PostCage (premiere recording of dharmachakramudra)
rangzen quartet recording of mf
ImprovFriday CD (includes virtual music 2)
brilliant comment
Just read this here (scroll down a bit from the top of that page to read this and other comments):
It hurts to think how stupid the average Republican voter is in this country. That anyone in this country can countenance McCain’s pick for VP for even a micro-second shows how full this country is of dumbsh*ts. A red-neck, young-earth-believer, rapture-ready hockey-mom with virtually no experience and the GOP is going gah-gah over her? Republicans have nearly destroyed this country over the last 8 years, but they won’t be happy until they’ve finished the job with McCain/Palin. Good God, I’m just speechless. God help us all.
Yup.
The original article by Rev. Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite, which is very much worth reading, is here.
We’re so totally wicked hosed if Obama/Biden lose. Seriously. And we thought W wore his religion on his sleeve? We ain’t seen nothing yet.
kennedy121 11:45 am on Friday, September 5, 2008, 11:45 am Permalink
Well she has foreign policy experience what with Alaska being so close to Russia! ;P I live in the UK, so I’m obviously an expert on French foreign policy.
dtoub 11:48 am on Friday, September 5, 2008, 11:48 am Permalink
Guess this means I could run Canada tomorrow, since Philadelphia is only an hour away by plane. Hell, I could even take Giuliani’s old job and be mayor of NYC.
These people are lunatics. In a saner age, we’d laugh them off the national stage. Seriously, are most people in my country this dumb?
kennedy121 3:28 pm on Friday, September 5, 2008, 3:28 pm Permalink
Lol, I don’t think Americans are dumb… if you look at opinion polls that come out over major issues such as healthcare and the possibility of attacking Iran etc, you guys usually come down on the sensible side of the argument, its the people who control the money, media and political system who are the problem. Its not like Europe is some kind of utopia when it comes to this sort of stuff, but perhaps things aren’t quite as extreme, although in several countries (such as here in the UK) thats changing.
dtoub 5:44 pm on Friday, September 5, 2008, 5:44 pm Permalink
Trust me—I don’t believe for a second that my country has a monopoly on stupidity. Far from it. And I really don’t want to accept that most people in the USA are dumb enough to vote for McSame and Palin. We’ve always been a nation that aspired to greatness, with things like the Nixon, Bush II and McCarthy eras notable blips (and yeah, there are many others as well). A big difference between much of the EU and the US, however, is our level of religious fundamentalism and associated intolerance. And we also still have big issues regarding race, gender and sexual orientation.
Paul H. Muller 11:01 pm on Friday, September 5, 2008, 11:01 pm Permalink
Easy does it. Best not to watch too much TV these days.
What I find most disconcerting is not the amount of stupidity or wisdom in the public but rather the ease with which they vote against their own self-interest.
Somehow the Republicans have sold the idea that the individual is more important than society – that all the rules should be written to enhance the liberty of the individual rather than enhance the common good.
Yet the lessening of government influence, the lowering of taxes, the reduction of the social safety net, etc is clearly on the wrong end of history. Consider: European countries have higher taxes and more active governments – all the things Republicans say are bad for you. Yet it is the European countries who have the better educational systems, better healthcare systems, better public transportation, stronger environmental safeguards, a shorter work week, six weeks vacation – in short, a higher quality of life. Meanwhile the US is on its way to becoming Brazil.
The mystery to me is why people consistently vote against their economic and social self interest.
J.C. Combs 12:03 pm on Saturday, September 6, 2008, 12:03 pm Permalink
This problem is easily identified, the problem of the electoral college and the huge advantage the bible belt and red states have against the rest of the nation, the people who educate themselves before they vote. I sincerely believe that for the bible belt religious voters, all they really want it is a good speech on their values and their god and here we are again, just like 2004, a close race. Who woulda thunk it back then, thought it was going to be a landslide by Kerry, but one by one the bible belts painted red and the electoral college was again helped the GOP.
kennedy121 1:07 pm on Saturday, September 6, 2008, 1:07 pm Permalink
I second everything Paul H Muller says above! I don’t understand that either… the fact that people living in really deprived areas in the middle of nowhere, basically voting for the party which will lower taxes for the rich and corporations, therefore lowering standards of public services for those voters. The same happened here during the 1980s and Thatcher’s reign… although she, like Bush realised there’s nothing like a good war to fire the people up (Iraq is only unpopular among the US population because its dragging on and hasn’t been ‘won’ otherwise it would have been seen as acceptable by most in my opinion).
Richard Friedman 3:50 pm on Saturday, September 6, 2008, 3:50 pm Permalink
It all comes down to a matter of branding, and education, or the lack of it. If you think too much, you’re elitist.
And, this country is basically racist. One Republican was quoted as declaring the Obama’s as “uppity”. That is, for blacks, they don’t know their place.
Lumpen Americans have no idea about what they’re voting for. To them it’s a team sport, like football. Root for your team, whether it be the Republican team or the Baptist team. They don’t know much more than that. And they expect God to take care of everything else.
Mass deception, mass psychosis. Much of this country would welcome a fascist takeover so they can believe in a father-figure to set things right.
However, there are many statements in scripture that these folks seem to ignore, the most important being “I am my brother’s keeper”. Were that alone words to live by, we’d be in a much better place today.
Unfortunately, regardless of what they may say they believe in, the reality is “What’s in it for me?”.
Religion is a disease, that leaves the host demoralized, crazed, and destitute. We’re screwed.
kraig Grady 5:53 pm on Monday, September 8, 2008, 5:53 pm Permalink
It isn’t that people reacted this way to her , the press is just saying they do. That is the real method of propaganda going on here