hegemony rules

(via BoingBoing)

Rushkoff sums up much of what I’ve been feeling lately – that the Republicans seem to think that war really does give us meaning.

I usually don’t feel uneasy when I put those filters on, but last night – during the Guiliani speech – I realized I was no longer filtering a speechwriter’s intentional manipulation; I was trying to look beyond real hate. These folks were gritting their teeth, shaking their fists, and smiling the way gladiators do when going into combat against barbarians. And this is the incumbent party. The ones currently in power.

What is it they hate? Guiliani and Palin both made it pretty clear: community organizing. Community organizing is energized from below. From the periphery. It is the direction and facilitation of mass energy towards productive and cooperative ends. It is about replacing conflict with collaboration. It is the opposite of war; it is peace.

Last night, the Republican Convention made it clear they prefer war. They see the world as a dangerous and terrible place. Like the fascist leaders satirized in Starship Troopers, they say they believe it is better to be on the offensive, taking the war to the people who might wish us harm than playing defense. It is better to be an international aggressor – a bulldog with lipstick – than led by the misguided notion that attacking people itself makes the world a more dangerous place.

Read his full post.  (via BoingBoing)

From an article about Sarah Palin’s time as mayor of Wasilla, Alaska:

Stein says that as mayor, Palin continued to inject religious beliefs into her policy at times. “She asked the library how she could go about banning books,” he says, because some voters thought they had inappropriate language in them. “The librarian was aghast.” The librarian, Mary Ellen Baker, couldn’t be reached for comment, but news reports from the time show that Palin had threatened to fire her for not giving “full support” to the mayor.

Read more.

created at wordle.net

…and Fox-owned stations effectively canned him.

Sigh.

This is probably one of the most incisive critiques of the Bush administration I’ve seen in a long time. Watch it. Share it.

GWB’s credibility – You Tube