Here’s a Palin I could support. I mean, I’d rather Bill Moyers ran for President, but Michael Palin wouldn’t be a bad second choice
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jf1y9s73Nos
Tag: YouTube
McCain is computer illiterate
The ad is actually pretty funny, and McCain did admit he is a relic from a prior age.
“Today is the first day of the rest of the campaign,” Obama campaign manager David Plouffe says in a campaign strategy memo. “We will respond with speed and ferocity to John McCain’s attacks and we will take the fight to him, but we will do it on the big issues that matter to the American people.”
The newest ad showcasing their hard line includes unflattering footage of McCain at a hearing in the early ’80s, wearing giant glasses and an out-of-style suit, interspersed with shots of a disco ball, a clunky phone, an outdated computer and a Rubik’s Cube.
“1982, John McCain goes to Washington,” an announcer says over chirpy elevator music. “Things have changed in the last 26 years, but McCain hasn’t.
“He admits he still doesn’t know how to use a computer, can’t send an e-mail, still doesn’t understand the economy, and favors two hundred billion in new tax cuts for corporations, but almost nothing for the middle class,” it says. It shows video of McCain getting out of a golf cart with former President George H.W. Bush and closes with a photo of him standing with the current President Bush at the White House. “After one president who was out of touch, we just can’t afford more of the same.”
[From The Associated Press: Obama mocks McCain as computer illiterate]
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQ2I0t_Twk0
Experience Muh Arse
Don’t know who either of these people are, but Tucker Bounds is unembarrassed to lie and evade the question about Sarah Palin’s vast experience taking over the Alaskan National Guard:
Campbell Brown interviews Tucker Bounds on Sarah Palin’s national security experience
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYYiw_y2qDI
Via TPM
McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds on CNN with a new line on Gov. Palin’s foreign policy experience: McCain and Palin have more combined military command experience than Obama and Biden put together.
Alaska and Russia
This might be the funniest1 talking point I’ve seen in years.
According to the Republican Party, Sarah Palin has foreign policy experience because Alaska is so close to Russia. Uhh, yeah, I guess it does border on the eastern tip of Siberia.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zP8uFPWxaA
By this reasoning, I am an expert on Japan2 because I lived in Guam for six months, even though I was only ten!
Footnotes:Tears of Rage: Richard Manuel is Dead
One of my most favorite songs ever is Tears of Rage from The Band‘s first album.
The opening track on 1968’s Music from Big Pink is one of the most perfect pop compositions ever. It is a perfectly atypical opening number and a perfect introduction to the intriguing style of The Band. It is also a depressing suggestion as to how much more perfect they could have been had Richard Manuel been able to keep himself from himself.
Co-written by Manuel and Bob Dylan, “Tears of Rage” is the painful lament of a betrayed parent. The first recorded version of the song is the Dylan-sung one that was released on The Basement Tapes. Dylan’s – usually extraordinary – ability to capture the essence of the song was utterly obliterated by Manuel’s on the official Big Pink reading. The extraordinary anguish in Manuel’s voice added exponentially to the already heartbreaking lyrics. The slower composition, Garth Hudson’s haunting organ, Robbie Robertson’s swirling guitar, the unparalleled rhythm of drummer Levon Helm and bassist Rick Danko (who also provides backup vocals), as well as Manuel’s own piano work combined for one of those very rare occasions in which Dylan was completely schooled on one of his own songs (ironically, Manuel does it again on the same album with his version of “I Shall be Released”).
Sadly, the mood of “Tears of Rage” was forebodingly symbolic of the pain and suffering that would eventually consume Richard Manuel – who hanged himself in 1986 after two decades of extreme substance abuse. Perhaps the rarest attribute of The Band was the deficiency of a definitive front-man. With three lead singers and all five members’ status as exceptional musicians, there was no member of The Band who was more important to its achievements than the other; but for the first five minutes of their first album, they seemed to revolve around one genius.
[Click to read more of Tears of Rage: Richard Manuel is Dead | Sound Affects | PopMatters]
Robbie Robertson’s greed re: publishing credits probably had some contribution to Manuel’s early death. Anyway, here’s a YouTubed searing live version from 1969.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DI6QdS3jiT8
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzXHj4SIlv4
On the topic of Robbie Robertson, and The Band, Levon Helm’s autobiography is a good, fun read. Highly recommended.
“This Wheel’s on Fire: Levon Helm and the Story of the Band” (Levon Helm, Stephen Davis)
The Band, who backed Bob Dylan when he went electric in 1965 and then turned out a half-dozen albums of beautifully crafted, image-rich songs, is now regarded as one of the most influential rock groups of the ’60s. But while their music evoked a Southern mythology, only their Arkansawyer drummer, Levon Helm, was the genuine article. From the cotton fields to Woodstock, from seeing Sonny Boy Williamson and Elvis Presley to playing for President Clinton, This Wheel’s on Fire replays the tumultuous history of our times in Levon’s own unforgettable folksy drawl. This edition is expanded with a new afterword by the authors.
