the wrathful dove

I ran across this cartoon today on ZNet that nicely captures the essence of U.S. “democracy”:

Friday night, Melinda and I went to see the new horror film The Strangers starring Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman. While it was a mistake to have taken Melinda along with me (it was definitely not her type of movie), I thoroughly enjoyed this a great little horror film from a first time writer/director as it delivered great suspense and chills with very little blood, but ample amounts of psychological manipulation. Also, kudos go out to the two leads who used some excellent acting chops to deliver us a believable couple experiencing one hell of a nasty night.

I highly recommend this film to anyone who loves being scared and disturbed. I consider it in the same vein as true genre gems like the original The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Halloween, The Shining, and The Descent - all films that know how to deliver the goods when it comes to creepiness, tension, and that illusive tone of pure doomed dread. 

Today on NBC’s Meet the Press, Ralph Nader announced that he is running for President in 2008 again as an independent candidate, and I couldn’t be more excited!

Ever since Dennis Kucinich and John Edwards dropped out of the Presidential race, I have found myself unable to vote for any candidate in the Presidential elections nor any hope that someone with any media visibility would be challenging the status quo candidates on substantive issues like the war in Iraq, the bloated and wasteful military budget, corporate welfare, and true single-payer universal healthcare for every American.

That has now changed with Nader’s entry into the race. Not only is it exciting to actually have a voice again this election season, but also Nader’s campaign isn’t simply about giving voice to millions of Americans whose issues are ignored by the corporate candidates - it’s also about building a citizen’s movement around the country to put pressure on our elected politicians and to break through the trappings of the two-party system that make our dearly bought voter rights nearly meaningless.

Nader can’t do it alone. His campaign will need active and informed citizens in every State to volunteer and dedicate themselves to fighting against corporate control in our lives. One of the first big issues the campaign faces is the struggle for ballot access in all 50 states.

Visit the Nader campaign today and find out what you can do to help!