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The Fear Of Satire

Posted By Samuel Richard on July 22nd, 2008


Last week, both New and Old Media were abuzz with all things New Yorker. As a subscriber, I understood that it was satire and chuckled a bit. “The Politics of Fear” did a great job of communicating the picture being painted by some members of the media. In a show of solidarity, Vanity Fair submitted some satire of their own. From their blog today:

We here at Vanity Fair maintain a kind of affectionate rivalry with our downstairs neighbors at The New Yorker. We play softball every year, compete for some of the same stories, and share an elevator bank. (You can tell the ones who are headed to the 20th floor by their Brooklyn pallor and dog-eared paperbacks.)

And heaven knows we’ve published our share of scandalous images, on the cover and otherwise. So we’ve been watching the kerfuffle over last week’s New Yorker cover with a mixture of empathy and better-you-than-us relief.

We had our own presidential campaign cover in the works, which explored a different facet of the Politics of Fear, but we shelved it when The New Yorker’s became the “It Girl” of the blogosphere. Now, however, in a selfless act of solidarity with our downstairs neighbors here at the Condé Nast building, we’d like to share it with you. Confidentially, of course.

Hope you enjoyed that. Hope to see you tomorrow!

Cheers,
Sam
“Crime does not pay… as well as politics.”
Alfred E. Newman
Posted in Campaign '08
Comments (2)

Local Politics Leave A Smaller Carbon Footprint

Posted By Samuel Richard on July 7th, 2008
I am fairly politically minded. Some of you are questioning my understatement. But no matter, I shall press on. Today, a tip on going green this election season.

While the national elections are exciting, and monopolize most water cooler conversations and chain emails, I find the real excitement of politics when the issues are close to home. Yes, even elections are going local.

A few weeks ago, I (along with a few friends) made it fairly clear that I will be voting Dan Saban for Maricopa County Sheriff in November, and doing what I can in the meantime to get him there. I have my button and my bumper sticker, but I figured I could more. So I did. There is now an official student organization named ASU For Dan Saban. We have a Facebook page and a blog so far, and once school starts we will be meeting in an official capacity and tabling at each of the four (4) ASU campuses. If you would like to reduce your political carbon footprint and go local, please email me at samuel [dot] richard [at] asu [dot] edu. And if you decide to go crazy for local politics, here is some information on debates for the Corporation Commissioner.

The President is the most powerful person on Earth, sure. But what our local elected officials do, say, and pursue affects us on a daily basis. I challenge you to invest a little time this election season in local politics. Spend as much time researching your local sheriff, state representative, and proposition decisions as you do for your presidential and other national choices. Go ahead, I triple dog dare you.

Cheers,
Sam
“Sure there are dishonest men in local government. But there are dishonest men in national government, too.”
Richard M. Nixon
Posted in Campaign '08
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Deserving

Posted By Samuel Richard on June 26th, 2008

This video has been running around for awhile now, but it is worth its own post. Not just a link. Enjoy.

(And for all of you from Ironwood High School; Yes, that really is Alan Greenspan (Class of ‘03) at the :55 mark.)

Cheers,
Sam
“We need to be really bothered once in a while. How long is it since you were really bothered? About something important, about something real?”
Ray Bradbury
(In Fahrenheit 451)

Posted in Campaign '08
Comments (1)

Organization Time

Posted By Samuel Richard on June 26th, 2008
I have so many links of so many stories I want to write about. But I’m done feeling useless. Done feeling stressed out about it. I’ve started to catalog them, and forward date the posts. I feel like I can breathe again. I don’t think you know how much pressure you put me under, Constant Reader…

In the meantime, I have some news. There is now an official club on campus called ASU For Dan Saban. We have a blog, a Facebook page, and an email (asufordansaban [at] gmail [dot] com).

Looking forward to catching up a bit!

Cheers,
Sam
“Atheism is a non-Prophet organization.”
George Carlin
Posted in Campaign '08, Just For Fun
Comments (1)