Tiny Money Land

BACK INTO THE MUD: A few more links related to the Democratic convention and then I'll go back to being irrelevant for awhile.

As you may have heard, there was a whole blogger section at the convention this year, and here's a blogger who threw video into the mix. I never thought I'd see the day that the phrase "credentialed bloggers" would be used in any context, but there you are.

Speaking of blogs, here's an individual who spent the first part of the year tracking the blatant misstatements of the Bush campagin's propaganda wing. Good starting point for counterpoints. Have fun.

For those of you who were sick of PLEDGE BREAK before it started, the main push ended when John offically accepted, and the results are that my readers are a bunch of cheap bastards. Either that or evil Nader boosters (hi, Chaz). Private funds aren't usable for the general election campagin, so we're done with that phase. You can still feed the kitty indirectly, though, since the contribute button now points to the campaign's General Election Legal and Accounting Compliance Fund (GELAC), which will keep the general election funds focused on getting the message out.

If you can't open your wallet, put out the word as best as you can.  

I'M SURE I'LL THINK OF SOMETHING LATER: In lieu of anything you'd call "original" content, here's another link on my current Kerry jag, this one meant to debunk the latest Bush ads. I'd say the Dubya side of the campagin was getting ugly, but that's based on the faulty idea that it was ever positive.

 

PLEDGE BREAK: Ooookay, for those of you who haven't been following my adventures, I'm trying to roust up some of the malcontents to make a difference. So if you really want to make a difference, volunteer to spread the word or cough up a few bucks to feed the Kerry campagin kitty.

Whenever you catch the president talking about what he calls "compassionate conservatism" to what I call "indifferent Urban League audiences", feed the Kerry kitty.

Whenever Gary Trudeau writes another week of stories about how B.D. is dealing with losing his leg in Iraq, feed the Kerry kitty. Whenever you read another week of stories about real people getting maimed or killed in Iraq, feed the kitty again.

Whenever Fox News, in their freakshow idea of convention "coverage", cuts off a keynote speaker who's saying something Rupert Murdoch doesn't agree with, which they just did to Jimmy Carter, feed the Kerry kitty. If they cut to that clip of Teresa Heinz Kerry telling that jerk to shove it, feed the Kerry kitty twice. And drink a shot of something for me.

Just a couple of examples to get the ball rolling. If you can think of others, let me know and I'll put 'em up, as long as you feed the...oh, you know...  

I DO THIS FOR THE GOOD OF THE NATION: But first, I do this to make Chaz cry.

The more I think of Bush's stock response to critics and protestors ("Freedom of speech is a wonderful thing"), the more condescending it sounds. It puts a picture in my head of Uncle Dubya, a gladhanding chump that's patting you on the head like a kid on the head for saying something adorable, then slipping you a fiver to go see a movie while the "adults" take care of business. Of course, you recognize the guy's out of touch, because the movies cost $10 a head now, but before you can tell him that, he's already shooed you out the back door.

If the past six months have proven anything, it's that normal people, the ones that really drive the country, are tired of being taken for granted. This is our country, too, and we will not be ignored.  

ONE OF US IS EVIL, AND I'M SURE IT'S NOT ME:
A PSA just popped up on my TV screen courtesy VH1, with some hapless schlub's office mates singing "Happy Birthday To You" while he sits in front of a cake with the "34" candles on it. He blows out the candles and falls face-first into the cake, presumably dead. The workmates look at each other sheepishly and wander off.

I admit, at this point I'm snickering in anticipation for the inevitable tagline, and oh, you bastards, but they gave me one: "Because of AIDS, the average life expectancy in Namibia is 34." That's a sobering statistic, no arguement, but it didn't have much of an impact because I was pissed off that VH1 was toying with my emotions. They tricked me into laughing at the AIDS plight on the African continent, and now I'm going to HELL. And I'm sure the Hell version of Time-Warner Cable only gets I Love the 90s.

