We didn’t start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world’s been turning
We didn’t start the fire
No we didn’t light it
But we tried to fight it
Billy Joel
Thousands of fourth and fifth grader’s all over the world have been assigned to rewrite that song at one time or another as an exercise in history, science, or social studies, language arts and culture.
I want them to keep doing it. I want the next versions as empty as humanly possible of examples of avoidable mistakes.
Our job is to look at the records of both candidates, historically, before this campaign. Where did they stand before this all began.
On speeches.
From my observations those wearing blue tend to leave out key facts whereas those wearing red tend to lie about them.
The political process is a psychological process. It’s more of a “who we are” than a “what we think on the issues” type of thing. It’s clear from the poll swings from one good presentation to another. Whichever side has the identity of the day wins. That a nation of identity seekers put us a track which included a preemptive war which has cost us billions should not be forgotten. Those who have an identity set in stone know what they are going to do, those with more fluid identities less so.
A post John pointed out to me at Pharyngula pointed, This is How We Will Lose has it mostly right. Get not only your identity on but get your tactics right.
We’ll see what happens in a couple of weeks. Zogby pointed this out yesterday, after all the polls settle down it is going to be a tight race won by the faction which gets the middle. Seventeen states are in play and could go landslide in either direction.
Those who win the middle win, or those who piss off the middle less win. One way or another it’s is going to be a long miserable two months for everyone. Everyone except media pundits who are currently experiencing the beginning of their rapture.
Don’t let them fool ya.
.”
On the September 2 edition of Fox News’ Hannity & Colmes, Morris stated of the media’s coverage of Palin: “A man would never have had to go through this. That his husband — that her husband with DWI 20 years ago, that her daughter is having a kid, that there’s a fight going on between her sister and her husband and the husband tasered the kid.” He added: “It would never be asked about a man. It’s the deep sexism that runs through our society.”
During the September 3 edition of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show, after airing a video clip of Morris’ comment about “the deep sexism that runs through our society,” host Jon Stewart highlighted several previous statements from Morris’ appearance on the November 5, 2007, edition of Hannity & Colmes including, “When a woman wants to be president, she shouldn’t complain based on gender,” and “This is what Hillary Clinton always does — she retreats behind the apron strings.”
Don’t let them fool ya.
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DEMOCRACY
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You Tube version not embeddable
The clips below takes a few minutes to kick into the poem/song.
Leonard Cohen has a great voice and the best lyrics. PBS has been using this song for their election coverage, an inspired choice, I think. Come to think of it, I’d much rather have Cohen’s punditry than any of those dip sticks on cable news.
wouldn’t that be a relief.
Billy friggin’ Joel! Being used as, ugh, a teaching aid?!? Dear god! Who are these teachers assigning this crap and when can I smack them for leaving children behind worse than the White House. We’ve got all this great music throughout our history, everything from old murder ballads to the slave narratives of early black gospel to Guthrie and Dylan and Seeger’s storytelling, and they’re making kids rewrite 1980s gibberish?
But, oh, Leonard Cohen.
Well, you have to give the McCain camp credit. Their No. 2 horse, simply by being who she is and how she was selected, made Obama’s No. 2, the party-line compromise choice, irrelevant in terms of media coverage. But it’s not the Media – it’s the American public. It’s the drama, the suspense, the perception of ripples on the pond – Americans like to believe that they buy into the bullshit, at least as long as that bullshit keeps them glued to the blogger rumor mills, Digg sites, cable news outlets, etc., and entertained.
The battle is on – and it’s going to be extremely ugly. When media coverage shifts like that, when polls shift that dramatically… well, glad I’m a member of neither party.
It’s not being used as a music project, it’s being used as a time line project. In some cases it works throughout the year as an art and science project as well. It is an effective tool which presents itself as fun, and it works. It’s also a way to see if the kids can do some critical thinking on the comparative significance of the events from then and now. Comparative significance being subjective arguments must be presented verbally and in essay form.
That is how they use it here anyway.
I don’t know too many people that read blogs for their news coverage though most read it online most still read either major sources, indy media or respected journals, and very few watch the media coverage without frustration at the lack of real journalism.
I do think it’s better this time around, even people who may not have last time are researching the information I just don’t think it’s near enough.
