Displaying 421 To 450 Of 1,116 Comments The View From Here: An Open Letter to President Obama It’s true. Anger and fear translate directly into support for Rightwing candidates. It’s a very easy button for them to push. How can we convince people to keep from feeling such anger? I try to tell conservatives I know that Obama really isn’t trying to destroy the country; there’s no need to hate him for it. There’s no “creeping Sharia law” in this country, and there’s no need to be afraid of that. But I find that I can’t be as persuasive as the whole giant rightwing messaging machine. I’m only one guy. » Posted By Buddy McCue On March 3, 2011 @ 4:36 pm Montana tea party on crack … or something That makes sense to me. I’m reminded of a Mark Twain quote: “History does not repeat itself, but it does rhyme.” » Posted By Buddy McCue On February 27, 2011 @ 2:43 pm I saw that comment. It made me want to read more about that period of history, and to try to find the points of comparison between that movement and this one. » Posted By Buddy McCue On February 27, 2011 @ 2:13 pm Very good summary of the things important to the Tea Party. I’m not surprised at all that so much of it is focused on the “red meat” social issues, even though the MSM has spent so much time and effort assuring us that it was not their focus. All the while the Tea Party was getting started and gathering momentum, I kept hearing the pundits and news “analysts” emphasize the idea that the focus of the Tea Party was on fiscal issues, and not on social issues. I remember listening to KCRW’s “Left Right and Center” program where all the panelists agreed (for once) that the Tea Party was a legitimate political force from the grassroots, coming together to argue against government spending and other economic issues. Looks like very little of that was true. I suspected all the while that if they ever got people elected to office, their attention would turn toward the social issues to the exclusion of most other things. It wasn’t hard to predict. » Posted By Buddy McCue On February 27, 2011 @ 10:41 am In the World of the Blind, We’re Often Led Off the Cliff It’s a very optimistic article, isn’t it? I have to keep reminding myself that there IS hope, and to have faith in the human spirit. This article helps. » Posted By Buddy McCue On February 28, 2011 @ 7:10 am I certainly do admire his patience and courage. It’s more than I could do. » Posted By Buddy McCue On February 28, 2011 @ 6:14 am I like that idea. Almost everybody is willing to pretend that there’s a money shortage or something. C’mon, we KNOW where all the money went, don’t we? http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/02/income-inequality-in-america-chart-graph » Posted By Buddy McCue On February 28, 2011 @ 5:44 am Getting the left to work together is like trying to get a team of cats to pull a dog-sled. One thing you have to admit about the Right: they sure know how to pull together. They get their message of the moment, and almost all of them are willing to repeat it. They “get the memo,” as they say. Notice that the Tea Party did not form their own political party; they voted Republican. Also, look at where the Left and the Right get their news: The Right tune in to FOX. The Left is all over the place; some people watch MSNBC, others CNN, others Satellite TV, some rely exclusively on the internet, or eschew all those choices in favor of print media, or this, or that… In a way, that’s a good thing. Personally, I don’t like feeling like a herd animal, going with the crowd, “getting the memo” and dutifully repeating the message of the day. If I did, I would go with the flow around here where I live and be a conservative. I guess its a good thing and its a bad thing at the same time that we can’t be herded. » Posted By Buddy McCue On February 28, 2011 @ 5:41 am I did receive it, but I admit I was kind of dragging my feet in getting back to you. I wanted to look at your tri-folds and stuff before I did. I’m downloading that stuff now. » Posted By Buddy McCue On February 27, 2011 @ 10:46 am Absolutely no need to put the word “left” in quotes when talking about Cenk Uygur. I am a regular listener to his podcast, and he’s never been anything less than honest and fair-minded. He does criticize Obama, but he also praises him when he thinks that’s appropriate. Cenk is an issues-minded commenter, as opposed to being a team player. I like that about him. And I certainly understand what it’s like