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***Entry 527***
Thursday, May 22, 2003
04:37 p.m.
Gas Masks In Action
If you've wondered where I've been lately, the only decent answer I can give is oblivion. Yes, kids, I've sunk into a hole so deep that 'code orange' and 'terrorism' have become merely rhetoric. Oh, wait, I've been rejecting the 'fear culture' for months...even though I periodically glance at the headlines of the Washington Times as I walk to work.
But, it seems the 'fear culture' has caught up to me via this search for 'gasmasks in action.'
Since I thought this was hilarious, I clicked the link and checked out the other sites. One of the paid advertisers was saferamerica. Currently available there: SARS protection gear, protection suits and protection suits for kids.
Tell me now...why do I think this is still funny...
***Entry 526***
Tuesday, May 20, 2003
03:03 p.m.
Irony Isn't Dead
Reading Foucault's Discipline and Punish while attending the trial of the three Shirts Off antiwar activists arrested during the day after actions, really messed with my mind. And the worst thing is that it totally wasn't intentional, really.
***Entry 525***
Monday, May 19, 2003
04:45 p.m.
Oh...Ari! Why, Why, Why?
Matt beat me to the punch with the 'shallow analysis' of the departure of the illustrious, entertaining Ari. Presidential press conferences will be less enjoyable now that the beautiful balding Ari is departing.
***Entry 524***
Monday, May 19, 2003
11:24 a.m.
My Work/My Life
I've gotta be brief, I've got a lot of work to do today:
1. Check out this New York Times article about the Organic Consumers Association's campaign for Organic Standards for Body Care. It's great!
2. And...prepare for this teach-in on Iraq, Preemptive War and Democracy. I'll be posting more about this in the future.
***Entry 523***
Friday, May 16, 2003
11:52 a.m.
Facing Political Reality: On Style, Substance, and Strategy
I complained below [See ***Entry 519***] about the media's lack of skepticism with the heavily orchestrated Bush Administration events. Well...today this article by Elizabeth Bumiller about Bush's 'stagecraft' appeared on the front page of the New York Times. Although it elucidates the often-brilliant Bush administration advance work, it fails to articulate the implications of choosing style over substance. See this, from White House Communications Director Dan Bartlett [and the second half of the story.]
"We pay particular attention to not only what the president says but what the American people see," Mr. Bartlett said. "Americans are leading busy lives, and sometimes they don't have the opportunity to read a story or listen to an entire broadcast. But if they can have an instant understanding of what the president is talking about by seeing 60 seconds of television, you accomplish your goals as communicators. So we take it seriously."
Now, this article was a 'news feature,' so it's completely possible to imagine what Bumiller could have written to follow this quote: maybe an analysis of the media's soundbyte-strategy [ala Fishkin] or even--although I hate to say it--television culture [ala Putnam]. Nearly *anything* about how anti-deliberative these staged events really are would have soothed me.
Nope...she moves on to the costs associated with such dramatic staging. Only once does she briefly mention the controversy over the "Made in China" boxes being covered up and replaced with a banner saying "Made in U.S.A."
So, Bumiller's strategy is to expose the Bush Administration's strategy of style over substance, while not contributing anything substantive to the analysis. A multifacited 'stagecraft': that's political reality.
***Entry 522***
Thursday, May 15, 2003
10:41 a.m.
Weekly West Wing Review
Departures/Arrivals: Political Reality
There's something all-too-fitting about a season that begins with Josh and Toby vowing to make life easier for middle-Americans [See ***Entry 54***] and ends with *John Goodman* --a republican--taking over for President Bartlet. There's *so* much symbolism in this move, given the sad, sad departure of Aaron Sorkin [See entry directly below.] Along that note, it was also symbolic that a commercial for Rob Lowe's new NBC show aired directly after the West Wing ended.
I've been watching the West Wing since it premiered. I was a freshman in college then. I watched the show in my dorm room with the lights turned off. I told my friends not to interrupt my viewing. I bunkered down and kept my eyes glued to the TV because Aaron Sorkin's West Wing was what I wanted American Politics/American Democracy to look like: articulate, intelligent, deliberate and dynamic.
The importance of the West Wing on American political culture is just beginning to be explored. It spawned "Martin Sheen is my President" bumper stickers in the wake of the 2000 election fiasco. And everyone I talked to seemed to infuse the West Wing with idealism.
To those friends of mine who laughed at my choice to be unavailable from 9-10pm on Wednesday nights and criticized me for not living in 'political reality:' you will never know what you missed.