Change occurs from the bottom up which means for real change people would have to start tearing up the local election circuit and replacing the party candidates with those not beholden to any party. In the end those people would become politicians and then what? I wonder. More of the same or would that change have a chance of making it to the top?
Does it matter?
Sometimes I wonder.
Actually, real change is going to come about when a critical mass of the electorate is used to TAGGING items on the internet instead of putting items in a FOLDER on their computers.
And here is my explanation for why that is so.
http://snurl.com/3ntqh
(please read it to the end. it’s long, but it arrives.)
Well done my friend.
Democracy – great song.
Listening to people talk about the election the past couple weeks I’ve heard nothing but emotion and you’d be surprised what some otherwise bright people say and think when they are all worked up.
They didn’t make me update history with that song.
Emotion, an unfortunate attribute it seems some people can’t control.
Wow I don’t think Billy Joel is used as a teaching aid on Long Island–probably the embarrassment of the home grown son
Why is everything put down to ingrained se_ism? If she were a man I would dislike her equally for trying to put her values on me? Why can’t people admit this comes down to people (0f any religion or belief) who want to rewrite the Constitution to put in their beliefs?
If she had accepted the nomination and said “this is the way it is: I had a son five months ago who has Downs Syndrome. Many people didn’t believe I was pregnant as I did’nt look ‘pregnant’ enough. I was. My 17 year old daughter is five months pregnant. She and her boyfriend have talked it over and have decided to get married,” I still wouldn’t like her, but might have actually respected her. The rest–the ancient DUI isn’t important though he b-i-l and step mother things might speak to her character and need to be in charge without any inteference. Why shouldn’t the later two things be discussed?
There is a very real possiblity if McCain is elected she will become president. I’m sorry but the Republicans impeached Clinton for what?
There’s history here that’s being ignored. How are the Democrats supposed to sway people?. Many people including those under 35 don’t trust nor want a Black person as president
Why shouldn’t her values be discussed? Every one of them will be off limits as they speak to some incident in her life
As a Jew I would never talk about a person’s church, yet if she believes that Jews should be converted, don’t Jews have a right to know that? If she separates herself from her church as Obama did, I could accept that
She’s a very loaded candidate as everything seems to be off limits. She probably won’t debate Biden so we have no way of knowing what she knows about issues
I easily see her appeal. I see her swaying people I know in SC who are undecided
It’s not se_ism; It is going against ingrained fundamentalist values
I don’t care what they say McCain looks quite frail to me.
Well, I did my 1st canvass for Obama today. I went door to door. Ugh. (I hate doing this – like sales calls I’ll never make.)
So, it went as expected. In my neck, McPain is running good now with the moose dresser. I had one lady say, “you got a lot of guts coming out here with that Obama stuff.” I didn’t know his stuff was such an afront, but anyways. One guy, who was mowing, I happened to stop: as I began my intro, he started the mower up. Good old rudeness, I narely missed you.
One guy did argue well – at least by never letting get a word in edgewise. When I did, he harkened back to Reagan saying, “I don’t want big government, national debt and higher taxes. That’s Obama.”
(Leaving aside Reagan ran the first heavy deficit budgets, actually raised taxes on the poor (cuts that were canned after the wealthy got there’s) and never did that much to keep the unions alive.)
Anywho, it was an experience I’ll repeat a few times…until the day.
Have a good Hanna-filled weekend. Good Luck. Stay inside. No spurlunking or jogging.
it’s gotta be frustrating.
Bu the way, how is your fake Long Island popstar boyfriend?
He’s getting on in years. He finally understands if only the good die young than he must be….
there is just no consoling him.
Thank you for the line on the media pundits “experiencing the beginning of their rapture”.
An ugly exhausting two months for sure. It’s why I took a couple of months away from any talk of it.
Leonard Cohen. Democracy. Perfect.
if only that rapture thing weren’t so.
Hey… what’s wrong with Billy Joel? And what’s wrong with that song? Ditto to what blackdress wrote.
Cooper has a fake LI boyfriend? Ya mean like Billy Joel who has, or had, a place out by Cold Spring Harbor?
I have several fake, older usually drunk or stoned rich famous boyfriends. Billy is one of them, Paul Simon is the other.
Bill Maher was one but was crossed off the list awhile ago.
I guess you really had to be here for the beginning…or not. : )