BARBARIAN Blog

BARBARians Assailing a Palin

2008-10-08T21:52:00.000-07:00

Heh, Rich Lowry, she's not so horny.

It has been too long-- so this Thursday, the 16th, we plan a meet up at Zeitgeist (see this map for location) and note that it's in walking distance from either the Civic Center or 16th Mission Bart stations.

We are starting at 6:30 until they kick us out. We might not have helmuts with horns as decoration. Yet, if you are a new-comer, just ask everyone if they a know a barbarian name Garius Rubertus....

Gathering Of The Tribe

2008-05-16T08:33:00.000-07:00

It's that time again! Beer and whiskey and politics, what could be better? All y'all BARBARians and various sympathizers, groupies, and assorted hangers-on are expressly invited to gather for just that at Glen Park Station in San Francisco on Thursday, May 22nd, beginning about 6-ish and going well into the night.

Tom Hilton has proposed a moratorium on conversations about the Democratic primary, but I'm guessing that will be difficult to enforce. Just show up, grab a drink and start talking, we'll see where it goes. And remember to look for the helmet!

Another Gathering

2008-04-10T11:13:00.001-07:00

Hey, we're doing it again!

Uh... just in case anyone's out there... reading this...

This Saturday, April 12th, from early in the afternoon until who knows when in the evening, we'll be meeting up at Ben & Nick's Bar & Grill, 5612 College Ave., Oakland, hard by the Rockridge BART station. BARBARians unite! You have nothing to lose but your sobriety!

(Remember -- look for the helmet!)

Beer-Thirty... Make That Beer-Forty-Five

2008-02-21T14:51:00.001-08:00

Hey, anyone out there still checking this blog for updates? Hello...? Well, just in case some of you are wondering when the next BARBARian beer bash is scheduled, wonder no more. Saturday afternoon, March 1st, we will be occupying the back tables at Zeitgeist -- located on Valencia and Duboce Streets in San Francisco -- for the better part of the day and probably on into the evening. Come on out for some conversation, beer, political talk, beer, conviviality, beer and possibly a Manhattan or two. Look for the horned helmet and the ~~pajama-wearing, mother's-basement-dwelling, America-hating~~ fucking liberal bloggers. That will be us.

As always, all Bay Area bloggers and readers are welcome, but -- fair warning here -- if you live on the right side of the dial, you may not be as comfortable among us as you might like. I mean, I'm just sayin'.

(Cross-posted at The Generik Brand.)

BARBARians And An Outsider

2007-12-04T11:33:00.000-08:00

This Sunday, 12/9, our good friend (and frequent commenter) George, proprietor of I'm Not One To Blog, But... will be in San Francisco with his lovely wife, visiting us from their home base, Santa Barbara. Because we don't need much of an excuse to drink, we BARBARians are using the occasion to gather together and meet up for beers and/or cocktails at Elixir, 16th and Guerrero in SF. We'll be there starting about 1 in the afternoon, and may end up there the rest of the day if past meetings are any indication. Please feel free to join us in our endeavor; we love new faces, and readers are always welcome!

(Cross-posted at The Generik Brand.)

Hey, That's Tonight!

2007-10-11T11:30:00.001-07:00

If you're reading this, you're cordially invited to join the BARBARians (Bay Area Resident Bloggers And Readers) for our semi-regular ~~drinking spree~~ get-together tonight, October 11th, at Glen Park Station in San Francisco. Festivities will start sometime after 6 PM, and will conclude at some point hours thereafter. Alcohol will most certainly be involved.

Where are all these hits coming from?

2007-10-04T16:59:00.000-07:00

Looking at the site meter, I noticed a good size surge in visits here today. Without even checking the referals, I'll speculate that Ann Coulter must be selling something and her fans are coming out of the woodwork to google "Ann Coulter nude."

Go ahead and check...am I right?

Time for a Drink?

2007-09-25T14:22:00.000-07:00

It's been nearly two months since our last (very well-attended) shindig...anyone up for another?

Another Excuse To Drink

2007-07-30T16:44:00.001-07:00

Just a reminder that our second of two closely-scheduled BARBARian gatherings is coming up this Wednesday, August 1st, at Ben 'N Nick's Bar & Grill, 5612 College Ave, Oakland. Show up at 6pm and get an early start, or show up later and expect to find some animated bloggers swilling beer and pillaging and plundering away. All Bay Area Bloggers And Readers are welcome.

More Beer!

2007-07-17T15:10:00.000-07:00

It's time. In point of fact, it's past time. The BARBARians have not gathered together to drink beer for months now, and the liquor salesmen and -women of the greater Bay Area are starting to get a little panicky. To alleviate their concerns -- and to put a few coins in their coffers -- the following get-together has been proposed: This Saturday, July 21st, at the Phoenix Irish Pub, located at 811 Valencia Street in San Francisco (easy walking distance from either the 16th and Mission or 24th and Mission BART stations), starting at approximately 1pm until ~~we can't stand anymore~~ ~~they throw us all out on our collective ass~~ BART stops running.

And because it's been so long since we all got together, and because some people won't be able to make it this Saturday (or can't make it any Saturday), we're proposing a second gathering on Wednesday, August 1st, starting at 6pm, at either Glen Park Station in SF or Ben & Nick's in Oakland. Vote for your preference in the comments section here, or send an email to me, and I'll announce the decision by the end of this week.

(Cross posted at The Generik Brand.)

Beer-Thirty Already?

2007-07-16T11:13:00.000-07:00

Some of you have commented recently on how long it's been since we all got together to drink a few pints (or Manhattans, as the case may be), and you're all right, it has been too long. I know this is short notice, but what say you to a gathering this Saturday, the 21st? Any interest? Nothing has been set up yet (like location, for instance), and if that doesn't work for many of you, there are other dates further in the future that we can consider. I just wanted to put that out there to see what kind of response it generates, and whether or not we should go forward on a short schedule or try to plan something a little later.

So... anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

Leave comments here, or send me an email with your suggestions.

Anne Coulter - related tags

2007-06-27T02:58:00.000-07:00

While doing some research I came across this:

Yeast???

I wonder if the tag has to do with posts like this?

However, there is more to Ann than mere hyperthyroidism. Ann Coulter is a tragic figure.

She was conceived in a horribly failed medical experiment done by the Russians from the vaginal swabbings taken from Eva Braun shortly after she had consummated her marriage to Adolf Hitler. They spent their honeymoon in a ditch. On fire.

Apparently a mixture of the Fuhrer's semen and Eva's yeast infection, heated by the gasoline fire, melded into a frightening mixture of disease and wasted humanity. This potent mixture was secreted off to Russia where it was stored near Chernobyl. When the Chernobyl catastrophe occurred contamination from the site activated the growth cycle of the latent yeast infection/Fuhrer amalgam and Ann Coulter was "born."

Matt Yglesias Should Know Better

2007-06-14T15:42:00.001-07:00

It's this kind of crap that so frequently leaves me thinking that Matt Yglesias is mostly just a useless tool. His argument is that if Libby goes to jail then Libby ends up being painted as the villain in this piece, whereas if Bush pardons him then Bush becomes the villain. How can it not be obvious to anybody that it's not an either/or propositon? They both are villains and the miscarriage of justice here is not that Libby is going to jail and Bush is skating, but that Bush is skating. And it shouldn't be necessary, but apparently is, to point out yet again that everybody but Libby gets to skate because Libby perjured himself and obstructed justice. If he's the fall guy it's by his own choosing. The Bush administration is a criminal enterprise and there's no honor in taking the fall for those people, particularly when it's apparent that Libby was just as much a part of setting this criminal enterprise up as anybody else. It's too bad there's not somebody, say a high profile blogger at The Atlantic, who could keep the focus on these things.

Does Anyone Remember Laughter?

2007-06-08T17:53:00.001-07:00

Click image for Viking Size

Is anyone thirsty -- and hungry for BARBARian camraderie? I sure am!

It's been too long since our last get together. So let's designate the 23rd, somewheres about 3pm for our bash.

Add your suggestions of where. But please, not the Zeitgeist again.

Disgusting

2007-05-23T13:14:00.000-07:00

Another in my irregular series of Letters to the Editor of the SF Chronicle that most likely won't get published:

Editor --

So after putting up a modest fight with a petulant president who refuses to compromise on the issue of bringing troops home from Iraq -- something that nearly three-quarters of all Americans want, as shown consistently in recent polls -- the Democratic-controlled Congress decided it was somehow the better part of valor to cave in to the craven bully and give him exactly what he wanted all along ("Dems bow to Bush on funds for war," Chronicle, 5/23). Thank you, Speaker Pelosi, Senator Reid and your colleagues for selling us down the river. Remind me why we voted for you again -- I thought it was to help bring the bloody occupation of Iraq to an end. Apparently it was simply so you could continue the rubber-stamping process of the previous Republican Congresses in acquiescing to the criminal excesses and inept policies of the worst president in history.

I'm disgusted with all of them.

Love, Generik

(Cross-posted at The Generik Brand.)

STAR Testing is Poisoning Our Schools

2007-05-22T18:53:00.000-07:00

I turn this page over today to my friend, Dale Jones, a school principal in Cupertino, CA.

Every year at this time I commit what I consider to be professional malpractice. As a school principal, I like to think that my bottom line is what's good for kids, but each year as I oversee the annual ritual of STAR testing, I become further convinced that it's not only harmful to kids, but it's damaging to the institution of public education as well. If I was a doctor and was asked to oversee a procedure that to the best of my knowledge was harmful to my patient, I have to believe that I would resist. So I have to ask myself, is my relationship with my students that different?
Should I not resist a practice that all of my professional training and experience,
as well as my conscience, tells me is wrong?

My school is an English Language Development (ELD) center for our district. This year we have students from over 35 different countries who speak more than 28 different languages. One day in the middle of our two week window for STAR testing, one of our ELD teachers called me on the intercom just before recess because three of her students hadn't finished the section of the test they were taking that morning. They'd been testing for more than an hour, forced to take a multiple choice test in a language they're just beginning to grasp, and they had to continue testing through their recess, because if they take a break they might talk about the test and violate the strict security measures surrounding STAR. I went and sat in the classroom so the teacher could have her break, which of course she's entitled to and deserves, but which, for at least that day, is denied to these students who sit struggling with words they haven't yet been taught, after having been given directions that must be read verbatim that I'm certain they didn't entirely understand.

I feel only guilt as I watch these conscientious young children struggle todo their very best. While their persistence is admirable, I also wonder if part of the reason they try so hard is because they believe that I want them to do well on this test, when what I really want is for them to randomly bubble in the rest of their answer sheets so they can go outside and be children again.

We spend two weeks on STAR testing at our school. I remember taking similar tests as a child of the same school system. I think those tests were probably an hour or so long. Like many of my peers, I was much more interested in sports than academics for much of my childhood, so I'm sure my performance suffered as it grew closer to recess. Now we give a test that totals more than 360 minutes in the second grade! We spread this out over several days, but do we really believe that testing fatigue doesn't impact the validity of the results? More importantly, what message does it
send to our children when we devote this kind of time to a test? It's no surprise to me that many of my students feel that school is essentially over after STAR testing. We may say otherwise, but they can tell by not only the time but by the entire "testing milieu" that this is the most important thing that we do. It's the only time when the gardeners aren't allowed to use the mowers or blowers, and every possible interruption from fire drills to field trips is not allowed to infringe on testing time.

I know that I live and work in a community that has placed great value on the results of these tests. It's disappointing to me that a valley that prides itself on innovation and ingenuity has so easily been duped into believing that STAR scores are a valid indicator of the quality of our schools. Even the psychometricians who create multiple choice tests admit that they're a poor tool for evaluating what a student knows. They're designed to rank students, and schools, based on a superficial measurement of a very limited range of knowledge and skills. Higher forms of knowledge, such as evaluation and synthesis of information do not lend themselves to assessment through multiple choice tests, neither do creativity, communication skills, physical abilities, musical and artistic talent, etc., etc. This is why some critics of testing have rightly cautioned that if your child's school's test scores rise rapidly there may be more reason for alarm than anything else, as it's very likely that an over emphasis on STAR results has led to a narrowing of the curricula to that which is tested, in both content and quality.

Parents are often surprised when I tell them that the results of STAR have little to no instructional value. The security surrounding the tests prohibits teachers from viewing their students' tests, so there is no opportunity for error analysis, or even to know which questions most of your students answered correctly and which ones they missed. In educational jargon we call a test that guides future instruction a formative assessment, but there¹s nothing formative about STAR. We don't even receive the results until the following school year.

As a principal in Cupertino, it's of course anathema for me to speak out against STAR testing. We take great pride in our test scores. They keep our home prices high, so high in fact that our teachers can't afford to live here. But I also believe that it's precisely because of our elevated test scores that we have an obligation to speak out against them. Wouldn't it send a great message if one of the highest ranking districts in the state collectively admitted that our scores are really a reflection of the demographics of our community and the educational level of our
parents, and that the test scores really don't reflect the true quality of our
schools? Or are we afraid of what a deeper and more reflective look at our schools might reveal?

