Under the heading “Butt Out Markos,” clueless Andy highlights an email from an equally clueless reader:
Reading the interview with Kos made me want to throw up. As a Connecticut native (and Lieberman supporter), I wonder where he gets off trying to play God in our elections. He says, “I don’t think Joe Lieberman would have anything to worry about had he tended to his constituents back home. His job is to represent the people of Connecticut.” What kind of view of Connecticut’s politics does he think he has from San Francisco, exactly? Representing “the people of Connecticut” is exactly what Lieberman has been doing, which is why he is crushing Lamont and the GOP candidate in a 3-way general election with over 50% of the vote. What Kos wants, of course, is for Lieberman to represent his vision of what the Democratic Party should be. He goes on to say that Lieberman would not be abiding “by the democratic will of the people of Connecticut” if he loses the primary and wins the general election. Right, because “people of Connecticut” = “20% of Connecticut’s registered Democrats who turn out for the closed primary in the middle of the summer.” Spare me.
A couple of thoughts about this.
To start off: This isn’t “playing God.” Playing God involves humanoid creatures stitched together from body parts stolen from the cemetery, towers on craggy peaks, and lightning storms late at night. Oh yes, and near hysterical cries of “IT’S ALIVE!”
This is just, you know, politics.
Sure, Markos and Atrios and Jane Hamsher and other out-of-staters have been supporting Lamont’s run (along with quite a few Connecticut bloggers). So what? I mean, is anyone really so naive as to believe that Senate races are purely local affairs? The 100 individuals in the U.S. Senate have a huge impact on the lives of everyone in the country, not just their own constituents. Joe Lieberman’s backers certainly understand this — 80% of his campaign contributions come from out of state.
(Let me reiterate that for the slower-witted among us, such as Andy’s correspondent: EIGHTY PERCENT OF JOE LIEBERMAN’S CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS COME FROM OUT OF STATE.)
Also, the last I checked, Bill Clinton — who came up and stumped for Lieberman the other day — is not himself a resident of the state of Connecticut.
But opposition to Lieberman runs deeper than some out-of-state bloggers. Drive around this state, Lamont yard signs seem to outnumber those of Lieberman by maybe twenty to one. You see them everywhere, even hanging from clotheslines:
And I’m second-hand sourcing this one, but according to a friend-of-a-friend who is deeply involved in local party politics, resentment of Joe within the Democratic machine here runs deep and long. Joe’s just annoyed too many people over the years, and there’s apparently a sense among local politicos that he’s spent too much time in DC sucking up to the Bushies the last few years, and far too little at home. (In other words, as Markos correctly notes, he hasn’t been tending to his constituents.)
This could all be nonsense, of course. But if Lieberman loses on August 8, watch and see if there’s not a sudden and enthusiastic outpouring of support for Lamont from local Democrats who have been forced to bite their tongues up to now.
I know that this is contrary to the official media narrative of the moment, but Lamont’s unexpectedly strong showing has a lot more to do with Connecticut Democrats being tired of Joe, and finally having a credible alternative, than it has to do with a handful of out of state bloggers.
One last thing: you hear a lot from lazy media types about how very popular Joe is here in Connecticut. Well, here’s a small reality check: in the 2004 Super Tuesday presidential primary in Connecticut, John Kerry got 58% of the vote. John Edwards came in second with a respectable 24%.
Joe Lieberman, meanwhile, came in third with five percent of the vote, here in the state in which he is so very popular.
(As for Lieberman “crushing” Lamont in a three-way race, check out these numbers from a 7/20 Rasmussen poll of likely voters: Lieberman 40, Lamont 40, Schlesinger 13. I have no idea how a three-way race would really play out, of course, but if I were Lieberman I wouldn’t start planning the victory celebration quite yet.)
This is American Patriot, or as he is also called on his packaging, A.P. He popped up in a little hole in the wall store full of cheap Asian imports around the corner from my apartment in Brooklyn shortly after 9/11. I can’t remember if he made the final cut or not, but you may have seen him briefly in Bowling for Columbine — the store had two of them, and I gave one to Michael M. (we were working on our ill-fated animated feature at the time).
Always wanted to share A.P. with the world, and thanks to YouTube, I finally can.
