The return

Well, I haven’t blogged in a while, at least not on this blog, because I have been so busy. But I thought I’d give a short update. Things are well, too tired to elaborate.

I have decided that, given that my blog is called fun with entropy: approaching chaos with a sense of wonder, I am actually going to hold to this title. It seems absurd to write about my life with such a title. Yes, changing it would be easy, but obviously writing about myself isn’t working out. So, with no promises, I hope to focus on instances, events, etc that I encounter through my daily life that seem to me to exemplify entropy at work. This is completely non-scientific and I use entropy in the broadest sense of the term, which is, namely, anything exhibiting randomness, absurdity, and hence humor. Wish me well in my new direction. Gracias.

GHS Pride

Go Bulldogs!

As a newly minted staff member of Garfield H.S., I was excited to participate in the first school wide assembly. The hour long event highlighted the diversity and spirit that undergirds the institutional integrity of the high school. The school staff and students have gone through a lot in the last few weeks, what with a brand new school that is not without its defects.

But, when an assembly includes not only a performance of the National Anthem, but the “Negro National Anthem” or Black American National Anthem, as would be politically correct appellation; and when, due to the fact that September is Latino Heritage month, the school showcases a dance performance by a Latino high school student; and when a staff member steps to the stage and lays down some spoken word; and when Quincy Jones steps to the stage to say “I Love You All” to the crowd (as well as calls President Bush a “dumb ass”), you know you are in a damn good school.

Though I need not say more, I will say: mind you, this is also Jimi Hendrix’s high school.

I was happy to be a spectator of the event, if not truly apart of it. I was able to see what makes Garfield so special and why so many people praise it for its educational and cultural achievements.

The Shock Doctrine in Action

You know a social commentary book is good when its themes remain pertinent, particularly as new events unfold that reinforce its worldview. Such is a good description of Naomi Klein’s most recent book The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism.

I have this book in mind as I watch and read news reports about the financial apocalypse that is unfolding before our eyes. Klein observes that free market ideologues often swoop in during times of crisis in order to impose their strict ideology while no one is watching. Her book is a damning case-by-case analysis of the free marketers’ modus operandi.

Our current financial doom seems to be a prime event for the free marketers to exploit. But, interestingly, in this case, the opposite appears to be happening. APPEARS is the operative word. The government seems to be swooping in, practically speaking, to nationalize the finance industry, which is certainly not a part of free marketism.

I think it would be easy to say that this represents a divergence from the shock doctrine. BUT, I wonder.

I am no economics professor. In fact, I barely an economics novice. But a few aspects of the financial bailout plan have me wondering. If anyone can answer these questions, I would much appreciate it.

First, the administration’s plan is not really a nationalization of the finance industry, as I understand it. Paul Krugman argues that the plan simply bails out Wall Street without any quid pro quo. He says, in essence, taxpayers are paying for the misdeeds of Wall Street without reaping the benefits of their investment. So, what I see happening is the playing-out of the exception that proves the Shock Doctrine rule.

In this case, the free marketers were caught on their heels, or should I say, they were caught with their hands in the cookie jar. They manipulated the system to the point of perversity and now their house of cards has collapsed. But instead of learning the lesson of radical free marketism, the administration, populated by Milton Friedman’s underlings, are simply bailing it out for the time being, probably with the hope of returning to free market policies.

I haven’t read Klein’s take on the issue yet, but I assume she is not deterred from her point. I should say her point is not moot anyway. But this event, an economic crisis, might still be an example of her shock doctrine. Certainly the quasi-authoritarian stance that Paulsen is taking, in hoping to get all power with impunity for mistakes or misdeeds, resembles the authoritarian stance taken by the governments Klein talks about in her book.

We will see what happens, but I wonder if this won’t be another example of the Shock Doctrine. Let me know what you think.

Sarah?… Palin?… Are you kidding me?

Is it just me, or did John McCain make the worst move of his campaign choosing Sarah Palin?

