Alison, a woman I work with, is married to a National Guardsman. He’s been called to active duty recently, and soon will be shipped off overseas. Behind, he leaves his wife, twin girls, and a son. Alison, by the way, is liberal.
Alison complained my first day about a recent showdown she had with a gas station clerk. She said she was wearing one of her “I’m married to a National Guardsman” T-shirts, and the gas station clerk attacked her for being a “flag-waving war mongerer.” The man attacked her personally for being a supporter of war because her husband serves.
I know I’m gonna piss off a good amount of folks on this one, but what is this foolishness? I’ve seen it happen endlessly. I will be the first to say that I do not support war. I do not support our military action in Iraq, and I do not support our military action in Afghanistan. I do not support CIA training of terrorists in South America. But I support the troops, and I respect their families.
Alison herself would agree that she does not believe in the war in Iraq, and she does not agree with the war in Afghanistan. We both know many people in the service that do not agree with these wars.
But still, these men and women enlist and are required to go. These soldiers do not have a choice if they want to serve in a war they believe in, they serve in the war that their country sends them to fight. There is no military tribunal in charge of asking soldiers if they believe in the war. They are called, they go, end of story.
Individuals attacking military families that have no choice in the matter simply piss me off. Since Vietnam, the vast majority of our military serves voluntarily because they desire to get out of the economic class that they are in. The military offers a good paycheck in hard economic times, (see today’s New York Times) a way to pay for college, and a light at the end of the tunnel for families stuck in wage slavery. Although there are the folks that do it for the love of fighting, most sign up to give their families a way out of the poverty that has been inflicted by the very same system that made war their only option.
Attacking people that are serving their country voluntarily is wrong, and it’s the wrong way of attacking an amoral war. We live in a country where we have been provided with freedom of speech as well as venues with which we as individuals can participate in our government. We live in a place where we have access to our Republic, and we can organize in order to make a difference in what our government does.
To me, attacking an individual for the sins of a country is lazy. It denies citizen responsibility. It denies that there are proper venues for change. It denies that we have been given any rights by leaving them unused and forgotten. If we forget our rights and take our frustration out on individuals, we give up our right to check and balance our own system and replace it with silly name calling and fruitless bickering.
Plus, ostricizing the soliders makes for serious issues when these soldiers come home and become veterans. People who have served need our love and respect, not a hard shoulder from our collective moral compass. Looking down on soldiers who have served only guaruntees that we will relive the sins of our fathers by ignoring the wisdom that comes back from the trenches. And it leaves people who have given up a large portion of their lives for our freedoms left in the cold, alone when they need others the most.
Chris Hedges talks of the obsession that we have with war in his book “War is a Force that Gives Us Meaning.” He does an amazing job of expressing how in times of war, both sides of an ideological difference are negated by making violence out of ideology. The ideology is forgotten as war drags on, and all that remains is the propaganda from both sides making the other side of the war out to be the enemy. As both parties and news outlets move further away from each other on the political spectrum, this ideological battle is starting to rage on between people on the homefront.
And it’s dumb. Save the fight for your senators. Save the fight for your representatives. Save the fight for the protests. Save the fight for your blog. Save the fight and endite George Bush for war crimes. Save the fight to stop the next war and keep our troops at home with their families before there is even a need to send them away.
But don’t attack the soldiers soon to be veterans. And please don’t attack the families who will (God willing) accept their loved ones back into their homes soon. It just shows you have nothing better to do, and are too lazy to fight the real enemy. If we channel our collective rage into the inboxes of our senators, the streets of our cities, and the steps of our capitols, we might just get our troops to come home. And let’s do it soon, there are families waiting.
]]>(It’s important that the following be read with your best Bill Clinton accent and most clichéd Korean accent)
N. Korean Aid: Fearess Reader, Bill Crinton is here!
Kim: Bir Crinton?! OH NO!
Bill: Hey Kimy, how’s it hanging?
Kim: Oh…Hero Mr. Crinton, we are very derighted to have you. How can North Korea Herp you?
Bill: Well I hate to bother you with this, but I hear you grabbed two young ladies on your border that just happen to be American citizens. Now I know think you’re gonna prove a point with all this but the truth is you aren’t gonna accomplish anything.
Kim: I don’t forrow.
Bill: Well you see Kimmy, the American people only really care if you have a blond southern girl hostage.
Kim: Reary? Damn it damn it damn it!
Bill: It’s OK Kimmy, what do you say you just hand them back over and I’ll see what I can do about hooking your country up with Penthouse TV.
