An op-ed piece

This is an interesting op-ed piece on pro-life. It was published in the NY Times by Thomas Friedman, on October 27th 2012. This is a paragraph from the piece, which basically summarizes his viewpoint.

"In my world, you don’t get to call yourself “pro-life” and be against common-sense gun control — like banning public access to the kind of semiautomatic assault rifle, designed for warfare, that was used recently in a Colorado theater. You don’t get to call yourself “pro-life” and want to shut down the Environmental Protection Agency, which ensures clean air and clean water, prevents childhood asthma, preserves biodiversity and combats climate change that could disrupt every life on the planet. You don’t get to call yourself “pro-life” and oppose programs like Head Start that provide basic education, health and nutrition for the most disadvantaged children. You can call yourself a “pro-conception-to-birth, indifferent-to-life conservative.” I will never refer to someone who pickets Planned Parenthood but lobbies against common-sense gun laws as 'pro-life.'"

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/28/opinion/sunday/friedman-why-i-am-pro-life.html?_r=1&

Superman: Just Cory Booker Without his Glasses?

So I found it relevant with all the Sandy hooplah and LA dry fires, but I'm counterbalancing this unsettling article about the most anti-science candidates (old batty standbys Bachmann and Akin, plus eager new frontrunners like Mourdock) from Mother Jones...

...With this inspiring article about Newark Mayor/ part-time Superhero Cory Booker and how he helped locate trapped citizens post-Sandy with twitter and a pick-up van full of supplies. Eh? Faith restored? Little bit? What about these chows on laptops?

Questionable Terrorist Attacked Allegedly Cause by Youtube Video

hey guys so we've briefly referenced the youtube video that was thought to be the culprit behind the recent death of four US Citizens in Libya. This article at Forbes accuses the Obama administration and involved media outlets of exaggerating the youtube video phenomena as a means to dissuade public attention from this being a TERRORIST ATTACK so as not to draw negative voter opinions of the administration so near election time. In many ways - regardless of whether the deaths were in the name of the youtube video - the attack may be considered one of terrorism: right? Yet Obama avoided overtly discussing it outside of the youtube video context, as if to slyly keep the event from appearing like a weakness on the administrations defense against terrorism. What'd you think??

http://www.forbes.com/sites/billflax/2012/10/18/benghazi-four-americans-died-obama-lied-and-the-press-complied/

When it's time

I remember just a few weeks ago being at the Fall Summit to represent Sigma Tau Delta English Honors Society and that the presenters of the whole event only talked about how important it was for college students-- let alone us here at USF-- to go out and vote. What really stuck to me were the demographics of voters in the past two elections and even this year's. What I do remember was that the youth (roughly around 18-30) were minority voters in 2004 and are projected to be in 2012, whereas older voters (especially seniors) always voted.

The youth however, is very outspoken and it is a time in our lives where we are discovering who we are and what values and opinions we hold dear to us-- but does any of this matter when they don't vote? The Fall Summit felt less of a union of ASUSF and clubs and special organizations and more of a rally for all of us to encourage disengaged students to start engaging by voting. Nothing wrong with that, because they made a point. And we really are all passionate and outspoken from what I've seen on campus at involvement fairs and even on social media like Twitter and Tumblr à la political humor memes. But in the end, you're not making any change unless you put yourself out there.

Obama Predicts Republican Infighting

I found this article on the Huffington Post about an interview President Obama did with Morning Joe where he predicted republicans turning on eachother if he gets reelected.

It reminded me of the New Yorker piece we read about Paul Ryan, particularly regarding his and Eric Cantor's united front against speaker John Boehner. Do you think President Obama is right? Do you think if he is reelected the party lines won't be enough to stop the brewing power struggle within the Republican party? I kind of feel like that wouldn't depend on the election's outcome, or even that it might be more likely if Obama is not reelected, and they're no longer united against a common enemy.

The Focus on Ohio

Recently, both Presidential Candidates have been putting much of their effort and focus on the state of Ohio and for good reason. So far, it's a tie. This article looks at how the candidates are using endless campaign advertisements, speeches and visits to try to break this "dead even" tie.

http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2012/10/ohio_presidential_poll.html

Really close race. Per our conversation in class.

http://www.gallup.com/home.aspx

This is why I said I think Romney might win.

But who knows.

Very interested to see how this election turns out.

