Some additional reading August 24th from 16:31 to 23:00:
- BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Marley statue unveiled in Serbia – “A statue of late reggae legend Bob Marley has been unveiled in a small Serbian village during a rock festival as a token of peace in the Balkans.” There should be statues of Bob Marley in every city: I’ll wager there are fans of his music in every city. Rather see a Marley statue than some war lord/general on a horse.
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- History of Political Economy: A New Course I Am Not Going to Teach This Year–or the Year After – Pretty good list of books to read. I’ve read some, have purchased some that are on the unread pile, but some new to me.
- High Mercury Levels are Found in Tuna Sushi – Duh! – A blast from the past, a past that still is with us… “No government agency regularly tests seafood for mercury.”
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The Felonious American Dream – “Cindy’s father, who barely finished high school, went off and distinguished himself in World War II in a B-17 and came back with practically nothing and realized the American dream, and I am proud and grateful for that, and I think he is a role model to many young Americans who serve in the military and come back and succeed. I didn’t realize the American Dream included being a mobbed-up convicted felon. [http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/content/printVersion/167059 ]
But seriously, usually it’s the Democrats who are mobbed-up. Most Republicans have the money to engage in organized crime so high level that it’s called “foreign policy.”
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Germaine Greer on Condoleezza Rice and her power pearls | – I edited out the “pearl necklace” obscenity, you can imagine it yourself.
” Angela Merkel, the most powerful woman in Europe, wouldn’t be seen dead in the full-on row of pearls. I suspect that Helen Clark, prime minister of New Zealand, doesn’t have a pearl to her name. Pearls are tears; Diana Spencer wore her jewelled ligatures as signifiers of subjection. Condie Rice is George Bush’s creature, and when he steps down he will take her with him. The consensus is that she will not find another job in politics. Hillary has taken to wearing pearls in defeat, which leaves only Michelle.”
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Netroots and Housing Gaffe – and wouldn’t this be hysterically funny? Use 2004 talking points from conservatives against them.
“Glenn Greenwald has a list of the quotes from 2004 calling Kerry a gigolo. As a commenter has suggested, it should be possible to splice the audio quotes into a radio commercial or video. It would probably be quite inappropriate as an Obama campaign ad, but Brave New Films, some other group, or even the SaysMe route or a viral video, might work better.
Suggested framing:Here are a group of people slandering a good man who has served his country honourably.
– actual voices of limbaugh, coulter etc., edited to leave in the content but leave out the name of the person slandered –Shouldn’t political campaigns be about real issues than such character assassination?
The name of McCain never needs to be mentioned. It would both make the point about McCain and about right-wing hate.”
- democracyarsenal.org: Biden People – “But what has impressed me most, for years, is his staff. He knows how to pick ‘em, and that’s no small thing. Brilliant people come and go in DC, but rarely do they also have the ability to pick quality staff the way Biden does. His folks always are among the brightest from a policy standpoint, but also possess a sophisticated political acumen. It’s a rare but valuable combination. … I’ve always gotten the sense that their boss respected them for their abilities and listened to their ideas rather then them simply having to implement his. They were encouraged to push hard and dig deep on issues. …
As a result of having a staff that is so good, Biden is almost never behind the curve of policy developments. He’s proactive, not reactive.That’s a huge strategic advantage, and as a result, becoming a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is a badge of validation among foreign policy folks. “