspondents Dinner. Bush made fun of himself and was followed by Stephen Colbert from the Comedy Channel show, "The Colbert Report." Colbert spoke in his character of blowhard Bush supporter. I have to agree with the right wing blogosphere: his bits bombed. Almost no one laughed, either because they didn't get it or they did and didn't like the points Colbert made. You gotta wonder what they thought was going to happen when Colbert was invited. Of course he is going to make fun of the president and the press. What is astonishing is that they somehow didn't know it would happen and have the graciousness to accept it well. In fact, Laura Bush didn't have the common decency to thank the man. Sheesh!

Actually, what has gotten lost in all the back and forth about whether Colbert was "brave" (no, he just did his job) or unpatriotic (no, it's patriotic to be able to laugh at ourselves) is another part of the evening. Early in the night, Bill Plante, the CBS white house correspondent presented a filmed tour of the White House press offices in which highly paid people whined and moaned about having to work out of small, overcrowded cubes. Talk about not having a clue about reality! There are hundreds of thousands of Americans working out of cramped and crowded cubes every single day. And we're not demanding that the government provide us better digs. One woman even whined that she had to (she even demonstrated this difficult maneuver for the camera) the screen on her multi-thousand dollar laptop to answer the phone in her cube. Gee, that took about one second -- you poor thing!

Yesterday I slept in, napped, and napped some more. It's old age, I guess.

Today I'm getting some housework done and then off to the rally at 3 p.m.

Busy busy busy

But what else is new. My dear friend Sami Rasouli is heading back to Iraq next month. I've made a flyer for a send-off party:

Minnesotans think....

One of the assumptions that people who live in Minnesota their entire lives tend to have is that every small town has at least one Catholic church and one Lutheran church. Of course, this is hilarious to people from other parts of the country. But now I have cartographic proof of the issue. A series of maps showing the distribution of religions in the U.S.

An updated version

An updated version of the Mothers Walk for Peace flyer. Apparently, we had the wrong CITY for the event. Whoops!

Actually, many Twin Cities businesses use the city "Minneapolis" no matter what city they are actually in. It's a weird custom that I don't remember seing anywhere else.

40,000 people marched in St. Paul.

Last weekend I had the great pleasure of participating in a rally for the rights of immigrants -- both LEGAL and WITHOUT PAPERS. Yup. I don't care if they break the law coming into the country. It was a lot of fun....

The Minnesota Daily has a decent article.

My favorite sign: What VISA did the Pilgrims carry?

Another flyer for Mayday Books



This author talk was arranged by a Mayday volunteer worker, Lydia Howell. Sounds like fun!

Let the discussions begin!

I'm hoping this will be an event that brings the interesting and the bizarre ideas to the bookstore. I had an idea about how to make this flyer, but ran out of time. I wanted to use the "One Big Union" type from an old IWW poster and have various editors marks to indicate differing viewpoints. But I never really got it working out. Plus a got a ton of copy to shove into a small flyer. So I just put together a badly faked ballot. It'll do, I think.

Finally!

We are in our annual review cycle at work. After several years of pittance wage increases, I finally got a decent raise. Considering how many workers are facing job loss, benefits cut offs, etc., it's hard to believe a worker has a chance at any decency these days. The sad truth is, my department lost a couple of highly-trained and valuable workers because my supervisor was unwilling to bump them into the next pay grade even though it was obvious that they were deserving of the reward. As soon as they left, I realized my chances of being rewarded this year had increased exponentially. My supervisor couldn't afford to lose another reliable worker.

Well, I deserved the raise and I'm glad I got it. But it's a damn shame to realize the reasons, have to do with my fellow workers willingness to make a significant change in their lives. They aren't unhappy in their new jobs, so I don't feel bad for them. But I also know how much their choosing to act benefitted me. Under capitlism, this is supposed to be A Good Thing. Unfortunately, I'm not blind enough to revel in that bullshit answer.

In other news, I went to see a number of high school spoken word artists yesterday. They were amazing. They were coming into their voice and learning their own power. What an awesome thing to experience. Could anyone have predicted 20 or 30 years ago that poetry would be a source of strength for young people today?

Awesome.

Failed blogger

I'm never going to be a successful blogger for a wealth of reasons, not the least of which is having too many things to do. In the past week, I've managed to watch a world-class caligrapher at work, seen the amazing Jim Hubbard and Sarah Schulman talk about their work to document the political activism of ACT UP, worked on typesetting a book for my mother, attended a wine tasting dinner with my brother, the winemaker, worked at the bookstore, and attended an amazing play called Venus.

My life is full and I am more than a bit pleased. If I get a chance, I'll write about it.

What happened when the British troops left the American colonies?

Last night I went to a reception for Sami Rasouli. He was asked what would happen if U.S. troops left Iraq immediately. His response began with the line above and continued:

What happened when Ghenghis Khan left Iraq? What happened when the Turks left Iraq? What happened when the British left Iraq?

The conclusion is obvious: you have to remain totally ignorant of history in order to believe the U.S. troops must remain in Iraq. Unfortunately, the majority of Americans never learned this history.

Pretty Pictures!

Circlevision.org has loaded some pictures. I copied a couple of them for display here.

4200 March in Minneapolis

Awesome. Way more than I expected. Apathy has not triumphed. My fellow human beings impress me yet again. Whew!

I'm just saying

Let's suppose you've been spending weeks into months working to build an event that you hope will have an impact on public policy. Suppose you've been making flyers, posting banners, creating press releases, calling your friends and co-workers. Suppose it's a big date -- like the anniversary of the start of a war, perhaps.

And suppose you've been making contacts with activists across the spectrum. Suppose you've been contacting your representatives in congress. Suppose you've been following the news, every day, seeing the devastating effect of your own country's policies in a far away place.

Suppose you've been reading and writing and working and struggling and pushing, pushing, pushing to get a response that you know would come if people had the chance to pay attention and make a choice.

And suppose you've spent these weeks and months doing whatever you can. And finally it's a day away. Less than a day. Say it's only a matter of hours.

And you don't have clue what might happen.

Could you sleep?

Nope. I didn't think so.....

