please, talk into my lapel, mr. bush

I haven't blogged about the whole "President admitting to smoking marijuana" thing, but I think it's high time I did. (Pun intended, thankyouverymuch.)

I am not the head cheerleader for the Bush administration in any way. But I am a little wary about the timing of the disclosure by Mr. Wead. Why not bring this to the forefront during the re-election campaign (I'm sure some would have paid a LOT of money for those recordings in order to smear Bush).

Wonkette wrote a witty entry titled "Doug Wead: A Tease and a Tool" that summed it all up. Wead won't release anything else, but does that mean he has other incriminating tapes about Mr. Bush? Maybe a few key sound effects ("sniffffff snifffffff") and also other warnings to children not to do what he did? I'd like to buy this on CD if possible -- I need some good listening for my spring break trip to New Orleans. (I'm bringing Clinton's recording of "My Life," but the sweet sweet voice of Slick Willy will only fill a fraction of the hours in the car.)

To sum it all up: I don't believe that smoking marijuana is the only thing that Mr. Bush has ever done. Hopefully we [a hard-knuckled gang of bloggers] can beat the other tapes out of Mr. Wead...

blog directories

Another blogger asked where I get my links for this blog, and I wanted to let you all know how to find your own blogs. There are many databases of political blogs, but the most comprehensive list of "indie" (non-mainstream) political blogs is here at etalkinghead.com.

Yahoo also has a list of political blogs (pretty famous ones) here.

It's pretty simple, though -- do a search on google or yahoo (or your preferred search engine) for "political blog" or "religious blog" or "gaming blog." There's a blog for everything out there!

The NEW New York?

I read a very interesting post from Baghdad Burning today. She started out telling a story about her local grocer who sets up a roadside stand each day, selling to all of the people on the street. He is quite an intelligent man, always up for political talk as well as local gossip. I found this part to be especially poignant:

"I shook my head and sighed. 'So do you still think the Americans want to turn Iraq into another America? You said last year that if we gave them a chance, Baghdad would look like New York.' I said in reference to a conversation we had last year. E. gave me a wary look and tried to draw my attention to some onions, 'Oh hey- look at the onions- do we have onions?' "

I am so addicted to reading this blog because it gives me a portal to a world that I can hardly imagine. Yes, my uncle is serving there at Camp Victory (soon to return home!), but that is only one side of the story. He gets an Americanized view of it all, from the food in the mess hall to the attitudes on the street. There's no way he could get an objective view -- the Iraqis for the most part resent the hell out of Americans, and of course they act differently around them.

But this blogger, she lives there -- day in, day out, she sees what is going on. The way she writes is very straightforward and easy to follow, while at the same time makes such an impact.

"I feel like I have my finger on the throbbing pulse of the Iraqi political situation every time I visit Abu Ammar. You can often tell just how things are going in the country from the produce available at his stand. For example, when he doesn’t have any good tomatoes we know that the roads to Basra are either closed or really bad and the tomatoes aren’t getting through to Baghdad. When citrus fruit isn’t available during the winter months, we know that the roads to Diyala are probably risky and oranges and lemons couldn’t be delivered."

I think I might explore this more in-depth for my final presentation for my online journalism class. In today's set of presentations, I discovered that another blogger in the class chose to present on political bloggers as well, and covered a lot of the topics which I outlined in my powerpoint presentation. Ah well, I guess doing it all over will be good for me -- real world experience, if you will.

Hunter S. Thompson is dead.

"The Edge... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over."

He is dead, the man who singlehandedly made me want to be a journalist. He shot himself today at the age of 67.

Hunter S. Thompson was not just another politicial journalist -- he was a man who pushed the envelope so far that we can't really remember what the envelope was before him. He was crass and almost always under the influence of alcohol or drugs, he loved guns, he wrote for many of the great publications of our time, published fiction and non-fiction, rode with the Hells Angels, and made me realize just how much of an impact one person can make on the journalism world.

I remember reading "The Rum Diary" while my sister was still dating John Lambert. The book blew my mind, I remember reading it three times before returning it to the library and buying my own copy -- I must have been 15 years old. His writing stirred up something inside of me, sort of lit a flame that has grown over the years. The fires were fanned by his other works that I then read: "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," "Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail," "Screwjack," and others displayed on my bookshelf.

