A tsunami is building ...

I went to a rock concert tonight and a political rally broke out.

The Barack Obama wave rolled into Phoenix tonight and I was very happy that I took time off work to attend. I was one of more than 200 volunteers who helped with crowd control and other logistics at the Coliseum. When the doors opened just after 3 p.m. people poured into the arena and they just kept coming. I will estimate that there were 10-12,000 people there. I eventually worked my way down by the stage and when he came out I took some photos and shook his hand. When he finally made it up onto the stage, the roar from the crowd nearly popped my eardrum. He is definitely a rock star and he delivered a terrific speech, saying all the right things. The only thing left for me was to ask myself if I could believe in him. Until two days ago I had my doubts. I supported Edwards, think highly of Clinton, and just wasn't sure if Obama was for real. But for various reasons I decided to support Obama a couple of days ago and went today to see if I made the right decision. I am now convinced that Barack Obama is the candidate who can fill people with hope, rise to the ocassion and turn the country in a new direction.

Barack Obama '08

How can he see in there?

Chris Matthews continues to be an embarrasment, especially when compared to the man he is sitting next to tonight, Keith Olbermann.
We just watched Matthews interview Saint John McCain about Bush's SOTU speech. Matthews was so far up McCain's butt that we may need to drill a hole to pump in some oxygen while we wait for the rescuers from the Mine Safety and Health Administration to arrive.
God, I wish I knew how to do a Google Bomb for Chris Matthews and Fluffing.*

*Warning -- Mature content.

The Army gets it, and does something about it.

The slander against Obama continues in the shadows, but the Army is setting their people straight:

By Bryan Bender, Globe Staff
WASHINGTON -- The military has warned soldiers not to use official computers to forward a chain email that falsely accuses Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama of being a Muslim who attended a radical Muslim school, saying distribution of the information is a violation of Army regulations and constitutes unlawful political activity.
The memorandum, dated Thursday, came after the discredited claims about Obama's background were sent from an Army computer to what appear to be thousands of Army personnel worldwide.
"Currently there is a Chain Email floating around with the Subject line: 'Who is Barack Obama,' " states the official warning, which was sent to all personnel who work for the Army Medical Command, based in Fort Sam Houston, Tex. "Like virtually all chain emails this one is false."

If you know anyone who believes this or is helping to perpetuate it, bring them into the light of truth ... or hit 'em on the head with a hammer. Whichever one works.

Silly President, Silly Internet Stuff

I'm sitting here listening to George Bush give his State of the Union speech. Urp. I think I just threw up a little in my mouth.

To make this more enjoyable, I found this time waster on Shakesville:

Make your own album cover!
You will need some graphic skills .... Here’s what you do:

• The article you get when you click this link is your band title
  
• The last four words of the last quote on this page is your album title


• And on this page the third picture, the one in the upper right, will be your cover photo.


• When you create it, make sure you make it a square so that it’s a realistic album cover.

Mine is at the top. Ngoila is a village in Cameroon. The words are from a quote by Thomas Jefferson.

Stuff happens!

Over at the Daily Kos site, there is a great post about a creative, powerful 20-minute film called The Story of Stuff about the flow of resources through our consumer society. Kos contributer Devilstower writes:

"If you haven't seen the film go now. Seriously. Right now. You'll be glad you did. Because this short film is as direct, effective, and eye-opening on consumer society as An Inconvenient Truth is on climate change."

Here is a teaser clip of The Story of Stuff:



The time I spent watching this video was well worth it. Do a favor for yourself, your children, your grandchildren, your great-grandchildren, etc., and watch this video. Then pass it along to a friend, a teacher, a teenager, anyone who cares about this planet and our quality of life.

Don't break this chain or (insert cataclysmic event here) ...

