Crucial Updates on the Second Nike Commercial

The Mozart Piece is "Requiem," for those who care.

Also, it has recently come to Harrogate's attention that the Cold Blooded Road Warrior featured in the Second Commercial is indeed Michael Jordan's son. So now not only are High Art and, more generally, Human Achievment at stake: but, Readers, we now appear to be in the midst of Nepotism at it's absolute most fascinating. The Clinton and Bush Dynasties pale in comparison (literally and figuratively).

Anyways, Harrogate loves both of these commercials. He really does. But sometimes what we love is the most dangerous thing of all, so sayeth Harrogate. Leave no stone unturned, leave no SPLIFF unlit, in the pursuit of self-awareness.

Stay alert, and Stay With Fox.

In Honor of the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

The real reason why spring is the best time of year has nothing to do with pitchers and catchers reporting or the fact that college atheletes play through a tournament while schools and television networks make a fortune off of their talents. (And who says slavery is dead?)

No, the real reason why spring rocks---- Hockey. There is 20 games left in the NHL season and playoff positioning is in full gear.

To honor this wonderful time, here is a clip-- a rare clip from Salon.com. This clips shows just how hockey players would dominate other sports.

"Clark the Canadian Hockey Goalie"

Update: the link is now working, though you will need to scroll down. Maybe this clip will work.

Nike, High Art, Mozart, and Harrogate

Oh Readers, the greatest Month of the whole American Year, March, is coming and coming fast.

Soon that maverick intellectual, Harrogate, will be inundating himself and--by extension--The Rhetorical Situation with a prolifera of all things college basketball. The coming tournaments, first the conferences and then the Big Dance--aka the Clearing at the End of the Path--are American spectacles that occupy a level unto themselves. Funny how sitting in front of a television four weekends in a row can give rise to the full spectrum of human emotions. But wait! Harrogate reveals too much, too soon. The regular season is still upon us. Let us organically grow into the moment, for in due time there will surely be, as they say, great wailing and gnashing of teeth. Or something like that.

For now, check out these commercials. The first, a recent classic, maybe the Greatest Shoe commercial ever. It has all the trappings of celebrating the human spirit in the mode of Dionysian Antiquity while at the same time very much participating in the postmodern Appolonian capitalist orgy that is today. It features the proud father Michael Jordan at the end. Jordan's smile may be the single most pleasant to behold, and of course the most lucrative, in the history of American sport. This first commercial knows how to bank on it, baby!

And then, second, Harrogate offers the awesome Nike commercial currently running. The Mozart does its job very nicely. The Goth emotions of it all, the defiance of the heroic Road Warrior who has come to take our candy and eat it right in front of us, the communitarian ethos on the line in this commercial will be palpable even to the most basketball-indifferent of spectators.

Nevada Dems on Crack: LGF Remains on the Fox Teat, Blasts KOS. Harrogate, Meanwhile, Reports. You Decide

Daily Kos has a great entry on why the Reno, Nevada Democrats are on crack for trying to arrange their Presidential Primary Debate to be broadcast (filtered) by Fox News Channel. Check it out, Oh Readers. Do check it out.

Harrogate for all his sexiness and brilliance cannot understand why Democrats keep going onto the Fox News Channel. It remains one of the Great Unanswered Mysteries, it really does.

A similar move would be for an atheist to go a snake handler revival :-P week in and week out to make his passionate case. Sure, the snake people might listen to ye for a while if you're all up in their grill, but only in a very bemused and detached way. And then as soon as you leave the head snake handler will go into his analysis of all the things that were wrong with what you said. Ah, Harrogate and his analogies. How do you perfect perfection?

Meanwhile, those pukes at Little Green Footballs take the opportunity to launch vitriole at Kos while at the same time paying their typical fellative homage to Fox News Channel.

LGF, people, will indeed take your breath away with its level of cesspooldom. The commenters join their Head Lizard in waiting with bated breath for IT to happen, so that they can cheer for the killing of all Muslims everywhere from their tactical positions with the 101st Keyboard Division. They really, really think they are fighting a war and that Charles Johson is a visionary.

Faux News... No Really- Fake News on Fox-- Wait... I give up

This weekend, Fox News will run a comedy show. No, it is not Billo or Hannity. Or Ollie. Or Gibson. Or Brit. Or the Beltway Boys. Or Cavuto. Or...

On Sunday, Fox will broadcast the premier episode of the "1/2 Hour News Hour," trying to provide a "conservative alternative" to The Dialy Show or The Colbert Report. While The Daily Show and The Colbert Report are reactionary, this show will be conservative. I wonder if they will joke about (and support) torture?

So, the fair and balanced show will air at 10pm Eastern, 9pm Central. It is produced by Joel Surnow, the executive producer of 24. Here is a clip from the show that Fox leaked to YouTube. While I am not sure if the clip is funny, the comments under the clip are very entertaining. It seems unfunny because of the delivery (no timing) and poor interaction between the co-hosts. It is hard to judge the material because there is not enough of it and it seems one-sided, which raises the question as to whether or not it is propaganda for the one sided treatement. Also, it relies on a laugh track at certain points.



Here is the intro to the show. Notice the red meat issues for the red states:



I am happy that the show will air this week. I will be discussig parody in class. I have already showed the SNL clips on the presidential debates. I planned on using The Dialy Show and The Colbert Report. Now I have this "alternative."

Today's sign of the apocalypse

While watching the News Hour with Jim Leher, syndicated columnist Mark Shields discussed the Iraq debate in Congrss by stating, "It is the fifth year of the war and the first time Congress debated it." No one disagreed with him,

Last week a student of mine stated in class "now is not the time to criticize and debate the war. W are in war and we must..." (stay the course, remain united, buy lolipops... fill in the blank yourself.

No student challenged her on this position. I don't know if most students don't care or if they they agree with her. If the people don't get to debate this issue, then who does? Isn't that how we got into that mess in the first place-- no deliberation?

Brilliant Insight about Sexual Behavior

I feel guilty for linking to this. This articles is so bad that critcism of it seems unfair. However, if you would like a good laugh, then read "Moral Mayhem."

The articles states that chastity "ain't what it used to be" because of a well-marketed culture and academia. Rather than discuss human nature and the animalistics desires humans possess, or denouce the individual for bad choices, the author states that companies market to perferences of the young and lead people away from traditional understandings of sexuality (Because 50 or 100 or 150 or 200 years ago, everyone knew how to behave-- See Ben Franklin's exploits in France as an example. Wait, I mean, read about the purity of ancient Romans and their orgies. Wait... I mean...Ancient Greece... Wait what about the sexual exploits, I mean purity, in the Bible...Wait. Just forget it.) Further, professors tell students "drink responsibly" or "have safe-sex" rather than "be sexually pure," or "commit to your future spouse with your eyes and heart and body," or "sex outside wedlock is wrong" or "be modest."

But wait, there's more. The articles concludes with

The local result is that when a student enrolls at Texas A&M, he or she becomes saturated in a sexually promulgated community. Revealing dress can be seen around the campus. Sexual appetite, passion, desire, bodies and skin are among the ingredients to the average college party. One walk through Northgate at night will open the na've eye. There, hundreds of students gather to drink and dance. While seeking to "have a good time," many see sexuality and the chance to get frisky on the dance floor as a means to that end. Get drunk. Get wild. Get laid. As long as no one gets hurt, sick, diseased or pregnant, American culture and this school seem to be satisfied.
Pop-culture is teaching this generation to "indulge your sexual fantasies." Academia at the same time is saying, "do what you want, just don't be stupid about it." It seems that, at this point, neither of these influential titans has the courage to say, "stripping might actually be wrong."

What I love most about this article is how is avoids TELLING STUDENTS TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR ACTIONS. It is "Pop-Culture" that makes the world bad as if it can be separated from the individual. It is a professor that is wrong for teaching the young generation "do what you want but don't be stupid" not the students who do STUPID THINGS.

Wait-- maybe my problems are not my fault but stem from the editorial. Maybe I should blame the author of the editorial for making the world a bad place.

Welcome to Texas, Circa 1615

Texas law-maker, seemingly theo-crat extraordinaire, and House Appropriations Chairman Warren Chisum expressed interest in reverting knowledge in Texas back to 1615 C.E.

