This guy has really made me think. He wrote an article that argues that trying to defend the tradition of conservatism (against such apologetic terms as "neoconservatism") is useless - in our age, conservatism is violence:
Indeed, the very meaning of conservatism is to reject all that smarmy liberal stuff about human rights and peace and face the productive power of war and conflict. True morality is embedded in the cold hard steel of tanks, bombers, and prison bars. Government by Democrats should be limited but government by Republicans should be expensive, global, militarized, unchallenged, omnipresent, and if you don't like it, what have you got to hide?
Organized conservatism dishes out this message to you in a package you prefer. For the illiterate there is talk radio. For geeks, there are innumerable e-zines. For the religiously minded, there is the version with scriptural proof texting and its associated rhetorical apparatus. For those with intellectual pretensions, there are professors of ancient history to tell us that Sparta had the right way about it, and that the Roman Empire at its height might have lasted forever had it not been for weak-kneed Christians that hindered the triumph of the will.
Oh, and for those who don't go for the rah-rah stuff, and find base nationalism a tad unseemly, there is the contemplative brand of conservatism that requires quiet reflection on higher things, with noses in the air even as the blood rises to the ankles, knees, and hips.
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But back to angry political commentary: Here's an article by Robert Reich, former Labor Secretary for Clinton. He's a cheerleader for how great things were back then, and I reject that reasoning, but he makes a good point about how Bush's tax cuts for the wealthy and the skyrocketing national debt combine to spell "dolla dolla bill" for the well off:
In other words, the wealthy have shifted their Washington portfolios, if you see what I mean. A lot of the money they used to send to Washington in the form of tax payments they now send to Washington in the form of loans, through treasury bills and bonds. The big difference, of course, is that loans have to be paid back, with interest. So far this year, interest payments on the federal debt have totaled over 290 billion dollars. And who pays that interest? Well, you and me and all taxpayers.
That's the new system, folks. Combine the Bush tax cuts and the soaring federal deficits and you go from one method of financing government (which we used to call it a progressive income tax) to another method-consisting of loans from the wealthy-and interest payments to them from everyone else.
See, this is the brand of conservatism that I can do without. Now, I fail to see how Reich and Clinton worked so hard to avert the same phenomenon, but certainly Bush is pushing us further down the road of the haves and have nots. What an ass.
I'm really enjoying Larry David's Curb Your Enthusiasm on DVD. I know I'm like 5 years behind (I didn't start watching Seinfeld till Season 6 or 7) but there's something about not being plugged into popular culture that makes me feel cool. I think that thing is called "hopeless delusion".
I like how Richard Lewis is always in the episodes. I don't really think he's that funny, but he reminds me of a childhood friend named Richard Lewis. Seriously. I had a friend in 5th grade who, thinking back on it, reminds me of Richard Lewis. Except, well, I think my friend turned out to be gay.
Does anybody else besides me think Aqua Teen Hunger Force is overrated? I get a few laughs out of it, but... I want more Carl.
OK, that's the popular culture post for the year. Back to plugging no-name bands like Brothers Past and Lotus.
You see how I just did that? Yee-uh, bitch.
I hear this guy is kind of an asshole, but even assholes can be right, as evidenced in this outtake from his article published today:
Every day, more and more Iraqi people are being killed or maimed in order to support the new Iraqi dictatorship of Iyad Allawi. When those victims or their survivors or their friends or relatives end up retaliating against the United States with terrorist acts, will the feds not immediately treat us to "They attacked us for our freedom and values"? But just as was the case in the 1993 and 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center, the claim will be false: The real reason for the new attacks will be the U.S. government's meddling in the internal affairs of other nations, including its support of brutal dictators who do its bidding.
True dat.
Well, I had a great time at the Phish show at Hampton Colliseum. It was about what I expected, performance wise. It was a decent show, with good moments. I'm still thinking about it, so that's a good sign. Hampton is a nice place to see a show, with the seating and plenty of room on the floor. It was nice.
We were a little worried because the friend of the friend who had our tickets couldn't be reached until we were actually parked in line to get into the parking lot. Finally, after realizing we had the wrong number, our friend gave us the right one and we got the tickets. We hung out in a grassy part of the parking lot and let our friends gather at our canopy. Had a nice little chill out, especially since the State Police decided to camp out the entire pre-show right next to us. I forgot how sketch Phish shows are, and Hampton used to be pretty quiet.
So I took Monday and Tuesday off, and now I'm back. Soooo much shit on my plate, it's not funny.
Some friends of mine whom I know through BP hooked me up with Hampton Phish tickets! Kickass!
Don't let anybody ever tell you that bitching on public message boards will never get you anywhere. It's simply not true.
It kind of bothers me that I'm getting so interested in this Software Design course I'm taking at work. I'm finding it harder and harder to ignore the fact that I'm a big fat nerd.
Well, this isn't the greatest week ever, but at the very least people will stop talking about that big taxpayer funded party they held up in Boston. Christ.
