Recently in Politics Category

I spent Sunday afternoon marching with United for Peace & Justice. While I try to keep this blog apolitical, it's disheartening to think we are celebrating the fourth anniversary of a war that almost no one wants. In one of my rare Brooklyn black-eye moments, I overheard some  Cobble Hill folk discussing how pointless peaceful marching was and how it's just a democratic sham. Ah ... I do love the privileged.

Anyway, my three favorite march moments were the marching band we shadowed the whole way because they were so fun (does anyone know the green-outfitted band is?),  the ladies with the artfully placed silver batons, and the policeman who was using his megaphone to encourage us to keep marching for peace until the end.

We'd never assume anything about the personal political views of ABL readers--that'd be pretty arrogant. So we mention this MoveOn.org Victory Party at Skizum in DUMBO tonight for anyone who might be over-the-moon, ecstatic or filled with momentary hope about our political climate based on this week's election result. Anyone else: I'm sure there's some Republican equivalent of MoveOn throwing its own strategy meeting somewhere in town, but we didn't get that email.

I've often wondered why Brooklyn doesn't have its own magazine. When would the off-hand mentions of Brooklyn restaurants and issues in New York Magazine and Time Out get under the skin of some editorially minded entrepreneur and spawn a magazine? Like most questions I dream up, the answer already exists, this one in the form of The Brooklynite. The fledgeling mag's editor was kind enough to send me the first two issues of his magazine, which he helpfully pointed out is "the ONLY Brooklyn magazine to feature articles by a Pulitzer Prize winner and a Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee winner." The Brooklynite is free and distributed to Brooklyn businesses, but it is also arguably hard to find. It is, however, worth finding. Many of the articles are meaty, dealing with social or political issues facing the borough, and some deal with infinitely more pressing issues like what drink unites old Japanese people and Williamsburg hipsters? Subscriptions are $10 for two issues.

I wrote about my bachelorette experience at the Naked Boys Singing show in a previous post, where I mentioned that a traveling version of the show had once been shut down in Atlanta, only to be reinstated by the mayor who did a good deal of apologizing. Looks like the same thing has happened in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The production was shut down before it started by the city's vice squad on the grounds that the theater lacked the proper license. The boys without clothing are fighting back by filing a notice of injury and claim against the city, which is a precursor to a lawsuit. They are claiming "that the efforts of the Vice Squad were motivated by a known anti-gay abortion rights leader and the license in question is only held by three of the 28 theaters currently operating in the City." The photo is from the Naked Boys' website and taken by Tim Schultheis.

I try to keep this blog as politics-free as possible. But every once in a while, something happens politically that I have to post about. I have two related items today. The first is an article in The Nation (via Wonkette) about Dr. Hager, the Bush administration appointee to the Advisory Committee for Reproductive Health Drugs in the Food and Drug Administration. Dr. Hager has drawn some flack for a suggestion in his book, "Stress and the Woman's Body," that women rely on the grace of God when they are having PMS. Christian or not, every man in his right mind knows that this is an utterance that automatically results in a swift but purposeful kick to that sensitive area between his thighs. More serious, though, are new accusations by Dr. Hager's former wife, Linda Carruth Davis (co-author of the book). She claims that he sexually and emotionally abused her during their marriage, which sounds far from the family-values ideal. It's a worthwhile read for anyone interested in women's rights.

Ok, some interesting sites that I've been forwarded that relate to current events.

The first is a 1-900 take on the current administration http://www.liegirls.com/flash.html (posted on mishpucha).

The second appears to be from the group that believes it wasn't a plane but a missile that crashed into the Pentagon on 9/11 http://members.iinet.net.au/~sperna/omgkool.swf . It seems impossible that this is true (and I have seen photos with bits of plane wreckage strewn about); and yet, my faith in the truth-telling of our government is not especially high (posted on mishpucha).

And lastly, options for renouncing your citizenship (worth reading if only to get to the last two). http://www.commondreams.org/views04/1103-29.htm (from a work colleague).

So I've been desperately trying to wrap my head around the events of Tuesday.  As some have pointed out, although more people voted for George Bush in the history of voting a president into office, more people also voted against him in the history of voting a president into office. That's small consolation to the folks who poured their hearts and souls into the Kerry campaign, of course, but it is consolation.
Whatever party you're from, I hope you can admit what has been lacking in this country lately is the truth about what's happening. What's happening with the economy, what's happening in Iraq, what's happening to our civil rights, what happened with Halliburton, what's happening to the environment, what's happening with the tax cuts, the list goes on. Now I realize that truth is always a bit in the eye of the beholder, but if our country is run by people who insist on seeing things as black and white, then I expect some black and white answers about issues that affect this country. I think this is an area where Bush is sorely lacking (he'll barely hold a press conference), and I hope all Americans push for accountability in the next four years.

OK, maybe not for president, but it's nice to see someone in the entertainment industry shaking things up politically (and no, Puffy, your Vote or Die campaign doesn't qualify as intelligent discource).

Watch his little tiff with the Crossfire guys here

U.S. Military Pounds Targets in and Around Falluja
The operation came as the Islamic holy month of Ramadan began. Also, Poland said it would reduce its troops in Iraq.

Good to see the headline writers didn't forget Poland.

Did anybody notice that on Wednesday's debate, Bush had what can only be called a bit of spittle forming in the corner of his mouth near the beginning of the debate? It lasted through a question or two and got worse before it got better.