Netflixed Bunny Lake Is Missing
“Bunny Lake Is Missing” (Otto Preminger)
Certain films are nearly great.
Director Otto Preminger’s dark film portrays the horror that befalls Ann (Carol Lynley), a single mom recently transplanted to London who shows up one day at her daughter’s nursery school to find she’s completely disappeared. Nobody seems to know the girl’s whereabouts, nor that she even exists, which leads the police (with Sir Laurence Olivier in the role of chief) to believe Ann is delusional. Can she convince everyone that she’s not insane? [Netflix Bunny Lake Is Missing]
Bunny Lake is Missing swerves on the edge of being a great, taut thriller, but doesn’t quite make it. Otto Preminger quickly disowned the film, I guess he only did it for the money. Fancy that.
I quite enjoyed watching the film, yet certain scenes were eye-rolling. Also the hysterical woman paradigm slightly over-played. I can understand why there is a remake in the works, since society was a wee bit more innocent about child-snatching in 1965, necessitating certain elisions in plot, and yet, I would not be surprised if the remake is too maudlin to be interesting.
The Zombies play on a state-of-the-art 23 inch television, at a local pub. Here’s a low-quality trailer on YouTube:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFX0iK0l7nI
And maybe I’m crazy, but the final crazed conclusion, the main characters eyeballs were so dilated, I’d swear they were dosed on something. 1965 “Swinging London“? Hmmm, wonder what substance it could be?
McCain and his never-ending housing gaffes
Astute observers of politics already realized that the Republican candidates are always elites, as are, by definition, nearly every politician. However, in our current toothless media climate, simply asserting that one is a thing1 and not another2 is generally enough for the assertion3 to get repeated endlessly on the talking head circuit. Vetting a candidates statement is a vestige of the old days, when the Fourth Estate served a different master – the citizenry – not their corporate overlords. Anyway, John McCain’s gaffe4 was so obvious the press had a field day. Daily Kos’ DemFromCT has compiled at least 10 stories covering the topic. Bwwwaahahaha…
Special Edition of John McCain and his seven eight houses. Do not swim with sharks while you cut your own jugular. See what happens when you do:
…
Ouch. If this were a prize fight, the ref would call it. But it’s politics, so he’ll just keep bleeding.
Note to the press… McCain and his campaign continue to make huge gaffes and unforced errors, such as showing up late at Saddleback, attacking Andrea Mitchell, overdoing the POW defense, etc. Meanwhile, Obama’s doing a great job managing the VP roll-out. Yeah, I know, the media narrative is that Democrats are always nervous and reactive, and Republicans are always efficient and confident, but look beyond the labels at this one.
[From Daily Kos: Your Abbreviated Pundit Round-up: Special Edition]
Video, with images of the houses, and a Cat Power soundtrack:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhuMgUkiVOY
[bushism]
Footnotes:- thanks to Bishop Joseph Butler [↩]
- though the full quote is “Every thing is what it is, and not another thing.” [↩]
- in this case, that Obama is an elite, and McCain is a common man. Yeah, right. [↩]
- he wasn’t sure how many million dollar homes he actually owned – was it seven? Eight? Four? [↩]
Charlie Parker Month
In honor of Charlie Parker month, a little bebop with Diz at the Hot House, 1952:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Clp9AeBdgL0
3:36 of scorching, swinging jazz. I wish the volume was better mixed (can hardly hear the bass, nor much of the drum), but at least the brass is clear.
You can’t really go wrong adding some Charlie Parker to your music library, there are collections and box sets for every budget. You could even pick up 78s, if you were willing to pay the price1
Such as:
“Best of The Complete Savoy & Dial Studio Recordings” (Charlie Parker)
“The Complete Verve Master Takes” (Charlie Parker)
[Ethan is more of a Free Jazz Aficionado, but he’s working his way back to Charlie Parker]
- and have the equipment to play 78s, duh [↩]
Chertoff Misleads on Laptop Searches
Surprising nobody, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Mike Chertoff mouthed statements that could be considered misleading in polite company, or out and out lies here in the Big Potato. Senator Russ Feingold calls Chertoff on Chertoff’s bs.
[Pip investigates a laptop]
Secretary Chertoff’s description of the newly published DHS policy on laptop searches was not just misleading – it was flat-out wrong. In an interview with Wired.com, the Secretary stated that “[w]e only do [laptop searches] when we put you into secondary [screening] and we only put you into secondary [screening] … when there is a reason to suspect something.”
