Here's a fun little exercise you can do if you get bored this weekend: 1. Read this, a transcript of President George W. Bush's December 6, 2008 Weekly Radio Address in which he discusses why our occupation of Iraq has lately been so successful that we will soon be able to begin withdrawing some of … Continue reading Iraq can be fun!
Author: anthonypignataro
‘Outsourcing Intelligence’
Now there is a truly glorious contradiction in terms. In this era when the Bush Administration sees privatization possibilities in every corner of government, and government effectiveness and accountability is at its lowest point since the Hoover Administration, I suppose it makes perfect sense that it would hire L-3 Communications, a New York-based publicly traded … Continue reading ‘Outsourcing Intelligence’
Bush’s Legacy, Part 2 (or 1, I can’t keep track anymore of what I’ve written)
Wow, George W. Bush is really taking this whole "legacy" thing seriously. This kind of amazes me, since he's never really taken anything in his whole life seriously (well, maybe executing people when he was Texas governor). Anyway, this article in yesterday's Los Angeles Times says Bush Administration officials are distributing a two-page "talking points" … Continue reading Bush’s Legacy, Part 2 (or 1, I can’t keep track anymore of what I’ve written)
The invisible atrocity
As if we don't already have enough to worry about (global financial collapse, endless wars in the Middle East and Central Asia, the future of network programming), here's an AP story that's gotten very little play but I found on the Honolulu Advertiser website. It says that stupid accidents around the world kill nearly a … Continue reading The invisible atrocity
Surveying the ‘television landscape’
In 1961, 34-year-old Newton Minow gave his very first speech as Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. In it he called network television a "vast wasteland." Minow's candor earned him national scorn, ridicule and everlasting infamy when Gilligan's Island producer Sherwood Schwartz named the castaway's wrecked boat the Minnow in his honor. I was reminded … Continue reading Surveying the ‘television landscape’
The numbers are in
I love ProPublica, a website entirely devoted to investigative news. Today they posted a fantastic new rundown of statistics on what exactly the Bush Administration has accomplished. Some stats show real progress over the last eight years (AIDS funding is up!) while others show some real decline in society (deportations are way up, too!). With … Continue reading The numbers are in
Correction!
How quaint and immodest that title looks to me, considering I have, what, three actual readers? I'm kidding, of course. I have four. Anyway, it's come to my attention (thanks Ellen!) that Cornel Bonca's outstanding piece on David Foster Wallace that's running in this week's LA City Beat and that I wrote about here actually … Continue reading Correction!
RIP DFW
David Foster Wallace has long been one of my inspirations. A master of the English language, DFW could string together impossibly long sentences, replete with colorful descriptions, conservational prose and, every now and then, completely made up mathematical formulae. It made no difference what he was writing; Infinite Jest is a delightful monster of a novel; … Continue reading RIP DFW
How to sell a dead actor
Going to run with the idea of commodifying human beings (especially dead ones) a bit more. Today's Los Angeles Times has a fascinating article on the "tough balancing act" Warner Brothers is trying to maintain as it markets the movie The Dark Knight to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Reporter Rachel Abramowitz … Continue reading How to sell a dead actor
Ask for Obama by name
Nice to read today that Barack Obama has officially reached that uniquely American achievement of becoming a brand. "While many local tour companies now are offering visits to the old stomping grounds of President-elect Barack Obama, at least a dozen companies are using the Oahu-born politician's name in their trademark or trade name," reports today's … Continue reading Ask for Obama by name
Anthony Pignataro 