This one will have you checking your calendars to see if it’s April 1st (via Kottke) :
Monopoly board game players can now pay for properties with debit cards.
Game makers Parker have phased out the standard multi-coloured cash in a new version.
Players will instead use a Visa mock debit card to keep track of how much they win or lose.
It is inserted into an electronic machine where the banker taps in cardholders’ earnings and payments.
Parker said replacing of cash with plastic showed the game was moving with the times.
Spokesman Chris Weatherhead said: “The new electronic Monopoly reflects the changing nature of society and the advancement of technology.”
If they want to modernize Monopoly, why stop there? They should make the properties increase in value quickly so that anyone who doesn’t purchase the property early rounds will never be able to afford anything. The richest player at any given point in the game will be be able to buy his/her way out of jail, while the poorest has to spend twice as long in jail as any other player. Get rid of Community Chest, Free Parking, and Luxury Tax, since they’re just outdated relics of an era in which people cared more for their society than their wallets. And the person who buys the utilities should be allowed to change the rules at any point during the game to ensure they always win. That’s how it seems to work in the real world.
In supporting the attacks, Samuel Freedman doesn’t bother to focus on the enormous human cost to the Lebanese civilians who, in many instances reported on NPR and elsewhere, appear to have been deliberately targeted by Israeli missile attacks (there’s a word to describe deliberate attacks on civilians designed to terrorize them: the word is terrorism). To Freedman, such unfortunate deaths are collateral damage in pursuit of a higher gain. To me, these deaths are clearly immoral and can only serve as a catalyst for further radicalization, endangering Israel’s future as a nation.
Some other highlights of Freedman’s article include the assumption that Israel really isn’t at war with Hezbollah, but Iran. Using that logic, Hezbollah and Israel aren’t fighting at all. It’s a proxy war between the US and Iran. All of this dovetails very nicely with an insane PNAC fantasy: “we” can eliminate evil (a la Perle/Frum’s The End of Evil) if only we are brave enough to use our Kristol balls and tackle the “root causes” of terrorism.* And sure enough, on CNN this weekend, an earnest discussion was held under the caption: “Iran: The Root of Evil?”
Nevermind that the situation is far more complicated than a mere proxy war. You get nowhwere, and fast, unless you immediately, and directly, address the proximate issues. In this case, they are (1) The outrageous kidnapping of Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah; (2) The outrageous and counterproductive destruction of Southern Lebanon by Israel; and (3) the unconsionable and wholesale slaughter, on both sides, of utterly innocent civilians.
I’ve never entirely understood the tendency of bloggers who revile the DLC and everything it stands for to simultaneously revere Bill Clinton, who is pretty much the embodiment of the DLC and everything it stands for. I mean, I understand that he looks pretty good in retrospect, when contrasted with the emotionally-stunted intellectual midget who currently occupies the Oval Office — but his decision to stump for Lieberman should nonetheless serve as a reminder that this guy will sell out progressives at the drop of a hat if it is somehow politically expedient to do so.
That this is not exactly breaking news is something anyone who was paying attention during the nineties should understand.
The Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, meets Tony Blair in London today as violence in Iraq reaches a new crescendo and senior Iraqi officials say the break up of the country is inevitable . . .
Iraq as a political project is finished,” a senior government official was quoted as saying, adding: “The parties have moved to plan B.”
He said that the Shia, Sunni and Kurdish parties were now looking at ways to divide Iraq between them and to decide the future of Baghdad, where there is a mixed population. “There is serious talk of Baghdad being divided into [Shia] east and [Sunni] west,” he said.
Update: I’m going to wait until the end of the week, and choose five winners from the inbox then. So if you’ve been wanting to send a note about anything, this is the week…
I have five signed copies of IAVA founder Paul Rieckhoff’s book, Chasing Ghosts, to give away this week. This is the first time I’ve done anything like this on the blog, so I’m kind of making it up as I go along — I guess I’ll arbitrarily/randomly choose one winner a day out of the email this week.
Here’s a bit more about the book:
As a First Lieutenant and Infantry Platoon Leader for the U.S. Army National Guard charged with leading thirty-eight men in Iraq, Paul Rieckhoff followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather. After Rieckhoff volunteered to take part in the invasion of Iraq, he and his soldiers spent almost a year in one of the most dangerous and volatile areas of Baghdad, where they struggled to maintain order, protect Iraqi civilians, track down insurgents, and defend themselves against sniper and roadside bomb attacks.