According the Dallas Morning News .
Dallas Morning News, Chisum distributed a flier to all Texas House members that encouraged the state to stop teaching Evolution and teach Creationism. The memo, which was written by Georgia GOP Rep. Ben Bridges, contained a link to the web site, Fixed Earth. According to the website Fixed Earth, you can “Read all about the Copernican and Darwin myths—and their many ramifications to Kabbala based Big Bangism.” You can also purchase the book, The Earth Is Not Moving: Over 400 Years of Deception Exposed! The Bible Told the truth All Along!, which is

But wait, there’s more!!! While you are at Fixed Earth, you can not only read the myths of the universe but also get a great helping of anti-Semitism. For example, if you read about how you can petition your state legislature to remove “evolution science” from public funded schools, you will see that “evolution” is really a religion. In fact, it is not just any religion, it is a Jewish religions and it comes from The “Holy Book” Kabbala. It seems that, according to this web site, Evolution is nothing more than a conspiracy to destroy the Christian Faith by Jewish physicists. I knew Darwin left something out of his texts.

Maybe this means gravity is incorrect and we possess intelligent falling.

On a lighter note, Rep. Chisum thought he carried out a “Good Samaritan” act by distributing the flier. He stated he did not mean to offend anyone and he did not know the website contained anti-Semitic remarks BECAUSE HE DID NOT EXAMINE THE SITE IN QUESTION.

How can a Rep. be this dumb? After living in Texas for five years, I think I have reached my limit with this nonsense. How do these representatives stay in office? He advances a position and does not even check the sources he uses but still thinks he does a good act. Jackass.

Clevon: "I thought you was on the pill or some shit!"

Pirates and Emperors

It's always fun to post something at direct odds with those paranoid--"the prayer rugs are coming!, the prayer rugs are coming!"-- fascist bigots over at Little Green Footballs (Harrogate cannot bring himself to link to the filth of which he speaks, but he does recommend that Readers go there, for it is important to know thine enemy). Sometime long about a month ago, this particular video really upset the Self-Important Head Lizard and all his Kool-Aid-drinking followers that think they're fighting a war from their keyboards. "Nuke Mecca!" they scream. "Has it started yet?" they wonder if anything happens anywhere, fashioning themselves as modern-day Cassandras who will be ready when the "war against Islam" takes to American streets. Such drivel, they're comedic really.

Also, there is a wonderful ubiquity of brand new babies shaping the scene in Harrogate's world these days, and it gets him to thinking "Red State" style, 'bout teaching them there Values. Mommy PhD has been inspirational here, lately blogging about the intellectual development of her young daughter. Harrogate shouts out to Mommy PhD and all other new parents within the megaphone call of this award-winning blog: check out Noam Chomsky working hard for his money in the spirit of Schoolhouse Rock!

Herein, many questions from the Child can be addressed, but the answers don't come easy. What is the difference between an emperor and a pirate?, asks the song. And Harrogate will be damned if he knows the answer.

Schoolhouse Rock!!!!!! Enjoy.

Blood on the Tracks

Harrogate's fascination with movie Westerns goes back longer than he can actually remember. Movies like Last Train from Gun Hill, The Searchers, and Lonely are the Brave kept him up late as a young boy, thinking about what he'd seen. In the midst of such movies one thing you cannot escape is the unfairness of life; nor can you avoid that part in you that wants to be noble in the face of it. The sublimity of the music attending these movies is palpable, too. Take the famous refrain from The Good the Bad, and the Ugly--the song to which, incidentally, Mrs. Harrogate walked down that aisle to marry a crazy fellow who likes to write, and often speak, in the third person.

Nor does the genre lack for moments of dry humor that stick with you forever, like friendly ghosts always ready to be recalled. There is a scene from The War Wagon, for instance, in which John Wayne and Kirk Douglas are talking by a stable, trying to decide if they can trust one another, when two baddies almost get the drop on them. Harrogate says "almost" because their shadows give them away. Our two heroes spin and shoot reflexively, and all you see is the shadows fall and you hear the 'thunk' of their bodies. Douglas and Wayne regard one another critically for a moment, and then Douglas announces, "Mine hit the ground first." To which Wayne replies, with that classic smug half-grin: "Yeah, but mine was taller."

In later years Harrogate realized the real money, for him anyway, was less in the modern movies than in the books, from the early frontier stuff through L'amour, Larry McMurtry, and of course Cormac McCarthy, who remains the current king of the genre at this point. The constructed personality of the storyteller, or narrator, in these works is at least as important as the story and characters. A classic case in point is "Lily, Roesmary, and the Jack of Hearts" from Bob Dylan's classic early 70s album, Blood on the Tracks -- an indelible piece of artistic vision that has occupied Harrogate's "Top Five" since he was ever able to conceive of a "Top Five."

So distilled, this song. The vault robbery at the center of the action remains wonderfully underplayed, almost functioning on a Freudian-subconscious level. "The drilling in the wall kept up," Dylan's narrator intones, "but noone seemed to pay it any mind." Did Harrogate say Freudian? Scratch that. Let us call it a memento mori--"remember you must die"--big drama and power politics may seem larger than life, but that is the greatest heist of all.

The sexiness and the innocence of Lily, the desperation and big-heartedness of Rosemary, the awe-inspiring ethos of Big Jim--this song has it all. Gambling, dancing, troubled childhoods, brutal frontier justice, tragic prostitution, high-stakes business, and the ambiguous line between love and lust all give way in the end to one con man known simply as the Jack of Hearts, whose boys "can go no further" until he is finished with his "business back in town."

The con man is such an important figure in the Frontier Narrative, oh Readers. To be a true frontier con man, among other necesseties: his origins must be unknown and fraught with danger, he must be smooth with the ladies (this is true even though it isn't a rule that he has to be good-looking--he usually is), and he poses an ineradicable threat to even the most powerful and insightful of those occupying conventional society. He is the great destabilizer of the status quo, whatever story is being told, yet he is at the same time absolutely essential to that story: and of course, the narrator is always his complicit double. Even without hearing it, just by reading the lyrics, printed below, one can clearly sense the narrator's fascination with the con man whose story he's telling. There are, indeed, moments where the two figures merge; even though Lily is technically the song's most sympathetic figure, Dylan infuses the entire thing with an ironic sarcasm before which Lily really stands no chance. It is fitting that the whole thing fades out with her thinkin', most of all, about the Jack of Hearts.

The festival was over, the boys were all plannin' for a fall,
The cabaret was quiet except for the drillin' in the wall.
The curfew had been lifted and the gamblin' wheel shut down,
Anyone with any sense had already left town.
He was standin' in the doorway lookin' like the Jack of Hearts.

He moved across the mirrored room, "Set it up for everyone," he said,
Then everyone commenced to do what they were doin' before he turned their heads.
Then he walked up to a stranger and he asked him with a grin,
"Could you kindly tell me, friend, what time the show begins?"
Then he moved into the corner, face down like the Jack of Hearts.

Backstage the girls were playin' five-card stud by the stairs,
Lily had two queens, she was hopin' for a third to match her pair.
Outside the streets were fillin' up, the window was open wide,
A gentle breeze was blowin', you could feel it from inside.
Lily called another bet and drew up the Jack of Hearts.

Big Jim was no one's fool, he owned the town's only diamond mine,
He made his usual entrance lookin' so dandy and so fine.
With his bodyguards and silver cane and every hair in place,
He took whatever he wanted to and he laid it all to waste.
But his bodyguards and silver cane were no match for the Jack of Hearts.

Rosemary combed her hair and took a carriage into town,
She slipped in through the side door lookin' like a queen without a crown.
She fluttered her false eyelashes and whispered in his ear,
"Sorry, darlin', that I'm late," but he didn't seem to hear.
He was starin' into space over at the Jack of Hearts.

"I know I've seen that face before," Big Jim was thinkin' to himself,
"Maybe down in Mexico or a picture up on somebody's shelf."
But then the crowd began to stamp their feet and the house lights did dim
And in the darkness of the room there was only Jim and him,
Starin' at the butterfly who just drew the Jack of Hearts.

Lily was a princess, she was fair-skinned and precious as a child,
She did whatever she had to do, she had that certain flash every time she smiled.
She'd come away from a broken home, had lots of strange affairs
With men in every walk of life which took her everywhere.
But she'd never met anyone quite like the Jack of Hearts.

The hangin' judge came in unnoticed and was being wined and dined,
The drillin' in the wall kept up but no one seemed to pay it any mind.
It was known all around that Lily had Jim's ring
And nothing would ever come between Lily and the king.
No, nothin' ever would except maybe the Jack of Hearts.