I have colleagues in other districts who can't speak out against STAR testing for fear of losing their jobs, and most of them work in our most challenging schools and are routinely "beat up" for their low test scores. We can pull them up, and in the long run help ourselves, by educating the public about the limitations of STAR scores and the many alternatives that do a much better job of measuring how much our children have learned, as opposed to what they innately know.

It's time for teachers, administrators, and parents in "high performing" schools and districts to speak out about the fallacy and danger of using only test scores to evaluate our schools, to educate the community about the injustices of ranking schools and the harmful effects it has on "low performing" schools. It's time to end our complicity with a system of measuring students and schools that amounts to educational malpractice.

(crossposted at itlookslikethis.)

Just the Right Qualifications

2007-03-20T11:24:00.000-07:00

I see from Kevin Drum that Fran Townsend is on the short list of possible replacements for Abu Gonzales. That would be the Fran Townsend who gave us this immortal exchange...

HENRY: You know, going back to September 2001, the president said, dead or alive, we're going to get him. Still don't have him. I know you are saying there's successes on the war on terror, and there have been. That's a failure.

TOWNSEND: Well, I'm not sure -- it's a success that hasn't occurred yet. I don't know that I view that as a failure.

I think we've found our girl.

The Times, They are a Changin'

2007-03-08T13:45:00.000-08:00

Two years ago, when Amnesty International referred to the Bush Administration's network of secret prisons used for hiding foreign nationals kidnapped by the CIA as a gulag, Andrew Sullivan referred to their language as "moral idiocy."

He's apparently had a change of heart about such language.

Update: Edited so that the entry makes sense.

Anne Coulter Enters Rehab

2007-03-03T00:23:00.000-08:00

This afternoon Ann Coulter speaking at the 34rth Annual Conservative Political Action Conference was one of the head-liners amongst the stellar field of conservative leaders and opinion-makers, including: Vice President Dick Cheney - Sean Hannity - Senator Mitch McConnell - Tom Delay - Michelle Malkin - David Horowitz - Congressman Mike Pence - Newt Gingrich - Phyllis Schlafly - Wayne LaPierre - and many more!

Around 3:30pm, D.C time, she had this to say:

“I was going to have a few comments on the other Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, but it turns out you have to go into rehab if you use the word ‘faggot,’ so I — so kind of an impasse, can’t really talk about Edwards.”

You can watch the video and hear the audience reaction here.

The reason I bring this up is in the time since Coulter's speech our out-of-the-way blog has had a spike in traffic, mostly from Google referrals for, get this, Ann Coulter Nude. It's not called the Wankosphere for nothing.

However, this pic above has to be my favorite referral.

To take it further, the winger reaction is priceless. Just yesterday they were on the rampage about potty-mouths and anonymous commenters representing the liberal position.

So let's cherry-pick some quotes from from the more trafficked sites on the right who have the balls to have comments.

Obviously this is truly idicative of how everyone thinks on that side of the fence. It's not like I'm trying to paint a portrait, by using selective quotes, to cariacture the few blogger who do allow comments. Not at all.

From the Hugh Hewitt Blog
:

swampthing writes: Friday, March, 02, 2007 7:10 PM
She Said What She Said...
...not What She Didn't Say

Based on what she said and the way she said it, she did not call him a "faggot." She merely referred to calling him a "faggot," if she were to call him a "faggot." That's not the same as calling him a "faggot." She explained why she would not call him a "faggot." She said that, were she to call him a "faggot," she would be whisked off by Lib PC Police to rehab for reëducation.

----------------------

Serfer writes: Friday, March, 02, 2007 9:53 PM
Ann and Balance
According to a result study Kommiecrats, oops, liberals use fowl language 18 times more then Americans, oops, conservatives.

Ann is just trying to balance things out but she still has a long way to go. Think of it as the Fairness Doctrine, PC for the vulgar.

But truly that vid of the Breck Girl brushing his hair makes you wonder.

Barber! Cut it close....

-------------------------------

BillyZoom writes: Saturday, March, 03, 2007 2:21 AM
You know
I was going to comment on Ann Coulter but it turns out you have to go into rehab if you say the word c#nt.

Then over at the Ace of Spades:

I have to go out for a while, so one more thing before I go:

(RWS,block your ears...and eyes)

To all of you needle dick, half-a-fags, moderate Republicans, and Leftwing douche bags who hate Ann Coulter:

Fuuuuuuuuuck You!

Ann Coulter is smarter than you, a better American than you, and a better Conservaitve than you.
-Posted by: Bart on March 2, 2007 06:23 PM

-------------------------------

Bwaaaaa Haaaaa Haaaaa! I'm sorry, but calling Edwards a fag is funny. Let's try not to have such delicate sensibilities, she's not running for office.
-Posted by: bmac on March 2, 2007 07:09 PM

--------------------------------

Coulter is a goddess and her statement was funny because Edwards is a self-absorbed, preening schmoo. . . or as we called guys like him in high school; a faggot.
-Posted by: MCPO Airdale on March 2, 2007 08:28 PM

-------------------------------------

Ann Coulter still makes me laugh. She's allowed a "botched joke" every now and then. John Edwards is a faggot, and you're all pussies for feeling uncomfortable calling him such.

Coulter is not for the Left. She's for the Right. If you say that Ann damages the right because of what she says, what you mean is that you're too cowardly to stick up for the Right. Don't blame the Left for showing willing where you are not.
-Posted by: rho on March 2, 2007 10:29 PM

------------------------

Well, I dunno' but, isn't calling li'l johnny edwards a faggot, an insult to faggots?

jes' wonderin'
-Posted by: franksalterego on March 2, 2007 11:49 PM

-------------------------------
I don't know, Robbie. How would you feel if Ann Coulter called your momma a fat-whore failure-of-a-mother?

Fucking stupid hypothetical, isn't it?

I don't think there's a single comment on this thread making an insult to gays. This isn't about gays, Robbie. It's about a word, "faggot." It's just a word. And no one is even talking about gays. We're (calmly) discussing the double standard and PC bullshit that makes our side of the aisle jump through hoops making apologies.

Oh, shit. Now we owe you an apology for slurring gays.

You know what? You owe me a fucking apology. You offended me.
-Posted by: Bart on March 3, 2007 02:12 AM

Yet again over at the Captain's Quaters
----------------------------

Geez, when did we as conservatives become such pansies? She didn't mean it as derogatory to homosexuals, but to point out that he's a pretty-boy weakling.

I suppose that we can't listen to Dire Straits "I want my MTV" anymore either.
Posted by: hoguester [TypeKey Profile Page] at March 3, 2007 01:58 AM

-----------------------------

Ann Coulter is free to say whatever she wishes. CPAC is free to invite her, knowing (as they must) that that is how she talks. The public is free to watch her speech, she how she gets laughter and applause when she refers to John Edwards as a "faggot" and draw their own conclusions about what the Republican party has become.
Posted by: Cornellian [TypeKey Profile Page] at March 3, 2007 02:33 AM

I've got to stop now because this becoming an all night exercisce.

New Addition to the BARBARianhood

2007-03-02T20:52:00.000-08:00

I would like to announce a new addition to the Barbarian Blogroll!

The indomitable and interstate reknowned Freeway Blogger showed up at our last shindig. It was a dark and stormy eve at the Zeitgeist when he made his presence known to the chillin' and freezin' hoard in the biergarten.

A few tankards and camraderie chased the hoarfrost from our icy limbs and we rollicked into the twilight. Or, at least that's my memory of the occasion.

A big hearty welcome to our new-found compatriot who with a bit of fur and chainmail would have been a fitting crewmember on any longboat a millenium ago.

Revisiting Spocko

2007-02-18T07:47:00.000-08:00

As you may have heard, the NBA banned Tim Hardaway from further participation in its all-star weekend festivities in Las Vegas after his tirade against gay people in response to John Amaeche's book. The NBA, quite sensibly, didn't want to be associated with such expressions of hate. Although Hardaway subsequently apologized for his comments, it seems pretty clear from how vehemently he expressed himself ("First of all, I wouldn't want him on my team. And second of all, if he was on my team, I would, you know, really distance myself from him because, uh, I don't think that is right. I don't think he should be in the locker room while we are in the locker room...You know, I hate gay people, so I let it be known. I don't like gay people and I don't like to be around gay people. I'm homophobic. I don't like it. It shouldn't be in the world or in the United States.") that he was misinterpreted. (To his credit, Hardaway didn't claim in his apology that he was misquoted or misunderstood.)

I bring this up because this brings us back to the battle between Spocko and KSFO/Disney. Tim Hardaway is quite obviously entitled to express his views. The NBA, which finds those views antithetical to the idea of international and cultural inclusiveness which it tries to project, is under to obligation to provide a forum for Hardaway to express those views or to provide him economic support as he expresses those views and is entitled to distance itself from him and his views. The NBA is in the same position as the sponsors Spocko contacted about advertising on KSFO/Disney. It seemed to him that they may not have been aware of the content of the programs they were advertising on, of the expressions of bigotry and hate expressed by Lee Rogers, Melanie Morgan, "Captain Vic," and Brian Sussman, so he let them know what they were paying to put on the air, who and what it is that their products would be associated with in the Bay Area.

As it turns out, a number of companies, including Allstate Insurance, In-n-Out Burgers, and Borders Books*, agreed with Spocko; they didn't want to pay for dissemination of hate and didn't want to be associated with those hatemongers.

No rational person would cast Hardaway in the role of victim for what happened last week. I don't get the impression that even he would do so. Sadly the folks at KSFO/Disney are made of lesser stuff and refuse to accept responsibility for their own actions, believing themselves to be the victims of a great liberal conspiracy to silence them. Wankers.

*And CSAAA, Aetna Insurance, Bank of America, Mastercard, and others.

BARBARian Drought to End

2007-02-17T20:30:00.000-08:00

The dearth of drink(ers) has affected the local economy. To resolve this dire dilemma it is hereby the honor (nay, the duty) for local Bay Area Regional Bloggers And Readers to congregate, raid and quaff sufficient quantities of elixors at the Zeitgeist, this upcoming Saturday, February 24, around 3 o'clock.

Look for the Horned Helmet, otherwise we will be low key...

This is also a propitious time to meet new friends, renew blogging credentials and find enlightenment*.

*Enlightenment is soley in the realm of each attendee and not guaranteed by BARBARian Inc. or Zeitgeist, LLC.

Liquor Industry in Crisis!

2007-02-09T12:59:00.000-08:00

Declining Sales Blamed on BARBarians
----------
Distributor: "Those people just aren't drinking enough!"

So...what should we do to fix this problem we appear to have caused? Are we all willing to do our part (on some date amenable to more or less everybody)?

Call Out the National Guard!

2007-02-02T09:36:00.000-08:00

Having seen the (over)reaction of Boston city and Massachussetts state officials to a marketing scheme, I shudder to think what they'd do if something like this were to happen upon their city.

As the "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" incident has been, though, it would probably be funny as hell to watch.

Virtual March Against Escalation

2007-02-01T11:02:00.000-08:00

Syndicated columnist Molly Ivins died yesterday. Her last column urged us to stand up against President Bush's proposal to send additional troops, a surge of troops, to Iraq.

CREATORS) -- The purpose of this old-fashioned newspaper crusade to stop the war is not to make George W. Bush look like the dumbest president ever. People have done dumber things. What were they thinking when they bought into the Bay of Pigs fiasco? How dumb was the Egypt-Suez war? How massively stupid was the entire war in Vietnam? Even at that, the challenge with this misbegotten adventure is that WE simply cannot let it continue.

It is not a matter of whether we will lose or we are losing. We have lost. Gen. John P. Abizaid, until recently the senior commander in the Middle East, insists that the answer to our problems there is not military. "You have to internationalize the problem. You have to attack it diplomatically, geo-strategically," he said.

His assessment is supported by Gen. George W. Casey Jr., the senior American commander in Iraq, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who only recommend releasing forces with a clear definition of the goals for the additional troops.

Bush's call for a "surge" or "escalation" also goes against the Iraq Study Group. Talk is that the White House has planned to do anything but what the group suggested after months of investigation and proposals based on much broader strategic implications.

About the only politician out there besides Bush actively calling for a surge is Sen. John McCain. In a recent opinion piece, he wrote: "The presence of additional coalition forces would allow the Iraqi government to do what it cannot accomplish today on its own -- impose its rule throughout the country. ... By surging troops and bringing security to Baghdad and other areas, we will give the Iraqis the best possible chance to succeed." But with all due respect to the senator from Arizona, that ship has long since sailed.

A surge is not acceptable to the people in this country -- we have voted overwhelmingly against this war in polls (about 80 percent of the public is against escalation, and a recent Military Times poll shows only 38 percent of active military want more troops sent) and at the polls. We know this is wrong. The people understand, the people have the right to make this decision, and the people have the obligation to make sure our will is implemented.

