Tag: Politics Page 2 of 3

Tourists

On April 21, 2010

I saw this poem mentioned in a letter to the IHT in response to Elie Wiesel’s full page ad.
Can I forget thee, o Jerusalem?

Tourists by Yehuda Amichai

Visits of condolence is all we get from them. They squat at the Holocaust Memorial, They put on grave faces at the Wailing Wall And they laugh behind heavy curtains In their hotels. They have their pictures taken Together with our famous dead At Rachel's Tomb and Herzl's Tomb And on Ammunition Hill. They weep over our sweet boys And lust after our tough girls And hang up their underwear To dry quickly In cool, blue bathrooms.

Once I sat on the steps by agate at David's Tower, I placed my two heavy baskets at my side. A group of tourists was standing around their guide and I became their target marker. "You see that man with the baskets? Just right of his head there's an arch from the Roman period. Just right of his head." "But he's moving, he's moving!" I said to myself: redemption will come only if their guide tells them, "You see that arch from the Roman period? It's not important: but next to it, left and down a bit, there sits a man who's bought fruit and vegetables for his family."

Boston Tea Party

By Josh

On April 14, 2010

In Boston

Today was so lovely, I decided to go down to the Common for an old fashioned tea party. I borrowed the jauntiest hat and jacket I could find (thanks Jeff). I tried to convince other folks from the lab to come, but they all thought it was silly. I thought it was delightfully so. Luckily, some other folks agreed, and we sat in the sun, watching the passersby and nibbling on scones and petit-fours.

There were other people making quite a commotion, and I eventually wandered into the fray. Palin’s speech was full of sound and fury, but ultimately signified nothing. There seemed to be nearly as many counter-protesters and curious onlookers as actual teabaggers. The patriots who were there had the usual assortment of incoherent signs. I was glad to see the Larouchies out in force, with a dope-pushing queen in drag. There were also some plants with really ridiculous signs, which I don’t really think helps the dialogue.

But tea, sunshine and some polite conversation? Thats my kind of party.

The View from the Mall

By Josh

On January 28, 2009

In Travel

Last Wednesday, I was one of the huddled masses who braved the cold for hours on the National Mall to catch a glimpse of the inauguration. While I saw less visually than I might have from 10-250, I stood amid the beating heart of America and watched it change firsthand.

As the political luminaries filled the pavilion at the foot of the Capitol, the crowd jeered its favorite villains. Joe Lieberman and John McCain, Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia, the wheelchair-bound Dick Cheney and the still-President George W. Bush, all were resoundingly booed. Some seemed to think it mean spirited, and perhaps it was, but it hardly begins to repay their years of irresponsible mismanagement.

Then the moment of truth came, and even this hardened cynic’s eyes glistened as Barack Obama put his hand on Lincoln’s bible and swore to preserve, protect and defend the constitution of the United States. I’m not normally one for historical sentimentality, so perhaps it was just the wind. Despite Chief Justice Roberts’ bungling, the deed was done and the crowd cheered their approval. President Obama’s speech was not the soaring hopestorm that many of the spectators seemed to want. It was instead a brief recounting of the huge hole we have driven into over the past eight years, and a pragmatic and reasoned pointing toward the way out.

Missing were some of the rhetorical flourishes of Lincoln’s second inaugural (“fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray”), or Kennedy’s first and only (“ask not what your country can do for you”), but Obama managed to hit a few high notes. This engineer cheered himself hoarse at “we will restore science to its rightful place” and “we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals.”

Taking a new tack in the Global War on Terror, Obama pledged to the world’s despots that “we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.” But he ended with a call to service and hard work, imploring all Americans to “brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come.” Having already inspired us during the campaign, now is his time to lead us back toward greatness.

Reflecting on the experience during the long drive back to Boston, I realized that it was the first time in my life that I have really, truly, felt proud of my country. Not because our President is black, but because he is smart. Not because of his party, but because of his pragmatism.

In order to solve the myriad crises we face, concessions will have to be made on both sides of the political divide. But we will redeploy our forces in Iraq to the more pressing battles in Afghanistan and at home. We will face down the financial crisis and re-regulate our economy to better withstand future turmoil. We will finally do something about global warming and lessen our dependence on foreign oil. We will protect women’s right to make their own medical decisions. Our government will be once again by ruled by competence, not ideology.

Watching the decisions come from the White House for the past week has been like living in an alternate universe. But this ‘Bizzaro-world’ is not a Yes Men hoax, it is now reality. From ending military courts at Guantanamo Bay, to reversing the global gag rule on family planning, from refreshing the Freedom of Information Act to increasing automotive fuel standards to match the rest of the world, President Obama has done more in his first week than I had dreamt of for a year.

As his term continues, I know that the gloss will inevitably fade. The political mudslinging will hit our golden boy too. But on that clear cold day on the National Mall, surrounded by two million fellow Americans, things suddenly didn’t seem so bad. And for the first time, I waved my own country’s flag with pride.

Published in the January 28 Issue of The Tech
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If I Can Dream

By Josh

On November 4, 2008

In Unmapped

President Obama. I like the sound of that.

I wasn’t there, but Flickr user bluespf42 was. Who wants to go to DC for the inauguration parade?

Politics, Pageantry and Protest

By Josh

On September 9, 2008

In Unmapped

Instead of enjoying my last two weeks of summer, I watched the political conventions with the help of a bottle of whiskey. To spare you from the same pain, I will summarize the festivities in brief.

