It's always comforting when something reaffirms your political allegiance. Recently, I stumbled across an "organization" website that did just that. This site, called Mad Hatters Independent Media Center is actually based in Danbury, CT. Wow, I thought, maybe this is actually a respectable news site, right here in Connecticut! Reading the title, I find that the motto of the site is, "Working to create a citizens medium for the open expression of perception and truth". Ok, a little self righteous for my taste, but they may have some interesting viewpoints. Reading on, I find that this organization is taking donations to pay the bail bonds and legal fees of the so-called "protesters" who were arrested in Hartford on October 11th. They call this effort the "Free Speech Legal Defense Fund". Wouldn't "Cause-Seeking Bored College Student Defense Fund" be more accurate? I realize that some people need a political cause to justify their life on earth, but should anyone really pay the bail bonds of these would be revolutionaries? In case you don't remember, these kids thought it would be cool to protest president Bush's actions in Afghanistan. They were subsequently arrested and charged with inciting a riot, disorderly conduct, interfering with a police officer, and breach of peace. The total bill for the fiasco is about $30,000. Now, I'm all for freedom of speech. But give me a break. Anyone who sends money to this "fund" would not be supporting any form of intellectual response to the actions of president Bush. Knee-jerk reactions should not be supported, on either side. Liberal Americans do have some good ideas and views, and unlike many Republicans, I would like to hear them. When these viewpoints are delivered in a package of protest or self righteous defensive language, the message does not get through, trust me. Any political statement presented in this way does not bring us together to actually come up with a solution, it only widens the gap of resentment between the right and left. If anyone can think of one good reason to pay the legal fees of these students, please, let me know. The only reason I can think of is that their lawyers are probably Republicans...

Over Thanksgiving break I went to NYC with my girlfriend. Before we even left, we both decided not to make any effort to visit "ground zero". The atmosphere in the city was...unexpected. I expected New York to be different after 9-11. Other than the occasional American flag in a window, and the multitude of red, white and blue items for sale in Chinatown, I really noticed little difference. At times, I forgot that it even happened...That is until we tried to put our bags in a locker at Port Authority bus station. Normally, this would not be a problem. Of course they have lockers at Port Authority we thought...that's where the muppets lived in the classic film "Muppets Take Manhattan". After several minutes of searching, we were informed by an employee that, "Aint nobody in the city gonna take your bags". Oh yeah, terrorism. After carrying a sixty pound backpack around Manhattan, with one of my girlfriend's size ten shoes jabbing my spine at every step, my sense of surreal peace had been crushed. It seems that we can only truely come to grips with something as terrible as 9-11 until it personally effects us. As trivial as having my morning in my favorite city in the world ruined by a backpack is, it actually brought terrorism home for me. I know that the events of 9-11 have brought about a great resurgence of national pride. But the truth is, those American flag stickers on everyones' cars will fade, and eventually be replaced by something beginning with "Proud Parent of..." I just hope that everyone in our country will be effected. I hope we all are inconvenienced, bothered, angered, and pissed off by the changes in our once comfortable lives. If it helps us remember what happened, and more importantly, what can happen, it will be worth the trouble.

I've finally gotten around to adding some links to my blog. They appear in the green box on the left side. You may notice that the only "real" news link, CNN is preceeded by The Onion , MAXIM, and The Daily Show. I put these humorous "news sources" first on my link list because they matter the most to me personally. I think that one of best ways to learn about something is to find the humor in it. If you can't, then you probably have some degree of ignorance on the subject. I was struck by this notion recently after buying a copy of The Onion. In case you are not farmiliar with this fine publication, it is a newpaper that basically mocks everything that American journalism and culture stand for. It's hilarious. I can honestly say that I find it impossible not to crack up in fits of laugher when reading it. Anyway, if you need a good laugh, and have been a little depressed about this whole terrorist thing, go to The Onion, and click on the "HOLY FUCKING SHIT: Attack on America" icon. If you are offended by such humor, just give it a chance. If you think The Onion is the funniest thing ever created, like I do, you can find it in the newspaper section of Borders. It is usually suck way on top of all the "real" newspapers.

In an effort to write about something other than terrorism, here's an album review:
The latest release from Ben Folds entitled "Rockin' The Suburbs" is the artist's solo debut. Ben is best known for his previous band, Ben Folds Five, which broke up earlier this year to pursue other solo projects. The album reflects Ben's signature style of lyrical storytelling and rock operatic piano. Many tracks including "Annie Waits" and "The Ascent of Stan" deliver punchy rock riffs, and are reminicent of Ben Folds Five first two albums. However, Rockin' The Suburbs also contains the deeper "emo" elements found in the bands last album, The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner. This can be heard in tracks like "Losing Lisa" and "The Luckiest". The title track, "Rockin' The Suburbs" is the first single, and contains Ben's self-depricating cynical humor. "I'm rockin' the suburbs, just like Michael Jackson did, Except that he was talented". Ben also launches into his uncanny imitation of Zach De La Rocha of Rage Against The Machine on this track. If you've never heard Ben's music, it is quite unique. A cross between eloquent piano and hard driving rock with elements of punk, swing, rock opera, and electronica. Honestly, this is music that both Elton John and Fred Durst can enjoy.Maxim gave the album four stars, I would give it five. If you're interested, another great project Ben did was the highly experimental Fear of Pop album, on which William Shatner lends vocals.

I don't know about you, but before September 11th, all I knew about Afghanistan came from Rambo III. In case you missed it the first time around, Rambo III is about the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan during the 1980s. As it turns out, much of that fine film was fairly realistic. The people of Afghanistan have been beaten down for decades. I really don't think many Americans have any idea where the country is, let alone what it's people are like. Like many Americans, I was extremely angry when the terrorist attack first occurred. I seriously felt that bombing the entire country of Afghanistan was a reasonable solution. That is until I read an article by Tamim Ansary in the Hartford Courant. This article began as an email, and since has been distributed worldwide. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend it. Before I read it, I was elated to hear that the first US aircraft deployed to the area were B-52 bombers, the largest bomber in the US Airforce's stable. In case you don't know your Vietnam history, the B-52 was the plane that turned the Ho Chi Mihn trail into a smoldering crater. I'm not suggesting that Bush intends to carpet bomb the country. The B-52 has undergone many upgrades, and is currently able to deliver many different forms of ordinance, from cruise missiles to mines. All I know is, the B-52 is still capable of dropping 70,000 pounds of high explosive on anything that we deem "terrorist". If Ansary's description of the state of Afghanistan is accurate, I think we'll be needing a more precise weapon. Perhaps a weapon featured in another campy action movie, called Navy SEALS.

I recently read Clear Channel Radio's list of "Songs With Questionable Lyrics". I agree that some Hard Rock songs on the radio today do advocate violence and speak about death. However, Clear Channel listed songs such as "Obla Di, Obla Da". I knew those Beatles were up to something!! With their happy go lucky lyrics...we know what the REAL message of that song is... But seriously, they really went too far with this list. I wonder how long it took some intern to choose these songs...
I really didn't take the list seriously until I found "All Rage Against the Machine Songs". On the day of the terrorist attack, the only CD in my car that I could even tolerate listening to was Rage Against The Machine, the first album from the band, released in 1992. Although the album is almost a decade old, it contains powerful songs about social and politcal injustice that ring true about this national tragedy. The track entitled "Take the Power Back" in particular helped me deal with some of the intense hatred I felt that day. Music does have a strange healing power, and I think anything that can help you deal with a tragedy such as this should be played on the radio. Like Frank Sinatra said, "I'm for anything that gets you through the night".