Congress must work for the people in the resolution of this fiasco. Ted Kennedy's proposal to control the money and tighten oversight is a welcome first step. And if Republicans want to continue to rubber-stamp this administration's idiotic "plans" and go against the will of the people, they should be thrown out as soon as possible, to join their recent colleagues.

Anyone who wants to talk knowledgably about our Iraq misadventure should pick up Rajiv Chandrasekaran's "Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone." It's like reading a horror novel. You just want to put your face down and moan: How could we have let this happen? How could we have been so stupid?

As The Washington Post's review notes, Chandrasekaran's book "methodically documents the baffling ineptitude that dominated U.S. attempts to influence Iraq's fiendish politics, rebuild the electrical grid, privatize the economy, run the oil industry, recruit expert staff or instill a modicum of normalcy to the lives of Iraqis."

We are the people who run this country. We are the deciders. And every single day, every single one of us needs to step outside and take some action to help stop this war. Raise hell. Think of something to make the ridiculous look ridiculous. Make our troops know we're for them and trying to get them out of there. Hit the streets to protest Bush's proposed surge. If you can, go to the peace march in Washington on January 27. We need people in the streets, banging pots and pans and demanding, "Stop it, now!"

In memory of Molly Ivins, Moveon.org has organized a Virtual March Against Escalation, urging those opposed to Bush's escalation of the war to call their Senators today to voice that opposition. Click on the link, sign up, and make the call. Don't find yourelf some time in the future wishing you'd done more now.

Webutante

2007-01-19T08:42:00.000-08:00

Where do they find these people? Do they have to breed them, or do they spontaneously rise up out of the muck?

Something calling itself Webutante wrote a blogpost about Barack Obama which featured a photoshopped picture of Obama wearing KKK garb. When she was asked in comments what the point of the picture was, Webutante responded

Greg, Mr. Obama obviously put on that ridiculous garb as a spoof, and I picked the photo as a spoof because it reminded me of "The Man from Glad."

You can certainly make of it something much more sinister and politically incorrect, but that's not why I used it. Where's your sense of humor? Oh, we're not supposed to have a sense of humor anymore, are we?

Buck up.

When further commentors pointed out that the photo had clearly been doctored, Webutante bravely responded, "If you have to ask what the joke is...you wouldn't understand if I told you.

But thanks for your earnest input. It's time to move on now."

Yes, let's just pretend that either we knew all along that the photo had been doctored and it was irrelevant or that the photo is legit and Barack Obama really does have shoulders that are only three inches wider than his head. This creature will do well among the wingnuts.

See the Stick? See The Stick? Go Get the Stick!

2007-01-13T07:25:00.000-08:00

Ya gotta love Republican and media priorities (I'm not at all sure there's a difference there); 3000+ dead American soldiers and hundreds of thousands of dead Iraqis due to Republican lies and incompetence, and they've got their panties in a wad because Barbara Boxer is a meanie.

This is a classic case of Rice and the Republicans being unable to defend their indefensible policies and performance so they change the subject and the media just follows along.

More Support For Spocko

2007-01-11T12:09:00.000-08:00

Following up on Kvatch's earlier post re Spocko's Brain v KSFO...

KSFO now has up on its web page this announcement:

KSFO TALK SHOW HOSTS TALK BACK TO THEIR CRITICS IN A NO-HOLDS-BARRED BROADCAST THIS FRIDAY
Lee Rodgers, Melanie Morgan, Officer Vic and Brian Sussman will address issues and concerns prompted by misleading information about the station on the Internet and in the mainstream media. The broadcast will air on KSFO Radio starting at 12 noon on Friday, January 12, 2007 and will continue as long as anyone has relevant questions of our hosts.
Both friends and critics of the station are invited to participate. Members of the news media and the blogging community will be encouraged to participate, as well.

Considering the timing, it's hard to imagine that this is anything other than a response to Spocko's efforts to inform advertisers of just what kind of a sewer they are wading in when they purchase spots on KSFO, as well as this story on those efforts in today's Chronicle. If you can stomach it and if you have the time, I encourage you to listen in and participate in the KSFO discussion tomorrow. Spocko can use the support, but even more than that the Bay Area needs to let KSFO know that its kind of hatemongering is neither welcome nor appreciated here.

Let's Show Some Support For Spocko

2007-01-08T15:14:00.000-08:00

From Libby @ The Impolitic, Blognonymous gets word of the troubles that Spocko's Brain, a great blog that I really should read more often, is having with KSFO, Disney, and 1&1 Internet.

For those of you that haven't been keeping up, here's the skinny. KSFO, our local talk-radio affiliate of ABC, has some of the most offensive on-air personalities in the Bay Area--a little like Limbaugh only half as articulate and twice as offensive. Well Spocko got pissed and tried to do something about it. He ripped MP3's of a few particularly noxious KSFO programs, posted them to Spocko's Brain, and then called up some KSFO advertisers--companies that include Netflix, Mastercard, and Bank of America--to inquire if the station's programming reflected their corporate values. And guess what? A bunch of those same advertisers abandoned KSFO.

But the story doesn't end there. In steps Disney/ABC, only after the advertisers have already left, to take out their frustrations on Spocko. They file a cease and desist order, insisting that the recordings be removed as a violation of their copyright, and when Spocko refuses, muscle his Internet service provider, 1&1, to pull the plug on Spocko's Brain which 1&1 does.

Now Libby and Spocko have done an excellent job skewering Disney/ABC, so let me take a swipe at 1&1. Many of you may not know this, but Blognonymous is hosted at 1&1, and I've been preparing to leave them for a couple of months now. Why? Because where most ISPs maintain a service level of 99.9%, 1&1 can't even achieve 98%, and when they do go down--often during Internet 'prime-time'--they immediately do maintenance. Those stints in October when Blognonymous was off-line, sometimes for hours? 1&1 trying to recover from a disk crash. Apparently anticipatory hardware monitoring isn't something 1&1 engages in. (And they're arrogant mother-f*ckers too.)

So here's a thought for anyone who wants to show some support for Spocko: Post on this topic. Tell Disney/ABC/KSFO to go f*ck themselves. But in addition, if you host with 1&1, leave.

Is That All There Is?

2006-12-29T19:39:00.000-08:00

There should be champagne popping and people dancing in the streets tonight in every city, town, and village in the United States, because Saddam Hussein is dead. With no Iraqi connection to al Qaeda, with no weapons of mass destruction, with democracy stillborn in Iraq, this is the payoff, the only payoff, for almost 4 years of war, for hundreds of thousands of dead Iraqis, for 3000 dead Americans, for tens of thousands of severely wounded Americans, for hundreds of billions of dollars squandered, tens of billions of that plundered under the indifferent eye of the Bush Administration, for the loss of America's moral stature in the eyes of the world, for the crippling of our armed forces, for the fracturing of our political comity. For all that and more, we get one dead former dictator. So pop those bottles and shake a leg. This is the only opportunity to celebrate that this war is going to give us. So let's keep dancing.

You were expecting more?

Update: I'm sorry, stupid me, I didn't realize that Saddam's execution is going to mark a significant turning point in Iraq. Apparently it's going to have as big an effect as Saddam's capture, the killing of his sons, the various elections over there, and Saddam's conviction (have I missed anything?). Freedom's on the march.

Take Five

2006-11-20T14:32:00.000-08:00

And now it's Monday, of a short holiday week, so let's start wasting time early. The email I received this in says it's an Air Force test, that USAF pilots taking it are expected to go for at least two minutes. Whatever. The idea is to click on the red block with your cursor and move it around to evade the blue blocks, which will move at you, while avoiding hitting the black walls. If you can make it for more than 18 seconds, said the email, you are phenomenal. Let's just say that I'm, at best, semi-phenomenal.

Knock yourselves out.

A Bit of Barbarian Fun

2006-11-17T14:50:00.000-08:00

It's Friday. So here is Barbarian Bob to help you pass the time

Oh , The Horror, The Horror

2006-11-13T18:20:00.000-08:00

Our humble blog here now has the dubious distinction of being the number one search result for Michelle Malkin nude on Google.

In other news, below is another example of why Stanford is not the school it once was...

BARBARians bask in the joy of election results

2006-11-12T21:52:00.000-08:00

A last minute to do at the Zeitgeist. Not quite a flash mob - hell we're not that organized. Yet the conversation was crisp and quite funny. I showed up late so I missed the more sober deliberations.

Besides comments on the best films to see, or the best trails to backpack in the Sierras (we were all over the map), the talk was lively and informative.

So here are my awards:

Best question of the night: How can we make politics easier to understand (outside of us blogger fanatics) and more palatable to those who work for aliving., who have few hours in a day because of the job, commute, working out and taking care of business. Good Question!

Best theory about the Ted Haggard Christian vote: You can't count on those Crystal Methodists...

Best comment about libertarians: If you follow their logic and policies, it's nothing more than the promotion of a failed nation-state; think Somalia.

Best joke of the night: Jack Palance is being introduced by Saint Peter to the various cliques in paradise, "Over there you can see some Catholics, some Orthodox and lot of other believers.

Jack asks, "Where are the fundementalists?"

Peter says,"See that big wall over there? We built that because those people would never be happy if they knew anyone else got here!"

RIP - Jack Palance: Barabarian Extradonaire

2006-11-10T23:28:00.000-08:00

Born from Ukranian stock, nee Vladimir Palaniuk, Jack Palance played a numer of famous barbarian roles.

In 1954, he was a nasty and believable Attila the Hun in Sign of the Pagan.

Or when he was Rivak the Barbarian in a sandals and swords Italian film shot in Yugoslavia in 1960.

He was the son of Ghengis Khan, Otogai, in The Mongols.

He appeared in Gor and Outlaw of Gor.

OK, he did other films like Batman and City Slickers. But for me, my favorite performance was when he was an off-beat artist in Bagdad Cafe

We will miss you and your one-armed pushups

Gather, Ye BARBARians, and Cheer!

2006-11-09T15:02:00.000-08:00

I realize this is short notice, but a few folks have approached me about all of us getting together to celebrate this week's momentous election victory, and I have to say I'm certainly in favor of it. So I'm proposing a gathering this Saturday, 11/11, from about 1 in the afternoon until we're all tired of raising our glasses in toasts to an informed electorate at Zeitgeist, 199 Valencia Street, San Francisco. Any takers?

Worst Week Ever

2006-11-08T16:27:00.000-08:00

Stolen from The Talent Show.

Friday Fun: Swords and Sandals

2006-10-20T12:09:00.000-07:00

Here is a little flash game that should warm a Barbarian's heart. This gladitorial game is all about the Swords and Sandals

Barbarians Belly Up to the Bar at Ben 'n Nicks

2006-10-13T22:37:00.000-07:00

C'mon all you cool cats and kittens, let's slide over to Ben 'N Nicks Bar & Grill near the Rockridge BART Station next Thurdsday night, Oct. 19, 6pm till you need to stroll on home.

There is much to howl about. Our Congress Critters have turned the Capitol into a cat house (at least while they're in recess the pages can exfoliate) and a bunch of right-wing pussies are falsely blaming Democrats for letting the cat out the bag.

Enough with the cat puns. Invite all your favorite Bay Area Regional Bloggers and Readers to join us.

Barbarian Time at the Zeitgeist

2006-09-12T06:55:00.000-07:00

Hello fellow Barbarians. It's been a long time. Been a long lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely time (Yes it has) since our last drinkfest. So let's meet for raunchy tales of this summer's exploits and fill our tankards at Zeitgeist this Saturday, September 16, starting at 2:30 pm until the light of the sun casts long shadows...

See map for location and note that it's in walking distance from either the Civic Center or 16th Mission Bart stations.

For all the Bay Area Regional Bloggers and Readers who can't make it this Saturday, we will next meet at Ben & Nicks Thursday, October 19, at 6PM, in Berkeley.

BARBARians: The Gathering

2006-08-28T16:32:00.000-07:00

The response to the suggestion of yet another get-together of the BARBARians Beer Appreciation Society and Occasional Blogging Etiquette Concern has been rather tepid, but one thing is clear -- those who did respond would like our next gathering to be on a Friday or, preferably, Saturday. I have no objection to that; I like drinking beer on a Saturday just as much as I like drinking beer on pretty much any other day that ends in "y". However, my Saturday dance card is filled for the next month or so. It would be October before I could attend a Saturday get-together.

But hey, Scaramouche and I aren't the only ones who can plan one of these things! I'm sure that if a few of you throw out a date or two, with a suggestion of where to meet up, you're bound to get a decent turn-out and have some fun. Therefore, I'm turning this one over to... well, any and all of you, I guess. Make some suggestions in the comments, have fun, talk amongst yourselves. If nothing gets decided before October, I'll put my two cents back in and we can go from there. In the meantime, have at it, kids. Where and when?

"I think I have to Leave Now"

2006-08-25T19:05:00.000-07:00

Ah, my little Coulterites, do we have a show for you tonight. This has been all over the internets all day, but it just seems so apt that we have it here, too. So, with no further ado, here's the mannish boy crying for big brother Sean when the other kids won't play by her rules.