News Release for March 18

Ravenhub and I are constantly writing News Releses for the movement, so I decided to post one here. If any Fly By Night readers want to use it for their own events, feel free to steal from it as much as possible:

News Alert


For immediate release:
Tuesday, March 14, 2006


Saturday anti-war protest
in Minneapolis to mark anniversary
of the start of Iraq war with call to
“Bring the Troops Home Now!”

An anti-war protest will be held in Minneapolis on Saturday, March 18, calling for an immediate end
to the three-year long U.S. military intervention in Iraq and a demand for immediate withdrawal of
U.S. troops in Iraq.

The event begins at Hennepin and Lagoon Avenues at 1 p.m., followed by a march to the Basilica of St. Mary for an indoor program at 2:15 p.m.

The U.S. war against Iraq began with the bombing of Baghdad in March 2003. The war has now cost over 220 billion dollars, the lives of thousands of Iraqis and over 2300 dead U.S. soldiers. Across the U.S. and around the world, including in Baghdad and Basra, Iraq, anti-war protests are planning to mark the anniversary of the start of the war.

- more -
Saturday antiwar protest page 2

The local event is being organized by the March 18 Coalition, a group of peace, anti-war, student, faith based and other organizations. The coalition supports four major statements of purpose:

Not one more death!
Not one more dollar! Act now for peace!
Bring the Troops Home Now!
Stop the U.S.War in Iraq!

The protest will assemble at 1 p.m. at the Library Plaza & Mall Area near Hennepin and Lagoon Avenues in Minneapolis. At 1:30 p.m. there will be a march to the Basilica of St. Mary (17th & Hennepin Ave.) where an indoor program will be held.

Joining the Minneapolis protest will be a contingent of members of Military Families Speak Out (MFSO). MFSO is a national organization composed of family members who are opposed to the war and who have relatives in the military. A member of MFSO will be among the speakers at the event.

In the global call for antiwar activities, the three major national U.S. anti-war coalitions, United for Peace and Justice, the ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) Coalition and the Troops
Out Now Coalition (TONC) are working together toward one goal. They hope to bring together as many people as possible to express their opposition to the continuing war in Iraq. Each coalition lists dozens of events in cities large and small on their websites. UFPJ reports over 400 events are planned across the U.S. March 18–20.

Among the groups helping to build the March 18 event in Minneapolis are Women Against Military Madness, Twin Cities Peace Campaign, Anti-War Committee, Youth Against War and Racism, Minnesota Alliance of Peacemakers and many others.

-30-

Fundraiser

Another event I produced a flyer for was the Meal & Movie fundraiser. This time we're raising money for KFAI Radio.

Mothers Walk for Peace 2006



We've had an anti-war event for Mothers Day every year for several years now. This is a flyer I made for the latest version.

The art is from Another Mother for Peace and has become iconic since it was created in 1967 by Lorraine Schneider. A couple of years ago, Ravenhub bought me a lovely necklace with the medallion you can buy directly from "Another Mother" at their website. The price is reasonable and the cause is good.

New ad for Mayday



Women Against Military Madness is encouraging their members to "break the chains" and buy at locally owned businesses. In April, it's Mayday Books' turn for an ad. I threw this together yesterday. Hope it brings in some business!

Two fun things: I created a new slogan for the store: "Not making a profit since 1975". Also, Tom, one of our volunteers, is always complaining that activists never provide maps on their flyers. So I added a special little note to Tom in the small print. Hope he sees it.

Yugoslavia

Slobodan Milosovic died over the weekend and the event has led to an interesting discussion at pandagon. I'm posting more than usual there lately.

I created three flyers for upcoming events this morning as well as an ad for the bookstore. I'll post them later when I get them finalized.

They're back!

Found this little gem via Metafilter:

Posted on Thu, Mar. 09, 2006

Nuns to face librarians in spelling bee

Associated Press

ERLANGER, Ky. - After a five-year hiatus, the Sisters of St. Walburg Monastery in Villa Hills are ready to show whether they are superior spellers.

The sisters were champions of the annual Corporate Spelling Bee for Literacy in northern Kentucky for years before giving others a chance to win.

But now the nuns are back, even if they're a little timid about challenging the reigning champions - a group of Boone County librarians.

"Librarians give us a scare," said Sister Mary Carol Hellmann, who says she's been brushing up on Latin, Greek, Hebrew and Spanish root words to prepare for the bee. Some of the other sisters say they use the Internet to practice.

Meanwhile, the librarians say victory won't come easy now that the nuns are competing.

"They have that strong Latin background," said Cindy Brown, director of the Boone County Library. Brown said her spelling team is made up of "voracious readers with a certain verbal attitude."

The winners will be decided Thursday during the ninth annual bee, which is a fundraiser for a Northern Kentucky Community Action Commission program that helps adults with literacy skills. Twenty teams made up of adults from local businesses, schools and nonprofit organizations will participate.

-----

Now that's the kind of competition I would enjoy!

Project Runway, a partial esplanation

Over at Pandagon, Jedmunds expresses his outrage at the final results from Bravo's reality show/contest for fashion designers called Project Runway.

I could write a post explaining why I believe Chloe deserved to win and why her collection showed both exceptional construction and a coherent vision. But there's no need to do that because Jedmunds' commenters have expressed it better than I could.

Fuck all that.

I want to talk about why Project Runway is an important reality TV show.

The show's set up has 16 fashion designers who are brought together and assigned a series of outrageous tests. These tests are supposed to challenge the designers to be both creative and efficient. The results are sometimes embarrassing, sometimes amazing, but often just mediocre.

Guess what? That's not reality TV, is is actual life for us "creatives" in the capitalist world. I totaslly recognize that reality.

I have spent years honing the details of my craft, typography, and I know when type is good and when it is great and when it sucks. Every single day I am offered the ability to use this knowledge to create something that is just a little bit better than ordinary and far better than the commonly accepted.

BUT.....

There's almost never enough time to create an outstanding piece of work. There's almost never enough material or vision or time to create an amazing product. There is just the hope that what little I can contribute will make the end product a tiny bit better.

That is what Project Runway illustrates: outrageous demands upon creative people with the occasional spark of genius. More often, we achieve the merely acceptable.

The people on this show, as well as the vast majority of us, could create amazing things if we had the time, the education, the encouragement and the materials to do so.

