On B1 Bombers

Eugene Jarecki, whose documentary "Why We Fight" about the military-industrial-complex was the subject of my first-ever blog post, continues his analysis of how political mandates are manufactured. This thing about the B1 Bomber you're about to read is as brilliant as it is twisted. He then tells us what to do about it.

Today, the B1 Bomber has a piece of it made in every single U.S. state. This simple fact offers a window into a heinous defense industry practice called "political engineering" -- a strategy for the grotesque misuse of taxpayer dollars. Simply put, a loose alliance of actors from the military, industry, and Congress (what Eisenhower first called the "military-industrial-congressional-complex" before removing the word "congressional") work together to ensure that the contracts and subcontracts to produce a given weapons system are distributed as widely as possible across congressional districts. This way, if the program ever comes up for reevaluation, there's a built-in constituency in Congress for its continuation.

He implores all of us who are blowing our collective wads over Democratic nominee Barack Obama to keep him and the Democrats honest as they face this formidable phenomenon known as political engineering. No president -- no matter how inspiring -- can do squat against these mandates without some counterbalance from us, the public.

Aside from ill-conceived comparisons to dieting (you'll have to read the full article for that), his calls for organizing for social change make perfect sense and, more importantly, offer hope. Real hope.

"...[M]ake civic engagement an extension of what you already do for work or play. And the second is to break out of the isolation and individuation that so many of us experience in our television, cell-phone, and computer-dominated existence.

...No matter what our individual vocation, we must follow Margaret Mead's timeless wisdom about the power of small groups of organized people to change the world. In an interconnected age more than ever, we must not toil in isolation but join forces with others to build groupings of pressure-groups - not shadowy think tanks on K street - but everyday organizations in small towns and big towns that fix their attention on a needed area of social change and work tirelessly for it...Just to give an example, if 1,000 people in all 435 congressional districts committed themselves to spend 5 hours a month acting as a watchdog on congressional waste and corruption, making that information public, and demanding transparency and accountability, just think of the impact those 2,175,000 man-hours could have on our system."

Government of the people, right?

It's October 2008. Children of the future, take note

A recap of the year so far. (the latter half, at least.)

The Orioles, sadly, didn't come close.

The global economy has swerved into a credit freeze disaster because of an excess of unwise investments and a shortage of trusting lenders or investors. My parents' retirement account has been cut in half. The bogeymen in all this? Subprime loans turned to mortgage-backed securities, known as complex financial instrument, sometimes known as derivatives. Dress up like THAT for Halloween.

Barack Obama has everyone's hopes awful high.

And, finally, gratifyingly, a woman from Alaska has electrified and united not just the Republican base, but EVERYONE ELSE IN THE WORLD. An electorate stands in rapt, fearsome attention, reminiscent of the days of -- never. Sputtering comedy careers have found new life.

Yesterday, Frontline fabulously profiled both Obama -- the community organizer who early on in his career inspired many with the stolen Cesar Chavez labor slogan: Yes We Can! -- and John McCain, the prisoner of war and former hottie who stumbled into a beer heiress and an impressive political career. It's a historic election, no doubt.

But I propose that it is not too early (and not a jinx) to bring up the long-term prospects of an Obama win. Glenn Greenwald does it well:

Nonetheless, it's worth underscoring -- in fact, it's vital to keep in mind -- that the option of politically empowering Democrats is the opposite of a panacea. The Democratic Party structure in Washington, and particularly its leadership in Congress, is more corrupted and destructive than anything else there is -- with the exception of the right-wing faction that has been running the country for the last eight years. Contrary to the inane conventional Beltway wisdom that bipartisanship is oh-so-tragically scarce, Democrats as an entity have, over and over, passively acquiesced to, and frequently actively enabled and participated in, many of the worst abuses of the last eight years. Their leadership in Congress is corrupt and craven to the bone in many of the same ways the GOP leadership has been -- and they're about to be far more entrenched and their power far less checked.

Not to be negative or anything.

Hope is a dangerous thing, particularly where the Orioles are concerned

Tonight, a 27-year-old named Chris Waters made his major league debut by shutting out the best team in baseball, the Los Angeles Angels, giving up just one hit in eight innings, winning 3-0 and giving me a glimmer of Oriole hope I haven't felt in an awful long time. Waters' pitching was beautiful. He fielded masterfully and had the kind of quiet poise on the mound that normally belongs to a veteran.
He was so smooth. In the post-game interview he said it was the Lord that did it, not him.
Well thank you, Christ. Because this felt like the beginning of something. Sure, they're last in the league. But I'm thinking maybe the Lord is mixin it up this year. You heard it here first, folks. I don't think it's premature. I am predicting the Baltimore Orioles go all the way this year. Not on the shoulders of this guy alone because, for Christ's sake, have you seen our numbers?

Resurrection

It was a musty, caloric hiatus but, my friends, Porcupine has returned from the thrilling arcades of the old country and has taken up residence in cyberland. Now unemployed (and loving it!) Porcupine plans to sit on various beds and couches across the land and shape a less murky future. P also wants to earn money.
In the meantime, here's hoping you enjoy the acid rants and bilious pontification and occasional loving tribute to a pop icon. As well as photographs and videos. Please comment only with criticism and relentless mocking.

By the way, I am currently watching television with my parents, two aunts and an uncle from India, and of course -- of course -- there's a pharmaceutical advertisement that closes with rapid fire warnings of breast tenderness, sexual dysfunction and other awful things to hear while you're sitting with your parents and relatives from India.

Read it. And Weep.

Hey you! Yeah YOU. Over there, spying my blog when you're supposed to be working. What is it that you want from me? Embarrassing stories? Righteous polemic? Pictures of shirtless dudes? What? WHAT?

I got nothing. The well's dried up. Blogtacularity has gone the way of blog mediocrity. I just watched "Adaptation," which is a really great movie. Also saw Bourne Supremacy. And as brutally hot as Matt Damon is...
+++
Here I was looking for a Matt Damon picture on IMDB to supplement my story, when I see that he's in post production on a movie called "Imperial Life in the Emerald City." I am aghast. That's a book written by Washington Post reporter/former Baghdad bureau chief Rajiv Chandrasekaran about first years after the United States invaded Iraq. So I'm asking myself, "How do you make that shit into a movie with Matt Damon?"

Here's how. I haven't read the book, but the CPA and reconstruction in Iraq sounds like a Monty Python script. For those of you the least bit inclined, read the interview. Starts a couple paragraphs down.

Photo op

Indian national security advisor M.K. Narayanan (right) meeting Vice President Dick Cheney on July 19, 2007

(Cheney: I am going to mirror his body language and look straight into his thick glasses to show him we are together, allies in the fight against terror.)

(Narayanan: Is he giving me the finger?)

Speaking of healthcare

This, from my Seattle-native friend.