Ganbare, Obama!

Update: Thanks to a reader, here is the video! You can even just put it on and go back to reading US magazine or surfing Perez...I think you might just be moved!

After sweeping the caucuses today, Obama gave his best speech to date. He was on fire!! Try to find the whole speech he gave in Virginia which touched on a lot of issues without sacrificing hope and poignant bits of humor. I will search for it too!

Imagine if your loved one was a soldier fighting in Iraq, and reading this article.

A North Dakota manufacturer has agreed to pay $2 million to settle a suit saying it had repeatedly shortchanged the armor in up to 2.2 million helmets for the military, including those for the first troops sent to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Twelve days before the settlement with the Justice Department was announced, the company, Sioux Manufacturing of Fort Totten, was given a new contract of up to $74 million to make more armor for helmets to replace the old ones, which were made from the late 1980s to last year. continue reading...

Maureen Dowd's Op-Ed yesterday about the Clinton machine versus Obama was harsh but perhaps painfully true.

Excerpt:

As she talked Sunday to George Stephanopoulos, a former director of the formidable Clinton war room, Hillary’s case boiled down to the fact that she can be Trouble, as they say about hard-boiled dames in film noir, when Republicans make trouble.

Bill is propelled by Cheneyesque paranoia, as well. His visceral reaction to Obama — from the “fairy tale” line to the inappropriate Jesse Jackson comparison — is rooted less in his need to see his wife elected than in his need to see Obama lose, so that Bill’s legacy is protected. If Obama wins, he’ll be seen as the closest thing to J. F. K. since J. F. K. And J. F. K. is Bill’s hero.

Guaranteed that if you vote for Obama you too will fly out of the polling place high on inspiration!

Dissident’s Arrest Hints at Olympic Crackdown by Jim Yardley, NYTimes.

Loved this article and the research question asked. The judges will surely squirm, at the very least, when the full article is published next month in the Tulane Law Review!

With all the recent excitement over Oprahbama I must remind you of a little post I did almost two years ago - I am prescient!!

Interesting article on Giuliani's tenure as mayor.

He was, to the popular eye, Eliot Ness reincarnated, an unsparing prosecutor for a crime-shadowed age. And when the United States attorney in Manhattan resigned in January 1989, he earned a tabloid salute:

Like a medieval crusader, he rarely flinched at hard tactics in pursuit of exalted goals. Continue reading...

What is this country coming to??!! What is happening to our children??!! Meanwhile, this is the school's homepage:

For consolidated info click here.

This came out of his mouth during his speech at Columbia University on Monday:

"In Iran we don't have homosexuals like in your country. We don't have that like in your country. In Iran we do not have this phenomenon. I don't know who's told you that we have this."

What a total Loser-Moron. Ugh. So annoying.

Nothing makes me wish I were a fly on the wall more than some good old fashioned polygamy.

Amber Clark, 28, an Army veteran who moved here from California about two months ago and who described herself as an active Mormon, said she thought polygamists should be left alone, so long as no one was under age or coerced into marriage.

“I’m liberal in that respect,” Ms. Clark said. “If it’s legal in some states for people of the same sex to get married, why is it not legal to marry more than one wife?” continued...

An interesting article about a very unsolved murder messily intertwined in politics:

After a year and a half it is finally up! If you have 13 minutes to kill check it out!

I walked out of Sicko with an overwhelming pride for sharing a nationality with Michael Moore as he may be one of the greatest American patriots of our time. It is obvious from all his films that he is not a journalist. If you hold him to journalistic standards it is incredibly frustrating to watch his films which are about relentlessly complex problems yet that doesn't stop him from over simplifying, over romanticizing and failing to blame all culpable parties. He is however, a true patriot in the sense that he holds America to the ideals she so strongly espouses and by using the tactics he knows best and is best known for, tirelessly tries to make her live up to all of them. Even with the overstatements and oversights replete in this film, I ask you how many people are making films spotlighting our atrocious health care system and its painful consequences? Not many so I commend you, Michael Moore!

