Bell Of Confusion: Great GoogaMooga

The wealth of stuff I've uncovered on Windsor Terrace history as well as a need to have a more organized source of my educational stuff for next term has led me to create a new site. I'm calling it "Bell Of Confusion." Here's the link to it. People moving out, people moving in. Why, because of the color of their skin.
Run, run, run but you sure can't hide. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.
Vote for me and I'll set you free. Rap on, brother, rap on.
Well, the only person talking about love thy brother is the...(preacher.)
And it seems nobody's interested in learning but the...(teacher.)
Segregation, determination, demonstration, integration, Aggravation, humiliation, obligation to our nation.
Ball of confusion. Oh yeah, that's what the world is today. Woo, hey, hey.
The sale of pills are at an all time high.
Young folks walking round with their heads in the sky.
The cities ablaze in the summer time.
And oh, the beat goes on.
Evolution, revolution, gun control, sound of soul.
Shooting rockets to the moon, kids growing up too soon.
Politicians say more taxes will solve everything.
And the band played on.
So, round and around and around we go.
Where the world's headed, nobody knows.
Oh, great GoogaMooga, can't you hear me talking to you.
Just a ball of confusion.
Oh yeah, that's what the world is today.
Woo, hey, hey.
Fear in the air, tension everywhere.
Unemployment rising fast, the Beatles new record's a gas.
And the only safe place to live is on an Indian reservation.
And the band played on.
Eve of destruction, tax deduction, city inspectors, bill collectors,
Mod clothes in demand, population out of hand, suicide, too many bills,
Hippies moving to the hills. People all over the world are shouting, 'End the war.'
And the band played on.
Great GoogaMooga, can't you hear me talking to you.
Sayin'... ball of confusion.
That's what the world is today, hey, hey.
Let me hear ya, let me hear ya, let me hear ya.
Sayin'... ball of confusion.
That's what the world is today, hey, hey.
Let me hear ya, let me hear ya, let me hear ya, let me hear ya, let me hear ya.
Sayin'... ball of confusion.

Here's the Temptation version

Kiss And Tell

A sample of a search for "George Bush and Victor Ashe":The Truth about George W. Bush-Here you will find out the little known truth concerning President George W. Bush, Victor Ashe, the current American ambassador to Poland (formerly mayor of Knoxville, Tennessee and Exec. V.P.; C.F.O. of Fannie Mae), and their adulterous-bisexual relationship with a Las Vegas woman in 1984. This situation took place in 1984 in the State of Tennessee. It concerns a 41 year old woman [currently residing in Las Vegas], Victor Ashe and George Bush's encounter in 1984 during the senate debates between Al Gore, Jr., Victor Ashe and Ed McAteer. She was invited to come to Tennessee by Victor Ashe. While attending one of these debates she spoke briefly with Ed McAteer (Senatorial candidate in 1984 who debated alongside Al Gore, Jr. and Victor Ashe, and was responsible in part for the emergence of the Religious Right). "

Ashe is in this slide show-see if you can find him

It's In His Kiss

As Colbert said while using this pic as a prop. "Evidently poor polls are communicated by saliva."-
I'd also add, along with the arrogance of power. Finally a bit of good news as this war mongering, tuchis leching, apologist putz goes down to defeat.

Amended lyrics from Denis Leary's asshole song (see 8/3/06-beware of Greeks):
I'm just a regular Joe 
With (out) a regular job 
I'm your average white 
(Pro-War) Suburbanite slob 
I like corporate support and books about war
I'm an asshole 
(he's an asshole, what an asshole) 
I'm an asshole 
(he's an asshole, such an asshole)

My Birthday 109 Years Ago In Windsor Terrace

Some of the Windsor Terrace history I was exploring just before the big event below.

A Story With Legs

Surfing the Brooklyn Eagle archives on the Brooklyn Public Library site led me to a notice that Kevin Baker was speaking at the Bay Ridge branch tonight, so I interrupted my busy schedule to attend. Kevin did a good job both reading excerpts from Striver's Row and relating some interesting stories about his research. My front row seat gave me a good view of Kevin but also of the young ladies' legs who was there to sell copies of Striver's for autographing. Taking a clandestine picture would be too obvious, but a image search of "women in shirt skirts" did the trick for a reasonable facsimile.

