Don't Vote!

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Michelle My Belle

On 18 Mar, 2008 I uploaded a copy of Michelle Obama's (Michelle LaVaughn Robinson's) undergraduate thesis "Princeton-Educated Blacks and the Black Community" to my Scribd account here. As anyone who has been a reader for any length of time knows, I like to include the occasional PDF/DOC in my posts and wanted to have this available, should the occasion arise, so I OCRed a photocopy of the original.

That was over a month and a half ago, and I really hadn't given it much thought until last night when I received an email from Scribd saying that they had chosen it as one of their featured documents. Curious, I logged into my Scribd account and was shocked: 24,701 views and an ongoing, spirited and sometimes ugly back and forth in the comments beneath the document. The latest two comments offer a glimpse of the"conversation on race" that this document (and Christopher Hitchens) has provoked:

After reading most of the comments here, I see racism is alive and well! For all of you that use the euphemism of "Affirmative Action" whenever you see a Black person, why not explicitly state you feel Blacks are inferior to whites? Why beat around the bush?
quiznos

Say what you will, I have seen ninth graders write better papers and make fewer grammatical errors. Even the most basic of writing skills seem to have eluded Michelle. Sadly enough, I see that her obsession with her perceived racial inequality has been going on for a long time. She is stewing in that cesspool mentality. What a shame. She needs to stop going to church. She is wasting her time. She does not know the God that would set her free from this mental prison she is living in. I don't believe she will find Him either by listening to J Wright. Who is no Reverend.
yazoo13

I had assumed Michelle Obama's 20yr old thesis would reappear as right-leaning 527's seized upon anything that could be used to impugn the character of Barack Obama vis-à-vis his wife in the general election. With Wright and the democratic front and center, this one appeared to be shelved for the moment. Not so.

Apparently Christopher Hitchens stumbled across the Scribd document and, ever demurring, was compelled to include reference to it in his May 5th Fighting Words Slate opinion piece Are We Getting Two for One? There he chums the waters with the subtly for which he is well known:

"I direct your attention to Mrs. Obama's 1985 thesis at Princeton University. Its title (rather limited in scope, given the author and the campus) is "Princeton-Educated Blacks and the Black Community." To describe it as hard to read would be a mistake; the thesis cannot be "read" at all, in the strict sense of the verb. This is because it wasn't written in any known language."

For those unfamiliar with Hitchens, the title of his latest book God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything should offer insight into his unabashed embrace of the controversial (on magnificent display here as he debates the existence of God with the right wing lackey and reactionary Dinesh Desouza).

I have long enjoyed both strongly agreeing and disagreeing with Hitchens' views, and reaction to his latest article (and Michelle's Thesis) provides more than a hint of the depth of the well from which controversy springs concerning Obama, his wife, the good Rev. Wright and race in general.

It may or may not be fair, but it appears that Obama, like Sisyphus, is destined to spend the political eternity that is the general election trying to get this boulder to the top of the hill, only to have it roll down upon him again.

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Iron Chef RealPolitik

Tonight in Iron Chef Realpolitik Arena we’ll be focusing on Chef Clinton as she competes against two former Iron Chef advesaries, Chefs Truth and Reality. The featured ingredients tonight are shameless pandering pears and hypocrisy fish.

Plain old pandering pears are so...vanilla--missing a certain "Je ne sais quoi.,” so tonight we’ve really challenged our chefs with the addition of the tricky to prepare hypocrisy fish. Cut incorrectly, it is poisonous and might prove fatal to a campaign. Done right, it is said to add a potent punch to an otherwise bland political dish.

We’re 15 minutes into the competition so let’s go down to the floor, and see how our Iron Chefs are faring. Over at both Iron Chefs Truth and Reality stations, there appears to be complete chaos. They appear to be totally confused by the ingredients. Chef Truth is saying that these ingredients are just not the kind of things any self-respecting chef would include in a dish or even keep in their kitchen. Let’s check in now with our other competitor…

Over at Iron Chef Clinton’s station they don’t seem to be having any of the problems that Iron Chefs Truth and Reality are having with the ingredients. In fact Team Clinton appears to be quite at home at handling both of our featured items, pandering pears and hypocrisy fish. Chef Clinton says she and her husband have enjoyed preparing them for years, serving them regularly to friends, family, and patrons of their two eating establishments The Sharp Elbow located in Washington, DC and The Intern's Cigar located in Harlem.

