by David Burn | Sep 21, 2004 | Politics
WHEN in the Course of human Events, it becomes necessary for one People to dissolve the Political Bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the Powers of the Earth, the separate and equal Station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent Respect to the Opinions of Mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the Separation.
WE hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness — That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed, that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these Ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its Foundation on such Principles, and organizing its Powers in such Form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient Causes; and accordingly all Experience hath shown, that Mankind are more disposed to suffer, while Evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the Forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long Train of Abuses and Usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a Design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their Right, it is their Duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future Security. Such has been the patient Sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the Necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. —from The Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776
The “Political Bands” we postmodern Americans must now dissolve is the corrupt-to-the-core, corporate-owned two-party system. Voting for Kerry, or Bush, will not address this basic need for a major political overhaul. By the way, if Nader had 15% in the polls today, they would have let him participate in the Presidential debates, or so they say. For those Dems who think progressives like myself should throw our vote to Kerry, I have this to say, “The guy does not speak to me. My concerns are not being heard, nor voiced.” Yet you demand that I lend my support to such a person, for to do otherwise will destroy America even further in your estimate. No, what’s destroying America is bigger than Bush. MUCH BIGGER. If we realized, as a people, just how much bigger “IT” is, we would demand better for ourselves and our children’s future. We would back an honest citizen for office and turn this into a real race.
by David Burn | Sep 21, 2004 | Politics
“The fact is a crisp, sharp analysis of our policies is required. We didn’t do that in Vietnam, and we saw 11 years of casualties mount to the point where we finally lost. We can’t lose this. It is too important,” said Republican Senator Chuck Hagel, a Vietnam War veteran with two Purple Hearts to his credit, on CBS’ “Face the Nation” Sunday.
Leave it to a Nebraskan to break it down. Hagel’s not going to fall in line. Nor would the former Democratic Senator from Nebraska (and current President of The New School), Bob Kerry, fall in line. Like Republican Senator John McCain, these two gentlemen from Nebraska share a key commonality with John Kerry, Democratic Senator from Massachusetts and Democratic nominee for President. Their experience under fire in Vietnam informed their lives. Bob Kerry lost a leg. All four lost friends. And all four forever lost what the Bush people demand–blind faith in America’s mission overseas.
The junior Senator from NE won his second term with 83% of the vote.
by David Burn | Sep 20, 2004 | Media
Greg Pallast, author and BBC commentator, on the vicious and complete tear down of Dan Rather and the state of our free press today:
American news guys and news gals, practicing their smiles, adjusting their hairspray levels, bleaching their teeth and performing all the other activities that are at the heart of US TV journalism, will look to the treatment of Dan Rather and say, “Not me, babe.”
I must say I’m once again startled by the very audacity of the Bush White House and the news organizations in their pocket. Can anyone say, “Hypocrisy.” There is no such thing as credible journalism on American TV, and yet these “news” manufacturers dare to appear outraged at Rather’s casual research methods. Please.
by David Burn | Sep 20, 2004 | Politics
Earlier this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia would take its own approach to democratic reform. “We’ll do this at our own pace,” he said. Democracy can mean different things in different countries, he said. “In Russia, democracy is who shouts the loudest,” he said. “In the U.S., it’s who has the most money.”
Using the latest Chechan terror attacks as an excuse, Putin then consolidated power in The Kremlin, saying he will now assign governors to the country’s 89 regions. In his first year in office, Putin compelled the regional governors to remove themselves from the Federation Council, the upper chamber of parliament. The next year he put the TV networks under state control and after the terrorist siege of a Moscow theater 2002, he tightened news coverage. Putin has also brought criminal charges against wealthy businessmen who helped to finance opposition politicians and campaigns, and this spring cakewalked through an election that western European observers dismissed as a sham.
According to journalist Tom Teepen, through all of this, U.S. President George Bush has remained oddly unconcerned, even taking some of Putin’s power grabs as occasions to praise him anew for his democratic ways.
by David Burn | Sep 20, 2004 | Film, Media
Whether we like to admit it or not, most of our political arguments–between family, and friends, and co-workers–are informed by the corporate media, thus they are often misguided from the get go. What do I mean by the corporate media? I mean five companies: ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, and Fox. All systematically feed viewers a distorted version of reality. Fox, for one, blatantly airs right wing propaganda. They have zero credibility in my camp. Sadly, my camp is a bit lonely at present. In these troubled times, the crowds gather round the flag. That’s where the ad revenue is; hence, it is also where the news is.
