REAL ART GUEST BLOG

I always thought this place could use a woman's touch. From my wonderful wife, the mysterious missus r:

Don’t Think Too Much – Words of Wisdom?

I heard the following while serving as Shop Girl at my job during 2003, a combination antique/specialty bath products/ladies-who-lunch spot. Here is a recreation of the conversation:

Matron A: I’ll stand in line if you want to browse around while we wait.

Matron B: That’s OK, I don’t mind waiting, gives me time to think.

Matron A: Oh, don’t think too much, it’s not good for you!

Matron B’s only response was silence.

I like to think that Matron B found Matron A as silly and stupid as I did at that moment. Don’t get me wrong – there are times when it’s a good idea to shut down one’s brain (like if one finds oneself obsessing about what might happen – not that I’m guilty of such...)

The overheard conversation couldn’t help but remind me of the myriad ways our current society sends exactly that message of “not thinking”: advertisers, newscasters, teachers and bosses, the prez...life in the first decade of the new millennium is not about thinking; rather its about following the herd; doing what we are supposed to be doing, according to the paradoxically complicated but simple everyday life we lead.

Complicated because we are stressed out, run ragged, stuck in traffic, fax machine wrangling, computer cursing, panicking to pay our bills, all around nervous folk.

Simple because we are so sadly and blindly mired in the hamster-wheel process, we seldom feel as if we have done anything at all, much less strain our brains beyond worrying about mowing the grass or what kind of clothes the kid needs for school...

At least Matron B spends some time thinking.

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HURRICANE BLUES

From Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory:

The Wonkatania

There's no earthly way of knowing
Which direction we are going
There's no knowing where we're rowing
Or which way the river's flowing
Is it raining? Is it snowing? Is a hurricane a'blowing?
Not a speck of light is showing
So the danger must be growing
Are the fires of hell a'glowing?
Is the grisly reaper mowing?
Yes! The danger must be growing
For the rowers keep on rowing
And they're certainly not showing
Any signs that they are slowing!

I never knew it was called "The Wonkatania."

Anyway, as far as I can tell, the "hurricane a'blowing" won't be coming to Baton Rouge, which makes me quite relieved. Quite relieved. Sure, we'll get some wind and rain in all probability, but the most recent forcasts have Hurricane Ivan just brushing by, sparing us, sparing historic New Orleans to a great extent, too (which is now virtually deserted, I've heard).

But hurricanes are weird, and anything could happen: my wife and I discovered earlier tonight that there are simply no more bottles of drinking water to found anywhere in town--I guess it's tap water in old soda bottles for us. Fortunately, we were able to stock up on canned goods and batteries. If it does get hairy here, Real Art may go dark for a while.

My school, LSU, isn't taking any chances, either, and essentially shut down the university for the next couple of days. However, it'll be a working weekend for me: I've got plenty of homework, a monologue and a song, and I stopped by my university job (I'm now company manager, a fancy term for liason to guest artists, for the university's professional theater; I'll tell you about that sometime) and picked up some work that just has to be done before next Monday. I'll be busy.

But if I'm able to stay online, and the weather is intense but not threatening, I'll try get in some hurricane blogging. Why not weather reports? After all, I've already been dabbling with sports.

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Most Americans support the federal assault weapons
ban, but their leaders have refused to represent them.

From the Houston Chronicle editorial page:

The powerful pro-gun lobby argues that the ban, which prohibits the sale of 19 particularly lethal weapons, along with magazines of more than 10 rounds, is merely cosmetic. They claim no direct link exists between the assault weapon ban and the reduction in gun violence since the ban was signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1994. And, they predict, there won't be any increase in gun violence after the law sunsets.

Plain logic says that's wishful thinking. Even if true, what advantage would an open market on assault weapons offer to justify the risk of renewed violence.

Already, giddy gun manufacturers and retailers are ratcheting up their production of the prohibited weapons and add-ons, such as large-capacity ammunition clips and flash suppressors, that boost these death delivery devices' firepower or make it difficult to detect the point of fire. A Houston gun dealer and shooting range manager crowed to the Chronicle that, "Sales are going to go through the roof."

Apparently, the National Rifle Association, which is withholding its endorsement of Bush's candidacy pending the ban's expiration, expects the worried citizenry to believe that no one will squeeze any high-powered triggers. Well, these weapons will be used, and it won't be for target practice, skeet shooting and duck hunting. The sole purpose for these guns — they aren't called assault weapons for nothing — is killing people.

Click here for the rest.

Great. That's just what we need, tens of thousands of assault weapons on the streets. Ladies and gentlemen, the inmates are running the asylum.

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QUIS CUSTODIET IPSOS CUSTODES
means "Who polices the police?"

From the AP via the Houston Chronicle:

Report finds widespread racial profiling in U.S.

Authorities' targeting of people because of their racial background or religious affiliation is a deep-rooted problem in the United States, with nearly 32 million people reporting they've been racially profiled, a human rights group said today.

The report, which Amnesty International USA planned to release in Dallas, also said at least 87 million people -- one in three -- in the United States are at high risk of being victimized because they belong to a racial, ethnic or religious group whose members are commonly targeted by police for unlawful stops and searches.

Racial profiling is a growing problem as the government has expanded its war on terror, the report said. Police, immigration and airport security procedures are the areas where the problem has gotten worse since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, it said.

Citizens and visitors of Middle Eastern and South Asian descent, and others who appear to be from these areas or members of the Muslim and Sikh faiths, have become more frequent subjects of racial profiling over the last three years, the study said.

Such racial profiling is a distraction to law enforcement and therefore, undermines national security efforts, the report said. As police primarily focus on Arab, Muslim and South Asian males, it said, they are more likely to overlook terrorists who are white.

Click here for the rest.

There have been numerous cock and bull "arguments" in favor of racial profiling advanced by lunatic patriots since 9/11. The bottom line is that all they're all full of shit: in addition to being unconstitutional and downright immoral, racial profiling alienates huge communities of people who could be helping authorities to find real terrorists.

Sometimes I just don't understand how this country actually functions.

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A GOOD ECONOMICS LESSON
Two professors, one lesson in deregulation

From the Houston Chronicle editorial page:

In college, I was taught, by a different professor, that certain industries are better regulated than unregulated. This was to avoid uncontrolled monopoly or oligopoly in industries where few competitors could survive because of the huge costs involved in operating companies like airlines and utilities. Today, this would be considered heresy, if not socialism.