Romney plays flag football, Biden heads to PA

Here are two very different articles:

1. This one is about Romney's flag football game with journalists from the New York Times. It also discusses the ignorance of voters and the importance of the story or narrative of this election:

"This would be merely amusing if the media’s fixation with “narrative” didn’t actually affect the race. But it does. While a lot of people watched the first Obama-Romney debate, lots of people also did not watch; many only heard about it via media chatter and maybe from their friends/family/acquaintances. What major pundits say really does make a difference, unfortunately, since conventional wisdom trickles down to voters who don’t have the interest or the time to pay attention—all they’ll hear is Romney “exceeded expectations” or Obama looked “unpresidential,” and they won’t know that those verdicts were arrived at on Twitter 20 minutes into the debate by people largely disinterested in substance or policy."

2. This article is from a very different website, breitbart.com. It talks about Biden visiting Pennsylvania. The most interesting part for me was not the ridiculous writing, but the comments below the piece. One commentator even posted a song, labelled: "JOE BIDEN- WHITE HOUSE IDIOT AND CLOWN."

Obama Talks Romney, A Bulls****er

Read on Obama's Interview with Rolling Stone Magazine that has surprising remarks on the instincts of the young, his real opinion on Romney and the Republicans, and his successes during his term as President. Look, here

Republican Party Rape Advisory Chart

An interesting study of political rhetoric (I especially enjoy the one about the Catholic Church giving out "those pills") Source

Hungry Like The Wolfe

http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2012/11/excerpt-tom-wolfe-book-miami-back-to-blood

The Onion: Writing Satirically and Politically

In response to a Republican-backed Senate candidate's remark during a debate this week that pregnancies from rape were "something that God intended", the Onion posted some interviews of reactions, in their satirical manner.

http://www.theonion.com/articles/senate-candidate-god-intended-pregnancies-from-rap,30079/

The Onion may not be a factual news source, but they've made a huge business out of speaking politically through writing and witticisms. They're something interesting to look at in the context of our class.

The Onion has fooled news sources of all kinds. They fooled the New York Times here using a cover of the teen magazine Tiger Beat with Obama's picture on the cover and the caption "I sing in the shower". They were most recently interpreted as a real news source by the Iranian news agency Fars here.

2012 Third Party Presidential Debate

Alternate end to the debate

New Yorker style!
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/borowitzreport/2012/10/debate-ends-abruptly-as-obama-punches-romney-in-face.html

Political Scandal

http://www.newyorker.com/images/2012/10/22/p465/121022_politics-cartoon-escapades_p465.jpg

As the great Councilman Dexhart once said, "I have no plans to resign..."

Missouri Pastor’s Fiery Speech Against Equal Rights for Homosexuals Has Stunning Twist Ending

Missouri Pastor’s Fiery Speech Against Equal Rights for Homosexuals Has Stunning Twist Ending

Did anyone else see this video? Pretty cool.

"Horses and Bayonets!"

What was your favorite oneliner from tonight's debate? This article has a great amount of pictures/memes/whatever you want to call them, that make fun of the "horses and bayonets" one-liner from tonight's debate. It even has a great chart that depicts the amount of tweets each part of the speech produced. ("Horses and bayonets" and "I think we all love teachers" were the highest tweeted.) The last one, featuring Jim from "The Office," was definitely my favorite-- but it was a close call.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/yourcommunity/2012/10/obamas-horses-and-bayonets-quip-trends-after-debate-1.html

Massive amounts of U.S. troops training in Israel, preparing for Iranian attack.

It seems like this Israeli-Iranian conflict is about to materialize any day now and yet somehow it has managed to escape the public's eye. Or maybe I am wrong. Either way, I'm sure this issue will receive a lot of attention after the next debate. 

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203400604578070690158891904.html

Third Debate is Crucial

In the third and final Presidential Debate tomorrow, the topic of Foreign Policy will be discussed. In a very close race between President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney, this debate will be crucial. This article looks at how this debate could help determine the election.

http://news.yahoo.com/obama-romney-foreign-policy-debate-could-determine-election-205701138.html

Wall Street CEO's to Washington: Avoid the fiscal cliff!

Wall Street to Washington: Avoid the fiscal cliff!

Wall Street Bank CEO's CEOs Lloyd Blankfein of Goldman Sachs, Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase and Brian Moynihan of Bank of America advise Congress and President Barack Obama to avert the "fiscal cliff" that could lead to recession. The Congressional Budget Office predicts unemployment rate to increase above 9 % in the private sector if economic downturn is not avoided. 

