Emptybottle.org

Jesus H Christ Stavros, enough with the "you people in the US are destroying the world" schtick. Dems and other reasonable humans here are doing what they can, OK? Fuck. And as for Dean, he may turn out to be an opportunistic shitweasel who hopped on the web bandwagon when it looked like a moneyspinner and then hopped off again as soon as things stopped going swimmingly. Hiring a apparent telecom flack and running through 35mil in a few weeks without winning doesn't look great, but then maybe it was just a hard decision that had to be made (Trippi seems like a good guy, but he doesn't have much of a track record) and the money is peanuts to what Bush'll spend. As for not winning, from nowhere to second only looks bad if you compare it to his early stint as front runner. It seems to me that Dean scared the shit out of traditional media and the right wing stringpullers who rely so heavily on it, because (at least in part) he bypassed them. Now they've stomped on him in retaliation: we're still bigger than you and your puny internet. Granted that's true, and the Dean campaign should have seen the retaliation coming and taken steps to prevent it, but even if Dean stays stomped (and it's only two piddling primaries into the season, and Clinton won yadda yadda) his initial success has likely changed the nature of US politics. Can you imagine the web playing a smaller role in subsequent elections? Me, I think that's likely to be a *good* thing. And if not Dean then who? Don't give me "transform the culture", give me something I can use: here, now. Kucinich is too far left to win, and even if he weren't his plan for Iraq is vague, and vaguely repellent ("Bush fucked Iraq up, it's not my problem"). Kerry is Bush Lite, another privileged millionaire Washington insider; if he wins, it's bidness as usual for special interests. Clark is a hired killer. Edwards? Maybe, but he doesn't seem to have much steam up at the moment. So you tell me, from your position of great discernment half a world away: who? How? I agree that the culture's horribly fucked, but it isn't much fun to have my nose rubbed in it by someone whose only contribution is a sneer.

Stav, I mostly agree with you, and I agree even more with Chris Lydon, who seems less anti-Dean than you do. What bugs me about your post, and perhaps I didn't make this clear, is not so much your tone (hell, I like it when you go all HST) but the lack of any constructive suggestion. I know Bush is an unmitigated disaster, and I know that none of the Dem candidates are ideal. I disagree with you, though, about the degree to which they differ from Bush Minor; even if all a 2004 Dem president did was put the country back where it was under Clinton, that would be a huge improvement over W. These are the turd--er, candidates we have, and the system that fermented and extruded them (and Bush) is not going to change rapidly without a revolution -- and frankly, I don't want a revolution. Call me squeamish, but all that blood just squicks me out. I don't want another Comrade fucking Nader either, pushing unworkable agendas and demanding the impossible with the avowed intent of returning the GOP to power, making things worse in the hope of forcing them to get better at some unspecified later date. Your "nothing will change, you're not doing enough" rhetoric reminds me sharply of Ridiculous Ralph. No one is going to storm the Pentagon with Wal-Mart weaponry, Stav. Much as I might agree with you that it would improve the national character no end, we're not going to build gibbets from Miami to Milwaukee and festoon them with CEOs, political lobbyists, mockingbird journalists, GOP lawyers and used car salesmen. Fundamental changes are in order, yes, I agree: until the average citizen gives a damn about what is done in his/her name even when it doesn't affect his/her bank balance, the US will stink in the nostrils of the world, and until Joe Sixpack wants an end to social injustice more than he wants a bigger telly most of the western world will stink in mine. My point -- my howl, my desperate fucking plea -- is, what can I do about it? I write letters, I give money, I'll vote as soon as I can, I'll work at polling booths and similar drudgery when there is local gruntwork to be done. Hell, I even blog. I won't take up arms or build gibbets though, so what else can I do? And if you can't tell me that, don't be surprised if I take issue when you complain that I'm not doing enough. (I thought the pictures were funny. I can laugh at Kool-Aid drinkers even as I furtively wipe the coloring from my own mouth.)

echochamber Deanboosters, That's exactly right. Stav, you know me well enough to know that I despise all politicians and ideologues of any stripe, and I'm publicly on record as advocating not voting so that we can be blessed with a leaderless society. But Dean supporters are getting on my nerves. Over on the 'filter or out in the real world, they either wail like banshees or get that pained pitying you're-too-stupid-to-understand face at the slightest criticism or even at harmless jokes about the "scream" speech. And I thought they were all about being free thinking. Silly me.

also:until Joe Sixpack wants an end to social injustice more than he wants a bigger telly most of the western world will stink in mine With the layoffs and other economic chaos going on in the US, I think it's safe to assume that "Joe Sixpack" has worries of his own. Nice scapegoat attempt though.

What it really comes down to is an unwillingness to sacrifice. Once someone has acheived a level of comfort and social status, they will seemingly do everything in their power to stay there as well as ignore any of the ramifications that their lifestyle has on the planet. We can either live for ourselves or live for ourselves and all of our future generations. Each lifestyle is radically different from the other, even though one is but a subset. Sustainable living is possible however it requires that sacrifice which nobody is willing to do. Sacrifice. I always think back to Fight Club - "The things you own end up owning you." Truer words have not been spoken.

Oh and another thing - the internet democracy is purely a numbers game - there's just not enough of us here who write and read to make the difference however those of us who do still spread those memes to others in meatspace. It will come in time, you just need to give them something to talk about. Unfortunately I keep thinking back to that internet as a highway piece. With the rest of the world in the blogosphere, wouldn't the majority be on the AOL bus throwing dead wombats?

I sent you a pm at Dave's - I had a couple of questions about Australia and hoped you could provide me with a little info. If you have an e-mail somwhere here - I can't find it. Apologize for posting off-topic. Thks. Fred

go stav. /\ \/ /\ (me clapping)

hey chris, this one's for you.

Dean didn't win, but his presence and statements certainly framed the campaign and made the public seem more comfortable with criticism of Bush. Now, he just needs to shut up and ride off into the sunset.