Taking the red pill

Someone else thinks the youth are waking up.



Via Poputonian, at Hulabaloo

Me Doth Protest, A Little



by poputonian



Not many commenters picked up on one of the points I was angling for in the prior post, which is no doubt a reflection of my writing skill more than anything else. But aimai and carolyn13, along with a couple of others, did accentuate the impact made on society by the changes in communication technology. It seems no small thing that the medium for protest itself has undergone a massive paradigm shift. The current 100 million streams per day on YouTube and google video far exceed the numbers who view the old style 'teevee', and though much of what is being viewed over the net is entertainment, there is also a growing body of news and protest video. Think of the taser video of the UCLA student that spread organically and virally across the ether. Ditto for the video of Saddam's hanging, which circled the globe before the corporate press could get their fat 401k asses out of bed, or Bush strumming a guitar during the destruction of New Orleans, an image that propagated from person to person and surely had some influence on media coverage and public opinion.

*snip*

Both my teenagers asked a dozen questions about Vietnam and the street protests after watching Going Upriver, a documentary that revealed a true American anti-war hero in John Kerry. Watching Kerry, their eyes welled up with tears, as did mine. They later watched the bumbling press conferences of President Bush and hold him in contempt, and speak out against him. They pledge to vote against him and others like him whenever given the opportunity. My daughter pointed me to When The President Talks To God, the protest song by twenty-something indy-rocker, Bright Eyes. That song, which Bright Eyes made free to anyone who wants it, has now been heard by millions. The video of him performing the song on Leno has been viewed by hundreds of thousands, if not millions. My daughter ended a friendship with someone who became radically opposed to gays because of what that person's fundie parents had taught her. The culture battles are playing out in the schools and I believe the side of reason has the edge. Though it might not hold the visual drama of a street protest, per se, it is the rejection of bad ideas and beliefs.



So, I admit to being optimistic about the younger generation, what with their sensibilities and the new uses of technology. Having information spoon-fed by the monolithic media empire is being replaced by consumer-selected information sources. Print circulation is dropping and the networks are laying off staff as the MSM is out-flanked by the emerging, wired community. It's the wired community where you can find the bee-line to the truth, if you want it. As I see it, protest is still there, but it's perhaps a bit more efficient, subtle, and less obvious to those we're protesting against. Hopefully, this way leads to a greater gathering of numbers, and more sustainability as the precision-memory of digital reporting, coupled with smart governance, leads to a better world. I think the kids will figure it out.

That said, I have an appointment with a bottle and a blunt.



: )

Hmm... apparently, this is me.

You are the Hanged Man

Self-sacrifice, Sacrifice, Devotion, Bound.

With the Hanged man there is often a sense of fatalism, waiting for something to happen. Or fear of

loss from a situation, rather than gain.

The Hanged Man is perhaps the most fascinating card in the deck. It reflects the story of Odin who offered himself as a sacrifice in order to gain knowledge. Hanging from the world tree, wounded by a spear, given no bread or mead, he hung for nine days. On the last day, he saw on the ground runes that had fallen from the tree, understood their meaning, and, coming down, scooped them up for his own. All knowledge is to be found in these runes.

The Hanged Man, in similar fashion, is a card about suspension, not life or death. sacrifice prophecy. You and in doing so, gain illumination. You the world differently, with mystical insights.

What Tarot Card are You?

Take the Test to Find Out.

A few quick thoughts

Absolutely loved the snow we got today, even though it makes driving a pain in the ass. Everything seems a bit off, not bad or good, just different. For instance, while I was making dinner, I heard something strike my front window with a decent amount of force. My cat jumped off of the sill, all her hair standing up, and ran off. I looked outside, and there was a coyote. Apparently, he saw the cat in the sill, and decided he'd have a go at getting through. He just stood there in the snow for a minute, looking at me. Then, he walked off. Weird.

Not much new is happening. I've got some tapes and a book that MAT and Husbot loaned me. They are supposed to be the equivalent to a two year Japanese language study. Stoked on that, hafta see if I can start socking enough away to make it over there this year.

I'm tired a lot. Being sick for so long seems to have left me tired for right now. I guess it's better than being sick.