Those who know me best know that I respect him as a journalist, a fiction writer, and an overall amazing and creative human being. I love the fact that he is from Louisville, my hometown, and that he was presented the key to the city while he was falling down drunk. I read his biography and smiled, feeling like I knew a little more about the man who change my life so much. Hell, I always said my first son would be named Hunter to honor the man who made me want to be a journalist.

So no mourning, just celebration -- he'd want people to dance on his grave and swill irish whiskey while remembering the good times. This one's for you, Hunter.

blogging takes center stage on the daily show

I was just laying in bed thinking about putting on a coat and picking up my mail from my office, but then I decided to watch The Daily Show. Good thing I did -- the entire first ten minutes was devoted to blogs tonight. Jon Stewart talked about how a VERY Republican Jeff Gannon. (This turned out to be a fake name.) Anyway, he somehow snuck into a white house press conference and actually asked Mr. Bush a question. A blogger looked into this new reporter and found he ran a website about Republican agendas, as well as a military-themed gay male website. Oh yes, you heard me. (It was called "male corps" but the name has since changed.) Anyway, check out the full story on the blog that broke it (hosted through blogspot!!). (Be warned, there are explicit pictures on the site (that are censored, but explicit nonetheless).

The moral of the story tonight on The Daily Show is that bloggers are in fact making waves, and the newspapers and news networks can only try to downplay it because they know they are getting scooped. (Ahem, I'm specifically talking about Rathergate here.) Have other journalists gone soft?

"You don't report on reporters, no one likes a snitch!" --Stephen Colbert

I'll leave you with two wonderful quotes from Mr. Stephen Colbert...

"Fine, John, three years ago I killed a panda!"
"My real name is Ted Hitler, no relation... well, yes, there is a direct relation. Alright, I'm Adolf Hitler's grandson."

pro-life plates

I am pro-choice through and through. I believe that a woman's body is her domain, and what she does with it is her choice. I am also very worried about the current administration and the looming sanctions they would like to put on abortion.

Today's Post had a story about Ohio license plates having "choose life" written on them and a little graphic of children with a pro-adoption message. Now, I would be ok with just the graphic and adoption message, but CHOOSE LIFE printed on the bottom of the plate makes me want to scream.

Just like the separation of church and state, please let there be a separation of pro-choice messages being OK on license plates (and any other government sponsored things). The articles lists other states that already have pro-life plates (most of them in the midwest and south, BIG SURPRISE), but I was actually knocked back when I read that there were already plates like this on cars across the U.S.

Their argument? Propose a pro-abortion plate. Of course, I'm sure that one would fly right through the system. I just think it's hypocritical...

happy valentines day to all, and to all a good night

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone -- hope you've had your fill of candy hearts and decadent chocolate. I am celebrating by having a blog-a-thon -- that is, I'm reading a ton of blogs and seeing how everyone else is celebrating. The singletons are complaining about the "Hallmark Holiday," and those with significant others are posting dinner plans. I guess we can't all be hot computer geeks who can have her cake and eat it too.

Anyway, a colleague of mine pointed out that Valentine's Day (the westernized version) has spread around the world. Iraq and Taiwan stores are peddling the red and white kitsch, and my uncle in Iraq told me today over the phone that some people on his staff bought him some valentine's candy. "I didn't even know you could get that over here -- I guess I should leave the base more often," he said. "Even though it was not the finest chocolate in the world, I still enjoyed the treat. St. Valentine visits the desert, indeed."

I did a google search for "Iraq Valentines" and came up with a florist directory for the major Iraqi cities. It's actaully very interesting -- I should have known beforehand so I could have had flowers sent to my uncle at Camp Victory. (I don't think they would allow flower deliveries, but still, it's the thought that counts.)

Anyway, hope all is well with you guys. Good or bad, Valentine's Day is almost over...

"The Guantanamo Guidebook"

From myway.com:

A British television station plans to air "The Guantanamo Guidebook," a program that recreates some alleged techniques used at the U.S. prison camp for terrorist suspects.

Two people vomited, two wet their pants, another suffered signs of hypothermia - all for the cameras - after volunteering to spend 48 hours locked up in cages and subjected to sexual humiliation, forced nudity and sleep deprivation allegedly like prisoners at Guantanamo Bay.

