Thursday, July 22, 2004
Bush the Pulpiteer
Demogenes Aristophanes of the Project for a New American Empire (PNAE) writes:
Sorta' sends a hoary chill up the back of your neck don't it? In any case, Rick Perlstein over at the Village Voice has investigated this kind of eerie idolism/idolatry as it manifests and sustains itself at a grassroots level. So then, if you haven't read Perlstein's "The Church of Bush", you should do so as soon as you can. HERE (July 20th, 2004)
Also, while you're at it (if you havn't already) read: How Can the Democrats Win?, also by Rick Perlstein. This is a long piece which includes a free parable - so you can't go wrong! - but the greater point is focused on the long term investment in not only Dem Party gains, but more importantly, what it will take to invest in, and harvest, the rewards of a long term progessive and populist (in the Jim Hightower populist tradition i hope) liberal movement.
In other words: if Kerry campaign Dems and DLC titty twisters and any number of other think tank bubbles, Beltway baubles, or dull waxed TV "news" media binge drinkers believe that all bloggers and progressive grassroots activists are going to go away after Kerry/Edwards turn Evangelist George W. Bush and his slippery bait fed pod of trained grunting seals back into their holding pool - well, they'd be F%#k!ng WRONG. It's a long term investment in America thang.
I was even gonna write more here on blogging into the future and what that might entail and how i think that might play out post November Tuesday - but - i've decided instead to go outside and throw a Boker Infinity drop point blade at a dumb stump. I know it's only 4 am but i don't care. I enjoy the lonely thutt thutt thutt sound of a knife in a dumb stump. I like the way it reverberates throught the foggy creekbeds and quiet hills in an early morning's night. I like the idea that someone might be laying awake somewhere in a distant hollow listening and wondering "what the hell is that?!" And, "where is it coming from and what does it mean?" Because thats what blogging is kinda like, too, haint it?
So don't forget to sharpen your focus (or focus your lens) on the infinity range from time to time. Gawd knows there is no shortage of dumb stumps to address.
*
I spotted something in the Atlantic the other day, an excerpt from David Frum's "The Right Man":
"The Bush staff rose to their feet with a snap that would have impressed a Prussian field marshal. When Bush was in a kidding mood, he direct the staff like an orchestra conductor: He would press his hands palm down to direct them to sit and then, when they had taken their seats, raise his hands palm up to order them to rise again. Only then would they get the final palms down." [see earlier comment thread: HERE]
Sorta' sends a hoary chill up the back of your neck don't it? In any case, Rick Perlstein over at the Village Voice has investigated this kind of eerie idolism/idolatry as it manifests and sustains itself at a grassroots level. So then, if you haven't read Perlstein's "The Church of Bush", you should do so as soon as you can. HERE (July 20th, 2004)
Also, while you're at it (if you havn't already) read: How Can the Democrats Win?, also by Rick Perlstein. This is a long piece which includes a free parable - so you can't go wrong! - but the greater point is focused on the long term investment in not only Dem Party gains, but more importantly, what it will take to invest in, and harvest, the rewards of a long term progessive and populist (in the Jim Hightower populist tradition i hope) liberal movement.
In other words: if Kerry campaign Dems and DLC titty twisters and any number of other think tank bubbles, Beltway baubles, or dull waxed TV "news" media binge drinkers believe that all bloggers and progressive grassroots activists are going to go away after Kerry/Edwards turn Evangelist George W. Bush and his slippery bait fed pod of trained grunting seals back into their holding pool - well, they'd be F%#k!ng WRONG. It's a long term investment in America thang.
I was even gonna write more here on blogging into the future and what that might entail and how i think that might play out post November Tuesday - but - i've decided instead to go outside and throw a Boker Infinity drop point blade at a dumb stump. I know it's only 4 am but i don't care. I enjoy the lonely thutt thutt thutt sound of a knife in a dumb stump. I like the way it reverberates throught the foggy creekbeds and quiet hills in an early morning's night. I like the idea that someone might be laying awake somewhere in a distant hollow listening and wondering "what the hell is that?!" And, "where is it coming from and what does it mean?" Because thats what blogging is kinda like, too, haint it?
So don't forget to sharpen your focus (or focus your lens) on the infinity range from time to time. Gawd knows there is no shortage of dumb stumps to address.
*