All this on a television show? I've gotta get back to work. Sorkin's departure, on the shallow note, means even I have to return to 'political reality.'
Update @ 5:58pm
Josh's theory: the departure of VP Hoynes=the departure of #2 executive producer Thomas Schlamme. The departure of President Bartlet=the departure of Sorkin. According to the earlier story, the West Wing is now in the hands of #3 executive producer John Wells, a moron who is going to take the West Wing downhill. Similarily #3, the Speaker of the House--John Goodman's character--just took over the presidency. Great.
***Entry 521***
Wednesday, May 14, 2003
05:07 p.m.
Hours Later,
I find myself blogging again. I kind-of have to, given this.
Idealism was the sex of "The West Wing," an élan vital that drove even small-minded people to mad acts of ethics.
It was the most romantic show on television.
That will change next season. Aaron Sorkin, the creator, writer and executive producer of "The West Wing," is not returning to the show, and neither is another executive producer, Thomas Schlamme.
The writer, Alessandra Stanley, argues that the West Wing will become like every other show on television: clumsy dialogue, stock characters and flippancy. In other words, tonight's episode is the last real glimpse into Aaron Sorkin's political utopia--no, it's not always perfect in the end, but it's beautiful to watch it play out and it's more democratic than contemporary politics.
Frequent readers of the Nominally/Arbitrary Project can grasp my 'subtle' hints of fear when approaching change. My fear of finishing my thesis, my fear of graduating, my fear of the real world. It's strange that this fear is occurring now because of a television show. And, yet as Stanley describes and many others have more thoughtfully articulated, the West Wing circa Sorkin, was far more than a television show.
Tonight's the end of an era, for sure. And like most television shows, I've blown the importance of the end far out of proportion. If this entry was a Sorkin written West Wing episode, it would be dramatic, elegant, thoughtful, nerve-wracking, but in the end...it would keep on going.
I, for one, wonder if I can watch next season.
***Entry 520***
Wednesday, May 14, 2003
12:42 p.m.
Quick, Breathe, and Take Action
I'm holding down Mintwood for the rest of the week, as Adam's off at the All Things Organic Trade Show in Austin, Texas. This means, I'm extremely busy and won't be blogging much. [Hmmm...It's not like I've been a prolific blogger lately anyhow.]
Before I depart to tackle a new project for the day, I wanted to advise you to take action for the "Truth in Trials Act." Medical marijuana patients and providers will thank you.
***Entry 519***
Tuesday, May 13, 2003
10:39 a.m.
Seriously Now, Who Should Stop the Spin
Rhetoric and Responsibility During Bush II
Like consensus process, Karl Rove is the antithesis of democracy. Nice catchphrase, eh. Don't quote me on it though, I'm not taking myself too seriously these days. Well how can I since I'm not orchestrating this trail of 'speeches' Bush is giving all over the country this week. Seriously now, am I the *only* one who sees these 'tax cut' speeches for what they are: nothing less than Bush's 2004 campaign.
Of course, there's the nominally conventional wisdom that Bush's campaign, much like Clinton's, never really ended when he was in office. Since the beginning of this farce of an Administration, Rove has beenwandering around the White House planning fundraisers and kick off dates at all times. It's pretty clear that he's strategizing about how he can maintain his/Bush's monopoly on power. And all Bush has to do is wander around the midwest--passionately emphasizing words like "terrorism" and "Saddam" and "weapons of mass destruction." They're in every speech he gives--even if the topic is the completely unrelated issue of "tax cuts."
We know how deceptive the Bush administration has been. We shouldn't trust Bush or Rove or anyone else meandering about the White House to tell us the truth about these speeches. That's the media's role; however, each time Bush opens his mouth in some midwestern city with some dramatic background--at least one of the 24 hour networks play his speech in full. As if it is news. It's the same speech. It's his campaign speech. And it may be another city each time--but the audience cheers at the same points as if they're being controlled. Why?
And, I'm seriously worried about American democracy. We can't trust the administration because of the spin and we can't trust the media because they aren't looking critically at Bush/Rove's agenda. [And the Dems? See the 'tax cut speeches' link above. It's pretty insightful.] This is the 2004 campaign season and no one is being responsible enough to tell the people what's happening.
Bush is speaking now in Indianapolis and I just heard the word "terrorism." Here come the cheers.
***Entry 518***
Monday, May 12, 2003
05:35 p.m.
Today's Lead Story...
