Archives for October 2008

As mentioned here at the beginning of the week, "there must be millions of cleverly individualized videos like this one circulating now." But whether it's the "novelty of personalization" achieved through "multiple layers of Flash animation" or the "third order of simulacra," PalTalk got there first with its faux presidential candidate Sarah Wheaton. Watch the video. ... there is one candidate that may be able to make the difference. Wheaton has surprised both Democrats and Republicans with a grass roots effort. This candidate has made many … [Read more...]

Look at what the wind blew in ... a news story about the arrest of a couple of neo-Nazi creeps who "talked of 'killing 88 people and beheading 14 African-Americans," and topping that off with a drive-by of Barack Obama. From the NY Times: The two men each had "very strong views" about Aryan white power and "skinhead" ideology, the federal officials said, and the numbers 88 and 14 have special significance in the white power movement. Those details called to mind an unfinished thriller I began writing several years ago about a tabloid … [Read more...]

I know because I saw it on my video screen: There must be millions of cleverly individualized videos like this one circulating now. In other words, "all reality is an imitation," as a friend of mine, Bill Osborne, says. He cites Baudrillard. Third Order of Simulacra: The present age -- dominated by simulations, things that have no original or prototype (though they may parallel something). Era of the model or code: computers, virtual reality, opinion polls, DNA, genetic engineering, cloning, the news media make the news, Nike sneakers as … [Read more...]

Here in New York, the City Council backed Bloomberg's bid to run again. The logic went like this: It would have been undemocratic to deprive voters of the chance to elect the mayor to a third term, despite the fact that voters had twice approved a two-term limit for elected officials. So the City Council did the democratic thing. It overturned the term-limits law. This not only allows the mayor to run again, but enables two-term council members to keep their jobs by allowing them to run again, too. Let's see, 23 of the 29 who stood up for … [Read more...]

Can't stomach the political campaign? The media spin? Neither can The Onion. Have a look: Gunman Kills 15 Potential Voters In Crucial Swing State Tip of the hat to a gimlet-eyed Straight Up staffer who sent it in. … [Read more...]

Quick take on who won, besides Joe the Plumber. CNN poll: Debate watchers say Obama wins. Time magazine: McCain Threw the Sink -- and Plumber -- But Obama Doesn't Falter. CBS poll: Uncommitted Voters Say Obama Won Final Debate. So anyone who believes the kind of horseshit being dished up by George Stephanopoulos that the Gasbag did well in the opening minutes or put Obama on the defensive, as Newsweek had it (per AP), needs a new plumber. … [Read more...]

I mean McCain of course. Seems to me that Andrew Sullivan, live-blogging last night's Nashville encounter between Obama and the overheated Gasbag, got it just about right: 9.51 pm. Why is McCain wandering around the stage .?. It's weird. He looks like an old man pacing aimlessly. 10.33 pm. This was, I think, a mauling: a devastating and possibly electorally fatal debate for McCain. Even on Russia, he sounded a little out of it. I've watched a lot of debates and participated in many. ... All I can say is that, simply on terms of substance, … [Read more...]

It's no surprise that Ralph Nader makes more sense than anyone else in politics. What's surprising is that, at 74, he is as smart and as principled as ever. Watch the video. It was recorded last week in San Francisco at The Commonwealth Club of California and runs a little more than an hour. Skip the first four minutes and forgive the production values. You'll also need some patience. The interviewer starts by going over old ground (i.e. the 2000 election). The good stuff begins about eight minutes in and then sails on right through to the … [Read more...]