to have come from a conservative family and background and to grow and evolve past that. I’m as liberal as can be, but coming from the rural South, it was hardly the default position. I had a lot to learn, and I’m glad I did. Cenk Uygur’s family in Turkey was also conservative, but he grew out of his conservative beliefs after being educated here in the States. With education, that sometimes happens to people, and I think it’s a good thing. » Posted By Buddy McCue On February 27, 2011 @ 10:29 am Here in the United States, we really can’t say that “hardly anyone ever watches CNN or Fox or even MSNBC;” that’s true. It isn’t a majority, though. I just tried to find the percentage of people who watch cable news, and the latest figures I could find were from a few years ago: http://people-press.org/report/?pageid=834 There might be a more recent survey if I were to dig a little deeper, but according to this, only 38% of us watch cable news in this country. I’m sure the people on the various cable shows try to make it seem as though everyone watches either this or that channel, but that’s just not the case. My wife & I got disgusted with cable a couple of years ago and cancelled our subscription. We don’t miss it. I’ve never seen the Ed show, but that picture at the top of this page certainly doesn’t make me curious to see it. » Posted By Buddy McCue On February 27, 2011 @ 4:07 am Invite For Collaboration, Part 3 Truth – You can just put “art by B. McCue” somewhere, and that would be fine. » Posted By Buddy McCue On March 9, 2011 @ 10:25 am I’d rather not sign it, if that’s all right. I think it would take away from the picture. In Flickr, I chose to license the picture as “Attribution-NonCommercial Creative Commons,” which means that others may copy, distribute or display the work – and derivative works based upon it, if it is used in a non-commercial way. I haven’t heard of Pixelmator; I’ll have to check that out. I love messing around with different image-editing programs. I haven’t tried it yet, but I hear good things about a freeware program called “The Gimp” that is sometimes used as an alternative to Photoshop. Here’s a link for that, in case you’re curious to try it: » Posted By Buddy McCue On March 9, 2011 @ 9:48 am Truth – Use it as you see fit. I’m not retaining any copyright or anything like that; I just wanted to help. Just give me credit somewhere for the art; that’s all I ask. The home page of Planet POV seems to use a common proportion for the title pictures, so I used that for my canvas size. I was thinking that my picture would simply accompany the title of the article or articles. If it says “Secrets From Beyond the Emerald Curtain” (or something like that) everything should tie together well. Guiding motive? No, I’m not the writer here; I only wanted to paint something that works with the Emerald Curtain theme. But I liked what you said earlier about the Wizard of Oz having no real power, that the power actually rests with Dorothy and her friends. In my opinion, the similarity of that relationship to the actual situation at The Huffington Post could be put to good use in the article. But again, this is a writer’s decision to make, not mine. Interestingly, I notice that putting the phrase “Emerald Curtain,” or even just “pulling the curtain” in Google Image Search turns up several images of that pivotal scene from the Wizard of Oz, so that reference should be understood by most people. Also simply Googling the phrase “pulling the curtain” (as text) results in several instances of the phrase being used as a metaphor for exposing hypocrisy or corruption. » Posted By Buddy McCue On March 9, 2011 @ 9:04 am Truth – Here’s the painting. It didn’t come out as well as I liked, and Lord knows I’ve painted better things in my life. It’s so much easier to copy things than it is to try to create a new image. (Notice that the curtain is the best part. That’s because I had some real curtains to use as a model.) If you want to use it, do. If you don’t want to use it, that’s okay too. I always manage to learn a lot with challenging work like this, so nothing is wasted. If this doesn’t give you the full resolution scan, you can get it from my Flickr page: » Posted By Buddy McCue On March 9, 2011 @ 7:41 am Truth – Thanks. I’ll try that. ——update—— Okay, that worked. » Posted By Buddy McCue On March 9, 2011 @ 7:36 am I couldn’t get the links to work, but I assume that first one is “Oh Happy Day?” That IS an uplifting