Politics

Politically, I’m very liberal — about as far left as one can go without sliding into Libertarianism.

The Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Iraq

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There’s a creature in the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy called the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal.

Daft as a hairbrush, the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal is arguably the most insanely idiotically dense creature in existence. It believes that if you can’t see it, it can’t see you. Therefore, if you are faced by the horrid (yes, horrid, in spite of its intelleigence, or lack of) Beast you should wrap your towel around your head (you do have one, don’t you!?) to TEMPORARILY ward off the Beast’s voracious apetite and furious… fury… sorry.

It seems we have our own local Earthly variant now, reacting to the Abu Ghraib scandal with the belief that if we didn’t see it, it wasn’t there — and banning digital cameras in Iraq.

Mobile phones fitted with digital cameras have been banned in US army installations in Iraq on orders from Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Britain’s The Business newspaper reported yeterday.

Quoting a Pentagon source, the paper said the US Defence Department believes that some of the damning photos of US soldiers abusing Iraqis at Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad were taken with camera phones.

“Digital cameras, camcorders and cellphones with cameras have been prohibited in military compounds in Iraq,” it said, adding that a “total ban throughout the US military” is in the works.

(via Boing Boing)

iTunes: “Drink With Me” by Crivello, Anthony/Students/Women from the album Les Misérables (1986, 2:39).

Draft targeted to resume in spring 2005

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There have been rumors about this for a while now, but it’s been looking more and more likely all the time, and now the first major steps have been set in motion.

There is pending legislation in the House and Senate (twin bills: S 89 and HR 163) which will time the program’s initiation so the draft can begin at early as Spring 2005 — just after the 2004 presidential election. The administration is quietly trying to get these bills passed now, while the public’s attention is on the elections, so our action on this is needed immediately.

\$28 million has been added to the 2004 Selective Service System (SSS) budget to prepare for a military draft that could start as early as June 15, 2005. Selective Service must report to Bush on March 31, 2005 that the system, which has lain dormant for decades, is ready for activation.

(via Phil)

iTunes: “I’m Too Sexy (Spanish)” by Right Said Fred from the album I’m Too Sexy (1991, 2:51).

Six of one, half dozen of another

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Consequences of participating in the brutal abuse and torture of Iraqi prisoners in the Abu Ghraib prison: one year in prison, a reduction in rank, and a bad conduct discharge.

Consequences of failing to return from military leave after being disturbed by witnessing the brutal abuse and torture of Iraqi prisoners: one year in prison, a 2/3 pay reduction, and a bad conduct discharge.

At least the military is consistent.

Good point

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I’d rather be shot than vote for Bush at gunpoint. After all, I can recover from a gunshot wound in, say, a couple months. Voting for Bush, well, that takes four years.

— Phil, via IM tonight

Moving towards reinstating the draft

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It may not be much longer before the draft is back in action — inactive Army reservists are getting notified that they’re next on deck to be called back to service.

A friend of mine who is currently an inactive Army reservist forwarded me some memos he received regarding future mobilizations — memos that indicate that we are not far from some kind of conscription in the next few years. According to my friend, recruiters are telling inactive reservists that they’re going to be called up one way or another eventually, so they might as well sign up now and get into non-Iraq-deploying units while they still can. There’s also a “warning order” — i.e., a heads-up — from the Army’s personnel command that talks about the involuntary transfer of inactive reservists to the active reserves, and thus into units that are on deck for the next few Iraq rotations.

(via Atrios)

iTunes: “I Must Increase My Bust (The Lords Like ’em Large)” by Lords of Acid from the album I Must Increase My Bust (1992, 6:46).

White House clearing national policy with apocalyptic fundamentalists

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This Village Voice article is enough to have me seeing red: Bush White House checked with rapture Christians before latest Israel move.

It was an e-mail we weren’t meant to see. Not for our eyes were the notes that showed White House staffers taking two-hour meetings with Christian fundamentalists, where they passed off bogus social science on gay marriage as if it were holy writ and issued fiery warnings that “the Presidents [sic] Administration and current Government is engaged in cultural, economical, and social struggle on every level”—this to a group whose representative in Israel believed herself to have been attacked by witchcraft unleashed by proximity to a volume of Harry Potter. Most of all, apparently, we’re not supposed to know the National Security Council’s top Middle East aide consults with apocalyptic Christians eager to ensure American policy on Israel conforms with their sectarian doomsday scenarios.

But now we know.

[…]

The Apostolic Congress dates its origins to 1981, when, according to its website, “Brother Stan Wachtstetter was able to open the door to Apostolic Christians into the White House.” Apostolics, a sect of Pentecostals, claim legitimacy as the heirs of the original church because they, as the 12 apostles supposedly did, baptize converts in the name of Jesus, not in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Ronald Reagan bore theological affinities with such Christians because of his belief that the world would end in a fiery Armageddon. Reagan himself referenced this belief explicitly a half-dozen times during his presidency.

While the language of apocalyptic Christianity is absent from George W. Bush’s speeches, he has proven eager to work with apocalyptics—a point of pride for Upton. “We’re in constant contact with the White House,” he boasts. “I’m briefed at least once a week via telephone briefings. . . . I was there about two weeks ago . . . At that time we met with the president.”