But it was clear to Rieckhoff almost from the get-go that America’s mission in Iraq was deeply flawed - and that his platoon was overchallenged and underequipped. If there was a plan to stabilize Baghdad after the invasion, no one had let them in on it. And with so many obstacles to overcome, they faced enemies that included thousands of armed, angry, and unemployed men who had been unleashed into the streets when the U.S. government disbanded the Iraqi army.
The way that Rieckhoff responded to these and other challenges over the next ten months set him on a course that would forever change his life. And when Rieckhoff finally came home, he vowed to tell Americans the truth, however controversial, about what was going on in Iraq. He publicly demanded accountability from elected officials, created the first organization specifically for veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and took the new fight to the airwaves and the halls of power in Washington.
For anyone who wonders what alternatives there are in Iraq to either “staying the course” or “cutting-and-running,” Chasing Ghosts is an uncensored and unrehearsed statement from a war veteran, providing a candid grunt’s-eye view of the harrowing, bloody battles on the streets of Baghdad-and a patriot’s vision of where America has gone wrong and how it can reset its path.
Finally, some intellectual consistency from Christopher Hitchens
Christopher Hitchens spent an enormous part of his pre-September 11th life criticizing Israeli policies in the mideast and supporting the Palestinian national movement. He co-edited a book with Edward Said, wrote countless articles, gave a million speeches, etc.
Then on 9/11 he realized the secular progressives he’d worked with for decades had been harboring a secret desire all along to live in a caliphate ruled by Osama bin Laden. It seemed like a strange thing for secular progressives to want, particularly the women, but that just underscored how dangerous they were.
Of course, Hitchens’ new allies were the exact same people he’d excoriated for decades on Israel/Palestine. The question then became how long he’d hold onto his previous views on this issue, since they were now glaringly anomalous. For a while he gave it a shot. Here he is in December, 2003:
HITCHENS: I think a second term for [Bush] is more likely to lead to pressure being brought upon the Israelis than the election of any feasible or possible Democratic candidate… it’s a great deal more likely that the regime change forces in the case of Iraq, in Washington, will be helpful in the solution of the Israel-Palestine dispute.
Right. It’s just this kind of clear-sighted, 100% accurate prediction for which Hitchens is justly famous.
In any case, as anticipated, he’s now given up the ghost completely. Dennis Perrin explains:
In the final spasms of our friendship, Hitchens and I exchanged numerous emails about his apparent lack of interest in the continuing woes of Palestinian life…Amid all this bluster, Hitchens never really answered why he was largely silent on Palestinian suffering.
Or at least Hitchens didn’t until he wrote a op-ed for the Wall Street Journal last Tuesday. Says Dennis:
Titled “The Politics of Sabotage,” the piece exposes a part of Hitchens that he’s been trying to suppress or explain away, namely, giving the Israeli state the benefit of the doubt when it’s engaged in full-scale aggression…Hitchens finds that Israel’s “blowing up of [Lebanon’s] bridges and the other interruptions of all air and sea traffic possess a certain grim rationale”…
So committed is Hitchens to this premise that he writes “the former Israeli fans of Vladimir Jabotinsky are saying in public that Israeli colonization of Arabs is demographically impossible and morally wrong.”
These former Jabotinsky fans are part of Kadima…to say that Kadima has renounced colonization is simply false, as continued settlement of the West Bank (establishing “final borders”) immediately shows. And at last look, I’ve seen no indication that Kadima plans to give up East Jerusalem…That Hitchens blames Hamas and Hezbollah for derailing something that doesn’t exist — de-colonization — and that he confuses political pragmatism and necessity for state morality (another phantom concept), merely deepens his deceit, whether intentional or unconscious. Hitchens may not see himself becoming an Israeli state apologist, but after reading this piece (which I’ll send to anyone who wants to read it), I can see why the Wall Street Journal might happily differ.
Austin’s Alamo Drafthouse has on an ongoing basis the Rolling Roadshow - an inflatable screen, good projection and sound — so they can show films at different locations. They showed Jaws on a beach where everybody had to have their feet in the water, Dazed and Confused at the Park where the park party scene was filmed, Goonies at the bottom of a cave, Earthquake on the Balcones Fault, Friday the 13th at a summer camp, and Shock Corridor at an insane asylum.