My cousin Kenny shocked the hell out of me today. He forwarded another chain e-mail to me about a presidential candidate ... and this one was actually TRUE.
I couldn't believe it, because he has a batting average on these things far below the Mendoza line. Kenny works his tail off each week (usually more than one job) and I always know when he has some time off, because I suddenly receive a wave of chain e-mails. They are usually patriotic, political, incendiary, and most often ... complete bullshit. Sometimes I don't wast my time and just hit delete right away, other times I laugh, or I blow a gasket and get worked up enough to reply to him and refer him, once again, to http://www.snopes.com/, the best place to fact-check urban legends and chain letters.
So in honor of cousin Kenny, and anyone else who forwards these obnoxious things around the Net without checking them first, here are some helpful links:

• Barack Obama is not a Muslim, did not get sworn in on the Koran, etc., etc., etc.
• Hillary Clinton did not help free two Black Panthers accused of torture and murder, etc., etc., etc., with some Bill Clinton thrown in for good measure.
• Mitt Romney and his dog.
• Mike Huckabee, his son, and the dog.
• John McCain
• and ... President George W. Bush!

Remember ... www.snopes.com

It's just a small obsession ... nothing to worry about.

I just can't get this tune or this music video out of my head! If you saw the movie Inside Man with Clive Owen and Denzel Washington, a hip-hop version of this song played over the end credits. It is called Chaiya Chaiya and it is originally from the Bollywood (India/Hindi film industry) movie Dil Se which came out many years ago. The setting and choreography of this video is amazing (it takes place on top of a moving train). Hindi music videos are trippy and fun. The women sing like they are inhaling helium and everyone dances in sinc like there's no tomorrow. If you haven't watched many Bollywood films, here are a couple of recommendations: Salaam Bombay, The Namesake (on my list to see) and my personal favorite Monsoon Wedding.



Enjoy!

If they say it's working ... it ain't working.

The real accomplishment of Bush's last year in office will be:

Operation Dump This Mess on the Next President

Torture is not an American value.

Al-Qaida recruit Jose Padilla was sentenced Tuesday to 17 years and four months in prison on terrorism conspiracy charges. Worldwide terrorism is a threat to the U.S. and many other nations, and we must pursue the perpetrators and bring them to justice. But justice is the key word. The government's handling of the Padilla case is a stain on this country's honor.
John Cole over at Balloon Juice gets it right:

"I don’t think there is any way to interpret this sentence other than as a rebuke to the government, who had been asking for life while insisting Padilla is a grave threat (yet, conveniently, never presented any evidence of that threat). ... I don’t know what the real story of Padilla’s involvement (if any) in this mess might be, and since most everything we do know was obtained while torturing the man, I doubt we ever will. I suspect that in the future, when cooler heads look back at this disgraceful period in our nation’s history, the alleged villainous treachery of Jose Padilla will be greatly overshadowed by the outrageous treatment he received and the dishonest and bumbling campaign to subvert the law while attempting to publicly convict him. The real story is not Jose Padilla, who for all we know may actually have been dangerous, but who is now, courtesy of the Bush administration, a broken and mentally deficient mess. The real story will be of the little men who, in moments of great patriotic fervor, decided it was up to them to destroy our nation’s principles in order to save us all. History will not look kindly on those pikers."

For a much more detailed and expert view on the Padilla case go to Firedoglake.com.

Beware the blog swarm ...

When I e-mailed my Aunt Jay and told her about my new blog, she replied, "What's a blog?"
I've been reading political and news blogs for several years, so this surprised me a bit. But for many people, blogs are new, they can be confusing, and their nature and purpose is often misunderstood. But don't underestimate their potential. One blog may not make a big difference in any particular issue, but collectively they can challenge conventional wisdom, change a media narrative, and drive a movement (Howard Dean, Ron Paul, etc.).
If you want to better understand how this works, read this article by Eric Boehlart on "The Tweety Effect" and how progressive bloggers knocked MSNBC's Chris Matthews to his knees after the New Hampshire primary. It's a long article, but well worth it.

Lies R Us!