A tribute ...

2006-07-31T14:44:00.000-07:00

2,996

Not exactly a Bay Area related item, but I'm hoping we can all help out.

This blogger is trying to get 2,996 bloggers to sign up. One each for each of the 9/11 victims. Can you please sign up and do a little tribute on the 5th anniversary of 9/11 tragedy?

Check out the site, and sign up if you can dedicate a little blog space.

Thank you.

More Mannish Bullshit

2006-07-20T12:37:00.000-07:00

In her July 19 column (no, you don't get a link), Ann Coulter, among the typical other bullshit statements that comprise her entire ouvre, tosses off this jewel, "Democrats have never found a fight they couldn't run from."

Are you sure you meant to say Democrats Ann?

You know you like it.

2006-07-17T17:56:00.000-07:00

Matthew Yglesias: Wanker of the Day

2006-07-03T17:18:00.000-07:00

First, a big Yaaarrrr!! to all BARBARian readers who haven't read my (mostly-dormant) blog, The Token Reader. I'm qubit, the token reader among Bay Area Resident Blogers and Readers. By popular demand, I'm cross-posting this from my blog (with minor clarifications and additions).

Well, he did ask for it:

At the risk of being made the wanker of the day, I thought Nathan Newman made several good points about Barak Obama. To make a more general point, while I appreciate blogospheric concern about re-enforcing conservative talking points, at the same time it's obviously the case that liberals aren't going to be able to improve either our electoral performance or our policy performance if people aren't going to be allowed to criticize what they see as broad tendencies in progressive politics. To make a more specific point, on the particular issue of allowing prayer or other religious gestures in official facilities and at official events, I tend to agree with what Obama is saying here -- that liberals should ease up on this. [emphasis added]

You know, for a philosopher by training, that is some really sloppy fucking thinking. It doesn't take a genius to recognize that there's a world of difference between "in official facilities" and "at official events," especially with the later clarification that, yes, he really does mean officially led and directed prayer.

OK, so Matt churned out some bone-stupid wankery in between his usually sharp wonkery; what else is new? Gotta keep up those contrarian and moderate credentials after all. I could just leave this at some snark, but for the benefit of those of you who grew up completely isolated from society (or were born yesterday), I'll point out just why his assertion that there is "no harm" in this is so hopelessly, stupidly, mind-numbingly wrong.

Let's start with the most clear-cut case of direct harm: schools. School is an official event children are required to attend*, so there is no opt-out cop-out here. Now, to avoid being accused of a straw man (who am I kidding, nobody reads this), let's say instead of an unconstitutional-since-the-50s forced mass prayer in class, it's at the pep rally (which, let me assure you from experience, is often just as mandatory as class). So you shamble on down there, sit down, and the principal leads the whole school in a ~~non-denominational~~ ~~Judeo-Christian~~ ~~Christian~~ Protestant prayer (credit where credit is due: Matt did at least recognize "non-denominational" prayer for what it is). Say you're an atheist, or that you're Muslim or Jewish or Wiccan. What is the clear, unambiguous message the government is now officially sending you? That you don't belong, that you're not a full member of society, that there's something wrong with your beliefs. Wait, you know what? Someone said the meaning of this far better than I ever could:

No, I don't know that atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God.

And this takes us directly to how it is injurious when officially sanctioned in any capacity: it sends the clear message, exactly the message desired by those promoting this, to all Americans that part of being American is being Christian (specifically, Protestant). Therefore, if you aren't Christian, you aren't really a "true" American. It's officially sanctioned bigotry and marginalization of religious minorities, nothing less.

I really can't see why this is so hard for some people to grep. Same goes for the distinction between officially led/sanctioned prayer and use of official facilities (assuming the facilities are available on a neutral basis -- and I don't just mean religiously neutral). I think a lot of people just deliberately ignore the bleeding obvious, or don't give a shit. One tangential observation about a common defense of officially mandated prayer and other obvious violations of the Establishment Clause, specifically the argument that it's simply a recognition of our country having an overwhelming Protestant majority and so it simply reflects the people: there is some definite fascist thinking lurking in there. I am talking not about Nazi thinking, but Umberto Eco's Ur-Fascism:

5. Besides, disagreement is a sign of diversity.

Ur-Fascism grows up and seeks consensus by exploiting and exacerbating the natural fear of difference. The first appeal of a fascist or prematurely fascist movement is an appeal against the intruders. Thus Ur-Fascism is racist by definition.

That spells out the motivation. Here's the thinking behind it being alright because it reflects the People:

13. Ur-Fascism is based upon a selective populism, a qualitative populism, one might say.

In a democracy, the citizens have individual rights, but the citizens in their entirety have a political impact only from a quantitative point of view -- one follows the decisions of the majority. For Ur-Fascism, however, individuals as individuals have no rights, and the People is conceived as a quality, a monolithic entity expressing the Common Will. [emphasis added]

The theme, of course, is that the People are monolithic, that the Will of the People and that of one of the people must be the same, or at least cannot (must not) differ in important ways. The exact same argument for official prayer or "one nation, under god"/"In God We Trust" applies (almost) equally well to this Pledge of Allegiance:

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one white, homophobic nation, under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

The only thing that doesn't perfectly analogize is the racial component, since you really can't be coerced to change your race like you can be coerced to (publicly) change what you believe or who you love (though you can't be socially coerced to truly change either). And you've got to admit, this version really shows how farcical the ending is.

As for Obama, from what I read of his speech, he didn't say anything quite as stupid as Yglesias, and did stick to use of official facilities. However, if he is strictly speaking about that, he's using a right-wing fundamentalist talking point to demagogue against a liberal straw-man. A small part of an otherwise generally good speech, but still. And a lot of what he said also had a strong Manichean (in the original sense of the term) feel to it. So, to paraphrase George Carlin, "Fuck Barak Obama! Fuck him with a big rubber dick. Then break it off and beat him with the rest of it."

*Please, no one spout bullshit about private schools or homeschooling -- most parents don't have near the resources for either.

Ann's Antecedent

2006-06-27T16:34:00.000-07:00

Take this quiz to see if you can distinguish Ann Coulter from one of her notorious spiritual ancestors.

I got 10 out of 14 right, but it was tough.

Suburban Guerilla is in Town Tonight

2006-06-26T09:36:00.000-07:00

Susie Madrak of Suburban Guerrilla will be visiting and will be Drinking Liberally at Zeitgeist tonight.

C'mon Barbarians, stop on by!

Who Wants to See Ann Coulter Nude?

2006-06-19T21:42:00.000-07:00

It seems a lot of people. Our lowly little group blog has had a recent spike in traffic corresponding to the the release and TV appearances of the hallowed harpie ( and spokesthing) of the GOP. That's right - big hands with a cocktail dress - Ann Coulter!

Going by the last hundred referrals, about half were for a Google or Yahoo search for ANN COULTER NUDE. Stunning really as only one referral was for NUDE BARBARIAN WOMEN.

Or more sadly, 2 referrals for MICHELLE MALKIN NUDE.

For the AC Nude on Google we show up as currently as the 5th possible link out of 281,000 results. For MM Nude we also show up as the 5th possible link out of 212,000 results.

Funny thing I noticed is for MICHELLE MALKIN NUDE her own site registers number one (Like in, are you feeling lucky? Punk, well are you?), also if you search MICHELLE MALKIN PiNG PONG there are 19,700 results, but again her site comes up first...

To be fair I Googled ANN COULTER PING PONG and saw she outstripped Malkin with an astonishingly 53,900 results.

Even the search for WINONA RYDER PING PONG showed more results than Malkin at 25,800 results, probably because of that South Park Movie scene.

So what can I conclude from this thorough analysis of available facts?

-Ann Coulter is the leading drag-queen of righthwing bitchiness.
-Michelle Malkin is the leading self-promoter of the ping pong ball trick.
-And I really, really, need to wash my eyes out with soap...

I believe the children are our future.

2006-06-16T15:47:00.000-07:00

If I ever have a kid, I'd want it to be like this one.

Let's hope that he grows up to be a progressive, left-wing blogger. Maybe we can do a BARBARian outreach program.

Get 'em while they're young. Just saying.

(Cross-posted - if you can call it that - on my blog. Props to AMERICAblog for the link.)

Word From Iraq

2006-06-16T14:05:00.000-07:00

(cross posted at my place)

The New Yorker's June 12 "Summer Fiction: Life During Wartime" edition feathers "Dispatches from Iraq," (can't find it online) stories from our men and women serving in Iraq. All the pieces are well written and moving, but a couple passages stand out for me.

Second Lieutenant Brian Humphreys, serving in Hit, Iraq, writes,

"Our occupation grinds on. Others will assign meaning to our lives here, noble or otherwise. For us, though, there is a close meanness to the fight. There are no flags, no dress uniforms. We are fighting a rival gang for the same turf, while the neighborhood residents cower and wait to see whose side they should come out on."

Humphreys also writes,

"Iraq is coming apart at the seams. Pictures of flag-draped coffins being unloaded from Air Force transports surface on the back reaches of the Interneet, as if they were a grainy celebrity sex video that decent people should avoid looking at. But I think otherwise. The images of flag-draped coffins show the end of war as we are meant to see it, and as we are meant to believe it. Uniforms, flags, patriotism, honor, sacrifice. In these images we are not street fighters struggling to survive and kill in a distant gangland but soldiers in the nation's service."

I'll leave the last word to Captain Lisa R. Blackman, serving as a clinical psychologist in Qatar, who writes,

"Next time you are hanging out with a friend, think about what you would do if he turned to you and said, 'My boss made me kill someone, and I know I'm going to hell for it, so why bother?' What would you say to 'normalize' that?

I will probably never see these folks again. I have no ieda if I have been helpful. Maybe I planted a seed of reprieve that will grow into self-forgiveness. Maybe I did absolutely nothing but sit here. Who knows?

I can't stop thinking about the fact that these folks have lsot something that they will never get back - innocence (and a life free of guilt). My heart hurts for them."

Getting Mighty Dry Around Here, No?

2006-05-22T21:54:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't get around to reading the 15th comment on posts at this blog, it seems that there will be another Barbarian Booze Bash on June 1, this time at Glen Park Station, 2816 Diamond Street in San Francisco. Mags, Generik, Scaramouche, and yours truly, the graying pliable one, will likely be there. You ought to be, too.

Ann Coulter and Michelle Malkin Nude

2006-05-05T13:36:00.000-07:00

Is this some kind of cheap stunt? You bet it is!

I've noticed that traffic at this site has been a little weak and I've decided to do something about it to give it a boost. No, I'm not going to write a cogent entry that will be linked to by blogs all across the blogosphere. That would be way too hard. Taking my clue from the fact that a number of the hits we get are from people googling "Ann Coulter Nude," I thought I'd double that kind of traffic by mentioning that we have photos of "Michelle Malkin Nude."

Welcome, you nasty little perverts. Sorry to have disappointed you.

The Colbert Contretemps

2006-05-03T05:54:00.000-07:00

The brouhaha over Stephen Colbert's routine at the White House Correspondents' dinner the other night, specifically the reactions from the press, you know, the people other than the President who Colbert was skewering, go a long way toward re-inforcing Colbert's observations about these people.

To briefly back up, Stephen Colbert mocks people in power and those in the press who misserve us by not doing their job and holding the feet of the people in power to the fire. He did that on the Daily Show and he does it on the Colbert Report. It is what made him prominent. To expect him to do something else in his routine Saturday night would be, well, insane. Anyway, that's what he did Saturday night. And the press has been responding since then with two attacks; his routine wasn't funny and it was disrespectful of the President. As for the first, well, that's in the ear of the beholder. If you think Colbert is funny, the routine was funny. If people don't find Colbert funny, he shouldn't have been invited. It was also cutting. Again, that's what he does. Was it disrespectful of the President? I suppose it was if you believe that the President of the United States should get to speak to only hand picked audiences of supporters and live in an environment where bad news is filtered or completely disallowed. It's interesting that Colbert's routine has been compared to the funeral of Coretta Scott King, another instance where Bush found himself sitting stonefaced while people who aren't his usual stable of fluffers told him what they really think of him. The outcry then was similar. How dare people stand up at the funeral of a noted liberal and civil rights activist and say things that, no matter how indirectly, conflicted with the world view of a president who has done all he could over the last five+ years to undo the legacy of Ms. King. It reminded me of the first Kerry Bush debate; the look on Bush's face as Kerry, right there in front of him, criticized how he'd run the country for four years. It was outrage and shock that anybody would dare talk to or about him in that way.

That's what the press's reaction to Saturday night is all about. The President is outraged and shocked when people talk about him like that in his presence because the press never does. The President is infamous for his temper and churlishness and he had cowed these people. Their professional lives depend on access to the President and his lieutenants and they'll do nothing to jeopardize that access. Usually that means that they'll do nothing meaningful with that access. Colbert is not of their society. It's his job to make fun of the President and his fluffers in the press. He doesn't need these people to continue to do his job.* His willingness to stand in front of the President and hold up a mirror highlights the Washington press's inadequacy. They know it, and that's why their after Colbert now. It's not disrespect for the President and it's not his to-the-bone cuts at the press itself that's got them in a tither. It's that he, as Jon Stewart does, does their job better than they do.