My professor taught that after the deregulation of such industries there would be an initial burst of competition producing lower prices. This would be followed by a winnowing process in which the weak companies would fail. Even if they were large.

Ultimately, the industry would consolidate either into monopoly or, at best, oligopoly. Prices would then rise as service deteriorated because of lack of competition. The airline business has followed that model in the way my professor taught me.

When Professor Kahn unveiled his plans to deregulate airlines, it was very popular with both parties. This was the beginning of the era when government regulation was becoming a disreputable concept because of the inflationary economic policies of Carter's time. Republicans had demonized all government regulation as one of the roots of the inflationary evils of that time.

So when Kahn came up with the idea of deregulating the airlines, he had strong bipartisan support for a concept that my professor had taught was doomed to failure.

Just as taught, everything went swimmingly at first. Peoples Air, a small East Coast carrier, established itself with low-fare marketing. The big airlines were forced to match them and prices went down, for a while.

The only problem was that the winnowing phase followed soon after.

Click here for the rest.

Clearly, the concept of the "free market" has, on a cultural level, gone well beyond any sort of serious, rational, economic analysis. People now support free markets and deregulation because they have been told that they are good, and even when the evidence clearly shows that this is not always the case, it simply doesn't matter: those who take issue with the concept of unfettered markets are denounced as lunatics, communists, or just plain stupid.

The power of human belief is amazing, indeed.

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Colin Powell in four-letter neo-con 'crazies' row

From the London Guardian courtesy of J. Orlin Grabbe:

A furious row has broken out over claims in a new book by BBC broadcaster James Naughtie that US Secretary of State Colin Powell described neo-conservatives in the Bush administration as 'fucking crazies' during the build-up to war in Iraq.

Powell's extraordinary outburst is alleged to have taken place during a telephone conversation with Foreign Secretary Jack Straw. The two became close friends during the intense negotiations in the summer of 2002 to build an international coalition for intervention via the United Nations. The 'crazies' are said to be Vice-President Dick Cheney, Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and his deputy, Paul Wolfowitz.

Last week, the offices of Powell and Straw contacted Public Affairs, the US publishers of Naughtie's book, to say they would vigorously deny the claims if publication went ahead. But as no legal action was threatened, the US launch of the book, The Accidental American: Tony Blair and the Presidency, will proceed as planned this week.

Click here for the rest.

Well, this is nice to know and all--I mean, it reinforces Powell's image as the good guy of the Bush administration. (Of course, I say that with a grain of salt; after all, Powell helped cover up the My Lai massacre in Vietnam, which means he can't be that much of a good guy). The real question invoked by this information is why Powell didn't do everything he could to stop the "fucking crazies" from carrying out their bizarre plans which have gotten a thousand American soldiers killed. It must suck to be him.

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"FORGED" BUSH
SERVICE RECORDS?
Dupes and Skeptics

From Hullabaloo courtesy of Eschaton:

First, contrary to the malarky that the Wurlitzer began circulating almost immediately, every single so-called anomoly in the douments that made them questionable could have been produced by typewriters in use at the time. The press jumped the gun and the "experts" were wrong.

Second, CBS had every reason to be extremely careful with its quotes on this story. Hodges, the Bush supporter, has every reason to lie about what he told CBS now that the documents have been called into question. His babbling about handwritten vs typewritten makes no sense. He admits that Killian had very high standards and didn't hold with pilots not meeting them. Therefore, it's not reasonable to assume that Hodges saying that he told CBS "if he wrote it, it must be true" is more credible than CBS's original quote. Indeed, it is ridiculous.

Third, the statements of Killian's family are irrelevant compared to the statement of Strong who handled Killian's work documents and others like it at the time. Unless you believe that spouses and children have better direct knowledge of workplace events than co-workers, that is the only conclusion to which you can come.

Click here for the rest.

Karl Rove, political advisor, former student of GOP sleaze-monger Lee Atwater, and Bush's brain, is a master of slime, lies, and misdirection: the President was a pampered draft dodger who skipped out on months of National Guard duty and had powerful family friends help him get away with it; Rove and his minions, however, have played the media like a fiddle with their latest damage control efforts. Meanwhile the Kerry campaign, in a foggy haze of retro political strategy, continues to bring the wrong weapon to what they thought was a knife fight. When will the Democrats develop big enough balls to rip Rove's foul black heart out of his fetid thoracic cavity?

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SEPTEMBER 11: WHAT YOU "OUGHT NOT TO KNOW"

From the website of good guy journalist Greg Palast:

Before you jump to the wrong conclusion, let me tell you that we found no evidence -- none, zero, no kidding -- that George Bush knew about Al Qaeda's plan to attack on September 11. Indeed, the grim joke at BBC is that anyone accusing George Bush of knowing anything at all must have solid evidence. This is not a story of what George Bush knew but rather of his very-unfunny ignorance. And it was not stupidity, but policy: no asking Saudis uncomfortable questions about their paying off roving packs of killers, especially when those Saudis are so generous to Bush family businesses.

Yes, Bill Clinton was also a bit too tender toward the oil men of Arabia. But this you should know: In his last year in office, Clinton sent two delegations to the Gulf to suggest that the Royal family crack down on "charitable donations" from their kingdom to the guys who blew up our embassies.

But when a failed Texas oil man took over the White House in January 2001, demands on the Saudis to cut off terror funding simply stopped.

And

The 199-I memo was passed to BBC television by the gumshoes at the National Security News Service in Washington. We authenticated it, added in our own sleuthing, then gave the FBI its say, expecting the usual, "It's baloney, a fake." But we didn't get the usual response. Rather, FBI headquarters said, "There are lots of things the intelligence community knows and other people ought not to know."

Click here for the rest.

