Brand Obama

A Newsweek blog has an interesting post describing how Obama's branding efforts are more thorough and complete than any campaign thus far, and certainly more so than his rival. It explores something I've been thinking about as well. Obama's "brand" looks way more Apple or Target than Hillary's or McCain's (Dell and Wal-Mart/Army circa 2003).

Also, his "O" logo scales much better online than Hillary's.

From a copy perspective, Obama definitely has a tagline, whereas Hillary doesn't that I can find. "Ready from day one" just doesn't cut the mustard. While "Change I can believe in" isn't great (is that a preposition I see at the end of that sentence?), at least it's an attempt.

What does this mean. Not a heck of a lot, but I still think it's interesting. Could something like this influence those of us that work in such matters? Perhaps, but we were probably pre-disposed to support him anyway.

[Cross posted sort of at Contented]

UPDATE: Now, the Obama logo has been goat.se'd... It must be all Web 2.0.

The Flannel Enigma Endorsemet

I know you all were waiting for this with baited breath, but I voted for, and will endorse, Barack Obama for President of the United States.

I'm the whitest of the white, but I still like Obama. My parents both like Obama. Even my Republican brother would consider voting for Obama. That's enough isn't it. That covers the entire spectrum. Strangely, my Gingrinch-Republican brother and I started off as Edwards supporters. Go progressive brother (not meant in any racial-cultural way).

Don't get me wrong. I like Hillary. I like the Clintons a lot. But that's a subject for another post (closer to something that matters like the PA primary).

Obama '08!

A Generation X President?

Barack Obama was born in 1961 (eight years before your host for those that are counting). Would that make him the first Gex-X candidate? The sources are mixed. According to Wikipedia, the number ranges from 1961 to 1964. In any case, I'm not a baby boomer and nor is he really; I'm much closer in age to Obama than Clinton (or McCain or Huckabee for that matter). My Mother, on the other hand, born in the first year of the baby boom, is closer to the rest. Make you own call.

We built the damn Internet as you know it (Amazon et al.), why can't a gen-x'er be president?

Holy Cow

Never mind defeating Hillary Clinton. Barack Obama received more votes in Virginia in his primary win than all the Republican candidates combined (approximately 560,000 to 445,000 with 94% reporting).

In Virginia! A state that hasn't voted for a Democratic candidate in my memory (Jimmy Carter may have won there, but I'm too arsed to do the actual research). In Virginia even!

I've refrained from posting on politics this cycle, but I suppose that this post will show you all where my loyalties lie.

Bush Commutes Scooter's Jail Time

And I'm not surprised. Really. I mean, what exactly does Bush have to lose? He's already tap dancing near Nixon-esque approval levels. Apparently all that talk about accountability when he was elected was a Maine-sized load of bull. And somewhere this afternoon, my friend Senior's head exploded.

NP: "Springfield" - Sufjan Stevens

More on the War Against Science

A recent Gallup poll show that a majority of Republicans in the U.S. do not believe the theory of evolution. This is just more evidence that reason and many of the powers that be in this country are not compatible. It's funny that other theories that are just as established aren't under fire such as gravity and the fact that the earth orbits the sun (oh wait). Wherever science doesn't match a strict world view (whether it is religion-based or greed-based), it's alway seems to be the Republicans fighting reason and science. This anti-intellectualism quite worries me.

NP: "Porcupine" - Echo & the Bunnymen

Graph of public opinion of presidents throughout their terms since 1946. Bill did pretty good.

Virtual tour of the creationism museum in Kentucky.

Anyone but a Bush or a Clinton in '08

James Burkee nails it in the L.A. Times. I like Hillary Clinton. Don't get me wrong. I think she's a fine Senator. Heck, I even agree with her a good bit of the time. And I liked her husband in the job just fine thank you very much. But her being president is just wrong, wrong, wrong. It smacks too much of aristocracy, and isn't that what we were getting away from about 230 years ago?

Think of Washington turning down the opportunity at a third term, please.

NP: "Strange Communication" - British Sea Power

State of the Union

Since the Democrats are taking power tomorrow in the U.S. congress, it seems like a good time to assess the state of the union (fully a month before the constitution requires W to do so). From here, things are looking up. For a historical perspective, however, you may want to check out all the State of the Union Addresses. How many "stay the courses" can you count?