Ok. It's of course great that Angelina has become a dynamic humanitarian force in the world. It's really really great. BUT I don't know if she should count as qualified to be on this council (I don't purport to know much about this council and its members-I'm merely assuming they are a deserving and illustrious group). Maybe she supplements her high school degree by being self-taught on humanitarian issues but I haven't read or heard anything explicitly saying she has done this. I don't mean to detract from the importance of experiential knowledge at all - I just strongly believe in book knowledge serving as an anchor and framework for understanding the world at large. I am not convinced that she is learned enough in humanitarian issues and other areas of study to be a meaningful addition to the council. I hope to be convinced or proven wrong - thoughts?

* via HuffPost.

Hopefully he can be helpful to you too:

* via Kottke.

Arianna raises an important question I really want answers to.

Jonah writes a very realistic and unfortunately true observation about the gun situation in America in light of the Virgina Tech shooting.

American gun policy is a deadly compromise.

Both sides are right, but they want to live in different worlds. continued...

Seductive Poison is a must-read. It's a first-hand account of a former People's Temple member and Jonestown survivor. The most interesting aspect of this tale is the rise of this church/socialist group as a byproduct of the times. For most of the members, the organization's lure was its stated commitment to eradicating racism, sexism, classism, but most emphasis was on the shameful racism of that time. Consequently the majority of membership were black Americans and the group was able to enjoy some political protection. Its pretty clear that the same message now would not carry the same weight and therefore the time capsule quality of the group is historically fascinating. Other aspects of the book cover the socialist camp and Jim Jones, the deluded, paranoid, tyrannical, megalomaniac leader and these are less gripping only because they are traits and tactics employed by every other despot who has blighted our history. Since no one knowingly joins a cult but cults continue to exist and proliferate today, what was most salient to me was the realization that it's almost too easy to conduct such horrific social experiments (Zimbardo!). In addition to the blatant tragedy of 1000 people getting murdered, is the countless families destroyed for the false promise of a larger, better family.

In light of yesterday's horrific incident at Virgina Tech I am just hoping desperately and perhaps naively, that debate will result in a tightening of gun laws in this country. It is not rare that in public places I think, "it's possible someone has a gun right now". And that's not a nice thought. People are fragile. Sometimes all it takes is enough trauma to push you over the edge and boom, you kill over 30 people while searching for your girlfriend who surely wronged you in some way. Ugh. So sad.

You might think I'm getting senile, that I've gone off my rocker, and maybe I have. But someone has to speak up. I hardly recognize this country anymore. The President of the United States is given a free pass to ignore the Constitution, tap our phones, and lead us to war on a pack of lies. Congress responds to record deficits by passing a huge tax cut for the wealthy (thanks, but I don't need it). The most famous business leaders are not the innovators but the guys in handcuffs. While we're fiddling in Iraq, the Middle East is burning and nobody seems to know what to do. And the press is waving pom-poms instead of asking hard questions. That's not the promise of America my parents and yours traveled across the ocean for. I've had enough. How about you?

My friends tell me to calm down. They say, "Lee, you're eighty-two years old. Leave the rage to the young people." I'd love to—as soon as I can pry them away from their iPods for five seconds and get them to pay attention. I'm going to speak up because it's my patriotic duty. I think people will listen to me. They say I have a reputation as a straight shooter. So I'll tell you how I see it, and it's not pretty, but at least it's real. I'm hoping to strike a nerve in those young folks who say they don't vote because they don't trust politicians to represent their interests. Hey, America, wake up. These guys work for us.

* From this interview on the subject of his new book, Where Have All the Leaders Gone?

** via Kottke.

* via Huffington Post.

Uummmm...mass circumcision, come one, come all! I'm doing them for free!! To help stop AIDS!! JK Rowling.

I hadn't really given much thought to the question "to circumcise or not to circumcise?" except that I found myself saying, "isn't it done because it's cleaner to circumcise?" but then I'd think of all the ways we currently do things for "cleaner" reasons that are pretty whack - women, when was the last time you had all your pubic hair ripped off because it's cleaner that way?! The other weekend we started talking about circumcision at the end of a dinner party and with the help of Wikipedia we studied just the very superficial differences in the photos provided. We also talked about whether we would have our sons (assuming we give birth at some point to a son or two) circumcised. Yesterday the discussion continued at the BuzzFeed office and I had already started to sour on the idea when I found this. I started sending it around with the caption - "hey, check out this fun vid!" but it is of course not that fun of a vid. See for yourself.