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SAME AS THE OLD BOSS
The Warlords of America

From the New Statesman via ZNet, an essay on how a Kerry presidency may very well turn out to be worse than Bush's:

Every modern president has been, in large part, a media creation. Thus, the murderous Reagan is sanctified still; Rupert Murdoch's Fox Channel and the post-Hutton BBC have differed only in their forms of adulation. And Bill Clinton is regarded nostalgically by liberals as flawed but enlightened; yet Clinton's presidential years were far more violent than Bush's and his goals were the same: "the integration of countries into the global free-market community", the terms of which, noted the New York Times, "require the United States to be involved in the plumbing and wiring of nations' internal affairs more deeply than ever before". The Pentagon's "full-spectrum dominance" was not the product of the "neo-cons" but of the liberal Clinton, who approved what was then the greatest war expenditure in history. According to the Guardian, Clinton's heir, John Kerry, sends us "energising progressive calls". It is time to stop this nonsense.

Click here for the rest.

The bottom line here is that both Democrats and Republicans fight not for America's freedom, but for the economic interests of America's super-wealthy. As long as our government treats the people of the world as resources to be exploited, as long as our government is willing to shed blood in order to maintain the current wealth dominated economic order, expect terrorism to get worse.

Just remember, Kerry wants to "stay the course" in Iraq. He's not a peace candidate at all.

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Health insurance premiums soar as wages creep

From Reuters via the Houston Chronicle:

Health insurance premiums rose five times faster than U.S. workers' salaries this year, according to a survey released today that also showed slippage in the percentage of American workers covered by employer health plans.

Premium increases moderated slightly, rising 11.2 percent this year, compared with a 13.9 percent jump in 2003, according to the poll of 3,000 employers by the Kaiser Family Foundation. But the pace of growth is five times that of both inflation and worker income.

Click here for the rest.

As I've said before, in an industrialized society health care is a right, not a consumer product. Time to put the insurance companies out of business; it's all just a protection racket, anyway.

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SEX ED LUNACY IN TEXAS

Of course, this comes as no surprise. From the Houston Chronicle:

New sex-ed texts that omit contraception debated

High school students in Houston and elsewhere may not learn about preventing pregnancy and disease in proposed new textbooks that teach abstinence exclusively.

The proposed new books were the subject of emotional debate Wednesday during the final of two public hearings before the State Board of Education. More than 300 people signed up to speak about the books, which will be voted on by the Education Board in November.

Critics of the books, which will replace 11-year-old texts, said that they lack a discussion of condoms and contraception in violation of the curriculum requirement that health books "analyze the effectiveness and ineffectiveness of barrier protection and other contraceptive methods."

For example, Holt, Rinehart and Winston's Lifetime Health lists 10 steps for students to protect themselves from sexually transmitted diseases. The use of latex condoms is not one of them. Students are advised, however, to get plenty of rest.

And

The Austin hearing featured testimony from parents, students, doctors and teachers. One speaker prayed for the removal from office of public officials who support comprehensive sex education.

Click here for the rest.

Like I said, lunacy. Rather than going into a long diatribe about why using these books is so fucking stupid, I’ll just let the facts speak for themselves.

Again from the Houston Chronicle:

Teens who see sex on TV likelier to make it reality

Teenagers who watch a lot of television with sexual content are twice as likely to engage in intercourse than those who watch few such programs, according to a study published today.

The study covered 1,792 adolescents aged 12 to 17 who were quizzed on viewing habits and sexual activity and then surveyed again a year later. Both regular and cable television were included.

“This is the strongest evidence yet that the sexual content of television programs encourages adolescents to initiate sexual intercourse and other sexual activities,” said Rebecca Collins, a psychologist at the RAND Corp. who headed the study.

“The impact of television viewing is so large that even a moderate shift in the sexual content of adolescent TV watching could have a substantial effect on their sexual behavior,” she added.

And

She said the 12-year-olds who watched a lot of sexual content behaved like the 14- or 15-years-olds who watched the least amount. “The advancement in sexual behavior we saw among kids who watched a lot of sexual television was striking.”

Click here for the rest.

Needless to say, the religious zealots who support anti-contraceptive sex ed seem to be living in some alternate reality where teens are unaffected by the culture in which they live. Like I keep saying, lunacy.

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AWOL BUSH SMOKING GUN
Memo cites pressure to
sugar coat Bush's Guard stint

From the Boston Globe via the Houston Chronicle:

In August 1973, President Bush's superior officer in the Texas Air National Guard wrote a memorandum complaining that the commanding general wanted him to "sugar coat" an annual officer evaluation for 1st Lt. Bush, even though Bush had not been at the base for the year in question, according to new documents obtained and broadcast Wednesday night by CBS News.

The commander, the late Lt. Col. Jerry B. Killian, wrote that he turned aside the suggestion from Brig. Gen. Walter B. Staudt, Bush's political mentor in the Guard. But he and another officer agreed to "backdate" a report — evidently the evaluation — in which they did not rate him at all. There is such a report in Bush's file, dated May 2, 1973.

"I'll backdate but won't rate," Killian apparently wrote in what is labeled a "memo to file." Initials that appear to be Killian's appear on the memo, but not his name.

And

"These documents represent strong evidence that Lieutenant Bush didn't perform after April 1972, regardless of whether he received a paycheck," said retired Brig. Gen. David L. McGinnis, who was a top aide to the assistant secretary of defense for reserve affairs.

Click here for the rest.

They lambasted Michael Moore for calling Bush a deserter, but it's now looking more and more like the maker of Farenheit 9/11 was absolutely correct: Bush was a deserter during the Vietnam war, that is, a felon. Kinda puts any of this business about whether Kerry was in Cambodia or not into a clearer perspective, doesn't it?

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EVIL AND THEATER

My buddy Mike Switzer comments on my Clifford Odets post from a few days ago:

um, got news for ya ron...

the bad guys are most likely a part of "humanity" too...unless of course they are reptilian aliens/demons from the 4th dimension...

I know what you mean, mostly, but don't dehumanize evil. We're all capable of it. Some more than others. Each and every one of us chooses saint or sinner or somewhere in between, not once, but weekly, daily, from moment to moment.I think the best art recognizes and reflects that...

here's another thought...

to do really effective political theatre you have to perform somewhere other than a theatre...somewhere that the people are: a bar, a laundromat, a bus, an elevator, the street, a city council meeting, etc...90% of "political" work is just preaching to the choir, which makes us all feel warm inside, but doesn't really "work"...

And here's my response.

I think you mistook my comment, but it's probably my fault for not being specific enough.