Capitalism totally sucks because it does not allow this vision to become reality.

Happy International Women's Day

"I want a women's revolution like a lover. I lust for it, I want so much this freedom."

by Robin Morgan

And now for your activity for today. Bill Napoli is getting google-bombed for his offensive comments about rape victims.

Get the real story over here and thanks for your support!

Birthday card

I used a variation of this as an invite to a benefit party. I'm using this version to send thank you cards. I deleted my name to maintain the illustion of internet anonymity.

Strawfeminists, continued

Amanda at Pandagon does a great job of counteracting anti-feminist arguments when she talks about the Strawfeminist that anti-feminists tend to use in their arguments. The Strawfeminist is some bitter, ugly, paranoid feminazi who hates all men and wants to destroy the future of the planet.

Today, however, she expresses joy at one such poster on her website for coming up with the argument that feminists believe human breasts aren't sexual.

Amanda explains the thought process:

1. I don't have breasts at all.
2. I don't have sexual feelings.
3. I'm so embittered about this I deny that breasts are sexual.
4. Strawfeminists ride unicorns around Vaginastan.

Of course, that slapdown led to a lot of fun responses in the comments that you should definitely read. In addition, I was struck by this interesting comment from alsys39.5 whose website is in development and also looks interesting:

Seriously though, the weird thing about the sexists who make a fetish of evolution to suit their own prejudices is that they, like the Bible thumpers, want everyone to surrender their will to an all-powerful force. With them, it’s EVOLUTION. With the fundies, it’s GOD. Either way, dissent is not an option. You will be assimilated. :/

Unexpected

I suck at math. My motto: if 2 + 2 always equals 4, what good is it? Heh.

You Passed 8th Grade Math

Congratulations, you got 8/10 correct!

Could You Pass 8th Grade Math?

The Latest March 18 flyer



Added the address for the Basilica and the new contact: St. Joan of Arc Church in Minneapolis.

Awesome Birthday Present

Today is my 50th birthday and I got a very special letter today from a woman who hates to write letters -- my Mom!

Here it is:

----

On your 50th birthday, you get a special letter from me, reminiscing about your early years. I have some different memories of 1956. First, you caused me to wear support hose for the first time. Also, you were due on February 29th, but thank goodness, you came a day early. You also gave me (us?) an extra time in the hospital -- eleven days in all, due to a blood clot in my left leg. During the hospital stay, Bill and the two boys had to move everything from our old place to the brand new house in Ypsilanti. Come to think of it, we made a habit of moving when you were in the hospital.*

When you were born, you didn't have much of an appetite and only nursed for a couple of minutes, then fell asleep. The nurse came in and insisted that you should be eating more than that. So she snapped her fingers on your feet to wake you up. You did nurse a bit longer, then threw up all over me and the bed!

You took advantage of trying to keep up with your brothers. When I would be helping the boys with their school work, especially reading, you would sneak behind the sofa and watch over our shoulders. You read rather well become you started school. Your kindergarten teacher scolded me for pressing you to learn at too early an age. She wanted me to lock up the books so you wouldn't get to them. Imagine! This was at a lab school, too!

You also developed, preschool, your fine motor skills. In drawing, you would start in the middle of a page and fill it with closely spaced wiggly lines. I'm so sorry I didn't manage to save an example.

You children amaze me. You are so different in personality and interests, and you are all wonderful. Thank you for following your own path as well!

Love, Mom

Isn't that the coolest?

*Note: I was in a coma at age 6 as a result of German measles that turned into encephalitis. During the two weeks I was out of it, the family moved from one house to another. It became a standing joke that the family had to move whenever I ended up hospitalized.)

Octavia Butler, R.I.P.



If you've never read this amazing writer, then you've got a treat ahead of you! I don't remember when I first read her novels but I've re-read them and recommended them repeatedly. I discovered this weekend that she died after a fall. Only 58 years old. Damn.

Here's the obit from the Seattle Post Intelligencer.

If you haven't read, Butler, a great book to read first is Kindred.

Freedomland by Richard Price

I have had trouble lately getting into reading. It happens. Something has to spark my interest and pull me back into making the effort to follow a book to its conclusion. This time, it was a combination of seeing a preview of a movie starring Samuel L. Jackson called "Freedomland" and seeing the hardcover book among the used books available at the bookstore.

So I took the book home and started to read. Why? Because I was more than impressed when I first encountered Jackson acting in a movie based on John Grisham's book, "A Time to Kill." The character Jackson played was fascinating. So after seeing the movie, I read the book and discovered that the character was not to be found on the page. It was a creation of the screenwriter and the actor and I wanted more. So that translated into a respect for Jackson and his choices. I saw him in "The Negotiator" -- another melodramatic film that I can watch again and again because the character Jackson plays fascinates me.

So, thank you, Mr. Jackson, for getting me back to reading. Freedomland is a "ripped from the headlines" book about a white woman who appears at a hospital, hurt and disheveled. It is revealed that she is a victim of a carjack by a black man near the projects where the woman works as a teacher for disadvantaged children. The twist: her toddler son was in the back seat and now the car and the child are missing.

The author expresses it quite well in an interview from the website linked above:

What stayed with me was the intersection of racial paranoia, media frenzy, and personal tragedy. I was really interested in what type of woman could get into a jam like this, a woman that is not a sociopath, that is not evil. It's just, life has done this and she moved left when she should have moved right. I was very interested in trying to set up a balance between the small, intimate things of a person's life, and the gargantuan chain reaction that affects the world.

It is fascinating to read this book while watching media accounts of Muslim demonstrations against racist cartoons printed by a Dutch right-wing newspaper. This small, otherwise uninteresting event -- this provocation by a newspaper editor -- has been transformed into a media frenzy with effects around the world.

The book questions whether it is possible to see the human tragedy once an act becomes the focus of mass media consumption and racial controversy.

In the end, of course, nothing changes fundamentally. Because media frenzy does not produce change for the good or for the bad. What it produces is a spectacle in and of itself. The majority of us choose sides and pick and choose the facts that confirm our own point of view. It is a perfect example of cooptation in practice.

A glimer of light in the fog

I surf through dozens of internet conversations every day without finding something that really interests me. Every once in a while, however, something rises up from amongst the din and today is one of those days.

