Friday, April 29, 2011
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Free Egypt, Free Palestine, Free Power
How long did it take? How long after US and IDF backed strongman Mubarak fell before Fatah and Hamas could meet in Cairo and agree on a coalition Palestinian government? One month, sixteen days.
The causes for the rupture are complex, but the sudden end to the bitter four year split has left commentators grasping at straws. Within 24 hours a media narrative will emerge giving credit to the Egyptian military, or the Israeli blockade, or some other pseudo-Machiavellian great leader narrative that gives credit back to the West. Already Al Jazeera's senior political analyst, Marwan Bishara, has stated that Fatah losing Mubarak and Hamas seeing instability in Damascus is the cause.
In other words, fear of Israel. Which makes sense, because fear of Israel has certainly kept Palestinian political leaders in line in the past.
Sorry fuckers, turns out that the emergence of new regimes, brought about by actual revolutions of the people, rupture dominant power relations in the direction of peace, unity, and political strength for the oppressed.
Democratic revolution in Egypt has already meant an end to a seemingly intractable stalemate in the most seemingly intractable political catastrophe in the globe. So fuck what you hear about fear of Israel, and notice that a free Cairo solved in one month what Mubarak, Al-Assad, Bush, Obama, Netenyahu, Sharon, Olmert, Abbas, Abdullah, Ahmedinejad, and all those other slimy shits couldn't budge in four years.
The causes for the rupture are complex, but the sudden end to the bitter four year split has left commentators grasping at straws. Within 24 hours a media narrative will emerge giving credit to the Egyptian military, or the Israeli blockade, or some other pseudo-Machiavellian great leader narrative that gives credit back to the West. Already Al Jazeera's senior political analyst, Marwan Bishara, has stated that Fatah losing Mubarak and Hamas seeing instability in Damascus is the cause.
In other words, fear of Israel. Which makes sense, because fear of Israel has certainly kept Palestinian political leaders in line in the past.
Sorry fuckers, turns out that the emergence of new regimes, brought about by actual revolutions of the people, rupture dominant power relations in the direction of peace, unity, and political strength for the oppressed.
Democratic revolution in Egypt has already meant an end to a seemingly intractable stalemate in the most seemingly intractable political catastrophe in the globe. So fuck what you hear about fear of Israel, and notice that a free Cairo solved in one month what Mubarak, Al-Assad, Bush, Obama, Netenyahu, Sharon, Olmert, Abbas, Abdullah, Ahmedinejad, and all those other slimy shits couldn't budge in four years.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Die Bourgeois Pig
"We went right away to the hospital, and he showed me the baby. That was very moving. I'm a big baby fan. Then we went back to the studio and started discussing public sculpture and what would make sense for New York City. An art historian was with us. An auction of the Yves Saint Laurent estate was taking place at around the same time at Christie's in Paris. The zodiac clock had been installed in the Old Summer Palace, in Beijing, which was looted by the French and British in 1860. Two of the animal heads eventually wound up with Saint Laurent. Since these had been stolen, there was a huge controversy. Anyway, as we sat in the studio, Weiwei had his 'Aha!' moment. He would create full-size bronze derivations of all twelve of the animal heads." -New Yorker
-Charlie Rose and Jonathan Waxman, edited for your pleasure
-Charlie Rose and Jonathan Waxman, edited for your pleasure
Monday, April 18, 2011
Pop Quiz!
1. Which cliché best describes Republican political philosophy?
A) The squeaky wheel gets the grease
B) One in the hand is worth two in the bush
C) A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down
D) If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen
2. The current state of the Democratic party is best described by the title of which Tennessee Williams play?
A) The Glass Menagerie
B) A Streetcar Named Desire
C) Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
D) Suddenly, Last Summer
3. If Rand Paul were a seventies guitar solo, he would be:
A) The bridge from Pat Benatar's Hit Me With Your Best Shot
B) The lead electric from Boston's Long Time
C) The acoustic opening of Heart's Crazy on You
D) The third act of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody
4. Which famous movie quote best describes the odds of Donald Trump running for president in 2012?
A) "Show me the money!"
B) "Play it again, Sam."
C) "Hey you guuuys!"