Kim: Mr. Crinton, I am most derighted that our two great nations can come to an agreement.
Bill: God bless us all…Everyone’s gonna get laid!
Now I’m paraphrasing here, but given my background in International Relations and my incredibly intuitive nature it is safe to assume that the conversation went something like that. I think that since Bill Clinton managed to accomplish his mission in less than a day we should be giving him other important tasks to accomplish like reversing global warming or overhauling the healthcare system. I mean honestly though, look at how Clinton took care of business. He’s like President Obama’s new secret weapon. Perhaps we have the wrong Clinton serving as Secretary of State. In the end I hope that President Obama assembles an elite team of smooth talkers, a political rat pack if you will, who’s job it will be to make dictators bend to our will.
]]>I have mixed feelings about this whole issue. The truth is there is more good music now than ever before. Computers and the internet are a marvelous tool that have allowed us to do away with the middlemen but at the cost of not compensating the artist fairly (was it fair before? That’s another issue). But just like with the new journalism there is now way too much random music to sift through. The good stuff seems to get drowned out unless you really pay attention. I am a hypocrite for writing this seeing as how I download music for free and my usual excuse for why I don’t pay for music is because there is simply no good payment system up and running yet. This is partially true but it doesn’t make it right.
I suppose that seeing as how I don’t buy a lot of music it’s probably not fair when I get upset after hearing an Of Montreal song playing on an Outback Steakhouse commercial. How else are the poor lads to make a living? We’ve castrated the people who bring music into our lives and we are leaving them to fend for themselves in the cruel wilderness. After all, not everybody is smart enough to set up a retro label that deals in vinyl like Jack White’s Third Man Records.
However solutions seems to be on the horizon. For example, Sweedish company Global Gaming Factory (GGF) have recently purchased the Pirate Bay and are developing a payment solution. As if the idea was plucked from the mind of our fearless founder, the venerable Marc Nicolas, they have come up with a subscription scheme that would not only reimburse the artist but also the users who share music. Getting paid for uploads sounds pretty good to me. While the service is still in development it represents an idea that people have been playing around with for years
What’s particularly sad about music today is that an entire generation now is growing up with no record stores. I think my generation might be among the last to experience going to a record store and just hanging out in that kind of environment. Most record shops and chains are already closed with only a scattered few hanging on for dear life. Depending on where you live there are options, I live in LA so we have Amoeba Music, so suck it.
I’d like to go back to back in the day and ask people what they think of our music today. I have a recurring fantasy where I travel back in time to play Woodstock and play only songs from the future. I imagine how the people would react, whether they would get hip-hop or punk or indie. Would the audience be like “oh wow what‘s that?” or would they just end up standing there pissed off. I would play the new protest music that is way angrier than anything they had back then mainly because back then they actually expected to win, whereas now we are cynical and know that it’s going to take a lot more work than singing songs to fix things. I digress. But seriously though, do you think that they would even get or appreciate the music. I would love to play Junkyard Empire at Woodstock and see if they would be into it. How would happy go lucky hippy folk react to Immortal Technique, The Roots or P.O.S.?
On a side note one thing I think the protest movement today has going for it is a great sense of style. Kids dressed up like bandits with kafiyas masking their faces make for riveting photos when a tear gas backdrop is available.
So in conclusion, what’s my conclusion. This all started out as a long winded response to Marc and now I don’t even know what my point is.
I’ll just go for the gold. IN CONCLUSION, the obvious fault with all of us is that we are petty consumers with no sense of morals or responsibility. We are all part of the American money machine even if we hate Bush and voted for Obama. Even kids in Pakistan who hate us are part of it because if you look closely they are wearing Nikes and drinking cokes. Damn that has nothing to do with music. Ok one more time.
In conclusion (again), if we set up micro-payment systems online for purchasing music where artists get a more just share of the profits then perhaps we will be on the path to fixing our democracy? I’m just gonna go with that.
I think that on the eve of McNamara’s death it is important to note that on July 2 the US along with Afghan forces launched a massive offensive against the Taliban in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province. This incursion into the most volatile portion of Afghanistan has been described as a long-term operation. According to the Pentagon the Marines are there to stay. Obama has already stated that the troops he plans on withdrawing from Iraq will be sent to the Afghan theater. This is a clear escalation of the war in Afghanistan, a proposition that has long-term consequences for the US.