Rosemary started drinkin' hard and seein' her reflection in the knife,
She was tired of the attention, tired of playin' the role of Big Jim's wife.
She had done a lot of bad things, even once tried suicide,
Was lookin' to do just one good deed before she died.
She was gazin' to the future, riding on the Jack of Hearts.

Lily washed her face, took her dress off and buried it away.
"Has your luck run out?" she laughed at him, "Well, I guess you must
have known it would someday.
Be careful not to touch the wall, there's a brand-new coat of paint,
I'm glad to see you're still alive, you're lookin' like a saint."
Down the hallway footsteps were comin' for the Jack of Hearts.

The backstage manager was pacing all around by his chair.
"There's something funny going on," he said, "I can just feel it in the air."
He went to get the hangin' judge, but the hangin' judge was drunk,
As the leading actor hurried by in the costume of a monk.
There was no actor anywhere better than the Jack of Hearts.

Lily's arms were locked around the man that she dearly loved to touch,
She forgot all about the man she couldn't stand who hounded her so much.
"I've missed you so," she said to him, and he felt she was sincere,
But just beyond the door he felt jealousy and fear.
Just another night in the life of the Jack of Hearts.

No one knew the circumstance but they say that it happened pretty quick,
The door to the dressing room burst open and a cold revolver clicked.
And Big Jim was standin' there, ya couldn't say surprised,
Rosemary right beside him, steady in her eyes.
She was with Big Jim but she was leanin' to the Jack of Hearts.

Two doors down the boys finally made it through the wall
And cleaned out the bank safe, it's said that they got off with quite a haul.
In the darkness by the riverbed they waited on the ground
For one more member who had business back in town.
But they couldn't go no further without the Jack of Hearts.

The next day was hangin' day, the sky was overcast and black,
Big Jim lay covered up, killed by a penknife in the back.
And Rosemary on the gallows, she didn't even blink,
The hangin' judge was sober, he hadn't had a drink.
The only person on the scene missin' was the Jack of Hearts.

The cabaret was empty now, a sign said, "Closed for repair,"
Lily had already taken all of the dye out of her hair.
She was thinkin' 'bout her father, who she very rarely saw,
Thinkin' 'bout Rosemary and thinkin' about the law.
But, most of all she was thinkin' 'bout the Jack of Hearts.

My Funny Valentine

Linda Ronstadt tears this up.



Dedicated to Harrogate's admiring throng.

Carolina Wins

Last night's installment of the UNC/Duke rivalry was an impressive one, and among other things, reinforced something Harrogate has been saying for some time, now: In the world of college basketball, there is simply no place more difficult to win than on Duke's home floor at Cameron Indoor Stadium. It isn't just when Carolina comes knockin', either. The crazies keep the gym rockin' from the opening tip off, and one can palpably feel their influence and inspiration on the hometown players.

And let us be honest, here: Duke outhustled Carolina last night, they showed more heart. It galls Harrogate to admit these simple truths, but that's the way it seems to be every time those two teams hook up. North Carolina fields better atheletes, runs a prettier offense, and projects a left-of-center ethos: and for all of these things, Harrogate is thankful. Not to mention the fact that its campus is indeed the Southern Part of Heaven. But even with all of this, Duke just plays scrappier. Harrogate tips his cap to the hated rival, they are in a rebuilding year and were desperately overmatched last night, and yet they rose to the level of the challenge and indeed, they led for most of the game.

In the end, though, there was just far too much Carolina depth, with Frazor and Miller coming off the bench to provide crucial guttiness that the starters, for all their superior talent, just couldn't seem to muster. And throughout there was just wayyyyyy too much Brandan Wright for Duke to deal with. Kid is 6'9 but plays like he's 7 feet tall. His wingspan exceeds 7'0 and goes into the 7'3 range. Wright will be a lottery NBA pick whenever he elects to jump ship--let us hope, Readers, that he gives Carolina at least one other year!!! He has a soft touch, hits hook shots and baseline jumpers, runs the floor like a man obsessed, blocks shots, makes the extra pass, pretty much does everything you'd ever want from your power forward. And he does all of this with a smoothness and unflappability that you almost never see in a senior, let alone a freshman.

Little Ty Lawson, another freshman, was pretty awesome at times, too, when he's got his offense going he really does seem unguardable. Still to early to compare him to (Everybody Loves) Raymond Felton and the other great point guards in UNC's hallowed history, but he has that kind of potential.

The rest of February and all of March promise to constitute one helluva crazy ride for the Big Baby Blue, and Harrogate's ready to ride that train all the way to Atlanta. As long as Carolina and Texas A&M do not meet in the Big Dance, Harrogate's pretty sure he can handle whatever emotional devastation awaits in that clearing at the end of the path.

Ta ta, Readers. Ta ta.

Misfits

A lot of people don't know this about Harrogate, but the very first piece of music he ever fell absolutely, madly, in love with, is Misfits by the Kinks. Introduced to the record by his father at the tender age of 10, Harrogate didn't then understand most of the lyrics on the album. For example, the raucus track "Live Life" includes the verse: "Have you heard about the troubles throughout the land/ With the fascists and the left wing militants?/ Out of work executives are killing themselves/ And the I.R.A. are killing everybody else." That's pretty heavy, no?

Yet while Harrogate didn't get the lyrics as a boy, the plaintive, almost desperate sound permeating the record hit a chord with him nevertheless. Harrogate realizes that a lot of people are not familiar with Misfits or indeed most of the Kinks work; beyond "Lola," "You've Really Got Me," "Apeman," and a precious few others, the popular pickins seem to get pretty darned slim. The Kinks, thusly, remain arguably the most underappreciated band in the history of rock and roll, though in their own late 60's-70s heyday, they enjoyed a small devoted following.

The album cover, of course, might well be the greatest ever made. But Harrogate wishes to talk a bit about what he believes to be the crown jewel of the record, a song called "Rock and Roll Fantasy." Ray Davies supposedly wrote the song in 1977 about a week after the death of Elvis Presley, which you can see referenced in the lyrics, printed below. At the time, brother and lead guitarist Dave Davies was thinking about quitting the band and doing something else. This song was a response to Dave, a powerful Rhetorical Appeal that perhaps contributed to keeping Dave on board (a great thing not only for the Kinks, but for Rock and Roll in general, as Dave's experimental guitar style inspired such greats as Eddie Van Halen and Zach Wilde, among others)

Anywho, Harrogate's been thinking a lot about this song, lately. It really points up the raison de etre--as well as the dark side--of cultural production, in Harrogate's award-winning opinion. Staggering numbers of people, after all, take their meaning, and even their will to keep going, from popular art (Eminem speaks to the same thing in "Sing for the Moment"). To a great extent Harrogate has always identified with "Guy in my block" portion of the song. Maybe there are Readers out there who also identify.

The argument of the song seems simple enough, it is two pronged--Ray seems to be telling Dave:

1)We cannot quit because we'll be letting down people like the guy on my block and fans like Dan who have followed us through all the hard times as well as the good ones; &

2)We cannot quit because what if our band is the only thing protecting us from becoming just like these people that depend on us. If we are not to be producers of culture, if we are not to make a contribution, if we are not to impact the world, then really we just become consumers waiting for the next thing to come float our boats. This is not what I, Ray Davies, want, Dave, and I don't think it's what you want either. I don't want to live in a Rock and Roll Fantasy, "hiding away."

Hello you, hello me, hello people we used to be
Isn't it strange, we never changed
We've been through it all yet we're still the same
And I know it's a miracle, we still go, and for all we know
We might still have a way to go

Hello me, hello you, you say you want out
Want to start anew, throw in your hand
Break up the band, start a new life, be a new man
But for all we know, we might still have a way to go
Before you go, there's something you ought to know

There's a guy in my block, he lives for rock
He plays records, day and night
And when he feels down he puts some rock 'n' roll on
And it makes him feel alright
And when he feels the world is closing in
He turns his stereo way up high

He just spends his life living in a rock 'n' roll fantasy
He just spends his life living on the edge of reality
He just spends his life in a rock 'n' roll fantasy
He just spends his life living in a rock 'n' roll fantasy
He just spends his life living on the edge of reality
He just spends his life in a rock 'n' roll fantasy
He just spends his life living in a rock 'n' roll fantasy

Look at me, look at you
You say we've got nothing left to prove
The King is dead, rock is done
You might be through but I've just begun
I don't know, I feel free and I won't let go
Before you go, there's something you ought to know

Dan is a fan and he lives for our music
It's the only thing that gets him by
He's watched us grow and he's seen all our shows
He's seen us low and he's seen us high
Oh, but you and me keep thinking
That the world's just passing us by

Don't want to spend my life living in a rock 'n' roll fantasy
Don't want to spend my life living on the edge of reality
Don't want to waste my life hiding away anymore
Don't want to spend my life living in a rock 'n' roll fantasy

Something to say...