Via the Ninth Carnival of the Feminists I came upon a discussion thread at the "Den of the Biting Beaver" entitled Women and Patriarchy

I've just finished reading the original post as well as the 146 (!) comments. It's 11:48 and I should be in bed, but instead my mind is humming. The "Biting Beaver" initiated the discussion along the lines of: how should radical feminists deal with women who seem to side with the patriarchy. THe thread was, unfortunately, sidetracked by an altercation that has since been dealth with.

But I am left hanging with the discussion that did not occur and that I hope can occur in one way or another. Biting Beaver raised the topic because she wanted to discuss how feminists should deal with women who apparently are happy as clams to participate in male patriarchal fantasies.

The commenters discussed several issues, with many self-identified "radical feminists" expressing their frustration with "sex-positive feminists" and porn stars like some woman I've never heard of named "Jemma Jamison" who has become rich by starring in porn films.

I have two major misunderstanding regarding the posts I read there:

One thing is the overall assumption that women who participate in pornography or sex work are victims of sexual abuse who do not fully understood their victimization. This strikes me as a kind of "pop psychology" simplification -- and a condescending attitude toward the women who participate in the porn industry. It may be true that some women have entered into the industry via brutalization. But I also believe that some women are attracted to the industry because it provides a certain kind of power and privilege that can seem preferable (and profitable) as compared to other choices available to women in our sexist society.

I would love to hear what these women, who have clearly given a lot of time and effort to study the way men and women interact in our society, think about the "power" that can come to women who choose to enjoy the privilege that can be attained by playing into male fantasies. These privileges can come from minimal activities such as dressing the right way, wearing makeup and flirting effectively on up to full-blown (I can't avoid the pun!) pornographic fantasy-fulfillment.

I'm not sure I am ready to castigate women who chose to utilize this method of gaining power as opposed to any other method of gaining power in our crazy mixed up society. I'm not sure these women have any idea that another world is possible. Have they ever learned that a woman can feel powerful without using these methods? Have they ever experienced the power that comes when women work together to create a greater good for all?

For what it's worth, I'm going to post a link to this post and ask those fascinating people who participate in "Biting Beaver's" blog to direct me toward a place to continue the discussion and help each other understand how to make this world a better place for women and men.

Silliness!

Found this via The Presurfer:



You can get your own bling at Glass Giant

The Big 5-0

Well, it's coming up on that time. On February 28 at 7:30 p.m. I will have reached the ripe old age of 50!

In the past few years, the local activist community has created a wonderful new tradition. We celebrate anniversary birthdays by asking friends and family to donate to a worthwhile local cause. I've chosen the local non-profit, all-volunteer, non-sectarian bookstore Mayday Books as the source and beneficiary for my B-day celebration. I'm looking forward to a roaring good time this Saturday night.

50. Boy or boy, that is a ripe old age, isn't it?

What if?

I've been watching the news about Muslims all over the world protesting the racist cartoons printed in a right wing Dutch newspaper. The right wing is eating it up, of course, calling those who protest "animals" and the like who hate free speech. The left wing is forced to explain how these simplistic views are wrong.

But I've been thinking about it in a different way these last few days. I've been thinking "What if?" thoughts.

What if, when Goebbels initiated his campaign of racist propaganda against Jews in 1933, thousands of Jews and their supporters had demonstrated around the world?

What if, when Stepnfetchit and Sambo were popular, thousands of Africans and their supporters had demonstrated around the world?

Do we really want to go on record as being AGAINST those who protest racism?

Serendipity

David Rees Get Your War On has been made into a play in Austin.

Piling on

I'm adding to the cartoon editing over at Pandagon with a nod to "Get Your War On" by David Rees.

First draft on Author Talk at Mayday Books

Yup. Keeping busy with the leaflets. I'm just posting and running!

First draft in Spanish

More Silly


width="240" height="180"
alt="Ravishing Amorous Vixen Exchanging Naughty Massage and Necking"
border="0">

Whee!

Your results:
You are Supergirl

Supergirl 70% The Flash 70% Green Lantern 65% Superman 60% Spider-Man 60% Wonder Woman 60% Iron Man 60% Batman 40% Robin 35% Catwoman 30% Hulk 30%

Lean, muscular and feminine. Honest and a defender of the innocent.

Click here to take the Superhero Personality Test

Now you know!

Ten Top Trivia Tips about Ravenmn!

1. It takes 17 muscles to smile, and 43 to frown at Ravenmn.
2. If the Sun were the size of a beach ball then Jupiter would be the size of a golf ball and Ravenmn would be as small as a pea!
3. Ravenmn was declared extinct in 1902!
4. Ostriches stick their heads in Ravenmn not to hide but to look for water.
5. If you lick Ravenmn ten times, you will consume one calorie.
6. Four-fifths of the surface of Ravenmn is covered in water.
7. In Japan, Ravenmn can only be prepared by chefs specially trained and certified by the government!
8. A chimpanzee can learn to recognize itself in a mirror, but Ravenmn can not!
9. Ravenmn is the traditional gift for a couple on their third wedding anniversary.
10. Baskin Robbins once made Ravenmn flavoured ice cream!

I am interested in - do tell me aboutherhimitthem

More Koufax

I hit the jackpot, I do believe. Continuing my search through the Best Post awards over at Wampum, I found this terrific article post about Rosa Parks, Misremembered at a blog I've never heard of called Little Wild Bouguet.

The myth of Parks as a pre-political seamstress who was too physically worn out to move has such staying power not because there's any factual basis but because it appeals to an all-too popular narrative about how social change happens in America: When things get bad enough, an individual steps up alone, unsupported and unmediated, and spontaneously resists. And then an equally spontaneous movement follows. Such a myth makes good TV, but it's poor history.

Movement-building takes hard work, no matter how righteous the cause or how desperate the circumstances.

No shit, Sherlock! This is why I find it hard to join in on bashing political movements that are not perfect, whether it's the dust up over ANSWER vs. UFPJ or the left and right wings of the Environmental movement or the various housing rights advocates locally. There will always be political differences between activists working for any cause, but the one thing you can be sure of is that the majority of activist work is just that: work. It takes time, tenacity and just plain hard work, for the most part unpaid and unappreciated.