Ironically, he probably won't suffer for it. These people, in the government and the press, are such whores for face time that they'll continue to jump at the chance to be on his show.

*It's interesting that a lot of the wingnut bloggers feel compelled to mention that they've either never heard of or they've heard of but never seen Colbert, then go on to predict the dire consequences his performance will have on his career. How are they qualified to speculate on the career of someone when they've just pronounced their ignorance of that career? Does it really not occur to them, are they that isolated in their parents' basements, that they don't realize that there are millions of people who disagree with them, who know of and laugh at Colbert, who found the routing funny and can and will continue to support Colbert's career?

Army Men Protest The War

2006-04-19T19:05:00.000-07:00


In a daring raid this morning, a brigade of Kvatch's Kommandos established a beachhead on San Francisco's Embarcadero and then swept up Market Street advancing as far as Powell.
		Rumor has it that Hilton's Heroes will see action on California's north coast in the next few days.
Generiks Guerrillas have just completed their training and are about to mount an offensive in San Francisco and South City in the coming days.

Monday Event ...

2006-04-09T10:21:00.000-07:00

Forum to assess Bush's actions
Public is invited to attend free annual event at UC Berkeley

Journalists and political pundits will assess President Bush's second-term performance Monday during a panel discussion at University of California, Berkeley.

The discussion, called "Second-Term Troubles: President Bush struggles with War, Natural Disasters and Politics," will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. in 155 Dwinelle Hall. It is sponsored by the Institute of Governmental Studies, which every year holds a review of the American presidency.

Wouldn't you know it! I won't even be around. But for those in the Bay Area that do attend, please let me know how it goes huh?? And let me know if anyone says anything good about his second (hell, even his first) term.

Cross-post at my site.

Tom Tomorrow will be in town the day after tomorrow...

2006-03-26T16:44:00.000-08:00

Fans of Tom Tomorrow will be happy to know that he will in the Bay Area this next week. He will be hawking his latest publication as seen right over there, and persosnally at the folowing locations:

March 29, Wednesday,7 PM, San Francisco
Booksmith, 1644 Haight St.

March 30, Thursday, 12:30 PM, San Francsco
Stacey's Bookstore, 581 Market St.

March 30, Thursday, 7:30 PM, Berkeley
Cody's, 2454 Telegraph Ave.

He is also a noted blogger, one I read regularly ,which makes me wonder if he would like to become a Barbarian?

Maybe he could qualify as a reader? Or as an honorary member by following the rule of, "How can you become a Barbarian? Just show up at one of our gatherings."

Hell, we're not picky...

[cross-posted at my blog]

Update: Here's my post on the book signing. I had it signed to Scaramouche. His publicist thought that was a 'cool' name. She actually said, "That's a reallly cool name." Is it a requirement that publicsts be so perky?

Virtue Terrorists vs. the Fascist Mega-Pep Rally

2006-03-26T13:04:00.000-08:00

San Francisco was invaded this weekend. From yesterday's Chronicle:

More than 25,000 evangelical Christian youth landed Friday in San Francisco for a two-day rally at AT&T Park against "the virtue terrorism" of popular culture, and they were greeted by an official city condemnation and a clutch of protesters who said their event amounted to a "fascist mega-pep rally."

The organizer of the thing, Ron Luce, is something of a stealth wingnut. He soft-pedals the politics (his website doesn't even mention homosexuality, for example) in a calculated attempt to appeal to suburban audiences. It seems to have worked pretty well with Janine De Fao, who wrote a second, more softball story that ran today:

The teens were greeted Friday at a kick-off rally at City Hall by an official city condemnation and protesters who called them anti-gay, anti-choice and intolerant. Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, suggested they "get out of San Francisco."

While youth did travel from throughout the Western United States for the two-day event, which cost $55, Leno may have been surprised how many live in the Bay Area, and even in the city itself.

No protesters were on hand Saturday, and the vibe was not one of condemnation, but of celebrating the fact that it can be cool to be Christian.

The rest of the story is about nice teens rocking out to good Christian music, with a whole slew of positive quotes from the kids. Gee, isn't that nice?

Make no mistake, though: Luce is cut from the same cloth as Ayatollah Dobson and his ilk. Luce was a featured speaker, for example, at last year's "Confronting the Judicial War on Faith" conference, and will be at the upcoming Christian right whine-a-thon (both sponsored by VisionAmerica, one of the most active groups in the fundamentalist-political complex).

And however innocuous the presentation, there was no mistaking the real agenda here:

A Battle Cry invitation to teenagers made plain the symbolism of gathering in San Francisco for a pre-event rally at "the very City Hall steps where several months ago, gay marriages were celebrated for all the world to see."

And then, of course, there's the ubiquitous military imagery:

"Battle Cry for a Generation" is led by a 44-year-old Concord native [he actually lives in Garden Valley, Texas], Ron Luce....Luce wants to unleash a "blitz" of youth pastors into the communities.

"This is more than a spiritual war," Luce said. "It's a culture war."

Military metaphors abound in Luce's descriptions of the struggle. He tells young people of how "an enemy has launched a brutal attack on them." At a pre-Battle Cry rally Friday afternoon on the steps of City Hall, Luce told his mostly teenage audience that "terrorists of a different kind" -- advertisers -- were targeting them and that they were "caught in the middle of the battle."

"Are you ready to go to battle for your generation?" he asked, and the young people roared "yes!" and some waved triangular red flags flown from long, medieval-looking poles.

I'm no expert on war, but as I understand it you kind of have to have an enemy. I'm guessing that's us.

People like Luce are arguably a lot more dangerous than their more obviously wingnutty brethren. A lot of anxious parents (and teens) who wouldn't fall for the explicit bigotry of Dobson could easily get sucked in by Luce's approach to the problems attendant on a morally complicated society. He certainly fooled the Chronicle reporter (I'd be willing to bet they ran the softball piece after getting wingnut complaints about Saturday's more critical article). His ends are the same as Dobson's, though...and we cannot allow ourselves to forget it.

[Cross-posted at If I Ran the Zoo]

Barbarian Havoc

2006-03-16T09:15:00.000-08:00

Had a most enjoyable evening with Kvatch, Generik, Scaramouche, Mags, Dr. Laniac, Shystee, The Token Reader, and a token reader (who, appropriately enough, is named Reed).

Sadly, not only did we fail to sack Rockridge...we even failed to sack the neighboring table, which was stolen by Republicans:At least I think they were Republicans. They must have been. Note the red demonic eyes on the one guy.

Still...good times. Thanks to Richard and Erik for organizing it, and see y'all next time.

Update: Subbed in the better group pic (the one I meant to post in the first place); the old one is still up at my blog.

Super Update by Scaramouche: For more details check out this post BARBARians (almost) Sack Rockridge by Shystee who, as far as I know, is not sufferring from un puzzo sotto il naso.

[Cross-posted at If I Ran the Zoo]

All You Zombies

2006-03-08T22:36:00.000-08:00

BARBARians who do not receive the cable channel Showtime (is there anyone, anywhere, who does receive the cable channel Showtime?) and who therefore, despite our relentless promotion, missed "Homecoming," the Joe Dante episode of Masters of Horror, will no doubt burst with glee upon learning that the well-received pinko-zombie epic is to be shown at 5:30 PM this coming Sunday, March 12, as part of the Tiburon International Film Festival. The director and the writer will appear after the screening to answer questions from the audience, if the questions are polite and flattering. Rude, impertinent questioners should expect to be followed home by a trio of surly, knuckle-dragging goons from Fox Security (on temporary loan to TIFF through the kind agency of Mr. Wm. O'Reilly, Esq.).

Barbarian Drinkfest: Be There the Ides of March

2006-03-06T18:11:00.000-08:00

It's time for another Bay Area Regional Bloggers and Readers night out. Let's meet up on Wednesday, the 15th of March, at Ben & Nick's Bar & Grill , at 6 PM until Bart closes.

I know it's a school night but we want to start before all the amateurs come out for St. Paddy's day.

Which makes me think of this interesting essay I found at Waiter Rant about What Your Drink Says About You, here a select few of his observations:

Cosmopolitan – Prissy, over ordered and passé. Favored by Manolo Blahnik wearing Candace Bushnell devotees who spend all their money on shoes but live in rathole apartments. Rapidly becoming an old lady drink.

Sidecar – The last time you got laid was 1932.

Chardonnay – You know what you like. Boring. Predictable. The Missionary Position of White Wine.

Pinot Grigio – You’re pretentious or don’t know what you like. You follow the herd. The Circle Jerk of White Wine

Chocolate Martini – You’re immature or have a sweet tooth. Good for masking the taste of Roofies.

Vodka on the Rocks – You want to get drunk as fast as possible.

Gin neat – Only for mad dogs and Englishmen.

Campari and Soda – You’re a gourmand. A good aperitif. A bitter drink for bitter people.

Manhattan – Old fogey drink. Stuffy. Where did I put the bitters?

Sweet Vermouth on the Rocks – You’re so old that if you’re not already in the grave you soon will be.

Pinot Noir – You’ve seen Sideways. Nuff said.

Galliano –You’re a waterbed, lava lamp, reel to reel, gold chain wearing, wall to wall shag carpet loving, swinging 70’s disco fool.

Gimlets – You’re old fashioned and like to drink. Usually the libation of classy cerebral babes"

Rob Roy – You’re an alcoholic.

Margarita – You’re fun, good in bed, and naughty with a sense of style. If you don’t have it with salt you’re a wimp.

Shirley Temple – What? Are you five years old? On the wagon? Get the fuck outta here.

Bloody Mary – You need an excuse to start drinking before lunch.

Mint Julep – You’re a hospitable Southern guy/gal. Good stuff. Rarely ordered.

Tequila – You’re not afraid of spending a little time in jail.

Champagne – You’re reserved, classy, or a stripper.

Vodka Red Bull - Party person, young, possible cokehead.

Southern Comfort –Where’d you put the Lynyrd Skynyrd eight tracks? I know I saw ‘em around here somewhere.

Mojito – You’re not afraid to try new things, have low frustration tolerance and are prone to wild rages.

Rum and Coke – You’ve been arrested for assault once or twice.

Voting is Open!

2006-03-05T18:01:00.000-08:00

Wampum: The 2005 Koufax Awards: Most Deserving of Wider Recognition

I'm not going to beg and plead that you vote for me since there are other Bay Area Bloggers here, but please do vote for one your own! Since the Bay Area Bloggers is where it's at!!

ChronWatch Watch

2006-03-05T15:18:00.000-08:00

[First post here (and thanks to Scaramouche for giving me the keys); apologies in advance if I break anything.]

Having kvetched about the Chronicle¹ on more than one occasion, I feel I really ought to acknowledge some of the other critics of the Chronicle. Hence, today's fish/barrel/gun exercise is devoted to a plucky little operation called ChronWatch.

ChronWatch is retired Kaiser executive Jim Sparkman's one-man crusade against Liberal Bias in the Chronicle. It's a cross between the MRC and Townhall.com, combining media 'criticism' (or, as Rich Bond calls it, 'working the refs') with a whole slew of World O'Crap-worthy columnists. This is the sort of site where if you took a drink every time you read 'Bush derangement syndrome'² you'd be on your ass inside of 15 minutes.

Here's a current example of Sparkman's incisive analysis:

The S.F. Chronicle is so into Bush-bashing that what little journalistic standards it ever had were abandoned long ago. On Friday, Marc Sandalow again rates front-page placement of his op-ed articles, quaintly labeled “Analysis.” In the article, Marc joins in the knee-jerk liberal campaign to blame Bush for Hurricane Katrina. The editorial writers join in the chorus as well, and the editorial page has a Washington Post cartoon on the same subject.

Here's the headline for the offending Sandalow piece: KATRINA VIDEO: What you see depends on your view of Bush -- in charge or incompetent?

Here are the second and third graphs in Sandalow's article:

Critics see a president ignoring warning signs, displaying no inquisitiveness and expressing unfounded confidence in his administration's capabilities, with disastrous consequences.

Supporters see an engaged chief executive taking control of a situation and being unfairly blamed for circumstances beyond his control.

In other words, it's pretty standard on-the-other-hand reporting. What Sparkman objects to, apparently, is that criticism of Bush is reported at all--even where it is 'balanced' against positive opinion.

But the article is actually worse than that. Three graphs from the end, Sandalow notes that "Bush supporters remained largely quiet about the videotape..." Right. Just one question: if the supporters are keeping quiet, who says they see "an engaged chief executive" in the video? Or did Sandalow just, y'know, make that up in order to provide 'balance'? If even the diehard Bushistas won't go on the record defending him in this case, is it really the reporter's job to do it for them?