I haven't been posting on the blog very much lately because I haven't had much to say. This all changed tonight. I now have something to say, something to shout from the rooftops. And here it is:

Prince brought it this evening! His performance was the BEST Superbowl halftime show that I've seen.

Standardized Tests for College

It works so well for elementary, middle, and high school students, why not try it here? According to Inside Higher Ed, Texas Gov. Slick Rick Perry wants gaduating seniors to take standardized tests in their field of study. While this will not affect whether or not the student graduates, it will alter how universities receiving funding form the state. The schools with higher scores will receive more funding. According to Perry, these tests will provide:

“a simple and understandable way to compare the quality of degree programs offered at different schools, and academic departments would be able to better assess and refine curricula.”

There are a lot of questions that correlate to the idea of a test at this level:
(1) What subjects could be tested?
(2) How could you test certain humanities subjects and allow for student creativity and interpretation?
(3) How will this effect admissions policies?
(4) If this were to pass, would this alter a liberal arts education?
(5) Will this hinder the search or discovery for knowledge?

This reminds me of Florida's attempt to teach history as being "factual" rather than "constructed" and to make sure it is by pssing a bill to force teachers to teach it this way. To see the Florida bill, go here.

Oh, well. It is only Texas. It is just anohter attempt here to help those who do not need the help.

The beauty of satire

The unique patriot Jon Swift provides a wonderful insight into the fight over minimum wage. Here is an excerpt:

Because American workers get paid so much, many businesses are outsourcing labor or moving overseas. If we want to compete, we are going to have to lower the minimum wage below the levels in countries such as China and India, whose economies are booming. In parts of China, for example, the minimum wage is about 20 cents an hour. In some states in India, the minimum wage is about 10 cents an hour. If we want to stop hemorrhaging jobs to these countries, we are going to have to undercut those rates.

Lowering the minimum wage would also solve our immigration problem. The minimum wage in Mexico is about 50 pesos a day, or $4.53. In an 8-hour workday, that's about 57 cents an hour, a little more than one-tenth of the U.S. minimum wage. If we just set the minimum wage below 50 cents an hour, how many Mexican immigrants do you think will risk their lives sneaking over the border for that? By significantly lowering the minimum wage below Mexico's, we could end the immigration problem very quickly.

Some Republican Senators have an even better idea: Abolish the Federal minimum wage altogether. They sponsored a bill that would let states set their own minimum wages below the already inflated Federal minimum wage. This measure would have given states the ability to compete to see who could pay workers less, helping small businesses and attracting new businesses. Some of the poorer states in the South, for example, could set their minimum wages at zero, which would allow family farmers to pay their workers by giving them room and board or scrip instead of cash. They could import workers from places like Africa, where just earning a little food and a roof over their heads would represent a significant improvement in their living standards. The South would finally rise again with this kind of economic stimulus.

Unfortunately, this measure didn't pass, but 28 Republican Senators voted for it, including potential Presidential candidates John McCain, Sam Brownback and Chuck Hagel, both of the Senators from Georgia, Mississippi and South Carolina, and the bill's sponsor Wayne Allard. These Senators know that if we are going to compete with Third World economies we need to start paying Third World wages.

Blogging Jesus Camp

My wife and I watched the docu-drama Jesus Camp this morning. The beginning of the movie made her so uncomfortable that she repeatedly needed to leave the room. Here are a few random musings about the film. It is
certainly worth watching. If you plan to watch it, you may not want to read this.

1. The absence of theology:

There is no deeply religious or philosophical discussion about the Bible or about religion. Instead, there are a series of authoritative claims that people, especially kids accept without discussion. For example, consider one of Ted “I have lust in my heart and needed to resign from ministries Haggard’s comments: “We don’t need to have a general assembly about it. It is in the Bible.” This overlooks competing interpretations of the Bible, how to decide which competing verses are more important, how to discuss different translations of the Bible (in the Greek texts, the Mary is not a virgin but a young woman), and how to decide which rules to follow and which rules to overlook (there are over 600 rules in the OT—some people would gladly adopt the rule that prohibits two men form laying with one another like a man and woman, but would gladly overlook the ban of shellfish, wearing clothes that contain multiple types of fabrics, and the rules that state we should take slaves from neighboring countries and not from our own people.) Further, why should we decontextualize the rules? The rules on shellfish develop out of concern for proper dietary preparations during the time of the Old Testament. We do not have those problems today. We are not about to impose slavery. Well, hopefully we are not.

Side Note: There is a funny scene in the movie when Haggard discusses homosexuality, which was filmed before he resigned. It appears as if he is repenting on camera.

2. Literalism, in the Bible and in Life.

Everything is literal- Not only Biblical interpretation; there is no distinction between literalism in any aspect of life and there is no distinction between fiction and reality. They cannot admit that Harry Potter is fiction. The camp leader states: “Warlocks are the enemy of God. If Harry Party had been in the Old Testament, he would have been put to death…. This is a generation devoted to purity.” Another will not discuss ghost stories because they do not honor God.

It seems everything that is non-Christian is a threat to Christianity. The consequence of this would be the death of the imagination, the prevention of political consensus, and possibly, the prevention of a political consciousness. Though I doubt that the leaders of this movement would care any of these if they developed against literalism. Will the strict adherence to this literalism lead to a rejection of the basic tenets of the Evangelical lifestyle like it did in the Puritan community, or, will Evangelicals reconcile spirituality and materialism in a way that the Puritans could not.

3. Agency and Invention:

There is a lack of agency throughout the culture, which seems to contradict the entire notion of being “born again.”

When discussing how he writes a sermon, one of the children stated, “I don’t write. God writes for me.”

Another minister told the crowd of children that “Levi would be a God seeker from an early age” and God wrote the book of his life. These metaphors deny agency, which denies the theological concept of being “Born-Again.” Oh wait, see number one

The rejection of anything else in culture, such as Harry Potter, Brittney Spears, etc., allows the kids to develop ideas and arguments only from Christianity. Yet, without the theology, a larger discussion of faith and religion, and a misreading of the Bible to favor social issues (such as abortion—there is no ban on abortion in the Bible), these children are indoctrinated to have only religious and authoritative premises to work with when engaging others in the public sphere. There would be no common values between the religious and the non-religious or even between some religious sects and other religious sects.

4. The political and the religious

There seems to be a difference between the two in many ways, especially with balancing competing beliefs in society. Yet, the subjects of the movie fail to differentiate between the two and reject communities other than the Evangelical Christian community. One little girl rejects the community because only God will “judge her.” Another Ted Haggard stated that if the Evangelicals vote, they determine elections. There is little need for political consensus.

Global Warming: While I can understand the rejection of some topics such as the absence of school prayer or including evolution but not creationism, but global warming? In one scene a mother home-schools her child and refutes global warming (because the average temperature of the Earth increased less than 1 degree in the past century). There seems to be less concern over stewardship of the land because there will be an imminent return. This plays into the hands of others on the right.

During the camp, they received a visit from “President Bush” in the form of a cardboard cutout. One leader mentioned he surrounded himself with spiritual people. They kids reaffirm their beliefs about religion and G.W. Bush as they recite, “One Nation Under God.” Yet, religious conservatives do not seem to be willing to hold the President accountable for civilian deaths in the war, torture, and for not enacting the social policies the base desires.

America is a Christian Nation: there is a reliance on a literal interpretation of the Bible except for this. There is no mention of this in the Bible and the historical interpretation does not warrant this; how can people reach this conclusion? The best example seems to be the treaty of Tripoli enacted by the Adams administration and the Congress of the time.

Pledging allegiance to a Christian American and the Bible seems dangerous.

5. Odd Practices:

Blessing the absurd: Before camp started, the leaders blessed the pews,
the computers, the electricity, and the Power Point because the devil
wanted to interfere.

Speaking in tongues and the constant crying: This is just too much, especially for the way in which the pathos supercedes the logos. There is no need to discussion.