Ok, times up let’s see how the Iron Chefs have done. Well, this is a first and a real shocker! Both Chefs Truth and Reality have left the Iron Chef Realpolitik Arena. As they exited they were overheard saying that ethically they just weren’t compatible with what they were asked to prepare. absoulutely horrified by the ease with which Chef Clinton worked, they have left the building completely.

Chef Clinton, seems to be completely un-phased, and said she is actually relieved, as she has never been terribly comfortable working with either Truth or Reality. She has indicated that though there is no tasting necessary to determine a winner, she will be more than happy to serve her dish to any and all takers. The audience appears to be a bit weary though…

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(Not Quite ) Iraq V-Day -- 5 Year Aniversary

Mission Uh...

It was 5 years ago today that George W. Bush became the first President in history to land a plane on an aircraft carrier while in office. Ah... What a great day for America...the sight of some one who served so valiantly during the Vietnam War taking the flight controls once again as just warms the Red-Blooded American Heart.

But there was something else about that day 5 years ago today...Flight-Suit package display?...No that wasn't it...

Oh...Of course how could I (or any proud American for that matter) forget...That was the day we won the war in Iraq. Yes that was the day all America let out a collective Team America "America, F**k Yeah!"

Those were simpler times. When right was right, and wrong was..well just flat-out unpatriotic! Not anymore though...sadly, we've since lost a few hearts and minds. First there's that hardcore fringe bastion of left-wing liberalism...the American Public. Those Commie bastards.

Then, of course, there are the Iraqi People. Ungrateful bastards. We show them love and what do we get in return? The Iraqi version of an exploding cigar-a thumb in the eye and an IED under our Humvee.

Wake up America! Can't you smell what Iraq (or Barack) is cookin'! Smells like defeat to me!

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'Father of LSD' Sees a Beautiful Light...and Oh the Colors!

Albert Hofmann-"Father of LSD"-Turns on, tunes in, and drops out...really, really, out

While all of America was consumed with the surreal performances played out on the political stage (see the clip of Rev. Wright below), the soul of Albert Hofmann, pioneer of true surreality, member of the Nobel Prize Committee, Fellow of the World Academy of Sciences, slipped its mortal coil and began what I'm sure is a truly mind-expanding journey.



Albert Hofman, the swiss scientist credited with the invention of the psycho-pharmaceutical wonder-drug LSD, died yesterday at 9am at his home in Basel, Switzerland. Though he was not a fan of the whole-hearted counter-culture embrace of his drug, as he thought it was a misappropriation of a perfectly good and potentially useful drug, he did appreciate it's mind altering effects.

On April 16, 1943, he accidentally ingested a small amount of synthesised lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD-25), which he had first created in 1938 as a then chemist for Sandoz Pharmaceutical in Basil. Intriguing effect,, he thought, but he had to be sure. So three days later, April 19, 1943 Hofman intentionally ingested 250 ug of LSD. Fearing he was getting sick, he embarked on bicycle ride home to convalesce, and something unexpected happened: he experienced the first full fledged acid trip ever recorded. Which he chronicled in his laboratory journal with the following entries (and in his book LSD: My Problem Child):

4/19/43 16:20: 0.5 cc of 1/2 promil aqueous solution of diethylamide tartrate orally = 0.25 mg tartrate. Taken diluted with about 10 cc water. Tasteless.

17:00: Beginning dizziness, feeling of anxiety, visual distortions, symptoms of paralysis, desire to laugh.

Supplement of 4/21: Home by bicycle. From 18:00- ca.20:00 most severe crisis. (See special report.) ***Here the notes in my laboratory journal cease. I was able to write the last words only with great effort***

And thus "Bicycle day," a drug holiday later joined by 420 on stoner calenders, was born.

When reached for comment,the White Rabbit, said only "The saddest part of the whole thing really is that he died so young...only 102 years old."

(LSD-Possible cause of Paul Gipson (union president of a N.C. steelworkers local) mistakenly thinking that Hillary Clinton was sporting a pair? Just a thought.)

