Archive for the ‘culture’ Category
Community Organizers
I thought it was an exceptionally low blow when Sarah Palin and Rudy Giuliani laughed at the concept of a community organizer last night. To be clear, they weren’t saying that Obama is inexperienced because he was a community organizer, they were saying that “community organizer” is a job worthy of ridicule in and of itself. This, in my estimation, is shameful–and a big mistake.
In so doing, the GOP last night really drove home the notion that they’re the party of wealthy white people who don’t need (or understand the role of) community organizers. The kind of people who have been in positions of power for so long that they don’t even recognize their own affluence anymore. (And yet, ironically, seem to always make themselves out to be the victims of some attack by the ‘liberal elites’)
Here’s a gentleman who agrees:
Filed under culture, politics : Comments (2) : Sep 4th, 2008
Sarah Palin Sex Ed “Don’t ask, don’t tell”
My most recent tadfad post (and artistic endeavour) takes a direct shot at the Republican VP candidate Sarah Palin. Some (including Barack Obama) want to take the high road and keep Palin’s family out of the debate. I’m not ready to be the good guy.
And here’s why. For years, self righteous socially conservative Republican religious extremists have advocated abstinence only sex education (or as I call it, “don’t ask, don’t tell”). This unique flavor of [non]education tells kids to “just say no” to sex until marriage. Because if we’ve learned nothing else from the last few thousand years of human civilization, it’s that teenagers raging with hormones are just not that interested in sex.
This is lunacy. Sheer and utter lunacy. A complete abdication of our moral duty as adults in equipping our children with the knowledge required to safely navigate the world they live in. Teenagers need to comprehend safe sex and need easy access to contraceptives. There is no morally acceptable alternative. And that is why I’m not ready to be the nice guy with Sarah Palin.
She has demonstrated in a very personal way exactly what her “don’t ask, don’t tell” sex education approach creates : teenage mothers. And frankly, this infuriates me. We can do better. Our children deserve better. We owe it to our future generations.
In closing, a brief plea to Sarah Palin (and the) : WAKE THE FUCK UP AND START TALKING TO YOUR CHILDREN ABOUT SEX. Thank you.
Filed under culture, politics : Comments (1) : Sep 3rd, 2008
Alaska is for lovers
Would you buy this on a shirt?
Filed under culture, politics : Comments (2) : Sep 2nd, 2008
Obama’s 2008 Acceptance Speech - Word Cloud
A word cloud from wordle.
Filed under culture, politics : Comments (0) : Sep 2nd, 2008
Viral Marketing at its finest
This is really clever. Well done, EA Sports.
Anyone know which agency produced the ad?
Hat tip to Shane!
Filed under culture, technology : Comments (2) : Aug 22nd, 2008
Mashup art at its finest
. . . I can’t help but wonder. . . what would John McCain make of this video? Is anyone out there following him on twitter?
Thanks @b_samic
Filed under culture, politics : Comments (3) : Aug 21st, 2008
Listening past the Snap, Crackle and Pop
Muttmutt writes :
Both Slashdot and Wired recently reported on a guy who’s been digitizing his collection of more than 6,500 78 RPM records. I decided to check it out for myself and discovered a lost world of wonderful music that hasn’t seen the light of day in decades.
Filed under culture, hack, sites i like, technology : Comments (2) : Aug 16th, 2008
Into the Heart of Darkness: 10,000 words from Alan Keyes
Muttmutt writes:
When I saw that WorldNetDaily (aka WorldNutDaily) had published an essay / monograph / diatribe / ranting by Alan Keyes, I just had to dig into it to see what this man could possibly have to say for 10,000 words. I can’t say it was enlightening (since his perspective comes right out of the dark ages), but it was amusing. Read the rest of this entry »
Filed under culture, politics : Comments (2) : Aug 13th, 2008
A Magical Response
A funny thing happened on tadfad this week and I think it’s worth mentioning. In a bid to increase the variety and supply of content, I teamed up with another blogger to write articles. (You may know him as Muttmutt). I added a by line to the bottom of the posts so you could tell us apart, and we were off to the [blog] races.
I’ve had many political discussions with Muttmutt, so I knew that his rhetorical stylings would feel right at home here at tadfad.com. Indeed, his first contribution (Demoracts are Wimps!) was right up my alley.
Then this funny thing happened and the response caught me off guard. Magical Thinking, a rather scathing critique of the role of religion in U.S. culture and politics, blew up the charts.
Percentages indicate popularity for the month of August
Hey, I thought, this is good. A provocative article that draws lots of hits and comments. Then it all blew up in my face.
Although I didn’t write the article, I’m responsible for all the content on this blog (those are my eyeballs up top, after all). You see, the article makes a some great points (and scores a bonus for historical quotation) but does so with a bit of a mean spirit (generally speaking, no one likes to be called stoopid. Especially not on a blog). I’m all for enlightened thought and provocative dialogue, but I think we crossed the line on this one.
For that, dear reader, I apologize. I want to help you think in new ways, but I can’t accomplish that by offending you. Please don’t let this tarnish your view of tadfad and the erudite discussions contained therein. Rest assured, the Muttmutt Tadfad tag team will continue publishing top quality blog products for your enjoyment.
Filed under culture : Comments (2) : Aug 9th, 2008
Magical Thinking
Anyone who knows me knows that I don’t have much patience for magical explanations of anything (in technology or in life). The recent brouhaha surrounding the abduction and later desecration of a Host wafer from a Catholic communion put a smile on my face. Not so much for the act itself (I’m indifferent to the fate of the cracker), but rather to the frothing reaction some people had to the event. For those who didn’t follow the action, a professor of biology at the University of Minnesota participated in this desperate act of cracker desecration and has since received death threats from (presumably) otherwise normal people.
It’s amazing to me that people seem willing to put up with the most atrocious abrogations of liberty (warrantless wiretapping, warrantless searches of their persons and belongings upon entering the country, Guantanamo Bay, elimination of Habeas Corpus, etc.), but break a cracker and they go fucking gnuts! Read the rest of this entry »
Filed under culture, education, politics : Comments (4) : Aug 6th, 2008