Libel Laws, Blogs, and Texas

Viki Truitt, a state representative from Texas, pre-filled a bill to limit defamatory comments on the internet, epecially, it seems, blogs. According the the Dallas Fort Worth Star Telegram, the language of the bill "specified that the author of defamatory statements expressed on the Internet would be subject to the same libel limitations as the author of any other statement 'in any other written or graphic form.'" The intent would bring some "civility" to the blog world, or, at least to diminished comments that some object to because they insult individuals and provide little social worth.

The problem, if this bill or any one like it passed, would be the "chilling effect" of speech and would provide one set of standards for traditional, and reserved media outlets such as the Mass Media, and another set of standards for the bloggers. It seems that it would be easier to control the elite and harder to control the people.

Texas is not the only state considering a bill. Tennessee and considered and withdrew support for a bill.

Under current US Defamation Law, it is very hard to prove and very hard to convict. First, Slander applies to spoken discourse ad libel applies to print doscourse. There are two types of libel- liberl per se (the statement and libel per quod (based on circumstances). The first covers statements about criminality, whether or not the person has a contageous disease, attack of a reputation, and attack on sexual immorality. The second type is based on circumstance. If you asserted a person was perfectly healthy and the person received money for health insurance this could be libel per quod. I do not know how satire or irony affects both.

The current Supreme Court test seems to protect freedom of speech over protecting the individual who is criticized by the remarks to ensure a chilling effect does not occur. Private persons receive more protection than public persons. The defenses against a libel complaint are (1) truth (2) comments dows not harm an already tarnished reputation (3) it is a privileged communication and (4) the comment needs to be made with actual malice. The fourth is the hardest to prove.

This may be something worth watching.

A few songs that take me back to my recent float trip down the Amazon

Does anyone know...

when Harrogate will be returning from his backpacking adventures through Southeast Asia. I can hardly wait until he's finally able to plug into the web and post to our blog again.

Why doesn't the war on terror exist?

In the recent L.A. Times editorial, "Is Hollywood too timid for the war on terror?" Andrew Klaven chastises Hollywood for not examining the War on Terror. “Because the war on terror is the history of our time,” Klaven writes, “The outcome of our battle against the demographic, political and military upsurge of a hateful theology and its oppressive political vision will determine the fate of freedom in this century.” Yet, even though he labels this war as “our” history and, in doing so, deflects away from the partisan interests that developed this war since the 2002 mid-terms, Klaven believes it is Hollywood’s fault. Television attempts to tackle the War, but movies do not because movie makers want us to beleive that if we ignore it, it will go away. The movie industry is the perfect fit to tell the ultimate good versus evil tale so why doesn't it?

That kind of rousing story seems tailor-made for films. So why aren't they telling it? It's not just about left and right, blue and red; it really isn't. You don't have to like President Bush or support our efforts in Iraq to understand the threat of conspirators plotting to kill your children in the name of jihad.

In all fairness, moviemakers have a legitimately baffling problem with the nature of the war itself. In order to honestly dramatize the simple truth about this existential struggle, you have to depict right-minded Americans — some of whom may be white and male and Christian — hunting down and killing dark-skinned villains of a false and wicked creed. That's what's happening, on a good day anyway, so that's what you'd have to show.

Moviemakers are reluctant to do that because, even though it's the truth, on screen it might appear bigoted and jingoistic. You can call that political correctness or multiculturalism gone mad — and sure, there's a lot of that going around. But despite what you might have heard, there are sensible, patriotic people in the movie business too. And even they, I suspect, falter before the prospect of presenting such a scenario.

We cherish the religious tolerance of our society, after all. Plus, we're less than a lifetime away from Jim Crow and, decent people that we are, we're rightly humbled by the moral failures of our past. We've become uncomfortable to the point of paralysis when reality draws the limits of tolerance and survival demands pride in our traditions and ferocity in their defense. We can show homegrown terrorists in, say, "Déjà Vu" or real-life ones, as in "United 93," but we can't bring ourselves to fictionalize the larger idea: Islamo-fascism is an evil and American liberty a good

I think that the writer wants Hollywood to revert back to the WWII era, where the government and the movie industry produced propaganda to unite the American public. Further, he asserts that its Hoolywood’s desire for political correctness that diminishes this objective. However, I have a better idea: let’s have a non-partisan attempt to define the War on Terror.

In the recent SOTU Address, President Bush finally discussed the differences between Sunni and Shia, though it seems from the address both groups are our enemies and our allies. Politicians have not been able to fully define this war without being partisan. Yet, the writer asks Hollywood to engage the complexities of the War on Terror in a two-hour film without discussing American involvement or American-morality.

This article pushes the burden of proof from our political leaders and citizens to the movie industry. While it may not be bad to develop such movies and these movies may help the general public, this article covers uneasy ground into the area of propaganda and asks little of the elected officials and the citizens of this country to engage in an active debate over the topics. Instead, and much worse, it asks the general public to be apssive consumers and ot be patriotic while supporting these movies. Further, it asks nothing of our politicians.

Emboldening the Enemy

After watching some of the Sunday talkshows, I have decided that all actions, and even no actions, embolden the enemy. This leaves us in an absolutely delicate situation where we can and must do everything, but also, do nothing.

On the McLaughlin Group, Tony "I think those who object should be silent regardless of whether or not it is their job to discuss issues, especially in Congress" Blankley of Genghis Kahn's The Washington Times stated that the Resolutions drafted in opposiiton to President Bush's "Surge" or "Plus-Up," or "Super-Power Up," or "Wonder-Twins' Powers Activate," or "Fill in your own title here..." emboldened the enemey.

Over at ABC News, Senator Joseph "I Just plagarized once and it was my aide's fault" Biden stated that a "Failed Policy" Emboldens the enemy.

Confused? Well don't be since it might embolden the enemy.

In 2004, President Bush delcared we can embolden the enemy by sending mixed messages. During the 2004, 2005, and 2006 elections, we learned that criticism of the war emboldens the enemy. In 2007, former cult, er... I mean former Aggie leader Robert Gates declared that the Senate resolutions (against the surge) emboldens the enemy. When the Aggies beat the Longhorns the day after Thanksgiving, the Aggies not only emboldened the enemy, but emboldened the Longhorns to sue for copyright infringement and maybe even to beat the Aggies in '07. Liberals embolden the enemy for, well, just being liberal. Conservatives in the US never embolden the enemy though the number of terrorist attacks world-wide increased after 2001 when they have been in power. Our freedom elboldens the enemy since they hate us for it. Moonlite waterfalls (the title of an email I just received) emboldens the enemy. If we keep emboldening the enemy like this, I think we are all one step away from "aiding and abetting" the enemy.

If everything emboldens the enemy, I think it would be important to learn who exactly this enemy is. If not, why bother having an enemy in the first place? As a solution, I propose that we must all examine our conscience (under the covers, with the lights out, and with a friend, so no one can see us and we do not run the risk of emboldening anyone or anything) and ask the following questions:

Who is this enemy? What do they like or not like? What will or will not embolden them?
Does the presence of tanks and military personal in their home country or region enbolden the enemy?
Do "Happy Meals" embolden the enemy? If they do, one pressing issue in the 2008 elctions would be to call for a name change to turn them into a "Less-Happy Meal" or maybe even a "Somber-Meal," "Non-Freedom Rations," the "Gothic Meal" or the "Macabre Meal." I can see how this would be a wise business venture and save the Country. Further, we would no longer embolden the enemy!!!

Other suggestions to avoid emboldening the enemy?

Dewey, or Dewey not?

Last week Solon posted on death threats over pizza. I responded to his post with a comment about a sign in front of a liquor store that reads "American-owned." Solon and I noted how both these instances attempt to exclude Americans who embody some kind of otherness. We also acknowledge how uncomfortable it can be when such attempts to marginalize and exlude groups are cloaked in a language of patriotism.

I've been reading some John Dewey today, and I think he aptly addresses the issue of American otherness:

No matter how loudly any one proclaims his Americanism, if he assumes that any one racial strain, and one component culture, no matter how settled it was in our territory, or how effective it has proved in its own land, is to furnish a pattern to which all other strains and cultures are to conform, he is a traitor to an American nationalism. Our unity cannot be a homogenous thing...; it must be a unity created by drawing out and composing into a harmonious whole the best, the most characteristic which each contributing race and people has to offer. ("The Principle of Nationality" 288-89)

Guaranteed to break the ice at parties

Here is a fun party game: Try to discern what these symbols mean in this cartoon from Captain's Quarters.

Call the Attorney...