And this, a story in which the reporter appears to have invented a defense of Bush to make his story seem 'balanced', is what Sparkman considers 'Bush-bashing'. We are entering the gravitational field of Planet Wingnut, folks. Put on your seatbelts and prepare for landing.

Now, after Sparkman's introductory paragraph, you're probably expecting a graph or two in which he elaborates on, and provides evidence for, his perception of bias in the Sandalow story. That's what you would expect...but you would be wrong. That first paragraph is the entirety of his criticism on that point. Really. I read the damn thing over and over wondering if I had missed something, and I hadn't: he just doesn't even bother to argue the point. This is a guy whose worldview is so self-evident to him that he simply doesn't see the need to explain or support it.

Instead, we get some Class-A frothing:

Thus, the S.F. Chronicle exhibits the serious sickness that has spread across the liberal ranks. The symptoms are that you must bash-Bush every moment of the day in every way you can. These infected liberals have nothing positive to offer. Instead, they only bash, blame, and obstruct....The Chron editorial writers also show the same delusional tendencies. They never stop bashing long enough to consider how ridiculous it is for them to tell the President of the United States what he is doing wrong when they can’t manage their own declining newspaper.

Oooh, snap! Take that, all you non-President critics of the President!

But that's just half the fun; there's also the columnists. Here are a few recent column titles to give you the flavor of the thing: Yale University: Taliban Yes, US Military No; Europe or Eurabia 2050?; and The Marquis de Sade: The Left’s Man of Diverse ‘Sexual Orientations’ (in which Simone de Beauvoir is described as a 'sex-obsessed Lesbian').

To give you a sense of the astonishing incoherence of these people, here's an excerpt from a column by Vincent Gioia called Iraq is a Mess--Good:

In Iraq, unlike the United States, the ''bomb throwers,'' figuratively speaking, are not the politicians. Those attempting to abolish freedom are the ones doing the damage; the politicians are the ones trying to preserve what freedom they can. Although they labor under an unfortunate evil incarnate philosophy in the guise of a ''religion,'' nonetheless an attempt is being made to construct a form of a free society. If they can overcome the obstacle of Islam, they will succeed notwithstanding the murdering thugs trying to halt there efforts.

So you see, the people of Iraq are noble and determined, hungering for freedom...except for all that believing in, y'know, evil incarnate.

But wait! There's also a history lesson:

Interestingly, the attempt by Iraqis to preserve freedom is far more difficult than that faced by the founders of our country. Early Americans did indeed have a more difficult time than the Iraqis to get to the starting point; after all Iraqis had the help of the United States to get to the starting line. No one helped the Americans topple King George in the ''new world''; they had to do it by grit and determination. But, once begun, the march to freedom was easier here because ''everyone was on the same page''; our country’s founders all had essentially the same goals and they all shared a thirst for a free society.

Yup, that's right: nobody helped us out (except the French), all we had was grit and determination (and an opponent with a 5,000-mile supply line), and everybody was on the same page (except on trivial little issues like slavery).

The rest are similarly ridiculous. I could almost feel bad for making fun of people this pathetic--really, it's sort of like yelling 'you suck!' at athletes in the Special Olympics--if it weren't for the seething hatred (of Muslims, of gays, of feminists, of liberals--you name it) in every column. Sparkman pulls these columns from all over the place, which is something of a relief; if I thought all of these people were from the Bay Area I would really be depressed.

Pathetic as they are, though, they really are worth our notice because they generate a ton of e-mails to the Chronicle. Is Jim Sparkman personally responsible when Carolyn Lochhead distorts the facts to achieve faux 'balance'? Probably not. Is the flood of e-mails she'll get if she writes anything critical of Bush somewhere in the back of her mind when she writes an article? I would imagine so. That's the power of the right's below-the-radar media campaign, which we've only recently begun to counter effectively (but we've still got a long way to go).

¹Full disclosure: my brother writes for the Chronicle.
²In fact, I don't know why they don't abbreviate it as BDS. They could save a lot of column inches if every critique of the news media just consisted of the line "BDS in the MSM". Then lots of wingnuts could write 'ditto!' and 'great post!' in the forum.

[Cross-posted at If I Ran the Zoo]

Take Action ...

2006-02-21T11:58:00.000-08:00

Diebold machines get state approval

After almost three years, Diebold Election Systems won approval Friday to sell its latest voting machines in California, despite findings by computer scientists that the software inside is probably illegal and has security holes found in earlier Diebold products.

So when the State of California suddenly goes Republican in the next election, any guesses as to why? Or should we all just bury our heads in the sand and pretend that everything is fine in the world?

OR!

We could do as Skippy is suggesting and take action!

if you think this is a ludicrous idea, and you live in the golden state, ms. in la is urging you to make 5 calls to stop it.

the 5 calls (actually, 4 calls and an email, as sen. debra bowen asks you email her office) are to the members of the rules committee

So click over, make note of the contact info, and get busy!

Cross-posted this over at Ang's Weird Ideas.

Ale, Ale, the Gang's All Here

2006-01-29T07:30:00.000-08:00

As Ram Dass once said, "Free beer now!" (Or was it "Be here now!"? I always get those two confused.)

Well, regardless, we took the saying to heart and that was a lot of fun, a lot of beer and for once, I didn't end up in an alley with my pants around my ankles the next morning (not for lack of trying, though). I'm talking, of course, about a rare weekend get-together of the BARBARian Blogging Ethics Discussion Committee and Drinking Society, which happened Saturday afternoon at the 3300 Club at Mission and 29th Streets in San Francisco. A number of the usual suspects were there -- Scaramouche, the King of Zembla, Paperwight, fyrste from suckful and now his new site, The Afterist, Shystee, Mags from You forgot Poland!, Angie from Ang's Weird Ideas, Brian (our resident and token Political Moderate) from 1000 Buffalo Stampede -- am I forgetting anyone? -- and, as we always like to see, some new faces: Kevin from Brother Kenya's Paradigm (along with his lovely wife, whose name and website I'm embarrassed to say I've forgotten, though I'm sure someone will enlighten me in the comments), Bill/Kvatch from Blognonymous and Tom from If I Ran the Zoo. Add those sites to your BARBARian blogrolls, folks, and hope that their proprietors can all make some of the future gatherings.

It was a wet, rainy Saturday afternoon, and the 3300 Club -- recommended by our resident barrespondent Drew of Scamboogah!! (who, along with his lovely wife Teri, was unfortunately a no-show) -- made for a nice refuge. We had just about enough room at the one big table for all of us to sit and converse and pet the occasional dog that came in. Early on, we commandeered the bar's one and only pitcher and kept the bartender filling it with Humboldt Hemp Ale*, and the money that had been collected from the overpayment at Ben & Nick's at the last gathering lasted for over three hours of refills. Because some of the regulars at the bar were celebrating their January birthdays Saturday, the staff laid out some hors d'oeuvres of chips and cheese and salami and cupcakes and other goodies, and everyone there was invited to partake. Nice place, that 3300 Club, just a regular, honest neighborhood bar with a decidedly Irish cast to it, nothing pretentious or fancy.

*You folks that participated might want to stay away from any drug-testing for the next couple weeks. Who knows what that hemp in the ale might do -- you might be able to create tennis shoes or T-shirts or plastics or industrial solvents or any number of items with your urine now if you're not careful. Personally, I never take drug tests unless they're multiple choice.

Anyway, it was a grand time out, and we look forward to the next one, whenever that might be. There was some noise about a BARBARian barbecue and even a softball game, but that will have to wait until the rain stops some time in the spring. In the meantime, we'll all just keep pounding away at our keyboards and finding the time every four to six weeks to meet up and hoist a few glasses together while discussing politics and postings, cabbages and kings.

Until then, cheers all.

BARBARian Saturnaliaday & Free Beer Day

2006-01-21T19:29:00.001-08:00

Saturday afternoon, January 28th, Free Beer!

Since, we over collected cash at our last Bay Area Resident Bloggers and Readers outing, the first 10 pitchers are free this time - and it's not a schoolnight. Let's meet at 3PM, between brunch and dinner at the 3300 Club which is at 29th and Mission, a few short blocks from BART.

It's a no football weekend so we can talk about all the other things that matter.

A Gift, A Late Holiday Gift

2006-01-15T12:46:00.000-08:00

I created a Kinja digest of all our Barbarians: http://www.kinja.com/user/Barbarians

Bookmark this so you can read all your favorite Bay Area Regional Bloggers.

Recap of New Barbarians

2005-12-21T21:50:00.000-08:00

Last week we had a festive night. Generik does the honors in recounting the low down and dirty of the evening.

New inductees to the Barbarian Blogroll of Fame:
Kid Oakland
Say No to Pombo
Bay Area is Talking

I say, if we keep growing at this rate we might have to have our own desert festival -- BARBARIAN Man (Ladies Too), or buy out that riverside Bohemian Grove for our get togethers.

Where Does Bush Get the Authority?

2005-12-20T14:10:00.000-08:00

According to President Bush, political appointees in the Justice Department drafted memos outlining the legal authority around restrictions in FISA and the Constitution that he believes allows him to authorize wire taps without a warrant or any kind of oversight. I think we're entitled to see those memos. If you agree, sign on to a Freedom of Information Act request for those memos.

Have a Merry BARBARian Holiday

2005-12-13T07:34:00.000-08:00

It's that special time of year, the Winter Solstice is upon us. Also many cultures celebrate their Holy Days by holding wild office parties where the accounting folks dance nude on the tables and junior account executives show they can't hold their drink.

So, let's meet to drink and eat our fill and regale each other with raucous tales of skirmishes in the culture wars.

Once again we will hold our festivities at Ben 'N Nick's Bar & Grill in Oakland, on Thursday, December 15, at 6 PM until Bart closes.

If you feel so inclined, please bring a trinket to exchange with your favorite Barbarian.

Ann Coulter NUDE!!!

2005-12-05T10:19:00.000-08:00

Yes, I stole the joke. So sue me.

How some people get here.

2005-11-25T15:39:00.000-08:00

I was wondering how some people find our Fjorditude of Solacetress. So I checked out our referral logs. Here's few searches that caught my eye.

Barbarian Babes

Barbarian Sex

Ann Coulter Nude

Here's your Barbarian Turkey

2005-11-24T14:01:00.000-08:00

Look at what I found using the power of Google.

Feast well!

Barbarian Source Media

2005-11-19T17:28:00.000-08:00

Following on heels of a recent, not to be mentioned, blogger inspired media empire launch, I offer you the business strategy of BSM- Barbarian Souce Media.

This could be the next hottest IPO.

Here is the plan.

First: We steal the logo (already done)

Second:...

Third: Profit!!!

You know, if we post more ofter here I'm sure I could get someone from all the investment bankers I used to work for to give us the money.

Who else is in?

Joe Wilson Recap

2005-11-10T13:22:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned in my previous post, last night, the Goldman School of Public Policy hosted "A Conversation with Ambassador Joseph Wilson" at the I-house.

He spoke about his many years as a diplomat in Africa, how it was a choice between him and some other guy to explore the yellowcake issue in Niger, and how he went to Niger, not as a spy ("I don't do clandestine"), but out of service to his country.

What I've always wanted to know was specifically how Wilson arrived at the conclusion that the Bush administration's claim - that Iraq tried to obtain uranium from Africa, thereby justifying the U.S. invasion - was untrue. Wilson, familiar with the mining industry in Africa ("I am not a WMD expert"), went into some detail to explain what "yellowcake" is, and the kind of resources you'd need (people, machinery, water, etc.) to separate the ore, not to mention the paper trail that has to be in place for everything to be legit. Even if this was done off the books, Wilson said, we're talking about 500 tons of unenriched uranium - it would not go unnoticed.

After a brief Q & A session [he never did get to Scaramouche's burning questions, alas], Wilson said that if he were to boil the evening's conversation down to a core issue - or "moral of the story," if you will - it's what he has been saying all along: Yes, people who work in government work very hard, but it is our duty, as Americans, to be tireless in our efforts to hold these individuals accountable for their actions. This country has strayed so far away from its greatness, both here and abroad. Wilson said that this country is currently being run by a bunch of “radicals rallying under the banner of republicanism” — but what they are doing instead is damaging our country and not caring about the ripple effect these actions will have in the long run.

(revised and cross-posted at You Forgot Poland!)

UPDATE (by Scaramouche): You can see the Webcast here. It is worth watching because Wilson details his bonifides, how he was debreifed by the CIA, and explains how he determined that Niger could not be the supplier of yellowcake.

The Q&A was interesting, even if they didn't use my question. My question is in the comment for those iterested.

Doing anything this Wednesday?

2005-11-06T18:21:00.000-08:00

If not, the Goldman School of Public Policy at ye olde alma mater, UC Berkeley, is having a "Conversation with Ambassador Joe Wilson" this Wednesday, 11/9.

I really would like to go, but I don't want to go alone. If anyone is interested in meeting me there, give me a holler. The event is free, open to the public, and if I remember correctly, the I-house cafe sells wine and beer. I'm just saying.