Link:

http://money.cnn.com/2012/10/18/news/economy/bank-ceos-fiscal-cliff/index.html?iid=H_E_News

Why vote? When your vote counts for nothing.

Here is brief bio for Kevin Baker as an introduction to his article in Harper's.  Some of the more notable things include his major in political science from Columbia, his City of Fire Trilogy comprised of historical novels  (Dreamland, Paradise Alley, Strivers Row), a contemporary baseball novel, and his work for Harper's Magazine, The New York Times, and the New York Times Book Review.

Who Was Wissam Al-Hassan?

Brigadier general Wissam al-Hassan, killed Friday by a large explosion in Beirut's Achrafieh district (photo: Haytham al-Moussawi)

Published Friday, October 19, 2012 on english.al-akhbar.com

Brigadier general Wissam al-Hassan, killed Friday by a large explosion in Beirut's Achrafieh district, was a top security official and a mysterious, controversial player in the Lebanese political-security arena since 2005.

Continue after the break:

Obama Gets Sassy in Virginia

"If you come down with a case of Romnesia and you can't seem to remember the policies that are still on your website, or the promises you have made over the six years you've been running for president, here is the good news: Obamacare covers pre-existing conditions," Obama bellowed. "We can fix you up. We've got a cure. We can make you well."

See the Romnesia video here.

'Bronx Obama'

New York native impersonates Obama just to get by. From taking pictures with tourists to putting on mock speeches in Times Square, Louis Ortiz makes the most of his presidential resemblance.

Bill Clinton: Did Someone Say Binders Full of Women?!

The Best Democracy Money Can Buy

Speaking of Tom Wolfe...

... check out this New Yorker article.

http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2012/10/15/121015crbo_books_wood

Binders Full of Women

In response to gender inequality in the workforce, Mitt Romney's remark about finding "binders full of women" that were appointed to his cabinet during his term as governor in Massachusetts has found much ridicule by social media. the one that stands out the most is this Tumblr blog devoted to spreading Romney's words around the web in good old satire fashion.

Basically, it's really amazing how blogging and the interwebs tackle politics on the spot in a matter of seconds. Politics is becoming more available through writing, especially on the web!

images via Tumblr

Comics

This is a super interesting collection of political comics. They comment on an array of things, I think you will get a kick out of some of them. It is also interesting because it seems that some comics have conflicting political viewpoints, but are still all on the same site.

http://www.gocomics.com/laloalcaraz

First World Problems

So I probably should be posting about tonights debate, but all that I got from it was that Obama thinks that Romney's policies are completely different from what Romney thinks they are-- and vice-a-versa. Basically, they spent 75% of the debate saying that the others' explanation was inaccurate, and then spending little time discussing their own policy; which the other candidate would just refute. If you didn't have time to watch it, here's a quick rundown:

Obama: My plan does this.
Romney: No, you're wrong. Your facts are false. My plan does so and so.
Obama: No, you're wrong. Your facts are false. My plan does so and so.
Romney: No, you're wrong. Your facts are false. My plan does so and so.

and so forth...

So instead, I decided to share a funny and satirical video about first world problems, which really applies to college students.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vN2WzQzxuoA

In Every Possible Way

"Before we can change things, we must call them by their real name..." Confucius

Presidential Debate Tonight

It may not be a post with the most depth, but hey, if it'll get people to watch the debate....

Presidential Debate Drinking Game

I'm going to shamelessly post this because i think its hilarious.  I'll most certainly be checking out the next round of debates! Ha!

http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/10/16/times-presidential-debate-drinking-game-round-2/

Keeping " the gov't out of our medicare" since the late 1800s

In Chapter 3, Condon's narrator in The Manchurian Candidate points out that, "the conception of people acting against their own best interests should not startle us. We see it occasionally in sleepwalk and in politics."

It reminded me of a bit in David Cross's "Bigger and Blackerer" comedy special where he talks about what he calls the "health care yellings" of 08', saying:

Up until maybe five, six years ago, I would’ve been more outraged and like, ‘This is terrible. This is awful. These people are crazy. What’s going on here?’ But I realized now that I’m 45 and I’ve accrued enough experience … America has a proud rich tradition of voting against its own best interests, and why should it stop now? I watch it now with detached bemusement.