You know what I hate about going to shows? I hate feeling like I have to push and shove just to be able to stand in one spot. I am NOT into moshing. I like to dance, I like it when others dance, and I don't mind occasional, accidental contact. But when people deliberately act like the space you're occupying is, in fact, empty, that's when I draw the line. The Brothers Past show in Newark, DE was awesome - I just wish there wasn't so much overhead in the way of assholes in the crowd. I found myself elbowing and shoving girls just to be able to stand up straight. On top of this, the lack of AC in the place resulted in a thin film of funk on everybody. Most of the sweat on me was from other people. I enjoyed the show much more once I decided to just be rude and do what they were doing to me. But this kind of situation is largely why I stopped going to Phish and Disco Biscuits shows (besides the fact that I think they kinda suck now, I'd like to purchase a ticket to legitimately occupy floor space, not simply to get squeezed into a room).
Speaking of Phish, anybody who knew me in college knows that I was way into them for two or three years. Well, when they took a hiatus, I decided to see them one last time in Columbia, MD. It was a wonderful show (got pavillion seating) and I wanted that to be my last memory of the band. Well, I just tried getting tickets for a surprise show at Hampton Colliseum and I remembered why I wanted to keep good memories. Getting to a Phish show is an exercise in testing your fanhood. I spent three hours trying to convince the ticket reservation program to, no, not crash, but in fact simply send my credit card info to them so I could get a ticket. I was up ten minutes before they went on sale simultaneously calling and surfing to get tickets. So was my girlfriend, and so was her sister. So were our friends. None of us got tickets. And you know who I blame? George W. Bush.
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From the pioneers at CorpWatch.org, a reminder about the true nature of John Kerry's campaign:
This week John Kerry will accept the Democratic nomination to run for United States President at a gathering in Boston that will cost over $95 million to produce, the most expensive political party convention in history. The Fleet Center, a sports and entertainment arena where the meeting is being held, is named after the powerful FleetBoston Corporation, the biggest donor to Kerry's Congressional career, a company typical of the corporate benefactors floating the Democratic and Republican parties ever higher on a sea of special-interest cash.
Kerry may denounce the corrupting influence of special interests and big business and he may praise the Federal Election Campaign Act banning "soft money," the unchecked expenditures of special-interest money that distorted past elections and subverted federal limits on campaign contributions. But he may be a little more bashful about the $1.25 million dollar donation by Fleet Boston Financial to the Democratic convention host committee.
I have no problem with people who support the Democratic platform, or the Republican platform, when they honestly believe in them. But when people try to tell me that Republicans seek to be compassionate, or Democrats seek to break the corporate influence on politics, I really have to wonder whether they ever watch anything but campaign commercials.
I wonder how Democrats feel about the free speech zone. Probably the same way Republicans feel about prescription drug coverage - a neccessarily self-serving, hypocritical evil. "Don't blame us, the terrorists took away your right to exercise free speech, not us!" Who is standing up to this? Who is holding the gov't - not a bunch of theoretical villains - accountable for this blatantly unconstitutional infringement on the rights of the people? NOBODY. I'll be goddamned if I vote for a Republican or Democrat.
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If you're looking for market solutions to environmental problems (a la my libertarianism and environmentalism post) you can now tune in to The Commons Blog. I don't completely agree with the tone of some of the commentary (I think the nature of the corporation, as an institution, is part of the environmental problem) but it does have some great little articles on free market environmental issues.
And hey - it's a link that takes you away from here. I know you're just looking for a fashionable way to exit. I see you looking at the door.
We went backpacking this weekend. Short but sweet, probably about 10-12 miles total. It takes us so damn long just to get to the trailhead anyway... we just can't motivate. It's nice to sleep in the woods, though - when we happen to pick a good trail near water, and happen to find a legal campsite near said water, it's really nice. The weather was good on Saturday, but Sunday presented a misting rain that, while not as bad as a torrential downpour, definately motivated me to get back to the car double time. The sucky thing about Shenendoah Nat'l Park is that, no matter what trail you take, if you start from Skyline Drive (the scenic highway that goes peak to peak along the mountain ridge), you ALWAYS start out downhill and end up going uphill, when you can least manage. My legs are jelly, and I had a rather light load this weekend, compared to other trips I've taken. Anyway, we took Tela (our beagle) with us, and I was pleasantly surprised at how well behaved she was. Apparently she is growing up. Usually when we're on the trail, she's in her element, so whenever I stop for two seconds to take a drink of water she can't stand to stand still when there's a great trail ahead and she starts going nuts, barking and whining and shit. The moment she sees mountains from the car, she starts going crazy. However, this time she was more subdued, and it was nice. It means we can go more often with Tela and have less headaches along the way.
Anyway, BP Wednesday in Baltimore. Be there.
Alright, Friday! Finally can put the meaningless drudgery of work behind me for 48 hours. How will I spend it? Going backpacking in Shenendoah National Park. I believe we're hiking in the central section, towards Bear Church Rock. Tried to get my friend Bill to come along, but he commied out. Sara, our friend from Richmond, is going. Well, here comes Tasha, we best get going (first, we're going to see the Bourne Supremacy - what a dumb name for a movie. Supposed to be pretty good, though).
Ok, so you think emoticons are gay, Wil. Fair enough. I think footnotes for blog posts are gay*.
And, yes, both of us are terribly repressed.
- = yes, this is the kind of homo thing I'm talking about.
How do I comment on this?
Damn you, Gary Bean. :-)
Another harrowing image from the Iraqi occupation...
I know, I know... that oil fire burning off in the distance breaks my heart, too.
By the way, Wil, I'm gonna keep shoving this in your face until you acknowledge it.
And get your fucking cattle off my land!!!