Over at TPM Muckraker, Paul Kiel says:

Somebody had to do it. And hooray to the Center for Public Integrity and Fund for Independence in Journalism for doing it. The groups counted and documented every Bush administration false statement made in the run up to the invasion of Iraq. Every one. It was a bit like counting snowflakes, to be sure, but here's what they came up with:

They documented 935 false statements in the two years following September 11, 2001, about the national security threat posed by Saddam Hussein's Iraq.

The time has come for America to hear the truth about this tragic war.

Today, while driving around, we heard excerpts from several speeches by Martin Luther King Jr. Hearing his voice, his amazing oratory skills, was inspiring, but left us with a hollow feeling, too. Because we tried to think of a public speaker today who could write and deliver such eloquence and transcend his time. But, we came up blank. Some are saying that Barack Obama may be that person. Time will tell. At this point, I see him inspiring a lot of followers when he speaks, but I get this feeling that I've heard it before. It may be a message we need to hear today, but I'm not sure it is original or that any of his speeches will be written about 40 years from now. Yet when you read King's speech "Why I Am Opposed to the War in Vietnam" (from April 30, 1967, at the Riverside Church, New York) Or listen to it (below) it still resonates, and even casts a large shadow over today's Iraq War.

Sunday's Best

I love the Sunday New York Times. The amount of news and information in it probably equates to a full week of the Arizona Republic. The Arts & Leisure section alone is worth the price. There are several interesting articles from today's paper that tie into that generational gap that I blogged about last week. Several articles address generational differences on things like cell phone habits, play and games, and political involvement.

• Anyone remember the Spriograph? Lincoln Logs, Tinker Toys and all the other great toys of decades past? The inventor of the Hula Hoop died this week and this article looks at fads and The Joy of Silly.

**"...modern toys, for all their technological sophistication, tended to lay down the rules, where the wacky toys of yore tended to be more open ended. A Hula Hoop lets you make up your own dance; Dance Dance Revolution gives you the steps. A guitar lets you create; Guitar Hero “is really well defined.” **

• Can you imagine writing a book completely on your cell phone? Or reading one? Cellphone Novels are a growing trend in Japan.

**The affordability of cellphones coincided with the coming of age of a generation of Japanese for whom cellphones, more than personal computers, had been an integral part of their lives since junior high school. So they read the novels on their cellphones, even though the same Web sites were also accessible by computer. They punched out text messages with their thumbs with blinding speed, and used expressions and emoticons, like smilies and musical notes, whose nuances were lost on anyone over the age of 25.**

• Humorist Streeter Seidell challenges Liberals who want to guilt the younger generation for not being more politically involved:

**“Studies” by “scientists” are claiming that we’re the “look at me” generation — that we’re all a bunch of self-absorbed, egotistic narcissists hell-bent on being the center of attention at all times. We’re flattered you’re talking about us but I believe that honor belongs to our mentors: the generation responsible for the boob job, the tummy tuck and jogging. The most self-absorbed thing we’ve invented is a secret language that cannot be understood by anyone over thirty and l00k5 5om3th1n6 l1k3 th1s.**

• Dave Eggers writes about college students who are attracted to the positive and idealistic message of Barack Obama but fear he will have to "go negative" to win the Democratic nomination.

**But for a lot of young people, electing the next president shouldn’t require the kind of campaigning that gives rise to violent analogies — body blows, drawing blood, war rooms. This is exactly what Luisa fears, that to shave a few points off Hillary Clinton’s numbers, Mr. Obama will have to get mean. “That would be the end for me,” she said. “Then he’d be just like the rest of them.” **

"Chewy" to his friends.

