February 2011 archive

Bullets Over Dialog That’s How Despots Operate  

After Egypt’s revolution, the people have lost their fear  

They didn’t run away. They faced the bullets head-on’

 

“Massacre – it’s a massacre,” the doctors were shouting. Three dead. Four dead. One man was carried past me on a stretcher in the emergency room, blood spurting on to the floor from a massive bullet wound in his thigh.

A few feet away, six nurses were fighting for the life of a pale-faced, bearded man with blood oozing out of his chest. “I have to take him to theatre now,” a doctor screamed. “There is no time – he’s dying!”

Others were closer to death. One poor youth – 18, 19 years old, perhaps – had a terrible head wound, a bullet hole in the leg and a bloody mess on his chest.

Pitchers and catchers reported to Spring Training, so the end of winter must be nearing.  Ojala! That’s good, because your bloguero has an acute case of seasonal affective grumpiness (SAG) that just won’t quit.  Tonight there is a high wind warning.  That means gusts of over 60 mph.  If Winter is going out to go out like a lamb, at the moment it’s acting like Rodan.  But enough about him and your bloguero, here’s what this week brought to read and look at:

Solidarity With Wisconsin’s Union Workers features a great historical video and Pete Seeger singing Solidarity Forever.  Normally, your bloguero would have cross posted this, so consider it a gift if you read this far.

Almost Spring Haiku.  Things started to melt, your bloguero was inspired. Briefly.

Futbol, Galeano, Mexico a story by Uruguayan genius Eduardo Galeano about football and Mexico and some context by your bloguero.

Hello Cruel World!, an invitation to blog readers who might be looking for a new place to hang out to visit Port Writers Alliance blogs.

Haiku  that wonder about what one tells oneself, about one’s inner voice.

Your bloguero notes in passing that this Digest is a weekly feature of the Port Writers Alliance and is supposed to be posted early Sunday morning. Well, things happen.  The best laid plans of mice, etc.  See you next week. if the creek don’t rise on Sunday early.  

Many of you will dismiss this installment as sentimental drivel about a TeeVee show that ran when Translator was a kid.  I beg to differ.  This program was much, much deeper than that, and was actually a shining example of how good TeeVee should work.

It had excellent writing, excellent production, and excellent acting from all of the principal players.  It also started the careers of several, now prominent, actors.

Please put up with me here and open your mind to what was a really wonderful situation comedy.  Also, I will pepper this with a bit of insight into the man himself and other roles that he has played that do not jibe with the kindly sheriff of Mayberry.

Regular Features-

• Late Night Karaoke by mishima
• Muse in the Morning by Robyn
• Six In The Morning by mishima

Featured Essays for February 17, 2011-

• Booman: Reagan will beat Glen Beck on relative merits. by Compound F
• A Policy of Evasion and Deception by ek hornbeck
• An Interview with Adlai Stevenson III: Part Five, The Death of Congressional Sanity by cabaretic
• Wild Wild Left Radio #99 John Kozy Interview by Diane G
• So, You Want to Make Millions? Here’s How… by JekyllnHyde
• Injustice at Every Turn — Part V: Housing by Robyn
• Dynamic Positive Thinking! by ek hornbeck
• Original v. Cover — #66 in a Series by curmudgeon

DocuDharma

Pretty solid premiers, none worth remarking on.

All my brothers and brothers-in-laws tell me what a good-hearted guy I am. You don’t get to be good-hearted by accident. You get kicked around long enough, you become a professor of pain.

• AMC– True Grit
• Bravo– Jerry Maguire x 2
• Disney– Wizards of Waverly Place (one hour special), Fish Hooks (both premiers), Phineas and Ferb
• Discovery– Gold Rush (last week’s and Season Finale), Flying Wild
• E!– The Soup
• ESPN– College Hoopies, Connecticut @ Louisville
• ESPN2– College Hoopies, Virginia Commonwealth @ Wichita State
• FX– Big Momma’s House, Big Momma’s House 2
• Oxygen– The Pacifier
• Sci Fi– Merlin (premier)
• Style– When Harry Met Sally
• TBS– 50 First Dates
• Turner Classic– The Hospital, Marty (Paddy Chayefsky night)
• TLC– Say Yes to the Dress marathon (with premier)
• Toon– Generator Rex, Clone Wars (premiers)

Ma, sooner or later, there comes a point in a man’s life when he’s gotta face some facts. And one fact I gotta face is that, whatever it is that women like, I ain’t got it.