Stabbed In The Back

Kevin Baker was on Air America's Majority Report with Sam Seder last night. Kevin wrote an interesting analysis of the right wings' rise to power after WW2. It was in Harper's Magazine this past June. It's called, "Stabbed In The Back." In "Gangs Of New York," Liam Neeson has a similar fate. Baker's "Paradise Alley," though fiction, provides a more accurate portrayal of the events of the clash of cultures in NYC circa 1850
Here's a portion of the article-you can get it all at harpers.org/StabbedInTheBack
"Every state must have its enemies. Great powers must have especially monstrous foes. Above all, these foes must arise from within, for national pride does not admit that a great nation can be defeated by any outside force. That is why, though its origins are elsewhere, the stab in the back has become the sustaining myth of modern American nationalism. Since the end of World War II it has been the device by which the American right wing has both revitalized itself and repeatedly avoided responsibility for its own worst blunders. Indeed, the right has distilled its tale of betrayal into a formula: Advocate some momentarily popular but reckless policy. Deny culpability when that policy is exposed as disastrous. Blame the disaster on internal enemies who hate America. Repeat, always making sure to increase the number of internal enemies. As the United States staggers past the third anniversary of its misadventure in Iraq, the dagger is already poised, the myth is already being perpetuated. To understand just how this strategy is likely to unfold—and why this time it may well fail—we must return to the birth of a legend. The stab in the back first gained currency in Germany, as a means of explaining the nation’s stunning defeat in World War I. It was Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg himself, the leading German hero of the war, who told the National Assembly, “As an English general has very truly said, the German army was ‘stabbed in the back.’”

The Best Singer

I thought best all time singer could be my next poll, but there's no contest

The Most Beautiful Winner

Hiroshima: The Sadako Story

from sadako.org: "The paper crane has become an international symbol of peace in recent years as a result of it's connection to the story of a young Japanese girl named Sadako Sasaki born in 1943. Sadako was two years old when the atom bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan on August 6, 1945. As she grew up, Sadako was a strong, courageous and athletic girl. In 1955, at age 11, while practicing for a big race, she became dizzy and fell to the ground. Sadako was diagnosed with Leukemia, "the atom bomb" disease. Sadako's best friend told her of an old Japanese legend which said that anyone who folds a thousand paper cranes would be granted a wish. Sadako hoped that the gods would grant her a wish to get well so that she could run again. She started to work on the paper cranes and completed over 1000 before dying on October 25, 1955 at the age of twelve." Here's a slide show put together from images from the Lewis and Clark College archive which houses part of a collection from the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and part of a radio broadcast segment of 8/6/02 from media.maineindymedia.org

Swords Of Rome

From Amazon: Swords of Rome follows the Emperor Nero as he consolidates his political alliances. It describes him in the first stages of decadence and debauchery that resulted in his fall and the burning of Rome. Readers can see firsthand the corruption and greed of the Roman Senate, along with a more personal story of a gladiator who becomes a threat to Nero and to his power. With dramatic text and memorable illustrations, Swords of Rome brings an extraordinary era alive."
Here's a sample slide show of this excellently written and illustrated graphic novel

Off Target With A Cup Of Joe?

After all that Sunday hoopla with Bobby Darin what should show up in my mailbox but a note from Joe. Evidently someone in the show me state showed Joe to a computer. However, his usual message of hope to the hopeless is short on compassion. Has Joe been bought out by the big box folks for $12 an hour? I don't know, but look closely at the photo of the store opening in St. Louis that Joe so easily defends. And do you really think, Ray, father of 14, knows what palaver means? I thought it was a dead body until I used my dictionary.
Dave,
I’ve got to confess I’ve been remiss. But awareness is nine-tenths of the journey to responsibility so I’m here to tell you that rectifying the vicissitudes of laxity is one disease to which I can apply an antidote. And therefore, forthwith, I propose to lay out for you and the entire readership comments that are designed as hypnologic missiles which upon direct strike will fortify whatever quadrants of human experience do not bolstering. Are we on the same page with this?

