brilliant.
(photo from Wooster Collective dot com)
politics
4
Jul 09
The Practical Limits Of Knowledge
While summer camps are going on, there is not much more that I can do, and my online reading takes a back, back, BACK seat. So I’m just getting to this. But a goal of mine (and potential conceit) is that my photography eventually develops to the level of Ta-Nehisi’s writing:
Again, I’m a liberal in large measure because, in my time, liberals have been about the business of expanding the national consensus, of including of voices, of attempting to reconcile past wrongs. I don’t think all of those attempts have been successful. But given the choice between that and an ideology that condones Willie Horton, condones Bob Jones, condones discrimination against gays, for me as a black man, there simply isn’t much of a choice.
This holds for other issues outside of race–faced with a group that asks its bureaucrats to censor science, that asks its presidential candidates to deny evolution, that employs phraseologists when faced with the challenges of the environment, I know which one I’ll pick. But even as I say that, I can see the limits of my own thinking–maybe if I had more than an informed layman’s knowledge of the health care debate, I’d think universal health care was a terrible idea. My politics are as much based on trust as they are on actual knowledge–I simply trust liberals more.
via The Practical Limits Of Knowledge – Ta-Nehisi Coates .
You are reading his blog, right?!?
9
Jun 09
One half of The Union
One half of The Union, Jared Blume (myspace page). The other half? Jaysen Peters (not pictured, myspace page). Two young local artists that collaborate on drawings, illustrations, and other artwork.
These last couple of days have had a million little annoyances and frustrations, so I made sure I packed along my camera when I walked downtown for lunch today. Stopped by The Coffee House Cafe and spotted Jared working, so I decided to grab a shot. Having the camera in my hands often goes a long way to lift my spirits, and today was no different. Plus talking with Jared & Jaysen is always enjoyable.
4
Jun 09
Dan May – First Thursday pick
The Artist (Dan May)
If you’re looking for something to check out tonight at PDX’s First Thursday, may I suggest Dan May’s exhibit at PDX Contemporary • 925 NW Flanders • 503.222.0063.
(Plus it’s a great excuse for me to post one of my fave portraits that I’ve done in the last year.)
1
Jun 09
This makes me sick and embarrassed
I’ve previously lauded reasons that I was glad that Obama was elected. But I’m not going to ignore the actions that I feel are wrong as well. I’m not a huge fan of anyone who blindly accepts any action by his/her candidate, team, leader, etc. And this is just wrong:
The White House is actively supporting a new bill jointly sponsored by Sens. Lindsey Graham and Joe Lieberman — called The Detainee Photographic Records Protection Act of 2009 — that literally has no purpose other than to allow the government to suppress any "photograph taken between September 11, 2001 and January 22, 2009 relating to the treatment of individuals engaged, captured, or detained after September 11, 2001, by the Armed Forces of the United States in operations outside of the United States." As long as the Defense Secretary certifies — with no review possible — that disclosure would "endanger" American citizens or our troops, then the photographs can be suppressed even if FOIA requires disclosure. The certification lasts 3 years and can be renewed indefinitely. The Senate passed the bill as an amendment last week.
via Obama’s support for the new Graham-Lieberman secrecy law – Glenn Greenwald.
4
May 09
The Salem Project
Pretty excited. The newest volume of The Salem Project will be available at the end of this week. This will be the third volume I’ve published.
The Salem Project is an annual self-published volume celebrating local artists & creatives from the greater Salem area. Printed in limited runs, this third volume will be available at various locations in downtown Salem.
28
Apr 09
More ego-stroking
So Art Brut just posted two YouTube vids of their time in Salem, recording with Charles Thompson (aka Frank Black). So while I get jealous of Kyle Gustafson’s opportunities to take his brilliant photos in well lit venues, the second video from Art Brut highlights my predicament – shooting in the dark. As you can see in this, the second video, this is the show at which I shot. Such great light to shoot with (/sarcasm).
Final note: Ran into Charles Thompson yesterday, and he told me the current artists he’s recording will be playing at The Space sometime soon.
24
Apr 09
Can I get an amen?
Bush-defending opponents of investigations and prosecutions think they’ve discovered a trump card: the claim that Democratic leaders such as Nancy Pelosi, Jay Rockefeller and Jane Harman were briefed on the torture programs and assented to them. The core assumption here — shared by most establishment pundits — is that the call for criminal investigations is nothing more than a partisan-driven desire to harm Republicans and Bush officials ("retribution"), and if they can show that some Democratic officials might be swept up in the inquiry, then, they assume, that will motivate investigation proponents to think twice.