Later-

Right now, there is a whole, an entire generation that never knew anything that didn’t come out of this tube. This tube is the gospel, the ultimate revelation; this tube can make or break presidents, popes, prime ministers; this tube is the most awesome goddamn propaganda force in the whole godless world, and woe is us if it ever falls into the hands of the wrong people, and that’s why woe is us that Edward George Ruddy died. Because this company is now in the hands of CCA, the Communications Corporation of America; there’s a new chairman of the board, a man called Frank Hackett, sitting in Mr. Ruddy’s office on the twentieth floor. And when the 12th largest company in the world controls the most awesome goddamn propaganda force in the whole godless world, who knows what shit will be peddled for truth on this network?

• AMC– The Quick and the Dead, Dracula 2000
• Oxygen– Eight Below
• Sci Fi– Being Human (this week’s), Merlin (Instapeat)
• Spike– Die Another Day (Brosnan)
• TBS– The Truman Show, My Best Friend’s Wedding
• Turner Classic– Network (more Paddy)

Dave hosts David Spade, Andy Kindler, and Lukas Nelson and Promise of the Real.

It’s too late, Diana. There’s nothing left in you that I can live with. You’re one of Howard’s humanoids. If I stay with you, I’ll be destroyed. Like Howard Beale was destroyed. Like Laureen Hobbs was destroyed. Like everything you and the institution of television touch is destroyed. You’re television incarnate, Diana: Indifferent to suffering; insensitive to joy. All of life is reduced to the common rubble of banality. War, murder, death are all the same to you as bottles of beer. And the daily business of life is a corrupt comedy. You even shatter the sensations of time and space into split seconds and instant replays. You’re madness, Diana. Virulent madness. And everything you touch dies with you. But not me. Not as long as I can feel pleasure, and pain… and love. And it’s a happy ending: Wayward husband comes to his senses, returns to his wife, with whom he has established a long and sustaining love. Heartless young woman left alone in her arctic desolation. Music up with a swell; final commercial. And here are a few scenes from next week’s show.

Zap2it TV Listings, Yahoo TV Listings

Regular Daily Features:

• Six Worldwide News articles at Six in the Morning from mishima
• The Darjeeling Limited is in the spotlight at Late Night Karaoke, mishima DJ’s

Essays Featured Friday, February 18^th:

• Youffraita deals with a broken habit
• fake consultant  has amazing news in Campaign Manifesto #1: In A World Of Phonies, It’s Time For A Fake Candidate
• Friday Open Thoughts, proffered by slksfca, sheds a little light
• Want to see the definition of spring? Ready for a full dose of Awwwww? newpioneer does just that in Birth Days!
• RiaD  republishes a diary from twigg (with permission!) Sweet South Carolina
  
  ^{what can i say? it tickled my fancy}
• Firefly Memories 1.0 is where (normally)Alma takes a look back at some of the Brilliant essays of our first years posts, highlighting those which exemplify our firefly-dreaming spirit and mission. Alma has an eye problem so Dreamer is filling until she’s better.
  
  Today:My Magic Marker Finally Paid Off  from Eddie C

join the conversation. come firefly-dreaming with me….

Evening Edition is an Open Thread

Now with 55 Top Stories.

1 Bahrain protesters shot as heir promises talks

by Taieb Mahjoub, AFP

51 mins ago

“Punting the Pundits” is an Open Thread. It is a selection of editorials and opinions from around the news medium and the internet blogs. The intent is to provide a forum for your reactions and opinions, not just to the opinions presented, but to what ever you find important.

Thanks to ek hornbeck, click on the link and you can access all the past “Punting the Pundits”

Paul Krugman: Willie Sutton Wept

There are three things you need to know about the current budget debate. First, it’s essentially fraudulent. Second, most people posing as deficit hawks are faking it. Third, while President Obama hasn’t fully avoided the fraudulence, he’s less bad than his opponents – and he deserves much more credit for fiscal responsibility than he’s getting.

About the fraudulence: Last month, Howard Gleckman of the Tax Policy Center described the president as the “anti-Willie Sutton,” after the holdup artist who reputedly said he robbed banks because that’s where the money is. Indeed, Mr. Obama has lately been going where the money isn’t, making a big deal out of a freeze on nonsecurity discretionary spending, which accounts for only 12 percent of the budget.

But that’s what everyone does. House Republicans talk big about spending cuts – but focus solely on that same small budget sliver.

Glen Ford: Obamaland, Where Right Meets Center-Right

The First Black President just gave birth to an unmistakably Republican budget – and everybody knows who that ugly baby’s daddy is. For the past two years, Barack Obama has been making out quite publicly with George Bush’s corporate friends. But that shouldn’t be a scandal; after all, Obama has always told everyone in range of his voice that his main goal in life is to forge a grand consensus with the GOP, a bipartisan understanding between the Right and the Center Right.

