Bitch PhD

Another Jack & Jill find. What can I say, they're energized over there.

If you want to help in Pennsylvania, here's where you can sign up.

And if Pennsylvania's not your thing, you can find out what's happening near you over at Obama's campaign site. Do some phone banking, register some new voters. Get your butts in gear.

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It's funny that Bitch posted below that she doesn't give a shit that it's the anniversary of 9/11, because this is actually the first year I have given a shit that it's the anniversary of 9/11. I remember the first anniversary, where I was walking through the quad at my college, and there was a memorial of sorts, with singing, and patriotic speeches, and go-get-em rousing calls to action. I was disgusted and sad. I felt like I wanted to mourn what had happened, but there didn't seem to be any social acceptable way of mourning that didn't involve misguided calls for revenge.

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Jack and Jill Politics has some awesome posts on the front page right now--go on over and have a look. Links below shamelessly lifted from two favorites.

This will not make you feel better, but it's important: Republicans are trying to purge voter rolls. Notice that one of the techniques is *illegally* purging voter registrations of people who have gotten a drivers' license in another state. Like, oh, say, college students?

If you've moved recently, especially if you've moved from a different state, check your registration, people. And if you're inclined to work on the election, registering people would be a good way to go. Hilzoy posted the deadlines for new voter registration, by state, in a recent public service announcement.

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First off - thanks to M. LeBlanc, Ding, Sybil, and especially Dr. B for the use of their microphone.

Second, I'm taking that Themes and Memes post over to nihilix, unless my hostesses really want to have a public media work project here at their place. In any case, you can find the Police State on a Stick round Two over there.

I'll probably pop in with some legal updates. The RNC8 are the RNC Welcoming Committee anarchists and anti-authoritarians who are facing state terrorism charges. Despite the fact that they were in jail for most of the convention.

One last thing, though - I'm hoping that we can make a DVD with the best of the worst - some documentiation of the police state that showed up here - and I want to know what people think the best title will be. The nominees are:

• Police State on a Stick
• Fascist Brigadoon
• Baghdad on the Mississippi
  

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Except it didn't actually. Which was sort of the funny thing, given that the theme was Stand Up for Choice. With, like, a stand-up comic; that kind of Stand Up.

This is back to DNC blogging, by the way (or mini-blogging, anyway). I'm finally writing about the NARAL party B and LeBlanc and I went to. Has the moment passed? At any rate, we had heard the party would be a big to-do, so were psyched about it even though they would only comp us 2 tickets. And even though I had to take a cab from wayyyyy over at the Pepsi Center where I had just heard Bill Clinton speak. It was a lot of to-do about a sort of middling party, as it turned out. The stand-up comic wasn't funny; I couldn't stop referring to the event as an abortion party, which I thought was sort of funny, but objectively might not have been. The highlight of that party was when they turned off the music and put Beau and Joe Biden's speeches up on all the TVs. The feminists were riveted, and charmed.

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Once upon a time, I had a fling with academics, although I did not climb the same august peaks as Dr. B. My seven year postgraduate career did produce a Masters in Linguistics. My big paper was on political metaphor, particularly George Lakoff's Moral Politics.

I've been trying to wrap my brain about the story that I think needs telling based on my experience with the protest movement. I'm not talking a thematic analysis of the images the RNC wanted you to see. In other words, I'm on Zinn's mission of working on history from the other side. Let me know what resonates with you.

The values espoused by the protesters, particularly the pagan cluster (who are doing the most interesting semiotic work, I think) are abundance and common wealth, interconnectedness of everything, and fun. Rebellion and resistance to injustice are others on the anti-authoritarian left.

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And I criticize people for press release journalism.

PRESS STATEMENT
For immediate release:
Friday, September 5, 2008
Contact: AIUSA media office
202-544-0200 x302

Use of Force Against RNC Protesters “Disproportionate,” Charges Amnesty
International

[London]--Amnesty International is concerned by allegations of excessive use of force and mass arrests by police at demonstrations in St. Paul, Minnesota during the Republican National Convention (RNC) from September 1-4, 2008. The human rights organization is calling on the city and county authorities to ensure that all allegations of ill-treatment and other abuses are impartially investigated, with a review of police tactics and weapons in the policing of demonstrations.

The organization’s concerns arise from media reports, video and photographic images which appear to show police officers deploying unnecessary and disproportionate use of non-lethal weapons on non-violent protestors marching through the streets or congregating outside the arena where the Convention was being held.

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The woman on the stage is Congresswoman Mary Fallin (god bless). The backdrop behind her is the Alfred P Murrah Federal Building, bombed by Tim McVeigh.

This is the worst thing ever. The right is responsible for that bombing, and now they use it as a backdrop for their "tuff on stuff" message.

Worst. Thing. Ever.



Photo credit nihilix

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Ohh, this was a night.

I made it into the Bowl tonight - the nosebleed row at the top of the Xcel in the press section. I had press credentials through the radio station.

About halfway into it, I started writing this post. Here's what I scribbled in my little 'reporters have to have notebooks' notebook. It's very stream of consciousness, kinda disjointed and weird, but that's how tonight felt.

There is a scary vibe in this convention...

I've seen Imperial Troopers in their ninja turtle armor, I've seen teargas, and the Bean Bag Buggy.

The cadaverous face of Ramsey County Sheriff Fletcher, the glints on the dark pebbles that are Senator McCain's eyes...

In between the security gate and the TSA magnetron, at about 8 PM, I saw them.

Two, three, four men who were not the ones you saw at podiums, behind Fox News desks. The man who's pure evil. Hard men. Men who say 'flip the switch' or 'push the button' or 'pull that lever.' When they were younger, they might have done it themselves.

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