We Were For Muslim Extermists Before We Were Against Them

Happy 20th birthday to the Iran-Contra Scandal (The sale of arms was confirmed by Ed Meese on November 25, 1986). I wonder why this anniversary isn't being noted as much as, say Watergate? Maybe there are just too many other Republican scandals in the wind right now. Really, what's the scandal scorecard looking like these days? Even my most rock-ribbed Republican friends would have to admit that the scandals seem to accumulate more under their administrations. I mean really, what have the Democrats got? A blowjob and a couple of pardons? Don't even start that Whitewater or Vince Foster nonsense either!

Back to Iran-Contra. I remember the hearings on this like they were yesterday, and even then, I was appalled that the executive branch would so flagrantly do an end-run around the constitution. How on earth did so many people avoid incarceration? Oh that's right, "I don't recall."

Funny side note to the whole affair. I went to college with Oliver North's eldest daughter and son. I even had classes a lot of classes with his daughter since we were both class of '91 and English majors to boot (both were incredibly nice by the way). On the day of my graduation, as I was walking to the ceremony with my parents, we ran into Oliver North who shook hands with me and my parents. To this day, I have the mental image of the distaste etched on my father's face as he towered over Mr. North while shaking his hand (North is only like 5'6" tall and my Dad is 6'2"). Well done Dad!

Yikes! It must be Ronald Reagan week here at Flannel Enigma. [Ed. Note: I never expected to see that sentence here ever.]

NP: "I Wanna Sleep with You" - The Psychedelic Furs
(C'mon, you just knew this one would have to be from the 80s)

The World According to Ronald Reagan

In a handy map!

The scary part of this is that much of those who purport to speak for the right seem to believe this is the way the world should be (I'm looking at you Rush Limbaugh, but then again, you are hard to miss).

I suppose this means that I'm back from my moving hiatus. Amazingly, we are about 90% done setting up the new loft.

NP: "Leaves Me Cold" - Lush

The Good Guys Win

The house at least. Say hello to Speaker Pelosi.

Sorry Gollum. (Though it's unimaginable that you were super excited tonight.)

UPDATE: Now the Senate is looking interesting. Go Jim. Go Claire. Go Jon.

UPDATE II: Please Virginia, be sane. Don't elect Gov. Disney to the Senate again. Here we go. Recounts likely.

UPDATE III: Webb says he wins. Hallelujah! Let the recounts begin. Thank you Richmond.

UPDATE IV: Not so much in Georgia. We did hold a contested seat or two (not sure exactly of the exact numbers since John Lewis [bless him] is my representative.)

FINAL UPDATE: Allen should take the advice of GOP representatives from 2000 and retreat quietly in the political night. Webb won. Get over it. Blue congress!

"The votes are in, and we won" - Jim Webb

I Voted

Did You?

(And here's some voting music for you)

NP: "The Revolution Starts Now" - Steve Earle

Speaking the Truth to Power

Olbermann does.

Current events is a nightmare from which I'm still trying to awake.

McKinney Concedes

And Dekalb county's long nightmare of being a national laughing stock is over.

In other news, there was another prominent RepublicanDemocrat incumbant lost his primary challenge as well. Apparently, he's going to run on as a RepublicanIndependent.

NP: "All Songs Considered - Sleater-Kinney live" - NPR

The Party Party?

There's really nothing else to add.

NP: "Pyramid Song" - Radiohead

Gas War

UPDATE: As pointed out in the comments, I feel for this one big time. It won't work. This email has been around for years, as snopes.com points out. Maybe Bill Gates will give me money after all. I feel sort of sheepish actually since I usually have a pretty good internal BS detector.

I just had this email forwarded to me by a colleague. At first, I thought it was another silly chain email, like Bill Gates wanting to give me money. Now, I'm not so sure. And since I'm not a big fan of Exxon in general, it certainly can't hurt. So here it is in its entirety:

Join the resistance! I hear we are going to hit close to $ 4.00 a gallon by next summer and it might go higher!! Want gasoline prices to come down? We need to take some intelligent, united action.

[Ed. Note: Name witheld] offered this good idea. This makes much more sense than the "don't buy gas on a certain day" campaign that was going around last April or May! The oil companies just laughed at that because they knew we wouldn't continue to "hurt" ourselves by refusing to buy gas. It was more of an inconvenience to us than it was a problem for them. but, whoever thought of this idea, has come up with a plan that can really work. Please read on and join with us!

By now you're probably thinking gasoline priced at about $1.50 is super cheap. Me too! It is currently $2.79 for regular unleaded in my town. Now that the oil companies and the OPEC nations have conditioned us to think that the cost of a gallon of gas is cheap at $1.50 - $1.75, we need to take aggressive action to teach them that buyers control the marketplace... not sellers. With the price of gasoline going up more each day, we consumers need to take action. The only way we are going to see the price of gas come down is if we hit someone in the pocketbook by not purchasing their gas! And, we can do that witho0ut hurting ourselves. How?

