Double Birds

Matt Damon thinks teachers should have tenure.  The same website ( boingboing ) that portrayed his statement as heroic , had another article on how public schools in Missouri were banning books  ( Slaugherhouse-Five ).  On the same page, posted on the same day! Just give them more effin money! (Edited by Double Birds) Boingboing has a whole list of school shenanigans , that make our education system look like a bad episode of the Twilight Zone. We all want to fix education.  But money is not the only problem. The root of the problem is politics.  If a politician thinks he can score re-election points by busing inner-city kids to the suburbs , and rural kids to the cities, he'll do it.  If he thinks he can score points by banning Kurt Vonnegut, or expunging Mark Twain , or dumbing down F. Scott Fitzgerald , he'll do it. Why is a politician getting involved in the first place?  Why is it his business how my kid is raised?  Isn't that somethi...

60 Minutes has produced another hit job on another American hero.  A few weeks ago they demolished the reputation of  Three Cups of Tea author Greg Mortenson .  Now they're going after Lance Armstrong. Armstrong accuses the show of "bad faith" and the producer of the show as " not being a straight shooter ." Armstrong displays the virility of his remaining testicle. After doing two minutes of research, I've discovered the root of the problem.  It appears the executive producer of 60 Minutes is named Jeff Fager. Oh.  Did you need further explanation?  The guy's name is Jeff Fager. Fager. Fager. Still need more? After a lifetime of teasing he's now getting his revenge on the cool kids.  Case closed. Jokes aside, 60 Minutes might not be giving us a straight story.  It's possible that this smear campaign against non-fagers is a publicity stunt to stay relevant.  These recent reports are reaching the point of being as "fair and balanced"...

Here's a couple essays on Bin Laden that illustrate the good points that often come from the left. First, from Michael Moore : "Some believe that this was a "war" we were in with al Qaeda - and you don't do trials during war. It's thinking like this that makes me fear that, while bin Laden may be dead, he may have "won" the bigger battle. Let's be clear: There is no "war with al Qaeda." Wars are between nations. Al Qaeda was an organization of fanatics who committed crimes. That we elevated them to nation status - they loved it! It was great for their recruiting drive. We did exactly what bin Laden said he wanted us to do: Give up our freedoms (like the freedom to be assumed innocent until proven guilty), engage our military in Muslim countries so that we will be hated by Muslims, and wipe ourselves out financially in doing so. Done, done and done, Osama. You had our number. You somehow knew we would eagerly give up our constitutional ...

Bin Laden's body was dumped into the ocean. Kind of a weird way to handle the situation, isn't it?  Why kill him?  Why not interrogate him?  Isn't he the big bad mastermind behind Al Qaeda? With Bin Laden dead, the government will inevitably find another boogeyman to scare us into continuing perpetual war. Already the hawks are drooling over Pakistan .  Even  Jon Stewart  chimed along blaming Pakistan for hiding terrorist #1.  Weaker accusations have been used to justify war, surely these will help assuage any sentiments against the secretive and undeclared war we already wage in Pakistan . Michael Rozeff  asks more interesting questions. Noam Chomsky chides American ignorance on Bin Laden.

The war on black people continues. Antoine Dodson, the heroic young youtube star who saved his sister from a rapist (but gained wider fame for his hilarious personality) was arrested for " possession of marijuana second degree ." The War on Drugs , and the War on Poverty—despite the good intentions and positive rhetoric behind them—have become a war on black people, and other minorities. The racism behind the drug war is captured in the words of the first director of the federal Bureau of Narcotics,  Harry J. Aslinger : “ Reefer makes darkies think they’re as good as white men .” Similar comments were made about Mexicans as well. Mexican-hating  William Randolph Hearst , who owned several dozen newspaper companies, staunchly supported the War on Drugs.  The War on Drugs began in ignorance and hate, and there it remains. Blacks are disproportionately  harassed , arrested, and  imprisoned  on drug charges.  This charge against Antoine gives him anot...

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Sen. Joseph Lieberman wants to flip off the internet, literally. I am the internet! Under the " Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act " the government would be able to turn off the internet for up to 120 days. That Lieberman refers to the internet as "cyberspace" is sufficient proof that the man is unqualified to give any opinion or advice about the internet. Dictators in the recent middle-east revolutions used similar kill switches to neuter communications between protestors and the rest of the world.  Under the cover of an internet-blackout it would be easier to slaughter protestors without the risk of youtube videos popping up three hours later. Lieberman is responsible for shutting down wikileaks .  The man already has tasted the power of shutting down online dissent. China, of all places, listed this proposed bill on its list of human rights abuses committed by the U.S. in 2010. I don't know about you guys, but shutting down the internet seems l...