Archive for October, 2008
Don’t forget the economy!
As the elections get close and the race craze wears off, we will all wake up to some nasty hang-over according to Paul Krugman of The New York Times:
The long-feared capitulation of American consumers has arrived. According to Thursday’s G.D.P. report, real consumer spending fell at an annual rate of 3.1 percent in the third quarter; real spending on durable goods (stuff like cars and TVs) fell at an annual rate of 14 percent.
To appreciate the significance of these numbers, you need to know that American consumers almost never cut spending. [...] Also, these numbers are from the third quarter — the months of July, August, and September. [...] before confidence collapsed after the fall of Lehman Brothers in mid-September, not to mention before the Dow plunged below 10,000.
Why are you voting? (Video)
In this video our favourite actors tell us why they’re voting and urge us to do the same. Not that I ever listen to what Hollywood actors tell me, but this time they’re actually making sense. And they’re funny!
Click below for the embedded video!
Warning: Video is slightly explicit!
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Vote, because you CAN!
A dirty fight is about the only hope the Republicans have left to win the November 4th election. And so the dirt is coming from every corner.
The last few days and weeks the GOP has stepped up its strategy to win, no matter what. The lies are spreading quickly, hitting the newsstands first. Almost daily there’s a story about the Muslim Barack, the evil socialism that he’s trying to spread, and how terrible life would be if the wealth was shared a little more, making it easier for the lazy, no-good, poor Americans to pay the rent and pay for their children’s tuition.Â
As if attack ads weren’t enough, the votes of many legitimate US citizens may be thrown out yet again. Why? Because of their race, party preference, class, failure to provide state issued IDs, or simply, just because. The GOP is cut-throat when it comes to the election. I doubt they will play nice this time around.
Read all about the Republican strategy to “block the vote” below. And on November 4th, please, go out and vote, because it matters!
Secular values, American elections (Podcast)
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Act 1: Jesus answers half the prayers at a roulette table – The Onion
Act 2: White, Protestant Nation Part 1 – Ring of Fire
Act 3: Secular values and presidential elections – Point of Inquiry
Act 4: White, Protestant Nation Part 2 – Ring of Fire
Act 5: Whale Crist feeds whale masses – The Onion
Act 6: Witchcraft in the Congo Part 1 – The Young Turks
Act 7: God proves the existence of Bill O’Reilly – CounterSpin
Act 8: Witchcraft in the Congo Part 2 – The Young Turks
Music:
Mary Mary – Stigmata
Santus II – Libera
Hallelujah – Jeff Buckley
Whenever God Shines his Light – Van Morrison
Jesus Doesn’t Want Me For A Sunbeam – Nirvana
New Soul – Yael Naïm
Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door – Guns N’ Roses
Find source links and Digg this episode after the break!
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Al Gore webcast TONIGHT!
Just a quick note to let you know that the Al Gore live webcast we previously mentioned is happening tonight. You can watch it live in just a few hours right… HERE!
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We are the guardians of freedom (Podcast)
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Act 1: On fear – This Brave Nation
Act 2: Securing elections Part 1 – Thom Hartmann
Act 3: McCain’s military record – Ring of Fire
Act 4: Securing elections Part 2 – Thom Hartmann
Act 5: Warrantless wiretapping phone sex – The Young Turks
Act 6: Securing elections Part 3 – Thom Hartmann
Act 7: ‘Block the vote’ with RFK – Rachel Maddow
Act 8: Discussing anti-Americanism – Thom Hartmann
Act 9: Palin family just sitting around – The Onion
Act 10: GOP spying on the Dems – Thom Hartmann
Act 11: We are the guardians of freedom – The Young Turks
Music:
Legion’s War – Zoe Keating
Letters – Stroke 9
Dreamtime – Uberzone
12:51 – The Strokes
Fidelity – Regina Spektor
Vote – Emma’s Revolution
Buildings & Mountains – The Republic Tigers
Good intentions – Toad the Wet Sprocket
There goes my baby – Drifters
July Jones – The New Pornographers
Find source links and Digg this episode after the break!
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The ship is sinking, Senator.
In order for you guys and gals to be informed about Senator McCain, you’d have to dig deep to discover the dirt and the truth. Thankfully, the Rolling Stone is a time-saver. Tim Dickinson (genius that he is)Â wrote a mini-biography of John McCain that could be consumed over a long lunch, all 27 printer-friendly pages of it.
I’m sure that many of you don’t have that kind of time on your hands. Luckily, I do. Read on for a few insights into the senator’s hush-hush break-up with first wife Carol Shepp, his recklessness in the armed forces, and the temper that earned him a nickname “mean little f*cker.”Â
Warning: the article is explicit.
