Propaganda Prospecting in a River of Blood - or - Just Another Day for the American Right

Unless you’ve been living under a rock or in Iraq with far more important things to worry about, you’ve likely heard all about yesterday’s tragic massacre at Virginia Tech.

The dude was, predictably, a loner with some serious issues. But that news didn’t stop Right wing pundits from attempting to claim the South Korean national born, naturalized American citizen as an Al Queda-connected, Muslim… or claiming that this was the best reason yet for arming every man and woman on every college campus across the nation--Now, I’m reasonably pro-gun, but you’ll probably draw the same conclusions as me about a campus full of fully armed, hormone-flooded, testosterone-crazed, booze-soaked, kids freshly escaped from a lifetime under mommy and daddy’s watchful eyes. Yea. Great idea.

So, shall we visit some of the swine who’ve come to graze on the still-warm corpses in Virginia?

* Well there’s the National Review’s John Derbyshire, whom you may remember from this post where he publicly chastised the captured British sailors last month. Well, the human-swine hybrid is at it again. Today, he bravely describes how, had he been on campus yesterday, he would have gone all Chuck Norris and put a stop to the madness.

*Then there's ding-a-ling winger, Debbie Schlussel, who has gone to bat for America's racists and "War On Terror" (tm) types--with decidedly diminished returns as more info on the murders has been released. Her wild speculations aired on, where else, Fox News where she cast an ever wider net in attempts to fire up the ol' base and maybe win a few strays back with some blatant racist pandering.

*Not to be outdone for comedy's sake, another National Review-er, Carol Iannone, tosses out this gut-buster, blaming the killings on co-ed dorms and English lit.

*Should I even bother with the "Bowling for Columbine"-esque, rapid-response of the NRA types? Though, there is this.

I will be on the lookout for more wingnut responses and will post the more sub-human of 'em.

**Update Below**

*A late entry to this knuckle-dragging, morally corrupt gang is bible-thumper, Ken Ham, who feels that were every US public high school be converted to a christian academy, Monday's tragedy could have been prevented.

*And what would a list of self-promoting swine be without his Foxness, Bill O'Reilly? Here every one's favorite stoke-victim-in-waiting employs his famous, post-modern political jujitsu to use the tragedy to attack the politics of those who used the tragedy to even mention the subject of gun control. Dizzy yet?

Billy Pilgrim's Wild Ride

(Photo borrowed from Rolling Stone magazine)

This news is omnipresent right now... no, not more Imus bullshit. (Though, if you want to see the human side of that bit of nastiness--not the political posturing and maneuvering--the real, honest to goodness, human faces on the receiving end of the supposedly glib, racist, pap, you could do much worse than this here.)

No, today, it's another story. (Always another story for another day here on the good ol' internets.) You see, writer, philosopher, survivor, Kurt Vonnegut has passed away.

There's really not much I can add to the eulogizing goin' 'round the web right now, except to simply add that if you haven't yet read any Vonnegut, just what in the hell are you waiting for?

2007's been a lousy year so far for... well, for all kinds of people and for all kinds of shit. But as it happens, it's also been a lousy year for folks that I greatly admire. They've been dropping dead at a somewhat alarming pace. Maybe it's not the pace, though. Maybe it's more the quality of people that have shuffled off lately. I dunno... it's a little sad to start thinking about.

And anyway, there's still a pile of work to get done before I can go home. And once I'm safely home, there's still our unconcerned neighbor's car alarm that will certainly go on and off all goddamned night. And even if it didn't, our bank account's still in the red. And that's nowhere near as red as all the blood that's getting spilled in our nation's name over in a place called Iraq as our corrupt and inept politicians rob us all several generations into the future. And...

And then again... I won twenty bucks at poker last night. And I got Red Sox tickets the other day. And I've got some good friends coming to town soon. And there's all those great restaurants waiting to be discovered and all those great albums the keep on coming out regardless of tastemaker prognostications... And, hell, I've just started reading a new book. It looks pretty good.

So, maybe sad isn't exactly the right word for what I'm feeling.

(Photo borrowed from Nezua, the Unapologetic Mexican)

Some worthwhile Vonnegut interviews: Rolling Stone, NPR, Salon, PBS, In These Times, Playboy (interviewed by Joseph Heller).

Just What They Needed?

I almost never shop at Circuit City for various reasons. One of those reasons happens to be that, year after year, they give the lion's share of their corporate political donations to the Republican party. Off the top of my head, I think the figure averages to something like 80/20 for the GOP.

