Archive for Humor
Big John Cornyn
I came across this from the best little progressive blog in Texas.
Like most contemporary Conservative political narratives this is just hilarious until you reflect upon how this reflects the deeply undemocratic and truly regressive ideology of today’s Republican party.
Comparing Political Attack Ads
1800
2007
The War on Fat
“A trip through the Atlantic’s archives offers revealing insights into American body politics“
We shall match the Russians potato for potato, calorie for calorie. We shall fight on the beaches; we shall fight on the picnic grounds; we shall fight in the all-night hamburger stands. We shall never surrender! And if the American nation should last a thousand years, history will say, “This was their fattest hour!”
No Caption Necessary
click for larger image
UPDATE:
I just came across this new ad for Hummer. see below
HOPE: HUMMER OWNERS PREPARED FOR EMERGENCIES
I think this ad is what makes the above caption so ironic. Back in Texas, virtually every Hummer had/has one of those ubiquitous “W” bumper stickers on the back. The SUV has become a socio-political signifier. For (most) people on the political Left, Hummer represents an ideology of blatant arrogance in the face of global warming created by over consumption of petrochemicals that is enhanced by SUV’s; Hummers being literally the largest offender.
This ad could well be any contemporary right-wing political ad, combining fear with the notion of unitary action. The America of post 9-11 is alone in a dangerous and threatening world. On some levels, this ad is seen as justification for the theory of the unitary executive and unilateral military aggression. There’s also a not so subtle reference to the image of the Firefighters of 9/11 rushing into the burning World Trade Center. As the narrative states, “After disaster strikes, most people run from point A to point B. Then there are a qualified few, who run from point B to point A.” The final view of a tranquil blue planet Earth from space goes far beyond irony.
Another reading of this ad may be;
HUMMER - Helping you survive the disasters we create…
A Noun, a Verb and 9/11
These debates have been pretty comical over all on the American political scene. Following them can be excruciatingly painful at times as the candidates appear more and more as simulated caricatures of politicians. Part of this is obviously how the media frame the debates both communicatively and visually. All in all the candidates seem to play out their pre-scripted roles, nailing their talking points on que, or not. Occasionally a little personality squeaks through the stage managers carefully orchestrated production. Senator Joe Biden can be very funny and this from last nights Democratic debate was just too funny.
Giuliani is “probably the most underqualified man since George Bush to seek the presidency, Rudy Giuliani - there’s only three things he mentions in a sentence: a noun and a verb and 9/11.”
It’s quite interesting right now to compare both the media coverage and debate formats in the US and Denmark. I think some comparative analysis of various political and media styles between the two countries could be interesting.
I’ve been looking at campaign uses of websites and web 2.0 Internet platforms and am working on an Op-ed piece for publication. Last night I spent an hour or so looking at the Danish campaign websites and thinking about not only how they incorporate new media but also what their web presence and use of communication technologies tell us about their ideology. Radikale Venstre is probablly leading in online messaging and internet based social networking. I’m at a disadvantage in that my Danish is only passable. I think there could be a great article written for a Danish newspaper. Contact me if anyone is interested in working on a collaborative comparative article for either a Danish and/or English market.
Finally, and this is mostly for the graduate and Ph.d students, I’ve got some platforms available for getting readership exposure on some of the U.S. based political and academic blogs. This could be a good platform for working on your ‘intellectual public writing’ as Shelly Fisher Fishkin suggested. Some of these blogs have reached a fair level of notoriety and many are attracting academics and established journalists. As a non-published graduate student I see writing and publishing on the periphery as an avenue for writing development and low-barrier publication.
Bush’s Last Stand!
from the Economist.
This was just too good!