When Martha Collins visited our class, she talked a bit about The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander (you can hear Alexander talk about it here on NPR). The idea of this baffling American political tradition reminded me of her brief recap of the Populist movement in the 1800s. In an interview with The Sun Magazine, Alexander describes how,

This movement challenged the corporate power of railroads and the plantation owners. It was one of the first major, meaningful political alliances between poor whites and blacks in the country, and it was having amazing success. The white ruling class was alarmed and proposed laws that would disenfranchise blacks. It waged campaigns that appealed to racial biases, resentments, and stereotypes of black people — essentially persuading poor whites not to align themselves with poor blacks, because whites were ―"better than that.

Essentially, the affluent class played on the poor whites' fears of being lumped into the bottom rung and in the end, they clung to what little sense of superiority the cultural atmosphere would allot them by voting for Jim Crow laws and big business, against their own economic interest.

I guess my question is do you think the less well-to-do portion of America is doomed to disenfranchisement, save for a few short-lived bursts of Populist or Occupy-esque momentum? What do you think it would take for a voting block based on the lower-middle class's best interest to band together?

http://politicalhumor.about.com/od/politicalcartoons/ig/Political-Cartoons/Romney-s-Big-Bird.htm

This referenced one of the many ridiculous comments/accusations made by Mitt Romney during the presidential debate. Unfortunately, like the cartoon implies, Romney was assertive and bold. It was quite clear he won that round as Obama was shockingly timid and passive, hardly defending any accusation while his glancing down at paper (presumably) was the cherry on top. Any person tuning in as a so called "on the fence" voter would certainly be more impressed by Romney, despite the fact he was almost too aggressive and forced a certain agenda. Obama really played into the whole passive Democrat stereotype and it certainly did not look good. Biden picked up the slack to an extent, though some would argue his snickering was over-the-top. Nonetheless, the next few weeks leading up to the election are getting much more interesting and, somewhat, alarming.

-Sophia L.

Look here, kids! A lovely book to read about Bo, the Obama's pet Portuguese water dog Bo, as promised to Obama's daughter's when he won the election back in '08.

About how the poor little pup was lost and wandered from around the world through parks of Washington DC to find himself on the White House lawn (there should be a disclaimer in this book this is ENTIRELY FICTIONAL), author J. Patrick Lewis knows how to show the Obama Administration is sure a learning experience that confirms that parents who likely voted for Obama did make the right choice. Plus, what better way than a cute cuddly doggie to pull at heart strings of liberals?

In Hindsight...

It's always nice to have a motivating speech, let alone one with that instant punch to the crowd-- but this remark made by GOP Wisconsin Senate candidate Tommy Thompson's son Jason definitely made a wrong lasting impression, about how this November America has the chance not just to send President Obama back to Chicago, but Kenya. hmmm.

Romney, Abortion, Evangelicals, Sex and Lies

Romney, Abortion, Evangelicals, Sex and Lies

Interesting article.

Economic Events For Oct 15-19

2nd 2012 US Presidential Debate, EU Summit, China 3Q GDP: Economic Events For Oct 15-19

The International Business Times recently posted an article listing upcoming global economic events that will be affecting the domestic and foreign policy decisions made in the next 2012 US Presidential Debate and EU's summit in Brussels, Belgium.

Checkout link below:

http://www.ibtimes.com/2nd-2012-us-presidential-debate-eu-summit-china-3q-gdp-economic-events-oct-15-19-846305

Romney Could 'Probably' Win Election

In this article, Ohio Senator Robert Portman discusses how Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney could "'probably' win the election without carrying Ohio."

http://news.yahoo.com/sen-rob-portman-romney-probably-could-win-election-142917226--abc-news-politics.html

a poet on a political event

Interesting story in the times about a poet's take on an event in the past. We read a poem by Baraka in class: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/11/nyregion/amiri-baraka-newark-poet-looks-back-on-a-bloody-week-in-1967.html?src=recg

Celebrities Talk Politics on Twitter

Why take the time to actually watch the debates or read anything when the hotties on Twitter are telling you exactly how to vote?  Olivia Wilde, for one, is making it easy.  Rich businessmen = bad.  Voting for Obama = good.

Fact-Checking (Again)

In this presidential election there have been several occurrences where fact-checking and the lack of it has been a major issue. Because it has already been highlighted, one would think that it would not be as necessary- that the players would stick the straight and narrow. The below article explores the misconstrued facts presented at the vice-presidential debate by both Biden and Ryan. At certain times, both of them purposely ignore or manipulate quotes that the other side has said. They also both are not always completely truthful about their own actions.

