GIVE A SHOUT TO WORD UP! wordup@papermag.com
Entries tagged with 'Politics'
Posted Jan. 7, 2008,
Paintball Politics
By David Hershkovits
Now that politics is so trendy, I thought I'd let you know about another sensation that's sweeping the nation. Play Presidential Paintball, the Miniclip game where you pick your candidate and go on the paintball offensive to mow them down one-by-one in the corridors of the White House. While you're at it, you can also vote.
Posted Jan. 6, 2008,
Hillary Rodham at 21
By David Hershkovits
I really liked Gail Collins' "What Would Hillary Rodham Do? column in the Saturday New York Times. Parsing the Presidential race on-the-fly is no easy task yet she is clearly up for it. Her thoughts on Hillary v. Obama in Iowa is a sparkling gem that deftly takes us from the post election doldrums of HIllary headquarters to Barack central alive with youthful devotees to a college campus where a 21 year-old Hillary Rodham has the stage. When Collins finally comes around to answering her question -- what would Hillary Rodham do? -- you realize that there's another question inherent here which has to do with that day many years ago when Hillary Rodham took a stand for change. And the question is: If Hillary were 21 today, who would she support? Worth a read!
Posted Jan. 4, 2008,
Barack Obama's Second Defining Moment
By David Hershkovits
Barack Obama's first "defining moment" came during the Democratic convention when he first appeared on the national stage and gave a speech that knocked the socks off everyone who heard it. The second arrived last night, again in a speech following his victory in the Iowa primary. Obama's message of hope and unity resonates in a country that has been torn apart during the Bush years. David Gergen, the CNN commentator and Republican strategist, was completely blown away by the Obama phenomenon saying that he "represented something new and different in American politics." Other commentators spoke of "the passing of the torch" to a man who swept to victory on the wings of younger voters, both men and women, many of whom were expected to vote for Hillary. He was compared to Bobby Kennedy in his ability to appeal to a broad swath of America's social fabric. Speaking as he did before a crowd of rabid, mostly white supporters as a come-from-behind, highly improbable African-American candidate for the Democratic Presidential nomination it seemed for a moment that it was all possible. If a man named Barack Hussein Obama can win in Iowa, there's hope for America. Hillary, Edwards et al are the past. Obama is the future. Even on the Republican side where Mike Huckabee was the improbable winner, they're looking for change.
What makes Barack Obama's message of hope particularly compelling is that it's uniquely his own, one that grows out of life experience as a son of a single white mother and an estranged Kenyan father who died shortly after reconnecting with his son. He spent childhood years in Muslim Indonesia before moving in with his white grandparents on Hawaii who pretty much raised him! Come on! No candidate can match this narrative, especially when you throw in the fact that he would be the first African-American president. How much more mythic and historic can one be. He embodies his camaign's message; it is the most authentic one out there and the people know it.
And then there's the speechifying to go with it. The words roll off the tongue -- "hope over fear, unity over division and sending a powerful message that change is coming to America."
Posted Dec. 26, 2007,
The Reason for the Season?
By Ann Magnuson
Merry Christmas.... and remember not to discuss politics or religion at the dinner table! (Thanks to Blake Simpson at Mojave Projects for the link!)
Posted Oct. 12, 2007,
Interview with Steve Gdula, Author of Wearing History: T-Shirts from the Gay Rights Movement
By Ann Magnuson
Since October is GLBT History Month, I thought it fitting to talk to my D.C. writer-pal Steve Gdula, whose current book, Wearing History: T-Shirts from the Gay Rights Movementis now out (from Alyson Publishing and available in bookstores nationwide.) Until Steve sent me his book I had completely forgotten that people used to express their rage and sorrow over the AIDS crisis (sometimes with deeply rich black humor) by literally wearing their politics on their sleeves! In these rather politically-anorexic times, Wearing History is a book worth taking a good hard look at. Plus it's often quite funny. Steve is curently on a national book tour reminding folks that the personal is still poltical. He took time out to do a quick email Q&A with me.
Posted Sep. 17, 2007,
Fabian Basabe Interviews... um... Ann Coulter!