Since we all rely on our cars, we can't just stop buying gas. But we can have an impact on gas prices if we all act together to force a price war. Here's the idea: For the rest of this year, don't purchase any gasoline from the two biggest companies (which now are one), Exxon and Mobil. If they are not selling any gas, they will be inclined to reduce their prices. If they reduce their prices, the other companies will have to follow suit. But to have an impact, we need to reach literally millions of Exxon and Mobil gas buyers. It's really simple to do! Now, don't wimp out on me at this point...keep reading and I'll explain how simple it is to reach millions of people!

[Ed. Note: warning, math ahead] I am sending this note to over 30 people. If each of us send it to at least ten more (30 x 10 = 300) ... and those 300 send it to at least ten more (300 x 10 = 3,000)...and so on, by the time the message reaches the sixth group of people, we will have reached over three million consumers.

If those three million get excited and pass this on to ten friends each, then 30 million people will have been contacted! If it goes one level further, you guessed it..... three hundred million people!

Again, all you have to do is send this to 10 people. That's all! (If you don't understand how we can reach 300 million and all you have to do is send this to 10 people.... Well, let's face it, you just aren't a mathematician. But I am . so trust me on this one.)

How long would all that take? If each of us sends this e-mail out to ten more people within one day of receipt, all 300 million people could conceivably be contacted within the next 8 days! I'll bet you didn't think you and I had that much potential, did you! Acting together we can make a difference.

If this makes sense to you, please pass this message on. I suggest that we not buy from Exxon/Mobil until they lower their prices $1.30 range and keep them down. This can really work.

I generally get my gas at a BP station anyways, so this will be pretty easy for me.

NP: "Red Tan" - The Raveonettes

Vice President Fellow Hunter in Mishap

I never thought I'd write a sentence with the words "Vice President" and "shoots hunter". I guess they really are the gang that couldn't shoot straight.

UPDATE: Ten Ways Dick Cheney Can Kill You.

NP: "My Little Problem" - The Replacements

Coretta Scott King: 1927 - 2003

There are no words.

Get Your Real War On

This is brilliant. Get Your War On, possibly one of my favorite comic strips over the last few years, is now a live show, as presented by the Rude Mechanicals in Austin, Texas. I wish the site had a few live clips of the show, but the flash video is kind of well done (watch your speaker volume... it's loud).

NP: "Most People are DJs" - The Hold Steady

The 50 Most Loathsome People in America

According to the Beast. There are some real gems here. Here's a taste:

48. Larry the Cable Guy

Charges: The absolute nadir of the American South’s baffling cultural hegemony. A middle-class Nebraskan, raised in Palm Beach, whose parents sent him to private school, masquerading as an Appalachian mutant and making millions off the nine-toed cyclopes in his audience by calling his material “blue collar,” when it’s really just a celebration of proud ignorance. The latest in a long line of “entertainers” propagating the lie that real talent is elitist. The South has risen again—just long enough to grab the rest of the nation by the legs and pull it back down to its Lovecraftian depths. Isn’t even “bad funny.” Makes Jeff Foxworthy look like Chris Rock.

Really, it's worth a read. And there's a surprise number 1, even though it really isn't that surprising once you've read the charges.

NP: "Ahead" - Wire

Another Good Reason to Live Intown

My Congressman.

Posting will be light this week, as I get ready for the holidays (much as most of you are probably doing). There will be the obligatory music posts (10 - 6 best albums and weekly music report).

NP: "Killing Armies" - Wolf Parade

Amen, Sister

Happy Holidays. Who was it exactly that declared war on Christmas again?

NP: "Shanty for the Arethusa" - The Decemberists

Dear France

A New Orleans homeowner writes France, asking them to renogotiate the Louisiana purchase and buy Louisiana back.

NP: "The Plan" - Built to Spill

The War on the Environment - A Momentary Cease Fire

Knowing full well that it will make no difference in the long run and that it's only a giveaway to oil companies, Republican leaders in the House temporarily abandoned the drive to open ANWR to drilling. They figured out that it was threatening the passage of a bill to cut spending, which may be in danger without the controversial provision anyway.

At least it's a start, even though we all know that they'll figure out a way to sneak it into another bill somewhere down the line. Hopefully, it will be off the table until that scary bunch is ousted.

NP: "Monday Morning" - The Church

Become a Republican...

In 10 easy steps. So much for critical thought!