An interesting debate is shaping up in gay Paris. When (if ever) do you put your foot down and say we must be true to our national identity and at what point does that become worse than the thing you were originally battling?

What oh what did we do to deserve MC Rove??

There is such a thing as cruelty-free carnivorism right?! As an animal lover sometimes I feel guilty for being a carnivore and other times, I feel like it's only natural...conflicted carnivorism??

The story.

The creator.

Update in response to Hasan's comment: I totally agree - her mental imbalance is plain to see - the woman needs psychiatric help!

Ann Coulter is frightening (and ugly - but I'm above that!) Can someone please explain to me why this woman is so full of hate and terror? If I knew that as a little girl she was gang raped and then parts of her body cannibalized by a liberal cult, then I could possibly understand.

* via BuzzFeed.

Hot! In a completely not sexy way.

* via Harmony Blog.

Always sad to be reminded of the day JFK was shot. Always interesting though to receive more information about that fateful day.

Any conspiracy theorists out there just freaking out right now? Do share.

View here.

* via Kottke.

Wow, look at how much more fun the guy with the pink shirt is having than the guy holding the U need Jesus Christ! sign - go gays!!

Thanks to my cousin Angelina for posting this!

A good Op-Ed by James Bamford whom I worked with on the Eavesdrop event!

Last August, a federal judge found that the president of the United States broke the law, committed a serious felony and violated the Constitution. Had the president been an ordinary citizen - someone charged with bank robbery or income tax evasion - the wheels of justice would have immediately begun to turn. The F.B.I. would have conducted an investigation, a United States attorney's office would have impaneled a grand jury and charges would have been brought.

This is a fantastically to the point Op-Ed on this administration's misuse and abuse of "commander in chief".

Full Op-Ed:

We hear constantly now about "our commander in chief." The word has become a synonym for "president." It is said that we "elect a commander in chief." It is asked whether this or that candidate is "worthy to be our commander in chief."

Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan's prescient last book, "Secrecy," traced the ever-faster-growing secrecy of our government and said that it strikes at the very essence of democracy � accountability of representatives to the people. How can the people hold their representatives to account if they are denied knowledge of what they are doing? Wartime and war analogies are embraced because these justify the secrecy. The representative is accountable to citizens. Soldiers are accountable to their officer. The dynamics are different, and to blend them is to undermine the basic principles of our Constitution.

Garry Wills, a professor emeritus of history at Northwestern, is the author, most recently, of "What Paul Meant."

Am I the only one who just heard this word for the first time?? They say the first time is the best time!

Jimmy Carter will shamefully have to follow Mel Gibson to Jewhab.

Finally!

I have always liked Sean Penn and I think it's sad that he was mocked while helping out in New Orleans during the Katrina aftermath. There. I said it. Can't people be earnest and caring anymore? Here he goes for it again and I commend him for it!

Try not to be distracted by Spicoli on the right hand side of the page :-)

Thanks to my dear friend Celeste for this warm and fuzzy jpeg gift!

...after a year of being threatened by it. LAME.

Update: Check out Michael's comment below - it's great and worth your time. Thanks Michael!

What a pleasure to see!

Do you know the best site that's keeping track of the polls and presenting the candidates and the issues? Do share! Let's get into this!!

Thanks to my bro for this link!

Arianna is working hard, looking good! and spreading the good cheer of fearlessness...everywhere I turn it's Arianna this and Arianna that and it dawned on me...Arianna is now a one-name wonder. Awesome. My favorite people can't bother with two names: Prince, Bjork, Madonna, Amy (Sedaris), Stephen (Colbert)...

Check out the new New York Magazine story, The Human Blog.

Also, here's a behind-the-scenes at the Colbert Report video.

I think the issue of our elderly parents and how to take care of them (or not) is a fascinating topic because of how differently people of different cultures view it yet are increasingly adopting a US like approach. But is that the best approach? Are we happier? What's the right balance?

What do you think?

A new and awesome addition to the corner of 23rd & 10th Ave is this piece of art. Talk about something to look at and think about...

*"The Memory of Truth" by Ligorano/Reese at the Jim Kempner gallery.

He's training people to give his Global Warming slideshow to audiences around the world.