By Fabian Basabe
Hello my little fashion junkies. If you've been following my adventures throughout this most recent and fabulous Fashion Week, you saw us talk the talk and walk the walk (while having our photograph taken no less) with the usual suspects. That is why this installment of my blog is oh so much more interesting. Today we are speaking with a Lioness among the Elephants, the reigning goddess of the Republican Party, Ann Coulter! You might wonder why, but do a Google image search; this woman knows how to look good and does it effortlessly. She has been kind enough to take some time out of her busy day to answer a few questions about fashion and politics.
Fabian Basabe: Having lived in New York, have you ever attended Fashion Week in New York?
Ann Coulter: No, though I'd like to just be at a cocktail party where I could talk to people eye to eye.
FB: We have both had our troubles with The New York Observer. They called you "the Republican Michael Moore", and "Rush Limbaugh in a miniskirt.” Don't you think your legs are much better than Rush or Moore's?
AC: Don't knock Rush Limbaugh's legs -- they're better than Hillary's.
Posted Aug. 21, 2007,
Sexy Right Wing Abuelo: Jose Maria Aznar
By Mickey Boardman
It's no secret that we here at the MMBlog are very left wing. We like to call ourselves Free Market Socialist Monarchists (how's that for a niche?). Still, we like to remind ourselves that right-wingers have penises too! Consequently, Mr. Mickey is pleased to present this beach shot of former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar. Aznar is the former head of the conservative People's Party and he was booted out of office in an election just after the tragic bombings of March 11, 2004 in Madrid. Nonetheless, Jose looks pretty sexy for a grandpa, don't you think?
Photo from Hola!
Posted Aug. 10, 2007,
Mr. Mickey Is a Political Pansy!
By Mickey Boardman
Did you MMBloggers catch the Presidential Forum on Logo where the leading Democratic candidates got grilled by the gays and lezzies? Mr. Mickey loves Logo and despite the fact that MM is widely considered a shallow sissy MM was front and center at the gay boite Therapy watching a live simulcast which took place in LA.
OK, so Mr. MIckey really only went because his high-powered gay friends Will Wikle and Michael Musto were there too. Anyhoo, as a 40-year-old veteran of some pretty dark times when it comes to the gays, MM is thrilled at the progress that we've made. To see all the major democratic candidates supporting the gays was fabulous. Dennis Kucinich is a total dream!
Posted Jul. 30, 2007,
Hillary's Cleavage Wars
By David Hershkovits
Politics, fashion and the media don't often interface, but when they do I don't want to miss an opportunity to comment, especially when it involves the state of Hillary Clinton's cleavage. When is a little too much?
A slow news day found Robin Givhan, the Washington Post's Pulitzer Prize winning fashion reporter, watching C-Span. (Guess that's what Washington reporters do on a slow news day!) What she saw was Hillary expounding on the burdensome cost of higher education. But what caught her eye was something altogether different.
She was wearing a rose-colored blazer over a black top. The neckline sat low on her chest and had a subtle V-shape. The cleavage registered after only a quick glance. No scrunch-faced scrutiny was necessary. There wasn't an unseemly amount of cleavage showing, but there it was. Undeniable.
Posted Jun. 20, 2007,
Bloomberg's Presidential Ploy
By David Hershkovits
I wrote what follows yesterday before the news broke of Bloomberg dropping out of the Republican Party to, as many speculate, make a run for the Presidency. My linking his plans for alleviating traffic in New York via the controversial policy of "congestion pricing" to his Presidential ambitions remains. How New York Republicans react to the strategies of the once Democrat then Republican and now Independent Mayor remains to be seen.
Even as Mayor Bloomberg visits California sounding very much like a presidential candidate (according to the New York Times), one wonders about his radical plan to ease congestion in Manhattan by charging commuters for the privelege of bringing their cars into the city. Is there a link between his coy presidential aspirations and the congestion plan which has little hope of making it through the unfriendly confines of New York's State legislature which has to grant approval for it to materialize. With even his fellow Republicans in Albany -- who have greatly benefitted from his generous campaign contributions -- finding it difficult to get behind the plan and Democrats signalling no interest in bringing it to a vote what does he expect to get out of it.
Well, I was thinking about it when it suddenly hit me that the congestion plan and presidential aspirations were linked. If nothing else it has positioned him as a visionary, someone willing to try out new ideas. This appeals to the eco-friendly Democratic crowd as well as his Republican base which is disgusted with the party's extreme right leanings. With a coalition of left, right and center Bloomberg can forge a third party campaign for the presidency.