Plus, how often are you going to come face to face with someone so deeply involved in this country's current politics and directly related to Dubya's Big Lie?

Here are the details:

A Conversation with Ambassador Joe Wilson
(and Michael Nacht in small print, he's the GSPP dean, whatever)
Wednesday, Nov. 9
7:30 p.m. - 9 p.m.
Chevron Auditorium
International House
2299 Piedmont Avenue, Berkeley

Book sale and signing after talk.

Smarter than your average bear barbarian

2005-11-01T14:31:00.000-08:00

Our first anniversary bash had some new faces show up. The professional bloggers (they had business cards - it don't more professional than that) from Needlenose (2/3rds at least) stopped by and contributed to the mayhem. I can smell Koufax awards for best group blog here!

We toasted many of times to Harriet Miers --"We hardly knew ya' girl" -- and talked about the "Crime of the Century." No, not Plame Gate, rather it was Supertramp. All in all, a good time was had by all, especially me*.

In the words of Generik, or at least 92.5% of them:

Last night the Bay Area Resident Bloggers And Readers Drinking Society celebrated their one-year anniversary at a bar new to most of us -- Glen Park Station, suggested by our own Barrespondent Drew of Scamboogah!! (who unfortunately couldn't make it) -- and a good time was had by all. Seriously, it was swell, and if you missed it, you missed a lot of good fun and good conversation and good beer. New faces this time were Swopa and Green Boy of Needlenose, and we all hope that they will become regular attendees in the future. Also showing up were Angie of Ang's Weird Ideas, Mags of You Forgot Poland!, Scaramouche, qubit the Token Reader, the King of Zembla, Hal from Hellblazer, Victor Shystee, Chuck from Bad Attitudes and Belisarius Blogs and The Editors from The Poor Man, with his lovely bride in tow. MIA, besides the aforementioned Drew, were Dr. Laniac and Paperwight, who both had to bow out at the last minute, mrgumby2u from itlookslikethis, Brian from 1000 Buffalo Stampede and fyrste from suckful, who apparently had band practice.(read the rest)

Another take on the evening can be found at Hellblazer which sums up the feelings I share:

Anyways, I had a fantastic time hanging out with people who don't treat me like an alien from planet nine when I start spouting off about politics. People who know the true meaning of Fitzmas...

It's refreshing.

Note: For those who don't know this, Jackson West (who somehow evaded our blogroll 'til now -- my bad) has an magnificent obsession.

* I would have written this up earlier but it took some time to recover...

BARBARian Anniversary Fest

2005-10-19T13:08:00.000-07:00

One year ago, on the 27th of October, we had our first Bay Area Resident Bloggers And Readers drinkfest. During the last year we have met new bloggers and even readers (yep, they do exist), some of which are quite 'hip.'

On the suggestion of our very own Barrespondant we will meet Thursday, October 27, at 6pm, at Glen Park Station which is, oddly enough, down the street from the Glen Park Bart Station.

So, come on down for the stimulating conversation and celebrate the hipness.

Celebrity Sightings

2005-09-27T10:48:00.000-07:00

For after action reports from the last drinkfest, check out Dr. Laniac's and Generik's take on the evening.

We had some new additions to our drinking society and the Barbarian blogroll. They are our newest celebs: 1000 Buffalo Stampede, Dr. Laniac's Laboratory, and The Editors (aka The Poor Man).

The next BARBARian night out will be on Thursday, the 27th of October. It will the one year anniversary from our humble beginnings. So all we need to do is decide on a place. The Bart Rule should apply unless there is a shuttle service.

Any ideas?

BARBARian drink-n-jawbone session.

2005-09-11T15:24:00.000-07:00

"WHAT IF YOU HAVE A JOURNALISM DEGREE AND YOU"RE FULL OF SHIT?"
Thirsty? Do you thirst for for knowledgeable conversation? Hunger for righteous discussion? Then, come be filled at a smorgasbord of specialists and dine with the best and the brightest of Bay Area Resident Bay Area Bloggers and Readers.

Let's meet at Ben & Nick's Bar & Grill , home of the first meet up, on Thursday, September 22, at 6 PM until Bart closes.

It was one year ago that the idea germinated to hold a BARBarian drinkfest on Oct. 27, and it was almost called Babes!

Unfortunately for us, but lucky for her Mag25, won't be able to join us, as she will be in Maui. (C-does the let me off the hook for your Birth/Xmas/Day present?).

Considering all the talent and passion that is demonstrated among our drinking disciples and the epistilarian efforts we should look to the long view -like the 1st year anniversary bash!

But seriously folks, we should be planning camp outs and retreats with like-minded earthmovers. Doesn't the idea of Barbarian Grove sound seductive? Much more fun than Bohemians. We have the technology, we have the capability to build the think tank that we'll need in the next decades, long term planning and all....

P.S. I will be accepting belated birthday wishes

Holy Bat Bulge - He's Rocking Robin!!!

2005-08-24T16:36:00.000-07:00

The headline says it all, DC Comics takes big stick to gay Batman:

DC Comics has taken exception to watercolours of Batman and Robin snogging and generally getting it on and has ordered the Kathleen Cullen Fine Arts gallery in New York to take down Mark Chamberlain's provocative representations or face the legal consequences.

Also at the receiving end of DC's wrath is art website Artnet, which carries some of the images. Artnet's 18 August 'magazine' notes they have received a 'cease & desist' letter similar to that slapped on gallery owner Kathleen Cullen for displaying 'images of Batman and Robin exchanging a kiss, a watercolor titled Robin's Baby Pictures depicting the Boy Wonder's cute rear end, and a rendering of the Caped Crusader, sans shirt but otherwise in costume, striking a languorous pose'.

I must say I am unfamiliar with Chamberlain's work so I googled the name. Which led me to Sex Addiction Recovery Tips from Mark Chamberlain, Ph.D..

Naturally I found some interesting reads like The Value of Pain where the good Doctor learns some valuable lessons after getting some splinters in his hand (Got Wood?). Yet there was some confusing stuff like The Story of Russell Conwell:

When he had first begun this enterprise, the farmer had faced a problem: the cattle refused to drink out of the stream. After devoting some time and attention to the matter, he could see that the cattle were avoiding the stream because of a foul scum that floated on its surface. After some consideration and experimention, he discovered that he could channel the scum over to one bank of the stream by placing a plank that extended down to just below the water's surface diagonally across the stream. This diverted the flow of the surface water--and therefore the scum--over to one bank. The scum piled up on the bank and eventually seeped back into the water a few yards downstream, but the water that flowed under the plank remained clean just downstream from it.

The cattle began drinking exclusively at this spot on the stream. Aren't our problems of self-control a lot like the the scummy water problem that this farmer faced? We try to find ways to block or channel our impure urges, our unrighteous desires, and our destructive cravings. You could look at this farmer's solution and say, "There was still scum flowing in the stream on this man's hillside."

You would assume the story would end there and go on about containing scum is like a drink of cool water but, sadly, no! It seems the farmer decided to sell the farm.

The farm's new owner, soon after he had purchased the land, went to check out the ingenious setup that had been arranged for the watering of the cattle. He noticed the dreadful-looking scum that the cattle avoided. He examined it more closely and collected a sample for analysis. He discovered that for twenty-three years the farmer who had worked so hard to become an oil expert had been damning back a flow of petroleum oil.

See what I mean? Confusing. Is oil scum that leads to depravity that would require the help of Dr. Mark and his prayer group? Or is it what you think is scum is really Texas Tea on which the fortunes of princes and presidents are built? I guess the point is: some scum reaps huge sums.

To tie it all together, I wonder what this Chamberlain would say to the Caped Crusader and his sidekick, The Boy Wonder, about their following compulsive costuming urges and going out all hours of the night to deal with scum?

I'd hate to see these guys at a BARBARian gathering

2005-08-08T12:46:00.000-07:00

Mr. Karl-Rove-In-Waiting trips me out. And the faux-tie-eating pose is not cute.

Heated political discourse aside, I'm afraid these guys could possibly drink us under the table. And that, quite frankly, would just damage my ego.

I don't even know what to say about the bow ties.

Pictures from a College Republicans fete at the Old Ebbitt Grille in D.C., courtesy of Truth Caucus.

After Action Report

2005-08-04T15:51:00.000-07:00

It was the best of Zeit; it was the worst of Zeit. It was the summer of dis' big tent. And, yes dear friends, there is a summer in San Francisco that isn't colder than winter.

We had some readers (OK, they we my friends), plus many of our regular crew.

Paperwight showed and left early but left the idea that we should be more involved in the local political scene. I couldn't agree more.

The most kissable authoress of You Forgot Poland and Angie (wild horses couldn't tear us apart) added the civilizing touch.

Chuck Dupree from Belisaruis and Bad Attitudes showed up after winning a chess match by default (hey, a win is a win!).

Generik regalled us with tales from his European Vacation and even gave up a chance to watch the Giants lose again to hang with us.

Shystee, who needs to update his blog really liked the knickname "Love Pirate" that I bestowed on j fyrste, our no-show friend from Suckful (check out the new look) and Shystee told us of his time in Vicenza. While not quite Venezia, it's close enough.

Some other MIAs include mrgumby2yu, Drew, and Hellblazin Hal. Although I hear that Dark Window Pete is alive and well (and sorely missed) and may make an appearence soon.

So to wrap, I'm thinking ahead to September 10, or 11, for our next meet up. I'm thinking softball game/Barb-B-que because I've got about 9 mitts, but alas I lack a bat. Any thoughts?

BARBARian Zeitgeist

2005-07-30T11:22:00.000-07:00

In the spirit of the times, it's time for drinking, conversing, and being comfortably numb. So let's have a little motivation and fill our tankards at Zeitgeist this Tuesday, August 2, starting at 6pm until the light of the silvery moon casts shadows and the embers burn low...

We will raid the local Drinking Liberally crowd for new ~~raiders~~ readers.

See map for location and note that it's in walking distance from either the Civic Center or 16th Mission Bart stations.

Now That's A Party!!!!

2005-07-28T09:32:00.000-07:00

In the last post, Scaramouche posed the question 'Where are today's Barbarians?'. Well, according to this post, they were apparently all rogered to death by a large granite phallus.

Here's a taste:

"The next day their orifices would begin to heal and the buzzing in their heads would wear off and they would swear never to do anything like that again. And because they were barbarians, they would one day invent new gods of fertility and sexuality, ones that thought lubrication was a good idea and encouraged the use of more forgiving materials for the construction of their phalluses, like tree-branches or wool or plastics."

If we're ever going to be anything but pretend-Barbarian poseurs, these are the type of parties we're gonna have start throwin'!! I say the next gathering after the Zeitgeist be held at a quarry.

Who are you talking 'bout...

2005-07-21T22:12:00.000-07:00

In another attempt to sell parental discipline,one must read this odd piece titled Barbarians and Wimps: America's Boy Problem These parts caught my eye:

Where are today's barbarians? Moore locates them at the local shopping mall, wandering about in packs, recognizable by their sloppy dress, their lack of linguistic ability, their crudeness of manners, and their treatment of women. Barbarians do not need words nor use them, they communicate to each other through guttural grunts, shrugs, and various noises. When barbarians actually use words, their speech is most likely to be laced with profanity.

I think it's time for another uncouth and loudmouthed gathering for uncivilized drinking, guttural grunts, shrugs, and various noises.

Wimps, on the other hand, look to women for emotional support, consider girlfriends to be conversation partners, and look to women for pity. They are shameless.

Let's be shameless and invite all wonderful women we know.

I'm thinking August 2nd, at the Zeitgeist so we can troll for new readers from the Drinking Liberally crowd.n It's kind of close to BART. But any suggestions are welcome. Besides, Generik and Paperwight will be, hopefully, able to attend

See comments for more info.

Support Your Local Idiots With Too Much Free Time!!

2005-07-21T08:03:00.000-07:00

Invite 'em up for the San Francisco 3-Minute Film Festival! This Saturday at Root Division on 17th and South VanNess. 7:30 PM. There will be a bar, there will be an hour or so of goofy short films, and even wacky sign-carrying fool Frank Chu will be there.

So spread the word however you can and come on down this Saturday. See you there!!

It's all true, but not in my case...

2005-07-10T20:09:00.000-07:00

All you ever need to know about the world of blogs and blogging: If these words were people, I would embrace their genocide.

Via South Knox Bubba)

BARBARians from the Distant North

2005-07-08T13:12:00.000-07:00

Petaluman blogger Kevin Brennan, who is doing excellent work at Brother Kenya's Paradigm, has formally applied for membership in the Bay Area Resident Bloggers and Readers.

All in favor say aye.

Which reminds me: aren't we about due for a beer blast?

Rove Round-up

2005-06-24T08:30:00.000-07:00

Might the Republicans finally have gone too far? Will the American people at long last recognize that the Republicans have no sense of decency? Well, that's not likely, but this is what folks are saying about Rove's response to Durbin and Mehlman's and McClellan's responses to Rove...
First, what Rove said

"Conservatives saw the savagery of 9/11 in the attacks and prepared for war; liberals saw the savagery of the 9/11 attacks and wanted to prepare indictments and offer therapy and understanding for our attackers."

