micah holmquist's irregular thoughts and links |
|
|
Welcome to the musings and notes of a Cadillac, Michigan based writer named Micah Holmquist, who is bothered by his own sarcasm. Please send him email at micahth@chartermi.net. Holmquist's full archives are listed here.
Archives
Sites Holmquist trys, and often fails, to go no more than a couple of days without visiting (some of which Holmquist regularly swipes links from without attribution) Aljazeera.Net English Blogs that for one reason or another Holmquist would like to read on at least something of a regular basis (always in development) Thivai Abhor |
Thursday, January 15, 2004
Good cop Powell (Inspired by the comments of Avedon Carol and Jim Henley on Colin Powell.) Last year I said that Powell was effectively a "good cop" who only looked in comparison to the others and that his position actually reinforced the arguments of the "bad cops." (Think of it as similar to Slavoj Zizek's argument on "Why We Love to Hate Haider.") Powell said and says the same things that the less reputable members of the Bush Administration say but because he is viewed as "good" he is seen as having more credibility. If Rummy says it, it is viewed with, at the very least, suspicion whereas if Powell says it must be The God's Truth. But Powell has done nothing to earn this position. He has executed and promoted the "war on terror" and all of the falsities involved -ranging form the concept of fighting "terror" to the administration's numerous problems in keeping a straight narrative about Iraq including whether or not "they" knew Saddam's regime had ties to al Qaeda- with that project. In short, whatever Powell may feel personally or would do if he were in control, he has carried water and chopped wood for Team Bush. *** Michigan State 76 Too much shouldn't be made of this victory but it was MSU's best looking performance so far this season and Penn State did come into the game with three straight wins over Bucknell, Minnesota and Ohio State. Saturday's game against Michigan in East Lansing is huge for a variety of reasons. *** I guess I should mention Brandon Cotton and this milestone: TECHNICALLY SPEAKING: Izzo received his first technical foul of the season for arguing a call early in the second half.*** good news for Michigan State football. *** *** Juan Cole's "Mass Demonstrations by Women, Others, Against Sudden Islamization of Iraqi Law" is an important read. *** "U.S. tests on mortar shells found in Iraq and suspected of containing blister agents have turned up negative, though further tests will be conducted, a Danish army spokesman said Wednesday," Matthew Rosenberg of the AP writes. This probably won't get as much attention as was bestowed up a report indicating that chemical weapons could be found in the shells did. *** UPDATE In a January 13 New York Post piece about comedy shows in the Big Apple, Raven Snook writes: It's not exactly stand-up, but New Yorker Stephen Colbert, a correspondent on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" (as well as the star of several recent Mr. Goodwrench commercials), will discuss "the future of comedy" along with fellow wits Calvin Trillin, Roy Blount Jr. and Nora Ephron tonight at 8 at Symphony Space (2537 Broadway, [212] 864-5400).I feel that Daily Show reporters should not be allowed to do commercials since it weakens the trust I have in them. 12:08 p.m. 01/15/04 UPDATE #2: Who would ever think that Clinton might have been dishonest? Such an idea can't be considered. 4:48 p.m. 01/15/04 UPDATE #3: The Pew Research Center for the People & the Press writes: Cable news networks are the most frequently cited source of campaign news for young people, but the Internet and comedy programs also are important conduits of election news for Americans under 30. One-in-five young people say they regularly get campaign news from the Internet, and about as many (21%) say the same about comedy shows such as Saturday Night Live and the Daily Show. For Americans under 30, these comedy shows are now mentioned almost as frequently as newspapers and evening network news programs as regular sources for election news.I love the Daily Show but I worry about people who learn about politics from it. It is best understood when you know what actually happened. *** *** If the quotes in this article by Bernard Weinraub of The New York Times are correct, the Dennis Miller is an idiot. Actually I'm pretty sure that's true no matter what the accuracy of these quotes. One choice graf: The Sept. 11 attacks, Mr. Miller said, changed him. "Everybody should be in the protection business now," he said. "I can't imagine anybody not saying that. Well, I guess on the farthest end of the left they'd say, `That's our fault.' And on the middle end they'd say, `Well, there's another way to deal with it other than flat-out protecting ourselves.' I just don't believe that. People say we're the ones who make them hate us because of what we do. That's garbage to me. I think they're nuts. And you've got to protect yourself from nuts."Two more: He said he had transcripts of some of Mr. Sahl's early shows and was amazed by them. But then he lost interest. Mr. Sahl, he said, became too close to the Kennedy family and was "a savage name-dropper." Mr. Miller added, "It always reminded me to watch myself."*** Margaret Cho on the "Magical Night with MoveOn.org." *** *** Sometimes you can tell a lot about people based on who they hate. *** *** "The Belgian High Court threw out a war crimes complaint Wednesday against retired U.S. Gen. Tommy Franks, backing a lower court ruling that Belgium had no jurisdiction in the case against the commander of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq," Constant Brand of the AP writes. *** Perhaps hypocritical and self-serving triumphalism about a presidential candidate and making fun of a deposed dictator who, despite what the parody suggests, was nowhere near having nuclear weapons, is just more fun than dealing with a destructive and power-hungry president. Why engage in actual criticism when you can suck up to power? 6:12 p.m. 01/15/04 |