This causes me to question why we, as the American public, have allowed politicians to get away with this careless behavior for so long. It erases some of the validity of these debates as serious moments and transforms them into something lacking in meaning.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/post/fact-checking-the-vice-presidential-debate/2012/10/12/e900404a-13d0-11e2-be82-c3411b7680a9_blog.html

Getting Intimate

Very interesting...

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/14/us/politics/campaigns-mine-personal-lives-to-get-out-vote.html?hp&_r=0

Breach of privacy?

Biden and Smiling

Yahoo News seems to think that there's a reason behind Biden's incessant smiling.  "By taking his own animation level right through the roof, Biden may have given Obama a little more room to emote on Tuesday, without seeming like he’s overdoing it." What do you think?

http://news.yahoo.com/joe-bidens-smiling-method-madness-190513313.html

NBC's VP Debate Summary

http://firstread.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/12/14392062-first-thoughts-aggressive-biden?lite

Vice Presidential Debate Memes

Looks like politics has upped its status in popular culture! Americans across the nation, most likely those around our age, poked fun at the statements and facial expressions made by both Joe Biden and Paul Ryan. Instead of finding this on my Facebook newsfeed or Tumblr, Yahoo has provided a link to an endless album of Vice Presidential Memes. Check it out, here!

Also, I wanted to share this image that quotes Paul Ryan. I believe what he said is very relevant to our class discussions on political language and rhetoric.

With this in Mind...

With these points in mind, do you think USA Today did an accurate prediction of the content of the Vice Presidential debate?  I'm curious to know how these news stations develop these predictions as well as if these predictions hold any bias towards either side.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/onpolitics/2012/10/11/joe-biden-paul-ryan-barack-obama-mitt-romney-election-2012/1625827/

My Big, Fat, Fraudulent, Gay Wedding

Class, meet my roommates!

Remember watching The Newsroom? Well Aaron Sorkin's previous TV hit, The West Wing, featured a smart, well-educated democratic president named Jed Bartlett (played by Martin Sheen). In Maureen Dowd's column on Sunday, she imagines a conversation between Barack Obama and Jed Bartlett after the presidential debate.

It is very interesting political writing---a good example of "creative" political writing:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/07/opinion/sunday/dowd-two-presidents-smoking-and-scheming.html?ref=maureendowd

Is the Republican party racist?

In this article by Slate, found online here, the journalist discusses the possibility of the Republican party as "neo-racist". It seems like a harsh accusation to me, and may be a generalization. Then again, when I think of many Republicans I've spoken to (certainly not all) there may be some truth behind the indictment.

Political Rhetoric turns violent

This article touches more on Orwell´s thoughts about political rhetoric, but it seems that it was written as a precipitate to violence.  An abstraction manifested in some untimely deaths; if this isn´t a catalyst for change, it seems there is no hope for a revolution.

http://www.statepress.com/2011/01/17/politics-and-the-consequences-of-american-rhetoric/

NYT debate(s) overlook

I know it's the NYT, so its going to swing liberal, but I'm really interested in analyzing how "the media" has been covering the debate. A lot of articles I've been reading seem to make excuses for the President, while playing down Romney's impressive performance. I have mixed feelings about both candidates and I was sad to see Obama fail in such an embarrassing way, but it irks me to see people say things like "it was the altitude" or "he was preoccupied with other things." Is it possible he just messed up that night, or was simply outmatched? I don't know.

 But I think this article is slyly biased and a good example of such coverage.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/08/us/politics/biden-up-next-obamas-aides-plot-comeback.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Obama's Debate Performance

In The New Yorker article, "Obama's Old Friends React to the Debate," David Remnick interviews a few of President Obama's Harvard Law School colleagues in the hopes of shedding some light as to what actually happened during the President's performance during the first 2012 Presidential Debate.

According to his colleagues, this performance was not new. In fact, it was somewhat expected because, in school, Obama's debate "instincts and talents have never included going for an opponent’s jugular. That’s just not who he is or ever has been."

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2012/10/obamas-old-friends-react-to-the-debate.html

Robamaney

Check out this story not only for a great morphed picture of the two candidates, but also to check out a very interesting perspective on Romney:

 "The real Romney is sensible. The real Romney is moderate. And, finally, in the first presidential debate, the real Romney emerged. And you know what, Romney is a lot like Obama."

Romney and Big Bird

In accordance to the recent presidential debate, Romney made some interesting examples in explaining what his plan for America was. One of them included a cut from Seasame Street's biggest character, Big Bird. This article done by CNN researches on how influential Seasame Street actually is in the media industry, in the economy, and in the upbringing of an American child. Take a look!