That's all for now, I suppose.

Many blessings

Mrs. Majority writes a letter

ToUSA Today

SubjectAsk your mother!

MessageI am a mother. War is my worst nightmare. For now, my child is too young to be thrust into the black and bleeding heart of a civil war America can't win. But too many are not too young. President Bush's escalation plan, which would send thousands more of America’s children to Iraq, is unconscionable and immoral because he knows it will fail. We all know it will fail. It is opposed by top military leaders, the Iraq Study Group, foreign policy experts, and the American people. President Bush's plan is shameful because it is nothing more than an effort to salvage lagging poll numbers by s! howing us that he's trying something new. But this is not new. This is just "stay the course" with more of America's children lined up at death's door. We citizens of this democratic nation must urge Congress to exercise its Constitutional authority to hold the president accountable for a change of course that allows for our troops to come home. We must do this for all of America’s children whom he intends to needlessly send to war. And we must do it for the even younger children, so that if, God forbid, they ever find themselves with a President as irresponsible as this one, that future President will remember when American citizens stood up and demanded that their wishes be heeded. President Bush is just rolling over all of us mothers and fathers and all of our children as if we had no power. We must not let him do this. And Congress is our power to stop him.

you can write one too, here's help.



via Sam Seder

Digby on those awful, partisan Dems.

Digby is much more eloquent than I am. Like that's any big surprise, eh? This meme that the Dems are responsible for all the partisan hackery, and that the only way they can govern is to do so by meeting the Repubs halfway, well, I usually stick with "Fuck. That. Shit."

Which is why I now present Digby's thoughts on the subject.

As regular readers know, I've been pondering this infuriating fixation on bipartisanship and moderation for the last couple of weeks and watching aghast as the press does the wingnuts' bidding, setting up the Dems as failing to fulfill their promise to the American people that they would be moderate and bipartisan if they won the election. This was simply not on the agenda during the election, other than that the House Democrats would restore some sort of fairness to the rules and pass anti-corruption legislation. In fact, the entire election was about the Democrats taking power to provide some needed checks and balance on the Republicans.

Oddly, however, in the last couple of weeks, the media has been obsessing that the election reflected a desire among the American people for the congress to stop fighting and work together, which makes no sense. The Republican congress didn't fight --- the Democrats just caterwauled ineffectually from the sidelines, while the Republicans did what they wanted. There was no gridlock, they passed virtually every piece of legislation they wanted and the congress was perfectly in sync with the president. If comity was what people were concerned about they obviously would have kept undivided government.

The American people voted for the Democrats because they wanted them to stop the Republican juggernaut. Look at the poll numbers. Look at the election results.

So, where is this coming from? First, it's obviously coming from the Republicans who have much to gain by whining incessantly about being trod upon by the horrible Democrats who are betraying the citizens who voted for them by being big old meanies. No surprise there. They make their money and derive their power among their mouthbreathing base by portraying themselves as being victimized --- whether in power or out, the liberals are always keeping them down.

As far as I can tell, the Democratic Party was overwhelming elected to be an opposition party, particularly with regard to the war, and the President's usurpation of powers. I'm okay with bipartisanship, but you don't split some things down the middle. Period.

And if you have some idea that the Repubs are just itching to work together with the Dems to change the tone in D.C., allow me to disabuse you of that notion. The R's had a lock on passing just about any legislation they wanted for the last six years. There was no talk of bipartisanship. Questioning the Congress or Junior was likely to have you branded coward or traitor.

"Elections have consequences." He proceeded from that election as if he had a mandate, instead of a slim fucking majority.

How should we proceed when we took the majority by a landslide?

What day is it? Shit, what year is it?

Hmm...



Sorry I've been away for a bit.



I've been decidedly unwell, but I think I'm back in the swing of things. Lots of catch up to be done at work, and around the house. (sigh) Sometimes the aftermath of being sick is as much a pain in the ass as the illness.



I think December wins last year's worst month award. Crap, from start to finish.



January is starting off well enough. I'm cautiously optimistic. A bit lonely and overwhelming form time to time, but I think I'll manage.



Not much else to say for now, but I'll be back later in the week.



Many blessings