song. I YouTubed up the Edwin Hawkins Singers version and listened to that. Good stuff. STILL working on the picture! I’m kind of struggling with getting a decent likeness, but I’m getting there. Arianna has an unusual facial structure, doesn’t she? » Posted By Buddy McCue On March 8, 2011 @ 10:51 am My painting of Arianna manipulating controls behind the Emerald Curtain is coming along nicely, and I should be finished with it this weekend. When it’s done, I’ll take a picture of it and post that to my Flickr page. You can get it from there, and use as a header to the collaborative article if you like. We ARE still doing this, aren’t we? Even if everyone has lost interest, I’m still going to finish this illustration, because I’ve already put some time into it, and it’s going to come out well. » Posted By Buddy McCue On March 3, 2011 @ 3:29 pm I don’t write very well, but I could paint Arianna working the controls of an apparatus similar to that of the Wizard of Oz. This IS the “Emerald Curtain” you’re talking about, isn’t it? Would that help? I could photograph the painting and let you use that. » Posted By Buddy McCue On February 28, 2011 @ 8:51 am Pessimism in the Age of Mass Manipulation and Plutocracy… Blades are long, clenched tight in their fist – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVC2j_Kdw8c I don’t mean to make light of the situation, but this is a great song. » Posted By Buddy McCue On February 26, 2011 @ 1:34 pm Thanks, but I haven’t been completely alone; I have had the love and support of my wife for over 23 years now. I don’t know where I’d be without her. I like what you said about the sun. That makes a lot of sense to me. Things can’t be as dark as they often seem. » Posted By Buddy McCue On February 26, 2011 @ 12:10 pm In my haste to talk about my own troubles, I neglected to mention what a fine article this is, and how brave and honest you were to write it. I look forward to reading whatever you write next. » Posted By Buddy McCue On February 26, 2011 @ 10:46 am I often feel the way you describe in this article. So much of our society seems to value the wrong things. Mostly it seems hierarchical, and little else. Those with the greatest self-esteem, those with the most unshakable belief that they deserve to win, these are the people who end up running everything. Did you see that old television mini-series, “Cosmos” with Carl Sagan? There was a scene where he was standing in front of a giant glowing brain, and talking about how great it was that we had the large fore-brain, and not just the R-complex beneath it. He said that this made us different from animals like the marine iguana, which orders its life and society around the animal urges of territoriality, aggression and hierarchy. We (he went on to explain) were not like that. Instead, we are reasoning creatures who transcended these base feelings and lived lives of logic and understanding. I thought to myself, “Man! I want to live wherever HE lives! That must be nice.” I’ve worked in several different kinds of jobs involving the graphic arts, starting out in signshops, working in tradeshow graphics, exposition services, and in the office atmosphere of design studios and the print industry. Everywhere there is the structure of one-upmanship. The value of your ideas depends not on your knowledge or ability, but on your position on the “totem pole.” It is the same in punch-clock blue collar shops as it is in white-collar office politics. Unfortunately, I do not possess that magical quality of limitless self-esteem that seems to be the “coin of the realm” in our society. There was little to draw upon for affirmation in my background; I had no hometown, no decent church, no one I could look up to, no long-term friends, and having been a teenage runaway, I have been estranged from my family for most of my life. I can’t walk around feeling as though I deserve the best from day to day. Honestly, I feel as though I deserve nothing but to be beaten to death. I feel shame for everything I accomplish and even guilty for every mouthful of food. It’s hard to escape one’s upbringing. Is there anywhere that actually IS a meritocracy? Somewhere where one can actually earn respect by the virtue of one’s effort and ability? If such a place exists, I’d like to go there. ——- UPDATE ——- Alright, it took me awhile, but I found Cosmos on YouTube, and scanned through until I found the part I was talking about. Fast forward to 33:48 to hear it.
