Ocelopotamus

News, culture, and politics. Not necessarily in that order.

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Entries Tagged as 'Politics'

The Unbearable Lightness of the Kilogram, Universes Next Door, and the Occupy Movement

November 29th, 2011 · 1 Comment · Books, Chicago, Culture, Essays, Fringe, Journalism, News, Performance, Politics, Science, The Economy, Stupid, TV, Writing

Context: This essay was written for, and performed in, the November 19, 2011 edition of The Paper Machete, a weekly showcase for Chicago journalists, comedians, and other writers, hosted by Christopher Piatt. I’m just getting around to posting it now because, well, my own universe is fairly chaotic and other deadlines prevailed. You are encouraged […]

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Not Zero: The Fukushima Litotes

April 1st, 2011 · 2 Comments · Blogs, Chicago, Climate Change, Culture, Energy, Environment, Essays, Fringe, Journalism, Language, Media, News, Nuclear Power, Performance, Politics, Science, Writing

A little context: The following piece was written to be performed in the March 26, 2011 edition of The Paper Machete, a weekly showcase for Chicago journalists, comedians, and other writers, hosted by Christopher Piatt. The Paper Machete has posted the audio of the performance as a podcast. You can listen to it here: The […]

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Walking Off the Girder

September 15th, 2008 · 1 Comment · News, Politics, The Economy, Stupid

Oh, for Pete’s sake. Even in the midst of all the turmoil on Wall Street, as of this morning John McCain still thinks “the fundamentals of our economy are strong.” Um, Senator? Mr. Magoo called — he wants his myopia back.  

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Horsefeathers and Rattlesnakes

September 13th, 2008 · 2 Comments · Journalism, Media, News, Politics

It’s amazing, but suddenly the press seems to be showing distinct signs of calling out the McCain campaign on its recent and continuing orgy of horsefeathers and very bad judgment. Via this diary on Daily Kos, for starters we have yesterday’s scathing editorial in the NYT: As we watched Sarah Palin on TV the last […]

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Another Talking Point Deflated

August 5th, 2008 · 3 Comments · Energy, News, Politics, Science, Tech

TIME says Obama is right: keeping tires properly inflated can save more oil than offshore drilling would produce. And it would do it immediately, rather than taking till 2030 to have any substantial effect. How out of touch is Barack Obama? He’s so out of touch that he suggested that if all Americans inflated their […]

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Esprit Decor

July 27th, 2008 · 1 Comment · LGBT, Politics

Just saw Dana Milbank’s column about the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell hearings this week — in which the homophobes who testified apparently made such hilarious fools of themselves that pretty much everyone in the room was embarrassed and appalled. And as Milbank puts it, Though there’s no expectation that Congress will repeal “don’t ask, don’t […]

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Guantanamo, False Imprisonment, and the Human Rights Toggle Switch

June 27th, 2008 · Comments Off on Guantanamo, False Imprisonment, and the Human Rights Toggle Switch · Human Rights, Journalism, Media, News, Politics, Terrorism, TESK, Torture

This story is about a week old at this point, but it goes in the “things everyone should know” category. One of the most common talking points from right-wing pundits, especially on Fox News, is that whatever happens to the people in Guantanamo Bay is okay because all those prisoners are really bad guys — […]

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Roundup: Maracas and Purple Pants Edition

June 24th, 2008 · 5 Comments · Chicago, Comedy, Culture, Doctor Who, Fantasy, Grammar, LGBT, News, Politics, Science Fiction, Terrorism, TV

Just a few things that are on my radar at the moment … • First up, I just found this interview with Gore Vidal from May, in which he gives his current takes on Obama and McCain. Vidal says he’s a fan of Obama now, but it took him a while to get there (hey, […]

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Uncertain Smile: McCain Shredded by His Own Side

June 5th, 2008 · 1 Comment · Media, News, Politics, TV, Video

Watch the Republican pundits on Faux News shred McCain’s speech from Tuesday night.   I daresay we won’t see him get within a mile of a green backdrop again. And suddenly, I can’t wait for the debates this fall with Obama and McCain on stage together. In the meantime, I’m dedicating my favorite The The […]

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Wordslingers Appearance Now Online, and Poem of the Week on Deep Dish

June 4th, 2008 · Comments Off on Wordslingers Appearance Now Online, and Poem of the Week on Deep Dish · Blogs, Books, Chicago, Culture, Fringe, Journal, Lit, Performance, Poetry, Politics

For those of you who didn’t hear it on the public airwaves a couple of weeks back, because you were busy painting your toenails or defending the earth or something, my appearance on the Wordslingers poetry radio show from Sunday 5/18 is now online in the Vox Cafe archive on the Wordslingers Web site — […]

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McClellan, Yellin, and the Press Under Pressure

May 29th, 2008 · 2 Comments · Foreign Policy, Journalism, Media, News, Politics, Video

Boy, Scottie McClellan’s decision to come clean — well, I say clean, I mean slightly less dirty — on his role as the Mouth of Sauron, and how the press corps passed along the White House’s propaganda to sell the invasion and occupation of Iraq, has really opened all sorts of floodgates. In addition to […]

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Roundup: Spotty Jove and the Return of the Scottish Beaver Edition

May 27th, 2008 · 1 Comment · Comedy, Comics, Culture, Doctor Who, Fantasy, Film, LGBT, Meta, Nature, News, Politics, Racism, Science, Science Fiction, TV, Video

Some Tuesday-morning bagel bites for you … In case you’re wondering what Barack Obama might look like with a small engine or wind farm on his head … after being attacked by the Evil Spellbinder in the employ of certain right-leaning but largely illiterate online communities … well, just go read this for your morning […]

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Mr. Fish on Obama-Wright, That Ad, and the Big Gas Tax Swindle

May 5th, 2008 · 2 Comments · Comics, Culture, Energy, Foreign Policy, Infrastructure, News, Politics, The Economy, Stupid, Video

The brilliance of Mr. Fish! I really need to start including him in my cartoon roundups. His take on Obama v. Wright is especially trenchant. I’m not necessarily saying that I absolutely agree with the cartoon’s comically reductive expression of certain religious beliefs, but its portrayal of the double standard regarding what’s considered fair game […]

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Roundup: Pansies vs. Chair Sniffers Edition

May 1st, 2008 · 1 Comment · Comedy, Culture, Doctor Who, Factory Farming, Food, Gender, LGBT, Nature, News, Organic Food, Politics, Racism, Religion, Roundup, Science, TV, Video

A little sampler platter for you, my pretties … First up, a brilliant post by Hunter on Daily Kos: Things I have learned during this campaign season: In a race that includes a former First Lady of the United States and a multimillionaire Republican senator rumored to share up to eight residences with his wife, […]

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