Add to that the godawful customer service and knowledge-base that their shoddy, Wal-Mart-esque treatment of employees garners and there's very little incentive to even walk in the door. And I didn't even mention the uncompetitive prices and perpetually under-stocked inventory.

So, it's not like I need any more incentive to stay the hell away from Circuit City. But should you need it, look no further.

These days, it doesn't surprise me in the least to read about how American upper management treats long-term, mid-level employees. It's always another variation on the cannibalistic urge to swell the corporate coffers and bloat the corporate aristocracy. It's a sickening symptom of the cancer that's killing the American dream... AKA: America's Soul.

Barbara Ehrenreich writes about the media reaction to this wickedness.

From the article:

"Columnist Bill White of the Allentown Morning Call pictures Circuit City CEO Philip J. Schoonover getting a warm welcome to hell - very warm. Satan tells him, "This place is full of overpaid, outsourcing, golden-parachuting, employee-abusing worms like you." Schoonover's sin? Laying off 3400 employees because they had been around for too long and needed to be replaced by minimum wage workers...

...Times columnist David Leonhardt showed some pious sympathy for the laid-off, who will, after a 10 week cooling off period, be able to re-apply for their old jobs at much reduced pay. But he goes on to explain that Circuit City's employee abuse is just part of the larger corporate demand for 'efficiency.'"

Read the entire article: Circuit City Slaughter.

Right Wing Bloodlust On Parade

Crooks and Liars points us to leading "conservative" publication, The National Review, where that famous Right Wing support of our troops is on full, naked, dog piled, electrode-to-the-genitals, display.


From human-swine hybrid TNR opinion columnist, John Derbyshire:

Once again, it's me and Ralph Peters on the same wavelength, deploring the cowardice of the British sailors and marines kidnapped by Iran. When it happened, I said I hoped the ones who'd shamed their country would be court-martialed on return to Blighty, and given dishonorable discharges after a couple years breaking rocks in the Outer Hebrides (which, believe me—I've been there—have a LOT of rocks). Now, I confess, I wouldn't shed a tear if some worse fate befell them.

Read the C&L entry.

Read the pathetic article itself.

Been Down So Long...

...Don't Hardly Know What Diplomacy That Doesn't Come From The Barrel of a Gun Is.

If you too have forgotten that diplomacy really isn't defined by sabre rattling and troop surges, perhaps it'll lift your spirits to read this: "Syria Tells Pelosi It's Ready for Peace Talks."

R-O-C-K (Updated)

My friend Jon gave me a ticket to see the band Explosions in the Sky last night. I like the band. They're an instrumental, quiet-to-loud-to-bombastic, indie quartet who, as they've matured, have even begun to take on qualities of the more emotive, multi-tonal, neo-classical composers of yesteryear (maybe Stravinsky or Shoenberg). The results are a big, almost cinematic sound that often sounds like a full-fledged symphony instead of a few guitars and a drum set.

Explosion in the Sky played an excellent show. They've nailed their live act down. It's exciting and flawless... But somehow, that wasn't enough. The loud-quiet-loud-quiet-real loud formula (or the reverse) paid diminished returns and by the fourth song, I had pretty much tuned out. And that makes sense, cuz they're the kind of band that I have trouble paying attention to for an entire album, let alone an entire live show. The utter lack of hooks or pop nuggets just tends to wear on me after a few songs. Thus it went at the sold out show last night.

But alas, tonite I've got a chance to get that mojo back.

Me and Mrs. Delano have tickets to go see young indie, up and comers, The Besnard Lakes. Their new album, The Dark Horse, is awash in Phil Spector-ish, Beach Boys meet Jesus and Mary Chain sweetness. Or as one review aptly put it, "The band reminds me a lot of Low, if, instead of stripping down their songs to bare-bone affairs, they turned it up to eleven and invited Roger Waters to the party."

That reviewer also posted an mp3 of one of the best songs, "And You Lied To Me."

***Update***

Wow. What a show it was.

They were one of the best live bands I've seen in years. I really like the new album, but live, the guitars move out from the background. They're big, loud and, for lack of a better word, glorious. And the smoke machine was a perfect accompaniment to the shimmering walls of sound and pop nuggets exploding from the small stage.

Do what you must to see this band live.

What's That Stink?

Ahh, the hypocritical, braying jackassery of the Republican Youth Korps is ripe upon the spring air: Eagles vs Ducks: Promoting War from the Safety of Home.