Here’s my quick transcription of the relevant part: The cerebral cortex is, in a way, a liberation. We need no longer be trapped in the genetically inherited behavior patterns of lizards and baboons: territoriality and aggression and dominance hierarchies. We are, each of us, largely responsible for what gets put into our brains, for what, as adults, we wind up caring for and knowing about. No longer at the mercy of the reptile brain, we can change ourselves… think the possibilities.” Doesn’t that sound great? I try not to feel bitter when I hear him say these things. » Posted By Buddy McCue On February 26, 2011 @ 6:54 am Glossolalia 101: Pseudo-con Math It’s always seemed to me that the defining characteristic of the Right is the ability and the willingness to think backward, that is: to start with answers and work toward the questions. It almost seems like the Scientific Method in reverse: one starts with the conclusion, works backwards through the data collection process, and winds up at the beginning, at the hypothesis. An example: Rush Limbaugh says that Obama wants to eventually have everyone dependent on government services, so that he can enslave us all. How did he arrive at this? By working backward. Conclusion: Obama is evil. Now then… Obama is advancing an economic agenda. Because we know that he is evil, he must be trying to destroy the economy. Since he is trying to destroy the economy, what data can we collect to bolster that view? And so on he works, until arriving at the hypothesis desired. Starting with conclusions is not difficult for religious fundamentalists either. They are used to beginning with Absolute Truths, and making everything fit. I once heard two people arguing over whether there is a Trinity or not. One guy was a Jehovah’s Witness, and the other guy was… I don’t remember; I think he was a Presbyterian or a Lutheran or something. They argued for a long time over whether God was Three or if he was One. I believe in the Creator myself, and I thought to myself, “this is silly.” Who are these two men to dictate to God what he can or cannot be? It seemed to me that God could be one, or three, or a thousand if He wanted to. It wasn’t up to these two arguing men. It seemed like vanity to me, and very disrespectful to God Himself. A more appropriate position would be to recognize that one does not know the mind of God, or the nature of the universe. In other words, to start with questions, and not answers. There’s a quote from Francis Bacon that has always appealed to me, and speaks directly to this matter: “If we begin with certainties, we shall end in doubts; but if we begin with doubts, and are patient in them, we shall end in certainties. » Posted By Buddy McCue On February 26, 2011 @ 6:31 am I felt exactly the opposite way in school. Because my family moved around so often, I changed schools a lot (about 19 different ones before graduating.) Every subject seemed arbitrary except one: mathematics. Other subjects seemed to change depending on the opinion of the teacher. At one school, the literature teacher would say Wordsworth was a genius, in the next, he was a hack. The interpretation of history certainly changes according to the opinion of the teacher, sometimes THIS aspect of it was important, sometimes THAT aspect of it was important. Even science would change from region to region, depending on how fundamentalist the region was. When Truth derives from Authority, it changes when the authority figure changes. Math alone would not change. It exists outside of ourselves, and does not depend on the social status of the person perceiving it. Mathematical law precedes scientific law, which defines the universe, and our world within it. It existed before humankind did, and will persist after we are gone. » Posted By Buddy McCue On February 26, 2011 @ 6:11 am Friday Music Thread – Favorite Films and Film Music It’s easy. Just copy and paste the URL of a YouTube video, but put a “v” after the “http” That’s all there is to it. Plus, since you can edit your comments here, it doesn’t hurt to try different things to see if they work. » Posted By Buddy McCue On February 27, 2011 @ 11:46 am Not Friday anymore, (and others have put up plenty of Pulp Fiction music,) but I wanted to add this. It is the opening theme to the movie, performed by Dick Dale: I have always liked the exotic sound of this song, but did not know where it came from until recently. It turns out that the song “Misirlou” (which means “Egyptian Girl”) has been popular all over the Middle East, in Greece, in the Balkans, and in Jewish Klezmer music! Who knew? (I didn’t anyway.) To compare, listen to this more traditional treatment from Greek television, where it is being used as background music for a famous bellydancer. Listen to the melody… yep, it’s the same as the surf music melody: I love this song! » Posted By Buddy McCue On February 26, 2011 @ 7:44 am The Kochroaches Emerge from the Woodwork What a great comment! I found myself nodding my head as I read it. » Posted By Buddy McCue On February 25, 2011 @ 4:06 am Arab Uprisings: Still Writing History kesmarn – Do you remember who that analyst was, by any chance? I would like to read such commentary. I have long wished for Newt Gingrich to finally “step over the line,” and put an end to his own political career. He keeps getting invited to the political talk-shows, despite saying ludicrous things over and over. » Posted By Buddy McCue On March 28, 2011 @ 9:01 am Sure it matters, and I’m glad you feel that way. I wish everybody did. » Posted By Buddy McCue On March 18, 2011 @ 4:20 amComments Posted By Buddy McCue
http://www.gimp.org/
[img]http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5134/5512425066_c84d514503_b.jpg[/img]
I wanted to use the Wizard of Oz idea because it depicts Arianna as a manipulative person, and it also ties in with the Emerald Curtain title.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bmccue/
[img]http://nolatexan.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/oz-wizard-behind-the-curtain-769602.jpg[/img]
Aiming straight at your back and I don’t think they’ll miss. (What they do!)
“What distinguishes our species… is thought.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFrDSFzlKwE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQm7RFn0mlM
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