Posts Tagged ‘democratic national convention’

DNC Day 4 – Republicrats – Same script / Different Actors

// August 28th, 2008 // No Comments » // Politics

Sex sells, especially at democratic national conventions.
Al Gore and Dick Durbin speak tonight — two politicians that I have wanted to hear from besides Kucinich.
And on this anniversary of the ‘I have a DREAM’ speech, how fitting to have the sponsor of the DREAM Act, the senior senator from Illinois, introduce Barack Obama.  Whatever happens tonight, we still have a good 2 months to go.
Update – I actually caught Barack Obama’s speech and as usual he was articulate, brilliant and finally laid out some plan of action. I was expecting to hear a “I have a dream” line but to his credit, Obama did not exploit the moment. While I firmly believe that all politics is simulation and no real meaningful change can occur so long as we embrace capitalism, there was a particular part of his speech that struck a chord, that I think is relevant to this site and some of my personal philosophy:
We may not agree on abortion, but surely we can agree on reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies in this country. The reality of gun ownership may be different for hunters in rural Ohio than for those plagued by gang-violence in Cleveland, but don’t tell me we can’t uphold the Second Amendment while keeping AK-47s out of the hands of criminals. I know there are differences on same-sex marriage, but surely we can agree that our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters deserve to visit the person they love in the hospital and to live lives free of discrimination. Passions fly on immigration, but I don’t know anyone who benefits when a mother is separated from her infant child or an employer undercuts American wages by hiring illegal workers. This too is part of America’s promise – the promise of a democracy where we can find the strength and grace to bridge divides and unite in common effort.

I think this line of thinking–one that abandons the “my-way or the highway” gridlock in Washington, the exclusivity of either/or is highly encouraging. It is about bridging differences and finding ways to work together while still keeping your personal values intact. And that is a pretty mature approach to doing politics.

This is probably the last blog post till after the weekend — As many of you know, I have the LSATs to study for that is consuming most of my time till after October 4. I’ll get back to all the ‘abandoned projects’ at that time and direct my attention to more media/art-work.

Till then, enjoy this one as well, courtesy the Republic magazine, whom I don’t necessarily agree with often but the picture is hilarious:
Barack Hussein Obama
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
ADVISORS: Zbigniew Brzezinski – CFR, B, TC. Sarah Sewall – CFR. Susan Rice – CFR, TC. Joseph Cirincione – CFR Lawrence Korb – CFR General Merrill McPaek – CFR Dennis Ross – CFR, TC. Obama fundraiser in London sponsored by Elizabeth Murdock, sister of Media Mogul Rupert Murdock, owner of Fox News, The New York Post and Weekly Standard Newspapers.
LONG STANDING CONNECTIONS: George Soros – CFR, B, major contributor and fund raiser Jay
Rockefeller – CFR, TC or should we say John D. Rockefeller 4th, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee has endorsed Obama in the presidential race. Tony Rezko, the indicted businessman who’s scheduled to go on trial for corruption in Illinois, and who was a major fundraiser for Obama, hosted fundraising events for Obama in his home and was on Obama’s US Senate campaign finance committee which collected $14 million.