Posted Jun. 4, 2007,
Savanna Samson: Becky & the Pussycats Debut Interview
By Rebecca Carroll
Welcome to the first installment of my new column, Becky & the Pussycats, in which I will talk on the regular with the real porn stars of America (as opposed to my neighbors in Williamsburg who sport “porn star” tees with their skinny britches and dark austerity) -- the women who stay lubed for a living, spread ‘em for dollars with no shame in their game, and who, more than likely, are familiar faces to many of you out there reading.
When Savanna Samson greets me at the door of her midtown Manhattan apartment, I am immediately struck by how beautiful she is; she doesn’t look like she looks in her movies, or in any of her publicity shots. Wearing very little makeup, short terry cloth shorts, a snug-fitting tank and slide-on mules, she’s just plain petite and pretty and natural looking. Although later when we’re sitting on the couch in her living room, and I’m in closer proximity to her chest, it does seem fairly evident that her boobs are not the one’s that God gave her.
In just under an hour, we managed to address both her favorite topics and mine -- sex and the porn industry; race and politics, respectively.
Rebecca Carroll: You’re doing a lot with your life and career right now that extends beyond the porn world -- how has that come to be?
Savanna Samson: Through porn I’ve gotten everything I’ve always wanted.
RC: What was it that you always wanted?
SS: I wanted to be an actress, but I was too concerned about how I looked. I had some opportunities, but I was just nervous, you know? Then I found I could be naked in front of the camera and feel completely comfortable.
Posted May. 29, 2007,
Word Up LIVE: President Giuliani?
By PAPERMAG Editors
PAPER TV correspondent Gary Pini took to the streets of Manhattan to find out first hand what New Yorkers think of Giuliani for President...
Posted May. 1, 2007,
Joint Chinese/Russian Military Excercise (plus The Simpsons) for MAY DAY!
By Ann Magnuson
YIKES! Happy May Day? No wonder NASA wants to keep those commies off the moon! But wait a minute, are the Russians even commies anymore? And with everyone scrambling to get their business into China, what does that make them? Or us? One thing is for sure, if these two superpowers team up we're all having Kung Pow Stroganoff for din-din. But what are the folks on YouTube saying?
Posted Apr. 25, 2007,
Equal Rights for Wiccan Vets
By Ann Magnuson
Kudos to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for adding the Wiccan pentacle to VA gravemarkers in our national cemetaries! Wicca families of fallen soldiers will now be allowed to affix the witchy emblam, a five-pointed star known to all Goths and Cher fans, to the government-issued headstones of their departed loved ones who lost their lives in our nations quest for power...uh, democracy.
Posted Apr. 19, 2007,
Terrorist Cho Seung-Hui's Multimedia Manifesto
By David Hershkovits
A madman has struck and left a trail that tells one of the most frightening stories that we've heard in a long time. It's a story that we don't want to hear which is why Cho Seung-Hui, America's home-grown suicide bomber, chose this way of telling it. Devoid of any meaningful social contact on the campus of Virginia Tech or elsewhere, he became a cypher of a world without love. Like the terrorist Muslim suicide bombers of the Middle East, he leaves a multimedia manifesto of words, photos (the one of above, of bullets, is by Cho) and videos as a final testament. He speaks of the "martyrs," uses the name "A Ishmael," rails against "hedonism" and makes reference to 911, Osama, Kim Jung II, Hummer and Bush. Though what he says can scare your pants off, the student who couldn't connect with anyone communicates beautifully with the camera. We know all this about Cho because he took the time to shoot, edit and Express Mail it all to NBC. (MSNBC has done an incredible job covering this and has been releasing pages and visuals from the manifesto.)
Cho's Multimedia Manifesto leaves behind a treasure trove of material for experts to rummage over in the coming years as they try -- with 20/20 hindsight -- to understand what motivated this young man to do such a horrible act. I expect that anyone as proficient with multimedia tools as Cho, and as talented an artist, will have many more writings, drawings and videos stashed away in his hard drive.
On the day of the shooting I was on the phone with Jon Savage, the British author of Teenage, a monumental book of cultural history that traces the creation of youth culture. When I mentioned the events at Virginia Tech to him he said, “Remember, your country and my country are at war in Iraq. When you’re at war it hits people in a weird way, especially young people. When the top guy is waging war and acting like a big bully, it’s going to make a difference. Kids pick up on this. But they don’t have the wherewithal of adults who learn how to handle it.” Given Cho's multimedia handiwork and the numerous allusions to the Middle East in his video, Savage's comments -- made before anything was known about the killer -- seem more prescient than ever.