In just this spirit Ray B. of Tulsa writes to ask me:

Dear Joe,
While shopping for school supplies in Target the other day I noticed that there were a series of pseudo advertisements for products that, upon inquiry, turned out to be unavailable. When I inquired further to unearth the purpose of such a policy I was told in no uncertain terms that I was “barking up the wrong tree” and that, in the words of the store manager, “had oughta pay more attention to my own bizness.” Since at the time my “bizness” was gathering school supplies for myself, my fourteen children and my wife – all of whom including myself are elementary school students at the William Randolph Hearst school for advanced penmanship – I felt that the ad for free pens in exchange for a pledge to shop exclusively in the Target school supply area for the on-coming semester would have been squarely within the domain of my concern. Therefore, I do admit to raising a ruckus and after being told that I had raised up above my raisin’ was summarily ejected from the Target establishment and told to return never again, although the date of such return was not specified. I’m writing to you for advice since, in my opinion, I have been mistreated and otherwise treated quite unfairly.
Sincerely,
Ray B. of Tulsa, father of 14

Dear Ray B.,
I am not going to say how I know what I know but I do know that you are not who you say you are and that the whole issue of school supplies is nothing but a cheap ruse. Therefore, I’m going to have to concur with Mr. Manager from Target and target you as the recipient for the same advice, “Mind your own bizness.” And as far as your attendance at the William Randolph Hearst school of advanced penmanship, don’t make me laugh. I happen to have some very good idea about what their requirements for admission are and know that they do not pander to students who palaver indiscriminately and I see no other way to categorize yourself as but an indiscriminate palaverer.
Sorry I couldn’t be of more help,
Joey B. aka Joe B.

Sunday With Darin #2

Ok, I give in, here's Spacey doing Darin-but it's incredible that Darin had the guts to write and perform this at this time in history and in this venue
Come and sing a simple song of freedom
Sing it like you've never sung before
Let it fill the air
Tell the people everywhere
We, the people here, don't want a war
Hey there, Mister Black Man can you hear me?
I won't dig your diamonds or hunt your game
I just want to be, someone known to you as me
and I will bet my life you want the same
So come and sing a simple song of freedom
Sing it like you've never sung before
Let it fill the air
Tell the people everywhere
We, the people here, don't want a war
Seven hundred million are you listening?
Most of what you read is made of lies
But speaking one to one, ain't it everybody's sun
To wake to in the morning when we rise?
So come and sing a simple song of freedom
Sing it like you've never sung, never sung, before
Let it fill the air
Tell the people everywhere
We, the people here, don't want a war
Brother Yareshenko are you busy?
If not would you drop a friend a line?
Tell me if the man, who is plowing up your land
has got the war machine upon his mind
Come and sing a simple song of freedom
Sing it like you've never sung before
Let it fill the air
Tell the people everywhere
That we, the people here, don't want a war
Now no doubt some folks enjoy doin' battle
Like presidents and ministers and kings
But let us build them shelves where they can fight among themselves
and leave the people be who like to sing
Come and sing a simple song of freedom
Sing it like you've never sung before
Let it fill the air
Tell the people everywhere
That we the people here, don't want a war
Let it fill the air
Tell the people everywhere
That we the people here, don't want a war

