Cabbage Walk Update

me

In the last post, I left out some details. During the walk on Friday, I proudly wore the t-shirt seen above. I guess it was my own personal protest and maybe me making up for the fact that I was unable to be at the march in Washington this past weekend. It felt good to walk to the Capitol building here in SC, where the mostly republican legislature works and where the confederate flag still flies, wearing this t-shirt. I sneered at that flag as I passed it. Just another reminder of what is so fundamentally wrong with this place I temporarily call home.

I believe that this is a good representation of what the repugs are doing to our country. Sucking the life right out of her, along with the budget and more importantly the Constitution. The best comment I heard that night was from some guy on a bench that said,"I can’t take it anymore. This state’s gone loony!” Of course, in comparison to continuously voting against your own interests, walking a cabbage is not so loony to me. What is loony is what Bush has done to this country. What is loony is supporting an aggressive, unjust war with no end in sight. What is loony is still supporting a man who has, by all accounts, lost his mind. So, no, walking a cabbage is not so loony, in comparison.

Yesterday I walked my cabbage

cabbage walk

Han Bing, an internationally known artist, came to Columbia this past week to share his art. On Friday, he led a group of us in the centerpiece of his performance art installation, "Walking the Cabbage". Click on the picture to view the slideshow of our photos of the evening.

In this NY Arts Magazine article, Han Bing explains the thought behind the cabbage walk:

"My performance of walking the cabbage is conducted like a normal part of my regular life," comments Han Bing. "I want people to question the definition of 'normal practice,' and to reflect on how much of our daily lives are routines we've blindly absorbed. But we have choices about how to live. Performance art can cause us to stop and think about what we do, to ask ourselves how we should live. I don't believe that the mission of performance art is to supply answers to life's big questions, but it can certainly raise questions in public, provoking people to think."

In addition to walking the cabbage, we were able to view a video presentation of his work at the Columbia Museum of Art. His artwork is stunning. Here are a few samples of his work. Check out the other selected series while you are there.

Remembering Katrina

Because Bush obviously forgot...again. (h/t C&L)

SOTU

I feel sick. I really hate that man that some call president. Everything that comes out of his mouth are lies. WTF is up with the 92,000 new troops over the next 5 years. What the hell is he smoking? And what the hell is the citizen reserve corps? They are really pushing this privatization of the military thing. Everything else he said was probably bullshit. I think I am going to shower and go to bed. (cleanse my body and mind of this propaganda parade that I witnessed tonight)

Torture and Conservative Pop Culture

I have been meaning to write about the conservative obsession over the show 24 since I saw a forum on the show and it's impact on national policy on CSPAN. I was disgusted as I watched members of the Heritage Foundation and similar groups fawn over the show and its characters. Rush was there making the usual insane comments. They made grand speeches about how wonderful the show is and then slipped into a delusional right wing fantasy land where Jack Bauer is an actual person who actually works for the actual government. At the peak of their proverbial climaxes, it seemed as if they were ready to give the fictional characters a medal of freedom.

I never got around to writing any of that. But, today I ran across a post from Arthur Silber at Power of Narrative called At the Bottom of the Abyss: 24 as the Basis of National Policy. It is definitely worth the read. Arthur is passionate as usual and does a great job of debunking the 24 mentality of the conservatives.

After you read Arthur's piece, check out this video:




I was unable to find video of the CSPAN forum, but I think this video displays the delusional aspects of 24's cult following pretty clearly:


[Warning: This video exposes you to the overly annoying Wolf Blitzer, some airheaded woman, and a number of mindless conservatives.]

Right Wing Delusion

It was about a year ago that I blogged about the disgraceful way in which some soldiers were making it back to the states by being commercially shipped by domestic shipping companies. I had a resident propaganda troll that told me that I was disgusting for disseminating such lies about our military.

Today I ran across this article from Military.com: Law Changes Handling Procedures

A new law that took effect Jan. 1 makes the primary mode of transportation for remains of servicemembers being returned to the U.S. is now military aircraft or military-contracted aircraft. This is a change from the past when commercial service was used to transport the remains of fallen troops.

I think this makes it clear that at one point there were indeed soldiers being shipped home by way of commercial service. The fact that this was ever allowed to happen is still disgraceful. I hope the propaganda troll will finally see past his own bullshit and realize that the "media" that tells him that this whole story was made up by the "left wing" was/is lying to him.

Perspectives

An interesting look at the Iraq situation from one of the most talented writers on the web:

Arthur Silber's Power of Narrative

Dictator elect...sort of

So when are the Decider's minions going to declare him Great Decider, dictator elect of the US? It seems to be on their agenda. Killer Dick Cheney and Bloody Bill Kristol seem to think that he aleady is a dictator. Both believe that the Congress should sit aside, shut up, and let the decider have his way with the war. Both believe that it is not the business of the Congress to have any say in how our country or whether our country goes to war. This is the talk of people who hate democracy. Congress is supposed to answer directly to the people. 70% of the nation disagrees with what Bush is doing regarding the war in Iraq. So, Bush and his minions are saying "fuck you" to the American people.