The poorman starts us off with a nice reminder of just how the President immediately responded to the attacks on 9/11 (by literally flying around the country hiding) and the White House lies about that response.
From Tapped, we get a link to a press release from Families of 9/11, "calling on Karl Rove to resist his temptations and stop trying to reap political gain in the tragic misfortune of others. His comments are not welcome."
Also in Tapped, Garance Franke-Ruta takes further issue with Rove's remarks, calling them

"a blatant falsehood and an insult to all the liberal victims of September 11 in the New York region who still want nothing more than for our military to get Osama bin Laden. Harry Reid, Howard Dean, and House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer have already called for Rove to apologize. I heartily concur."

She adds,

"Instead of attacking the patriotism of liberal victims of 9-11, Rove and the president should focus on catching bin Laden. The United States defeated Adolf Hitler’s army and the Italian fascists in three and a half years, but nearly four years after we got hit by Al-Qaeda, bin Laden is still at large and there appears to be no concerted effort to find him, even though CIA chief Porter Goss recently said we have "an excellent idea" where he is."

There's more, all of it good. Go read.
The DNC has its own take on the differences between Democrats and Republicans, among them,

"Democrats
Believe capturing the person primarily responsible for the attack should be a top priority.
Republicans
It's been four years, and Osama bin Laden is still free, even though Bush's CIA chief says he knows where he is."

Go read this, too.
Kevin Drum properly equates Rove's and McClellan's remarks with McCarthy level thuggery.
There's more, all over the internets.
For myself, I really don't want apologies from Rove, Mehlman, et al, and I certainly don't want to hear any more whiny calls for them to apologize coming from the Democrats. We should loudly and often point out that these comments are way bveyond the pale and demand nothing less than their resignations.

Celebrating Freedom in Alaska

2005-06-22T07:42:00.000-07:00

It seems some folks up in Alaska are uncomfortable with people expressing views contrary to their own, so they're trying to organize a boycott of an upcoming (July 30)appearance by Steve Earle at the Southeast Alaska State Fair. As should always be the case with such things, however, their efforts seem to be backfiring, raising awareness of Earl's concert and increasing ticket sales.

To see how some of us BARBARians feel about Earle, click here or here, or even here.

8th Annual BBQ At The End Of Time

2005-06-21T19:41:00.000-07:00

Well, it's that time again when time itself comes to an end and we reverse course for yet another year of reliving the past. Come celebrate the 8th annual BBQ at the end of time at the fog ensconced Hellblazer residence in the fabled land of Moss Beach.

Please RSVP as soon as possible with how many will be attending so I can plan for food, drinks n' such. (Apologies for getting the invitation out late)

Please click here for formal invitation and RSVP directions.

Please remember to dress in layers. Here in the fog bound realm it could be beautiful and warm or dense fog and rather cold.

Remember, children are always welcome!

Sorry I missed the Guns & Roses thang'

2005-06-15T18:42:00.000-07:00

If I had known that everyone was in the neighborhood that Saturday I would have invited everyone over to the Fencing Club where I teach a few miles from there for a free fencing lesson.

With that said, I wonder if the Pen is mightier than the sword then the Blog must be mightier than the blunderbuss...

I missed all you bloggers with arms!

Attention All Wanna-Be Tarantinos and Brett Ratners...

2005-06-08T15:44:00.000-07:00

I know it's 8 days into the month already, but a friend of mine's putting on a '3-minute film festival' for movies directed, shot and edited during the month of June. It's open to seasoned auteurs and clumsy, ham-fisted amateurs alike.

Check out the site at http://3minutefilmfest.blogspot.com

Spread the word amongst any and all hipster Hollywood phonies you may know!!

The Downing Street Memo and the Big Brass Alliance

2005-05-28T18:01:00.000-07:00

BARBs,

Our esteemed colleague Generik yesterday alerted me to the existence of After Downing Street, a site you should visit immediately if you haven't already.

Back so soon? Good. Earlier today I received the following from Melissa McEwan of Shakespeare's Sister:

Hello, fellow bloggers.

In response to the move by After Downing Street, who are looking for additional groups to support their formal inquiry into the possibility that Bush committed impeachable offenses in making the case for the Iraq War, and as a follow-up discussion that took place in response to this post at Shakespeare's Sister, we're forming the Big Brass Alliance of bloggers in association with Big Brass Blog.

There is a post here listing the bloggers who have noted their interest in participation; I'm emailing you because I thought you might want to participate as well.

Leave a comment at Shakespeare's Sister if you're interested in joining the alliance. Ang, Paperwight, Hellblazer and Yr. Mst. Hmbl. Mnrch. are already on board.

Bay Area Bloggers Meet-Up

2005-05-25T20:43:00.000-07:00

Anyone else get this invite?

From: KRON-TV
Location: KRON-TV
1001 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, CA
When: Saturday, June 11, 12:00pm

And if so, are you going???

FYI: Drinking Liberally

2005-05-11T09:34:00.000-07:00

For them as may be interested:

Drinking Liberally will now be at Zeitgeist (located at the corner of Valencia and Duboce). DL's new home features outdoor picnic tables, many a beer on tap, a full bar and a BBQ pit. Share a pitcher or two tonight with San Francisco's Progressive happy hour.

Zeitgeist
199 Valencia (at Valencia and Duboce)
7-9 PM every Tuesday

IMO, this is a vast improvement over Doc's Clock.  If you want to sign up for the Drinking Liberally email list, you can do so here.

Law and Order: Special Missing Bloggers Unit

2005-05-03T13:14:00.000-07:00

As someone who has up and left entire cities (Hello Portland, Oregon and Bridgeport, Connecticut) without letting large groups of friends and ex co-workers know anything about my new whereabouts, I suppose I'm the last person who should worry about bloggers that disappear into thin air with no explanation. In the case of leaving places, usually I just didn't want to raise a fuss and make people feel obligated to throw a party or whatever. And since blogging at times can feel like talking into the dial tone of a phone, I can totally see a day of saying, "screw this" and just stopping at some point.

Still, much in the same way that my overactive imagination caused me to think that something terribly sinister happened to The Token Reader, I now find myself concocting 'grassy knoll' style conspiracies in regards to Swash-blogger Scaramouche.

I know there's no shortage of blogs out there that have been inactive for long periods of time. Hell, just click on the Next Blog button on the upper right and chances are you'll read some 15 year old's take on how much they hate Jessica Simpson that was written sometime in 2003. It's when a blog is extremely active and then goes dark that I begin to think that men in dark suits showed up in the middle of the night to pull the plug on their cable modem.

Another good example was Dark Window, but at least with that there was a corresponding tragic event that seemed to profoundly effect the author into a bummed out stage of ennui and lack of interest. But in both Token Reader's and now Scaramouche's cases, it seemed to be business as usual and then nothing.

Anyone want to round up a posse, check the files at Guantanamo and see what underground pit these guys are being held in?

Of course, if there is some tragic event tied with either of these cases, I completely apologize for making light of the situation.

Sincerely,
Your slightly concerned internet buddies.

Marla Ann Ruzicka

2005-04-23T18:01:00.000-07:00

It’s a two and a half hour drive from San Francisco to Lakeport. You don’t come into Lakeport at 70 mph on the interstate. Passing through towns with names like Middletown, Kelseyville, and Hopland, you get there, no matter which direction you come from, on a two-lane state highway, twisting and climbing, then twisting and plunging through the mountains. In places the branches of the trees on either side of the road meet and wed over the road, blocking out the sky. The last seventeen miles of road after you leave US 101 in Hopland and before you arrive in town on State Highway 175 in Lakeport is undeveloped, with forest, streams, meadows, and scrub. Eventually, as you turn a corner or crest a hill, Clear Lake comes into view. Today, the lake’s choppy surface reflected a gray cloudy sky. Entering the town from South Main Street, you pass a tractor dealer, well and pump companies, and several car dealers, all of them with pickup trucks prominently at the front of the lot. This is a rural community, physically and socially isolated from the liberal urban bay area just to the south. This is where Marla Ruzicka grew up.

It’s a long way culturally from Lakeport to San Francisco. It’s farther still to Washington, to Kabul and Baghdad. That’s the journey Marla Ruzicka made. Today she came home. This morning and afternoon, her family, friends, colleagues, and admirers gathered at Saint Mary Immaculate Church on North Main Street in Lakeport to celebrate and say goodbye to one of the town’s daughters, a woman who in the last week, in death, became its most famous citizen. The speakers at the funeral service included one of her older sisters, a childhood friend, and some of the activists, journalists, and politicians Marla met in her wide travels during her all too brief time after leaving Lakeport. The turnout was greater than the church could hold and a couple hundred mourners gathered around speakers and television screens outside the church, remaining through brief rain showers to hear from Medea Benjamin, Representative Mike Thompson, and California’s Democratic Senator, Barbara Boxer.

Among the many things about the war in Iraq that has infuriated me was that once all the other pretexts for the war, the WMD, the threat to the US and Iraq’s neighbors, had been demonstrated to be false, all that was left was that the war was for the good of the Iraqi people. The jury is still out on that, in the long run that may prove to be so, but is patently true that a significant group of Iraqis, those killed or maimed during the war, most specifically those killed or maimed by American arms, are decidedly worse off than they would have been had the war not been waged. It has been disgraceful that our government, and most Americans, exhibited no concern for those Iraqis, those who were bearing the brunt of the human cost of the war. We have quite infamously even refused to count them. While I got mad and did nothing, though, Marla Ruzicka was moved to do something about it. Traveling to Afghanistan and Iraq, speaking only English and without a formal support network, she launched a drive to count the innocent victims of our wars and to have them compensated by our government. She learned to work with Congress and the Pentagon to get money and support. She founded her own relief agency, The Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict. Through her efforts, tens of millions of dollars are now being given victims of the war in compensation and unofficial efforts are being made by the military to account for civilian casualties. As Mike Thompson said, at the beginning of this war, civilian casualties, if they were considered at all, were considered “collateral damage.” A change is coming. Slowly, due in large part to Marla’s efforts and sadly, to her death, awareness of the civilian casualties is increasing.

In addition to the fact that she walked this world spreading good cheer and unconditional love while leaving good deeds in her wake, the point that every body who spoke of her touched on, whether explicitly or implicitly, was brought home most succinctly and forcefully by Bobby Muller, Chairman of Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation, when he said that Marla proved that one person’s life can make a profound difference in the world. Because of Marla’s example, none of us can complacently avoid engaging the injustices we see. With any effort we put forth, we can make a difference. If we don’t, it’s because we haven’t tried. Quill Lawrence, a BBC radio journalist, said that after knowing Marla, he can no longer pass by those who are needy or suffer without lending a hand, he can no longer shrug his shoulders and say “what can one person do?” We’ve been shown what one person can do. Probably none of us can match her, but we can try.

I’m 45 years old and it’s been a long time since I’ve looked at anybody in this world as a hero or inspiration. Marla’s my hero now. I wish I’d known of her sooner.

Marla Ann Ruzicka’s body has been returned to Lakeport. Her spirit of love and hope that inspired everybody she contacted remains loose in the world. CIVIC and the crusade she started survive her. We can honor her and our nation by contributing to the cause she gave her life for.

Update: Link to CIVIC fixed.

Why I Love Living Here - Part MCMXVI

2005-04-20T10:02:00.000-07:00

On the way to work this morning, I got behind a truck with what I thought was a rather curious combination of back window sticker and license plate holder. I love reading bumper stickers and other little bits of information that people put on their vehicles, trying to figure out what the driver inside must be like. The sticker in question was one that a lot of Bay Area residents, especially those toward the south end of the greater Bay Area, see fairly often -- a KPIG sticker, with the familiar pig wearing a cowboy hat and sunglasses. KPIG, that eclectic station out of Freedom, CA (south of Santa Cruz and on the way to Monterey) is one of the last free-form FM stations still in existence. It leans heavily toward the alt-country and bluegrass side of modern music, but also plays plenty of rock and roll and blues and all sorts of fare that you won't find on a Clear Channel playlist. In other words, it's what radio used to be like.

The license plate holder, in contrast, read "What Would Voldemort Do?", referring, obviously, to the Harry Potter character also known as He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. KPIG and Harry Potter? Okay, sir, fair enough. (What would Voldemort do, anyway?)

At that very moment, on the radio (I was listening to Morning Sedition on Air America, KQKE, 960 AM) I heard this exchange:

Caller: "What's the difference between birth control and gay sex?"

Mark Maron: "What's the- I don't know, is this a joke?"

Caller: "Of course not! I'm a Catholic!"

I don't know either (though I'm not a Catholic). I don't know how this all ties together, it just struck me funny at the time and made me once again appreciate how much I love living in San Francisco. Voldemort. KPIG. Birth control and gay sex. "I'm a Catholic!" Hey, there must be a joke in there somewhere!