D) "I am serious, and don't call me Shirley."
5. Senators from the current caucus drink white wine while discussing _______; IPA while discussing ________; and Scotch while discussing _________.
A) Drug sentencing; abortion; affirmative action
B) Outsourcing; the minimum wage; unions
C) Torture; Muslims; Libya
D) Pork; income tax; capital gains tax
6. Meetings between Obama's cabinet and the joint chiefs of staff most resemble an episode of:
A) 24
B) Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
C) Tim and Eric's Awesome Show Great Job!
D) Wheel of Fortune
7. Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential bid will be modeled directly on which ad campaign?
A) McDonald's- "I'm Lovin' It"
B) Enzyte Natural Male Enhancement- "Bob"
C) Budweiser- "Clydesdales"
D) Apple- "I'm a Mac. I'm a PC."
8. Which city most reflects the true nature of American power?
A) Bagdhad, Iraq
B) Celebration, Florida
C) Havana, Cuba
D) Dubai, United Arab Emirates
9. Obama's 2012 State of the Union address will most resemble which Shakespeare monologue?
A) Lady MacBeth- "Out, out damn spot"
B) Shylock - "If you prick us, do we not bleed?"
C) Prospero- "My charms are all o'erthrown"
D) Richard III- "My conscience hath a thousand several tongues"
10. Bonus Mix and Match Round: Match the American political figure with the trio of Biography Writer/Biopic Director/Theme Song Performer they most deserve
1. Michael Bloomberg A. Camille Paglia/David Cronenberg/Lady Gaga
2. Hillary Clinton B. Ayn Rand/Zach Snyder/Kid Rock
3. Barney Frank C. Thomas Friedman/Paul Haggis/The Eagles
4. Barack Obama D. Bob Woodward/Oliver Stone/Sarah McLachlan
5. Sarah Palin E. David Sedaris/Gus Van-Sant/Tom Waits
6. Rand Paul F. David Brooks/Nancy Myers/Jay-Z
7. Mitt Romney G. Upton Sinclair/Frank Capra/Slayer
8. Scott Walker H. Henry Louis Gates Jr/Steven Sodebergh/Mos Def
A) The squeaky wheel gets the grease
B) One in the hand is worth two in the bush
C) A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down
D) If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen
2. The current state of the Democratic party is best described by the title of which Tennessee Williams play?
A) The Glass Menagerie
B) A Streetcar Named Desire
C) Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
D) Suddenly, Last Summer
3. If Rand Paul were a seventies guitar solo, he would be:
A) The bridge from Pat Benatar's Hit Me With Your Best Shot
B) The lead electric from Boston's Long Time
C) The acoustic opening of Heart's Crazy on You
D) The third act of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody
4. Which famous movie quote best describes the odds of Donald Trump running for president in 2012?
A) "Show me the money!"
B) "Play it again, Sam."
C) "Hey you guuuys!"
D) "I am serious, and don't call me Shirley."
5. Senators from the current caucus drink white wine while discussing _______; IPA while discussing ________; and Scotch while discussing _________.
A) Drug sentencing; abortion; affirmative action
B) Outsourcing; the minimum wage; unions
C) Torture; Muslims; Libya
D) Pork; income tax; capital gains tax
6. Meetings between Obama's cabinet and the joint chiefs of staff most resemble an episode of:
A) 24
B) Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
C) Tim and Eric's Awesome Show Great Job!
D) Wheel of Fortune
7. Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential bid will be modeled directly on which ad campaign?
A) McDonald's- "I'm Lovin' It"
B) Enzyte Natural Male Enhancement- "Bob"
C) Budweiser- "Clydesdales"
D) Apple- "I'm a Mac. I'm a PC."
8. Which city most reflects the true nature of American power?
A) Bagdhad, Iraq
B) Celebration, Florida
C) Havana, Cuba
D) Dubai, United Arab Emirates
9. Obama's 2012 State of the Union address will most resemble which Shakespeare monologue?
A) Lady MacBeth- "Out, out damn spot"
B) Shylock - "If you prick us, do we not bleed?"