I completely agree with you about the nature of evil; in fact, I've written about it here on my blog in my essay "EASTER GRINCH." Perhaps I didn't connect the dots enough: when I judge Kazan's defending his actions before HUAC after forty years of contemplation, when I talk about serving humanity, rather than the bad guys, it is with the understanding that all individuals are capable of both good and evil actions. Evil and good are things men do rather than what they are.

However, it's pretty clear to me that serving humanity is one thing while exploiting humanity is quite another. "Bad guys," as a phrase, isn't intended to dehumanize the corporatists or their legion of apologists. Indeed, my family is solidly Republican and Southern Baptist; in fact, my brother is a lawyer for the energy industry, doing real devil's work: I abhor their views and their support for what I believe to be evil causes, but I love them dearly. Were it not for luck and the odd circumstances coming out of choices I’ve made during my life which seemingly have nothing to do with politics or religion (that is, studying mass media and theater), I would probably be right there with them, a conservative Christian cheering on Bush and his wars. To spell this out a bit, I would lump my family into the “bad guy” category because they contribute, in their own small way, to this awful mess that we’re in—hell, I could even abstract this argument to include myself for benefiting from my status as white male in American society, or for shopping at Wal-Mart, whatever. The point is that “bad guys,” in this instance, is just shorthand. Like you say, they’re part of humanity, too. Even my favorite bad guy, Doctor Doom is a human being (he's fictional, of course, but that's beside the point).

So your statement is well taken, of course, that the notion of good and evil as aspects of human nature is so utterly problematic as to make the idea meaningless—like the Bible says, “all have sinned.” I should probably be more careful about what I say, but blogging is messy. Sorry about the confusion.

As for your point about political theater, I pretty much agree. In fact, to generalize your thought to include all theater, the venerable art form which drew thousands in ancient Athens might as well be ballet or opera as far as ordinary people today are concerned. That is, theater is by and large irrelevant. That’s why I love the efforts of underground theater companies such as dos chicas, Mildred’s Umbrella, and IBP in Houston: they perform in bars, creating new audiences. Sadly, I’ve also seen such groups burn out over the long term, like Austin’s Frontera, or be absorbed into mainstream community theater simply for survival. There needs to be not only a rethinking of theater as a medium, but also the economics behind it.

If I had a ready solution to these problems, I’d be implementing it already.

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BEATEN COP, "VIOLENT" PROTESTERS II

It turns out that the New York cop who was beaten may very well have been misbehaving himself, as I speculated. From Wednesday morning's Democracy Now show:

I think we have a lot to investigate here. Indiscriminate arrests is just the tip of the iceberg. We saw a couple of incidents of violence. He must have missed the mopeds, police in plain clothes driving their mopeds into the crowd on Monday night.

Click here for the rest.

When snooping about the internet researching this story, I read how a plain clothes cop had been pulled from his scooter and viciously beaten: could it be that this cop had driven straight into a crowd, pissing off that East Harlem guy so much that he freaked? Again, I'm totally against beating cops, or anybody for that matter, but the point is that this incident keeps being referenced in the mainstream media without providing any sort of context. Without that context, it's a pretty inescapable conclusion that the protests were violent simply because of the protesters.

Sloppy journalism or pro-establishment agenda? You decide.

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WORST—PRESIDENT—EVER
Federal deficit expected to hit record $422 billion

From the AP via the Houston Chronicle:

The projection by Congress' nonpartisan budget analysts would surpass last year's $375 billion shortfall, the current record.

When adjusted to erase the effects of inflation, the 2004 projected deficit exceeds the value of every annual shortfall since World War II.

Tuesday's CBO estimate should prove fairly accurate because the federal budget year, which runs through Sept. 30, has less than one month to go. The government is expected to spend about $2.3 trillion this year, which means it will be borrowing about one of every five dollars it spends.

And the hypocrisy runs rampant as Republicans try to defend this monster. Read on:

Republicans who spent the 1980s and 1990s railing against budget shortfalls have argued that fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, battling terrorism and righting the economy are higher priorities.

They also argue that today's deficits are no reason for panic because as a percentage of the overall economy, they are smaller than the largest shortfalls under President Reagan. Many economists consider that ratio the most significant measure of the harm deficits can cause.

They may have a point at the moment about the deficit as a percentage of the GDP—the economy won’t really be affected until federal overspending grows. However, the deficit is certain to do exactly that: Bush’s tax cuts for the rich have proven to be wildly ineffective at jump starting the sluggish economy, but they’ve done a very good job of decreasing much needed federal revenue; funny how the Republicans don’t mention that as a cause for the deficit.

There’s one more context conspicuously missing from this saga of Bush’s deficit, and the Democrats only hint at it. Read on:

Democrats say the shortfalls are forcing policy-makers to restrain spending for schools, domestic security and other priorities, while driving up the government's borrowing costs.

Click here for the entire article.

Long ago, neo-liberal guru Milton Friedman recommended that, for political reasons, it is actually good for the federal government to run massive deficits. Neo-liberals believe that the government has absolutely no business spending money on schools and social programs because it interferes with the market. Such programs, however, are politically popular, and it’s just not feasible that they would ever be cut. Massive deficits, according to Friedman, are just the tool needed to force politicians’ hands. The idea is that if the government is bankrupt, it would have no choice but to cut important social services, which would clear the way for neo-liberals to implement their savage and crackpot economic ideas. Certainly, not all politicians are aware of this ploy, but, almost as certainly, many are aware.

I can almost hear them laughing.

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U.S. death toll in Iraq passes 1,000 mark

From the AP via the Houston Chronicle:

The grim milestone was surpassed after a spike in clashes that has killed 14 American service members in the past two days. Two soldiers died in fighting today with militiamen loyal to rebel Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Five other Americans died today in separate attacks, mostly in the Baghdad area.

During a news conference at the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld sought to play down the impact of the milestone, saying the "civilized world" had long passed the 1,000th death at the hands of terrorists.

The Bush administration has long linked the Iraq conflict to the war on terrorism. The Sept. 11 Commission concluded that Iraq and al-Qaida did not have a "collaborative relationship" before the 2001 attacks on New York and Washington, and some have questioned to what extent foreign terror groups are involved in the anti-U.S. insurgency in Iraq.

Click here for the rest.