The result is an Obama budget that is all sliced up, like the loser in a knife fight – only, Obama and his corporate executives-on-loan at the White House did all the cutting, themselves. Obama is showing such extraordinary talent for obliterating poor and working class programs across the board, he’s making Republicans look redundant and obsolete.

Eugene Robinson: Haley Barbour’s silence speaks volumes

The Mississippi governor continues to display ignorance on issues of race

Does Haley Barbour really have a warped and offensive view of America’s racial history? Or is he just playing a dangerous game?

Perhaps both. . . . . .

The latest outrage – and I don’t use that word lightly – came Tuesday, when Barbour was asked to comment on a proposal for a state license plate honoring one of the most notorious figures of the Civil War era, Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest. I question whether any Confederate officer is worthy of such recognition, given that they were all committing treason. But even for the Sons of Confederate Veterans – the group proposing the license plate – Forrest should be an embarrassment.

Friday, February 18th at 6pm EST!

Listen live by clicking the link icon below:

The call in number is 646-929-1264 to join the conversation!

The live chat link will go live around 5:45.. found at the bottom of the show page when you listen, or by clicking the link below. Chat will be monitored for comments and questions by the host.

CHAT LINK

Tip: In order to comment in chat, you must create a BTR account, its free and only takes seconds.

Miss the show? The podcasts are available at the link above, or at Wildwildleft.com.

Tonight the brilliant sooth & truthsayer Professor John Kozy returns to grace WWL Radio with his views on his two latest articles, Demented Democracy and A Revolting World.

He speaks of ideologies and the lack of persuasion, how Politics has become Religion, and how true Democracy is often not the true goal of the US elsewhere. He speaks of revolutionaries must never quit being revolutionary for true change to occur. Revolution is happening in the Middle East and has begun to spread. We need to heed John’s words!

I love talking to the brightest and the best, and am honored to bring John Kozy to our working class audience! Viva la revolucion!

John Kozy is a retired professor of philosophy and logic who writes on social, political, and economic issues. After serving in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, he spent 20 years as a university professor and another 20 years working as a writer. He has published a textbook in formal logic commercially, in academic journals and a small number of commercial magazines, and has written a number of guest editorials for newspapers. His on-line pieces can be found on http://www.jkozy.com/ and he can be emailed from that site’s homepage.

Join Wild Wild Left Radio every Friday at 6pm EST, via Blog Talk Radio, with Hostess and Producer Diane Gee to guide you through Current Events taken from a Wildly Left Prospective….  her Joplinesque voice speaking straight from the heart about the real-life implications of the Political and the Class War on everyday American Citizens like you.

Controversy? We face it. Cutting Edge? We step over it. Revolutions start with information, and The Wild Wild Left Radio brings you the best in information and op/eds from a position that others on the Left fear to tread…. all with a grain shaker of irreverent humor.

WWL Radio: Bringing you “out there where the buses don’t run” LEFT perspective with interviews, op/eds and straight talk since January of 2009!

This is your morning Open Thread. Pour your favorite beverage and review the past and comment on the future.

Find the past “On This Day in History” here.

February 18 is the 49th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 316 days remaining until the end of the year (317 in leap years).

On this day in 1885, Mark Twain publishes his famous, and famously controversial, novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

Considered as one of the Great American Novels, the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is among the first in major American literature to be written in the vernacular, characterized by local color regionalism. It is told in the first person by Huckleberry “Huck” Finn, a friend of Tom Sawyer and narrator of two other Twain novels (Tom Sawyer Abroad and Tom Sawyer, Detective).

The book is noted for its colorful description of people and places along the Mississippi River. Satirizing a Southern antebellum society that had ceased to exist about twenty years before the work was published, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is an often scathing look at entrenched attitudes, particularly racism.

The work has been popular with readers since its publication and is taken as a sequel to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. It has also been the continued object of study by serious literary critics. It was criticized upon release because of its coarse language and became even more controversial in the 20th century because of its perceived use of racial stereotypes and because of its frequent use of the racial slur “nigger”, despite that the main protagonist, and the tenor of the book, is anti-racist. According to the January 20, 2011 Chase Cook/The Daily article, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn novel will be released in a new edition. Two words will be changed throughout the whole book, “injun” and “nigger” to “indian” and “slave”. The book is being changed as quoted in the article, “only to make it viable to the 21st century”.