Those folks who said they would never march in an ANSWER-organized protest again because some ANSWER volunteers have some political believes that differ from their own are forgetting the hard work and dedication that goes into building a mass movement. It is extremely selfish and just plain stupid. To claim your political experience is ruined by having to listen to somebody talk about something you aren't personally invested in (North Korea, Mumia Abu-Jamal, Palestine) is to ignore all the hard work of all the people who have come together for a cause.

But in America, there is a tendency to want to believe in individualism, even when in a crowd of hundreds of thousands of people. If you're going to a demonstration to fulfill your own personal needs, you are missing the point.

What words could mean!

I received this via e-mail and couldn't find the original link.

Once again, THE WASHINGTON POST has published the winning submissions to its yearly contest, in which readers are asked to supply alternate meanings for common words.

The winners are:

1. Coffee (n.), the person upon whom one coughs.

2. Flabbergasted (adj.), appalled over how much weight you have gained.

3. Abdicate (v.), to give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.

4. Esplanade (v.), to attempt an explanation while drunk.

5. Willy-nilly (adj.), impotent.

6. Negligent (adj.), describes a condition in which you absentmindedly answer the door in your nightgown.

7. Lymph (v.), to walk with a lisp.

8. Gargoyle (n.), olive-flavored mouthwash.

9. Flatulence (n.) emergency vehicle that picks you up after you are run over by a steamroller.

10. Balderdash (n.), a rapidly receding hairline.

11. Testicle (n.), a humorous question on an exam.

12. Rectitude (n.), the formal, dignified bearing adopted by proctologists.

13. Pokemon (n), a Rastafarian proctologist.

14. Oyster (n.), a person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddishisms.

15. Frisbeetarianism (n.), The belief that, when you die, your Soul flies up onto the roof and gets stuck there.

16. Circumvent (n.), an opening in the front of boxer shorts worn by Jewish men.

Koufax Awards

Wampum is in the process of posting nominations for the Koufax Awards: awards given to blogs from the left side of the political spectrum.

I decided to read the posts so that I could see what kind of posts readers, especially readers on the left, appreciate most. I printed out the first third of the posts mentioned and have been reading them this evening. It's a lot of copy and lot of reading. Alas, I have found very few posts that interest me.

Granted, I am neither a liberal nor a Democrat, so I'm not the target audience for a lot of these bloggers. The posters have followed the stereotype of liberals as seeing only what's wrong. Reading example after example of how fucked up the world is can drive a reader to exhaustion and despair -- not the best starting point for effective political action.

There is a reason for this repeated listing of Things Gone Bad. It can be traced directly to the Bush Administration's penchant for seeing everything they do as The Absolute Good. Faced with that wall of blissful ignorance, those opposed to the right wing feel they have to talk to their fellow citizens like they would talk to ignorant children. Liberals often explain, with reference to irritating facts and pesky evidence, that the fantasy vision of America Uber Alles is wishful thinking at best. And they keep explaining. Over and over. Ad naseum.

Right wingers, however, have been educated to ignore and despise that brand of realism. They immediately default to the "Why do you hate America?" response. This method of "educating" clearly is not working with the right wing.

So what is appealing about these kind of posts for liberals and/or leftists? Are liberals so intimidated by the power of the right that they need to constantly remind themselves of how fucked up the world is?

Are liberals thinking they can advance their cause with their own brand of fear-mongering? Have they seen the success of fear-based politics on the right and believe they can use the same tactics with a left-wing perspective?

I may continue to read these nominees for Koufax Awards. Or not.

Meanwhile, check out some good news that I was introduced to in a speech by Alice Lynch, chairperson of Black Indian Hispanic and Asian (BIHA) Women in Action:

1000 Peace Women is an initiative and a book that recognizes women who are making a difference in the world today. Here's the blurb from their website:

Millions of women work day in day out to promote peace. They care for survivors, help with reconstruction and initiate a new culture of peace. To represent these millions, it is our aim that in the year 2005 a thousand women shall collectively receive the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts in pursuit of peace. This political prize will show that the work they do is valuable and exemplary.

As their work is taken for granted and is usually unspectacular, it is neither acknowledged nor remunerated. With the exception of 12 women, the recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize, since it was first awarded in 1901, have been men. In negotiating termsof peace, many more warlords than peacequeens make decisions about security, reconstruction and new political structures. This despite the fact that women constantly prove that with their experience and competence, they can develop and put into practice sustainable peace programs.

Our focus is on women worldwide from all walks of life - e.g., the woman farmer, teacher, artist or politician – who devote themselves to a future free of violence. They have their own individual origins and backgrounds, which have offered them, as the case may be, maybe wonderful opportunities, maybe only restricted options. In order that the world become aware of their histories and their work, light must be thrown on their thousand profiles. Their thousand strategies for constructive conflict management should provide important impulses for conflict research and peace policies. The project will therefore be backed up academically. Last but not least, new peace networks will be established and existing ones strengthened.

There is a lot of good in the world. Despite all the incentives to be a selfish bastard, many people choose to do wonderful things. That is awesome.

"Out Now!" not "Support the Troops"

Joel Stein at The Los Angeles Times sparked a kerfluffle with an article about why he does not support the troops in Iraq. The article will be off line in a couple of weeks, but you can read a synopsis and response by Richard at American Leftist. Richard's comments are not only excellent in an of themselves, but they have sparked a great discussion as well. I couldn't help but join in because this subject comes up often in the anti-war movement and I've given it quite a lot of thought over the years. I'm copying my post here, but I encourage everyone to read the discussion both because it includes respectful and thoughtful arguments for different points of view.

Here's me:

First, yes, and by all means, the people to be concerned about are the Iraqis, not the men and women who are under orders to kill them.

Second, the only honest way I can support the troops is by doing whatever I can to bring them home -- Out Now! I cannot say I believe the war is unjust and at the same time support those people who are participating in that war.

What the antiwar movement can do and did do during the Vietman War is support those troops who refuse to fight. They set up GI coffeehouses so troops could talk about what they experienced. They helped produce newsletters so troops could teach each other the truth about what they were doing. They supported GIs who refused to carry out orders in Nam. This was the anti-Vietnam War movement whose history has been grossly distorted by right-wing propaganda.