Wait... on second thought you may not want to call this attorney, the top attorney in the United States. Yester, while testifying in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Attorney General Gonzales declared that not every citizen or individual in the United States possess the Constitutional right of habeas corpus. Instead, he assured us, that Congress cannot take the right away. Oddly, is Congress cannot take something away, there must be something to take away (a simple correlation of ideas).

Here is the Constitutional Right in Article I, Section 9, Clause 2 of the Contitution: “The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.”


Here is the transcript:

SPECTER: Where you have the Constitution having an explicit provision that the writ of habeas corpus cannot be suspended except for rebellion or invasion, and you have the Supreme Court saying that habeas corpus rights apply to Guantanamo detainees — aliens in Guantanamo — after an elaborate discussion as to why, how can the statutory taking of habeas corpus — when there’s an express constitutional provision that it can’t be suspended, and an explicit Supreme Court holding that it applies to Guantanamo alien detainees.

GONZALES: A couple things, Senator. I believe that the Supreme Court case you’re referring to dealt only with the statutory right to habeas, not the constitutional right to habeas.

SPECTER: Well, you’re not right about that. It’s plain on its face they are talking about the constitutional right to habeas corpus. They talk about habeas corpus being guaranteed by the Constitution, except in cases of an invasion or rebellion. They talk about John Runningmeade and the Magna Carta and the doctrine being imbedded in the Constitution.

GONZALES: Well, sir, the fact that they may have talked about the constitutional right to habeas doesn’t mean that the decision dealt with that constitutional right to habeas.

SPECTER: When did you last read the case?

GONZALES: It has been a while, but I’ll be happy to — I will go back and look at it.

SPECTER: I looked at it yesterday and this morning again.

GONZALES: I will go back and look at it. The fact that the Constitution — again, there is no express grant of habeas in the Constitution. There is a prohibition against taking it away. But it’s never been the case, and I’m not a Supreme —

SPECTER: Now, wait a minute. Wait a minute. The constitution says you can’t take it away, except in the case of rebellion or invasion. Doesn’t that mean you have the right of habeas corpus, unless there is an invasion or rebellion?

GONZALES: I meant by that comment, the Constitution doesn’t say, “Every individual in the United States or every citizen is hereby granted or assured the right to habeas.” It doesn’t say that. It simply says the right of habeas corpus shall not be suspended except by —

SPECTER: You may be treading on your interdiction and violating common sense, Mr. Attorney General.

Torture is okay...

if it occurred before December 30th, 2005. From CNN:

Brig. Gen. Thomas Hemingway, a legal adviser to the Office of Military Commissions, told reporters that the manual provides for a "clear prohibition of evidence obtained by torture" if it was obtained after December 30, 2005.

But if it was obtained before that time, and if the judge determines that it is reliable, it may be admitted, he said.

Why bother with a cut-off date?

The UNI Ranking

I know, I know: I am way beyond my time.

Paul Lukas, at ESPN, developed the "UNI Ranking," which gauges a city's performance in the crucial category of athletics aesthetics with the uniform numerical index, a.k.a., the UNI.

For an explanation:

Here's how it works: First, only cities with at least three major-level sports teams are eligible for a UNI ranking (college and minor league teams don't count -- because there are too many of them and because their uniforms tend to change too frequently anyway). Unfortunately, this means two-team cities such as San Diego, Milwaukee, Charlotte, Buffalo and Nashville didn't make the cut (and are therefore implicitly uninhabitable). But ineligibility can have its advantages: Because Cincinnati has only two teams, for example, it was spared the albatross of having its ranking pulled down by the Bengals.

Assigning teams to specific cities involved a few judgment calls. Should the A's, Raiders, Warriors and Sharks count as San Francisco teams? (Yes.) Should the Nets, Devils and Islanders be filed under New York? (No.) Should the Patriots be assigned to Boston? (Duh.) That sort of thing. After lots of careful consideration, Uni Watch ended up with 20 U.S. cities plus Toronto meeting the three-team standard.

A rigorous, highly scientific set of standards then was employed to rate the uniforms of each team in the 21 cities. The ratings, on a scale of one to five stars, roughly translate to the following expressions of civic pride (or angst, as the case might be):

Five Stars = "Man, is this a great city or what? Why didn't we move here sooner?"
Four Stars = "Hey, maybe that broker's fee wasn't so outrageous after all."
Three Stars= "I really like it here. But you know, I like lots of places."
Two Stars = "I pay property tax, school tax and garbage tax just so I can look at this?"
One Star = "Call the movers -- we're leaving tomorrow."

After adding up a city's ratings and dividing by the number of teams, Uni Watch ended up with the city's average score. Because a uniform can be enhanced or diminished by its surrounding context, especially on TV, a stadium/arena bonus (for particularly attractive settings) or penalty (for domes or artificial turf) of as much as one point was applied to certain cities. The average score, plus this bonus or penalty, yields the city's final UNI, destined to become the key yardstick of urban stature.

The winners (rating in parentheses):
(1) Boston (5.25- Everyone looks good at Fenway; bonus point awarded)
(2) Chicago (4.8)
(3) San Francisco (4.33)
(4) (tie) Los Angeles (4.0)
(4) (tie) Pittsburg (4.0)

Rounding out the top-ten:
(6) New York (though, the Islanders fell off the radar) (3.83)
(7) (tie) St. Louis (3.67)
(7) (tie) Cleveland (3.67)
(10) (tie) Philly (3.5)
(10) (tie) Houston (3.5)

I think that the writer should have created a top-ten list for the unlivable places.

Next time I'm on campus, I'm traveling to the library like this.

In Honor of MLK Jr...

Here is an excerpt from Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail." I prefer this to "I Have a Dream."

This is a great passage to use in class to discuss the style of the argument reinforces the argument. In the second paragraph, King combines anaphora (repetition at the beginning of a clause) with copia (excessive use of clauses) to argue that civil disobedience is the necessary course of action and the timing of the boycotts and protests is correct, especially for the demonstrations in Birmingham, which occurred over the Easter holday-- a time when, traditionally, shopping was very important to the local economy.

Here is the passage:

We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed. Frankly, I have yet to engage in a direct-action campaign that was "well timed" in the view of those who have not suffered unduly from the disease of segregation. For years now I have heard the word "Wait!" It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This "Wait" has almost always meant 'Never." We must come to see, with one of our distinguished jurists, that "justice too long delayed is justice denied."

We have waited for more than 340 years for our constitutional and God-given rights. The nations of Asia and Africa are moving with jetlike speed toward gaining political independence, but we stiff creep at horse-and-buggy pace toward gaining a cup of coffee at a lunch counter. Perhaps it is easy for those who have never felt the stinging dark of segregation to say, "Wait." But when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen hate-filled policemen curse, kick and even kill your black brothers and sisters; when you see the vast majority of your twenty million Negro brothers smothering in an airtight cage of poverty in the midst of an affluent society; when you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six-year-old daughter why she can't go to the public amusement park that has just been advertised on television, and see tears welling up in her eyes when she is told that Funtown is closed to colored children, and see ominous clouds of inferiority beginning to form in her little mental sky, and see her beginning to distort her personality by developing an unconscious bitterness toward white people; when you have to concoct an answer for a five-year-old son who is asking: "Daddy, why do white people treat colored people so mean?"; when you take a cross-county drive and find it necessary to sleep night after night in the uncomfortable corners of your automobile because no motel will accept you; when you are humiliated day in and day out by nagging signs reading "white" and "colored"; when your first name becomes "nigger," your middle name becomes "boy" (however old you are) and your last name becomes "John," and your wife and mother are never given the respected title "Mrs."; when you are harried by day and haunted by night by the fact that you are a Negro, living constantly at tiptoe stance, never quite knowing what to expect next, and are plagued with inner fears and outer resentments; when you no forever fighting a degenerating sense of "nobodiness" then you will understand why we find it difficult to wait. There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over, and men are no longer willing to be plunged into the abyss of despair. I hope, sirs, you can understand our legitimate and unavoidable impatience.

You express a great deal of anxiety over our willingness to break laws. This is certainly a legitimate concern. Since we so diligently urge people to obey the Supreme Court's decision of 1954 outlawing segregation in the public schools, at first glance it may seem rather paradoxical for us consciously to break laws. One may won ask: "How can you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others?" The answer lies in the fact that there fire two types of laws: just and unjust. I would be the Brat to advocate obeying just laws. One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. I would agree with St. Augustine that "an unjust law is no law at all"

Further attacks on a free society...

