Mobtown Shank

Unsolicited Advice For Dems In The 08 Election

by Benn Ray

Psst... hey, Dems... stop pushing stories like this one.

And this one.

And also this one.

Democrats need to paint a portrait of McCain as a continuation of Bush if they want to win in November. You want to push the image of McCain hugging Bush, not an 8 year old picture of McCain giving Bush the finger.

What these sorts of stories do is show independents and moderates that maybe McCain isn't McBush after all.

I know, I know, you like the idea pointing out McCain's flip flopping and pandering and you want to drive a wedge between McCain and the Republican Party's radical right base. But guess what, that wedge already exists. They know all this already. That's why they don't like him. But they're going to vote for him anyway because he's a Republican.

So knock it off. Unless you really really want to help distance McCain from Bush.

Links People Send Me: Misleading Headlines

One of the media's more misleading headlines
-Patrick Tandy

seems like a tough penalty for truancy
-Dug Sohn

Bruce watches eBay auctions
-Bruce Willen

New Yorker article on b- more
thought this was amusing... enjoy!
-Stacey Wachter

MoMA exhibit euthanized.....

DOJ was temporarily banned from Wikipedia edits.....

Air guitar owned by JFK.....

San Diego GOP chairman co-founded international piracy ring

Time to bring back the Auto de Fe.....

Are excessive lyrics ruining pop music?

Post-apocalyptic tea.....

The Quotes That Sent Us To War.....

He should have sprung for the "eight-level wipe".....

Brandy Britton redux.....

The Exxon Stimulus package.....

The War in Iraq Costs.....

DOJ channelling JEH?

Punctuation.....
Also see

Air marshals grounded in list mix-ups

If Dan Rather was still on 60 Minutes I might still be watching.....

Wonder why I didn't see this in the Washington Post.....

Makes me wonder how they've been using this domestically.....

Affordable losses?

Let them eat skateboards.....

Taxing the polls.....

We torture for fun, not as punishment.....

No Fortissimo? Symphony Told to Keep It Down

Where else?

Cheney's Nigerian Scam?

A law unto himself.....

At least as informative as the debates.....

Bouncing baby boys (and girls).....

Let the hoarding begin.....

Limbaugh listeners have a responsibility to make sure riots happen in Denver.....

I'll take (Saint) Ethyl if she's in.....

Laissez les bons temps rouler.....
-Scott W. Langill

------------------------------------------------------------------
WARNING: We make no guarantees about these pages, so if you are in a fishtank/cubicle environment and reading this, click at your own risk.

Shank Weekly Events Calendar: 5.9 - 5.17

Friday, May 9__________________________
MOBTOWN MODERN CONCERT: NOT SO MUCH
Co-curated by Brian Sacawa and Erik Spangler (DJ Dubble8)
8PM. $10/$5. The Contemporary Museum. Mt. Vernon, Baltimore.
100 West Centre Street.

PIRATES OF ESSEX WALK
In honor of Jackie Nickel.
Benefit for The American Cancer Society.

Friday, May 10__________________________
THRUSHES, BLONDE ACID CULT, SONADORS, DEAD LEAF ECHO
9PM/$7. Metro Gallery. Station North, Baltimore.
1700 N. Charles St.

RED SAMMY, GOOD GUISE, BAD LIQUOR POND
9PM. 851 Hollins Street. Baltimore.

Tuesday, May 13__________________________
THE MEATMEN
9PM. All ages. The Ottobar. Remington, Baltimore.
2549 N. Howard St. 

Wednesday, May 14__________________________
NOBLE VIKING, LAKE MOSES, ANDY GOLDEN, ABELOW GHOST
9PM. All ages. Floristree. Baltimore.

Saturday, May 17__________________________
BLACK KIDS, PONYTAIL, CUT///COPY
Sonar. Downtown, Baltimore.
407 E. Saratoga St.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
To see more upcoming shows, visit THE SKAG section of the Shank.

Red State Circus: The Wizardry Problem In FLA Schools

Substitute teacher Jim Piculas was fired from his job at Rushe Middle School in Land O' Lakes Florida for WIZARDRY.

...Piculas does a 30-second magic trick where a toothpick disappears then reappears.

But after performing it in front of a classroom at Rushe Middle School in Land 'O Lakes, Piculas said his job did a disappearing act of its own.

"I get a call the middle of the day from the supervisor of substitute teachers.  He says, 'Jim, we have a huge issue.  You can't take any more assignments.  You need to come in right away,'" he said.

When Piculas went in, he learned his little magic trick cast a spell that went much farther than he'd hoped.

"I said, 'Well Pat, can you explain this to me?'  'You've been accused of wizardry,' [he said]. Wizardry?" he asked.

Source.

RadioShank MP3s: Lexie Mt. Boys, Tilly & The Wall, Les Savy Fav...

THE LEXIE MOUNTAIN BOYS
myspace
[mp3] Sweet Potato Sugar Tot
Baltimore's Lexie Mountain Boys!

DARSOMBRA
myspace
[download] Lamentings/Auguries
Baltimore's Darsombra.

TILLY AND THE WALL
myspace
[mp3] Cacophony
From the upcoming album.

SLOAN
myspace
[download] Witch's Wand
[mp3] I'm Not a Kid Anymore (found on Fluxblog)
[mp3] Cheap Champagne (found on Said The Gramophone)

GOLDFRAPP
myspace
[mp3] Cologne Cerrone Houdini

GRANDADDY
myspace
[mp3] A.M. 180 (found on I Guess I'm Floating)

IMPOSSIBLE SHAPES
myspace
[mp3] Hey

LES SAVY FAV
myspace
Patty Lee [mp3]

---------------------------------------------
PLEASE NOTE: The MP3s listed here will not be available indefinitely. So if a file is missing, it's most likely because the source hosting the file has removed it.
Bands - email mp3 links here.