The scary thing is, we think we have a free press in this country. That’s what we were taught in school. So we are not busy looking for the manipulations and distortions in the stories we are fed. And we are not even thinking about the stories left uncovered. Add to this insanity, The Fox Effect, whereby ABC and the others try to out Fox Fox. Thanks to Rupert Murdoch’s sensational success, we have not one, but five news corporations trying to out do one another with patridiotic symbolism and p.r.-style “news” coverage.
If you doubt that news organizations are engaged in underhanded deceptions, please consider the most intriguing part of the documentary film, OutFoxed, where we learn about freelance political operative, I mean journalist, John Ellis–Dubya’s first cousin and the man responsible for calling the election* on Fox News. If you’re wondering who put this man in place to make such a call (at 2:16 am, no less), you can thank Fox News president Roger Ailes, a man in lock step with Karl Rove, for that service to the nation.
*Reports have John Ellis on a conference call with both George Bush and Jeb Bush, just prior to the historic decision he made on behalf of the Bush family and Fox News.
by David Burn | Sep 18, 2004 | Nebraska
After a nine win season last year, Nebraska’s A.D. fired the head coach and went to the NFL’s Oakland Raiders for a new one. His name is Bill Callahan and he brought his West Coast offense to town with him. Right now Coach Callahan has young Joe Dailey–a qb from New Jersey recruited to run the option–running his high flying system. Which may explain why Dailey has thrown so many interceptions in his first three games.
I can see where the players will adapt in time, but we fans of Husker Nation must also adapt. Today, against Pitt we threw a pass on first down from our own end zone. It worked. But it was shocking. Faced with that type of field position in the past, we would have relied on the farm boys up front to make a hole large enough to drive a John Deere through.
by David Burn | Sep 17, 2004 | Music
Deja Voodoo, Gov’t Mule’s first studio effort from the new band was released this week. The new band includes bass player Andy Hess from The Black Crows and keyboardist Danny Louis, in addition to original drummer Matt Abts and guitar slinger, Warren Haynes. Warren also has a new live disc out, featuring his solo performance from Bonnaroo. Whether he’s playing electric slide or fingerpicking an acoustic, Warren’s work is heartfelt. Add to this his extraordinary songwriting ability, both musically and lyrically, and we have, in Warren, one of the most important artistic voices of our generation.
by David Burn | Sep 17, 2004 | Politics
John Kerry please listen. You can win this thing. The Democratic Party is historically and presently petrified of appearing to be weak on defense. You can fix this. You can be the antiwar candidate. Step up and say the Iraq war, like Vietnam before it, is morally and strategically plain wrong. Say you were right to criticize the Vietnam War when you did–that you’re just as proud of your informed dissent as you are of your service in the Navy. Say if you want to mire our nation in another imperialist quagmire, while leaving the homeland open to attack, vote for Bush. If you want peace and prosperity vote for me.
by David Burn | Sep 17, 2004 | Place
Wisconsin real estate is still quite affordable, especially when you consider how nice the state is. It’s a beautiful place with rolling hills, lakes big and small, clear blue skies, orchards, native hardwood forests, prairie grasses, wildflowers, wolves, rivers, rocks, mtn. bike trails, and quaint country towns. For instance, here’s an extremely appealing 16-acre parcel in the central part of the state for only 79K:
This listing belongs to Otto Ritt, who reports the price of an acre in WI has shot up 43% since 1999. So, people are catching on, and fast.
by David Burn | Sep 14, 2004 | Digital culture
Noted blogger, Troutgirl was fired recently from her software engineering job at Friendster. The firing offense? Inflammatory comments made on her blog. The problem is her comments were far from flagrant, nor were they revealing of company secrets. Without delving in to what she said in detail, it had to do with the Friendster user experience and how she and her team aimed to improve it with a move to Hypertext Preprocessor, or PHP.
In July, I was on a job interview in Bend, Oregon. The owner of this small ad firm said he enjoyed reading my blog. He said he was happy to know my political leanings, as well. This made sense to me, since once a person joins a small firm, he or she becomes part of the corporate family, not just another employee. I am also aware that certain persons in my last two jobs read my blog from time to time. This fact has led me to state my opinions about work matters very carefully, if at all.
The question I have now is, does one’s blog ever prevent a firm from hiring? It’s quite possible, for blogs can flatten a corporate hierarchy, and who wants a free-speaking pyramid toppler on staff? But it’s not like you can hide your blog. A quick Google search takes care of that. So, be honest and be yourself, especially in the interview stage. If you try to project another you, a more hirable or more likable you, you will end up getting a job at a firm that does not share your values.
