David Hussein Doody?

People changing their names for Obama>>>

p.s. Before Obama nothing inspired people more than that scene from Dead Poet's Society. I'm surprised you didn't know that.

Oh...

And let's not forget the shout out to "'sota."

I love KG.

How Sweet It Is

KG is now "certified," and wants to know, "What you gonna say now?"

If you want a recap, this might be the best place.


Or look here tomorrow, because Bill Simmons is a total Boston rube. I wouldn't be surprised if he were partying with the team right now.

Beware People's Motives

I'm generally a cynic when it comes to people's intentions for doing things when money is involved. Or, to be more to the point, when businesses (usually big, but not always) do things. I believe in most cases the profit leads the charge, sometimes masked by good intentions. So, when I come across stories like this from OnTheCommons.org and this from the Center for Media and Democracy's PR Watch.org (both about how big companies use the pink veil of breast cancer awareness to hide the true motive of selling goods) I am not surprised, but still perturbed. I do not flinch when someone claims (as Anne Landman does in the PRWatch.org piece) that, rather than promoting prevention, these companies prefer the idea of buying a "cure" because it makes them money, all the while making people feel good about themselves:

Some critics say the almost total lack of focus on prevention is because prevention doesn't make money. It's much more profitable to make people believe that their consumer purchases are contributing to a "cure."

Feeling good about yourself is all well and good, and so is the idea of a portion of sales going to a greater cause, on the face of it anyway. But when such things come as an actual detriment to the greater cause at hand, then we need to reevaluate. When the "feeling good, because I did something good" stops us from actually considering options that would drastically reduce breast cancer (namely, as in most cases, education) because we feel that we have done enough, then something needs to change. And, obviously, when companies mask true intentions behind philanthropy, while actually doing little for the cause they claim to be advocating and working for, and, as in the case with BMW, may actually do more harm than good, well, this should be unacceptable.

Besides selling more cars, BMW's goal is to rack up one million test-driven miles and donate $1 million to cancer research. A laudable goal, but it ignores the fact that the campaign encourages more and unnecessary driving, not to mention that automobile exhaust contains polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, harmful chemicals known to cause cancer.

Less sinister are the indirect (and maybe not so, but I don't want to sound too conspiracy theorist here) results of these campaigns, as is pointed out in the piece from David Bollier at OnTheCommons.org:

Through their affiliation with this cause, corporate marketers have shrewdly positioned themselves as women-friendly, socially engaged civic boosters. What’s so problematic about that? Nothing, so far as it goes. But as King points out, the gender-oriented marketing of the “pink” campaigns has helped “reproduce associations between women and shopping, and a more general tendency to deploy consumption as a major avenue of political participation.” The advertisers make it seem that buying a pink-ribboned product is the most virtuous achievement one might do to fight breast cancer.

The idea of "consumption as a major avenue of political participation" has become a popular idea over these last years.



The sentiment produces a numbing sensation: we are told that we are able to simply go about our usual lives and things will get better. Or, even better still, indulge for ourselves and splendid results will shower down upon our fellow man. It would be nice if this were how things actually worked, if the betterment of ourselves created a greater good for the greater population. Unfortunately, at some point, to create actual change, to make an attempt to actually help our fellow human beings, we may need to look outside ourselves for a moment. We may actually need to look at some of the causes that are producing the things we claim to want to change.

Also unfortunately, this is not what drives so many to their actions.

Kucinich Bush Impeachment Articles

"How do we beat the bitch?"

Notice the difference in John McCain's reaction to these questions. When he's in a room full of supporters it's all fun and games, and indeed, a laughing matter. When someone challenges him, he tries to take the high road. It brings to mind the whole controversy about Obama saying people "cling" to guns and religion: a comment that had a lot of truth behind it, but which got him labeled an elitist. What should we call McCain when he talks to a room full of supporters in a candid manner? I could come up with a few words, but I'll leave it to anyone reading this to go ahead and leave their suggestions in the comments portion.

"That's a great question."



"There's people here who don't respect that kind of language."



This is the guy so many Hillary Clinton supporters claim they will vote for instead of Obama? Seems a rather interesting choice to me. Oh, and then there's this>>>. He's practically better for women's issues than having a woman in the White House.

Really?

This is the type of shit that we really need to fight against. Blatant fear-mongering. I wish I could terrorist fist jab someone's face when I hear this kind of thing.


Read this to see just how stupid people can be>>>

Some Cool Things Happened Tonight

So, as pretty much everyone knows Barack Obama was in St. Paul tonight. I was supposed to go, but had a scheduling mix up, so had to watch it online. Before I give that link, though, a little self-promotion. Check out this new magazine I'm involved with. My current title at Intentionally Urban magazine (in|ur, pronounced "in yer") is the music|film section editor (in|ur eyes n' ears). The thing is gorgeous; really exceeded any expectations I had and I'm really proud to be a part of it. I think it has an important goal at its center.

Anyway, here it is (I had trouble opening it with Firefox on my Mac. This could just be me, because despite working for/on three online magazines and numerous blogs, I am still kind of an idiot when it comes to the interweb sometimes. If you have trouble switch to Safari and all should be fine). Hope you enjoy and check back on it from time to time (along with InDigest and Guernica. I'm shameless.)

in|ur Magazine

And, then there's Barack Obama. I think you should be able to watch here>>>

Free Job Postings at Idealist.org

I get job listings sent to me from Idealist.org, which I think is a pretty fantastic nonprofit. Anyway, as you'll see below, they are trying to spread the word about free job postings on their site for any nonprofit for the whole month of June. If you know anyone involved with a nonprofit who doesn't already know about Idealist, please pass this along, or better yet, direct them to my blog.

From Idealist.org:

Dear David,

My name is Ami, and I am the director of Idealist.org. I am writing to
ask you a favor.

This month we are doing something special at Idealist, and we need
your help to spread the word.

Here is the story. Posting a job on Idealist usually costs $60 (we are
a nonprofit ourselves, and this small fee keeps us afloat) but
starting today, and through the end of June, all job postings on
Idealist are free for any nonprofit organization.

We are doing this so that any organization can try us at no cost, and
our ultimate goal is to bring you every nonprofit job that's open
around the country (as well as internships and volunteer
opportunities, which are always free).

And here is where we need your help. If you know anyone who works at a
nonprofit organization, please share this message with them. And if
you have a way to get the word out to friends and colleagues across
the sector - through a mailing list, a blog, or any other way - please
tell them that Idealist is free for the whole month of June.

Lastly, here is a video we produced for this month, that describes why
Idealist is the best place to post a nonprofit job:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-BQYIPILUU

Thanks in advance for sharing this with your networks, and have a good
week!

Ami Dar
Executive Director
http://www.idealist.org