//Democrat
When in Doubt, Resort to Mockery
Republican campaign tactics have seemed to lack a certain gravitas of late, but it wasn’t until they began to resort to outright mockery that said tactics began to look particularly desperate. It honestly seems as if McCain’s camp has been able to find so little with which to hang Obama, that they’ve opted, instead, simply to employ easily refutable arguments premised, apparently, on the hope that no one will watch or read the news. Ever.
It’s just brilliant.
Since It’s Gonna Keep Coming Up
This is, hands down, one of the great moments in punditry. And since we’re gonna keep hearing about this subject of appeasement at the hands of plenty more talk radio buffoons and 527 groups targeting our man Barack, a little refresher course seems timely:
Finally
A presumptive nominee. What a great idea!
It Sure is One Super Tuesday
Of all people, you probably wouldn’t expect Andrew Sullivan to make such an airtight case for Obama, but indeed, he does just that.
Endorsement Time
Because we know you’ve been waiting…we know you’ve been dying to know, it’s time we announced the official painkiller.org presidential endorsement: That’s right, throw your hands in the air and wave them vigorously as if you pretty much don’t care and join us in helping to elect Barack Obama to the presidency.
Certainly anyone who reads our site with any regularity has probably figured out that we have a sickening liberal agenda here. But even still, what we probably don’t spend enough time repeating is just how generally disappointing we find the democratic party as a whole. The central failing of the democratic party is that, time and time again, they have proven themselves loathe to take firm positions on almost any issue, opting rather to define themselves by what they don’t stand for, ie. what the Republicans do stand for. It doesn’t take a logician to understand that a contrarian stance is not an actual political position, so no one should be surprised that Democrats have a wishy-washy reputation. Their platform is a shambles. It doesn’t move, it doesn’t inspire, it doesn’t capture the hearts and minds of a cynical and apathetic nation.
Barack Obama has an astoundingly fresh perspective. He seems to be genuinely moved by his point of view, and he has no qualms in conveying those views with the utmost clarity. He’s also not saddled by the baby-boomer hippy guilt that seems to drive so many of our modern democratic leaders. That guilt that made John Kerry introduce himself in 2004 with “I’m John Kerry and I’m reporting for duty!” It’s the guilt that made all of Hillary Clinton’s tough talk about Iraq even four years ago seem like she was already hedging to beat a superior Republican candidate. It’s tough talk jock talk from the mouths of intellectuals and it doesn’t ring true.
So it’s time to gear up. It’s time to engage. Start reading. Start listening to the candidates. Use the cerebrum a little bit. If nothing else, even if none of the candidates are quite your cup of tea, you have to admit that it would be pretty amazing to see a truly engaged electorate this year. That would make Democracy a little prettier if only for a day. And if you take our advice, imagine one more thing: Imagine how our Democracy will look to angry young Muslim men throughout the Middle East if they wake up one morning to see the face of Barack Hussein Obama as he is sworn into the highest office on the planet.
Now listening to:
Now reading:
//RECENT
Vincent Moon and Arcade Fire Walk Into An Elevator….“[T]he crowd seemed really emotionally engaged with the music.”
Water Water Everywhere…. “Water, water, everywhere,
And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, everywhere,
Nor any drop to drink.”
- The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
An extended version of Bon Iver’s La Blogotheque Take Away Show of “For Emma, Forever Ago” with three versions of the song and some very startled tourists. I think this is one of my favorite things in the whole world. Not just that the song is so beautiful, and is so beautifully sung, but that [...]
So, This Stephen Malkmus-looking Guy Who Went to High School with My Boss Wrote a Children’s BookA man once said, “Childrens do learn.” and I believe childrens should learn to dream big dreams. Even better is to dream arty dreams like a hipster might draw. This hipster author’s name is Dallas Clayton. Although I do not know for sure that Dallas Clayton is a hipster, he looks like this: And, I [...]
Matilde UrrutiaIt isn’t simply that you are loved gloriously, or loved beautifully. But rather that a pitch perfect expression of love for you sounds and sounds, Rises into the very air. Though the love itself may fade, I do not know, The poetry you inspire ascends, ascending Becomes stars and you, who are so loved, Look [...]
//FROM THE ARCHIVES
20 Ways to Reduce Your Carbon FootprintWe’ve heard way too much lately about the seemingly insurmountable environmental problems to which we all contribute every day. It’s enough to make you downright defeatist. It’s enough to make you think we’re all just fucked and there’s nothing to be done. All we can say is that the more we hear about all of [...]
Growing PainsI sat in front of my computer this morning and watched, somewhat obsessively, as Kirk Cameron from Growing Pains attempted to dazzle the audience of ABC’s Nightline with “absolute, scientific proof in the existence of god without relying on faith.” As you might guess, he and author Ray Comfort were generally unsuccessful in this endeavor [...]
I Left My Heart in Bon Iver“However, this was one of those shows that blows you quite away and I felt privileged to have gotten to witness it.”
a little plug for christopher bushMy very best friend Christopher Bush just shot some photos for the August (denim) issue of NYLON Magazine. His work has also appeared in TimeOut New York and Curve.
The SparrowWhen Edith sings my mind conjures up grainy, sepia-toned black and white photographs of Paris in the forties. Her voice embodies that tinkling piano that everyone hears in a neighbouring apartment, but never our own. When Edith sings I hear her say (in French), “At first there was no applause, and then the house came [...]
