Tony La Russa on To Tell the Truth

I admit that I'm a fair-weather fan; no dispute about it.  At the risk of incurring scorn by all of the true fans who have been buying $50 tickets and $7 beers all season, however, I've decided to come out of self-imposed sports-fan retirement in order to follow my home team's progress in the so-called "World" Series. I paid almost no attention to the St. Louis Baseball Cardinals this year until the end of the season. That's when the team, which appeared to be clearly out of the race (about 10 games behind the Braves for a wildcard spot) started making an extraordinary run for a spot in the playoffs. They clinched that spot on the final day of the season. I've thus joined the biggest, loudest religion in St. Louis, in order to follow the progress of the Cards.  Against my better instincts, I seem to be caught up in the tribal felt importance of the moment.  This is time for a collective projection by the hometown fans of both the Cardinals and the Texas Rangers, so when they yell "We won!" I won't interject, as did Jerry Seinfeld:

We're a little too into sports in this country, I think we gotta throttle back. Know what I mean? People come home from these games, "We won! We won!" No, they won - you watched.

In honor of the success of the Cardinals and their impressive manager, Tony La Russa, I'm reaching back in history (about 1980) to post this video of La Russa making an appearance in a classic old TV game show, "To Tell the Truth."

Continue ReadingTony La Russa on To Tell the Truth

Areas of agreement with the Tea Party

I was excited to see the new Tea Party's birth. Watching the corruption of our government become more and more brazen, it was only a matter of time before counter-movements began to spread. Both the Tea Party and the #Occupy movements were born of this impulse. The original patriots of the Tea Party movement formed in opposition to the bank bailouts. I think it became apparent rather quickly, however, that their admirable movement had been co-opted into another arm of the Republican machine. I don't say this to cast aspersions though, as I do want to keep this post exploring our common ground rather than emphasizing our differences. The #Occupy/99% movement is actively resisting attempts to co-opt its message by the Democratic party and other left-leaning organizations, so let's keep exploring our similarities. Here then, is the 15-point "non-negotiable core beliefs" which I found on teaparty.org:

Continue ReadingAreas of agreement with the Tea Party
Read more about the article #Occupy movement sweeping the nation, now including Omaha!
The United States of Corporations. Image by Brynn Jacobs

#Occupy movement sweeping the nation, now including Omaha!

I was at our local #occupy protests on Saturday for what organizers were calling a "Global day of action". This week marks one month since #occupywallstreet began their occupation in New York City, and have proven to be an inspiration to people around the globe. Omaha is not exactly known as a hotbed of radical activism or sentiment. Protests here regularly turn out a half-dozen or so committed activists, but rarely much more than that. My wife and I decided that the time had come for us to express our discontent with the existing socio-political environment here, and so we headed out to #OccupyOmaha on Saturday morning. Expecting low numbers, we were surprised when we could see people streaming towards the meeting site from blocks away.

Continue Reading#Occupy movement sweeping the nation, now including Omaha!

The unpredictable patterns of collapse of power structures

Chris Hedges has seen quite a few social upheavals, and he recognizes the Occupy 99% movement as both substantial and long-lasting. He also sees little change of these protests being coopted by outside groups such as Move-On or unions. He sees this as a movement that powerfully speaks for the next generations.

Continue ReadingThe unpredictable patterns of collapse of power structures

Dangerously relaxing song

How could a song be dangerous? Here's is what this newspaper article has to say:

It slows your breathing and reduces brain activity to such an extent that "Weightless," written by Manchester band Marconi Union, is said to be the 'most relaxing song ever'. The eight-minute track is so effective at inducing sleep, motorists have now been warned they should not listen to it whilst driving.

Continue ReadingDangerously relaxing song