Sunday In New York Sans A Cup Of Joe

While still waiting patiently for Mrs. B's replacement column for Joe (she's busy buying decking or faucets online for you know what) I took it upon myself to come up with something suitably special-no political rants, no history education, no yankee fanzine. Anyway while searching for Si Zentner music (what I lamely listened to in the 60's instead of Dylan) I hit on some old Bobby Darin favorites (in the ultra-lounge category). Darin was great (Dream Lover was my 1959 love theme for Nancy Bueller), but I couldn't bare seeing the egotistical, closeted Kevin Spacey hamming it up as him in the bio film. Anyway, some interesting stuff on Bobby, from Roman Candle: The Life of Bobby Darin by David Evanier: Born Walden Robert Cassotto, to an impoverished single mother and a father who skipped away without even learning of the pregnancy, Darin was raised in the tenements and housing projects of Harlem and New York's Lower East Side by his maternal grandmother, a would-be singer turned morphine addict whose husband, a two-bit hood called Big Sam Curly, died in prison while serving time for petty larceny. Darin grew up thinking that his mother was his sister (late in his life, when he was considering a run for political office, she decided to tell him the truth before reporters looked up his birth records). Having been stricken with rheumatic fever as a child, he suffered from a weak heart that precluded horseplay, alienated him from his peers on the street, drew him inward, and threatened to cut short his life. His family doctor expected him to live no more than sixteen years—perhaps twenty-one, with luck.
More: In 1967 the bodies of ten prisoners, who had been shot dead, were discovered secretly buried on a farm in Arkansas, in a scene that could have come straight out of the Paul Newman film, ‘Cool Hand Luke’. Back then, prison farms were expected to be self-supporting. Thus, trusties took the place of salaried guards, the whipping of prisoners with four-foot long straps was sanctioned by law and torturing them by electricity or old-fashioned pliers was sanctioned by custom. In 1968 an anti-government song, ‘Long Line Rider’, in memory of the slain prisoners was written. The man who wrote that song was boohed off the stage when he tried to perform it. He was also prevented from singing it on the Jackie Gleason television show in the USA and walked off the set. That man was fifties’ teenage idol Bobby Darin.
So, nu? What's so special about that say the hard to please. Well, I made a slide show taking the "Sunday In New York" song that was a Darin hit
(unfortunately I can't locate the Darin version on my numerous hard drives now, so instead it's the capable Etta Jones) and combined it with web cam stills of NYC this Sunday. Come to think of it using web cam stills would be an interesting assignment to ask kids to capture an assortment of them and write their impressions of their sense of what is going on at that snapshot of time and place.

Sacco And Vanzetti #4

Here's the Woody Guthrie song treatment of the story of Sacco and Vanzetti.






The lyrics
Say, there, did you hear the news?
Sacco worked at trimmin' shoes;
Vanzetti was a peddlin' man,
Pushed his fish cart with his hand.
Two good men a long time gone,
Two good men a long time gone,
Two good men a long time gone
Left me here to sing this song.
Sacco's born across the sea,
Somewhere over in Italy;
Vanzetti born of parents fine,
Drank the best Italian wine.
Sacco sailed the sea one day.
Landed up in the Boston Bay.
Vanzetti sailed the ocean blue,
An' landed up in Boston, too.
Sacco's wife three children had;
Sacco was a family man.
Vanzetti was a dreamin' man,
His book was always in his hands.
Sacco earned his bread and butter
Bein' the factory's best shoe cutter.
Vanzetti spoke both day and night,
Told the workers how to fight.
I'll tell you if you ask me
'Bout this payroll robbery.
Two clerks was killed by the shoe fact'ry,
On the streets in South Braintree.
Judge Thayer told his friends around.
That he had cut the radicals down.
"Anarchist bastard" was the name
Judge Thayer called these two good men.

Deogratias: A Tale Of Rwanda

Another graphic novel from firstsecond books: "Starred review in 5/1/06 issue of Kirkus
An award-winning graphic novel grapples with the unthinkable. Deogratias, a Hutu youth barely out of his teens, now appears as a shambling wreck in ragged clothes, drinking steadily and barking like a dog. But a series of seamless flashbacks reveals a younger, happier Deogratias, remarkable only for his mundanity. Despite poverty, prostitution, and racial condescension, his friends enjoy a lively multiethnic culture: Deogratias romances a Tutsi girl while secretly yearning for her mulatto half-sister. Meanwhile, a steady background drumbeat of ethnic hatred builds to a horrific crescendo in the genocide of 1994, when 800,000 Rwandans are butchered by their neighbors. Neither hero nor villain, Deogratias tries to spare himself and his loved ones, trapped in a shocking spiral of violence, betrayal, and madness. While Stassen's simple layout and spare images may appear static at first, the uncluttered art, reminiscent of jewel-toned woodcuts, serves to underscore the erupting brutality. Only a few of the panels depict the actual massacre, still, the ghastly subject matter, sexual themes and coarse language, along with the elliptical narrative structure, restrict this title to a mature audience. Nonetheless, the importance of the story and the heartbreaking beauty of its presentation make it an essential purchase. "
Here's a slide show of the opening section along with an intro to the background of this holocaust