Bush and Rumsfeld are either clueless or liars. Why isn’t everyone calling for their heads?

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REAL THEATER: from Wallace Shawn’s The Fever

If you’re a regular reader of Real Art, you may remember that last April I played a bit part in a show written by character actor and playwright Wallace Shawn, The Hotel Play. Later, in June, I linked to an essay he wrote during the run-up to the Iraq invasion. Clearly, Shawn is a quirky, innovative writer with a big sense of social conscience.

Case in point, Shawn’s long monologue for performance, The Fever. I picked it up to look at a section to use as a monologue for school, but while reading it I happened on another passage that fits into Real Art quite nicely. Here it is:

And so in our frozen world, our silent world, we have to talk to the poor. Talk, listen, clarify, explain. They want things to be different. They want change. And so we say, Yes. Change. But not violent change. Not theft, not revolt, not revenge. Instead, listen to the idea of gradual change. Change that will help you, but that won’t hurt us. Morality. Law. Gradual change. We explain it all—a two-sided contract: we’ll give you things, many things, but in exchange you must accept that you don’t have the right just to take what you want. We’re going to give you wonderful things. Sit down, wait, don’t try to grab—the most important thing is patience, waiting. We’re going to give you much much more than you’re getting now, but there are certain things that must happen first—these are the things for which we must wait. First, we have to make more and we have to grow more, so more will be available for us to give. Otherwise, if we give you more, we’ll have less. When we make more and we grow more, we can all have more—some of the increase can go to you. But the other thing is, once there is more, we have to make sure that morality prevails. Morality is the key. Last year, we made more and we grew more, but we didn’t give you more. All of the increase was kept for ourselves. That was wrong. The same thing happened the year before, and the year before that. We have to convince everyone to accept morality and next year give some of the increase to you.

So we all have to wait.

The play is essentially an argument in favor of considering worldwide poverty relative to American abundance and materialism, along with the violence and murder that supports the US lifestyle, but it’s not at all as dry as that might sound. It’s performed in terms of a tourist in a third world country sick with some sort of traveler’s illness; while collapsed on the floor of his hotel bathroom, in between bouts of throwing up, the unnamed character relates a stream-of-consciousness series of tales and images that ultimately lead to a rather grim conclusion: “Nothing is changing in the life of the poor. There is no change. Gradual change is not happening. It’s not going to happen. It’s only something that we talked about.”

In spite of the dark truth that Shawn reveals, this is actually an entertaining script.

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BEATEN COP, "VIOLENT" PROTESTERS

I did a bit of Googling on the New York cop who was beaten during the RNC protests that I mentioned yesterday, and found that there was some context left out. From the Star-Ledger in New Jersey:

Police arrest 900 across Manhattan

Late last night, authorities made more arrests near the park, sealing off a nearby block to prevent an influx of demonstrators and bathing the street in bright light, provided by portable spotlights. Police managed to clear the park before 11 p.m., sending knots of people into the night.

Among those charged, authorities said, was a 19-year-old East Harlem man who had been captured on videotape Monday as he punched and kicked a police detective on Eighth Avenue. The officer, beaten unconscious in the attack, remained hospitalized in stable condition yesterday.

Click here for more on the mass arrests.

I'm still holding out judgment on whether this act was precipitated by the police, but from the small amount of information available, it sounds like this "19-year-old East Harlem man" may not have even been a protester. Just some thug out to enjoy the festivities. Don't get me wrong; it's awful that this cop was beaten, but I would be very surprised, indeed, if the guy that did it was actually a protester.

Of course, the right wing is taking this as evidence that all the "violent protester" rhetoric being slung around before the convention was on the level. Figures.

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NEW YORK FASCISTS
Guantanamo on the Hudson

From This Modern World:

Soon a line of police closed off the other intersection at Irving and 16th, trapping us on 16th St. We didn't get on the street, we didn't climb onto anything to see what was happening, we didn't yell, we didn't attempt to run, we didn't appear violent in any way. There were probably 100 of us together there on the south side of 16th St, I think that the police had trapped other bubbles of people on the north side and farther up and down the sidewalk. We saw the police roll out a yellow net, a mesh bolt of fabric that they unrolled and used to push us into a tight group. At one point a policeman yelled at us violently and angrily that we had brought this upon ourselves. He was walking past us on the sidewalk and he yelled and screamed; and this was the moment when I became seriously afraid. I was standing closer to the street, not pressed against the walls of the buildings, and I was afraid that he would grab me and hurt me: I was very scared. The police never gave us an opportunity to move, to disperse, they never told us that we were about to be arrested, and they never said a word, besides this one officer who scared the shit out of me. It never occurred to me that this would happen. I didn't know that we had participated in anything illegal.

Eventually the police pressed us tightly together into a group. And then they kept pressing. They grabbed instruments from the band members and threw them into the road. Then they grabbed the band members, the group held onto them, but the police pulled these individuals away and tossed them into the road. The police were pressing us and pulling individuals who were on the perimeter away. People were shouting to the police: "Tell us what to do and we'll do it" and instructing us to hold onto the individuals the police were grabbing: "Don't let them take them away." I was on the perimeter of the group and I was scared that they would grab me next. I was standing right next to a street sign, there was a bicycle tied to the sign and it had fallen, and I was standing on the bicycle; every time the police pressed us I grabbed on to the sign and Sarah grabbed on to me, and I prayed that I wouldn't fall and break an ankle on the bicycle. I was scared like I have never been before. I was carrying a bag and yelled at Sarah to get her ID out and gave her some money, and someone else passed around a Sharpie and we wrote the number for the National Lawyers Guild on our arms. This was when I really knew that we were in trouble, even though it had never occurred to me that I had done anything illegal.

Click here for the rest.

Also from the Washington Post via the Houston Chronicle:

Protesters held too long

New York had time to prepare for the protesters everyone knew would gather in the city during the Republican National Convention, so it shouldn't have taken an angry judge to force the timely processing of those arrested. Yet on Thursday, state Judge John Cataldo ordered the release of hundreds of demonstrators who had not been arraigned in more — sometimes considerably more — than the 24 hours New York state law presumptively allows. Even after the order, the city did not move swiftly enough, prompting the judge to hold it in contempt and fine it.