Those who make that argument are clearly projecting. They view everything in partisan and political terms — it’s why virtually all media discussions are about what David Gregory calls "the politics of the torture debate" rather than the substantive issues surrounding these serious crimes — and they are thus incapable of understanding that not everyone is burdened by the same sad affliction that plagues them.
Most people who have spent the last several years (rather than the last several weeks) vehemently objecting to the Bush administration’s rampant criminality have been well aware of, and quite vocal about, the pervasive complicity of many key Democrats in this criminality .
(my emphasis) via Glenn Greenwald .
17
Mar 09
Ladies & Gentlemen, …. the Pope
Benedict said that the Roman Catholic Church is in the forefront of the battle against AIDS.
”You can’t resolve it with the distribution of condoms,” the pope told reporters aboard the Alitalia plane headed to Yaounde. ”On the contrary, it increases the problem.”
(my emphasis)
16
Mar 09
Great post for anyone pursuing a creative career
Thanks so much to Liz Kuball for bringing this to my attention.
The Acting Advice Blog – by: Jenna Fischer from The Office
I thought being an actor meant being famous. But, most actors aren’t recognizable. It’s funny. I watch TV in a whole new way now. Like, I watch a show and I see the person who has 3 lines on Law and Order and I think, "Their family is gathered around the TV flipping out right now. I bet that was a huge deal for that person!" There are so many actors that make a living by doing support work on shows. I was that person for many years. For me to stay in this business, it had to be okay if I was never recognized. I learned that I loved the craft of acting more than the idea of being famous.
(my emphasis)
via The Acting Advice Blog – by: Jenna Fischer from The Office .
Ego can so get in the way of pursuing so many things in one’s life. You should read the whole post, there’s a ton of great advice from obviously a very generous actor.
20
Jan 09
A million times already, but let’s make it a million times more
I’m so overwhelmed, and so happy.
19
Jan 09
Inaugural preparations – The Big Picture
The Big Picture is highlighting the inaugural preparations. You should check out these two Lego shots.
15
Jan 09
Worth a read
I spoke yesterday to Aaron David Miller, author of The Much Too Promised Land and a former adviser to six different Secretaries of State, about the fallout from the war in Gaza and what, if anything, Barack Obama can do to revive the hopes for peace. Few people who sit at the foot of power for this long fail to think through the consequences of disclosing what they’ve seen, which is why, on the issue of Israeli settlements, Miller’s recent admission that in twenty-five years he could not recall one “serious discussion with an Israeli prime minister” about the settlements’ damaging impact has caused some jaws to drop.
13
Jan 09
Showing Who’s Boss
I’ve not posted on the turmoil in the Gaza strip. I’ve done my best to read as much as possible, and have connections to people who have lived on both sides. But I cannot comment with any real expertise. I will say that I am truly saddened by those who are truly suffering and dying, especially as none of us (that I’m aware of) has a choice as to where they are born. But this quote by Mr. Olmert is beyond bragging, and I cannot understand how one says this publicly.
“I said, ‘Get me President Bush on the phone,’ ” Mr. Olmert said in a speech in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon, according to The Associated Press. “They said he was in the middle of giving a speech in Philadelphia. I said I didn’t care: ‘I need to talk to him now,’ ” Mr. Olmert continued. “He got off the podium and spoke to me.”
….Mr. Olmert claimed that once he made his case to Mr. Bush, the president called [Condoleezza] Rice and told her to abstain. “She was left pretty embarrassed,” Mr. Olmert said, according to The A.P.
2
Dec 08
God is the State of Kentucky’s first line of defense against terrorism
Under state law, God is Kentucky’s first line of defense against terrorism.
The 2006 law organizing the state Office of Homeland Security lists its initial duty as “stressing the dependence on Almighty God as being vital to the security of the Commonwealth.”
Specifically, Homeland Security is ordered to publicize God’s benevolent protection in its reports, and it must post a plaque at the entrance to the state Emergency Operations Center with an 88-word statement that begins, “The safety and security of the Commonwealth cannot be achieved apart from reliance upon Almighty God.”
(via Clayton Cubitt )
24
Nov 08
Are You Smarter Than a Politician?
You’ll have to believe me, but I answered question 33 wrong on purpose. Take the quiz and you can probably guess my answer.
Are You Smarter Than a Politician?
Of the 2,508 People surveyed, 164 say they have held an elected government office at least once in their life. Their average score on the civic literacy test is 44%, compared to 49% for those who have not held an elected office. Officeholders are less likely than other respondents to correctly answer 29 of the 33 test questions.