Last year they literally took their show on the road. They screened Close Encounters of the Third Kind at the Devil’s Tower, Once Upon a Time in the West in Monument Valley, Last Picture Show in Archer City, TX, It Came From Outer Space 3D in Roswell, NM, North By Northwest in Bakersfield, CA where Cary Grant runs from the biplane (they had the screening buzzed by crop dusters) and so on.
They are doing it again this year:
The Warriors shown in Coney Island, Brooklyn.
Aug. 2
BEFORE THE SCREENING: Subway Scavenger Hunt - Meeting Location: 97th Street and Riverside Park (the filming location of the conclave) - Teams can sign up in groups of nine delegates. All participants are requested to be in full ‘colors’, just as gang members are in the film. The heir to Cyrus will be there to kick off the rally and give your team instructions. The team that arrives at the screening location first with all aspects of the scavenger hunt completed wins. Prizes: Brunch on Thursday August 3rd with some of the original Warriors, and a set of nine leather Warriors vests!
AFTER THE SCREENING: Members of the cast and crew will conduct a Q&A. Confirmed cast members are Deborah Van Valkenburgh (Mercy) , Michael Beck (Swan), Roger Hill (Cyrus), David Harris (Cochise), Terry Michos (Vermin), Brian Tyler (Snow), Dorsey Wright (Cleon), Tom McKitterick (Cowboy), and Thomas G. Waites (Fox). Stay tuned for more confirmations.
If anyone knows how to find PAUL GRECO please have him contact kier-la@originalalamo.com
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Jaws shown at Ocean Park, Oak Bluffs on Martha’s Vineyard
Saturday, August 5
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Clerks shown in an empty lot across the street from the convenience store where it was shot.
The Quick Stop, 58 Leonard Ave., Leonardo, N.J.
Aug. 8
BEFORE THE SCREENING: “Quick Stop Street Hockey Cup” Event Time: 5:30 Sign up, Face Off: 6:00
Dante was never supposed to go to work that day - he had a street hockey game that afternoon. As a part of the event, you can compete in the Clerks inspired “Quick Stop Street Hockey Cup”. Stay tuned for more details on how to enter.
AFTER THE SCREENING: Kevin Smith and members of the cast of Clerks will answer questions.
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Ferris Buellers Day Off at the Cedar Lane Water Tower, Cedar Lane, Northbrook Il. (The “Save Ferris” water tower),
Aug. 10
AFTER THE SCREENING: “John Hughes” 80s Prom - Join Netflix for an 80s prom, a tribute to “brat pack” director John Hughes. Vintage formal attire suggested but not required. A Prom King and Queen will be crowned at the dance. Dance contest will be judged by celebrity judges. The prom is 21 + and there will be an open bar . All attendees of the film are welcome to join us at the Prom. You MUST pick up a wristband at the screening location registration to gain entrance to the prom.
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Field of Dreams at Left and Center Field of Dreams, 30318 Golf Course Road, Dyersville, IA
Aug. 11
BEFORE THE SCREENING: At 6:00 PM, Baseball players, families and movie fans alike can come out early to participate in the Shoeless Joe Jackson Run the Bases Tournament. At 7:00, the “Ghost Players” will emerge from the corn field, “have a catch,” meet the fans and answer questions about the making of Field of Dreams.
*Please note, there are two properties associated with the Field of Dreams. Our event is being held at Left and Center Field of Dreams.
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The Shining at the Stanley Hotel, 333 Wonderview Ave Estes Park, CO
Aug. 16
This screening is free, seating is first come first serve.
BEFORE THE SCREENING: 10 Minute Horror Story Contest: In honor of the Stanley Hotel’s place in the horror writing genre, Netflix will be accepting entrants in a horror story writing contest. Entrants will compete to write a short horror story in 10 minutes. Before contestants start writing, we will reveal an opening line of dialogue, an object to be incorporated and a charater’s name. Contestants have 10 minutes to write a short “Stephen King inspired” horror story. Every entrant gets to read their stories. The winning short story will receive a $1000 cash prize!