But no, I'm not the one going to hell, because the public service arm of VH1 used an office full of middle-class white people to demonstrate the plight of Africa's fight against AIDS. Great job, guys.
 

WELL, IT GOT MY ATTENTION: One of the perks of my new job is being able to leave the radio on all day, a luxury you don't get when you're expected to be talking on the phone eight hours a day. Today, I heard an ad which walked the listener through the steps in French kissing ("If you scrape teeth, don't sweat it...we've all been there..."), and then, when you're wondering what the hell is going on, they lower the boom. "If you don't know what we're talking about, you probably eat those thin hamburgers." And dammit if it isn't an ad for Hardee's, a great American fast food chain.

Oh yeah, they make a great burger, but it seems their latest ad pitch is positioning Hardee's as the burger joint for people who don't like kids. As a single guy, I don't have the slightest problem with that, but I also remember when they did give away toys and had these dorky pseudo-NASCAR guys shilling for them. So suddenly, in their old age, they want to drive the kids away. Yep, all the trappings of a family restaurant without the family.

If you've got a proper family, split the difference: get your kids a Happy Meal at McDonald's, then get the three-quarter pound mushroom Swiss burger for yourself at Hardee's. That way, everybody will be happy...and fat.  

IT DOESN'T TAKE MUCH TO MAKE ME FEEL BETTER ABOUT MYSELF: Whenever I feel sad and blue about my lot in life, I say to myself, "It could be worse. You could rent people porn videos for a living." Anyway, I can empathize with a smart person covering a dumb job, so it's good reading for my "standard audience." (NSFW Advisory: no *ach-HEM* illustrations, but you might not want to let your boss read over your shoulder. Or your kids, if you have any.)  

LARRY DAVID SAVES LIVES: Let's jump on HBO for just a moment. Sure, you thought Mister Show and Larry Sanders were trendsetters, that Sex In The City and Dream On were easy on the eyes, that Dennis Miller and Chris Rock tore it up six ways to Friday. However, did any of them take a guy off of death row? Curb Your Enthusiasm did. I wonder if this'll be enough to convince Juan Catalan to buy the DVDs?  

THE HIGH GROUND: It's so nice to see the White House dedicate the campagin to the issues...*snort*. John Edwards was a trial lawyer, okay? The announcement was made earlier today, and the Dubya camp didn't waste any time in jumping all over that, rolling all over it like he was a convicted sex offender.

Still, we've got all the smears laid out in a row nice and early. Edwards was a trial lawyer. Kerry was a Vietnam vet who became a Vietnam War protestor and married an heiress. Bush was an oil man and a cokehead who dodged the draft. Cheney was a Haliburton exec. WE GET IT ALREADY! Now can we please move the hell on and deal with the whole "fixing the country" thing? The seniors getting screwed over on the cost of their medication? The economy? The war in Iraq that isn't over a full year after they declared it over?

Let's stay focused, people. If we must fling the muck, let it be based on what these people did while holding elected office. All this filigree isn't doing the country any good.

And if the Bush people and the Kerry people still choose to go their own way...well, there's always Nader.

AND WHILE WE'RE ON THE SUBJECT: Let's give a big howdy-ho to the latest member of the Blog Nation, Michael Moore. Started on the Fourth of July...who could've seen that coming? Still, it should be an interesting read in the ramp up to election day.

AND WHILE WE'RE ON THE SUBJECT (PART DEUX): Poor ol' New York Post...they're not really doing very well lately, are they? I'd say "this just isn't their year", but the closest they've actually HAD to a year was the one where they printed the deathless headline "HEADLESS BODY FOUND IN TOPLESS BAR", and you can't coast on past glories forever.  

WE'RE GETTING TOO MANY STORIES LIKE THIS THESE DAYS: Yes, here's yet another story about a blogger who liked web disguises. The difference between this story and all the others is the in-person interview. Interesting reading, to be sure.