I can't remember the book's title, but one researcher found absolutely no documentary record that any returning Vietnam Vet was spat on by anyone in the antiwar movement. Ever. The movement was not making those mistakes. In fact, it's history has been deliberately distorted.
And when the antiwar movement talks about poor body armor, lack of medical care and budget cuts to veterans, it cannot be in order to build a better killing machine, but is instead a method of showing just how callous our political leaders are in carrying out their imperialist wars. They don't care how many Iraqis die, but they also don't care very much about what happens to the people they hire to carry out their grand plans.

Support the soldiers who tell the truth and refuse to carry out orders. Support the soldiers who refuse to deploy. We do a great disservice to these brave and honest women and men if we lump them in with the group who have not yet or will never open their eyes to the horrors they inflict on Iraq.

We have a location!

Another iteration. With desktop publishing, everyone seems to know how easy it is to update these things, and so I manage to do each flyer several times. That's cool.



Check out Troops Out Now and/or A.N.S.W.E.R. for an event in your area. They should be listing them soon!

See also in the UK Stop the War and A.N.S.W.E.R. in Los Angeles.

Franklin, 1; Students, 1; Gonzales, 0

Students protested Attorney General Gonzales' defense of domestic spying by turning their backs and unveiling a banner:




Now this is the kind of college athletic event I would pay to attend. Way to go!

Flatten Image

In Photoshop, you can set up different layers to work on particular parts of a composite image. But before you can save the file in some of the printable formats, you need to choose "Flatten Image" on the layers palette. This means your image has lots its depth and is no longer as easily editable.

My body has entered "flatten image" zone. For the first time in three years, I've got a bug and it has taken me down for two and half days. I manage to get dressed and breathe and that is the extent of my capabilities. I am all surface material and no depth. I am a congested nose, a sore throat and a voice from "The Exorcist". Can't read, can't concentrate on anything for long. I've flipped through the channels on cable and managed to read a couple of blogs on the net. Then I get exhausted and have to take a nap.

Enough whining, already. Later.

After the committee

Well, not a lot of changes, which is good. The copy changes are the committee's. The art changes are mine. I adjusted the lighting on the Guernica images so that they have the same gray levelss. Picked another detail to add. Looking OK, I think.

Just a draft

Trying to work up an agreeable leaflet for the March anniversary of the War in Iraq. This one will go to a committee, so I haven't put a lot of work into it.

Sad news

This is not an uncommon event in Iraq, but it happens to be affecting the family of a friend.

My uncle Abdulrazaq (My father's younger brother who is 50 years old) was in Iraq (in our local city of Smarra Iraq) on Thursday January 5th, 2006 and at 8pm went to go meet with his business partners to finish financial exchanges and on his way back he was killed by American troops. Upon stealing the $10,000 that were in his coat pocket the troops that the Americans are so proud of and support, found that he did not have any weaons or explosives and then they dumped his body at the local hospital and walked away with his money.

My cousin is a resident physician at the local hospital. The Americans had notified them that they were bringing in a dead body and to come and receive it. Upon going to receive the body from the Americans outside of the hospital he was shocked to find that this is his uncle. At home his wife was very worried as he was extraordinarily late for dinner. She called other family members who called the hospital (which is something people typically due since so many people are dying since the U.S. invation) to see if he had an accident at which point my cousin answered informing them that his body was just dumped at the hospital. Our family was contacted and they came to receive his body. He was shot in the head, abdomen, and in one of his kidneys and it is believed that he died immediately, though the details of whether they robbed him before or after they killed him and when decided to dump his body are unknown. He left behind a wife and two daughters age 4 and 5. They are still not sure how to break the news to his daughter.

My uncle had spent 16 years as a prisoner of war in Iran. He was freed on April 9th, 1998 (even though the Iran/Iraq war ended in the late 80's). Upon starting his life again in 1998 he married and had two beautiful daughters. Although it was always hard for him to talk about the torture in the Iranian prisons, his daughters Shayma (5 years old) and Yamama (4 years old) always had a way of transcending words.

My uncle Abdulrazak is not the only one, there are thougsands that have died in this way. This is the face of American terrorism. Our family is so numb. Our hearts are swollen with grief, resentment, and sorrow. American soldiers sign up to risk life and death and when one of them dies it is though the earth stops its rotation, but when an Iraqi civilian who is working hard to support his family and is forced to live his life in the midst of an American occupation is murdered and robbed by sweet American boys, he is dumped like road kill. What makes their lives more worth living?? Is it the blue eyes and blond hair? or is it the cross that hangs on their necks?? I wonder what defense they have for this one. Did he part his hair on the wrong side? Did he wear the wrong color? Was he driving "suspiciously"? What would they say he did to deserve being murdered? How about robbing him? It must not have been a robbery. Maybe they were afraid that a doctor would steal his money so they kept if for safe keeping. Maybe they wanted to take the money and buy a gift for his daughters. Whatever it is it must be good because they are Americans! In fact as they provide this hypothetical justification (assuming they would be prompted to do so- which wouldn't happen because Americans answer to no one) I can just hear the national anthem playing in the background. My uncle's murderers will come home to their families one day to tell of the heroic stories but humbly refuse to be called heroes and instead insist that they were merely doing their duty, but in their soiled hearts they will carry the ugliness of what they have done and who they became and it will eat at them until it destroys their lives and the lives around them.

This email will not have an end-just as these killings do not...

The Problem In Iraq? Bad BRANDING!


Image from Haha Funny Pictures. Go make your own!

Wikipedia describes branding this way:

Marketers seek to develop or align the expectations comprising the brand experience through branding, so that a brand carries the "promise" that a product or service has a certain quality or characteristic which make it special or unique. A brand image may be developed by attributing a "personality" to or associating an "image" with a product or service, whereby the personality or image is "branded" into the consciousness of consumers. A brand is therefore one of the most valuable elements in an advertising theme, as it demonstrates what the brand owner is able to offer in the marketplace. The art of creating and maintaining a brand is called brand management. You're creating the story.

Failed colonial administrator/puppet Mark Etherington told Terry Gross on Fresh Air yesterday that he and the Ukranian troops who were protecting his sorry ass got kicked out of Iraq because of bad branding!!

