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 Thursday, July 11, 2002
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If you're getting bothered by the direction of politics in the U.S. (and the world -- see Bush Threatens Future of Peacekeeping to see the most recent reason the global community has for being angry with the U.S.), you may have a chance to do something serious about it in November when it comes time to vote for your representatives in Washington. But why wait when you can vote w/your remote by choosing to watch television w/a progressive slant? According to Vote with Your Remote: Phil Donahue for National TV Host, you can do just that:
 The new Phil Donahue show that debuts next Monday is up against the heavily watched O'Reilly Factor on right-wing Fox News Channel, and a new show on establishment CNN featuring familiar face Connie Chung, who was just snagged from CBS for $2 million a year.
This contest is the clearest national political race since the muddy results from Florida in 2000. Viewers can opt for the conservative O' Reilly; for Chung, the play-it-safe corporate candidate; or for Donahue, who appears ready to speak some truth to power in the populist seat. 
Sounds like some good tv. 11:33:37 AM 
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Ridgeway convincingly shows why Bush is not doing much about all this corporate fraud, but Bush isn't alone. Check out the lawsuit against Cheney for doing basically what Enron did:
Judicial Watch alleges that Halliburton overstated profits to the tune of $445m during the period 1999 to 2001, resulting in some investors "suffering huge losses".
Update: Learn everything you ever wanted to know and more about Crooked Cheney from MoveOn.org.
11:32:37 AM
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Damn! James Ridgeway's latest edition of "Mondo Washington," Nitwit Scion Turns Avenger, kicks ass and takes names as it connects the dots on pResident Bush's crooked past. Why isn't Bush and Co. doing more to stop the corporate fraud that seems to be steadily destroying the global economy? According to Ridgeway, it's not because Bush and Co. doesn't have the tools it needs to take action:
If Bush really wanted to address the situation, all he'd have to do is to pick up the phone, call Attorney General John Ashcroft, and ask him to launch an investigation of any one of these CEOs for fraud, conspiracy, theft, obstruction of justice, or perjury. The president could also turn to the Securities and Exchange Commission, which can refer a civil case for criminal prosecution. Bush doesn't need additional legislation to do this. All he has to do is call. He refused to do that in the Enron case, even though his administration knew about the scandal months before the company went public with its bankruptcy. And he hasn't done it with any of the subsequent double-dealings.
Regardless of your political leanings, the expose is definitely worth your time. Consider: If you have a retirement plan through your job (millions of Americans don't), your retirement is probably funded by a 401k. That means that if the market continues to plunge or stays flat, you'll have nothing to retire on. That means it doesn't matter what you think of Bush's performance in other areas, his inaction w/corporate fraud is something you really can't afford to ignore. Literally. [via MLWebblog]
Later: Joe Conason offers related commentary on the fraudlent Shrub in his new "weblog" on Salon. 11:28:54 AM
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Logophilia, a new site for word lovers, will introduce you to a new word each day, or a new use of an old word. Meanwhile, if you're a person of few words, you might appreciate The Bible in Five Words. Hilarious! See The Five-Word New Testament as well. I'll get you started:
Matthew: Verily, Christ was way cool.
Mark: Verily, Christ was the whip.
Luke: Verily, Christ was the shiznit.
John: Christ was one cute baby! 8:49:57 AM
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For all you "Matrix" and Baudrillard lovers, Steve's No Direction Home Page offers a link to The Simulation Argument, a collection of links to essays and books in various scholarly fields investigating the idea that we may already be living simulated lives. Looks like some potentially great reading. 8:39:18 AM
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Satellite radio companies are positioning themselves as the alternative to today's corporate-controlled FM radio, just like FM itself was an alternative to AM radio in the 1960s and 70s. Will Americans Pay to Turn On the Radio? sets out the argument, but it's interesting for the brief snapshot of radio history it provides:
XM senior vice president and chief programmer Lee Abrams, who is credited with inventing album rock, classic rock, urban/dance, and many other radio formats, likens the evolution of satellite radio to broadcasting's big metamorphosis from AM to FM dominance.
In the late 1960s, he explains, AM was ignoring the explosion of new music being made. Stations sometimes played big hits by Jimi Hendrix or Santana late at night, but their outdated-sounding jocks didn't "get" the music [^] which sounded terrible anyway, because it was meant to be heard in stereo. "FM came in and embraced these artists," Mr. Abrams recalls. "Gave them their own format. Secondly, back then AMs were running 18 minutes of commercials an hour and choking people.
"It's the same scenario now, except FM is the culprit," he says. "FMs are not part of the new technological retooling that's happening with the Internet, cellphone, digital, Palm Pilot era. Just like FM took advantage of all of AM's vulnerabilities, [satellite radio] is taking advantage of all of FM's vulnerabilities."
So does that mean that 30-40 years from now satellite radio will be the standard and we'll all hate that, too? Oh, wait, 30-40 years from now, Earth might not be inhabitable by humans so the state of radio and entertainment won't really matter, will it? 8:22:44 AM
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If you're looking for a good book, you might find some good suggestions in A Peek Into Professors' Pleasure-Reading Packs. For Sci-Fi fans, there's Diplomatic Immunity, "Lois McMaster Bujold's latest installment in her sci-fi series about the Vorkosigan family." I've never heard of it, but then, part of the fun of summer reading is trying something new, isn't it?
My summer reading so far has consisted of Straight Man by Richard Russo, half of The Corrections by Jonathon Franzen (I passed it to a friend before I could finish it but I'll definitely read the rest as soon as I get it back), and The Lecturer's Tale by James Hynes. All are somehow related to academia and I'm loving them -- great hilarity derives from mocking ivory tower theorists and their largely petty problems. I do wonder how these things play to people who haven't been through the academic ringer (grad school in the humanities, mostly is what I'm thinking here). Have you read any of these books? Any thoughts?
What are you reading this summer? 8:09:58 AM
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Did you know Barnes n' Noble keeps "subversive" and "experimental" books behind the counter so you have to ask for them if you'd like to buy them? In Novel Concepts, Dennis Loy Johnson laments the decline of reading, the rise of publishing and bookselling conglomerates, and introduces us to the Dalkey Archive Press as something of an antidote to both. As a spokesperson for the press says:
being a non-profit "allows us to do all kinds of things other publishers would think was crazy," but then goes on to add, "such as keeping a book in print forever!"
Yeah, what a crazy idea! I mean, I'm not wild about the idea of books as art objects (the idea seems to play too well with the whole romantic notion of "literature" and author as god/genius, which I don't really think helps anyone), but it's sad to see books reduced to commodities as well. Can't there be a middle ground? And can't we publish on demand, by now, so no book ever has to go out of print, ever again? Still waiting for Eldred to win and for us to get a Napster for books. 7:56:49 AM
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SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): You will move mountains today. Get involved in competitive sports or join a fitness club. Your love of excitement and adventure will lead to interesting events and new friendships. 5 stars
It is a gorgeous morning here in the middle of the middle of the North American continent. Thing is, there are no mountains to move. I know, it's a metaphor, and metaphorical mountains I'm sure we've all got plenty of. Time to get a-movin'.... 7:42:22 AM
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