According to CNN:

Charles "Cully" Stimson, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for detainee affairs, said in a radio interview last week that companies might want to consider taking their business to firms that do not represent suspected terrorists.

Stimson's remarks were viewed by legal experts and advocacy groups as an attempt to intimidate law firms that provide legal help to all people, even unpopular defendants.Sonnett said in a statement that Stimson had made a "blatant attempt to intimidate lawyers and their firms who are rendering important public service in upholding the rule of law and our democratic ideals."

Stimson on Thursday told Federal News Radio, a local commercial station that covers the government, that he found it "shocking" that lawyers at many of the nation's top law firms represent detainees.

Stimson listed the names of more than a dozen major firms he suggested should be boycotted.

"And I think, quite honestly, when corporate CEOs see that those firms are representing the very terrorists who hit their bottom line back in 2001, those CEOs are going to make those law firms choose between representing terrorists or representing reputable firms," Stimson said.

Who needs to live by the ideas in the Constitution.

Death Threats over PIzza

From CNN: A pizza joint in Dallas received death threats and hate mail since it catered to its office, I mean, allowed customers to pay in pesos. One email stated, "This is the United States of America and not the United States of Mexico." According to the business, 60% of its customers are hispanic. So far pesos payment accounts for 10% of the sales.

This seems to be very peculiar, especially because of the location. When I lived in New York, no one cared whether or not customers paid for their goods in American or Canadian currency. Most of the sales clerks knew the currency exchange rate, customers would pay, and then receive any change in U.S. currency.

In Texas, the story is quite different. While some of the outcry is over "illegal immigration" this does not make sense. Either the business is doing an excellent job of attractive new customers on a consistent basis or the business caters to illegals that have an unlimited supply of pesos. Both of these seem unlikely. I do not want to speculate, though I fear I know, what this really suggests.

Criticism of this business plan seems as ridiculous as towns that make either English or Spanish the official language of a given subdivision.

In both issues, it seems to make an "other" out of a group. Worse, one strategy in the immigration debate is to characterize any non-white as non-American. You can only be "American" if speak English and look "American."

Maybe, if more laws like this pass, we should make a requirement that Americans should speak and write correctly. Isn't that the next logical step?

New Artist of the Week

Maybe the first of multiple installments. It depends on the availability of artists,

Here is a link to the song "Heartbeats" by Jose Gonzalez. He is a bluesy-indie/folk singer/ songwriter. "Heartbeats" reached #9 on the UK charts.

On the downside, the video in question is a commercial for SONY Televisions. This is not a plug for that, but it certainly is for his work, especially his album "Veneer".

Another first...

In light of the debacle about which Solon reports in "Playoff? What do you mean playoff?" (The Rhetorical Situation, 08 January 2007), I will be the first major media figure to declare that a playoff is needed for college football.

Playoff? What do you mean playoff?

As the BCS Title Debacle reaches an ending and the score now 41 - 14 in the fourth, who will be the first to declare that a playoff is needed for college football?

And how do you convince the presidents of the major Universities that college football needs a playoff?

And how do presidents of major universities declare to the nation that academics for division schools, especially for football players, are not important?

How do you ask universities to schedule one less game (with the loss of guaranteed profits), for a chance at another game?

Just some basic questions, that's all.

Political Communication through Music

This semester I will be instructing a Political Communicaiton class. While trying to find new ways to reach my students, I decided to spend a week discussing music as a form of political communication. The songs must address political issues, with political being thought of as control and use of the basic resources and interests of a community or the arrangement of relationships between individuals in a community.

I have been putting together a list. Here are some example listed by artist, song, and theme. I am sure that there are multiple songs tha I am missing, especially when it comes to Rap (this is one genre of music I know little about).

(1) What am I missing? (Especially in regards to minority voices such through women artists and in rap)

(2) Why is there a dearth of political music in the 1990s? (There may be a few answers to this quesiton such as an "era of Good Feeling" after the end of the Cold War, an economic boom, the rise of Clear Channel and the centralization of playlists, the lack of social unrest to protest, and the rise of individual angst and the commodification of that angst.)

Here a brief list (there are many songs i am missing):

1960s
Barry McGuire “Eve of Destruction,” (imminent apocalypse, 1965)
Bob Dylan, “Blowing in the Wind,” (civil rights, anti-war; 1962)
Bob Dylan, “"The Times They Are a-Changin’” (Social Protest; 1963)
Creedence Clearwater Rivival “Fortunate Son,” (Those that did not fight, 1969)
Merle Haggard, "Oakie from Miskogee," (Anti-Protestors; 1960s)

1970s
Marvin Gaye, “What’s Going On,” (Vietnam; 1972)
John Lennon, “Imagine,” (anti-war, anti-establishment, anti-religion, anti-corporation, 1971)
John Lennon, “Give Peace A Chance,” (1972)

1980s
Bruce Springsteen, “Born in the U.S.A,” (Soldiers Retuning from War, 1984)
Nina- “99 Red Balloons” (Nuclear Proliferation, 1984)
R.E.M. “Orange Crush” (Vietnam)
U2, “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” (The Troubles in Northern Ireland, 1983)
Fugazi, “Suggestion” (Objectification of Women” 1989)
Public Enemy, “Fight the Power,” (1989)

1990s
Arrested Development, “Tennessee,” (lynching; 1992)
Guns N’ Roses, “Civil War; (a tribute to anti-war songs; 1992)
The Cranberries, “Zombie,” (The Toubles, Easter Rising; 1994)
Rage Against the Machine (multiple songs though there may be something rotten in Denmark about this band)

2000s
Alan Jackson, “Where were you,” (September 11th; 2002)
Toby Keith, “Country of the Red, White, Blue, Blue” (September 11th; 2002)
Dixie Chicks, “Travelin Soldier,” (Anti-War; 2002)
Dixie Chicks, “Not Ready to Make Nice,” (Anti-Bush Remarks,, 2006)
Bruce Springsteen, “Into the Fire” (September 11th; 2002)
Green Day, “American Idiot,” (Ridicules American under GWB; 2004)

George W. Bush wrote an editorial

[Place your punchline here...]

It appeared today in the Wall Street Journal

I'll Swear on what I want to.....

Or maybe, I'll Fall on you Quran.

Representative elect Keith Ellison will use a Quran, which was once owned by Thomas Jefferson, during his official swearing in ceremony on Thursday. Ellison is the first Muslim elected to Congress.

To no ones surprise, certain individuals, who seem to be more fundamental in their beliefs, are convinced that this is the (a) morally incorrect (b) the end of the United States as we know it and/or (c) a time to make sure others know how Christian you are by oppossing this.

Republican Rep. Virgil Goode, who seems to be a character straight out of the forest of Young Goodman Brown, wrote a letter because of Ellison's actions, there will be more Muslims elected to office and there will be more Muslims who enter the United States through immigration. Whether or not it is legal or illegal immigration does not matter. What matters, according to Goode, is that Muslims do not enter this country ,most likely to ruin the Christian character of the United States, which for some reason is omitted from the Constitutions. Maybe someone should tell Rep. Goode.

In a letter to constituents, Goode wrote:

"I fear that in the next century we will have many more Muslims in the United States if we do not adopt the strict immigration policies that I believe are necessary to preserve the values and beliefs traditional to the United States of America and to prevent our resources from being swamped."

While there are many legal and moral issues at play here, it is good to see that freedom association is alive and well with the members of Congress.

Start acting like (semi)bigots

In the news today, avocates for banning gay marriage in Massachusetts voted to allow a proposed constitutional amendment to go forward today. The measure still needs to be approved during the next legislative session before it moves to the ballot where the citizens of the state would be able to vote yea or nay.

In the rather incoherent move, the legislators voted for it, reconsidered by a vote of 117 - 75 after one of the gay legislatos scolded the other legislators, and, finally, the legislators then voted for it again by a tally of 64 - 132.

Further signs of incompetence by the legislators can be seen through whatthe amendment would do: as written, the amendment would ban further gay marriages from taking place, though it would leave the current gay marriages in place.

What does this action mean: look, we don't hate gays because we allow some to marry; we just don't want any more married.

Some where there was a document in American law that discussed equal protection under the law. I am not sure where it went, but was there a few years ago.

If this passes, I think I will move to Massachusetts and propose an amendment that states only individuals right of center can marry. Maybe only those who earn above $55,000. Maybe only those with blond hair and blue eyes. Maybe only those who believe in the divinity of the five books of Moses (though, how did Moses author books after he died?). Or maybe we can prevent atheists from filing law suits.