NP: "St. John the Gambler" - Townes Van Zandt

At Least It Isn't Georgia

Good Old Ten Commandments Roy Moore is running for Governor of Alabama. Apparently, he's been touring the nation with the inscribed rock that he was forced to remove from his former courtouse and showcasing it before large crowds.

The scary thing, by every account I've seen, is that he is very popular in Alabama, much as George Wallace was back in his day (despite his shifting opinions to match new cultural winds). I could easily see him winning first the Republican nomination and then the Governorship. Maybe Alabama has a soft spot for politician willing to say "screw you" to any outside authority, since the issues that drive these two are pretty well separated by history and nature. (I can't opine on the reasoning any more since Alabama does have higher SAT scores than Georgia.)

My Wallace comparision isn't totally off the cuff either. Joshua Green's profile of him in the Atlantic Monthly makes the same comparison, which could me very interesting electoral scenarios down the line if the good ex-judge decides to take his crusade nationwide.

NP: "Double Day"- Afghan Whigs

The War on the Environment (II)

Now the second front opens. Yesterday, the House of Representatives voted to eviscerate the Endangered Species Act, one of the more successful environmental laws enacted in the country. Specificall, they eliminated the features of the law that limited development in areas of "critical habitat."

This means that developers, whose only interest is in the bottom line, will be free to do just about whatever they want, despite it's impact (immediate and continuing) on the environment. When will these people realize that you don't shit were you eat. While I have my differences with some of the tactics employed by environmental groups, at least they realize that our health as a species is inextricably linked with the environment we inhabit.

Call it the selfish reason for environmental protection. We should protect the environment because we kind of need clean water (most water pollution is caused by runoff from development, not from chemical companies).

When will Americans realize that these guys aren't acting in anyone's interest but that of people who have more money than God and who don't give two craps about anyone else's immediate surroundings.

Coming soon to an unspoiled area near you, a parking lot and dozens of McMansions! (Or maybe it's already happening.)

NP: "Been Caught Stealing" - Jane's Addiction

The Party of Accountability and Responsibility?

Or the party of corruption, ineptitude, and cronyism. Actually, I think one word covers all that--greed. Tom DeLay, their leader in the House of Representatives, has been indicted.

All hail the Mayberry Machiavellis.

Isn't this the same type of thing that ultimately led to the Republican takeover in 1994?

UPDATE: It seems his colleague in the Senate has his own problems too.

NP: "Congressional Dubcision" - Ted Leo & the Pharmacists - I swear this is random iTunes at work

Worth A Thousand Words

Hat tip to Brandy.

NP: "Acuff-Rose (Live)" - Uncle Tupelo

The Price of Gas

It's like the 70s all over again in Atlanta. Given the current situation on the gulf coast, the oil companies have decided to participate in their favorite sport: price gouging.

Even now, the price has risen 70 cents at nearby gas stations since lunch (to $3.40). Yes you read that right. 70 cents in four hours. There are lines at gas stations that spill out in the street. A coworker reported that a few stations are saying they are out of gas as well. I realize that Katrina will have a big impact on gas prices and availability, but after only 3 days? Two pipelines from the gulf come through Atlanta, but the city is surrounded by terminals that store the stuff.

Follow the madness here.

UPDATE: And there's more.

Follow Up to Yesterday's Rant

Where are the people like Margaret Chase Smith now? I stumbled upon her Declaration of Conscience speech this morning. An excerpt:

Those of us who shout the loudest about Americanism in making character assassinations are all too frequently those who, by our own words and acts, ignore some of the basic principles of Americanism:

The right to criticize;

The right to hold unpopular beliefs;

The right to protest;

The right of independent thought.

The exercise of these rights should not cost one single American citizen his reputation or his right to a livelihood nor should he be in danger of losing his reputation or livelihood merely because he happens to know someone who holds unpopular beliefs. Who of us doesn’t? Otherwise none of us could call our souls our own. Otherwise thought control would have set in.

When was this speech given? On June 1, 1950, against McCarthyism. On one hand, I suppose it makes me feel better than this sort of thing has happened before. On the other, when you have to compare a political era to McCarthyism, you'd better be taking stock real quick.

I promise to leave the politics alone for a while now.

NP: "Don't Let It Get You Down" - Echo & The Bunnymen

Simply Mind Boggling

I don't do politics much here. I thought I'd reached outrage fatique, and believe it or not I do have friends (some very close) who vote and think very differently than I do politically, and I try to respect their beliefs. And frankly, politics doesn't interest me nearly as much as other things.

But sometimes I just get fed up, and I realize that polite discourse is impossible and that something just has to be said. For example, these quotes just make me want to run screaming away from civilizat