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The Price of Ambition

Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely...Everything?

Becoming an American President, arguably the most powerful human being on the face of the planet, is a perennial aspiration of American schoolchildren and Senators alike, but perhaps one should be careful what he or she wishes for.

I recall being mildly shocked in late 2000 at the sight of the progressive, hyper-aging, effects that Oval Office stress visited upon the then out-going President Clinton. The changes were visually chronicled in the numerous retrospective stories casting a backward look over the closing Clinton era.

I have been equally and repeatedly shocked by the excessive wear evident on George W. Bush's face. Regular critical MSM war commentary and the related video flashbacks of a more vigorous prewar and "mission accomplished" W provide hard to ignore evidence of the increased "character" of his facial landscape.

Now, appearance is one thing, but I was stunned when I came across the following clip of President Bush, clearly showing a profound decline in something more substantial (and scary for the American People) than what is cosmetically obvious: fluid intelligence.

I've not seen any dramatic evidence of job-related mental decline in any other former President (Unless, perhaps, you attribute Reagan's steep Alzheimer's decline to a similar job related PTSD), but it can't be ruled out.

Presidential Leadership Style may play a part. Participative/Detail Oriented vs. Delegative styles certainly require different levels of intellectual engagement and an active/engaged intellect is said to serve as prophylactic against mental decline.

And as anyone who watches the late night comic stylings of Leno et al. knows, G.W.Bush is well known for his lack of intellectual curiosity (read stupidity), a much ballyhooed aversion to reading (dyslexia?) and prodigious affinity for excessive amounts of vacation time. Add it all up and you have the portrait/caricature of a guy primed for mental decline.

Bush's mental state aside, it seems one who seeks the presidency enters into a Faustian deal of sorts: Physical (and possibly mental) vigor traded for a shot at power, treasure, and a place in history. Like a bodybuilder trading his health for steroid strength, U.S. Presidents appear to trade a piece of their tomorrows for a power-filled today.

So what might sort of physical decay might befall the next candidate lucky enough to grab the highest political brass ring? Pop Photo offers the 2008 field of Presidential Candidates the following visual opportunity to reconsider:

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U.S. Contracted Ship Fires at Iranian Boat and Oil Prices Shoot Up (Again)

Oh Foreign Oil, you had us at hello and you've got us wrapped around your finger. We've got a long history and current events added to woeful political incompetence only serve make the heart grow fonder.

Oil prices shot up $3/barrel within minutes of the news that least one warning shot was fired Thursday by a Navy security team armed with M16 and .50 caliber machine guns rifles toward an Iranian boat. The shot(s) were fired from the Westward Venture, a ship contracted by the U.S. Military Sealift Command (MSC) to bring supplies to troops in Kuwait .

The shots came as the Iranian boat closed to within 100 yards of the Westward Venture, which launched flares, blew a warning whistle and received no response in an attempted bridge to bridge communication. The situation deescalated after bridge to bridge communication was eventually established and the Iranian vessel identified itself as an Iranian Coastguard vessel. U.S. Officials suspect that the Iranian National Guard may be behind the incident.

Tension in the waters surrounding Iran have been elevated (along with oil prices) since January 6, 2008, when Iranian gunboats appeared to threaten a U.S. navy warship.

But hey, skyrocketing oil prices may be threatening an already shaky U.S. economy as ripples of increased fuel costs begin to show up at the local Wal-Mart, but it's not bad news for the whole North American Neighborhood (NAN). As the U.S. continues increase its lead as the world's largest debtor nation, our neighbors to the north are enjoying supplying our addicted nation with its energy fix. In fact, it is so good for Canada that the $100+ per barrel cost of oil has some Canadians looking forward to the possibility of going from a debtor to creditor nation (though they are not there yet).

It is long past time for us to get our energy act together, but political pandering, special interest lobbyists, and undue oil and corn-based ethanol corporate influence over the direction of U.S. energy policy continue to place the unchecked persuit of power and money above our National Interest. The system works obscenely well for corporations and politicians, but fails the American people miserably. This election cycle, currently moribund in trivialities, is an opportunity to change things if we choose to overcome our "shiny object syndrome" by informing ourselves and demanding more of our political leaders.

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