Fox is up to their usual low standards of news reporting with this lovely story of people using “Hussein” in their name in order to show how meaningless a name is… Or as Fox News would put it.
Barack Obama’s middle name Hussein has been used in some corners as a rallying cry to cast false aspersions against him, but in a growing movement, some of his supporters are adopting his middle name as a show of solidarity with the candidate.
Some corners, also meaning, Fox News, the network that brought you the terrorist fist jab. And I suppose they’re really showing solidarity by pointing out how stupid something like using a candidate’s name against them. Of course, it could be more to the point that they’re just pointing out how stupid major news networks like Fox are for making an issue of a candidate’s name is.
But not to be outdone on the useless news and affront to journalism, CNN has brought us this gem. It’s nice to know that in our society that this is A. News B. Proof Obama is an elitist. C. A reason not to vote for him. D. A reason to complain about illegal immigration. E. a show of racism against Obama. And F. another reason to continue to say we should elect Clinton.
User comments, further proof that democracy is fucked.
Another one of the good guys dies while our ruling idiots continue to live on. This year has been sad indeed. Carlin, Clarke, Russert, Zelma Henderson (Brown v Board), as well as a host of those who made major advancements in science and authors.
“You know what’s interesting about assassination? Well, not only does it change those popularity polls in a big fucking hurry, but it’s also interesting to notice who it is we assassinate. Ya ever notice who it is, got to think who it is we kill? It’s always people who’ve told us to live together in harmony and try to love one another. Jesus, Gandhi, Lincoln, John Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, John Lennon – they all said, “Try to live together peacefully.” BAM! Right in the fuckin’ head! Apparently we’re not ready for that. Yeah, that’s difficult behavior for us. We’re too busy thinking around, sitting around trying to think up ways to kill each other.”
Mr. Bush, the presumptive Republican candidate for president, told reporters here today. “Use the capital that my administration will earn, with the Kuwaitis or the Saudis, and convince them to open up the spigot.”
Instead we spent said capital bombing the shit out of them. Worked out so well, didn’t it? After all, it only served to weaken the dollar which contributed to rising oil prices. And here’s a really sad bit from the article.
Asked why the Clinton administration had not been able to use the power of personal persuasion, Mr. Bush said: “The fundamental question is, ‘Will I be a successful president when it comes to foreign policy?’ “
I think we know the answer on this one.
He went on to suggest, as he did in answer to other questions, that voters should simply trust him.
That whole trust thing… We really shouldn’t have. It’s kind of sad when you come across article after article of things Bush said, promised, lied about and realize that, well, he sure fucked that up.
11. You are stacking oranges in the produce section of Costco. A co-worker angrily tells you that you are stacking the oranges the wrong way and that you do not know what you are doing.
They had some nice options such as ignore him, talk to your supervisor about your conduct, etc… The thing is, as with most of these hypothetical situation questions that these pointless assessments ask, none of the answers came anything close to what I would have done. Where was the option for what most humans would have done: stared at their co-worker wondering how on earth they could possibly be so pissed off about oranges? Furthermore, how exactly do you wrongly stack oranges? They’re round, meaning you’re somewhat limited to the base you’re using. After that there’s pretty much no way to fuck it up besides going too high. Still, I have to wonder about what could cause somebody to have such anger issues with fruit?
Recently I finished Mark Twain’s Letters from the Earth. I highly recommend it as a cultural commentary that is still highly relevant today in a society. What also stood out is how some of the sketches, written over a century ago could be read today and still apply without even having to change a thing. The particular sketch VI Two Fragment from a Suppressed Book Called “Glances at History” or “Outlines of History” stood out as a good example of the relevancy of Twain to today’s times. This sketch, starting on page 109, interrogates on the surface level the idea of just how patriotism is used and manipulated in war time (sound familiar). In fact, I’m surprised that this particular sketch hasn’t been brought to more attention. Take for example this passage.
“Our Country, right or wrong! An empty phrase, a silly phrase. It was shouted by every newspaper, it was thundered from the pulpit, the Superintendent of Public Instruction placarded it in every schoolhouse in the land, the War Department inscribed it upon the flag. And every man who failed to shout it or who was silent, was proclaimed a traitor–none but those others were patriots. To be a patriot, one had to say, and keep on saying, “Our Country, right or wrong,” and urge on the little war. Have you not perceived that that phrase is an insult to the nation? (Twain 109-110)”
We have our own empty and silly phrases: “Support our troops,” flag pins, yellow ribbon, “change you can believe in,” whatever McCain’s catchphrase is, “the terrorist hate our freedom,” “no blood for oil,” etc. And what exactly do these phrases accomplish? Have they changed anything or do we just throw them at people we don’t agree with in order to act like we have some superior educated arguement? All they’ve really done is taken the place of a logical debate on an issue and galvanized it into a talking point that can be bandied about by those with little knowledge of the issues or an unwillingness to debate. They are in no way helpful to the Republic. As Twain would say, “The nation has sold its honor for a phrase. It has swung itself loose from its safe anchorage and is drifting, its helm is in pirate hands” (Twain 110).
One of the phrases that is certain to become quite annoying and overused in the coming election year is that of “if we surrender in Iraq the terrorist win.” Then there’s the host of other phrases that mean about the same thing. It sound familiar to something Twain wrote about a century ago, “‘Even if the war be wrong we are in it and must fight it out: we cannont retire from it without dishonor” (Twain 111). In reality, we could withdraw from Iraq as fast as our logistics would allow us. There’s nothing stopping us from physically withdrawing. Sure, it’d be a political disaster and could cause a lot of infighting among religious groups in Iraq, but all that would be hurt was our honor. Given that our world reputation is already taken a pretty big hit it’s kind of on the same boat as our national debt, what’s a few more points?
This sketch is also where we get the phrase “An inglorious peace is better than a dishonorable war” (Twain 111). Out of the entire sketch this is the one phrase that I have actually heard bandied around. The irony of this phrase being pulled out of the sketch and used as an anti-war slogan is saddening. In short, using phrases and ideology results in four dollar gas, a stagnant economy, and a crashing housing market. Debate, thinking, and an intelligent discourse, on the other hand, gets you a man on the moon, cures, robots on Mars, hydrogen cars, solar power, and glorious science.
Now for something a bit more light-hearted. So, having spent more time in Wal-Mart than I’d ever care to want to do in my life I came to one conclusion about the job skills that are looked for in a Wal-Mart Associate. The two most sought after skills in an associate is the amount of time spent watching Cops and NASCAR. Speaking of NASCAR (aside from being the product placement advertising kings of the world) they now have their own official potatoes. After all, when I think NASCAR I think potatoes.
Also on my travels I found myself in a Barnes & Nobles (where I sadly did not purchase anything). Now, some of you might be familiar with the stack of classic literature books that they have in those stores on sale (or at least have had on sale all year so far) with authors like Shakespeare, Tolstoy, Wilde, etc… you get the picture. Anyways, there was this guy standing in front of them reading a book. Kind of a redneckish looking guy wearing a Dale Earnhardt hat (indoors might I add). Anyways, since I actually did see the book he was reading I found it interesting that it was actually a picture book from somewhere else in the store. It just struck me as a easy to understand example of sign exchange value at work.
Really North Point Church? You know I have even bigger idiots following me to keep tabs on my godless commie ways, right?07:02:45 AM September 01, 2010from Echofon