The key to this business is this: as one goes in, first of all, you have to project your brand. People need to know what it is you stand for and they need to be conscious of your particular identity, your profile. One has to project this early. It's important to set the tone. And the reason it's so important is because one has, typically, a finite period of time in which, really, to win the consent necessary to prosecute these reforms.

Now our difficulty was that Iraq is a large country, and we had insufficient numbers of troops, to lend the public that sense of security that is so essential. And what that meant is that in villages in my province, for example, is that they might see a military patrol once a month or something on that order. And this was really not enough for them to feel confident in the kind of role that we were trying to play. And what this additionally meant was that it placed a lot of pressure on the military forces there, many of whom hadn't really done this before.

Now, of course, althought the Ukranians -- and I'm not singling them out -- The Ukranians, of course, did their best, but I think few would argue they are very experienced in peace-keeping terms. And this is a parculiarly sophisticated art -- this business of capacity-building -- in fact it's more than peace-keeping, it's capacity building as well, it's state building.

My head just exploded.

Egoboo from EgoSurf

This is apparently bogus. I found the link via Presurfer and entered my screen name and blog name. There is no way my traffic is anyway near the Presurfer's. Something's fishy about the system.



Here's the link in case you want to try for yourself.

True English Nerd


You scored 89 erudition!


Not only do you know your subjects from your objects and your definite from your indefinite articles, but you've got quite a handle on the literature and the history of the language as well. Huzzah, and well done! The English snobs of Boston salute you.





You scored higher than 93%
on erudition

Link: The Are You Truly Erudite? Test written by okellelala on Ok Cupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

Hissy Fits are funny

Via American Leftist, I found a link to an Empire Burlesque post about the latest media pimping being done by Paul Bremer. He was the first U.S. colonial kahuna in Iraq and now he's worried he's gonna be blamed for the fucked up mess the U.S. has created. He has written a volume to add to the long list of apologia's by middle managers in government who are willing to slurp up all the privileges of power but just hate to have to take any responsibility once the blame gets doled out.

The article is preaching to the choir, of course, and won't change any minds. But the writing had me laughing out loud:

The Highly Informative Hissy Fit of L. Paul Bremer III

Tuesday, 10 January 2006

We need shed no tears for Paul Bremer, the former satrap of Iraq who now claims that he was set up by the Pentagon as the "fall guy" for the Bush Regime's bloodsoaked folly in Iraq. No one put a gun to his head and forced him to take up the colonial overseer's baton, and if the Bushists, in their usual manner, used him up then spit him out, that's just too damn bad. Anyone who cast their lot with this wretched enterprise deserves everything they get, in spades.

But that doesn't mean that there isn't much useful information to be gleaned from Bremer's whiny new memoir, especially the insider confirmation that neither the Bush warmongers nor their corrupt Iraq collaborators ever had the slightest idea of what to do with the country once they ripped it to shreds -- other than just loot it and kill people.

As the Financial Times puts it: "What emerges clearly from the diary is that there was no detailed postwar reconstruction plan, that the US lacked decent intelligence to deal with an insurgency it failed to predict, and the naivety of Americans who were shocked at the dismal state of Iraq's economy and infrastructure after years of sanctions.

"Mr. Bremer accuses Pentagon officials of setting him up to take the fall for the postwar failures in Iraq, even though the decision to disband the army was personally approved by Paul Wolfowitz, the deputy defence secretary, and cleared by Mr Rumsfeld and President George W. Bush….

"A Pentagon spokesman on Monday confirmed that Mr Bremer had sent Mr Rumsfeld a memo based on a report by the Rand Corporation consultancy that recommended 500,000 US troops would be needed to pacify Iraq -- far more than were sent. But Mr Bremer's advice was rejected by military leaders and Mr Rumsfeld."

In the time-honored fashion of bootlickers everywhere, Bremer hastens to heap praise on Bush personally -- saving his ire for well-placed barbs at the murderous incompetence and bureaucratic hugger-mugger of Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Feith and other masters of disaster. Yet at the same time, the hapless viceroy is desperately trying to signal that the final responsibility for the FUBAR fiasco lies with the dimbulb in the Oval Office. It's not my fault, Bremer screams through the lines on every page: I vas only following the orders of mein Fuhrer!

There is of course an egregious amount of butt-covering in all of this. Bremer presents himself as a gosh-darn good egg who just wanted to do what's right but ended up as the tragic victim of vicious circumstances. Yet the fact is that Bremer played a key role in creating those circumstances, and at every point assidiously carried out his primary duty: laying open the ruined nation to the rapacious appetities of Bush's corporate cronies. He is, to put it bluntly, a war criminal like the rest of them, although he would perhaps be ranged with the second tier of defendants in that new Nuremberg Tribunal of our dreams.

But even butt-coverers can tell the truth -- inadvertantly, letting bits of it poke out from behind their comfy quilt of rationalization and justification. And Bremer's hissy fit confirms once more that the ultimate responsibility for this illegal invasion of Iraq -- and all the stomach-churning horrors that have followed in its wake -- does indeed lie with the tinpot tyrant in the White House: George Widowmaker Bush.

Sami is returning to Minnesota!

My good friend Sami Rasouli is returning to Minnesota after spending several months in Iraq working with the Iraqi human rights teams and helping his family to rebuild. I just made the flyer for his report back. It will be great to see him again.

Ten reasons why you should never accept a diamond

Found via metafilter, this article is a short, concise guide to the problems with diamonds and has links to longer articles.

I've never understood the fascination with diamonds, so this is one of those "political" decisions that is an easy "sacrifice" for me. It's like the decision I made to stop shaving when I was in my teens. I have very light and very sparse hair. You'd have to get awfully close to my legs see my political statement. Making the politically correct decision under these circumstances hardly counts.

On the other hand, life is hard enough. Nothing wrong with taking the "easy" road every once in a while!

New Year's Inventory Meme

1. What did you do in 2005 that you'd never done before?
Bought a newer (good) used car rather than a crappy used car.

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Yes/I've made enough for this year.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
My grandson was born on February 16.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Yes.

5. What countries did you visit?
Canada

6. What would you like to have in 2006 that you lacked in 2005?
More time with friends.

7. What date from 2005 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
September 24. The huge anti-war march in Washington, D.C.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Surviving with my sense of humor intact.

