Write your own caption. From a recent rock festival. What’s the political analogy?
- The First Obama Administration
- Newt Gingrich’s Campaign
- Tweety’s Groveling Book Paean To JFK Before Intern Reveals Sex Scandal
- Mitt Romney At Home, Wondering Where His Dog Went
- The American Dream
- What’s Your Idea?
Megan says
The American Dream!!!
Aldershot says
@Dr Leo Strauss
Maybe too precious, too.
Not at all, sneaky…I completely missed it the first couple read-throughs.
Dr Leo Strauss says
@Sam Lowry
If the band was using autotune and lip syncing to backing tapes – perfect concert!
Dr Leo Strauss says
@Aldershot
True, the Newt inclusion is a fail. He’s no longer even meme-worthy.
The ‘First’ was intentional. Maybe too precious, too. But hey, the pics are still funny!
Aldershot says
@DrLeoStrauss
Surprised Obama and Newt got passes to be honest.
I was too distracted by you referring to it as the ‘first’ Obama administration. Was that Freudian or intentional? And Newt is so forty seconds ago.
Sam Lowry says
My vote is for The American Dream in that the photos capture the essence of America in 2012: a loud, raucous corporate sponsored entertainment spectacle that is mostly a Potemkin facade. [As a side note, I’ll never attend another concert without wondering whether or not the speaker stacks are real.]
DrLeoStrauss says
@Aldershot
Yeah, agree Adams would be too dour. Franklin might’ve had the whimsy. In France, who knows, HK swag could’ve been a conversation starter for him.
Like your point of American Dream: Made in Japan.
Will keep HK in mind for future graphic fun. Anyone have suggestions or ideas, by all means, please share. Or if there are other votes. Surprised Obama and Newt got passes to be honest.
Aldershot says
@Dr Leo Strauss
Not John Adams.
While I was aware of the Hello Kitty thing, I just went to Wiki to read about her. I had no idea it was such a big deal. You’ll have to work her into your art one of these days.
Dr Leo Strauss says
@Aldershot
Of the Founders, who would’ve rocked a Hello Kitty the best?
Aldershot says
The American Dream: Made in Japan
DrLeoStrauss says
Have to go with you on that, Dream comes to mind.
The Dupont Circle conversation sounds grim and frustrating. My sympathies. Seems like you gave rational dialogue a chance.
Iran, of course, isn’t different. Former CENTCOM Commander, General Abizaid, a fluent Arabic speaker and with a Harvard MA to boot, testified before Congress IRC that Iran was deterrable. He rejected the ‘different’ spin, noting that the key to Iranian ambitions was its Persian culture and history, many thousands of years old. It is not a suicide culture.
What makes Iran ‘different’ for many is Ahmadinejad’s colorful invocations of Hidden Imans and all his anti-Israel language. Hollow rhetoric that means little. The Iranian president is not in the line of command for the military, Revolutionary Guards, or Quds Force. They all report directly to the Supreme Leader and always have.
Moreover, the Supreme Leader and Ahmadinejad have been at political odds for some time, with Ahmadinejad’s domestic power base suffering. The Supreme Leader and his entourage have not embraced Ahmadinejad’s empty rhetoric.
An Iranian nuclear project has broad public support not for apocalyptic reasons but for simple nationalism and pride. Even among the young and other protestors from 2010. Nothing would unite the country, radicalize it and set back reform than a transient strike.
An Iranian nuclear weapon would be less than ideal for the U.S. as it would be a powerful area denial deterrent against future interventions. The Israelis would find their cavalier use of First World military weapons on their neighbors and occupied territories attenuated. Saudis and other Sunnis would triple efforts to get their own weapon, etc.
There’s a substantial literature about deterrence and Iran rooted in area studies, history and language. Those granular details and facts are contagion to Neocon abstract memes. A reason why the foreign service and intelligence community are almost always Demon Number One before they launch the next Great Crusade.
And, of course, the big winner from the U.S.’ two failed wars last decade was . . . Iran. So we should thank the Neocons for that. A we leave Iraq, Iranian influence oozes.
YMMV.
anxiousmodernman says
I vote for “American Dream”, by the way.
anxiousmodernman says
I think I met a real-deal young neocon in DuPont Circle last night. Supported a first-strike on Iran. Very concerned about Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon, etc. The only thing we had in common was an appreciation for Wu-Tang Clan.
I replied to him with a list of other unfriendly nations with nuclear capability, but, to be honest, I hate arguing like that. It’s a straw man. North Korea has nukes, Pakistan has nukes and is arguably more unstable, the USSR had nukes, etc. This is true, but one has to take seriously that ‘Iran is different’. I feel as though I need to be charitable to that argument. I need an imminent critique of that argument, and I need to refute it on it’s own terms. I don’t have the time to do so, though.
Regarding nuclear weapons generally, my whole attitude is one of resignation about proliferation. We’re talking about 100 year old science and 67 year old technology. All taught in undergrad science and engineering courses. It seems like it’s only a matter of time before there’s a boingboing post about some hacker who uses his 3D printer to make a bomb in his basement.
For some reason I can still sleep at night.
anxiousmodernman says
You really just want good tone and then you mic the damn thing.