From what I have read about her thus far, this is what I know about her:

1) She is pretty
2) She hunts and fishes
3) She has promoted teaching intelligent design, a sham response from Crazy Christians to the serious and well-proven theory of evolution
4) She is tough… because she has taken on the rigid Republican establishment of Alaska? Is that serious? In the definition of “Alaska” that pops up on my computer’s dictionary, the most significant feature of Alaska is that OIL was found there one year before it was granted statehood. Need I say more. So, her advocacy for oil drilling in Alaska combined with her LACK of belief in global warming shows how vapid of a choice she really is.

I get it, she plays well with Christian conservatives. That is her single attribute that seem politically advantageous. But I think her weaknesses far outweigh her strengths. But I’m not a professional political strategist, so what do I know. Republicans aren’t dumb. I assume they have formulated this pick from some obscure Rovian formula.

I just don’t think she’s going to cut it. Period.

Harold Simmons, Billionaire Swiftboater

Harold Simmons (Ugly Mug Pictured Here) is a Texas billionaire who funded the Swiftboat Veterens for Truth ads in 2004 and is now funding ads trying to link Obama to 60s radical Bill Ayers.

Everyone please pass around this link and lets make everyone aware that these are deplorable and possibly illegal attack ads. If this guy Simmons gets his way again, then we will have sealed our fate as a society operating on the lowest level of political discourse.

Go to Obama’s website barackobama.com to learn how you can email radio and TV stations that are airing these ads to tell them to stop airing them.

Everyone check this out…

From Lawrence Lessig’s blog. He describes clearly why McCain’s technology policy is exactly wrong and why Obama’s policy is right on. 

This is important stuff because the difference between the candidates’ policies is the difference between the Internet becoming a transformative medium that results in a more open government and a more open society or the Internet becoming another medium owned and controlled by a few media conglomerates that wield a disproportionately large amount of power. 

It may be surprising to most (it was very surprising to me) that the Internet as we have known it could change and be rendered impotent in its ability to decentralize and redistribute power to the masses. It is very possible, and in fact likely, that this will happen if John McCain becomes president.

Please check out his video on his blog. Its called “Me on McCain on Technology.”

Link to Lessig’s Blog

For the Newsy-types

Hey All. Check out this website, www.spot.us. It’s a cutting edge journalism project that solicits news story ideas and small donations from community members. Once a substantial amount of funds are raised, a journalist investigates the story.  Right now, its centered in the Bay Area in California. But it could easily be mimicked everywhere. Pretty amazing. Talk about a new paradigm in the journalism business.

The whole idea is kind of blowing my mind. It brings up a lot of questions about what journalism is, how it is done, and who the “product” is for. The creators of this website/project would object to my use of “product” because, as they say in the description of the project, “journalism is a process.” I find that sentence fascinating. I mean, I understand what it ostensibly means. But if it is a process and not a product, how does it fit in with market economics. This brings us back to those questions I just brought up.

If this post reads incoherently, I apologize. My brain is going a million miles a second on this stuff. But let me try to slow down.

So, this not academic, but off the top of my head, journalism is the act of investigating and reporting information for public awareness. I am sure that is a flawed definition, but to me it is journalism in its most pure form, i.e. without economic considerations. Society functions best when those components that make up society are well informed. (This is certainly questionable as well. Surely the ignorance that pervades our society, for all its deplorable aspects, allows agents of power to function without rebuke, hence maintaining some kind of stability. I am certainly not advocating for ignorance; its merely an observation.)

Back to what I was saying. So, hypothetically speaking, let’s say society functions best when its respective components are perfectly informed. The more perfectly informed we are about the world, the better decisions we would make to move forward. (Again, I see all kinds of objections in this argument even as a write it.)

Journalism, then, is the act of informing society. And, with the internet’s ability to drastically reduce costs of production and distribution of information, we have seen an explosion of journalistic acts by amateurs. (Note: read We Are All Journalists Now (a highly disturbing title for pros out there) by Scott Gant. It is not necessarily mind blowing, but it does a good job of discussing the transformation of journalism and many of the legal implications involved with expanding the definition of “legitimate news sources” to include bloggers.)