According to protesters and their attorneys, delays were only part of the problem. They allege that police arrested hundreds of protesters who were doing nothing wrong, along with some bystanders who weren't protesting at all. Questions have arisen as well about the conditions in which detainees were held. New York officials deny that protesters were wrongly arrested or that arrests were intended to keep them off the streets.

Click here for the rest.

The Post essay mentions that, even though the protests were overwhelmingly peaceful, a New York cop was "viciously beaten." I want to know more about that: my best guess is that it had something to do with how the cops were abusing the protesters, but then, that's just a guess. Until I know more, I'll withhold judgment.

Other than that, I'm pretty outraged.

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UT 65, NORTH TEXAS 0

Well, originally I'm a Longhorn. From the Houston Chronicle:

After weeks of talking about why this year was going to be different, the Texas Longhorns finally stepped on the field to prove it.

They said the mental breakdowns were behind them, the little mistakes fixed. They said this was the year they would contend for the national title. After one game, it's hard to argue.

The seventh-ranked Longhorns ran away to a 65-0 victory over North Texas on Saturday night in front of a sellout crowd of 82,956 at Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.

The Longhorns rushed for 513 yards while racking up 673 yards of total offense, and their revamped defense shut down North Texas' highly touted running game, holding the Mean Green to only 38 rushing yards.

Click here for the rest.

For years now, the much-hyped Longhorns have beaten their lesser opponents at the beginning of the season, but not the way a national championship contender ought to, usually by only two or three touchdowns. This is the sort of pasting I've been waiting for, in the style of Barry Switzer's Oklahoma Sooners of the 1980s. It's about time, and it bodes well for a great season. Now about those Sooners...

I also wanted to add one more thing. From the same article:

North Texas coach Darrell Dickey made his second appearance in the stadium that shares his namesake.

Dickey was named after legendary Longhorn coach Darrell Royal. Royal was a longtime friend of Dickey's father, Jim Dickey, who was a successful high school and college football coach.

Believe it or not, Coach Dickey is my mother's sister's son. That is, he's my first cousin. I guess it's a drag that he lost so badly, but then, well, you know...hook 'em 'Horns! Anyway, his father Jimmy, my uncle, was quite a distinguished coach: he took the Kansas State Wildcats to their first bowl game back in the early 80s. Just a bit of family history for all you Real Art readers.

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REAL THEATER: Clifford Odets

From my defining essay for REAL ART:

Here at Real Art, I'm trying to illuminate what I believe are the concepts with which artists ought to concern themselves for the most part; at the very least, I'm trying to show what concerns me as an artist. I believe that art should serve humanity, not the bad guys. Anything else is, at best, meaningless, and, at worst, evil. In short, Real Art is an ongoing argument for what constitutes real art.

As you may or may not know, I've quit teaching high school theater and am now studying in the graduate acting program at LSU. It occurred to me a while back that much of what I learn in grad school may very well be suitable for my blog in some form or another: I had no idea that this would be paying off so quickly. Case in point, playwright Clifford Odets (who is, coincidentally, the model on whom the title character of the Coen Brothers film Barton Fink is based).

Before the semester even began, my acting class was assigned to read ten or eleven plays; two of them were by Odets. His name was familiar to me, but I didn't know anything about him, and had never read his work. His stuff has really blown me away.

Odets came to prominence working with the legendary Group Theater in New York City during the 1930s. Their membership included some of the most influential artists in the history of American theater: Stella Adler, Lee Strasberg, Sanford Meisner, Elia Kazan. This company was literally the Beatles of the theater. While the most long lasting influence of the Group Theater is on American acting, the thing that fascinates me most about them is their left-wing politics. Indeed, Odets, throughout his entire career, but mostly during the first half, attempted to make visible the anguish of class struggle in "classless" America.

Of the three Odets plays I've read, class, as a theme, dominates. Waiting for Lefty is a series of vignettes illustrating the oppression of workers, wrapped in a framework of a union meeting--the play ends with a rousing chant, "STRIKE, STRIKE, STRIKE!!!" Golden Boy shows the rise and fall of a violinist turned boxer who seeks fame and material wealth, learns the hollowness of such goals, but dies for his sins. Rocket to the Moon reveals the anxiety and superficiality of middle class existence through the story of a dentist's extramarital romance.

This last play really grabbed me, one subplot in particular. A colleague of the lead character is losing business and can't make ends meet. His sense of powerlessness and failure threatens to tear him apart.

This is his big moment (a monologue on which I'm working for school):

COOPER: If only they invented hydrants in the streets which give out milk and honey! . . . we'd be happier people. (Turning to them with new belligerence.) Don't I try? Can anyone accuse me of indifference to my work? Why can't I make a living? I'm falling apart by inches.(Suddenly sobbing.) Where can I sail away? To where? I'm ashamed to live! An ostrich can hide his head. Diphtheria gets more respect than me! They coddle germs in laboratories; they feed the white mice twice a day. . . Why don't somebody coddle me? (Controlling himself now.) What did I do to my fellow man? Why am I punished like this? (Trembling again on the brink of sobs, but holding them back.) Where is the God they told me about? Why should an innocent boy and an old lady suffer? I ask you to tell me, what is the Congress doing? Where are they in the hour of the needs of the people? (Appealing to STARK personally.) Did you ever see such times? Where will it end if they can't use millions of Coopers? Why can't they fit me in, a man of my talents? The sick ones walk the streets, the doctors sit at home. Where, where is it? What is it? . . . what, what, what? . . . (COOPER trickles off into silence, CLEO and STARK can be only helplessly silent in the face of this emotional speech. After COOPER blows his nose and wipes his eyes, a little ashamed of his feeling, he says with a faint bitter smile, mocking himself.) Gaze on the Columbia University lunatic! The warrior of Ypres and Verdun! . . . (He moves his trembling hand across his brow.)

This is great stuff. A perfect example of what I think art should be. It saddens me to think that we're still dealing with these same issues decades later: most artists today are so intensely introspective, however, that such ideas are, by and large, off the radar screen. Chalk it up to the success of the military, industrial, and entertainment complex. It's a damned shame.