...is the Jayson Blair fiasco...
1. Julian writes about the implications for affirmative action.
2. Matt writes about the implications for the media industry. But...Joanne had it right to link to Magnatose's analysis of the situation. There's a lot to be said about detailing the implications of an event, but there's also something enticing about this:
when the credibility of the newspaper, the only credible source of news these days, goes down the shitter because of a flaming fiction writer who thinks he can get on the front page we are in big trouble. let him burn in hell after being eaten alive by a pack of roving wolves.
I should have linked to that last week...
***Entry 517***
Monday, May 12, 2003
05:24 p.m.
New Links
I've added a new section "Arbitrary Associations #2" to the grey sidebar. This section includes recent Mintwood clients. Hopefully, it will encourage "Nominally/Arbitrary" readers to check out some of the great organizations out there.
***Entry 516***
Monday, May 12, 2003
12:10 p.m.
Something To Say...Again
Last night, in a blog-based conversation Jill noted the difference between our blogs: I post on a semi-regular basis with random links to whatever [er] floats my boat. Jill, on the other hand, posts only when she feels something is cool enough to post about.
That difference is somewhat nullified today: I have plenty of cool post-weekend things to blog about and I have several exciting developments, which right-well may change the direction of my life. But, in all honesty, I'm not interested in blogging about any of that [yet].
Instead, I send you along to the muddied New York Times for this attempt to 'recast' the Dems 2004 campaign as a dichotomy. [This was discussed earlier in ***Entry 413***]
Really, blogging is just about being redundant.
***Entry 515***
Friday, May 9, 2003
04:36 p.m.
Breaking News: Bush Twins Smoke Weed
From The Week Online:
[Link]
Ashton Kutcher, star of the Fox TV hit "That '70s Show" and comedy
movie "Dude, Where's My Car?" has told a Rolling Stone interviewer
that presidential daughters Barbara and Jenna Bush, 21, got high
at a party in his home a year-and-a-half ago. The remarks came as
part of a profile of Kutcher's celebrity lifestyle and will appear
in the May 29 issue of the magazine, set to hit newsstands today
(Friday) and featuring the actor on the cover.
"So we're hanging out," Kutcher told interviewer Gavin Edwards.
"The Bushes were underage drinking at my house. When I checked
outside, one of the Secret Service guys asked me if they'd be
spending the night. I said no. And then I go upstairs to see
another friend and I can smell the green wafting out under his
door. I open the door, and there he is smoking out the Bush twins
on his hookah."
Kutcher told Rolling Stone he thinks the Secret Service has been
tapping his phone ever since.
No comment so far from the White House.
***Entry 514***
Friday, May 9, 2003
04:16 p.m.
Welcome to 'Sprummer'/ Welcome to the Blogosphere
Thanks to Dr. Beck, my leg is completely healed.
And...Magnatose has a blog.
Oh...it's Sprummer...
***Entry 513***
Thursday, May 8, 2003
09:48 a.m.
Weekly West Wing Review
Because All My Hits Today Are for 'The West Wing/Zoe'
Gov Exec beat me to the "rave on" description of last night's West Wing episode. Here's what they had to say:
We’re sorry: Did someone slip us some ecstasy? Because our head is swimming. Maybe it was just the relentless techno rave music in the last 15 minutes of the episode playing tricks with our brain.
All I can say, is that I will surely miss Aaron Sorkin, who successfully merged my fave things last night: politics and raves. The last fifteen minutes were *sheer brilliance.* [Of course, I wonder why he didn't mention the misguided "RAVE act".]
Next week should be amazing...
***Entry 512***
Wednesday, May 7, 2003
03:27 p.m.
Short Updates
1. The rumors are unfortunately true. There will be a Starbucks on the corner of 13th and U--right out of the U St/Cardozo metro stop. Two Starbucks on U St--NOBODY should claim they are 'scared' to walk in my neighborhood again. I feel ...so... sick.
2. Tonight is my second softball game! It's also the second to last episode of *Aaron Sorkin's* The West Wing. I'm hoping to catch both.
3. Yesterday, I finally sat down and read articles that I run off of Political Theory Daily Review. Out of everything I read last night, I suggest you read: this analysis of the 2000 election. It's called "The Blame Game." And it focuses on the Structural deficiencies in American democracy. Funny, since "The Blame Game: Structural Deficiencies in American Democracy" was the title of the first section of my award winning senior thesis. Ahh...nice.
***Entry 511***
Monday, May 5, 2003
05:02 p.m.