Random Factoid: Baltimore Is Getting A Frank Zappa Statue

We're getting a Frank Zappa statue, courtesy of "a quirky bunch of Lithuanian artists and intellectuals."

The public art commission voted unanimously to accept this statue.

Just where it's gonna be placed no one seems to know.

Zappa, who died in 1993 (he was 52 at the time) of prostate cancer, was born in Baltimore.

More.

WTF: WYPR Says Indiana Voters More Patriotic?

So this afternoon, I was listening to a local NPR report on WYPR about the Democratic primaries in Indiana. Bob Constantini was explaining to Frasier Smith how exit polling was showing the Indiana voters favoring Hillary Clinton. He conjectured that the Rev. Wright controversy, even though Obama has separated himself from the man, has turned off voters:

"Indiana voters tend to be more conservative. More patriotic."

What the fuck? How is that patriotic?

Source.

Random Factoid: CNN - Conservo-Loading For The 2008 Election

"America's most trusted name in news."

CNN's slogan, at this point, is about as ironic as FOX News' "Fair and balanced."

Remember when Republican loudmouths liked to call CNN the "Clinton News Network?"

Now it is more accurately "The Corporate News Network." Or, in light of recent staffing additions, "The Conservative News Network."

Now, for the second time in as many weeks, a member of George W. Bush's administration as joined CNN as an "advisor."

First, White House spokesman Tony Snow has joined CNN.

Now, Homeland Security Adviser Fran Townsend as joined the 24 hour cable news channel.

Liberal media? Where?

Maybe they can help CNN do to the news what Bush has done to the country.

Source.

WTF: Dean On FOX

by Benn Ray

Why I love Howard Dean. The head of the Democratic Party went on FOX News and said to Chris Wallace:

DEAN: Chris, the Republicans…for the last 30 years, the Republican (play)book has been to race bait and to use hate and divisiveness.  In 2006, the American people said no to that; I think they’re going to say no to that in 2008.   It is true that the economy, the war and healthcare are more important to the American people.  They are tired of the divisiveness of what the Republicans have done to them.  And that’s why the Republicans are in trouble.  Deep trouble.  Another four years of George Bush is not what we need…

WALLACE: Governor, are you suggesting that bringing up Jeremiah Wright is “race-baiting” and hate and divisive?

DEAN: Yeah, I am suggesting that kind of stuff.  I think when you start bringing up candidates that have nothing to do with the issues…uh when you start bringing up things that have nothing to do with the candidate, nothing to do with the issues, that’s race-baiting. And that’s exactly what it is.  Just like Willie Horton was race-baiting so many years ago.   I think we’re going to take…we’re going to turn the page on this stuff.  I’ll tell you, there’s a lot of difference between the Republicans and the Democrats on issues, but the biggest issue of all is we don’t use this kind of stuff.  We never have used this kind of stuff and we’re not going to start now.  America is more important than the Republican party and that’s the lesson the voters are about to teach the Republicans.

WALLACE: The left wing of your party is in a snit over all these Democrats appearing on Fox. In fact, the head of MoveOn.org had this to say about Democrats on Fox. "It legitimizes a right wing network that is going to use that credibility to smear them in the general election." He and the head of the Daily Kos are using words about you guys showing up here as weak, idiotic, stupid. How do you respond to the left wing?

DEAN: What I'd say is this: we stayed off Fox for a long time because your news department is, in fact, biased. But, Chris, you haven't been. You've always been tough, but I always thought fair and I still think that's true. And we need to communicate with people who are going to vote in the Democratic Party. Hundreds of thousands of Republicans have turned their back on their own party to vote in the Democratic primaries in the last six months. We owe it to our -- to all the American people to reach out to those folks. This is not about Fox News. That's not why I'm here today. I'm out because I want to talk to your viewers directly about why this election is important and what we can offer the American people.

WALLACE: Let me ask you, and obviously it's always about the millions of people who watch these shows. Looking back, do you think it was a mistake for the Democratic Party to boycott Fox debates and all the other programs during the last year and thereby boycott getting your message out to the millions of people who watch?

DEAN: No, I think it was right thing to do, because there are some things in the news department that have really been shockingly biased and I think that's wrong and I just say so right up front. It is important also for us -- we shouldn't punish the viewers of Fox by staying away. Now those viewers have had an opportunity to look at the debates on other channels, now they're going to have an opportunity viewing on this channel and I think that's fair.

Source1.

Source2.

Random Factoid: McCain Admits War In Middle East Is For Oil

Republican Presidential Candidate John McCain admits our war in the Middle East was about... OIL.

“My friends, I will have an energy policy which will eliminate our dependence on oil from Middle East that will then prevent us from having ever to send our young men and women into conflict again in the Middle East.”

I rarely have anything positive to quote from MSNBC's Chris Matthews, but here he gets it spot on:

“You know, if somebody else were to say that, they would be accused of being a communist, or radical, or a leftist…for John McCain, a war hero, to say that we’re fighting in the Middle East to protect our oil sources is an astounding development.”

Exactly.

But not only that, since the war in the Middle East was over oil, when we look at how high our gas prices are, one can only conclude that Republicans are either completely inept or entirely corrupt.

Source.