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Thursday, Apr 10, 2003

insignificant undoings

"I opened the case and � to my horror � found nothing inside. There was a little booklet, I suppose, but there was no DVD. Has this ever happened to anyone else? I wonder whether they�ll even believe me when I bring it back this afternoon. A brand new, fully shrink-wrapped and sealed DVD case turns out to have no actual DVD inside. Can you imagine the fun that French cultural theorists could have with an event like this? E.g., Baudrillard:"
via megnut

Wednesday, Apr 09, 2003

danang, tennessee

just watched Daughter From Denang on pbs. kind of a gut wrenching story of a girl who was one of the many mixed race children born in vietnam during the war. her mother like many other poor women sent her off at age seven to america to be adopted mostly out of fear resulting from the childs mixed parentage. she was raised in the heart of dixie by a single mother who cared for her but was stern and emotionally distant. in her late twenties she successfully tracks down her real mother and ventures to vietnam for a reunion. unfortunately she is not emotionally or intellectually prepared for the visit and in the end rejects the family she had been seeking. she wanted the picture postcard memories of family without the burden. what struck me was despite their (the vietnamese familys) impoverished circumstances and their lack of schooling, they were so much more mature in their emotions and their relationships with others. meanwhile she had some sort of college degree and a family of her own but remained childish in her rapport and demeanor. im the last person that should judge anyone for shirking familial responsibilities and im sure the experience was overwhelming in many many ways, but it still seemed tragic that she wasnt able to see much beyond the blinkered ways of her adopted culture to embrace her unrealized self. instead she shuts the whole experience out of her mind (at least for the two years after the event covered in the movie) as it becomes a fuzzy memory itself, just a stack of pictures for her children to look at with wonder. but the filmmakers held out a hope that she still has the chance to grow and understand how to cope with her feelings and embrace what it means to be a part of her disrupted past.

Tuesday, Apr 08, 2003

a huge headache

"Stewart: Look, even some American generals have said that the Iraqis have put up more resistance than they were expected to.

Colbert: First rule of journalism, Jon, is to know your sources. Sounds like these "generals" of yours may be a little light in the combat boots, if you know what I'm saying.

Stewart: I don't think I know what you're saying.

Colbert: I'm saying they're queers, Jon. They're Hitler-loving queers.

Stewart: I'm perplexed. Is your position that there's no place for negative words or even thoughts in the media?

Colbert: Not at all, Jon. Doubts can happen to everyone, including me, but as a responsible journalist, I've taken my doubts, fears, moral compass, conscience and all-pervading skepticism about the very nature of this war and simply placed them in this empty Altoids box. [Produces box.] That's where they'll stay, safe and sound, until Iraq is liberated.

Stewart: Isn't it the media's responsibility in wartime ...

Colbert: That's my point, Jon! The media has no responsibility in wartime. The government's on top of it. The media can sit this one out.

Stewart: And do what?

Colbert: Everything it's always wanted to do but had no time for: travel, see the world, write that novel. I know the media has always wanted to try yoga. This is a great time to take it up. It's very stressful out there -- huge war going on. Jon, hear me out, it was Thomas Jefferson who said, "Everyone imposes his own system as far as his army can reach."

Stewart: Stephen, Stalin said that. That was Stalin. Jefferson said he'd rather have a free press and no government than a government and no free press.

Colbert: Well, what do you expect from a slave-banging, Hitler-loving queer?"

Monday, Apr 07, 2003

divine wrongs

"This is not the Old Testament, I emphasize, but St. Paul. One can understand his words as referring only to lawfully constituted authority, or even only to lawfully constituted authority that rules justly. But the core of his message is that government�however you want to limit that concept�derives its moral authority from God. It is the �minister of God� with powers to �revenge,� to �execute wrath,� including even wrath by the sword (which is unmistakably a reference to the death penalty). Paul of course did not believe that the individual possessed any such powers. Only a few lines before this passage, he wrote, �Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.� And in this world the Lord repaid�did justice�through His minister, the state."
via orcinus

trinity square

"Third, and most important, the attempt to impose democracy in Iraq and the Middle East has all the unreality of Don Quixote. The truth is that an invasion and occupation of Iraq with the pronounced intent of imposing democracy will more likely be a �poison dart� with a �boomerang effect� than a �magic bullet� with a �democratic domino effect� in the region. For decades, the Iraqi middle classes have been forced to act like supplicants towards those who rule them with arbitrary power. Their servility has undoubtedly produced a psychology and culture that emphasize avoidance and distrust of political life. In no way do the Iraqi middle classes resemble the proto-liberal capitalist classes of seventeenth-century Western Europe with their preferences for, and understanding of, a legally framed market economy and individual autonomy. As for Iraqi society in general, it is fragmented into hostile tribes and clans based on kinship, religion, and ethnicity. In such an environment, creating civility will require Promethean effort. Creating a civil society and democratic government will take a miracle."
via talking points

Saturday, Apr 05, 2003

mcgoverning

"Thanks to the most crudely partisan decision in the history of the Supreme Court, the nation has been given a President of painfully limited wisdom and compassion and lacking any sense of the nation's true greatness. Appearing to enjoy his role as Commander in Chief of the armed forces above all other functions of his office, and unchecked by a seemingly timid Congress, a compliant Supreme Court, a largely subservient press and a corrupt corporate plutocracy, George W. Bush has set the nation on a course for one-man rule."

baaaaaaaaa

"Nearly eight in 10 Americans now accept the Bush administration's contention � disputed by some experts � that Hussein has "close ties" to Al Qaeda (even 70% of Democrats agree). And 60% of Americans say they believe Hussein bears at least some responsibility for the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks � a charge even the administration hasn't levied against him."
via eschaton

golden showers

"CAMP BUSHMASTER, Iraq - In this dry desert world near Najaf, where the Army V Corps combat support system sprawls across miles of scabrous dust, there's an oasis of sorts: a 500-gallon pool of pristine, cool water.

It belongs to Army chaplain Josh Llano of Houston, who sees the water shortage - which has kept thousands of filthy soldiers from bathing for weeks - as an opportunity.

"It's simple. They want water. I have it, as long as they agree to get baptized," he said."
via eschaton

Friday, Apr 04, 2003

paneled auditorium

archive of new school panel events

victory dunce

"WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House said on Friday it would consider military action in Iraq a success even if U.S. forces failed to find President Saddam Hussein, whose appearance on Iraqi television could prove he survived a U.S. bombing raid on the first night of the war."

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