Hillary Hype

For years now the MSM has been telling the country that Hillary Clinton is the Democratic front-runner for the 2008 presidential elections. The country has been told over and over that she is the darling of the liberal agenda. Yet, I have not met one fellow "liberal" that endorses or even likes Hillary. This seems to be a big facade put on by the powers that be. The only people that I have heard endorsing Hillary are moderates and maybe a couple of neo-liberals. How she has been branded the "liberal candidate" escapes me. I have personally met only one person in real life that has supported Hillary and that was a clueless girl of 20 and a self-acclaimed "anarchist" (though she knows not what that means).

She, like other similarly deluded followers of the Hillary, believe (1) that Hillary is progressive and (2) that it is past time to have a woman for president. The first point is ludicrous. Hillary has done nothing but behave as a "centrist" snake, playing both sides while she tries improve one thing, her career. (Has she said out loud that she thinks the Iraq war was a mistake yet?) While I cannot disagree with number (2), I do require there to be more to a candidate than their sexual organs.

It seems also that, in a very small sect of people, disliking Hillary is equal to proclaiming that women aren't fit for the presidential position. This sentiment is as ridiculous as Coulter's recent claim that she isn't racist because she doesn't like Obama. Whether she likes or dislikes the political positions of an African American politician doesn't make her particularly racist or non-racist (being a racist bitch makes her racist). Just as not liking Hillary because you disapprove of her politics doesn't make you sexist. Of course, there are people that dislike both candidates based on the color of their skin or their sex, but this does not require us to react by voting for these candidates just to spite these pathetically shallow people.

To get to the point, we must choose a candidate that stands up for the ideals we believe in. We cannot choose someone based on sex (whether male or female be your preference) or skin color (whether white or black be your preference). We must choose the best man or woman for the job whether they be black or white. We must choose the person who is better qualified for the job. I am still waiting for that person to present himself/herself.

Has anyone who has announced his/her candidacy piqued your interest?

I wasn't disappeared...

I have been moving into my new place for the last few days. I don't have cable yet at my new place so I haven't been able to get online. I didn't want anyone to think I just fell off the face of the earth. Unfortunately, I may be gone for another week. The cable company told me that they couldn't transfer my cable until next Thursday. Moving is a pain and I can't wait for it to be over. Until next week my friends...

The Justice in the Tinfoil Robe

So this story came to the surface today. It might have been nice to have this, oh, about 25 years ago.

"The documents reveal that while Rehnquist was hospitalized for back pain in 1981, he experienced withdrawal symptoms related to his use of Placidyl, a powerful prescription pain medicine. Rehnquist had taken the medication for ten years, the documents show, but doctors refused to give it to him while he was hospitalized. According to the FBI documents, Rehnquist became agitated and experienced hallucinations during his withdrawal from Placidyl. He attempted to leave the hospital in his pajamas and told doctors that he believed the CIA was plotting against him."

Somebody should have gotten this man a tinfoil robe a long time ago.

The article also reveals something about a house that he owned with some "White's Only" clause in the deed. Something about how the FBI knew about it in 1971, but he claims that he didn't find about it till someone told him about it in '86. That may seem a little hard for some of you to believe, but really, who reads those things anyway, right?

And then there's the issue of the FBI investigating witnesses before they testified at his confirmation hearing, presumably to determine what accusations people might be prepared to bring against him that would hurt his nomination. However, that was during the Nixon administration, so we all know exactly how much jail time people in that administration got for ordering the FBI to investigate political opponents.

Touche'

I haven't really commented on the insane anti-Muslim rhetoric of Goode, Prager, and Beck because just typing their names makes me a bit nauseous. However, I ran across some news that makes me smile. It seems that Ellison (D, rep. elect) has decided to swear in with Thomas Jefferson's copy of the Quran. So, I hope this will shut the loud mouth pundits up finally. The fact that an American citizen has been the focus of such vitriol and hate just because he has a different religion than others is an embarrassment to our nation. (h/t C&L)

You can listen here at NPR:

Newly elected Rep. Keith Ellison announced last month that he planned to take the oath of office with his hand on the Quran. The decision by the Minnesota Democrat, the first Muslim elected to Congress, drew criticism.

But now Ellison says he plans to use a copy of the Quran once owned by Thomas Jefferson. Michele Norris talks with Mark Dimunation, chief of the Rare Book and Special Collections Division of the Library of Congress, who helped Ellison locate Jefferson's Quran.

Posting with Infrequency

I may not be able to write very frequently during the next week or so. I am house hunting at the moment. I will try to come here and look around a couple of times a day as time permits. Wish me luck finding an affordable, yet livable, house.

Happy New Year

May the year be marked with positive change. May we start healing the Earth.