Saturday, January 17, 2004

Edwards vs Bush : Who is better looking?




Senator Edwards is one good-looking man. Probably one reason the Big Media has been afraid to show him too often. They know. They know that people generally vote for the better-looking candidate. And the more visual a society we become, the more likely this is to be true.

But what makes Edwards attractive is his outward focus. A self-conscious beauty is a bore, but Senator Edwards is interested, and has spent his life helping, others.

I have to make a confession though. He looks like my dear nephew, only 30 years older. My nephew is the same way; selfless and other-focussed...and immensely intelligent...which, I suspect is the case for Mr. Edwards, from what I've seen, heard and read.

This brings up the problem of Kerry. Kerry is a great guy, but he seems to lack the glow of Edwards, Dean and Clark...an older gentleman. And as shallow as this is, it is still a factor in replacing Mr. Bush.

But looks aside...of all the major candidates, Edwards has the most positives...and the least negatives. Add to that the fact that he is from the South...both North AND South Carolina (often very different in voting patterns), and you've got a pretty strong contender.

They are all good candidates, except the right-leaning and plastic Joe-doll. Perhaps they, and we, should follow Mr. Edwards' lead, and go after Bush, instead of each other.

Clark and Edwards have remained above the fray, and may well seize the day.

There is no way Bush and Cheney could lose to such a team.

So many good possibilities! Don't shoot the angels.

Clark, Edwards, Dean and the Humanitarian Superpower

General Clark, John Edwards and Howard Dean have all expressed the potent notion that America would be better off as a humanitarian superpower -- where our power and wealth serve to create allies and friends, rather than enemies -- thus securing our borders...by removing the need for them.

This attitude is, in the long run, the more efficient and effective model for long-term survival...both at home and abroad. Obviously! It also happens to comport with natural laws, long-held wisdom from high cultures throughout civilization...including Judeo-Christianity...originally an Eastern religion.

Bush's policy of preemption, however, the opposite model, and needs to be rejected.
If pro-lifers are truly pro-life, and not just a sort of specialized and reductionistic sect who only cares in the pre-birth phase...they too would reject Bush and his anti-Life policies...

BushWorld brings an end to "the most glorious science you've ever seen"

NASA Cancels Trip to Supply Hubble, Sealing Early Doom

...For now, of course, the Hubble lives. Dr. Beckwith said: "We at the institute are devastated by the potential loss of Hubble. But we will do our absolute best to make the final years of its life the most glorious science you've ever seen."

Friday, January 16, 2004

Laughable throwback, Zell Miller, to serve as Bush footman

Dixiecrat can't shake his racist roots, and slowheadedly makes his way to the white guy party.

Someone forgot to tell Mister Miller that the Republican Party absorbed the racially motivated Dixiecrats years ago. Some people are just slow, I guess. The Democrats are now the party for racial justice and harmony, unlike some Democrats of his day...who, unlike Lincoln, were the defenders of segregation and other social diseases of the Old South, which he may be pining to return.

But maybe not. Maybe he is just a slowheaded simpleton among similars...

Questions for Bush: Are you for or against people rewriting history?

Daily Herald: War with Iraq: "'There's no doubt in my mind that when it's all said and done the facts will show the world the truth,' he said. 'There's going to be, you know, a lot of attempts to try to rewrite history, and I can understand that. But I'm absolutely confident in the decision I made.'"

My questions for Mr. Bush: Are you for or against people rewriting history? One almost gets the impression that you were giving tacit permission, maybe even marching orders, to those who still find you listenable.


Wednesday, January 14, 2004

Buzzflash interviews George Lakoff

We'll Grant This to the Republicans: They Know How to Frame Issues and Keep the Democrats on the Defensive. A BuzzFlash Interview with "Framing" Expert, UC Berkeley Professor George Lakoff - A BuzzFlash Interview

I first became aware of the protean, provocative mind of Mr. Lakoff back in the mid-80s with his classic, "Metaphors We Live By", which our visionary professor included within the required reading list. One does not come out of the other side of Lakoff without being changed.

Here he talks about how language is manipulated for political ends...

Visionary Schmisionary! Mars is a boon for Halliburton

NASA Ames Center looks at problem of drilling on Mars - February 28, 2001 - Petroleum News

Hey! I've a great idea. Let's give billions to NASA/Halliburton so they can go to Mars for products they can sell back to us!

Yahoo! News - Kennedy Says Iraq War a Political Product

Yahoo! News - Kennedy Says Iraq War a Political Product

In BushWorld, people are customers; folk to be suckered into buying their products. This is because George got an MBA, and he got it from Harvard, which, deep down, makes him proud. It is a damn shame he didn't get it from the divinity school, because he would have been able to make a real contribution to the world, rather than merely extract contributions from the rich white handful he impresses. I am not particularly impressed. He probably went to the B-School in those years when all anyone learnt was how to make money more quickly. But even with his paper, he was slow on the uptake. Pre-Kenny-boy days, no doubt.

Anyway, here we are, customers buying products...from the White House. And they have access to all our records and buying pattterns. This is not Big Brother. This is Big Cookie. A brother is human. This in inhuman. Numbers. Products and bottom lines.

Caveat Emptor. Buyers of the world, beware! Forget the Alamo. Remember Enron!
This is transplant Bush's Texas. And now Texas is becoming the world. And it is not a becoming sight. It looks like Iraq. And smells of burning oil. The product from Hell.

Do not go there. There is a better idea. Heaven on Earth. Embody it, and radiate gardens. Not minefields. Not products, dangerous products.

You are more than a mere consumer. You are a full human being. Just like everyone else.

Even George in a Bubble.

Monday, January 12, 2004

The Duchess on Dennis Kucinich

Hanging Out With The Duchess

For some excellent commentary and analysis on Dennis Kucinich, you can hardly do better than the Duchess. Mr. Kucinich is probably the closest thing to being my alter-ego...and that is both what excites me and worries me about the dear fellow. And whether or not he wins or doesn't...I hope he is included within whatever team rises to the top positions. There is no better person to head the Department of Peace, or to be a trusted and visionary councillor. He best represents what is best about America at its most visionary and creative. More power to him! And thanks, Duchess, for reminding me that he is still in the running. Lord knows the Media would have us forget...

Carpe Millennium!

Greg Palast: Soft Skull Edition of Fortunate Son (by James Hatfield)

Fortunate Son by James Hatfield



Sunday, January 11, 2004

Fourth Annual Weblog Awards

Fourth Annual Weblog Awards

From now until 10:00 PM Eastern Standard Time (GMT-5) on Monday, January 12, 2003, anyone can nominate their favorite weblogs...