Blogcritics Author: Diane Barnes

A '70s Girl Turns 50

Diane Barnes — Fri, 30 May 2008 14:23:12 EDT

Is life more than just sex, drugs and Rock-n-Roll?
I can barely bring myself to think about the fact that I will be 50 on June 22nd. I was born in 1958. So were Madonna, Michelle Pfeiffer, the peace sign, and the 64-color box of Crayola crayons. Jamie Lee Curtis, whom people say I resemble, is topless on the cover of AARP magazine. Did you know AARP starts its mailing notices to "seniors" at age...

Announcement: Short-content feeds

Phillip Winn — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EDT

Sunday, August 26, 2007, marks the switch of all Blogcritics.org article feeds from full-content to short-content. This is the result of several converging factors, and is unfortunately a permanent decision (as permanent as any decision can be on the web, that is). We are aware of all of the reasons that this is a Bad Idea, and we are aware that some of you will be quite upset about having to click on something to read the free content, and we're sorry. Unfortunately, despite great effort, full-content feeds are not currently economically viable. Two other factors are involved: full-content feeds have resulted in an unprecedented level of content theft, with BC content appearing on many websites, usually spam sites, without attribution or permission. This duplicate content causes a cascading set of problems, not the least of which is that search engines generally aren't favorable to duplicate content, and don't always guess correctly. Finally, our RSS advertising partner is strongly in favor of short-content feeds. We hope that you'll continue to subscribe to BC via RSS, and when an article grabs your eye, it's only a click away, still free on the BC website. Thank you for your understanding.

How to be a Good Politician

Diane Barnes — Mon, 13 Dec 2004 09:16:33 EST

I would not make a very good politicianA local city council person didn't pay her water bill on time. The check bounced. Now, the city is considering whether she is fit to sit on the council.Hell, if that's the criteria for holding office, I would be disqualified. I've had a hard time paying a lot of bills. I've been late on water bills and property taxes (GASP!). I've had a business loss and had to work minimum wage jobs. I even had a ticket for a seatbelt violation. I'd make a bad politician. To be a politician, first you have you come from a wealthy family that can get you into the best schools or out of the worst trouble. If you can't do that, make sure you step all over your colleagues to get to the top of that big fat lawyers firm, (oh yeah, you HAVE to be a lawyer, because they are so much smarter than the rest of us). Cut a few sweetheart deals? Good, you're qualified! Comb your hair right? Have a gleaming smile? Know how to baffle 'em with your bullshit? You got the job! To be a politician you don't need to have any real moral or ethical standards (except the situational kind). In fact, you really should compromise everything you believe in to get the job. Then, hire a firm to spin all the lies you tell. Kiss some ass and keep a lot of secrets. Oh, and one other thing, if you have an extremely fragile ego, you'll make the best politician ever. You'll get constant reinforcement from your constituents and friends about the great benevolent person you are for giving away several hundred thousand tax dollars to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Yeah, that's a worthy cause! Those aging rockers don't have any cash. Their drug habit or accountants took it all. Their fans won't mind if you use some of the almost 50% you seize from their pay checks to fund your pet project, even if they can't pay the water bill on time. Send Cash, Now!

Diane Barnes is the wife of a gifted kiltmaker and mother to three extremely talented children. Her own creative abilities have yet to be discovered.

Karl Marx - Steve Earle's Mentor

Diane Barnes — Mon, 6 Dec 2004 15:31:35 EST

While reading a recently purchased music magazine 'PASTE', I came across an interview with alt.country, singer-songwriter, street-fighter Steve Earle. Apparently, he has a image of himself in the style of Che Guevera (uh-hem... something I have discussed in a previous blog) suitable for nailing up on telephone poles (or, the post office ...)"I've never belonged to a political party... I'm a lot closer to a Socialist than I am anything else, because I absolutely believe everything that Karl Marx said about economics"I get damn tired of reading these kind of boneheaded quotes from artists... especially artists I like. Steve, have you really read everything Marx authored? Ever heard of The Communist Manifesto? In the treatise Marx promotes bloody violence and class warfare to reach his goal of a free and equal society.Have you read Hegel? Marx's mentor? Marx was a follower of Hegel, who was a statist. What that means is the State is supreme. The group has primacy over the individual and the state has primacy over the group. There are no individual rights. Individuals represent a lower form of reality. The State is absolute, a higher level of humanity. In Marxist thought individuals owe their obedience and compliance to this higher power. Rights are socially defined. Rights are defined by the State, given by the State, taken away by the State. Individuals are not endowed by their Creator with unalienable Rights, among them Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness, as our constitution states. Marxist worldview does not tolerate the individual's freedom of thought, freedom of speech, freedom of choice, free markets, FREEDOM! The individual is subservient to the state and its ideals, whatever they are. And it doesn't tolerate non-conformity, Steve.Where has this form of government been successful at promoting anything except forced compliance to the state? Communist states have been mostly very successful at murdering and torturing the unruly, disobedient worker. Ever heard of Pol Pot, Stalin, Mao? They were all Communists of the Marxist ilk.This system would not endure Steve Earle singing about "F the CIA, F the CC, F the FBI". This kind of rhetoric would likely get him imprisoned, tortured or killed.So what is it? Do Steve and other celebrities who spout off about Communisim being a better system than the freedom we have here in the US, REALLY know and believe what they are saying? Or, do they have no idea what they are talking about? Utopia is not an option. 'Splain it to me!

Diane Barnes is the wife of a gifted kiltmaker and mother to three extremely talented children. Her own creative abilities have yet to be discovered.