badpaintingsofbarackobama.com

By SteveL | Published: December 19, 2009

just look at it: badpaintingsofbarackobama.com.

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Again, the truth doesn’t matter

By SteveL | Published: December 19, 2009

A smart lefty is frustrated that the right is getting ahead by asserting lies and the left sticks to the truth. We know the answer here don’t we? Use the truth but tap into the same outrage? Or?

An excerpt from the folks at Poplicks:

I know that there will always be fierce opposition to any American president, regardless of his or her ideology. Dissent is an American tradition. Undoubtedly, the anti-Bush rallies were an even larger assembly of angry people with the same passion as the people interviewed above.

But what shocks me about these oft-repeated wingnut talking points is how much they depend on lies.

In expressing their views, these teabaggers rely on “facts” with no credible support. Obama is not an American citizen. Obama is a Communist. Obama is the first president to have “czars.” Obama wants to kill my grandma. Obama is Muslim. Obama is raising my taxes (said a person who is probably not making more than $250,000). Obama is taking my doctor away.

In contrast, most anti-Bush protesters never needed to lie. They either chanted pure opinions (e.g., “The war on Iraq is wrong,” “Bush is the worst president in US history,” etc.) or expressed beliefs stemming from undisputed facts (e.g., “No Tax Dollars to Halliburton”, “How can the White House defend torture?,” etc.).

Granted, there were many leftists who passionately believed unproven assertions. For example, thousands (including me) believed that the White House was raising the terror alert levels during the 2004 presidential campaign just to skew support towards President Bush. Sure enough, it turned out to be true. But even if it wasn’t true, most Bush critics could articulate their opposition to President Bush’s policies without lying (or repeating lies that they believed to be true).

Consider the “You Lie” controversy. Personally, I am not outraged with Rep. Joe Wilson for merely interrupting Pres. Obama’s speech and violating so-called rules of etiquette. If he blurted out “Shame!” during one of Pres. Bush’s speeches defending the Iraqi invasion, I would have praised him. Instead, what outrages me about Rep. Wilson’s statement is that it’s a patently false assertion. He’s not expressing an opinion. He’s stating that Obama’s proposed bill would apply to illegal immigrants, when it clearly does not.

Read the whole piece at Poplicks

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Underwear Gnomes

By SteveL | Published: December 16, 2009

underwear gnomes master plan

Someone mentioned this to me. This still frame is from an episode of South Park where gnomes are stealing kids underwear. When asked why, they explain “stealing underwear is just phase 1.” Profit is Phase 3. But apparently, none of the gnomes know what Phase 2 is and apparently they never thought about it.

Phase 1: Protest Art
Phase 2: ?
Phase 3: The Revolution

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New Anti-Smoking Ads Warn Teens ‘It’s Gay To Smoke’

By SteveL | Published: December 7, 2009


New Anti-Smoking Ads Warn Teens ‘It’s Gay To Smoke’

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Excerpt from: The Culture Crash by James Panero

By SteveL | Published: December 2, 2009

While the argument Singer is making here is about philanthropy, one could extend that to any effort made at all. Why make art when you can volunteer at a soup kitchen and make a real difference? The author’s rebuttal I find a little lacking and I think our artists have made a much better case. (of course our artists aren’t making multi-million dollar paintings either)