Both Vietnam and Afghanistan are nation-building projects. They are also both guerilla conflicts with no front lines. So far nation building has not gone so well for the US. The concept failed in Vietnam, probably because we killed millions of their people, and when it comes to Iraq the US seems to have only temporarily placed a lid on the seething ethnic inferno that is waiting to erupt. Afghanistan has turned into a feudal state in which authority is centralized into fortified cities and the surrounding areas remain wild and untamed.
Many like to paint Afghanistan as the good war, as the war that the US should be fighting. For those who take this stance I say remember McNamara’s mistakes. He also thought that the Vietnam War was just at the time. Mcnamara was from the generation that grew up witnessing the appeasement of Hitler and the spread of Communism following World War 2. His was an outlook that was shaped by war. So as President Obama sends more soldiers to Afghanistan, remember the words of Mark Twain, “history doesn’t repeat itself, but it rhymes.”
]]>So much of our hopes have been dashed these last 6 months, not by republicans, but by democrats. Just look at the energy bill, it gives in to coal and increases our use of the fuel over the next ten years. Not exactly the way to go when UN climate scientists tell us we only have 10 more years to mend our ways before shit really hits the fan on planet earth. You could also look at the so called health care reform plan in Congress this Summer. From what I can tell all it does is expand Medicaid a little and maybe slightly lower the co-payments, while keeping all of the HMOs of course. From an economic stand-point employer provided health care is crippling this nation. Companies like GM that could be conducting more research into cleaner vehicles and you know, staying in business, but are instead paying for the health care of tens of thousands—hundreds of thousands of people, most of whom don’t even work there anymore. Mind you I believe that these people should be taken care of, but it should be by the Government, the same people who’s job it is to provide security, educate you, deliver your mail, and put out your fires.
But back to Franken! Franken actually is a liberal and for this I am thankful. He will be a welcome voice in the Senate and hopefully his freshman status won’t prevent him from making a difference.
P.S.
Norman Coleman sucks.
My generation doesn’t have anything remotely approaching that. It’s a sign of the times. The internet has flooded the market with so much music, most of it not worth listening to, that it has become almost impossible to accomplish what MJ did. Michael Jackson was never exclusively associated with any one fashion or scene whereas most of today’s acts are.
Today’s most listened to pop music lacks in the sheer joy and spirit that Michael Jackson evoked. Despite some of his music being over 30 years old members of my generation still get far more excited for a Michael Jackson tune than we would for any contemporary music.
Michael Jackson hit on something that most musicians can only dream of. He captured that primal aspect of music that can’t even be described by this author because I’m not an eloquent poet.
While his reputation has been quite thoroughly smeared in the US, he is still regarded with reverence in much of the world. In a time before the internet and Ipods, Michael Jackson’s songs were one of the most tangible symbols of the west in many countries around the world. People heard these songs that celebrate living and they thought what a place the west must be.
I’m not necessarily saying Michael Jackson brought about the collapse of Communism or anything. But he did come up with some funky fresh tunes that got a whole bunch of people moving their feet. I think that in the future when they make the Michael Jackson movie it will be just as epic and tragic as Amadeus. Salieri will be played by various boys. Not cool.
I think that maybe if the Iranian revolutionaries stopped chanting and started playing Michael Jackson they might stand a chance. Music did after all work for the American civil rights movement in the 1960s. And hey, much of that music influenced MJ’s development.
I just read on the BBC that scientists have discovered a 35,000 year old flute on a dig in Europe. This means that you can estimate music to be maybe 40-50,000 years old. So just think, 50,000 years of development, innovation, experimentation all seems to have culminated in MJ’s musical genius.
My friend told me a story once about when he was studying in Beunos Aries. He was taking a cab home one night and Michael Jackson was playing. The cab driver was getting into and then asked in Spanish if my friend was from America. Thomas said yes and then the cab driver asked Thomas to translate the song for him. The man had been a fan of Michael Jackson his whole life but was not able to understand the lyrics. My friend told me how elated the cab driver was to finally understand the words to a song he had loved for years.
Does anyone remember the scene of city of angels when all of the gangsters are dancing to Michael Jackson.
Anyways like I was saying, it makes me sad that all I really got to see was self-destructing Michael Jackson. I remember his last hoora in the early 90s but I was still a little kid.
I thought I was finished writing my blog but I’m having a video chat with a friend in Paris and she is covered in tears. The mascara running down her sad little face, it’s tragic. I’m moved by the MJ love. She claims it’s because she forgot to get cigs, but I don’t buy it.
The King is dead! LONG LIVE THE KING!