Jon Stewart on Hannity's Interpretation of Obama's Black Discourse

This video  is not only entertaining (at least for myself, because I enjoy Jon Stewart's humor) but is also relative to our discussions of political discourse. In the video, Jon Stewart responds to a "breaking" news report about Obama's campaign Hannity released yesterday before the debate. Stewart tears apart everything Hannity says, with hilarious videos (including one of George W. Bush) for support. It is quick and worth your while.

"I had this impulse to hug him, so I did. And I cried."

Although many Americans have criticized Obama because they aren't "better off than they were four years ago", this middle class fifteen-year-old says he and his family are.  Thus, Obama and his supporters are posting this touching photo of Kobe crying on Biden's shoulder all over the internet.

Here's the link to Obama's web site where it appears.  It's also all over Tumblr and liberal blogs.

Romney Gangnam Style

This isn't a particularly educational video, but it's downright hysterical, and does offer some insight to Romeny. I think that it's aimed at teenagers, who don't really know about or care about politics, but still want a brief overview. Note: it's a little explicit, but i'm sure that we can all handle it.

http://blog.collegehumor.com/post/32744629392/mitt-romney-style-gangnam-style-parody-heyyy

WikiLeaks

Pentagon Declares WikiLeaks Enemy of the State… Same as Al-Qaeda

-Denise at Kulture Kritic

Are entities and people that release government information as much of a threat to American security as those who carry out terrorist attacks?Apparently, the Obama administration believes so, since it has declared those who leak classified information as enemies of the state.

AllGov reports:

According to an unprecedented legal theory apparently adopted by the Obama administration, persons and entities who leak or publish classified information are “enemies” of the United States punishable by death or life imprisonment. If this theory had been applied to recent leaks, it would have meant death or life in prison for Pentagon Papers leaker Daniel Ellsberg and the editors of The New York Times and The Washington Post…

This means that major news outlets will no longer be able to publish leaked government information without threat of imprisonment or death. This is a threat to free press when one considers  that much of what the press learns about the the lies and contradictions of government come from leaked documents. Whistleblowers use leaked documents as a way to prove government misconduct and corruption, but what happens now that they’re threatened with life in prison for their actions?

The government’s new policy was revealed as the result of declassified Air Force documents released under the Freedom of Information Act. The documents revealed that government officials were investigating a computer systems analyst working for the Air Force for sympathy with WikiLeaks and preparing  to charge her with “communicating with the enemy,” a military crime that carries a maximum sentence of death.


Perhaps this is an interesting point to start talking about WikiLeaks, minus the Julian Assange drama.  Does anyone have any particular thoughts?  Does WikiLeaks play a vital role in foreign policy and how we think of our governments?

5 Ways Romney Would Screw the 47%

5 Ways Romney Would Screw the 47%

Big Rock Candy Mountains

More 'political' depression-era music, this time from Harry 'Haywire' McClintock. Big Rock Candy Mountains tells a tale of the hobo's dream, a fantastical place where they, "hung the jerk, that invented work".   I love it.


I was worried for a second that posting this particular video might keep some of you from taking the message seriously,... but on second thought, I realized that the video was just too awesome to keep from ya.

Blue Yodeler: music for the people

"Although few fans think of Country and Western being popular as remotely as the 1930s, it was during the depression years that C&W became another popular music form.
Jimmie Rodgers was born near Meridian, Mississippi in 1897. At age 14, he worked on the railroads in the southern U. S. learning blues music from black crew workers and practicing his trademark "3-chord pickin'". At age 24 the smoke and soot of the coal fired trains so weakened his lungs that he contracted TB. He could no longer work in the train yards and began devoting full time to his first love-blues music-billing himself as The Singing Brakeman." –Taken from YouTube blurb 

One of the great 'poets' of country music lore, Jimmie Rodgers captured the mood of a struggling nation and gave voice to the millions of Americans who endured the great depression of the 1930s. I've grown up listening to Jimmie Rodgers' "blue-yodel" and although his writing may not always be considered poetry, his lyrics not always considered political, it is without a doubt that his career was shaped by the politics of his time, just as raw emotion shaped the lyrics of his music. 

Although I don't sing any Jimmie Rodgers songs currently, I have in the past and if you are interested, ask me about the time I won a national yodeling championship... when I was 14. No joke.