[…]

When Pastor Upton was asked to explain why the group’s website describes the Apostolic Congress as “the Christian Voice in the nation’s capital,” instead of simply a Christian voice in the nation’s capital, he responded, “There has been a real lack of leadership in having someone emerge as a Christian voice, someone who doesn’t speak for the right, someone who doesn’t speak for the left, but someone who speaks for the people, and someone who speaks from a theocratical perspective.”

When his words were repeated back to him to make sure he had said a “theocratical” perspective, not a “theological” perspective, he said, “Exactly. Exactly. We want to know what God would have us say or what God would have us do in every issue.”

(via Atrios)

Spitting Image returning?

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One of the best discoveries I made when visiting England during the mid-80’s (sometime around 1985 or ’86, I think) was Spitting Image, a BBC political satire show using latex puppet caricatures of political figures. Hilarious stuff, and something that never really caught on in the states — for most people in the US, their only exposure to the Spitting Image puppets was in the video for Genesis’ “Land of Confusion“.

The BBC Comedy Guide has a good summary of the show:

In Spitting Image, famous characters in British and international life were re-created in the form of latex puppets, which – in the manner of newspaper political cartoons – grossly exaggerated that person’s most obvious facial or personality characteristic. Given voices by top-line impressionists and vocal caricaturists, the puppets were manipulated by a team of skilled handlers to act out the quantity of wickedly witty sketches that comprised each edition of the show. Essentially, then, viewing Spitting Image was not only like watching your favourite or most despised public figures taking part in topical comedy skits but also seeing and hearing them in a dialogue free of the omnipresent facade of PR gloss and occasional deceit – revealing, perhaps, the true personality underneath, or at the very least, a wicked, exaggerated guess at same. In this fashion, many hundreds – perhaps even a thousand – of people in the news, or faces just plain familiar to TV viewers, spanning the years 1984-96, were lampooned by Spitting Image. (To have been a Spitting Image target was deemed an honour by many.)

Now it looks like Spitting Image may be coming back!

Spitting Image producer John Lloyd is in talks with ITV in a bid to bring the satirical series back to the channel.

Mr Lloyd was an original producer of the show, which lampooned politicians and celebrities using latex puppets.

ITV confirmed having “early stage talks” with Mr Lloyd over the show, which originally ran from 1984 to 1996.

The article doesn’t mention whether the original puppetmakers Fluck and Law will be overseeing the puppet construction process or not, though as many of the original puppets were auctioned off in 2000 when Roger Law moved to Australia, that may be doubtful.

Another interesting tidbit I learned while reading about this: one of the voice actors for Spitting Image was Chris Barrie, known primarily to me as Rimmer in Red Dwarf.

iTunes: “Maestro, The” by Beastie Boys, The from the album Check Your Head (1992, 2:52).

Powell on Meet the Press

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Here’s something you don’t see in today’s political arena very often these days. Colin Powell was on Meet the Press Sunday night, when one of his staffers attempted to cut off the interview in the midst of one of Tim Russert’s questions. Powell was not pleased, going so far as to rebuke the staffer on-air, and had the camera brought back in order to finish the interview.

As Tim Russert, the program’s host, began to ask his final question, the camera unexpectedly panned away from Mr. Powell, who was being interviewed in Jordan via a satellite link from Washington. In the confusion, Mr. Powell could be heard saying, “He’s still asking me questions,” to which a woman’s voice answered, “No, he’s not.”

Mr. Powell, still off camera, said, “Tim, I’m sorry, I lost you,” and added, “Emily, get out of the way.” Mr. Russert, slightly irate, responded: “I think that was one of your staff, Mr. Secretary. I don’t think that’s appropriate.” After a few seconds the camera returned to Mr. Powell and he finished the interview.

Video of the interview can be found on Lisa Rein’s Radar.

(via Boing Boing and Dave Winer)

iTunes: “Trouble In Mind” by Joplin, Janis from the album Janis (1965, 3:03).

2004 DNC allowing bloggers as press

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Great news for politically-minded webloggers: the 2004 Democratic National Convention has opened up their press credential process to webloggers.

The Democratic National Convention Committee is pleased to announce that for the first time ever, bloggers will be offered Convention access through the official media credentialing process.

Because the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston is less than 90 days away and space is extremely limited, we encourage those interested in this first-ever opportunity to act now. To apply to cover the 2004 Democratic National Convention as a blogger, you will need to submit applications to both the Senate Periodical Press Gallery AND the Democratic National Convention Committee (DNCC) Press Gallery before the May 28th deadline.

TTLB has gone on to clarify some of the details of just how to apply for press credentials, and has also made an overture towards the RNC to see if the same thing can be done for their convention.

Not being in the Boston area, I obviously won’t be applying, but hopefully this goes a long way to opening the political process to even more people.

iTunes: “Soylent Grün” by :Wumpscut: from the album Music for a German Tribe + New Tracks/Remixes (2000, 5:46).