He's No Larry King

No Larry King softball tosses for this guy

Boychick Peacenicks

And you can call me Vanessa Redgrave if you wish, but these right wing Zionists are pissing me off. An assemblage of war protest images in a slide show with Springsteen's ode to Pete

Numbers Please

The cartoon is by Mr. Fish from Harper's Magazine. I was intrigued by numbers at the Roosevelt Mall tonight. Like: The increasing prevalence of interracial couples (I saw at least 6, the resultant babies are one sure fire way to stop racism). The unbelievably low prices at Steve and Barry's gigantic, but empty store (nothing over $6.98-now what does that tell you about the state of the economy and how much of that do you think the Nepalese workers get that make the garments sold there) The no wait time at a fine restaurant like Macaroni Grill and the 1 hour wait for some schlock like the Cheesecake Factory and Chili's. Other interesting stats: The average number of pantry flies I kill each day, 20; average number of Stewart's or Boylan Creme Sodas consumed by Steff each day, 5; average time spent on my laptop each day,10 hours
Here's some numbers from Harper's Magazine Index:
Number of times that Mary, Jesus' mother, is referenced by name in the Bible and the Koran, respectively: 19, 34[Hartford Institute for Religion Research (Hartford, Conn.)]
Percentage change last year in the number of CDs sold at Starbucks: +307[Starbucks Coffee Company (Seattle)]
Minimum number of shopping carts that went missing from L.A.–area stores last year: 6,220,000[California Shopping Cart Retrieval Corp. (Burbank)/Hernandez Cart Service Inc. (Venice, Calif.)]
Percentage of South Korean youth who say their country should back North Korea in the event of war with the U.S.: 48[The Korea Times/Hankook Ilbo (Seoul)]
Percentage of white-collar Chinese workers who have personal blogs: 52[CBP Career Consultants Co. (Shanghai)]
Weeks in advance that Al Qaeda operatives must request vacation time, according to seized documents: 10[Combating Terrorism Center (West Point, N.Y.)]
Estimated number of fake blogs created every day by websites to improve their rankings in search-engine results: 6,750[Technorati (San Francisco)]

Shays' Rebellion

A search for resources on Shays' Rebellion turned up this fine example of student use of video in history

this compliments a cartoon version of those events done by the cartoonist Stan Mack that I converted into a slide show (Voden ?)*
from a blog entry of 8/19/05
Stan Mack, the cartoonist of Village Voice fame, also wrote a relatively unknown cartoon book about the Revolutionary War and its aftermath. Here's a review: "Longtime Village Voice cartoonist Mack has taken his talent for rendering the frenzied variety of life in New York City and produced a cheerful and informative history of the American Revolution. Delightfully illustrated in his distinctive minimalist cartoon style, Mack's first original book-length effort puts the "real life" back into our revolutionary roots, providing capsule portraits of the prominent activists of the time, along with their many idiosyncracies, comic flaws and strategic bungling. He provides amusing sketches of early anti-British activists like James Otis and Sam Adams, notes the nature of the Enlightenment and New England Puritanism and outlines the many hated tax laws that preceded the Boston Tea Party and the Revolutionary War. Just as important, he depicts the ongoing clashes between the colonial aristocracy, new merchant classes, urban laborers and farmers over the country's developing economy. He also profiles the important but restricted roles of African slaves and freemen and women in the war, as well as the formidable presence of Native American nations. Ending with the ratification of the Constitution, Mack celebrates the document while pointing to its flaws-the continuance of slavery, destruction of native cultures and lack of rights for women and whites without property. *yiddish translation:what else would you expect