14
Oct 08
Buckley Bows Out of National Review
ummm… that would be the son of William F. Buckley, you know… the founder of National Review:
So, I have been effectively fatwahed (is that how you spell it?) by the conservative movement, and the magazine that my father founded must now distance itself from me. But then, conservatives have always had a bit of trouble with the concept of diversity. The GOP likes to say it’s a big-tent. Looks more like a yurt to me.
While I regret this development, I am not in mourning, for I no longer have any clear idea what, exactly, the modern conservative movement stands for. Eight years of “conservative” government has brought us a doubled national debt, ruinous expansion of entitlement programs, bridges to nowhere, poster boy Jack Abramoff and an ill-premised, ill-waged war conducted by politicians of breathtaking arrogance. As a sideshow, it brought us a truly obscene attempt at federal intervention in the Terry Schiavo case.
So, to paraphrase a real conservative, Ronald Reagan: I haven’t left the Republican Party. It left me.
13
Oct 08
Unfreaking-believeable
Zoe Strauss’ experience of censorship by the printer, not the publisher. Given all the blatant phallic symbols around the world, it never ceases to amaze me how irrationally insecure and sensitive men are when presented with an image of another man’s penis.
30
Sep 08
Of course, this was dumb
Of course, this was dumb. Banks didn’t really care (because they weren’t holding the bad paper) but the people investing in those “mortgage-backed securities” were slowly getting wise to the fact that many of the borrowers were in over their heads. What to do? The credit industry went ahead and lobbied Washington to change the bankruptcy laws. While corporations could claim bankruptcy and stop paying for their retirees’ health coverage, individuals would no longer be able to claim bankruptcy, and even if they did, they would still owe their creditors the money they borrowed, forever. The credit industry spent over $100 million lobbying lawmakers for the new provisions.
(my emphasis)
22
Sep 08
Let this sink in!
Calculated Risk: Bailout Proposal.
Sec. 8. Review.
Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.
(my emphasis)
21
Sep 08
If you’re not following Glenn Greenwald yet, you really should start
Some of his commentary follows:
What is more intrinsically corrupt than allowing people to engage in high-reward/no-risk capitalism — where they reap tens of millions of dollars and more every year while their reckless gambles are paying off only to then have the Government shift their losses to the citizenry at large once their schemes collapse? We've retroactively created a win-only system where the wealthiest corporations and their shareholders are free to gamble for as long as they win and then force others who have no upside to pay for their losses. Watching Wall St. erupt with an orgy of celebration on Friday after it became clear the Government (i.e., you) would pay for their disaster was literally nauseating, as the very people who wreaked this havoc are now being rewarded.
…
What’s most vital to underscore is that the beneficiaries of this week’s extraordinary Government schemes aren’t just the coincidental recipients of largesse due to some random stroke of good luck. The people on whose behalf these schemes are being implemented — the true beneficiaries — are the very same people who have been running and owning our Government — both parties — for decades, which is why they have been able to do what they’ve been doing without interference. They were able to gamble without limit because they control the Government, and now they’re having others bear the brunt of their collapse for the same reason — because the Government is largely run for their benefit.
…
Can anyone point to any discussion of what the implications are for having the Federal Government seize control of the largest and most powerful insurance company in the country, as well as virtually the entire mortgage industry and other key swaths of financial services? Haven’t we heard all these years that national health care was an extremely risky and dangerous undertaking because of what happens when the Federal Government gets too involved in an industry? What happened in the last month dwarfs all of that by many magnitudes.
(my emphasis)
**I can hear the bleats of the sheep right now**
17
Sep 08
Wall Street Welfare Queens from The Journal of Doubt
I know it’s a long quote, but it’s just a piece of the whole:
To stave off the complete collapse of A.I.G., we, the American taxpayers, have generously loaned the insurance behemoth $85 billion of our national treasure. We refuse to finance universal health coverage for all of us, but we certainly don’t mind bailing out greedy scumbags who willingly gambled their investor’s money in stupidly risky ventures knowing that Uncle Sam would socialize their risk.
And may I remind you that the biggest supporters of free market economics are now the ones on their knees begging to be saved from themselves by the evil and inefficient government they’ve been badmouthing for thirty years. That’s right: these Wall Street Welfare Queens have been the champions of free market economics and deregulation for the last 30 years, but now these government haters are gladly going on the government dole to save their asses.
May I also remind you that three years ago George W. Bush thought it was a brilliant idea to privatize Social Security and let these high-stakes gamblers on Wall Street manage this public trust. Wouldn’t that have been a recklessly stupid venture in light of today’s horrific news about the state of our financial markets?
Go read the whole thing - Wall Street Welfare Queens | The Journal of Doubt.