Turning Worms

MoveOn.org has been, as far as I'm concerned, a mildly useful organization. But I've never been much for rallies or hosting discussion groups... especially as a proxy for an organization that's ever-closer to the Democratic party.

So, I've removed them, finally, from ye olde blogroll. But as I aint exactly one to close a door without opening a window, I've added a new link.

Sadly, No! is a smarmy, belligerent, wickedly funny political blog. Juvenile yet skewering, it's a fun counterpoint to a blog like Glenn Greewald's super-serious fillets. No a bad one-two punch.

Write Your Own Caption

This photo is just too precious to limit to one or two smarmy captions.

So, please feel free to add your own on the comments section.

"President Bush Gives Little Brown Worker Lesson in NAFTA/CAFTA Economics."

Jim Beam Brain Bake

Things are slowing down a bit finally. The Great Big Move is nearly finished, but as this new house is officially the 9th place I've lived in the last ten years, there's an incredible amount of furnishing and tweaking to come, cuz, I don't intend on moving again for quite a goddamn while.

Among plenty of other exciting homemaking decisions, we've decided to make a foray into the world of satellite tv. And I'm as giddy as a toddler anticipating Christmas morning about it all*. We're getting the DVR's and about a jabillion stations. The miracle man come Friday morning with the little dish and the magic boxes. I only hope I can get some sleep the night before.

*I should add that as a responsible and moral citizen, I only intend to watch nature and educational programs on my new magic dish, oh, and C-SPAN. And maybe some ESPN. But, really, that's all. Really.

419 Is a Joke

Familiar with the Monty Python skit about the dead parrot? I knew you were.

Know what a 419 scam is? Sure you do.

How about the anti-419, scambaiting movement? Of course.

So, what do you get when you combine all three?

A goddamn, certified inteweb classic.

See Xeni's post on Boing Boing for much more about this video and scambaiting in general.

When Fascism Come To America, It'll Be Wearing a Miniskirt

For me, "conservative" cheerleader and professional attention-seeker, Ann Coulter usually garners the kinda attention span usually reserved for a channel-surfing stopover on Sabado Gigante or one of those ouch-it-hurts-sports-injury gawkfests... in other words, she's a fly-by oddity. Or, oughta be.

I find her politics and personality wildly repugnant but at the same time I find her to be such a cartoon of a normal human being, that I can't be bothered to laugh at her, let alone fume about her. But I can only wish she'd remain little more than an occasional blip on my personal radar.

It's just that, every couple of months her inner fascist orbits a little too close to her inner child and she says something so outrageously offensive/stupid/titillating that it gets picked up and circulated 'round the blogoshpere, and sometimes the tv-o-sphere. And I become a little more familiar with Ann Coulter.

As I understand it, she's garnered a large following in America's "conservative" community. She's a perennial major player on the GOP punditry circuit where book deals, speaking engagements and TV appearances have earned her a very, very agreeable income. From there, Coulter plays to the baser instincts of the GOP faithful, oftentimes uttering statements (usually in the form of the defensible opinion--actual or calculated) that would get plenty of other media darlings publicly shunned for a lifetime or two. Tellingly, she's retained her seat in the Pantheon of "conservative" icons as much by explicit approval of those masses, as by implicit approval by the leaders of those masses.

Despite the repeatedly violent and vicious pronouncements vomited from the mouth of Ann Coulter, the GOP has yet to publicly denounce her; yet to claim she's gone too far. Whether it's bemoaning a missed opportunity to assassinate a "liberal" political figure, daydreaming of exterminating America's left-leaning citizens, or, now, the jocular, verbal emasculation of a Democratic presidential candidate, Coulter's words are met with a roar from the groundlings and ever more invitations from the elite.

The always excellent Glenn Greenwald writes about the phenomenon behind this tacit approval of Coulter and her peers by the GOP in today's column, The Right-Wing Cult of Contrived Masculinity. It's perhaps the most insightful, most damning post Greenwald's wrote yet. And that, my friends, is saying something.

Weedend Weekend Reading

Essential reading from the LA Weekly (via BoingBoing):


A Terrible Thing to Waste
Convicted as an ecoterrorist, a brilliant young scholar nose-dives in prison.

*Thanks to Mr. Freejack for pointing out my Friday moment.

Smackdown - Swiftboat Financier Edition

Ho ho!!! In this modern political world, as accountability dies an ever-quicker death, it's a rare and beautiful thing to witness the paying of the piper. We saw a little bit of it when BushCo. hung FEMA director and horse show judge, Michael Brown out to dry. And over the course of the I. Lewis Libby trial we've seen a wee bit more of it as the goons under the microscope step all over each other to avoid the public glare. But recently, Senator John Kerry had the wonderful fortune of facing a major financier of the Swift Boat Veterans For Truth.