Posted Apr. 16, 2007,
The Chitlin’ Circuit?
By Rebecca Carroll
The problem with having a prestigious team of high profile black scholars and smarty britches curate a traveling exhibition showcasing the contributions of black folk in America is that a whole bunch of them will invariably approach such an endeavor with the intention, as worded in the New York Times today, “to attract African-Americans who do not regularly attend museums.” OK, first of all, who, black or white, regularly attends museums? Sure, if you’re a regular museum attendee you’d probably get really excited by a first edition of Phyllis Wheatley’s 1773 book of poetry presented behind glass or velvet ropes—but if you’re not, and again, most of us are not, then from the outset, this whole idea sounds like a vanity project.
Those “who do not regularly attend museums” is merely another polite way to talk and write about our poor, struggling black folks left desolate in the margins. Tavis Smiley (pictured above), the author and TV/radio personality who came up with the idea, is smart and enthusiastic and a sincere presence in the black community -- I like him (we’ve never met personally but know many of the same people in publishing and media). I applaud his efforts, and I do think he is in touch with generations of black Americans outside of his own. But is a museum exhibition (traveling or stationary) really the way to build a bridge between Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (predictably a member of the exhibition’s advisory board) and Tamika Shanique Ruth Jones in central Oakland?
The Times story listed (in addition to the Wheatley volume) a few other items the road show is set to display, among them the gloves Muhammad Ali wore when he knocked out Sonny Liston, a pressing comb used to straighten kinky hair, and MLK’s Nobel prize. Interesting choices, fine. But how about an interactive exhibit whereupon members of the elite advisory board -- Toni Morrison, Anna Deveare Smith, Cornel West -- actually bring the selected items to schools, colleges, and town halls across the country and then give small group tutorials about the items’ significance? As a young brown girl growing up in rural New Hampshire, I would have been inspired and delighted by such a thing—but most of all, I would have felt known by one or two of these highly regarded and well positioned black Americans who are ceremoniously chosen to represent us all. And that would have taken me a long way.
If the intention of this project is to attract those who don’t usually go to museums, I’m not sure curating a museum exhibition is the way to do it.
Posted Apr. 13, 2007,
Gaysians Are Acting Up for Their Rights!
By Mickey Boardman
Mr. Mickey is pleased to report that there seems to be some exciting gay movement in Asia!!! And we're not talking about a convention of Rice Queens in Bangkok!
MM read on Towleroad, a fascinating gay blog, that there was a gay equality demonstration in Patna, India and Mr. Mickey says, "you better work Indian gays and gals!" It's illegal to be gay in India thanks to an old British colonial law. As Mr. Mickey gets older he feels like anyone who wants to discriminate against any person for any reason can just fuck off and die. Not just the gays. Any sexist or racist must be neutralized. Whether it's someone harassing a girl on the street because she's hot or whether it's German chancellor Angela Merkel saying she thinks Turkey shouldn't be allowed in the European Union. I'm sorry Angela. I'm excited that a woman is leader of a huge economic power but you're a racist and you can fuck off! This Patna demonstration is a small step for gay equality but an important one.
Meanwhile in China, MM was excited to read about a new Chinese TV show about the gays called Connecting Homosexuals. The show will cover gay interest issues (and no that doesn't mean Liza Minnelli) and even have a blind date set-up segment. When it comes to human rights in general, China is pretty piss poor but we at the MMBlog applaud this step. After all, communists can enjoy hot man-on-man action as much as the next group!
Posted Apr. 10, 2007,
Mourning Imus
By David Hershkovits
Shock jock Don Imus has been suspended for two weeks from his highly rated show because his mouth got the best of him. Calling the members of Rutgers University women's basketball team "nappy headed hos," Imus had crossed the line that not even allowing Rev. Al Sharpton to humiliate him could fix. That cowboy-hatted bumpkin pose is clearly not working anymore for Washington's favorite radio host. That said, I don't think suspending him is the way to go. It removes the responsibility to take a stand away from the media elite and beltway politicans whose appearances on the Imus show lend credence to the otherwise mundane musings of pseudo hicks.