The Future Is: #2

I would have to say it's not plastics any more, but graphic novels. I "blogged" slide show portions of several before. The other week I was in Forbidden Planet (a well known comic book store in Manhattan) and you had to elbow your way past all the teenagers to view the latest titles on the racks. The graphic novel sections of big box bookstores are expanding. I think if we can grab kids' "web 2" attention with well done historical adaptations and give them the proper tech tools to create their own, then it would be an effective counter to the stultifying no child left behind literacy yutzes.
The folks at firstsecondbooks.com had some titles that caught my eye and I purchased several at Strand. A review of "Journey into Mohawk Country" Early in the winter of 1634, a young Dutch trader sets out from a tiny outpost on the southern tip of Manhattan Island to explore the Iroquois country, where the powerful Mohawk tribe controlled the most important trade routes in the region. Twenty-three-year-old Harmen Meyndertsz van den Bogaert and his friends traveled deep into what is now New York State, trading tools and weapons for food, shelter, and furs, and seeking to establish new tribal friendships that would strengthen the faltering Dutch trade. Throughout the journey, Van den Bogaert kept a journal of their adventures, recording their fears, successes, and the terrible hardship of making such a journey in the depths of winter. Here is that journal, nearly four centuries later, in Van den Bogaert’s own words. In Journey into Mohawk Country, George O’Connor’s passionate research and extraordinarily expressive illustrations bring this remarkable historical document to life. He skillfully draws upon the subtle hints and innuendoes of Van den Bogaert’s journal entries to lend a new level of richness, humor, and humanity to this long-forgotten episode in American history.
Here's a slide show from the first several pages

The Future Is: #1

About 8 years ago I told my esteemed tech colleague Janet Chasin (then a Guido) that the future of tech education was in movies. I was pretty much on target. It hasn't gotten me anywhere though. Here's one of the most remembered futurist
Plastics didn't do much for Dustin either, but at least he got seduced by Anne Bancroft.
more to come on this subject-the future that is, not seduction.

We're Off On The Road To Rhode Island

another installment in my moderately popular Rhode Island youtube series
I wasn't aware how popular Family Guy is. There's even a fan site just devoted to the one episode where the scene above originates. The lyrics:
We're off on the road to Rhode Island
We're having the time of our lives.
Stewie: Take it dog...
Brian: We're quite a pair of partners,
Just Like Thelma and Louise.
'cept you're not six feet tall
Stewie: Yes and your breasts don't reach your knees.
Brian: Give it time.
We're off on the road to Rhode Island,
We're certainly going in style.
Brian: I'm with an intellectual, who craps inside his pants.
Stewie: How dare you. At least I don't leave urine stains on all the household plants.
Brian: Oh, pee jokes
We've travelled a bit and we've found,
Like a masochist in Newport we're Rhode Island bound.
Brian: Crazy travel conditions, huh?
Stewie: First class or no class
Brian: Woa, careful with that joke, it's an antique
We're off on the road to Rhode Island
We're not going to stop until we're there (Brian: Maybe for a beer).
Brian: Whatever dangers we may face, we'll never fear or cry
Stewie: That's right, until we're syndicated Fox will never let us die
(Please!)
We're off on the road to Rhode Island,
The home of that old campus swing.
Brian: We may pick up some college girls, and picnic on the grass.
Stewie: We'd tell you more, but we'd have the censors on our ass. (Yikes!)
We're off on the road to Rhode Island
We certainly do get around.
Like a bunch of renegade pilgrims
Who are thrown out of Plymouth colony.
We're Rhode Island bound.
Or like a group of College Freshmen
who were rejected by Harvard and forced to go to Brown.
We're Rhode Island bound!

The Top Eight Things To Talk To A Psychiatrist About

.....when there is nothing else to talk about and you realize that all hope is lost and you only want your prescription and it's too hot to think of two more things
1. The mechanics of the golf swing vs. the baseball swing.
2. The prospects of World War III
3. How oppressed groups of people become the oppressors
4. Knowing Doris Day
5. Making plans to discredit another therapist
6. Selling the stock market short
7. The obvious giant phallic symbol in the waiting room
8. Recommended audio books

In The Spirit Of Spiro

Interesting, this media bending headline was found during an image search for one of Spiro's famous phrases, "Nattering Nabob." It comes courtesy of the freewayblogger.

Vanzetti Lives!

The Yanks added the Paisano Fasano to the team, but has anyone seen these two guys in the same place at the same time?

Beware Of Greeks...