Complete the experience and reserve a room at the Stanley Hotel
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THE SEARCHERS at Gouldings Lodge, 1000 Main Street at Highway 163 Monument Valley, UTAH
Aug. 18
If the West is defined by the landscape of John Wayne films, this location is the epicenter. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the quintessential John Ford and John Wayne film. We’ll be screening the movie in the great outdoors near Gouldings Lodge, where director Ford and the cast and crew s stayed while filming “The Searchers.”
BEFORE THE SCREENING: The day of the screening, a tour of the shooting locations in the valley will be available. The Lodge is housed in an original 1920s trading post that featuring a museum devoted to the area’s cinematic and Native American history.
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Raising Arizona at 6109 N. Apache Trail, Apache Junction, AZ
Aug. 20
BEFORE THE SCREENING: Nathan Jr. Scavenger Hunt - Continuing the plot line from the movie, you can compete in the Nathan Jr. Scavenger Hunt before the film. Teams will meet at 1 p.m. at Lost Dutchman State Park in Apache Junction. Each team will be given a list of items to be hunted, photos to be taken and additional challenges. A list of clues will lead teams to 10 Nathan Jr. baby dolls hidden around the area. Teams will report back at 7 p.m. with their items, photos and dolls.
AFTER THE SCREENING: Stick around after the film to watch a slide show of some of the more inspired scavenger hunt photos set to the soundtrack of “Raising Arizona.” The winning scavenger hunt team will also be announced. Grand prize: a vintage Airstream trailer similar to the one H.I. and Ed shared in the movie.
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Poseidon Adventure at R.M.S. Queen Mary, The Queen’s Salon, 1126 Queens Hwy., Long Beach, CA
Aug. 24
Star Stella Stevens live in person!
BEFORE THE SCREENING: VIP Winners will be treated to an invitation-only cocktail party before the screening on board the now permanently-docked Queen Mary. Memorabilia and photos from the making of the film will be on display.
AFTER THE SCREENING: Following the screening, winners of VIP tickets will take a guided tour of the elegant and historic ship, with an emphasis on the filming locations of “Poseidon Adventure.”
Since there is limited space at this location, tickets will be required for the screening. Check the Netflix Site for promotional details about how tickets can be won.
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Escape From Alcatraz at Alcatraz Island - Take the Ferry from Pier 41 in Fisherman’s Wharf on the Embarcadero, San Francisco, CA
Aug. 26
BEFORE THE SCREENING: Enjoy a tour of the prison’s filming locations and a VIP reception.
AFTER THE SCREENING: winners can spend the night in Cell Block D, the maximum security wing of the prison, where Al Capone and the Birdman of Alcatraz were locked up.
“This bill would support the taking of innocent human life in the hope of finding medical benefits for others. It crosses a moral boundary that our decent society needs to respect, so I vetoed it.”
Jesus H. Christ.
BAGHDAD, 20 July (IRIN) - The Iraqi government says it is worried about increasing sectarian violence in the country, following statistics released by the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) stating that nearly 6,000 civilians were killed in May and June alone.
“Sectarian violence in Iraq is increasing and day after day more bodies are being found countrywide after suffering serious torture,” says Lt. Col. Abdel-Kareem Hassan, a senior official in the Ministry of Interior. “The numbers presented by UNAMI has just confirmed this is reality and also increases fear among the local population.
“We [the government] have to act fast in holding talks with insurgents and the reconciliation plan should be put in practice to prevent more innocent civilians from dying due to the lack of security.”
According to the UNAMI report, insurgent, militia and terrorist attacks continued unabated in many parts of Iraq, especially in Baghdad and in the central and western regions.
“A total of 5,818 civilians were reportedly killed and at least 5,762 wounded during May and June 2006,” the report stated. “Killings, kidnappings and torture remain widespread. Fear resulting from these and other crimes continued to increase internal displacement and outflows of Iraqis to neighbouring countries.”
In the first six months of the year, 14,338 people were killed, the report added. The statistics were compiled with help from the Ministry of Health.
The Ministry of Health says that more than 50,000 people have been killed “in a brutal way” since April 2003. “All these bodies were unrecognisable and suffered serious torture,” says Safa’a Yehia, senior official in the Ministry of Heath. “What is more shocking is that this included women and children. We have reached a serious deterioration in conditions and instead of an improvement of this sectarian violence, the death toll is rising without control.”