Strange Currencies/Worlds Collide
Moments ago, I got sent a press release from DC First about this:
"DCFirst.org," a grassroots organization supporting equal Congressional
representation and full local self-government for Washington DC, today ramped up its effort to promote a
DC First presidential primary. Specifically, the group launched a "Democracy Race" between the
residents of Iraq and the residents of DC.
The interesting thing is that I was being solicited to promote this on my blog. As you can see, I complied. Why?
Strange Currencies. Worlds Colliding. I'm a strong, vocal proponent of DC Democracy. I'm a blogger. And I'm a media consultant, who would be happy if more people linked to press releases that I write.
***Entry 510***
Monday, May 5, 2003
03:57 p.m.
Better Late than Never
My former-housemate Mike Kortsch wrote a piece last week about the European Defense Forces. The original lead was far different, but the story that corresponds to the change deserves to be framed on Mike's wall forever. Until then, read the story. Mike's an incredible and profound journalist. He deserves all the links and recognition he can get.
Some view the current rift as a passing storm rather than the realignment that will drive the United States and its European partners apart.
Peter Schmidt, senior researcher at Berlin’s Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, a respected policy group, doubts that Europe will emerge as a counter-force to the U.S. — a position advocated by France. “The world will not be a better place if we stalemate the Americans,” he said.
***Entry 509***
Monday, May 5, 2003
01:02 p.m.
Towards 'Real' Deliberative Democracy
FX has announced that it has dropped it's plans for a 2004 reality television show called "American Candidate."
The series, intended to let viewers pick a 2004 grass-roots presidential candidate, proved too expensive for the cable channel, FX Entertainment President Kevin Reilly said Friday.
'Let viewers pick a 2004 grass-roots presidential candidate?' Well...aside from the 'grass roots' idea, isn't primary voting about picking a presidential candidate?
Anyhow...I explored the implications of this 'reality show' in one of my earliest entries [***Entry 43***]... and I'm glad that this political joke hasn't panned out.
***Entry 508***
Monday, May 5, 2003
10:14 a.m.
Finally
Someone has taken the initiative to confront the Bush administration about its "Deck of Cards" strategy. Great stuff.
***Entry 507***
Friday, May 2, 2003
09:51 a.m.
The Weekly West Wing Review...
...is postponed due to this tragedy. Lament. Oh...Lament!
***Entry 506***
Thursday, May 1, 2003
12:22 p.m.
Si Se Puede!
Happy May Day everyone! Julian has a great post listing all the nice ways you can celebrate today. I, for one, will be heading to the Stand Up for Health Care for Janitors rally this afternoon and then heading out to play ball. Fun. Fun. Fun.
***Entry 505***
Wednesday, April 30, 2003
12:53 p.m.
A Rejoinder to "There Goes The Neighborhood"
Joanne has written about the increasing cost of living in *my* neighborhood in one of her interesting posts today. I've lived on Westminster St. for nearly two years. I've been friends with people in the neighborhood for almost three. I can say definatively that the neighborhood has changed.
In the last couple of weeks, the formerly plywood facade near the 10th and Vermont side of the U St. metro stop was converted into a bourgeois home and almost instantly sold. The one bedroom townhouse on 10th St. is under contract. And the only borded up home on Westminster-proper is being renovated.
People email me and tell me my neighborhood is cute. Passers-by, carrying groceries from the Logan Circle Fresh Fields [err...Whole Foods Market], greet me with nonchalant "hellos." Phil's, [aka: the 10th and S Market] now sells artichokes in addition to 40s of Schlitz and Red Bull.
"There Goes The Neighborhood" is accurate. But, I like Joanne, am not a fierce anti-gentrification activist, despite my earlier writings. When I moved into the neighborhood, it had a shady reputation. People were being shot at in the alley, in the metro, in the street. It wasn't a safe place to be after dusk. I wouldn't make some false claims to safety now that the neighborhood's changing dramatically, in the same way that I wouldn't take credit for being a gentrifier.
But, the reality is, I was one of the "first-wave" gentrifiers. In real estate lingo, according to my co-worker Ryan, I exemplify "the risk oblivious." As the Saint-Ex crew builds up strength in my neighborhood, I will no doubt begin to lament the changes taking place. I will look at the Fresh Fields shopping/artichoke buying/jet-set population for what they really are: "the risk aware" or second-wave gentrifiers bound to displace me.