]]>The answer is nothing. And that is exactly the way it should be. If we taint this remarkable process with the stain of American interventionism then we risk handing the Iranian establishment all the ammunition they need to squash this fledgling movement. If a new government does arise from these protests it would be naïve to assume that it would be completely pro western. However, this level of maturity on the part of the US hopefully signals a new willingness to work with other nations who do not agree with all of Washington’s policies.
I think the American people will be impressed with these results. If US had not assassinated Mossadeq back in the 1950s we would not even be in this mess. And that right there is the point. Without our interference Iran would today be similar to Turkey, perhaps even more prosperous. So let’s not make the same mistake twice. President Obama, I applaud your policy of doing nothing.
]]>
I write code that goes ‘whirrr’ and make beats that go ‘boom’.
What are you currently listening to?
Rusko, SolarLion (ahem - always listening to self-produced tunes to understand what comes next ...), Bassnectar, FreqNasty, Crookers, Joker, Daedalus, Nobody, and now Junkyard Empire (!!) among many others
What are your favorite bands?
i do listen to some bands, mostly old school reggae influenced ... the Lions have a great vibe going on Ubiquity.
What are your favorite books?
Lam Rim Chen Mo, A New Earth, Siddharta, Light on Yoga, The Way of the Essenes: Christ’s Hidden Life Remembered
What is your favorite character from Sesame Street/Muppets?
The Swedish Chef
Do you prefer chocolate or vanilla?
Vanilla from Madagascar be the chocholate swiss or not
What was your first big concert?
The Grateful Dead at Oakland Colleseum in the early 90’s or a Moontribe party w/ Rabbit in the Moon in the deep desert around the same time
]]>I book tours and handle new media
What are you currently listening to?
Crystal Castles
What are your favorite bands?
Deftones, Radiohead, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Minus The Bear, Tool
What are your favorite books?
The Jungle, The Odyssey, Dracula
What is your favorite character from Sesame Street/Muppets?
Ernie (from Bert and Ernie)/Fozzy Bear
Do you prefer chocolate or vanilla?
Chocolate
What was your first big concert?
The Deftones in Irvine, CA
]]>My role at Media Roots is to manage the PR data. I also am the face for the video bits
What are you currently listening to?
I am currently listening to a lot of Andrew Bird.
What are your favorite bands?
Ratatat, Blink182, Foo Fighters
What are your favorite books?
Wooden, The Little Prince, the Kite Runner
What is your favorite character from Sesame Street/Muppets?
Big Bird, even though my mother might say otherwise. I kicked him in the nuts on my 4th birthday party.
Do you prefer chocolate or vanilla?
CHOCOLATE
What was your first big concert?
Warped Tour ‘97
]]>
I am the main blogger for Mediaroots and I also help out with public relations and all miscellaneous activities.
What are you currently listening to?
Some of the bands I’ve been listening to lately are Gomez, Flobots, Los Campesinos
What are your favorite bands?
I don’t like to pick favorites but here is some music I really enjoy: Ramones, The Clash, Iron Maiden, AC/DC, Beirut, The Magnetic Fields, Figurine, I am the World Trade Center, Ratatat, Muse, Les Savy Fav, Harry Belafonte, Django Reinhardt, etc.
What are your favorite books?
Some of my favorite fictional books are Catch 22, Slaughter House 5, The Satanic Verses, For Whom the Bell Tolls, Lord of the Rings.
Some of my favorite non fiction books are The Revolt of the Masses, The True Believer, The crusades Through Arab Eyes, Guns Germs And Steel, Ghost Wars,
What is your favorite character from Sesame Street/Muppets?
My favorite Muppet is Animal, My favorite Sesame Street character is Snuffalophagus.
Do you prefer chocolate or vanilla?
CHOCOLATE
What was your first big concert?
My first big concert was Dropkick Murpheys at what was then The Palace in Hollywood CA.
]]>I started mediaroots - I oversee pretty much everything
What are you currently listening to?
I’m currently listening to a ton of college radio!
What are your favorite bands?
Refused, Broken Social Scene, NOFX, Miles Davis, Del the Funky Homosapian
What are your favorite books?
Label Launch, Siddhartha, Infinite Circle
What is your favorite character from Sesame Street/Muppets?
COOOKIE MONSTSER!
Do you prefer chocolate or vanilla?
Vanilla - unless it’s swiss (yeah, I said it)
What was your first big concert?
Ben Folds Five @ the Palladium in Hollywood
]]>