Am. History & Culture
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Red and Blue America
America is more complex, obviously. But I think it's fair to say that there are two poles that define our politics, and every election cycle we find that we're split rather evenly between them. Call these poles Republican and Democrat or Conservative and Liberal, Reactionary and Progressive, or Red and Blue. They are ways of describing
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Bye, Bye Miss American Pie
Several months ago I was watching one of the talking-heads shows on which Pat Buchanan sits in wearing his conservative's hat. I forget what the show's topic was about, but I remember his saying something along the lines that the America he grew up in was a good America, and it isn't good anymore. It
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Endless War
This is a war universe. War all the time. That is its nature. There may be other universes based on all sorts of other principles, but ours seems to be based on war. . . . –William S. Burroughs *** We didn't come this far because we're made of sugar candy. Once upon a time,
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Quote of the Day: Mark Erlich
A generation ago, non-union workers often welcomed news of improved wages and benefits for unionized employees, recognizing that a rising tide lifts all boats. But … at a time of sacrifice and insecurity, many would prefer to sink their neighbor's slightly bigger boat while wistfully hoping for a glance at a yacht in a gated
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Wisconsin
I don't have much except the obvious to say about it from my perspective. But for the record, I'll say it anyway: We're seeing the classic pattern in American politics play out there that we've seen grow in intensity since 1980. Republicans take power and aggressively seek to roll back what the rest of us
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The Sacred Polity
"Was anybody else offended by…can you put your hand on your heart?" Beck said. "It's the national anthem!" He said he had shushed his son and told him to put his hand on his heart when Christina Aguilera was singing the song. "I was really offended by the sports players that were just hanging on
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Word of the Day: ‘Endo-colonialism’
. . . Virilio suggests that political economy cannot be subsumed under the political economy of wealth, with a comprehension of the management of the economy of the state being its general aim. Indeed, for him, the histories of socio-political institutions such as the military and artistic movements like Futurism show that war and the
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The Corporate Empire State 2
Michael Lind has an interesting piece he posted yesteday in Salon that supplements the piece I posted the other day about the corporate state. Lind does a typology that comprises five American political worldviews: Neoliberal Globalism, Social Democratic Liberalism, Populist Nationalism, Libertarian Isolationism, and Green Malthusianism. It's similar to what I made an attempt to
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The Corporate Empire State 1
I've just started rewatching the Star Wars trilogy. I can't say that I was ever much of a fan–I could never get past the dreadful acting, stilted dialogue, and the cheesy costumes. And I have always been surprised when people I respect praised it. Joseph Campbell was a fan, and I respect a guy like