If that's not totally hip and cool, I don't know what is.

* via Kottke.org.

This week's New York Magazine takes on this momentous meditation with articles, interviews and columns worth reading.

And join in on the comment chaos*:

* What do I think about comments? It's funny you should ask because I have lengthy, detailed and exhaustive thoughts on this matter. I believe that insightful, worthwhile comments are rare. I also believe that people willing to comment at length about everything and anything that comes to their minds whether or not it serves the larger goal of a compelling site are plenty. Curiously enough, the specific comments on this HuffPost post are simultaneously exemplary of this and anomalistically interesting.

Thanks to GMail, I now know that...

Melly, Melly, Mel...you are a disappointment.

What do you guys think??

* via Huffington Post.

via Kottke.org

01) Being gay is not natural. Real Americans always
reject unnatural things like eyeglasses, polyester,
and air conditioning.

02) Gay marriage will encourage people to be gay, in
the same way that hanging around tall people will make
you tall.

03) Legalizing gay marriage will open the door to all
kinds of crazy behavior. People may even wish to marry
their pets because a dog has legal standing and can
sign a marriage contract.

04) Straight marriage has been around a long time and
hasn't changed at all; women are still property,
blacks still can't marry whites, and divorce is still
illegal.

05) Straight marriage will be less meaningful if gay
marriage were allowed; the sanctity of Britney Spears'
55-hour just-for-fun marriage would be destroyed.

06) Straight marriages are valid because they produce
children. Gay couples, infertile couples, and old
people shouldn't be allowed to marry because our
orphanages aren't full yet, and the world needs more
children.

07) Obviously gay parents will raise gay children,
since straight parents only raise straight children.

08) Gay marriage is not supported by religion. In a
theocracy like ours, the values of one religion are
imposed on the entire country. That's why we have only
one religion in America.

09) Children can never succeed without a male and a
female role model at home. That's why we as a society
expressly forbid single parents to raise children.

10) Gay marriage will change the foundation of
society; we could never adapt to new social norms.
Just like we haven't adapted to cars, the
service-sector economy, or longer life spans.

* Thanks to my brother for this awesome email forward!

WOAH. I love it. Here it is:

***

From: Laurelle Miciak
To: Dov Charney; Iris Alonzo; Dan Abenhaim; Tasha Dunn; Joana devCastro; Mariekim Pelchat; Osama Afify; CDN Store; AA Store Ottawa; AA Store Church; AA Store Bloor; AA Store Church; AA Store College; Store Managers; AA Montreal; AA Store Ottawa; AAEurope; KI1 Store; Emily Green; Lee Poulin; Shannon Nadj; Emmy Ha; Ellie Vitello; Geoff Stevens; Sarah Macdonald; Danielle Raquiza; Abigail Lawson; Sara Cadeau; Nick McIsaac; VA1 Store; Marty Bailey; Christina Klisanin; Stacey Haberkorn; Patricia Pawlukiewicz; [ed: email addresses redacted]
Sent: Sat 3/26/2005 11:47 PM

Letter of Resignation
March 2005

I will start by saying that I am personally moved to write this; that nobody has encouraged me to condense my feelings into this letter. No, it was only me and many of the things that have been eating away at me for a while now, things that have gained tremendous momentum. This is why I am leaving your company today. This is it.

I began working at the first American Apparel store in Canada in November 2003, one of the original locations in North America. A flagship store. I have seen the company grow and shift from phase to phase: from the time it was awkwardly moving from the wholesale market into the world of retail with its ethics strongly in check, to a time when I began to learn of its major flaws. A time when its discrepancies regarding its treatment of employees has paralleled the disorganization of its stock and product situation-which is as random as the company's absent (but much needed) human resources department. Without knowing or caring much about how operations run on the other side of the border (Borders? Plural?), things are beginning to crumble here in Canada, where it all began. Where your seeds were planted.