One of my favorite "new" actors is Chiwetel Ejiofor, pronounced "chew-it-tell edge-oh-for", or "Chewy" to his friends. Everyone in the family likes him because he is in some of our favorite films from recent years (more on those later), and he has good looks and a lot of acting range, always in a supporting role. In today's NY Times, I read that he is receiving glowing reviews ("London’s newest stage luminary") for his performance in the title role in "Othello" in London, alongside Ewan McGregor as Iago. Here's a quote:

"His intensely human Othello is a major achievement. It ranks among the handful of truly great Shakespearean performances I’ve seen. ... Mr. Ejiofor takes us to a realm we too rarely visit at the theater: the innermost recesses of the human heart ... there is not a single hollow or grandiose note in Mr. Ejiofor’s performance. Handsome and charismatic, he strides the stage with an easy majesty and his voice has a lustrous, mellow beauty. But his Othello is human scale, quick with a warm laugh at his own expense, and of a tenderness that rends the heart."

Check out some of Chiwetel's best performances in these films:
Serenity, Inside Man, Children of Men, Love Actually, Kinky Boots, American Gangster, Amistad, Talk to Me, Melinda and Melinda, and Four Brothers.

Media drives the McCain bus

Sure, I hammered Mitt Romney yesterday. But today is another day. And a beautiful one at that, because while I am giving him a boost (via Mattew Yglesias), I actually get to hammer John McCain AND the Beltway Media.

This morning, Mitt Romney had more delegates than John McCain. Following today's primaries, Romney's lead has grown even larger because Nevada has more delegates than South Carolina and Romney won a larger proportion of the vote in NV than McCain got in South Carolina. Naturally, the press is declaring this a big win for McCain. I just saw Howard Fineman explain that "there is no longer any strong candidate in the race" to oppose McCain. Nobody but the guy who's leading, that is.

The media pundits from the Washington D.C. beltway absolutely love Saint McCain. And it looks like they don't care for Romney. Just watch ... everything that happens in the campaign over the next few weeks will be bad news for Romney and great news for McCain, according to these pundits.

Anyone want to make a prediction?

As Americablog notes:
One year from today, we will have a new President of the United States.
Between now and then a lot of damage can still be done.

A news reporter rises to the occasion ...

I found this confrontational exchange between Mitt Romney and Associated Press reporter Glen Johnson fascinating. Take a good look at the expression on the Mittster's face when the reporter challenges his assertion in public. Dan Savage blogs about it here:

"The reporter sitting on the floor putting actual, tough, reality-based questions to Romney is AP reporter Glen Johnson—and someone ought to pin a medal on him. Romney lied, Johnson called him on it. He didn’t run off and find a Democrat or a rival for the GOP nomination to “dispute Romney’s claim.” He reacted the way any reporter—any person—ought to react when they’re being lied to."

I found the reporter's assertiveness refreshing compared to the actions of many other reporters covering the presidential campaigns. Martin Schram in the Sacramento Bee shares similar feelings.

UPDATED: I exchanged the initial YouTube video I posted with one that better explains why Mitt Romney's statement was so disingenuous. Of course, all of the campaigns have lobbyists attached at their hips, but Slick Mitt tries to say he is above that sort of thing. He will say anything to anyone at any time if it will help him get elected.

UPDATE II: The name Barbara Comstock pops up in the video above as a close Romney advisor. Here is ... a brief history of Barbara Comstock's corrupt shenanigans.

That ugly teeter-totter ...

Anyone remember STAGFLATION?

Dancing on a Corpse

Over at Media Matters, Eric Alterman highlights an outstanding post by Tom Engelhardt about the absurdity of the discussions in the media and elsewhere related to the perceived "success" of the President's surge strategy in Iraq.

"So, here's a simple reality check: The whole discussion of, and argument about, "success" in Iraq is, in fact, obscene. Given what has already happened to that country -- and will continue to happen as long as the U.S. remains an occupying power there -- the very category of "success" is an obscenity. If violence actually does stay down there, that may be a modest godsend for Iraqis, but it can hardly be considered a sign of American "success." ... Folks, it's obscene. We're doing victory laps around, and dancing upon, a corpse."

And now, your moment of Zen ...

I created this panoramic image composite from photos I took in October at the Japanese Gardens in Portland, Oregon. Enjoy.