C) Prospero- "My charms are all o'erthrown"
D) Richard III- "My conscience hath a thousand several tongues"
10. Bonus Mix and Match Round: Match the American political figure with the trio of Biography Writer/Biopic Director/Theme Song Performer they most deserve
1. Michael Bloomberg A. Camille Paglia/David Cronenberg/Lady Gaga
2. Hillary Clinton B. Ayn Rand/Zach Snyder/Kid Rock
3. Barney Frank C. Thomas Friedman/Paul Haggis/The Eagles
4. Barack Obama D. Bob Woodward/Oliver Stone/Sarah McLachlan
5. Sarah Palin E. David Sedaris/Gus Van-Sant/Tom Waits
6. Rand Paul F. David Brooks/Nancy Myers/Jay-Z
7. Mitt Romney G. Upton Sinclair/Frank Capra/Slayer
8. Scott Walker H. Henry Louis Gates Jr/Steven Sodebergh/Mos Def
Monday, April 11, 2011
Shameless Self Promotion
My little (hahaha, little) blog post below titled "The Values of Secrecy in the Era of Excessive Sharing" has been severely edited (thank goodness) and now appears at The New Inquiry
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Monday, March 28, 2011
Bob Herbert has left the New York Times
And in doing so has ended any hope I had for the venerable old rag.
But in his last column, he has pointed to this story.
It is just as unsurprising as it is unbelievable that this is not huge news. After decades of anti-tax rhetoric, it is hard to foment outrage when someone dodges taxes: precisely the goal of said rhetoric.
These men are criminals: their children go to our schools, they drive on our roads, their mail is delivered by our post, they enjoy all our freedoms and they give nothing back but the middle finger.
We must return to the rhetorical discussion of America as a democracy of the people, even as we know that reality gets further and further everyday. We have to stress that these men don't steal from some shadowy "government", they steal from us, from every single responsible American who plans to pay their taxes this April, who has a child in school, who enjoys receiving mail, who is on unemployment because the colleagues of these men laid them off, who is on medicaid because they're too poorly paid or too old to work; they steal from the soldier in Iraq and the postal worker in Buloxi, the Detroit garbage man and the New York City sewer worker. They steal from the woman sweeping clean the Lincoln Memorial and the public defender upholding its legacy; they steal from the San Fransisco tram driver, the Iowa corn farmer, the Texas roughneck and the Floridian retiree.
These people are villains who are stealing right out of our pockets, and if we don't understand this there's no hope for us. It's time we ignited some populist rage, took it back from the right, and showed these men that stealing from us ends badly indeed.
But in his last column, he has pointed to this story.
It is just as unsurprising as it is unbelievable that this is not huge news. After decades of anti-tax rhetoric, it is hard to foment outrage when someone dodges taxes: precisely the goal of said rhetoric.
These men are criminals: their children go to our schools, they drive on our roads, their mail is delivered by our post, they enjoy all our freedoms and they give nothing back but the middle finger.
We must return to the rhetorical discussion of America as a democracy of the people, even as we know that reality gets further and further everyday. We have to stress that these men don't steal from some shadowy "government", they steal from us, from every single responsible American who plans to pay their taxes this April, who has a child in school, who enjoys receiving mail, who is on unemployment because the colleagues of these men laid them off, who is on medicaid because they're too poorly paid or too old to work; they steal from the soldier in Iraq and the postal worker in Buloxi, the Detroit garbage man and the New York City sewer worker. They steal from the woman sweeping clean the Lincoln Memorial and the public defender upholding its legacy; they steal from the San Fransisco tram driver, the Iowa corn farmer, the Texas roughneck and the Floridian retiree.
These people are villains who are stealing right out of our pockets, and if we don't understand this there's no hope for us. It's time we ignited some populist rage, took it back from the right, and showed these men that stealing from us ends badly indeed.
Friday, March 18, 2011
Gentrification is Apartheid; The Housing Bubble: Class War
The base line criticism of gentrification is obvious: upper middle class (there's no such thing as middle class anymore, darling) college graduates move from all across this great nation into NYC, and, in need of cheap rent* move into once impoverished neighborhoods, now celebrated for their stock of beautiful old rowhouses, convenient access to the subway system and "genuine" "gritty" "New York" feel.