A web second look at Spiro Agnew: He may not have been as bad as Cheney, but he was an asshole. Some gems: The words Spiro Agnew may be rearranged to spell grow a penis. Agnew was sent out on the campaign trail, and later as vice president, to attack the hippies, leftists and pinkos that Nixon felt were primarily responsible for the decline of America (which couldn't possibly have been his fault). Armed with a series of ad hominem zingers penned by Nixon's sleaze purveyors Pat Buchanan and William Safire, Agnew made many memorable contributions to the history of destructo-politics with gems like these: "A Nixon-Agnew administration will abolish the credibility gap and reestablish the truth — the whole truth — as its policy." "(The media) are an effete corps of impudent snobs, a tiny fraternity of privileged men elected by no one and enjoying a monopoly sanctioned and licensed by the government. They are nattering nabobs of negativism." "Ultraliberalism today translates into a whimpering isolationism in foreign policy, a mulish obstructionism in domestic policy, and a pusillanimous pussyfooting on the critical issue of law and order." "The criminal left is not a problem to be solved by the Department of Philosophy or the Department of English--it is a problem for the Department of Justice.... Black or white, the criminal left is interested in power. It is not interested in promoting the renewal and reforms that make democracy work; it is interested in promoting those collisions and conflict that tear democracy apart." "A spirit of national masochism prevails, encouraged by an effete corps of impudent snobs who characterize themselves as intellectuals." "(Whomever he was attacking this particular day were) the hopeless, hysterical hypochondriacs of history." "If you've seen one city slum you've seen them all." Here's an Agnew slide show set to an appropriate track featuring Dennis Leary

Come Away With Me Lucille In My Merry Oldsmobile

Here's an Oldsie Oldie from two summers ago that's an appropriate follow up to the "Old Cars of New York" post of 7/31/06. It's an interview with the knowledgeable and gracious Donald Gruenberg. Don is an automotive history expert and former acquaintance of the late Greek American and scandal plagued Vice President, Spiro Agnew. Don is also the dad of my neighbor Dana, who despite the frantic efforts of Cheryl, is the unofficial mayor of Sherman Street. Dana is also famous for being the son in law of "Mary, Mary Quite Contrary" of Tom McGreevey fame. I didn't quite realize that so many of the car names were based on the real names of the early automotive innovators. PS, Spiro was a minor or "bush" leaguer compared to Cheney.

Just Desserts Desert

From Moveon.org's promo "100 Days to Win: Just Desserts With the election a little more than 100 days away, we're organizing dessert potlucks on July 31st to kickoff our big program to win in November. MoveOn members across the country are going to get together to share some delicious pie and launch our massive get-out-the-vote program. We'll link all the parties with a conference call featuring Senator Barack Obama and Al Franken, and we'll fill everyone in on how the program works and what you can do locally to help give Republicans their "just desserts" in November."