Run! It’s a Leftist-Pinko-Commie Takeover!
The Wall Street Journal recently published an opinion piece outlining the “dangers” that will befall America should Obama be elected. It starts out with this stern warning:
“If the current polls hold, Barack Obama will win the White House on November 4 and Democrats will consolidate their Congressional majorities, probably with a filibuster-proof Senate or very close to it. Without the ability to filibuster, the Senate would become like the House, able to pass whatever the majority wants.”
Wait… did they just say that Democrats would become the majority? Meaning, possibly, that the majority of Americans voted for them?
Oh, but wait! Here’s what the WSJ has to say about the majority of Americans and their knowledge of candidates and issues. Read on for more!
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Correcting for the distorted vision of the corporate media
Photo by OliverAlex
Is the goal of UK-based MediaLens. This ultra smart team of media critics regularly publish highly crafted and deeply insightful alerts about the omissions and falsehoods put out by the media.
In their latest installment “Propping Up Propaganda” they touch on the absence of real public challenge in the media coverage, and how it is replaced by an illusion of dissent:
Little of this professional contempt for public challenge ever makes it into the open. The media sections of the press, where journalism ought to be scrutinised, are reserved for professional navel-gazing, ego-burnishing and insider gossip. At best, media commentary is inoffensive, rarely straying from the anodyne; and even then, only to mock easy targets like the Sun or the Daily Mail. At its worst, corporate media ‘analysis’ props up a brutal propaganda system in which “politics is the shadow cast on society by big business”, as the US social philosopher John Dewey observed.
Podcast Awards in full swing! Go Vote!
Happy weekend everyone!
Just wanted to give a little reminder that the Podcast Awards are here and that the Best of the Left isn’t just going to vote for itself in the political category you know. So let’s get out there and cast 15 of the 16 most important votes possible between now and November 6th. The 16th most important vote being the one for that guy who said John McCain was being ‘erratic’. Boy did they nail it with that one!
You know, while you’re there you should really check out some of the other categories for some good shows. I particularly like:
1. This American Life (duh) from the Cultural/Arts category
2. The Rest of Everest from the Video category
3. Radio Lab from the Technology and Science  category (don’t miss this one, really! I love it!)
and just for fun 4. Betty in the Sky with a Suitcase from the Travel category
Some of your favorite shows in the podcast awards? Have a favorite show that’s not in the podcast awards? Let us all know about them in the comments!
Thanks for your support,
Jay!
Vlad and Boris’ great adventures, doggone it! (Video)
Sarah Palin probably doesn’t realize this, but Russia is watching her too. They can’t not, it’s just too funny to see her stumble over questions 3rd graders ask.
Vlad and Boris wrote a love song for Sarah! My favourite part is when they sing “you betcha, doggone it.” 
Read more to see the hilarious video! Chuckles galore!
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McCain supporters spotted in NYC
It is hard to find them around here, they seem to be lurking or hide and mimic among the liberals. My friend Amin Torres is an awesome photographer and was able to snatch the gem above in front of The New York Times building for the Gothamist while leaving work.
The things you see in the city.
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Limbaugh, Savage, and Corsi do it again
Rob C. just sent me this:
Limbaugh, Savage, and Corsi believe that Obama isn’t in Hawaii to visit his Grandma, they think he’s actually a Kenyan citizen who’s trying to produce a fake Hawaiian birth certificate in the next few days…
Despite the fact that he HAS produced a Hawaiian birth certificate.
Amazing.
Of false promises and empty suits
There have been numerous videos made and many folksy songs written about McCain and Palin and their oh-so-crazy world. And now there’s a silly, but true, poem by Bruce Tenenbaum of the Huffington Post.
Read ahead for Bruce’s poem (don’t worry, it’s pretty short)!
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McCain campaign crumbles
Not that the campaign was ever too tight but, with defeat looming, McCain’s team is pointing fingers and jumping ship:
“The cake is baked,†agreed a former McCain strategist. “We’re entering the finger-pointing and positioning-for-history part of the campaign. It’s every man for himself now.â€
A circular firing squad is among the most familiar political rituals of a campaign when things aren’t going well. But it is rare for campaign aides to be so openly participating in it well before Election Day.
And when your running mate is veering off, that’s really bad:
But Palin’s disagreements don’t appear to be a part of a larger strategy. So, political insiders have started asking whether Palin is simply undisciplined or is intentionally ignoring the playbook. And if it’s intentional, the question becomes: Is she putting her own political self-interest ahead of her running mate’s?
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