Now, to move to economic considerations, the news business has always functioned in a marketplace. News sources produce a product that will be consumed widely. While there are many implications to this, one that piques my interest is the way society reinforces its own ignorance. If we demanded thorough investigative reporting with in-depth analysis, that is what we would get. Instead, we demand Fox News, broadly speaking.

But spot.us actually turns this self fulfilling cycle of societal ignorance on its head by gauging demand through story idea contributions and financial contributions. To use an overused word at this point, the process seems organic. Its pay-per-view journalism. I’m not saying this is an ideal paradigm for the entire news business, but perhaps a variety of business plans would create more opportunities for good journalism.

There are a million little externalities, extrapolations and other contingencies that need to be addressed. But its certainly worth trying. Bravo spot.us!

Check it out and tell me what you think.

In last post, it should be…

He CAN (not can’t) do it after he is elected. Sorry, that bothered me. I realize mistakes after publishing. But I’m not too worried about it most of the time. That one seemed pretty big though.

It’s Raining in Seattle! Who’d o’ thunk it!

That title has an exceptional number of apostrophes.

Although summer shouldn’t be over yet, I think we are getting a taste of Seattle weather’s modus operandi today. Cool and rainy. It feels great after the sweltering heat that set records this past weekend.

Jobless and without school starting for a month, I have spent the day searching and applying for jobs. I have my fingers crossed that someone out there will take me.

On a political note, why does it feel like every time I read a story about McCain, he is hammering Obama without a commensurate response from Obama. Speaking to VFW members in Florida, I think, McCain said Obama’s stance on the surge has changed and that he has tried to legislate failure. NO IT HASN’T and NO HE DIDN’T! He was and always has been against it. Despite the temporary “successes,” i.e. less violence, which was expected the whole time, the surge has done very little to bring us closer to “victory,” another term of which I have yet to hear a concrete definition from McCain. To attack Obama as someone who tried to “legislate failure,” McCain must first define “victory.” This isn’t Hitler’s army, there isn’t even one insurgency. There are multiple insurgencies, some of which oppose each other. The term “victory,” despite the positive connotations and political capital it brings with it, is fraught with the “good vs. evil” paradigm that poses two sides against each other. That simply is not reality in this war. 

What about all of McCain’s flip flops on everything from immigration, to tax cuts, to abortion rights! Obama needs to lay into him hard. Fuck Hope! I need some “PLUNDER we can believe in.” Obama needs to enfeeble Magoo with a relentless onslaught of attacks.

I know what I am saying. I don’t want it to be like this. But I also can’t deal with four more years of Republican administration. Obama needs to win. My hopes were dashed after working for Kerry, at least tangentially, in ‘04. I think Obama would bring “real change.” But he can’t do that after he is elected. Right now, we need a bad ass mutherfucker Obama, not the diplomatic smooth talking slick walking Obama.

McCain has lost all credibility with me. I used to respect him. But now I believe he needs to be destroyed. I’m done.

Please join me in giving money to Obama. I have contributed $25 a few times. Very little. But it’s what I could afford. Just a little here and there from lots a people would do a world of good.

Okay, done pandering.

Much love.

Bday for yours truly

Well, this is my third full day in Seattle. This is my first real experience living away from Columbus (a brief stint in Athens, OH doesn’t count), so there are some things to get used to. But I haven’t had any psychological breakdowns, so things are okay.

Seattle has been experiencing record-setting high temperatures that make me feel like I am back in the dog days of Ohio’s summer. But the weatherman says that will change quickly. By tomorrow the high will be 70 and it will be rainy. I don’t think the summer is quite gone yet, but the end appears to be approaching fast. The last couple days seem to be the last throws of summer’s insurgency, to use the phrasing of our cardiologically disabled and conscience-free VP.

Today is by birthday, so Jodi and I went out and got some excellent Chinese food. The restaurant was exactly what we were looking for, and what we had been looking for in Columbus, but never found. Great food and authentic. I don’t know how we will ever be able to live somewhere that doesn’t have a diverse and authentic array of the world’s cuisines. We don’t have to worry about that for now because Seattle is stacked with tasty fare from all over.

Well, that’s all I have to write for now. I hope everyone is doing well. Miss you all back in Ohio.