For all my excitement about Odets, however, there is a big stain on his career that must be addressed: Odets named names. That is, during the McCarthy era, many former members of the Group Theater were called before HUAC to testify about their earlier Communist affiliations (I did say they were left-wing). Odets, along with Elia Kazan, cooperated, which doomed the careers of some of their colleagues. Needless to say, I condemn his actions. My hero, Paul Robeson, along with numerous other actors, directors, and writers were destroyed simply because they adhered to an unpopular political point of view--this was a dark time in American history.

Three years ago, before 9/11, my condemnation of Odets would have been harsh. However, our own dark time, the frightened hush that settled over America in the weeks after the terrorist attacks, has softened my thinking. In late 2001, I was teaching in a very conservative community, and even though I knew that the direction in which Bush was steering our country was wrong, very wrong, I was afraid to speak out against it in my capacity as an educator--this was a moral failing on my part, but I was scared shitless of losing my job, which seemed like a very real possibility at the time. Ultimately, the freeze thawed, and I started talking to my classes about the Iraq invasion. But for a while there, I got a taste of what Odets must have felt.

When I think about him as he was called to testify, I imagine a very frightened man. I imagine a man who stood to have his entire life's work erased, his reputation disgraced, his livelihood taken. I can only hope that were I in his position that I would do the right thing, but I would be an awful person, indeed, if I could not forgive him for what he did. Patriotic pressure is a horrible thing. It is ironic that Odets ended up like one of his characters, broken and warped by the cold and uncaring capitalist state.

But screw Kazan; he thought he did the right thing until he died in the late 90s. Odets, who died in the 60s, never had the decades of hindsight afforded to his former colleague.

For further, but brief, reading on Odets, click here and here.

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REAL ART GIVES THE PEOPLE WHAT THEY WANT

Longtime Real Art readers know that this blog occasionally gets weird, temporary upsurges in hits from hot search phrases. The last time this happened was when I made a reference to the infamous Nick Berg beheading video: I got four times my average number of hits for the next two or three days--bunch of gruesome folk out there, I might add. It's now happening again, but only through happenstance. Apparently, Miss Universe recently lost her skirt while doing a runway modeling gig. Why would my blog end up on such a search list? For starters, this woman's name is Jennifer Hawkins; I have a friend named Jennifer who regularly comments here, and I've mentioned her a couple of times. These searches also use the Justin Timberlake phrase "wardrobe malfunction;" I used that phrase myself when comparing European attitudes about nudity during the Olympics opening ceremony to American attitudes about Janet Jackson's breast-baring stunt during the Super Bowl halftime show. Finally, the searches also wanted a picture; I'm bound to have used that word at some point. I have no idea when I've used the name "Hawkins," however.

Anyway, I figured, "what the hell?" Give the people what they want.

From the Sydney Confidential via News.com:

Miss Uni's skirt falls off

JENNIFER Hawkins, Australia's own down-to-earth beauty queen, handled one of the worst "wardrobe malfunctions" ever seen with great poise last night.

In a shocking scene, the bottom section of a stunning blue-and-gold gown Hawkins was modelling for a packed crowd fell down around her ankles.

Despite having been on the Miss Universe world circuit for just two months, Hawkins handled the disastrous moment perfectly.

When she realised she was exposed from the waist down, she didn't panic or try to fix it, she simply turned on her stilettos and cruised off stage.

Click here for the rest.

I suppose this link is, as they say at FARK, not work friendly. But it's just a butt, really. No big deal. I don't even know why so many people want to see it. I mean, it's just a butt. A Barbie butt, at that.

Whatever.

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LSU 22, OREGON STATE 21

What a wild finish! From the AP via the Baton Rouge Advocate:

LSU can thank an Oregon State kicker who could not make extra points for its season-opening victory.

Alexis Serna missed three extra points Saturday night, including one that would have forced a second overtime, and No. 4 LSU escaped with a 22-21 victory over the Beavers.

The defending BCS champion Tigers trailed throughout the game, were shut out in the first half, and behind 15-7 with 1:38 left.

The Tigers seemed sure to lose when they drove to the Oregon State 2-yard line and failed to score with 3:39 left. But their defense gave them another shot.

The Tigers got the ball back for their final possession of regulation with 1:38 left. After JaMarcus Russell threw two incompletions, he hooked up with Dwayne Bowe for a 26-yarder then a 38-yard touchdown to cut Oregon State's lead to 15-13.

On the conversion, Russell ran to the left, stretched out the football and leaped into the end zone for two points to tie it at 15 and force overtime.

Click here for the rest.

So why am I posting a sports report here at Real Art? Well, okay, it's not art or politics, but it is culture, and...uh...look, damnit, I'm now a student at a school that has the defending college football national champion: it's difficult to not get a bit caught up in all the hoopla.

Just indulge me.

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TWO FROM J. ORLIN GRABBE

First, a report on how Bush's Justice Department is handling the judicial side of the war on terror. From the Detroit Free Press:

Judge dismisses terrorism charges

A federal judge in Detroit criticized prosecutors on Thursday for misleading the court, jurors and defense lawyers in the nation's first post-9/11 terrorism trial.

U.S. District Judge Gerald Rosen said prosecutors made up their minds early that the men were terrorists and "simply ignored or avoided any evidence or information which contradicted or undermined that view." He said prosecutors operated outside the Constitution by concealing information that could have undermined their case.

Rosen dismissed terrorism charges against two defendants. They will be retried with a third defendant on a fraudulent document charge. No trial date has been set.

Rosen said the failures of the prosecutors were "prevalent and pervasive," that the defendants were denied a fair trial and that the jury might have reached a different verdict if all of the evidence had been presented.

Defense lawyers said they were pleased with the decision but plan to ask Rosen to dismiss the document fraud charges, too, saying prosecutors' conduct was flagrant.

Click here for the rest.

I think that this story illustrates well the problem with Bush's "military tribunals" and indefinite internments: it's very likely that without basic constitutional protections for the accused, innocents will be convicted. It's a shame that I even feel compelled to make such an observation.

And from the INN World Report, a 9/11 perception that, in New York at least, appears to be growing:

Zogby Poll: 50% believe US knew in
advance that attacks were planned

On the eve of the Republican National Convention, half (50%) of New York City residents and two in four (41%) of New York citizens overall say that some US leaders "knew in advance that attacks were planned on or around September 11, 2001, and that they consciously failed to act," according to the poll conducted by Zogby International. The poll of New York residents was conducted from Tuesday August 24 through Thursday August 26, 2004.