Sam Fox floated 50k to the smear group during their infamous 2004 attack on Kerry. This week, Fox, as a reward for his vigorous GOP fundraising, was up for an ambassadorship to Belgium. But as these things work, his nomination was reviewed by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who's senior members include one Senator John Kerry.

Follow the link below to read an article and transcript on the under-oath smackdown Kerry laid on the visibly nervous Fox. While it's ultimately meaningless, it must have felt damn good.

Major Swift Boat Donor To Kerry: "You're A Hero"

Movin' On Up

Back to light posting as we pack up (our just throw out) our junk and move it on across town to our new digs. We felt like we deserved better, so we went out and found a house that doesn't appear to be in danger of being condemned by the city anytime soon. Unlike our current house.

We've also got a guest room. So why not come up for a visit?

Newsness

Mrs. Delano III has begun her own foray into blogland. She poses as one Hari Covert and posts with an eye toward foodstuff. Have a look at Hari News.

And as for me, I'm on a trial run over at the Gaper's Block offshoot, Drive Thru. As Gaper's is a daily "goings on" blog covering all things Chicago, Drive Thru is a food-based look at life in Chicago. It'll cover everything from restaurant reviews to food events to recipe swapping and about a thousand things in between. I'm very excited to be a part of something new, exciting and positively lusty like Drive Thru. And really, it was a natural choice to go for it, because conversations about Chicago food issues make up about half of the chit-chat in our house. So why not start writing about it?

My first submission is titled, "Far Away Flavors Made Easy." It covers shopping for cheaper and easier to find herbs, spices and exotic ingredients in Chicago.

Back With A Bummer - UPDATED

After a much needed Blogging break, I think I'm ready to get back on the horse.

So, I'll kick things off right where they left off, with a death announcement.

From outer space, freak and roll band, the Sun City Girls:

02/20/07

With deep regret, we must announce that Charles Gocher passed away yesterday in Seattle due to a long battle with cancer at the age of 54. He is survived by the two of us who adopted him as a brother 25 years ago and his many friends around the world. He will be missed more than most could ever know. Our thanks to everyone for their support and encouragement during the past three, very difficult years. Many of you were not aware that Charles was ill and that’s because he wanted it that way. Details of a memorial in his honor will be announced soon.

---Alan and Richard Bishop

Charles was a mutant of a drummer. How Evan Jones framed Coltrane, how Art Blakey led his players with rhythms that just shouldn't have been possible, how Keith Moon was the thunder behind Townshend and Entwhistle's lightning. Gocher was all this and plenty more.

May the dead tongue continue to sing and sing and sing.

Sun City Girls website.

UPDATE - And of course, being a Sun City Girl, Mr. Gocher did much more than just play the drums. As evidenced below - followed by a Gocher drum clinic.

Robert Anton Wilson, Out (UPDATED)

Writer, Philosopher, Prophet, Hellraiser, Freethinker, Robert Anton Wilson passed on this morning. No doubt he left looking forward to his next great adventure. If you never read any of his work, get to it. Wilson's writing has the powerful ability to actually change the way forever how one sees themselves in the universe and, indeed, how one sees the universe itself. Time, space, truth, nature... you'll see none with the same eyes as before.

From his blog:

Robert Anton Wilson Defies Medical Experts and leaves his body @4:50 AM on binary date 01/11. All Hail Eris!

On behalf of his children and those who cared for him, deepest love and gratitude for the tremendous support and lovingness bestowed upon us.

(that's it from Bob's bedside at his fnord by the sea)

RAW Memorial February 07date to be announced .

UPDATE: Reason Magazine Online has a great atricle on RAW with links and commentary.

Florida Gators Win It All

My Florida Gators won the NCAA Football Cham-peen-ship last night by eviscerating the overwhelmingly favored Ohio State Buckeyes. The Gators played intense, nearly flawless football making the Buckeyes look at first confused, then downright lost. It was a real treat.

Robert Weintraub, writing for Slate.com, has my favorite take on the event: Urban Renewal - The Florida Gators and their genius coach maul Ohio State.

And here's a few more of my favorite pics:

Death Cult Glee Club

Just a reminder:



Juan Cole remembers. He gives us the Top Ten Ways the US Enabled Saddam Hussein.