Channel 4 says it wants to make the public aware of such abuses, but a human rights group said Wednesday the program violates U.N. conventions banning torture and shouldn't be shown.

Blogging all the way from Iraq

I help update our local news site, athensi.com. I scour the local news sites for arts and music stories and then link them through the site by providing teasers. Anyway, the post is not about my inner internet geek, it is about something on athensi.com.

Kevin Kuwik is presently serving in Iraq, but before he left, he was the assistant basketball coach here at Ohio University. He sends periodic emails to the athletic department, and they post them on their site, ohiobobcats.com. Athensi.com has taken interest in his letters and photographs, and has mirrored them on their site. Check out his latest installment from February 6.

He talks mostly about inocuous topics: the weather, how the Bobcats are doing, watching the superbowl through the Armed Forces Network. While all of this is interesting, I am skeptical that he is witholding a lot of side thoughts about his REAL experience in Iraq. The death, the fact that he is away from his family and home... basically his take on the current situation. I don't know if Captain Kuwik is a republican or a democrat, but it would be interesting to hear some thoughts other than how hot it is.

A hypothetical situation: say he was discontent with his situation, and he wanted to vent about the current administration and the treatment of soldiers in Iraq -- where would he do it? I'm sure he would be a little hesitant to write a blog from military computers -- there must be some sort of spy program to find out what the soldiers are writing. In fact, I read an article the other day about the suppression of a blog by an MP who was not happy about his situation in Iraq. (I cannot seem to find the link right now, but I'll keep searching.)

I guess my point is that a blog should include all thoughts: both happy and sad, good and bad. If I wanted to read a one-sided blog, I'll go check out those on foxnews.com...

the o'franken factor

Al Franken is, sadly, not running for sentate in 2006.

His blog is definitely a must-read. (Click on the link ((his name)) above to read it.) I enjoy Franken on both Air America Radio and The Daily Show.

Also on Air America Radio is my favorite (and yours!) Janeane Garafolo. She co-hosts a show called "The Majority Report" with Sam Seder. You can listen for free online through that link -- they are on at 7pm.

And SURPRISE! They have a blog. I love that they update the blog both during the day and when the show is on the air -- I guess you know you're a really a geek when you both listen to the program and keep pressing "reload" to read the blog.

If being a geek is cool, call me Miles Davis...

it's funny what you find when surfing

I was looking at Craigslist tonight because I happen to be bored out of my mind, and I found that Craig himself has a blog. He frequently blogs about politics (I would link you to one, but apparently I cannot find a way to single entries out and link them through this particular blog), and I have been reading for a good 30 minutes.

Oh, if you've never heard of Craigslist, it is an online forum that connects people in specific (BIG) cities. You can place a personal ad, sell a couch, talk about politics, or just surf around and read what everyone else has written. I really love the site, and it is a must to acquaint yourself with if you are moving out of Athens (or any other smaller town) to a bigger, more populated place.

state of the union

(I'm surprised Blogger.com isn't lagging -- during the inauguration, I couldn't get on for about 30 minutes.)

Anyway, the state of the union is happening right now, and although I don't like to hear Bush talk about what marriage means to him and how stem cells will be detrimental to our nation, I was interested in hearing him outline the social security plan. Well, I should say not just his plan, but the reaction of those in attendance. [All of this sitting and standing must necessitate the wearing of comfortable shoes.]

PS -- I ran across a drinking game for the address. Proceed with caution, and please drink responsibly.

one nation under god?

In an Op-Ed column from the New York Times by Thomas Friedman (November 4, 2004), he talked about the difference between reading, say, the New York Times for your news, and getting it from Fox News.

An excerpt:

"This was not an election. This was station identification. I'd bet anything that if the election ballots hadn't had the names Bush and Kerry on them but simply asked instead, 'Do you watch Fox TV or read The New York Times?' the Electoral College would have broken the exact same way."

I totally agree with this quote, and I have used it often since I read the original piece. Fox News is so skewed that it pains me to actually sit down and watch it critically. They make themselves out to be the "everyman's news," while the New York Times is still on a pedastel to most Americans. Plus, it's easier to flip a switch on your boob-tube and take in all of the day's skewed Republican news.

(Thanks to Lindsay Moyer for suggesting the topic of this entry.)