And

The poll is the first of its kind conducted in America that surveys attitudes regarding US government complicity in the 9/11 tragedy. Despite the acute legal and political implications of this accusation, nearly 30% of registered Republicans and over 38% of those who described themselves as "very conservative" supported the claim.

Click here for the rest.

I must admit that I came to pretty much the same conlusion myself over a year ago. Given these numbers coming out of the Big Apple, I no longer feel quite the nut that I did then.

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BUSH'S SPEECH TO THE RNC

Just in case you recently ingested poison and need to throw up, Eschaton has posted a transcript for your perusal. Here's a snippet:

My plan begins with providing the security and opportunity of a growing economy. We now compete in a global market that provides new buyers for our goods, but new competition for our workers. To create more jobs in America, America must be the best place in the world to do business. To create jobs, my plan will encourage investment and expansion by restraining federal spending, reducing regulation, and making tax relief permanent. To create jobs, we will make our country less dependent on foreign sources of energy. To create jobs, we will expand trade and level the playing field to sell American goods and services across the globe. And we must protect small business owners and workers from the explosion of frivolous lawsuits that threaten jobs across America.

Click here for more vomit-inducing swill.

Uh...the economy is still sluggish, with no upturn in sight. That global market that Bush touts is sucking jobs away from America hand over fist. The "restraining (of) federal spending" is just a joke given the huge deficits W's run up over the last four years. Reduction of regulation has increased pollution, made price-gouging in the energy sector possible, and generally made consumers less safe than they were before. "(L)ess dependent on foreign sources of energy" means increasing the use of dangerous nuclear energy. Expanding American trade means exploiting the hell out of third world nations, which means increasing the threat of terrorism. Ending "frivolous lawsuits" means ending any real sense of consumer protection from predatory corporations.

Like Atrios says, four years in and "all they've got is Bush standing on a mass grave with a bullhorn."

Sheesh!

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ZELL MILLER: DEMOCRAT SENATOR WHO
GAVE THE KEYNOTE SPEECH AT THE RNC

I just don't understand this guy. So, instead of trying to explain him, here's some fun courtesy of Eschaton.

First, it's nice to note that I'm not the only one who saw the dark side of the Force at work in Miller's conversion. From BuzzFlash, a photographic news analysis:

Is Zell Miller the Evil Emperor from Star Wars?

When we saw this picture of Zell Miller giving his invective at the RNC, we knew it reminded us of someone. We just couldn't place it until we realized it was the hate in Zell's eyes, his skin and the way it looks like that hate is eating his soul.

Then we remembered: he reminded us of the evil Emperor Palpatine from Star Wars.

Click here to see the pics.

And from American Idle, this photographic news analysis:

Dixiecrat goes nutzoid!

Republican delegates were stunned and slightly amused last night when Dixiecrat Zell Miller's frenzied and exasperating speech culminated in him grabbing John Kerry's disembodied head, ripping the back of its skull off with his dentures and eating his brains. Gray matter and chunks of old-man spittle covered the first three rows of delegates, who were holding up a plastic tarp as if they were at a Gallagher show. Miller was then led off stage by thunderous applause, having caught the scent of Mary Cheney in the Vice President's skybox.

Click here for the gruesome evidence.

And from AMERICAblog, a transcript from MSNBC's Hardball that shows just how weird Miller's become:

WILD-EYED Zell Miller LOSES CONTROL on
Chris Matthews, threatens him, tells him to shut up

You really need to read this ENTIRE interview with Miller. He's insane. This snippet, as long and as horrible as it is, does NOT do justice to how totally flipped out, uncontrollably wild this jerk was on Matthews' show. Read the entire thing, then share it with lots of friends.

A snippet of the transcript is below, and a link to the entire transcript. And if you go here and scroll down, you'll see a picture of Miller debating Matthews on TV, click the picture to see the actual video of the show - especially take note of the following portions of the recording:

* Zell starts going nuts here: 2:18 (i.e., 2 minutes 18 seconds)

* Zell TOTALLY FLIPS OUT here: 6:41

Click here for frothing at the mouth.

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REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION FOLLIES

Okay, I have neither the stomach nor the time to really be keeping track of the Kerry hate-fest that's been going on in New York this past week, but I have noticed a few articles. For instance, Rudy Giuliani spent most of his speech blasting the Democratic nominee, even though, as this Washington Post article (courtesy of Eschaton) shows, many of his statements were outright distortions. I mean lies. Veep Cheney, earlier tonight, also blasted Kerry (surprise, surprise) and defended the invasion of Iraq, without mentioning those missing WMDs or non-existent connections to al-Qaeda. And evil, traitorous, Democrat-fascist, Georgia Senator Zell Miller, after some years of flirtation, finally took Darth Vader's hand and went over to the dark side of the Force--thank god he's retiring.

I think it's pretty clear that the reasons the Republicans are going after Kerry so intensely is because they have absolutely no record worth running on: slime and sleaze is their only hope.

Having said all that, there is a lighter side to this carnival macabre. Check out this story from the New York Press sent to me by my buddy Matt:

1001 THINGS TO HATE ABOUT THE CONVENTION

996. Osama bin Laden?s name will not be mentioned by a single speaker.

966. More NYC bike messenger featurettes on BBC News than usual.

949. Sean Hannity able to credibly claim this is his town.

925. New York Times guide for delegates includes address of "Friends" establishing shot.

898. Naked Cowboy won?t pose with Democrats.

895. Blue Man Group renamed White Man Group.

813. Abu Ghraib-themed nights at S&M club no longer funny.

774. Port security still a joke.

And so on. Click here for the rest. (And, okay, I admit I haven't read the whole thing--I mean, damn, it's a thousand statement long list! I'll get around to it, though; it's pretty damned funny.)

Also go check out This Modern World's take on the GOP choosing New York to host their convention:

CHENEY: Let's hold the Republican Convention in suburban Chicago, near the home of child molesting child killer John Wayne Gacey--to emphasize your concern for the youth of America!

BUSH: Are you crazy? That's a terrible idea!

Click here to see the comic strip in it's full, funny glory.

See? It's not so depressing that there's nothing funny about it...see?

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