First Looks category archive

An interesting article on Enlightenment (as in Voltaire) values, creeds, and violence in this morning’s Guardian. A nugget:

The real problem is not religion, but a propensity of human nature: we tend to be very attached to the belief systems and worldviews that provide us with meaning, and we are willing to go to great lengths in order to defend them. This human tendency can become lethal by virtue of a simple fact of logic: the very existence of competing worldviews constitutes a threat for any belief system that claims unique validity.

Not just a novel by John Dos Passos.

Tuesday, Triumph Brewing Company, 2nd and Chestnut, Philadelphia, Pa., 6 p.

I’ll think about y’all while I’m in Virginia.

New grandson born last night 8:39 p. m. PDT.

The music starts 35 seconds in.

Since the Republican Party was kind enough to send me a business reply envelope, I figured I’d put it to good use by sending them a subscription form for the Nation.

Maybe they’ll get a clue. Forget that.

There was a Republican from Nantucket,
and ev’rything he touched he’d–never mind.

Read something from someone who knows writing:

Republican planning is plain.
They want to rebrand, they explain.
So on Sunday’s TV
New faces we’ll see:
Folks like Cheney and Newt and McCain.

’nuff said.

The retailer (Marks and Spencer in the UK–ed.) has come under heavy criticism after charging customers an extra £2 for bra sizes DD and larger, which they say is to cover extra material and engineering costs. Naturally the move has upset bigger-busted women, including Ulrika Jonsson, who claim they have been discriminated against.

(snip)

Under pressure M&S dropped its £2 surcharge last night, signalling a win for frustrated campaigners.

I first saw this song performed in its context in a high school play.

In its context, it is one of the saddest songs I know.

I think I’ve read People Magazine once. I was trapped in a waiting room at the time.

This pretty much explains why I don’t read it.

Aside: There’s enough stupid that comes along as part of day-to-day life. I don’t have to send out invitations.

No there there:

A federal judge has recommended the dismissal of a lawsuit brought by a conservative group against an organization that promotes voter participation through registration drives.

Via Raw Story.

Unless you are a Republican or a Southerner.

Then, not so much.

Off to drink liberally.

Some Republican is yammering on my podplayer about how Barack Obama was “such a left-wing candidate.”

Only in wingnut eyes.

Anyone who actually paid attention to what Mr. Obama said and did during his campaign (and has said and done since becoming President) can see that he is, at most, slightly to the left of the historical center of American politics.

Unless, of course, torture, unjust war, and giving away the store are considered core American values.

Joe the (not a) Plumber.

Honestly, the glorification of complete, total, willful ignorance–ignorance of history, ignorance of religion, ignorance of current events–is truly rather astounding.

The Mudflats elucidates.