I was shocked that here we have the country's worst president in history who is leading us straight to hell and this event only could attract about 5000 people nationwide! And probably half of those people just showed to have something to do. Maybe I'm a bellweather. My wife decided to host one of these. I bitched and moaned about cleaning up the house and shopping, etc. The people were nice, but when you gather ten liberals you have 100 opinions. After being computer guy for the virtual hook up I quickly escaped. We are just an angry, lonely nation of people and we vote the hate party line or we just don't care.. Rove knows this all too well.
A recent Duke sociological poll:"In general, most people report fewer close friends, according to a new sociological survey, . The survey, from Duke University, showed that Americans reported a smaller circle of friends in 2004 than in 1985. The number decreased in size by one-third, or about one friend, over about 20 years. Known as the "General Social Survey," it asked the question "Who have you discussed important matters with?" in 1985 and 2004. Researchers then analyzed and compared the two sets of data. The number of "close confidants" Americans could confide in decreased; however, spouses and partners were more likely to be mentioned in 2004 than in 1985. What could cause such a decrease of close confidants among Americans? Some people contribute it to changes in U.S. culture. "People are working more … living in more dispersed circumstances in the suburbs … and keeping in touch through technological means" more so than in the mid-'80s, said Lynn Smith-Lovin, head author of the study and a Duke sociologist. Researchers in the Netherlands and Hungary reported the same trend in their citizens over a few years, she said. These rather swiftly occurring changes mean fewer friends, said Bruce Spring, a psychiatry professor at the University of Southern California. "The acceleration of [these cultures] and the amount of things that we have available to keep us busy and to distract us interfere with time available for friendships," he said. Besides potentially making us more lonely, not having as many close confidants can affect both physical and mental health, such as a creating a higher risk for depression and high blood pressure, according to Redford Williams, who directed a study in 1992 on heart patients and their relationships. He and his colleagues at Duke found that 50 percent of patients with heart disease who did not have a spouse or someone to confide in died within five years, while 18 percent of those who did have a confidant died. A smaller inner circle among parents also may impact their kids, said Bruce Rabin, director of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center's Healthy Lifestyle Program. He said parents needed to demonstrate to their kids the joys of interacting with people. "We need to be very concerned about the future," Rabin said. "If there is a continued decrease in social interaction, this may affect the quality of mental and physical health of the next generation." To promote social and physical health, Rabin said he and his colleagues were teaching leaders of an international company to engage in healthy behaviors both at work and at home, including engaging in more social activities with colleagues, such as book clubs where employees could interact outside of work. However, not everyone feels a lack of social interaction at work. Jeffrey Johnson, a Northeastern University grad student in his early 20s, says that he receives a good amount of social connections at his internship at a storage management company. "Usually when you work in a big company, the general notion is that you are always working and do not have time off," Johnson says. However, interactions through company ice cream socials and weekly gatherings allow employees to connect on a greater level outside of work. While few could argue that having a decreased amount of close friends is a good thing, there is some debate about the Duke findings. Friday, the Pittsburgh psychologist, warned that people should "not take an isolated study and use it as the academically rationalizing gun to shoot down the idea that we're an effective society." Culture has shifted a great deal from 1985 into the 21st century, he said, explaining that technology has greatly advanced because of e-mail and instant messaging. He said these things helped our society by allowing us to reach out and communicate with each other. Johnson, for example, states that Orkut, an international online community that serves as a friends network similar to MySpace, is a great resource for people to become further connected. Anyway here's a slide show combining part of the audio from the "conference call" with real images of the house party and some filler of Obama etc.

Sacco And Vanzetti #3

Words and Music by Charlie King. Sung here by two of my favorite lesbians, Ronnie Gilbert and Holly Near
Who will remember, the hands so white and fine
That touched the finest linen that poured the finest wine?
Who will remember, the gentle words they spoke
To name the lives of two good men, a nuisance or a joke
And all who know these two good arms
Know I never had to rob or kill
I can live by my own two hands and live well
And all my life I have struggled
To rid the earth of all such crimes.
Who will remember Judge Webster Thayer
One hand on the gavel, the other resting on the chair.
Who will remember the hateful words he said
Speaking to the living in the language of the dead.
All who know these two good arms
Know I never had to rob or kill
I can live by my own two hands and live well
And all my life I have struggled
To rid the earth of all such crimes.

Sacco And Vanzetti #2

I found this terrific resource on Sacco and Vanzetti on a great audio site (talkinghistory.org). "This documentary, produced by Curtis Fox, is the second in his new history documentary series titled The Past Present. Here is his summary of the program: "Almost everyone has heard of [Nicola] Sacco and [Bartolomeo] Vanzetti, two Italian-born anarchists who were executed in 1927 for a crime they probably didn't commit--a payroll robbery and double murder in South Braintree, Massachusetts. What most people don't know, however, is that Nicola Sacco and Bartholomeo Vanzetti were part of a group of revolutionaries that conducted a bombing campaign against government officials, including Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer and Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes. Historian Nunzio Pernicone discusses the anarchist background of Sacco and Vanzetti. Then Pernicone, joined by historian Richard Polenberg, examine the world-famous case that tore this country apart in the 1920s. The program includes historical audio of men involved in the case, Italian anarchist songs, Woody Guthrie ballads, and actors Joe Grifasi and Spiro Malas reading from Sacco and Vanzetti's Moving prison letters." For more information on this segment and on The Past Present series, contact Curtis Fox, Producer, THE PAST PRESENT, 524 East 13th St., D4, New York, NY 10009." I combined a short portion of the audio with images I found on the case.