cannabisnews.com: Beyond Conventional Behavior
Beyond Conventional Behavior
Posted by FoM on July 10, 2000 at 09:00:30 PT
By Rob Morse of The Examiner Staff
Source: San Francisco Examiner
In this, the summer of our disconnectedness, Al Gore and George W. Bush would do well to keep their eyes on Arianna Huffington. She knows how to find the spotlight at a political convention. Her position outside the convention halls, near the anarchists and turtle huggers, doesn't bode well for the major presidential candidates.
When I first met Huffington, it was at the 1994 California Republican Convention, when she was the model of the dutiful political wife while her then-husband Michael Huffington self-financed a $50 million run against Sen. Dianne Feinstein. Michael was dull, while Arianna was anything but. When I asked her why she wasn't running for office herself, she waved her hand at the polyester-clad Republicans from Orange County and said, "I don't know any of these people." By the 1996 Republican National Convention, everyone knew Arianna on a first-name basis. She had become an inside outsider, a syndicated columnist and comedic TV commentator paired with Al Franken. She was at all the best parties. This year, we can count on Arianna not only being at the best parties, but she'll be throwing better conventions than the Republicans and Democrats, called "shadow conventions." Arianna knows where the action is, and it'll be outside the convention halls in Philadelphia and Los Angeles. That's where real issues, and not just applause lines, will come up. -- I don't know why organizers use the word "shadow," because the TV lights will be on those conventions. The likes of Sen. John McCain (and, gee, maybe even Warren Beatty) will be talking about real issues like poverty, the drug war and campaign finance reform. The whole world might be watching, especially if windows and heads are broken during demonstrations by anti-corporate activists and well-organized anarchists. You know the whole world won't be watching the carefully staged coronations of Al Gore and George W. Bush. Bush is acting so royal that he isn't even showing up until the third day of the Republican Convention. His acceptance speech is reportedly in its fifth draft even though it won't be given until August 3. That's how spontaneous political conventions are. Well, I guess it takes time to get a speech down to easily pronounceable one-syllable words. Give me a guy in a turtle suit over George W. any old time. -- The groups planning protests of the conventions have disavowed violence. That includes Huffington and her shadow conventioneers, as if anyone can imagine her trashing a Starbucks. She said that her group did share with other protesters "a sense of being shut out of the system." It's hard to believe that this socialite, syndicated columnist and TV personality is shut out of anything. But all the best people are shut out. To be in, you have to donate big bucks to sleep in the Lincoln Bedroom, and that's beyond tacky. Authorities in Los Angeles and Philadelphia want to shut the protesters as far out of the Democratic and Republican conventions as possible. Cops have been preparing for war in the streets. All this bodes well for the media, which would love to have some action on the order of Chicago '68 or Seattle '99. A good riot could get higher ratings than "Survivor." Bush and Gore will get killed by the nation's collective remote. As it is, the networks are squeezing convention coverage into half times of pre-season football games. -- The public tunes out of politics for good reason. They have been shut out, focus-grouped and polled senseless. They've been fed nonsense and lies, and as Ralph Nader says, there is essentially one party, the Republicrats, governed by corporate contributors. Many of the people in the streets of Philadelphia and Los Angeles will come for one issue, whether it's saving forests, saving American jobs, saving Mumia or saving American democracy from big money. At least they have beliefs. Inside the conventions, people come to speak pap for power. Also, they get to wear really stupid hats. We have two parties committed to spending our money on schemes to stop imaginary space-borne threats from Third World countries, funding a war in Colombia because of our own problems with drugs, and maintaining an economy that tends to divide the nation into gated communities and ghettos. And the candidates are spending their time tuning their wardrobes and images. George W. is going to be the first nominee in history to deliver his acceptance speech without a podium. "Of such earth-shattering decisions are legends and memories made," wrote Arianna Huffington in a recent column about Bush, who had described himself as "a good decider." No grammar, no brains, no podium. The only thing missing is no clothes, but that would liven things up too much. No wonder people would rather watch yuppies eat rat meat on a desert island than watch a convention. Published: July 9, 2000 ©2000 San Francisco Examiner Related Articles & Web Sites:Shadow Conventionshttp://www.shadowconventions.com/Overthrow The Governmenthttp://www.overthrowthegov.com/Arianna Onlinehttp://www.ariannaonline.com/ Drug Ideas Land Governor on Podium http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6289.shtmlActivists Plan To Counter The Conventions http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6286.shtml
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Comment #6 posted by Bert Paradis on March 30, 2001 at 17:00:40 PT
Mumia
Saving America from corporate greed is good, but saving Mumia? Hey, not every cop-killer is a good guy. There's probably a hundred better examples to use in the crusade against the death penalty.
The Flathead Society
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Comment #5 posted by CongressmanSuet on July 10, 2000 at 22:17:22 PT:
Thanks FoM,
I will be there. If its live I will spend the entire time trying to get thru. Your a peach!
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Comment #4 posted by FoM on July 10, 2000 at 20:49:39 PT
Governor Johnson On The Washington Journal
I just found this! It appears that Governor Johnson will be on The Washington Journal tomorrow the 11th at 8:30 AM ET. I don't know if it is a repeat or not but it will be good it is on the same day they are scheduled to decide on the Meth Bill which starts at 10 if they keep the schedule.http://www.house.gov/judiciary/schedule.htmhttp://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d106:h.r.2987:Gov. Gary Johnson, R-NM discusses a variety of issues affecting New Mexico and the nation. C-Span - Washington Journalhttp://www.c-span.org/journal/
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on July 10, 2000 at 20:18:47 PT
Your Welcome Dan
Your welcome Dan,Every since Peter's death the news has been so strange. It is nice when the news is good but they are fighting tooth and nail and I expect it will get worse before it gets better. Something has to give because there is so much activity going on in drug policy reform they have to notice and they don't like it. Who should be the new drug czar? We need a drug czar that has compassion not a military man. This is not a war on drugs but on our right to do what we want to ourselves. They tell us things are safe almost everyday and we know that isn't true so why can't we decide for ourselves. I am an adult and I don't do drugs but if I wanted to like I did a million years ago I should be able to the same as everyone. Proper education is necessary and it must be the right information if we ever care to turn this around and help people so they don't get strung out. They need the truth.Peace, FoM!
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Comment #2 posted by Dan B on July 10, 2000 at 15:08:02 PT:
Nice Contrast to Anti-Libertarian Article
Thanks for posting this, FoM. I was looking for something to cheer me up after reading the insipid article attacking Libertarians ("Browne Stands His Ground"). It seems that those with truly libertarian ideals will have a voice in the media after all. Let's hope these shadow conventions give people enough hope to vote against the Republicrats in November (perhaps a futile hope, but hope nonetheless).dddd...you're right, of course, that the media, spurred by the two major parties, will most likely do anything to avoid covering what is actually going on in the shadow conventions. All we can do at this point is hope for the best and expect the worst.
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Comment #1 posted by dddd on July 10, 2000 at 13:51:31 PT
violence
I'm wondering how the major parties are going to downplay,and minimize coverage of the shadow conventions. My latest,nebulous crackpotesque theory,involves the diversion of the medias attention,by covering any,and all acts of misconduct by protesters.A broken window,a burning dumpster,etc.If there is a lack of unruly behavior amongst protesters,I wouldnt rule out the possibility of some being purposely stirred up.....The "threat" of violence has been played up big in the news...etc...???..............................dddd
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