The Democrats gathered in Denver to hear from their chosen one, who spoke with a combination of arena rock showmanship and thorough policy detail. Al Gore and John Kerry each displayed a vigor entirely lacking in their respective candidacies, leaving me to wonder where those speeches were when we needed them.

Hillary pretended she’s not still bitter, and tried to get the angry female contingent to unite around the uppity young man who dethroned her. When she rhetorically asked the crowd if they supported her to help the disenfranchised, or because she is a woman, they roared “for you”, confirming everyone’s fears that we truly live in a granny-ocracy.

Bill Clinton reminded us that some Democrats know how to run an economy, even though they decry NAFTA to woo blue collar voters. Jimmy Carter tottered around like a frumpy old man, but was denied a speech because he hates Israel. Joe Biden tried to get a call and response going with the crowd, but stumbled over himself trying to find the punch line. Ted Kennedy showed up just to convince everyone he is still alive. Michelle tried to portray herself as a loving mom, not a Harvard-educated, terrorist-fist-jabbing, honky-hater. She spoke passionately about her and Barack’s family story, all while wearing what is surely the tightest dress ever to grace a potential First Lady’s curves, with the possible exception of Arwen Kucinich notwithstanding.

Obama whistled for the last train to Hopesville, aiming to create change and a better future for the children of tomorrow. Naive hipsters formed lines miles long to get into the arena, only to be horrified by the sight of old white people dancing to Stevie Wonder, Sheryl Crow and Will.i.am for hours. Louis Fernandes SB ’07, who attended the speech, said that “Obama gave me the audacity to hope that hope was enough to change. I found it incredibly moving… to my bowels.”

Across the plains, the Republican convention portrayed John McCain as a maverick, reminded everyone about his noble service when he got shot down in Nam, and put as much distance between himself and George Bush as possible.

Fred Thompson, displaying his classic Southern drawl, tried his hand as a stand up comedian, claiming Sarah Palin is the only vice presidential candidate who can dress a moose. I think he discounted Hannibal Hamlin, the 15th Vice President under Abraham Lincoln and a former Maine farmer, too quickly. And who knows what else Spirow Agnew was capable of.

George Bush phoned it in via satellite for a few minutes, because he was too busy trying to look busy as yet another hurricane barreled toward New Orleans. First Lady Laura took up the charge, reminding us that “our shared American ideals will always transcend political parties and partisanship.” Unless you are a terrorist-coddling-freedom-hater, in which case the gloves come off.

Joe Lieberman, channelling the unholy combination of Chancellor Palpatine and the Joker, tried to sever his last ties with the Democratic party, wishing he was the vice presidential nominee all the while. Luckily for everyone, he already had his chance and he is now forever removed from the political gene pool.

Sarah Palin tried to show that she is a smart pick, not just because she is a vagina-American and Miss Alaska 1984 runner up, but because her executive experience in Wasilla is greater than that of anyone else on the ticket in either party. She also nominated her husband Todd for “first dude”, citing his qualification as a championship snowmobile racer. I think they just won over the NASCAR dad voting block en masse.

Rudy Giuliani bared his snaggle tooth and decried the cosmopolitan, effete nature of the Democrats, which is perfectly in character for a man who has been in drag on national television being felt up by Donald Trump. And then the big hero, John McCain came out, and sounded the clarion call for change. No one seemed to question the fact that the audience was entirely made up of the very bigwigs and fatcats that he pledged to throw out. They cheered all the same, because he’s the only chance they have to keep the party going.

While the confetti fluttered inside and blazered bigwigs gulped champagne, a different kind of conversation took place across the river in Minneapolis. Groups of Ronvoys rolled to Ronstock to disgorge their load of Paultards for three days of peace, love and liberty. They were serenaded by such political luminaries as Tucker Carlson, Grover Norquist and Jesse Ventura. And still, no one takes them seriously.

Also outside the mainstream political coverage, various groups of activists protested both conventions. Fox correspondent Griff Jenkins waded bravely into the fray in Denver, only to be surrounded by a group of masked Zapatistas. His interview prompt was “do you believe in freedom?” He didn’t get very far before being drowned out by chants of “fuck Fox News.”

At both convention cities, members of Iraq Veterans Against the War conducted simulated exercises from their deployment experience. Holding their hands up as weapon surrogates, they patrolled urban streets in squad formation. Wearing full desert camouflage, they captured and hooded “Iraqi civilians” to the horror of passersby. The purpose of this street theater was to demonstrate the reality of the current occupation to the American public, delegates and elected officials. It’s not giant puppets or flaming effigies, but at least it was entertaining.

In the Twin Cities, massive preventive arrest sweeps were conducted against such dangerous radicals as members of Food Not Bombs, a bus full of environmentalists, and the National Lawyers Guild. As Glenn Greenwald at Salon.com points out, this is exactly the same behavior that the mainstream media was decrying as China prepared for the Olympics. But when it happens in the United States the Washington Post hails it as law enforcement at work. Seemingly, those freedoms we all care so much about aren’t really respected when you want to do something so dangerous as hold an unauthorized street march.

After the balloons are cleared from the aisles, the tear gas canisters from the streets, and the bloggers all go back to their basements, the campaigns can begin their real work of putting obnoxious ads on television. Next week, everyone can go back to watching America’s Next Top Slut, but for two glorious weeks, the eyes of the world were fixed on our favorite whores in suits, and I watched it all so you didn’t have to.

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Published in The Tech September 9, 2008