Now that the onus has been removed, the mediaocracy can eagerly await their invitation to appear with the chastised Imus. With justice served, they can obsequiously pick up where they left off free of facing their moral responsibility. They have lucked out and sidestepped the question altogether. The true test would have been to see how the Imus dittoheads reacted when the mask of showbiz was pulled away. Would they continue to appear on the show? Or take a stand on principle and refuse? We'll never know. Instead, they'll come back and Imus will be a bigger star than ever. Somewhat like Britney's rushed rehab, you can expect to see Imus here again before too long.
Posted Mar. 27, 2007,
Bloomberg for President?
By David Hershkovits
If you're sick of the Republicans and the Democrats, you might find solace in the thought that New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg is giving serious consideration to throwing his hat in the ring as a third party candidate. Rev. Al Sharpton calls him "Ross Perot with a resume." Even though he hosted their convention in New York, he is not considered a viable Republican candidate as the Washington Post points out: "He supports gun control, has raised taxes, backs same-sex marriage and signed a law banning the use of trans fats in fast-food restaurants. The mayor once filed suit on behalf of the city against two dozen gun dealers." What he does have is money, lots of it. Like $5.5 billion. Which allows him to play it coy for now as he waits to see how the candidates hold up in the early stages of the campaign.
Even as he officially denies his interest saying, "How can a 5-foot-7, divorced billionaire Jew running as an independent from New York possibly have a chance?" Bloomberg has bigger problems than fudging his height. The New York Times, a strong supporter of the Mayor, is leading an investigation into a secret spy unit that was organized when New York City hosted the Republican convention. "A review by our colleague Jim Dwyer of court records and some of the still-secret documents tells a stunning story. The police may have overreached and misused surveillance authority in a wide undercover effort to head off disruptions. In the months leading to the convention, officers were dispatched around the United States, and to Canada and Europe. The so-called R.N.C. Intelligence Squad, run with the help of a former senior C.I.A. official, was supposed to sniff out potential troublemakers, but it seems to have spent a lot of effort infiltrating and compiling dossiers on groups that clearly posed no danger.
The Mayor is fighting the public release of the surveillance records. Continues the Times editorial: "The mayor sometimes does not quite seem to have made the transition from running a privately owned company, in which his word was law, to leading a major city, in which the voters serve as both board of directors and major shareholders."
Posted Mar. 26, 2007,
Manhattan Mini Storage Takes on Bush Administration
By Alexis Swerdloff
Yesterday, as I was stuck in traffic on the West Side Highway, I noticed that whoever’s running Manhattan Mini Storage these days has some serious balls. Their new ad campaign, which makes fun of/attacks the Bush/Cheney administration, is really funny and pretty shocking. I guess because MMS really corners the mini-storage market in New York (and they know who they’re audience is -- liberal New Yorkers stuck in traffic on a Saturday on the West Side Drive) they can do whatever the heck they want! Go Manhattan Mini Storage, go!
Photos from Manhattan Chowder.
Posted Mar. 12, 2007,
Rudy Giuliani, Family Man
By David Hershkovits
New Yorkers are justifiably perplexed, if not horrified. How can Rudy Giuliani be leading the polls for the presidential Republican nomination? Guess Republicans think that only a mean-spirited, sloppy man can manage the job. I'm not a moralist when it comes to electing officials for public office, but the way Rudy handled his personal life speaks volumes about his character. Sloppy seems to be the most appropriate word. It's not that he divorced Donna Hanover, but how would you feel about a leader who doesn't have the balls to tell his wife that the marriage is over, preferring instead to live openly with his mistress (now wife) and then announcing his plans to divorce at a press conference! Before announcing it to his wife! Now that his children are estranged (surprise!), he pretends it's a typical problem of "blended" families -- meaning they include stepparents and stepsiblings or half siblings. The New York Times seems to be going along with Rudy's spin -- that it's a typical problem that a lot of families have. “It’s the kind of thing that I think affects a lot of families these days. And I believe that these problems with blended families are challenges.” nytimes
Somehow Rudy has managed to smooth over multiple marriages, a penchant for drag and estranged children and still remained the favorite candidate of the so-called family values party. The good news is that it is still early in the game and I believe the past will catch up to him. And the millions of "blended" families struggling to make it right for their kids never made a campaign commercial like this.