In short, predominantly white young people move into a neighborhood, landlords raise rents every May and September (the college year, dummy!), until rent in the area is too expensive for the predominantly black and Latino residents, driving them further from even marginally desirable neighborhoods, uprooting them from their homes and destroying their communities.
You can argue that gentrification helps increase economic activity in the neighborhood, brings down crime, and desegregates neighborhoods racially. You'd be wrong, but not only because organic grocery stores replace bodegas and cafes replace barbershops, so that old businesses are pushed out, creating a new local economy rather than helping the existent one; not only because (unofficially, of course) the punitive consequences for violent crime against white people are significantly more severe, so that more white people in a neighborhood means fewer targets for violent crime, which, combined with increased police presence, just moves crime towards less gentrified areas; not only because, despite the visible mix of skin tone on the street, the populations tend to favor totally different hang outs (in my neighborhood there is a hipster bar, Sweet Revenge, literally next door to an old neighborhood stalwart, Franklin Palace: crowds of white twenty somethings divided by twenty inches of plaster from a crowd of black locals).
No, even those who manage to hold on to their homes in gentrifying neighborhoods do not see their schools or services improve because of our totally perverse property tax code: and yes, I realize how much less sexy that is than racist culture war.
In short, predominantly white young people move into a neighborhood, landlords raise rents every May and September (the college year, dummy!), until rent in the area is too expensive for the predominantly black and Latino residents, driving them further from even marginally desirable neighborhoods, uprooting them from their homes and destroying their communities.
You can argue that gentrification helps increase economic activity in the neighborhood, brings down crime, and desegregates neighborhoods racially. You'd be wrong, but not only because organic grocery stores replace bodegas and cafes replace barbershops, so that old businesses are pushed out, creating a new local economy rather than helping the existent one; not only because (unofficially, of course) the punitive consequences for violent crime against white people are significantly more severe, so that more white people in a neighborhood means fewer targets for violent crime, which, combined with increased police presence, just moves crime towards less gentrified areas; not only because, despite the visible mix of skin tone on the street, the populations tend to favor totally different hang outs (in my neighborhood there is a hipster bar, Sweet Revenge, literally next door to an old neighborhood stalwart, Franklin Palace: crowds of white twenty somethings divided by twenty inches of plaster from a crowd of black locals).
No, even those who manage to hold on to their homes in gentrifying neighborhoods do not see their schools or services improve because of our totally perverse property tax code: and yes, I realize how much less sexy that is than racist culture war.
The Big Interview
In a huge coup for the fledgling blog, Wasted Ideology secured an exclusive round table interview with New York City, Washington D.C. and the United States of America! The discussion began with a focus on law, but it opened up to include culture, economics and geography. It has been edited for length and coherence.
Wasted Ideology: First of all, I just want to thank you three for taking the time out of your busy schedules to answer some questions.
New York City: No problem
Washington D.C: Sure thing
United States of America: I am the schedule, the answer and the question.
W.I: When will marijuana be legalised?
NYC: When gentrification is complete.
D.C: Never
USA: When we find an easier way to throw young black men in prison.
W.I: Why is the drinking age 21?
D.C: If your daddy doesn't have a cabinet full of scotch, who are you to desire anything?
NYC: Times Square is fun for the whole family!
U.S.A: So people under 21 will experience the thrill of rebellion while consuming pleasure rather than the pleasure of all consuming rebellion.
W.I: Why are corporations legally people?
NYC: So people will become corporations.
D.C: What, only your best friends get to be human?
USA: Corporations are people.
W.I: Why are flak jackets illegal?
NYC: So cops don't have to worry about aiming for the head.
D.C: So soldiers will keep them in their homes
USA: Scarcity produces value
W.I: What is class warfare?
D.C:100% voter turnout
NYC: Moving from Westchester to Brooklyn
USA: Taxes
W.I: What is America's most significant export?
DC: Freedom
NYC: Culture
USA: Bosses
W.I: What is America's most significant import?
NYC: Labor
DC: Debt
USA: Fear
What city is the cultural capital of America?
NYC: New York City
DC: Los Angeles
USA: Las Vegas
What city is the center of American power?
DC: Washington D.C
NYC: New York City
USA: Celebration, Florida
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)