John McCain – CFR
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
ADVISORS: Henry Kissinger – CFR, TC, B. Colin Powell – CFR, B. Alexander Haig – CFR. James
Woolsey – CFR, Brent Scowcroft – CFR, B. “Lord Rothschild Backs John McCain” The Washington Post
(March 15, 2008) with a major fundraising events in London.
LONG STANDING CONNECTIONS: McCain’s late father-in-law, Jim Hensley, was a top figure in
the organized crime power network surrounding one Kemper Marley, who acted as the front man in Arizona for the Bronfman family—key players in the Lansky crime syndicate, popularly though inaccurately referred to as “the Mafia”—who used Marley to control both major political parties in that state. The Bronfman family has long been allied with the Rothschilds as among the leading billionaire patrons of Israel and the global Zionist movement, so much so that Edgar Bronfman, head of the dynasty, was, for many years head of the World Jewish Congress (WJC), which is now lorded over by his son Matthew, who is chairman of the WJC’s governing board. Eight years ago, when McCain first ran for president, Edgar Bronfman was a contributor to his campaign. And at the time McCain included among his closest advisors the ubiquitous William Kristol of the stridently pro-Israel neo-conservative journal, The Weekly Standard, whose owner, media baron Rupert Murdoch, rose to wealth and power through the sponsorship of the Rothschild and Bronfman families. Kristol has attended the secretive Bilderberg meetings that are sponsored jointly on an annual basis by the Rothschild family in partnership with their American confreres in the Rockefeller family. So the McCain-Bronfman-Rothschild connection is intimate on multiple levels and explains much about McCain’s
long-standing tendency to be an almost feverish advocate for Israel’s interests.

DNC Day 3 – Democracy is Melting

// August 27th, 2008 // No Comments » // Politics, Racism, Videos

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Most people believe in change only when they can see it, measure it, maybe even evaluate or experience it.

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Nora Ligorano and Marshall Reese (Ligorano/Reese), in conjunction with the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, presented The State of Things, an ice sculpture of the word “Democracy.” According to Nora and Reese:

“The sculpture is emblematic of our times – our democracy is in danger of wasting away at an imperceptible rate. What stands out – is that for the amount of time most people view art – 1 minute or less – the sculpture won’t seem to change, yet by day’s end, it will be gone – disappeared, like so much of what is happening to the values and institutions that make America a great country… This piece focuses on the impact of the War on Terror… and how it has transformed American society.”

You can watch an accelerated video of the ‘melt-down’ here:

In the following video, Angela Davis talks about experiences from her own life and how she can discern that change has occured

How Does Change Occur? When ordinary people can see themselves as agents of social change, form a collective consciousness, and recognize that they have the power to change the social realities.

Day 2 – The REAL democratic National Convention vs. the Police State

// August 26th, 2008 // No Comments » // Anti-Capitalism, Gender, Human Rights, Politics

One after another, the women leaders of the Democrat National Party took center-stage on Day 2. The roster included Governor K. Selebius, Senator Mary Landrieu, Senator Claire McCaskill, Senator Debbie Stabenow, Senator Maria Cantwell, Governor Napolitano, and finally Hillary Clinton rounded up the day. The subliminal message was clear–women stand to gain more from a Barack Obama Presidency than a McCain one.

Yet, none of the women senators pointed out the gross injustice and violation of human and constitutional rights happening against women just outside their closed tent of the DNC–Code Pink (a women for peace group) supporters were among the many protesters holding a non-violent demonstration that were beaten and pepper-sprayed by cops. They were delegates that were unseated and unheard at the convention. Quite democratic, no?

DNC Rules Protest by andycarvin.

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Democrat National Convention – The Grand Spectacle – Day 1 – Tiresome

// August 25th, 2008 // No Comments » // Politics

The DNC is the longest and most expensive infomercial on prime-time television.

The great spectacle is on. The Democrat National Convention, where a select group of delegates, electorates, voters, media representatives and politicians, pretend to come under one huge tent and unite behind a single ticket for Presidency–the Obama-Biden ticket is on till August 29. Can you believe it? Day One is not yet over and I am weary.

So Nancy Pelosi takes center-stage kicking off the primetime proceedings with quite a bore for a speech that told us nothing new besides lies and more lies. She spoke of the Democrat majorities that they achieved two years ago and how it had brought about “sweeping changes.” Really? Last I checked, we were still in Iraq, our troops and innocent civilians are still being killed; college tuition rates are increasing while college access is decreasing to say nothing about every child left behind; comprehensive immigration reform and the DREAM Act remain pipedreams; we still don’t have single-payer universal health-care; a clean-energy oil-independent pathway set to deal with the problem of global warming; campaign finance reform … the list goes on.
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