I am extremely saddened and affected by the recent departures of certain key members of the Montreal team over the past months. Drastic changes in all facets of management are not "progressive" or "youth driven" or cutting edge: they are a cause for concern and stress for all employees who have to deal with it. Working under a non-system which is missing structure is not only unproductive and inefficient-its fucking anarchy. Not to say that there isn't a pecking order, though: there are plenty of girls in this company who are being compensated for whatever it is that they do well, whenever it is that they do it, I guess. Yes indeed! Not all of us are created equally at American Apparel, but God forbid we stray from the universal dream-the "new paradigm" that we are all a part of. The amount of people who have been promoted then demoted/fired/forced to quit because they were prematurely moved up or wrongfully chosen is simply astonishing. Perhaps this is part of AA's 'Socialist-Capitalist' fusion. Because Socialism suits the company just fine, until a personnel issue arises, which is when it reverts to the 'you win some you lose some, you know?' mentality. Whatever. AA is all about the grey areas.

I was recently told that perhaps in 2-3 years, when the company has "stabilized", that I could probably be compensated for my time properly. That maybe, by that time, working between 60-80 hours a week would mean making more money than just enough to cover my rent and the bills that I have to pay. In short, I was told that I was lucky to have what I do with American Apparel right now. That running a store (small warehouses, really), managing and disciplining an entire staff, and everything in between is essentially a priviledge granted, not a position that has been earned. How's that for motivation? Trial periods vary between 2 weeks to 6 months, based loosely upon how much time they want you to spend "proving yourself" before they have to pay you at a higher rate.

The amount of dedication that this company expects from anybody in a management position is hugely disproportionate to the amount of money that they are forced to accept.

And then there are store openings! How exciting! The sheer fact that I have not been properly compensated (after asking and trying to fairly negotiate several times) financially, for my involvement during these openings is absurd. Not being appreciated after leaving my life behind for weeks at a time, as well as my other job (at which I made more money) to find, hire, assemble, teach (indoctrinate), purge, fire, promote, negotiate and guide an entire staff, an entirely new team and new page in the company book, is not only despicable- its completely stupid. Don't you think that it would be wise to keep senior employees happy? Don't you think that it would be fruitful to keep a good rapport with those people? After all, one of us is worth a lot more than our hourly wage. There are hundreds of little things that make us valuable, believe it or not. Countless experiences that help stores run more efficiently and successfully- ways to help you make more money. Because that's what its all about right? The profits!

Continue reading "American Apparel Resignation Letter" »

In solidarity with Jay-Z and all who live the hip hop lifestyle I have joined the Cristal Boycott and am only stocking my sub-zero fridge with Dom P. & Krug.

Dear God, Please put an end to this Cristal boycott AESOP. I am THIRSTY!!

Watch him say this:

What he failed to mention is something that has been a big part of his family history - incest.

A: totally awesome hook-up two Thanksgivings ago. Inhofe was drunk in bathroom, peeking through slit in door, waiting until Granddaughter walked by and then he stuck out his creepy hand, grabbed her and pulled her in. She's now 9 years old and drinks before noon.

B: Cousin Boy and Cousin Girl are madly in love with each other but don't want to taint the family's recorded history so instead have romantic plans to marry other people but to always live next door to each other for the rest of their incestuous lives. In this secretive, tense environment they fight a lot but always have makeup sex.

C: These guys really brokeback it. They were always close brothers and now that their wives are friendly and take karate lessons together, they've been able to spend qt together at pottery class. P.S. That phallic ashtray Brother B received from Bother A was indeed pottery art from the heart even though Brother B, in a crystal meth freak out, threw it in his son's face and it shattered. Now his son wants to do meth and bang his brother like Daddy.

Favorite comments from Huffington Post:

"Saw the show last night and Jon was BRILLIANT! He is knowledgable, and able to keep pressing his point/question without losing respect for his guest. Would LOVE to see him take on Coulter, and watch her melt down into a puddle of piss..." - braindeadsorry, 06.07.2006

"Wow. Somewhere Dan Savage is hugging his husband." - HopelessHeartsDept, 06.07.2006

Divorce Is Not Caused Because 50% Of Marriages End In Gayness..."Actually I belive that figure is correct... For republicans." - TrollzReviL, 06.07.2006

Lawmakers set new ages for marriage.

"The state with the lowest marriage age is New Hampshire, which allows 13-year-old girls and 14-year-old boys to marry..."

Boy am I glad I didn't live in New Hampshire as a teenager! By 23 I'd have been thrice married, twice divorced, once suspiciously widowed...

* via Huffington Post.

Finally, candidates I can get behind!!