9. What was your biggest failure?
Losing my sense of humor on occasion.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Nothing permanent. Knock wood.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
The car.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Those who protested the war.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Our so-called "leaders."

14. Where did most of your money go?
The car.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Mizna's Third Annual Midwest Arab Film Festival

16. What song will always remind you of 2005?
Can't think of any.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you more or less relaxed?
The same.

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Gone to more movies.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Dishes.

20. How will you be spending Christmas?
With family.

21. Did you fall in love in 2005?
All over again. He's the one.

22. How many one-night stands?
None.

23. What was your favorite TV program?
Crossing Jordan

24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
It's pretty much the same.

25. What was the best book you read?
The Book of Salt by Monique Truon

26. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Can't think of one.

27. What did you want and get?
More time with Ravenhub.

28. What did you want and not get?
A perfectly clean house.

29. What was your favorite film of this year?
Crash

30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
Had a party for myself. Had a wonderful time.

31.What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
The overthrow of capitalism.

32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2005?
Comfortable.

33. What kept you sane?
Friends and drugs (not those kind, you ninny).

34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Vandana Shiva

35. What political issue stirred you the most?
The war in Iraq.

36. Who did you miss?
Activist friends who moved out of town.

37. Who was the best new person you met?
Vandana Shiva (see above)

38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2005.
To laugh. At myself, at reality, at the universe. I have to relearn it every year. (Sometimes every day....)

Two Events



This ad for the MLK weekend event will run in the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder.



The above flyer is for an event the same weekend at Mayday Books. Author Cathy Sultan will speak about her new book, A Beirut Heart.

Busy busy busy!

Our priorities suck

We've got thousands of people trained to remove manicure scissors from carry-on bags so that business people can jet around the world, while people just trying to make a living are dying undreground.

For an excellent overview of the situation of coal miners, check out Twelve of 13 miners found dead after false rescue report at the World Socialist Web Site.

Wherever Mother Jones is now, she's pissed and spoiling for a fight.

Movies!

Yesterday I went to see "The Squid and the Whale". What an amazing movie. Jeff Daniels plays a character very much like my own father. The film covers the divorce of a family. The parents are both writers with advanced degrees in literature. The two boys are dealing with adolescence as well as the breakdown of the family. Sounds like a boring movie, but, in fact, there are parts of great humor and intense pain. Mostly there are spot-on characterizations of people and the massive disappointment we feel as children when we discover our parents are human and make tons of mistakes.

Jeff Daniels plays the father and he is amazingly self-absorbed. He is a successful writer whose current writing is being rejected. He is pompous, spouting opinions on anything and everything. He is concerned entirely with himself and his view of the world, which is both cynical and self-aggrandizing.

The oldest son has coped by turning himself into the adoring audience for his father. The son asks questions about culture, allowing his father to spout his cynical pronouncements. The son then memorizes the answers and spouts them back in an attempt at conversation. The youngest son is less imprinted, less able to cope and therefore harder hit by the problems that arise.

The mother is a writer who is just coming into success, something that is clearly a major problem for the father. She seems more interested in the lives of her children than their father, but, to their detriment, she chooses to have affairs with people she has met through her children including a school psychologist and her son's tennis teacher.

The family lives in a comfortable brownstone in Brooklyn. When the break-up happens, the father moves into a decrepit apartment "across the park". The walls are splotched with holes, the furniture is minimal. The father apparently steals one of those chair/arm desk pieces from school and proudly presents it, but fails to notice that it is for left-handers and his kids are right-handed. He proudly proclaims he has a ping-pong table, but he is the only one interested in playing the game. Again, with the self-obsession on Daddy's part. Over time, he demands to keep "his nights" with the kids and makes it a competition between himself and the mother, even though he does little for the kids themselves.

To a large extent, the movie does a great job of portraying the pompous intellectual caricature we've all heard about. Mostly, he is just a pathetic father. Years ago, I pegged my father fairly well by saying he was a man who always wanted offspring but never wanted children. I see the same in the Daniels character. He has nothing to give to anyone around him, especially his children who have no choice but to need and want more than they can possibly receive from him.

I'm not sure the break-up of the marriage is hurting or helping this family, since it was already so geared away from the needs of the children and so wrapped around the mighty ego of the father. The mother's attentions are too unfocused to compensate for that hole in their life and the sons are in for some painful and embarrassing experiences while they struggle to learn how to cope with life's issues without any support from the people whose job it is to help them.

In the last moments of the movie, the father has suffered an accident and tells his son how much he will need him around more to see to the father's needs. In a hopeful moment, the boy pulls his hand out of the grasp of his father and makes his way out of the hospital, preparing to deal with his demons on his own. I like the movie because it portrays what can happen when a man is allowed to be spoiled and self-absorbed and makes the grave mistake of having children he can't care for.

In the past year there was a study I found fascinating and logical. People who are incompetent at their jobs are also incompetent in judging how good they are at their jobs. This father is positive he is a good father, fighting for his children, although he is no help to them at all. There is a terrific scene when he tells his wife how hard he tried in the last year of their marriage. "Remember, I made hamburgers once!" It doesn't help matters that the wife, and we, find the statement to be hilarious. There's just no way this guy will ever "get it."

------

I took a half hour break after "The Squid and the Whale" and then saw "The Family Stone." What a shock to the system, this film was. The commercials emphasized the humor in the movie, but it was fundamentally not funny. Instead, it tugged at our heartstrings, taking every opportunity to wring sentimentality out of a not very interesting situation. The plot was stupid, the people were mean-spirited, the resolution was inauthentic and the ending was tacked on. It was definitely a major waste of my time. More than that, it was mean spirited and amazingly cynical. Again, we have a disgusting "liberal" family who somehow are unable to be tolerate anyone outside their insular clan. Kind of the opposite of the concept of "liberal" if you ask me.

Spoiler ahead! This time, the mother was the self-absorbed whiner whose picture is in the dictionary next to the term "inappropriate behavior." But, alas, she's dying of cancer, so we must feel sympathy for her. Honestly, I say good riddance, bitch.

Save your money.

Happy New Year

I'm hoping this day has found you in health and among people who make life interesting and fun for you! I am definitely enjoying just such a day myself.