If you could pass any amendment, what would it be?

Taxation without Representation may End (in 2007)

It may finally happen, well, maybe. Washington D.C. may receive what colonists fought for: Representation.

Just think: it took only 200+ years for all citizens of the United States to receive representation. That is Democracy for you.

For an interesting video, you can check out Stephen Colbert's interview with a representative from D.C, Elanor Holmes-Norton.

Meta-Review of 2006

Since everyone is posting ther top-ten lists of 2006, (top ten movies, ten worst movies, top-ten songs, top-ten thoughts while bathing), I propose we list the top-ten of top ten lists. Or, maybe just the top-of-the-top list.

Here is one from Slate: "The Bill of Wrongs: The Ten Most Outrageous Civil LIberties VIolations in 2006." This is sure to break the ice at parties.

As they said in the '70s, "It ain't over till it's over"... Wrapping up the Rocky countdown a bit late

Perhaps many of you have already paid the price of admission and watched Rocky Balboa. For those who haven't, I will continue with the Rocky countdown. I know that this final bout is a bit late, but I was out of town and unable post the final clip. Please forgive me. And for those of you who were waiting to watch the movie until The Rhetorical Situation properly set the stage and ushered you into the theater on opening day: you can purchase a ticket tonight, as the coundown is now complete.

This final clip is from Rocky V, which most people consider the worst movie in the Rocky franchise. But I urge everyone to give it another chance. It's not a bad flick and really it sets the stage for the final installment. What's more, it delivers one of the most chilling moments of any Rocky sequal: the scene in the bar when Rocky challenges Tommy Gunn. "You knocked him down; why don't you try knocking me down." It's just plain awesome! Almost as awesome as Tommy's mullet. And I have a clip of it here:



Now that the countdown is officially complete, I guess I will leave you with a trailer to the newest installment, which I saw ealier this week (the day after I returned home, of course). And as I predicted several weeks ago, it is the best Rocky film since the original. I can't say enough good things about it. It's definitely the best movie of the year. And for those of you wondering...

[spoiler ahead]

... it does end as I predicted at the start of this countdown. That's right, I called it again!!!

College Football's Monopoly

As I gear up to wacth this year rounds of college bowls, I will begin the bowl season with my penance. Over at Counterpunch, Ralph Nader addresses the monopoly known as the BCS.

I do wonder at whether or not that at some point in my life I will have to choose between being an academic and enjoying college football. I'll try to give it one more year before I make a decision.

The Science of Free Will

While this seems to be a late-nite coffee-house conversation, an article in The Economist discloses that our brains, and other environmental factors, limit volition. For example:

IN THE late 1990s a previously blameless American began collecting child pornography and propositioning children. On the day before he was due to be sentenced to prison for his crimes, he had his brain scanned. He had a tumour. When it had been removed, his paedophilic tendencies went away. When it started growing back, they returned. When the regrowth was removed, they vanished again.

The article continues to dicuss how addictive chemicals (sugary foods, nicotine) alter our brains and "evolved instincts." If true or discernable, the consequences of this would greatly impact criminal law, economics, and rhetoric-- all of which imply free will to act.

We Can Feel It In Our Fingers, We Can Feel It In Our Toes; The Greatest Pop Song Ever Recorded Is Here; Featuring Triple H and Shawn Michaels

Readers, we've come a long way. And here we are. Now. In order to better understand the allusion Harrogate is about to make, check out the following clip, which remains in line with the Englishness of our Love Actually Countdown to The Greatest Pop Song Ever Recorded.

Checked out the clip??????? Hmmmm???

Good. Then here we go.

readers,

are you ready?

No, Readers!!! Harrogate said

ARE YOU READY??????!!!!!!!!!

Then, for the half dozen or so in attendance, and the millions who would be zealously following this blog if they only knew about it...

(And to Bill Nighy--depicted here--









whose performance as Davey Jones in Pirates of the Carribean II demonstrated once again that you can count on him to absolutely bring it; and who without question stole the talent laden film, Love Actually, with one of the sleeziest, most hilarious, most over the top performances Harrogate can recall; and whose performance here, in The Greatest Pop Song Ever Recorded is guaranteed to offend and amuse people all at the same time; and also to you, the devoted Readers, who Harrogate wishes a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, and will count this entire sequence of posts a success if only one of you has been inspired to include a revisiting, this Holiday Season, of Love Actually, a really wonderful movie by any and all accounts)

Llllettttt's Get Ready for

Christmaaaaaaaaaaaasssssssssss!!!!!!!!!!

Billy Mack - Christmas Is All Around

Detroit...Kansas City...Ooowww!

The Rocky Balboa countdown continues in slightly different fashion today. Instead of posting a clip from one of the Rocky sequels, I've decided to post a video of Mr. James Brown performing "Living in America," one of the most memorable moments of Rocky IV.

What is left to say? Except Wooowwww!!!



Just 2 more days left to go. Huh!

Love Actually Countdown Closes in On #1; Wherein Harrogate Poses a Simple Query of Readers

Well, Readers, we have now arrived at the penultimate moment in our Love Actually Countdown to The Greatest Pop Song Ever Recorded. Featured here is Olivia Olson's cover of (and, Harrogate would argue, improvement upon) the Mariah Carey hit, "All I Want for Christmas Is You." There is really no way to extricate Olson's performance of this song from the Rhetorical Situation in which she's performing it; several of the movie's principals are gathered together to celebrate Christmas with the community's children, and the director does a great job of panning across them while still keeping the proper amount of focus on Olson and, of course, the drummer who's painfully, head-over-heels in love with her.
all i want for christmas is you

Last week Harrogate and Southpaw were on their way to see a top 15 college basketball team dismantle their opposition, when Southpaw asked Harrogate what was his favorite Christmas Song? This is a terribly difficult question, there are so many great ones. So now, in dual honoring of Mariah Carey and Olivia Olson (what better dedication could'st there ever be?), Harrogate passes the buck forward to you, his devoted Readers.

As you enjoy this clip, consider what Christmas Song you have found yourself listening to most often over the last couple of weeks. Harrogate has long been an unabashed devotee of John Lennon's "Happy XMAS (War is Over)"; and no matter who's performing it there's something inarguably transcendent about "Noel"-- but for his current favorite he'd have to turn to "Santa Claus is Comin to Town," one of the sexiest and hardest rockin' of the seasonal ditties. And Springsteen's version of it captures it perfectly.

In a couple of days, Readers, you'll be brought face to face, on this very blog no less, with the Greatest Pop Song Ever Recorded. Until then, let's talk Christmas Songs.

A clip posted in honor of my newborn daughter...

who was introduced to Van Halen yesterday and loves 'em. Listening to their '78 debut LP, she especially seemed to enjoy Ice Cream Man. But then again, who wouldn't?! The guitar solo on this song is one of Eddie's best, yet it's never mentioned in any top-100-guitar-solos list.

Here is a live clip of Van Halen performing the song at the US Festival in 1983. Enjoy! All at our house will.

"To all my love slaves out there..."

Today's Countdown to Rocky Balboa features a clip from the third installment in the Rocky sixology. As always, there were many clips from which to choose. Here are the one's considered for today's post: the opening montage revealing that Rocky has acheived celebrity status (or, in the words of his long-time trainer/manager, Mickey, "become civilized"); Clubber Lang challenging Rocky at the unveiling of the infamous Rocky statue at the Philidelphia Museum of Art; Rocky learning that his title defense bouts have been selected to ensure victory; the scene where Mickey passes; Apollo's motivational speech to Rocky, where he tells the champ that he's lost the Eye of the Tiger; Paulie's emotional meltdown; Rocky's admission to Adrian that he's afraid "for the first time in his life"; the training montage; the final bout where Rocky defeats Clubber; and, of course, the charity match between Thunderlips and the Ultimate Meatball.

I chose the charity match for today's countdown--and only because brother Harrogate is a big wrestling fan, as you may have gathered from his Monday Night Raw reviews (temporarily put on hold until he finishes a paper). In this scene, Rocky fights Thunderlips, aka The Ultimate Male, a professional wrestler played by none other than Hulk Hogan. While I always prefer seeing Hulk play a good guy, he does make a good heel.

So without further ado, and in honor of Harrogate, here is today's countdown clip: the charity match between Thunderlips and Rocky that raised $75K for a youth club.



Just 3 days left.