Gentrification isn't wrong. In fact, it's often inevitable. And, there's little that can be done to ward it off. I just know that if I move from Westminster St., I will be forced to move from the entire neighborhood and be a "first wave" gentrifier again.
And as a Vomit-Inducing Side Note
The term, "U Street hipsters" is just another way of saying "first wave gentrifiers" but I believe it is far more repulsive. The term makes me feel like a middle school student clinging to the nominally-underground [think Bakesale-era Sebadoh], while exclaiming, "don't co-opt my culture." I'm not cooler than you, even if you say I am.
***Entry 504***
Tuesday, April 29, 2003
04:06 p.m.
Canada to ‘Depenalize’ Marijuana by Christmas
Canadian, European Leaders Call for End to Drug Prohibition, Better Public Policy
WASHINGTON, DC—Canadian Senator Pierre Claude Nolin predicted this morning that Canada will ‘depenalize’ marijuana by this Christmas. While ‘depenalization’ will not make marijuana legal in Canada initially, it will substantively shift public policy and create room for a broader discourse on the negative implications of international drug prohibition. In effect depenalization will abolish prison terms for marijuana offenses; however, small fines equivalent to minor traffic offenses could remain, depending on the provincial laws.
Senator Nolin, who chaired the Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs, stated that drug legalization would be preferable to depenalization because it would “effectively combat and tackle the growing influence of organized crime or terrorism over the long term and [would] provide better public health protection.” However, yielding to political realities, Senator Nolin argued in favor of depenalization, calling it a “new public policy on drugs.”
“As for the legalization of cannabis, even though Canada is a sovereign country that is free to pass any legislation it deems appropriate for the welfare of its citizens, the legalization of cannabis could only be considered while the United States is also doing so,” said Senator Nolin.
Senator Nolin was joined by Member of the European Parliament Marco Cappato and International Anti-Prohibitionist League (IAL) President Arnold Trebach at a press conference at the National Press Club this morning. Cappato and Trebach echoed Nolin’s calls for a “new public policy on drugs” and argued for the repeal or amendment of the three United Nations treaties which effectively prohibit illicit drugs internationally.
“After almost a century of prohibition, the burden of proof is on the prohibitionists. Because of their destructive and repeated failure, we see the need to take illicit drugs from the hands of the criminals and place them in the hands of the law, a whole new set of laws. We want to eliminate criminal profits and treat drug users and abusers as citizens, not as criminals,” said Cappato.
“Of one thing, I am certain: drug prohibition will not be forever. You can take that statement to the bank. In time, drug prohibition will only be a bad memory,” said Trebach, who added: “we in the IAL seek to replace the law of the jungle with the rule of law.”
To comment, go here.
***Entry 503***
Monday, April 28, 2003
06:36 p.m.
Workplace Choices
Maybe you've noticed how little I've been blogging lately. I could make a catchy-catch-all statement like, "It's not by choice" but it would be tragically inaccurate. Instead, as I have noted before, I've been busy. Incredibly busy. Working. On weekends, too.
But, I could be equally busy if I chose to blog all day. There's so much interesting stuff that's being written right now. And, while I can't deny that I spend part of my workday running off articles to read at home, I have to admit that I rarely take the time to describe what I have learned from them on the blog.
And at what cost?
How many of you would like to read rushed reviews of things I've been reading. For those of you who have chosen to read this blog for it's intellectual content--a rushed review would be a mighty let down. For others--a review of this sort would be meaningless and irrelevant. I choose a nominal third-way: mentioning what I read without describing it. A cop-out that satisfies no one, including myself. But, it's easier...Much easier than my recent experiences...
This weekend I flew to Houston for a rally related to this recent policy brief which urges Texas to implement criminal justice reforms, including treatment instead of incarceration for drug 'offenders.' I was shocked by the massive freeways leading to other freeways leading to other freeways. I was shocked by the chaos that ensued without effective zoning laws. I was shocked by how devastated Houston really is. [And, as a side note, I was shocked at my East Coast bias...]
I would say that I was the most tortured by the loss of my luggage on the flight home, but again, it would be inaccurate. I went to one of the drug treatment facilities and met some of the strongest people I have ever encountered. There, in a crumbling building surrounded by the projects and crime, a group of people struggled to overcome their addictions. The loss of my luggage was a nominal problem.
I've written numerous times lately about how I have theoretically justified my current job: it's about promoting ideas, perpetuating public debate, and getting attention for progressive causes. But, as I learned this weekend, it's also about how policies impact real people. Yes, I'm a humanist. That's a choice I have made.
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