Jack White would like to buy the world a Coke

Hat tip to Largehearted Boy:

White Stripes singer/songwriter Jack White has been tapped by Coca-Cola to write a new song to inspire the world to buy Coke. I think this is for real. Remember, the White Stripes turned down the Gap when they offered lots of cash for an appearance in a commercial. I guess this is somewhat different, since he is writing a song for the commercial, as opposed to having them use one of their songs in it.

In related news, Steve Earle's title track from his 2004 album, The Revolution Starts...Now is being used to sell Chevy Trucks. i saw the commercial Sunday night, i think. Chevy must have realized that no one listens to Bob Seger anymore. But Chevy must be ignorant of the song's lyrics and meaning.

The White Stripes and Steve Earl are two of my fave artists, and i would never accuse them of "selling out." i would LOVE to write a song for a commercial, and i would LOVE to be able to pay off all my debts if something i composed were used in a marketing campaign.

Guess i'll get to writin'...checks to pay my bills at least.

PS: here's a video of Steve singing The Revolution Starts Now for Cindy Sheehan in Crawford, TX recently.

Bush vs. Science

Hendrik Herzberg comments in the New Yorker about Evolution, Creationism, Intelligent Design and BushCo.'s position on science:

From the beginning, the Bush White House has treated science as a nuisance and scientists as an interest group—one that, because it lies outside the governing conservative coalition, need not be indulged. That's why the White House-sometimes in the service of political Christianism or ideological fetishism, more often in obeisance to baser interests like the petroleum, pharmaceutical, and defense industries-has altered, suppressed, or overriden scientific findings on global warming; missile defense; H.I.V./ AIDS; pollution from industrial farming and oil drilling; forest management and endangered species; environmental health, including lead and mercury poisoning in children and safety standards for drinking water; and non-abstinence methods of birth control and sexually-transmitted-disease prevention. It has grossly misled the public on the number of stem-cell lines available for research. It has appointed unqualified ideologues to scientific advisory committees and has forced out scientists who persist in pointing out inconvenient facts.

Read the one-page article. Hat tip to DC MediaGirl.

Progress in Iraq

The news out of Iraq isn't ALL bad. Granted, they can't get a constitution ratified, and 68 American troops have been killed since Dubya went on the longest presidential vacation in 36 years. Here's the good news: Soldiers play hockey. We are surely winning now.


[Photo by Max Becherer/ Polaris, for The New York Times]

See the guy with the rifle? His team won.

Danger! Danger!

Do NOT cook these burgers










with these tiki torches!!

..or you could start yourself on fire and you wouldn't be able to "stop, drop and roll" because you'd be all doubled over and fu'd up from the E. coli..
This has been a public service announcement. word.

Thou Shalt Not Kill...

Except when meting out barbaric punishment, or when a democratically elected leader does not agree with US policy. Pat Robertson, Right Wing Religious Cleric, All-Around Champion Nut Job and buddy of W said of Venezuela's Hugo Chavez: "We have the ability to take him out, and I think the time has come that we exercise that ability." I hope he gets smited on TV.
I saw the documentary The Revolution Will Not Be Televised a couple years ago, and i remember Colin Powell saying to an adviser during a hearing at the UN, "I don't think he [Chavez] has the US's interests at heart." No shit. The US's interest in Venezuela? Get hold of their oil - Venezuela is the 5th largest petroleum exporter in the world. How do we do that? Install a US-friendly puppet government. I'll bet the Dubya and the NeoCons are pissed at Robertson for letting the cat out of the bag.