But the actual policy that DHS published says the exact opposite. It does not even mention secondary screening, let alone limit laptop searches to those cases, and it expressly states that Americans’ laptops may be searched “absent individualized suspicion.”
Secretary Chertoff’s blatant mischaracterization of the DHS policy contradicts his claim to be engaging in greater “openness and transparency” on this important issue. His statements make it clearer than ever that as we work to protect our national security, Congress must also act to protect law-abiding Americans against highly intrusive searches.
[From Chertoff Misleads on Laptop Searches, Feingold Charges | Threat Level from Wired.com]
I’m glad Senator Feingold didn’t run for President – he wouldn’t have won, and instead he can concentrate on doing good in the Senate.
bonus, and totally unrelated, except in a vague sort of totalitarian way:
How to properly pronounce the Chinese capital, Beijing.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GE4dkpOdPw
Ted Stevens Is Indicted for Corruption
I’m sure the internet tubes will be buzzing tonight
Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska, the longest-serving Republican senator in United States history and a figure of great influence in Washington as well as in his home state, has been indicted on federal charges of failing to report gifts and income.
Mr. Stevens, 84, was indicted on seven felony counts related to renovations on his home in Alaska. The charges arise from an investigation that has been under way for more than a year, in connection with the senator’s relationship with a businessman who oversaw the home-remodeling project
[From Alaska Senator Is Charged With Failing to Disclose Gifts – NYTimes.com]
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f99PcP0aFNE
and httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cZC67wXUTs
and probably dozens of other YouTube compilations
Get Paid
Harlan Ellison tells us, “Get Paid”! Applies to photography (no more freebies if there’s an option), music, writing, everything. Especially when a corporation as wealthy as Warner Bros is asking for free content, why should they get it?
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mj5IV23g-fE
(Note, Harlan Ellison uses many, many NSFW words, so adjust your viewing accordingly)
Nine Below Zero
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrzJjQ6hdUA
This song is more up my alley, especially when the humidity here in the Big Potato hovers around 98%
Nine Below Zero – Sonny Boy Williamson II (Aleck Rice Miller) at the American Folk Blues Festival 1963
Rubberband Man
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNNGkybsLUI
For some reason, this damn song was stuck in my head.
Using the Web to Join the Attack
Proving yet again that 2008 is much different than previous elections years.1
But in the 2008 race, the first in which campaigns are feeling the full force of the changes wrought by the Web, the most attention-grabbing attacks are increasingly coming from people outside the political world. In some cases they are amateurs operating with nothing but passion, a computer and a YouTube account, in other cases sophisticated media types with more elaborate resources but no campaign experience.
So it was with the Parsley video, which was the work of a 64-year-old film director, Robert Greenwald, and his small band of 20-something assistants. Once best known for films like “Xanadu” (with Olivia Newton-John) and the television movie “The Burning Bed” (with Farrah Fawcett), Mr. Greenwald shows how technology has dispersed the power to shape campaign narratives, potentially upending the way American presidential campaigns are fought.
Mr. Greenwald’s McCain videos, most of which portray the senator as contradicting himself in different settings, have been viewed more than five million times — more than Mr. McCain’s own campaign videos have been downloaded on YouTube.
[From Political Freelancers Use Web to Join the Attack – NYTimes.com]
Just as the blog/webzine phenomena has changed the way we absorb news, so to is the YouTube era changing how we consume politics, especially in the compressed atmosphere of the presidential campaigns.
Mr. Greenwald said he had a political awakening after Sept. 11 and dedicated himself to making liberal films, an endeavor he said he could afford having been “lucky enough to have been majorly overpaid in commercial film and television relative to any rational measure.”
His highest impact has been with his video about Mr. Parsley. The montage was created with help from David Corn, Washington Bureau chief for Mother Jones, who unearthed video of Mr. Parsley inveighing against Islam and saying, “America was founded in part with the intention of seeing this false religion destroyed.”
Mr. Greenwald’s team combined it with video of Mr. McCain calling Mr. Parsley, “one of the truly great leaders in America, a moral compass, a spiritual guide.” The montage spread quickly across liberal Web sites, and made its way onto ABC News. Mr. McCain released a statement rejecting Mr. Parsley’s endorsement shortly thereafter.
“For years I sat in conversations with people who said the only way we can be effective is we have to raise $1 billion and buy CBS,” Mr. Greenwald said. “Well, Google raised a couple of billion and bought YouTube, and it’s here for us, and it’s a huge, huge difference.”
Like this hilarious Joe Cocker mashup, but with politics…
- and that a lot of the conventional wisdom about elections is bull since according to CW, 2008 is no different than 1932 [↩]
Word Association
Starring Richard Prior and Chevy Chase