With irrecoverable losses in endowment income, at least for the foreseeable future, the survival of arts organizations will depend not just on cutting their budgets without negatively affecting their core services, but also on finding new sources of revenue. Unfortunately, in perilous economic times, attracting new donors may be harder for arts organizations than for other nonprofits. The Princeton philosopher Peter Singer exemplifies the attitude against arts funding in his new book, The Life You Can Save: “Philanthropy for the arts or for cultural activities is, in a world like this one, morally dubious.” Singer points to the $45 million that the Metropolitan Museum spent on a Duccio painting in 2004 as an amount that would pay for cataract operations for nearly 1 million blind people in the developing world. “If the museum were on fire, would anyone think it right to save the Duccio from the flames, rather than a child?” Singer asks.
Such ideas, of course, ignore the fact that arts organizations, unlike “feed the world” campaigns, have a proven track record of serving and elevating the poor and dispossessed. They also employ many workers. Still, studies by the Conference Board and by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University find Singer’s anti-art attitude reflected in the habits of many donors during troubled economic times. “When you’re providing human services or feeding the hungry, people understand that maybe this is a time to dig a little deeper,” Patrick Rooney, interim executive director of the Center on Philanthropy, told Bloomberg News. “Helping an arts organization? That’s a tougher sell.” Randall Bourscheidt, president of the Alliance for the Arts, concurs. But the “deeper values of society that are in education and the arts are important,” Bourscheidt maintains. “These activities are not competing with basic needs but complementing them.”

via The Culture Crash by James Panero, City Journal 20 July 2009.

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Bottle Bank Arcade

By duncombe | Published: November 10, 2009

OK, it’s essentially an off-beat ad campaign by Volkswagon, but it does say something about modeling social behavior through fun.

Bottle Bank Video

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From Rob Walker’s “Linkpile”

By SteveL | Published: October 28, 2009

Artists plan to encase vacant Detroit home in ice: “To draw attention to foreclosures that have battered the region.” Yeah? is there a big problem with people not knowing about foreclosures and vacant housing in Michigan? I think that info is kind of, you know, out there. Why not do this in Westchester County or somewhere that would actually be surprising. The net effect of this is just to reinforce an existing perception ie, Detroit is a basket case! not raise any new ideas or insights.

via Linkpile.

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Test Marketing Michael Moore

By duncombe | Published: September 23, 2009

NY Times article (9/20/09) on Michael Moore and how he tests the effect of his movies:

<

blockquote>“Although I’m trying to say things I want to say politically, I primarily want to make an entertaining movie,” he said. “If the art of the movie doesn’t work, the politics won’t get through.”

To make sure the politics do get through, Mr. Moore invokes the privileges of much-better-financed producers and does market research. Jim Czarnecki, a documentary filmmaker who has worked with Mr. Moore for years, remembers screening “Fahrenheit 9/11” on eight consecutive Tuesday nights for select audiences, gathering feedback and recutting the film.

“We discovered what was clear, not clear, what worked and what didn’t,” he said, adding, “Michael works hard to craft his movies for a large audience.”

Full article

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Miami’s Community Avengers

By SteveL | Published: September 11, 2009

Have No Fear the Community Avengers are Here! As the right wing mob mobilizes to shut down democratic debate on health care reform; as Van Jones is forced from the White House through distortions of the truth and plays on racial and political fears; as the recession deepens – the masked marauders known as the Community Avengers are swooping in to save the day.

The Community Avengers are a team of residents from Miami who are standing up in these trying times, calling out the criminal bankers, and inspiring action. They have been spotted tumbling out of a van at a recent Miami Dade County budget hearing, moving into the seething crowd and taking to task politicians with their lively chants and street theater. After mixing with all those malcontented with proposed cuts to the Miami Dade County budget, the Community Avengers did a double header and headed over to a health care town hall for a show down with the riled up right wing.

Just this week the Community Avengers joined forces with residents and pastors from Miami Gardens to fight back against banks bent on eviction rather than loan modification. Always on call to do battle with the villains of bad government and corporate greed, the Community Avengers rallied to support an ordinance that would sanction foreclosing banks.

Click here to read more about this action: http://tinyurl.com/Communityavengers

It is time for progressive people everywhere to learn a lesson from the Community Avengers. Let’s creatively mobilize and call out the culprits across the country. Where right wing pundits play on irrational fears, we will be there. Where greedy bankers rob our people, we will be there. Where government bows to a marginal and maniac minority, we will be there.

You too can be a Community Avenger!

  • Joseph Phelan, Miami Workers Center
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Where’s Conservative Art? Crunchy Con

By duncombe | Published: September 2, 2009

Asking our question (kind of) from the other side of the aisle. See especially the comments section.

Where’s Conservative Art?

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