Here: I spoke to Russell, he told me he was going to fall on his sword. Personally, I’m outraged that, yet again, the joyless fuckers who write the columns in the Daily Mail, The Telegraph or The Observer have dictated the tone and are telling people how to behave. I’ve seen the Daily Mail, they [...]
A broadcaster’s response to Ross and Brand
There is so much I have to say about this “crisis” at the BBC over the on-air prank calls aired by Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand. First, the uproar is so self-serving and utterly ridiculous with no real point whatsoever. Second, it proves that the BBC’s continuing to sit on the fence between public service [...]
Obama and McCain: for and against
FOR: I like Obama. I really do. He has a great personality, he’s knowledgeable and impressive on the issues, he seems to have a healthy sense of humor, he has conducted probably the greatest presidential campaign of my lifetime, he has a diplomatic ability that could bring America together and actually make the rest of [...]
What does your newspaper say about you?
I’m not sure about the original source of this email, but it’s been going around for a long time and contains enough truth to make it worth repeating: 1. The Wall Street Journal is read by the people who run the country. 2. The Washington Post is read by people who think they run the [...]
McCain fails and Obama succeeds: why?
Robert Draper looks back at the McCain campaign as though he were writing an obituary in The Making (and Remaking) of McCain, citing the inconsistent ‘narrative’ of McCain presented by the campaign as a significant reason for the campaign’s sagging poll numbers. And yes, some people are already saying he’s failed. Meantime, Steve Chapman says [...]
Is Obama a natural-born citizen?
And is he consequently eligible to become President of the United States? It’s a question posed by Democrat lawyer Philip J. Berg, who filed a lawsuit a month ago in federal court: [He] alleged that Obama was not a U.S. citizen and therefore ineligible for the presidency. Berg claimed that Obama is either a citizen [...]
An exchange with a postmodernist
I’ve never really understood postmodernism, and what I do understand of it leaves me unsure whether I really do understand it at all. As a postmodernist would say, that’s the point. You understand that you don’t understand. Isn’t that wonderful? Uh, no, it isn’t. They say postmodern thought is a lens through which to view [...]
Blog is back!
Well, after some nifty PHP and SQL work, the blog is back up and online, served by a brand new server which has faster load times and feels overall spunkier. I’ll have some new content to add later, but meantime I’m late for a bunch of things I have to do this afternoon and I [...]
Ch- Ch- Ch- Changes
I apologize for the lack of activity around here (apart from my tweeted updates which continue unabated): it can be explained by a change going on ‘under the hood’ here at John-Wright.Net. I’m changing my hosting provider for a few reasons, including some readers reporting to me that the website was taking a long time [...]
Who the hell is Joe the plumber?
Last night’s debate was clearly the best of the three as I predicted: McCain was at his most combative and he and Obama went at it quite vigorously over some issues, including a central issue affecting the star of the show, Joe the Plumber. Joe wants to buy the small business he’s been a part [...]
Debate live-blogging
Am I live-blogging the debate tonight? It’s possible. I’ll either be doing that, or I’ll be on a boat with some friends heading to dinner on the lake. Either way, I’ll be having fun! Check back later for an update either way, and perhaps this debate will be the ‘interesting’ one.
Michael Schiavo returns!
Mike Riggs points out that Michael Schiavo, the husband who made the decision to remove his wife’s feeding tube and thus end her life a few years ago, is now speaking out against Florida’s proposed amendment to ban gay marriage. As I recall, many conservatives at the time were demonizing Michael Schiavo for ending his [...]
You might be a culturally paranoid halfwit if…
Not a week goes by when I don’t receive these awful little conservative diatribes by email. The below is a great example; an adaptation of Jeff Foxworthy’s “You Might Be A Redneck” that aims to defend an arbitrary list of traditional conservative values. It represents part of the wider ‘culture war’ in America between those [...]
Financial crisis: blame socialism!
That’s right: the current financial crisis derived from left-wing ideas. If you doubt this, check out this quote from a New York Times article that appeared on September 30th, 1999: Fannie Mae, the nation’s biggest underwriter of home mortgages, has been under increasing pressure from the Clinton administration to expand mortgage loans among low and [...]
Utilitarianism on your iPhone
My two loves, Apple and political philosophy, have finally come together with this decidedly lame iPhone app which provides wonderful but fallacious philosophical statements like the one on the right. How philosophical are most iPhone users? How utilitarian is it to own an Apple product? If an iPhone rings in a forest and nobody is [...]
My Monday project
So, here’s where I show you I’m good at something other than pissing people off for a living. My project today – my day off – was to take a pair of Melissa’s jeans and distress them myself using a power sander, bleach, block of wood, stone and steel rod. It was my first attempt [...]
Open letter to Madonna, by Sarah Palin
Madonna kicked off the U.S. leg of her ‘Sticky and Sweet’ tour the other day in New Jersey, and during the concert went off on vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin. I’ve transcribed from the video exactly what she said, in context: I’m working my fucking ass off over here. Okay? That’s right, keep that clapping going. [...]
Debate II: another live-blogged summary
This is my live-blogged summary of the second McCain-Obama debate from Nashville, TN. 6:01pm Wow, the place is basically a TV studio with only maybe 50 or 100 people in the audience, who are surrounding the candidates on all sides. Talk about being exposed! Well, this will facilitate the audience questions in this town hall [...]
