Financial Crisis

I'm watching the bailout collapse in the house on CNN. Can we have the Bill Clinton years back again?

John McCain Party Crasher

McCain claims he suspended his campaign to "jump-start" the economic bail-out plan. All the facts aren't in yet, but it's starting to look like he slashed the tires instead. Country first?

British History (And A Loaf Of Bread)

From baker to table in 122 years.

Cities Without Signs

Photographer Gregor Graf shoots scenes of city streets- then removes all signs digitally. The series is called Hidden Town.

Cheney Bush (Again)

Boy is this telling.

McCain's US Economy Is Strong

Many nervous Americans have their retirement plans in a 401K (Keough).
John McCain has a 401C (Cindy).

Sarah Palin Captured

I have been a big fan of writer George Saunders for many years. I first discovered his writing when I stumbled upon his short story "The Wavemaker Falters" - it's the darkest funniest thing I ever read.
His latest, in this week's issue of The New Yorker, nails the absurdity of the current state of things.

New York Skyline Change

Work is underway on this tower designed by architects Herzog & de Meuron. Via Dezeen.

Super 8

A store in Tokyo features everything 8mm - the way it used to be done. Via PingMag.

Best Of CraigsList And Clown News

This covers two of my favorite topics in a single link. Cosmic!

Skateboard Film - Claremont

This is one wild ten-minute skateboard film with intensely long downhill runs. The passing of the camera between the two boarders makes for some great camera work.


Adam Kimmel presents: Claremont HD from adam kimmel on Vimeo.

Les Misbarack

When their opponents start slopping down into the shit, the Obama campaign always seems to soar above it.

Political TV Advertising Lies

With every passing election, I feel more strongly that political TV ads should be banned. They distort the truth, tell outright lies, and deceive people with too little accountability.
If a candidate is not willing to accuse his/her opponent outright on record, they should not be allowed to hide behind the smokescreen of a TV ad to do so.

Wrestling

Wrestler Yukon Eric painted by Vaughan Bass in 1954. Courtesy of Plan 59.

Travis Bickle Equals American Prosperity

Check out this theory via Improbable Research that argues Taxi Driver was the greatest movie ever for the US economy.

Sculpture UK

More photos of artist Marc Quinn's work here.

Palin, Clinton, And The Media

James Fallows over at The Atlantic makes a notable point:

"Twice in the last six months we've had the spectacle of a candidate clinging to a provably false personal narrative. Each tale was meant to show something admirable and significant about the candidate's character. But in each case the press had the goods to show that the tale was too tall to be believed.

One, of course, was Hillary Clinton's "hail of bullets" account of her arrival at the airport in Bosnia.

The other is Sarah Palin's "thanks but no thanks" claim to have opposed funding for the "bridge to nowhere."

In Senator Clinton's case, the more often she repeated the story, the more relentlessly the press said the story was not true. All parts of the press did this: right, left, middle. They didn't say that there was a "controversy" about her story. They said it was false. And eventually she bowed to the inevitable and stopped telling the story any more.

In Governor Palin's case, the more often she has repeated the story, the more abashed the press has seemed about pointing out its falsity. The accurate version would be more like: "I said 'Yes, please!' until the Congress said 'Sorry, no.'" As best I can tell (from my distance in China), the right-wing press has played no part in this truth-squadding. The mainstream press has seemed to treat it as a "controversy" rather than a falsehood. And there is no evidence of Palin hesitating to use the story again and again."

The rest of the post here.

Quote

"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." - Abraham Lincoln

Two Nations Under God

What was remarkable about John McCain's speech at the convention was that any time he even suggested the idea of bringing people together across party lines, the crowd always seemed to go a little cold. After several nights of the usual attack speeches, McCain, who can appeal to Americans on both sides, seems to be an outcast in his own party for suggesting unity.
This is in drastic contrast to Obama whose message of one country has drawn so many supporters from both ends of the spectrum. It's this positive message that has drawn me to support him.

In the past several days the Republican party seems to have gone right back to the "win by dividing" strategy that has come to define them for many years now. Gone are the days when the core message is smaller government, less burdensome taxes, free choice without government meddling, and market driven economics...all sound platforms. Now it seems those who hold these ideas as the true definition of the party have been pushed to the fringes.
The driving force of religious orthodoxy and the values narrative has taken over the party completely. And if you're not on board, you're the enemy. These were never McCain's primary messages, but with the selection of Palin and the stirring up of the sceptics, he appears to be buckling under the thumb of the religious base that drives the party. Today's McCain seems different from the McCain of six months ago.
I find this politics of division to be dangerous. It was the driving apart of ethnic and cultural groups for political gain that destroyed Yugoslavia. We've had many years of the politics of division. Is it possible for America to have it any other way?

What Palin Brings

Who knew that while the Republicans were criticizing Obama for being a "celebrity", all they really wanted was one of their own.

Daily Show

Why is a comedy show the only show that rolls old video tape to reveal the contradictions? Sometimes it's the best way to the truth.

Republican National Convention

Is it just me, or did several of last night's speakers mock Barack Obama for doing community service?

China Beach

Not the old China:

Sarah Palin's Convention Dilemma

Looks like team McCain operatives have raced to Alaska, yanked the hockey stick out of Levi's hands, thrown him on a plane to St. Paul, and spruced him up for a possible family appearance tonight. Sounds okay to me. There's only one problem. When an arena of Republicans stand and cheer those crazy out-of-wedlock teen pregnancy kids, guess what they're going to look like?
Hollywood Liberal Democrats.
The kind of people who gush over movies like Juno and think Roman Polanski should be let back into the country. What's next? A Republican Lesbian Wheelchair parade?

Bristol Palin

Is it fair to a pregnant 17 year old going through an intensely personal family experience to shine such a media spotlight on her? No. Is she fair game in the middle of a heated election year? Unfortunately, yes. And the GOP can thank Karl Rove because it's right out of his playbook.
This kind of thing can happen to any family regardless of status or politics. The stroke of misfortune is that for the past ten years the Republican party has been presenting itself as the party of morality and family values and using it as a bludgeon against their enemies. They have been talking down to Democrats suggesting that the entire party is immoral, Godless, and lacking in family values. None of this is true. But now that the teen pregnancy scenario is not working entirely in their favor, they're claiming "personal private issue". This is a great hypocrisy. The Republicans will blame the media as usual, but what would Rush Limbaugh have done if it were Chelsea Clinton ten years ago?

Can Termites Solve The Oil Problem?

This article says so:
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200809/termites